Description: Scratch, on her way home, has the misfortune to come across a group of Mad Gear thugs in the middle of a cockfight. While trying to flee, she encounters the sharpened blades of Mad Gear lieutenant, Katana!
It's raining and cold in Metro City. No snow this week, but forecasters predict some snowfall for this weekend. This doesn't stop the Mad Gear gang from their various criminal ventures around the city. Under Belger, they are bold and confident. The law can't touch them, especially with cops like Edi E. on their payroll. So, underneath the massive Metro Bridge on this rainy day, several Mad Gear gang members have gathered for a spot of illegal cockfighting.
It's a simple affair. Breed vicious animals to fight each other and place some bets. The lowlifes gather around a makeshift pit made out of a very large plastic pool with barbed wire around the rim. They take turns yelling, drinking, and betting as two roosters with metal claw attachments fight it out. Barrels burn to provide heat, and the bridge protects them from the rain.
Rainy days suck. They really do. They especially suck if you're someone who relies on wheeled transportation other than car. That includes someone like the skater known as Scratch. Bundled up in a thick jacket and fingerless wool gloves, the girl's cyan hair mostly hidden underneath her hood. She doesn't want to stay out for too long, but at the same time, speed is out of the question since wet street does NOT interact well with rollerblade wheels. Especially this cold, where it's just on the verge of icing over.
Still, skates are faster than feet, and she knows enough of this city to know short cuts that aren't quite so sheeted by the rain. Rushing down from the main thoroughfares, the skate punk made her way down a street that'd take her under the bridge for a short bit, Scratch used the dry ground to pick up the pace a bit. She knew it was a sketchy area enough...but she was hoping she'd be out of here and home before any punks could do anything to her she couldn't quite handle...
The rooster fights is brutal, blood spattering the happy blue plastic of the pool as the gangsters watch. The trainers seem to be Metro City almost-famous faces Bred and Two P, the latter recognizable by his garishly colored jumpsuit and mohawk. "Come the fuck on!" Two P shouts as his bird takes a nasty gash in the chest. "I'm turning you into fried chicken if you lose!" Bred just guffaws. "Yeehaw, you show 'em Dusty!" he cries.
It won't be long before Scratch is within sight of the Metro City punks and their little operation.
Scratch continues at her brisk pace, glad for the reprieve from the rain. Her wheels are already wet and slick enough though that she has to be careful of her footing lest she skid out and her skates slide out from under her feet. "Dammit, why did it have to rain of all days?" She grumbles to herself. The jacket, necessary as it was, was stifling enough to make skating harder already.
Of course, as she gets further along, she slows...she knows how sketchy this area is. At some point, she stops...and tries to find a roundabout way around this area, as much as possible. She's tracked minor Mad Gear thus enough to know certain hotspots, of course...this being one of them, and she knows better than to simply zip through. But as open as his particular part under the bridge is...she really hope she's got enough breadth to simply sneak around them. She sees fires...and some kind of pool? But she doesn't bother figuring out anything more. The less she knows, the better: today is NOT a day to instigate anything with these assholes....
Scratch goes unnoticed by the majority of the Mad Gear guys. Some of them may even be just random punks that want to suck up to them, in fact. Unfortunately for her, she comes within site of two greasy looking guys standing at the fringes of the group. One whaps the other on the arm and points to her. They start walking over with grins on their faces. "Yo!" one calls.
Unaware so far that she's been made, Scratch continues her slow go around, not bothering to skate for fear of the sound of her wheels echoing underneath the bridge. She's confident she could outrace most of the mooks too, but there's also the problem of not knowing how many there are and where. Scowling, she continues walking along...hoping she can get past to where she can make up speed again and get the hell home....
"Yo!" One of the two calls again. They wind up jogging to catch her at the front, one with his hands deep in his pockets. "Hold up. You here for the fight? If not, you're gonna have to pay the toll," he says, grinning. The other adds, "20 bucks. That's pocket change, right?"
Well, crap.
Scratch ends up stopped cold, as she hears the shout of one of the mooks who apparently stopped her. Freezing up, and cursing under her breath, she slowly turns around to look at one of the thugs. THankfully, they haven't quite pegged her as an intruder of any sort. They DO try to extort her for her money though. "Do your parents know you shake down folks for lunch money, or do they just not care?" she snipes at them, despite them likely being far older than she is already. She's acting tough right now, but she doesn't want to make this a prolonged encounter. She doesn't want to back down, even over 20. But she still can't help but look warily in case the others decide to roundf on her.
"You're either betting or contributing to the cockfight fund," One grunt says, cracking his knuckles. "Or we could just pound you. What's it gonna be?"
Seething under her breath, Scratch scowls. She's very tempted to just smack one of these jerks and make a break for it. But she doesn't do it casually...not yet. She glances around. She needs to make sure that no one is in her path enough that they could block her way before she breaks out of there. "I don't know. I kind of like the option where I don't give you jerks anything and you can't do anything about it," she mutters under her breath, trying not to be too loud just yet. She doesn't want to catch too much attention before she races away...unless it's already too late for that....
