Match of the Millennium

Description: After sacking the Southpoint Canine Lab, the Ikari Warriors have a list, and a lead. With a data share with Zach Glenn, the Ikari Warriors have found that the likely location of one of the Unknown Gears lays in the Dark Woods outside of Southtown. Leading the investigation further is Faolan, taking point on this winding trail. While many mercenaries refuse to enter those woods, one volunteer slinks forward. The mysterious Fumiyo promises she has a lead on what lays within the forest, and she will help Faolan through them. But neither Faolan and Fumiyo can prepare when a lone figure emerges to intercept them, for purposes only known to him.

[FAOLAN]
A ninja.....how in the world did this even happen?

Faolan thought it a joke when he was told it would be a ninja he would be working with him this time around. Pretty much ninja and school girls are the natural enemy to the Ikari so whatever is going on must be pretty serious if Heidern is willing to be working with one. That or everything Ralf taught Faolan is a lie. A big dirty lie.

"So you know where we are going right? Lead the way," he motions for Fumiyo to take the point. Hopefully it isn't a lie and he isn't going to be lost in the woods for a long time....with a ninja. This could be very dark times indeed.

[FUMIYO]
Fumiyo had showed up in a camoflage print camisole top and a pair of shorts down low enough to make strong indications as to her waxing habits.

She is totally not a school girl. However, her school girl half-sibling is probably going to be way more popular in future editions of Match of the Millenium, because gamers like that kind of thing.

"No, I thought I'd lure you into the woods for a yokai to kill," she had said sourly. (Fumiyo is still not over having washed out in the first round of King of Fighters. This is going to be a thing for the immediate future, as defined as 'the 21st century'.)

Fumiyo then smirks a little. "I'll show you where we're going," she says as her hips sway on her way into the woods. She moves with a steady regularity that is easy to look straight at. "But I don't know if it's what you're looking for, big boy. There's strange things out here in the woods, you know... Things are contracting, what with everything. It's not the first time stuff like this has happened, and sometimes mystery's just a common thing everyone forgot about..."

Where did she - oh, no, she's still there, she j ust passed on the other side of a young paulownia tree. "Do you know what this reminds me of? Twin Peaks. My mom loved it; she had videotapes, even. I watched it with her... it made me think about mysteries, a lot of the time. You and your buddies must be very curious, with the kind of payment I've been hearing about..."

[SOL BADGUY]
The forest known as the Dark Woods very quickly lives up to its name. Though the sun was still high overhead when the pair of investigators plunged into its borders, the daylight very quickly diminishes in strength until only the most scant of illumination penetrates the massive interlocking canopy of heavy leaves and branches overhead. It makes even basic passage slow and trecherous without some sort of artificial light. Hopefully they remembered to pack their camping basics.

Despite the somewhat creepy darkness atmosphere, the sounds of nature remain present as they delve deeper into the woods. Birds sing, insects chirp, the occasional squirrel scampers about in the leaves. It lacks the ominous atmosphere that might otherwise set the instincts of professional danger-seekers on high alert. It's just really dark.

Unfortunately, the trip is not a short one. Even after several hours of walking through the near darkness along a dusty path that might be little more than a game trail all either of them have found along its length are the massive roots of ancient trees and a life-time supply of pinecones. The rumors had indicated that it led towards some small forgotten village or perhaps an old collection of shacks, though no one had been completely confident about that. But one thing is for sure, there have several rumors of strange figures vanishing into the forest and this is the best lead they've got.

[FAOLAN]
The Ikari Warrior lets out a light tch. "I think I would almost prefer fighting whatever that is. Demon or something isn't it?" he asks and reaches up to idly adjust his hat. Well if anything at least his partner is easy on the eyes, but at the same time he isn't letting himself be too distracted. She is still a ninja in the end so he has to be on his toes in case she wants to pull something tricky.

"Never watched it. David Lynch stuff right? Only seen uh...what is it.....Eraserhead. I was like eight and I didn't sleep for weeks." he says with a shake of his head. His gaze moves about the forest to make sure nothing dangerous might be watching him and the ninja make their way through the forest proper.

"And I have no idea fully what we are looking for. I just know Interpol apparently wants it and we had a run in with one of their worst." Ugh, good thing Zach and Bob were there for that one. He isn't too sure one on one he would have had any sort of chance of taking on Sergei and probably would be all locked up.

"And in this case it isn't about the money for us. We aren't exactly the typical mercs. We are making sure whatever this is put away in a safe place so it can't be used for destructive purposes."

[FUMIYO]
"Yokai is kind of like a demon, but not really," Fumiyo says.

"Twin Peaks wasn't scary at all! It was a lot like home," Fumiyo says then as the woods gently enclose you. "Like I had a weird home, to be fair, but I found it really soft and easy to get behind. I wanted to be like Audrey when I grew up. I guess I kind of got there."

The forest scrolls by. "Hah! The cops. Who did you have to deal with?" Fumiyo asks.

A squirrel does something cute on a rock. "Why don't you just destroy it, then?" Fumiyo asks, looking over her shoulder, which is good because her candy-red lipstick - which she is wearing into the woods on a ninja mission - makes her pop and she was getting far enough away from the Ikari Warrior that he might have lost sight of her. She pauses to let him catch up. "Like if you put all this weird shit in a warehouse, then someone just has to rob the warehouse and like, then they can conquer Japan or something."

Forward motion resumes.

"Anyway, I'm talking since we're alone and I don't want you to lose track of me, so I'm going to tell you why I was so into Audrey Horne - first of all, like, I don't like blondes much? I know that's a thing in America but Audrey felt way more real to me."

...

