Neo League 176 - #189: Cai vs Talia

Description: Strolheim hosts a beer and cheese festival! Sounds like a great place for a drunk to battle against a ... staff-fighter? (Winner: Talia)



Though October, and thus Oktoberfest, comes but once a year, the town of Strolheim hosts frequent festivals throughout the year for the benefit of its tourist visitors. The beer and cheese flow freely, with dancing in the town square. And yes, lederhosen too.

In the center of the festival, one particular young Chinese man is having the time of his life. Cai wanders from booth to booth, trying out every variety of beer the locals have to offer, sampling the food, and singing along to songs he doesn't know the words or language to. What he lacks in coherency, though, he makes up for in enthusiasm. His wandering path takes him gradually toward an official-looking group of people standing by a makeshift fighting ring -- the Neo League officials, who watch the contender for today's scheduled fight approach with no minor degree of impatience.

In the center of the maelstrom, Talia grows uneasy. This isn't externally discernable, but it happens nonetheless. She has, once again, been challenged by someone who from all ability to determine is mentally challenged, and at this point all she needs for a complete set is to be challenged by that Hibiki fellow. On top of this, it's a festival.. Too many bystanders. While she has no compunctions against harming her opponent, she has always gone to great pains to make sure she doesn't shoot a regular person, and quarters like this make that... difficult.
Nonetheless, Talia is here, in the designated place, waiting for her fight. While she hasn't been active in seeking out fights, she won't turn down a challenge. .. If only the fool would get here, so the fight can happen.

"For he's a jolly good fella, for he's a jolly good fella, for he's a jolly good fellaaaaaaaaaa! *hic* Which nobody can deny!" Cai finally reaches the stage, leaning on a post and hiccuping. There is a crowd, but they're mostly kept back; by now the officials are aware of Talia's brand of fighting and have taken some pains to keep people away from ground level. Not that this has really prevented an audience from forming; every window in every building around the square is open with two or three faces peeking through, and some wag had found a way to get up on the rooftops, which are littered with street fighting fans. They all give a cheer as Cai stumbles into the ring, not so much because they recognize the fighter -- in fact, this is his first fight in the Neo League -- but because it's finally going to start.

Cai Xuan staggers in toward the center of the makeshift arena, guzzling down the last drops of beer from the stein he holds. Tossing the heavy mug over his shoulder, he settles his hands in his pockets, giving Talia a red-cheeked grin. "Hiya, gorgeous. Glad y'could *hic!* make it. Wanna go get a drink after this is over?"

Talia stands in silence, regarding the.. entity before her. She looks at Cai with her typical flat gaze, remaining motionless as she considers the situation and her options. Finally, she opts for shifting into a combat stance, replying in a dry tone, "I'm afraid I have other arrangements." Despite the precautions of the officials, the immense -number- of people, and the difficulty in controlling a crowd this large, Talia is rather worried about harming an innocent. To address that, instead of drawing one of her typical firearms, she pulls a long stainless steel rod from within her coat. It's a few feet long, just enough to allow her to settle into staff fighting position.

Cai Xuan blinks once, then twice at the appearance of the staff. His grin gets wider, and he shrugs, taking a step forward. "Aw, that's a shame. Mebbe *hic* some other time. Be my treat." He continues walking toward Talia, but it's at the same easy pace as he took to actually get to the arena; he certainly doesn't appear braced to fight. He staggers once or twice, his path zigzagging across the ground in no particular pattern...at least until he starts toward Talia once again and catches his foot on an upturned cobblestone. With a yelp, he tumbles forward, rolling along the ground. Given his momentum, he's perhaps rolling a little farther and faster than a genuine fall might cause, but that doesn't change the rattling, clinking ball of drunkenness coming right for Talia.

COMBATSYS: Cai has started a fight here.

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Cai              0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Talia has joined the fight here.

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Cai              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Talia


COMBATSYS: Talia dodges Cai's Strong Punch.

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Cai              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Talia


There's a soft sigh as Talia regards the 'offense' coming towards her. Her neutral facade slips a bit, allowing the cameras to pick up a faintly disguested expression. While Talia takes a moment to watch what Cai does, it doesn't take her long to decide on a course of action. She steps smoothly to the side, putting a slight spin on her motion as she brings the rod in her hands around. What follows isn't a complicated technique, but it is very carefully executed; she finishes her spin behind Cai before he's completely passed her, and attempts to shove him in the back with one end of the hollowed metal. Ideally, this should both sting quite a bit, and help speed him away from her.

