Update:

BoG R1: Sci-Fi || buckethead VS Hewitt is up! Please vote and give the writers some CnC!

BoG R1: Sci-Fi || Cruel VS RichardLongflop is up! Please vote and give the writers some CnC!

I didn't have much fun this round, but in the future rounds I'm gonna be good.



Don't expect amazing stuff. Cruel's gonna win this one, probably. Tadaa.

Omg I've never written so much about one thing before. Here you go.

Oh god I just realized that I might be violating the theme of the round. Say, "Magitek" (science+magic combination) is still acceptable, right?

They say magic is just technology we don't understand yet. Just replace magic words with technobabble.

Just put Robo- before everything

Robo-Mage

Robo-Steed

“That.”

“What?”

“Don’t bounce your leg like that.”

“Oh. Sorry,” Jay apologized, he didn’t realize he was tapping his foot nor did he realize it was bothering his captain. He wasn’t surprised though. The captain was easily agitated. Jay figured that irritability was something that developed with age, a plausible theory considering his superior was old.

The captain itched his poorly-shaven jaw, “How’d you manage to learn how to fly a cargo ship, but not how to keep still?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know.”

The captain responded with a grumble. Jay was familiar with the sound, though he was never able to derive any meaning from it. It was just a sound. That was another “old person” thing the captain did: he made a lot of noises. Whenever Jay was co-piloting the ship with him, there were always a handful of grumbles, snorts, and obscenities.

Jay didn’t really mind, though. He always focused on the more rewarding aspects of flying a spacecraft. He got to see the universe and go places he never thought he would go. Most of the other crew members were nice to him and during his free time they would invite Jay to drink or play cards. Little things that excused the reality of his uselessness.

You see, copilots didn’t matter. If you were something like a cybernetics engineer or a scientist or even a space station mechanic, your job is undoubtedly important. But when you’re the copilot of a cargo ship, all you do is push buttons and occasionally flip a switch. Maybe two. A monkey could do the job; the captain always reminded Jay of that. Still, being a copilot was better than being nothing. That’s what Jay used to be.
“Switch it to engine two,” the captain said, keeping a hand on the wheel and using the other to point toward the controls near his copilot.

Jay pressed a button, “Okay.”

“A goddamned monkey could do your job, you know.”

“I know.”

The brief exchange was followed by silence. Silence was okay. It made for an effective thinking space. Jay believed that contemplation was one of the strongest and most potent forms of recreation. He thought about a lot of things when the world around him was quiet. His ruminations often included people, sex, past occurrences, the more trivial aspects of life. Jay sometimes entertained the thought that he was insane. Constantly navigating through the dark, featureless void of space and staring into nothingness for hours, days, or weeks sounded like something a crazy person might do. He remembered when he used to look up at the stars when he was young. Jay could stare at the stars for eternities, burying himself in thought.

Now he was sick of stars.

“See that?” The captain asked.

“What?”

The old man used his empty drinking flask to casually gesture to something beyond the windshield, “Debris.”

Jay looked curiously at the weightless collection of scrap metal drifting aimlessly amongst the stars. He glanced at his captain, “What’s it from?”

“Satellite, maybe,” the elderly man paused briefly, “Or a ship.”

“A ship?”

“Yeah, probably got too friendly with an asteroid. Something like that.”

Jay nodded, reclining a bit in his seat. He watched as the debris slipped away from sight. It was interesting to consider that the bits of metal would float endlessly in space. Inanimate objects had never appeared so lonely.

A new voice entered the room, “You two playing nice?”

The captain and his copilot turned simultaneously, both gazes settling on a crewmate, Ada. He stood in the doorway with a hand resting casually on each hip, they stayed there as he walked further into the cockpit. The ponytailed man gave Jay a nod before giving his attention to the captain, who had already returned his focus to the stars.

“What is it, Ada?” The captain spoke toward the windshield.

Ada jerked his thumb over his shoulder, “It’s about the girl.”

