Match of the Millennium

Description: Lately, the lost and forgotten tunnels of a Buried Subway Station in Metro City have seen more life than they have in decades. Maybe that's why there's a faint blue pinprick shining at the other end of the tunnel, growing gradually larger, closer when observed-- and farther when approached. Maybe that's why soft murmurs susurrate through stale air, creeping ever farther into the barely lit darkness. Maybe that's why Athena Asamiya and Edenlith, the Hollow Girl feel judgmental eyes studying their every move.

[ATHENA]
This time, the name of the mysterious tournament seems to be taken quite literally. Unlike the flight to Haiti or the trip to the site of a massacre in the deserts of New Mexico, the directions Athena Asamiya is given to reach her next venue require that she descend deep beneath the metropolis of Metro City. It has been over an hour since the idol fighter left her chauffeured sedan waiting on a backstreet of the city above. An hour that she has spent working her way down through narrow stairs, partially collapsed tunnels, and rusted maintenance doors long forgotten. When she first started her way down, the noise of the city was never too far away. She could hear it above, the sounds of traffic, of heavy construction machinery, and of a city that knows nothing of the word 'sleep'.

After navigating a maze of tunnels to work her way deeper, the noises faded away, replaced by absolute silence. There were lights here and there, survivors from the time this section of the city's vast subway network was still in use. No one would come this way to replace the bulbs that had since gone out and many of the ones remaining were flickering and dull, suggesting they did not have long left either.

Cautiously, the Kung Fu artist worked her way down another tunnel - one so low that even she had to lean forward a little to avoid bumping her head on pipes crisscrossing overhead. Her only company down here was her phone. It had long since lost access to the cell signals above, but on its screen were the instructions to follow to reach her assigned match and its soft glow pushed back a little against the blanket of darkness that would have otherwise blinded her in the darkest parts of the journey.

It was only when she reached the full depths of this descent that the silence gave way to something far more unsettling - whispers in the dark, fleeting echoes of exchanges that she wasn't entirely sure she was actually hearing or if her her mind was making up to fill the void around her. Creaks in metal walkways, the hissing of steam leaking from a pipe, and the occasional deep rumbling of what she could only imagine was the movement of subway trains in other tunnels, other places where the living were conveyed to their destinations.

At last she leans her shoulder against a stuck door, its rusted hinges protesting as the youthful fighter gives it a good shove, pushing it far enough for her to step out into the abandoned station. Pale lights flicker, providing only the barest of illumination - but as accustomed to the dark as her eyes have become, it is more than enough to take the sights in. The depression between the two platforms is occupied by two parallel tracks, both of them leading into tunnels where no light shines. Broken tiled walkways, vandalized electrical panels, and graffitied walls paint only as small part of this place's history.

The rest she can just feel. The lingering sadness, the regrets and angers. Lives were lost here, dark business conducted where the eye of daylight could not see. The glow of her phone illuminates her features as she frowns slightly, looking the location over. Why has the enigmatic host of this event sent her here? Why is it important to have these fights so far from the rest of the world? That and more were what she hoped to discover as she worked her way forward through the tournament.

A long, dark-violet ponytail sits still at her back as there is no breeze here to play with it. Over the girl's body is worn a high-collared Kung Fu jacket that reaches down to just below her hips, and just past that, a small amount of black covers the tops of her legs from the form fitting shorts worn beneath. Otherwise, her legs are bare down to the ankles where ankle-high crimson boots are laced tightly. The jacket seems held closed by golden ribbons placed at even intervals, though there is likely more keeping it secured than just that. The short sleeves of the jacket are black with crimson rings at the end and on her hands are matching crimson fingerless gloves. A white sash is tied around her slender waist, pulling the jacket in tightly enough to accentuate her figure, tied into a large bow behind her back.

Atop her head is the red hair clip with a golden star that is featured in all of her fighting outfits. Two emblems decorate her jacket - on the right breast is a small golden ring enclosing the Chinese kanji for 'Will.' And emblazoned large on her back is a black circle featuring the black silhouette of the neck and head of a dragon with a forked tongue - emblems of her two trainers who have been guiding the young vigilante fighter along her path: the grizzled but wizened Chin Gentsai, and the mysterious blind swordsman, Kenshi Takahashi.

