Place all your approved character on this list. Simply copy/paste or put a link to your character here. Make sure to also state who approved your character.

Name: Revolver (aka Quick Hand Revolver�)

Age: N/A

Race: Cyborg

Sex: Male

Hair: Long (About shoulder length), curly, brown

Eyes: Green

Weight: Varies with Cyber-skin

Regular: 345 pounds

Cyber-skin stage one: 785 pounds

Cyber-skin stage two: 1,115 pounds.

Height: Varies with Cyber-skin

Regular: 6'1

Cyber-skin stage one: 6'8

Cyber-skin stage two: 7'3

Weapons for Revolver (Normal): King Cobra Revolver, four-inch short sword, bare fists.

Weapons for Revolver (Cyber-skin stage one): A three-foot blade that it connected to each of his arms.

Weapons for Revolver (Cyber-skin stage two): King Cobra Revolver, bare fists.

Armor of Revolver (Normal): None except his clothing.

Armor of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage one): Skin is made of a combination of steel and silver.

Armor of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage two): Skin is a combination of gold and titanium.

Strengths of Revolver (Normal): For one, Revolver is very skilled with his King Cobra Revolver. Even though he is heavy, due to being mostly mechanical, he has high flexibility and can sprint without getting fatigued, making him somewhat versatile. Smart, and can fight with his bare fists. He also has mastered his skills and magic. Because he is part machine, all his bones are made up of steel and are harder to penetrate then simple bone. Can transform his skin into Cyber-skin stage one immediately. When in either of the two stages of Cyber-skin, he can immediately change back into his normal form. Can forge bullets that contain his magical attributes.

Strengths of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage one): The armor is exceptionally difficult to break through. He has three feet blades attached to both of his hands and is very good at using them. Because he is metal, his punch is extremely powerful and can leave an opponent paralyzed for a few seconds.

Strengths of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage two): The armor is impervious to nearly anything that attempts to harm him. Because the skin is a mixture of both titanium and gold, a solid punch can send his opponent into an unconscious state.

Weakness of Revolver (Normal): Because he is not completely machine and needs every organ to work, he is weak to everything a normal human is weak to. Magic (particularly to fire and ice, but he is weak to all forms of magic). Lacks good mobility.

Weakness of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage one): Due to heavier weight, he can only jog and not run. When the heat is in the stages of boiling point and higher, after five minutes he will melt into a lump of cyber liquid that will form back to his original state after 24 hours. The same goes for freezing point or below, except that he will freeze and it will take 24 hours for his program to defreeze him. Only after ten minutes of being in this skin can he change to stage two immediately. Cannot use magic.

Weakness of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage two): Due to being extremely heavy, all he can do is walk. All of his actions are slowed down. The same things with the temperatures affect him as with the first stage, but he can only defreeze and form back after 36 hours. Due to the extreme weight, Revolver can only stay in this form for fifteen minutes before the mass starts to crush his internal organs. Although in this stage he can use his revolver, he is extremely clumsy with it. Cannot use magic.

Magic: Only Revolver's normal form can use magic. Although not originally built or programmed with magic, he has studied a few magic spells over his time. Due to being part human, he can harness the powers of magic, being able to effectively use them.

Magic Bullets: Revolver has the ability to forge bullets with his elemental magic. The bullets act like regular except that upon impact the magic has the same effect as it would regularly. Revolver can only forge magic bullets if the bullets are hollow pointed. The magic is twice as weak as his regular magic.

Ice: Revolver has mastered the power of ice magic. It takes only five seconds to charge up, but he can only use it once every twenty seconds. The magic is shaped like a sickle that is about three feet long.

Fire: Revolver has the most mastery in the art of fire magic. It only takes him only three seconds to charge it up, but can only cast it every fifteen seconds.

Lightning: Revolver has the worst mastery with this magic. Although he can cast it instantly and it has a range of twenty yards, it cannot be kept in a constant stream and he can only cast it every minute or so.

Skills: Revolver has only two skills, Shadow and Bubble. Although many consider these magic, it is not because Revolver was built and programmed with these two sets of skills and it does not really on the mystic forces of the beyond. Therefore, they cannot be considered magic.

Shadow: Revolver basically creates a small black energy field that surrounds him. At first when it was programmed, the developers themselves were not quite sure of what it did. However, after Revolver developed his magic power, the field could strengthen his spells; doubling there lethality. The field can only be activated for thirty seconds, and he cannot use it again for 3 hours.

