Closed Return to the Aperture. (Abstract)

[Ximal]

Bollocks!. That plan didn't work because karl was too weak...and the vice was steadily getting tighter Xi calmed himself and began to think feeling karl jostle against his back and start crying Xi sighed until he heard the voice. Something about that voice had told him he'd "never" escape, however the word never was skewed. "Alright if your gonna keep being cryptic keep being cryptic...It keeps things more interesting for all of us." Xi smirked and stared down the snake and felt karl still moving behind him. Xi now barked an order in a tone which was scarier than the situation they found themselves in. "Karl! stop petching moving...If you keep moving were both dead...Trust me...The secret to this trial is simply accepting we cant escape...So hold still, your moving is making him squeeze faster, so just take a deep breath and he'll let go of us..." Hopefully. Xi took a deep breath and stopped struggling completely still leering at the snake. More for his own personal satisfaction of knowing that the beastie was going to be in trouble if it disobeyed it's masters orders. I hope I've done the right thing...else were both as dead as dead gets...

[Abstract]

Karl, hearing Xi's demand, froze instantly, eyes wide with fright. He did exactly as asked, taking a deep breath and refusing to move. He looked at the fighter beside him with slightly worried eyes, as if doubting this logic.

The snake, on the other hand, gave a depressed hiss, seemingly sad that it's prey wasn't fighting any more. Reluctantly, it loosened it's coils slightly, just enough for the two to fall down to the floor. Except there was no floor. They kept falling, into a circular stone tunnel, which acted as a slide. For several chimes, the pair would slide right, left down, and even... up. Karl screamed the entire time, and despite what Xi would say or do, refused to shut up.

They finally arrived, popping up into a room... well, a crevice really, where the moon could be seen shining above. For some reason, however, the sides to the crevice were piled up with rubble, meaning no escape. At the opposite side, there was a large archway, but this too was impassable because of large chunks of stone filling the entrance. In the center, however, was the main attraction.

There was a smooth stone square, seeming to come up from the ground. On top was a flat pedestal, with intricate designs carved all over. Sitting on the pedestal was a pair of stone snakes, carved so beautifully that they looked almost real. Their eyes glinted with amethysts, giving the creatures a look of true life.

Once in the room, the entrance behind them sealed, and the voice began speaking once again. "Congratulations!!" it cried, sounding genuinely excited. "You won two out of three challenges!! Now... Pick. Do you wish your prize before the final battle, or after?" it's voice sounded quite sly now, almost wondering if Xi would fall for the trick. Whichever direction the trick was in.

[Ximal]

Xi smirked as the snake started to release him and spoke lightly as it let go. "I hope youfind a more interesting dinner than me..." Xi then felt himself falling...And falling and then...sliding. Sliding along a series of tunnels and in every direction a person could thing by about half way his head still throbbing was now spinning... Karl screaming his head felt like it was splitting apart. Eventually the duo landed...Xi landed first his ass hitting the stone ground hard and then karl came down and landed on him. Before Xi could even react and gather his bearings he was squished and combined with all of the events his head the dizziness and the screaming hurled...Pushing himself up he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. If I ever do that again...I am not doing it with a headache... Xi rose fast and firmly throwing karl quite literally off of him as he rose. Glancing around however Xi saw a few things, an open sat above...Shining the moon down onto the room...How he had no idea but was utterly fascinated by it. Then Xi shook his looks around him, two crevasse walls high and impassable...the other side a massive stone arch with a series of huge stone boulders filling the archway...Xi leered at the archway... Then he swing his head to the centre of the room seeing a raised stone pedestal...A single slab of smooth stone erecting it'self from the ground. Xi stepped over one step before hearing the voice erupt from nowhere, and his eyes set upon the snakes upon the pedestal...He'd completed two out of three challenges...Was the first one an introduction or a challenge...A final battle...So this wasn't over...Xi smirked and looked over to the pedestal..."After...I've still got a challenge to do...Until I complete all your little games I cannot say that I've earned them...So let me at this " final challenge"." Xi folded his arms and awaited the response from the voice he would pick up nothing until he knew he'd fully earned it.

[Abstract]

The voice giggled slightly, hearing Xi's response, before replying with "Your choice!" A purple bubble appeared around the snakes, as Karl walked calmly towards it. Once on the dais, he turned, his expression completely different. There was an malevolent grin spread over it, and his eyes held intelligence, rather than stupidity. He cackled, and the noise came out... exactly like the voice's.

"Well Ximal!" he said, his words coming from several different directions at once. It was, quite obviously, the voice talking, but it was coming from Karl's mouth. "Come my friend, time to fight!" he giggled, bowing, before leaping several feet in the air, and off the dais. He stood a few meters from Xi, completely open, as if waiting for his enemy to punch him. A completely confident grin covered his face, as if all this was merely a joke on Xi, that only he could understand.

