Marz - Clandestine Consultations
[Toggle Names]Description: Within the depths of a Shadaloo base, the Scarlet Dahlia has a second run in with the Doll known as Marz. Marz, herself running data on the losses and gains of Shadaloo's actions within Mexico, decides to test out the combat parameters of the Scarlet Dahlia. With the aid of a trust future coffee maker, Marz takes on Honoka in a two on one training session where each seeks to learn from the other.
[HONOKA]
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh goes a metallic object as it orbits lazily about the hand of a certain individual throughout the corridors of Shadaloo headquarters. Wreathed with a faint trace of Psycho Power, the object moves as if it were tethered to the woman's fingers. Closer inspection would reveal that the object is an inert grenade casing -- and that is not, in fact, attached.
The woman herself has a similarly disarming appearance; in stark contrast to the rest of the individuals in the facility, she is -not- wearing a Shadaloo uniform, or even the death's-head insignia of the Corps. An unbuttoned white blouse, matching white miniskirt, and black leggings hug tightly against her lithe, acrobatic figure. A black blazer creaks lightly with each hand motion, while a loose checkerboard necktie bobs about with each step. White ribbons weave their way through wavy, shoulder-length hair.
The woman seems to be in no particular hurry as she steps through the halls of the headquarters. If anything, she seems to be loitering; her attention seems to be devouring each and every minute detail of the facility. Or maybe her focus is devoted to keeping the grenade casing levitated. ... Maybe even both.
[MARZ]
Ticka-tacka-ticka-tacka. Fingers fly over a laptop keyboard. Said laptop is tethered by a strap around the young typist's neck. Her eyes unseen by reflections of the laptop's light glancing off her glasses. She is intensely at work and wandering. Feeling antsy and needing to be mobile, she walks through the laboratory. The screen dances with information and images. A mixture of things from data streams, incoming messages from operatives and agents, a few fight tube streams of combatants to keep an eye on in the future.
Busy at work, she almost doesn't notice the woman walking about the base. But when she does look up and notice, she blinks for a moment. Out of uniform, showcasing clear Psycho Power, clearly a specialist of some kind picked by Lord Vega for the purposes of furthering Shadaloo's goals.
And, to Marz's chagrin, she realizes she is stuck in a corridor with someone. That means talking. Talking is not usually the thing for Marz. So she might as well get things over with. With a beleaguered sigh, and pushing her glasses up her nose, she puts her focus on the woman with her floating grenade.
"Is there a place I can direct you to?" she asks, accented, nasal tones not doing the best at covering her lingering distaste for conversations and small talk.
[HONOKA]
Scarlet Dahlia is lost in thought, at least for the moment. It isn't until Marz steels herself that the juggling psion shows any signs of realizing she's -not- alone in the corridor -- for, unlike her island home of Japan, the crimelord doesn't have any reason to fear this facility. She can't be busted for snooping, here -- can she? If she doesn't have access to a place, her access credentials just won't let her in. Simplicity itself.
And yet, as her eyes lock onto Marz... the inert grenade sags, her telekinetic abilities ebbing just that little bit. Control is restored after a brief delay, ensuring the rounded object doesn't drop below the level of her lower blazer hem.
A moment is passed -- as if she needed to unlock her jaw, after getting that grenade back into control. "Marz, isn't it?" An amber sheen passes across her irises. "You see, that's the thing..." Her lips curl into a smile, and she takes a slight step to the side, settling into a more amiable stance. Perhaps her attempt at charisma is wasted on Marz? But the shift in stance isn't for the Doll's benefit, anyway.
"I'm not looking for a -place-, Marz. -People- are what make life worth living, and you...?" A smile crosses her features as she lifts the grenade into her palm, allowing it to settle there. And though Dahlia might not be able to parse the walled-off mind of the Doll directly, she's -also- good at reading expressions. Accordingly, she keeps it right to the point.
Both hands clasp around the grenade, as she dips into a low and respectful bow. Sure, Dahlia technically -outranks- the Dolls in Shadaloo command structures, but that's not why she does it.
"I'd like your help. A training exercise, if you're not currently tasked."
[MARZ]
A great deal of charisma is wasted on Marz. She looks from behind glasses, cold and dull lidded when Scarlet Dahlia questions who she is, and then continues on. Makes a platitude that goes nowhere. A mind that receives as static. A wall of fuzz that doesn't care and is only barely expending brain power in order to keep up the facade of humanity.
Truth be told, only part of that is due to the work of Shadaloo's scientific might at altering the girl's brainwaves.
Rank aside, Marz finds it difficult to consider those like Juri and Scarlet Dahlia as anything more than tools and weapons granted laughable leeway in an attempt to corral pathetically fragile and rampant egos propped up merely by physical capabilities. But the bowing is noted, if not fully appreciated.
