Match of the Millennium

Description: Princess Kitana vs. Daniel Little "While many governments have interest in the events beneath the realm, the governance of Earthrealm has no meaning in the face of the great tournament. The best way to make this known is Kombat. DANIEL. The daughter of the emperor wishes to meet you at the gates to the palace."

[DANIEL]
Had he ever really left?

Daniel Jack was having a rough time on the island. His allies were present, but questionably reliable. He had nothing here. Only thing he has eaten was leftovers at the buffet. Soon those would become too spoiled to consume. And what was worst, is that he was part of this tournament. The detective was standing before the grand gates of the palace. Massive guardian statues of vague lion-like dragons stand around the giant wooden gates. The detective himself was waiting in the garden outside, sitting on stone by a giant statue of buddah. The fight would be on this side of the gates, not the other side. As for the detective, well, he wasn't in his Interpol rags anymore.

Somehow, Daniel had found something more tacky than his classic Zoot Suit.

The detective was garbbed in the only clothing that would be given to him: silk. The detective was clad in an orange silk shirt of chinese design; embrodied with images of purple moths across it, with light purple hemming as well. His pants were silk as well, except inversed: billowy purple pants with moths images fluttering upwards on it, meeting with the orange shirt in nearly perfect matching. It was loud. It was tacky. And worst of all, Daniel did NOT get shoes with it; he was still wearing his Interpol spats. The detective just made due what was given to him by the guards. Now, he was waiting for his death.

Rolling his soul shard between his fingers.

He woke up with the red gem. He didn't know what it meant, why it meant. He barely understood this entire tournament, other than it was mortal combat, and that it was very likely he would be killed. He wouldn't be killed by his Interpol team, and very likely, anyone allied with them. But his opponent... A daughter of the emperor. The emperor. The meaning and weight of that phrase was overwhelming. Not an emperor. The emperor. In a lethal tournament. Daniel Jack would have to be, diplomatically, on his best behavior.

Even if it meant getting eviserated

[KITANA]
The heavy gates shudder and groan while beginning to swing open at the appointed time, the distant secondary ringing of a gong lost in the initial gravelly grind as the doors move but the tone resonating most clearly once the palace fortress lays open. The bare chested men who labour opening the doors remain fixed in place, their duty: to close the doors quickly once again in the face of any threat or attack. A half-dozen others, seemingly the same all descend to take up an ominous guard stance and with regular placement around the edges of the 'ring.' Their role was to give their lives if necessary to protect their betters. Excepting today.

The click of heels on stone as Kitana passes through the archway; exiting the well-lit and warm interior she sheds the few retainers who had escorted her this far. The lone woman who descends in the wake of the guards could be mistaken for nothing but royalty. She carries it in her posture and the measured and authoritative pace. Long hair black as night is worn loose, there's the occasional glint of a bright lemony yellow glowing bauble. A stark and contrasting piece to the royal blue, black and silver adornments she has chosen to wear.

The bauble itself was an annoyance to her, when gifted the small carved box that would contain her shard she was annoyed to find it was yellow. Her sister assuredly would get a red shard and accumulate power dangerously fast. She was not pleased but it was minimally acceptable.

When she finally descends enough into the light to no longer be in near silhouette -she could not be dressed more modestly for the proceedings. Now having some inkling the earth peoples preferred mode of dress she had selected something appropriate in concealed most all of her breast and navel, which seemed taboo's in their world. Straps worn horizontally across her shoulders it's like she's wearing the front and back halves of a long dress of cheongsam cut, with the sides laced together in a cross pattern. 'V' sculpted and solid metallic looking belt and black weighty forearm lengths bracers and knee length boots with a sizeably raised stiletto heel. The tiara on her head was an incredibly unsubtle reminder about just who she was.

There he was. The earth lawman and upholder of their justice. In outworld one is his position would probably not ever reach heights lofty enough to interact with one of the princesses. But he might also have, if he was deemed worthy of entering the tournament then there was potential for placement and station he may never have been rewarded with. The earthrealm had curious rules regarding being strong and how strength and violence may be used.

"The Law man."

The explanations given her about whom and what her opponent would be were cursory; she did not need to be told much too effectively kill. Telling her enough to make her curious, she was left intrigued and to ask questions of her own. Some by the mixture of her own ignorance of Earthrealms law, more still when comparing her role in Outworld and Edenian law.

There's so much she would have liked to know. But she had her own duty to put ahead of everything else. This was a Mortal Kombat tournament! Her wants would have to be set aside. Not even the preliminaries was there a reason to not give it her all.

The sharp dagger she seemingly has in her hands one moment fold open with a snap into a pair of fans with disturbingly still razor sharp seeming spine. The manner with which she raises one up to conceal the lower half of her face seems natural and practiced.

"Upholding which realm's laws build a stronger character?"

The gleam of firelight playing along the edges of the blades in those fans. It doesn't reflect in her eyes, they drink it all in and still remain frosty. Her entire demeanour is calm and she is purposefully willing to fight to the death for whatever her motives were.

"Let us find out."

Uh-oh Daniel Jack. Uh-oh.

[DANIEL]
More like.

Uh, yes!

Daniel Jack was, in fact, having a rough time settling into this entire island thing. As the gates open, he didn't quite know what to expect still. And then he sees his opponent. By Outworld standards, it was modest. By -Earthrealm standards?- "Hot damn." Daniel Jack mutters to himself, standing up. The detective looks over the full figure of the woman, and he has to give another hot damn. If this is what royalty was like on the other side, then maybe being captured and enslaved wasn't exactly the worst fate. Of course, when she speaks, it gives Daniel the shivers.

Both kinds of the shivers.

It was intimidating, to say the least. This was a woman who could kill. And yet... Daniel has been doing this kind of work for over 10 years. While that's is a mere moment in an immortal lifetime compared to this woman, for human purposes? That was more than enough time to know a dangerous woman when you see them. This was a killer. And yet, cold killer, not hot. Daniel Jack could just get a read on that. As her weapon of choice comes into full bear, the detective doesn't show that nervous fear. Instead, he grins.

"Please, don't call me 'Law Man.'"

Daniel Jack begins, a palm forward as he holds his gem in the other hand. "Call me Daniel." The detective flashes an easing smile, as he steps forward, taking his place. "And I gotta say, it really an honor to be fighting the Emperor's daughter. I don't think I caught your name though." Daniel Jack was making friendly very fast. While everything else in this island was grim and dark and murderviolence, maybe this lady would be a little less. "I'll say though, Earthrealm laws have done shit for character; most of my character has been skipping over the laws rather than following them. Course, I don't know much about your realm's laws." Daniel Jack gives her a wink.

