Description: Judas Priest (1980). Elle picks Roberto to be a hapless pigeon to try out the new team's tactics. Things take a turn for the worse as Alan appears to show his turncoat colors and Hotaru joins the fray to settle a few vendettas. Nevertheless, our Anti-Heroes carry the day as Alan gets his comeuppance, Marise sucks out Roberto's soul, and Dr. Tran destroys Hotaru.
Roberto walked the usual route from school however it's possible he spent way too long practicing by himself, even after the actual official soccer practice ended... Friday. When it comes to his sport, perhaps Roberto was a bit too much of an overachiever.
With each foot step he kicks a soccer ball forward with short controlled touches with deliberate movement. Maybe the impromptu solo soccer practice was just a cover for certain issues the player might have.
Well, Roberto's about to get a whole new sack of issues.
Elle is a bad person. She should be psychoanalyzed, really. But thankfully for her, she's managed to escape both jail and the therapist's couch about a thousand times over. At her current rate, she's either due for it, or will never see either. Elle frankly has plans to adhere to the latter, although she's not the kind to dwell on it.
These various mental 'issues' is what has her standing on the roof of one of Japan's many short, squat apartment buildings. No more than 3 stories tall, she rests one foot on the ledge, leaning on her knee and scouring the streets with an eagle's eye. The cigarette in her mouth trails off a thin wisp of smoke as she searches for something or someone.
And there he is. Roberto is spotted a good distance away, and she motions for her cohorts to look. "There we go. I've fought with that guy before. He should do," she says in a sotto voice. It would seem that Elle has designs on the young soccer superstar.
Is she going to rob him? Capture him? Brainwash him into a willing slave to be utilized as one of her many fists? No. Something far more simple but equally as terrible:
She's going to use him as target practice.She's already motioning for her companions to flank him, having Tran take the left while Marise takes the right. Despite looking completely different, the two should be well versed in the tactical directions by now. Elle's made them practice enough times. And herself? She's already shooting towards the fire escape, clambering down the metal rungs to hide in the alleyway. Let the other two hit first, and swoop in from behind in a pincers maneuver.
For his part...Dr. Tran isn't terribly impressed. Okay. It's a kid with a soccer ball. Whoop de dee. Even if some advanced training is needed, well...that doesn't mean he has to like it. He's got shit to take care of, after all, and going after some punk kid doesn't register as a prime use of time. Still, Elle's the boss, and so what she says, goes.
"Alright, whatever. On it." He's not even bothering with small talking his partners in crime, instead moving to get this the hell over with. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, he parallels Roberto's path for a while, getting slightly ahead of him, and then drops down in a narrow alleyway. Moments later, he emerges off to Roberto's left, brushing a bit of dirt off his shoulder.
"Hold up there, champ. This is a...whatcha callit." Tran raises a finger warningly, leaving it vague, really just trying to draw his attention while Marise moves up.
The Devil of Koga stands on the ridge of the roof. Looming ominously beside her seated boss enjoying her smoke. The breeze teases the edges of her kimono and sleeves, rustling to her side as she otherwise stands motionless. Her hidden gaze already affixed upon the soccer-star, long considering the toothsome boy. Mmn.
"Deliciouss.." The Devil Ninja whispers quietly before darting off. Racing upon the surface with surprising expedience from the elegant figure. Leaping from the housing and disappearing into shadows..
..Only to reveal herself moments later. Slipping silently from an elleyway on the opposite side of the block, one-twenty degrees from Tran. Flanking the youth off from yet another potential avenue of escape.. A knowing smile playing on her violet-painted lips.
He's in his world thinking about his problems with women who flip out on him for no reason and the fact that he thinks some deja vu is on the way as far as school matters are concerned. He's thinking about the aches in his legs from the impromptu soccer practice. His mind is everywhere except the here and now. This presents a problem in that it allows them to easily flank him. You know, as many times as he's been ambushed, you'd think he prepare better for it.
Well perhaps his awareness is being dulled by the issues bothering him and so when first Tran speaks up and then Marise pops out of the alley way he frowns a bit, seeing that he's hemmed in. For some reason the Ninja creeps him out more than Tran. Of course the fact that she's already calling him delicious might be contributing to it. The golden goalie only responds to the doctor though. "This is what?" Meanwhile he backs up a step and takes on a stance looks reminiscent of goalie's ready posture.
COMBATSYS: Roberto has started a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Roberto
Tran may not think Roberto is a massive juggernaut of a target, but Elle's not too keen on practicing fledgling tactics on someone capable of annihilating them all in a single broad stroke. Cody was evidence enough that random mob violence wasn't the way to do things, considering he almost took them all down with a single focused assault. As Tran and Marise do their job, Elle nods. Good, good. They're following orders exactly as they were meant to. Everything is working to a 'T'.
When Roberto turns to face his assailants? That's Elle's cue. She bursts out of her own alleyway to take the boy by surprise. The object? Take him down hard and fast. The tighter the manevers, the quicker the Taiyo student eats concrete, the happier Elle will be.
After all, Roberto's just a snack before the main course. Hopefully, he'll be enough to whet the appetite.
The woman immediately shoots forward, her weaponized instrument already drawn. Approaching at full speed, she seeks to ram the instrument's head directly into the base of the boy's spine, hopefully shocking him enough to let her teammate's attacks land home.
COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
Tran makes an indeterminate gesture, sort of like a cross between a shrug and a wave, at Roberto just as Elle charges him from behind. "Y'know. An ambush."
Taking a step forward, Tran pauses long enough to say to Marise, "Look alive, Medusa." If Roberto's thrown off his game by her mere appearance, well, so much the better. She is supposed to be creepy, after all, so it's really no surprise.
Important or not, this is still business, and Tran's probably wasted enough time as it is. Trying to take advantage of Elle's sneak attack, the doctor dashes forward, rears back, and tries to plant his foot on Roberto's face, trying to stomp him down into the pavement.
COMBATSYS: Tran has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marise has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Tran
COMBATSYS: Tran has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
The Devil isn't creepy! She's just misunderst-..
Nevermind. She's creepy.
The ghostly maiden slowly prowls forth. A pace so errily graceful she almost seems to float over the pavement. Hedging in the goalie's space, she carefully strides towards his flank.. opposing Tran. Coordinating her approach as her perfect bun unravels itself, cascading ebon locks down her back like pouring ocean of shadow. Her bangs parting to reveal inhumanly golden eyes, glimmering with unnerving intent straight through the boy.
"Show us.. your strength.. child.." Tongue sliding along her violet lips eagerly as she rushes forth at the last moment, seeking to take the low route as she ducks low... her pale arms stretching forth from her sleeves unnaturally as she seeks to quickly grip his ankles and -pull-. A light attack to affect his footing to better allow her teammates to strike true..
COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Elle's Medium Strike.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Tran's Heavy Kick.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Marise's Quick Throw.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
There's a faint crackle, and a cherry-red glow of a cigarette comes bobbing out from an entirely different alleyway along with a series of rather audible footsteps. Head wreathed in a cloud of smoke, Alan R. B. melts out of the shadows as though he was there all along, hands resting in his pockets. "Tchh, look at you, all three of you jumping on this poor kid?" The blonde smirks, turning his head over toward Marise. "Tell you what. I'm interested in seeing what you can do, tall, dark, and darker. What say we get to know each other a little better, so that the dynamic duo over there..." At this point, Alan's approaching Marise, supremely unconcerned with the Big Battle. "...doesn't have a completely boring fight?"
As he approaches, Alan is clearly intent on starting this off with Marise whether she particularly wants to or not. Electricity begins to crackle around his body, leaving footprints of chi behind him. Alan's smirk becomes a grin as he quickens his pace.
