darkSpyro

Carissa's eyes glistened with teardrops. She really wasn't prepared for this. Her eyesight was even worse with the tears clouding her vision. She wiped her eyes with one of her feathers. She took a deep breath as she walked. Watch your back... The words echoed through Carissa's head. Watch your back...

Heiwa strut out of the cell, and stretched her wings a bit. you don't want a cramped wing on the ground nor in the sky. She obediently followed the guards into the health unit. She could careless about escaping now, all she wanted was to get rid of all that bottled energy. She did notice the tears in Carissa's eyes though. must be very hard for some people she thought

Darin eagerly followed, stretching his wings along the way. He was just glad to get out and was also somewhat eager to compare his skills to the others.

Laneleh sighed, getting up. She quickly kicked the dust, obliterating all traces of her drawing from existence. "'Lanie'. Such an unsophisticated nickname." she muttered, staring at the hem of her dirty, slightly torn dress as she was led out.

As the group moved through the health unit, the head guard was calling out instructions.

"You'll be divided into four teams. The battle ground will be divided into four parts, where each team will have to navigate through to find your flag. However, there will be creatures lurking in each zone to do everything they can to stop you.

"If you try to access one of the other sections, you and your team will be disqualified and put back in the basement. You must stay together with your team. Anyone who strays will be put back in the basement. Whichever team is the last to find their flag will not move on to the next round."

Carissa nodded as she took a mental note of everything the guard had said. Her vision was clearing up from the tears and was back to her regular bad vision. Carissa lifted her hidden wings just a little to stretch, as they hadn't been stretched in a while.

'So... tracking an inanimate object with some hunting thrown in? I can certainly do that...,' he thought to himself as he followed the guards. He certainly didn't want to return to his cage and was quite eager to get out. He nodded as he took note of everything.

Laneleh displayed no emotion, other than her mouth flattening and eyebrows creasing. Teamwork. Wonderful.

Nadia listened and her excitement faded slightly. Hunting objects? Working with others? She would sooner pass on that. She rather hunt live animals or something, and the others would surely only slow her down. Nadia was hoping for something more challenging and strenuous than a simple game of capture the flag with your team. What a disappointment. Still, though, it beats sitting in that cell doing nothing. The part that irked Nadia the most was that she had to stay with her team. She didn't even know these people. She didn't want to work with them. They probably weren't even as skilled as her. Nadia hated the thought of failing at something simply because her team might not be good enough to keep up.

now this is where a wolf comes in Heiwa thought, smiling. She was a rather social creature, and was used to either being lead, which her stubbornness can get in the way of, and leading a hunting patrol where she came from. even if they made fun of my appearance

Blaze saw the look from Rain. He gave her the same look. He was quite happy that he wasn't picked. He only wished he could see the others battling. Oh well. "What you don't want to fight?" said Blaze. "No i don't want to fight....its terrible" said Blaze, again. He started to argue back and forth with himself.

OOC: I won't be around to post this weekend, got a lot of stuff going on, but I can try to whenever I can. It will be my first priority.

Sasha eagerly followed the group, a silent smile crossing her face. Its about time. I'm ready for some action. she thought. She looked around, at the others that were chosen. Pretty impressive. I sure won't be bored.

"Oh no," Pehcook whispered to himself when his cage door swung open. His feet were frozen; he didn't think he could move even if he tried. Fighting innocent creatures who had no choice but to fight back against their very will? He couldn't do it-- until his collar seemed to singe into his neck. He knew he wasn't imagining it, so with a heavy heart he padded out of his cell, following the guards' lead.
He listened carefully at the instructions given, and he was relived that he would be in a team. Being alone in a dangerous situation was a recipe for disaster. His gaze turned to the sullen bird creature behind him. He could tell that she had been crying as her cheek feathers were smeared with moisture.
His concern turning away from himself and centering on the bipedal avian, he took a few steps backwards until he was at her side. "You OK?" he asked softly, a little hesitant. He didn't want to disturb her more than she already was, but it was his duty to make sure everyone in such a situation had a healthy state of mind.

Four guards stood by the doorway into the colosseum. Each wore a different color.

The head guard paused, then began to call out names. "Green team! Carissa, Pehcook, Dough-Giarie." The guard wearing green stepped forward and gestured for those called to follow him.

