The Jade Arenas of Heaven: Shock the Monkey [IC]

[trollthumper]

"The Pure Ones," said Sun Wukong, "are the highest deities of Heaven, higher than even the Jade Emperor himself. Of course, being so high makes it so much harder to touch the low - they're more like cosmic forces than they are gods, content to sit aloft in the sky and meditate upon the Tao."

"So why the hell would these guys be gunning for them?" asked Cannonade.

"Because the Pure Ones don't just meditate upon the Tao - they are the Tao." Sun Wukong folded up his staff and slid it back into his jacket. "Yaoguai are fallen spirits, corrupted beings of nature. While they are debased, they also often rise above their brethren because they understand the Tao. Many of them will do anything to gain a better understanding, no matter how contradictory or blasphemous it may seem."

"That bat woman really seemed to have it in for you. Something going on there we should know about?"

"I kept them from eating the flesh of a holy man. There was a whole book about it. Gods, what do they teach you in school these days?"

[Quinn]

Crow pulled his bandanna down for a few seconds to munch on a crabcake before shrugging at Sun Wukong's comment.

"Besides Crime-Stopping 101 and How To Make A Costume In Twelve Easy Steps? Not that much, really."

He tossed the rest of the small pastry into his mouth, pulling the cloth up to cover his face again.

"So, more party crashers coming? Could use some more exercise before tomorrow!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

John looked around the gathered people to see if there were any other creatures potentially lurking about. Seeing none, he listened to Sun Wukong explain the reason for the demons presence here and their goals.

After he had finished and Crow had his say, Myrmidon had queries which he posed to the Monkey King. "Will this effect the tournament at all? They attacked in plain sight and are not bound by the rules of the tournament, so could someone else be perpetrating this? I do not see how they could have gotten inside this area here without alerting some attention."

He looked farther down the hallway. "I also wonder what their purpose or objective of being here was in the first place, as it seems ill advised to plot aloud in a public area."

[Azuth65]

Wisp pulled flecks of chitinous pincer shell out of her glove's knuckles, glancing at both Crow and Sun Wukong, "He neglected 'Sufficiently Advanced Technology vs Magic' and 'You Fight Like A Cow and Other Volleyed Insults' but yeah, our school's history class kinda glosses over what is generally put under fiction in the local library."

[Raveled]

"Magic and gods generally aren't considered proper topics for a science class," Ironclad said, absently running a hand over the dents and dings in her armor. "Nor is philosophy, really. But these creatures seemed unafraid of the idea that Guan Yu would have brought a number of world-class fighters across the planes for this tournament. Ergo, I doubt that these are the ringleaders." She bowed slightly to Son Wukong. "If you find out who's behind them, please let me assist you in kicking their asses to a lower plane of existence."

[trollthumper]

After he had finished and Crow had his say, Myrmidon had queries which he posed to the Monkey King. "Will this effect the tournament at all? They attacked in plain sight and are not bound by the rules of the tournament, so could someone else be perpetrating this? I do not see how they could have gotten inside this area here without alerting some attention."

"Some yaoguai are shapeshifters," said Sun Wukong. "There was a... particularly troublesome one in my early life who took all manners of faces, meaning to trick and devil me and my companion. It's possible they may have gained entry to Heaven posing as minor bureaucrats or aides de camp to one of the visitors - I know there's a delegation up from Diyu for the games."

He looked farther down the hallway. "I also wonder what their purpose or objective of being here was in the first place, as it seems ill advised to plot aloud in a public area."

"Good point." Sun Wukong pulled out his staff and rapped it lightly against the door the yaoguai had been standing outside of. It gave a ring like taking a sledgehammer to a concrete gong, and the door pulled open - to reveal Bres the Beautiful, clutching his forehead and holding a wineskin.

"Was there a reason for that aural assault?" asked the Fomorian. "I was having a good rest."

