Match of the Millennium

Description: "Oooh, I'm excited about this one, minions! Our first match of the night features a hot talent straight from the Armed Forces! Or, should I say... the cybernetically-armed forces? ;D In honour of our fresh Marine signing, her first match will take place on a floating arena of rafts, empty crates, planks, and other floaty stuff all tied together with ropes on the surface of Loch Ness! I've got just the opponent for her 'hands on' approach!"

[MINT]
The time is just after dusk. The weather is partly cloudy, 19C. The light of a gibbous moon and a starlit sky reflect upon the shimmering surface of Loch Ness.

The moonlit reflections churn, as a small three-person skiff approaches. Corporal Minal Panesh has the front row seat of the skiff, her expression full of anxiety -- though whether that's due to the upcoming match, or just the general je ne sais quoi of the brawl that's about to take place isn't immediately apparent.

And considering the fight arena, a little anxiety might be justified: it's little more than a floating assemblage of rafts, empty crates, and planks, hastily tied together with ropes. Spotlights have been hoisted atop tall poles, casting an eerie artificial light over the arena. Technically, it's... not sinking? But even the waves churned up by the tiny skiff throw that into doubt, as each floating component sways and ripples right along with the water's surface. Those tall poles have a way of magnifying the effect -- not only from the movement of the garish light, but also from their rarely-vertical orientation.

Mint raises her hand to her mouth, as the skipper pulls the skiff alongside the large crate designated as the "dock" of the floating arena. It's not really her hand, of course, but an artificial replica of one, cast in steel --- much like the rest of the gauntlet wrapped around her lower arm. The silhouette of her bespoke weaponry looks much as it does in her other fights, but the unforgiving metal shell has been shrouded in a spray coat of neoprene to seal the less tolerant portions of the weapon from water infiltration.

The skiff pulls to a stop, and Mint climbs out. Her hands go to either side for balance, her legs and hips swaying as she acclimates to the dock's unsteady motion. This also gives the camera -- and thus, the audience -- a potently meme-able shot of the dark-skinned Mint, wearing a pale yellow two-piece with a matching sarong, looking like she's about to lose her dinner on the surface of Loch Ness.

Thankfully, the barefoot brawler figures it out after a few seconds of internal negotiation, and she rises up to her full 145cm height, scanning the rest of the arena. Raising her right fist to shoulder height, she twists her wrists sharply, clockwise and counter-clockwise in sequence, to verify their working order.

"So, uh, where's my opponent?"
She asks the skiff's skipper.
Rather, she -would- ask him.
If he hadn't already left.

Mortified, she looks into the nearest quadrotor-mounted camera. "I'm already questioning my life choices here."

[LEI LEI]
"Booooooooo--" A voice would rings out across the 'arena', a feminine one, attempting to reach a much lower tone then is natural for them. "Stop joking around, Lei-Lei." A second voice. "Eeugh- but Sis!" The first voice again, and seconds later, two figures would become visible- Standing a few feet away on the rafts. They where camouflaged? They keep squabbling amongst themselves. "I just wanted to have some fun--"

"We are here to get stronger, remember?" A deep sigh, before: "Yeah, you're right.. It's to free mother.."

