[center][h3][color=turquoise]The Cereal Killer: Preparing the next fight![/color]
Holy Grounds[/h3]
[@Lugubrious][@BCTheEntity][/center]

With his hard work done, Bartholomew K. Runch slumped his back up against the protective dome he had sealed the wishing machine inside. Reaching into his coat, he produced two bowls with accompanying spoons. Humming a little diddy to himself, the pirate waved a hand over each of the bowls, pouring them full of cereal. One he set on the floor to his side, while he began to eat from the other. Gripping the spoon in one hand and the bowl in the other, he practically shoveled the food into his face, teeth gnashing at the baked wheat with ferocity. Throughout the halls of the Old Basilica echoed the thunderous crunching of the captain's meal. If anybody was hiding there, they'd definitely have heard it.

"The structure is clear," spoke Serhan, calmly returning from his scouting of the area. He positioned himself near the captain, slightly off to the side, and looked down at the man. The pirate glanced up, smiled, and gestured toward the spare bowl nearby through his chewing. The Turkish man's eyes followed the gesture and came to rest upon the ceramic bowl. "What is this for?"

[color=turquoise]"Gotta eat, keep your strength up!"[/color] Runch replied, accidentally spitting bits of crumb onto the floor.

"I would rather not ingest your infidel food. Besides, I've already tasted it. When you nearly crushed my body." Though his volume never increased beyond what you would expect in a normal conversation, the irritation was plain in the assassin's voice.

[color=turquoise]"Omnomnom, don't be like that now! You've got to keep your strength up and get nourished! Besides, that was a completely different recipe made for combat! This is my special Rainbow Sor-Berry! It uses over twelve different berry flavors and mixes fried ice cream sorbet! Omnomnom! Delicious and very healthy. Go ahead and try it!"[/color] Runch again gestured to the bowl on the floor.

Serhan sighed and sat down next to Runch, gripping the bowl in both hands. So long as he remained enthralled he couldn't refuse. Allah would have a very special place in Hell for this infernal pirate. Eyes squinted, he pulled the spoon toward his mouth with some measure of trepidation. One last time he dared to look at the captain, who encouraged the action once more. Serhan opened his mouth, placed the food upon his tongue, and began the process of mastication. Shock. Amazement. It had been as though electricity surged directly from his mouth to his brain! The killer couldn't help but smile as he chomped on a little more.

[color=turquoise]"Omnomnom! I had no idea that you could actually be happy!"[/color] Runch reached over and slapped the hitman on his back, causing the man to gag and choke for a good five or six seconds before he spat out the offending pellet. A glare of pure malice and death shot over to Runch, who recoiled sheepishly, nervously whistling and avoiding eye contact. Serhan finished his bowl, but not without keeping his eye on the pirate for the entire meal.

A good twenty minutes later, and Runch continued making seconds, thirds, and fourths for himself, the duo had their fill of rejuvenating nourishment. The pirate stood up and announced, [color=turquoise]"Alright, now we be ready to take on our next opponent! Omnomnom!"[/color]

"In what capacity?" Serhan criticized. "We don't know who they are, what they can do, or where to find them. Intelligence and preparation are key."

Runch opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He had been halted in his tracks just like a flattened tire. That is, until he once again picked up some steam.[color=turquoise]"You're right on most accounts. Once we see them, the journal will tell us everything we need to know, but I don't think they'll show up, let us read a book covering their whole abilities and weaknesses, then start up the fight. But Oren did say something about finding this guy in the next district over."[/color]

The Turk shook his head. "I got lucky when I found you so early yesterday. That allowed me to tail you for some time. An entire district in a city this grand, how do you propose we find them?"

[color=turquoise]"Well,"[/color] Runch shrugged then scratched the back of his head. [color=turquoise]"I did actually have a plan about that. Oren called us up earlier today you see. We have 3 free calls to get advice or hints from him, but we can also connect directly to our opponents, like a den den mushi."[/color]

Normally fairly unflappable, Serhan had to double take to make sure he had heard Runch correctly. "Den den mushi? What in Allah's name is that?"

