Going Down Swinging - Match 6 (Issac)

[Carter Roth]

Issac Haxton. Carter had no idea who he was, only knew that he wasn’t BattleFront. That had to mean that he was a neutral, right? She generally knew most of the Prefects names, and she was almost positive that they didn’t have an Issac Haxton in their ranks. She supposed that was a good thing; she wasn’t fighting another friend. After Camila she wasn’t sure she could do that again. She hadn’t seen the brunette since she went out of the arena on a gurney, presumably where they were keeping the losers and where the healing would take place. At least where she hoped healing was taking place. She had gotten patched up herself, though just had her cuts sealed so she wouldn’t bleed everywhere. She just hoped that they would actually heal her sister instead of doing the patch job they did to her.

She was pacing around in the dungeons, trying to think through an actual strategy this time since she wasn’t focusing on not being sick. Haxton wasn’t her friend. Wasn’t even an acquaintance of hers. She could go all out on him and not hold back. That would be best, she supposed. She didn’t know what the government planned but it definitely wasn’t a release program, and even though she didn’t know Haxton, she thought she would at least be saving him from whatever they had in store. Assuming he got that far, anyways. What were his powers, anyways? If he was a fire user she could shut him down with a rain storm and then just fry him with electricity. If he was a fellow electricity user than she would still soak him, on the off chance his electricity worked like hers, and there was a chance he could electrocute himself. She could use wind against most powers she thought, she could blow them into a pole or something like she did with Camila. She went pale at the thought, pausing in her place for a few moments before starting to pace again, shaking her head. Nope, not going to think about that. She had to be on her game for this fight. She had already made it this far, she wasn’t going to be beaten by someone she didn’t even know just because she couldn’t get her mind straight.

She rolled her shoulders, letting out a long breath as they came to get her. She shook them off like she did the first time, not in the mood to really be touched at the moment. She strode towards the arena, clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides. This is what she had been training for, wasn’t it? She would keep him at a distance she had decided. Her hand to hand skills were a bit shabby compared to people like Jin and others in the BattleFront, and she didn’t feel like challenging herself more. Stick with what she knew, win the fight. That was her plan.

She climbed up in the the arena, looking around before fixing her eyes on her opponent. Stick with what you know, win the fight….She just hoped he wasn’t someone who dealt with magnets or magnetic fields. Then she would really be screwed.

[Issac Haxton]

        To most everyone else, having wounds disinfected and healed over would probably sting and be a painful experience at best to someone who just went through a practical cage match. It was all the same-old same-old to Issac, though. He had seen and experienced far more debilitating pains in his life, both in and out of fights. A few cuts across his arms and torso would be nothing for the guy. Still, the match did weigh heavy on Issac. It was the fighting itself. He had seen far too much of it in his days. Sure, he knew it was inevitable. Sure, he could toss aside the emotional impact while he was fighting. Life or death situations did that to a guy, despite the assurances that the fight would only be until one person was knocked out. But afterwards, what was he to do other than retreat into his mind, trying to hide the pain of seeing yet another person downed by his hands?

        He could only see himself as a ruiner, and yet, he continued to push past the regret. He always told himself he couldn't afford to have regret during a fight. That went doubly so for his next opponent. Carter Roth... Let's see what you're made of. With his body patched up, patched being the operative word, he strode out of the holding cell. Yet again, the walls of the offending structure in what would have been an otherwise beautiful courtyard locked up as he strode onto the floor. It was the same dea as before, so no need to analyse the area. He could focus on his opponent the entire time, now. She was small compared to him. Far smaller, had to be almost a foot smaller. Oh, how he hated small targets. I think Dungeons and Dragons got it right... freaking size modifiers suck for us big guys. A little part of him chuckled at the though, but that part was far from the forefront of his mind. What was important was what got her to the second round. Obviously, unless she had a power to augment her natural strength or other physical abilities, she wasn't going to be a up-close fighter, and that was far more pressing to Issac.

        Naturally, his first instinct as a fight participant was to slip into a fighting stance. However, his stance was more relaxed, less threatening, as he called out to the blue-haired girl across from him. "I don't suppose there's anyway I can get you to not fight, can I? I don't want to see another innocent life put in jeopardy." The words seemed odd, coming from a random stranger, but there was little reason to suspect he was more than a heroic, unaffiliated student, wanting to protect people. Heroic... Hah. Nothing heroic about me... not anymore.

[Carter Roth]

She just kept staring at him, like he was evaluating him. So he was big guy, huh? Big whoop. Big guys could still be lifted off of their feet by a little thing called a tornado. She almost snorted at the thought, a little sound escaping her anyways though, but figured it wouldn’t do much good if she seemed too amused. She might have gotten to the second round because her sister throwing their fight, but she would get to the third round because she was a better fighter than the boy standing across from her. She only had a couple of band-aids on her, her wounds too insignificant to really warrant an actual healing or a patching up. Would that intimidate him? That little old her came out of the first round with just a few scratches? She hoped so. Let him think she fought someone bigger and tougher than he was, this was the first bracket after all. She might not be the best at hand to hand, but ranged combat was kind of her thing.

She let electricity crackle across her skin as he spoke, the sky above them gradually beginning to darken as she used her first move from her first fight. She was fairly certain she was the only storm manipulator on the island, and that gave her a small advantage, in her mind. He might not know how to fight against someone who can hurl ice at them and then hit them with wind to try and knock them off of their feet. “Fat chance, buddy boy. The only life you should worry about is your own.” By this time the storm had grown enough to where she stopped trying to form it, letting the gray thunderclouds hang low in the sky. She had done her job, and formed the basis of a good storm. The only thing now was to wait for it to let go and use the elements it produced. Sort of like a floating armory of wind and water and electricity.