Moving away from the door, Athena turns off her phone, lowering her arm against her side. Her steps forward are wary but not to the point of being paralyzed with fear. Her heart races with anticipation but also beats with the resolve of one who has faced many dangers before and kept pushing forward to face whatever came before her.

A soft exhale and she bows her head briefly, tapping into that fount of psionic potential within her. She had to be ready... for anything.

[EDENLITH]
This time, Edenlith decides to bring her cat Storm with her. He has been feeling neglected lately. Indeed, she didn't bring him with her to many places lately, but she had her reasons. Reasons she didn't have this time. Does it mean she underestimates her latest opponent? Not really even if it's another school girl, it should be a great match.

For now, she had to hurry to get into the underground part of Metro City. She also would have to run to make it on time. "I am going to run." She warns her white cat with an amused smirk. Then she starts running.

She moves so quickly, a blur at the moment in the dark tunnels. She remembers the way. A good memory is a must for her line of work when she's not in school. So she makes her way as quickly as possible in the tunnel while Storm is holding on for dear life.

Then she gets to the door. It is open already, which means her opponent is already here. Alright, they will be able to work it out. She gets in the room quickly, and almost appears at a spot out of nowhere. She casually puts Storm down.

"It's a dark place to fight in, don't you think?" Storm says as he looks around, his eyes settling on the other girl once they find her. "I've had worse." She didn't look bothered at all. "Hi, I am late a little, but I am here now." She also could feel all those bad feelings. Another place where bad things happened. That seems to be the basis of everywhere she has fought in this tournament. It's great. She grabs the karambit knives from under her skirts, takes a deep breath, and smiles. Her red eyes seem to glow slightly in the darkness of this place.

COMBATSYS: Edenlith has started a fight here.

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Edenlith         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Athena has joined the fight here.

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Athena           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
Athena stops along the first platform she came out on, midway along its length, reaching into an alcove on one of the white tile-covered columns to place her phone down. Taking in a deep breath, exhales slowly, head bowing slightly, violet eyes closed in concentration. An aura builds around her - unseen but felt by those sensitive enough to projections of power and presence. The transition from her non-combat state to combat ready happens in less than a second, but she keeps her eyes longer still, lingering in the moment, slowing her breathing in a deliberate attempt to pace herself for the match to come.

When Edenlith appears on the platform as well, her remarkable speed bringing her to a stop, the girl in red is already turning to face her, eyes once more open, studying her with an openly curious expression accompanied by a friendly, quiet smile.

"I'm glad you are." Athena states with a slight nod and blink.

The apparent school girl might sense that she is being scrutinized, not just visually but ways harder to explain. Eyes flick to follow the movement of drawing two combat knives into action but it doesn't seem to draw a strong reaction from Edenlith's seemingly unarmed opponent. No doubt any fighter that has made it this far has faced any number of weapon styles in her training, and has some ideas in mind of how to adapt to the deadly instruments.

One more cycle of inhaling and then exhaling, then Asamiya lifts her arms - left arm extended, palm open, and right hand held at shoulder level, drawn back, elbow bent. One leg slips forward as she slips into a ready stance that supports her Kung Fu martial arts training.

Her smile fades, her expression becoming more serious and focused as she glances between the girl and her cat.

"When you're ready."

[EDENLITH]
Athena is not a simple normal schoolgirl. Edenlith knows that much. Even if she couldn't feel anything from her, it would be an evidence. You don't get this far from sucking or being unable to fight. She figures her opponent could feel something from her as well. It would make sense as a type of energy. Something evil, yet not pure evil at this point.

Either way, she knows Athena is ready, especially when she doesn't react to the knives. Why would she? A lot of people can fight without weapons. If you're a good fighter anyway. She gives a smile to the girl, one slowly shifting into a smirk. Until 3 simple words come from the girl. "When you're ready."

Then it's like a switch has been turned on. Edenlith runs to Athena and then around her at high speed. She ends up with a couple of illusion that looks just like her, running around the girl as well. Then they strike. If she hits, her hit would be physical, but the illusions would be mental/psionic kind of damage.

While this happens. Storm speaks up once more. "Good luck!" Of course, he wants Eden to win, but good luck is also valid for her opponent.

COMBATSYS: Edenlith successfully hits Athena with I am here, here, here and here.

