The Warrior's Way (Victoria)

Victoria watched as her shot found its mark and Kalama was literally and metaphorically knocked off of her high horse. The brunette could not help but to feel a surge of triumph, but it was only momentary once she assessed her situation. The shot had temporarily cost Victoria the use of her .44 Magnum Revolver, which was lying on the ground a short distance in front of her because the recoil threatened to snatch her arm backwards and above her head, so she had dropped the revolver to avoid hurting her right arm too badly. While the revolver was only a short distance away from her, the pain in her left leg was so great that with the way it affected her movement the handgun might as well be lying on the ground a mile away.

Then there was the pain in her right arm.

Victoria knew better than to fire the heavy revolver with only one hand, but due to various reasons she had no choice in the matter, not unless she wanted to die by Kalama's hands or under the angry horse's hooves. So far her decision to gamble on using the revolver one-handed was paying off, but her opponent was tough and the fight was not going to be decided by a single shot like in action movies. Kalama had taken multiple shots and was still going strong, a kind of toughness which Victoria could not help but to admire, if only a little.

Focusing on regaining her revolver, Victoria took a baby step towards the weapon when Death Metal Horse sprang into action, moving towards her so quickly that she had little time to track the steed before it was dangerously close to her. The horse's sudden arrival made Victoria temporarily retreat because her survival was more important than getting the revolver right this instant. Getting it would do her no good if she got badly hurt by the angry horse before she could use it against Kalama.

Victoria tried to jump back to avoid the horse's front hooves as they moved towards her in a forceful kick, but her left leg refused to cooperate and she suddenly collapsed to her knees. That was a lucky mishap because she felt the horse's hooves fly by her head as she dropped. Had it happened a second later there was a very good chance her head would have been turned into an unrecognizable mess by the force put behind the kick. However, she was not out of danger yet because she was still perilously close to her four-legged adversary.

The danger was amplified because she was kneeling in a vulnerable position in front of a very angry horse that clearly wanted her dead and was doing its best to end her life. She needed to get off of her knees and put some distance between it and her, so she quickly and painfully forced herself up to her feet using her right arm and pushing against the ground before it was too late. Victoria had just gotten to her feet when her equine adversary launched another forceful kick by rearing up on its hind legs and kicking forward with its front legs.

This time Victoria could not avoid the kick and its hooves slammed into both of her shoulders simultaneously, causing her great pain and sending her flying backwards several feet. Once she landed on the ground she tumbled backwards twice head over heels before her momentum was expended and she ended up lying on the ground on her stomach. Both of her shoulders hurt so badly that the pain was hard to describe and was even harder to endure without screaming, but endure she did. By some miracle Victoria's right shoulder was badly hurt but was still usable.

Thanks to her right shoulder being usable she could still use her right arm, but she was not going to be wielding her revolver any time soon. The recoil of the large handgun would be even more difficult to manage in her current state, but before she worried about using a weapon she needed to worry about how she was going to get to it. She slowly and painfully raised herself to her knees using her right hand to push against the ground, then raised herself to her feet using the same method but proceeding even more slowly as pain shot through her left leg and right shoulder and threatened to send her collapsing back to the ground.

Once Victoria got to her feet her breathing was uneven from the pain of the kick, which was so intense that it had literally taken her breath away. She was also visibly wobbling from the heavy blow she had just been dealt. She was in serious pain from the wounds she had accumulated up to this point, but she was not finished just yet. As long as she could breathe, stand, and use her revolver, Victoria was not entirely out of the fight.


[Post Word Count: 832]
[Victoria's Word Count: 27,526]
[Total Word Count: 51,795]

Her horse gave her the time she needed and eventually Kalama rose to her feet again, heavily favouring her left leg, her left hand placed upon her midsection, where Victoria’s last shot had hit her. God, it was hard to think straight and the amber eyes of the warrior became unfocused more than once, as she tried to watch what was going on before her. The pain in her leg was becoming stronger over time and there was blood starting to leak through her armour from her body too. That last bullet had done more damage than the dark mage had thought and she briefly coughed up blood. Time was running out for her to win the fight although seeing Victoria being struck again gave her cause for optimism. The blonde was truly of the belief that they were both close to the end. Well, if that was to be the case then she should be doing more than simply standing there watching and with a noticeable gait, she started to move towards the combat.

Doomreaver was beyond control at this point, his raw instinct having taken over completely. He would not be ordered or ridden for the remainder of the fight and all he seemed to want to do was trample the legal mage. The beast did not even use his abilities and simply rampaged all over the place. Yes, he was defending Kalama in his own way but the warrior could not help but wonder if it was even wise to get too close to him. He could turn on her and the last thing that she wanted was to have the tables be turned. Perhaps it would be best if she let her mount try to finish it?

Naturally, her inner fighter was yelling at her that such a move was a sign of cowardice and beneath her. To have to rely on her horse to finish her foe off was something that she would never be able to live down and would regret in the future. The dark mage had so much pride in her own skills and soon enough she tossed the thought of stepping back aside and continued her slow and heavy trek. Her mouth was open but soon enough she was ready for combat again, with the blonde mage taking up a Soresu style once more. There was nothing more she could do at the moment and she did not offer attack at all, leaving it to her horse to do whatever the hell he was doing at this stage.

She tried to use the time to summon her healing powers once again but even with them, the damage was too severe to make any real difference. Kalama was almost out on her feet and as she prepared to protect herself from any possible attack that Victoria might send her way, the blonde did her best to focus her attention on her defensive start. She could not afford to let any more shots through. It was vital now that she took no more damage.

(511 Words)
(24879 Kal WC)
(52306 TWC)

Wobbling on her feet as her left leg threatened to give way yet again, Victoria felt a pounding sensation in her shoulders where Death Metal Horse's hooves had connected earlier. She was surprised that her shoulders had not been dislocated or broken from the force put behind the kick, but she was not complaining. If her right arm had been broken the momentum would have shifted strongly in Kalama's favor, but Victoria still had her right arm and could still fight back.

Speaking of Kalama, the blonde was hanging back. Victoria noticed that and her adrenaline-soaked brain began to work. The brunette began to try and puzzle out why Kalama was hanging back instead of trying to get in her face with that fancy red sword or electrocute her with another lightning bolt.

As the angry horse moved towards her with murder on its mind Victoria almost immediately suspected that Kalama had been hanging back because she had one last big card to play.

There was no way that someone as aggressive and crafty as Kalama had not saved one last unpleasant surprise for an opponent who managed to force her into a stalemate.

Victoria suspended that train of thought in order to focus on try and avoid Death Metal Horse before it could land yet another powerful hit on her. Her legs were cooperating  for once and the pain was not too great, so Victoria was able to hurriedly limp to the right and away from the horse seconds before it could slam into her and send her sprawling to the dirt. Victoria turned away from the horse and spotted Kalama.

Victoria took her eyes off of the blonde to look towards the ground and spotted her revolver lying a short distance away. She looked behind her and saw the horse was far enough away that she might be able to make a quick limp for the handgun. With no other option but to risk it, Victoria took a deep breath and began moving towards her weapon in a desperate attempt to outrun Death Metal Horse and arm herself before it came around for another pass or Kalama cast another spell.

The brunette began to limp quickly, pressing her right hand on her right thigh for support as she moved with a purpose. It was obvious that Victoria was in distress, but she could not let that hold her back. She continued to limp as fast as she could go and reached the revolver, but that was not the end of her troubles.

