Battle on the Big Bridge

Battle on the Big Bridge
Date of Scene:	30 June 2013
Location:	Archades - Upper
Synopsis:	And now we fight like men! And students! And grey-skinned eight-armed giants! But definitely men!
Cast of Characters:	Gilgamesh, Kyra Hyral, Kamon Lionward, Soan Sagittarius

---

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Archades is a city in turmoil. After the death of its ruler and the destruction of large swaths of the sprawling metropolis, Archades has fallen on hard times. The Archadian military patrols the streets, keeping the peace as best they can in the wake of the destruction and chaos.

Some people, though, still carry on with their lives as best they can. They go to school, to work, and to play, trying to ignore the rubble that does not belong in their fair city. The citizens who live in Upper Archades in particular do their best to try and forget; political intrigues aside, the upper class don't want the lives they've worked so hard (or not worked hard in at all, depending) to be disturbed by such unrest. Still, some things go undone, left to waste away in the midst of it all...

Construction, for instance. New buildings aren't a priority, nor the renovation of old ones that are starting to crumble. The repair of residences take priority, so the scattered projects in Archades go unworked.

Kamon Lionward stands in one such place. He's bare above the waist, covered only in metallic scars and a sheen of sweat. He holds a metal bar in two hands, bent in several places, snapped off at one end and roughly flattened into a facsimile of a blade. He stands in the middle of a bare-dirt construction site, abandoned by the builders as they were called across the city to assist in the reconstruction of the rest of it. Piles of stone and bundles of metal rest here and there, though the majority of it is clear, brown dirt. They haven't even broken ground for a foundation yet.

The young Odynar moves through sword katas in no particular hurry. He walks in circling patterns, striking and parrying and counterattacking against invisible opponents with a steady flow to it all. He shifts from one to another seamlessly, each more complicated than the last. It isn't about power -- it's about control. He's been at it a while. He's been /here/ a while, coming here every day since he could walk enough to reach it.

Regen spells, Hi-Potions and bed rest will only get you so far, Kamon thinks. This is helping, but he needs a challenge. How is he going to know if he'll ever fully recover if he can't push himself?

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan Sagittarius knows much about the current state of the city. He's seen it while it was being attacked, mauled by the summons in the skies. One of them was particularly painful for him to witness: Bahamut laying waste to a city. It didn't... feel right, either. That couldn't have been THE Bahamut. It smelled wrong. It /looked/ wrong. It wasn't right. Something was strange about it, he knows it, and he wants to find out. Unfortunately, it's not all that easy -- so he did his best to ease the suffering of the people.

Dragoon Man has been seen much over the city, helping and rescuing people, before vanishing immediatedly. These has been some tiring days. Still, compared to his friends, it wasn't all that much. Especially Kamon.

Speaking of him, the rogue followed him this time ot this secluded location, curious on where he was going. Training, it seems. Good. Very good. He's slowly recovering. He knows it wasn't his fault, he couldn't have predicted it, but Soan still feel responsible for what happened in the volcano. He have to tell himself that while he may be smart, he is no seer. He cannot see the future. Yet.

During one of Kamon's numerous katas, swings and turns, there is a sudden clash of steel against his metal bar. A short sword, glowing with a faint blue light, bars his way, held by the Rogue himself, grinning faintly, self-assured.

"Think fast!" He lets out, without any greetings, rapidly tapping his sword foward in a short stab, followed by a quick swing. He's not aiming to hurt him -- just test him some more.

If he's recovered, he already know how it's gonna end.

Kyra Hyral has posed:
If anything, yesterday had proven a tiny victory in the overwhelming tidal wave of unpleasant things that have happened to Archades since it was attacked by an army of Heartless. Well, not just an army of Heartless but a pair of devistating summons as well. But yesterday the defenders of the city managed to fight back against the waves of Heartless, preventing more children from being snatched. It might be temporary though because who knows where the previously stolen ones have gone.

After a long absense of recovery, Kyra has returned, refreshed and ready to make her usual rounds. Not only could she provide some healing in the form of white magic, but she had various alchemical concoctions as well. They didn't always taste very good though but they got the job done.

As she slides through, she hears the clashing of weapons and is quickly drawn to the sounds. Arriving, she is rewarded with her two favorite guys, engaged in a duel, with Kamon shirtless no less.

Kyra doesn't announce her presence, merely watching from afar with a grin on her face. Life was good.

Gilgamesh has posed:
SWORDS.

Swords have an unmistakable smell. It's true! Ask anyone. Swords smell like a specific thing. Their scent is a sweet and metallic twinge, a special smell that only certain people can possibly REALLY appreciate. Those people are called 'swordsmen', and they wander the worlds improving themselves - whether for justice, for love, for power, for evil, or just because they feel like hitting people with sharp metal objects! Yes, only 'swordsmen' can truly appreciate 'swords'!

And of those 'swordsmen', one is superior to all others! One who wields blades sharper than any other - one whose blades sing with the fury of a master's hand from long ago! This incomparable, legendary swordsman stalks through the worlds, trusty weapons at his side, ready to face any obstacles for the sake of bettering himself. The blades that sing out of those sheathes sing symphonies of destruction to the enemies of that swordsman; that vaunted hero is sung of in the tales of the worlds by names uncountable!

That man isn't here right now.

Instead you've got this guy.

"I'm telling you, Enkidu, I'm /telling you/!" The great grey giant moans, "She's never going to be okay with this. What do I say - my horrible dark master just decided to up and disappear and left me holding the bill, please let me move back in with you? That's a terrible thing to tell a woman! What do you know about women, Enkidu?! When did you start giving me advice?!"

