NFG Season One - The Darkness of Sunshine
[Toggle Names]Description: Team Thunder had a simple dream: to help a local soup kitchen amp up their game and build community in this land of downtrodden souls. Little did they know that there are vested interested with very solid reasons for wanting to rip the heart out of any community effort before it gets started. Zog had an even simpler dream: free stew. Alas, there are powerful forces mustered against him realising that goal as well. When a humble soup kitchen becomes a proxy war for the soul of a city, when more stew is flung than eaten, can anyone truly be said to come out a winner?
[ICHIKA]
Ichika is - as she has repeatedly pointed out to everyone who has said otherwise - only a mediocre fighter. That might change one day. It hasn't changed yet.
What it turns out she IS, is a fantastic organiser.
The girl, once struck by Buck's suggestion, had attacked it relentlessly. She'd been in touch with multiple organisations. She'd designed posters - MEET TEAM THUNDER! FREE LUNCH PROVIDED! - she'd determined the locations throughout Corona Row where they would get the most visibility. She'd even used what stipend she had to provide more hearty raw materials to supplement the kitchen's usual fare. Her experience working all those long shifts in her mother's restaurant seem to have paid off.
In just two days since deciding that this was something that should happen, with the support of the rest of the team, heaven and earth has been moved to throw what would undoubtedly be a fantastic event.
Corona Cooks aren't really sure what to make of it. They've got the space; a small building that had once been a clothing store has been repurposed to a soup kitchen that opens on friday nights, and today is opening early. And there's a lot of people milling around outside already. Whether because they wanted the food, the novelty, or just because they saw a crowd gathering and that has a kind of magnetism all its own.
Inside, an array of portable stoves and large cookpots have been set up behind rows of foldable tables and cheap plastic chairs. There's the usual Corona Cooks stews and soups, but they've been supplemented with large quantities of ramen which smells surprisingly good. Ichika has done her best to organise the team according to their skills, though she's pitching in with the chopping of vegetables and ... 'meat' ... definitely not a girl who is shy about getting her own hands dirty.
"Okay!" She exclaims, checking her watch, "Three minutes until doors open everyone! Remember! We're just happy to be here! It's so nice to be in this wonderful city! Sunshine is the BEST!!"
The enforced cheer MIGHT be wearing a little thin at this point; the stress is high. She wants so badly for this to go well. But with her sleeves rolled up and an apron and hair net tied tight, well - this is just another lunchtime rush! The kind of fight she has faced many, many more times than the ones in the tournament.
... she hopes everyone else is ready for that.
[ARIASTRA]
Ariastra gotta admit Ichika gave herself all out for this. They all did. It just seems like Ichika pushed herself the extra mile. Like it was her thing. It was something to behold, and coming to now, she's very proud of her.
She's ready to work too. She's not a teacher who's just going to watch the recruit do all the work. It's a really good cause, and she wants to be part of it.
She glances at all her recruits, well Team Thunder's recruits, with a sense of care as she sees them all ready for this. She smiles. She's happy.
She adjusts her apron, makes sure her hair net is taking care of all her airs, then waits for the food serving craziness to start.
[BUCK]
There's two ways Buck has decided to help, one is the most obvious. For some strange reason he actually knows how to cook. He breaks down meat and veggies with a knife with relative ease. May not be quite as good as they do it in a restaurant, but he at least does it with the aplomb of a skilled amateur. He even tastes and adjusts the soups and stews in his care as he goes along. Just because it's a charity kitchen doesn't mean time care can't be taken in seasoning.
Second, is something Thunder must be getting used to from Buck. A certain unfailing cheer and optimism that might get grating at some point but for the moment he's keeping it up to keep morale going. His phone is nearby, blasting some classic American rock music, and he's singing along.
If only his singing was as good as his cooking. It's not. But he seems to know it and is hamming it up for smiles from the volunteers and the rest of his team as he goes through a spotty rendition of "Don't Stop Me Now".
He had refused any offers of ball caps and hairnets to keep his shaggy brown hair in place, and instead has whipped out his cowboy hat, the leather soft and well-worn, but it does the job and unsurprisingly fits him, a matching set with his jacket.
"We are happy to by here." Buck says evenly after another belting of he chorus, and dropping another handful of salt into one of the simmering pots. "You did good on this, Ichika-san." He keeps the formal address for his Japanese teammates for now, just to be polite.
[ZOG]
Zog the Hammer has spent the afternoon lounging in the bed of a pickup truck driven around the city by professional wrestler Brian Storm, separated from the rest of Team Blaze, as Storm has been cruising his hometown to say his hellos to friends and family as well as picking up lunch. The ogre has spent the last little while competing with the pickup's engine and dodgy muffler with his own snoring. The battle of noise finally comes to a halt as the truck idles on the curb of Corona Row, the massive man-thing's slumber disturbed as some scent penetrates his sleeping senses, evidently interrupting a dream.
"Mmmggrrnna punish ya good, red... huh?"
The groggy giant shields his eyes from the sun with a large hand as he finds it glaring directly into them. Sitting up, he scratches his gurgling belly for a moment, then sniffs the air. Finally, as the truck still isn't moving and the rumbling of his stomach is growing louder, he pounds a hand against the cab's roof to get the driver's attention.
"Hey, little guy! What happened to lunch?"
Brian's blond head leans out of the driver's side window. "Oh, we stopped at Taco Bell, but you were asleep and wouldn't wake up. I didn't wanna get you anything in case you had allergies or dietary requirements, you know?"
"What?!" Zog scowls fiercely at the wrestler's words. "I don't even know what that means! You should have got me something!" He sniffs the air again. "And I smell stew!"
"Oh, yeah, we're parked by a soup kitchen. I saw there was a crowd and thought I'd go in, but then I realised it was one of the other teams hosting it, and I didn't want to... steal their thunder," Brian says, putting on his sunglasses.
"I don't want thunder, I want stew!" Zog declares as he swings himself off of the side of the pickup truck and lands on the ground, leaving the vehicle riding several inches higher with the load of his weight removed as he lumbers toward the entrance, drawing wary stares from the throng surrounding the entrance.
[CHEVY]
Chevy's familiar with soup kitchens, having spent a good portion of her life on the receiving end of the line. She didn't think she'd ever go again -- but Ichika's pitch was pretty persuasive! Plus, she happens to be familiar with at least some of the dishes on the menu, enough to tie back her hair and don an apron with the rest of the Corona Cooks. When Ichika puts out the call to action, she's quick to respond heartily -- amplifying the good cheer where the Justice student might be flagging - "Sunshine is the BEST!!!" Chevy's definitely noticed that a big, goofy smile can go a really long way for morale.
As can humming along with the music. She's happy to vibe for the moment -- she's with friends, partners, and senseis -- and there's so much work to do, after all!
