Description: Violence at the Seijyun Theater! (Winner: Talia)
Serim, for his own merit, has somehow managed to find his way up onto the active stage of Seijyun Theater, a placid expression crossing his face. He had to admit, he'd had a hard time getting in Seijyun, with their various forms of exclusivity, but, it's amazing what a few simply placed words can do. That and a flash of the appropriate status mixed with a fold of several bills.
Such could be considered the prime reasoning for why he hasn't been laughed out of the place yet.
After all, he's currently with a set of actors during what might in fact be a rehearsal ending. The girls tend to treat him with a mix of vague interest and disdain--interest possibly for his bright smile and novel hair, disinterest most definitely due to the weathered robe he wears, the one they'll probably mention later as being more suited for catching oil or letting dogs sleep on than wearing.
Something of a further regret are the students, who finally walk off the stage, waving to him and giggling to one another. They'd had no information for him. It's of little affair, of course, or bother to him.
Still..alas. Serim will probably be known forever here as 'the dog man.'
There is, of course, more than one way to infiltrate a holding. Not one for social manipulation, Talia has instead taken the tack of covertly entering the facility, searching the grounds for her target while maintaining an unnoticed presence. Really, sometimes it's astonishing how often people fail to look anywhere other than in front of them, even in the schools that promote martial ability. It sometimes seems as if people don't /want/ to notice anything out of the ordinary..
Currently, Talia is moving amongst the shadows in the rafters of the theater. The irony here being that she's now closer to the lights than anyone else in the room, and yet the least lit. Although her expression never shows it, Talia is beginning to suffer from frustration, as she's searched nearly half the school, and there's no sign of her intended prey. It's wearing on her patience.
Serim can only see his own shadow as his hands go limp at his sides. As he's now more or less alone in the theater to his immediate knowledge, he'll allow himself a long-suffering sigh. His target isn't in today, either. It would seem to be at least one trait that the two share.
He blinks once, at the outline of the light.
And begins to grin again.
".. Lighting technicians don't usually move that quietly," Serim remarks, loud and clear to everyone in the room, of whom there are two. He's used to knowing when they're there--for simple fact that he's blessed with the awareness of a trained fighter.
But he doesn't bother to look up.
He's quite sure it'd be a pointless endeavor.
There's a faint sigh, although it's more the release of tightly held breath than any particular expression of emotion. Can't be the perfect ninja every day, it appears.. Not that she has the proper training for it, anyway. Just a reasonable facsimile. Close enough for the home viewers, so to speak.
There's a dull 'whump' as Talia drops from the rafters, landing several meters away from Serim. She tilts her head to the side as she regards him, wondering why exactly someone such as him would be in a place such as this, but not having decided it's worthwhile to inquire, yet.
Good enough for the viewers. And /usually/ good enough for the trained. "I must admit," the man notes, "I wouldn't have noticed a moment ago." He doesn't care to explain how he found out. It wouldn't be useful to the context of the conversation. And Serim, while exquisitely interested in details, isn't interested in being condescending.
The man turns to face Talia, looking her over briefly.
"I don't assume you go to this school." Serim suggests first. It seems the most fitting assertion. She's not quite dressed in Seijyun proper, and she looks a little too old. The latter being the most damning--he's been told there's a gang here, even within these walls of privilege and pomp.
After a second look, though, he pauses. Thoughtfully.
"... Oh. Excuse--I do believe I'm familiar with you."
Another pause.
"Or at least someone whom looks like you," he adds.
"I'm quite certain we haven't met." The response comes immediately after Serim's last statement, although there's no haste.. It's simply such a certainty that Talia didn't need time to consider it. She looks the man over again and adds, "I don't recall seeing anyone like you, either." Of course, this has the side benefit of giving her a moment to consider the situation in general. She finally concedes, "No, I do not attend this facility." She doesn't feel any need to elaborate; her business is her own, and not a concern of his. She instead reaches into her pocket, checking the tiny lit display of a device with a faint frown.
"Of course," Serim allows for the entirety of her response, but he doesn't ask her any further of her business here. It is, as said, her own. And it's not something Serim feels a terrible need to pry in. Such is the dance, of course. The swordsman does, however, check her lighted device with some measure of interest. Another thing he doesn't inquire after.
