Description: Urien decides to go to Gedo and 'assess' the principal with his fists. He finally bites off more than he can chew, with terrible results.
Walter Smith's office is a model of spartan design. He doesn't spend much time here; there would be no sense in filling it with decorations that'll never be stared at or books that would never be read. There's a desk, there are chairs, a computer, a filing cabinet; basic office fixtures carried over from Gedo's usual principal. The office is spacious, and empty enough that his only personal effect - a plush black rug with an ornate silver trim - dominates the floor between the door and his desk.
Walter 'Zero' Smith is hunched over his keyboard right now, studying school records on one monitor and an encrypted data stream from a Cartel lab on the other as he hunts for further prospects and notable patterns. He's wearing a dark green sweater vest patterned with a dozen autumn-colored diamonds(six on front, six on the back), a long-sleeved white dress shirt, black slacks, and loafers wrapped around a bleeding edge combat suit, all thanks to holographic imaging tech.
He typically doesn't keep regular office hours; most days, there's just too much to do elsewhere. In fact, he only intends to spend half an hour behind the keys, if that; once he's gotten through the bulk of the work, further data crunching can be done on the go.
Sources planted within the three schools inform Urien when the principal happens to be within his office; he had been idling on a nearby street within his limousine, waiting for the call in the company of a few women and a large amount of imported wine. Cursing in annoyance at the timing, his vehicle thrummed into life, fixing his partial state of undress and slicking back his hair. "Well. I'm sick of beating around the bush. I think it's about time to say hello."
Everything happens so fast that Zero likely doesn't know what takes place until it's almost upon him. Pulling up abruptly, the door is pushed open and Urien strides out, four suited men accompanying him. Most of the Gedo students simply glare at him, as his prior encounter with Daigo made him a dangerous unknown. That makes the beeline to the offices happen without a problem. Keeping his men outside the secretary office door, he struts within. "I have an appointment with Mr. Smith." Urien offers. The NESTS-placed secretary, knowing very well that's not the case, begins to intercede while pressing a button lighting up Zero's monitor that there's an intruder. "No." Urien continues. "I insist."
A swift kick suddenly sends the door of Zero's office hurtling inwards, hinges exploding and sending screws flying in all directions. It slams into it hard, breaking the school monitor and likely sending everything into disarray. "MR. SMITH." Urien states; the huge figure dominates the entryway, ducking slightly to stride within. Suited in a fine tan tailored suit, both hands in his pocket, he has the wicked, sadistic grin of a man who's here for trouble.
Readings are initially extreme. Heavy genetic modifications. Massive chi, heavily elemental biased. But NESTS has not done the research of the Illuminati, and the system to create Gill was absolute confidential. No info is on the G-Project head yet... until this moment.
"Do you have a few moments?" A booted foot lifts up to thump on the edge of the desk, as Urien leans forward. "I know you are a busy man. NESTS, right? I'm just curious what you're doing in the schools. Wholesome and harmless, I imagine...?!"
Zero Smith might not have much time to prepare for what's coming, but the alert from his secretary gives him ample opportunity to shut the data stream down and pop an invisible collar, causing a tweed trenchcoat to flow from hidden spaces within his battlesuit and settle over his body; he is /just/ slipping his arms into its dangling sleeves when Urien makes his entrance.
All in all, it could be worse; handling the computer stuff with destroyed monitors would have been really obnoxious.
Zero bolts to his feet as chunks of metal and/or wood explode through his screens, but rather than panic - or even try to shield himself from debris - he settles for darting out from behind the desk. He is upright and composed when Urien speaks his name, regarding the intruder with a tilted head, a glare, and an array of sensors.
"Mr..." he trails, plainly looking the snappily dressed stranger up and down as inclusive readings begin streaming in, "... hm." His arms fold as Urien makes his request, and afterwards his eyebrow arches, he clears his throat, and says, "Well. I /was/ in the middle of something, but I suppose that the futures of these troubled children can wait for whatever..." His annoyed, derisive tone is accompanied by vague gestures to the debris, the goons outside, and Urien himself.
"... /this/ is," he concludes. "I was brought in as part of the exchange program to implement changes meant to teach these students how to overcome the challenges that life has thrown their way; I want them to blossom when they leave here--to /fly/." He then raises a hand thoughtfully to his chin, stroking it momentarily as he straightens his head to look Urien square in the eye.
"I suppose that it /is/ something like a nest in that sense," he concludes. "All schools are, to a certain extent; it's an interesting perspective, to be sure."