[ICHIKA]
Ichika is grateful for the support her team have offered; it truly does mean a lot to her. The Corona Cooks staff, well, they all seem a little more stunned. Even Buck's truly horrendous singing isn't enough to dampen their spirits entirely. These are people who are obviously not used to things going their way, and when Jacob - a 40-something man with a world-weary expression and ostensiably the manager of the whole enterprise - opens the place up... the surge of people they get soon takes whatever residual sting there may be out of the fact that this random fifteen year old girl has come in like a, well, bolt of lightning, and struck their organisation hard. This isn't the way things normally go at all, but... it is hard to argue with results.
Immediately, the space is filled with people. There are a LOT of hungry souls in the slums of Sunshine City, and maybe Ichika did a little too good a job of getting the word out, because there's no way all these people live here. But as the volunteers get to work, for the first five minutes or so, it might even seem like things are going to go smoothly.
Unfortunately, there's more keeping Sunshine dark than just poverty.
Intermingled in the crowd are three individuals in particular who know this better than others. If it weren't for the enormous form of Zog, one would be the largest man in the room - nearly seven feet tall, broad, bare-chested and covered in tattoos that Ariastra may recognise as being symbols of dire portent; old signs of death and destruction tattooed right from his bald pate to, presumably, his feet, beneath the cargo pants and heavy combat boots he wears.
Another man has a shock of green hair amongst otherwise dark curls, heavy bags under his eyes, and a death's-head hoodie over jeans and sneakers. This individual is the one who nudges Zog in the side as he enters. "Hey, big man." He murmurs, "You want this slop? Or you want something good to eat? Things're gonna get fun in a minute. Real fun. Help us out, maybe you eat prime rib not slop, eh?"
The last, though, may be the most dangerous. She's a small woman with black hair and a simple t-shirt with some cracked and faded dragon design on it, a denim skirt, and old Doc Martens that have definitely seen better days. She's also got a knife in her hand, and she's chatting 'amiably' to Jacob, her voice low and difficult to make out across the crowd - her body language DESIGNED to keep others from noticing the long, curved weapon pressed in against the small of his back.
"... told you ... ten ... 'donation' to the ... VERY unhappy ...."
The older activist doesn't seem able to take his eyes off her. Nor does he seem, in this moment, able to speak.
And Ichika, for her part, is just doing her darned best to keep up with the initial rush. Bowl after bowl served up in rapid succession; as far as she can tell, with the rush of conversation, things DO seem to be going well - there's even that big ogre guy from the Draft and ... well, he was scary, but he hadn't broken the door on the way in, that's a plus!!
[ARIASTRA]
Despite Bucks singing, everything seems to be going well before it opens, and Ariastra can't help but smile. There are so many people, and everyone seems ready for this.
Even for the first 5 minutes, it seems like everything is as perfect as it can be. Of course, poverty is not one would call perfect, but Team Thunder are trying their best to put a smile on as many people's faces as they can.
Alas it is Sunshine City, and things never stay good. So many things may happen.
She indeed recognizes the symbols on the big man's body and decides to go to him. She's not impressive physically with her 5'4", compared to his almost 7" tall. She goes to him, talking to him as discreetly as possible. "We don't want any trouble here, so please leave. Before I have to make you, and everything is ruined." She makes some electricity crackling a little around her body to emphasize her point. If things don't work out peacefully, it might be a good training exercise for everyone. Time will tell.
[BUCK]
At least Buck stops torturing everyone's eardrus once the door opens, putting away his phone and grinning at the incoming masses. With Ichika on soup ladeling duty, Buck positions himself to hand out some sides, namely crusty rolls that had been warmed in the over, because soup needs crusty rolls and apples that have probably seen better days but still add a bit of something sweet to end the meal with.
At least his big smile and drawling speech as he greets each person in line seems to put some people at ease.
Either he doesn't notice the trouble makers, or maybe he's just trying not to judge books by their slightly menacing covers. Afterall, looking tough is probably a survival mechanism in this town. Zog is hard to miss though.
"Isn't that one of the Blaze mentors?" He mutters in an aside to his teammates.
[ZOG]
The entrance of the ogre is unmistakable, the mountainous man having to duck to get in through the double doors, still clad in little more than a furry kilt and his accoutrements - a barrel strapped over his shoulder like a flask, a crude compass hung as a pendant around his neck, and a club that he carries at ease. As Zog is interrupted by the nudge that sets his girth a-wobble, he turns his head to look down at the man, his brows shifting questioningly. "Whaddya mean... fun?" the bare-bellied giant wants to know, the shamanic compass around his neck spinning wildly as he scratches himself. "You sayin' there's gonna be a party or somethin'? With ribs?" Zog is no stranger to the idea of a barbecue, even if the execution back home may be somewhat more primitive than here in 21st Century Earthrealm. "Whatcha want me to do? I can carry things, or I can squish things, or I can smash things!" He brandishes the club he was keeping slung over his shoulder like a baseball bat for emphasis. "But I ain't picky. I'll have the stew AND the ribs! Just point me to the FOOD!"
[ICHIKA]
"Well, the stew's back there, but I bet if you crack open everythin' between here and there you'll get at least one whole roast chicken."
The man with the green hair grins. This IS Sunshine City, the chances that he's not lying aren't ABSOLUTELY zero. But he seems pretty happy with the little bit of chaos he's primed and set to let loose.
For Ichika, Buck and Chevy, things seem to proceed more or less how Ichika had dreamed they would. People are grateful, a little rough around the edges maybe, some of them are genuinely interested in the chance to tell Chevy and Ichika how impressed they were with their fights; some offer encouragement to Buck... but the vibes are, at first, good. "Zog." Ichika whispers to Buck, "Yes, I..." And then a thought seems to occur to her and her smile turns to a frown, "... I will be very angry if Tokugawa-chan sent him here to cause trouble for us!"
The large man Ariastra approaches does not seem intimidated by her lightning. Not in the least. He looks down on her and cracks his neck. "You don't get to walk into the Dragon's den and dictate terms, outsider." He rumbles, "I don't know how things work where you're from, but around here, tribute first, boons after." His lips twist into a sneer, "But tell you what. Kneel and beg forgiveness, and I'll tell Suze not to cut your pet brat's throat, how's that sound?"
As Ariastra mulls what must be, no doubt, a very tempting offer, Jacob is suddenly shouting over the din.
The small woman is positioned behind him, knife at his back, smiling faintly as he is made to address the crowd.
"Sorry everyone! Sorry! We've got a, uh, health code violation! This lady is a health inspector! Everyone needs to stop eating and get out! Except the volunteers! All volunteers are to stay! Sorry, sorry!"
There's immediate confusion spreading through the crowd. Is this guy serious? The food tastes good. The conversation was good. And a health code violation? In Sunshine City? Surely this is a weird joke?
[ARIASTRA]
The big guy (well, the other one.) doesn't want to go quietly. That sounds evident "Tell you what, you apologize to me, and I will let you keep your manhood. I am sure you're a big shot here for the people of Sunshine City, but I precede the city. Don't piss me off. Don't ruin this." This is his last chance as far as she is concerned.
