Description: The numerous fights in the Majigen Series have not been picked at random -- they have all been carefully-curated tests of character. And the non-tournament skirmishes within Metro City have also not escaped Jedah's notice: he's taken note of the strongest souls among them. And he realized that, maybe the heroes he'd kept his eye on just needed the right motivation to put the clues together: the looming threat of innocents being slaughtered by the dozens.
Metro City is awash in death and destruction. Lord Dohma had lingered near the city for as long as he could to listen to the hauntingly melodic screams of the innocent, as his one and only standing order to safeguard the human population is rescinded. The Outworld denizen Ermac was allowed to commence collection of souls. Q-Bee and her Soul Bee tribe were allowed to feast. Hannya and Kien were allowed to begin their reign of terror anew. He would watch the carnage unfold... but there was work to be done.
He stands on a precipice, overlooking a ridiculously deep valley, while a sheer wall towers off in the distance. There is no place like this on Earth -- for this is Majigen, a dimension constrained only by the imagination of the mighty demon lord standing on the ridge. But while many things are fully within his control... not all are.
For he can already begin to tell that he may have made a minor miscalculation, or perhaps misjudged the timing of his efforts. Perhaps the time to invite such a large influx of innocents and heroes into his personal dimension was not appropriate -- already, he finds himself losing control of the situation. As he turns away from the locust commander, his dour expression is clear -- not -everything- is going according to plan.
As the locust commander rises, and then swoops into the valley below, making it back to the city with due haste, Jedah closes his eyes. Fingers lace together, and he stretches his fingers, hands, and arms to the fullest extent their bone structures will allow. It is a very... human gesture, and one he's not managed to excise from his behavioral patterns, but a gesture nonetheless.
He is curious to know whether anyone had been able to follow him from the city. He'd opted to avoid directly manipulating Majigen's topology once more, even though it was as simple as a thought -- just out of the mere curiosity on whether one of the so-called heroes would challenge him.
He stares back towards the city for a good long moment -- no one is in sight. No bother, he concludes, turning back to the precipice, cradling his chin within his hand as he stares blankly at the bloody river streaming off to the east, a leisurely fifteen-minute walk away.
"Now, Miss Eadni..." he muses aloud, "whatever shall we do with you..."
Death and destruction, tyranny and terror, all at the hand of powerful fiends. These are the reasons why the Dragon Lineage first entered the Hayabusa bloodline, to give humanity the strength it needed to stand against the most powerful of archfiends that would dare to use their power with such malicious intent.
This is the reason why Ryu Hayabusa entered Majigen in the first place. All the words about seeking out an opportunity for fiends to live in peace, unabused by their human oppressors... the ninja master has seen far too much in his relatively short life that trust those words from a man like Jedah, even after so recently agreeing to ally with the Full Moon Society in their mission to create harmony.
No, Jedah Dohma was a beast of lies from the very start. There was no serenity in his soul, merely lust for power, terror, and violence against humanity. A dream for the days long past where those birthed with supernatural power ruled callously over the human populace.
When the modern-day ninja had appeared before the archfiend for his speech he had been seeking out any chance that the words the Darkstalker had spoken may have some glimmer of truth. He found none. He had also appeared as a warning, with some how that his own infamy among the fiends might dissuade those ultimately violent plans. He was unsuccessful.
And so it was time to strike.
In a sudden flash, Ryu Hayabusa is behind Jedah, announcing his presence with the sound of metal sliding free of its holster as the man-sized blade of the Eclipse Scythe is brought to bear. A weapon of sheer brutality wrested free from the hands of the Lycanthrope's leader, used then to slay an army of the beasts striking out at the one responsible for killing their strongest. A weapon of oppression now repurposed to protect the same humanity whose blood had been used to quench the legendary weapon.
"This is the end of your plans, Jedah. You have one last chance to free Metro City, although I am not so naive to believe you will do so willingly."
Perhaps Jedah should have expected the Ultimate Ninja to be at his neck without even a sign. Though, really, why should the lord and master of Majigen have anything to fear, even from the tip of a blade?
The golden forelocks of the bloodlord flutter slightly as he turns his head to address the master ninja. There is a great -deal- of serenity in his soul -- just not the same kind that might make him a zen master, or dealer of antiquities, or a monster slayer. No, he's quite serene in his complete disdain for modern civilization.
His shoulders follow, as he turns aside to address Hayabusa full-on. Casual amusement tugs the sides of his lips into a condescending grin.
"The end? I'm afraid not, master ninja. The tome of my legacy is barely turned beyond the first chapter, and you, sir... will be but a footnote before it."
He passes a glance at the scythe, a sharpened blade to provide lethal backing to the ninja's words. "I simply must ask, though... do you truly intend to use that weapon? Or will you simply agree that we are both competent fighters and lay down your arms as you have your previous combatant?"
It takes no more than the narrowing of his eyes for the bloodlord to... shrink? No, not shrink -- with barely the moving of a muscle, the ground he's standing on has suddenly moved roughly fifty yards away, far out of the simple reach of the Eclipse Scythe. The seven-foot tall form of Jedah Dohma casually reaches his right hand out to the side, the rocky crag he'd been standing on now a towering spire, gaining another fifteen feet in altitude.
With a sickening bone-cracking sound, the wings at his back disassemble themselves, slide down the length of his arm, and reconstitute into the form of a scythe of his own. Longer, if a bit less ornamented, the blood that enables this process seeping into the curved blade to reveal the iron content.
"I do not believe either of our weapons will be adequate for their intended purpose. But... humor me, Master Ninja? Show me your determination to right the supposed wrongs I've inflicted upon these people in leading them to a higher calling."
COMBATSYS: Jedah has started a fight here as a boss!
JEDAH
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With an arsenal as large as Hayabusa's, built over a great many conflicts with unbelievable fiendish powers, it should be said that the Eclipse Scythe is hardly his most dangerous weapon. It is, however, a brutally effective one with a great deal of reach. A perfect weapon when daring to move into the swarming followers of your opponent, or are forced to fight at great reach.
It also carries the great advantage of not having the power to threaten the very stability of the world, as the True Dragon Sword might. No, that is a weapon brought forth when one knows for certain that the only solution to a problem is to dispatch a truly power evil that holds a much greater threat than the unparalleled power of the Dragon Lineage gone too far.
"We both know there's no need to humor me with your lies, Jedah, you have no intention to bring peace, and no desire to grant strength that can not be some extension of your own," Hayabusa's words come firm and certain, not armed with bravado, like many men his age, but with consideration and certainty.
Even as the very world begins to reshape itself, he seems tranquil. He has fought fiends armed with power that may exceed even that of Jedah Dohma and managed to attain victory. To allow oneself to become unbalanced is to open oneself to your opponent and risk failure. Victory is achieved by first mastering yourself.
Instead he merely prepares to enter the fray, there is no other option now that would allow him to honor his duty to protect humanity from an archfiend such as the one before him. He surges forward with inhuman speed, the scythe held low to the ground as it cleaves the air before it.
The battle begins.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa has joined the fight here.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa equips the Eclipse Scythe.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
The sudden space between Hayabusa and the archfiend vanishes with nearly the same suddeness that forced it to appear. The speed of a body honed to fight the impossible through years of dedicated training. A body gifted with the ancient power of dragons pushed near its full potential. This is the sort of body that exists solely to defeat monsters like Jedah.
The spire before him means nothing, with the practiced ease of a body and soul working in perfect unison, the ninja launches himself into the air, more than clearing the distance between him and the master of Majigen. For a moment he locks eyes directly with his opponent, the acknowledgement of the struggle for the fate of this city that has now begun.
And through this all the Eclipse Scythe is raised high above Hayabusa's head, arms stretched behind his head as his entire body curves into a ready arch, aiming to bring the full force of his blow as he is let go like a spring, twisting downward as he attempts to bring the cleaving scythe down through Jedah's body.
COMBATSYS: Jedah blocks Ryu Hayabusa's Power Strike.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
Jedah's eyes remain fixed on Ryu's, his smile pulled into a rictus grin. He has seen determination akin to Ryu's in countless foes -- and he has claimed their souls for his collection. Indeed -- this very mockery of a 'tournament' was intended to draw brave souls such as his into the gaping maw of his trap. The only thing that separates Ryu from Jedah's previous successors is the unmatched list of successful kills. No... he sees the Hayabusa scion's fire, and he knows in his heart that it pales before his own dark destiny.
"Forgive me, Master Ninja, I had forgotten that flowery, substanceless speeches were the sole dominion of the silent warrior caste."
He had not seen as much of Ryu Hayabusa's fighting skills as he'd liked to have -- a shame that he'd taken two opportunities to cut and run, but it is not altogether atypical behavior from a clan of shadowy assassins. Likewise, it would be foolish to expect a ninja to stay put, when incredible speed is one of their prized talents.
In short, Ryu's attack was far from unexpected. Lazily, his shoulder twists away from the blade, as the bloodlord never one tears his eyes apart the ninja's.
He doesn't have to. Majigen does the responding for him, as a plate of rock springs into existence immediately beside him, filling the gap left as Lord Dohma casually leaned to the side. The rock face shelters him diagonally, absorbing the brunt of the impact as it crumbles in twain, sliced by the supernaturally sharp Eclipse Scythe.
To say that Jedah got off easy is an understatement -- but, similarly, it would be an understatement to say he was cleaved in two. Instead, the scythe digs into his shoulder, spilling blood -- but doing little to separate tissue from bone as Jedah pivots out of the way of the bisected stone, allowing it to crumble and tumble to the valley below.