The thought of exercise, however, is one that wasn't expected. Marz clicks at her laptop, humming to herself. "Perhaps," she replies after collecting her thoughts and weighing her goals. A consideration has to be given in secondary costs of this type of distraction. "Yes. I think I could fit time in for an exercise. With the recent losses in human capital, there needs to be a consideration of fresh crop to replenish the ranks. If I'm going to assess the intelligence I'm getting from our remaining agents, I will need a baseline reading of capabilities my own and others."
She closes the laptop and looks at the Dahlia. "I can assist. It won't detract from my duties and in turn may even benefit my data interpretation going forward. What is your exercise in particular, then?"
[HONOKA]
Dahlia's amber-laced gaze remains affixed upon the Doll's eyes, never once straying away. To Dahlia, every response, no matter how subtle or understated, is a key to unlocking the enigma of just what Marz -is-. If the Ainu woman can but find a loose thread, someday she would be able to unravel the tapestry asunder -- and perhaps even make use of Marz, herself.
For now, though -- one step at a time. "Excellent," affirms Dahlia, her cheeks dimpling with a smile. It's only now that she turns away from Marz, pivoting away with an eased, graceful movement. In similarly elegant fashion, she tosses the grenade aside. "You... led a squad in taking down Sergei Dragunov. And what's more, returned safely, with a 'satisfactory' rating, mm?" In fierce defiance of gravity, the grenade casing flares with light, slowing down as it reaches a distance of two feet from her open palm. As if tethered by a yo-yo string, the casing dutifully returns to her open palm.
When Dahlia completes her turn, she's once again facing Marz, with three more feet of distance between the two. The grenade is curled up in her hand, as if she prepares to launch a shotput. "I've defeated Dragunov before, and it's no mean feat. The soldiers with you could -certainly- not have done it without the aid of an insightful operator." Her expression is one of genuine, sincere admiration.
The grenade casing lifts from her palm, dancing nimbly from one finger to the next. "I want you to provide me a similar challenge. Your mission will be to subdue me. Non-lethally, of course." Dahlia lowers her hands, idly shuttling the grenade back and forth between them. "We'll meet in the Combat Room in five minutes. Requisition some cyborg friends if you like. Let's have some fun with this, hmm?"
[MARZ]
Marz isn't aware of just what she is. She knows she is a loyal soldier of Vega. She is loyal to the aims and goals of Shadaloo. She knows she doesn't like small talk, and that she enjoys information, data management, and intelligence. Also coffee and pretzels that aren't the terrible crunchy kind. But as to what she is, and what she was, she really doesn't know. The work on her mind, and on modifying her body, is extensive. A personality of a German girl colored beyond existence by Shadaloo.
It isn't a conscious act that keeps Marz walled from Dahlia. More the work of Vega and his scientists.
"I did. The unit was passable distraction. I did not recommend them for the follow up work stalling the so called Sun God from his revolution in the Mexico Campaign," she explains with a confident adjustment of her glasses.
The notion of a test does get her attention. She hums for only a moment before nodding. "I could. It would be useful in collecting data on the capabilities of our cyborgs, particularly in future retrieval operations. Should they fail, they could easily be repurposed for other details. I could use a coffee maker."
She looks away and nods as though coming to a conclusion. "I will handle the requisition. If you will wait for me," she states, then starts to move on down the corridor. Her laptop already open as she hammers away sending messages and requests and demands out to make certain what she needs becomes what she has in very short order.
[HONOKA]
Dahlia has done background research on the Dolls. ... But not so much that she would know their culinary preferences. But certainly enough to see evidence of the skills which -allow- Marz to express such a degree of confidence. "Understandably." Of course, the record on Sergei Dragunov revealed another spectre of Dahlia's past that she'd rather -not- talk about at the moment, lest cracks show in her facade of control.
Marz's commentary on the circumstances of a cyborg test is enough to draw a pleased nod from Dahlia. A coffee maker? "And one that can even follow you around, at that." The grenade casing is following a lazy parabolic orbit by this point, flying just below Dahlia's chin level. It's true that she's -not- using psycho power to levitate the object now, but... well, the true test is yet to come.
"Of course," she answers with a nod. "I'll see you there."
- - -
The time has come. And Dahlia places her palm against the door lock. A small tone is heard, and then a groan of metal, as the heavy bulkhead door slides open to allow ingress.
By the time the door shuts behind her, Dahlia has a wide view of the training room and its multitude of retractable barriers. A miniature battlefield, for testing the latest in advanced weaponry. Dahlia's fought here before -- with much less-prepared opponents -- so she's quite familiar with the slip-resistant carpeting. Just not -this- particular configuration.
