Description: Guile and Sakura face off in the Bangkok Water Treatment Plant, Kurow interrupts only to be run over by Akira.
Shadaloo still occupies a great deal of Thailand at this point in the war... but guerilla tactics from the opposition have forced Vega's forces to centralize their efforts. Word has it that a massive drive is commencing on the nation's capital, with improvised hit-and-run tactics being the only way the beleaguered Thailand military can combat Shadaloo's heavy machinery effectively.
But with hit-and-run tactics... comes the need for more mobile forces: fighters. And that's where Shadaloo's elite Doll forces come into play, having been positioned at strategic locations throughout the capital -- not the last line of defense, but clearly the most significant.
Sakura... is here. It's a fairly significant location -- a water treatment plant. Without clean water, there's nothing to drink! She's watching the location, a small squadron of armed guards under her command. And she's waiting, sitting quite amiably atop one of the larger cooling towers. Watching.
This would drive her nuts if the Doll programming weren't mucking around with her brain bits.
Watching and waiting, however, are exactly the forte of Guile and his men, take the time at the start of the fight and then there shouldn't be any need for the fight to go on too long. Surprises were trouble and the Vigilante's second in command was getting tired of running into them, this time making sure to take his time. He had been leading a small force of the Vigilantes' best ground fighters around the edge of the city for a few hours now, looking for the best place to strike. And now his eyes were on it, the treatment plant.
A pair of binoculars were held up to his eyes as he looked over the array of Shadaloo's forces, and standing out among them was a figure that'd made the news in a big way lately, Sakura Kasugano. He wasn't especially in the mood for dealing with another one of Vega's brainwashed pawns after having to deal with Ken at the prison, but at least this time he'd know it was coming.
Pulling down his binoculars, he began to make small motions with his hands toward the men under his command, a few setting up mortars and loading them up. Just one more quick flick of the hand and they fired, the shells screaming as they flew up into the air and came crashing down around the plant, large plumes of smoke springing up from each one as it hit the ground rather than any sort of explosion.
With their cover in place, Guile lept to his feet and started to race across the open ground, most of his men following after him while a few stayed back and laid down some supression fire into the thick, acrid smoke.
Part of the reason Sakura propped herself up at such an unnaturally high angle was specifically for =reasons like this=. She'd heard the mortars when they were launched -- and having turned to face them, she had a fair idea of where they were targeted: beneath her. "Prepare for incoming mortars," she speaks simply into her headset. How do you =prepare= for that, really? Run? Duck and cover? It's not Sakura's problem.
She simply waits for the confusion to take hold, holding her breath and dropping down, slowing her fall by stepping on the ladder at regular intervals, landing in a low crouch. The smoke could get to her in a moment, but that's why her first objective is the gas masks. Grabbing one off the wall, she puts it on, and scans around, silently.
She may not be able to =see=, but she doesn't need to -- she can sense people, to a very limited degree. And the suppression fire... doesn't seem to bother her. A slight shift to the right, a step to the left, is often enough to dodge those bullets, should they be a problem. She's relying on her intution as she walks through the complex in search of the aggressors.
One would expect the silent assassin would still be at a marked disadvantage to anyone more used to seeing through the smoke, of course...
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Guile has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Guile
The mortar teams have also held back at their positions, and as Guile's teams makes its way in toward the plant, they fire off even more shells, howling as they come in at the plant, this time each one blowing apart as it collides with the ground, the shock waves causing the smoke to loosen up while sending out shards of deadly shrapnel in all directions, the teams fire off only a few rounds of these before holding off. The smoke is still thick enough to make it hard to see more than a few feet and those unable to find a gasmask would likely find it hard to breathe.
As Guile and his men reach the treatment plant, the supression fire starts to die down. Most of the Vigilantes are equipped with gasmasks and assault rifles, Guile himself has neither but doesn't seem the least bit bothered by the situation. The group starts to break off into three man teams, carefully making their way through the smoke-filled area as they search out the Shadaloo forces. Their veteran leader, however, goes for Sakura. With both parties searching each other out, it shouldn't take long to find each other.