He minces no further words. Instead, he twirls his -own- scythe about, aiming to slam the butt of the blade into Ryu's chest cavity. Sould that land, a quick twist of the wrist and arm would bring the blade to bear upon the master ninja, cutting into the midsection with enough of an angle to slingshot the Hayabusa scion back to the ground -- presuming the blade itself doesn't bisect him laterally, of course. "Hrnnnnh!"
COMBATSYS: Jedah successfully hits Ryu Hayabusa with Crushing Strike.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
It is true that Ryu Hayabusa has defeated foes of incredible, fiendish power. That he has fought against seemingly impossible odds to save the world and protect those who would be otherwise left at the mercy of those cruel souls such as Jedah Dohma.
It would also be true to say that Ryu Hayabusa has not managed to get through his battles unharmed. In fact, were it not for the protection of the Hayabusa Clan's guardian spirit he would be dead now. He has fallen, suffered through incredible pain, been forced to retreat from fights he is not yet prepared to win.
Such pain is about to come upon the ninja master.
With his own assault halted by the power that the Archfiend holds over the domain of Majigen, he is left open from his reckless assault and punished for his failure. The haft of Jedah's own scythe catches him clean in the stomach, further bending him in half as he's knocked aware from his foe. His attempts to twist out of the way in mid-air are met with nothing more than suffering, and he is hopeless to avoid the follow-up as the scyte's blade catches hold of him, slicing a clean line down through the ninja's iconic uniform as he's thrown to the ground.
For a moment he simply lays in a crumpled heap on the floor... but he's not so easily put down. Rising back to his feet with the determination that refuses to surrender against even the greatest power. It is his duty to overcome, no matter the circumstances.
And so a change of tactics is required. In a flash the scythe is returned to his back and his hands draw down to his thighs, fingers easily catching hold of the kunai sheathed there. With keen-eyed precision, each is loosed upon Jedah, aimed at his limbs, and his face. Hopefully more than enough targets to preclude easy defense.
COMBATSYS: Jedah dodges Ryu Hayabusa's Four Rings.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
Jedah takes full opportunity of the ninja's personal meditation time with the rock floor to wax poetic, as he casually leaps down from his high precipice. As he falls, he does not seem to obey the typical 9.8 meters per second per second fall that most beings do -- instead, he floats down, like a feather on the breeze. He brings the shaft of the scythe high, resting it casually upon his shoulder as he descends. "Answer me this, Master Ninja... Name a military conflict in which the losing side thought the victor was on the moral high ground." His lips part, baring his dagger-sharp teeth long enough for a mirthless chuckle. "It's impossible -- for if the losing side was in full agreeance, there would be no need for conflict. You see, both sides are merely forwarding their own private agendas. The 'lie' of which you accuse me is a fair description of -any- notion of a holistic, objective truth."
As the ninja recovers, Jedah merely raises an eyebrow. Languidly, he leans to the side, angling a palm down towards the ground. Blood founts from his hands, the pressurized flow providing him a sudden course correction, allowing him to swerve out of the way of the thrown blades much like a tactical fighter jet. Careful modulation of both his palm and the slight contortions of his body make it seem effortless -- though, in truth, the master ninja is making him work more than he'd expected to. Not that he's about to -share- that little secret.
"Tsk. You might need those in a moment." With a sudden burst of blood erupting from his hand, Jedah springs upwards into the air. But after a sudden somersault, he snaps out of it, his scythe transforming into a flat-bladed sword -- one which he brings down sharply with every intention of impaling the master ninja into the rock floor. "HRRRNH!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa parries Jedah's Deep Strike!
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-======|
Talking.
Quite honestly, Ryu Hayabusa is not one for speeches, except when offering lessons to his allies, but one could say that a lecture isn't the same thing as attempting to sway opinions. When you were set into a life or death battle, you had already reached a point where there was essentially no hope of peaceful resolution. For a man like Hayabusa, killing was an inevitability of his duty, and he was not so naively idealistic to believe there was good in every foe.
It could not be said that the ninja had never shown mercy to his enemies, but those who earned mercy were the ones he was protecting from themselves after they had been corrupted by outside influences. None could say that Jedah Dohma was such an individual.
As for chatter, Hayabusa did not find levity in a life or death struggle. He did not allow himself to cover up the truth of violence, he had thought long on what his actions truly meant. To take another's life was a heavy burden, but it was a burden that should only be accepted with an unclouded soul, lest you allow your blindness to lead to your own eventual corruption.
And so it is that what may be a witty counter to the archfiend's comment about the ninja's kunai in a few moments will go unanswered, lost to time.
Blood flows down at Hayabusa as Jedah treats it with casual grace. The weapon in the fiend's hands changing with an utter ease, aimed directly for Hayabusa, ready to leave him little more than a splatter of blood. Like the inevitability of death, it falls down, shaterring the very earth.
But at the last moment, the ninja is not there, with an inhuman flash he is behind the archfiend. There is no hesitation as he lashes out from his new position, attempting to catch Jedah unprepared, launching him into the sky where he is suddenly met by the falling blades of the ninja's kunai on their trip back to Earth. As the Singular Super Ninja suddenly appears next to Jedah, there is no witty remark, he merely slips both arms around Jedah's waist and both begin to spin down toward the ground, like a falcon in a death dive after it catches a sparrow in flight.
This should further improve the cratered stone.
COMBATSYS: Jedah blocks Ryu Hayabusa's Izuna Drop EX.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/=======|
Levity. To some, it's a defense mechanism -- to Jedah, it smacks of sheer condescension as he dispenses with the need to remain stiffly entwined with formality, to allow himself the opportunity to voice the thoughts as they occur, plainly. But, as the bloodlord finds, it also has a nasty habit of inviting Fate to step up and make her presence known once more.
Jedah is caught unaware -- not having expected the Ultimate Ninja to find a way of avoiding the blade with such immaculate skill. Sure, anyone else could have merely rolled out of the way, but to transform a weak defense into a powerful offense speaks volumes of Hayabusa's tactical acumen.
Jedah finds himself gasping for breath as Ryu's hands snap around his waist -- another of his human habits that he has yet to purge from his behavioral patterns. But when he is hauled into the air, and the falling blades carve thin lines throughout his outer garment, weeping with blood... he actually finds time to smirk.
For when Hayabusa expects to plow the demon lord into the rock floor with which he had just communed, instead the pair has descended into a body of liquid. Blood, to be precise, coursing with thousands of souls of the dearly departed, as Jedah has commuted the two combatants along that fifteen-minute walk in the blink of an eye. Where the surface of the rock face should have shattered bone, instead the surface tension of the blood river makes a slapping sound as the two enter the water. Ryu is likely to spring out, having expected to avoid the ground -- but this may pose a logistical entertainment of its own.
A low, rumbling chuckle emanates from Jedah's throat as his body elevates from the water's surface like a spectre. Blood from the river seals his wounds shut, as the excess drips back into the river. The advantage is once again in Jedah's court -- though it remains to be seen if the ninja can waterwalk as well as he can spirit between the ground and the air.
Even more, whether he can do so while a whirling blade, easily eight feet across, is hurled towards him like a bladed frisbee. "Come now. Tell me you'd at least -considered- the possibility of losing to me."
COMBATSYS: Jedah successfully hits Ryu Hayabusa with Dio - Sega ES.
- Power hit! -
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/------=/=======|
This is not good. There is a difference between fighting an opponent possessing superior power and attempting to challenge a foe in a realm that they can actually control to this degree. Defeating an opponent of superior strength requires the ability to take full advantage of both your strengths and the battlefield, when you cannot assure the latter, you are in trouble.
Another tactical problem for Hayabusa is that he fully intends to part ways from his opponent at the end of the drop, but not until the very last moment of forcing him to absorb all the force of both falling. As the ground changes to the bloody river, Hayabusa has very little time to adjust.
This is hardly the first time that Hayabusa has been bathed in blood, but usually it's not quite this literal. Despite the horrifying circumstances, he stays low in the river, risking slower movement for the opportunity to go unseen as he swims below the surface toward the edge. He could easily run across the surface, but now doesn't seem like the best opportunity to show off that particular technique. Eventually, however, he is forced to surface, right at the edge. A chance to regain his footing and get back into the fight.
Perhaps it would have been wiser to run across the surface.
Jedah is waiting for him, and as his head pops above the surface, spinning death is there to meet him. In an effort to ward off the blow, he brings the Eclipse Scythe in front of him, hoping to use the haft to protect himself.
It's no use, still in the river he has no footing to hold him, he's sent flying in a shower of blood, some of it his own. The chest the Black Falcon he wears has been shredded, leaving nothing to cover the disgusting gash formed in his flesh.
And through it all there is only a single moment of pain punctuated with a scream. Once back on dry-ish ground, he pushes back up to his feet, eyes intently focused on Jedah in front of him. He hardly moves, seems unconcerned with the injuries his body has sustained. If he wishes to complete his duties, he must find some opening.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa focuses on his next action.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/-----==/=======|
Jedah's hands are outstretched to either side, his feet hanging limply below him as he floats in mid-air. Whereas before he'd needed to eject blood from his palm to correct his course, simple levitation is possible without any need for such, as he carefully modulates the density of the airflow in his general vicinity.
Such is life, for the creator and archdeity of this plane of existence.
