*comment REMOVE *save_checkpoint *temp val 0 *temp tempwep false *temp fren "Leona" *temp thesecret false *temp cj 0 *temp ritualboost false *temp firststrike false *temp elem "" *temp docks false *temp beamsuccess false *temp prayertalisman false *temp fiendish false *temp lifesteal false *temp fiendseverity 1 *temp toldgrim false *temp failedparty true *temp talisman false *set cj spareval_1 *set spareval_1 0 *if (sparestr_1 = "thesecret") *set thesecret true *set sparestr_1 "" *temp distraction sparestr_2 *set sparestr_2 "" *temp prisonerval 0 *temp val3 0 You all arrive at the multi-wing four-story mansion the Sunbringers have used as a torturous base of operations, its eastern and western wings curving in a U-shape so you'll have to pass by several windows to get to the front door. The perfect ambush position. "This looks like a trap." Kosuke says. "It looks like a challenge." Bo corrects. "It looks like a dump." Leona complains. *if (cj = 1) Bo, Kosuke, and most of your new troops *else Bo and Kosuke look to her in disbelief. You hold a hand for silence and steel your resolve before opening the gate further, striding across the lawn. *if (style = "Akakiru") An entire Sect worth of battle medicine was in here, Leona was sure of it, so this is where you need to be. Either it's still inside or the trail for it starts here. *else *if (style = "Aoyusumu") *set fren "Angelo" *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") *set fren "Desdemona" *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *set fren "Guiren" *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") *set fren "Fang" Crow Li took ${fren} here, you're sure of it. You either need to find them inside or find the trail of where they went. You reach the mansion's front entrance without issue, take one deep, steadying breath, and push the door open, ready for anything. A sword's tip appears from behind the doorway and presses against your neck. "Don't move." Says a voice in the darkness from behind the door. *if (style = "Kurokonton") "Not unless you want to get gutted by..." [b][Style Event: Kurokonton][/b] "-[i]by the Ancestors![/i]" The swordsman suddenly exclaims. "You actually came back for Guiren!" The door fully opens and you recognize the pure black clothing and facewrap covering on the man, it's one of Guiren's minions. Behind him are three more. You recognize Yoji the Oni's voice. "Of course $!{heshe} came back, moron, ${heshe}'s one of us." "What are you all doing here?" You ask, surprised but relieved. "We were about to break Guiren out," says the Human with the sword, Wencheng you think. "Took too long for the three Martial Artists guarding this place to succumb to the sleeping poison we hid in their wine, we've barely been in position for a minute. From what we've found they moved Guiren upstairs instead of the basement. Fourth floor, east wing. We were trying to figure out how to get enough firepower for the ambush when you showed up." "Good. I'll take it from here." You look around at the looted dining room, the dead inhabitants noticeably missing and replaced with three dead Sunbringers. "Where is the battle medicine?" Yoji takes off his mask and grins, flipping the long dining table over to reveal a dozen opened lockboxes underneath. "We were going to take turns tumbling underneath in the middle of any fight to consume what we needed. You have no idea how rarely important people look under furniture." A sly grin comes across your face as you poke your head out to *if (cj = 1) the large crowd *else the others still on the lawn. "Everyone get in here. Our *if (ruthless > 50) revenge *else counteroffensive begins now." It's all coming together. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") "If you value your life, you'll-" [b][Style Event: Kiihakai][/b] "-it, it's you![/i]" Shouts the swordsman. "You've come to help us!" You're not sure how these sorts of shakedowns usually go, but you're certain this man is doing a poor job. He pulls the door the rest of the way open and you recognize him immediately. Li Sun, Disciple of the Dreamriver Sect under Desdemona. "We were afraid you wouldn't escape the prison due to the Binder's Bands, even with the unfinished Seal we left behind." "I managed." You reply. Behind him is his sister and two other members in their signature purple gi. On the floor lie three dead Sunbringers, their throats slit. "Your doing?" "We cast an illusion Seal to paralyze them." Li Sun says, looking on the corpses of his enemies with regret. "We couldn't fight them head-on, but when we saw what they did to the family that lived here we..." His fist tightens. "We did the same to them." "Great job!" Leona exclaims far too loudly, shoving past you through the doorway. "Now who's got the battle pills? Mama's hungry for some mystical healing." *if (cj = 1) Your small army piles in through the doorway. *else Kosuke sneaks in next, followed by the rest of your forces. "It looks like we have enough to make a stand." Says Li Moon from a seat at the long table, adjusting her glasses and organizing ritual components in front of her. "I'm glad I prepared everything for such a large party, but I never expected you to show up with one." *if (heshe = "she") "Never doubt my new best friend!" Leona shouts through mouthfuls of some unfamiliar glowing moss, already gorging herself on the assortment of healing herbs. *else "Neither did I." Says Bo in his nasally voice. "Shut up Bo." Replies Kosuke, walking in behind him and mouthing the words 'Neither did I.' to you over his shoulder. *else "I saw what you did to that patrol. Take one more step and I'll run you through with Bladed Chi." The moonlight seeps in through the doorway and your eyes adjust to a Sunbringer uniform on a battle-scarred wolf yokai man, long fangs bared. *if (cj = 1) [b][Event: Armed Mob][/b] *if (ruthless >= 54) "Men, if this filthy blade stays on my skin for more than a second I want you to rip this man's arms off and choke him to death with them." *else "There's no need for violence." You offer. "Because if you get violent the men behind me are going to be very angry." You really were ready for anything, including uppity swordsmen. The Sunbringer looks past you to see two dozen armed and vengeful residents of Ebikowa. "O-Oh." He says. "I seem to have...forgotten...something, somewhere." "I'm sure you did." You reply, unmoving. The man pulls his blade away and slowly squeezes past you through the doorway, breaking into a sprint across the lawn away from *if (cj = 1) your crowd. *else you. *label manrunning Leona looks from him to you, tilting her head towards the fleeing man and drawing a finger across her throat as if to ask if you want her to kill him. *choice #Nod back. *set leonarep + 3 *set ruthless + 3 *set honor + 1 She does a short jump with glee and frolics off with two swords drawn. The rest of you continue inside as the man meets a swift end. #Shake your head. *set leonarep - 2 *set ruthless - 4 *set honor + 2 Her shoulders slump and she pouts, following the rest of the crowd inside like a grounded child. *elseif (style = "Akakiru") [b][Akakiru Style Event!!][/b] Your eyes shift down to the blade and it begins to glow scarlet, gaining more and more Bladed Chi along its edges. The Sunbringer smirks in victory as your frozen form merely stands there, looking at his blade as its power enhancement grows. And grows. And grows. Before he can realize what's happening it's already too late. The Bladed Chi coursing through the sword is not his, it's yours, and it shoots backward through the handle like a spear thrust. Your energy pierces through his abdomen and the man drops to the ground immediately in shock. *choice #Finish him off. *set ruthless + 2 You stomp on the man's neck with your full force and weight as you march into the torture mansion, ready to begin your vengeance on the Sunbringers for what they've done to you. The neck snaps with a single stomp, one which you use to carry yourself forward without breaking your stride. *if (heshe = "he") *set leonaromance + 1 *set borep + 3 #Hide him in the closet. *set ruthless - 3 You catch the man as he passes out and collapses then drag him into a closet by the door. "I love hiding the bodies in closets." Kosuke whispers. "How many do you think we can get before they catch us?" "All of the rest, which is hopefully none." You whisper back. The Sunbringer's aura should keep him alive but this is one opponent you won't have to worry about anymore. *set bffrep + 2 #"Someone come clean this up." *set honor + 2 *set ruthless - 1 "Someone come clean this up." You say to Bo, Kosuke, and Leona. Bo raises his nose into the air, Leona whistles innocently, and Kosuke rolls ${bffhisher} eyes at them both. $!{bffheshe} walks carefully through the doorway and drags the unconscious man into a closet by the entrance. The Sunbringer's aura should keep him alive but this is one opponent you won't have to worry about anymore. *set leonarep + 2 *set bffrep - 2 *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") [b][Midorikatai Style Event!!][/b] Fang's wolves charge from the sides of your legs and knock the man over, grabbing his heel and throat and pulling him in different directions before he has a chance to scream. It's a grizzlier sight than expected. They're wolves. "So..." Kosuke mutters over your shoulder to the sound of ripping and tearing. "Would they do that to me if I was pranking you?" "Such an astute observation." Bo grumbles, muscling past you both. The wolves turn and growl at him until he turns around, face much paler than before. "After you." He whispers as he waits his turn to enter. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") [b][Aoyusumu Style Event!!][/b] You layer a Sacred shield of kinetic force over your neck and walk into his sword until the metal shatters against the strength of your Aura Pressure. Another step closer and you're an inch from his face, staring into his eyes. "I'm sorry." You say to the man whose mouth begins to drop as his shattered sword pieces hit the floor. "I didn't quite hear what you said." "I-I-I said that I, uh..." He starts to mutter, seeing the others looking through the doorway. "You apologize and repent, that's what you were going to say, correct?" "Y-Yes!" The Sunbringer chokes out, backing up slowly and sprinting out the back door. "Yes I'm sorry!" *goto manrunning *page_break Once everyone's made it into the mansion you look out the window and get a quick glimpse as the shining Mystic Chi barrier around the east wing's fourth story room, sticking out of the walls unnaturally to block off all intrusions. *if (style = "Akakiru") He hasn't noticed you've already begun your attack. *else You've still got time, but does ${fren}? *if (style = "Kiihakai") Desdemona's disciples spread the battle medicine across the main table as well as a collection of herbs and ritual components, the entire trove of the Sunbringer's plunder. *if (heshe = "she") Leona occasionally shoulder-checks them away from the glowing moss which appears to be her favorite. "This is everything we were able to gather." Li Moon says, adjusting her glasses. "We've done what we can to optimize each dosage. These healing elixirs can help recover chi reserves as well. They were probably refined specifically with the Sunbringer's energy-based Paths in mind. That means we can save on replenishment elixirs and use them in bulk for weaker fighters to the point that they could act as Advancement Elixirs, especially with the right Seals for containment." "...What does any of that mean?" Kosuke asks. Li Sun, the other disciple taking the lead over Desdemona's troops, stabs his sword into the table and leans against its handle. "It means we've got everything we need to get back to fighting shape, and then some." *label everyonetable Everyone in your party looks over the incredible collection of low and mid-grade cultivation resources across the dining room's long table. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") "Since our sneakier plan isn't needed, here's everything we've got." Says Yoji the Oni while Guiren's other underlings pull several opened lockboxes from under the dining room long table and spread their contents across it. The entire Sunbringer Sect's lower treasury spills out at once. *goto everyonetable *else Bo and Kosuke break through crate after crate until they find one filled with lockboxes and protected in glowing Seals. "These are going to need a keystone to get through." Bo says. "Damn it, this isn't good." Leona waltzes passed him and takes a keystone out of her pocket, opening each small treasure box in one swing of her arm across all locks. You give her a questioning gaze and she points to the keystone in her hand as if advertising it for sale. "I'm a Sunbringer. They're Sunbringer locks." Bo tips the lockboxes onto the long table and everyone gathers to stare in awe at the incredible quantity of low-grade and mid-grade combat elixirs, healing pills, and advancement herbs. Nothing here is too expensive, but combined it's enough to buy this mansion. "Ancestors." Says Kosuke. "It's so beautiful. How much do we use? How much do we [i][b]sell?[/i][/b]" "Eat it all!" Leona barks out, stuffing her face with some unfamiliar spirits fruits at the other end of the table and downing vials of glowing purple liquid. "This place is going to be a warzone, take every advantage you can get or you're just dead weight!" Kosuke's pout switches to a panic when your freed prisoners and *if (style = "Kurokonton") Guiren's men *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") the Dreamriver disciples *else Bo take Leona's advice to grab pills, vials, spirit fruits, and herbs off the table. *if (style = "Midorikatai") $!{bffheshe} immediately lunges for several mysterious vials, guzzling one and pouring the other down a wolf's mouth while its tail wags. Using your alchemical knowledge you carefully pick out the correct herbs and pills to replenish your own spirit as well. *if (bocombat < 5) *set bocombat + 1 *if (kosukecombat < 5) *set kosukecombat + 1 *set chispent 0 *set powspent 0 *set forspent 0 *set agispent 0 *set solspent 0 *set wounds 0 [b][All Health, Cores, and Chi Replenished][/b] *set apval (10 + (alchemy * 5)) *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost *if (cj = 1) *line_break *if (alchemy >= 2) *set prisonerval 3 *else *set prisonerval 2 [b][${prisonerval} Freed Prisoners Advanced to Martial Retainers][/b] *set retainers - prisonerval *set martial_retainers + prisonerval *if (style = "Kiihakai") *line_break [b][Dreamriver Sect Assistance: Elixirs Enhanced!][/b] *line_break [b][Temporary Bonus: +1 Fortitude, +1 Soul][/b] *set fortitude + 1 *set soul + 1 *line_break [b][Permanent Bonus: Aura Pressure +5][/b] *set aurapressure + 5 *line_break [b][Permanent Bonus: Kosuke's Combat Prowess has Increased!][/b] *set kosukecombat + 1 The power of the Sunbringer sect's cultivation treasures streams through your body and you feel energized beyond belief. For the first time since this whole ordeal started you feel your aura manifest fully around you, stronger than you ever remembered it being. You stare down at your hands in awe, witnessing the full and powerful aura of *if (style = "Akakiru") scarlet Bladed Chi *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") cerulean Sacred Chi *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") golden Mystic Chi *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") purple Cursed Chi *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") green Wild Chi around you for the first time. You are whole again. In that regard you are not the only one. Scarlet power flies off Leona in wild blades forming cuts in the floor and ceiling. Dense green Wild Chi forms around Bo Lo that makes him almost look not scrawny. Kosuke *if (martial_retainers > 2) and some of your freed fighters light *else lights up with a white haze around *if (martial_retainers > 2) their *else ${bffhisher} body. Such a display of power does not go unnoticed. All eyes in the room, yours included, widen as a heavy spiritual scan brushes your spirits. You don't bother looking to Leona, Kosuke, or Bo to see if it was them; the power of the scan is so forceful that you can feel where it originates: high up on the eastern wing of the mansion. Crow Li has found you. "Incoming!" Bo shouts, diving for a metal shield on the wall. The barrier in the east wing breaks into hundreds of motes of Mystic Chi that refine into needle-thin energy beams sent piercing through the building. Crow Li's rain of power drills through the ceiling and into your entire party. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Resisted!][/b] *else *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false true Everyone else ducks for cover and Leona is forced into a flurry of sword-swinging to keep most of the attacks from killing the weaker freed citizens. *choice #Jump out the window and get a running leap into Crow Li's room from outside. You've all been found out, and if you don't act fast you'll all be killed at a distance. Without time to explain you cover your face with both forearms and leap through the nearest window, kicking sideways off the frame to launch yourself towards the east wing when you exit. Your body leaves a thick trail of ${auracolor} light behind as you sprint through the *if (cj = 1) grounds past your very confused troops. *else grounds. Looking up at the upper floors of this dark and foreboding mansion's eastern wing shows little, the dark clouds above barely illuminating the town around you, but your target makes itself apparent when one window erupts in the white and gold light of a Sunbringer Sect aura. Without hesitation you leap onto a nearby stone fountain and kick off with your running start, soaring across the mansion's grounds and rising to the level of the fourth floor. The window of Crow Li's room comes closer and closer... *if ((element1 = "Light") or (element2 = "Light")) [b][Light Element Event: Automatic Success][/b] *set apval 3 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost And hit your target with ease, guided by the Light element's speed. *goto crowouterrun *elseif ((element1 = "Wind") or (element2 = "Wind")) [b][Wind Element Event: Automatic Success][/b] *set apval 3 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost And hit your target with ease, adjusting your trajectory with Wind energy. *goto crowouterrun *elseif ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) [b][Storm Element Event: Automatic Success][/b] *set apval 3 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost And hit your target with ease, ricocheting through the air with a trail of electricity behind you. *goto crowouterrun *else *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "athletics" *set combatdiff 6 *if ((bodytype = "Legs") or (bodytype = "Agile")) *if ((agility + athletics) < 6) [b][Swift Body Type Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) And hit your target perfectly. *label crowouterrun Glass shatters around your speeding form breaking through the window and time seems to slow to a halt. You see Crow Li facing the door, teeth clenched with two hands glowing in preparation of an ambush. His eyes wince at the sound of glass shattering to his left and then widen, his head turning to notice your alternative entrance too late. *label kickinwalls *page_break *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatdiff 6 *if ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) *if (fortitude < 6) [b][Earth Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] Stone envelopes your lower leg to quickly enhance your attack. *set combatdiff - 1 *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) *if (fortitude < 6) [b][Ice Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] Ice envelopes your lower leg to quickly enhance your attack. *set combatdiff - 1 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) The full impact of your acceleration slams between Crow Li's eyes when the bottom of your boot collides into his face. *else Your leg impacts against Crow Li's face as if he were made of stone. *if (pblocktech = "") Something important breaks inside your ankle. *else Your ${pblocktech} Technique manifests between the two of you just in time to cushion the blow. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false Your only saving grace is you refuse to bend the leg, keeping all the force of your momentum in your kick so Crow Li suffers as much impact as you do. Enough force to snap a Lower Disciple's neck sends the surprised Oni tumbling through the opposite wall and at least three other walls beyond that, shaking the floor beneath you from the structural damage to the mansion. *if (weight >= chapter) *set val (2 + athletics) [b][Weighted Training Bonus: Aura Pressure +${val}][/b] *set aurapressure + val *if (fightbonus > 0) *if (weight >= chapter) *line_break [b][Enemy Aura Pressure Absorbed: ${fightbonus}][/b] *set aurapressure + fightbonus *else But not as close as the wall. You slam into the mansion's wall with your enhanced body and supernatural speed, crashing your bare skin through the fourth story wooden supports. Your body feels as if you're being beaten with 6 clubs at once as you break through. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false Wooden splinters erupt around you and through the cloud you see Crow Li, teeth clenched and hands glowing in preparation for an ambush from the front door. His eyes wince at the explosion to his left and he turns towards you too slowly to stop your advance. *goto kickinwalls #Rush up the stairs and barge in, confronting Crow Li directly. You leave no room for a second attack, sprinting to the circular main staircase and leaping from banister to banister in a ricochet pattern to the fourth floor. When you reach the top you kick off down the long hallway of the east wing. Shining gold and white light emit from around the closed doorway of the room at the end of the hall and you cross both arms in front of your face in preparation for something the Sunbringers would never understand. Overwhelming physical force. You focus chi into your arms, back, legs, and core as you plow into the doorway like a battering ram. The door's tough lock does nothing to stop your entrance and you break through the door itself as if it were paper. Immediately you're blasted with white and gold hostile chi scorching your entire body. *set combatstat "power" *set combatstat2 "fortitude" *set combatdiff 10 *if ((bodytype = "Muscular") or (bodytype = "Dommymommy")) [b][Bodytype Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) But the blinding and burning energy of his Sunbringer blast is not enough to break through the chi you surged through your system. Smoke comes off your skin but your spirit and toughness resist the power of Crow Li's attack even as the blinding Light still surges through the room. *label upperdic *page_break *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "lore" *set combatdiff 5 *if (style = "Aoyusumu") [b][Aoyusumu Style Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *if (val != 66) Withstanding an Upper Disciple's direct attack, especially an energy specialist's energy attack, sends alarms through your head. *if (jadedragonfoundation) It should've been harder, even for you. *else It shouldn't be possible yet. You blindly reach out in anticipation that the blast was a distraction, reaching around in the intense illumination, and catch Crow Li's forearm holding a knife that he lunges at your belly. Pinning his own arm inward with your momentum gives you room to headbutt him in the nose before he can swing with his other arm, cracking down on his face with your harder forehead. It barely stalls the man. "You take me too lightly!" Crow Li laughs, his nose not even broken. He takes a single step back and twists his own arm out of your grip, pulling the knife back. With no time to hesitate and your life on the line you swing that freed arm *else *if (val != 66) It doesn't register until it's too late that withstanding an Upper Disciple's energy blast, especially from an energy-based Sect, shouldn't have been that *if (jadedragonfoundation) easy, even for you. *else easy. You don't see through the distraction until a knife stabs into your gut through the bright light filling the room. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false *if (pblocktech = "") You try to pull it out but Crow Li's hand stands firm, his strength *if (jadedragonfoundation) difficult to contest *else superior as an Upper Disciple. *else The power of your ${pblocktech} Technique manifests just in time to catch the knife. A second knife in his other hand lunges through the dissipating flare of Sunbringer energy and, in a panic with your life on the line, you don't try to block the blade. Instead you make a desperate gamble and swing your free arm down with all your might and weight, connecting a full-body blow into his groin like a hammer slamming onto an anvil. Crow Li's mouth hangs open and his eyes bulge, his yellow pupils dilate, and the sclera around them becomes bloodshot in an instant. *if (subrace = "Wolf") [b][Racial Event: Wolf Yokai][/b] You regret your racial birth as you're one of the few around who can hear the insanely high pitched noise coming from his mouth. In the heat of battle your spirit adapts to such a weakness and hardens the chi protections around your head like a muscle growing larger in response to heavy use. *set apval 5 *gosub_scene quicks apboost *else Though his mouth is open and you're certain he's making a sound, it's too high pitched for you to hear. Before he recovers you spin twice, sweeping him off his feet in a trip then spinning 360 degrees more with a tornado kick that sends his stunned body out the nearest window like a flying ragdoll. *if (weight >= chapter) *set val (2 + athletics) [b][Weighted Training Bonus: Aura Pressure +${val}][/b] *set aurapressure + val *if (fightbonus > 0) *if (weight >= chapter) *line_break [b][Enemy Aura Pressure Absorbed: ${fightbonus}][/b] *set aurapressure + fightbonus *else The overwhelming power of an Upper Disciple burns through the protective layer of chi you'd wrapped around your body. Your lifeforce's spirit and then your flesh itself are scorched from the attack, saved only by your preparation and pieces of the door blocking a direct hit. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false false Yet even through the pain a thought runs through your head: Surviving a direct energy attack from an Upper Disciple, especially an energy specialist like the new leader of the Sunbringers, *if (jadedragonfoundation) should have been harder, even for you. *else shouldn't be possible. Yet. *set val 66 *goto upperdic #Focus all your chi into a beam that rips through the house. Tonight you've learned all your most powerful attacks have been inside of a Gate. it's time to break that habit. You're not the same rookie from before. With a wide stance and both hands cupped together you form layer after layer of brilliant ${auracolor} energy between your palms and cycle even more throughout your body, pulling all the chi from your toes up to your palms in a condensed battery of spiritual energy. *if (clothes = "Red and Gold Cathayan Hanfu") The edges of your Cathayan hanfu flutter *elseif (clothes = "Orange and Black Haori") The sleeves of your haori tremble violently *elseif (clothes = "White and Black Hakama") or (clothes = "White and Red Hakama") Your entire hakama trembles *elseif (clothes = "") The lower edges of your yukata tremble *elseif (clothes = "") Your travel cloak trembles and your straw hat nearly flies off *elseif (clothes = "") Your tight shirt survives the wind but your tobi pants flutter uncontrollably from the power radiating through the air around you as your combat chi reaches its maximum output. With a battlecry, you release it all in one brilliant beam. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatdiff 7 *if (style = "Kiihakai") [b][Kiihakai Style Event: Reduced Difficulty][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) *if (style = "Kiihakai") *line_break [b][Storm Beam Intensity: Reduced Difficulty][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *elseif ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) *if (style = "Kiihakai") *line_break [b][Fire Beam Intensity: Reduced Difficulty][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set beamsuccess true Leona and Kosuke leap away from you as a river of spirit energy escapes from the ball in your hands, blasting outward in a head-thick *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) *if ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) burning lightning bolt *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) freezing ray *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) torrent of water *elseif ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) flamethrower beam *else beam of hostile ${auracolor} energy that blows through the mansion, pressurized with such force that holes half as wide as your body rip through the floors, walls, and ceilings. Your blast reaches the other end of the east wing and explodes the floor under Crow Li, slamming into his quickly erected chi shield with such an impact that he's blown clear through the roof. *set apval 4 *gosub_scene quicks apboost "Ancestors..." Kosuke says while you pant, gazing through the impromptu tunnel you blasted to the fourth floor. Your eyelids suddenly feel like they weigh 100lbs but you give ${bffhimher} a short nod. Numbness drains your limbs from the lack of living energy remaining in your body after such a feat and you truly wish you had time to rest. Yet you do not. Instead you jump through the holes left in your attack's wake all the same. The fight's not over, *if (style = "Akakiru") you need to follow the Oni and finish the job. *else and you need to get to ${fren}. *label returnafterbeam *page_break You kick off each floor on your way through the multitude of holes your all-out beam blew through the building until you get to the top and leap upwards into the torture room where Crow Li was waiting. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatskill "insight" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) You detect the trap just before it springs. A delayed explosion of chi placed on the floor that will detonate just as you pass through. You surge chi over your leg and kick outwards as you pass through the final hole in the east wing's fourth floor. Sure enough, an energy blast forms out of nowhere and erupts towards you, but your kick cuts the blast in half before it fully forms. Your leg hurts like hell but you stopped the real damage. *else A bright white and gold flash is the only warning you get as Crow Li's Technique explodes around you. Some sort of delayed blast activates like a trap as you pass through the final floor, *if (eblocktech = "") ripping your skin off *else blasting you with scorching power. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false true The blast envelopes your body but fails to end the fight, leaving you standing on the floor covered in black scorch marks. *if (weight >= chapter) *set val (2 + athletics) [b][Weighted Training Bonus: Aura Pressure +${val}][/b] *set aurapressure + val *if ((fightbonus > 0) and (beamsuccess)) *if (weight >= chapter) *line_break [b][Enemy Aura Pressure Absorbed: ${fightbonus}][/b] *set aurapressure + fightbonus *else Kosuke leaps away as you release a condensed beam of spirit energy into the roof, aiming it at the east wing. A thin but powerful *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) *if ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) burning lightning bolt *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) freezing ray *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) torrent of water *elseif ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) flamethrower beam *else beam of hostile ${auracolor} energy crashes through floors, ceilings, and walls on its way to Crow Li, but his needle ray of golden Mystic Chi lances holes through your beam and shoulders. You try to keep your stance steady and push the energy forward but his attack redoubles on you, his thinner piercing energy beams crashing through the ceiling and stabbing into your body all over. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false true "$!{heshe}'s not going to make it!" Leona shouts to the others. Bo grits his teeth and leaps to your left as Leona comes to your right, both holding their hands close to yours and trying to surge your chi beam without having any time to build up their own. A *if (style = "Midorikatai") scarlet glow *elseif (style = "Akakiru") mild green glow *else scarlet and green glow adds to your power and your beam thickens to almost twice its width, pressurized with such force that holes half as wide as your body rip through the mansion's east wing all the way up to the fourth floor. Your combined blast explodes the floor out from under Crow Li, slamming into his quickly erected chi shield with such an impact that he's blown clear through the roof. Bo drops to one knee, gasping for air. You feel the same. "Can you hold the lower floor if someone shows up?" You ask. Leona nods, rubbing her temple from effort. "We've got things down here, plus a trove of battle pills. *if (style != "Akakiru") Go save your friend." *else I'll make sure they're all prepared and meet you further up." *goto returnafterbeam *page_break *if (style = "Akakiru") With Crow Li ejected from the room you get a better look at your surroundings. A master bedroom adorned with three torture slabs, likely the same ones used on you earlier, and upon them are three exsanguinated corpses of unfortunate Ebikowan citizens. "Wow, that's gross." Leona says from behind you, entering through a window. "Can't believe you beat me in here though, I surged an Agility Core and everything." "I'm a natural." You reply without looking, still scanning the room for Crow Li's counterattack. *if (heshe = "he") "What else are you naturally good at?" Leona asks from behind, hands against your shoulders as she pulls herself closer. "Because what I see is a large comfortable bed in the corner and no one around to stop us." ....WHAT? You don't really know how to answer that other than what you're thinking. "Crow Li's still out there. We're in the middle of a fight." She swings to your front, using her arms draped around your shoulders as ballast. "And yet no counterattack has come. Something's got him busy, so why not get busy ourselves? There's no aphrodisiac like the middle of a battle." That can't be an expression. People would go extinct. And yet...she's standing directly between you and an untouched bed larger than any you've ever owned. And she's [i]so close[/i]. *choice #"People died here, show some respect to the dead!" *set honor + 2 *set ruthless - 1 "People died here, woman!" You push her off you with an arm threatening a backhand. "Show some respect to the dead!" "I...Wow, really?" Leona asks, looking down at her chest, the bed, and then you. "Did you actually just say no? Am I ugly or something? It's Bo, isn't it. You think me and him are together because I treat him like crap." "I don't give a damn about Bo, and to be honest, I don't think anyone does either." "Ugh." Leona rolls her eyes and kicks a bedpost hard enough to crack it. "That makes me want you more, but fine. Fine. Whatever. Even though we're the same age range, opposite sex, attractive, fit, great chemistry, compatible Bladed souls, and sticking around each other all the time, still for SOME reason we'll be...I don't know, not-lover allies? Is that a thing?" You squint at her incredulously. "Yes, Leona, it's a thing." "I don't think it is." She counters, stuffing a small towel into her armor's boob-window to cover it up. "There's not even a word for it." "The word is 'friend', you moron." Leona smacks her forehead. "Ohhhhhhhhh!" *set metleona 11000000000 *set leonaromance - 1 *set val 787 *page_break After a lecture you really shouldn't have had to give, you get back to looking for Crow Li. #[Toss her onto the bed.] [Seduction] *set metleona 13000000000 *set leonaromance + 2 *set honor - 2 You throw Leona to the bed and see a scarlet glow emit from all seams of her upper armor. In midair her aura blasts blades of chi through every latch and buckle in every direction, stripping her armored top off in an instant. She lands with arms crossed under her massive breasts, lifting them for your view as her golden hair cascades around her from the fall. The sound of her armor pieces hitting the ground rains around you both, all in the time it took her to land on the bed. She smiles up at you, proud and content, as she purrs out the word "Surprise." In one ravenous leap you're upon her, hands exploring her body and your lips meeting hers with the ferocity of your first duel. *if ((hairlength != "bald") and (hairlength != "short-trimmed")) She runs her hands through your *if (((hairlength = "waist-length") or (hairlength = "long and tied")) or (hairlength = "chest-length")) long ${haircolor} hair and moans, "Ancestors, I've wanted this since we first met." *if ((hairlength = "bald") or (hairlength = "short-trimmed")) She moans, and as *else Yet as you would have predicted if you thought with your upper brain, your exploration is cut short. The entire room rocks with clashing waves of Mystic and Earth Chi. Leona's still-armored legs, wrapped around your waist, freeze from the sensation of a heavy spiritual scan. You pull back and both lock eyes. "Do you know anyone with that much Earth Chi?" You ask. "No, do you?" She replies. After a short silence her eyes acknowledge defeat and grow irritated. Her lips thin and she stares daggers in the direction of the intruder, towards the street. "I'm going to kill someone." You try to sigh but it comes out more of a low growl as you're interrupted atop the vivacious woman. "Let's get to the roof and see what's going on." Leona rubs her bare stomach as you both rise. "Wait! What am I supposed to wear?" You shrug without turning, leaving out the rear window and climbing to the back of the mansion's roof. She pouts and follows you shortly after, wearing the too-tight bloodied shirt of one of the dead tortured villagers. *goto smilingjack #[Toss her back out the window.] You place one hand on her lower back and another behind her knees, lifting her in your arms. "Ohhh like a damsel!" Leona giggles. "Is that what you're into? Being my hero? Then however could I repay such a valiant warrior for saving me?" While she talks you steadily walk across the room and see confusion show on her furrowed brow as you pass the bed and reach the window she came in through. "Bad girl." You say while stuffing her through the open portal. "Down." With that you let go of the woman, dropping her four stories. The entire fall she wails out "Noooooo!" *set metleona 12000000000 *set ruthless + 1 *page_break Something's wrong, even with Leona gone, because she was right. Crow Li should be on you by now. You leave through the same window you dropped her through and get to the back of the roof, sending out a thin pulse of your own aura into your surroundings and pulling it back to complete your spiritual scan of the front yard. Sure enough you sense the Fire Chi, Light Chi, and Mystic Chi combination of the Sunbringers in full blaze on the street. Crow Li, most likely, but he's not advancing. He's frozen. Something else is contesting him further beyond and you sense...Earth Chi. Unimaginable amounts of Earth Chi. "Wow, that's a lot of Earth Chi." Leona says from beside you on the roof. "Who do you think it is?" You close your eyes and suppress a