Jinchuu - [R2] [Bonus] Ghost Machine

Description: [Elle vs Luc vs Tenma] Elle, Tenma and Luc are forced to fight within a chamber of the Suiryuu that seems to be... ALIVE?! Imbued by the forces of the Ghost Machine, the three combatants duke it out with explosive results. Also, beware the AoE!!! [Winner: Tenma]



If you follow her story, Elle's not a hero by any means. The fact is, she's as unheroic as you can get. Elle strikes people when they're down and attacks when her opponent is weakest. When she attacks, she does so without an iota of duty or honor. Battles for her are less for the joy of fighting than they are for a purpose. She's not a warrior, not a soldier. Not even a 'fighter'. Just a person with a decidedly unpleasant attitude about life, an avarice-filled eye, and a cold, deadened heart that cares only about being in the black.

By all accounts, she should be enjoying the power surge she's feeling just from being in this room. The chi rolls around her like a mist or an ether, drawn to her for some inexplicable reason, seeping into her body.

And for the first time in a long time, her emotions are visible on his face: displeasure, discomfort. There's something she doesn't like, and this power, whatever it is, is feeding it.

There's no place to sit. There's no terrain features at all. It's literally a box, with the only ways in and out narrow passageways and crawlspaces. So she stands, looking visibly upset with the swirling energies around her, doing her best to ignore the swriling movement of chi along the patterns etched into the floor.

All the same, she finds she can't. Eyes trace the movements, committing the patterns to memory. Her brain ticks off the spacing, the designs, the intertwining of the seals with the systemic patterns... it's almost maddening. She's keenly affected by such things, and the chamber seems well suited to play against her mind's latent obsession to qualify and quanitify, her fingers flexing and clenching out of nervous energy.

Times like this, she wishes that she had a smoke, but Elle has no such thing on hand. Instead, she pulls a cheap five-cent lollipop from her pocket, and unwraps it, tossing the plastic bit to the floor before immediately crushing the candy with her back teeth, grinding into the plastic stem.

This is going to be unpleasant.

Unpleasant doesn't even BEGIN to describe it. Not everyone is as attuned to chi, to the way it moves and flows around them, as others, even among the fighting community. For example, you have the middle ground, which is most people; not completely unaware of it, but it's not a sense they really cultivate. And then you have those who might as well be a brick insofar as the pulse of life in the world is concerned. And then, well, you have the guys on the other end of the spectrum. Case in point for this circumstance: Tenma Kiryuu. The leader of the Guardian Kings managed to get onto the boat after all, though it was by neither hook nor crook, but rather by the expedient shortcut of almost dying. And now, here he is, on the creepiest boat in the history of creepy boats, and everywhere he goes he can feel it, crawling under his skin.

He doesn't like it.

And here? Here is even worse, this cramped little room in the bowels of Suiryuu, where Tenma has been told to go. It's not easy crawling in there, even as slender as the Gedo High student is, but he manages it, stepping out into the spooky room full of spooky sigils to find... Some lady. "What... Seriously?" Tenma wonders, tilting his head and furrowing his brow, even as he feels goosebumps raise on his skin, feels the heady flow of power through this room. Someone as deeply attuned to chi as the supposed gang member is also quite strongly affected by this place, lifting his right hand at his side, holding his bokken in front of him. This is, he reasons, probably his last chance in here. So he's going to make the best of it, creepyass room or not.

