SNF 2005.08 - Zero vs Momo/Gabriel/Eagle

Description: A debut match for both Eagle and Momo. Between the durability of his armored suit and his ability to unleash powers beyond the ken of most men, Zero shows some serious staying power against his three opponents until, somehow, a chink in his armor is finally found. (Winner: Momo/Gabriel/Eagle)



"Good evening, fight fans, and welcome to Saturday Night Fight: LIVE! I'm Johnny Diamond!"

"And I'm Nick Gomez! Tonight, it's a real battle of the bizzare! We're looking at perhaps the strangest bunch of fighters ever to come out of fighterdom! The Dark Horse Zero, two schoolgirls, and Eagle, the man who made 'style' and 'combat' words you could use in a sentence again!"

"Ha ha! Right you are, Nick! Along with 'color coordination', 'pastels', and 'Christopher Lowell'! But anyhow, let's take a look a look at our fighters. Eagle of course, is a long time veteran of his combat class. Win, or lose, he's always a great fighter, and a great sport. An accomplish stick fighter, I hear he also has a job working as a bouncer at the Duck Pond."

"Right you are, Johnny, but the real fans are out here in force for the tiny twosome. Momo's a relative newcomer, but she's got a lot of fans here in Japan. Looks like that lolicon in a lot of businessmen are really rearing some ugly heads, and that Gabriel Gal has been getting a lot of fans, too. Between her wacky religious style, and that crazy tennis racket swinging, schoolgirl fans are in heaven tonight!"

"No kidding, Nick! But let's not forget that dark horse. This 'Zero' guy came out of nowhere a while ago to nearly but the kibosh on Metro City's Beeftastic Beefmonster, Mike Haggar. No mean feat. If it wasn't for a strategic shot, Zero coudl ahve taken that match just as well as Haggar!"

"Seriously! But it looks like our fighters are getting ready an they're erady to start the match. By the way, we're being brought to you tonight by Big Bull beer. Remember, if it's 'Big Bull', then it's just bull crap."

Ref Lane Mills has seen enough of of these to know that these sort of bouts are always messy. Eyeing the combatants, he strides out into the ring, and calls out. "Alright! You know the rules! Anything goes! Kill, maim, destroy, whatever. I don't even know why I'm here. I could be at home watching TV with a bowl of pork rinds." He eyes the parties, especially Zero, who is wearing a dark, black suit, sunglasses, and those same odd whip-chain weapons he's testing out for Igniz. Something about that weirdo gives him the willies. Anyhow. "Let's get it on!"

COMBATSYS: Zero has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Zero             0/-------/-------|


Momo blinks slightly as the presenters ramble on... wow, this was all really happening! She was really in SNF! How exciting! And with her /and/ Gabriel /and/ Eagle against this one fighter, how could they possibly lose!? The little schoolgirl is practically bursting with excitement- far bouncier than even her usual, bubbly self. And as she and Gabriel approach the ring, walking up together, in unison, it quickly becomes obvious that the pair have been getting to know each other a bit better before the match.
Momo is dressed in her usual uniform- all white and red, from the bands keeping her two long, black pigtails in check, right down to her stockings and trainers, every part of her outfit is that same red and white, she looks rather like one of the lollypops that little kids enjoy so much- and hey, she is definitely sweet enough. However, it probably wouldn't be smart to make any sucker comment to her face. Especially since she is wielding a brand new, shiny pink tennis racket with those wicked reinforcement-bolts shined to perfection. She meant business, that much was for sure.

In contrast to Momo, Gabriel is a placid foil for the hyper girl. She is dressed in black, a traditional Chinese top with gold trip. On her legs she wears a pair of seemingly spandex shorts, great for moving in with knee high boots. Her hair has a black ribbon woven into the braid which all and all doesn't make her look like much a crusader of light. Only the gold goddess pendant around her neck and the holy book in her hand seems to indicate anything but sinister intent. Following along Momo, and it isn't easy, considering Momo's rather erratic excited bubbly bouncing, Kai is much less confident of their chances.

After so many times being the test subject for these new SNF matches, she eyes Zero with a sort of suspicion, like, is any of this for real or not? Probably a monster in disguise. Moving into the ring she starts to consider everything she can about it before murmuring to Momo,
"Remember what we discussed Momo-san.." Eagle meanwhile is only given a cursory nod. Maybe with Momo and Gabriel working together and Eagle being seemingly random, they might have a chance..

COMBATSYS: Gabriel has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Gabriel          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Zero


COMBATSYS: Gabriel focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Gabriel          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Zero


COMBATSYS: Momo has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Gabriel          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Zero
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Momo             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Momo focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Gabriel          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Zero
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Momo             0/-------/-------|


Although Eagle has allowed his skills to lapse to some degree since his world debut in the World Warrior tournament, generally fighting opponents in England who were beneath his skills, that doesn't mean his mind is any less sharp. The fact that three people are being set against one indicates quite a bit about the lone contender. And those weapons that are being wielder by Zero look a bit nasty... But no matter! What's a little pain, for the sake of putting on a performance?
Eagle strolls out into the area sectioned off for the fight, escrima sticks in hand. Standing by his two partners for the match, he twirls one of the in his fingers, hardly seeming to even pay attention to it as it blurs through the air. Momo he's seen fight first hand, and he has to imagine that Gabriel is capable. Sadly, it's hard to choreograph well with multiple fighters when you haven't had a chance to practice in advance, but he'll do what he can. He smiles at the girls, then looks to Zero, the spinning stick coming to a dead stop as he snaps his arm out, pointing the weapon at Zero with a grin. "Shall we dance?"

