A Battle of Wills

[Nailah Weaver]

"Haha, eww!" Nailah laughs from the sidelines, pink goop still dropping off of her.

[Sean Hall]

Sean couldn't really but stare at the giant slug that was now on top of the Morrigan. He laughed because the whole thing just seemed so... absurd.

His shield ring flickered into life as he remembered what he was trying to do. The shield would protect him for now least as he slowly got back to his feet. Shakily at first as his body and mind worked against Sam's command.

[Samantha McManus]

Thankfully Sam is presently harder to hold onto than a greased pig, with Will providing the 'grease.' She squirms and finally slides out from under the giant banana slug. She doesn't have great traction herself as she tries to get up, but at least she's not pinned.

[Null]

Will attacked with all the ferociousness a banana slug could muster!

By which, I meant he slowly crawled his way agonizingly slowly towards Sam, leaving a trail of slime in his wake.

[Tereza Rozanov]

Tereza circles around to the opposite side of the ring, trying to get as far away from Haley and Nailah as possible. Then she squats down on her haunches, watching Sam intently.

[Sean Hall]

Sean stood all the way to his feet. The shield ring glowing dully as he did so. He saw Will advancing, er, slowly and decided he should probably do something. He doesn't have a reagent to do the gravity spell again, so reaches for a different spell.

"By the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak I bind thee," Sean intones. Red glowing bands spring from the floor of the arena to grapple with Sam and try to pull her down to the ground or at least slow down the greased goddess.

[Samantha McManus]

Sam grapples with the bands, slipping them only to have them arrest her progress again, making her way towards Sean slowly, but probably faster than he'd like.

[Sean Hall]

Sean raised his other hand towards Sam. He was struggling with using offensive spells against people in this fight even though something in his mind whispered to do so.

"By the Chains of Krannak i capture you," Sean said magic chains appearing seeming from the air to bind Sam.
The chains seeming anchoring themselves to nothing and yet something immovable all at once.

[Samantha McManus]

As the chains start to bind Sam she tries to lash out with her mind, straining against his shield and aiming to force a choice on him: binding her or protecting himself.

[Sean Hall]

There was another option as Sean felt his shield bending beneath Sam's assault. He was running low on defensive and passive spells that seemed to work. Somewhere in the back of his mind something whispered that the safeties would keep them all safe of course

Shadows in the room crawled towards Sean. The lights flickered as he began the new incantation. The chains and bands began to come apart as Sean directed his focus towards this new spell, which would give Sam increasing freedom. The ground around Sean warped, and bent into strange shapes as green flames covered Sean's body.

"Flames of Faltine," Sean said a cone of rapidly expanding green flames erupting towards Sam.

[Samantha McManus]

Sam hits the ground as the chains let go. Spying the approaching flames she turns heel and runs toward Will, trying to vault over the banana slug and have him take the brunt of the blast.

[Null]

In response, the banana slug...grew. The goal was to prevent Sam from being able to vault over, though the war goddess was slightly more mobile than the gastropod.

[Samantha McManus]

Sam finds that something she could've vaulted over is now something she has to climb over, and is covered in slippery slime besides. She goes sliding off of Will just before the blast hits, knocking her up against the ropes.

[Null]

Will charged at the ropes to eliminate Sam!

...Very, very slowly.

[Sean Hall]

Sean advances towards Will body crackling with energy. The constant casting has Sean breathing harder despite the energy flowing through him. He gathers himsf for a follow-up spell trying not to give Sam time to catch her breath and makes a complex series of gestures before pointing both hands at Will and Sam.

"Whirling Winds of Watoomb," Sean says a column of hurrican-esque wind blowing towards Will and Sam. The wind pushes against Will with Sean fully intending on sending the giant slug flying at the Morrigan on the other side.

[Null]

Will now was approaching Sam noticeably faster as he tried to find a compromise between light-enough-to-move and heavy-enough-to-slam.

[Samantha McManus]

Sam feigns lolling against the ropes, gripping the lowest ones as she waits until the last moment to try to lift them up and send Will sliding out of the ring.

[Null]

Will was going over, sure as anything. At the last minute, he tried increasing his mass as quickly and as dramatically as he could, in order to bring Sam with him.

