Elle - Heavy Duty

Description: Judas Priest (1984). It's Old Guard Blackjack vs. the New Wave Blackjack, and there's no holds barred as Elle seeks to train Aislinn, her newest team leader, the ins and outs of squad-level command. The fight is dead even until the Old Guard pulls out the stops. When the carnage dies down, Aislinn's given some food for thought and it becomes clear that perhaps more training is in order.



COMBATSYS: Elle has started a fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Elle             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Aislinn has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Birdie has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Katana has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Birdie
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Tran has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Marise has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Aislinn


One Warehouse. Two generations of Blackjack.

No rules.

Time to face facts. Blackjack is a team that's diverse. Eight different personalities, eight different goals, eight different ideas, attitudes, loves, hates, and needs.

Nevertheless, despite these differences, the team is stronger for it. Weaknesses are complimented by strengths, and blind covered seen by another set of eyes. Elle knows that her people are the best, solely because they have drive, purpose and need. Perhaps on paper, Blackjack is little more than a mishmash of berserkers, but in operation, they're a finley tuned machine.

But there ahs to be a way to keep that machine running, and that oil that makes the machine work is training.

And that's why Elle has called every available fighter to the warehouse for a team vs. team exercise. Learning to work together is par for the course.

The setup was simple: the older members are to battle the newer ones. The arehouse is folled with boxes, barrels, rope and other warehouse trappings, all mostly filled with worthless junk.

The arena is set. The fighters are ready. There's no real need for talking anymore.

Fight!

Coming from a battle with the various criminal elements of Metro City that were burn related.. he found himself not man enough, or Shogun enough, to accomplish what he had set out to do .. but such a thing would not dishearten Katana! For there was more to be done. Coincidentally, it looks like Elle called them to the warehouse, and Katana certainly came. Jitte in his hands, he makes a look over the area. The warehouse is filled. This is perfect for Katana.

AND THAT IS WHY HE WILL LEAD THE CHARGE. "I will show you my true might, Koko-no-nabre!" And he's charging forwards from his side like the bell just rang .. but just into the fray. He's not striking!

Birdie, after coming from Metro City himself after ripping through two Hellbringers, decided tonight that he'd have some time to rest. And then Elle called for an brawl between both groups. Well, Birdie couldn't say no to a good scrap, so he just came as he was, beat up and burned, quite literally, as his hulk form looms across the arena.

He doesn't go for anyone. The anyone is going to him. Looking about, Birdie just looks from Elle, to Marise, to Tran, one after another. "Eenie meenie miney moe." He mutters.

COMBATSYS: Birdie focuses on his next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Aislinn


This may be Aislinn's last off-the-ship before the storm rolls across the Jinchuu. Though she can't know it. There was a brief call from Elle, a time and a place, and the setup for the evening's 'entertainment'. Team tactics--old vs. new. Right.

Ais, however, arrived very much early for it--and is currently watching Katana go charging in. Which ruins her plan--not that she mentioned it to the other two. Aislinn shakes her head. With Katana Busting Out(tm), she just prepares herself... internalized chi flowing through her body and being dumped into reservoirs.

COMBATSYS: Aislinn gathers her will.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0          Aislinn


Teamwork! The clarion call of tonight's battle. And Elle's no slouch. Already, as Aislinn allows her troops to prepare for combat (or go charging in, in Kat's case), Elle is already issuing orders to her two long time compatriots. A series of hand motions orders the other two fighters to break off as she charges the brawler team's leader.

Elle moves quickly across the wooden floor of the building, causing dust to rise with every footstep. As she jolts forward, Elle's hand rears back, already letting off a low thrmming sound. She stops just short of Aislinn, her hand bursting with a powerful shriek of sonic chi as she attempts to start this battle with a serious bang.

Where Elle goes in battle, her shadow is never far behind.
As Elle darts quickly ahead, rushing across the floor and charging Aislinn with that sonic attack..
..A darkness suddenly whispers through the air, rushing through the air in a blur of black silks and pale skin.. Leaping from behind Elle's eclipsed form as if vaulting from the rocker's own shadow!
Leaping clear over Aislinn and landing a few feet away from Birdie. Her inhuman, golden eyes staring straight through him like some sort of J-horror monstrousity, "Keh Ha HAH!"

