All That Glitters (One Piece\Zolo) 141

Quick Recap: Franky, originally named Cutty Flam, revealed the blueprints to Pluton just long enough to burn them. He asked to join w/you in your fight but Spandam pushed him off into the waterfalls. Kokoro called you and told you to jump into the falls. She caught you w/the Rocket Man and everyone crashed into the Tower. One of the agents revealed that Lucci and Spandam were taking Robin to the Gate and that you'd have to fight each agent to get the keys to unlock Robin's cuffs.
START THE QUIZ
It didn't really matter which way any of you went, except for Luffy. You'd run into CP9 eventually... or they'd find you. They wanted to fight. You weren't sure where the others went, though you thought Zolo, Sogeking and Sanji had headed upstairs, Nami went downstairs, and Chopper and Franky were on the first floor. As for you, you found yourself up on the second floor, staring down a long, empty hallway lined with oak doors. Opening a few of the doors, you found them to be offices. You rummaged around one of the offices but couldn't find anything particularly interesting. Just some odd paper work about the running of Enies Lobby and whatnot.
But one thing did catch your attention as you searched through some desk drawers. "Well look at that," you muttered to yourself, pulling the object out to get a better look. "A black transponder snail." Black transponder snails were a specific type of snail phone, and pretty new. As far as you knew, only the Marines had them. They were a little smaller than a baby snail phone, and looked like a black snail's head attached to a watch band. They weren't so much used to communicate as they were to listen in on other people's communications. An excellent spying tool. "Guess it's mine now..." you said, turning it on and pocketing it. For the moment, it was silent, but hearing the enemy's communications could come in handy later.
You heard chuckling coming from the door. Your head snapped, and you had to admit you were surprised by who you saw. You'd expected CP9, but instead you found Damion at the door. He watched you with keen eyes. You felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up when he approached. You took a step back. You wouldn't let your guard down around this man. "Damion..." you breathed, a little harshly.
But despite that, Damion's eyes lit up when you said his name. "So you do remember me. I'm so glad. I take it you got my message?"
You suppressed a shudder at how slimy his voice sounded to your ears. "Yeah..." you drawled warily. And here you thought all you'd have to deal with was the government. You weren't sure who was worse.
Damion looked you over as he approached the desk. You looked very different from before... and yet exactly the same. You'd filled out quite nicely over the years, if he did say so himself. `Yes, lovely,` he thought. "I must admit, you were the last person I ever expected to run into here. Not that it isn't nice to see you again."
As he started to walk around the desk, you moved around to the other side, aiming to keep as much distance between you as possible. You hadn't missed the way he looked at you. You couldn't help but snap, "If you thought I wanted to see you again, you're sorely mistaken."
"And yet here you are." You glared intimidatingly at the man, yet he seemed undaunted by it. You were actually starting to hope one of CP9 would show up. Damion suddenly looked contemplative. "You know, I wouldn't mind helping you get your friend back. I could go ahead of you and slow them down--"
"Forget it!" you barked. "I don't want any favors from you! I'm too afraid of what you'd ask in return." The mildly lecherous grin on his face was all the response you needed.
Fortunately (an odd yet appropriate way of putting it) the stare-off was interrupted by a familiar and close scream. `That was Nami!` you thought, instantly recognizing the scream. As you ran out the door you yelled back, "I don't have time to deal with you, so get lost!"
That guy's a creep!
Forgetting about Damion, you ran down the hallways, following the direction the voice came in. When you came to what looked like a reception area, you found Nami in a very bad position. The Noh-theater guy was using his hair to hold her. His hair really did have a mind of its own. Locks squirmed around like octopus tentacles. His hair was wrapped around her neck, arms and legs. You could tell they'd been fighting even before this, since Nami looked a little beat up and was missing her jacket. Nami was struggling hard, but you could see she was having a hard time breathing with the hair trying to strangle her. But it didn't look like he was going to choke her to death. Instead, he looked ready to impale your navigator, his staff pulled back and aiming at her.
Luckily, he appeared to have paused to chant some sort of haiku. "And so the winter wind blows upon this flower bud who is still in the springtime of her youth! Your scarlet petals shall fall into the humanity which I shall grant." Was he actually crying over such a morbid poem? "When you reach the other world don't forget to give this message to my deceased mother: I... I am very happy...!!! For I get to kill!!!" He pulled the staff back. "Die!"