Jay blinked, shifting his gaze between the captain and Ada. The girl. It was such a broad label, though Jay knew who his crewmate was referring to: Eliza Ledoux. They kidnapped her a few days ago. Now the crew was on their way to collect the ransom. It was a large sum of cash, more than they had ever earned from any other delivery. Jay couldn’t remember whose idea it was to abduct her, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered was that it was a good idea, a profitable one.

The Ledoux Family were owners of EDE-9, a dwarf planet with several moons. They were amongst the first to break into the business of interplanetary trade. The investment quickly proved to be a lucrative one. Within a few years, the small mining planet transformed into a flourishing enterprise. Eliza was to inherit the family fortune upon her father’s passing. Bianca Ledoux, her mother, was killed in an explosion at one of the compounds. Eliza’s brothers, Arthur and Brenden Ledoux, were murdered in a bar fight on one of EDE-9’s moons a few years after. The girl was the only remaining successor to her father’s corporation. As expected, her father offered a generous amount of money for his daughter’s safe return.

While Eliza was in captivity, Jay would do little things to make the beginnings of the voyage easier for her. He’d sneak her a little extra food or keep her company. She seemed like she could use someone to talk to. Eliza usually didn’t respond, at least, not for the first two days.

It was the third night that things changed. Jay entered the smallish dungeon and slid the girl a tray of leftovers from that day’s dinner; A small fork followed. He smiled and took his usual seat on the floor. A row of thick metal rods separated the two.

The room was dimly lit with a yellowish glow. Eliza’s lengthy hair hung in her face, concealing her features. She managed a slow shuffle as she gripped the edge of the tray and started eating. Jay spoke quietly, “Do you like being alone?”

Eliza stopped, the only indicator that she was listening.

The co-pilot paused before continuing, “I was alone a lot back home. And usually, when you’re alone, the world’s real quiet around you. I liked it. I like to think about things and it’s always easier to do that when everything’s quiet.”

The girl shifted a bit.

“But when you deliver cargo, you end up working with others,” he added, “Back when I was a rookie, I had already decided that I liked being alone, so I didn’t spend much time with the crew or talk to them much or anything like that.” Jay sighed, tracing his fingertips along the hard floor panels, “Eventually, they invited me to drink with them after a job. I didn’t really want to at first--I figured that I wanted to be alone--but they convinced me and I went and drank with them…”

An audible whoosh was heard as the ship accelerated a bit. “I had fun, a lot of fun. More fun than I ever had by myself. So, I started thinking about that. And you know what I found out?” He raised his head as if he expected Eliza to respond, then lowered it as he finished his story, “I didn’t like being alone. I hated it all along. I liked other people and their company and I didn’t know it. What I actually liked was quiet… I like quiet. It suits me. So, that’s why I asked if you like being alone... because I’m still wondering what that’d be like.”

There was a lingering silence. Jay shrugged, seeming to fail once again in making conversation with the girl. He started to stand when he was interrupted by a small voice, “I want to see you.”

“What?”

“Come into the light. I want to see you,” she elaborated, “You always stay in the dark when you visit.”

Jay stood, taking a few steps forward and into the faint glow that poorly illuminated the room. The girl raised her head. Their gazes met for a few moments.

Eliza smiled, “Thank you.”

“You too,” Jay spoke tentatively. He exited soon after replying.

Jay was removed from his trance-like state of reflection as Ada continued to inform the captain, “She killed herself.”

The captain grumbled. His eyes were still fixed on the windshield, “How’d she manage that?”

Ada gestured to his throat, “Found her with a fork in her neck.”

Jay blinked, surprised at the sudden twinge in his heart. He stood and made his way to the door. The captain raised an eyebrow and turned toward him, “Where’re you going?”

“Bathroom,” Jay replied. The mechanical clicks of the doors were heard as he passed through them.

Jay started down a narrow corridor. His movement audible due to the weighted clatter of his boots on the metal flooring. Without a thought in his mind, he headed toward the lower levels, where Eliza was held, to check if her body was still there. It wasn’t. All that remained was a blood stain and an empty cell.

By the time Jay was out of there, it had already been decided: the crew would get their money. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he left the cockpit, but it was apparently long enough for an assemblage of delivery men to confer about the fate of their cash. The copilot was unaware of the meeting until he was approached by Ada in the hall afterwards, “You take hour-long shits, now?”

