Reina: *Is leaning against a wall somewhere within the arena, fingering her dagger as she waits.*
Sage: *arriving at the arena's hub room - which connects to all four arenas - they smile at Reina before walking towards her. They wear loose black shorts which are raggedly cut slightly below the knees, black shoes that they seem like they're going to walk out of, and a blank white t-shirt. They also carry a back-pack with them, loosely hanging from both shoulders. They nod once, and extend a hand in offering* Hello; I'm Sage. I presume that you're Reina?
Reina: *Continues to lean against the wall, not seeming to acknowledge Sage's presence, though she turns her head slightly to watch him approach. When the strange boy approaches, Reina neither returns the nod nor does she extend her hand to return the handshake. She stops fingering her dagger and folds one of her arms across her chest, keeping her dagger out.*
That's as good a pseudonym for me as you're gonna get. *She gives the boy a look, half condescending, half perplexed by the prosthetic limbs. Most of this look is covered by the mask that covers all of her face except for her eyes and a small area around them, enough to show her Shadowhood.*
So you're my opponent. I can't say you're what I expected... Whatever. Let's get this over with. What arena do you want?Sage: *had they known that Reina thought of them as male, they likely would have corrected them. Looking slightly taken aback by the cold emotion shown by their opponent, they chuckle a little*
So serious... I think that the indoor arena would likely be the most agreeable. *the nano-bots within their arms begin to quietly hum with anticipation*
Reina: *Gives Sage a glare at his whispering, but decides not to comment on it. She doesn't seem to hear the nanobots in Sage's arm.*
Fine. Come on this. This shouldn't take too long. *She points with her dagger in the direction of the Indoor Arena.*
You first.Sage: *after pondering a moment, they shrug* As you wish. *they walk into the indoor arena tunnel. Exiting into the arena it self, a forested grove can be seen. The walls are made of tightly clustered trees - each tree being close enough as to prevent anyone from passing - which seem to be protected by the arena's protective magic. The grove is mostly clear, but is dotted with a few trees. They smile to them self, hearing a peaceful lack of noise. They walk nearly to the opposite end of the clearing, and turn around, watching for Reina*
Reina: *Follows Sage, keeping a close eye on him for every step he takes. Walking into the grove, she's surprised to see so many trees, but she doesn't think on that for very long. She notes the position of the trees as she takes her position. She pulls out a sword, puts her dagger in her other hand, and prepares herself.*
Distant Voice of an Announcer: And so our competitors are prepared! They may begin at any time.
Sage: *smiling, they tap the palms of their hands, making a clicking sound. This seems to activate the nano-bots within their backpack, as a moderately loud humming can be heard emanating from it. Weapon- and armor-type nano-bots begin crawling from the backpack, and covering their body. This is most visibly seen on the parts of their limbs that are still flesh as they become the same silver color as the robotic portions as armor-types cover the still-human parts of them, up to their neck. Weapon-types emerge from the robotic portion of their limbs, and are joined by the ones from their backpack*
Sage: Remember to have fun! *'looking' at Reina, they snap their fingers, enabling the weapon-types on their limbs, which begin to swirl around their lower arms and legs. They shift their feet slightly, and take a pause, waiting before attacking*
Reina: *Cannot help but watch in awe as the nano-bots cover the body of her opponent, though her awe is hidden under her mask. She then regains herself and continues to examine her foe as she positions her feet.*
Reina: Uh-huh. *She pauses for a second, watching her opponent before darting behind the nearest tree. She watches Sage from behind the tree, weapons ready, to see what he'll do.*
Sage: *watching Reina move behind the tree, seeing her occasionally glance around it, they smile. They dash forward, the bots on their feet helping propel them. Heading straight towards the tree, they sweep their arm horizontally. As they do, the weapon-types on their arm solidify into a sharp edge, and vibrate viciously. This causes their arm to essentially become a small chain saw. They intend to slash through the tree and cut Reina*
Reina: *Peeking out from behind the tree, she sees Sage charge straight towards her... Or rather, the tree. Despite her confusion, she prepares her sword until she sees his attempt to cut through the tree. Reina jumps back away from the tree prior to quickly sidestepping to take a stab at Sage.*
Sage: *slicing cleaning through the tree - which remains standing a moment before falling in the direction that they just came from - they turn as they raise their arm before swinging it diagonally, parrying the attempted stab* This is becoming interesting..! *as contact between the two 'blades' is made, a number of nano-bots fly from Sage's arm, swirling around it while glowing a brilliant blue. The bots return to their arm, and the blue charge can be seen flowing up their arm and into their backpack. Holding Reina's blade aside with their one arm, weapon-types form a spike on the palm of their opposite hand. They 'look' at Reina with their black eyes, and smile, before moving their spiked palm forward, towards her stomach*
