The Gathering Darkness [Saga/open]

[Ohkara Minamaru]

”Anri, you insult me.”

Bear snickered as Kemuri spoke; it was obvious that the king felt some of the same things that Bear did towards Anri. It was even more obvious how it annoyed the alien. Bear somewhat ignored Kemuri's speach, there being little information directed towards him. Downing the whiskey in his flask, Bear watched Anri.

“You don’t like each other? Fine. Settle it now. My soldiers need to obey my orders. Anri, that means you. Bear, you as well. Training it is. Jenn, make sure they don’t kill each other. That’s an order. Anri, Bear, no killing each other. That’s an order as well. Get it now and be done with it.

Bear's power level was already suppressed, and as Kemuri spoke, he masked the raising of it. Entering his Bearserk state, little changed aside from his muscles bulging. Readying himself as Kemuri once again talked directly to Anri.

Bear was in no state to fight, having just came out of the dungeon; but as the liquor mixed itself into his bloodstream, a smirk crossed his face. Crouching low, he entered his Zui Quan, or Drunken Fist, stance, his arms hung low, his body loosening. Bear would watch for any instance of Anri to pounce, as the alien also gave an impressive display of powers.

In the blink of an eye, the alien rushed Bear, who had no time to react; an obvious gap between the two's power levels. Still, his power staying suppressed, there would be no way for Anri to know exactly where the human stood in this gap.

Closing in quick, Bear could feel the heat radiating from the man's crab-like armor. A fist connected hard to Bear's face, sending him flying backwards. Had it not been for his transformation, the pain would be unbearable, but as adrenaline rushed through his veins, dancing with the booze, Bear simply grunted it of. Turning his backward momentum to his advantage, Bear threw his hand to the floor, turning over his back into a handspring.

His feet connected with a wall behind him, his body instantly crouching down like a spring, only to propel him forwards, towards his foe. Right arm cocking back with a punch, energy built up inside it. Releasing the punch as he neared Anri, Bear's fist would fire a wave of green energy towards the alien in retaliation.

[Kemuri]

Resting comfortably in his throne Kemuri was more than pleased to see Anri launching towards Bear. The animosity between the two had been quite obvious and the quick assault only verified it with action. For all his words the armored fighter listened to the orders given to him without any objections, but then again that was most likely due to the hatred he held for the man he was to fight against. It didn’t matter. As long as Anri and Bear listened, did what they were told then Kemuri was fine with it if they hated one another, perhaps it would even strive them both to work harder to outperform the other. At the moment it would provide Kemuri with some entertainment and insight into the abilities of the fighters that worked for him.

With Anri quick to initiate combat Jenn was equally quick to get herself out of the way, surprisingly enough moving right alongside his thrown. Not taking his eyes of the fight that unfolded before them he listens to her words, confident even as she questions his beliefs. The woman was an intelligent one, there was no denying that, but she did not have the vision that Kemuri did. His words had been true, yet by her assessment they were somewhat of a front, a display of false confidence. She was wrong of course for Kemuri knew what to expect and that was why he was preparing for it. As she delivered her words, Anri had delivered his punch. Bear took the blow even though it was enough to take him right off his feet, the drunk launching backwards through the air as if he was going to shoots straight backwards into the wall. That is exactly what he did, in a way, except the fighter was able to swing his body around so that his feet planted against the wall instead of his head. With a shove of his legs he propelled his body right back towards his opponent, going on the offensive despite the difference in power.

”Of course I believe my own words. You do realize I let them live right? Do you not understand why I did that? Azazel and whatever friends she may have are the only resistance left on this planet, and me letting them make their escape was a message. I know they will return, and they shall be stronger when they do, but they shall still die. Once they are taken care of the rest of the world will see the truth of my power and it will solidify my rule.” Pausing for a moment Kemuri looks to the woman at his side.

”Do you think it matters you were holding back? How confident are you that you know everything about me and the power I possess Jenn?” His eyes meet hers as he makes the statement and they emitted nothing but confidence. Jenn would be wise to realize the King she now served was more than the brute that he had taken the throne from. Kemuri was far more intelligent than the Furher and while Jenn had initially held back to see what he was capable of, he had done the same with the others. Kemuri was always prepared.

