A dragon swooped down and landed a few meters from me. I stood my ground and gazed into its eyes. It was stupid, but I wasn’t about to look like a coward in front of my squire. The dragon roared in anger.

“Why do you challenge me?” it demanded.

“I do not challenge you, beast. It is you who challenges me. I am merely defending my position.” I stood my ground.

“Such arrogance will not be tolerated, weakling!”

Enraged, the dragon reared back on its hind legs, flapping its wings. In a single motion, I drew my sword and dove to the side, just as a burst of superheated steam shot from the dragon’s nostrils.

I stood and lunged with my sword, but the dragon deflected the blow with a claw. I swung the sword again, but the dragon stepped back, dodging the blade. The dragon spun around, flicking its tail. This caught me off guard, and the tail smashed into my chest and knocked me backwards. As I hit the ground all the air in my lungs was driven out. Gasping for breath, I looked up. The dragon’s massive foot loomed above me. I managed to roll to one side as the foot crashed to the ground, crushing small rocks and sending up a cloud of dust.

I stood up and noticed that I'd lost my sword. I glanced from side to side, and there it was directly behind the dragon.

"You are weaponless, weakling!" the dragon roared. "Now surrender, and I might think about sparing your life!"

"I will not give you the satisfaction of seeing me grovel, you ugly, foul-smelling beast." I was dead. "Why don't you crawl back under whatever rock you came from?" The dragon roared and swung a massive claw.

I waited until just the last moment, and then dove foward, between the dragon's legs. I rolled up onto my feet, now behind the dragon, and grabbed my sword, just as I was hit in the side from the dragon's massive tail once more.

"Well, you certainly have guts for a puny human," the dragon said. "But now it is time that I end your life."

The dragon stood over me. All my energy was gone, and I could barely breathe. With one last ounce of strength, I managed to get to my feet. "Try your worst, dragon." My voice was like steel, demonstrating a confidence I didn't have.

The dragon lunged foward, its jaws agape. I thrust my sword upwards and just as my vision started to blur, felt the sword connect and penetrate. The dragon roared as blood poured from the wound I'd inflicted in its chest, drenching me in the foul smelling liquid. Bile rose in my throat, and I choked it down. I released my grip on my sword, and fell to the ground. The dragon stepped back, and with a final roar crashed to the ground. I had defeated it.
---

Ok, here's the rules. Post a story of a battle. There can be as many characters in it as you want, from two lone combatants to numerous armies of beings. Your characters can be people, dragons, robots, amoebas, whatever... Basically, anything goes, as long as its a story of a battle or fight.

Also feel free to critique eachothers work. Let's see what we come up with.

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Five Minute Walk
Sometimes you're the bear. Sometimes you're the fish. Be the Bear.-Mark Thielman

"Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world."
- Dave Barry.

(NSP: Just a short thing to encourage this little thread along. I intend to add more when I can though--something a bit more interesting to read. Until then...)

I lean my weight foreward as I pursue my target on rooftop. I had my pistol drawn, ready to fire, but I could never see my target long enough as he darted between the ventilation shafts and matinence towers. He was nearing the end of the rooftop though, with only the desert ground some 3 stories below to greet him. Still, I could not underestimate him.

My target was turning around the last tower, and as I approached, I followed the turn, strafing to catch him behind the tower. The rattling of his machine gun went off before I could react. The bullets stabbed my legs before I managed to shoot him in the shoulder. He was out of ammo, and I still had one clip left. Smiling, I took my aim. He was scramling to get up, and managed to make his way around the matinence tower again. I got up, slowly following him. I turned the corner to see him, holding his shoulder, and smiling back. That's when I heard the triple beep.

I looked down to see that I had crossed a blue laser line. Trip mine.

The last thing I remembered was how much I hated scientists.

(NSP: Yeah yeah, a bad Half-Life rip-off. Deal with it.)

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Check out the following stories:
The Neverending Story Thread(comedy *sci-fi/fantasy*)--never finished--

(in story order)
The Change (The Second War) (sci-fi/fantasy) --not finished/on hold--
The Crusade--tentative title (fantasy/sci-fi) --To Be Announced--
Saga of the 3rd War (fantasy/sci-fi) --finished--
The Shadows of Darkness (fantasy/sci-fi) --finished--
The Eternal War (fantasy/sci-fi) --not finished/IN PRODUCTION--

(NSP: Because I can't bear to see this thread go down QUITE yet, as I happen to like the idea, I'm going to do another short not-really original battle story-thing, and based on my Zelda addiction, no less ).

