Match of the Millennium

Description: Urien--and the Illuminati--have achieved their goals. Now all that remains... is cleaning up. The simplest way to achieve that is to let the would-be hunters come to Urien. With his trusty(?) secretary, Kolin, at his side, the Iron Tyrant waits for the ninjas and heroes of justice to crush themselves against the iron wall of his indomitable willpower and savagery.

[URIEN]
Right now, Urien is not in a position where he even slightly cares about the current state of things. Within the United Nations building, at the apex office, he is settled reclining in a chair. Both feet are settled on the grandiose wooden furniture, arms crossed before his broad chest. A number of televisions are showing the chaos, from the views of Justice and her Gears from afar to the riots on the street. Radios play countless bands from police, military, and intercepted communication from the likes of the Zaibatsu and Tekken Force. "What a farce... I wanted the United Nations to crumple like a house of cards, Kolin, but this is just rich. To think they'd send the Gears like this!! Hahahaha. And what the hell happened to you? You mentioned an intruder and come back with your ass kicked? Tch. At least look PRESENTABLE for me..." He plucks up a 1,000 dollar bottle of wine and begins to guzzle it. There's little security of note in the building, easily avoided by any ninja of acclaim. Tom Abel, as he's known, is the last remaining United Nations representative in Japan. Interrogating him would offer incredible amounts of information on what is going on and how to stop it... if, that is, one can manage...

[KOLIN]
Kolin is indeed banged up, bandaged and looking, well, sore. Urien goes on his rant and she just stands there, frowning slightly, like it's her natural expression. "So your intent is to let the United Nations collapse?" Hmm. Well, it would be a loss for the Illuminati, but it wasn't the Illuminati that ordered the Gears out, so... at mention of her injuries, she inclines her head.

"I did indeed mention an intruder. He was quite tenacious. I believe you will, most likely, be seeing him yourself someday soon. But, perhaps, not during this conflict..." Ninjas. So tenacious, so secretive. And Kolin hurts, because Guy hurts, and she hasn't forgotten that pain yet. She hasn't forgotten, and yet she's here anyways... as a special favor to Gill? Or merely because this is Illuminati business.

[MAI]
Mai Shiranui has had a difficult few months. Her stint in the King of Fighters was diastrously short despite her best efforts, but that was only the beginning. Japan is now on the brink, threatened by the the UN's Gears because of Heihachi's hubris. Of course, Mai has no love lost for either Violet Systems or the Zaibatsu...but she has to defend her homeland.

To this end, she has joined into a sort of ninja alliance. The plan was simple enough -- she and Guy split up to draw off Tom Abel's security while she went to interrogate the man himself. They were to meet up here for the interrogation, but...

Mai, clad in her usual shinobi garb, crashes through the door in a flash of fiery chi, having slipped past the secretive ninja techniques of the Shiranui Clan.

"Tom Abel!" she shouts, "I'm here looking for answers!" She glances to Kolin, and sees no sign of Guy. Mai takes a back step.

"Hrgh," Mai says, "I think we may be on our own here..."

[CHIPP]
A figure, lesser known in the fighting scene around Southtown, rushes into the office behind his temporary ally, Mai Shiranui. The American ninja and former-addict, Chipp Zanuff, clad in his white pants and black top, curves blade attached to the back of his right forearm.

Recognizing Mai as the superior fighter, he'd sought her out when it appeared clear that the Ninja forces were entirely unprepared for the full force of the United Nations... it just wasn't enough.

With any luck, they'll change that in one fell sweep, by taking out one of the major power players within the United Nations: Tom Abel. His visage betrays none of the anxiety he's feeling; in fact, he looks almost amused with the situation.

"Looks like it," he whispers theatrically to Mai in response to her question, before taking one step forward and pointing dramatically, "That's right, answers! Time to answer for your crimes, chump!"

[URIEN]
"The United Nations won't go under from this. Our goal's twofold right now. The more they are shrunk, the more we can take control when they come back to power. And also, this Novus Orbis Librarium... heheh. They've made the Illuminati some rather interesting offers I think we'd do well to consider, in exchange for some power of their own..."

A moment later, the door bursts open. The man settled in the chair is indeed none other than Tom Abel, but beside him is his mussed-up borrowed secretary. Little is known about the combative strength of Urien, only that he's supposedly not mundane and incredibly dangerous. Thus why three strong individuals were sent to deal with him. That only two made it could make things far more complex...

"Waging war on the United Nations, are you? That's bold. Well, well. They want answers. Alright!! Kolin, bring us some coffee." Urien draws his feet from the desk, and grins broadly before slamming his hands upon the wooden top. His physique is far too well-built for a diplomat, and his essence and aura... dangerous, like a tightly coiled snake ready to spring in the moments.

"Lay it on me. What do you want to know?"

[KOLIN]
"Mm," replies Kolin, neutrally. Of course the Illuminati is always wheeling and dealing, that's just the way things are. The way things -go-. Introduce a tendril of power, insinuate a way in to the organization, subsume it or destroy it as necessary. Pick up the pieces and add them to the list. The way the Illuminati have operated for some time. But further dialogue is cut short by the door bursting open.

The 'secretary' purses her lips just the slightest amount at Urien's request for coffee; she makes a show of glancing about the room, then replies, her voice cool as frost and dry as a Siberian winter morning, "It seems we neglected to add a coffeemaker." Turning, she tests herself with the motion. She's feeling... fragile, but operable.

"I don't believe our guests are here merely to talk, 'Mr. Abel'," she says, maintaining that ruse for the moment. "I believe they want something else. Possibly your head..."

[MAI]
Mai glances toward Chipp, and his enthusiasm seems to renew her courage. "That's right!" Mai says. She dips her hand into her cleavage, pulling out a fan and pointing it at Tom Abel.

"What is the UN after in Japan! This feels more like an invasion than a manhunt! Did Lee Chaolan take something of yours?" She asks, bending into her bouncy, bobbing fighting stance with his fan held down in front of her.

"That's right," Mai says, "you've got a lot more to answer for than just some little Q&A session!"

[CHIPP]
"We aren't the ones who started this, Abel!" comes the shouted reply, almost immediately, from the remarkably hot-headed American ninja. He's always been uncharacteristically tempermental for a trained student of ninjitsu... but it's hardly surprising coming from a man once consumed by drugs and crime, who only survived the years because he found something ELSE to focus his passions on.

Pushing past Mai as he takes another step into the room, one index finger is pointed straight at the man seated behind his desk in an accusing manner. "But you're damned sure we're gonna finish it; now, are you going to keep up this /act/? Or are you going to face us like a /man/!? Not that I'd expect such from your kind!"

After he finishes his rant, the man presses his hands together - index and middle finger held upwards and palms pressed. His long, curved blade glimmers dangerously in the light of the office.

Tom Abel might have all the time in the world for games, but Chipp Zanuff has never had the greatest of attention spans. He wants to end this, NOW, before anyone else gets hurt in the madness unfolding across Japan.

[URIEN]
"Well, whatever gave you the impression I was in some position of power? I'm just a diplomat. I might know a thing or two, but having me answer to anything. That's just pretentious." Urien pushes to his feet then, chair squeaking backwards. He seems far too amused with the current events. "What's this really about? Proper ninja don't work for free. Is it money? Give me a number, and I'll triple it. Just name it." He slowly moves to walk around the edge of the desk, rolling his shoulders as a hand adjusts his tie.

"Alternatively, I'll kill you both. Really, doesn't matter to me. Writing a check just wastes less of my time...!" He grins wickedly at that, before reaching up with his thumb. He rubs above his forehead, clearing away prosthetic makeup to reveal a strange crimson gem...

[KOLIN]
Kolin watches all this impassively. Of course it's going to come down to a fight--with Urien, it -always- comes down to a fight. His brutally violent tendencies give him such power, not just physical power but the menace that such power engenders, and he's good at using that menace as a tool and a weapon. But sometimes it seems to be the only tool in the box for him. What does get a reaction from her is Urien revealing the crimson gem in his forehead. She stirs, discarding the various little bits she was using to support her injured body.

