It has only been a short time since Alpha led several of the others into the side room. Eyes shooting back and forth, all he can say for certain is that a dark presence is clouding this room. While that wouldn't be saying much, considering that the Hakiems have occupied the castle in its entirety, something about this seems . . . familiar, for some reason or another. He hasn't felt it in a while, but it is definitely one he recognizes - too much so to let pass by.

Although he wishes the others would go back with Noval and the others. And then time is up. With their Awareness Checks, both Tayro and Elenina become aware of the rising temperature in the room (Tayro: 19+6[Roll+INT], Elenina: 20+7[Roll+INT]). Tayro and his fairy partner also spot another item of strange origins - as does Alpha. With a sigh, the Sheikah turns back to face the door. "You all should have left when you had the chance."

His staff comes up, held at the ready as he motions to the small, red orb that has appeared in the center of the hallway just outside the door. No bigger than a single gold coin, it simply floats there. "They certainly should have," comes a voice from behind them all, in the door opposite the one they've all entered from. Alpha whirls around, at last coming face to face with . . . himself, more or less.

Long black cape, dark clothing, black hood covering his head, and a T-shaped mask shielding his face from sight. "Wraith, I presume."

Though he cannot be seen, by his tone it can be inferred that he is smiling. His gloved right hand rises to be level with his mask - "Indeed, Yuenbri." Snapping his fingers, the orb lets loose a torrent of flames as a massive explosion rips apart the hall and through the doorway. The force of the unleashed inferno is so strong that it is all Alpha and the others can do to stay standing upright.

When the smoke clears, the entryway is nothing but a gigantic pile of rubble and stones. Wraith, standing in the opposite doorway, simply gazes at his predecessor for a moment before disappearing into the rooms beyond.

OOC: FYI, in case anybody recalls this, yes, Wraith did refer to his predecessor as Yuenbri in FoG IV. However, before some wise guy decides to use this against me, I remind you that no one was close enough to Wraith to hear him mutter those words. So sorry.

An organ began playing in the samurai's head, as the evil made itself known. The spitting image of Alpha, stood a few yards from them. Dogura made an attempt to grab his sword. For some reason, it was already tightly in his grasp. The samurai's reflexes amazed even himself sometimes. "W-Wraith..." Dogura muttered, his eyes fixed on the man. Dogura, however, knew that the wall had crumbled behind them. The room was growing hotter still. Dogura wiped his forehead, and realized he was bleeding slightly from the right side of his head. Perhaps he had been hit with flying rubble from the consecutive blasts. "There is no escape for you this time Wraith..." Shut up you! Have you any idea how powerful he is? We've fought him before. I provided only a fraction of power last time. This time will be different. Now that we see eye to eye, perhaps I can lend you... more power... Dogura thought the issue over in his head. Has Wraith been working with the Hakiems all along? Or is there a greater threat than we first thought?... A bead of sweat mixed with blood rolled down the Vagabonds forehead, as he prepared a defensive stance. [Dodge Check]

I though we'd meet again but had no idea it would be so soon. As he gazes upon the visage of Wraith. He readies his weapon as Wraith draws his hand level with his face and a split second after the finger snap light, fire, noise and rubble filled the room Raven crouched down and wrapped his cloak around him as fire swept around him and pieces of the doorway impacted into his back. He rose as the pelting stopped and saw their entry point was blocked off in the most crude of fashions.

Throwing open his cloak grandly cleared the air of dust long enough for him to see -then not see - Wraith as he went through the doorway behind him into what lay on the other side.

'Looks like Wraith has set up this little gathering.' He said obviously. While walking through the rubble. 'Following him without caution could be the last thing we do.' He said as he got to the front of the room where Alpha was standing; the fire was still burning and several books had fallen off the respective shelves and apart from the collapsed wall and the rubble it didn't look too different from how it started.

" I guess so, raven..." kasei says...who had never seen wraith before(OOC: right? kasei had never met wraith, I think...). he looks through the dust top see the man flee through a doorway... and looks at dogura and raven...he would have to find a way to help the others if they were hurt...or not...