Bubble: Bubble was first designed as hardware to create a bubble that surrounds Revolver's body. After further research, the engineers that designed him created a program that deals with it. Revolver basically creates a bubble that is about half the size of a baseball field. Nothing can harm him when he is inside and anything that touches it gets a small shock. However, this only lasts for fifteen seconds and cannot be used for another 48 hours.

Appearance of Revolver (Normal): Revolver is a fairly shady figure. His cheeks are more concaved then most peoples. His jaw is more retracted than an average person while his teeth are clean white (they are actually real teeth). His forehead is also more retracted then a normal humans. His face is hard to describe. His face is squarer then most humans, but it retains the round structure of a human face. His skin is soft and tender. The tone of his skin is a very light brown color, but it isn't plain white. His face resembles that of a young adult. His eyes are real human eyes with nerves that connect to his organic brain. His body has a structure of an average male adult. Both of his legs are mad of silver. The interesting thing about his legs is that though it appears to be nothing more than a human leg made of silver on the outside, the inside is made of steel and wires that resemble the human bones and nerves. His left arm is part organic and part machine. The outside is made of skin tissue while the inside is composed of steel that represent bones and other wires. His right arm is completely organic. The entire part of the arm (from shoulder to the hand) is made up of organic material; including blood veins and nerves.

On his head he wears a cowboy hat to hide his face away. He wears combat boots and jeans to cover his lower body. He wears a clean white shirt and a brown leather jacket on top of it. He wears a leather gauntlet on his left hand to cover up its artificialness. Although he usually does not cover his eyes, he occasionally wears glasses with a blue tint to make him keep himself mysterious to human life forms. He carries his ammunition in a brown pouch on the right side of his thigh; while on the left side of his thigh, he carries his short sword.

Appearance of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage one): His skin is a combination of steel and silver, giving it a sleek metallic look. He has no cloths. His head becomes an oval shape. His whole body adapts a round shape (excluding his feet and arms, which retain their original shape and form). His eyes simply become black hollow oval circles. His body mass doubles in size, making him look a little like an animated character. He also has two three-foot blades that are permanently attached to the top of his hands.

Appearance of Revolver (Cyber-skin stage two): Revolver's skin is a combination of gold and titanium color, giving him an awkward color scheme (although it mostly resembles the color of tan). His body keeps the same mass as in the previous form, but the shape and figure changes drastically. His face becomes shaped like a diamond (although he does keep the black and hollow eyes). His body regains the shape of a human. His legs resemble those of his normal form. The arms are almost alike, between the elbow and the hand, the shape is cylindrical with three medium shaped triangles (one on the wrist, one on the elbow, and one in-between the two) holding them together. The hands become about two inches longer and resemble gauntlets.

Personality: There are very few details about Revolver's personality. It is known that he was designed and programmed with the emotions lust, hate, happiness, anger, joy, and fear. Over time, he learned several other emotions such as love, sadness, depression, serenity etc.

Revolver was programmed and created with the intension of being a killing machine. The other alternative, which later was the main focus of the goal, was to design something that had some physical and psychological of a machine; while also designing something with similar anatomy, body structure, customs and progression of a human. Revolver later adopted more psychological and emotional (while developing the remaining traits) traits of a human. Other then that, little or almost nothing is known about the personality of Revolver.

Biography: Revolver was created on a dark cold December night in an underground lab in the city of Xopher. It was the year 2005 when three unnamed scientists succeeded in creating Revolver. The process was difficult, but after some time, they finished. Unlike most common myths, Revolver isn't named after the pistol. One of the scientists was into the Beatles and decided to call him Revolver� after the Beatles album of the same name (although this could be false. He was preprogrammed with capabilities of handling the weapon. His original name was Quick Hand Revolver, which seems as the most likely source of the name).

Revolver is a combination of man and machine. His brain was made up of both brain cells and mechanical parts. The three unnamed scientists managed to clone the outer part of a brain. In the center, they placed a small motherboard (like that of a computer) in the center. Each small chip on that motherboard was responsible for one or multiple concepts of Revolver (such as emotion, skills, personality etc.). The organic materials were created to see if it was possible for man and machine to be one. Revolver still has all the vital organs of a human. He also possesses all the major human body systems, which means he still has to eat, sleep, drink etc.

