Match of the Millennium

Description: In a stunning, accurately researched revelation on the actual activities behind the Christian cult known as The Catholic Church, Daniel Jack's latest adventure unveals the dangerous and seedy life of the criminal sect. Lead by the sinister Pope, the secret society of religious fanatics targets our hero as he works to save some lost souls. Sending their insidiously alluring but deadly Bridget, the holy agent manages to track and trap our stalwart hero. Will Daniel Jack resist the wiles of the holy agent? Or will he discover Bridget is... Nun Too Holy?! (The cover shows Daniel Jack stripped to the waist, chained to a massive rack. The rack is positioned over a massive font filled with boiling sacrimental wine. The pope sits on his throne watching, as a pair of nubile nuns cling to his legs. Two hooded cardinals in red cloaks stand on each side of him. Bridget stands by him, and is clad in both a habit and a strapless red dress. Bridget is running a cruel finger on his chest, head thrown back in cackling laughter as Daniel is clearly slowly being lowered into the font) (45 cents)

[DANIEL]
Nobody goes near the graveyard anymore.

The rumors started after that horrible accident at the chemical factory. There was a huge cover up, no charges were made. Just a bunch of buried bodies, and a dozen lawsuits that were settled out of court. The chemical plant was shut down; condemned. They still say that the local river would burst into flames; there is no more life in it anymore. The sightings started, after poverty seized the town, as the graveyard fell into disrepair, and local youths with no direction and no future took themselves to loitering between the stones.

That's when they first started seeing the ghosts.

Horrible, deformed shapes of humans, their skin melted into loose flaps upon their faces. Their nearly naked bodies were bound in medical wraps, as they drifted between the stones. That's when the sightings came. Youths don't hang around the graveyard anymore. There were out of towners coming in, to -see- the ghosts, to see the hauntings. Nobody got hurt yet, nobody did. For a moment, there was a hope as for a brief moment, a 'ghost sighting' economy began to rise. People wanted to see these melted ghosts haunting the graveyard. The attention was good, and there was even a gift shop.

And that's when they saw the shadowman.

A dark-skinned figured, dressed in a suit of orange, was beginning to be seen around the graveyard, appearing in the witching hour. That's when people started getting hurt. A team of ghost hunters was found one morning, bound and gagged, covered with bruises and burns, deliriously talking about how the shadowman pounced on them. Men would be safe relatively safe, they would only get attacked. But when a woman comes into the graveyard late at night, they say that his yellow eyes could stare right through you, as he draws back his rows and rows of razor sharp white teeth. He would come closer and closer, until you could swear you could feel his hot breath on you, the shadowy tendrils running up your leg. And before he could strike, there would be a flash of red, and then, he would be gone. The Ghost Hunters knew what he was. The rumored spirit that lurks places of the dead, that preys on the living and the dead... but especially women, in his own way. The shadowman. Daniel Jack.

The Lady Killer.

Nobody goes near the graveyard anymore, especially at night. Especially when the ghost lights hang heavy between the gravestones, as the ravens and crows stare with glowing yellow eyes from the dying trees and rusted fencing. Spirits drift amongst the stones, only appearing in the corner of your eyes, as the full moon glows high above. The weathered stone trail leads within, as the sound of murmuring and chattering comes from the heart. Nobody comes near now. There isn't enough money for the locals.

That's when he does his work.

[BRIDGET]
Urban legends and that thin, delicate strand of truth that can be found in them. That's what brings the sleekly curved nun to the graveyard. Searching, hunting for that thread of truth hidden among the rumors of ghosts and melting dead. Of old wounds and heavy, spiritual burdens.

Blue and white, and at once revealing of feminine figure and concealing of the other features - the habit hiding Bridget's hair and the slender cloth mask covering his nose and cheeks. Bound round the middle by that huge handcuff, worn like a hula-hoop belt, the figure is certainly striking.

"What do you think, Roger? Do you think we'll see a ghost tonight?" he asks, voice pitched to be femininely dulcet and soft. Roger doesn't respond from his favorite place to be carried - tucked beneath one slim arm of the girlish nun, while his other hand holds onto a pair of yo-yo's. Childish, child-like in a manner the might initially speak of someone lacking full cognition of a place and the potential for harm.

[DANIEL]
There is a cold wind that runs through as the youth approaches.

They are like sharp nails, tearing through to the very bones. Eyes are on the youth, as murmuring rises. The youth may very well see the gathering of souls in the center of the graveyard. Melted shapes of men and women, their states of their death twisted in the most horrible states. And amongst them, sitting down on a rock, is the figure in the orange zoot suit. Wearing a orange hat wit ha long feather, the shadowy figure mutters and talk in soft voices. Around his neck is a strange talisman, bearing a glowing blue light within it. This was it. This was how the Shadowman communes with the dead.

"...Okay, I don't get your problem scuzzy, and no offense on my short tempered, you dig?"