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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Eagle            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Gabriel
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Eagle focuses on his next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Eagle            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Gabriel
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Momo


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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Eagle            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Gabriel
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Momo


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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Gabriel          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Gabriel has left the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Momo             0/-------/-------|


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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Momo             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Gabriel


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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Gabriel focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Momo focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zero             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Interesting matchup. The NESTS commander's eyes are hidden from view behind dark glasses. ot because of any sense of style... but because he's trying out new weapons and software. Nothing more, nothing less. The suit seems to just fit him, making him look that much more sinister. If nothing else, he would be generic lackey #145 if not for two things: he's huge, outmassing even Eagle by almost thirty pounds, and this odd weapons he clutches around his wrists. Zero didn't have an emotional range that really reached 'hate' if he wasn't really trying for it. More like a deep dislike. ut if hate was a word the man threw around casually? He's say he hated the chainblades with a passion.
Nevertheless, it's prudent to use them, and he looks over his targets carefully. Eyes glance over the young women and then the man. The challenge is heard, and processed, the grim, darkly tanned face doesn't so much as twitch. The iron expression merely seems to give pause a moment, as his brain settles on a target.
A target named 'Eagle'.
Evaluated as the most powerful combatant, the prudent action would be to kill... pardon... incapacitate him first. Without so much as a word when the signal is given, he's off, charging down the ring, and with the soft hiss of sharpened chains flying about the ring, he immediately tries to lay into Eagle with an attack designed to make an opening statement about exactly how serious he is about defeating the trio. The cutting edge moves in to rip Eagle apart, slashing from upper thigh across the body to the face.

Momo blinks slightly, watching the sinister man lash out with the bladed edge... well, if she had learnt one thing, it was that Eagle could more than look after himself, she had her strategy, best to use it, and if the enemy didn't want to waste time with pre-match banter? Well... neither would she.
She darts into the best position, taking up position far away from Eagle from Eagle- and thus doing her bit to spread the match out over a wider area, meaning that if Zero wanted to attack her, it would hopefully mean he would have to extend himself further. A tennis ball is produced from somewhere about her person and, with all her might, she slams the attack home, aiming for the side of the enemies skull... a powerful opening volley.

Meanwhile Gabriel moves in, darting around to avoid getting hit by Momo's ball and leaping into the air in an attempt to land on Zero's head and shoulders. She tries to perch herself with her knees on either side, hoping to land just after the ball makes it's mark (hopefully).

If she gets that far, she'll charge up purple energy in her hand to thrust into Zero's face from behind like a first full of hot peppers, only like on fire or something.. Okay forget the peppers more like pepper spray! Yah. If she gets that far it will end with a kick flip off of his back to land hopefully looking cool, on the ground with a grunt of ,
"Hah!"

COMBATSYS: Eagle counters Shouha from Zero with Canterbury Blue.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


After issuing his challenge, Eagle begins spinning his baton again, watching Zero carefully. And it pays off, as he notices the NESTS executive's choice of target. The bouncer makes no effort to get out of the way, just waiting as his opponent charges in, although he does draw back the arm holding the spinning stick. "Well now, don't you look serious? But..." And then as Zero begins to whip the chains around, Eagle lunges forward, snapping his stick out and plunging the end into Zero's chest, slipping in between the painful looking chains. "...Don't forget that we've got an audience! Don't want to disappoint them."

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Gabriel's Serpent Snare.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Momo's Whale Serve.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Again. The hated chainblades fail him. He prefers his signature battle suit. But intelligence demands that he cannot wear them to these bouts. His targeting computer is still unable to really counter for these odd data and strange information sets he gets. Too much random accounting to do. Not enough soild mass. Still, despite weathering everything tossed at him, he doesn't look too poorly off. Stepping back, he eyes Eagle, and then refocuses his attentions.
Adjustments need to be made.
Swivelling about, his motion suddenly snaps into an about face. Boos, or jeers notwithstanding, the large NESTS executive bears down on Momo like a freight train, this time going in for a sharp, focused attack, rather than the heavily damaging assault as before. The chainblades whip out towards her, attempting to tear her apart, which hopefully will give the three something to think about should it hit.

COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Momo with Ouga.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


Momo blinks slightly, obviously shocked at the sudden change in tactic, the chains whip forward, and, despite her very best efforts to throw herself out of harms way, she is severely hurt- they lash out, slashing across her body painfully, they shred through her clothing and leave her with two nasty looking scratches right across her belly, she lets out a cry of agony at the red-hot pain that sears across her stomach, but the attack isn't quite done- its sheer force throwing the unfortunate schoolgirl back to land painfully, emitting only a little yelp of pain as she lands.
Momo pulls herself back up, obviously severely injured, she couldn't believe how much that had hurt! Small tears are in her eyes, she looks frantically to her allies for help. "Guys... a little help here?" She asks, bringing her racket up between her and Zero, backing away as quickly as she can. Her eyes remain locked on her opponent... she wouldn't make that mistake again, she had to be ready next time!

COMBATSYS: Momo focuses on her next action.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////////  ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


Kai Gabriel to the rescue! She notes Zero's sudden change and wonders if he is testing them each in turn. She'll give him a bit of a test in that regard. She starts to circle toward Momo, looking to position herself in a way to guard her, but along the way trying to get Zero's attention. She hurls her holy book at his head.

"Oy! Over here, The merciful Mother does not forgive villainy, you must REPENT!"

By no small accident, the word 'repent' is put along with the hurling of the book, as if maybe nailing Zero in the mask with it would make him more likely to actually take her word and repent for his ill deeds!