"Red team! Laneleh, Nadia, Dallas." The guard wearing red stepped forward. A creature looking like it was out of a nightmare eagerly followed the red guard. This thing was presumably Dallas.

"Blue team! Blaze, Heiwa, Shard." The guard wearing blue slowly shuffled into sight, then gestured for those called to follow him.

"Yellow team! Darin, Sasha, Erebus." a tattered Minotaur stepped forward, slowly following the angry looking yellow guard.

Carissa had a far-away look in her eyes as she followed the guard. Belle's words still rang in her head. Nobody had really talked and had been nice to her that much, so the words had stuck.

Miminin hadn't heard her name, she sighed with relief. Myabe I don't go yet? she thought, she then walked over to the front of the cell and looked around.

Ooc: wait....i was chosen to fight? Well, i obviously didn't read very well >___>

Blaze walked to the blue guard. Excietment and terror rushed through him. He tried to surpress his mental unstableness to focus.

Nadia's ears perked up at her name. She headed over to the guard in red, looking at her so-called teammates. She stared at Dallas a moment, wondering what kind of canine she was. She certainly wasn't any kind of animal that Nadia was familiar with. It was like she was pulled straight out of a horror movie or something. Weird..... Nadia thought. But maybe it can at least keep up. My teammates are in trouble if they slow me down and keep me from winning. She thought.

"Hmm, Quadrant day..." Shadow muttered. She got behind Wave and shoved him out of the corner

Pehcook glanced down at the green guard momentarily, and seemed surprised that the bird creature came to him as well. That must mean her name's Carissa... is that even a girl's name? Maybe it's Dou-... something, he thought, following her. "Excuse me, but are you alright?" he whispered to her, his neck craning down so his snout would be closer to where her ears were hidden. "You seem a bit dazed."

Sasha went towards the Yellow Team, and was eager to get a good look at her teammates. She was even more eager to get a glimpse of her opponents. 'One of the few things that almost make the torture of the basement worth it.' She thought with a smirk. 'Its showtime.'

As Darin followed the yellow guard, he got a good look at his fellow teammates. 'It's a shame that minotaur isn't another flying type, though he might make a good brute.,' he thought to himself.

Carissa nodded "I'm fine, just deep in thought" Carissa whispered back. She continued to follow the guard steadily.

Heiwa followed the blue guard, and looked at the others on her team. Blaze the pheonix, and shard the wolf. These guys don't look like they are weak one thing for sure, this is going to be interesting . She noticed blaze acting a bit, strange, so she walked up to him. "are you alright?" Heiwa asked. She wanted her team to be ready to face anything that comes their way

Blaze looked up to Heiwa. His eyes showed his fear and excitement. "What would be wrong?" he asked. "You would be scared, duh!" he replied. "Oh, shut up you!" he said to himself. He then started to have an argument with himself.

"well then lets still do our best!" Heiwa cheerfully said, but stil held passion. She was highly competitive, and will go for a long way to keep going. this guy is a bit insane, but perhaps that could be useful she thought

Blaze stopped the argument and looked at the other teams. He smiled. I'm dead he thought.

Laneleh drifted over to her group, studying them closely.
"So," she said drily, twisting a lock of silver hair around her fingers. "This will be fun."

Nadia huffed and glanced at Laneleh. She looked at her a moment and flicked her tail.
"Fun? We're chasing flags, and in a group. This is so not what I wanted. I wanted a tough, one-on-one fight. Hopefully one that would have been a challenge. This is child's play. Ugh, I would have had more fun slaying a group of the weakest vamps over this." She groaned a bit.

Heiwa glanced at Nadia. complainers, just get used to it she thought. She grew up learning complaining doesn't do anything, and life won't always give you sweets.

"Yeah, and complaining about it won't get you anywhere. Just watch, and wait." Laneleh shrugged, turning away to find something else interesting.

Nadia narrowed her gaze and twitched her tail. She growled quietly and turned away. Back home, a simple roar was all she needed to intimidate and scare someone into getting what she wanted. No one back home was brave or foolish enough to mess with her. She also had more independence, and could go off hunting on her own. She didn't even need to wait around for something to do most of the time. She could find something to do. Nadia could already tell that this would end up being a waste of time, and she wished that she didn't have to deal with any of this. Even her will to win this little competition was beginning to fade. What was the point of trying to win something so pointless? It's not like she had to prove herself to anyone. Nadia knew she was the best hunter. Everyone back home knew she was. That was good enough for her. Now she wondered if she should play fair for this little contest, or do something to get herself out of this stupid competition.