[Deleted]

Anri could sense that the hairy man's power had begun to spike just before he had launched his lunging assault but the fact didn't seem to phase the Vennor at all, a true warrior till the end he would fight anyone, it didn't matter how much they out powered him, once the gloves had been thrown off he was in till either him or his opponent fell to their knees. At such a point it would be up to the winner to decide the fate of the other though Anri wasn't the type to be merciful to those that were foolish enough to face him on the field of combat, however their were a few Valiant warriors he had fought against and let them survive. It wasn't always about the money with Anri in those rare instances were he found someone that had been a great enough fighter for him to keep him on his toes through every step of the way, he would let them live just for the honor and valor that it brought him, something that was greater than money to him was the life of his legacy that he left behind. One day sometime in the far future someone would tell his tales to their children and they will tell their children and it will be passed down through generations, forever recorded in the annals of history. However Anri did not think that this fight was going to be one of which he favored under that category, it was his hopes that this fight end as quickly as possible so that he could get down to the real matters at hand.

With his fist landing hard and true on the hairy man's face the sheer power behind his clinched hand was more than enough to send him sprawling backwards against the flooring, though the hairy man might not have felt it yet with all the adrenaline flooding his system there was a clear out line of Anri's fist on his face from where the intense heat and burned him. It was one thing to be near a Vennor when they had transformed but it was a completely different matter fighting one as most people had never fought an opponent who's skin burning to the touch, not to mention the series of spikes that extruded from his plated skin made directly attacking him all the more difficult to face.

Sailing a ways from Anri the hairy man used the momentum of his own strike to pivot on his hand right before he made contact with the chambers wall, snapping his feet to the wall as if they were magnetic he was now faced back towards the alien. Anri gave some credit to the hairy man though he was a coward and a drunk he had managed to recover from such a hit with a great skill, he wondered what he might have been like before his body went to hell from the possible years of drinking. However the thought quickly past as the break was short lived, using the wall to propel himself forward he went zipping right back toward Anri, which of course was all according to plan.

Anri had more than enough time to dodge or even block the incoming attack as he could already see the hairy man pulling his arm back in the attempt to strike out at him, but such an idea wasn't in his plan. Though Anri's people had no natural way of tell others power level, and he himself had no real way of sense exactly what his opponents strength was there was always other ways to figure out such things, however it required a bit of self sacrifice which he was more than willing to partake in, even with the possible threat of great pain, not to mention it was often great at making people shit their pants seeing that their attack was ineffective.

Anri held his hands up in a weak defense as too make it easier for the hairy man to get a hit in, he really wanted to see what the creature could pack behind a punch, however he really wasn't expecting the green energy to burst forth from his hand. The clinched fist was meant to be a punch was it not? But as weak as the creature appeared to be he seemed to have a few tricks up his sleeve as the wavering blast of energy struck him in the chest. It was about as he expected as the energy pushed against his plated armor, though powerful compared to that of most humans such an attack was useless against the strength of a Vennor. Taking a deep breath of air Anri pumped his chest out in a violent matter as the green blast of energy dissipated before the two of them, leaving all behind was the grin that was spread across the alien's face, it had been a good attempt at causing him pain but now it was Anri's turn to show him real pain.

In a flash of energy Anri's right hand was set a blaze as it cupped around that of a burning ball of energy, mixed with the heat from his own body the paint of the nearby walls began to peel from their combined effort, Kemuri might get ticked off that his throne room would need some redecorating afterwards but it wasn't as though he couldn't afford it let alone needed it. Taking the heated ball of energy clinched in his hand Anri would upper cut the hairy man aiming for his chin, regardless if his tighten fist hit or not the heat that the ball was putting off was more than enough to burn the man at such a close range.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

Bear was able to get his blast off, but the alien took it, easily shaking it off. The gap in power was far much for Bear to overcome, even in his max. If he wanted to hit Anri with an attack powerful enough to hurt, he would have to do exactly what he did against Kemuri. Against someone his level, Bear could stay on the offensive, but with the crab-man, he'd have to think ahead, act defensively, and take a lot of hits.

Luckily, his Bearserk state was made just for such things. He watched Anri clear the room in a blink of the eye, his hand glowing with Ki, radiating heat. As the fist shot upwards at Bear, it connected hard with his chin, searing the flesh. Bear flew into the air once again, connecting even harder with the ceiling, the concrete cratering and cracking under him. Even with the excess of adrenaline and booze in his system, it hurt.

Falling hard onto the floor below him, Bear took a second to catch his breath. Keeping this up much longer would kill him; regardless of Kemuri's orders. Slowing raising from the ground, Bear spat blood and a few teeth onto the floor, wiping the rest from his lips with a dirty arm; smirk on his face. Suppressing his energy, his left hand began to draw in ki, keeping a low profile.