"What, you slept through all of that?" said Cannonade. "The gods themselves were throwing down outside, and you were getting your beauty rest?"

Bres the Beautiful stared daggers. "Mortal," he said, his words dripping with venom, "I have drunk enough ale to fell The Dagda himself. They could be firing cannons outside, and I would not hear it."

"You didn't have any social visitors during that time, did you?" asked Sun Wukong.

Bres laughed bitterly. "Why would I want any man to see me in my cups?" he said. "I've been here the entire time, with the door locked. Leave a man to his humiliation, sage. I think I shall take my leave of Tian on the morrow." With that, he closed the door behind him.

"Man," said Cannonade to Crow. "I've got a whole new level of appreciation for you kicking his ass now."

[Quinn]

Crow's first reply was reflexive, a few seconds after the door closed.

"He's lying."

Naturally, he clapped a hand over his bandanna the second someone looked in his direction, although he managed to keep a straight face while doing so. He'd been watching Bres carefully while Sun Wukong and Cannonade questioned the ancient entity, trying some tricks for reading people his dad had taught him. Truth be told, he didn't really expect to get squat; he was trying to read a bloody eldrich abomination, a king of monsters more powerful than he could ever hope to be, an opponent he'd barely, barely beaten.

Imagine the teen's surprise when something actually struck him as out of place. Still, he'd already opened his big fat mouth, nothing to do but soldier on. He lowered his hand, trying to maintain his equilibrium.

"Well...maybe lying's the wrong word, sorry. But he's not talking straight to us, I'd bet money on it."

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon observed Bres during the exchange, his eyebrows furrowing as the conversation progressed.

"He's lying." "Well...maybe lying's the wrong word, sorry. But he's not talking straight to us, I'd bet money on it."

He couldn't get a read on the man, but something still seemed off. John made a mental note to keep an eye on the man. "That may be true Mister Crow, but we do not have any evidence to back it up." He turned around to address Sun Wukong. "They will be back however at a time of their choosing, and I do not wish to be unprepared. Do you have any literature or information I could peruse on these yaoguai, Great Sage Wukong?"

[trollthumper]

"There are a few scrolls, as a matter of fact," said Sun Wukong as he produced them from his tattered jacket. "A little light reading, from a very authoritative source. Meng Po collected these scrolls based on the thoughts of those who fell victim to the yaoguai before they re-entered the cycle of creation. They should instruct you in their ways in manners that an old monkey like myself could not."

The rest of the night passed without event. Myrmidon was able to retreat to his room to study the scrolls, and the guards of the Extended Net heard nothing from the yaoguai. Still, as dawn broke and the call to breakfast came again, Cannonade made his way down to the main hall in a state of wariness. Or it may have been irritation.

"Y'know," he said to the other heroes as he sat at the table, "in this life, it's never as simple as 'let's go to this concert' or 'let's hit the museum' or 'let's go up to the Chinese Heaven for fun and games.' There's always gonna be some guy with a ray gun, or killer robots, or hungry demons." He took a look at the company surrounding them at breakfast. "Then again, place like this... guess I should've seen it coming."

[Quinn]

Cannonade passed one unoccupied chair, obscuring it with his bulk for a moment, and when he finished walking past Crow was simply there, belting down a breakfast platter that would've made Corbin back in Claremont do a double-take. Looking up at the mighty hero as he took his own seat, Crow shrugged and talked through a mouthful of steamed buns and rice.

"Mrblemyphmrh-mrmrd-"

Catching himself mid-statement, the teen swallowed and took a long draught of tea, coughing, and shot an apologetic look to the others at the table.

"Occupational hazard, man. Could be worse, though; what about hungry killer demon robots with ray guns?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

John had already taken breakfast, an half-empty crumb-covered plate and the remnants of some sort of liquid sitting at the bottom of a drained glass in front of him as he perused the Scrolls of Meng Po. It had been a productive night for the young hero, formulating numerous plans and strategies for both the arena and in case the yaoguai made another appearance. Looking up at Cannonade as he made his way to a nearby seat while Crow offered his own brand of wisdom, he simply nodded behind the scroll.

