Description: Dear Diary, today I had the pleasure of entertaining one of Earthrealm's elite. Benimaru Nikaido, a 'model' second only to a few - like the legendary Barbie. He proved distracting if ultimately inadequate, but displayed a strange tendency to work with an ally. He shared a bond with a man, a spirit warrior, who reeked of Outworld. This is an alarming development, and I fear I may now be equally hunter and hunted. Nonetheless, I am only excited by the prospects ahead; truly, my father chose wisely, and this is a realm we must fight to rule! ...I must stop writing now. My wrist aches and I have a perilous hunger. This dead manling is going cold. The flesh is never so delectable as when it's fresh and warm.
A green screen is really no substitute for a background. But with a CG background of a beach behind him, Benimaru in what's essentially a leopard-print Speedo, with his hair down, and a fan blowing that hair, the pictures are sure to be a hit!
...OK, yeah. He does feel a little silly.
But HEY, the budget for this shoot was pretty low, and the people who organized it had spent most of their budget to hire him. Not that hiring him was stupidly expensive, no. But the organizers of this shoot wanted a known face to sell their products, and Benimaru Nikaido is definitely a known face.
What products are they trying to sell? Swimsuits, of course. Which explains why he's in this studio, in front of a green screen, in a Speedo. At least it's not a full-on 'banana hammock'. That would just be COMPLETELY tasteless. The swimsuit has a 'boy short' cut to it. Which may or may not be much better. But they give support, and that's what's important!
The wonderful thing about low budgets is that the people *with* them are entirely unimportant. Seriously, name ten low-budget film directors. Name ten poor writers. You can't, my little pets, because only the successful matter, and only those with the resources to succeed will, by definition, be successful. This distinction is a particularly important one to be made not just in the throes of mankind's social ball, but that of nature itself. The dance of our lives is spent seeking the best and brightest among us, lavishing them with praise and attention...
We spend a lifetime searching for just ONE person to share it with.
There's nothing more important than the elite, than the special. Young women like Sandra Peterson, lately of 1167 Slumview Avenue, Metro City, are no blip on the radar. Employed by a company that has no money, to make something that will make no money, appealing to people who have no money either... she's a failure. Unevolved.
A sharp, sickening crack rings out in a nearby dressing room.
A slow, keening screech follows, like nails on a chalkboard.
A few moments later, a sensuous figure oozes into the backdrop of Nikaido's little, meaningless endeavour. Something like a purr sounds from the woman as she drifts with a too-easy grace through the dismal crew overlooking the model's shoot. Nobody seems to notice her until it's too late, whereon she's made it to the front, her languid stride neither quickening nor slowing as she casually reaches out to fling a cameraman across the room with a dainty shove. He splits his head open on a folding chair.
Mileena pauses to smile beneath the veil shading the lower half of her face. The contraction of muscles hints at a positive *beam*, however, that scarcely reaches feline yellow eyes. Nobody seems to have noticed those, either, until now. She's just so damn distracting-- honestly, if ever a body looked at home on a set like this, it's this specimen right here. Mileena is practically perfect, but for a certain odd pallor to the skin, all pleasantly rounded curves and taut, toned muscle. A blissful duality of sex appeal, bundled in a fancy purple-and-gold... swimsuit? It... it could be.
Slightly less likely is it that the burden in her left hand is a prop. For one thing, it's dripping, a blackish-red trail leading back across the studio from Mileena's slinky entrance. For another, it's a severed goddamn head - made very clear when she suddenly flicks it toward Benimaru, a giggle escaping her veil. 'Here, catch!'
"Iii," comes the scratching sibilance of the Outworld Princess' dulcet tone as she claps her scalp-divested hand to her hip, with all the composure of a bitchin' pro model, "Am a biiig faAan. Let us *work*!"
No, Benimaru's attention was elsewhere, though he heard the screech. Looking to one of the lighting guys on-set, he raises an eyebrow. The guy just shrugs. He doesn't have any clue where the sound came from.
About then Mileena makes her appearance. With her uh, 'prop'. Except it's not a prop, and Benimaru has to scramble out of the way of the way of a dripping, blood-leaking severed head. That's going to look weird as all hell on the green screen background, isn't it?
Backing up for a moment. Let's get a glimpse into Benimaru's thought processes. 'Oh wow, she's hot. Why didn't anybody tell me we had a -- OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL?!'
So yes. This 'lady' is obviously not a lady. And as much as Benimaru enjoys those of the female persuasion, he gets the feeling she probably plays a little rougher than he can take on alone. He manages to compose himself, mainly by avoiding the possibility of looking at that severed head-- now he's glad he hasn't eaten yet-- and props a hand on a hip, then tilts his head a little.
"A fan? Hm... I get the feeling an autograph won't... 'do it' for you, ne?" His tone is at least half-teasing... probably not wise. "From the looks of things, you play a little too rough for me. But I know someone who can entertain you~."