Eagle makes a 'tsk' noise under his breath as Momo gets slashed up. Cutting weapons are fair and all, but it seems rather poor sportsmanship to slice up a young girl like that. Of course, 'sportsmanship' isn't something that's a great concern for quite a few fighters. Pity, that.
He raises an eyebrow a bit at Gabriel's exclamation, but no matter. At least she has spirit! When the book goes flying, Eagle moves in shortly afterwards, rushing toward Zero. As soon as he gets close to the man he comes to a dead stop, arms snapping out to his sides with sticks extended. Kicking off of one foot he begins to spin around, with the intention of slamming his weapons repeatedly into Zero's head.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel successfully hits Zero with Thrown Object.
- Power hit! -

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


COMBATSYS: Eagle successfully hits Zero with Manchester Black.
- Power hit! -

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Zero             0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


Nothing seems to deter Zero from his target.
Despite getting hit in the head repeatedly, the powerful blows seem to have no effect on the NESTS agent's grim resolve. All it serves to do is shake the HUD display a little as be bears down on Momo again. Heavy footsteps seem to echo towards the young girl as he seems all but hell bent on tearing the kid apart. He's not faring too well again. The fact remains, though, that he's not out yet as he gears up his generators to start preparing himself for things to come.
This time, the chains whip out again, wrapping towards Momo's small body, writhing about like snakes. Should they manage to constrict around her, they'll rest loosely, only to have Zero rip them away from her body, the chains ripping and tearing into her like a chainsaw, with enough force to saw a lamp post in half.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel blocks Zero's Shouha.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Zero             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////      ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


True to her word, Gabriel rushes in to shoulder Momo out of the way of the attack, taking her place and since the girl is so small and not even trying to defend from Gabriel attacks, sending her rolling. That was for yesterday, little brat. But then Gabriel has this incoming attack to deal with and no where to go . . .

She raises her arms and gets torn to shreds anyway. Someone nailing her head on could hope to do that much damage. . At least someone in her league. She cries out with pain and starts to sink down a little, looking dazed, stunned and otherwise bloody from head to toe with scratches. That was.. unpleasant.. to say the least.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel takes no action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Zero             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////      ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\1             Momo


Momo grits her teeth, narrowing her eyes, she prepares to try and dive out of the way of the attack, when suddenly she is thrown to the side by anyway by a sudden, heavy impact. She rolls to her feet quickly, not dwelling on the slight bruise, hah! This was serious combat, she was focused, ready, and she certainly wasn't willing to lose this fantastic opportunity, after all, Zero wasn't expecting an attack from the side, not now, and not from her!
Momo charges forward as fast as she possibly can, swinging her racket round in a low, sweeping arch, she packs every ounce of strength she can muster into the blow, if it should hit, the intention is to throw her opponent into the air with it, if this succeeds, Momo leaps into the air after Zero, bringing her racket around again in a vicious overhead slam, packing as much whallop into the blow as she can muster with a loud cry of "WHAM! SLAM!"

And as Momo is attempting to knock Zero into the air, Eagle is coming in from the man's other side. Nothing wrong with teamwork, after all. Two fighters working together can pull off some amazing feats that one working alone might have trouble with. While Momo is trying to knock Zero into the air, Eagle leaps up himself, flying up with remarkable grace for somebody of his build. If Momo succeeds in launching the NESTS executive into the air, Eagle will join her with an overhand smash of his own, both of them driving Zero full force into the ground. And even if that should fail to happen, perhaps Eagle will still be able to bring his stick down painfully on the top of Zero's head.

COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Momo's Wham Slam.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////      ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Eagle's Liverpool White.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////////      ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Warning flares go off in Zero's head. Heat signatures flare up behind him, and sensors go off as proximity warning detect two heavy incoming physical assaults. Having had quite enough of getting battered around, his onboard computers select a select mix of chemical cocktails to pump into his system, and suddenly, he's jinking hard right, hitting the ground with a heavy thud, and rolling out of the way. It's not exactly graceful. Just sharp, quick, and effcient as he snaps back to his feet. With Gabriel weakened by his heavy blow, he returns to the fray, attempting to finish Gabriel off for her self sacrifice. Instead of sheer brute force, however, he tries something a little different.
Whipping his hand around, the cable seems to roll in a lazy wave, cascading forward towards the little girl. it looks slow and languide, but if it hits, the cable takes on a life of it's own, rolling and shredding across the girl, giving her an extraordinarily painful roller coaster ride along the sharpened edges.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel interrupts Satsuma from Zero with Serpent Strangle.
- Power hit! -

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Snap.. Back to, Kai doesn't take even a moment after the initial stun of waiting around. Her eyes, dark green orbs blaze and she stands up, then starts to run. . When the cable makes it's way to her she leaps onto it, slicing herself up from it's lick of pain and sharp pokey-ness. Another jump and she is perched with her knees on Zero's shoulders, squeezing at his head, choking as best she can with her thighs (get your mind out of the gutter, Vice does it all the time). And then with a lurch, throws her weight, all of it, toward the ground to flip Zero and plant his head there.

With a satisfied "Ya-ay!" she rolls to her feet and shakes a fist in the air.
"Hey, I will not be defeated that easily."

Momo smiles happily, but it wasn't time to go cheering /just/ yet, there was still a long way to go, she really doubted that Zero would be down and out that easily, anybody who can hit her as hard as he did could obviously take a bigger beating than that. For a moment she is tempted to run in and add her racket to the mix, but then she remembers everything she and Gabriel talked about, and nods solemnly to herself.
She licks her lips, this was a perfect opportunity, "Back of the court..." she mutters, mostly to herself, and suddenly another tennis ball is shooting towards Zero's skull, her pinpoint accuracy displayed to its finest as she shoots off another serve- hoping for a more impressive hit than last time.