"Josie didn't seem like she was really Chinese, like, not mainland, to me, but she was actually from Hong Kong, right? That barely counts," Fumiyo says, with /casual discrimination./

...

"So like, a lot of what makes Agent Cooper so /sexy/ is that he /doesn't/ fuck you, you know? I mean Audrey. Like that makes him something you want because you can't have it. Desire is weird that way, huh?"

...

"So I tried to find the right kind of pantyhose but you'd have to order that shit from overseas and I was like, OK, maybe I don't want to cosplay like a giant nerd just for fun here. Of course later I got funding but that's for special purpose things."

...

"Anyway, the place I've heard about might have been like a squatter settlement, or just some old shacks that got overgrown enough that they didn't fall apart. So don't touch up on things when we get there, right? Even if there aren't any yokai it might have, like, snakes or bugs or wild dogs in them."

...

"You know, you're easy to talk to? I don't get that around guys. Usually around guys, I'm not just being myself. Hold on, I have to scratch my ass."

...

"These shorts are kind of riding up. Do guys get that? I know you don't usu-"

Fumiyo stops talking. Blessed silence.

"I think I heard something," she says a moment later. "Just hang loose for a moment."

[SOL BADGUY]
As distracted as they are in the darkness, chattering away at each other like a pair school children, its unlikely the two would notice the figure leaning up against the trunk of one of the massive trees not but a few dozen feet ahead of them as they rounded one of the many bends in the twisted path. There is a subtle hint of motion, a faint shifting of the shadows as it moves slightly, perhaps offering a brief instant of warning to the trained perceptions of the two hunters. If not, they'd get a pretty rude awakening as the spark of open flame erupted to life before them accompanied by the unmistakble sound of an old-fashioned lighter being flicked open.

In the darkness the tiny flame is almost blindingly bright, their eyes having adapted to the low-light surroundings, leaving their mysterious interloper shrouded in a blurry silhouette for several seconds as they try to adjust. Its is a man, or atleast, appears to be one, judging by the stocky muscular outline that he casts in the glow. The man lifts the flame up to his face, touching it to the end of a fresh cigarette for a few brief moments that cast his rugged features in sharp golden relief before he snaps the lighter closed once more. For a few long moments, only the glowing tip of the freshly lit embers remain visible, flitting slowly about in the darkness like some sort of will-o-the-wisp as the stranger takes a drag from the butt and steps into the road to face them.

"Hrmph. Figured it wouldn't be too long before someone stuck their nose where it doesn't belong."

Sol lets out a long exasperated sigh. Those useless old idiots never could figure out what proper encryption looked like. If he'd been the one running that place, the whole thing woulda burned down the moment it looked like something had gone wrong. Then again, their incompetance is half the reason why he's even still alive, so he can't complain too much. It does mean he has to clean up their messes from time to time, however.

Lifting an empty hand up at his side, Sol calls forth a burst of energy from the air around him, conjuring a ball of boiling fire into his cupped palm. It was a simple application of Magic Particle Physics, the twisting of one's personal energy into a new form. Plenty of other people could do something similar around the world, manifesting their 'chi', as it was often referred to. Parlour tricks. What he holds in his hand is true sorcery, the stuff of old legends and video games.

The fireball lights up the area much as the lighter had, only about a hundred times worse, practically bringing daylight back to the forest in an instant. He casually tosses it up into the air where it hovers lazily a dozen or so feet over his head, high enough to be out of the way without threatening to start a forest fire amongst the leaves.

"Sorry, kids. This road is closed." He leans forward and throws a large sword, its stabby end oddly squared, into the soft earth at his feet. With a grin, he puts his fists one into the one, cracking knuckles with a disturbing array of snaps and pops. "Didn't you see the No Trespassing sign?"

[FAOLAN]
This is not what Faolan was expecting. Weren't ninja supposed to be all quiet and mysterious? Why couldn't they have sent someone like Whip instead? Those two could have chatted away all night. Then again he supposes he answered his own question when thinking on it. Nothing would get done. Clark, they could have sent Clark. The Irishman doesn't know if he wants to strangle Fumiyo or himself at this point. "Uh, yeah. I don't think I ever got to worry about wearing shorts like yours." he finally says in reply. He has mostly been silent to try and keep himself sane by thinking of things he likes.

Then she offers silence. Sweet sweet silence. Though it is only for a moment and it seems that both the Ikari and ninja are not alone. That flame flickers to life and he squints a bit when trying to make out who is standing not too far from them. Intelligence reports did mention there could be trouble, but damned if it said who or what kind of trouble. It seems Faolan is about to find out.

The hand holding his bata tighten's its grip and the Ikari Warrior furrows his brow. It is an impressive trick, but Faolan has seen some crazy stuff over the years working for the Ikari so he isn't in awe like he might have been when first recruited. "Yeah? Fancy that. I never was good at following rules and such. Patron Saint of Bad Decisions and all." he says dryly in response. He looks to ready himself instead buddy boy decides to toss that nice ball of fire at him while also trying to get an idea of where Fumiyo is right now. Hopefully she is as good at fighting as she is at chatting because things seem like they are about to get dangerous.

[FUMIYO]
Snap! The smell of a fresh cigarette is uniquely pleasant, even if the rest of it isn't. It's a mystery science has yet to solve. When Fumiyo smells that unique piquant fragrance, her nose wrinkles, and she answers Sol, even after he gathers his manifestation and raises it into the air -

"Uh -"

Well, that wasn't the most eloquent of last words. She sweeps a hand through her hair, finally looking back towards Faolan, who has not, thankfully, been eaten by a snake or a burakumin during their journey inwards. He speaks up. Her lips press to a thin red slit as she takes a step to the left and...