OOC: No, Kasei, you've faced off against Wraith before. Remember in The Assassin topic? He was wailing on you, calling you pathetic and everything!

Wraith wrote:"It seems you really aren't that strong . . . a pity. I had heard that the infamous Kasei was wanted; now I see that he's not worth the bounty on his head. In fact, he's not even worth the bounty on that shapeshifting girl trying to attack me from below right now - and she's not wanted at all." He leaves the unspoken assumption hanging, as if he wants Kasei to take a few minutes figuring out the insult himself.

IC:
"That would seem to be the case, Raven," Alpha agrees. For whatever the reason, Wraith had definitely brought them together in this. 'And we definitely need to be careful now, if what the others have told me about him is true.' Hands gripping his staff firmly, he shrugs a bit of debris off his cape and moves forward.

The next room is a much larger one, taking on a cylindrical shape, with the ceiling like a dome. Windows in the roof allow moonlight to shine through to the center of the otherwise darkened rotunda-shaped room . . . and shine directly upon the form of Wraith, simply standing there in anticipation. His odd staff, Brenyuu, has appeared in his hands as he patiently awaits the others' arrivals.

'And so it begins . . . the beginning of his demise,' the assassin thinks. 'To think that I can finally take him out - and I was beginning to doubt Master - ah, he has arrived.' Alpha walks through the doorway, his own staff held at the ready. "Welcome, Yu-en-bri," Wraith calls out, emphasizing each syllable of the name. "How would you like to begin?"

Beneath his mask, their foe only frowns as he at last takes note of those accompanying Alpha. Their persistence in the matter had not been unexpected, though he had hoped to avoid such additional trouble. His orders still included not announcing his target's previous life endeavors, but he had been hoping to have some . . . conversations . . . with his predecessor before burning him alive. Plus, he could have used his true power . . . now he remained constrained to play the part of a mere mortal assassin. Yuenbri wouldn't be able to release his power either; how unfortunate.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Alpha replies, snapping Wraith out of his thoughts. His staff rises, pointing it straight at the assassin. "Why are you here, and what do you want?"

"Two very good questions, both with one simple answer." Wraith lets out a deep chuckle as his staff rises to its ready position. "To kill you, Yuenbri."

Pyre's eyes were wide, and his brain was slightly overloaded. His knuckles were white, he was clutching his daggers so hard. He didn't notice however. He was replaying everything he had heard about the assasin, and about how deadly he was. It seemed that Wraith was having a little conversation with Alpha, but the hylian didn't understand it. Only when the assasin threatened to kill Alpha did he take action.

He drew out his two daggers, and suddenly his mind was clear. He moved up besides Alpha, keeping track of the assasin's everymove. He knew that if he was caught off gaurd, it would be the last thing he would do. He had thought that Alpha was going somewhere, but he didn't expect anything like this. Did he know?... He pushed the thought out of his mind. He needed to concentrate.

Pyre didn't attack. He knew that would be foolish, so instead he waited for Wraith to make the first move. He knew that by rolling with a blow and spinning he could easily counter, but wasn't quite sure that would work on Wraith. He decided to wait and find out. He would probably go for Alpha first, and then the hylian planned to make his move.

EDIT: Hell put in a [dodge check] for me.

OOC: oooooo Im trembling with adventurous spirit after reading the end of that post Alpha! Truly awesome!

IC: Dogura had a mental playback of what he had previously seen. The fight before, would be nothing like this one. Nothing would stop them now. Dogura prepared to manipulate Wraith's nerve, but immediately remembered the previous experience. My mind waves wont work on him. He's not dim in the head either. The only clear mistake he was making, was underestimating his opponents. Dogura shot a mental note to all those in range of his telepathy. Before you go all out, try to conserve a certain ammount of energy. When he is even slightly worn down, we'll all unleash our inner powers! I cant seem to make out any other weakness. Dogura then stopped, wondering if Wraith would be able to pick up his mental transmission.
Shaking the thought, the samurai watched for any sudden movements. He decided that if anyone were attacked, he would intercept the attack. [Intercept/Counter]

Wraith has to force his mouth to stay closed as a laugh threatens to burst from his lips. These fools . . . they gather around Yuenbri like knights guarding their king - though if Yuenbri heard a statement like that, he'd be seriously ticked off. For such a natural loner, he was surprisingly good at rallying followers around him. 'Or should I call them . . . victims?' Another laugh threatening to escape is stifled before a noise can be made.