An eyebrow arches, as the ninja declines to offer a response. The scythe returns to Lord Dohma, though it flies of its own volition to the bloodweaver's back, where the series of hideous bone-cracking snaps can be heard again, over the dull bubbling and popping of the river of blood.
"You doubt whether Metro City will be returned. What good would that do, when the entire world will be remade according to my grand vision?" He chuckles softly, folding his arms behind his back as he floats to the shore upon which Ryu recoups his strength.
The master ninja's skill is not to be questioned -- as before, he could strike back at any moment. But Jedah is mindful to the possibility, even as he darts closer, floating through the air as effortlessly as one might raise a hand or foot.
"I offer you a choice, Ryu Hayabusa," he states. "You have shown leadership and initiative. You could do better, and do more... by my side." Lord Dohma smiles, as his feet set down upon the river bank. Does he really need to state the second option?
Probably not. But he awaits the response from Ryu all the same -- while providing him with the breather he may need to form an appropriate answer.
COMBATSYS: Jedah takes no action.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/-----==/=======|
As it has already been said, there is no point to attempting to debate with your opponent when it has reached the point where the intent is quite clearly to bring about your end. What words would you have now that couldn't have convinced them in some other situation?
With a man like Ryu Hayabusa, the content of his character has been firmly established in his reputation. Any fiend that dares to throw the human world into disarray in their violence, their cruelty, their reach for power... he will not stand idle, and will gladly unleash every ounce of strength that flows through his veins to put a stop to it.
There are no words from the ninja master as he stands silent, his eyes locked with an intensity that shows the glistening sharpness of his soul. He has found his inner self and honed it into a weapon that may be readied against those monsters that are unafraid of the light. He is the purity that lurks in the darkness and is spoken of in whispers by those that would call it home.
And the entire time Jedah is speaking to him, Hayabusa's fingers have coiled tightly around the haft of his scythe. Slowly every muscle in his body has twisted into readiness, prepared to unleash every ounce of strength that the Dragon Ninja possesses.
And then it's all unleashed as Hayabusa surges forward like a snake lashing out, flying just far enough to pull the Archfiend into his reach before the air around him is filled with metal. The way the Eclipse Scythe flies about in his hands is incredible as whispers of the blade lash out in an attempt to fill the air with Jedah's blood, bathing his domain with a circle of red.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa successfully hit Jedah with Ring of Insanity EX.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/---====/=======|
Jedah can respect the ninja's silent answer. He truly can -- and the silence speaks volumes in ways that a strained retort could not. Hayabusa will not yield.
Lord Dohma has another use for the super ninja in mind though.
Perhaps he's a little -too- lost in his thoughts of the future, though -- for the one moment that he had not been paying full attention proved to be the opportune moment to strike. As the scythe is unfurled, Jedah finds himself literally flat-footed, his hubris at the commanding lead over the ninja proving to be his undoing.
A thick ruddy line is carved across his form, slicing his arm cleanly at the elbow before continuing on across the noble's ribcage. Cloth and flesh alike are torn asunder, and the blood spurts out in various places, forcing the highborn demon to stagger backwards. His arm hangs at a precarious angle, but... having taken the brunt of the Eclipse Scythe's momentum, it runs the risk of being detached before long.
Biting back a response, his left hand reaches for the wound, stanching the blood flow. It's fine when he cuts -himself-, but for Hayabusa to spatter the river bank with his -own- noble blood? Sacrilege.
As his breath hisses out, the Lord of Majigen reexerts control over himself, resuming his standing posture, even as the bloody wounds sloooowly begin to knit themselves closed. "Duly noted."
And then he slings his arm at Hayabusa, what remains of the torn tissue shredding in places. His detached radius and ulna continue on towards the ninja, but for some reason, the fingernails seem to have -grown- in flight, five glistening red daggers threatening to impale the Ultimate Ninja whereever he might stand. A sticky tendril of blood seems to be the only tie tethering the detached limb to Jedah -- but it will likely be enough to allow the hemomancer to retrieve the limb afterwards. As gory as the display is, though -- it seems to only give him a mild degree of pain. "Hrnngh."
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa blocks Jedah's Thrown Weapon.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/--=====/=======|
Pride, vanity, wrath, these are the sins of those too self-important to consider the possibility of their failures. To view the act of marring you as some manner of insult that exceeds the clear intent in a fight to end your life, some great insult. These are the sorts of flaws that have lead many otherwise incredible fighters to their downfall. In a fight, controlling yourself, maintaining composure so that you may be fully aware of your surroundings, is absolutely vital.
Another flaw, and one that is far more understandable, is allowing oneself to become unsettled by what you see. To those with histories less lined with bloody, lethal combat than Ryu Hayabusa, the sight of an arm being torn free to be used as a weapon would likely churn the stomach. The Modern Day Ninja merely pulls up his scythe. The hand catches on the haft of the weapon, preventing the blood red nails from burying themselves in his already bleeding chest.
Of course, tearing oneself apart as a fighting technique is hardly viable in the long term, and is quite likely to lead to being placed at a severe disadvantage when your opponent retalliates.
The Singular Super Ninja begins to draw forth his chi, chanting in some forgotten tongue that connects with the spirits that bind the world's elements. The scythe returns to his back as his hands flow through intricate motions at an incredible pace, and the winds begin to stir all around him as the power builds.
Both hands suddenly slash through the air in front of him as the ninpo is unleashed. The air all around him is filled with invisible blades called into being by vacuums. Sharper than razors, sharper even than the scythe on his back, they passionlessly hunger for Jedah's flesh.
COMBATSYS: Jedah blocks Ryu Hayabusa's Art of the Wind Blades.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-======|
The thing to understand about Jedah is ... he is not, in the strictest sense of the word, human. Or even mortal. After his hand limply batters against the Eclipse Scythe, it takes almost no effort for the noble to effectively reel his forearm back to him. This becomes a bit more obvious as the forearm reattaches itself at the elbow, the seam between the halves of his arm throbs -- only for the blood to be drawn back into the wound as he makes himself whole once more. It's a viable battle tactic -- well, it is for a powerful demon soul who has learned how to reconstruct his body on the fly as needed.
All with little more than a smirk upon his face, in a show of both vanity and pride. He'd say more -- but without the sense that his words would have any effect upon Ryu Hayabusa, there seems to be little need. Especially since Ryu's already following up with a ninpo-fueled storm of blades, distorting the very air. It is a forcible manipulation of the space that Jedah claims dominion over, and one which he seems to dismiss. He brings his newly-rejuvenated arm in front of his face, shielding his eyes from view, allowing his languid smirk to be visible to the Super Ninja all the while. Razor slices appear upon his sleeve, his lip quivering in mild discomfort... but the pebbles and wider slabs of rock rising from the bank of the River of Blood are enough to send the other blades veering off-course, protecting the rest of the hemomancer's body from damage. Lord Dohma controls the horizontal, and he controls the vertical.
It's clear that Hayabusa means to push him back, to give himself room, but Jedah is unperturbed, stepping forward. The blades -do- manage to bite into his side from the advance, but he ignores the pain as he steps forward further. "Hnn..." The bloodlord's scythe had adapted the shape of wings before -- but now it will become clear that the "wings" can actually move on their own, much like all of his foul manipulations. The bladed wingtip stretches out to reach Ryu, targeted to slash diagonally across his legs.
COMBATSYS: Jedah successfully hits Ryu Hayabusa with Medium Strike.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 1/-------/=======|
When your body has been cleaved almost entirely in half and you've somehow managed to not only recover from your injuries, but come back to defeat both your opponent and his master, you do not have any reason to be squeamish over your opponent managing to reassemble his body in the middle of a fight. Certainly managing to completely recover so instantly would be a notable improvement.
Unfortunately, for the Modern-Day Ninja, throwing yourself so fully into attack and failing to connect is a serious problem. Only a single clean hit for him this entire fight, and he can feel that his body is struggling to hold together after this relentless assault. He knew that Jedah was the one responsible for this domain, but he hadn't yet discovered to what extent that control would manifest.
As the Archfiend responds with his retalliation, it's all Hayabusa can do to attempt to leap out of the way. He hasn't managed to pull the Eclipse Scythe back into his hands, no way to knock the slashing appendages aside. It's not enough, the reach is simply too much to overcome. New gashes form in the legs of his iconic black uniform, light trails of blood running down his shins as he hits the ground.
...But he can't stay down.
Flipping back up to his feet, he lunges back into the fray with the speed so often associated with ninja. In a smooth, double motion he throws one hand up to catch hold of the Archfiend by the shoulder, attempting to lock him in place as his other hand draws back, summoning every ounce of strength in his body and then slamming it into Jedah's gut to send him rocketing into the air. In a flash he appears beside him again, arms clenched tight around the archfiend's waist as he sets them both to a spin... and then surges with chi as he refuses to let mere gravity take over. Both Falcon and prey fly toward the ground as if propelled by some invisible rocket.
All Hayabusa can do is that he has overwhelmed the Darkstalker's enough that he can't pull reality around them in time to save himself.
COMBATSYS: Jedah interrupts Izuna Otoshi from Ryu Hayabusa with Ira - Spinta.
JEDAH
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
The sensation of Hayabusa's blood smeared across his wing blades does provide some measure of pleasure to Lord Dohma, but it's evidenced in only the slightest hint of a smile on the bloodlord's face.
