Description: Surrounded by an inky blackness filled with laser lights and... possibly other kinds of lights it's best not to think about, Sagat battles Ky Kiske for the amusement of the Ultratech Expo crowd. But why does this dark room resonate with Ky's sword and set the former Emperor so ill at ease? (Winner: Ky)
Darkness is fine. Fighting in the middle of a storm of weird science rays.
The prospect of having his past replayed for his opponent and anyone else to gawk over like some kind of a holographic World Warrior Fails compilation doesn't frighten Sagat either, but it /is/ upsetting-- and not in the sense of bringing tears to his eye or reducing him to a quivering ball on the catwalk, either.
If he could've, he would have declined this bout entirely-- perhaps tried to force his way into the Riptor trial, just to see for himself what the bleeding-edge marriage of combat and technology meant for the future of fighting.
But he has a job to do and a benefactor to please, so he's filling half of a matte black catwalk in a barely lit exhibition hall instead and seething. There are rows of chairs set up on either side of the runway for curious expo attendees; cameras and cell phones are prohibited due to the experimental nature of the technology on hand. The wall at the far end of the runway is dominated by a console sporting numerous screens, keys, and buttons: the user-friendly face of a phenomenally complex scanning system built into every inch of the space around them. Every screen is active, but none are actively engaged in scanning; there are a dozen different diagnostics and other such dull tasks playing out across them. Several inches of reinforced glass separate the console from the catwalk itself and narrow passages run perpendicular from it, leading towards locker rooms.
The ceiling, the other walls, and even the floor - all black - sport numerous projectors, each designed to work either together or independently to produce three dimensional representations of the array's output. Once the demonstration begins, there will be plenty of light to go around.
Once the chairs are mostly full, a voice booms over speakers: "INVESTORS! COMPETITORS! RIVALS! FANS, ONE AND ALL!"
What few lights there were - one in the ceiling, several running along the bottom of the catwalk - cut off and the room is plunged into darkness.
"Once again, Ultratech invites you to bear witness to the future! Stand with us at the edge of possibility and open your eyes-- your hearts--"
The air crackles with energy. Glowing circles open up all over the floor and walls, barely pushing back the darkness at its edges.
"-- and most of all, your minds as you join us in our Look Into Limbo!"
A dozen twisting ribbons of light burst into being, stretching between the walls in a multi-colored web of spectacle; a soup of violently coursing motes swirls through a seemingly endless void beneath the chairs. All of it provides just enough illumination to make the men on the catwalk and the people surrounding it visible in shadowed relief.
An agitated rumble rises from Sagat's throat as he swats a beam plunging into his scar and coming out again on the other side, but in spite of it, his eye is narrowed intently on the other end of the catwalk-- just as it was before the lights went out. And after.
Darkness is fine. Fighting in the middle of a storm of weird science rays.
The prospect of having his past replayed for his opponent and anyone else to gawk over like some kind of a holographic World Warrior Fails compilation doesn't frighten Sagat either, but it /is/ upsetting-- and not in the sense of bringing tears to his eye or reducing him to a quivering ball on the catwalk, either.
If he could've, he would have declined this bout entirely-- perhaps tried to force his way into the Riptor trial, just to see for himself what the bleeding-edge marriage of combat and technology meant for the future of fighting.
But he has a job to do and a benefactor to please, so he's filling half of a matte black catwalk in a barely lit exhibition hall instead and seething. There are rows of chairs set up on either side of the runway for curious expo attendees; cameras and cell phones are prohibited due to the experimental nature of the technology on hand. The wall at the far end of the runway is dominated by a console sporting numerous screens, keys, and buttons: the user-friendly face of a phenomenally complex scanning system built into every inch of the space around them. Every screen is active, but none are actively engaged in scanning; there are a dozen different diagnostics and other such dull tasks playing out across them. Several inches of reinforced glass separate the console from the catwalk itself and narrow passages run perpendicular from it, leading towards locker rooms.
The ceiling, the other walls, and even the floor - all black - sport numerous projectors, each designed to work either together or independently to produce three dimensional representations of the array's output. Once the demonstration begins, there will be plenty of light to go around.
Once the chairs are mostly full, a voice booms over speakers: "INVESTORS! COMPETITORS! RIVALS! FANS, ONE AND ALL!"
What few lights there were - one in the ceiling, several running along the bottom of the catwalk - cut off and the room is plunged into darkness.
