SNF 2005.02 - Jacob and Mature vs Athena

Description: Mature and Jacob attempt to chip away at the Psycho Soldier's defenses, and Jacob manages to give her a few surprises before he goes down. (Winner: Athena)



Athena does 'the walk' up to the ring in her school uniform, smiling and waving to her numerous fans that have shown up. There are various signs for her... not that there's any dearth of interest in the other female duo. It's just more... subdued. There's a definite nip in the air, but the crowd seems to be bearing it with enthusiasm.

As she comes up onto the stone, she bows several times, in different directions, and calls out, "Thank you, everyone!", as she then relaxes finally, looking over to see the pair enter the ring.

A moment later Jacob enters the arena, strolling over toward the ring. He's never had a huge fan base, but there's still a fair number of people cheering as he comes in. Perhaps not as many as there might have been, if his last SNF had gone more smoothly. Beating on Megumi while she was lying on the ground didn't look very good, after all. Still, his image is not Jacob's greatest concern right now. He tries to hide it, but he's quite nervous about this fight. He's aware that Athena is an accomplished fighter, but he's more worried about his partner. He's heard that he's going to be fighting alongside Mature, and he still distinctly remembers what happened the last time he ran into her.

Not accompanying him, but comming through the same gate is Mature. She looks positively disgusted at her team mate. More so infact than she looks toward her opponent. Speaking of Mature, how she is dressed today might seem a little odd. That is to say, her hair instead of it's usual style is kept back, supported by a single red band across the middle (yep, like the one Athena sometimes wears). On her top she has a short sleeved white blouse with red trim, a sleeveless red vest and on the bottom she has a red skirt. The skirt length, diviating a bit from the person she's apparently trying to mimic her outfit off of is longer and more mature looking, rather than the shorter school girl style.
Virtually no one cheers for Mature as she comes out. Her reputation might bring some to admire her, but for the most part she's best known for some of the brutal acts of herself and Vice and therefore attracts few fans.

"Oy," Mature calls to Jacob, "I'm going to tell you this only once. Do what I say and we can win.. Disobey me and I'll be as far more a threat to you than our opponent!"

"Athena Asamiya! Pop star sensation and 'psycho soldier' of the King of Fighters tournament! Against! A mysterious duo, a woman known for brutaliy and a man you just shouldn't cross. Let's hear it for Mature and Jacob!" The crowd erupts, but the individual cheers are drowned into a single cacophony.

Athena blinks, looking to Mature, and says, "You?...", confusedly. "Aren't you a little old for that?", she says, giving a glance to Jacob, before then bowing with a bright smile. "Whatever. Let's have a good fight, okay?"

COMBATSYS: Jacob has started a fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Jacob            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Athena


COMBATSYS: Mature has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mature           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Athena
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Jacob returns Athena's bow with a slightly distracted nod. While he greatly dislikes the idea of having to bow to Mature's commands, he also knows that he's going to have to, for the time being. That doesn't mean he has to be graceful about it, however. He glares at Mature, then gestures towards Athena with a wave of his hand. "Fine, then. Feel free to lead the way." He doesn't take his eyes off of Athena for long, however. He turns back to watch her carefully, already looking for any possible weaknesses that might be exploited.

COMBATSYS: Jacob focuses on his next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mature           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Athena
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Tsch. "Just remeber to keep your distance from me at all times.. " Mature says toward Jacob and takes a position a ways off, trying to put Athena at the point of a triangle formed by the three of them. Then there is the response to Athena, to which Mature grins a bit.

"Well actually I'm dressed like this because when I heard who I would be fighting with.." She gestures to both Athena and Jacob, "I assumed it was a holloween match."
She doesn't move though.

COMBATSYS: Mature focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mature           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Athena
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Athena snaps her fingers, and steps back, her costume changing admist a bright shimmer, becoming her fighting costume. "Ah, I think you should take me a little more seriously...", she says, pointing to herself and sighing. "Well, one way to teach you... Psycho Ball!" Her hands quickly cross over, creating a burst of psychic energy and firing it off at Mature, the glowing ball streaking across the ring in an instant.

Jacob shrugs at Mature's response. "Well, fine then." He takes that moment to start keeping himself away from Mature, especially when he sees Athena's attack coming in. He may not like his partner, but he still wants to win the fight. He rushes toward Athena, taking care to give the Psycho Ball a wide margin, then ducks slightly as he comes in, lashing out with a punch toward her stomach. He then tries to spin around behind her, grab her by the shoulders, and hurl her forward and down toward the ground.