"Maybe we can find some time later to exchange our realms laws with each other?"

Daniel then starts to ease into his defensive stance of Todoh. Wide-legged stance. One palm forward, one palm- The detective looks at the crystal with the gem in its hand, and squints an eye at it. How was he supposed to get a place for it. Everyone else did. Fortunately the problem solved itself. As he opened his hand, the gem just nested itself right into the palm, embedded in with a bright red glow. Daniel Jack stares at it with a neutral expression across his face. He just shrugs, and brings both palms up at the fine looking empress, going into his defensive stance. "So one of my friends here has the yellow one I think; and I got the red... and you got the yellow one too."

"You wouldn't happen to know the difference between those two, would you?"

[KITANA]
Kitana remains quiet for a few heartbeats. Trying to digest and make sense of all this overly familiar manner of talking at her. He had immediately dropped asked her not to refer to him by the only thing she knew his as, requested she refer to him directly by name. He'd even skipped over his titles and rank. Those were not things she could do; 'We' must remain aloft and preserve our reputation as a member of the Emperors family. Even within the most private moments their family shared.. No-one spoke to her so!

That was distasteful. He mixed his politeness and using 'please' into requests to call him familiarly. While in a few brief moments he would be trying to kill her! This was all offensive, obscene and ..somehow, humorous. A light hearted chord plucked so out of place in the middle of such a sombre setting of stone, the stone gardens fearsome statues of lions and dragons. Fluttering banners which belonged to the mage rather than the Emperor.

Showing some degree of charity as she perceives it she skips over his objectionable prattling to answer at least the questioned posited her.

"The red, as it was explained to me? It accumulates and grows in power quickly; by felling or killing your opponents. It hungers without limit, thus it is a shard best suited to an ambitious killer."

One such as Mileena. Her sister's revelry in kombat would be driven to new heights spurred on by her nature AND if she were being actively rewarded with power for her kills. For herself?

"The yellow is more tempered - slower to gain in strength. It draws on the ambient magic's of this island and less from opponents."

She shows some disdain for the topic of the yellow. The crystal itself was a slight handicap and one she still had to be mindful of. There were many paths to victory and types of opponent to exploit how their crystals worked. The way her eyes narrowed on examination of Daniels shard immediately sets her more on edge. Partly out of envy perhaps but much more a growing wariness.

This goofy act, trying to appear oddly personable, yet displaying a shard hungry for her blood. It could be a mismatch like her shard was for her own plans. Or perhaps mindicative of his true nature, she would be a fool to buy buy into this banter and lack of decorm as anything but a ploy of some kind.

The questions she answered regarding the crystals she did not regret. If she lost here and now, she would die. If he provided the opening�, she would kill him! Thus taking that information with him to whatever afterlife awaited. The grave severity of Mortal Kombat was what made it sacred. Even gods respected the rules and immortal being gave up their eternal life for the right to participate; as mortals.

"You are amusing 'Law man.' But one of us will likely die here. I suggest you find something important enough to you to risk giving your life for."

And then use that inner wellspring to keep you going. She didn't know his real job title. His request to have her address him seems to have been rebuffed and more over; she had her reasons for being here and resolve enough to kill or die for them. With all she wishes to say now said; The Princess makes a show of severing her desire to communicate with him any further by pointedly looking away.

[DANIEL]
Yellow and Red.

Daniel actually sweats a bit as the beautiful woman explains the crystals, and just... lays it out to him. The detective makes a note of his hand again. Ambitious killer's crystal. Oh. Of course. But there was an unusual weight to the comment. Find something important enough to risk giving your life for. Did... these Outworld folks not consider tournaments for anything but 'lethal' combat? Was normal fighting irrelevant? There was an unspoken feel here; a definite culture clash. Daniel Jack hoped that maybe, in spite of this... rather ruthless presence, that maybe they could have a pleasant culture exchange? With minimal bleeding and dying?

"I mean, that's the risk of every fight, now isn't it?"

The detective's face droops. "Every fight is a matter of life or death. Even when people say otherwise, you never escape that danger. The people I fight are out to kill me. Hell, even my partner, I'm pretty sure he'd kill me if it worked for him. Dude put me in a body cast, first time I met him." Daniel Jack shakes his head, and brings back that smile. "You just need to chill out, Princess. I'm not gonna kill you cause this ruby encourages it. I'm not a cold-blooded killer. As for my sake, uh, I dunno." He looks over Kitana. "You seem like a cold-blooded killer to me, Princess. Beautiful... but deadly. Maybe I'm not gonna leave this island alive." Daniel Jack shuts his eyes a moment. "God dammit, I might not leave this island alive." He just shrugs. "Whatever, scuzzy." He begins as his eyes begin to glow red, the soul gem's energy flowing into him. He motions at Kitana.

"Ladies first, you dig?"

COMBATSYS: Daniel has started a fight here.

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Daniel           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Daniel equips a glowing Rose Soul Shard.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-------|

[KITANA]
She did not dig, nor comprehend any of his other time locked and decade-long only applicable lingo. She did not even know what a 'body cast' was though it had a suitably fearsome name; In the least it sounded torturous. The Princess was as alien as was possible to exist, an occupant and ruling class of Outworld there is absolutely no connecting with. His words are not comprehended and she makes no effort to develop an understanding on her end, he refers to 'partners' while she has none �cit's like each line fails to connect and bridge the gulf between them.

His manner seemed flippant and naive, He still did not understand? This is such a curse as an opening fight. As an assassin she began to feel the prey was too easy, like it was bait. As a Princess she was disturbed by how casually he was taking this.

"If your people lose this tournament- 'Law man.' Outworld gains the right to enter your world by force to conquer it. You have no room for complacency any longer. Nine of Ten."

She meant the Nine of Ten tournaments but she wanted him to feel the gravity she placed in those last near cryptic sounding words, His everything was at stake. His world, laws, loved ones, partners and family were all and he still showed a lack of conviction. A shrug?!

Primed and started she slides a foot forward and sets it. Her lower body angled away from the detective while her torso twists to confront him directly, strong core muscles demonstrated but it's a stance where she could clearly move around and circle without ever coming close. There's only a few seconds to draw what conclusions he can before the opening cry of 'Fight' rings out.

Her arm flicks straight up as the open fan is tossed at speeds that make it resemble a circular saw blade, the second fan also speeding along a slightly different trajectory to attempt to entrap him.

The fight turns deadly right from the opening heartbeats. The blades away from her hands she's already starting to move, hair rising to trail behind her the now active bauble that was her shard, it chimes as she starts the brisk move. An assassin wearing a bell that rang when she struck, her shard was ludicrous.