But this is not the only problem. A health violation here? It's like a health violation in a garbage dump, because there are garbages in it. Yeah, no, that doesn't sound right. She says loudly, hopefully heard,,by the people who would know it's for them. "Something's going on. It's time to shine, not for glory, but for the people. Team Thunder is quiet except when a storm is coming."
She also saw the Team Blaze mentor, she just doesn't consider him a threat... yet.
Her main attention stays on the big guys with symbols, but she keeps her senss on the other potential things as well.
COMBATSYS: Ariastra has joined the fight here.
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|
[BUCK]
"I'll be right back with you lovely folks." Buck is surprisingly calm as he steps away from the line, speaking to those waiting for food. Plucking his hat off his head and hanging it on a peg usually resered for aprons, he's soon shrugging out of his jacket and hinging it up as well.
"Too bad, I hoped we were gonna get through this without trouble."
Ariastra's play on their team Thunder name has him grinning, which turns right to a frown as he lays eyes on the woman with Jacob. "If yer a health inspector, I'm the king of France. Unless you have some credentials on ya'?" He gives Jacob a reassuring wink as he leans on one of the tables, regarding the pair almost passively. Though his teammates might see his hand creeping slowly towards a pot lid.
He's making no aggresive moves, yet. For the guy that seemed to be spoiling for a brawl to break out at the drafts, he seems surprisingly avoidant here. Likely the presence of bystanders has something to do with it, as when he looks in their direction, worry marks his face for just a second.
[ZOG]
"One chicken...?"
The suspicion on Zog's features deepens as he's given his orders by the green-haired stranger, before turning into a frown. "Pah! That ain't worth the effort! That's a damn snack! If I'm gonna have to work up an appetite, I want /three/ whole chickens at /least!/"
If there was meant to be any subterfuge to the fact that Zog is being manipulated toward mayhem, it might well be lost, as Zog smashes the business end of his club down on the floor for emphasis as he faces the green-haired guy and rests his hands on the pommel like a cane. As he's in the midst of trying to negotiate for extra meat for his muscle, the word suddenly comes from Jacob.
'Health inspector?'
'Health code violation?'
'Volunteers?'
The only words that Zog definitely understands out of the declaration are the ones saying that everyone has to stop eating and get out.
"What?! What's this shenanigans?!" he demands to know as he whirls around toward the volunteer team, his club coming up to a readied position as his base instincts take over. "You trick me into comin' in here with stew, and now you're tryin' to say I can't have any?? I want that stew, and I want it NOW!"
Zog whips his club around violently through the air around his body before brandishing it once more.
"Or I'm gonna start smashin' till I get some!"
COMBATSYS: Zog has joined the fight here in the center.
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Buck has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Ariastra
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Gareth has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Ariastra
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Gareth 0/-------/-------|
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Gareth has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
[ICHIKA]
"You can have some! You can have a whole pot! Please calm down! Please!!"
Unfortunately for Ichika, her voice is very quiet compared to the hubbub, and her attempt to calm things down by grabbing a full catering-sized pot of stew and starting to haul it towards the ogre is stymied by the fact that the rest of the crowd... are not reacting like one would expect a sane crowd to react. Because in a sane world, an ogre threatening to start a fight would be causing mass panic and hysteria; people should be screaming and running for the exits.
But this is Sunshine City.
Ichika and Chevy, stuck behind the serving desk, are effectively blocked off by the throng of people as they turn towards all the excitement. Someone starts stamping their feet. Then more begin clapping. There's that age-old chant rising.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
Because hell. At least half the people here came hoping to see exactly this. Fighters don't go ANYWHERE without causing trouble, do they?
"It's the hat." Suze drawls to Buck, "All your fault these fine people don't get to eat. Hope you can live."
There might have meant to have been a 'with yourself' in there, except she shoves Jacob to the floor, and in one smooth motion she's flinging her hand out towards the cowboy-hat'd hero. A bright purple knife lances from her grip, aiming to spear him right through the leather accessory's fancy middle.
Seeming to take this as a sign to get started, the enormous tattooed man draws back one meaty fist and brings it hammering down towards Ariastra with bone-crushing force. If she were just a normal person, the kind of power in that blow might be a serious threat to life! Just an overhead SLAM aiming to crush her in a single display of strength.
Whilst the green-haired man looks a little less sure of himself, being on the receiving end of Zog's ire. "Hey, hey! You can eat everything in this damn building for all I care!" He says, and then, hastily, adds, "Me NOT included, go hog wild!" Both hands are held up in what he hopes is a placating gesture... though even as he speaks, green light is starting to play over his hands - getting himself ready for a fight that might ... go less easily than he had figured it would!
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth focuses on his next action.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
> //////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Ariastra dodges Gareth's Gaijin Smash.
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Buck 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
> //////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Buck blocks Suze the Stabber's Phantom Dagger.
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Buck 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
> //////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Buck 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
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Ariastra 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
[ARIASTRA]
This is getting messy. Poor Ichika. Sometimes even with the best intentions in the world, things don't work out. Why are people so greedy? Because they are human
She doesn't have more time to think, as a powerful? hammer blow comes down toward her. But Ariastra is simply not there anymore. She's gone to the back of the big man
Once at the back, two scythes come into her hands and she tries to impale them in that big mammoth sides. If she succeeds, her scythes are filled with lightning that electrocutes the poor guy. It's not Team Thunder for nothing.
She pulls back a bit after that. waiting, observing. See if any of her mentorees need any help.
[BUCK]
"Don't you go insultin' my hat!" Buck retorts, though as soon as he see Suze pushing Jacob away he's on the move, his fingers curling through the handle of the pot lid and holding it up like a small shield.
It serves it's purpose as the purple dagger is mostly deflectd off the shiny metal surface of the pot lid except for a small cut that wells up on Buck's shoulder.
He doesn't have much time to worry about a nick like that though, as he pulls back his makeshift defense and turns it into an offense by trying to punch Suze squarely in the face with the soup-smeared underside of the lid.
[ZOG]
Zog starts to huff and puff like a riled bull as the crowd that have been commanded to leave - and ordered by he, the mighty Hammer, to surrender the stew - instead form a human barricade between the ogre and his meal. He can see the volunteers attempting to offer their appeasing pot on the other side of that wall of humanity. Beside him, the green-haired man is still yammering at him. As far as he can tell, the guy is all promises. He can't help but feel like he's being goaded.
"You all want me to FIGHT, huh?!"
The sight of a fifteen-hundred pound ogre slowly gathering speed into a full spin, winding up a petrified club the size of a small tree, is an impressive one - and the impression that Zog is going to leave on those around him might be much more impactful, as he starts to whirl with reckless abandon - aiming his club at anyone who happens to be standing in his way. The fullness of his revolutions means that the green-haired Weirdo had best duck, himself, if he doesn't want to join the club.