Reina: *Is confused by the light, but pays more attention to the spike as she tries to dodge out of its way. However, the spike manages to hit her in the side before she can move all of the way.*
Rrgh! *She moves back before jumping over to the other side of the fallen tree before getting a throwing knife from her clothing and throwing it at Sage.*
Sage: *turning to watch as Reina moves, the nano-bots retract the spike from their right hand, while the blade remains on their left. Noticing her retrieving something from her clothes, Sage raises their right hand just in time to intercept the thrown blade headed towards their face. The knife pierces their hand, burying itself into the back of their hand up to the hilt. From their open palm, more nano-bots 'burst' into a bright blue before flowing into their backpack. Holding their hand still in front of their face, they raise up their other hand, using it to pull out the blade and toss it deeply into the ground. One of their black eyes 'stare' at Reina through the hole now present in their hand* Now you seem to be having fun! *they lower their hand, reveling a smile*
Reina: *She didn't reply for a moment, as she continued to stare at Sage and take out another throwing dagger. She then suddenly jumps onto the fallen tree, throwing the knife at Sage just before taking a stab at him, with her dagger held in front of her in her other hand.*
Reina: *Smirking beneath her mask.*
I guess you're right. You want fun? Fine. Let's have some fun.Sage: *quickly, they lower their right hand to waist height before raising their left-bladed arm to knock away the thrown blade. Blue 'sparks' jump from their arm. An almost childish laugh escapes their lips* Even conflict is boring if it isn't fun. *as Reina moves towards them, they move their right palm to face her. Blue nano-bots suddenly burst from their back pack, and fly to their hand. They collect in the hole in their palm before rapidly melting down and shooting at Reina three times*
Reina: *She moves down the tree to avoid the nano-bots, but one of the bullets still hit Reina near the side, and she winces. She reaches towards her arm as she speaks.*
One thing I've learned is that not all conflict is fun. But this? This little arena battle? *She takes out and throws another throwing knife before backflipping from the tree and moving to stab Sage as she lands.*
This can be fun. For me, anyway.Sage: *they smile at what Reina said, glad that she's going to at least try to enjoy herself. They're smile quickly disappears from their face however as she begins on the offensive. They raise their extended right arm - the one that's palm was pierced through by her previous attack - in front of their body in defense. The thrown blade flies into their arm, this time into their wrist. Blue energy bursts from the 'wound' flying into the backpack once again. This time, however, a gray stream flows out from the bag, and onto their right arm and hand. Had they felt any pain, they would have ignored it in order to block the next attack being thrown at that them. As Reina moves to stab them, they grab the blade of the dagger, attempting to keep it from getting to anything remotely fleshy. The blade slices deeply into their robotic hand, and the blue energy drips from it like blood before flowing into their bag. The tip of the dagger - and a half inch of the blade following it - enters their midsection. They grunt lightly as they suddenly push the dagger back towards Reina - and out of them - before crouching suddenly and preforming a sweeping kick, intended to trip Reina. Whether or not the sweep works, they then use their momentum from their attack to spin around and attack with a vertical kick if she is standing, or an axe kick if they were tripped*
Reina: *As she takes the dagger back, she suddenly seems to pause, staring at something of Sage's. This catches her off-guard and Sage manages to successfully trip her as well as hit her square in the face with the axe kick, smashing her head onto the ground. Dazed, Reina struggles to regain herself before thrusting her dagger into Sage's leg and holding her sword up between herself and Sage.*
Reina: *During this, she is breathing heavier, tiny parts of her mask ripped and being stained by a Shadowy version of blood. She clenches her teeth, a tiny part of her teeth now slightly visible through one of the small holes in the mask.*
I said fun for me. That wasn't fun.Sage: My apolo- *they stutter slightly as the dagger enters their leg, blue energy once again bursting from the attack before flowing into their backpack* Apologies. *the gray flow from their backpack was an amount of producer-type nano-bots, which have been repairing the holes in their right arm and hand. A half smile on their face, they briefly raise the leg that wasn't stabbed before tapping it back down onto the ground. As they do, a small three inch spike protrudes from the tip of their shoe. They then bring back their leg, and kick at Reina*