COMBATSYS: Kitana has joined the fight here.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kitana

COMBATSYS: Kitana equips a warm Lemon Yellow Soul Shard.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0       [E] Kitana

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Kitana's Power Intrusion.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
An invasion?

The detective's friendly grin faded a moment. Oh, so -that- was what this was about. It was a pretense to an invasion. Was this why Daniel was here? Was this- this was a load of crap. Rage boils up through Daniel, as the sudden urge to MURDER floods him. He swallows it, hard, as those fans come out. The fight begins, and as she throws them, with the most adorable bell ring ever. The detective has the faintest sneer as he almost sighs. "Oh, wait, I think I see the misunderstanding."

"You think I'm not taking this seriously."

And the detective -slams- both of his forearms into each of the blades, stepping in. The buzzsaw effect cuts deep into the limbs, but the impact stops the rush cold. The fans are beaten aside as Daniel, slowed down, continues his steady advance, red eyes dead set on her. "I think you're new at this whole Daniel Jack thing, Princess, so maybe I'm gonna need to give you a crash course, scuzzy." The detective growls as he slips in, stepping in with surprising grace. Not into Kitana, but past her, to step past her with his advance. And if he managed to step past her, he would then make another step across... and attempt seize her by that fine, strapless outfit, both high and low. Should he get that grip, at that phase, he would simply pivot, and -slam- her face first towards the stone budda in the garden. He was gonna need to use his environment if he was gonna make it through this.

His world depended on it apparently?!

COMBATSYS: Kitana blocks Daniel's Strong Throw.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
She was obviously keeping her distance, traits of any well-reasoned and calculating assassin. Especially practical if she specialized in hurling blades and knives. She was impressed with the turn of speed, how much of that was the crystal and how much the man? She did not feel especially invigorated by hers but the change in him was palpable. She could feel the murderous intent directed at her, and she weathers it unflinchingly like it's nothing she's seen and felt that all before.

The swing as he spirals her around to try to ram her face first into one of the stones is met with a clinical detachment at first, he likes to use the environment to his advantage? She was building a picture of him... adding to it line by line and when it was complete she would surgically cut him down when she exposed the flaws.

Her boot heel collides with the stone first, she's flexible too. It's a little jarring as the stiletto carves a deep scar across the surface of the statue and then she's ascending and screeching across the surface, her elbow contorting painfully at this angle she lays her open palm on the inside of his wrist, hooking and nesting her arm as her other arm comes around.

At the low point of the throw where she might most easily escape she instead tightens her grip and kicks herself into a fast revolution through a barrel roll intending to upend Daniel for daring to take a hold on her. A soft style and internal martial art, what he used against her she used against him. His movements became her movement.

The spin complete she would disengages to land with a single knee and palm down, the other raised and angled back behind her; Less reminiscent a ninjas posture and more a gymnasts.

COMBATSYS: Kitana successfully hits Daniel with Back Throw.
- Power hit! -

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
Damn, she was good.

The attack was met with agility, the woman moving with stunning speed as she kicks off against the statue. Whipping around, she does a very familiar reversal. Daniel was impressed at first... and then a nagging comes at him, as he immediately thinks of the reversals to the reversals. Grab her by the wrist, throw her on her back. It was almost like a voice, of a group of voices. Why stop at throwing her on her back? Break her arms, starting from the fingers, up to the wrists. Then the elbows. And then, the shoulders. Break her limbs like in the careful, methodical woodchipper. Rip her apart. Make her bleed. And why stop there. You can cleave her to pieces with those sharp slashes of energy, you can break her bones one by one by one by one-

"The -hell?-"

Daniel Jack's eyes stop glowing red, as orange energy floods over him. He stops himself cold, as he just -floods- the urges with sheer outrage. Of course, he stops himself cold at the worst time to stop himself cold. He is swept off his feet, the internal style sending him flipping through the air, right on his back. Hitting the stones below hard, with nary a roll, he lies flat, staring upwards. Brow furrowing, and silk billowing, he definately broke SOMETHING. And what does Daniel say?

"Swear to crap!"

Daniel Jack slams a fist to the side, a flood of chi roaring down into the earth. The stones shake, bursting up on the impact. The detective rolls to the side, towards the woman in repose. It was almost too subtle as his hand grips one of the cobblestones bursted up, as it decends. With a smooth gesture, the stone comes flinging out, straight for the woman's center, as Daniel Jack continues his main roll upright. The detective roars out, not at Kitana, but at -himself-.

"This isn't about murder!"

COMBATSYS: Kitana blocks Daniel's Thrown Object.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
The hurled cobblestone clacks and settles to the ground without a further rattle or protest, Kitana's palm laid across the top of it and holding where it now lays. Unlike the other debris raining down around the earthrealmer, it had been set down carefully yet firmly. Having been caught rising to her feet when he'd destroyed the ground beneath him; Her initial attempt to dodge and assumption that was the attack to avoid as she moved away did not lend well to stopping a sudden heavy projectile aimed at her centre.

When the stone was hurled at her she raised an arm to ward and changes her movement to backpedal along this new trajectory as soon as she could. Bleeding away the stones momentum with a gentle resistance, the increasing strain on her arm had been incredible before her footwork caught up. She was unprepared, for the speed with which he'd recovered AND manner in which he'd attacked, weight to the stone and force it was hurled with wasn't easy for her to match with grace.

She was learning.

Both her arms ached for now but she was carefully measuring out and building a sense for her opponent. If she mastered him, he'd never come close to laying another hand on her and would die frustrated by that fact.

Hair fanning out around her still without having time to settle. She did not know where his anger was directed, many raged in battle or used anger to kindle more strength, if the conflict was internal or external it did not matter. It was his to deal with, and her to deal with consequences. Her eyes narrow at the changes in demeanour and aura colour but with that same chime ringing out again she begins a gliding run forward. She'd give him no time to rest or gather his strength. The ascending speed of click-clacking of her boot heels as she dives straight in at breakneck speeds, spearing toward him with no intent of stopping. She'd run up his body and pirouette into the wicked turn that winds up- that drawn and opening razor sharp fan that's coming around in a ruthless slash at his neck.

The most vital of areas.

The move is unnatturally fast, the way the air stirrs around her and seems to move, winds tug at Daniels clothes in odd directions, centred around the woman and aiding in her movement. With the fast running the bell ceases to chime and instead jingles along in time to her movements, getting louder and faster as she also does.

COMBATSYS: Kitana channels the strength of the killing fist.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0       [E] Kitana

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Kitana's Royal Lunge.

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
Daniel Jack was battling more than just himself.

