Gerudo Fortress - Fallon Vs. Naitena

*Characters involved:*

* *Fallon* (as herself and Naitena)
* *Nabooru*
* *Aubrey*
* *Shemri*

**GERUDO FORTRESS**

Fallon:fireball: 7:26 AM

The day had finally come. The challenge that was set is to be decided on this day. Stirrings and mutterings turned to a gathering in the courtyard. The battle to test and prove one's honor was soon to begin. Final preparations were being made with both fighters on each side.

Fallon for the most part was ready. She had her favored weapon and hands dusted to help with her grip. She made a few practice runs with the weapon in hand, never faltering or missing any steps. She trained up for this day with the intent to carry the win. She had no intention of retiring her colors. She earned those and sought to keep them, regardless of her current service within them. "There is no backing out of this once it starts. I know you know this, but I feel it bears saying. It is my hope you will triumph today," These were the words of a supporter on her side: her aunt.

"I am grateful for your words, but well wishes mean little here if I am unable to hold for a win. I must make them the reality myself. I might even go as far as being superstitious of being wished well often means something terrible is bound to happen." Fallon grinned. "My work must speak for itself."

On the other side of preparations, Naitena grows frustrated with waiting. She's ready, but seems to have hit some form of a snag.

"I intend to do this by myself. Without your help," she sniped at her own support. "I don't need it and I do not want it."

Taneen ignored the snipes and continued to press the situation, "I am not giving you any help. I am improving upon what you have already done yourself. This still depends on your ability, after all. But, I can only provide this on the basis that you lose--LOSE!?"

She's cut off by Naitena. "Why would I ever do something like that!? I cannot lose! I stand to lose my honor and you are suggesting I lose! Are you mad!?"

Taneen shook her head. "Mad? No. I see a greater win for you if you lose this fight. You stand to become someone the people will look to."

Naitena huffed, "You truly are mad. No one looks to a loser. I had thought you better than this, but I now have doubts."

The former smirked, "On the contrary, a loser stands to gain nothing. A martyr, however, stands to gain everything. You can become the spark that is set to ignite the kindling within the hearts and minds of your sisters. Those you have confided your thoughts into. No better time than to--Die? You imply that I should die in this fight?" Naitena cut her off once more.

"Not at all. You do not need to die physically and I do not intend for you to look weak. You must look like you are giving your all for this to be effective..." Taneen reached for a bowl set at her side and held it out. "You should have a meal before fighting. to strengthen and energize you."

Fallon:fireball: 7:41 AM

Naitena looked at the bowl and considered eating for a few moments, but perhaps a glimmer of additional thought touched her mind and she took it in hand to look it over. "Do you truly think this will work?" She asked solemnly, but there appeared to be some determination in her voice.

Taneen nodded with certainty. "I do. To help the Fortress as you so desire, losses must be an accepted part of progress. You may not have the win you want now, but it is the loss you need in order to start down your desired path."

Naitena grew quiet, allowing enough calm to settle between the both of them for her to think. She didn't like the current state of the Fortress. They already struggled as is and bringing in more people to increase that suffering was beyond reasonable. It may not have been the intent, but it is the result in her eyes. These refugees are taking up resources that would be better suited for use in Gerudo hands. Something had to be done about this...

Bringing the bowl to her lips, she drank down the contents of it, setting it aside on a table. As if fire had rushed through her body, she felt an intense heat that spread everywhere, sinking deep into her muscles. Keeling over, she knelt on the ground waiting for the burning to stop its agonizing. What veins rose to the surface have now receded and with them, her body returns to normal. Invigorated and incensed, she leaves with her chosen weapons and outside into the courtyard where a quiet rage boiled beneath the surface of the guard. She could only think to beat her opponent into submission.

NabooruAPP 5:06 PM

Things were changing around here and not for the better. Nabooru could feel it within her gut. She always held out hope that the future would be better, but even she struggled with waiting for time to meet them. If only she had the mind for that sort of thing. If Zelda were here, this 'time' thing would make a lot more sense and maybe be easier to tackle. Until then, she'd just have to hold up her end and pursue what she best felt was her goal, but the Princess' as well. Hyrule still needed to be held together, though perhaps now more than ever, it felt so isolated and separate.

She was here to attend to the challenge as per the laws dictate among them. She was...not looking forward to this. Others she could participate in, but she couldn't place why this one was so different. It's times like these where the gut isn't enough. She needed to sort out the reasons why she felt this way on her own and the process was frustrating. She stood silently waiting for the fighters to take their place and upon their arrival, the tension between them was significant. A test of wills to defend individual honor.

"I think I understand..."