He also extruded more slime, because hey, more sticky mucus!

[Samantha McManus]

Sam manages to hang on to the ropes by the skin of her teeth. Or more accurately the skin of her hands, with just a bit of ropeburn. She gets unsteadily to her feet, looking back towards Sean.

"Now both of them are out. The whole reason for the fight."

"And I think you saw the reason our Will lost. So maybe ask yourself why you're defending yours."

"Still, if you wanted my undivided attention you've got it now, Sean."

[Sean Hall]

"He asked and was fighting against a goddess and her coterie," Sean said grabbing several vials from his belt. "Seemed like the right thing to do to help the underdog. Still does. Even thought I had an easy solution in the seal..."

Something stirred in Sean his eyes not glowing, but instead looking like the void between stars.

"You have nobody left to hide behind, Morrigan."

[Samantha McManus]

"If you think that was hiding, you don't know me very well."

"I'd ask what you lot were so scared of, but I think I know, now."

[Sean Hall]

"It's natural to be scared when fighting a war goddess I think," Sean said thinking about the next steps of this fight. "Will remembers what you're like at full strength and I know what books say about gods and goddesses."

[Samantha McManus]

"You don't have to fight me. None of this had to happen."

"We didn't start this, but I'll damned well finish it if that's what you want."

[Haley Crusek]

“Guys...can we like. Chill? This wasn’t *that* serious...” Haley called out from the edge of the ring, still panting.

[Null]

"Lift her out," Will, now less Slug-y, whispered to Haley.

[Sean Hall]

"Blame the headmistress then," Sean said, "But from what I heard you are the one who made this into a bloody pear shaped mess."

"You're really that sure you'll win?"

[Samantha McManus]

"I've got a bit of frustration to work out here. Want to feel what it was like to be bound?"

[Sean Hall]

"Looked like it hurt," Sean said, "Probably should have used something with a stronger connection. Maybe some moon purified truesilver."

[Samantha McManus]

"How about you don't plan for a next time if you want me to forgive you," she says, advancing and cracking her knuckles.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley chewed her lip at Will’s suggestion, not sure she wanted to be that aggressive with someone like Sam.

“Guys!” she shouted as she pushed herself to her feet. “Chill the fuck out. Same team.”

[Null]

Will frowned, and turned to Sean, wheels whirring in his head.

He took a couple deep breaths as he steeled himself.

[Nailah Weaver]

"Yeah, could you, like, not rip reality a new one? Please?"

[Sean Hall]

"How about you don't plan for a next time if you want me to forgive you," she says, advancing and cracking her knuckles.

"Stop pretending you took the high road here and maybe I'll accept your forgiveness," Sean said drawing the energy for his next spell and the world made a strange stretching noise. "Seems like the crowd has lost its taste for this though."

[Null]

Will leaned against the ring, one hand shifted into pointy steel, resting up against the palm of his normal hand, sweat visibly running down his face.

A drop of blood fell from his palm onto the floor of the arena.

[Nailah Weaver]

"No but seriously, this is about to go super bad, guys." Nailah says, looking around the room nervously as she hurries along the side of the ring closer towards Sam. "Just back down, okay? Sam, let him have this!"

[Tereza Rozanov]

Tereza growls at Nailah's approach, obviously not trusting her at this point.

[Haley Crusek]

Haley jogged in behind her friend, “Mr. Wizard, shut up; Sam, chill!

[Samantha McManus]

"I already gave him a chance to back down," she says, walking up to Sean.

It's at that point, without her body telegraphing much, she suddenly tries to sucker-punch Sean in the gut.

[Sean Hall]

Sean had been expecting something a bit... flashier? It made him slow to respond to a more conventional attack, so Sean bent over as Sam punched him in the gut.

"Strength of Stone," Sean hissed out and swung back at Sam with a strength that was far out of proportion with his body type.

[Haley Crusek]

“GOD DAMNIT WILL YOU ASSHOLES JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN?!” Haley roared; her telepathy unintentionally flaring to make her a bit more menacing than her normal self as she ripped her arms through the air in opposite directions and telekinetically shoved each competitor towards the opposite side of the ring, trying to keep up the pressure to prevent either of them from moving any further after the shove.