The Bell Tolls - TBT Act 1 - Out of Syndication

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Description: With the Syndicate offense cutting through the Akatsuki's defenses, there are very few points of resistance from the Yakuza gang, per Dahlia's schemes. But there are other gangs with a vested interest in the Syndicate going away. Masaaki, the streetwise enforcer, has already stood up to the Syndicate once before, and cuts to the very heart of the Syndicate. Coming to one of the harbor warehouses of the Syndicate, Masaaki moves to break apart a recent shipment from the Syndicate. But should he manage to beat up the warehouse guards, he may discover a terrifying new weapon in the Gang War.



[LOTUS]
The Southtown Harbor is, for the moment, rather quiet. Ships come in and go out on scheduel. Dock hands work to unload the cargo from these ships, most conversations limited to grunts of strain as they heft heavy boxes from place to place. Some are even under armed guard. Among these docks, off the water, is a large warehouse. A rather bland looking building, identical to all the others of it's kind around it. ONE thing that sets it apart from others like it, however.....

To those aware of such things and know what to look for, they would spot right away a small group of what are clearly Syndicate members standing outside. Using the overhang of the roof for shade, they stand around, one smoking a cigarette as they all look this way and that casually.

[MASAAKI]
Unfortunately for them the white suited Yakuza approaching them quickly is acting in no way casually, nor is he in the mood for letting them laze about for any longer as exemplified by the Katana he is carrying. Or by the various throwing knives he abruptly starts chucking in their direction.

[LOTUS]
The white suit makes the newcomer visible from some distance. It takes a second for the Syndicate members to see the sword, and when they do, they scramble to their feet. This is all that saves them from the throwing daggers, since now being on their feet, they have just enough time to respond before being made into pin cushions! Each leaps out of the way the most convenient direction possible, some having clothes shredded in places where the weapons came almost too close!

Standing back up, they all look at each other uncertainly for a moment before collectively nodding and charging this new threat!

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Masaaki has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
"What a shame. We will do it the hard way then." Masaaki comments as he shrugs in response to the unharmed Thugs decision to charge at him, before doing exactly the same as he aims several swift jabs along with an uppercut at the first best 'victim' that gets too close.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang blocks Masaaki's Dragon Rush.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
None of the thugs respond verbally. They seem too pressed by fear, of Masaaki or their bosses, to do more at the moment.

The target of the punch combination is hit by a few of the jabs, but manage to block the rest, along with the uppercut, before any REAL harm is done. The rest meanwhile surround Masaaki, coming at him from all directions as position and angle of attack allow. One tries to loop his arms under Masaakis, holding him still while the rest try to pummel him!

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Syndicate Gang's Hold and Punch.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Masaaki          0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
Masaaki simply responds to being grappled by using his trusty blade to obstruct several of the blows before he can rip himself out of the hold with enough force to have enough momentum to jump. Namely right at his attackers. With a Dropkick.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang interrupts Dropkick from Masaaki with Molotov Spray.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Masaaki          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
These guys are no slouches, it seems. While the thug behind Masaaki is held off, thwarted by the sword blades position, one of those in front of him isn't sitting idle. He pulls out a bottle of some kind, lights up a lighter, and as Masaaki leaps the can is sprays through the flame! The drop kick strikes it's target on the shoulder, bringing him to one knee with a CRUNCH, but not before flames fill the air!

[MASAAKI]
The moment Masaaki lands on the ground and gets up again, largely ignoring the fact that his suit jacket is on fire by now as he instead takes a quick step forward as he bends forward to attempt to ram his fist into someones stomach. Or even lower.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Tiger Drop.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Masaaki          1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
POW! The man in question has just enough time to look up and see the fist coming before it impacts his cheek, sending him crashing to the side, still conscious but dazed for the moment!

From the side, one of the other goons launches himself at Masaaki, swinging a piece of pipe at the smoldering fighters side!

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Syndicate Gang's Fierce Strike.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Masaaki          1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
The pipe is blocked easily as Masaaki moves his sword in the way to redirect most of the force into the blade and his arm, which admittedly still hurts a lot but by far not enough as he quickly takes up a Iaijutsu stance for the briefest moment before slashing at his attacker with a single, swift strike.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Hidden Blade EX.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
With a cry of pain, the thug with the pipe is sliced nicely, blood splashing the ground as he falls back, clutching his wound!

Three of his compatriots stop to look at him, while the fourth tries to take advantage of the situation with a running tackle, in the hopes of afterwards disarming Masaaki and negating that weapon risk!

COMBATSYS: Masaaki endures Syndicate Gang's Multiple Tackles.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Masaaki          0/-------/----<<<|=======\====---\1   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
Masaaki simply glares at the thug at the one tackling him to the ground, as contrary to what they were hoping for he takes the opporturnity of having an idiot thrown himself at him to instead kick him in the torso from up close while trying to get back up.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang blocks Masaaki's Medium Kick.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Masaaki          0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=====--\1   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
The kick is easily blocked, the response from the goon is a mere grunt of pain as his arm is bruised by the kick!

