The carcass soared through the air only to land dully with a loud thud approximately 20 feet from the pair. Passing by just as the earth embraced it, also just as Terrance stoned the chain, Animus decided that it was not a terrible distance. Afterall, at running speed, even untrained men can cross 3,4 maybe 5 feet in less than a second. Given these were champions of their respective pits, elite amongst warriors, 20 feet would take no more than 4 seconds as opposed to Claire's estimation of 10.

Observing the battle carefully, Miser could see that the stone chain on Terrance would be no more restrictive than what it would be originally due simply to the unchanging design of a chain. And the weight would be determined by what kind of stone it had become... potentially becoming even lighter than what it was originally. Especially if it turned into some sort of felsic rock.

And it seems Claire was rushed, wasting no time at all. She sped to Blain's left even if it meant opening her back to Animus as if she was fully determined to end the 2v1 situation before it can be taken advantage of.

With his blade drawn, if he focus on defense instead of standing up, Terrance should be able to block Claire's dagger neatly using the flat of his sword. Afterall, the distance for moving the sword should be no more than the distance for sinking the dagger down. But even if his famed reflex did not save him... if he did not have the precision to guard his leg, it is not too hard to imagine slipping the sword in further and simply cleaving up to take Wilder's wrist. A hand for a leg? Or better yet, take the hand to protect the leg.

By the time Claire drew both Iron Knuckle Knives...
and then released the chain linked knives...
and then set upon the man on the ground...
and then side stepping to Terrance's left side...
and then squatted...
and then brought her right hand + dagger down...

...Animus had already closed the distance into a favorable position and was already in the air sinking his heel down aiming between her neck and right collar bone by his technique Somersault Meteor!!

And the technique was this.

Having leaped into an aerial somersault, Animus curled himself into an almost fetus position leaving only his right leg stretched as the technique demands. Taking firstly the momentum gathered from the previous post, a full turn's charge, the additional forward spin gathered not only extra momentum but also the power of gravity aiming to throw his full weight into the attacking heel. Yet... due to his armory, it would not be the heel that strikes. The ax built into the calves of the sabaton would sink, instead, aiming to cleave through the target, through her bones, through her organs and through her body to separate it into two.

Animus was careful, amongst other things, that his aim would not backfire on his partner should Claire dodge the blow. But at the same time it was difficult to imagine how Claire would even be aware of the attack given that she had opened her back to Animus. Certainly she did not have eyes on the back of her head. And without a doubt, she would be focused on blocking Blain's leg, focused on sinking her blade and focused on Terrance for any sudden movements. By the looks of it she has full intents to disable Blain as quickly as she possibly can.

Even if she could recognize the attack from behind, Animus judged that her squatting position would make it difficult to dodge the Meteor in time. Even if she was able to push, by her legs, to one side to avoid a death blow... chances are that the ax would catch the leg instead crippling her for the rest of the battle.

If all goes well, she would be 'free' again...they all will; Though maybe not in the way she imagined.

Terrance had many options but what was best was still unclear to him. He decided that instead of trying to block Claire's quick burst of attacks, he would attempt to dodge her knives. The woman was aiming for his legs which was a good tactic and would cripple Terrance but in addition, the legs are not the center focus of a body. Bringing his sword across his body, Terrance shifted the hilt so the blade pointed down. Terrance's body began to roll as he jammed his sword into the ground just outside of his left, close to his knee cap. He then applied pressure with both arms to spin his body about 15 degrees so his legs retreated from the flash of knives. This left his head in a somewhat vulnerable position which is why his right arm did most of the work so that his left would be able to reach up and block any hit that Claire might send. She would also have to risk more time if she wanted to go for that shot which wouldn't be in her best interest with Animus breathing down her neck.

Of course, even with all the skill Terrance possessed, no one was perfect. He could feel a cool sensation of his legs dampening with blood. He would find out soon enough if she had managed to cripple him at all but for the moment, Terrance was going to just be satisfied with being alive.

Claire did not perform her moves in a halt-and-go fashion, but in fluid motion. She released the chained set, drew her knives and began moving, sidestepping to Terrance's left and squatting to bring her knives in range of his legs. The man had fallen backwards, the top of his skull in a linear line with his quickly advancing ally. This allowed Claire to keep Animus in her peripheral vision. His advance would not come as a surprise to her backside, but rather an assault at her flank.

