Anime Portal Station (Actually it's more of a break room.)

Tanya: *gestures between the two Whips* But who's faster?

AU Whip/Whip: "Me."
*Ohhh, and how the tension grows strong as the two rabbits glare upon each others. Van catches on almost instantly, but is too scared to point out how easily duped they are being had*
Whip: "Psh, you? I'm a Thief! My speed stat is waaay higher!"
AU Whip: "You're all about statistics. Even if I've only just started, my natural reactions are much better honed than yours."
Whip: "Oh yeah? You wanna test that?!"
Van: "Can't we just look at your profile menus--?"
AU Whip: "It wouldn't be much of a test!"
*Their heads meet angrily as they growl towards each other*

Tanya: *seems to have an unimpressed expression, but there's a twinkle in her eye that suggests that Van's onto something about her intentions* Okay, if you're both fast, who would be a better distraction?

AU Whip/Whip: "I would!"
*The two glare at each other even further, sparks flying between their eyes*
Whip: "You couldn't distract an epileptic squirrel with ADHD!"
AU Whip: "I wouldn't need to! I can survive a duel with Shadow much longer than you could!"
Whip: "He wouldn't ever catch me in the first place!"
Van: "H-how about we settle this fairly? Shadow is strong enough that it's up to luck whether or not our distractions can get away in time, so let's just flip a coin? Best two out of three is the luckiest and would fare better against Shadow."
*AU Whip and Whip both glare at Van hotly*
AU Whip/Whip: "Deal!"
*Van looks shocked and scared, sweating as he looks to Tanya for assistance*

Tanya: *has changed to weapons class and has pulled out three shields, and is now walking backwards to keep up a bit with Mana* Alright! Heads, Nii-san, tails, ponytail~! *tosses the shields, which flips multiple times in the air before stopping in midair*

*every single one lands on tails*

Tanya: *breaks down laughing really really hard, and actually falls to the the ground laughing* HA HA! HA! B-BETTER LUCK-- HA HA HA --NEXT TIME NII-SAN!

*AU Whip sneers and continues on to follow Mana. Whip flips out and makes restrained screeching sounds*
Whip: "THIS WAS RIGGED! I DEMAND A RECOUNT!"
Van: "It was a fair loss Whip, sorry..."
*Whip grumbles unsavory comments about Van, AU Whip, and Tanya all at once, grudgingly following the leaders as well*

*Surprisingly enough, however, as soon as the four make the decision to follow after the group, Mana's pained cry pierces the air, followed by sounds of battle*

Tanya: Oh crap!!! *dashes ahead very quickly*

AU Whip: "What? Mana?"
*Van twists and runs after Tanya first*
Van: "Mana!!"
*AU Whip takes off behind him, leaving Whip to shrug and catch up with them as they head into the battle*

*Tanya and the three boys stumble upon the scene of Mana and Kenshin doing battle with a strange, large [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with beady white eyes and a strange tattoo on his tongue, with a young, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] standing off to the side, with a similar tattoo as the man; Kenshin's happy-go-lucky and friendly expression has become shockingly serious and ferocious as he stands guard in front of Mana, whose health bar is in the red again as she clutches her incredibly damaged and bloodied arm in shock*

Tanya: *eyes filled with horror as she runs to Mana* MANA!
Woman: Oh? *smiles coldly at Mana* You have more friends, do you?
Mana: *looks behind her, her face pale* G-Guys, be careful...!
Man: *mouth salivating as he looks at the new team* Ahh... They smell yummy, Lust-sama!
Lust: Then why don't you help yourself, Gluttony?

"Then help yourself to my foot!"
*Whip flurries into the scene, drop-kicking the man's head as the skill <<SKILL: LEG-DROP -- IRON>> appear over his head*
"Stay the hell away from Mana!"
*Whip backflips out of the way, and following him up instantly comes a heavy slash from AU Whip's sword. Together, they hop back to either of Kenshin's sides, weapons prepared as well*
Whip: "The sneak-attack bonus only counts for me, you know~"
AU Whip: "Didn't need it. I could cut through even the thickest blubber on my own."
*Van quickly dashes to Mana's side, his eyes wide with horror at the sight of her damage*
Van: "Mana...!"