Is he actually going to use it? For real? Should she -warn- these two what they're in for? Haha, no. She'd never do that. They aren't her allies, and in any case, their lives, individually, don't mean much to her. As Urien shifts his posture from taunting to menacing, she slides her right foot forward, turning her left a little, and raises gloved hands, clearly taking a combat stance of her own.

She doesn't, honestly, know how much she can give--Gill already gave her orders not to strain herself TOO badly, aiding Urien--but she is obligated to help.

[MAI]
Mai seems to actually redden. Is she embarrassed? Angry?

"Do I look like some cheap floozy that can be bought off?! I'm here on a mission!" Oh, that's definitely anger. "I'm not some mercenary who can just be bought off!" When the gem is revealed, it catches Mai's eye. Is that some sort of modification? She knew there was something fishy about him...

"All right then! We're getting those answers one way or another!" Mai says, flicking her wrist forward. The fan she was holding is hurled like a shuriken, unfurling and whizzing through the air toward Urien. She jumps back as she does, puling another fan from her top.

And under her breath, she speaks to Chipp. "I think he's pretty serious," she says, "There's something about that gem. I think he might be enhanced somehow..." Mai says coolly. "And the blonde is tough if she got past Guy...keep your guard up."

COMBATSYS: Mai has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Chipp has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Chipp            0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Mai

COMBATSYS: Mai has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mai              0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chipp

COMBATSYS: Urien has joined the fight here as a boss!

                               URIEN                                
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                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mai              0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0            Chipp

COMBATSYS: Chipp has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                               URIEN                                
  [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Chipp            0/-------/------=|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/-------|

[CHIPP]
"Y.. you think we can be bought off?!?" comes the shocked and offended shout from the mouth of Chipp, his eyebrows rising up in anger at the very thought. He frowns heavily, teeth grinding together as he shoots a glance at the female ninja standing besides him. "I'd /rather/ die!"

"Mai?" he half-whispers, then looks back towards Tom Abel with another pointed finger directly at him, "Let's do this!"

Of course, the more-experience ninja is already hurling one of her dangerously sharp fans towards the UN official - Chipp offering her an impressed glance. Nice to see somebody as passionate about the mission as he himself is - too many of his fellow ninjas are too inscurtable, too calm.. in Chipp's mind, it's always been a weakness.

"Don't worry, we got this!" he says confidently - perhaps mistakenly so - in response to Mai's concern regarding the man's strange gem. And of course, he shoots Kolin a newfound glance of respect - hearing that /she/ managed to defeat the Legendary ninja Guy...

Well, it might not be the brightest idea, but the American ninja begins to rush across the length of the office... but oddly enough, he's not charging at the primary target...

He's veering off in Kolin's direction, aiming to dash past her and slice along her midsection with that curved forearm blade as he rushes.

"So, you beat Guy, huh? Let's see how you do against me!"

COMBATSYS: Kolin has joined the fight here.

                               URIEN                                
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                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Chipp            0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Kolin
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Urien blocks Mai's Kachosen.

                               URIEN                                
  [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------------===                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Chipp            0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Kolin
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/-------|

[URIEN]
"Yes, you look like a cheap floozy." Urien immediately responds, no hesitation at all to the comment. Although when she pulls out a fan and then hurtles it towards Urien, he just kind of looks at it. It then smacks him right in the face, jerking his head to the side. A moment later it clatters to the floor at his feet. The extremely dense and weight projectile has a /dent/ where it slugged Urien, a ripple of strangely dark aura fading afterwards. "What the hell was that?" ...That was a legitimate attack. Mai flinging that weapon at full force could break a normal fighter's arm, if they hit cleanly. That absolutely proves that Urien is anything but normal.

"The gem, though? Sure... let me SHOW YOU..." His arms spread out, before the gem shines bright. Purple energy roars upwards in a great pillar, and the room suddenly is suffused with monumental chi. All of the windows blow out in a spray of glass, as it seems Urien's form grows heavier and heavier. His suit disintegrates to show only a loincloth, newly bare feet sinking into the paneled wooden floor an inch with an abrupt crack and increasing groan. Muscles bulge out as a dark bronze aura shimmers to harden his skin, the same as when he deflected her projectile, and it finally reaches his fingers and toes. Hair goes dark white as it finishes, lightning crackling across his form.

"Let's see if you're as fun as the last band of would-be killers who got in my WAY!!" Urien then rushes forward, surprisingly fast for his size and density. His right arm rears back, before he unleashes a brutal forward punch, aiming to sock Mai right in her legendarily toned belly with intense force!!

COMBATSYS: Urien successfully hits Mai with Aggressive Strike.
Glancing Blow

                               URIEN                                
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                 0|---------------|---------======                


[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Chipp            0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Kolin
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: Kolin blocks Chipp's Alpha Blade.

                               URIEN                                
  [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|---------======                


[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Chipp            0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Kolin
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/----===|

[KOLIN]
Kolin smiles a little. It's not smug, because Guy did give her a hell of a beating before falling off, but she -did- beat him. And she's still feeling it. "Da," she replies, letting her Russian accent really come into play, as the swift ninja rushes her down. That blade is no joke, even if she thinks Chipp might be, so she dances away from it as best as she can--between her injuries and his speed, she manages to reduce the slashing cut across her midsection to a shallow slice cut out of a forearm. It looks nastier than it is, but the bright silver pain helps keep Kolin's head clear.

She pivots as the ninja man runs past her, then gestures, flinging an icy mass up into the air. Momentarily, it solidifies into a jagged chunk of ice, or at least that's what it looks like, and then begins speeding towards Chipp. It doesn't look natural or move in a way that is at all natural, and the slight glimmer of a frosty aura around Kolin's gloved fingertips would tell the tale even if it weren't obvious.

COMBATSYS: Chipp blocks Kolin's Hailstorm.

                               URIEN                                
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                 0|---------------|---------======                


[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Chipp            0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Kolin
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/----===|

[MAI]
Mai inhales, puffing her cheeks out slightly when Urien insults her further. In his defense, at least, she suggsted it. The fan proves ineffective against Urien's thick skin, and that confirms Mai's suspicions--unfortunately for her. Her hand slips back to adjust her tabbard as she shifts her footing, watching Urien as all the windows shatter around them. The question not of /who/ Urien is, but what, has crossed her mind.

But she can't dwell on it before he's barreling down with a powerful punch toward her midsection. Mai sidesteps, her tabi grinding against the polished floor as she turns out of the way. The punch clips her side rather than hitting her full on, but she still feels like it hit her hard enough to crack a rib. She staggers away from it with a hop, holding her side as she does.

But Mai doesn't bide her time before a counterattack. She snaps her fan down in a sharp downward strike, aiming to smash it again Urien's head--or against his guard, as the case may be.

"I didn't know UN diplomats were their own bodyguards. Is this part of a budget cut?"

COMBATSYS: Urien fails to interrupt Sayo Chidori from Mai with Anger Snap Fist.

                               URIEN                                
  [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|----------=====                


[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Chipp            0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Kolin
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/---====|

[URIEN]
Sliding a foot, Urien flows fluidly into another assault with his free hand. Mai can see that he's not pure brawn; he has countless training and honed instincts burned into the core of his being. His fist whirls upwards, and superior speed is the primary reason that her weapon slams into his face. She manages to writhe around the brutal strike, but it would have felt like she just slugged a solid piece of steel. There was no give, like one might expect. And she may have ended up damaging another one of her fans in the attempt. Urien bowed slightly away and shifted his stance, gaining a small mark above his eyebrow. "I felt that. Just a little, though. You've got proper moves, though... Looks like they didn't go too cheap on trying to take me down." His toothy grin stretches all the wider.

[CHIPP]
Chipp certainly doesn't seem surprised when Kolin moves with such speed; if she managed to defeat Guy, she is clearly nothing to be trifled with. His eyes simply narrow ever-so-slightly in concentration. His blade bites into her forearm rather than the intended slash across her midsection, and the man continues rushing past her.