She muttered them to herself with few eyes among the elders looking over her trying to determine what she meant. This contest was her doing.

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:50 PM

Aubrey stands on the sidelines with Naomi. Naturally he's concerned with this event since one of the combatants is his wife, but he's also here as the emergency medic. Nayru's Honor rests within his curled fingers, ready to give whoever needs it a strong dose of healing magic. Nice being attuned with an artifact like that, although it does mean some unpleasant responsibilities sometimes. If the worst happens and both contestants go down with serious wounds, Aubrey isn't sure he can do an unbiased triage, especially since he can only give so much juice with the thing without resting for several hours in between...in fact, he's pretty sure he'll pump it all into Fallon if it looks like her life's in any danger. >.>

Naomi's old enough by now to tell when people are being grim. "Daddy, why does Mommy have to do this?" she asks. Aubrey sighs. "I don't really understand it myself, little gem," he responds, squeezing Naomi's hand. "It's part of a culture I didn't grow up in. All I really know is, it's important to Mommy." Naomi nods soberly and turns her gaze back to the arena. "...KICK HER MEANIE BUTT, MOMMY!" >o<

It is, of course, impossible to keep the Hylian refugees present from looking in on this, and on the whole, they're not helping the tense atmosphere. e.e; Some of them are watching with respectful interest to observe an exotic tradition, others are scowling and trying to appear as though they're not looking at the barbaric display, others are treating this like a sporting event with naively friendly enthusiasm...and a few are whistling and hooting in anticipation of a cat-fight. >8D

NabooruAPP 7:17 PM

"Both contestants are now present and the time has come to defend their honor. This is not the time to show bias, in fact, in this time, both of them are now strangers to us until the fog clears and only one is left in good standing based upon their respective arguments. One defends their right to their colors," Nabooru gestures to Fallon. "The other defends their challenge to them," she raises her other hand to Naitena. "It should go without saying that this is not a fight to the death, but...because we have observers aside from our own, they must now know and come to an understanding." She makes mention of the Hylian refugees present.

A number of eyes look over them, with varying levels of study and a range of emotions. Whatever frustrations the Gerudo had did appear on few faces, snarls and winces of disgust at the whistling and hooting, while some take the opportunity to assist in better conveying the fight and bridging the gap between the two cultures. There's a great deal hinging on this contest and everyone can feel it, but it's possible not everyone knows why.

"Warriors, at the ready!" She looked between both and stepped back out of the circle.

"Commence!"

Fallon:fireball: 7:36 PM

Fallon had to withhold the pride she had at hearing her daughter cheer for her. It was important not to show it, knowing what these contests meant. She couldn't give anything to sway the judgement for or against her. The encouragement, however, was taken to heart.

As the battle was commenced, she stood still, assessing her opponent. Perhaps for everyone else it was as if time stood still as neither one made a move. Minutes would go by and all that anyone would see was two individuals circling the area, matching one another's moves.

"I don't understand. Why aren't they fighting yet?" A confused soul whispered aloud among the Hylians. A nearby Gerudo answered, "It could be said that this fight is decided in this moment. They are looking for signs of weakness and areas to exploit in their abilities. Whoever finds that advantage first may carry the advantage, though it is not guaranteed."

Fallon, deciding she had enough time to study, went in for the first strike, approaching with an overhead swing at Naitena, her staff clashing with her batons as they're crossed over head. The latter retaliated with locking her weapon and redirecting it to force herself in to close quarters and shoulder tackle her.

An audible hiss and groan spread among the Hylian audience watching the combatant slide backwards from the shove, though she recovered. Fallon adjusts her arms and checks for any damages before moving back in. Thrusting her weapon forward to close the gap between them. Naitena dodged each attempt and began to close in just as she did before. However the hard side swing with her batons was slipped under and the staff was driven into her back.

Another chorus rang out, but was soon replaced by silence as the tension built between the fighters. Their shared period of assessment over, they engage back and forth with one another, the fullness of their fight finally beginning as weapons connected, ringing out among the canyon walls. Every attack calculated and executed with precision and finesse as successes and failures were exchanged between the duo. Blow for blow, the two appeared to be evenly matched and neither one seemed ready to give in.

NaitenaAPP 9:10 PM

Naitena had far too much riding on this fight. Something greater that she intended to accomplish. Did she truly have to lose to push her beliefs forward? It seemed so backwards to her and she didn't quite understand, even now, while she was engaged. What she did know is that she didn't want to lose and she still wished to prove her honor. That was enough. It should be enough. So, why wasn't it? What about her thoughts required losing?