The man's speed however was an amazing surprise. Apparently he could not only throw a human body seventy feet, but suffer no recoil from the throw and still manage to catch it if he so chose as it landed! Such a feat was otherworldy! The crowd sat in stunned silence at Animus' speed, but Claire did not. She was still close enough to deploy her attack on Terrance before Animus could effectively intervene, after all, she was much closer to him, and still moving.

Terrance was quick on the uptake however. He had jabbed his sword into the dirt along the outside of his left kneecap, effectively preventing Claire from dragging the knife up his leg with her continued motion. Instead, the knife only managed to cut into the flesh along the inner-kneecap and upwards in a diagonal until it met the blade of his sword with a clang. Blaine rolled, causing a long shallow cut to develop around the top of his kneecap to the outside of his leg from the tip of Claire's knife, but it was unlikely any of this damage was serious. If serious damage to the leg had been done, It had been in the initial slash, until her knife met his blade. Claire's knife skidded by the sword, scraping at air on the other side.

That was all the time she had, a new threat loomed in her peripheral. Animus had closed the distance, and with a forceful grunt, launched himself into the air.

Claire responded by tossing herself into a momentum forced over the right shoulder roll, at a 45 degree angle to Animus' left side. Claire brought herself into a kneeling position a few feet away as the sound of Animus' calf blade impacting concrete rang a metallic clang. Animus had given the girl an enormous gift by putting so much effort into the blow. His intention had been to rend her body from the shoulder down, which left him no room to maneuver as his attack missed it's target. Indeed both men were now likely lying or sitting on the ground side by side, perfect targets for Claire's fully charged discharge knife. Pivoting from her kneeling stance to face the two prone men, Claire opened up her right hand and grabbed the discharge knife from her left holster with it. Chest heaving in excitement and exertion, Claire pointed the knife at the two men some seven feet from her and pressed the button at the knife's base with her thumb.

The result was truly electrifying. Claire's hair stood on end from the amount of electrical charge given off, making her look like she had quickly grown a very large afro. Having gathered it's maximum charge of three several turns ago, the knife erupted in fury, belching fourth electrical energy enough to kill a man, or sufficiently stun him enough for Claire to move in for the kill. In a 15 foot wide and 15 foot long conical swath in front of the knife, electricity arched, coursing through the air, seeking refuge in the ground, the air, and hopefully her opponent's bodies.

((Right, please don't control my character. Please don't suddenly change his attack timing and please don't forcefully move him around the field to fit your needs.... I would much appreciate it. Thanks.))

Indeed, the crowds were truly amazed!!

Certainly, no one would expect recoil from throwing a carcass. It was no different than throwing a softball. This was not like a gun where the gun powder explosion from within would create that recoil. But Animus was certainly surprised. Apparently he has underestimated himself when he estimated the distance his attempts would reach. Afterall, despite Miser's attempts, it was Dark's post that determined how far the body flew.

But the crowds, those who frequent this pit, did expect such speeds from the colosseum champion. Afterall, his top speed as defined by the tournament host was 24 miles per hour which equals 35.2 feet per second. He could have easily crossed 100 feet in three seconds if he so chose. Anything less should come as no surprise.

And by the time Claire sunk the dagger down, 'Animus had already closed the distance into a favorable position and was already in the air sinking his heel down aiming between her neck and right collar bone by his technique Somersault Meteor!!' ((Not accepting unwarranted control of my character and forceful rewrite of his timing & position. Also, not as important but... don't control my character to grunt please. Thanks.))

As her dagger drew blood from Blain, Animus too expected that his ankle ax would draw also blood from Claire dealing appropriate amounts of damage - likely catching her full back and ribs and spine and pelvis and thighs even if by chance missed her right shoulder while she rolled. Obviously, it was still too early to assume victory.

'Claire responded by tossing herself into a momentum forced over the right shoulder roll' resulting in her rolling to Animus' right, not left, due simply to Miser's initial positioning when he launched the Meteor from behind Claire. By the time she reached 3 feet Animus was already, again, in the air performing a continuation of his technique... Sommersault Meteor: Bouncing.