Daniel talks to a rather grumpy looking old ghost. His skull was exposed, and his facial bones looked all... lopsided. "Yes, you understand that it was all because OSHA was thrown out the window. Yes, those fat cats are a bunch of assholes. And yes, your family has moved out, so they aren't coming to you regularly. But they are happy, they loved you, they took the payment because they were poor as shit. But you can't just hang around until the CEO is murdered horribly by a grudge, you get me?" The ghost shakes his head firmly. "Nope, nope, I'm not moving along until that bastard knows exactly how I feel." There is a here-here from the other ghosts. Daniel rubs his temple. "Look, Maria passed on, and so did the Bridgers. You just got to forgive it, you dig? You just got to forgive, and you aren't stuck around here." There is a muttering from one of the ghosts. "Yeah but we know what you did with Maria." Daniel shakes a finger. "What I did to Maria is none of your business! That fine young-"

Daniel stops, pauses.

"You feel that?" He asks, narrowing his yellow eyes. The ghosts turn around, a haunting presence sweeping through. "A trespasser? An intruder!?" The mutterings come. Daniel raises his hands up. "Now hang on, just hang on folks. I'll sort this out, maybe it's just a-"

"I think it's a girl!"

"A girl?!" Daniel stands up, casting his yellow eyes towards the pathway. The ghosts sigh. "Dammit, Daniel." One of them states, as the shadow gives a grin. "Take a break, folks, I gotta get to the bottom of this, ahem." The shape of Daniel fades into shadow, as the shapes slip over the rocks, over the stones, over the graves... as the form of shadows begin to rush around the youth. Building around, with a cold cold wind. Someone was here. Someone was watching.

Someone was... hungry.

[BRIDGET]
"Look, Roger." The youth dropping their voice real low at the sight of the figures at the far end of the graveyard. "Do you see it, too?" Wide-eyed wonder paired with a British accent as Bridget continues to converse with the big, fluffy brown teddy bear. "/That/ one doesn't look the same. See how bright it is?" Pointing out the shape in the bright orange. "Maybe they can tell us what happened here."

Turning those blue and white boots towards the corner where the dead have gathered in their hideous glory, the youth's hips sway under the snug fitting outfit. Merely a holy servant, seeking knowledge. "Hey! Hi!" They call out, "I was hoping to have a moment, if you would?" Naive AND polite, sweetly so.

But then the shadows are rushing in, slithering over the worn headstones and along the walls of the crypts, forming that ring around Bridget and Roger. Nervous, they turn in a slow circle, hugging the bear tighter and using both arms now. Peering just over that fuzzy head, eyes wide, Bridget tries for friendly once more. "G-good evening. I hope everything is well? I was wondering if you needed some help crossing over. Maybe I could help?" So focused on the gathered dead that that predatory menace is simply applied to them, and the figure in orange is momentarily distracted from. "I'm Bridget. This is Roger." Maybe names will help ease that undercurrent of impending doom.

[DANIEL]
The haunting presence coils around.

The shape of the shadowman reforms right before the youth. The talisman was shining blue, building with a strange light. Those yellow eyes burn, as the presence seems to run up and down the youth. As the youth clings to the teddy bear, the hungry presence seems to build more and more as the full shape of the man reforms, the flash of orange coming last as the suit returns. The rows of white teeth come out, as the man Focuses, grinning on the wayward youth who had come at the wrong time.

"Sure I got a moment!"

For a horrific shadow monster, he was affable. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Bridget. And Roger." "Goodness, you're a brave young thing to be coming out all by yourself." Daniel tips the hat. "The name's Daniel, Daniel Jack. Or Daniel Little, however you wanna think it. Ah, no, I don't need any help crossing over, but some of the locals need a little bit..." The ghosts -glare- at Bridget, and the shadow seems a little disturbed by it. "... We're working something out. Maybe you -can- help." He gives a wink, that grin still burning. What a sinister suggestion, what kind of help did he -mean-. "It just depends on what kind of skills you got... but we can work that out." Daniel extends his elbow out, offering an escort to Bridget.

"Would you like a tour of the graveyard, while I fill you in?"

[BRIDGET]
Bridget squeaks when the man forms from the shadows themselves, knees pressed tight and feet splayed into an awkward stance. Poor Roger is about hug-throttled, one arm tight around the bear's neck. The friendliness puts them at ease, the death grip on the bear relaxing as Bridget offers an arm to lightly link their hand on Daniel's elbow. "A tour? Sure, I would love to hear about how I can help."

Roger is adjusted under the youth's arm and they fall into step, ready to be shown around the gloomy, frightening place. "I think, if we can consecrate the ground again, that would be a good place to start. Holy water and prayers to cleanse away the malignant energies that linger here."

If Daniel is quiet aware, he might recognize the swap from one kind of tension in Bridget's form to another. Though the shift from wide-eyed fear to that of a bloodhound that's picked up a scent trail might be hard to notice through one hand on an elbow.