Finally, they step out of the shadows. The first of the woman, is dressed in a traditonal Taoist uniform- Orange robes with red underclothing and pants. A blue sash, tied in a ribbon holding the garb together at the waist. She is wearing a rectangular hat that bends weirdly backward, with the yin-yang symbol displayed on it's front. Simple brown hair, and a gentle face. "Excuse my sister. I am Lin-Lin. It is a pleasure- She bows, and so does the second figure-
5rStepping into the light, her appereance becomes more obvious apart from her silhouette. She is certainly the more eye-catching of the two, and it's instantly obvious she has rather inhuman qualities. Blueish-grey skin, and outrageously large arms..? No, those are sleeves. Her actual arms seem to be fazing through the fabric of her sleeves, holding eachother at the front. Her garb is made up out of poofy, Violet pants- The same color as those frankly insane sleeves. Simple Kung-Fu shoes, with their magenta returning in her upper garb, a sort of Qipao with a high collar, stretching tightly until her chin. It has a hole right above the chest- No doubt to let it breathe a bit better. The upper garb, and her sleeves, are rimmed with a gold-ish yellow, providing some contrast. Just like her sister, she also has a hat- Hers starting yellow and circular, widening upward before ending in a rim- The headgear's midsection being raised out further with a metallic golden sphere rising above it all. Her purple air juts out into a strange spike in either directions. "Sup'? I'm Lei-Lei. Guess I'd be what you call a 'Jiangshi' or hopping vampire. We got invited to be here, but man- what a poor excuse for an arena! Amiright?" She smiles at mint.

*Rooooooooar-*

Far in the distance, that sound is heard. The sisters look up, confused and concerned. "Did you hear that, sis?" "I did, Lei-Lei. For all we know, it is simply a bear."

[MINT]
Corporal Panesh has trained for dealing with Darkstalkers. Like, a -really- long time. And yet, here on a bunch of floating crates in the middle of Loch Nees, it's a little unsettling, which is making her anxious, which is magnifying every little thing past the point of "normal," that the little 'boo' makes her spine shiver, and both hands swing up to defend her face in reaction. "Gaaaaah!" Having nothing to -directly- respond to is creepy!

Though, a moment later, Mint spots the two figures. And that lets her calm down... a -little-. She only lowers her guard once the two step out of the shadows, though.

Mint bows, in response. She doesn't know if it -is- the right thing to do, but it -feels- like the right thing to do, and that's what counts. She then realizes that, while she is wearing a two-piece swimsuit, her opponents are wearing super-modest clothing. Well, aside from Lei Lei's little window. "Ahaha, I feel so under-dressed..." Maybe the sleeves are... okay to get wet? She can't imagine it would be all that comfortable though.

She feels a -lot- better once Lei Lei speaks in a normal tone, as a contrast to Lin Lin's formality. "Jiang... shi, is it? That's cool, I'll have to--"

Mint gulps, as the import of the -other- word sets in. "... Yeah, I woulda figured Midnight Channel would have a higher budget than... this." A mechanical hand gestures towards an awkwardly-tilted light pole.

"But like. -Hopping- vampire. Does that mean you only bite bunnies? I mean, how's that work?"

Maybe she skipped the training module on monster identification.

The roar makes her a little unsettled. "Er.... a bear? It's a bit far from the coast though..."

Her fists rise. And with two small 'rings' of dust blasting back from the exhaust nozzles, her gauntlets sputter twice, then slowly purr in their rise to idle speed.

"You're here to get stronger, hm? Well, at least we got that in common. I guess we should get started, though, yeah?"

COMBATSYS: Mint has started a fight here.

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

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Lei Lei          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Mint

[LEI LEI]
"Well, we're always dressed like this!" A weird way to acknowledge Mint's words. Lin-Lin chimes in. "Both of us have been granted strange abilities. Lei-Lei is the one that fights, but.. well, you'll see." She explains, smiling at Mint. "Well, it's called a hopping vampire because people think Jiangshi have stiff bodies! Like, rigor mortis.. That's not true though--! Look!" Lei-Lei shows her agility by doing a cartwheel across the unsteady platforms, almost falling into the water as she loses her balance! "Woh-oh! Well, anyways- I don't need blood or.. energy, or whatever to survive! There's an urge sometimes... but Lin-Lin keeps me in check! Like.. so! Are you ready, sis?" "As much as I can be, Lei-Lei." The older twin sighs, before putting together her palms- she glows a bright flash of yellow, seemingly disappearing as a Talisman takes her place. The Talisman floats through the air, toward Lei-Lei's hat: And it sticks itself onto the front, making the 'Fulu' Hang downward, somewhat blocking the Jiangshi's face! How she sees with that thing on, is a mystery. "There we go- That's sis, right there!" She uses one of her fingers to lift up the talisman, revealing her face once more- Before letting it hang freely again, moving her arms so that they faze through the cloth of the sleeves once more. The sleeves move, stretching out in front of her as she bends into her legs somewhat, a fairly low stance- And then, massive, sharp claws emerge from the Sleeve's ends!