At this point, the rest have gotten their acts together and grabbed other weapons from the area around. As Masaaki finishes dealing with the tackle, they take that moment to rush in as one, swinging, stabbing, and otherwise attempting to pummel the daylights out of him!

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Syndicate Gang's Gang Warfare.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Masaaki          1/-------/<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
And they certainly do try as Masaaki is hard pressed to try to block every single strike either by himself or with his blade and even while being largely succesfull at it the cuts and bruises keep mounting.

At least until he has had enough of it and just grabs one of the goons pipes out of his hand and tries to smack them with it.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Light Random Weapon.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Masaaki          1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[LOTUS]
A dull echoing CLAAAAAANGNGNGNGNGNGNGNG can be heard as the pipe inpacts the thugs jaw. The man is knocked out, part of his jaw broken as blood leaks from his mouth. At this point one of the other thugs also decides he's had enough, and makes a run for it, dropping the wrench he was holding as he goes!

This leaves just two left, both of whom are looking very nervous, though not backing down...... warily they circle Masaaki, waiting for what they see as an opportunity to strike......

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang grins in twisted glee, beckoning with his blade.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Masaaki          1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0   Syndicate Gang


[MASAAKI]
The circling simply earns the remaining two thugs another stoic glare as Masaaki tears off his singed suit jacket and throws it along with his katana to the side to get them out of the way.

In fact, the moment both impact the ground he runs towards them, starting with a series of punches aimed at them before transitioning into a series of very strong Tornado Kicks.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang interrupts Dragon Kick EX from Masaaki with Reckless Attacks.

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


COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang can no longer fight.

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


[LOTUS]
With little left to lose, both remaining syndicate thugs charge in turn! They attack with a series of swings of their pipes almost blindly, just trying to do what damage they can! Despite their best efforts, Masaakis tornado kicks are more than they can handle, leaving both knocked out cold afterwards.

[MASAAKI]
The swings are painfull as he had no chance to do anything agaist it in the process of his overly elaborate string of attacks, but fortunately he is still in better condition than the last time he went after goons of the Syndicate. After all, he doesn't have to dig a bullet out of his chest this time by the time his opponents are knocked out.

He takes a moment to put on his burnt suit jacket again and picks up his Katana, kicking one of his unconcious opponents in the side again, before making his way inside the Warehouse. The reason why he is even here.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki has ended the fight here.

[LOTUS]
Inside is quite dark, lit in places by the glow of monitors. The lights are out, the windows blackened and hazey. Only the light from the now-open door truely illuminates the area with any intensity.

Where normally there are rows of sealed boxes and crates, in this case there are rows and rows of.... cages? In front of these cages are monitors, facing the inhabitants, and all synced. It sounds like a man talking about the normal day to day patterns of human society and lifestyle. With the disturbance of Masaakis entrance, now new sounds can be heard after a moment after the light appears to the inhabitants. Shifting and movement. The occasional growl. Walking inside, a claw swings out, missing Masaaki by mere inches, attached to a paw as large or larger than his head! Glowing eyes, many of them red, and a few other colors, light up behind the bars as they stare at this fresh new meat.

Darkstalkers. LOTS of them!

The one that clawed at Masaaki is clearly some kind of werewolf, hungry for flesh. Nearby is a cage with what appears to be a Naga, biting at it's cage in a desire to persue him. Nearby, the cold eyes of some strange giant insectoid creature track Masaakis movement through the room.

Further in, it gets even more exotic, as well as technical. Strange cages, with some sort of energy screen on one side. It makes perfect sense once Masaaki sees the floating, gaunt-looking women floating inside. Banshees! They have no legs, only the tattered remains of the dresses or other garments they are wearing. Their eyes glow a cold blue as they glare at him, one taking a swipe at the screen keeping them contained with her claws, causing a spray of sparks that more clearly reveal their appearance.

On one of the forklifts nearby, a clipboard is found, apparently left behind by some unthinking dock worker. On it is some sort of shipping manifest for Burkoff Shipping, and a single signature: Duke Burkoff.

[MASAAKI]
This is WAY out of Masaakis league as the first time he has seen any creatures even remotely like this was barely several weeks ago and also involved a Ninja. One that was on his side, fortunately.

So, what does a Yakuza who is dealing with something way beyond his area of competence do? Simple. He pulls out a phone, takes a few pictures, takes the shipping manifest on a trip and GETS THE HELL OUT OF THERE.

After all, someone is definitely going to like to know about this, even if that someone unfortunately solely happens to be the Akatsuki. Oh well... a lesser evil. Hopefully.

Log created on 16:02:07 07/10/2018 by Lotus, and last modified on 19:53:40 07/10/2018.