"Once again, Ultratech invites you to bear witness to the future! Stand with us at the edge of possibility and open your eyes-- your hearts--"
The air crackles with energy. Glowing circles open up all over the floor and walls, barely pushing back the darkness at its edges.
"-- and most of all, your minds as you join us in our Look Into Limbo!"
A dozen twisting ribbons of light burst into being, stretching between the walls in a multi-colored web of spectacle; a soup of violently coursing motes swirls through a seemingly endless void beneath the chairs, inciting gasps of wonder and fright. All of it provides just enough illumination to make the men on the catwalk and the people surrounding it visible in shadowed relief.
An agitated rumble rises from Sagat's throat as he swats a beam plunging into his scar and coming out again on the other side, but in spite of it, his eye is narrowed intently on the other end of the catwalk-- just as it was before the lights went out. And after.
They sent the invitation straight to the Vatican. That had been weird enough.
"What do you make of this, my son?" Cardinal Passineau had asked of Ky Kiske, second in command of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, when the latter had arrived and settled in. With Captain Undersn acting on his own, the task of dealing with any new threats that arose in the interim fell to Ky.
What he held in his hands was the most... egregiously overwrought piece of VIP-level corporate nonsense either of these men had ever seen. An invitation, ostensibly on paper, but swirling with holographic foil and garish neon accents and Dudebro Language™ that is entirely lost on the somewhat sheltered French noble. But the name 'Ultratech'? That sticks. Ky's blond brow furrows. "A very large international corporation. They have their fingers in many pies, including mercenaries and military technology. There are some similarities to the Mishima Zaibatsu, but I believe this is an American company. And this is for some sort of... exhibition? This is certainly gauche, Father, but is it particularly suspicious?"
"My son, it is a large multinational corporation," Cardinal Passineau had answered. "They are ALWAYS suspicious."
That logic is hard to argue with.
And so Ky found himself flying to California, the sun-drenched streets of Santa Monica being a far cry from a chilly French spring by a long mile, even at this early part of the year. To say that Ky Kiske makes an impression as he makes his way to the exhibition hall by public transit (cabs are wasteful and ecologically unsound) is an understatement; his white and blue battle gear isn't exactly fit for the weather, and the sacred sword Thunderseal at his side makes many wonder if he's headed to a movie studio.
But finally he arrives at the 'Look Into Limbo' exhibit, and everything changes. It's something in the air. Passineau's words already had Ky feeling wary, but as soon as he steps onto the catwalk and is surrounded by that blackness, his hackles go up. More importantly, though, at his side, Thunderseal feels... restless? Ky approaches Sagat, seemingly about to make an introduction, when suddenly his eyes dart to the side as if he was tracking movement, one hand going to the hilt of his unusual blade.
So far, Ky has yet to use his Templar-gifted weapon in combat outside of training scenarios. This battle against the former Muay Thai Emperor will be his first. Suffice it to say, this reaction does not make him feel any better about the situation.
Taking a breath, Ky turns to Sagat and gives him a wan smile. "Please forgive my manners. I'm unused to 'sports fighting,' let alone in such a... curious arena. But your reputation precedes you, Mr. Sagat. I'm honored to face a warrior of your calibre today."
COMBATSYS: Sagat has started a fight here.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske has joined the fight here.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ky Kiske
Sagat doesn't smile.
He doesn't extend a hand in greeting.
He doesn't even say 'thank you'.
"Of course you are," he instead sneers as arms like marble pillars fold over the canyon jutting down his chest. "This is entirely beneath us, but me /especially/; you should be /ecstatic/."
The beams cutting across the room wink out periodically, only to be replaced by new ones with different angles, colors, textures, et cetera. "Prepare to be thrilled as the mists of time part and past and future collide before your very eyes-- and prepare to cheer as a fallen Emperor and sacred warrior come together to show you what is possible in the world of Ultratech!" the announcer announces. Beams pulsate in time with with his voice; each of Sagat and Ky are brightly, but briefly illuminated by what seem to be spotlights coming down from some of the ceiling projectors when they're indicated, and for a few seconds afterwards. Flickering footage of Ryu winning the World Warrior tournament play out in the darkness just beyond Sagat's spotlight from several different angles.
The Thai giant's nostrils flare the first time he catches one on his periphery, and then the sneer melts into a hateful glare. Which is still locked right onto Ky.
"Utterly. Completely. Maddeningly," Sagat rattles off in a low voice brimming with rage as the announcer's voice is replaced with the bridge from 'Welcome To The Machine'.
