The Sparring Room

[Will Stanton]

"What....gi....give that back!" Will protested.

[Taliesin]

"Shut up, it's lesson time.


You need to keep this shit vital. The more it's used, the harder it gets. It stiffens out. You do it too much, and you'll end up an object d'art. I use a drug developed by Doctors Bowen, Madaraki, and Stanton. It hurts like hell, like every bit of me is on fire, but it keeps it flexible, and it works fast.

If you have more time, you can work in essential oils, massage it right deep into the clay--and make sure it gets ALL the way in, or you'll have the equivalent of a gallstone. Olive oil, mineral oil, a cold cream, even petroleum jelly--get it in all the nooks and crannies. Of course, this is not a service most masseuses offer.

Of course, if you have a TON of time, wet heat---NOT dry heat, or you'll bake solid--WET heat with those kinds of things in the air as vapor can work, too. We're talking SERIOUS heat, four digit temperatures. WET heat."

With that, Taliesin...opened his chest and deposited Will's clay inside, as quickly--too quickly for it to be legitimate--the scent of fresh baked bread began to waft through. "Good enough to eat."

[Will Stanton]

"What th...what the hell did you just do?

GIve me back!" Tiny Will protested.

[Dead End]

"Got a good view? You don't need me to sit lower so you can see over my head do you?" Ronin quipped.

"Nah, you are good. I'd see the doctor about those bone spurs in your leg, though!"

[Taliesin]

"Come and get it, tiny boy," Taliesin taunted.

[Will Stanton]

Will ran, and Taliesin laughed a bit cruely as Will basically turned his arms and legs into crampons, climbing up Taliesin's leg.

[Taliesin]

...but when Will reached Taliesin's stomach-belly button region, a *ding* was heard, and the top half of Taliesin's chest flipped open, smacking Will and sending him flying to the ground. Taliesin walked back towards one of the walls, not coincidentally stepping right on top of Will as he did, before turning around and dropping a literally steaming-hot lump of clay on top of him.


"Thirty seconds, then it's my turn."

[Skeiron]

"A shrink would be havin' a field day right about now."

[Anarchy]

The young girl found her way into the sparring room, she seemed much happier to be away from Vivian again..

[Sara Stanton]

"That's not even remotely a fair fight..." Sara mumbles.

[Will Stanton]

Taliesin turned around, and fired a shot of clay, which stuck to Will's knee.

And another, which stuck to his elbow. And another. And another. And another.

The clay kept expanding, as well.

Will tried to rip it off, but it kept expanding and expanding and expanding...

[Anarchy]

Kimee surveyed the area and walked over to Sara S, smiling brightly to the pregnant lady. "Are they practicing? Or just showing off.."

[Taliesin]

Will staggered under the weight, and then dropped to one knee.

Taliesin then bent his knees, ran forward, and apparently disappeared into a green mist, leaving Will there, blinking.

[Sara Stanton]

"Working out some issues..." she sighs at Anarchy's question.

[Will Stanton]

Will suddenly doubled over, as he apparently...inflated, rising off the floor and floating, floating, floating up towards the ceiling...

Until the bolts of Taliesin's clay shot straight down and drove into the ground, pinning part of Will to the ground as the rest of him billowed up towards the ceiling, expanding to begin to fill the room, pressing up against the glass.

[Anarchy]

"Why don't they just talk? Wouldn't that be more sensible?" She asked, looking up to Sara.

[Sara Stanton]

"It would, so of course they gotta do the exact opposite."

[Anarchy]

"Sounds like they are pretty dense.." She added, turning back to the two fighting. "What are they fighting about anyway?"

[Taliesin]

Finally, Will filled nearly the entire room....and then deflated, rapidly, as Taliesin reforming, the mist flowing out Will's nose, leaving him panting, gasping for air.

"One final lesson," he said, looking down, stepping on Will's back.


At first, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, Will's body twisted, reformed, deformed, rapidly altered color, and dwindled, dwindled...


....and then, he was gone.

[Sara Stanton]

"Me. Kind of..." she says before letting out a gasp at whatever the hell exactly it is Taliesin is doing. "Hey! That's enough!" she shouts as Will keeps shrinking.

[Anarchy]

Kimee follows Sara over to Tailsean and Will. "That doesn't make sense..." She continued the conversation.

[Taliesin]

"He's fine," Taliesin said. "Here, take a look," he said, putting his foot down in one corner.

Soon, Will was standing there---apparently. Motionless, his skin a shiny sheen---wax!

[Sara Stanton]

"Change him back to normal. Now."

[Taliesin]

"He can, can't you, Will?"

Taliesin leaned in. "This is lesson 2. You think it's just your mind that's vulnerable, it's your entire self. Of course I can do it, but it's not just me.

But the body can save the mind, and the mind can save the body. If you're half as good as you think you are, you can get out of this. I made it easy this time. Think your way out.

Oh, and to give you a little incentive..."

Taliesin slicked Will's hair up into a point, and then flicked his fingers...lighting it on fire!

"I'll give you twenty minutes. If not, I'll rush in and save your poor self."


Taliesin turned and headed towards the observation area.

[Anarchy]

"Mom used to tell me stories about when she would make Mr. Will turn into random things.." Kimee blurted out.

[Sara Stanton]

"Yeah, great fun that." Sara mumbles absentmindedly at the little girl's comment as she walks towards the door, her fist turning to stone and slamming into Taliesin's face the moment he steps through the door.

[Taliesin]

Taliesin, surprised, took it in the face.

"...hi there.

He's not in any trouble, you realize."

[Anarchy]

"I think my favorite story is when she had him be her little sister on campus.." The girl continued, following Sara. "And...ouch... that looked painful..."

[Sara Stanton]

"You're still an ass."

[Taliesin]

"It's for his own good. He'll break out of this, and do a little dance," he shrugged.

[Anarchy]

"Not sure he'll be dancing..I'm sure he'll be running in circles from being on fire though.." The girl commented..looking back to the wax figure.

[Taliesin]

"And who would you be, then?"

[Sara Stanton]

Sara just shoots a glare at Taliesin and walks into the room to put Will out.

"I don't know what exactly he did, but I know that you don't need to be on fire to fight your way out of it." she encourages him.

[Taliesin]

"Dang, I was hoping to get a rousing chorus of happy birthday going."

[Anarchy]

"Who? Me?" The young girl asked the green haired man. "I'm just a cute little girl." She said with a wry smile.

[Taliesin]

"Look at this," he whispered to Anarchy. "I'm interested to see who acts first-him or her."

[Anarchy]

"My money is on her, she seems overly protective.." The young girl whispered back.

[Sara Stanton]

Sara patiently sits down next to Will and waits.

[Will Stanton]

Will wiggled his big toe.

[Anarchy]

"I stand corrected.." She mused to herself.