Inevitably, the other groups encounter Shadaloo resistance on their paths -- a fact which is relayed by radio and the distinctive sound of gunfire echoing through the halls. Sakura Kasugano is unperturbed however, as she navigates through the maze of hallways, expecting =someone= to come charging in.
And she'd find Guile, right at the junction of one of the central hallways. She's on the west end, he on the east... a bulletproof window in the center providing a view of the treatment facilities. The smoke is thinner here -- but only slightly -- due to an air vent directly overhead.
The smoke also dissipates, in some small measure, due to the Shadaloo agent stopping in her tracks, staring at the interlopers and calling forth a small funnel-cloud of Psycho Power. The purple-hued energy, lined with inky black veins, is very different from her usual cerulean blue... but then again, so is her dark grey Shadaloo uniform.
"It'd be silly to ask you to put down your weapons and retreat, I suppose, " she states, focus narrowing on the Vigilante second-in-command. "Failing that... bring it on."
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Guile
Just as he's turning a corner, there she is, right on the other end of the new hallway with that psycho power flowing around her, even from this distance it's somewhat unsettling, and it's starting to get old constantly facing down these people Vega's pushed it upon.
"There's no way I can turn back now, Vega's a threat to the whole world if he succeeds here. He's a monster completely devoid of any morals, but you'd already know that if you weren't being used as one of his mindless pawns." Guile is quick to pull himself into a ready position, hunched slightly forward with his arms up and ready. "I can tell there's no turning back for you, either, so now it's down to which one of us has the strength to pull through. I won't make this easy on you."
In an instant he's dashing along the hallway, arms pulled out on either side as he lunges toward his opponent, attempting to ensnare Sakura between his arms, twist her around and hall her up across his shoulder before launching himself up into the air and coming back down with all the force of it hitting her across the spine.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Guile's Backbreaker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Guile
At least Guile's honest. Sakura only really finds fault in one of his statements -- one which is met with a raised eyebrow. "Mindless, hmm..." She's clearly not in agreement on that aspect.
Guile may find that the girl's a bit more difficult to hold on to than she looks, though -- she backs away when he grabs for her, and while Guile =can= pull her onto his shoulders, the girl uses the proximity to the wall to full advantage, kicking off of it and pulling free at the last instant before landing.
"Bothersome..." she comments, rubbing her arm as she springs to safety, landing in a low crouch. She's quick to charge forward, while the American is nice and close, though -- and she starts off with a rushing punch to the ribcage, fist sheathed in Psycho Power. She's playing for keeps!
COMBATSYS: Guile dodges Sakura's Shou'ou Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Guile
Although the top-heavy soldier doesn't look it, it would seem he has a bit of speed in him. In a single, smooth movement Guile rolls out of the way of the powerful uppercut, pulling himself off toward Sakura's side as she just moves right past him, "You'll have to do better than that, I already managed to beat the real master of that technique, your's is sloppy."
He's quick to push for an advantage, not willing to give the girl a chance to get any sort of edge on him. He brings his leg in from the side in a wide arc aimed right for Sakura's knee, working to hit it from the side and push her off balance more than cause any lasting damage.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Light Kick from Guile with Small Psydouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Guile
Yes -- Sakura had heard something to that effect. She was downstairs in the prison when Guile was busy detonating explosions upstairs.
She knows she's not =as= good as the masters, or Masters, but she seems to think she's pretty competent anyway. As the man drives in from the side, the schoolgirl smirks faintly. "I have other talents," she states, stepping a bit to her side, thrusting her open palm forward. A violet blossom springs forth, the Psycho-Powered shockwave powerful enough to blast Guile back a good step or two -- and in doing so, lessen the impact of his boot upon her hip. She still staggers somewhat, but she feels it to be a worthwhile trade.
"As you've seen."
