Description: Atop a skyscraper, Alma has a rematch with Aislinn--League style, one-on-one, with, perhaps, surprising results. At least his pretty face didn't get headbutted this time... (Draw Match)
Sunlight filters through the chill autumn air to reveal vibrant green where it otherwise would be most unlikely. Here, in the midst of the densely urban office sprawl of Southtown, deep in the business district, some enterprising executive desperate for fresh air and an opportunity to escape from the cloying workplace atmosphere constructed this, a tasteful garden at the top of a skyscraper. Small flowers add speckles of color to the greys and tans of the building, green leaves forming a kind of short hedge around the edges as though in an attempt to fence off the rest of the world. This bit of the roof has had white tiles laid into the floor, and someone even set a patio table and a few wireframe chairs out as though this were someone's backyard -- but the furniture has been set up against the wall for now, the better for the Neo League cameramen to get an angle on the action.
Alma Towazu, fighting model and champion of virtue, did not ask for this set-up. All he told them was that he requested a match with Aislinn Doyle and, well, that's what they've given him, so he doesn't have any reason to complain. Not that he would complain anyway, by the look of him; the tall youth, dressed in autumn wear equal parts comfortable and stylish, stands with one hand slipped into the pocket of his lightweight cargo pants, a stray red-tinged blonde bang obscuring one of his eminently calm eyes. He got here a bit early, just to spend some time getting a feel for the place and patiently sweeping his gaze over the area, and now he seems content to just look off into the horizon as he so often does when nothing else requires his attention.
No, he has no reason to complain... but...
...couldn't they have put him somewhere where he /can't/ be thrown off a roof?
COMBATSYS: Aislinn has started a fight here.
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Aislinn 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
She almost didn't agree to the match. It would only be sensible not to, for several reasons--the missing Foxy, Alma's recent attack on the NESTS Cartel base and his subsequent recognition of her... it all spells the culmination of a serious problem. Should Alma choose to out her during this League fight, there could be some very serious consequences. After all, people finding out about her affiliation--or thinking they've found out--was never in the plan. Furthermore, she simply wasn't in Japan when the challenge was made, having gone to the NESTS base to help formulate strategies for finding and rescuing Foxy. But when the call came, Krizalid urged her to go. It was important to keep appearances up; it could cause too much suspicion, given Aislinn's absence at school and her absence from Saturday Night Fights... so Aislinn packed herself onto a plane.
The timing's worked out just fine; the NESTS craft, a souped-up 'commuter' plane, reached Japanese airspace at noon; by two p.m., the plane is buzzing (having switched from jet engine to the standard propeller engine) high above the rooftop garden that is the location for this fight.
What anyone on the ground hears is that faint buzzing; what they see is a descending speck, a dot of black that grows quickly, plummeting with precise control; at just the right moment, a parachute billows up, arresting the descent of the the parachutist... who is, of course, Aislinn. She lands precisely on her designated starting spot, just as the announcer and the officials are starting to wonder... the black silk of her parachute billows down around her. She kneels for a moment, then rises; the shroud's lines are cut and the parachute gathered into a thick wad of silk, which Aislinn regards for a moment before stuffing back into her chutepack. That is shrugged off and tossed to one side, then Aislinn flexes her gloved fingers, and twists her neck left, then right, eliciting a series of pops. And just like that... she's ready.
With just a bit of fluster, the announcer calls the fight, and though there's no bell, there's a sense of potential movement... of fights being played out in minds. For all that? Aislinn doesn't move; she just watches Alma, closely.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn focuses on her next action.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
For a girl who doesn't want people to ask questions, she sure picks a pretty outrageous entrance.
But while the League officials are a bit nonplussed, Alma doesn't seem roused from his relatively mellow state. His upward-lifted gaze naturally shifts to the plane as it flies away, and he's the first to see the burst of black as her parachute opens, though he says nothing. For quite some time, in fact; as Aislinn reassembles and tosses away her chutepack, Alma straightens his posture and shifts his feet, hands in a loose and natural version of a Hiten-Ryu guard position, equaling her silent determined professionalism -- even if his style is more chill than intimidating. Neither one of them saying anything to console the startled announcer, the flustered League agents can only shrug at each other before the signal is given. It's only as the announcer raises his hand and begins to open his mouth that Alma finally speaks:
"Please, do your best."
