Match of the Millennium

Description: "Ano, they were so powerful! Their teamwork was on point, and they were simply fearsome. Not to mention the slime. What treacherous and unmindful foes," he would later complain about the mutant frog battle ruffians sent to beat them up. Zack owes Homura and JD hazard pay for sending them to try and solve the slimy problem at the casino! There's no dry cleaning on this island, you know!!

[HOMURA]
"Ah, there's no worse fate than this..."

He had, of note, appeared to have skipped the party for his own reasons. Despite being eerily well informed about exactly what transpired there, the young shugenja had surrendered his own supply of rations and scavenge -- most of which ended up being alcoholic. Under the auspices of being too young and too mindful for such things, Homura was perfectly comfortable preferring instead the chastity of his little mat.
%5r It's something of a minor miracle he hasn't starved yet. truth be told. Monks have great constitution, apparently.

So now, the monk and the curiously stylish (un)(dead?)(michael?)(frank?) friends(?) have been relegated to security, as the boy stalks along the dead husks of once lively little coin op slots and onearmed bandits. They could only find one flashlight, which he has helpfully offered to tie to his backup, as the one with the ability to spontaneously generate both fire and moonlight might not need it. Even so, Homura seems to have eschewed either energy, and instead seems hellbent on finding every bit of debris and furniture in the casino with his shins. *whak* "Ow!"

"Ano, and to think they even put you to work as a bartender! Were you even paid alms?" Homura sympathizes, peeking around a corner to the best of his ability. "Completely unmindful of everyone. You should complain and come be an ascetic with me. You could work on your martial arts in the mountains. Agh, this is scary."

Homura does have a few things relevant to addressing terrifying situations; the first is all the varying ornaments hung from the hilt of his sword, gohei and rings rattling as he shakes them to punctuate his complaint.

"Maybe there's some kind of a circuit breaker or something. It's bad luck to be mucking around in the dark like this. Last time I got attacked by a zombie -- well, I mean, no offense. But it happened! Hold on--"

At this point, Homura unshoulders the conch horn tied to his back for most of the tournament, finally lifting the corded thing to his lips and blowing a loud, droning note out of it, winding through the casino hauntingly. Lowering the horagai, Homura nods grimly.

"That'll scare off the demons. I've got another one in the chamber too if there's any dispute about the first."

[JOHN DOE]
A lonely beam of warm yellow light trails aimlessly across the casino, illuminating yet another long line of brightly colored slot machines. Even after so much neglect their brass fittings still gleam, all lined up with their arms raised, beckoning in the foolish and the hopelessly addicted. Every classic is represented, from Battleship to Bongo Baller, Crab Crush to Jingle Jangle. Countless garish facades wrapped around the same horribly rigged basic game of chance.
"Huh..."
John Doe's tone is full of the mystified wonder of the non gambler, completely perplexed at how an entire industry could be supported by such a bullshit game. And yet his musings are short lived, light falling across a stack of wooden stools in the corner, before fading over and away to sweep across the side of Homura's face.
In contrast to his new found partner, JD could not be more chill in his surroundings. Dressed in a pair of baggy red and black floral trunks and his trusty black and red Velcro sandals, he shuffles along bare-chested in the Crow's wake, pale skin gleaming fair and ghostly in the dim light. Glossy black hair hanging thick and loose around his face, he could be out on any casual midnight stroll along the beach. After all, what sort of monster would have the utter lack of heart necessary to attack him?
"Ehgh..." he demurs at the mention of payment, light wavering aimlessly around as he gestures with the hand holding it. One of those heavy duty old workman's flashlights with the long metal handle textured for grip, it has been helpfully bound round and round his hand with a mass of cord until he and the light are one Greater being.
"Hh nh hhbhhdh..." he mutters, not really seeming to be the complaining type.
Pausing to let Homura check the next corner, he lazily swings his light around, illuminating toppled card tables and an abandoned desk set into the corner with reinforced armored glass. Up his light goes, illuminating the dirty glass and wire before trailing across the ceiling tiles, some of which seem blotchy and wet.
Then, his close and dear friend mentions a horrible encounter with a creature of the night, and JD re-directs the light back to his own face, handsome features lit from below. Shaking hair back out of the way, he reveals himself to be wearing a pair of very stylish shades, their mirrored lenses reflecting the light. Smiling big, he raises his dark brows in honest curiosity. Unbelievably, his expression seems to say 'a real life zombie?' Though it does seem like something he'd be interested in, having beautifully acted out the role so often.
...
Sweeping the light away, he wanders up to join his partner as the long bluuuuurt of the horn rings through the halls, standing beside him in the empty door frame of a large room with a shattered skylight. misty beams of moonlight drift down to glitter across broken glass alongside his own wavering yellow torch, dimly lighting the low shapes of yet more card tables crouched across the floor, while the hulks of forgotten games rest against the distant walls. At the far end, an empty stage beckons, once the home of touring bands and comedians.

COMBATSYS: John Doe has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
John Doe         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Homura has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
John Doe         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Homura

[LYRAELLE]
Indeed, the casino has never seemed so un-alive as it does now. It's been lit up ever since the crew arrived on the island - carelessly left to sparkle to the early hours, warding off the darkness that surrounds the resort. In fact, nobody mentioned to either John Doe or Homura when they were given the task of the night shift that the lights would be out, or where to find the breaker to turn them back on.

Nor had anyone mentioned one of the skylights being damaged - clearly a failure in maintenance reports. They were certainly all intact up till the previous night, and there hasn't been any inclement weather to mention...

The droning note of the horagai echoes through the empty chamber and into distant halls, surely warding off any evil spirits within.

But something answers back.

A loud croaking, like an enormous frog, comes back along the aetheric line in reply to the sound of the shell. Then, a sound of shattered glass. Faint, but solid footsteps rapidly approaching down corridors, like something heavy yet agile.

Another croak as the footsteps stop.

Then a second croak - from the shadows on the opposite side of the casino floor.

There's something lurking in the darkness...

And it's hunting in numbers.

COMBATSYS: Frog has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Homura           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frog
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
John Doe         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Toad has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Homura           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frog
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
John Doe         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Toad

[HOMURA]
"Yes! It's true," Homura chats with the actor, when he expresses amazement. The details have almost entirely slipped the boy's mind - within record time. That's the power of a good actor. Perhaps somewhat mercifully - or perhaps less so - Homura's train of thought is interrupted before he can remember exactly what it was he was talking about.