And the technique was this.

As the meteor reached the ground, it immediately bounced. Part II. One did not seriously expect that Animus would leave himself vulnerable after performing a named technique did they? Instantly, Miser used first his left leg like a compressed spring to begin the launch. His right feet followed, pivoting, becoming the fluid addition pushing and futhering his speed, his spin and his height... almost as if he were wearing roller blades and performing a high level trick.

As his right leg arc-ed over his head, Animus slipped in arm movements that did not belong to the original technique. Using the momentum of his own spin, Animus reached over his back and fired his shield like Captain America aiming from high to low targetting the base of Claire's knees using the heavy blunt damage to strike also the nerves therefore to cripple her mobility. Not only did his altitude make use of gravity to strengthen his attack, but his close proximity by the 2D plane and the very design of a 'cone' also allowed him to dodge by being above the "long conical swath [of electricity] in front of the knife".

Instantly, the electricty released in a cone like fashion that would have reached 15 feet in length and would have expanded at its full reach to 15 feet wide... if it had not been taken in its entirety by the shield. The shock struck! But it struck a substitute; while the shield was not able to absorb the full shock it did served well in reducing the damage. Having taken electrical charge, the shield's attack then additionally aiming to discharge that same electricity upon any contact with Claire or her wares.

And just as the electricity became no more, using also the power generated from the twisting of his hips, Animus' right heel completed the arc crashed down with gravity towards Claire's skull -who was some seven feet from her previous position- aiming to shake her brain if not break her neck by the clean heavy blow from the 'corner' of his heel. The trauma from the shake should damage her motor movements if not knock her unconscious. If the neck broke... then it was almost a guarenteed death.

Terrance proceeded to roll, unaware that his opponent was abandoning her assault and not a moment too soon. His partner, who had made quick work of the metal warrior, had literally leapt into the fray and was ready to take out Clair as well. Terrance was more then satisfied with this as he had never been a glory hound. Surviving was more important then winning in his eyes. Throwing the stone chain off him, Terrance was about to leap to his feet until he saw a knife being aimed in his direction. Generally, this would not be considered a serious threat as a knife was a close combat weapon but that didn't mean that Clair's knife didn't possess the potential to be different.

Terrance proceeded with the same plan Animus did and lifted his buckler to protect what he could. The bolt of electricity sent a spasm into Terrance's body but nothing fatal as his shield, along with Animus own shield, should absorb much of the blow. A crack could be heard as the metal on the shield warped and bent the wood into splintering. Terrance had finally admitted to himself that he was in pain after two consecutive hits but he also knew he was no where near done with this fight. His right hand fumbled towards his pouch with the intentions of grabbing another sphere. This would be two turns in a row in which he was unable to get an attack in. Clair was keeping him pinned quite nicely but with a new threat of Animus in her way, Terrance would be able to rejoin the fight soon.

(OOC, are we intentionally cutting the e's off of the end of names? It's somewhat humorous actually)

The electricity ejected from the discharge knife in spectacular fashion, blue and white bursts arced through the air in an exciting lightshow. Animus' shield heroically inserted itself between friend and foe, while it's master soared loftily above the torrent of electricity flipping in the air. What most people didn't expect from the discharging knife was force along with the electrical shock, and the shield was only the first reminder of this. As the shock struck Animus' shield, the shield was forced backward, sent sailing over Terrance at high speeds, and impacting the arena's wall with a heavy CLANG.

The second reminder came only a faction of a second later.

The conical swath impacted the ground along it's lower edge, spraying chunks of concrete debris and glassed sand at the prone form of Terrance, who had bravely raised his shield to protect his body. The lighting split the shield in twain, delivering a shock to his system, as well as likely opening him up to the following debris.

Claire's focus however was no longer on Terrance. She had bigger problems to deal with. Namely the falling 'meteor' that was Animus. She had to admit Animus was an impressive man. Not only did his speed nearly rival hers, but his jumps and co-ordination were skills to be marveled. Jumping over five feet off the ground, after already performing a flip was nowhere close to being a easy task.