Her stance does give a fairly literal 'Zombie' impression, with the arms stretched out like that. "There's a lot more weapons hiding in my sleeves! Hiii-ya!" She dashes forward, before making a upward, sweeping attack with her claw, one of those sharp claw-ends raised above the others in an attempt to penetrate through a guard.

But at that point, the water stirs- And a Colossal, long-necked figure emerges! Rippling waves making the platforms shake, and even getting some pieces to drift apart. "Uwaaah?!" The Darkstalker cries out, as she trips, and falls on her bum. Looking up to see Nessie, the famed Loch Ness Monster. "She's real?!" She sure seems to be- She has a large torso, most of which seems to be hidden by the water. Scaled like a snake, her massive neck makes way for a comparetively small head and mouth, beady white eyes looking upon the rafts. Two large flippers also seem to emerge from the water. The creature raises it's head, before roaring out! Swaying about, it seems that she is quite eager to get in on the action..

COMBATSYS: Mint blocks Lei Lei's Crushing Strike.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Lei Lei          0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0             Mint

[MINT]
"Yeah, but I'm -not-..." protests Mint with a weary smile. It wouldn't be her first time fighting in a swimsuit for show, but it's definitely the... darkest setting for such a thing?

She is, though, surprised at the description of a hopping vampire -- replete with a brief demonstration. Mint finds herself clapping as Lei Lei avoids her water-drenched fate.

"Ah, that's good. Having... both of you together must keep things interesting!" Mint racks her brain, trying to remember -- was she supposed to fight one opponent or two? But just as she tries to still her concerns about that, Lin Lin transforms into an ofuda talisman -- causing Mint's eyes to open wide.

"... Okay, that's convenient!" Impressed, Mint claps her hands once more, with a smile.

Mint tests her footing, afterwards, taking a few tentative steps forward as Lei Lei performs a warmup stretch of sorts. And when those claws come out?

Ulp.

Mint raises her guard, taking note of Lei Lei's warning as she brings her gauntlet down horizontally. There is a loud scraping sound as the metal blades grind their way past Mint's gauntlet, a shower of sparks lighting up the air. Corporal Panesh is pushed backwards from the fierce strike, though what -really- sends another shiver down her spine is the bestial roar -- and the shudder that sends its way through her footing afterwards!

Ulp, again!

"I guess I should've expected that...!" chirps out the dark-skinned South Asian.

Mint may be shaken -- but she reminds herself that she has a job to do. Drawing in her breath, she answers, "Well, maybe she will leave us alone! Hope you're ready... " And then, with a small boost of thrust from the turbines on her arms, she rushes forward to strike Lei Lei, delivering a one-two punch combination, surging into a left backhand, and then a flashy right uppercut to send Lei Lei skyward! "OO-RAH OO-RAH OO-RAAAH!"

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei blocks Mint's Heavy Punch.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Lei Lei          0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0             Mint

COMBATSYS: Nessie has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Mint
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/-----==|

[LEI LEI]
"Don't worry, you look good!" She exclaims, as she gets herself back on her feet. "It is! It would be very lonely without sis... and she is saying the same thing!" At that point, the Jiangshi needed to defend herself- Attempting to get steady on the floating platforms, those colossal sleeves come up to ward against the jab and straight- Finding that she wouldn't be able to move those clumsy things fast enough, her normal arms instead faze through the cloth! She uses a rudamentary, yet fairly skilled defense- Putting her right arm in the way of the backhand to deflect the impact with a circular motion, and only barely being able to brace her other hand to catch that second metallic fist before it could truly fly upward into her- Yet one of her eyes closes as she feels her arm getting sore. There is some serious strength behind Mint! "Nice one!" Lei-Lei exclaims, getting her arms back into those sleeves before attempting to use the claws to grip around Mint's small body! If she would find hold, the Marine would find herself raised up and /tossed/ straight and high into the sky, gravity doing the rest of the work!