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Athena           0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
She had an impression of Edenlith's speed when she first arrived, but once the match begins, Asamiya is treated to an even higher threshold of lightning alacrity as the other girl closes in on her in an instant. Bracing, she turns in time to keep up with her opponent's movements, eyes managing to track her positioning as well as the movements of her knives. Deflecting the twin bladed strikes will be a matter of needing to deflect the arms striking with them while also moving such as to make the strikes unable to hit their intended target.

She's been drilled on this countless times, she knows how to handle it, where to move her arms, how to weave her body. What she doesn't anticipate is that the ghost images of her opponent are just as much a threat as the blades being swung her way. They hit the idol fighter's back, encountering little resistance at the unprepared girl's mind. She recovers quickly, almost an instant in standard time, but it's not fast enough to still react to the incoming knife strikes as well, allowing Edenlith to deliver dual slashes across her torso, slicing through her jacket and the skin beneath.

A pained gasp escapes her lips as she staggers back, mind racing to catch up, realizing that she'll need to account for attacks from potentially multiple directions at once. Sucking in her breath, she eschews the risks of staying put and instead leaps upward, just enough height to clear Edenlith without smacking herself against the concrete ceiling above.

Dropping from the apex of her vault, the girl tucks herself into a ball, suddenly reversing the angle of her downward trajectory as she plunges right for Edenlith's upper back, her own body wreathed in a rose-hued aura of Psycho Power.

A successful impact would be followed up by slamming one hand against the floor and kicking her legs out with added force in an attempt to knock Edenlith back!

COMBATSYS: Edenlith dodges Athena's Phoenix Arrow.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Athena           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
Eden gets the first strike in. At least part of it did. Yet, Athena takes it well and does what one could qualify as a perfect jump. Or close to one. She certainly clears Eden and doesn't meet with the ceiling.

Athena gets into a ball, and Eden still has her back to her. It's a good move. as the girl can reverse her angle and aim for Eden's back. However, with a mix of instinct and luck, Eden jumps and spins backward in the air, so as to not get hit at this time. She lands on her feet and moves a bit further back to make sure the strong kick doesn't hit her. "I am impressed." She smirks again but means it.

"Now what's this." She throws her knives in the hair. Not as high as she would like because of the ceiling, but it would have to do. Then she rolls forward and tries to sweep Athena's legs from under her. If she succeeds, she grabs her ankles and pulls her in the path of the falling knives, trying to add to the damage. If it works, she releases her after.

Storm meanwhile, is staying awy from the fight but watching it intently. So far,. so good for his Eden.

COMBATSYS: Athena instinctively blocks Edenlith's Here let me help you.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Athena           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
Sliding out of her missed kick, Asamiya plants her feet and rises back to standing quickly, not wanting to be caught flatfooted by another flanking technique. She's seen some of the speed her opponent can bring to bear now and knows forgetting that for even an instant will leave her scrambling to catch up again. She does muster a quick half smile in response to the other girl's comment.

"Thanks."

But her mind is on the moment and she knows she can't risk a lapse in focus against the kind of speed and threat she's up against. The tossing of the knives is followed for a split second before her eyes are back on her opponent. She knows she has to watch out for attacks from multiple vectors, but the girl advancing on her in a flash is the more pressing concern.

Utilizing her own reflexes, she answers the sweep for her legs with a short hop that manages to completely avoid the strike without displacing herself by over committing more than what's necessary to keep from getting tripped up. But then she lands and Edenlith has a second attack in mind, managing to catch the girl by her ankles and pull back hard enough that Athena falls onto her back against the tiles all the same. Eyes widening, she kicks free into a back roll just in time to avoid the falling knives, coming to a brief rest in a crouch before rising to standing.

"Where did you get a talking cat?" she wonders out loud, drawing her arms back behind her, rose-hued energy surging down her limbs. She asks as if it isn't the strangest thing she's ever encountered but certainly odd enough to merit open curiosity.

Both arms sweep forward past each other, slamming the gathered energy into a sphere of Psycho Power that hurtles forward toward Edenlith, lighting up the subway platform as it goes!

COMBATSYS: Edenlith dodges Athena's Psycho Ball.

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Athena           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
Athena is a fun opponent to have. She's having impressive moments, and Edenlith is happy of fighting her while also not having an easy time doing so. The fact she did a small jump over her sweep and also managed to dodge the knives are proof enough of that. Instead, the knives hit the ground with a clang.

