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[i]Ten Minutes Ago...[/i]

Far from the electric excitement of the Nomad Tournament, well beyond the range of MAVERICK's frequent patrols, two figures traversed the side of the snow-topped mountain, their cloaks whipped into a violent frenzy by the high winds. The figure in front drew itself to its full height, dwarfing its hunched over companion, as it held out its hand to survey the side of the mountain.

"There!" it spoke suddenly, its deep voice cleaving through the cold air as it stormed forward, the companion stumbling behind it. Coming to a stop over the snow-covered stone, the massive figure held out its hand again, filling it with magical flames before hurling it to the earth. The snow dissipated like dust, revealing not the ground but a stone doorway, plain and unadorned save the letters scrawled upon the center.

[i][center]鬼に金棒[/center][/i]

"My lord..." the second figure stammered out, her voice trembling with reverence.

"Silence," the first figure demanded. "Hold out your arm." Obediently, the servant did as she was commanded, turning her hooded face away. There was a slash and a whimper of pain, and the servant turned back, cradling her wounded arm as the master flecked a sword across the face of the stone door, sprinkling it with blood. A loud crack echoed through the wind as the magical seal shattered, followed by crunching stone as the master kicked through the door, crumbling it to pieces as he threw the blade aside.

"Undisturbed, after all this time," the master remarked. "They never even scratched the surface. Come."

The servant obeyed as the pair of them entered the stone doorway, descending the crudely carved stone stairway. Blue flames sprung to life on either side as they descended, the crackling warmth drowning out the distant winds. After what felt like hours, the pair reached an ancient stone archway, the room beyond it illuminated by blue light. As the master crossed the threshold, the blue flames burned brighter, revealing the shadows of monstrous figures carved from stone, arranged in a circle around the inner chamber. The servant looked upon them in awe, her eyes moving from their snarling faces to the clubs held aloft, ready to strike.

"The emperor of Qing had humans made of stone, to guard his tomb," the master remarked derisively, approaching the center of the figures at a brisk pace. "How fitting then, that these stone warriors will serve a better purpose."

"What purpose is that, my lord?" the servant asked as the Master stepped onto the dais in the center of the room.

"Retribution." Lowering his head in concentration, the master once more held out his arms, reciting an incantation in a long dead language. The ground shuddered more and more violently as he proclaimed the ancient spell, and as he barked out the last words, the center of the stone dias opened wide, a white light shining from beneath. The servant's breathing shuddered in excited reverence as what looked like a gauntlet emerged from the ground, rising like smoke in the bright light. Before the servant could express her admiration, the master took the gauntlet, pulling it onto his left hand. As soon as the gauntlet was pulled tight, white flames erupted from the hand, spreading through the Master's body and through the ground. The servant leapt back as the flames traversed the room, weaving between the statues before traveling up and around the stone bodies as the intense power washed throughout the room like a windstorm.

"This is just the beginning," the Master cried, clenching his fist around the burning gauntlet as the sound of shifting stone filled the chamber. "Soon, all of humanity will know my suffering!"

"My l-lord!" the servant cried out, bowing to him on her hands and knees. "Wh-where will your glorious conquest begin?"

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MAVERICK's Drone Research Division was in a tight spot, though in fairness that was largely because of bad timing. After all, if there's anything that can make your presentation of a brand new combat robot look bad, it's presenting it days before a massive attack on Rio by a robot army. The division had avoided being scrapped entirely, but MAVERICK had still effectively benched the division to avoid an ugly PR incident, moving it from first response status to a support capacity for the ongoing reconnaissance mission in Japan. It was all for the better though, as the members of the DRU felt it was wise to keep their heads down and stay out of trouble for the time being.

Well, most of the DRU at least...

[b][color=9e0b0f]"[i]¡NO MANCHES![/i] THROW HIS ASS OUT OF THE RING!!![/color][/b]

Camila del Bosque erupted in screaming cheers with the rest of the crowd she was sitting with as Ketsuiki threw his oponnent's ass out of the ring, as well as the rest of them. With her MAVERICK uniform jacket tied around her waist in favor of her ratty tank-top shirt, she easily blended into the crowd the rowdy onlookers around her in spite of her uniform trousers and boots. Sharing enthusiastic high-fives with everyone around her, she dropped back into her seat and noticed buzzing from the earpiece she was supposed to be wearing. Picking it up from over her shoulder, she shoved it back into position.

"Del Busk?" Captain Trent sounded off in his posh English accent. "Del Busk come in!"

[color=9e0b0f]"Right here, [i]el cabrón[/i],"[/color] she responded, rolling her eyes at the impressively bad pronunciation of her name.

"Del Busk, what the hell are you doing?!?"

[color=9e0b0f]"Observing the combat capabilities of potential hostiles,"[/color] Camila said officially, taking a loud swig of her drink. [color=9e0b0f]"You should have seen how far this potential hostile threw that probable threat out of the area."[/color]

"Is this some sort of joke, Commander?"

[color=9e0b0f]"No, this is Patrick."[/color]

"You're supposed to be with your unit!" Captain Trent barked irritably.

[color=9e0b0f]"[i]Chale,[/i] Captain. We're not in a combat position, remember? Besides, if anything happens THUNDERBIRD can fight without me until I get there. It's just outside the arena, for fuck's sake."[/color]

"None of your laughs, commander! Get back to your unit or I'll have you thrown in the bloody stocks!" There was an audible click as the commander closed his end of the communication.

[color=9e0b0f]"If I wanted a laugh I'd look down your trousers, [i]pendejo[/i],"[/color] Camile grumbled to herself as she took the earpiece out again and leaned back in her chair. Taking another swig of her drink, she suddenly felt raindrops on her exposed arm. Looking angrily up at the sky, she undid the knot holding the sleeves of her jacket together, hoping to throw it over her head to keep the rain off.

[color=9e0b0f]" 'It's not going to rain, don't bother with the umbrella Cammy', "[/color] she recited in a derisive tone. [color=9e0b0f]"Barry you are such an idiot..."[/color]