"UNWORTHY OF MY TIME!"
/Now/ he extends his hand-- in a crushing hook circling towards Ky's temple as he pushes off on massive legs and lunges after the young man.
"Show me why they chose /you/ to face me, little knight!" he roars as his body flies across the catwalk.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske dodges Sagat's Medium Punch.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ky Kiske
Chivalry demands that you treat your opponent with respect. And knowing nothing about him, Ky offers that respect to Sagat, sight unseen. The Thai fighter then balls it up, clenches it in a fist, and attempts to quite literally shove it down the Sacred knight's face.
It would appear all bets are off.
Kicking off the catwalk, Ky hurls himself backward in a swift hop, the letahl arc of Sagat's hook shearing the air between them by inches. Even as he's waiting that fractional second to land, however, the knight is girding himself mentally for the battle to come.
"I warn you," Ky says carefully, his right hand clenching a tight grip around the hilt of Thunderseal as he holds it at his side, "not to underestimate me." He is all business calm, now, but it's a veneer, and a careful one. The state his blade is in has begun to unnerve Ky Kiske. What are the origins of this fabled blade? And more importantly...
...what lies in the darkness that makes it react so?
There's little time to think about this in the heat of battle, however; with a swift, horizontal sweeping motion, Ky flicks Thunderseal through the air, cleaving a brilliant blue arc of lightning that rips through the air toward Sagat with a shout of "Stun Edge!"
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske successfully hit Sagat with Stun Edge.
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Sagat 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Ky Kiske
A rainbow of lightning unfolds into a crackling cloud above the two competitors as Ky's shocking arc catches Sagat midway through stomping after the Sacred Knight. It wraps around his torso, almost seeming to pool in the jagged lines of his scar as his muscles twitch and shudder in painfully involuntary fashion; his right foot hangs just above the catwalk, trapped mid-step.
Cries of pain are meet tightly clenched teeth and are reduced to a steady, agonized growl that lasts for the second or two it takes the bulk of the charge to run out of him; once it does, his foot falls with a heavy crash and he spends another split-second sucking in air and smoldering.
"By all means," he rumbles as his hands snap open to cast off a few lingering tremors then clench into fist-sized sledgehammers, "if your selection was something other than a cruel joke played on you by your superiors, or the organizers of this ridiculous spectacle... I would welcome the surprise." The light burns criss-crossing his chest are hard to make out in the darkness, but an amber beam shoots through the smoke curling off of him and scatters into a shower of warm, brilliant shower of sparks over a chunk of the audience; pain lends tension to his voice, even if the words remain insufferable.
His eye darts through the darkness and his head momentarily turns towards the console; he doesn't know /what/, exactly, Vega wants, just that he wants /something/. Maybe anything will do; maybe there was in fact, a specific thing that Vega had in mind, and he'll have to endure an angry monologue when he shows up with out it. For right now, Sagat just tries to focus on figuring out a way to access the machinery at all.
Step one is pushing off of his right foot to charge towards Ky. Step two is sticking a hand out there again, this time to seize his uniform rather than land a quick strike. If steps one and two proceed as planned, step three will be hurling Ky off of the catwalk as hard as possible to try and find - and test - the room's walls.
Step four is ?????; stealing bleeding edge fight technology isn't his area of expertise, so he's making this up as he goes along.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske interrupts Tiger Carry from Sagat with Vapor Thrust.
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Sagat 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Ky Kiske
Something about that line -- 'cruel joke by your superiors' -- catches Ky's attention, and the Sacred Knight is reminded briefly that letting himself get too wrapped up in Sagat's brief show of disrespect could be a costly error indeed. Arrogance and disregard lead to underestimation, and Sagat is not a fighter you want to underestimate. Deciding to heed his own warning, he makes a complicated motion with Thunderseal as he twirls it back into ready position, giving his opponent a solmen expression.
"In point of fact," Ky says in toneless honesty, "I volunteered."
The kickboxer's frustration is palpable, right now, but Ky is slowly beginning to realize it's not with *him*. Perhaps Ultratech invited the Emperor for similar reasons to the ones behind their inviting Ky? Not knowing what lies in the darkness beyond the catwalk is making him nervous, so why wouldn't it make Sagat nervous, either? The darting of the Tiger's eyes supports this theory. But it doesn't last long; soon the mountain of muscle is headed his way and Ky doesn't have very long to react.