Then there is the question of the cat. While she feels energy coming from her opponent. No doubt another attack. She grins. What will come out of this? She still wants to answer her. "I don't have a talking cat. Talking cat has an Eden." She laughs, but it stops quickly when the sphere of energy comes toward her. She lets herself fall completely to the ground to have the sphere pass over her. Though part of her skirt gets damaged as gravity doesn't pull it all fast enough. That was another close one.

She gets up enough to roll to her daggers, then slides forward, bringing one of her knives forth in a quick strike. She's trying to get her chest, but would she...

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Edenlith's Quick Strike.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Athena           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
"I see." Athena replies to Edenlith's non-answer, response terse not out of lack of acknowledgement but out of need to keep pace with the pressures on her. Launching her projected attack, its rose hued glow casting moving shadows around the adjacent columns as it hurtles forward, Athena draws her arms back, eyes shifting to try and track the knife wielding girl's movements.

Slipping under it at the last second is not the defense she anticipated, but it is effective, the spherical projectile surging just over Edenlith before smashing against a tile wall some ways beyond, its light pink glow vanishing, allowing the tunnel to fall dark once again.

Eyes tracking Edenlith as she recovers her knives, the idol fighter is prepared for the next more direct attack that comes straight for her. This time she weaves, pivoting on her feet, leaning her body back slightly, allowing the knife to slash out and miss her narrowly. If she had worn her hair loose, the close strike might have taken a few strands with its passing, but her dark violet locks are safely bound up in the singular ponytail behind her head.

This close, Athena snaps her right hand out, attempting to curl her fingers into Edenlith's top before she slips away. The brief contact would be enough to pass a surge of telekinetic force down her limb and use it to make it easy for her to haul the girl up and over her head and send her flying behind her, potentially putting her at risk of sliding right off the raised platform if she isn't able to control her landing, though that last bit wouldn't have entirely been Athena's intent.

COMBATSYS: Edenlith full-parries Athena's Psychic Bit!!

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Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
Athena manages to dodge her last attack, and Eden approves of it. The girl is certainly a great fighter. She can respect that. The world needs more school girl prodigies.

Furthermore, she catches Eden's top so quickly. That kind of awareness makes things more interesting. She can feel the energy coming from her opponent though. She can't stop it per se, as the telekinetic works. She gets thrown over her head, but before she goes too far, which would get her off the platform, she twists. She then ends up landing in a superhero pause as she drops down. She is on one knee, one hand on the ground.

"Athena" Wants to get her attention. If the girl spins around, she would see Eden's eyes glowing a deeper, harsher red for a moment. Then as an illusion, if she gets her way, the ground opens under them, and it looks like they are sent to hell. Athena would feel like she is burning. If it works, there is no actual physical damage. It's all in the head as psionic damage. When it's done, the illusion dissipates itself, and they are back where they were, to begin with.

COMBATSYS: Athena instinctively dodges Edenlith's A hell of a time EX.

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Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
In spite the bleeding slashes on her stomach and the pressure at keeping up with Edenlith's relentless aggression, Asamiya seems to remain calm, focused, and composed. It would be easy to give way to panic in these circumstances but as of yet, at least, there has been no signs that she is anything less than dialed in on keeping up with her opponent's confusing approaches to combat. She pauses briefly as the dagger wielder recovers, drawing back her arm to a readied position at shoulder level and pushing back with her foreward foot to plant herself steadily on the tiled surface.

Her expression remains resolved, lips pressed into a thin line of concentration as she meets Edenlith's gloing sanguine eyes with her own violet ones. She recoils at the sudden psionic assault, the power blasting against her own mental fortitude with a strength comparable to some of the stronger psychics she's ever tested herself against. While Master Gentsai was not able to demonstrates the process of warding off manipulation of the mind himself, he had talked her through the exercises over and over, and had her imagine doing it. And then there was Master Kenshi's sessions, directly pitting his psychic power against hers in an effort to teach her how to deal with this exact manner of assault.

Thus it is that the attack encounters a wall in the girl's mind, reactive and swift, warding off the attempt while Athena herself stays put, brow furrowing slightly as she steels herself against the pressure.