Hiding the charge from view of the crab-man, Bear rose his left hand to his whiskey, and took a swig, replacing it. It was unlikely that Anri would wait to attack again; he was in quite the rush to finish the human off, but Bear only needed a few minute. Just enough time to charge up his attack and get in one, solid hit. Even though the chances of pulling this off were slim, maybe even nonexistent, he had to try. Try, and hope that Kemuri stopped the brawl before it ended in Bear's own funeral.

Charge 1

((Swapping posting position with Mahajenn as permitted.))

[Delashano]

"You must be  a lot stronger than what you displayed if you really did let Azazel escape, she was not quite enough to match you that much was clear but enough to put up a fight. As for whether my holding back mattered, ultimately no it did not, Id wager that even my full strength was reasonably short of that individual clone of yourself that I fought alongside Carla. It was especially irrelevant if you are as far beyond that level of power you display as you seem to be claiming. But I do think in the long run you made a few mistakes." Jenn said keeping her attention mostly on Kemuri despite her eyes being directed on the fight. She was vaguely aware that Anri was from the very onset of the fight throwing everything at Bear it was very likely he was making no effort to hold back and as a response it required Bear to power up fully himself. A fight at this level of power from the very start would be unlikely to last very long and likely made victory much more likely for Bear considering the discrepancy in power. But just as he had done against Kemuri Bear stood resilient in the face of overwhelming odds.

"I do not usually like to offer advice to people such as yourself but in this case it is likely irrelevant. You've made the mistake that thousands of men in your position have made time and time again. I can say this with certainty because I have seen it happen time and time again, if you know anything about me other than what I am you likely know this is not some bluff. You overpowered and humiliated a group of people who are dead set against your reign, you took prisoner two of there allies, and you have in there mind the 'rightful king' in chains somewhere in the castle. And you let them go. You gave them everything they needed to become stronger, you gave them a purpose and a person to hate, you have set them up for victory, not defeat. I am unsure if you can read energy signatures, I'd wager a guess that you can since it's very much in line with what seems to be your style. You can likely see that I'm already far beyond the level of power I displayed in the battle even with the bracers active, this growth was a product of my own need to grow stronger just to survive, not even to take down an enemy I already KNOW is powerful. I didn't KNOW if they were better than me, I still don't." Jenn said still wondering if Kemuri would even pay attention as she explained his biggest mistake, or if he would even care.

"You've very confident in your victory and I can see why, you've achieved a lot. But what if you lose? Have you even entertained the concept that you're victory is not assured? You clearly did not have the raw power to challenge the King, I could not say I know this to be a fact but the idea that you felt it was required to seal off his power speaks volumes, what if you've pushed Azazel or any of the others to a point where they have that much power? They have Kaladar and even similarly restrained the Guardian's words and knowledge alone can be enough to change the tide of battle and further push someone to even greater heights."

[Kemuri]

Kemuri didn’t like this whole “Talking to Jenn on a personal level” thing that was happening right now. She didn’t need to know about his true power, and he didn’t need to explain his plan to her. Whatever he did, whatever it was he decided to do, was right simply because he was who he was, the undisputed king of Earth. Somewhere in front of the Hyena man a fight was occurring. It had held his interest briefly, but Jenn was doing a good job keeping it from him as he instead listened to her droll on.

Blah blah blah blah mistakes blah blah thousands of men… He was not some young-lived naive creature like a human, as she seemed to be talking down to him as if he was. The books had been read, the history gone over. Yes there had been men like him, but there had never been him. She referenced her own power gains, even despite herself being “in chains”. There was no doubt that yes, she was stronger than she had been when he first enslaved her. There was no hint of any thoughts that it may have been exactly what he wanted. Of course she was going to grow stronger. She was fighting on his side.

As for the others? Well thats where the fun lay. There was no way they had gotten stronger than his true power. And as for if he lost… It just wasn’t an option. He would not lose. And if he lost, he’d be dead and wouldn’t have to worry about what happened if he lost. He smiled at Jenn.

“My soldiers will not fail me. You will not fail me. And I will not fail you.”

His attention would then try and be focused on the fight in front of him.

[Deleted]

A smirk shown across his face as Anri had taken the hairy mans hit with barely even so much as a flinch, it was amusing to see the creature put as much as he could into his attack but not even manage to make a scratch on his body, though it didn't help the creature much that he was pretty much walking around in full plated armor. Even though he held a grin on his face Anri was growing bored of the fight quickly as it really didn't pose much a challenge to him; sure he enjoyed fighting but that's when he was fighting for his life is when he felt most alive. He was still contemplating the idea of finishing the fight here and now but he though he would give the hairy man one last chance to show him what he really had behind the thick layer of mangled and wiry hair on his head.