And here's where he HOPES TO GOD Nightwolf wasn't pulling his leg about the feather. He removes one of his earrings-- a feather with the pinion wrapped in wire-- and places the plume near his mouth. And he murmurs, "Nightwolf? I think I found a friend of yours." He doesn't realize it's not just a walkie-talkie type deal.
When Benimaru's head tilts, so too the woman's watching him. It's in perfect synch, in fact, as if she'd already intended to make that movement when he does. If he's ahead, it's by miliseconds. Lest one dismiss her as a mere copycat, however: she also makes a roughly-accented but soft 'hmmmm?'. He probably didn't do that.
"Oh, Ii don't want to plaay," laconically sing-songs the Princess of Outworld, easing a hip to one side and straightening a leg in seeming contempt for the rather uplifting effect this has upon her anatomy. Her lips spread again in that unmistakably massive grin, yellow cat's eyes gleaming even in the blinding light of the studio. She rocks on her heels, seemingly about to step forward when she resettles, emitting a low giggle of excitement. "Ii want to *dance* with you, Benimarrru NikAiDo."
Removing the bloodied hand from her now-equally bloodied hip, she finally saunters forward, making each step measured, moving closer and closer to the model as a small panic breaks out behind her. Looks like the male crew have stopped gaping, and the female gotten over their intense jealousy and hatred of this strange, alluring creature. Mileena doesn't glance back, doesn't even notice them.
She has eyes only for THE Benimaru.
"What iss a NIghtwolf? A pet, perhapsSss...?"
She reaches out, beseeching, cheekbones phrasing what's probably a smile. She just wants to be friends!
MEANWHILE
IN SOUTHTOWN JAPAN
Nightwolf was busy making reparations to the Shrine's ceiling. Today was a beautiful day ripe for doing chores. The sky was clear and his two 'roomies' where off doing their own things, leaving the shaman alone with his thoughts of carpentry. Such peace and serenity where things that seldom came the Brave's way and he endeavored to make the most of them, even if it meant currently being atop an abandoned temple's roof hammering tiles in with the back of one of his energy axes. Tomahawks are very versatile like that.
The skinwalker paused briefly from his diligent work to look up to the quiet trees and breathed in deeply. Nothing could possibly ruin this day.
"Nightwolf.."
Eh, shoulda known better than to even think them words. Nightwolf's blank eyes widen when he hears a familiar voice whispering in his mind. That is Benimaru, and he's using the spirit he gave him to communicate with him. Looks like home improvement was going to have to wait, because not duty called.
THE PRESENT
METRO CITY
A full second later after Benimaru has spoken the shaman's name to the feather a ray of pure moonlight shines through the ceiling of the studio and hits the spot directly next to Benimaru. The beam shines brightly, and where there was nothing but thin air before, a tall muscled figure materializes into view. Nightwolf appearing from the nothingness with one armed raised to the sky as if commanding the light itself. It also has the bonus factor that it gives him an incredibly heroic pose with his entrance.
The only thing missing is that he says 'By the light of the moon!' or something.
"I am summoned." Declares the shaman as he steps into view, the beam of moonshine retracting back into the sky. He looks around and the first thing that he sees is Benimaru dressed in nothing but his underwear. A deep frown forms on the shaman's face. Did Benimaru really summon him for this nonsense??
He's just about to open his mouth when an evil presence overpowers his senses. Death and fear is all around him, causing the Apache to focus on the /creature/ that is the culprit of all this brutality.
Mileena..
"Fiend of Outworld!!!" Declares Nightwolf, quickly placing himself between the half-Tarkatan and Benimaru, taking a defensive position to protect the Shootfighter. "I will send you back to your forsaken realm!"
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf has started a fight here.
Once the crew has gotten over the gaping and intense jealousy, the realization hits. This woman just RIPPED A MAN'S HEAD OFF. Which probably also explains the unknown shriek. However, once that realization hits, the crew does the smart thing and gets the hell out of there. Benimaru has the murderous woman occupied at the moment. And he's a fighter, so there's nothing to worry about, right?
A dance? Benimaru raises an eyebrow. He's not able to comment just yet. Because Nightwolf appears. Oh yeah. Benimaru knows EXACTLY what it looks like at first. Here he was, standing there in just a swimsuit and nothing else. Except it wasn't for... well, THAT kind of reason. As he notes silently with a finger pointed in Mileena's direction. Yeah, THAT'S why he called. Not the swimsuit.
"Ah, well... the lady wants a dance," Benimaru replies, after Nightwolf's declaration. "I didn't figure I could exactly keep up, so I thought you might like to join me in entertaining the lady." Yes, he totally did just say that.
COMBATSYS: Benimaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
Ingregious as she may appear, Mileena is stalking the shootfighting model. There are no two ways about this; the creature has her prey, and is intent upon every last inch of tan, toned skin. Beneath the veil, her tongue runs briefly across the unseen outline of jagged teeth. From without, it looks like she's chewing gum.