Each team was lead by the guards to doors into the battlefield. Each door was opposite to one another, and there was a strange blue aura covering the actual entrance to each. The guards each read off of a piece of paper, so the four groups would all be hearing the same speech.

"This blue barrier is made of magic. Once you step through it, a carbon copy will be made of you, except all positive emotions like mercy will be removed from their minds. They will not look the same as you, but will look more like a three dimensional shadow. These copies only purpose once they are born is to do anything at all costs to stop you from getting to the flag. This is why you must stay in a group, only you will know their weaknesses."

The barriers were each somewhat see-through. The section for the red team was a volcanic area with geysers and rivers of lava. The area for the yellow team was a scorched desert. The quadrant for the green team was a thick Amazonian rain forest. The location the blue team would be at was a deep watery pool, with a small island in the middle of it. The flags could not be seen from the entrance, and it was obvious that they wouldn't be easy to find, since most of them were somewhat camouflaged with their surroundings.

Erebus, the minotaur on the yellow team, looked at his teamates, then looked at the desert that awaited them. "Well," he said in a very deep voice. "I hope you two are good at dodging. My copy will probably try to do some punching or BODYSLAAAAAAAAMS."

This guy was extreme.

Dallas, the demonic hyena on the red team, glanced with indifference at her teammates as they bickered. She let her long tongue roll out of her webbed mouth as she yawned and gazed out at the lava land that they would soon be entering.

water, at least i can swim heiwa thought, looking through the translucent barrier. then after listening, she began thinking about what her copy would possibly do. bound to use the water, and since she will be shadow, she can blend very easily. i am also very stealthy so it will be even harder. my react first can probably get me through it though.

Nadia grinned and her eyes showed excitement again. A carbon copy? Oh, yes, this would do. This would do nicely indeed. If a copy of herself wouldn't be a challenge enough, then she didn't know what would. Nadia figured she would now probably spend about the whole time just fighting herself. Suddenly the competition had redeemed itself and seemed fun again. Surely her teammates would need her help to defend against her assumed to be awesome double. After all, who else would be strong and skilled enough to fight Nadia but herself? So she figured she should focus her attention on attacking and defending, which was pretty much her specialty. And fighting in a volcanic setting was certainly new. That would make things even more interesting.

Before Shard was taken out, he looked back at the hellhound. He had thought a while about responding, and now gave his response. "Hello....I'll be back.........Save your strength....for when you...need it." He said, kind of in fragments trying to accommodate for the dialect barrier as well as the guard shoving him along.

His eyes widened, seeing a figure. She's here! One of his worst fears here had just been realized. He looked over her from top to bottom as they were walking out. Definitely. Her attitude. Her stripes. Her readiness and enjoyment at this challenge. "...Nadia." He breathed. As they readied themselves he slipped next to Nadia and nudged her with his nose.

As Darin heard the speech and saw the environment they were about to face, Darin began to worry slightly. He wasn't expecting to have to face himself and the scorching desert wasn't his natural habitat. However, he knew a weakness that would help him greatly against his own carbon copy. The question was... would he have to share it with his teammates and would they use it against the future? As he waited for the event to begin, he pondered this and the possible effects of his actions.

All positive thoughts... But... I'm all positive thoughts... Wow I sound pathetic... Gosh no wonder why I got pushed around... I am not bad! Ugh... Oh hey.. Found my weakness... Memories... And My eye-sight but that's really not the point here Carissa thought as she listened.

OOC: ERR MEH GURD! I need to get on on the weekends... I've dragged two people behind... So sorry guys.
Thanks Solemn

Ash was just standing there without a response, a battle for control always raged in his head, though his true side almost never won. His hind legs gave out and he lowered to the floor, "This... is... your fault," she rapidly shook his head as the creatures cries burned his mind, "Must... survive... must... get out!"