"Impressive," she whispers, before gritting her teeth and hopping forward, both arms raising over her head as she draws a tremendous amount of power into being, a large swirling sphere of Psycho Power much larger than the last she hurled manifesting just above her elevated palms.

Her feet touch down and she swings her arms down, channeling all of that power into a sustained crushing presence of Psycho Power, attempting to land it right where Edenlith is now. Bracing, her legs bent at the knees, leaning forward slightly, arms extended outward, she sustains it for several seconds if she manages to catch her opponent in the large sphere of churning power.

"AaaaaaAAH!"

COMBATSYS: Edenlith dodges Athena's Round Psycho Reflector EX.

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Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
It is not that often someone can completely resist one of Eden's illusions like that. It could be considered annoying, but it makes her smile. The pressure stops at one point. She couldn't continue forever. No fun in that. When she hears her word, she gives a nod to Athena "likewise."

Then there is her answer to Eden. A large amount of Psycho Power. It definitely would hurt if it would hit. But Eden is not there, right before it is set to hit her. Because of her high speed, she is down on the rails. Does her opponent realize she wasn't caught in the sphere? Eden doesn't know. But she prepares for her next attack.

She jumps back out off the platform, behind Athena, if she has her way. Then if she can, she slips behind her, one arm going around the girl's neck. The other goes around toward her chest with the knife, trying to carve an 'E' through the clothes. Hopefully, through her flesh as well. Once done, if she gets that far, she lets go completely of her opponent.

COMBATSYS: Edenlith successfully hits Athena with Ding dong. Pay the consequence.

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Athena           1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
If the fact that the large churning sphere of Psycho Power is too large for Athena to see over wasn't enough to keep her from being able to visually confirm catching her opponent with it, the station-illuminating small sun of light red luminescence certainly would make sure of it. But it isn't by sight that she knows if the attack has landed. As a projection of her weaponized willpower, a portion of her vast wellspring of self, she very much knows in an instant that whatever happened on the other side of her attack the moment she creates it, it most definitely didn't connect with Edenlith.

Which is why a split second later, she corrects for it, knowing full well how vulnerable full commitment to the attack would leave her if-

Edenlith is already behind her. She senses it a moment before the arm slips around her neck from behind. In fights, there's few positions that pose more danger than an opponent with their arm around your neck from behind. The tension that rushes through the idol fighter's body makes it clear she understands that threat real enough, her right hand lifting to grab at the arm in search of a secure grip with which to pry at it, her left arm reaching up to try and catch the other arm coming in with the combat knife to attack, but she can't stop it from moving swiftly, dancing over her in a blur of four instantly executed slashes, each slicing easily through the crimson of her jacket and the layers of cloth beneath it to carve a mark into her skin.

In the moment, she hardly realizes that the four slashes make the letter E on her sternum. All she can think about is how this moment might be her best chance to counter attack. This close, pressed against her from behind, her opponent might finally not be able to move swiftly enough away. She has to try now or never to utilize the small chance she's been given.

Gritting her teeth, Athena is already turning the instant Edenlith's arm relaxes, swinging an elbow toward the other girl's cheek before completing the turn with a forward palm strike, rose hued energy surging along her fingers to add the threat of Psycho Power to the blow.

From there, Asamiya transitions into a series of close quarter strikes, each one augmented with her unique psionic energy. Another palm strike, a forward snap kick, a hook with her fist, a hopping spin kick - 9 strikes in all with which she attempts to catch the ghost of an opponent she's up against, each blow punctuated with a small 'Ha!' of breathing.

COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Edenlith with Psychic 9 EX.

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Athena           0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
Edenlith is quick this was proven during the match. She can even carve the 'E' she wanted, and this makes her grin. But the grin is short live as this time Athena catches Edenlith off guard.

As soon as Edenlith relaxes her grip, she gets an elbow to her cheek. She tries to move her head out of the way, but it's too quick and too close quarter to do such a thing. Well done Athena. From there, she receives the first palm strike, straight in her chest between her tiny breasts. The psycho energy adds to the power of this and all those that come after it. Each strike makes Edenlith back up a little bit, all from their sheer powers of them, but Athena moves forward to make the difference. More strikes, each strong and doing damage to the 'poor' Eden. The spin kick might break her nose as blood comes out from it. On the last strike, she falls back even more, and then off the platform she goes. The cat looks horrified at that but doesn't make enough noise to get attention.

