The Legend of Heroes II: Trials by the Light

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Aww, what an adorable little doggy! They weren't going to do anything bad to the cute puppy, right? Was the middle of a field full of raging competitors the safest place for such a tiny ball of fluff? Lute shook his head and looked away from the dog. Estelle took the ball from Jett, so that means that it was her they'd have to protect now. It probably wasn't a big deal and he couldn't remember why he excluded the swordswoman from his list of candidates earlier. After both balls for the two teams were confirmed, Penelope stated the rules. Then, the game started.

Everyone bolted to their places and met with opposition. Lute kept his eyes on Estelle and ran a few meters off to her side to keep watch for anybody who would try to flank her. He found it both strange and relieving that despite having reached this far, none of the members of the opposite team seemed to be paying attention to him. No doubt it was thanks to his teammates for distracting them, but hey! It was a stroke of good luck and the virtuoso was intent on playing it out to the end. It was pretty clear by now that they were at a disadvantage what with Penelope changing the rules to benefit the other side, so they really needed all the advantages they could get. Hag.

"What the frick!?" Lute trilled when somebody slammed into him. The ground swept up from under him and the virtuoso was on his back in no time. So much for good luck. Quentin!? Just as Lute was about to scold the water mage for bumping into him, he noticed the two other individuals that they faced. The male seemed to have control over water too… And Quentin wasn't able to strike back thanks to some malady! "I'll cover you, don't worry!" The virtuoso stood up in front of his comrade just as Aria joined their ranks. Before he could even do anything, Rhoden picked him up and- surprise, surprise- threw him at Q.T. again. Lute just had the silliest dumfounded expression on his face when Rhoden prodded his nose, and he sure as heck retained that expression up until he hit the ground.

O… kay, who the hell was singing? Or was that even singing? Sounded more like croaking, really. Whatever, there wasn't any time to pay attention to that noise. If he listened in to every sound he could possibly gather in this field, he would be completely useless. The virtuoso groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground and pulled Quentin up with him. His body hurt, especially his stomach. Fortunately for the two winded Guilders, Rhoden had taken his attention off of them in order to pursue Aria.

"Are you okay? I'll distract him and you do your thing!" Lute picked up his sheathed weapon from the ground and wrung the water off of it. If his sound attack was loud enough, could he possibly break or at least mess up that man's watery creation? The virtuoso concentrated the energy on one hand as he glanced up at Penelope. Well, she didn't say anything about banning sound magic and he better get at least one good hit in before she does. He charged at Rhoden, and when he got near enough he shot a (hopefully) powerful enough screech at the whips connected to the man's arm. Lute followed up with a slash, hoping to at least get a thwack in on the man's head.

Or... Or maybe he ought to hit low!? Gee whiz, that was a golden idea he should've thought of earlier.

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Normally, Quentin was not one to get angry. Part of his training as a water mage - one of the few things he had actually learnt and internalised at school - was that control and manipulation of the elements was a reflection of one's internal stability. The relative ratio of stability to raw power was dependent upon the element in question, but magic was a very tough discipline. Lose control of the self and risk losing control of the magic.

But piss on that. That guy who was using water against Quentin was asking for it.

Lute pulled her up to her feet. Quentin moaned. Her relationship with the ground had been a very unkind one in the past few minutes. She balanced her sunglasses on her adorable little nose and looked out of the corner of her eye, over her shoulder. There, winding up to strike at Aria again, was that blighter with the everlasting smugness written all over his stupid face! Quentin tightened her fingers into fists. Lute went running at Rhoden like she was going to joust the dude or something. That might work for some peeps, but Quentin was about to crack the shits with Rhoden in a totally different way.

It was barely perceptible to most people, since they were otherwise preoccupied with the match, but the pitch was drying up at an unnatural rate. She rocked back on one foot and stomped her other foot forward. Both arms shot forth like she was going to launch missiles from her fists. In truth, she sort of did. Two huge bursts of water sprayed from her fists with the force of fire hoses. She aimed squarely at Rhoden, which unfortunately meant that she was going to blast Lute right in the back. If Quentin had studied harder, she probably would have been able to bend the water around Lute, but whatever. She just wanted to knock Rhoden on his arse. He looked so constantly pleased with himself and nothing would have pleased her more than to wipe that intolerable look right off his stupid face.

The water shot fast and fierce at its target.

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Playing Field

Just as Nani thought they had a chance, the dog disappeared like a ghost, only to end up being on the other side of the field. And it took her so long just to get to this side of the field. "Dammit all!" She ran fingers through her hair and looked around at the scene before hand. Everyone was a bit...stuck. The light at the end of the tunnel at the moment was Syed distracting Harvey. Thankfully Estelle managed to escape the man's death grip on her.

"Anyone have a plan here besides running around like maniacs?" She turned, just in time to see one of the Varren swat Cap like a bug, sending him to the ground. She glared and immediately pulled out her sword. As she darted to Cap and the Varren, she flinched when she was reminded of the no sword policy. In mid run she sheathed her sword again and slid, grabbing Cap out of the way in the process. "How dare you! I will end- Oh good you're still alive Cap. How are ya?" The bird stretched his wings and saluted Nani before climbing on her shoulder.

"Fine and dandy! Tough bird!"

Nani smiled and pet her Cap before glaring at the Varren. "You better hope I don't gut you after this is all over." She gave a glare that made the Varren hesitate for a moment, making him unsure if he should attack or not. Nani took that time to hit the Varren with her sheathed sword, causing him to stumble and give her enough time to escape.