It's only his well-honed senses that save him from the attack that follows, the woman unleashes a jagged blast of ice towards him just as he dashes past her... he continues to run towards the nearest wall, then leaps onto it, springing backwards and slicing through the icy projectile with his forearm-blade.

Though the chunks of ice still wound his forearm as they shatter and spray as a result of the cult, Chipp narrows his eyes as his wall-jump carries him back towards Kolin's position with great quickness.

"Hya!" he shouts as he completes the leap - aiming to land on Kolin's shoulders with his legs coming down on either side of his neck. He attempts to use this position, if he's able to reach it, to slash against her neck with his blade, before leaping back away in a graceful backflip.

COMBATSYS: Kolin counters Genrou Zan from Chipp with Frost Catch EX.

                               URIEN                                
  [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|----------=====                


[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Chipp            1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Kolin
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/---====|

[KOLIN]
Chipp seems to, well... have a chip on his shoulder, about Guy. Do all these ninjas know each other? A ninja secret society? How would they know if their members were attending meetings? Kolin is already setting herself to receive Chipp's next charge, tuning her mindset to account for extreme speed. Granted, she just fought Guy, so she doesn't have to do too much to adjust for Chipp's style. Primarily she keeps an eye on that arm blade. It's unusual, but clearly vicious, and as a cut she's already received tells, definitely a weapon of war.

Kolin's response to the ninja is pure Systema; she already showed off her cryokinetic abilities, a blessing from Gill, but this? This comes from her homeland. It's a change of stance, a slight lowering, sinking her center of gravity a few crucial inches downward, blue eyes watching that leap, calculating... timing. And, at just the right possible time, a sweep of her arms. Surprisingly strong hands stop Chipp cold, Kolin gripping his ankles, and a trick of movement, a shift of her body and a twist of her shoulders, redirects all of that momentum--and adds some of her own--as she pivots and just... just hurls Chipp into the floor of the room, face-first if possible. Straightforward, brutal, efficient. The hallmarks of the other Russian-designed fighting system.

[MAI]
Mai seems to have been expecting a collapse from the fan strike. When the fan smashes into an unflinching opponent--and even takes damage in the process--her eyes widen with surprise. Rather than dwell on it, Mai's body moves on trained reflex, hopping backward away from Urien again. She discards the fan with a sweep and draws another from her top. She spreads her feet wide again, hunching slightly in a stance like a coiled spring.

Mai sways in place, staying mobile to make her next move harder to predict.

"I figure you might be hard-headed about your decision, but I didn't expect it to be so literal," Mai says with bravado. "So is this," Mai gestures at her forehead, "is a bit of a fashion statement. Not sure why you were trying so hard to hide it!"

And then Mai sprints low, snapping her fan in between her teeth as she rushes toward Urien. She leaps up in close range, stepping toward his abdomen to try and step-kick off up off his iron body, using it for leverage for a jump and flip away. She curls if she does, her tabbard whipping around as she flies back and onto the desk in a three-point stance.

[CHIPP]
Chipp leaps towards Kolin, using the momentum from his kick off the wall to propel himself... directly into a trap from the Russian Illuminati member. He'd overestimated his own abilities, or underestimated hers... even as wounded as she might still be from the fight with Guy, her training and instincts are sharp enough to predict the lightning-quick assault from Chipp.

No doubt it doesn't help that she'd already faced down a superior ninja, her senses no doubt attuned to the increased speed of much quicker man... Zanuff will just have to push himself all the harder - the man has been through all that life could throw at a street criminal, and he managed to survive and rise above /that/.

He'll never give up; especially not when the stakes are this high. And not with a fellow ninja standing fighting beside him, relying on the American to take Kolin out as soon as possible, so that they might both focus their attentions on 'Tom Abel' - the man bearing the mysterious gemstone in his forehead.

His ankles are gripped in a shockingly powerful grip from the Russian women, and with worrying ease his motion is twisted. His assault is turned, with little effort, and he is slammed downwards into the floor face-first - his nose bloodying on the hard tile as his head bounces back up from the impact.

Once his legs are released, he manages to roll forward into a kneeling stance - a backflip lands him on his feet, and a quick heel-turn about face brings his eyes back on Kolin...

"So, you're quick, huh!?" he asks, his voice bizarrely confident for a man whose face just met the ground with sickening force, blood still flowing from his busted nose - but with the same look of determination on his face.

"Let's see how you handle this!"

He shouts out as he dashes back towards the woman - he doesn't spare a glance to the fight between Urien and Mai, all his focus on disabling the Russian as quickly as possible...

This goal in mind, he slashes back out as her midsection in a passing dash - the blade imbued with chi-energy that crackles and burns...

...if the strike connects, there's an immediate follow-up dash from behind, slashing her again, repeating the process again until he's back in front of the woman... and then, he finishes the combo with an upwards vertical slash, accompanied by a pulsing bolt of energy.

COMBATSYS: Urien blocks Mai's Random Strike.

                               URIEN                                
  [       ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|---------======                


[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Chipp            0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0            Kolin
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/---====|

[URIEN]
While Chipp and Kolin clash with genuine ferocity, a badly wounded secretary and a passionate ninja with an earnest drive to succeed, Urien is quite the opposite. Mai would feel from the very first fling of her whirling fan that he's not particularly been trying. There's a heavy air of arrogance wafting off him at the moment. If he's truly a powerful individual however, this is likely precisely what the ninja might want. Allow him to underestimate and pull his punches, until she's wrapped the noose tightly around his neck...!

"Do you like it? It's not for sale." Mai digs her feet into the firm trenches of perfect abs, and her vicious backflip smacks into his forearm. The moment she lands however, a shadow looms above. Urien has violently leaped forward, rearing back his entire body like a whip. With a roar he then unleashes a brutal headbutt, trying to smack directly into Mai's face before she can finish settling herself into a properly evasive position. "Ooh! I think I just saw a glimpse of paradise...!!"

COMBATSYS: Urien knocks away Mai with Dangerous Headbutt.
- Power hit! -

                               URIEN                                
  [       ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-----==========                


[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Chipp            0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0            Kolin
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Chipp successfully hits Kolin with Zansei Rouga.

                               URIEN                                
  [       ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|-----==========                


[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Chipp            0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Kolin
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              1/-----==/=======|

[KOLIN]
Speed is not Kolin's forte, particularly. Foresight, planning, and execution are her watchwords in battle. Planning ahead, knowing how she wants to react, formulating and reformulating plans in the heat of battle. There's a reason that the style is called Systema, after all. Still...

Kolin isn't able to prepare herself for this. She tries--knowing from the first moment of Chipp's forward movement that he'll be going too fast for her to even think about avoiding, particularly with her body in the condition that it's in--so she does her best to fortify her defenses. But she's simply too injured; the first slash blows her guard open, and leaves her defenseless against the ensuing strikes. There's a welter of blood--but fortunately, she had at least the presence of mind to get her face out of the way of that last uppercut slash. Her Russian features are preserved, at least, as she flies out of that combination of strikes and hits the floor hard.

It's with clearly pained movements that she rises once more. She'll fight as long as she's able, but her orders are pretty clear... that doesn't stop her yet, though. Those blue eyes of hers regard Chipp dispassionately, but her movements still have sharpness and weight to them, as she closes in again. What was paid will be repaid, as she closes in on the ninja, that icy glow forming around her hands; as she nears, she begins striking out with a pattern of spearhand thrusts, each cutting a brief line of blue in the air as that icy energy flows along her fingers, a quick combination of several thrusts that will, should she strike, end with a dual spearhand strike.

[MAI]
Mai would focus on Chipp and look for openings in the fight with Kolin. She knows the ninja is a relative rookie, experienced compared to her or Guy. This is a dangerous mission to cut one's teeth on--Mai, for her flightyness at times, realizes that. Unfortunately, there's only one thing that she has focus for at the moment, and that's the very dangerous man in front of her.

He focus slips for a split second to Chipp. It is too much time.

Urien's Dangerous Headbutt smashes into Mai as she's landing, where it crashes into her head like a sledgehammer. It staggers her with enough force that she doesn't need the jump anymore; instead, she crashes into the desk rear-first from the sheer impact. She hides the wood forcefully enough to splinter it around her body and put a slightly Mai-shaped imprint into the expensive wood.