groan. Of course she can jump four stories. You can. "Come on." You reply. "Let's go find out. *goto smilingjack *else "And thank the Heavens for that!" Leona replies, walking to the large, dusty bed and tipping it over. "Swordsmanship, combat Cores, learning speed. There's a reason we're sticking together to beat the crap out of the guys on top. But there's still one thing I'll always be better at." "And that is?" She sticks a sword into the floorboards under the bed and pries them off. "Insider secrets." She beams, tilting her head to the small coffers underneath the floorboard. "A Mystic seal to make furniture look dusty and untouched, best way to hide something." *if ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) You pry *if (equippedweapon != "Muramasa") your ${equippedweapon}'s scarlet-glowing blade into the lockbox's center *else You manifest a temporary blade from your scarlet aura of Bladed Chi, plunge it into the lockbox's center, and break through the keystone's seal with your superior Aura Pressure. The lockbox pops open to reveal a hefty some of Crow Li's private plunder. [b][Item Gained: 1150 Silver][/b] *set silver + 1150 After storing the ill-gotten gains into your pouch you look over to Leona quizzically. "I know what you're thinking." She says while tying off a beltpouch filled with her half of the funds. "Why am I showing my old Sect's secrets to the old enemy, right?" "No, I was going to ask why Crow Li hasn't attacked us back yet. He's not dead." "...Oh." Leona's spirit blazes scarlet and she looks around at each of the walls as if expecting them to turn on her. "Shit." *page_break *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") With Crow Li ejected from the room you get a better look at your grim surroundings. Before you lies the body of Angelo, strapped to a torture rack and cut to ribbons, his arms covered in knives and suspended horizontally along the top of the stone slab by two sets of Binder's Bands. Blood pools around the floor beneath his unmoving form. No one could survive such a treatment. Or rather, no one should. Angelo is smiling at you. "I greatly appreciate the assistance, you're far timelier than it appears." His voice echoes through the room without moving his mouth. "I don't suppose you brought a set of medicinal battle pills in your left pocket and forgot the keys to my manacles back at the jail." You pause hesitantly. That's exactly what happened. "Quickly please," he adds. "I applaud your entrance but our host is returning shortly." *choice #[Give him the medicine.] *set angelorep + 4 *label angmed You hand Angelo the battle pills and he eats them all at once, his body quickly healing from the mystical properties. The blush of health returns to his skin and a cerulean hue surrounds his body as his aura recovers. The manacles around his wrists glow in-kind and click open as if a key had been used. Simultaneously the ropes binding him to the torture rack animate themselves like snakes and come undone. "Much, much, much better." Angelo says, rubbing his wrist and stepping over the puddle of his own blood. "Now to find a cleaner and some new clothes...but first we must finish your fight." "More are coming soon." You add. "I have allies downstairs to delay the Lower Disciples but they can't last forever." "They won't have to." Angelo says confidently. "I'll *label preachit slow him down with Sacred forcefields, you take advantage of his weakened state. Have you read the Devanic teachings on battlefield mercy?" "I haven't had a chance." You admit as the room around you shakes. Light and Mystic chi scream in your spiritual perception from the heavy approaching aura. "Thank Heavens." Angelo replies. "We won't be using them." *if ({metangelo#2} >= 1) #"No. First tell me, what [i]are[/i] you?" *if (angeloromance = 0) *set angelorep - 3 "No." You say to what should be a dead man after so much blood loss. "First tell me, what [i]are[/i] you?" "No?" He asks, still as a corpse and unwilling to even look up at you. "I must admit, I am disappointed." "No one would survive that much blood loss." You counter. "What are you really and why won't you tell me?" "I am but a man playing his part." He *if (heshe = "she") replies, head moving with great effort so his ocean deep eyes meet yours. "A man going through great pains to occupy your enemy. The simple truth is my *else says. "I kept that cultist distracted for you by tempting him to discover the source of my abilities, but the truth is plain. My Aura Pressure is advanced enough to control weak layers of chi in spite of these bindings, and I've been using an Aoyusumu telekinetic technique to force spilled blood through my veins and stay alive. I believe I've bled each drop on the floor three or four times by now." *if (insight >= 4) [b][Insight 4 Check Passed][/b] *set solexp + 3 ...He's lying. Why is he lying? *set metangelo + 100000 You keep control of your facial expressions. If that's not really how he's still alive, there's something else going on here and you don't want to let him know you're onto him. Instead you offer a sheepish smile. "Well when you put it that way, I feel like a jerk." "We all do at times." Angelo replies calmly, seemingly unaware. "I would appreciate that medicine now. I *else Oh. You expected something less...technical. Less possible. Something more secretive and mystical. "I would appreciate that medicine now." Angelo says calmly. "I keep a serene facade but I assure you I am in incredible amounts of pain." *page_break *goto angmed #"One hundred Shards and it's yours." *set angelorep - 5 *set commerce + 1 [b][Commerce Increased! (But at what cost?)][/b] You know a desperate customer when you see one. You withdraw the medicine from your pocket and hold it out to the injured pilgrim. "One hundred Shards and this medicine's yours." "How vile." Angelo replies with a slowly growing frown. "Yet who am I to haggle at a time like this? Very well, ${name}, it is clear you have me at a disadvantage so you've got yourself a de-hah!" He bites down as the pills launch from your hands and into his mouth with the cerulean glow of Sacred Chi propelling them through the air. "Wh-That was stealing!" You blurt out. "Religious types can't steal!" Angelo's blush of health returns and he rips the binding manacles and ropes off his body by taking a single step off the torture rack. "Nonsense." He replies, rotating a shoulder as the cerulean glow of his eyes grows brighter. "I prefer to think of it as saving my friend from the vice of greed." He pats a hand on your shoulder. "There is no need to thank me." "Then why'd you ask for the medicine in the first place if you could just take it?" Angelo stares at you like he's witnessing a sick puppy that likely will not recover. "Because taking things is wrong." "But you just-!" You're cut off when you sense Crow Li's power growing outside. "Aw shit." "Indeed." Angelo replies. "It seems we have an unrepentant murderer to smite. I'll *goto preachit *page_break The massive surge of Mystic, Light, and Fire chi around you dims and the room stops shaking. Angelo raises an eyebrow and looks to you, then back to each window. "What happened?" You ask. "Ah, it would be delightful if I had the answer." Angelo admits. "I do enjoy seeming all-knowing, but, hm..." A tingle between your shoulders tells you he's sending a spiritual scan beneath you. "It seems your friends are safe so that's not it. Great news. They're an interesting bunch too. A Wild Chi signature must be a fellow Thunderfaller if I'm to guess, an untyped aura is...Jin?" "Kosuke. *if ((heshe = "she") and (bffromance >=1)) We grew up together." *else A friend." You correct. "A pity, it would be nice to see your family reunited. And the Bladed Chi keeping its aura poorly hidden?" "That would be Leona. Sunbringer exile." Angelo's mouth twists a bit. "Her spirit's murderous intent feels like she's ready to kill for fun. Is she on our side?" "She is." Angelo exhales through his nose. "Another pity." He closes his eyes to sense around again and this time you join in. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") With Crow Li ejected from the room you're left panting in the master bedroom being used as a torture room with its sole other resident: an unconscious Desdemona. She's held up by chains tying her to a torture slab and you notice she's bleeding from both arms, her robe burnt through at the stomach and knees with Light and Fire scorch marks. As you approach, her dark hair parts as her head rises, eyes slowly opening. "Th...Thunderfaller? How long has it been?" "About an hour." You admit, feeling odd that such a long night has taken so litle time. "Thank Heavens, I cast myself into a dream where the pain couldn't reach me until someone I trust approached." You quirk an eyebrow at that. Not the trusting part, but the problems in her Sealing. "You could have been trapped in there forever if we died." Desdemona nods slowly. "A risk worth taking. Crow Li remembered me from my Sect's mission to take his handseals and run. He..." She looks down at her burnt legs. "Did not have good plans for me. Shall we get out of here and burn this Sect to the ground?" "I've never wanted something more." You reply as you break open her Binder's Bands and she drops to her knees. "You'll want these." She takes the healing pills you brought from downstairs into one of her hands and pops all three into her mouth. As her aura returns and her wounds mend she doesn't thank you, seemingly losing herself in thought instead while staring at the floor. "Are you okay?" You ask. "No...This medicine..." She continues gazing down on the floor in a growing sense of despair, even the shadows around the room answer to her woe. "It's passionfruit flavor." You're not sure how to respond to that. "Is that bad?" Her head shoots up to look you in the eyes. "It's terrific, and that's terrible for us! We didn't flavor any of our stock for the Nanhou sales! I must instruct the Disciples to fix this at once, how will we make a profit if even this simpleton cult's wares put ours to shame??" *choice #"We have bigger issues right now than medicine flavors." "We have bigger issues right now than medicine flavors." You say down at Desdemona as she crouches on the floor and writes alchemy formulae in her own puddle of blood. Inventive, but gross. "Name one issue larger than my Sect failing to pay back our massive debts!" She protests. "Dying to Crow Li's counterattack." She stops immediately, back straightening, and turns around. "The old Oni is not dead?" "He's an Upper Disciple, I just knocked him out of the room." Desdemona cringes and stands, looking around carefully. "I suppose it's a good thing you brought that battle medicine after all. But if he's still alive then why hasn't he attacked us yet?" You wish you had an answer. #"I've got some ideas for other flavors too." "Oh crap, that's bad!" You exclaim, crouching down to look at the same spot on the floor as if you're in a planning room. "If you want to keep sales you're going to need more than just one flavor, what about..." *if ((alchemy >= 2) or (background = "Merchant")) *if (alchemy >= 2) [b][Alchemy 2 Check Passed][/b] *else [b][Merchant Background Event!][/b] "-all the other citrus flavors?" You finish. "Everyone thinks you need fruit juice for flavoring, but citron peel and some extract can be used to make almost any citrus fruit. And since you don't have as much sugary juice involved, your pills and elixirs won't go bad nearly as fast. It's probably what the Sunbringers used too." "Applying alchemical properties to the palate..." Desdemona snaps her fingers. "It's genius. I've spent so much time on Sealing tomes that I've neglected alchemy's fundamentals. I must say, our alliance is paying off swimmingly." "For you, maybe." You *if (ruthless < 50) correct on reflex. Oh shit. You're too used to trash talking with Kosuke and *if (heshe = "he") Jin. *else Rin. *else correct. She looks up to you and for the first time she's utterly baffled, her mouth hanging open in blatant insult. "I-! I, er, well I never would have...Flavoring advice is not a tangible-" She pauses for a moment then huffs hair out of her face and looks off to the side, cheeks inflated. "Fine. I swear upon my soul to grant you more aid when we've settled down in Nanhou. *set metdesdemona +1000000 *else [b][Alchemy 2 Check Failed][/b] "-meat flavors?" You ask. Desdemona looks over to you slowly. "....Meat." She replies, more a dismissed statement than a question. "Think about it; these are Martial Artists, they don't want children's sweets, they want hardy stuff. When most fighters are injured they eat a lot of meat to recover, so that's the flavor they'll expect in their healing pills. You'll hook customers for life!" Desdemona presses a finger to her chin and looks to the ceiling. "It's just crazy enough to work..." She slams her right fist down on her open left palm. "That settles it. We'll coat our healing elixirs in meat-flavoring. *set metdesdemona +2000000 If we survive, that is." "Survive what?" You ask, suddenly remembering Crow Li should have been on you already. Desdemona must be sensing his aura nearby. "Ah." But if he's within range, why hasn't he attacked yet? *page_break *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") With Crow Li ejected from the room you look to the only other inhabitant, a beaten and bloody Guiren strapped to a torture slab. "Hells that was satisfying." Guiren *if (heshe = "she") says with a longing sigh. "I love watching a strong woman beat on my enemies. Try me next." "It looks like you've already been beaten." You reply wryly. "If that's what you're into, I wouldn't want to get between you and Crow Li." "Hah. Hah. Did you bring the guys and a plan or what?" "I did." You reply with nose held high. "Battle medicine too." Guiren grows weary at your tone. "But...?" *choice #"No buts." [Hand him the medicine] *set guirenrep + 4 "No buts." You reply. *goto guirencatch #"But it'll cost you." You wave two red pills in front of Guiren's face. "It'll cost you." "Do I get any guesses on what it'll cost me?" Guiren asks, looking from his chi-suppressing bindings and back to you. "Or does that take the fun out?" *choice #"150 Shards." *set metguiren + 10000000 "One hundred and fifty Shards." You reply with smug contentment. *set guirenrep - 3 "Oh." Guiren replies. "I guessed wrong." "Why, what did you guess?" You ask out of curiosity. "Well I mean, you're attractive, [i]I'm[/i] certainly attractive, I figured you'd want to find a nice bedroom somewhere in here and-" He stops abruptly when you throw up in a nearby basket. "-WHOA, WHOA! Okay, hint taken. Ancestors above." "Don't bring your Ancestors into this too!" You blurt out, picturing four more Guirens trying the same thing. You gag again. "What the Hell Guiren, we're doing all this training in the Martial Arts and all you've been thinking about is, oh no, HYUG-" You barf again and take a second of panting to recover. "Just...Just give me the Shards, you perverted bastard." "Fine, for Hell's sake, next time just rob me. You don't have to stab me in the heart too." You hand him the battle medicine with a shaky hand as he pulls a fuuinjutsu tag out of who-knows-where and rips it, pulling out a satchel of gold. [b][Item Gained: 15 Gold][/b] *set gold + 15 Guiren eats the healing elixir pills and breaks the Binder's Bands off once his aura returns to full power. His torture wounds begin to mend and he cracks his neck, refusing to look at you as you prepare for Crow Li's counterattack. #"It's going to cost you a date, a proper date, and you're going to ask me out [i]in front of your men[/i]." *set guirenromance + 2 *set metguiren + 20000000 You get closer and leer into his eyes "It's going to cost you a date." "Oh you're devious." He smiles confidentaly. "I can do that." "No, I don't mean a nice night for you." You rest one leg on his hip and lean forward. "I'm a catch, I want a [i]real[/i] date. Fine dining, fine dress, court dancing. You're going to treat me to all the classics when we get to Nanhou." His lips purse in hesitation. "A uh...woman who knows her worth I see. Deal." "Not yet, there's one more thing." You press yourself against him until he can feel your breath on his cheek. He gulps. "You're going to ask me out...[i]in front of your men[/i]." "Wh-?! Oh Ancestors, why bring them into this!?!" Guiren shakes against his chains. "I've got a reputation, woman, you're just being evil!" "I'm absolutely [i]villainous[/i]." You hiss gently into his ear. "Fine, fine!" He gives in, picking you up and walking from the tortur-whuh?? When did he get out of his bindings? Where did his wounds go? You open and close your hand, finding the healing pills already missing. Your eyes widen slightly and your cheeks uncontrollably blush as he carries you across the room and deposits you down back onto your feet. Only then do you see a key to his Binder's Bands held in a loop of his dragon's tail. The bands themselves are on the ground behind him. When the Hells... Guiren stretches his arms wide and drops to an exaggerated bow. "One [b]official[/b] courting date for the refined Lady of taste, if we survive this old geezer's counterattack." *goto guirenafterbreak *else says, spitting out blood where a tooth is missing. "I'm going to remember that look on his face for years." "And I'm going to remember that look on yours." You reply why you see the gap in his teeth. "Hah. Hah. Did my plan work? Have my men met up with you?" "Most of it got washed away, but I improvised. Your men are here, I've brought some of my own, and we've even looted the Sunbringer elixir cache." "Perfect! So what are you waiting for?" Guiren asks. "Give me some healing pills and let's get moving." *choice #"Here you go." *label guirencatch "Catch." You toss him the healing elixir pills from downstairs. They bounce against his chest and he stares at you deadpan. "You going to untie my arms so I can catch them first?" You shrug and rip open the Binder's Bands holding his power at bay. Purple energy begins to rise around his body at first, but when he picks up the battle pills and swallows them his aura really returns. His tooth even begins to come back. "Say what you will about these Sunbringer guys, they have a good alchemist." "I think they just plundered some other alchemist." You reply. Guiren sighs. "Can't even compliment my enemies these days. I keep the bar low and they still disappoint. You ready to kill every single one of them?" "Always." You reply, *goto prepareli #"100 Shards and it's all yours." "100 Shards and it's all yours." You say, holding the elixir pills hostage in your hand. *set metguiren + 10000000 Guiren's face twists in disgust. "After all the things I've done for you, you're going to charge me?" "You're charging me too, I'm supposed to do work for your Boss in exchange for that training." "That-" Guiren closes his eyes and exhales through his nose, "That's true actually. How many pills do you have?" "Three in my hand." Guiren shrugs and lulls his head. "Sixty percent discount at that price. Fine, hand them over. Ass." "Where's my money?" "I just said." Guiren replies, his prehensile tail turning over and digging into his pants. A tearing sound comes from a fuuinjutsu tag being ripped off his body. The tail pulls the tag out and brings it to his teeth where he bites it open, causing a short burst of smoke into his mouth. When it disperses a small sack of gold coins drops in front of him. "Your Sect's rivals are the worst rookies I have ever met. They missed twelve more tags." You shrug, taking the pouch off the ground and handing him the medicine. "I already hate them, you don't have to sell me on it." [b][Item Gained: 10 Gold][/b] *set gold + 10 Guiren's aura of purple returns in full force and he rips the Binder's Bands off his arms as his body heals. Even his lost teeth return. "Get ready, the fight's not over yet." You say, *label prepareli preparing for Crow Li's counterattack. *label guirenafterbreak One that never comes. *page_break "Is something wrong?" Guiren asks as you look from wall to wall. "Yes." You reply. "Scan around, what do you feel?" A tingle between your shoulders lets you know Guiren is pressing his aura outward in a thin field, sending out a spiritual scan. "The guys, some Wild Chi, some untyped chi, a lot of Bladed Chi..." "Those are our allies. A Sunbringer exile, childhood friend, and a..." You wouldn't call Bo a friend or an enemy, at least not right now. "A Sect member from back home." "I'll take it." Guiren replies. "Sounds like you've had a better day than I did. What else...There! Out the front, there's a shipload of Mystic and Light chi surging but it's...Oh shit." You nod as he detects the same problem you did. Earth Chi. Unbelievable amounts of Earth Chi. "Who has so much Earth Chi around here?" Guiren asks. "A friend of yours?" "I don't know." You reply, climbing the rear window to get to the roof. "But we're going to find out." *goto smilingjack *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") With Crow Li ejected from the room you get a better look at the master bedroom being used as a torture chamber, and a heavy growl comes from its only other resident. Tian Fang lies bound to a torture rack in the corner, her wolf ears and hair soaked with blood and her arms bound. Her claws are as visible as ever and her amber eyes shine in the lantern light of the room. She strains against her chains as you grab her Binder's Bands and break them open, hoping you don't regret this. You leap back as she drops to her knees, claws digging into the floor. Her wild eyes survey the room like a predator backed into a corner. As her gaze locks onto you her aura bursts into remnants of green Wild Chi surging around her body and you swear you hear the echo of a wolf's howl coming from her spirit. Then she charges. *if (heshe = "she") *set fangromance 0 *if (heshe = "he") *page_break *if (sonarmode) [b][Thunderfaller vs Tian Fang][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-thunderfaller-vs-tian-fang.png Tian Fang closes the distance between you in three quick strides on all fours and leaps through the air, twisting as she closes in. "Hup!" She announces, leaping onto you with all fours. Her legs wrap around your waist and her arms over your shoulders, meeting in a tight hug that borders on an attack. *if (subrace = "Cat") "Even though you are a filthy Cat you still came to rescue Tian Fang!" She announces *else "My hero has come to save Tian Fang!" She coos cheerily, head resting against your shoulder. *if (sonarmode) [b][Or not...][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-ornot.png *choice #Hug her back. *set fangromance + 1 You stand there in silence for moments before wrapping yours arms around her as well, one tightly holding her in place and the other brushing through her snow-white hair. She wiggles in delight and adjusts to fix her posture and-wait, no, she's adjusting to rifle through your pockets. She withdraws the battle medicine and starts chewing. "So good!" She announces, rubbing her head back and forth as she savors the flavor. Her tufted ears tickle your neck. "These demonic cultists flavor their healing medicine! I am ashamed to have my cooking outdone by such villains!" "You can cook?" You ask reflexively. Tian Fang hops off you, looking better already, and puts her hands on her hips triumphantly. "Tian Fang can cook [i]exceptionally[/i] well! You will find out if we *label survivefang survive the counterattack that should be coming in three...two..." No attack comes. One of Fang's ears flattens and the other twitches to the side as if trying to hear better. "That's not right..." She begins *goto fangsurvey #Shove her off. *set fangromance 0 You risked death to save Fang, that doesn't mean you're going to risk flees. "Fang, really, down. Bad girl." "Most sorry!" She blurts out, leaping down and bowing low. "Tian Fang offers her most courteous and professional gratitude and would like to know where you hid the battle medicine she assumes you have on you." "Gratitude accepted." You toss her the battle medicine. "Now get ready. We're still in a battle." "Oh that is right!" She shouts, chewing the flavored pills and leaping back onto her toes. She begins *goto fangsurvey *else *choice #Knee her in the face. *set fangrep - 2 She dives for your mid-section and you respond with a knee to her nose. "OW!" Tian Fang screams, holding her nose with both hands. "Most *if (subrace = "Cat") rude, exactly what one would expect from a cat!" *else rude!" "Wh-You're conscious?!" "Of course I am conscious!" She shouts back. "Why would you hide my direly needed medicine in your pockets then attack me when I try to retrieve them? Ever so callous!" Oh. Oops. "I er...Thought you were attacking me. You seemed rabid." You toss her the combat medicine and she catches it desperately, shoving the battle pills and herbs into her mouth while narrowing her eyes at you. "Well to me, you seemed rabid when you broke my nose." "Your nose looks fine to me." You say as her nose cracks back into place from the battle healing elixirs. She cracks a smile. "Well played, rival. I an most glad thankful for the healing before Crow Li's counterattack...Say, where is he?" Tian Fang stands and begins *goto fangsurvey #Toss her the medicine. You toss your stolen healing elixir-pills into the air towards the charging Beast-woman. Her eyes dart to the potent battle pills and she catches them less like a wolf and more like a cat snatching catnip out of the air. "Yay!" She announces, falling to the floor and tossing the medicine into her mouth. Thank the Ancestors, you think to yourself, she's conscious afterall. "You had me worried for a second there." "It was I who was worried more!" Fang announces while chewing the elixir pills in the fetal position and sitting up, ears perking. "My mind has been in a haze all day, like a poorly drawn picture covered in milk. Though the distraction from the torture was quite a thankful benefit as I never trained in anti-interrogation lessons. Perhaps I can teach them now? At least if we *goto survivefang *label fangsurvey surveying the different walls. A tingle between your shoulders lets you know she's scanning for enemies. Her claws are still partially out and her eyes remain amber, so you can't help but ask. "Fang, I thought you'd gone feral again, your eyes are even still changed, do you know what's happening to you?" "Not a true Gate, I believe, but we are somehow surrounded by the potential for one...It is unusual. Especially since I cannot sense any spirits or thick natural aura in the elements around us." She shifts position to scan through a different wall. "I sense three below us. Weak Wild Chi, a basic aura, and...Bladed Chi?" "That's my friend Kosuke and..." You can't call Bo a friend or an enemy really, but you remember Tian Fang actually trained him for a year. She probably knows him better than you do. "Bo from Thunderfall." "The scrawny one, a voice that grates most terribly on Fang's nice ears?" She narrows her eyes. "The same one who loudly slurps his soup?" "That's the one." You confirm. She gives a thin smile as if you've gifted her a rusty sword. "And the Bladed Chi is a Sunbringer exile named Leona, she's on our side. I think." "Fortuitous!" Fang declares, before looking back through another wall. "But...Something is most wrong. Where is Crow Li? Mountain Hazard's dossier lists him as an Upper Disciple and one of the highest ranked bounties from the Sunbringer Sect. He should be upon us by now. Ages ago, even." That's true. Something [i]is[/i] definitely off. With a focus of your mind and a grip on ambient chi in your surroundings you send out a pulse of your life energy and call it back, feeling a light outline of the chi around you in *if (style = "Aoyusumu") your own *else a spiritual scan. The Sunbringer signature of Mystic, Light, and Fire chi blaze outside yet no attack comes through the walls or windows. You even sense something else outside contesting the Sunbringer combination, but it's far too powerful. "Earth Chi." ${fren} says, opening *if ((style = "Kurokonton") or (style = "Aoyusumu")) his *else her eyes. "Who has so much Earth Chi outside?" "Come on." You say, opening a window facing the back and pulling yourself up to the roof. "We're going to find out." *label smilingjack *page_break "Everyone get back!" You hear Crow Li shout from a distance. "Stay behind me, I will get us through this!" From the rooftop outside you see several Sunbringers wounded in the street and the rest hiding behind Crow Li's large shining aura as the Oni stares high into the sky across the street from the mansion. Your gaze is brought to the same source: the heavy aura making the air itself thicken. In its presence your body feels one hundred pounds heavier just from being near such a massive concentration of Earth Chi. Its amber sunrise switches to an equally heavy green that illuminates the battlefield from across the street where a single man stands atop the religious pagoda opposite of the mansion. The massive form of Crusher Mao. All eyes turn upward until a shout breaks the silence. A shout from ${fren} beside you on the roof. *if (style = "Akakiru") "Ohhh so you must be Jack's dad!" Leona calls to Crusher Mao. "I hear you're a huge moron and your son wets the bed!" Your blood freezes. You can hardly believe that someone just got higher on Mao's shitlist than you. On reflex you look to Leona with wide eyes and remember at her heart she was raised a Sunbringer, no doubt vilifying the man who hunted her people all her life. Mao's arrival ruins your day, sure, but to her it means death. A death she narrowly avoids as she draws her sword in time to catch a projectile your eyes can't even follow. Chunks of rock explode around her as she's knocked eighty feet backwards off the roof. "That one had a big mouth for someone hiding behind a Laborer." *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "Master Crusher Mao!" Angelo announces, mood lightening as he bows. "You must be the esteemed Sect Master of Thunderfall I've heard so much about! Your assistance is most w-" Cerulean lights and shards of rock pepper your face as two separate barriers shatter around Angelo. In less than the blink of an eye the robe around his arm is destroyed, Sacred forcefields are erected and broken, and the flesh of his left forearm is ripped up when he blocks a rock flying across the distance before you could even move. Angelo grits his teeth, arm bleeding, and the cerulean glow of his eyes intensifies. "That was poor manners." "Keep your mouth shut until I tell you to talk." *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") "That's not Crusher Mao." Desdemona says, forming intricate handseals with strings of Mystic Chi wrapping around her hands as if she were crocheting. Wind whips *if (((hairlength = "long and tied") or (hairlength = "tied-back")) or (hairlength = "short and tied-back")) your hair so hard that the knot comes undone, releasing your hair to flow freely atop the roof of the mansion. *elseif ((hairlength = "waist-length") or (hairlength = "chest-length")) your long hair through the air atop the mansion's roof. *elseif (((hairlength = "shoulder-length") or (hairlength = "short")) or (hairlength = "spiked")) through your short hair atop the mansion's roof. *elseif (hairlength = "short-trimmed") through your closely-cut hair, brushing hard against your scalp. *elseif (hairlength = "bald") against your bald scalp with chilling speed. In that instant Desdemona disappears from your side, blasted off the roof by an unseen attack. "Stay out of this, swamp witch. I'm here to clean up Thunderfall's mess." *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") "Master Crusher Mao of Thunderfall." Guiren announces across the divide. "I greet you as an ally. My men and I represent Bossrozal the Ascendant One, we request that y-" He disappears the next instant, blasted off the roof by an unseen attack. Wind whips *if (((hairlength = "long and tied") or (hairlength = "tied-back")) or (hairlength = "short and tied-back")) your hair so hard that the knot comes undone, releasing your hair to flow freely atop the roof of the mansion. *elseif ((hairlength = "waist-length") or (hairlength = "chest-length")) your long hair through the air atop the mansion's roof. *elseif (((hairlength = "shoulder-length") or (hairlength = "short")) or (hairlength = "spiked")) through your short hair atop the mansion's roof. *elseif (hairlength = "short-trimmed") through your closely-cut hair, brushing hard against your scalp. *elseif (hairlength = "bald") against your bald scalp with chilling speed. A stain of blood drops to the ground where Guiren was just standing, his entire body flying off the roof before the droplets have time to fall. "Stay out of this, snake. I'm here to clean up Thunderfall's mess." *if (style = "Midorikatai") "Crusher Mao, we meet again!" Fang shouts, tail wagging. "Mountain Hazard welcomes assistance from the Thu-" Tian Fang suddenly disappears from your side. When you look back in confusion you see ten lines scraped across the rooftiles leading to her hunched-over form and realize she's been struck so hard she was blasted backward, her toes gripping the roof to stop from being knocked off the entire mansion. In her bleeding hands is a head-sized stone that was jettisoned across the distance before you could even move, slamming into her gut and barely caught in time. The lower front of her shirt is destroyed revealing a fast-forming bruise and her eyes have rolled into the back of her head, unconscious on her feet. "Shut the fuck up, mutt. I'm not here for you." Says 'Mao', his voice carrying across the street and over the mansion grounds. In that voice a shiver running down your spine is met by a fury rising up it. This giant man pressing his power down upon the entire battlefield is not Crusher Mao. It's Crusher Jack. *page_break You can hardly believe your ears as the echo of your rival's voice calls out across the destroyed town. The Sunbringers on the grounds below likewise seem unsure how to react, staring between you two cautiously. Crow Li pays no attention to you, keeping his glare on the burning green aura in the moon's silhouette. "It's been a long time, Laborer!" Jack shouts over to you. "I hear you've done nothing useful for my Sect since I've been gone, I'm not surprised." *choice #"Are you here to help or not?" *set honor + 2 *set ruthless - 1 You know by now not to answer Jack's taunts. "I'm in the middle of a Sect battle as we speak, Jack. Are you here to help or not?" "I'm here for myself. Like any sane Martial Artist." He looks down over the Sunbringers below and then #"Says the man who abandoned the Sect to train only for himself." *set ruthless - 3 "Says the man who abandoned the Sect to train only for himself." You reply. "I'm the only one worth training." Jack retorts. His gaze lowers #"You've attacked my ally, Jack. We're not kids anymore. Stand down or I will put you down." "You've attacked my ally, Jack. We're not kids anymore. Stand down or I will put you down." *set honor + 3 "I'd love to see you struggle and try." His gaze lowers #"Fuck the Sect and fuck you, Jack. These Sunbringers are mine to kill, not yours." "Fuck the Sect and fuck you, Jack. These Sunbringers are mine to kill, not yours." *set honor - 3 *set ruthless + 1 "That trashy language suits you." His gaze lowers *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Launch a surprise energy attack on the Sunbringers below. [Costs 1 Chi] *set ruthless + 3 *set honor - 1 *set fiendseverity - 1 *set chispent - 1 Jack's interruption gives you the distraction you need. All eyes are on him. Without warning you push ${auracolor} energy into both palms and slam them together, pressing a fast energy blast down towards two wounded Sunbringers together on the ground below. It blasts them into the ground with severe injuries. [b][1 Chi Spent][/b] Your next energy attack gets deflected by a burst of green Wild Chi meeting it in the air. "Now we're talking!" Jack says, whipping his hand to disperse the green chi. "That's some serious cutthroat dishonor, I can respect that, but I didn't come here for..." His gaze falls to the mansion beneath your feet. "Bo Lo!" Jack shouts out, looking through a window. "I sense the beggar in there. I told you to kill it, why isn't it dead?" Bo Lo opens a window shutter and looks out. "Temporary alliance." "We don't ally with trash. They're not our equals and never will be, at best they're our slaves." Rather than answering, Bo closes the window shutter. You step forward, ${auracolor} aura radiating from your body. *if (style = "Aoyusumu") Angelo takes the hint and leaps off the building, landing quick and dashing inside to protect Kosuke from any attack. "Forget about them Jack, this is between us." "Is it?" Jack asks, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I worry you've gotten too small for me. Thunderfall sure did. Mountain Hazard sure did. After just a week under their roof I mastered their excuses for Techniques and had to travel far, far away to find any place worthwhile. Especially after our fight showed me the truth. You see, little Laborer, I found your secret to power. Something I'd never have in Thunderfall Village under my father's Path." You almost roll your eyes after the last hour of revelations. "My Fuel Foundation, I know. You're late to that party." Jack pauses, silent for a moment. "What second-rate moron told you that mattered? You didn't beat me because of the Martial Arts or some cultivation secret, you beat me because you were a broke, pathetic loser. You were [i]desperate[/i] for power, every second of every day, while I had everything I ever needed all my life. The hard work I put in and the results I achieved only doubled down on my delusion that I'd never have to change. I didn't stray from father's lessons, I didn't brave the wilderness, I didn't steal, I didn't kill. I wasn't [b]hungry![/b]" He vanishes from the pagoda. A thunderous crack fills the air and tiles shatter on the roof of the mansion's opposite wing where he appears, facing across the grounds at you. "When you defeated me it was the most important day of my life. I became the loser, the one with something to prove, and in that I gained what father could never give me. I stole your determination. When I crush you in Nanhou, when I crush EVERYONE in Nanhou, I want you to know-" He vanishes again. And appears in front of you. *if (heshe = "she") "-It was all for you." *else "-It was all thanks to you." You leap back when the smile vanishes from his face, replaced with the focused effort that only comes from summoning all the energy in one's body. The kind of energy needed for a massive Technique. [b][i]"THUNDERFALL!!"