Vanishes? She just moved sort of behind a tree.

This is not entirely correct. Fumiyo is very good at shimmying up long straight things (such as gutters, such as the gutter that description might put YOUR MIND INTO) and she is nearly ten feet in the air before the tree has time to really rustle. Reaching an actual high branch, she shifts herself round fluidly and crouches there, looking down her nose at the Badguy.

"No," she says, feeling much more confident now that she's in the air, sort of.

"Hey, is that your rate on your belt buckle?" Fumiyo then says, leaning backwards and draping from the tree branch. She points with one hand. The rest of her body is poised for a rushing attack, and the evasion, perhaps, thereof.

[SOL BADGUY]
"Kid," Sol says, his eyes narrowing slightly, the cocky grin on his face fading to a weary scowl as he stares down Faolan. "You have no idea."

The mercenary's head twists slightly as one of the pair darts off in that annoying way that ninja always seem capable of. To a regular Joe, her antics might seem pretty impressive, but Sol is all sorts of cooler than that guy, so he responds to the scampering ninja harlot in much the same way he might any random woman propositioning him on the street, failing to give her more than a passing sideways glance.

"There's nothing in this life worth having that's free. So no."

Like the savage beating he's about to give them. That's going to come at the price of some pride and pain, but it'll be good for them. Builds character. There's so few people who have that these days and he's definately not seeing it in this pair of mouthy punks.

Well, he pretty much expected this but that doesn't make it any less annoying. Leaning down, the well-toned man grabs the hilt of his odd blade and pulls it from the ground, holding the thing in an odd reverse grip that keeps it pointed down at his side parralel to his legs. He eyes his opponents again and puffs on the cigarette nonchalantly.

"Well, let's get this over with."

As soon as the words have left his mouth, Sol bursts into motion with the same suddeness as the flame he conjured. He crouches slightly and leaps forward, body spinning as he pivots his hips to bring one leg up and over in a crushing axe kick aimed at Faolan's thick skull. If words don't get through it, his feet might do the trick. The ninja he'll deal with when she comes at him, which shouldn't take long now that he's turned his back on her.

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sol Badguy       0/-------/------=|

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Fumiyo

COMBATSYS: Faolan has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Faolan blocks Sol Badguy's Bandit Revolver.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                  |=------\-------\0           Faolan

[FAOLAN]
Well if it says anything Faolan doesn't seem intimidated. He probably wouldn't be an Ikari if he let stuff like 'random weirdo in the forest' make him give up on a mission easily. He lets Fumiyo do her own thing and keeps his focus on Sol. For all he knows the ninja might just scamper off and leave him and there is little he can do to stop her. Even more so when Sol is moving into action and coming right towards him.

Upwards Sol leaps and he looks to deliver that kick, but instead of the thick skull of Faolan it hits the hard wood of the bata the Ikari wields. A normal staff would probably break under the sheer force, but somehow the bata holds without even getting cracks along it. Of course it helps that the energy he is feeding into it, the black chi crackling from along his arm and swirling along the length of the bata.

The impact is still enough to make Faolan stumble a bit. His arm aches from the impact, but given the alternative it could have been far worse. The retaliation isn't really anything fancy. If anything it is probably right up Sol's alley in the fact Faolan just looks to step forward once the man is grounded and just give him a nice headbutt followed up by an attempt to swing the bata about and hit the other man behind the knees and take his legs ou from under him.

[FUMIYO]
Over with, Fumiyo thinks, even as her meal ticket gets charged by this unfamiliar man. She can't spot his power, she can't feel his 'chi' exactly, but he's still showing signs of great strength - how great? She can't tell. She's not exactly that kind of ninja.

But he goes straight towards Faolan, who is immediately counter-engaging with him with a big stick. As the two men work their woods and pound each other, Fumiyo does not try to put herself in the middle - having two big men on either side isn't always a bad idea, but not today. She slides down her tree-based perch and lets herself hang downwards, swinging forwards to try to slap Sol on the back.

What good is that going to do?

Well, it makes her feel better. Maybe she can feel the M U S C L E that Sol is rocking. He is in fact a very well developed man in at least one primary way. But no: Her true goal is shown in the ripple of the red snakes on her bare skin, which probably were the least weird thing about her from Faolan's perspective.

The toxic, dismal touch - like the aftermath of smoking too many cigarettes, like a hangover, like a bad shot of bootleg liquor or a shot of something that the dealer somehow contaminated - arcs outwards. Can the power of BADGUY endure it?

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy just-defends Faolan's Celtic Crush!

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                  |-------\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy fails to interrupt Will You Endure It? from Fumiyo with Sidewinder.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                  |-------\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
Sol is also a rather simple man, atleast when it comes to getting things done. He's not a tricky fighter, he doesn't strike with finesse or grace, but he can slug it out with the best of them. Faolan's stubborn skull finds itself impacting with that of his target, but instead of recoiling from the blow, Sol meets the headbutt with one of his own. The two of them stand face to face, mano-a-mano, for a few brief instants, the grizzled old merc grinning around his cigarette at his opponent until Faolan steps back and brings his baton around.

The stick meets the side of his leg with a loud thwap but fails to connect with the intended target of his knees, instead striking the beefy slabs of meat that are Sol's thighs with about as much effect as the first blow. Whoever this guy is, he's clearly a tough customer.

Before the man can retaliate, however, he hears the rustle of leaves and whirls about, already preparing to deal with the girl sneaking up on him from behind. Ninja are pretty predictable like that. Unfortunately, he didn't actually expect her to still be in the damn trees which throws his aim off slightly, the fiery uppercut he'd planned to drive into her chin going slightly wide even as she reaches down to brush his exposed arm with her poisonous touch.