There was a presence with this island, a force. It ran through the island, through the gems, through the people. He saw that spark of murder at the gates before. And now... and now, he could feel it in himself. That gem wanted him to inflict untold pain and agony. A cacophony of voices. As he tried to keep his senses in place, the woman was already recovering. He had to keep focused. Another fan came out... and he knew.

His training with Lita Luwanda helped drastically in situations like this.

The thrown brick was just keeping the offensive momentum at the cost of... nothing. Absolutely nothing. The detective's speed was nothing compared to the agile princess. But his ability to act and react with careful, precise movements show an experience that runs deep. Daniel's swiftness wasn't an open technique, but an internal technique. He could recover almost instantly, a smooth transition between offense to defense to offense again. He was on his feet with the same attack, and she was slowed down just long enough. She was running up his body.

But he wasn't yielding.

Those heels hurt. But as she goes for the neck slash, The detective's hands lash out. The leading hand hooks and guides the woman's wrist, the bladed face grazing his cheek. A shallow cut, and with those heels, a nasty cut. The other hand, however, was getting in position.

Thus, came the reversal. The detective's other hand comes around towards Kitana's wrist, coming in neat timing. This was a dangerous reaction, in spite of the closed style. Daniel was learning as well, he could see that she was adapting, and evolving. If she could out maneuver him, and keep it up, then Daniel was going to be in a very, very bad place. But if she kept closing with him... then he could get some control. Orange chi flares over him, as the detective breaths hard. That other hand was going to seize her by the wrist, before she escaped. And there, Daniel would step in. To wrench and disarm the fan from her hand.

And flipping her away in the process.

COMBATSYS: Kitana full-parries Daniel's Medium Throw!!

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
Foiled once again.

The gash on his cheek proves at least Kitana had managed to leave a mark, she was surely pressuring him but this foe was proving surprisingly resilient and resourceful. The art he practiced seemed clumsy and inelegant on first impressions, it was too direct but it was not without purpose and merit.

After exchanging blows she had to revise her opinion that he struck with precision and was quick to adapt. If he had been taught a style better suited to his abilities and natural talents he would have been incredibly strong.

Still, In her eyes there was a difference in levels between their respective abilities to redirect and use one another's power.

The grab for her wrist comes while droplets of his blood from that insignificant wound still float in air, she has yet to settle to the ground and is seemingly completely at his mercy if he can just react quickly enough. Reaching through the chilly veil of wind that was still dispersing his hand closes around her wrist.

Her eyes flicking over to glance down at the wrist just before the hold became realized. Even if he were looking her in the eyes the movement is sudden. A moment of stretched out and dilated time suddenly become nightmarish as one person makes a small movement at normal speeds. The same moment he might have thought himself victorious the fan in her hand snaps closed and she smacks the closed flat of the blade back down the length her forearm; trapping the joint of the attacking limb with soft fleshy arteries dangerous close to the razor edge.

If the angle were better she might have been able to try opening his wrist but it was not her intention. She moves with him, as he intended and in the direction she resumes gliding down to the ground while continuing to pick up speed. The circle of footwork she weaves, she transfers right up her body by contorting around like she were a dervish. All to shunt the arm she had trapped right into the path of the other arm he had been grasping for her with; warding off his follow-up with his own arm.

That serpentine movement complete she leaps into the air in a high flung arc that would travel right over him, a vault with a pronounced 'hup.' Her hold releasing suddenly after jerking his arms up and using him as the anchor to secure her trajectory, while a heartbeat later the blades flick open once again. Wings to aid in her soaring away-?

The exotic fan blades are droning, a sound all their own with a hum that resonates, vibrating all the pieces together while the whole is swathed in a bright blue. An similar imbuement of chi tha she had already showcased before, already seemingly wafting away or just confined to the weapons themselves.

Kitana drops in behind Daniel, the twin blades descending to scour downward across his back.

COMBATSYS: Kitana successfully hits Daniel with Magnificent EX.
-*- DEVASTATING HIT! -*-

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Daniel [E]       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
The detective just couldn't pin her down.

The reversal is in turn made into its own reversal, a reversal into a reversal. His palms were moving, attempting to guide and direct, shift and point. But every second was too slow, and Daniel could see it. His entire art of Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu was being broken apart and unfolded before his eyes. She was sweeping around him, making the cuts precise and painful. He could hadnle that much. He could almost handle it. By the time she is on his back, he was almost making the full turn. He wasn't losing his momentum over this. He wouldn't.

Except the blow came too quietly, too precisely.

The cuts on his back almost seem like another cut. And then he notices something wrong. The blood was coming out too fast at the elbow. And the back. And the... everything. He felt... cold. Daniel Jack begins to lose his footing, slumping down to a knee. He stares at the blood coming out, as he feels woozy. Time felt so slow. Everything felt slow. And then dimly, he realized what that was.

That was a nicked artery.

That was very definately a nicked artery, on an island of death, on a tournament of death. Daniel Jack wasn't getting up from his knee. His head was down... exposed. His back... his back didn't have arteries, did it? He was... open. Exposed. He could smell his own blood. He could smell his own death. A murmur was running through him. Around him.

Fatality.

The voices were muttering it. Fatality. Finish him. Daniel Jack felt himself on the chopping block. This was the end of Daniel Jack, his investigations coming to an end. Cut down at the foot of a princess, over a cause that didn't make sense, for reasons that were for the weak. The darkness envelops. There was no way out. The murmering runs through him. Was there a way out? What could he do to stay alive? The shadow lifts. There was something important, he remembered.

I am not dead.

"Bad"

"MOVE"

"=SCUZZY="

The hand burns crimson as orange energy floods over the detective. The detective turns, pivoting with a single, smooth rise off his knee. His fist was balled up, and inspite of the blood overtaking him, his eyes were now burning red. It might have been a sucker punch. But it was something much more fantastic, as Kitana would see. He lunges in... and dips to the flack. Repositioning. Aiming to place her between himself and the statue. And from there, he would just.. aim a punch straight at her. But he wasn't going to punch her into that budda.

No, he was gonna carry her.

COMBATSYS: Daniel channels the strength of the killing fist.

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Daniel [E]       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1       [E] Kitana

COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Kitana with Fantastic Todoh Punch EX.
- Power hit! -

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Daniel [E]       0/-------/-<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2       [E] Kitana

The initial point of contact is straight in the gut of the Princess.

The detective fires off his feet as he launches through. He was mere inches off the ground as the full force of the punch carries him forward, bringing the woman with him. The pair of the fires forward, as the duo closes in on the statue. As a gentleman, Daniel does not smash her into the statue, that is something that is clear.

He breaks her through it.