Though he says it often, it's never just a pleasantry. In his mild way, he seems to mean it, even to her; but his tone is a little different from usual. A little more careful, perhaps, revealing a stoic touch. Even if he wants to see her best... he's very aware that it can hurt.
'Fight!'
Alma lunges forward, knee lifting as he glides across the tiled ground, feet scraping once he closes in and weaving his head, the staggered darting grace made smooth through careful timing and unflappable calm. He sweeps out with his left leg, left hand darting out as well as though aiming to shove and sweep her simultaneously; but as his right hand raises up with the motions, both moves are revealed to be feints as his upraised fingertips suffuse with light and burst into crackling soulfire. The sweeping leg becomes leverage for a low strike, almost like a fencer's lunge as Alma throws himself forward onto his left foot and jabs out with the lance of flame, aiming for the lower torso rather than his usual head target.
"Hmn!"
Aura is all over, after all.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn blocks Alma's Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Aislinn
The entrance is just an entrance. It was the most expedient way of arriving on-time to the fight... or as on-time as possible. Still, it seems as though Alma gets the first actual attack in. Still, the time spent hasn't been wasted; Aislinn's lavender eyes watch the tall model's moments carefully, as if seeking a way to counterattack... but there isn't one, not yet. Rather than take the strike and attempt to turn the tables on Alma that way, Aislinn elects to defend the strike physically; the lance of energy sinks into her forearms, drawing a low hiss from the clone girl. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. But it hurt, for sure. Still, Alma seems to be still close-by; perhaps there is opportunity here.
Aislinn half-staggers back--or so it seems. But the moment her right leg touches the flooring of the garden she's pushing off, suddenly lunging forward into a classic karate 'front kick', her booted foot ripping through the air, aimed for Alma's stomach. As it swings forward, it cuts an afterimage through the air, a streak of red-white energy that resolves into a crackling electricity surrounding the kicking foot and shin.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Aislinn's Medium Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Aislinn
With his position overextended and right hand already outstretched due to the lunge, Alma is in something of a poor defensive position, but his ability to smoothly link actions to reactions saves him here. It is as though his lunge didn't actually end; for even as Aislinn absorbs the force of his attack into less vulnerable areas, he is bringing forward his right leg in preparation for a continued movement. And as she kicks out, his left hand is already there to block it, redirecting front kick and crackling electricity through combined physical and spiritual effort.
He attacks as he rises, his right hand now commanding his inner fires once again, but this time to slightly different effect. Twisting as he stands, what seems at first a backhanded strike to Aislinn's face becomes a blast of soulfire that surges outward and aims to explode under the girl's chin, the short sharp mental shock presumably numbing her mind even as the force itself carries her off her feet. If the determined model succeeds at this unusually close-range projectile attack, he'll have more than enough time to recover.
"Hmn!"
His kiais are understated, but his eyes gleam with passion yet to be unveiled.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn overcomes Sacred Wave from Alma with Stinger Shot.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Aislinn
Aislinn doesn't allow herself the brief frown that she feels when she senses that her foot did -not- contact properly. Still, it could have been worse--Alma could have dodged it entirely, and Aislinn well knows how little attacks can build up their damage. However, she also knows from experience that Alma is fast, and a formidable fighter. Winning this fight won't be easy.
