[Episode] Shining Light Upon the White Kingdom

The member 'Ai' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 9, 6, 13

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 7, 15, 6, 3

The doctor knew it was time to help Jim and when he took a step forward, he stumbled. He looked down at the wound and notice that he was losing more blood than usual. The wound is deeper than it seems? He thought to himself. His eyes would look at the fight between the giant and the weird man, but he would soon realize that he got caught flat-footed. Otis was right in front of him, this landing a kick straight into Ai’s chest[UT]. He was pushed back away from the hitman as he had gasped for air. He was shocked with disbelief from the blow that was dealt, but before he could regain his composure Otis attacked again. It was dagger cut down on the doctor, but this time on his left arm as he grunted from the blow[LT].

Otis was on a hunt as he swung at Ai two more times, but the doctor found himself throwing himself to the floor on the side. He would quickly pick himself up from the ground in fear of getting hit. That dagger must have been different, and he needed to make sure that he didn’t get hit again. Otis was having a field day with these two, and he’d see that they weren’t strong enough to take them. Their attacks were weak, yet they were quick on their feet. It was truly something, which confused him seeing that the giant didn’t do much damage with his size.

He had a smile on his face as he remembered that weirdo had told him not to kill them. “Sorry I’ll just say it’s an accident.” He smile showing the malicious behind it.

Ai tried to move his left arm, but he wouldn’t have any feeling on his bicep except for his forearm and hand. The Alabastan would laugh a bit as he couldn’t believe what Otis had done to him. The noble, taking a deep breath would bring his Jingu Bang into his left hand holding it as it was the only thing he could do with it. He would press his pressure points as quickly as he could as he felt his muscles on his entire body getting stronger. He would grunt again as he felt the pain on his left arm once again. It would release the holding of the pole-arm, but he would catch it with his other hand.

Otis saw all of this and he ran towards the man as he was getting ready to attack him once again. When he saw this, out of reflex the Alabastan quickly got into a stance before swinging a kick straight into the neck of Otis.

“Raundo Ki Tsu[LT]” He was pissed off with everything Otis had done to him.

The hitman’s eyes widen as he felt the damage coming from the kick this time. He didn’t know how it happened, or if this guy was bluffing the whole time, but he tumbled to the left trying to gather himself. He rushed straight towards the hitman as he was stumbling still. He had taken his Jingu Bang and thrust the weapon straight into Otis’s stomach before lifting him up into the air.

“AHHHHH! Feng Yasuo[LT]” He shouted in pain and with all his might as he tossed Otis into the air before kicking him in the direction of Jim now[LT].

Ai would find himself panting of exhaustion as he knew that things needed to end soon or else things will become bad for the duo.

WC: 584 TWC: 7334

COMBAT TRACKERS:

Jim uses Breath of Starvation [HT] on Otis
Jim uses Boddy Slam [LT] on Otis
Jim uses [UT] on Otis

Otis uses LT on Jim
Otis uses LT on Jim
Otis uses UT on Jim
Otis uses UT on Ai

The member 'Boboddy' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 14, 7, 3

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 17, 14, 2

OOC: I will be tanking the only LT that is meant to hit Jim. Everything else will land or miss as usual.

The member 'Ai' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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'Reflex Check' : 18

Ai was truly exhausted, but when he tossed Otis towards Jim, he caught a glimpse of what the man was doing. In the air, Otis had positioned himself to stab the giant he had been tossed to. The doctor didn’t know why, but he felt that he needed to stop this from happening. He couldn’t help Jim last time, so this time he figured anything would be enough. He consciously moved his body as kicked off the ground and ran as fast as he could. The Alabastan found himself moving faster than he could toss Otis and would jump into the air. When doing this Ai would see that all he could do was jump up and be stabbed by Otis right on his left shoulder[LT].

The two would collide with each other as they fell to the ground and rolled a few times before Otis was off of Ai and the doctor shouted and screamed as he let go of his pole-arm and grabbed his shoulder in pain. Otis would get up laughing at the man as he didn’t expect him to do such a stupid thing. He would look towards Jim cracking his neck ready to take out the big guy.

The headbutt wasn't much of a good idea, Jim decided as he rubbed his forehead, but on a positive note, he had still landed a blow, even though he acted on instinct rather than thinking things through. But what time do I have to think while dealing with this demon?, he wondered as he witnessed Otis and Ai exchanging blows. At first, Jim had thought Ai was in trouble, seeing the attacks landing upon the Alabastan man, but as the pole-arm was whipped out, Ai quickly gained the upper hand. Next thing was the send-off. Otis was jettisoned into the air, flying towards Jim.