He had not expected to actually convince Hayabusa to join his side: the objective was to break him down. To show him that no one, not even a man who had vanquished multiple demons, was beyond reproach.
Lord Dohma is conceited as hell though: he considers -himself- beyond reproach. He considers himself invincible in this realm -- and it leads to some measure of sloppiness with regard to Hayabusa. When he sees the Super Ninja leap up to his shoulder, an audible snort can be heard. "Face it, ninja, you are--"
He'd anticipated a strike from the Eclipse Scythe -- not for himself to be the target. And he hadn't anticipated the knee to the gut, certainly not one strong enough to jacknife him backwards, forcing more of a "DWOOOH" from his lips rather than the actual word 'defeated' he'd intended to utter.
But where his mouth is not able to keep up, his mind is. And Majigen responds in a heartbeat. For the one instant where Hayabusa releases him, Majigen takes over -- and the bloodfiend himself is not where he's supposed to be.
He's directly behind Hayabusa, and his hands are placed onto the Hayabusa scion's shoulders. His nails dig down deep, burrowing into the flesh as his cool confidence slides out like silk: "Not bad, Master Ninja..." His wings detach from his back, and transform of their own volition as Jedah performs a flawless, graceful backflip, with Ryu in tow. And then as Ryu is slammed into the ground, the blades reveal their hideous transformation into four blades -- sharp enough to impale him to the ground.
All to the tune of the hideous laughter of thousands of souls superimposed atop one another, as Jedah leaps free from the hero's body to admire his handiwork. "... Hm, hm, ha ha ha ... But not good enough!"
And with that, Jedah steps back, rubbing his hand into his forehead. He's looking better than Hayabusa, to be sure, but it would be a terrible time for someone else to arrive. Simply horrendous.
It took Baiken weeks to get into a position where she could attack Jedah.
She'd come to Majigen in the first place with a goal to find its master and eliminate them. She had been slowed in this by the sheer power and control Jedah showed over Majigen; it was beyond her experience in such matters, as she rarely followed demons into the dark realms from which they came.
So she watched, and she waited, and she worked for an opportunity, biding her time. It was a slow process because he knew she was there, and she knew he knew she was there; there were moves that she made simply to make him think she had other goals that didn't involve taking his life. She hunted down that armour, or tried; she fought the Outworlders.
But finally, there was a chance. A poor one, but she had to take it.
The last time Baiken met Ryu Hayabusa, they were not on great terms. She'd driven him off before he could take and hide the cursed armour, not trusting a shadowy clan of ninjas to know what's best or be willing to do it.
So it might be with a little bit of concern that he sees her this time. Running - sprinting flat-out toward the battle, one hand on her sword, body held low as she goes just as fast as her body can manage - and that's surprisingly fast. She flings out her chain arm as she runs, throwing it at Ryu -
No, scratch that. Above and past the downed Ryu. The blades hook onto a tree branch, a dead spiky-looking thing - and Baiken yanks herself forward on it.
She comes in at Jedah's back, using the combined speed of her forward jump and pulling herself by the chained claw to amplify her momentum. Baiken unhooks the chain as she whirls through the air, flipping several times, sword out to present a whirling arc of a blade; she tries to use her intense speed to embed it in Jedah's back, yank it up and out and possibly even through him, and then keep on flipping right past.
Surprise, asshole, she thinks, but what she roars is "YOU!"
COMBATSYS: Baiken has joined the fight here.
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
How do you fight an opponent when the very landscape of your conflict without even needing to consciously think about it? Attempts to overwhelm the Archfiend's senses with speed and pain have thus far resulted in only a single clean hit that managed to leave Jedah bleeding.
And all he has to show for it is his attire torn to shreds, his body battered, bleeding, and barely managing to stay on his feet.
This final blow would seem to change all of that. He thought he'd finally managed to pull out one last chance, an opportunity that would put Jedah Dohma in a position where there was no hope of finding a way out... instead he finds yet another brutal retort. His flesh is speared, more blood splattering across the landscape as even his training is unable to prevent him from letting out a pained cry.
And he lays there on the ground... bleeding, unmoving. How could anyone hope to rise again after this level of violence?
Whatever Jedah had been expected to unleash on the broken ninja, he isn't provided the opportunity with the sudden arrival of reinforcements in the form of Baiken. Sword in hand, and ready to bring a new assault on the Archfiend.
And while Jedah is left distracted, Hayabusa springs back up to his feet. He will not give up until his body refuses to move! This is his duty, the reason that flows through his ancestry. Jedah Dohma will not be allowed to achieve victory!
The Eclipse Scythe is clasped in both hands as he lunges forward, catching Jedah from behind as once more his arms find their way wrapped around the Darkstalker's midsection, clasping the haft of his scythe against the fiend's chest to hold him back.
"Be cautious, he's able to manipulate the surroundings while in Majigen! Strike with haste and alacrity!" For the first time since this fight began he speaks out. While there may be no reason to debate an opponent, it's worth the breath to alert an ally.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa assists Baiken.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa prepares to take his last stand against Jedah!
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
COMBATSYS: Jedah counters Ouren from Baiken with Nero - Fatica.
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
Haste and alacrity may not, in themselves, be enough.
Jedah Dohma is a right bastard. In his fight against Ayame, in the woods of Southtown, he had actually allowed his head be split in two by her staff. But as a master manipulator of blood, he's able to transcend the limitations that would surely spell death for a mortal enemy. And here, in the midst of a dimension of his own creation, he is, in a word, a god.
So even when he takes that one moment for a breather, curled over somewhat to allow his pulsing forehead veins a moment to calm down, he is aware of the approach of another. The sound of a chain is registered from a degree he shouldn't be able to respond to -- but expecting the unexpected is something he's been reminded of rather recently.
When Baiken strikes, her chain does, indeed, embed in Jedah's back. It's certain -- certain enough that one can go back and review camera footage and prove that, yes, she landed a hit. But what happens in the moments after that is hazy -- for in the time it takes for her chain to pull her forward and into Jedah, the form of the bloodweaver has completely dispersed into a liquid form -- and instead taken on the form of a sphere instead: a sphere that completely and utterly envelops Baiken. The sensation of drowning in complete helplessness, tinged with the aroma and taste of rusted iron, is probably enough to give the one-armed samurai pause.
Hayabusa has, unfortunately, not helped matters by shoving forward. If anything, the fact that Ryu =didn't= attack him was probably to his benefit, as it means he's not close enough to become enveloped within the sphere as well. The spikes that had impaled him return to their liquid state...
But Jedah? He has instead reappeared from a puddle of blood which had splattered upon the ground. The demon lords's reconstituted body, still freshly red from the sheen of undried blood, stands -behind- the bubble which contained Baiken, opposite Ryu. And he suddenly arcs forward, raking his monstrous fingernails through the air -- simultaneously popping the bubble and carving gruesome slashes into Baiken.
Jedah stands back, panting as the blood dries, his garments and skin return to their proper colors, the wounds from Ryu's earlier attacks nowhere to be found upon his body. "Good," he taunts, hiding his weariness with smirking condescension, "I was beginning to think you would not arrive."
Baiken throws herself into what becomes a bubble of blood.
She has to admit that has never happened to her before.
Caught in the sphere, Baiken's first instinct is to /get out/, by any means necessary. Unfortunately, a sword does no good against liquid, as she finds out very shortly; it projects a couple times from the bubble, visible from the outside, but apparently piercing it doesn't actually break it. She can hold her breath, but not forever -
She doesn't need to. The claws carve through the sphere without slowing down, the bubble bursting as Jedah carves into her side. Baiken doesn't really land well out of it; she drops, having almost managed to turn all the way around in her mad flailing to free herself; she lands on her front and rolls to the side, leaving blood (both hers and otherwise) in a messy spray as she does.
"Why do you think I waited this long," is her response to Hayabusa, but more of her attention is on Jedah. As she rises, her single eye narrows, focusing on the monster. "And leave you free? Not likely." Baiken flicks blood off her sword before putting it back in its scabbard. She probably didn't need to bother; there's blood in there, too.
Baiken takes a step or two forward. She drives her fist forward in a punch, suddenly - but that's not anything more than a feint, because more of her attention is downward, directed at her feet. She stomps, and a green platform of chi flips up, spraying a brighter pink blast as it flips upward; apparently she thinks it might be a better plan to strike Jedah, especially with Hayabusa right there. The chi she can aim away from him; she's angled the lift of the platform so that the blast misses him by inches.
Despite all of the pain that has been put into Hayabusa in this match, it would be impossible to tell if you simply looked the Modern-Day Ninja in the eyes. Once back up to his feet, even as Jedah slips through his grasp, his eyes are full of intensity. These are the eyes of a man unable to give up when faced with impossible odds.
Turning in place, he focuses in on Jedah, spinning the Eclipse scythe in his hands, cleaving the air before him as he brings it back to ready, fingers clenching into a firm grip, with a blade nearly as long as the ninja master is tall curves above his head like a cresent moon. Blood clings to his body, but with no way to tell its origin during this brutal affair.
"I will stand with you as long as I am able. I much prefer your blade at my side than my back," Hayabusa offers briefly before slipping back into the silence so famed of ninja.
As soon as Baiken launches into her assault, the Singular Super Ninja follows suit, slipping in behind the burst of chi as it grazes past him, allowing it to blaze the trail before him as he rushes down the Archfiend, the Eclipse Scythe dropped low enough to the ground that it nearly cleaves some of the stones that grace this battlefield.
