Description: In the dingy labyrinth of Southtown's shadowy alleys, Potemkin, a colossus of might, clashes with an unlikely pair already in the midst of battle. The air crackles with an impending storm as K', driven by desperation, implores Kula to team-up to better their odds against such a tremendous 'foe'. Will they emerge victorious, or is it time for K' to pay the price of freedom?
See, the thing about being a wanted criminal in any one specific city is that, generally, you're supposed to steer clear of any prying eyeballs that are absolutely out for your blood. Yes, that is incredibly hard to do, if one ignores certain situations, but it isn't impossible. It's one thing to participate in large scale tournaments, such as King of Fighters, because there's all kinds of clausal bullshit that keeps a person (mostly) safe from prosecution. Could go into that, but it isn't all that relevant at this moment.
All one really needs to understand is that despite all appearances, events like that are pretty well okay enough to be a part of.
In truth, the real danger lies in the everyday world, where one could prowl about in search of those targets without too much hindrance...
And that, my friends, is where our tale begins.
... Well, actually, it begins just short of that, with heavy soled boots pounding the pavement as the corresponding legs high-tail it through a back alley.
A flash of silver and sharp-black leather blurs passed an opening between buildings, but otherwise, the targeted human is hopefully far enough away from his pursuers that there isn't much concern for the quickest reveal of his visual. A lean masculine frame presses tight to a dark corner of brick foundation, suddenly stopped so that lightly damp white tresses can be brushed from a sweaty tanned forehead as his head cranes just slightly around the corner with watchful intent . The renegade doesn't risk lowering his sunglasses, even if they are sliding around over the bridge of his nose a tad. A broad chest is heaving, desperate for air, and both fortunately and unfortunately, he is alone in this charade.
Let's back up a little to shine light on the situation poor K' is in right now.
What he'd hoped to be an unsuspecting day of his usual skulking about Southtown had been promptly interrupted at a quaint restaurant in the Village sector of the city. There, The Beast of Prey had been enjoying a rather simple meal without his usual companion when the hubble atmosphere was intensely interrupted by the presence of multiple bounty hunters shouting his name. Sitting in a rather inconspicuous place in the restaurant, he'd still been spotted, and therefore his table had damn near been launched into the front window when he fled the scene.
Through the kitchen he went, his red gauntlet grabbing at the surrounding environment to throw off the chasers; bowls, plates, food, and people were all launched behind him, most of them crashing into the hunters or onto the floor, serving as obstacles. The back door was nearly broken off its hinges as K' busted through it, and into the streets he damn near dove in order to gain some sort of advantage.
So, fast forwarding to the present...
It was clear to him then, and even more so now as he holds himself tight to the wall, that some sort of mole had spotted him somewhere. Likely leaked the information to the police, who alerted the bastards who are now tracking him down to claim the hefty bounty sitting over his head.
"Damn..." he curses through gritted teeth. The options of where to go flutter through his brain, quickly crossing out places like his home base or even Abigail's junkyard. It'd be in no one's favour for him to compromise allies or Maxima, so the question remains of where exactly he /could/ flee to.
Fuck, he should have been more careful...!
Fingers spread deftly over the surface behind him, preparing to help launch him away should anyone draw near. However, the shouts are distant, growing further and further away, which leads him to believe he's thrown off the pursuit enough to catch his breath and immediately clear the area entirely.
Thank fuck.
The back of K''s head lightly taps the brick as a deep exhale pushes from his lungs. Taking a moment or two more to collect himself, he eventually peels himself from the protective barrier of the wall and begins to skim along the inner corners and dark crevices of the labyrinth-like alleyway.
Better keep going before the bounty hunters grow wise to his deceptive rerouting.
Or worse.
"There was this big cloud of smoke!"
As Kula describes the most thrilling event of her day with broad, sweeping gestures, she's smiling and giddy, but no audience is captive to her antics except the curious onlookers who wonder if they should call someone to assess her. Hidden beneath the sheets of strawberry blonde hair, slipping over her shoulders like water, an earpiece goes unseen. It is her direct line to NESTS, and on the other end of the call, some scientist of a sort is lightly dozing.
"We were all evacuated before it rained indoors! I had to hang my paper to dry and--" Kula continues up until the moment she's interrupted...
Whoever she's reporting to clears their throat in all seriousness. "Kitten, we're going to have to stop you for now. I need you to move to these coordinates and intercept--..."
MINUTES LATER
Weaklings. They lay strewn around at Kula's feet like broken toys, but every one of them breathes deeply in sleep, no worse for wear. Maybe a nasty headache, entirely owing to the sudden ambush of Frosty the Snowman and his whole happy family, and that's fine. Surveying her surroundings a last time with calm detachment, the Anti-K' steps over the limbs and unconscious bodies, a chilly whip of air stirred in her wake. She starts after her target, a far more dangerous problem than the small fry left behind.
While it may seem as though she has intimate knowledge of the alley's labyrinthian passageways, in reality the ice doll is guided to route the renegade, her swift strides carrying her ahead of his path so she cuts right in front of him. Indicative from Kula's shocked expression, the subtle straightening of her back, K' was not the person she expected to encounter.
Because clearly nobody tells the girl anything. She's a mindless puppet with no emotions, after all.
The mind's gears turn, braincells fielding calls to the appropriate receptors. "It's you..." she says, making use of a rare contraction in speech. Kula frowns a heartbeat after, her jaw tight from the teeth she clenches together. Looking like an unassuming Mori girl, the innocent fashion does not conceal the assassin's honed edge. Heavy ice blue tresses shift and sway, fingers fanning away from her palms to imitate a bird in flight. A glowing sphere menaces, eventually launching a spear from its centre point which attempts to skewer the wanted criminal somewhere non-lethal.
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 K'
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Kula's Critical Ice.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 K'
So, like I say, K' is honestly doing his best to avoid any particular run-ins that could result in his detainment. Driven by the fierce desire to live in freedom, whether that be from NESTs or otherwise, he does what he can to maintain that dream.
No matter the cost.
He's quiet, stealthing through the alleyways like some sort of grubby goblin on high alert, senses preening the area. His back is hunched almost entirely in a downward angle, and hands that normally would be tucked away in his pockets feel along the foundation he scales until he can at least be completely certain relaxing is an option for him. Appendages find their home in the safety of his pockets as his posture adjusts, though it isn't much of an improvement on what he'd just looked like only seconds ago.
Unexpectedly though, familiar blue tresses flutter into his peripherals as he rounds a corner, which is an immediate cause for pause. The renegade pointedly stares through shaded lenses as the ice doll seems to apparate right into his path, appearing just as surprised as he feels.
After all, it's been some time since they've seen one another.
... Actually, he does recall his instructions to meet him after the shitshow in Southtown, and she very much didn't follow through on that request.
Likely for one reason or another, and obviously in his favour because she hadn't been bothering him at all since then. It's fine, really, if only a little irritating. K' can move past it.
What he expects though is not this sharpness to her features, rather quite the opposite. It's been ages since her intent was hostile in nature whenever they encountered one another - they could even be considered 'friendly' to some (though probably quite the term he would use) - and seeing this icy edge to her crimson eyes befuddles the leather-cladded criminal just slightly.
"What's your fucking prob -" He doesn't get to finish because quite suddenly, a rather jagged protrusion shoots outward from the center of the originating sphere, aiming right for him. Not for any other potential targets, yet not inherently lethal, just judging from its aim. With precision, he side-steps from it, hearing the jagged tip collide with the wall behind him, but he pays no mind to it because right now?
You can bet all your money on the fact that he is fucking pissed.
Swift is his lean form as he encloses in on Kula, much like a beast descending onto its prey. A red gauntlet reaches for the small length of the ice princesses throat, but one could notice its trajectory is off just so. In this, it can be seen by onlookers - if there is any - that K' surrounds the neckhole of her top into a tight grip against his palm. The Beast would then draw her in close, to the point of them being nose-to-nose, as his mouth opens to shout.
"Are you fucking for real right now?!" the words spit past his lips. "We're back on this bullshit again?!" Of course, any and all explanations lay on the edges of his mind, providing all the fill-ins he could ever need to know. Kula is an agent of NESTS, so he could only /begin/ to imagine what happened to her since their last encounter.
The list is long, just so you're aware, with the consideration that maybe she's pursuing him to drag him back to that hellhole... but there is one particular item on that list that lingers long enough to thoroughly spin K' into a dizzy and angry spiral.
Those fucks... No wonder she didn't show up back then.
"Are you that fucking stupid that you would let them do this shit to you?!?!"
COMBATSYS: K' takes no action.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 K'
Pressing her tongue to the backs of straight white teeth to concentrate, Kula chains her movements together. She wields the sphere-spear with terrifying precision, but once K' steps effortlessly to the side, the piercing tip sails past and shatters against the brick wall. It jars all the way to her hands, even as far as her elbows, the Anti-K' flexing her fingers to dispel the tingling sensation she's been left with.