Hopefully, they could get the dog to race to the other side of the field...

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

Jett spun around to give the mole-rat creature a piece of his mind. The change in angle brought him face to face with a pair of familiar brown eyes. Next he found himself staring at Tau's sharp nose. Then the thick lips which were looming dangerously close to his. Jett panicked. Yes he was a girl, but there is no way he was gonna kiss a dude!

Thwack!

The novice grimaced as pain radiated from his left side. He crumpled onto the grassy pitch. Jett rolled around as he clutched his stomach. He swore loudly as he accidentally pressed down on the tender spot. Suddenly he remembered his manners and he swapped to something a little less colourful.

"You-you hit-happy monkey!"

A couple more phrases were uttered and he fell silent. Deep down, he was still pissed. That stick had got to go! He grumbled a little as he debated about reaching for his yo-yo.

"Hey, why don't you take a breather?"

The rookie Guilder cracked one eye open. Once again the pole swung forward. This time his opponent aimed for his arm. Jett dropped to the ground and rolled off to the side. "Ha! Breather? That's not my thing."

Impressive! The kiddo was already prepared for the next hit. He picked himself up and bent over limbo-style to dodge the next incoming blow. From his topsy-turvy angle he could see a pale brown blur shooting towards their goal. A trail of smoke and dust was left in its wake. Jett was mesmerized.

"Who was that?"

He never got the chance to find out because his legs were swept under him. Soon he found himself staring at the almost cloudless sky. He twitched his fingers a little as he attempted to bring his hand up to shield his eyes. Before he could do so, a shadow fell over him. Crap! He needed to get this guy out of his face.

What would a girl do in such a situation? Of course! Jett tried his very best not to grin in case he gave himself away. Seriously it was very hard since he was about to pull an Estelle on the guy. He took a few rapid breaths.

"PERVERT!" He shrieked. "Pervert, pervert, pervert!"

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake Spa: Arena

Estelle's brow simply twitched like mad as her eyes stared at the dust trail left behind from Jasper's run, to waft into and dissipate into the air. The little adorable runt had managed to scamper all the way from where Trixie and Nani were going to catch him all the way back to their goal, and had done so in a flash! What the heck? How were they supposed to catch someone like that?!

A vicious scowl stretched upon Estelle's lips. No. No, no, no. The Pride weren't going to lose! They couldn't! Not when their bodies were at stake! They were going to win against this group of clowns, no matter what!!

Jasper's trick had actually given Estelle an idea of her own. As a gentle, emerald light surrounded and enveloped her, Estelle's feet pushed off the ground, racing forwards towards the Drych Lake Spa's side of the pitch. If Jasper could play that game, then so could she – get as far away from the goal she had to be scored in as possible. But that wouldn't just be it. She had watched as one of their players continued to harass Quentin and Lute without pause – Rhoden, and she, alongside them, aimed to put a stop to it, once and for all!

"Back off!!" Estelle yelled, her sheathed sword swinging up and battering the Varren that had swooped in to try and catch her, making it roll backwards in pain as it clutched a bleeding nose. Another, which had lunged to try and grab her feet, missed as Estelle sailed overhead thanks to her agility being boosted from Marcus' buff. She continued to race forwards, prepared to help back up Lute's charge and Quentin's powerful water shot (although she had to wonder just how well Quentin's attack might be against a fellow water mage. So far Quentin's magic had only helped to supply Rhoden with his own… but hopefully Lute's attack would be enough to rattle his concentration for the attack to work, and then her follow up third attack would be the clincher!).

"Wow, your nails are so sharp! And clean, too!" Tobi remarked in amazement, as his head dodged to and fro from his Varren's opponent's claws stabbing at him and missing. "Did the Spa give you a manicure?"

Tobi's body suddenly dropped low to the ground, his foot swiping out and tripping the Varren over. As it fell, Tobi followed it up with a clenched fist to its nose to help reinforce the pain. As the Varren doubled over and rolled in pain the exact same way as Estelle's foe had, Tobi began running along the pitch, to help support Jett against Tau. Jett was doing an admirable job so far, but the rookie was still green, and Tau, even despite being a kid, was a pretty handy user of that staff he was wielding. Tobi was sure that Jett could do with a friend to help him off.

Meanwhile, in the center of the pitch, Syed's wonderfully majestic singing and dancing continued to work its magic on Harvey Jr, who was only growing more and more infatuated with him. He even sat down and crossed his legs to watch, as Moira punched more and more Varren surrounding them, growing more and more agitated with it, especially with Jasper. The dog, now sitting and scratching his ear beside their side's goal, was too far out of range for her to reach thanks to her and Syed's bond. If she was to move to try and grab it, it would completely throw Syed off his silly dancing, which could make that tough kid get back up and into the game again, remembering what was going on. Not that she could catch Jasper, anyway.

The Pride needed something… anything in order to get the mutt. But what? None of them were close to it, and by the time they reached him he would already have gone again. Damnit, if only there was something…!

Fortunately, there was.

To Jasper's own surprise, a strong powerful gale erupted from the pooch's feet, lifting him up and sending him flying through the air, to graciously land in the mid field Nani's surprised arms.

From the corner of the field, Marcus smiled and waved, bequeathing Nani an agility enhancing boost.

 

[Bunanigans]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"What?!" Tau shrieked in return, clutching his staff close to his chest defensively. "What?! I never touched you...!" His eyes lowered involuntarily to Jett's... assets at the thought, although he quickly forced them back up again. The poor man was still confused as to what exactly was going on. His mind hadn't quite wrapped itself around the concept yet. This chick was actually a guy. Dude looks like a lady!