The Cyber-skin was a complex development. The skin is made of an unknown liquid which is stored beneath the skin. The liquid cannot be stabilized unless it has contact with both metal and organic material. Once the user gets accustomed to the liquid, the user can freely control the effects of Cyber-skin. When the liquid is exposed to any type of external gas (oxygen, nitrogen etc.), it forms a protective metal armor which protects the body. The organic organs are then quickly clustered together. To avoid any damage and let Revolver control the Cyber-skin, the scientists exposed the liquid in-between the mechanical part of the brain, and the organic part. There are two stages to Cyber-skin. The first stage happens when the liquid gets into contact with the external gas. The second stage happens after the Cyber-skin has been in contact with the gas for ten minutes or more. The armor can become even stronger because it is accustomed to the external gas for the time period. Once it develops in the second stage, the user needs to be very careful. After fifteen minutes the liquid can't take the second stage any longer and it tries to force its way back in. Because the scientists developed it so that only Revolver can control the flow of the liquid, the liquid will start to crush him. And that is how Cyber-skin works.

After he was created, the engineers (scientists) let him out into the free world to see how he would perform. Ever since then, revolver has been living in the city of Xopher, going about his business. He is fully aware that he is a Cyborg and uses this to his advantage. Revolver trained himself to exceed his abilities that he was programmed with for reasons unknown to man.

But Revolver is actually three different Versions of the same entity spanning throughout three different universes. The first is the cyber version of himself. Just before letting him go out into the free world, the scientists implemented the original Revolver's features into a mega server which created the two other Revolvers. The first one is the main one, which is in the server data base. The second one is the actual copy of the main cyber one; this one is the one in the BA. As of the whereabouts of the original Revolver, that remains unknown.

Name: Kartaikian, otherwise known as Stormcloud.

Age: Around 18 years of age.

Race: Basically human, but from a different universe with slightly different traits.

Gender: Male.

Hair: Gray and messy. A mop of hair that covers his ears and forehead, and yes, gray.

Eyes: Gray. See, there's a bit of a theme here.

Weight: Just about 160 lbs, but they don't have scales where he comes from.

Height: Just about 6 feet tall.

Weapons: A greenish/black longsword, with a crack that runs down the middle of the blade. The metal used to make the blade is unknown, and unlike any other metal. The metal does not melt at super high temperatures, it does not break or bend or dent or chip no matter how hard it seems to get hit. In fact, if the person holding the blade were to, say, shove the blade into the spokes of a moving train wheel, it would be more likley that his arm be torn off and the wheel stop moving then for the blade to break. This blade is called Soulsplitter, and it's enchanted with a curse. The curse originally took Kartaikian by surprise, and split his entire soul into two parts. Hence he became two people instead of just one. It took him many long years of questing in order to conquer the curse and become whole again. He can now use the curse at will in order to separate himself in two, so as to attack from two places at once. This is useful for fighting groups of enemies, where he would otherwise be surrounded or flanked, or for fighting large enemies that never show their weak side.

Kartaikian also has a composite recurved bow and many steel tipped barbed arrows, with gray feathers. At any given time he may also have a knife or other small weapon, but nothing big enough to be worth mentioning.

Armor: Kartaikian wears a hauberk of black chainmail under his other clothing. Over his chainmail he wears simple hard leather armor, and then over that he wears his normal gray clothing. This is usually enough to fend off most slashing attacks, but still leaves him vulnerable to powerful stabbing attacks. He doesn't wear a helm, but he does have a sheild.

His sheild is a small round sheild, made of wood in order to remain light enough to carry, but plated in metal for protection. The metal coating is black, but a shiny steel rhombus (diamond-shape) is inset into the middle of the sheild. In the middle of the rhombus is a deadly metal spike, for sheild bashing.

Strengths: Kartaikian is exceptionally skilled in both swordplay and archery, and can do both from horseback. He is also a skilled adventurer and can last many days without food or water, and not be weakened. He can run fast and jump high, and his strong arms enable him to climb walls, ropes, and whatnot without his legs if necessary. He is also strong-minded and strong-willed, and will not stop until he's met his goal. Also, his Soulsplitting ability can be concidered a strength.

