MB: * the morph removes his hat and coat. he then takes off the sunglasses revealing his yellow eyes and smiles with anticpation*
DN:*removes his armor and glows* shall we?
MB:indeed.*jumps high into the air*
DN:*follow him and lays the first barrage of blows*
MB: *catches the last one and tosses DN towards the ground and Dives at him Hasta in hand waiting for the collision which would sanwhich DN between the ground and Lance*
DN: *turns into mist inches before impact*
MB:*colides with the ring leaving a huge dent in it.* not over yet. he'll reform soon.

pico:holy crap!

MB: *waits and watches as the mist reforms throwing the lance in DN's direction*
DN:*catches it and returns to sender following up with an energy blast*
MB:*dodges and uses Forblaze battling the blast back to a stand still*
*they stand there for a good 10 min. doing this. Tensions rising sll ove the arena. eventually DN makes the next move jumping to the side and rushing in kicking the morph in the face*
MB:*budges but a few feet and grabs DN slamming him to the ground making another dent looking at him and hits him with Aurola and Forblaze* …its over!
DN:…yeha… it is.*fires one last blast at the morph sending him towards the top of the bubble.*
MB: *falls after the blast leaving a huger landing site than DN, unable to move.*
DN: *barely gets up*
SB: ladies and gentlemen…We have a winner! DN moves onto the finals! now someone get that man some blood. he seems to have lost alot from those 2 spells.Tune in tomorrow night for the Final match! till then good night!

pico:(what did i do wrong in my fight?…)*frowns at myself*(sigh oh well) lets go Mia…

Mia:(now hold up mister you did nothing wrong with your fight you gave it your all likeyou said and you had fun didn't you?)
Pico: I guess…
Mia: come on there's s something I want to show you.
*later at his door as they enter*
Jasmine: welcome home you 2* loos up and kisses them both.*
Pico:*blinks a few times* ok that happened. any reason why?
Jasmine: you both entered under the mistletoe. and tradition states those under must kiss.*smiles*

pico:but you just-you shouldnt have-i mean*blushes*…nevermind

Jasmine: also I baked you something*heads to the kitchen and brings back a cake with the words congradulations*
Pico:its nice Jasmine but I didn't advance.
Jasmine: So? we still had fun watching you. you showed a tremendous ammount of skill and earned it for giving it your all. now come on what do you say?*smiles*

pico:(damn that smile always gets me)*smiles softly*…well 1 slice wouldnt hurt

*Several slices later*
Pico:*eating the cake*
Mia:…Pico I'd like to apologize.
Pico:*stops for a moment*what for?
Mia:Well, I basicly messed with your head and promised you “somthing” should you have won and it was wrong of me to do so. That's not what a relatioship is about. can you ever forgive me?

pico:*smiles* Mia your the love of my life so of course i do…you know the day we first met when i uh..bumped into you the first thing i saw when i opened my eyeswere those 2 big beautiful blue eyes…*sigh*

Mia:*begins to tear up and hugs him* thank you so much pico.
Pico: hey, no need to cry *smiles while hugging her back*
Mia: *gives pico a tender kiss and smiles*(mmm choclate.)

pico:*stops hugging her and smiles* besides your the girlfriend isnt it your job to mess with me?*gives her sly grin knowing the answer*

Mia: *rolls her eyes*only a little every now and again. *Yawns as she takes him to is room and lies down beside him* hey pico.
Pico: yeah?
Mia: no matter what you'll always be a winner in my eyes.
Pico: thanks Mia.
*the 2 kiss one more time bfore falling asleep together. Jasmine gets the lights and lies right beside pico*
*elsewhere*
SB:*looks over the arena* dang they left a mess good thing this floor cleans itself up*heads to the back* and these 2 well, they'll be fine by morning*takes Morphblade to his room and heads back to move DN to a proper place to rest* Now to go and finish up some loose ends.*heads to his office*

- In Snow & Val's quarters at the breakfast table a lush variety of meals is taken in in an unusual quiet atmosphere. -

