Description: The Fixx (1982). Elle participates in an underground fight club, using her relative anonymity for some easy cash. Mobey shows up on the presumption that Elle 1) has knowledge of piracy, and 2) is easy pickings. Elle proceeds to correct his assumption very shortly. Guest appearance by Yurika.
Elle rarely turns down easy money. Even when she's done multi-million dollar deals or tosses around figures well into the hundred thousands like water in the work that she does, she's still available for the smaller jobs. A few ten thousand here or there always helps. Along with helping out the operating costs of her organization, it also eventually rolls down into other projects.
So when an old associate of hers called her up to let her know that some low level thug needed some extra hoods for a 'fight club' of sorts, Elle was happy to oblige. Since she's not very well known to people she doesn't want knowing her, it's easy for her to make an appearance. After all, she doesn't have the name recognition that a lot of the big fighters do.
There's already a makeshift 'ring' set up on the docks as people are already trading bets on the next fight: hers. Dressed in a pair of torn up low rise jeans, cycling boots, and an old tattered chamosile, Elle looks the part of a street thug, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a guitar over her shoulder.
"Hey Bobbo," she says to her pal, who waves her over. "What am I looking at here?"
The weasely eyed fight fixer looks at a clipboard, sniffing absently as he rubs his nose free of snot with the back of his hand. "Dunno. Looks like some merchant marine or something. Real one eyed pirate type." He spits onto the dock with a horrible coughing noise. "Oh, shit. That hurt."
"You need to lay of the pot, Bobbo. That shit'll kill your lungs," Elle says as she saunters into the ring, rolling her head and cracking her knuckles as she preps for her opponent's arrival.
The House of Strolheim doesn't care about informal or illegal fighting rings. But piracy - now that the House of Strolheim cares a bit about. Well, at least one member. That member is Irishman Richard Mobey, an old sailor and whaler. Unlike Elle, he does not do odd jobs for money - Krauser has him on payroll.
No, he's here at the fighting ring for an entirely different reason. While he might be an illegal whaler, he hates piracy. Sailors should not steal from sailors. And that - well, that means he has to break some heads. Pirate heads - and anyone working for said pirates.
And Elle, well - might Elle work for said pirates occasionally?
She might. There may even BE pirates here. But the probability of Elle and Blackjack being on Krauser's radar at this point are fairly slim. She takes great pains to reveal herself or be available only to those that she thinks needs her services. Krauser wouldn't be one of them. Not yet, anyhow. The woman settles back for a moment, taking a drag from her already lit cigarette as she eyes her new opponent.
Looks like a real winner, here. If she had any shred of human decency, she'd probably feel mildly bad about beating on a guy missing an eye and a leg. Then again, she doesn't feel bad for beating up the old and infirm any more than she does about crushing schoolgirls or bashing innocent bystanders in the face.
The woman doesn't give him a lot of time to warm up. The second that the ring closes and Elle is enclosed in the fighting area with the old man, she draws her weapon of choice from her neck. Unwrapping a thin gold wire from around her neck, she starts to wrap it around her wrist. It looks like a length of wire or guitar string. That being done, she immediately bolts forward without a single word. She's not much of a chatterbox.
With a crouch and a powerful leap, the woman is airborne, arcing through the sky like a brick rather than an acrobat, and she lands with a bone jarring thud behind the sailor. Reaching with her hands, she attempts to grab him by the head and give it a vicious twist from behind, as if trying to tear his head from it's shoulders.
COMBATSYS: Elle has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Mobey has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mobey
COMBATSYS: Mobey blocks Elle's 17 Crash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Mobey
Warm up? What is this 'warm up?' The old man in the ring merely watches Elle, his one eye narrow. He never asked for pity, nor for mercy. He wouldn't be here if he expected either. No - Richard Mobey is certainly not the sort ot want the people he fights to feel bad for him.
When Ellse dashes at him, he stands still - but as she lands, he tightenes his muscles - and grabbing his head, while possible, does not do a lot. A faint crack as he resists - but his neck as, for the moment, a bar of iron. He shakes Elle loose, turning to face her.
He grunts, saying nothing as yet - he'll learn what he wants about the pirates here once he's beaten Elle enough to get her to /talk/, he's sure. He doesn't care about Blackjack, no - just his own personal crusade. His arm flies out with surprising speed and strength, as he grabs for Elle's arm, to hurl her into one of the walls of the ring.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Mobey's Half Breach.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Mobey
It appears the match is about to have another spectator aside from the .. What was this, some sort of underground fight? Disgusting, really, or simply rather not Yurika Kirishima's cup of tea.