"I do not think our chosen professions would be as enjoyable if they were on a predictable timetable. Is that not what most gainfully-employed people complain about? That their routine never changes and when it does they find fault about that."

He set down the scroll, and speared a roll of some sort with a created knife. "Whereas the unexpected defines our jobs. Just yesterday we fought in a tournament, attended a party, and fended off a pair of demons alongside mythical persons".

[Azuth65]

"Could have been worse, Cannon. Remember that subway ride?" she noted over a stack of pancakes easily a dozen high as she approached the unofficial Freedom City table. Sitting down next Morgan, she gave the boy a quick and sly wink, blushing a little as she did.

She pointed in his general direction with a strip of perfectly crispy turkey bacon, adding with a smirk, "And you, stop giving the universe ideas." Taking a swig of her orange juice before asking, "So, think we'll get another bit of pro-tip from the Sage today? Or did we use that up with the scrolls Myr's got?"

[Raveled]

Jessica hadn't gone to sleep in her bed. She'd stayed up all night, slaving away over a workbench. At first it was checking over her armor to make sure it wasn't damaged and all the systems were working properly. Then, because she didn't entirely trust this dimension, she did a few basic physics and chemistry experiments. While she was working with the fire, she noticed that the gold crucible didn't transfer or hold head like hold, so she started doing some alloy testing. That drew her attention to some of the other tools, like the 'wooden' spoons that didn't seem to have any friction, even with the most viscous of liquids. Investigating that lead to another interesting discovery, and another, the hours melting under a flood of scientific discovery. Eventually she fell asleep over the workbench.

When she awoke, she was in the huge bed, back in her assigned room. Once again she arose, showered, and dressed in the clothes she found in the wardrobe; khakis and a loose cotton shirt, all in shades of green. She padded down to the breakfast area, piled a plate high with pancakes, filled a large mug with coffee, and went to sit with the other Freedom City heroes. She rolled up a flapjack with her fingers, dunked it in the coffee, and took a big bite. After a moment she turned to Myrmidon. "Did your research turn anything up?" she asked before dunking her pancake again.

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Did your research turn anything up?"

John put down the Scrolls of Meng Po and looked at the other assembled heroes. "I did indeed Miss Ironclad. However, all of you might find this information helpful in the event we are ambushed again by them." He opened a notebook that was filled with various notations & written observations. He flipped forward about forty or so pages before settling on a humanoid diagram with seven targets marked on it. "Most of the information in these scrolls pertains to the philosophical and religious aspects on the nature of these beings, and contain nothing that would be of nominal tactical use such as anatomy or physiology. After much consternation and reading between the lines; I realized that Meng Po does point out the weaknesses inherent to these demons. According to Meng Po All Beings have Qi, or a 'lifeforce' as it were. Even yaoguai, but in their case it is corrupted, a hollow mockery of the Qi of both humans and their original natural forms. Since they have gained an limited understanding of Tao, they have also gained a sliver of humanity or 'understanding'."

He paused making sure that everyone was still following. "This in turn is the cause of their monstrous appearance, but also gives them the same weakness of humans who understand the Tao." He showed the open page in his note book to them. "These are chakras where the the path of Qi flows through the human body, if one follows the Tao principles. Conversely, Yaoguai also have these, but the energy flow is dampened in comparison to a human beings. He notes that exceptionally powerful yaoguai would even more human-like, though I digress. If you damage or somehow block these chakra points, it can cause severe physical pain among other symptoms as the energy flow is disrupted. The Qi must flow, and if it doesn't the best example I could give would be liken it to firing a weapon with a obstructed barrel. But that would only be possible if you managed to block all chakras simultaneously, so I believe in our case simply 'aiming' for them would suffice."