[DANIEL]
Daniel's -well- aware of the swap.

Up close, he could almost taste Bridget's spiritual essence. The shade -was- a detective, after all. Casting his eyes up and down the youth, from the shoes to the legs, lingering on the hips a bit before going the rest of the way up, he could sense something unique about Bridget. He had to be careful. In command. ANd not expose -too- much, just in case. Daniel's grin is sincere, however; and while there is a kind of predatory aura around him, he keeps his elbow not too imposing, as he takes Bridget through the graveyard.

"So the ghosts here are active over that chemical plant that blew up a while back." Daniel begins. "It was an ugly accident, and well, these are the victims. And they are pissed over a whole lot of things- oh pardon my language." Daniel chuckles, lowering his head as he brings Bridget towards the group of ghosts. There were only 6, but all in horrific states of death. And they were -not- pleased looking in the least. "I've helped some of them move on, but these last few are -very- focused on a violent revenge angle, which I'm not really supportive of, so I am exploring alternatives..."

But alternatives like a straight exorcism.

"Ha ha ha well hold on there!" Daniel hastily intercepts, releasing his elbow from Bridget. He considers a bit, rocking his head back and forth. "Oh, I get it, the nun-garb- you're a penguin! I get it now, a-and you wanna exorcise this place! Well, uh, what..." Daniel eases his head side ot side a second time, the man looking -nervous-, as the ghosts -glare- at the pair of them. "I mean, cleansing away all the energy here would be... good! But it also would be... bad... for reasons..." Daniel tries to think of how to best explain it. Fortunately, one of the ghosts does it for him.

"Cause he wants to eat us."

That was the ghostly wail from the grumpiest looking ghost. Daniel -winces- at it. He looks away from Bridget a moment. "Well, yes I do partake in the consumption of spiritual essences, yes, but... yes that's also how I survive. But it's a good thing to help you guys move along!" He explains, looking at Bridget again. He grins sheepishly at the youth. "So a cleansing, well, that would get rid of -all- the spiritual energy. And I do good, you see, I help these spirits move on to the afterlife, and-"

"He also seduces ghosts!" Pipes up another ghost.

"Like a gigolo!"

Daniel -double- winces somehow, the grin turns upside down. "I... provide a comforting service for certain dead young ladies, yes." Daniel states affirmatively. "But you can see, purifying this place isn't exactly... good?" Daniel tries to sell to the naive youth. "Cause then I won't get to eat, and I wouldn't want to starve! I mean, wouldn't it be better to just... talk it out?" Daniel gestures at the scowling array of ghosts.

"I mean, you understand, right?"

[BRIDGET]
More of an ambush predator, Bridget waits. They wait until the fugitive is deep in his spiel, following along like a floppy-eared pup that simply knows no better. The ghosts dogpiling on Daniel is unexpected, and delightful, tickling the youth's fancy until...

"You...? With... with/corpses/?" Incredulous, Bridget stares at the man and then shakes her head. "Eat the dead? The souls? And... 'comfort' the ladysouls?" Does that need a condom? Can you get a ghost pregnant? Shaking off the derailing thoughts, Bridget pulls away slightly, more than a little creeped out by some of the implications and conclusions that can be jumped to.

"I think, I'm definitely going to have to find a priest to come down here." they say, giving Daniel the kind of withering look only a proper nun can manage. SOMEONE better be confessing.

Then Bridget is moving, unleashing that yo-yo in their right hand and trying to tangle the man up with it...

COMBATSYS: Daniel has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Daniel           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Bridget has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Daniel           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Bridget

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Bridget's Rolling Movement.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Daniel           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Bridget

[DANIEL]
Daniel starts getting even more nervous.

"N-no, not with corpses-" Daniel tries to explain. As a matter of fact you didn't need those things, but as Bridget locks that gaze upon him, he winces thricemore, stunned. As the yo-yo comes out though, he brings his arms up, catching it. For that purposes, it -works- in the sense that only those arms get tangled up, bound together tightly. "Look, come on, I think there is just a little misunderstanding...

"Oh my god is the kid going to kick your ass?"

One of the ghosts says, suddenly cracking up. "Look at this! Daniel's going to get his ass kicked by a teddy bear hugging kid!" The ghosts suddenly stop scowling, piling into a mass as they surround the pair from a distance, taking their places to the audience of this fight. Daniel looks helplessly at them, and then Bridget. "Look, I already am involved with priestess, so we don't need to worry about anything like that, right? I don't wanna hurt you..." Daniel eyes his talisman warily. It wasn't red. So maybe... he could just be a little gentle.

And he lunges in.