He took a step back, keeping his guard up. And, in the typical fashion of someone who had absolutely no idea on how to retribute the accusation... he threw it right back at him. "Yeah... yeah well maybe you're the pervert!" he shouted desperately, looking shifty. "Yeah!"

That was when he suddenly felt a boot square between the shoulders, sending him spinning painfully to the floor. He cried out as he rolled across the floor, miraculously keeping a hold on his staff. He groaned. Looked like the loud lying guy girl had backup.

And boy was she pretty. Although... weren't she a dude too? He was so confused. By life. He pushed himself up, positioning himself with his staff held before himself.

"Haha, aren't I popular?" he grinned, flashing them a pose with a sparkling smile... before turning tail and sprinting off. He weren't daft. That daft anyway.

Rhoden could only look around in suprise as he was suddenly assaulted by a sound wave, the concussive force blasting a good portion of the water tendrils away from his body. The instant their connection to his body was disrupted they spilled to the floor with a splash, causing the ground to become quite sodden beneath him. He turned suddenly to his aggressor, just in time to throw his head back and narrowly avoid a slash. Woah!

The move did it's trick leaving him unable to react properly for the watery assault - striking him square in the chest and sending him skidding back. It would have probably done more, if it weren't for the fact that he very quickly regained his control, simply snatching up the water thrown at him. The water surrounding him began to regain the mass it lost from Lute's attack, as Rhoden himself simply grinned. Oh, how fun this was! He really was having a blast.

In his focused state, he didn't even notice Estelle coming up from behind. She slashed with her sheathed sword, it connecting with the back of his exposed head with a crack. Rhoden stumbled forwards onto his knees, his concentration completely shattered, as the water fell to the floor in a mini tidal wave. Between the three of them, they had done it!

Pen straightened up, lifting her staff once more into the air ready to slam it back down onto her earthern podium. She had seen enough. No, she wasn't going to have this. Much like how electricity had the elemental advantage over water, if they were just going to distract her with silly harmless bomb things then pummel him with their sheathed swords...!

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart," Rhoden called out as his ears continued to buzz. He looked up, flashing a wink. "I've got this. Marcy dear? Care to help?"

He held his hands flat on the soaking ground, his eyes closed. Then, with a grin, he looked back up to the members of the Pride before him, his eyes flashing blue.

And suddenly the water surrounding him was driven further into the ground, transforming the soil into a thick mud. Let's see them all run around in this! The area was quite large, encompassing both himself and Marcy, as well as Estelle, Lute and Quentin. It also formed a bit of a barrier for anyone else who would want to run towards the Drych Lake Spa side of the pitch - forcing them to either go the long way around the edge or straight through.

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Playing Field

Nani had been making sure Cap was okay in the mean time. "Wings? Legs? Beak?"

"I'm fine. I'm a tough bird!" Cap reassured and flew around her. Suddenly he squawked and pointed with his claws. "Cannon fire!"

"Cannon? There's no cannons you silly- whoa!" Jasper landed right in Nani's arms and he barked. Instinctively, she held the dog firmly so he couldn't escape. "Well ahoy there little fuzzball. Let's go shall we? Cap, tell me if someone's comin' alright?" The bird saluted and flew up. "WOO!" She bounced on her toes, feeling the newfound agility. There was nothing that could stop her! Well, Gramps was still there, but she decided to be careful nonetheless. But other than that, nothing could get in her-

"Enemy approaching from behind!"

Okay, well the Varren that had just started chasing her had a decent chance, but Nani was not going to give up. "Hang on Fluff, we are going a little faster!" She grinned and ran as fast as she could to avoid conflict with the others. Though, all of a sudden she had slowed down. "What now!" She looked down to see mud sticking to her shoes, and went through. There was no way the pirate was going to stop now! Nani held onto Jasper no matter how much the dog squirmed and bit at her. "You get shark teeth, then I'll let go." She trudged through the mud. She was in the center of the field! If she detoured, there might be complications! But then again, being slowed was pretty complicated enough. "Gyaah! Decisions! Cap? Straight through or detour!"

"Straight ahead! Fight the storms!" Cap squawked and watched as the Varren rolling towards her got stuck in mud.

"Face the problem head on! Of course!" So, with that decision made, she trudge as fast as she could. "As I always say! There's no such thing as obstacles! Only fun challenges!"

Now, to figure out the fastest way through the mud and to avoid Gramps.

 

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

It worked! It actually worked! His eyes widened in awe as the whips wavered and then broke out. How's that for awesome? Sure, Delilah was a bit offended that her capabilities were underrated, but at least they were able to stop Rhoden. If his really cool move wasn't enough, even Estelle came over to whoop the baddies in the butt! However, before Lute could rejoice or follow up he was promptly hit square in the back by a burst of water. The poor virtuoso squealed at the sudden change of temperature on his bare back before he fell down.

Wow Quentin. Way to go Quentin. What a team player.

"Hey!" Lute yelled as he stood up from the ground. Thanks to his scant choice of clothing, the mud splattered all over his skin and stuck even as he tried to wring it off. "I'm on your side, you tit!" The virtuoso stomped a foot on the mud, his high-pitched voice trembling and making his annoyance even more evident. The water mage's attack threw him forward a good few feet from Rhoden, but if he moved quickly enough he could regain the ground he lost.

