Match of the Millennium

Description: Potemkin is dispatched when the streets of Zepp are thrown into chaos by insurgents who couldn't tolerate letting go of the money and power that came from slavery. Rebellions are often messy and this one is no exception.

COMBATSYS: Insurgents has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Insurgents       0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Grigori has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Grigori          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0       Insurgents

[ARANHA]
The insurgency was quiet at first. Little whispers here and there of those discontent with the loss of money/power that came with the ending of slavery. There were those who simply had enjoyed a station before Gabriel had taken over. Some of those switched sides for the sake of keeping their heads attached to their neck. Others went underground. Then there were those that went underground but made sure to keep in contact with those swapped sides to keep in the know for an appropriate moment to strike. With the loss of resources, they weren't able to secure weaponry that they were accustomed to, many of them were nobles and merchants that never received military training. The numbers increased and eventually one of the former nobles rose up to lead them. Meanwhile, those that currently still in the government that want to return to the old ways get the benefit of a group of patsies should this uprising fail.

Grigori the leader of this particular uprising is pointing to various targets as he attempts to cause as much chaos as possible.

[POTEMKIN]
Potemkin waves

Potemkin has spent much time away from home in recent months. To much time it seems. As the chief soldier among the Presidential Guard and one of Zepp's elite fighting soldiers, the presence of this insurgency and the dangers that they pose weigh heavily upon him. Should he have seen this coming? Been better prepared for this? Would it even have been possible to expect this at this moment? The chaos in Illyria has sent the small but potent nation into the skies and in this chaos these terrorists have struck. There is to much going on and much to report to Gabriel but securing his safety and that of Zepp's citizens in this time of crisis must be done first.

The military jet carrying the giant warrior roars over head, darting towards the combat zone with a sonic boom in its wake. As it approaches the drop zone, its cargo bays open up and reveal a massive metallic container which extends outward, held by gigantic automated arms.

"Potemkin, deploying." rumbles a deep voice over the military frequencies just before the box is released and and booster jets fire from it to propel it from the skies in an aimed trajectory for the combat zone. "I will secure the President. We must push back this insurgency and re-establish order for the security of Zepp's future!"

The box practically explodes open and Potemkin's monsterous body emerges, blocking out the sun itself over the heads of the combatants. Like a meaty armored missile, he plummets in towards a large city square and then explodes into an earth shaking impact that tilts nearby buildings and sends a dust cloud plumming upwards in a mushroom shape. A moment pauses..and he emerges, looking unharmed and with his brightly glowing eyes narrowed as he thunderously approaches the rebel soldiers.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Insurgents       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-------|

[ARANHA]
Upon seeing the box explode, some of the insurgents who happen to be close by seem to be shaken by the massive man who seems to be unharmed by the descent and not only that is leaping into the fray. Grigori starts shouting orders in an attempt to get his rag tag army to focus on the massive soldier now heading their way.

Grigori points to Potemkin and shouts, "We cannot let him get to the President! CONTAIN HIM!!!!"

The chaos at least partially becomes focused as now the mob now has its attention on Potemkin. Grigori leads the charge heading towards him with a slash his knife while the mob try to grab him and pull him by his limbs.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks Grigori's Knife Slash.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks Insurgents' Crowd Control.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-------|

[POTEMKIN]
You would be wise to give yourselves up and surrender. I have no authority to offer you any sort of clemency but I can assure you that if you give up now you will avoid making matters even worse for yourselves."

Potemkin's deep voice rumbles like an earthquake that has decided to speak its mind. A thriving bass rumble that wells up from the depths of his vast chest and rattles into the pits of the stomachs of nearby listeners. Naturally it does nothing to ause them to fall back and indeed as he speaks they are upon him, attempting to drag his huge body downward while the knife slash comes arcing in against his uniform, only to skid across some of the metal and send sparks flying.

Potemkin's body, however, is monolithic..and his strength even more so. He simply stands there, unmoving against the efforts to push him back or slash into him and he finishes his statement with calm confidence. He then shakes his head.

"Very well."

He suddenly lunges a huge arm upward and then brings it down in a thunderous burst of force, practically slamming his body down into the ground with such power that seismometers are triggered elsewhere in the city as the earthquake rocks out around him in all directions. The shockwave capable of flipping cars, let alone those who are clamouring over him in close proximity.