COMBATSYS: Alan has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Marise 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
And then it begins and Roberto all of a sudden moves forward dribbling the soccer ball with a sudden burst of speed which puts him just out of reach of Elle's ill intentioned Axe swing giving a resounding swoosh as he moves away from her with notably more speed than he had when the two were fighting along side each other against Adelheid. This is followed up by Tran attempting to plant a foot in his face but this, he sees from a mile away and waits for it making a quick cut with the soccer ball which puts him safely around him. That brings him to the creepy ninja, and as she moves towards his feet, he steps one foot in front of the ball and quickly rolls it up the back of the heel and with a quick hop(also puts himself out of the ninja's clutches) sends the ball up and over him to put it back in front of him.
With the attacks dealt with, he continues in another burst of speed and then cuts so he's facing everyone. And he notices that Marise is about to have some company so he considers his options and slams the soccer ball at Tran as he talks to Elle, "I didn't expect you to be here as well... And sorry I don't have any money for ya."
Elle is less concerned with Roberto than she is with the arrival or Alan. The boy is pretty low on her list of priorities, actually, and the fact that he occupies the same place on the evolutionary scale as a clay pigeon to her means that he doesn't even get a response. To her, whatever he says sounds a lot like Charlie Brown's teachers: a series of odd muted trumpet noises.
The appearance of Alan is what gets her attention, which is distracting enough for her to slow her attack down and back up a little. This wasn't planned for, and so Alan gets a split second of mental analysis before she speaks.
"Alan, I'll give you to until I finish this sentence to get out of here." No underlying threat or promises of pain. All she has to say is that. Her eyes flick to her associates quickly, and she raises a hand, two fingers extended. The hand flicks one way, and then the other. Tran and her will continue the assault. Marise will stay on guard, as she should. If Alan decides to cause further interruption, Elle will make sure that he's properly attended to.
That being said, Elle's fists begin to crackle with power as energy charges up the sides of her body, ripping the air and producing the acrid smell of ozone as she powers her aura up. Looks like this fellow is going to take some focus.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Marise 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tran blocks Roberto's Long Shot.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Marise 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Alan gathers his will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Marise 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Goddamn, but the boy can move. Finding himself crushing the crap out of a whole lot of air, Tran stands back to assess the situation, as surprised as Elle to find Alan here. He whistles lowly to himself, as he looks between the two of them, Roberto almost forgotten. Almost.
The doctor simply allows the ball to crash into an upraised hand, an effective and immediate denial. "Hoo, boy, this is gonna get...huhn." Reaching up to scratch the side of his head, Tran's not eager to go jumping into the thick of things just yet, despite acknowledging Elle's signal to continue in on Roberto. This is going to take a little bit of thought, first.
COMBATSYS: Tran focuses on his next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Marise 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
The Devil will carry the Doctor's sentiment with widening eyes. Her hands clutch only at air as the young man deftly evades the combined assault with surprising celerity. That... does not happen often.
But this.. This is better than they even hoped! The youth merely served as a tactical demonstration. Marise certainly did not expect a protracted battle.
Now! However.. It seems they picked their target far, far better than she had initially believed. The dark maiden rises to her full height again, preparing to again circle outwards opposite Tran to recommence their ambush..
That is.. Until a voice gives her pause.
The Devil immediately looks over her naked shoulder, affixing the emergent Alan with a look of supreme annoyance. "..And what is this child to you?.." Is the Devil's simple query. Slowly turning to face the secretive blonde as it would appear she is being singled out amongst her allies. A sensation does not find to her liking. All manner of potential motivations run through her thoughts, and none of them bode well.
Still.. As he elaborates his intentions the Devil sniffs. Her corner of her lip twisting downwards in a beautiful sneer, "Ill considered.. Boy."
Oh. Alan is going to regret this decision. She has no intention of turning her back to the oncoming, and she certainly has no interest in enumerating all the ways the ruffian is making his own life tragically difficult.
Instead.. she will educate him in a much more direct fashion.
The ghostly woman then approaches Alan's pace, moving straight for him as she simply adds, "The only thing you shall 'know' from this.. Is regret." Voice deepening with a faintly echoing cadence as she takes a few more steps closer.. and quickly bowing her head downwards. Arching herself forth as her ebon locks -whip- forth like a wave of silken shadows! Seeking to stretch forth and bind the lightning-entombed man tightly in a steely embrace, like a dozen living garrottes. Seeking to cut into his skin and disrupt the turbulent Chi from his body!
COMBATSYS: Alan blocks Marise's Onigumo Wanami.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Alan jerks a thumb back toward Roberto, faint incredulity on his face. "What, this kid? I don't know him, I don't even know if he has a name. For all I know he's a vagrant with a penchant for playing with balls." The boxer snorts at his own 'wit,' pulling his hands up and taking a far-too fast step forward.
And then Marise's HAIR attacks him, which just isn't standard at all. He manages to check his advance, twisting around to catch most of the hair around his forearms, slicing up his sleeves. An amazing amount of chi erupts from those crazy vampire lady cuts, lightning leaching outward, but even that huge amount doesn't seem to have any visible effect. "Lady... I haven't regretted anything for years."
Alan R. B. suddenly ducks and weaves, slipping from the grasp of the hair and crossing the remaining distance in an eyeblink. A blue flare erupts outward from his right hand as a crazy amount of electricity gathers into his fist, and with a fierce grin the 'mercenary' slams a blow hard at Marise, chi crackling out everywhere in a series of white-hot bolts. "Overcharge!"
When Tran knocks the ball aside, the ball bounces off the car and it threatens to roll right past him but then he moves to the soccer ball and quickly step traps the ball and makes a run towards Elle, dribbling at her. He chooses not to go with an intricate dribbling manuever since she has seen him use those in that fight together, and then there's the fact that after he evade all three of them while maintaining ball control which means that they will be on the look out for something like that.
While he makes a rapid and fairly straight forward approach, he acknowledges Alan's humor with loud exhalation of breath before saying with a tone of voice dripping with sarcasm, "Playing with balls... Oh gee... I'm sooooooooooo..." He makes a sharp stop, jumps, using the soccer ball as a make-shift trampoline which in turn catapults him knee first into Elle's bread basket. He shouts, "SHOCKED!!!" to finish the thought.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Roberto's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Hmm, yeah, no. Elle's a little bit faster than that, at least as far as defensive reflexes are concerned. The boy's knee coming for her midsection gets the proper response as her hand whips out to snag the incoming joint. She takes the impact dead onto her palm straining her elbow and gritting her teeth. Damn it. This wasn't supposed to go down like this. Still, anger doesn't cross her face. not yet. The gears shift and her mind cranks out more data as she goes through the mental gymnastics necessary to solve this issue.
Opportunities that come out of problems are the best opportunities, and Elle might be able to make it out of this one yet. "Tran! Keep Pele' busy!" As for her? She roughly pushes Roberto aside to face the unpredictable doctor as she shoots forward across the pavement to intercept Alan as he lets fly with his massive chi. Already drawing her weapon, she goes to slam the instrument against Alan's face with a powerful axe-style swing.
Tran gives Elle a quick thumbs up, and nods. "I'm on it." He turns then to Roberto, and starts moving in, slow and determined, in no particular rush to reach his target. That's how you fit the smacktalk in.
"Alright, superstar, just because someone else hits you with a lame pun doesn't mean you have to come back with a lamer one, it's not a contest." Upon getting closer, Tran abruptly ducks down and turns to the side, one fist held up in a sort of rudimentary guard against Roberto. The doctor twists his entire body, bringing his opposite fist up in a rising uppercut, all of his weight snapping into the blow. It's a poor man's Shoryuken, but it may do the job here yet.