COMBATSYS: Mature blocks Athena's Psycho Ball.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Meanwhile the blond has a more direct approach, after having the attack sail into her crossed arms, and yes it hurt.. Rather unusual even, she goes right up in front of Athena.. But she keeps her distance.

"You know for such a bright and cheery girl you are very serious.. It makes you age faster you know." And then she tries to jab Athena in the mid section with her foot.

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Jacob's Bang and Burn.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Light Kick.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Athena hops up and over Jacob's swing, making a short jump to the side. But then suddenly faces Mature's leg, and in mid-jump, it's going to be hard for her to avoid... but with a call of "Teleporrrrt!", she vanishes before the leg strikes, leaving only an afterimage to take the blow. She reforms behind her opponents, quipping, "Worry about your own age, old - la - dy." And then she turns, lashing out with her leg in a quick spin kick aimed at Mature.

Jacob doesn't even look behind him as Athena reappears; the sound of her taunt is enough for him to get a good idea of her location. Thus he's hoping to surprise Athena as he suddenly hops backwards then spins around with a kick lashing out at the side of the girl's head. Instead of following through, however he suddenly slams his foot down on the ground, then pivots around in an attempt to drive his elbow into her chest.

COMBATSYS: Mature blocks Athena's Medium Kick.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


The blond seems to be fighting very conservatively for whatever reason. The kick comes in, and once again her arms come up to try catching it. It knocks her back a little, but there is a grin on her face. As she unwraps her arms, Mature grunts with excitement and attempts to close them around Athena's neck and then turn around, hurling her into the ground.

"Nice trick.. You may think I'm old.. But I'm still be-au-ty-ful."

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Jacob's Cipher.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Death Blow.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Athena leans back, literally falling backwards as she avoids one blow, and then catches herself with her hand, going into a roll as she evades the duo entirely. As she springs up to her feet, she then reverses her momentum entirely, dashing forward. Her speed is quick enough that she's practically blurred, and she throws out a elbow at Masure with a "Yaa!", as she skids to a halt.

Well, so far this doesn't seem to be going all that well, but Jacob isn't discouraged. He dashes around Athena, trying to keep her in between Mature and himself so that they won't get in each other's way. Since Athena seems to be focusing on Mature for the moment he tries to come up behind the singer, reaching out to grab one of her arms and twist it up behind her back, hopefully holding her still long enough for Mature to get a blow in.

COMBATSYS: Mature blocks Athena's Jab Punch.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Strangly, Mature doesn't seem to be too peturbed by all of this either. Her forearms? They have GOT to be starting to ache. Ugh. She is set back a little and staggers even though it's a weak blow. To herself you can almost hear her complaining about how much it's starting to sting.

"You know.. " Mature says to Athena, "I wonder how you fight in this.. No real wrist coverage.. I guess you don't tend to take much on the forearms though." The comment seems to be completely netrual and though she's been taking the brunt of the attacks, Mature doesn't look bothered. Not bothered at all. Strangly, she doesn't attack.

COMBATSYS: Mature takes a breather.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Athena blocks Jacob's Quick Throw.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-------|


Athena is grabbed, caught unaware. Her arm is twisted, but suddenly, there's a burst as she's rooted to the earth, her hair flying up as she breaks free of the throw. "Sorry about this...", she says more apologetically to Jacob, and then lashes out with her fist, doing a simple straight punch, leaning forward and fully extending her arm.

COMBATSYS: Jacob fails to counter Medium Punch from Athena with Black Bag Job.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/---====|


Jacob attempts to lean away from the blow, bending backwards as he starts bringing up his foot to lash out with a kick while Athena has her arm extended. Unfortunately he miscalculates and takes the blow on the chin, which in his current position is quite enough to knock him off balance, causing him to fall over on his back. He quickly hops back to his feet, but that brief moment of opportunity is gone now.

"You just keep her busy for a while Jacob.. we need to be ready for the long haul.. " And Mature makes a point of this, but not moving herself and continuning to catch her breath. Sort of in a partial crouch and, one knee bent and her hands folded over that knee.

COMBATSYS: Mature takes a breather.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Athena
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/---====|


Athena leans in on Jacob as she gets up, and then opens her palm wide, creating a large spark of psycho power. "Really, really sorry.", she says with a slight wince, and then calls out, "Psycho Sworrrrd!", and swings the spark at Jacob, leaping off the ground in an upward arc.