"Well, HERE I GOOOO!!!!"
Within seconds, Zog is spinning like a top, his own weight and that of his weapon carrying him forward like a force of nature toward the crowd in an attempt to clear a path toward his dinner!
COMBATSYS: Gareth blocks Ariastra's Eternal Punishment.
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Buck 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
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Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber dodges Buck's Random Weapon.
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Zog knocks away Zakaroth with Fierce Impact.
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
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Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts blocks Zog's Fierce Impact.
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Ichika has joined the fight here on the top side.
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Ichika 0|-------|-------
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Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
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Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
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Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
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Zog 0|-------|------=
[ICHIKA]
So much chaos breaks out all at once.
Zog CAREENS into the green-haired man and not only is he stuck on that club for several rotations, when it finishes, he's sent pinballing into the ceiling, smashes bounces off the floor, and winds up actually embedded into the drywall at the far end of the space. There's an alarming amount of plaster dust coming down from the ceiling after that; and no doubt even more frustrating to Zog is the fact that the cheering crowd push back into his club. Oh, sure, the front rank get... well, pretty badly beat up. Badly enough, in fact, that the earlier conversations Team Thunder had about the problem of health insurance are definitely going to be coming to some minds...
But they LOVE it!
"YEAH! CRUSH THAT GREENIE LOSER!" "GRIND HIS BONES TO MAKE YOUR BREAD!" "THAT'S GIANTS NOT OGRES DUMBASS!"
A small brawl breaks out amongst the mob itself as it descends into chaos, with most just trying to crash into Zog and push him more towards the makeshift arena, with its tight press of tables, other combatants and ... people, in general.
Gareth's blow might have missed, but the tattoos on his body flare with dark energy as Ariastra tries to stab him, and he rounds on her. The lightning is dissipated by the wards and sigils, leaving only a thin cut across him as he grunts and closes for a swift one-two punch to drive the woman back in the direction of his green-haired friend...
... whose previous green fire seems to be sputtering out a bit as he tries to shake brickwork out of his hair, and haul himself back to his feet.
Suze seems to be fairing better, as she closes on Buck with that wickedly curved blade swirling in her hand; up close, he can see that it, too, is inlaid with all sorts of unpleasant-looking runes which... probably don't mean much to him, except that she aims to use it to slash right across his face!
"Don't worry about the civvies!" She shouts to her 'allies', "Put the rest down and the ogre'll do the work for us!"
Meanwhile, Ichika has had her own idea about how to try and calm things down. As horrified as she is that everything is descending into such mania, this is still ultimately about food, isn't it? So she grunts and strains herself, spinning in a circle and then HURLING the enormous cooking pot up through the air. It's an inelegant arc, going right over the crowd's heads, but... she's aiming at a big target.
"STEW'S UP!"
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth gains composure.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber successfully hits Buck with Quick Strike.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Gareth successfully hits Ariastra with 1-2 Punch.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|------=
[BUCK]
Buck doesn't look like he's even trying to get out of the way, he just stands there as the knife licks out and cuts him across the cheek. The blood pouring down turn the grin he's wearing, usually bright and cheery, into something almost feral.
Maybe she doesn't see that one of his arms no longer ends in a hand, because who would really expect that. Or that the octopus-like tentacle that replaced it is looping up and around behind her.
Then he strikes, the tentacle snapping towards Suze in an effort to wrap her up in mollusky muscle and suction cups. None of which would be pleasant to begin with. But if he does manage to get her, he lifts his arm-tentacle, raising her up into the air before slamming her into the ground with all his might.
So much for the public not figuring out his powers until his first match.
[ARIASTRA]
Ariastra smirks when Gareth shows some magic/chi affinity. "Good job. That was mildly interesting" But she also sees so many things going on around. So many subtle things that others might miss.
Keeping track of everything she can, this time, she's not fast enough to move away from the punches of Garreth, but she does let herself go in the direction of Zog. He's attacking the crowd, after all. She brings her dual scythes together to make one big double-bladed scythe
Now, she is ready she pushes her strength into the attack, aiming at Zog's left thigh. Trying to cut him there. That guy is so big. Puts that other one to shame. "I can't let you attack like this big man. I hope you understand."
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts successfully hits Zog with Crowd Control.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Zog endures Ichika's Large Thrown Object.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Ariastra successfully hits Zog with Random Strike.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|-----==|=======
COMBATSYS: Buck successfully hits Suze the Stabber with Danger Hug ES.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|-----==|=======
[ZOG]
The green-haired goon is little more than an afterthought to the ogre as he unleashes his fury. It's unfortunate for the guy that he ends up worse for his efforts than the supposedly-innocent civilians that are still standing in the ogre's way. It's more unfortunate for Zog, in his own estimation, that these people are keeping him back from being able to get his fill of stew. Rebuffed by the crowd, he finds himself pushed back as several of them mosh into him, sending him teetering backward. It's then that he sees the massive pot flying toward him.
'STEW'S UP!'
He raises his hands up to try and catch the steel pot, letting his club drop to the ground as a broad grin crosses his face.
"YEAH! THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"
Just as it's descending toward his waiting arms, though, he suddenly feels a sharp pain in his left thigh, causing him to stumble. The pot of soup crashes down on top of him, its scalding-hot contents spilling all over his face and chest. Dumbfounded, the ogre topples backward, the pot encasing his head and causing it to clang inside before the makeshift helmet rolls away.
"YOU?!" he chokes out through the steaming minestrone dripping through his beard, his eyes turning to Ariastra. "I shoulda KNOWN you was behind THIS!"
One large hand reaches forward, latching onto a table and using it to pull Zog up off of the floor, his entire form quivering with anger and motion.
"Well, I AIN'T GONNA GO DOWN THAT EASY!"
Scuffing the ground with one foot like the said-same bull he was imitating before, Zog suddenly surges forward, the entirety of his titanic weight carried on rage-fuelled footfalls as he attempts to stampede straight through the immortal - and into the crowd beyond! After all, there are still some pots of stew standing somewhere in that kitchen!
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts dodges Zog's Boulder Stampede.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|----===|=======
COMBATSYS: Zog knocks away Ariastra with Boulder Stampede.
- Power hit! -
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|-======|=======
COMBATSYS: Ichika instinctively blocks Zog's Boulder Stampede.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
[ICHIKA]
"Wow. That's a neat trick." Suze says, as the tentacle constricts about her. She tries to wriggle free from it, but there's an increasingly unhinged glimmer in her bright blue eyes as the limb constricts tighter around her, "So, hey. You doing anything after this, or-- ghck." Well. She had seemed fairly laconic before, but it seems that Buck has managed to get her attention as he hauls her up into the air and then SLAMS her back to earth with the roaring approval of a cheering crowd.
A crowd that very swiftly has other things to worry about.