Zero Smith might not have much time to prepare for what's coming, but the alert from his secretary gives him ample opportunity to shut the data stream down and pop an invisible collar, causing a tweed trenchcoat to flow from hidden spaces within his battlesuit and settle over his body; he is /just/ slipping his arms into its dangling sleeves when Urien makes his entrance.
All in all, it could be worse; handling the computer stuff with destroyed monitors would have been really obnoxious.
Zero bolts to his feet as chunks of metal and/or wood explode through his screens, but rather than panic - or even try to shield himself from debris - he settles for darting out from behind the desk. He is upright and composed when Urien speaks his name, regarding the intruder with a tilted head, a glare, and an array of sensors.
"Mr..." he trails, plainly looking the snappily dressed stranger up and down as inclusive readings begin streaming in, "... hm." His arms fold as Urien makes his request, and afterwards his eyebrow arches, he clears his throat, and says, "Well. I /was/ in the middle of something, but I suppose that the futures of these troubled children can wait for whatever..." His annoyed, derisive tone is accompanied by vague gestures to the debris, the goons outside, and Urien himself.
"... /this/ is," he concludes. "I was brought in as part of the exchange program to implement changes meant to teach these students how to overcome the challenges that life has thrown their way; I want them to blossom when they leave here--to /fly/." He then raises a hand thoughtfully to his chin, stroking it momentarily as he straightens his head to look Urien square in the eye.
"I suppose that it /is/ something like a nest in that sense," he concludes. "All schools are, to a certain extent; it's an interesting perspective, to be sure." Once that's out, he steps back behind his deck so that he can retake his seat, casually slide back into position, and knit his hands on top of it before asking, "Now: who are you, and why are you on my campus?"
"Hah... hahahah!!! Like I thought, you're playing the oblivious card pretty strong. But don't worry. I'm a scientist, myself." Urien adjusts the front of his tie, before shifting his foot off and thumping it down on the ground. His arms spread, before a surge of chi starts to ripple through him. Muscles expand upon his limbs, and it seems that he's partially assimilating his very genetic structure with energy. Interesting. Only Krizalid has that sort of potential, and he had to use heavily modified Kusanagi stock.
"If I attack you strong enough to kill a normal person -- even a normal fighter -- I'll know. If you die, then my apologies. I'll pay for your funeral, and make your family rich beyond it's wildest dreams." He then slams his hands down, grasping either side of the desk tight enough his fingers crack the heavy wood. Lifting it up like it was weightless, Urien swivels his stance, loafers exploding off his feet in a spray of leather while toes sink into the floor hard enough to form imprints.
"CATCH!!" He then /hurls/ the desk straight towards Zero, spiralling once and spraying out pens and papers like shrapnel. It's hard enough to plow straight through the wall behind and into the main grounds, if not stopped... and it's clear that nobody of even average ability could hope to stop it!!
COMBATSYS: Urien has started a fight here.
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Urien 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Zero has joined the fight here.
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Urien 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Zero
COMBATSYS: Zero endures Urien's Huge Thrown Object.
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Urien 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Zero
Urien's musculature explodes in a distinctly scientific fashion and Zero's systems go wild. The principal's roughly composed facade slips just a bit as his eyes widen at the spikes he's seeing, and he bolts from his chair quickly enough to send it skidding across the ground.
Between his instictive reaction to the power surge, the defensive posture he adopts as soon as he's upright, and, let's be honest, his ability to stand there spinning outright lies/sass instead of wetting himself after Urien kicked the door down, there are plenty of decent indicators that he is either a trained fighter or a very athletic nutjob.
Or both, really; plenty overlap, there.
That his response to Urien heaving his entire desk into the air and hurling it at him like a cannon shell is to fix his eyes to Urien's and spread his arms wide - it /is/ 'Catch', after all - instead of defending himself or getting out of the way is solid evidence for either case. The desk crashes into the 'educator' and shatters into millions of splinters and dozens of scattering papers. The impact sends him crashing into the wall so hard that he does, in fact, go sailing through it, all the way down to the courtyard; Urien might notice a last-moment flicker of grayish chi between Zero and the ground, mitigating what would otherwise be a crippling fall.
He also might notice that there's little, if any delay before he picks himself up from the ground, and only the briefest of pauses after that to loudly crack his neck and try to adjust to his painfully realigned spine, but even if he doesn't, he's sure to catch what happens next:
'Principal Smith' becomes a wool and tweed blur as he leaps from the courtyard back into the office, twirling through the air like a tastefully dressed buzzsaw the whole way--an image which is completed as metal blades pop out of the coat's hem at some point before potential contact.