I entered within a dark and personal chamber, holding my newly-found bow in front of me. I turned as the spiked fence behind me closed off my only exit. That is when I felt the ethereal aura casting behind me. Turning back around, I saw the spirit of a muscular magician, more known for his thievery and his tricks than his might and magic, mounted on an unearthly black steed and armed with a wickedly spiked staff. With a deep voice, the spirit commanded his horse foreward, leaping right into the wall.

As the spirit jumped back out of it, I shot iit with one of my arrows, somehow damaging the spirit. The spirit did the same thing, but this time, I was caught by surprise, and the spirit casted a lighting bolt that stunned me. I struck him down with other arrows though, and his horse dissapeared back into thin air. The spirit now floated on his own power high above me, twirling his spiked staff in circles to confuse me.

A magic missle was launched from his staff in a rather slow manner. I unsheathed my sword, preparing to magically charge it for a spin attack to send it flying back at him. The second before the magic missle came into contact, I swung. I was recovering from my attack--

--it's coming back at me!

SWING!

Like a mad tennis game, I was now volleying the magic missle back and forth, as both of us kept deflecting it with our melee weapons. I risked charging what I could for another spin attack, and hit the magic missle even faster. It connected, and the spirit fell to the ground. With a final swipe with my sword, I sent the spirit back from whence it came.

(...Yeah, it's kinda hard now that I think about it to do the game justice. But I need practice writing battle scenes!)

it's been three days since I slept last. the fights seem to blur together into one big blood bath. nowadays I seem to live on stims, med-packs, and pain. I don't remember how I got into this, nor do I know who it is that I am fighting. I just know that he doesn't tire. he keeps coming at me when I least expect it. i've drawn his blood thousands of times, and I've lost count of the number of times I've had my bones broken. I suspect he may be using some kind of special serum to prolong his life. I know I am.here he comes again. his cruel shocksaber at the ready, one long curved sharp edge from a point below the handle to the tip of the blade itself three feet above it. I reach for my sword...oh wait, that broke earlier this...whenever it was. instead I scramble about and find a rock. as I hurl it, his shocksaber comes about, shattering it in a pulse of impact energy. the second rock breaks his hand and lets me grab his shocksaber. now the footing is even as one of his hands pulls out a long glistening rod and the other two draw a strange dagger-like affair. I wonder what these new toys of his do?
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OOC:yeah, it ain't done. this is just one part of one aspect of it. next time i'll post this part from the three armed bugger's POV.

That's cool, shade. I like. I'll post something else soon...

Hmmm...I thought this was a Fight Club fanfic or something when I saw the title....I've seen that movie waaaay too many times...

The walls of the transport buckled and shook with the roar of the jet engines. In the hazy darkness the Space Marines were packed like sardines every one of them tense with adrenaline. The pilot's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.
"ETA 30 seconds."
"Get ready men." Grunted the commander. There was a series of clicks as the marines fastened the protective visors on their helmets and a hum as they charged the pulse rifles.
"...12 seconds..."
The tension built with every passing moment and soon the vehicle shuddered as it set down.
"...Landing gear engaged, docking ramp opening..."
The latches on the door released with a thud and the interior was filled with a blinding light and excess steam from the ramp hydrolics.
"Let's go! go! go!" Screamed the commander, the marines charged down the ramp with built up fury.
"Let's kick some *** !" shouted one soldier over the noise.

Their adversary was impossible to miss; it was a huge black liquid mass that moved about with a life of it's own. One huge tendril wiped out a dozen of the Space Marines with a single swipe. They opened fire as soon as they were clear of the ship; three inch pulse slugs cut through the viscous creature like a hot knife through butter. But still the thing came...

Bah, I'm lazy...don't feel like writing more. But Space Marines are funny.

Cool... Reminds me of Starship Troopers (one of the best war movies ever, if only for its satirical nature [although, they could have done without a few... things, in my opinion]).