Almost as if the enemy read his mind, Rhoden employed some sort of magic that turned the ground into thick, unpleasant mud. Lute sank ankles-deep into the earth and he groaned. "Great. Wonderful. A mud massage, just what I wanted," he grumbled as he looked at Estelle and Aria. The illusionist still seemed to be bickering with Marcy, and Estelle seemed fine on her own. With three of them against one water mage, what could go wrong?

"Hey buttface!" Lute shoveled up a sizeable amount of mud from the ground and hurled it at Rhoden. "That's cheating!" the virtuoso kept throwing malformed chunks of soil at the water mage as he trudged through the muck. Hopefully that would give the swordswoman and Quentin the pause they needed?

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Quentin beamed widely. The triple threat had done it! If the circumstances had allowed it, the water mage would have done an exultant pose or quipped some soul-crushing pun, but the game was still in progress. It was then that it dawned on Quentin that Estelle was free. She scratched her head, wondering when in the world that had happened. With everything in flux, it was no surprise that Quentin had not noticed, but still, that was no small matter.

Then, realising the insult Lute had fired at her, she gave an embarrassed, "Sorry!"

She turned around, looking from side to side. There - way, way in the back - was Jasper, beyond even Moira. Quentin cracked her knuckles. They were supposed to catch the dog or something. She was not sure how they were going to do that, but it started with slowing the little furball down. Her hands waved in the air when she felt the ground sink ever so slightly underneath her. Initially, Quentin tried to jump, thinking it was a Varren popping up from underground, but when she felt resistance underfoot and a noisy SCHLORP! from her boot, she looked down to see mud everywhere. She looked back to see Rhoden on hands and knees, his eyes glowing. Quentin's mouth curled into a small frown. The spa owner was no slouch at the mastery of water.

Then, there was a lot of shouting. Nani had the dog! The only problem was that she was stuck in the mud too. Quentin gave a flustered huff, cutely blowing up a strand of hair dangling over the bridge of her nose. Mud should technically be no problem to water mages, but Quentin was still a novice, and there was so much...stuff...in mud, too, that the water content ratio made manipulating it a real challenge - unlike, say, trees, that were at least alive and could be bent to another animated will.

But, on the other hand, there were different types of mud, weren't there? There was the mucky, cloying stuff like what was on the pitch right now, and there was the hard, caked stuff, and then there was the slick, oh-let's-wrestle-in-this slime. That was the slippery kind, like the boost your pal kind.

Quentin wrung out some of her robes, soaking the earth. Using that, she splashed a track of sorts under Nani's feet. The ground under the pirate's feet became slick enough that Nani could practically skate on it. Quentin cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "Slide!"

 

[Rexcalibur]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"Lovely insults, dear. But jealousy will only get you so far!" Marcy winked at the illusionist as she approached. "Don't worry, pretty! One day you will grow up to be as ~marvelous~ as moi. ☆" From the way Aria had singled her out after seeing what became of Quentin temporarily, Marcy knew she wanted her (the pugilist) to focus on her (the illusionist) instead. Nobody else would walk straight into a taunt like that. Fortunately for the Pride, Marcy's swats at Aria meant she had to take her focus off Quentin, which allowed him to go straight back into attacking.

Marcy merely watched as Rhoden was stricken by Quentin's watery blast, though she dared not to cry out for him; she knew how good her own team was. They were going to win. Just as he regained his footing, he was knocked down by another incomer. Marcy sneered at this. "Cheating? Ooh, but four on two is considered fair among your team? We must be that good for the ~Pride~ to play dirty!"

The ground beneath her turned sodden. Naturally this proved inconvenient for anyone who wanted to move much, but luckily for Marcy, she was the type of person who preferred to stay in one place if she could. Keeping her eye on Aria (whom she had backed away and slightly distanced herself from as Estelle and Quentin attacked), Marcy held out both of her pugil sticks now in different directions. Like batons she began twirling them a second time. The Pride was unaware, but one of her sticks focused on powering Rhoden's already strong water magic.

On the other hand, Estelle's vision was hit with a sudden pang. She began to see doubles now, the blurriness growing worse and worse. A smirk crossed Marcy's lips. If she tried hard enough, she could warp her target's view to think she was seeing an enemy instead of a teammate, and vice versa.

She wouldn't be able to pull it off if pretty boy in front of her tried to target her again. As if on cue, two Varren dug their way to the top of the mushy surface beside Marcy. Their fashionable designer wear was ruined thanks to the mud, and their annoyance was evident in their glare. Except they weren't angry at Rhoden for doing this - the opposing team had locked him into it!

One of them began splashing mud at Aria like a tantrum, while the other curled up, rolled in place for momentum, and sprung at Lute.

Meanwhile--

Jasper had escaped both Trixie and Nani, but almost instantly flew all the way back into the pirate's arms. Normally Trixie would be miffed about the waste of her splat like that, but she was too engrossed in the turning tide to care. Plus the remaining goop might help them later, if they could get any opponents to go into it. She chased after Nani in hopes of backing her up from any sudden Varren ambushes, but she was caught off guard by the scenery change and tripped over - landing face first into the mud.

Like she had done in the battle against the Varren earlier, Trixie just allowed herself to lie there for a moment before mumbling some discontent to herself.

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"Awright, we got him away! Nice! How are you doing Jett, you okay?" An outstretched hand towards the fallen rookie led to the beaming, smiling face of Tobi, who helped support the genderbent daredevil back onto his feet. He looked off towards where Tau had ran, making sure that the agile staff-wielder was in fact backing off, and not simply running back around to hit them from behind. Thankfully, by all accounts, he was, giving the duo enough time to get back on their feet again. "Now then, let's see if we can't help the others, eh? I think we managed to get that dog… Nani's running with it… and it shouldn't be that much more difficult to… now… oh."

