Welcome to Gaia! ::

Many Negaverse agents across the ranks had signed up to participate in this year's battle tournament. They were good sports all, bound for combat and glory or crushing defeat, and most of them had either ended the tournament early, heavily injured, or finished it un one of the later rounds, also heavily injured.

Quartz, though, wasn't particularly a good sport, and he didn't like the idea of spending another year taking his chances with the lists and potentially disappointing Schörl when some SpecOps killer caved his face in.

No, he'd agreed instead to do a civilized exhibition match with Aurostibite, something high-spirited and exciting that would boost morale and generally make the Intelligence Branch look like they had their s**t together. Something that would make Zinkenite and Axinite each pleased with their dedication to branch cohesion and military morale.

No dismemberment. No crippling injuries that couldn't be solved through modern medicine. Just a clean fight. And an attractive, upbeat fight. A crowd pleaser.

They could do that.

Quartz peeled off his long coat, setting it safely outside the ring. With its long trains, the coat was no good for battle -- it was only a potential liability.

He took a last swig from a wine bottle and set it down nearby, beneath a chair where Soyala was seated with a front row view. "Cheer for me, Lady," he asked, bowing before her to kiss her little paw. "I may be completely humiliated."

That done, Quartz hoisted himself back into the ring, shirtless and glistening with jewelry (and a little bit of oil, for effect -- it was an exhibition match, after all). His beach tan from recent months spent on assignment in Florida still warmed his skin.

"This is a good look for you, General," he called over to Aurostibite, readying himself across the ring. "I like it. How have you enjoyed the tournament this year?"

Quartz called his spear to hand and spun in over his wrist, adjusting the balance of its weight within his grip. Within enclosed quarters, its magic wasn't at its fullest, so the dimensions of the blade were still somewhat discernable. Outdoors, at night, the magic of it was most favorable, the lance nearly invisible to the eye. Here and now, he'd have to make do.

Quartz had the longer reach by far, which dictated much of their potential combat-- the tonfas would protect Aurostibite well from creating to many openings for punches or kicks to his central body mass, but they'd be tough to shift around to parry an inside strike as easily as they could catch one from the outside. They each knew their weapons, what to expect an enemy to try and exploit... it was a matter of who ended up with the greater success. That and how out of practice Quartz might have gotten during his time in Florida.

He'd soon find out.

Quartz circled his opponent, eyeing his footwork -- then moved in for an opening strike. An attack from the front would've been an easy lead to follow, and a proverbial knife in the back was often expected -- so Quartz teleported into closer quarters from one side instead, driving in his spearhead to force Aurostibite to defend one-sided. Twisting to try to use both weapons would cost him valuable seconds and perhaps an ear -- but if Aurostibite defended one-armed as he expected he'd have to, Quartz could catch the tonfa and use their momentum to spin the spear around the blade and clock Aurostibite under the chin with the haft of the weapon instead.

Of all the things Idrialite thought he might see in his time in the Negaverse, a shirtless exhibition battle was not particularly high on the list.

It was, however, very high on the list of most delightful things to come out of his time in the Negaverse. Actual fun things were few and far between--getting to see his very attractive General fight half-naked was definitely fun. And considering his success so far in his own bouts, he felt he was owed a break to sit back and take in the sights.

It was too bad Eva couldn't be here, really; he had a feeling she would delight in an exhibition of two incredibly handsome men throwing down. Because while Idrialite wasn't as familiar with Quartz's opponent, he was also a sight to behold. General Aurostibite, the organizer of the toruneys, clearly both a capable agent and absolutely fantastic eye candy.

Honestly, bless whomever had proposed this.

Besides all that, Quartz was already coming out strong; that boded well for the rest of the match. It would be good to see success from multiple members of their little team this year.

Tiberius had missed out on many of the matches for this Tournament having been buried in his lab working on Things for the stupid Doggo, but when he'd gotten wind that Quartz was going to be part of an exhibition...well, it was time to go and observe in his stead.

Someone had to take notes for Mistress, right?

"Knock that puffed-up peacock into next year!!" Tiberius chittered from the side lines, pleased as punch when a Tits-out-for-Metallia Quartz came on strong from the very start. "EVISCERATE HIM!!!"

The Mauvian did so love prize fights.

HP: 31 / 40
DMG: 5


The Intelligence Branch of the Negaverse was often the most underestimated, mostly because the fact that they were the paperwork division tended to lead to misunderstandings in their abilities and strengths. Aurostibite had long since stopped rolling his eyes at the sidelong commentary about his own position in his office, because there was little point in arguing useless arguments, and besides - it just meant that he would have the upper hand for those who thought he was going to go soft staring at a stack of papers on his desk.

