Saber spun onto his feet, settling into a ready position right after his disappointing miss. He swore under his breath as he started to lean forward, hoping to give Alpha no time to attack. He was reckless once again, and jumped straight into the explosion. He was thrown back by the blow and skidded across the ground again. Damn it....wake UP, Saber! He thought to himself as he skipped upright, teetering a bit to regain balance. He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes and bowed his head again. "Nothing for it.." He mumbled before shouting, "Favor of the Goddesses, once more I beseech you, give me your aid!"

Once again, the goddesses show Saber their favor, granting their healing energies to the mercenary (12+4[Roll+INT]). Saber regains 21 HP from the spell, much to the onlookers amazement - this man must truly be loved by the higher beings.

Alpha: 54 HP, 28 SPL
Saber: 39 HP, 6 SPL

Alpha grimaces as once again, luck reveals itself to be on Saber's side. His staff hand quivers in annoyance. 'Luck favors him . . . but skill is on my side,' he decides in his mind - otherwise the Sheikah would not be landing hit after hit on his foe and dodging anything and everything that Saber has thrown his way . . . when he actually does throw something. If not for that luck factor, this fight would have long since ended, that much is certain. 'But is it possible to take luck out of the equation?' No, not really . . . but then, the old saying said that luck was nothing more than experience meeting with opportunity. So then . . . all he had to do was deny Saber the opportunity. Once again, it seems like a long shot.

Straightening up, the Sheikah slowly nods to himself, further annoyed by the actions he is about to take. "Saber . . . I must say I'm disappointed," he says, his first words, other than calling out Elemental Bursts, in the fight. "I expected a much more enthralling battle; this refusal to actually fight, but only to run around and heal yourself, is getting to be incredibly dull. Show some courage for once!" he yells, fueling the annoyance in his tone with the annoyance he feels more towards himself. Rarely does he feel a need to goad his opponent into fighting.

Staff in hand, Alpha darts towards his opponent, twirling the rod in the air as he approaches at as quick a speed as he can manage - and for a trained Sheikah, that's pretty darn fast. Hurling back with his weapon, he brings it crashing down a bit too early, ramming it into the floor on which they stand in what would be seen as a critical mistake - he's left himself defenseless and wide open for retaliation - before allowing his left hand to finally emerge from beneath his cape, the black orb once again in his grasp.

At point blank range, he fires off yet another Shadow Elemental Burst, waiting for impact. 'Or maybe all I need is force his luck to hurry up and run out.'

As Alpha's words hit the crowd, Tarlen can only nod to himself. "Well, I can't really argue with the Sheikah's words," he says to the crowd. "Is Saber just going to - woah!" He stops short as the Sheikah leaps forward, staff in hand as he closes the gap between himself and the Hylian mercenary in an instant. And then...his attack is wasted. "Oh, what a fatal mista - or not!" the announcer calls out as the Shadow Burst emerges from beneath the mage's robes and strikes Saber immediately (10+1[Roll+SPI]), taking its toll on the Hylian once again.

"Well, Alpha's certainly stopped holding back, it seems! Looks like the fury of battle has taken hold, and you can all be sure that things are only going to get more intense from here on out!" the Rito yells as shadows descend upon the arena, masking the two warriors from the sight of the anxious crowd. "Now, when the darkness clears up again, will we be seeing the light of the goddesses' favor, or the fallen form of a mercenary?!"

Alpha: 54 HP, 22 SPL
Saber: 16 HP, 6 SPL

Saber couldn't believe himself. Every word that Alpha said was true. He had earned a fight with perhaps the greatest mage in Hyrule, and he was wasting it by running. He hadn't thrown but one strike, and that had been in vain. His eyes dropped. Should I stop asking the Goddesses for assistance? If I do....his Elemental attacks will rip me to shreds...Wait a second...how is it fair that he can sit back and blast me while I'm stuck with melee?

He looked up to his opponent once more and leveled his blade at him. "How enthralling would it be to have ended the match in the second round?" He grew more confident and continued his rebuttal. "Honestly, I don't find it too exciting to be blasted from a distance with near-fatal attacks myself. You're avoiding close combat just as much as I am!" A smirk grew--he felt his full courage returning. "You have your Magic, I have my Favor of the Goddesses. It's like an equation. X is melee, Y is non-melee. Equations must balance out; Therefore, if you want to subtract Y from my side of the equation--" His smirk widened as he finished."You'll have to remove Y from your side as well!" In the first row, a frail old schoolteacher wiped away a tear.

