2
It was 26th of May, 12 years ago that he first saw this field, the high walls looming over the hand full of starry eyed youth led here by Major Sniider and the sweet allure of his words. Here to the LIMB training grounds, overlooking Rosair to the East and the Fadei Mountains to the North. They stood at this spot, staring wildly at the view. Only Leonard Alden of Tellha found the giant rusty buildings more full of wonder and terror, although he never really withdrew from fear more of shifted his defenses. It was young Leonard also how stood his ground as Sniider hoarsely commanded their attention. ?Stop your wandering eyes and show spine as we approach the training area where you are to prove yourselves!? Sniider only just noticed Leonard?s back facing him, ?Only the worthy will exit this field, and you, Mister Alden, will be our first runner?. A complete silence fell over the crowd as Leonard calmly turned to face Major Sniider. Leonard only nodded before being forcefully escorted to The Coarse.
Derrei could still hear the chatter of the group as time flew since Leonard had been escorted away. ?I hear that the cave we are to enter was originally a complex for military training.? A sweet young woman by the name of April whispered.?Nah, it was a torture house back in the war?, Garhci replied. At this a feud broke out amongst the runners about what the training area truly was, Derrei didn?t know or care of this training area. His mind was on Leonard, it had been an hour by his watch and Sniider was still down there. He didn?t dare think of what might be happening in there, although his mind couldn?t help but wander. So, he stood there watching the hours and finally gave way to his impulse.
If he was expected to sit and watch as God knows what happened to his friends then he may as well get thrown out then stay. He intended to go down there and demand to know what this ?training? was and what happened to Leo. As he stood to do this be noticed the small dot, whom was Major Sniider, gradually get closer. Derrei started off to meet him half way. The path down to the caves was all downhill and littered with boulders. Twice he fell, the second time busting his nose, before he finally reached Major Sniider. Sniider saw his nose and was immediately angered. ?I leave you scum-bags alone for a few hours and you start a fight?? Derrei opened his mouth to oppose and was met with the back of Sniider?s hand, ?I have not given permission to speak, now get out of my sight?. Derrei did so quickly, for fear of getting smack again.
The path seemed twice as long on the way back. He stepped up onto the flat again, his nose busted and now hosting a blackening bruise on this right cheek. The others crowded around him to see what had caused this, and only to late found their answer. Garhci Raunn hit the ground hard, blood slowly running over his mouth. The back of his neck had a large red handprint over an exposed bone. His mark was explained as the group rose to find Major Sniider. ?All of you are to vacate the area now!?, Sniider?s words were so far unseen that nobody moved, ?To waste sympathy on a maggot like this?? Derrei felt a scream escape his mouth as an iron grip closed on his neck, ?is proof enough that you are unworthy to even stand before the fields of LIMB, so be gone. Run to the pitiful sandpits you call home! Those who are weak shall die, as your little friend Garhci has found, and those of us who are strong are to be the ones who show the weak such a fate?. The group guickly began to scatter and disembark, when Sniider noticed his hands empty. Where? I had Ludas. He must have? As he whipped around he just saw Derrei disappeared over the ledge leading to the training area. If he wants it that way then he?ll get his wish.
The trek back down the hill proved to be just as hard as the first time, although this time Derrei had reason to fall and further the thin trail of dried blood on his chin. I can?t keep stumbling along. Sniider?s just too fa? This thought was cut off by the taste a earth and grass mingling with the salty blood already forming in his lower jaw. Derrei felt impelled to lie their in the grass, bleeding and weeping, until he just blacked out in the fields. Lifeless in this valley of festering death that hung oddly close. He was told that all how fell were retrieved, aided to and sent home with a small sum, although he doubted the sum could ever be worth it. He would have laid there, resting, all day had he not seen the shade fall over him. Dear gods, I must run. I must get away. My legs were numb and bleeding from the fall. As I stood my right leg gave way to the gelatinous feeling. My mind simply went out as I watched himself fall. I really never felt the ground, nor the blood from my skull, which had to have cracked from my fall. I awoke an hour later to the face of Major Sniider.
3
My life, both in the military and literally, is over. He intends to kill me. Neither the 28? knife hovering over his face, nor the bounds cutting off circulation to his leg served to calm this fear. ?That?s the problem with you, like every others T.A.I.L, is you got no guts. You run when ever a problem arises and then you still fall apart, you make me sick!?, I could smell the Burners on his breath, ?You don?t deserve to be a L.I.M.B. agent, you worthless maggot! And I?m gonna make damned sure you never show up in my academy again?. At this point I gave in and laid still, my fate was inevitable.
(?He was right, I never saw the academy again.?)
The moments that followed were horrid ones. Derrei felt the major reach down for him and saw the knife growing ever closer. He did the only thing he could, he connected full on with a final desperate kick. Major Sniider hit the ground hard, a small red spot developing in the crotch of his uniform, and Derrei finally saw him legs, free and no marking of ever being tied. Only, a dirty bandana rapped around his leg, soaked in blood. He must have been mending my leg. I cut it when I fel? An iron grip clasped his neck and he fell toward the cave and fire Sniider had built. ?Now you?re ********? with the wrong guy, maggot.? Derrei would have said something had it not been for the rush of wind he felt as he fell. He no sooner caught himself on a dirt floor than he heard a loud slam of metal hitting metal. At least my boxing tape helped. Though, fancy gauze should be my last concern. Derrei stood waiting for his eyes to adjust.
Shift
As my eyes finally focused I saw a room with bare metal walls and a dirt floor. At the far end an old metal door stood, although I couldn?t see a knob. The door had confirmed my fears, I was inside the caves.
For all my struggle to get here I felt as if I should have never even allowed Leo?s training to cross my mind. Speaking of which, I could probably find him. With a 18? thick door behind me and walls on either side I had nowhere to go but forward. Each step felt like a mile, each crack of small rat bones under my boots sounded of an earthquake. My leg had stopped bleeding but not hurting, and these winding creeping walls didn?t help. Left, straight, right, right, straight, left, and suddenly a wall. No passage, just a wall. Great a dead end, but if there?s a WRONG way then this ?training area? must be a giant maze. The thought only just then hit me. I was to die in there, reeking of metal lingering with a strong odor. Almost as if a crapper had overturned into Lysol, just thinking of this made the place worse. How long can I go off a meal I ate four hours ago? It didn?t matter at this point, not so much as how the hell to get out. This process of guessing lasted well near 3 hours, until?
These walls go forever. They built a ********? circle!! I?ll die here. I had just passed around a corner when my foot caught something lodged into the dirt. A skull? No ?X?, it?s new. I took some dirt and made an X on its forehead. This was the second one in the last 20 minutes. Something is wrong, and I know that what ever it is I?ll soon find the source. Either skull could have been Leo?s; only I doubted it, they both looked like they had been there a while. I had to keep going or I could easily die here. This second skull had rattled me, it had a long, narrow crack in the side of the scalp area. I had to go back and see it. As I turned around I found the source of this problem, and pissed myself doing so.
Tiger Flip: The user will propel their bodyweight over their base of balance, throwing the body over itself to land in the exact treads of their original position and allowing the foot to gain three aplified factors as it strikes.
Body wieght*Velocity*(Kick strength+Body weight)
Leopard Vemon: A technique done in replica of Yushi's 'Rapid Kill' Taijutsu. The foot is thrust through the opponent's legs, and the user pulls themself in at high speed. The hands repeatedly place Falcon Claws in the throat region, immediately ripping them free, and just before the victim pulls free the user will box their ears with a double backfist to the skull. When used to Derrei's fingerguards it is an art used strictly to kill.
Azure Lotus Taijutsu: Named in memories of a fallen ninja, this technique is arguably the strangest technique around. The user will position themselves besides the opponent, lock their near-side through the opponent's armpit and behind the shoulder, pulling past the front of the neck, and pull his foe's opposite arm into an extended rear hammer lock. The lock immobilizes the target under five joint and blocks the windpipe. From the locking position the user will step through to match his foe waist-to-waist and grip the waistline. The user will propel both members skyward before flipping his body and extending his arms just before impact, swinging his foe head-first into the ground. Due to the multiple joint locks the user takes almost no damage, while the target sustains maximum damage in upper torso and limbs.
Azure Lunar Dance('Modified Azure Lotus'): Azure Lotus, continued at its finish for the intent of death. When the foe's body collides with the ground the user will continue his shifted weight, rolling himself and his foe back up. An arm bar is driven to the chest while freeing the locked arm, and a straight kick to the stomach sents the opponent back as the arm bar is withdrawn. The user will accelerate themselves behind the opponent and descend with a double inward backhand to the base of the neck, followed by the setting of both elbows below the opponent's arms to lock the body while the user quickly turns their hands in and returns with a crossed-arm choke. The choke is used as a tear when the user steps through to send a front kick into the mid-spine. The oppoent's body, now unconscious or dead, is thrust down by the choking hands which release before impact to create a double palm to the neck. This requires the release of the first five gates or equal force.