COMBATSYS: Jacob dodges Athena's Psycho Sword.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Athena
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/---====|


Jacob is on alert when he sees the spark forming in Athena's hand, and this gives him enough reaction time to dodge to one side as the spark comes slicing by him. Before Athena gets a chance to land from her jump into the air Jacob grabs for her ankle, trying to quickly pull her feet out from under her. There's not much force behind the attack itself, but hopefully it will make Athena's landing more painful than expected.

Mature meanwhile stays back, keeping her distance and instead studying the pair of them, not just Athena, but Jacob as well. . Almost as though his actions might have nearly the same amount of impact - while not exactly the same kind, that hers would have. Still her azure eyes focus, coldly.

COMBATSYS: Mature focuses on her next action.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Athena
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Athena blocks Jacob's Brush Pass.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Mature           0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Athena
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/---====|


Athena is caught, but her reaction time allows her to put a hand out between her and the ground, and she slams her palm down, using it to flip out of Jacob's grasp. With the rapid taptaptap of quick steps, she closes the distance again, bringing her knee up towards Jacob's gut. She stops short, however, dropping the feint, and then brings up her arm, trying to shoulder-ram Jacob as she moves in on his space. She brings up an arm to guard herself, her eyes turning to Mature even as she finishes the attack.

COMBATSYS: Jacob fails to counter Fierce Punch from Athena with Sabotage.

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


Again Jacob fails to read Athena's attack correctly, and whatever it was he was trying to do is cut short as Athena's shoulder plows into him, knocking him back several paces and out of range to immediately bring the fight back to Athena. He also shoots a glance in Mature's direction, wondering when she's going to come back to help him out. Not that she's terribly upset at seeing him get knocked around though, he's sure.

"Rest up a moment Jacob!" Mature exclaims and then flings her arms through the air, causing trails of Chi energy to follow her fingers nails. The chi forms into a cresent moon which slices through the air like a knife and she sends it whistling toward Athena.

"This should keep her busy for a moment."

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Ebony Tears.

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


The burst of chi wisks towards Athena, and suddenly, she's up in the air, high above it. Diving towards Mature, she turns in midair, falling down to try the 'psycho bomb', as it's been termed by fans. In other words, landing posterior-first on her opponent, and bouncing off them. A fanservice favorite.

Well, if Mature is going to offer Jacob the opportunity to catch his breath then he's going to take it. He's already made a few painful mistakes so far, and while Mature distracts Athena he can hopefully take a moment to rest and come up with a new strategy. He gets down on one knee for the best combination of resting and still being able to react if Athena's attention suddenly swings back his way.

COMBATSYS: Jacob takes a breather.

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


COMBATSYS: Mature endures Athena's Light Kick.

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


As the girl comes sailing down on Mature, she watches and even moves to meet her impending attack. She even has a mantra prepared for Athena as she reaches out with her arms. The kick lands and seems to hurt her, but the momentum she's gathered blasts right through the kick and her fingers continue to reach for the girls neck.

"Get hit damn you.." Mature exclaims while trying to grab Athena and if she can, turn around and slam her rather hard on the ground.

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Death Blow.

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


Athena twists as she lands, spinning once as she slips out of Mature's grasp. "Sorry, but... your attacks look like they really hurt!", she says sincerely, and then drops, falling over. Catching herself on her hands, she does a ground-level drop kick, lashing out at Mature's legs.

Jacob has no problem whatsoever with letting Mature deal with Athena for a little while longer. In fact, it's still a bit of a toss-up between whether he'd rather win this fight or see Mature go down. Achieving both would, of course, be the best, but that's probably not too likely. He still doesn't have a good plan for how to deal with Athena. She's really fast, and he imagines that her pyscho power hurts quite a bit. He continues to watch for a weakness as he gathers his strength, slowly getting back to his feet.

COMBATSYS: Jacob takes a breather.

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


COMBATSYS: Mature blocks Athena's Medium Kick.

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


Meeting the attack head on, Mature responds with a sweet smile, "Nah.. I'm actually much better at chipping away at things.. But.. Well maybe they'd hurt YOU.. " And with that Mature bends back and picks off one of her shoes.. It comes off surprisingly well, suggesting she was planning this from the get go..

"Sorry if this smells a bit, I didn't have clothes this ridiuclous, so I had to steal some from Vice' wardrobe." And she hurls the shoe.

COMBATSYS: Athena overcomes Thrown Object from Mature with Psycho Ball.