The less merciful part is from him noticing a very loud pair of 'croaaak's in the dark, as if replying to his horn blowing. Of course Homura lowers the conch shell, squinting over the little flash of the light, which is doing a fantastic job at keeping his keen night vision at bay. Well, that's okay.

"Ugh," the boy complains, being very much so less interested in the distinct sensation of being hunted. "This won't do at all. Hey! You!" Homura calls out, taking a step or two forward. "You'd better hope you're being mindful!" He looks up, at the busted skylight, frowning.

"You'd better not plan on being a demon or an evil spirit! You'll be in so much trouble!" At least, that's the part that Homura designated E for Everyone. The boy immediately lifts his hand to his lips, pulling loose the wrapping around it with a sharp tug of his teeth, the sealed linen causing a ringing sound across his charms as the bandages loosen to hang off of his elbow and near his hip. "Aaah," the boy grouses under his breath, as he taps his toe on the ground, testing his sneakers as he undoes the string of beads around his wrist. "Youkai are the worst.. lot've em are messy... ugh, he sounds like a sticky one too.."

"Okay!"

Shaking it off, the shugenja opens his hand, letting a little ripple of silver light crawl up his wrist to gather in his palm. There, little motes of light orbit the blast, casting a bright silvery light ahead of the boy.

"Much better..." He can see.
"Side mission, start!"

He wasn't kidding about that mindfulness thing, as the boy wastes no time in getting the darkness cleared out, as the boy sends a scatterfire of lemon-sized silver bolts into the dark after ... really, whatever's in there.
He is definitely not about to abide by sidequests that involve being menaced by youkais running around in the darkness.

[JOHN DOE]
Though a consummate charmer and a real power house in the realm of acting, nobody would claim that John Doe is a master mathematician. Still, he seems able to count to two, allowing Homura to advance further into the newer, larger room while he himself turns back toward the ruined gambling hall they just left.
"...Ugh..."
Seeming to share his friend's opinion on sticky foes, JD winces his handsome features into the slightest of frowns and sets to searching the darkness with his light, sweeping first low across the floor, then high along the ceiling. Seeing nothing in the two usual places, he goes for a more middle approach, wavering his hand-tied light around until some stray light reflects off of two glowing orbs part way up in the sky. Turning the light in that direction, he begins to uncover...something. Some THING that is indeed quite slimy, somewhat froggy, and finds itself perched atop one of the many unbroken card tables.
"Huh..."
Not really sure what to do, JD falls back on instincts. Gazing up at the monster some 20 feet away, he lifts his left hand, smiles his best, most John Doe smile, and begins to wave, radiating good cheer and sincere regard toward the hungry amphibioid.

COMBATSYS: John Doe takes no action.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Homura           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frog
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
John Doe         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Homura successfully hits Toad with Tsukiyomi Buster.
- Power hit! -

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Homura           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0             Frog
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
John Doe         0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
It's barely visible through the gloom - at least, to a natural sense of eyesight - but for a brief moment, the face of one of the lurkers is lit up by the silver glow of Homura's bolts, revealing a mouth that would look more at home stretched across the face of a hammerhead shark perched in front of a pair of large frog-like eyes. The implied menace of the rows of sharp teeth is immediately contrasted by the shrinking of the swollen sclera against the sudden brightness and the almost comical way in which the creature is sent tumbling head over webbed and taloned feet. An angry warking sound comes from the darkness as the hybrid predator crashes audibly into a bank of otherwise silent slot machines.

Meanwhile, the teeth of the hybrid perched atop the table across from John Doe disappear as the creature's vocal sac swells to an amphibioid expansiveness before letting out a thunderous croak evolutionarily designed to incite fear in prey and predator alike. It leaps from its elevated position, the deadly razor talons at the ends of its webbed toes flashing as it aims to slice the largest of them across the actor's throat!

A moment later, the one that was on the receiving end of Homura's bolts lands nearby with a hop, crouching down before hopping again toward the shugenja as if attempting to start a mosh pit without the implied consent of the invitee.

COMBATSYS: Homura parries Toad's Battle Hop!

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Homura           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0             Frog
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
John Doe         0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Toad

[HOMURA]
"H-hey," Homura complains, startling the moment his decisiveness is matched by his partner's welcoming aura. He can't take his eyes off JD for a second without him trying to befriend people. "Don't get cozy with them or try to put the moves on them. I saw some weird teeth, I think they're the ones who put out the power. Probably put all kinds of goo all over the place too. Teamwork is going to be critical on this one. We have to speak with one voice and one mind. It goes like this: if we win, we're not cleaning it up. That's an initiate's job." Nevermind that Homura was sent here at the lowest level. We're not talking about that. "Ehh--!! Look out!"

The shugenja, who was sure that his enemy was dealt with with some clean buster work, almost dies when amphibian'bushed by a very mosh-forward toad... slime.... teethy.. thing. But instead of his first instinct, which is to fall over and try to fend off his attacker with a mouthful of gaudy ritz carpet, Homura seems a little more capable than that. Namely, by smacking the hilt of his katana with the heel of his hand, bringing the still-peacebonded saya rocketing up to check the toad's attempt to get sticky with him by staving it off -- nigh literally. He still yelps like a swung cat, which is a perfectly reasonable response to being assaulted by a giant frog WITH TEETH. That's not right.

Of course, having a bit of rhythm is better. It lets Homura's skittering work; his awkward stumbling eventually gathering into some classier rug-cutting, his sneakers skipping quickly as he shifts, turns, guiding himself around the beastling by folding his elbow over the hilt behind him and using his sheathed katana as a makeshift rudder. With the amphibian's moves, it flows really well, right?

"Oof," the boy groans, smoothly lifting up a glowing hand interknit with silver light. "Not very mindful of you."

Homura is not about to deal with being goo'd on, and he's going to help the frog with his rhythm a little bit, with a whirling point-blank shockwave blast of moonlight, a wall of energy that comes on with the force of a sledgehammer.