To those distinctly inclined towards chi -- to those who take to its manipulation and use so naturally like a duck to water, this room is like a bastardization of everything they utilize. Something inherently 'wrong' occurs here, though it's hard to put a finger on. Something that could even put those even remotely attuned to the force of the world ill at ease. People like Elle and Tenma can feel it, and be brought into unnerved states just by lingering within the room. Then.... there are people who feel that strange sensation. That inexplicable feeling of something amiss. People just as experienced and naturally inclined towards chi as Tenma might be, or Elle might be...
... who find themselves almost completely oblivious to it.
Luc Schroedinger is not a particularly complex young man. He does not think long and hard about things, he does not let problems bother him to too great a level. However... Luc is also rather easily irritated, in a strange contradiction. While the sensations of this room do not put him ill at ease as he crawls in through one of several narrow openings, they also put him in an unbelievably sour mood -- even for him.
By the time he enters the chamber, chi is already boiling around him as a subconscious reaction to his irritation, black chi crawling across his arms like steam. He doesn't know why; his manipulation of chi isn't quite at the level of conscious understanding that Elle's and Tenma's might be, despite how unbelievably skilled he is at it. His instinct simply tells him that there's something here that he shouldn't like, and it begins to cloud his mind with a distinct sense of rage the moment his feet first stamp into the ground.
A rage that is only compounded the moment that he sees Tenma Kiryuu.
Green eyes scan the room, and though he sees Elle, he neither recognizes her or truly registers her in his mind. The instant he sees Tenma, everything is forgotten. That strange sensation itching at the back of his brain is forgotten as irrational anger is heightened to blistering red heights. The young German's eyes widen. "YOU?!" And then... instantly narrow to slits. "You... you stupid -ass-..."
From there, without even thinking of the consequences, Luc Schroedinger pushes off his feet in a dead run, lashing out with a single hand to grasp Tenma by the face, twist him through the air... and then SLAM him into the ground with a sudden, vicious discharge of black-blue energy.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

COMBATSYS: Luc has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Luc              0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tenma            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Luc


COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Luc              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Tenma
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-------|


What?

Let it be said, that Elle doesn't like kids. This isn't anything particularly personal, but they take themselves way too seriously. Elle just can't feel the same kind of powerful emotions as they can, and for her, the destructive power and the way they callously fling it around just irks her in some fashion.

But, even so, Elle's compelled to make a statement as Luc charges in like a rabid babboon. Her eyes, cold and lifeless, flick over to Tenma, and her voice croaks out a single line. "Lemme guess: he's on the honor roll?"

And with that, Elle backs away. It's prudence that makes her do so. She's seen the way kids behave, and that's deadly, vicious force in that kid's face. Boots scrape against the rune-covered ground, hands at chest level as she seems to back down, unsure as to the dynamic here.

COMBATSYS: Elle focuses on her next action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Luc              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Tenma
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Luc's Raving Slam.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Tenma
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-------|


There

There's a momentary pause from Tenma as he lifts his left hand up, to his mouth, and then sinks white teeth into the flesh of his thumb. It's kind of gross, and most people who see it - especially for the first time - get kind of grossed out, but perhaps Elle's lack of affect will make her one of the few who don't. It's difficult to say, because whatever the Gedo gang member was about to do to follow that up, red blood running down his hand, is put on hold because there's a crazy German flipping out on him. "Oh, you have /got/ to be kiddin' me," Tenma says, and then he gets grabbed by the face.

The lean Japanese boy doesn't even try to get out of the way, he just gets hefted and slammed into the floor, deck, whatever, and he feels that dark energy surge through him, and he feels... Something else. That's weird. Bouncing once after hitting, Tenma ends up in a low crouch, a trail of blood spatters on the floor underfoot leading to where he is now, each tiny pool of red actually... Steaming. The bloodied hand is drawn down the blade of the wooden sword Tenma carries, painting a red line on it, and then the weapon flares to life, a violent, and currently almost uncontrolled, aura of misty red surrounding it, blood and chi all mixed together, surging with the ambient energy of the room.

Tenma grits his teeth, focusing in the hopes of controlling that flaring energy, but... "Rrrgh... Goddamn monkey!!" But just as it seems like his own temper might get the better of him, he glances over at Elle, remembers that there ARE three competitors here. There's a faint grin across the boy's lean face, and he lunges forward, seemingly about to rush at Luc in turn, when he twists at the last moment and swings his bokken through the air, an arc of red energy following the sweep of the blade, from which a roiling crescent of blood launches forth, tearing through the air... Right at Elle, instead. Which will probably just piss Luc off more.

COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Elle with Dharmapala.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0            Tenma
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/---====|


SLAMMING Tenma into the ground, Luc doesn't really seem to be registering all that much beyond the young man he's currently trying to mangle with chi. Luc's temper has always been fragile at best, and non-existent at worst, but this is something entirely different. He has no obvious clue to it, but this room affects him and his instinctual-driven abilities beyond even common thought. All that's left is a blinding haze of red rage as the German yanks -backwards-, preparing himself for another assault.
Except... nothing ever comes. Tenma is back on his feet soon enough, but Luc registers a second too late that he is -not- being attacked as expected. Instead, Tenma is turning... and running away? Green eyes dart to follow his path, watching as his would-be rival thrusts out through the odd chambers... towards that woman.
If there's any ounce of common sense or rationality left in Luc, at that point, it all simply snaps. Letting out a single, blood-curdling HOWL, the German lowers himself and then PROPELS across the space between himself and Tenma, black chi flaring around his hands. "DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME!! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" At the moment, he doesn't really account for Elle. Likely, when she makes a move, he will. For now, though? Luc just thrusts forward with both his fists, intent on just driving them straight into Tenma's face without so much as a second thought before releasing all that chi in an explosive impact.

See, Elle was about to help Tenma. She's not a fan of raving lunatics.

However, she works with them daily, and knows the score. If she attacks Tenma, then she might be interfering with some kind of honor duel. If she attacks Luc? Well, Tenma has shown that he's at least somewhat of an asshole, just like Luc is claiming.

Caught off guard by the hermetokinetic attack, Elle's blasted into a wall, her body clanging against the metal soundly, the air knocked out of her for the time being as she drips with ichor, the stuff coloring her otherwise white hair bright red.

She frowns for a second, and closes her eyes. Cold, calloused hands grasp ahold of her instrument, and they reopen. Remember the plan. Remember the rules. Her eyes flick to Luc for a second, as she tries to determine if the kid hates Tenma more than he'll hate her interference. The unintelligible howling is enough for her to determine that he likely won't. The metallic instrument glows in the pale blue lights of the room.

What to do, what to do...

Determining her best course of action, she steps forward, weapon brandished with both hands. Approaching Tenma fromt he other side, her footfalls increase in pace, drawing her guitar back like a baseball bat. As Luc goes to pound the boy in the face, Elle moves to slam the weapon into the base of Tenma's spine.

COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Elle's Breaking the Law!

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1            Tenma
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/=======|


COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Medium Punch from Luc with Dead End Breaker.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Luc              0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Tenma
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/=======|


As one can probably see here, Tenma has a pretty impressive level of skill when it comes to getting people to gang up on him. Elle's motivations are pretty much a complete mystery to the Gedo student, who was surmising that she'd probably let the two of them fight it out amongst themselves, and then pick off whichever was left standing. It is, at least, what he would probably do in her place. But yeah, he is kind of an asshole. Continuing to move towards Elle, and pursued by Luc, the bokken-toting boy casts a glance over his shoulder at the German. "LIKE HELL, YOU LUNATIC!!" Tenma bellows back, twisting around with every intention of dealing with those fists... When he senses Elle behind him.

Now, on the upside, he DID prompt the woman to act, with his attack on her. On the downside, at least relative to his position, it's against him, and he's trapped between rock'n'roll and a hard-headed Germanic idiot. "Heh... Not enough," Tenma laughs to himself, and he gets hit right in the back with that guitar, a tingle of pain running up his spine, but it gives him the nudge he needs to half-twist out of the way of Luc's punches, his bokken swinging down in a quick slash across the larger boy's body. "You STUPID ASS!!" Tenma shouts, as he follows it up with more slashes, to drive the berserker back. "If you had ANY BRAIN in your FAT HEAD you'd realise we should take Guitar Chick Barbie here out together an' then resolve this like it should be, BETWEEN OURSELVES!!" And, as was the custom among the ancient Greeks, he punctuates this attempt at diplomacy by headbutting Luc.