Just as the samurai's chi assault is prepared to hit, Hayabusa flies into the air, twisting into a ball as he flies over Jedah's head, twisting the blade of the scythe down as he does, clearly aiming to pierce the Darkstalker in the back and shred him anew.
COMBATSYS: Jedah dodges Baiken's Tatami Gaeshi.
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
COMBATSYS: Jedah dodges Ryu Hayabusa's Crushing Strike.
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
Lord Dohma's eyes rest upon Baiken, as watching the ninja would be foolhardy -- any 'tell' indicative of an opening would be clearly engineered to distract him anyway. No, for this fight, he's lapsed into paying attention to his environment, and letting the demon dimension work to his advantage. He is master of this domain, and far be it from these interlopers to use the terrain against him.
Jedah remains impassive to the stoic ninja's words -- clearly, they're not meant for him, but he pays heed of them anyway. He's far more interested in Baiken's platform of chi: an innovative strategem which he indicates mild appreciation for with a slight upward twitch of his condescending smirk. "Mm."
But the beauty of coordination is such that her attack lands at roughly the same time as Ryu's strike. It might be rather awkward, actually -- if Jedah had not suddenly altered the landscape yet again, causing the damp landmass beneath his feet to suddenly project upwards into a spire. Hayabusa would know of the trick -- if not, he'd figure it out when his scythe slams embeds into the earth of the suddenly towering landscape -- but Baiken...?
Baiken would likely notice when she hears Jedah's taunting laughter from above. And she'd see his bladed wings, no longer shaped for any aerodynamic purpose but instead into a mercilessly sharp harpoon, aimed at impaling her into the ground and causing no small degree of blood loss.
COMBATSYS: Baiken just-defends Jedah's Crushing Strike!
JEDAH
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Baiken 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 [E] Ryu Hayabusa
You would have to think that someone like Ken Masters wouldn't have anything to do crazy dimensions, ungodly warriors, demons, portals and insane special effects that are actually real, wouldn't you?
Well, in reality, you're pretty much as right as you can be. However, when you're Ken Masters and you're filming a Reality Show because you can and you're trying to up your skills as a Street Fighter, you may end up getting involved in some things that you just shouldn't be sticking your nose in. In fact, when you're Ken Masters you shouldn't even be slumming it in Metro City in the first place. And let alone using Metro City to get to this place that's called: Made-You-Lookin or whatever. It doesn't really matter. Ken Masters doesn't need to know the name of the place where he's going to kick some ass. He just needs to be ready to kick some ass.
"Alright, check it out, guys." Ken Masters is standing a few feet away from the battle that is raging on and he's holding up his phone. Apparently, he's recording himself and some of the battle that's happening in a total Video Selfie style. "This. This is why my show is called Masters of the Universe. Dudes, I'm not even on Earth anymore. I don't think." Ken shrugs into the video diary that he's recording. "Whatevs." Ken turns the phone over to the fight proper and gets some recording action in. "I'm not even gonna' pretend to understand what's happening but it looks like that dude..." The shot focuses in on Jedah. "... is seriously bad news. And we all know what the cure for bad news is right?" Ken turns the phone-camera back on himself and this time shows off his shirt a bit more. Since it is a sleeveless black tank with the words: 'KICK SOME ASS' written across it in Ken Masters Red. He's also got on some black and red basketball shorts and flip-flops. What? This is sort of like a vacation, okay?!
Ken looks back over to the fight and sees so much blood that's moving around and bubbles and, "Okay, that's just gross. I can't even." Ken gives his hair a toss before he clicks his phone to stop recording and tucks the phone away in the backpack which he tosses to the side. There's a moment where he slides on his sparring gloves and does some signature knuckle cracking.
Flip flops fly off his feet as Ken Masters makes a break for the epic battle between Good and Jedah! Ken's barefeet kind of look awesome as he skids to a halt near the action and gives himself a moment to look awesome as dust and whatever else explodes up around him. There's a crack of his neck because that adds to the awesome and he decides to throw out his opening line because that's what clever witty banteriffic heroes do.
"Sooooooo. When we kick this dude's ass, do we get Power Rings or somethin' or this more of a pro-bono thing?"
COMBATSYS: Ken Masters has joined the fight here.
JEDAH
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Ken Masters 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/----===|
Baiken, like Ryu Hayabusa, is not known for saying a lot while she's fighting - except, occasionally, to start yelling invective at her opponent. She gives a very slight nod that might be recognition and acceptance of Ryu's comment, but otherwise keeps her mouth shut. She is busy keeping her eye on Jedah. She expects him to try some bullshit, and she isn't disappointed.
Jedah vanished. Baiken glances around - people always try to take advantage of her blind side, and he might be going after Hayabusa, out of her sight - but some instinct makes her look up. Perhaps it was the laughter; if he'd remained silent, she might not have had that instinct, at least not in time.
Baiken draws her sword and holds it upward, flat first, all in the same motion. If she had her second hand, she'd use it to brace the weapon; since she doesn't, she has to do it by sheer one-handed strength.
Somehow - barely - she manages it. Baiken holds off the drill for long enough to guide it downward, letting Jedah impact the ground in front of her (unless he vanishes first, which she supposes is not impossible). She does not smile, but the attitude behind her scowl shifts slightly.
Baiken whips what looks like a set of five knives (though they're almost large enough to be swords) out of her empty sleeve, on the end of a ... pole? One of them is thrust forward, the other four fanning backwards, like a frill, while she tries to impale Jedah with the one projecting forward - and if she manages it, the five of them begin to spin, like a knife-sided buzzsaw.
The look she gives Ken, mid-buzzsaw, is somewhere between incredulous and furious. "Do you think this is a joke?" is the only thing she hisses. The rest of it doesn't even need recognition.
None of this is working. All of this effort and Jedah continues to move out of his reach with every attempt. Even with the addition of a new ally, Ryu Hayabusa finds himself unable to overcome the control that the Archfiend wields over Majigen, and he's on the very edge at the moment. Something here needs to change.
One of those changes is not in his favor, Jedah vanishes rebuilding the environment yet again. He's seen this maneuver, but shouting a warning to Baiken at this point may well provide more distraction than help.
The other change? Ken Masters. The two actually had previously faced a greater Darkstalker that dared to proclaim itself ruler while threatening human lives. That being (of whom no name will be mentioned), no longer lives.
Hayabusa is more than willing to accept Masters' help.
As Baiken manages to prove her strength against Jedah's unusual tactics, Hayabusa launches back into the fray. The Eclipse Scythe is drawn low as he moves in from behind the Archfiend, drawing it barely a foot above the ground as he attempts to trim Jedah down like overgrown grass.
COMBATSYS: Jedah fully avoids Baiken's Zakuro.
JEDAH
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Ken Masters 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa successfully hit Jedah with Medium Strike.
- Power hit! -
JEDAH
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Ken Masters 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/----===|
Do you think this is a joke, Baiken asks as Jedah's bladed wings drill down into her. Jedah answers with a smirk, and more of that leering laughter, as he springs back and away from the samurai: "Isn't it? You think of death as a final state of being, rather than a simple transition. It /is/ a joke."
He believes himself invincible -- fully attuned to the demonic dimension, allowing the power of its millions of souls to course through him. And thus far, it's quite possible -- he may in fact -be- invincible.
Until elements beyond his control make themselves known, like Ken Masters. When did -he- arrive? He wasn't in the tournament events, and it's impossible for a figure whose arrogance is only outshadowed by Jedah's own to escape notice... one would think.
But that thought takes a bit too long to process. Dazzled and distracted by the reflections from Baiken's rapidly-spinning blades flash out, Jedah steps aside, aided by a sudden propulsion of blood from a quickly-slit wrist. His mind's on Baiken and Ken now, and as the five-bladed weapon glances harmlessly off his devilishly sharp wingblade, he's too busy thinking his next move to fully avoid Ryu's.
The demon's feet are, indeed, cut out from under him, in an ample demonstration that he can, indeed, be hurt. The bones of his legs are porous, and not as strong as a human's -- they resemble cartilage more than bone, due to their transitive state.
Point being, Jedah frowns. He felt that. It's not irreparable -- indeed, the blood spurting from the wounds only lasts two seconds, and he's able to float backwards, allowing the severed appendages to mend rather than comically falling to the ground. But it did hurt, if the rather... well, high-pitched wail from the bloodweaver is any indication.
His bladed wings flutter for a moment as he steadies himself in midair. But when he strikes -this- time, it's not at Baiken -or- at Hayabusa -- he slams his hand into the ground about ten yards from either one.
"Bothersome insect..." he mutters, not even bothering to make a snappy argument here. For when he punches through the ground -- his fist actually comes up from the ground -beneath Ken Masters- in a sickly representation of the Ansatsuken fighter's prized move. Though instead of it being sheathed in flames, it's spurting blood. And instead of it destroying Ken's opponent... well.
COMBATSYS: Jedah successfully hits Ken Masters with Santuario EX.
! VENGEANCE !
JEDAH
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Ken Masters 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
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Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/----===|
Perhaps there's too much style put into making an entrance that Ken Masters is not prepared for what is going on around here. He's looking in the direction of Baiken and Not-His-Ryu, pretty much waiting for a smile or laugh at his quip.
He gets nothing.