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Urien with Shou Suburu.
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Urien 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Zero
Truth me told, Urien wasn't joking. Of course there's the very real chance that Zero is at best a lower tier fighter, and hurling the desk could critically injure him. But he was also serious about compensating the man's family on the off chance he was wrong. One of the perks of the Illuminati is complete judicial control. Even if he ripped Zero's head off and hurled it over the school clear to the football field, it would never make the news. He would never be prosecuted. It would fade to memory and legend, and nothing more. This has emboldened Urien in a reckless manner. He knows that Zero has fought at least once since becoming principal...
But he didn't expect him to be this strong. Once Zero was sent flying out of the room, causing a large number of Gedo students to shout and make their way towards the scene, he begins to wonder if he just made a mistake. Well, a NESTS croney is no big... wait. The flash of chi was seen. It's easy to forget Urien is a genius himself, if not of the quiet sort; what saves his own life is a sudden explosion of force, shredding his suit to naught in a great burst of energy. Brown suddenly ripples across his chest and thighs, flowing down his limbs and up his throat. His weight seems to quadruple, and scanning indicates a full dual element infusion; something that should be impossible, as flawless as it is. Air and Earth in union, two contrasts, the very conflict between them in his core fueling his power...!
Just as Zero reaches him and strikes out, his hair turned stark white. He was too slow to bring his forearms up in time, and the vicious strike... causes a spray of sparks. Deep gouges are within the bronze god, muscles looking so perfect that there might not be a single iota of fat upon the chiseled frame. Only his thong survived, stance broadened. He skids backwards, before both hands grasp the doorway hard enough to crack them in order to stall his own egress.
"/Nice./" he allows. before pushing forward and then suddenly lunging the short distance between himself and Zero. "So you're not a nobody, huh?! A NESTS weapon?! Some small-fry isn't going to survive once I bare my FANGS!!" A brutal swing of his fist is down, a downwards arc aiming to cleave across Zero's chest and hip, positioning him in a low, aggressive stance!
COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Urien's Terrible Smash.
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Urien 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Zero
Principal Zero plants himself within his office after slashing the intruder and sinks into an aggressive stance. His holographic clothing sports a few appropriately placed rips, some of which align with actual gouges in the battlesuit. "A 'weapon'?" he sneers as his fists close. "I'm afraid you have me mistaken with someone else." Just before Urien takes that swing at him, he shoots the thong-clad man a smirk. "I'm an edu--"
WHAM! Zero has to cut himself off to catch Urien's fist against his forearm, and even though he didn't take the blow the way the musclebound titan intended, it's still fierce enough to buckle his knees and send him skidding back a foot or so.
"--cator," he concludes, grimacing. "And yes, it's true:" His blocking arm lowers so that he can grasp the edge of his coat and extend it, causing the dangling blades to clatter gently. "I am an educator who is not without /his/ fangs--"
Abruptly, he terminates his thought to lean sharply towards Urien and flick his coat out, aiming to cross the gouge already marring his flawless physique. The garment is released afterwards, allowing it to flare through the air in a metal-edged arc on its way back to settling around his legs.
"--but I'm afraid that you've come to the wrong place!" he concludes after lashing out. Despite his blustering obliviousness, the fact that Urien seems to know something of who he is is disconcerting, and his insistence on shouting about it is downright problematic.
"Find a classroom!" he bellows with a glance towards the hole in the wall, hoping to sway any students in earshot into doing anything but standing around while Urien talks about NESTS, "There is learning to be done! Today, the penalty for loitering is more detention than you can possibly imagine!"
COMBATSYS: Urien fails to interrupt Satsuma from Zero with Aegis Reflector.
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Urien 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Zero
"Enough... enough with your drivel!! Who do you think I am? I even spoke the name... NESTS!! Does that mean nothing to you?!" In actuality, Zero's steadfast refusal to budge is making this aggravating. He had hoped the act of assaulting him would have confirmed things, but all he knows... is the man is strong. And more infuriatingly, there's a sense of restraint... much like when he battled Sol, he is getting little sense of the other man going all out. How many men alive can stand on par with Urien? Very few... few enough to be incredibly suspicious. Perhaps he should have assaulted Taiyo instead. That principal had looked much softer...