Daniel moves smoothly his form almost melting away into black mist as he shifts at Bridget. The yo-yo remains tangled, the string clinging with the smoke as the shadows reform right before Bridget. There, the monster... seems to fall into an aikido stance? Yes, broad legged and evenly balanced, he attempts to dip low, trying to seize Bridget by under the shoulder and hip in his cold hands. Should he get a grip? He would pivot, attempting to flip the youth over his own shoulder, to send Bridget flat out right on the cold stone pathway. It was a smoothly executed martial arts technique... as you would have facing a man.

Was this the dangerous technique of the ladykiller?

COMBATSYS: Bridget dodges Daniel's Strong Throw.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Daniel           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
Damn straight that kid's going to... at least try to kick Daniel's ass.

The stamering isn't exactly helping Daniel's case versus the notion of the bloke being a necrophiliac. But the ghosts are dogpiling on again, giving Daniel -such- a heckling, that Bridget's lips turn up at the edges in the tiniest of grins. They have the upper hand, for the moment, with the man's hands all tangled up in the wrapping yo-yo string.

The smile fades when Daniel moves in, still fast and light on his feet, sending the shapely nun twisting away, just out of reach and leaving him with nothing in his hands but a warm impression of cloth covered flesh against his palms.

Using the twisting motion, Bridget pivots through, and fluidly into a hard kick, aiming lwoer. If Daniel's hands are bound, the odds are good he might get dumped onto his butt, if Bridget can just hit that sweet spot to topple him.

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Bridget's Strong Kick.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Daniel           0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0          Bridget

[DANIEL]
The youth was fast.

For a moment, he only gets the faintess touch of the youth, the soft flesh with smooth clothing falling away from his fingertips. Grinning nervously, he holds up the bound arms, trying to calm down the nun."Listen here, sweetheart, I don't know what you're thinking about me, but I swear, everything I do is on the up and up! You just ask Ayame; well I mean, don't tell her about any of the, erm, girlie ghost parts." He hastily adds. "I know you are probably thinking I'm some kind of creepy monster-" "You are a creepy monster!" Daniel's attention shifts a split second, as the great big kick comes in. A little lower, as Daniel dimly notes... snapping back to attention as he realizes HOW much lower.

The -Bojangles-.

Daniel Little's Little Daniels are in danger, as the shade suddenly curls over, his limbs twisting -backwards- with the mist in order to catch it. In -that- regard, he manages to protect that critical point. As the limbs are -smashed- in, however, they are crushed into a fine black mist. The yoyo falls away, as his arms are nothing more but wisps for a moment. Armless, he looks desperately at the trails of miasma, teeth bared in a grimace.

"Come on, really?"

Daniel dips down to a crouch, as his arms slowly begin to reform again. "If you can hit him in the nards, Bridget!" Calls out a ghost. "I promise I'll pass over to the next world. That's my last request in this life!" Daniel shuts his eyes tight. Turning his whole body around, he unleashes a swift, low kick, attempting to trip Bridget down to the ground. All while seething out. "Charlie, please, this is very serious stuff!" The ghost snarls back.

"Shut up you creepy necrophile!"

COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Bridget with Light Kick.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Daniel           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
"You don't want to know what I'm thinking about. /I/ don't want to know what I'm thinking." Bridget admits, seeing his retaliation coming in and hunkering down, using their shin to block the kick by turning into it. There's a hiss of pain, the blow sure to leave some wicked bruises on the youth's leg.

Hopping back and turning, blading their body away to protect that smacked leg for a moment, Bridget laughs. "Deal, ghostie. Sorry, Daniel, the jewels have got to go." The ghost has needs that the soul-eater clearly isn't meeting. Maybe he should nomming on some boy-ghost, too!

Bringing the bear up in front of their chest, Bridget hurls the bear at the bounty, "Give him a good squeeze, Roger!" Just a bear, though, right? But, maybe not...

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Bridget's Roger Hug.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Daniel           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0          Bridget

[DANIEL]
Daniel was slowly reforming himself.

One of his arms manages to come into shape, reforming as he rises up from his sweeping kick. He didn't -like- hurting the cutie, but when she as looking to purify him, well, maybe there was sexier ways of getting purified? Right now though, as long as she had necro-parties on the mind, Daniel just wasn't gonna get through with her. As that hiss of pain comes, he even looks a little concerned. "We'll I mean, it's natural for a young lad-" Daniel begins to say lady, but is suddenly cut off by a a teddybear getting hurled at his face. Bringing his arm up instinctively, he doesn't think much.... until he feels the -sudden- pressure.

"AGH!"

"AAAAAGH!"

"IT'S SQUEEZING ME!"

There is a round of applause from the six ghosts. "Yeah! Yeah! Tear his balls off!" They cheer, shaking their fists as the root, root, root for Bridget. .

"Tear His Balls Off!

"Tear His Balls Off!"

"You ghosts are fucking assholes!" Daniel spits out, finally pushes the teddy bear off... losing the arm in the process, as it dissipates into mist. Daniel -rolls- his eyes "Sorry about the language! But are really pushing me Bridget. I mean, we could have been friends, maybe a little more, you dig?" Daniel gives a quick wink, before his other arm pops back. Rotating it, he rolls his neck. "But it looks like I'm gonna have to really make it heavy..."