The chewing abruptly ceases when light flashes from the sky and Captain Planet unveils his unholy presence. The effect is doubtless satisfying to the spirit wizard lumberjack bikerlord; Outworld's Finest actually cringes, rounding her body like a sinuous whip, cracking a half-circle with her torso and coming around with fingernails curled like talons and a positively raunchy hiss upon her lips. Those feral eyes blaze.
Mileena isn't afraid - she's *thrilled*.
"Sstupid alien trespassser!" She gurgles playfully, curling the fingers on one hand in a gesture that's as much 'ooh, it tingles' as 'come hither'. Mileena arches her back inward, coiling and curling as she stands, unable to remain still in the light (pun intended) of this fabulous new development. "You wAnt to prootect these *pEople*? They are just tiny, tiny fliess, little moRsels for our... sSatisfaction."
Suddenly she smiles, her mouth remaining closed but entire face curving with the sheer overwhelming enthusiasm of the expression. Beyond the veil, it's... odd. Aggressive.
"I wWill send *YOU* back to the biRd people!"
She screeches it so enthusiastically, it's hard not to be drawn in. Goddammit, Mileena is determined that Nightwolf is a birdperson and is being flung back into the limbo of endlessly circling for mice. The insane glee propels her forward almost by its own volition, her transition from 'mad hunkering' to 'headlong lunging' is absolutely prodigious. She's a fleshy purple blur, lank hair streaming and veil sharp against the jagged spurs of her teeth as she descends upon the spirit hunter.
At the last few feet, she pulls up, entering his personal space with a hard skid - her heels tearing shallow rents in the studio floor - and quite disdainfully raises one arm. Her chipped, painted fingernails flex outward as she seeks to press her palm against the shaman's face with deceptive carelessness. Then, she'll giggle...
...And close her grip, absolute savagery screaming into her supple frame as she just launches her new prey across the fucking room. Still. Goddamn. Giggling.
COMBATSYS: Mileena has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf blocks Mileena's Strong Throw.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Nightwolf
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Benimaru
Once Mileena lunges forward, Benimaru's stepping back. Not to retreat, no. But his hands light with blue-white sparks, and he sweeps his hands up, fingers through his hair. Nightwolf probably recognizes that gesture. If Mileena has ever seen him fight, she probably will, too. And sure enough, his hair stays in place as his hands come away from it.
He doesn't attack yet. But he's getting ready to. That's what the pulling his hair up is for. Keeps it out of his face when he fights. He takes his stance, for the moment sizing up Mileena. He's not really feeling that confident about this, but at least Nightwolf is here. If he had to do this solo he'd very likely be in trouble!
A quick glance is cast towards Benimaru. Nightwolf dares not take his eyes off Mileena for long, but it is imperative that he informs his ally of what is happening. Knowing what something is makes it easier to deal with, and when it is easy to deal with you need not fear it.
"Be wary, Benimaru. This is no Darkstalker. She is a creature of Outworld, crazed beyond imagining. Fight like you've never fought before." Frowns the shaman as he speaks, blank eyes quickly focusing back on the blood splattered woman dressed in pretty pink. "But you need not fear.. this is why we have trained."
"Get around her and flank her! I will draw her attention!" Hopefully Benimaru remembers his training against Nightwolf's spirit wolves because he is going to need it! The shaman barely gets to call out his warning just as Mileena is jumping on him to try and scratch his eyes out, Nightwolf quickly brings his arms up and takes the frenzied slashes on his forearms. He clenches his teeth, enduring the pain his arms take as blood pours from his forearms before he pushes Mileena away to break the clinch. "Away with you, woman!"
Sliding back to put some distance between him and the Outworlder, Nightwolf summons an energy bow and fires an arrow entirely made out of chi right for the Princess' thigh. He's aiming to hit her right in the peroneal nerve to cripple her mobility.
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf successfully hits Mileena with New Earth.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Nightwolf
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Benimaru
So many distractions! So much to focus on!
Mileena's senses are going crazy, her nostrils flaring as Nightwolf evades the worst of her frighteningly-casual attempted assault, the blood spatters across the studio calling her name as much as the pulsing rhythms of her two preybeasts' hearts. Blazing yellow eyes spin in their sockets, darting between the wolf and his boycub, and in that instant the former is given his opening; a retreat, and a counter-attack...
Her mistake is that she doesn't move an inch until the very last, when she suddenly twitches into life, gaze rapt upon Nightwolf for the first time in a few perilously-short seconds. The sharpened prick of the shaman's energy penetrates Mileena's flesh, flaying not to the bone but to the spirit, her leg dragging in pangs of sympathy for the assault upon her very aura - so bound to the leylines betwixt worlds-within.