Val: … Today is the finale.
Snow: Indeed. *silence*
Val: … Will you wish me luck?
Snow: I will. *silence*
Val: … Do you think I'll win?
Snow: Time will tell. *silence*
Val: … *puts down fork and knife loudly and with a bit of anger* Okay, something's on your mind, what's up?
Snow: … *he sighs and follows her example more carefully* It's not like I don't give you your victory over Pico. Neither am I implying you didn't deserve it. But… wasn't it a bit mean? You didn't give him the chance to power up or use his more advanced tactics, let alone change to his demonic form. Morphblade gave DN that bit of time too, you know.
Val: *frowns* So you are saying you wanted me to lose. Pico changed to his demonic form, I would've been out. I'm not Morphblade, Snow.
Snow: Okay, then let's drop the demonic form. What about his teleportation? Flaming Fury? Aura Sphere? … Maybe I'm taking this the wrong direction. It just seemed like you were ready to walk over corpses to win. Isn't this whole tournament supposed to bring spectators and competitors as much entertainment as possible?
Val: *looks at him, her mouth agape in disbelief* … You're- *she interrupts herself as the anger comes back* Okay, you know what, forget it. I'm full. *stands up despite her plate still being half full, and walks over to the door* I'll head over to the arena.
Snow: *stands up as well* Val, I didn- *the door slams shut* … *he stares at the door for a few seconds, trying to digest what just happened, then falls back to his seat in depression*

Torvek: (this looksdecidedlydecent today. Im going to need to buffup the barrier a little bit, but I think it should hold.) *looks over and sees Val enter the arena.* (the moot question be asked; did she everjoin my side of her own device or did she plan to turn from the start and nevergot the chance? doesnt really matter,Snow was the one making the decisions and it only makes sense for them toreturn to Zot after my failure, regardless of the original intent.) *Torvek steps down from his High chairletting it meld with the floor as he approaches Val.* you know, its rather therapeutic to watch youbeat the stuffing out of my former foes. Didnt think it would be but, you know, guilty pleasure. So, has SB given Claire her 24-hour get-out-of-jail-free-cardyet?

Val: *absently notices Torvek's presence* … Huh? Sorry, what did you say? What card for who?

Torvek: a stone, quite innocuous realy. If Claire wereto swallow it than she would be protected from the chance of her Nachzehrer gainingcontrol for about a day. Admittedly, Inkonly sent one but he assures me that Shadowblade received it. I assumed that he had already given it to Claire;is that not the case? *he says all ofthis while inspecting a slight tear on his coat; his words droll anddisinterested.*

Val: *still with her thoughts elsewhere* … Hm? Oh, yeah, I mean no. No idea, actually. Haven't seen her in a while.

SB:annnnddd… done. now to head down to the arean to see what all needs improvement*one portal later* ok now then*looks in on Val and Torvek*…they're having a chat? (oh its about the stone that's no good best go and do my job) *heads over to the 2*No I did not give it to Claire yet. 2 reasons. the first being I was going to ask you if you guys could possibly make more. like a pill set the other being there's a time and place for everything…also I kind of let it slip my mind. Sorry for the interuption. just thought I'd check upon the arena.*looks around* mmm needs more time… welp I'm off to do a thing, later!*portals out to another place*
Val:(…doesn't he know there are times he doesn't need to be everywhere?)

Torvek: *Looksdirectly at Val with an odd mix of irritation and concern.* (something isnt quite right here. Its probably nothing or at worst a socialissue but at least it will help cure my boredom) would you give me a moment? *he asks Val before he focuses and projects aconscious illusion next to SB.* rightthen. *both Torveks says in sterio. Then the illusion speaks to SB while the realone remains with Val*

Torvek, Ilusion: alright,allow me to answer your questions. AlthoughInk could make more, he refuses to due to the possible consequences with theheavenly court and all that. He wouldprobably also say some nonsense about how it dilutes the conflict and the storyas a whole. Anyway, the arena is fine;it already repaired itself. Anything elseyou wish to discuss?