Just then her left leg gave way and she dropped to her knee in front of her weapon, which was lying diagonally left of her. Victoria reached out and her fingers found the grip, but she could not put the grip in her hand from this angle. She extended her right arm across and with some effort used her fingers to turn the grip to where she could grab it. Victoria grabbed the weapon and felt its weight in her right hand.

Having achieved her goal, Victoria tried to rise to her feet, but she only got as far as halfway to a standing position before she dropped to one knee again. The brunette had to get up before either of her opponents made a move, so she forced herself to her feet by pressing the back of her right hand against her right knee. Ignoring the pain, Victoria forced herself to stand up and wobbled as she faced Kalama. Victoria was not sure whether to stand her ground and fire another shot at her enemy or move back a bit and find a better place to fight from.

After looking back and forth at Kalama and the horse Victoria chose to not make an attack and move right to try and avoid getting trapped between her enemies. She hobbled right for two meters before the pain in her left leg became too much to handle and she was forced to stop where she was. There she would wait and see what her enemies did next. At least she had her revolver in her hand; just holding it made her feel like she still had a chance of getting out of this alive.

[Post Word Count: 708]
[Victoria's Word Count: 28,234]
[Total Word Count: 53,014]

In truth, Kalama was unsure as to why Victoria would move herself in between herself and her horse. It seemed an unusual move when facing multiple enemies and the pale warrior wondered if the brunette was playing a trick on her or something. It was enough to make Kalama ponder and as she did so, she would remain in her Soresu stance, as though she was beckoning Victoria to shoot at her. The blonde did not wish to move more than was necessary, her leg being in the state it was and as frustrated as she was about not being able to take the offensive, there was not much she could do about it right now. Doomreaver would have to continue to be her sword until the fight was over and although she trusted her mount somewhat, she could not help but start to feel a little wary. There was no guarantee that he would remain until then and the longer the fight went on, the more chance there would be that he would…

It was as if the horse had read her mind because just at that moment, there would be a loud whiny from her mount, before he would disappear back into the darkness from whence he came. His time had run out and the blonde’s eyes widened with surprise and anger that he had chosen this moment to do it. She could feel the hatred and rage build up within her again, which helped her somewhat to push away the tiredness and pain that continued to irritate her. Who knew how long it would be before he would return? With a frustrated sigh, she would grumble. “I hate that fucking horse sometimes.”

There was nothing else for it now. Kalama would have to finish the fight alone but deep down, she knew that it was how it should be anyway, Victoria had earned that much and the dark mage knew that there was no satisfaction to be gained otherwise. Yet, what else did she have in her arsenal that could help her at this stage? She had used all of her Force powers and hit Victoria with her best strikes. The blonde needed more, something that could aid her in finishing the fight.

It was only then that she briefly gazed upwards, realising that the day had passed and that night was now reigning. Had the fight been going on for so long without her realising? She could feel the bliss of night, which stirred something within her. The Force had become her main magic over time but it had not always been that way. She had once wielded something else, a magic that stemmed from the lovely orb that was shining down upon them.

The power of the moon.

As she felt its pleasant tingle on her pale skin, Kalama would take a breath and allow the moon to do its work, the result being a beam of light that would come down and bathe the warrior. She could feel its power stem the flow of blood from her wounds while bolstering her magical power at the same time. Unlike the Force, her moon magic did not rely solely on hatred and so for a few moments, she was able to set it aside and accept the blissful elation that the moon’s embrace awakened in her.

By the time the light vanished, Kalama was not only breathing much easier but she had a little more bounce in her footsteps again. What was most noticeable was that her armour had changed and she was now sporting a set that was covered in moon runes and symbols. What was also noticeable was that she now wielded a second blade, shrouded in moonlight.

Only then did she attack, briefly vanishing and reappearing close to Victoria, where she was hopefully in range to deliver a barrage of strikes once again.

The fight was not yet done.

(656 Words)
(25535 Kal WC)
(53670 TWC)

By some miracle Victoria was still standing. Being fueled by adrenaline was part of the reason. Another part of it was that if she slowed down too much Kalama or Death Metal Horse would be quick to exploit the opportunity to hurt her even more, if not kill her then and there. She had taken so many hits during the fight that she had lost track of them all, but currently she was feeling the effects of each and every last hit. Victoria was still unable to use her left arm and was still unable to move at a normal speed; she was only able to limp and limp in a hurry, but the second pace tended to make her legs hurt every time she did so.

At least she had gotten her revolver back.

Having the weapon in hand gave Victoria some much-needed confidence that she could go the distance with Kalama, but it also had practical value in that it was among the most powerful small arms she could summon. Its special rounds gave the weapon some flexibility and a lot of power, power that had kept Victoria in the fight by dealing Kalama a few hits at critical times. Even though firing the .44 Magnum Revolver with one hand ended up causing it to fly out of Victoria's hand, the weapon was currently her best bet for survival since it was a good enough substitute for the powerful two-handed spells she could not use right now thanks to her useless left arm.

Victoria was waiting for Death Metal Horse to come after her for another attempt to trample her into the ground or to kick her face in, but to her immense surprise the large steed decided to leave the fight. Victoria's face showed visible surprise at this unexpected development. While the horse's disappearance definitely worked in her favor, she had never expected a horse that was so aggressive to suddenly depart before the fight was finished.

Victoria remained silent as she pondered the possibility of the horse having the same cloaking power that Kalama had. She wondered if it was just pulling a trick on her so that it could move in while she was distracted with Kalama and trample her into the dirt from behind. However, Victoria did not have time to watch for a cloaked horse because while looking around for her equine adversary she suddenly noticed that it was nighttime, but the surprises did not end there. What happened to Kalama grabbed the brunette's attention and kept it.

The Sabertooth mage watched the impressive lunar light display and quickly spotted the noticeable changes in her enemy's appearance, which included Kalama gaining another sword. Victoria had not anticipated this development and was definitely uncertain about what was going to happen next. At the very least the Sabertooth mage knew her enemy had gotten another weapon.

Victoria closed her eyes for a moment thanks to a flash of intense pain racing through both of her shoulders and when she opened them again the blonde mage was gone. She was not able to figure out how she had managed to lose Kalama when the latter was standing in plain sight moments ago. This was not good. One possibility immediately came to mind.

Had Kalama cloaked herself again?

Victoria soon got her answer when she spotted Kalama out of the corner of her eyes.... Kalama had reappeared nearby at a distance that was way too close for comfort. The brunette had been caught flat-footed by her enemy's sudden appearance and was only able to react with a facial expression of visible surprise. Unable to dodge or raise her weapon to attempt a counterattack because of both the surprise factor of Kalama's reappearance and the short distance between them, the best Victoria could do was brace herself for whatever happened next and hope that she could survive it.

[Post Word Count: 650]
[Victoria's Word Count: 28,884]
[Total Word Count: 54,320]

The tide had turned again and Kalama knew it. With her second magic now working properly, she had far more tools at her disposal and with even the time of day seeming to favour her, the blonde was beginning to feel confident again. There would be no third magic to save her if this failed as she frankly had not taken the time to learn one as of yet. She had not seen the need in developing her abilities further because the thought of her Force powers not being enough had sounded so unlikely. Still, she had been proven wrong today and once this fight was all the proof she needed that more training was required. What that third magic would be was unknown for now but she would find something to fill in the gaps of her other two and create a combination that could not be beaten. The next time she fought someone of Victoria’s calibre, she would be prepared.

