Match of the Millennium

Description: Lotus robs a bank and is making her escape! Duo Lon, being the brave soul that he is, takes her on to try to stop her! Inevitably, a fight ensues!

[DUO LON]
Just after lunch in Metro City. It doesn't surprise Duo Lon that he'd be sent HERE for his next target. It's a financial area -- if he were a cruder man, he would say that all the corporate dicks hang out in places like this. He looks at his phone, idly munching on the fast food chicken sandwich (bleh) as he reads the screen on the phone.

Most of the information is in not only Chinese, but in another code as well. To most it looks like just typical social media crap. But Duo can see it for what it really is. It's his mission. Name, location, several bits of personal information, as well as a schedule (the last of which he added himself, after careful observation).

Now he just needs to get to the location. He's chosen a time and a place, and if all goes well, the mark should be taken out with no fuss or struggle. Duo Lon hates it when his jobs get complicated...

[LOTUS]
It's at this time, juuuuuuuust when Duo LEAST desires it, that shenanigans happen!

There is a sudden explosion from a nearby bank! People are running away in fear and panic! The cops have only just arrived and are starting to figure out what is going on! The whole front of the place has been blown out, injuring many who were passing by, with the resulting smoke making vision into the structure difficult!

However, Duos combat-trained eye would easily pick out a slim figure moving with prenatural speed, dashing down the ally that runs behind the building, with a large briefcase held in each hand. He only would catch a glimpse as they pass by the gap between the bank and the building next door. It seems so far no one else has noticed this individual, as they are all distracted with the mess that's been made.

[DUO LON]
Duo is only barely missed by the explosion himself, and it takes all his resolve not to teleport away from the danger. He leaps back quickly, gangly limbs seeming to move in ways that human limbs aren't supposed to, to keep him out of danger. It still completely destroys any sense that he's just a normal guy passing along the streets -- as if he way he doesn't just immediately start panicking or running away didn't do that well enough -- but it doesn't completely out him. Maybe he's one of those fighters.

It's then that Duo catches sight of the person running away down the alley. It's not his problem, he starts to tell himself. He has a job to do, a target to eliminate. And bank isn't 'someone who needs help'! It's... aw hell, why not? Duo sighs, tossing the half-eaten sandwich into a nearby trash can and tucking his phone into a pocket, and then takes off down the alley after the person.

Once he's safely out of view of the people on the street, 'running' will change to 'teleporting and running across walls', mind. His pursuit is silent except for the sound of his purple long jacket flapping softly in the wind.

[LOTUS]
Suprisingly, even at that speed it takes longer than he would expect to catch up. This person moves FAST!

When he DOES start to close, they don't take long to notice even WITH the mask and thick clothes on!

With a flick, they toss one of the suitcases into the air, flick out a pair of throwing daggers, and throw them with deadly accuracy at Duo! Afterwards, they catch the suitcase effortlessly as it plummets! As this is a long strip, they still have some time before reaching the end of the ally, and no one has seen them yet.

[DUO LON]
Deadly accurate throwing daggers! They're on target too, one of the blades ready to bury itself in Duo's eye for his trouble. It's true, isn't it, that no good deed goes unpunished. This is a bank robbery, a job for the police! Even if they're woefully underprepared for an opponent like this, given the precision with which those blades fly at him. Might this be the end of Duo's career as an assassin?!

Thankfully, no -- Duo's reflexes are as sharp as ever, and as he sees the blades coming towards him, he ducks, weaves, and dodges, his body moving in such a way that his lanky frame seems to flow like water around them. Except the one that's heading for his eye. For that one he spins, whipping his braid around to smack the blade out of the air before it can hit him.

How his this person fleeing the bank so FAST? Clearly not a typical bank robber. Perhaps he was right to pursue, rather than stupid. A policeman would have been turned into a pincushion just then -- a screaming, flailing, half-blind pincushion. Duo's eyes narrow, the closes he gets to an actual frown, and he continues the pursuit. This alley has to end somewhere; that person will have to stop sooner or later.

[LOTUS]
Sooner or later is right, to a point.

At the end of the ally is a wooden fence with a padlocked gate. The slats are close enough that it can't really be seen through from the other side. However, the robber knows that being chased by Duo out into the public area is NOT the ideal way to make a clean break. Too much attention would be drawn, and for now seems the LAST thing they want! As the fence is reached, the robber leaps onto, then off of the wooden barrier, spinning and taking a swing at Duo with one of the heavy money-laden cases!

When they close, despite the woolen mask, it is made even MORE clear that this is no ordinary robber: the eyes are yellow with cat-like slit pupils!