"You dig?"

Daniel gives a stomp of his black shoe foot, shadows flooding deep below. Dark energy floods around him, as he struggles to make his other arm grow back. Drawing his other arm back, the corrupting force builds around pure orange light. Chi flows around his arm, as he swips his arm hard. Pushing backwards, he unleashes a quick wave of black and orange energy, attempting to push distance between himself, Bridget, and Roger. All while crying out the name of the attack.

"KASANE ATE!"

COMBATSYS: Bridget fails to interrupt Mikansei Kasane Ate from Daniel with Intercepting Strike.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Daniel           0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
Daniel is going to have to try harder than that if he wants to be baptized in Bridget's Holy Waters.

With the bear glomped onto Daniel's face, Bridget eases in, closing some distance until poor Roger is flung aside so roughly. "Hey! You hooligan!" No one gets to be mean to Roger! Interestingly, the fluffy fellow poofs as soon as he hits the ground, cropping back up clinging to Bridget's back like a tattle tale whispering in their ear all the bad things the mean man did to him.

"Are you calling me fat?!" Heavy! Snort! Indignant, Bridget starts to sidestep and set up for their next attack on the soul-sucker, but there's the warcry and stomp, followed by that wave of gathered energy.

Normally so polite, there's a low. "Oh, bugger." and the youth tries to duck around the wave of chi Daniel summons, trying to bitch slap the focus off his face and disrupt the attack.

Reaching and lashing out at Daniel doesn't mean the youth got away scott free. Nope. There's a gash along their side that exposes pale, soft skin where the flesh and cloth is torn away, some of that skin left black and gooey. Like maybe Daniel can't figure out where the nun's font resides.

[DANIEL]
The hunger was building.

Being so close to the nun, with the thrill of the fight, he gets his distance from the youth. And there, he looks at the missing wisp of an arm... as it grows solid. "Oh heck yes." Daniel grins, as both of his arms are back. Now the chi was flowing freely, as energy builds up around him. Looking at the gash of soft flesh, he takes in a deep breath through his nose, picking at the scent of the holy nun, letting it flow in. "Look, sorry about Roger, but I gotta do what I gotta do-"

"Oh dammit he's gonna do the thing."

Daniel shoots a glare at the audience. "What's wrong with my thing?!" Daniel objects, as he brings his arms up. "Besides, what brought you here, sweetheart? You wanted to go and bust some ghosts? Maybe you were just looking for me, the tall, dark, and handsome spirit. Come on, sweetheart, what are you up to?" Daniel Jack bares his teeth in a grin, sizing up his opponent for a moment.

And he strikes.

A hand chop with the right, a palm strike with the left. Perfectly formed, perfectly flowed, and burning with the black energy that coursed through him. The combination chains into a straight kick with his left leg, before he hurls out a slicing wave of chi with his right hand. The assault comes to a close as he hooks his left hand around, attempting to catch Bridget by the clothing. Should he manage to get the grip, he would pivot, swinging Bridget up and over to throw the poor youth across the graveyard, aiming right for a gravestone. A relentless combination.

And almost effortless in execution.

COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Bridget with Harlem Sunset.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Daniel           1/------=/=======|=======\=====--\1          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
Bridget is delicious, this is truth. Just look at those hips and thighs, that shapely form and pretty skin that SOMEONE had to go and ruin by being a meanie head.

"It's small and insignificant to the living." Bridget snaps off, smirking despite the pain from the hits they've taken. There's no reply to the more serious questions. Bounties hunters never talk about motives. Not when money is the easiest followed by: getting bad guys off the streets.

Seeing it coming, Bridget tries to endure the onslaught that Daniel puts out, trying to withstand the hard strikes, and staggered back by the palm strike, sent stumbling by the kick. A ragdoll bouncing from blow to blow until his hands take hold of their clothing, gripping hard. Bridget meets the man's gaze, running her tongue along her teeth before their feet leave the ground and they're casually hucked halfway across the graveyard, hitting the headstone hard enough to split the stone and knock the wind from the youth. The small strip of cloth covering their nose and cheeks is torn away, the habit left skewed from the impact.

Rising from the ground, achingly slow, one arm folded across to hold the torn side that impacted the gravestone and panting. "That all... you got?" Feisty, even now. The hand holding their side comes away, heavy yo-yo in hand before Bridget charges towards Daniel, sprinting in fast to close the distance. Lashing out with the yo-yo, they seek to entangle the man again, binding him brutally tight before sliding to a stop and jerking, pulling with the strength of adrenaline to launch him towards the stars. To see the moon.