"Hrggh," Mai mumbles, standing up with her head still spinning. She shakes her head a few times, trying to get the stars to clear. "R-rude!" she says, having barely caught Urien's comment. She puts a hand to her mouth and finds blood, which she wipes away with the back of her fist. "But don't think I'll give up that easily!"

Mai springs forward into a cartwheel, the fabric of her uniform whipping around as she flips toward Urien. She goes from simply tumbling to drop into a sharp heel drop with a quick turn of her wrist, all the while balancing herself on her palm with deft agility.

And as she comes out of the cartwheel her chi surges. She lands on her feet, springing forward with a flaming ignition of chi. She springs forward into an elbow strike, bracing it with her other arm, all the while engulfed in flames.

COMBATSYS: Urien interrupts Hissatsu Shinobibachi EX from Mai with Aegis Reflector+.
+ Epic Hit! +

                               URIEN                                
  [        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--=============                


[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Chipp            0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Kolin
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              1/=======/=======|

COMBATSYS: Kolin successfully hits Chipp with Parabellum.

                               URIEN                                
  [        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--=============                


[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Chipp            0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1            Kolin
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              1/=======/=======|

[URIEN]
"Whether you give up or not doesn't matter in the slightest. I'm an emperor!! The moment you stepped into this room, you were wasting BOTH of our time!!" Urien states derisively, having shifted forward to hand with a stomp of his heel, another crash of office floor spraying debris around. Both of his arms cross before his chest, muscles flexing and building up a dense crackle of electricity. Mai cartwheels forward, and then Urien snaps out his assault, a great roar of power warbling the air in front of himself.

"AEGIS REFLECTOR!!"

One of the strongest of the Illuminati's 108 secret techniques, stolen and appropriated from amongst the strongest fighters to ever live. The one thing which Urien has made his own, and mastered to a level beyond even Gill. If he can truly take pride in anything, it's the sudden perfect square of shimmering energy. Mai slams into it and is stopped cold, before great bursts of electricity start surging through her, burning her horribly before a great CRASH as it explodes, to send her spiraling in a likely much less stabilized heap straight towards the waiting Urien...!!

[CHIPP]
A shout of triumph leaves Chipp's mouth with each slash he cuts into Kolin during his swift, dashing combination of slices. Once the ice-cold Russian is knocked clean away, he turns his head around to see his fellow ninja in need of assistance... and quickly. It's just not possible for him to turn his back on a woman /that/ dangerous to double-team the main threat in the room... he only hopes that Mai can hold off for a few more minutes. The two of them against Urien might stand a chance - the longer they remain divided dealing with seperate opponents, the more chance there is for the Illuminati to triumph here today.

For a moment, he believes he might have actually knocked Kolin out of the fight - but her slow rise back to a fighting stance causes Chipp to take his attention away from the other pair of fighters, and put his focus entirely on the woman yet again.

"Still standin', huh?" he says with a bloody grin - crimson still dribbling slowly from his nose - as he slashes his fore-arm blade through the air for emphasis, "Well, not for long!"

Of course, that promise/threat is less impressive when the Russian moves with speed to close the distance between them. For a moment, the world around Chipp begins to slow, focusing his skills to try and twiiiist out of the way of the first hand-thrust...

But Kolin appears to have adjusted mid-strike, as the attack lands on his chest with the same icy cold blue chi that seems to be her trademark - followed up by a quick combination of thrusts, and then a double-handed blow that knocks Chipp away...

He seems in danger of crashing to the floor, when suddenly he corrects himself mid-flight with a flip that lands him in a kneeling stance rather than with another face-first thud.

"Gah!" he says, one hand clutching at his chest in pain - the freezing cold still spreading across the skin underneart his black top...

With narrowed eyes, the man bursts into action yet again, rushing forward through the pain coursing through his body... he waits until he's a few strides from Kolin, and then kneels down into a slide along the floor; as he passes by her legs, he aims out a brutal side-kick aimed to slam into her kneecap with sickening, perhaps debilitating, force.

COMBATSYS: Kolin counters Heavy Kick from Chipp with Frost Touch.

                               URIEN                                
  [        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--=============                


[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Chipp            1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Kolin
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              1/=======/=======|

[KOLIN]
Brutal? If it's brutality that Chipp is looking for, then brutality it shall be. Kolin sees Chipp coming, this time. As if in slow motion. And she sweeps downwards, just at the right moment. The proper moment... to trap that incoming kick in her hands. She isn't a physical powerhouse like Urien, all hard muscles and thick skull, but using Chipp's speed against him is natural. She transitions that grip into a spin, keeping hold of his leg, sweeping him up from the ground. The ninja is probably facing away from her at this point, in the perfect place for a sharp knee right to the spine.

Then she pulls her left hand free of his leg, slamming an icy knifehand across his back, a diagonal slash of sharp, icy cold to further increase the damage done. But she isn't quite done yet--all this happening in a mere moment but feeling like it might last much longer--as she turns, still manipulating that momentum, and literally flings Chipp across the room, opening her right hand as she twists to her right, sending the ninja flying--with a picturesque sparkle of icy chi following after him in a lazy manner, sparkles that dissipate a moment later.

"It was -so- nice to meet you," she says, her tone entirely polite and yet entirely mocking.

[MAI]
Mai's flying elbow smashes into the wall of the Aegis Reflector. She pushes it against it, briefly, trying to break through with a combination of momentum and chi flames. It's then that the electricity discharges through it, rippling through Mai and snuffing out her aura of flames in one fell swoop.

The Aegis Reflector shatters and tosses Mai into a tumbling heap toward Urien. She rolls to a stop, breathing heavily and still smoking from the electricity. She pushes herself up using a fan as a brace, then climbs up onto her knees. She looks up at Urien with her head still low, her expression hidden.The fan is tucked between her teeth. Still kneeling, she performs a series of ninja handsigns close to her chest.

And then Mai shoots up from the ground, launching herself straight up toward the ceiling. She pivots as she nears it, flipping around to plant her shoes against the roof of the building. As she does, she flips forward off it, igniting again with a rush of fiery chi and shrouded herself in a cloak of flames.

And thus encased, Mai crashes down toward Urien like a meteor. She seems to have lost that sassy bravado from before.

COMBATSYS: Urien just-defends Mai's Houou no Mai EX!!

                               URIEN                                
  [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|--=============                


[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Chipp            1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Kolin
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/----===|

[URIEN]
Urien crosses his arms before his shiny and unblemished chest as Mai gathers herself after the brutal interception, smirking in her direction with his stance spread. As she begins to perform a series of seals, he rears back his arm and then gathers a sweathe of dark magnetic energy, crackling with an infusion of the sky. Her assault is unleashed in the same motion that Urien strikes, and a great wall of elemental powers hit. Earth, fire, and wind swirl up in a brutal conflageration, before the glossy and well-oiled form of Urien bursts through the smoke, having completely negated her attack. "That was a good move... I didn't see anything wrong with it in particular, outside you tried to use it on ME!!" Both of his arms then flex upwards, before he unleashes a powerful hammerblow, attempting to slam Mai into the ground hard enough to likely bounce her a couple times!!

COMBATSYS: Urien knocks away Mai with Strong Punch.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Chipp            1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Kolin
[                           \\\  <
Mai              1/------=/=======|

[MAI]
Despite Mai's best efforts, she fails once again at overcoming Urien's impeccable defense. The kunoichi takes heavy breaths, trying to regain enough of her stamina to renew the assault. Her last few manuevers have taken a tremendous amount of chi--likely a demonstration of Mai's vast stamina--but none of it has been enough to overcome the defenses of Urien's secret Illuminati fighting arts.

When the smoke clears and Urien is barely even fazed, Mai seems staggered with shock. She draws her fan from her mouth, swinging it around to try and parry the blow--

But Urien's hammer-like smash crumples the fan and smashes Mai flat against the floor with a heavy thump. She does indeed bounce--in more ways than one--but she also cracks the polished tile. She does not immediate ris again, instead letting out a low groan.