The statue shatters into pieces, as he continues, running the woman through a second statue with the same fire. When they finally reach the wall, the charge comes into a stop... and she's the brakes. The impact comes with a sickening crunch as the side of the wall spiderwebs, the crack running deeping from the crater of impact. The follow through comes, as an explosion of chi boils out from behind AND on impact, the aftertrail of Daniel's punch slamming into the wall as the explosion from the impact comes out. Blasting himself backwards to disengage, Daniel Jack steps back from the wall a few steps, and falls back into the defensive stance of Todoh, as he continues to bleed to death. Which he was, quite visibly, as his arm was still dripping. But his body was aflame with the spirit of Todoh, orange chi whirling around him as he just stares dead across at Kitana.

"Real bad move."

[NAGASE]
Double Doomtrain Nagase hehe.

[KITANA]
Her blades had bitten deep, the blow was an imprecise slash. A bad cut thanks to the unpredictable movements of her dance partner. In practice or tournament she would never accept a win graciously if it had come so, but there were no take backs in Mortal Kombat. She was fairly certain it was finally the moment to deliver the finishing blow.

One she did not relish bestowing.

As the Earthrealmer remains slumped with his head down she gives one of her fans a flick with her wrist and tosses it lightly into the air to shift her grip. With no real taste for torture or drawing these things out she resolves to execute him quick and cleanly. Put an end to his suffering and secure her advance.

The blade poised for the final strike she instead hesitates as he resumes speaking his indecipherable gibberish! She did not know what a Scuzzy was but it was rather offensive that he was yelling it so at her so.

Much like their every exchange before she moves to fend off the sudden blow, this time it's with a steel fan crossing over to in front of his fist like a wave. Unlike before, the fan crashes into and is pressed against her torso, the second fan reflexively also coming to bear as she begins straining against this inexorable locomotion driving her back.

That pretty face going through a mix of emotions starting with the initial surprise; quickly passing as she concentrates on trying to resist and bring this attack to heel, much like she did the cobblestone. It's only just before the moment of impact that she realizes what had been behind her. ..he liked to use the environment to his advantage.

Both her hands and her defensive weapons were currently pinned between his fist and her body. Foolish girl.

The stone lion is pulverized into chunks with their passage, her cry is lost in the smashing and her back fares little better than the lion. The bulging eyes and lack of a scream signalling just how much that had-to hurt. The second lion splinters and falls apart in larger chunks, there's a slight hitch as the woman collides with it, her lower back ground painfully against the surface before it begins to crumble.

The grinding crunch most audible to Kitana however came from her own back, merely cracked or was she breaking? Splintered? And yet the man continued driving her back. When she hits the wall she may have blacked out for a moment. Her body was rigid and frozen, completely against her wishes; it just wouldn't obey her. When the final blow is delivered with enough force to shatter the stone she's pressed hard into she is fair embedded into it, ribs creaking and likewise crack with the pressures involved as the man makes good on his escape.

Fool.

Damnable Fool.

Peeling herself of off the wall takes some effort, flakes of stone falling away, her legs don't want to support her, knees are so weak the best she can manage is to turn one of them in sideways as she begins a twisting crumple. Parts of her back were aflame, others she couldn't feel at all. Worse still she was nauseous and feeling weak, a clear indicator her body had suffered catastrophic injuries, going beyond pain into the point muscles refused to work. That would inhibit her overall ability to perform.

Despite all this; she shakily rises back to standing while squaring off with the law man. He was bleeding to death, and she was now unsure of her legs. Her resolve is unbroken, her opinions of the man dulled with the sudden attack which she did view as cheap. Less like Kitana and what she valued and more it was something Mileena might have tried. Feigning injury and relying on deceit. Pathetic!

Bending at the waist she picks up the one fan that had fallen to the ground. It's like further punishing her body, the move was unnecessary, she had other conceled blades.

It's just right now, she wanted to show she was better than he was. No trick or concealed weapons. He'd die knowing that fact. There's no return barb, the accusation plays in her eyes and the disgust twisting her lips. He dared accuse her of a 'bad move'?

The bell begins to jingle in her hair so much it vibrates rapidly as she sweeps her fans around her body, swiping them both in Daniels direction despite the distance between them.@emitThe blue tornado of erupting all around him from under his feet, lifting him into the air helplessly as she snaps a fan closed and hurls the knife-mode dagger straight at him.

COMBATSYS: Kitana channels the strength of the killing fist.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/-<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2       [E] Kitana

COMBATSYS: Daniel channels the fortress of the steel will.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/-------|>>>>---\-------\0       [E] Kitana

COMBATSYS: Daniel just-defends Kitana's Disrespect!

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/-------|>>>>---\-------\0       [E] Kitana


[DANIEL]
Oh, -Kitana- might think that Daniel was feigning injury.

Daniel knows all too well that he might not be walking away from this fight alive... even if he is victorious. The Agent of Interpol was slowing down piece by piece by piece. His arm was still bleeding, his back was still bleeding. But the words still echo inside him.

I am not dead.

The mantra keeps Daniel going, as the life leaks from his body. As he stands fast, he just keeps his focus hard on the woman. As long as he kept going, as long as he had a direction, he would keep moving forward. Take in the details Daniel. She is injured badly; but she isn't done yet. Her blades are misleading, but she builds momentum, she works you over. Those are natural breasts, and those legs are umf. How could anyone not from earth have such and incredible figure. Maybe if Daniel could-

And he hears that jingle.

The fans sweep, as the woman surges back. Daniel Jack's own palm begins to burn red, as he adjusts his footwork ever so slightly. His attention was no longer on the content of his opponent, but the execution. The whirling chi comes, coursing through the fans, as the detective sweeps his hands in tandem. Orange chi mingles with blue as the force is met with equal force, meeting the assault with delicate but firm control. Daniel Jack could feel the full storm, but he leans in, pouring his own energy to ride it. Daniel Jack was just beginning to balance himself as he is sent up into the air. The dagger-like fan is sent straight for his throat...

And he snatches it out of the air.

Throwing it aside, he falls back to the ground, landing on both feet. The entire assault was negated, though not without incredible effort. Daniel Jack's aura was dying down, his hands were... were actually pretty numb right now. That was the last of Daniel's defense; with the blood loss still coming and Daniel slowing down more and more, the detective was off balanced. There was only one thing left to do, as Daniel Jack takes a step back in.

Go on offense.

"Listen, Princess," The detective begins, leading in with a surging palm strike with the left. "I'm dying right now. Actually dying." The palm strike follows up with a hand chop from the right, aiming squarely for the woman's neck. "Now, you've told me enough to tell me that your culture pretty much has a murder fetish, and that's okay... up to a point." A second hand chop comes, this time bringing a wave of orange chi into the slash. "Like, I understand two worlds and all that jazz, but let me be blunt, you dig?" A third slash comes, the hand chop giving away to a full forced slash.... and then a fourth slash. The close quarters chi slashs comes furiously now, as Daniel just keeps advancing and advancing... trying to drive her back to the wall. And what does Daniel say, bluntly?