COMBATSYS: Frog successfully hits John Doe with Death Leap.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Homura           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
John Doe         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0             Toad

[JOHN DOE]
"Pssh." is JD's offhand response to Homura's worrying. After all, the two of them met in a dark spooky ninja shack, had a totally epic kung fu battle, and the scar on the actor's back from where he got sworded is barely even visible now. Surely these warty warriors will be just one of the gang by tomorrow.
That is the sort of beaming optimism that continues to radiate from JD's every pore, long hair fluttering back from the force of the mighty battle croak. Teeth gleaming in the reflected beam of his flashlight, he reaches out to accept the big fella's flying handshake with perfect grace and poise...
Only to receive a triple dose of razor-sharp talons straight to the throat.
A spray of thick dark blood fountains into the air as JD goes down beneath the pouncing beast, all however-many pounds of mutant mayhem piling in atop him. The breath is driven from his lugs in a rattling gasp, head bouncing off of the floor with a muted THUMP.
The frogadilian should recognize it is a killing stroke. Clean, worthy of its raptor ancestors.
And yet, beneath its foot the pale human shifts, right elbow bracing against the floor.
"Hmmrmph..."
Seeming more disgruntled by the slimy oozy texture of the thing than the deep parallel gouges carved across his throat and upper chest, John Doe draws his knees up, plants his heels under his butt, and crunches forward. Shoving off of the ground with his flashlight arm, he lunges back to his feet, right fist driving up toward the wobbly underside of the mutant's bulging throat as he attempts to uppercut it off of him!

COMBATSYS: Toad blocks Homura's Moonsent Matsuri EX.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Homura           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
John Doe         0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Frog blocks John Doe's Dead Rising.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Homura           0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0             Frog
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
John Doe         0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
The first hybrid monstrosity rebounds off of Homura's saya, staggering at the rejection of his expression of musical fandom. (What band are monster frogs fans of, exactly? Green Day, of course.)

To be fair, Dancing in the Moonlight isn't to the frogshark's particular tastes, either. Its claws cover its eyes like a catcher's helmet against the shockwave blast, warding off the worst of the energy but still causing it to slide backward, talons scratching trenches in the carpet and flooring. Nostrils flare and its chest swells as it sniffs the air. A low rumble emanates from the creature's gullet as it drops down to all fours, assuming a posture more resemblant to that of its more evolutionarily-confined kin. Then, it starts to hop forward, bouncing in short, rapid movements before swiping out with a low, sweeping slash at the shugenja's legs!

Meanwhile, the second hunter, perched atop John Doe, starts to scent the blood of its fallen prey. Rather than a triumphant call, though, it seems hesitant, croaking low and cautiously.

If these creatures had subtitles, the conversation might look something like this.

MONSTER #2: This blood doesn't smell fresh at all. How about yours?
MONSTER #1: I'm not sure this one even has blood. Did you order the Vegan for me by mistake? I told you, I dropped that last week.
MONSTER #2: We'll just have to get something else on the way home. Hey! Mine's not dead after all.

As it feels John Doe rising from below, the frog-like mutant puffs its ventral sac out, causing it to blow up like a balloon just as the fist collides. This seems to deaden the impact somewhat by allowing the creature to be sent flying away like a beach ball, rebounding off of the ceiling to land on its stomach in front of John Doe. It flattens against the ground as it deflates, then hops forward, aiming to sink its teeth into the Hollywood Undead's calf!

COMBATSYS: Toad successfully hits Homura with Fast Claw.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Homura           1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
John Doe         0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0             Toad

[HOMURA]
"Wh! hey!" Homura interjects, looking just over the (is it greener than the other one? It's so dark in here it's hard to tell. Well, he's just going to have to guess--) uglier opponent in front of him just in time to watch his partner get assassinated. Kind of. Really, Homura seems more offended than horrified, which might have something to do with the fact he's had to fight JD before. "That's too violent!"

Wait, why is -he- unbinding his katana then? Gathering ropes and strips of paper out of the way while his hand lowers to his side, Homura's split attention leaves him somewhat unprepared for the speed of the ugly one to flash into his legs faster than he can step out of it, spraying dark blood across the carpet, soaking in quickly as the boy stumbles back and away, squawking haphazardly as he staggers, stance widening.

"Ugh," the boy grouses, drawing his steel with his free hand. The gleam catching the muted light to accentuate how very much not-a-toy it is. Interestingly, the sword is drawn on the same side the sword is hung on, letting the young boy flip the blade in his hand.

"Luckily, enlightenment isn't too far away."

An instant later, the katana is only inches away from the mutant's head, in free flight like a javelin. Time almost seems to slow to a standstill, as the weapon seems for all intents and purposes to be thrown dead-on as a projectile. At least, it seems that way before the boy closes the gap between the katana and his hand in the next instant, catching it in the last millisecond before it can be recognized as a threat. Just long for the boy to redirect the momentum, and try to pin the toad down beneath his body weight, and a sword to the head. Or body. Really he's not that picky. He's not that kind of yamabushi.

COMBATSYS: John Doe blocks Frog's Fierce Bite.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Homura           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0             Toad

[JOHN DOE]
Freed from beneath the talons of his froggish foe, JD finishes wobbling to his feet, flashlight beam wobbling drunkenly about the room in the most unhelpful of manners. Gaping throat wound still oozing a sluggish drip of blood, he wipes his forearm across it like one might a runny nose, then checks to make sure his hair and sunglasses are still properly in place.
All is right with the world.
Knowing full well that his demon-hunting new friend is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he flashes a lazy thumbs up over his shoulder, or at least tries to. In reality he just waves the flashlight vaguely in that direction, probably blinding someone, before turning his attention down to the belly-flopping fiend before him.
Lifting his left foot, he plants his sandal against the rubbery frog snout as it lunges in toward him, stopping its progress with a wibbly wobble of poorly kept balance. Teeth snapping at the heel of his shoe, he vibes with the monster for a moment, reaching out to it on a spiritual level. As he does, he gets a sense for what the thing is. Its hopes. Its dreams. It's all-devouring desires. For just a moment, JD and the frog thing are one...
He understands.
"Criky..."
Word muttered into the thrashing darkness, JD does what any friend to large water-bound creatures would do. He lifts his foot off of its face, spreads his arms wide, and totters forward into a toppling bare-chested belly splash atop the wriggling pile of freaky mix tape genetics. Like the great Steve Erwin himself he attempts to wrangle this critter, arms seeking some sort of crushing hug around its bloated middle with which he can both comfort and squish it.

COMBATSYS: Homura successfully hits Toad with Instrumentality Phase "Hashira".