"What's that?" The first thug says. He's bald with a butterfly tattoo. He gives Scratch a shove. "Your parents teach you to speak up? Huh?"
Scowling even deeper, the skater gets shoved in the chest, teetering away a bit thanks to her skates not quite having the most firm grasp on the street. "No, and that's exactly why I'm not giving you CRAP!" she shouts, trying to kneecap the thug with the tattoo with a kick to the knee. If given the chance, she'd make a fast break away from both of them, hoping her speed is enough to get her the hell away from here. She's confident in her speed...but the numbers....
The thug's knee goes CRACK and he falls, screaming. The other one stares dumbly as Scratch makes her escape. The commotion causes a few to look in their direction as Two P's injured chicken finally kills Bred's. Bred looks sad while Two P hollers in victory. Some of the thugs start to run over - it won't be long before a few decide to try and catch Scratch from fleeing.
Not wanting to stick around after kneecaping one of the thugs, Scratch immediately pivots and kicks hard off the ground, skating away as fast as she can manage in hopes of putting the group behind her. "SCREW YOU!" she shouts to all of them before pumping her legs hard. Her lungs already suckin air hard as she sprints faster than is likely healthy in this weather. But unless they have a segway hidden in that scrum, hopefully none of them will have the sheer speed to catch up to a girl with rockets on her feet.
Still....she pats a hand on one of her pockets, even as her arms swing in front of her to pump for speed, making sure she has a spraypaint can on hand to fend SOMEONE off....
As Scratch moves towards the end of the bridge, that 'someone' happens to be none other than Katana, one of the Mad Gear's fiercest warriors and overseer of their underground fighting circuit! He emerges from the shadows and stands in Scratch's way - if she's not looking she'll run right into the huge helmetted man. He is soaked from the rain.
"Cooler bara, cooler bara..." he mutters as he looks to the rain. He looks to Scratch. "So. YOU have disrupted a Mad Gear operation. This is unforgivable!" He thrusts one arm out and rotates his head as his legs spread.
"I, Katana, will be the one to collect your debt from your broken body...you should feel honored!"
COMBATSYS: Katana has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Katana 0/-------/-------|
Believing herself to have gotten some distance between herself and the thugs, Scratch smiles to herself, head down to focus on getting more speed going. That...unfortunatley means that when the big man steps into her path, she ends up running herself smack dab into the armored warrior. Feeliing like she just hit a brick wall, Scratch calls back, groaning as the rain above keeps her aware.
Shaking her head out and looking up, she looks the tall figure up and down, and swallows a hard lump in her throat. She doesn't know much about the top lieutenants of the gang, but it's not too much of a reach to believe this might be one of them. Scrambling back to make some space between her and Katana, she looks between him, and the rest of the gang.
"You know what's unforgivable? You assholes acting like this city is your personal sandbox," she snaps, putting up a brave front, but clearly knowing she's in trouble. Still, she's not about to back down, simply on principle. Scowling, she hunches down forward...then breaks toward the helmeted gang member again, this time dropping into a slide before she reaches him and trying to drive a skate-clad food straight into the bigger man's ankle.
COMBATSYS: Scratch has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Katana 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Scratch
COMBATSYS: Katana blocks Scratch's Acid Soul Slide.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Scratch
Katana frowns deeper, though it's hard to see behind his samurai helmet. When the skater comes at him he crouches, using his arms to blocks the front of his legs and thus absorbing the blow of the skates. It stings a bit, but that's it. "Foolish gay jean! This city is our sho gun eight, and people like you merely peasants!"
He moves to grab her by the collar and FLING her across the stone walkway into a trashcan. "Such is the way of Mad Gear! HAI!"
COMBATSYS: Scratch blocks Katana's Shogun Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/-------|>------\-------\0 Scratch
Her sliding kick caught by the hulking man's arms, Scratch quickly tries to roll herself away from Katana, not wanting to stay too close to him for now. But she doesn't seem to have much fo a choice in the matter, as she's quickly grabbed by her collar from out of her slide. "HNNghh.... She ends up taking flight, but managing to wrest her collar out of Katana's grasp enough to roll with the toss. It still stings like hell, but it's sure as hell a better position than she could be in.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she snaps, not able to make a thing out of what he's trying to say. And that just makes her even madder. Glowering, she races toward again, trying to use her speed to her advantage. But this time, she ends up using her momentum to flip herself over onto her hands, her legs swinging upward as she springs forward. The idea? Swing her legs up high enough to arc them overhead and smash her feet straight into that goofy ass samurai helmet the Mad Gear boss wears.
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Katana with Handplant Hammer.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/-----==|>------\-------\0 Scratch
Katana attempts to simply tank the attack headed his way, impressed by the girl's footwork. The skates slam down on his head with a loud BONG, but the helmet isn't imitation - it holds up well. Still, the force of the impact rattles his head a bit, and he staggers back, one hand to where his left ear would be. "Hnnngh!"