But Mai's hand is tucked under her. She pulls something else from her top, rolling the item across the floor. A small, paper-wrapped smokebomb comes to a stop against Urien's foot--where it launches out several jets of dense fog. The smoke spreads quickly, covering the immediate area.

And as it does, Mai makes her move, she springs up, breaking into a sprint toward one of the broken windows while there's a moment's diversion.

"Chipp, we're going--now!"

COMBATSYS: Mai takes no action.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Chipp            1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Kolin

COMBATSYS: Mai can no longer fight.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Chipp            1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Kolin

[CHIPP]
The downsides of being a ninja, when somebody actually gets their hands on you? It tends to hurt.

Chipp's sliding kick, aimed to take out Kolin's leg at the knee, is too sloppy... he's never been particularly cool-headed, and watching what the United Nations has done to Japan these past weeks... watching Mai's beating at the hands of 'Tom Abel'... it drives the already hot-tempered man to levels of anger and frustration that render him...

...ineffective, to say the least. The Russian fighter's knee impacts the back of his spine with a sickening CRACK, a spray of spit and a shout of pain flying out of Chipp's mouth at the same time. It'll likely be a while before he's walking completely straight again... if Abel and his 'secretary' are kind enough to let the fallen ninjas live, of course.

But, the knee wasn't Kolin's only punishment for the wild, aimless strike that the American ninja targeted her with. Another icy hand slashes across his back, tearing into his black top and freezing the skin underneath - layers of epidermis cracking and splitting from the unnatural cold.

"N...no..." mumbles Chipp - one might think he's pleading with Kolin for some kind of mercy, but those who know Chipp at all would be aware it's merely disappointment in himself... He's hurtled across the room with a certain finality by Kolin, as though she believed this were truly the end of the ninja that had so briefly troubled here.

With the very last of his energy, the ninja makes one more graceful manuever - spinning his body in mid-air and landing, feet-first, against the opposite wall. He seems to pause unnaturally as his legs bend, standing horizontal to the wall, feet pressing against it for momentum... and then he launches forward, his body already limp, eyes dazed and half-opened..

As he closes the distance, one last gambit... a storm of kunai blades are tosses from some hidden place on the man's body as he hurtles towards Kolin - twisting his lithe frame once more to follow up the spread of thrown kunai with a double-heel kick...

...of course, by the time the kunai are all thrown, he's already unconscious in mid-air. Their fellow ninjas... there just weren't /enough/ of them, to stand against these two savage fighters.

If only Guy were here! Or Alma!

COMBATSYS: Chipp can no longer fight.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                       \\\\\\\  <
Kolin            0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: Kolin dodges Chipp's Ryuu Yanagi.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                       \\\\\\\  <
Kolin            0/-------/----===|

[KOLIN]
It works to Kolin's benefit that Chipp is already fading. It doesn't make his attack any less on-target. As tired and hurt as she is, the sight of the kunai flying at her forces her to move, gives her a jolt of adrenaline, and she summons up enough of her reserve to dance backwards from the spread of knives. She doesn't bother attempting to strike Chipp again--she can see he's done. If it wasn't obvious to her well-tuned senses even during the man executing his last-ditch attack, it's obvious by the time she recovers. She looks around, noting that both of the ninja have been eliminated.

And she turns away, walking towards a window as she pulls out a slim, Illuminati-branded (that is, no branding at all) cellphone and dialing a secure number. "Da. Da. Two ninjas." She pauses for a moment, her lips curled in the tiniest of smiles.

"No. They did not bring enough bodies. Da." She disconnects the call, then turns from near the window and offers Urien a formal bow, an honest enough one, no mockery. "Lord Urien. Lord Gill requests my presence. The cleanup crews will be here soon enough..." She learned last time what happens when she tells Urien that Gill said 'good job'. So she says it again.

"Lord Gill wanted me to pass on, once again, his thanks for your fine work." Now she won't be around to witness the explosion; she glows briefly with an eerie blue light... and vanishes.

[ALMA]
The United Nations is in chaos, a microcosm of the maelstrom that is the global political crisis, and so Alma has managed a rare feat: to remain undetected. He has emerged from the ostensibly locked-down subway facing little resistance, the point lightly guarded with the expectation that the mercenary Oswald would intercept any unexpected attack. But the fey psychic now stands outside the building proper, his earth-toned garb sliced into fine ribbons by cutting cards, and hesitates, chest heaving and sweat beading at his brow.

He can hear the sounds of battle and feel the sensation of warring auras close by. As Oswald implied, the battle has already begun. But his powers are not so refined as to pinpoint their location within the compound. He can take advantage of the confusion to break through, even with his injuries, but unless he knows where to go--

"Mai!"

He cries out despite himself, eyes widening in shock as the familiar ninja bursts from a broken window with an unknown and seemingly unconscious ally in tow. He's surprised to see her here: has Fumiyo attacked as well? But he has no time to pursue her and ask what brought her (or chat about bloodline arts). He hesitates for only a moment before leaving her to her escape and rushing toward the entrance, heading for the room that Mai has fled from. He may not have been able to help her fight, but she has helped him to act decisively.

Some of the UN guards, apparently in disarray, attempt to accost Alma, but once the young man has found his goal he cannot be dissuaded. Cherry-blossom pink light flares up around his hand, a veritable sword of ethereal fire igniting in a blaze of glory to shear through anyone who stands in his path, stunning those with untrained minds, leaving them to grasp at their chests for wounds that exist only in their imagination. Leaping, image occasionally flickering, the determined psychic bypasses the cannon fodder and makes a beeline for the office, where--

"Urien!!"

Alma catches just a glimpse of Kolin fading from view, and sees a man with a familiar build, arrogant posture, and unmistakable aura standing tall. It's a name he has only learned recently, but as he speaks it, the sword of fire extending from his hand pulses, responding to the psychic's will. Alma is visibly injured from the many cuts across his body and the man he faces seems nearly pristine, yet the psychic is unfazed.

"I've returned from the dead," he declares, eyes flashing, "to expel you from office."

[KANG]
Alma isn't the only one approaching the United Nations. In this case it isn't an act of revenge or even an attempt to remove Urien for power. Kang was just wanting money to make a movie and his night has not turned out to be a good one so far.

His rental moped was destroyed and he had to deal with a rather insane ex-actress in Jezebel. A battle that left him battered, bruised and not in a good mood overall. It also just made him more motivated. Motivated for Kang to finally reach the United Nations and make his dream come true.

A cab skids to a halt outside an Kang bursts out of the door quickly after throwing some money into the passenger side window. He says little as the poor guards that Alma just took care of get bowled over again by the portly Korean who has no idea just what he is getting himself into. He bursts into the room soon after Alma. "I am here! I wish to make a movie and I need-"

He soon realizes this doesn't look like he expected things to look. For one it looks like a big fight has been going down and he looks between Urien then Alma and he starts twitch in anger. "WHY IS EVERYONE FIGHTING!? I JUST WANT TO MAKE A MOVIE AND EVERYONE JUST WANTS TO FIGHT!"

[URIEN]
A look somewhere between disappointment and smugness is on Urien's face. On the one hand, he enjoys a battle where he dominates the opponent more than anything else. And on the other, the conflict was dreadfully easy. Mai is not lacking in talent or passion; she simply fought an opponent well beyond her weight class, an inhuman monster forged in the fires of countless DNA enhancements, chi tampering, secret arts and brutal training regiments. A talented human stood little chance.

"Fine, get out of here. All you did was ruin my fun, anyway." Urien snaps impatiently, beginning to turn away with a deep sigh. Then someone calls out his name once more. His broad back seems unscathed, despite the burning destruction and massive damage to the office proper. Slowly he swivels to face the man. Recognition blooms into open disappointment, as the large man lets out a long sigh. "Fine. I step down." He brushes at his chest casually. "Tom Abel died in Southtown. You win. This bores me. I'm leaving."