The great green rock hound just groans as they round the corner. Gilgamesh stops, holding up his hand as he stares at Kyra, Soan...and most importantly, *Kamon*.

"Woah! Enkidu, Enkidu, look! They're having a sword duel! A sword duel, Enkidu!" The big grey giant puffs himself up, pulls up his polka-dot pants, and swaggers his way over to the kids.

"EXCUSE ME," Gilgamesh thunders, "I CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT YOU'RE HAVING A FRIENDLY COMPETITION OF SWORDSMANSHIP! THAT LOOKS INVIGORATING - WOULD YOU CARE IF I PARTICIPATE AS WELL?!"

He looks back over his shoulder and offers Enkidu a thumbs-up. The Rock Hound sighs.

Kamon Lionward has posed:
CLASH!!

Kamon snaps out of his reverie to the sight of Soan, armed and grinning, right in front of him. The metal bar that takes the place of an actual weapon vibrates in his hands. He blinks, just once.

Soan comes in with a thrust and a short swing. Kamon reacts instinctively. He takes a quick step backwards, sliding his feet along the dusty ground and bringing his 'sword' in closer to his chest, held vertically in front of him. Soan's stab goes barely an inch past his arm as he turns, letting it catch air. The slash closes, and Kamon intercepts it with his own improvised weapon, deflecting the swift strike away from him and using the weight of his weapon (and himself) to throw Soan's sword-arm wide in the process. He extends his arms and turns his wrist, rotating the rod and swinging it down in a quick cut at the neck --

-- and stops it an instant before he'd actually touch the Rogue.

Kamon blinks again. "Hey, Soan. What're you doing here?"

AND THEN GILGAMESH. The grey giant wanders on over, hollaring with a rock hound in tow. Kamon lowers his 'sword,' looking over at the unlikely pair and blinking a couple of times. Something about him seems familiar, like he should recognize him. He doesn't, of course. "Uh --" He's about to turn him down when he realizes that this is precisely the opportunity he needed: someone he's unfamiliar with to have a good fight with. His puzzled expression changes; he smiles, just a little, casting a quick questioning glance over at Soan.

"-- yeah, sure, I'm game. Need to see if I got any worse from my downtime," he adds. Kamon rolls his neck, stepping away from Soan and looking around the bare patch of dirt. He catches a glimpse of Kyra watching them and immediately flushes a little red. He lifts his free hand and waves at her. He should probably put a shirt on. "I'm Kamon -- Kamon Lionward. My great-granddad said you should always learn the name of your opponent."

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
This goes pretty much as how he expected it to go. Despite Soan's best efforts to defend himself against Kamon's precise counter attack, the rogue find himself helpless for the coming of the metal pipe, his defenses wide open as it goes straight for his neck--

And thanksfully just stops there. Good, good, he's in full control. That's very good indeed.

"Hey." The Rogue replies, lowering his blade. "Heh. Went about as well I thought it would go. I spotted you coming here, so I thought I'd follow you to see what's up--"

ENTER GILGAMESH AND ENKIDU. It's rather rare to see Soan actually surprised by the unexpected. This, however, is one of these times. Sagittarius slowly turn around to stare at the horrifically loud shouting of the grey giant, blinking rapidly at him. He has very little idea who this might be! He returns Kamon glance, offering him a subtle shurg. He ain't go no clue, man.

The Rogue steps off, lowering his sword arm as he looks at the stranger. "And I am Soan Sagittarius." He chips in, stepping away from Kamon, following his gaze at Kyra. He, himself, don't blush, giving her simply a sly smile and a brief salute with two fingers, tapping an imaginary hat.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"YOUR GRANDFATHER...sounds like a very wise man," Gilgamesh replies, swinging wildly between EXTREMELY LOUD and kinda dull in the same space it takes for him to not take a breath (which is kinda weird). The grey giant straightens, puffing out his chest to look far more impressive; he makes his way over to the pair to inspect the balde directly, the sword being way more interesting to him than the partially metal man wielding it. Whatever, he'd seen robots and espers.

Gilgamesh crouches down, his big white eyes (pure white!) staring deep at the blade. He touches it with his big grey finger, running his thumb across the blade with either expert precision or a severe lack of concern for slciing up his own hand; then he straightens.

"I," The big grey man replies as he strikes a pose, his arms stretching outwards and flexing with massive grey muscles, "Am the legendary dynamic swordsman who wanders the worlds! I am the swordsmaster whispered of only in legends across all the universes, murmured of in taverns by lesser men, who makes the women of the worlds excited by his mere presence!"

Gilgamesh leans in to Kamon and stage-whispers, "SEXUALLY."

Then he straightens and flexes again. "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF THE GENBU GATE, BEHIND WHICH COUNTLESS TREASURES LIE! I AM..."

Music starts up out of nowhere! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQqx-J-AMeI

"GIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEESH!"

"Feel free to be impressed. I know *I* would be."

BARK.

"Oh, and that's my dog Enkidu."

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Kamon's blade isn't really one. It's an iron bar taken from the construction site, cut to the approximate size and hammered into the approximate shape of a katana, and then had a piece of leather wrapped around where Kamon is holding it and affixed with some kind of adhesive for a makeshift grip. It has something like an edge, given it's flat, but it isn't actually sharpened. It is, however, pretty well balanced -- it looks like the pommel is weighted with a lump of metal.

It also looks like it was made for him, almost certainly by him. Best he could do on short notice, anyway.