The opposite side of the pitch had been completely transformed into mud, making any sort of running or traversal almost completely impossible, with only a few paths left for someone to make any sort of ground towards the opposite goal, where Rhoden (and Gramps) stood waiting. Their allies were collapsing arse over face, splattering themselves in the mud, as Nani continued to try and run as best she could forward, albeit slowed. "Those Spa people are full of tricks, aren't they?"

But so was the Pride. Quentin, using a bit more water, helped to change the boggy mud beneath Nani into something a bit different. Something a lot slippery, so Nani could effectively skate on it, if she didn't collapse completely after the sudden transformation and fall onto her rear. Jasper's writhing and shaking would have made him almost impossible to hold on solid ground itself, let alone on mud.

"Pass him here!" Estelle called, waving her hands further up the pitch. Perhaps if they kept doing what Marcus had originally done, and kept Jasper in the air, throwing him from person to person, they might be able to reach the goal!

But then she was suddenly hit by a sudden pang of nauseous vertigo. Her vision was swimming, and she wanted to vomit. Her enthusiastic waving collapsed to an exasperated clutch of her stomach and mouth, Estelle visibly wilting under Marcy's magic, not that Estelle knew what the origin of her malady was. What was happening to her…?

"C'mon!" Tobi fist pumped the air. "Let's go help the others!"

Both he and Jett charged forwards, ready to help bolster and support their allies, but coming to a crashing stop as two Varren exploded from the ground in front of them.

It wasn't only them, the remaining Varren all simultaneously appeared, to either bolster their companions defences, like Marcy, or to block off and attack the Pride, an individual one appearing Marcus, Amy and Quentin as well. They now all followed a co-ordinated group effort, and so targeting their opposition's weaker, defenceless mages with physical strikes would help put an end to any of their spell casting. Not only that, but being creatures of the earth and ground, mud didn't slow down their advances or movements in the slightest. If anything, it proved a helpful to annoy opponents from a distance were they to spin on te spot, flinging the sloshy mud at their foes.

The large, Big Bro Varren, sitting on the stands, raised a claw up as his shades twinkled.

"Gyahaha," Gramps laughed from behind Rhoden. "What amazing fun, eh?"

 

[Bunanigans]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Syed had kind of dropped the idea of attempting to come across as feminine a while ago by this point. He was just dancing however the hell he felt like, singing whatever he vaguely knew the lyrics of, and Harvey didn't seem to really be fussy about that. He was just laughing and clapping away. Not that Sy's flushing went down any.

The pair of them were so engrossed in their own little thing, that neither expected a very fed-up Moira to leap out of nowhere and punch Harvey in the gut. And all three of them weren't expecting the punch to be powerful enough to send even a rock like poor Harvey rolling right out of the pitch. Moira once more blinked, staring at her hands, before she shook her head to clear it. "Come on you great gangly fairy, we got shit to do."

The pair turned their attention to the Varren - in particular those menacing those closest and most in need. Marcus and Amy. While to call either of them defenseless would do them a massive disservice, the rest of the group were depending on them to be unimpeded in their jobs. While Moira ran with her fists out, hoping she would actually be able to control the strength of her next blow, Syed ran a little ahead of her, sparks buzzing between his slender fingers.

No electrical attacks was awfully specific, and Sy's magic was capable of much more than that.

"Indeed, Gramps!" Rhoden laughed once he had thanked Marcy in the most flattering terms. "I say we should do this more often." He grinned towards Lute. "Ah, but you need to break a rule to cheat, I would think. I simply took advantage of my surroundings." He held his arms before his head to protect himself from Lute's projectiles - he was just as stuck as the rest of them after all. Neither did he have any water left to manipulate. Right?

He bent down, removing his slip-on shoes. And as he stepped away from his shoes and put his bare feet into the mud... he didn't sink. He stepped forward almost effortlessly, flicking open the lid of the large pouch at his waist and dipping his fingers inside. Just as the Varren being earth creatures left them unaffected by the mud, Rhoden's deceptively powerful water magic enabled him to simply walk over the top... so long as he wasn't wearing his shoes.

From within the pouch he withdrew a few litres of clean, unmuddied water, it swirling back up his arm. He was really suprised he didn't need to get this out earlier, but the other water mage just insisted on constantly supplying him with the stuff! Who was he to say no?

"Come, now," he smiled, approaching the still struggling Nani as his water transformed once more into a whip. It was a good thing she had her sea-legs, most of the other members of the group would have their arse in the air by now. If she did proceed to go ahead, she would have to go through him. "Leave poor little Jasper alone."

Phew! He had gotten away from them both. Tau gave out a sigh of relief. Sure, he'd take one of them on. But two? He didn't have a death wish. Instead he looked back to the rest of the group... now struggling through mud. Urgh, mud! It would slow him down something chronic, and he didn't really want to mess up his hair. Although it probably was already messy, what with Pick 'n' Mix Trix.

He focused instead on Estelle - the handsome redhead looking very sickly at this point thanks to Marcy's wonders. He darted off around the massive circle of mud towards her. In the chaos she of all people was left pretty much unprotected! He'd leave the figuring out how to get her back over to her side til later. He was at a bit of a disadvantage there, but it wasn't like he had thought it through.

The Varren which was menacing Quentin in particular wasted no time in spinning on the spot once more, sending thick mud splattering over everyone in the vicinity. If Rhoden was once more on the offensive, it was probably for the best to keep the other water magic user busy. And there was one way which was sure to work - the Big Bro Varren's nod confirmed it.

