So, because I am sadly, not Cole and do not have time powers, I wasn't really able to do much for this round. So instead, I decided to do something that made me laugh and hopefully make you laugh too.
Under a cut because image heavy.
It started with something small. And with Announcer. As always. Leska probably shouldn't have checked the phone at 7:00 in the morning.
Steve had to talk Greg through Siri's "speech to text" function.
Meg, wasn't Tybalt doing the same thing to you less than 10 minutes ago?
Announcer belongs to demonica-kind
Walker belongs to hoples
Hygren belongs to quixoticoperator
Tybalt and Cole belong to parzifalsjudgment
Transcript under the Read More for the hearing-impaired.
Announcer:
HEEEY Fellas, dames, and everyone who is neither, both, or all of the above! Welcome back to TUMBLR RUMBLR! (Season two part two round two,) this is TOO SUSPENSEFUL, FOLKS! If you remember, last time you saw me, I was dangling over a crowd of angry Rumblr contestants, but DO NOT WORRY, I'm safe in my announcing booth, and we're back on track with our fights! Fortunately our two contestants are quite civil and understanding and have decided to "take the fight outside" so to speak. Literally. Well... er... I suppose it can't exactly be so to speak if it IS literal.... They're outside basically.
On one side, we have our European, time traveling, fight-fleeing, French fancy pants, Cole René! For those who missed last round, this astounding attorney used a clever method of dodging to slam the intimidating demon opponent, Xavier, into a cement pillar! And oh man, did her skull crack!
Cole: *distraught and in the distance* THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!
Announcer: And the amazing magical Veloxx got knocked out by a quick improvisational shoe!
Cole: That... Was not an accident... Whoops.
Announcer: But, don't get yourselves too hyped up because ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARENA WE HAVE THE FANTASTICALLY INTIMIDATING HIT-AND-RUN HYGREN. This psychic caecilian put up one HELL of a fight against the water-shooting Soaker, breaking his weapon and winning the match!
Hygren: Actually, I'm not caecilian. That word refers to a sort of worm-like- [He's cut off by Announcer.]
Announcer: With these two quick-footed fighters, we've got a spectacle to see for sure!
LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRUMBLR!
ROUND 2! FIGHT!
Hygren: *Sighs, annoyed.* Who the hell is this guy?
Cole: *still distraught* Besides the announcer?
Hygren: I mean besides a huge dick.
Cole: I- I don't know…
Announcer: HEY YOU TWO, I SAID "GO!" Can you get to the fighting and the punching and the release of dimension breaking energy, please?
Hygren: …I suppose we must, if we want to save everyone's lives.
Cole: I'm only a lawyer!
Hygren: A lawyer with a cheerleader.
Walker: *In the distance* I BELIEVE IN YOU, COLE!
Cole: Ah- Thank you, Walker, I appreciate that! *Turning back to Hygren* Cheerleader or not I'm not meant for fighting!
Hygren: And yet you have powers that warp the time-space continuum. Powers that, if you use them properly, will be able to break apart this universe significantly and launch us into whatever's beyond, saving everyone's lives. And the lives of the people you care about.
Cole: Well, I think that-
Walker: *in the distance still* YOU CAN WIN FOR THE BOTH OF US!
Hygren: Walker may be fine, but think of the others. Of your friends Cocoa and Kitiara and of your companion Tybalt. I'm no fool, Cole. But to decline using your powers could be the equivalent of signing everyone's death sentence. And I'm not going to risk it.
Cole: …I understand… En guarde, I suppose!
Hygren: To knockout, then. May the best man win.
---They fight. Cut to announcer---
Announcer:
Would you LOOK AT THEM GO, folks! This is a level of energy I haven't seen since… well, the last Rumblr, actually, so I guess it would just have been a year ago.
(Tybalt barges in- the door slams open)
Announcer: Hey- what are you doing, you're not allowed in here-
Tybalt: What am I doing in here?! What is COLE doing down there!?
Announcer: Well, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Rude, he's a competitor, or don't you remember? We kind of need him if we want to get out of here. You DO want to get out of here, right?
Tybalt: I don't want him HURT. Cole needs to FORFEIT.
--Cut to Cole and Hygren--
Cole: Aaah! Can you PLEASE try not to damage my clothes, they- *he pauses, mid-sentence, hearing the commotion.* Is that Tybalt?