And it seems that the two schoolgirls are getting slashed up quite a bit by this imposing man in black. Well now, that's no good, is it? Doesn't look very good to have Eagle still unharmed while the girls are taking a beating. "Hey now, why don't you give the little ladies a rest, hm?" The bouncer still seems to be in good humor though, as he flashes Zero a grin to go along with his statement. Even if the NESTS commander doesn't seem to return the cheerfulness.
Eagle lashes out with his right arm, sticking swinging toward Zero's face, but it's only a feint; it's a good several inches off from actually hitting. No, the real attack comes in the form of a jab with the stick in Eagle's left hand, aiming to drive into Zero's ribs just beneath his arm.

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Weapon Jab.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Zero with Whale Serve.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


A death by a thousand paper cuts. Each individual hit didn't seem to be doing a whole lot, but they're starting the definitely add up. Purple chi starts to rise from his body, growing in power as it seems to seep from the shadows, writhing about him as if sensing his intentions. Soon, the otherworldly thirst would be slaked. But right now? Not much could be done. There wasn't enough power. Not yet. The hits continue to buffet against his armored form, bouncing off his body and against reinforced skin and subdermal plating. It's starting to slow him down, however, and because of that, his reaction times seem a little slower. A side effect from the internal administration of combat drugs.
Still, regardless, he wasn't on a defensive posture, even as the ball cracks off his forehead, shaking his vision slightly. With another vicious ripcording attack, he seems to utterly ignore Eagle for the time being. The man would get his soon enough, as would the rest. The dark purple glow eminating from behind the sunglasses would be indicative enough of that. It's not often that he has such a gradual buildup of power... but each attack isn't enough to rile the forces that be to coming forth. The slicing blades tear towards Momo at an an astonishingly disturbing rate, attempting to finish the girl off in a short stroke.

COMBATSYS: Momo dodges Zero's Hankyou.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ////////////////////          ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Well there is no saving Momo to be done this time, Kai Gabriel is just not in position. When Zero starts to move away, she tries to get his attention, but hey, ignoring Zero why would he pay her any attention.

"Hey! Over here! You big over grown metal head!"
She waves her arms over her head and hops up and down and then finally just gives up. Glowering. "Good luck Momo-san," she murmurs to herself and watches Zero carefully, calculating.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel focuses on her next action.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


Momo licks her lips, readying herself as Zero turns to her, she had been ready for this- the strength she packed behind those serves generally got her opponents attention. And then, just as expected, the chains zip in, the only difference is, Momo is ready for them, and this time manages to dive away in time, she turns the dive into a dramatic, athletic leap, rolling towards Zero, she attempts to grab a hold of his still outstretched arm, god she hoped this works. Assuming she manages to initially grab his arm, what follows next seems... unbelievable.
"Hey Eagle! Ever played Cricket?" She yells, straining to swing Zero around in a mighty throw, hurling her opponent to her ally, hopefully Eagle will get the point and attack Zero accordingly... if the ambitious move even hit of course. If not, well, suddenly Momo is in close, this could turn out very badly for the little girl...

And as Momo's plan becomes clear, Eagle flashes a grin at the young girl. "Rugby was more my sport, but..." Shifting his hands, Eagle snaps the two sticks side by side, pressing them firmly together. Pulling his arms back, Eagle charges in toward Zero, winding up for a nice swing. Whether or not Momo is able to take the NESTS commander off his feet, she'll at least hopefully be able to distract him long enough for Eagle to deliver a heavy swing to him. There's a fair bit of force in that blow, and hopefully it'll be enough to send Zero for a brief flight.

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Heavy Strike.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  /////////////////             ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Zero counters Giant Swing from Momo with Forcefield.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


Wearing him down does seem to be a prudent strategy. Power reserves are running low, and the amount of damage he's taking is getting critical. He wasn't really able to take down any of the three in order to alleiviate the incoming assaults as much as he liked. That's all well and good... the power he's looking for is almost there, boiling to the surface slowly. The amount of energy it will take will be negligable. After all, it's none of his own. All he needs is enough power to break the barrier.
Just a little more...
But back to the here and now. The setup is understood, and Zero has trained extensively on coordinated team attacks. How to do them, and how to defend against him. For once using some of the more familar technology at his disposal, Zero initially tosses up an energy barrier for Momo to crash against, blasting the small girl back with a gout of erupting invisible power before holding up an arm to defend himself from the incoming assault. Dropping his arms to his sides, his hands clench tightly, and the power on his body begins to rise even more, despite the fact that, if anything, he just looks very, very tired.

Kai Gabriel seems satisfied enough with Momo getting nailed by a force field. She liked the girl and they were friends but even when your pet kitty, for instance, runs into a screen door, full speed and bounces off, you have to admit it's funny. She makes a mental note now to get Momo a pair of kitty ears and a tie on tail. She'll love that and if not, Kai will just say that Kurow likes cats. But back to the fight.

Kai Gabriel closes her eyes. . She kneels, with her eyes closed, she clasps her pendant. . with her eyes closed. . While kneeling. She begins to pray. Ehh.. Gabriel.. Fight?

"Oh Maiden of light, I pray for the victory to end all battles, I pray for the strength and the courage.. I pray for the children that smile and that every laughter break into a million shards of joy. I pray for tomorrow..."

COMBATSYS: Gabriel takes a breather.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////////     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


Momo staggers back, bouncing off the forcefield, ouch! That really hurt! However, even she cannot help but feel that maybe, just maybe she should start backing away slowly now, the amount of power that Zero was radiating was... well, disturbing. And then she hears Gabriel praying, oh boy... that just /can't/ be good.
Well, if nothing else, Momo always had one good thing she could fall back on, she hefts her tennis racket, after putting a decent amount of distance between herself and Zero, and then, with a slight grunt, she slams yet another tennis ball forwards, aimed right at her opponents skull- take out the head and the rest will follow after all. She just hoped Gabriel knew what she was doing... leaving herself open like that just seemed, well, foolish!