"Not away!" Hisses Mileena, lashing out with a wildly gesturing hand as if to conceal the pain creasing her brow and causing her pulse to quicken. It makes her dizzy, and she rather likes it. Best not to let the prey see it, though. No, no. "Never away, foolissh wIzardD!" Her breath catches in a croak that becomes a girlish belch that becomes a histrionic giggle, the Outworlder crossing the room in a flash that takes with it the dim manifestation of Nightwolf's mighty chi.
The next is all her own, a jagged scar of violet rupturing the very air as Mileena vanishes from view and then explodes into dramatic life directly above the outspoken Brave. She launches, angled downward like a primordial lawn dart, aiming to drive a heel - sparking with the searing residue of her own energies - into Nightwolf's skull.
When it hits, it's only to be followed by another. Mileena explodes away and back again, tearing unruly chunks from Earthrealm's natural power and devouring it for her own. A second heel is aimed at the exact same spot; but from a different angle, the Prettiest Princess approaching now from, suitably, HIS flank.
"You hAve my attention, *Nightwolf*."
She lands with a somersault, immediately brandishing her nails - and beneath the veil, her teeth.
"Thiss iSs what happens when you choose to pRotect my *dinner*!"
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf stops Boot Down from Mileena with Shield of the Ancients.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Nightwolf
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Benimaru
"Shield of the Ancients!"
Nightwolf may be a newcomer to the fighting world, but his expertise when dealing with monsters of the night becomes quite evident when he starts to draw Mileena's ire. The shaman switches weapons quickly, his energy bow vanishing into thin air before he brings left arm up for an overhead block when Mileena descends upon him with a vicious serious of dive kicks. Green energy swirls around his arm forming a circular Apache shield preventing the flying kicks from striking head.
Next verse same as the first. Nightwolf places his foot firmly on the ground and pushes Mileena away from him. Essentially, he just knows how to fend off frenzied horrors such as this as the Outworld Princess will quickly find out she is not the only hunter here.
Or a bird wizard.. since that is apparently what Mileena's addled mind is telling her Nightwolf is.
"The people of Earthrealm are not baked goods for you to sample, fiend!!" The skinwalker holds his ground, twirling an energy battle axe on his other hand, the one not currently holding an energy shield. White blank eyes open wildly.
"Benimaru! Strike now!" A little help over here!? Nightwolf may be an expert demon hunter but some assistance would be nice!
Benimaru may not be a newcomer to the fighting world... but he IS a newcomer to all this supernatural weirdness! Aside from Nightwolf's abilities, summoning of spirit wolves, and ability to literally change INTO a wolf, he's not had a lot of exposure to this kind of stuff. Ghosts and goblins... all scary stories for a 100 supernatural tales ceremony. Not something to really believe in, right?
Apparently it was true after all.
Really he didn't know what to do. Didn't know how to help. He wanted to run. But he didn't want to leave Nightwolf to get killed. There'd already been one head ripped off tonight, poor bastard. Benimaru didn't want to make it three.
He did move around the battle, as Nightwolf instructed. But he hesitates. Until Nightwolf calls out for him to strike. Right then. He have time for lengthy planning. He darts forward, charging a fist with electricity. Swinging that fist forward, he lets the electricity burst from his knuckles, hopefully just in time for the impact.
COMBATSYS: Benimaru successfully hits Mileena with Raijin Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Benimaru
For all the dismissive lack of tact demonstrated thus far, Mileena is not actually stupid; she's wary, indeed, battering against Nightwolf's masterfully-erected shieldwall with the sudden primness of an experimental huntress. The second kick becomes a test - seeing how far she can push, probing into the outer limits with a sharp dig that would have unbalanced her, had she struck HIM like that. She's adapted to the situation, and wants to see just what her boastful foe is made of.
Seriously, who does he think he is? He's not her bloody father.
"Not baked, birrdman, but burned and torn!" Crows Mileena as she flips away and lands, her attention woefully nowhere near the lurking Benimaru. Like a child, she's easily distracted; not watching her periphery when occupied with something fascinating. Grinning beneath the now-rumpled veil, she cries, "A fFeast for ourr New aAge!"
And then a hot supermodel hits her right in the fucking face.
The Princess of Outworld is blasted by lightning, her eyes wide and expression blissfully astonished as she's utterly blindsided. A giggle emits from the dissipating thundercrack; even as Mileena's crumpling to a knee she finds the joy in her predicament. She holds herself fast on one sheathed arm, nails cracking the floor as she hisses an outbreath and then whips her attention around.
Onto Benimaru. Again, their decoy technique works; she's fixated.
"You look *delicious*," she decides promptly, with a little bob of her head. Gleeful, she surges forward, closing the distance in a low lunge that carries her into proximity as an arm pinwheels almost lazily overhead... only to SMASH down with brutal force, Mileena twisting through the blow so that the other arm naturally follows the first. Twice more she twist-turns, thrashing over and around with punishing blows. Wildly inaccurate and telegraphed on their own, bewildering entrapment together.
