Description: Zach continues to catch up on his Neo League backog, facing off against the Original Psycho Soldier Athena. (Winner: Athena)
The bells of Taiyo High ring once more, even on a weekend, as school club activities have started once again.
Athena does go to school occasionally, but her education is usually through a series of tutors. When she does go, she usually has a pick of where she wants to go. Seijyun and Pacific have been strong contenders this year, but Athena's going to see about admissions into Taiyo high. After all, there's a lot of 'regular' kids that come to this school, adn Athena's a big fan of normalcy wherever she can get it.
Life is full of weird when you're a psycho soldier.
But she's here today, witht he intent on talking to the registrar, and seeing what's available and what classes might be open to her. Dressed in the normal Taiyo High Sailor Fuku, her penny loafters step lively over the dirt, hair done up and under a cabbie cap, sunglasses on her face, just to avoid recognition for the time being. Despite this, there is some purple hair showing, and her features are fairly recognizeable even in her 'disguise'.
With the milling kids walking around for the usual swim club and track clubs, it's not entirely easy to spot her, but there is one dead giveaway. To the psionically sensitive, Athena rings out like a beacon over everyone, a veritable swirling maelstorm of psycho energy in a sea of regular sudents. Even though she tries to retract her signature to it's barest minimum, she still reaches out like a lighthouse.
Zach is the polar opposite of psionically sensitive, although said sensitives might pick up the wanderer's presence as well. He may not measure up as dramatically as Athena, but he is definitely noticeable. He feels like very loud music coming from behind a teenager's bedroom door. He has a small card in his hand. He glances around the campus, wondering why the League organizers keep sending him to /schools/. Schools are not places to be having fights, in his mind.
The young looking man glances around, the mid-back mane of royal purple hair reacting much like a tail in response to his head's movements. "You know, a /picture/ would be nice," Zach mutters.
The Psycho Soldier exhales. It seems that psychic fighters have been popping out of the woodwork as of late. Although this may be just an exaggerated perception, the fact is that it used to be exceedingly rare to find someone with psycho power.
In just a few weeks, she's already run into two, and she's starting to wonder if there's soome kind of secret club everyone forgot to clue her in on. Whatever the case may be, she does her best to try to ignore the pounding sensation that finding another psi gives her for a minute or two. It doesn't last long, however. iving in to the demands of her psycho power, Athena dutifully tracks down Zach.
It doesn't take her long, really. The young girl emerges from the crowds of happy, nattering students who are honestly waiting for the Neo League battle rumored to take place today as opposed to the actual activities. Penny loafters scuff along grass as she calls out, pointing. "Hey you! Are you Zach?"
Zach stops short, looking at the young lady for a moment. He nods slowly, "I am." He holds up the card from the Neo League, blinking at the fact that the young girl practically homed right in on him. He grins slightly.
"Thought I'd never find you in this crowd," Zach says amicablly enough. "If you are Athena Asimiya, that is."
Oh boy.
Athena takes on a big smile with her perfectly straight teeth as she touches the brim of her cabbie cap. "I've been called that once or twice, yes." She says, lights already starting to play off her rather short stature. As the pink sparks dance around her, Athena pulls the brim down.
"Sometimes, I'm just a schoolgirl. Other times, I'm a singer, looking to bring a little joy to this world."
With a flourish, she whips the cap off, her hair flowing down as he schoolgirl outfirl flares brightly, changing. The skirt shortens and fuses with her blouse to form a simple dress. A pair of combat shorts form. Penny loafers morph into red short boots, and red fingerless gloves appear on her hands.
With a final flash, shimmering purple prayer beads appear on her neck, the necklace standing out as she twirls once.
Out of nowhere, cameras and camera crews seem to appear, and the crowds have already formed.
"Fairest and fallen, greeting and defiance!"
"I am, now and always, Psycho Soldier Athena!"
Zach is stunned for a moment for two reasons; the first being that that was an impressive intro. The second? He's actually /heard/ of this Psycho Soldier Athena. He has to fight =her?= He swallows once, and puts on a brave face.