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


Athena looks incredulous at the shoe coming at her, giving it a dumbfounded look - and then an annoyed one. She then calls out "Psycho Ball!", sending off her own burst of power with crossed arms. The ball and the shoe intersect, and the shoe is pretty much blown aside and apart, the ball continuing on its rapid path towards the older fighter.

Back on his feet, Jacob is watching Athena closely. The best plan he's been able to come up with is to observe her and hope that he can take advantage of any slight missteps or other openings that she might happen to provide. It's not the best of plans, but the situation doesn't give Jacob much else to work with.

COMBATSYS: Jacob focuses on his next action.

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


COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Mature with Psycho Ball.

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


Oddly enough as Mature watches the energy ball come she doesn't look that surprised. Suffice to say she should of expected something like that and when the shoe is destroyed she sort of smirks and shrugs. The ball hits her and knocks her back quite a bit. She then sits down on the ground and says, "This is a waste of time."

COMBATSYS: Mature takes a breather.

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


Athena looks over to Jacob as Mature seems to try and sit things out. Trying to catch Jacob off guard, then, she calls out, "Teleporrrrrt!", before them reappearing in midair off to his side, and then lashes out with a airborne high kick and a "Yaa!"

COMBATSYS: Jacob counters Medium Kick from Athena with Restricted Area.

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


It's a good thing Jacob was watching Athena carefully, or the teleport really would have caught him off guard. As it is, he manages to catch Athena's leg in one hand as it comes down, and tugs down hard, while at the same time leaning over so that he can launch his own kick straight up to meet her during her descent. He slams his foot into her chin, then quickly hops away to regain his balance.

Mature watches Jacob with idle interest. Not that she particularly wants to see him get beaten, nor does she care if he doesn't, but more along the lines of disinterest etched into her face. If anything she seems to be almost amused at the effort being put into this fight. She doesn't seem intersted in exerting much of her own.

COMBATSYS: Mature takes a breather.

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


Athena is slammed and caught, finally, rolling to the side before getting back to her feet. Raising her light fingers to wipe her chin, she says with an odd cheer, "Good hit!" She then dashes forward to do a more conventional attack on Jacob, bringing up her elbow again before then following through with her arm, delivering an open-palm slap towards his face.

COMBATSYS: Jacob fails to counter Medium Punch from Athena with Black Bag Job.

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


And it looks like Athena is back to being just too fast for Jacob to keep up with her. He can see the blows coming in, but he simply can't react quickly enough to achieve the perfect timing required to counter them. Athena's hand slaps across his face with a loud smack, sending him staggering slightly to the side. He steadies himself as soon as he can and turns back to face her. For what it's worth, he still seems to be in pretty good shape, although he now has a large red mark on the side of his face, and his jaw looks a bit bruised from earlier.

Mature continues to watch, not having the eunthusiam she usually has, but rather a general sense of apathy. Or at least so it seems. Her eyes are a little too focused to say she's completely given up. Perhaps it's an act, a clever one perhaps in that it has scored her some breathing room from the impossibly fast school girl. And Mature knew all too well they hadn't even reached her most awsome powers. This was just a warmup for their opponent.

COMBATSYS: Mature focuses on her next action.

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


"Haaa.... Yaaa!", comes the cry from Athena, as she jumps up and towards Jacob. She then drop-kicks out in a flash... with the surreal bit being that it looks for a moment almost like she might be lying down for a photo shoot. But then, inspirations for moves come from strange places... and she's inclined to keep up the pressure, given the recovery she's been letting her opponents take. But that's Athena for you - 'soft' to a fault.

COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Jacob with Strong Kick.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


Athena's unorthodox move manages to catch Jacob by surprise, and he takes two feet directly to the chest, giving a brief grunt of pain from the impact. He staggers back slightly, giving Athena a chance to land without interruption, but he quickly comes back, grabbing for the singer's shoulders as he attempts to drive his knee into her stomach. He then tries to swing around behind her, keeping a grip on one of her shoulders. He winces a bit while doing so; it looks like that hit to the chest was pretty painful. Regardless of that he attempts to put a hand between her shoulderblades, then use that and his grip on her shoulder to slam her down against the stone floor.

"Focus. . Jacob.. Our only chance.. And it doesn't matter if she HEARS me say this.. " Mature says, but she doesn't stay out of it this time.. She moves her arms around and flings another crescent of chi from the cutting edge of her nails toward Athena. "I've never fought anyone.. better than you." Mature hisses toward Athena.

COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Jacob's Bang and Burn.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Ebony Tears.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


Athena lands, and catching the blast in the corner of her eye, Athena gives her now familiar, "Teleport!", call, focusing her psycho power into being /elsewhere/. The hand and chi strike nothing but the faint residue of psycho power, and Athena reappears in front of Mature, hands above her head. She then lashes out with a quick straight kick, visible but nothing more than a moment.

Jacob mutters a short curse under his breath as Athena is suddenly no longer there when he goes to attack her, but he quickly regains his composure. If she's leaving him alone for the time being that gives him a chance to calm down, steady himself, and keep on eye on her. Then if she turns back to him, or he spots a moment of opportunity he'll be ready to act, and hopefully manage to get a good blow in.

COMBATSYS: Jacob focuses on his next action.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Mature blocks Athena's Light Kick.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


Once again Mature raises her arms and crosses them to catch the foot. A faint smirk curlnig her lips. Her heels dig into the ground and she draws a breath, ready to let out an assault.

"Okay, listen here missy, you're worthless, lower than worthless, you are the most pathetic warrior ever.. Can you HIT ME with ANYTHING? Give me your best bloody shot you worthless witch of a child, bring it on and show yourself for being anything but a worthless pathetic girl who runs away.. Or .. perhaps I'll find your friends and use them as YOUR weakneass.. Come on, HIT ME!" Mature exclaims at Athena and spits toward the girl.

COMBATSYS: Mature focuses on her next action.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Mature           1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1           Athena
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|


Athena looks at Mature. "Um...", she says, seeming a little weirded out. She hops back, turning around once to evade the spit, and then sighs, looking sad. The sadness is replaced with a hardness in her eyes, and she gathers up power in her hands - like a psycho ball, but bigger and crackly. With a thrust of her palms she launches it at the moment with a "Psycho Shooooot!", as the recoil sends her flying back, skidding on her heels. The stone ripples and cracks in the wake of the projectile, apparently being damaged by mere proximity...

Jacob is already moving toward Athena when the projectile launches, and though the cracking of the stone is somewhat unsettling he doesn't let it slow him down. He comes in from the side, leaping toward Athena when he gets close. He lands on his hands right in front of her and then suddenly springs up, launching both feet toward the singer's jaw. Whether or not it connects he then intends to push off the ground with his hands to hop back to his feet, being sure not to leave a clear path between Mature and Athena.

COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Mature with Psycho Shoot.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Mature           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1           Athena
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-----==|


Though she tries to dodge, Mature fails and fails miserably. The attack hits her and sends her flying back a ways, hitting the ground and skidding a bit before she finally comes to a stop. "Tsch", groans Mature as she picks herself up with some effort, her eyes following the woman.

COMBATSYS: Mature focuses on her next action.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Mature           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1           Athena
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Jacob's Restricted Area.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Mature           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1           Athena
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-----==|


Athena looks to Jacob, and then leaps away, continuing to avoid the combined assault. She then tucks into a curl, and starts to glow with power. She then veers off in an entirely different direction, headed at Mature as she tries to roll into her, calling out, "Phoenix..." As she hits the ground, she plants on one hand, kicking out at the woman. "... Arrow!"

Jacob charges in after Athena as she launches herself at Mature. He has no intention of saving the blonde woman, but he's got to take the opportunity of attacking Athena while her back is to him, for all the good it may do him if she notices him in time to teleport away. He goes low as he comes in, reaching Athena as she lashes out with her kick. He grabs for the wrist of the hand she's supporting herself on, trying to remove her contact with the ground, then pull up to send her spinning down into the arena floor.

COMBATSYS: Mature endures Athena's Phoenix Arrow.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Mature           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1           Athena
[                        \\\\\\  <
Jacob            0/-------/-----==|


Mature makes no attempt to dodge the attack, instead she charges THROUGH it, attempting to grab Athena on her way by, outstretching her arm. Should she succeed, she would drag Athena toward the edge of the arena and hurl her into the ground where a stream of Orochi energy awaits.

COMBATSYS: Mature can no longer fight.

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


COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Mature's Heaven's Gates.

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


COMBATSYS: Jacob successfully hits Athena with Brush Pass.

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


There's a crossover as Athena and Mature charge towards each other, and a bright flash of chi and psi... when it's all said and done, Mature falls, battered by the assault... while Athena remains standing. She seems relieved, but leaves her guard down just long enough for Jacob to flip her over, slamming her to the floor. She gets back up, and says, "Please, just... back down, okay? There's no need for me to hurt you any more." Her guard loosens, as she apparently just waits to see what Jacob's going to do next.

COMBATSYS: Athena takes no action.