Dahlia strides into a clearing in the center of the room, a smug half-smile cemented firmly into place. She looks back to the opposite entrance, allowing the ellipsoid device to rise from her open palm. Dahlia is wide open -- and yet, from the aura of psycho power that begins to evidence itself, she's far from defenseless.
[MARZ]
It is not very long before the doors make their groaning cry and the great bulkhead opens up. Standing in the doorway is Marz. Alongside her is a combat ready Cyborg-Unit. Marz types and taps at her laptop as she walks inside of the combat training room. As the cyborg clanks its way into the room, Marz stands behind and taps out controls.
Walls shoot up. Clanging into place. More and more they lock in an intricate maze pattern. One that Marz looks at on her laptop with the advantage of a bird's eye view.
"Power is something that many within Shadaloo respect. But the shortsighted only see that as martial capability," Marz states, tapping at an earpiece to cause her voice to come over speakers within.
Marz slips through the complex angles of risen walls, not moving to conflict directly, but allowing her Cyborg to handle the direct confrontations. At least, for now.
COMBATSYS: Marz has started a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Marz
COMBATSYS: Cyborg brings its battle systems online.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cyborg
Cyborg falls asleep.
[HONOKA]
The doors open -- and her 'prey' reveals itself. Dahlia angles her head in approval -- only one cyborg called for help? That takes a certain level of chutzpah, and she can appreciate that. It will be a good test of battle acumen, if nothing else.
And then the battle configuration of the room itself changes in dramatic, clangy fashion. Dahlia's smug smile falls into a look of neutral concentration, as her eyes scan across the room, trying desperately to commit the layout of the panels to memory in the split second before they are masked from view. With only a hundred degrees of focus, well, it's a foregone conclusion that not -everything- will be remembered; a realization observable as a bittersweet frown on the face of the beribboned Ainu woman.
"Well, we're on the same page with that," answers Dahlia from her initial location. But after reiterating her position, her very next move will have her strafing to the left. Her traversal is masked by the carpet, short boots leaving almost no sound at all as she moves. Her motions are stiff and deliberate -- minimizing the sound of bunched fabric as much as possible.
She may not be able to -sense- the cyborg, but as she makes little sound of her own, she feels confident enough that she'd be able to -hear- the clanker if she remains quiet and focused. Her ears take the place of her eyes and her sixth sense as she moves along the path.
As she reaches a fork in the path, she tosses the grenade casing down the right path. Suitably, though, she takes the left path instead, moving briskly but quietly as she listens for any signs of response to the hollow casing banging against the walls.
COMBATSYS: Honoka has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Honoka 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cyborg
COMBATSYS: Honoka focuses on her next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Honoka 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cyborg
[MARZ]
Cyborg wakes up.
Fingers fly over the laptop. Sound triangulation. A visual overhead of the maze of walls. Marz types swiftly, setting up the points of data needed for the pet Cyborg to do its job. The quiet footfalls are just that, but Marz's secret is that she controls access to the eyes in the sky. Observing from points around the maze to understand locations at all time.
She has not the powerful strength of her opponent, and neither does her cyborg, but she may be able to control the fight through the data she analyzes.
"Target Acquired. Okay, Coffee Maker, sending feed information now. Do your thing and make mama proud," Marz says. Herself slipping closer toward a more beneficial position for herself while the mechanical man does its thing.
And thing it does. Clanking, not bothering for stealth, the cyborg races through the maze with engineered precision. Left, right, right, left again. It slides over the carpet, zipping into view of Honoka. The dead eyes of the cyborg stares straight at her as the mechanical man raises his arm. A clicking as it splits and a small cannon emerges. A blasting bolt of created Psycho Power lances out like a shot straight for Honoka's chest.
COMBATSYS: Marz calculates her next move.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Honoka 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cyborg
Cyborg falls asleep.
Cyborg wakes up.
COMBATSYS: Honoka just-defends Cyborg's Psycho Shot!
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Honoka 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Cyborg
[HONOKA]
Dahlia has spent enough time with the Combot series to have reached the point of diminishing returns on her investment. Once she'd hammered out strategies to counter her own strategies, the whole process of 'practice' became rote and tedious.
Fighting a new strategist, though, is a -thrill- to her. Her heartbeat quickens as she hears the automaton closing in from different vectors. That, in itself, reveals clues about the configuration of the maze -- with the necessary caveat that the cyborg could be backtracking just as she is. As she strides through the maze, she reaches to her left sleeve, undoing a snap fastener on the lining. Her wrist flicks downward -- and a three-sectioned stave slides down into her grip, its chains jangling along behind her.
But then a surprise in the maze plants the cyborg right in front of Dahlia, with walls on either side -- leaving little room for a dramatic .