"AEGIS REFLECTUUUUURGH!" Suddenly Urien stiffens and brings up his arms, crossing them before snapping them out. The blades rip into Urien once more, carving deep furrows into literally armored skin that well up with crimson that never quite begins to run. He's sent flying this time, crashing through the open doorway, and slamming into the wall opposite. Both the door and the majority of the infrastructure shatters, sending the half-naked man rolling into the tiles as his four bodyguards -- who had been repelling intruding students -- are forced to scatter.
However, Zero would find that a great wall of solidified energy was thrown out, which just barely missed manifesting atop him; instead it appeared behind, crackling in the air and disintegrating the portions of desk and chair it touched. This is... a forcefield even technology would have huge trouble imitating. Only Urien did it only with his internal chi, somehow fusing the structure of the earth with the incredible power of storm. Interesting, indeed.
"What're you looking at?!" Urien states with a hiss, before pushing up to a crouch. This is getting him nowhere. "I... already found out what I want... Principal. But I had an offer to make..." He marches back through the broken hole, a piece of foundation bouncing off his shoulder. The bodyguards form a line once more, moving farther out to give some privacy. The pair can be seen, but in the rabble of noise and discussion, not heard.
"...I'm here to /blackmail/ you." he hisses in a whisper, grinning wildly. "I hear NESTS has excellent cloning equipment... give me one of your vats, and I'll vanish quietly. ...But if you want to continue..." Arms spread invitingly. "I'll ruin your entire operation. I'll make sure the tournament is canceled. I'll scream the name of the Cartel at the top of my lungs, until every back-alley government knows it exists...!! You infantile fools used to have neutral relationships with us... but that's in the past!!"
Us...? Zero could make some guesses at this point. The Illuminati, about thirty years ago, had made a deal with NESTS for technology and scientists, back when Zero was still up and coming. It was unclear what the end result was, but given Urien's age, he could be a product of that. If it /is/, then in terms of social powerbase and global politics, NESTS likely has little traction opposing them...
Zero's systems register an energy spike just behind him, prompting him to turn his head and witness his furniture being disintegrated by Urien's might. Urien getting knocked out of the office was reason enough to leave it, but the scintillating wall behind him seals it: he dashes after the titan, but Urien meets him halfway, leaving them just inside the office.
He is just about to serve Urien another helping of aggravation when the Illuminatus finally makes his offer. The literal proclaimation of blackmail just draws a frown and causes his fist to tighten, but when the terms actually come, that hand slowly unclenches and his frown grows a little darker.
"I have no idea who you are," he hisses in reply as his arm wraps around his desk-bruised ribs, "but your negotiation skills need work: there's a chance that we could have reached an arrangement without this..." His eyes visibly trace the cuts in Urien's body, and then he sneers, "... unpleasantness."
The expression fades into a thoughtful grimace right afterwards, of course; Urien pretty much has him over a barrel and he knows it.
"I am not in the habit of storing spare cloning vats on campus, obviously. If I /were/ to accept this--'offer'--you would need to be patient; a delivery would need to be arranged." Since his office is devoid of furniture now, he crosses to the space where his desk was just to get a little bit of distance from the Illuminatus, keeping his eyes on him the whole way.
"Such recklessness..." he chidingly observes. "Do you think yourselves untouchable?"
COMBATSYS: Zero takes no action.
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Urien 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Zero
"Oh... sorry. Was I a little too rough for you? I made a demand. You played coy. So I threw a desk at you. Next time someone kicks your door in and makes accurate claims, try NOT denying it." Well, there's no doubts here that Urien is absolutely reckless and crazed. His arms cross before his chest, lifting his chin with a savage little grin. "Who I am...? I'm Urien. One of the chiefs... of the Illuminati. You know who that is." That proves that particular point, although the group has never been known for this sort of wild strong-arming in the past five centuries. Of course, once things appear to be going in his favor, Urien beams. "Yeah. That's more like it. Little groups like yours need to step in line when the big dogs come barking. I'll supply you with the place to make the drop. ...And I think you can ask your leaders yourself whether I think I'm untouchable. Because I am." A hand extends, fingers waggling mockingly. People are watching now, although the conversation was lost. "C'mon. Shake on it... Dog."
COMBATSYS: Urien takes no action.
