Description: Wherein a relatively new fighter meets a relatively psychotic man.
When the grungy fellow set up this fight, the result he was expecting and the result he got didn't match in the slightest. This works out well for him, since almost everyone bet on the big dude; the odds for the girl in the Matrix uniform were steep, but not enough to entice more than a couple bets. Normally he'd thank the result and move on, but he was still busy being stunned by the reason he was making off like the bandit he is.
Talia twists around, diving into another roll circling the muscular martial artist. The rather typical karate roundhouse moves swiftly over her, and she fires another shot from her pistol -- a Beretta 92FS for those of you keeping count back home -- into the back of her opponent's thigh. As has become typical for the fight, the larger man howls in pain, and after this -- the fifth such wound, finally collapses to the ground, either unwilling or unable to continue the fight. There's a decent amount of blood pooling underneath him, but it's nowhere near a fatal set of wounds, particularly for a fighter, even a relatively weak one.
Shrugging, Talia dusts off her coat, making sure it hasn't been damaged from the two blows she did take, and heads over to the bookie. It's time to collect her pay.
There's a certain type of fighter that attracts Vega's eye. It takes something special to make the mad dictator take interest, and the rumors of a martial artist that was able to effectively use ranged weapons in close combat came close to the threshhold. The fact that she was rumored to be a blonde, with blue eyes? Pushed it over into the range of 'should check this out'. With Sagat and Balrog otherwise occupied, the man went searching on his own - certainly easy enough to find a fight that was low-key and hidden away from the corrupt police's eyes.
He arrived soon enough to see the end of the fight, the sheer cruelty of the attacks making him grin in amusement. She's not his Bee - sadly that. But she could, perhaps be useful. From a darkened part of the bridge, he watches a bit longer, eyes glowing quietly in the dark, a small beacon, a giveaway of his position that he could simply refrain from using - but why would he bother? He wants her to notice him.
There's a short pause before the bookie coughs up the cash, to speak. The money situation's good, but this is just too weird for him.. And cleanup is going to be a total pain. After a moment of her glaring at him, he decides he doesn't want any of that either, and hands off her cut, turning back to the crowd and the next fight he has lined up for tonight.
Talia quickly counts the money, then pockets it as she confirms it's enough. Returning her weapon to its place within her coat, she starts to turn to leave when something catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning back she sees.. Wait. What is that? Looking more closely, she realizes that someone is standing in the shadows staring at her. Well, that's interesting enough. Wearing the same emotionless expression that carried through the fight and her interaction with the 'organizer', Talia walks in the direction of the silhouette, looking for all the world like she was taking a stroll in the park.
As Talia moves forwards towards those eyes, the grin beneath widens just a bit. It pulls back, as if moving slowly away, a will-o-wisp of white light from Vega's two eyes. An odd step, they stay steady in the air as if the person is not actually walking, but almost floating back. And deeper, away from the crowds, away from the people who might question the presence of the mad dictator here.
When Talia is close enough to be spoken to, he does - body wrapped about by his cape, his face eerily lit by his eyes and the power inside them. His voice is stead, dark and ragged, much like one would expect of a man full of hate and quintessential evil. "You are not the Bee, girl. But you could be something, if you tried. Tell me about your art, so I can understand it better."
Talia doesn't seem terribly affected by the 'theatrics' of the face, although it's not clear if that's because she's totaly fearless, or simply incapable of expressing emotion. Her expression hasn't changed in the slightest aside from a short flicker of pain -- a fleeting display when struck in the fight. Once she gets a better look at the man before her, she slips out of her casual pose, and into something that hints at combat readiness. She's not going to be aggressive, but she has no intent of being caught unawares.
"My art is my own." It's a statement, as close a response to the order as she apparently intends to give. Fixing her own gaze steadily on the glowing eyes, she continues, "Unless you have business with me, I have training to continue." Her tone is fairly flat, so it's difficult to tell how final that's meant to sound. On the other hand, she doesn't immediately turn, apparently giving Vega time to give her a reason to maintain interest.
Vega is more than agressive enough for two people. He's used to being able to sense sensations, emotions through his connection to psi. However, he's finding it difficult to penetrate this woman's exterior, which pushes her back up into the 'interesting' category. With that decision made, he takes a full step forwards, heavy boots landing on the ground with a rolling thud.