Instead, he elects to take a different tack.
"It's simply that.. I am a study of the fighting arts," or so Serim summarizes to the best of his ability. "I .. am.. enthusiastic towards the innovative," he explains, carefully. Words are wasted, but only a few, as it is a weakness of his. He does his best to remain terse and follow to the logical conclusion.
"You'll understand how the name and image of someone known for their ability to use common firearms would be easily memorable."
This he lets stand on its own. Talia would be able to easily tell he's studying her expression with a kind of detached, passive interest. Her response there will outweigh her response in words. Or so he believes.
Returning the device to her pocket, Talia looks back to Serim with the same flat expression she's mostly maintained since she dropped from above. She listens to his commentary, considers his words, then notes in the same flat tone she's used in her responses so far, "Your interests are of no consequence to me. Unless you have business with me aside from chatter, I have work to do." With that, she takes a few steps towards the center of the stage, hands in her pockets, looking up to the rafters.
So he believed falsely. How sad.
Serim could only rely on what he was told, and how he was trained. Unfortunately, relying on it is a bit of a weakness in this case, as it's greeted without even the slightest blink, and there's nothing to be done to see past /that/. He was hoping a closer study may reveal something, but.. Well. Good enough for viewers, and then some.
Fortunately, Serim also is given the gift of persistence.
He can tell by her choice of words, if not necessarily her reaction, that she has more to conceal than meets the eye. And there's only one way to find out. An interesting discovery is well worth his time. ".. No, no business with you," he starts, "...at least, none a moment ago fair."
He pulls aside a fold of his cloak, revealing a long bound hilt for a blade. "As I said, I'm an enthusiast. And I've determined you're of interest, regardless of your identity. Therefore, more so than my target here.. I'll make you my business."
It's not posed in a threatening tone. Just that same subtle, matter-of-fact way. Carrying with it, implicit, a question. Something made crystal to the observant by his next.
"You're familiar with the Neo League, I trust?"
There's a few moments where Talia makes no move to acknowledge any of what Serim says or does. She continues staring at the rafters in silence, seeming oblivious to the attempt at conversation. Fortunately, she does eventually turn back to him, the same blank expression on her face. She replies calmly, "I am familiar with it, along with the injury liability policies if a member is challenged when they do not wish it. Are you certain this is a path you wish to pursue?" There's no malicious or threatening aspect to her tone either; she's simply making statements, and verifying intent. The only move she makes that in any way acknowledges the implied threat -- warning? -- is to remove her left hand from her pocket, leaving her right out of view in the coat.
"If it pleases you," Serim acknowledges.
He's equally level, but far more--buoyant, if the term explains it--than Talia. As if he's anticipating. It follows that the mention of liability doesn't seem to faze him in the slightest. "I'll see what sort of person you are. For that... I think your medical bills, and my inevitable own, is a small price."
Serim doesn't seem to be very aggressive, but his tone is even. Thankfully, indeed. A situation like this won't easily be solved by a matter of simple threat and pursuit.
It's not a big secret that that wouldn't satisfy him in the least.
"Are you prepared to defend yourself?"
There's a short moment while Talia stares at Serim, then she returns her gaze to the rafters for a few moments longer, looking for all the world as if she'd lost interest in the man. After a period of contemplation, she finally shifts her stances slightly, subtly. It's a sign of readiness. Turning her gaze back to Serim, she replies, "Your survival is your own responsibility." It's just as detached a statement as the rest, and she has nothing further to say.. She's too busy working over all the relevant details in her mind.
For her, the fight has already begun.
COMBATSYS: Talia has started a fight here.
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Talia 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Serim has joined the fight here.
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Talia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Serim
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
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Talia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Serim
He nods.
Simply enough--
"I understand."
At that point, Serim draws his blade from his robe. Of interest: He is apparently able to produce what roughly amounts to a six foot length of steel from a region of his coat that is less than half that size. The point of said six foot length covers over the polished wood floors. It lifts very slightly, guard still at Serim's hip.
"Let's begin."