She doesn't know Elle very well at all, and maybe she was being a little nosey, but when she had seen the rocker headed toward the harbor area, the prissy student couldn't help but wonder what it's all about. She just so happened to be running an errand of sorts for her brother, which called for a drastic change of attire so she's rushing about in a hardly-modded version of her brothers uniform (a.k.a. zomg spandex); and her hair pulled back into a large french braid.
While it's not exactly easy for her to blend in with the rowdy crowd, it is simple enough to reach an out of the way area to spectate instead.
She doesn't look it particularly, but Elle's not a dainty little flower. As the hand grabs for her arm, she dislodges it with disturbing ease, rotating her entire arm in a wide circle to break the grip. Easy enough to compensate for her her part. As she wrenches free, she hops back, feet kicking up dust as she skids back avoiding major impact with a warehouse wall.
She scans the battlefield again, her eyes flicking left, then right, and she catches the strange sight of Yurika. The mercenary rocker gives the young girl the slightest of nods before she opens up with her next salvo of attacks.
She jerks to one side with deliberate force, attempting to flank the old sailor. Her heavy-footed approach has her cycling boots cracking hard against the concrete docks, the hobnails echoing out across the waterway. As she finally passes by, she reaches out with her hand to grab the old sailor by the shoulder and slam him face first to the concrete before wirling around for the next pass.
COMBATSYS: Mobey endures Elle's Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Mobey
Mobey gives Yurike only the faintest glance. He doesn't /care/ about the audience. Distractions. The whales have taught him what to do in a fight: focus on the fight. And as Elle grabs for his shoulder, the old whaler - shifts his weight onto his wooden leg, allowing himself to be slammed into the pavement - but using the harpoon in one of his strong, muscular arms, he easily gets to his feet, his weight shift perhaps surprising Elle with the ease of tossing him - causing her to overextend.
And as he gets up, he strikes. While Elle is behind him, that doesn't matter - he swings his harpoon in an arc- and the chain on its bottom arcs out further, slamming for Elle with surprising force.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Mobey's Hard Starboard.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Mobey
Elle seems unperturbed. The incoming harpoon is swatted away with a definative motion, her hand batting it aside with practiced ease. Elle's not a whale, and can be a phenomenally hard target when she feels like fighting in a reserved manner. Still, she could be surprised by the old man's actions. It just doesn't show up on her face. The only thing that can be said for sure is that she's thinking, moving, calculating. The gears are turning constantly behind her eyes constantly.
This time, she takes a different tack. Using the momentum of the swat, she rolls across the ground before bolting upright, stopping suddenly. Her entire body immediately courses with electrical power, the energy seeming to burst across her body out of nowhere. The blue sparks crackle along her tattooed arm, dancing across the wire wrapped around it before cascading towards Mobey in a dangerous arc of electricity.
COMBATSYS: Mobey overcomes High Voltage from Elle with Buried to the Hitches.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Mobey
The old man turns to face Elle. He has no fear - Krauser would not want him to fear, and a fighter with chi power is not exactly /rare/. The big whaler plants his good leg, bracing himself against the electricity - but then he nods, and raises his harpoon, the chain attached to a single steel manacle on his arm.
As the electricity tears through the air, he hurls the harpoon - and the chi power grounds itself against the mighty wooden shaft, the steel tip flying through it unburnt and unharmed, and the whole thing is flying straight for Elle, its chain definitely long enough not to jerk it short of its target. It's one tough harpoon. Mobey grunts as the thing flies - he is not surprised or impressed at his own speed and strength. He knows his own arm.
COMBATSYS: Mobey successfully hits Elle with Buried to the Hitches.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Mobey
Unburnt and unharmed? Yes. But the fact is that by the time it reaches Elle, it does very little damage at all. Elle flashes a grimace of pain as the barbed tip cuts across he ribcage, and she's forced to stagger back a little. Unpleasant, yes, but the truth is, she's been hit harder by little girls. One of whom is in attendance in the audience today. Spinnign to the side, she attempts to use the chain and harpoon to her advantage.
Her hand reaches for the chain and she attempts to grab ahold of the links with one hand. With a burst of sonic chi, she uses the explosive force to add some strength to her yank as she attempts to swing the man in an overhead arc with the harpoon and smal him face first into the ground behind her with a vicious toss.
COMBATSYS: Mobey blocks Elle's Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Mobey
The added strength is not nearly enough. The mighty Mobey, whaler supreme - if not fighter supreme - simply jerks on the chain. While his arm aches a bit from being pulled, and his muscles strain, he is unthrown - he simply is too large. The harpoon is jarked from Elle's hands, and the big whaler shakes his head as he catches it easily.
"Girl, you have /no/ idea what yer doin', do ya?" As he says this, a faint glow surrounds him, with the faint sound of whalesong and the faint, tiny image a ghostly whale swimming through his glowing aura.