COMBATSYS: Daniel fails to interrupt Shoot the Moon from Bridget with Jumping Jack Flash EX.
- Power fail! -

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Daniel           1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0          Bridget

[DANIEL]
Yes, Daniel -would- look at those hips and thighs.

He barely even registers the insult back. That shapely form and pretty skin was busy dancing in his head. Heck, Daniel even has the briefest of instincts to go and -ruin- it by being a meanie head. Daniel could imagine it with every blow, every strike. Even the ghosts were reacting to it, cursing and recoiling at the assault. Daniel could taste Bridget almost, ready to tip that font over to dabble in the holy water.

He could even imagine it now, as Daniel breaks the habit, hurling the poor youth against the gravestone.

He could hear it now. 'No... no.... Daniel... Jack?!' Bridget would say, recoiling in terror. Daniel would then be standing over her, glaring down with increasing power, his muscles over. "Please, I will do anything... anything..." The nun would plead. But Daniel, being a noble and good guy, could see himself resisting the opportunity, and reassuring Bridget that he would accept the apology. But only in exchange for a night of fine dining. Daniel already has a calm smile on his face as he almost mindlessly charges back at Bridget, ready to meet whatever Bridget was doing with a solid palm strike to the face. He barely even notices as he slams that palm... into a yo-yo string. Daniel suddenly finds himself charging into a yoyo, that was wrapping around him.

"Well this is fine." He assures himself.

The pivot comes, and he realizes that he is getting sent up, up, up into the air.

"This is NOT FINE OH GOD!" He cries out as he is sent hurtling skywards.

Daniel looks up, as he comes closer and closer to the moon, which grows bigger and bigger. Was this happening? Was this real? Shooting for the moon, he could feel the earth growing more and more distant. But then, the approaching moon doesn't approach so fast. For a brief moment, slows to a stop. Daniel breathes a sigh of relief, as he realizes that no, he wasn't going to the moon. In fact, the moon was going further and further away, as Daniel begins his descent. Further and further, faster and faster. Daniel's relief turns to dawning horror, as he looks back down, arms flailing as the earth starts returning back to him at an ever accelerating rate.

There is a great, dark smear as Daniel crashes back to the earth, splattering into a thin dark mist over the graveyard.

There is a moment of silence, only broken by one of the ghosts with a dismissive sigh.

"He's coming right back, of course."

The black smear pulls itself together, as the vague, pitch-black shape of the shade comes together in only the loosest of humanoid form. The orange zoot suit wasn't even back yet, as the yellow eyes peer out in a dazed fashion. "Oh... oh lord... That was... " Daniel pauses a moment, trying to get his senses back together again. "It's small and insignificant to the living." He repeats back. His eyes go wide, snapping his attention back to Bridget.

"Were you making fun of my Little Daniel?"

[BRIDGET]
So much finding himself in that sweet font. But he did splatter everywhere, so that maybe counts for something? Leaving poor Daniel wanting some Holy water, Bridget watches him go up, up, up, then come crashing back down, down, down.

It gives the youth a moment to catch their breath, and find that ghost, smirking as they point at the goo. "That, I believe, counts as a crotch shot. The crotch is -somewhere- in there. Which means it got hit. You best be crossing." Giving the ghost a dose of that nun stinkeye before focusing on the mess as it begins to reintegrate itself into that form of the man.

And Bridget isn't about to let him put his clothes back on, or catch /his/ breath. Snapping the yo-yo out to the end of it's string, it's quickly whirled and spun about their slim, battered body, faster and faster until it's a blur of motion. The youth moves forward, the yo-yo heavy and striking out over and over in quick succession, trying to beat the seducer of the dead into submission.

"ON YOUR KNEES!"

COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Bridget's Starship.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Daniel           1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0          Bridget

[DANIEL]
That probably -does- count.

The ghosts take Bridget's order and look with a grim seriousness. They commune, muttering with each other. Mutter mutter mutter. And finally, they pull away. "We will allow this, because honestly, this is the most entertained we've been since we died. Plus, you totally busted the hell out of him. Thank you, Bridget!" The ghosts suddenly fade away, their energies dissipating...

... Flowing straight to Daniel's talisman, which glows with an ever brighter blue light.

Daniel Jack seems to infuse with the power, his body recovering faster. His reaction to the ghosts going away though. "That's... pretty good! That's great! Okay, maybe I misjudged you." Daniel didn't seem to be all that distraught about the penis insults OR being sent hurtling skyward. In fact, he was just easing back to the flirting. He didn't expect this young cute thing to be so... forceful. In fact, when the yoyo comes, he almost seems ready to lean in. But when the command comes?

Daniel instinctively assumes the position, going on his knees.