Relevant details are something Serim thinks up on the fly. Traditionally, though contemplative, he doesn't do well with downtime unless he's at least bleeding a little. He has a.. what we would call a 'wandering mind.' This is why he dives straight forward towards Talia, watching her even as he fires off a seeking thrust at Talia's midsection, attempting to open up her defense with speed. He won't give her time to contemplate the style of his sword. He draws, then attacks.
Anything else would be foolishness.
COMBATSYS: Serim successfully hits Talia with Through the Keyhole.
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Talia 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Serim
When Serim closes, Talia miscalculates. She didn't account for how quickly her opponent could move with that rather large weapon in hand, nor for the precision with which he could direct it. These details are quite important, and not having considered the ranges into which they could fall, Talia finds herself stabbed. It's not pleasant. Hissing in pain, the first real reaction she's displayed so far, she quickly steps back, mimicing Serim's own production by drawing her shotgun. Even before it's fully cleared her coat, she's produced a pair of green shells, loaded them into the weapon, and racked it quickly.
Cha-chunk. The barrel is levelled at Serim's chest, and the two shaped-charge concussion grenades are fired at rather close range. They're not quite as damaging as some of her other options, but they lack less precision to be fully usable for their desired purpose. Namely, putting distance between herself and her opponent. As an added bonus, the kickback boosts her into a backwards tumble, hopefully putting herself in the opposite direction she expects Serim to travel.
COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Serim with Shell Effect.
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Talia 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Serim
His weapon moves like an angry viper. When it finds purchase, it doesn't spend too long there, withdrawing and raising to eye level for Serim. When she finally draws against him, his expression brightens considerably. He was hoping for this. More importantly, he seems almost pleased with the speed of her draw. And to be subsequently blown away.
Well, no, that's a lie.
While he grimaces from the sudden impact, the tails of Serim's robe is blown back by the shaped charges and shortly following the tails is Serim himself. His foreshirt is blown to tatters around his stomach, leaving readily scorched flesh. The charges weren't as powerful as they could have been, but Serim's voice is wet and pained all the same.
".. I'd.. I'd hoped it was you," Serim admits, "that you were able to hit me that quickly.. heh. This will be very educational."
His blade raises again so he can sight across it, and Serim breathes once, outwards. He takes a half step forward, perfecting his stance towards the woman. There are a few items he'd like to see before he leaves here tonight.
COMBATSYS: Serim focuses on his next action.
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Talia 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Serim
Once Talia manages to successfully break from the melee, she quickly drops into a crouch, re-examining the shift in the combat situation quickly. On Serim's comment, there's a brief pause, as if Talia is puzzled, but it passes quickly. When Serim repositions himself in what Talia takes to be a defensive stance, she returns the shotgun to its place within her coat, instead drawing her 9mm pistol.
There's another brief moment of contemplation, then Talia flicks the weapon over to its fully automatic setting, only needing a moment to aim at her target. The clusters of rounds fired at Serim serve two purposes; one to force him out of his defensive stance and do something, and two, to try to force him into a few narrow paths of travel. The bullets are actually grouped into six tightly packed sets of three, each clearly aimed in a possible escape vector.. with the first cluster aimed at his current position, to discourage him standing in place.
COMBATSYS: Serim fails to interrupt Burst Fire from Talia with Sunsplitting Thrust.
- Power fail! -
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Talia 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Serim
He's aware of the obvious danger of her pistol fire. In a moment, he understands what she can do in an instant, managing recoil and effort to send sprays of shot at him. He recognizes it for what it is--suppression fire. It's a common technique against him. He's developed certain defenses for it.
But most importantly, Serim will want to see how she handles other options. In this case, he takes his own path. Directly through the bullets. Preparing his blade, the swordsman kicks off the ground and directly towards the hail. If he can just interpose his blade just right, he might be able to--
At that point, Serim realizes it won't work. There was a bullet or two he failed to account for. Ones he couldn't minimalize or simply blast aside. That's her game, is it? They land in his chest at various locations, driving the swordsman back with a really loud call of pain. Crumpling to the ground as he's driven back, his sword instinctively comes up to guard, even tho it does little good. HE sitll manages to work an arm bleeding from the shoulder to clasp hard over some of the more pertinent chest wounds.