Reina: *She glared at Sage before she took back her dagger and rolled away to the left in order to avoid the kick. She quickly gets up.*
Are you really sorry? *She quickly moves behind Sage and attempts to stab her sword into Sage's backpack.*
Sage: To apologize and to be sorry are not the same... *they swing around, attempting to move away from her sword. They fail, however, as Reina's blade pierces their bag and creating a three inch incision. As they pull away, jumping back, a gray gel-like substance can be seen dripping from the cut in their backpack* ..and so, no, I am not sorry.. *realizing what she had done, they sigh before removing their bag from their shoulders and holding it in their now-fully repaired right arm and hand. The nano-bots which had been repairing their arm flow back into their backpack. As the bots return, one blue stream comes from the bag, collecting in their free left palm as Sage tosses the bag up into the air with their right* ..but I do apologize for your lack of fun. *they shoot the blue energy upwards, into the bag, which explodes in a brilliant combination of bright white and blue, gray lines on it's extremity. The explosion, which has seemed to stand still, then begins to move down to Sage. The gray nano-bot streams collect on their shoulders - creating a secure contact - before projecting outward, creating the frame work for what appears to be angelic wings, with about a 6.5ft wingspan. The blue energy flows in to the frame, creating the wings themselves. After fully forming, the wings flap once, shooting a small dust storm outward from where they stood. The dust wouldn't harm anyone, although it may partially hinder their vision* Let me show you the fun I wish to have!
Reina: *Couldn't help but stare as he created the wings, though she glared for some parts during his speech. She held up her hand with the dagger to shield her eyes from the dust as she stared up at Sage.*
Oh, so flying, huh? *She shakes her head.*
Maybe you didn't hear me. I like it when I have fun. And how am I supposed to have fun if I'm not winning? Seems hardly fair to expect it of me, pixie. Trying to get to you is going to be harder like this. But... *She sheaths her dagger and takes out two throwing knifes. She aims one knife at the wing while the other she aims towards Sage's stomach.*
If I manage to get you from down here? Now that's fun.Sage: Pixie? *they say the word, sounding to be on the edge of being offended. They then shrug as the pair of knives are thrown. The wings cross in front of them, creating a pseudo-shield. Before the daggers reach them however, they wings open, releasing two 'walls' of energy, which travel rapidly towards Reina. As the knives contact the first wall, they disintegrate. The walls continue to move towards Reina* I beg to differ!
Reina: *Manages to see the walls coming and dives to the right to avoid them, rolling so that she stands up again. She runs towards the fallen tree and jumps on top of it. When she finishes the land, she points her sword out at Sage while she looks around for nearby trees that have not fallen.*
Do you like the word "fairy" better? *She says this mockingly, though through the small hole in her face mask, a frown can be seen.*
Sage: *their brow furrows at the taunt. They think to their self*
I thought this was supposed to be fun... Oh well. 'Fairy'? *they jump up, and their wings begin to propel them upwards* Try 'Angel of Death'!
'Angel of Death'? How cliche am I..? *they suddenly dash forward. As they do, the energy that is the composition of their wings 'explodes' outward, extending the wings to be bladed. They fly as to dash by Reina, slicing her apart as they do*
Reina: *Rolls her eyes.*
How original. *She doesn't think much on this, however, as she's more concerned with getting out of the way. She moves as quickly as possible to try to get out of Sage's path, slicing her sword at Sage once he's in range. However, this attack causes her to be sliced by some of the blades, and she winces in pain.*
Still, neat trick...Sage: *a smirk appears on their face as they fly by - despite the sword that left a slash from their forearm to their shoulder - hearing her hushed comment* Heh, thanks~ *they spin around, facing Reina again, seeming to prepare for another fly by. Instead, a portion of their wing detaches and flows to their arm, covering the cut on it's metallic surface*
Reina: You're not welcome. *She has her sword prepared for a second fly-by when she realizes that Sage is not flying towards her. Instead, while quickly moving forward, she takes out and throws a throwing knife towards the right sight of Sage's body and then tries to slice them with her sword on the left side of Sage's body.*
Sage: *the gray flow of nano-bots return from their arm to the wing from where it came, revealing the now untarnished surface of their arm. As the nano-bots return, their right wing flaps once more viciously than it had been, turning them clockwise. As they do, the throwing knife passes by them in front of their chest, narrowly missing it* No need to be hostile in both word.. *they continue to spin around, and deliver a 'back-hand' with their still-bladed wing to Reina* ..and action.