Bringing his arms up, they take the brunt of the barrage, being battered by the storm of swinging yoyos. Daniel... Daniel seemed to be very interested now, getting knocked lower and lower. As one arm is dissipated into mist, the orange zoot suit begins to reform. Grinning, Daniel squints at Bridget. "Gosh, you remind me of my ex, you know?" Daniel says, looking at Bridget with... a new candor. Focusing hard on the youth, he looks up and down, at every curve... almost an hour-glass shape, almost a spider-like abdomen. And the chest... maybe it was concealing the true bust. Daniel holds back, eyes wide. There was one thing he knew that would identify his lost love more than anything else, knocked to his lowest, he peers up ever so slightly...

"... F-f-fio, is that you!?"

COMBATSYS: Daniel Jacks it up a notch!

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Daniel           1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
And that cant of hip. Daniel goes down to his knees and the hip juts out. Confident, cocky. "Good boy." Those dulcet, soft tones back again as Bridget saunters up to the bounty. Slightly to the side, so not quite directly in front of the man, Bridget flicks the hat off with a smirk. "Fio?" Shaking their head before ruffling the man's hair, combing fingers through and taking a firm hold.

"Bridget." Saying it like he would do well to remember it, giving him a little shake with their hand. "You -want- to be a good boy, don't you?" they purr, looking down at the man on his knees. "Be a /gooood/ boy."

"I think you need some communion, and a confession of your sins. Then baptism."

"But first..." the yo-yo is allowed to drop so the cord is at full length, "Give me your hands."

[DANIEL]
Daniel feels a little... hot under the collar.

While his outfit is a little bit more of a manifestation than anything else, he still tugs at it. He stares at the hips, as the fingers go through his hair. "Sorry, I thought you were.... a reincarnation of someone I lost. You have that same air, you dig?" He says solemnly, peering up. "I didn't think nuns would be so... discipline. At least at such a young age, with so little... experience." It seemed that Daniel might be out of the woods here. And all it would take is...

A little bit of the holy rollers.

Daniel Jack keeps his head down, looking up to Bridget as his body reforms. "Well a gentleman always partakes in communion when asked and allowed..." He says, tilting his head at the hip sway. "... Especially when there is a promise of a baptism afterwards." Daniel cocks his head aside the other direction, swallowing hard. The shade gives a deep breath, as the yoyo just dangles there, at the full length. Submissively, Daniel holds up his hands in prayer. "Well, you can do with these whatever you wish... or need" He says.

Giving a wink to Bridget.

COMBATSYS: Bridget gains composure.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Daniel           1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0          Bridget

[BRIDGET]
Bridget has, clearly, gone about this all wrong the entire time. Who would have thought the ghost-lover would have since a wicked streak to him? "Delightful." The british accent coloring the word, Bridget studying the man with his hands uplifted and his willingness to receive the communion he desperately needs. The hand in his hair gives a tug before letting go, and the nun takes their time in binding those hands up nice and tight and thoroughly. Even weaving a bit of the cord between the fingers so he is forced to keep them pressed palm to palm, in prayer.

Once he is trussed up, she looks him over, looking pleased with the situation. Toying with the torn flesh on their side, fingertips gather up a bit of blood and she paints his lips with it, giving him pretty crimson lipstick. And just a taste. "I don't like being watched. Let's go for a walk, pretty boy."

[DANIEL]
Because Daniel was -dumb- when it came to pretty faces with a solid set of birthin' hips.

He spits it out a bit as the blood is smeared. "Oh, uh, I don't really... do blood. Just souls, miss. Like you see this lantern?" He nods at the talisman. "That's a gift from that nice priestess I had a thing with. I help ease the souls of the dead, I hang around places of death, and their spiritual essence gets absorbed passively. I don't have to soul eat! It's great. So, erm, where are we going?" Daniel pulls on the string, as he looks over the graveyard. "I mean, is this like, an actual confession confession thing? Like I'm Methodist, so maybe I'm misunderstanding this whole Catholic thing." Daniel continues on, prattling as he struggles with the strings. On -one- hand he could turn shadow and escape. But on the other, he was having a good feeling about this Bridget.

You never worry about anybody who knows their knots, after all.

Wiggling his arms a bit, he rises up to a stand. Daniel wasn't ensnared by the strings, really, but the allure and promise of such a fair little thing. Wriggling a bit, he grins eagerly."So what's the plan, sweetheart. Is confession next, in a nice private, quiet place?" He waggles his eyebrows, his shadowy visage fading into a much more... human expression. He twitches his mustache.

"Or are we going straight to the baptism?"

[BRIDGET]
There's a glance to the pendant and the nun nods."A sacred relic." Bridget muses, leaning down to study the thing before prodding it with a finger, tracing the glowing stone. Surely, this is the source of the monster's power. And potentially his libido.

Straightening, she cants that broad hip out again, watching him get to his feet and having to look up at him."The plan? We're going to go for a walk to find a quiet place. And you're going to be a good boy and walk along nice and quiet for me. And then, then we play confession and I will gladly baptize you with some of those holy waters." Bridget purrs, knowing precisely which thread to tug to keep him interested in the game they play now.