The metal man wielding the blade looks curiously at the grey giant inspecting it. "It's just a practice sword," Kamon explains. "I had a different one I borrowed from our school's athletics department," before the world ended, he doesn't add, "but the blade got snapped off by a black mage's gravity spell." He shrugs helplessly. "It'll do, though. I don't want to hurt you or anything." He smiles in a way that is entirely friendly and not at all condescending. He means it!

Then he introduces himself. Perhaps unlike the rest of the times Gilgamesh introduces himself, Kamon actually looks impressed. His jaw drops, and he stares openly at the grey-skinned, white-eyed figure. He does this for a solid five seconds before he looks over at Soan, slowly turning his head before he risks taking his eyes off Gilgamesh. He works his jaw for a second, and then turns on his heel and runs across the dirt yard to his backpack and clothes. He pats them down, fumbling for something or other. Unable to find it, he pulls his jacket on instead, slapping a pocket until he finds it.

Gilgamesh, by the by, may find the gauntlet on the front of Kamon's jacket very familiar.

Kamon pulls out his cell phone. It's one of the only expensive things he ever really owned; he earned the cash to get a modern touch-screen one back home, because it was just too useful not to have. He sticks his sword in his belt to free up his hands; then, he opens up an electronic textbook and scrolls through it, eyes still wide. He comes to a page with a large, cloaked figure, with a rocky canine standing next to him, some kind of mural painted on a wall from centuries ago.

"Gilgamesh," he reads aloud, partially in a mutter, skipping through it. "Patron of the Great Span... never answers calls... no favored... unorthodox to worship... worshippers are always travellers going great distances, or wandering warriors." He slowly looks back up at Gilgamesh, still openly staring.

Then, Kamon's expression changes. A smile spreads on his face. He thumbs the phone locked and tucks it into his backpack, tugging on his collar to adjust how his jacket hangs. He steps forward, tapping the hilt of his makeshift sword lightly with his fingers. He glances to Soan. "Well... my great-granddad used to say how he'd never turn down a chance to fight someone stronger than he was, because that's the best way to learn. And if he's one of the Second Divines..." His eyes trail back to Gilgamesh, gleaming.

Kamon suddenly closes the distance between himself and Gilgamesh in barely an instant. His sword comes smoothly up from its place at his side, the dull weapon flashing in the bright midday sunlight. He comes at him with an opening move that's completely textbook, lacking only the scabbard with which to make the proper sound of the blade clearing it. Fortunately for Kamon, he's /really/ good at textbook.

"...THEN I BET HE'S GOT A LOT TO TEACH!!"

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Meanwhile, Soan's sword is far more polished, glowing with a magical light and slightly curved at one end. It also have the distinction of being a /short/ sword, compared to Kamon's improvised katana. On his other arm, he has a small buckler, tied around his wrist. It's visible, just looking at how he's armed, that he have quite a different fighting style than Kamon here.

The Rogue patiently sits through the extravagant presentation, until he tell his own name. A sudden sense of dread, mixed with an healthy dose of respect and, like Kamon, he looks suitably impressed. His mouth opens, his eyes going wide, remaining silent. Slowly, neck creaking, he meets Kamon's gaze, keeping the same expression he's had. He silently nod at hime as he go fish out his jacket, turning that gaze right back at Gilgamesh. He has a very similar phone, obviously, but someone has to keep his eyes on the /Bloody Second God/ that's standing right before them.

Kamon enumerates the known entries about Gilgamesh. His eyes still wide, he picks up his mouth, gaining a long smile on his face. Dear lord, if the Grand Dragoon knew about this, that /Gilgamesh/ is actualy bloody real and is standing right before them. No, no, better than that: THAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO FIGHT HIM!

"We have a similar saying in the Department." The Rogue says, flexing his sword with his wrist as he approaches Gilgamesh, walking sideway to get another flank on the giant. "When someone dares you to steal from the King, you don't steal is scepter, or his crown..."

Soan leaps against Gilgamesh, glowing sword raised high to be brought down into a thrusting jab, quickly spun around to smack with the flat of the blade. "You take his /entire castle/! HERE WE COME, SECOND DIVINE GILGAMESH!"

In hindsight, Soan tell himself, that saying never made much sense to him. Oh well.

Gilgamesh has posed:
"Oh, don't you worry, you won't." Gilgamesh replies as Kamon says he doesn't want to hurt the giant. Kamon's sword was simple, but it was his - and there's something about a swordsman's sword that gives it its own distinctive touch, taste, feel. It was a special kind of magic from being wielded, a magic that most wizards barely understood; it was the magic of LEGEND, of NAMES and WORDS and GREAT DEEDS. Even if a sword had accomplished nothing, in the right hands, it became something greater.

Gilgamesh is, actually, suitably concerned by someone finding him impressive. He pauses, blinks, and then looks back at Enkidu, mouthing something behind the cloth. Enkidu shrugs; Gilgamesh looks back at Kamon and crosses his arms as the boy starts reading off words from his little flashing device.

"H-hey! Who wrote that?! I demand you tell me who wrote that insulting information, I ALWAYS answer my calls! I...just screen them first. In case someone creepy or weird is calling me, and it's not a hot babe." Gilgamesh pushes his fingers together.

It's never a hot babe.

Then Kamon's face takes on a new look, and Gilgamesh immeditely recognizes it. Kamon taps the hilt of his sword - and then he closes on Gilgamesh, swinging that practice sword in hard; it bashes Gilgamesh in the head, hard!

