Description: The Second Vanguard has deployed a fire team led by Captain ZACH GLENN into the heart of Majigen's Metro City to reestablish communications with the earth realm. With power out all over the dislocated city, the massive powerplant in the basement of the tower presents the last, best hope at reestablishing the communications system above. There's just one catch: ZABEL ZAROCK and his band of merry men have found a way to hijack the airwaves using demonic interference, broadcasting "DARKWORLD: LIVE IN METRO SQUARE!" as a publicity event to make Majigen look like sunshine and rainbows. All of Majigen will be there.
Jedah may be extremely powerful, but even he isn't without flaws. Putting Zabel Zarock in charge of a PR mission might be considered a mistake in judgement. Zabel doesn't really care much about his unwanted master's goals, but he can't pass up this chance for a concert. A concert live from Majigen is too perfect. Jedah may be putting a nice front on the place, but for many people it makes for a pretty good approximation of hell. While the concert is being set up, the humans and darkstalkers in the area give things a pretty wide berth, avoiding the robed figures hauling equipment around. Curiosity starts getting the better of people once the instruments come out, and the purpose of the work becomes a bit clearer. Nobody gets /too/ close, though, just in case...
Several figures covered in heavily insulated clothing move into place at some of the instruments, while others finish bolting several large electrical coils to the stage. And then things go quiet. After a couple minutes, confusion starts setting in, and a few of the watchers creep a bit closer. Then there's an electircal hum, and the video billboards all around the square blink on, showing flickering static. Two red dots appear in the static, and both the visible and audible static begin fading away to reveal Zabel Zarock's laughing, skeletal face. The electrical coils on the stage suddenly begin sparking, and then a massive bolt of purple lightning suddenly cracks down out of the sky, striking the center of the stage with a blinding flash and a roar of thunder.
And as sight and hearing return after the onslaught, Zabel Zarock is there on the stage, in zombie form, his music the first sound to great ringing ears. The music comes to an abrupt halt, and the video screens change over to a live feed of the stage, and Zabel looking up with a grin. "Coming to you live," Zabel smirks for a moment, "from Majigen... I. AM. ZABEL. ZAROCK!" Sparks shoot from the coils, and now the full band gets to playing. The gutteral growling of the lyrics is hard to make out, though there seems to be a chant of 'Majigen' accompanying the base.
Captain Zach Glenn, USMC, had been heading this way to see if he could get the generators up and running and perhaps re-establish communications with Earthrealm. To that end, he led a small team of volunteers towards the square. The generator is on the other side of the square. Things got complicated when the band started setting up the stage. By the time things became clear enough to formulate some kind of a plan, it was too late to put an early stop to it.
Glenn signals for his group to halt, his eyes narrowed and focused on Zabel. He had seen this being before. Zabel had... graced a couple of Saturday Night Fights. The psion frowns, figuring that Zabel is either in league with this Jedah Dohma character... or Zabel's got something else in mind. Regardless, it's doubtful the Rock Zombie is up to anything good.
Monsters rarely are.
The people with him are civilians. Not a one of them is a fighter, and wouldn't stand a chance in the face of this threat. That pretty much tears it. Zach tells the team to stay put, and Zach walks out into the open. He takes several brisk strides towards the stage, and pulls the wooden claymore from his back. Energy slides along the length of the weapon, Gaelic scripts flowing in shimmering gold against the deep brown wood. Zach gives it half a glance, but is unwilling to let his surprise at this ruin his entrance.
Forgotten reflex drives Zach to raise the weapon up and over his head before bringing it down in a violent slash in front of him. Golden Soul Power collects at the tip of the blade and slings free of the sword, the blast all but screaming towards Zabel Zarock!
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zach Glenn 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zabel has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zabel
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hit Zabel with Blast Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Zabel
Zabel doesn't seem to be worried about someone approaching the stage, if he even notices. Fans swarming up to the stage happens quite frequently, after all. Sure, this is not a usual concert, but he can see some people getting into it. Sure, they might be trapped in a hell dimension, but at least there's some entertainment! Even some of the locust darkstalkers seem like they might be enjoying the music, although it's not easy to tell for certain with them. And then somebody comes to crash the party.