Usually, Luc is much more lucid than this. Even Tenma should be able to recognize that much. Luc's dislike for this place represents itself in a much more subconscious way than the other two. And with only that blinding berserker rage to guide him, his movements are far more erratic. Odds are he'd be more aware of Elle in any other situation. Here? She is continuously noticed and forgotten almost immediately after in favor of just pounding the nearest object of his hatred to dust. His lips peel back in a snarl, he lashes out--
--and for his troubles, Luc Schroedinger subsequently has the living daylights beaten out of him. He hardly registers the pain, the moment that Tenma drives that chi-charged bokken into him over and over. He snarls, and even goes so far as to try and actually move -into- the blows and through them in a seeming effort to just reach out and smash Tenma into the ground. But the other high schooler moves too fast, and too hard, and with the accompaniment of words... his thick forehead drives into Luc's face, with enough force to -finally- send the German staggering back.
Odds are, in any other situation, he'd go right for Tenma again; but it seems that chaotic disposition he finds himself in leaves fort new lines of garbled reasoning. Whether Tenma's words have any effect on the German isn't clear. But as Luc comes to a stop, shaking his head, he finally takes note of Elle... who seems to be focusing her attentions on -his- target. "... who... who..."
Within an instant, Luc is already off his feet and in a dead charge towards Elle, his body accelerating to levels beyond anything normal for a young boy of his height and build. His right hand cocks back, flaring with black-blue chi just as he -slings- it forward in a brutal haymaker, aiming to crush into Elle's face before all that energy is let loose like an explosive battering ram. From there, his body will tense, and then flip -backwards-, his shoes seeking to plant directly into Elle's chin in a violent, flipping kick. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?!"

COMBATSYS: Luc successfully hits Elle with Riot Revolver.
- Power hit! -

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Luc              1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0            Tenma
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/---====/=======|


This is causing her a headache, and not because she's getting hit in the face. The screaming and the yelling and the /utterly nonsensical/ reasonings of the people around her have put her in a state much akin to a businessperson standing around screaming babies in an airport. So many god damn exclamation marks. Can't anyone talk normally anymore?

And then she's hit straight in the chin, the shoe crashing into her head, causing it to kick back in an unfortunate manner, her bones emitting a sharp cracking sound. It would seem that in the flurry of movement, Elle has no idea what the hell is going on.

A lack of information colors her actions. She knows nothing about the two fighters around her, other than they're just frustratingly loud.

She steps back, her chin bleeding from the impact, and her normally dead eyes just look even less enthusiastic about this situation. If they want her to butt out? Then fine. She'll butt out. Stepping back to let the lunatics have at each other, she remains on the defensive, attempting to marshall back some of the strength she lost from the two surprise attacks landed on her previously.

COMBATSYS: Elle gains composure.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Luc              1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0            Tenma
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/-----==/=======|


Well, that's... A bit of an improvement, in Tenma's mind. He gets at least a moment to himself as Luc forgets about him entirely and instead decides to go after the third partner in this little dance, and honestly, the German goes and does what he does best. "Okay," the blue-eyed boy says, chewing on his lower lip for a moment. This is, he realises, not the time to just go charging headlong like Luc is. He's got to think; Tenma, after all, /does/ have a brain. It's just time he used it more than he did in his previous match. Briefly, he looks over at Luc in the aftermath of the other's attack on the mystery woman, but his attention soon slides back to Elle herself.

"Hey, hey, no time for just standin' there," Tenma calls out at Elle, and then he's on the move again, rushing past Luc and directly at the guitar-slinging woman, his sword held low and diagonally back... Until he gets close enough to lash out at the opponent he /doesn't/ know all that much about, swinging his bokken to slash upwards and across Elle's torso, blunt wood and searing bloody chi making for a wonderful combination. "We're just gettin' started, right?!"

The thing is, Luc doesn't want Elle to 'butt out.' At this point, any tactical or personal desires the boy has are long-gone. He's just going to lash out at whoever is nearby, and continue to do so until someone else garners his attention. Reason has nothing to do with it at this point. Otherwise... he'd probably be focusing all his attention on Tenma.
As it stands, in the aftermath of his attack Luc lands in a crouch only a short distance from Elle. He's in poor position to respond to anything thrown at him, but... it doesn't seem either opponent is striking out at him. As narrow as his attention is right now, though, the German can only focus on one person at a time... and his focus is thrust entirely on the person he just hit. He was expecting a counter, -something-. And upon receiving nothing of the sort? The young German snarls, and shakes his head as he comes to a stand. She won't come to him?
Then he'll make her.
A second before Tenma is running forward, Luc is as well, blazing a path straight towards Elle. His intent is simple; as Tenma is seeking to slash wood and chi straight across Elle's front, the German launches himself straight into the air, inverting himself in mid-flight. His hands snap out, intent on grasping Elle by that full head of white hair, and from there, he'll simply tear her -straight- off the ground, flipping over to throw her -forwards- towards a nearby wall, aided by a bursting palmthrust of black-blue chi. "GUUUURRRAAAAAAAGH!!"

COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Tenma's Fierce Strike.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Luc              1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0            Tenma
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/---====/=======|


COMBATSYS: Elle endures Luc's Quick Throw.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Luc              1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0            Tenma
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/--=====/=======|


First thing's first.

Elle raises a practiced arm, defelcting the incoming wooden sword with a practiced motion. Her forearm takes the brunt of the attack, which rattles her frame but does little else as she flings her hand wide to deflect the bokken's blunt force.

And then there's a hand at her yead, yanking her off of her feet. The woman's body is hurled at the wall, but... well. Throws just don't hurt like they used to. Instead of slamming against the wall with force, she takes the impact and bounce to lurch forward.

Who is Elle?

Nobody too special. She does tend to hide, avoiding the spotlight, and stealing away to the places that people don't like to go. Elle's unused to having a fight with multiple combatants. She almost always hand a wingman. But now? Now it's time to improvise.

A tin wire is launced from her hand with a casual toss, the coil seeking to loop around Tenma's neck. Should it succeed, she'll cinch it tight, sending a wave of electrical power down the length of the guitar string. As she does so, the room glows a spectacular blue, almost growing white in the process.

If she can manage this, she'll yank him down to the ground, sending him to the floor as she shoots forward to grasp Luck by the neck. Slender fingertips are calloused from the guitar she weilds, and she'll squeeze tight, sending another jolt of energy into the boy's exposed neck. If she can manage that, she'll lift him up, and /slam/ him into Tenma's prone fram.

Or the floor, if Tenma manages to evade her.

COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Elle's Slayer.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Luc              1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            Tenma
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Luc blocks Elle's Slayer.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Luc              1/--=====/=======|=======\==-----\1            Tenma
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-----==|


His strike deflected and turned aside, Tenma lets out the faintest of irritated sounds... But there are other concerns to be had at the moment, because this crazy chick is totally trying to throttle him with a wire. Barely in time, the arrogant youth manages to get his hand in the way of the tightening coil, so while it still hurts, there's a lot less asphyxiation and/or feeling like his head is going to be severed from his body. The electricity, now, that's a bit more of a problem. Tenma gets well and truly shocked, his muscles seizing up in uncomfortable ways, but he finally manages to break free before Luc could possibly have been dropped on him, singed and bloodied but unbeaten.

For now, anyway.

Flashing a confident, even arrogant smirk despite the situation, he rushes directly at Elle again, deciding that whether or not /Luc/ is going to listen to his plan, well, he might as well stick with it until and unless a better option presents itself. He sweeps the bokken back, slanting it behind himself so the point pokes up over his left shoulder, and then his free hand, bloodied twice now between his teeth and that wire, lashes out at Elle's torso in a series of quick, carefully placed punches. By themselves, they're really not much... But they're calculated to disrupt the flow of energy through the woman's body, for all the good it'll do in their current environs. More than that though, he moves with precision, trying to herd Elle back, to put her up against the wall, to create a disadvantageous position for her...