Reina: *Is hit by the back-hand of the bladed wing, and she is pushed forward, going faster due to momentum, though she slightly winces in pain due to the damage from the energy as they singe her back. She doesn't stop, however, and she turns as quickly as possible and heads towards Sage again.*
Why shouldn't I? *As she runs, she tries to slice at his back as she passes by.*
I'm not here to make friends.Sage: *not moving, they sigh at this information. She seemed fun, if a bit unable to enjoy herself at times* It's sad to hear you say that. *the energy composing their wings 'burst' outward, forming spikes as Reina passes by. They whisper, not to them self, or to Reina. Rather to the tense air around them*
..You would have made a great friend, I think.Reina: *Though she did not hear Sage's whispered words, she did notice Sage's tone. She grits her teeth as she tries to dive out of the way, but many of the spikes hit her before she gets out of the way. She falls to the ground, wincing in pain. She speaks as she tries to stand up, weakened, keeping her sword readied.*
What's sad about it? Gnh... I'm horrible. Don't even deny it.Sage: *a frown is evident on their face, and they drop their feet to the ground, as they were hovering slightly above it before. Their wings gently flutter in the faint wind in the arena - which was likely generated by fans, rather than nature. They slowly walk to Reina before going down on a knee in front of her. As they do, the energy from the tips of their wings begins to dissolve from it, floating gently upward into the air before dissipating* I've seen nothing horrible about you. And I'm not biased by sight itself. *a faint smile tugs at their lips, hoping to cheer Reina up. Meanwhile, a small voice sounds in their head*
What are you doing? This is a fight. Fight her. *their eyebrow twitches as they attempt dispelling the voice*
Reina: *Waits and listens long enough for Sage to approach her, just to see what they would do. She clenched her sword at Sage's approach, expecting him to launch a suddenly close-range attack at her. It was to her surprise that Sage ended up kneeling in front of her. At Sage's words, her eyes widen in what appears to be shock.*
You... don't see that I'm horrible? *She hesitates for a moment. Then she suddenly slices her sword at Sage before backflipping away from them, glowering as she does so, a frown combined with a grimace hidden under her face mask. Her eyes have a darker look to them.*
Then you're either blind, or you haven't seen enough of me. Now get up.Sage: *their wings fold in front of them, taking the complete attack of the blade. Although it keeps it from slashing them self, it is the end of the wings. They 'explode', dismantling. All the energy floats upward before turning to nothing, while the nano-bots swirl around Sage in a broken circle. When the blue neon energy floated upward, they stood to their feet* Blind. *they nonchalantly answer the statement, seeming to indicate a similar question has been asked before* I'm blind.