"NO!!!" Nami screamed, struggling against the hair death grip with all her might. But she was unable to get free.
"Haru Jin Chou!!!"
Of course, you weren't about to stand there and let your crewmate get impaled. With the staff barely inches away from piercing her flesh, you slammed your fist hard into the side of the agent's face. His eyes rolled up in his head. Unable to control his hair, the tendrils released their hold on Nami. As she hit the ground, the agent hit the wall.
Once you were sure that the man wouldn't be getting back up, you hurried over to Nami. She was breathing hard and coughing. You understood how she felt. You'd been strangled before. You made sure to give her some room to breathe. "Nami, are you alright?" you asked as you knelt down next to her. Other than being out of breath, she looked okay.
Shakingly, Nami pushed herself up onto her side. "... Vaughn!!" she panted, looking surprised and relieved to see you at the same time. "... Thanks for saving me!!"
"No problem." You glanced over your shoulder one last time at the Noh-guy, just to be sure. You couldn't shake the feeling that he was just stunned and not defeated. "What was up with that hair?" you couldn't keep from asking. It was just weird. It was like Medusa or something. You didn't know if it was from a Devil Fruit or just a natural ability.
"I don't know!" Nami responded, having regained her composure. "But it was like an octopus' tentacles, making me unable to move." She suddenly jumped to her feet, grabbing her Clima-Tact as she tugged at your wrist in an attempt to get you moving. "Now's our chance!! Let's get out of here!!"
You resisted her tugged long enough to ask, "But shouldn't we take the chance to get his key?" Stunned or not, now was the perfect opportunity to steal one of the keys you needed.
"I've already got it!" she told you impatiently, holding a key out. You blinked, never ceasing to be amazed at how skilled Nami was when it came to stealing. She pulled at you again, and this time you followed after her. "I managed to steal the key when he wasn't paying attention but I couldn't get away." Glancing at the key, Nami observed, "Hey, it's got a number on it. Number three. What do you think it means?"
"It probably goes to a corresponding set of cuffs," you replied. "I'll bet the cuffs and keys are numbered so you know what goes with what." It'd just be dumb to have to go through each set of keys when you wanted to unlock one set of cuffs.
Tucking the key away, Nami commented, "If we knew what number was on Robin's cuffs it'd save us a lot of trouble." You nodded, but that wasn't a luxury you had right now.
Before the conversation could continue any farther, something slammed into your left side. Hard. Hard enough to knock you off your feet and crash through the wall. "Vaughn!!" Nami cried. Whatever it was that hit you just barely missed her.
You landed awkwardly on your back, sliding across the polished floor of another office. Quickly shaking off the stun, you twisted around on your side and hit your foot down on the floor. Your boot made a squeaking noise as it slowed you down, leaving a black mark on the floor. You stopped barely an inch away from slamming your side into a heavy oak desk. As soon as you'd stopped, you pushed yourself up onto your knees, not wanting to be exposed for too long. Whatever it was that hit you, it'd had a distinctly fleshy feel. Turns out your hunch was right. Standing in front of the new doorway, which was ironically right next to the original doorway, was Nik.
Nami clutched her Clima-Tact, holding it out in front of her in a defensive gesture. "Another CP9..."
Not taking your eyes off the woman, you ordered, "Nami, get outta here. I'll handle her." Nami needed to get going with that key.
Nami looked at you strangely. "Uh... Vaughn?" she began. "That's not a--"
"Just go," you said tiredly, not feeling like explaining that Nik was actually a woman. Nami still looked unsure, but followed your order nonetheless.
Here comes the big fight!
Nik barely glanced back at Nami as she ran off. "So you want to face me alone," she drawled, turning back to you. "How brave."
You pushed yourself up onto your feet and moved away from the desk, not wanting to end up backed into a corner. You took a half step back, tetsugin already out. "I'm on a bit of a schedule, so you'll understand if I don't feel like chatting," you stated bluntly.
Nik didn't move, but you could see her body tense up as she prepared herself. "You're pretty forceful, you know that? Not that I mind."
You looked at the agent blandly. "Could we just drop the whole gay thing? It's rather annoying being hit on by an enemy."
Your question just seemed to amuse her. "Don't like to mix business with pleasure, eh? Very well," Nik responded, closing her eyes. "I suppose I should get to work anyway."
`Good,` you thought.