The stampeding ogre is enough to get them to realise the mortal peril they are in, and their merely-civilian forms leap to clear the way like the parting of the red sea. All at once, Ichika finds herself staring down near ten foot of massive enraged and hungry monster. The girl had honestly hoped that through the same bizarre logic that had begun this fight, the flung pot might end it. For a horrified split second, she is a deer in the headlights.
And then she steps forwards, into the ogre's rampaging path. At the last moment she leaps into the air, grabs him by one shoulder, and braces her feet against the wall, pushing back with all the force her tiny form can muster. If she had done practically anything else, he would likely have crushed her to paste.
But a small point of pressure and the strength of the building behind her backs her up. He is made to pivot; the worst of the force dispersed, and then she drops smoothly back to her feet.
"Zog-san." She says, seriously. "If you want some food, please, help yourself. But be mindful of others. They also wish to eat."
Her hand has moved to the hilt of her sword. As though she really WOULD fight this monster if he kept up his rampage in her kitchen.
MEANWHILE!
Fully extricated from the wall and back in the world of the conscious, Zakaroth clasps Gareth's shoulder. "Lend me your strength, brother." He mutters, "First, we deal with the witch."
Gareth hisses as his tattoos once again flare with dark energy, and that is all the warning Ariastra gets before a screaming skull of green flame leaps from the green-haired man's outstretched palm, the horrifying NOISE of it cutting even across the increasing din of a frantic and jubilant crowd. This is SOME entertainment!
Whilst Suze merely lashes out with a second slash of her blade - this time aiming to carve a nasty trail across Buck's belly. The last blow had been shallow, but this time? Well... he'd gone for an octopus. It seems fitting to gut him like a fish.
Even if she is hoping to get his number.
COMBATSYS: Ichika focuses on her next action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
COMBATSYS: Gareth assists Zakaroth.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth successfully hits Ariastra with Gospel Blast.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
COMBATSYS: Buck interrupts Power Strike from Suze the Stabber with Inkblot.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Ariastra 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
[BUCK]
Buck releases Suze from the terror of the kraken-arm, it slithering and snapping back into place as he flexes his reformed fist. "Sorry, you ain't the type of girl I could bring home to my ma."
He flips the potlid in his other hand, grabbing it by the rim like he's about to chuck it like a frisbee.
As Suze comes at him again, he grins, dried blood flaking from his cheek and revealing a wound that seems much shallower than it even appeared at first. "Fine, I guess this dance ain't over yet." And as Suze closes the distance he sweeps his arm in from of him and around behind.
Tentacles aren't the only octopus trick in his book. His swinging arm leaves a cloud of ink in its wake, which an infusion of chi whips up around him into a murky shield of black.
Inside the ink cloud, Buck's arm intercepts the worst of the blade strike, keeping his innards inside his belly where they belong.
[ARIASTRA]
There is a time in someone's life when they meet their maker, even for a brief instant. When the huge Zog crashes in the small form of Aria and sends her flying into a nearby one, that isn't it. But it hurts like a bitch. She gets back up.
When the green skull hits her and sends her back into the wall, it isn't it either. Aria never was sent back to her maker, and today is not going to be it either. It hurts like a bitch. But she keeps it on the inside. On the outside, she stays strong.
"Is that all you can fucking do! I Ariastra, Phoenix of Egypt, and I want you to be gone!!" Her voice booming, hurting her poor ribs inside those attacks left marks right now. But she looks furious at the moment." She slams her scythes into the ground. "BE GONE!" One would swear the ground thunders under the blow. Then powerful Electric shockwaves go toward Gareth, Zakaroth, and Zog. If the shockwaves hit, a bolt of lightning strikes down from the sky." After that attack, she falls on one knee to take back her breath.
COMBATSYS: Ariastra successfully hits Gareth with Timeless Destruction.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Gareth
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 1|=======|=======
COMBATSYS: Zog reflects Timeless Destruction from Ariastra with Titan Belly EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth dodges Ariastra's Timeless Destruction.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ZOG]
The rampaging stew-starved beast known as Zog is suddenly stood up to by a mere schoolgirl, the young lady intercepting his charge and easing him to a halt in the midst of all he was seeking. The smell of soup assails his senses intoxicatingly as Ichika faces him down...
...and offers to let him help himself.
The crimson fury abates in Zog's cheeks as he reaches up to wipe the food off of his face, his chest rising and falling as he pants away his anger.
"Alright!" the ogre bellows enthusiastically as he reaches down and lifts one of the pots off of the stove. "I'll just take this one, then! They can share the rest!"
He tilts it up like it were a jug full of cold ale and starts to knock it back - not even bothering to chew whatever solid contents might be floating in the hot soup. He's halfway through the pot when the ground thunders below.
'BE GONE!'
"What?!" Zog shouts as he realises that the terms of ceasefire appear to be under violation from that woman who stabbed him in the leg before. "NOOO! You TRICKED me AGAIN?!"
As the shockwave rolls toward him, he takes on a look of focus, the crimson tattoos that cover his body taking on a glow as the essence of mighty Ignarok gathers within him, fuelled by the heat of the stew. "I AIN'T LEAVIN'!" he shouts as his belly sloshes, shrinking inward as the muscles beneath tighten. "HAVE IT BACK!"
A fiery orange glint surrounds him as he thrusts his mighty midsection forward, the expanse of his belly spreading outward to meet the energy as it nears. The shockwave reverberates backward, repelled by the force of volcanic chi as it takes on a blazing heat and hue, returning toward Ariastra!
In the meanwhile, Zog lifts the pot back to his mouth, resuming his feeding as he starts to run for the back exit.
COMBATSYS: Ichika blocks Zakaroth's Smite.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|--=====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ICHIKA]
"Aw, c'mon now." Suze laughs, "You don't even know me. Parents love -- augh, son of a--" She staggers back as this guy just up and spits ink right into her FACE. Who even does that? Her lip curls with irritation as she wipes her eyes with her sleeve, at least clearing her vision. "Okay." She says, tossing her blade to her other hand, "Your tricks have gone from cute, to annoy... ing..."
The dramatic declaration from Ariastra at least gets her to shut up. The burst of lightning that crashes into Gareth has her flinching. The man's skeleton is actually visible through his body, albeit briefly, and she whistles. So, it looked like these guys were the real deal after all. The ogre was one thing, but summoning lightning indoors? That's downright biblical.
Zakaroth throws his head back as Ariastra voices her frustration. His ally is suffering, but the man himself throws back his hood completely and there is wildness in his eyes as he leaps over the shockwave, coming down with billowing green flame igniting about him (to the cheers of an audience which may not, fully, have realised how much danger they are in the wrong team wins here).
"What is a Phoenix before the power of the DRAGON?!" He bellows. "Ariastra of Egypt? Your legacy ends in this filthy place, forgotten and no more!"