The singing is cut off mid-lyric as a wave of golden energy crashes into Zabel, knocking the guitar out of his hands and blowing him right off his feet and across the stage. He skids to a stop, wisps of energy rising from his chest and fading away as he stares up at the sky. Then the red lights in his eyes flare and he flips up to his feet. "Looks like we've got a critic." He nods to the band members. "Keep playing. I need a soundtrack." He strides back to the front of the stage, taking one final stomping step as he glares at Zach. "That was a mistake, pal!" The coils flare up again, energy surging into Zabel as he laughs. And then the lower half of his body begins rotating, spinning so fast it becomes a blur, and he shoots up into the air along an erratic path. "No one interrupts Zabel Zarock's concert!" And then he drops from the sky, whirling bone erupting from his leg and forming a buzzsaw, which he attempts to slam into Zach's head.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Zabel's Skull Sting.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zabel
Zach brings the practice sword, still glowing with that preternatual power of his, and catches the buzzsaw in a sharp parrying motion. He shrugs the downward momentum off with a pivot, swinging the blade around in an almost lazy loop. Zach's eyes watch the blade with intent eyes for a moment, the weapon strangely... light in his grip. He turns back to Zabel, a grim smile on his face.
"Is /that/ what you're calling this racket," Zach asks in a low growl as the sword returns to a position not all that different from his first strike, and delivers a crushing two-handed blow towards Zabel's head!
COMBATSYS: Zabel counters Heavy Strike from Zach Glenn with ES Death Phrase.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Zabel
As the bone spikes retreat into Zabel's leg and his feet touch the ground, he sees Zach shifting the sword again. There's a ripple from Zabel's shadow, and then a vague purple shape shoots up out of it, forming in the blink of an eye into a guitar held in his hands, even as Zach is bringing around his swing. "That's right." He grins, his fingers falling to the strings. The sound which emerges from the guitar is so intense as to cause the air to actually shimmer and warp, the wave of sound hitting Zach like a truck. Scattered bits of trash and debris on the ground are swept away in a sphere around Zabel as everything around him gets pushed back. After achieving some distance the energy of the wave is finally spread out enough to stop throwing things around, though it's still loud enough that even the people standing on the outskirts of the concert may have to clutch at their ears.
Zach's already committed to the strike; he cannot bring any defenses to bear against the shockwave of energy and is sent flying. Zach slams back-first into a speaker, utterly destroying it before crashing onto the stage. The Marine starts to stand up, shaking the cobwebs loose. Something in the back of his mind notes that he still holds the sword. Zach takes a deep breath, and brings the blade up into a neutral guard position, the tip aimed directly at Zabel. When he looks back at this fight, he'll realize that it's /odd/ just how well the weapon handles for him.
But for now? Zach's only got attention for Zabel, and is searching for openings in the monster's movements.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Zabel
Zabel frowns. Getting those speakers here was kind of a pain! Granted, it's not actually Zach's fault, but Zabel's still going to blame him for it anyway. "Oh, what's wrong, getting tired so soon? And here I thought you wanted to dance!" The zombie starts spinning again, launching himself once more on an erratic path through the air. It's not entirely random, though, because it does bring him sailing in Zach's general direction. "And believe me, you're going to pay for that equipment!" And then suddenly Zabel stops wobbling about in the air, and shoots right toward Zach. Bone spikes erupt from his mid-sectioning, spinning around so fast that they becomes a blur as Zabel aims to crash into Zach.
COMBATSYS: Zabel successfully hits Zach Glenn with Death Hurricane.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Zabel
Zach grins a bit. "You think so," he says when Zabel claims there will be recompense. Zabel starts his death dive. Zach takes his left hand off of the sword, and thrusts it forward. A disc of shimmering gold energy whirls into existance, catching the monster's strike for a moment before the zombie crashes through the construct, sending Zach skidding on his heels several feet.
"My turn," he says, and charges towards Zabel before skidding to a halt in a low crouch. Zach then leaps skyward as he sweeps the weapon upward, energy blazing from the sword in the wake of the swing!