Some would show fear. The Akatsuki leader flashes a wily grin. And as the coruscating bolt of energy sears towards her, she ignites the sectioned staff with Psycho Power, snapping it upward into the path of the bolt.
The impact triggers a round of cavitation, as the Psycho-Power-infused staves drive micro-fissures into the surface of the psychic orb. If it were a solid weapon, it might be wrenched from Dahlia's grasp -- but even then, her loose grip provides just enough of a guiding influence to allow the chained weapon to flex with the impact, slowing the projectile as she steps past it.
"Power has its uses," comments Dahlia as she twirls alongside the bolt, exulting in the sensation of the artificially spawned Psycho Power blistering past her. The projectile continues onward, though its path has been redirected to send it careening across the wall. Her weapon, though, is pulled free with a loud sizzle, as she continues the graceful arc to lash against the Cyborg's leg. If she accomplishes what she intends, she'd be able to sweep upward in the same continuous motion, tugging hard as if to snap the leg out of its proper joint seating!
There would be -another- sound, though. And that is the sound of that grenade casing crashing against the walls as it rushes back to its wielder. And there's a -good- chance that it, too, could join the fray by slamming into the Cyborg from a side angle!
COMBATSYS: Cyborg blocks Honoka's Power Throw.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Honoka 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> ////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Cyborg
[MARZ]
The Combots, despite their capabilities against the average person and even against the average fighter, are still rather rote in their design. Become accustomed to them and one can tailor responses in kind.
The psycho power of the staff meets the psycho power of the bolt and as in many cases, the power of human will trumps the power of machine might. The Cyborg still stands however. But that isn't for very long. The lashing strike snaps outward, threatening to take it out at the knees. But the bot crouches, the strike merely slapping against its body. The cracking of metal and sparking of Psycho Power burst with the blow, but the machine is just that, and gives no reaction to speak of. It only bursts forward with a heavy mechanized fist, behind the blow the whirring of power drives kicking in. Psycho Power once more flaring into the power of the strike.
And what of Marz? She has been watching, waiting, calculating her own strike. While the bucket of bolts surges forward, one of the walls behind Honoka slides down, revealing Marz. With this moment of hopeful opening, Marz lashes forward with a sharp striking kick toward Honoka's back, hopefully with enough force to springboard herself backward and away from potential threatening retorts.
COMBATSYS: Honoka dodges Cyborg's Heavy Swing.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Cyborg
COMBATSYS: Marz successfully hits Honoka with Calculated Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Marz
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Cyborg
[HONOKA]
Predictable. Dahlia had trained with Shadaloo's cyborgs before -- enough to get a general sense for how they would react to certain stimuli. She expected one of two likely reactions: outright success, or else the cyborg would crouch, as it just has. The empty grenade casing whistles past the automaton's head, showing just what -would- have happened if it hadn't completed the motion in time.
The Ainu manipulator isn't content with that partial victory, though -- indeed, her biggest advantage against the Doll and her Coffee Maker is not raw strength, but skill and speed. She reverses direction, snapping the sansetsukon away from the cyborg and back into her pull, anticipating the counterattack before it even occurs. The heavy metallic fist flares, plunging forward -- and yet again, Dahlia twirls out of the automaton's path -- a matador, avoiding a bull charge.
The grenade casing hits a wall -- though that particular sound is drowned out by Marz's wall sliding out of place. Dahlia's grin turns into a grimace, as her twirling evasion unfortunately put her right in the path of Marz's kick -- strong enough to force her forward in a trio of less-graceful steps. The sectioned staff snaps outward, allowing her to regain proper balance. "I was wondering when you'd show up..."
With Marz springing away... Dahlia just whirls all three sections of staff into her right hand. The smile returns, as she advances once again on the cyborg, hoping to capitalize on the opportunity before it can whirl around to face her again. She surges in, swinging high with the tripled-up staff as a cudgel to the cerebral casing. The second strike would see the sansetsukon splitting up again, with the longest segment whirling around behind, preventing escape. In close quarters, Dahlia would slam her knee into the robot abdomen twice, before slapping an open palm into the cyborg, infusing him with a sudden torrent of raw psychic flame, powerful enough to blast it backwards into the wall! "AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Cyborg with Seta-pagoat.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Marz
> ///////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cyborg
[MARZ]
Clang, clang-clang, clang carrang! Power, staff, force all pour into the robotic man. It hurls through the air like a metallic meteor. A slamming crash and the cyborg batters down one of the walls of the combat maze. It's robotic arms and legs akimbo amid the cracked and scattered pieces of wall. Sparks and sputtering comes from the pile of debris on the ground.
"Needed to ascertain the situation," Marz states to Honoka. "You are not Dragunov. You are not Kotal Kahn. New parameters need establishing." She keeps her distance for now, tapping into her laptop as the information she's gathering appears to reflect in her glasses. Or, maybe the cascading information is a video game walkthrough she's browsing while fighting. The letters are hard to make out in reverse.