With one leg off the ground at the time of the impact, the force of the blast rather easily pushes Guile off balance, knocking him onto the floor and causing him to slide across it for a few feet. The feeling of the psycho power washing over him stayed with him even as the blast was over, he was getting used to it but it still threw him off his game.
He'd underestimated her because of her age, it looked like he'd have to reassess he previous assessment of the Sakura. As he got to his feet, he simply pulled back into his ready position, arms held in a high guard while he locked his eyes on the young fighter, trying to get a feel for her movements.
COMBATSYS: Guile focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Guile
Smirking faintly, the girl takes a step back. Yes, there's Vigilante soldiers back there. But there's also Shadaloo soldiers closing in on her current position for her own backup. Soldiers know enough to leave the pros alone, really -- there's enough gunfire to ensure everyone has a shot at death.
But with Guile narrowing his focus, the young woman seems satisfied. Even... pleased, that she's made the man stop and reassess her. "It's really not too late to reconsider. You see... this building is =already= nearing imminent collapse. Explosives are in place to ensure your entire squad can perish... any time we see fit. And we'll be more than happy to blame the incident on you -- why would =we= want to destroy our own water supply, after all -- with your teams launching mortars?"
Chuckling, she seems to be biding her time, walking about as if she's doing even =more= to mess with his preconceptions of the youth as someone willing to knock his block off without hesitation.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Guile
"The only way I'd consider turning back is if you stepped aside and took all your forces out of the city. I'm here for Vega, and all you're doing is standing in my way." Guile straightens up for a moment, his eyes holding an ice cold stare on Sakura's as he took a moment to consider the situation.
But that was it, a mere moment, there wasn't any other way to end this and he knew it. If he couldn't break Ken out of Vega's control, then there was no way he was going to help free someone who he knew as little about as Sakura. "The problem with your plan is that nobody even knows my team is here. It would be just as easy for my men to pull out as it would be for your's and my guess would be that people have seen Shadaloo soldiers around the area."
He's said his peace, the only way to get this over with is to put Sakura down. Rushing back into the fray, he lowers himself toward the ground as he comes in, his fist curling in tightly as he brings it up on a line for her jaw.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Guile's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Guile
If Shadaloo soldiers were the only ones spotted, then... well. Sakura does expect that Guile has less soldiers to lose than Shadaloo does, at this point. But really, the whole argument gets kind of meta at this point, as Sakura still plans on mopping up on Guile. She's better at being analytical towards a fight than she is about orchestrating the fall of a country, really.
Besides, Guile's fist is occupying her attention at the moment. And instead of occupying her =jaw= as well, she raises a forearm at the last instant, knuckles hitting stainless steel rather than jawmeats. Staggering back from the impact, the young woman whirls about nearly instantly, slamming one boot high into his midsection to convince him to back away. "Hyaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Guile interrupts Medium Kick from Sakura with Sonic Boom.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Sakura 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Guile
Even if he does have less soldiers on his side than Sakura, he has a personal concern for each any every one of them, whereas he doubted Sakura would know much more than perhaps a name or number of any one of her troops. This is what kept him going, what pushed him to fight onward despite any odds facing him. Why he couldn't lose now.
While his attack may have been thrown off by her maneuver, he was quick to pull himself back into ready position, his hands cocking back to either side and blossoming with blue energy even as Sakura's leg was begining its motions. They were just as quick to pull forward, drawing long slashes of energy out behind them until they crossed in front of each other, all the energy being pulled into a whirling disc just as her leg came in, flying in over her guard just before it came in at him and doing enough to throw off the assault from hitting him full force.
Kasugano is, understandably, more than a little upset about this turn of events! Gritting her teeth, she braces for the impact of a Sonic Boom hitting her full force -- that's about all she has =time= to do, after all! Slammed backwards, her boots skid across the dull concrete floors, forcing her to plant a hand down upon the floor simply to keep from keeling over.
