Fast Food (Zarakc, and 2 Heroes)

Tim smiled at the response he'd hoped to fight the swordsman to teach him about real honor in combat. Tim grabbed his sword with both hands rotating in the air and bringing it down sheath and all in a powerful overhead chop straight down at Dar's shoulder. This ultimately accomplished nothing except a moment of being open, however Tim was able to sense things he couldn't perceive. He pushed harder on the sword throwing himself back he slid back a few feet to distance the two of them. He was strong Tim decided, time to see if his skill matched.

His senses blocked out everything unneeded he was aware of Dar and nothing else now, the two of them like samurai in a cheesy movie, in Tim's mind they weren't even on a bridge, or on Earth. Dar was standing just a few feet from him in this absolute void. Nothing else mattered but seeing what was coming. The time for words was over.

[As a note since further reading shows it's not clear, I'm not intending a hit, whether you dodge or not the blow will be harmless to Dar due to his toughness, and if he dodges he's still seen as strong for being able to do that at a moments notice.]

So the female Zarakc was going to be paired up against was named Rain. That seemed interesting considering the fact that her hands were covered in fire. Rain appeared to have made a sound that sounded somewhat like a laugh, which seemed strange since he was told people did that when they were pleased.

Zarakc continued to watch Rain as she did the same. She was smiling at him, and then proceeded to question his reason for fighting. He looked a little confused after she asked, where people always this talkative in conflicts? This last one he had been in did not involve too much chatter between sides until it stopped.

"I fight to learn of myself." Zarakc stated, his tone not expressing any hostility, just some conviction. He had no proof that fighting would let him learn about himself, but nothing else had been working thus far, so it was certainly something to try out.

Zarakc saw Tim's initial attack and decided that it would most likely make sense of open the battle on both fronts at the same time. With a quick breath, Zarakc drew into the wind he had been gathering; he thrust his arm forward, his palm facing Rain with his fingers outstretched. As he made the motion, a powerful surge of wind picked up and quickly closed the distance between him and Rain.

Dar did not flinch as Tim's weapon hit his shoulder. This 'holy knight' could not hope to surpass Dar's physical durability. Thankfully, his weapon was neither magical nor elemental in nature, though he noticed it was silver. A weapon for hunting undead, perhaps? That would fit with the mantle of holy knight.

Dar smiled broadly. "Thank you."

Dar's skill was not at the level he wished it was, but he made up for it by attacking with overwhelming force. Dar brought his sword up and slashed at Tim. The speed he swung it with was simply unnatural, making the blade look like it weighed nothing. Looks could be deceiving. The sword could cut through a brick wall and still have enough force to destroy a human opponent. The speed, combined with the far reach of the claymore, would make the attack difficult to jump away from in time.

Assuming Tim managed to survive, Dar would chase after the man anywhere on the ground, slashing and stabbing at him as his blade sought fresh blood. The blood lust inside Dar was too potent to ignore now. There would be no more talking, only fighting.

"You have met your doom!"

His answer to her question was quite alarming to her. He fought to learn himself? That didn't sound right. Why didn't he know himself? Unless... Was he like her? Did he lose his memories too? Was that what he was trying to prove with all of this? Did he have evidence suggesting that he was a warrior?

Bow's mind was engulfed in thought and she didn't even notice as he began the attack. She went wide eyed and threw her arms up in a cross in front of her face to shield herself. A small squeal was heard as she was picked up and pushed a few feet back before digging her feet firmer into the earth. The flames on her hands had been extinguished and she blinked. "I need to pay better attention..." A small giggle escaped her lips and then she shook her head, looking back to the man that hadn't provoked her enough to actually fight yet.

Her smile was warm as she ignited her hands again and tilted her head. "How about we just talk then? I know what it's like to not know yourself... Maybe I could help you discover who you are without causing damage to anyone or anything else?? I promise that it couldn't hurt to at least try..." She hoped that she would get through to him. She wanted to help this boy find himself like she had. It was still a work in progress, but she thought she could at least be an encouragement to him as he tried to make the journey himself.

Zarakc watched as his attack didn't do too much else aside push Rain back a few feet before she dug her feet in. At least it extinguished the flames for the time being. He certainly needed to work on his powers, for the time being he wasn't able to bring as much to the table as the other two fighters were. He watched them from the corner of his eye as Rain let out a giggle as she shook her head, not yet fighting back.