Sagat gets a grip on Ky's jacket and without warning, the knight is flying through the air, the Emperor's strength being fairly irresistable in this regard. But Sagat's attempt to test the walls of the room turns to Ky's advantage; the resulting toss is fairly vertical and thanks to Thunderseal's odd reactions Ky *senses* more than 'perceives' the approach of a solid surface. Inverting himself, he braces and then feels the ceiling? wall? ...SOMETHING under his feet and kicks off it.
The result sends him rocketing back toward Sagat in record time, well before any reasonable defense could be executed, and with a wide sweep of his blade Ky delivers another punishing arc of blue-white lightning, shouting "VAPOR THRUST!". Inverted, perhaps, as this is typically a leaping technique... but one must make do.
Blue and white lightning forces the former Emperor to his knee right after the sound of feet meeting a solid surface reaches his ears; the rather more garish cloud overhead fades into the darkness after hitting some limit.
Standing back up after that feels like a marathon effort thanks to the way the Vapor Thrust sinks into the imposing musculature that helped him make his name and causes it to tighten uncontrollably. Rope-thick veins press insistently against his neck and his eye just about bulges out of its socket as he strains, inch by inch, to push himself up with the help of hands braced against the catwalk.
At the halfway point, when it doesn't feel quite so much like he's pushing against an electrified barbed wire fence, Sagat's lips peel back and he begins to laugh. It's a cracked, intermittent, plainly agonized noise, and nonetheless mocking sound, forced from his body for no reason other than to frustrate or unnerve.
"Did you, now?" he wonders after finally making it to his feet, faltering, then dragging a hand across his scar as he bends at the knees to brace himself.
"Then I commend your courage for throwing yourself so eagerly into the jaws of the unknown."
This, too, is mockery, but he is at least courteous enough to push the last traces of laughter from his features before throwing it out there.
The dethroned Emperor's eye narrows on the Sacred Knight as he brings his fists up and shuffles closer, anger sharing space with determination. His upper body drops after a few steps and he pushes off into a short dash to close the distance; his right shoulder rolls, his fist twitches back, and his left foot lifts a short ways off of the ground before stomping brutally towards one of the Sacred Knight's shins.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske dodges Sagat's Fierce Kick.
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Ky Kiske
"Courage," Ky says carefully, once again making an elaborate pass through the air with Thunderseal as he brings himself standing, "is the foundation of all virtues." It's exactly the sort of sappy, too-serious comment that poor Ky is used to making, but Sagat is likely excellent at reading people and can probably tell: he's not kidding. Say what you want about him, but Ky's devotion to his principles is absolute.
Throwing out such lines, however, is a good step toward trying to calm his unsettled heart. Whatever is out there in the dark beyond, it's not just a laser lighyt show and a cheering crowd. Ky's sensitivity to chi is surprisingly sharp, heightened by the properties of the blade he now holds... and something here is Very Wrong. The probability that it's interfering with Sagat's ability in the same way that it seems to be filling the Sacred Knight with energy to spare is quite high. Ultratech... Ultratech might be very dangerous indeed.
But Sagat is also dangerous, and a much more immediate problem. When he approachs the knight, Ky takes a deep breath, then steps *forward* toward the incoming shin crack. At first this seems like lunacy, but in fact it turns out to be quite smart, as that step is the first movement toward effectively vaulting OVER Sagat... which, given the Emperor's towering physique, is no small feat. As he sails over the kickboxer, Ky twists, inverting his body to drive the white steel of Thunderseal into Sagat's shoulder from above on the way down. The angle might make this difficult to defend against... but with no stable ground to maneuver on, this could also be very bad for Ky if it fails!
COMBATSYS: Sagat interrupts Random Strike from Ky Kiske with Tiger Uppercut.
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Sagat 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Ky Kiske
Ky's declaration is met with another chuckle, but it lacks the harsh edge of that first round of laughter.
Ky's youth might not equate to weakness the way he'd initially envisioned, but he seems to have idealism to spare; a sure sign of inexperience in Sagat's book, no matter how much strength the Knight's swordplay suggests.
The Titan of Thailand's heel impacts the catwalk with a loud *KRAK!* that leaves an indentation behind. A quick glance up tells him that Ky's basically dodging /towards/ instead of away from him, so while the young swordsman soars, Sagat races to collect himself into a taut package of muscle and rage with taped knuckles cocked near his hip.