Hygren: Eyes on the prize, Mr. Rene- we have lives to save, and I will not be deterred by your reluctance. We have to do this together, even if I have to chase you down myself.
Cole: Right, right, Apologi- EEP! NOT THE FACE!
-- Cut back to announcer and Tybalt arguing---
Announcer: For the third time, NO, you cannot force him to forfeit! We JUST STARTED! And with those two fighting, they could very well generate enough power to crack the wall!
Tybalt: I. Said. No. This is not a risk we're going to take.
Announcer: Well sorry, Captain Cockblock, but you're not the competitor- If you want him to forfeit, HE has to be the one to say so.
Tybalt: Then I will GET HIM to.
--Tybalt heads down to the fight--
Tybalt: COLE!
Cole: Tybalt? What are you- HYGREN, TIME! TIME OUT!
-Hygren pauses, and approaches Tybalt.-
Hygren: Is there a problem?
Tybalt: Did you put him up to this? You are putting Cole's life in danger for-
Cole: *interrupting* TYBALT. *he pauses when Tybalt looks at him* Tybalt, it's fine. We agreed to this for the sake of the dimension- It's collapsing, as you very well know.
Hygren: I assure you- I had no intention of permanently hurting your….friend? *Hygren doesn't seem sure what Cole is to Tybalt.* But it is our duty to protect the citizens still trapped here.
Tybalt: ….I see. Well, it is in turn, my duty to prevent my charge here from being hurt, so I must insist that he forfeits. You will have to take my head before I allow you to continue this fight.
Hygren: …So it's like that, then. You're willing to let thousands die for the sake of one?
Tybalt: Wouldn't you?
Hygren: …I hope someday I would. Perhaps this can be the first step.
--Announcer runs down to the fight himself, interrupting--
Announcer: HEY HEY HEY, FELLAS! Not for nothing, but no one wants to see you stand around and flap your gums for an hour! We need to get crackin' on that cracking! Can we get back to the action, please?!
(Cole groans, tired and rather upset.)
Cole: You know what… maybe you're right. I'm not cut out for this. I'm tired, and I don't like having to dodge things coming at my head every ten seconds. Hygren, this is your win. I forfeit.
Announcer: WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT, NO. No no no no nuh-uh, nope, uh-uh, NO CAN DO, French fry!
Tybalt: WHAT. But you JUST SAID-
Announcer: Y'know what, I say a lot of things. Dingle-dongle doodlemabob thingamajig knick-knack. That doesn't mean it means anything. Frenchie's temporal powers are one of the best weapons we're going to have to break the wall. So sorry, I can't let you do that.
Cole: But-!
Announcer: Hygren, we'll relocate you somewhere else, okay, OKAY, great!
(Tybalt can be heard shouting insults at announcer and his integrity and how he's going to make sure Announcer has to sleep with one eye open for continuing to put Cole in danger in the tournament and how this is SUCH BULLSHIT as Cole pulls him away.)
Announcer: Right okay, MOVING ON, That's a wrap let's GO ON TO THE NEXT MATCH LADIES AND GENTLEFOLK.
Cole would never have described himself as a fighter. He was a lawyer, and that only got as violent as a heated debate. Not in a million years would he have found himself in the middle of a fighting tournament. And yet, here he was, facing off against not one but two people in a ruined city in a dimension he wasn’t familiar with.
Cole looked from one opponent to the other, an uneasy smile on his face. On one hand, the older girl looked more dangerous. Her horns and tail and punk rock attire reminded him of some sort of demon. Upon closer inspection, Cole could see a pair of brass knuckles on her. On the other hand, the smaller one… The smaller one had a pistol out already. Sure, it wasn’t pointed at him, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous.
Unarmed and panicking, Cole put his hands in the air in a gesture of peace. “Ladies, ladies.” Oh— that wasn’t a good idea, now they were both staring straight at him. The girl with the tail looked like she didn’t trust him, either. “I know we’re going to have to fight until only one of us is left standing. I don’t mean to cause any trouble, so… I’m just going to let you two work it out, okay?” He waved a hand at them, noticing that they immediately locked eyes on one another once more.