Wind still circled around Zarakc as he watched her hands ignite again before she brought up the notion of simply talking. Apparently she knew what it was like to not know about one's self. Out of the people he had met before, they all seemed to be in a different boat than he was in, they all appeared to know themselves and were aware of much more than he was. Out of those people there was one person who looked into any information about Zarakc and they came up empty handed aside a small police report from when he had been at the observatory.

"What do you know about yourself? How would you help?" He asked her, his tone expressing his hesitation in attack her right away again. What she had to say might be somewhat useful, but he still readied himself for fighting as he drew the wind swirling around him closer, getting another attack at the ready. He was still thinking of his reason for fighting in the first place, it might be a medium in which he could learn about himself. Thus far, he was not feeling like he was learning much at all, but he wasn't exactly engaged in combat like the other two were.

It was difficult to decide how to go about in this situation for Zarakc. Rain did not seem too interested in fighting and she might have been in the same situation that he was in in terms of not knowing himself. He was interested to know the answers to his questions, if she knew about herself as much as he knew about himself, it didn't seem like her help would be of use, especially if it was just to talk. He drew in a breath, the wind swirling around him closely as he watched Rain closely, waiting for her reply, whether a verbal response or an attack.

Tim sidestepped as soon as Dar's swung was in motion, it wasn't a wide margin he avoided by however it was enough to give him a chance to counter. He had predicted the course of Dar's blade allowing him the narrow dodge. He then extended his fingers into two loops through his hilt. He knew he couldn't hurt Dar now so he'd have to go to plan b. From his fingers sprouted an eldritch spear along either side of the hilt. He stabbed forward at Dar's right shoulder aiming to at least temporarily disable it with the extremely hostile magic.

Tim was having to be cautious due to the immense strength the large man clearly possessed. If everything worked out, Dar would give him a chance to slice the blade off his sword. But for now there was no such chance. Also worth mentioning is the fact that with a sword that large Tim knew Dar's strength was directed mostly at the end of the blade rather than right up close.

Tim managed to evade Dar's quick attack, an impressive display of his training as a swordsman. Tim, Dar had already noticed, was a true master of the sword. The Holy Knight probably knew what Dar was going to do before Dar even knew himself.

Tim countered, producing what looked like a spear of energy on each side of his own blade. Dar's eyes opened wide. What sorcery was this? While Dar was very resistant to physical damage, he had no desire to get hit by something he couldn't identify.

Before Tim's sword or spears could land, Dar jumped twenty feet back in a blur. "Holy Knight? Do those things look holy to you?" Dar would then dash forward and launch himself towards Tim like a torpedo. His claymore was held out at a diagonal angle. He was already moving 100 miles per hour, so instead of actually swinging the claymore, he would simply hold it in place and allow his momentum to cut Tim in half.

Bow smiled gently as the boy asked her the perfect question. But it was one she had to think about. Never before had she been put in this type of situation. It was always she who didn't know as much as others knew but, she had a strong feeling that the tables had turned as she looked into his eyes. That hesitation was something she knew very well. And that's what clicked in her mind.

"You're hesitating because you're wondering what the right thing to do is. No... Not the right thing, that doesn't really matter to you, does it? You're wondering what you would do." She smiled, showing true empathy and knowledge of his place in the world right now. "Just a few months...no...Just a few weeks ago I was in your shoes. I didn't know what was up or down. Who should I follow and who could I lead? What is my place in the world? Who am I supposed to be? Not just supposed to be! Who am I right now. Those are all questions in your head, right? Well... I can tell you I never found a single answer on the battlefield. It was always just confusing to be fighting. How was I supposed to know if I was on the right side for myself! Am I right? *giggle* You have to follow your heart. I know that's a horrible cliché, but it really does ring true."

She closed her eyes and put her hands on her heart, letting the fire fade away as she smiled gently, trusting the boy not to attack her as she spoke calmly. "If you can just take a moment and listen, you can hear your inner self talk to you. Mine right now is telling me that if I can show you just a few tips on how to find yourself, maybe we can cease this fighting." She opened her eyes and smiled a little brighter. "Now, what does your's say? Close your eyes and relax, ignore the world around you and just breathe, listen to your heartbeat as you try and hear what it's saying. Is it racing? Relaxed? Perhaps it's filled with adrenaline. Is it because you're ready to fight? Or maybe because you're nervous?"