Weaknesses: Kartaikian is not very empathetic and cannot sense the feelings, emotions, or thoughts of people around him unless they're very strong. He also has very little resistance to magical attacks. Sometimes he tends to get frustrated when he can't solve something. Also, he occasionally rushes into action before thinking, which can be both a good thing, or a drastically bad thing. The many things he carries on his back (sheild, backpack, quiver, bow, etc.) tend to slow him down, so he sometimes puts these items on his horse where they're not in his immediate grasp. While he is separated in two via Soulsplitter, each half of him is half as strong as normal.

Techniques/Magic: Soulsplitter, the mystic cursed longsword. Given 5 to 10 seconds to concentrate and activate the curse, Kartaikian can separate his soul and body into two equal parts. Both bodies will look exactly like Kartaikian, only somewhat slimmer and smaller. One will be dressed completely in black (instead of gray) and the other completely in white (instead of gray) including the hair (but the eyes will remain exactly the same, gray.) The other minimal differences are that instead of being ambidextrous, one (the black colored one) is right handed and the other (the white colored one) is left handed.

Each copy will have half of the longsword, which literally splits down the center along the crack. Hence the blade itself is already at a disadvantage, being smaller and only having one sharpened edge. Each half of Kartaikian will be less strong as the whole Kartaikian, with less resistance to all forms of attack (except magical attacks against the mind, as Kartaikian's mind is still whole), less endurance, and less energy. He will still be just as strong-minded and strong-willed because his mind is not separated between the halves, but instead shared.

The advantages are the fact that he can attack from two places at once, making it easier to take down pretty much any kind of enemy. He can attack from various angles at once, or surround a single enemy, or make it easier to attack groups of multiple enemies who would otherwise have him surrounded. In about twice as much time as it takes him to separate, he can join himself together again.

The separation process is very painful, but he's use to it by now. This sometimes keeps him from using it more than once in the same battle. However, it takes no energy or skill, and cannot be done wrong. This is because it's the curses natural posistion to be active, and hence it actually takes much more energy to undo the curse than to activate it.

Appearance: The first thing anyone notices is the color of his clothing. He is dressed exclusively in gray, his tunic, cloak, and trousers, to match his gray hair and eyes. He wears a black leather backpack to store his various items and such, and strapped to his pack is his quiver and bow. At his black leather belt he carries his blade, Soulsplitter, sheathed in its strange black metal scabbard at Kartaikian's left (Kartaikian can use his sword and bow with either hand however.) As is normal for his race, his ears are slightly pointed (not as much as elves ears though) and he is fairly tall and thin. His horse, which goes by the name Stormrider, is a very large warhorse and is as gray as Kartaikian.

Personality: Kartaikian usually appears to be emotionless, as he normally hides his emotion. This makes it hard for people to tell what he's thinking. He's not very empathetic, and hence cannot read the emotions of other people. He acts cold and unfriendly at times (most times) since he doesn't show emotion (including happiness) but is good at heart. Although he's generally uncaring of anything that doesn't immediatly effect him, he cannot stand for evil and would put a stop to any kind of mistreatment or unreasonable harm to other people. He travels the world, never settling anywhere. He never talks about his past, his feelings, or what he's thinking (in fact, he generally doesn't talk much at all) and is rather avoidant of people in general. He's seen the evils people are cabable of, and doesn't trust anyone. He prefers to be alone, clearly, and avoids teamwork for any reason, unless absolutely necessary or unavoidable.

Biography: Read the whole biography, as it progresses, here.

Long ago, when Kartaikian was about 15, someone burned down half of Kartaikain's hometown, killing many of his friends, and his grandfather, whom he lived with. His grandfather had been his closest and only real relative, a better father to Kartaikian than his real father. His real father hardly ever spent any time with Kartaikian, simply naming him and leaving him with his grandfather. He showed up every year or so for long enough to give Kartaikian's grandfather some money (since he didn't work) and then leave.

After the arson, Kartaikian had nowhere to really live and no one to run too, so he simply ran away. As he was still young, the arson had helped with his general antisocial attitude. He long explored the world, never really settling. On one quest he traveled to the ruins of an ancient civilization on the idea that a powerful artifact lay hidden there; a sword that would double the strength and power of its bearer. His father warned him of the artifact, saying many things about the unreliability of myths and magic, but he ignored him and found the longsword. The moment he touched the blade he was cursed, and it split his soul into two parts. For a very long time he was stuck like this, one person in two bodies. Soon he got somewhat used to it, but it was still a bit of a hinderance.