His attack worked about as well as he was expecting it too as Anri's fist contacted directly with that of the hairy man's jaw, upon impact he could her the sizzling sound of flesh as it char boiled his skin. Flying backwards and into the ceiling the hairy man crashed into the hard material with a cracking sound, as the force of his body created long cracks that traced there way across the roof. Covering his eyes from the debir that followed he watched as the hairy man crashed into the throne rooms flooring below, however it landing was not one anyone would ever call graceful as even even spit out a few teeth along with a small pool of blood. Anri was patient though and watched and waited for the hairy man too recover from his beating as he wanted him to have at least some chance to impress him. However if the man was going to make him wait then he was at least going to use that time to do something productive, just encase things got a bit to difficult he always like to have a back up plan, one would never know when they might need it so it was always best to have a trick in the back pocket.

Taking a deep breath Anir spread his legs should width apart as he began to charge the Ki that was inside of him, already he could feel the his heart beginning to pump faster and faster as it beckon for more power.

CHARGE I

[Delashano]

"I suppose that's all I really needed to know" Jenn said with a smirk "Do I really need to stick around for this? I'd much rather be spending my time doing something more worthwhile, hell I'd even take a fight with you over just standing here." Jenn said already she had barely been paying attention to the battle and ultimately it was unlikely that the newcomer Anri was unlikely to directly disobey Kemuri's orders at least when the man was right there and more than capable of taking it out on him and it was likewise clear that Bear was unlikely to be ABLE to kill Anri at least in a straight up solo match. Defeat? Potentially though quite unlikely considering the power difference.

"In fact why don't we try that out? We both know you can be in more than one place at the same time, you would not be revealing any more of your power than you've already displayed in the last fight so I wont learn anything more in that regard but you on the other hand will get a chance to see how much I've progressed in an actual battle situation rather than just reading my power." An actual fight with Kemuri was an interesting prospect, he would certainly be an interesting opponent but actually getting a chance to fight him in a potentially even manner was interesting and would give her a chance to vent a bit of pent up aggression. "If not at least let me go do something else."

[Ohkara Minamaru]

In the sidelines, there was little more than mindless chit-chat. Kemuri and Mahajenn seemingly ignoring the fight in front of him. Though for the most part, Bear paid little attention to them, concentrating on the fight, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that this fight was going to end very badly. Kemuri was the only thing standing between him and death, and with his attention devoted else-where, there was a slim chance he'd step in.

Bear watched as Anri seemed to stop. Taking a stand he drew an arm, drawing power into it. Though Bear could not sense the charging, it didn't take a genius to figure out exactly what he was doing. Bear, whom was doing the same thing curse under his breath, eyes darting about the room, looking for something he could use to his advantage; searching for an answer. Anri had power, and speed, but Bear had strategy, cunning; he could pull a win out of his pocket if he could just find a way...

The plan hit him like a sack of bricks. Forming quick as his eyes set back on the target, but timing would be everything. With Anri's high speed, Bear's idea would ride on only one thing, the alien's instinct. Gauging exactly how the crab-man would react was impossible, but from what the fight so far had told him, he hoped his inference would be correct. And even though his attack was nowhere near where he had wanted it to be; war was an art-form, making the best out of ever situation, even when nothing was in your favor.

Reaching slowly for his flask, he would raise it to his lips, taking a false swig. To anyone in the room, he'd look as if he was really drinking, however Bear needed the weight in the flask for his next move. Whipping it hard, he'd chuck the large, mostly full, steel flask at the crab-man, and let out a roar, hoping to catch him off guard.

Knowing he'd seen Bear grab the flask, Bear counted on Anri readying for it. Anticipating a reaction to the hard bottle being tossed towards him. As it neared him, he would fire his blast at the cracked ceiling above them, ready to bring the whole thing down on top of the crab-man. The cave in the blast would cause would be nowhere near fatal, but gauging Kemuri's reactions, Bear hoped this would stop the fight, leaving it as a stalemate. If not, this proved just how smart the human was.

And if it didn't work, and Anri fired his own blast at him, there was little chance that Bear would make it out of the room alive. Either way, he'd given it his all; proven he was a warrior, regardless of his power level. His death would be a noble one. One that he would be proud of. And that was all he could ever ask...