Meanwhile, Nessie remains still- looming over ominously. Was she... observing? A chill runs down Lei-Lei, as she glances it's way. "Just sit and watch, Nessie!"

COMBATSYS: Mint dodges Lei Lei's Hourei.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Mint
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/-----==|

[MINT]
Mint grins -- glad that she can have a friendly conversation with the blue-skinned Darkstalker. Chatting wasn't -exactly- part of the mission profile, so it's a happy accident. "Aww, thanks! And it's great that you two are so close!" Mint has a better relationship with her siblings now than she did growing up, but even now she'd be conflicted about charging into combat with either of them. Let alone with them... transformed into a flimsy strip of paper. That looks fragile!

Still -- Mint is quite impressed at the way Lei Lei is able to deal with her pressure tactics. She'd -expected- defense with the big sleeves, but to see Lei Lei phase her -real- arms through those sleeves came as something of a surprise. "Whoa, that's pretty cool..." she comments, right before hopping back to one of the wayward planks.

As the jiangshi swings those arms around, though, Mint is wary. Not just from nessie, but from the claws -- and isn't sure she's ready for anything else Lei Lei might have up her sleeves! So with a twin boost of turbine thrust from her gauntlets, she leaps up and over Lei Lei's head, putting those flapping sleeves just beneath her bare toes. "Close...!" But rather than continue her lazy arc overhead, Mint aims her fists down -- and with a quick impulse of thrust, she abruptly diverts from her jumping arc, punching both fists down at Lei Lei, with a powerful pneumatic *k-CHAK!* as her gauntlets give that one extra bit of oomph! "Hyaaah!"

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei dodges Mint's BFH.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Mint
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/-----==|

[LEI LEI]
"So are those... metal arms of yours!" She compliments back, though pouts a little as Mint manages to evade her grasping claws- Even though she finds the ingenuity of her methods respectable. As Mint leaps over, and attempts to nail her with that overhead- Lei-Lei uses her claws to -push- away from the ground just in time for the Bionic Brawler's attack to whiff.

"And- Of course we're close! We only have each other, after all.." She comments- And although it starts out enthusiastic, there is a distinct sad undertone to it. Right as she lands, she seems to dig around in her sleeves- Her hand poking out through the fabric. "Ah-hah!" Triumphantly, she holds up a... statue?! A rather large buddha statue, made from solid, and -heavy- basalt. She tosses it over toward her claw, before reeling back, and /tossing/ it toward Mint! Behind it, she tosses another item she had just retrieved- A long pole thrown with a horizontal spin. "Take that... and that too!" In her concentration, Lei-Lei wasn't really looking at Nessie- Not that the cryptid was doing much of anything... Really, the passiveness is scary! It makes her seem more intelligent, in a way.

COMBATSYS: Mint blocks Lei Lei's Anki Hou.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0             Mint
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/----===|

[MINT]
Mint's fists slam down into the wooden crate Lei Lei had been standing upon, decimating the crate into a shower of splintered wood and icy loch water! Brr! Now there is even more of a shiver running down Mint's spine, as she leaps back to a drier and more stable part of the jetsam arena. Steadying herself, she looks back at Lei Lei and nods back -- "Yep!" She unclasps and clasps her fists, showing the full range of motion in her mechanical fingertips. "Lost my real ones, more or less, so decided to build back stronger!"

Though, by this point, Lei Lei appears to have decided to add more jetsam to the pile. Mint's already breaking into a run, though, and when the Buddha statue comes flying at her head, Mint's shoulders drop low, allowing her to deaden the forward momentum of the statue with a palm strike. It would've been quicker to just brush it aside, but -Buddha-, man.