Eagle's fighting style generally relies on attempting to hit the opponent hard, and preferably before they have a chance to hit you. The best defense is a good offense, and all that. That doesn't mean he's not paying attention to what's going on with his opponents, though. The bouncer may not deal very much with all those energy attacks that some people seem to throw around, but he's become familiar with the concept through necessity. And that glow coming from Zero, combined with the tightening of his fists, seems rather ominous. "C'mon now, you should be enjoying this! What's the point of fighting if you can't get something out of it?" Eagle waves to the crowd for a moment with one of his sticks, though he continues watching Zero out of the corner of his eyes, giving them a big smile. "Nobody wants to watch someone who acts like a robot!"

COMBATSYS: Eagle focuses on his next action.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////////     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Zero endures Momo's Whale Serve.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  /////////////////////////     ]
                                 |====---\-------\0          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


*KRAK*
The tennis ball hits Zero square in the face, and shatters the sunglasses he wears, revealing dark gray eyes, pulsing with an inhuman purple light. It's true, perhaps. His mechanical style of fighting hasn't been getting him a lot of results. There's just too many opponents, too many ways around his assaults. With that much incoming data, it's small wonder that the man was having a tough time. The fact that he's weathered this many his is only a testimony to his durability. But that last tennis ball?
That was quite enough, thank you.
The dour, unemotive face that Zero presents speaks nothing of what he's about to do. Instead, he raises his hand up, palm open to the sky. With a sharp pop, a pinprick of light in his hand appears. It throbs with power as the purple aura about him seems to rush into his palm, feeding it so that it shimmers, and then explodes, bathing the entire ring in a dark corona.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel endures Zero's Hakura Messhou.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Eagle stops Hakura Messhou from Zero with St. Andrew Green.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2          Gabriel
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0             Momo


COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Momo with Hakura Messhou.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2          Gabriel
                                  >                                ]
                                 |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Momo


The light fades, leaving nothing but darkness. Standing at the edge of this? Zero. The man's hand closes, fingers clawlike around the flashing orb in his palm. Squeezing, a black ring blows outwards, swirling as electricity crackles towards the perimeter, striking at everything and anything at ground zero as the man approaches his opponents.
Then, the hand spasms, crushing downwards. The dark rings burst out farther, electrical corona lancing at everyone around him. The sky trembles, ruptures, and then disgorges spheres of unholy power. The destructive energy... things... swirl around, whipping past Zero in search of egress from this world. As they do so, they repeatedly ram into Momo and Gabriel, objects of ero's immediate attention, while only somewhat attempting Eagle as they rip through the darkened arena and into the glowing ball in his hand before the world suddenly turns back to normal, leaving Zero standing there, looking exactly the same as when he started the procedure, licks of power slowly fading.

It is hard to explain the kind of damage someone is dealt from such an attack. For one Gabriel is still praying as it all happens around her, the dark energy and the forces rip at her, pulling off shreds of fabric from her outfit, though politely not doing so in a manner to expose her. Blood seeps down from her hair which is pulled into disarray and out of her nose. Her body seems to be forced into contortions, but maybe that's a trick of the light. Still she seems to be getting battered, marks, scrapes, appear.. Her black clothes begin to become wet, were they not already black one could imagine the would turn crimson.

But she still prays.. All the while another light starts to grow, this one yellow and brilliant.

"By the faces of the many and the hearts of the willing, to forge ahead.. For tomorrow .. I promise"
The light becomes huge and near blinding as it completely absorbs Gabriel's form and grows outward with it's searing energies.

"Mirai e no Yakusoku!"

With the final exclamation, Kai opens her eyes which seem to be golden now, or just reflecting the light which flashes to wash away all the unholy darkness.

Momo shrieks in pain and agony as her body is repeatedly lashed by the energy, her strength being torn from her as, despite her attempts to dodge and weave, her body is tossed around like a rag doll, throughout the Maelstrom she clutches her racket tight to her body, knowing that without it, she will be as helpless as any regular child... well, not quite, but she wouldn't be able to even attempt to stand up to this demon.
Cute, that thoughts of resistance still swirl around her head even as she is taught a new definition of the word Pain.
However, once the intense attack fades away, Momo doesn't look to be in a state to do anything, blood- shockingly scarlet- dribbles from her nose and the corner of her mouth, but her eyes shine with determination. She had taken a sound beating from this monster! She would not give allow herself to collapse until she had given at least part of that beating back!
Drawing up the last dregs of her passion and rage, Momo lets out an unintelligible cry as she charges forward, drawing her racket back as she goes. She falls about her opponent like a very small, very angry tornado, stabbing and slicing at his body viciously with that racket, pouring as much of her energy into this final, desperate assault as she can possibly muster.
And then it passes, completely spent, body torn by energies that she never dreamed she would really have to face one day, Momo sags, collapsing into merciful unconsciousness as she exhausts herself completely against the seemingly unbreakable wall that is Zero.

COMBATSYS: Momo can no longer fight.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |=======\-------\0          Gabriel


This... is not good. Putting on a good performance is important, but normally one does not expect one's opponent to tear apart the fabric of reality, unleashing powers beyond man's ken to rip and tear and maim. But even though he has no such attacks of his own, Eagle has had to deal with those who would strike using pure energy. And he's found ways to deal with it. Holding his sticks together again, Eagle draws back his arms, lashing out as one of the spheres closes in on him. His weapons connect, and the deadly orb is sent sailing off back into the maelstrom. Several more are likewise deflected, and it's only as the spheres finally are drawn back to Zero that Eagle notices the numbness spreading through his arms. Knocking all of those thing away wasn't easy, by any stretch of the imagination, and the strain is almost enough to cause Eagle's weapons to fall from his hands.
But that wouldn't make for a very good performance, now would it? Somehow Eagle manages to retain his grip long enough for the feeling to start coming back into his arms, but it's going to be a moment before he's actually ready to press the assault again.

COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Momo's Momo Crush.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |=======\-------\0          Gabriel


COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Gabriel's Mirai e no Yakusoku.

[                         \\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  ///////                       ]
                                 |=======\-------\0          Gabriel


So.
Lifeless eyes observe the feild of battle. Momo has fallen. Gabriel near death. The only person untouched? Eagle. How deliciously ironic that the man he first atatcked would be the one that remains standing. Still, for all intents and purposes, Zero has already calculated his chances and has not found purchase in any kind of firm victory. Still, since this is just a 'game', he can afford to take risks he normally would not.
Eagle is watched for a second. The man's deflection of his assault is impressive indeed. Not many people can manage to defend against the horror that is the 'White Death'. He nods to the man once out of respect if anything else, and then moves in to finish off the small annoyance. As he approaches Eagle, he sends Gabriel a vicious backhand, trying to put her down and away. Maybe now Eagle will put up something of flashy ending to this all.

COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Gabriel with Quick Punch.

[                         \\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Eagle
                                  >  //                            ]
                                 |=======\====---\1          Gabriel


Even taking the punch that is clearly going to remove Gabriel from consciousness, she isn't going to go down without something left.. Her last sound is an ' Oh' before she swings her hand at a chop toward the base of Zero's neck. Maybe.. just maybe she can get him in a critical spot.. She starts to sink down almost imidiately, not even getting to watch the success of her attempt.

COMBATSYS: Gabriel can no longer fight.

[                         \\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Eagle


Eagle watches as Momo slumps to the ground after being torn apart by Zero's attack, and then Gabriel is casually swatted aside by the incoming NESTS commander. "You've got quite a few interesting tricks there." He grins, returning Zero's respectful nod. "Pretty poor form picking on the ladies, though. Still, it's not over yet!"
With a brief grunt, Eagle lunges toward Zero, even as the other man is closing in on him. His right arm goes up at an angle, while his left arm shoots out to the side, and as soon as he's close enough to Zero he attempts to drive one stick down on the other man's collarbone, while the other sweeps inwards to hit just beneath the ribs.

COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Gabriel's Venom Bite.

[                         \\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Eagle


COMBATSYS: Zero fails to counter Medium Strike from Eagle with Forcefield.

[                            \\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Eagle


Gabriel is sidestepped, her assault assisted to the ground with a brutal shove, a complete dismissal of her power. As she slumps to the floor? Zero moves to defens himself from the weapon strike. There's a good chance he could have made it, too, if he was fighing at 100 effciency. At the moment, however, the blow strikes him dead on. Again, hardly a devestating hit. But adding to the massive array of damage tossed at him by all three fighters? Enough to nick a critical system. Suddenly, his sight goes black and white. That's not good. Color perception gone, he backs up, allowing the man some room, considering his options carefully.

Zero manages to get a little bit of room between himself and Eagle, but the bouncer's choice of weapons allows him to operate both up close, and at a fairly impressive range. Of course, it can be hard to get sufficient power behind extended blows like that, but there are ways of getting around it. Like using the power of momentum. Snapping his arms out to the side, Eagle hops toward Zero, starting to spin rapidly as he does so, attempting to slam his heavy wooden rods repeatedly into Zero's jaw.

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Manchester Black.

[                             \  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Zero             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Eagle


//Calculating damage margin. Scanning for power discrepancy. Suggested course of action: retreat. Margin of success? Minimal. Defensive capacity eroded to unacceptable levels. Offensive capacity, minimal.//
The soft, cool voice of Aya, the NESTS program that runs his day planner lets Zero know that his chances of victory are slim. Still, the man doesn't seem too perturbed. After all. It's a game.
And so, he does something he normally doesn't do. With a whirring noise, he dumps ALL his repair nanites into himself, rather than keeping them in check. The effects will be a short term bout of joint stiffness... but at least he has a chance now. It's not quite healing. Just temporary patch ups. Still, perhaps it'll be enough...

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Zero             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Eagle


COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Heavy Strike.

[                          \\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


*KRACK!*
The blow hits him across the face. If there was some better way to do this, Zero would love to know about it. As is, he's just taking the hits as best he can. he can't risk a full on blow at this point. Instead, his body can only continue to chug out more and more of the little things, desperately trying to fix whatever damage he's taken. He can feel his power reserves hiking by a considerable margin, and the blows he's taking? Clearing his head.
He staggers back again, eyes focusing unsteadily, blank, emotionless face jerking with the strike, and he continues to backpedal under the vicious assaults given to him. If he can just keep up a little while longer...

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


Eagle's pretty certain there's a trap of some sort being set up... but really, wouldn't it make for a great show if Zero does have something planned? Whether or not Eagle can escape it, it'd still be wonderful for the audience. And so Eagle continues to press the attack, regardless of any ill effects it may have on his own health.
He shifts his arms again, holding one stick at roughly head level, the other at around stomach height, both of them with their ends pointed toward Zero. "Hmn!" And with that grunt, Eagle lunges at Zero, delivering a lightning fast series of blows all across Zero's body. The set up for the attack means it's rather telegraphed, but if he can slip past Zero's defenses...

COMBATSYS: Zero dodges Eagle's Oxford Red.

[                         \\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


Tired reflexes remind Zero that he should dodge rather than simply stand there. A dire mistake, perhaps for the NESTS commander. Rather than continue to absorb hits and rebuild his reserves, he loses that momentum, instead jarrpign knitting repairs loose. How amatureish. His dulled brain reminds him at the last second, and he almost berates himself for such a maneuver. Still, it's not all that late. It just keeps things lasting a little longer.
He continues to backpedal. Chances of him surviving at this rate are still low. Eagle's face is watched carefully, as he keeps his arms up at the fore, the sleeves of the suit looking a litle more laquered, armored, as he tries to keep his distance.