She had not expected her teleport to have been quite so successful and to have the brunette in so close proximity even surprised her. Did Victoria simply have nothing left? Was she out of tricks? Was her magical power simply too low to continue fighting at this point? They were questions that needed answering and if Kalama had learned one thing about her stubborn foe it was that underestimating her was just asking for trouble. The blonde had struck the legal mage with some powerful blows during the fight and yet still she stood firm. Kalama had long since started to respect Victoria for that and even though they were on opposite sides of the spectrum, the blonde could not deny that the legal mage was worthy of it. The dark mage may have been supremely confident in her own skills but that did not mean that she was ignorant of noticing the same traits in others.

Now that she was in range, Kalama would summon the power of moonlight into her sword, causing it to begin glowing and to radiate with power. At first, it would seem as though the blonde warrior was going to simply try and batter Victoria with both her weapons but that was not what the amber eyed woman had in mind. She would instead swing her moon blade in a mighty arc, releasing a crescent shaped blast of energy towards the legal mage, hoping to cut her clean in half with the attack. At close range, it would be difficult to dodge but there was time for Victoria to do something about it. If she was hit though, then it would feel like being hit by Doomreaver a dozen times over and Kalama knew that it could be a decisive blow. Her lightsaber would be ready in case her foe tried to shoot her in return but for the moment, it was her moon powers that were at the forefront of Kalama’s attacks, which she hoped to finally settle this long and exhausting fight.

(502 Words)
(26037 Kal WC)
(54822 TWC)

Victoria had been caught flat-footed by her opponent's sudden reappearance. She had expected to be cut to pieces before she could even think of turning to face her opponent, to her surprise she had not been carved apart where she stood. Not that she wanted her life to end in such a fashion, but she had fully expected that unpleasant outcome when her enemy reappeared so close to her.

However, Victoria's number was not up just yet.

With great effort and visible strain Victoria turned to face her blonde adversary. She successfully turned and faced Kalama, setting her left foot down with a slight but audible whomp, which was but one sign of the effort it took the bruised brunette to face her enemy. After the turn Victoria took a closer glance at her enemy and noticed that the latter was not attacking right away. The Sabertooth mage wondered why that was and soon got her answer when she saw Kalama make an attack.

The blonde mage swung one of her weapons in a perfect arc and fired an impressive attack in the form of an energy attack shaped in the form of a crescent. Judging from the look of it, it was safe to say that if the flying crescent hit her the brunette was not going to like it. Victoria knew that she had to dodge it, but getting her left leg to work with her was going to be the problem. That troublesome limb had chosen yet another bad time to refuse to work with her and she did not have long to make it work before she suffered an injury so serious that it would make her injured left leg look insignificant in comparison.

Victoria, running out of time and with few options for rapid movement, had to act fast. She was about to try and throw herself off to the side when she remembered that she had a defensive spell to call upon. While the spell would not swing the momentum of the fight in her favor, it would certainly buy her a little time to think.

Deliberately dropping her revolver onto the ground, Victoria quickly cast a Caduceus Shield spell with her right hand, generating a hemispherical golden shield with a prominent caduceus on its front. It had spared her from taking hits the few times she had used it in the past. However, the Caduceus Shield was by no means a perfect defense. The biggest shortcoming of the defensive spell was that the Caduceus Shield only covered a 180-degree area in front of Victoria, meaning that it was useless against attacks from behind. It was also able to be punched through by spells, projectiles, and weapons which could punch through magical shields.

Victoria was not sure if the magical shield would fully protect her from the flying crescent or not, but the possibility of surviving the attack beat the certainty of taking a seriously painful hit, if not being killed outright. At this point she was willing to take any chance at survival she could get.

[Post Word Count: 514]
[Victoria's Word Count: 29,398]
[Total Word Count: 55,336]

Spells Used:

Her attack was blocked by a powerful shield and despite the potent power behind Kalama’s blow, it was unable to penetrate her enemies' defence. An annoyance for sure but the blonde warrior was not all that surprised. Victoria had been making a habit of coming up with last second manoeuvres to save her skin and the dark mage would have been a tad disappointed if she had not come up with another just then. It appeared that the legal mage could still go and Kalama was more than willing to continue the attack. The reemergence of her older magic had given her quite the second wind and for the first time since early on in the fight, she felt almost at full strength. Yes, her magical power was still rather low and Kalama would have to be wary of tiring herself out but for the moment, her body and magic were holding. She had to make this burst of energy count while she had it, before the warrior found herself being a sitting duck for Victoria’s guns once more.

It was fairly easy for her to recognise from the way that the brunette was standing that she was favouring her leg still and Kalama knew that the best way to exploit that would be to try and keep moving her around. The shield appeared to have a noticeable flaw by the looks of it, as rather than a dome, this shield only seemed to be a rather flat one, with the rear of her foe still open to attack. It was a perfect flaw for the warrior to exploit and it would not take long for her to make a move. That leg was a perfect place to aim for and with the woman’s weapon lying helplessly on the ground, Kalama knew that it was unlikely that the brunette would be able to reach it easily. Of course, she might be able to get that shield in front of her again but the blonde was prepared to take the risk.

She would teleport once more, briefly vanishing from view, in order to try and get around the back of her opponent. The goal was simple and as soon as she had reappeared, Kalama would begin to try and cut down her opponent with both her blades, her weapons glowing with lunar power. Her fighting style had changed once more, her defensive Soresu replaced by a far more aggressive and punishing one. She did not use any spells as such, instead relying on good old fashioned swordplay to try and defeat her opponent once and for all. She knew that Victoria would struggle to evade for too long but again, Kalama was not going to underestimate her. If the brunette gained enough room to get her guns out again then there could be trouble and the blonde did not want to have to take any more of Victoria’s bullets, she had suffered enough of them for one day and the state of her armour was proof enough of that.

(508 Words)
(26545 Kal WC)
(55844 TWC)

Victoria was glad to see that the Caduceus Shield had saved her from suddenly developing a split personality, but the threat her enemy posed was far from over. She was starting to run out of counters to Kalama's moves and she was not sure if Caduceus Shield would save her if the blonde mage went after her again. If there was one thing that Kalama showed besides uncanny toughness, it was the ability to think on her feet. Victoria, on the other hand, was a bit slower to adapt because she had not fought an enemy on Kalama's level in a long time.

Kalama did not wait for the Sabertooth mage to think of a way to retaliate. The blonde vanished from sight, leaving Victoria to try and desperately think of a way to at least defend herself from whatever was coming next. The brunette's adrenaline was flowing faster than before... adrenaline was what was keeping her on her feet, but it also interfered with her ability to think critically. Her already mediocre thinking abilities had even more downward pressure on them, but that was on her to overcome... or at least mitigate.

Victoria breathed deeply and tried to do some quick critical thinking despite the pain and adrenaline affecting her.

There was a decent chance that her opponent was going to attempt to bypass Caduceus Shield, but there were plenty of directions in which to approach from since the shield only covered a 180-degree area. Kalama could approach from the sides or she could approach from behind. Victoria's left leg was threatening to rebel again, so she would have to commit to a direction and commit soon. Thinking about it in a split second, she chose to commit to making a 180-degree turn to face directly behind her.

With great effort Victoria did a full 180-degree turn... or that was her intent before her left leg rebelled and left her standing at a 135-degree angle from the direction she wanted to face. While she struggled to complete the turn Kalama reappeared and started swinging both swords at her. By the time Victoria could completely face Kalama it was too late to try and evade, so the brunette had to think fast.