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Urien 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Zero
Within Zero's ear, there'd be a crackle of sound... before the smooth, charismatic voice of Igniz is heard. He had been alerted to the incident by the secretary outside, and monitored the dialogue thus far. << What do you think you are doing...? Bowing down to a man such as this? Preposterous. ...Capture him. I am interested in his elemental infusion techniques. We will ransom him to the Illuminati, if he is worth as much as he says. I will not see Father's dreams kneel before so lowly a worm. Crush him. >>
The thing is, Igniz's encouragement wasn't even necessary. Zero is a fairly composed man, by and large... but he's also a proud one. Playing ball long enough to delve into Urien and the Illuminati's affairs before this hypothetical delivery - and to devise worms and viruses to load down his tribute with - he could have borne that easily enough if it meant gathering intelligence on a new-old threat.
'Little groups', though? 'Dog'? Completely, utterly over the line.
"Hm," the 'educator' exhales, studying the outstretched hand as his own clasp behind his back. "Maybe you have a point: I suppose that, faced with a grinning lunatic who'd just kicked his way into my private space, I thought that I'd have a little fun at your expense, when instead..."
A low hum begins to build around him and one of the diamonds on his vest fills with dark, boiling chi as he engages his suit's chi amplification systems. Threads of the stuff inch from that blackened diamond to spread across his body like crackling black vines.
"... I should have been honest with you. I'm sorry, Urien of the Illuminati; I hope that along with my refusal to accomodate this crass, brazen intrusion, you will accept my humble apology."
He then throws his arms wide, sending his gathered chi after the intruder to try and capture him in dark fields of artificial gravity that would briefly render him too heavy to move. If it all connects, he'll surge across the scarred office to capitalize by throwing a series of punches aimed at bronze-hard abs followed by a final kick to the Illuminatus' chin.
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Urien with Tsugio Hikoujin.
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Urien 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Zero
"...What? You think I'm kidding...?! You fool!! I'll ruin everything!!" Urien doesn't look absolutely confident in that, though. Honestly, Gill would never approve of the way he is antagonizing NESTS at the moment, when the Illuminati have always stressed a cold neutrality unless someone else struck first. His strong arming attempts may have backfired significantly here... the last thing he needs is to be seen as a liability in the eyes of his damnable brother. After all, that can end in being exterminated!!
"Hrrrrk!!" Gravity locks upon Urien, who struggles in place. But his own chi suddenly hardens him, and the brutal onslaught that follows impacts a surprisingly resilient form. But it's rare... rare to feel pain like this. Rare to feel it tear into his fusioned frame. Bleeding... are those spatters of blood on the ground...?! The final kick blows him free of the gravitational womb, and Urien crashes face-down in the hallway once more, smearing crimson behind.
"...Idiot... Worm... Cockroach!! You think I'll go down?! DO YOU?!" He pushes to his feet unsteadily. "DIE!!" He then leverages both of his arms, before suddenly launching a super-dense ball of energy, hurtling across the distance between; the same black gravitational energy that Zero himself is presently wielding, although infused with the sky in a storm of lightning!!
COMBATSYS: Zero reflects Charged Metallic Sphere from Urien with Hikawa.
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Urien 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Zero
"Your power is impressive," Zero states as he stalks out of his office. "Your body, a marvel; I could understand why you thought to reach out to me this way. To /take/ what you might have otherwise been offered." Even though his suit's repair systems are working on his ribs and spine, he keeps a hand over his still stinging midsection as he enters the hall. Despite his thin veneer of a cover, he's been approaching this fight rather aggressively, eager to, if not repulse Urien entirely, at least make him regret barging in; he can only maintain that kind of pace for so long, though.
When Urien tells him to die and launches a sphere of electrically charged gravity chi after him to seal the decree, however, he still responds by clutching his jacket and waiting 'til the last moment to swipe it in a vertical arc. Gray chi flares around his coat blades just before they're dragged through the sphere; contact creates a little pearl of the stuff within the projectile that rapidly builds into a burst which sends the entire sphere hurtling back towards Urien.
"I think that you'll be getting acquainted with our equipment one way or another," he lowly after letting his coat fall back into place. "But if it's any consolation, I'm thrilled at the prospect of getting a look at you; I'm a scientist myself, you see..."
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Urien with Reflected Charged Metallic Sphere.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Urien 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Zero
"Don't you dare talk down to me... the strong feast on the weak!! They aren't even worth their time!!" Urien seethes. This is unreal. How can a battle be so one-sided? What sort of technology is at hand here?! While the Illuminati might be the kings of genetics, it is clear who rules the world of technology...! And even then, the Cartel is far from weak. He never expected someone so high tier to be waiting like a hidden viper in the schools. This is no simple hooligan. From what he understands, Nests passed... could this be his son, the one who rules?