"But firrst, Ii must POUND you!!"
Wolf pack tactics.
Hey, if it works with bears it can work with freaking demons from another dimension too.
Nightwolf exhales quickly when Mileena relents from her attacks as she's viciously struck on the back by Benimaru. Unfortunately, this has the negative side-effect that Mileena is now charging for the underwear clad Benimaru. Nightwolf cares not to what happens to him in the defense of Earthrealm, but he cannot risk an innocent's life to do his job. The term innocent here is stretched very deliberately too so it can also fit Benimaru..however, the Shootfighter still qualifies for it, if only barely, and that's enough reason for Nightwolf to protect him.
"Benimaru, look out!" The skinwalker doesn't miss a beat either. As the Princess of Outworld goes about face to charge at the Shootfighter, he's quickly dashing behind her to attack her blind side. An energy axe is raised high and then swung hard in an arch, aimed to hit Mileena right on the back of her skull.
COMBATSYS: Mileena successfully hits Benimaru with Rapid Jabs.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Benimaru
On the bright side, Benimaru's lightning punch did indeed hit Mileena. On the other hand, she's also now got her attention on him. Nightwolf's call of warning comes a second too late for Benimaru to react. The hammer blows impact painfully with his shoulder, and with a force he hadn't expected. Why he underestimated her strength is anybody's guess. Either way the result is the same, and he ends up on the floor.
He's going to need a bit... hopefully Nightwolf can get her attention for a little while.
COMBATSYS: Benimaru takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Benimaru
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf successfully hits Mileena with Blade and Edge.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Benimaru
Nothing but pleasure registers on Mileena's cruelly-gorgeous features when Benimaru crumples before her animalistic onslaught. Her power belies her speed as her speed oft belies her power; she's a monster by any man's reckoning, and possesses the tools to drive that impression home. Which isn't to say she's unstoppable.
Nightwolf proves it once more, surging in upon the retreating wave of the Princess' deadly paws, her arms pinwheeling back into a languid quarter-guard as she bends toward the staggering Benimaru and proceeds to croon some sweet nothing in his ear...
Crunch. The impact against Mileena's skull opens a thick welt within the inky stain of her dark hair, crimson ichor exploding like a silky mist against the air. "Look *out*?" Spits the abomination of Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits, her body contorting in half-pain, half-ecstasy as she soaks the solid impact of the energized axe haft. She's made of stern stuff; it hasn't penetrated the skull, merely leaving an ugly memory upon her scalp. It should hurt like hell, and it does, but Mileena...
Mileena thrives on this. She's grinning even as she thrashes upright with a protesting click from her tortured spine. Nightwolf has had time to dart away, certainly, but if he hasn't, she'll be terrifyingly close. The sweep of her boot has carried her to his flank, regardless, staring at him from a diagonal with those fierce, cattish slits.
"The prredatorr becomes... prey," she jaggedly exhudes, the sudden upturn of her chin carrying an excitement on the edge of explosion. She practically bristles with savage, primally-crude delight. The Princess straightens and then works her way into a winding sidestep, actually exhibiting some of the martial grace imbued by short, intensive years of training beneath the greatest that Outworld has to offer. Then, she ceases the motion, and snatches at the veil upon her seemingly pretty face.
"But the worm dances forEver, little mMan - she rounds and rrounds and RrRounds!!"
Mileena whirls, darting away from Nightwolf and then spinning into a short horizontal leap, legs butterflying above her until she twists and lands, digging her heels into the studio floor until it shrieks in protest and begins to rupture.
Then she's surging forth, drawing her arms around her as if sheathing them across her shoulders. Her fingertips dig into tan flesh, pricking so hard they draw blood, and then she's sweeping them back around, violet energy piercing from within her veins. It explodes into lengthy talons upon the Princess' short claws, lending her 'x' strike across the shaman's torso a deadly if unorthodox edge.
"An eye for an eye," she hisses, manic, "A hHead for a hEad!"
All the while, her maw is revealed by the ripping of the veil, spittle flying from within the sharklike depths of Mileena's hidden mouth. Her teeth gleam with a hunger, each singling out a point around Nightwolf's head as they stare him down.
His warnings had wisdom, it seems. Deep wisdom.
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf blocks Mileena's Pretty Slasher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Benimaru
Nightwolf knows better than to think Mileena would be down after taking such a strike.
An axe to the cerebellum might be enough to at least /stun/ a normal warrior, but it will take far more than just that to stop an Outworld monstrosity such as this crazed veiled woman.
Its why Nightwolf is not surprised when the ferocious thing surges back from the blow and turns her attention back to him and away from Benimaru. Good, that's better, attack the shaman, he knows how to deal with Outworld creatures.