Victoria decided to take a risk and held her right hand out, then formed it into the shape of a gun. Then she charged golden magic into the tip of her right index finger, which was part of the "barrel" of the gun. She quickly aimed at Kalama's left leg and fired the Taser Spark at the limb in an attempt to slow her enemy down and buy herself a bit of breathing room, if not a chance to set up for a more powerful counterattack. Once the shot was fired Victoria pulled her right arm back to try and keep it from being injured... if she was unable to use the limb it would be very hard for her to fight back, if not impossible.

Just like with the brunette's other bullet-based spells, Taser Spark could be dodged or deflected by Kalama. It could also miss on its own because of how fast Kalama was moving and the stress Victoria was experiencing in trying to make an accurate shot before the blonde moved in and cut her badly with those swords. What happened next would be impossible to predict.

[Post Word Count: 562]
[Victoria's Word Count: 29,960]
[Total Word Count: 56,406]

Spells Used:

Her attack was blocked once again but Kalama knew that it had taken a lot out of Victoria and the blonde was not going to waste any time in trying to exploit her opponent's weakening footwork. That left leg could well be key to the fight and with the brunette’s left arm being in a rough state too, the dark mage decided to focus her future attacks upon that side of her opponent. The legal mage could only do so much with her shield and Kalama fully believed that she kept up the pressure enough, eventually she would get a strike in, perhaps the blow that would end the fight. Their dance of death had been going on for so long that Kalama was probably more in tune with her powers than she had ever been and for that, she would probably come to be thankful for that when looking back. This fight had far more of a test then she could have imagined and she was pleased with her own stamina. Killing weaklings only did so much and sooner or later, she had known that a fight with someone equal or maybe even stronger than her would be the only way to go. Victoria had proven to be that opponent and Kalama would not forget her, either her ridiculous stubbornness or the pain that her spells had caused her. The brunette was probably the only legal mage that the blonde felt any respect towards at this point, not that she would admit that.

Victoria managed to get an attack off and Kalama frowned as she noticed it, having to think quickly if she was not going to be hit again. The shot, however, was not one of Victoria’s best and the blonde was able to get her lightsaber in the way of the attack, redirecting it back towards the brunette. It was difficult for her to truly aim her redirection though and it could have gone anywhere at this stage. Her adrenaline was far too high to focus on a task that required such dexterity. All she could do was hope that it could hit some part of her opponent.

Moving in close, she would then lash out with a pair of strikes, one with each of her blades. Her first would be aimed towards Victoria’s left arm, hoping to deliver another painful blow to the already weakened limb. Blood was definitely in the water and with her speed somewhat boosted once more, Kalama was able to recover some of her vicious offence. Once she had struck towards the brunette’s arm, she would spin around, duck down low and try to lash out towards Victoria’s left leg, sticking to that side of her opponent’s body.

Oddly enough, a smile crossed her features briefly as she attacked, a brief sign that she was still, even after all this time, enjoying the contest. Call it bloodlust or simply making the most of the moment but the dark mage had not quite felt as good for ages, even with the pain.

(509 Words)
(27054 Kal WC)
(56915 TWC)

Victoria was only mildly surprised when the blonde reflected her Taser Spark back at her. The brunette ducked halfway down and watched it whiz above her right shoulder. While she managed to duck her own projectile just in time, she was not so fortunate when it came to avoiding Kalama's attacks.

One of Kalama's blades made contact with her dangling left arm, drawing blood from the limb and making Victoria clench her teeth. Kalama, not content to strike just at the brunette's left arm, performed a fluid turning motion that set her up for an attack on Victoria's left leg. Victoria saw the second blade heading for her left leg and tried to move her leg out of the way so that she could protect it, but she was too late. The blade cut into her leg, causing her to stagger and nearly fall to the ground.

Victoria managed to remain standing and hurriedly retreated for three meters at a pace and with a gait that made it rather obvious that she was hurt. When she put a bit of distance between her and Kalama the brunette looked at her wounds and noticed that both limbs were bleeding. She was thankful that they were still attached; her left leg was badly hurt but still capable of bearing her weight... for now. The brunette turned to face Kalama and tried to come up with a quick way to retaliate.

If she had the use of both arms she would have more options than she did now, but she would have to make do with what she had. Victoria dispelled the .44 Magnum Revolver lying on the ground and brought out her Submachine Gun. She would try to use its faster rate of fire to compensate for the weaker damage per shot when compared to the revolver and keep Kalama under pressure with rapid fire, but she was not banking on that. Kalama had demonstrated an ability to remain calm under pressure and had adapted quickly to practically everything the Sabertooth mage had thrown at her.

Victoria had to remain mindful of the possibility of the blonde deflecting the Submachine Gun shots back at her. A faster rate of fire meant more opportunities for shots to be sent back the way they came, possibly hurting the Sabertooth mage even more than she was now. Keeping that in mind, Victoria raised the weapon in her right hand and aimed at Kalama's left leg, then fired a Three-Round Burst from her Submachine Gun in the direction of the limb.

Victoria's accuracy was affected by the pain she was feeling in her left arm and left leg. She was also affected by the fatigue and strain that had accumulated from firing several shots from the .44 Magnum Revolver with one hand. As a result the burst might miss even if Kalama did not actively take defensive action such as dodging or deflecting the bullets.

However, the recoil from the Submachine Gun was not quite as bad as the recoil from the revolver. Instead of causing the weapon to be launched out of her right hand the recoil only caused the barrel of the weapon to jerk sharply upwards and end up at a 90-degree angle by the time Victoria managed to stop its movement. Firing a rapid-fire weapon with only one hand was not recommended, but desperate times called for desperate measures and this was starting to become a desperate time for Victoria.

[Post Word Count: 578]
[Victoria's Word Count: 30,538]
[Total Word Count: 57,493]

Spells Used:

Active Requip Abilities Used:

Both of her attacks had been successful and Kalama soon enough smelled fresh blood. Her opponent might not have lost their limbs but the blonde reckoned that they must have been pretty much out of action by now. Most people would have probably had lost an arm or leg due to the power behind the dark mages attacks but Kalama was not surprised that the brunette had taken them so well. The Sabertooth mage was made of more than just flesh and bone, she was like a rod of iron and the moon mage had no real idea about just how much it would take to finally bring her down. Still, there was a part of her that did not even truly mind not knowing that. She would simply keep attacking until either Victoria fell or she herself just ran out of stamina. How long would that be? Well, with the powers of the moon fueling her now, it was difficult to tell. Her second wind for now was still in full flow and although she was not quite as fluid as she had been at the start, she felt pretty good at the moment, feeling on top of the world.

Once more, Victoria tried to launch an attack in return and Kalama recognised the weapon that was summoned. It was the submachine again and a frown crossed the blonde’s face as she prepared herself to defend from her foe’s attack. The legal mages accuracy was pretty good and with such little distance between them, there was a fair amount of punch behind the bullets. Kalama managed to deflect the first two but the third managed to hit her already wounded leg, resulting in an angry growl escaping her lips and her taking a few reluctant steps back. The spark of pain was somewhat dulled by the adrenaline but it was a reminder that her leg was still a weak spot

It knocked her out of her stride and rather than keep attacking with her blades, she would point her moonblade towards her foe and briefly charge it with her powers. There would be enough time to notice what was about to happen and soon enough, a beam of moonlight shot out of the sword and towards Victoria. It was a potent enough attack and could leave the legal mage with a nasty burn if she was unable to get out of the way. The longer she spent using her powers of the moon, the more memories that seemed to unlock in her mind. She was re-familiarising herself with the magic and by doing so, her magical power would only grow. For the time being, it was giving her enough of a boost to keep up with her wounded opponent although whether she could keep that up was impossible to tell. No one could fight forever and she knew that but that was not going to stop her from trying to smash her foe into dust. A desire that still burned within her now, as it had at the very start.