I've been fighting this hoo-man for five days now. I don't know who is winning , or who will leave this cavern system alive, but I do know that I plan on it being me. everytime I think I've found a quiet place to restor my health, one of us finds the other one...hold on, I hear his breathing and the distinctive hiss-crack of him administering one of his stim-packs. this time I know I've got an advantage...
Ow! that smarts. my hand hurts from him hitting me in the hand with that rock. I'll have to be more careful now that he's got my shocksaber. as he come sat me, I swing my nerve rod at his head, blocking with my dagger. I almost make contact, the brush causing his left arm to go limp as the nerves are "turned off". the impact of our two blades hurt my arms and nearly make drop my dagger. as i duck his second slash and go for his stomach, I miss the rock coming at my head. stunned and dazed i stagger out, dodging into a nearby sidetunnel and leaving a trip mine to discourage pursuit.

I backed off from the people with my blade drawn, I felt a pain in my arm as a rock that was thrown from the mob hit it. The people were screaming "Burn him!!! BURN THE WITCH!!!!" I had fought side-to-side with some of these people and now they were out to get me. Another rock hit me, this time in the stomach emptying my lungs and leaving me gasping for air, more rocks were thrown, I had to drop my weapon I had no choice, the mob attacked me the minute they heard my blade hit the gutter. I had no choice, I had to dishonour my master by revealing myself. I whispered two simple words and a huge lounge of pure energy knocked back the crowd, but they kept on coming even stronger, they saw they were right...I had no choice. I kept talking words of might that lifetd my voice o a harmony with everything around me, the sensation tingled inside of me as the magic bubbled in my chest burning all emotions leaving nothing but cold sense. I couldn't hear the screams of the people burning alive because of my fireball, I couldn't smell the burning flesh, I couldn't see the charred corpses...I had to do it...master forgive me. The mob backed off when they saw I was dangerous, now they depended on the rocks again, one hit my forehead and I could taste the blood running down my face, but I dind't feel the pain, I just felt the waves of magic coursing through my whole body leaving numbness and despair behind. The stones didn't hit me anymore, I was protected for now. I knew I couldn't survive unless they were chased away from me. I once again took lives as my lightning shot from my fingers leaving a wake of destruction in the mass of humans who had lost their personalities to the mob, then I felt how my shield collapsed, I felt how a blade was jabbed to my back...my own blade...I knew my blade...I had no choice...Master truly I am sorry. I dipped my hands in a puddle of blood, my blood. I couldn't breathe, the blade had shattered my lungs, everything went dim, then came the darkness...I had no choice...I'm sorry master...I heard the angry shouting of the mob, then everything was quiet.

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Mankind was once a small spark in danger of falling victim to even the smallest of breeze, but like all fires, this one started to grow. Now we are a firestorm, burning everything from our wake and we will not stop until we extinguish ourselves...or someone calls the fire department

Good good... Very creative. I'm working on something right now. I promise to be done by tomorrow. (There, now I'm obligated... )

... Ok, so I lied. Tomorrow, I *promise*

bull. like we believe you now.
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...oh fudge. I can't think of anything. oh well. I make up something off the top of my head later. hey sarn. that's what you oughta do. you liked my last example of improv.

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I have gone out to find myself. If I should come back before I return, hold me here until I get back.

Yeah... Here's something off the top of my head. I still don't ahve the other thing I've been working on, though... What can I say, it's finals week. Anyway...
---

Our boat was just now approaching the shore. So far, not enemy forces had been seen, but everyone was still uneasy. If we were going to be ambushed, now was the time. We'd just left the main cruisers and were approaching the shore in the landing boats. Suddenly a shot was fired. Every ducked low, scanning the shore for enemy troops. One of our soldiers smiles weakly.

"Ahh, sir?" he said to our CO, "that was me... An accident."

The CO was furious. "Get over here right now, Soldier," he commanded.

The unlucky soldier stood up from his seat on the bench and walked guiltily to the front of the boat where the CO was waiting.

"Soldier, have you been trained in safe handling and proper use of that weapon?" the CO asked.

"Ahh, yes sir. I have. I guess I just... forgot to put on the saftey, Sir."

"You forgot the Saftey??? I want you off my boat, NOW! Pack up your gear and swim back to the cruiser. I'll radio them and tell them to drop you a-"

The CO dropped into the water suddenly as a gunshot went off. Everyone turned back to the shore. While we'd been watching the fate of the unlucky soldier, enemy troops had come out of the forest and were now safely bunkered down on the shore.