Despite what Alma may have intended, Aislinn too was able to react instantly and instinctually; drawing on the momentum of that deflection, Aislinn is taking two spinning steps away from Alma even as he rises. It's just enough distance to give her the time she needs to point her own right hand, energy flaring up white-hot, tinged red, forming into a narrow bolt of chi that cores through the soulfire, forcing that psionic energy to implode upon itself. The attack is still inefficient in terms of energy spent... but it's better than having someone try to shock her mind.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Alma with Stinger Shot.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Aislinn
Well, there's no way he can evade that. Alma tries to take the hit well, but his too-dispersed soulfire is penetrated too quickly and the bolt of chi impacts against his broad chest resoundingly, sending the tall youth skidding back a pace. But he retains his footing, most of the potential force of her strike lost in overcoming his own, his hands outstretched in his effort to maintain his balance.
Those outstretched hands become a fulcrum for his immediate follow-up as he attempts to make up for lost time and momentum due to his failed strategem. His arms pull back with a sudden rush of chill autumn air as Alma's left knee rises up, carrying him into the air in another lightfooted maneuever that belies his build. The left knee is just another lever, for that pumps down as his right foot pumps up, a quick snap kick aimed for Aislinn's head in an effort to at least continue pushing her back.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn blocks Alma's Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Aislinn
Though successful in diverting Alma's power away from her head, it's clear that the attack didn't do much to him for damage--but that's more than alright with Aislinn. This is going to be a hard-fought battle on both sides.. assuming that some sort of implosion doesn't take place. Regardless, Aislinn has to be prepared for just about anything... like a flying kick. Fortunately, the distance created by the stumble-back gives Aislinn enough time to throw her forearms in the way, blunting Alma's attack greatly.
But she doesn't counterattack; though she gives Alma enough of a push to force him backwards, she remains where she is, her stance seeming to settle down, to become deeper, heavier, that red energy crackling around her feet and shins, around her hands and forearms, as power suffuses her body, drawn in by the young woman seemingly from the very air around her.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn gathers her will.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
Hmm. No real advantage has been garnered yet. Alma's front kick is unsuccessful in penetrating the girl's defenses, and airborne, he can't help but be pushed back as she retreats and summons her energies to her. But it may be that she has the right idea, for her opponent does not pursue her either. He lands with a graceful sweep of his feet and ends with his left hand relaxed at his side and his right held gently in the air, fingers outstretched almost contemplatively.
Alma watches her, sensing the fluctuations in her power, gauging how they change and affect her already strange and unique aura pattern. With a deep silent breath he refreshes himself and clears his mind, letting his own energies flow more freely again, his passion for the fight subconsciously straining to match her own spiritual force. The first round of fight has revealed no clear advantage -- but with his soul powers now manifest, Alma is in a better position to try again.
The ghostly images of yet to be summoned flames flicker around that outstretched right hand, the same fires echoed in the depths of his calmly watching eyes.
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
So, Alma's chosen to not follow up, either? She's not terribly surprised... but then, perhaps she shouldn't be. She has done a fair amount of observation on Alma, and she knows that to rush into battle with him is a recipe for true disaster. Thus... she'll take this one a little slower. Aislinn twitches forward, almost as if moving in for the kill--but she doesn't go anywhere. As she opened the round, so she continues, drawing on her perceptions... perhaps not as enhanced as Alma's, but they'll do, for now. It's not that she wants to win the fight for any normal reasons. But she feels, very strongly, that she -wants- to do well in this fight. She can't quite explain it. But it is there, nonetheless.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn focuses on her next action.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
The League agents find themselves holding their breaths...
...and fortunately do not pass out, because it is then that Alma finally makes his move. Though there does not appear to be any outside indication of change, the tall fighter seems to feel that he's ready now, for he lunges in a blur, his gathered strength revealing itself as a burst of unprecedented speed. Again with his knee forward in the Hiten-Ryu way, the model bears down on the silent assassin with a quiet focused intensity in his clear eyes.
No flames, though, not this time. All psychic force, if any, is applied unseen, although with Alma it's sometimes hard to tell where the spiritual stops and the physical begins. Whether boosted by inner fire or not, though, the fierce punch he eventually busts out with promises to be more effectual than a continued staredown -- if it connects.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn counters Strong Punch from Alma with Banishing Needle.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Aislinn
The moment of waiting is over, clearly; Alma is coming in, and coming in fast. If that speed worries Aislinn, or bothers her, there's no sign of it; in fact, as he moves, she is, too, shifting her stance from right foot forward to left foot forward. Then, as the punch is coming in, Aislinn takes a half-step back...