But the pause and chatter is not without reason. It is entirely to buy time for the Cyborg to get back to its feet and to recalibrate enough to make its move. Charging forward, it begins a striking combination swift and machine measured punches and knees that would finish up with a neck cranking toss to send Honoka toward Marz.
Either way, Marz is moving to position herself with a flaring burst of Psycho Power to catch Honoka either off guard, or in flight, whichever result ends up more expedient in the end.
COMBATSYS: Honoka blocks Cyborg's Cracker Blitz.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cyborg
COMBATSYS: Honoka blocks Marz's Code Injection.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cyborg
Cyborg falls asleep.
[HONOKA]
Dahlia smiles as she pulls back from the reeling Cyborg, sending the sansetsukon into a whirlwind that, at first, seems like needless showmanship. The clinks of chain would tell a different story; clobbering the cyborg had jostled some of the segments out of position, and the whirling motion resets them into their proper positions.
"I see..." comes the Ainu woman's cooled response, as her amber eyes lock back upon Marz's information-filled spectacles. While she does so, two things happen. One: she whips the loose segments of sansetsukon around, whipping out a blanket of soft white noise against the sections of wall. And two: perhaps more subtly, the grenade casing begins to roll towards Marz from the kicked-up wind. "I suppose the situation favored a sneak attack, but now...?"
The white noise, too, serves a purpose -- for it's enough of a peripheral signal to give Dahlia a heads-up on the return of the Cyborg. The Ainu woman twists towards the attack at the last moment with a clink of chain. One segment of sansetsukon twins against the Akatsuki Advisor's right forearm, and another doubles up her left. The cyborg's higher blows clang against the metal of her reinforced forearms. Lower strikes are outpaced by nimble footwork. The toss, likewise, is avoided -- and yet, it still serves the purpose of driving a backpedaling Dahlia towards Marz's awaiting clutches.
But this is where Dahlia shines, in both a metaphorical and literal sense. As Marz's psycho power flares, so too do Dahlia's fingertips. And, again, at the last conceivable moment, Dahlia turns towards the light, dropping one segment of sansetsukon so that she can meet Marz's burst of psionic energy with an open-handed palmful of energy! Purple and fuschia explode in a coruscating splash -- one powerful enough to force Dahlia to flinch, but not entirely wipe away her smug half-smile.
"Exhilarating!" she chirps out, pivoting back and away from both her aggressors as she tracks towards the newly-renovated wall. In the process, she's carved a little space away from the narrow confines -- but she hopes to use the cyborg's mad charge as an opportunity to hassle the diminutive Deutsch Doll. With that grenade casing now finding its way towards Marz's boot heel, Dahlia unleashes a blistering series of swipes with her sansetsukon -- one, two, three, four harrying strikes to the neck and shoulders, before snapping the weapon like a whip at Marz's boot. If she manages to ensnare Marz, she'd tug the Doll's leg forward -- and then raise a swift knee into her abdomen! "NNNNRAAH!"
[MARZ]
Cyborg wakes up.
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Marz with Shitumbe Marapto.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/=======/=======|======-\-------\0 Marz
> //////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cyborg
Cyborg falls asleep.
Cyborg wakes up.
Cyborg falls asleep.
Cyborg wakes up.
Planning can only go so far in the face of superior power and skill. This is what Marz learned the moment her combined assault proves fruitless when confronted with the Dahlia's far superior defensive capabilities. Grunts of exertion and frustration give way to a look of thin-lipped annoyance when the all of that effort is turned back around onto Marz.
Calculate risks. Assessments of angle. Do nothing in this face. Her leg snagged, pulled in, the air pounded out of her. Her glasses nearly fly off from the hurricane of blows and she is left caroming off the walls and back to the ground.
But the fight is certainly not yet over. The combot continues on with all the direct force it can apply. It lurches forward and with a burst of power, flings itself into a buzzsaw spinning kick toward Honoka. There's no force or effort put into the attack. A mere swinging leg spiraling toward its target.
From the ground, Marz recollects her thoughts, setting her glasses straight, and swings out from her prone position, rising forcefully with the entirety of her laptop swinging like a flail upwards toward Honoka. She would not go down so easily, and she wasn't without the capacity for brute force either. Even if her weapon of choice is a bit less traditional than Honoka's.
COMBATSYS: Cyborg successfully hits Honoka with Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Honoka 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Marz
> /////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Cyborg
COMBATSYS: Marz successfully hits Honoka with Command and Control EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Honoka 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Marz
> /////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Cyborg
[HONOKA]
Even for someone who's not a mindreader, it would be plain to see the annoyance on Marz's face. Dahlia can glean some enjoyment from wrecking the well-laid plan of her opponent -- though, for a moment, it seems like she might be about to add some sort of commentary to the pace of battle thus far.