COMBATSYS: Marise focuses on her next action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0          Aislinn


Well - everyone's here, and the fight is on! Tran's feeling pretty laid back today. Just kind of in a good mood. The fight itself probably won't be half bad, either, so things are looking up! The doctor can already feel his blood pumping, as people start to charge and attack and prepare or whatever. Well, Dr. Tran can do that, too!

Which is to say, uh. He'll just kind of break off from the rest of his teammates, they're running ahead and having fun. Cool. It looks like everyone's about to be very occupied, even if they aren't yet, so Dr. Tran will just have to focus in on the only person left - Katana. All brave and charging in all on his own, without...actually...attacking. "Hey, big guy, what are you even doing?" Tran's curious, but as long as Katana's not doing much, he'll return the favor. Keep things even, and all that.

COMBATSYS: Tran takes no action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tran             0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0          Aislinn


"I ... was allowing you the first attack!" Katana responds, his mask stopping the grin. "I was to make it hard for myself, and test myself! But, oh bathhouse spirit, then I will take care of you as you wish! If you were to strike, I would have taken care of it! But if you force me to go on the offensive, then that is what I will!"

And that's about when Katana leaps towards Tran.

Yes, he leaps into the air and just lands near him. When he's already near him. AND THEN HE GRABS FOR TRAN. If he can hook his hands and jitte on him.. well.. "BUTSUMETSU!" He cries out, before trying to leap upwards with Tran and then hook his arms ... to bring him hard to the ground on his back, using all of his force! "BUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Birdie watches as Elle's shadow leaps out of the... shadow at him. Wait, what the heck. That doesn't make any sense. Birdie seems to scratch his head a little bit as it happens, but Marise pops out either way, vaulting over Aislinn and right besides Birdie. "What the." Birdie states when he firsts looks towards this shadow.

The golden eyes J-horror thing puts Birdie on the defensive, at least for a little time. But instead, Birdie tries to intimidate it back. Whipping out the chain already, Birdie grasps it with his right hand as he licks along it. "Hehe. Let's get down to it then, chick-a-dee." Birdie says as he lashes out with the chain, trying to string it around her, and grab it with his other hand. If he's successful, Marise is going to get SUCH the bear hug.

COMBATSYS: Aislinn blocks Elle's Metal Health.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Marise           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Tran             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0          Aislinn


That sonic chi washes over the Silent Assassin--but her own aura softens the blow considerabily. Interesting--Blackjack leader versus the 'new school' leader... But is that really how it should go? Aislinn nods to Elle, but chooses, for the moment, not to engage her--instead, she pushes off, lunging for Marise--the only member of Blackjack she hasn't yet seen in person.

And as she lunges, leading with her left shoulder--then planting her feet as she arrives at the Devil of Koga, powering her right hand forward and down in an arcing overhead punch--an aura of red-white chi flaring up and lighting along her fist and forearm.

Aislinn breaks away from the engagement, and Elle immediately shifts gears. The girl is the smartest one out of the three on he team, and is prone to more tactical decisions. Booted feet follow after the NESTS soldier, Elle already reaching behind her for the strong length of cable wire she carries with her.

As Aislinn tries to take a punch at Marise, Elle's cable is tossed out like a lasso. The swinging weighted wire is tossed to wrap around Aislinn's neck, and bring her down witha powerful, short yank. To top it off, Elle runs a jolt of electricity down it, just for additional injury, if not insult.

COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Marise with Medium Punch.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Marise           0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Tran             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Marise endures Birdie's Bad Scrap.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Marise           0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Tran             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0          Aislinn


Aaaah. Wise choice, Aislinn.
The silent assassin quickly uncovers this shadowy creature's vulnerability as he chi-laden fist -slams- against the ghostly thing's head. A virtual explosion of flames and hissing smoke clearly demonstrates the monster has little defense against such matters..
Though, as unexpected the attack is, she continues on her chosen task as she simply allows that chain to coil around her and pull her in close to the massive thug. Her slender form is quickly being crushed in his grip..
Which is exactly what she was hoping for..
As her ebon locks slowly snake upwards. Slithering along his arms and seeking to coil around his body tightly like a dozen chi-disrupting garrotes!