(511 Words)
(27565 Kal WC)
(58004 TWC)

Victoria had managed to land a hit on her enemy, but Kalama was not going to quit now just because of a flesh wound. The blonde was able and willing to fight back and she was about to strike back hard. Victoria watched her enemy prepare and fire a visually impressive beam attack at her with a sword as the means to fire it. The brunette quickly tried to dodge the incoming attack before she got hit.

To her chagrin Victoria's left leg did not fully cooperate with her. She had only taken a half-step of a full step to the left when she was forced to pause by a burst of pain. As a result the beam hit her right arm and caused a burn so intense that the pain nearly made her drop the Submachine Gun. When she looked at the limb her right shirt sleeve was gone and her arm looked like she had spent way too long in the sun.

She had hung onto her weapon by force of will and the knowledge that if she dropped it she was going to be at a severe disadvantage against an opponent who clearly dominated in close combat. Normally Victoria was willing to engage in close combat because of her ability to tank damage and pay it back with interest, but Kalama had proven time and time again that close combat with her was not a good idea. The blonde had the weapons, training, experience, and the speed necessary to dominate in that range. Victoria, on the other hand, had little close combat training and relied on her extensive arsenal of firearms and her ability to endure damage to carry her through fights.

Today those assets were not enough.

To an extent Kalama was able to turn Victoria's own firepower against her with carefully timed deflections of the brunette's bullets and even when Victoria's shots hit Kalama was tough enough to shrug them off and keep going. Even the .44 Magnum Revolver, the strongest handgun and one of the strongest weapons Victoria could use, was only an inconvenience to the blonde. Kalama was an opponent who had proven herself more than able to withstand everything the Sabertooth mage could throw at her.

Victoria raised the Submachine Gun, aimed it as carefully as she could, and fired a five-round burst of bullets aimed at Kalama's left leg, ceasing fire after five shots because the recoil was starting to get too difficult for her to manage with only her right hand. Just like Kalama had made it a point to go after the brunette's injured left arm and left leg, Victoria was making it a point to go after Kalama's left leg. It was a combination of revenge and an attempt to try and slow the close-combat menace down, if only a little.

The burst was probably not going to be very accurate. In between the accumulated stress of using her right arm to wield weapons that should not be fired with one hand and the recent burn injury from the beam attack, there was a chance that some or all of the burst would miss on its own. Kalama could also either dodge it or return it to sender with a carefully timed and skillful deflection. Regardless of whether her latest hit or not, the brunette was going to keep fighting... just because she was currently on the back foot did not mean that she was out.

[Post Word Count: 578]
[Victoria's Word Count: 31,116]
[Total Word Count: 58,582]

The success rate of her attacks was certainly increasing and Kalama was pleased with the results. Victoria’s right arm looked rather burnt, which was all the evidence that the blonde needed to tell how much damage she had caused. Slowly but surely, she was weakening her opponents limbs and the dark mage had no intention of changing her strategy, as it seemed to be the only way that the Sabertooth mage would ever stop firing at her. The brunette was hanging on by a thread and Kalama knew that she had to continue to press the attack while she could still move properly. It had to be said though that no one had ever been able to take so many of her attacks without going down. Her lightsaber was usually potent enough to kill with a single strike and yet today, Victoria had taken so many hits, with both saber and her newly reacquired moonblade. A part of her wondered whether it was a case of her being a tad rusty when it came to fighting powerful foes but Kalama knew that was not the case. The brunette was just at a level where she could shrug off attacks that could kill a regular foe. Her magical power was at such a high level, higher than Kalama’s, something that the dark mage was not arrogant enough to deny.

Even with her burnt arm, Victoria was still able to fire that blasted submachine gun and Kalama was forced to go on the defence again, bringing her blades up to try and deflect the bullets. Five in total were fired in her direction and the blonde, a little clumsily, tried to protect herself from the barrage. The attacks were all directed towards her battered left leg and Kalama grimly focused on trying to protect it further. For the most part, she was successful but there was that old familiar thud as the last bullet slipped through her guard and struck her leg again. Another jolt of pain shot through her body, her jaw clenching in agony. Her moonlight powers could only do so much to keep her moving properly and her leg buckled briefly, almost sending her down to one knee. Yet, she refused to yield and buried her blades into the ground to support her frame.

There was another reason for such a stance too and soon enough, the ground beneath her began to start to shine with moonlight, slowly extending outwards in a circle around the dark mage. Once the spell had reached its maximum radius, it would then illuminate the entire area, healing Kalama somewhat, while dealing heavy damage to everything else that was in range. There was time to get out of the spell’s range but the blonde was uncertain about just how quickly Victoria could move at this stage. Maybe she would use that shield again? For the moment, Kalama could not have cared less, simply focusing on trying to incinerate her foe in her circle of moonlight.

(501 Words)
(28066 Kal WC)
(59083 TWC)

Victoria was holding her own despite her injuries. Her right arm looked like she had fallen asleep on the beach after being hit by the beam attack, but to her relief she was still able to use the arm. Her right shirt sleeve had been obliterated, though. Her shirt also looked like she had gotten in a fight with a rabid wolverine, but that was a minor concern when compared to the effort to keep Kalama at bay. She had to keep Kalama a good distance away at all times if she wanted to have a chance of surviving the fight.

Speaking of Kalama, Victoria noticed her opponent jam her swords into the ground. A short time after that a circle started to form on the ground and slowly expand outward. Victoria knew that Kalama was not preparing to make a crop circle here, but the Sabertooth mage had no idea what the blonde was actually up to. She was not going to hang around and find out, so she turned around and began to limp away at a slow pace that made it obvious that she had been hurt by all of the attacks she had endured until now and was still in pain.

Victoria had waited too long to try and get away because she was still within the boundaries of the circle as it began to light up. She tried to hurry up and get out of the circle by breaking into a quicker limp, but it caught her inches away from safety. The light engulfed her and the brunette felt the burn on her entire body. Her arms, her legs, her face... all of it was burned by the energy attack.

The brunette staggered away from her enemy feeling more than a little crispy but still alive. At least her shirt and skirt had not been obliterated in the blast, so there was no insult added to the injury. When she could stagger no more she turned to face her enemy and started to raise the Submachine Gun in her right hand to try and exact a measure of revenge. Victoria took the best aim she could at Kalama's chest and began to fire, firing off four shots before her left leg buckled and nearly sent her to the ground. Victoria managed to stop firing in time to avoid shooting herself in the left leg when she nearly fell, but it was a very close call.

The four shots Victoria had managed to fire were aimed somewhat carefully, but that did not mean that they were going to hit. They could be dodged or deflected if they did not miss on their own. She had fired at Kalama just to keep the latter out of close combat range... if Victoria could keep a little pressure on the blonde the latter might not be able to close to her preferred range, but Victoria was not banking on that. Kalama had demonstrated an ability to remain calm under pressure, so it was going to take a lot to surprise the blonde, especially since Victoria had played all of her big cards during the earlier stages of the battle.