"Nrgh..."

Sol grunts as the mystical snake-thing bites into his flesh, grimacing slightly at the burning poison that flows into his body. Well, that's a new one.

[FAOLAN]
BONK!

The two hard heads clash and neither man seem affected by it. Faolan only steps back because he is taking that swing only for the bata to about have the same effect as his headbutt did. Well if not for nothing these missions Heidern has been sending him on has shown that there are several people that are just as sturdy as an Ikari Warrior. It also just makes Faolan realize he just needs to hit things harder

The plus side is if anything he served as a distraction and Fumiyo had not abandoned him. And unlike Faolan she seems to have at least found an opening while at the same to avoiding what looked like what could have been a very painful, fiery uppercut from Sol.

And with him just momentarily distracted it might be best to keep up the pressure. He can only hope where it is two of them they can overwhelm this guy much the way Faolan and Bob did with Sergei. It may not have worked the first time, but the bata is swung again. This time raised high and brought downwards onto the right shoulder of Sol with quite a bit of force.

[FUMIYO]
Laying her hot little hands on the back of Sol Badguy is a good step one, Fumiyo - what's step two and three? Maybe they could run away, she thinks as she pulls herself upwards by raw core strength, even as the two men clash their heads together in a forceful impact normally only seen in the warrior-buddies of legendary Mars!

That's what Fumiyo thinks, anyway.

FUN FACT: Fumiyo was mostly home schooled other than being placed in a high school for "encounter training." She has largely learned about the world outside of Japan from the Internet. OTHER FUN FACT: Ninja elders don't have good plausibility checks.

Pulling herself upright, Fumiyo weighs her options. The flame that the man produces is going to cause issues in this forest, moist as it may be, so she should perhaps not just hang out in this tree and watch Faolan get beaten to death. She thus lets herself fall a half yard or so, catches herself on the branch -

Does a nice flourishing loop that nearly leads to her flopping out of her top -

And concludes with a perfect dismount, her slithering snake-tattoos gathering on her bare legs and calves as she descends to aim a double-feeted (footed?) donkey kick at the back of Sol's neck! After which she aims to spring loose and roll into the underbrush.

On her belly.

Like a UNITED STATES OF AMERICA G.I., or "rabbit."

COMBATSYS: Faolan successfully hits Sol Badguy with Medium Strike.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                  |-------\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy blocks Fumiyo's Are Feet Your Thing?.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////   ]
                                  |-------\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
The burly mercenary lets out a dull grunt as the pair of attackers come at him from multiple angles. The damn ninja gets out of her tree but seems to think that Sol's back is some sort of springboard to soften her landing. While is quite broad and attractive, he disagrees on its use.

Tilting slightly to the side, he raises his left arm, intercepting the powerful drop kick on the hard surface of his bicep instead of his spine. The woman's feet leave a pair of dirty imprints on the muscle but other than that her attack doesn't seem to do much at all. Well, that's not entirely true, it distracts him long enough for Faolan to land a somewhat more direct hit on their target.

The rod smashes against Sol's shoulder and he grunts again, his posture stooping slightly under the force of the blow, but whatever sliver of stature he might have lost in that moment he regains almost instantly. Snapping upwards with a sudden hard swing of his torso, the red-clad stranger brings his rectangular blade up and around in a spinning arc that cleaves through the air that both Faolan and Fumiyo occupy, tracing a blazing path of fire and steel that threatens to clobber the both of them and clear out some breathing room.

"Damn... freakin impatient kids, wait your turn!"

COMBATSYS: Faolan Toughs Out Sol Badguy's Fireseal!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  //////////////////////        ]
                                  |======-\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo dodges Sol Badguy's Fireseal.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  //////////////////////        ]
                                  |======-\-------\0           Faolan

[FAOLAN]
Funny thing about Faolan. He isn't very good at getting out of the way of things. Speed has never been his jam so often he has learned to deal with close quarters combat in his own way. Is it healthy? Oh hell no, but sometimes it works.

That sword comes about and Faolan doesn't even flinch. He isn't trying to impress anyone, but more this is often the only way he knows how to handle things. He shifts and uses the bata to an extent to deflect the steel. How the sword doesn't cleave the wood is pretty impressive. At the same time the wood doesn't do so well at blocking the flame. Hair gets nicely singed and the Ikari Warrior's clothing does as well.

Heh, whatever. Calling me a kid I will just call you old man, old man." he tells Sol and just looks to jam the end of his bata into the stomach of Sol then looks to hook the end of the bata in one of the belts Sol wears to keep him from pulling away. If this guy wants close combat he gets it!"

[FUMIYO]
"For what, getting beat up? I don't even know why you wanna stop this place so bad!" says Fumiyo, ungrammatically, even as the mighty arm of Sol Badguy comes up and she rebounds off that instead of his neck. She does two somersaults in the air before her landing and its belly-flop afterwards.

"Like, do you want to explain, or would that damage the mystique? Because--"

That fire comes out faster than the Hadouken that ended her dreams of King of Fighters gold. Fumiyo's eyes barely have time to widen.

And yet: She's drilled, THANKS to Ryu, who comes up even here in a place and time when he's probably on the other side of an ocean. Fumiyo rolls four times to the side, the burst of flame hitting the underbrush she had been planning to push her way through in order to stall, let Sol forget she was there, and then.. something something... probably feel him up.

Shoving herself up in a swift kip, Fumiyo finds herself in a pickle. She is within the reach of Sol's sword, and if she turns and runs he is almost certainly going to carve her into giblets. What's the safe move here? (Safety is not a primary concern for her, but her job was to take Faolan into the forest, not protect him from all this BS. She hasn't yet succeeded, but...)