To add incentive, they rise up on tiptoe and use a hand to tug at Daniel's hair, dragging him down for a hard kiss, the sort meant to bruise the lips and leave him breathless. Of course, during the kiss, Bridget tries to nick that pendant with one hand, while the other goes about a firm, but thorough, examination of the front of the bounty's britches.

[DANIEL]
It would be just a sleight of the hand.

The pendent is nickable, certainly; Daniel would almost be perceptive enough to see it. While Bridget was not fully understanding the purpose of the relic, that didn't seem to matter for this moment. As the hips come out, Daniel almost seemed to get a little skeptical. Until the firm tone comes. "Baptize me with those... holy waters?!" Daniel sighs, fluttering his eyelashes.

Dammit Daniel.

Utterly putty in the youth's hands, he is kissed, and all last resistances fail. And Daniel is helpless to the wiles of Bridget. Daniel almost was ready to convert, and given a hail mary to the pope or whatever. Drunk and dazed, the front of the britches was... unfortunately clear of anything. It seemed that not everything has fully reformed yet after impact. Daniel seemed optimistic, however, as he gazes down the path out of the graveyard...

"Is it... just down the trail then...." He coos, smacking his lips, utterly dazed.

[BRIDGET]
Finding nothing of interest with the hand at his pants, Bridget giggles. "I was right. I did whack the family jewels." Bridget coos, taking a step back and then turning, holding the leash made of the yo-yo over her shoulder, like a dominatrix leading a well-behaved slave won at auction. The other hand tucks the pendant under the nun's outfit, putting it away to keep it safe. Hello, bonus! Because fifty-five grand isn't enough. Bridget had to kiss the bad guy, after all.

A small tug to the line gets them moving, Bridget certain to keep those thick hips swaying with each step, pouring out the sexy with all the sass of every man in a lady's clothes to ever walk a drag stage.

Out of the graveyard and down the path, Bridget keeps going, not even pausing when they walk past the ambush point for the NOL units on standby waiting to take down the bounty and ship him off to a safe place for judgment.

[DANIEL]
Daniel justs nods along, dumbfounded.

"Yeah... whacked them... right off..." He gives a long hum. He didn't even notice the lantern gone, the gift from Ayame to keep him fed and moral. Bridget didn't know it, but she was taking all that was keeping Daniel from being a monster. But Daniel was in la-la land; even without the equipment, the detective's spirit was so easily twisted by a dame pulling the right levels, and flicking the right switches. He is pulled along, hypnotized by every sway, ready to get filled with the holy spirit.

Daniel barely even notices when the suppressive field is triggered.

"GRAAAAGH!" He calls out as the switch is hit and a large, glowing glass orb suddenly beams out from a bush. A light fixes on him, his shadow form scattering. Daniel suddenly locks up. Instinctively falling into a cloud of mist, he tries to escape, tries to flow away into the shadows. The act only brings the field down more, as the shade swirls and swirls and swirls around the light, ultimately draining away into a single, large orb. The NOL engineers stare, as the bounty is captured. The blue and white uniformed agents stare in slack jaw, as the face of the detective -glares- out in shock from the glass container, as the seals begin to glow on it. "What the- YOU TRICKED ME!" He blinks, as the lead agent steps out to Bridget, reaching out to shake the youth's hand. "I didn't think you could do it. Good work!" Daniel sighs.

"God dammit, I can't even trust -nuns- now?!"

[BRIDGET]
"Mhmm..." The reply hummed. When the light comes, Bridget stops without looking back, waiting until the line goes slack and winding up the cord for the yo-yo before turning to study the face of the man within the orb. "Shame. You can't trust a bounty hunter, Daniel. I wish you the best, whatever they decide to do with you." Bridget seems genuinely a bit sad. Not all bounties are gross beasties that are blood thirsty monster. Some are just friendly necrophiliacs that hold court with ghosts.

Hand shaken, Bridget bows slightly. "A pleasure. I'll be along to collect the bounty in short order." They turn towards the orb. "Maybe you'll learn to keep your sinner's appetites in better control in the future." Bridget says by way of warning, of fable. A lesson to learn about such unseemly appetites.

COMBATSYS: Bridget has left the fight here.

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

[DANIEL]
Daniel was going through a lot of emotions.

The first was anger, first at Bridget. Then the prison. Then of course, himself. It would be his mistake to get himself caught over a honey trap like that. Of course, as the container is loaded into the back of a van, it becomes more apparent that a grim disappointment was overtaking him. But what about his relic?

The lantern.

Ayame's gift was missing. Was it at the Graveyard? Did the NOL take it? No, it was Bridget. The femme fatal in a nun habit had lifted it. And now... what would happen? Would it explode on her? On him? And that leads to the final feeling, as he begins his trek to the NOL detention center.

He was starting to feel a little hungry.

Log created on 13:15:39 04/19/2018 by Daniel, and last modified on 23:28:00 04/19/2018.