The sphere easily reflects, simple raw power undirected. It accelerates with incredible speed, before suddenly impacting Urien dead center. His eyes bug out, and he feels his ribs break. "My... Iron Body..." he hisses, for a few seconds holding firm as the warbling ball of chi rotates in his chest. "WILL NOT BREAK!!"
And then there's a great explosion, sending Urien hurtling backwards once more. He shatters through the metal lockers, tears through the concrete, explodes into the front of the school, impacting the shoddy grass and skidding all the way to the street. Slowly he gets up, fury and anger running through him.
"You're... you're the new leader, aren't you?! Ahahah... I heard that useless old man... KICKED THE BUCKET. Eh...?! That wannabe scientist... was always just a reject from us!! What dream did he manage alone... but some upstart gathering, a weed... we will one day prune?!"
Urien then begins to charge towards Zero, each step heavier. His gravity increases more and more, until he's destroying the soil, slamming down to break the rubble of the wall, each tile exploding as he continues forward at Zero. "DIE!! GET ON YOUR KNEES AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS!!" He suddenly hurtles his shoulder towards Zero, aiming to slam into his midsection. Only to twist, kicking forward again, trying to strike him again, and again, before snapping out to catch Zero by the throat and burst out of the wall, with the intention of hurling him all the way to the basketball court, and hopefully hit the backboard. "SNIVELING MAGGOTT!!!!" He's far beyond reason at this point.
COMBATSYS: Zero endures Urien's Tyrant Slaughter.
! VENGEANCE !
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
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Urien 0/-------/-------|=======\=====--\1 Zero
Urien's initial guess about his identity stings, but Zero doesn't correct it as he stalks down the trail of destruction left behind by the Illuminatus. At least he can be comforted by the knowledge that Urien might not know /everything/.
The stuff that follows stops him dead in his tracks atop the stairs out front, though. It's been a few years since Nests' death, but that wound was reopened a few months ago, and it's never quite healed correctly; Zero might have been able to swallow the gross disrespect if his father were still alive and overseeing his grand design, but now that he's just a memory...
What kind of son would he be if he didn't defend his father's honor /now/?
"How dare you...?" His eyes are wide with incredulous rage as he stares down at the Illuminati tyrant. Another one of those diamonds on his vest darkens and boils as anger stokes his inner fire. "Arrogant--/ignorant/--" Briskly, he begins to descend the stairs as he continues to sputter, "--brazen /pig/, dragging your irrelevant--"
Unfortunately for him, all this outrage leaves a pretty good opening in his defenses for someone to charge right through, provided that they're quick enough. Zero doesn't kneel when the musclebound conspirator slams into him, but he does release every bit of air in his body and find himself crumpled over Urien's shoulder before he can mount a proper defense or get out of the way.
Dazed as he is, the high-velocity trip he and his brawny visitor take through halls, classrooms, and various other important educational spaces on the way to the basketball courts is mostly just a sickening blur of smeared colors and noise. Dark ribbons of energy from his chest form a flickering trail behind them, marking their path through the school. The eventual dunking he is treated to at the end of the journey does at least offer a nice, sharp jolt to his senses that helps to keep him grounded--literally, as much as metaphorically, because the basketball hoop he collides with can't actually bear the weight of a Urien-launched cyborg meeting its backboard. He tumbles and bounces along the ground a few times after the hoop is felled, and then he /finally/ comes to a stop beside the grassy area bordering the court.
"Impressive--!" he croaks as he pushes himself to his feet despite shattered ribs and rubbery legs, glaring daggers at Urien the whole time. "Such incredible power poured into such an insolent, short-sighted vessel; it's no wonder that you and yours have enjoyed such a long and healthy life! I can only imagine the resources your masters expend on their /valuable/ assets."
A few motes of darkness crackle and flare within some of the other diamonds covering his vest, only to settle as he sucks in a deep breath meant to calm him somewhat. The power his Father blessed him with is /right there/, waiting to be harnessed - to purge Urien of his smugness - but they're outside. They're fighting in broad daylight; even he can't give students detentions for seeing him through their class windows. At least, not all of them.
His fists are still balled so tightly at his sides that they're bone-white beneath his gauntlets, though, which is likely why he takes his turn to charge wildly across the battlefield once he's gotten his raging chi amplification system under control.