Zarakc watched Rain as he kept the wind swirling about his person, his gaze glancing over at the other two that were engaged in combat. It was quite a stark difference between the two encounters each group was going through. He looked back at Rain, his eyes staring at her as he kept himself poised to strike, should he decide to.

"I yielded for answers." Zarakc started by correcting her in his motives, his tone neutral, as it had been before. Right thing to do? That idea did not really exist in his mind. Should he have attacked her before she answered his questions, it seemed reasonable to assume that she would not answer him. During the time in which Dar told him about this plan, he didn't consider the right and wrong of the situation, he was going into it with the idea that it would provide an opportunity to learn about himself.

Rain talked about being in his shoes some months or weeks ago. At the mentioning of this, Zarakc's countenance shifted to display uncertainly; he honestly had no idea what she had meant to say. He thought about the questions that he had asked himself before, his gaze looking distance for a moment before he focused back on Rain. Out of everyone he had met up with thus far, she seemed to certainly talk the most, and in an interesting manner at that. She spoke many things that were not exactly received in the manner in which she intended, making it a little difficult to work out what she was saying at parts.

"Your speech is odd," Zarakc commented, "I have not found answers elsewhere." Out of everything he had been through, fighting had certainly been one of the least confusing things. The context of it, perhaps, but the fighting itself was quite simple. There wasn't much confusion to be had in realizing you needed to defend yourself or press the offensive against your adversary.

Zarakc watched Rain and blinked a few times as she closed her eyes and put her hand over her heart, the fire fading from her hands as she did so. Take a moment and listen to his inner self? The confused countenance made itself visible again as his listened to her strange sayings. As she opened her eyes, he continued to watch her, not sure what to make out of what she was saying.

Zarakc's gaze seemed distance again as he quickly browsed his mind, he was certainly the only one present. There was no other entity that could be called an inner self currently present. Just him and his own thoughts and he was just working out how to respond this whole thing. He did not close his eyes as he continued to watch her, his posture remaining ready to engage in combat still. There was no need to close his eyes to listen to his heartbeat, it was constant, perhaps faster than normal, but that is expected when he had his powers at the ready.

"I know not this inner self you speak of." Zarakc replied simply as his gaze stayed constant, his eyes not leaving Rain's as he took in a deep breath, more wind starting to swirl around him. "I do not believe you answered the questions." He stated, his voice still sounding neutral though he seemed to be getting ready to strike, though still offering an opportunity for answers again. From what he was able to make out from her words, it did not seem like she addressed the questions, she had gone off into something else.

Tim brought his sword up in a defensive position maintaining his magic, he wished there was some magic to eat to boost the power but there wasn't. His eyes kept locked on Dar he'd dodged that was a good sign he didn't like what he wasn't sure about. Now there was the very immediate threat of his raw strength, he was quite a capable sword wielder but he wasn't at the same level.

Tim saw him move it was sudden too sudden. He barely had time to react. He brought his spears in the way from his other hand as he fell backward. Tim felt the magic working the blade would end up quite damaged from the attack, noticably missing a large section where the spears had passed through.

Tim rolled forward and flipped over to face Dar again the spears were gone from his sword hand and five now extended from the other. Tim watched Dar for a second and said quite seriously. "You are quite deluded, no weapon is holy, it's the way it's used that sanctifies it." He would let Dar keep the offensive since he couldn't keep up in strength or speed. All he was able to do was out sword play the man. Clearly the help of his past training was showing here, a decade of martial training day in and out in life or death situations, it had created what he was.

Tim managed to evade Dar's attack. This 'holy knight' was a worthy opponent, it seemed. Landing, Dar couldn't help but notice the gaping hold in his blade. Those magic spears had done significant damage to his claymore. This was bad. If his weapon took any more damage it would likely break.

Dar growled. Hurting his weapon was a low blow. A sword was tied to a warrior's soul.

On the other hand, he was glad that he hadn't allowed himself to be hit with those spears. While Tim's actual sword couldn't hurt Dar, those spears certainly could. This had suddenly become a very fair fight. Dar had his speed, and Tim had his skill. Which one would prove superior?