Edenlith stands back up, still on the track. Her body is already healing a bit as she prepares for her other attack. She's both proud and a little angry at the girl too. It's time to show her.

Eden's eyes glow a harsh red this time, even illuminating around her for a moment. Athena can feel the energy as she is pushing another illusion, and this one is pushed hard. If Eden has her way, Athena would appear to be in a complete void. Then suddenly, she would hear a whisper. "You aren't good enough. It's time now." Usually, Eden would slice and stab right then. But something weird added to this move, weird even for her, makes her take a few seconds more. Chi, coming from Edenlith. Athena would have a harder time to breath like a slight drowning feeling. "What the hell?". The blue-haired girl is confused, but soon enough, she starts to slice and stab anyway all over her body. When the attack is done, both the difficulty to breathe and the void disappears, and things go back to normal.

COMBATSYS: Athena reflects This is the end from Edenlith with Shield Psycho Reflector.

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Athena           0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
Finishing her last strike, Athena comes to a stop. Physically fit as she is, the speed with which she has been pressured the entire fight has left her with no chance to catch her breath from the moment it began. Not to mention the cuts on her stomach and chest taking an additional toll with blood loss to go with them. And now, following her aggressive string of Psycho Power infused strikes, she pants for breath.

But at last, she has her brief moment of respite from Edenlith's aggressive pressure. Standing up straight, fingers still wreathed in the warm, light-red glow of her psionic energy, she folds her hands atop each other and rests them over the wound on her chest. A deep breath in, then a slow exhale, and the power fades, flickering away in dozens of tiny motes of energy. When she lowers her hands again, fixing her eyes on where her opponent fell, the cuts in her skin from the last attack seem to have been sealed back up, visible through the slashes in her jacket and blouse.

It's far from erasing all the aches she's feeling thus far, but it might help her keep going a little longer... and in this case, she can tell every little bit will matter.

She meets Edenlith's eyes as they flare with crimson illumination that lights up the tracks. Her lips pressed together, she clenches her hands at her sides, ready to meet the next psychic assault head on. After all - when facing an opponent that can attack with the speed of thought, what else can she do but brace for the worst?

Even prepared, it isn't enough keep from finding herself lost in a world of the mind, a black void of infinite dark. Stay here for long, and one might lose a grasp on the self, their mind, their thoughts, their memories stretched thin across the emptiness of such a place. She swallows, heart racing, adrenaline coursing through her system. This can't be real, she had to tell herself, feeling almost unsure, starting to question whether this truly was all in her mind or if she had somehow been cast into oblivion's cold embrace...

She had to be strong enough to fight back against it. A voice whispers casting doubt on that potential and Athena's brow furrows, eyes closing. Her shoulders start to fall for a moment before she braces herself. No, she couldn't fall for it. She couldn't listen to that whisper anymore than she could listen to all the other doubts she had ever felt along the way. Gritting her teeth, she tightens the clench of her hands, and begins to push back against the intrusion. Redoubling the foundation fo her mental defenses, she fights to force the attack away.

In the subway, Athena stands, feet planted, arms forward, left hand lower, right hand higher, palms facing each other. A rose-hued discus of shimmering Psycho Power has manifested between her hands creating a mirror-like barrier against the attempt to slash her would be halted.

Violet eyes snap open as she maintains the shield just long enough to stave off the intended slashing, before releasing a gasp and staggering back another step to catch her breath, eying Edenlith warily.

[EDENLITH]
Athena is quite surprising. That attack managed to catch Edenlith off-guard... Well to be fair it wasn't the first time Edenlith got hit in a fight ever. Just in that one. Now she manages to protect herself fully from this assault. Not only that, but she even reflects the psi part of the attack. This is amazing in a way. Edenlith likes to think sometimes she awakens the deepest potential in people sometimes, even if that's not the case.

The illusion reflected at her is easily dismissed to not cause her trouble. It's only the water chi that's a nuisance and damages her a bit. What the hell did it come from anyway. She doesn't do things like that. Ugh. That's what annoys Edenlith right now.