And twists forward, launching her right knee up into Alma's punch, her hard kneecap impacting on Alma's knuckles for some pain there, throwing that punch out of line; that attack is compounded upon as Aislinn smoothly, and swiftly, moves into a side kick that strikes Alma in the gut. It's only a few seconds later that she turns back to face Alma, her right leg once again lowering to her normal stance. And she beckons to Alma, with her right hand, gesturing him forward.
"Try again." It's the first words she's spoken in this match...
"Hnnh..."
Doubling over from the side kick, Alma slumps to one knee from the force of the strike, right hand dropping limply to his side as it's apparently wounded from her fierce knee strike; head down, his expression cannot be seen.
But if it could be seen, his blazing eyes would make it much less surprising and sudden when the tall youth explodes up from the ground, surrounded by a wake of his own soulfires as he barrels up with a stream of lashing, twisting kicks, legs wreathed in searing halos of white and purple.
"Urrryaaaahh!"
The fighting model has no words for her, only righteous fury channeled into an aggressive onslaught of soulfire-enhanced attacks. If his immediate recovery can catch her off guard, the barrage of strikes should lift her into the air and leave her vulnerable for the kicks that follow, eventually finishing with a hooking kick that should plow her down back into the tiles.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn blocks Alma's Rising Fury.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Aislinn
Aislinn remembers this attack; it hit rather powerfully the last time she saw it. This time... she's more prepared, it seems; the soulfire-enhanced kicks are deflected, time and again; each impact hurts, but the damage is far less than it might've been otherwise. Aislinn rather likes having her head on her shoulders.
With Alma in the air, Aislinn ducks to avoid the last kick, just in case Alma should try to alter his attack--and then it's her turn, as she attempts to just leap straight up, cocking her left leg back and then hurling it straight up in a high-flexing front kick. As before... her red-white chi explodes from her foot, carving an arc through the air, visually dazzling.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Aislinn's Light Kick.
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Alma 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Aislinn
Time to get stylish.
Being airborne and having expended most of your energy throwing yourself into a failed barrage of attacks is no place to be when it comes time to defend, but that's where Alma is, and it is with his usual all-out high-drama manner of expressing his passion that he approaches his dilemma. The trick is to take whatever life gives you. And right now life is giving Alma a lot of potential momentum if he chooses to utilize it-- the momentum he'll gain as he begins to sail downward. So with a graceful arc of his back, the tall model smoothly flips backward, and by the time Aislinn is leaping into a vertical kick, Alma is flying down at her face-first and with arms at the ready. Again his left hand parries her kick and energy alike, and again his right hand reaches out.
This time, however, Alma's hand aims to snap out immediately toward his opponent's face and clamp down there, carrying her down with him. If he can get a grip on her, his bulk and gravity should do the rest until they reach the ground, at which point he will slam her down as best as a man with no real footing can, and hopefully spring away while she's forced to recover.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Aislinn with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Alma 1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1 Aislinn
Finally, Alma gets his wish; the tiles crack, and Aislinn is on her back, at the center of a spiderweb that radiates out. She's just a moment, getting to her feet... her eyes are narrowed, but that maelstrom of energy, emotional energy... it's all turned inwards. And it's subsumed. Perhaps one of the reasons she is generally so... quiet... and unemotional is that she can, to an extent, 'eat' her stronger emotions--not literally, but she can turn them into energy, as she is doing now, even as she slowly rises, her narrowed eyes focused entirely on Alma. It hurt, yes... but she's not nearly out of the fight yet. Then again... neither is Alma.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn focuses on her next action.
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Alma 1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1 Aislinn
He's beginning to understand, now.
He's starting to see how she does it. How she doesn't feed off her own emotional energy so much as devour it, consuming it as an engine does fuel. It's strange. It's inhuman.