That was, if his own plan backfired...

Release; Drunken Fury, 23,898PL

[Kemuri]

With his eyes having only been back on the fight for seconds Jenn spoke gain. It was a wonder she was capable of anything else, the woman seemed to talk constantly as she had not stopped since taking her place by his side. Slowly turning his head once more to regard her, Kemuri listens as she proposes that the two of them fight. A surprising proposition considering she did not seem to be the violent type, she had moved away from the fight as soon as it had started as if not to get pulled into it. Jenn was stronger than both of them yet had not wanted to be near the brawl, yet now she was asking to fight. The prodding woman had asked numerous questions up until now and did not want to relent.

Part of him wanted to test her out, see if she could really handle herself in combat against a powerful foe. Then again, could she actually fight against him full heartedly with her ring under his control? The trinket might not allow her to threaten its owner for the chance that it might be harmed or destroyed itself, thus ending Jenn’s existence. This was all assuming she was completely bound to it, something Kemuri was not so sure of. Looking at her a moment longer in silence Kemuri offers a small shrug. While it might be an interesting fight he wondered what ulterior motives Jenn had.

”You want to fight against me? That is an odd request when I recall how fast you came to my side when these two started going at it. You have power Jenn, but you do not look like much of a fighter, am I correct? Of course regardless if you enjoy it or not you will fight when I tell you to.”

[Deleted]

Anri was prepared in his battle stance as the two fighters stared each other down as they charged up their energies for the coming attacks, however it looked as though either one of them would be the first to strike back. Taking slow deep breaths Anri eyed the hairy man as he knew the onslaught that would come next wouldn't be too far off, the more time the hairy man took the more time Anri would have to build his strength up, though it wasn't as though he really needed it. Anri far surpassed the hairy man in all forms of the meaning, even if he had stayed in his normal state the fight would have been more interesting but regardless he would have defeated the hairy man. This fight was not one that was too be fully enjoyed though, it was a match to wipe the floor with the creature, and hopefully if Kemuri allowed it, too kill him, which had been his idea all along although with the dog-man watching the spar it was more than likely he would jump in if he thought he was about to lose one of his pawns. Even if the dog-man had plans for the creature it didn't seem below him to kill the hairy man once he found he no long had any real use of him, however it was unkown if the creature would even make it that far after what Anri had planned for him came to light, all he needed was a few more seconds before he launched his assault as he knew it wouldn't be long before the hairy man did it himself.

As if reading his mind Bear did act though it wasn't what Anri was expected as he reached for the gourd that was placed at his belt, resting it against his dry and worn looking lips as the liquid slowly poured into his mouth. It was hard for Anri too believe what he was seeing, that in the middle of a fight in which he was greatly out matched, he had decide it was the best time to take a drink. Why someone would do such a thing was beyond him but he didn't let the small action distract him from his true goal, as always he was a vigilant warrior, as given by his years of military service.

Luckily those years of training more than paid off as it appeared that the gesuter had been nothing more than a simiple distraction to take his focus away from what the hairy man was really trying to accomplish. Whipping the gourd out towards Anri it flipped through the air sailing right towards him, had Anri been a mere human the hollow out chuck of metal thrown at such a speed surely would have been a thing to worry about, but Anri knew well otherwise that it would do nothing more than impact his hardened body, so he let it. Colliding with his chest plate the metal casing that held the flask together shattered into hundreds of metal fragments that scattered across his board chest and fluttered into the air making the alien seem to shimmer in the lighting of the room.

It was a strange tacit for him to come across but when desperate people would do whatever they could to protect themselves, but the real question was, what had he been distracting him from? No sooner than the question had passed through his skull did Anri get his answer as the creature blasted a beam of energy straight into the already cracked ceiling. With the structure already weakened from the hairy man previously smashing into it there wasn't much else holding it together than pressure at his point, and with the wave of energy pummeling against the hard material it gave in on the force.

Like a avalanche chucks of the debris came cascading down atop Anri as in a blink of an eye he was buried alive in a pile of cement and metal, already a thick of dust had filled the air making it difficult for those to breath that were too close. Exploding in another violent display the pile of debris would fling out wards away from the center as Anri stood there with a full charge ball of energy. He was not amused at what the creature had done and it shown on his face, but it was quickly replaced with a wicked looking grin as he glanced down at the bright sphere. With all the energy he had pumped into the attack with was now fluctuating with power as little bursts of the energy shot out from the center making it look more like a miniature star than it had before. Though the heat it self didn't bother Anri its effect could be seen on the chucks of ceiling that laid nearby as there appearance seemed to warp with the new found source of heat; now much hotter than it was when he had first shown it off he wasn't sure if the creature would be able to survive such an impact.