[/b][/i] *page_break Get back! The concussive burst filling the air knocks you off the roof because there [i]is no roof[/i]. The town shakes as the mansion and ground beneath it explode into a cloud of debris and dust wider than the street it was on. Worse, the wind keeps coming. Even after you've been blown into the air the pressure from the attack keeps pushing you higher and higher in what feels like a never-ending realm of wind, sand, and splinters. Thankfully, you eventually start to fall to the ground. The problem in the never-ending dust cloud is you can't brace yourself to hit the ground unless you can see the ground. *if (survival >= 2) [b][Survival 2 Check Passed][/b] *set apval 4 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost This isn't your first fall and it won't be your last. You press one leg down, tuck your opposite arm inward, and tilt your head down. The second you hit the ground your first leg collapses with minimal resistance, tilting you into a roll to your side. *elseif (perception >= 2) [b][Perception 2 Check Passed][/b] *set apval 2 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks apboost Your sharp eyes see through the cloud, giving up on looking for the ground and instead using the rooftops of the city around you to tell how fast you're falling and how close the ground must be. As soon as you approach the ground you bend into a roll and stop the fall from doing any harm to your enhanced body. *else With no sense of direction you slam into the ground at an off angle and crumple, your head slamming into a pile of cobblestones that reached the ground before you did. *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false Ringing fills your ears as you rise, its sound muffled by the occasional scream. The debris acting like a thick dust fog starts to settle and you look upon the crater where the mansion used to be. Water trickles in from under the ground due to the depth of the crater and a lake slowly begins to form. On the other side of the demolition you see *if (style = "Akakiru") Leona with Kosuke over one shoulder and Bo over the other, *if (cj = 1) the freed prisoners all behind her. Her eyes look *else her eyes looking sunken and annoyed at having to save someone for once. That, and her hair is a mess. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") Angelo in a glowing dome of cerulean chi, *if (cj = 1) Bo, Kosuke, Leona, and the freed prisoners all *else Bo, Leona, and Kosuke thankfully unscathed inside the makeshift kinetic shield. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") A series of twelve gold dragon-shaped lines of Mystic Chi swirling through the air, all damaged and falling apart to reveal *if (cj = 1) Desdemona's disciples, Bo, Leona, Kosuke, and your freed prisoners all *else Desdemona's disciples, Bo, Leona, and Kosuke protected behind the Mystic Technique. Desdemona herself stands at their center, collapsing to one knee as her Mystic aura fades from the exertion. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *if (cj = 1) A massive crowd manifest out of nowhere. Guiren, Kosuke, Bo, Leona, Guiren's men, and your freed prisoners all *else Guiren, Kosuke, Bo, Leona, and Guiren's men pop into existence as if they were yanked out of reality for the duration of the attack and deposited back into the world when it was over. One of Guiren's shinobi-masked underlings waves at you. Guiren slaps him in the back of the head. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang's wolves glowing green with Wild Chi, substantially larger than normal. The wolves form a semicircle around *if (cj = 1) Bo, Kosuke, Leona, the freed prisoners, *else Bo, Kosuke, Leona, and a wounded Tian Fang that they somehow got out of the way in time. They snarl at someone behind you. "Now that's how you get a party started!" Jack shouts out, standing in the middle of a dozen groaning Sunbringers on the road outside the crater. He grins and rubs a thumb against his chin in one stroke. "You're all lucky that killing you wouldn't even count as training. I don't like to waste time." "Then..." One woman in Sunbringer uniform mutters from on her knees. Her face, skin, and clothes are covered in ash-like dust from the explosion's fallout. "Then what do you want from us?" "It doesn't matter." You reply, stepping forward *if (equippedweapon != "") and drawing *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Muramasa. *else your ${equippedweapon}. *elseif ((ruthless > 52) or (equippedweapon = "Handwraps")) and cracking your knuckles. *else ready to fight. "He's here to fight me." "No, shut up." Jack opens his arms wide and turns away from you slowly to look upon the other combatants. "Rejoice, weaklings! You're free from my father! As of this moment, there is no rivalry because there is no Sunbringer Sect. Every Martial Artist in this town is officially my personal retainer. When we get to Nanhou you can inform your Lower Disciples of their new master too." The pressure of his aura weighs down twice as hard as he focuses it onto the battlefield, pressing weight onto everyone present. *if (jadedragonfoundation) Only you remain standing, the power of your Jade Dragon previous incarnation resisting the effect. "Die or kneel. I'm a generous man, so I let you choose." What. The. Hells. Who does he think he is to ignore you after running away for a year? "H-" [b]"NOO!!"[/b] Crow Li screams suddenly from under a pile of stone, and with his defiance comes a massive wave of golden and crimson energy that blasts the debris around him to pieces. He hovers into the air and you notice he's missing an arm. "You're not going to stop my goals! You're not the end of my potential!" Though Crow Li's aura looks dim, he is still a Kiihakai practitioner. With his chi sorcery he sends his aura itself as an attack. The golden glow leaves his body and coalesces into a giant shining missile he launches at Jack. Jack maintains eye contact with you while he backhands the body-sized energy ball in your direction. *choice #Deflect it back. *set combatstat "power" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) You slam the attack with your own backhand and send it flying to Jack, who smiles wide and deflects it back at you. The two of you return volleys twice before the attack breaks against his wrist. "Not bad, Laborer." Jack says, "If you trained right maybe you would have been the one to break it." *goto skirmishflat *else You swing your fist against the attack and feel your own arm slam into your chest when Crow Li's full-aura bomb crushes through your power. You grab it with your other arm but it's not enough, singing through your hands. *goto crowlibomb #Catch it! Chi surges over your hands in a constant stream as you catch the attack and try to prevent it from detonating. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatstat2 "soul" *set combatdiff 11 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) By pressing the blast inward between both palms you're able to keep its power suppressed, but the damn thing keeps rushing you forward. The Mystic Chi behind it stops Crow Li's Technique from losing any momentum, so you turn at the last second and throw his attack behind you. It soars over the mansion, over the tree line behind it, and explodes in a blinding golden flash. *goto notbadjack *else The attack is unlike any you've faced. A full power Technique from an Upper disciple. It burns through your defense just as fast as you can produce them and singes your skin. *label crowlibomb *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false true *if (eblocktech != "") Luckily it breaks upon your ${eblocktech} before inflicting any real damage. *label notbadjack "Not bad." Jack says, walking toward you with his aura blazing. *goto skirmishflat *else You grit your teeth in the struggle of chi but the attack loses no momentum, enchanted with the Yang power of Mystic Chi. The shoving force of your energy contest proves too much for the weight of one ${manwoman} and you're launched off your feet, still holding the attack as it surges you at a steep angle into the night sky. *if (style = "Aoyusumu") *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Block it with a Sacred shield. [Costs 1 Chi] You erect a shield of cerulean Sacred Chi in front of you, a combination of ten waves of kinetic energy held so close together that it appears solid. Crow Li's blast crashes into it and keeps pressing, pushing harder and harder against your shield. Before you're forced to relent you tilt your forcefield's lower edge at an angle and force the attack to fly high overhead, blasting through the tree line behind the mansion. *goto notbadjack *label skirmishflat The skirmish around the decimated neighborhood breaks out anew *set val 7777 *goto whenfren As you're launched into the air you see the skirmish below continue *label whenfren when ${fren} attacks Crow Li with *if (style = "Akakiru") in a scarlet flurry of slashes. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") a single kick that knocks him into one side of a neighboring building and out the other. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") a golden energy blast that comes from his own shadow. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") a flurry of throwing stars that Crow Li deflects, only to find they attack him a second time from behind. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") her iceblade. The other Sunbringers try to interfere but they're ambushed by *if (cj = 1) your armed and freed civilians, lead by *if (style = "Kiihakai") Kosuke, Bo, and the Dreamriver Disciples. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Kosuke, Bo, and Guiren's underlings. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Kosuke, Bo, and Fang's wolves. *elseif (cj = 1) Kosuke and Bo. *else Kosuke and Bo launching energy blasts from across the new ravine while they guzzle the Sunbringers' own replenishment *if (kosukecombat < 5) pills, yet the Sunbringer's counterblasts hit more accurately. [b][Kosuke has been injured!][/b] *set kosukecombat - 1 *else pills and leap away from counterblasts. *if (val = 7777) Jack steps between you and the fight, chi radiating off even his boot with each step. "Don't you just love a good skirmish?" You can't keep the fury from showing on your face. "Get out of the way, Jack!" *else Jack takes two steps back and allows it. None come after him. *page_break Crow Li withdraws several fuuinjutsu tags and rips them into clouds of smoke all around him in the middle of his fight. "Activate the Gate!" He screams as a cascade of crates pile up all around him, appearing from the smoke. "We can't, Master Crow!" Shouts a Sunbringer trading blows with Bo Lo. "The Gate is Master Taio's work and he's not here!" "To hell with Taio, I am the rightful ruler of this Sect!" Crow Li's chews some sort of pill and his aura returns as he leaps over ${fren}, three Sunbringers charging from underneath his leap to attack *if (((style = "Akakiru") or (style = "Kiihakai")) or (style = "Midorikatai")) her *else him with spears. In one fluid movement Crow Li lands in Bo's fight, dislocates Bo's arm out of its socket, and kicks him in the ribs. Bo is sent spiraling out over the yard and his opponent has time to take out their own fuuinjutsu tags, ripping them open to reveal more crates. Crow Li leaps high into the air toward you with a surged Agility Core, appearing behind you with speeding force. *if (val != 7777) You spin out of the way so Crow Li's own attack will hit him but it dissipates and his punch slams into your adjusted block. *else Jack steps back and 'allows' your fight as Crow Li becomes three people, two illusions striking you at once and the third slamming a fist into your block. You're sent flying *if (val != 7777) down into the crates Crow Li had conjured from his fuuinjutsu tags. Wood cracks under your weight and crimson marbles fill your vision as thousands of Taio's Soul Treasures explode into the air around you from out of the crates. The small spheres glide out of the way, forming no cushion as your head-first fall slams into the stone ground with a skull-cracking impact. *if ((((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) >= 2) or (fortitude >= 5)) *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Resisted][/b] You get to your feet quickly, unphased, *else *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false false You get to your feet, head bleeding, *else You rise to your feet, legs shaking with fatigue and anger, and feel so very tired of letting others decide the pace of this fight. That's when the ground beneath you turns into quicksand, dropping you knee-deep into the liquid dirt before solidifying into stone. You're trapped. Jack's laughter tells you exactly who did it. "Damn it Jack!" You're forced to launch a blast of scorching chi to stop a Sunbringer with a Yumi from shooting Kosuke in the back. It hits them clean in the head and you're not sure if they even have a head anymore, but you're too busy. Bo is bleeding. ${fren} is fighting *if (style = "Akakiru") far *set leonacombat + 1 too many people. *if (style = "Kiihakai") Her Disciples are losing. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") His underlings are losing. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Two of her wolves are already dead. Too much is happening. You look back to Jack. "If you're not going to help then quit getting in the way! This is life and death!" "Is this your first day?" Jack asks, unphased by the battle around him. "It's always life and death." "Good, Crusher, good!" Crow Li interrupts and conjures a spherical barrier of Mystic Chi around himself. "Stay in my way, so that you may see your end become a reality." Suddenly Crow Li's one remaining hand blurs into a series of handseals and the blood marbles around you all begin to glow crimson. So does Crow Li's once-golden aura. Jack doesn't even attack Crow Li's barrier. He simply grins in amusement, the same grin Mao always gave when threatened by a lesser. "That's an impressive collection of treasures. Looks dangerous. Think you can handle it?" Crow Li's eyes crackle with Mystic Chi as his handseals pick up pace. "Handle it? Do not insult me you whelp, I have mastered it!" Jack's relaxed demeanor drops, his voice growing dark. "I wasn't talking to you." In a red flash the stone ground ruptures around Jack's feet and he flies back like a shooting star, leaping out of the city in a single bound. His voice booms over Ebikowa one last time before he's gone. "This is my gift to you, $!{name}. I've made you the loser again." *page_break The rock around you begins to crack as you press both hands down and lift with both legs, stiffening your ankles with your Fortitude Cores to avoid breaking them. "Don't listen to him!" Crow Li screams to the surrounding Sunbringers. "We are the [b]Sunbringers[/b]! We survived Mao's rampage even when Bangle left us in chaos! Reduced to Mao's bounty targets. Glorified bandits!" He half-heartedly blocks Kosuke's white energy blast from behind with his elbow. "I am the one who turned us to strength, I am the one who rose us into an army to be feared! With Taio's treasure trove we will make our new Blood Path a reality! We will kill every Thunderfaller and enter a new age!" His glare meets yours with disdain as his entire arm glows crimson. The blood marbles around you shake in response. "First you, then Jack, then Mao. Die, nameless Thunderfaller. Die and become fuel for [i]my[/i] glorious ascension. [i]My[/i] Blood Gate." There's no attention to spare to his threats, you focus all your power into breaking free from Jack's stone trap. When the Hells did he learn the Earth Element? In adrenal desperation the rock begins to crack and your legs finally rip out, the same second Crow Li finishes his final Seal. Your spiritual senses scream deafening alarms throughout your mind as they sense the true nature of what surrounds you. The true essence of Taio's Blood Marbles. Thousands upon thousands of lives worth of heartsblood in the Soul Treasure marbles lying around your body all spring to life at Crow Li's call, releasing multiple populations worth of power into the air at once. Power tainted with the crimson blood aura of demonic chi in quantities that shouldn't be possible to gather. Combat around the battlefield comes to a halt as all eyes, Sunbringer and ally, turn to the birth of an unnatural disaster. A Demonic Gate. *page_break The air around you thickens with the sickening smell of sulfur and ash. All around you a red glow casts upon the entire battlefield from...from... You gaze upward to realize it's not coming from anywhere on the ground. It's the sky. At the center of the swirling clouds overhead is a crimson star shining upon all of Ebikowa and you swear from the center of your soul that the glowing star is looking directly at you, as if it were the eye of a creature large beyond imagining. "Wh...What is this?" Crow Li asks as the wails of countless dead begin to drown his voice out. "WHAT IS THIS?! THIS IS NO GATE!" The ghostly image of thousands of arms reach out from the spiraling red clouds overhead and an unending tide of infectious Demonic Chi descends to the town below like a crimson blanketing mist. From the stories you've been raised to believe, Hell has come to Ebikowa. "Hrgrr-" Chokes a dead Sunbringer near you, spitting up black blood and gripping its midsection. You can only stare in shock, backed up against a crate, as the body convulses and grows dark veins. Its hands grow into thickened black claws that take on a metallic sheen and its eyes open, murky and clouded until a black glow comes from their center. The dead eyes of a Lost. All around you the defeated and wounded transform in kind, writhing and retching and turning on their allies. Sunbringers and hiding villagers alike scream throughout the town as Fiends of all kind manifest around them. Crow Li stares in horror as three of his own subordinates, wounded by Jack, rise with sharpened black claws and descend upon him. He does not fight back. He doesn't even scream. The man stares utterly stupefied at his fallen comrades while they drag him to the ground and tear him to pieces. The grizzly sight nearly distracts you from the converging mass of blood aura barely within sight through the thick fog. A Bloodwalker. The mobile pool of blood slithers along the ground directly toward your feet, tendrils reaching out with hardened tips forming into the shapes of sharpened weapons; a tendril holding an axe, a scorpion's stinger, a sword, a faceless set of sharpened teeth. The creature out of a nightmare slithers towards you and you no longer regret failing to see the malicious blood spirit that manifested in your town well so many years ago. You'd taken their rumors so lightly before, but witnessing one approach you understand why so many adults were crazed into a panic until... Until Crusher Mao killed it. [i]That's right.[/i] You call out inside your mind, snapping yourself out of the fear and remembering back to when you were twelve. [i]That bastard killed one.[/i] These Fiends, these eldritch horrors outside of the natural order...they can die. They can be killed by the strong. And you are not going to be killed by something Mao defeated without breaking a sweat. They may be a scourge, a plague, or even an apocalypse for mere villagers, but you are no villager. You are a Warrior. A shock of excitement runs down your spine when you look at this as not a living nightmare, but a fight. A fight you can win. Feeling returns to your limbs and a blazing aura of *if (style = "Akakiru") scarlet Bladed *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") cerulean Sacred *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") golden Mystic *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") purple Cursed *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") green Wild Chi ignites around your body. You are not trapped in Ebikowa with these man-eating monsters. They are trapped in Ebikowa with you. *choice #Kick through the Bloodwalker's center with your leg wreathed in ${auracolor} chi. You call upon the excess life energy surging through your body and the chi responds, cycling from your core in a violent emergence of ${auracolor} light around your leg. With two hands gripping the ground's cobblestones you pull with all your might and launch yourself forward towards the unnatural Fiend. The Bloodwalker responds with a new set of sharpened tendrils. *set combatstat "power" *set combatstat2 "soul" *set combatdiff 9 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) It should have responded by moving instead. Your glowing leg slams through the creature's defenses in a spray of red like a boulder slamming through a young plum blossom tree. Its tendrils explode and vaporize from your strike that follows through into the Bloodwalker's center. When your kick collides into its center the Fiend bursts from the inside and reverts to dormant chi dissipating on the ground. *else The tendrils move too fast for you, surging around your leg with blinding speed. You push your aura up and down that shin as the abomination cuts and hacks at your spirit. *if (((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) >= 2) *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 false false The creature strikes at you in its final moments *else *set apval 3 *gosub_scene quicks aploss The creature never gets to the flesh below as your aura burns its tendrils away in time for your leg to smash into its center, erupting with your spiritual power and blowing it apart from the inside. #Catch the Bloodwalker in a crate and throw it into a distant guardtower. The slithering horror digs its clawed tendrils into the ground and lurches at you. In that same instant you tuck your feet under your prone form and kick off the ground with a front-flip to dodge. As you rise over the creature you grab an open heavy crate to the side and lift while rotating your body, scooping down to catch the Fiend in the crate. The creature responds with a slew of additional sharpened tendrils flying upwards toward you without hesitation. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatstat2 "fortitude" *set combatdiff 10 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) It should have hesitated. In one rotation of your flip you scoop the Bloodwalker's whole essence into the crate before it can land a lash against your body. Your *label tossit legs hit the ground hard and you arch your back forward, pushing all the centrifugal force of your spin into your arms. With that leverage added to your sufficient strength you throw the filled crate off into the distance like a one-man catapult. The Bloodwalker within the open crate flies a good 60 yards into the distance until it crashes into a guardtower, splattering the monster into a thousand pieces. *else The tendrils move too fast for you, slashing at your midsection while you swing the crate's opening at the moving crimson pool. *if ((((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) >= 3) or (pblocktech != "")) *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false Its tendrils slash at your abs and chest *else *set apval 3 *gosub_scene quicks aploss The tendrils wrap in demonic chi and cut away at your aura's life force until your *goto tossit *if ((((equippedweapon = "Bo Staff") or (equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) #Spin your ${equippedweapon} in a deadly overhead arc. Though the air above you is thick with crimson mist you leap into it all the same, using that room to draw your ${equippedweapon} and *if (equippedweapon = "Greataxe") grip a leather strap at the base of its handle to spin it overhead at rapid speeds. As you descend back to the ground and fall through the thick demonic chi hanging in the air you swing your ${equippedweapon} down using all your built-up momentum to slam your weapon into the creature with a meteoric smash. *set combatstat "power" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 6 *if (((equippedweapon = "Greataxe") or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) and (style = "Akakiru")) [b][Akakiru Style Event: Difficulty Reduced][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) The colossal impact of your weapon crashes through the Bloodwalker's *label slamamorph amorphous body with enough pressure to blow it to pieces in all directions. *else *if ((((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) >= 3) or (pblocktech != "")) *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false The Bloodwalker's tendrils rise up to strike at your legs but you still slam your weapon into its *else *set apval 3 *gosub_scene quicks aploss The bloodwalker's tendrils spray caustic chi at your spirit but you still manage to slam your weapon into its *goto slamamorph *if (style = "Aoyusumu") #Exorcise the Fiend with a prayer talisman. [Requires Aoyusumu] *set prayertalisman true Monks and shrinemaidens of the Devanic Temple have been banishing Fiends from the Mortal world for all of written history. Angelo never showed you how, but the stories you've read described it the same way every time: the Aoyusumu master channels humanity's justice against the unnatural and the corrupted, the Fiends that pursue the innocent, and focus those desires for righteous vengeance into a single Seal on paper. Sacred Chi converts that mental sentiment into power and the wielder's aura converts that power into a cleansing force. You take an empty fuuinjutsu tag from your pocket with two fingers and channel as much Sacred Chi into it as you can cycle at once. The paper glows cerulean faintly and a much deeper blue forms Seals on the paper. It's not enough. It's not condensed. You need more. You have more. A calming wave washes over the battlefield as your Sacred Chi draws on the panic and fear of everyone around you. All their dire emotion drains from their minds and flows into your prayer talisman. The stiff paper tag blazes with a cerulean aura almost as strong as your own. *gosub_scene quicks learntech 4140000000100000 "Prayer Talisman" "Passively reduces the cost of Seals by 1 Component. Increases Soul Surge by +1 when focused." *if (techslotcode[4] = 0000000000000000) *line_break [b][Soul Core focused to "Prayer Talisman" Technique][/b] *gosub_scene quicks focuscore "Prayer Talisman" 4140000000100000 The mobile pool of blood burbles and turns, sensing a natural predator. You pull the tag back and whip it through the air with the enhanced speed and aim of your telekinetic might. Despite its amorphous shape your tag homes in on its center and pierces the creature with a line of cerulean force that bisects it entirely, burning up both separated sides like a tissue caught in a bonfire. *if ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul / 2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Burn it to ash. [Requires Fire, Costs 1 Chi Point] Treating the fight like a battle of life and death breaks you out of the trance that any sane person would face when the corrupted energies of Hell rise around you. Your teeth grit and your eyes focus as you aim both hands forward at the approaching, bubbling pool of blood. It should have chosen an easier target. "Begone." [b][1 Chi Point Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 A roar emits from your aura as it grows into a raging fire. You focus all that firepower between your hands and condense it into a screaming white flame beam that powerwashes the Bloodwalker off the street and evaporates it from existence, boiling it to nothing from the heat of your inner fire. *if ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul / 2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Freeze the liquid monster. [Requires Ice, Costs 1 Chi Point] Your hands cease trembling. Movement is an aspect of Yang. With a slow rise to your feet an icy blue aura casts all around you and you raise *if (heshe = "she") one hand up to your mouth as the pool of weaponized blood streams *else both arms up at the pool of weaponized blood streaming toward you at an accelerated pace. Then with a soft exhale you *if (heshe = "she") blow a kiss to the abomination and the air leaving your lungs expands into the world as a *else release the frozen power within as a flash-freezing blast of pure chilling Ice Chi. Not an icicle or any manifested temporary ice, but the pure chilling power of heatdeath. The Bloodwalker stiffens immediately and freezes into a red ice-sculpture, completely immobile and trapped in the laws of the physical world. Then you stomp on it, shattering the thing to a thousand pieces. *page_break The Bloodwalker is dead yet the battle is far from over. Screams fill the air around the battlefield as the thick crimson mist blocks your vision, smell, and even your spiritual senses with its overwhelming amount of Demonic Chi. Yet there's one source of light shining through the ominous glow of the Demonic Gate: you. Others answer to that beacon. First a Lost in Sunbringer uniform charges through the red fog, its claws swinging for your face. *if (equippedweapon = "Yumi") Its head is filled with arrows *elseif ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) It's cut down by *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") your cursed black blade *else your ${equippedweapon} *elseif ((equippedweapon = "Bo Staff") or (equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer")) Its head gets crushed by your ${equippedweapon} *else You blast a hole through its torso before it even closes the distance, and it falls. Second, *if (style = "Akakiru") Leona lands on the ground hard with two swords covered in black blood. "Time to go!" She shouts, spinning her head toward you so fast that her blood-soaked hair whips against her back. "I love a good party, but this a [i]terrible[/i] party." Kosuke, Bo, and the rest of your freed prisoners catch up from behind her, panting hard. They each look to you. *choice #"We're not retreating with so many Fiends to kill. Prepare yourselves!" *set ruthless + 2 *gosub fightfiends #"Everyone follow me to the docks, NOW." *set ruthless - 2 *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") Angelo appears through the mist with a soft cerulean glow around himself as well as everyone behind him: your freed prisoners, Bo, Leona, and Kosuke. "$!{name}! I am pleased to see you've retained your senses." He glances at the splatters of Bloodwalker leftover and nods approvingly. You can hear Leona laughing to the sounds of metal-on-metal somewhere in the red fog. "What's going on?!" Kosuke *if (bffheshe = "she") asks from behind Angelo, all playfulness gone from ${bffhisher} voice. *else asks in a daze, gripping ${bffhisher} sword harder. "I don't know." Bo says, sweating while charging Wild Chi to his hands. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" "Calm yourselves." Angelo says with a soft exhale. "Much evil has come to this place, that is all. This will require a grand cleansing." *choice #"Then let us begin the cleansing." *set honor + 2 *set ruthless + 1 *set angelorep + 2 *gosub fightfiends #"Everyone get to the docks, NOW." "Everyone get to the docks, NOW." "What about the Sunbringer with the swords?" Asks Bo. Your sight and spiritual senses may fail you, but your Aoyusumu Style has seen improvement. You reach your Sacred Chi out to the beacon of Leona's mind and grip around it in the physical sense, pulling her to you with telekinetic might. Her whole body flings through the fog into your party and *if ((heshe = "he") and (leonaromance >= 1)) you catch her chest in your hand, somehow landing your palm directly in the boob-window of her armor. *set leonarep + 2 "Th-Thanks." She says, looking down at the imprint your fingers are making and blushing. Angelo clears his throat and *else party. She looks around with both swords drawn and a heavy pout. "We're leaving?" "Afraid so." Angelo says. Leona frowns and sheaths her blades while your whole party takes off towards the docks. *set ruthless - 2 *goto clipclopbreak *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") two golden orbs at chest-height fly through the fog and appear before you. It's Desdemona's eyes, you realize, glowing with Mystic Chi. The burning smells in the air tell you she did not get through the fog easily. "$!{name}, where is Jack? I am going to flay him for that surprise attack." "You and me both, but he left." "Coward." She scowls at the surroundings. "Leaving the Fiends and cultists to us." More screams come through the fog alongside the sounds of metal on metal. "I think the Fiends and cultists are left to each other. Where's Kosuke and Bo?" You ask. "Where are your Disciples?" "I left them all together for safety and came as fast as I could. I assumed you were fighting whatever strongest hellspawn this calamity released." "One so far." You say, charging your hands with golden Mystic Chi and launching a two-handed energy beam over her shoulder that explodes a second Bloodwalker right behind her. The thing lurches up to try and envelope her like a blanket only to pop like a firework. "Two." Smoke comes off the hole in her robes by the shoulder and she stares at you deadpan. "Well...That's not fair, you don't have one behind you. How am I supposed to do the same?" Desdemona's Disciples, Kosuke, Leona, and Bo stumble out of the red fog behind the chi sorceress. "Lady Desdemona!" Shouts one of her disciples with a limp, wounded left arm. "A Grim has manifested!" Desdemona curses. "We should go." *choice #Not so fast. "Turn around everyone! We're sending these things back to Hell!" *set ruthless + 2 *set desrep - 2 *gosub fightfiends #"Everyone follow me to the docks, NOW." *set ruthless - 2 *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Guiren appears from the sky with a dozen throwing stars launched into the mist around you. The sound of Lost groaning fills the air as his attacks land on unseen foes. "We're surrounded!" Shouts Wencheng, running out of the mist and slashing a kunai behind him where no enemy follows. Guiren lands next to you. "No you're not idiot, they're dead. $!{name} even killed a Bloodwalker, just stick together and we'll be fine." "Boss, more Fiends coming from the mist!" Yoji the Oni shouts while running toward you, pulling back his own throwing stars to throw behind him. You have to jump to catch his forearm as you sense the targets coming. Kosuke, Bo, Leona, and your freed prisoners emerge from the mist behind Yoji with black blood on their weapons. Guiren looks from your hand gripping Yoji's arm, to Yoji's weapons, to your party. "Ancestors above, Yoji, I'm taking your weapons after this. You almost killed ${hisher} friends." "With those tiny things?" Leona scoffs, waving her swords around. "No he didn't." Behind her an exhausted looking Kosuke mouths 'yes he did'. You let out a breath of relief. Everyone's alive, for now. "Guiren, what was that earlier?" You ask. "When Jack hit the building you all disappeared. Can you do it again? Can you do it now?" "That was a one-time deal." Guiren admits, throwing his kunai into the fog behind one of your freed prisoners with a loud 'thunk' as it hits something. "A talisman with The Boss's power, I've only got one left and it does something else." "Something useful?" You ask as someone's deathscream comes from within the red mist. "No." *choice #"Then we're on our own, prepare for battle! These Fiends cannot be allowed to live!" *set honor + 1 *set ruthless + 1 *gosub fightfiends #"Then everyone follow me to the docks, NOW." *set ruthless - 2 *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") howls break through the sounds of screams and battle, echoing off the walls of the still-remaining buildings across the street. You see Kosuke come through the red fog unnaturally fast and realize ${bffheshe}'s riding a green-glowing wolf. Bo, Leona, and Tian Fang follow on glowing canines of their own, with an escort of more white winter wolves and freed prisoners on their flanks. "We're getting out of here!" Kosuke shouts as the wolf ${bffheshe}'s riding on does a quick lap around you and books it. "Oh my, did you kill that yourself?" Tian Fang asks as her wolf does the same, her finger pointing to the blood specks disappearing into demonic chi as the Bloodwalker dies. "I SAID WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" Kosuke screams, and you realize it's not a command but a plea for help. $!{bffhisher} wolf is fleeing from the fight. *choice #[Whistle to rally the wolves] "Everyone take up arms, these Fiends aren't getting out of this alive!" *set bffrep - 2 *set fangrep + 3 *gosub fightfiends #[Jump on a wolf] "Everyone to the docks, NOW." *set ruthless - 2 *label clipclopbreak *page_break The sound of wooden clogs on stone echoes through what should otherwise be a chaotic battlefield. Lost and Bloodwalkers fight Sunbringers and stragglers alike throughout Ebikowa, the wails of the dead rain down from the sky, and yet the noises of the disaster are all muted in your ears by the sound of wooden clogs against the ground. You and your party escape from the upper terrace with only a few Lost getting in your way, successfully breaking through the thick fog into a more manageable red mist at the town's market square. *if (style = "Midorikatai") Your wolves pass *else Everyone passes the cages where you first woke up and *if (style = "Midorikatai") lead you all *else you lead them down the main road to the docks. Just as you all get to the plaza's exit, the echoing footsteps get louder. Your hearing pinpoints them coming through the darkness of an alley between destroyed shops to your left. Taio emerges from those shadows, hands behind his back. He gives a tired glance at the sky. "A shame among shames, one to rival the end of Cathay." He shakes his head in disappointment. "Decades of blood collection and unrecorded experiments...I thought it so important to not leave a trail. Optimism." He withdraws three Blood Marbles from a pocket and watches them dissolve into mist, flying into the sky to join the rest of the Demonic Gate. He sighs. "All lost. This will take years to replenish at a fivefold pace, simply because an upstart of a minion figured out the activation method. Disgraceful." The scuff of Leona's boot against the ground signals *if (style = "Midorikatai") she's hopped off her wolf mount and prepared to attack. *else her preparation to attack. Taio's vision lowers at that, surveying your party with weary eyes as if staring at a list of chores after a long day. "I applaud your success against the odds I carefully calculated. Crusher Jack was a surprise, but not a problem. Obviously no witness can live to warn the Inner Kingdoms of my work here. I'll deal with your Master's prodigy before he returns to Nanhou, but for you..." Crimson and black chi leaks from the monk's body like smoke from an volcano. "Who wants to die first?" "Go." You say the *if (style = "Midorikatai") others, stepping off your own wolf mount with a gentle pat and regretting the short duration of your ride. *else others. "Leave him to me." *if (cj = 3) "I'll get our troops from the jail." Bo says without even stopping his sprint, obviously grateful for the excuse to not fight the mad monk. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "If that's what you want, then I will protect your flock from the Fiends." Angelo replies with a decisive nod. "Do not let your journey end here." *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") "I'm not leaving you alone to fight this freak." Desdemona says. One of her disciples, a man with a bandaged forehead, grabs her by the arm. "Lady Desdemona, please! You are needed for the Fiends at the dock!" Desdemona glares down at him, back to Taio, and back to you. "Tch. *if ((heshe = "he") and (desromance >= 1)) You better win." *else Don't show him mercy." She turns and runs with the others, leaving a trail of Mystic Chi behind her that soaks into the road. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") "Don't have to tell me twice!" Guiren says, feigning to leave yet slipping his last Talisman into your pocket from behind, your body blocking Taio's view. "Meet back at the docks when he's dead. Come on men, we're running away again!" *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang's head snaps back with insult. "You believe I would abandon an ally? You are speaking to a star pupil of a Sect most prestigious! Tian Fang is always with you!" Taio's left eyebrow raises with interest as Fang initiates a handseal combination. The green glow around her wolves brightens and leaves them, swirling through the air until it all wraps around you instead. [b][Temporary Enhancement: +1 Power][/b] *set power + 1 *line_break [b][Temporary Enhancement: +1 Fortitude][/b] *set fortitude + 1 *if (subrace = "Wolf") *line_break [b][Wolf Yokai Temporary Enhancement: +1 Agility][/b] *set agility + 1 "Impressive, but that's quite enough." Taio says, holding up a single finger. It glows crimson as he points it at Fang...and then moves it to point toward one of her wolves. "If you don't want to wait your turn then simply say so." Fang bares her namesake at Taio and flees with the others, grabbing Kosuke's arm to drag ${bffhimher} as ${bffheshe} stares from you to Taio. "But-" Says Kosuke as every single other person *if (style = "Midorikatai") and wolf sprints downhill towards the docks. Kosuke suddenly breaks into a sprint the very second ${bffheshe} realizes *if (style != "Midorikatai") the other Martial Artists are running without hesitation. *else even *if (cj != 3) Bo and Leona are *else Leona is running away without hesitation. Poor Kosuke was the only aura wielder who didn't spiritually scan the [b]thousands[/b] of Aura Pressure resonating off of Taio. *page_break *set fighting true With the others gone and no Fiends on the main road you feel at peace in this fight. More than just a sense of peace, you feel a sense of completion. A sense of [i]purpose[/i]. Losing your chance to fight Jack left a yearning to test yourself. Something inside you wants to fight Taio on your own, as if completing a lifelong goal you never knew you had. "You know," Taio says, circling around you as you counter his pace to circle him back. *if (thesecret) "When I heard about that book the other Taio was using, everything became clear. *label makessense It makes sense the other clones would be trying to create a Demonic Gate too, but I never imagined another would come close to success. Until I take your Fuel Foundation into account." *else "You almost had me fooled, but my accounts from the other foolish lackeys, who of course now litter this town as rabid Fiends, informed me of a Soul Treasure tome that the other Taio had. One most interesting. *goto makessense Your Fuel Foundation? What do you have to do with this? Taio holds his hand up and looks upon it with disdain. "Clone Techniques are only supposed to last hours, you see, days at the most." The sewer grate underneath your feet shakes and a liquid sickle lunges up from the sewers, hardening into a sharp blade as a Bloodwalker comes for your face. It evaporates instantly. You look over to Taio, his arm raised and hand smoking from some unseen attack. "I never appreciate interruptions." He lowers his hand and continues. "Several of us created from the original Taio were given free will, an experiment of sorts. The foolish died in days, the rest of us surmised to use the original's Demonic Blood Cultivation to extend our existence. Yet it's never enough. We are never quite whole, always needing more. My ultimate goal naturally became to create the purest form of blood aura that can sustain myself indefinitely, a Gate of it, but they do not exist in nature." He exhales slowly, staring once again at the red sky. "And so I toiled in experiments. Hunting for tomes, refining pills, and Sealing Fiends for decades to find the secret of forging their Gate." Taio takes a single step forward and disappears, suddenly forty feet behind you, still circling at his slow pace. "As you can see, an unbelievable amount of blood chi must be stored in one place. I created these Blood Marbles for my own Gate creation. The doppelganger you fought sounds to have used some sort of Tome, likely a Cathayan artifact. This brings me to the matter at hand, didn't you think it odd that you 'learned' Immortal Core Advancement simply by seeing it?" *choice #"I'm a natural." *set honor - 1 "I'm a natural." You say, *if (equippedweapon != "") readying your ${equippedweapon}. *else back leg tensing to close the distance. "Hardly." Taio responds with a scoff. "It's all your Fuel Foundation, lowly ${boygirl}. That #"It's not hard to do." "It's not hard to do." You reply casually. Taio chuckles. "No, no I suppose it isn't when you abuse your Fuel Foundation. You see, that #"Are you ready to fight yet? I've been patient enough." *set honor + 2 *set powexp + 1 "Are you ready to fight yet?" You say, *if (equippedweapon != "") readying your ${equippedweapon}. *else back leg tensing to close the distance. "I've been patient enough." Taio chuckles, appearing *label rooftoptaio on a rooftop to your left without leaving a trace. "Is that what you *if (val = 77) did *else said to my doppelganger before you killed him? He must have been quite surprised. That #[Blast him with energy] *set ruthless + 2 *set solexp + 1 *set val 77 Your attack gets so close to Taio's chest that it even detonates, but before the explosion can go off he appears *goto rooftoptaio Taio pretender failed to create a proper Demonic Gate, like all the rest, but not for you. No, your Fuel Foundation makes your Cores more sensitive. That other Taio clone released his failed Demonic Gate experiment and, to your body, it worked. You absorbed it like a sponge, taking in his power. Yet his was not a natural Gate. It was filled over the years with his own power. His own will. His wisdom. His memories. You copied his breakthrough into Immortal Core Advancement because shards of him became a part of you." You think back to your nightmares you've had since that fight. To the whispers of Taio on your journey. A chill runs down your spine in fear that what you're hearing could be the truth. Taio smiles at the look in your eyes. "Do not fear, child, it will not affect you for long." Your narrow your eyes, wary of any good news coming from this man. "It goes away?" "No, it won't be long because I'm going to kill you." Taio's power blazes into a crimson inferno around his body. His voice grows louder as the roar of his power increases. "Yet I am not without gratitude! As a reward for bringing me the answers I seek, a piece of you will live on forever in me...when I use your body as a component to reforge my own Foundation into a Fuel variant. After killing you I will finally have a physical form that can sustain itself forever on my next Demonic Gate." "I'd like to see you try." You reply, taking on a battle-stance and surging your own ${auracolor} aura. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatstat2 "fortitude" *set combatdiff taiocombat *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *label caughthand Dust around your feet explodes out in a circle as you catch Taio's hand from behind. One moment he was standing in front of you, the next his body was behind you with his fist already reeled back. Yet the brush of air was enough to tell you all you needed. "What are you doing?" You ask, looking over your shoulder into Taio's eyes. A frown grows down his face. "I am putting you where you belong." His leg delivers a quick stomp to the road that breaks the ground from under you both. His stomp kicks him into the air as the road beneath you collapses, dropping you into an empty sewer below. *set val 333 *else *if (ironbody) [b][Iron Body Activated!][/b] Your body hardens like iron and the skin of your hands and forearms turn black as obsidian when you put your defenses up. *goto caughthand An attack hits your neck while you're staring at Taio, rending the *if (pblocktech != "") muscle if not for your ${pblocktech} Technique. *else muscle. *if (((((fortitude / 2) + health) - wounds) >= 2) or (pblocktech != "")) *gosub_scene quicks woundcheck 1 true false *else *set apval 5 *gosub_scene quicks aploss You're launched toward the empty space where Taio was standing a moment ago. Somehow he's behind you, and the attack came from him slicing a hand into the back of your neck. His movements didn't even register in your vision. You collide into a small building and shatter it to pieces, quickly buried under the rubble. *page_break A *if (style = "Akakiru") scarlet *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") cerulean *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") golden *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") purple *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") dark green explosion comes from the docks where the others must be fighting to get onto a ship. *if (val = 333) Taio lands back in the market square with a grunt. "Hm. It *else "Hm." Taio grunts, looking westward. "It would be unwise to allow them any longer of a leash. Let us end this." *if (val = 333) You leap from the sewer and face the man directly, both of you standing on opposite sides of the wide plaza. *else You rise from the building debris and brush yourself off, fighting not to wince as gravel gets into your wounds. "The only thing ending right now is you." *set val 0 Taio tsks with his nose held high and boredom in his eyes. "How poetic. A rabbit boasting from the ground, hoping to unnerve the eagle circling above." You ignore his barb. As one of the few Martial Artists in all of Outer West to absorb *if ({metfang#2} = 1) two entire Heavenly Gates *else an entire Heavenly Gate on your own, one detail of this disaster hasn't escape your notice. Your spiritual sensitivity and experience have helped you piece together one vital secret for his Demonic Gate. The longer you've been in it the surer you are that the underlying foundation that Taio's Demonic Gate is built upon, the reason it instills a sense of dread, is not demonic chi. It is the end of all things. The entropic aspect of Yin, the void, the darkness. Natural, elemental Darkness. The atrocity around you is more delicate than it seems, for underneath the Demonic Gate you've sensed it's true nature: Taio's created a Heavenly Darkness Gate smothered in blood aura. You smile back at him, *if (wounds > 0) blood dripping from a busted lip. *else a glint in your eye. "You're no eagle, Taio. You're just a flashy Technique that lasted too long." Your arms rise to your core and form the handseals for cycling. "And you're fighting me inside of a Gate." *choice #Cycle the Heavenly Darkness Gate underneath to imbalance the Demonic Gate. Taio raises an eyebrow and looks to the crimson mist around you both. "The Gate? You plan to harness the Demonic Gate? In my presence?" He forms cycling seals of his own and pulls the Demonic Chi around the street into himself. "How delightfully entertaining. I will enjoy seeing the look in your dying eyes as you realize whose will is stronger. A fledgling such as yourself could never even stall me." "I'm not here to stall you, Taio." You say, taking one long stomp forward and bracing your body. Your will grasps upon the Darkness underneath Taio's artificial Gate and your aura opens up to it, spiritually inhaling every Shard worth of power. Spiraling swirls of Darkness siphon from all around the market square and spin in wide arcs through the air like a tornado of black ink painted onto the world, all spiraling into you. *if (jadedragonfoundation) [b][Aura Pressure +60][/b] *set aurapressure + 60 *else [b][Aura Pressure +30][/b] *set aurapressure + 30 *if ((element1 = "Darkness") or (element2 = "Darkness")) *line_break [b][Darkness Element Event: Aura Pressure +10][/b] *set aurapressure + 10 *if (hungryspiritritual != 1) *line_break *set val (handseals * 5) *if (val < 5) *set val 5 [b][Hungry Spirit Ritual: Aura Pressure +${val}][/b] *set aurapressure + val "I'm here to kill you." The street, cages, debris, and even the buildings around you erupt in black shadows of flame as the Gate's aura in a hundred-foot radius changes in nature. The rising imbalance of excessive yin chi forming around you overwhelms the blood aura throughout the air and the delicate artificial Demonic Gate collapses on itself, unraveling in your surroundings and reverting into a Darkness Gate that eclipses all light. In the center of that sphere of blackest night, with his spirit openly cycling the Demonic Gate a second before, you sense Taio's Demonic Chi that fuels his existence getting caught in the imbalance and changing to Darkness Chi as well. The power within his unsuspecting soul warps against him. He screams. *page_break *if (sonarmode) [b][Thunderfaller vs Taio the Scholar][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-thunderfaller-vs-taioscholar.png *set chispent 0 *set powspent 0 *set forspent 0 *set agispent 0 *set solspent 0 *set wounds 0 *gosub_scene quicks statcheck "AAAAHHHHHURK!!" Roars Taio, retching up what looks like black paint in impossible quantities as his skin and muscles begin to tear. His aura of raging crimson smoke twitches unnaturally and darkens, shredding in ebbs and flows, its cycle interrupted by pure Darkness Chi replacing the crimson Demonic Chi in his Cores. Your own wounds and Cores rejuvenate instantly like your Fuel Foundation always has inside of any Element's Heavenly Gate. [b][All Health, Cores, and Chi Replenished][/b] "Get out of my body!" Taio screams, grabbing his midsection in pain, "GET OUT OF MY SOUL!" Elemental Darkness purges itself from his system like a pitch-black geyser of water erupting in all directions. You sense massive amounts of his own chi flowing out with it, drastically weakening him. In that same instant you press the attack. #Cycle the Demonic Gate to rip Taio's Demonic Chi away from him. [Increases Corruption] *set fiendish true *set eventfun + 100000000000000 You've been waiting for this moment ever since the Demonic Gate began. Finally, there are no witnesses to see what you planned to do. Taio raises an eyebrow and looks to the crimson mist around you both. "The Gate? You plan to harness the Demonic Gate? In my presence?" He forms cycling seals of his own and pulls the Demonic Chi around the street into himself. "How delightfully entertaining. I will enjoy seeing the look in your dying eyes as you realize whose will is stronger. You could never even [i]stall[/i] one such as me." Your will grasps upon the Demonic Chi swirling not just in the air around you but the sky above. Spiraling swirls of crimson siphon from all around the market square and spin in wide arcs through the air like a tornado of red ink painted onto the world. Taio grins as the hurricane of power envelopes you both and he calls upon the ancient Demonic Cycling Technique he's used all his existence. His confidence ends when you do the same. "What are-? NO! IMPOSSIBLE!!" He screams as the Demonic Gate answers to your call in its entirety and not at all to his own. He was right about you absorbing pieces of the other Taio's will and memories, but the only pieces you received clearly were the ones he offered most freely, the exact actions he was performing when you absorbed shards of his will: his personal handseals and cycling methods for consuming a Demonic Gate. It seems this Taio uses the same ones. A multitude of methods designed to force the Gate into compliance activate from both your own spirit and your opponent's, but your Fuel Foundation tips the scale. "I'm not here to stall you, Taio." You boast with a wicked laugh over the roaring wails of the dead. The crimson hurricane encircling the market square forces its way into your Core in a spiraling flash of unimaginable power. *if (race = "Oni") Something deep within you resonates with the corrupting energies of the Demonic Gate and you feel [i]fulfilled[/i]. More Advanced. Greater. A thin but long crimson tail sprouts from your lower back and your canines extend ever so slightly into sharper teeth. *set yokaitrait1 "demon tail" *if (jadedragonfoundation) [b][Aura Pressure +100][/b] *set aurapressure + 100 *else [b][Aura Pressure +60][/b] *set aurapressure + 60 *else *if (jadedragonfoundation) [b][Aura Pressure +80][/b] *set aurapressure + 80 *else [b][Aura Pressure +45][/b] *set aurapressure + 45 *set taint + 45 *if (hungryspiritritual != 1) *line_break *set val (handseals * 5) *if (val < 5) *set val 5 [b][Hungry Spirit Ritual: Aura Pressure +${val}][/b] *set aurapressure + val *if (race = "Oni") Your eyes open with a flash of crimson light. "I'm here to kill you." Your attack has already begun. Taio's cycling leaves his own spirit open through the whole process. No Martial Artist's power would ever be forced out of their Cores by a Gate or a cycling Technique, it's impossible. But you know Taio is not a Martial Artist. He's a Clone Technique made of chi. Trapped in the tide of the Demonic Gate's energy, his own Demonic Chi that sustains his existence is ripped from his spirit and added to yours. He screams. *gosub_scene quicks learntech 2120002000000000 "Lifesteal" "Passively increases AP gained from defeating enemies by +2. Increases Fortitude Surge by +1 when focused." *if (techslotcode[2] = 0000000000000000) [b][Fortitude Core focused to "Lifesteal" Technique][/b] *gosub_scene quicks focuscore "Lifesteal" 2120002000000000 *set lifesteal true *page_break *if (sonarmode) [b][Thunderfaller vs Taio the Scholar][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-thunderfaller-vs-taioscholar.png *set chispent 0 *set powspent 0 *set forspent 0 *set agispent 0 *set solspent 0 *set wounds 0 *gosub_scene quicks statcheck "AAAAAAGGHHH!!" Taio howls in bloodcurdling agony, hunched over as his skin and muscles begin to tear. His aura of raging crimson twitches unnaturally, pieces of it breaking off like broken glass that dissolve into the Demonic Gate as you absorb it. His power drastically weakens while yours recovers. [b][All Health, Cores, and Chi Replenished][/b] Unfortunately your appetite has limits. There's no room left in your spirit for any more power, and your cycling comes to an end just as the area around you weakens to the point that it can barely be called a Gate. Without a flood of energy to trap Taio's spirit in, you can't replicate the attack again. Resigned to solve this the old fashioned way, you take on a battle *if ((equippedweapon != "") and (equippedweapon != "Handwraps")) stance and draw your ${equippedweapon}. *else stance and crack your knuckles. It's time to kill the only witness. *set chapter 5.5 *choice #Assault him with a steady flurry of blows. *if not (fiendish) By sensing his location with your spirit and the retching sounds of his convulsions you're able to close the gap quickly and find him through the darkness with your fist, connecting a blow directly to his temple. *else Without any hesitation you charge at Taio, blasting across the battlefield in a surge of ${auracolor} and crimson. Your momentum all channels into your fist when you slam a blow into Taio's temple. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true You weave backwards to avoid a counter-kick and grab his leg, whipping him over your head and down into the cobblestone ground. Once he hits the road back-first you get to work with a knee on his chest and both hands swinging for his face in strike after strike, knocking his senses out as you batter his face from side to side. *if not (fiendish) In the suppressive darkness there's *else There's no warning when a body-sized fist of crimson chi manifests beneath you. *page_break Taio's entire aura warps into a gigantic crimson fist of concussive force that slams into your whole body. You're knocked off of him with such momentum that you're sent bouncing across multiple *if not (fiendish) rooftops away from the Darkness Gate around the market square. *else rooftops in anger. *if (element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth") [b][Earth Element Event: No Damage Taken][/b] The tiles of clay do nothing to your body as the natural Earth elements inside of them aid your lifeforce. *label uncomfterble The tiles slam into you with painful but tolerable impact, like being repeatedly punched in the face, gut, and knees by a ten-year-old. You *label rollinrollin roll to your feet at the edge of a residential home's roof just in time to notice Taio already leaping up from an alleyway between buildings right behind you. *else *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Prevented][/b] Your tough body manages to prevent any real damage from the constant impact. *goto uncomfterble *else *if (pblocktech = "") You slam into each roof with bone-shaking impact and feel your bones suffer the consequences. *gosub ch5wounded 1 true false Eventually you skid to a halt on the roof of a residential building, bleeding but alive, and *goto rollinrollin *else *gosub ch5wounded 1 true false You manage to shake off the damage from the constant impact. *goto uncomfterble *choice #Catch his torso in a spin, dropping you both back to the ground in a freefalling suplex. Taio's leg glows with power and swings in at your center for a devastating blow to your body and spirit. You respond by rushing in to grab him around the center and leaping off the building. *set combatstat "power" *set combatstat2 "fortitude" *set combatdiff 11 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Before his right leg's kick can land you prevent any impact by closing the gap between the two of you and twisting your body, jumping to his right so there's no distance for his swing to close. "Release me!" He shouts as the two of you fall. The force of your grapple pulls you off the roof and drags Taio to the ground with you as the two of you struggle for dominance. His arms grip your shoulders but just as you're about to hit the ground you rip your clothing's right shoulder for freedom and maneuver behind him. By the time you arc your back and whip over your head and upside-down, the ground below has caught up to you both. His head slams into the cobblestone ground in a grand suplex that delivers the full impact of your fall. A spray of rock and sand fills the alleyway between the buildings where you land and you leap out of the dust cloud before Taio gets a chance to counterattack. When two seconds pass and no surprise attack comes, you grow cautious. The cloud dissipates and Taio isn't in the small crater you two created. You leap to a nearby roof and scan the battlefield for your opponent. *else His kick slams into you before you can close the distance, caustic chi ripping through your clothing and burning your skin. Concussive forces launches you like a cannonball off the roof but you don't have the dignity to hit the ground, instead you bounce off four more roofs before slamming through a third story window and embedding your delirious body into a dresser. *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *label dressergames Taking a moment to steady your nerves you rip one arm out of the wood and then a leg, pulling yourself out and looking through the hole in the wall created from your impact. Taio is nowhere to be found. You leap out of the hole to an opposite roof and scan the battlefield for your opponent. #Flip forward and surprise him with a two-handed energy blast. You charge chi to your hands and front-flip forward to gain distance from Taio's melee attack, narrowly dodging a chi-enhanced kick with a crimson blur of energy around it. In that flip you extend your arms out in the rotation so both palms are facing your target when your airborne body becomes horizontal with the roof. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatskill "stealth" *set combatdiff 7 *if (style = "Kiihakai") *set combatdiff - 1 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Your energy blasts out of both palms in a body-sized close range explosion that launches Taio into an opposing building straight through the wall. All that pressure knocks you back as well, almost falling off the house's roof, but you catch yourself and run back across to continue the fight...only to find Taio missing. No surprise attack comes so you hop from roof to roof, looking for where your opponent has gone. *else A surprise kick from Taio rips through your energy blast and slams into the back of your head, parallel as it is with the roof. Your attack is completely dispersed and his blow sends you spinning forward in gut-shaking rotations as you involuntarily flip over and over, crashing across multiple rooftops until you slam through a third story window and embed your delirious body into a dresser. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *goto dressergames *else A counter-kick from his leg knocks the wind out of you before your assault even begins. A gasp blurts out from between your lips as the air inside you is forced out, and Taio takes that chance to slam a fist into the side of your jaw while it's open and vulnerable. The blow sends you flying all the way back into the metal cages of the market square, crashing you into one so hard that it breaks into a pile of metal pipes. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false "I expected more!" Taio gloats. "All that bluster, such a sublime opening, and yet in the end you lack the Martial Arts to back it all up. I will demonstrate, to an amateur like you, the true Martial Arts. A crimson crystal sword appears in his hand as if from nowhere and you barely get to your feet as he charges you in a blur of speed. *goto crystalswordfight #Kick his face while he's bent over. Before Taio has a chance to recover you dash *if not (fiendish) through the darkness of the market square and reel your leg back for a devastating kick, hitting him in the face as he's bent over retching out Darkness Chi. *else across over the market's wide opening with an excited bloodthirsty laugh, kicking Taio's face while he's bent over screaming in pain. *set combatstat "power" *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true Your foot connects with his jaw hard enough to break a normal Martial Artist's teeth. Taio's body stays in one piece but the sheer force of the blow snaps his head back and sends him spiraling twenty feet into the air. One quick breath and a heavy leap brings you up to his level to push the advantage, but a crimson glow sets off danger signals in your spiritual senses. "Rrrr, coward! Fraud!" He screams, twisting in the air and shoving an arm toward you, glowing with power that he ejects as a beam of crimson energy surging at your heart. "Taste oblivion!" *page_break Taio's beam of crimson energy rushes toward you as you're caught in midair flying toward him from your leap. *if (style = "Kiihakai") [b][Style Event: Kiihakai][/b] Your golden Mystic Chi catches his beam like a tube and redirects it away from you. The explosion destroys a building behind you but you don't turn around, still flying towards Taio from your leap. *else *set combatstat "soul" *set combatstat2 "fortitude" *set combatdiff 11 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Prevented][/b] One of your hands laced in chi smacks the beam away from you, sending its power into a nearby building that explodes behind you. You don't turn around to view the explosion, rushing toward him instead to press your counterattack. *else *gosub ch5wounded 2 false true *if (eblocktech = "") The caustic power of his demonic blast burns deeply into your chest as it barely misses a direct attack, singing your front torso while you fly toward him from your initial leap. *else His attack does little to stop you as you fly straight toward him from your initial leap. *label barkingtaio "Stay down!" Taio barks, eyes filled with anger as you finish closing the distance. *choice #Grab his arms and spin, hurtling him into a burning building. You front-flip into a feinting ax-kick, and as expected Taio lifts both arms to block. In the last tenth of a second you tuck your leg in and reach your arms out instead to grab his guarding forearms, then use the force of your flip to throw the blood cultist into a nearby burning building. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "survival" *set combatdiff 7 *if (element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire") [b][Fire Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) A quick glance shows you exactly the right house to choose and you throw the blood cultists into the hottest fire, a tavern burning from its floor rather than its roof. He jettisons through the air and crashes through the tavern's wall, straight into the blazing inferno some Sunbringer had started inside. *if (element2 = "Fire") Burning Taio in a large tavern feels reminiscent of your first mission. It's becoming a habit. *set solexp + 1 Keeping on the offense you charge into the tavern and find a large hole in the opposite wall where he must have escaped. Looking around reveals no clue to his whereabouts so you leap to a neighboring roof and survey the area for where your opponent's gone. *else A whip of crimson manifests between his hand and your leg before and you feel the force of your throw reverse as he tugs hard, pulling himself away from the burning building and sending you hurtling towards it. You crash through the charred wall without resistance, slamming into the inferno engulfing the barn's bottom floor. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true Your aura barely keeps you alive amidst the scorching flames but the lack of oxygen will be your undoing if you don't get out fast. With that in mind you barrel through the door and tumble to the ground in a running roll, putting the fire on your clothing out, and stand with a flourish to deflect any attack Taio sends your way. ...Yet there's no such attack. *label cautionroof After a second of caution you leap to the nearest safe rooftop and survey the battlefield looking for your opponent. *goto taiogone #Maneuver above him to blast him into ground. *label usedvortex When you close the gap you strike a decisive blow towards Taio's head. He blocks with both arms and you grab their intersection, yanking hard to pull yourself even higher above him. Taio lowers his guard to see what happened a second too late. You rise high above the blood cultist and charge a two-handed energy blast from above him, surging all your hostile chi onto him in a *if (elem != "") *if (elem = "Wind") vortex of biting Wind energy. *elseif (elem = "Water") torrential river of Water energy. *elseif (elem = "Earth") manifestation of physical rock, condensing your large yellow energy blast into a four-hundred pound boulder that you crash into him from above. [b][1 Chi Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 *goto blastintogroundsuccess *else reinforced ${auracolor} explosion. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatskill "athletics" *set combatdiff 8 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *label blastintogroundsuccess *if (elem = "") Your massive energy blast slams into him like a funeral pyre as you slam the scorching hostile chi into his face. He tries to lace his hands in chi to catch it with both hands and you launch a second, smaller energy blast into your first to blow it up in his face. The resulting explosion knocks him into the road below like blackpowder sending off a cannonball. *label rocksandgravel Rocks and gravel explode all around his landing site and you land next to him, ready to press the attack. Yet when the dust settles the crater is empty. Taio is nowhere to be found. Confused, you leap to a nearby roof. You're prepared for a sneak attack as you look around for your opponent but seconds pass without a sighting. *goto taiogone *elseif (elem = "Wind") Your wind vortex slams into Taio and spins him in every direction as it pushes him into the ground with constant high-speed winds infused with slicing energy. He slams into the ground head-first and continues to feel the assault of your Wind powers. *goto rocksandgravel *elseif (elem = "Rock") Your boulder slams into Taio as if it were launched from a catapult, dropping him into the ground and crushing him like a meteor. You drop a second boulder on him after to be sure. *goto rocksandgravel *elseif (elem = "Water") Your torrent of water manifests as dark blue energy rushing like water, infused with the spirit-scorching chi of hostile energy. The river of power crashes into Taio like a watercannon as he's blasted into the road below. *goto rocksandgravel *else He disappears from your view, vanishing in midair with the sort of speed that can only come from a Technique. Battle experience helps you brace all Fortitude Chi to the back of your head. Just as you reinforce your body, Taio slams a foot down onto your skull from above. You're sent flying to the ground with so much force that the cobblestones around your impact site explode around you. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false A ${auracolor} energy explodes outward from your body, dispersing the dust cloud immediately as you rise. Despite your best guess, such a wide deflection wasn't needed to stop Taio's next attack because *label nonextatk there is no next attack. In fact, there is no Taio. *goto cautionroof *if (((element1 = "Wind") or (element1 = "Water")) or (element1 = "Earth")) *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Knock him into the ground with a torrent of ${element1} energy. [Costs 1 Chi] *set elem element1 *goto usedvortex *elseif (((element2 = "Wind") or (element2 = "Water")) or (element2 = "Earth")) *selectable_if (((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1) #Knock him into the ground with a torrent of ${element2} energy. [Costs 1 Chi] *set elem element2 *goto usedvortex *else Your foot slams into his face with a sickening crunch when you break your three outer toes. You freeze as Taio looks over to you, a shell of blood crystal revealing itself around his face. He smiles. *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false His uppercut catches you in the face, chattering your teeth and blasting wind through your face as you're knocked higher and higher into the sky. You sense him leaping above you and without even looking you launch an energy blast at the ground, launching you even higher than Taio intended. *goto barkingtaio #Lance a beam of energy through his vulnerable spirit. With Taio weakened and retching you take the opportunity to cycle ${auracolor} power from your own Cores to your hands. As the glow intensifies from your palms to your fingers you join both hands together to erupt a powerful arrow-like beam at high-speeds toward the blood cultist's midsection. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true Your blast pierces into Taio's body and aura with enough pressure to cut through trees. His body is blasted like a ragdoll *if not (fiendish) outside of the weakening Darkness Gate and into the side of an iron cage that had held prisoners a moment earlier. The bars bend from his collision. His body doesn't move, trapped in an outline of iron, but you take no risks and push the offensive. One step forward is all you make before your spiritual senses scream another warning. *page_break The ground beneath you lurches as Taio's blood across the battlefield suddenly expands into massive spikes of crimson crystal, launching toward you from all angles like an armory of spears. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *if (equippedweapon != "") *if (equippedweapon = "Yumi") By charging chi through the wood of your Yumi *elseif (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") Using your bare hands reinforced with weighted handwraps *elseif (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") By swinging Muramasa in a dazzling arc *else By swinging your ${equippedweapon} in a dazzling arc *else Even without a weapon you're able to deflect the dozens of bloodspears manifesting around the battlefield. Twisting, pivoting, deflecting several *if ((equippedweapon = "") or (equippedweapon = "Handwraps")) with your hands, *else at once with your ${equippedweapon}, even catching one of the sharp spikes to swing against the others leads to a quick display of acrobatics leaving you without a scratch as your body resists the glancing blows. *else *if (equippedweapon != "") *if (equippedweapon = "Yumi") Despite charging chi through the wood of your Yumi *elseif (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") Despite the assistance of your weighted handwraps *elseif (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Despite swinging Muramasa in a dazzling arc *else Despite swinging your ${equippedweapon} in a dazzling arc you're *else Lacking a weapon makes deflecting a dozen spears made of blood crystal significantly harder. You're quickly overtaken by the sheer volume of attacks from all angles and suffer several wounds as the spears cut through skin and muscle with each piercing blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false "You think that's all?!" Taio shouts, leaping high into the air. The spears all around you begin to vibrate and resonate with demonic chi. The realization hits you that they're about to explode. All energy surges to your legs as you leap upwards towards Taio, his crystal eruption causing a massive lightshow underneath you. *goto barkingtaio *else With a sheen of crimson Taio's hand blurs and a high pitch [b]*TING*[/b] fills the air as your piercing line of chi hits a shell of blood crystal on the back of his wrist, reflecting back at you. Your own attack *if (eblocktech != "") slams into *else pierces through your side before you know what's hit you. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true The pressure of your own blast knocks you off your feet, the air soaring over your face as you realize you've somehow gone airborne. It takes a moment for the pain in your side to register that you've been kicked by Taio; the roof quickly approaching breaks you out of the spell and you collide into the top of the building at an angle, flipping over onto the rooftiles. You *goto rollinrollin *if ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) #Execute a heavy downward slash with your ${equippedweapon}. *if not (fiendish) Using the sound of his retching to locate Taio in the darkness *else With a smug, bloodthirsty expression you draw your ${equippedweapon} and charge fast, leaping for the final steps to press your weight into *if ((equippedweapon = "Tanto") or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) an outward shinobi slash. *else a downward executioner's swing. *set combatstat "power" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 5 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true The sharp edge of your ${equippedweapon} slices down his chest with ease, running an inch-deep chasm down what was once steel-like skin. You land on the ground and pivot, kicking him in the chest-wound twice until he tumbles backward. You expected more resistance. After slaughtering thousands, taking over your rival Sect, imprisoning you, and boasting thousands of Aura Pressure, the sight of this Taio clone reeling back covered in his own blood almost disgusts you. *if (honor < 50) *set ruthless + 1 "Fight back, Taio." You find yourself taunting as you slash at him again. He deflects your blade and leaps back. "All these deaths are because you wanted to live forever, and this is what your prolonged life is for? Boasting for days then dying like a dog? You're not worth my time like this, show me what it was all for! Show me your resolve!" You draw your ${equippedweapon} back for another attack. "Show me your motivation!" *else *if (taint > 0) *set taint - 2 "Stand up, mass murderer." You say coldly down at the man who destroyed every life in the town around you. "You killed countless innocents and never thought justice would find you? Do you know how many lost souls call for your end?" You draw your ${equippedweapon} back to strike again. "When I carve their revenge into you, you'll learn the true meaning of justice." Taio snarls in disgust, face reddened with anger. "Be silent! The only thing shown tonight is YOUR DEATH!" *label bloodcrystalcounter *page_break Taio spins in an instant and a seven-foot blade of crimson crystal manifests in his grip. The blade is nearly at your neck before you even have time to defend. *set combatstat "agility" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 6 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Your *if (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") backhand swings manage *else ${equippedweapon} manages to deflect his attack with no time to spare, knocking your ${equippedweapon} against his slash at an angle to send it over your head while you duck. *else The sword cleaves into your arm. Your mind is enveloped by a gutwrenching scream of pain. *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false Only a last-second *if (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") counterpunch from your other arm manages to push his weapon back *else spin manages to split the damage with your ${equippedweapon} and stop Taio from severing the limb. "You dare to speak down to me? To ME?!" Taio screams in a rage as his crystal sword swings a flurry of slashes at your midsection. *if (agility < 6) You barely *else It takes your whole focus but you *set agiexp + 1 manage to deflect the flurry of swings. A growing sense of danger rings through your mind as you're caught on the backfoot. Taio grins down at you. "Die like the amateur you are, daring to boast on the element of surprise as if it were your victory! ARROGANCE!" He swings for your legs and you manage to leap back to the broken cages of the marketplace. In a rush of condensed chi the fight increases in danger when Taio becomes a blur of crimson speeding toward you. *label crystalswordfight *choice #Kick a steel bar at him in a surprise attack. He no doubt has his eyes on your *if ((equippedweapon = "Handwraps") or (equippedweapon = "")) fists *else ${equippedweapon} and that will be his undoing. Anything sturdy enough is a weapon in the hands of a Martial Artist. In the middle of his swift flash across the open market you kick a broken steel bar directly at his neck. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "stealth" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Your foot catches the steel bar at just the right angle and you kick it upward at Taio's neck. He doesn't notice your attack until it's too late, dodging to the right to avoid having his jugular cut. The steel bar slams into the muscle on the leftmost side of his neck and forces his body into an off-balance spin. As soon as his back turns to you, you slam your fist into the center of his spine hard enough to launch him across the market and into a disheveled general goods store. You curse under your breath when his spiritual signature disappears in your senses. With a quick sprint you get to the store and find it empty, a new hole in the wall where Taio must have broken out. After a quick and on-guard search you jump to a nearby roof to look for where the bastard's gone. *goto taiogone *else Your surprise attack forces Taio to duck and abandon his planned assault, yet his speed doesn't slow and he leaps up with an outward doublekick, slamming his feet into your chest with such momentum that you're blasted backward through a lamp post and further on through a shop window. Glass shatters all around you as you impact the wall behind it. *if (wounds >= 2) *gosub ch5wounded 2 true false *else *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false It takes far longer than you'd like to rise, giving Taio plenty of time to prepare his next attack... Yet *goto nonextatk #Look for the perfect moment and clothesline him. Your keen eyes catch the second his blade reaches your torso and you crouch your left leg low while kicking off with your right, pulling your body to the side as you shove your right arm out and forward to catch him by the neck. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatskill "perception" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) His eyes widen in realization but there's no time to stop himself as you slam your right elbow into his neck. The full weight of his intense speed and your forward fall crunch into his adam's apple, holding his head still as his lower body continues forward at an upward angle with incredible speed. He has no chance to scream with the damage you do to his neck so instead he silently flies off over the buildings, backflipping dozens of times into the air at a 45-degree angle from your clothesline. You curse under your breath when he clears the first roof and you lose sight of him. After leaping up onto the nearest building you survey the surroundings for your opponent. *else Taio's speed proves superior as his sword stabs into and through the side of your ribcage, rending a soul-shrieking pain through your body. *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false "HNNGG!" Your let out in a suppressed scream, all the while Taio's charge doesn't relent and his sword lifts you off your feet, charging you into a shop's window display and straight through. Glass shatters as you're forced over the furniture of the shop and slam into the opposite wall. You rise shakily from the floor and prepare for another attack, but no such attack comes. Cautiously you walk to the exit and leave the shop, looking for your opponent throughout the market square. *else Your weapon bounces off Taio's face with an unnaturally high-pitched noise and your hands vibrate painfully as your attack recoils off of him. *goto weaponfail *elseif ((equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") or (equippedweapon = "Bo Staff")) #Harden your grip enough to bash him over the head with your ${equippedweapon}. *label bluntforcetrauma *if not (fiendish) Using the sound of his retching to locate Taio in the darkness *else With a smug, bloodthirsty expression you *if (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") wrap your hands in the weighted handwraps while closing the gap between you. When you reach upon him he's still retching in pain. Good. You slam your fists into his face in one strike after another. *else draw your ${equippedweapon} and charge fast, hardening your arms and hands to keep a grip as you slam your full weight into an overhead swing. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 5 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true *if ((equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") or (equippedweapon = "Bo Staff")) [b]*SLAM*[/b] Your ${equippedweapon} crashes into his skull from overhead, slamming him into the ground. "I-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] *if (equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") You pull the chain back and whip your weapon's macehead into *else You raise your Bo Staff back and slam the back of his head again, crushing his face into the cobblestone road. "Y-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] *if (equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") You spin the chain around a leg this time to form a short, fast arc and catch him in the side, knocking him spinning into the air. *else With a reckless assault you slam your left hand down to spin your Bo Staff into Taio's side before he can rise, crushing your weapon into his ribs hard enough to spin him into the air. "STO-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] Another strike from the other side catches him with all your might. He's sent flying into a straw cart so hard that it explodes in a rain of straw and timber. *elseif (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") [b]*SLAM*[/b] Your weighted right fist catches Taio in the cheekbone. "I-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] Your left fist catches him from the other side. "Y-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] An uppercut to the gut lifts him off his feet while his face is extended from the earlier blows. "STO-" [b]*SLAM*[/b] A hook to the throat, a grab of his robe to stop him from flying off, and a cross to his nose knocks him back into a strawcart so hard that his robe rips in your grip and the cart shatters. "You're not getting out of this, Taio! *if (fiendish) You imprisoned me, abducted my allies, [i]thought[/i] you abducted my siblings, idiot that you are. You were on my list already, but now you [b]need[/b] to die. No one will know about your power I've stolen." *else You've killed too many people. It's time to face judgment." "Be silent, arrogant welp!!" Taio barks from under the glowing pile of wood that was once a cart. You hear him spit blood. "You dare to talk of vengeance? You destroyed my creation! My will for revenge is one thousandfold that of a peasant like you!" A flash of crimson chi is your only warning before he appears behind you. *goto bloodcrystalcounter *else [b]*SLAM*[/b] You close the distance with your *if ((equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") or (equippedweapon = "Bo Staff")) ${equippedweapon} *else fist pulled back for a massive attack, then hammer it into Taio's skull. Your *if ((equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer") or (equippedweapon = "Bo Staff")) hands vibrate *else hand vibrates from the impact, and *label weaponfail Taio doesn't move. A shield of blood crystal covers his face where your attack landed and his eyes focus on you with disdain. More blood crystals shoot from under his robe, piercing into your torso. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false "What's the matter?" Taio taunts, recovering from the surprise and stepping toward you as you tumble back in pain. "You spoke so proudly of how you would kill me, and this is the limit of your Martial Arts?" He closes the distance in the blur of a surged Agility Core and you leap backwards without even taking the time to look, hitting a rooftop halfway and tumbling backwards across two more buildings. *goto uncomfterble *elseif (equippedweapon = "Handwraps") #Harden your fists enough to beat him bloody with your weighted handwraps. *goto bluntforcetrauma *elseif (equippedweapon = "Yumi") #Draw your ${equippedweapon} to fill him with arrows. *if not (fiendish) Using the sounds of his retching, and the fact that it lines up with his location just before the battlefield turned dark, you pinpoint Taio's location and *else A sense of excitement leaks into your smile as you look upon your opponent screaming in agony. You draw your Yumi along with a plethora of arrows. Metal weapons can never channel anything but Bladed Chi. Wooden weapons, once holding life, can support chi poorly but break after the first use, but arrows...Arrows don't have to last passed the first use. You coat each arrow in ${auracolor} energy from your fingertips as you grab them and unload a volley at Taio before the string breaks under the stress of your power. *set combatstat "agility" *set weapontest true *set combatdiff 5 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set firststrike true Three small explosions go off as the arrows catch Taio one after the other and erupt from the heavy load of spiritual energy you surge into them. "AH! HNHK! RAAHH!!" Taio screams out as each impact interrupts his purging. A massive blast of crimson chi comes straight for you but the distance of your ranged weapon gives you enough warning so you leap high and *if not (fiendish) wide, heading out of the weakening Darkness Gate and *else wide onto a nearby roof. An explosion shakes the ground from his attack hitting a shop just as you motion to land. You're sent tumbling but manage to *goto rollinrollin *else "Hyuy!" Taio blurts out in a focusing kiai, catching the arrow. "Hyuy! Hyuy! Hyuh!" One after the other he catches your glowing projectiles in the blink of an eye and in that same blink you realize he didn't [i]catch[/i] them, he reflected them back at you. You dive backwards [i]hard[/i] to avoid the attack but collide into one the steel cages that had been holding prisoners, breaking it and hurting yourself in the process. Two arrows then find your leg immediately after, striking through skin and muscle with teeth-griding pain. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false "What a pathetic sight!" Taio boasts, recovering from his soul-rending pain. "All your bluster and surprises and your basic Martial Arts are too weak to back them up! I will demonstrate what a real Martial Artist can do!" In the crimson glow of Taio's aura powering up you rise to your feet, and in a flash he surges at you with lightning speed, a crimson crystal sword suddenly in his hand. *goto crystalswordfight *else *selectable_if (val = 300) #Attack him with your weapon. *label codereader *comment beGONE filthy code reader, you shall not have my secrets! *goto_scene death *if not (fiendish) *if ((element1 = "Darkness") or (element2 = "Darkness")) #Seize the Darkness around you like a hammer. *set val 2121 *goto darknesssmite *else *selectable_if ((element1 = "None") or (element2 = "")) #Seize the Darkness around you like a hammer. [Acquire Darkness Element] *label darknesssmite *set firststrike true Beholden to your will, the Elemental Darkness energies of the artificial Gate rush into your body like a hurricane sucked into a jar. Yet it is not only power you're after. You crave ability. With a hardened focus you pull the Darkness in deeper, urging it into your Cores and *if ((element1 = "Darkness") or (element2 = "Darkness")) fueling your aura's existing connection to the Darkness. Immediately your aura darkens further as the Darkness of the void answers your call. *set apval (10 + insight) *gosub_scene quicks apboost *else accepting a binding to the element within yourself. Immediately you feel the change as the forces of Yin and Darkness realign your Cores and answer to your call. [b][Element Acquired: Darkness][/b] *if (element2 = "") *set element2 "Darkness" *set element2rank + 1 *else *set element1 "Darkness" *set element1rank + 1 And call you do, pulling the last remnants of Darkness from the air into a massive black hammer thrumming with energy. Against a Martial Artist the warhammer of Darkness in your hand would be unnerving, disrupting their chi, but not damaging. Yet Taio is no Martial Artist. He is a walking, talking Technique, and the void hungers for his chi. Just as he recovers from the gut-wrenching pain inflicted upon his soul you redouble your efforts and slam the hammer into his side with both hands, hard enough that the Dark Hammer explodes and Taio's center is moved before the rest of his body has a chance to react, breaking several ribs and knocking his entire collarbone out of place. In that one heavy slam he's launched across the plaza. "GRRAAAGGGHH!!" Taio screams, blown into a building with his body morphed unnaturally. Your weapon dissipates, your *if (val = 2121) Darkness chi absorbed by the hunger in your aura, *set val 0 *else new Darkness powers taking time to focus, but you have other powers at your disposal. You approach the destroyed building where Taio crashed and smell charcoal in the air...and sulfur. *label powdersurprise *page_break The debris in front of you explodes in a deafening eruption of black smoke. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatskill "alchemy" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Chi fires from your hands in response, just in time. You narrowly manage to counter the explosion around you with a wide energy blast protecting your immediate person. The street around you is destroyed. *label blackpowdermockery "Did you really think you were the only one with strategies?" Taio mocks from inside the acrid black smoke cloud. With a mighty leap he soars into the sky above, only to see you burst out of the black smoke right beneath *if (wounds = 0) him. *else him, bloodied and determined. *goto barkingtaio *else Chi fires from your hands in response. You try to deflect the explosion with a wide energy blast of your own but the explosion pushes you back, breaking through your aura's power. *if (eblocktech = "") The concussive force hits you all at once. *else Only your ${eblocktech} stops the concussive force from shredding your skin. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true *goto blackpowdermockery *label taiogone It's your spiritual senses that find him first when you sense a massive surge of *if not (fiendish) sickening Demonic Chi flying from building to building, towards the coast. *page_break Sprinting down the main streets of Ebikowa brings you passed dozens of destroyed buildings in a flash. Three Lost jump out at you and you're forced to knock them back into a building without stopping. A bloodwalker slithers up from the road, forming into a series of knives, and you can't spare the time to finish it off. You leap over the obstacle and launch an energy blast into its center to ward it off before continuing on. The city is quickly growing into a warzone. The road grows into a steep hill, dipping towards the coast as you chase Taio further. You get a view of the ocean once again, its vastness mottled by the docks and ships closer to the shoreline a dozen streets below. Taio's repulsive spirit energy can be sensed halfway down the steep main road, atop a three-story wooden building looming over the rest. You jump from roof to roof and get one building across from him before you freeze at the sight. Taio's robes flutter in the wind, crimson power crackling around him, and he looks over to you with an all too pleased expression. His hands are already charged with energy closer to the potency he had before you disrupted his spirit. Is he recovering, or did he charge the attack for longer? The power charging between his hands thickens nearly into an ooze. "Move and they all die." He says, his attack aimed at the clear view of the docks downhill. Specifically at a flurry of scarlet, white, *if ((style = "Akakiru") or (style = "Midorikatai")) and green *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") green, and cerulean *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") green, and gold *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") green, and violet auras where the others are fighting Fiends to get to the ships. "It's a concentrated Technique that attracts Fiends. My personal death sentence for your loved ones." Hostages. Damn it all, you thought he was too proud for this. Fighting you alone was supposed to be the perfect bait. "What happened to killing me first?" You taunt. "Are you that weak?" "You expect me to feel shame, but I am an analytical man. I do not scold myself for gauging the scenario incorrectly, I simply adapt to the situation at hand." He smiles with all the satisfaction in the world. "And I lied about my threat. They die whether you move or not." His attack pulses one more time as he releases the oozing blast. *choice #Launch an energy attack to strike his Technique out of the air. Both hands shine with all the chi you can push out in a single breath. Without hesitation you launch an unstable rocket of *if ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) icy blue *else ${auracolor} life energy through the sky, praying your immediate guess is enough to aim where the attacks will collide. Taio's scowl grows as both shining meteors of energy fly through the night sky, anticipation filling the battlefield. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatskill "perception" *set combatdiff 8 *if ((style = "Kiihakai") and (handseals > perception)) [b][Mystic Chi: Perception Check Changed to Handseals Check][/b] *set combatskill "handseals" *if ((element1 = "Wind") or (element2 = "Wind")) *if ((style = "Kiihakai") and (handseals > perception)) *line_break [b][Wind Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) *if (((style = "Kiihakai") and (handseals > perception)) or ((element1 = "Wind") or (element2 = "Wind"))) *line_break [b][Storm Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Your attack collides into Taio's Technique and detonates it short of the intended target. His crimson oozing chi *if ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) freezes in the air and drops to the ground, shattering on the street below. *else explodes outward on impact and scatters through the air. Almost clairvoyantly you turn to punch Taio at the same time he surges an Agility Core to strike at you, your fists colliding in a crackling of power from both auras. *goto knowloss *else Your attack misses, flying wide toward the dark clouds above. "Hah!" Taio barks. You feel his foot collide into your lower back, sending you directly into a neighboring building while your guard was down watching the attacks nearly collide. You slam into the stone with a hard crunch. *gosub ch5wounded 1 true false *if (fiendseverity >= 1) *set kosukecombat - 1 Twice you bounce between the neighboring building and the one you were standing on before finally you fall into the alley below. A bright red flash fills the sky overhead as you land, cursing. When you rise you feel a surge of demonic presences in the area as even more Fiends rush to the docks, drawn to your allies after Taio's Technique. Worse still, you sense the biggest demonic presence already reach the docks. Taio himself. #Jump in the way. With reckless abandon and trust in your superior physical form you leap in front of Taio's attack and take his blast directly to the chest. The energy attack collides into you and sticks to your body like hot wax, burning like acid. You take both hands and grip the ball of crackling, spiritual ooze. All you can do now is try your best to break it down. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatskill "athletics" *set combatdiff 9 *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) [b][Storm Element Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *if (style = "Aoyusumu") *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) *line_break [b][Aoyusumu Style Event: Difficulty Lowered][/b] *set combatdiff - 1 *line_break *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) Taio's Technique fails to break through your skin. The caustic power of demonic chi attack slams into your body but falls prey to your own aura of ${auracolor} chi, generating an intense level of spiritual power. Hot black smoke sizzles out from both hands as you grip his Technique and crush it down, leaving you standing the victor. *goto taionononono *else Yet it proves too much even for you. His attack burns through the skin of your palms and aura alike, destroying volumes of your lifeforce as it feeds on your aura. The attack grows larger than even your own body as it overtakes you. *if (fortitude < 6) *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *else *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true In a last-ditch survival instinct you put all your energy into your hands and grip the attack, brace your footing against the roof of the building, and shove Taio's blast high into the air overhead. You stare up at the attack flying off in hopes that it will detonate in the sky, yet it swerves back down toward the docks and collides into the wood with a pulse of crimson chi. Howls ring out around the streets of Ebikowa. *if (fiendseverity >= 1) *set kosukecombat - 1 In the struggle against such an attack and the ensuing fallout, something went missing. Taio. Your spiritual scan reveals him on your first attempt, because he's exactly where you feared. He's gone to the docks himself. *if (style = "Akakiru") *selectable_if ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 2) #Sever his attack in two. [Costs 2 Chi] Seventy slicing scarlet blades of chi fly off all around you in perpetual motion as your spirit powers up to its full Bladed potential. *if ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) You point *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Muramasa *else your ${equippedweapon} down, reverse your grip, *else You pull all that wasted Bladed power in the air back into your grip between both hands, forming a sword of restlessly glowing Bladed energy in your hands. You reverse that blade, pointed down, and with one quick slice you raise your blade to the sky with a single flying sickle of energy the size of your body cutting through the air. [b][2 Chi Points Spent][/b] *set chispent + 2 Your Bladed energy attack rotates with such force that it appears as a massive spinning disk, colliding into Taio's attack and severing it in half. Rather than exploding his oozing orb of crimson power separates cleanly like a ball of dough, dispersing in the air as your potent scarlet chi continues flying into the clouds. *label taionononono "No!" Taio screams. "No, no, NO!" He stares back at you like a wild animal, his entire body crackling with Demonic Chi. "You will LEARN! You will LEARN what happens to those who oppose me!" The energy surging around him activates in a Technique and...he disappears. Your first spiritual scan detects where he went because it's exactly what you fear. He's already at the docks. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") *selectable_if ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 2) #Deflect the attack with a Sacred forcefield. [Costs 2 Chi] You reach both hands out and harness wave after wave of Sacred Chi through the air, praying against all hope that your training was enough. Cerulean chi pulses down your arms like rings of power sliding forward, slowly gathering into your palms. Taio's attack soars through the air, quickly closing half the distance to everyone fighting down at the docks. The air shimmers with Sacred Chi as your forcefield begins to materialize such a long distance away but if it doesn't form in time there will be no point. Once your energy leaves your body to form the forcefield all you can do...is pray. [i]Please be enough.[/i] [i]Please be enough.[/i] [i]Please be enough![/i] *page_break "Fear not child, it will be enough." Says a voice in your mind. Not Angelo's. Not even Taio's. An elderly voice you've never heard before. Before you can puzzle on the mystery further your forcefield materializes in the middle of the night sky in the form of a curved disk, catching the potent oozing Demonic Chi in the air and scattering it evenly in a perfect radius so no one area holds enough power to keep the Technique active. A sigh of relief is interrupted by Taio's enraged growl when he appears before you. His fist collides into your face with a sickening crunch, but not from you. The man's knuckles break on the second forcefield you prepared for this exact counterattack. Only the energy coursing through your right arm was stopping his Technique. Your left was prepared for this. Somehow you knew his intention, as if it seemed natural that he would do that next. With a swift spin you kick at his midsection you stumble through him, crimson lightning crackling around the man as he disappears completely in some sort of Technique the second your blow hits. You send a spiritual scan out and your very first attempt finds him, because he's exactly where you feared. Taio has reached the docks. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") *selectable_if ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 2) #Channel the line of Mystic Chi Desdemona left behind into a roaring dragonbeam. [Costs 2 Chi] You didn't want to call upon your trump card this early but Taio's steadily leaving the area where it can be of use. With a guttural incantation and a triplicate Tiger Seal finished with the Hare Seal you call upon the line of Mystic Chi that Desdemona left when she fled to the docks and finish the Technique she had half-way completed. The massive line of Mystic Chi she left behind, stretching down multiple streets, animates at your call and rises off the road head-first, forming into a thin but hundred-foot long outline of a dragon made of golden energy. Taio's own face stares on with an open mouth. [b][2 Chi Points Spent][/b] *set chispent + 2 The Mystic line thickens in power and grows in radiance and speed, surging through the air with a savage roar as the dragonbeam finds its target: Taio's attack. As the ball of Demonic ooze soars through the sky it's caught in the jaws of the dragonbeam and torn asunder, ripped to pieces as their collision causes a crimson and golden explosion in the night sky. The shining golden light of the detonation grows and grows and grows as the dragon's body crashes into the explosion more with each passing second, burning out Taio's Technique in a vibrant mid-air eruption that loses its crimson hue until it shines nothing but gold. You look upon the magnificent work of art, knowing every Seal that went into its creation, and only marvel that you've been able to create something so powerful and pristine. You're broken out of the trance from Taio's aura seething with fury; he leaps across the building and swiping a hand at your face. *label knowloss "DAMN YOU!" He screams. "Damn you and all your tricks!" He sends a kick at your midsection that you meet with both hands, causing you to only be pushed back. "I will not be denied, I will not tolerate it! YOU WILL KNOW LOSS!" Crimson lightning crackles around him and a Technique triggers, causing him to...disappear. You look around expecting him to be invisible, but a spiritual scan locates him on your first try because he's exactly where you fear. Taio has reached the docks. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *selectable_if (((((fortitude / 2) + health) - wounds) >= 2) and ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 1)) #Use the Boss's Talisman. [Costs 1 Health, Costs 1 Chi] With no time to think you leap for Taio, reaching him only thanks to your bamboo speed training. Without any better option you grab his hands in your own, immediately feeling his crimson Demonic Chi burning into your palms and knuckles. "Give it up, Taio!" You scream in his face. "This is between us!" "The weak do not make demands!" Taio screams back. "You are a fool to contest my might directly. If you crave pain then have it! Have as much as you like!" His hands charge with even more power and your spiritual senses scream at you to let go, but you can't. If his attack gets past you there's no way out for everyone behind you. Caustic pain rips through your hands as the skin of your palms burns and breaks. Your soul screams out again and again but you refuse to relent. No more evasion. If you're to survive this fight you need to be at a level that can fight Taio directly. Yet in the middle of your gripping standoff a crimson glow surrounds Taio's head. Beams of Demonic Chi burrow out from the center of his eyes and blast into your face, pressing hard against your spirit with caustic power. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false He holds your grip with both hands, preventing you from moving as his energy beams explode against your skull, and he [i]laughs.[/i] "Any last words!?" In the heat of the moment, with your Cursed Chi aura pushed to its limits, the talisman Guiren slipped into your pocket [b]cracks[/b]. A single-word incantation answers Taio in the otherworldly voice of The Boss. [b][i]"MALOCCHIO."[/i][/b] Taio gasps. The battle shifts when he hurriedly releases your grip and leaps backward. He doesn't make it. Your hands catch his wrists before he can pull away. Power surges through you like a drug and you laugh, gripping his forearms with crushing might. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING, TAIO?! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" [b][1 Chi Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 *set talisman true He sees your eyes shoot open, two orbs of darkness visible through his beam's attack. Pitch black orbs, from the iris to the sclera, and from inside those dark voids explode new irises of burning purple when Guiren's talisman temporarily releases a Transformation you never learned. *choice #Copy Taio's "Blood Crystal" [Soul Technique. Passively increases Health by +1. Increases Power Surge by +1 when focused.] He responds by opening his palms with a burst of crimson power as massive shards of crimson crystal fly out from his hands in all directions, specifically toward your face. Without thinking, you do the same. *gosub_scene quicks learntech 4110000002000000 "Blood Crystal" "Passively increases Health by +1. Increases Power Surge by +1 when focused." *if (techslotcode[4] = 0000000000000000) [b][Soul Core focused to "Blood Crystal" Technique][/b] *gosub_scene quicks focuscore "Blood Crystal" 4110000002000000 Blasts of crystal shards explode from your hands and rupture his wrists, sending him reeling back in a scream of pain before his attack can hit you. *label youdare "You dare?! You dare use MY TECHNIQUES against their master?!" He looks down at his mangled forearms. "Disgusting filth like you bring shame to my masteries. If you wish to insult the Martial Arts, then suffer a conventional death instead!" He vanishes from your sight and you feel the tip of a dagger against your back. *label backstabbed *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "alchemy" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) You spin out of the way just in time and backhand Taio off the roof and through the large glass window of a shop across the street. One quick scan of your outfit shows a pinprick of blood and you thank the heavens for your well-trained fortitude against poisons. The sensation of an intrusive chemical is already stiffening your back but it won't be enough to slow you down. A surge of repulsive Demonic Chi below lets you know Taio's moved again, and you don't need your spiritual senses to know where he's going: the docks. *else Sharp pain shoots up your side as Taio grips your shoulder and pulls your body back into his blade at the same time that he shoves it forward, piercing into you. *if ((background = "Herbalist") or (alchemy >= 3)) *if ((((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) >= 2) or (pblocktech != "")) *if (background = "Herbalist") [b][Background Event: Herablist][/b] *else [b][Alchemy 3 Check Passed][/b] *line_break [b][Damage Reduced][/b] *if (wounds >= 2) *gosub ch5wounded 1 true false *else *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *else *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false Screaming in agony fills you with enough adrenalin to accept more pain as you twist, delivering a falling elbow strike that hits his shoulder so hard that he's knocked into the building you've been fighting on. *goto taiotele *selectable_if (lifesteal = false) #Copy Taio's "Lifesteal" [Fortitude Technique. Passively increases AP gained from defeating enemies by +2. Increases Fortitude Surge by +1 when focused.] He responds by opening his palms with an eerie glow of crimson and you can feel your lifeforce noticeably weaken as his Demonic Chi draws on your spirit. Without thinking, you do the same. *gosub_scene quicks learntech 2120002000000000 "Lifesteal" "Passively increases AP gained from defeating enemies by +2. Increases Fortitude Surge by +1 when focused." *if (techslotcode[2] = 0000000000000000) [b][Fortitude Core focused to "Lifesteal" Technique][/b] *gosub_scene quicks focuscore "Lifesteal" 2120002000000000 An eerie glow escapes from your hands and every ounce of power that Taio steals from you comes off of his own spirit and right back to yours. He grimaces from the sensation and kicks away from you, gritting his teeth. *goto youdare *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") *selectable_if ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 2) #Destroy the ground beneath his feet before he can fire. [Costs 2 Chi]. [b]"NO!"[/b] You scream with enhanced lungs, breaking glass windows on both sides of the street. With no time to stop Taio's attack the conventional way you summon the Wild Chi throughout your body and push it all to your right side. Your back, your abs, your arm, your shoulder, and its spear tip of condensed power all formed into your palm. Praying to anything that will listen, you push that physical Beast energy all into one blow and slam a palm into the side of Taio's building. All of your Wild Chi explodes out of your palm like a battering ram ripping into wall apart. What you meant as a physical blow comes out as a bull-sized blast of condensed green energy digging into the flooring and charging forward, ripping a chasm from underneath the building's foundation until it explodes at the central support beam. [b][2 Chi Spent][/b] *set chispent + 2 The entire structure falls to pieces and Taio's footing gets disrupted just in time to send his attack into the sky. *label taiotele Before you can press the attack further crimson *if not (fiendish) putrid energy radiates in your spiritual senses as Taio vanishes from inside the massive pile of debris. A second surge of Demonic Chi in the distance feels just like his aura, and you realize he's somehow teleported a short distance and dashed away at incredible speed. The pit of your stomach drops. He's already reached the docks. *if ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) *selectable_if ((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 1) #Block the attack with a rock wall. [Costs 1 Chi] Your eyes shoot wide at the danger and your chi reacts instantly to the emergency at hand, your right hand shooting out with a pulse of yellow that detects exactly what you need further out. Switching your footing to a wide, grounded stance helps balance as your heavy spirit glows yellow around you. Your arm lowers, gripping the power of Earth and giving a somatic aid to your spirit as it takes hold of that something in the distance. Taio turns to you as he feels the elemental power through the air but it's too late. With one mighty heave your lowered arm rips through the air and the object that your spirit clung to rips up as well. [b][1 Chi Point Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 "What in the world-!?" Taio screams as a wall of Earth answers your call. Not a slab, but a literal and actual wall: the entire side of a stone building in the distance rips off its foundation and catapults into the air, slamming into his attack and dispersing it like a mosquito blown to pieces by an empowered palmstrike. *goto taionononono *page_break *set docks true Hopping from rooftop to rooftop brings you to the warehouses at the end of town. You hop off a warehouse to the road, then run over a bridge running off the seawall to the docks where a massive battle has broken out. The screech of dozens of Lost and the burble of Bloodwalkers fill the air as they crawl all over the coast. By the faint glows near the ships Bo, Leona, *if (style = "Akakiru") and Kosuke *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") Kosuke, and Angelo *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") Kosuke, Desdemona, and her disciples *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Kosuke, Guiren, and his underlings *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Kosuke, Tian Fang, and her wolves are ripping into the Fiends with a flurry of weapons and energy blasts but the tide of enemies keeps coming. It's clear even at this distance that they're wounded. They haven't had the luxury you did of being allowed to outrun the Fiends; they've been fighting the whole time to keep the corrupted corpses off of the slower freed prisoners. *if (distraction = "fire") To add to the chaos, several ships are on fire. Damn it, Kosuke. *if (cj = 2) That better not be burning the cargo you had the prisoners steal. Speaking of which, over a dozen armed peasants are attacking the Fiend along with your allies below. It seems they've gotten to most of the freed prisoners before Fiends or Sunbringers did. That's at least one piece of good news. *elseif (cj = 2) The only bright side it seems they've met up with most of the armed prisoners you sent to steal cargo, which is a relief. *if (cj = 3) The only bright side is a large collection of armed peasants helping your allies to fight the Fiends below. It seems Bo succeeded gathering the armed civilians you left in the jail. You can't see any sign of Taio but you [i]know[/i] he's here. With a running head start across the bridge-ramp connecting the seawall to the docks below you kick off with a mighty leap and soar over the sands. The wind blows against your clothes and hair until you come skidding to a halt directly into the massive melee, the villagers pushed to the edge of the dock and your allies staying between them and the charging Fiends. Your landing skids to a halt as you clothesline three Lost and turn, *if (style = "Kurokonton") throwing a dozen throwing stars into their heads at once. *elseif (equippedweapon = "Yumi") firing a dozen shining arrows into their ranks at once with your Yumi. *elseif (equippedweapon != "") and (equippedweapon != "Handwraps") swinging your *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") cursed blade *else ${equippedweapon} through their ranks with reckless abandon. *elseif (soul > agility) ripping through them with a two-handed energy blast that tramples through their ranks and blows several into the water, destroying even more. *else charging through their ranks with a flurry of punches and kicks until all the ones in your way are in the water or dead. All combatants look to you, breathing heavily. *if (honor < 50) "TAIO IS HERE!" You shout out to anyone who can hear, *else "The fight's not over, Taio's here!" You announce without any extra fanfare, grabbing a piece of displaced wood and throwing it like a ${auracolor} glowing javelin through a bloodwalker slithering up one of the ships. It writhes for a second and dissolves. *if (bffheshe = "he") "Ancestor's tits!" *else "Holy Hells!" Kosuke looks you up and down and you feel an unsteady spiritual scan against your aura. "You weren't this strong back at the mansion, what happened?" *if (style != "Akakiru") "Agreed." Shouts ${fren} while standing between several villagers and four Lost approaching. "You weren't this strong in our training either. Were you holding back?" "Fuel Foundation!" Leona barks out while parrying a Lost's metallic claws and wrestling it off the dock. *if ((jadedragonfoundation) and (style != "Akakiru")) "Er...sure." You say, getting a breather from a rare case of exerting yourself. It's rare because of your Jade Dragon Foundation, not your Fuel Foundation, *if (style != "Akakiru") and you [i]were[/i] holding back at the mansion. Hells, you're holding back right now. *else but they don't need to know that. Actually, you're kind of annoyed at Kosuke. You were absolutely this strong back at the mansion. *if (style = "Akakiru") "I don't know what that is." Kosuke says. *goto boamateurs *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "Good." Angelo replies, striking a palm into a *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Grim that blows its center out, then chopping its mask in two so it disintegrates. *else Lost that blows a hole through its torso so wide that its arms and head separate. "You didn't absorb the Demonic Gate, did you? *if (fiendish) [i]Damn it.