[DUO LON]
Duo sees the fence, and once more his eyes narrow. The robber has a choice -- run out into an open area (because that flimsy fence ain't gonna stop someone who can throw knives like that), or the robber can turn and face Duo. Apparently the robber chooses the latter, as Duo is forced to raise an arm to block the swing of a heavy case to the side of his head. He grunts quietly -- the case still hurts, though it'd have hurt worse if it had hit his head.

But he doesn't just block. He uses the momentum of the case's weight and force to spin, snapping out a leg at the robber as his body turns. That might even be a muffled, wet pop as his leg seems to reach farther than it ought to at his height. He moves so weirdly -- it would be hard for a normal person to predict where those limbs are going.

He's not wasting any words on this person; in Duo's experience it's just easier to go for the knockout (or the kill; whichever turns out to be more convenient), then put both body and loot where it can be found.

[LOTUS]
SMACK!

The case is stopped by Duos arm! The assailant keeps going due to velocity coupled with being in mid-air.

Because physics!

However, just as his leg and foot seem to bend unnaturally to reach, the robber too twists and bends unnaturally, the edge of the foot just barely grazing their head! The robber lands a short distance away in a crouch as the mask falls away, sliced cleanly by Duos strike.

It is at this point that Black Lotus turns and grins at him, dropping the suitcases and slipping her knives out from the hidden sheathes in her currently thicker sleeves "I wasn't expecting any REAL fun so soon, but you'll DEFINATELY do! Teeheeeeeeheehee!" She tilts her head 90 degrees as she giggles, the lust for violence clear in her grinning face

[DUO LON]
Duo leaps away when he feels the kick merely graze. He lands in a crouch a short distance away, and then straightens. Now he's gotten a better look at the robber, and he frowns a touch. She's very feline, this woman, and he begins to assess her. He won't have long, not from the sounds of her voice. Either he makes the first move, or she will. And he doesn't want to let her get the better of him; she seems like the sort that would kill him if he let her.

So instead of any banter, he makes the first move. He aims for her face, hoping to knock her out, and throws a punch. Except his arm seems to elongate too, so he doesn't need to come as close to her. Which is... probably for the better, honestly. He's hoping to put the pressure on and keep it on, so he can keep her off-guard and deal with this quickly.

COMBATSYS: Lotus has started a fight here.

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Lotus            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon has joined the fight here.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Lotus

COMBATSYS: Lotus blocks Duo Lon's Genmu Ken.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Duo Lon          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
That speed saves Lotus from the knockout! Her arms come up in a crossblock, stopping the punch and sending its force down her arms rather than into her skull!

The moment the impact finishes, as his fist returns to him, she LEAPS into the air towards him, weapons out with a shout of "SQUEEEEEEEEE!". As she closes, she attempts to literally land on Duo, jamming both weapons into his shoulders with the pointy ends!

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon blocks Lotus' Catch the Prey.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
The feline woman leaps, daggers out, and Duo has no time to move. He crosses his arms and places them between himself and the woman, and as she drops down, pushes against her body. It doesn't allow her to completely drop down, but the daggers do slice down the outsides of his shoulders! He emits a stifled, "...Ghk!" at the tearing of skin and fabric, and the edges of the torn fabric begin to darken with blood.

But now he's kind of stuck, and his arms are bound. His throat is too close to those daggers. With no other recourse, he falls back into a backwards roll. In the meantime he tries to get his lanky legs between himself and the clearly insane woman, trying to kick up at her and kick her off of him.

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon successfully hits Lotus with Light Kick.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
*TWACK!*

Duos foot impacts Lotus in the chin, snapping her head back in a whiplash as he attempts to back up! This seems to only egg her on, however, as she continues to grin through a split lip and bloody teeth "Oooooh! Fiesty!". Before he gets too far she moves in again! With blurring speed, she moves all around him, stabbing with both weapons, aiming for arteries and other areas known to bleed freely as much as possible!

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon dodges Lotus' Slice and Dice.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
Good, Duo's managed to kick her off of him. He's got SOME breathing room. He sees her grin, though, and knows she's not deterred. In fact, he may have done nothing but encouraged her, he realizes. Does she even want the money? Was this just for kicks, to attract the attention of someone who might fight her over it?

If so, he fell right into her trap...

But he doesn't have much time to consider that. Mainly because she's suddenly launching a flurry of attacks at him, all aimed at the places he knows will bleed the most -- the same areas he's been known to go for!

There's a flurry of motion from Duo then, as he struggles to keep the blades from cutting him. He bends, twists, and turns in ways that don't seem humanly possible. The sounds of ripping when the blades pass close enough to cut the fabric, but not close enough to actually cut the skin. A breath here or there, with the effort of trying to not be where the fast-moving blades are at any given time.