Exhaling with great force she dips low and aims to sweep the leg at Sol even as Faolan goes for a punch. Ha ha! Combination attack! What are you gonna do about it, old man!? Fumiyo thinks.

Probably explode in fire and kill us, Fumiyo decides, nodding slightly to herself. That checks out.

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy Toughs Out Faolan's Saying Hello!

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                  |======-\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy just-defends Fumiyo's Light Kick!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                  |======-\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
Sol's stomach, as it turns out, is made of the same stuff as the rest of him; which is to say, hard chiseled stone, if their current efforts are to be used as a reference. The end of the baton thuds dully into his abdomen, failing to even earn a grunt of annoyance in response this time. Completely ignoring Faolan for the moment, the merc turns and whips his blade up to catch the kick coming at him from behind on the flat of its hefty bulk, throwing it into the ground like a spear to create a backstop that completely divests the sweep of any power or momentum.

"There are some things you are just better off not knowing," he offers by way of response, frowning down at the girl.

His free hand shoots out, thrusting forward in an attempt to throttle Faolan as he tries to get fancy with that stick of his, holding him off atleast long enough to dig his toe under the guard of Fireseal and kick it up into the air where he can snatch it once more. He whirls in the process, likely taking Faolan for a ride since he thought attaching himself to Sol was a good idea, and brings the flat of the sword around at Fumiyo from behind, aiming a wide paddling strike at her exposed rear end.

"Now get off my lawn, punks!"

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy successfully hits Faolan with Medium Throw.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>>>>>>>\>------\1           Faolan

[FAOLAN]
Well okay, he keeps Sol where he is. At least for a moment. Now all he has to do is "Hrk!" Get grabbed by the throat. The grip is pretty damn tight to boot and Faolan starts to reach up with one hand looking ready to pry it away.

He doesn't goet a chance to do so. He gets to go on a nice ride that finally allows Sol some breathing room as the Ikari Warrior goes tumbling away. "Heh, you aren't really making me want to walk away at this point. Tough guy and all which is cool. Probably work for some seedy organization wanting to do dumb things with whatever it is. That kind of means I am required to try and stop that from happening." he explains as he gets back to his feat. Yeah he is looking a bit worse for wear. The landing wasn't a good one and he looks to have rolled through some barbed or thorny vegetation from the scratches. The vine attached to his hat pretty much confirms it.

He isn't quick to rush back in. In fact he holds his ground as he raises his bata and holds it as if it was a sword with both hands. The energy he wields crackles about like electricity as the black chi snakes along his arms and onto the bata where it starts to turn black itself from the sheer amount of energy being focused into it. Upwards Faolan raises. "Hey ninja girl. Get that big butt of yours moving." He calls out in case the sword doesn't knock her away. He then swings downwards and unleashes a large arcing blast of that black energy right towards Sol looking to bowl him right over and give him a nice big electrical shock in the process.

[FUMIYO]
Fumiyo

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy successfully hits Fumiyo with Random Strike.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Sol Badguy       1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>------\-------\0           Faolan

Fumiyo answers Sol by poking out her tongue, which may or may not be pierced; there isn't really enough time to determine this because Sol immediately gets to throttling Faolan and pre-empting efforts to get beaten off.

"Then I guess the only answer is to show you our convictions, and -"

Fumiyo is cut off when Sol smashes her with a massive, near-visible "SPANK!" Her eyes widen as she is given this show of extreme correction; there is some jiggle, if less than might be expected. She stands up suddenly on the balls of her feet and resists the urge to clutch at her bruised backside.

BARELY.

Especially when Faolan talks about it. Her expression darkens and she answers him by throwing herself forwards at Sol - not normally a great move - but she has a purpose, wrapping herself round to try and more formally sweep the leg and tangle him up, throw him to the ground - a swordsman can't sword as well if he's been hurled into the tick-laden ground, right?

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy barely endures Faolan's Black Friday Rule EX.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Sol Badguy       1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>------\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Fumiyo with Volcanic Viper.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Sol Badguy       1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>------\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
"Believe want you want. End of the day, it isn't gonna matter what you think."

Sol's never been much for banter. Nor for charity, for that matter. This little throw down was his attempt to be nice and keep a couple of idiots from walking blind into a world of hurt they couldn't possible be prepared for likely at the request of someone higher up the food chain who is equally clueless and thus willing to let their soldiers walk into the nightmare that lies beyond him. However, his patience for this game is starting to run thin. He'd been using kid gloves thus far but if these bozos are going to persist in trying their luck, well, they're in for a rude awakening.

The sudden build up of electricity causes Sol's eyes to narrow in instictive reaction. He has a rather long history of dealing with someone who uses that kind of fighting style and if there's one thing he's learned in his various skirmishes with the Divine Order commander, it's that the best way to handle a little shock is to take it on the chin and push right through. Sol spits the cigarette in his mouth onto the ground and quickly grits his teeth, flexing his muscles in a preemptive brace against the muscle-clenching jolt so that when it hits him dead in the chest it doesn't have a lot to work with in regards to the usual spams that come along with it. Spiderwebs of crackling static dance across his exterior in intricate tendrils but they vanish mere moments later as he calls up fire from within once more shattering the lingering burst of energy with one of his own.

Rather than attempt a rather futile effort to close the gap between himself and the younger man while under the effects of this momentary paralysis, Sol instead turns to focus on what he knows is going to be a brief window of opportunity for the weird snake woman to take a jab at him from behind. The fire condenses into his fist as he shakes off the last traces of the electric burst and he whirls to aim another conflagration of magic and fist at her in order to dissuade such attempts.