125

Numbers pop up over Gilgamesh's head, but otherwise, the giant sustains no damage! That's...weird.

Then Kamon's friend comes swinging in. Gilgamesh doesn't let himself get struck twice; a huge, heavy blade suddenly appears out of literally nowhere, kanji written along its side. It smashes into Soan's sword, sending it spiralling to the side as Gilgamesh leaps back to give himself a bit of distance.

The sword vanishes. Gilgamesh crosses his arms, his hand rubbing against his chin. "I SEE! So, you want to steal from the King of Heroes, do you?! Then I have no choice. I didn't want to do this because you're just children, but don't blame me! Because you demanded it! BUT!"

Gilgamesh stretches. The air starts to rumble; a cleft in the dimensional fabric slices its way downwards as Gilgamesh levels his finger at Kamon and Soan. "ENOUGH EXPOSITORY BANTER! NOW..."

Six more arms explode out of Gilgamesh's body as the world behind him distorts. The music grows louder as the great Genbu Gate opens for Soan and Kamon to look upon, the riches of countless worlds and countless protagonists laid before them behind the gate. "NOW, WE FIGHT LIKE MEN!"

Flex. "AND LADIES!"

POSE. "AND LADIES WHO DRESS LIKE MEN!"

"FOR GILGAMESH.....IT IS MORPHING TIME!"

Enkidu retreats to a safe distance. He knows what's coming.

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Soan and Kamon share a moment of doubt. Then, one of realization, and another of determination. It is this that makes them brothers-in-arms: the willingness to do what most would call impossible, and what they would call another challenge. Actually, that might just be an Alexander Academy thing: you don't leave it an educated young person, you leave it a certified badass, and almost always behave as such.

Gilgamesh makes his grand gesture. Kamon jumps backwards away from him, getting out of reach of the dimensional rip, unsure of what it can be. He's a little weirded out by the numbers, but moreso by the fact that it didn't seem to /do/ anything. He looks at him with an appraising eye. What kind of swordsman /is/ --

Six extra arms burst out of Gilgamesh's body. The riches of countless worlds, and the weapons of all of them, appear arrayed behind him, beyond the Genbu Gate. Kamon's jaw drops for the second time. All of that. Is this the treasury of a god...?!

And then he has a personal epiphany.

Kamon's biggest problem with fighting someone has always been that, through winning, he has to take something away from them. Whether it be money, weapons, or merely pride on the line, he has to diminish someone else to make himself better. That kind of living isn't something he wants to do. He never wants anyone to be lessened for his own gain; he's always wanted to raise everyone else up with him. That's why he doesn't like fighting people, despite a singular love of martial engagements. That's why he tries his best to avoid conflict whenever he can, and why he's always done his best to keep to himself outside a few friends who get him.

Gilgamesh is a Second Divine. He cannot, by definition, be made lesser; he cannot, as evidenced by the Genbu Gate, lose anything of significance from being defeated by a mere mortal. And that means...

Kamon's eyes light up like he was a kid on Christmas morning.

"That's pretty impressive," Kamon says, staring at Gilgamesh's unleashed form with a completely different perspective on it. He gauges the giant's strength and speed merely by looking at him. They'll have to be in their best form to get past /his/ defense. "I would've been kind of upset if it had turned out you were holding back the whole time after we beat you." He's grinning, practically ear to ear.

Kamon rushes forward. He attacks from the right flank, coming in low with his makeshift katana and a bellowing kiai shout that even drowns out the inexplicable music. He dives to his right, moving to get in behind Gilgamesh, dancing around the reach of his many arms and then darting back in to slash at them, testing his toughness by attacking joints with his impressive strength. Get an advantage, he thinks. Give Soan an opening.

He hops backwards again and then sprints in, taking a flying leap at the giant's head and aiming to crack him right across the forehead as he jumps past. Kamon comes down towards his left side, where Soan started, twisting in mid-air and prepared for the counterattack!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan Sagittarius lets out a grunt as the heavy blade barries his twin strikes, creating a clash of sparks from the magical blade he wields. It is a pretty ordinary sword beyond the illumination factor, he can't expect it to do much good in this case. Not that he's an that amazing swordsman anyway -- the true genius is on the other side of the giant, after all. A large part of Soan can hardly believe that they are standing in front of a Second Divine. Not only that, but a Second Divine that just /challenged them to a fight/. A large part of Soan's brain is trying to coax the fact this is absolutely suicide, the more rational part. It is, however, being largely overruled by the more hotblooded side of him, wringling up the other part of his psyche in a wedgie with the very persuasive argument that this an opportunity in a life time. Who knows what they could learn from a guy like this?

Still, there's something off about him. Then again, he can't really say how it feels like to talk to a Second Divine. Dragons are another thing completely. "That's what they say about you, Gilgamesh, Defender of the Great Span! Every travellers that crosses the bridge at least say your name once!" Sayed, Soan corrects himself. He can't bother to feel even remotely depressed by the ghost of long gone Galianda. In a way, this is revitalizing for him. It's a tie, perhaps tenuous, but still a tie. Something they knew, not just 'familiar but not quite the right thing'.

Soan takes a few steps off to meet up with Kamon, giving him a firm nod. Things are getting strange, certainly. The world transforming around them into a land of wonderful riches, hazy, going as far as his eyes can see, does give the Rogue some pause. Is this an illusion, a glamour from the Second Divine to tempt them, to make them doubt, or just a grand display of his strength and massive wealth to urge them onward into battle?