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Homura           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Frog dodges John Doe's Burial Ground.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Homura           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0             Frog
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1             Toad

John Doe says, "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6kHAxGmgWQ"

[LYRAELLE]
One would imagine that if the frogs in the bayous of Louisiana were as evolutionarily equipped as these creatures, the sport of hunting them for their legs would be much more sporting. Particularly when the result of skewering one through its swollen chest has the result of making it angrier. At least, that's one of the results. The other is for the lungs to swell further before forcing the blade back out through sheer air pressure - in the process releasing a vertical geyser of slime and blood before wet suction draws the wound shut like a zipper. The frog-shark pushes up to its strangely webbed-yet-clawed feet, whipping one of its clawed arms around in a roundhouse swipe at Homura as it does!

As he grapples the other hybrid, John Doe can feel its legs trying to claw at him from either side while its arms are pinned mercifully against its abdomen. However, the slime soon strikes again, the creature's naturally lubricating secretions conspiring with the personality of a rabid badger (whether deliberately spliced in or simply the result of a bad upbringing) to liberate the stout monstrosity from John's grasp with a slurping sound and a loud *BRAAAP*. Hitting the ground, the hybrid hops backward several paces and croaks once more before hopping into a forward roll, tucking its limbs in to form a buzzsaw of claws, talons and sharp dorsal spines that gathers momentum and sends sparks off of the floor as it hurtles toward John Doe!

COMBATSYS: Toad successfully hits Homura with Medium Claw.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Homura           1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0             Frog
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1             Toad

[HOMURA]
Ugh. That guy is always so cool. Even from a potentially lethal attack, his 'Frank' anatomy allows him to shrug off the damage and continue onwards, with an unmatched level of style, Homura notices. The grappling power of JD is so much that ... wait. "Are you trying to hug it!? You are, aren't you!?"

Homura is yelling at his teammate from perched atop his own frog problem, holding on by the skin of his teeth and more importantly by the hilt of his sword. "You made me inner monologue for no reason!" Homura complains, right before he pays for his intense distraction by getting -splashed- with an intense amount of slime and gore, as if someone deliberately threw a slime-filled balloon on him while ejecting him violently from his perch. "Augh!!"

Homura hits the ground in that liminal space between sticky and slick, his sneakers skidding across the unfavorably coated rug as he is immediately kicked in the middle by what he swears is a karate move, just barely missing his chance to slip out of the way, the claws and webbing of the Battletoad doing an admirable job of caving in his middle and sending him stumbling. "OOF! ugh--itte itte itte---!!"

It's kind of a weird way the boy goes, taking a weird, long step over one thigh, and then the other, showing the back of his jacket foolishly to his opponent, as he is quite simply recovering from being catastrophically off-balance.

"Oi...! aahhh, that was... hey..."
His hand opens, and the boy kicks off one leg, suddenly diverting his direction from 'back' to 'forward.'

"Another couple hits like that, you're not going to like what happens."

The boy's body suddenly leaves the ground, as if physics simply didn't apply to him anymore, stepping into the air nimbly and as easily as a soap bubble. Momentum, weight, none of it really matter as the boy-- fwip! --will just tumble all the way through the beast as if he weren't anything more than a particularly slimy fog.

And if he does so, he's going to drag his sword through him, one inch at a time. How -does- one stab something in reverse? Shugenja are a strange, mindful folk.

COMBATSYS: Frog successfully hits John Doe with Razor Spin.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Homura           0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0             Frog
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
John Doe         1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1             Toad

[JOHN DOE]
Locked in an epic struggle of man vs mutant, John Doe can only grunt guiltily in response to Homura's shouted accusation, arms suddenly shooting together as the frog thing squirts out from beneath his smothering grip. Toppling forward to land with a splat, he lies there for a moment, face down and still, before slowly rising to hand, flashlight, and knees.
"Hrmhph..."
Seeming a touch disgruntled at the rejection of his Australian inspired love, the actor rises up to a kneel on his haunches, considering the amphibioid that faces him across the way. Glancing from it, to the tasteful amount of slime that glistens artfully across his chest and biceps, he admires the shiny effect, does a little flex, and smiles.
That is, until he next catches sight of his Not a Crow friend flailing through the air as an absolute mess of blood and goo.
Then, he frowns.
Directing his attention back toward his own croaking opponent, he tilts his head as if to ask whether he might also intend such gooy treachery. In response, the thing rolls up and charges, and this seems to finally get through to the optimistic actor that things are perhaps not as friendly as he at first assumed.
Still frowning, the handsome grappler leans forward to meet his attacker, spines and claws tearing into his chest and gut in a grotesque display of shredded skin and flying gore. With blood pouring from dozens of lacerations, he reaches into the tearing mess with one hand, attempting to grip the frog by one kicking leg. Lurching to his feet, he drags the thing up with suddenly nightmarish strength, blood continuing to sheet down his front from where it has dug into him.
"Mmmmph..." he grumbles with low reproach, heaving the thing up by the leg and aiming his flashlight hand down into its bulging eyes. From its perspective he becomes little more than a shadow behind the light, a looming and monstrous presence with a crushing grip around its froggy ankle.
Then, with a slight shrug of his shoulders, the actor turns and whips his arm hard around, attempting to flail the frog creature through the air and bring it splatting into the wall hard enough to shake the structure. Not once, but again, and again, flinging the thing back and forth with demented strength as he does his level best to beat a new entrance through the wall and into the room beyond.
That was NOT an acceptable level of goo between friends!

COMBATSYS: Toad dodges Homura's Lower World Shinsoku.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Homura           0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Frog blocks John Doe's Dawn Of The Dead.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Homura           0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
Once it's delivered its slash against the shugenja, the battletoad hops backward onto all fours, hunching its frame to protect its wounded ventral sac, which now puffs with more frequent, shallow swells than before. It lets out a warning croak in response to Homura's claim that it won't like what happens after a couple of hits. Perhaps it's trying to clarify whether the two times that it's already hit the shugenja count or not.

Regardless, the creature doesn't appear keen to find out what it's like to get literally ghosted, perhaps out of fear of getting covered in ectoplasm. Goo is gross, after all, as long as it's not your own. It hops to one side at the last minute, then back into melee range, thrashing both limbs violently as it seems to get worked up into a froth - literally, as drool sprays hither and thither from its open maw!

Meanwhile, John Doe manages to get his hands on the slimy shark-thing, pulling it out of its hedgehog-like spin with a few more cosmetic cuts for his trouble. Its sclera shrink to points as the flashlight shines in its face. Somehow, it almost looks like it's filled with dread at the sight of J.D. outlined against the light - but then again, the gaping shark frown is kind of its default expression.