It really can't be healthy.
As he springs away from his successful slam and flips back with another graceful display of acrobatics, Alma has a contemplative look in his eyes that is only revealed to the cameras once he lands, ending up in something of a sprinter's starting position. The flames behind his eyes dance, though these are visible only to Aislinn, to the girl they're directed at, and not so much to the spectators. "Don't keep everything inside," he murmurs, those low tones carrying even so. Those his words are as mild as his eyes are calm, they project with his rising spiritual force, and the burning within seems to grow only stronger--
--so that the wake of soulfire that again explodes around his feet, carrying Alma towards her as he lunges, should not surprise her nearly as much as it does the spectators. His speed increases as he leans into his charge as though riding an oncoming tide, his body blurring with trailing energies of lily white, cherry blossom pink, and velvety indigo... and the energies heighten and the light brightens until... nothing can be seen.
The light fades, and he is gone.
"Express yourself."
Behind her.
He strikes, and they are silhouettes in the blast.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn interrupts Absolution from Alma with Shining Rondo.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Aislinn
'Express yourself.' She's heard this before; she's seen this before. Aislinn merely watches, as Alma bursts into incredible speed. But to Aislinn, in this moment, Alma might well be moving even slower than normal. The end result is, when Alma emerges behind her... well... he's in front of her. Aislinn merely says one thing, to him, as the soulfire erupts.
"Very well."
Then it's -her- turn for blinding, blazing speed; even as she is awash in that powerful soulfire, her arms are crossed over her shoulders. Lost in the energy are the wicked blades of energy that form. Then...
Then two bodies are propelled from that glaring soul energy, Alma's body reeling back as Aislinn unleashes her stored energy, her stored emotions, rushing the model, lashing out with those blades, carving his body with energy that passes through him, that shocks physically the way his psi shocks mentally. She strikes ten times, using both hands, forcing Alma backwards as she rushes him with each step--and then she stops, her hands palm up... and lifts them.
In that instant, a shimmering, human-sized, wide blade of that chi spears up through the tiled flooring and impales Alma. The last of the furious energies dissipates as Aislinn then drops to one knee, her body literally smoking from Alma's strike and the energies she has utilized.
Express yourself. Hmph. Such conceit.
The battle of light is both epic and brief, the two warriors' fury contained with a series of short moments. Even as Alma's tidal wave of psychic force is tearing away at Aislinn's ego and sense of self, the stoic girl is unrelentingly lashing out with blade upon blade of shocking chi; ignoring the blistering series of attacks, Alma stands strong as he maintains the channel of raw energy, painfully forcing a connection between them, mercilessly demolishing mental walls and boundaries, unfliching from guiding her soul to the peace of emptiness, taking her directly to the light one finds through meditation. (Do not pass Go, do not collect 200 dollars.)
She sinks to her knees as he finishes, while almost simultaneously he arches his back with a short quiet gasp as the blade of chi impales him for the moment that it exists, lifting him into the air for that brief second before it dissipates. Yet despite the matched fury behind their respective onslaughts, when Alma lands, he lands on his feet, standing tall; and when he looks down, not even that stray bang can obscure the warmth in his tired but still calm eyes as he grins down at her, right hand lifting to brush up at the hair that's fallen astray.
"Exactly," he says, sounding good-naturedly good humored.
Only guy who fights for the reasons Alma fights, though, can grin so genuinely while attacking -- and that's why it may be tough to predict it when his right hand suddenly snaps down, enveloped in a sharp coating of Psycho Power and projecting out in a point-blank lancelike blast of the remnants of his surging soulfire.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn blocks Alma's Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Aislinn
Aislinn, naturally, doesn't return the grin; she is grimly focused on staying alive, at this point. The soulfire lance is blocked, but at a pretty steep price for Aislinn; the damage is building up quickly, and she can't output damage in the same way that Alma can. That psionic power... it's too difficult to defend against. But she will do what she can. It's just the way she's wired.