His attack, and any attempt at even calling it an attack in the first place, is basically nullified.
He isn't sure how to take that, initially. He appears confused.
Talia senses more than perceives that her first goal is met, as she's focused all of her attention into tracking the vectors controlled by her second goal. Once she's aware he's moving, she quickly narrows down the number of options he can pursue from his stance, and .. Well. Talia can't help but blink in surprise when she determines that Serim has taken the most brazen path, but it doesn't keep her from quickly reworking her plan. Rapidly stepping forward, Talia removes the empty clip from her pistol before returning the weapon to her coat. While her hand is hidden, she taps a button within her coat. While it's possible that Serim might hear the faint beep within the article of clothing, his attention is more likely to be drawn to the sound of a charge detonating in the rafters above him.
Leaping into the air, Talia grabs hold of a falling object: a long hollow stainless steel tube that Serim may have seen in prior footage of her fights. What he probably previously hasn't seen is a light fixture attached to one end, which Talia swings in a wide arc towards her opponent.
COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Serim with Weighted Matter.
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Talia 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Serim
In this case, sidestepping won't be useful either.
Serim gets to his feet quickly and readily, his blade moving quickly between his hands, the length managed quickly and easily, despite his very obvious injury. One hand goes to the weapon's pommel. One of the benefits of the thrust is that it pretty much assures his opponent is at range from him and his own attack profile in minimized. However, he couldn't move quickly enough for this to matter against...this. First the explosion, drawing his attention upwards. Then, what he now sees as a staff--something he recognizes, and the makeshift lighting mallet-head at the end--something he does not. Smashed, the man grunts, skidding away from Talia, his frame and shoulder absorbing most of the impact and probably resulting in a fracture in that arm. He manages to stay standing, but only just so.
"You're definitely on a different level.."
But Serim? Still, that same grim look of satisfaction.
He leans back, rotating his stance away on one foot, holding his blade edge up, high above his head.
Putting distance between the two.
"I'm pleased."
The thrust begins deep, from his far shoulder, as he smoothly rotates his entire body forward. And fast. Too fast, for the weight of that blade. Too fast, for the injuries he's sustained. In an explosion of motion, he's trying to get past the guard that weapon presents with his suprising range and catch Talia in her right shoulder joint with the very point of his blade. To mire the curve there. If he can, he'll just keep running with her on the point. Until he hits the back wall of the theatre.
Given his injuries to his arms, the stress might pain him as much as it does Talia.
COMBATSYS: Serim successfully hits Talia with Carry Thrust.
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Talia 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Serim
Once Serim is knocked away from her, Talia steps back herself, tapping her improvised sledgehammer in a certain way against the stage, allowing the additions to the staff to slip loose. Falling into a combat stance more likely to be recognizable to Serim, she takes up the weapon in both hands as proper for a bo. She watches him with that same flat gaze, although her eyes widen slightly as Serim closes.
Again, she misjudges his movement ability, and this time finds herself hauled across the room in a vastly painful manner. She can't help but cry out this time, in a mixture of pain and frustration - but she does manage to recover her composure quickly, at least visibly. Around the time Serim is completing his journey and she's making a new friend with the wall, Talia has managed to re-assert a combat grip on her weapon, albeit one-handed, and attempts to remove Serim from her presence -- and his weapon from her body, for that matter -- by way of a precise one-handed poke with one end of the staff.
COMBATSYS: Serim interrupts Weapon Jab from Talia with The Mirage.
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Talia 1/-======/=======|=======\==-----\1 Serim
Serim gasps, his reaction subdued in comparison to Talia's own during the shock of the impact--both with her and the wall, but he endures, throguh gritted teeth. His arms ache rightn ow, but it's not something he endures morosely. Having her pinned to the wall on the end of his sword, the man breathes. Her response is fast. Maybe too fast. But she's still on the end of his blade. And as long as that's true, he still has an option.
Let's see how she responds.
His sword arm flexes and shifts. His blade twists in the wound he's already generated, using the pommel to only partially block--redirecting the staff jab. It affords him the needed time.
