Tag Archives: Unholy Talent Set

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #10

Brisa Gan hung in the air about a centimeter and a half away from Catlin and a half centimeter off the ground.  She was a little less than five centimeters tall.  Her skin was fairly well kept, sky blue with large red patches.  She wore the nearly formal attired of a news reporter but looked somewhat out of place in them; she was way too young.

Faint hints of black flame escaped from Catlin’s red in black eyes as she stared at the very scared young lady.  Brisa had no intention of being this close to them, especially like this.  She was completely at a loss.  Realizing this, Catlin’s demeanor changed from the angry killer to a falsely sympathetic inquisitor.

A faint smile crossed her lips.  She noticed Brisa’s bowtie was not correctly tied.  Maybe it went out of place during the unexpected, split-second trip.  Either that or she didn’t know how to tie one.

Catlin spoke slowly and calmly as she started.  “So, Brisa Gan from the Champion’s Chronicle,” her voice was distorted.  It sounded darker almost beast-like, a side effect of her Unholy Talent use.  She reached out correcting Brisa’s tie, “What do you hope to accomplish by spying on us.”  Catlin’s hands, still aflame, left scorch marks on the fabric.

Brisa tried to think of some way to correct her situation but nothing was coming to mind.  Held within Catlin’s motion grip, she couldn’t move… anything.  Every member of her body seemed to be trapped in steel.  She was forced to stare back into those burning red in black eyes or seem like an obvious liar.  “I…I was doing a report on the shuttle port.”  She tried to sound as confident as she could.  “There was an attack here the other day.”

“That’s not what this says,” Liana spoke happily as she read from Brisa’s handheld.  Though she had let go of it in her surprise, it had hung in the air a millimeter away from her hand until Liana grabbed it.  “You have been keeping close tabs on us since last night.”

Brisa knew she was busted, “Sorry,” Brisa’s voice went up an octave.  The flames from Catlin’s hands seeped deep into her chest.  She must not like being lied to.  “We were interested in where Jaquan was going.”  The flames started to hurt more.

“Why,” Catlin looked up at her as she asked calmly.  She had finished correcting the bowtie.  It looked perfect apart from the scorched fabric.

The flames left Catlin’s hands.  Instead, an intense chill came upon her.   Catlin’s hands, now covered in frost, froze the bowtie in place.  Now Brisa’s chest was almost freezing, but she continued, “He’s scheduled to fight Orien Chuan in a month but decides to leave instead of training.  We were curious.”  Even after Catlin’s hands left the bowtie, the chill stung into her chest.  It penetrated much deeper than the heat it had replaced.

“What I do and where I go is my business,” Jaquan countered.  He walked between her and Catlin making sure she saw what he was saying, “I don’t need no reporter commenting on everything I do.”  He was utterly disgusted.  He worked hard for a living, endured pain both in training and in the arenas.  After all he did, this kid wanted to take his life and use it to get a story.  “Get lost,” he added waving her off.

Catlin released her grip and Brisa fell to the ground, strait on her butt.  Neely’s empowerment aura fell as well.  Liana gave Brisa’s handheld back and they started walking away from her one by one.  Brisa had only just been giving this assignment.  Even with her limited knowledge on reporting, she knew that she was not getting any more information from them.

Neely was the last to leave.  He stood there with her and spoke as her helped her up, “If I was you, I wouldn’t follow us.”  He was a stark contrast to Catlin; peaceful, calming, and sincere.  This made his words stick even more.  “You should write about safer places.”  Brisa agreed, and he walked off to join his group.

She was left alone at the shuttle port holding her handheld in complete defeat.  There was no chance she was going to get any of them to talk to her again.  That was a short assignment.

#1 – Opportunity #9 – Opportunity #11

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #9

Close to early evening, they were all packed and ready to go.  The sky began its cycle of twilight shades as the sun prepared to set.  Before long the blue sky would fade to indigo.

Bome City’s defensive turrets scanned grass and the skies just as they always have looking for the slightest hint of danger.  A grid of massive turrets throughout the city perched on the tallest buildings and also set on towering pillars.  Not all of the pillars held the powerful cannons.  As large as the wildlife was, many times a simple bright light or loud noise could scare them off back into the wild.

The Bome’s Prime Minister insisted they be placed all around his kingdom evenly to protect all the people from any wild life that would approach as well as any raiders that would try their luck.  The turrets were everywhere, threatening to tarnish the city’s beautiful skyline.  A tower was even present at the shuttle station where Justice met with Jaquan’s team.

They all looked different now, dressed in traveling gear.  Liana was in her metal mech suit complete with a mask that covered her face.  Jaquan and Neely repeatedly told her it was a horrible idea for her to wear the helmet, but Liana insisted on being able to protect them and herself from whatever may come.

Neely had a heavy looking bag slung over his shoulder.  He stood apart from them with Catlin who wore normal clothing and brass knuckles.  They all had various Hanja on their clothing to enhance certain aspects of their strengths.

Justice was telling Jaquan and Liana about the city they were going to stay and the further steps they would have to take to get to the town that held the tournament.  It seemed like it could become a dangerous trek, only one suitable for someone used to fighting wild beasts.  Liana was quite unhappy about the trek.  Jaquan seemed only a little more welcoming to the thought.