[/i] You think to yourself. *choice *selectable_if (fiendish) #"No." [Lie] "No, I used the Darkness Gate he'd built his Gate upon." *if (deception >= 2) [b][Deception 2 Check Passed][/b] *set agiexp + 1 *set solexp + 1 *goto notruth *else [b][Deception 2 Check Failed][/b] "I...see." Angelo says. *set angelorep - 5 *set metangelo + 20000000 *selectable_if (fiendish = false) #"No." [Truth] "No, I used the Darkness Gate he'd built his Gate upon." *label notruth "That's..." Angelo pauses, still facing you, and a cerulean glow comes from behind the free prisoners as some Fiend dies. "That's an incredible feat. I'd love to discuss it when we have more time." *selectable_if (fiendish) #"I couldn't control it." Angelo grimaces, assessing you for a moment. "We'll have to visit a temple in Nanhou. This may have ruined your Path irreparably." *set metangelo + 10000000 *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") "That explains it." Desdemona says. "I hope that's not the only reason you beat J-" She's forced onto the backfoot when a *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Grim leaps *else massive Lost's blades rip through the wooden platform beneath her, but her disciples quickly come to her aid and subdue the creature with three streams of Mystic Chi blasts burning its head off. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") "There are multiple Foundations?" Guiren asks, leaping to a ship to dodge a *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Grim's black energy blast. *else Bloodwalker's sickle-tendril. *label boamateurs "UGH!" Bo's green-glowing arm slams a *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Bloodwalker into the dock so hard that it splatters. *else Lost into the water. "I'm surrounded by amateurs!" *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") "So that is what I smelled back in Thunderfall!" Fang announces, leaping to one of her wolves and freezing a bloodwalker behind it, then shattering the creature with a hard green-glowing kick. "I knew my nose would never lie!" The cheer at your arrival is eclipsed by the state of everyone's aura. *if (style = "Aoyusumu") Only Angelo seems to have any energy left. *else Every one of them is barely showing a feint glow around their bodies. Their combat chi is nearly depleted. "I don't see the bald guy!" Leona shouts up from the water to the south, the black blood of her wrestling opponent flowing in the water around her. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things?" You shake your head and call out. "I'm positive! I saw him and sensed him!" "Where?" Kosuke asks, face growing pale with a broken-sword still in ${bffhisher} hand. $!{bffheshe} shakes a lockbox upside-down looking for more battle pills. It's empty. "THERE!" Bo shouts pointing to Taio standing in the waves, hip-deep in the water just north of the docks. You don't hesitate, changing direction and diving off the platform straight into Taio's back with a ${auracolor} glowing kick. *page_break *gosub_scene quicks statcheck When you close the distance and slam your foot through Taio's torso you realize immediately that this is not your opponent. It's a bald Lost wearing his robe. "Too late." Taio mocks, and the shadows under the dock behind you glow red. He appears behind you in a flash, moving so fast that water explodes around him under the pressure of his wide stance skidding to an immediate halt. Both his hands are already raised in a blinding charge of power as, for the first time in this battle, he regains the first move. "DIE, YOU INSIGNIFICANT INSECT, DIE!!" His hands release all their charged chi in a two-handed energy beam the size of your torso mere inches behind your back. *choice *selectable_if (roc = 0) #ENDURE!! Lacking any time to dodge you harden your body and focus all your chi into your back, neck, and skull when the energy beam collides into your body like a relentless tide of force and acid. *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatstat2 "power" *set combatdiff 14 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Reduced x2][/b] Your hardened body manages to resist the bulk of the damage, but you did nothing to avoid it. The attack itself still slams into your spirit and body with its full force, enough to knock you off your feet and send you tumbling up the coast. *if (style = "Midorikatai") [b][Midorikatai Style Event: No Damage Suffered][/b] Only your intense training and new Wild Chi aura protect *label protu you from the intensity in the center of the energy beam. *elseif ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) [b][Earth Element Event: No Damage Suffered][/b] Only your connection to the Earth element protects *goto protu *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) Only the water rushing up to defend you protects *goto protu *else *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true *label stillalive The attack continues for three real seconds, blasting you further and further into the water and sand, but when it abates you're able to rise on two shaky legs, albeit two hundred feet down the coast. Both fists tighten as you see Taio's crimson aura leap to the docks where ${fren} and the others are holding the line. *else *set combatstat "fortitude" *set combatstat2 "power" *set combatdiff 12 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) [b][Damage Reduced][/b] Your hardened body is able to resist the attack at first, but its constant assault digs deeper and deeper into your back until your aura gives out. All the power behind the Technique knocks you off your feet and burns away at your lifeforce as you're dragged up the coast by its terrifying potency. *if (style = "Midorikatai") [b][Midorikatai Style Event: Damage Reduced][/b] *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) [b][Earth Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Sand rushes from the ground to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) [b][Water Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Water rushes around you to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) [b][Ice Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Ice forms around you to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false false *else *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *goto stillalive *else Your body completes fails to resist the attack. Its terrifying potency burns through your aura's lifeforce in the same instant it blasts you off your feet. *if (style = "Midorikatai") [b][Midorikatai Style Event: Damage Reduced][/b] *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) [b][Earth Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) [b][Water Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) [b][Ice Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *else *gosub ch5wounded 3 false false *goto stillalive *selectable_if (roc = 0) #DODGE! Water blocks you from moving at full speed to either side as the attack charges into your back. *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "insight" *set combatdiff 8 *if ((bodytype = "Petite") or (bodytype = "Manlet")) *set combatdiff - 1 [b][Bodytype Event: Difficulty Reduced][/b] *if ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) *set combatdiff - 1 *if ((bodytype = "Petite") or (bodytype = "Manlet")) *line_break [b][Water Element Event: Difficulty Reduced][/b] *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) You leap up just in time to avoid his attack, feeling the tremendous investment of chi surging underneath your feet. *label dodgesuccess Before you can fall back down into his beam you rear both arms back, cycle your ${auracolor} chi into both fists, and slam them forward as if throwing a rock overhead. Your heavy chi blast launches from your grip and collides into Taio's beam. The detonation of the attacks colliding knocks you airborne out to sea. When you land in the waters you swim up quickly and spit out water (why is it salty?) and look around for Taio. It's not your spiritual senses that find him this time, but your vision. His glowing crimson aura emits from atop the docks. *else *if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) [b][Storm Event: Automatic Success][/b] Your entire body cracks with electricity and launches up as if you yourself were made of lightning. *goto dodgesuccess *else The attack is too close, too fast, and too powerful. You try to dodge *label getrekt but the beam doesn't feel like a beam at this distance, it simply feels like your back is on fire and being hit with a house. Before you can move the corrupted energy of his attack slams into you with lethal force. *if ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) [b][Earth Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Sand rushes from the ground to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true *elseif ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) [b][Water Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Water rushes around you to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true *elseif ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) [b][Ice Element Event: Damage Reduced][/b] Ice forms around you to cushion the blow. *gosub ch5wounded 1 false true *else *gosub ch5wounded 2 false false *goto stillalive *selectable_if (roc = 0) #FEINT! *set combatstat "agility" *set combatskill "stealth" *set combatdiff 8 *if ((bodytype = "Agile") or (bodytype = "Legs")) *set combatdiff - 1 [b][Bodytype Event: Difficulty Reduced][/b] *if ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) *set combatdiff - 1 *if ((bodytype = "Agile") or (bodytype = "Legs")) *line_break [b][Water Element Event: Difficulty Reduced][/b] *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *label feintsuccess1 You jerk to the right quickly with your whole body, and just as Taio repositions his blast and releases it out to the right you spin your leg in a circular kick that catches in the water and forces you body backwards, flying to down and to the right. *label feintsuccess2 His intense beam of terrifying energy launches into the sand thirty feet away and explodes with such force that the ground beneath your feet is sucked in when the waves fall into his blast's crater. When you rise from the new pool of water you look around for Taio, and it's not your supernatural senses that find him. It's your vision. His large crimson aura shines from the docks, where the others are desperately fighting off the tide of Fiends. *else *if (style = "Kurokonton") [b][Kurokonton Style Event: Automatic Success][/b] *goto feintsuccess1 *elseif ((element1 = "Darkness") or (element2 = "Darkness")) [b][Darkness Event: Automatic Success][/b] Your shadow rises up and solidifies into a dark copy of you, leaping to the left while you leap to the right. Taio turns his beam at your imposter in the dim of the night. *goto feintsuccess2 *elseif ((element1 = "Light") or (element2 = "Light")) [b][Light Event: Automatic Success][/b] Two illusionary duplicates move at the same time as you appear to become three separate copies of the same person. One dodges to the left, one dodges to the right, and the real you jumps above the blast. Taio roars in frustration, pulling his attack to the illusion that ran towards the shore. *goto dodgesuccess The attack is too close, too powerful, and too fast. You try to fake Taio out by feinting in a different direction *goto getrekt *if ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) *selectable_if (((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 1) and (roc = 0)) #Conjure a riptide to pull you out of the way. [Requires Water, Costs 1 Chi] As Taio's mastered energy beam surges into your back your own energy surges through the water around you. In immediate response the sea grips your legs from the ankle, the knee, and the thighs. It rips you down and to the side, swaying you out of the attack's trajectory just in time. You continue the water control and pull your whole body around Taio like a fish. When you get twenty feet behind him you turn and launch yourself forward, taking a substantial amount of the sea water with you into the air as it swirls around your leg like a spinning top the size of a watermill's wheel. Taio never sees you coming, temporarily blinded and defeaned by the light and explosive noise of his massive energy beam. Your watermill kick collides into him with the continuous force of three dozen downward punches, beating and bruising him as you crush him into the sand. He makes no sound as the water consumes him, but a bright red light through the water warns you of his counter attack. You wrap yourself in water mere moments before Taio unleashes a sphere of chi that shoves the waves away from him, taking you with them. You're sent tumbling dozens of feet out to sea unharmed thanks to your Water affinity, but your disorientation gives Taio the perfect chance to counterattack...yet he doesn't. As you right yourself and grip the ocean's power to launch yourself to the surface with you already know why. He's made it to the docks. *if ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) *selectable_if (((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 1) and (roc = 0)) #Form a shield of Ice. [Requires Ice, Costs 1 Chi] Water all around your legs freezes and flies up between you and Taio, encapsulating you in a massive block of ice. His beam slams into your shield and begins melting through it immediately, yet in the same instant you pull even more water into your glacier defense. [b][1 Chi Point Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 The tug of war begins as his massive and terrifyingly powerful energy beam tries to burn through your ice shield faster than you can recreate it. Steam fills your surroundings in a blinding haze as the battle rages on until finally the attack relents, with you covered in even more ice than ever before. The cold doesn't bother you, somehow, and you crack the glacier around your body with the same spiritual control that had created it. Yet when you emerge from your regenerating ice shield you can't find Taio in the impenetrable fog of steam. *if ((element1 = "Light") or (element2 = "Light")) *selectable_if (((((soul / 2) + chipool) - chispent) >= 1) and (roc = 0)) #I was never here. [Requires Light, Costs 1 Chi] His attack blasts through your back and blows your body and soul into pieces that get swept up in the wide roaring beam. If it were really you. [b][1 Chi Spent][/b] *set chispent + 1 The illusion fades and the water around Taio shimmers. Your real body closes in with an uppercut aimed at his jaw. His teeth grind in total concentration as he exerts every ounce of energy into his Technique, constantly cycling power from deep within his Cores and out into his spirit before focusing it into the beam. He never sees it coming. His wide stance and total focus makes your blow land even harder when your punch knocks him ten feet into the air. You follow up by leaping airborne and spinning with a kick to his midsection, knocking him towards the water with enough force to cause ripples in the air around you. Blood shoots from his mouth as your attack slams into his stomach but his eyes betray his collected thoughts, adapting quickly to the deception. One of his hands reaches out and closes, and the blood you kicked out of him explodes between you both. He's launched toward the dock while you're launched airborne further out to sea. *if (roc >= 1) #...What's that in the sky? Water explodes around you just before Taio's beam explodes in a deafening fallout of crimson chi. The hip-deep ocean empties around you for a hundred feet. You're sent tumbling head over heels down the coast and take in so much water in your mouth. You have [i]no idea[/i] why it's salty. The spinning finally slows and you catch yourself on a one-handed flip back onto your feet, ready to throw up, and steady yourself on shaky legs. Your ears try to adjust and barely take in the sound of the waves over the new yet constant ringing, but for some reason you're unharmed. Why are you unharmed? Taio's laughter can be heard over the ocean and the dock's battle above until the crimson smoke around his detonation clears. His maniacal victory laugh putters out. You and Taio both stare at the creature standing in the fallout. A Grim. *if (({metangelo#2} = 0) or (toldgrim = false)) An Advanced ghost that has gained enough power to achieve a physical form once again. A form made for killing. A massive fiend eight feet in height and twice as wide as a man, closer a gorilla's stature with its long tree trunk arms made of black ropes of dead flesh. A white bonemask covers its faceless head and acts as the anchor that sustains it in the world. A world this Grim is not long for. Its entire central torso is missing a sphere of flesh bigger than your chest in the center where Taio's attack slammed into it, taking the blow meant for you. Its mask cracks and the Fiend crumbles to dust, contaminating the water for a time around it, and when it crumbles you see the small crater of sand around it as if it had just dropped from the sky. "How...How in the world...?" Taio asks to himself, and you wonder the same. How in the world did a Grim drop between you and Taio's attack? The answer comes from the Heavens when ${rocname} crashes beak-first into Taio's shoulder from a divebomb at terminal velocity, shredding his arm down the center when your Roc collides into the sand and takes much of Taio's blood with her. "YYAAHH!!!" Taio screams, leaping to the side with a face so enraged his teeth crackle with crimson energy. He explodes in a wave of demonic power and his own blood, unbalancing the dock nearby and launching ${rocname} into the returning waves, her wings catching in the attack like a kite in a storm. Taio charges a blast of crimson power to kill the interloper and your protective adrenal surge pushes you to act without thinking, dashing in fast and kicking his side from behind with as much force as possible. He's knocked mid-air but recovers, releasing his concussive burst of crimson chi into the air to his side, jettisoning him onto the dock, toward the others. You take a moment to find ${rocname} and ensure she's alive before following. *page_break "Get the civilians onto the ships!" Bo Lo shouts in the middle of the massive skirmish, breaking a Lost's neck. "We leave when $!{name} kills the ringleader!" "Why not h-" Kosuke's question is cutoff as a Bloodwalker's tendril wraps around ${bffhisher} wrist. $!{bffheshe} *if (kosukecombat >= 5) manages to charge chi to ${bffhisher} hand and grip the creature, burning the tendril off without help. It surprises Kosuke more than anyone else. *set powexp + 2 *else gets pulled under the dock until Leona severs the tendril and grips Kosuke's ankle, pulling ${bffhimher} up by one leg and throwing ${bffhimher} back into the fight where the freed prisoners are struggling with their own Fiends. "No losing on the job, slackers!" Leona screams to the others, covered in her own blood. "Don't any of you dare die here or I will fucking kill you!" *if (style = "Akakiru") A few of the freed prisoners seem emboldened by the speech, shoving their qiangs into the back of a Lost while Bo Lo swings an anchor at its head. Their efforts redouble when Leona charges at them from behind with her sword drawn. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") *set retainers + 4 Angelo stands in the center of the freed prisoners, hands clasped together in focus to maintain glowing protective wards on all unpowered fighters. Each and every one of them glows with a cerulean aura as if they were Martial Artists themselves, though their attacks have no additional power. Instead its that the Fiends seem unable to even touch them while the Ebikowan citizens hack away freely at the abominations. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") *set retainers + 2 In one corner of the dock a group of freed prisoners fend Fiends back with glowing weapons, while behind them Desdemona frantically casts Reinforcement handseals to freshly empower the weapons of others in the back. She only looks up once, eyes crackling with Mystic Chi when she blasts some unseen threat out of the sky with a two-handed energy beam. Four of her Disciples are spread through the dock aiding Kosuke and Bo, though with their chi depleted they've resorted to the physical Martial Arts. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Guiren runs upside-down on the underside of the wooden platforms as he weaves around the Fiends with two blades drawn. He carves holes through several but leaves the stronger ones to his underlings. The four men in question, clad in full shinobi-garb, are overly occupied throwing various weapons and explosives against a *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Grim *else seven-foot tall Lost trying to climb onto the dock's entrance. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang and her pack of wolves encircle the freed Ebikowan prisoners as they all try to setup a ramp onto one of the ships. Four Lost claw their way up from underneath the dock and Fang rears back a green-glowing fist, slamming that section of the dock so hard that it breaks off from the rest. All combat suddenly freezes Even the Fiends cease their assault. Bloodwalkers shiver like water in a shaken *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) bowl, Grim turn their masks with unnatural cracks from their necks, *else bowl and the dead eyes of Lost stare in silence at the superior Fiendish presence that suddenly arrives. Taio. *if (style = "Akakiru") Leona finishes piercing her second sword through another Lost in a Sunbringer uniform while it's distracted, then she starts laughing. "If it isn't the great fraud himself! Looks like your big plan was to betray us all afterall. Fat surprise from a demon worshipper, are you ashamed your Gate missed some Sunbringers or are you used to being a failure?" Taio nods along as he walks forward. "You seek death. That is good, and you will have it all in good time." He points to the Fiend her sword is embedded into. "For now, I believe you have something of mine." "This guy?" She looks at the Lost with her sword piercing its chest. "He was our disciplinary tutor, if you want his head you'll have to get in line." Taio's expression doesn't alter. "I have no more patience for theatrics." *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "Get behind me." Angelo says to the others. "I will finish this." Taio laughs as the crowd does as they're told, hiding behind the cerulean-glowing monk. "You certainly could have." Taio says with a nod and a predatory smile. "If you knew my secrets, a man like you would be a considerable challenge. But you don't. And so you have not prepared." Angelo steps through his own massive forcefield protecting the others, his cerulean aura flaring wave after wave of Sacred Chi through the air around him. "Let us test that theory." Taio shakes his head condescendingly. "Too slow, holy man." *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") "Dreamrivers, formation!" Desdemona commands. Her disciples flee behind her as she charges two massive orbs of golden power in her hands and leaps over the Ebikowan civilians to land in front. "Begone from my sight, demon worshipper, or I will send you to the Hells you love so much." Taio takes three tired steps forward and waves a hand at her dismissively. "A parlor trick, placing your aura into your hands. A Sunbringer favorite, in fact. You'd fit right in with my latest failures. It's clear as day your chi reserves are expended." Desdemona's upper lip curls in a scowl. "Come closer and find out." "I don't answer to others." Taio says, glancing at the Fiends littering the docks. His smile grows unnaturally wide. "Others answer to me." *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") "Men, get back!" Guiren shouts, withdrawing a kunai already covered in black blood. His underlings cautiously leap away from the Lost they were fighting and land in front of the scared and exhausted freed prisoners. "You're the one in charge here, right?" "Cease prattling, I can feel your aura's depleted energy." Taio responds, taking deliberate steps forward with his hands behind his back. "And I am the one in charge everywhere." "Good." Guiren says. "It looks like you killed $!{name}. That's a dealbreaker for me and the boys, I'm glad I only have to kill one person and not whoever gave you the orders." He withdraws seven fuuinjutsu tags. "Aura or not, you're not leaving here alive. I fight dirty." "Hah! A man of respectable means." Taio says with an appreciative nod. "I will return the courtesy and warn you in kind: I fight even dirtier." *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Fang whistles to her wolves and calls them behind her. "Pray to your demons that the Thunderfaller yet lives, shameful one! For if not then you face the wrath of Mountain Hazard!" Taio looks wearily to the dead Fiends and mounting injuries showing on the freed prisoners and Martial Artists alike. "I am in no mood to laugh, but your aura is dwindled to barely a glow, and no one has ever heard of Mountain Hazard. Know your place and die in silence." Taio's bleeding hand raises a clay talisman that thrums with unnatural energy. Not his usual crimson, but black. He shouts his next words in such volume that all of Ebikowa can hear it. [i][b]"TO ME!"[/b][/i] The *if (({metangelo#2} = 1) or (toldgrim)) Lost, Bloodwalkers, and Grim *else Lost and Bloodwalkers alike respond in howls of pain. Black and crimson demonic energy rips from their bodies and spirits, tearing them to pieces as Taio siphons their energy into swirling mist overhead. "This is what it was all for!" Taio laughs, arm shaking as he forces all their power into a storm around him. "And it's working! By the Hells, it's working!!" He barks out triumphantly, face cracking under the intense Aura Pressure as if he were made of ceramic. "The Heavens and Earth smile upon this day! All my study and research will still yield results!" "No." You call from behind him, dripping wet as you land on the dock. "It won't." *if (style = "Akakiru") "YES!" Leona shouts and raises a sword to the sky at your arrival. She tries to cheer but her celebration is cut short by screams coming behind her. "UGH, STOP DYING!" She yells at the crowd of unpowered civilians. She gives you one decisive nod and *if ((heshe = "he") and (leonaromance >= 1)) turns, her golden hair whipping back as she starts shoving freed prisoners out of her way to slaughter whatever is attacking from the back. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "$!{name}!" Angelo calls with a smile, stepping back into his dome and casting seals to keep out the increased corruption. "Perfect timing, perfect comeback, entrance needs work! Leave the laymen to me and finish this fight!" *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") The weight visibly leaves Desdemona's shoulders as she sees you arrive. Her scowl reverses to a sinister smile. "It seems our alliance has paid off already." *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *if (heshe = "she") "Way to make an entrance!" Guiren beams at seeing you're still standing *else "Hah! That's what I get for doubting you." Guiren nods at your arrival and shoves the fuuinjutsu tags back into his pocket. "I owe Yoji 50 shards." *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") "Hah!" Fang shouts, pointing at Taio with her nose held up and chest puffed out. "Your face showed fear, cowardly one! Most embarassing!" "Ah, ${heshe} comes." Taio says, ignoring ${fren} and turning to you with grim satisfaction in the hurricane of power around him. "I underestimated you several times, I see that now, but now our roles have finally reversed back to the natural order. You see...[i]this[/i] storm is controlled with my right hand." Your vision shoots to his left hand's palm and you see it thrumming with the same energy, but his palm is facing outward away from him. Facing behind you. Facing inland, where the last remnants of the Demonic Gate around Ebikowa already answered his call in-kind. It's a realization that only hits you as soon as the attack does. The inland energy storm he's been summoning stabs into you from behind like a river of fire. *page_break Soulsearing pain rips through your center as all the remnants of the Demonic Gate from back in Ebikowa pierce through you like a hurricane, but not one that you absorb. Uncontested under Taio's control, this power tears through your spirit in gut-wrenching agony that knocks you forward off your feet. Try as you might you cannot cycle to seize the energies, your Cores disrupted by the hostile attack bursting through them. *set combatstat "soul" *set combatskill "survival" *set combatdiff 7 *gosub_scene quicks combatcheck *if (passcheck) *set apval 4 *else *set apval 9 *set taint + 9 *gosub_scene quicks aploss *if (style = "Aoyusumu") "$!{name}!" Angelo shouts in distress, forced to hold the barrier up in such a storm of power or risk dozens of lives. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Guiren and his men launch their throwing stars at Taio but the weapons get caught up in the storm and spin around him, a new danger in the wind. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") Desdemona casts a series of handseals but the ambient chi needed to fuel them gets swept up in Taio's storm. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang is forced to push the last remnants of her Wild Chi into her wolves to stop them from being corrupted by the storm. She drops to one knee, growling in frustration. "Suffer! Suffer at my hand!" Taio cheers as the energy continues to spear through your abdomen, a whole storm condensed into an energy beam piercing through your back from behind. The power stabbing through you charges into the mist around him, circling high into the air overhead into a crimson and black mass of thick chi swirling one hundred feet in the sky. "Finally it's ready, you talentless corpse! [i]You[/i], who dared to challenge [b]me[/b]!" Both his hands raise into the air and the sky answers. "This farce ends now, I will kill the very memory of you! Behold my grand, true form! [b][i]Transformation Technique: Akumatization!![/b][/i]" The massive pool of the Demonic Chi from the destroyed Fiends spins down from red clouds overhead. Its crimson power descends around Taio like a funnel of sickening energy while your body twitches uncontrollably. "You are not the only one who can heal from a Gate, interloper! With this power I will rip you all asunder and scatter your pieces to the winds, I will slaughter your families, I will burn your villages, and I will devour the flesh of everyone who has ever-" [b]*click*[/b] The red storm swirling overhead slows to a halt. Taio's hands, raised close together toward the sky, are suddenly locked together in a pair of Binder's Bands. The energy in the sky above him abandons his call and disperses when his body loses its ability to cycle. He turns around slowly with wide, bloodshot eyes. His face is utterly stupefied as he stares open-mouthed at the culprit: Kosuke running away down the docks and jumping into the water. Taio stares down at the bindings in disbelief. "No...No, I..." "FINISH HIM!" $!{fren} screams. Behind Taio you pull on any last remnants of spiritual energy within your soul, charging your own aura back into your Cores to waste nothing. You rise on your own power, not a Gate's. Not this time. You use no unfair advantage and instead charge headlong at your opponent only with a body and spirit honed over a lifetime of training in the Martial Arts. *label finishhim *choice *selectable_if (style = "Akakiru") #Bisect him with a glowing Bladed Slash. [Improves Akakiru Mastery] *if ({mettaio#3} = 1) Like a ${manwoman} possessed you march forward and *goto drawwep *else "You made threats, Taio. Threats I can't forgive." *if ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) You *label drawwep *if ((equippedweapon = "Iceblade") or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) summon your ${equippedweapon} into your grip, blazing with *if (equippedweapon = "Iceblade") frozen *else scarlet energy running *else draw your ${equippedweapon} back in both hands, coating it in ${auracolor} energy that runs over the sharp edge like a series of a hundred rushing blades. *else Fingers interlock quickly as you slam both palms together, hammering your own scarlet Bladed Chi into form. You squeeze down tightly while pushing all power into your hands and see the fruit of your labors when a massive seven-foot glowing blade extends from your grip. *set tempwep true *set corenum 1 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Taio turns around at the sound of your blade's energy buzzing through the air. "Don't think this m-" Your blade connects against him immediately, barely blocked by his Binder's Bands. You swing twice more for his torso and he blocks one, taking the other slice to the side. With a twist of the wrist you punch him in the neck with your free hand and shove your blade downward through his foot, pinning him to the ground. Your palm strike hits him with a blast of two crisscrossed Bladed slashes of energy right into his center and you spin quickly to deliver a back-kick into his chest. "HNNNGG-" Taio screams as your kick hits his sternum and sends him flying, his foot slicing in half from your sword still in it. From deep within your Cores you summon the strength to push your blade's edge well beyond the limits you thought you had, ripping *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Muramasa *elseif (tempwep) your glowing chi blade *else your ${equippedweapon} out of the wood and speeding forward. In a single rush you dash down the dock underneath his beaten body as he soars through the air from your kick. His screams of rage batter your ears as you approach and you scream out louder in exertion, both warriors refusing to give up. You pull your blade back with all your might and shoot one foot forward for a final leverage, swinging a wide arc overhead into your opponent's midsection. Neither half of his body ever hits the docks. Your sword cleaves through the blood cultist until he explodes into crimson chi; the Clone Technique sustaining his unnatural life finally coming to an end. [b][Akakiru Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *set stylerank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "scarlet" *selectable_if (style = "Aoyusumu") #Crush him under the weight of a Sacred strike. [Improves Aoyusumu Mastery] Cerulean waves vibrate off your body as you levitate to your feet, closing in on Taio in a single leap. He turns in surprise and parries your strike, then another, then another, only to find your Sacred chi collecting on his body with each strike, constraining him. What he cannot see is that his next moves come to you as if you were watching them before they happen. He enacts a foreign and unrecognizable handseal. Your Sacred chi wraps around his finger and breaks it before that truth comes to pass. He bends his right leg heavily to leap away. Your Sacred Chi manifests a brace against his hamstring, blocking him from bending that leg before his leap is even considered. He rears his right arm back for leverage to launch a desperate blast of energy. Your Sacred Chi forms a sphere around his hand, catching it and pulling his arm behind his back with an elbow-fracturing twist. You give him a swift kick to the center to knock him over, then leap back...and up. Taio gets to his feet quickly, but his eyes widen in horror and recognition as the shadow of your final attack manifests over him. *if (agility > soul) *set corenum 3 *else *set corenum 4 *gosub_scene quicks spendall You hover fifty feet in the air, a cerulean glow over your ${eyecolor} eyes as you cast judgment upon him. With one calm motion you conjure the cerulean outline of a palm larger than your body, a ten-foot wide hand of Sacred chi. The docks beneath Taio's feet glow cerulean as well, forming a plate of kinetic force to hold him still when the attack descends. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DEFEAT ME!" Taio screams as if bartering, his body contorted by your telekinetic hold, "I AM A SCHOLAR! I AM A VISIONARY! THE WORLD WILL CHANGE TO MY CREATIONS! I WILL N-" A gentle shove downward with your palm causes the ten-foot wide Hand of Heaven to slam onto Taio with blinding speed, crushing his body completely into crimson mist and putting an end to the Clone Technique that sustained him all these years. [b][Aoyusumu Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *set stylerank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "cerulean" *selectable_if (style = "Kiihakai") #Charge an Mystic detonation bigger than your body. [Improves Kiihakai Mastery] Pulling all your power from your body was always so difficult, but with Mystic Chi it slides out of your entire body and spirit seamlessly. All you need do is give the command and your energy listens, giving up on sustaining your life and converting to scorching hostile chi in an instant. *set corenum 4 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Immediately you drop to one knee when life energy [i]pours[/i] out of you into something that can't even be called an energy blast anymore. Hovering in the air and barely held in your spiritual grip is a miniature sun of golden chi eight feet around with enough power to illuminate the dock like a sunrise. Taio sees the night turn to day behind him and pivots in horror, erecting a shield of blood energy between you. Your golden sun blasts off at an arc. With the fine control of Mystic Chi you whip the massive attack around his frontal shield and collide through the left side of his entire body. The explosion rocks every ship in the dock with four deafening explosive pulses of golden chi. When the shining light dissipates and your eyes refocus only Taio's legs remain, his upper body completely obliterated. In seconds even his legs dissipate into crimson mist as his Clone body is completely destroyed. [b][Kiihakai Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *set stylerank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "golden" *selectable_if (style = "Kurokonton") #Stab a deathcurse into his chest. [Improves Kurokonton Mastery] Your hand vibrates with power until you remember your lessons and calm it. It's not active energy you need, it's the opposite. Yin-aspect Cursed Chi. Entropy. The end of all things. The end of your opponent. The energy around your arm radiates power, first purple and then closer to black flames as you focus your first true curse into being. The curse of entropy, the suppression of all energy and life. *set corenum 3 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Taio turns and sees you, his hands bound and his face unresponsive. When his eyes fall to your arm he begins to gain focus, returning to the battle-hardened murderer. The man you're here to *if (ruthless > 50) kill. *else stop. He pivots to leap back and prepare a counter but you don't give him the time. *if (flashstep) [b][i]"FLASH STEP!"[/b][/i] *set agiexp + 2 You scream out, vanishing from where you stood and appearing in front of Taio with your arm fully extended, hand dug deep into his chest and bisecting his heart. Before he can speak you shove your entropic curse into his body to end a Technique. *else With a spiritual grip on the Cursed Chi you've left on him this entire fight, you [i]pull[/i] yourself to him to increase your speed and vanish across the docks in an instantaneous hundred-foot step. A single crunch is all the sound made from your attack as your hand pierces through his chest and heart, filling his body with the entropic curse you infused to end a Technique. The corrupted Clone Technique that he's made from. [b][Kurokonton Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *set stylerank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "purple" Taio's body explodes at the seams, bursting into a crimson mist like the first Taio long ago. *label shittalktaio As his form dissipates to chi and dust a whisper carries on the wind. "We will meet again...in the Hells." *choice #"Not for a thousand years." *set honor + 1 #"You and every other Taio." *set ruthless + 1 #"Clones don't get an afterlife." *set honor - 1 #[Ignore him] *set ruthless - 2 *goto skipbreak *selectable_if (style = "Midorikatai") #Channel your inner Beast into a lethal maneuver. [Improves Midorikatai Mastery] Wild Chi surges through your body without your call, for the power of Beasts is the power of instincts. Your spirit knows it is time to kill. Your muscles invigorate and expand in the roaring green glow that builds up around you, casting an unsettling shadow upon Taio as he turns around in shock. Unable to control yourself you scream a raging roar that pushes him back even from this distance. Step after step explodes the wood around you as you speed at your target like a tiger on the hunt. Taio shakes himself out of his stupor at the sight of your form incoming. Something about your scream awakens the warrior within. "Very well, $!{name} the Thunderfaller, Come! I will put an end to this!" He surges chi to his feet and solidifies his stance with a high guard. In the last ten feet you pounce at him, teeth gritting in a wild grin. Your first punch slams into his guard, knocking both his hands away but stopping the force of your physical charge. Yet you do not stop moving forward. Wild Chi explodes out behind you with all the momentum of your charge all over again. Both your hands grip the left side of his neck and your body spins around his right side. You use Taio's neck like a pole to spin 360 degrees and fly back the way you came, gripping him by the throat at the last second and pulling him over your shoulder. The dock begins to destabilize as your Wild aura adds incredible weight to your physical body, storming with the weight of an elephant and the speed of a cheetah. Taio loses control over his body from the incredible shaking impact of each of your steps and he relaxes his form, a wise move while airborne. Your wrestling throughout all your childhood in Thunderfall tells you he plans to stiffen his body to twist just before you hit the ground. You are not hitting the ground. *page_break *set corenum 2 *gosub_scene quicks spendall From an aerial view you become a green shooting star, exploding from the docks all the way to the seawall that holds up the coastal streets and warehouses above. Wood and sand erupts outward like waves of water on both sides of your path. One final leap launches you horizontally at the wall, trusting your own speed and force to be more damaging than gravity could ever be. "SAY GOODBYE, TAIO!" "NEVER!" He screams, manifesting flame-like crimson chi all around him, but his Technique is crushed by the overwhelming force of your Wild aura surging all around you both. Thick stone caves inward with a deafeningly low explosion. A crater forms vertically as you both collide into the seawall in a meteoric neckbreaker, your legs colliding into the rock with Taio's head pulled backward over your shoulder. His gasp is cut off mid-way when his spine snaps in half against your hardened body and his head comes with it. An explosion of crimson and black chi disperses to mist all around you as Taio's form tears apart at the seams. In the physical detonation of your maneuver, the corrupted Clone Technique that sustained the monster all these years finally comes to an end. [b][Midorikatai Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *set stylerank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "green" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Darkness") or (element2 = "Darkness")) #Punch a condensed void into his chest. [Improves Darkness Element] *if not (fiendish) With the last the artificial Gate's energies still in your body all condensed into a single fist *else By conjuring all the Chi in your body into a single fist your able to compress the Darkness to a level you could never touch on before. You rise from the ground, your hand radiating with black flames. Yet it's the core of the attack inside your palm that holds the true power, a single void pulling everything into it, contained only by your spiritual grip. *set corenum 4 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Taio turns to you, his eyes gaining focus as he sees your attack. You walk towards him as he lifts both bound arms, ready to fight. "You think the Darkness is on your side?" Taio sneers as you come closer. "I was b-" Without any flashy effects you reach him and punch for his center. He blocks your glowing black energy fist with both arms, bound as they are, and your attack penetrates through his Binder's Bands. It penetrates through his forearms. It penetrates through his robes, through his ribs, and even through his heart. You release your grip on the compounded Darkness energy and Taio's torso swirls unnaturally as if his body itself were water falling down a drain. His very form spins into the condensed black star shoved into his chest, and without another word he disappears, expending the last of the Darkness energy when it compresses him to nothing and destroys him completely. [b][Darkness Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Darkness") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "black" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Earth") or (element2 = "Earth")) #Bury his body in stone. [Improves Earth Element] Deep under the coastal seabed you feel more than just sand, you feel a hardened crust of the Earth. With one palm on top of the other you twist your left hand to the side and curl all ten fingers to wrap each hand around the other, gripping the Earth elemental properties of sand and rock beneath your feet and reversing their locations. *set corenum 2 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Violent tremors rock the dock as hardened stone explodes all around you, launched to the surface from deep below. Before Taio can come to his senses you fly both hands forward in an immensely bright yellow glow, pulling the lifted Earth's crust against the man with so much force that it crushes him from all sides. Only his head shows as he's suddenly captured a yellow-shining coffin of rock. "You can't hold this forever!" Taio screams out in struggle. "I will not be contained! RRAAA-" His mouth emits violent red energy between his clenched teeth as he cycles all chi to his head. He looks to the sky and strains against his Binder's Bands to call the sky's swirling demonic power down to him, only to see your real attack. A massive boulder seventy feet overhead. Falling. Your own chi adds to its falling speed and density as you crash the massive rock through the stone coffin and the dock itself. Waves erupt away from you in all directions when your attack shatters Taio's Clone Technique body into a haze of crimson mist scattering amongst the sand. [b][Earth Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Earth") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "amber" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Fire") or (element2 = "Fire")) #Launch a beam of dragon's breath. [Improves Fire Element] Orange and red chi clashes around you, sparking into flames as if your aura itself ignited. Taio turns around with a grimace as he senses your attack. "You think to much of yourself." He says with finality. "Unlike you, my chi reserves weren't depleted when I was bound." Despite his inability to cycle outside sources he still calls upon his inner energy and forms two crackling palms of power, charging up the same crimson beam he used on your earlier. Your own hands burn with an intense fire as well, a screech howling through the docks as your Technique burns the air itself. You swirl both hands in front of you and combine them, pulling your fists back together as their burning power compounds. The heat and flames coming off your fists burns from red, to orange, to white as the docks ignite around you. Your entire aura takes on a burning white-blue hue as the flames around you burn hotter and hotter. *set corenum 1 *gosub_scene quicks spendall The wooden boards beneath Taio's feet crack as he releases his energy beam at you. In response you pull all fire around you between your hands and throw them towards Taio, launching your own beam of white-blue fire that slams into his attack in a battle of beams. His attack barely slows yours down. The fires engulf him completely and the faintest hint of a horrified scream escapes from his throat before the flames burn away even the oxygen within his lungs. The entire dock shakes as you hold steady and maintain the beam of fire. When you finally relent, exhausted and sweating all over, there is nothing left of Taio. Only a crimson mist steam coming from the end of the corrupted Clone Technique that once sustained his existence. [b][Fire Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Fire") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "red" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Ice") or (element2 = "Ice")) #Freeze him in a glacier of ice. [Improves Ice Element] The air all around you chills into an icy blue mist as you rise to your feet, body glowing ${auracolor} and *if (eyecolor = "pale blue") pale blue eyes reflecting an icy glint. *else ${eyecolor} eyes changing to an icy blue. icicles form down the sides of the dock. Taio realizes he can see his breath and musters his resolve in preparation of a fight. Yet he turns around only to see a launched icicle millimeters from his eye. He deflects the attack with his Binder's Bands, shattering the projectile, and in that distraction you've already closed the gap to deliver a kick to his sternum followed up by a shin kick to the head that sends him spiraling over the dock. With a spherical explosion of crimson chi he stops his descent to avoid falling into the water. That won't do. *set corenum 2 *gosub_scene quicks spendall You place your thumbs and fingertips together and channel the freezing power within your soul down to your feet and below, into the sea water under the dock. In a flash you shoot both arms forward and the water under the dock responds to your somatic movement, freezing into thousands of ice shards held together that dive up at Taio in the form of a shark-shaped ice sculpture. Your ice shark bites down on his mid-section with a sickening crunch, capturing his legs and whipping him down into water below. "Y-" Taio tries to threaten as he breaks through the water's surface. You pull all the Ice chi in your entire spirit into one hand and lob the massive blast of freezing power into the sea. Taio flashfreezes into an instant glacier and you hold out one hand from on top of the dock, your soul brushing the edges of the glacier on all sides. With one last look into his eyes you close your grip and the glacier shatters, shattering his body along with it to the sound of a thousand glasses breaking at once. Crimson smoke escapes the ice bomb and the mass murderer disappears from the world of the living. The corrupted Clone Technique that sustained him all these years finally comes to an end. [b][Ice Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Ice") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "white" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Light") or (element2 = "Light")) #Destroy him with the Light. [Improves Light Element] Shining white light emits from your aura in all directions. Dawn forms all around you as stand on shaky legs and channel the Light's speed to aid in this battle's next attack. The final attack. Taio turns just in time to see the blinding incandescence of your form as you charge at him moving at triple speed with *if (((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) your ${equippedweapon} drawn, *else your fist wrapped in a sheath of shining Light. He holds both arms up to block and you vanish through him, a mere projection of an image. An illusion cast with the Light. The real you is five feet behind, aiming lower now that you see where he's blocking, and you *if (((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) stab *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Muramasa *else your ${equippedweapon} into his midsection with all your energy pouring down the blade, shining to a singular point at its tip inside of Taio's chest. A *else punch your fist through his sternum with all your energy pouring into Light Chi around your fist, a growing star of power. *set corenum 4 *gosub_scene quicks spendall Taio stares down in shock and horror at the blinding luminance intensifying from inside his chest as you bury the Light deep within. With a twist of *if (((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") Muramasa's cursed black blade, *else your ${equippedweapon}'s blade, *else your shining fist you release the cascades of energy and erupt your Light chi through his body. A physical form wouldn't suffer from such an overwhelming spiritual attack, but Taio is not a physical being. The corrupted Clone Technique that's kept him alive all these years rips at the seams as his body explodes into crimson mist under the spiritual weight of your cleansing Light. Even that mist, the last remnants of his chi, vanishes in the nova released from your soul. [b][Light Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Light") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "yellow" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Storm") or (element2 = "Storm")) #Call down a true lightning bolt. [Improves Storm Element] Elecricity cracks in circular arcs around your body as the Storm powers within your soul exceed the limits you thought you had. With two hands focusing your will you leap fifty feet into the sky overhead and reach heavensward, calling upon the power in the natural clouds above you. Nature answers, casting a tremendous bolt of violet Storm energy between your hands. *set corenum 1 *gosub_scene quicks spendall You grip the power shredding through your spirit and look down at the astonished Taio below. *if ((honor < 50) and ({mettaio#3} != 1)) "CATCH!" You call down from the air. *else You give him no final words, for an executioner never does. With both shaking arms you swing the crackling power towards the ground in a deafening thunderclap accompanied by a blinding flash of violet lighting up the night sky. Taio doesn't get out a single word before he's fried into nothing, scorched by the combined powers of nature and your enhanced spirit. No monologue, no final speech, no final threats. Taio dies in an instant with his goals left unfulfilled, like all victims of the Storm. [b][Storm Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Storm") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "violet" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Water") or (element2 = "Water")) #Channel the sea into a whirlpool. [Improves Water Element] Your body manifests a swirling dark blue aura as you rise to your feet. As you cycle the energies from deep within your Cores you find the water itself desires to cycle too, releasing from your spirit with greater ease and pushing out more chi into a single effect then you can normally ever muster. Beneath the wooden docks you sense why. The ocean calls. Taio's eyes meet you for just a moment when he turns around. Immediately after he's swallowed by the sea when your channeled Water chi manipulates the waves themselves, washing over the dock and dragging Taio down into the depths. You pull more and more water from your surroundings, forming a whirlpool around Taio that rises above the water's natural surface. His body spins uncontrollably in the whirlpool's center. Then you strike. One high leap over the whirlpool gives you the vantage you need. All the water thrashed into the air from your violent conjuration pulls around your arm and spins into a raging cyclone. You descend into the whirlpool and strike at Taio with that massive water punch spinning the opposite direction of the whirlpool's current. *set corenum 3 *gosub_scene quicks spendall The two attacks collide in an explosion of water and dense spiritual power that rocks every ship in the dock with twelve-foot swells. Within the center of that eruption you feel every single impact as your spinning waterfist crashes into his body over and over, crushing him from above and below. The corrupted Clone Technique that sustained him all these years collapses under the pressure and his screams can be heard all across Ebikowa as he explodes into a crimson mist, just like the first Taio clone you defeated. [b][Water Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Water") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "blue" *selectable_if ((element1 = "Wind") or (element2 = "Wind")) #Plummet him to the ground from on-high. [Improves Wind Element] Emerald swirls spring around your aura with great speed, to such a violent degree that even the waves beneath the dock swirl in your presence. You grip all that Wind chi in your spirit and launch yourself forward. Taio turns around with eyes widening only in time to see your hand covering his face. The massive burst of speed helps you catch Taio by the head and launch a second enormous surge of Wind energy pulling the two of you straight into the air. Taio's muffled scream from your palm covering his mouth is made more desperate by the Wind chi you have pressing on all five of your fingers, supernaturally tightening your grip around his skull as you rip the man into the heavens at impossible speeds. You only turn around after you're both five hundred feet in the air. And then you launch a third, final, and continuous burst of Wind chi behind you, plummeting you both towards the ground. *set corenum 3 *gosub_scene quicks spendall *if (hairlength = "Bald") Your bald scalp freezes in the wind *elseif (hairlength = "short-trimmed") Your close-trimmed ${haircolor} hair does little to protect your scalp from the cold winds *else Your ${haircolor} hair whips back from the hurricane winds as every last ounce of energy in your spirit converts into Wind chi behind your elbow, shoving Taio forward so he takes the full impact when you both land. Taio's skull slams into the docks with such incredible force that the wood, water below, and sand below the water are all blown aside. You follow through on the charge through all three surfaces and keep your grip on his face until the back of his head collides into the dense rock underneath four feet of sand. The Clone Technique sustaining Taio all these years finally comes to an end as his body explodes into a crimson mist. [b][Wind Mastery Improved to "Adept"][/b] *if (element1 = "Wind") *set element1rank + 1 *else *set element2rank + 1 *set spiritbrandcolor "emerald" *page_break *label skipbreak *if (sonarmode) [b][Thunderfaller vs Taio the Scholar][/b] [b][Victory!][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-thunderfaller-vs-taioscholar.png *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-victory.png *if (((fiendish = false) and ({mettaio#3} = 0)) and (jadedragonfoundation = false)) *achieve dustbite *set fighting false *gosub_scene quicks statcheck *line_break *line_break *set prestige + 1 *gosub_scene quicks fightexp *if (({mettaio#3} = 1) or (fiendish)) The last dregs of your active demonic power are consumed in your final attack, you can only hope the others don't notice. *if ({mettaio#3} = 1) You're not entirely sure what happened yourself. One moment you were dying and the next you were beating Taio to death. Was your vision real, or just a lucid fever dream? Was the power from your Fuel Foundation using the Demonic Gate around you, or from shards of Taio's soul within? Neither bodes well. *if (yokaitrait1 = "demon tail") [i]!!![/i] An odd sensation runs up your spine and you realize your new tail isn't going away. Thankfully it's prehensile enough and you kept your back to everyone for the fight; you loop it into your pants from behind and pray no one caught a glimpse. *page_break The freed Ebikowan captives look around in wonder as it dawns on them that their living nightmare has come to an end. They're finally safe. With all of the Fiends converted to power for Taio and Taio himself destroyed at your hand, several of them come out of their battle shock and begin to laugh, scream, and cheer. Many turn to each other in tight embraces, others beat their weapons into the ground and chant your name as you return from your fight and meet up with the others. *if (style = "Akakiru") Leona isn't among them. Concern grows in the back of your mind after thinking of all her injuries, but you calm down when you spot her in the water. It seems she's snuck off to steal all the swords of the fallen while no one is looking, only stopping to glare at Kosuke for already doing the same. An inhuman scream interrupts the cheers as it echoes from the Ebikowa graveyard. Silence falls over the crowd. "What the Hells is that?" Bo asks quietly. *label insightcheck *if (insight >= 2) [b][Insight 2 Check Passed][/b] *set solexp + 2 You close your eyes and send a pulse of your *if (style = "Akakiru") Bladed *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") Sacred *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") Mystic *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") Cursed *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Wild Chi deep into the town, trying to spiritually scan such a large distance, and you feel it. Your scan brushes against something that gives the impression of a towering wall of a single wide bone, as if the creature's very soul was a collection of Death. And you realize you were holding your breath when you finally exhale in relief, sensing that it's heading away from you all. "It's nothing good." You reply. "But it's leaving. We should too." No one disagrees. *else [b][Insight 2 Check Failed][/b] You try to reach out your senses to discern what type of horror was just unleashed and can't sense anything, the chi of your spiritual scan not extending beyond the docks. "It's not good." Leona *if (style = "Akakiru") says from below, *else says, her eyes closed in concentration, "but it's heading away from us, fast." All villagers around you stop holding their breath at once, but you still know it's time to leave. "Everyone gather around!" You shout, collecting the large assembly by the ships that weren't damaged in the fight. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") Angelo joins in with an approving applause. Cerulean sparks fly around him as his Sacred Chi forms a hundred tiny barriers that collide into themselves, forming the sound of fifty more applauding hands. "Well done!" He cheers. "You had me worried for a minute there, what with being impaled by the condensed corrupting energies of a Demonic Gate. Quite damaging to the spirit, you'll want to see a healer." You stare at him without expression. He smiles innocently. "I am sure you are wondering why I didn't assist with that." You stare at him without expression. His smile holds firm. "To be honest, I felt confident you had it under control, and there were many innocent lives to consider, so in the grand scheme of things-" You stare at him without expression. His smile holds firm. "I...Any damage to the soul from such an unprecedented affliction can likely be healed, there are worse things in the..." You stare at him without expression. His smile falters. "...You are correct." He gives a gentle bow. "I am sorry, $!{name}. My overconfidence in the battle pained you dearly. I swear make it up to you, hopefully without gratuitous violence, but that is not off the table." *choice #"Deal." "Deal." You reply. "That was quite fast." Angelo replies in concern. "Are you s-" "Hey, you sat by and let me get impaled by the wailing screams of a thousand lost souls. Now you owe my enemies one of those through-a-building kicks. Fair's fair." Angelo looks off in the distance and tilts his head in resignation. "That absolution is difficult to argue, fair [i]is[/i] fair." *label angeloshrieker Suddenly an inhuman shriek comes from deeper in Ebikowa, near the graveyard. All eyes turn toward the sound. Angelo closes his eyes and reaches his spiritual senses out. "Whatever it is, it's heading away from us. Fast. But we should go all the same." You couldn't agree more. *page_break #"I'm just giving you a hard time, it was my fight." "I'm just giving you a hard time," You reply. "It was my fight." *set honor + 2 Angelo lets out a heavy exhale. "Thank goodness, I was worried you would hold that against me. I truly didn't expect him to control an entire Gate's energies, let alone wield them as a weapon. My apologies again." *label quitweird "Quit being weird, big guy." Kosuke says, waltzing by with a sack of other people's possessions over ${bffhisher} shoulder. "If ${heshe} says you're good then you're good." *goto angeloshrieker #"I'm just giving you a hard time, no one else helped either. Lazy louts." *set honor - 2 "I'm just giving you a hard time," you reply, "no one else helped either. Lazy louts." Angelo laughs nervously. "Yes, that does alleviate some guilt in that it's a shared sin. Though I do believe that makes it worse." *goto quitweird #"Stand by while I'm ambushed like that again and I will set your hair on fire while you sleep." *set angelorep - 2 *set leonarep + 3 *set ruthless + 2 You look him in the eyes and narrow your own. "Stand by while I'm ambushed like that again and I will set your hair on fire while you sleep." Angelo nods along attentively, growing mildly concerned with the levels of sincerity showing on your face. "Duly noted." *goto angeloshrieker *if (heshe = "she") #"Hmm...What else isn't off the table?" *set angelorep + 3 *set angeloromance + 1 "Hmm..." You place one finger on your pursed lips in pondering. "What else isn't off the table?" His mouth opens but nothing comes out, for once having nothing to say. In a rare occurence you've actually caught the powerful man off-guard. *choice #"Calm down tiger, I'm just kidding." *set metangelo + 1000000 *set angeloromance 0 "Calm down tiger," You say with a dismissive playful punch against his shoulder. "I'm just kidding." "Thank goodness." Angelo replies, scratching his cheek and looking off in the distance. "Relations between Student and Master are incredibly unwise." "I wouldn't call myself a Student, since I did most of the work in the fight." "And that stings even more." Angelo says with concession, still smiling. "Well played, I understand now how you grasped victory so easily." "It wasn't easy..." You turn to move on from the conversation but can't stop one last barb over your shoulder with a narrowing glare. "...seeing as you didn't help." Angelo's mouth closes and he places a hand on his heart. "The amount of salt you rub into wounds could finance a Trade Sect, and I promise you the point is most assuredly taken." *goto angeloshrieker #[Rest your head against his chest] [Seduction] *set angeloromance + 2 *set metangelo + 2000000 You rest your head against his chest, feeling his calm and steady heartbeat even after the throws of battle. It feels like a rock foundation, a constant and steady rhythm that you can depend on. It gives off the very presence and sensation of protection and reliance. Then you furrow your brow, sensing the Sacred working that's causing that impression. With a twitch you look up to him in surprise, probing deeper with your own Sacred Chi. You peer past the resonance and mental impressions he's keeping around himself with his aura and look deeper, into the true mental energies around the man. For the briefest of moments your minds connect on a surface level. [i]Ancestors, WHAT?![/i] You scream internally, jumping back. That was [b]so many[/b] thoughts of you and him and...things! Vulgar things! This man is a priest! Or a pilgrim. Or a monk. You're not sure, but he's not supposed to be thinking anything like that! When you do jump back, an unseen Bloodwalker's tendril strikes for your heel and barely misses by pure coincidence. Angelo sweeps in low beneath you and kicks the Fiend with a blue-glowing leg. It explodes in a spray of cerulean and crimson when his foot crushes through its center and he catches you before you fall. Just as quickly, he stands at his full height, lifting you into the air in his arms. "Are you okay?" He asks, looking around in surprise when the crowd breaks out into "ooohs" and "aaahs". What did you just sign up to do [i]in front of a crowd[/i]?! "H-Hah." You meant to say 'hey' and slow things down but it comes out as a warm exhale of excitement. [i]Damn it girl,[/i] you think to yourself, [i]get it together![/i] The crowd's cheers fall away when your eyes meet Angelo's, your breathing quickening and your chest fluttering like butterflies. Being cradled this high up makes you realize just how incredibly [i]large[/i] Angelo is. The loose robes had offset his image this whole time but as your bodies are held so close against each other you realize the man holding you up is a mountain of power that might be as large as Crusher Mao himself. Too slowly, you realize one of your arms is on his shoulder and the other is pressing against the solid muscle of his chest. You find yourself leaning in, cheeks burning red, and pulling Angelo's face closer to yours in front of this [i]entire[/i] crowd. Ugggh, so forbidden. You close your eyes and purse your lips with wave after wave of acceptance and bliss washing over you. *page_break This is it. It all shatters when you're forced to cover your ears and contort your body instead, guarding yourself from a piercing shriek that comes from deep in Ebikowa near the graveyard. The echo indicates how impossibly loud the wailing shriek must have been up close. Angelo, partially bent towards you in his arms, looks off to the town and closes his eyes. You feel a quick spiritual scan as his aura lightly pulses out in an incredible radius. "Whatever that is, it's heading away from us fast...impossibly fast. We should go." "Um...Yes." You admit. "Put me down, quickly." *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *if (heshe = "he") Guiren's men, beaten and battered, join in and Guiren himself even joins in reluctantly. *else Guiren joins in, smacking his beaten and battered men to get them to cheer louder. "That was one hell of a show, looks like you take the glory this time." Guiren says, pulling you through the crowd before whispering close. "Did you use the Talisman?" *choice *selectable_if (talisman) #"I did, it was incredible." *set metguiren +1000000 "Yes, it was...incredible." You admit, having stolen power from Taio directly and mastered his bizarre Technique from outside of your Path [i]permanently[/i]. "I can't believe something like that exists." "[i]Did[/i] exist." Guiren corrects with a prolonged sigh. "Even the opportunity to earn The Boss's tokens is incredibly rare. Hopefully he doesn't find out I used both in one day." "What exactly is The Boss if he's able to do that?" "You mean what kind of entity can hand out Transformations and Advancement?" Guiren's eyes lose the merriment he had a moment ago upon your victory. He looks back to his men who are still cheering, some even chestbumping, then looks back to you with concern. "I don't know." *set val 0 His demeanor unsettles you but it's thrown off *selectable_if (talisman = false) #I did, sorry." [Lie] "I did use the Talisman, sorry." You lie to your Guiren's face. There's no way you're handing back this mysterious power, whatever it is, when you can probably sell it for a fortune or use it in an emergency. *if (((deception >= 2) and (stealth >= 2)) and (handseals >= 2)) *set metguiren + 3000000 *else *set metguiren + 4000000 "Damn." Guiren says, biting a knuckle and looking off to the side. "The Boss will have my head, but at least we made it out alive. Did the bald guy have anything good on him?" "He exploded into mist." You reply sourly. Guiren sighs. "Any good Soul Treasures before that?" "A few Blood Marbles that contained Techniques, which also dissolved into mist." "Can't say I'm fond of mist right now." Guiren replies. You couldn't agree more. *set val 1 Suddenly the conversation is interrupted *selectable_if (talisman = false) #No, didn't need it. *set metguiren + 2000000 *set honor + 3 *set agiexp + 2 "No, didn't need it." "Excuse Me?" Guiren asks in doubt. "You didn't need it?" "...Yes?" He squints into your eyes for several seconds before breaking out into an exaggerated impression of you. "How. Fucking. Dare you. We were going to be even and then you go and kill him on your own? Now I look like a piece of shit for not helping! in front of my men!" "...." Guiren stops mid-rant, his hand raised in irritation. "I uh..." His arm doesn't move but his expression does. "I mean thanks. The Boss would honestly have my head if I used both his Talismans in one mission. Also thanks for, you know, killing that guy." "You're welcome." You reply with a disapproving shake of the head, tossing the Talisman back to him. Well, over his head at least. He reaches out off the dock to catch it and only avoids falling in thanks to his tail wrapping around a pole. You unwind it and push him the rest of the way. *set val 898 The laughter broken out by the crowd around you is interrupted by an ear-piercing shriek coming from deep in Ebikowa, near the graveyard. The crowd around you silences immediately. "Yoji," Guiren says quietly, "You're the best sensor on the team, what is that?" Yoji closes his eyes and senses out, his red Oni skin nearly paling to a Human shade. "I don't know, but it's heading..." He tenses his closed eyes, focusing. "away from us. Fast." Everyone around you lets out their held breath at once. "Let's get out of here anyway." Guiren says. You couldn't agree more. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") Desdemona's disciples join in, their robes and gi in tatters, while she only rolls her eyes and nurses a bruised and bleeding cheek with a rag while your approach. "Looks like the worst is behind us. How's it feel to be an entire town's hero?" *choice #"Feels good." "Feels good." You admit. Desdemona smiles wryly, an unusual expression on her *if (heshe = "he") lips. *else face. "Well don't get used to it, my disciples and I aren't fond of being in debt. If we're to truly be allies you'll have to get in trouble so we can save you back." *if (heshe = "he") "Good luck with that, I haven't been in trouble since-" "Earlier this evening?" Desdemona asks, lifting up a finger holding an open pair of Binder's Bands. *set desrep + 1 "Well played." *else "I only promise to try." You reply just before an *goto earpiercerdes #"You tell me, you kept them alive while I fought." "You tell me, you kept them alive while I fought." *set desrep + 4 *if ((heshe = "he") and (bodytype != "Manlet")) *set desromance + 1 "Choosing the modest route are we?" Desdemona's lips nearly give a genuine smile, and her eyes actually do. "Well I wouldn't. Our alliance has been a lifesaving choice for me and my disciples. I should be seething with jealousy and you should be proud. And...I'm *if (heshe = "he") thankful we met." *else thankful for your help." "Lady Desdemona!" Shouts Li Moon, the girl in glasses. "You cannot be speaking as if you are equals with a mere beginner in the Mystic Arts!" Desdemona doesn't turn around, instead she closes her eyes in irritation, her upper lip curling as she addresses her disciple. "Li Moon, ensure you receive five lashes before we reach Nanhou." "Y-Yes Lady Desdemona." The meek disciple replies just as an *goto earpiercerdes #"I was killing the man who wronged me, everyone else was fortunate to be in my wake." *set desrep - 3 *set ruthless + 3 *set honor + 2 *set powexp + 2 "I was killing the man who wronged me, everyone else was fortunate to be in my wake." The applause from Desdemona's disciples slows to a silence as they stare uneasily at your serious demeanor. The only exception is Li Sun who nods in approval. "Wow." Desdemona replies with a distinct frown. "Most people would say 'you're welcome' and leave it at that." "I am not most people." You walk past the cheering crowd, ignoring their unnecessary praise and instead keep your focus on the remaining ships behind them. An *label earpiercerdes ear-piercing, inhuman shriek interrupts the cheer from the rest of the crowd, echoing across the entire town of Ebikowa. Silence falls over the docks as the villagers stare in horror in the direction of the noise. Li Moon speaks up first. "Lady Desdemona, none of the Fiends sounded like that...what did we just hear?" "Something finished manifesting. Something we shouldn't fight." Desdemona responds, eyes closing as she senses it out. "It's moving...away from us. Fast." Dozens of villagers exhale in relief but they each pick up their pace all the same. Everyone anxiously follows your lead towards the seaworthy vessels that survived the fight. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang and her wolves howl to join in on the revelry. As you approach she rises from all fours with a wide carefree smile, her hair a mess and skin covered in claw marks. "You've done it! A complete victory, absolutely and assuredly devastating!" She seems giddy with excitement, jumping up and pointing behind you. "Why do you not gloat? Gaze upon the dissipating mist that was once the man who thought himself your greater, and laugh at him!" You consider her offer as the crowd cheers around you, the scattered remains of the demonic chi that had held Taio's clone together dissolving in the air behind you. *choice #[Turn around and laugh] You inhale quickly through your nose, taking in the heavy salt water. "Yeah." You reply with a relieved smile. "Why not." With a quick turn you move back through the crowd and look into the sky around you where the crimson demonic chi that held Taio's clone together is losing its form and dissolving to nothing. "I BEAT YOU!" You shout out into the air "I BEAT YOU [b][i]AGAIN[/b][/i]!" You start to laugh, taking in the empowerment of your own words. People even clap behind you but you ignore it, this is for you. "AND IF YOU EVER SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND ME I'LL BEAT YOU A THIRD TIME AND A FOURTH! I'LL ALWAYS BEAT YOU BECAUSE-" *if (honor < 50) [b][Honor Check Failed][/b] *set honor - 1 *Set fangrep + 1 You puff out your chest and throw both arms wide open, "-BECAUSE I'M FUCKING INVICIBLE!!" *else [b][Honor Check Passed][/b] *set honor + 1 *set fangrep + 4 You pull both hands in a horse stance and scream up to the Heavens. "-BECAUSE I AM $!!{fullname}!" "YEAH!!" Screams Kosuke behind you and the crowd joins in. You turn around to see Tian Fang clapping merrily, her wolves howling around her. She was right, actually, that did feel good. The feeling drops immediately when you hear *goto fangearpiercer #"I'll gloat when I find the real Taio and introduce him to his Clones in Hell." "I'll gloat when I find the real Taio and introduce him to his Clones in Hell." You reply, walking past her to prepare for departure. Her ears flop down in disappointment and her tail stops wagging. Her wolves close their mouths when they realize the revelry is over. They're right to, you know it. There's no reason to celebrate just yet. This being the second time you've run into a clone of the same man has given you the sense that you're not done with Taio or the problems he causes. "Come on, it's time to go." You walk past her and the crowd of villagers to look upon the vessels that survived the fight, massive structures bigger than most buildings. Riverboats have never been bigger than a small cabin's floor, are sea ships really supposed to be this big? The answer to your question is cutoff by *goto fangearpiercer *if (heshe = "he") #"Cool guys don't look at explosions." "Cool guys *label dontlook don't look at explosions." You reply while walking past the crowd. Taio's remaining energy vanishes into the ether without even earning your notice. *set leonarep + 1 *set fangrep + 2 "Ooooooh!" Tian Fang and Kosuke both holler at once. "I must write that down!" Fang says, somehow withdrawing a clean scroll from her bloodied battlerobes. She begins to scribble but gets interrupted by *label fangearpiercer an ear-piercing inhuman shriek coming from deep in Ebikowa, near the graveyard. "What, what is this?!" Tian Fang shouts out while covering both of her sensitive ears, her wolves barking around her. *goto insightcheck *else #"Cool girls don't look at explosions." "Cool girls *goto dontlook *page_break *label askaboutships "Who owns these ships?" You ask to the crowd. "Sunbringers came in on them." One man speaks up in the back. *if (style != "Akakiru") Leona nods behind the man and points to herself, mouthing the words 'I came in on them'. "Then they're ours." Bo says. "The Thunderfall Sect and Sunbringer Sect are enemies. As I'm the senior Thunderfaller present, they fall to the Bo Clan." "Agreed!" Leona chirps *if (style = "Akakiru") cheerfully from under the dock, stealing who knows what. *else cheerfully. "I'm sure no Sunbringers survived and no repercussions will ever befall the Bo Clan's health or finances when they're split all the way to the coast halfway across Outer West." Bo Lo's eyes dart to the top-right of his vision as he ponders. Then he starts to sweat. Finally he nods with a nervous laugh while patting you on the back. "Congratulations on your bounty." *if (style = "Midorikatai") Tian Fang snickers and Bo walks off to gather supplies while Kosuke looks upon your selection of double-masted dhows, an incredible luxury you never expected in a hundred years. *if (distraction = "Fire") That is, ${bffheshe} looks upon the ones that aren't [i]on fire[/i]. $!{bffheshe} spits on the ground. "They're no Atakebune, but they'll do. I suppose." You throw a bag at ${bffhimher}. "Jealousy is a disease. May you get well soon." Kosuke rolls ${bffhisher} eyes with a smile. "You stole that line from the butcher's kid. I'm stealing it too if you don't use it at the Trials." $!{bffheshe} looks back to the ships while *if (style = "Aoyusumu") Angelo tends to the wounded civilians. *else the freed civilians finish tending to each other's wounds. "So which ones are you thinking about? Worst case scenario we can dismantle one ship to fix another if we have problems, but only if we take the same type of ship so...What are we sailing in, boss?" You look upon the large, double-masted dhows and notice Kosuke's right. They all share the same general design and must be from the same raided shipyard; even the Reinforcement seals on their hulls to protect against chi have the same patterns. Design-wise, it's as if someone had tried to create the larger junkships and had to scale down, but there are clear differences among them. *if (cj = 2) With deep concern you look back to the armed civilians who robbed the Sunbringers for you. "Which ships did we put the cargo on?" "Apologies, Young Master." Says one of the men with a bloody-wrapped leg. "We knew not which ship you would desire, so we put all our loot onto the..." *elseif (distraction = "Fire") In the end it's a tough choice, but you're forced to pick the ones Kosuke didn't light on fire. You order everyone to get on the... *else In the end you order everyone to get on the... *choice #Merchant Ships [Increased Cargo Capacity, Improved Security] *set flagshiptype "merchant" *set flagshipbase + 10 *set flagshipspeed 5 #Combat Ships [Ballista, Crew Training Available] *set flagshiptype "combat" *set flagshipbase + 15 *set flagshipspeed 5 #Transport Ships [Increased Speed, Increased Passenger Capacity] *set flagshiptype "transport" *set flagshipbase + 10 *set flagshipspeed 6 *if (cj = 2) *set loot 9 *set loot + perception *if (distraction = "Fire") It's by the grace of the Heavens that the ships holding your cargo aren't the ones Kosuke burned down. *else *rand loot 3 5 *set loot + perception *if (flagshiptype = "merchant") *set loot + 10 "Come on everyone." You announce, choosing the ${flagshiptype} ships. "It's time to depart before any more trouble shows up." "You heard the Captain!" Kosuke shouts, rounding up the civilians. "Stay here with who knows what Fiends, or come on board and congratulate yourselves on your promotion to ${clan} retainers." Bo walks towards the ramp of one of your ships, but not the one you're getting on. "Oh Hells no! Short guy, wait!" Leona interrupts, knocking freed civilians aside to stop him. "We're all getting on the same ship or we're all getting in the same stomach!" Bo cringes. "What? What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about survival, you mountain inbred, the sea is home to Beasts bigger than whatever you're imagining." She wipes black blood off her blades and onto her pants while talking. "We need all our auras in one place to seem like a threat and not a meal. The other ships can ride close to our glory if they want to stay alive, sure, but if we're not all in one place then every ship is just fish food." *set val 3 *if (style = "Akakiru") "How do you know so much about ships?" Kosuke asks. "Aren't Sunbringers from the mountains too?" Leona smiles at the crowd innocently. "The same reason Sunbringers had ships in the first place to get here. They never told us [i]why[/i] we studied the sailing craft, but we trained in it for years." She snorts in laughter, rubbing her nose and looking skyward in recollection. "We actually had a single ship in a lake and were so sure the Thunderfallers would find it. I had guard duty on that beat up glorified boat so many times over five years." "Did we ever find it?" You ask. Bo startles after a short silence when he realizes you're talking to him. "Oh, right." "Yeah, you're the only one that's really in the Sect's business." Kosuke says. "I know that, *if (bffheshe = "he") asshole, *else harlot, that was summed up by the word 'right' in the sentence 'oh, right'. And no, we didn't know they had a ship hidden away in their territory. Does your training mean you can chart the stars?" "Yes, and better." Leona adds. "We built from a smuggler's schematic, so it means I know how to build hidden cargo holds." She walks passed the crowd *if (heshe = "he") and drapes her arms around your shoulders, *else and looks you dead in the eyes, asking in front of so many witnesses. "How would like a ship that can make some serious criminal money?" *choice #"Do it." "Do it." You order. *set leonarep + 2 *label youridea *set metleona + 10000000 Leona squeals, Bladed Chi erupting in massive slashes around the nearby dock in an instant that cuts an entire section to pieces. She leaps over and collects the freed lumber before leaping up to your ship's taffrail and turning around with a beaming smile. "You won't regret this! Unless you end up in jail, but if that happens just remember that it was your idea!" #"Helllll yes." "Helllll yes I want to make serious criminal money," you reply, "why is that even a question? Chop chop woman, get to work!" *set leonarep + 4 *set honor - 2 *goto youridea #"I'll pass." "I'll pass." You reply. *set honor + 1 Leona pouts and walks off, dragging her feet as if depressed. #[Push her into the water] *set leonarep - 3 *if (heshe = "he") *set leonaromance + 1 Her sultry and confident expression shifts immediately to that of a hurt and helpless kitten when you shove your palm into her armor and push her off of you, *else Her confidence flies out the window and shifts to surprise and panic like a cat thrown into a bath as you shove your palm into her armor, knocking her right off the dock and into the ocean. She sinks to the bottom and walks back to shore while everyone else gets back to work. *goto shipcounter *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") "Now now," Angelo interrupts, seated on a box and bandaging a man's ankle. "That all may be true, except for the inbred part, I assume, but we'll do quite fine on our own. Young lady, do you know of the Seal of Enlightened Passage?" Leona's mouth tightens and she looks around to Bo, Kosuke, and you. "....No." "That's quite alright, I shall have to handle the load alone but it's not an obstacle." He rises and pats the injured civilian on the shoulder. "It's a Sacred Lands traditional Seal that keeps violent thoughts suppressed, I will cast it on each ship's hull and predators will be turned away. We will all be just fine." Leona chews on her cheek, looking Angelo up and down. Finally she walks over to you in front of everyone and loudly whispers directly into your ear with her hand over her mouth. "I don't trust this monk. He solves problems too easily." "Ancestors, the horror." You respond. "He'll probably keep doing it, too." "Won't someone think of the children?!" Kosuke cries out, dropping to ${bffhisher} knees. The crowd of civilians crack up and even Bo breaks into laughter with them. For the first time in too long a spark of joy ignites among the residents of Ebikowa. *set retainer_morale + 6 Angelo returns to work, bandaging another's wrist without looking at you, but the joy is interrupted when Sacred chi other than your own resonates in your spirit. Angelo's voice speaks directly into your thoughts and you prepare for bad news if he's not willing to share it with everyone else. "I'm casting a secondary Seal on the sails to make travel more effective, you'll be able to requisition an additional ship by spreading the crews thinner." *set shipcount + 1 Huh. That's better than bad news. "Why aren't you speaking out loud?" A hesitant inhaling hiss enters you mind from Angelo pondering his response. "It's the strangest coincidence, but I never get rest when early-morning workers know I can make their jobs easier." *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") *set val + 3 "My Seals can disguise our auras entirely or make them appear far larger." Desdemona steps forward, her Disciples standing in purple uniform behind her with hoods over their heads. "I'm more concerned about keeping as many of these valuable ships as possible. How many crewmen does each require at minimum?" Leona shrugs. "Twwwwelve?" She looks to the civilians for confirmation and sees one fisherman nodding slowly in the back. "Twelve." "Then it won't be a problem." Desdemona replies confidently, raising a set of fuuinjutsu tags toward Li Sun, her only disciple still holding a weapon, and the familiar girl in glasses beside him. "Disciple Sun, Disciple Moon, take six crewmen each. You can make up for the rest with your Seals and these tags." Her Disciples takes several tags from Desdemona's hands and bow at the waist. "As you wish, Lady Desdemona." Says Li Moon, the sister. "You twelve!" The brother, Li Sun, points to the leftmost selection of Ebikowan citizens. "You're with us." *set shipcount + 1 They both depart in a march with their new crews and you notice life slowly come back to Desdemona's eyes, as if finally being in charge again brought back a piece of her that's been missing since her abduction. Or maybe she simply feels hope again. She takes a deep, relieved sigh and turns back to you while the others pile onto your ship. "How's that for paying you back? An entire ship. Not too bad I'd say." "It's a big gift, are you sure they're both mine?" You ask, and immediately regret it. Why are you arguing against a free ship? "Killing that...thing, was a larger gift." Desdemona replies with a *if (heshe = "he") and (desromance >= 1) shudder before looking off to the side coyly. "And I appreciate large gifts." The corners of her mouth turn upward in what some may consider a smile, or perhaps an upside-down frown. "I'll be in my chambers studying if my Seals are to keep up. I entrust the smooth voyage to you, oh [i]Captain[/i]." She turns and ascends the ramp in front of you, her hips swaying a little too wide and a little too slowly. Her other disciples stare with their mouths slightly ajar before following. *else shudder. "I still don't understand what he really was. I'll need to consult the tomes." She gives a shrug and for once her scowl disappears as she confesses in honesty. "I'll continue to aid you because our alliance requires you to do something important in Nanhou, there is much work ahead of me if I'm to earn it." She turns and ascends the ramp with her other disciples. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") *set val + 4 "Alright, let's send Wencheng to keep things in order on the other ships then." Guiren nods to his underling. "Huh?" Wencheng responds, pulling off his shinobi mask of black cloth to reveal he's been chewing some sort of snack. "Why me?" "Because you have the lowest Aura Pressure, but more importantly because I said so Wencheng, Hells damn. Show some respect for your leader in front of the Laborers for once and just follow an order." "[i]You're[/i] the one who made me their captain." Wencheng protests, head tilting forward with a shit-eating grin. "How about [i]you[/i] show some respect to the Captain in front of his crew?" Yoji the Oni burts out laughing and puts a hand on Guiren's shoulder. "You have to admit, that's the best point he's ever going to make in his life. Let him have it." "Aw shit. Fine, I'll let him have it." Guiren grumbles, walking up the ramp to your ship with his tail whip-cracking against the flooring. "Let him have it real good when we get to Nanhou that is." *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") "It's true!" Shouts Tian Fang. "It is most vital, and of most importance, that we keep all Aura Pressures close together! That is why my wolves must come on our main ship." She nods smugly and pats the head of two full-sized adult wolves flanking her. Their tails wag too. Eight more sit behind them. "No." Bo replies. "Hell no." Kosuke adds, reliving memories of ${bffhisher} nights outside the town walls. "Puppies!" Leona screams, diving forward and wrapping her arms around one. It snarls and grabs her shoulder in its fangs. She ignores its chewing and ruffles its ears in both hands. "They're so soft! So fluffy! Oh my goodness who's a good boy? [i]Who's a good boy?![/i]" Bo takes one step forward but Leona turns with a sword drawn. "[b][i]They're coming with us.[/i][/b]" "I was always on board with that." Kosuke replies. Bo offers only a deadpan stare and starts loading crates. "No one can resist the ears." Fang whispers to you as if giving advice while Leona dives into the center of the wolfpack. *if (heshe = "he") She inches closer and tilts her head tilts toward you, her wolf ears twitching gently. "[i]No one.[/i]" *choice #Rub her ears. *set fangrep + 2 *set fangromance + 2 You pat her ears and rub the soft texture of her fur between your thumb and index finger's upper knuckle. She closes her eyes in contentment, arm gripping your bicep while her foot begins to thump on the wooden dock. ${retainers} civilians stand around watching, very quietly. Bo finally clears his throat. "If you and my trainer are done petting each other, people are trying to get onboard the ships before more Fiends come back and kill us all." Fang's eyes open and narrow at him but she turns nonetheless and, with a green glow pulsing in a circle under her, leaps onto the ship. She turns as she lands on the banister, her hair fluttering in the wind. "Find me later, Thunderfaller! We have a long voyage ahead!" Kosuke walks by Bo while *if (bffheshe = "he") carrying six fishing rods over his shoulder. *elseif (bffheshe = "she") holding what you suspect is a bottle of sake under her shirt to look pregnant and avoid rowing. "By 'Thunderfaller' she means $!{name} not y-" "I know." Bo hisses. #Push her into the water. *set fangrep - 4 *set fangromance + 1 You shove her into the sea with a tremendous splash, considering her light weight. You suspect she switched to Wild Chi to make the impact heavier. "Harumph!" She shouts out at you after resurfacing. "Harumph I say!" You ignore her and get everyone back to work. #Walk away. *set fangrep - 2 *set fangromance 0 *goto shipcounter *else "Shall we board the ships? I have such a fun game in mind for training the wolves, and it could help us during our journey!" You both ascend the ramp but you pause, feeling that something's off. As you turn you see two of the wolves have instinctively blocked the civilians from the ramp leading to your ship. Huh. Guard wolves. Each of your hands pats a different wolf with a green glow, channeling your Wild Chi to better communicate your commands to the animals. "Down girls. They're friends." As if supernaturally changed, the wolves stand and wag their tails, helping to herd the crew on board. Each new crewman hesitates, nervous about being stuck on a ship with a pack of wild carnivores, but enough relent and join your crew. They'll get used to the wolves all in good time, you think. Probably. *page_break *label shipcounter *set shipcount (((retainers + val) + (martial_retainers * 2)) / 12) *if (((shipcount modulo 1) >= 0.8) or ((shipcount modulo 1) < 0.5)) *set shipcount round(shipcount) *else *set shipcount round(shipcount - 1) *if (((style = "Kiihakai") or (style = "Aoyusumu")) and (shipcount < 3)) *set shipcount 3 *elseif (shipcount < 2) *set shipcount 2 *set retainer_strength (((round(flagshipbase / 5)) * 2) + (shipcount)) *set prestige + 2 *set chapter 5.7 Six rushed minutes later all crews, yourself included, manage to take ${shipcount} ships in total. Each crew unties their moorings, unfurls their sails, and descends their paddles into the water from both sides of each ship. Under your leadership the civilian crews get to work escaping the hellscape that their town has become. *if (roc > 1) Several unfortunate workers are unhappy turning your crow's nest into a literal nest for ${rocname}, but you assure them she's worth it *if (ruthless > 53) and, also, that she will eat them if they don't provide quality lodgings. *else and helped you save them all in the first place. Plus, everyone loves a mascot. *set retainer_morale + 3 Oddly it's Bo who is the last one on the docks, staring out over the destroyed town no doubt plagued with the remnants of demonic chi dispersed around it. He turns and climbs the ramp up to your ship only to look back one more time. "Something wrong?" You ask over the railing as your crew takes off, paddlers beginning the slow rowing process. "There is." He replies in his usual nasally voice. "It's something I can't get it out of my head. That Taio creature, did he say the actual words 'Transformation Technique'? Out loud? Because that is...embarassing." *if (honor >= 50) "Yes." *else "Yeah." You reply, looking out over the ocean as the sun begins to rise. "The other Taio clone did that a lot too." Bo is silent for a moment, looking out at the devastation inland. "I think we only won because the Heavens killed him for it. Please don't do it too." *choice #"It seemed to bug Mao, I think it's a fine tradition." "It seemed to bug Mao, I think it's a fine tradition." You reply, nodding with a content sigh. "Yeah...That'll be my signature." *set technaming true "Ancestors preserve us." Bo says with a groaning shake of his head. "This is going to be a long journey." "You can swim." You offer. Bo's mouth hangs open but no reply comes out. He stares at your expression without moving, gauging how serious you are. It's clear he's too used to Jack and Mao. Eventually you give him a dismissive nod and the tension leaves his shoulders. "I'll go check on the condition of the ship." He offers, leaving a little too quickly. #"I'd never do something so stupid." "I'd never do something so stupid." You assert, offended that he'd even ask. In fact, you're livid. "And you know what, Bo? Fuck you for asking." *set technaming false *set borep + 5 "Respectable." Bo responds with single nod, leaving to check on the condition of the ship. #[Toss Bo overboard.] *set technaming true You gingerly lift the exhausted Bo Lo off his feet. *if (heshe = "she") He stares into your eyes, confused. He searches for something in your gaze, his brow furrowed, and the more his eyes look into yours the more his stern expression melts into something else. Something more. Ew. *set borep - 8 You *else "What are you doing?" Bo asks. "I'm fine enough to walk." "True." You reply. "But are you fine enough to swim?" *set borep - 4 Bo's brow scrunches in confusion until you hoist him over the railing and drop him into the water without ceremony. *set spareval_7 1 He breaks the surface in a wide, flailing splash and screams obscenities until another of your ships picks him up with some nets while laughing at the boy's misfortune. "Be silent, Laborer filth!" He screams, threatening them too until they raise their nets back up. They don't lower the nets back down until he apologizes. *page_break *label skipbreak3 "What a night." Kosuke says, sitting on the railing and watching the sunrise as your ships depart from the coast. "I never want to see the color red again. At least we did more damage to the Sunbringers than Mao ever did." "That'll rub him the wrong way." You reply with a content grin while watching a fish break the surface in the distance. It even does a flip. "And thank the Ancestors for that." Kosuke replies. "Can't wait to close the book on demonic cultivation and start a new life of piracy on the high seas. If we're not doing piracy just say so, but know that I will judge you for it. By the way, ${fren} asked me to check on your fever, do you know what *if ((style = "Kurokonton") or (style = "Aoyusumu")) he *else she is talking about?" You give a long inhale. "We used a ritual to polish up my ${style} training." You reply counting one symptom on each finger, "It caused fatigue, sweating, intense pain when using your aura, headache...stomach issues. It's supposed to last for days." *if ((bffheshe = "he") or ((heshe = "she") and (bffheshe = "she"))) Kosuke claps a hand on your shoulder in support *elseif (bffheshe = "she") Kosuke offers a warm smile and you expect some sort of big talk after ${bffheshe} disappeared for so long. "Ew." $!{bffheshe} says with a supportive nod, then ${bffheshe} turns around to go pillage the pantry. "Actually." $!{bffheshe} pauses, turning with a hand rubbing ${bffhisher} chin. "Something doesn't add up. How'd you get over a fever so fast if it lasts for days?" As your ship gains speed and you leave the proximity of Ebikowa, the last of the artificial Gate's energies spill out of your body. You take one last look at the great expanse of the ocean before replying with a sly smile, "I didn't." Finally safe, the exhaustion you'd held at bay all comes crashing down at once. You collapse to the floor in the deep rest your body so direly needs. *if (style = "Midorikatai") *set power - 1 *set fortitude - 1 *if (subrace = "Wolf") *set agility - 1 *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") *set fortitude - 1 *set soul - 1 *finish *label ch5wounded *params pain pblockable eblockable *if (woundbonus != 0) *set aurapressure + pain *if ((pblockable) and (pblocktech != "")) [b][Attack blocked by your ${pblocktech}!][/b] *line_break *elseif ((eblockable) and (eblocktech != "")) [b][Attack blocked by your ${eblocktech}!][/b] *line_break *else *set wounds + pain [b][${pain} Wounds Suffered][/b] *label deathcheck *if (((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) < 1) *if ((immortality != "") and (((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1)) *temp counter 0 *label spendallchi *if ((((chipool + (soul/2)) - chispent) >= 1)) *set chispent + 1 *set counter + 1 *goto spendallchi *label returntolife *if ((((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) < 1) and (counter > 0)) *set wounds - 1 *set counter - 1 *goto returntolife *elseif (((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) < 1) [b][Not enough chi! ${immortality} Technique Failed!][/b] *goto taiotalk *else [b][${immortality} Technique Activated][/b] *line_break [b][Death Prevented!][/b] *return *else *label taiotalk *page_break Defeat... *if (sonarmode) [b][Thunderfaller vs Taio the Scholar][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-thunderfaller-vs-taioscholar.png *if (sonarmode) [b][Defeat][/b] *else *image https://www.auraclash.com/assets/img/ap-defeat.png You feel your heart stop. Your aura shatter. Your spirit rip to ribbons as the damage proves too great and your soul withers out of your broken body. Your vision dims to nothing, a heavy and oppressive darkness with only a speck of light at the end of a long tunnel. Yet the light does not dim. It grows instead, brighter and brighter. Closer, in fact. The light grows at an expansive pace until it shines over you and you find yourself standing in a bright white void of nothingness, nothing but light as far as the eye can see as if you were trapped in a sky painted white with no world below. *set mettaio + 100000000 "This is pathetic." Says a voice behind you. "To call this a battle would not even be farcical. At least farces are amusing." You turn around and see the man you expected, but that still doesn't explain how he got here as well. What's Taio doing in your afterlife? "This is no afterlife." The bald monk in crimson robes responds. "Not that of the Heavens or Hells, anyway." "Then...where am I?" "That's for you to ponder, and me to pretend to know. I've been trapped in here watching helplessly while your mundane life grants you the role of a false hero. A pretender. A big fish in a small pond. You swim mindlessly in some great wave of victory through the sheer luck of constantly having a Gate at your disposal. Yet here, when surrounded by the same advantage, you ride no wave at all and choose the path toward a placid pond?" His mannerisms are all wrong. Angrier. More direct...And then it hits you, this isn't the Taio you're fighting. This is the Taio you already killed. His face grows closer in your vision, more passionate, more maddened. "Did you not defeat me with your Fuel Foundation's tricks? Did you not STEAL my Demonic Gate?! Then do not make a fool of me! Do not insult my memory! Wake up and [i]do it again[/i], Thunderfaller!" *set val 0 *choice #"I'm trying!" "I'm trying!" You scream back into his face, heat rising in your dying veins. "You make a mockery of effort!" #"It is not my fault he's stronger than you." *set honor + 1 "It is not my fault he's stronger than you." You reply. Taio doesn't bat an eye, his brow turning into a perfect V in rage. "It is your fault he's stronger than YOU!" #"You're not real, you're not real, you're not real." *set ruthless - 2 "You're not real, you're not real, you're not real." You repeat to yourself. "Get a grip, fool, or you too will not be real!" #"Get the Hell out of my head." *set ruthless + 1 "Get the Hell out of my head." You demand. "You think I crave this prison? You think I want my last moments to be trapped inside a dying child?!" #"If it's that important then shut up and help!" *set honor - 2 *set val 2 "If it's that important then shut up and help!" You demand. "Help? HELP?! You should not NEED help!" He grabs your shoulders in the vision and you almost feel it as he tries to shake you. "Who are you to cry that your opponent is ready for your trickery? You are older now, stronger, do you really consider my pathetic duplicate worthy of keeping victory from my killer? Seize this fraud's Gate with your might!" He pulls his hands back in disgust, swiftly shifts into a battle-stance, and shoves a hardened palm strike [i]into[/i] your chest. His blow pierces through your skin and ribs in your vision. This time, at the center of your unbeating heart, you [i]do[/i] feel it. A gasp escapes your lips when his fist seizes your heart with a suffocating grip. [b]"USE IT ALREADY, YOU ARROGANT FOOL! STOP. HOLDING. BACK."[/b] *page_break Your eyes shoot open in explosions of crimson power that should not exist. The crunching of bones rings out like a gong as your body mends itself back together. You rise to your feet, glowing ${auracolor} and crimson as all the aura in the air condenses into ribbons wrapping around you like a cocoon, rebuilding your body and spirit in a dark power. *if (val = 2) *set apval 15 *set taint + 15 *else *set apval 10 *set taint + 10 *gosub_scene quicks apboost *label fixwound *set wounds - 1 *if (((health + (fortitude / 2)) - wounds) < 1) *set wounds - 1 *goto fixwound One step forward vanishes your surroundings and you're suddenly *if (docks) twenty feet behind Taio on top of the docks. *else at the docks, twenty feet behind Taio as he approaches your allies in the middle of their fight against a horde of Fiends. When did Taio get to the docks? When did [i]you[/i] get to the docks? Splinters rise into the air all around you from the wood of the platform. Did you just get here? How hard did you land? Your questions lie unanswered, for your spiritual senses demand your attention. A shiver radiates through the air, an iron-clad will currently potent enough to impose its feelings upon the world around its wielder. Not your will, but your opponent's. As Taio turns back to look upon your demonic aura appearing out of nowhere, the feeling he radiates through the air is his own justified fear. In an instant, you strike. *goto finishhim *return *label fightfiends *set taiocombat + 1 *set fiendseverity - 1 You, Bo, Kosuke, *if (style = "Akakiru") and Leona *else Leona, and ${fren} lead the charge through the crimson mist alongside your freed prisoners *if (style = "Kiihakai") and Desdemona's disciples. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") and Guiren's men. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") and wolves. *else with renewed resolve. Against an organized long-range style Sect like the Sunbringers you'd be in danger but with the crimson mist masking your location and the Fiends disorganized you cut through multiple Bloodwalkers, four crazed Sunbringers, and a dozen Lost. Your assault flashes through the red fog in a *if (style = "Akakiru") show of scarlet energy and fine *if ((((equippedweapon = "Jian") or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) swordsmanship as you sprint through the red fog blade-first and run your *if (equippedweapon = "Muramasa") cursed black blade *else ${equippedweapon} through any opponent in your way. *else swordsmanship when you charge Bladed Chi up and down your forearm to deliver devastating strikes. *elseif (style = "Aoyusumu") show of cerulean energy and kinetic might, enhancing your punches and kicks with the explosive force of a cannon. More than one Lost is blown into several pieces as you don't hold back, channeling your Sacred Chi into the combined vengeful will of mankind against such unnatural creatures. *elseif (style = "Kiihakai") show of golden energy and combat sorcery. You summon several glowing Seals mid-fight that erect barriers around you and deflect more than one Lost's claws while firing Kiihakai blasts of homing-energy. One Bloodwalker even manages to wrap around Kosuke at one point and think itself successful, only to find your flexible Yang energy cling to its body on seven different sections and pull it back in different directions, ripping the thing to shreds. *elseif (style = "Kurokonton") show of purple energy as you become a whirlwind of throwing stars, leashing your chi to each weapon and pulling them around you in an unending assault. More than once you use your Yin chi to launch yourself back somewhere you'd already been to *if ((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) stab a Lost with your ${equippedweapon} *elseif ((equippedweapon = "Bo Staff") or (equippedweapon = "Meteor Hammer")) beat a Lost with your ${equippedweapon} *else kill a Lost before its claws can impale a freed prisoner or one of Guiren's men in the back of your party. *elseif (style = "Midorikatai") show of green energy and physical might as you grab a Lost by the hip so hard that it's hip bone cracks, then throw it with both arms into a Bloodwalker so hard that the Fiend splatters. Tian Fang and her wolves sprint by you in their own glow of Wild Chi and rip Lost apart in their fangs, piece by piece. *set val 0 *if (power >= 6) [b][Power Test Passed][/b] *set val + 1 *else [b][Power Test Failed][/b] *line_break *if (fortitude >= 6) [b][Fortitude Test Passed][/b] *set val + 1 *else [b][Fortitude Test Failed][/b] *line_break *if (agility >= 6) [b][Agility Test Passed][/b] *set val + 1 *else [b][Agility Test Failed][/b] *line_break *if (soul >= 6) [b][Soul Test Passed][/b] *set val + 1 *else [b][Soul Test Failed][/b] *line_break *if (kosukecombat >= 5) [b][Kosuke Combat Test Passed][/b] *set kosukecombat + 1 *set val + 1 *else [b][Kosuke Combat Test Failed][/b] *line_break *if (bocombat >= 5) [b][Bo Lo Combat Test Passed][/b] *set bocombat + 1 *set val + 1 *else [b][Bo Lo Combat Test Failed][/b] *set bocombat - 1 *if ((equippedweapon != "") and ({weaponbonus#2} > 0)) *set val + {weaponbonus#2} *line_break [b][Weapon Test Passed: Improved Quality][/b] *elseif (((((((((((equippedweapon = "Tanto")) or (equippedweapon = "Katana")) or (equippedweapon = "Muramasa")) or (equippedweapon = "Qiang")) or (equippedweapon = "Kunai")) or (equippedweapon = "Jian")) or (equippedweapon = "Iceblade")) or (equippedweapon = "Greataxe")) or (equippedweapon = "Chiblade")) and (style = "Akakiru")) *set val + 1 *line_break [b][Weapon Test Passed: Akakiru Style + Bladed Weapon][/b] *if (fightbonus != 0) *line_break [b][Soulstealing Bonus Applied] *set val + fightbonus *if ((woundbonus != 0) and (wounds != 0)) *line_break [b][Wound Bonus Applied][/b] *Set val + (wounds + (woundbonus - 1)) *if (cj = 1) *if (craft >= 2) *set prisonerval 3 *else *set prisonerval 2 *set val3 ((6 - prisonerval) - survival) *line_break *if (val3 >= 1) [b][${val3} Freed Prisoner Casualties Suffered][/b] *line_break [b][${prisonerval} Freed Prisoners Advanced to Martial Retainers][/b] *set retainers - val3 *set martial_retainers + prisonerval *set val + 1 *set apval val *gosub_scene quicks apboost Eventually, at ground zero of the Demonic Gate, you do find real resistance. The Grim. *if ({metangelo#2} = 0) *set toldgrim true Advanced ghosts that have gained enough power to achieve a physical form once again. Forms made for killing. Each of the two Grim are massive Fiends eight feet in height and twice as wide as a man, closer to a gorilla's stature with their long tree trunk arms made of black ropes of dead flesh. White bonemasks covers their faces and act as the anchor that sustains them in the world. Kosuke, Bo, and Leona try to take one on at the same time but the fight proves too difficult, Leona spends half her energy protecting the others. You and ${fren} fair better against the second Grim, but not by much. In the center of this Demonic Gate these Grim hold far more power than they ever should. *if (style = "Aoyusumu") *if (ruthless < 50) [b][Aoyusumu Style Event! Compassion Check Passed][/b] *set val + 4 *if not (prayertalisman) "$!{name}, catch!" Angelo says, throwing a glowing stiff slip of paper to you. You grab it and charge in unison with him, *else You and Angelo charge in unison, crashing into the chest of both Grim feet-first in kinetically enhanced dropkicks. As soon as the hulks are knocked back you both launch prayer talismans through their chests. When the paper tags slip into the Fiendish flesh they explode in an eruption of kinetic Sacred Chi in all directions, ripping the Grim to pieces. *set apval 5 *gosub_scene quicks apboost Leona pants in fatigue as Grim pieces rain around her, her own wounds mounting up, and she looks from Angelo to you with a heavy pout. "I wanted to be in a cool team-up attack." A third Grim approaches from the mist behind her, striking her in the back towards you. "There's no end to them." You say while catching Leona. "We'll lose innocent lives if we don't pull back." Angelo replies. "Then pull back!" You shout to the others, erecting a wall of Sacred Chi to block the Grim from approaching while your party retreats. "Everyone to the docks, now!" *goto clipclopbreak *else You and Angelo manage to kill yours with a series of Sacred blows giving your attacks the kinetic force of cannonballs, but a third appears from the red mist behind your party. "Pull back!" ${fren} shouts. "There's no end to them!" You want to disagree but feel why: a third Grim approaches from the red mist. "That's enough everyone!" You shout back. "Get to the docks, now!" *return