COMBATSYS: Cai blocks Talia's Medium Strike.

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Cai              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Talia


The simple stab with the pole catches Cai right in the back as he rolls along, but just before it hits him, he throws himself forward a little bit, moving with the attack to reduce the strength of the impact. As he does so, he stops rolling, his hands slapping down on the cobblestone. Still facing away from Talia, he kicks up into a sort of a handstand, one foot knocking the baton away, the other lashing out at her midsection. He doesn't stop there, either; after that kick, he twists around to face Talia, bringing his feet down to put his weight on them rather than his hands, then continues the odd spin, once more doing a semi-handstand facing away from Talia, only now he's traversed 90 degrees around her position. Once more he kicks out with both feet, and once more he continues his acrobatics, hopping up onto his feet, now nearly 180 degrees away from his original spot...and swaying more than a little.

COMBATSYS: Talia blocks Cai's Monkey Drinks Master's Wine.

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Cai              0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Talia


The first kick comes in fairly quick, and Talia isn't quite as prepared for it as she'd like. She shifts one elbow into position, keeping the foot from catching her gut directly, then spins quickly to a more established defensive position. When the double-kick comes, Talia's ready for this, putting the rod firmly in place to deflect both feet cleanly, then using the momentum to help push her away from Cai, putting some distance from her opponent.
Seeing the rather erratic nature of Cai's movements from up close, Talia decides she needs a better plan. She spends the next moment, however long Cai allows her, to sort through the information she's gained so far to work something more cohesive together.

COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Cai              0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Talia


Cai Xuan waggles a finger, stumbling back a step as he tries to recover from the acrobatics and focus on Talia. "Now, now..." His admonishing expression slowly shifts to puzzlement. "Forgot what I was gonna say. Oh well." He gives a sudden spring into action, leaping toward Talia in a spin. One hand lashes out as if to throw a backhand at her, but as it passes across her shoulder, he makes to grab for it. If he can latch on, he continues spinning, using his momentum to start -her- spinning, with the end result taking her off her feet and to the ground.

COMBATSYS: Talia parries Cai's Master Turns The Barrel!

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Cai              0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Talia


When Cai gets close, Talia raises the rod again, maintaining her defensive posture. She watches him very carefully, watching his motion for anything that can give an indication of a feint, a shift in position, or simply stumbling. When he comes in with his hand, she shifts the rod into a blocking position -- then realizes there's a grab.
Hm.
Talia shifts the position of the rod even as she starts to duck for a roll. Cai's hand? Instead of finding Talia's shoulder, it finds the rod, there for him to catch hold of if his reflexes allow it. Talia, on the other hand, has let go of the hollow metal tube, and has already rolled past Cai. Somewhere in the middle of the roll, Talia has finally drawn her trademark pistol, and is taking aim at her opponent's back from a crouch.
The shot that follows isn't fired haphazardly; it's precisely aimed at a specific spot just to the side of Cai's spine intended to interfere with Cai's coordination. She's not clear how much that would matter given the intense lack of coordination, but it's worth a try. Of course, if she misses the half inch wide target (or he staggers the right way), it won't matter anyway.

COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Cai with Nerve Lance EX.
- Power hit! -

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Cai              0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Talia


Of course, as Talia must realize by now, Cai's movements are not -completely- random; when he makes a grab like that, it's with full knowledge of what he's about to do. Therefore, there's an expectation that there'll be either a woman's weight dragging down his momentum or nothing but air. A metal rod is...not expected. He does grab it by reflex, but the unexpected thing in his hand causes him to stagger to a halt in his spinning and look in confusion at what he has in his hand.

That's just enough time for Talia to draw a bead on him.

The bullet rips right through his coat, slamming perfectly into the very spot Talia was aiming for. The sheer -pain- resulting from that hit slams through his drunken haze, sending a wracking shudder through his body. He lets out a yell, unmindful of any need to maintain a manly facade. The yell dwindles into a moan, and he falls forward, slamming facefirst into the cobblestones.