COMBATSYS: Marise blocks Alan's Overcharge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
The ebon tendrils retreat from their failed assault, whipping back over the shadowy maiden's shoulders as she continues advancing. Her hands raise slowly in a menacing gesture.. more of yurei's predatory advance than a technical 'stance'. The woman's inhuman eyes flinch at the sparks of power radiating from every small cut and gash her frenzied locks rent on his body.. The lightshow earning a faint hiss of disapproval from the Devil as she halts her advance..
Perhaps, that momentary lapse of aggression is what saves her from the bulk of Alan's wrath as his fist streaks forth. Radiating shocking electro-motive force as the Devil's eyes widen. Quickly throwing up her arms in a hasty crossing block.. Barely able to raise her defenses in time as the solid hit -SHOVES- her back! Bare heels digging into the pavement as she slides along from the impact.. Her arms immediately sizzling and hissing painfully as gouts of smoke blast from her achingly pale skin. Even through her defenses.. the energy seems to sear her as the woman's voice rises in a pained snarl!
"...Bold.." A simple enough accusation, before the Devil ceases drawing quarter. The man wishes to see what she is about? Fine. Although.. she can't help but smirk wickedly as she sees Elle charging in on her periphery.. Adding to the assault herself as she takes a step forth and lashes out with an arm.. Which -SHOOTS- forth! Extending outwards like an elongating javelin as her hand seeks to clutch at Alan's face and -CONTINUE- extending, SLAMMING him into the ground nearly half a dozen steps behind him!
COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Alan with Maou Tsuke.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Alan dodges Elle's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Smoke rises from the iron rings on Alan's right hand after his huge blow. He can tell he didn't score a clean hit, but what he got was good enough. "Heh... that's one word for it-hey, hey!" Boxing's a one-on-one focused style, but Alan does his business on the street, and if you can't keep track of everything around you you end up with various blades and blunts in your bits. Alan breaks away from Marise to whirl around and swerve under the oncoming guitar. "Oh, come on, babe, are you seriously telling me you can't handle soccerboy over there with just yourself and Captain Other Guy? Run along now, I'm checking out the new girl."
The blonde then turns away from Elle with a sneer, finding that Marise has a /definite/ reach advantage - one that quite frankly is not fair! He's yanked off his feet and slammed into the ground, but still on top of things enough to only slide back a few more inches before planting his left hand on the ground and flipping to his feet, already building chi in his right hand. "Hahaha! That's definitely new, hot stuff!" Grinning like a predator, he swings his hand downward, snapping his fingers. "Strike!" In half a heartbeat his hand comes back up, snapping his fingers again. "Twice!" With each flick, a great bolt of lightning jumps from his hand to Marise's body, searing the air and brightening the area.
COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Tran's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Roberto steps back with palm meeting fist as throws his rising uppercut with a combination of grace and ease. He chooses not to engage in any smack talk but rather he lets his mind plan out his response. As Tran comes down from the poor man's Shoryuken, Roberto leaps up into the air to follow the doctor with a pair of glowing hands which ideally would grab Tran and slam him down hard with a little assistance from chi.
COMBATSYS: Tran reflects Shining Save from Roberto with Operation - Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
A dead stare meets Alan's words, and Elle pauses to crack her knuckles. "Vampirella," the woman utters, using Marise's full 'nickname' as it were. "Bankrupt." A code word? Sure. Elle uses them. What it could mean, however, is up in the air. She's not going to prattle with Alan. Anyone that's ever fought with Elle would know that she's not really the kind to talk during a fight. The fact that she's got no ego to bruise any longer definitely helps with rational thought.
Instead, Elle shoots forward, her legs churning and pounding the ground under heavy bootfalls to follow after Marise's extended attack pattern. Her eyes flick as Alan's chi strikes fire off, one after another. This needs to finish fast, bfore the situation gets worse.
Her eyes flick to Tran breifly, to check up on her teammate before Elle lances out an arm of her own to grab Alan by the neck. Her viselike grib reaches to snag the man before she raises him into the air and slams him to the ground with a vicious finality. Her attacks may not be as flashy, but they tend to be as mechanically effective as any other assault.
No smack talk from Roberto? Well, his loss. As doctor and a gentleman, Tran's honor bound to make up for it, you understand, but first things come first. In this case, the first things would be Roberto's glowing hands. Having barely gone airborne in the first place, on account of how he's not a ninja or a master martial artist or wandering hobo or any other kind of guy who can jump twenty feet into the goddamn air, Tran's in a good, grounded position to meet Roberto's assault.
Chi swirls into being around his upraises palms, a flat, whitish-grey disc for each, which the doctor simply interposes in the path of the soccer star's reaching hands. Energy is redirected. Painfully. Right back at Roberto.
Tran takes a step back afterward, and gives a reassuring glance toward Elle. "Don't worry, don't worry. Go once for the money and all that shit, I'll be fine in the meantime." He turns his head back toward Roberto, smirking. "It takes more than a punkass like this to keep me down."
COMBATSYS: Marise overcomes Lightning Strikes Twice from Alan with Onigumo no Dokubari.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
The Devil Ninja's hand releases Alan after grinding him into the pavement a good few inches. Her elongated arm whips back, recoiling within the folds of her sleeve as his predator's grin is met with a devil's stare. The haunting maiden taking a single step closer as she tilts her head to the side just so. "Kyeh.." She responds in a singular laugh, edge of her lip twisting upwards as her golden eyes glint.
Witnessing the rising sparks flying from the mans fingertips, the Devil murmurs to herself softly. Preparing to throw her arms up yet again as she can already tell this new batch of thunder is going to hurt..
That is. Until she's unleashed.
Elle's single word snaps Marise's attention. Her eyes widening as her pupils narrow to mere, inhuman slits.
"K..Kyeh .. KYEE HA HA HA HA HAAA!" The Devil Ninja screeches in obscene mirth, seeming overjoyed about what could only be her impending doom as the lightning reaches for her. Except, she seems to possess a couple new surprises up her sleeve as she again snaps her head to the side, a few locks of her hair -whip- forth in an arc. Snapping forth a series of long black hair-needles towards the oncoming lightshow.
What hope does a few strands of hair hope to have? .. Plenty it would seem as the darts -pierce- through the flowing energies, popping them from the atmosphere in disappating explosions of light like shadowy lances. Disrupting their Chi utterly and a few remaining needles continue their wicked flight towards Alan.. Who may well suffer a similar fate unless he reacts quickly..
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Alan with Love Is A Battlefield.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Alan with Onigumo no Dokubari.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
With his attentions divided, Alan can't keep track of both Elle and Marise as well as he'd like, and he tends to think of his lightning bolts as rather fire-and-forget kinds of things. So he doesn't even consider that hair needles are coming right back at him now partially charged with /his own/ energy, and they slam into the boxer's side and stagger him. This leaves him horribly off-balance for Elle's seize-and-slam, which is really starting to hurt. Alan rolls back with a groan, the grin gone from his face, though he still doesn't seem particularly bothered. He spits to the side, then abruptly stands, turning away and digging for a cigarette. "Alright, fine, fine, whatever. Ain't that important anymore, anyway." Alan pulls two broken cigarettes from his pocket before giving up, seeking to vanish down an alleyway, much like he came in the first place.
COMBATSYS: Alan takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
"Well well well..." is all Roberto has to say about that. What's more telling is the slight hissing noise he makes as the soccer player shakes his hand out. Now he remembers why he doesn't use that move more often. Stuff like getting your chi force fed back to him. Of course, between the fact that his temporary ally isn't looking too good.