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hit Zabel with Soaring Dragon EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 0/-------/--=====|=======\======-\1 Zabel
Zabel is actually rather easy to knock into the air, due to being rather light for his size. The fact that a good chunk of his body is missing probably has something to do with it. Generally speaking, blunt force trauma doesn't really bother Zabel that much. Not that most damage of any kind does. This gold energy, though, is actually causing him trouble. He sails back again, though he has time to flip around in mid-air, landing on his feet and skidding a short distance. "Yeah, you can mess around with taking turns. Me? I'm just going to kick your ass!"
The last word is punctuated by the electrical coils flaring to life again, sending bolts of electricity shooting into Zabel. His entire body becomes electrified, sparks flying off him in all directions as he begins spinning around again, launching himself into the air yet again. The electricity continues to pour into him even as he moves about, his body glowing brighter and brighter... right up until he streaks toward Zach, all spinning bone and sparking electricity, leaving an eye-watering trail of light behind him.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Zabel's Death Voltage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Zach Glenn 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Zabel
Zach lands lightly whipping the blade around in wide circles almost experimentally before Zabel comes screaming in before bringing the flat of the sword across his chest. The Marine grips the blade with his left hand and the hilt with his right and shoves the weapon towards Zabel even as he summons up more energy to ward off some of the electricity.
Some of the force of the strike, and some of that malignant power of Zabel's manages to force its way through Zach's guard. Glenn is driven back several steps, his combat fatigues smouldering at the edges. He considers things for a moment. And then Zach carges back in once more, driving the tip of the weapon at Zabel's head in a one-handed thrust that is meant mostly as a feint. The purpose of the movement is to help Zach get in close enough to throw a three-quarters uppercut directly at Zabel's head, the strike augmented by an explosive amount of psychokinetic energy that might send Zabel into another speaker!
COMBATSYS: Zabel blocks Zach Glenn's Dynamite Punch EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Zach Glenn 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Zabel
Zabel manages to bring an arm up in time to intercept Zach's punch, thickening the bone inside in anticipation of more of that energy. His precaution is rewarded by only being rocked backwards by the force of the explosion, rather than getting sent flying. But even with that, Zabel's feet stay planted, and it's just the top half of his body that moves backwards, thanks to a rather flexible spine. Certainly, the degree to which he bends backwards looks uncomfortable, at the least.
But it might also help to mask his movements before he suddenly snaps back upright, bringing his right arm swinging around in a clawing slash toward Zach. His skeletal fingers already look dangerous enough, but they shift in mid-swing, elongating and shifting into nasty looking talons. Zabel throws himself fully into the swing, with the intention of using the momentum to spin himself away from Zach. Normally he's not too bothered by close quarters combat, but Zach's attacks are causing him some actual concern.
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Zabel with Weapon Jab.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Zach Glenn 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 Zabel
Tactically speaking, Zach doesn't feel like he's made any mistakes up to this point in the fight. It's a hard fight, but he is feeling like he might be able to bring it off. It leads to Zach getting a little overconfident. The talons come slashing in and Zach takes a step towards the zombie, attempting to rap him in the noggin with the hilt of the sword.
Zabel proves to be a little faster than that, and the claws tear into Zach's flank and splatter the stage with his blood. The Marine staggers away from Zabel, his face tight with pain even as he keeps the business end of his weapon pointed at Zarock's midsection. Zach's left hand goes to the slashes, and come away wet, drawing a grimace from the Marine.
Still, Zach doesn't seem like he is going down just yet.
Zach may have been a bit overconfident, but it doesn't seem like Zabel took any lesson from that. He grins at the spray of blood, not following up immediately. Instead he raises one hand and snaps his fingers. The band members, who have been keeping the music going all along, suddenly increase the intensity a bit. It looks like Zabel has decided that things have reached the climax. "Well, that bit of blood is a start at paying for your sins." Zabel cackles a bit, his tongue hanging out for a moment.
Then he raises an arm, pointing a finger at Zach. "But this is MY stage, and you're going to need a lot more than a wooden sword to play here!" He keeps his arm extended toward Zach, but spreads his fingers wide. Suddenly a bone spear extends from the palm of his hand at blinding speed, shooting straight toward Zach with the intention of impaling him.