In a blink of an eye Anri launched the burning sphere towards the hairy man in hopes that it would be a direct blow, and given the distance between them there was little chance that he would be able to escape its magnitude. Even if the hairy man had somehow managed to move out of the way of the direct attack the heat was more than enough to cause serious burns to his person, maybe so much he would need hospitalization or worse...he was hoping for the later of the two though.

 Fission blast: 151862 PL

[Delashano]

Jenn openly scoffed at Kemuri's comments even allowing herself to laugh for a few brief moments "I really do hope this is just you trying to get a rise out of me, I came here because this was the area least likely to get caught in the crossfire, neither of them are idiotic enough to launch an attack that could have a direct affect on you don't mistake that for anything but what it is and if you really believe that I'm not much of a fighter, then I do believe you have very little actual information about me probably only enough to know about the ring. I may not generally seek combat, but I've fought more battles than most people can even comprehend I dont 'look' like a fighter because of what I am." Jenn said with a roll of the eyes trying to leave the implication at it being because of her being a genie rather than being a shapeshifter.  "So I'd say 'correct' is perhaps the furthest thing from what you are in this situation. But of course if you don't believe me then I'm always willing to prove it." Jenn said giving Kemuri a smirk once again leaveing the door open to the hyena on whether he wanted to test her skills.

Jenn raise en eyebrow as she felt a sudden significant surge of energy, she had not been paying the battle much mind at all if she was entirely honest with herself, she had been far more focused on her conversation with Kemuri and attempting to either garner a spar with him OR the ability to simply leave the room rather than having to stick around for the result of the battle. Jenn felt her own energy surge as she noticed that Anri was launching an incredibly powerful energy blast at Bear, the difference in power between them was such that Jenn wasn't entirely sure if Bear would make it through blast there was always a chance he could avoid it but Jenn was less than interested in taking that risk as the effect of Kemuri's order began to tug on her to make sure Bear was not killed in the battle. 

With a surge of energy Jenn launched hersellf forward as she began focusing energy into the palm of her right hand, the launch forward was to close some of the distance and with any luck hopefully give her enough time to do what she was planning, the buildup of energy in her hand however was intended to save Bears life, once Jenn felt she was far enough her right arm shot forward palm facing Bear as a blast of energy erupted from it, the blast was FAR less powerful than Anri's own but Jenn wasn't looking to put out that much power she just needed to produce enough to knock Bear out of the way of the potentially lethal attack from Anri.

[Ohkara Minamaru]

Bear watched the crab man as he was buried by the rubble from the ceiling. There was a sense of pride burning deep down inside him from seeing his plan executed so flawlessly. But all that was dashed as the rubble was violently pushed off hid opponent. Quickly covering his eyes with an arm, shielding them from the debris as the exploded in all directions

When the debris stopped flying, Bear glanced over to see Anri, blast in hand, wicked smile plastered on his twisted face. He had every intention of killing Bear. But there was no fear in the man's eye. Grinning just as wickedly back, Bear motioned: "Bring It" with his fingers. As the blast was released upon him, it was as if everything slowed down.

Bear watched the blast grow nearer and nearer, feeling the power behind it. There was something so beautiful about such a scene, and Bear wished he could admire it from afar. But that was not the case. Facing the blast head-on, he planted his feet hard into the ground, spreading his arms out as if to catch it. The reality was the blast was much to powerful for him to handle, but he would try nonetheless.

However, to his surprise, it wouldn't come to that. Right out of his blind spot, Mahajenn would fire a blast of her own at him. Hers, being much closer to Bear, would connect before Anri's. As it collided with Bear's side, a look of shear surprise formed on his face. Throwing him away from Anri's blast, which would likely connect with the walls behind him and destroy them, Bear landed hard, skidding across the ground.

To say Mahajenn's blast didn't hurt would be a lie. The already bloody Bear took a few minutes to regain composer on the ground, and a few more to stand, with much struggle. But he was alive. His muscles returned to normal, and it was obvious there was no more fight in him. Grabbing his gourd, he would place it to his lips and take a long draw of the powerful liquor, all the pain from every hit he'd taken shooting into his body all at once as his transformation reverted.