The giant understood the intent, an attack combo between the two of them, or an 'Alley-oop'. However, before he could ready himself, he noticed Otis had adjusted himself in midair and brandished his blade along with his teeth in a wicked smile. The giant flinched, intimidated by the dagger, remembering all to well how his sweater and shirt were cut open so cleanly, he still feels the abrasion that was left on his stomach. His mind raced, trying to decide whether he should dodge or attack, but the action was decided for him; Ai jumped into the way in a blink of an eye.

Jim saw a splatter of blood, all seem to fall in slow motion. After blinking, Ai and Otis were back on the ground, Ai clearly injured and it is showing that it is taking a toll on him. Though allies, the Alabastan was a complete stranger to him and yet here he was, taking a hit for him even though he had suffered damage already. His expression changed, for now the situation different. Ai was no longer a stranger to him, no longer a passerby, but a member at his table, allowed to share his meals with him.

"Pass the potatoes, Ai" Jim clenched his fists and took a solid stance, his fear being pushed out of his body with each breath, "Because this guy isn't having any" He then took a deep breath, calling upon the memories of when he was at his lowest... at his most hungry. Otis was quick to move, albeit, slightly off balance, he had nearly stumbled, the effects of Jim's Breath of the Lush technique had really messed with his balance and vision, he even showed a bit of red on his cheeks, but he was determined to not allow such a thing like being 'tipsy' stop him or even slow him down.

Otis came close and he intended to eventually dodge any attack the giant intended to strike with, but because of his blurred vision and process of thinking being off, he had forgotten to watch for any specific breathing since it was some kind of breath technique that brought him to this state. And with a slow reaction, he couldn't escape the next breath.

Jim exhaled and struck forward with his palm, sending his breath to envelope Otis. The smaller man halted in his tracks, he coughed the moment he smelled the giant's breath, a rancid smell, as if the larger man had been afflicted by scurvy. Then the feeling settled in; intense hunger. He didn't understand, for some reason Otis felt as if he had missed his last few meals... no, the feeling then intensified, his stomach growled heavily and his body felt weakened, heavy.

Before Otis could understand what kind of magic was happening, the area seem to have gotten darker, as if a thick cloud had blocked out the sun. A second later, Otis realized it wasn't a cloud, but the giant. Jim was above him... falling.

It was too late, Otis didn't have the time to dodge, so he vanished beneath the massive body of the giant. The ground shook and dirt was kicked up. When it was settled, Jim threw himself off and tumbled away, his chest had a bruise upon it, Otis had slammed his leg into the giant's chest to get him away.

Otis stood up, more irritated than hurt. The assassin took a look at the giant, realizing he was a problem, not because of the weak damage he was putting out, but because of these weird effects. His stomach growled and he wobbled, he wanted to end this hunger and this intoxication, and killing the giant was probably the best way to do it, but Ai would probably get in the way again, so he would have to get rid of him first.

Otis looked at the badly hurt Ai and thought that to end this team match, he would need to rid of the weakest one first since the giant was a mountain that would take a while to weather down.

WC: 790
TWC: 5,690

COMBAT TRACKERS:

Hebi O Mu Sa Boru{HT} on Otis
Yureru Suiryoku{LT} on Otis
UT on Otis

Otis uses LT on Ai
Otis uses LT on Ai
Otis uses UT on Ai
Otis uses UT on Jim

The member 'Ai' has done the following action : Dice Roll

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#1 'Reflex Check' : 7, 16, 6

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#2 'Reflex Check' : 1, 8, 5, 13

His arm was limp, but the pain coursed through it all and he could only continue to scream. The tears shed from his eyes due to the blow he had suffered just now. He knew why his body moved but was it worth it? The Alabastan wasn’t so sure as he placed pressure onto his wound. He heard Jim’s words, but couldn’t respond. His mind was elsewhere at first, but listening to the giant’s words he had snapped out of the thoughts and had to focus. He had to get up, the fight wasn’t over, and if he allowed the giant to fight that man on his own then they were both done for it. He would do his best to get up, releasing the pressure from his arm as he would roll over to his stomach before getting up on his feet. His struggle was easily shown, and he would grab his Jingu Bang on his way up.

His leg shaking from the loss of blood, but his will to fight was as strong as ever. When he got up he could see Otis was ready upon his feet, but from what he could tell something was wrong with the man. The giant had done something to him, and whatever it was it was working. He clenched his teeth due to the wound on his shoulder but knew he would deal with it later. He got into his stance slowly as he took a deep breath looking at the hitman. Otis had a smile on his face when he saw the little guy get up from the ground.