For a brief, tense moment, no one moved. And then, Nik was gone in a flash. `Soru,` you thought. Your muscles bunched, preparing for an attack to come from any side. Suddenly, you sensed something behind you.
"Rankyaku." You threw yourself to the ground just in time for the Rankyaku to fly over your head. The force of the wind created by that attack pushed you down even more. Knowing that Nik was still right behind you, and most likely still recovering from the attack, you swung around to your left, throwing the tetsugin out. You slashed downward at an angle at the woman, who was standing on the top of the desk directly behind you. "Soru." She disappeared again right before the blade sliced into her. Your tetsugin slashed into the desk, slicing it vertically in half.
You mentally cursed as papers flew around the room. Now you understood how frustrated your opponents got when you used the Assassin Rush. You didn't bother looking around the room for the woman, knowing instinctively that she'd show herself in a few seconds anyway. You were right. Just a few second had passed before you heard, "Soru-gan!" Your eyes widened ever so slightly at the name you didn't recognize. But you didn't have to wait long to see what it was. You sensed more than saw the attack coming, and you managed to twist out of the way to avoid the Shigan. But instead of reappearing after the attack like you expected, Nik's hand (which was all you could see) disappeared again in a blur. You felt something press against your cheek and quickly tilted your head away from whatever it was. When you saw the hand right next to your face, index finger extended, you finally understood what she was doing. Nik was combining the Soru and Shigan attacks, so she could attack with the Shigan but then disappear right after it so you couldn't attack or predict where the next attack would come from.
Realizing her plan, you jumped back as the hand disappeared, hoping to put a little space between you so you'd have room to maneuver. More Shigans followed, and you managed to avoid them all at the last second. But you knew you couldn't keep this up, and dodging certainly wasn't helping you win. Fortunately, Nik screwed up when she decided to attack your left side. Since you bad eye could pick up movement far better than your good eye, you "saw" the attack coming barely a second before it hit. But it was enough time for you to catch Nik's wrist with your left hand. Unable to pull away, Nik became visible again.
Now that you had a hold of her, you could attack. Still holding onto her wrist with your left hand, you grabbed her arm with your right and spun around, using all of your momentum to sling her body up and over your shoulder. Nik slammed hard into the polished floor behind you. To give you some idea of how hard she hit, the polished floor cracked a little when she hit it. Still holding onto her arm, which was now up and back at an awkward angle, you gripped your kunai-knife in your free hand and swung it down, aiming to drive the end of the point into her neck. Unfortunately... "Tekkai." The blade hit her skin but didn't pierce it. You scowled deeply when you saw the tip of the blade making an indent in the skin but not going in. You hadn't expected the Tekkai to protect against blades.
But now you were the one off guard. Nik quickly stood up and, using the hand that you didn't have hold of, reached back to grab the back of your head, grasping a handful of hair. Using her body weight, she leaned forward, pulling you over her back. This sent a sharp pain through your head. But it wasn't nearly as sharp as the pain you felt when you slammed onto the floor on your back. The force knocked the breath from you. Nik decided to press her advantage while she still had it. "Shigan." You caught your breath just long enough to roll out of the way, the attack puncturing the floor instead of you.
Hoping to buy enough time to stand up again, you heaved yourself over onto your hands and knees and swung your tetsugin out in an arc around you, aiming at Nik's feet. Naturally, Nik just jumped out of the way before it hit her, but it bought your enough time to get back up. Before Nik's feet hit the ground again, you threw your tetsugin, wrapping it around her neck. You gave a sharp tug to increase the pressure. "Tekkai." You glared at the woman as she used the Tekkai again, basically nullifying the strength of your wire wrapping around her throat.
`There has to be some way to break through that technique,` you thought angrily. `Sanji almost did it. With enough force--`
Before you could strategize any more, Nik grabbed the wire with her bare hands and pulled as hard as she could, ignoring how it cut into her skin. Your eyes widened as you were jerked off your feet and went hurtling across the room. Of course, this caused your wire's grip on Nik's neck to loosen and eventually let go. But that was the least of your problems right now. Far more pressing was the fact that you were about to smash through the plate-glass window behind the now-destroyed desk. You hit the glass back-first, making it instantly shatter into hundreds of tiny, sharp shards. You felt a few of them knick your arms and face, but it wasn't anything you couldn't handle.