"It's an important virtue indeed," he rumbles on his way down, eye scanning the barely lit space overhead as he searches for just the right angle, "but one must be careful not to overestimate oneself-- no matter /how/ courageous he might be."
"TIGER UPPERCUT!"
Pushing off of the balls of his feet, Sagat drives his body upwards, sending a shudder across the catwalk as he leaves it. Wind whistles loudly as his fist slices the air, his kunckles and then the rest of his arm skating across the flat of the blade on their way to the Sacred Knight's chin. Blue-white sparks bite his skin the entire way, and while they're a big step up from being stabbed in the shoulder, he grimaces as black dots and lashes are left behind.
The blow literally sends Ky sailing into the ceiling; he rebounds off the same dark surface as before, but far less intentionally, this time; a spiderweb of erratic blue lightning flickers out away from his point of impact like ripples in a disturbed pond, before the blond's body starts to bonelessly fall to earth once more.
Fortunately on the way down he comes to his senses from taking such a powerful hit, and his landing is servicable if not perfect, a flutter of blue and white cloth as Ky ends up in a crouch, one hand pressed to the ground. He coughs, once -- that was a very hard hit -- and there's a metallic rattle as his free hand cements its grip on Thunderseal, the pristine white blade scraping across the catwalk. But eventually, he stands, with a new appreciation for the Emperor's power. "Foolhardiness looks like courage, but the similarities are superficial," Ky says with grim seriousness. "Courage means doing something you know to be right even if it is not in your best interest. Foolhardiness is merely a disregard for one's own safety."
Bringing his blade up, Ky holds it at the ready, shoulder height; in fencing it's a clear prep for a torso-height strike. Crackling blue-white lightning swirls around the blade as Ky summons power from both himself and Thunderseal... and power responds, far more than he'd intended or even desired. This place is making him uncomfortable and he would really like for this fight to be over, SOON... especially so he can start making plans to look into what's going on behind the scenes here. And maybe, just maybe, to avoid taking another hit from Sagat like that last one!
"An immoral man can never be courageous... and a courageous man cannot be truly immoral." Having delivered his sermon-y pronouncement, the Sacred Knight whips his blade down in front of him, discharging that accumulated lightning. The result is impressive to say the least; the resulting jagged arrow of thunder is at least the length of a man and the thickness of his torso. It moves with excrutiating slowness, but if Sagat isn't careful, the previous shocks he's received will be like a minor spark by comparison
COMBATSYS: Sagat blocks Ky Kiske's Charged Stun Edge.
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Sagat 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Ky Kiske
Sagat allows himself a moment to brush fingers across the mix of dark scorch marks and angry, suppurating burns stretched across his chest after he and Ky land. While his landing was more composed, he faltered after touching down due to an unexpected spasm; a lingering gift from Thunderseal that causes his lip to curl angrily as he forces himself to stand tall.
"There," the man who sold his soul to a tyrant for another shot at glory appreciatively murmurs, "we agree: there are times when a man must act decisively to do what must be done, no matter the cost." He addresses Ky as his fists come up in front of his face, but he doesn't quite /look/ at him; at first, his eye trails towards Thunderseal, but the Knight's impact point on the ceiling quickly draws his attention.
It's just a sword, just some nebulous structural damage; nothing grossly extraordinary to his eye. And yet, he can /feel/ the energy suffusing the exhibition hall as ambient forces and the mysterious might of Thunderseal engage in a symbiotic dance that even his honed senses aren't quite equipped to grasp.
Whatever Vega wants, whatever he wants it /for/, it can't be anything /good/-- but then, that's generally a safe assumption where Vega is involved.
The vast stroke of chi from Ky is far easier to track than the relationship between his weapon and the room, at least-- visually or otherwise; this is probably why he feels comfortable with turning away from Ky to take a running leap off of the catwalk that draws gasps from the audience members he's ostensibly at risk of crushing if he happens to misjudge his jump. He already knows where he's going, so his head turns to watch the ballista-scale bolt of lightning inch its way towards him as he sails towards one of the walls.
Just before impact - and landing - he twists around in the air and the massive charge crashes against protectively crossed arms and battle-hardened knees, shoving him the rest of the way out of the air and forcing him into a crouched landing with his back pressed against the wall. Blue and white brilliance worms its way along quaking limbs and draws ragged hisses of pain from the Tiger's throat. Standing in spite of the shock is /still/ a challenge, even with the attack blunted somewhat; he still manages to make to his feet without much delay, though, even if the effort leaves him shaking for several moments afterwards.