Incoherent rage is all that really consumes Luc's thought processes at this point. He has every desire to just beat on -both- of the people before him equally. Finding Elle going along with him rather easily, Luc hardly even recognizes the potential dangers of this, or that his attack seems to do distressingly little to the woman. Instead, all he sees is that she's struck the wall, and as such, it's landed cleanly. And that in and of itself is satisfactory to the young man's rage-hazed brain.
Landing in something of an awkward crouching position, the German's fingers scrape across the ground, launching himself -immediately- back onto his feet... just in time for Elle to finally come lashing out at him. Green eyes blink, and a large, unpleasant grin splits across the Pacific student's lips. He says nothing. He really can't even speak anything coherent at this point. Instead, acting entirely on instinct, Luc drives himself forward towards Elle, and lashes out. A single fist impacts Elle's palm as if she were blocking it. In affect, though? It's the reverse. Instead of electricity convulsing through his head and neck before reaching the rest of his body, Elle's chi channels into his arm, dulling the pain considerably from what it could have been. That electricity still fries the young man's body considerably... though for all it does, the only thing that registers is a sudden, barking laughter from the German through the entire thing. He's -enjoying- this.
Before he can be lifted and slammed, Luc is already jerking backwards, his body smoking... and right hand still glowing. Just... not from Elle's attack. Glowing a bright, violet hue, Luc's eyes bulge wide as he looks towards Tenma, and then Elle. "I-- id... idiots. -GRAAAAAAAAGH!!-" Without even thinking, Luc rears up, and then SLAMS his fist into the ground, the entire bulk of the chi threading across his arm channeling straight into the ground in four long, violet lines that encompass nearly the entire area of the chambers.
Within a single moment, those lines rupture, lancing upwards into four massive -walls- of black, blue and violet chi that begin to rotate throughout the room, picking up in speed and intent on slamming into both Tenma and Elle. If either is struck, they'll get caught up in the sudden, twisting -storm- of power that Luc generates, a blurring vortex of chi that encompasses him battering anything in its path... before it simply ruptures in one deafening -BOOM- of an explosion, to spit out both targets like ragdolls.

COMBATSYS: Elle endures Luc's Demiurge Trigger.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1            Tenma
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/------=/=======|


COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Elle with Flow Breaker.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1            Tenma
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/-----==/=======|


Despite her unimpressive appearance, Elle's capable of taking hits with the best of them, and she's no stranger to pain. As the attacks roll in from both sides, Elle's fairly sure that she's quickly becoming overwhelemed by the repeated attacks from both sides.

Part of her wonders if her opponents could have taken this much abuse. But that's not at stake here. Not now, anyhow. In the here and now, there's really only one thing she can do, and that's keep moving.

But first, to deal with the incoming assaults. The ave of chi burns through her, the force threatening to push her down and away. However, she's well versed in the stuff. When you've sucked down the worst that overlords can toss at you and managed to crawl away, you start to learn how to survive, even if you can't avoid the hurt. Teeth clench, and the chi rips at her, the curcuitry in her guitar and in her equipment going off like a supernova as the room seems to light up like a Christmas tree in response to the assault.

Nevertheless, Elle remains standing long enough to stumble into Tenma's punch. The damage is singularly unimpressive, although as Tenma might expect, it was going to be. The fist takes her off guard, sapping her of some strength as she's jostled to the side, half blind from the flaring lights and winded from enduring the attack.

Eyes are barely able to focus as she recovers, stumbling, looking for a target to hit. And then, Elle sees something blurry in her feild of vision. She doesn't care what it is at this point. Her instinct is to strike fast, and strike hard. Lurching towards the blurry shape, she raises her hands, electrical power surging as she runs, the swirlign patterns of energy following her feet as she tries to grab onto Luc, and electrocute him during the entire full-out run before slamming him into a wall.

COMBATSYS: Luc successfully hits Tenma with Demiurge Trigger.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Luc              0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Tenma
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/-----==/=======|


It's far from the first time Tenma's seen this attack from Luc. It is, however, the first time he's been caught completely flatfooted by it. The tall, slender boy tries to stand his ground through the torrent of blue-black chi, but this time he just can't manage it. The sheer overwhelming force of the attack is too much for him at the moment, and instead he's blasted and battered by it, and finally flung away. He crashes in a heap at the far side of the admittedly not terribly large chamber from the German berserker and the strange woman with the guitar, and he almost - almost - passes out then and there. But there's no way he can just give up now, and instead he starts to push himself up to his feet, but he only gets as far as a low crouch, spitting a mouthful of blood on the floor, the red liquid steaming.