COMBATSYS: Grigori dodges Potemkin's Slide Head.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Insurgents Toughs Out Potemkin's Slide Head!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-----==|

[ARANHA]
As the ground gets slammed, Grigori makes a desperate and incredibly ungraceful leap away from the ground zero and manages to avoid the quakes. The mob of insurgents on the other hand in a odd bout of teamwork push as one to continue to surround Potemkin in an attempt to resist the force that the behemoth is putting out. Individually they'd have no chance, but together they manage to resist it with perhaps four people falling to the ground and unfortunately getting trampled.

When the aftershocks subside they move in close once again. If they should manage to grab a hold of him, they will hoist him up as one and then throw him towards a wall. Meanwhile, Grigori is trying to reposition since the desperate dive took him away from any possible attack vector which wouldn't endanger the troops as /mostly/ disorganized as they seem to be.

COMBATSYS: Grigori takes no action.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-----==|

COMBATSYS: Insurgents successfully hits Potemkin with Crowd Surfing.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/---====|

[POTEMKIN]
That..actually worked, impossible though it may seem. Potemkin weighs more then some cars, nearly all of it muscle and that's not including the chi-tek gauntlets and ammo casings on his form. Either way the teamwork ends up pushing him -away- from Grigori, which would have been his focused target. Instead he slams into a wall with considerable force that actually rattles him slightly and forces him to stagger back while putting a hand up to his helmet to try and shake off the cobwebs.

"I cannot lose Grigori's position. IF he goes down there is a good chance the insurgency will scatter." he rumbles into his radio support, "Keep his coordinates coming to my armor!"

But to get to Grigori he'll need to go through the crowd. He pushes off of the wall and suddenly dashes forward, barreling like a semi truck into the group of insurgents with both of his huge arms drawn backwards..and then thundering forward like some massive bull dozer intending on rushing right through them.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin successfully hits Insurgents with Hammer Fall.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Insurgents       1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/--=====|

[ARANHA]
This time, the mob isn't able to hold it's ground. The effort in resisting the earthquake and then lifting the giant into the air, even if it was a group effort, was too difficult for them to sustain for a long period of time.

Meanwhile, it would seem that Potemkin in his effort to make Grigori's life difficult has made his life, at least for the moment a little easier. As Potemkin scatters the troops, it gives Grigori a clear shot at Potemkin and he pulls a second knife and flings it towards the behemoth's neck.

Meanwhile some of the insurgents seem to get back to their feet and proceed to attempt to tackle and pummel Potemkin in a massive dogpile.

COMBATSYS: Grigori successfully hits Potemkin with Knife Throw.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Potemkin fails to interrupt Smash and Grab from Insurgents with Trishula.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/-------/=======|

[POTEMKIN]
The knife whirls thorugh the air only to slam blade first in Potemkin's upraised arm.. The damage is minimum but Grigori's true intent and target was clear and Potemkin's eyes narrow as he locks his gaze onto the position of the insurgent leader while attempting to surge forward through the crowd.

It's...less then successful. As the crowd pulls around him again he lunges a massive fist upwards with a huge build up of chi beginning to occur around him...but it's to late. Distracted by Grigori and underestimating the speed of the crowd costs him and ends up being pulled down to the ground with the weight of the people pressing down upon his massive form.

"Hurk...again and again fail to find a purchase of strength to let me aid my country!" he hisses to himself in frustration. "This cannot be allowed to stand!"

[ARANHA]
Once again, the crowd manages to both stymie both Potemkin's ability to attack the head so the body can die and Grigori's opportunities to attack Potemkin in return. Grigori is not one to tell his rag tag army to stop attacking while a threat still exists but accidentally hitting his own people is incredibly bad for morale. Once again, he'll hang back optin to once again pick his shots.

Meanwhile, the crowd continues to attempt to kick and stomp. The crowd seems to get in it's own way. Even for someone as big as Potemkin, there isn't enough room to go around for everyone to attack him. Others content themselves with vandalism.

COMBATSYS: Grigori takes no action.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks Insurgents' Flash Mob.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/-------/=======|

[POTEMKIN]
As the flash mob bears down on him, Potemkin's eyes narrow and his physique seems to bulk up and harden even further. The vast plates of flesh beneath his uniform flexing and dividing and subdividing into their massive sinewy sectors and seemingly becoming harder then the hardest of super alloys. The kicks and stomps find no purchase as he rises up, people tumbling off of his towering form as his defenses bolster his tremendous strength and grant him the power to omve against the tide.