“I can’t believe ya still conscious. I figured you would give up by now. I decided to take ya out now and then go after the giant. It seems like ya like getting in the way of things, so I need ya out of the picture first, Hohoho.” He laughed as he tried to move towards Ai as he stumbled a bit more.

He shook his head due to the fact that he felt more intoxicated than before. His eyes squeezed closed and opened trying to gain his focus back, but there was something wrong. That damn giant was a problem after all, but it was also giving Ai the time he needed. The Doctor had readied himself as the ground around him broke. He was gathering the energy he needed for his ultimate technique. Ai’s constant breathing allowed for this to all happen and when Otis looked up to the doctor as he was getting closer he would see it.

His eyes widen as he saw the snake coiled around the man’s leg and he rubbed his eyes to see if it was real. It was still there, which bothered him, but instead of attacking Ai now his plan was to dodge and attack.

“Hebi O Mu Sa Boru[HT].” He said to himself as his technique was ready.

The martial artist’s eyes were focused with determination to take Otis out. He was ready and he would a straight high kick in the direction of the hitman. The snake would find itself flying straight towards Otis at a speed that the man himself couldn’t even dodge. It was not something he expected as he was tossed up into the air and away from the attack. The wounds that opened up around Otis were serious and he screamed so loud that anybody around them would hear him. Blood splattered everywhere around him. He was losing consciousness as the damage dealt, the intoxication and the hunger had all got to him. Otis would find himself hitting rocks, which would fall on top of him afterward.

Ai smiled when he saw what happen to Otis, and the killing presence that came from the man was now gone. He chuckled a bit before his legs gave out, and stumbled forward before using his Jingu Bang as a cane to be held up.

“We got to go into the cave and see if the man who hired that guy is still there.” He spoke in the direction of Jim.

Ai’s legs shook as slowly move forward, he needed to quickly treat his wounds. He decided to do this once they entered the cave and everything was done with. Still filling the pain on his arm he continued to push forward through all of this.

WC:728 TWC: 8062

COMBAT TRACKERS:

Jim tumbled, rolling over a few trees and large shrubs. To the giant, they were nothing more than annoyances, but to the camp bandits, what they witnessed was a monstrous yellow boulder engulfing the terrain and as soon as they realized the oversized being was rolling in their direction, they turned on the balls of their feet and began to run as fast as they could, but those who were too stunned by the intensity of the battle, had reacted too late and were crushed by the massive man.

When Jim had finally stopped, he groaned and whimpered as he rubbed his bruised belly. Otis' kick was intense, and even though his defense was at it's highest, the giant was confused to how such a kick could be so affective against him at this point in the battle, but then something happened.

A loud belch erupted from Jim, scaring off the last of the bandits who questioned whether or not they should stay and support the assassin. With that release, his stomach settled. "I guess it was just gas" Jim sighed as he got back onto his feet. He then looked over to the battle just in time to witness Ai and Otis having a stand off. Then he blinked and the next thing he knew, Otis was flying and was soon slammed into the side of the cave entrance, rocks tumbling upon him.

Jim took a moment to watch the rubble of rocks, wondering if the assassin would stand up, but after a few seconds of nothing, the giant pulled on a great smile. But he was then reminded that the situation wasn't over as Ai slowly made his way to the cave entrance.

"Hopefully whoever this guy is, he doesn't put up more of a fight" Jim joked, albeit sounding a bit annoyed. One sniff of his nose and he had remembered the reason why he had arrived. He turned about and saw that his cooked fish was still on the spit the bandits had prepared. He immediately reached over the battlefield and grabbed the spit, raising his fish into the air, claiming victory.

Jim sank his teeth into the still warm fish, the scent of the seasoning he had applied had embraced his nose, his saliva flowing as his tongue's taste buds rang like a dining bell. He had succeeded in retrieving his meal, and now he could leave. But then he looked over to the Alabastan man who practically limped over to his destination. Even though he had escorted the smaller being and acquired his lost meal, Jim felt a tug at his heart. Ai had fought beside him and helped him this entire time. This was no longer an obligation, Jim couldn't leave this wounded guy... not now, Ai didn't finish his dish, so no one leaves the table.

The giant caught up to Ai in three strides. He crouched low enough to peer into the cave, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but whatever it was, Ai had him at his side.

WC: 512
TWC: 6,202

While walking towards the cave entrance Jim spoke to him, and he nodded.

“I guess we will find out when we get there. I figured I’d treat my wounds before venturing in.” He said as he kept moving.

He felt the trembling of the ground he was on, and he noticed that Jim had moved in a different direction. Ai, looking over, saw that he had grabbed the fish that they stole from him.

“So, it did work out in the end. You got your food back from those who stole it, Hahahaha.” He was happy that things turned out this way.