A shaking hand closes into a fist as he rises and locks his eyes onto the catwalk; as soon as he's upright, he pivots around and slams his hand into the wall hard enough to fill the hall with a thunderous rumble and dent the surface. It's followed by more punches as well as a couple of knee-strikes, all delivered at high speeds to roughly the same section of wall. The beams flickering throughout the chamber respond to the sudden show of man-on-machine violence by erratically flaring, appearing, and disappearing. Images of the Emperor of Muay Thai bloodying young upstarts in his former kingdom dance through the air around him, intercut with somewhat more recent images of him being laid low by an all-new crop of youthful warriors; he is more focused on the wall than the holograms, but happens to catch himself being knocked nearly unconscious by a yo-yo to the chin out of the corner of his eye
Shortly afterwards, the wall cracks after an explosive knee, and a bolt of electricity leaps through the rent to lick across the spot where Ky hit the ceiling. Extranormal senses and veteran reflexes allow him to narrowly avoid being skewered by the bolt by twisting aside; once it passes, he digs his fingers into the hole. In one brutally fluid motion, he wrenches a chunk of the wall free and hurls it towards the catwalk, revealing what seems to be a wildly crackling expanse of energy surrounding a barely visible core of machinery.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske dodges Sagat's Thrown Object.
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Sagat 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Ky Kiske
That response is... not exactly what Ky had anticipated, with regards to Sagat's warding off of the empowered Stun Edge, one of the knight's more intense attacks. Apparently the Emperor has a lot of rage to take out on the machines in the room, moreso than on his opponent, and when the images of Sagat's career are suddenly played out in erratic display around him, the Knight finally understands why. Ky himself is so new to the fighting circuits that there is no highlight (or... less than highlight) reel about him to show. Sagat, on the other hand, is a veteran with countless battles under his belt. That some are losses and some are victories is a normal expectation, yet it seems as if the editor of this PARTICULAR clip show had an agenda in mind.
Ky finds it... distasteful.
When the electrified chunk of SOMETHING comes flying at his head, Ky seems to come to a decision. Adjusting his grip on Thunderseal, he again raises it to high guard, blade churning with lightning. "I hope you will view this as a token of my respect," he says, cryptically, before ducking low and pulling back, as if his pristine white sword were an arrow he were preparing to loose from a bow. By mere inches, Sagat's shot sails by and smacks into the opposite inky black wall with a decidedly loud *CLANG!*.
When Ky rises, he thrusts a hand forward. "...from one virtuous man to another." The lightning built up in Thunderseal courses down through his hand and erupts into the space just in front of him, taking an extremely intricate pattern of interlocked circles and triangles, like some obscure magical mandala, emblazoned with the word 'HOPE'.
Kicking off the ground, Ky dashes THROUGH this person-high sigil, the energy suddenly returning to him and intensifying, Thunderseal held before him as the Sacred Knight turns his entire body in an arrow of lightning, becoming the judgment of divine thunder embodied with a shout of "RISING FORCE!"
He intends to simply go THROUGH Sagat, the eletricity around him taking the form of a barely-distinct winged woman holding a sword and scales at the point of impact before disappearing into glittering azure sparks.
COMBATSYS: Sagat endures Ky Kiske's Rising Force EX+.
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Sagat 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Ky Kiske
Having his sketchy recent past explored and exploited for the sake of entertainment and profit isn't new for Sagat: there was that Mishima Zaibatsu documentary last year, and there have been plenty blog posts, podcasts, and other punditry from fight-experts/enthusiasts eager to share their two cents on the Emperor's fall from grace.
Sagat doesn't find it 'distasteful' so much as 'enraging', but the storm raging just beyond the wall keeps him from focusing on the ghosts. Once the projectile leaves his hand, he resumes squinting into the inner-workings of the array and weighing his chances of just walking in there and taking something.
Audience members on the side Sagat's vandalizing are already fleeing their seats-- though they are, for the most part, trying to work their way around to the other side instead of just leaving. Right now, this is all just a part of the show, heightened chance of SCIENCE! exposure and all. The Kirby-crackle galaxy underfoot boils into a churning ocean of blue-white sparks and amber fire that seems to be restrained from rising up and consuming the hall by the floor, rather than merely being a projection.