"Nice entrance. I liked the light show." He grins softly, "I'm afraid that I don't have anything so crowd pleasing," he says as Neo League personnel start to herd people away from the pair. Some Neo League fans who have been following Zach's roller-coaster performance are already well clear of the area, taking up safe spectating positions. Zach ponders for a moment. "You wouldn't know a little girl by the name of Momoko, would you?"
Momoko? The little kid Master Chin took in after Bao? Good little girl, if not a little too cute for her own good. "Momoko? She's a fellow Psycho Soldier, who fights for the light of love!" And other such nonsense. There's a script to follow, after all.
She shifts her pose, pointing at Zach once more as she paces one hand across her chest, middle two fingers pulled inward. "I hope you're preapred, because I'm not going to hold back!"
And with a flash, Athena leaps backward, doing a high flip to give herself some room. "Ha! Come and try and get me!" She says with a wink, waggling her finger as if to scold Zach. Apparently, she's going to let him take first crack at this.
COMBATSYS: Athena has started a fight here.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
Zach blinks once at what Athena says about Momoko. Sounds... about right. "So you would be Athena-nechan who isn't her sister," Glen states glibbly. Athena allows Zach the first shot. He sizes the girl up for a moment, extending one fist towards his opponent with an open palm near his chest.
"Fair enough," Zach states flatly, "Although I hope you do not get upset when I take you up on this." With that, he charges in quickly, kicking up dust in his wake. He skids to a halt well short of Athena as he thrusts the open palm towards the girl. A sphere, the size of a beach-bal, spins into existance there, purple Psycho Power swirling in Zach's palm. It might even hit the girl!
COMBATSYS: Athena dodges Zach's Impulse Flare.
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Athena 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
"Hup!" Athena's already trailing back, drating away from the remarkably telegraphed attack. While her psycho power does a lot to make her a fearsome fighter, she's not without her skills. Kenpo has taught her a lot about control and tactics in combat.
Leaping to one side in a forward flip, she takes the acrobatic route, stopping after two more such leaps, her red boots kicking up dust as she stops in a skid.
"Ah ah ah! A little too slow on the draw there, pardner!" She winks with a smile, holding up a finger like Blue Mary. "Bang bang!" The first 'bang' is a cutesy motion, simply imitating a gun. The second 'bang' however, comes with consequences.
As she points, the finger glows with energy, and Athena lets fly with a brillaint burst of power, the pink-colored ball streaking for the boy at an incredible rate of speed.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to slow Psycho Ball from Athena with Warning Shot.
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Athena 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Zach
Zach's eyes go wide as Athena fires her Psycho Ball at him. He spins to face the threat, and snaps up both hands with fingers spread. He focuses for a moment, attempting to pepper the incoming strike with smaller shots of his own.
The Psycho Ball heeds the shots about as much as a freight train heeds a car in the tracks, smashing into Zach's chest and sending the psycho-powered wanderer bouncing and skidding through the dirt. Zach starts to pick himself up slowly, tryng to shakethe cobwebs loose. "That... felt like something Igrid would throw..." Zach gasps for air, "Or maybe Travedi..."
Ingrid Athena knows. Travedi she doesn't. Hm. Interesting. It might behoove Athena to check those people out.
Well, maybe later. Right now, Athena has a fight to attend to. "I told you I wasn't going to hold back," Athena says, putting on her game face despite the fact that Zach looks like someone just dropped a bus on him. Is she concerned? Yes. But fiven the situation, she can't go and see if Zach is Ok and still keep up the 'Fighting Idol' facade.
"Don't take a break now! We're just getting started! C'mon, show me what you're made of!" The encouraging chirps are done with the best of intentions, but there's no mistake about it: Athena doesn't fool around in combat. Master Chin has drilled that into her head. As much as the showman in her demands that she make everythign pretty, she can't bilk her duties to always take her best to battle. After all, Evil's not going to give her a break.