Looking to Mahajenn, Bear faced her, his mind clouded from whiskey, his use of Bearserk state, and pain. Crouching low, he would take a stance, readying for a very one-sided two on one fight, "You... Want some too!" he snarled, voice horse, "I'll take... You both on!"

In that moment, everyone would see the true Bear. He was a man who wouldn't stop when the odds were against him, no matter how badly he was defeated. If he could stand, crawl even, he was still able to fight. Then again, the reality of the situation would be a sneeze knocking him over, but that still didn't take away from the proof that he was a fighter. He was a warrior. He name is Bearserk. A name that couldn't fit anyone better.[/font][/font]

[Kemuri]

The fight had lost Kemuri’s attention. It wasn’t that it wasn’t interesting. It wasn’t that it wasn’t entertaining. It was both in spades, and would normally be enough to hold anyones attention, anyone at all. But the king wasn’t just anyone. The Hyena that sat upon the throne of Earth was not only powerful, but his thoughts were very preoccupied.

There was a storm coming. One that he himself had very much started. It was as if he was a god and those in front of him were his pawns on the map in front of him. Despite what any of them wanted, it was he that had placed them here. No matter what decisions they made to get to there, it was his decisions that ultimately was the most important, the ones that affected history the most. And it satisfied him.

The blue woman kept dropping not so subtle hints about the possibility of the two of them engaging in combat. It was an interesting idea, and certainly would provide some entertainment. His comments about her not being a fighter clearly got under the woman’s skin, but that didn’t bother Kemuri. Truth be told he didn’t “Look” like a fighter either. No doubt why she seemed to doubt his power. If she wasn’t on his side, she would rue that, and she still may...

“Jenn, you said something wrong just now. I order you to apologize. I am always correct. Always. Jenn, with as much conviction as you can muster tell me I am always correct.”

Even despite Kemuri being preoccupied with his own thoughts, as well as the distraction of the oncoming storm, the hobo managed to surprise him. Despite being clearly outclassed and outgunned Bear refused to give up, even offering to fight both Jenn and Anri at the same time, despite clearly having no fight left. Kemuri had made a promising ally it would seem. In Anri as well, his power was impressive, if Bear’s resolve in the face of it was more so.

“Enough.” Kemuri would say once the trio were done fighting. He had no use in his soldiers killing each other, and the fight would soon be upon them. They would need to be at their full strength in order to fight Kami’s men. When then were done with their fight he would speak once more.

[Deleted]

Watching in slow motion as the events unfolded in front of him the grin was quickly wiped away from his his face like the on coming tides washing away marks in the sand. Anri's attack had been true and strong but he hadn't fully expected the woman to step out in front of his blazing power, but rather than try to take the attack head on she blasted the hairy man straight in the face which propelled him out of the direct path of the glorious sphere of energy. Without such the skills as to direct the attack yet it simply rushed past the two of the and off towards the nearby wall without so much of a hint of stopping. Already more than ten feet from impact of the nearest wall anyone watching would see the paint strip on the wall before it would burst into a pillar of fire, with the additional energy he had managed to muster into his forced attack made it burn all the brighter and all the hotter as now visible. If only such an attack had managed to hit its true target rather than now burn holes in the walls as it broke away from the throne room and continued out towards the east wing of the castle. More than likely unless someone stopped it the flaming ball would continued out the side of the castle and maybe a few hundred miles before it completely burned out.  It was such a waste to see his creation be wasted on meaningless walls and paint, maybe if he was lucky some random by stranger would just so manage to cross its path and be brunt to cinders, if only, if only.... It wasn't as though he really wanted anyone to get hurt other than the hairy man from such an attack he as just in the mood too watch someone be hurt, which was a side effect from all the Ki that flowed through his veins, given time it would wear off as soon as the battle was over, and given from the looks of the hairy man it appeared to be that way.

Even as the thoughts bounced around in his head he looked the man over, beaten, bruised and battered were only a few of a thousands words that he could use to describe the pitefaul state the creature was currently in. Even though he had managed to "dodge" the aliens powerful blast it would have not been without some consequences; the super heated ball of energy was more than enough to cause some serious burns even at an distance, already red blistering spots would be seen spread across the creatures, chest, face, arms and legs, much of the area that was exposed too such a heat produced by his attack. There was no doubt that the man was not in a world of pain but given the amount of alcohol he had seen him consume it was very likely that what he was "feeling" was just a fraction of what pain there really was, whenever and if ever the beverages in his blood stream was to dissipate he would truly feel what it had done to him but Anri didn't think such a thing would ever happen. Mostly alacholics in the creatures position continued to drink because they did not want to suffer through the pain of withdrawal, why go through the pain of a cure when one could continue to do what they like regardless of the consequences? However it was what the creature did next that made Anri raise his eye brow in question.