When it looks like Alan's gonna book he attempts to give him some time to make good his escape by making a run for Elle and performing a diving header. Hopefully it will be enough.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Roberto's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
In a way, Roberto is playing the part of the hero, for if it wasn't for the boy's distracting assault? Elle would have barked out yet /another/ codeword, and that one would have probably ruined Alan's day to a point where no amount of showers could wash away the feeling of violation. If Alan sought to investigate Marise's capabilites? Well, then, he's certainly got a good taste of them.
Just as she's about to seal the deal with her own electrical bursts, however, she hears a scuffle behind her. Apparently, the boy has managed to break free of Tran's engaging attacks to try and land a nasty hit on her.
Unfortunately for Roberto, Elle is once again ready for his attack. This time, she goes to deflect the blow with a stiff forearm, her body steeling itself against the 'unexpected' attack. "Switch gears to the alpha," Elle says to Marise. Alan's gone. However, if she meets up with the man again? There's going to be a lot of questions.
In response, Elle shifts her body around, reaching out with a hand to grab Roberto by the arm and brace him steady so the rest of her compatriot's assaults will be able to strike home. This is why Elle is team leader, right? Glory's not her concern. Bringing down the target is.
"Wh...huh." Tran is left standing around again as Roberto takes off after Elle. "Man, did I scare you off? That shouldn't have hurt that bad...I don't have anything in my teeth, do I?" Tran picks at his teeth, while absentmindedly strolling toward Roberto.
"Still, there's no getting away now, kid. I mean, unless you're that guy, over there, but he's not really why we're here." Tran gestures toward the rapidly vanishing Allen, relatively unworried by this situation. It seems he's taking it relatively easy now, winding up and moving in to unleash a quick shot into Roberto's kidneys.
The Devil halts in mid-step, having prepared moments ago to race for the electrified ambusher and continue her increasingly sadistic rampage of revenge.
However! As Alan simply disengages.. she finds herself pausing. Her guard not lowered in the slightest.. But her golden eyes follow the man as he calmly strolls away. Certainly, she could continue pursuit and 'finish' this treachery. But.. She won't forget the real reason she's here. Roberto is certainly still active.. And quite dangerous as he charges Elle at her side.
If Alan wanted a measure of the Devil's skill, then he certainly tasted it. As she likewise tasted his lightning.. forearms still smoldering faintly from the previous, agonizing impact.
Paying the alleyway a lingering stare, the Devil of Koga then turns her attention to their true target this night. Taking a moment to replenish her strength expended defending herself from her traitorous comrade.. She takes a slow, deep breath. The air around her stilling as shadows lengthen.. as if borrowing the vitality of the air itself..
COMBATSYS: Marise gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Marise 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Alan
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
Alan only glances back for a second before vanishing quite casually down the shadow of the alley - and then whispering up a nearby fire escape to make his way to a nearby roof without much of a noise at all, wincing as he keeps working bruised muscles. He'll make his way to the rooftop to just calmly watch the rest of this play out, more out of boredom than any more sinister motives, keeping his crackling hands in his pockets and out of sight.
COMBATSYS: Alan has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/------=/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Elle's Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/------=/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Tran's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/------=/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
"Well I'm still here, fighting all three of you, aren't I?" Roberto doesn't allow Elle to get her hands on him. Instead he hops backwards and in the same motion intercepts Tran's attack with an open palm. When he begins to eye that soccer ball that Tran knocked aside earlier.
He makes a quick dash for said soccer ball, lifting it up with his foot scoop the ball up to be caught in a pair of waiting hands. He then makes a quick turn and goes into a run, then performs a front soccer ball spring, using it to generate momentum as he attempts to slam it down on top of the ninja's head. He hasn't shown her any love yet.
Whiff! Elle's attempt to tie down the swift teen misses wide, and she slides about on her feet with a grim expression on her face. So much for him being some normal, everyday run of the mill fighter kid, eh Tran? A grimace passes over her face for a split second before she starts to make electrons dance, the power in her fingertips already sparking glittering contrails as she raises her hands.
Without much fanfare, her hands belch electricity, the long, arcing tendrils of power display electrical chi in it's purest form. The streams rake from her hands, kicking up clouds of dust and debris as they seek out Roberto, coiling about and snarling through the air.
Should they strike, they'll subject him to a powerful, unpleasant flesh searing shock to the system, hopefully blowing the boy back and away from everyone, effectively making him into a clay pigeon for everyone else's chi-blasts or other random chucked objects.
Say what you will, Elle, but in Tran's mind, he's still nothing special. It helps to remember that some of the high school kids running around are ungodly monsters, unnaturally powerful abominations capable of superhuman feats of badassery. This one, while strong, just doesn't compare.
Which isn't to say that Tran is about to go underestimating him, though. Seeing as how most of Tran's direct assaults have been put down fairly easily, the best choice here is to run over and back Marise and Elle up...particularly Marise, when Roberto slings a soccer ball at her.
Smoothly coming up behind her, Tran puts his hands on her shoulders and starts to rub, steam rising from his fingers. "Consider this one a loan, Medusa. Go get 'em, and try not to melt." After all, Tran's got magic fingers.
COMBATSYS: Marise endures Roberto's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/--=====/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Marise with Dr. Tran - Hot Lovin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/--=====/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
The Devil Ninja finishes her breath, pulling in a surge of power as she focuses her attention now upon the oncoming goalie. With a murmur of whispered determination the ghostly woman races -into- the strike. Taking the blow directly with a resounding -crack- that fills the street.. Even a creature as mysteriously durable as she is forced to stagger back a step. Golden eyes momentarily blurring as she slowly begins to topple..
..Directly into Tran's waiting hands. Her bare, supple back relaxes immediately at his tender mercies, the chi-steam converting quickly into her spectral-infused skin.. much damage unraveling throughout her body immediately as her focus returns to her..
"Mmmn.. Magical fingers.. Doctor.." She intones in a soft moan before dashing forth with surprising, renewed speed! This time, going for a true prise as she reaches forth in the aftermath of Elle's attack, attempting to curl her arms around Roberto's shoulders in a bold move and press her chill lips to his own!
A bizzare attack that has nothing to do with affection.. For if the woman finds purchase, he'll find his lifeforce quickly being torn from his lungs.. perhaps his heart itself.. flowing into the Devil's waiting mouth..
Southtown Village is one of Hotaru's main stomping grounds, located pretty much in the dead center of everywhere she tends to be on a daily basis. It's on the way to connect two of those dots that she passes nearby. She's slightly roughed up. She just finished testing herself against one of the toughest girls at Seiyjun and came out fairing pretty well. Other than looking like she spent some time getting plowed through some dirt (Mostly because she did), Hotaru isn't sporting any injuries besides a bruise on one side of her forehead. Stupid Chains!
Oh hey, a fight. Hardly an unusual sight around here. Oh hey, three of the people in the fight are all individuals she owes a good kick to the head to (Or a chiball to the face, custom wrapped for Marise). Now that makes this fight a lot more special than most.
She isn't even really taking the time to figure out if this is some arranged, sanctioned fight, or a random beating. In fact, she isn't even taking the time to figure out if there are teams, and if so, who's on which team. Because frankly, the pig-tailed girl owes someone a good hard kick, and at the moment she's going to take the opportunity to deliver it, regardless if she is interfering in an organized, official fight.