When he finally arrived at the cave entrance, he noticed that Jim was next to him. He saw the big guy looking into the cave entrance as if he was scouting the area for him.

“You don’t have to stay Jim. You got what you came here for, but I do appreciate the gesture.” He said as he entered the cave.

Once he felt safe, and there wasn’t a feeling of distress, Ai begun taking out medical equipment from a pouch he carried on his back. He started taking out medical supplies, and clean the wounds that he received from the battle. He used the only arm he could to stitch his other arm, grunting in pain with every stab he took with the thin, yet sharp object. Once done, he would bandage everything, so that way it was protected from possible infection. He would sigh, relieved that the worse was over with.

“Am I too late?” He asked himself, limping forward, but no longer losing the blood that he was losing before.

It wouldn’t take long, but Ai found himself looking at a bunch of leftover science equipment. He moved over to the table looking at everything that was left behind. It seemed like these things were expendable to the man who had flat out told him his plan. The Alabastan had moved over to the tubes, and beakers that had residues of whatever that man was working on.

“If that man is trying to unleash something horrible enough to harm the world, I need to find a countermeasure for it. Still, finding out what island he’s heading is no simple feat. Otis might know the answer, but is that man even alive?” He asked himself this as he was gathering everything that might have a way of reversing whatever that man was working on.

Ai knew that he couldn’t keep conscious any longer, so after finding anything and everything he could gather, he made his way back to the entrance of the cave. His eyes looking up towards Jim who had been waiting for him this entire time.

“It seems like the guy who spoke about his evil plans is no longer here. I’d hope he was bluffing about leaving the island, but I guess that wasn’t the case. Still, I need some rest right now. If you can take us back into the city that’d be nice. Also, could you check to see if Otis is alive, and grab him? I need to ask him a few questions.” Ai would say this as he would just fall to the ground unconscious, but alive.

WC: 538 TWC: 8600

Jim crouched in order to peer into the darkness of the cave. Even though there seem to be limited light within, possibly from candles or torches, there wasn't much he could see from his point of view other than stalactites that decorated the ceiling, and the walls that matched the floor. He sucked his teeth, the sight wasn't inviting and he had never enjoyed closed in spaces.

The sound of gauze bandages ripping caught Jim's attention. He looked down upon the Alabastan who was patching himself up. It was the moment he realized his friend had actually taken a serious beating, blood was already applying a pink color to the first layer of the bandages. Subconsciously, the giant rubbed his exposed belly which was his most serious injury, a simple bruise. This battle was dangerous indeed, but Ai, who was tending to his more serious wounds, had suffered the most, and here he was, not minding the pain, intending on moving forward to complete his mission. Truthfully, Jim didn't remember what Ai had said about the mission or even fully catch what Otis had said in the beginning of the battle, "Something about saving people".

Jim knelt onto one knee onto Ai's left while he position his right around down onto Ai's right side, "Don't worry, Ai-kun" Jim said before taking a bite from his fish, "I'll be right out here if anything happens" he said as he chewed, then he looked back into the cave, wondering if another powerful enemy lurked.

After Ai entered the cave, Jim waited, every now and then he would turn to look over his shoulder to make sure none of the camp bandits returned. Looking into the cave, it once again became quiet after the echoes of Ai's limping steps faded. The mouth of the cave was now dark, and seemed hungry, and the giant could relate; he wasn't afraid of meeting swallowed... but he was worried for his new friend.

Soon enough Ai had put Jim's concerns to rest when he returned with a good amount of stuff Jim couldn't make heads or tails about. As the Alabastan explained what he could, the giant nodded, but still didn't understand what was the entire context of the situation, but he could tell by the tone that he was a serious matter.

Then Ai collapsed and the giant was quick to catch him.

Jim carefully picked up the injured man. After making sure that Ai was still breathing, he carefully placed him into his inner sweater pocket and gathered up the tools that was retrieved, he had thought to put them into his pants pocket but noticed there was a lot of glass and sealed liquids; afraid he would cause unwanted damage, he figured he would just simply hold it in hand.

The giant walked over to the rock pile where Otis last laid and sift through the pile, searching for the man that Ai planned on interrogating with his feet given that his hand was full of previous equipment, such as the found objects and his darling meal... He was gone. Jim quickly looked about, immediately on the defensive in case the monstrous assassin was on the offensive again. But after a moment of realizing the man was gone, Jim figured he should take his winning and leave before anyone decides to stop him. He began heading towards the thickest cluster of trees he could spot in the distance; the wood-like area seem to have vegetation tall enough to hide him and Ai in. Hopefully they can solve this mystery.

WC: 599
TWC: 6,801