Fingers come up, from out of the cape, and are held at the girl's eye level. Within his hand, something akin to chifire, but decidedly less wholesome forms. Dark purple and black, the ball of energy simply hangs there in the palm of his hand, throwing odd shadows on his face, making that maniacl grin seem to grow even wider. "Consider this part of your training, then."
COMBATSYS: Vega has started a fight here.
There's a slight narrowing of Talia's eyes as Vega steps forward, and her body tenses slightly. When the special effects kick in, Talia's expression does visibly show a change, although it doesn't show any emotion, just intense concentration. There's a brief moment where she watches the energy develop without moving, then she decides for safety purposes that it's time to adjust positioning.
In a single smooth motion she kicks off with a single foot, spinning on the other to both put several feet of distance between her and Vega, and also draw a weapon from within her cloak. Unlike the earlier pistol, this is -- of all things -- a shotgun, and she's even loading a shell into it as she slips into a defensive crouch, although exactly how she does this is obscured for a moment by her swirling trenchcoat.
COMBATSYS: Talia has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
This is what Vega desired - a chance to see exactly what the woman was capable of doing. He's allowing her the time to prepare, that ball of purplish darkness held out in front of him, like a beacon. A target, certainly. Another step towards the girl, and his voice calls out, through the dark under the bridge.
"This is no way for a warrior to act. You sully your perfomance in the ring with your actions here." In some cases, that might even be true - but certainly, in the middle of a war, or the middle of what might possibly end up being a fight of a person's life - those rules may not matter. But for now, they seem to, to the man before Talia. And so, he waits to attack, taking another step towards that crouched figure.
COMBATSYS: Vega takes no action.
There's a short pause as Talia regards Vega, considering. She considers the appearance of the man before her, she considers the potential threat that strange energy poses. She considers his words, she considers his tone. Most importantly, however, she considers the amount of clearance between him and the pillar six feet to his left.
There's no outward indication of her next action, so it could possibly catch Vega by surprise when she leaps from her crouch in his direction. Her target isn't directly at him, however -- she lands in front and to the side of him, moving into a roll that is meant to carry her past him, further into the shadows of the support structure. On her way, however, she fires off a shot from the weapon: buckshot aimed to catch him on the backside of his left knee.
COMBATSYS: Vega dodges Talia's Shell Effect.
[`````\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Talia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vega
Were it a lesser man - the blast could have crippled. A knee hit from behind by a slug would damage cartlidge, sinew and bone - a person would be hobbled, limping along, forced to fall to the ground, more than likely. Easy prey.
However, Vega is no mere mortal man. As the girl passes by him, he moves in an easy flowing motion - a simple turn that brings him out of the way of the attack, the gunscent and burnt powder an arcid smell under the bridge. He grins, just a bit, calling out. ".. Effective. Any normal human would have been crippled by that. Is that what you used on your last opponent?" He doesn't wait for an answer, though - instead he grabs at the support structure of the bridge itself, fingers digging into the concrete, psi finding fissues, cracks - enough to tear a hunk of concrete away, which is then tossed towards the shadows where the girl hides.
COMBATSYS: Talia endures Vega's Large Thrown Object.
[ .........\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Talia 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Vega
At first, Talia considers replying. It's a harmless enough question, and it would have taken little effort to respond. When she comes out of her roll, however, she realizes that the man -- more of a monster -- is casually ripping concrete with his bare hands, and preparing to chunk some of it at her. In the short span of time she has, she considers her options, finally deciding there's not a lot she can do about the immediate threat.
She puts the shotgun away, simultaneously drawing the pistol from earlier, moving into a dive to the side. She isn't quite moving fast enough to avoid getting clipped on the shoulder, and there's the sound of a crunch within her arm and a subdued squeak of pain from her mouth as she is knocked aside.
This does not, however, end the action she was taking. The impact puts her into a controlled roll to one side, and when she comes to a stop she lets off a shot at Vega's torso. This isn't fired randomly, however.. It's intended to strike a critical cluster of nerves, one hopefully able to slow the man down. In the meantime, Talia attempts to pull herself back up and replace her dislocated shoulder.
COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Vega with Chakra Pierce.
[ ......\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////......]