As the statue slips from her hand, she steps in closer, raising her right gauntlet vertically. The spinning pole slaps against the armored shell, rounding the corner -- and slapping -hard- against Mint's bare back, before continuing its whirlwind passage past. "Nnrgh!" It wasn't a light hit; heck, it left a red welt as it passed. However, it was better than a direct hit, all said...

"Huh, you're a tricksy one, I'll give ya that...

But as she looks around, Nessie seems to have... dropped from view?! With a murmur of, "... where'd she go?" Mint determines to press on regardless, using her turbines to boost her speed as she closes the gap to the jumping jiangshi. She leaps into a driving straight punch for Lei Lei's center mass, using it as a lead-in to fire off two rapid follow-up punches! "OOH-RAHHHH!"

COMBATSYS: Mint successfully hits Lei Lei with Mix-Up Combo.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Mint
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei blocks Nessie's Capsize.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Mint
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/=======|

[LEI LEI]
And indeed, Nessie descent seems to have been so silent as for Lei-Lei to barely notice, as she sees Mint push through her barrage of items! "Wow- You handled those like a- Ah!" But the brawler was onto her fast! She had not been able to move her sleeves yet, and the straight catches her in the stomach- Making her double over as two quick blows are buried into her face! She gets blown back, "Ooooooow-" flying through the air... and-

Nessie comes up through one half of the rafts, breaking them apart while attempting to bash her head straight into the darkstalker! "Wah?!" With her sleeves, she manages to dampen the head-smash, yet the upward motion sends or hurling even further through the air! Mint would hear a very distant "aaaaaaaaah" that gets ever-closer as Lei-Lei drops. Out of her sleeve, a large chained grappling-hook is shot- Burying itself into one of the still-intact trunks, which she is subsequently pulled too and crashes into, lacking much of any grace! "Oooow, Nessieeeee!!" She yells out, but doesn't get to make any moves as the Loch Ness monster dips back under water. "I should calm down, Sis?!... Yeah, I'll try." Her cheeks puff, as she looks around to spot Mint- Finally locking eyes with her. "Tsch- Here I come!" Using her enhanced darkstalker Strength, she engages in a leap toward wherever Mint would find herself after Nessie's emergence. One sleeve gets raised up high, before she slashes it down with a wide lunge overhead! "Hiya!" Her other claw reels back as well, afterward slashing all in front of her vertically, hoping to hit the Marine with atleast one of the strikes!

COMBATSYS: Mint interrupts Fierce Strike from Lei Lei with Attack of Opportunity EX.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1             Mint
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Mint blitzes into action and acts again!

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1             Mint
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/-----==/=======|

[MINT]
The fight had started off with lighthearted conversation. But now that blows have been traded, it may be starting to get a little awkward. Case in point: there's not a whole lot of places to go after Lei Lei flies off with a pained cry. "Oogh..." she mumbles, more out of reflex than anything else.

But then Nessie re-emerges back on the scene, violently. Crates shatter, and water spouts upward, blasting the splintered shards into the air. While Lei Lei negotiates the hazard, Mint steps onto an adjacent plank, lighting off her jet turbines and giving herself a jet-powered boost to a more stable platform on the arena! "Whew, that was close!"

Which ends up being -close- to where Lei Lei lands, so the fight can continue in earnest! Right after Mint's feet touch down, the jiangshi drops her sleeve in a wide slash. Gritting her teeth, Mint raises her left gauntlet, using her right hand to lock her arm in place. As Lei Lei's claw bites into her armor, Mint strains under Lei Lei's strength! "Nnrgh...!"

But when Lei Lei twists about for a second blow, the jet turbines let out a high-pitched whine! Mint's left arm presses back against Lei Lei, while her right fist drives forward, slamming right into the jiangshi's chest, an instant before the followup can land!