A savage, horizontal sweep of his coat is accompanied by a shout of, "What could you possibly have known of his /genius/, save for what I've taught you in these last minutes?!" If it connects, he will follow it by leaping and twisting into the air to draw the blades up the center line of Urien's body, again and again until the onslaught culminates in a final soaring leap that would take him well past the top of the basketball rims still standing, so that he can eventually land in a beleagured crouch.
COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Urien with Dakekusari Zanjin.
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Urien 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Zero
Urien tilts his head to the side at first, as if not quite able to understand the rage coming from the other man. Not as if it matters; he's too busy trying to break every bone in Zero's body, shatter him like a gnat, with a surprising amount of strength born from adrenaline and rage. Not many people can take the beating inflicted upon him and still be able to stand, after all; it's an impressive turn of events, to say the least. Breath comes fast, blood seeping out slow and sluggish, as bolts of crackling lightning run across him. Gedo Students are watching in large throngs now, shocked to say the least that the school is being badly damaged by someone assaulting the principal. That Urien is not a complete unknown and earlier hassled Urien only makes it all the more bizarre.
"What... you maggot... you dare rise again against me?! The future Emperor?! I own you... I own everything in this rotten world!! I have strength!! Connections!! Intelligence!!" But he's not sufficiently smart to not infuriate Zero. "Don't you dare call me an asset, you...!!"
Suddenly Urien goes stiff, struck by a blast and going a couple meters upwards. Countless blades tear into him, sawing through, but Urien's teeth are grit tight, energy condensing inwards. He lands on his feet, so hard that he sinks nearly three inches. A slow exhale looses a cloud of steam, and his eyes are wild and frenzied.
"WEAK..." he states, before rushing forward, striking out with both hands in an attempt to grasp Zero. The motion is oddly sharp and refined, for his normal savageness; with intent to pull the other man up into the air like a doll, and then slam him down upon the ground. "TOO WEAK... MY IRON BODY..." Teeth grit, blood spurting out from between them. "WILL NEVER BREAK!!"
COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Urien's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Urien 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Zero
"You own everything in this world," Zero coldly corrects as he rises to his full height, "but a NESTS cloning vat."
Continuing to get under Urien's iron skin is not the wisest course of action; Zero knows this, but blades and weaponized taunts are about the only outlets he has for expressing his anger right now, given the student audience. He doesn't even bother yelling at them to disperse at this point; once he hit the courtyard that first time, trying to keep a lid on things is about the best he could hope for, given the complete lack of fucks that Urien gives about confidentiality.
Composed as he is - /armored/ as he is - he's pretty badly broken beneath the battlesuit; self-repair routines can only do so much when he keeps getting smashed through walls. Worse, his last attack doesn't seem to have slowed Urien down one bit, because the Illuminatus thunders towards him not that long after recovering, screaming the entire way. He drops back a step; his initial thought is to throw himself to the side while Urien roars past him, but pain shoots up his hip as soon as he plants himself, eliciting a grimace and just about dropping him to that knee.
By the time he recovers, all he can do is drop to the ground and awkwardly roll away; he gets a faceful of gravel as Urien passes him by, and comes up crouched not too far from his starting place. Given a moment more, he is able to retake his feet long enough to charge after the Illuminatus with the intention of driving a fist into his rippling back or torso--whichever way he happens to be facing by then.
COMBATSYS: Urien blocks Zero's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Urien 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Zero
"...!!" Urien has no good answer to that particular mockery at all. He just continues to seethe, as if truly content to self destruct in the process of fighting. Such a sheer will and tenacity is impressive in most situations. Outside this, at least. "Worthless... dog..." He's striding forward as if a zombie now, wounds slowly beginning to expand as his explosively compressed chi, like a massively clenched muscle, cannot be held forever. When it does... he's probably through. Perhaps forever. That might be fine, in the grand scheme of things. He thrusts out his hand, aiming to pluck up Zero from the ground and lift him up, to crush his throat in a repeated series of squeezes. "I'll... kill you... KILL YOU...!!" From the rubble comes the four bodyguards of Urien, each pulling out a sleek and futuristic pistol. They make no move to interfere, however; that would be suicide. Each would be but a gnat to dismiss in the face of Zero... and they know it, if the normally untouchable strength of Urien is failing to pass muster!
COMBATSYS: Urien successfully hits Zero with Destroy Claw.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Urien 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Zero
The bodyguards are a problem. It's not that they stand a particularly high chance of taking Zero down, even collectively; the real issue is that depending on how and when they decide to involve themselves, dealing with them could give Urien the time that he needs to get away from him.
