Description: Thinking things are done with the invasion, Eva and Arika make their move to locate more weapons. Then they hear the offer of amnesty. After a brief bout of 'you decide' 'no you decide!', the girls decide to stay and fight for the evil they know once more (at least those crazy ninjas have never locked an explosive device to the diva's neck!). Things look like they may get a little painful for the two young Stars, but the Operations Director steps in to aid them. Unfortunately, Mature swoops in to save the day... though it can be supposed that it's a victory for the Suiryuu...
This boat is in bad shape. When Rugal's forces decided to take on the boat, they came in force. Things are not going well for the Jinchuu. The "R" Organization forces have overrun the ship, weeding fighters and ninja out. Some have turned tail and fled. Some have surrendered. Some have fought back... some successfully, some unsuccessfully. There have been fatalities on both sides, but Rugal's forces are overpowering. And part of that is due to the two members of the "R" Organization currently on the main deck.
A tall man, looming ominously over everyone in the area, steps back onto the deck with arms crossed, a cigar clenched firmly in his teeth. Clad from head to toe in black military gear, the giant seems to simply exude danger. Yesterday, several defenders on this deck learned it the hard way, and much of their blood now congeals into a strange camouflage pattern on the deck.
Looking around, the mountain of a man stays at ready, just in case someone pops out of the many doors here on the boat. They have their orders: round up everyone on the boat. Offer amnesty to those who surrender. Eliminate those who resist. It brings a smile to the man's balaclava'd face.
Suddenly, his stomach rumbles. "...I could really go for some good ol' Texas barbecue right about now."
It took some doing to convince Vice to accept such concepts as 'offering amnesty' or 'asking for surrender.' A great deal of doing, in fact. Nothing less than the direct command of Rugal Bernstein got her to bite back her lust to let blood and agree to such clement terms. That, and the incidental addition by the crafty Bernstein, who was by now well-used to stepping around the Riot-induced urges of his mad secretary: there's nothing that says you can't rip them up first. Break their will a little. Such would lend itself well to the demand of surrender, wouldn't it?
It's paraphrased, but one gets the idea.
The Orochi woman follows soon after her massive companion, dark eyes skimming over the deck with a decidedly disgusted expression. She soon pushes past Brian entirely, impatient and uncaring of any surprise attack that might lie in wait: boldly stepping out into the deck proper with a precise clack of heels. "Worms and children... all I have seen so far on this -ship-," her voice grates out, harsh and low, heels grinding into the deck's surface as she pivots slowly to take in the blood-stained scene. It's debatable who she's talking to. Perhaps she's just talking to herself. "Pampered cowards! They have the option to surrender, and I hope they do not take it..."
The Suriyuu is in bad shape, and surely a great deal of the innocent tourney goers are in bad shape as well. Some more than most, and the punk princess? Well...
She's had it pretty rough since the first invasion. Bloodied, bruised and nearly broken both physically and emotionally. An explosive device snapped around her neck forcing her to fight people whom she's started to consider friends. And now?
Now she's just exiting the area near the cabins after a bit of respite and healing, trying to avoid any further fighting. Her main goal is two fold. Get the last of the weapons off of the Suiryuu, and then find a life boat to just head home. Southtown, that is, not all the way back to London. The diva is in need of a great emotional cleansing, or at least something that will enable her to bottle up her rampantly raging emotions once again so she doesn't become an utter basketcase.
"Let's finish this off, mate. Who cares 'bout this bloody ship any more? They ain't answerin' anything, and I really want to get back to see..." Attention drawn to the male voice in the distance, Arika frowns. Glancing back over her shoulder, she mutters, "Not again..."
Looks as though they may just have to fight their way out, and this time? They seem to be on their own. Good thing she's kept a certain little trinket with her -- not like she's got any clue on how to work it, but she can bluff if need be.
W-wait... surrender? Dropping back a step she glances over at Eva, trying to hide in the shadows on the off chance it was one of these buffoons that had control of that collar. "Two ways to do this," she whispers, "Go down fightin' or accept this offer and walk away to one'a them life boats. Up to you, Eva..." Survival would have her accept the surrender, but... she's still a little miffed at being puppeted by papa bear Bernstein.
Eva herself could go for a nice hot calzone right now. Or stromboli. Or, well, Texas barbecue would be great too, if the thought ever entered her head. Or chili. Spicy, delicious chili. However, with the ship having seen better days and a takeover going on in process, she's only allowed what she can get her hands on: a package of trizzlers and a can of nuts. At least in Thailand there were people willing to invite them in for dinner. Thai food is delicious.
It's not as if Eva asked for this to happen when she woke up from her unconscious state. That last fight was brutal, with that strange British man dodging nearly every attack she laid on him and paying in full in return, twisting and pulling her body in the various holds he entrapped her in to the point where she cried out for her twin. Ironically, the ship chucked the the side at that moment, but that was more concidence than anything, the girl realizes now.