You felt your body start to fall. Not being too keen on the idea of falling into a bottomless pit, you knew you had to do something to stop your descent. With your eyes closed, you grasped blindly for anything that would stop you from falling. Luck seemed to be on your side today, because your hand grabbed the ledge of the windowsill. You held tightly to the ledge, pressing your back against the stone wall while bringing your other hand up to hold on as well. Eyes still closed, you lowered your head as you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself. `This isn't going well,` you thought irritably.
Opening your eyes, you found that you weren't in any danger of falling into the pit of waterfalls, as you'd previously feared. You were on the back side of the Tower, facing the Gates of Justice. From your vantage point on the second floor, you could see the ocean below you, as well as the bridge that connected the Tower to the docks where prisoners were taken by ship through the Gate. The Bridge of Hesitation, you believed it was called. It appeared to be connected to the Tower via an underwater passage. You could see several ships still there, so you knew Robin hadn't been taken away yet. That was good. `But I still don't have time to be playing around,` you reminded yourself. `It's time to pull out all the stops.`
Time to take off the gloves
Will fortified, you swung your legs up and pulled yourself back up onto the ledge. Shards of glass crunched under your boots as you turned to face your opponent. Your expression was serious but undeterred.
You could see Nik was about so say something, but before she had the chance, another far more annoying voice interrupted. "HEY!! HEY!!"
`Spandam?` you thought. At first you thought your black transponder snail was picking up a communication. Then you realized it was actually coming from the loudspeaker, broadcasting over the entire island.
"YES, DIRECTOR," Kalifa's voice answered. That was weird. So this wasn't a general announcement?
You heard Nik snort. "I wonder if he realizes he's got the thing on speaker phone." Based on the following conversation, no.
"DAMMIT! CRAP! THE REGULAR SNAIL PHONE WAS ON THIS SIDE!! HOW COULD I BE SO CARELESS!? I CAN'T BELIEVE I CALLED USING THE GOLDEN SNAIL PHONE!!" You felt cold shock grip you at his words, realizing... "THIS IS BAD. I JUST SENT A REQUEST FOR THE BUSTER CALL!!" To say that this was bad would be an understatement. The fool has accidentally made the Buster Call. They were on their way.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" you heard Robin's voice ask. Based on the way her voice echoed, you could tell that wherever they were, they were inside. "CANCEL IT RIGHT AWAY!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO!!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!? CANCEL IT? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO, HUH!?" Spandam laughed, apparently not having the brain capacity to realize he'd just doomed you all... himself included. "I THINK I'LL GO ALONG WITH THIS BUSTER CALL!! WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?" Oh, I don't know. Maybe the death, destruction and complete annihilation of every single thing on this island. "YEAH, YOU HEARD RIGHT. I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE CIPHER POL NUMBER NINE. IN ORDER TO SAFELY DELIVER YOU INTO THE HANDS OF THE GOVERNMENT, I HAVE REQUESTED THE BUSTTER CALL!!" He laughed again, trying to cover up that he'd just made the biggest "oops" in history. "ALL IS GOING ACCORDING TO MY PLAN...!! EVEN IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, AT THE VERY LEAST IT WILL PUT THE PIRATES OUT OF THEIR MISERY!!"
"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!" Robin chided. "I TOLD YOU ALREAD, THERE ISN'T A SHRED OF HUMANITY BEHIND THAT ATTACK!! ENIES LOBBY WILL BE COMPLETELY OBLITERATED!! THE BUILDINGS, THE PEOPLE, THE ISLAND ITSELF!! FOR THE SAKE OF THE MISSION, EVERYTHING WILL BE SACRIFICED! THAT THING IS CAPABLE OF SUMMONING THE FIRES OF HELL!! THAT'S THE NATURE OF THE BUSTER CALL!! YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO OHARA TWENTY YEARS AGO!! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN--"
"ENOUGH," Spandam snapped. "I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENED TO OHARA. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS PLUTON! AND BECAUSE THAT IDIOT CUTTY FLAM BURNED THE BLUEPRINTS, ALL I HAVE LEFT IS YOU. THE POWER TO TURN THIS ERA UPSIDE DOWN IS ON THE LINE HERE!! IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THAT POWER AND TO GET RID OF THOSE PESTS WHO WANT YOU BACK, I'LL SACRIFICE THE LIVES OF A THOUSAND IF I HAVE TO!! FOR THE SAKE OF THE GLORIOUS FUTURE... AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR THE SAKE OF MY CAREER!!"