Clearly tired, her body is not keeping up, currently, with her desire to fight--she pulls herself together, however, seeking to earn some breathing room, ducking low as she takes a long step back... and as she comes up she twists and hurls a piece of broken tile for Alma's forehead. It's not the best attack she can make, but it'll suffice for now.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Alma with Thrown Object.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Aislinn
Alma, startled both by her continued ability to defend against his attacks and his own growing fatigue, stumbles a bit as she retreats, and is unable to retract to her quick improvized attack, the tile shattering against his forehead. He shakes it off, though, and steps forward, grin having faded to his usual calm and focused expression. It's not like it's going to elicit anything from her, after all.
"Enough."
Does his passion yet burn within him? Naturally. This is Alma we're talking about. Drawing his right hand back across his chest, eyes shimmering with another surge of rising spirit, the fighting model is slowed by her projectile but seems undaunted, continuing his slow march forward as energy begins to throb around him -- until he unleashes it all at once.
"Hyah!"
Sweeping his hand out, a wave of flame surges into the tile and rapidly snakes its way forward at his exhausted opponent... only to explode outward in a geyser of energy that, while not as wide or powerful as most he's attacked with previously, might be enough to overwhelm Aislinn's battered mind for good. But at least Alma's too worn out to hit her with the full radius of the attack.
Then again, maybe he just doesn't want to blow her off the rooftop.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Aislinn with Full Confession.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=======\======-\1 Aislinn
It may not be 'as powerful' as it could be--but it's more than enough to get it done. Aislinn, however, manages the no-sell; despite the immense, searing pain that's turned her mind to a field of white... she's still standing. Probably not for much longer, but... she's not even conscious -as- her body goes through the motions, lunging forward, leading with a left fist, aimed for Alma's stomach...
COMBATSYS: Aislinn can no longer fight.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Alma with Momentum Overdrive.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|
... contact. Keep in mind, of course, that this is all happening on autopilot; there is No One Home(tm) for Aislinn. Not that it shows. Alma's seen this before--she pulled this one on Jiro--the punch hits and she literally drives Alma back to the nearest wall--or at least, something that can hold his body up. Then she's pummeling his abdomen with blurring punches, alternating lefts and rights for a solid fifteen seconds; after one last shot in that barrage, the clonegirl steps back, then lunges forward, smashing doubled up fists into Alma's chest, the impact enough to bounce her back. She lands on her feet... and stands there, as if admiring her handiwork... and then, unceremoniously, slumps to her left, landing on the tiled surface of the rooftop garden walkway as a gust of wind swirls some dead leaves past her body. She's done... that's for sure.
"Hooohh..."
Heaving a quiet sigh as he feels his final attack connect, Alma's head tilts back, his aching mind overwhelmed with the strain of channeling so much energy in so short a period of time. Well, he did it, at least. He's finally got some genuine measure of her ability, and he feels he understands her a little bit better. She's not just another powerful schoolgirl, that's for certain. There was some reason she was at that facility when he went there. It was definitely not a coincidence.
But with what remains of his aura sense telling her that his opponent's aura has flickered out for good, exhausted Alma is content to gaze sightlessly up at the sky, standing straight and tall and--
--and completely open to getting totally pummeled by a half-unconscious Aislinn, as the model greviously underestimates his opponent's ability to function after all seems lost. Her aura might have gone, yes; she might technically not be fully conscious. But she's fully capable of being the heck out of him either way, and when all is said and done, the barrage of punches is enough to send him crashing into a sitting position, slumped over.
A trickle of blood finds his way between his lips as Alma stares bewilderedly at his own feet. His opponent collapses to the ground as with the last of his strength he lifts his head, blinking up at the sun that seems to grow so much fuzzier...
"Oops," he manages, softly.
Then he crashes back, and does not stir.
The only winner here is whoever's getting paid to fix these tiles.
COMBATSYS: Alma takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
Log created by Aislinn, and last modified on 02:38:31 11/14/2006.