Dar thought about throwing the semi at Tim, to see how he reacted to that. However, he had told the pink-haired girl that the vehicle didn't need to suffer any damage.

Tim said that Dar was under a misunderstanding. No weapon, he claimed, could be holy in and of itself. Rather, the way it was used defined it. "I suppose that makes sense. After all, it is our actions that define us."

Tim was now holding his spears in one hand and his sword in the other. Dar wasn't quite ready to get close to that magic yet, so he decided to engage in ranged combat. He walked over to the side of the road and grabbed the steel post of a speed limit sign. In one motion, he pulled the post out of the dirt. Now he, too, had a spear.

With a quick step forward, Dar threw the speed limit sign at Tim at around 100 miles per hour (ignoring the speed limit, he couldn't help but realize). Tim had shown enough speed to dodge such an attack, but there was always the chance he would fail this time. If that happened, he would end up impaled through the chest.

The girl seemed a little down that he wasn't able to open up like she had wanted, but she nodded as she began to actually understand him. He was very straight forward and didn't like very much talking, so she needed to be more concise in her answers, which isn't her strong suite and she knew it. She had to think again about his questions, totally forgetting to be at the ready in case he decided to strike again.

To her this had become just a normal conversation they were having. She looked at the other two and wished there was some way that she could cease their fighting as well, but sighed as she knew she should stay on topic. She looked back at Zarakc and bit her lip, thinking seriously about how to answer his first questions. What did she know about herself? And how would she help? She had to say both of the answers without being verbose as she normally would though, now that she thought about it, she really didn't answer either of those in her former speech. She giggled and smiled softly to him.

"Okay, simple answers. I know that I'm the daughter of a wonderful man, I care for everyone, which is both great and at sometimes gets a little confusing still. I know that I don't like fighting but find it necessary with some people, but I'd much rather talk. And I know I talk way too much." She giggled and smiled at him softly, hoping he enjoyed that.

Now for the next question, and the more important one. How would she help? She had to think again and bit her lip before slowly answering. "I would help in any way I could... I learned by experiences, but never by fighting. Maybe just talking is what you need? I'm really not sure, I've never helped anyone in this way. It would be a new experience!... I would help by showing you non-violent ways that could help you form who you are once more. That's how I would help." The last two sentences were the most serious, because they held the answer she really meant to say at the beginning. Her demeanor was still relaxed and she smiled at him, wondering what he would say next. She made sure she had actually answered what she had intended to that time.

Zarakc kept himself focused on Rain, his neutral demeanor staying constant as she went from seeming disappointed to giggling and smiling. He waited for the answers to the questions that he had purposed earlier, interested in the answers that she would hopefully provide. If there was nothing else to be had in conversation, he would certainly withdraw from such activities and look to engage in combat as to experience that as a medium to learn about himself more and see how that worked out.

So apparently Rain was someone's daughter and she cared for everyone. That second fact certainly seemed a little odd. Could someone care for everyone? There just seemed to be some sort of person that someone would not care for. Zarakc had spent a fair amount of time observing people in various parts of the city and there were many more than he could every really talk to, the idea that someone cared for every one of them just seemed odd.

There had not been much learned when Zarakc had previously talked with people, aside the meaning of somethings he had previously been unaware of, but nothing really pertaining to him personally. Apparently, she had helped others in some manner, but not -this- way. Did she mean in terms of talking or something else? Talking and searching some sort of collection of information had not yielded much information about him, so it seemed doubtful that this female would be able to truly assist him, but it wouldn't hurt to question her more about it until he knew how she had learned about herself.

"How did you learn about yourself?" Zarakc inquired; Rain had mentioned having learned by experience, but what those experiences were was rather important to know instead of just knowing the general method in how she had learned about herself. He had been through experiences and he had not been graced with much information about himself, hence his reason for being the current situation.

Zarakc looked back over at the other two that were engaged in combat with each other. It seemed rather interesting that he and Rain were essentially simply conversing whilst they were certainly going at each other. What would happen should the two engaged in combat finish their fight together and he and Rain were still talking? Well that answer did not seem too important for the time being. His gaze shifted back over at Rain as he awaited the answer to his question, wind still swirling about his person.