But the jet power is still pegged on full, plunging Mint further even faster. As Lei Lei is knocked backwards, Minal continues to bear down on her from above, driving one powerful left hook down at her! "OO-RAAAAH!"

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei dodges Mint's Hook Punch.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1             Mint
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Nessie successfully hits Lei Lei with Capsize.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1             Mint
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/-======/=======|

[LEI LEI]
Darn Nessie messing up the fight! No matter, the Vampire would still be victorious! She only had to land this blow, and then- But that is shattered, as her second sweep is interrupted by Mint's skillful blowback- That second, leaping straight coming through, it is only narrowly avoided as Lei-Lei once again roots her claw in the wood, using it as a pivot point to sort of.. swing away! "Guh- Why are you so... strong!" The Darkstalker seems to be getting marginally frustrated at her slowly being taken apart. But when she leaps back, flying through the air-

Nessie decides to make her second appearence.

The darkstalker was utterly unprepared, the monster's head swinging up from the water toward the both of them-- Like a flail! All the while turning even more parts of the platform into splinters! At this point the 'arena' was little more then a few vaguely-connected barrels, trunks, crates and poles. Nessie's head /smashes/ into the poor Lei-Lei, punting her away like a ball as her body gives a sickening /crack/. She bounces across the water once, but resists!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, SIS!"

As she flies, an arm is stretched out- Another sharp chain being fired out, this time toward Nessie! If Lei-Lei would get her way, the chain would bury itself between the scales, swiftly before pulling the Darkstalker toward! In the middle of the flight, she gets a large Dao from her sleeves, holding it in the claw and ferociously spinning it around during her flight, aimed at carving a way through that thick skin, to finally begin her counterattack against the beast. "TAKE THAT, YOU OVER-GROWN ALLIGATOR!"

COMBATSYS: Mint dodges Nessie's Capsize.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1             Mint
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/-======/=======|

[MINT]
Mint grins back at Lei Lei -- "I work out a lot!" There's something to be said for the jet turbines strapped to her forearms, but she isn't going to be the one saying it.

Besides, Nessie isn't in the mood for conversation. Corporal Panesh is knocked upward from the monster's second ascent, but the crates nearest to her provide her a foothold. With a little boost from her jet turbines, she leaps from one crate to another - an instant before Nessie's rising fin obliterates it! There won't be much of the arena left, at this rate. It all makes for dramatic shots as the lightpoles swing back and forth from the violent tides!

At this point, though, Mint realizes that Nessie might be getting a -bit- too aggressive -- for she's all but run out of space! And she notices that Lei Lei has all but abandoned their own fight and targeted Nessie instead! "Yeah, maybe this is a better plan for us both, huh?"

Mint leaps onto the lightpole, and then guns the throttle of her turbines. With a thunderous roar, she vaults off the lightpole -- and drives a powerful blow right into the neck of the lake beast! "Down, girl! We're just tryin' to have a little fight here!"

COMBATSYS: Nessie blocks Lei Lei's Senpuu Bu.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1             Mint
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Mint successfully hits Nessie with Fierce Punch.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1             Mint
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          1/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[LEI LEI]
"Ughuu- Darn it!" As the pair make their double-assault on the Loch ness monster, Lei-Lei finds that the blade of her Dao isn't really able to penetrate the scales very well. Though better, Mint would find Nessie reel back at that straight- After all that build-up momentum from launching herself. Nessie's head coils back, it's neck going with it as it flips around before diving under. "Thanks girl! You really showed her who's boss!"

Lei-Lei calls out, eyeing Nessie's shape as she attempts to make her landing- A small platform that had survived, providing an apt landing space. Though when she lands- she sinks a little, through her knees as the pain catches up. "Aaii, aii- Now wouldn't it be nice if Undead /actually/ didn't feel pain?!" She comments, pouting- But she stands up. "I have more left in me, though! Come on, let's finish this! She calls out... before pulling out- A gigantic sea-Mine?! "Eeeyosh-O!" She tosses it in the water, It's one of those large, spherical metal ones- with cylindrical protusions sticking out. It would begin to drift toward Mint, relatively slowly- A large countdown is displayed on it, ticking down from 5-!!.