Gluttony: *his health bar drops from red to empty from the two rabbits' attacks, but the wounds inflicted upon him suddenly flash with what seems to be red electricity rather quickly, and the wounds heal, his health bar raising up to fully green, and above him, a count drops from 14 to 13* Owwwwww...! That hurt!
Kenshin: *eyes widen slightly* A homunculus! *readies himself* Be careful you two, he has the ability to revive himself each time you kill him.
Lust: *smiles at Kenshin* It's a good thing you have teammates to help you, swordsman. Cross-scar on left cheek, red hair, and a reverse-bladed sword says you're the legendary Battosai, the man-slayer. But you gave up your days of killing and took an oath not to kill. *her smile becomes a smirk* Even when you're up against someone like Gluttony...~
Kenshin: *simply narrows his eyes in concentration and takes a step into his battle stance*

Mana: *shakes her head with a shaky smile* I-It is nothing a potion cannot heal...
Tanya: *ruffles through her bag and pulls out a potion, but her hands are shaking and she almost drops it, and there are tears in her eyes* M-Mana... Y-Your arm...
Mana: Tanya, it's just a g-
Tanya: *all her bravado has fled and her tears are now streaming freely* Y-Your arm shouldn't look like that in this game! Hana would never design it this way!
Mana: *winces, and her HP gauge continues to sink bit by bit*

*AU Whip scans the enemies carefully, his sword readying alongside Kenshin's. Whip glances up at the red-headed warriour by his side and chuckles*
Whip: "Battosai the Man-Slayer, huh? Man oh man, am I glad you're on our side. I can't imagine how many bricks I'd crap if we were up against Battosai the Man-Slayer instead of Ms. Vaudeville and her pet pig Pudges over-"
AU Whip: "NYRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
*AU Whip, without any warning at all, blasts off towards Lust. His sword flashes bright red, as if he were using the Beserker Fury ability, though perhaps not quite as vibrantly so. His pure, reckless anger, however, remains pretty much the same*

Van: "Tanya, the potion!"
*Van reaches out and steadies Tanya's hands with his own, though he gives the impression that he was using her hands to steady his at the same time*
Van: "Calm down. M-Mana will be alright, just use the potion."

Kenshin: *is shocked by AU Whip's sudden assault* Whip, no!
Lust: *smirking in a humored manner* Hm~
Gluttony: *moves with a speed that is shocking to his form and moves to chomp on AU Whip*
Kenshin: *has appeared next to AU Whip and hits the raging rabbit back with the sheath of his blade so he goes off course from Lust and slices upward at Gluttony*
Gluttony: *is unmatched for Kenshin's speed and takes the hit with a pained cry*

Mana: *puts her hand comfortingly on both of theirs, smiling bravely as she drinks the potion*
Tanya: *helps Mana raise the potion to her lips*

*AU Whip stumbles and nearly trips thanks to Kenshin's save, but his eyes are wide and his pupils, pinpricks, as he continues his screaming rage and darts towards Lust, his sword raised above his head and glowing with a bright red flame*

*Van does so as well, his breathing becoming more relaxed as he watches her health bar rise a bit*
Van: "Are you feeling okay Mana? Do we have any more potions anywhere?"

Mana: *shakes her head* This is as high as my health will recover. I sustained a head injury earlier and these effects will last for perhaps two more nights-- *had been turning her attention to the battle when her eyes fly in shock at AU Whip's preoccupation with Lust* WHIP, NO!

Lust: *in a flash, her nails have become impossibly long talons as she slashes at AU Whip wickedly fast*

*Before he can react fast enough, the bullet-like nail protrusions stab him through the shoulder and graze his neck. A third nail manages to slice right through his already-torn ears though even with only two hits, his health bar drains from full all the way down to one quarter of it's length, and his shoulder remains impaled. Needless to say, his momentum dies in that moment*
AU Whip: "H-how...!?"

Van: "N-no way... So fast..."

Tanya: Ponytail, you idiot! You're only level 15! You don't have your usual skills! The game won't register your reaction speed no matter how much you try to force it!
Gluttony: *sniffs the air and looks at Tanya* She smells good! Really good! *grins horrifyingly at Tanya* Can I eat her?
Lust: *licks the blood off her nails, smiling* Of course, Gluttony. And get those chaos emeralds while you're at it.
Mana: *stands up in front of Tanya, leveling a terrible glare at Gluttony as her outfit changes to her regal dress*
*CLASS CHANGE DETECTED: PRINCESS class to THIEF class*
Stay away from Tanya.
Gluttony: *the effects of Mana's class plus her glare seem to intimidate him, and he looks at Lust* L-Lust-sama...
Kenshin: *in his preoccupation, he grabs AU Whip and reappears next to the team* We must get you all out of here.
Tanya: But Mi--!
Kenshin: You, Princess Mana, and Van get to them and do what you need to do. I shall handle these two with the Whips.
Tanya: But Ponytail is too hurt to fight!