Reina: *Takes a step back at Sage's display, although she's thinking more of Sage's response.*
...Wait, really? ...You certainly don't show it. Well, unless you count is as a figure of speech. *She raises her sword and takes a step forward, smirking under her face mask.*
Whatever. Your wings are gone. What will you do now?Sage: *shrugging, they begin to explain their condition* I don't remember the last time I 'saw' with my eyes. However, I have something much better. *they grin as the crescent of nano-bots that has been orbiting them splits into two, then each splits twice more, resulting in eight silver, sharp crescents circling them* I have what one could call sonar - like a bat. In fact, because of this, I can 'see' much better than I ever could with eyes. In fact... *without warning, they suddenly dash forward at Reina* ..I can 'see' you smiling! *with an open palm, they preform a diagonal uppercut - across the body, from Sage's bottom right to their top left, with the striking portion of the attack being the palm itself - with their right hand. As they do, two crescents follow the movement like scythe blades*
Reina: *She stood there through Sage's explanation, though she still kept her sword up. However, her eyes widened with horror at Sage's last proclamation before dashing towards her. Reina jumped to the side to avoid the hit, but it didn't stop her from receiving a large cut in her from her stomach to her chest. Reina quickly stepped back, reeling in pain. Clenching her wound with her left hand, she lunged forward with her sword, trying to stab Sage.*
Sage: *instead of blocking or dodging, they instead stand still as to receive the blade. It pierces through their midsection, just below where their stomach would be. They don't shriek, or cry out in pain. The reaction given is a small grimace and grunt, followed by them grinning as they place their hand over Reina's, on the hilt of the sword. Holding her hand on the blade, they pull her closer to him, forcing the steel through their body. Finally, the hilt stops at their flesh, and the blade has skewered through them. They 'stare' at Reina with their black eyes before their grin turns into a complete smirk. The nano-bot crescents that have been hovering behind Sage begin rapidly orbiting, each of the either slicing into Reina's back with each pass as they hold her there*
Reina: *Her eyes widen at the sight of Sage's reaction to being stabbed, and the fact that he didn't appear to be too hurt by it. She then winces in pain as the nanobots begin to slice into her. She takes out her dagger with her left hand.* .oO(It's all or nothing...) *She thrusts her dagger towards Sage's neck.*
Sage: I feel your steel... *They laugh at Reina's look, before they raise their free arm, blocking the dagger. It pierces through their arm, which bursts gray. The nano-bots - which were previously where Reina's dagger now is - swirl before landing on her dagger. The nano-bots then begin to eat at the metal, breaking it down and turning it into new nano-bots. The steel crescents continue slashing at her back* ...I wonder how it
tastes!
Reina: *Watches helplessly as her dagger starts to be consumed by the nanoboats.*
My dagger! That's my best dagger you swine! *She yanks her dagger back from the arm, wincing through the damage the nano-bots from her own dagger are giving her. Not knowing what else to do, she decides to give Sage a hard kick in the crotch.*
Sage: Gehh.. *despite the grunt they release, it's nothing compared to the 'doubling-over-in-excruciating-pain' that a male would be experiencing at the moment. Meanwhile, a small group of nano-bots begins devouring it's way through the core of Reina's sword, leaving the outside - apart from the tip where they begun - intact, hopefully preventing her from noticing the difference. The eight crescents pause for a moment, all of them hovering above their head* I would like to mention that that wasn't pleasant... *Sage's lip twitches. As it does, the eight blades swing down behind Reina, attempting to stab into her back*
Reina: *Grimaces.*
Attacking me with those things isn't-- *She interrupts herself as she lets go of her sword and tries to avoid the attack, but she still manages to get hit by 6 of the blades before she can roll out of the way. Badly wounded, she drops to the ground as she finishes her roll, panting.*
Nngh...Sage: *as Reina rolls away, the six crescent blades that embedded themselves in her back remain there. The two remaining blades move to Sage's wrists, and merge with the metal there. They now have a blade encircling their hands, starting from the wrist, moving around the little finger and ending just before the index. They allow a smirk to form on their lips once again* Stand up, Reina. We need to finish this. *the nano-bot crescents in her back begin rising, in hopes of pulling her upward with them, onto her feet*
Reina: *Is panting heavily, grunting in pain from the 6 swords in her back. She is suddenly jerked upwards by the 6 nanobots embedded in her.*
Fine then. To the very end. *With what's left of her strength, she charges Sage with her dagger out. When she draws close, she makes a swift kick in order to try and make Sage fall before attempting a stab.*
Sage: Whoa whoa, I didn't mean to the