Anyway, she can't stop there. Athena is tired. Edenlith is not tired that much yet. She feels the effect of that last blow still, but her body continues to heal her slowly and keep her going. If she was this fast and unable to keep it up, it wouldn't be useful. So now it's time to keep pressing. This time, however, it's not anything super hard instead she speaks up. "That was rather amazing." She then proceeds to kick toward her left side. Favoring speed over strength with that attack.

COMBATSYS: Athena blocks Edenlith's Light Kick.

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Athena           0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
Athena knows nothing of the other girl's confusion over the foreign chi manifestation but she can sense the way frustration seasons her essence a little differently than before - the hint of annoyance that only seems partially directed at herself, but also toward something inward. But now is hardly the time to try and understand whatever inner turmoil her opponent might be dealing with in addition to the fight. She's under pressure to keep going herself.

The close in kick toward her left is leaned into, Athena bringing her left arm up, bracing it with her right, and shoulder her way against the force. Her feet still slip a little ways along the tile, but she manages to keep her balance enough as to not be put at a disadvantage for it.

"Thanks."

Her answer comes back through a quick breath, somehow managing to carry sincerity with its tone in spite her focus clearly being more on trying to contend with the aggression. Of course, now that they're close enough together, it's another chance for her to retaliate. Dropping her left arm out of her guard, she instead lunges back at Edenlith, left elbow leading the way before pivoting hard to the left so that her right hand can slam out with an open palmed strike for a quick one-two combination in an attempt to create space and buy herself time!

COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Edenlith with Medium Punch.
Glancing Blow

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
Eden is slightly tired. Slightly slower. The kick is blocked, and she goes along with it. There is always the next move until one of them can't fight anymore. Time will tell who will have the stamina to go on.

Athena seems like a good 'girl'. A better one than Eden by society standards anyway. She even says thanks. It's kind of cute. She doesn't have much time to think about it.

When Athena starts her attack, she tries to move to the left side. She dodges the elbow just fine, but the punch manages to clip her to the side. Again she wasn't fast enough, but not too bad. While she's moving to the side to evade most of the attack, she keeps the momentum, flipping the knife in her left hand and trying to strike at Athena's left side.

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Edenlith's Evasive Strike.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
Now that they are exchanging physical blows in close quarters combat, the idol fighter seems to be hitting her stride. Relentless training in hand to hand combat under Master Gentsai's demanding tutelage has prepared her to deal with opponents to stay too close, too aggressive to give her time to draw upon her Psycho Power, and in this moment, the training is paying off. Her palm strike lands and already she's drawing her arm back, anticipating a counter strike.

Her arm drawn back, her feet dance quickly over the dusty tiles, Athena twirling her body further to the left to turn into and then back step just out of reach of the sweeping knife as it comes just shy of delivering another cut.

"Who taught you?" she gasps out, perspiration rolling down her cheeks and neck. She would say more - that she doesn't recognize the style, that Edenlith certainly does whoever taught her proud with her skill with the blade and psionic attacks - but she simply can't spare neither the breath nor the time.

Already, she's stepping back in on her fourth step, hopping into a spin kick aimed at driving the heel of her foot against the other girl's chest and driving her back to buy herself some space.

"Kya!"

COMBATSYS: Edenlith dodges Athena's Medium Kick.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Athena           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
"When I was sharing this body, the cat taught us. Now, this style is my regular style. Learned a long time ago." She takes the time to answer, even while she's observing her. Because it didn't matter. As long as she doesn't try to hurt the cat anyway. Otherwise, then they will have a problem, a big one. She will be super angry.

She doesn't seem bothered too much by her strike missing her opponent. She picked up the pace now and is evading things better. It was to be expected. Edenlith just has to pick her game up again.

When Athena does her spin kick, Edenlith is not even there anymore, pushing her speed this time. She's trying to be quick enough to slam her knives into the girl's back. If she succeeds, she stands on the handles and wraps herself around her to choke her.

COMBATSYS: Edenlith successfully hits Athena with Now I am here, Now I am not.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Athena           1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1         Edenlith

[ATHENA]
A lot of the things her opponent had to say throughout their bout have seemed rather off-kilter. But nothing that came out of the other girl's mouth thus far was as confusing as the answer she gives then. Sharing bodies? Taught by a cat? Learned a long time ago? Every clause of the response is as far from fathomable as possible and it's possible that the bizarre matter of fact delivery of the nonsensical introduced a split second of hesitation in Athena's step as she lunged into her kick.