The demon girl’s fists tightened and the white-clad child’s fingers flexed around her weapon. Cole wasn’t unfamiliar with the expression. It was the same one Tybalt always wore when there was a potential threat. Slightly bent knees, a low center of gravity, and the opportunity to move and react at any moment. Cole knew this stance well, and he knew that the girls would be focusing on each other.
With that in mind, he waved once again, bidding the two fighters goodbye before sprinting as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
—-
Veloxx could do this. She was gonna win this time. She’d improved since the last tournament, and she could control her magic better this year too! Her pistols were working and everything! She just had to take down her opponents one by one. First off, the two in front of her— The demon-looking girl and the brunette man in the red tie. Xavier and Cole, if Veloxx remembered correctly.
Speaking of Cole, he was saying something. His stance was one of defensive fragility. It was completely unbalanced, and Veloxx was sure that if she pushed him, he’d fall over. He didn’t exactly look like he could take her down. Therefore, she turned her attention back to the other girl and looked her over. Sharp horns, a tail, brass knuckles, and a stance that said that she was waiting for Veloxx to make a move. Any move. Veloxx stubbornly grounded herself further. Well, if the other girl wanted her to move, she wouldn’t. Veloxx knew what would happen if she acted first. Xavier was going to end up waiting a long-
Something moved at the edge of Veloxx’s vision and she acted instinctively, raising her pistol and shooting off a short magic blast at the figure. It missed, hitting the ground, and as she looked up to see what had moved, she noticed Xavier moving to run after Cole, following on the heels of Veloxx’s attack.
"Wh-hey, wait up!" Veloxx shouted after Xavier, running after her. They couldn’t just leave her here!
—-
Xavier never really liked staying in one place. It always seemed to get her down, and it reminded her of that goddamned book that she kept getting trapped in. She much rather preferred drinking and dancing and maybe punching out the lights of any jerk who dared to touch her tail without asking. Honestly, didn’t guys understand not to lay a hand on a lady without permission? Xavier couldn’t count the amount of times she’d gotten into a fight in the streets because of that. Then there were the ones she started because someone was giving her a stink-eye. And the ones she didn’t even remember getting pulled into, but the other person just looked like they deserved a pair of brass knuckles to the face. The demon wasn’t stupid though, she never started a fight.
She just finished them.
It was this determination to prove herself that landed her in the Tumblr Rumblr, across from Veloxx and Cole René. She was going to prove to everyone — prove to herself that she was strong. She was going to prove she was stronger than just drunk men in bars and thugs in the ghetto. She was going to make herself the strongest fighter in history, and the strongest fighter was the smartest. The smartest player never acted first.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to— That idiot of a brunette did. She only took her eyes off him for a second when he bolted, Veloxx reacting reflexively and shooting at his heels. So that was the game, was it? Xavier ran after Cole, since clearly Veloxx was targeting him first, only to hear a voice behind her, and footsteps coming up fast.
"Hey, wait up!"
”You’re going to have to keep up,” Xavier called back, though she really didn’t need to. Veloxx was already keeping pace with the taller woman. Then again, it was hard to run in heels, so maybe Xavier wasn’t as fleet-footed as she wanted to be.
"What are you doing?"
"Following your example," Xavier replied, turning down another street so she wouldn’t take her eyes off the fleeing lawyer. "You shot."
"That was reflex!"
"Really…You have good reflexes, then." Xavier scowled at the target in front of her. He was still moving— maybe if she tried shooting him. With one fluid motion, Xavier tossed a bolt of magic at Cole. It burst against the wall of a building as he turned a corner again, shattering the bricks there.
"Damn! I missed!"
"I could try." Veloxx offered, grabbing her gun.
Xavier took one moment to glance at the white-clad girl. “We can do it together. Two heads are better than one, right?”
Veloxx smiled in return. “Deal.”
Xavier nodded and turned back to the targ—
"DAMN IT, WHERE DID HE GO."
—-
It was a full ten minutes of running before Cole could stop and catch his breath. He’d lost track of how many broken alleyways had been ducked into and cut through before he lost his pursuers for sure, and he finally found solace in what seemed to be the crumbling remains of a public parking garage.
With a breathy sigh, Cole slumped and leaned against a support pillar. “I should never have turned down Tybalt’s offer to train me— I need to work on my cardio,” the lawyer muttered to himself in his native language.