"This is intolerable."

COMBATSYS: Kitana just-defends Daniel's Ragtime Riot!

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/------=|>>>>---\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
That was impossible!

The tornado should have ruined and spinning should have ruined any chance that he would have of such a perfect defense. That was- The bell that had been chiming and vibrating so loudly falls silent. Like it two were as equally shocked and lost for words.

This was no time to be impressed and leave herself open!

Crossing her body her open and empty palm collides with his forearm. Just in the nick of time, she turns that direct force just barely enough to avoid the direct hit. That palm grazes her side he continues to pressure her, backed right up against the wall in a literal sense. The jolt of agony running through her back just having the rock surface there to lightly impact against reads like an open book. She could barely move, a dying man fighting a girl with a broken back. Truly a story for the ages!

The hand chop is deflected and guided away with her free arm, the pair of them batting back and forth with the princess's complete focus on preventing that blow getting past her defences. When she does manage to deflect the fourth blow she snags and sweeps it away. It throws away his offense but also draws him closer.

He said that? This was intolerable?

"--It is not about death."

It was about nature. Life and death - food, sex and family or the society's people had built on those foundations. Strip away all the layers of society, law and rule and what was left were primal, foundational. Some tried to rise above that, others revelled in those indulging their freedoms.

It was about life. But he was not ready to hear and she decided in her heart that words would never reach him. This was not about their philosophies; she had made it about whose realm bred a stronger enforcer of the laws. The Emperors law, she wouldn't lose and let down her Father and her Emperor. The law man's thumb from the palm strike was entangled in the laces at the side of her dress, pulling it taut across her body and otherwise pinning and trapping her yet further. He was closer than she would have liked while her own arm was raised and still pushing against the hand chop above her other shoulder. The proximity was intimate; bodies close with the smell of her perfumes, his blood and their sweat lingering around them. It was far too close in her opinion, as her arm was still trembling with the effort it took to block those hand chops. There was also something about that facial hair that simply revolted her.

She vanishes right in form of him. A cloud of violet sparks as she appears to dematerialize; melting away and very briefly gone she reappears a dozen feet away, nearest one of the larger chunks of the lion statue she leans heavily against the fragment for support.

A full body twist as she winds up and hurls her sole remaining fan at him, with all the force she has left in her body imparted to it.

COMBATSYS: Kitana successfully hits Daniel with Regal Assault.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
Nothing was really impossible.

I mean, unless you mean eating the sun. Even then, Daniel might just need a long enough timeline. As the relentless assault comes out, the Agent of Interpol only found himself getting pretty close and comfortable instead. Daniel Jack might even consider it romanatic. Except he wasn't the kind of guy who finds blood and sweat sexy. Maybe she did, which was why she was getting too close.

Maybe she liked the mustache.

As she disappears, the detective pivots, not losing a step. The last fan is hurled out, and Daniel considers quickly if his hands could handle it. The answer was no. Daniel, growing more and more woozy from the dribbling blood, attempting ot slip around the final fan. But the gradual grinding so far has been too much, and has not ended either. The blade slices deep, leaving another open wound. Blood dribbles out as the detective continues to bleed out. How did he have so much blood? Daniel grits his teeth, he doesn't waste energy to grab it. No, Daniel doesn't even push forward. "Whatever. You tell yourself whatever you wanna tell yourself, you're attractive enough to get away with it. All I know is that only the lowest of lowlifes make people fight to the death." He stands fast, staring across at Kitana. Was he conceding the next move to the girl? No, his eyes said something out. He was focusing dead on, as he bled out. Focusing through the pain. Unfolding and breaking her every breath with his eyes.

"Though I guess nobody's making us fight to the death, are they?"

COMBATSYS: Daniel Jacks it up a notch!

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
Ten thousand years old, it was a long time even to her. Over a long enough time memories fade and she could recall almost none of her time as a child, all this time and she had never once lost, not to her targets nor her sister. There were plenty of opponents that she would have thought very carefully about facing.

As an Enforcer of the law it was always duty placed before her personal wants or her pride as a warrior. A foe too strong to fell personally was one that must be brought down with the gathered strength of the empire and with allies help and armies working together. The alliances between realms and races were fragile, requiring constant work. There were always problems and grievances. It was the Emperor's law and his strength which held all the various realms together.

Few dared oppose him; mostly the greedy, arrogant or stupid.

Staring at her so the Earthrealmer betrays his words with the look in his eyes. Threat and bloodlust was what she was reading, playing out ways to hurt or kill her in his head? He wanted to harm her certainly, but perhaps this was a Segway into the part where he pleads for his life. That happened fairly often when defences were penetrated or attempts to have her killed failed and the time to pronounce judgement came.

Give us mercy they would bleat, forgive us our sins, just one more chance, or another other chance! No-one believed that they needed to be judged or die for their transgressions.

"NGnn--You- speak of the Elder gods and their protections of your world. The fact the right to pass to your realm must be won fairly. Ten tournaments over a thousand years and your people have lost nine."

The Nine of Ten.

There was nothing here that wasn't fair. The stakes being life or death were simply the price demanded of the participants. Death was not a certainty but it had to be risked as the great leveller between all the competitors. They were the highest of the high, with seemingly little interest in the fate of the realms and more in the process of the Mortal Kombat. God's rules and entertainments, but law to a conquering empire like hers and her family.

He was wrong.

Kitana leans forward, turning the ruin of her balance and toppling into a torturously slow to build up run, her rubbery legs still felt like she was dragging them rather than they were propelling her forward so she has to rely on her numb and battered arms, swift jabs as she plunges in at him. Straights and crosses, knife, ridge hand and palm strikes she keeps them coming in a flurry of advancing strikes aiming for his face and the sides of his head. If she could find and exploit a gap she'd beat the living daylights out of him.

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Kitana's Rapid Jabs.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
"So is this the tenth, or did we get lucky one year?"

The detective, in the face of looming death, still did not turn down the chance to make conversation with this lady. The detective's defense still holds, if just barely. There was no gap he'd allow, no opening he'd leave open. His numb arms block and deflect, duck and weave. He was bleeding out still, he was falling apart. The longer he drew this out, the harder this was. He was well past his limit, but he was used to fighting there. Every fight ended up pushing him further and further.

Course, this might be his last.