Her eyes drifted from the battle and the end of the staff drove into her side, stumbling her towards the faces of some of her sisters, but also Hylians. Shame took over for the briefest moments as she looked over the crowd. Why were they here? Wasn't it enough that they were taken in, but now in a moment of vulnerability, they must watch her fall? She had to lose to them? The boiling fury beneath the surface flashed across her face with her eyes locked onto the Hylians. They may not have known it, but hate welled up within her being and the shame of having her honor being placed on the line to be looked upon by them with their hooping and whistling twisted her up inside. She can't lose here. She refused to! If she loses, they stand to win and all she felt her and her sisters had shared among themselves would quickly turn to ash!

And she stands in the way of all of this!

She turned around to face Fallon, not as a competitor, but as a threat that needed to be taken out. Her and her colors could fall with her. The error of taking in these refugees would be made clearer. When she felt she had finally worked out the weaknesses in her prey, she sought to leave her with regrets she may never recover from. This may not have been a battle to the death, but their livelihood and culture was on the line and she would give everything to protect it.

Fallon:fireball: 9:37 PM

The heavens above heard the wishes of Naitena's heart and the clouds gathered, suffocating the pale light of the moon upon the land. It started in the fields, cinders turned to pebbles, pebbles turned to stones and stones to boulders, falling and engulfing the earth in a blaze. Guards who were on duty minding the goings on in the field ran to inform the others in the Fortress. However, this strange storm had spread abroad and ahead, pelting them with brimstone burning their skin, hair and clothes. Warnings sounded from others posted along the path to the Fortress and commands rang out to get people to safety. The orange glow of the raging fires was so much that it could be seen at the peaks of the walls they called home and soon they were visited upon with the same destruction.

"Naomi! Get to safety!!!" Fallon called out to her daughter. As much as she wished to, she didn't want to leave her mother out here to fight. "I can't leave you here!" Naomi responded back, screeching when this rain of fire drew too close to her. "I'll be fine! Go with your father!"

She wished to stop the fight but...she couldn't. Naitena would not let her go free nor would she allow herself to go free. The audience that gathered around them proceeded to flee for their lives, escaping into the safety of the Fortress to watch from within. "We need to stop!" She attempted to reason with her opponent, but she was just too incensed to do so. "We will not stop until one of us has become the victor!" Naitena continued with her onslaught, unfazed by the terror being visited upon her home.

aubrey:musical\_note: 10:53 PM

It's strange how emotions will buffet one's mind at a time like this. @.@ Aubrey feels the same way Naomi does, unwilling to leave Fallon behind. The sensible thing to do, of course, is to get Naomi to safety...and that is in fact what Aubrey does, scooping up his daughter and running for the shelter of the masonry. Instincts as a parent are about as strong as anything after all, even if it doesn't stop part of his brain from unreasonably screaming that he's doing the wrong thing. And of course, once Naomi is (relatively-)safely deposited in the hallway, Aubrey finds himself stumbling back out against the crowd. To do what? To save Fallon from her enraged opponent by putting his squishy body between them? To heal one or both of them if a space rock travelling faster than any arrow plows through them? Aubrey doesn't have a clue, but his rubbery-feeling legs are carrying him that way no matter what arguments his rational mind might present. "Din shield us," he gasps as he dashes to the best of his usually-swift ability.

ShemriAPP 11:07 PM

Shemri shouts crisp orders above the cacophony of panicked souls, directing traffic into the furthest recesses of the fortress. A few of the guards are assisting her in this effort, stationed at crossroads in the hallways. Shemri had invented and organized a system for this, mainly with the yearly storm called the Koelglam in mind, but it sure turns out handy for a meteor shower too. C.C People are packed into storerooms and (long-disused, for the most part c.c) jail cells, bleeding the pressure of the human amoeba as it spreads through the hallways and quelling the hysteria just a little bit with the sense that somebody knows what they're doing.

Fallon:fireball: 11:08 PM

"This is ridiculous! We can't keep up the contest like this! Our home is--Ridiculous!?" Whatever hope there was for reasoning was answered back with a swing of the batons powerful enough to lift Fallon off her feet and send her out of the ring and into nearby crates. The wind quickly left her lungs and any attempt in trying to get it back was made more difficult by the smoke and heat building in the Valley. "My honor is not ridiculous! I see now that you never took this seriously. You entered this believing you were superior to me!" Naitena brought down her batons to crush Fallon beneath them, but she rolled out of the way, leaving a broken and splintered crate in her wake. "You did not see me or my argument as fit to stand against you!"