He brings both his hands down, green flame burning across them --
Only for Ichika's sword to intercept the blow. The girl's cheeks are flushed. She has no idea if her mentor is going to be able to withstand her own reflected attack - but she knows that she can't stay back any longer. These people, whoever they are, are dangerous!
"All I wanted." She says, "Was to enjoy a meal with new friends. This was not, supposed, to be a day for fighting!"
She... doesn't show much convinction in that, though, as she unleashes a swift series of slashes and stabs at the man, her blade drawn and glowing with a brilliant blue energy to match the unwholesome green of her sudden new opponent.
She might have bitten off more than she can chew, though, because then Gareth comes in with a wild haymaker to try and force her off his friend and give Zakaroth the breathing room he needs to recover.
Suze, meanwhile, has recovered her senses enough to continue the assault - green power flaring along her dagger's curved edge in apparent sympathy with Zakaroth's summoned strength, she twists it around and then lunges forwards, aiming to slash across Buck from shoulder to hip with a burning trail of venomous green energy that would continue to burn him, should it make contact.
"Don't forget." She adds, idly, "Y'all can always run away with your tails between your legs."
COMBATSYS: Stew Enthusiasts has joined the fight here on the top side.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Ichika 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zakaroth
> ////////////// ]
|=======\=------\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ichika has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Buck endures Suze the Stabber's Slaughterhouse Blade.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ARIASTRA]
Aria in all her bad luck right now, receives the shockwave, and receives a lightning bolt from the sky. Smokes come out from her. Zog was really surprised like that. She does look the worse for wear. Will she pull back out of this?
Nope. not. "Leave my kids alone!" She moves toward Gareth, throws one of her scythes in the air, and then strikes his back trying to impale him with it. If she succeeds, a bolt from the scythe in the air strikes the scythe inside Gareth and electrocutes him for good measure.
One at a time now, stop trying to spread yourself too wide. You have to protect the kids. She thinks to herself. Whatever happens, she removes the scythe from Gareth's back if necessary and powers through the pain.
COMBATSYS: Ariastra blocks Zog's Reflected Timeless Destruction.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[BUCK]
The bad part of being in the ink cloud is Buck only has a faint idea of what's going on around him, though other than his general location, there's not much to know about what's going on inside the cloud either. But he does wince at Ariastra's shout and the sound of thunder crashing down. He's been on the unfortunate side of a bolt from her and feels a momentary pang of sympathy.
He doesn't flee the cloud either as Suze attacks, though the swing of her blade makes it start to dissipate, the chi holding it aloft fading as the ink splatters to the ground. The blade strikes home, and Buck's grin at that would be almost manic, if his features were even remotely human. Instead the figure revealed looks more like Lyraelle's pet minotaur. A thick-necked bull's head on Buck's body. He scrapes at the ground one with his boot, snorts, and charges Suze.
He's not even being careful about the points of his wicked horns at this point, not really caring if his attack is a headbut or a gore.
COMBATSYS: Ichika successfully hits Zakaroth with Lambent Assault EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ariastra successfully hits Gareth with Endless Power.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber just-defends Buck's Bullheaded!
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ichika instinctively dodges Gareth's Fierce Punch.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ICHIKA]
Ichika doesn't even know why she steps to the side of Gareth's attack. She just knows that some part of her knows that she needs to place her feet just-so, and so she does, winding up directly to Zakaroth's left side as the huge man goes sailing past.
Gareth's fancy tattoos don't seem to do much this time around. Perhaps they had simply been overtaxed by the amount of power his ally pulled out of him to summon the skull; maybe Ariastra's magic is just finally finding purchase. Whatever the case, the huge man roars in pain as the first scythe carves into his back, and then another bolt of lightning sends him staggering down to his knees. The crowd roars its approval all over again as it looks like the most physically imposing combatant (now that the ogre has fled anyway) is on his last legs.
Spit flecks his lips as he comes tearing back up from the ground, fists flashing this way and that as he windmill slams himself into Ariastra in a desperate last-ditch effort to bring the woman down.
Ichika's slashing blade has cut Zakaroth a dozen times over, but they are only shallow wounds. The green-haired cultist still faces her without a hint of concern. Truth be told, she's terrified. She's never been in a fight like this before; these people seem genuinely intent on killing them and... she doesn't truly understand why! But she knows she can't back down, so she meets his eye levelly.
"Die, unbeliever!"
His burning fist lashes out to try and punch right into her gut.
In the same instant, her sword slashes out at him, aiming to cut across the taller man's midsection and leave them a tableau; her blade pressed against him, his fist punching down into her...
Meanwhile, within the ink cloud, Suze takes the bull by the horns. Quite literally. She grabs one of Buck's horns and uses it as leverage to fling herself up into the air and out of the crowd. When she comes down again, it is to neatly alight upon one of the tables. Her boots don't even disturb the crockery. Instead she grins to the crowd. "Y'all having a good time, right? Just bear with me, will you?"
%She FLINGS a boot knife into the cloud, not sure she wants to keep trying to win the up-close battle against that guy. He's WILD.
COMBATSYS: Ichika endures Zakaroth's Sanctimony Strike.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Gareth successfully hits Ariastra with Double Fisted Fury.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Ariastra 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Buck fails to slow Thrown Object from Suze the Stabber with Spit Take.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Ariastra 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ARIASTRA]
Ariastra doesn't care about Gareth anymore as she catches back her scythes. She runs toward Zakaroth, gets her scythes together, and spins them, making colds around. She also tries to dodge Gareth but takes the punches right into her guts with an 'ugh.' But it does slow her momentum and she jumps high in the air before slamming her staff down on the ground in front of Zakaroth, sending him shockwaves of ice at him. Then she falls on one knee, her burning energy perhaps taking too much out of her.
COMBATSYS: Ariastra has reached second wind!
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth blocks Ichika's Genius Loci.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth blocks Ariastra's Fantastical Destruction.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Gareth
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[BUCK]
Buck snorts again as Suze vaults over his head. Fur is already turning to scales as he turns to follow her trajectory. But as he opens his mouth, the thrown knife scrapes along the scales on his cheek opposit the other cut on his face, which now is no more than a faint pink line.
His features return to normal, as he stands to face Suze. "Are you sure about that. Your boys over there look rough, and we still have one member who hasn't joined."
He lifts a hand up and whipes the blood from the cut on his cheek, all his good humor gone.
"People like you make me sick. Bullies with nothing better to do than stomp on the people around them. You're pathetic. Weak. Pathetic. Useless. Trash."
Buck brings his fists up, then opens one hand to beckon Suze towards him the two fingers. "And even if you win here, you will still be trash."
COMBATSYS: Gareth takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ichika 1/----===/=======|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Gareth can no longer fight.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ariastra 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ichika 1/----===/=======|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Chevy has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[CHEVY]
The kitchen is in chaos.
The dining area is in chaos.
But Chevy?
Chevy had stepped outside, around the time Ariastra was getting into the thick of it with Zog.
That was then. This is now.