An hour. Was he in there for that long? Maybe Ada was exaggerating. Jay looked to his crewmate, “No.”

“You go to the emergency meeting?”

“No.”

“Well, we’re still getting the money. Figured she costs the same dead as she does alive, as long as daddy thinks her neck is forkless. Captain says it’ll be a few hours before we get to EDE-9.”

“Okay.”

“You alright?”

“Yes,” Jay ended the exchange. He knew monosyllabic words were effective when defending against conversation. It wasn’t that he specifically didn’t want to talk to Ada, Jay was somewhat fond of his crewmate, but he wanted to avoid the topic of Eliza’s fate. From what he remembered of her features, the girl just seemed too pretty to commit suicide. However, despite her looks, she stabbed herself to death with a fork that Jay had given her. He watched her take it. It broke his heart to think about that and he had no idea why. She was a stranger to him. A stranger who he grieved for. A stranger who had died alone.

* * *

EDE-9 had notoriously vivid mornings, the unwavering glare of the sun pervaded the interior of the cargo ship as it settled onto the dirt. Jay stared at the seemingly endless yellow fields and flourishing plant life. They had arrived. Butterflies seemed to be thrashing wildly within Jay’s stomach. The captain took a swig from his drinking flask, standing. Jay followed suit. The two made their way down to the exit. All of the crew members were gathered around the large metal door.

“Jay and Kaleb are going with me, the rest of you don’t take a step off the ship until we’re back home,” the captain announced, “Give us two hours. Shouldn’t take too much longer than that. If it does, there’s trouble.”

Kaleb stepped forward from the small crowd. The man silently took a place beside the captain. He was hard-faced and strong-bodied, making it easy to see why the captain wanted him tagging along. Jay was quite unfamiliar with Kaleb and so were most of the others. The large man always maintained a certain degree of indifference when onboard.

The three exited the cargo ship and made their way into the wilderness of EDE-9. It was a quiet walk. The mixture of scenery and sunlight came together to compose a beautiful display of nature, untouched by man. Bright colors produced by the unique flora faded as the group grew closer to the Ledoux manor. Compounds, quarries, and all types of machines began appearing. Past all of them, a large house could be seen. It seemed too spacious for a family of one.

“Here,” the captain extended a hand to Jay, his fingers were wrapped around a small firearm, “Take this.”

Jay nodded. The gun felt heavy in his hands. He carefully slid it into his jacket and continued walking.

The trio approached the manor. They started to make their way across a large, open yard, but halted as the front door was opened; Someone had been waiting for them. A man stood, motionless in the lavish doorway. He was dressed in formal, noticeably-wrinkled clothing. His eyes were lifeless and zombie-like, as if he hadn’t slept in years. Mr. Ledoux stared at the three men. An enduring silence developed during which the group simply matched his gaze. His voice was monotone, it had a distinct hesitance to it, “Come inside.”

The three men paused before entering the mansion. Vibrant wallpaper, shimmering wooden flooring, expensive furniture, and even more expensive-looking art coated the interior. This was as close as any of them had ever gotten to living in luxury. It seemed like a glance into their future; This would be their lifestyle by the time they left the planet. They couldn’t help but be distracted by all the happiness money could buy. They looked forward to such happiness, but first they needed the money. It seemed so close. None of them knew that Mr. Ledoux had no intention of paying them anything.

Jay let his eyes wander around the manor. There was an abundance of art, but no photographs of family members save for Eliza. A few small portraits of the girl were scattered around the room, staring at Jay. His gaze moved to each image. They were all wrong. None of them looked right. She didn’t look real, not like she did on the ship.

“Where are the others?” Mr. Ledoux inquired, leading the men into another room.

The captain spoke before anyone else could, “Just us three.”

“Just three men? A smaller crew than I thought... Three men,” Mr. Ledoux sat down at a table, the captain took the seat opposite him. Jay and Kaleb stood firm behind their superior. They weren’t cognizant of the gun under the table, wielded by Ledoux. He had carefully removed it from his pants when he was sure no one would take notice. The man rested the firearm on his thigh and kept it out of sight. He maintained an open shot at the captain’s stomach.