It was a bold demand, and he knew there was almost no chance that Alpha would take it. After all, while his attacks were certain hits, Saber's Favor of the Goddesses was all luck. Alpha seemed to take his advice, however, as he charged. Saber readied himself to counter the staff, and almost laughed when the staff fell short. He raised the saber and started to swing it down, just about to make contact when the secret weapon was revealed. The elemental attack hit him head-on, and he was thrown back even more this time, about ten feet or so. He skipped up quickly, however, and even as he was rising he began to plead with the Goddesses once more. "Favor of the Goddesses, I will you to refresh your humble servant once more!(Will=4)"

Tarlen lets out a laugh as Saber's verbal counter rings through his ears. "Well, can't argue with that logic, my friends! Seems the Hylian's naturally great intelligence is well reflected in those comments!" Then Alpha's strike hits, causing the aforementioned result: the field once more covered in shadows, just waiting for the light of the goddesses' favor to break through them once more.

But break through the light does not (4+4+4[Roll+INT+WILL]). At the most crucial time, the goddesses refrain from answering Saber's call. Perhaps they were put off by the Hylian's use of the word 'will'; it might have seemed like a command to those above all creatures, Tarlen thinks to himself as he shrugs. "And it looks like Saber's in trouble!" he calls out. "His cry is going unanswered - this could be the end of this mercenary's time here with us!"

Alpha: 54 HP, 22 SPL
Saber: 16 HP, 6 SPL

Alpha rocks back on his feet as the shadows erupt from his Elemental Burst. Saber's words had not registered in his mind before he'd made his attack, as he was deep in thought planning out the surprise attack, and he took the moment to replay the message the mercenary had shouted in return to his words. He shrugs - oh well, his attempt at riling up the Hylian had failed. One plan down the drain . . . but maybe his original would . . .

A grin splashes itself onto Alpha's face as he hears Saber's call to the goddesses, only to be followed by nothing at all. Apparently, just as the Sheikah had hoped would soon happen, his luck has run out. And Alpha is not one to let an opportunity like this one go to waste. 'But I have to be absolutely certain it will hit,' Alpha thinks to himself. 'If I mess this shot up, then things will become more complicated than I can afford right now.'

With that thought ringing through his head, Alpha reaches up and grabs his hood, shifting its position over his head so that it completely conceals his scar - and when it begins to glow a bright violet color, none of it escapes his hood to light up the shadows that have gathered around them. "That may very well be, Saber!" he shouts into the darkness, giving away his position completely as a hole opens up in the shadows beneath him. "But then," he adds, almost as an afterthought, "the only reason I said that was to serve as a distraction for your mind."

Dropping straight down and into the Void, Alpha swiftly opens up another portal in close proximity to the first in such a way that at every point in time, some part of his body is within the boundaries of the arena. Sure, the rules didn't say anything about staying in the ring at all times, but better to be safe rather than sorry. His eyes lance through the darkness, experienced Sheikah senses along with own willpower allowing him to locate his opponent even in a place devoid of light. And there he is, mere feet in front of Alpha - ad, just as he had intended, his back his facing the Sheikah. Drawing back his hand, he barely even has to focus to create another Shadow Burst, so easy is it to bring together the shadows that surround them.

In one giant cry, he focuses every ounce of Willpower in his body into this final strike. "Elemental Burst Shadow!!!" he cries as his final attack rockets away and towards the mercenary. (Will = 9)

OOC: Two things. First, RG, since I can't use my Willpower to increase my chance of hitting Saber, can it be applied as a negator for his resistance check? If not, ignore that Will part. If so, good match, Saber.

And two, just noticed your sig, Saber. lol, thanks for the quoting.

OOC: Hm, hadn't thought about doing that before, Alpha. I'm going to have to say no, though - like Saber pointed out in his own reply, Melee attacks are weaker than Magic attacks. Magic is already powerful enough; no reason to let Will come into the matter.

IC:
Another exploding attack rings through the ears of the crowd, drawing all talking to a close as the group eagerly awaits for the darkness surrounding the two combatants to clear up. The sunlight eventually causes the shade brought forth by two successive Shadow element attacks to dissipate, and when it does the crowd finds themselves gazing upon the fallen form of Saber and the victorious stance of Alpha (7+1[Roll+SPI]).