Thus it is that without warning, the Kenpo artist and novice Kyokugen student charges directly into the fray of things. Target #1: Tran. She'll attempt to get close enough to him to grab hold of his arm to secure her initial leverage. If that succeeds, she's going to continue with her momentum in running right up the front of him, kicking shins, knees, stomach, chest, and finally launching herself from his shoulders into a backflip intended to bring her down somewhere near Roberto. Out of all 3 here, Roberto is the only one she doesn't expect to try and clobber her in the back of her head.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Roberto with Depeche Mode.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Roberto fails to reflect Yomi no Junan from Marise with Shining Clutch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-----==|
Well Elle's plan works out perfectly Roberto tries to to stand his ground against the electricity however there was a giant miscalculation on how to maintain his stance as it came and so he is thrown hard into a wall, his back creating an imprint of him in it. Then it's closely followed by Marise further trapping him against the wall... He struggles in vain to bring his hands up but Elle's attack unbalanced him too much to do so. He feels a sense of dread as he suddenly feels a piece of him leave his body.
Much like Mr. T, Elle loves it when a plan comes together. Also, much like Mr. T, Elle's van goes Hella Fast. Unlike Mr. T, Elle is not restricted by television censors. As Marise basically sucks the life out of the kid, Elle is standing by to finish the job. She wraps her hands around his shoulder as Marise's soul sucking attack comes to a close, and she focuses her concentration. As she does so, she tries to rupture the very air around Roberto, releasing a sonic boom across his body in a rare demonstration of her command of sonic chi.
Unfortunately, her attention is completely on Roberto, lest she see Tran's incoming assailant. The arrival of Hotaru will likely be dealt with in short order, however, make no mistake about that. Still, her appearance does cause her some mild amount of unexplained dread, and the woman's attention breaks off a little too fast. Perhaps Roberto will escape the horrific dual-woman assault yet!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Tran with Shin-Jou Tai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/=======|
Well, that went pretty well, all told. Tran kept Marise going strong, and then she and Elle both put one hell of a hurtin' down on Roberto. As they say, solid. "You know it, lady. Pure magic." Taking a step back, still not looking to move in and add to the pressure on Roberto, Tran is pretty much completely blindsided by Hotaru.
She grabs him, uses him as a makeshift treadmill, and then kicks him hella far, so long as we're talking about Mr. T. Tran stays down for a moment, raising a finger hesitantly. "Elle, I think we've got a new problem." He shakily pushes himself up to his feet, trying to clear his head and maybe assess just how many footprints have been left in his organs. You know, the ones he needs to live.
COMBATSYS: Tran gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
Muah.
The Devil's lips part company with Roberto finally, leaving a trail of faintly glowing blue mist.. Only to draw within Marise's final inhalation. The woman breathes, "Nnn.. delicious.." Eyelids fluttering as she savors the strength of such a young, strong man.. Her arms leaving his shoulders as she allows Elle to have her turn with the youth. Her predatory smile spreading as a soft laugh begins to form at the edge of her throat...
Only to suddenly -silence- at a very, very familiar sound behind her. Eyes widening in shock as she spins around on her heel to stare at...
"...Ho.. Ta..Ruu.." Every syllable broken by growing anger. Eyes glinting in outrage at a -second- wave of interference! From a most painfully familiar quarter.
The Devil takes no immediate action.. Considering a moment to go flank the girl to save Tran from her tender mercies..
..But Roberto is not defeated yet. Wise tactics is to never leave an enemy behind or he will rise again..
With a frustrated snarl she turns back and whips out her elongating arms once more.. this time attempting to coil them around Roberto's arm and -twist- the limb behind him in a painful Armlock.. attempting to limit his mobility to better assist Elle's battery, as well as increase the damage on an already weathered body..
Dr. Tran, say hello to the Shin-jou Tai, scourge of worlds. One head kicked, two more to go by Hotaru's assessment. Her backflip through the air gives her a split second to evaluate the situation. And really, there's nothing good about what just happened to Roberto. If he can even keep moving after that, she'll be surprised. This whole mess is going south a lot faster than it looked when she first came across this friendly get together.
It looks like she's mostly ignored for the moment though. Good. That means there's nothing between her and target #2: Marise. Hotaru charges directly for the devilish ninja next, her arm lighting up with an aura of deep blue as she reels it back in transit. Normally this is how she would concentrate up a little chiball of force and toss it at her opponent. But for Marise, Hotaru seems intent on making it a Personal Delivery; Contents: 1 Hakki Shou.
"Ha!" Hotaru yells, bringing her arm forward, her hand glowing with the projectile that she would have been ready to throw right now as she attempts to slam her chi infused fist directly into the vampiric woman, discharging the power in her hand and even the risidual blue chi along her arm all at once.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Roberto with Rock Me Amadeus.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Marise 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Marise's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
Roberto just can't seem to put his hand in the way of Elle's grip and as a result, Roberto's body reverberates with bone shaking sonic energy. His arms whip around wildly to deflect Marise's arm bar attempt. He growls for a moment and charges forward to break free of the hold and tosses the soccer ball into the air and quickly flips backward into the air sending the soccer ball at Elle courtesy of a Bicycle Kick... However this ball is a burning soccer ball which will explode the moment it gets within range.
COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Elle with Blazing Strikers.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
The soccer ball detonates on Elle's head. It's an unpleasant situation that has no good way to resolve itself other than being blown backwards, her body twisting in the air like a ragdoll. It's not graceful at all, and truth be told, Elle's not feeling so hot right now. Nevertheless, as she slams into the pavement with a noisy clatter, Elle doesn't waste any time shambling back to her feet.
It would seem that after being worked over by people that have designs on the entire world, a detonating soccer ball in the face just doesn't seem like it's all that amazing. At least, not any more. Her face is blackened comically, and she lets out a racheting cough, a puff of smoke exiting her luncs with a pained expression.
But then it all sinks in. Clear of the major fracas, Elle can take better stock of the situation. Recovering from the pain, she rests her hands on her knees, lifting her head. And she starts to bark out orders. "I see her, Fireplug! Converge with Vamp on Alpha!" Breaking into a dead run as she shoots towards Hotaru, she unlimbers her guitar again. Raising it to head level, she uses it like a blunt spear, attempting to ram the head into the little girl's face. "Engaging the Beta! Let's make this happen, people!"
Clutching at his stomach, still smarting from the work-over that Hotaru so painfully delivered, Tran can really only nod at Elle's command. It strikes him as being maybe a little over the top, but if Elle wants to brings things to that level of...seriousness, then fine.
Moving forward, Tran tries to come up to Roberto's side, and grabs at his shirt. With a quick yank to throw him off balance, the doctor sticks his foot out and just tries to let physics do the best. It's science, which, as anyone can tell you, is a doctor's best friend. Better than hard liquors, even.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Marise with Hakki Shou EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
The Devil Ninja's eyes widen as she watches Elle's head explode under the soccer assault. Even she is forced to inwardly admit how impresssed she is.. as the Frankenstein's Bride simply puffs smoke and rises back to her feet once more.. An attack that would have left the Ninja... Less happy.
A sensation that Marise is promptly reacquainted with as she turns around in time just to feel that positively-aligned ball of destruction IMPACT her straight in the face! The power washing over her body and leaving horrible gouts of smoke, as if being drenched in acid.. And she -screams- like it too! Her hands clawing at her own face a moment as she staggers back several steps..
Work through the pain.. Embrace it.. make it part of you..
The Devil hisses wickedly a moment, shaking her head as she tries to ignore the smoldering burns along the side of her face.. Following her orders to the letter, no matter how much she wishes to vault after the child in revenge, the Ninja quickly moves to the opposite side of Roberto. Mirroring Tran's own throw as she hooks her own leg into Roberto's own and tries to -shove- him in the same direction as her ally.. A syncronized attack..