“I made tea,” Ledoux proposed, slowly putting his index finger to the trigger, “It’s in the kitchen. If you want some, you can get it.”

The captain spoke for the rest of them, “We’ll be okay.”

“I insist. We don’t have to make this so… how it is. You’ll get your money, but first, have some tea.”

The captain paused, then nodded to Jay, who returned the gesture and ventured into the kitchen. It was spacious, clean. Jay looked around for the tea, but he couldn’t find it. It would’ve been on the counter, right? Jay shrugged. He was hesitant to return empty-handed and look like a fool. Maybe there were two kitchens. The thought wasn’t absurd, the house was most definitely big enough to include two kitchens, it just seemed strange that the man would say “the kitchen” if there were multiple. Jay was then startled by an earsplitting blast, followed by three more. There was no tea.

It felt as though he could hear nothing, like his senses had abandoned him. All of them except for his vision. Jay could see everything.

Red. The captain laid in an expanding pool of his own blood. He clenched his stomach, a futile attempt to stop fatal bleeding. He had fallen out of his chair. Kaleb was in a sitting position, agains

Update:

BoG R1: Sci-Fi || Boomerang VS Tsar Bomba is up! Please vote and give the writers some CnC!

BoG R1: Sci-Fi || Rokon VS Kamiroo Wolf is up! Please vote and give the writers some CnC!

So are the late partcipants still going to be accepted with deductions or will it lock them out?

Procrastinator here:


“Hoh hoh! I can easily feel it! The fog in my mind is basically clearing up! This is truly a wonderful gadget!” A loud proclamation echoed throughout the hall, turning everyone’s attention towards a senior in suit, a classic jet black in the vein of Victorian, topped with a tophat and a walking stick. On his haggard face was a headset, stretching across his eyes.

“Tell me, brat! How much?”

“Not for sale.”

“Heh. How about a million Bennys? Surely that wi-”

“No. I have no need for money.” The junior replied.

“Pheh. Supies. You all are fools!” Tossing the device onto the velvet carpeted floor, he stormed off, like a spoiled child.

“Normies.” With a condescending attitude, the child picked up his invention and propped it back onto its stand, waiting for another person. Looking around, he could see so many different faces, both old and young. However old you are, you can still be a student, and eligible for the Imperial Academy’s annual school fair. From artificial intelligences to space-time devices, anything is possible to be displayed here.

“Hey, Orion!” A voice called out to him. It was another youngster, sporting blazing, spiky red hair. “That’s not very nice.” An accompanying girl chimed in, her short, neat light blue hair contrasted that of her friend, “Even if you have superpowers and he doesn’t, that’s uncalled for.”

“Oh, Hotblood and Dealer.” Orion greeted them with a cold voice.

“Aw come on, man! Don’t be so formal with our titles! You don’t hear me calling you the Whiz Kid for no reason!” Hotblood argued with a ferocity fitting for his title.

“Because my title is a generic one. Besides, I’m only one among many other inventors here.” He pointed out. From the Alchemist, who managed to transcribe a scroll that deciphered the relationship between magic and science, to the Mech-anic, whose fullbody mech suit allows even a layman to become a ninja.

“Oh? So you admit your loss?” The girl noted. She, however, could guess her friend’s answer.

“Loss? I just do what I want without restraints.” Orion looked around, waiting for prospective customers to show off his tech. Maybe one of them could inspire him on his next project, “If you guys have no business, mind playing somewhere else?”

“Geez, suit yourself. Come on, Ash.” The two of them left, leaving the young inventor with his creation, “And knock off that funny talk! You’re fucking ten!” Hotblood shouted.

“They wouldn’t even understand.” He shook his head, before taking out a small notebook inside his jumpsuit’s pocket, “Hm… what next…”

As he was doodling on his notebook on what else to create, the entire building trembled.

“What was that?”

“Did you hear that?”

The entire hall was buzzing with fear, anxiety, and even curiosity. The city itself was basically a coalescence of all the world’s superpowers in one place, and because of it, villain attacks were an everyday thing. But striking the school, the learning place for supies? Either he was a meathead, or an attention whore. Or both.