"And we have us a winner!" Tarlen cries out as the crowd leaps to its feet, applause barreling through the city until several people are forced to cover their ears to keep eardrums intact. "Alpha the Sheikah Mage has done it! By defeating Saber, he has moved on to the second round of this fight! And as for Sabertache...give it up for that mercenary! He lasted so much longer than anyone here could have anticipated!" As a few clerics rush forward the clapping grows loud once again, multiple cries of support for the fallen Hylian emerge as well.

In a few minutes, Saber is brought back to consciousness, to the sight of cheering for his excellent fight. Tarlen approaches the two fighters. "Well done, you two!" he says enthusiastically, though without his prior loudness mixed in there. "I hate to rush you guys, especially you Saber, but the second match will be starting soon, so if you could please leave rather quickly we'd appreciate it. If you want," he points towards an empty first row in one of the bleachers, "that first row there is reserved for participants in the tournament, so you can take a seat there if you want to watch the other fights."

The well dressed men watched the fight come to a close. "Wasp, despite what the tournament proved, Saber is the one we want," said one of the men to the other.

"I was thinking the same thing, Dagger," said Wasp.

"When will we launch the tactic?" asked Dagger.

"The boss will decide," replied Wasp, simply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orpheous called out, even if he was softer than the crowd, "Good job, Saber. You too, Alpha."

Saber cursed as nothing happened. He kept his eyes closed longer and longer, repeating his plea over and over again, hoping for just one more chance. He was so close! He eventually sighed and gave up. I suppose it couldn't last forever...shouldn't have ordered them to help, huh? I probably exhausted all their strength as well in this fight...he thought wistfully as his pained muscles began to scream out from all the abuse they had taken. He opened his eyes--and Alpha was nowhere to be seen!

He looked from side to side quickly, scanning anywhere for the form of the charging Shiekah--but his opponent could be found nowhere..Then, he realized. The perfect opportunity for attack--he spun on his heel and gazed at the ball of shadow energy held but feet away from him. He gaped in horror and uttered a single word; "...Damn it..."Before the attack was launched. He threw his arms in front of him as the magic lanced forward and tore into him, hurling him backwards across the arena. He collided with the ground and skidded another twenty feet before stopping, his body a mess of bruises and scrapes.

He still had his consciousness, which seemed more of a curse than a blessing, as every inch of his body wailed in pain. He couldn't even move. He struggled to turn his head toward the Shiekah, too weary to perform any other action. A hoarse voice grated out a few words: "Good....Match....Alpha..." Then he sighed, somewhat relieved that the match was over finally. He had never expected to beat Alpha--He even had had doubts about making it past the first attack--but he gave a show, and hopefully his persistency and determination would convince some future customers that he was the mercenary to go to when a job needed to be done.

OOC: Well, good fight Alpha, even if I seemed more pathetic than anything and yeah, I love that quote.

OOC: Bah, like I said, I only put that stuff in there to get your character annoyed to the point of not thinking. Which didn't exactly work, but whatever.

IC:
Alpha lets his shoulders slump as he senses his opponent's last bit of resistance fade away, allowing his tense body to finally relax. That battle had been quite taxing for him, which wasn't something he had been expecting in the first round of the tournament, though it was something he had been expecting in a fight against Sabertache. As the sunlight finally breaks through the shadows surrounding the two fighters, Alpha hears the Rito announcing him as the winner.

As Tarlen comes up to congratulate the two of them, the Sheikah simply turns both eyes over to the birdman. "I hope you don't expect me to be holding my hands up in victor," he says just loud enough for the approaching announcer to hear him. His tone is light, though, giving evidence for the caped man's pleasure at his victory.

After Tarlen's words are spoken to the two of them, Alpha turns over to his now revived companion in combat. Holding out a hand to help him up, he grins as he says to Saber, "Care to join me in the front row, my friend?"

Saber takes Alpha's hand and gets to his feet. Man, those clerics work fast...still feel tired though... He grinned at Alpha and cracked a weary bone. "Sure, but I'm afraid I may fall asleep on you. I'm extremely tired at the moment.." As he got into his front row seat, he saw Dogura across the way. I'll have to remember to go over there sometime...He thought wearily as the lure of sleep drew him out of consciousness. He fell asleep on the spot, his head lolling to the side as he enjoyed the reprieve he had earned from his first fight.

OOC: I know, Alpha. I think you would have humiliated anyone, honestly.