One day though, through a quest that is still yet to be written, Kartaikian had to conquer the curse in order to save his father, whom although he seemed to hate on the outside, he truly still loved on the inside. Having conquered the curse through events yet unknown, he was able to use it at will. Thus he could rend himself in two at any random moment he so wished, and surprise his opponent (or opponents) by attacking from two places at once. It took a while to truly master this, and the rending process still hurts quite a bit, but it takes almost no energy or skill to do, as it's the natural form of the curse.

Artist's Impression:


Image by I)ragon11

Ejnar Rekklae.

Name: Heishuro Maruchi

Age: 22

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Zodiac sign: Aries (April 2nd)

Hand and feet preference: Both right, although his left foot isn’t far behind his right.

Hair: Black (tied back into a small ponytail)

Eyes: Hazel, with a lightning strike tattoo narrowly missing his left one.

Weight: 200lb

Height: 5’9”

Weapon: Heishuro wields a pair of Nunchaku called Xuriken (Sure-ee-ken) . They are made from steel and are linked to Heishuro’s soul. This is the only weapon that allows him to use magic through. The bones in his feet are made from strong steel, due to an accident he had when he was five. (see bio)

Armour: Heishuro relies more on speed to keep him out of harms way, so apart from his red leather amour, he has no protection.

Strengths: Heishuro is fast, agile, strong and extremely fit. A blackbelt in the Japanese Martial Arts; (Budō) he was proclaimed as "The World's Greatest," in Budō, Karate, Jujitsu and Ninjitsu. Though he combined all his skills into his own unique fighting style; with which he won the World Martial Art’s championship with.

He wields Xuriken powerfully. He is also very adept at kicks, so he tries different combinations of nunchaku and kicking attacks. His expertise stretches fully across weapons and striking training, though his grappling isn’t up to his high standards; although his grapples would be considered exceptional to others.

His nunchaku allows him to use magic through the weapon. He can conjure any inanimate object or summon elements to his advantage. He does it as he thinks of it. He is actually an avid magician, but he needs his nunchaku to be able to do anything. This is because the magical genes in his blood can only be awoken with a magical outlet. He cannot be separated with his nunchaku, if either he or the weapon moves away, the other moves with him.

He can control and create Fire, Water, Darkness, Light, Earth and Wind. But perhaps his strongest feature is his mind. Although not particularly intelligent, his imagination works well with his magic.

Weakness: He is young, naïve and cocky. He thinks he is better than everyone and makes enemies easily. He’ll make simple mistakes and never admit he is wrong.

He gets angry easily and that will cause him to make even more mistakes. He also has no real protection, although he can dish out the punishment, he seldom doesn’t receive any back.

His reluctance is perhaps his most vulnerable point. Although he will kill; it may take needless justification and mental battles.

Skills/Magic: He has a variety of signature techniques and skills for his nunchaku, although these are but the most common of them:

Stances:

Rage Stance: Heishuro constantly moves Xuriken in this stance, making it easy to attack. He can attack quickly and unpredictably in this stance, although he can’t deal with attack’s as well.

Defensive Stance: This time Heishuro pulls the nunchucks away from one another, making the chain tense and tight. This makes is easier to block attacks but harder to attack.

Balanced Stance: This is Heishuro’s most common stance, he will start any battle in this stance. He juggles the two nunchucks in each hand. He can quickly switch to each stance from this and it gives a nice balance of defence and offence.

Special blows:

Double blow: Heishuro grabs the chain of Xuriken, so when he swings them, both nunchucks can strike the enemy.

Knock down: He swings a nunchuck around the opponents leg, then catches it. He twisted his body and kicks them hard in the chest. They fall backwards as he pulls the nunchaku, tripping them up.

Roundhouse blow: Heishuro jumps high into the air and places his left foot on the enemies left shoulder. He grips his nunchaku with his toes and smacks the enemy in the face with both his foot, and his nunchaku.

Boomerang kick: This ability is a mixture of magic and skill. Heishuro throws his nunchaku in the air and uses magic to position the nunchaku at the back of the opponent. Then Heishuro’s bind to his weapon draws the two together, so the enemy gets hit and kicked from both sides.

Chainsaw kick: Also a mixture of magical and physical abilities. Maruchi levitates and magically rotates his hip and waist muscles to allow him to kick in a swift, smooth, circular motion. Although this is powerful and quick, it will cause aches to his hips and lower back.

Chained Palm: Using magical lightning to strengthen the chain; Maruchi wraps the nunchucks around his flat palm. Then whilst attacking (palm strike in particular) the attack causes more damage.