But, becoming inpatient with it's speed, Lei-Lei decides to jump after, '3- 2' And scoop it up with her claw, to give it a fierce nudge to wherever Mint's current position would be! "Good luck with that!"

'1- 0' *KABOOOM*

The water shakes, ripples, and gets blown upward all around! Exploding in a large fireball attempting to engulf the Marine. Lei Lei, of course- Makes sure to get out of the way, swinging her arm around a nearby pole before launching herself back to her platform. "Did.. it work?!"

COMBATSYS: Nessie focuses on her next action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Nessie           1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1             Mint
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/-<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Mint blocks Lei Lei's Chuukadan.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Nessie           1/------=/=======|=======\======-\1             Mint
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lei Lei          0/-------/-<<<<<<|

[MINT]
As Mint's knuckles slam into Nessie's neck, she gets the satisfaction of feeling the giant sea monster react. That'll leave a mark! And it seems like it did the job, as Nessie decides to plunge back into the depths of the Loch.

Minal leaps back to one of the rafts, throwing her arms to either side as her feet struggle to balance on the inflatable material in the choppy current.

"Ugh, yeah, but we're running out of space fast...!" Luckily Lei Lei is on the same wavelength. More to learn about fighting, right?

Mint leaps to a larger "stage" of six crates nailed together by a plank, grateful for the moment to catch her breath. And as Lei Lei pulls out a sea mine, Mint... cocks her head to the side.

"You... got that -here-, right? It wasn't just up a sleeve...?" Though, the answer is a bit different: tick, tock! "... ulp."

Mine, incoming! Corporal Panesh leaps into the bomb, throwing the bulk of her body behind her left gauntlet, while guarding her face and head with her right. The mine slams into her, batting her backwards with a loud *CLANK!*

And then Mint hits the surface of the water with a loud *SPLOOSH*. And then the fireball detonates, churning the waters with an even louder *SPLOOOSH!*

... But then... silence.
And more silence.
And... then... there is a churning.

And then, suddenly, a storm of bubbles erupts from the water right in front of Lei Lei. That's the only warning she'll get...

Before Mint hurtles up from the watery depths -- heading straight for Lei Lei! The outsiders would see that her shins and feet are charred black from the heat -- but all Lei Lei would see is Mint's outstretched fist hurtling towards her!

COMBATSYS: Mint knocks away Lei Lei with MOAB.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Nessie           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0             Mint
[                            \\  <
Lei Lei          1/-----<</<<<<<<<|

[LEI LEI]
"Eh?! She's still alive, right?" The darkstalker looks around nervously, after she saw Mint Panesh go under. She was actually looking around the place where she last saw her opponent, and unfortunately- that meant those closer bubbles went unnoticed! In the last moment, right before her fist was about to connect- The darkstalker looked downward.

'Eh?' *SLAM*

Lei-Lei finds that fist buried deep into her chest, her body bending back in a nice 'C' Shape! It seemed to freeze right there for a moment, but then? The hopping vampire gets blown back, flying above the water with terrifying speed- ragdolled as she cries into the darkness. "AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa..."

"Oh.. crap" She finally comes to a halt, not far from shore- Finding herself a -signifcant- distance from the Marine. She struggles to stay afloat, but manages to use her huge claws to get herself on the shore- Grasping around. She finds a... *rolls the dice* A hard, glass beer-bottle- Damn litterers! Lei-lei has no concept of that though, at the moment. The drenched vampire turns around to her back, then using her excellent eyesight to spot Mint in the distance. "I'm not going out without a..." And uses the last of her strength to reel back her sleeves, before hurling the bottle toward Mint in a last-ditch effort! It flies with great speed and precision, yet at such a range- it is a somewhat predictable attack.