But, since she's already close, Duo reacts to this by reaching out to try and grab her by the front of her shirt. The hope is that he will be able to then surge forward, shoulder-first, into her and throw her back. As he surges forward, his feet don't seem to move, so much as merely slide forward.

COMBATSYS: Lotus blocks Duo Lon's Shuishu Shoukou.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
With a grit of her teeth, Lotus intercepts the charge before it gets close, shouldering the impact and reducing the force to a fraction of what it would have been.

Looking at Duo face to face, she grins, then abruptly breaths point blank! While it looks and sounds like someone trying to shove their bad breath on someone else, in this case, it is REALLY bad breath!

So bad it's corrosive, and tinted green!

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon dodges Lotus' Toxic Miasma.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
Duo hadn't quite expected her to 'catch' his shoulder. Though when she makes to just... start BREATHING at him, Duo narrows his eyes. It's like watching someone standing perfectly still while a large attack is bearing down on him or her -- if they're not worried about the attack, there's probably a reason. So Duo listens to his instincts, and zips back, out of range of the breath. Black Lotus may note Duo's body seems to 'dissolve' against her, just a little bit, and he zips back, fast enough to blur to the sight. And again, his feet seem to merely slide rather than step.

It turns out his instincts were right, as that green-tinted cloud exits just shy of ending up in his face -- close enough that he can smell it. He emits a sound that could either be a cough or a scoff. It's hard to tell, and his expression betrays nothing. While she's recovering, he tries to get 'under' her a little, aiming a sudden punch at her stomach. It's not a hard punch, and he'll be breaking off as soon as he throws it, hit or miss. He's just trying to stagger her now.

COMBATSYS: Lotus dodges Duo Lon's Medium Punch.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
As Duo evades, and punches low, Lotus leaps up and over him! She adds a corkscrew twist as she vaults, slashing with her daggers as she goes, aiming at the small of his back, in the attempt to slice into his back!

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon dodges Lotus' Random Strike.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
Twist, turn, duck, weave -- and as another strike comes aimed at his back, he leaps up, over the blade. He feels the blade whoosh through the air under him with the force. It's a good thing that missed; that might have been a bad wound otherwise.

However, as he's in the air, he dives down at her head, using his momentum to spin into a trio of kicks. It's not just kicks, either -- if they happen to hit, he'll be using her head to get more height for the second and third kicks, to maintain altitude!

COMBATSYS: Lotus parries Duo Lon's Genma Hishoukei Kou!

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Duo Lon          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
With a seemingly impossible inward twist just before she lands, Lotus rights to land on her feet and springs instantly back towards Duo! With speed to match his own, she catches his feet just behind the heel and deflects the kicks harmlessly as she speeds towards him! With all the force of her liftoff, she aims both weapons at his torso, aiming for the sides beneath the ribcage.

Soft and squishy with a lotta bleeding, but less likely to be anything truely lethal!

COMBATSYS: Lotus successfully hits Duo Lon with Deep Strike EX.
Grazing Hit

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Duo Lon          0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1            Lotus

[DUO LON]
They're both falling, how can Duo get out of this one? He tries to turn, to flip backwards. But no, he can't QUITE make it. One of the blades does miss its mark, but the other tears a thick line across his stomach, ripping the long shirt and dying the edges of that rip with his blood. A rare break in his composure, Duo emits a short cry of pain and surprise, head going back for a moment. Landing, he rolls back, pressing a hand to his stomach out of reflex. That hurt. She may call it 'playing', but this is very serious to Duo.

He hopes she doesn't expect him to run towards her so soon -- perhaps she'll figure he's 'learned his lesson' about getting close and won't expect it. He hopes so because that's exactly what he does. He tries to grab her again. But this time, instead of a shoulder charge, he swings his free hand up, in a clawed motion, aimed at her front. That won't just hurt if she doesn't get free in time, but it might just throw her back some!

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon successfully hits Lotus with Suite Maashiho.
- Power hit! -

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Duo Lon          0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1            Lotus

[LOTUS]
As lunatics go, it can be hard to tell sometimes what Lotus is expecting. Sometimes odd things actually suprise her! Other times, not so much.

When Duo moves in, she doesnt bat an eyelash. HOWEVER, she DOES completely misread his actions! Expecting another charge, she moves to slip past with the idea he'll pass right by. When the hand swings around, it takes her full on and then some! With a squeal of pain, she flies backwards a few steps. The smile on her face, coupled with the mad look in her eyes and blood dripping from her mouth, makes it hard to tell if shes loving this or hating it.

Either way, she IS hurt, and to a decent degree! At least, for now.

She staaaaaaaaaares at him, one eye twitching, watching his every movement.....