However, it would seem she chose her timing well, either through skill or simple luck, as his reactions are just the slightest bit too slow to intercept her rushing dive before she can entangle him with her efforts. The momentum of his attack becomes a traitorous fulcrum that aids her in sweeping him off balance and the merc goes crashing to the ground with a dull thud and a growl.

[FAOLAN]
"Tch, whatever buddy."

Faolan decides not too really mince words anymore and just try his best to take care of business. Sergei was a tough customer, but this guy seems to even be on another level beyond that. It makes the Ikari Warrior feel both tense and excited at the same time. A challenge that might be getting him in over his head but he really doesn't care. The way Sol manages to handle that powerful blast that Faolan has used to mow over multiple enemies at once and recovers quickly enough to almost ruin Fumiyo's day shows just high pain tolerance to go with that bad attitude.

There is little else Faolan can do but keep chopping away. If anything he will just serve as a distraction so Fumiyo can either keep getting her strikes in or maybe even move on to where the prize is....or whatever it is Sol is adamant about not letting them see. The Irishman is quick to move towards Sol when he hits the ground and that bata is swung upwards then right down at the man's torso. There isn't really a weak spot from the looks of it so it is best to just keep hammering away at one he figures.

[FUMIYO]
The STONE COLD words of SOL BADGUY do not prevail against the brutal DESTRUCICITY of Fumiyo frankly getting kind of lucky and running in at the exact right time to entangle the larger man. It helps that he's far from the first older man she's tangled up in her career as a ninja.

Yeah!! Go her!! She tumbles away from Faolan as he starts getting his beat on, and -- is that what she was supposed to do?

To Fumiyo, her job is to take Faolan to this mysterious site so he can take his creepypasta pictures and upload them to his blog so he can get some trickle of ad revenue money and Kuma can steal his identity. (Fumiyo does not fully understand the internet, but she has been warned about Kuma.)

He's still beating up Sol.

"Look, pal, you can just bail and let us go," Fumiyo tries to say to the back of Sol or possibly to the devil that lives in Sol's headband, but she trails off, perhaps sensing it won't work. She can't reason with a man with that much muscular definition.

But what she can do is:

At the worst possible moment, Fumiyo flattens her front against Sol's back. There is more of that rippling feeling, that sense of a bad queasy hangover, the feeling of one too many drinks. (Unless he shrugs it off, obviously.) After this Fumiyo aims to lightly drape her arms around Sol's waist, hopefully not getting her wrists broken by Faolan in the process.

"Come on~"

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy blocks Faolan's Fierce Strike.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Sol Badguy       1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>------\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy blocks Fumiyo's Are You Enjoying It?.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Sol Badguy       1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ////////////////              ]
                                  |>------\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
"Have it your way, punks."

He'd tried to be nice. Despite knowing what a waste of time it was, he'd tried. Well, this will be a fresh lesson to keep in mind about what happens when he does nice things for idiots. Now it's time to get down to business.

Faolan's weapon meets the side of his blade rather than the chiseled but exposed meaty center of his abdomen, his beefy arms twisting about to interpose the blade over himself. In impact rattles his bones a bit but it's not even something that registers on his pain meter. Even on the ground, Sol seems quite capable of defending himself with raw stubbornness and grit.

The merc rolls in the grass and dried leaves onto his front and starts to stand, only to have the slinky half-dressed ninja try to give him another one of those snake roofies. Not this time. He growls and thrusts an elbow back into her gut, dislodging the woman before whatever mischief she has planned can come to fruition, pushing himself to an upright stance in the process.

Sol whirls around, his expression twisted into a great big scowl. The fist clasped around the hilt of his weapon tightens audibly, the worn supple leather creaking under the strain of his grip. He eyes the pair of them in turn, his focused gaze shifting back and forth underneath the overhang of the large metal band on his forehead. They had their warning. Now they'd get the fire.

"Tyrant....Wave!"

That baffling sudden declaration proves to the window through which the two foolish mercenaries would receive a brief glimpse of Hell. Sol swings his blade forward, gripping the hefty weapon with both hands as the underhand swing brings it up over his head, dislodging quite possibly the largest fireball they have or ever will see in their entire lives. Nearly twice the size of the man himself, the raging inferno tears through the air like a comet to the space just between Faolan and Fumiyo before it detonates into an even more massive conflagration.

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy successfully hits Faolan with Tyrant Rave ver.Alpha.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                  |=======\-------\1           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy successfully hits Fumiyo with Tyrant Rave ver.Alpha.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1           Fumiyo
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                  |=======\-------\1           Faolan

[FAOLAN]
If anything Sol should know Faolan is too stubborn to go away. It is a trait he shares with the older man and it is something that probably won't go away any time soon. Is he perhaps as bitter and tough? Well give him several years and that could be a resounding yes, but the young Ikari Warrior hasn't been totally jaded. Mostly because many of his days are spent being drunk or doing dumb stuff. Speaking of dumb stuff.

**********

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO.

Faolan is training and got a really bad idea. "Ralf I need you to hit me as hard as you can. I want to try something!" The result was bad and Fao spent the next few days with a nice concussion.

**********

And for a moment Faolan gets a bit of a grin. As he sees that fireball begin to form and them tear through the air. Oh he has an idea. He knows just what he is going to-OHSHITTOOFAST!

While Faolan had an idea, he didn't have the time to put it in motion and he just tries to hunker down as he gets engulfed in flame and bowled the hell over.