[Post Word Count: 530]
[Victoria's Word Count: 31,646]
[Total Word Count: 59,613]

When the light of her attack faded, Kalama could see for herself as to just how much damage it had caused to her opponent. Victoria was burned rather badly and the blonde haired warrior certainly did not seem in the slightest bit sympathetic. Her previous attack had been no means weak and she had been curious to see just how much of an impact it would have on her seemingly immovable foe. The smell of burnt flesh reached her nostrils and the scent gave her just a little tingle through her body, amplifying her blood lust. The healing effect of her previous spell had helped her leg up to a point and she could move well enough but she knew her body well enough to know that she would not be using Ataru, her most acrobatic style of combat, for quite some time. That required acrobatics and the lanky blonde had only been able to use it when she was at full strength. Soresu and Djem So had been her successful stances today and they would have to carry her for a while yet.

“You look a little charred.” She uttered in a matter of fact tone, watching Victoria with a slightly tired gaze. Somehow, Kalama did not believe that it would slow the brunette down, as nothing had so far. The brunette was an absolute tank when it came to durability and the amber eyed dark mage was starting to wonder if anything less than decapitating the woman would actually end things. Never had she expected such stamina from a legal mage and it had somewhat changed her perspective on those who followed the goodie goodie path. Oh, by all means, she was not considering suddenly becoming one herself. Her powers stemmed from her inner darkness and hate, sources that somewhat clashed with what a legal mage relied upon.

Even with her battered body, Victoria again raised her weapons and fired a barrage of bullets towards her, forcing Kalama back onto the defensive. She would start to spin both of her blades, creating a shelter of protection that helped her to avoid taking much damage. Still, a bullet did manage to clip her in the worst possible place, her left leg. Another angry growl escaped her and she briefly staggered, her moon armour struggling to shield her any further from the attack.

Her leg buckled, causing her to clumsily fall to one knee, annoying her even further. To show such weakness towards her enemy was unacceptable and leaving herself open to Victoria’s arsenal of guns was just as bad, if not worse. She was in a bad spot and all she could do was swing her moonlight sword in a wide arc, releasing a crescent wave towards Victoria, in an effort to keep her opponent off balance. The thought of being a target dummy for the legal mage’s submachine gun was an unpleasant one and she would do her utmost to prevent it.

The only real benefit of her current position was that there was less of her to aim at.

(512 Words)
(28578 Kal WC)
(60125 TWC)

After being put on the back foot the closest thing Victoria had to a plan was to keep Kalama out of melee range, the range where the blonde clearly held the advantage. Victoria had intended to do that with powerful shots from her .44 Magnum Revolver, but the power of each shot also generated intense recoil that sent the weapon flying from her hand with each shot, thus making it necessary for her to chase it down. After a few shots the brunette opted to switch out the revolver for her Submachine Gun, which was less powerful but did not generate nearly as much recoil per shot. Changing weapons meant trading raw power per shot for a faster rate of fire, something that the brunette was initially wary of because firing more bullets at Kalama meant more chances for the latter to deflect them and send them back to Victoria.

Victoria was surprised by how effective the change in weapon had been. She was not doing the high damage per shot that her revolver was capable of, but some of her shots had gotten through to Kalama due to the high volume of Submachine Gun rounds she could rattle off. Kalama was still doing an admirable job of deflecting bullets and had deftly used both swords to protect herself from most of the last burst, but one of them had gotten through to the blonde's left leg again and the latest hit to the limb caused the blonde to drop to one knee.

Victoria was holding her own and was even starting to land a few hits on her enemy, but now was not the time to get overconfident. Kalama was far from beaten and her latest attack showed it. Victoria saw the crescent coming towards her and forced herself to move right, putting a lot of pressure on her left leg so that she did not get caught by the crescent like she had been caught by that circle attack. Victoria dodged the crescent came to a stop, then started to raise the weapon in her right hand and aim it at Kalama. Her left leg must have been subjected to too much pressure during the sudden move because a burst of intense pain ran through it, forcing Victoria to lower the weapon because she could not keep a steady aim on Kalama.

The Sabertooth mage tried to aim at Kalama a second time and this time her left leg wobbled, causing her to stagger forward for three steps before regaining her footing. Not one to quit so easily, Victoria tried one last time to get a steady aim at Kalama and keep it, but this time her left leg gave out completely, forcing Victoria to drop to one knee to avoid faceplanting onto the ground. She could not help but to find a modicum of amusement in the fact that she and Kalama were currently in the same kneeling position a fair distance apart from one another.

The question was who could get back to their feet and attack first. Victoria could attack from her current position, but in between the leg pain and her right arm needing a brief break, she was forced to hold off on attacking now. She was also not sure how many rounds she had already fired, so she was going to conserve what was currently in the magazine until she was able to get a steady aim and keep it long enough to have a reasonable chance of hitting Kalama.

[Post Word Count: 588]
[Victoria's Word Count: 32,234]
[Total Word Count: 60,713]

Her attack was not successful this time and Kalama frowned as her crescent attack missed the target. It might have been the best chance she would have to get off such a spell from her position. The pain in her leg was horrible and there was little chance that she would be moving for the time being. All she could do was use her weapons for defence, in hopes of managing to keep Victoria’s attacks off. It was a bad spot for the blonde and she knew that. The legal mage held the advantage from range and Kalama just did not have the agility to avoid further attack. She had taken too many shots to the leg and the healing spell that she had could only numb the waves of pain a bit. What Kalama needed was to get back in close again but for the moment, there was no hope of that.

Seeing Victoria raise her submachine gun again, Kalama waited for the inevitable attacks, moving her swords as best she could in an attempt to defend herself. Yet, to her slight surprise, there was nothing that came her way, as Victoria ended up falling to one knee, oddly in the same state that the blonde was in herself. A stalemate it seemed and taking the opportunity to take advantage, she would flick her moonblade up to the air and after a second, she was bathed in moonlight, a supportive spell which would start to heal and support her. It was not exactly something that she took a great deal of pride in casting but there was nothing else for it. She could not hold out long as she was and needed to get back on the offence, where she thrived. The light would do nothing if it struck Victoria though, as there was no damage caused by it.

Unfortunately, she did not have the strength to launch a counter attack for the moment, so all she could do was allow her healing spell to do its worth. The dark mage knew that she was pretty much asking for Victoria to exploit her lack of offence but that was just how it had to be. The blonde would bide her time, her blade positioned perfectly for another barrage from her opponent. The healing spell did help her focus somewhat and as the Force began to aid her once again, she used its power to hone in on the gun of Victoria, waiting for the moment that the brunette would inevitably fire. Surely this time she would defend herself fully from that weapon. She had the timing and rate of fire down now and was almost eager to try again in defending herself.

While she waited, Kalama began to consider her next attack, wracking her brains to try and think of something that could get her out of this situation. Surely there was one last power that she had which could win her the fight for good. To finally bury this woman, once and for all.

(506 Words)
(29084 Kal WC)
(61219 TWC)

Unable to make a serious effort to attack thanks to a combination of leg pain and an inability to keep her weapon steady enough to possibly hit her enemy, Victoria watched another impressive display of dexterity from Kalama when the latter threw one of her swords straight up into the air from a kneeling position. The brunette was hit by light and dreaded being burned again, but to her surprise nothing happened to her.

Victoria was not sure what to do from here. While it was obvious that she needed to attack Kalama, the main problem was deciding how to attack. Kalama had seen virtually everything Victoria could do and was not going to be easily deceived. From the Sticky Grenade to the .44 Magnum Revolver's specialty rounds to even the Beam Cannon, Kalama had seen it all and survived it all. What else could Victoria do to her?

Not a whole lot, really.