That might signal the end of the fight in most cases, but after a moment Cai groans and rolls over onto his back, wincing. He cranes his neck up to peer at Talia before panting out, "Nice...shot...ooogh." He lets his head flop back before digging around in his coat, shortly removing a small metal flask. He unscrews the top, taking a deep breath of the contents. Giving a happy sigh, he tilts the flask up, guzzling the liquor down. Time for a break, it seems.

COMBATSYS: Cai takes a breather.

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Cai              0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Talia


Well, that worked. Talia stands slowly as she looks over the results, somewhat surprised by the effectiveness. That went even better than she'd expected, although she's certainly not one to argue about getting her way. She watches Cai flop down, and gives a few moments to make sure he isn't getting up.. And, of course, he does. She'd have been sorely disappointed if that was enough to put him down.
As Cai settles down to enjoy his drink, Talia returns her pistol to a space within the folds of her coat. It only takes her a few steps to retrieve the rod Cai dropped, and then she turns to face the drunken chinese man. "Poor choice of methods." This is said in a flat tone, and doesn't at all indicate what follows.
Talia shifts her grip on the rod such that one hand is holding one end, then actually flings it past Cai. There's a fair amount of force there, and he might even feel the wind on his face as it passes, but it doesn't actually come close enough to risk hitting him. At the same time, Talia is running at Cai, turning at the last moment to run past him -- on the other side of Cai from the rod. Cai has a fairly small window to notice the wire before Talia catches the rod, and uses the wire to attempt to yank Cai into the air.
As always, it's not flight that's dangerous. It's the landing.

COMBATSYS: Cai blocks Talia's Flexibility.

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Cai              0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Talia


Cai Xuan pauses mid-drink as the rod flashes over him. It's not the best position to be in to react to an attack, so he really doesn't have much time to move even though he does see light glint off the wire. As Talia throws the rod and repositions herself, the wire loops around Cai's neck and the arm he'd raised to drink. The wire tightens as she pulls, and the thin line bites into Cai's bicep and the back of his neck. The wire isn't sharp enough to cut his coat, but there's going to be a serious bruise along his arm. His neck does have a line cut open, though, blood seeping out over the wire. It's not as bad as it could have been, however; had his arm not been there, it would have wrapped nice and tight around his neck. -That- would have sucked.

Tangled up as he is, there's not much Cai can do as far as moving. However, he manages to pour a swig of alcohol into his mouth. Rather than swallow, though, he spits it toward Talia. While she may be close enough to get some on her, that's not his real purpose.

With a sharp intake of breath, Cai turns to look at the wire...and exhales. What comes out isn't air or liquid, but a roaring gout of flame. Normally this short range burst of fire wouldn't have enough range to reach Talia...but the bit of alcohol that managed to cling to the wire has turned it into a vehicle for his fire, allowing it to travel up the wire to Talia's hands.

COMBATSYS: Cai successfully hits Talia with Dragon Lights The Candle.

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Cai              1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0            Talia


When Cai spits the alcohol at Talia, she's left confused. She instinctively steps back to get away from the liquid, loosening her grip on the wire for a moment, but more out of disgust than awareness of any danger. Then there's the fire. This catches Talia so completely off guard, that it's not until the fire is reaching her that it occurs to her to seperate the line from the end of the rod, and by that point she's already getting burned. As a credit to her stoicism, however, she doesn't cry out; Cai's reward is a pained hiss, and then retaliation.
Talia hasn't waited for the fire to die down on her before she steps in towards Cai, taking up the rod in a two-handed grip as she makes a step-stab towards her inebriated opponent. Instead of slamming him with the end of it as one might expect, she instead is aiming poke with the needle that Cai may now notice at the end. He might or might not wonder whether that needle was there before, but it'd be better to worry about the pressure point next to his sternum that Talia is trying to strike.

COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Cai with Point of Contention.

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Cai              1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0            Talia


"Yeeeeeow!" While Talia was dealing with the fire, Cai was trying to work his way out of the wire binding him. He only got partially loosened, though, before she returned to stab at him. No, he didn't notice the needle, and was prepared to bear the brunt of the attack...but the stab is -much- sharper than he expected, and the aforementioned yell is the result. Pained significantly more than he'd hoped for, Cai nevertheless pushes on, wrapping his hand around the close end of the rod. Jerking the needle out, he hauls the rod away from Talia, attempting to fling her off her feet and over him. All she has to do is let go, but maybe if he moves quickly enough...

COMBATSYS: Talia endures Cai's Quick Throw.

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Cai              1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0            Talia


This time, she gets the results she wanted, but the consequence is a little unexpected. While Talia carries a fair amount of hardware on her, she's not an extremely heavy person, so being hauled along isn't that difficult. In the short moment she has to work with, Talia weighs her options, and concludes that while this will be problematic for her in just a moment, it presents an opportunity she can't pass up. Removing one hand from the rod, she allows herself to be swung along, but in the process she draws her pistol, firing it at a nice spot on Cai's sternum. If all goes well, it will fracture the cartilage, and that will do wonders for his breathing.
Of course, this leaves her getting flung over Cai's shoulder, where she lands on the ground roughly. But hey, it was a chance she couldn't not take. She's lost her grip on the pole, but manages to recover from her landing into a defensive crouch, pistol still drawn.

COMBATSYS: Cai blocks Talia's Nerve Lance EX.

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Cai              1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1            Talia


With Talia in the air, there's no need for Cai to stay where he is. He starts to roll away as soon as he pulls Talia off her feet, the wire now loose enough to allow him to do so. Of course, he's not quick enough to avoid the shot she takes, but at least he's able to put his shoulder in the way. Unfortunately, the bullet slams into the bruising part of his bicep, breaking it open and causing blood to soak the sleeve of his coat.

Suppressing a wince, he continues his roll, pushing himself up to his feet. "You really know how to kill a buzz, dear." He reaches into his coat again, this time withdrawing a glass bottle of rum. He opens it and once more takes mighty swigs. "Aaahhhh! -That's- the stuff!" he sighs, swaying a little to keep his balance.

COMBATSYS: Cai gathers his will.

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Cai              2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1            Talia


Standing slowly, Talia watches Cai with a bit of wariness. She's in fairly good condition overall compared to her opponent, but the drunkard has surprised her a few times. It wouldn't be good to give him an opening to do so again, since 'fairly good' can change rapidly, as Cai can likely attest. When he draws out another bottle, Talia frowns slightly. Nobody should be able to consume that much alcohol and still maintain effectiveness.. Unless..
Talia settles into a slightly more relaxed stance, resting her pistol against her shoulder as she looks over her opponent with faintly displayed amusement. "Tell me.. With a blood-alcohol concentration that high.." She reaches into pocket with her left hand, drawing a small metal object. "... is your blood flamable?" There's a quick flip, and she ignites the lighter, with a faint smile. Of course, this is all just banter; she's really watching over Cai's physical state, attempting to judge how well he can continue to fight, and what best to do about it.

COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.

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Cai              2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1            Talia


Cai Xuan puts the cap back on the bottle, tucking it away in a deep pocket. "Flammable?" He gives a shrug. "Y'know, I've never tried to find out?" He gives her a sly grin, and with a click of his tongue he purses his lips together, letting a very small flame emit from his mouth, mimicking the lighter.

After only a brief moment, though, the flame extinguishes, and Cai gets a puzzled, slightly cross-eyed look on his face. "Ehnnn...." Eyelids drifting closed, the drunkard topples backward, his shoulders thudding onto the ground, coat clattering with the objects within. He lays there, arms and legs splayed out...and snores.

COMBATSYS: Cai gathers his will.

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Cai              2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1            Talia


When Cai falls over, Talia sighs. She turns for a camera, and .. looks at it. Her relatively impassive expression only barely manages to exude a "Why me?" demeanor for a short moment, before she gets back to the task of making sure this fool stays down. Since Cai's been kind enough to -- at least, to appearances -- pass out for the moment, Talia casually puts away her pistol, walking over to where the hollow pole landed. She picks it up, examining it for any obvious damage, then turns towards Cai.