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marise 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/--=====|
*SMASH* The discharge of energy strikes home better than she had expected. She was aiming for Marise's side, but the woman turned right into her chi-bombing fist. What surprises her more than anything is that Marise doesn't turn to strike back but rather goes back after Roberto. That's odd... Then she realizes that the weird things Elle was shouting a moment ago weren't just some random song lyrics or other nonsense she got stuck in her rockster head, but actual orders. And Marise is complying.
It's quite a lot to digest all the sudden, as Hotaru was /very/ much certain that the kimino-clad nightmare from the 19th century was the ring leader of this trio of ne'er-do-well's. Since Marise is going after Roberto again, Hotaru decides to turn around and try the apparent leader of this attack out... Which basicially amounts to turning directly into the incoming guitar. The blow knocks her face to the side a little, but on the whole order of things, she seemed to take it pretty well. Maybe it's all that training via face punchings at the Kyokugen Dojo... Still. "Ow!" she yipes back, looking a bit annoyed at Elle. Well, at that damn GUITAR anyway.
She wants to lash out at her for that, but with everyone packing in tightly now, she decides to try and get some of the pressure off Roberto if possible. Attempting to interfer with the team up attack on the young man, lunges for Tran, attempting to grab his shoulders from behind while kicking his ankles out from under him at the same time. It might not be enough to save Roberto, but every little bit helps!
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Roberto with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Marise 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Marise's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Marise 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/-======|
Roberto jumps in order to avoid both trip attempts however he only manages to avoid the ninja's influence on the grab however Tran still manages to get a hold of him. After taking a doctor induced face plant, he gets up. He knows he has no business being able to stand after that but he'll be damned if he doesn't take advantage of it.
After hearing that scream Roberto realizes Hotaru exposed Marise's weakness and he's going to make the best of this information by slamming a glowing foot hard into her chin and send the ninja flying.
Well, things are going straight to hell in short order. "TRAN! Let's take this little bitch out to the cleaners!" Enough with the pseaudo military speak. It's time for the basics. Somestimes, insane whackjob tactics are what you need to get things done, and Elle's well versed in those. Again, Elle's racing after the nimble little girl. If she won't pay attention to her, then by the miserable non-existant God Elle surley doesn't beleive in, she's going to make Hotaru pay for it.
As for Marise? Well, she can handle herself right now. Roberto's half dead. All the woman has to do is land one sickly punch to the boy's face and he'll fold like an oragami crane. Or so she hopes. Hotaru's being too feisty for her to commit any more forces to the boy.
Again, Elle goes in for the 'bunt' style attacks that she's been using, holding back on the truly feirce stuff for now, preppeing herself to dish out the real pain later. her brain races as she tries to adjust her tactics for the little girl's speed and agility.
Holding her guitar like a spear again, she attempts to ram the head of her guitar in the small of Hotaru's back, hopefully cuasing the girl some discomfort and throw off her attack pattern, giving Tran the time he needs to strike back with a vengeance.
COMBATSYS: Tran fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Hotaru with Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marise 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
Let's be honest, here. Tran and the ground are getting to be good friends. Maybe a little too good friends. Ground, what I'm trying to say here is that Tran wants to try seeing other people...although maybe a threesome would help spice up the relationship. Thus, when Hotaru trips Tran up, he's unresisting, instead trying to turn that momentum into a double-footed kick of death.
The ground, sadly, is evidently stuck up and hates everything good in the world. Tran hits it hard, and all thoughts of immediate retribution go out of his head. So do thoughts of answering anybody with anything coherent. Instead, he just whispers, probably not even audibly, "Okay, baby, I'll stop looking at other women." Yeah, this'll probably take a minute.
COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Marise with Thrust Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marise 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
And a grave weakness it is.
Her throw having having failed her, Marise staggers to the side.. attempting to prepare herself for yet another grapple, only for a glowing kick to strike her soundly on the chin! The Devil's head -snapping- back roughly, trailing a gout of burning mist from the impact.. Screaming through teeth that were forced to clench shut. The maiden is hurled into the air.. flipping a full revolution before -collapsing- in a heap a short distance away. Limbs spasmically twitching as tendrils of smoke rise from her form..
..But for all the agony she feels, she is not defeated quite yet. Her hands clawing at the pavement, attempting to drag her along with a soft snarl of effort.. Quickly seizing upon an opportunity as a single whip of hair lashes forth from her locks.. very quickly snapping out in a bid to grip Roberto's ankle and -flip- the man completely over!
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marise 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
"Ha!" Hotaru calls out after helping Tran get back in touch with his sweetheart. And then she whirls around in time to see Roberto's kick just demolish Marise. She really wants to go after Elle while Tran is cooling it on the ground, but the window of opportunity she sees against Marise is just too inviting.
When the GUITAR OF HOTARU DEATH comes in, the young fighter just charges into it, taking the blow to her ribs, but she keeps on going nonetheless, her sights dead set on taking down Marise now. Hotaru raises her foot over Marise and stomps down hard on her back, a small explosion of blue energy accompanying the attack. "KYA!"
COMBATSYS: Roberto endures Marise's Onigumo no Agito.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ]
Marise 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Roberto
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
Roberto has pretty much nowhere to go at this point and he ends getting caught by the Ninja's hair and so he gets flipped but he manages to get just enough control that he can twist himself towards Elle. As he continues the flight the flipping actually becomes turned into a kick for the Rocker Criminal's head attempting to drive his foot right in before his face hits the ground unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Roberto can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/---====/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Elle dodges Roberto's Bicycle Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Marise 1/---====/=======|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
As far as swiftness is concerned, Elle is not a speedster. In fact, she meets most attacks by trundling head on into them, letting them smash against her defenses or in some cases just taking the full brunt of the assault in an attempt to get a better bearing on the ituation. That being said, the second Roberto's kick comes flying in, Elle's got enough of a mind to avoid it simply by jinking aside, letting the barely concious boy sail by like a Terry Gillam animation to tumble into the concrete. Bah.
Now, she's faced with two choices.
Elle's teammate, Marise, is toast. She knows it, Hotaru knows it, and Marise knows it. So she's written off as someone that Tran and herself will need to pick up after the battle. The question is, does she reap the air of energy and feed her need to unleash horrible torrents of pain on Hotaru... or does she continue to flail away at the young girl, and hope that the kid eventually just keels over?
Some choices are hard to make.
Switching into full assault mode, Elle narrows her eyes. She's not an emotional woman... but she's actually starting to severely dislike Hotaru now, as opposed to the general loathing she feels for all life forms. That being said, she swings her heavy instrument like an axe now, attempting to capitalize on the young girl's distraction by crushing her head like a grape with her armor plated guitar.
Well, there's one worry out of the way, at least, even if Tran himself didn't really play all that large a part in bringing the boy down. Still, from here, things shouldn't be...too hard. Right? Right.
Picking himself up off the ground after sharing a tender moment with it, Tran gets ready for round two, so to speak. This fight ain't over yet. "You know, girl...You're kind of annoying. I'm curious to know if you're still as annoying unconcious. Call it medical curiousity."
Taunt delivered, Tran takes a couple staggering steps forward, holds a fist out at arm's length, and then brings it swinging around like a club at Hotaru's temple.
COMBATSYS: Marise fails to reflect Kobi Kyaku EX from Hotaru with Maou Tsuke.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Marise can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
It's all Marise can do to drag herself along the pavement. Feeling her tendril of hair succeed in its mission.. the lock simply flops lifelessly to the ground.. unable to expend the minimal energy to recall it to the rest of her tresses, flowing around her like a frayed cloak.
The Devil's golden eyes stare upwards.. seeing the girl divert her attention to the weaked Ninja. "..Kyeh.." She coughs out once, blood spattering her lips as smoke continues to rise from her form.