[color=turquoise]"You know, a den den mushi. Does... Does your world not have them? It's a snail that sends electronic waves to other snails, so you can talk to people far away. Anyway, what's important is that I can call up our opponent through my phylactery. So we go out to meet halfway, then while you prepare the field I'll call him up and tell him to watch for my signal."[/color]

Serhan looked like he was trying to follow the pirate's description of this "den den mushi," but wasn't quite grasping the concept. Eventually he just shrugged it off as another oddity from this already bizarre man. After all, he could create and control baked wheat, so what else could possibly be surprising at this point? "Very well. I would prefer to have an understanding of this man before setting up the battlefield, but I suppose nothing in this situation is ideal."

[color=turquoise]"Don't worry, mate!"[/color] Runch went in for another slap to the back, but pulled away at the last moment as he remembered what had happened the last time he tried. The end result looked like an extremely awkward attempt at a hug. [color=turquoise]"This isn't the end of Cap'n K. Runch's adventures! I can feel it in the air! Omnomnom!"[/color]

"I could only pray that it was," Serhan shot back. "But it is not your end that I worry for."

[color=turquoise]"Not to worry. So long as I still draw breath, my crew is under my protection! Omnomnom! Now let's head out. We shouldn't have much daylight left."[/color]

[hr][hr]
[center][h3]Oldtown[/h3][/center]

Two hours later, the pirate and assassin duo had traversed back across district lines from the Holy Grounds to the Oldtown. Again crossing the flooded zones was irritating, but not a major issue. Runch had instantly known where he wanted the battlefield to be as soon as his eyes met with the grand structure. Serhan had reservations, saying that it was not only too obvious, but too open. It had lacked cover and placement for his traps, there was too little to take advantage of, but the captain didn't care. The large colosseum was to be the battlefield. Or at least part one of the battlefield. For some reason, Runch felt like this would be a drawn out process. 

The colosseum had been partially flooded out, just like the rest of the Historical District, but it wasn't too bad. Other than some rooms within the larger structure being totally submerged, the arena itself was merely wet. The assassin did his best setting up his preparations, not just within the arena but scattered throughout the larger structure, in the stands, the halls, and anywhere else he thought the fight might end up spilling out into.

[color=turquoise]"Everything setup?"[/color] Runch asked, once he saw Serhan approaching him in the middle of the arena.

"As much as can be," he retorted, irritated. "Inside the building has a good deal more I can work with. Out here we're sitting ducks."

[color=turquoise]"I'll be the sitting duck, so don't you worry about that, omnomnom! I'm not risking your life in my fight, mate. So consider it captain's orders to head back to the wishing machine. Once I win, I'll come back for ya! Omnomnom!"[/color]

"You... Want me to abandon you in a battle to the death? Heh heh. You're far more foolish than I anticipated." The Turk shook his head as he chuckled, then did exactly as ordered. Of course he would have done exactly that even if he weren't magically compelled to do whatever Runch ordered. Runch didn't read too much into it, though. 

The pirate excitedly pressed the button on his phylactery to contact Oren, then spoke with the excitement of a schoolboy. [color=turquoise]"This is the cap'n! Go ahead and connect me to whatever trouble I gotta tussle with today!"[/color] He waited, impatiently tapping his heel, until the connection came through. [color=turquoise]"This is Cap'n Bartholomew K. Runch, cap'n of the Krunch Pirates and worth a bounty of 32 million belli! I'm here in the Oldtown Colosseum and ready to take you on for the honor of a wish! Omnomnomnom! In case you did like I did and won your last fight without killing'em, then I challenge you to a one on one duel! Let your crewmate prepare you if you like, but once you step into the fight it's just you and me! Omnomnom! Oh, and if you don't know where to go, just look for my signal in the sky in.... Three, two, one."[/color]

Runch grinned, then placed his phylactery inside his shirt, buried under three layers of fabric. [color=turquoise]"Bori bori... Jet!"[/color] With a mighty leap the pirate took to the air, propelled by a constant high pressure stream of cereal pellets blasting from his feet. One, two, three, four, five hundred feet, six hundred, seven hundred, all the way up to a thousand feet he soared like a jet plane! [color=turquoise]"Bori bori fireworks!"[/color] The pirate threw his arms and legs out and spun wildly around the air, firing out tons of cereal of every color imaginable. It was like an explosion of rainbows peppering the sky. That was one hell of a signal!

Gently Runch let his fall be slowed by pressurizing out another, slower jet stream until he touched down on the ground. He then pulled out the phylactery one more time and spoke into it. [color=turquoise]"I'll be waiting."[/color]