COMBATSYS: Tran dodges Katana's Butsumetsu Buster.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Marise           0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Birdie
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Tran             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0          Aislinn


Mother of god that man's coming like a big, meaty freight train. Luckily for Dr. Tran, he's not going to take Katana's level of deargodithurts, not today. He's had more than enough of a taste for that since the last time they fought. No thank you, sir.

Out of the corner of his eye, the doctor can see things really heating up - things are getting chaotic, as Marise gets teamed up on. Well, if that's how they want to play it...Tran waves cheerily at Katana, and then straight up dashes away, well out of the way of his reaching grasp. Out of the frying pan, into the fire, surely, because America's favorite superstar and mystical bathhouse spirit is charging straight at Aislinn. He leaps, soaring through the air, and tries to plant his foot right on her head, in an attempt to drive her to the ground. And then? Backflip and body slam! How this'll work with Elle's attack, he's not /entirely/ sure, but it'll probably be fine. Probably?

As Dr. Tran waves cheerily at Katana and then DASH OUT OF THE WAY, Katana hops on one foot, before looking around.. that's odd. And even then, it looks like Tran is out of his grasp, in the air! .. But there's Elle going after Aislinn too. "Now you run away!? WELL. I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS BATHHOUSE SPIRIT!" And with his jitte, he pulls them back, leaps into the air!

And then his meatyness falls towards Elle's back, both jitte in an attempt to slam them, straight down, into Elle. It would not feel good. At all.

BUT THEN, KATANA WILL TAKE SUCH A SLOW, PAINFUL RISK.

COMBATSYS: Birdie fails to interrupt Onigumo Wanami from Marise with Bull Spike.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Tran             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0          Aislinn


Birdie tries to throw himself right into Marise, but it ends up NOT GOING GOOD. NOT GOING GOOD AT ALL. Instead, Birdie's dealt with ebon locks slowly beginning to twist onto her. This has only one answer.

"I like getting close but this is just too damn close." So Birdie moves to cut the rug a little by using HIS HAIR.

It doesn't end well, and just gets him even more entangled, and squeezed. "Nghhh."

COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Aislinn with Dr. Tran's Summer Splash.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Tran             0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Aislinn with Powerslave.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-----==|=======\=====--\1          Aislinn


Whatever happens to Aislinn, it's painful; she's choked, shocked, then kicked in the head and bodyslammed. It's a few seconds of pure pain. And, well. These people may be teammates--or co-workers, however it's supposed to be thought of--but that doesn't mean she -doesn't- want to revisit this pain on them.

One of her other teammates here might scream and yell, but she is silent, as befits her name. She rises to her feet... and just selects a target. Seemingly at random... but she turns towards Elle, -ripping- her left arm up, sending a wave of rippling white-red electrical chi-blades surging for Elle.

COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Katana's Deep Strike.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Elle endures Aislinn's Shining Wave.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Katana's words don't go unheeded. As the massive mountain of manly meat machine thunders down on her like some kind of Power Rangers villain from hell, she immediately turns, sweeping her arm to one side. The attack, which would have been devestating other wise, is battered to one side with considerable effort. Evasive action would have been taken... if not for the onrush of red electricity.

The wave smashes into her, which forces Elle to crash down to the ground almost instantly. As she rolls up, Elle's power surges forth from her hands at her first available target: Katana. The blue energy bolt turns white hot as she hurls the streaming particle chi blast at the masked man, attempting to blast him into next week.

The Devil's coils grip the massive man like some kind of ludicrous outgrowth of black ivy. Her bare feet touch the floor as he relinquishes his grip, trying in vain as his massive hair-blade attempts to cut swaths away from him, only for three more tendrils to take the place of the few that fell before. All but hopelessly entangling the man.
The Devil then spares a glance over her shoulder, more than a little worried about that Silent Assassin.. Whom her allies have promptly taken care of. That little wooden girl.. Striking her in the back when she wasn't looking! How dishonorable, deplorable, vicious and unsportsmanlike!
KEH. Marise salutes her.