Regardless of how laughable their attempts to protect their . . . 'master' - did they even realize how manipulative the true Wraith could be? Probably not . . . well, regardless of the futileness of trying to shield his target, it was going to be quite annoying. Alpha's reflexes were already top of the line; having to spend an extra split second getting past his guards could be fatal. Every trick in the book, and a few he'd made up, wouldn't allow him to make it past four or five fools and still hit a target like Yuenbri.

Fortunately, he had been granted certain . . . privileges . . . in this particular hunt. Now that he was not bound by such trivialities and could allow for a bit of frivolity in his strikes, there were ways that he could achieve his goal. "So . . . you have all become . . . cowards . . . since our last encounter?" he asks, specifically targeting this comment towards Raven, Kasei, and Dogura, whom had been at the last encounter. Pyralin and Tayro - oh, and that little fairy friend of his, mustn't forget about her - had yet to face him, and Alpha . . . well, Yuenbri might not remember him yet, but certainly with the correct information he would be able to piece his identity together. And when he did . . . he would be dying, regretting that he'd ever stolen that job away from him. This gives Wraith quite the satisfied grin.

Alpha stands, tense as his brain struggles. The man was familiar - he recognized the sense quite clearly; it was definitely the feeling of this impostor's presence that had pervaded the previous room. But try as he might, his nearly perfect memory can not place a name or a face with the air this man gives off. It is almost as if something is interfering with his memories. Wraith's words, though, seem to be perfectly fitting to Alpha's remembrance of him. "Fine then; if you refuse to make the first move, allow me."

Without warning, a spiral of flame emerges from the ground all around Wraith, engulfing his form completely. All around the room's walls arise pillars of fire, nearly thirty in all. The group might expect him to appear from one of the columns closest to them, that would be just that - expected. If anyone knows about expected methods of destruction, it's the assassin, and he has no desire to ever become as predictable as his targets. The columns merge together, forming a ring of fire, slowly shrinking so as to force the group closer to the center of the room. About ten feet in, though, it stops . . .

Without ever betraying his acknowledgment of his position, Alpha turns and deftly blocks the staff Brenyuu as it screams down from above, Wraith putting his full force behind the strike. 'Not good enough, impostor,' Alpha thinks, though his face reflects the struggle he is required to put up with to keep Brenyuu at bay. With a mighty heave, he finally throws Wraith back, forcing him into a flip that sends him bounding through the flames once again.

His eyes can be felt everywhere, his attacks could come from any direction, and all paths of escape have been made worthless. So then, where will the Assassin strike from next . . . ?

Pyre let a small smile cross his face as the pillars appeared around him and formed together. Fire. That was his element, and though he had no special abilities dealing with it, he had a natural affinity to it, and couldn't help but grin. He let himself relax and think. Where. That was the question. Not what or when or how, but where.

His question was answered quickly. Above. Wraith appeared above them, and attacked Alpha. Of course the sheikah had easily blocked the attack. Well mabye not that easily, but considering who they were dealing with, it would pass.

Pyre made another desicion when the assasin dissapeared once again. He closed his eyes. Sight was useless in this situation, and why let it get in the way. He streched out his senses, and prepared himself. The next time Wraith appeared, he planned to strike.

The hylian knew that one mistake would be all he would get. He knew that he had to be completely prepared, or chances were he would end up dead. Even with this thought in mind, he didn't allow himself to tighten up. He needed to stay relaxed, and stay smart. He trusted himself to react when the time came.

The samurai's eyes darted around the room. Suddenly, a clash was heard, and before Dogura could turn to look, Wraith was gone. Sinking into a shadow, Dogura would watch from there until the time came strike. The samurai knew that it would have to a precicely timed attack if it were to have a slim chance at connecting. And thats using the element of surprise! Dogura waited in the shadows, knowing that he would only be in the way.