It gets slammed against the wall once, but on the second attempt, it catches itself against the structure with its feet, using it as leverage to fire its slippery body out of J.D.'s grip again. Crashing off of a slot machine, it hops back in to try and chomp down viciously (and viscously) on John Doe's arm!

COMBATSYS: Homura blocks Toad's Frenzied Swipe.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Homura           0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1             Toad

[HOMURA]
"Hey. Don't be smart-mouthed," Homura admonishes. "I didn't say--ihh?!" Homura is completely unmoored by this point. To his merit, it takes some pretty impressive footwork to almost bumble into someone, miss, float into the air, then avoid faceplanting entirely while one's target is trying to cut you into ribbons. The boy continues in the background of the furious snug-off between JD and his own particular amphibious problem, floating through the air like a hapless soap bubble while trying to bat a furious frog off him.

The effect is something like watching a granny fight a bee with a broomstick. In outer space.

For all of his apparent ineptitude, it's interestingly difficult to land a clear and unambiguous hit on the boy, as a furious clawing ranbu ends up swallowed into a moonlight series of arcing blocks and steel clatters, the boy driven back easily with each little impact, sent wobbling all over the place haphazardly, and at one point he is actually completely upside down with all this havoc. "Augh!!"

One thing that is working though: Homura getting covered in a fine layer of frothy slime. It's completely objectionable!

The boy eventually (eventually) lands at some point, ostensibly after tiring out the brutal battletoad's fist with his soft body, dusting himself off and skipping back the last droplets of his momentum on one uncomfortably slick sneaker, standing next to a bank of slot machines. A mortified look by the yamabushi as he whips off his shades, causing an audible -spatter- sound. Putting them back on, the boy makes a long face, gripping the blade of his sword between his thumb and forefingers. He drags his hand down the length of the blade, displacing an entire handful of mucus. He whips the excess onto the ground with an audible, rheumy -splut!- and a grimace.

"Ugh. Come on, man. I still have to use this to kill someone later.."

The shugenja is deeply chagrined. The frogs are ongoing with their rampage and completely enjoying their positions. "If you think you're going to get toad'al control of our situation here," Homura declares without thinking about it too hard.

A couple of the machines behind him light up as the boy rattles some beads, trailing off to an absent murmur with the harsh snap and moonlit crawl of power down the length of his arm. Flipping his sword around to clear it of any residual slime, the boy braces his wrist across the hilt of his sword, and slowly lifts it to his hip, sending a rill of power deep into the palm of his hand.

The boy's eye narrow, now determined to finish his thought.
"...you're jumping to the pollywog conclusion about us."

COMBATSYS: Homura gathers his will.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: John Doe blocks Frog's Strong Bite.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
John Doe         0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1             Toad

[JOHN DOE]
With his planned renovations suddenly put on hold, all John Doe can do is pivot drunkenly on the spot in a wobbly attempt not to lose track of the crude croaker that has so rudely interrupted their duty. Flashlight beam slicing uselessly through the air, he pauses briefly to check on Homura--
completely upside down--
before returning his attention to the problem at hand. In fact, literally at hand, for as the frog lunges forward, JD instinctively moves to meet it, right hand plunging into its open maw and giving it a fierce flashlighting to the back of the throat. It isn't enough to stop the monster from chomping down, but instead of the musky taste of JD Jerky, it gets a mouth full of parachute cord and the distinctly unpleasant grate of teeth grating across metal. Hand only moderately chewed in the exchange, the actor gazes down into the suddenly glowing face of his foe, observing how the thing lights up like a guts-filled balloon.
"Huh." he murmurs, briefly delighted.
Then, his partner hits the room with 'pollywog' and all the joy is sucked from the universe.
Frowning, JD rears back his left arm, clinches his fist, and brings a thundering punch swinging down for the center of the gnashing frog monster's face. After all, in case of frog attack, just punch it in the nose. They're more scared of you than you are of them, and humans don't even taste good.
That last bit hasn't actually been true in JD's experience, but life is full of mysteries...

COMBATSYS: John Doe successfully hits Frog with Cross Punch.
- Power hit! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
John Doe         0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
The hybrid that's been trying to sharpen its claws on Homura's bones (but sadly mostly only getting to do so on Homura's sword) seems to start to lose steam as more and more of its swipes are turned aside. At the same time, the one that's been biting down on John Doe is discovering that, while the meat may be an acquired taste, its real mistake was in not taking out the little decorative metal rod before chowing down. It gags up, concerned that it might be getting too much iron in its diet, and soon finds itself lit from within, but not like it just became a daddy (frog)shark or something.

John Doe might have been aiming for the nose, but the blow lands right in the creature's chest instead as it topples backward - causing it to go suddenly dark as the punch forces the flashlight out of its throat to flip through the air like a more martial version of the Heimlich maneuver (don't try it at home, minions~).

Coughing up mucus, the creature turns its head slightly, croaking dubiously at its cohort.

The two creatures croak at each other with increasing agitation as the one that's been squaring off with Homura hops over behind John Doe. They appear to squabble back and forth, as if debating tactics.

MONSTER #2: Hey, come over here and try a bite of this guy. Tell me I'm not crazy. This blood isn't fresh. I'm not even sharking out.
MONSTER #1: Seriously? Just eat him, already.
MONSTER #2: Come on, bro. We're supposed to be pack hunters, aren't we?
MONSTER #1: What, are you trying to imply I'm not a good packmate? What about that time I played wingman for you and Monster #4?
MONSTER #2: Dude, just park your veggie side and come help me bite this bro already!
MONSTER #1: Ugh, okay, already!

Then, suddenly, they both leap at John Doe at once - the one that was already facing him hopping in with claws flailing whilst the other tries to leap on his back and start biting off a chunk of whatever it can chew!

[HOMURA]
Homura is extremely satisfied with his level of heroic intervention right now. And why wouldn't he be? He's in a desperate situation, but he's going to resolve it by charging up and blasting a few frogs back to the stone age. Starting with this guy-- "Hey!" He just hopped away!

"I guess he was terrified by my level two charge gear sutra. Damn." He bangs the slot machine behind him. It, being powered entirely by chi, flashes and blares a jovial tune, spitting out coinage which Homura is absolutely not paying attention to at all. Martial focus! Also -- urp. "Ohh, ehh, language. Sorry..."

Who's he even apologizing to?

Of course, the thought is lost as it slowly dawns on Homura exactly what's going on with the frogs as they wheel up on his battle partner, a revelation to which the shugenja replies with absolute alarm. "!" Hey!

