“Sir, your wife is making her way to the arena, just thought you’d want to know.”

Nyte steps out into the arena and immediately frowns, stopping a passing staffer.

“Why are those cars and all this stuff still in here?”

“Oh your husband asked us to leave the things in, we agreed, it makes for a certain ambiance, don’t you think?”

Nyte grumbles rather unhappily.

“That man is always up to something...”

The crowd gasps and turns as one to look up at him, pointing and murmuring at his 'sudden' appearance. Antie has decided to dress up a little for the event, and is stunning in black. Instead of blue jeans and a T-shirt he has a a kung-fu uniform with white clasps, held tightly in place with leather straps around the waist and legs. Cloth wrappings bind both his wrists. The breeze that meets him atop the speedway wall shows off his long black headband tied through his rust-colored hair with silver flecks at the temples; the ends of the headband wave idly in the wind. A long leather trenchcoat flaps behind him. His left hand is crooked up above his head, holding an angry-looking eight-foot greatsword with serrated edges and hooked barbs in a back sheath. He still wears his worn-down tennis shoes because, hey, they're comfortable. He smiles brightly out of one side of his mouth, his silver-blue eyes shining slightly.

She stares up at him, her anxious expression fading to replaced by the dull bored look, he knows so well.

"me? Nervous? Parish the thought. I was simply worried we'd have to return all these wonderful people's money if you'd gotten cold feet. Now... COME DOWN FROM THERE!"

her hand suddenly flashes darkly and she holds a black javelin-like spear of energy that she hurls at him.

"hey wait! I'm supposed to make this announcement first!

Kali Evangel's voice booms out of the loud speakers.

"all possible precautionary measures have been put into place to keep spectators safe during this bout, however bodily harm and danger to life and limb is still possible by some unseen event. Neither the Evangel Family nor S.S. Heavy Industries will take any financial responsiblity for spectator injury. Stay in the arena at your own risk."

Nyte blinks slowly, staring up at the announcer's booth.

"wonder who thought to add that disclaimer?"

"You know I don't like to attack first, but since you insist..."

She's across the arena from him one second, gone the next and then steping out of his shadow behind him in the third. she swings languidly at his back with a charged fist. She doesn't expect it to hit him, she's fully aware he can will himself intangible, but she uses it as a diversionary tactic as she drops seeds at his feet. She feints to his left, droppiing her hands momentarily to the ground to trace a hasty glyph.

"ugh, dangit. My hairband exploded."

He gets to his feet and adopts a ready position.

She lunges at him with no more preamble, sending a sonic punch towars his chest.

She laughs as Antipode is suddenly wracked with mental anguish as the spectral beast plows into him, trying to rip his conciousness from his body. She grins, knowing this will buy her enough time to set up several more "surprises" for him, as he wrestles himself free. She sets to work muttering an arcane language that most of the crowd wouldn't recognize.

"Nam eu mauris... Aliquam scelerisque interdum eros... Nulla facilisi... Proin molestie.... Vestibulum a ante..."

She raises her hands towards the heaven's palms upward and a pulsing ball of force begins to take shape above them, forming itself into a blackish-purple egg.

"It's a dragon."

She gives him another quirky smirk.

"...come to eat you!"

The beast roars and spreads its wingfs, flapping them, scattering the dirt of the arena about before it wings down on him, spewing black flames.

He stands and twirls his sword in one hand, readjusting his grip as the dragon comes around for another pass. "I don't recall that's what I signed up for, and I doubt that's what these people paid good money to see, either."

The dragon swoops low over him again, sending out a swath of flame before swooping to hover over its mistress. her smile lessens into a small line.

"...three times..."

She leaps aboard the hovering beast, her bow forming in her hand as it wings higer, to give her the advantage of space to use her favored weapon. The thin line becomes a frown.

"Once in the head. Remember that?"

She launches a whistling projectile bolt at him, the ground erupting in a blast of heat where it hits as she draws back the string for another shot.

He sprints across the field toward the scattered automobile carcasses lying on the track. With her in the air, and constantly using ranged attacks, he would have to improvise if he wanted to have any chance of striking a blow. He ducks behind a car as another energy bolt sears the air beside him.

"you're one to talk, hiding like a coward!"

She leaps off the dragon, banishing it. She lands and the bow in her hands morphs into a solid looking steel katana, the metal tinged black.

"okay, I'll play YOUR game mister swordsman."

"damn dirty echidna. fight like a man not a rat!"

She pulls her sword into a ready position in front of her, awaiting his attack, for once showing total interest in the battle, not her normal boredom ploy at all.

"you know..." she says huffing slightly. "Our blades are mismatched and this puts me at something of a disadvantage."

He lets her attack move his blade, circling his sword around hers in an attempt to through her weapon hand off-balance. He takes another jumping step back into the field, leaving himself purposely open to her next strike and wondering what she'll do to take advantage of that.

She extends her left hand another katana-like blade forming in her grasp. She comes at him with dual weilded blade, a whirling dervish of pain, should she hit him, but she doesn't she feints one way with a blade before scoring the ground at his feet and flinging dirt into his face, then pressing her attack and advantage.

He retreats a couple steps to give her the illusion of some kind of advantage, then slides forward on his right foot as he strikes with an upward swing and snaps his left leg out to sweep her ankles out from under her - a risky move, but he's hoping the attack of his sword will keep her blades busy and keep them from coming down on him.

"Sorry...?"

"...I'll KILL you..."

The sibilant whisper is for his ears only as she comes at him, blades glowing dimly with arcane energy that sends his fur aprickling and on end. He's left to wonder if it would be wise to match with her in this state or if it's besty to let her wear herself down as her swords spin about hypnotically, singing through the air.

A beat of sweat rolls down his face.

"snarllllllll"

she moans from her prone position on the ground, sounding woosy. She staggers to her feet, listing slightly to the side.

"You're not supposed to let people know that you can do that! Especially not to ME!"

Even though Arjen has drain a rather substancial bit of her manifested energy, doesn't mean that she's down and out. She sighs, somewhat heavily.

"Blah you changed the game, I don't like that.."

She pouts too cutely for words as she forms much longer blades in her hands, adopting a loose stance, and motioning towards him.

"your move, luv."

"As if anyone knows what just happened - the announcers don't have a clue, and as long as the crowd's pumped, they're happy. It could be all special effects and they'd have a good time."

He leaps forward with a power sprint that immediately exceeds all mortal land-speed as he hurtles himself at her. "Not that anyone would think you would ever fight fake, of course."