COMBATSYS: Lotus focuses on her next action.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Duo Lon          0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1            Lotus

[DUO LON]
If he'd been anyone else, Duo would have told her to clear off, that he'd let her leave if she left now. However, mercy isn't a concept that's ingrained in Duo Lon. His experience is that such people would only return and cause more trouble later. In this case, probably particularly for him, since he had presented a decent challenge thus far. And besides that, she might start hunting him, wondering why he'd let her go.

So no, Duo is not about to let her go. Instead, he presses the attack. He blurs forward, seeking to grasp her arm -- throwing her around seems to have had some success, so why not see if the streak continues? If he can manage to grab her arm, he'll try to spin her around and throw her against one of the buildings that form the alley around them.

COMBATSYS: Lotus blocks Duo Lon's Quick Throw.

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Duo Lon          0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1            Lotus

[LOTUS]
Her arm grabbed, Duo is able to fling Lotus at the wall with seeming ease....

She twists in the air, landing on her feet against it, and pushes off at high speed, coming at him with a "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" and a manic grin!

One she closes, she tries to sink those teeth of hers, dripping with blood and venom, directly into his neck and pump it directly into his bloodstream!

COMBATSYS: Lotus successfully hits Duo Lon with Deadly Kiss.
- Power hit! -

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Duo Lon          0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
Her recovery is faster than Duo expected. His eyes widen slightly, and he brings up an arm to try to block. She's too fast, though, and in short order Duo is slammed against the opposite wall of the alley. Worse, before he can recover, he feels the bite, and then the sensation of his blood having been set alight. It spreads quickly from the area of the bite, and he emits a choked sound.

He tries to struggle free, but the sudden wave of weakness that washes over him makes that impossible. He's unprepared for just how much strength it suddenly takes to move his body any sort of way. Thusly, bout all he's able to do in the direction of 'pulling free' is sliding to the ground. His head lolls back against the wall, and he grimaces. He needs to get his strength back, and fast!

In the meantime, he keeps his eyes on the crazy woman, trying to focus on her movements, so he can try to bide his time -- if he has it to spare.

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon focuses on his next action.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Duo Lon          0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0            Lotus

[LOTUS]
Little room is given by Lotus for Duo to recover as she pulls herself back after her bite to his neck.


Using both daggers, she combines various swipes and stabs as she persues her attack at his obviously weakened form. All the attacks, however, are not aimed at lethal areas, rather places that either bleed excessively, or hurt more than others!

It seems more about causing lasting harm to him than taking his life for her!

COMBATSYS: Lotus successfully hits Duo Lon with Armed Combo.
-*- DEVASTATING HIT! -*-

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Duo Lon          1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0            Lotus

[DUO LON]
Too weak to move much, Duo has little defense against the slashes and stabs from so many directions. He may move like a sapient mass of cooked spaghetti stuffed into a suit of clothes, but he does bleed. And oh God, does he EVER bleed! Teeth clenched, he resolutely refuses to let any of those noises of pain slip loose. Meanwhile he struggles and fights for some kind of respite from the damage. And finds none. But as his hand reaches out for something, anything, to strike back with, it rests upon something. It's one of the cases stolen from the bank.

By now Duo has determined that taking down this woman is not going to be possible. But he CAN do one thing. He grips the handle of the case, just as she raises the knife for another strike. And...

He closes his eyes.

It looks like he's merely accepting his fate. No more fighting, no more struggling, a calm and peaceful look on his face. Is he going to just... let her kill him? Is he making his peace with the world now?

No, as it turns out... he isn't. Duo pulls the case close to his side. The next swing comes... but instead of finding purchase in flesh, the blade cuts through ashes. Ashes that fall in a vague human shape in the general area of where Duo was sitting. It might look initially like she'd killed him and instead of leaving a body, his body merely dissolved into ash. But one thing will be out of place, one thing will make that unlikely.

The case he'd grabbed is missing too.

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon takes no action.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Duo Lon          1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0            Lotus

COMBATSYS: Duo Lon has left the fight here.

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

[LOTUS]
CLANK!

The latest stab passes through the ash and hits the brick wall behind where Duo had been. Lotus slowly runs the fingers of her other hand through the ashes as his 'body' dissolves, noting the case doing so as well. Some sort of escape, she guesses. Good! She DIDN'T kill him after all!

That means she can play with him later!

With a giggle, she puts away her weapons, and sloooooowly turns her head to look at the other case she escaped with. Picking it up, she takes out a pair of pink sunglasses. She quickly slips out of the thicker clothing she had been wearing, revealing casual attire underneath, and puts the shades on

With a giddy skip, she leaps over the fence (luckily unseen by anyone) and walks off, blending into the crowd and disappearing from view.

COMBATSYS: Lotus has ended the fight here.

Log created on 13:02:21 02/13/2018 by Lotus, and last modified on 18:25:18 02/13/2018.