Sagittarius takes a deep breath, his eyes lightning up with a bright flame of fighting spirit, grinning a toothy grin. The warrior spirit of the Dragoon burns within him, pressing him onward to the challenge. He has six arms. So what? They're in his realm of multiple wonders. He has more weapons than they both have limbs combined. This matter little! This is a good fight ahead of them, one that his honor requires him to not shrink down from!

"I would be very upset if you took us for mere children! I will dare to steal from the King of Heroes, as it is the due of all brave ones to grasp at what lies beyond their reach!" Soan lets out, taking a few steps away from Kamon to follow his movement, keeping the six-armed giant flanked, always in his sights. When Kamon shouts, screaming his own defiance.

The Rogue enact his actions. Soan moves in, body moving in speedily against the giant, using Kamon's attack as a distraction to reach out an hand for Gilgamesh, using his shield to push him over while it pilfers, doing it's own very kind of magic that Thieves, Rogues and Merchants all share. Detailed accounts, thinking even too hard about them, just letting the talent, the desire flow sufficent. It's like faeries, in a way: look at it too hard, and it falls apart. Soan knows what he wants, just as well grasping at Gilgamesh innate magic that he inflicted on himself, readiness or not, just as much his physical posessions.

He also leaves a present, one that tick, explodes into a brief cloud of powder.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Gilgamesh has NO IDEA what these kids are on about with this Second Divines stuff. Maybe they're on drugs! Kids did /drugs/ these days. That was a shame, those kids on their drugs, Gilgamesh considers as blades manifest in all eight of his arms; he casually turns aside Kamon's blade.

"HEY!" Gilgamesh shouts suddenly, as if he's having his own personal epiphany. "YOU KIDS!"

"DON'T DO DRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS!!!!!!"

Unfortunately, between his casual parrying of Kamon Lionward's impressive slashing and dancing, and his personal epiphany that he needs to set an example for these kids who clearly look up to him for...some reason (probably because he's Gilgamesh; who DOESN'T look up to Gilgamesh, after all?), Gilgamesh has allowed himself to be distracted. Soan takes full advantage of the distraction, leaping in to snag at Gilgamesh's power and tug on it a little bit. Gilgamesh's shield collapses, and Gilgamesh lets out a shout of surprise; he lets out a much louder shout as the cloud of powder explodes around him. Gilgamesh coughs as words appear above his head.

370!

"Rrrrgh...you think you're pretty quick, don'tcha?! Let's see how you feel about this! DODGE MY SWORD!"

Gilgamesh goes lunging forward; his eight arms whirl like a massive murderblender of red and grey and pink-and-purple-polkadots (weird), swinging wildly at Kamon and Soan as he ascends into the sky of his own power. Is...is he flying with helicopter power?

Maybe he is! Maybe. He. Is.

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Eight swords appear as Kamon rushes in. In hindsight, he probably should've seen this coming.

Gilgamesh casually turns aside Kamon's makeshift sword. Kamon is a little surprised by it, but only a little. It isn't often that people so easily stop his attack; he's outclassed basically everyone else in his school in swordplay save the instructors themselves, and sometimes even then. Gilgamesh stops him just as he's about to land each hit, but his wall of blades can't stop him from moving. He darts past them, parrying two of the eight swords as he nimbly darts between the other six, always a step ahead.

Then he starts to spin. Kamon jumps as soon as the helicopter blade of death starts whirling, getting above Gilgamesh's eight swords. Gravity suddenly remembers that it should do its damn job, and Kamon begins to fall as Gilgamesh continues to rise. This poses a problem, since Kamon is neither a Dragoon nor secretly able to fly, and Soan has left a cloud of sleep powder down there besides.

"If you insist!!" Kamon pulls his legs up and starts swinging his sword straight down. The iron blade clashes with Gilgamesh's eight weapons each time he's about to land on them, the impact jarring but hardly unbearable. It's through this ridiculous technique that he's juggling himself higher and higher above Gilgamesh the /whole time/.

"SKIES OF THE RAMUHA!" Kamon suddenly howls, the words more a cry for power than a yelled curse. There's a distant clap of thunder. The sunny day abruptly becomes slightly more overcast. Kamon swings his sword down into the helicopter blender of blades one more time, bringing his strength to bear. At the same time, a bolt of lightning descends from the sky, hitting his sword and charging it with electrical power just before he'd make contact!

The results will almost certainly be /spectacular/.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Does Soan think himself as quick? Relatively. He's definetively agile with his hands, his eyes sharp and his fingers nimble. However, he is painfully aware of his weakness compared to other thieves he's known, fellow rogues he's worked alongside with: he is not the quickiest one on his feet. Or at least, that's what he makes himself out to be. He needed an good excuse, a reson force himself to not start jumping all over the place like he know very well he can do. Then again, 'jumping city blocks' and 'back flipping' while being a dodgy bastard are two, completly different things in his case.

Thus, Soan does not dodge the sword as prompted, glancing upward at the flying, cutting humanoid helicopter coming down at them. His first reflex was to bring his sword and buckler-bearing arm to bear, taking the full brunt of the onslaught. The Rogue lets out a cry of defiance mingled with pain as it cuts through him, giving graces over his arms. Thanksfully, the major brunt of the attack spared him, as well as the sheer amount of efforts sliding him back accross the wonderous landscape they are standing in.

"Heh." Soan cockily says, wiping his dry mouth with his sleeves to check for blood on his arms. Some. Not too bad. Alright. "That's impressive! We're just warming up, ourselves!"