"HRAAA!!" The Apache Brave arms himself with courage and dives in right for Mileena's attack. There is not much he can do about the woman digging her nails on his shoulders or the strikes to his chest, but he can at least stop the most dangerous thing coming right for him.
The woman's mouth.
"Hm!" With a grunt, Nightwolf jams the handle of his energy axe horizontally and presses it hard against Mileena's gaping maw, forcing her fanged teeth away from him as he stares her down right back, white blank eyes staring into yellow feline ones.
"Get up, Benimaru!" He calls as he struggles with the Outworld fiend. "You must not let fear overwhelm you! Remember what I said! Embrace it and draw strength from it!"
"You told me you are a warrior, Benimaru Nikaido!! Its time you prove that to yourself!"
With a mighty shove, Nightwolf goes to push Mileena away from him, just enough so he has room to swing a hard punch right for her eye.
It's a good thing Nightwolf attracted Mileena's attention. Not only because his shoulders are still killing him, but because the shock of seeing those TEETH! She's actually trying EAT NIGHTWOLF?! Seeing that disturbs him more than a little, and he does give a second thought to running. But he does have more integrity than to run out of his friend. And besides, it'd be a bit embarrassing to run out into the streets looking like this.
At least he gets on his feet when Nightwolf calls out. He's not sure about the whole 'drawing strength from fear' bit, but it will definitely keep him on his toes!
There's a lot of excuses he could make in rebuttal to Nightwolf's words. Sure, he's a warrior, but he's not a SUPERNATURAL warrior. He's only a human. He doesn't have training to deal with supernatural threats. Lots of things. Ultimately though... that's all they'd be, excuses. Ultimately all that matters is that he doesn't let his friend get eaten.
Nightwolf can probably see the exact instant the rational part of Benimaru's mind throws its hands up and says 'screw this, I quit'. At that precise moment, the fear leaves his expression, and his face settles into a more calculating look. And as the Sin Eater aims for her face, Benimaru tries to get around behind her and aim for her leg with a kick.
COMBATSYS: Mileena Toughs Out Nightwolf's High Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Mileena 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Benimaru
COMBATSYS: Mileena interrupts Medium Kick from Benimaru with Rip Off.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Benimaru
"*Strike*!" Mileena sees the punch coming as she's skidding backward, thrashing her head and gnashing her myriad teeth in defiance of her failure. Welts mar her skin where Nightwolf has touched her harshly, but she's heedless of any pain or discomfort, rounding like a wild animal to face his knuckles headlong. Eyelong. That yellow iris doesn't move, no lid moves to blink across it, she just stares longingly.
Until the last, where it cleaves her pupil and throws her terrible head backwards. Her eyebrow splits enough to emit a thick trickle of blood, the droplets drip-dripping past the bruised optic. The Princess of Outworld is staggering now, thrashing her limbs to a desperate halt that spins her stance until she faces the oncoming Benimaru.
Tipping back her chin, maw working to a monstrous grin, she welcomes him. Her leg lifts just slightly, his kick jarring against her ankle - which proves surprisingly resilient, thrusting back against his limb with a palpitation of honed muscle. With the distraction, she lifts the same leg and then brings her heel down sharply upon Benimaru's ankle - but from a devastating angle, driving him into the floor.
"Now yYou, Wwwarrior prince. Prove your WORTH--!!" She rages the last, spittle flying and tongue lashing against the throes of her own yell. Still shaking from the crazed energy she's derived from this turn of events, the Princess is an abomination, raising her other foot and planting it upon Nikaido's chest, driving him down upon his back.
"YesSs, embrace it, my sWeet," coos Mileena, tongue lisping against the landscape of her gaping maw. It almost seems impossible that she should speak at all, through such a nightmarish device, with no true lips to guide the sounds and breath rattling heavy. She's leaning down now, arching her curves with gymnastic mastery to even brush her expansive chest along the near-nude assets of her prey. Her hands glide around his shoulders until they grasp his neck, firmly yet with a strange tenderness.
"Let uss draw strEngth," she whispers, "From each other."
Her grip becomes a tightening wrench, crushing the windpipe. Snarling viciously, Mileena suddenly bucks backward, keeping her feet painfully driven into Benimaru's legs even as she exacts the opposing punishment; stretching him out over her form as if for a head-dropping suplex. And so it becomes, as with a twist of her heels - ripping against tendon and seeking to splinter bone - she releases him only to bring his magnificently-coiffured skull to an explosive impact. Her arms still hold him, looping over his chest and shoulders to cradle his neck, and it slackens just enough...
...to be intimate, to be soothing. As if she cares.
"Oops," she hisses, breaking into a giggle.
"You monster!!"
Nightwolf is understandingly outraged that Mileena decided to fling herself at Benimaru again to attack him. Poor Benimaru doesn't deserve this kind of treatment and the blinding fast way that Mileena brutalizes the Shootfighter fuels the shaman with rage causing him to charge headlong towards the monstrous Princess with a blood curling yell of anger. The cry is as much to draw his own inner strength as it is to keep Mileena's focus on /him/.