Ash quickly stood up kicking backwards, sending what was left of a pillow against the back wall, making the stuffing plume out. He then stopped again only looking at the floor, panting heavily. He took a deep breath, sat slowly and began messing with his mane, setting it up properly. He looked up realizing where he was, and bolted for the corner again. This time facing the darkness of the joined walls, "I'm... sorry," he voice was nearly inaudible.

Nadia was excited again, after realizing she would fight a double of herself. She was imagining how awesome that was going to be, when someone or something nudged her. She didn't really want to deal with these people, but decided to see who dared nudge her anyway. She turned to face them and was surprised at what she saw.
"Shard?" She asked. She clearly was surprised, but why did her tone of voice also sound kind of relieved? Nadia wondered how she hadn't noticed him earlier. She must have been distracted. She then grinned a bit, with a sort of mischievous type of gleam in her eye. Weird setting or not, she had to keep up her usual attitude with an old.... friend. "Well, look who ended up getting caught. Looks like I'm not the only were here. How's it going, fluffy?" She smirked.

OOC: BTW his name is Do'Giarah.

Do'Giarah looked at his two teammates. 'This one shall have to make due, although he prefers to work alone. Maybe his teammates could be of assistance.' He thought. "If either of you knows any magic, do not bother using it on my doppelgänger until his ward is down. Then this one shall go in for the kill, he is not good at fighting groups so there is where you will come in. One of you hit this one's doppelgänger from the side to knock him off balance while one of you goes for his back. He will be a master of the whispering fang style and so will not hesitate to tear at your throats with his claws. Allow Do'Giarah to go at him in the front, yes?"

Blaze looked strangly at the blue barrior. "A copy......" he said quietly. He would know it's weaknesses, but if he showed them or showed the group, they would know his weaknesses.......what a perdicament. He then looked at the battlefeild. "Great....water" he said. He knew water was a big weakness of his. He made a plan to go straight to the island and avoid the lake. What if the flag is in the water.... he thought.

heiwa examined blaze with just her eyes. "your not good with water aren't you, being a Phoenix and all" heiwa guessed.

"I wonder when we'll be piked huh Wave?" Wave shook his head "No I don't." He said.

"Bah! Look who's one to talk. I thought you were the best of the best." He retorted back, but just had to smile. "Nice to see you too, Nadia." Shard grinned, his tail giving a little wag. He felt reassured now and even a bit refreshed. After all, this is Nadia we're talking about here. One of the biggest badasses in about a 100-mile radius when they were back home. Shard has worked with her in the past, so this should be a cinch.

Blaze looked over to Heiwa. "No....i'm afraid i won't be much help on or in the water" he said. He looked back toward the feild. He closed his eyes and began to focus. He wanted to be at his best so he must focus. He tried to push the insanity out for just a little bit, just enough to help.

"Naturally, I'm the best there is. And now I get a chance to teach this crowd a thing or two. They ain't seen nothing yet." Nadia grinned with confidence, acting as if she planned on getting caught. "Still, it's nice to see a familiar face. At least I know one person here is skilled enough to keep up with me. Too bad we're not on the same team for this little event. I could really use a teammate who knows what he's doing."

Hmmmmmm... The desert... That wasn't expected. This might be a little more complicated. Sasha thought. And a carbon copy. Very original. The only bad thing is if I take it down using its weaknesses, everyone will know mine... They thought this through well, unfortunately.

Pehcook seemed relieved at Carissa's reply, but his concern didn't subside. When they arrived at the magical doors, his heart stopped when he saw a huge lake in one of the portals-- only to relax once more when his group stopped at a barrier with a jungle in the background. But jungle means rainforest, rainforest means rain, and rain means large bodies of liquid. This was going to be harder than he thought. Pehcook clearly wasn't the aquatic type, and not just because he belongs to a terrestrial species.
When his feline teammate gave instructions about how to defeat his "doppelgänger", Pehcook nodded his head, but the blankness in his square-shaped eyes told them that he didn't have a clue about what he was hearing. He felt like he was being lectured by his Commander, Ahtehck.
"A 'carbon' copy? But what if our chemistry isn't carbon-based?" he asked his teammates with confusion, the meaning completely going over his head. It was quite clear that the Chorihzian was one electron short of an atom.

"Catch my doppelgänger off guard by using ground-based attacks. My doppelgänger is ready for air-based attacks." Carissa mumbled softly. She kept the other part of the weakness to herself.