But she's still pretty fired up at the moment... which is why she's able to rise back to her feet in no time, curling her hands at her side. Nodding back to Guile, she knows words are pretty much moot at this point ... which is why she speaks with action, hurling a six-foot-wide ball of Psycho Power at the man with a loud cry: "HADOUKEN!"
Maybe... this will hurt more than Ken's had.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Guile with Psycho Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Guile
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Akira has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Guile
If there's one thing Kurow knows how to do it's run from objective to objective -- /fast/. When he finished with Alex, leaving the rag-tag multinational force the man had assembled to his own troops and those of Shadaloo, he'd taken a quick listen to the Shadaloo local band... and found out that a water treatment plant was the site of a hot, pitched battle between Shadaloo troopers alongside the newest still-intact Doll and the commando team that Kurow has had to deal with time and time again.
That's two particularly excellent birds in a single place, and needless to say, Kurow is not going to fail to capitalize on such an opportunity. After moving around the plant a little and finding that convenient window in on the action, Kirishima does the only thing he can do at this point: bust /right/ through the window, surveying the battle. Rather than aggress immediately, though, he spends his time studying the battlefield, trying to get a feel for the struggle.
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Guile
KUROW'S ASS?!
DA-NAH!
But Akira is not deterred. She hasn't been much help during the actual battle, because she was looking for a person. Sakura in particular. She has no idea where to look, however, and it is God, or perhaps FATE, that leads Akira to drive by the Water Treatment Plant in her motorcycle just as Kurow does. Actually it's neither of those things, she just saw a big flash of PSYCHO Power and assumed Sakura might be nearby. Kurow makes it there first and knocks through the window. In a way, Akira is glad, she doesn't want to cut up her bike. She revs it once, twice, and then bursts in after Kurow, her motorcycle gliding through the air--and flying straight for Kurow's side, threatening to bowl him over and onto the ground while he's busy studying the battlefield.
"DANCING MOTORCYCLE KICK!" Akira cries midflight!
It seemed Guile's recovery time wasn't quite up to speed with Sakura's. Finding the massive ball of psycho energy coming in at him like a freight train he does he best to move out of the way, but the blast takes him full on, sending the soldier flying down the hallway, colliding with the wall and bouncing off before he manages to recover even slightly.
...And then everything gets really really weird as the man who he tried to ambush back near Phu Ket suddenly bursts in... and gets a motorcycle aimed for running him down. This war's officially gone crazy, but Guile's not interested in missing an opportunity, he attempts to keep Kurow out of his battle. If the man gets sent flying by the motorcycle, he launches himself up into the air after him, if not he simply rushes the man while trying to grab him. In either case he tries to pull Kurow up over his shoulder and bring him back down to the ground, full force on his spine.
Dancing... motorcycle... kick. We likely have Takuma to blame for this.
Sakura seems to be somewhat pleased at the interruptions though. Despite her confidence, and her attack landing true, she knows Guile is quite the formidable enemy. And she's had =numerous= complications fighting him so far.
Regardless, Kurow's here -- and he's the one getting attacked! Growling, she breaks away from Guile for a moment, and slams a stainless-steel fist forward at Akira, aiming to knock her right onto her duff! "Do not interrupt!"
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Guile's Backbreaker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Guile
COMBATSYS: Kurow fails to counter Heavy Kick from Akira with Double Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Guile
DA-NAAAAAAAAH!
On the one hand, Kurow certainly sees Guile coming in; he has no problem weaving out of the way of the man's grasp... but when he tries to turn and face Akira's incoming motorcycle rampage, he gets an unpleasant surprise. Whatever he'd /intended/ to do certainly doesn't happen; he just gets /run over/ by a motorcycle. Needless to say, he spends the next fair while making this face:
X_X
COMBATSYS: Akira interrupts Fierce Punch from Sakura with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Guile
BADUM DUM... VRRRRR!