She stayed in place on the other side of the arena, waiting for him to make the first move like she did in her fight with Camila. Only this time she wasn't waiting because she couldn't take the first shot, this time it was because she wanted to see what she was dealing with. Issac Haxton. His stance was relaxed from what she could see, and she took that in mind. He might think this would be an easy fight for him, or he could just be trying to throw her off guard. She narrowed her eyes at him as she waited, hands clenching and unclenching into fists and then relaxing as a clap of thunder above them sounded. Bring it on, furball. I'll knock you and that mess you call hair into next week. Her lips quirked a little without amusement. She enjoyed fighting, enjoyed putting her skills and abilities to the test, but to knock out someone who had done nothing to her? It seemed excessive. Then again, she still thought a K.O was better than winning and seeing what the government had planned for them. At least she knew that if she won, she would be able to handle whatever came her way. She hoped.

[Issac Haxton]

        The palpable tension in the air grew thick as Issac and his would-be challenger stared each other down. It was tough to judge someone he'd never met, but he still tried his damnedest to do so. He couldn't afford to make a mistake during this fight, but aside from the relative lack of cuts or wounds on her, there was every possibility that she was highly trained. Then again, there was every possibility that her opponent was highly outmatched in terms of powers. Hell, it could even be, as unlikely as it sounded, that her opponent threw the fight for her. Whatever the case was, he knew that he couldn't hold back one bit. None of these people knew what was bound to happen to the winner of the tournament, and the best way to protect them was to make sure none of them won. And for the others he couldn't stop from winning, he'd just have to stop the plan for the students in-progress.

        A small furrow formed on Issac's brow as he observed the girl mid-speech. The electricity crackling on her skin was a slight concern. Kinda hard to fight someone with the capacity to shoot lightning at you. As he scanned the arena, though, a far-more-pressing issue formed in the shape of the impending storm now looming overhead. Given the area went from perfectly clear to impending thunderstorm in little over a couple minutes was far too obvious an indicator to her power. Oh great.... I know these kids have powers, but a teenage Storm? What a bunch of crap my luck is. The thought of what could come of this fight was concerning, given he now had to fight someone who could shift the environment to their factor. Still, as the low rumbling of thunder echoed above them, he remained calm and cool. Storms seemed to have a calming effect on him. He wasn't afraid of the one bit. He just held the prevalent desire, much like any other sane person, to not be hit by lightning.

        No matter what, he simply kept in his relaxed stance, eyeing her cautiously as the the storm above kicked up a bit. He wasn't going to make the first move, and in a sense, he hadn't. Her forming the storm above only served to let him know what she could do. Still, the less he acted, the better, not even to retort back to the girl. If he could provoke her into action, he could easily react to counter her attack. Speed of thought and speed of body was the important factor here, and he was going to do his best to keep the odds on his side. He just hoped he wouldn't need his Light power much. It's tough to make something when there's so little light around to make it.

        At least, there wouldn't be until the sparks literally started flying.

[Carter Roth]

Breathe in, breathe out...The blue haired girl kept telling herself, not looking away from her opponent. Hell, at this point, she might not have even blinked. She knew that showcasing some of what she could do so early on might have been a bad idea, but it saved her energy in the long run. Energy she would need, even desperately, the longer they fought and the further she got. This was the round before the finals, and who knew what  she would be facing then, let alone what happened after. It was cocky and arrogant of her to think of and see herself already participating in the finals acts of this play, put on for others' sick amusement, but she had to. If she got caught up in thinking she might not win, her subconscious would snag on the thought and dig its teeth in. Then she would lose concentration ad get sloppy, and probably get hurt worse than she already would have because of it.

The cloud over also served another purpose besides being a gray, floating armory for the girl. One of  her best friends was a light  manipulator, not to mention another of those best friends being able to control moonlight. She knew how powerful those guys could be, and this mop head was another one then she wanted to shut him down before doing anything else. Before the storm formed it was a clear day, all sun. She would have to be stupid to not realize the disadvantage that would put her at. At least this way she gave herself a fighting chance. And speaking of fighting; he wasn't. He probably had the same idea as she did and was waiting for her to make the first move. Alright. She could do that. She wasn't fighting her sister, she wasn't fighting a friend and she wasn't even fighting someone she knew. She could throw the first punch and get the ball rolling. She exhaled slowly, hands at her sides and a chilled breeze blowing through the arena and making her hair, tied back in a ponytail, tickle at her ears. This is what she had been training for. She had been practicing for months now, trying to her powers, she had even tried to use the full force of her powers with minimal movements. It didn't always work, not in the slightest, but at least she didn't have to go around flailing her arms and legs about. In Avatar: The Last Airbender it looked cool as hell, but she would just fall on her face.

Let's get this party started already. And with that, Carter moved. Not much, just a flick of her wrist, and then there were skinny little threads of heat and light raining down around her opponent, the cloud-to-ground lightning keeping good to its name. She did her best to cluster the strikes around him, aiming to make him dance all around to avoid electrocution or be too focused on making  shield to counter it. Besides, if her hunch was right and he was a light Pokemon of the Ashford region, she would know.

She didn't just have electricity, after all.