"I see you are more skilled than you appear...and your weapons are formidable. Very well. I shall fight you as an equal...June Bee Oh Shite!" he says, and unsheathes the weapons on his back...a pair of katana. They gleam even in the overcast battle area. By now some Mad Gear members are watching from afar, at least those who forgot about the girl and went back to cockfighting.
Katana does a very stiff bow to Scratch, then charges her, slicing one of the katana at her! "I look forward to a most honorable duel with you!" he shouts, nevermind the fact he is using deadly weapons against someone with rollerskates.
COMBATSYS: Scratch blocks Katana's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/-----==|>>-----\-------\0 Scratch
The helmet holds up well, but thankfully, the tricky kick manages to travel through it well enough, and it allows Scratch something with purchase enough to push off and flip back onto her feet. Rolling back and away wiht a little space, she snorts a little, a bit more confidence and swagger to the bundled up activist for now. "I still have no idea what hte hell you're saying, you know," she snorts...but her confidence takes a hit when the big man's namesakes appear in his hands.
Eyes widening a little, she grits her teeth, realizing she's got a little more to worry about now, especially with the increased range. The slashes come down, but she's able to sweep herself around and lift na arm up to redirect the sword coming down. It's still able to cut into her side through the jacket, a sharp sound of pain gurgling from the skater, but it could've been far worse. "Great...now how am I gonna explain this to auntie...." she grunts.
Realizing she's gotta keep on the pressure, she tries to sweep in from the side. Leaping up, she attempts to plant a hand right at the top of the football samurai's helmet, hoping to shove herself up high enough (or Katana's head far DOWN enough) to essentially land on his back, then kick him away with as much force as she can muster with those two rollerbladed feet.
COMBATSYS: Katana counters Aggressive Air from Scratch with Shiraha Catch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Scratch
Katana, however, has other ideas. He sees Scratch coming at him, and holds his hand to his head. As she plants her own hand on his helmet, he grabs her wrist. He then whips her around and throws her again, not aiming for anything in particular. "Too slow, Skater-chan! My techniques are unmatched among the Mad Gears! You will have to...try harder than that!" he declares, pausing for unecessary dramatic effect.
Unfortunately for Scratch, she finds herself grabbed out of the air as she tried to slip around and above him. She thought she was being elusive enough to avoid his grasp, but clearly not, snatched by the wrist and swung around until slammed down heavily onto the street. "GU-HAAAHH!!" Crying out in pain, she tries to pull herself back up, staring shade straight at Katana.
"That's the first thing you said I could understand...and it's still bull****!" she snaps, rushing in to try and grab one of the big man's legs, then use her stakes to pivot around and yank him straightoff his feet.
COMBATSYS: Katana dodges Scratch's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Scratch
Katana jumps over Scratch when she rushes to grab him, turning around after landing again. "Hmmm..." he says, saying nothing for the moment. Studying his foe, trying to anticipate what she will do next. He circles her, swords held ready to cut her again. Katana has always found they are great for intimidation. He rushes her suddenly, aiming a slash for her chest as he rushes past her!
COMBATSYS: Katana successfully hits Scratch with Jigoku Scrape.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Katana 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Scratch
Unable to get a hold of Katana's leg, Scratch is left spinning in place, almost literally, as she tries to regain her bearings. She was hoping to get at least some purchase on him, but clearly not enough, and when the sword slashes out for her, she does her best to get out of the way, but her best isn't quite enough, a large, ragged slash through her coat and her chest. "GNNNNNNGHH!!"
Falling back and gasping, the wet and cold conditions seeping through the holes in her jacket and only making her wounds feel all the worse, she feels a little panic start to set in. She really doesn't want to get too caught up here, not with so many other mad gears around....
Even with her now-professional experience fighting, she knwos better to push her chances here....in a pro fight, there's no escape. Here?....she simply tries to break away and run like hell, hoping she can evade the big man enough and get the hell away before she gets cut up any more.
Katana stares as Scratch starts to make a getaway. Surprisingly, he sheathes his katana. "Let this be a reminder to you, Skater-chan: do not forget who the real rulers of this city are!" He claps both hands together and 'hmmms' to himself. Bred walks up to the big football samurai. "Uh, hey, Katana...should we go after her?" Katana throws on arm out. "No need, Bred-san. There is a proverb here...Amy Footy Cheese Cat-a-maru."
Bred just stares. "Okay, /what/?" he asks.
Katana shakes his head. His wisdom, eternally lost on them. "After the rain, earth hardens, Bred!" "Whatever, boss."
Gasping, Scratch skated hard as she could, to get as far away from the group as possible. SHe didn't care that this was the long way around. She didn't care that she had bloody gashes in her jacket now, or that she could barely breathe at this point. She needed to get the HELL away from there as fast as she could.
After a good 10 minutes of skating, she collapsed against a wall in an alley, heaving and shuddering. She knew she was going to have to explain this somehow. But as she tried to hold her arm against the giant gash across her chest, all she could think of was getting stronger....she NEEDS to get stronger....
Log created on 19:31:44 03/05/2015 by Katana, and last modified on 23:12:55 03/05/2015.