Fallon was having some difficulty trying to get to her feet. Every chance she tried to gain footing, Naitena was there holding her back, pressing her more and more. They've been at this for an hour and perhaps more now. Why is she still fighting or rather how is she? Between the two of them, only one is on the verge of exhaustion and she was certain that blow to the crate would have maimed her severely. This isn't a fight of honors, this is insanity and it needed to end.

"I never saw your argument as beneath me! If I had, I would never have been the one to initiate this challenge in the first place!" The heat of fire built up behind her and she looked over her shoulder to see how close she was getting. A nearly fatal error that was met with a hasty block that found her knocked down once again, splayed out on the ground with her staff standing between her and Naitena.

NaitenaAPP 6:12 AM

Naitena stalked up to Fallon and gave her no reprieve in the next moments. "That doesn't matter now!" She drove her batons down against Fallon's staff. "You were never fit to wear your colors! Never fit to advance to the rank you became! You have abandoned them in favor of this new menace! I won't allow you to sully your own honor, I will make you retire them!" Each phrase spoken was punctuated with a strike to the staff's defenses and each blow caused the weapon to give until Naitena broke through the guard with one final swing, severing the staff in two within Fallon's grasp.

One last time the batons would be raised. "Even your child bears the stain of your misdeeds with the name she has! You should be ashamed to consider yourself a Gerudo."

Fallon:fireball: 9:00 PM

Fallon could feel every impact to her staff, the forces traveling within the weapon and down her arms, making each successive jolt harder to hold up against. Naitena was attacking her as if she intended to kill her and it became more convincing every time she witnessed her staff splinter and crack until giving way. Just behind her smoke rose up and smelled of burnt material or...no, burnt hair. Her ponytail was on fire at the ends and slowly making its way up to her head.

'\_I don't think I can keep this up for much longer...\_' she thought to herself. Why was she so enthralled? There was a wildness to her fighting and eyes that seemed out of place. At first, she thought it might have been her being overzealous, but Naitena is looking at her like she's prey to her predator. There was something amiss and--by the grace of the goddesses she said one of the most foolish things she could utter from her lips.

"I didn't think myself superior before, but now..." In this moment, she will put this beast down. Her staff cracked, split into two halves places into a cross guard to absorb the batons that were jammed down towards her and connecting with her defense. "You will yield to me..." Lifting her legs up and drawing them back, she shoved them into Naitena's midsection with the power of a horse. This didn't send her opponent flying, but ti did provide enough distance for Fallon to stumble to her feet, heaving with bitter resentment.

Naitena, launched forward and like an animal, was lashed with flaming hair to control her advances. Fallon had used her burning locks to temper the beast and let it know its place. The former couldn't see, but she could certainly feel her feet being swept from beneath her and her body connecting to the ground. Seizing the moment, Fallon threw her weight atop her and arrested her opponent with the splintered portions of her staff held at her neck. "If you move, I will make your death certain just as you intended to do to me. Yield and admit defeat!"

Fallon:fireball: 9:26 PM

There was finally a break in the flaming rocks falling from the sky, the Fortress was filled with hot stones and boulders, sending flames into the sky as their flags and banners burned along with crates and other materials. Rocks piled up around them, scattered about and blocking off some entry points and converging in the corridor below. It can't be said that there weren't any casualties here. How these two managed to survive was only a mystery the goddesses could answer.

A rumbling sounded off in the distance and beyond the walls a giant geyser of water raised into the sky and following it were three golden lights. A rain of water had taken over where a rain of fire had once dominated, but strange gurgling and groaning followed after the shower. The water became more frequent and more violent. "Is that a river...?" Fallon asked, noting the water rushing through and pushing the now steaming boulders out towards the desert, flushing them away. The only river that goes through here is the Zora river and even then, it's a massive waterfall that goes deep into the chasm that separates the valley. "What is happening?"

Never ask questions you don't want the answer to.

The earth croaked and crumbled, shaking unlike anything Death Mountain could ever hope to achieve. Getting up and running now would be a fool's errand so all that could be done was for the two combatants to stay in place until it was all over. Briefly, the river withdrew as if pushed back by a mighty wind and was replaced with a tsunami crashing through and threatening to drown the Fortress and the desert with it. Yet, the earth pushed them up and away, higher and higher, narrowly avoiding the watery grave.

The rising continued for minutes, but each of them felt like an eternity to wait until the earth sputtered and settled into place. Water sloshed gently, lapping up against the outer canyon walls. Fallon couldn't bear to stand as her body was too fatigued to do so. She crawled away from her opponent and towards the edge of the courtyard. What was once a desert has now been replaced with a sea. In the distance, the oasis and Colossus still stood, overlooking an endless ocean.