Which brings her back to her current circumstances.
The Devil releases the mammoth man from his prison. Rushing a step back with her volume of locks flailing in her wake like a rippling ocean of dark. If Birdie wishes to see which of them has the most dangerous hair.. Then feel this..
A few tendrils of Marise's hair whip forth. Loosing a small salvo of several black hair-needles that seek to lodge in the meaty giant's flesh. Inflicting their life-force disrupting poisons with a little less concentration than that overwelming earlier assault.. but dangerous none-the-less..

Well. That went well. Kind of. He's not sure HOW, exactly, but Dr. Tran is currently on the floor a short distance away from Aislinn, a confused expression on his face. He's certain he hit her with the full brunt of his attack, but the details elude him. It's vexing.

In any case, everyone else is all busy kicking each other's asses...AGAIN, so Tran simply comes up to his feet, brushes his coat off a bit, and then stands there, watching.

Watching and waiting.

Watching, waiting, and POWEREING UP HRRRRRRRNG

COMBATSYS: Tran gathers his will.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Katana with Whitesnake.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marise           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


As Elle surges power forth towards Katana, the blue energy bolt rips towards Katana, and then as he tries to leap over it, one might watch as his body DOES NOT MAKE IT. So sad, too bad! But in the end. Katana is slammed against the wall, falling, once his body crashes.. hard. "Hah... very strong.." Oh man, you can smell OZONE.

And rising once more, he smokes.. and his blades rise as well! "This time, I will show you .. no quarter!" And he ruses forth, blades extended towards his target... which explains why he crashes past Elle, towards Tran, attempting to CATCH HIM WITH BOTH BLADES. "JIGOKU SCRAPE!" He yells!

COMBATSYS: Marise successfully hits Birdie with Onigumo no Dokubari EX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Birdie is hit! Man down, man down! Well, okay. Not man down, but it strikes, that's for sure. The tendrils of hair strike at Birdie. They pierce and cut, but Birdie's a big man. He's a hard guy to keep down. He's here to do his business, get paid, and move on. And sometimes, just sometimes, enjoy his work.

As the hair does come at him, he's not able to stop it. The hair impacting needling his skin. Being knocked backwards but still standing, Birdie grins.

"That all? C'mon." He huffs, "That's nothing."

COMBATSYS: Birdie gains composure.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Aislinn's given a bit of a breather--but she doesn't really make use of it. Sitting back and letting Elle have her fun only means they're going to lose, in the end. And even though it isn't about winning or losing--just improving their team tactics--Aislinn has the competitive spirit.

Elle's taken some damage, of course--so maybe it's time to focus on her. Sweeping her hands out, she finds an empty oil barrel--and despite the pain in her body, she hefts it up, turns, and just hurls it straight for Elle's torso.

COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Aislinn's Large Thrown Object.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


All of a sudden, Aislinn turns this into a game of Donkey Kong. As the young girl hurls a barrel probably about her size at Elle, the mercenary leader can only pause as she judges her options. Can't run. Too slow to dodge... so she does what she does best.

Elle punches the barrel, smashes through it. The pain runs down her arm, causing some damage, but she's managed to keep herself from being splatteres across the wall with the thing. She's going to need a moment to recover from that little trick. Stepping back as she lets the rest of her team pick up the slack, Elle takes a bit of a break.

COMBATSYS: Elle gains composure.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Katana
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Birdie
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


This strong man seems quite bold. Few can so easily shrug off Marise's dark techniques as her golden eyes give new appraisal to her ally.
Keh. Fanged teeth glint sharply, "..As you wish.." Her errie voice echoes oddly across the short distance as she holds her hand aloft.

Fingers contorting twistedly as a crackle of crimson and purples flash between violet claws. The atmosphere collapses in on itself within her grasp as for all the world it seems as if she summons a portal straight to Hell.

"KYA HA HAAAAAAA!" The mad ghost cackles wickedly as she hurls her hand forth, unleashing a sphere of crackling, swarming Chi. The blast offers a dozen screams overlapping one another like a choir from Hell as it seeks out its chosen target..

COMBATSYS: Katana successfully hits Tran with Jigoku Scrape.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1           Katana
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Alright, now it's the calm after the storm. That's cool, everyone's kind of taking it easy for a moment, after all the fuss with the huge chi blasts and all that cr-WHAM

Katana more or less nails Tran directly in the side, taking him more or less completely by surprise. Jitte or whatever they hell they're called sink into his side, the force of the man behind them helping them along, sending Tran skidding backward on the floor.