COMBATSYS: Mobey gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Mobey
She doesn't answer. Elle's got nothing to prove. Only a few dollars to make. As Mobey takes the time to charge up, Elle is already rushing towards the man. Letting people stand around and take a breather really isn't her thing. Give her a minute, and she'll manage to pull out the stops.
Bringing her half-learned Shadaloo trainging to bear, Elle's charge turns into a short hop up, using her strength to lift herself up off the ground to land on the man's shoulders. If she manages the connect, she'll latch onto the man with her legs, and frankenstiener the man down to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Mobey with Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Mobey
Mobey, for all that he is a very tough man, is not a fast one. Attempting to bring his hands up to minimize the damage from being grabbed by a woman's legs and slammed into the ground, he is not quite fast enough. He lands heavily, but uses his harpoon to get to his feet.
And then lifts that harpoon, stabbing it towards Elle. If it connects, well - bad things are in store. Most notably, Mobey lunging forward and dragging Elle behind him a few feet, before hurling his harpoon - and Elle - forward, jerking the harpoon out at the last minute to send her flying.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Mobey's Nantucket Sleigh Ride.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Mobey
Yurika can't help but chuckle. She doesn't respond to Elle's nod, in fact she felt slightly sheepish when she was spotted. After all, she didn't need Elle thinking she was some sort of weird stalker. ... Even if it is partially true. Her opponent though, he was definatly an odd sight, and it was hard for her to tell if he was a newcomer or what.
It was amusing though, just like in their first match, Elle's attitude wasn't any different while fighting. That said, it was looking like she wouldn't be learning anything more about the woman.
Unfortunately for Mobey, Elle's just a hell of a lot tougher than she looks. The old man is a durable person for sure, but the rocker chick is known for her nigh-indestructability when she's playing it safe. Mobey being an unknown fighter, she has no need to really show off every single thing in her repitoire. As the attack flings towards her, Elle's hand clamps down on the barbed edge of the harpoon, and with a short grunt she throws it aside.
She uses this wide toss to leave Mobey wide open. It's always a crying shame when your really nasty attacks fail to miss the mark. Elle knows the painful feelings of messing up all too much. Nevertheless, the old man seems to think very little of her, which is working to her advantage. She might not be causing him huge damage with every attack, but she knows when she's whittling down an opponent.
While Yurika might not be learning anything new about Elle's personality, there's a few definite quicks about her combat style. It's devoid of flash, save for her chi, and mostly utilitarian. Very bare bones, fast, and brutal, which is what Elle displays when she's trying to use her momentum advantage to once again grab the man by the head and twist it off.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Mobey with Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Mobey
Mobey steels his neck again - twisting his head off just isn't going to happen. However, in preventing this, he rolls with the twist - and ends up landing heavily on the ground, getting to his feet and shaking himself, his glow building again. He glowers, but just steps back, waiting for Elle to move.
COMBATSYS: Mobey gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Elle 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Mobey
Mobey's display gets a short, analytical examination. So far, that odd whale chi doesn't seem to have come into play much in this particular battle, and Elle wonders if it she'll actually get to see what it all actually /means/, if it means anything at all. The time however is not for an in-depth analysis of the man's power signature, though.
Immediately, she hurls herself forward to use the man's stationary action to her advantage. The sound of a screeching guitar riff is the only indication that she's charged up her sonic power. Using the blast of sonic energy, she slides across the ground and stops just short of the grizzled whaler, a grim look on her face.
She swings her arm to mere feet away from the old man, her fingers splayed. As she does so, she lets loose with a shimmering wave of sonic energy, which sounds like the roar of a guitar's power chord. The attack is designed to tear away at the eardrums and burst blod vessels.
COMBATSYS: Mobey endures Elle's Metal Health.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Elle 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Mobey
A few bits of blood trickle from Mobey's ears - but they are tough. Storms, gales, and so on, do that. No - it is the energy /behind/ the chi that does the most damage - sure, it manifests as sonics...but the true damage is internal, as the whaler braces himself...to allow it, to ensure he can attack while Elle is close.
Pain courses through him with the energy, but he closes his eyes, ignoring it. Instead, he hefts his harpoon - and suddenly the glow around him focuses on the weapon, the roar of a mighty whale echoing as if from a great distance - and the big whaler hurles the harpoon at Elle. As he does, it is surrounded by the ghostly glow, in the shape of a whale, swimming through the air to slam into the woman.
COMBATSYS: Mobey successfully hits Elle with Thar She Blows.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Elle 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Mobey
And the whaler finally lands a solid hit on Elle. The harpoon's force hits her shoulder, the hard bone keeping her safe from massive internal injuries. However, the burst of whale-shaped chi finally gives her something to think about as it railroads her across the arena. The powerful kinetic strike causes the mercenary to pinwheel across the battle stage and crash into one of the far warehouses, which rattles pathetically in response.