The world wasn't ending, it was just beginning. Birthed out of life stealing fire and quenched by life giving water.

aubrey:musical\_note: 6:59 PM

Aubrey...turns out to have risked his life unecessarily. Not that he's complaining, considering he and Fallon are both still alive. #.#; And, y'know, Naitana surviving is okay too. >.> Provided she doesn't ever threaten Aubrey's family again. +\_+

Okay, let's see if we can process the amazing amount of stuff that just happened in the last minute or so. Red-hot rocks fell from the sky, Naitana went nutso, Fallon gave new meaning to the phrase 'fiery red-head', the desert decided it was going to make up for centuries of dryness in one day, and Gerudo Fortress is now a high-rise apartment complex on the seaside. Yup, that about sums it up. Aubrey stumbles over to Fallon and falls on his knees beside her. "A-are you all right, Beloved? Are you hurt anywhere?" He wants to put some healing magic into her just in case, but he's pretty sure exhaustion is the worst thing she's suffering from, and he's aware there are probably others who'll need it more after all that shaking.

Fallon:fireball: 7:17 PM

"I'm hurting everywhere," Fallon replied bluntly, though it wasn't intentional. She was stuck between alert and befuddled and didn't know which one to process first. "I don't know what happened here. First, I was fighting and then the world just...this?" She gestured weakly to what used to be the haunted wasteland. Now it's just...water and across from it was the oasis. She looked at her clothes and then raised a hand to her face to wipe away the moisture and came back with smudging. Her face immediately soured. "My makeup ran..." Or fled is more like it. All that she did have on her face had grown hot enough to stream down and then get washed into splatters and smudges around her eyes and cheeks. At least her lipstick didn't get messed up, but looking the part of a scarecrow wasn't exactly attractive. She brought her ponytail forward and noted what was left of it. It didn't burn too much, but it burned enough for her to need to trim it back up to her shoulders. "The contest still needs to be judged," she pointed out. "We still don't know who the victor is as determined by our sisters."

aubrey:musical\_note: 9:02 PM

Aubrey takes another look at their new beach-front property. "Uh...yeah...I'm at a loss too." He smiles crookedly. "But the important thing is, we're alive." X} Aubrey gives Fallon a hug, then gets up. "I should check for people who need healing. I wouldn't worry about the contest, it looked to me like you had pretty clearly won." n.n Of course, Aubrey may be the only person who saw that, considering most folks were trying to get away from the area...

ShemriAPP 9:02 PM

Inside the fortress, Shemri and the rest had their nerves tested by the cracking booms of stone upon stone overhead, and more than one threatening bulge appeared in the masonry overhead. c.C; Then suddenly they experienced a sensation as though gravity had increased three-fold. Most of them weren't near any windows and couldn't see that they were actually rising. Soon enough, though, the news that Gerudo Valley is now Gerudo Mountain -- or better yet, Gerudo Island -- ripples through the crowds, and there's almost as much of a stampede to get back out again and see the veracity of this bizarre rumor.

Fallon:fireball: 10:01 PM

Fallon sighed, though it was a mixture of tiredness and relief. She melted into Aubrey's arms more than she intended to and tried not to leave too much of a stain on his clothing, but who's to say if that effort actually bore fruit? "Thank you," she smiled weakly, watching him off before looking towards Naitena. Her smile dropped immediately, but she didn't have much else to give in terms of energy towards her. She was just going to play it safe and rest here, looking out over what became of the Fortress and Valley, joined by the rest who deemed it safe to come out in the open.

NabooruAPP 10:14 PM

Even Nabooru couldn't stay and watch that contest, try as she wished, the fate of her sisters and refugees took over in favor of it. What good was their home if no one was left to inhabit it? She couldn't find her people getting lost, especially not to the hands of Ganondorf. She knew his work and it only multiplied by factors inconceivable when he gained his piece of the Triforce.

She poured what power she could into shielding people from damage on the outside as the events started, but could only hope to the goddesses that the Fortress maintained itself under the beating it took. There were a number of close calls that she was ready to handle despite the cost of being left weakened and deficient in magic until recovery. Thankfully, those moments didn't succeed and when it all came to an end, she went around to check and account for all present.

Following the migration outside, she found herself at a loss of words to describe what happened. What she did know, and what she could even find time to smirk vengefully about, is the fire that sought to destroy everything was stopped by the very works of the goddesses themselves. There were two powers at play and though she couldn't see them at the time, she felt how different they were. His machinations were drowned, so to speak, but not for long.

"We'll have to be grateful for what reprieve the Three have provided here. It's not what I could have imagined, but...I hope we'll find a way to make do," she spoke to herself, though imagines her words could have been heard by anyone nearby.