The kitchen door flies open. And the aproned redhead is right there on the verge of angry.
"Now, y'all coulda had as much as you wanted if you just set down and wait for it, but no! You had to go gettin' -greedy!-"
Her words are backed with chemical weapons. That chemical being H2O, of course, because it's Chevy. And the delivery mechanism is the giant firehose she's dragged in through the kitchen. And with Suze presenting the most -obvious- target up there standing atop a table?
"So now it's an all you can -drink- buffet!"
Chevy just lets the firehose rip with a full power blast to knock her over! Sure, there might be some fallout from that -- but with her master -and- her friends threatened, there's no way Chevy could just stand idly by!
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber blocks Chevy's Large Thrown Object.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ICHIKA]
"Aw, Cowboy, that really hurts my feelings!" Suze says, holding her hand to her chest. "You don't know a thing about me, and here you are saying I'm just a bully?" Her lips pull back in a smile which shows far, far too many teeth, "Buddy, I'm ~far~ worse than that. I'm going to enjoy eating your heart. I wonder if that'll give me your powers? Won't it be FUN to find OUT?!"
She was poised to attack, but then Chevy bursts onto the scene with her impromptu water cannon, and she's forced to cross her arms to deflect the worst of it, then jump back down behind the table to shelter.
"AUGH, YOU'RE ALL SO ANNOYING!"
Zakaroth, meanwhile, is at least being taxed. His fist slams into Ichika but the girl refuses to move with it. As the fire washes over her body, her teeth clench and she exhales, hard. Pain is just part of the fight, she tells herself. Hold steady. Bring your blade to bear. Finish this as quickly as possible. Her sword -- is caught, by the man's other hand. He pushes it away as though it were completely blunt, and then turns contemptuously. His hand washes a wave of green flame through the ice, breaking it around him, and he smirks.
"So Ariastra of Egypt falls before the might of the Dragon's Breath. Fitting. Fall into obscurity and may your name be swallowed by the City, as so many other before you."
Ichika watches with cool detachment as Gareth finally falls. The large man with all his dark magic succumbing to wounds that... she's... not, entirely, sure, will stop with just his unconsciousness. But she'll worry about that later. Right now, she can only smile as she sees Chevy make her dramatic entrance. She had been about to go and back Buck up, but instead she keeps her eyes on Zakaroth, her sword raised, and she talks.
"You should get out of here whilst you can, with your friend." She says, with a calmness she doesn't feel. "Chevy is the strongest of us, aside from Ariastra herself. And whilst you may feel you have bested her already, you forget what it is the Phoenix does..."
Again, a confidence she REALLY wished she felt in this moment. It's a big gamble. But, it'd be hard to tell that with the Justice student's voice as cool and level as it is.
"She rises again. And she will not be merciful."
Please, please let this distraction buy Ariastra the time she needed to make that happen... it, would, happen, right?
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber focuses on her next action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ichika assists Ariastra.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
The cruel cultist, meanwhile, simply smiled at the schoolgirl before him. "You speak a good game." He says, "But that's enough from you, little girl. Know now the folly of inspiring hope in these unworthy fools..."
With that, he leaps into the air, and comes down with both feet careening towards Ichika - billowing green flame burning from his back to make him look every part the dragon he claimed to be empowered by.
"AND DIE!"
For the second time, Ichika finds herself staring down a far, far greater power. She would almost prefer the ogre again.
[ARIASTRA]
She grinds her teeth. "I am already forgotten. Because all I am is a myth." She stands up, strong. She looks a lot better than she did a minute ago. "But what I will not allow, are my kids to be hurt by a bunch of nobodies. One down, two two go. How about you're the next one to fall? Be a little a pile of ashes blown in the wind. Sunshine city, another gang bites the dust.
"Now why don't you shut up once and for all." She brings her scythes together as one again, then slips one end into Zakaroth's chest if she has her way. Then she pulls him toward her and removes the scythe from his chest. She finishes by switching hands with her scythe to slam it into his left scythe. She's done being nice. "Team Thunder is off-limit for thugs like you.".
[BUCK]
"Yer right, you are worse, yer an uncreative, boring bully." Buck's voice turns mocking. "Ooo.. I'm gonna eat yer heart and drink yer blood." Which comes out in vampire accent made all the worse for the hint of his drawl added in.
Then in comes Chevy to blast her with water, and Buck bursts out laughing. "Oo, yer in for it now. I warned ya' we still had back up."
Buck takes a few quick step forward and kicks out at the table with his booted foot. No. Not at the table, over it. He's not going to reach Suze with that kick, but he wasn't aiming for her. He hooks one of the hotplates used to keep the soup hot, one now empty due to Ichika giving it to Zog, and flings the still burning hot portable stovetop right at Suze with his foot. "Heads up."
COMBATSYS: Ariastra successfully hits Zakaroth with Crushing Strike.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Ichika 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth successfully hits Ichika with Holy Genocider.
- Power hit! -
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[CHEVY]
Chevy stares slack-jawed at Ichika for a moment... the -strongest?- But then after a moment's thought she realizes, oh, maybe Ichika's just being sneaky. The redhead decides to play along with that, throwing down the firehose in an emulated rage. "Y-yeah! Backup's here and backup's -angry!- So y'all best git' on now and SCOOT!"
And to prove the point -- especially since Suze is ranting about her being -annoying-, Chevy rushes in, leaping over a bench -- and aims to wrap both arms around Suze's knife-throwing arm! If she manages to grab hold, she'd use her momentum to twist Suze into an armbar takedown! "HOOOOAH!"
[Some minutes from now, when a California interviewer asks, "What does Hooah mean?" Chevy will just shrug in reply...]
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber parries Buck's Large Thrown Object!
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber dodges Chevy's Oyster Drop.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Zakaroth
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ICHIKA]
The malevolent green force burning around Zakaroth is disturbing in its own right. Ichika doesn't know what to do. For lack of any better options she raises her sword to defend, and in the instant before he impacts, that brilliant blue energy bursts into being around her. She, doesn't know where it comes from. This whole fight has been one she approached with very little plan. So many things happening, so much to try and take in, she definitely didn't strategize her barrier into being...
But she's thankful for it, because the detonation of green power that impacts her guard is immense. It blows through her defense entirely, and the girl is flung backwards to smash bodily into the counter she had so carefully arranged. Buried under pots, pans and food preparation equipment.
Zakaroth looks like he's going to gloat - when Ariastra's scythe slams bodily into his chest. He finds himself hauled backwards, shocked, and spun to face her with the blade carving into his body. "But... I killed you..." He sputters, seeming genuinely confused by this turn of events.
Suze casually snatches the flung pot out of the air, using her knife-blade so she doesn't even have to touch the handle herself, and pushes this into Chevy's midsection as the redhead tries to grab her, "You got a point." She says, evenly, her eyes drifting to Zak. "... not sure I want to be here for *that* anyway."