`Honestly, that guy's lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut,` you thought. You wondered what the Marines thought of being sacrificed for Spandam's career.
"H... HOW COULD YOU!?" Robin demanded.
"DON'T FORGET THAT THE CP9 EXISTS TO CARRY OUT THE GOVERNMENT'S BLACK OPS. IF THE DEATHS OF A HUNDRED ARE NECESSARY TO SAVE THE LIVES OF A THOUSAND, OUR JOB IS TO KILL THOSE HUNDRED WITHOUT HESITATION. TRUE JUSTICE CANNOT BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT RELYING ON A FEW EXTREME MEASURES." Bu was justice at such an expense really worth it? You didn't think so. "BESIDES, THOSE IDIOTS COULDN'T EVEN STOP A HANDFUL OF PIRATES. SUCH USELESS MARINES ARE BETTER OFF DEAD ANYWAY!!"
There was a brief pause in the broadcast, followed by Robin announcing, "THAT SNAIL PHONE IS SET TO SPEAKERPHONE."
"EH!?" Spandam gasped. "Y...YOU MEAN... ALL THIS WAS BROADCASTED!? O... OH! B... BY THE WAY. MY NAME IS STRAW HAT LUFFY." Somehow you didn't think the Marines believed him.
"EVERYONE EVACUATE!!" Robin announced over the speakerphone. "THE BUSTER CALL IS ON ITS WAY TO ENIES LOBBY!! IF YOU STAY HERE, YOU'LL ALL DIE!!"
"WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO SPEAK!?" You heard Robin cry out as Spandam hit her, causing her to fall down the stairs. Then the line went dead.
You looked at Nik. "You really follow the orders of that idiot?" you asked.
Nik just shrugged. "Men are stupid. What can you expect? But it looks like you have even less time than before to save your friend."
"So what else is new?" you retorted.
Did I mention I hate deadlines?
Knowing full well that you didn't have time to stand around a chat, you took a quick survey of your options. You knew you'd have to use the Makaze. The question was, could you leave yourself exposed for that one moment you had to take to summon it? If Nik caught on, she might attack you before you got the chance. No, you'd have to distract her for just a moment. That was all you needed.
Looking down, you noticed that your tetsugin was still extended, now resting harmlessly across the floor. But, as luck would have it, it ran directly under Nik, who didn't seem to notice it. That gave you an idea. Slowly, you knelt down, still on the windowsill. As Nik watched in mild confusion, waiting to see what you were planning, you grasped the wire in your hand, keeping it down against the floor. Nik still seemed oblivious to the danger she was in. "Zeta Blade!" Standing up as quickly as possible, you whipped your arm -- and the wire -- upwards. The wire lifted up all at once, as if it were as stiff as a board. Because she'd been standing directly over it, the wire hit Nik from underneath. Nik gasped when the wire hit her, sending her into the air. The force was enough to knock her up into the ceiling, knocking a big hole in it. Dirt and chunks of building material fell into the room, obscuring everything. Using that single, precious moment, you centered yourself for the upcoming assault.
On the floor directly above you, Nik pushed herself up onto her feet. "That was a dirty trick..." she mumbled as she brushed the dust off her clothes. Had she not used Tekkai at just the right moment, she'd have definitely been in some pain right now, if that hole in the floor by her feet was any indication. Nik turned towards the hole, preparing to jump back down and continue the fight, planning to give you some much-needed payback, when she pulled up short. It looked like she wasn't going to have to go back down because you'd come up to meet her. You stood on the opposite side of the hole, barely a few feet away. That wasn't a surprise, since most intelligent opponents would follow their enemy. However, what was a surprise was the look in your eyes. Although it wasn't particularly bright in this new room (which wasn't an office this time) your pupils were smaller than they should've been. Not only that, but your normally intense eyes seemed to glow, as if something were on fire behind them, yet they remained as calm as the ocean on a still day. For the first time in a long time, Nik was actually impressed by her opponent. A smirk stretched across her face. `This is going to be fun...`
When Nik didn't move first, you decided to press the attack. "Assassin Rush." In the blink of an eye, you'd cleared the distance between the two of you.
"Soru." Before you could attack, Nik disappeared on you again. But this time, thanks to the Makaze making everything seem slower, you were finally able to see how CP9 did that.