It takes Elle a moment to recover. After all, the strike was fairly forceful, and the bleeding from her shoulder is no picnic, either. It'll probably take a few stiches from Tran to get that to stop. But right now, she's got a task to complete.
Her incoming charge is a little wobblier now, but Elle's not near defeat yet. Banking hard right, the hobnails on her boots toss up sparks as she comes in and attacks Mobey's blind spot in a low shoulder charge and tackle, trying to throw the man down to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Mobey blocks Elle's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Elle 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Mobey
Driven to one knee, the whaler pulls on the chain of his harpoon - and uses it to keep from being fully tossed to the ground. He is barely hurt by it - the attack is not strong, and his blind spot is not large. Getting to his feet, he shakes himself - and then slams his harpoon's haft at Elle.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Mobey's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Elle 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Mobey
This time, Elle doesn't even seem to go on the defensive. The incoming attack rams hard against her side with a force that would have likely broken a less durable person's ribs. Elle, however, merely winces and keeps going. It's immediately clear that the incoming attack is meant to be a finisher. Her hand clamps down on the harpoon, and she yanks firmly on the whaling implement with considerable force.
Her face is unreadable, a blank mask devoid of any kind of emotion as she reaches out with her other hand to grab Mobey by the head. Already, her hand sparkles and snaps with electrical power. Still, there's a grim resolution on her features that can be picked up by a perceptive viewer like Yurika. It's obvious that Elle's mind considers this fight over. If she can manage to land her attack? She'll make sure that it hurts lots.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Mobey with Slayer.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Mobey
Hurt lots? It certainly does. When jerked forward, Mobey stumbles - which puts him easily in range of the electricity, which courses down his harpoon, through the air - everywhere, really - to burn at him and rip at him. But the whaler...does not show much pain. His face is contorted, yes - but his will is acting to ensure he doesn't do more than grunt from the pain.
He refuses to give that much honor to this. Shakily, he gets to his feet, glowing faintly - though it might cost him consciousness for a while, he will do what he can. He focuses - and swings a hand. From the ground, a glowing whale's tail rises, stands tall for just a moment...and then slams down at Elle, a ghostly fluke made of chi.
COMBATSYS: Mobey can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Elle 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Mobey's Whale's Wake.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Elle 0/-------/-----==|
Elle rarely, ever, ever speaks in a fight. Almost every opponent she's battled will attest to that fact. She doesn't chat much in general, really. Her partners in crime know her as a woman who gives out orders when she speaks, and rarely does much else. But in this case, Elle feels it's warranted.
Mobey's chi burst washes over her easily enough, It evokes a grunt, but little more than that as she weathers the burst handily, the wave form of the energy burst breaking as she braces herself against the assault. The smoke rises up from her frame as she looks critically at Mobey... and her lips quirk up in a tiny, almost ethereal smile.
"Old man, you have /no/ idea what you're doing, do you?"
Mobey has collapsed to his hands and knees, focusing on staying conscious and not collapsing from pain. He unsteadily - slowly - gets to his feet. He simply closes his good eye in response to Elle and makes an annoyed grunt - more at himself than at anything else - and stumbles from the ring.
He'll have to hunt down information on pirates some other day.
Yurika didn't have any doubt Elle could land her attack, from her point of view, they were about evenly matched, but Elle seemed to have more.. Well.. Control, somehow. It was difficult for the semi-kunoichi to really place a word for. Unfortunatly for Yurika though, she completely missed the reference to Elle's statement. A small smile plays her lips though, "Well, it's interesting seeing it from a perspective of me not getting beaten up," she murmurs. If Elle looks to Yurika again, she'll see the silver haired girl give a 'farewell' wave; she was running an errand after all and she let herself get distracted.
Besides, the woman didn't seem to have much trouble finding the musician, anyway.
Elle lets the old man stumble away, and then starts to tend her own wounds. She retreives the packet of medical supplies from her belt as the crowd clears and money changes hands. The ring is re-prepped as Bobbo goes to arrange another battle. She takes the time sit sit on a pylon and wrap her shoulder in gauze to staunch the bleeding. As she does so, she raises a hand to Yurika as she scampers off.
Life just keeps getting more interesting. She'll have to put her people on the old man. After all, you don't get that old and fly under the radar completely with those kinds of powers.
She's left to her own thoughts before getting up and finding her car. Time to head back to the office, Tran, and free Blackjack medical care.
Log created on 00:34:20 07/08/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 11:48:23 07/08/2007.