Athena draws her hands back behind her, the bright candy-pink glow wrapping around her hands. Then, she whips the forward, the two hands unleasing a crackling blast of much more powerful energy than the last assault. The swirling pink blast shoots towards Zach with a cry of, "Psycho Shoot!"
COMBATSYS: Athena successfully hits Zach with Psycho Shoot.
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Athena 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach
Zach knows this one is going to hurt. He focuses for a moment, attempting to control the energy within him and channel it through his legs to propel him away from the shot.
His efforts are rewarded with Psycho Shoot to the head. Zach yells as he is once again sent flying. He bounces and tumbles several feet before landing in a crouch. Purple energy starts to pour out of him, spilling onto the ground around him before disappearing into the ether. He looks across the way at Athena before leaping almost impossibly high. The seething energy collects between his palms as Zach takes up a stance that she would doubtlessly recognize. He sails over the girl's head, throwing the arms out in front of him. The energy reacts like a beast let loose from its cage, descending upon Athena in an almost solid column of purple light with such force that it suspends Zach in the air for several seconds before allowing him to drop to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Athena reflects Burst Stream from Zach with Shield Psycho Reflector.
- Power hit! -
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Athena 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Zach
Oh dear. This looks rather unpleasant. As Athena watches the boy jump into the air, she can feel the power growing in him. It's wild, untamed, and quite powerful, given his apparent level of skill with the energies within him. He eyes grow wide, and her pupils narrow as Zach's shadow is cast over her.
Unfortunately for Zach, Athena's a well trained fighter, and she's on a first name basis with the energy he seems to wildly throw around. "Psycho Shield!" She announces, the pink disc appearing in front of her with a bright flash of light. The column of power pours against the defense like a garden hose against a brick wall, splashing everywhere but directly at it's target.
The charge grows larger, the energy causing the shield to glow brightly, and the second the torrent of power stops, it returns the burst, energy sreaking back at Zach faster, if not a little weaker.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to slow Reflected Burst Stream from Athena with Burst Stream.
- Power fail! -
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Athena 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Athena 0/-------/--=====|
Zach has started his descent, only to see his his blast returning to him. His eyes go wide; this is going to /sting/. He cups his hands together a second time, attempting to gather up the remains of what he can control in order to possibly cancel out the returning blast. The hands come forward, and Zach wills more energy out of him...
...only to have none rush forth as the returning beam slams him further skyward. He doesn't arc much; vertical movement meeting vertical force causes a 'straight up, straight down' flight path bringing Zach to the earth with a crunching impact. He doesn't get up, but only laughs weakly, "...just like Ingrid," he says as he reposes on the ground in pain.
Well, that was strange. True, most psionic fighters aren't much for taking punishment, but Zach apparently couldn't take anything Athena threw at him. As Zach smashes into the ground like a sack of bricks, all Athena can really do is stand there and scratch her head as she peers at Zach on the ground.
"Uh. Are you okay?" She asks, kneeling down to peer at the man. Athena's not one to celebrate complete, crushing victory. Still, she knows a lot of fighters have pride in spades, and she's not going to fawn over him.
Overall, Zach's showing was more a display of raw power than any kind of direction or finesse. That's dangerous, and something that Athena is certainly concerned with.
Direction or finesse are not words that can be used to describe Zach. After all, it is hard to direct something you have a very limited understanding of to begin with. Igrid referred to it as the power of the soul, and Zach understands that it is not the type of energy /most/ fighters throw around but that is about it, really.
Zach looks up at Athena. "I'll... be fine. I bounce back kind of quick," Zach comments weakly. "Man. Rugal and Ingrid were the last two to just beat me around like that." Zach is not really radiating much energy right now, it's at a level only a little below what it was when Athena sought him out just before the fight. It seems to be a level of power he can keep under control, judging from the fact that he has not exploded yet.
Log created on 13:14:36 09/23/2007 by Zach, and last modified on 19:29:54 09/23/2007.