To punish his fleet-footed escape, the distance vanishes between them. The arctic summoner charges directly into a surprise grab, hauled so close that K' fills the entirety of her vision. Scarlet orbs widen, searching for his gaze found somewhere beyond the darkened lenses of his sunglasses. Hot breath bathes Kula's whole face as he has the audacity to yell...
Any efforts to dislodge the Beast of Prey are futile, attempting to pry away his grip one digit at a time. He forces Kula onto her toes, her balance at his mercy. Flecks of spittle splatter onto those pale cheeks, the child's bewildered stare hardening in some emulation of anger. "Let me go!" demands the doll loudly, "I am not stupid! You--!" Suppressing the juvenile urge to shout her opinions regarding his intelligence, Kula resorts to a glare. "Stop screaming at me! What are you even talking about?!" Who are 'they'? And what was it that happened?
But he isn't given a chance to answer.
The earpiece crackles, its tinny projection painfully blasting her aural anatomy, "Neutralise the target, Kula, there's no time to waste! Bounty hunters are in pursuit of the project renegade and will converge on your location momentarily!"
Fabric whispers, her loose clothing like a neon sign that broadcasts every attack. When the entirety of her weight shifts in his direction, it turns the leverage K' has into a weapon. Kula attempts to lock that white-crowned head between her arms, and knees are sent to brutalise thighs and unmentionable bits.
If he gives even an inch, is taken down a single notch, the trap springs. The soles of her brown buckle boots space shoulder-width apart, the twist to her willowy frame enough momentum to drag even a larger man like K' off his feet into a neck throw. She rocks back a step, blue tresses disturbed by non-existent wind. "We are leaving," says Kula calmly, her expression an emotionless blank, "Both of us."
Winter heeds her siren call, the slight layer of frost crawling along the alley passage...
COMBATSYS: K' endures Kula's Medium Throw.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 K'
It probably seems futile, this effort of shouting at a memory loss victim as though they are supposed to know what it is that's happened to them.
Absolutely, it is.
Yet, K' can't seem to restrain himself as he draws her in close.
It disgusts him, what NESTS chooses to do in their efforts to maintain loyalty. One too many renegades such as himself gets loose, and word would likely spread over how utterly cruel and otherworldly that organisation is. Not that he has much interest in spreading nonsense like that, since his greatest interest lies in staying off their radar as much as humanly possible, but certainly there is no doubt that an escapee could squeal to the wrong person and chaos would ensue.
Whatever lengths that wretched place has gone to ensure Kula's undying dedication... it turns his stomach, setting aflame a deep hatred that spurs an almost uncontrollable anger to ignite. Unfortunately for the ice doll, she just happens to be in that fiery pathway - or rather, intently aimed at, with all intents and purposes.
It isn't that K' genuinely thinks she is stupid, but he's having a tantrum. No one said he had to behave like a respectable adult, okay?
As it's been said earlier, the white-haired criminal doesn't get a word in sideways to respond to her questioning before his head is suddenly encased in an armed grip. Their cheeks press together, and thanks to experience - and the fact that Kula holds the title of the Anti-K' for a reason - he is well aware of this particular move. Able to anticipate where those knees are going, a tight flick of his hip avoids a would-be unpleasant hit to the groin, but does not suspend the ability for her to land a blow where it is needed. Kneecaps hit a bit too close for comfort, honestly, and a sharp inhale between the tiny gaps of his teeth might inform his assailant of the near collision with sensitive bits. With unsuspecting but tremendous strength, she manages to rotate him through the throw.
However, a bit awkwardly, the flamewielding renegade manages to pivot himself around mid-air so that when he lands, he's square on his feet. There isn't an indication of it on his face, but there is an uncomfortable sensation at the base of his ankles when he lands that vibrates up the front of his shins. Yet, he remains rooted, and even angrier than he had been only moments ago.
"Is that all you fucking got?" comes the snarl. "Both of us are leaving? Tch! Don't make me fucking laugh! I ain't going anywhere with you, so tuck that tail between your legs and go running the fuck back to NESTS, if you're going to continue being their stupid little fucking mindless doll!" A flash of red moves at his side as a plume of crimson flames embellish his right palm, searing hot and crackling. His arm swings upwards, rolling the heat off into a circling fireball that kindly gets collided into by the bottom of his boot. The flaming mass soars right towards Kula, aiming to swallow her up in burning heat that certainly is a little more than reflective of the anger contained within the wielder.
He doesn't particularly care for Southtown. It's the city itself but rather the company it keeps with the NOL being of particular note and other elements that Zepp has deigned it necessary to keep a close eye on.
But it is also a hub of considerable power in the very literal sense. A nexus of chi, magic and martial arts that is hard to ignore or be impressed by. But he'd just as rather stay out of it if he can manage to do so.
Sadly, for a soldier of the state like Potemkin, what one -wants- is very rarely what one gets.. and he found himself in the area, his pressure suit needing repairs in the aftermath of the failed blockade of the Fatal Core. There is a Zepp military base in the area via various political channels and it simply wouldn't due for Potemkin to damage the very world he's trying to help protect simply by walking in it. And that's when things got interesting.
"A Class B bounty? Are you certain?"
<<We just received word, sir. Local bounty hunters have already been attempting to engage but the radio chatter is chaotic.. Should we let the NOL deal with it?>>
"Hm..no..I will investigate personally. Send the coordinates and the information on the target. Our mission parameters include these matters after all. I will check in shortly.."
And so, now, as the explosions of flame and the flashes of ice engulf alleys of Southtown, a towering monolith of a man observes from atop a four story garage. His expression is hidden behind the robotic faceplate and helm that obscures his features but his body stance is one of mild caution and confusion. The fire he had expected. The ice? Not quite. "This must be stopped and quickly.." he decides before stepping forward and then with a flex of legs the size support pillars, he leaps. The roof of the garage explodes behind him, raining concrete and trailing behind him like a comets tail from the force of his launch as he lunges skyward..and then descends towards the streets just beyond where K' and Kula duel. His impact is a thunderous *K'TOOOOM* that sends a shockwave rippling outward and plumes a pile of dust and stone up like a mushroom cloud. The earth sunders and the entire city block shakes as he emerges forth from the debris field titanically and then stretches up, gargantuan body looming and both of his arms raising and then dropping down into a massive double armed flex that bulks up biceps that give the impression of ten ton boulders straining beneath his uniform.
"You will halt your actions now and surrender!"
COMBATSYS: Potemkin has joined the fight here on the top side.
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Potemkin 0|-------|-------
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Kula 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 K'
COMBATSYS: Kula fails to reflect Second Shoot from K' with Counter Shell.
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Potemkin 0|-------|-------
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Kula 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 K'
Indeed, the way he bellows at her, subjecting Kula to the stale combined smells of everything he had for lunch, K' makes it sound as though she waltzed back to NESTS and willingly turned over her memories for elimination. His anger with the Cartel is completely justified, but misdirected here. It leaves the child reeling, incapable of keeping up...
So instead, she matches his volume, and locks the wanted criminal's head in her arms.
Skin cool to the touch as they're cheek to cheek, the hostile atmosphere spoils what otherwise could have been an intimate moment -- clearly there is no love lost between them. Kula bashes up his inner thighs, indiscriminate and uncaring of how she strays worryingly close to parts of debatable importance. She forces him to stand bow-legged, then hurls her counterpart at the asphalt.
He lands, unfortunately. Snarling and snapping like a feral beast, K' tells the ice princess where to go and the manner in which he expects her to depart. The bridge of Kula's nose wrinkles, easily provoked. Hands ball into icy fists to vent frustration. Her boot stomps! "Why are you treating me like an animal?! I have no tail! And I told you that I am NOT stupid!"
WHAP! That is the sound of her contact facepalming. "This is ridiculous," they say.
Diana takes over communication, rolling her eyes at her predecessor. "Kitten, if the K' project renegade cannot be restrained, abandon... and prior--... ... your--" Static. "Evac--... ... fifteen seconds..."
Connection lost.
"Oh no..." Alone. Kula is alone, left to interpret the last orders she was left with...
The stolen birthright of Kyo Kusanagi reflects brightly in her scarlet orbs, both of which are alarmed and wide. "I hate fire..." Yes, as K' is well aware, her words eking out past the barrier of slightly parted lips. Swallowing thickly, Kula makes her resolve steel.
She draws an invisible line, fingertips chased by a crystalline cloud of freezing mist...
There is an effort to pull energy from the conflagration and direct it back, but K-Prime's flames consume the wintery siren's frosty protest before devouring Kula in the same way. As they wash over her upper half, she emits a shrill squeal, soon emerging burnt and singed to the collar of her clothing. It's only a small consolation that the white-haired man was wounded in turn from his own power.