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


And still, Zero is backing off. "Oh, come on now. How long are you going to make me chase you down for? This is just making us look silly!" Despite that complaint, it doesn't appear that Eagle is going to give up the chase just yet. Coming in low, he sweeps both of his sticks out at Zero's legs, hoping to knock the NESTS commander off his feet. If that should succeed, he then quickly shifts his grip so that he can slam both of the sticks down, end first, into Zero's stomach.

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Fierce Strike.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


And finally, Zero speaks.
"As long as it takes," he says, voice low, deep, quiet.
Losing is fine. In fact, he learns plenty whenever he fails in his actions. But still, if losing isn't entirely necessary, then he's not going to do it. As it is? The repairs are lowly creeping up on him, and he knows he can simply outlast Eagle. Those two girls may have broken him down fairly low, but if it was just Eagle, he seems faily sure he can hold out almost forever. And then the small smile grows a little more.
"I won't concede, nor fold. But I wil not chance a defeat now. Not when my calculations lead me to beleive you will fall to exhaustion long before I do at the current rate of operation." The show means little to Zero. The mechanical efficiency of mission success does as he continues his deflection and blocking of agle's powerful strikes.

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Eagle


And indeed, it seems to be the case. Eagle is definitely breathing fairly hard, even if he is still keeping a stiff upper lip, as it were. Unless he manages to start landing some clean hits, Zero's going to be back in fighting condition. He's not quite sure /how/ that's happening, but the answer to that question doesn't particularly matter; it's not like there's anything he can do about it, aside from just trying to hit the NESTS commander harder.
Lunging forward, Eagle attempts to drive the end of one of the sticks into Zero's chest, followed by sweeping it upwards to crack against the other man's chin. He doesn't stop there, though, pushing himself harder with what's left of his stamina to bring his other arm around, trying to slam the stick into the side of Zero's head.

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Fierce Strike.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0            Eagle


Back and forth, eh? Even if the power hits keep coming in, Zero looks like he could continue this forever. And indeed, no matter the strength of the blows, it looks like there's more life coming back to him. Slowly but surely, his repair systems are doign their patchwork job and bringing his body up to speed. With that final hit, a light shows up on his HUD. Batteries at full charge. Despite his growing stamina, there's not much he can do yet. Still fairly heavily damagedm it'll be a while before he has enough to feel comfortable with charging in again.
It's not a normal activity for him, but his brain shifts gears a little, and he takes note Eagle's odd prediliction for 'the show', and his mind begins to sharpen some psychological tools. "Your fans will become disappointed," he says as the blows are blocked by the now armored sleeves. "Your technique is gone. You're merely flailing away at me. I have no fans to please. No obligations to make. I'm here to win. You're here to perform. At this point? Neither of us is succeeding in that goal... though you know as well as I do that if this continues, the hand of probability will shift in my favor."

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zero             0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0            Eagle


Eagle raises an eyebrow as Zero speaks. "Be that as it may, it wouldn't look very good to just give up, now would it?" Getting Eagle to lose his temper, if that's Zero's game, isn't very easy. He's generally fairly mellow, and Zero hasn't done anything /really/ bad (so far as he knows) to deserve his anger. Besides, if he did get angry, what's he going to do? Try to hit the other man?
Still, his strength is definitely fading, so it's time to keep throwing out whatever he's got left, in the hopes that /something/ manages to get through and damage his opponent. He throws his full weight at Zero this time, attempting to drive his foot into the other man's shin as he throws himself at him, driving his sticks full force into Zero's stomach at the same time, hoping to knock him down. Trying to do /something/ to stop his recovery...

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Deep Kick.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Eagle


Almost.
Not quite.
Not safe enough. The margin isn't there for Zero. The blow would have been powerful indeed, were it not for the fact that the man is built like a fortress. The executive is patient. Drawn out, protracted fights mean nothing to him. After all, hes nearly immortal, which grants him all the time in the world. Eyes lock onto Eagle's, his smile fading a little. The statement wasn't a taunt. Just that of fact, as far as Zero saw it. He'd continue to let his power levels creep up as slowly as he needed to, if need be. The othe man wouldn't defeat him in combat without a serious, strong hit. It's up to Eagle to provide that. Until then?
"Then you see my point clearly. Good." Is the short response as he swings his arm low to guard against the heavy strike. "Your tenacity is respectable."

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Eagle


It's becoming pretty clear that the edge has passed to Zero in this fight. Eagle's not going to win it for his team, barring some major luck. Does he give up? Does he get depressed? No, of course not! "Show's not over until the fat lady sings, right?" He grins at Zero, despite the way his chest is heaving. Although, the strikes he's been delivering to Zero, while powerful, aren't quite as difficult to pull off as some of his techniques. He's starting to catch his breath. A little bit. Although Zero still seems to have him well beat in that regard.
Eagle leaps toward Zero, twisting himself in the air so that he'll be able to bring his sticks down with the full force of his weight behind them. He's not going to be able to make a very smooth landing because of it, but anything he can try to do to slip past Zero's guard needs to be tried...

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Deep Kick.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Eagle


"Your combat style. Escrima, correct?"
The tone is conversational. He might as well learn as he's gradually bringing himself up to speed. "The use of weapons is always an interest of me. I find it intrinsically fascinating how mankind continues to fashion better and better weapons of war, and yet some continue to use such devices as simple cudgels and batons."
The voice sounds like a college professor, dull, cold, emotionless. Almost droning, if it weren't for a thick, pleasing timbre to the bass. He seems educated enough, despite his somewhat brutish appearance. "I've studied the style, and found it wanting in some cases. In this particular case, I suspect any opponent even marginally less capable as myself would have succumbed at this point."