`So they kick the ground ten times really fast,` you thought. That was how they managed the sudden burst of speed. They did it so quickly and seamlessly that you hadn't been able to see it regularly. `That makes it a lot easier to predict when she's gonna do it,` you thought. If you caught her kicking the ground again, you'd automatically know she was going to use Soru and adjust your strategy accordingly.
But for right now, you had to deal with her being gone again. But you didn't have to wait long. "Soru-gan!" You turned to face the direction you'd heard the voice come from. While before you'd only been able to see her when she stopped long enough to attack you, now you could follow her every move. You easily dodge the first attack and quickly followed up with your own. Nik dodged that, but you didn't miss the shocked expression on her face that you could see her.
The two of you attacked each other, neither being able to land a successful blow. Had anyone else been in the room, they would've witnessed a spectacular spectacle. To the untrained eye, you'd have been nothing but a blur moving across the room too fast for them to see. Nik found that she didn't like this new side of you as much. Throughout the whole fight, your face remained as barren as a tundra, regardless of how the fight was going. She liked you better before, when you had a fiery will. Though she couldn't really complain, since you fought even more fiercely than before.
Nik continued to use the Shigan on you, hoping to wear your out at this speed, causing you to stumble and allow her to finish the fight in one blow. However, as the fight wore on, that didn't look likely. You were keeping up with her step for step. You easily brushed aside or dodged every Shigan she threw at you. In fact, it was Nik who seemed to be tiring out. You could see it. Her movements were getting slower by the second. Like any good fighter, Nik knew her limitations, and she knew she couldn't keep this speed up for much longer.
Then, it happened. Nik's movements were slow enough that you were able to catch her in Shigan. You caught her arm in the bend of your elbow, keeping her arm close to your body so she couldn't move it. With your free arm completely rigid, you slammed it hard into her stomach. Since she was still in Soru, Nik wasn't able to use the Tekkai to protect herself this time.
Nik stumbled back, a hand clutching at her stomach. Not only had the blow knocked the breath out of her, but she was sure if she looked there'd be a nice bruise already forming. Not a fatal blow, but it certainly gave you more time to attack again.
You grabbed your knife. "Trick Viper!" You threw your tetsugin, but not at Nik. Instead, the knife shot through the floor. Nik tensed, not sure what you were doing but positive you had a plan. She could see that the knife was still on the move by the way the wire unraveled from your glove. You fed the wire through your right hand before twisting on it. As the knife shot out of the ground behind her, Nik still remained oblivious. With another twist of the hand, the blade curved until it was right on target. Nik gasped as she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck as the knife hit her. As she fell forward, hitting the ground, you pulled the knife back to you.
Nik remained on the floor, seething. She glared at you as you replaced your weapon. This was unacceptable! She was CP9! She couldn't be defeated by some pirate, no matter how skilled she was. Nik decided right then and there that you wouldn't be getting out of here alive. Even if it killed her, she'd take you down with her.
Nik sprung onto her feet just as you were placing the knife back where it belonged. Your head snapped up, knowing she was going to try something. And you were right. "Rankyaku!" An odd thing happened when Nik's foot slashed through the air, probably the result of use the Makaze. Where she'd slashed, you saw a thin, barely noticeable mark appear right before the Rankyaku formed and flew towards you.
You threw yourself to the ground to avoid it. `That line must be where the attack comes from,` you concluded as you pushed yourself back up. It was the "cut" in the air. That certainly made it easier on you.
Nik was relentless in her attack. She was going to kill you if it took her last breath. "Nibai-Rankyaku!" Nik used her right leg in a low sweeping kick then spun around and kicked her left leg out at waist height. This sent two Rakyakus flying at you, one low to the ground and the other regular height. A growl rose from your throat as you rolled out of the way to avoid the low attack while avoiding the high one altogether. However, you weren't completely fast enough to avoid it entirely so the tail end of the attack sliced deeply into your right shoulder. You barely even felt it as you pushed yourself back up on your feet before you were caught off guard again.
Unfortunately, you didn't get up fast enough, because Nik was right there. "Sora-Rankyaku!!" She somersaulted backwards, catching herself on her hands. As she brought a foot up, she slashed up. You saw the line form along the path her foot went. Instead of attacking horizontally, this attack went vertically. And unfortunately for you, you were standing point-blank. You cried out when the attack hit you dead center of your body. Since the attack had an upward momentum, it knocked you clear off your feet, sending you flying towards the roof. Your back smashed through the ceiling in the same way Nik's had done just a few moments ago. As gravity caught up with you, you came crashing back down to the ground.