Thin shoulders tremble as though she might cry. Is that even possible for a doll without emotions, or was it the smoke? "Mean idiot! I hope the bounty hunters catch you, then!" Swiping her sleeve under her eyes to soak up the tears, Kula blinks into the light and...
Her jaw nearly hits the ground.
Knocked against a nearby building's brick and mortar, she clings to it to remain upright and weather the unnaturally occurring earthquake, mouth still agape. He... he? It? A massive battleship of a being that looks like a sentient suit of armour and muscle arrives far too loudly to be ignored, far too large to be overlooked, and followed by an ominous dust created by the debris that it sheds with each step. Potemkin flexes at them both, Kula assumes, too rattled to respond immediately, demanding their ceasement and prompt surrender.
...
"No!" Good job, Kula. You tell that Potemkin guy. Literally a mouse shouting at a zeppelin.
K' is no stranger to hurting people's feelings. Seeing the seemingly mindless doll in this state, with her quivering shoulders and the sprinkling of tears dotting the undersides of her scarlet orbs, it doesn't do much for him.
Let me explain why.
It isn't because he is some heartless bastard who gives no regard for the lives of other people, because that isn't necessarily true. In fact, some part of him is greatly bothered by what is implied to have gone on with Kula. If it didn't... well, he certainly wouldn't be as angry as he is. A terrible misdirection indeed, but with no real awareness of how else to express his hatred for NESTS, he vocalises it with insults and explosive outbursts that likely do cause the icy assassin some hurt.
Somewhere inside, he knows she has no fault in this matter. Painfully acknowledging the truth of what that organisation is capable of doing to people sums up a lot of K's daily existence, for each time he looks at that red gauntlet or uses the stolen flames bestowed upon him, he is reminded.
He has a lot to be angry about, and like hell is he doing to admit his wrongdoings in misfiring those feelings. Not today, while his head is too wrapped up in his own shit.
Instead, pale blues watch onward as searing heat engulfs his opposite, knowing full well she despises fire. The aftermath stings him as well, but it is a sensation he is all too familiar with at this point. If it'll get her off his tail, then whatever. Like he's said before, he isn't about to go /anywhere/ with her, considering that likely meant his detainment at NESTS HQ.
Fuck /that./
And just when he thinks perhaps he's derailed her some? That there is a chance he's getting away from this? The Beast of Prey ends up unstabilized himself as a thunderous presence announces itself rather obnoxiously!
The earth shudders as the impact of his mass hits upon it, sending K' rocketing back against a neighbouring dumpster bin that ends up being his grounding point to stay upright. The smell is assaulting; he crinkles the bridge of his nose in mild disgust and eventually pushes himself from it once he feels properly rooted.
Of course, there's no lack of irritation in his expression as he practically and silently snarls at the newcomer. In looking at the giant beast of a man, there isn't any specific tellings of who he is, but there is no doubt on where he hails from. The insignia embedded into the shining helm upon Potemkin's head tells K' the bare minimum, with the rest assumed through circumstance.
This chum is probably after his head. Maybe Kula's, too.
Why else would he just suddenly appear here, given the situation?
The words trumpeting from the large being further confirm the intentions behind his arrival, particularly the term 'surrender' being something of a trigger word for the light-haired renegade. Though, he does momentarily pause to perform a rather exaggerated but pointed eye-roll at Kula, finding her retaliation to the demands rather... poor. "How fucking cute. You really think that's gonna work?"
"Anyway. You. How about you fuck off?" he spits now in Potemkin's general direction. Without much hesitation, the stolen-flame steps a few paces towards the hunter, then leaps just before him. A knee rises, which will take an attempt on slamming square into that helmed face. "Take a flying leap back to wherever the fuck you came from, fuckhead!"
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Potemkin with Knee Assault.
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Potemkin 0|-------|-------
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Kula 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 K'
"..No?"
Well..he wasn't expecting -that- sort of response. Granted, it was...straight to the point but he supposes he was expecting a little more..drama, perhaps. It almost catches him off guard and nearly strikes hm down with confusion on what to do until his helmet crackles with sound and a voice feed once more yields information to the Zepp Super Soldier.
<<We've used the visual feed from your helmet to confirm sir. Yes. This is another on the NOL's bounty list,. Class C. Another augumented human, sir.>>
"Standby." orders Potemkin, his deep voice rumbling aloud though for all K' and Kula know he's talking to them. At least Kula might. The giant notes K's current predicament with a quick glance in that direction and a deep rumble escapes the depths of his monstorus chest.
POtemkin drops both of his monstrous arms drop and he hunches forward, widening his stance and hulking his body up as the earth rumbles from his movements and the full weight of his attention falls upon Kula now, "..Stand. Down." he repeats, "We will take a chance to address this situation without further vio---!"
K's defiant response rips through the air and Potemkin has hardly turns his attention towards him before that knee goes slamming right into his helmet with a groaning sound of metal bending and compressing as the german styled helmet threatens to be knocked clean off.
...But that's about it. Potemkin barely blinks. Doesn't move. A monstrous fortress that ends up turning his head now more directly to K', looking at him as he rebounds off of him from the impact force. His right arm suddenly lunges up, smatching for K's legs with those gigantic metal gauntlets, the muscles of his arms standing out against the fiberous material of his pressure suit as if it were skin tight as it strains to contain and control the behemoths strength.
"Stand. Down." he repeats while trying to wrap a hand completely around one of K's legs and then if he makes the grab, to swing him up, around and then down towards the ground powerfully.
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Potemkin's Hammer Smash.
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Potemkin 0|-------|------=
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Kula 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 K'
No, fuck you! K' has things to say, and he does, with much aggression!
The knee lands where he wants it, but it doesn't do as much damage as he hoped it would. If anything, it looks as though Potemkin's brains barely rattled inside the metal enclosure, and he merely regards the renegade with mild confusion or curiosity. Annoying as hell, but whatever. Maybe the point has been driven here.
However, the impact is enough to have some sort of momentum between himself and the helm. The leader-cladded criminal is midair when meaty paws try to grab for one of his extended limbs, a leg being one of the more likely subjects. The instructions fall onto deaf ears, simply because K' doesn't give two fucks about standing down or surrendering. In his mind, this won't be resolved by just 'talking' about how to make that happen.
As if.
It's fight or flight now.
One leg tucks in, then springs out to smack the top of his boot right into the gauntlet aiming for him, easily batting it away. If it weren't for the fact that his shoes were steel-toed, he'd likely bash his toes in from the impact, but such is the luck on his side regarding that. Spinning once, twice, the white-haired renegade flies from Potemkin and finds purchase on the pavement a few short feet away. It is there that he skulks down, dramatically cracking his neck and shoving his hands tight into the deep pockets of his chaps.
...
That K' believed she was experiencing something genuine, that she was attached enough to the situation to hurt, the renegade validates Kula's individuality and autonomy in ways NESTS never will. Her creation may have been the work of a bevy of mad scientists, but the child doesn't just pretend to be human. She's truly alive.
However, it was the smoke in her eyes that bothered her, not the emotions she was permitted to express. They still water intermittently, even while she holds her own to the wall, the gentle billows of cerulean sheets of hair signifying her power remains active. Kula shoots a reproachful glare at K' before dismissing his caustic remarks with juvenile petulance as her head whips away and she HMPHS loudly. Jerk!
What Kula meant to achieve by refusing to acquiesce to the request, she's not entirely sure...
Confuse the newcomer, probably?
Because he IS confused. SEEMS confused...
... It IS a he, right? The musculature certainly matches the criteria of a man, a veritable behemoth of a man, but still...
The dots eventually connect, suggesting that the Cartel's encrypted channel may have been compromised as a result of Potemkin's side running interference. It's only through the command to 'stand by' that Kula is aware that there is another 'side' at all, since the order was obviously not meant for her nor the leather-clad bounty.
Speaking of him, one gets the impression K' awoke today and chose violence.
While the monstrous tank is intent on Kula, issuing instructions that might be worth taking into account, the criminal streaks by like a bullet. He launches himself into a futile assault.
Kula winces, irritated by the groaning metal sounds, finding it disagreeable with her eardrums. Despite her preference to turn her back on the continuing spectacle, the icy summoner walks in the opposite direction. Perhaps the great goliath is susceptible because he's busy snatching at legs and having his weighty limb kicked off course. She just needs a place to lay her hands...
Wielding the Kusanagi bloodline flames subverted into the element she controls, the energy surges through the assassin, her willowy frame exuding a chill that spreads throughout the alley, pricking exposed flesh. Reaching out to Potemkin, hoarfrost may rapidly seize him, layers upon layers of ice forming a magnificent and terrifying prison. Pops due to the thermal differences rend the air asunder. Doubtless he'll break free, but it might be a moment where Kula glances again at the Beast of Prey before she's in grave danger.
