Mantis



	The break of dawn cascades over the horizon as the party of four Nemesis members make their travel through Mora after they�ve entered and exited the mountain range. Lucy is getting a piggyback ride by Vatar; she�s fast asleep on his back. Neko is walking beside Vain, also tired from the duration of their traveling just to get �home�. The party remains quiet and fatigue has set in from traveling for the past eight hours straight. The only two Nemesis members that don�t seem tired are Vain and Vatar. . o O (�Damn it. Now is my best chance to strike, this isn�t good. ) O o . Mantis thinks as he shivers from the morning frost here in Mora, the snow remains bright white on the ground in a place where no signs of �spring� can exist. No chirping birds, no insects, the desolation of Mora has been triggered from it�s over dominating vampire race. In a tree, hiding him self from the four Nemesis members to the best extent that he can as they pass below the branch that he�s located upon. They stop beneath him and look around, Neko looks behind them but spots nothing and just as Vain and Vatar both look upward, Mantis remembers that vampires can hear a beating heart if close enough, forcing Mantis into action against his own will. He attacks. . o O (�Vatar and Vain? No way I�m walking away from this�) O o . Mantis drops from the tree branch, unsheathing his katana blade and swinging down, aiming for Vain. Vain frowns up at Mantis just as Mantis manages to strike and stab his sword down through Vain�s chest and out his lower back. Vain grunts in pain and slightly buckles forward as Mantis then thrusts a kick to his diaphragm, forcing the God of Death to stumble backward. Vatar glares at Mantis before allowing Neko to take Lucy whom luckily for Mantis is still sleeping like a baby. ~ Vatar ~ �Your Excellency� Vatar grabs the hilt of Mantis� katana blade and rips it from Vain�s body, forcing Vain is yell in pain. The revolting aggression follows after awakening Lucy, the little girl lifts her head�her eyes half closed, looking at the blood that�s exposed on the lower back of Vain where the blade had made an exit wound. Her eyes then snap wide open and she squirms in Neko�s arms in an attempt to go after Mantis. ~ Mantis ~ �Impossible� Mantis stands, stunned; watching the blood on his katana blade roll off and to the ground, then to Vain as his wounds heal. The look in Vain�s eyes completely changes from a dark shade of Grey to a blood red. Neko holds onto Lucy as she tries to pull free from her grasp without hurting her, the pressure Vain gives off stops Lucy from struggling as she stops and watches, almost in a trans from how powerful that pressure was that just rushed over her. Mantis takes a step back and draws his ninja sword. ~ Vain ~ �Big�Mistake� . o O ( His eyes turned from Grey to Red�what�s this pressure I feel? ) O o . Blinding speed of attack, Vain catches Mantis off guard when he was as focused as he�ll ever be on fighting such a monster. Vain attacks with such an devastating borage of punches, catching Mantis with the fourth, fifth and sixth attempts to strike after getting frustrated with the immortal speed of Mantis. Getting sent backward and directly into the same tree that he started this fight from, Mantis hits the ground then springs right back up to his feet and coughs up blood while staring at Vain. . o O (�He�s too fast for me. I can�t believe it�) O o . ~ Vatar ~ �Don�t kill him Your Excellency�we could use a man of such skill� Mantis watches as Vain approaches, dropping back into his Mantis defensive fighting stance. He notices the change of eye color in Vain�s eyes when Vatar had spoken to him. Those angry eyes changing back into their natural colors again, makes the heart of Mantis start beating faster, a hint of fear exposed in the light of day through the expression that�s revealed in his own eyes. Vatar holds onto Mantis� katana blade so therefore he cannot use it against Vain in this battle. Mantis attacks Vain courageously. . o O (�He struck me three times and I feel like I�ve been fighting for hours�) O o . Swinging the ninja sword at Vain with amazing speed, Vain�s speed is still unsurpassed. Missing with three attempts before Vain reaches out and grabs Mantis by the throat, lifting Mantis up and off of his feet, choking him. Mantis takes hold of Vain�s wrist with his right hand and stabs his ninja sword into Vain�s chest twice before Vain slams him straight down to the ground, then kicks him while he�s down. Getting lifted from the ground and into the air, Vain interlocks his fingers and raises his arms, clubbing Mantis in the spine. Then kneeling as Mantis falls down and lands with his ribcage smashing down onto Vain�s knee. Mantis winces in pain as Vain shoves him off of his knee and to the ground before standing upright, looking down at him again. ~ Neko ~ �See honey, Vain will always protect you� Lucy smiles up at Neko just as she looks down at the little innocent looking girl. Vain mumbles something under his breath and extends his hand out, palm upward. Nullifying the gravity around Mantis, lifting him up off the ground�floating upward, Mantis coughs up more blood, clenching onto his ribs with both arms, hugging them in an attempt to apply pressure to make the pain go away; still failing on that. . o O (�I�I can�t win�I�m going to die if I don�t join him�) O o . Mantis floats up and hits the very tree branch that he had perched upon before his assassination attempt. Then, Vain turns his hand downward and grunts in anger, sending Mantis straight to the ground and very hard before releasing the gravity around him. Vain takes a few steps toward Mantis as he tries to push himself back up to his feet. Vain steps down onto Mantis� back and pins him to his stomach on the ground. ~ Lucy ~ �Isn�t he�dreamy�? Neko cracks a smirk, down at Lucy. Hugging her from behind, she releases the little girl and she stands her ground to watch, getting entertained the way Vatar is apparently used to for when it comes to somebody trying to fight Vain. Mantis remains down with the wind knocked out of him and with Vain pinning him to the ground. Vain reaches for the hilt of his Masamune and he slowly pulls it out with that sickening sound of silver rubbing against it�s sheathing from within� it�s resting place. ~ Vain ~ �Join me, or die where you lay� Mantis gives up and stops trying to get up. He lay�s there for a moment as Vain holds onto the Masamune, holding it at bay to his side. Looking down at Mantis as the remaining wounds that were on his body have healed away, again. Vain ponders how this mere human has the same rapid regeneration as himself. Then, finds it obvious to why Vatar must have wanted him to spare such a man in the first place. He isn�t mortal�he appears mortal, but the blood in his veins are that of an immortal. ~ Mantis ~ �I�surrender�Master� Vain pauses for a moment to ponder if Mantis is bluffing, then figures that if he attempts anything again then he won�t listen to Vatar and give him that second chance at life ever again. Vain sheaths his Masamune and steps off of Mantis� back, allowing for him to get up which Mantis does on a very slow note. Coughing in pain, still�even when his wounds gradually heal the same way Vain did throughout this fight. ~ Mantis ~ �I am yours to command�Your Excellency� Vain stops with his back turned to Mantis, Mantis gets up to his hands and knee�s�then Vain turns and kicks Mantis in the face as hard as he can, snapping Mantis� body sideways and flopping him to the ground, unconscious. Mantis lays there, out cold, sprawled out on his back as Vain frowns down upon his newest Nemesis member. ~ Vain ~ �You don�t have the privilege to address me in such a manner� Neko and Lucy watch in silence, along with Vatar. Vain walks to Mantis and peels his unconscious body up off of the ground, slinging him up and over his shoulder before looking back to the ladies and Vatar. Nodding to signal that they shall keep moving, and they do.

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