"..Th..that strength.. w..will be... mine.." The ghost's taunt whispers ..even as the girl lifts her foot. The Ninja slowly raises a shaking hand.. eyes beginning to glow just faintly as she digs deep.. willing forth an older.. lost technique as she strains. The very edges of Hotaru's aura begins to darken and change.. The blue glow just begins to taint crimson..
But way, way too late.
As the explosive kick -SLAMS- down into the Devil. Ending her consciousness with a terse -screech-! Her pale form broken upon the Street.. a smoldering ruin.
..One day..
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Elle's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Tran's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
There is a moment where Hotaru has to wonder - her blue chi tainted another color by something Marise does at the last second. Her attack strikes true all the same, driving the girl's energy into the woman that can't seem to handle it when it's delivered via dangerous attacks as opposed to sucking it out of people through their /mouths/. "That's for Jiro," she snaps, twisting her foot once to grind home the point.
Then the young fighter turns around and faces the other two. First problem. The instrument of death by bludgeoning that Elle weilds. She's tried to dodge it only to have it hone in on her head. She's run right through it, and that didn't feel very good at all. Fine. This time she swings for it, hitting the guitar with a direct palm strike, deflecting it from hitting her at the cause of a little pain in her hand. She even sort've glares at Elle's weapon without so much as looking at Elle herself. It's like the girl beileves the Guitar has taken on a persona of its own and has some kind of blasted personal vendetta with her /head/.
Then comes Tran's attack and Hotaru leans to the side, allowing his fist to swing past her face harmlessly. You're next, her eyes seem to indicate. Leaping forward, Hotaru swings at the the doctor with both of her arms in rapid succession, a feint to get him to block high. As her feet touch down, she extends her hands out hard in both directions. One is aimed toward his stomach and it is into that one that she leans, the girl putting her weight into it. The other palm presses out in the opposite direction to serve as a counter balance to keep her from falling over from over-extending herself.
And Hotaru attacks Tran again. Saving Elle for last, eh? Well, that's fine with her. Tran is a big boy, and pretty tough at that. He can keep her busy while Elle decides on what to do next. And what she decides is to pull out her guitar, and fiddle with the tuning knobs. It would seem a few of them got a little out of place after she jabbed Hotaru in the head and back one too many times.
And then? The woman begins to play.
The song is loud, noisy, and incredibly awesome, tearing into delicate Japanese ears. But if you're FROM AMERICA? Then it's as CRAZY as HICKORY SMOKED. Or something. The woman acts as her own amp, manipulating the sound chi about her to replicate even the reverb correctly. Tran would recognize the guitar riff instantly as Elle plays the song perfectly, and she gives Tran a thumbs up.
"For those about to rock, we salute you!"
COMBATSYS: Elle assists Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Tran endures Hotaru's Soushou Shin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/---====/=======|
There's a certain glare in Tran's eye. A dangerous spark, that says this man? This man has had enough. As Hotaru smacks the shit out of what is essentially his entire front, Tran stands there and he does the manliest thing he can - he takes it. He eats it like hickory smoked horse buttholes. FROM A CUP.
And when it's over and done with, he's still all up in Hotaru's face. Elle's inspiring music reaches his ears, a delightful melody, reminiscent of spring, and flowers, and hap-oh, wait, no, this is music that inspires images of men with too much hair, face paint, and THE ROCKINGEST ROCK TO EVER ROCK YOU RIGHT IN THE ROCKING ROCK, ROCK IT ALL TO ROCK.
He starts with a fierce roar: "YOU COME..." Steam gathers and compresses around his right fist, a roiling ball of harm that's so thick it conceals his flesh from view. "FROM!" He slams it upward in a massive uppercut, his chi detonating like someone just shot the oxygen tank in Jaws' mouth. "SAD!" The force is enough to send big men airborne, let alone, say, light and frail Hotaru. Should it connect, when she comes down from the blow, his other fist with slam across horizantally in a massive straight punch, similarly infused with explosive chi. "WHALE FAMILY!"
Shh. It doesn't have to make sense. It's Tran.
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Hotaru with Here Comes Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
She really kind of expected that he would keel over when she slamed her palm into his stomach. Instead, it's like she just hit the 'Kill Maim Murder' switch on the man instead. She glances over her shoulder, expecting Elle to come at her with The Guitar again, but finds that she's off doing something else that Hotaru can't make any sense of. That is until she starts to hear the very sounds from the Doom Instrument itself. What the...
Shaking her head, her brow furrowed with some confusion as to what in the world is going on, she turns back into Tran only to see him powering up like a monster unleashed from a cage where it's been pent up too long until it was finally freed by the essence of ROCK itself. The rage he manifests itself is just about enough to root the girl in place.
When he finally strikes her, Hotaru goes flying up... and then right back down into the second fist that crashes into her and sends her tumbling and rolling and sliding along the ground until she finally comes to a rest. She pushes herself up then falls back down again. "A-ah..." Lying there seems like a good idea for the immediate moment. But she doesn't have time for that. Again she rolls over, finally getting back to her feet. Her blue vest is torn and tattered and even the white shirt visible beneath it is red in a few places from any number of cuts and scrapes from the falling and hurting.
When she starts back toward Tran, it's at first slow steps, having to will her feet into action once more. But she picks up speed after a little bit until she's finally barreling directly toward him. A few yards out she dives forward into a roll, then comes out of the roll with a sudden chi-infused flip kick right in front of the doctor, attempting to drive her feet into him and send him flying into the air.
Elle continues to play through Tran's assault, switching gears so that Tran manages to utterly devestate the young girl to the tune every American in existance must always kick ass while fighting to: Eye of the Tiger. Elle's not singing the lyrics, mind you, but it's enough, especially since the declaration that casts aspersions on Hotaru's heritage should not be missed by anyone.
But as she does so, Elle takes the moment to build up her own strength and power again, the rhythmic vibes causing the air about her feet to crackle and snap as electrical energy pours from the ground and whips up about her body, infusing her with the energies that apparently animate her.
So even as Hotaru is retaliating against Tran for his monstrous assault, Elle is preparing to take the young girl down hard and fast, and in a rather painful manner if need be.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Elle 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Tran stops Ten-shou Ranki from Hotaru with Operation - Dr. Tran.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Elle 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
Remember that wild look in Tran's eye? Just because he just beat the living crap out of Hotaru doesn't mean it's gone. Oh no. Oh hell no. More chi swirls, forming the familiar light grey disc that Tran calls upon so very often. He lets it dangle limply to the side while he waits, preparing to put everything on the line.
When Hotaru finally closes in, the doctor is more than ready. Twisting, he SLAMS the disc forward, driving it directly into Hotaru's rising chi-kick, where they clash for a moment. Little sparks of lightning fly at the sheer badassery of the moment. "DENIED, vile schoolgirl!" Although there's too much chi bursting forth from Hotaru for Tran to overpower, he's done enough by stopping it cold. After a moment or two of this energetic stalemate, Tran breaks away, hopping backward, away from Hotaru. He lets his chidisk vanish into nothing, and at last he seems to calm down.
"Now see what you had to go and make me do?"
Finding both her feet and the chi that she was using to propel herself stopped short, Hotaru just barely manages to recover from the flip and land back on her feet. She's staring at Tran like she's never seen the man before, blue eyes blinking as she begins to take steps backward away from him. He never seemed so scary /before/. But now? She really doesn't want to have anything else to do with him. She most definitely was denied as he weathered the strongest attack she could muster, and he looks no worse for the wear.
Her eyes stray over Elle in the background, rocking away without so much as a scratch on her. While Hotaru is struggling just to stay standing, having spent everything she had on her attacks thus far. It's times like these that she has to consider her options. She isn't even really sure what the original fight was about. That wasn't why she jumped into it. But Roberto is out light a burned out bulb and isn't going to be helping here against odds that just aren't looking manageable at all.