Talk about remodeling
You coughed as you remained on your stomach, though it was more from the dust than anything. You felt fortunate that the ground below you was actually soft. Once you'd coughed all the dust out of your lungs, you opened your eyes. Now, last time you checked, you'd been inside. So imagine your surprise when you found yourself lying on a bed of grass. Fisting the soft grass, you pushed yourself up onto your hands and knees and grabbed the hem of your shirt with one hand. You pulled it up enough to see a thick, dark purple welt running up your front. `Lovely...` you thought. For some strange reason, the attack hadn't torn your clothes, though. You also weren't in any pain, but you accredited that to the increased adrenaline created by the Makaze.
"Vaughn?"
You looked up at the sound of a familiar and confused voice. You could only stare when you realized you're sudden entrance had interrupted a fight. Well... two fights by the looks of it. You were, in fact, still inside the Tower, just the room had been designed to resemble a forest. Rather fitting, considering there were two Zoans here. One was a large, intimidating wolf-man, which you could only assume was Jyabura. The other was a giraffe-man. It took you a second to recognize the clothes and the rectangular-shaped nose as Kaku. But perhaps even stranger were their opponents, Zolo and Sogeking. Well, that was nothing strange about that. But what was strange was that the two men were handcuffed together. So, in order to fight properly, Sogeking was holding onto Yubashiri while Zolo was holding onto Sogeking like a second sword.
You stared at the two men blankly, forgetting about the other two for a moment. "Zolo, is there something you want to tell me?" you drawled. While normally your voice would've had a teasing lilt, now you just sounded dull. Apparently the Makaze also gave you a flat affect. You just looked unnervingly focused.
It took Zolo a moment to respond, he we so stunned by your flat expression. "It's all his fault," he responded bitterly after a moment. "He handcuffed us together, and neither one of them have the right key to unlock us."
"Nik, don't interfere with my fight!" you heard Jyabura snap behind you.
"I think you mean our fight," Kaku corrected, not sounding too thrilled with having to fight alongside the wolf-man.
"No, I mean mine! All you're doing is gettin' in the way!"
"Relax," Nik chided the two bickering men. You turned around to face her. "We're just passing through."
Your eyes locked with your opponent and you forgot everything else. Somehow, you could read just through her eyes what she was planning to do next. Simultaneously, Nik rushed you while you reached behind your back to grab the Oboro. "Shigan!" You pulled the sheath down in time to contact with the finger, preventing it from hitting you. But Nik was relentless. If she thought to break through the sword, she was severely underestimating your father's craftsmanship. She continued to push forward, sliding you both across the ground and crashing through the wall. You seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Lucky for you, you couldn't really feel it at the moment.
As you entered into the new room, which was a hallway, you brought a foot up and pressed it into Nik's stomach. With a hard shove, you pushed her away, breaking your stalemate and putting some space between you. Before you'd even come to a stop, you wrapped the tetsugin around the hilt of the Oboro, dropping the sheath to the floor. "Viper Charmer!" You threw your tetsugin out, now with the Oboro attached to the end to make it even deadlier. But instead of moving straight out, your weapon acted like it had a mind of its own. Before it reached Nik, the wire bowed back, resembling the head of a snake right before it strikes, then lashed out at the agent.
"Kami-e." Nik dodged the attack, fluttering around like paper in the wind.
You continued to use the Viper Charmer technique to attack Nik, manipulating the wire with your skilled hands from a distance. Your knife/sword weaved and twisted around, lashing out at deceptive times. The tetsugin squirmed around like a snake seeking its pray. On anyone else, the attack would've been impossible to predict. But Nik used her Kami-e to weave between the attacks. From a distance, it looked like some kind of elegantly deadly dance. All the while, Nik could see that there was something very wrong with you. Something subtle in your movements that no one but a trained fighter would notice.
REST OF QUIZ IN RESULTS
Indeed, there was something wrong with you. Something very wrong. And while you'd been oblivious to it up till now, your body was about to let you know it. When you took a step forward to change the tetsugin's direction again, that's when it hit. Your entire leg suddenly gave out on you, as if you'd lost all feeling in it. You collapsed to one knee, your attack stopping as your arms dropped heavily to your sides. The sound of the Oboro crashing on the floor rung through the hallway. Finally, your body got its message through to you. It couldn't take it any more. You weren't sure how long you'd been fighting, but you knew you'd been using the Makaze for more than the proscribed five minutes. The strain you'd been placing on your body was too much.