COMBATSYS: Zabel successfully hits Zach Glenn with Evil Scream.
[ < > //////////// ]
Zach Glenn 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Zabel
And once the bone spear hits Zach, it lodges itself, getting a tight grip on him before suddenly retracting, dragging the man over toward Zabel. The zombie is grinning widely. His free arm draws back, splitting horrificially into an enormous bone claw, nearly as big as the rest of Zabel. Electric sparks shoot up and down the massive skeletal fingers, which continue to draw back... until suddenly swiping forward in an upward slash timed to meet Zach's body as it hurtles in toward Zabel.
Zach screams in agony as the claws rip and tear while the energy surges through him. Glenn crashes to the stage in a smoking, bloody heap. He stays down for a moment, before staggering back to his feet. A sheet of blood covers one side of Zach's face as piercing green eyes lock onto Zabel.
In the pain, Zach remembers the one lesson his grandfather taught him. One technique. It had an incantation that had stuck with him.
"Draw Drynwun, only those of noble worth, to rule with justice, to strike down evil." Zach brings the claymore up over his head for one last swing, energy whipping and whirling around the weapon in a frenzy. "Whoever wields it in good cause shall even slay the lord of death."
Zach brings the sword down with a fierce cry, the weapon seeming to shatter under the force of the strike to reveal a blade of silvery steel. The strike itself won't reach Zabel. The motion is as much of a focusing tool as the incantation. Both tools, however, help Zach focus a rather large amount of psychic energy into a raging blast that slams towards Zabel, the stage, the band, and the equipment with shattering force!
COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zabel 0/-------/-------|
Zach then collapses to the stage, his energy spent. Whether or not his fight ends here is completely out of his hands.
COMBATSYS: Zabel dodges Zach Glenn's #Drynwyn+#.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zabel 0/-------/-------|
Zabel does not want to get hit by that. In addition to making his last attack less cool by being followed by his own ass getting kicked, it looks rather painful. He leaps to one side, preparing to hit the ground rolling. Then happens to glance in the direction the blast is heading and curses. The stage is large enough to not get completely destroyed, though a line does get torn through it along the path that the energy blast travels. The band is a bigger issue. And while they've put up with everything else, Zach does manage to put a stop to the music as they scramble and dive for cover. They may be intensely loyal to Zabel, even willing to give up their lives for him... but they weren't ordered to keep the song going at the cost of their lives. The thought has crossed Zabel's mind on occasion, but really, a few extra seconds isn't worth it. Usually, anyway...
They do have the presence of mind to keep the more portable instruments with them, though. The guy playing drums is kind of out of luck on that front, however. As the dust settles and the rubble stops flying, Zabel climbs back to his feet. He glances down at his body, noticing that the wounds seem to be rather more stubborn that most, and seem to be taking time to heal. The zombie stalks over to his fallen opponent, and appears to be considering giving him a kick, but then stops and glances up to the cameras, still recording footage. Well, Jedah /did/ give him a job to do. He hasn't actually done all that much to fulfill it, but maybe now he can win a few points with the boss, for not much extra effort. "Sorry for that rather rude interruption, folks! I'll bet you thought it'd be the monsters you had to worry about, going around doing things like attacking a concert. But it looks like they, at least, can appreciate metal!" He reaches down, lifting Zach up with one hand. "Here, take him back." He tosses him, none too gently, but not with enough force to smash him into anything, in the direction of the people he came to the area with. "Now..." He looks back to the band members. Most of the equipment has been destroyed, but there's still a bass guitar, at least. Zabel picks up his own guitar, then nods. "We still owe you a show!" And then the music starts up once again.
COMBATSYS: Zabel takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zabel 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zabel has ended the fight here.
Zach crashes to the ground, the sword still gripped firmly in his hand as he rolls to a stop. One of the men that arrived with Zach, trained as a medic, slides out from his position of cover, and drags the Marine away. Assuming the man can stop the bleeding, Zach will be back; the energy at his command had already started to close some of the injuries. The energy by itself, however, will prove insufficient.
The generator will have to wait.
Log created on 16:30:55 04/11/2015 by Zach Glenn, and last modified on 19:35:39 04/11/2015.