Akira skids around on her bike for a few moments before breathing out. She has her helmet on (you don't drive a motorcycle through a window at someone without something like that on your skull) but it's pretty obvious that she's breathing out a sigh of relief to see that her Dancing Motorcycle Kick technique worked, despite her first attempt at using it. "Hey Guile!" Akira shouts, "I thought I'd lend you a hand, OKEI?"
Then Sakura dashes in. Akira remains on her bike, it grants her POWER, the POWER to do exactly what Sakura asked her not to. She grabs Sakura's hand as she throws it out and chucks Sakura away from her bike. "Sorry, Sakura! I can't let you stay under Shadaloo's control!"
So apparently whoever this punk on a hog is, they're here to help and know both who he is and have something to do with the Kasugano girl. Even if it does seem rather strange and completely insane, he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Guile takes this opportunity to launch an assault back toward Kurow since it seems his new ally wants to take things up with Sakura, and that's just fine with him. Dashing after the man knocked flying by the incredibly bike assault, he cocks his fist back behind his head and sends it flying forward like a hammer, aimed right at Kurow's head.
Sakura is... pretty soundly punked! Her fist is not only caught, but redirected, as she's practically hurled to the side. Scowling, she pushes back to her feet -- it seems the Doll programming's starting to give in as she sees Akira gain. "You were =very= stupid to come back here, Akira..." she states, curling her hands to the side. She may not have as much ready for Akira as she had for Guile, but the blossom of Psycho Power she sends Kazama's way is still pretty darn sizable! "HADOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Guile successfully hits Kurow with Strong Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kurow 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Guile
As soon as Kurow gets back up, he gets put right back down; Guile's punch just /decks/ him, sending him down to the ground a second time. Unfortunately for Guile, however, Kurow is quite adept at fighting from the ground... as he's about to find out. Leaving the former Doll to be dealt with by the current one, Kirishima locks his eyes on Guile's legs. The youth has only one shot at this, and he's been saving it since his battle with Alex... and he can't let it slip through his fingers.
Rolling forward into a hard, fast dash, Kurow tries to plow through Guile's legs, sending him over the youth's back. From there, it's a simple, vicious dragging-along by claws formed of chi, one which Kurow will use to drag the Special Forces man far away from the Doll, trying to isolate him -- as much as is possible, anyway. After this difficult of a critical first few moments, he has to make every strike count, and press any advantage he can get.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Akira with Large Psydouken EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Akira
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Guile
Akira hops off the bike and shakes her head at Sakura, "That might be true, but I have to help you--whether you want to be or not." She brings up her hands to try to block the Psydouken... but?!
Well, it doesn't actually help at all. It's PSYCHO not CHI and the blast is larger than the breadth of her arms. Akira is caught full on and is sent flying off her bike, which is severely psycho charred on its side. Akira groans as she hits the ground.
"Ugh..." She manages, slowly tugging up to her feet--and wabbling over to the fallen bike. She sees the damage and for a moment she seems too horrified to take it!
"Nrghhh." She grunts, "You didn't have to do that. That was also pretty dumb. Time for the real thing!" Akira cries as she throws herself forward, bursts of wind chi fluttering around her foot as she cries, "DANCING CYCLONE KICK!" and tries to do a bit of a dance against Sakura's face.
COMBATSYS: Guile interrupts Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa from Kurow with Somersault Strike EX.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Akira
[ \ < > ///////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Guile
The last time the two of them faced each other down, this very same maneuever had put Guile in a real bind, but he was ready for it this time. Having already managed to get the upper hand this time around, he was already in a far better position than the last time he faced this attack down. He found himself getting knocked over by the first charge, but rather than being snared by the claws, he pulled all the momentum with him, twisting back around in a full sumersault and landing a boot sheathed in blue energy right across his Kurow's back, landing solidly on the ground he threw out another strike, flipping back into position for one last final kick, launching himself and Kurow further into the air with a massiver somersault. "This is for putting my men in that prison under that sadistic thug!"