And then he lies there. Could he be taken out already?! Say it isn't so! No, it has to be true, because now he's clearly MELTING. Why else would all of that steam be rising off of him? Some kind of true power? Don't be dumb.

COMBATSYS: Tran takes no action.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1           Katana
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


As Katana nails Tran, Tran gets taken back to the floor. And that's a bad place to be, as HE'S MELTING. The steam is rising because he is MELTING. And Katana is going to make sure that the MELTING TRAN is taken care of alright! Because while the others are taking care of themselves, Katana has to take care of Tran!

"You ... lying there will not stop my assault .. infact, nothing will!" And then he CHARGES FORTH, sandals hitting the ground one after another before he leaps again.

And then tries to impact those jitte again into his body. AND THEN RUN HIS BODY AGAINST THE WAREHOUSE GROUND. "DAIYKOUUUUUUUUUUUU!" He'll finish it by launching him up and against some barrels in the side of the building. "BURNIIIIING!"

COMBATSYS: Birdie endures Marise's Tokoyami.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Elle             0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0           Katana
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Marise           1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Oh, Birdie wishes. He sure does. You might wish he stopped, but he wishes. The big meaty arms will get you yet. And when they do, they'll grab hold and never let go. NEVER LET GO. Or something. Yeah, that.

Upon seeing the other crackle of crimson purple, Birdie already knows it's coming. A portal of hell right at his figure. What EVER would he do against a miniature portal to hell blasted right at him, screaming as it flew through the air.

WELL, he might move INTO IT. But that's just because HE'S CRAZY.
And rightfully so. And the projectile smashes right into his chest. So Birdie does the only thing he knows what do to. MOVE THROUGH IT, and right towards Marise. Marise would, eventually, see a large blade HAIR PIECE begin to come right at her through the screaming vortex to hell. Just because Birdie is going to drive it ALL BACK, and try to gore her like a rhino before beating down with his large, meaty arms. YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, MARISE.

Hnn. Well, if that's how Elle wants to play... Aislinn is the one now refusing to give quarter--she charges forward, booted feet pounding the concrete. Katana and Birdie will have to fend for themselves. Of course that's what they've -been- doing...

Aislinn darts forward, closing with Elle and leaping up, curling into a ball... and then whipping her right leg around in a scything roundhouse kick, throwing her entire body into the whiplashing kick.

COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Aislinn's Strong Kick.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0           Katana
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Marise           1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Much like Tran before, her, Elle's taking the time that she's being mostly left alone to take stock of the situation. So far, her team is doing fairly well. Nevertheless, these things can turn around in an eyeblink, and Elle doesn't take any lead for granted.

Case in point: the incoming attack from Aislinn. The girl's foot crashes clean into her upraised arm. The blow alone is enough to cause an appreciable amount of damage, and Elle's forced to wince under the hit. As she backs up, she spots Marise's assailant about to bearhug her into a greasy spot.

"Vamp! He's top heavy! Hit him low!"

COMBATSYS: Elle assists Marise.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0           Katana
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Marise           1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


COMBATSYS: Marise interrupts The Birdie from Birdie with Maou Dokuja.
- Power hit! -

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0           Katana
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Marise           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0           Birdie
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Okay. The Devil is starting to get extremely concerned. One does not -walk- through Tokoyami like that. The monolith of strength charges through Hell itself without so much as slowing down. Even she is given serious concern as her lips curl in a moment of apprehension.

As Elle blurts out the hasty advice, Marise wastes absolutely zero time. With a hiss of movement the Devil -darts- low. Diving for the man's legs even as he charges.. Missing that skewering haircut as she crashes against his legs. Instantly.. Her limbs unfurl. Arms slithering up the trunk of his body like twin pythons, her pale legs weaving inbetween his legs as she quite literally wraps him up from the pool of her shadowy kimono. Her Upper half slithering up his back to whisper into his ear, "..You almost had me, my friend.." She hisses as her whole body -constricts- in the unearthly grip.