It ploughed into the mage, knocking him into the mud and finally over the outer boundary line of the pitch. Massi the Varren then stopped to attention, looking up at the woman who stood at the top of the seating. What a clever little plan.

"Penalty!" Penelope shouted with a tap of her staff, giving the Varren a short nod. A magic circle appeared beneath her feet, just about visible from the ground. "Leaving the field is prohibited!"

The staff glowed a deep purple, as Pen raised her fingers... and clicked.

Quite suddenly... Quentin was a pig. Pigs are awfully happy in mud after all. The spell would only last for fifteen seconds before it changed him back to his relatively normal, female self. Not that Pen saw fit to tell him that. Punishment!

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Playing Field

"Calm down dog. I'll put you down in that goal overrrr-" Nani's feet started to slide. "Gyah! Counterweight, counterweight!" She nearly slipped and fell into the mud. Thankfully, luck was on her side when it came to not falling. "OI! Warning next time you dope!" She yelled over her shoulder, but then added. "Thanks!" It made things only a tad bit easier, but a tad bit was better than nothing!

Hearing Estelle yell for the dog, she was about to toss him. Though that plan nearly costed them the game when the redhead was attacked. Slipping and sliding, Nani nearly fell face first into the mud as well.

Cap squawked and pointed behind Nani to the approaching enemy. "Thanks buddy. But you sit tight. This one's got tricks up his sleeve. I don't want you getting hurt. Stay outta reach." Cap nodded and flew a little higher and looked around at the playing field. Nani on the other hand kept moving, er skating. Hearing Rhoden she let out a short laugh. "You're cute. Really. But I'm not doing anything to fuzzy here. Just holding him. He's a wiggley lot this one is." Nani grinned and carried on.

"It's okay! I know how to handle animals. Wouldn't dare hurt 'im. Promise he's safe!" She chuckled and continued on. As she parted, Nani kicked her foot up, sending mud straight towards Rhoden. Whether it hit him or not, Nani started sliding again. "Don't worry pooch, yer gonna be a-okay...So sit still! There's no way in hell, I'm gonna let you go. Unless of course a mate has an idea in the works. As I always say, trust is key. Even if I've only known them for a day or two. Heh, Tobi trusts 'em, so I will too."

She overheard Penelope and saw what she did to Quentin. "What a cheat! That dumb rat pushed QT out. Ugh, of course princess will help her team out..."

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

"You're staring at my chest, aren't you?" Jett replied with as straight a face as possible. Tau had glanced at him awhile ago before looking away.

He didn't say add on after that because he had the upperhand. The intern was taking it well. Jett saw Tobi sprinting over from behind Tau. After a swift, decisive kick, the staff wielder retreated.

"Alright, Tobi!" Jett exclaimed as he grabbed the other's outstretched hand. "Give me a high five, man! You totally saved my butt."

The newbie turned in the direction Tobi was looking. Woah! What the heck happened to there? It looked practically like a disaster zone. The only good as far as he could see was that Nani had the mutt.

"Yeah! Time to give them some needed backup."

Both genderbent men dashed off towards their allies. They were practically nearing the mudbath when the varren returned. Jett halted and huffed. "These guys are relentless."

"Penality!"

"What? Where?" Jett panicked as he looked around. With a loud poof Quetin transformed into a pink muddy pig. He didn't see what happened but he knew Gnar Man wasn't the one to cheat.

"I call FOUL!" The rookie yelled at Penelope. "You-you...Umph!"

A hand clamped over his mouth and Jett waved his arms about uselessly. Seriously if the other Guilder didn't restraint him, he'd want to go over and punch that bitch. And he can too! He was now a woman so it made it fair. He noticed Tobi pointing ahead. Right, the mole-rat things. Time to avenge his porky friend. Jett nodded a little to indicate to Tobi that he promised to be quiet.

"Wanna race?" The H-ranker asked. "I bet one of us can break through the defense if we tackle them head on."

 

[Warden]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Well, at least what Quentin did seemed to work. Bad news though; the water mage got bowled out by a varren and Estelle seemed really out of it. She wasn't like that earlier, was she? And what was Aria doing!? Lute would've come to the aid of his friends at once, but he had other problems of his own. Another varren popped out of nowhere then targeted him. With this type of terrain it would be difficult for someone like him to move quickly…!

"I thought mauling was out of the rules!?" Lute snapped as he threw himself to the side. He landed with a large splash of mud- ick- and flipped himself over on his back. The varren glared at him then hurtled around, again with its sharp claws extended as it jumped in the air. Good thing the virtuoso was reminded of something he did yesterday or else he would've just screamed in confusion; with none too gentle a kick, Lute's foot shot out towards the poor mole's stomach and sent it flying back. "And stay down! Please?" he said as he got up with much difficulty. The varren did seem pretty winded now, and it was clutching its tummy in agony. Talk about a guilt trip.

It was only now that Lute noticed that Nani had the adorable little doggy. In fact, she was skating towards them now, and Rhoden was making moves to block her. No matter what the water mage said earlier, Lute still thought that he was a stinking cheater. As for Estelle… Hopefully Aria could go over and help her, because where he was now was certainly closer to Rhoden than Marcy.