John pointed at the diagram. "These are the seven points to aim for if you find to be in a fight against a yaoguai. First is the crown chakra, which is followed by the forehead, throat, heart, solar plexus, tailbone, and finally the groin chakra. Please note that most of these are not where the respective anatomy usually lies, but is based instead on the center-line of the body. Striking any of these should tip the battle in your favor, provided you are not up against impossible odds." He closed the book, returning it to an inside pocket of his loose camo jacket. "If you have further inquires on the matter I would be more than happy to assist you."

[Raveled]

Jessica absorbed the information, eating through two more pancakes while she did so. "That's all useful information," she said diplomatically, but not what I had in mind. I was hoping you could uncover the demon's hierarchy -- or command structure, to put it in other terms." The young woman had another rolled-up flapjack in hand and gestures with it as she explained. "Do the crab and bat demons report to the dog and cat demons, who report to the tiger and bear demons? Or are Crab and Bat the direct lieutenants of some mythical personification of vice? If we can figure out where the next attack will come from, we can defend against it that much more easily."

[Quinn]

Crow ducked his head behind a stack of his own pancakes (at least, he thought they were pancakes; Chinese breakfasts made him tilt his head in an "eh?" manner) at Vicky's wink, to hide that his face had gone completely beet-red; he remembered quite vividly the last night. Currently, he wasn't quite sure what did it, whether it was the adrenaline from the fight, Victoria's gift (which he had around a finger under his glove right then), or the fact that they weren't back in Claremont...one thing's for sure, he was definitley resisting the urge to break out in song and do a whole dance number in front of the entire dining hall.

His heart and stomach did numerous cartwheels, and he tried to quiet his nerves by stuffing his face. Granted, it didn't exactly help much, but at least it masked his expression. Taking a breather, he kept his head behind the stack of food, and racked his brains for something to say to Wisp that would sound...well, vaguely intelligent.

"Uh...good morning."

[Azuth65]

"Hey," she replied, kind of lamely. Vicky's own rapidly spreading blush mirrored her boyfriends as she took her seat. She ate to cover the blush from the others at the table, though her hands shook with pent up excitement from the night before. She had spent half her morning humming to herself and replaying memories but now in the dining hall her mind was almost blank sitting next to Morgan.

As she finished her plate she started getting a little antsy, looking for their simian-sage host to share the details, lest anyone ask questions she'd rather not answer.

[trollthumper]

The gong rang out, cutting breakfast short. "Looks like it's back to the ring," Cannonade said as he got up from the table, a half-eaten steamed pork bun still in his hand. "Who knows; maybe we'll get a chance to ask Guan Yu about the pecking order of yaoguai."

Guan Yu was not at the gathering this time, however. The crowd had thinned; whoever had lost the first round was likely in the stands by now, or partaking of the other sights of Tian. At the head of the room stood Sun Wukong, his expression merry and persuasive.

"I am afraid that other business is keeping Guan Yu at this time," said the Monkey King. "An issue at the Ghost mansion led to a timing conflict, so he's currently opening the fights at the Beak. He'll be here in time for the announcements, but I'm here to discuss matters of Heaven with you all.

"As you might have heard, Tian has been... compromised." A murmur goes up among the gathered combatants. "None of the competitors have come to harm. Those who have been harmed have also been healed. The guards of Heaven are on constant guard, and every member of the Convocation on Martialry is in the streets, ready to strike. If there is an incident here, it will be dealt with quickly and brutally.

"In the meantime, the matches shall continue. It is the express wish of the Jade Emperor that the festivities carry on. Heaven is attentive, Heaven is watching... but I know from experience that if Heaven gives into chaos, it makes things easier for those outside to move about. This shall be the first of your matches today. Now that you have gotten use to the structure of the arena, we shall experiment with new settings." Sun Wukong cracked a grim smile. "Give them a good show. If you lose, it's not the end of the world."