“Getting there is half the fun,” Justice reassured them.

This did not gain any reassurance points with Liana, but a decision was a decision.  They were going.  Neely’s drunken rage set them all strait.  He reminded them why they started in the fight game in the first place.

Neely was the only one still foggy on the details of how they got to this point.  He had asked Liana but she insisted that Catlin knew best about what happened.  As he spoke to Catlin, she enjoyed giving tiny bits of information.

“Why would I ask for poison?”

“The drink I think is designed to have it.”

“So I asked for the drink,” he said riddling out the situation.  “And I knew the poison was added to the drink?”

“Yes it is quite popular with ladies.  The fruit juice usually…” Catlin’s eyes suddenly changed to an unfriendly gaze.  Her mannerisms changed along with her gaze.  No longer was she a silly child teasing her brother about the secret he may never know.  She was the alert warrior that knew something was misplaced, invisible but certain.  Having seen this gaze many times, Neely picked up on the change and translated it correctly.

“Empowerment aura and light please,” she whispered.  Her eyes quickly faded black her irises turning a brilliant red.  She pointed with them to the pillar about a meter behind her.

Neely activated his empowerment aura signified by a dim silver sphere extending about four and a half centimeters from him in all directions.  Along with it, a bright outline of gold closely surrounded his body.  Standing close to him, Catlin was completely engulfed by the aura.

Neely took a simple looking handle from his pocket and held it inside the pack he was carrying.  Gears and machines whirled and within four seconds he was holding a fully functional and strung compound bow, small but really strong.

He pulled an arrow from the pack.  It caught fire as he shot it at the pillar.  Just as it would have hit the pillar, Catlin motioned with her hand for it to go around the pillar.  The arrow obeyed perfectly and landed on the other side of the pillar with a flash bright enough to be visible in the daylight.  Along with the flash: The shadow of a very surprised person with a handheld.

With anger in her mind and hands encircled with dark red flames, she performed a gripping motion in the spy’s direction and performed a pulling motion in the air towards her chest.  In that split second motion, the spy was delivered from behind the pillar directly in front of them.

By now they had the attention of the whole team as well as a few onlookers.  Her cover blown, hanging in the air at Catlin’s thinning mercy, the spy had only one thing to say.

“Um… Hello,” she started nervously, “I’m Brisa Gan with the Champion’s Chronicle.”

#1 – Opportunity #8 – Opportunity #10

 

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #8

The next thing Neely remembers is waking up in a soft bed, softer than most, almost difficult to move in.  In the struggle to get up, he shifts his shoulders.  Immediately, a torturous pain shoots strait to his head.  He fights to get up but the pain resurges with each heartbeat.  Defeated by the pain, he falls back into bed grasping his head as though it would help.

It did not.

Laying there he tried to remember the previous night.  Something big happened.  It could explain why his head was pounding.  He remembered saying … something.  It was a very important something to … somebody.  Did something change?  The chronic pain robbed his concentration and his desire to remember.  Whatever it was will come back to him later, maybe.

He scanned the room moving his head and shoulders as little as possible.  His vision was a little blurred but he could tell that he was in a room, a hotel room.  The place was very empty except a small green figure in the corner.  It had to be a person.  He lifted his shoulders again to see exactly who it was.  He was hit with even more pain than before.

“Ow.  Wha?”  The only thing he remembered clearly from yesterday was drinking a delicious mixture of orange and grape juice.  He also remembered this particular feeling after battles with Chemist Talent users.  “Somebody put poison in my drink?”

Catlin, ecstatic, stood to great him.  “Neely!  You’re awake!”  She shouted in her naturally high pitched voice.

She was across the room; but to Neely, it seemed like she shouted directly into his ear.  Raising the hand that was not holding his head, he motioned for her to stop talking, “Not… so loud please.”

Catlin couldn’t help but giggle at Neely’s situation and remembered that he had asked a question.  “The simple answer would be ‘yes’,” she said in a much softer tone.

“Yes what?”

“Someone put poison in your drink.”

His head was filled with questions but lacked the constitution to sort them out.  It must have been a weak poison if he was still alive.  He remembered no fight.  He remembered no imprisonment or rescue.  How could that be true if he woke up in the safety of her hotel room?

“I… I think you asked them to put it in,” Catlin said giggling even more.

Now that’s just stupid.  Was she playing a trick on him?  Nah. Catlin’s Unholy Talent Set changed her.  Much like his Holy Talent Set changed him.  Regardless of their changes, they were still very good friends.  It was very unlikely that he would ask to drink poison, but she was giggling and smiling too much to lie convincingly right now.  Not that she lied much anyway.

Catlin’s smiling continued as she reached around to the one thing on the dresser, a simple glass of water.  “Here,” she says handing him the glass, “We made this for you.  It should put some of the edge on.”

He took the water and smiled at it, noting the dry humor.  He took a sip and felt better.  Then he drank as though he had not seen water for days.  The enchanted water was amazing.  By the time he finished drinking, he felt almost like his old self.

Still, pieces of the previous night eluded him.  He remembered that Jaquan defended the championship and they had a party to celebrate.  He went to the bar.  The rest of the night was still fuzzy.  “What happened?”

“We’ll tell you about it on the way.”

“Where are we going?”

“No idea.”

#1 – Opportunity #7 – Opportunity #9