And then, lightly-coloured irises regard the ice doll for a moment or two.
Considering the intentions behind the arrival of the goliath fighter, there is no doubt that Kula would have no desire to be taken in either. That much is clear as she attempts to brutalise him with subliminal temperatures and hoarfrost. The air chills incredibly fast, forcing K' to suppress a slight shiver as he gazes on. With no direct indication through expression or body language, he begins to wonder just how he wants to go about this.
At the end of the day, it really isn't ideal to be turned in for a bounty.
Everything he and Maxima have done up until this point would be fruitless, since NESTS would get their hands back on them both in that scenario. Still furious by the implication of Kula's memory wipe, he doesn't really want to cooperate with her, either.
However...
The notion that perhaps the two of them would take out Potemkin - or, Potemkin simultaneously making Kula a non-issue - is appealing. In that circumstance, he could walk away scot free...
Catching a glimpse of those scarlet orbs peering his way, the Beast of Prey immediately pauses. He swears there is some unknown emotion lingering beyond that initial glance, but it more likely serves as an attempt to keep an eye on him specifically. Or, perhaps, it is a sign that, in some small way, she is trying to protect him? There's an interpretation there that has K' honestly befuddled, even annoyed that he is regarding it.
Here he is again, unknowingly allotting some type of humanity to her.
Yet also, another thought pushes through.
Despite his anger, along with the desire to remain autonomous of the Cartel and otherwise, somewhere deep down, he /knows/ Kula doesn't deserve to be tossed to the wayside. Through it all, even /he/ is aware that she isn't all bad; working for an organisation like that doesn't automatically designate 'terrible person' on someone's back, specifically only in her case (she's not special, okay? Just dumb!). K' also knows this battleship of a human being could absolutely crush her, given the chance, and he, too, could contribute to that just by proxy of using his stolen power.
Even with all the hardships and nuisances, he doesn't want the icy assassin dead.
"Guess there's no other way..." the words are mumbled to himself, possibly unheard by the other two, but it is clear to anyone that hears them that there is an edge to his tone. It's inconvenient, how weak she is, but... he raises his red-gauntleted hand anyway. Digits spread, exposing the palm, as an intense energy begins to swell. A hot plume forms, swirling and crackling, but remains suspended. Sharp pale blues gaze up and over the thick rimmed shades.
"Oi, fuckface!" the words echo as they address Potemkin. "Get lost before I royally fuck you up!"
COMBATSYS: K' gathers his will.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 K'
COMBATSYS: Potemkin endures Kula's Ice Coffin.
[ |||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|--=====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 K'
The truth is that Potemkin has no true desier to bring these two to the NOL. He doesn't like the NOL. He doesn't trust the NOL.
It might have to do with the fact that they deceived Zepp nto helping them as allies during the Illyria Incident, putting them into conflict with the Sacred Order only for the NOL to be ultimately responsible for the outbreak of violence with their intentions of gaining control over the command Gear laid bare.
Since then, Zepp has refused their presence and not granted them policing authority in their territory and the relationship has been..cool. Not openly hostile. Yet.
But the bounties the NOL has determined have a measure of truth to them, somewhat. They are worth investigating and there are other law keeping forces at work in the world and some that may very well be willing to hear what k' and Kula have to say. At least, that's the theory. It's a theory being put to the test by the fact that neither of these ones have any interest in even risking that and that violence was underway well before Potemkin's forceful arrival. The other irony here being that once, some time ago, Potemkin also had attempted to capture Maxima and he slipped away as well. Not that he knows the connection.
Not that it matters either. His massive hand wholly misses K', gargantuan arm sweeping through the air and the area shaking as his body adjusts and braces against the shifting momentum of his freakish weight. "You've quite the mouth on you." he offers as K' dances backwards spouts obscenities at the colossus.
And then, cold. Cold to make armor brittle and the air sunder. "Grrnngh!" he grunts, his words yanked from him as ice seizes him and crystallizes about him. A thing of terrible beauty as it freezes him in the middle of movement in a prison that would surely spell the end for most others.
But alas, Kula's presumption of his ability to ultimately break free is quite accurate. Perhaps even faster then she may have first anticiupated. The prison cracks. Shards and plumes of ice bursting forth from the widening chasms in the frozen formations..and then Potemkin bursts free..and falls over.
A Potemkin fall is something akin to a seismic event as he deliberately slams himself into the ground, semi truck cab sized chest striking the earth and the rest of him flattening into it to create an ever widening crater and ean explosive shockwave of force that rolls out towards -both- bounties, ripping the ground apart in its wake.
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Potemkin's Slide Head.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 K'
The Brobdingnagian would be still and statuesque for no more than a small measure of heartbeats. Her gaze tears from the white-haired man who had been holding it, Kula backing away instinctively from Potemkin. Fragments of the gigantic crystal coffin rain down like glittering communities of dancing lights as it ruptures, each chunk large enough to do massive bodily harm...
Fortunately, K' doesn't have to witness her crushing end...
Yet.
She trips at a safe distance, heels clipping off the cracked asphalt, the cataclysmic shockwave that ensues robbing her of equilibrium. The ice doll is forced to somersault, sloppy and carelessly tumbling until halted by previously organised recycling piles behind some new business. It's more cardboard than Kula has ever seen in her young life.
"Ah...?" Light pain lances through the assassin's arm, radiating from a point near the elbow.
Making note of her vitals, the increase in body temperature and cardiac rhythm are all within reasonable parameters. Kula flexes her fingers to test their flexibility, shrugging her shoulders and untangling cascading sheets of blue hair. Everything seems to be fine and functional otherwise, apart from a little dust here and there, and maybe a bruise to remember the day by. She rises to her feet, obviously dissatisfied with the condition of her clothing. The childish huff she lets out could destroy a straw house.
This sucks, since domestic tasks are not Kula's forte. Laundry is especially intimidating.
COMBATSYS: Potemkin successfully hits K' with Slide Head.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1 K'
Yeah. Sometimes K' has a really colourful tongue, and other times, well... it's like this. No matter which way you slice it, though, there's very little regard for how others feel about it. At least, on the end of the aggressor.
Either way.
Blatantly ignoring that comment, he favours hanging back to get a lay of the land, which allows the ice doll a moment to shine. The prison she's encased Potemkin in is bound to crack away, he knows this, but it allows for a brief reprieve. With energy circling around within him, one could say he's right fired up and ready to lay some of that stolen power into the tanking heathen!
...
Except, probably not.
Why? Well, because as the frozen coffin shatters and bits of shards go flying, the renegade is stepping back to avoid being collateral damage in that event. Beyond that, he has very little time to anticipate what comes next, and therefore cannot properly brace himself for the incoming earthquake resulting from the hunter's immense bodily force impacting into the ground.
The earth shudders, and unluckily for K', he isn't so nimble as Kula at this particular second. Unstabilised and unrooted, the leader-cladded criminal is sent rocking sideways. You remember that dumpster bin from earlier? Yeah, he crashes against it, knocking a fair-white head against the metal encasing. A grunt of pain seethes through pearly whites as his worldly vision shudders from the collision, yet he's forced to cling lightly onto the edge of the trash heap until the shaking subsides.
Rot fills his nostrils, and his handsome features wrinkle and contort with displeasure. If one doubted at all that he is pissed off, they definitely are about to know this for certain now. The anger is practically radiating off him in thick waves. With a bit of a headshake, the Beast of Prey separates himself from the bin, rounding it, all while grumbling, "This thing stinks like shit...!" His skulking posture rises to full height, and while pale blues take note of where the NESTS assassin stands, he projects his voice over the hulking bin to say, "You wanna stick around so bad, asshole? I have the perfect place for you to live, rent-free!"
And then... the wheels of the steel bin creak as K' puts his full weight into the backside. With palms flat, digits splayed, he begins to push it right towards Potemkin with all the pent up energy he's got in the hopes of either smacking it into the battleship of a man, or outright running it right over him!
Any natural born human may have looked upon K' and his situation with pity, because hugging up a trash bin is not very sanitary and no doubt he now smells much like one, but Kula's scarlet stare lacks warmth and sympathy. Patting off dirt from all the areas she can reach on her back and backside, the girl maintains a constant vigil. Good thing, too. When the renegade pulls around his new friend, she's able to flatten against the wall, making herself small...
He barrels past, a leather-clad engine gaining speed and momentum, attempting to pile the garbage on Potemkin by running the dumpster at him. Kula wants nothing to do with the rubbish bits, but she catches a whiff of the stench on the wind, her face comically green. "Eugh, ew! Yuck!" the lady doth protest, pinching her nose in disgust.
COMBATSYS: Kula takes no action.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1 K'
"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" shouts K'.