Large footsteps begin to take him towards the side, transformed body still incredibly heavy, footsteps crunching into the ground. Kang's abrupt arrival doesn't even warrant him glancing towards him, some peculiar white-haired bodybuilding adonis in a ruined building. "Take it up with someone who cares!!"

COMBATSYS: Kolin has left the fight here.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                



[ALMA]
Alma's heroic posture shows him ready for battle. His opportunity to redeem himself has come. Now, the ultimate showdown with Urien will--

"Eh?"

Alma blinks, his sword of fire flickering, as Urien responds with unanticipated petulance. The psychic furrows his brow, pretty face quizzical.

"Eh??"

This is all he can say when the quixotic Kang bursts in, with a fulminating interjection. The sword of fire flickers again and dissipates. It seems that Alma's resolve for battle can be undercut after all, if only by the most bizarre possible situation.

"Sir, I--" He begins politely to Kang and then trails off, the characteristically composed psychic evidently at a loss. "I don't think a movie is-- that is, the fate of the world is at stake, so--" Baffled, he glances back at Urien almost pleadingly, as though looking for help. But Urien isn't having any of it, it seems.

"Hold one moment," Alma finally manages, raising a palm at Urien. "Why-- why did you do this? What was the Illuminati's objective in infiltrating the United Nations and undermining the Sacred Order? Why did you incite war against Japan?"

It seems Alma has made some assumptions along the way.

[KANG]
Kang has no idea who these two men are, but he does know one is rather rude! Sure he knows some bad things are happening around the world, but he mostly assumed the majority of it was in Japan which is why he has kept well away from there and has been in Metro City as of late. He has actors. He has a dream. Now he needs money!

"Fate of the world? That is rediculous! I was told there are grants to be given to those who wish to present a worthwhile endeavor. And I am here to get fundings for A Fistful of Funk!" Then again he wasn't really sure who he was to see about that sort of thing. The place is a chaotic mess and the only two other than the guards he ran over outside seem to be Alma and Urien. Neither seem to be the person he is supposed to talk to.

He just looks annoyed as he looks between the men again. Illuminati? Sacred Order? He has no idea what these things are. He had to deal with being molested by Jezebel to get here and now he feels he is going to come away empty handed. "Who do I need to even talk to!?"

[URIEN]
"Hahahaha!" Urien states loudly at that, placing a large palm on his forehead. "We had nothing to do with that...! You idiot!! It was Heihachi Mishima and the men who created the Gears. I'm just a casual scavenger. I wish I could console you by saying that this was my grand plot... but the United Nations ruined themselves with little help from me. I'm merely a man who was in the right place at the right time. I've already managed what I desire. Fighting me is pointless. Tom Abel died a hero, the last diplomat to remain behind in the horrors of Southtown."

Urien hasn't fully left yet, rolling his massive shoulders in a lazy fashion. "I'm in a good mood. I'll even overlook that those damn brains wanted me to kill you. The remnants of the Sacred Order will need naive fools like you after this is all done..."

As for Kang, Urien walks over to a painting and rips it off. Behind it is a large wall safe. He literally punches through it, yanks out a massive fistful of dollars, and hurls them in Kang's general direction. "Take it all, I don't care. Most likely, Southtown is going to be struck by a nuclear bomb. I'd prefer to be outside the blast radius... it might ruin my tan!!"

[ALMA]
Alma grimaces with frustration. There's no reason for Urien to lie, so far as he can tell. If the villain had any further reason to be here, he would be clinging to power and fighting back, not withdrawing in a huff. The fact is, Urien is right: Alma was naive. The psychic never imagined that the United Nations would take such drastic actions of its own accord, not due to Illuminati influence, and so he had not noticed his own leap in logic from 'Illuminati is infiltrating the UN to undermine the Sacred Order' to 'the Illuminati is behind everything the UN has done.'

Fei's previous warnings drift up from Alma's unconscious. So Lee Chaolan's technology had come from the United Nations' own secret projects, as the charismatic businessman had implied. Alma assumed that Fei was ill-informed about Illuminati infiltration. Instead, it had been Alma making the false assumption.

Perhaps someone like Alma is unfit for world-spanning intrigue...

"But..."

His eyes follow the scattering cash to Kang. Honestly, Alma feels for the odd fellow. He came here following his dream only to hear that Southtown is to be annihilated.

"What *did* you desire? What did you come here to do?"

He directs his questions to Urien. He had assumed that the Illuminati was manipulating the attack on Japan, was controlling the Gears. As long as his assumption held, defeating the Illuminati would mean both rescuing the Sacred Order *and* rescuing Japan. But if the Command Gear is operating autonomously of the Illuminati, then--

"And who do we stop to prevent the United Nations attack!?"

It's a bitter fruit of his battles, to end up asking the villain for advice. But the man cares so little for all this that he might speak if only to taunt. It seems, darkly, that Alma has chosen the wrong route, that taking on the Illuminati was not the path to saving the world. But there must be something he can do while he is here.

There must be something!

[KANG]
So much talk that makes no sense. Kang tends to be a simple many and understands a few things. Fighting and soon he will understand how to make a proper movie. All these talks of infiltration and desires is a bit lost. Then his eyes go wide when there is the mention of a nuke in Southtown.

He starts to panic then he stops. He looks about then raises a hand while the other is already grabbing at money that is flying in the air. "I.....nuking is bad, but aren't we safe? We are in Metro City.....right?" Or did he take such a beating to the head from Jezebel that he forgot what city he has been in this entire time? No, these men are just confusing him! But one did give him money so that already makes Kang appreciate him despite the rude attitude.

The Koren continues to grab at money and stuffs most of it in his tights as he doesn't really have other means to carry it......that money might need to be washed when is all said and done. "Look, I don't know what is going on here and I don't want to! Also look out for this strange Jezebel girl. She will try to kiss you after stuffing her face with hamburgers." He feels he owes the men that much. "Sorry about the nukes and stuff!"

[URIEN]
Oh, an attempt to come here to fight the Illuminati is reasonable enough. Defeating Urien is a powerful blow. He is the President of the entire organization, second only to the Emperor himself, Gill, and the enclave of ancient brains. Countless countries, infinite finances, great military power and more all dance beneath his fingertips.

"I think you know why I came here. In no small part due to the Sacred Order, the United Nations has remained almost entirely free of the Illuminati. But by removing your head, the Sacred Order was rendered immobile. Ky Kiske was drawn into the fighting like all the others. And here you stand, desperate and powerless. Do you think this is some grand game, fool? That if you struck me down... a LAUGHABLE prospect in your current state... that the Gears would be recalled?! I would die before I gave such an order, if I even could!!"

Urien laughs once more, flinging more money in the general direction of Kang. "We helped create the Gears, knowing they would spiral out of control. And they have gone rogue. I got a report a nuclear strike happened in Southtown. Where do you think the angry Gear will go next? Here!! Metro City will be reduced to ash next, and I've no mind to wait around for that! You aren't fighting me. You're fighting the ignorance of the United Nations, the arrogance of Japan and Heihachi Mishima, and the hubris of the ones who crafted the Gears. You're fighting the will of an angry God, and other powers that have stirred. No single person could have changed this flow. You're on the wrong side of the PLANET to have any influence over what's taking place!!" Not entirely true. He was not informed if Southtown itself was hit, only that Justice blew SOMETHING up. But that means the war has started in earnest. And lives will be lost.

"Still, if you want to have some fun, then confront me. The United Nations will be gutted by the international community. Agents of the Illuminati will flood it. It will finally be ours. And the Sacred Order will learn to kneel before me, or I will crush them as well. I don't even have a need to kill you at this stage anymore...! Hahahahaha!"

[ALMA]
Alma stews as he listens, fists clenching at his sides. He must be naive, truly naive, for he cannot understand this man. Even though he has touched Urien's aura, witnessed the weaknesses of his will, Alma fundamentally cannot comprehend how someone could be driven to such acts and be so heedless of the fates of others. Why would someone strive to create such a world, one dyed a single color?

"I may not be able to stop the war by stopping you."

It is Rei's words, now, that echo in Alma's mind.