"Oh no you don't you evil mister!" the virtuoso howled as he stomped towards the man with the fury of a thousand half-roasted potatoes. In fact, it would pretty hard not to notice his approach, seeing how heavy he made each step to be. When he neared Rhoden, Lute jumped up in the air in an attempt to tackle him down… Except things pretty much started slipping since the water mage had a good foothold while he didn't. He basically just nudged the man a few steps forward. Awkward. Plan B, then, a.k.a latch on to the pesky villain's back and cover his eyes while praying to all the Gods that nothing bad comes out of this plan. And by latch, he literally climbed on like a kid on a piggyback ride.

 

[Rapidfire]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

Well, this was new.

"Squee," mumbled Quentin. It was an unhappy pig snort. So now Quentin had graduated to bacon class. Wouldn't that be fun to tell someone about someday? Ya know, provided Quentin was ever human again. This whole experience made the water mage wish she had taken a class in animal psychology or something.

The pig wrinkled her nose. There was so much chaos on the field that Quentin had no time to react before the Varren had knocked her out of bounds. By the time Quentin was ready to strike back, everything went all wibbly-wobbly again and suddenly there was the overwhelming scent of meat. Gods only knew what sort of horrors awaited the luckless sap who went offsides! But distress was not an option for the porky Quentin. Returning to normal was the only option. After all, there were so many people who had yet to see her hair and compliment it!

Quentin trotted into the muddy pitch again, being surprisingly manouevrable, but then, she was a pig in mud. The Varren who had shoved Quentin off the field of scrimmage heard the squeal of an enraged sow cantering its way. Immediately, the Varren dug into the soft earth, out of the pig's way. That was of little consequence to Quentin, who was willing to play dirty if the Varrens were. She started bucking wildly, flinging mud in all directions on the opposing team's side of the pitch. Quentin had no idea if she was scoring any hits or otherwise distracting Rhoden, Marcy, et al. but she had to imagine a big, screaming pig was going to get someone's attention.

That was when the mage saw the dizzied Estelle, with Tau fast approaching. Quentin gave a snort like a destrier about to charge.

Time to go hog-wild, thought Quentin.

 

[Rexcalibur]

Drych Lake Spa - Arena

"...!" The ground surrounding Amy rumbled as the Varrens moved to support their allies. One shot out from right in front of the cleric, launching itself like a ball at her face. Both she and the beast recoiled, with the latter falling back into its hole; Amy was quick enough to cast an invisi-shield for herself, though it shattered upon collision. She ground her teeth, looking to Marcus.

Great. The Varrens with their hands free now began singling out the mages in the back. Naturally Amy began to worry for her own safety - she had her own arsenal of light-whips and invisi-shields, but those weren't meant to be used in consistent combat. Her newfound strength from the genderbend may have been of use here, but she still wasn't used to her new body and still considered herself a fragile, squishy cleric.

Thankfully Moira and Syed were on their way to assist. However, this had agitated Amy; she had hoped to remain unnoticed in the back so that the attackers of the team would focus on the game itself. "Don't worry about us," she called out to them (while flinching at her own voice).

And then she heard a snap. Instantly their own water mage had suddenly transformed into a... pig?

Amy's face flushed at the sight, her cheeks a bright crimson, even as a man now.

If the pig chasing after Tau wasn't distracting enough for the intern, the sudden smack! on his head was. Turns out Trixie had thrown her gun at him! Unlike her toss at Jasper earlier, this one was a direct hit. Yes!

Though anyone looking in her direction now saw what looked like a mud-monster, seeing as she had landed face first into the sodden mess moments ago. Everyone was heading in Nani's direction, so Trixie called out to her. "Nanny!" she began waving her arms about. "I'm open, I'm open!"

Trixie was between Nani and the goal post. She couldn't tell whether Marcus was being assaulted by Varrens or not, but she expected him to help with Jasper the way he did earlier. If things worked out the way she wanted them to, anyway.

Rhoden had departed Marcy's side to target the pirate with the dog. Marcy chuckled at this, seeing as her plan with targeting the redhead worked wonders. She dropped her baton's focus on Rhoden and held it out towards Aria. Like her other stick, she began twirling the second one as well. Against the illusionist's expectation, nothing happened to her own vision or body.

Marcy kept her eyes and smile focused on Aria, her feet poised to move should Aria attempt to target her - that was, if she could bypass the Varren harassing her with mud-flings first.

 

[Pachamac]

Drych Lake Spa

"Ha-Harvey!" Gramps' voice boomed loudly over the length of the pitch, as he watched in horrified dismay at his treasured grandson being punched in the stomach, and send flying off field thanks to a hefty smack from Moira.

With Harvey Jr out of the way, she and Syed were now free to race to their allies' aid. Unfortunately, both Marcus and Amy stood at opposite corners of the pitch, meaning due to their magical bond the duo could only aid one friend at a time. They chose Amy – even with Marcus' body being transformed into a decidedly more fragile form, and with Amy a more durable, masculine body, they suspected after seeing everything they had with Marcus that he'd be able to hold his own at least a second longer (Vayu be willing another Dire Wolf incident didn't occur) whereas Amy… as a cleric, her talents were decidedly counterproductive towards fighting. And without a healer, the Pride could be in great disaster indeed.

"A good, sound choice," Marcus muttered under his breath with a smile as he watched the route Moira and Syed ran towards Amy. He then turned his head, his fine long silken locks swaying from side to side as he faced the Varren charging towards him. Closing his eyes, he began a quiet chanting hum, as a circle of emerald light coursed through the ground around his feet, enveloping his body. And then, effortlessly, his body was lifted in the ground with a great gusting wind, allowing him safe travel up and over the Varren, as it unexpectedly rolled itself out of bounds and into an awaiting penalty.