end en- *they wave their hands around awkwardly before being tripped, interrupting what they were saying. Giving up on their speech, they bring up their left hand to meet Reina's dagger, trapping her blade between their blade and hand and doing what they can to keep it still. They then aim to deliver a bladed uppercut to her midsection with their right fist - with the blade attached to it's wrist*
Reina: *Sidesteps to the right to dodge the blade, though her fatigue causes her to get sliced by the cut, though not nearly as much if she had stayed still. She gives Sage a kick before trying to wrench her blade back into position, away from the grasp.*
Sage: *as they are kicked, they release the blade at the moment she pulls back on the dagger, hoping to force her to stumble, if even slightly. When they were tripped to the ground previously, Reina's sword moved as to be less embedded in them. If they didn't stumble her, they raise themselves to their feet with a 'spinning' motion, extending their arms as to cut her with the attached blades, and her sword falls from their midsection and onto the ground between the two people. If they did stumble her, then they jump to their feet, and grab the sword's hilt with their left hand, withdrawing it from their flesh and tossing it to the ground in front of Reina*
Reina: *Tries to regain her footing as she feels a sudden force, and while she ultimately stays on her feet, she does stumble a little bit in-between. As she stands there, she stares at the slightly devoured sword lain on the ground in front of her, and she growls slightly.*
That was a good sword. *She doesn't try to pick up the sword, but instead charges and tries to slash Sage in the side.*
Sage: *ducks down, attempting to be below Reina's cut. Despite their effort, the fleshy part of their left shoulder is cut. As they duck, they crossed their arms across their chest. Now within a close vicinity of Reina, they uncross their arms quickly, attempting to drag the blades attached to their wrists across her midsection*
Reina: *She is so focused on trying to cut Sage even further after the shoulder cut that she doesn't notice what Sage is doing with their arms. She takes the blow full on, and she staggers back from her wounds. Keeping her dagger in front of her, she clutches her mid-section, trying and failing to ignore her current injuries.*
Sage: *as they stand, bots attempt to surge from their left arm, to serve medically at the site of their wound. However, the nano-bots in their left arm over heat, turning into a grey-silver sludge that pours from their arm, over their finger tips, and slowly drips onto the ground. Their entire left arm hangs lifelessly (not that it was 'alive', per se, to begin with) and without movement, excluding the melting bots. They momentarily tilt their head down as if to 'look' at their arm, and hiss to themselves*
I thought they were done with prototypes..! *fed up with the amount of nano-bots that they ended up losing today, the huge speech that they were sure that they were going to have to endure, and the immobility that they were experiencing in their 'dead-weight' limb, they bring the nano-bots that make up the blade on their right wrist into their arm. Unexpectedly, they dash forward at Reina. Well, they stumble on the first two steps, but it's relatively smooth after that. As they approach Reina, they give a slight push to their right so as to move slightly to Reina's left. They then let off a right hook punch to either her shoulder or neck. If Reina is hit or is narrowly missed, bots suddenly burst from their fist, creating randomly placed spikes on it's surface*
Reina: *Reina took her time in clutching her wound, but looked up just in time to see Sage charging towards her. Weakly, she moved slightly to the right and just barely avoids the hit. She then summons her strength and attempts to grab Sage's attacking arm with her left hand before trying to stab Sage with her dagger in her right hand.*
Sage: *as Reina grabs hold of their arm, they smile with what appears to be grim satisfaction. They seem to almost hum under their breath*
Just, as, predicted.. *the bots within their grabbed arm 'expand' into spikes, almost certainly impaling Reina's hand, fingers, and wrist. Meanwhile, as Reina's right hand moves to stab them, the attempt to move their left hand in defence. Instead, they are cruelly reminded of the condition of their arm by two things; one, the rhythmic 'plip-plip-plip' of the dripping, melted nano-bots and two, her dagger piercing the side of their torso. They gasp for air, and try pulling away. Should Reina allow them to move their arm, the spikes would likely tear up her hand further. However, depending on the angle her dagger stabbed into them, that would cause
that wound to worsen*
Reina: *She didn't have time to figure out what Sage was mumbling before she felt a sharp pain through her body as the spikes impaled her hand.*
EEERGH! *Despite her great pain, she decides not to move her impaled hand from Sage. Instead, she moves to try to keep herself with Sage as she tries to twist the dagger in Sage's side and increase the size of the wound.*
Sage:
/plip/ *as the dagger is turned, a mixture of crimson and silver leak from the wound*
/plip/ *they release a grunt which sounds like they were attempting to repress it, although that just made it sound like a whine*