'So you're facing him again, already. I knew I should have given you extra training.' Red's word entered his mind. 'Not the best time. We've got pillars of fire everywhere.' 'Well, Ana has something she wishes to share with you.' 'This seems to be a vendetta you've got caught up in and Wraith would prefer it if you weren't there. This is something between Alpha and himself.' She explained. 'How did you work that out?' 'He has only been addressing, Alpha; apart from the insult.' 'Yeah, that hurt(!)' 'He also had the chance of attacking anyone of you so why, Alpha?' 'If he so focused on him it should make him an easier target.' 'If he wants a fight between only themselves, you should watch out doesn't try to take you out if you get in his way.' She said clinicly. 'I'm more than ready for him.' He said confidently.

'Clever move, I must grant you that.' Raven speaks to the fire surrounding them, or to be more precise the man hiding within them. 'However, I can't help but remember what you said such a short time ago, about being a coward. The very definition of a coward is someone who runs and hides. Just like you are now; are you afraid you can't take us on without resorting to parlour tricks?' Raven awaited a rebuttal with either words or fists.

Wraith's laughter rings throughout the room, seeming to be coming from every direction at once. It is both tickling each of the adventurers' ears and coming to them as a far-off echoed sound. Then his voice joins that echo. "There is a fine line between cowardice and strategy. Sometimes the former fails to recognize the latter; don't feel too ashamed for it." *Ching!* Alpha's staff once again intercepts the staff Brenyuu as Wraith flips over them.

'Dogura has awaited my strike from the shadows, and Pyralin seems to be prepped to attack. It's just too bad; neither he nor that fool Kasei understand the true power of Fire. Time to teach them,' the Assassin thinks with a grin as he lands in the center of the ring of fire from which he had begun this fight.

Alpha gives him an odd look, shaking his head as it gradually turns into a gaze of disappointment. "What is it with all the fire?" he asks, still on his guard for whatever might be coming their way. "I thought that the 'legendary' Wraith specialized in lightning based attacks. I was hoping to pit thunder against thunder."

Wraith, beneath his mask, simply rolls his eyes. "And I thought that you learned less than two hours ago that I was an 'impostor', as your illustrious informant was so kind to call me. I'd prefer the term 'successor', personally." One hand rises up to be level with his face again, and tendrils of fire emerge from the ring of fire, forming into a single fireball growing to a size just twice that of his hand.

"I guess I can fight fire with real fire!" kasei says, and as wraith is distracted with his fireball, kasei performs his own fire spell, to summon volvagia, the dragon...but it would take some time, so he ditched the idea, instead throwing many fireball at wraith's head, followed by a boomerang and some arrows. "i've gotten stronger since our last encounter, wraith!"

Pyre could hear the change in the crackling of the flames, but didn't open his eyes. He just kept himself alert and ready. If he heard a rushing in the air, he would act, but for now he simply kept his senses trained on his surroundings.

Alpha seemed more than capable of defending himself. Though the hylian valued his life, he reconized himself as the weakest in the group. From this desicion, he choose to try to defend the others and bear injury directed at them for him. This didn't apply for the moment however, since he still hadn't gotten used to the assasin's attacks. In fact he suspected that he hadn't even scratched the surface of the killers techniques.

Once again the hylian found himself waiting. Waiting for something to act upon. Some opening in the assasin's defense, ANYthing. All this waiting to be struck at was starting to weigh on Pyre's mind.

'So your admitting that you are just a man, in a mask, using his name. You haven't even mastered the staff, the only time it was empowered was because of Alex's electric barrier.' He said in condesending tone. 'How can you call yourself a successor if you can't use a move the real Wraith could accomplish with ease? Since we all know you are not the true Wraith why don't you take off the costume and fight as yourself. Who are you, really, impostor?'

He was enjoying this. An opportunity to use his talk rather than his dagger. How ever he had a feeling that the talk couldn't go on forever and eventually he would have to fight him again.

OOC: Kasei's outburst has reminded me of something I wanted to ask. Is this an RP battle? I'm guessing so by the nature of Wraith's abilities but until I'm sure Raven ain't movin'.