Her body spins, leg swishing out, passing through empty air. It was a risk going for a stronger hit like that, and the repercussions are nearly immediate as she feels two lancing pains in her back, forcing a pained gasp from her lips, which only leaves her struggling more when suddenly she finds herself being choked as well.

Anyone starved for air might be prompted to panic, but the young fighter keeps her wits about her, turning to drive her shoulder hard toward the nearest tile-covered support column, attempting to crush Edenlith between it and her with as much force as she could muster in hopes that would force her to dislodge and allow her to breathe once more!

COMBATSYS: Edenlith interrupts Fierce Punch from Athena with It's already too late.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Athena           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0         Edenlith

[EDENLITH]
To push her speed at this time paid off. Her attack goes through as Eden planned and captures Athena in her arms for the choke.

Then Athena wants to defend herself, and Eden can't blame her. She closes her eyes before she gets crushed between the column and the other girl. Her eyes flash red through them just as she gets crushed. The body gets damaged, but she keeps her mind on task, sending visions of horror. Horrors that are personal to Athena herself and push them hard in her mind. At the same time, she sends a few punches into her right side before letting go completely. Usually she would have stabbed her instead of punching, but her knives were occupied at the time. She takes a deep breath. Breath she needed since that crush to the pillar.

[ATHENA]
Committed to her attack out of desperate need to free herself so that she can breathe again, Asamiya is in no state to defend herself against the confusing girl's psychic assault this time. It hits hard and fast, piercing through well-trained mental walls, finding the slightest gaps wherever they may be to dig its way into the core of her psyche. For her, the world goes black - gone is the dark subway station, or the red-eyed girl choking her, replaced by an island bathed in nightmare and death, where devils and angels fought to decide destiny of the planet in the face of otherworldly armies.

There she had the darkest, most harrowing experiences of her life, and the thought of being there again takes the breath from her. Her mind reels at the impossibility of it - she shouldn't be there again. Earth had won that conflict and life had moved on. No one should have to experience that twice -

The punches strike her unguarded ribs hard, shocking her out of her mental prison, and Athena gasps for rbeath as she staggers back, legs weak and trembling. Gritting her teeth, the searing pain of the twin stab wounds in her back far from forgotten, she resolves to give this her all - to do something, anything, before her body gives out from the pain and trauma.

Her right hand whips up over her head, finger pointing upward, and an eruption of that rose-hued energy of hers surges into existence, coating the entire station the light of a light-red sun. Dark violet rings constrict around the sphere, tightening it, making it more focused yet no less potent.

"AaaaaAAAAH!"

And then, as her voice rises in pitch, eyes locked on Edenlith, jaw set, Athena snaps her right hand forward, finger pointing straight at the other girl.

The sphere of Psycho Power that hurtles toward her is far beyond anything she had attacked the girl with prior to now in spite being smaller in size than some of her larger techniques. If not avoided, it would smash into her with the projected force of Asamiya's will made manifest and if not, it would pulverize the column behind her.

But for Athena, it would consume the last of her stamina, the girl slumping where she stands, dropping to her knees on the floor, head leaning forward, eyes struggling to stay open as she bleeds.

COMBATSYS: Athena can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Edenlith full-parries Athena's Shining Crystal Bit+!!

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

[EDENLITH]
Eden silently gives kudos to the girl for pushing through it all before her body gives away. It takes a strong mind to work it like that. "Respect" She ends up saying before the sphere comes at her.

As I come at her, she can feel the energy coming from it. Eden probably wants to be anywhere but where she is. She ends up jumping against the ceiling, hanging there long enough for the Psycho power to completely destroy the column behind her. The small pieces coming at her from the impact make her fall from the ceiling, but she manages to flip enough to land on her feet. She is almost ready to continue this fight, but when she sees the girl is unable to fight anymore. She stops herself. Instead, she goes to her to get her knives. "You're going to be ok, or do you need me to get you somewhere safer?". As she asks, she isn't gentle in removing those knives from her back. There was a limit to the kindness she could give.

While she does that, Storm the cat comes to her. "You did it Eden. It was great to see you fight again." Then he looks at the girl. "You also did great. Good luck in your future. Alright?

Log created on 14:15:23 09/04/2022 by Athena, and last modified on 22:26:27 09/10/2022.