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


Jacob slowly straightens up, brushing down his suit. He doesn't give an immediate response to Athena, instead looking over to where Mature has fallen on the arena floor. There's a bright spot in this fight, at least. After another moment of adjusting his suit, smoothing it out as much as possible given the circumstances, he looks back to Athena. "...Thanks for your concern, but this is a fight. Though it's somewhat painful to admit, I'm well aware that you're stronger than me, but I'm not going to back down. It's just incentive to train harder before I face you again. So come on, give me your best shot. Because I'm certainly not going to hold back." With that said he settles into a defensive position, watching her carefully. He *might* be able to get one more shot in, and he hopes that he can make it a good one, even if he doesn't have a chance of winning.

COMBATSYS: Jacob focuses on his next action.

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


Athena bites her lip. She still has enough power that laying down the smite is an easy option. But going for overkill just isn't her thing, save in desperation. She returns to her stance, and adds, "Well, get ready, because here I come!" Suddenly, she blurs, moving into Jacob's space, and brings her knee up, jumping into a knee strike before following up with her opposite leg. While it's a simple one-two strike, it's executed with blinding speed.

COMBATSYS: Jacob counters Renkantai from Athena with Sabotage.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

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


Jacob certainly wasn't kidding when he says he wasn't going to hold back. He's starting to get used to Athena's speed, for all the good it will do him at this late stage of the battle. Still, for the moment it works in his favor. His hand darts out as he knee comes up, catching the attack and stopping her leg from rising any further. Before she can recover enough to launch the follow up kick he spins around, putting his back to her as he drives his elbow hard into her solar plexus. He then turns around again to face her, getting ready to react to whatever she comes out with next.

Athena stumbles, her momentum slowed by the attack. It's surprising she doesn't crumple, however. While striking out may not be possible with the stun she's feeling, she has other options. With motes of psycho energy shimmering about her arm, she tries to nab Jacob telekinetically - and fling him over her head in a smooth, effortless motion of her hand.

COMBATSYS: Jacob counters Psi-Throw from Athena with Brush Pass.

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


Jacob isn't familiar with this particular attack, so he has no idea just what Athena is intending to do, but he does see her arm coming up with psycho energy around it. His assumption is that she's going to shoot something at him, and he doesn't intend to give her the opportunity. Her snares her arm as it comes up, then ducks down to press his shoulder against her chest. The impact isn't really enough to do any damage, but what it does do is give him enough leverage to heave her up into the air, then toss her over his shoulder and down onto the floor. He turns around to follow her descent, but not as quickly as he'd like; he's breathing very heavily now. Between the attacks he's taken and everything he's been throwing at Athena it looks like he's really worn out.

Athena is slammed down, and rolls away, getting to her feet. She's actually looking fairly worn herself, but far from down or out. She smiles, and says, "Good hit!", with cheer, before saying, "But...", letting her words trail off. She dashes once more, and then quickly hops to the side as she approaches Jacob. In midair, she lashes out with a spin kick, rotating about to try and hit the ground facing him.

COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Jacob with Medium Kick.

[                                < >  ////////////                  ]
Jacob            1/-----==/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Athena


Jacob tenses up, getting ready to dodge as Athena comes in, but first he has to see which direction the attack is coming from... He does get to see where the attack is coming from, but it's too late to do any good. He tries to step out of the way, but still takes a kick across the chest, knocking him off his feet. He falls on his back on the arena floor, and for a moment or two tries to get back to his feet. However, it quickly becomes apparent to both him and everybody watching that he's not going to be able to get back up. With a long exhalation of breath he just stops trying, and instead stays there, looking up at the ceiling.

COMBATSYS: Jacob takes no action.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Athena


COMBATSYS: Jacob can no longer fight.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Athena


"And the winner is Athena!", calls the announcer, going into announcer-babble shortly thereafter. Athena waves to the crowd, trying to hide the bruising she's taken, and gives several bows before starting to make her exit. Even with healing, the exhaustion will require a good, long period of collapse.

Eventually Jacob manages to drag himself up into a sitting position. He stares at Mature for a good long time, but in the end decides not to do anything. There's too many people around for him to do anything here, and he doubts that he's in any shape to try carrying her somewhere, so he'll just let the medical people deal with her. For himself, it doesn't feel like anything's broken, and he's not bleeding, so some rest should take care of him. With that in mind he slowly shuffles off toward the exit.

Log created by The smoking crater named Jacob Reaves, and last modified on 19:59:33 05/03/2005.