As Kamon brings down the wrath of the Ramuha, he dashes in, ducking under the helicopter blades, eyes fixated on the arms, trying to count, slow down his perception to grasp a glimsp of them spinning. Then, he knows. He simply knows. With a feel, smooth motion, he tosses upward a pair of objects. One of them unfolds into a thick, small spiked chain with two balls on each sides -- a bola, destined to ensare several of the arms together. Immediatedly, his hand dares upward at one of his wrist, letting his own brand of magic happen, to grasp at one of the blades and quite simply plifer it.

Done or not, the balls at each end of the bola, glows for a moment, then unceremoniously explodes.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Kamon nonsensicaly juggles himself upwards on Gilgamesh's blades, each strike sending him higher and higher; then there's lightning! What the-

ZZZRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAP!

263

Gilgamesh drops to the ground, exhaling. "D-damn!" But that only distracts him enough for Soan to snag something out of his hand; Gilgamesh's eyes widen as Soan manages to pluck a blade from the King of Heroes. KABOOM.

165

...wait, what is that that you just got?

YOU GOT: LIGHT DISK?!

"H-HEY!" Gilgamesh roars, outrage taking over his body, "GIVE THAT BACK! ENKIDU! ENKIDU, THEY STOLE MY DISK!"

Enkidu looks up from his position on a rock. He looks up at Kamon, then down at Soan, then back at Gilgamesh, an unimpressed look on his face.

"THEY STOLE. MY DISK."

Enkidu groans and stands up. The mighty King of All Rock Hounds lets out a challenging howl; he goes screaming across the field, darting from Kamon to Soan like a great green fang. Then he bounds back onto the wall and settles back down, looking down at Gilgamesh, as if to say 'there you go buddy, you're on your own.'

Gilgamesh frowns, his eyes flickering from white to red. "VERY WELL THEN! IF YOU WISH TO STEAL FROM ME, THEN SO BE IT! BUT I WARN YOU - I PUNISH THIEVES *VERY* HARSHLY!"

"TASTE THE STRENGTH OF MY ULTIMATE TECHNIQUES!"

Gilgamesh's swords (excluding the Light Disk, which is currently resting in Soan's hands) suddenly burst into light, vanishing. In Gilgamesh's hands is a legendary blade - a blade that anyone can identify with even a glance, a glorious red sword that extends almost as long as Gilgamesh is tall. It glows a violent red as Gilgamesh raises it up with all eight hands. "You should thank me, thieves! Only a few ever truly get to see my treasure! EVEN FEWER GET TO SEE THE TECHNIQUE THAT MAKES ME THE GREATEST! HERE I GO!"

"TAKE THIS! MY LOVE, MY ANGER, AND ALL OF MY SORROW!"

ZAN
TETSU
KEN

STRONGEST SWORD: EXCALIBUR

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
This is exhalirating, this is a theft that he's never done before. Certainly, some persons preffer it called 'Live Battlefield Salvage', but past a point, these appelations are all superficial in the end. Soan Sagittarius dared to bring his mitts up to the Second Divine's arms, pilfered a random weapon and ran away with it.

Soan lowers himself, rolling away from Gilgamesh, grasping tight the weapon he have in his hand, giving it a glance. His brows furrows, eyes narrowing at it. He's not quite sure what he just got, here. Looks... quite fluo. Something Kyra would love to have in her rave parties. It'd make for one bitchin' light stick. Probably lethal, however.

Soan hears Gilgamesh' outcry. It's quite familiar to him, that sort of raging after he steals from them. Completly understandble, of course. It is a wonderful way to gauge how one person really behaves in some cases... and in this one, righteous anger seems to be the answer.

"Come now!" Sagittarius shouts, diving out of the way of Enkidu's lightning quick dash, narrowingly avoiding quite a lot of pain there unexpectedly. "I did declare my intentions at the begining of the fight, Second Divine! Do not include Kamon in my--"

Then, the Blade comes out. That Blade. Soan's eyes widens in dawning horror, as well as righteous awe as King of Blades is drawn. His mouth drop in surprise at the sheer sight of it.

Excalibur. It really exists? Is it a true thing that he is seeing here?

It's only his survival instincts that makes him survive the following, doing very much the same as before by rising his arms and blade upward to protect himself, secretly steeling himself with his Dragoon body resistance training. With all this, with all this preparation, the King of Blades create a gaping gash in the Rogue's sides, wringing a cry of pain from him. Alright. Alright, get yourself together!

"KAMON!" Soan shouts, slinging the strange weapon over to his friend, facing again Gilgamesh, standing back up as he hold briefly his wound, barely on his feets as the bridge beneath them begins to creak, a large side of it cleanly cut in half by the imense onslaught. "DON'T GET INTIMIDATED! THE STAKES ARE ONLY HIGHER, NOW!"

Higher indeed. As things begins to collapse around him, as he charges Gilgamesh with another slam with his buckler, Soan remembers that a Rogue not only know when to seize opportunity -- but to push them as well, rising the stakes!

This is why Soan undauntedly, as the ruins around them begins to crumble in neatly-sliced cylinders, reach for another one of the blades ... and substitute it with a ball of sticky glue.

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Kamon drives Gilgamesh back to the ground with the fury of the sky. With the last clash, he throws himself clear, backflipping once in the air and dropping into a crouch outside the yard they were fighting in. He skids along the ground, grinding the soles of his shoes against the rocky ground and finally coming to a halt some distance from the King of Heroes himself.

The King of All Rock Hounds, meanwhile, proves to be a fast danger. Enkidu blind-sides Kamon, slamming into him and driving him to the ground. He falls on his side, bouncing and tumbling. He shakes himself out of a daze, grimacing. He's still got his sword, though, and Gilgamesh --

Gilgamesh is suddenly even more heavily armed, and /super pissed/.