There's another short pause, then Talia is sprinting towards Cai. Instead of lunging for him, however, she leaps into the air from several meters away. Just as she's almost at the apex of the jump -- several meters above her prone target -- she swings the pole downward. The audience and cameras may pick up a flicker in the air between Talia and Cai, but it's just as likely they may miss it. What's more likely to be seen is the set of three extremely fine needles after they land -- ideally, they'll have struck three specific pressure points, intended to loosen damage the cartilage around the ribcage.

COMBATSYS: Cai fails to interrupt Biting Gale from Talia with Eagle Carries Wine Bottle.
- Power hit! -

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Cai              1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0            Talia


The moment Talia commits herself to an aerial attack, Cai's eyes snap open. His legs pull together, feet planting themselves squarely on the ground, and he pulls himself toward them, his center of gravity smoothly coming up and over his legs. Within less than a second, he'd gone from snoring sleep to on his feet, and he kicks off, leaping in the air presumably to meet Talia midway.

As fast as he is, though, he'd miscalculated. The rod was a melee weapon, and theoretically he should've had a couple milliseconds more time before he was in range. The needles that flick out the end are a complete surprise, and he gives a jerk in midair, flecks of redness splashing out as the needles sink in. Thoroughly surprised, he can do little but sail harmlessly past Talia and back to the ground into a tumble and heap of clothing.

Cai Xuan rolls onto his side, expression contorted to display an emotion quite unusual for him: pain. He grasps at his shirt, fingers seeking the needles and trying to yank them out. His shirt is red naturally, but there's a definite sheen of wetness there, and the cobblestones he'd landed on are unmistakably painted red. "Hah..." he exhales, grimacing. "...fooled ya, din't I..."

With the height of the jump, Talia has no trouble maintaining clearance to land cleanly on the other side of Cai from where she started. Turning back towards her opponent, she just shakes her head, looking faintly disappointed. "I'm afraid you give yourself far too much credit.." There's a slight shrug as she regards her still-prone opponent, then she slips back into her staff-fighter posture. She watches Cai for just a moment longer, then lunges in, a very direct and straightforward attack, as she attempts to slam the end of the stainless steel tube into Cai's side, aiming to simply bludgeon with the intent to exacerbate the needle technique damage.

COMBATSYS: Cai blocks Talia's Fierce Strike.

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Cai              1/--=====/=======|=------\-------\0            Talia


Cai Xuan tosses the needles onto the ground, letting them clink together. He reaches gingerly into his coat, withdrawing a wide squat bottle. He knocks the top off, holding it above his chest and letting the alcohol splash onto the wounds. He barely winces at that, but it helps. The pain dulls into the background, although it's not going anywhere. It'll be more than happy to catch him after the show.

Cai Xuan looks up as Talia rushes him, not...-really- looking panicked. He's not gonna be able to continue much longer, so what's the point of being worried? Still, there's no point in going quietly, and since she's shown herself to be a hardcore kinda girl, may as well change up the tactics a bit.

The rod comes swinging down hard, and Cai shifts his arm which holds the bottle, letting the rod smack down hard against his bicep. Thankfully it's not the one that had been damaged before. The attack stopped, Cai gathers his feet underneath himself, and with one giant heave, he straightens up as quickly as he can, body swaying backward and arms flailing with the momentum. The bottle stays in his hand, gripped tightly around the neck, and as his arm flails for balance, the path of the butt of the bottle just happens to intersect with where Talia's chin currently is.

COMBATSYS: Talia dodges Cai's Bottle Breaks The Mirror.

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Cai              1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0            Talia


When Cai comes up from his prone position, Talia is forced to abandon her staff stance, releasing the pole with one hand as she spreads her arms wide. She leans back, allowing the bottle to pass just over her face, then works to recover her balance, having to drop the pole to keep from tipping over.
Stance back under control, she leans in towards Cai, and attempts to grab ahold of his arm. The throw she intends to use next should bring Cai back down to earth, so to speak, although it isn't leveraged as well as Talia would like.

COMBATSYS: Cai just-defends Talia's Quick Throw!

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Cai              1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0            Talia


The bottle continues in an arc, momentum carrying it and his arm up over his head. Thankfully there wasn't much liquid left in it, or it'd be pouring over him right about now. The motion twists his torso one way, leaving one arm open for Talia to grab.