Then, the floor gave way. And out of it, animal cyborgs. From gorillas to alligators, all manners of beasts spawned from the hole like fire ants ready to protect their colony. But in this case, these fire ants were ready for an invasion. The monsters began to leap at people, threatening to rip and devour.

Without a second thought, Orion quickly grabbed hold of his headset and secured it on his head. Then, he activated it. By using magnetic waves and electric impulses, the invention, aptly named “The Key”, can increase the brain’s processing speed, as well as helping create new neuron pathways. Not only that, by directing thoughts towards muscles, the neurons simulated the muscles’ tearing and repairing, enhancing one’s physical strength.

A rabid dog, its head replaced by a robotic replica, charged straight at Orion. However, the moment it leapt, he strafed to the side, before delivering a pen straight to the spinal cord.

“Eeeeeeeek! Help! Heeeeeeelp!” A shrill cry stood out from the chaotic cacophony that plagued the once lively atmosphere. It was the tophat senior, Mr.Krabs, cornered by an alligator. A menacing steel jaw laid bare, the cyborg slowly crawled up to the shivering man.

The inventor charged towards to the side, and grabbed hold of the scholar scroll. With his newfound strength, he sprinted towards them and wrapped up the monstrous jaws with the Alchemist’s scroll. Truly, the leather used in scrolls is a fine material. With the senior’s stick, the eyes of the reptile were no more. The reptile began to squirm around, flailing recklessly

“Aaaaawaaaaa.” Crawling away before getting back on his trembling feet and fleeing, Mr. Krabs was safe.

Orion then glanced at the wide hole made in the middle of the hole. According to his daily ventures to the cyberworld, below was the sewer system. With monsters coming out that route, he had to reroute somewhere else if he wanted to find the source. But then, the alligator’s tail connected with Orion, knocking him to the ground. The moment he looked up, he saw a shadow of a fist coming down his face.

Then, the sound of a punch, before a hand extended towards him.

“Are you alright?” His large hand made Orion’s look so small, like a defenseless child he was. Getting back on his feet, he could finally see the man who saved him: Ken Savious. The chief of the city’s defense force, he’s basically a paragon of what a hero should be: formidable, and full of valor.


“Leave this to the adults! I’ll hold them off until reinforcements come.” A greenlight given, there was one thing left to do: find out where the mastermind was and defeat him. There was no rhyme nor reasons why he would do it. He was just another participant of a fair he could afford to care less. But even so, he dashed through the panic-filled school and out towards the street. With his memory, he laid out the sewer system within his mind, tracing the most probable location for a hideout. A large, open space with few distractions, obstacles. The result: beneath the Subcentral Park.

Standing in front of the large manhole, he finally began to contemplate his action.

“Why am I doing this again?” He got caught up in the rush of moment, directing all his energy and focus into dealing with the root of the problem. He had always been like that.

“Does it matter?” He looked at the time on the park’s clock. “2 PM. I don’t exactly have anything else to do.” Then, he leapt in. Just as he suspected, the path was clear. To attack a place full of supies would require one to unleash full force, and that would mean…

“Offense is the best defense only when you have no blind spot.”

=============

As Orion recalled the map and slowly traversed the dimly lit sewers, he had time for himself with his own thoughts.

Man, never thought the safest path is the most boring, too. The grating of dragging the walking stick and the rippling of the sewer water were a break from the cacophony of the convention, especially that unpleasant shrieking. The only thing that lit his path were the small fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling, giving the area a sense of antiquity compared to the light emitting cells that were recently invented by a graduate from the school. It would have been a pleasant stroll, had it not been for the intoxicating smell that only served to discomfort him. His muscles were burning with each step, a devastating side effect from “The Key”. Muscles strengthen by tearing up and rebuilding, but right now, there wasn’t enough time for a full recovery. Had it not been for an adrenaline rush, he and Mr. Krabs would’ve ended up in the graveyard, waiting for a day to be resurrected by a crazed necromancer. Or worse.

“Sigh… screw it. Act first, think later.” He shuffled onwards. Youths these days, barely exercising any caution.