"Ghh..." Tenma grunts, before doing something that's /probably/ going to piss off some ninjas, as he raises his bokken above his head, point down... And then drives it into the deck. Good thing there's plenty more room between them and the ocean, right? Because red flows down the wooden sword, into the deck, which starts to crack, lines spiderwebbing out around the weapon, spreading wider as gouts of blood begin to erupt out of them. "Why don't you both..." More red flows outwards, and suddenly there are several linear streaks of blood moving along the ground towards Luc and Elle, tangled together or otherwise, like dragons of blood and chi seeking out both his opponents, seeking to devour them whole. "...GO TO HELL!!"

COMBATSYS: Luc endures Tenma's Hell of Blood!

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Luc              0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1            Tenma
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Luc with Armageddon It.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Luc              1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1            Tenma
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             1/--=====/=======|


Both caught in the epitome of Luc's power and rage in some form or another, the German hardly even notes that either have been struck, or the effects of it. His mind is completely gone; he only registers the fact that there is someone coming after him the moment that his assault comes at an end.
Slowly, Luc's head jerks up, Tenma's words reaching his ears as pure, irritating noise. He sees a form approaching -- female, he can tell that much. But that's just about where his care ends. He rushes -straight- for Elle with a blind look of insanity crossing his green eyes, apparently intent on just slamming right into her the moment that she strikes. This, however, is not meant to be; the woman grabs onto him before he can carry through with his motion, and before long, all of that electrical chi is churning into him, making a -very- unpleasant experience for the young man -just- as he is launched directly off his feet, and slamming into the wall.
Even with a body burnt, smoking and bloodied though, Luc isn't down for long. His berserker state compells him back up onto his feet almost immediately, rushing himself towards the nearest threat; the one shouting. Tenma. "DIE! DIE DIE GUUUUURAAAAAAOGHH!!!" All of that bloodied chi stretches out like a spider web, splashing against Luc and burning him, devouring him... yet he moves -through- it, lifting a hand high into the air. That hand begins to churn with black-blue chi, forming a small lance...
... just before Schroedinger simply -hurls- it into the ground. The blood continues to rise and stretch as that chi is absorbed... and as it simply explodes -out- directly underneath Tenma in a massive lance of power, with every intention of consuming him whole with it.

COMBATSYS: Elle fails to slow Hell of Blood from Tenma with Black Sabbath.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tenma            1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0              Luc


COMBATSYS: Elle can no longer fight.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tenma            1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0              Luc


Well, so much for that. Elle's only real chance to survive the blast of crimson is to fire of a powerful feild of energy of her own. The result, however, is too little, too late. She's unable to get the kind of time she needs for such an energy buildup.

The only solace she has as far as the fight is concerned, is that she kept her power output to a minimum... and that she made it through with very little to be upset about. Taking the kind of damage that she did, another fighter would have keeled over a while ago.

The burst of red engulfs her, ruining all semblance of concentration even as the room reacts to her increase in power. She's got little left in her, endurance wise, and she's blown back by the chi dragons and blood.

Not quite unconcious, she slams agains tthe walls, coughing as she watches the dazzlign display of the room, a slight frown on her face.

COMBATSYS: Tenma overcomes Uberlastung Lanze from Luc with Hell of Blood.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tenma            0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0              Luc


Blood. Blood is everywhere by now, in the small chamber. On the walls, on the ceiling, on the floor, pooling in the runes, and most of it by far is of course Tenma's... He's such an impolite young man, he can't even fight without making a mess! Still crouched there, battered and lightly fried and shaking from the damage he's taken, the adrenaline coursing through his body, and the immense flow of chi, the Guardian King seems about ready to keel over himself... When of course, Luc lauches that sphere at the ground. Tenma's seen this before, and /this time/, that's enough forewarning for him to do something about it.

The insane amount of chi in the air, moving through him from this room, is the only thing that allows Tenma to do /precisely/ what he does, though, as once again red energy and blood flows down the length of the bokken, pouring into the ground as fast as Kiryuu can gather it, and the spear starts to come up underneath him, blood rages down against it, red against black in a titanic battle in this ghastly chamber, until finally a column of red erupts out of the point where Luc's own attack entered the floor, bloody dragons once again raging at Luc. "Give it up, monkey!!" Tenma says, supreme confidence writ large on his bruised face. "You LOSE!"

COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Luc with Hell of Blood.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Tenma            0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0              Luc


Once again, blood streeks across the ground and slams into Luc's own attack, and demolishes it. Luc didn't precisely see this one coming, but considering he just saw this attack once, he has no interest in experiencing it yet again. The German doesn't listen to Tenma, his words falling on largely deaf ears. He rushes off to the side, intent on just moving out of the -way- of that attack...
... but it doesn't happen that way. The sad remnants of that doubled attack strike into Luc head on, and for the effort, he doesn't even do so much as stagger. The attack really does nothing except simply push him over the edge, and dull, green eyes finally come to focus on Tenma. Through the enraged haze, he looks just a little bit unimpressed.
But the chi does it's job. Yet, even so, Luc comes rushing in, bursting across the ground between himself and Tenma with intent to just leap through the air and kick the other young man straight in the face. Black chi spirals across his leg, and will channel -outward- from that point, charging into Tenma like a miniature tidal wave of explosive power to send him down. Through it all, Luc says nothing -- he'll just collapse on his knees a moment after, panting for breath.

COMBATSYS: Luc can no longer fight.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Tenma dodges Luc's Tyrant Strike.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


Isn't that the important part? That it /works/? Tenma would say so. Finally, woozily, Tenma straightens up as that blast of bloody chi collides with Luc, getting his footing properly... Just in time to see Luc rushing headlong at him with his usual crazy abandon. For a moment, just a moment, there's a look of concentration on the Gedo gang member's face, and then the foot and its black chi head right towards that aforementioned face, but the kick passes through nothing but empty air as Tenma demonstrates a burst of desperate speed, avoiding the attack by barest inches.

With Luc collapsed on his knees, Tenma is left standing behind the berserker, his chi-charged bokken slanted against his shoulder casually, almost negligently, the bloodied thumb of his left hand hooked into the pocket of his slacks. He looks down and sidelong at the German, lips pulling into a wide grin. "I told you, didn't I?" is all the arrogant boy says, the red aura around his sword dissipating with a sound like a slowly exhaled breath, making his way towards the exit.

Sportsmanship? That's for suckers. Well, and Hakuya.

COMBATSYS: Tenma has ended the fight here.


The mercenary finds purchase in the grooves on the wall, fingers clawing to pull herself upright once more. Legs grow steadier once they're underneath her, and she looks at the fighter still standing.

"Nice work," she says, he cool voice echoing in the chamber. "I'd ask you to work for me, but you'd turn me down and bawl like an idiot. So here's what I'll do instead."

"I'm going to guess you don't like people to use you. Call it a 'hunch'. Well, in case you didn't notice during your sippy-cup shitstorm, this chamber?" She gestures with one hand as she leans heavily against the wall. "It reacts to your energy, sucks up whatever's left laying around after you shoved it up Chuckle's butt, and feeds something inside the ship."

She points to the floor. "The fact that both of you practically feed this joint by shoving your power straight into the ground is something those god damn ninja probably anticipated. Hell. I know I would have, if I had even though about doing my homework."

Elle's lungs ratchet out a cough, and she shakes her head, tryign to clear out her brain. "Short, short version for the learning-imparied: Big ship. Bad juju. Much magic. Bad ending." And with that, she hauls her tattered carcass towards the tiny crawlspace out.

Perhaps the most bewildering thing is that Tenma actually listens to what Elle has to say. One would probably expect him, as he is a delinquent teenager with all the things that traditionally implies, that he would dismiss her out of hand because a) she lost and b) she's over the age of twenty. There is, perhaps, a faintly considering light in his eyes as he glances back over his shoulder at the mercenary, briefly stopping in his own path out of the chamber. But... He doesn't say anything, either, just watching Elle go, before he turns back to his own crawlspace back out.

"Man, an' people say I've got bad social skills," Tenma mutters to himself, half-amused. But he's still thinking about what she said. After all, from what little he learned in his own, admittedly brief, encounter with Seishirou suggests that nothing here is going to be coincidental. So, he'll have to think about the situation they're in now. Once he stops congratulating himself for winning, anyway. Priorities, you know.

Log created on 20:49:55 09/11/2007 by Luc, and last modified on 15:04:24 09/12/2007.