Either way, though, he's ready for a fight. Because Ken Masters is always ready for a fight. So he attempts to turn his attention back to Jedah and fall into one of his stylish fighting stances, where he's bouncing on his heels and everything, but there's something wrong. He can feel it. When he's around so many fighters, as such the way he is, he can just kind of feel when things are headed in a bad direction. Or in a direction that he needs them to not go in. Which is why he's not moving from his position. He's taking a moment to get a lay of the land and see exactly what the best move is.
Perhaps thanks to his barefeet, Ken notices that there's something wrong with the ground. He looks down and narrows his eyes, "The fu-" And he doesn't get the chance to finish tainting the world with his f-bomb because there's the sudden explosion of blood spraying fist connecting with his face at full force. Ken is taken into the air without hesitation or resistance. Soon enough, he crashes back down to the ground and there are things that are broken. Or at least displaced. Either way, his face is bruised and his nose is pouring blood. There's blood on him from the connection of incredible punching through groundness, as well.
"Really? /Really/?!" Ken's vocals are annoyed as he rises to his feet, giving his head a shake and pointing off in the direction of Jedah. He seems even farther away now. "Weaksauce, dude! Anybody can punch through the ground!" Ken probably shouldn't be pissing this thing off anymore than he already has by just showing up but why not. It'll make for a cooler fight scene. Somebody's filming this, right?
"But it takes a real man, like myself, to go the distance!" Ken plants a foot forward and immediately goes for something a little more close to home. Something a little more well known. Something a little more Ryu. Palms go out and flaming chi is sent soaring off towards Jedah with some stylish speed.
"Hadouken!"
Baiken's blades fold back up as she pulls the bizarre weapon back up her sleeve, leaving her apparently half-disarmed (ha) but prepared.
She had actually been addressing Ken, who she has no respect for - anyone who shows up in Majigen looking and acting like that is dangerously insane, dangerously stupid, or playing some kind of game. There aren't any other options as far as she's concerned.
When Jedah responds, she is impassive. And when Jedah gets his legs cut out from under him, she actually smiles. Faintly. It isn't a pleasant smile.
Baiken takes a half step back. Ken appears to have Jedah's wrath at the moment, and willing to follow it up by pushing the attack, while Ryu keeps playing the evasive - and that gives her a moment to prepare something. Baiken adopts a slightly different stance; rear leg far back, forward leg bent slightly, it looks like she's going to either rush forward or suddenly push backward. She keeps her arm raised, fingers near her head, elbow pointed downward; what she is doing is unclear, but it's clearly something she's practiced rather than a spur-of-the-moment pose.
She seems like she's concentrating.
COMBATSYS: Baiken focuses on her next action.
JEDAH
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Ken Masters 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/----===|
Finally, another clean hit. It's beginning to become apparent that while Jedah may have a mastery of Majigen that goes beyond conscious response, it must somehow still be tied to his own ability to react. It can be overwhelmed. It can be defeated through numbers, and now that Ryu Hayabusa does not stand alone, there is a chance at achieving victory even without the True Dragon Sword.
Unfortunately, none of this is a given. Jedah is still a powerful threat, as evidenced by the fact that he is able to put his body back together again and again. Having his feet severed from his body isn't enough to put the Archfiend down. He also seems quite willing to take out his anger on Ken Masters.
But Masters clearly isn't one to take things laying down, and under the circumstances, Hayabusa is completely unwilling to let either of his allies take on the full brunt of Jedah, not after having to suffer through it himself.
Ken goes for a Hadouken, Hayabusa charges in with fingers clenched tight around the haft of the Eclipse Scythe, attempting to use its reach and power to its fullest as he starts low, and swings up in a path that seems ready to cleave Jedah at knee, elbow, and neck, splattering out a bloody crescent moon.
COMBATSYS: Jedah fully avoids Ken Masters' Hadouken EX.
JEDAH
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|------------<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Jedah fails to counter Bloody Moon EX from Ryu Hayabusa with Spregio EX.
- Power fail! -
JEDAH
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|---------======|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
Jedah can only laugh at the American's retort: the notion that 'anyone' can create portals through the fabric of existence to facilitate an act of violence would mean that he's succeeded in his goals. So while it's certainly possible that Ken shares his vision, it's exceedingly unlikely that it's what Ken Masters was intending.
Plus, it's nice that Ken speaks of 'going the distance' when sending a fireball to do the work for him. Jedah sighs irritably, as the trio's combined efforts seem to be a bit more troublesome than the comfortable night he was looking forward to. It's not -every- day you get to enjoy the sensation of signing a death warrant for an entirely metropolitan area. So frustrating! Jedah leaps backwards, folding his arms in a smug posture as he keeps his eyes focused on Baiken, wondering what -exactly- she plans to do with the energies she's gathering. He needn't spare Ken another look: avoiding a projectile following a straight line is simplicity itself! He even delays the avoidance for the last possible moment, just to make sure Ken can see him toss a smirk his way.
Avoiding the Eclipse Scythe, though -- something else entirely. He was certainly -aware- that Ryu was making a move upon him. And he had a flawless strategy in mind to deal with it. But he'd calculated Hayabusa's battle readiness to be at an all-time low, having completely discounted the ninja's drive to put a finish on this fight. And in doing so, he vastly underestimates the ninja's speed, and with his attention divided, he forgets something.
He forgets to transfer his consciousness out of his body before moving. He feels the Eclipse Blade sever each and every sinew, every artery, every muscle, every cartilage-like bone. His scream -- the scream of thousands of voices at once -- echoes all throughout the river and valley.
And he screams, for the moment that his legs collapse out from underneath him, and the halves of his bisected body fall to the ground in different directions. His head lands, his internal (and incompletely-formed) organs clear to display for the moment, his face contorted into a rictus of pain.
And then the valley bends, shoved backwards in a sudden, rapidly expanding wave of force. The ground falls in a perfect spherical pattern -- everything but Jedah's body sinks.
But the two halves of Jedah's body merge together again. The wound is not mending anywhere -near- as fast as before -- the separation line still surges with blood, and he curls his hand upon it. glowering back at Ryu. And at Baiken. And then Ken.
"... You three will make excellent soldiers for my new army." The pain is clear. But the smugness? Not going away.
Baiken rarely does things in a battle without a purpose, and her delay serves one. It allows her to refocus, to give her a moment to breathe and to attune herself to the filthy energies of Majigen - not that she wants any of them in her, but she needs to feel the flows of power around here to be able to work near them.
The delay was enough. Baiken looks up, still concentrating, as Jedah distorts space around him. But she can still see /him/ there, and that's enough. If she has to get to him, she can jump.
This plan would not have occured to her had she not encountered Skarlet last week. But she saw what happened then; she couldn't hold together, could barely maneuver. Jedah is a bigger, more powerful target - but that doesn't mean it's impossible. It just means it's a challenge.
"Jedah Dohma," she says, speaking very precisely, like his name had power (and here, it might, though she's not using it). Baiken holds her position for another two seconds - and then, suddenly, all at once, she bursts into action. She runs forward, accelerating as she closes the distance between her and Jedah. He's moved further away, so she runs faster, further, harder.
Baiken throws towards near Jedah. She slides the last three steps, thrusting her hand out, and finally releasing that bound-up power. "BAKU!" A pink symbol appears in the air, drawing itself out of her chi - and pulling in at Jedah's power, binding it, stilling it. It won't trap him, but it might leave him sluggish and slow, if she can just make a seal powerful enough to hold him for a moment - she doesn't need to bind /all/ his power, only the channel through which he's drawing on Majigen.
The symbol rotates in space, becoming more complicated, more chi patterns drawing themselves around it - almost card-like, highly stylized, patterns and ripples making up the background of the 'card'. Baiken lets it form - and then she drives her sword, which she has just drawn, directly at the center of it.
Which is, coincidentally, where Jedah ought to be, if she did this right.
The world may reshape itself around him, but he's growing used to that. Jedah may control this domain, but his power is not absolute, and his greatest weakness is fully on display: his arrogance. The reason that Ryu Hayabusa has managed to overcome impossible challenges is because he has mastered himself. A weapon honed to perfection, only limited by its own strength.
With the addition of allies, the Archfiend's weaknesses are all the more exposed. Arrogance will lead a man to underestimate his opponents again and again. The difference between ignorance of an opponent's style and arrogance is that ignorance can be quickly rectified, as Hayabusa has shown by studying the extents of Jedah's control. Arrogance will allow a great deal of power to become moot, as Jedah has shown by assuming the warriors that stand against him do not have the power to hurt him.
This is the third time Hayabusa has managed to prove Jedah Dohma wrong, and even arrogance has its limits, perhaps it is time to attempt to prey on his ignorance.
The Eclipse Scythe is returned to the ninja's back. Certainly weapons give a great many advantages, such as reach, or the effectiveness of a bladed edge carving your opponent's skin. Going unarmed has other advantages: not holding onto a weapon can grant speed as it unburdens.
As Baiken returns to the fight, the ninja master prepares, avoiding interfering with the complex process that he has experienced from Jedah's side. With the exchange completed, he rockets into the air, twisting to catch Jedah's reattached head with the heel of his foot. Perhaps if he's lucky he'll take it off again.
COMBATSYS: Jedah blocks Baiken's Baku Tsuika Kougeki.
JEDAH
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Jedah blocks Ryu Hayabusa's Medium Kick.
JEDAH
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
What, Baiken, what? 'Jedah Dohma, Baku.' Is that some form of poetry? One supposes she could be introducing him to Baku -- and in a way, she is. Jedah -has- been hit with sealing techniques before, but rarely has it mattered as much as now.