"You can't frogpile on Frank! I still need to train him in mindfulness!"

Well, the flashlight tumbles in the air for a few seconds on a higher arc. That arc is changed -very- slightly as Homura alights on it, the flashlight's tumbling momentum arrested in the air as the boy uses it as a dainty platform for one sick second. For that second, physics absolutely fails to apply to him or the light, before his twisting lets him kick it back towards JD. The boy basically ricochets off of the airborne post-consumer maglite, twirling in the air as he cuts its tumbling light cast in half with his own moonsilver. Like a little dart, Homura sails right after the frog duo as they argue, moonlight motes trailing in his wake.

He's going to cut them! Hard! Maybe one, maybe two! He likes to vary the details! All he knows is they're going to get a helping of sanctum and inner peace as the boy descends somewhere in the middle of their frogstomping attempt. That's not even close to okay!

COMBATSYS: John Doe blocks Frog and Toad's Frog And Toad Are Frenzied.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1             Frog
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
John Doe         0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0             Toad

[JOHN DOE]
Hand finally freed of the helpful mass of knots that had kept it bound to the team's only mechanical light source, John Doe shakes the clinging goo from his gashed and sticky hand and tilts his chin back to watch as his light spins high into the air.
Light.
Dark.
Light.
Dark.
Just sort of hanging out in the strobing gloom, JD allows the amphibians their time to discuss. After all, interrupting people when they're talking is horribly rude.
He has just enough time to marvel at the sudden arrival of Homura balanced atop their flashlight like some Angels On A Pinhead trickery before both mutants are suddenly on him, attacking from both sides with a complete disregard for sportsmanship or gentlemanly behavior.
The first to arrive is the Toad landing heavily on his back, talons digging into pale flesh and forcing him into an unsteady stagger forward toward the frog's frenzied attack. Head dropping forward, JD stumbles out of the frozen beam of the light and into darkness once more, hair falling forward to hide his handsome features just moments before the entirety of him is lost to the clinging gloom. Little more than a ragged splotch of deeper dark, he catches the oncoming claws on his forearms, movements suddenly fast and vicious in the uncertain lighting as he batters the attacks aside, bits of flesh flung away from the impacts of claw on bone.
"Hhhhhhhhh..."
A low, rasping hiss of displeasure rattles out from the spot where JD stands, form hunched nearly double beneath the weight of the toad. Planting a palm beneath the frog's jaw, he shoves it away, spasming upright in a sudden, violent motion aimed to drive the back of his head into the mounted toad's jaws just moments before it can sink its teeth into his back. Ignoring the flashlight that comes zipping in to bounce across the ground beneath them, shadows writhing wildly across the walls as Homura makes his slashing dive, he reaches back over his head with both tattered hands. Seeking to grip the toad by upper and lower jaw, he drags at it, attempting to haul it forward over his head and spike it hard into the floor before him, looming above it and the light as blood drips from his mangled back and chest, oddly hunched and ghoulish for one so handsome.

COMBATSYS: Toad blocks Homura's Oni Accel.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1             Frog
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
John Doe         0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Toad blocks John Doe's Grave Mistake.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1             Frog
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
John Doe         0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
MONSTER #1: By the way, did you see that guy's level 2 charge gear sutra? Thanks for the excuse to bail, buddy.
MONSTER #2: Hey, you did the same thing when Monster #4 started getting weird.
MONSTER #1: (through a mouthful of shoulder) I don't think she was being weird. You just have commitment issues. Man, this guy does taste weird.

The sharp-toothed amphibi-men ribbit and wark back and forth as they combine forces to try and take down the handsome Frank, but soon, Toad (real name withheld) is dislodged from his dining chair (also known as John Doe's back) by a moonsilver streak of sharp steel with only a moment to notice and try and fend with his claws, which mostly works, except for the part where the creature gets headbutted in the croaker and loses its balance, causing the last digit to catch the cutting edge with the fleshy part instead of the claw, resulting in a heck of a manicure, a small fountain of blood, and a shriek of displeasure.

MONSTER #1: Dude! This guy cut off my finger!!
MONSTER #2: You should have known after the charge gear sutra, dude!

The second monster sniffs at the much fresher blood coming from the first monster's stumpy half-digit.

MONSTER #2: Hey, if you're not using that finger now, can I eat it?
MONSTER #1: WHOA! Not cool, bro!

Surprisingly, the two creatures appear to suddenly be fighting amongst themselves as one snaps its teeth at the other's hand and the other expresses its displeasure in response!

COMBATSYS: Toad fails to interrupt Aggressive Bite from Frog with Hunter's Howl.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Homura           0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1             Frog
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
John Doe         0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0             Toad

[HOMURA]
The shugenja ends up kneeling on the ground, his blade swept wide as he follows through with his stroke, skidding to a stop in a wide stance. Energy still crawls around his arm, his free hand held carefully behind him. The boy offers a quick thumbs-up with his sword hand to JD, a surely-plucky grin coming from the boy in (slightly) slimy shades.

Of course he kind of has to stare as the frogs promptly get into a tussle over the bit he cut off of the one. Aigh. Gross. The boy blinks once, trying to track what is clearly a conversation happening. Right?

"I kind of feel like they're saying something, right? I'm not crazy. But then, groaning and bubbling can't be a language. Oh -- uh, sorry. Present company excluded. You're perfectly comprehensible, F-kun."

Of course, Homura blinks, suddenly realizing he's in a fight. "Wait a minute. You guys aren't supposed to fight eachother! You're going to bond and become even stronger! Stop that!"

That's when the boy rockets off one foot, without -actually- standing up straight. Really, physics nor biology should really work that way, as the boy pump-runs across the carpet at something near a 30 degree tilt, his knees coming a hair's breadth from the worst rug burn as he chases down the tussling frogs in the midst of their fight. This time he's going to ambush the entire -other- frog in the middle of his heinous attack, his sword flicking out for two-- three! slashes towards the.. well, is it still called an achilles if it's not human? Do frogs HAVE mythological heroes and gods?

"If you do, better get to praying then, nerds!!"
Yes, he thinks people are following his inner monologue.