Talia 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Vega
Vega's stalking the girl now, those squeaks and the muffled sound of her breathing allowing him to close in on her. A slow, steady progression, as the man walks forwards into the further blackness - that emptiness in which she hid before. In the crunch of his boots on rubble, he misses the sound of the new roll, and only looks up in time to see the weapon come up.
Again, the man attempts to move, to avoid the shot that is coming in - but this time, he fails. As the shot hits him, his shoulder jerks with the motion to his torso, transmitted along. A grunt of air escaping his throat is cut off, anger showing on his face as he moves to cover the wound. "That.. was the wrong move, girl." he says, simply. To attack, he needs to see her - or at least, that would be conventional wisdom. Instead, he digs his hand through the air, slowed down like a man might be swimming through water. As he does, ripples of psychopower form, gaining momentum as he reaches the upper arc of his swing. This burst of energy, dark and lurid, grotesque mockery of real energy blasts forwards in a wave towards the girl's location.
COMBATSYS: Vega successfully hits Talia with Psycho Wave.
[ ....................\\ < > ////////////////////////.. ]
Talia 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Vega
Talia has managed to resecure her wayward arm, but it's clear it's still not in full condition from the grimace on her face. She manages to resume a combat stance, seeming to intend to carry this out as far as she can, despite the ominous words of her assailant. Then he attacks her again, and .. well, there's just not a whole lot that's in her life experience to prepare her for something like that. She keeps to her training and tries to dive into a roll to avoid it, but she simply isn't fast enough or skilled enough to prevent it from hitting her. Clipped along the torso she goes spinning again, although this time it's much less controlled. Once she comes to a stop, she slowly rolls herself to a crouch, but she's clearly in a great deal of pain. Raising her pistol with her working arm, she finally shows some emotion besides the obvious pain.
Determination. She's not going to give up, whether Vega intends to kill her or not, whether she'll be able to walk away or not, she's not going to give up. Instead, she considers.
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
In this situation - it's certainly a possibility that Vega could finish the fight lethally. After all, he's gotten the information that he wants - the gunstyle is.. interesting. The girl using it.. intruiging. But all in all, there's nothing to prove. Instead, simply finishing the fight by overpowering the girl would be easy enough.
But in reality, or what passes for it in Vega's head - it's not enough. Not enough to simply defeat the girl. He wants to taste those emotions - to feel them when he crushes her. For having the temerity to actually .hit. him, she has to pay. But how? What .is. the best way to prove himself superior. And with a grimace, then a wide grin, he knows. He stands up straight, letting go the wound in his chest, and prepares for the soon-to-be-coming attack. His voice calls out, tinged with a ragged edge of blood. "I can feel it - you're almost done, out of breath. Can you hear the night closing in, girl? You have acquitted yourself well against my might - but you will never succeed in in this. I promise you that."
COMBATSYS: Vega takes no action.
Talia crouches before Vega, and considers her position. Fleeing isn't in her nature, but this is not a winnable situation, and she can't even be guaranteed to do enough to the lunatic to force him to limp away. This is unacceptable. Relying on what she has already observed of the surrounding area, she finally comes to a decision, standing up. Her expression slips back to the emotionless mask, even covering the pain she must still be feeling. "Your promise is acknowledged." She doesn't even turn before she leaps to the side, performing a cartwheel behind one of the intact pillars and .. vanishing. She simply doesn't appear from the other side, and there's no further noise from her movement, not even the telltale clank from justling her firearm. She has, as far as can be determined, disappeared from the impromptu fight locale.
COMBATSYS: Talia has left the fight here.
This puts Vega in an untenable position. What, escape? From his might and fearsome awe? Grr. This is one of those truly vexing things. In his hands, another ball of psycho-power forms, then another. Each are thrown in the general direction and area that Talia last existed, blowing up rubble and dirt, unfortunately further obscuring the area.
When enough damage is done, the man turns on his heel, decidely grouchier (Balrog will probably get beaten on tonite for lack of something else to do) and he starts away. Over his shoulder, he calls out towards the night, on the odd chance the girl is still there. "You cannot escape my grasp forever, girl. Lord Vega will find you again - and we will finish this test."
With that said - he's gone.
COMBATSYS: Vega has ended the fight here.
Log created by Talia, and last modified on 12:06:33 11/08/2005.