Appearance: Heishuro wears a red leather jacket with no sleeves or buttons, though with no opening apart from underneath. (untucked) He wears slightly darker red trousers, (crimson) that fall down to the top of his ankles. He wears no shoes, for the skin on his feet is strong enough to withstand any terrain. His ears barely come away from his head; instead they stick to the side of his head, like elven ears. Despite his small stature, he has broad shoulders. He has a black tattoo on his face of a lightning strike. It stretches from between his ear and eye to the left side of his mouth. He boasts his blackbelt in Martial Arts also.

Theme Songs: Driven by Rush. - Joker by Steve Miller Band.

Personality: Heishuro is cocky, arrogant and very self-centred. If he doesn’t like someone, he won’t keep it quiet, he will insult them and make sure he gets his point across as clearly as possible.

But in everything he does, he means well. He is actually quite kind, but feels he needs to appear confident to attract the attention he so desperately craves for.

He doesn’t believe in any particular religion or god, he cannot find time for it. Deep down he wants love, but he tries not to let that show, he feels he has to stay strong of the outside to prevent him from going soft on the inside. He gives away trust quite easily, sometimes too easily; it can lead to him being betrayed or heartbroken. Inside, he is very emotional, but his cocky exterior hides this well.

Biography: Heishuro was abandoned at birth, he never knew his parents. Although he was raised in Japan, he speaks with a strong American accent. He was taken in by a martial arts organisation, they found him in the street, with a lightning strike tattoo already injected flawlessly, running down his face as if a tear.

When he was five, he landed awkwardly, after attempting a roundhouse kick. He broke both his feet and had to have all of his feet and lower legs reconstructed. The doctors said that his bone marrow was unique, so they rebuilt his feet bones with strong steel, which remains polished within his feet to this day.

He was raised as a fighter, and trained day and night to build the perfect balance of strength, speed and skill. The organisation was in Tokyo city. It was there that he won the martial arts tournament that proved him to be: “The best fighter on Earth.” But having beaten the world, and achieved success despite everything. But in 2003, at Tokyo‘s national arena, new path awakened in front of Heishuro...

~~~

“Heishuro!” Anger blasted out from a small red haired woman, who was sending a devil glare at Heishuro.

“Up yours Fujima! I’m not fighting today!” Heishuro’s young voice sounded pitiful next to the loud shriek of the small Japanese lady.

The pair was in a large martial arts arena, the best money could buy. Whilst crowds poured in to watch the scheduled fight, Maruchi Vs Amarez. Japan Vs Mexico. The world champion Vs The #1 contender. It was truly the worlds greatest stage. But backstage in the champion’s dressing room, the champ was arguing his case against his manager, Fujima.

The small women walked over to Heishuro, who was seated on a bench. “Listen…” This time her voice was calm, with an air of understanding about it. “I know it seems unfair, like the whole world wants you beat?” She looked at him with a kindness in her eyes.

Heishuro nodded as he spoke. “Yeah… but not allowed to use my weapon of choice, or even any kicks? That’s just unfair,” he whined.

“Kid, it’s a non-weapon fight, so your nunchaku can’t be used. You can understand that, right?” She explained.

“But what about the kicks? It’s not my fault my bones are stronger than most peoples! It was an accident!” He replied hastily.

“Not many martial artists try roundhouse kicks at the age of five, Heishuro.” Fujima’s mouth curled upwards into a slight smile as she spoke. Both of them burst out laughing.

Finally, Fujima managed to convince Heishuro of one thing: It didn’t matter what the conditions were, what handicap was put in place, Heishuro would always be the best. Before long, people were cheering for Heishuro; like every night.

“Go on Maruchi! Show ‘em Japan’s the best country in the world!”

The crowd’s chants filled the arena as Heishuro dominated the battle, despite his handicap against the bigger Chavo Amarez. Heishuro was barely breaking a sweat; he had other things on his troubled mind.

The young man was on the offensive, breaking through Amarez’s defences like he was holding up paper in front of his face. Finally Maruchi palm struck the Mexican on the right shoulder, breaking and crushing the poor fighter’s shoulder blade and collar bone.

“Arghhh!” Chavo’s cry of agony signalled the end of the competition. Heishuro raised his arm and began hopping on the spot, a familiar grin spread ear to ear. But before long, confusion was all visible on the champion’s face.

A cloaked figure stood amongst the crowd, completely still and silent in the rustle of celebration. Under the black cloak of the figure, the bright lights illuminated one thing: A lightning strike tattoo, identical to the one of his own face, running down the face of the stranger. That Heishuro could now see was female.

“Heishuro! You barely even broke a sweat! And he looks like he was in a boxing match!” Fujima’s squeaky voice sounded far above the crowd and she ran towards him as he was leaving the mat. Maruchi looked at the ecstatic woman, a grin the size of bow was spread across her face, with her tongue flailing about outside her mouth. That was the arrow.

“Err… thanks Fujima. I um…” the fighters voice trailed off as his eyes jerked to the direction of the mysterious woman. She was gone.

“What is it Heishuro? What’s wrong?” Her happiness turned to concern in a flash.

The fighter took one last look in the crowd, hoping to spot the woman again. After failure, Maruchi replied. “Nothing… it was nothing, let go before I get swamped by angry Mexicans.”