"I would be insulted," he lowly begins as a hellacious gathering of lightning pricks the edges of his perception and competes with what's surrounding the machinery for his attention, "if you brought anything less than your /full/ strength to bear, little knight."
Somewhere amidst the barely-contained brilliance, he's almost certain that he can make out ghostly images of a bronzed, deeply scarred body painted with blood and looming over a broken figure in a white gi as he speaks.
Which probably explains why, when Ky embarks on his sigil-busting approach, Sagat doesn't turn to meet the Knight until it's too late to do anything but be impaled by divine lightning.
Frozen in a moment of exquisite agony, the Invincible Tiger roars as electricity assaults every nerve, every muscle, every last fiber of his being, surrounding him in a punishing blue-white corona that draws secondary bolts of similar energy from the bowels of the array. One after another, burns burst into sprays of blood and pus; whatever doesn't just hiss and sizzle into nothingness lends the nearby wall a little bit of color.
Much like the shocks he suffered earlier, this one leaves his body wracked with such violent spasms that /doing/ anything feels like swimming through a pool of boiling molasses, but the urgency of the situation forces him to try. Tongues of orange chi lick flare around his chest after a couple of seconds, pushing back some of the stubbornly clinging electricity and settling the worst of the contractions until his jerky, nigh-on futile attempts at moving his arms or legs are replaced by a whipcord twist towards Ky and a sudden drop into a crouch.
His right leg darts out to take another stab at the Knight's shin. Hit or miss, it is closely followed by a roundhouse kick slicing towards his ribs as chi races down his side and spirals down his leg; if /that/ connects, then as soon as the followthrough from the blow places his left foot on the ground again, he'll push off of it into a flying thrust kick meant to send him hurtling into Ky's midsection as that roiling chi flares around his foot.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske full-parries Sagat's Tiger Raid!!
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Sagat 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Ky Kiske
It just goes to show that two fighters of strong calibre plying their craft are more impressive than any laser light show. Sagat's attack on the machinery has produced pyrotechnics all its own, the black room now blazing with shorting-out machinery producing sparks of all sorts, and the blackness itself, well... maybe the inky darkness kept in check by superscience machinery that caused resonations with a sacred blade of supernatural origin is gonna react badly without that machinery? It kinda shows. The crowd is actually filing out.
But Sagat and Ky are professionals.
As Ky brings himself standing after his all-out assault, he suddenly lets Thunderseal drag, the blade held with hilt around chest-height and the actual length of the sword pointing downward. As Sagat makes another shin-targeted strike, Ky twists his wrist, the blade flipping so that the flat is facing the kick, the Emperor's strike rebounding off the white steel with a ringing noise. This gives Ky enough time to drop low, so that Sagat's followup roundhouse sails right over his head, the knight slipping past him under the arc of the kick as it shears overhead. Even as he does so, Ky is preparing for his next strike, his hand glowing with blue energy. As he passes Sagat, he plants one foot, and as he rises to his feet he also pivots so that he's *immediately* facing his opponent. With a thrust of his hand forward, he creates a stationary sigil of lightning, considerably smaller than the last, which hovers in the air.
"I never offer less than my best," Ky says in a grave tone, before sweeping Thunderseal in an arc before him. A burst of lightning arcs off the blade, smaller than the Stun Edge but larger than its more ponderous charged version... and is aimed directly through the gate. The result is that the gate suddenly bursts outward with a sword-like chi shape, roaring thunderously as it spins in place, effectively looking to drill into Sagat if he can't react in time.
COMBATSYS: Sagat fails to interrupt Durandal Call EX from Ky Kiske with Tiger Crush.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sagat 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Ky Kiske
While Ky directs a fresh arc of lightning through his sigil...
"TIGER CRUSH!"
... Sagat seeks to batter the gate down on his way to the Knight. Long, musclebound limbs are tucked in close to his body, held more or less taut against the twitch-inducing damage dealt to his system as he steels himself for a fresh round of electricity. His right knee is pointed forward at just the right angle for crushing a sternum or collapsing a diaphragm; burned and bleeding though he may be, his reflexes are every bit as sharp as ever.
Reacting /quickly/ is not the issue, here; it's reacting inappropriately that does him in.
Diminished as it is compared to the last sigil, the attack that Ky's preparing doesn't call to his heightened senses like the previous one did; the array's energies are just too much. He /sees/ the ring of lightning and blue-white sparks dancing along Thunderseal's blade; he doesn't fully appreciate what he's throwing himself into until he and the charged spike meet within the sigil.