"Look," she tries a new direction, raising her hands as she takes a couple more steps backward. "I don't know what you came here for, but he's clearly hurt. And you have one of yours hurt as well. How about you just let me get Roberto out of here to get some medical help? And you can see to... that woman." When you're out gunned, and running means leaving a fallen young man behind, the only choice left is to see if you can swing some kind of deal?
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Elle 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
It's about that time when Elle walks right up behind Hotaru.
Elle's a tall girl. She's always been taller than average, but compared to Hotaru? She's a freaking giant. She's also a fairly athletic looking woman. Elle's not a skinny little twig like most of the ladies in the fighting circuit, hell no. She's about as counterpoint to Marise's delicate wispiness as you can get. Built like a goddamn brick shithouse, as her Uncle Phinneaus used to say... but Uncle Phinneaus said a lot of weird and imappropriate things.
She looks at Tran from behind Hotaru. She puts a finger to her lips, and shakes her head. Tran isn't making any deals today, even if he wants to. Elle and Tran get along so well mostly because Elle does the thinking, and Tran does the horrible destructive punching, after all.
The rocker calmly turns up the volume knob on her guitar, and clears her throat. And then she plays one chord. Just one.
The resulting sonic chi explosion should be enough to send Hotaru and a crapload of debris into the lower stratosphere.
It's not like Elle has to worry this time, anyway. Unfortunately for Hotaru, she falls within a demographic that Tran, as a man of science and reason, cannot stand at all. That's right: the Fighting Japanese Schoolgirl. Too many times has he battled them, only to fall to their inexplicable might. Most of them are total assholes about it, too, and by god Tran'll be an asshole back to his dying breath.
At the same time, though, he's not willing to press the attack on this one. This has less to deal with any reluctance to deliver harm, and more to deal with the exploding sonic death blast. Tran'd at least give her the courtesy of denying her request, but...well, how's he gonna talk over THAT?
COMBATSYS: Tran focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Elle's ACDC.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 0/-------/------=|
She becomes aware of a presence behind her, Elle stalking up on the smaller statured girl who is rapidly regretting having gotten in the middle of whatever it was that was going on in the first place. When she realizes the woman is behind her and Tran in front of her, Hotaru swallows nervously. Okay, so they're not going to let her walk out if this it would seem like.
The only reason she is able to avoid the single, powerful, energy unleashing chord is because just before Elle strikes it, Hotaru is already running away from her, putting everything she has into one last sprint to try and make it to safety.
In her path is Dr Tran. And Hotaru attempts to barrel past him in much the same way that she greeted him tonight. By running right up him like a set of stairs and leaping off his shoulders to get to the other side, hoping to get precious distance between her and the Death Guitar woman.
COMBATSYS: Tran fails to interrupt Shin-Jou Tai from Hotaru with Operation - Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Tran can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Well, that's not very fortuitous. As Hotaru scampers off, Elle finds herself devestating thin air. Hrm. Well, no matter. She hefts her weapon up over her shoulder and begins to charge after Hotaru. No shouts, no lectures. no explaination on how Elle will beat her to smithereens. Nope. none of that. Elle's just a little too calculating for that despite her appearances. Not even a hint of rage on her face for Hotaru who avoided her assault.
Instead, she shoots forward, and attempts to smash the young girl in the face, this time with the heavier end of her weapon instead of the head, which is bound to do some significant damage if it connects. Then again, adrenaline does weird things to people, and Elle's not seen Hotaru when she's on complete panic mode. Yet.
Dr. Tran smirks. He's confident at this point, and why not? Even if he's in pretty bad shape, Elle's still sitting pretty, and Hotaru's pretty much on her last legs. When Hotaru comes at him, Tran whips his hand around and just smacks her with his chidisc. Except, wait, hold on, shit. He was supposed to reform it first.
Well, as they say...crap. His counter-offensive foiled, Tran goes down hard, kicking off his new career as a stairmaster?
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Talk Dirty To Me.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
Tran goes down and Hotaru leaps from off his shoulders, having overcome one obstical and intent on getting away from Elle - home by now Hotaru is quite convinced intends to kill her with that guitar of hers. One will have to forgive the girl who's tossed aside all thoughts of heroics and is now dead set on just trying to get /away/ from the rockster and her infernal instrument.
Getting up to her feet after the leap, she's surprised to find that Elle has already caught up. An attempt to avoid the guitar is made, but the younger girl's footing is already falling apart as it is and she ends up getting smashed in the side of the face by that metal weapon once more.
This sends Hotaru careening off to the side a little, but she's still on her feet and after a couple of very questionable looking steps, she's back to running again. Oh yes, Elle, Hotaru wants absolutely nothing to do with you.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Well, as long at Hotaru remains in the vicinity, Elle will give chase. Tran, Marise, they're fighters. Tough, miserable bastards that are well versed in the art of getting back up again. Nevertheless, the fact that Marise and Tran both were dropped by the little girl doesn't go unrecognized. It's not like Elle cares. It's more like a lesson needs to be taught to this miserable little upstart. Don't attack Elle's boys and girls.
And that's really all Hotaru needs to know, as far as Elle is concerned.
She pulls the weapon back again in one last attempt to go in for the kill. Odds are, Hotaru will escape if she can't tag the miserable little cretin with her guitar this last time. Even Elle can't keep up a sustained Dodgebunny Run, even if logic dictates that hotaru needs a good braining.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Hotaru
And it's Elle's last swing that finally takes the poor fleeing prey down. One more bash to the head is just one more she can't take. Hotaru cries out, stumbling forward a few more steps before finally coming to a dead stop. She falls to her knees first, then drops forward, face down on the ground, arms sprawled out at her sides. Gasping for air, she can't get up again, though she tries once more before her strength fails her and she falls quiet, her hair sticky with the blood escaping from one of the gashes inflicted by Elle's guitar. Unable to get up again, she turns her face to the side so she can quit sucking on pavement while she struggles for breath. Her blue eyes are open still, but focused on nothing. Perhaps all she sees at this point are visions of a particular metal guitar that really seems to have it in for her.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-----==|
Whew. Well. That took some doing.
Elle wipes her forehead with a huff of breath. Any more running, and Hotaru would have made it out bloodied but unbowed. Instead, fate and the Guitar Gods were gracious enough to grant a boon. Or in this case? A Happy Meal for Marise. Elle takes a moment to tie up Hotaru's hands with the length of guitar wire she keeps in her pocket, and then pulls her 1984 E-Series van around the side. Good thing they drove. Otherwise, this would have been one hell of a trek.
She pops open the doors, and grumbles. Footwork and manual labor are all part of the job, even if she's supposed to be the 'leader'. Being the guildmaster never seems to have all the perks one would think it does, though.
A series of thumps echo out as Elle dumps Tran and Marise's unconcious body into the back of the van, making sure that they're propped up and secured with buckles. Safety is number one, after all. And finally, Hotaru gets an unceremonious chuck into the back. Elle lets out a sigh again. "I hope they appreciate this," she grumbles to nobody in particular as the doors slam shut. She climbs into the driver's seat, and leans over the wheel, exhausted, tapping out a cigarette. The cig is lit, and she takes a long drag before starting the van.
Thankfully, it goes helluva fast.
They'll be home soon. What happens to Hotaru after that?
Good question. Even Elle doesn't know. But hopefully, this will stop Marise's incessant obsession with the mutant child. And that's enough for Elle.
COMBATSYS: Elle has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:13:50 05/27/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 14:16:59 05/28/2007.