COMBATSYS: Akira successfully hits Sakura with Dancing Cyclone Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Akira
[ \ < > ///////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Guile
So... y...yeah. Kurow jumped in, and did Sakura the favor of getting his butt kicked. It was =temporarily= better to have him there, as it kept Guile occupied... but right now, Sakura's Doll side is just shaking its head at the guy. "Thank you for the assistance, Kurow."
But Kasugano can't spend a lot of time worrying about him at the moment -- not with Akira closing in like she is. "I did have to, Akira. You're attacking us." It's a simple statement. And while it should be equally simple for Kasugano to raise her arms, and shrug off the wildly telegraphed attack... the force behind those blows is enough to knock Sakura around just the same. She staggers back from the first kick, then the second -- the third is enough to send her flying backwards, her keister landing right next to Kurow's. She even =bounces=.
But when she starts to push back to her feet, she sneers somewhat. Psycho Power makes a girl turn =mean= at times. Shaking her head she doesn't move to attack -- instead, she dashes over to grab Kurow with her last bit of strength, hucking him over one shoulder. "Sorry. Time for us to leave."
And while it really shouldn't be =that= easy for her to just walk out and leave with a Kirishima on her shoulder -- she points to one of the armed Shadaloo officers observing the fight.
At which point the ceiling over top of Guile's, Akira's, and the Vigilante soldiers' heads collapses. The beauty of being a bad guy is -- you =really= don't care about collateral damage -- especially if =your= escape route is covered.
COMBATSYS: Sakura takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Akira
[ \ < > ///////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Guile
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
[ \ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Akira
> ///////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Guile
"What are y --" Kurow, starts, but before he can finish his thought, he's subjected to that rain of kicks from Guile, that series of painful blows that knocks what little fight he had left /in/ him /out/ of him. When the blows stop, he finds himself on the ground, bloody and beaten... but at the very least, he stopped /one/ adept hero and modestly injured another tonight. That's more than good enough.
If he were in hetter shape, he'd protest Sakura grabbing him and putting him over her shoulder, insisting he could make it out on his own... but pride is a thing for people who aren't fairly sure that they've just had several bones cracked by army boots. "... Yes, that might be best," he wheezes, letting Kasugano carry him away across that freshly-covered escape route. He does add one surprising phrase, however, as they start to run: "... thank you."
COMBATSYS: Kurow takes no action.
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Akira
> ///////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Guile
COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Akira
> ///////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Guile
"Sakura!" Akira cries in a way that's similar to NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESTS but with less exagerated vowel addition. And then the building starts to collapse.
Akira nabs her bike--believing that it may yet be saved despite its injuries, carrying it like Guile would carry an injured comrade--and she leaps out the broken window--using her own body to protect her primary method of transportation from more damage. MOOOTORRRBIIKEE!
This does give Kurow and Sakura plenty of time to escape, however.
Things aren't going quite as he expected, but there's no time to think about that at the moment, his men are in trouble. Raising his little used Radio, he gives one simple command, "Evacuate."
The Vigilantes are highly trained soldiers, some of the best of the best, and even a collapsing building seems to cause them only some trouble as they start to swarm out of it, those who were injured in the fight being carried along by the rest of their squad, all of them moving to rejoin with the rest of the team outside of the treatment plant.
Guile himself has practically no trouble at all rushing out of the collapsing building, somehow managing to be the last person out and making a really awesome jump to escape it at the last second before things collapse all behind him in such a way that there really should have been a movie camera there. He takes one look over his men before turning his attention back toward the Bangkok and gets a really serious look on his face that's begging for a dramatic closeup. "Vega... I'm coming for you."
COMBATSYS: Guile gains composure.
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Akira
> //////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Guile
COMBATSYS: Guile has left the fight here.
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Akira
COMBATSYS: Akira gains composure.
> ////////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Akira
COMBATSYS: Akira has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:14:45 07/01/2007 by Guile, and last modified on 23:50:28 07/07/2007.