COMBATSYS: Tran endures Katana's Daikyou Burning.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1           Katana
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Marise           0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1           Birdie
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


Oh god, he's coming his way again. The big weeaboo, with his jitte and his armor and his huge. Dr. Tran looks to the left, to the right, and then straight ahead, face like a deer caught in the headlights. And then he winces, and stands up, and takes a step forward, directly into the path of Katana's assault.

WHOOM. Tran gets caught, scraped, and thrown into some barrels. They go scattering with the force of his body, impacting heavily. The man himself is left in a heap, bleeding, bruised, and other horrible things that start with B. You know what else starts with B? Blades.

We're talking about a ton of them, as Tran doesn't even bother getting up before flinging a quick salvo of them back at Katana, instead relying on the backward force generated by them to push himself up. Then he throws more. And still more. Christ, but there's a lot of them. Watch out, Katana!

COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Katana with Oh Shit It's Dr. Tran.
- Power hit! -

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Katana
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Marise           0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1           Birdie
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Tran             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0          Aislinn


A 'quick Salvo of blades' were all energy, and as they hit, Katana rushes straight towards Dr. Tran. But it doesn't work. Not at all. And what happens is that Katana goes through the side of the building and launches up, and out, and away. Through the side of the building.

And then he'll probably land somewhere in the business district and lay there for a bit.

COMBATSYS: Katana has left the fight here.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1           Birdie
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marise           0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0          Aislinn
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tran             0/-------/----===|


"Almost ain't bloody damn good enough." Birdie coughs, blood spattering as he's constricted painfully by the arms and legs and hair do. Everything being used to constrict the life out of Birdie, but Birdie has something else in mind. She's getting so close to him. SQUEEZING him tightly.

"A'ight. You got me. But you needed some one else's help ta do it." Birdie grins. "And you lost too." Birdie grins in confidence before he bends forward only to extend his neck backwards, trying to backwards head butt Marise. If that strikes, well, god help her.

The large figure of Birdie comes down like a tone of bricks. Punch after punch after punch, only to be finished by ramming her against the wall, trying to pin her there for his side.

He's down afterwards anyways. He's just giving it all he can.

COMBATSYS: Birdie can no longer fight.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Marise           0/-------/----===|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tran             0/-------/----===|


Hmm. If the point was to fuse Katana, Aislinn, and Birdie into a solid team, then clearly more work needs to be done. Truth be told, though, Aislinn just isn't used to squad-level command; while she certainly has ideas on how to exploit all of the Blackjack members' weaknesses, she never bothered to -direct- the other two.

Hey, she's used to being a solo agent; teamwork takes time. But with Katana out and -gone-... and Birdie making his last gasp... Aislinn looks not to Tran, or Marise, but Elle.

From behind her raised fists, she says, calmly, "I believe we can consider this exercise concluded; there is no longer any tactical value in continuing." She says it from behind raised hands because she doesn't know whether Tran or Marise just really want to bast her face in.

COMBATSYS: Aislinn takes no action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Marise           0/-------/----===|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tran             0/-------/----===|


And Aislinn calls the match. Elle raises a hand to halt her team's onslaught, and nods. The NESTS soldier is right, and there's no use pushing a dead issue. Smashing Aislinn into the ground won't teach her anything. "Your command structure needs a little work," Elle says. "I'll get you a playbook, and we can sit down and talk about it sometime."

In the meantime, it still seems that the old team has some juice left in them. That is, depending on how Marise manages to survive Birdie's final assault.

COMBATSYS: Elle takes no action.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Marise           0/-------/----===|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tran             0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Birdie successfully hits Marise with The Birdie MAX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Elle             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Aislinn
[                          \\\\  <
Marise           1/-----==/=======|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tran             0/-------/----===|


Marise's golden eyes blink once a moment at Birdie's sudden boast. "Hn..?" Only to get -headbutted- with enough force that would have fell a man even as large as the one she clings to. The Devil's head recoils as her body just begins to unfurl from Birdie.. Only to get clutched and -SMASHED- repeatedly against the wall with enough force to splinter and buckle the boards.

Moments later.. Birdie finally collapses at her feet and the Devil takes a staggering step forth, "..Keh.. Lost indeed.." She murmurs before simply flopping over ontop of him. She's going to need a moment...

That hurt as much as getting run over by that truck.. ugh..

Log created on 22:33:37 10/02/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 12:57:20 10/03/2007.