COMBATSYS: Zero takes a breather.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zero             0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Eagle


"Escrima is more about mindset than techniques. Adaptability is the name of the game." Hey, just because your opponent is slowing gaining his strength back is no reason not to chat with him. As long as you keep trying to hit him. "Take advantage of your opponent and, importantly, don't let them hit you." Eagle grins for a moment. "Doesn't seem to be working so well here, I'm afraid. Even, so..."
With a grunt of exertion, Eagle lunges toward Zero again, launching into another rapid series of strikes spaced all across the man's body. Will one of them manage to slip past the guard that has, up until now, proven fairly impervious?

COMBATSYS: Zero blocks Eagle's Oxford Red.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Zero             0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0            Eagle


Apparently not. This time, Zero seems to adapt to the blows, body tensing as the hits come in. Having memorized that sequence of assaults, he nods once, and then tests his hands. Eyeing the other man, he nods shortly. "ndeed. It seems I've rather grown numb to the effects of such attacks. The blows are quite powerful. I'm impressed by your ability to deliver them. You are, by all means, an excellent fighter. However, I feel that enough intelligence has been gained that I can venture forwward now."
And with that? FINALLY the man returns the hideous barrage of power he's taken up until now with as much force as he can muster. The whipchains in his hands shriek forward after such a long silence, attempting to rip Eagle to shreds, their glinting edges catching the dim lights of the setting sun. His face is as impassive as ever. Hopefully, this will be the first of a massive comeback for him, placing the man on defensive.

COMBATSYS: Eagle fails to counter Hankyou from Zero with Canterbury Blue.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Zero             0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1            Eagle


Eagle was expecting Zero to go back on the offensive, eventually. All of this time spent flailing away, apparently uselessly, has lead to a bit of a lapse in attention, however. As Zero starts to move, Eagle attempts to drive the end of one his sticks into the commander's chest, but he doesn't react quickly enough. The whipchains slice into him, ripping easily through his shirt and the flesh underneath, with a nice spray of blood as they gouge into him, sending the bouncer stumbling backwards with a pained grunt.

Breathing room.
//Congratulations, commander.// Aya's soothing voice echoes in his head. //Unfortunately, he seems to be still standing.//
Zero nods wryly. Indeed, Eagle was still standing, and his motion seems to have been a severe error. With a considerable margin to work with, Zero feels that he can either press the attack, or take a moment to take a real breath of air for once. Still, this seems to have lasted long enough. His margin will still be there if he decides to go back to his monsterous defensive posture. The attack is pressed.
Again, the hideous blades lance out from his wrists with a wide series of flowing, whipping motions, apparently goign in for the kill, ripping and tearing at Eagle repeatedly, shoul they hit.

COMBATSYS: Eagle blocks Zero's Hankyou.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Zero             0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1            Eagle


And the blades do hit, but not quite as well as they should. Eagle manages to interpose his escrima sticks between the blades and himself, and although the heavy wooden sticks take a few nasty gouges, they're much sturdier than flesh. Still, the whips are hard to follow, and in their flailings Eagle takes a few deep cuts to his arms.
Things are getting bad, and quickly. He's nearly out of breath again, and he's not going to be able to stand up to this kind of assault for long. Still, there's at least a bit more he can do, if he pushes himself. Taking a deep breath, Eagle lunges at Zero and explodes into action. Strike after strike, sweeps, jabs, striking at Zero all over his body, from a variety of different angles, ending up with another rapid series of jabs, trying desperately to find a hole somewhere in Zero's defenses.

COMBATSYS: Eagle successfully hits Zero with Union Jack Platinum.
- Power hit! -

[                          \\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Zero             1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0            Eagle


The best laid plans. Still, Zero isn't completely defeated. If he can bring enough power to bear at the final moment, he still might have a chance to draw. After that many blows to his body, the assault easily breaks through his defenses, and leaves him reeling. The powerful hits finally making purchase after so mant defended hits. t's much faster, much more punishing.
As will Zero's be, if he hits.
Summoning the last of his flagging strength, Zero strectches out his arms, and then goes into a full spin, sending wave after wave of hissing, slashing blades towards Eagle's body. The display is almost beautiful as it is deadly, and it also covers the entirety of the ring, making it hard to escape from. If it hits? Hopefully a double KO. If not... Zero lasted a hell of a lot longer than some expected.

COMBATSYS: Zero can no longer fight.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0            Eagle


COMBATSYS: Zero successfully hits Eagle with Gokusa Zanjin.

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


And as the whips go out, Eagle realizes that he's in trouble. Trying to block something like that? Bad idea. The only really safe way to deal with it is to get out of the way. But after delivering his last attack, Eagle's still right on top of Zero. There's nowhere near enough time to escape, and Eagle gets caught up in the whirlwind of blades, cut after cut appearing on his body. Lucky for Momo and Gabriel that they're down on the ground. Eagle slumps to one knee as the cutting finally stops, blood dripping from wounds all over his body, his clothing hanging in tatters.
But he doesn't fall over.
Slowly, painfully, he forces himself back to his feet, and turns to look at the audience. Crossing one arm over his chest, he turns to the audience and bows, ignoring the stabbing pain caused by the motion. He then turns to Zero, walking over to his opponent, somewhat unsteadily. Medical personnel are already rushing to the aid of Gabriel and Momo, so that Eagle doesn't have to worry about them for the moment. If Zero is still concious, Eagle extends his hand to the man. To help him up if he's fallen, but otherwise just to offer him a friendly handshake over the fight.

COMBATSYS: Eagle has ended the fight here.

Log created by Eagle, and last modified on 13:30:15 08/15/2005.