~~~

Fujima yawned as she stumbled down the stairs of her large home. Her eyes were barely open and she wore frilly pink pyjamas. She plodded over to her refrigerator, mumbling to herself about whether she should go to buy eggs the next day or on the weekend. She took out a carton of orange juice and began to pour it into a spiralling glass. Before she could finish the orange juice was stained a dark red. Fujima’s head fell to the tiled floor, followed eventually by her body.

“Pitiful human,” an evil voice slithered from a hooded figure, clutching a blood-infested blade. It was the same woman that had been in the crowd, the mysterious, hooded lady that had the same tattoo as Heishuro.

She slowly bent down and dipped two fingers in the pool of crimson running across the tiles, then stood and walked to the nearest wall. She wrote on the wall: [I]“You cannot escape your fate.” She then walked silently over to the open refrigerator. She closed the door, enveloping the room in darkness.

~The Next Morning~

The birds were singing; the sun shining; the city buzzing. It was what some would call “the perfect day.” But for Heishuro, it was to become the single worst day of his life. The champion was on his way to Fujima’s apartment, to schedule any possible matches in the upcoming month.


He opened the door, not knowing that the horror inside would change his life forever. Heishuro stepped inside and gazed horrifically at the slump of bone and blood on the floor that he had once called Fujima. Her innards strewn across the room like sand. The stench of blood riled through the apartment, disturbing Maruchi’s throat and stomach. He coughed violently and spat a mix of blood and breakfast on the floor, adding to collection of horror. He turned away from it, biting his lip as tears began to ripple from his eyes, tracing the shape of his tattoo. But then his grief turned to fear as he saw the words bled into the wall.

“My… fate…?” Hysterics were evident in his shaky words. With those words still ringing, Heishuro sat in a pool of blood and wept, burying his head in his hands and staining his skin red.

But next door; unbeknownst to Maruchil lies… lies… lies.

“Hello!? You have to help, their has been a vicious murder! I can see it through my window, there blood everywhere. I just got home to see a man sitting in a pool of his victim’s blood!”

“Hang on miss, we’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Please hurry!” A hooded woman put down a blood-encrusted phone before unveiling her hood to reveal a lightning tattoo. She stared at the neighbours of the small women she had killed; their organs and limbs randomly thrown across their house. Before decapitation, mutilation and ultimately, execution, they were a young couple living together peacefully. But they gave up their lives in order let the sick, psychotic, serial killer frame her target.

“All is going according to plan…”

Sirens. Madness. Chaos. It all happened so fast, it was near impossible for Maruchi to keep track of the next few days. All he knew that and the end of those few horrific days, he was sentenced with the murder of Fujima Kuchiniwa and Seena and Keiro Malaki. He had a life sentence in the Tokyo jail and Chavo Amarez was awarded the world martial arts championship. Yeah, so the champ’s life had taken a bit of a turn for the worse.

“What have I done to deserve this crap!” He screamed as kicked violently into the steel cell’s bars, bending them ever so slightly. His cell mate, Francis, decided to pick this moment to start playing his harmonica. Francis’ brain surgery bill was added to Maruchi’s never-ending list of concerns.

“’Eh? New cell mate…” he said instinctively as he heard the clang of steel on steel. He’d been in jail for over four years, so customs like that were a minimum for him. But as he spun around to see his new acquaintance, he found a familiar face that chilled him to the bone. Well a familiar hood.