With her options limited by her circumstances, Victoria raised her Submachine Gun and carefully aimed for Kalama's left leg. She wanted to slow down her melee-oriented opponent as much as possible and for as long as possible. As long as Kalama was not in melee range Victoria had a chance to wear down her opponent from afar, if only a little. Right now the Sabertooth mage was in no position to deliver a definitive fight-ending strike on Kalama, so she would have to settle for landing whatever hits she could on the blonde.

Victoria aimed carefully at Kalama's left leg and held her aim steady for a few seconds, then fired a Three-Round Burst at the blonde's limb. There was no guarantee that the burst would hit where she had aimed it. Firing one-handed from a kneeling position was a tough feat for the brunette and it was especially tough since she had not fired a weapon in that stance before today. When her fatigue and the pain from her left leg were added to the difficulty of firing a submachine gun one-handed from a kneeling position there was a chance that the burst might miss without Kalama having to do anything to avoid it.

After firing her shots Victoria wondered how she was going to muster the energy to avoid Kalama's retribution. She had been doing a lot of running and dodging... her left leg was hurting right now, so she hoped that she would have the energy and ability to dodge what Kalama was going to send her way. She was not sure if her left leg was going to cooperate with her, so she would just have to hope for the best.

[Post Word Count: 440]
[Victoria's Word Count: 32,674]
[Total Word Count: 61,659]

Active Requip Abilities Used:

The barrage of bullets came soon enough and Kalama took a breath, her blades awaiting them. With the Force guiding her, she could almost see their trajectory this time around and it was not actually that difficult for her to block. The first bullet was knocked aside by her moonlight blade, sending it away from the blonde to safety. It was by no means a deflection though and did not go anywhere near Victoria, striking a nearby tree instead and burying it. The second was far more controlled and Kalama’s lightsaber met the bullet in a far more accurate way, sending it back towards the brunette at the same speed that it had come at Kalama. A far better attempt. Her attempt at blocking the third was not so good though and although it did not hit Kalama’s leg, it struck her left hand instead, sending her moonlight blade spinning away and out of range, much to the blonde’s annoyance. A new source of pain for her to have to put up with.

Without her moonblade and the difficulty that she would have in retrieving it, Kalama mentally chided herself, having to rely on her lightsaber alone. She could have tried to Force Pull her second blade but she did not want to open herself up to Victoria while doing so and thus, remained as she was, her crimson blade still ready to defend her, held in her right and more dominant hand. Her left was bleeding heavily and the bullet had gone straight through her palm, leaving a horrible bloody hole. Not a pleasant sight at all and Kalama grimaced as she looked at it, knowing that she would struggle to wield a weapon with it tonight. Her healing could help over time but did the blonde have that? The wound would regenerate but at a pace far slower than Kalama would like.

What annoyed her more though was the fact that her body was starting to shake from the amount of damage that she had taken. It would seem like a show of weakness and Kalama had no desire to send that message to the brunette across from her. The truth was that she just could not fight for much longer, her reserves were depleting too quickly and soon enough, she might just end up out on her feet, well foot. Her body was screaming at her, demanding for rest but her heart was still screaming at her to fight on. She could not stop, not until she was unable to or her opponent was dead, whatever came first.

All she could do as an offensive maneuver was to raise her twitching left hand and try to fire off a blast of lightning from it. The attack would not be particularly accurate nor long lasting but maybe it would give her time to recover or at least give Victoria something to worry about. It was becoming somewhat difficult for her to focus and even the rage that had fuelled Kalama was starting to calm. Perhaps she had finally had her fill?

(513 Words)
(29597 Kal WC)
(62172 TWC)

Victoria watched Kalama defend herself by attempting to deflect the rounds. Kalama deflected the first two and even redirected the second back at her, scoring a hit that hit her in her left shoulder. The Sabertooth mage felt the impact of the round and visibly flinched from the force of the hit but remained kneeling. The new wound immediately began to bleed, but Victoria was bothered more by the pain from the wound than the sight of her own blood.

The third round managed to somehow get past Kalama's impressive defense and punch through the blonde's left palm. Even though her face did not show it, Victoria was impressed with her enemy despite the difference in their alignment and mindsets. Kalama had gone toe-to-toe with the Sabertooth mage for quite some time and was still giving her a good fight even though she had taken a lot of hits. The blonde had not backed down at any point during the fight, not even after Victoria had hit her with rounds from the .44 Magnum Revolver, the most powerful handgun in her arsenal. That kind of tenacity merited the brunette's respect on a small level.

Victoria watched as Kalama continued to fight back and used her left hand to fire a bolt of lightning at the brunette. Victoria could not stand up straight, but she managed to throw herself to the right to avoid the bolt. However, something unexpected happened upon landing on her right arm. The angle she had landed at put her body on top of her right hand and her right index finger had gotten stuck on the trigger, resulting in the Submachine Gun firing until the magazine was empty and rapid CLICKs could be heard.

That was an unpleasant surprise in two ways. First Victoria could have accidentally shot herself in the right side, potentially hurting herself badly enough for Kalama to gain an advantage during a critical phase of the fight. Second, she had just emptied her Submachine Gun with nothing to show for it... since the weapon had landed at a 45-degree angle none of the shots had come anywhere near Kalama, instead zipping harmlessly off into empty air.

Victoria released the empty weapon and hurriedly forced herself up from the ground to kneel on her right knee again. She dispelled the Submachine Gun and faced Kalama. The Sabertooth mage was at a loss as to what to do next. Without her Submachine Gun she was in a bit of a predicament. The weapon had been somewhat useful in keeping Kalama at bay and without it the blonde had a chance to resume the fight on terms more favorable to her.

Victoria clenched her teeth as she desperately tried to think of another weapon to pull from her arsenal.

[Post Word Count: 464]
[Victoria's Word Count: 33,138]
[Total Word Count: 62,636]

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Kalama to do much of anything now, her breathing more laboured than it had been at any other point in the fight. Her powers were struggling to keep her going at this point and had Victoria attacked her again then it might just have been the end for the blonde warrior. Her hand and leg were throbbing horribly and her rage was continuing to diminish, weakening her will to fight. Even her eyes were returning to their natural colour now, the crimson red vanishing, to be replaced by her natural amber. Her hunger for the fight was reaching the point of no return and as much as she loved the thrill of it, she knew in her heart that the curtain could fall at any moment. Her will to win was still there but without her passion and rage, it was lacking. She had her pride though and if Victoria wanted to win, then she would have to take her out completely.

Fortunately, Victoria seemed to lose control as she dodged from her previous attack, resulting in the woman landing on her gun and almost shooting herself with it. A baffling moment that took the blonde completely by surprise. It was the perfect opportunity for her to counter but Kalama just did not have the strength to jump on that chance or at least not quickly. However, it did give the blonde a chance to catch her breath just a little, allowing her healing spell to continue to help keep her going. Enough to start striking like mad with her blade weapons? No, that was just not going to happen, she would have to keep going with the few distance attacks that she had.

Trying to channel her powers again, the blonde mage would raise her battered left hand, a shout of pain escaping her just by doing that as it pointed towards the sky once more. After a few moments, a bolt of lightning would start to descend, aiming directly for Victoria. It was all that Kalama could do to keep any measure of pressure up. As always, it could be evaded, dodged or shielded from but the dark mage was unsure as to just how Victoria could avoid it, if she was in the same shape as the Force wielder.