[trollthumper]

Some time later

The arena and its din was more familiar this time; the awe of the battlefield still stood on some level, but the feel of routine was beginning to take hold. That feel began to go away, however, as the floors and walls of the arena seemed to shimmer around the competitors, blurring and taking on ghosts of other places. From the stands, Guan Yu's voice rang out...

---

"In the eastern quadrant, skilled in the ways of the Iron Drum Beat School... Cannonade, of Freedom City!"

Cannonade stepped into the arena, and under his feet, marble turned to soil. He was in a city park, tamed trees stretching to the heavens and wrought iron benches wringing immaculate paths.

"And in the western quadrant, skilled in the ways of Storm-Born Claw Style... Kodiak, of Calgary!"

A well-muscled, hirsute man appeared in a gap between the trees. He was clad in a black leather uniform, and claws extended outwards from the tips of his fingers. "Saw you yesterday," he said with a growl. "Heard you're tough. Like to find out myself."

Cannonade assumed a fighting stance. "Careful," he said. "You might break a nail."

---

"In the eastern quadrant, skilled in the way of the Harnessed Lodestone's Strength School... Ironclad, of Freedom City! And in the western quadrant, skilled in the way of Sun's Heart Gleam Technique... Solarum, of Prague!"

A woman in a gold suit of morphic molecules walks across the icy terrain. No, it's not just a golden suit - her skin, her hair is gold. A symbol of burnished sunlight crowns her chest, and she looks at Ironclad with eyes on molten sunlight. "Metal all over," she said. "I understand. I was made with gold in my heart. Does yours give you the same strength?"

---

"In the eastern quadrant, skilled in the way of the Many Within One School... Myrmidon, of Freedom City! And in the western quadrant, skilled in the way of Impervious Mountain Style... Monolith, of Rome!"

A man emerged from the shadows, clad in industrious street clothes. City streets rose up around him, the marble giving way to towers of steel and glass. The man considered them. "Not quite my playground," he said. "My city doesn't stretch so tall. But it will be interesting to exercise in a place such as this."

---

"In the eastern quadrant, skilled in the way of the Words Like Knives school... Crow, of Freedom City! And in the western quadrant, skilled in the way of the Wind's Fist Method... Pathfinder, of Lagos!"

A black woman of solid build walked into the arena, clad in red, blue, and gold morphic clothes. Rivers began to flow into the arena, creating islands across the marble floor. "This should make an interesting proving ground," she said, her voice heavy with a Nigerian accent. "Let's see who knows the back ways better, shall we?"

---

"In the eastern quadrant, skilled in the way of the Dancing Squadron school... Wisp, of Freedom City! And in the western quadrant, skilled in the way of the Hidden Whisper Technique... Lacuna, of Nice!"

She strutted out into the arena, clad in black Kevlar and dark shades. A construction site sprung up around her as she locked eyes with Wisp. "May the best woman win," she said with not a hint of irony. "It's been a while since I've had a good challenge."

---

"FIGHT!"

[trollthumper]

Solarum moved forward with the full speed of her golden body, leaving deep footprints on the snowy ground. "Metal on the outside," she said, "but still flesh on the inside." She drove her fist deep into Ironclad's chest, a great clang ringing up to the rafters of the arena as metal bounced off of metal. "Still. You never have to worry about losing your luster."

---

Cannonade dashed forward, swerving around the trees of the forest, his eyes locked on his target. "You were keeping an eye on me, huh?" He vaulted over a rock and delivered a kick right to the looming Canadian's chest. "What'd ya think?"

Kodiak stumbled, but never lost his footing. "Brash," he grumbled as he slashed the air wildly. "Undisciplined. But potential. You need focus, kid. Fight with your fists, not your mouth."

"Well, if you're offering an objective lesson..."