.. The weapon seems to shift. It comes alive, malleable in the wound. There are few better words for it than the blade explodes, a kind of odd shiver reverberating down it to cause the weapon to simply try and mushroom out into a nest of spikes, both pressing free of the injury and making the wound deeper as the jab slams into Serim's side. In the end, the result is the same. Serim's body breaks from Talia's with a grunt, as does his sword. Even as it is now seen, the blade seems, in any cursory expection to be.. as new as the day a weapon is first forged.
Not counting any obvious blood.
Of course.
The blade isn't the only thing that explodes. Talia finds her world a burst of pain, and she really has no useful way to quantify what exactly just happened, and that puts her in a level of distress she still hasn't learned how to handle, although it's arisen more than once since she stepped out of her hometown and into the wider world. To her, this whole situation is entirely unacceptable. There's blood everywhere, and the vast majority of it belongs to Talia. Something has happened, but she doesn't know what. The only thing she knows is that Serim did it, and she doesn't know how to stop him from doing it again.
There's a muted grunt of pain as Talia launches herself away from the wall at an angle to put herself at a more notable distance from Serim than she currently is, landing in a disheveled heap, far from the grace she displayed earlier. In an attempt to correct the mess of her shoulder, Talia uses her good arm and her staff as a form of crowbar, to reshape her shoulder into something more useful for the rest of the battle. Field triage completed, she slips back into a defensive stance, making use of both arms as if she hadn't just been injured, despite the pain that would obviously occur. Not that there's any pain showing on her face..
No, not pain, but there is another emotion: Fear. Bordering on terror, in fact, and it's directed at Serim, and that weapon of his. All of Talia's world has shrunk down to addressing the threat posed by the combination of man and blade.
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
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Talia 1/-======/=======|=======\==-----\1 Serim
Aislinn has disconnected.
Serim skids to a stop, not entirely amazed at the amount of damage he did. It's to be expected--not many people were able to walk away from an encounter with his blade without at least one wound. Given what his style is capable of, it's usually a notable one.
With one sweep, most of the blood on the blade is cast away, and the point reorienting on the woman.
... Though now, the situation is a little different, isn't it?
Serim's brow knits in confusion as he reads something in Talia's stance. The expected--that she'd recover quickly--occurs. But there's something different. Something he can't quite place until he thinks to at once examine her more closely. She's weakened considerably, that much is true, but--now she's lost a lot of her disinterest from before. That businesslike efficiency that he was just becoming accustomed to.
Everyone's face is unique, but Serim can detect an air of fear when he sees it.
He pauses, briefly.. curious. "...Not an uncommon reaction," he admits, "though yours is.. something different, isn't it?" It's not a question that wants an answer. Hm. The reaction in particular captures his attention. Something that stays his hand. Makes him wait, patiently. It's hardly because he pities the woman. That's the mark of a fool, and the path to a swift and brutal beating. No. Academically, he is fascinated.
He doesn't ask anything else.
Her answer will come, heedless of that.
COMBATSYS: Serim focuses on his next action.
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Talia 1/-======/=======|=======\==-----\1 Serim
For a little longer, Talia contemplates. She doesn't see the paths anymore, the ways to resolve this. She's too out of touch with the situation, has lost the lines of probability. She's lost her mind, as far as she knows. She's consumed with the threat before her so much that she isn't able to /know/ the way she spent so long training herself to know.. So instead she's forced to act on intuition, instinct. The unreliable ways, but at the moment the only ways she has..
There's a single twirl of the staff, then it's slammed down into the floor before her, the hollow steel becoming a stable vertical fixture with only a moment's effort. Talia takes a step back, looks at Serim one more time with that frightened expression, then kicks herself forward. She holds onto the staff as she sprints around it once to build momentum, then launches into the air. While she's ascending, she draws her shotgun from her coat. At the apex, she's loading a pair of shells -- yellow, if you're able to perceive the action -- into the weapon. As she starts her descent towards Serim, Talia aims the weapon at his chest, waiting until the last feasible moment before firing.
A rain of needles comes down, a torrent of puncturing, all in a very tightly packed formation, intended to not just strike, but shred a critical point, one which should significantly impact Serim's ability to properly breathe if they strike properly. Of course, there's also the secondary effect of being impaled with dozens of inch-long needles, if he's struck at all.
COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Serim with 12-Gauge Chakra Shatter.
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Talia 0/-------/----===|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Serim
There's something different. A quality that Talia simply lacks that she had before. And for the life of him, Serim cannot figure out exactly why that quality is missing. He's used to the surprise of others facing his weapon. That's nothing new. This is something that he's never been privy to, however, not even of the others he's fought before.
So he is focused and ready when Talia recovers enough to attack. It's not particularly calculated, but Serim is, hardly fast enough to catch just what happens next. He simply hasn't the 'rank' for it yet. If you will.
Unfortunately, that's a flaw which ultimately leads to his severe inability to handle what happens next on any level. The shotgun orients on him at almost point blank range, and the agent tries to simply shift to the side, to break out of the way, but what happens next is merely inexorable. Inescapable. To him, practically unavoidable. His chest is perforated like so much paper by the dozens of needles, filling him like a pincushion surrounding the deadly point. He would yell, if he could breathe. His chi points are sealed, his very breathing is sealed. The swordsman flies back, blade stubbornly clung to as if it were a life preserver even as he crashes, rolling to a stop.
.. Ultimately, it's hardly a surprise to him.
It's a few moments later that it even occurs to the swordsman to get up. His breath? Slow.. but shallow. Still alive, as he drives his blade fhrough the floorboards in the theater with a crack and a concert of pops from splitting wood deep within, his own blood staining those boards now. There's not as much of it, as even in this state he can tell the attack isn't meant to draw it, for favor of a more vital point. Appreciation comes readily, though the means to express it, less so. He can breathe.. but only barely, via a herculean effort of will. Staring at Talia with wide eyes and a face not marked by any easily identifiable emotion, he opens his mouth to say something...
And promptly smashes face first into the hardwood.
The weapon, driven halfway into the ground as if an anchor, stands watch over the man. A silent vigil.
COMBATSYS: Serim takes no action.
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Talia 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Serim can no longer fight.
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Talia 0/-------/----===|
Knowing that her shot struck true, Talia hops back to look at the result, to make sure that her opponent is well and truly disabled. When he collapses, her expression begins to... thaw, somewhat. The fear that was plainly visible fades, and then after another moment she's returned to the emotionless mask. She regards Serim for a few more moments, then casually walks over to pull his sword loose, walk--
.. Wait. There's a problem. Namely, the sword isn't coming loose. Blinking, Talia wraps both hands around the weapon, pulling with a little more effort.. nothing. Kneeling down to examine where the weapon has entered the floor, Talia's confusion isn't so much visible on her face.. but more perceptible as an aura. Examining a moment further, Talia finally shrugs, pulling a few black colored shells from her pocket. She arranges them in a circle around the sword, business-ends pointed down. A short moment with some wire and a detonator later, and Talia has blasted a cone around the weapon, jarring the inexplicably solid mass of flooring loose from the rest of the theater.
The significant amount of effort that follows is all caught on the cameras that Serim had apparently arranged earlier, although likely not for this particular fight. Talia's mighty struggle against the Sword in the Plank is immortalized in high def digital video.. But she does eventually drag the whole mess out of the building, and nobody seems terribly inclined to get in her way to stop her.
COMBATSYS: Talia has ended the fight here.
...Some time later...
Serim's hand twitches.
There's a brief wheeze, as he gets up, vaguely sore, and, more importantly, missing something that is making him ache. It's something he can't quite place at first, at least until he reaches up.. to find nothing there.
"...!"
He is not surrounded by anyone, as the people he all carefully bribed to get in wanted nothing to do with the resultant mess, and curious students certainly aren't going to go near that mess of meat and destruction. He'd expected that. This scenario was not one that was alien, or even particularly bothersome. What is most troubling is the /crater/ he's woken up next to, and notable lack of blade next to him. Subsequently, prioritization is the first word that comes to mind, even as his breath is still shallow. Medical attention will be necessary.
It's in this businesslike fashion that his feet collect slowly underneath him as he gets up to limp away.
An ironic fact is that he might not have ever gotten up had someone not taken his weapon.
He was quite content, you see.
Log created by Talia, and last modified on 12:21:18 09/17/2006.