So it's probably a good thing that Marz's cybernetic buddy has his own contribution to the conversation in the form of a whirling kick. Dahlia hears the creaking metal, the rustling wind of the foot whistling about. Without knowing the source of the sound, she assumes the kick is a sweep intended to take her off her feet, and leaps into the air, placing herself parallel to the ground while spinning on her axis.
It's not until the first half-revolution, when she can see the cyborg's spinning kick, that she realizes her assumption was in error. The first revolving kick slams right into her shin, shredding the fabric of her legging and knocking her off-balance. The second kick slams into her derriere, further upsetting her spin; the third impacts her in the shoulderblade, sends the alarmed and unbalanced Dahlia careening towards Marz!
And that is when Dahlia finds out just how tough the laptop casing is -- as its distinctive patterning is imprinted upon her cheek, knocking her upwards.
Dahlia struggles to regain control of her flight -- but it's clear she hasn't, when she slams against the wall. She bounces, once -- but just as it looks like she's about to fall back to the training room floor, she springs off the flat surface, bounding to the wall across from Marz.
Red-faced and bruised, Dahlia's traded her coy half-smile for an acidic frown. As one hand curls about her face, a torrent of psycho power erupts around her. With the upsurge in energy, she's able to defy gravity, clinging to the wall, gargoyle-like, some seven feet up.
"Copying moves is the game now, hmm? Then maybe you'll appreciate this one."
With a pained grunt -- no doubt brought on by the pain lancing through her legs, Dahlia springboards from the wall. She soars -- not towards Marz, but towards the spinning cyborg. Hand-first, wrapped in a blazing cocoon of Psycho Power. If she hits the Cyborg, there's a good chance it will reel from the acrobat's attempt at a Psycho Crusher. Sadly, her homage does not include a 'muahahahaha.'
COMBATSYS: Honoka successfully hits Cyborg with Range Kando.
* Attack Of Opportunity! *
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/-----<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Marz
> ///// ]
|=======\=======\1 Cyborg
[MARZ]
Psycho Crushed! Though not spoken, there is the faint echo of a 'muahahaha' on the wind. Through one wall, then another, the machine man slams and shatters. Leaving mere smoke and debris the wake of the terrible thrashing at the hands of Scarlet Dahlia.
While nearby, Marz tick-tacks away on her laptop. Humming to herself. Streams of information and at least a single cat picture reflect off of her glasses. "I see your head isn't so thick as to harm my casing. Good, good," she taunts, huffing in her own bruised and battered way.
Marz considers her actions while she types, with a small grin, she clicks her laptop shut and adjusts her glasses. "I see now," she states cryptically. With a whirl, she dashes for Honoka. A leap to the air, vaulting up and over to come down toward Dahlia. A flourishing move, Marz's legs clinching for Honoka's head, twisting to fling the psychic with a terrible neck wrenching snap. But the time and florid natural of the move hides a second agenda.
"Warning! Warning!" the cyborg bleeps and bloops, lurching from the rubble. It's body unstable and twitching. The signal for Sacrifice sent to its altered brain. "For Lord Vega!" it bellows in a mechanical tone as it hurls itself at Honoka in a full bodied tackle bursting with explosive Psycho Power. Overclocked to the blasting point.
COMBATSYS: Cyborg has suffered catastrophic damage and fallen offline.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/-----<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Marz
COMBATSYS: Cyborg successfully hits Honoka with Bull Revenger.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/-----<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Marz
COMBATSYS: Honoka fully avoids Marz's Gyro Clipper.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Honoka 1/----<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Marz
Cyborg falls asleep.
[HONOKA]
The maze served its purpose, having allowed for Marz to approach from a difficult vector. But now the maze keeps the participants locked in close quarters, limiting the field of battle but also narrowing the options for actions and reactions. Dahlia, for her part, thrives within set limitations.
As the cyborg is shoved into a corner, the acrobat handsprings backwards. Though still agile and limber, her shoulders sag quite a bit more as she settles into a fighting stance. Her fashionable attire is a bit less so, unless she's planning to go for a 'grunge' look. The tripled staff is pressed tightly against her left forearm by the palm -- not out of defense, but out of a need to reduce the variables as she whirls around to face Marz once again. The taunt... was it directed at her, or the cyborg? Her right hand sweeps a ribboned forelock out of her eyes as she flicks a cocky smirk back at her opponent.
