City of Lights

[Raleigh]

Dirge: Darn it. Lemme go. Get it off! Get it off! *She waggles her leg around comically trying to get Zapana to let go.* Oh yeah, tail. *Swings her tail at Zapana with the sharp edge leading the way.*

[AmbushCat]

*The tail lodges itself in Zapana's shoulder. She bites back a gasp of pain, bug-eyes and all, but tenaciously continues to hang on.*

*using Dirge's movements and her own to build up momentum* Cool, a swingset! I haven't played on one of these since I was a pup!

[Raleigh]

*Annoyed by the swing set comparison, Dirge begins to try and fly about in loops trying to fling Zapana off.*

[AmbushCat]

*getting flung about every which way* Whoa-ho-ho, going Millennium Force on me, are we? Time to ground this roller coaster! Alley-oop!

*Zapana ultimately does let go of Dirge's leg, only to grab on to her tail instead. Using the momentum she's built up, she flips herself up and around to deliver a kick squarely between her opponent's wings.*

[Raleigh]

*Dirge's wings somewhat seize up due to the impact through some of the flight muscles causing her to drop like a stone to the ground below.* First rule, never let someone get behind you. *Just before she hits the ground she slams a fist into it shattering the floor and lessening the impact though it appears she might have broken that arm.*

[AmbushCat]

The setup...

*drops to the ground nearby as well, barely even noticing it crack beneath her feet*

The reinforcement...

*Zapana cups her hands in front of her. Her surplus of fire and heat begins to gather there... and strangely, so does the arena's surplus deep freeze. The absolutes of hot and cold are coalescing, promising to bring about something beautiful and terrible.*

*fanged smile* The payoff.

[Raleigh]

*Dirge turns toward Zapana and exhales a pink cloud at her.*

[AmbushCat]

*By the time the cloud reaches where she is, Zapana isn't there anymore... though a voice coming from Dirge's 6 o'clock gives away her location. The room temperature has returned to normal by this point, which doesn't bode well.*

Quick note before we wrap this up: when you start on that speed training, you might want to improve your eyes some too. Heat Sink...

[Raleigh]

Dirge: Oh believe me, I'm investing in some upgrades after this. *Braces for the incoming attack making a note to invest in demonic fire resistance later.*

[AmbushCat]

ARCTIC FIRESTORM!

*With an echoing howl, Zapana releases a wide-area beam that encompasses most of the arena in front of her. The beam is speckled white and black, simultaneously burning hotter than the stars and freezing colder than the depths of deep space. In a way it's representative of Zapana herself, given her checkered past and desire to do what's right in spite of the individual she turned out to be.*

*After about nine seconds, the blast fully runs its course. Zapana lowers her arms, panting a little.*

Glad to finally have that out of my system. Man, I need a #$^%&ing drink...

[Raleigh]

*Dirge is burned through and then her frozen remains fall to the ground. The body turns into a crystal.* Raleigh: Well I'll be working on her fighting with her again.

[AmbushCat]

In all fairness, I was a few decades up on her. *grabs Dirge's crystal* So, do these work like they usually do? I ask for a menu and it lets me look at what it's giving me before I absorb it?

[Raleigh]

Raleigh: Yes. Once the menu pops up you can choose to absorb all the options or not to use the crystal. If so it'll disappear when I revive her though so it isn't like you can take it with you and give it to someone else.

[AmbushCat]

Alright, then. Let's see what we've got here.

[Raleigh]

Gem: Here is your menu.
1. Grave Danger
2. Wing Dust
3. Heavy Stinger
4. Soul Sight
5. Blood Lust Satiate
6. New Menu