You raised a shaking hand to your head. Your breathing was labored. Far more than it should be for this fight. Your heart shuddered in your chest from the added effort it was putting in pumping blood through your body. Your muscles were starting to burn. You were having a hard time seeing straight. Your vision wasn't so much blurring as it was shaking. Everything looked to be shaking back and forth. Had you been able to see yourself you would've seen that, where previously your pupils had contracted, now they were dilated to such an extent that almost none of you iris could be seen. But even more disturbingly, your eyes were actually shaking back and forth very rapidly.
`Dammit,` you cursed. You knew your body was starting to collapse under the Makaze. There was just too much energy flowing through your body. The added strain was starting to catch up. If you didn't do something -- and soon -- the Makaze would turn on you and cause irreparable damage... assuming it didn't kill you outright. You saw Nik approaching and thought she said something, but you couldn't hear it for the sound of blood rushing through your ears. You clenched your eyes shut. In your mind's eye, the ocean you often visualized the Makaze as was churning violently and uncontrollably. `Just give me ten more seconds,` you thought, speaking as if the Makaze were actually alive. `That's all I need.` Through sheer force of will, you pushed the churning down, holding the floodgates back just long enough to finish this fight.
A cold, numbing calm filled your senses. Your eyes snapped open, vision still shaking but determined to finish this. Nik was only a few feet away from you by now. You blocked out everything except your opponent. You stood up and, as you did, spun to your left. At the same time, you whipped your left arm around. This sent your tetsugin whipping around you in a circle. The Oboro slid across the floor, creating a spark from the friction. A wave of fire erupted around you in the path the sword took, in the same way it did when you used the Ground Viper. As you came back around to face Nik, you slashed the flaming sword at her. Nik yelped as she jumped back to avoid the sword, but some of the fire still got on her clothes.
Nik gasped when a hand picked her up by the throat. She stared at you with wide eyes. Hadn't you just collapsed a second ago? Where did all this strength come from? Desperation? Even Nik had to admit, with the fire burning behind you, casting a shadow over your expressionless face, you looked quite awe-inspiring.
With the remaining few seconds you had, you lifted your right hand and summoned every last ounce of the Makaze you had inside you and channeled it into your hand for one last blow. Nik could almost swear she saw the energy surging up your arm and into your palm. It was now or never. "Mephisto Cannon!!!"
"Tekkai!!!"
You slammed your palm into Nik's chest, dead center of the breastbone, releasing everything you had left into that final attack.
For a long moment, no one moved. Then, you slumped down to your knees, unable to support yourself any longer. Your hand fell from Nik's throat. As you sat on the floor, knees bent underneath you, both you and Nik panted for breath. You, because of the strain of the Makaze, and Nik, because of the shock you gave her. But despite all your efforts, she didn't appear to have suffered any harm from your final attack. She hadn't felt a thing. Nik stared down at you, almost pityingly. "You don't have anything left to throw at me, do you?" You didn't respond, though Nik wasn't sure if it was because you wouldn't or because you couldn't. "You shouldn't have wasted your last strength," she lectured. "You of all people should know the Tekkai is impenetrable."
A tired smirk graced your lips. "Heh..." you laughed. "Just because you can't feel pain doesn't mean it's not there."
Nik's brow furrowed, not understanding your cryptic words. At least, not yet... Suddenly unsure, Nik moved to take a step back. But that was a mistake. As soon as she moved, her eyes widened as she felt a sudden, crushing pain in her chest. Her breath left her in a gasp, a hand clutching at her chest. `Right where...!` Right where you'd hit her. Her breastbone was shattered, as well was all her ribs surrounding that area. She coughed, blood pouring out of her mouth. She couldn't take a breath for the pain and the blood in her lungs, and her heart settled into a dangerous arrhythmia. Her Tekkai may have blocked the sensation of pain, but the damage had already been done.
Through tired, lidded eyes, you watched as her eyes rolled back. She stumbled backwards a few steps, staring at you blankly. For a moment, she simply stood there, hunched over, one hand to her chest while the other hung limply at her side. Then, you heard a soft, harsh chuckle. "Heh... I have... no regrets," Nik rasped. "I may be beaten... but at least it was by... a woman..." And she collapsed to her side on the ground, an almost serene look on her face. The Cipher Pol agent had, at last, been defeated.