Kula frowns. Rude!
COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks K''s Large Random Weapon.
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 K'
Surprisingly fast, especially in consideration of his vast bulk, Potemkin is back to a crouched position by the time K' begins making his charge at him with that dumpster. He frowns, nose wrinkling behind the faceplate of his helmet and his eyes narrowing a touch. He'll have to get some sort of filter installed that will help in situations like this.
A situation only worsened when he manages to bring a massive fist up, palm facing towards the dumpster, and then with a loud sound of metal wrenching and the garbled various noises of Southtowns finest garbage and trash, being violently thrown about - brings the charge to a halt before the dumpster can actually collide into him. Instead it compresses like an accordion, the metal singing and the trash flying.
A grunt and a casual exertion, sends his arm swinging out and the dumpster flying with it to go sailing violently through the air before crashing across the street into an unfortunante storefront. Sadly collateral damage is bound to get even worse with these three about. Effectively Fire, Ice and now Earth with Potemkin in play.
"I will focus on the B class. The C class is backing down." he rumbles, voice calm in its bass rumble. Still on his knees he brings his one arm back around and then braces it with the other, fist pointing at K' while still remaining in a slightly crouched position. There is a pause and then a single finger flicks up..albiet with so much controlled strength the very act causes a shotgun like sound to go off, the air to vibrate and warp, and a shockwave of pure air pressure to blast out - rocketing through the remains of the falling trash as it seeks to slam fully into K' like an invisible hammer.
COMBATSYS: Potemkin successfully hits K' with F.D.B..
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
Wouldn't it be nice if everything went your way?
It'd be /so/ satisfying to see the wheels of the dumpster run clean over the massive tank of a human, spewing trash left, right, and centre. Absolutely no denying that fact whatsoever.
However, Potemkin takes the barreling tin like a champ. K' watches on with mild irritation as a massive fist creates a lovely folding effect into the charge, screeching metal assaulting their ears and offensive smelling garbage tumbling onto the ground, useless. Not at all what he wanted, a quiet 'tch' sound mutters under his breath. In truth, it does make sense that something of that size might not take out a hulking being such as the hunter before them, if only to slow him temporarily.
Now, as it soars overhead into the unsuspecting shop down the street, it serves as unnecessary collateral, but naturally, the Beast of Prey isn't at all paying attention to it.
If anything, he takes the briefest of seconds to get his sights on Kula. Where she stands is far enough from the encounter that she could probably avoid whatever Potemkin throws at them.
Or, with those rumblings that carry on the wind...
"Figures you'd go after the bounty that's the highest," the renegade voices his opinion with a scowl, shoving a hand into one of his frontmost pockets. "Feel bad trying to break her?" Even if he poses himself as being uncaring about it, he wouldn't purposefully go out of his way to ensure the assassin receives harm from attacks that could be easily controlled or avoided.
The pursuer remains low to the ground, which serves to his benefit. That giant palm swivels around to launch a follow-up to his trashy assault (ha, get it?), which... honestly, is a little difficult to detect? The air warps and twists as the pressure closes in on him, blurring the edges of where it ends and where the rest of space exists. In a feeble attempt to escape its parameters, the white-haired man promptly leaps to the side...
But, y'know. It's air.
Easily able to be misunderstood or misinterpreted, the bounds of the attack bellows into him enough to knock him back against the mortar of a nearby building. Leather can provide some buffering against injury, but it's not full-proof; as he crashes sideways against the wall, K' has the displeasure of whacking his wrist bone, which is an immediate cause for incessant throbbing. Simultaneously, all the suspended air in his lungs is forced out in a huff of breath, spittle permeating the space around his head. It's lucky he doesn't outright smack his temple against the brick.
"Shit...!" he grumbles, using the corresponding forearm of his currently throbbing wrist to hold himself upright. It isn't a tremendous effort. In fact, he's putting more energy into being pissed off than anything else, with blue irises peering up and over thick rimmed shades in the ice doll's direction.
Is she really just... standing there?
... Unless?
Does she have no instruction?
That would explain her inaction here. Which means she's up for gentle nudging, as they say. Since Potemkin is here for both of them, that's one thing, but with him clearly pursuing only one meant K' would soon run into trouble, one way or another. Above anything, his freedom is all that matters, and if all it takes is a little prodding to keep that option open for him, well...
It's worth a damn shot.
"Oi!" he shouts across the open expanse of the alleyway to get the blue-haired girl's attention. "You gonna just stand there and be useless as fuck or you gonna help take him down!? If this guy gets his hands on me and turns me in to the bounty hunters, you're a fucking idiot if you think NESTS will keep you around after that!" Pushing himself up along the wall, he uses the leverage of it's sturdy foundation to get himself standing proper. "You think you have a purpose without me? That you'll get a pat on the head, some fucking ice cream, and then call it a day? It's /mission complete/ once I'm gone, stupid! Game over! The end!" He spits. "All those kids before you, where are they now? They ain't living it up like they tell you in those fucked up bedtime stories! They're dead, and NESTS won't hesitate to get rid of you, too! Those assholes will just start a new project, one better than you to replace you."
"You gonna let them do that?! Don't tell me you're just another one of their dolls that they can throw away once they're done with you, and you wouldn't even fight back!"
COMBATSYS: K' takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
There's a lot of compacting rubbish going on around here. Kula decides her participation is only voluntary, but unable to disengage, she's forced to clamp both hands down over her ears, desperately shielding them from the screams of metal threatening to deafen her. Her crimson eyes are shock-wide, seeing as the dumpster folds in on itself like an accordion, the mind of the Anti-K' reeling with awe. Imagine what Potemkin could do to a person!
He hurls the flattened container away, the child noting progress while it soars a distance and across the road...
KERSMASH!
Consequences are swift, lemmings crowding the shattered remains of the storefront. They search for answers by casting interested glances in all directions.
Kula bristles, imbued with a sense of urgency driving her to take action before her position is compromised further. Azure sheets of hair flaunt a fluidity comparable to water as she pivots in place, signalling an exit...
...?
Was that supposed to be an insult, just as she's about to take flight? The indignant ice dancer whirls back to the continuing conflict, which is becoming increasingly bizarre and intense. 'Who are you calling a C Class?!' her expression demands of the juggernaut, although Kula is unclear what it even implies. Are her abilities considered mediocre? Unexceptional? Inferior?
She's the culmination of years of research, scientific application, and manipulation over creation itself! Igniz described her as special, a miracle...
But that's beside the point.
What is the girl's current plan? While her emotions grow complicated and overwhelming, Kula is paralyzed by uncertainty as a result. Delicate fingers crease the front of her dress for a whole minute, gripping the fabric and then unclenching it.
K' crashes nearby, his introduction to the bricks a rough affair. Adding to his pain, he begins cursing, directing his wrath towards Kula, who stares at him in an owlish way. It's difficult to determine if the renegade's words have any effect...
... until her pretty face shows signs of apprehension.
Misgivings. So many of them. Where's the guarantee that the assassin won't be sacrificed in the process of fleeing, like killing two birds with one stone? This thought occurs because it's perfectly rational, yet it is refuted by sentiments that are unsupported by evidence.
Though Kula cannot explain the origin of her faith in K', she nevertheless believes in him...
Not completely, but somewhat.
Her mission is to bring the Beast of Prey to NESTS; he's a dangerous animal in need of domestication. Considering the possibility of failing to fulfil her task, fear flickers across her pale features, the gentle shape of parted lips pressing tightly together into a line. The winter siren's brow eventually relaxes, scarlet orbs robbed of everything that makes her seem 'human'. Kula stands as the porcelain doll she's designed to be.
Working with K-Prime is comforting and familiar, Kula discovers. Advancing on the goliath, Potemkin has a distinct form of air assault, but what she can do is equally elemental, just different. Cupped at her chin, the slender digits unfurl from her palm to reveal a swirl of snowflakes. They solicit her sweet breath, exhaled as a frigid blast, but not enough to encase anyone in ice...
Just to make the behemoth cold, and cover every exposed inch with small incisions.
COMBATSYS: Potemkin blocks Kula's Diamond Breath.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|------=|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
So.....this isn't going according to plan.
The -plan- so to speak was to intervene and capture the Class B bounty and ....return to Zepp with him. Discover the connection with and intentions of NESTS and perhaps turn this situation in Zepp's favor with potential allies under the pretense of a successful bounty capture. Sounds exciting.
But then there's this new Class C variable. One that is rather insulted at the thought that she is merely 'Class C'. at first it seemed that she was a bounty hunter engaging K' herself but now that her own bounty and ties with the NESTS Cartel have been revealed..the entire situation has become more muddied. Made all the worse by the fact that both of them are turning on them after having been attacking each other. It's like the battle at the Fatal Core blockade all over again. Not exactly his finest moment.