"We are going to try this again. I will continue to press for Grigori. Continue to round up Insurgents in your sector." he declares over the radio with determination and focus.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-======|

[ARANHA]
The insurgents once again are still too tightly packed for Grigori to make his move, he can at the very least lay down the foundations for the next attempt to lay Potemkin low. As those close to the massive Zepp soldier take torches to Potemkin's body, Grigori is telling those who are on the outer fringes to start readying the molotovs.

There are still those that are looting the streets of Zepp heedless of Grigori's commands. The chaos has brought out those who just want to see the world burn.

COMBATSYS: Grigori takes no action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Insurgents successfully hits Potemkin with Random Weapon.
- Power hit! -

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-======|

Grigori falls asleep.

Insurgents falls asleep.

Grigori wakes up.

Insurgents wakes up.

Grigori falls asleep.

Insurgents falls asleep.

[POTEMKIN]
Flames whirl as if caught in a fire twister, pulling towards the vents on Potemkin's gauntlets as he stretches forward through the burning torches and splays his palm out wide in the direction of a group of the insurgents. It seems the proverbial kid gloves have come off now as the behemoths eyes flash red and his second wind drives him forwad with renewed determination.

"Heat Knuckle..!" he rumbles as chi-tek bullet casings fall from his gauntlets and flame and chi energy well up within him.. "EXTEND!!"

The gauntlet bracers open up wide, revealing the Zepp tech within as energy flashes and POtemkins' massive fists grasp for a group fo the insurgents and then unleash a rapid fire series of earth shaking explosions.

[ARANHA]
Grigori wakes up.

Insurgents wakes up.

Grigori falls asleep.

Insurgents falls asleep.

Grigori wakes up.

Insurgents wakes up.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin successfully hits Insurgents with Heat Knuckle Extended.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/=======|

Grigori had been giving orders for the mob to peel off so that those farther back can lob molotovs in Potemkin's direction. This turns out to be a mistake. That's what gives Potemkin enough space to let loose with a barrage of chi-tek ordnance. Of course, Grigori wasn't exactly schooled in tactics and his leadership is more in the vein of charismatic leadership rather than strategic leadership so mistakes like that aren't exactly a surprise.

Those of the rag tag insurgents closer to Potemkin are blasted away from him. Some turned to chunky salsa, and some of the lucky ones lost limbs. Others farther away have lost their molotov bottles to explosions. Those that still remain unharmed are suffering from a severe morale loss and are scattered.

Grigori, seeing the increased lack of cohesiveness of his ad hoc army, charges to the front now that things are open for him to attack Potemkin and show that he could be hurt and that they together can take him down. He goes for a stab in the behemoth's stomach and should he get that initial stab, twist the knife pull it out.

COMBATSYS: Insurgents takes no action.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Grigori successfully hits Potemkin with Fierce Strike.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0          Grigori
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/=======|

[POTEMKIN]
They may be insurgents but they are still citizens of Zepp and Potemkin takes no thrill in violence of any sort. He is a stalwart and resolute soldier but is saddens him nonetheless to unleash such armaments on poorly armed and frenzied soldiers who have simply bought into Grigori's message without consideratio for the true consquences. Thus when Grigori strikes at him..he welcomes it, enabling him to turn his attention towards the leader as the knife comes hurtling towards his body...and seems to do absolutel nothing to slow the monstrous soldier down.

"You should already know the futility of this." he warns Grigori, his mammoth physique actually warping the knife as it attempts to pierce the flesh of his impossibly gigantic body. "Surrender before you and more of your makeshift army pays the price."

A massive fist blurs around as he finishes, the huge hand like an incoming truck as seeks to slam into Gigori like a falling hammer and send him hurtling to the ground infront of the giant. "You will not be allowed to take away the freedom that we have rightfully won!"

COMBATSYS: Potemkin successfully hits Grigori with Hammerblow.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0          Grigori
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/------=/=======|

[ARANHA]
Seeing that Grigori joined them in this fight in earnest does a lot to help the morale of what little left of the army is left. Seeing him flattened face down the ground doesn't the morale so much. When he works his way back to his feet, he flashes a bloody grin at Potemkin.

After wiping the blood from his split lip, he hisses at Potemkin, "They should've never released you from your chains you filthy piece of scum."

Orders are sent out for the insurgents to start lobbing cocktail molotovs. Grigori discards the now warped knife he was previously using and pulls out yet another knife. This particular one gets aimed for a stabbing targetting the thigh so he has trouble getting away... Or coming after them should they need to retreat.

COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks Insurgents' Molotov.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0          Grigori
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/------=/=======|

COMBATSYS: Grigori successfully hits Potemkin with Knife Thrust.
- Power hit! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0          Grigori
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         1/-----==/=======|

[POTEMKIN]
Readouts within Potemkin's helmet quickly gauge the efforts of the Insurgents and Grigori and the soldier quickly calculates options while twisting around and turning to face their assaults. Grigori's knife indeed manages to find purhase in the behemoths massive thigh but it doesn' slow him as he instead looms past the leader to clap his hands together, producing a tremendous shockwave to blow the cocktails out of the sky and send showers of the flaming fragments raining down over the area as while the loud *BOOM* of his hand clap echoes out and over the entire battle field.

"I will target and attempt to scatter remaining insurgents to remove Grigori's support." he intones into his radio.

Facing the army he spreads his huge arms wide and a massive wall of chi crackles into existence, billowing into view from the giant's tremendous body. It widens more and more, seeking to spread out such that it will envelop much of the remaining forces as Potemkin crouches over, the chi energy crackling and roaring about him until it seems to burst into multicolored flames. As soon as the chi wall strikes the insurgents, he goes barreling forward like an asteroid hurtled from above, crashing into and through the chi wall and anyone else in the way, while also creating a massive earth shaking blast wave of chi and force in the process.

COMBATSYS: Insurgents endures Potemkin's Giganter Bullet Kai but gets knocked away!

[                                < >  ///////////////////           ]
Insurgents       2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0          Grigori
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Potemkin         0/-------/-----==|

[ARANHA]
Most of the insurgents can only watch in awe as the wall forms into existence. Only a few manage to get away from the entrapment and subsequent crash into the chi barrier. Bodies fly and screams echo through the street. It was a brutal and painful affair all together.

Grigori can see the writing on the wall and he doesn't want to be captured and have other assorted bad things to happen. He decides that death may be the option. He begins to throw out hand signals to the insurgents who remove outer clothing to reveal bombs strapped to their chest. One insurgent gets on all fours behind Potemkin while Grigori shoves the behemoth over the person on fours and then takes a knife swipe at Potemkin while the remaining insurgents proceed to dogpile on top of him before setting off the explosives taking everyone down.

COMBATSYS: Insurgents can no longer fight.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Potemkin         0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0          Grigori

COMBATSYS: Potemkin interrupts Trip and Slash from Grigori with Heat Knuckle and is partially hit by Suicide Is Painless from Grigori and Insurgents.
*KNOCKED AWAY*

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Potemkin         0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1          Grigori

[POTEMKIN]
"NO!" roars Potemkin, "You will not be allowed to escape justice by cowardice!"
He's no simply 'big brute' that he can be so easily pushed around. He weighs more then some automobiles and is nearly nine feet tall of muscle. As such the attempts to push him over are resisted and when they begin dogpiling him, he remains upright and instead looms forward and into an attack, punching straight upward with his massive arms and firing off an explosive round of chi from his immense gauntlets, "HEAT KNUCKLE!!" he roars, letting the shockwave from the gauntlet blast peel out around him as the chi sourced energy roars skywards and the shell casings rain back down. It may be to little, to late, but perhaps he can stop some of the bombers from ending their lives by simply knocking them out or away from the epic center of the assault.

COMBATSYS: Grigori and Insurgents successfully hit himself with Suicide Is Painless.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Potemkin         0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2          Grigori

[ARANHA]
Some of the insurgents get blasted away before detonation. Others still manage to kill themselves and as for Grigori, he ends flying away from the blast zone before he could hit the detonation on his own bombs. He's barely conscious and he looks at Potemkin.

"You're never going be anything more than a Brobdingnagian piece of scum. They should've never set you free."

As a final figurative flip of the bird, Grigori flashes Potemkin a blood coated smile as his presses the button. In the blink of an eye, Grigori paints the nearest wall with blood, entrails, and bone fragments.

COMBATSYS: Grigori takes no action.

COMBATSYS: Grigori can no longer fight.

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

[POTEMKIN]
"Such a waste. All because they could not stand to consider the freedoms and rights of others and could not adapt..." Potemkin shakes his head. Grigori's last words do not truly bother him on a personal level. They sadden him. "..What good could he..could all of them have accomplished. Is this strife all that is left to Zepp's legacy? No! It cannot be.."

Shaking his head, Potemkin turns and begins to tread in the direction of the presidential palace, to report in and see to the well being of his charge. For now, things seem settled.

Log created on 20:09:06 05/06/2018 by Aranha, and last modified on 20:39:52 05/08/2018.