With a quick step to her left, and a small added boost of power from Claire springing upward into a standing position, Claire's right hand snapped up as Animus' heel came down. The girl intended to use Animus' momentum against him as the blade from the thirteen inch iron knuckle knife glinted through the air. In an upwards stabbing motion at the soft area around his heel that allowed for movement (If the armor doesn't have soft areas to allow for foot movements, Claire would aim for just below Animus' calf blade), Claire intended to make the man pay with his foot. Had Animus not been wearing protective sabatons, a simple slash would have likely separated foot from leg. The piece of armor however was largely effective at stopping slashing motions, so a direct stab was more likely to penetrate the armored extremity.

It was risky. The chance for recoil was high, as was the chance that she would loose her blade after the impact, or seriously injure her wrist. But in a match where she was already behind, certain risks were worth taking. She had already potentially disabled or severely hampered Blanie's movement. If this connected, she also would have also immobilized Animus.

Her left hand reached into her bandoleer as these events played out. Extracting a second discharge knife, she slipped the new one into the right holster, allowing the knife to once again begin accumulating charges.

Seasoned warriors of the pit should really not be surprised at only this level of fighting. Afterall, this height is not even close to the current record holder.

Claire's electricity blew through Animus' shield just as he slammed down. Yet, as if the easiest thing in the world, Wilder dodged simply left (his right) making also a counter blow aiming for "just below Animus' calf blade" - since the design, despite its mobility, did not expose such soft spots as Claire had hoped.

Having witnessed his unorthodoxed fighting methods and the way he used his equips, one must have suspected their design to be custom built for his style. "Had Animus not been wearing protective sabatons, a simple slash would have likely separated foot from leg." True. And, obviously as demonstrated earlier, the sabatons were meant for more than mere defense.

Animus only angled his feet slightly to throw off her pin point precision. The dagger snapped up missing the target as the other came down, instead, ready to shatter the bones of her wrist. While the dagger was slipping by harmlessly to the other side of the sabaton, her failed counter would likely cause the bone of her wrist to shatter by the power of the heel.

With the point blank proximity it should be impossible to attempt dodge a second time; With the resistance to change due inertia it should be impossible to succeed even if she tried; and with the two post turn's charge momentum (Animus + Claire) it should carry enough power to devastate that hand to render it useless during the remainder of battle. Thus Animus expected nothing less than a dangling hand one the bone is shattered and some major internal bleeding if the shards sliced through the major artery.

But things did not stop there.

Firstly. Animus had previously twisted his waist to increase power. But it was in fact a Set Up!!

For with the right ax that came down, his left feet also naturally flung around from the same twist as if the other side of the circle. At the moment that the heel should have struck, Animus' left feet would also strike a powerful kick almost like a Taekwondo 360 aiming to shatter Claire's right arm or shoulder or back... whichever bone came in contact first.

Due to her upward motion it should be difficult to instantly dodge back down; if she did then it might shatter her skull instead. Due to her right arm being shooting up as it likely would be the bind limiting her dodge with respect to the 2D plane. Due to the point blank range of the attack it would be extremely difficult to dodge. Due to the post turn's charge momentum it would also be just as devastating.

Secondly. Animus also flickered Claire's dagger (obtained earlier) aiming to pierce the tendons of her left arm as she reached for the right holster. Not only did he aim to render her arm useless but also to pierce her heart in the same line of trajectory if she moved the hand. If she dodged, then chances are it will pierce her chest instead making it extremely difficult for her to breath due to the physics of negative pressure.

The attack was, of course, point blank ranged. It carried the same power of the post turn's charge of momentum and it was fired while both her hands were occupied. Her right arm with mutilation and her left hand aiming towards the right holster. It would be extremely difficult to imagine her dodging a point blank projectile - not only by the close proximity but also by the binding effect of her own right arm. And by the time she reached the right holster her arm should have been pierced and rendered useless likely interrupting the inserting of dagger as well.

Despite that speed. Despite the fluid motion. Despite the 'simple' combo costing only some split seconds' time before Miser reached the ground, Animus did not expect the battle to be over with just this. He was just getting started. Accumulating chi continuously within himself Miser was already prepping for his next design.