“I’ll prove it to them, I’m not a helpless kid.” And prideful, too.

Then Orion reached it. Through a recently dug tunnel that disrupted the neat brick pattern, he found himself in a large, open space. Light fixtures above gave the area an ambient light, barely enough to make out the surrounding. He slowly climbed down the pile of rubble, obviously the result from digging out a pathway to the sewers. His insights were proven to be correct. If he wanted, he could’ve given himself a pat on the back. But it would be uncool.

The moment he reached the bottom, cages upon cages lined up on the side welcomed him.

“Hm… Basic mathematics says there’s about 24 cages in total.” He counted. “How few. This villain must be on a budget.” Looking around, he could see junks and scraps of metals strewn about. And far off, he could see something resembling an operation table. And a man standing behind it.

“Heh, so you managed to defeat all my underlings! Now, you shall feel my-” He paused, “Oh, a brat. Great, another wannabe hero.” The man himself was old, his figure emaciated, old and weak, his wrinkled forehead lit up by the operation’s table overhead lamp. His bright red robe was worn out, the color faded into a crimson shade, giving him a more sinister figure. His left arm had a glint, making it likely that he, like his army of cyborgs, also had a mechanical part.

“Child, scram! Go back to your family and stay there like a good boy! I’m feeling merciful today. Or perhaps you’re one of them kids in that orphange? Oh, you may be eve-”

“You talk too much for an old fart.”

“Provocation, huh? I’m too smart to fall for such an obvious trap.”

“All bark and not bite, huh? Disappointment.”

“Oh, you’re going to regret it, boy.” The old man snapped his fingers, and from inside the last two cages, two powerful beasts emerged: mechanical chimeras, “Boys, sic him!”

The beasts were nothing short of abominations, a patchwork of various animals like lions and goats, and mechanical parts to replace the seemingly rotten areas. They stood tall, their bulky arms threatening to grab him and crush him like a grape. They moved quickly on their two legs, but uncoordinatedly. Orion simply weaved past them with relative ease thanks to his size. Perhaps this was the only time he was thankful for being a child. The monsters were fast, but they were too bulky, too inflexible, so how could they manage to capture such a speedy little youngster?

Then, he would leap onto the table, his walking stick pointing directly at the old man’s neck.

This is pathetic. He would thought, looking down on the pathetic villain from above. He would feel nothing but contempt for the charlatan, not giving him the thrill of combat, the joy of overcoming obstacles. He would complain that life was too easy for him, that he grew bored of his successive victories, that he would prefer some challenge in life, and the old man? Wouldn’t amount to a vermin.

That was what it would’ve been. Or rather, should’ve been.

Instead, he now found himself being constricted by a serpent, trapping his movements. He had made a severe miscalculation, for a chimera usually had not only parts of a lion and goat, but also a tail of a serpent. A sentient tail. He couldn’t have seen it coming. Or else, he would’ve been able to make short work of it with his gift, “Analytical Eyes”, and “The Key”, the headset that enhances both physical and mental capabilities.

The serpent’s hold onto him grew slowly tighter, as if to torture the arrogant youth. The dull pain now spiked, his body as if on fire, the mild discomfort now distorted into pure agony. Orion screamed, screamed as much as his small lungs could. His scream echoed throughout the lair, only served to show how deep of the hole he dug himself into.

“Ah! It hurts! It hurts! Stop! Stop!” He pleaded and begged, streams of tears running down his headset and cheeks. He was pathetic, like a small, defenseless child that always needed rescuing. He was no hero in this story. He was the fool that died charging in first.

“Sigh, just toss him out. This is no place for children.” The beasts heeded the old man’s and released the youngster from the serpant’s grip, “And remember the name of the one who defeated you: Icarus the Biomancer.” Then the beast grabbed hold of Orion and threw him into the air.

This… feels nice. The feeling of wind passing through his limbed body, the feeling of weightlessness, a wonderful feeling it was. And it would be the last thing he feel. The moment his head connected to the floor, everything would be over. The memories of the orphanage he was in, the precocious crush he had on the lone principle, the heartbreak as she found her true love, the friends that he’ve lost due to his personality, friends that endured him,... Unnecessary thoughts filled his childish mind.