"But I won't allow you to do as you please with the United Nations!" It may be that the reputation of this international body will be irreperably ruined by what has transpired. Perhaps the Sacred Order will be an entirely different institution after this, if it survives. But while this body retains some tatters of influence, it cannot be exploited. And besides-- "You must be made to atone for the injustices you have committed!"

Alma gaze whips back to Kang, the fire having returned at last to the young man's eyes. "Sir," he addresses the movie star hopeful again, ignoring how his tights bulge with bills, "I know that you have been drawn into a matter beyond your expectations, but please, if you assist me in bringing this villain to justice, I will do everything in my power to help you to realize your dreams!" He extends a hand in supplication. "Your film of funky fists will be released to a world intact, one that has survived the fires of war!"

He can't entirely gauge Kang's strength by psychic senses alone, but he knows that the man must have some ability. Alma is entirely willing to fight Urien himself if necessary. But this is not merely a battle for honor or even for the Order. Whether or not Urien is captured matters more than some redemptive duel.

Someone who commits crimes like Urien's can't simply walk away!

[KANG]
Kang may be a simple man and he does want the money being tossed about, but at the same time he starts to realize this Urien guy is not a good person at all. And not a creepy bad like Jezebel, but a EVIL BAD. "Why do you want to blow up people anyways!?"

And before he can question Urien further Alma draws his attention. The Korean listens to the offer and his eyes do brighten. Not just because of the fact Alma is willing to help him with the movie, but the fact that he starts to realize something. This is like the big ending to an action film. Why didn't he even think of that!? The arrogant and powerful bad guy. The pretty boy hero that looks to end the bad guy's plan. And Kang gets to be part of this?

He spins about and points to Urien "Fiend! It is time to be brought to justice. Ahh....and thanks for the money! I, Kang Jae-Mo shall help this pretty boy put you down for the sake of.....whatever he is standing for!" Though he looks energized he isn't exactly in great shape. Both men can see Kang has taken a beating recently himself and it is hard to tell just how much he has left in the tank.

COMBATSYS: Kang has joined the fight here.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Kang             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Alma             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Kang

[URIEN]
"Ah. To the very end, you won't admit you are powerless..." Urien states, with a long-suffering sigh. Of someone who enjoys displaying his power to others. "Fine by me...! The woman who fled only got me warmed up. She was strong... but I didn't get nearly satisfied!" Urien once more shifts into a loose stance, opening his arms. Power flows out of him in a great wave, seeming to shake the ground and rumble the broken ceiling and walls. His gril is wild, that of a sheer sadist. He doesn't enjoy fighting. He isn't after competition. He simply likes to crush those weaker than him, and nothing more. Staring from high upon those beneath him is the only true pleasure and satisfaction he knows in this world...

Evil, indeed. Even someone like Kang can sense it. That of a bully, a predator, the kind to slap candy from a baby's hand and step on it. Not because he wants it himself, but just to lick those delicious salty babytears and revel in the act itself. "You piece of garbage... you dare take my money, then try to bare teething fangs on me?! Insect!!" With a roar Urien suddenly condenses his power, and then a great burst of lightning and energy flies out in all directions. Although Alma can dive behind what remains of the desk, there's little hope for Kang. All of the money instantly vanishes, blackened into ash in the wake of the intense gravity well laced with electricity. "When I finish with you, all of the Sacred Order won't escape debt with your hospital bills...!!"

His dark brown armor hardens further, an additional layer of iron-like chi building up, heavily reinforcing his already near impenetrable hide...!

[ALMA]
Alma blazes into action. Now that Kang has bravely -- and dramatically -- declared his opposition to Urien, the psychic cannot hold back an iota, even to preserve his strength. That sword of flame returns to his hand, leaping from his arm as an extension of his body, as he lunges into the burst of lightning. With his free hand he reaches out, surging with the spirit that had momentarily abated. At such close range, he is able to activate the telekinesis he had recently practiced with his fellow student Menat.

"Haa!"

The desk levitates slightly before being flung in front of Alma's own trajectory. It is an unsteady throw, given the weightiness of the object, and would hardly do as an attack. But as a shield, it is more than servicable, and as it explodes from the impact of Urien's rage, Alma is able to pass through the cloud of splinters without slowing his advance.

"Urien! This time--"

He slashes out, aiming to shear through Urien's sculpted body with the blade of soulfire and abate his assault on Kang.

"--will be different!"

COMBATSYS: Urien knocks away Kang with Metallic Aura.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------=========                


[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Alma             0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0             Kang

[KANG]
Things go bad quickly for Kang. Sure he wants to be helpful, but he truly doesn't understand the power that Urien wields. Jezebel was crazy as hell, but she was someone he could handle. Sure he took a beating in the process, but he at least walked away while Jezebel was a crater in one of the streets of Uptown Metro City.

The lightning spreads out and the Korean can do little but try to weather the storm. The money that was tossed about all getting destroyed and his chances of leaving with it now long gone. "GHnnnnnaaaah!" he ends up getting knocked head over heels and becomes one giant rolling ball across the room.

And he just keeps rolling up the wall with such momentum and then he bounces off of it. His vision is already blurring and fading. His body giving out and he is easily taken out before the battle ever really begain. There is just one little thing left. He coming down right at Urien to where he is probably going to land uncerimoniously on top of the man if he doesn't move.

COMBATSYS: Kang can no longer fight.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------=========                


[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Alma             0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: Urien dodges Kang's Body Press Special.

                               URIEN                                
  [  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|------=========                


[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Alma             0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: Urien endures Alma's Blaze of Glory.

                               URIEN                                
  [           ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|---============                


[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Alma             0/-------/-======|

[URIEN]
The desk disintegrates with unsettling speed, the heavy wood breaking down to nothing, scarcely surviving the onslaught sufficient to fully defend against Alma's barreling attack. It's clear then, as the blade descends, that Urien is making absolutely no attempt to evade. He twists his entire body, coming up as the roar of soulfire strikes across his shoulder and rakes down. Pain burns numb within him, the raging inferno of his power dulling the edge of the psychic barrage. "Fool." is all he declares, trying to sink his iron foot, with superhuman power and incredible density, and hopefully shatter a few ribs. The aim is to launch Alma towards a nearby wall, as Kang suddenly descends towards him. He sees it, and without surprise, the response is simple -- a hand extends, catching him by the belly and deflecting him to the side in a casual backhand, allowing him to thump unconscious amidst the trails of burning currency that come after. "Destiny is not forged by will. Destiny is forged by birthright!! I am strong, and you are weak!! There is no philosophy or heart to it, worm! Admit it! Admit you are nothing to me, Sacred Order dog!!"

COMBATSYS: Urien knocks away Alma with Stab Kick.
- Power hit! -

                               URIEN                                
  [           ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|===============                


[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Alma             1/----===/=======|

[ALMA]
"Gahh!"

Alma is blasted back by the mighty kick, slamming bodily against the wall, spiderweb cracks radiating behind him from the point of impact. The man's power is simply immense. Kang has done his heroic utmost, but it seems that Urien's power has only intensified after his bout with Mai and her ally. Nevertheless--

"That strength of yours--"

Alma remembers what he felt when he and Urien last fought.

"--it will never truly belong to you." He gasps out his words as he stumbles from where he has been lodged, but the determination in his eyes is unflinching. "The more desperately you declare your greatness, the more greatness will elude your grasp. Without a cause that exceeds you--"

His teacher. His allies. His friends. This whole variegated world, it awaits him, calls to him. If he breaks his body and shatters his will here--

"It's you ... who will be left with nothing!"

It is for the sake of that calling and the sense of wholeness it brings. His speed and fury unmitigated by his injuries, Alma lunges in again, internalizing his energies this time, blurring into a series of fierce palm strikes to Urien's mighty torso, the psychic's stance defiantly poised.

COMBATSYS: Urien blocks Alma's Spring Shower.

                               URIEN                                
  [            |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 0|---------------|===============                


[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Alma             1/---====/=======|

[URIEN]
"...!!"