Even as beaten as he was he still stood his ground not just against Anri but the woman known as the Jenn, the very person that had just acted in favor of saving the man's life; he was curious to say the least but at the same time a tad bit confused. Did he not just realize that the woman had saved his life, was he much drunker than he looked or was it the fact that he would not handle his booze as well as Anri had thought in the first place? Had it not been for the fact that Anri had up too a few seconds ago been trying to kill him he would have thought it comical, a drunk creature at its finest, talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Another reason Anri choose not to consume such beverages, to act in such a way would not only be embarrassing to those around him but to himself, and in the end of the day dignity was a handful of things he still held close to his name, right next to his pride and honor; reasons why he was held in high regard in this line of work.

As welcome as it would be for another person to join the brawl the fight had strictly been between the two of the fighters and not that of a bystander, though her actions had proved to prolong the fight Anri wasn't going to be completely satisfied until the hairy man was choking own his own blood built up in his lungs. With bellowing pillars of steam shooting out his back Anri called out to the woman in a rather calm tone compared to how he was feeling on the inside.

"Hey...Jenn was it? Why don't you let us continue fight with out jumping in once again? As much as I like a good old fashion triple beat down I would much prefer this stay between the two of us. If you really want I can take you on one versus one after I'm done with this piece of drunken trash, haven't seen much of what you can do but as of so far I hold your strength and resolve higher than this creature." His voice was stable and calm even with the thick layers of steam that wafted from his jaw.

Whether or not the woman would respone to him was unsure as the drunken creature still seemed to have the strength to fight either one of them which brought the wicked grin back to Anri's lips; as much as he hated the man he couldn't pass up the chance to rip into a target if it was still willing to fight in such a weakened state. As if his subconscious awaken from the depths of his body he could feel the Ki began to build up in the palm of his hand as he prepared another deadly strike though the next one would not be nearly as powerful as the first, charging another blast would take too long for what he wanted and this fight had gone on much longer than he had wanted it too in the first place. Hopefully the woman would not feel the need to jump in once again to save the pathetic creature, once was annoying but two times was something he would not be able to ignore. As much as he was willing to take her on he much liked to have his earlier messes cleaned up before going half cocked into another bloody fight.

Already the heated sphere bounced around in the grip of his hand as he was preparing to launch another destructive attack towards his prey and this time he would make sure it would hit the hairy man even if he had to hold the woman done to get his victory. Arching his arm back to launch the attack his toss stopped mid way as the dog-mans voice sliced through the tension in the air, clearly he had seen more than enough from either of then and was more or less satisfied with what had been displayed. It was unlikely that the dog-man would kill the creature at this point after he displayed his willingness to die for a his cause which left a sour taste in his mouth; his planned would have failed but that was alright...there were other way to people to disappear from the face of the universe without so much as a cause....

Rather than release the energy out and away from him, Anri smashed his hands together as he abosrbed the energy back into his body by a more violent means than necessary but at this point he really didn't give a flying fuck any more. Regardless that their fight was broken apart before he had a chance to completely obliterate the creature he had more or less taken victory which was more than enough to cause him to rip apart the creature any further, though he wasn't very pleased with the results. He needed something to calm his mind some before his body would ever think about reverting back to his primal state. Tearing at the black bandolier that twisted its away around his body Anri pulled one of the small white sticks he had purchased not to long ago at one of the human shop; he found them to have an rather odd taste to them but found that they did the trick whenever he was in a foul mood such as he was now.

Placing the cigarette into the corner of his mouth he quickly lit the tip of it with a small ball of energy that formed at the tip of his finger, with a small inhale the ember at the end burst to life. After a small rapid intakes he could already feel the magic began to work as he released a small sigh of relief, he knew that they were bad for his "health" but those studies had only been showed to have been tested on humans and not the Vennor, he was sure they the mighty alien race would withstand anything that the human's could not. The idea of the dog-man even caring about the puffs of smoke coming from his mouth was beyond him as currently, as it stood part of the room was now set ablaze with the crackles of embers drilling into whatever source of fuel it could find, and even if he did...fuck him, Anri had earned it for all the bullshit he had dealt with that day. Though it might have been his imagination working against him he had the strangest feeling that it was only the first of many bullshits he was going to be dealing with in the next few weeks...and on that note he took another cigarette out and lit it along side with the first.