Torvek: *he waits amoment, just looking at her before asking.* okay, whats the matter? Dontbother with any of that none of your business' stuff either, we are both well beyondthat stage. *his green eyes show anunfamiliar emotion; genuine concern.* asunlikely as is, youre standing next to victory in this trite tournament. How can I help you?

Val: *before she answers him with sharp tongue and poisoned teeth, she notices his eyes and holds her tongue* … Well, since you asked. My husband apparently disagrees with my commitment to the tournament.

SB:*turns to the illusion as he goes down the hall to deliver the pill* there are some, however I doubt you could answer them all at once. There is something I need you to do for me though I'm sure Ink will say no upon request. *knocks on Claire's door*
Claire:oh hey, something up?
SB: yes. Ink sends his greetings and gave me a pill meant for you to seal off the Nachzehrer for one day.
Claire: and you didn't give this to me eariler why?
SB:slipped my mind. remember its only a time deal.
Claire:(fuckin idiot…still a day to be normal doesn't sound so bad)tell Ink I send my thanks.*closes the door*
SB:*walks away* anyway like I was saying if posible I need you to do me something. I'm headed back up I just need to make one quick stop first.*one portal later* Doc. Claire has a pill from Ink do not mess with it or it'll kill us all.
Doc: oh I know you told me last time about the darn thing. There's a diffrence between madness and stupidity. …reminder?
SB: reminder.
Doc: alright then take care.
*phone rings*
SB:(of course) I'll be a bit longer than I thought.

Torvek: Ill behonest; I wouldnt be here if I had a choice. *he says with a roll of his eyes* Still, regardlessof how I feel about this festival of dick-measuring, it is clearly veryimportant to you and I respect that. Thisis your chance for greatness; to show everyone how much stronger youve gotten. Im not saying that your opponents dontdeserveer, that you shouldnt give it your all. But remember that when this isover they are your friends. Hesprobably worried that you are putting this tournament before them. *torvek explains calmly with empathy.* we cant–shouldnt change the past, but wecan work toward a better future and learn from our experiences.

Val: *sigh* You're probably right. I shouldn't put winning above everything else… It's so mean, I see so much egoism here every day, it's all around! There I allow myself to be an egoist ONE time, but all it's done is making me feel bad for it… *takes a breath* Guess I should go apologize to Pico, hm?

pico:YAH!*a loud noise could be heard from the training room as pico destroyed 4 robots at once* demonicpico:(still angry about yesturday i see..) pico:(…..) biopico:(leave him alone your just mad he didnt use you in battle pico:…if i did she would of been killed guys…

Torvek: *snort* Im not trying tell you what to do or evengive advice; merely perspective and some comfort. If you think that apologizing to Pico is thething to do, than go for it. *leans inclose and conspirtorily.* you know, ifthere is too much egoism at Zot or you just dont like it here, you canleave. You are strong; you could changethe world if you wanted to. Think aboutit.

Val: Physical power doesn't do it. There's got to be more to someone than that to change anything, you should know that. What I'm saying is, I would have never stayed with you. Misusing your power to cause change is like stubbing out your cigarette on a kid to teach it not to smoke… Still, thanks for lending me your ear. *without waiting for a response, she walks off* (Now to search for Pico… Knowing him he's either in his quarters or on the training field. Considering how things went yesterday, I know where I have to look first.) *she enters the training area and sees Pico going at it* (Oh boy…) *gulp* (I- … can just as well apologize later.)

pico:*ears twitch as he stopped to pay attention* Val?..

Torvek: (great, now Ivegot nothing to do. Helooo boredom. might as well check in with the otherturncoat; get his side of it.) *Torvekfinds his way through the halls of Zot to Snows quarters and knocks twice onthe door.*

- In Snow's office… -

Snow: Come in.

- At the training field… -

Val: (Yikes!) *stands like a deer in the headlights* Umm… hey pico.