Smoke is coming off of him and he stirs a bit. His hair singed and skin blackened in place. The smell? Well probably bad to most people. Delicious to others. "Hnngngngngngngn." He doesn't say much else. He is lucky to even move. A few staggered steps and then a short dash. Screw it. There is nothing special about his attack. It is just really a man on his last leg swinging the other leg upwards to kick Sol right in the junk.

[FUMIYO]
The elbow bump against her abdomen is something Fumiyo is used to; she rides it up into a hop back, raising her arms up into a defensive posture even as she thinks: I'm totally clear of that sword. This is going to be

fwack-CHOOM

Fumiyo doesn't think of anything as she goes flying back into the underbrush, her clothing on fire. There is a lot of rustling as she lands, as if to extinguish the Immoral Flame that seeks to make her be scandalously nude, here in the forest.

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO

"You know, Fumiyo, dear -"
"Yeah?" Fumiyo says, sipping a juice box for that extra questionable lifestyle decision (she remains resolutely 23 years old).
"If you work hard, you can make anything vulgar, can't you?"
"That's what she said," Fumiyo replies.

NOW

Fumiyo doesn't immediately leap back into the fray. Maybe she's already abandoned Faolan to his fate of extreme Badguyening.

(This is not the case; she is sliding quietly through the brush, having abandoned her smouldering top. She has no desire to mention this to Sol, because he just nearly blew her up like an extra-spicy Italian sausage in the microwave.)

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo focuses on her next action.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1           Fumiyo
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=======\-------\0           Faolan

COMBATSYS: Faolan successfully hits Sol Badguy with Jig Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1           Fumiyo
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=======\-------\1           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
He warned them.

Upon unleashing his displeasure at their refusal to take his advice and get lost, Sol slowly lowers his weapon and remains standing where he is. He watches silently as Faolan struggles to his feet. The woman has vanished into the trees, probably planning some more ninja bullshit, but it's just as likely having her ass set on fire made her reconsider some life choices. Either way, he'll find out soon enough.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the merc hefts his blade up and rests it on one shoulder, shaking his head. Why do young punks always have to do things the hard way? He opens his mouth to posit this deep and philosphical musing to one of those aforementioned young punks, however, in that brief moment during which he averted his gaze it would seem that Faolan has made yet another poor life choice.

The kick swings hard and true, landing with a dull thud into the meaty crevice beteen Sol's legs. His eyes bulge out slightly for a moment or two as the sudden shock of fresh pain fires up through his neurons and into his brain, exploding like a lightning bolt. Slowly, his mouth slides shut once more. A shadow darkens his face, the bright crackling flame still hovering in the air casting a shadow over his eyes as the man stares down at Faolan with a expression carved out of stone.

He says nothing. He simply draws his fist back and slugs the man. Fires of pure justice flare to life around that fist, a heat almost on par with that of the miniature nuke that Sol had just detonated searing away at the impurity of Faolan's wretched soul.

There are just some things you don't do.

COMBATSYS: Faolan reflects Bandit Bringer from Sol Badguy with Screaming at the Wailing Wall EX.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1           Fumiyo
                                  >  /////                         ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0           Faolan

[FAOLAN]
Faolan has been known to make bad life choices. He jokes his title is The Patron Saint of Bad Choices. Things like trying to headbutt a tank only to get run over by it. Oddly that seems not so bad compared to what he is dealing with in this bad guy he and Fumiyo are fighting.

And if the ninja needs time to figure out what to do next it looks like the Ikari Warrior is doing well in buying her as much time as she needs. He stumbles back and tries to get his footing. A bit of a dumb grin on his face as he is sort of squinting out of one eye. He knows he is in trouble, but damned if he cares at this point. This guy probably things he is some pushover and while he isn't on par with some of the better known Ikari he be damned if he isn't going down without a propper scrap.

And even when that fist comes at him he grins. His bata being raised as it crackles to life. Black energy surging through it as he swings the staff quickly and almost creating a shield like barrier that actually stops the punch and stops the flames from touching Faolan and instead seems to just seem to make the flames shoot back and lick at the wielder. "Don't care who you are, buddy. Tough ass bastard that is for sure, but you think an Ikari Warrior is just gonna lay down. Now stop fooling around and come at me."

[FUMIYO]
And Fumiyo...

... does not emerge, probably having stopped dead in the underbrush when she heard Faolan say 'stop fooling around' to the guy with the massive lethal death sword. There is a significant rustle over towards a tree, and in its shadow, Fumiyo palms her face and turns her head. She takes a moment further to judge her best line of approach, but...

Well: She's a guide, not a bodyguard. Perhaps Faolan is going to manage it on his own, she reasons, heroically.

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo gains composure.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1           Fumiyo
                                  >  /////                         ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0           Faolan

[SOL BADGUY]
The strange shield stops Sol's righteous punch cold but the flames that writhe away from that barrier do little more than scorch his stony features, perhaps unwilling or unable to cause any real harm. Seeing that his effort has been thwarted, the merc withdraws his fist - and then immediately slams it forward again. Whatever that barrier is, he's yet to encounter something that couldn't be beat down with enough persistance and Sol is nothing if not agonizingly tenacious.

"You bought yourself another few seconds, punk. Enjoy them."

COMBATSYS: Faolan fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Sol Badguy with One for the Road.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1           Fumiyo

COMBATSYS: Faolan can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1           Fumiyo

[FAOLAN]
A few more seconds. Those might not be a big deal in the case of Faolan. Someone like Sol can see the Ikari is easily about ready to just fall over from exhaustion. He is just too much of a bonehead to go down.

Luckily Sol is here to help him with that whole standing up problem he is showing. The barrier of energy he erected is fading quickly and if anything just saved him from dealing with one punch only for one more to come right at him. The bonus is this one is much less evil and firey.