Marcus landed halfway up the field, deciding now to play a bit more offensively in comparison to his passive aid from before. With them so close to victory now, they couldn't hesitate in pressing forth their advantage… even if they did have certain members transformed into… pigs.

Well, that could still be an advantage, he was sure.

Quentin found his body feel suddenly lighter, and far, far faster on his stubby little feet. Those adorable pink calves of his turned into a blur, as Marcus' agility buff swarmed and coursed all throughout the little piggy's body. He crossed the length of the pitch almost as fast as Jasper had, and ploughed straight into the back of Tau, who had been targeting the still disoriented and woozy Estelle. Following this, Marcus turned his attention and focus to Marcy, raising his staff and conjuring another swift spell – one which pushed Marcy from the back and caused the poor thing to stumble and fall, face first into the mud.

He twirled his staff about in his hands. Next then, was Rhoden, who was approaching the Jasper carrying Nani, even if he did have Lute crawling about him and trying to wrestle his concentration free. If they were able to incapacitate Rhoden, all they'd have left was the old man, Gramps. And how difficult could he be?

Marcus' spell was broken before any incantation could even be started. His body was suddenly jolted and knocked back from something fast – impossibly fast – slamming into him and throwing him down and into the mud. Another blur, like Quentin, this time slightly bigger and browner however, streaking straight towards Nani. The hapless Pirate turned in time to see it, but wasn't quick enough to dodge or defend herself, she was bowled completely over, collapsing onto the slick mud with her rear, Jasper thrown up and into the air… landing coincidentally in Trixie's arms. Both Prankster and puppy were completely surprised by it. With his tail wagging from side to side, Jasper reached up and licked Trixie's face in a spot where the mud smearing wasn't quite as bad.

"What the heck was that?!" Tobi called, as he and Jett knocked the two attacking Varren to their sides – Tobi with the blunt edge of his gunblade, Jett with his yo-yo. The two Varren they had knocked down were only momentarily disoriented, quickly rising to their feet and charging again at the two, but the pair had broken free to at least start running towards the other side. Like everyone else, they had been completely gobsmacked and confused at what had just attacked Marcus and Nani. What was it?!

And there, standing in the mud, as the dust its path had kicked up dissipated in the air, stood revealed the Pride's attacker…

!!

The punished Harvey Jr!!

 

[Capt. Blu]

Cuttersbury: Drych Lake Spa- Playing Field

It appeared Rhoden had gotten tangled up in a person, quite literally since Lute was climbing over him. She heard Trixie's call and puffed up for a moment. "Na- ni!" She rolled her eyes but nodded. Just as she tossed Jasper, Cap squawked at the blur racing towards her. Nani yelped as her feet moved from under her and she landed in the mud. "What in the heavens coulda- oh great another pig." She had successfully managed to keep most of herself mud free till this point. Now, from waist down, since she was sitting in mud, was filthy. On the brightside, Trixie had the dog! "Good catch Pixie! Hang tight to 'im and go as fast as you can!"

Well, now that she had been out of commission with the dog, she decided to do the next best thing. Stop everyone else from trying to get to Trixie. How she planned on stopping the pig? Well, it was a plan as she went type of plan. She'd figure something out. To aid Lute in his flailing, Nani scooped up globs of mud and hurled it at Rhoden. Seeing Varrens and Marcy around Aria, she moved just a bit closer and tossed mud at the woman in order to get her distracted as well.

This had turned into a mud fight. "Cap! Distract those rats!" Soon enough, the pink bird swooped down and began pecking and scratching at them again, while Nani hurled more mud at Marcy. Thankfully, Cap did a good job distracting them considering they were all trying to catch him. "Oh! Whatever sent fluffball flying, can that happen to that pig too? What sent that fluff flyin' anyway?" Nani was still getting acquainted with everyone's abilities so she wasn't quite sure she knew who exactly could send things up like that.

In the meantime, Nani helped Aria since everyone else seemed to be covered... Besides Gramps and the newest ham.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Drych Lake Spa – Arena

"Bam! Two points to Team Pride." Jett yelled exuberantly as he snatched his yo-yo out of the air.

That was the opening they needed! The two guys were long gone by the time the varrens recovered. The two creatures curled into a ball and sped after them. Jett looked behind and sighed. He turned to Tobi. The marauder nodded in response. On the count of four, the two Guilders split off.

Where to go? He was tempted to go aid Estelle, but Gnar Man was on it. He took one last look and then fixed on Trixie. He needs to try and keep her path clear. Jett tried to run as fast as he could while slipping and sliding everywhere. Splotches of mud caked his hair, face and jacket. He felt his eyes tearing up as part of the brown gunk slipped into his eyes.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Jett rubbed violently. He blinked a little and saw a blurry outline not too far in front. The rookie skidded to a halt. A torrent of mud splashed everywhere. His once loose white shirt turned semi translucent as it clung to his new curves. He laughed weakly. Dyn! This ain't good. The person in front of him got a huge face full.

"Crap! Sorry!" Jett hoped he'd be let off the hook. The last thing he needed was an angry opponent. He shifted his weight from left to right. "Gramps, you're not mad, right?"

Nervously the young man ran his hands up and down his sides. The movement made his boobs jiggled slightly. He blushed when he realized what he was doing. Quickly he tucked his hands behind his back.

"I'll be going now. Bye!"

He felt mud wash over him from behind. Jett didn't need to look back to know that the mole-rat creature was back. The rookie took out his yo-yo. "Yeah. Would be great if you left me alone with the spiky rat."