"Crap!" Kamon rolls over and leaps to his feet. Gilgamesh raises the Strongest Sword Excalibur. Kamon steels himself --

There's a flash. Gilgamesh strikes, but only once. Kamon sees it coming, just barely. It cleaves through the side of the construction site and comes right at him, the reach of the sword with the power of the legendary technique ZANTETSUKEN far outstripping its actual length. Kamon inhales sharply, setting his feet, placing one hand on the grip of his sword and the other behind the blade. He doesn't dodge; he intercepts the ripple of solid white cutting wind with his own weapon instead!

He /moves/. The force of it pushes him straight out into the street, carrying the battle from the abandoned lot to the big bridge connecting Upper and Lower Archades. It digs into the ground, leaving a deep trench through the upper street and slicing into the bridge like it was a piece of fruit. Kamon winces, barely able to keep his eyes open against the speed he's moving and the incredible strain of trying to hold it back -- and then he feels the pressure on his sword abruptly /stop/.

Just as abruptly, Kamon lifts his left hand from the back of the blade, throwing it upwards and twisting himself wildly to the side. The blade explodes into shards of metal, unable to stop the onslaught of the Strongest Sword with such a paltry piece of equipment. It peppers the Odynar, adding to his growing collection of wounds; the wave catches him along the left arm and up the side, throwing him from his feet in a sudden whirl of movement. He hits the ground a second time, bouncing until he hits a rail along the side of the bridge.

The ground shakes. The chunk of bridge Kamon is on starts to fall, cloven free of the rest of it. The entire bridge quakes, suddenly rendered unstable by the incredible attack. Huge pieces of stone collapse downwards, dropping into the sea and casting massive plumes of water into the air. People on either end of the bridge scatter in the wake of the destruction, fleeing the scene of the battle; the Archadian guards nearby form up, trying to calm them and move to contain the fight as they send runners to the Judges who protect the devastated metropolis.

Kamon reappears above the edge of the bridge. He jumps upwards despite what is almost certainly a few cracked ribs, catching the thrown Light Disk with his now-free right hand on the way down. He lands on the clean-cut edge, rising to a stand and looking down at what it is Soan tossed him. It looks a lot like a chakram, Kamon thinks. The outermost edge starts to glow as he holds it. It feels... warm.

"I'm not a thief," Kamon calls, "but I'd be an idiot to underestimate one! I'm a Parivir, like my father, and his father, and /his/ father, the legendary warrior Genji the Invulnerable Guardian!!" Kamon adjusts his grip on the Light Disk subtly. He lowers it, changing his stance. His left hand is free and loose, ready to catch or act as a counterbalance; his right is in front of him and low, for the best range of motion and avenues of attack. He's adapted to the strange weapon in a matter of seconds. "But if this means that much to you --"

"/CATCH!/"

Kamon takes a step forward and spins on his heel, hurling the Light Disk with all his strength. It hums through the air, flung on an unerring course at Gilgamesh... but a little too low. It drops towards the ground at his feet, plummeting towards the cracking stonework of the bridge beneath him.

And as soon as it strikes him, it rebounds straight up into his face.

It bounces again, ricocheting away at the same incredible speed it came at him, not a single bit of momentum lost. It comes at Kamon the same way, and in the same motion from throwing it, he snatches it out of the air with his left hand and lets fly again. It goes far to the right, hitting the ground on the far side of the bridge and rolling into the huge gashes left in the street from the ZANTETSUKEN. It rolls through it like it was stuck on a racetrack, jumping back upwards when the gash suddenly gets shallow and striking at Gilgamesh from his left side instead. It rebounds a second time, flying wide.

Kamon sprints across the bridge. The ground beneath where he stood starts to collapse into the ocean below, the weakened structure giving way as the three-hundred-pound metallic man pounds across the compromised stonework. He dives for the Light Disk, catching it with his right and dropping into a somersault across the bridge. He gets back into a crouch and lets fly a third time, tossing it into the gap between the railing and the low stonework wall it's mounted above. It bounces dozens of times straight up and down, continually ricocheting and leaving a dim white trail as it goes, confusing the eye in a dazzling display. It gets to the point where the bridge is collapsing, dipping lower and then flying out of the gap --

-- and zooming straight for the spot between the grey giant's eyes.

And yeah, it comes back. It /always/ comes back to its User.

Gilgamesh has posed:
213

Soan's shield smashes into Gilgamesh's chest; the huge grey thing is knocked backwards only a little bit, one of his blades flashing upwards to send Gilgamesh himself flying up into the sky. Soan didn't get anything good; he went grabbing, unfortunately, as Gilgamesh was putting away Excalibur. Still, that has a weird side-effect; the ball of glue in Gilgamesh's hand has just replaced whatever weapon he was trying to draw!

Which means that one of his fists is..glued.

Gilgamesh hovers in the sky with his helicopter motions, two of his hands just spinning rapidly around each other at speeds normal people couldn't possibly do. It's completely ludicrous - but then, what about this grey giant isn't? He hovers there for a while, floating above the ground casually with the sound of blades chopping through the sky.

And then Kamon hurls the Light Disk at him. He hurls it a bunch, actually; Gilgamesh tracks it quite well even as he's being battered around, wit little trouble keeping his eyes on it. His red eyes swap back to white, and they widen intensely as he sees one of his treasures come spiralling back to him. Gilgamesh releases his blades, the weapons vanishing into thin air, and grabs at the Light Disk.