/plip/ *a small click could be heard from their arm, coming from a little below the elbow joint. If one was to look carefully, they would notice a black 'hollow' line all the way around the arm*
/plip/ *they give another small jerk, pulling back with their arm once more, although the tug seems to be slightly less 'rough' than the first time they moved to pull away*
Reina: *There is a grim grin of satisfaction on her face as she starts to see blood come from her wound. Though she was so focused on her dagger that she wasn't as prepared to keep her footing with Sage jerking away. The spikes begin to dislodge themselves from her hand slightly, and she winces. She grits her teeth and thrusts herself back away from Sage to free her hand from the spikes as well as remove her dagger from Sage's body.*
Sage: *both their arm and wound free of obstructions, they move freely - Well, as freely as one with a 'paralysed' arm and a gaping wound in their midsection can move - and hold their right arm to the side, and a pair of clicks can be heard from it. The spikes curve slightly, thickening and thinning in the proper places to become hooked blades lacing their arm, all pointing counter clockwise. As they do, more blood and what is likely a sort of liquid nano-bot run from their wound. Their outstretched arm whirs as it begins to rotate rapidly, becoming a swirling mass of blades from below new joint created almost right beside their elbow. They step forward several quick times, closing the distance between themself and Reina. On the final step, they quickly rotate clockwise, turning to give a sort of 'backhand' to her*
Reina: *As she gains some distance from Sage, she keeps her wounded hand to her side, deciding to rely mostly on her other arm for the rest of the battle. She gets herself in a position ready to move away from Sage, and she tries to get away upon seeing the spinning blades. She is preparing to dodge to the right only to find that she misjudged his attack, and she gets hit right at her shoulder and neck, and the blades slightly slice at her face mask and the bottom of her face. She staggers as she weakly moves away from the attack.*
Sage:
/plip/ /plip/ [/sub] *more 'nano-bot and blood 'soup" leaks from their wound, and their complexion is considerably paler*
*despite this, they use the momentum from their spin and push off the ground with their right leg, flipping over once and attempting an overhead kick with their left leg*
*Is pretty much standing there trying to catch her breath, but she tries to move out of the way of Sage's kick. However, she's not prepared for it, and Sage manages to kick her in the side of the head, knocking Reina to the ground. Reina finds her vision blurring from the impact, and she struggles to try to bring herself to her knees.*
Sage: *as they leaped off the ground, their arm had stopped spinning, and the spikes withdrew into their arm. Landing from their attack, they stand in front of Reina's beaten, cut, and bruised body. They raise their right hand to their left shoulder, gingerly pressing at the cut to test it's severity. They grimace as their fingers brush against their flesh, and quickly withdraw their hand*
*they lower themself to a crouch, and poke Reina's arm* Hey umm... Are you done? *they're voice is curious, but not taunting*
*Is just managing to get to her knees when she feels a touch on her shoulder. She swings her arm back to push Sage's arm back, but manages to lose her footing in the process, and she falls to the ground again. She pants for breath while straining to get back up again, keeping her eyes on Sage. However, her eyes are drained of any wrath, and only shows her weariness. She finally speaks, her voice for once losing its harshness and sounding a touch softer.*
*She pauses a moment before speaking again, this time trying to make her voice sound threatening.*
*Impeded by her own efforts to catch her breath, she decides to let her threat hang there.*
Sage: *they shake their head once* There is never a reason to attack one who has conceded. *they extend their right, working hand, offering assistance, as well as a smile*
*Despite her words, she keeps losing her footing due to her confusion and loss of blood. But she seems to be making progress. Slow progress, but progress.*
Sage: *their lip twitches once as they withdraw their hand, leaving her to rise on her own. They manage a half shrug, their left arm still incapable of movement* If you insist...
*She slowly tries to get up, but loses her balance and falls back to her knees again. Instead, she tries again.*
Sage: *turning away, they gently rub at their left shoulder. Unseen by her, they smile at what Reina said as they think to themself*
*acknowledging the pride(?) that she is retaining, they begin to walk away, towards the now open exit*
*Tries to nudge her shoulder away, but finds herself too weak to do so. She turns around in time to see Sage walk away. She doesn't call anything back to them, but instead after she's sure Sage has gone far enough, she resumes struggling to get back up before shaking her head. She eventually manages to get up and she limps as fast as she can out of the Arena, thinking about the her wounds, the fight, and new weapons.*[/spoiler]