Jedah, for his part, simply shakes his head dismissively. The drive, the determination -- it's a good feeling to see. He really -does- admire the steadfast nature of the fighters gathered here, and he really -does- want to add them to his collective. But right now, they're trying his patience -- especially with the foolhardy belief that he'd allow his powers to be stripped away from him.
""The force of my will is beyond your comprehension." Sparing time to smirk up at Ken Masters, just -outside- of his impressive display of dimension-bending, he holds his hand in front of him.
A cylinder opens up, within the semispherical crater. In less time than the blink of an eye, a channel is opened clear out from the ravaged riverbank. And the river of blood is suddenly =upon them=.
A cocoon is formed around Jedah, as the entirety of the crater is instantly filled with blood. The boundary of the cocoon would prove to be a hard, semipermeable shell -- quite a formidable challenge for the master ninja's foot to pierce through without the aid of a bladed weapon. And it also serves to ward off the sealing technique of Baiken as well -- for the powers she plans to rob Jedah are replaced tenfold by the grace of Majigen. The barrier sags -- and he definitely -is- touched by both techniques -- but the impact is certainly dulled. But most urgently -- it will be very difficult for either the samurai or the ninja to move, or breathe.
"I tire of this senseless exchange..." he states calmly, his voice loud enough to be heard even through the heightened pressure of the blood-filled crater Baiken and Hayabusa find themselves within. But while Ken sees only a crimson pool, and Hayabusa will likely struggle for breath beneath the surface of the blood-filled crater, Baiken will experience something different.
The blood itself is manifesting as individual arms and legs. The spirits contained within Majigen are now punching and kicking Baiken, beneath the surface. And Jedah... well. He's frowning now. So there's that.
COMBATSYS: Jedah successfully hits Baiken with Huge Thrown Object.
! VENGEANCE !
JEDAH
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|------=========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/---====|
Baiken didn't expect to seal Jedah away. Not here, not in his place of power, not while he's still able to fight - it's something she /might/ try to someone or something that couldn't resist, in a place of her choosing. Maybe. If she thought she could manage it; Jedah is powerful enough that she's not sure she could at any time.
But interrupt his plans, interfere with his ability to fight? Yes. That's something she can do.
At least, it was before the crater filled with blood. Baiken expected him to do something else with blood, and was prepared to hold her breath, but that doesn't mean that acting or moving is easy. It merely means she's not going to drown in the first few seconds.
Feet and fists batter her. Baiken can't tell whose they are or where they are but her attempts at striking them and parrying aggressively amount to nothing; she stops, hunkering down and trying to absorb the worst of the beatings instead, trying to avoid taking a blow that will knock the air out of her.
Baiken is not sure where Jedah is in or above the mass at first. She struggles, her sword piercing the boundary of the blood, though it takes her two attempts to get through it; the first, it only bulges weirdly, like plastic film over moving Jell-O.
Baiken tears out of the blood, rocketing straight up, toward Jedah. Her strike with the sword is wild, almost uncontrolled, but it does mean that she has time to breathe - and time to lever herself toward the edge of the pool, which she does with her other hand, using the claw arm while slashing Jedah with the sword.
"Good," Baiken says, having heard the comment from inside. The more hurt he is, the happier she gets.
Once more the blood floods around Ryu Hayabusa. There are few in the world who have seen as much blood in their lifetimes as the Dragon Ninja. He has fought countless foes, dispatched them with violent efficiency, been bathed in blood after the ceaseless assault of countless minions in support of their evil lords. Certainly he has not been submerged in it to this degree, but he's been submerged in far worse. He's survived lava and the flame's a dragon's breath.
Blood will not stop Ryu Hayabusa from completing his mission.
What does change, from the previous attempt, is that as soon as he rebounds from the Archfiend's defenses, he uses the force of his kick to launch into the air, allowing the crater to fill completely before he lands... atop the surface of the blood pond. It would seem that Jedah's previous musing about the Singular Super Ninja's abilities has finally been answered.
Ryu stands firm in position, his eyes closed as his right hand pulls in front of his face, two fingers extended upward. Behind him his left hand grips the Eclipse Scythe, still strapped to his back. Around him the air begins to swirl, lips moving silently beneath his mask as power is drawn out from his very soul.
And then a flash, a surge of power bursts outward from the ninja master, flattening the blood's surface as if it were ice, creating firm purchase as he crosses the distance between himself and the Archfiend in a blur, with a sudden flash of movement, the Eclipse Scythe is once more wielded with both hands. Thus far he has been unable to break through the Darkstalker lord's defenses through any technique that did not include the deadly scythe, so he will bring out a better technique with the monsterous weapon.
New strength flows through the Hayabusa as he unleashes all of that stored power in a frenzy. He leaps at the Archfiend, and suddenly the air around Hayabusa is filled with the scythe, it's blade seeming to move with more speed than the eye can follow, appearing practically to form an orb of death all the way around the ninja. More than that, the air is filled with blades of wind wherever Damascus does not, for a moment, exist. The blood all around the two is splattered in all directions, flying up into the air like a rain of death in reverse.
Perhaps he will manage to discover if Jedah can pull himself back together from a million pieces.
COMBATSYS: Jedah dodges Baiken's Random Strike.
JEDAH
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|------=========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Jedah fails to counter Annihilating Demon from Ryu Hayabusa with Armed Combo.
- Power fail! -
JEDAH
[ |||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-----==|
Within the pool of blood, Jedah is perfectly within his own element. Baiken's blades poke at the semi-permeable membrane around him -- a cocoon provided more for defense than of any particular need to breathe, of course. But when she strikes upwards at Jedah, the scion of the Dohma line simply maneuvers his cocoon upwards. The membrane bursts, but Jedah is tantalizingly -just- out of the samurai's reach.
Less so, when it comes to fighting the Eclipse Scythe. The powerful artifact does seem to be Hayabusa's lucky charm, so to speak -- for while he was able to keep Baiken at a comfortable distance, avoiding the scythe's long reach is more of a challenge.
In this case, Jedah finds himself again caught off-guard. His leg is snared, his nearly-fluidic body pierced numerous times by the blade of the weapon. Limbs are severed, and held in place only by his dark abilities and the sticky nature of the crimson vitae, wicking back in the wake of the impossibly sharp blade. Perhaps because he had tried to turn the blood back against Ryu; perhaps because he'd grown too arrogant for his own good; whatever the cause, he's unable to react as well as he'd like.
The screams are loud enough to shake the trees, even causing ripples of their own in the surface of the displaced blood pool. His limbs land upon the shore of the blood crater, disconnected -- but even then, they start to move together, dragged near by the sheer force of Jedah's will. He restrains himself from screaming further, from giving the ninja, the samurai, or the Ansatsuken fighter waiting for another Hadouken opportunity the pleasure.
At least the ninja has good taste in weaponry, he asserts to himself.
"Consider how many lives have been lost while you battle me, for a fight you cannot win." Jedah draws breath, still -- a needless action for a creature such as he, but a necessary focus, as his limbs draw back together. He pops his neck from one side to the next. And he stands, showing that he is not /yet/ defeated.
He also lowers the ground Ken Masters is standing upon, casting him into a cylindrical pit about twelve feet deep and six feet across. He'll have to go the distance for real if he wants to play that game.
Death and destruction aren't anything Baiken can stop. What she can do - what she is uniquely suited to do - is to kill the source of it; to destroy Jedah Dohma as utterly as she can manage, to tear him apart.
But her inability to strike Jedah is frustrating to her. She's used to being outclassed; it doesn't happen much anymore, that's why she fights so hard, but it has happened in the past and will happen again. She does not expect That Man or his monsters, if in fact he has another monster, to be a simple challenge. This feeling of uselessness is agitating. Maybe even vexing.
Baiken lets out a roar as her anger finally breaks. "Shut up," she growls at the demon, as Jedah draws himself back together and stands there. She keeps her sword in hand, shifting her grip on the hilt, switching stances in preparation for a rush.
And rush she does. Baiken failed to seal Jedah's power; failed to kill him with any of her fancy weapons. But sometimes the simple things are all that's necessary.
Baiken thrusts. It is a running thrust, meant to impale her blade all the way through Jedah; she's alreaddy noticed that he's soft, and hurt as he is, less able to hold himself together. He's screaming with every wound he takes, so she goes for a powerful one; she stays away from the heart, trying to drive it through his stomach instead.
But as the blade reaches full extension, pink light glimmers across it - and as she drives it home, it shifts down the blade, exploding out the far end in a shower of pink sparkles that drift on the breeze, like shimmering cherry blossoms made entirely out of energy.
Unfortunately, to get out, if she managed to embed the blade into Jedah's stomach, they had to explode out of his back along with the great gout of pink energy. "Haaa! Be silent and scatter!"
Ryu Hayabusa isn't stupid, he knows full well what's occuring in the regions of Metro City currently trapped in Majigen. The fiends have finally unleashed themselves on the populace, now that Jedah relinquishes his temporary hold on their leashes. Blood is being spilled all over...
...But Majigen only exists because of Jedah's will. There are other fighters out there, struggling to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Some are even those who would otherwise be the villains in stories, violent individuals who instill terror and use force to take what they want. But for now they are allies against the tide of blood, and the best option to protect everyone is to put an end to the Archfiend.
And now he's so utterly close.