All she could do after that was bring her right arm in front of her, lightsaber shielding her chest from whatever counter attack Victoria might fire. Her vision was becoming blurry, her concentration fading away but the blonde had sworn to herself that she would never give up, as long as she still had the strength to lift her blade. A part of her did not even care anymore if she won or lost, she just wanted to be able to see it through to the end. Perhaps losing a close fight was not as sinful as she had thought? Maybe there were positives to take out from a competitive defeat? She had learned so much about herself from this fight. Surely that meant something?

(513 Words)
(30110 Kal WC)
(63149 TWC)

After the premature firing of her Submachine Gun and the emptying of the magazine Victoria was at a loss as to what to do next. She currently had no weapon out and was having a hard time deciding what to use next. Her current condition limited her to one-handed weapons, but she only had two of those. There was no way on Earthland that she could work the pump to her Shotgun with only one hand and fire it one-handed too... the weapon was not meant to be fired with one hand and the recoil from firing it one-handed would be just as bad as the recoil from the .44 Magnum Revolver. If she fired it the Shotgun would likely badly hurt her right arm because of the recoil. It would also fly out of her hand and be out of reach at a time where she needed to keep a grip on whatever weapon she chose to use.

Ruling out the use of the Shotgun, Victoria had to think of something else to use against her tenacious opponent, who had not waited until the brunette had pulled another weapon out of the arsenal before making an attack. Kalama had fired another bolt of lightning that took a different trajectory from the previous one. The lightning that had been fired this time was not heading directly for her but was instead descending on her from above, which was something that the brunette had not anticipated.

Unable to dodge the attack from above thanks to the surprise factor, Victoria was hit by the lightning and felt momentarily numb as she struggled to remain kneeling. She barely won and remained kneeling but was visibly weak for a minute or so. Her eyes looked unfocused as she tried to think of something, anything, to use against her enemy. The brunette's visible weakness was unlikely to escape her enemy's notice and once she picked up on it Kalama would likely act on it. Victoria needed to find a way to push back against Kalama, but how could she do that?

She had thrown everything she could throw at Kalama.

Almost every spell and almost every weapon in Victoria's arsenal had been brought out and used. Kalama had survived it all. Even the Magnum Round from the .44 Magnum Revolver had been fired and it had only slowed Kalama down for a few moments.

Victoria had been stomping on badly outmatched bandits and cultists for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to fight someone on her level. The fact that Kalama could deflect the brunette's bullets with her sword had added to the surprise factor of fighting the blonde. Victoria knew what she was getting into when she had challenged the blonde to a fight, but it had still been a surprise to encounter someone who had the ability to deflect her bullets.

The brunette regained focus enough to look at her enemy and raise her right arm. Victoria held her right arm steady for the moments it took to form the fingers of her right hand into a gun to prepare for using the Derringer spell. Victoria had aimed it at her enemy's chest and when the spell was ready fired the Derringer shot at her enemy's chest. The shot could be easily dodged or deflected and there was no guarantee that it would hit because the brunette's focus was still not entirely on the fight due to the fatigue that had accumulated during the lengthy battle. She needed to get her focus back and keep it, but that was easier said than done.

[Post Word Count: 604]
[Victoria's Word Count: 33,742]
[Total Word Count: 63,753]

Spells Used:

There was another flicker of satisfaction that crossed Kalama’s face for a moment as her lightning struck. She had honestly no idea whether it would have been effective and had even been able to fire it as a positive for the blonde. Her left hand seemed to be usable enough although Kalama had no intention of pushing it. If she lost control of her lightning then it could well harm her rather than her foe. The powers of the Force required such control and the slightest mistake could do some serious damage. She could not afford that, now more than ever. With that in mind, she decided to stop using lightning for the moment and perhaps try and tap into her rediscovered moonlight magic again. It was a much safer bet and had worked well for her so far.

Before that though, Victoria was once again on the attack, another weapon in her hand and soon firing. As weary as she was, Kalama still was just about able to bring her moonblade up once more, meeting it with a powerful clash, before the dark mage managed to fire it back towards the brunette. The blonde had faced so many of the legal mage’s projectiles by now that she reckoned she had the timing pretty much down pat. The warrior mused that Victoria had not seemed to summon a more powerful weapon during the entire fight, even earlier on. Did the Sabertooth mage not possess weapons capable of mass destruction or was it that Kalama had put her under so much pressure that she had been unable to use them? It was a curious thought and one that the weary blonde pondered about for a few moments. A part of her would feel rather annoyed if she never got to see Victoria’s biggest cannon but with her in such a state, that was probably unlikely now.

It was the thought of Victoria’s weapons that stirred up an attack that she could use and so, Kalama almost mimicked the gun like motion with her wounded left hand that the legal mage has so often used. Directing it at her foe, she would briefly charge and release a shot of moonlight at her foe, aimed somewhere at Victoria. It was not particularly accurate, given Kalama’s rustiness with her old magic, as well as her tiredness. She would be surprised if it even got close but perhaps it would give the brunette something else to worry about.

Once her shot had been fired, Kalama could only wait and see how her attack would do, her healing spell desperately trying to heal her enough to keep her in the game. This long distance fighting gave Victoria too much of an advantage and the blonde wondered if she should try something drastic to get into range. She had not seen anything from her opponent when it came to close ranged combat and perhaps Kalama should simply try and throttle the woman with her bare hands? It was a tough task with her battered leg but if she could get on top and start letting loose, perhaps she would have a chance?

Something to consider, for now.

(530 Words)
(30640 Kal WC)
(64283 TWC)

Victoria could not help but to note her situation. Earlier she was wielding mighty weapons that would not be out of place in an action movie hero's arsenal. Now she was reduced to shooting at Kalama with her arsenal's equivalent of a rubber band gun. Derringer was a powerful rubber band gun, but it was still not very strong compared to the Light Machine Gun or .44 Magnum Revolver she was using earlier. However, Derringer was a good emergency spell and right now the Sabertooth mage was in the sort of trouble that merited the use of Derringer.

Victoria watched her Derringer shot be redirected towards her by the blonde's deft use of a sword and saw the round speed towards her way too fast to dodge. The shot slammed into her body, hitting her left shoulder again and causing a new wound that began bleeding. Victoria looked at the location of the wound and was so amused by the dark comedy aspect of it that she actually laughed out loud for a moment.

Her left arm had been quite the bullet magnet.

More hilarity was to follow when Kalama fired a bolt of magic energy at the brunette with a gesture that amused Victoria. The shot zoomed by the top of Victoria's right shoulder and grazed it, creating a wound that began to bleed. Victoria glanced at the wound and was a bit concerned since her right arm was the only one that was still functional, but since it was only a grazing wound to the top of the shoulder there was pain and some blood, but she could still hold a weapon and use spells.

Speaking of fighting, the brunette was not sure what else she could use to replace the same tired old spells from earlier. They could still hurt Kalama if they hit, but the blonde had long since adapted to them and was still adept at returning the bullets to the sender. Victoria began to think back to the spells she had used earlier and was searching for something to use against Kalama. Then it hit her.

Why not try another Stun Grenade?

With nothing to lose, Victoria held out her right hand and channeled gray magic into it until the grenade was formed, then tossed the cylindrical grenade in Kalama's direction. The grenade could be deflected, dodged by moving away from it before it went off, or even picked up and thrown back. It could also miss on its own because Victoria was more than a little tired and her right shoulder was hurting from the wound sustained by Kalama's latest attack.

Once the Stun Grenade had been thrown Victoria watched to see how Kalama would respond to the grenade.

[Post Word Count: 456]
[Victoria's Word Count: 34,198]
[Total Word Count: 64,739]

Spells Used: