| C BRACKET Match 1 - Brian Ailshie Chaos vs Bowler Bowler turned the corner of the creepy dungeon. Ahead were three guys of some sort. The smell was awful. Drawing the enchanted bowling ball from it's bag, she spoke, "Come on dad, let's kick some butt." Leaping around the corner, she yelled to the three guys, "YO! STINKIES!!" With that she hurled the ball into the air. A soft whistle followed it into the air as it smashed into the first of the three people. At the same time, the Bowler charged down the corridor toward her foes, fists raised. She swung an uppercut at the first one that connected and actually knocked its head off. As the body slumped to the ground, she saw why it had happened so easily. Decay had already set in, and these people were some sort of animated dead. ZOMBIES! Meanwhile, the bowling ball has pulverized the other two zombies. "Well, none of these was Chaos." The bowler mumbled half to herself, half to the ball as she stuffed it back in the bag. Perhaps behind these doors? She thought. Inside his throne room Chaos waited. His minions had already brought word that the girl was approaching. He contemplated which magical spell to use on the worthless being. Surely a FIRE4 spell would utterly consume her. But should he waste one of his more powerful spells? Perhaps a simple RUB spell would eradicate her. No matter, FIRE, ICE, or LIGHTNING, any of his spells would likely kill her, and he had plenty to use. Never mind healing spells should she actually harm him. Perhaps a simple physical assault would be more sportsman-like. HA! As if a simple girl stood a chance physically against a dragon-man. Well no more time for considering, here she was. Opening the door, the Bowler was horrified for a moment, before her stood an immense scale covered creature that looked like a man crossed with a dragon. The moment of hesitation surely would have been her last, had the bowling ball not leaped from its case on its own, and sped at the creature. It slammed into Chaos' shoulder and ricocheted off. With just the most casual of motion, Chaos flicked the ball into the wall. Stone crumbled around it from the force of the blow. However the thing leaped back at him! As the little ball bounced off him again, Chaos chanted an ICE spell that froze the ball completely until it actually shattered. "NOOOOOO!" the Bowler yelled and fell to her knees. Her father's soul was enchanted in that ball and now he was gone. A final tear came from her eye, as Chaos chanted a FIRE2 spell and incinerated her. Winner: Chaos Match 2 - Robert Newell Catwoman vs. A Myrdraal (Wheel of Time) Both combatants were dressed in black. Catwoman cracked her whip menacingly at the pale faced man in black. She was slightly concerned as the man was brandishing a large, nasty looking sword. She suddenly noticed another strange thing, he had no eyes. He didn't even have any eye-sockets, just blank skin where the eyes should be. Catwoman sprang at the blind man trying to use this to her advantage. The myrdraal laughed, the sound was eerie, like the sound of crumbling leather. This woman thought to attack him. She could not channel, he could tell that because he did not itch. He raised his sword and calmly skewered the foolish human as she charged him. Contrary to his looks, he could see quite well and was an excellent swordsman. He kicked Catwoman off of his Thankandar-forged blade. Even if the wound were not fatal in and of itself, the shadow-steel would kill her quickly enough. Catwoman stopped twitching after a few minutes. The Myrdraal laughed again and disappeared into the shadows. Winner: the Myrdraal Match 3 - Mark Ailshie Venture vs. Crazyhorse Venture Plamnor looked around at the strange writings on the walls of this peculiar building. In some ways, it reminded him of Sidney's castle. But the corridors were too narrow and much too dark and stuffy. Not that he minded that-- most elves didn't like close spaces, but Venture had been raised by a human, and had in large measure forgotten these little elven prejudices. He notched an arrow and crept silently down the corridor. The corridor widened into a large room, and Venture paused at the archway. Inside were several bodies, white with mildew and decay. Across the room, he heard the approach of hooves. Swiftly, Venture took a knee and aimed. Through the archway walked a tall man on horseback. He had warpaint on his cheeks and his hair stood on end. He carried a quiver at his hip, a bow over his shoulder, and a spear in his hand. This had to be CrazyHorse. Venture took aim and fired. CrazyHorse saw him and ducked his head at the last possible second. Letting out a fierce cry of attack, he dug his heels into the horse's side and charged. Venture dropped his bow and pulled out his scimitar. Suddenly, another moan shook the chamber. Venture and CrazyHorse both stared in shock as the bodies stood on their feet and started shuffling toward them. The two warriors looked around frantically, realizing they were surrounded by Ghouls. "Zomb must have been here," Venture declared. I've fought monsters like these before. "Zomb? He is a witch doctor?" asked CrazyHorse with agitation. "An evil shaman?" "You could say that," replied the elf. "He's Korps' son. A genius with life magic. He created most of the mock-races, and unlocked the secret of re-animation." "Witch craft," growled the mounted warrior. "Of the worst kind." Venture considered a moment. "Perhaps we should call a truce for a moment until we can destroy them." CrazyHorse ground his teeth. "I know how the white man makes truce. They wait until your back is turned and then betray you." "If you hadn't noticed, I'm more green than white." CrazyHorse looked startled. "I hadn't noticed," he said, dismounting. "Perhaps the light--" And then the Ghouls were on them. Venture cut a few down with his scimitar, as CrazyHorse kept them at a distance with his spear. Back to back, the two warriors drove the undead hordes back, until they could use their bows. Soon, the few remaining Ghouls retreated through the two arches, and the two warriors stood panting and watching each other. Finally CrazyHorse spoke. "You seem a good man, Green Man. I regret that we must fight one another." Venture nodded. "You're pretty good. I would much rather have you on my side." "But that cannot be this time. If we meet again, I hope I will not have to kill you." So saying, CrazyHorse hefted his spear and the two began circling. CrazyHorse darted in with his longer reaching spear, but Venture was too quick for him. But CrazyHorse proved too fast for Venture to close and use his scimitar. Finally, Venture countered one of the Indian's strikes and knocked the spear from his grip. CrazyHorse drew his tomahawk and shouted fiercely as he attacked. Venture retreated from the ferocity of this onslaught, but this time he had the advantage of reach. The elf feinted to the right, and CrazyHorse went for it. Venture cut left again and slashed at the other's shoulder. CrazyHorse cried out and dropped the tomahawk, and Venture finished with a stab to the throat. Venture had won, but he couldn't leave this valiant warrior to become food for whatever other creatures wandered in this place. Using his scimitar as a makeshift spade, he dug a shallow grave and laid CrazyHorse in it. Then he retrieved the weapons and approached the horse. The horse seemed to recognize that this was not really an enemy, and let Venture swing up onto its saddle. Winner: Venture Plamnor Match 4--RJ HARRIS King Arthur vs. Dirty Harry The cooridors were dark, very dark. The brave, yet aged Knight of the Round Table held no fear. Although he continued to rest his hand on Excalibur, King Arthur knew that another enemy was lurking in the shadows of the ruinesque castle. In a thick Northern British accent, he muttered to himself: "'Dirty Harry?' He must be some meager peasant, if he is so covered in filth to be called 'Dirty.' Nevertheless, he won't be any match for the King!" Arthur smiled in spite of himself and continued looking for Harry. Yet, Harry had finished his looking and now was in the planning stages of his attack. As Dirty Harry slowly puffed away his last cigerette, he quietly loaded his gun. One, two, all the way up to six bullets. Of course Harry always carried more, but "Come on," he thought to himself. "It's only some legend king I'm going to blow away; besides this Arthur preferred hand-to-hand combat. I won't need more than 6!" Dirty Harry quietly set the remainder of his bullets on the floor and cocked his gun. At these seeming insignificant sounds, that did in fact echo down the halls, the King spun around to gaze down the hall in which Dirty Harry was hiding. "Come out and fight, you vile villian. It isn't proper to keep royalty waiting!" At this challenge Harry stepped out and faced the legend that he had heard about all his life. "Well, Your Highness, it's unfortunate to meet you; 'cause I got this gun pointed right at your head and I can blow it off. So you need to ask yourself this one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" The outbust from the funny-looking, funny-sounding man made Arthur laugh. In between his chuckles the King managed to retort: "Luck has nothing to do with it; for I have fate on my side." With those words said Arthur drew Excalibur and charged at Dirty Harry. In his overconfidence of himself, Harry let two bullets fly directly in front of where Arthur was going to step. The first missed by quite a distance, but the second sent the king to his feet. Harry enjoyed watching him dance. As Arthur jumped back to his feet two more bullets flew; the King ducked under the first, but the second glanced off of his left thigh, sending a small trickle of blood out of Arthur's armor. Harry believed the match was now his. He stepped till he was 10 feet from his opponent and aimed his gun. With his knightly reflexes, Arthur sprang to his feet and jumped down another corridor. As he did so, the fifth bullet flew into the wall. Harry was ticked off now. How could some middle-ages king move so quickly? Dirty Harry was determined to kill Arthur now. He ran to the corridor and yelled to the king. "Say good-bye, you scum!" and fired his last shot, but the last bullet didn't even come close to going straight forward, it went straight up. For, when Arthur heard Dirty Harry approaching, he flung a melon-sized rock at his opponent. The rock hit Harry directly in his shooting hand, causing his gun to move upward and sending the bullet upward. As it exploded into the ceiling of the ruined temple, Arthur heard only a deep pitched scream, while he covered himself from the falling rocks. After a few moments, the dust settled and Arthur climbed back to his feet. Although he limped a little, the king still moved quite well. Dirty Harry's limp hands hung out of a small hole in the huge pile of rocks that had crushed him. Arthur sheathed Excalibur and picked up the unusual weapon that Harry had used. Muttering to himself again that it might be useful, the King placed it in his pouch and walked over to the box with the strange silver objects that Harry had set down before the fight. This, too, was added to the pouch and King Arthur confidently walked away saying to himself, "We Kings never give up!" Winner: King Arthur of Camelot Match 5 - Robert Newell Obi Wan Kenobi vs. Lt. Tasha Yar The Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi reached out through the force to locate his opponent. He quickly found her, Lt. Tasha Yar of the Federation Starship Enterprise. He sensed much hate and fear from her, but the Force was not with her. This would not be much of a fight he thought. Tasha Yar drew her phaser. She had dealt with many strange situations in all of her years at Star Fleet, but this one took the cake. She was in a dark castle, that frankly gave her the creeps. She attempted to calm herself and concentrate on the matter at hand. Obi Wan knew exactly where Tasha was. He meditated while he waited for her to find him. When Tasha finally found him, she quickly fired her phaser. Sensing this action, Obi Wan already had his lightsaber out and he easily deflected the phaser beam off the blue blade. Tasha Yar was afraid now. She did not know what the sword was that this man had, but it could block her phaser. She pulled out a second, smaller phaser that she kept on her person. 'Let's see if he can block two beams at once' she thought. She fired both phasers at once. Obi Wan caught both beams on his lightsaber and deflected them back at Tasha. The phasers were hit by their own beams and were vaporized. Tasha screamed as her hands were seared by the reflected energy. Enraged, she rushed Obi Wan, attempting to use her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills. Obi Wan did not want to kill her, but she was leaving him no choice. She punched and her arm was taken off at the elbow by the Jedi Master's lightsaber. She kicked, and her leg was severed at the hip by the shining blue blade of Obi Wan Kenobi. Both wounds were instantly cauterized, but Tasha was on the ground screaming in pain. She begged her opponent to finish her. One swift stroke obliged her. Winner: Obi Wan Kenobi Match 6 - Robert Newell Kerrigan (Star Craft) vs Peter Pan Two figures appeared in the Great Hall following a brilliant flash of light. The first was the mutated human Kerrigan, Queen of Blades. Across the room stood Peter Pan, the boy who would never grow up. Kerrigan immediately leaps forward, trying to rend Peter limb from limb with her massive wing/claws. Realizing the incredible danger that he was in, Peter sprints away. As he is escaping he pulls out a pouch of fairy dust and begins to think happy thoughts. Kerrigan races after this strange, tight-wearing boy. They run along twisting corridors until Kerrigan has Peter trapped at the end of a long hallway with a single window high up near the ceiling. Peter douses himself with his fairy dust and begins to fly up to the window to escape this horrific creature. Gathering her will, Kerrigan lets out a surprised cry at the seemingly impossible flight. This cry is followed shortly by a massive psionic storm. The blue psionic blades quickly dismember Peter into little chunks of bloody meat. Wondering what allowed the strange boy to fly, Kerrigan takes a sample of Peter's blood and has her Zerg DNA analyze it. Unfortunately for Kerrigan, as the dust is triggered by happy thoughts and Kerrigan has NEVER had a happy thought, she is unable to incorporate it into her genetic structure. She keeps a sample of it for further study however. Winner: Kerrigan Match 7 - Robert Newell William Wallace vs. Ender Wiggin William Wallace saw Ender at a distance. This did not seem like a very fair fight. He was a tall, armed swordsman. His opponent was apparently a small adolescent with not so much as a stick to defend himself with. "Oh well" Wallace thought, "I might as well get this child-killing done with". With a fierce battle cry, William Wallace drew his sword and charged. Ender saw William first. He recognized the name, a man who had died centuries before. He did not know how he had gotten to this castle, so he figured he must be dreaming, or playing the Game subconsciously somehow. No matter, this oversized brute didn't have a chance either way. As William reached Ender he took a wide, arcing swing designed to decapitate Ender. William did not realize how trained Ender was in self defense. It was the only attack Ender allowed him to make. Ender ducked under this wild swing easily and lashed out with his foot, hitting William Wallace in the crotch. Ender knew just where would affect this oaf the most. With William distracted, one chop to his wrist and William Wallace dropped his sword with a moan. Ender followed up with two quick punches to William's kidneys. William dropped to his knees in pain. Ender finished William the same way he did Bonzo, an upward thrust of his palm into William's nose. As blood fountained everywhere, Ender slowly walked away, silently sobbing to himself. Why was it that the only thing he was good at was destroying? He did not want to be like Peter... but he was. Winner: Ender Wiggin the Xenocide Match 8 - Robert Newell Storm Shadow vs. The Tick Storm Shadow silently stalked his huge opponent. The Tick was making no effort to hide himself and was even whistling loudly. Storm Shadow took a long time studying his foe. The Tick was very large and heavily muscled. He was not at all cautious and appeared to be quite clumsy. Moving like a ghost, Storm Shadow darted ahead of the Tick and began to set a trap. He strung a line of razor wire at about ankle height just around a corner from where the Tick was coming from. He drew his sword and hid himself nearby. The Tick, oblivious to the danger that he was in, meandered around the corner and hit the wire. It tripped him but otherwise caused no damage. Storm Shadow was amazed at the toughness of his opponent. That razor wire was very sharp, but it had failed to penetrate the Tick's hide. The Tick did not even realize that it was a trap. He picked himself up, stepped over the wire, and continued to search for his foe. Storm Shadow quickly devised another plan and quietly went to work. He planted a few shaped charges in the ceiling and put them on remote. He watched from the shadows for the Tick to come along. Just as the Tick walked under the trapped ceiling, Storm Shadow detonated the charges and watched the Tick be buried under the tons of stone that fell on him. To Storm Shadow's surprise, the Tick dug himself out after a minute or so. This Tick fellow was very strong indeed. How was he going to be able to kill him? Storm Shadow was not used to being defeated, so he quickly came up with another plan. He assembled his tranquilizer blowgun and shot the Tick in the face with it. Storm Shadow had measured out enough dosage to fell an elephant and then tripled it. Even so, the dart only barely knocked out the Tick. Once he was unconscious, Storm Shadow strapped several incendiary grenades onto the Tick, pulled the pins, and ran for his life. There was a massive explosion and back draft, but Storm Shadow had fled beyond the radius of destruction. He looked back and saw nothing but a greasy stain on the floor. "That is the way to kill a Tick," Storm Shadow thought, "Burn it." Winner: Storm Shadow the Cobra ninja ROUND 2 Match 1 � Brian Ailshie Chaos vs the Myrdraal Chaos bellowed a deep rumbling laugh. His next opponent was not much more a challenge than the first; an eyeless swordsman with no magic power that he could sense. It might be a challenge if he fought it hand to hand without the benefit of magic. Yes the evil force felt a need to exercise. Striding from his throne chamber, he advanced toward the pitiful creature. Before long the creature appeared from behind a pillar in a smaller side chamber. Chaos drank in the creature's fear assault as a luxurious delicacy. In fact, he enjoyed the taste so well, and was distracted by the non-movement of the creature's cloak that he misjudged the speed of the attack and felt the tiny sting of the Myrdraal's blade in his hide. Flicking the claws of his left hand, Chaos sent the Fade crashing against the wall. Hopping with his hands out, Chaos pinned the Halfman to the wall with two impaling talons piercing each shoulder. Still the creature struggled to free itself. Opening his jaws Chaos snapped off the Fade's head. A tasty appetizer! He thought turning his attention from the Myrdraal and sitting back on his haunches to savor the flavor. However, the Halfman's corpse refused to accept it's death yet and thrashed into Chaos' little reverie. If he had known it, Chaos could have avoided the Fade now, by simply leaving it. But Chaos was blinded by rage as the creature pierced his hide with it's blade again and again. Chaos mauled and trampled the thing, and when it still thrashed back at him, he unleashed his fire, ice, and lighting attacks on the Myrdraal. But still the Halfman's corpse ignored the fact that it was dead. Finally, his strength fading, Chaos pushed out one more spell. Its powerful XXXX spell. Instantly the Myrdraal's corpse vanished, but it's sword fell one more blow, piercing Chaos' weakened defenses and cleaving his head. Winner: BYE Match 2 � Mark Ailshie Venture Plamnor vs. King Arthur Venture strung his bow and stalked carefully away from where he had buried CrazyHorse. His instinct told him that his next opponent was a king. Not that that intimidated him. He had been dealing with kings for most of his life. Two of his best friends were kings. That made him think of Rog. Poor Rog had already fallen. And Yonder, and Gradion. And three of the dark shehaps still walked the tournament. At least Rygara was still safe. Venture said a silent prayer that Casek would continue to protect his wife. Venture turned a corner, and found himself facing a strong looking warrior with a crown on his head. "Arthur, I presume." said Venture, and the other drew a massive sword. Venture hung his bow over his quiver and drew the scimitar he had stolen from Malissant. Here, they were too close for missile fire. Arthur lunged to attack. Venture feinted and gave ground. It soon became obvious that he could not match this fellow's swordplay. How he wished he knew a little magic! With one particularly vicious strike, Venture's scimitar snapped off at the hilt. Venture was forced to the ground by the force of the strike, and barely evaded Arthur's follow-up stab. He rolled to his feet and ran, not bothering to look behind him. He was about twenty feet away before he realized that Arthur wasn't following him. He turned and saw Arthur struggling wildly to pull his sword out of the ground. He cursed with disbelief that the sword refused to become dislodged. Venture couldn't understand what was so surprising--Any sword could become stuck fast in the Temple of Fiends' stone floor. But, no need to waste his enemy's distraction. Venture unslung his bow and shot two arrows in quick succession. The first struck Arthur in the shoulder, and the second between the ribs. Arthur roared in pain and staggered away. Venture followed. He knew that if the second arrow had pierced a lung--which it seemed to have done--then Arthur would be no more trouble. Of course, it might be a trick. But, Venture was always known to take a risk. Venture advanced and shot a third arrow into Arthur's back. Arthur staggered a few feet, and then whirled, brandishing a small hunk of metal. Venture didn't know what it was, but he whipped out his hunting knife and slashed at Arthur's fingers. The dying king dropped Harry's gun with a groan, stumbled a few feet and slumped to the ground, wheezing terribly. Venture was wary of a trick, but he danced to Arthur's back, and slipped his knife under Arthur's chin. Venture left the body and examined the piece of metal. He was unsure, but thought it might be a dwarven sling. Unfortunately, it appeared to be damaged, or else out of sling-stones. In any case, the weapon wouldn't make fire. He would need something to replace his broken scimitar, and though he was no expert with broad sword, that seemed to be the only thing available. But it was stuck pretty deeply into the stone floor. Venture put his hands on the hilt and gave it an exploratory tug. To his astonishment, it came loose immediately. Shrugging, Venture put the heavy sword in Arthur's sheath, and strapped it around his waist. Winner: Venture Plamnor Match 3 - Alexander Strub Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Kerrigan Obi-Wan couldn't stand the repetitive theme music in the castle. It was okay at first, but now it just got on his nerves. He sensed an incredible evil through the force, but there was something different about his feeling. It wasn't like the sensation he had when he fought Darth Maul. Then, out of the shadows, the dreadful creature revealed itself. Lovely yet terrible, the winged Kerrigan, Queen of Blades, stalked her prey. Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber. "Fool!" shrieked the woman, "Do you think that miserable weapon can defeat me/ I have thwarted dozens of Protoss psionic blades, and this will certainly not stop me!" Suddenly there was a loud sound of roaring engines as a Vulture hovercycle pulled up behind the Jedi. "How ya doin', bud?" asked the disheveled bearded man driving it. "Name's Jim Raynor, and it looks like you could use some help." "Jim?" asked the monster in surprise. "That's right." he responded. "I can't believe I loved you. You killed everyone I've ever been close too, either directly or indirectly! Duke...well, not so much Duke, but Fenix! And Tassadar died because of what you did too! And last of all was Sarah Kerrigan, the woman I loved. You consumed her! I've followed you a long way, and I'm gonna wax you like I promised, monster! I'm bringing you down!" "Wait!" yelled Obi-Wan, "I have to dispatch her! This is a tournament!" Raynor was distracted long enough for Kerrigan to psionic storm him. Raynor's face contorted in agony as his nerve pathways erupted with pain. The poor man collapsed on the ground, mostly dead. "I'm sorry you made me do that, Jim," Kerrigan said to the fallen Terran. "And now for you, pitiful human!" Kerrigan began another psionic storm. A few measly sparks flew from her head, and fizzled out. She had used up too much mana on Raynor! Obi-Wan Force-jumped to the battlements, and was followed closely by Kerrigan. As the monstrous creature reached the top, Obi-Wan did a Saber throw and sliced off her left wing. She shrieked and fell to the stone floor. She got up and tried using her claws to slash the Jedi, but he was too fast, and all she was able to do was slice off his stupid braid of hair. Obi-Wan did an aerial above her head, landed behind her and impaled her with his saber. There was a dreadful groan, followed by a hissing as all kinds of little Zerg larvae crawled out of the dying woman. She collapsed. Obi-Wan watched as the creatures crawled away, leaving a mortally wounded Sarah Kerrigan on the ground. She gasped to Obi-Wan, "Thank you...", then moaned. With her last breath, she whispered, "Jim..." then faded into oblivion. None of this made any sense to Obi-Wan whatsoever, as he had never once played Starcraft: Brood War. He was grateful for one thing, though, the braid was gone. Even with all their force-adept skills, Jedi Barbers just can't style hair. And shaving with a lightsaber, please!!! (see theforce.net's fan film, "Legacy of the Jedi") "In fact," thought Obi-Wan, 'I think I'll grow a beard!" With that, he removed a small white cylinder from his robes and held it horizontally in front of him. Mentos. The Freshmaker. WINNER: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master (now with new beard-growing action!) Match 4 � Robert Newell Ender Wiggin vs. Storm Shadow Ender had not frightened. He had dispatched the last big oaf set against him, and he could do the same to whoever he had to fight next. It really was unfair though. Ender was a general, not a fighter. Give him an army and he would win this tournament no problem, but hand to hand fighting left him at a distinct disadvantage. He had trained in self defense, but he had no idea how that could help him when he saw Storm Shadow come at him with a drawn katana. Ender's mind raced as he searched for a way out. Storm Shadow laughed silently to himself. A child!? His opponent was a child? Oh well, Storm Shadow was not above killing children. He had dispatched that mentally retarded giant in the last round, a little boy would be easy enough. Storm Shadow approached and raised his sword, Ender decided his best bet was to play dumb. "Please don't kill me", he begged. Storm Shadow began his downward stroke with a contemptuous look. It never landed. A second later, Storm Shadow found himself with no sword and a broken wrist. The child apparently knew how to fight. Ender lifted the blade awkwardly, he had never learned anything but the principles of swordplay. His opponent was down, but that didn't last long. Storm Shadow hurled shuriken with his good left hand, he was ambidextrous, so the broken arm was not as bad as it could have been. Ender tried to dodge, but one star hit him in the thigh. He grunted in pain and charged the other man, a move that Storm Shadow should have expected from this strange boy, but he did not. Ender buried Storm Shadow's sword into it's owner's leg. Storm Shadow struck the boy in the throat, finally ending the match with Ender's life. The boy was good Storm Shadow admitted to himself. If he had been older and trained a bit better, he might be standing over my corpse. As it was, Storm Shadow was not going to be doing much standing. He had a broken wrist and a severed Achilles tendon. He bound his wounds as best he could with pieces of the boy's clothing and planned for the next round. Winner: An injured and humbled Storm Shadow ROUND 3 Match 1 Venture takes the Bye from Match 1, Round 2 Match 2 � RJ Harris Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Storm Shadow The ruins of the Temple of Fiends gave no clear advantage to either fighter; yet, each man knew that much about his foe. One does not get this far in the tournament without skill. Obi-Wan was walking down one of the large corridors when he saw a slight movement out of his left eye. Storm Shadow had noticed that the so-called Jedi Knight carried his weapon on the left side, meaning that the opponent was right-handed. A left side attack seemed obvious. Once Obi-Wan was sure that he had seen something he drew and ignited his lightsaber in one fluid motion. The game was on. As the Jedi cautiously made his way down the dark hall where he had seen a shadow moments before, the attack came from an "unlikely" place--the floor. Storm shadow had found a half meter wide hole in the middle of the corridor and had concealed himself. The quick reflexes of the Jedi made the attack futile--Obi had easily jumped out of the way and over to the other side of the hole before the flash of Ninja sword had died down. As Obi-wan prepared his next defense, Storm Shadow jumped out of his hiding with a flurry of Ninja stars. The Jedi dodged most of them but one struck him in the left thigh. Obi -Wan quickly pulled it out, and hit it like a baseball with his saber as the bat. The star exploded into a million bits of shiny shrapnel. They stung Storm Shadow's eyes as they entered under his cloak. The full fury of the Jedi was upon him now. Moments later, all that was remaining of the Ninja was a charred blade and burnt white cloak. Winner: a slightly limping Jedi Master, Obi-Wan ROUND 4 Match � Venture Plamnor vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi It was like a deep stab in his heart. Venture hardly cared about the tournament anymore. She was dead. Somehow, he knew she was dead. All the dark shehaps had fallen now, but he hardly cared. Rygara was dead. Of course, the elf knew consciously that she wasn't truly dead. She would be back for another tournament. Only his heart wouldn't believe it. Kenobi heard sobbing up ahead. He had sensed Venture's presence some time ago. He had a particularly strong presence. Quietly - respectfully - he turned the corner and looked at his foe. His eyes were closed. He seemed a broken man, leaning on a sword too large for him, tears running down his pale green cheeks. Kenobi didn't want to disturb him. "She's gone," moaned the elf. "He even took her sword! It was her only treasure! I'll be with you in a second, Jedi, but for pity's sake give me a moment to mourn." Kenobi said nothing. He too knew what it was to lose someone. He thought of his master, slain before his eyes, and reminded himself that Darth Maul still lived to be revenged upon. But that wasn't why Kenobi was silent. He was wondering how Venture had sensed he had arrived. Perhaps this Venture had an affinity for the force. Shortly, Venture stopped sobbing and stood on his feet. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and faced Kenobi. "She is gone. But the tournament will continue. Thank you for letting me mourn." Kenobi bowed, and the two warriors drew or ignited their weapons, and began circling eachother. With a clash, enchanted blade met lightsaber, and the battle was on. Kenobi's saber couldn't cut the enchanted blade Excalibur, but he was still the better swordsman. But Venture fought with a reckless abandon that Kenobi had never seen before. Venture took chances that Master Yoda would have screamed at him for taking. Yet, his luck seemed to hold. Venture ducked inside his defenses, and scored first blood on Obi-Wan's shoulder. Obi-Wan groaned and leaped backward with the force. Venture charged, screaming wildly. Obi Wan reached out with the force and snatched away the magical blade, tossing it down a corridor. Astonishingly, the elf kept running, and actually attacked Obi Wan with his bare hands! The Jedi was so surprised that his saber was knocked out of his hand, and sent spinning across the floor. Venture attacked with wild abandon, slugging the Jedi in the chin. Finally, Kenobi recovered enough to push him off of him. Venture gathered himself to attack again, but suddenly felt a great invisible hand thrust him backward against the wall. Kenobi reached out with the force and called his lightsaber back to his hand. His danger sense screamed, and he leaped aside, as two green-fletched arrows zipped past where he had stood a second before. The third bit into his shoulder, even though he had sensed it coming. Venture might leave a little to be desired as a swordsman, but no one on Malja could challenge his shot. Still, Venture had never faced the force. Obi Wan wouldn't use it to kill Venture, but he caused a subtle bending around him, causing even the best placed shot to go wild. Then he charged, lightsaber blazing. Venture gave ground, shooting wildly. Each arrow went wide. His eyes blazed with fear. The Jedi slashed apart his bow, and it fell to the ground, followed shortly by the body of the elf. Venture gasped in pain, and looked up at Kenobi. "Well fought. Promise me you will avenge her for me. Avenge her!" Obi Wan nodded. He had his own vengeance to pay to Darth Maul. Winner of Bracket C: Obi-Wan Kenobi |