[Azuth65]

"Indeed she shall," Wisp said, vanishing in a plume of crimson and snowy smoke. Gotta make this fast, she thought to herself just before disappearing. When she reappeared she did so behind Lacuna, driving in fist into the woman's kidney and vanishing again only to reappearing in the middle of a handspring, launching her feet at the other woman's face. Several more super-humanly strong kicks, punches, and elbow strikes were launched and slipped past the defenses Lacuna had been able to raise.

When Wisp landed back where she'd started from, she could already see a bruise forming on the French woman's face where her boots had struck home.

[Raveled]

Ironclad wasn't fast enough on her thrusters to get out of the way of the golden woman's fists, feeling the solid impact on her chest. Same place again! I'd better reinforce that part. As Solarum drew back for another pummeling blow, the armored heroine leapt into the air, climbing rapidly and blasting behind her until she was a hundred feet or so in the air. She did a quick flip and looked back down at her opponent, noting sourly that none of her shots had actually landed. She didn't let that stop her from firing off her own taunt, though. "An advantage to being hollow is that I'm much lighter. So if you'd like to carve out a targeting circle around yourself, we can end this quickly."

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Not quite my playground," he said. "My city doesn't stretch so tall. But it will be interesting to exercise in a place such as this."

"Indeed. Hopefully it will be a learning experience for the both of us." He said as he recalled the tactics he prepared for this fight. The man could turn into a literal effigy, of which there were not many tactics john knew of to take down someone of that size and stamina. Most entrapments and snares would do little but slow the man, so he was at a loss what to do. It wasn't until he remembered Miss Etains powers, specifically her mind-blades. Only then did a feasible plan start to take shape.

Myrmidon gave a short bow to his opponent, and immediately launched into a furious assault towards his opponent. A glimmering cerulean blade shimmered into being from his left gauntlet milliseconds before it's energy passed through the Roman's midsection. The headlong rush left Myrmidon standing in front of his opponent, the ethereal bade emerging from the others back.

[Quinn]

A black woman of solid build walked into the arena, clad in red, blue, and gold morphic clothes. Rivers began to flow into the arena, creating islands across the marble floor. "This should make an interesting proving ground," she said, her voice heavy with a Nigerian accent. "Let's see who knows the back ways better, shall we?"

Crow strode out onto the field of battle, giving a somewhat reluctant nod to his nearby mother, and a smile (albeit masked, but his eyes gave it away) to his cheering compatriots in the crowd. For a moment, he felt the somewhat uncomfortable weight of the stone in his pocket; he'd been tempted to stash it in his room, but he figured it'd probably be safer on his person. Better under the eyes of Guan Yu than wrapped in a sock in his drawer or something.

At Pathfinder's introduction, he bowed politely, then cracked his knuckles and his head from side to side. "Heh, good luck." He abruptly appeared directly in front of her, fixing her with a Look, the eyes of a predator bird freezing her in place for a split second...right before he appeared behind her with a vicious elbow to the temple!

Copying Summers' glare, Morgan, you're a genius!

[trollthumper]

Lacuna stumbled under Wisp's sudden onslaught, but maintained her footing. "You're fast," she said. "Should have seen that coming." She faded away into the half-formed structure around her, wrapping the shadows close. "Let's see how well you do against a hidden target." As Wisp was scanning the arena, Lacuna struck from behind, catching her in the small of the back.

---

Myrmidon's blade pierced Monolith's side, and the man seemed to struggle against the onslaught of mental force. But in time, it passed, and he stood there smiling. "Interesting," he said as he began to grow. His clothes, and soon his flesh, turned to stone, and he towered above some of the smaller buildings in the cityscape. "Let's see how deep you can cut." The giant took a swipe at Myrmidon, but was obviously adjusting for the sudden change; the hand missed him by several feet.

---

Pathfinder went staggering back - first from Crow's intimidation tactics, then from the blow to her face. She caught her breath, then stared him in the eye. "Always fun to meet another who knows the secret ways," she said, her voice quavering slightly. "Though I think you may know a few shortcuts."