“I… I don’t wanna die.” Orion whispered.

And a prayer was answered. A figure emerged from the shadow of the lair’s entrance, and with elegance, he caught the youngster. And by elegance, it meant that both of them collided, with the figure acting as a cushion to soften the fall.

“Ouch. That isn’t cool at all.” The figure laid Orion down as he stood up. He then looked upon the lair of Icarus the Biomancer, along with his great inventions. With a voice as loud as possible, he proclaimed:

“Oi oi oi oi oi oi! Who the hell do you think I am?”

“A nutcase!”

“Wrong! I am the Great Robin Fate! The one that will determine everyone’s destiny!” Drawing a deck of cards from the sleeve of his trench coat, he shuffled it with ease as the cards slid within his palms, and three cards were drawn, “The Eight of Pentacles! The power of determination! Three of Cups! The power of friendship! Five of Swords! The power to stand up after falling down! These are the cards of Fate!”

“Oh great, that kind of nutcase.” Icarus waved his left mechanical arm, “S-”

“No need!” Robin sprinted downhill from the mountain of rubble and leapt with ferocity.

“Who the hell do you think I am- Kick!” But it was just a normal kick, and was promptly stopped by the beast’s hand. What came after a complete curbstomp as he was slammed into the ground again, again and again. And again. And another one for safe measures. Battered,face drenched with blood, the white coat now dyed with red, the beast held the fallen hero to its face.

“That was a disappointment. So much bravado, so little substance.” The ‘hero’ could’ve been so much more, but alas, just another wannabe.

“...Heh…” Coughing out blood, Robin looked straight at the beast, which was ready to devour him whole, “I… I still got a trump card…”

“Let me guess, power of determination?”

“This!” He flung an object into the air, drawing everyone’s attention to it.

“What the hell?”

It was… Orion’s headset. Then, the sound of blood gushing. A chimera had fallen, blood flowing out of its neck. Crawling from under the corpse was Robin, a card in hand.

“Abel! H-How?” Icarus began to panic, “Kill him, Cain!!” The remaining beast began to sprint, and with one hit, knocked Robin high into the air and landed him at the entrance. This time, Orion wasn’t a cushion.

Orion looked at the fallen man. He tried so hard, bluffed so badly, and failed so sadly. If he were a bit wiser, then perhaps… the youngster could’ve related to him. That no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t be that naturally confident, that perhaps his facade couldn’t hide the doubt in himself, in his own talents.

“...n...not dead...ye…” Robin could barely speak, but he was still alive. Orion couldn’t help but feel relieved. Then, he saw Robin sliding to him a bloodied card. The youth held the card up his face, and gave it a quick rub. On it, a figure in red holding a stick with an infinity symbol on his head. And the words “The Magician” were printed below. At the same time, the beast slowly crawled up the pile of debris, ready to send the two of them to the grave. This time, there wouldn’t be anything left for a necromancer.

“...Po...tential… It’s… you…Be...Believe in Orion… the Orion that believes in you...”

“Heh. That little stupid little phrase… Did you think it’s that easy to change people?” He knew himself. He was weak. Powerless. He was just a defenseless child who knew no better. Talents? Potential? Others deserved it more than him. He was wort

Deductions. I'd rather not have them locked out entirely. A 5 point deduction [1 vote] should suffice.

How long past the deadline do we have to wait for the late entrants? This is going to be a long enough tournament already. I feel like after a certain point, people who couldn't write their stories by now because of how busy they were might have been too busy to join the tournament in the first place.

I'll have the next round's thread by tomorrow actually. Just waiting for Wednesday xD.

The poll can overlap with the writing period for a brief time. Late entrants are deducted points.

Hey Error, are you the sole judge or did you consign 2-3 other people to judge with you? And will the judges say anything after the round is definitely over?

I haven't gotten judges. There's a reason why I don't have Judge's Favor or stuff like that but I myself will vote and CnC the battles.

I don't have the written prowess to redpen like Jesse did or have the inner confidence to give Judge's favor.

I have IRL people in mind and asked beforehand for the job but would it really be necessary? I could still ask them if you guys want to.