"Do you, now...?" she comments, as Marz closes in. Dahlia pushes the grind of the Cyborg's machinery out of mind for the moment, focusing instead on the aerial Doll. "What do you see?" she calls back, snapping sharply to her side. She raises her left arm: the 'clack' of three staves of reinforced metal against the Doll's boot shows that contact -was- made, but rather than providing the foothold needed, it instead serves to bolster Dahlia's cartwheeling evasion -- an acrobatic move that sends her flying to safety.
Settling back a distance away, Dahlia winces. One hand snaps to her head at the flow of blood pounding in her ears. Continued feats of acrobatics tend to take their toll... And yet, she focuses on didactics to chase the pain away. "Tighten it up a bit -- fight in -parallel-, not in -seri--"
'Safety,' as always, is a relative term. With the pressure pounding in her head, she lost track of the Cyborg -- which hurtles into her, taking the lithe acrobat right off her feet with a cry of surprised alarm. Dahlia crumples between the twitching, searing-hot cyborg and the temporary wall. Vulnerable, trapped -- she starts to let out the classic signs of claustrophobia. Panic.
"NNnnrgh..." groans Dahlia, unable to wrench the Cyborg away with nominal effort. "Get... off..."r
But then -- the steady ebb and flow of Psycho Power from the unstable cyborg begins to ebb. As if time itself is slowing to a trickle. Is it... about to explode in a fiery conflagration? The battleframe begins to creak, as Dahlia draws her captured limbs inward... "... of... ME!"
And then, yes. -Something- happens. Metal bends, the collapsible walls break. The cyborg's battleframe is shoved backward. And for the briefest of instants, the room is filled with brilliant light. An explosion -- shells of fuschia energy erupting outward violently, threatening to envelop Marz within their fury.
And when it subsides -- the silhouetted form of a battle-damaged Dahlia, her leg scything upward -- the trailing edge of a backflipping kick!
[MARZ]
Cyborg wakes up.
COMBATSYS: Marz blocks Honoka's Kamui Atemka EX.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Honoka 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Marz
Distracting Honoka proves fruitful. Springboarding off Honoka, Marz lands and swiftly opens her laptop again. She smiles to herself, back turned to the final hurrah of her mechanical minion, typing a quick and furious request for a maintenance to get down and clean up a mess. Hitting send, she adjusts her glasses and mentally counts down the booming of the combot. She wants her back turned to the explosion. It's cooler that way.
But something isn't right. The "Boom" is wrong. with narrow eyes, Marz turns about to see the fuschia wave blast outward, blowing her own lavender hair back in flapping waves.
"You exceed expectation," she comments quietly. And then her eyes widen when Honoka is swiftly at her with heel crashing down.
Laptop comes to the rescue. A shield held against the blow, a crashing flash of Psycho Power as the two meet. Marz stands firm. She grunts under the strain. "Do you still wish for me to have brought more?" she questions Honoka. Her look of determined struggle gives way to a smirk as Marz takes her initiative with Honoka so close. Twisting, Marz rounds again with her laptop in both hands. She brings the edge of the laptop ramming toward Honoka's belly. a follow-up crack at the head is in short order. This same move brought down Sergei Dragunov, and Marz hopes it serves her a second time.
COMBATSYS: Honoka fails to interrupt Denial of Service EX from Marz with Niwen Horobi.
> /////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Marz
COMBATSYS: Honoka can no longer fight.
> /////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Marz
Cyborg falls asleep.
[HONOKA]
Waves of Psycho Power roil across the laptop, just before Dahlia's foot grazes across it. Surely, Marz would be able to feel the strength of the kick she'd narrowly spared herself from, but the Ainu tusukur doesn't let that stop her from following the flipping kick through to completion. She lands a good two meters away in a low crouch. Her ribcage heaves from the extended effort.
"Then you're in need of recalibration..." insists Dahlia, excess Psycho Power streaming forth from her wrists and ankles. It's true that she's running on vapors, even at this point -- but that's part of the challenge. The dare to be -better- than she ought to be, the drive to -improve- upon her prior performance.
Even against a Doll and her would-be coffeemaker... there is the chance, however small, of failure. And it's clear in Dahlia's eyes, as she pushes back to her feet. Her arm raises -- an arm still reinforced by the three lengths of staff. Her intent is clear, as her right hand wreaths in fuschia flame, as she rears back for a punch. It's even more clear, when she shoulders forward, seeking to warding off the strike with a ferocious shove from her left.
It's the angle that trips her up, ultimately. Her zealous approach results in swinging too early -- and the swing of the laptop is enough to stun the tusukur in mid-lunge. Will-forged flames snuff out in an instant. Staggering back, she's left vulnerable for the followup strike -- a dash to the braincase that fells her like a timber, toppling her to her left with a pained, -outraged- cry.
The metal rods fall, jangling their connected chains as they collapse to the carpet. She collapses to one thigh, supporting herself with her left arm. Her face -- still red from the previous smack -- is downcast, crestfallen, and partially obscured by matted, ribbon-laden hair.