Eight years in the Negaverse had, in fact, done wonders for Aurostibite in terms of training and physical ability, which only made it all the more satisfying when he could make a point of proving that while also simultaneously boosting overall Negaverse morale.

And if he could accomplish all of this during an exhibition match of a tournament he himself had sponsored for the last three years, well, then, it was all worth it. Especially because this year he had been pleased to find a worthy opponent with which to spar with; and while Aurostibite tended to keep to himself most days, he had been a little bit more open as of late in an effort to branch out a little.

He stood now in front of the other General, Aurostibite stripped to the waist, holding both of his blades in his hands. His long, dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and there were already a few bruises forming on his torso - a particularly large one was blossoming on his right shoulder, thanks to a well-aimed hit from Zinkenite.

Quartz's comment made the edges of Aurostibite's lips curve upwards in a small, yet still present, smile.

"Thank you," he said, "The compliment goes for you as well. As for the tournament's progress this year, I feel quite satisfied with the turnout and the production so far; there has been a very wide and pleasant group of people of all abilities, which has been very satisfactory to watch."

He knew Xenotime would agree with this as well, Aurostibite watching Quartz carefully, eyes narrowed a little. He had never fought with the other; he didn't know his strategies, his maneuvers, and that was how it worked in battles that did not take place in a supervised ring.

There was a soft hiss of displaced air and then Quartz was abruptly at his side, spear raised, and Aurostibite moved instinctively, pivoting on one foot as his left arm raised automatically to block the strike. It got him a crack under the chin from the spear in the process, Aurostibite staggering backwards, teeth snapping together as a hiss of pain escaped him.

He wasted no time in trying to retaliate, Aurostibite swinging around, one of his blades whistling out with the flat side of it aimed at one of Quartz's legs in an attempt at knocking him off balance.

Corrupt Sailor Lilith

Lilith had passed on joining the tournament this year--she had a delicate face and a delicate constitution, and she wasn't much for the idea of getting bruises she'd have to cover up for her next stream. But she could definitely come down and spectate, especially for an exhibition match between two tall, handsome Generals.

The Corrupt waltzed her way throguh the crowd, and as she walked, she heard another girl's whispered invocation, wondering if this was in fact real life. She glanced over, spotted the green-haired Lieutenant, and grinned, sliding up next to her and resting an arm on her shoulder.

"This is completely real life, and it's completely beautiful," she said, keeping her voice pitched low so as not to detract too much from the beautiful, beautiful gun show going on in front of ********, Lilith loved the Negaverse.



Corrupt Guardian Soyala

Soyala tittered delightedly as Quartz bent to kiss her paw, leaving her to guard his wine bottle. She leaned forward and pressed her head against his cheek, an easy sign of affection and, she hoped, assurance.

"Of course I'll cheer for you, General. Do your best, and I doubt we'll see any kind of humiliation here today."

She sat back, tail swishing eagerly. This would be an entertaining thing to witness regardless, and already Quartz was doing well. They both were, which was good--it wouldn't do for Intelligence to have a poor showing in front of the whole of the Negaverse.

HP: 27 / 40
DMG: 2

Aurostibite's reaction was swift and decisive. His kick this time caught Quartz directly behind the knee, toppling him just as he'd been regaining his footing and sending a shooting pain bolting up through Quartz's spine with the force of the blow.

They could probably keep at that for a while, rolling on the ground taking shots at each other -- but it wasn't much of a show for an exhibition match. Quartz used the blunt end of his spear to shove Aurostibite away from him, then teleported away to the far side of the ring once more, so they could both stand and re-engage.

"The medical team's been hard at work, " he observed, like they were having a friendly lunch chat. "Commendable efforts by the whole crew."

HP: 23 / 40
DMG: 9

Aurostibite was fast. It was an important skill to have, a honed quickness, and it favored the flexible, the maneuverable, the lightly built. Neither of them was anything like flimsy -- but Quartz, in particular, was built on a broader, heavier frame. Rather than try to dodge and suffer the blow landing on his cheek or shoulder but being unprepared for a return strike, Quartz dismissed his own weapon and lunged forward, stepping into the strike -- countering with a punch of his own, aimed squarely at Aurostibite's gut.

Quartz's ears were ringing, his jaw felt like it was on fire -- but hopefully, facing off against a winded opponent who'd already gone toe to toe with a General-King, he'd managed at least to give as good as he'd gotten.