If Alma's goal is to enrage Urien, he knows the right buttons to push. Yet what he cannot fathom is why. Why?! It is like he is seeing a man who believes himself the hero of his own tale. And the hero always wins, after all. Yet this is not a fairy book, but reality. Urien knows this well. All his 'brothers', countless others, culled from failing to meet expectations. Each barrage of tests, mental and physical, ending with less and less. Until it was him and Gill, after all those years. And then...

"I see you have a death wish." Urien finally says. He explosively tenses his body, and the palm strikes would feel as if they were striking a mountain. With the extra layer of armor he has built up alongside chi reinforcing dense muscles, his physical power is unable to breech him just yet. "But I have already killed you once before. Is that not enough, then...?! What will it take..."

Urien then rears back his arm, and brutally swings it down. Energy crackles after as he puts everything into strength, forsaking the furnace of his impenetrable iron skin to strike Alma with all the fury he possesses and crush him into the already caving ground of the ruined office floor.

"To extinguish this deluded light in your eyes?! Shall I kill your friends?! Shall I tear the Sacred Order apart?! Chain you in an oubliette, where your entire life is defined by what sliver of light I allow?!"

COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Fierce Punch from Urien with Leap of Faith EX.

                               URIEN                                
  [          |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                            \\  <
Alma             0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Alma prepares to take his last stand against Urien!

                               URIEN                                
  [          |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|--------------=|===============                


[                        \\\\\\  <
Alma             0/-------/-======|

[ALMA]
Is Alma's faith truly unbreakable?

"Aaaahh!"

He has put all the power he can muster into this assault. He has prepared his stance, summoned his energies, and awaited Urien's oncoming strike. Yet the Illuminati leader's presence is overwhelming, the crackling energies about him pressuring Alma and confounding his senses. Despite heroic efforts, Alma's form is only able to flicker before Urien crushes him into the ground besides his erstwhile ally, cratering into the floor and threatening to fall through to the floor below. His body bounces with the impact, flipping back and away and leaping him slumped against the wall again.

"This light--"

But his voice still rasps. He is more propped than standing, his many small wounds reopened by the devastating impact, his eyes glazed over yet seeing nonetheless.

"--will never die."

Alma is faced with a terrible force. Urien still seems far beyond his abilities to defeat. Yet all he can think of is how to stop the villain, however slim the chance, and how it is possible for him to achieve some semblance of justice.

"This is a power beyond your comprehension."

Alma's words are weak. He seems barely able to support himself, let alone harm his foe. Yet something still shines within his eyes. That fury, a defiance which has never given over to hatred, has given way instead to something else.

"I pity you ... Urien."

It appears as though the would-be hero can hardly defend himself. The only question seems to be if Urien will strike Alma down once more.

[URIEN]
"I see. Hope, is it? The hope of the powerless. The will of the peasants. And what is that, to an emperor? What is the mundane ambition of an ant, to God looming above with a poised shovel?" Urien comments, simply. He pulls his fist free of the shattered floor, and huge sloughs of debris begin to fall into the floor below. It angles downwards, but does not completely shatter just yet. Heavy footsteps slowly take himself over to stand before Alma, sheer willpower and nothing else keeping his body up.

"You did it. You're here. Fighting the wrong battle, with the wrong opponent, in the wrong part of the world. I won't let you escape. The world is not dictated by grand fairy tales. But by the strong, the emperors, the gods who stand above!! What do you hope to achieve, staying on your feet? Your death will change nothing! Nobody is here to see this, but this fat, confused little man smoldering in... the floor below."

Kang rolls like a tub of marmalade down the slope to thump a story down at that moment, adding to the somberness of the scene.

"Tell me."

He then attempts to just casually slap Alma across the face. Hard. But not sufficient to break any bones.

"Tell me why you still stand, little man."

Slap. Slap. Slap. He keeps attempting those casual blows on the man battered in body, but not spirit or mind.

"What on earth can you possibly change here...?!"

COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Jab Punch from Urien with Divine Intervention EX.

                               URIEN                                
  [        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|------------===|===============                



COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.

                               URIEN                                
  [        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 1|------------===|===============                



[ALMA]
There should be much for Alma to regret. Mistakes and miscalculations led him here. His struggles and suffering have led him only to an impossible battle against a foe whose power he still cannot match. His teacher, his allies, his friends, they will all be devastated by his needless death. The mystery of his fragmented memories will go unsolved. The friends he has found from another life, their bonds will unravel. If he dies here, he will accomplish nothing. He should flee, or negotiate, or weep bitter tears.

Yet he says that it is Urien that he pities, and Alma, despite acknowledging his situation, without denying the substance of Urien's words, means it. He clearly, obviously means it.

"You--"

The word is slapped from his mouth, a bruise appearing across one fine cheekbone. With the next skull-ringing slap, Alma's trembling arm snaps up, flaring up with a sputtering light, but he is too slow and too wearied, and this too is slapped aside. His eyes unfocus with that blow, yet achingly refocus, and his expression has not changed.

"You don't understand."

His words tumble from numbed lips.

"Hope-- is for accomplishments. You may have reason-- to despise such dreams. What drives me is not-- what I hope to accomplish-- even justice itself. My way--"

Again he is silenced by a blow, and again he speaks.

"My way of life-- is valuable in itself, whatever-- it achieves."

Blood dripping from his mouth, Alma looks up at Urien--

"Someone should always stand-- for what's right--"

--and smiles.

"And that someone--"

He trails off. Alma never finishes. It may take a moment for Urien to realize that the hero has passed out on his feet, still braced against the wall, heavy-lidded eyes still open, still smiling.

hat someone-- got to be me.

In his final thought, Alma thanks the world for the opportunity.

[URIEN]
Meaningless. How utterly meaningless. Urien does not even remotely understand. Perhaps in that manner, the pity is deserved. That his life has been devoid of any potential for empathy. Such is not from lack of opportunity. His parents were proud. And Gill loves him, despite his flaws, despite how treacherous he is. He should have been killed, when Gill was selected as the final ruler. But by his word, he was spared. And that horrific, dark realization more than any has shaped him into the monstrous caricature that slapped a man unconscious.

Normally, he would simply snap his neck now. Crush his skull. Disintegrate him to ash. Instead he's just glowering at Alma. His goal isn't death, but domination. Breaking people, and making them acknowledge him. He cannot understand this. He did that to Alma; and there is no doubt that the psychic cannot deny his power. Yet it's like he's been teased, and the final reward, the grand release of snuffing him out, is somehow denied.

It's then that a phone rings near where his desk once stood. After a few moments, Urien hisses and stomps over to it. Brushing aside debris, his nigh-invulnerable cellphone is plucked up and flicked open.

The voice on the other end makes his face go deathly cold.

"Brother."

"Urien. You have done well, beyond all expectation. It is time to return."

"...tch. One of the Sacred Order crawled from it's hole to bite my feet one last time."

"Oh? How troublesome. Then kill him."

"..."

"...?"

Urien flicks the phone closed, and tosses it back into the corner. Slowly his shadow casts over Alma, before he crouches down slowly. "Little man." he whispers. "It seems we have something to learn from each other. Maybe your fate is true. But which side of the coin is true? The one where I understand your ridiculous ideology... or the one where you understand mine?"

Grasping him by the left wrist, Urien then hefts Alma up, pointing his hand straight to the ceiling. "But I'd hate for you to forget our encounter. I will give you a lifelong memento of our encounter." His free hand then clamps index finger and thumb upon the pinky of Alma's left hand. Lightning courses through his body, as he then twists, to blacken it to ash and then shatter it off, leaving only a black stump. "A toll, little man, for wasting my time."

He then flings Alma over the edge, to descend and land with a hearty bounce upon Kang's rubbery girth. "Next time you waste my time, it will be your hand. And then your arm. After that... we'll see." With that he turns to stride through the hallway leading to the helicopter nearby. If Justice has truly gone rogue, then he'd best evacuate Metro City. And wait for the fires to settle... so the Illuminati can plant their seeds, yet again, in the fertile ashes...

Log created on 19:04:17 12/02/2017 by Kolin, and last modified on 01:56:44 12/17/2017.