Of course, being strangled by the aforementioned Illuminatus is arguably the more pressing issue; it's just that, through the darkness creeping in from the corners of his vision, Zero can't help but try and consider what happens next, when - if - he is able to avoid falling unconscious in the mad titan's grip.
"Hrrk--!" is the only sound that escapes his lips as he kicks his legs and struggles for freedom; it's accompanied by a fine mist of blood that jets into the air between the two fighters like a fountain. Clawing at Urien's hand is a waste of time, given the gauntlets covering his nails and the Illuminatus' berserker strength; the same goes for prying his fingers away, at this point.
So, bereft of other options, he stops just kicking his legs and focuses on trying to swing his whole body back and forth in Urien's grasp until he's finally able to take a shot at planting his feet in the tyrant's face.
COMBATSYS: Urien interrupts Medium Kick from Zero with Intercepting Metallic Sphere.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Zero 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Urien can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Zero 1/------=/=======|
Urien is a man possessed. He's already defeated. Each second he spasms and more blood spurts from his wounds, eyes growing wider and more manic, veins and tendons pressing out of his armored body. Focus... focus... he's close. Not much farther... until he can break this man's neck!! But then a foot slams itself home on Urien's face. Only it doesn't seem to actually hurt him. Instead, a great ball of swirling metal chi forms around Zero's face, before the huge man twists, hurtling him downwards to slam the back of his head upon the ground.
A moment later, he vomits a horrific amount of blood, beginning to bleed from a dozen wounds. Collapsing to his knees, his eyes roll back in his head before he thumps face down... and then bursts into horribly scorching flames. A great plume of fire scorches up for a couple dozen meters, blackening the ground and likely forcing Zero to scoot away. Within it lays the unconscious Urien, about a dozen seconds passing before it slowly hisses away. He's unharmed, blonde hair fluttering; he's once more in his normal appearance, although horribly broken and battered as a result.
After a few moments of contemplation, the four bodyguards flee, pressing fingers to their earpieces. This... warrants reporting.
Freedom costs Zero dearly: after that last ditch explosion of chi goes off in his face, he's flung to the ground, where his head whips back and hits the blacktop. This draws a raspy cough from his battered body, which in turn sends another fountain of blood spraying into the air.
Before he can even /begin/ to think about moving, even more dark, sticky liquid splashes on him, courtesy of Urien's rather graphic fall. He lets out a noise that's somewhere between agonized groaning and wet cackling, then; his systems were giving conflicting data on Urien's state, and those last, terrifying moments of maddened strength certainly gave rise to some doubt as to whether or not he'd be able to outlast the Illuminatus, but now... now he's /sure/ it's over.
Unless...
Zero slowly turns his head so that he's staring at Urien through the one eye that isn't too singed and swollen for it and just--watches the man for a couple of seconds, just to see if he bolts up like something out of a slasher film.
When he starts burning instead, the NESTS researcher rolls back a few feet and comes up in a crouch, watching the entire time. His sensors weren't much help /before/ Urien used his body to demolish Gedo, and they certainly aren't giving him anything useful now; it isn't until Urien changes back that he's sure the other man isn't just powering up for another round.
Once that's settled, he pushes himself back to his feet, letting the bodyguards flee as they will. "'Emperor of the World'?" he rasps beneath his breath. "It would seem that your crown is still a little too heavy for you..." His tone is not entirely derisive; really, if it wasn't for the brazen intrusion, there probably wouldn't be any derision at all. If things had gone just a /little/ bit differently, he'd have been the one laid out on the court; as interruptions go, Urien's was a uniquely invigorating one.
Shuffling through the blood spreading across the asphault, he closes back in so that he can scoop Urien up and throw him over his shoulders, fireman's style.
"Students!" he then bellows to any bystanders flagrantly risking detention by being present, "Let this wolf in designer clothing serve as an example to you all: respect is /never/ optional!" And then, he starts limping back to what's left of the school. As soon as he's reasonably sure that he can make contact without being spotted, he'll touch his ear to open a comm-link with Igniz.
"I have a gift for you, brother; hopefully, you'll agree that it was worth all the trouble I went through getting it."
He isn't quite sure yet how he's going to spin, much less actually deal with all the holes he and Urien punched through the school, but one way or another, it's probably going to involve terrorists.
COMBATSYS: Zero has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:40:23 12/16/2014 by Urien, and last modified on 23:33:52 12/16/2014.