He steps forward and looks to drive the bata forward and plant it into Sol, but his movements are too slow and that fist slams right into the Irishman's face and stops whatever he was looking to do dead in its tracks.

He gives a sputter of blood from where lip was busted open and probably his jaw broken from impact. He tries to keep standing, but it just ends up being too much punishment.

Finally he goes down as he falls straight backwards and stares upwards at the sky a moment. He mumbles something incoherently and conciousness fades. It looks like Fumiyo is on her own now.""

[FUMIYO]
Faolan's last fading moments before he embraces the warm milk-soft realms of DEATH are graced by the sight of a blistered topless woman running out from behind a tree.

Yes: Fumiyo has used the fact that Faolan makes decisions with his staff and not always a carefully honed tactical calculator to her advantage. Inwardly she thinks, he's going to rip me apart if this doesn't work, but what choice does she have? The man spotted them - he has fire power - this is a forest. His chi might not 'burn' normally, but if he ignites the forest, not only will he probably burn down whatever-the-Hell they're looking for -

He'll also kill the most important person in the world to Fumiyo!

(Guess who that is.)

Either way Fumiyo moves with swift silence until she strikes, her left hand blurring as she ducks low and tumbles forwards - three sharp blows at kidney-level and at a nerve cluster on Sol's back, an elbow aimed at his liver, her forehead slammed into his solar plexus -

The snakes on her skin have whirled up, making her face seem inhuman and monstrous for fleeting moments, her hands red from more than the blisters of the Immoral Flame. The poison in her veins, in her very essence, guides her strikes - the sharp sting of agony rather than the slow writhe of corruption.

Fumiyo is efficient and silent as she does this; to herself, she thinks, especially when her head is at about Sol's waist level: 'this would be way easier if he wasn't all dressed up.'

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy barely endures Fumiyo's Extermination Maiden.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Sol Badguy       1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0           Fumiyo

[SOL BADGUY]
There isn't really any pleasure to be gained as Sol punches the clock of the first of his troublesome visitors. The guy was stubborn, which normally he'd have a bit of respect for, but in this case that hard head of his was going to get him killed if he went wandering off much deeper into the forest. He'll spend some time healing but he'll be alive. That's all the mercy he has to offer at this point.

A soft crackling of dry leaves is the first warning that Sol gets that the second of the Two Stooges has returned. As is the way of such despicable creatures, the ninja hurls herself at him from behind, attempting to take advantage of the brief distraction that her partner's defeat had created. The large man grunts as her blows hammer away at his torso, an experience that would much resemble attempting to pummel the side of a cliff into submission. Still, her speed is enough to get in several solid hits before he turns and slams his own meaty knuckle-sandwhich directly into her face.

Fire once more rises up to engulf the man's hand, turning his simple straight punch into a fiery meteor. It proves to be only the prelude to the true attacks, however. Moments after the first strike, his other hand comes up, the hard steel of Fireseal engulfed in a conflagration of blazing red magic that explodes into a world of hurt as he slams it towards the girl, turning the weapon sideways to create a horizontal wall of fiery destruction.

"Take a hint!"

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy successfully hits Fumiyo with Tyrant Rave ver.Beta.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1           Fumiyo

[FUMIYO]
Fumiyo is horrified. Her thoughts are something like: 'He doesn't have any pressure points?! What is he -- no -- it's just that --'

"It's too hard!!!" Fumiyo declares aloud. A fitting epitaph for the Jatani clan.

The blade screams. The snakes on Fumiyo's body writhe. Sol Badguy has seen the most activity out of them as anyone else - even Ryu "It's King Of Fighters Not Queen Of Fighters" Fightergoinghisownway-Lastnameunknown did not draw this much of Fumiyo's training, her subtle and occult ways.

But there's only so much you can do about a bursting flame.

"Iyaaah!!" She tries to leap backwards - and it means that when the Tyrant Rave hits her, she goes FLYING.

About three seconds later there's two loud snaps, a huge rustle of tree tops, and a couple of extremely startled chipmunks. Fumiyo's leg is visible, and there isn't much blood... But...

Well: Sol is left alone on the field, in spirit if not in factual organic precision.

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo takes no action.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Fumiyo can no longer fight.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sol Badguy       0/-------/---====|

[SOL BADGUY]
Sol slowly lowers his weapon, gritting his teeth at the various injuries inflicted upon him. None of them were serious, mostly a lot of bruises, but it was a lot more than a couple of punks should have been able to manage. Whatever, the job is done. The monstrosity that lurks in the woods won't be feasting on any clueless idiots today. Nothing really stopping them from coming back with more, but hey, that's not really his problem anymore. Contract fullfilled.

Digging around in his pockets, he draws a crumpled pack of cigarettes out and stuffs one into his mouth, replacing the one discarded earlier in the scuffle. He lights it up nonchalantly and takes a long drag, staring out into the woods to make sure neither one of them are playing possum. He stands there for almost ten minutes, burning the cigarette slowly down to its butt. When it is finally expended, he flicks it to the ground and grinds it out with the heel of a boot, turning to march off down the long winding trail.

The orb of flame that he had conjured for light winks out with his departure casting the woods back into darkness. A new light springs to life soon after, a small rectangular glow that anyone in the modern world would recognize quickly. Sol thumbs a number into the touchpad of the cellphone, holding it up to his ear while the digital ring sounds repeatedly. Eventually, there is a click and a gruff voice on the other end.

"Job's done," he says. "Couple of people came poking around like you suspected. I convinced them to take the night off. Whatever happens from here is your problem."

COMBATSYS: Sol Badguy has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:44:37 09/16/2017 by Sol Badguy, and last modified on 13:57:30 09/26/2017.