[JOHN DOE]
One friendly flash of moonlight later and John Doe is freed of passengers, left to stagger forward out of the scrum in a bloodied, tattered mess. Sandaled foot snagging on his discarded flashlight, he kicks the poor thing spinning across the floor in a whirlwind of semi-helpful illumination, his lacerated torso flashing in and out of the light in a crazy stop motion strobe.
"HhhhrrrrrrrghHH..."
Whether in response to the damage that has been done to him, Homura's assurance that his delivery is always perfect, or the smell of For Real Actual Blood that is in the air, JD vocalizes his own contribution to the froggy conversation just moments before lurching around in a tottering about face. Fingers curled into bloody fists and posture hunched nearly double, the actor lunges back across the floor to pounce upon Toad alongside his erstwhile partner, teeth gleaming from behind the curtain of his hair as he brings both hands down in a manic gorilla smash toward the top of the toad's head.
"HHHSSSSSHSHH!"
Clearly the actor has had enough. Enough of the slime. Enough of not being invited into the conversation. Enough of having a perfectly good brain just lying around uneaten. Who could reasonably be expected to work under these conditions?

COMBATSYS: Frog blocks Homura's Power Strike.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Homura           1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1             Frog
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
John Doe         0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Toad interrupts Heavy Punch from John Doe with Backflip Slash EX.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Homura           1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1             Frog
[                          \\\\  < >  //////                        ]
John Doe         1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
The shrieking from Monster #1 continues as Monster #2 chomps down on his finger.

MONSTER #1: I THOUGHT YOU MEANT THE PART OF MY FINGER THAT GUY ALREADY CUT OFF!
MONSTER #2@ Oh *crunch*, yeah *chew*, *slurp* that woulda made more sense. You know how I get around *smack* fresh blood.
MONSTER #1: *SKREEEEEEE*

Monster #2 dips its head down and grabs the dislodged claw and knuckle from the carpet and retreats from Monster #1 with a backward hop. It's only had time to land before a slash comes from behind, aimed at its Frogchilles tendon.

MONSTER #1: Glarghleargh!

The creature coughs up the claw it was trying to swallow, quickly withdrawing its wounded leg and about-facing on Homura before side-hopping the follow-up slashes.

MONSTER #1: Gleargh!

The creature crouches down before springing upward in a sheer vertical leap up into darkness. Meanwhile, its freaked-out froggy frenemy turns around with a croak as two bloody zombie fists descend towards its cranium. Reacting with one of the defensive tactics built into its genetic programming, it does a sudden backflip - the talons on its legs raking up along John Doe's sides as it spins through the air. Those fists do crash down, though, spiking the amphibioid foe straight into the ground, sending it bouncing and tumbling across the casino floor to land upside down on a blackjack table.

That spectacle might distract from the return of Monster #1 - descending back from the shadows above with its own talonous feet flexing in anticipation of raking down through the shugenja!

COMBATSYS: Homura manages a miraculous escape from Frog's Death From Above!

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Homura           1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0             Frog
[                          \\\\  < >  //////                        ]
John Doe         1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0             Toad

[HOMURA]
"Yeah! You tell 'im!"

Homura skids to a stop, after a few more spinning strokes are leapt over and the frog vanishes into the air. A few stuttered and skidding steps, and the shugenja is on his feet to cheer JD's performance on.

"Don't put up with their slimy hooliganism, they're not mindful at all-- ah! look out!"

Homura is shocked to see the frog getting even more rambunctious with JD than he was with him, clearly taken aback as he watches what would be a murder, if he weren't sure that it was almost impossible to kill a frank. "Use your toughness!" Homura calls out, dusting off his pants with his sword hand, o as to mind the energy still swirlimg and building in his other. "Their moves have so much priority, it's hard to survive..ano.."

"Well, I suppose it's fine."
The other one retreated, so, this one is already weakened, and it's just a matter of--!!

Homura is -cleanly- quadsected by amphibian talons in an instant as the supposed-to-be-chased-off frogoon drops onto the shugenja like a giant green meteor, webbed feet stomping in his robes and jacket as the boy is taken utterly, completely by surprise.

"...." A moment passes.

"Y~~ou-ouu~~ are SO lucky this isn't a Myo'o sit-si--si~~tuation."
The boy's katana lifts and settles on his shoulder, spine resting there. The no-goodnik frog's talons are currently buried somewhere between his sneakers and the floor, overlapping inexplicably with the boy's discrete space, leaving his voice to horribly flange and distort, harsh white noise bleaching out the warmth and continuity. The shugenja flickers, his afterimage stretched between one place and the next, blipping from being still harmlessly buffeted by frog talons and standing behind the offender in a far more physically rational location. It takes a bit of thinking and indecision for the boy to nail down his position anew, loosing himself of slimy tyranny before the hilt of the blade lowers, afolding the blade along his opposite forearm as a brace. "I guess this is kind of a telegraph," the boy thinks aloud, as moonsilver light begins to ignite and burn in his palm, a pale, fiery ball beginning to rival the small boy in size.

"I guess I'm just going to have to make it really, really big and mindful, ano.."

At that point, Homura blasts an entire bank of slot machines into molten slag trying to wipe a troublesome frog off the face of the earth. YEAH! It's the level 2 charge gear sutra!

[JOHN DOE]
There comes a time in every professional's life when they, struggle. Perhaps they have one two many cocktails before deciding to run over an ungrateful fan. Or maybe they do a little too much happy powder and try to rob a bank with a flip out comb.
John Doe is having one of those days.
"HHHHHHSSHHHHTHHTH!"
Long strips of the actor's skin come away with the toad's talons as it rakes deep furrows up his sides, yet more of the spiritual mojo that keeps him jiving flooding out into the cosmic ether. A lot of blood sprays too, but anyone who has met JD knows that he doesn't need blood to live, only vibes. And the vibes, well, they just aren't good...
Having devolved into an unreasoning killing machine that, to the shame of his team mate, has lost all sense of chill or mindfulness, JD remains laser focused on the one thing that can bring any joy or satisfaction into his life.
"MMmMMRRR....BrrrRRAAAAAYNES...!"
Leaving Frog and Friend to battle it out, the tattered heartthrob(?) remains hot on the non-existent tail of his toad. Surging forward through the dark, hair falling across his face and drool splattering from the shadow where his mouth should be, he lunges after the amphibioid and crashes chest-first into the already damaged table. Wood smashing to splinters, he ploughs right on through, fist swinging, and attempts to bash the monster again and again, pale knuckles aiming for skull, teeth, the sword wound in its front...But mostly the head as he batters, bashes, and smashes for all he's worth, attempting to drive the thing away into the darkness of stage left with him, or collapse into a tangled heap of limbs in the attempt.

COMBATSYS: John Doe can no longer fight.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Homura           0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Frog
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Frog interrupts Amaterasu Gear ZERO from Homura with Battle Hop EX.