“Maruchi! You ‘ave a visitor!” The jail guard bellowed although Heishuro was only a metre away. He left the pair gazing upon each other, the figure’s tattoo stood out like anything to the once famous fighter, but Heishuro’s appearance had been altered in his four tough years. He had a bushy beard the size of a large squirrel and he wore bright orange clothes, standard for a prisoner.

“Are you… Heishuro Maruchi?” A timid voice escaped the black cloaked stranger. Heishuro arched his eyebrow before answering.

“It depends. Who are you to ask for my name?” Maruchi masked a grin behind his bushy cotton-wool like beard.

“I am Taki.” She let her hood down to show her surprisingly red hair and her obvious beauty. “Maruchi.” Pure silence followed her word, a chilling nothingness that tore into Heishuro’s soul.

“M...M...Maruchi…? Did you say… Maruchi?” He asked with wide eyes, but already knowing the answer. She stared at her shoes, tears cleansing them.

“Did you say Maruchi?!” Heishuro demanded hysterically, tears now escaping from his eyes.

“Yes. Heishuro,” She paused for what seemed an eternity, “I am your sister.” She managed to sob, before letting herself fall to her knees, her head cupped in her hands.

“Sister… what?! It cannot be…” As the words left his mouth, darkness dulled his senses, before he dropped to the floor.

~~~

As darkness faded and Maruchi’s senses awoke, he found himself shrouded in nature. A strange wood surrounded him, along with a letter lying on his chest. He sat up and began to read.

Dear Heishuro

I’m sorry for not explaining any of this to you, you must be very confused. I felt that if I told you then you may not believe me, so I’m going to tell you in this letter.

Our parents were Takahiro and Nadine Maruchi, and they were magicians, great magicians. They came from a parallel universe to the world you grew up in: Earth. They were both raised in a mystical place called Ciélaro. This is where you and I were born.

They were known for their powerful combined spells, healing, elemental and conjuring. People knew that if they had children, they would be powerful: Unbelievably powerful. It was both a blessing and a concern to everyone around them. But nevertheless, it was a great shock when I was born.

I have influence over Daemonic magic: More commonly known as Shadow or Dark magic. Magical abilities run through blood, so our family must have had a variety of magicians over the generations. Daemonic magic is widely mislabelled as “evil”, so I was to be banished from Ciélaro. But mother and father still felt love for me, despite my powers. So when I was thirteen, the three of us all left Ciélaro; and came to the sister of our world, Earth.

It was soon after coming to Japan when mother announced her pregnancy with you. But shortly after you birth, Mother and Father were murdered... by who? I do not know yet. The point is: We were all alone. I had recently turned fourteen; I didn’t know how to be a mother! I left you on the doorstep of somewhere where I hoped you would grow strong, and I vowed to come back for you one day. The lightning strike tattoo down your cheek is a family crest, the Maruchi honour. Some may recognise you with it in Ciélaro, so be careful.

After that I went back to Ciélaro, hiding my identity, traveling between the two worlds, surviving for the pure sake of life. It was then when I heard of your success as mortal, and I feared the worst, I feared what I later recognised as the truth: Your powers hadn’t surfaced yet. I studied your lifestyle, your talent, your skill. It pointed in one direction; your talent had dwarfed your magic. So I did what I felt was needed, I murdered your manager, Fujima, and framed you. I apologise deeply for this, I know it caused you suffering of the worst, but it worked the way I had hoped.

Your time in prison gave me the time to construct a way for you to use your dormant magic. So when I visited you that day, I knocked you unconscious and summoned daemons to take us to Ciélaro, where I left you. You’ll find near you a small gift, a magical nunchaku, Xuriken. This weapon will let you use your magic, be it Elemental, Daemonic, Healing or Conjuring. It will surely grant you power.

I apologise from the depths of my soul, I am truly sorry. I will travel Ciélaro now, wandering from place to place. When the time comes, I’ll find you, and alert you to our fate. I know you’ll recognise me, until them.

Your loving sister,

Taki Maruchi

P.S. I shaved your beard, you looked horrible!

Heishuro finished reading the letter as emotions overcame him. Sadness, anger, hate, love, happiness and gratitude all rolled into his mind. Luckily confusion was behind him.

With that, he picked up his new weapon and dove into the unknown.

In the time since then; it has become clear that Maruchi possesses both Elemental and Conjuring magic.[/i]