In the meanwhile, Nessie.. Seems to have gone under becoming a moving shadow under the water. Was she waiting for a time to strike, or was it done attacking..?

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Mint             0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1           Nessie

COMBATSYS: Lei Lei successfully hits Mint with Thrown Object.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Mint             1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Nessie

[MINT]
Mint would find Lei Lei's concern touching -- if she were above water to hear any of it. As it is, well... it took a moment for her to get the jet turbines to work underwater. They were designed with that in mind, but as they were on idle when she dipped below the surface, well... they didn't like that much.

The sea mine detonation, too. They didn't like that either.

But getting hurt's part of the whole Midnight Channel experience. Lei Lei got hurt -- and Mint feels bad to lay some hurt down on someone who seems like a really cool person, living, human, or otherwise! But that's the job -- and it's something she keeps reminding herself of, particularly when Lei-Lei jacknifes from her attack, flying off into the darkness.

Mint touches down a moment later, her turbines flaring orange in the darkness, her left foot on one plank, and her right foot resting on a crate some two feet lower than that. "... Oh dang. Where'd she go?" asks Mint, raising her gauntlets once she realizes she can't see Lei Lei in the darkness...

But then her head turns towards the splash. And she -- somehow -- hears her say 'oh crap' in the distance. "Oh, hey, you're alive!" She pauses a moment, backlit by what's left of the arena's lighting. Scratching her cheek, she amends that last statement. "... Er, I mean, you made it! C'mon back and--"

She's cut off, though, when the empty bottle clocks her -hard- in the jaw, hitting her so hard she pirouettes in place, falling over to such a point she has to catch herself on the deck.

Dizzily, she looks back in the direction she -thinks- she saw Lei Lei last, rubbing her sore jaw. "I guess I earned that, huh? Thanks for the fiiiiight!"

COMBATSYS: Mint takes no action.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Mint             1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Nessie

[LEI LEI]
Lei-Lei did not really have the energy to yell like Mint did, instead looking slightly up to see that bottle bonk Mint in the face, which creates a satisfied smirk on the Vampire's face. Nontheless, after that- Her head falls limply backward as consciousness is lost. A few seconds pass, before the Ofuda flies from her face to transform into the sister once again. Lin-Lin begins to tend to her sister, before yelling over to the Marine. "It seems you turned out victorous, my friend!"

Yet, the shadow below the water stops circling, and vanishes for a moment- As if the beast had gone down deeper. But only a few seconds later, the shadow grows- Right below Mint! The Loch Ness monster attempted to body-slam the brawler for a final time, swinging up it's lower mass into what remained of the platform!

COMBATSYS: Mint interrupts Capsize from Nessie with Foxtrot Oscar EX.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Mint             1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Nessie

[MINT]
Minal and Lin Lin seem to be in agreement that the fight is over. "Yeah! I'll look forward to next time, though!"

Nessie, though, seems to have been plotting something, some way to get back at the noisy humans disturbing her slumber. Mint hears -something- beforehand, though, and leaps into the air -- such that when the rest of the arena explodes in a shower of rafts, splintered wood and nails, she's able to swing around and slam her right fist into the antediluvian beast's side! And even as Nessie's upward motion continues to bring her further and further from the water's surface, Mint rains down one punch after another into Nessie's thick hide. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

What goes up must come down. And just as Mint's about to rain down another strike, a bright yellow raft falls past her. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the Marine relents on her rebuttal, throttling her engines a bit. That little boost gives the Marine the momentum she needs to flop into the raft.

Mint presses her soaked, bruised, blasted body into inflatable walls of the raft, as it splashes down into the water once more. It would seem Nessie finally takes the hint -- or she might now be satisfied that the arena is little more than a disorganized array of flotsam.

"Okay, I... I think we're done here!"

Log created on 10:42:39 07/07/2021 by Lei Lei, and last modified on 13:35:21 07/09/2021.