FACT: Gilgamesh, thanks to Soan, has glue all over one of his hands.

Gilgamesh grabs the Light Disk as it bashes him in the head (532). It carries him offwards, then goes sailing back towards Kamon.

Gilgamesh is still clutching it tight.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH-"

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Sometimes, when you try something, it does not have the desired effect. That's fine, that's perfect: as long something does /something/, you can always build off it magnificently with a little improvisation.

Gilgamesh getting entangled this much with his ball of glue was an unintended effect, as well as basically saving Kamon a lot of trouble. In a similar vein, the fact that EVERYTHING IS COLLAPSING AROUND THEM was another effect he didn't expect. It does give him an awful, yet amazing, idea. Something devious.

As Gilgamesh is being pulled toward Kamon thanks to the Light Disk, Soan gives the surrounding a quick, dirty look. The bridge is going down around them, stone is crumbling, the general area is just going all the way to hell. Calculations forms up in his mind as he runs up along the collapsing bridge. His nimble fingers reach into his bag, taking out a multitude of small tablets, flinging them down the falling stones of the bridges. Many of them stick on target, priming themselves into various traps. Explosives. Bear traps. Spikes shooting out, all the way to tiny flame-spewing aparatus.

A plan, an insane one, is forming in his mind.

"KAMON!" Soan shouts, finnaly taking out a rope with a hook tied to the other end, spinning it as he chases after Gilgamesh. "FOLLOW MY LEAD!" With a swing of his arm, he tosses the thing, seeking to grab Gilgamesh solidly betwen it's sharp teeth, then, hopefully with Kamon's help, pull the gray giant backward.

Where all the stones, the entire field of traps are located. This has the distinct disadvantage of also pulling both teenagers into the field of traps, as they try to pull the giant down the stream of falling stones and traps

It is rather fortunate that Gilgamesh has a strong, wide back, as Soan, deathly silent by with eyes a blaze with intense concentration, leaps on Gilgamesh's back once momentum has been firmly established. Then, only then, as gravity and forces of physics reasserts themselves, he allows himself to scream at his crazy plan, fingers pilfering to what they can while traps begin to prime...

Kamon Lionward has posed:
The cool Light Disk comes back at Kamon. He reaches out --

-- and gently takes Gilgamesh by the hand?

*KA-WHAM*

Kamon goes bowling over, turning into a rolling pile of HONORABLE WARRIORS with Gilgamesh and the Light Disk. He bounces and careens, letting out an undignified, "Waaaaugh!!" as they tumble across the bridge. This would be way more awkward if either of them were wrestling for control over a sharp object, but the Light Disk is (perhaps inexplicably) rendered harmless between them. There's even a cloud of dust and punctuation marks!

Which is fortunate, because Soan is having him help surf Gilgamesh over a field of traps. Kamon is suddenly quite thankful of the fact that Gilgamesh is on the bottom of the cartoon fight cloud instead of him. He manages to grab one end of the rope between his teeth, pulling and then immediately losing his grip. He goes with him! Wheeeee!

When /that's/ over, Kamon tries to stagger to his feet. He also tries to get the still-tacky glue off of him, and not to be stuck to Gilgamesh. His coat is askew, and he's got little spinny-eyes going on right now. It's a side effect of being on a Disney game, just like breaking the fourth wall in a pose is a side effect of being in close proximity to Gilgamesh.

Kamon slips on a rock and falls over backwards. It results in him accidentally elbow-dropping Gilgamesh. He's too disoriented to appreciate the artistry of such a fall.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Soan manages something incredibly stu481</span>)

"THIS IS REALLY STARTING TO GET ME STEAMED!" Gilgamesh roars, trying to roll over in mid-air and failing, in large 237</span>). Fortunately, the rain of traps ends, as Gilgamesh's now-freed arms pop his cape.

He flies. He flies forward, under no power but his cape, with two insolent children on his back, towards the ruins of the bridge. It can't be that he's planning...he can't be about to...

Gilgamesh does not steer away.

Soan and Kamon probably aren't gonna like this.

Gilgamesh has posed:
GILGAMESH DROPPED: GENJI GLOVE x1
1 GIL
1 XP

Kamon Lionward has posed:
Kamon, clinging to Gilgamesh, flies straight towards the bridge below.

It's a little bit like this: http://youtu.be/JlSQAZEp3PA?t=20s

Kamon gains the KOed condition!

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
You're right.

Soan's ain't gonna like this one bit.

The Rogue cries his heart out all the way down to the ground, traps exploding all around, clinging for dear life on the gray giant.

The impact is violent enough that Soan wish he, too, had the KOed condition. Instead, he blacks out for a short, few, blissfull seconds before waking up.

He groans, eyes bleary, looking around with a dazed look, blinking at the crumbles falling around them. He looks down at Kamon. No lights. Gilgamesh he's on? Damn out.

His mind numb, blinking, Soan reach out carefully into one of his pouch, hand shaking, and pulling out... two lollipop. He rips one open, shove it in his mouth as he just... sit down and bask in the victory.

Afew a few moments, his eyes sets upward at Enkidu. He stares at the Rock Hound for a few moments, before handing the other lollipop at him.

Gilgamesh has posed:
Enkidu gratefully removes the lollipop from Soan's hand, huge Rock Hound jaws closing over it, and then walks off, dragging Gilgamesh behind him.

Soan Sagittarius has posed:
Soan tips him a silent salute, before flumping on his back, deciding a nap sounds pretty good right about now.