As the last blow comes, the detective pushes for the counter attack. The move was swift, and unimpressive. A step in, a pivot, and a grab. The same thing that the detective had attempted so many times before. The target? Kitana's last arm, aiming to seize it before it pulls away. The goal? He would attempting to grab it by the arm and shoulder, and whip her down to the ground. And should he get her there? He would wrench, dislocating the arm at the elbow, popping it out. A precise, takedown move... that would finish with Daniel above her, keeping her in the armlock. He wouldn't release her.

He was going to finish this.

COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Kitana with Mad Jack Crack EX.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Daniel [E]       1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1       [E] Kitana

[KITANA]
Knees grounded against the cobblstone, the ensnared arm useless for everything but his inflicting large doses of pain and holding her in place. She has nowhere to run, no way to move. For a nimble assassin type like her it was looking grim. She didn't have a physique and strength that could rival her attacker, nothing she could do would pry his desperate grip from her arm. The dislocated and mangled mess held up behind he back twitches and spasms, the joint already bruising.

Instead of screaming the woman begins to slowly rise; he back, elbow and entire body protest but at this point... It's all willpower.

She cranes her neck around to glance back over a bare shoulder up at the Law man. Still composed despite the agony, she ratchets herself up another notch. Enough to get one knee up and suffer another bout of wracking and nauseating pain form the new torturous angle her arm was held at. Lifting herself high enough to raise her glossy long black hair from the dirt. More and further! Until she reaches the limit of what she can take.

"It may be -your last chance."

She may be fated to die here instead of him. A lesser heart might waver or lament her position. What she saw instead was equal opportunity; now that she was so close she had to remain so focused on victory. There was no other path to walk; no other outcome was acceptable or tolerable.

His red blood was falling in steady, heavy droplets, beating at her skin with a rhythmically in a cadence matched his racing heart. Blood which stained that expensive cloth and ran across her skin, the same blood travelling down his wrist and into his tight grip on her own lamed arm. It was perhaps his last chance to slay her, If he did, if that was her fate- perhaps then, hopefully he'd try saving his realm or even just realize all that was on the line in this sacred tourney.

She had seen his weak and complacent world and how little their laws were respected. That diseased, vice and crime ridden mess that was Metro City! A place ruled by violent and squabbling gangs without direction, education or hope for something better than they had today or yesterday. Peasant squabbling over power and prestige that would not last even a century.

It was endless, and their law failed those people, the weak and the strong. Not because their lawmen didn't have the strength. This man was proof of it; they simply didn't have the conviction to apply it appropriately.

Her deeply drawn breath is the first sign, she was readying to make some play. That mangled arm was something she'd sacrifice for victory; she wasn't a delicate flower that was sheltered against the wind. She was a petal that soared in the winds and fell only to race across the surface of the water.She considered the concealed blade, her fingers ached to just grab it and stab it into his knee, but that wasn't who she was; she wanted to show him the high path, no matter the cost.

She wouldn't fall to the Earthlrealm level. Even in death or causing her defeat and inevitable death, she would remain above them.

Her extended hand reaches out for one of the fallen fans, near a dozen feet away her reach seems futile, but the fan stirs of its own accord. A bound, a sluggish tumble and grating and then all of a sudden it flies to her waiting hand. It telegraphed, it did so big time! But the way she sweeps the arm back the knife is aimed right for his face while being willing to endure the pain in her other arm and sacrifice it?

Should he relax his hold even a second she can use the opportunity to teleport away behind him and stab that blade into the back of his skull with enough force to send him reeling forward, teleporting once again to his front to withdraw the blade and bring it up once again to viciously stab that naked blade into his face.

COMBATSYS: Daniel interrupts Truth Be Told from Kitana with Harlem Sunset EX.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Daniel [E]       0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0       [E] Kitana

[DANIEL]
Daniel didn't fight for the law because the law was good.

Interpol had showed, time and time again, how the law was not good. The corruption was only outpaced by the impotency. For every step he made, it was two steps back. Failure ran deep in the organization. Even his presence on this island was wrong; The Chief had abandoned him to death; General Zima had abandoned him to death. Death, death, death. Why would Daniel keep fighting? Why didn't Daniel just curl up and die?

Because there was something more than the law.

The law was just a means for good, for morality, for righteous. The law was just a tool to do the right thing, not the right ting in itself. The detective had a corrupt side, he knew that. He saw it every time he looked into those alien eyes of Fio Tessitore. He wasn't a Law Man. That term was wrong. He was Daniel Jack, ace detective. He stood for a lot. But he ultimately stood what he felt was right. And what this woman stood for?

It wasn't right.

As the breath comes in, the detective's aura shifts. Blood comes over her. It was lighter and lighter, the detective was almost too low. Death was hammering it's fists into the detective, trying to pull him away. The hand extends out, and Daniel sees it in the corner of his eye. He takes it in, and realizes that... it was coming for him. He could try and break away. He could release her, and deflect it. But in the depths of this battle, in the depths of his own flimsy grasp with mortality... that was it. That was it. The fan comes, cutting deep laceration against his cheek, tearing it open with a few teeth ripped from it. It hurt, it hurt so badly.

But he doesn't relax his hold for a second.

The cut comes, as Daniel Jack wrenches Kitana up to her feet. A palm strike with the left. A hand chop with the right. The combination returns a second time. Rising palm with the right, straight kick with the left leg. The combination comes as the detective bleeds and bleeds. At first he is dying. And then, halfway through the kick, he realizes that he is past that point. It was the dumpster all over again. He was, for all outside accounts, dead. The only thing keeping him alive right now was his resolve, his burning spirit, his conviction. A two more bursts of palm strikes come, one from each hand, drives her back.

And then he gets her against the wall.

The assault comes to a close as Daniel Jack makes every final hit count. A staggering palm strike is unleashed to the woman's sternum, with bone shattering force. A follow up hand chop comes, aiming square at the collarbone with equally shattering force. The final part comes as Daniel Jack reaches out to seize the woman by the same arm before. A -screwing- motion, as he wrenches it from the ball socket, twisting the limb from the elbow up backwards one way... and straightening it below the elbow, tearing the flesh rom the sheer force. It was precise brutality. It wouldn't kill her. He might be fighting for his life.

But he wouldn't fall to her level.

[KITANA]
This was what defeat felt like?

Pieces slowly shifted to click together in her head. It was as if she were viewing the situation from the outside but piecing together all of the sensations and emotions flooding through her.

It was artful. The way he was killing her, Such cruelty in breaking her body but at the same time he avoided striking vitals which would surely kill her.

Blood spills out of her lips though when she tries to speak though and despite having resolve enough to endure, her body will do nothing but pitch forward. She was completely hollowed out, emptied of any power it once had. Her body's core was smashed, as was her back. Her arm ruined so badly she found herself regretting not painting or playing more music with it, a wistful and meaningless regret.