[                            \\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Homura           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0             Frog
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0             Toad

COMBATSYS: Toad blocks John Doe's I Zombie.

[                            \\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Homura           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0             Frog
                                  >  ////                          ]
                                  |======-\-------\0             Toad

[LYRAELLE]
Much like the misadventures of Harold and Kumar going to White Castle, this late night snack trip for the hybrids has turned into something of an existential crisis, expressed through the increasingly agitated exchange of croaks between them.

MONSTER #2: Why were you doing all that gargling when I was the one who was choking on your claw?
MONSTER #1: That was just my ambient battle sound effects, dude. You know how it is when you're in the red. Why weren't you making any noise?
MONSTER #2: 'Cause I was choking on your claw.
MONSTER #1: So what's the problem, then?!
MONSTER #2: I DON'T KNOW! THIS GUY JUST TOTALLY GLITCHED OUT WHEN I MURDERED HIM AND REAPPEARED SOMEWHERE TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND NOW I'M QUESTIONING EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SCENARIO!
MONSTER #1: It's fine, guy! My guy won't die either! We'll just have to include it in the test summary report for the lab.
MONSTER #2: Man, you know they're just going to ignore it and open on schedule anyway.

Monster #2 turns to face Homura just in time to see a brilliant flash of moonlight turning the row of slots in front of him into metal mush, its eyes widening while its sclera shrink to pinpoints as it croaks in wonder.

MONSTER #2: The level two charge...?! NANI?!

In that moment, knowing its doom approaches, the frog monster feels something unlock deep inside itself. A legendary technique unseen amongst its kind in the entirety of its existence.

The EX Battle Hop.

*RIBBIT*

Like a bolt of lightning, Monster #2 passes straight through the deadly moonbeam, its open maw swallowing pure moon chi and causing it to swell with every inch that it travels. By the time that it crashes into Homura, the frogshark has inflated like a balloon - and with the collision, it releases that inhaled moonlight in a blinding flash before shooting away, as if someone had untied the balloon's twisty end. Somewhere in the darkness, there's a sound of crashing ceramic.

Meanwhile, Monster #1 has its arms thrown protectively over its head as it's being battered by the celebrity zombie.

MONSTER #1: Not my brains, dude!

By the time that John collapses, the beleaguered battletoad has curled itself into a protective ball of spines and claws and scales. One last blow sends it ping-ponging off of the slot machines in a deadly ball. It bounces again and again before it ends up spinning straight toward Homura for a coup de grace!

[HOMURA]
This was bad!

Of course, it takes the shugenja a moment to notice it, being at the center of an outwelling of pretty strong moonfire. For a second, a moment, he's pretty sure they've managed to scrape up the upper hand from them, with one of the bodacious bullfrogs disappearing beneath his blast, and the other one being used as a set of bongos. So, it was going all well and good. Right up until--!

"Battle Hop?! Th-that's a paragon move!!"

Homura is bleached white(r) by the flare of the slimy reprisal to his own attack, engulfed by moonfire by the rolling toad, whom hits him with -such- speed and tenacity that... really? The boy just tears in half like a paper doll. "Guh!!"

For most people, that might be the end of it, with the boy being torn to so much confetti by the swollen ball of fishphibian. But then, those people aren't used to the tenets of 'shugendo.'

"Ugh, whoooaaahh--~!" the upper half of Homura comments, gripping onto his sword and wrapped halfway around the frog as he bounces and spins about like an india rubber ball. Of course the boy has no real weight -- he may as well be a stray bit of silk fluttering in the breeze. A breeze, conveniently generated by the deflating galloon.

"Ugh--," the half-boy struggles. "It's not over yet...!" before charging up his internal sutra! Glowing, energy crackles across the boy as he tries to stab his sword into the deflating, spinning toad and hitch a ride the whole way, right up until he physically explodes in a blast of moonfire.

What was once a spinning, bouncing rubber ball has now effectively become a spinning, lopsided and bouncing explosive bomb.

Let's just hope that everybody's clear when it reaches ground zero.

COMBATSYS: Toad successfully hits Homura with Razor Spin.

[                                < >  ////////////                  ]
Homura           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0             Frog
                                  >  ////                          ]
                                  |=======\-------\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Homura can no longer fight.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                  |=====--\-------\0             Frog
                                  >  ////                          ]
                                  |=======\-------\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Homura successfully hits Frog with Gravity of Nagano.

                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=======\=------\1             Frog
                                  >  ////                          ]
                                  |=======\-------\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Toad interrupts Gravity of Nagano from Homura with Eviscerate.

                                  >  //////                        ]
                                  |=======\=------\1             Frog
                                  >  /                             ]
                                  |=======\====---\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Frog has left the fight here.

                                  >  /                             ]
                                  |=======\====---\1             Toad

COMBATSYS: Toad has ended the fight here.


[LYRAELLE]
It only takes half a shugenja to stab half of a frog.

That appears to be the moral of the story unfolding, and perhaps the only coherent piece of narrative to be followed during the ensuing events. The swollen monster goes blasting around the room as the sword stabs into it, releasing a spray of slime and blood along with the release of air. Meanwhile, the pinballing bundle of blades blossoms into a deadly pinwheel of... well... more blades as it flies into Homura with claws extended. Moonlight floods the room, and everything goes white.

Some time later, a vehicle can be heard pulling up outside, and a door thuds open, the casino's alarms already bypassed by the froglike intruders. An ultraviolet flashlight sweeps across the floor, revealing the battered but breathing bodies of the frogsharks and the apparently deceased body of John Doe. The flashlight's carrier holds up a small device as the frog-creatures stir and start to rise, and a croaking sound plays, followed by a high-pitched noise. The frogsharks blink their eyes, then start to hop away rapidly.

A second figure, much larger, steps forward, silhouetted by the flashlight's beam.

"Take him, Omega. Then back to the Jeep for evac. We need to get him to the lab."

The musclebound giant approaches John Doe, stoops down, and picks him up into a fireman's carry easily before turning around to its partner. Ultraviolet light glints off of a pair of dark sunglasses as a deep, resonant voice pierces the quiet.

"Sounds... funky."

The sound of glass quietly breaking in the distance can be heard as the frog monsters make a direct exit and the two figures march back out of the casino with their captive cadaver.

Log created on 05:11:49 08/17/2024 by Homura, and last modified on 09:04:07 09/10/2024.