That?
Well, everyone has a couple of seconds to ponder it as she takes off running full-tilt away, because Zakaroth has begun to laugh, deep down in his belly. Green flame licks from inside his wounds, and his crazed eyes stare into Ariastra's. "Become ashes, blown in the wind?! What a magnificent idea! YES! WE'LL ALL BECOME ASHES TOGETHER! AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!"
... oh that's not good.
The man literally EXPLODES, an enormous wave of bright green flame burning out of him to consume him utterly - and if he has his way, everyone else too!
(He probably won't have his way)
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth can no longer fight.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ariastra dodges Zakaroth's Gospel Wave EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Buck blocks Zakaroth's Gospel Wave EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth successfully hits Ichika with Gospel Wave EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zakaroth successfully hits Chevy with Gospel Wave EX.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\ < > ///////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/------=/=======|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ARIASTRA]
Zakaroth explodes, and the energy is coming fast. She tries to grab Ichika to teleport her with her since she is so close, but only Ariastra herself teleports and only reappears close to Suze. "You listen, you little bitch. I will let you run this time, but if you ever come back..." She suddenly screams, and a lightning bolt hits her from the sky. "My kids mean everything to me you hurt my kids. You are in fucking trouble." She is not damaged by this, she is powered up, her eyes crackling with Electricity. "If you ever try this again, I will have your head as a trophy, hanging on my wall!!"
COMBATSYS: Ariastra gathers her will.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\ < > ////////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/------=/=======|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[BUCK]
"That?" Buck mimics, then looks over to the screaming. "Aw H-E-double hockey sticks." He doesn't have much time to react as he sees the fire sweeping out from Zakaroth, and certainly not enough time to defend himself and chase after Suze.
Instead he turns his back on the flames and ducks down, hands going over his head. His shirt can be seen stretching for a moment before the fire washes over him.
When it clears his shirt is in burned tatters, but a slightly scorched, pebbled armadillo armor covers most of his back having warded off the worst of the damage. And it doesn't wreck his jeans, thank the stars.
He lets out a deep breath and stands up, the armor sinking back into his skin a bit slower than it appeared, thankfully.
He immediately looks around for his teammates, his smile gone and replaced with a clear expression of worry for them.
COMBATSYS: Buck gains composure.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\ < > ////////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/------=/=======|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[CHEVY]
Chevy, the strongest of them all, doesn't look to be all that strong as she has a hot pot shoved in her path. She can see how hot the thing is, with all the steam blistering off it! So rather than -touch- that thing, she careens over backwards, slapping down a hand on the table for balance. "Whoo boy..." she exclaims, feet scrambling for cover.
But that's when Zakaroth decides to explode.
Chevy doesn't really know how to handle that.
At the last instant, she gets the bright idea to duck under the table and pull it down -- but she only manages the first part of that before the swave of superheated flame blasts past, igniting her apron in flame -- and also drawing out a howl of pain from the redhead!
Still. A pissed-off Southern Belle isn't someone to just write off, though. She remembers to stop drop and roll. One roll is enough to quell most of the flame, and that lets her focus enough on the fight at hand.
"Now I don't know what the heck gives you the right to whup up on us -- but I'm darn tired of it!"
This is when she grabs the bench nearest her -- the one that did almost -nothing- to absorb the fireblast damage.
And then she aims to use it as leverage to knock Suze -down-.
And then? She aims to have all that water laid down by her firehose as a -hidden ally-, blasting back Suze back -up- into the air!
At which point Chevy would then use the bench as a guide arm to sling Suze into the far wall -- if all goes as it's imagined in the redhead's imagination! "HAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Suze the Stabber with Spout Toss.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\ < > ////////// ]
Ichika 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/------=|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[ICHIKA]
There was... a lot here for Ichika to unpack.
The way these people talked was nothing at all like the gangs she was used to in Southtown. They were much more of the 'give us some money and we'll leave you alone' variety, not the 'hope is pointless, time to blow myself up' variety. She had just managed to pull herself from the wreckage of the food prep area when the second explosion, from her perspective, comes in. This time there is no blue energy to cushion it, and she just has to grind her teeth as the sinister force burns at her. It, hurts. A lot. It feels... wrong, in ways beyond that, even. She'd taken all sorts of chi-based attacks in the tournament. None of THEM felt like they were trying to hurt her in nearly the same way. This was... darker, more, personal, somehow.
She slumps to her knees, consciousness already leaving her, vaguely able to just about make out Ariastra's shouted warnings. Yes, a lot to unpack there. A lot, indeed.
Suze, for her part, jumps into the air when Ariastra suddenly appears. "Don't need to tell me twice, lady!" She exclaims, backpedalling REAL quick, "Yup, no more trouble from me, for sure, uh huh -- AHH!"
She thought she was negotiating her retreat, but then a very pissed off Chevy smashes her into the ground, a wave of water slings her back into the air, and Suze impacts the far wall *real hard*.
"G-guh, damnit, call off your kids already lady! I already gotta tell the boss that we're down two, I don't wanna tell him I need bail money too, damnit!"
... she DOES seem to be assuming that nobody is going to kill HER at this point. Though at least the reality check of taking on three people all at once, on her own, does seem to have stopped with some of HER theatrics. Apparently she's not as much of a true believer as Zak had been.
COMBATSYS: Ichika takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Ichika can no longer fight.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Suze the Stabber takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chevy 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Ariastra
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
Ariastra looks back and see Ichika's is the worse for wear. "You are lucky I see one of mine really needs healing. Otherwise, I would be tempted to strangle you right here and now. But, she's worth a lot more than you will ever be." She teleports back and puts a hand Ichika, sending healing to help her through the worse of it. She can only heal one right now, she needs to recover too. She will easily enough, but still need a few for it.
COMBATSYS: Ariastra has left the fight here.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/------=|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[CHEVY]
Chevy... realizes she misread just about -everything- about Suze's body language in that moment. And yet...
Well, truth be said, that -was- pretty cathartic, after eating a full-strength inferno from -hell- and all that.
Panting, she lowers the bench -- doing her best to play up that "strongest" title.
"Go on now. Git!" she hollers out!
COMBATSYS: Chevy takes no action.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Stew Enthusiasts 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Buck 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Suze the Stabber
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 0/-------/------=|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Zog 0|-------|-----==
[BUCK]
With Ichika being tended to by Ariastra and Chevy still seemingly in high spirits, Buck lets out a soft sigh. He heads over to where his hate and jacket hang still, looking over the later for any scorch marks and lets out a sigh of relief when it seems to be okay.
"Thanks for the back up." Is all he can manage to mutter as he plops his hat back on his head and leans against the wall, bracing himself and closing his eyes. He was more hurt than he had been letting on, and now is just taking a few moments to catch his breath before he starts to help with the clean up.
Log created on 09:57:34 06/09/2023 by Ichika, and last modified on 17:29:18 06/09/2023.