"This situation is more complex then I anticipated.." he rumbles as he brings a hand up and holds it out before him against the billowing deadly snow that swirls at him from Kula. His mountainous body hunches up, turtling somewhat as his own internal chi begins to burn within, adding additional raging body heat to provide an added buffer against the cold that rushes over him. "I had thought that you were on opposing sides but it seems I was mistaken.. Perhaps a change of strategy is in order.."
He lunges, pushing through what remains of the gust of cold and reaching a gigantic hand out towards Kula now..and if he grabs her she'll find herself flung into the air, sent over the giants shoulder towards the now settled dumpster which, despite crumpled, is still spacious enough to receive her though the landing amongg whats left of the trash whole necessarily be gentle.
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Potemkin's Fling.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|------=|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
The absurdity of Kula's present reality is perplexing, but she will reflect on it later since that's what she does. Time marches on, despite her ridiculous notions about Potemkin and how his hand is capable of blocking the totality of her Diamond Breath. She straightens with a frosty inclination, temporarily abandoning the attempt to harm him. "You are always welcome to leave," she helpfully suggests, if he's so concerned by the situation's complexity, "I am--?!?!"
It ends abruptly, whatever the following part was meant to be.
Seized completely around the middle, she emits an alarmed squeal. Kula departs from terra firma, hoisted triumphantly like a child's plaything, squeaking ineffectively, "No, stop!" She struggles to brace herself, the massive fingers squeezing tight, but the behemoth discards her carelessly. He tosses the frigid girl over his shoulder as though she were a common piece of junk.
Poor Kula. There is a perpetual deluge of disrespect that flows down this alley, and she is literally drowning in it.
"Eek!" Unable to control her spiralling expulsion, she tumbles in the air until it puts her right, at which point her entire motion comes to a halt. Although it is impossible to see what Kula lands on, her knees bend, coiling her slim figure and absorbing the compression energy throughout. Cerulean threads flutter dramatically, scattering small flurries of snow with each slight undulation. The cold summoned to coalesce around the pretty cryomancer causes a dip in temperature in the surrounding area...
Kula hovers in position for so long before succumbing to gravity. It demands immediate compliance, and the Anti-K' rides a slab of ice like a primitive snowboard, using her icy abilities to drive it forward, aiming to bring the thing crashing down exactly on top of Potemkin's helmeted skull!
"Go away, you giant holey butt!"
Ooooookay.
Clearly, the wrong message has been sent here.
In no way is he paling around with the likes of Kula. They aren't buddies. Far from it, in fact! The mere implication of such a suggestion actually has the handsome man contort his facial expression into something similar to disdain. A foul-tempered disagreement that he doesn't hold back revealing to anyone here.
Although, it isn't hard to guess at /why/ Potemkin is going along the line of thinking, since, y'know... they /are/ technically teaming up to take him down.
There's an awful damn good reason for that, and if all hands on deck means pushing the NESTS assassin into action in order to get this bounty hunter the fuck away from them both, then sure. Even though he doesn't particularly care for it, K' will deceive appearances for the time being.
Not like he isn't going to just turn around and finish what had been started, should the giant heathen of a man be removed from the picture.
Or should Kula manage to not become a piece of trash in the dumpster. Which, lucky for her that she creatively deflected that opportunity, I guess. That thing really is becoming a main character in this fight, isn't it?
... They aren't going to get anywhere with things like 'big holey butt' though.
"Are you serious?" The words are a mutter as the Beast of Prey can only stare incredulously across the expanse of the battle field with his jaw slightly slack, unable to quite comprehend what just came tumbling from her mouth. Is... is that supposed to be some sort of insult? What even is that? In no way does he believe that Kula knows what she is even saying, or if she does... no. Just no. It's all kinds of ridiculous. The digits of his left hand carefully pry shadowy-tinted shades down, revealing pale baby blues that convey the very same tone that escaped his lips, and if he could roll his eyes any freakin' harder, they'd tumble freely out of his skull.
Despite this, he is determined to take down their opponent... but not while the ice doll seems to be floating in Potemkin's periphery. With his sunglasses properly affixed on the bridge of his nose, the renegade considers his options. Really, there only seems to be one thing to do at the moment, and so dark brows furrow over thick rimmed shades. The red-cladded hand raises at the wrist, enough to suspend a low burning flame away from the rest of his body, unadjusted to the assaulting and foreign power contained within. The power surges within, swirling, intensifying. Soon ready to incinerate into the tanky hunter with all his might.
"Heads up, stupid!" The shout hopefully reaches Kula. "Get the hell outta my way or you're gonna get burned!"
COMBATSYS: K' charges his next attack!
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|------=|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Potemkin with Large Thrown Object.
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Potemkin 1|----===|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 K'
-KLONK-!!!
The sound of that frozen block slamming onto Potemkin's head is rather embarrassing. His helmet resounds with the reverberations of the impact. Ice shatters and snow flurries wildly around him and his body seizes up slightly from the burst of cold that races through him causing his eyes to widen as the blow is struck solidly to him as his attention attempts to resettle on K'.
Indeed, this is rather troublesome and now slightly embarrassing. Not at all how he planned on having this mission go.
"Sir! Are you--" chimes in a voice over the comm.
"Standby!" Potemkin hastily interjects, not wanting to go into the details of the harassment he is now beginning to experience. "I am focusing my efforts on the primary target. I will weather the cryokinetic for the moment."
There is a reason for this. Though Kula struck him, the pressure, the intent, the chi, the flames..of K' is not going unnoticed and the situation is quite possibly about to take a drastic turn for the worst.
"Next time we will have to more carefully consider how we involve ourselves in these NOL bounties." he adds, "NESTS Cartel or no. enough is enough. Engaging the Class B!"
The ground lurches, violently once more. Potemkins' great strength pushing him forward into a sliding dash that sends sparks flying and the pavement si'dding apart as he lunges in on K' with all the gentle approach of an out of control semi truck. His monstrous arms pull backwards, fists clenching as he thunders in..and then once in range his arms swing forward, monstrous fists seeking to slam together and crash into each other with K' between them. An assault that will hopefully land before that fireball has a chance to detonate.
COMBATSYS: K' interrupts Hammer Fall from Potemkin with Empowered #Hyper Chain Drive EX#.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 K'
Undeterred, the renegade stands poised (or, as skulkingly as possible) as he witnesses the steadily growing impatience that practically reverberates from Potemkin in thick waves. Kula's assault seems to have caused an emotional reaction for their opponent, but K' really doesn't care about that. Thanks to their combined efforts, the goal of whittling down and overwhelming the bounty hunter is slowly coming to fruition.
Just a little bit more and maybe, /maybe/ he can get out of here. Although, that won't matter if Kula continues to pursue him beyond this point...
Ah, to hell with it! He'll figure that part out when, and if, he gets to it.
Despite his size, the heathen of a person can move relatively quickly, and as such is able to descend upon him in a few short moments. Unable to suppress the urge to roll his eyes almost as hard as he'd done in response to the ice doll's rather lame attempt at an insult, the Beast of Prey steels himself for impact.
With massive mitts coming in on either side of him, threatening to squish him into a flesh-and-leather pancake, his arms raise, cradling his snow-coloured head. That embellished flame swirling about his fist miraculously doesn't extinguish, instead an uncharacteristic spark ignites it brighter. The tiniest of cracking noises erupts in his ear, but K' dismisses it, imminently privy to the knowledge that the hit Potemkin landed... probably did some damage on his glove.
With no time to ponder said damage, the stolen flamebearer wastes no time with his punishment.
Right arm pointing straight for the ground, the opposite hand envelopes his wrist. An animalistic growl pushes through gritted pearly whites as he channels that inner swelling energy into his red-cladded fist. His aim is true as all his momentum pushes into a downward motion, descending knuckles colliding with the earth. From that, a huge burst of white-hot flame erupts from underneath those digits, soaring up and around not only himself, but his opponent as well, in a tremendously large encirclement of raw power.
And it's hot, no doubt, because there is something uncontrolled about this fiery pit.
So much so, that even the wielder is aware of the sheer scale of it reaching beyond normal means. There is pain so familiar, and it shoots up through his fingertips and over the top of his hand along where the cracks break into his protective glove. Yet, very little indication of the discomfort he is experiencing shows outwardly, for it is something he is very used to at this point.
Thanks, NESTS.
This blast is enough to burn into their surroundings, charring brick, mortar, and with it hitting Potemkin, it likely is getting at Kula as well. With a small semblance of control over this unwanted power, K' is unable to sit with the knowledge of causing needless harm to her, even if she is stupid and brainwashed by that ridiculous Cartel. So while the searing hot embers coloured blood red work to disperse over his enemy, the leather-cladded criminal side-steps from the epicentre and extends himself outward to where he sees the ice princess lingering on the outskirts of the ring of fire.