"Get away from him!!" Demands the Apache warrior summoning another energy battle axe to his hand. Mileena wants to eat so much, he's about to give her something snack on. Jumping into the fray, Nightwolf swings a hard axe blow aimed right at her jaw to force her and get off Benimaru.
If ever there was more proof that Benimaru is not cut out to fight the supernatural, this is it. He has no idea what happened. And he probably won't ever figure it out. One minute he's trying to help out a friend... and the next the floor is getting chummy with his skull, via Mileena's acrobatic suplex. There's movement, an impact, and then pain. That's all he can clearly remember.
Hopefully Nightwolf's attack will get Mileena away from the shootfighter. Because his bell has been quite thoroughly rung, and he doesn't seem to have the strength to get free. Unfortunately, that also means Nightwolf is on his own for a while... until Benimaru's world stops spinning, he's not going to be able to contribute much. Also, internal injuries aren't so easy for relatively normal humans to 'just shrug off'.
COMBATSYS: Benimaru takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\=------\1 Benimaru
COMBATSYS: Mileena parries Nightwolf's Tomahawk Smash!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Mileena 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\=------\1 Benimaru
Mileena's clawed fingernails drag across Benimaru's neck as she unfurls from that foul embrace, her breath releases in a prolonged sigh that's almost... wistful, ending in a little whimper as she straightens directly into the course of Nightwolf's axe. The brave's tomahawk is regarded with the narrowing of feline eyes, yellow slits burning with spiteful pleasure - she can taste the pain already, feel the violence. Her teeth gleam, a few drips of drool pooling from their tips to scatter onto Benimaru below.
It all happens in slow-motion, at least from the perspective of the Princess. One moment, she's slavering, and the next she's twisting with freakish, sinuous grace around what might have been the man's finishing blow - she's pretty banged up, bleeding from two locations and scathed to the core by the energies of these two men.
Mileena knows when she's in trouble.
"Away-ay-ay," she sing-songs, grotesquely smiling from the air above Nightwolf's shoulder, her evasion turned into a neat flip. To add insult to... insult, she has one arm extended, a palm slapped to the sizzling surface of the man's chi-axe. Her own burns against it, sickly and violet, their meeting creating a white-hot layer, as hard to survey as the midday sun. "WHat kind of hHunters arre you?"
The question hangs where Mileena does no longer, pushing her palm out to soar backward in open defiance of Earthrealm physics. Silhouetted in the sharp studio lighting, she enters a deft flip that carries a curious hint of the lazy - the motion disguising twin flashes of chi amidst the fingers of either hand. When she turns, she's holding twin sai forged with trickery to match the Nightwolf's, burning defiance to the men below.
They're flung with a blunt forward motion, but spun to curl across each other's bows, sloping around and down as their flight propels them to opposing destinations. One, toward the shaman's heart, and the other toward Benimaru's posterior.
She's cruel, indeed, targeting what matters most to her prey.
"We will *dance* again, and Ii wwWill tasste you!"
Her words echo from on high, but Mileena herself is gone, a violet flash ejecting her from the room, leaving behind the mingling scent of iron and... jasmine?
Only a monster would wear fragrance. Now let them hunt her.
COMBATSYS: Mileena has left the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Mileena successfully hits Benimaru with Emnity EX.
> //////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> /////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Benimaru
COMBATSYS: Nightwolf reflects Emnity EX from Mileena with Shield of the Ancients.
> //////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> /////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Benimaru
The avoided axe does not deter Nightwolf from attacking. He got Mileena to stop attacking Benimaru and that's what he wanted, that his axe was deflected was just unfortunate consequence of his actions. Real warriors get up every time they fall and he's not going to let Mileena's monstrous dexterity intimidate him to stop attack her.
In fact, when the Princess of Outworld starts to pull back and away from them, Nightwolf heedlessly charges after her, completely ignoring the fact that he no longer has her flanked. Strategic advantage is thrown to the wind, the shaman just wants her to stop attacking his friend.
"OYI-YI-YI-YI-YI!!" Let her come he says!
Today is a good day to die.
"HRAAH!!" But he's not going down without a fight. The flung sai thrown at him is met a bash of Nightwolf's energy shield. He continues to charge until he realizes that where he to start chasing Mileena he'll be taking the fight to streets.
And he can't leave Benimaru here, bleeding half to death.
"Benimaru!" Ultimately, Nightwolf chooses life over violence today. He runs back to the fallen figure of the Shootfighter and notices his numerous wounds, some more embarrassing than others, but all very serious.
"Stay with me you fool." He curses as he turns him around trying to bind his wounds to stop the hemorrhage. "It is not yet your time to die."