The air was suddenly filled with the explosions as both sides fired back and forth at eachother. A bullet zipped past me so close, that I could hear it. I tried to stay low in the boat, so as not to be seen. Suddenly we heard the sound of approaching planes. They came in fast, cannons firing.
Men screamed as bullets riddled our landing boat. The planes came around for a second pass. Just as the cannons were upon us, I dove out of the boat, into the water. I could still hear muffled sounds of the battle, even underneath the waves. I came up for a breath. Bodies were strewn about. From what I could see, no one in my boat save myself had survived that last pass. A bullet struck the water a couple meters away from me. I took a deep breath, oriented myself with the shore and dove once again under the waves. I don't know how long I swam, underwater the whole way. It felt like hours... But really couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 minutes. I tried to swim parrallel to the shore, to get away from the attack. Soon, I could hold my breath no longer. My lungs were ready to explode. I came up out of the water, gasping for air, and looking around. I was alone. I could still hear the distant battle but I could not see anyone. I was about 50 meters from the shore. I swam in slowly. When I reached the shore I charged for the cover of the trees.

--More to come.

(NSP: First rule of fight thread is...

oh wait. Nevermind

Maybe I'll be able to think of an ACTAL post sometime later.)

NSP: This thread isn't quite finished. While I'm at it, does anyone know what happened to the Toasters 'R Us website? They let us use swears.

One more thing: this story uses the word 'Christ' as an exclimation. I'm not sure if that breaks the rules, but I'll be happy to change it if I'm offending anyone.

And now, prepare yourself...

The sun beat down upon the cracked desert floor, scorching what little life remained on the surface. This far out in the wilderness, that wasn't much: life in the wasteland consisted mainly of insects, though the vermin population grew more pronounced towards the cities, graduating from irradiated bugs to mutated rats and dogs, even a feline derivative of the pre-war domesticated housecat. All mutated, of course.

Not mutated, thought Steven sullenly as he truged across the barren wasteland. Evolved, maybe. He pondered this. Certainly, the vermin had been affected in some way by the vast amounts of radiation unleashed. It was doubtful if a single creature, human or otherwise, had escaped the gene altering effects of the fallout and the deadly radiation that went with it. But on the other hand, the vermin had adapted to a new and adverse environment. Surely that constituted some form of evolution. Steven had been over this line of reasoning many times today, having walked for many hours already.

And I've got many more still to go, he thought, his gloom deepening. Of all the odd jobs he was called upon to do, Steven detested mail delivery the most as it invariably required traversing the great distances between cities without human companionship. He no longer had even his steed - Steven had tried to figure out what species it had been before the bombs fell, and failed - to talk to, scavengers had slaughtered the beast for food weeks back.

Shielding his eyes, Steven raised his head to glare at the sun. Like most men, he hated the sun; with rainfall once or twice per month and little cloud cover, the sun was ever-present, an omniscient reminder to mankind of the irrevocable damage it had done to Terra. The sun was an easy target for Steven's resentment, it didn't fight back, save for the constant heat. Momentarily, his gaze shifted and he noticed something of much more interest than the oppresive sunlight. Off in the distance, maybe 10 minutes away, fluttered a small black speck.

Christ, he realized, an honest-to-God bird.

If life was scarce in the wasteland then birds were the rarest form of all. Steven could count the number of birds he had seen in his lifetime on one hand, and he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. Pausing briefly to check his often abused rifle, Steven changed direction and ran off towards the circling bird.



[This message has been edited by Tracer (edited June 25, 2002).]

NSP: Is it good? Is it bad? Are you interested in discovering the conclusion? Give me feedback.

I'm interested in seeing how this develops into an "old-fashioned fight", as it doesn't appear to have one yet. Looks good though

Thanks, Geb, and when you get the chance, check the NeS Writers hotmail account.

(NSP: Yeah, whoops, sorry about that. The account's main purpose is for non-writer reponse mainly to the NeS comic, and since that hasn't lifted off the ground yet, I often forget to check it (and hotmail apparently doesn' tlike 2 accounts open at the same time.

I was considering writing a post, for this or anything, but I gotta go now. Later!)