"Did you not hear a single damn word I said?! MOVE IT!" he shouts as the palm of his uncovered hand pushes against her shoulder with a force that would hopefully shove her away from the element she so greatly hates.
Stumbling over his own feet, he teeters back slightly, though not entirely enough to remain within his adversaries immediate range. The tips of white hair are slightly singed, and he offers up a curled lip to display self-assurance...
But doubtless, it may not go unmissed that he's tucking that gauntlet of a hand somewhat behind him to hide away the damage of his own uncontrolled blast.
From inconveniencing Potemkin to the shout to pull back, Kula practically experiences whiplash as the commands keep changing. She senses the disintegration of ice beneath her feet, the block gradually cracking apart until the Anti-K' must spring away. Her sheets of cerulean hair wave in the fall before cascading down her front like water, but the landing is cat-like, head raising to cast a glare all the way around the colossus with twin scarlet orbs.
The young lady quickly locates the source of her irritation. Kula yells at K', flailing in childish exasperation, "Make up your mind!" If only she could strike his indecisiveness, because it's SO DIFFICULT to accomplish anything when she's stuck in neutral. They're battling the bounty hunter together, aren't they? --Hold on, fire.
Potemkin notices...
But it's hard to miss the Ever-Burning Flames of the Kusanagi.
Whatever it means to weather someone, the juggernaut makes it pretty obvious what he intends to do with a boisterous battle cry and a bullheaded charge despite the ice doll's ignorance. His bulk at high speed shreds the pavement, hurling debris in every direction, some of which Kula must deflect with her bare arms. She takes a step back...
Slowly.
Any regular blast would be easy to avoid in comparison to one that is exploding out of control. K' and his stolen birthright overwhelm the giant, but the searing crimson is far-reaching enough to endanger Kula herself. She panics, which robs her of the crucial few seconds needed to run. Greeted by a rush of heat, it bathes the assassin's pale face with an unpleasant warmth that grows hotter. A sudden intake of air almost includes accidental inhalation of ash...
However, a hand attached to a leather-clad limb emerges from the fiery depths of hell. He grabs her by the shoulder...
And shoves her to create some distance between herself and something Kula would prefer not to be part of in any manner. She retreats further, unsteady and wide-eyed at the might of a failed experiment's fury.
It's terrifying.
Not to mention odd.
After the smoke has cleared, she can spot the two propped up like 3-D models against a charred backdrop. Potemkin is acknowledged for the threat he still represents, but the prized jewel of NESTS is attentive to the way her counterpart tucks his gauntlet behind his back as if to shield it. While she feels compelled to attack him, Kula remains rooted, torn apart by her simple emotions. Did the renegade project just... save her? Why is that even so familiar? His glove must be damaged...
Focus, Kula. Focus.
COMBATSYS: Kula focuses on her next action.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 K'
Potemkin, a walking fortress, an unstoppable dreadnought, vanishes into the cataclysm of an ever burning flame. The shouts of his handlers and comrades are lost to him as the roar of the flame fills him within and without and billows violently around him like a Biblical column of flame that fans out and then blossoms upwards into an explosion that consumes the alleyway and washes over the buildings and streets, a flood of fire and fury.
He cries out, roaring a bestial grunt of shock and pain that is drowned out by the sound of the eruption of K's power.
For all practical purposes..it seems like he's been incinerated on the spot.
But THEN--!!
A monstrous fist burst through the wall of flames even as Kula is seized and pulled away from the fury unleashed by the Class B bounty. The force of the blast has shredded away the gauntlets, revealing instead the flesh of the gargantua, brown, weathered and instead bearing signs of the scorching flames upon it but nevertheless having weathered the assault itself. Indeed the flames that remain are now, suddenly, blasted away from a shockwave erupting from the heart of the explosion, now revealing Potemkin's braced physique, much of his pressure suit shredded and ruined and his mammoth physique and flesh revelaed though his helmet remains in place along with his faceplate. IF there was a question before it is answered. He's no robot, mech, or machine but flesh and blood. Flesh and blood powerful enough to stay standing after that assault. He, perhaps, has more in common with these two then they realize. But if his flexed muscles, braced stance, and the lean back of his fist means anything.. it's a discussion he plans to have another time.
"MAGNUUUMMM.." he begins, a low building roar as a gigantic flex ripples through his body, shredding away with remains of the suit on the punching arm that steadies itself as if were a cannon about to launch a missile.
"OPERA!!!!"
Potemkin's swing blasts forward, his pressure suit and limiters broken, and full strength unrestrained as it hurtles for the leather clad vandal and by proxy, ice queen. It's not the swing alone but as demonstrated earlier by a finger flick being enough to produce an air bullet, but the air pressure before the punch that is just as dangerous. It may miss and yet still unleash a force wave of pressurized air that blasts away what's left of the flames - exploding upwards and forward to distort and warp buildings and blow walls apart and more.
All in all not a good day for property insurance.
COMBATSYS: Potemkin knocks away Kula with Magnum Opera EX.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 K'
It must have been a nightmare for the poor sap at x insurance, who got yelled at by some shop owner about a smelly new centrepiece smashing through the front window. Almost certainly, the advice to 'call the police' was repeated more than once...
However, given the frequency of backyard brawls here in Southtown, as well as a nearly superhuman society with an unhealthy disregard for collateral damage, the cops have yet to arrive, assuming they were even notified at all.
Kula considers this as a blessing in disguise, having heard Diana describe the concept to her. Local law enforcement would complicate matters.
Complicate them further, I mean.
Potemkin thrusts one arm out from the depths of the flame, the remnants peeling off his enormous bulk as effortlessly as removing a coat, but literally stripping away layers of his pressure suit. I suppose you should never wear combustible clothing to a fire fight, right?
But Kula does not fare much better.
With the chance to assess the state of her garments, her outfit exhibits the markings of straying too close to K'. Slender fingers pass over the singed material's cooled, crunchy patches. A frown spreads across Kula's lips, seizing their fullness and dragging them down.
Acknowledging the destruction caused by the inferno's passage through the bottleneck at the alley's entrance, the Anti-K' scans the surroundings. How the walls have been blasted black, parking signs rendered illegible, and anything flammable between is the burning embers at their feet. Unaware that she was holding her breath, Kula exhales.
The ice doll corrals her wandering attention, but it was a mistake to glance away for even a second...
His voice rumbles down the street, accompanied by a dreadful premonition that chills her to the bone. Exchanging parting looks with the criminal outlaw, Kula is the victim of proximity, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Potemkin's pounding shockwave snuffs the last of a stolen birthright, hitting her like a runaway train. It rips her up from the ground, and the girl's fey frame doesn't simply collide with the building to her left...
She punches an impressive hole clean through the side, her pained shriek abruptly cut short.
In scarlet orbs, the entire world erupts, and a universe of stars is born to perish. Everything is colour and anguish, mixing to the point that Kula can no longer tell them apart. Her head throbs, her legs feel knotted and numb. The icy ballerina struggles to remain alert, but the lingering darkness around the edges of her peripherals demands her submission...
"Not yet..." she whispers.
This sort of transgression deserves a reprisal.
At Kula's behest, they are all immediately thrown into a hellish Winter Wonderland. The alleyway is completely frozen over.
Using the final vestiges of her strength, she gestures vaguely while glowing like a beacon. Any object that remains motionless for longer than a heartbeat develops crystals that grow exponentially, splintering into lethal shards and razor-sharp particles. The air they breathe becomes weaponized because it draws upon the moisture to make more. Kula's power is beyond her control...
Consequently, a terrible storm descends onto everything. A screaming white-out of blistering cold, Kula's might perfected by the countless failures that came before her. Whether the weather wears them down, or shreds the Beast of Prey and his gargantuan pursuer to pieces, it's for the fates to decide.
Her eyes lid gently, soon disappearing from view. Kula fades, her loss of consciousness regrettable, but everything is... just so heavy...
COMBATSYS: Kula can no longer fight.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Potemkin's Magnum Opera EX.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Kula's Freeze Execution.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-----<<|
There are many outcomes to anticipate in the wake of a fiery explosion such as this. Most would reveal themselves to be charred, fleshy beings, and there is no doubt K' has heard a multitude of pained cries from folks who've had to endure the wrath of his stolen birthright.
Potemkin is no exception to this rule.
The sound is barely muted by the roaring flames, and the situation serves as enough of a distraction for their opponent that the renegade is able to get Kula out of harm's way - for the most part, anyway. What remains in the aftermath is absolutely expected, with buildings blackened and quiet embers dispersing over the flammable bits of whatever had become collateral damage amongst the tyrade.
And in the silence emerges a hulking beast, shed of his armour to reveal a human shape underneath.