Spiritual wisdom is all nice, but Nightwolf isn't one that puts his strength solely on the spirits. He's pulling his cell phone and calling 911 too.
Benimaru's not quite unconscious yet, but he's pretty near it. He probably shouldn't move, what with how much everything hurts, but he manages to haul himself over onto his side and out of her immediate range as he finds himself freed of the woman's weight. And then suddenly there's more pain as one of the thrown sais impacts, not where it had been aimed, but because of his movement, it hits his thigh. He can't help but give a yelp of pain at the impact.
It might only be energy, but it hurts just like the real thing. And then doesn't even have the decency to STAY THERE and act to block the bleeding. Nope, it just disappears, and leaves a wound that streams blood like a stuck pig. At least the greenscreen's fabric, probably shredded from the fight, will provide decent material for binding the wounds.
Unable to hold the charge anymore, the static leeches out of Benimaru's body, and his hair begins to return to normal. He doesn't have the strength to reach up to brush it back. Everything hurts. Yet still he finds the energy to tease Nightwolf. "...Heh. Not... the way you wanted... to spend an evening, ne?" Laughing hurts, but he does it anyway. "Told you... didn't I?" He's referring to something he said during that training session, regarding fighting the supernatural, and how he wasn't cut out for it. But he doesn't clarify. Probably hasn't even occured to him that he might need to.
COMBATSYS: Benimaru takes no action.
> //////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nightwolf
> ///////////// ]
|=======\===----\1 Benimaru
"Don't talk.." Nightwolf hisses through clenched teeth when Benimaru pushes through the pain only to poke fun at the situation. He closes his cell phone, help is on the way, and though Benimaru will live, Nightwolf can't say the same for the poor souls that Mileena butchered today. The shaman surveys the scene of destruction and death before he looks down upon Benimaru again with his ever impassive blank eyes.
"You fought well, warrior." The shaman assures him, knowing perfectly well what is the bleeding, half naked model talking about. "You held your own against the forces of Outworld and lived. That is not a feat most mortals could ever hope to achieve." The shaman brushes his gruff palm along the length of Benimaru's face to slide his long blond hair out of the way.
He looks longingly down at him.
Then gives him a few baps on his cheek.
Because obviously the only way real men can show their affection is through violence, even if its just a little. What? Was he expecting a kiss or a hug or something?
"Rest for now, friend. The battle is over and you have survived. I will be taking care of these matters now."
Of course, it falls upon Nightwolf's shoulders to hunt down this creature. Her scent still lingers in the air, it will be easy to track this fragrance for Nightwolf. But he does not dare leave Benimaru's side until the paramedics have arrived. For now, he simply looks in the direction where Mileena left with narrowed eyes. What kind of hunters are they, she had asked.
"The kind that will forever stand against you..." Answered Nightwolf under his breath.
Up on the rooftop of the studio, perched not in the shadows of ventalation shafts and heat-extracting fans but out upon the very lip, Mileena non-figuratively licks her wounds. Like a lioness, she wipes saliva from her nightmare maw to her cuts and scrapes, massaging thick dribble into the thick cleave upon her scalp. So, too, she wipes fiercely at her split eyebrow, blood gouting out across her fingers to mingle with her spit. Best not to ask any questions, but; it soothes her.
Yellow eyes relax as she gazes out across the Metro cityscape, mulling back on the merry dance of the past few minutes. Time passes so strangely when she acts brazen, throwing herself into the shared rictus of battle. She likes it. Maybe loves it. The emotions are all too strong to separate; she is in constant, unparalleled ecstasy.
Will she remain here, hunter and hunted by the newfound prey below? She might. Or the skills imparted by her time as a hero of Outworld, the Warrior Princess, may carry her again into the cargo hold of an Earthrealm 'aircraft'. She can travel the globe at her merry whim, dancing from stage to floor with nary a missed step, drinking of the small pleasures in petty preybeasts until she finds another worthy hunt.
Benimaru has pleased her, in his way. How many more CAN stand up to Outworld? Could the model do it alone, or might he, given new motivation? As for Nightwolf... his familiar tang - the bittersweet poignancy of tasted home - and incredible ability to withstand her savage fury, is compelling and desirable. She wants it. But too much is bad for her, she knows from her father's wisdom. She has to be patient. She has to be good.
Good Mileena gets treats.
Her maw gapes into one last grin, and she cants her gaze upward to the setting sun, a hum of pleasure emitting almost as a mitigated yowl. 'Yes,' she thinks, shivering from lank-haired head to dancer's graceful toe, the beauty and the beast uniting in one, childishly-delighted thought: 'I'm going to like it here!'
The Princess of Outworld seeks few things more than simple entertainment.
Wonders await, in a whole new world.
Let them stand, and be counted. Let them fall when this world is hers!
Log created on 16:21:54 12/27/2014 by Mileena, and last modified on 23:00:08 12/27/2014.