With the help of Baiken and Masters, he's managed to crack the shell repeatedly, cleaving Jedah's body, forcing it to slowly reconstitute itself again and again. Certainly even with all of the power being fed to Jedah in this domain, he can only keep going so long... and as long as Ryu Hayabusa can stand and fight, he will not give up.
Having once more fallen to stand on the surface of the blood pond, readies himself, lowering the Eclipse Scythe at his side. The blade forged in Damascus steel, quenched in human suffering, and taken by force from those fiends that prove the world still needs a man like Ryu Hayabusa... It is an excellent weapon, reach and strength. It has cleaved apart armies of fiends in the Dragon Ninja's hands.
Perhaps now it will be able to finish off this Archfiend.
Once more, with incredible speed, Hayabusa goes flying forward. At first this is merely a metaphorical description of the way his feet carry him over the bloody waters, but then it becomes quite accurate as his feet leave the ground and his haste seems to increase even further. The whole time the Eclipse Scythe drags behind him, it's blade slicing the air itself at his side.
In the moment, it would appear as though Hayabusa merely appeared on the other side of Jedah, crouched with the Eclipse Scythe held up behind him, but to the keenest of eyes, most able to see the stillness of a moment, as Hayabusa goes flowing past, he catches Jedah's face on the blade of the scythe and begins to twist, using the entire curved length in an effort to saw straight through the Archfiend's skull and split his brain diagonal.
Having an off fight is probably the easiest way to describe what is happening to Ken Masters right at this moment. Then again, he /is/ fighting some crazy demon thing from another dimension or something. He never really pays attention to the details of this stuff. He just kind of shows up and starts kicking until the bad thing stops moving or goes away. Ryu is supposed to be the one that understands all this crap.
BUT HE AIN'T HERE, IS HE?!?!
No. That just leaves Ken Masters and the Fighting Spirits (Animated Series Coming Soon to ME-TV) to try and put this punk demon thing in his rightful place. Which is not destroying Metro City and then the world. Because for some reason evil creatures like this always want to destroy the world. Seriously? Can't they just like go destroy Mars or something? Nobody even likes Mars.
Ken looks around at the walls of the hole that he has managed to get trapped in. "So I'm not even good enough to kill? Seriously? I'm /that/ weak that you think you can just throw me in a hole and then crush my Fighting Spirits? You think I'm just gonna' stay down here and let that happen?! Huh?!"
Ken doesn't even know if Jedah can hear him. He doesn't care. All that matters is that he's taken to running towards the wall of that pit he's trapped in and those feet launch him upwards and towards the wall. He kicks a heel into the rock there, smashing it and making a groove. He pushes off and turns, slamming his other heel into the rock. This happens again and again, in sort of a slow motion Hurricane Climb up towards the gap that will set him free.
Fighter's Instinct kicks in as Ken clears the top of the hole with a tremendous somersaulting leap that takes him out and off towards the ground. His feet crunch into the ground again as he lands in a classic Action Hero crouch. He looks up, his blonde hair obscuring his vision just a bit and he smirks to himself. "I don't think so." With the classic 90's response to evil muttered through a sly smile, Ken's eyes flash with just a moment of flaming chi before he rises to a running sprint off in the direction of Jedah.
Ken's movements might as well be in slow motion as he spots the others making their attacks at the demon. He would hesitate but his timing is on point. And so is his finger as that cocky smirk of his becomes evident and he calls out to Jedah, "This'll hurt!" A couple more steps and he's lifting into the air with more twists and spins than an M. Night script, his legs engulfed in flames as he launches a series of devastating and powerful kicks in the direction of this blood-boiling foe. If there was ever a moment that Ken was throwing his everything into a move... this was that moment.
There was also a moment last night when he was with Eliza but we'll save that for the Tell All Autobiography.
COMBATSYS: Jedah dodges Ryu Hayabusa's Rising Swallow.
JEDAH
[ |||||||||||||| ]
1|-----==========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ken Masters successfully hit Jedah with #Guren Senpuukyaku#.
JEDAH
[ |||| ]
2|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jedah fails to interrupt Sakura from Baiken with #Majigen - Devastazione#.
JEDAH
[ ||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jedah has reached second wind!
JEDAH
[ ||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
Jedah levitates once more, the numerous criss-crossing lines across his body finally sealing shut. He's flaunting his immunity to critical blows, just to underscore the ability that here, he is a god. That no wound suffered here can -truly- be permanent.
When Ryu charges after him, Jedah shakes his head. If he had willed it, he could have finished off the ninja at any time. Perhaps he should have -- but the arrogance led him to challenge -all three- at once, just to prove the point that he -could-. Effortlessly, he relies on bending the environment to his will once again, even smirking as he calls forth the very air to throw him backwards at a super-accelerated rate, carrying him out of the reach of even the ridiculously fast Super Ninja.
Unfortunately, his exceedingly low opinion of one of his opponents proves to be his downfall -- as the sudden acceleration also carries him directly into the path of Ken. Freaking. Masters. He'd thought the brash trash-talker to be just that -- someone who had wanted to capture the fight on a cellphone and mug for a selfie with his elbow on the corpse. But to have the attacks fully land across his battered, barely-healed body, sending his broken limbs flailing in every direction... unthinkable. His wheezes and wails are probably music to the American's ears, to say the least.
But to Baiken... the one-armed samurai may glean some satisfaction at landing the final blow. She won't be the one to cut his arm off -- no, Ryu had done that, and Ken finished the job. But she =will= be the one to drive a sword through his gut, impaling him full on, and filling the wound with an avalanche of cherry blossoms -- perfect timing, considering the time of year back home in her native land.
But even as Jedah's torso sinks to the ground, minus two and a half of his appendages, his face is contorted into a look of utter condescension. Well, it would look more condescending if his own blood hadn't been painted across his lips and chin, but anyway.
His composure gathered, he asks, "Is this -truly- all you hoped it would be? Your pathetic mortal minds are so easily sated..."
And then his eyes fall shut. The body itself... lifeless. And Jedah's body begins to crumble into crimson dust -- for it was never any more than that to begin with.
Meanwhile... the mocking sound of two wet hands clapping slowly can be heard from further down the River of Blood. Jedah stands anew in a reborn body, his features not yet differentiated into their typical colors.
"Relish your victory, champions. For the next time we fight... I shall not grant you as many favors."
And then the bloody body falls lifelessly into the river once more.
There will no longer be a target to hit.
COMBATSYS: Jedah has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Baiken
[ \\\\ <
Ryu Hayabusa [E] 0/-------/-------|
The beauty of cherry blossoms is, sadly, lost on Baiken right now. Being surrounded by blood does that.
Baiken withdraws her sword. She is at least satisfied that it did something, perhaps ensured that he wouldn't be back immediately - or that's what she was hoping, as it turns out that he is. Damn this dimension! Baiken thinks to herself, with rather more heat than such simple words sound like they should have.
"I don't need your favours if I can have your head!" Baiken's bravado is unchanged. She either doesn't realize how close she might have been to death - or, perhaps, doesn't care. Baiken puts little value on her own life, which (perhaps ironically) makes her a terrifying opponent; with nothing to lose, she takes risks that no more sane or stable fighter would. It seems to work; she's hurt, but not as badly as she could be.
Shaking blood off her sword, and not for the first time, Baiken slides it home into the scabbard with a little 'click'. She looks at her temporary partners, from Hayabusa (who she respects, to a point) to Ken (who she doesn't, fighting talent notwithstanding).
And then she begins to walk away from them. Perhaps she's looking for another demon to kill - or maybe she just wants to lick her wounds without answering annoying questions. The others can clearly take care of themselves.
Ken Masters is standing tall, blood still dripping from his face and looking pretty beat up. Though, he's standing that's enough for a win right there. Whatever Jedah's words were, Ken had already stopped listening. He was too busy running a hand through his hair to make sure he still looked as awesome as when he first got here.
Ken takes a few steps away from where he totally pwn'd the demon dude and snatches up his backpack. Yanking out his phone, there's time for another selfie and then he's making with his own Ryu-esque moment of walking away. Time to find the next battle.
"You're the best. Around." o/~
Failure.
Despite all the best efforts of Hayabusa and his allies, Jedah Dohma slips through their grasp. Two corpses left to vanish into nothing, no merit beyond meat in a river of blood. Majigen still remains, and there are still fiends out there all through this realm of monsters doing great harm to those unable to defend themselves.
Ryu Hayabusa has tasted failure in the past, and these failures have all put the balance of the world in danger. All of the responsibility that weighs down on him, on the lineage that flows through his veins. This is a failure that cannot be allowed to stand, a failure that will be corrected.
"MASTERS." The name comes out loud, but unaggressive. It is a voice that commands attention without attempting to claim superiority. "The people of Metro City still trapped here are in danger. Jedah's followers will slaughter them if this situation is not corrected. This is the second time we have stood together in battle... I beg of you make what use you can of your strength to protect the weak from the consequences of my failure."
The ninja master weighs the scythe in his hands silently for a moment before sliding into place on his back. "I was foolish to believe I could bring this to an end without using the full limits of my resources. I will correct my mistakes."
And then the Modern-Day Ninja vanishes in a swirl of leaves.
COMBATSYS: Ryu Hayabusa has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ken Masters 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Baiken
COMBATSYS: Ken Masters has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Baiken 0/-------/=======|
Log created on 20:35:21 04/25/2015 by Jedah, and last modified on 17:33:03 04/27/2015.