Still hanging in his grip she can't help but slump. Lying there on the ground would have been the most comfortable place in existance.. The pain was finally fading and she could just close her eyes and it'd all be over. She couldn't let this stand as it was tough. Was this the kind of pain Mileena had to go through endlessly being pitted against her for all their ten thousand? Her one and only sister, she hoped Mileena was doing better than she was.

Not like this, lying in the dirt. She owed much more than that to her family, and her subjects. Who were watching her still right now.

Pushing herself up painfully slowly and with just one arm to use she, crookedly leaning hard on her free arm laboriously draws her legs forward and up lowering herself to kneel, Seated primly on her legs she looks every inch the princess she was. The powerless arm still brutally ensnared behind her back while her free hand comes to rest atop her thigh as thought she may be expecting to take her tea. The pain involved this tiny act of defiance was almost more than her body would bear, but not the millionth part what her spirit would even acknowledge as being able to stop her.

She had lost, there was a price for failure though she had never experienced it before. She had fallen at the first meaningful hurdle.

"M-agnificently done. ...You may now kill me."

She lowers her head in the most modest of bows and her still working arm combs her hair aside. Not a bow, or paying him the respect he was due. The Edenian princess was exposing her neck for the final blow and awaiting it. She did not doubt her path, her convictions were undamaged. She accepted the opponents right to kill her here and now. In this place, It was the rules of the tournament that prescribed law. Ones that governed the fate of countless men and women, of realms! Kings, paupers and princesses alike.

COMBATSYS: Kitana takes no action.

[                       \\\\\\\  <
Daniel [E]       0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Kitana can no longer fight.

[                       \\\\\\\  <
Daniel [E]       0/-------/---====|

[DANIEL]
He would have hated to have seen the X-Ray on this.

The aftermath of the final wrench comes as Daniel just keeps his hold. There was no break away, no retreat. He held the woman's twisted limb, the mangled arm in his hands as he forces her to the ground. It was a pin. And then, as he stares down with glowering eyes, he realized what she was doing, what position she was moving in.

He may kill her now.

The detective stares into the woman, and can feel his palm pull at him. The gem was calling to him. Compelling him. Life for a life. Death for a death. The only reason he was living was because he was assuring she would die. The weight around him comes heavy. If he killed her, he would get her power. And he would live, he would endure. The whole planet would endure. 9 out of 10. This would be the one that matters, all because of Daniel. If he backed down now, then.... then he would die by another. Or by her. Or by-

"No."

Daniel doesn't just let go, he almost throws her down. The surge of battle fades from him, as death crawls. "I'm Daniel Little, Agent of Interpol." The detective states, crossing his arms. It wasn't just an intimidation factor. It was the enduring stance of Master Todoh, that keeps his center clear. Daniel Jack couldn't let himself lose that resolve for a second, or he would literally die right now. "Let me be the first to welcome you, Princess, to my Earthrealm. I believe that there can be peace between us, without violence." The detective slumps a bit at the knee, but straightens himself up... and fails. The detective drifts over, and over, and it looks like... he feels like passing out...

"And I am not dead yet."

The detective flares with orange energy, the force boiling over his body. Orange floods over him, from him, in him. He did not need blood, for the energy of the earth was his blood. Daniel Jack looks down at the Princess, eyes burning, everything burning. ANd he shakes his head. "I told you, I would not kill you. And it will take more than a tournament, or a gem, to make me do otherwise. And don't you dare start with this honor shit; I follow my honor, not yours." And Daniel Jack turns away, to take his seat at the bench before. He would need to sit down, before he could stand up again. He needed to meditate.

He would need to work hard to make himself not a liar.

COMBATSYS: Daniel burns with the WAY of TODOH!

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Daniel [E]       0/-------/--=====|

[KITANA]
The princess is mystified by this behaviour. She now properly knew his name and a title which had no real meaning but was one she would easily commit to memory. A man who defeated her and yet spared her life, there was only one of those. His unfathomable reasoning was suitable for an alien being who followed no code she knew of or had ever had explained, everything he said or did was odd.

He brutalized her body, cruel and torturous moves that ended well short of their ability to kill, but were in many ways worse. Someone crippled so was destroyed beyond measure and then forced to vainly scrabble or beg for existence. She wasn't in the slightest intimidated by him, he was a contradiction; A lawman who showed no respect for or acceptance of it. A martial artist who appeared at times goofy and never beautiful, One whose speciality was in hurting and crippling those in his protectorate. A man who would not kill even the greatest threats his world had ever seen.

She had faced more impressive foes and yet this one stood out and above as the most memorable.

Either she was unable to see the reason by which she was defeated or there wasn't one for her to see. She begins to sit up once again from where he'd thrown her down. This Daniel Little had power enough to break an Outworld Princess, the most tempered and refined of jewels in all the realms. She was prepared to give her life for their cause and what she believed in, the fact he was initially accepting of death without showing he was serious. He had disturbed her, after she had taken and spent the time trying to impart the knowledge of the gains and losses inherent to the tournament, the larger picture.

He still chose to spare her despite all he could win and would lose. Intolerable man!

She had no knowledge of or respect for his Master or style and thought the stance seemingly ridiculous, especially when he could barely stand. The display of his power and threat was meaningless, she was not cowed and she shows it. He had neither grace, nor tact and clearly no understanding of how difficult it was to live putting principle and reputation, the lives of others ahead of yourself and what you wanted.

She speaks only when she has watched him walk away. In a voice that could never reach him she just looks after him piteously. If she had just one wish, she hoped that she would not be responsible for future grief in killing someone he cared about. The was some measure of debt between them now though it was one that must be swallowed and hurt her pride instead of repaid.

"And that is why -- you will fail."

Kneeling there in the dirt and waiting for the servants that were hastening from the castle to her side to whisk her away to the healers. She would be healed, readied for the next round of this tournament. She would be there! and she would fight to the death for her realm. Against his friends and comrades. She hoped he would not come to grieve and regret his decision, it would change a man like him. Someone without cause greater than themselves. She still lived also, an ancient maiden of pure purpose with her blood blackened hands. If he could not make himself stop one such as she; his world would be doomed without Outworlds law and law bringers. Re-educated, he might have risen amongst them.

His realm marched steadily toward its own destruction because of good, unprincipled and cowardly men like him. "Technologies" that were a magic that could scorch the earth and render it uninhabitable waste, invisible and uncontrollable weapons that killed thousands with sickness and burns. If he believed in that world still, he should have killed her when he had the chance.

Not welcomed her to Earth.

Log created on 01:44:18 09/13/2016 by Kitana, and last modified on 03:30:13 09/26/2016.