AU Whip: "Tanya... I'm perfectly fine."
*AU Whip stumbles out of Kenshin's grasp and stands on his own two feet. Luckily, the arm impaled was not his sword arm, which limps slightly in pain*
AU Whip: "Don't forget... I only get stronger the more I'm opposed. You need to take Mana and Van and get out of here. Don't forget that those people in the village need your help as well."
*He puts his hand on her shoulder*
AU Whip: "Please."

Tanya: *looks concerned, but nods, bravery entering her eyes once again* Okay. *grabs Mana by her good arm and Van's other hand as her class changes to Thief* Let's go!
*Skill Activated: Shadow Escape Art!*
*Tanya, Mana, and Van disappear further into the forest*

Lust: *licks her lips* I suppose we'll just have to defeat you three before we take those emeralds.
Gluttony: *grins again* Yummy! You all look yummy! *charges at the team*
Kenshin: I'll leave Gluttony to you two! *gets into a stance again*
*Skill Activated!*
Hiten Mitsurgi Style...*appears in front of Lust in an instant*
Lust: *eyes widen*
Kenshin: RYUSOSEN! *unleashes hundreds of strikes on Lust, depleting her health in an instant*
Lust: *falters backwards, her wounds healing as her counter drops to 13* You... You're not supposed to kill people, Battosai...
Kenshin: *eyes deadly* You're not human.


Tanya: *appears across the river from Minato and Kushina's house* There!
Mana: *nods and takes off running to the house*

Whip: "I am seriously glad he's on our side."
*Whip and AU Whip, in compliance with Kenshin's plan, both face Gluttony head on*
AU Whip: "I'm going to make you regret hurting Mana."
Whip: "Ya hear that fatty? Get ready to munch on a big beatdown, super-sized just the way you like it!"

*Van wants to join with Mana immediately, even with her feeling better than before, but a thought makes his ear twitch*
Van: "Wait, Tanya... I feel like we're forgetting something..."

Gluttony: *his grin grows* Yay~! I get to eat even more! *rushes at Whip and tries to chomp on his head*

Tanya: What is it?

Whip: "Thaaat's right buddy-!"
*Whip vanishes in smoke the moment Gluttony's teeth lock over his head, and he reappears a few feet above Gluttony, with the words *Skill Activated: Shadow Escape Art!* fading over his head as he brings down a quick knife strike*
Whip: "Just keep trying! I've had worse try to eat me!"

*Van shakes his head*
Van: "It's probably nothing. Come on, I don't want to leave Mana alone for too long."
*Van quickly accompanies Mana inside*

Gluttony: *catches Whip's knife in his mouth and crunches so hard on it he breaks it*

Tanya: *follows Van in* If something bad happens and you had a hunch Van, I'm going to be mad at you!
Mana: *is already healing Lan Fan*
Minato: *nods to Tanya and Van, his eyes serious* Welcome back, Van, Tanya.
Kushina: *next to Mana, watching her progress* Are you sure you can be using that much MP, Mana?
Mana: *nods, but is sweating a bit* I'll be fine. I can rest later once we've gotten out of here. I don't want anyone after us to hurt any of you in the process.

*Whip's face is priceless, shattered harder than the remains of his knife as he watches the individual fragments dissipate into digital dust*
Whip: "...Mah...?"
AU Whip: "Move it!"
*AU Whip tackles the other orange rabbit out of the way, swinging his blade at Gluttony in the process*

*Van silently thanks Minato before crouching next to Mana, watching her as she heals*
Van: "We don't want you hurt either Mana, okay? We don't know when we'll next get the chance to rest, so please take it easy."
*Van looks over at Tanya once more*
Van: "Tanya, how much longer do you think we'll have to heal Ling's bodyguards before Shadow is unfrozen?"

Gluttony: *dodges the attack, before slamming both his fists into the rabbits*

Tanya: Hmm... *looks at clock on her display* I dunno, maybe 20 minutes or so?
Mana: *nods* That's good, but I still have to hurry for our friends fighting the homonculi.
Ling: *perks up* The homonculi?