The size of the bounty hunter is near insurmountable, his height seemingly towering more so now than it has previously, wavering between menacing and disastrous. The Beast of Prey looks on with gritted teeth and bated breath, not out of fear but out of acute awareness that whatever Potemkin has in store for them would likely not bode well should they be hit with whatever is coming. A side glance at the ice princess alerts him to her current state of affairs, in which singed and confused are terms in which to describe what she looks like right now.
A fierce cry practically vibrates the concrete below their feet. A warning. That final glance with Kula comes from his periphery. When the blast comes, there is nothing else he can really focus on, however, and his gaze tears from her.
K' has seen this type of pressurised attack before, thanks to that weird finger-flicking thing the tank-like person had done before. The scale of it appears much greater than before, though the edges of the perimeter are clear indicators of where it touches. Buildings shrink in, innocent bystanding poles, garbage bins, and other things bend to the will of this pressure.
And Kula? She's completely blown away by it, and not in a way she could enjoy it.
The flamewielder doesn't spare a moment to see what happens to her, although he can certainly hear her cry abruptly ending in the fray. His leather-cladded form seeks out the outer edge of the incoming assault, finding a gap between it and the cement ground beneath them and collapsing into it. It's a rather uncool way to move, but in order to avoid this thing from hitting him, he takes any opportunity presented to him.
White strands billow fiercely over his forehead as the blast charges on by, rustling his sunglasses even as he presses tightly to the earth. The sensation is all too akin to a strong tornado-like wind, enunciated with oppressive pressure that could crush all in its path. When it eventually passes over, K' steals a look over his shoulder to observe what is left behind.
Mostly everything that is charred and burnt is crushed, and alongside those changes to their environment is a crater of a hole where NESTS' assassin lies battered among the rubble.
Pushing himself to his feet, the outlaw barely gets a chance to properly see just what's happened to her before another assailant is upon them: a frozen wasteland that was once an alleyway.
Such a stark contrast to the birthright they both inherited. The Anti-K' really is something else, isn't she?
K''s breath puffs out in front of him, the temperature dropping to near subliminal levels. Upon his shoulders, crystalized forms begin to take shape, and that single puff of breath becomes sucked of its moisture and transformed into jagged shards. Very aware of what is to come, his fist curls in some lame attempt to gather the energy where he'd previously used to bestow that fierce flaming circle upon his enemy.
Such an effort absolutely burns at his hand where the glove has shattered, searing uncomfortably, but it is a pain he ignores as the white-out blizzard begins.
In this, the renegade makes use of the stolen Kusanagi flame. It burns brightly as a makeshift shield, the white-hot pain of its raw power incinerating into marred skin alongside whatever icy shards happen to make contact on any exposed parts of him. His fury combined with discomfort results in something of a distorted and pained grunt, but in the aftermath, it is clear that he manages to avoid any serious damage from the freezing cold.
At least, not anything that could be seen outside of the further splintering of his red gauntlet.
As the ferocious winds and raging ice storm clears, K' takes in what remains. Within that gaping hole in the wall is the ice doll, apparently on the verge of consciousness or already long gone.
Beyond the steam generating from the immediate cooling of hot embers is Potemkin, but... it isn't quite clear how he is fairing in the midst of all this tremendous power.
Is he still standing?
COMBATSYS: K' takes no action.
[ |||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Potemkin just-defends Kula's Freeze Execution!
[ |||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-----==|
A storm capable of demolishing mountains. That is what Potemkin has been described as in the past and it is not simply poetic prose but a frightening truth..and a truth that, again, makes the giant more similar to these two then any of them realize as, for all his power, it is not truly under his control. His limiters exist to protect the world from him, to enable him to function as even with them..his fingers produce tons of pressure simply by attempting to write.
This power is not so simple that merely divesting himself of the full body pressure suit that serves as a restraint enables him to consistently unleash this such power either. He may be able to unleash it but his body then tires, lacking the persistent stamina to keep such levels of power up without wearing himself into exhaustion. Perhaps, one day.. Perhaps..now?
The white out conditions that sweep through the area like an unleashed nuclear winter sweep over, into and through him and the streets around him. What buildings were spared the damages from the previous releases of elemental fury now succumb to the revealed rage of the cryokinetic. Windows shatter. Pipes burst. Metal becomes brittle and crumbles..
But Potemkin remains. His gargantuan presence a burning furnace of unrestrained chi and physical strength that sears the air around him even as his armamemts suffer from Kula's wrath and his gauntlets and the chitek shells within freeze. THe mechanisms seizing up or bursting all together. His helm and faceplate weather the assault but his goggles crack, the lights flickering and then going out.
Suddenly, Potemkin's fist, slams into the ground, kicking up yet -another- shockwave that bursts up wildly around the behemoth to blast away what is left of the assault of ice and snow.. once again revealing his tremendous frame. Battered, but yet still there. One might consider that such a gargantua is truly unstoppable.
Then: "Execute retrieval protocols.. My pressure suit has been compromised and my chi-tek is inoperable.." he huffs before suddenly realizing that the previous two assaults have also effetively cut him off from his team. "Hmm.." he rumbles with a sigh before finally simply..falling backwards into a seated position. "...It would seem I am unable to continue this mission." he rumbles, "..I'm not looking forward to writing this report or explaining myself to the NOL.."
His gaze flickers over the area, searching half heartedly for the two bounties but it would seem that the human dreadnought has finally run out of fuel.
COMBATSYS: Potemkin takes no action.
[ ||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/-----==|
The foggy mist dissipates, and almost like a lone soldier standing amongst post-battle rubble, Potemkin remains upright and stoic. Hot steam rises from his massive form, lending to the visage of some spectacular beast rising from the ashes of a heated battle.
It's all too reminiscent of a really cool action movie.
Except, K' isn't really considering that thought at the present moment.
Instead, he is rather tense, his whole form paused mid stride. Daring not to take his eyes off his opponent, the Beast of Prey remains vigilant and overtly aware of every move the gargantuan makes. Truthfully, his hand is in pretty sorry conditions here, with the flames further marring his already scarred skin beneath the gauntlet. If he pushes much further, the damn thing would likely break and he'd lose all control.
... But if Potemkin provokes it, there is no stopping it.
He'd do what he'd have to in order to get himself out of here.
A side glance back to the hole in the wall confirms something, though. K' had been wondering just what became of Kula, now that the veil of mist has evaporated. In the crumbling opening she lies, now clearly fully unconscious and vulnerable.
Hesitating, the renegade stays frozen like a statue, debating the eternal question...
Does he abandon her, or does he save her, too?
It doesn't settle well in his gut to just leave her to be captured, as his memory reminds him of a time where he himself had been compromised. A nuclear threat and an encounter with Nameless ended in his incapacitation, and in that instance, Kula easily could have taken his ass back to NESTS.
Instead, she went against everything she'd ever been taught and left him to retreat once he was able. That is a debt K' carries to this day, even though the Anti-K' doesn't seem to remember a single inkling of that moment.
That is probably the worst part about it, too - that her choice to spare him during the mayhem is precisely what cost her those memories.
Gee, thanks for making her a clean slate, NESTS. Real stellar organisation.
Such a piss-off.
Anyway. The bottom line is this: he /hates/ owing anyone anything, ever.
As their opponent settles into the dirt, seated and worn, and outwardly confirms to anyone listening that he won't be completing his mission... it also isn't lost on him that anyone who will come to retrieve Potemkin from this mess may also nab Kula in the process.
Damn it all.
Why'd she have to go and pass out? What a pain.
K' hovers for a moment, watchful of what the tanking human may do should he move. One step, two, towards the hole where the cyrokinetic sits.
Unable to fully take his eyes away, the outlaw trapezes over broken brick and foundation to bend down at Kula's side. Peering down over her slender form, he takes note of the earpiece still affixed to her ear. Just what he suspected. That thing is what she'd been using to communicate with NESTS - and also what had caused her confusion during the charade since it seemed to have cut out or broke on her - the renegade takes charge. Swiftly, deft fingers pluck the device from her ear and discards it into the mortar.
No sense in saving her if that blasted Cartel is just going to track them down.
His left hand then props her upwards and against his forearm, resting her torso there, and while ignoring any pain it causes him to move his right hand, he scoops her knees up into a bridal-style position. As he rises to his full height, he adjusts her small frame to rest against his chest, easing some of the tension off his hand despite her not weighing barely anything at all.
A final gaze turns once more onto Potemkin, almost looming a threat or a dare to try and attack him... and then he turns away completely. The soles of his boots thump against the pavement and kicks up gravel as he exits the alleyway, intent on going /somewhere/.
Anywhere but here, obviously, but shit...
COMBATSYS: K' has left the fight here.
[ ||||||| ]
Potemkin 0|-------|---====
COMBATSYS: Potemkin has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:17:32 07/06/2022 by K', and last modified on 05:47:08 11/16/2023.