Following a spark-laden explosion, Sagat is thrown backwards with electricity trailing off of his limbs, and he doesn't stop until he slams into the wall just adjacent to the yawning maw of Ultrascience.
Part of him really wants to ask Sagat if he is alright, to do the chivalrous thing and offer assistance, see him to his feet. Thankfully, while Ky may be inexperienced in the ways of the world, he is no fool; to do so would be a grave insult to the proud Sagat, a man who appears to respect strength above all else. And in truth, Ky suspects that the giant kickboxer is hampered by... something. It is probable that Sagat had as little interest in 'sports entertainment' as Ky did; some other duty keeps him here. What it is, the Sacred Knight cannot guess.
Bringing Thunderseal up, the white blade making a line that bisects Ky's face perfectly in a knight's salute, he looks to his opponent and nods once before bringing the blade to a ready stance. "Thank you for providing me with a significant challenge," he offers, face grave but sincere. "Perhaps at some future time we can duel again without all... this," Ky adds, sweeping a hand around him at the mechanical devastation with a disdainful look.
Pressing forward, Ky heads toward Sagat at a dead run, his blade held low at his side, angled backward, trailing after him. When he gets within a reasonable distance of the former Emperor, the knight drops low into what can only be called a baseball slide, looking to slam a kick into Sagat's shin -- tit for tat -- before sweeping Thunderseal forward in a brilliant cerulean arc of sword and lightning combined.
COMBATSYS: Sagat endures Ky Kiske's Stun Dipper.
[ \\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sagat 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Ky Kiske
An arc of sparks mingled with a few flecks of blood flies through the air in the wake of Ky's sword stroke. The shin kick staggered Sagat, compromising his already shaken balance; the slash brings him to his knees as it intersects the deep, dark, jagged lesson permanently etched into his chest and leaves a cauterized line behind.
Just before falling, there's a moment where his quaking hand brushes against the burnt edges of his skin as his wide, bulging eye rolls down to witness the damage; afterwards, that hand remains pressed to his chest.
"We... /will/... meet again," he amends with a wounded groan.
The promise-to-threat ratio on that one is dangerously out of whack.
Vega's mission is basically a bust; he would have needed time away from Ky to risk plunging into the depths of the machinery to steal much of anything, but the swordsman's unexpected tenacity never left him an opening. And, it's true that the entertainment side of the fight is, in and of itself, unimportant, save for what it means to his already tarnished reputation; the wisest thing to do at this point would be to accept defeat and get a headstart on the healing process.
So instead, the Broken Tiger sucks in one last, deep, defiant breath through his nostrils while clenching his fist against his chest. A pearl of amber chi blossoms in his hand and casts bright shafts through the gaps of his fingers as his inner fire is stoked one last time. As his lungs fill, it becomes a baseball, a grapefruit, a veritable volleyball of chi, and then, with a forward lunge and thrusting arms--
"TIGER SHOT!
-- it is channeled along weary limbs until it finally explodes into a roaring ball of destructive energy travelling on an erratic route towards Ky.
COMBATSYS: Sagat can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ky Kiske 0/-------/=======|
Afterwards, he falls face first to the SFX-laden floor, unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Ky Kiske blocks Sagat's Low Tiger Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ky Kiske 1/-------/=======|
That's... an ominous statement indeed.
Sagat throws his last gasp into landing a final strike on Ky, and it pays off; when the fiery shot comes his way, the knight is in no position to maneuver away from it. It's too close and the walkway too narrow. Instead, he hunkers down and hopes the Emperor's spiritual force isn't as mighty as his physical power. As the Tiger Shot splashes against his aura, Ky finds that hope unfounded; had he taken that hit full-on, it would have been just as bad, for certain.
However, when his crossed arms are lowered, Ky Kiske finds that the Emperor is down for the count, at least for the time being. With a sweep of his arms, Ky brings Thunderseal up for one final knight's salute, one that is genuine indeed. "I thank you for a most challenging battle. I look forward to our next meeting. Now..."
And here, he turns to train a balefully serious look on nearby SNF and Ultratech employees. "I expect you'll see to his care and removal from this... place."
Sheathing his blade, Ky looks briefly into the darkness, eyes narrowing. He will likely see the Emperor again before long. And as for Ultratech, well... they've much to answer for.
Log created on 20:23:10 03/16/2015 by Ky Kiske, and last modified on 02:47:28 03/18/2015.