[Ximal]

The voice called out again saying it was his choice. Xi watched the pedestal and saw a purple bubble appear around the snakes that sat over it. And karl began to walk towards the dais. Reaching it he turned and there was a sharp stare. Evil...Harsh..Cold. Then when he spoke Xi heard the voice which he'd been hearing for the last several chambers. It was telling him to fight karl. He bowed before leaping at Xi and crossing over a few meters. The distance between them. The stance there openly inviting Xi to attack him. Xi leered at karl and didn't even flinch. "And how would you like me to fight this time? Your challenging me to fight you, yet as persuade I'm sure there will be some kind of vastly annoying set of rules and you'll be abusing some form of magic. So...Either your using karl as a shell, or your actually karl and not called karl...Either way if your trying to spook me or shocking me...Your gonna have to do better than that." Xi folded his arms across his chest and stared down karl...Or whatever this thing was...

[Abstract]

Karl sighed slightly, sad that Xi refused to attack. "No tricks this time. Isn't it exactly what you want? A straight out fight?" He pouted slightly, but took matters into his own hands.

The man dashed towards Ximal, aiming for a head-on assault, but side-stepped to the left at the last minute, sending and uppercut towards Xi's side, turning his body with the motion. He leaped after this, landing a meter behind Xi, cackling. He'd stepped within the blink of an eye, movements so fast that Xi would barely see it. His punch was strong enough to send the other fighter flying to the side a few meters, if it his squarely.

"Cmonnnn" he squealed after, as if impatient for the fight to really begin. "Fighttt!!"

[Ximal]

No tricks this time? Xi sighed and watched karl. "So you want me to fight you outright with no strings attached. Or rather...No bullshyke?" Xi watched karl charge towards him...And then when within range he side stepped towards Xi's left...Great... He then leapt behind Xi. ...Petching asshole... Then came the scary moment where even Xi couldn't keep up with him. Xi turned his body to the side letting he punch stream across not even grazing his abdomen. He then squealed like a pissy child wanting Xi to punch him...Xi glared at him. "Alright..." Xi lifted his arm and threw seven lighting fast jabs in under a second before shifting his feet slightly watching for any funny business.

[Abstract]

OOCI'm sorry for taking so long! Here ya go

Karl hopped back at the jabs, not answering any of the questions asked. As soon as Xi had finished the attack, Karl jumped up, and kicked with his right then left leg, in quick succession, at Ximal's upper arms. They were not fully extended, so it the man tried to move backwards, his attacked could still reach and hit. If Xi tried to drop, Karl's hits would be fast enough to take him in the head. If any of the kicks hit, they would break bone. All this was at incredible speed, and the jump higher than most humans could manage.

[Ximal]

Xi leered at the target before him karl the man he'd passed through the three trials of strangeness with had now turned against him. Xi couldn't help but smirk, since his initial meeting he'd had that feeling and now Xi suddenly turned into to a smile. His voice behind it rrose form a level tone at the beginning to a angry roar at the end. "Alright then...You want to Play? LET'S PLAY!" Xi smirked and his smile burst into feral life. A slow chuckle rose up from deep below. Only when he could fight back and his very life was at stake did the true Xi finally come out. Xi brought his flux around his body the entire motion practised, swift, sharp and fatal. Xi brought his left elbow across to the top of karl's knee fluxing his shoulder muscles to snap the blow down twice as fast and twice as hard. the sharp point of his elbow looking to break karl's knee. Xi then brought his flux across his shoulders in a deft a nd swift motion pulling it into his shoulder muscles and right bicep. His opposite elbow looking to break karl's knee. Xi smirked and began to laugh, Xi then brought his flux into his thighs and spring shifted his body forwards using the power there to burst out his legs sharply and then from that position he pulled his flux back up and into his left bicep and right abdomen muscles snapping out his right arm and his entire body twisting with sharp snapping motion as he brought his left fist across spinning his wrist amplifying the impact damage. Thrice as fast as any normal man might have been able too do. The daggers of an angry rain...Arrow black! That grin streaming across his face as he brought himself to a calm state nullifying his flux and then bringing his normal strength and speed to bear upon his foe. If the hits connected Karl would be looking at two smashed knee caps and at least five broken ribs. The flux use age bar minimum as well. Practised pathways and techniques with opened and fluid djed motion designed with the idea of using little flux combined with technique to employ as much damage with as little risk as possible. "Believe me you've never met a man like me."

[Abstract]

Karl, seeing the blow to his knee coming, stretched his leg up to avoid it, before twisting his entire body backwards, away from the attack. He landed on his hands, flipping back onto his feet in seconds, before immediately dashing back. He ran towards Xi, right into the punches, ignoring the force and pain completely.

He punched Ximal in the gut, hard, as the fighter's own strikes hit, to catch the man by surprise. From there, he continued another three punches, which would break several ribs, all in rapid succession. All of the punches were fit into the same time period as Xi's Arrow Black, and would hit hard enough to push the man back nearly a meter, and send him toppling to the floor.

If Ximal did fall over, Karl would then kick him in the head, knocking him unconscious. If not, and he just moved backwards, Karl would dash back up, take any hits Xi sent his way, and backhand his shoulder.