With a grunt, she holds up her hand. The sign to stop. There's a moment for her to groan in pain, afterward. "... I'll say this." Forelocks are swept back, revealing a face contorted in pain -- though her cheeks stay a fierce red. "I -expected- more. Was constantly on guard for more... environmental hazards. Diversions."
A hand reaches up, rubs against her cheek. The skin of her cheek seems... a bit too pliable. Too plastic. But she doesn't belabor the point for long. "I did underestimate you." She considers voicing another thought for a moment, before relenting.
And then she offers a smile. "Lord Vega has good reason to be proud of you, Marz. It was me... who needed recalibration."
Dahlia rocks back to a less uncomfortable seating position, straightening her injured legs, and propping herself up with both palms. "Time for a debrief, now. What are -your- assessments of this battle?"
[MARZ]
Cyborg wakes up.
Cyborg falls asleep.
Cyborg wakes up.
Laptop case meets braincase and laptop once more wins the day. "Liebchen," Marz coos to the laptop, stroking it lovingly while Honoka drops to her knees in apparent disbelief and contained fury. The moment is short, and personal, but the specialized laptop given to her by Shadaloo has done more to keep her safe and alive than any soldier or cybernetically enhanced powerhouse that Shadaloo has put to Marz's disposal. The only thing more important to her are her sisters among the Dolls.
And of course Lord Vega.
But when the moment ends, as all moments do, Marz is addressed by the woman that had been rather smug up to this point. Not that Marz hasn't been, but trash talk is simply part of the game, wasn't it? Still, the admission is surprising, and Marz finds it terribly suspicious.
"It is too short to know. I will have to review the video streams and other medical data recorded by the sensory array," she says, somewhat snappish. "Intelligence is not immediate."
But she bites back in the moment, and drums her fingers on the laptop. A swing and it flips open. Marz begins to type. She's sending out more requests for cleaning crews and for a technician to tend to the cyborg. "If you are asking my opinion?" Marz asks, then silence as she types out a few message, ordering lunch with a double shot espresso. She holds her fingers over the enter key. "I allowed you to defeat yourself. You thought less of me. You thought I would need more than one cyborg. You thought I would need traps and tricks. This is because you use tricks, is it not? How is your wheel chair and your goons lately? Hmm?" Marz has images on her laptop, black SUVs, a meeting on the docks. She remembers it well, but the ability to call up visual confirmation taken from various sources that night is a thrill in its own.
"You should have had victory. I suspect the data will confirm that. But you did not focus. We harassed you like wolves, you tried to beat us both at once, not one by one, splitting your attention."
Marz hits the enter key, closes the laptop and looks over her glasses toward Dahlia. "And further, you were expecting things that were not to be, rather than reacting to things as they come. This is wasted thought process. Distraction."
"I have ordered a second sandwich and coffee by mistake," she says. "Because I was distracted explaining your mistakes. I can make them as well. Of course, should you care, I will divest my mistakes on you." She sniffs, adjusts her glasses, and lets her laptop hang under her arm once more.
Cyborg falls asleep.
Cyborg wakes up.
COMBATSYS: Marz has ended the fight here.
[HONOKA]
Marz's mission objective was clear -- subdue Dahlia. And in that, she'd accomplished her mission. But Dahlia's mission objectives were manifold. Though her stated objective was 'training', it remains that her priority, first and foremost, was to learn more about the introverted Doll.
At least, that's how Dahlia justifies the loss to herself. It's why she leans on compliments and polite deference, rather than expressing the outrage bubbling just below the surface. It's why she presses further -- insisting Marz to continue with her assessment. "I am."
How -is- her wheelchair? It's just fine -- and until it ceases to be an advantage, she'll be using it in public. The goons? Dahlia simply offers a bittersweet smile and a nod, knowing that the majority of the professionals she'd wanted to retain are safe -- her overarching strategem serving the purposes of culling the weak and suboptimal.
When the assessment is complete, Dahlia nods her head slowly, with a sober expression. "Indeed. That was the outcome. And I see now how you were able to defeat Sergei -- how your cooler head prevailed. A planned strategy -- right down to the final master stroke."
Dahlia pushes herself back to her feet, brushing fingers along the tears in her leggings. "We will fight again, I trust. Perhaps next time I will do as you say." That sly smile works its way back upon her face, at that. And it remains, even as Marz admits her so-called 'mistake.'
"I'd be more than happy to assist you in divesting the mistake. Lead the way?" After all, Dahlia certainly wouldn't object to -further- opportunities to observe the Doll.
Log created on 12:34:38 12/17/2018 by Marz, and last modified on 10:51:01 12/21/2018.