Speaking of the bodyguard, Cole wished he knew how Tybalt was doing. He wished he could go home to his job, his kids, and his granddaughter. He wasn’t meant for this— the tournament was a mistake in the first place. He shouldn’t even be here, he had court cases to work on—
Cole’s train of thought abruptly crashed when he heard voices. “I think he went down here!”
"You’re sure?"
"He wasn’t on the roads— this is the only place he could have hidden in."
Cole felt a chill go down his spine. This was an even worse outcome than he had imagined. Fighting off one of the two was hard enough. However…. if they were both looking for him?
Excuse his French, but he was so FUCKING dead.
—-
Xavier held her tail out in front of her in a weak attempt at lighting up the dark parking garage. The mouse had to hide in the dark, didn’t he?
"Xavier," Veloxx whispered, pointing ahead to where a white sleeve stuck out from behind a support pillar, clearly visible in the dim red light from Xavier’s tail. The demon grinned and Veloxx made a motion with her hand. It was a smooth, understandable combat signal: She was going to go a different direction.
After a quick nod, Veloxx vanished into the darkness, leaving Xavier to grip her brass knuckles and approach Cole.
Time to flush out a rat.
As Xavier approached, Cole started, hearing her heels on the cement floor. He let out what sounded like a strangled squeak before fleeing, Xavier in hot pursuit. “Stay still, and it won’t hurt!” Xavier called, sending another aura bolt at Cole, who ducked with a panicked scream.
"Leave me alone!" Cole looked back over his shoulder, only to come to an abrupt halt as Veloxx appeared in front of him when he looked forward again, cutting him off, pistol already glowing and ready to blast the attorney with a burst of magic.
"Gotcha~!" Veloxx aimed and fired her gun, blue light speeding towards her target. Or rather, where her target should have been. With a flash of green and a small yelp, Cole wasn’t there. "Wait what— Where—!?"
Xavier could only brace herself as the energy projectile slammed her into the support beam Cole had been hiding behind. There was a sickening crack and Xavier’s only thought before she hit the ground was that she hoped that she hadn’t broken a horn again.
Growing it back would be a pain in the ass.
—-
Veloxx panicked as she saw Xavier’s body crumple. She quickly charged up another energy shot for a light source. The demon girl’s tail went dark, and Veloxx wouldn’t be able to see in the darkness otherwise. Careful to point the gun away from her or her ally, she quickly moved forward to check Xavier’s pulse. After an almost endless moment, there was the faint thump of a heartbeat under her fingers, and Veloxx let out a sigh.
She was going to be okay. Sure, this girl would have been her enemy in a few minutes, but that didn’t mean she had to die. And perhaps a part of her was relieved that she didn’t have to take out the girl herself. That just left the—
Veloxx yelped as her gun went off, blasting a hole in the ceiling of the complex. She fumbled with her weapon in the darkness, dropping it on the ground by accident. She felt around for a bit, and her fingers brushed against metal. It must be her gun, she thought, snatching it up from the ground. She was just about to charge another shot before what felt like a rock smashed into the back of her head and she fell on top of Xavier, cursing her lack of control. Despite all her efforts, black spots overwhelmed her vision and she knew no more.
—-
In retrospect, a 300 Franc patented leather Oxford shoe was not meant to be a bludgeoning weapon. But at that moment, Cole didn’t care— It was all he had. As Veloxx dropped to the ground Cole waited, panting, just in case she got back up, and praying that he wouldn’t have to slam the heel into her skull again.
When she didn’t wake up, Cole finally relaxed. From past experiences with Tybalt, Cole knew they would regain consciousness within five minutes. Assuming they were still healthy, of course. If not…. well, hopefully there were doctors that could treat severe concussions. He didn’t want to think of what would happen if there weren’t. With his limited time in mind, Cole spared only a moment to hop on one foot, pulling on his shoe once more before he fled the scene, scrambling out of the parking garage as fast as his time powers let him.
Time to get the fuck out of dodge.
—-
Unbeknownst to the three contestants, a dark, shadowed figure entered the Rumblr dimension with one target in mind: Cole René. It had taken a while to figure out how to enter the world after Cole had fallen through the portal. The brat who had kicked Cole in hadn’t been any help either. Tybalt Neravulpe was going to find his charge and keep him safe if it killed him. Though knowing Cole, that man would be the death of him anyway. The figure paused and took a moment to sigh heavily.