Twisting in such a manner, of course, generates potential energy, just waiting to be released. And when Talia grabs his arm to try and put him down, Cai rolls with it, using her force to send his body spinning the other way. -Normally-, untwisting like this wouldn't be a huge deal. But Cai's body straightens out...and just keeps going. At the same time, he kicks off with his feet, driving his body in toward Talia's. The forward motion coupled with the spin presents Talia with Cai's version of a Psycho Crusher, the drunk man's head drilling at her torso with remarkable speed. It won't last long, of course, as it's just his body and not using any energy force, but it lasts long enough.

COMBATSYS: Cai successfully hits Talia with Crazy Corkscrew Opens Bottle.

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Cai              0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Talia


On realizing that she isn't getting the desired result from trying to grab Cai, Talia starts to take a step back. Unfortunately, she finds that she isn't moving nearly fast enough to get out of the path of the odd retaliation. Struck squarely, Talia has this very short moment where she has a puzzled expression, then she's slammed backwards through the air.

While Talia does manage to pull a fairly impressive recovery, landing in a crouch afterwards, it's fairly obvious from the way she holds herself that she did, in fact, feel that particular blow, unorthodox as it was. Reaching behind her, Talia decides to upgrade her choice of armaments. Drawing forth the police-grade shotgun, Talia casually loads a few shells into the weapon all without even bothering to stand. "You know, you really have begun to irritate me."
That's what passes for warning as Talia skips the standing step, and simply leaps into the air alongside Cai, moving past him as she aims the barrel of the firearm at his knee. At the speed she's moving, she'll have passed before the sound of the weapon's retort reaches the audience, and it's only then when it'll be clear whether she managed to disable the limb or not.

COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Cai with Shell Effect.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[                         \\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Cai              0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Talia


Cai Xuan flops to the ground after his short burst of speed peters out, but he pushes himself up to a one-legged kneeling position without much fuss. "I'm sorry to hear tha-" She's a limber minx, innit she? Cai would have expected more start-up time for a lunge like that, but as it is, he's caught with one knee sticking out as a very exposed target. The shot slams into it dead on, and the force causes his legs to buckle, sending him spinning to the grond to wind up on his back with his legs in a tangle. His pants and coat are shredded from the blast, and unlike the shirt, there's a very clear, spreading dark spot on his pant leg. Underneath the cloth, his knee can be seen, and it looks quite painful.

Cai Xuan lies there a moment, staring wordlessly up into the sky. All effort is going into not passing out, not giving into the pain. He can't even bring himself to reach for a bottle, which would be helpful. After a moment, he croaks, "If I irritate you....the fight's not fun any more, yeah? I...don't think we need...to keep going." His chest heaves as he draws deep breaths, forcing himself to stay on this side of consciousness, but unlike the (several) other times he's fallen in this fight, it's clear he has no intention of getting up again.

COMBATSYS: Cai takes no action.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Talia            0/-------/--=====|


COMBATSYS: Cai can no longer fight.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Talia            0/-------/--=====|


Talia has landed in a defensive position, half-expecting Cai to still pull another 'accidental' stunt out of somewhere, although even despite the antics so far, she knows it's not really likely. Still, she's on her guard for a moment before finally deciding that Cai isn't actually going to retaliate. Relaxing just slightly, she looks at her opponent with an impassive expression. At his statement, she shrugs, and begins removing the unspent shells from her weapon.

"Very well." Talia puts the firearm away, then moves to recover the stainless steel tube she's used throughout the fight. She glances to one of the officials to confirm she's done here, then steps out of the way to allow medical personnel to attend to Cai. There's one final glance at her defeated opponent, then Talia turns to walk out of the arena, ignoring the noise of the audience.

COMBATSYS: Talia takes no action.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Talia            0/-------/--=====|


COMBATSYS: Talia has ended the fight here.


By now, the pain's subsided enough for Cai to pull out a small flask. He unscrews the top, letting the clear liquid splash into his mouth. He only gets a few drops in before one of the approaching paramedics plucks it out of his hand, giving him a stern look while the others examine his wounds. The drunken boxer is placed on a stretcher and carried away to the nearby ambulance.

With that, the cheering audience disperses. Time to continue the festivities!

Log created by Cai, and last modified on 21:56:18 02/11/2006.