The dead stay dead. Which is why she must survive. And yet, she can't do it by simply running away. As the twin of one Eli Manzetti, it wouldn't fit the tribute she sets up for him in the way she lives and fights. That's why, hiding alongside Arika, she murmurs quietly, "I'm beside you all the way, Arika. I can't let them go after what they did to you, but I can't stand up to them alone. You choose."
The giant smiles at his female compatriot's apparent bloodlust. He understands it well... While he does not carry the cursed blood of the Orochi, the desire to hurt and maim still wells deep inside him. It's one of the reasons he joined "R", the promise of being able to unleash the beast within. Last night, he let it loose on that blonde cheerleader in the speedo. Cracking her skull open on the ship's deck repeatedly did nothing but feed into his lust for carnage.
"I hope they decide t' step up to th' plate, too, hon," he mutters, pulling the cigar from his lips as his raspy southern drawl runbles forth. "I haven't had th' pleasure of bleedin' one out yet." Placing the cigar back between his teeth, he squeezes a massive hand out in front of himself, the joints popping like the report of an automatic rifle as he apparently visualizes crushing someone's throat.
Vice makes no initial response to Brian's words, simply standing quite still in the center of the deck where her rambling steps have taken her. She does turn eventually, looking back at him as if in some disjointed acknowledgement of his words; but her eyes don't stay focused on him for long before they inevitably unfocus and slide past him.
"If they don't, they can be found. I have all night: and the motivation to stay up..." A clawed hand paws up to Vice's still-wounded face, talons scraping lightly against the barely-healed gashes cut by Elle's blades. An unfocused titter slips past her coiling fingers, the sound disturbingly girlish, before her voice lifts in apparent madness. Cackling laughter crawls across the deck of the ship like a disease.
"Don't you want to go home? Aren't you tired of all this? Come out and I'll send you home..." Vice's fingers shut just a little more tightly about her face, her head lowering in a slight sway. Shadow carves deeply about her gleaming red eyes. "...and depending what you say, it might even be in one piece."
COMBATSYS: Arika has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Eva has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|
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Eva 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Brian has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Brian
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Eva 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Vice has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Brian
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Eva 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
Life has prepared Arika for many things -- solitude, hiding herself from others, and how to subdue sleazy guys when they get grabby-hands after a set. What it has not prepared her for is the role of a leader. Yet here aboard the Suiryuu, people have looked to her time and time again for direction. So, there's a question she's got to ask herself in order to be able to direct Eva down the right path.
What would Drake do?
Drake -might- flirt with the woman, but since Arika doesn't bat for -that- team, it leaves her with the other part of what he'd do. He'd fight for what he believes is right. Going with R? Potentially being collared and forced to fight for them again and again? Taking away people's freedom with lies of amnesty? Not exactly something the punk princess believes in.
This makes the answer quite simple then: They fight.
Vaulting out of the darkness, she doesn't stop to give Eva a verbal response. Her movements should give her teammate a good idea as to what she intends. She is -not- about to be taken by Bernstein again and forced to fight like an animal. Leaping up onto a crate, she attempts to hop her way past the woman, focusing on her male counterpart. A foot launches toward his face as she springs off of the crate and twists her body around.
"It seems that it's been decided for us what we should do." Eva's eyes look to Arika as the Brit springs away. ".... At least I had a chance to rest up for this." Well, she was more *forced* to rest when Naerose knocked her out and her body's exhaustion took over, but that was that. ".... I can still fight."
Leaping onto the crate and then looking over towards the one Arika aims towards, Eva kneels and leaps into the air with her legs drawn in, attempting to fly past Vice and ram into Brian, chi flaring around crossed arms.
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Brian with Light Kick.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
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Eva 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Eva's Cerulean Bullet.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
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Eva 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
Crossing his arms again, the giant notices movement. He turns, just in time to catch a boot to his face.
She just crushed his cigar.
"Good," he mutters, spitting the broken Cuban to the ground. "They fight." The chi eruption makes Brian far more aware of the incominb blow, allowing him to ready himself for the impact. The chi crackles against his flexed stomach as he smiles down at the second attacker. "Howdy," he says, the malice in his tone spreading across the word like gelatin. "I hope you know a good plastic surgeon."
Reaching out, the man tries to grab Eva in a quick clench... Nothing of real consequence, really, except that it's a means to slam his knee into her pretty little nose. "You'll need 'im."
Ah, yes. Here comes the fodder, the prey for her rending claws. With a last burst of mad laughter, Vice lets her hands swing free down to her sides, her lithe body winding like a spring as she watches the two girls... surge past her. And attack Brian.
Vice doesn't particularly care about the welfare of her erstwhile companion, but it does irritate her to be ignored. Unable to do too much to Eva while Brian's got ahold of her like that, she zeroes in on Arika instead: lunging at the girl in a bid to seize ahold of her, -lift- her bodily, and then smash her into the deck with bone-crunching force.
Hiretsu has been quite busy. Since the complete turn of the Blackjack group--an unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected event--managing the extraction of several of their agents, and developing the proper sealwork to manage the new jutsu became quite difficult. Still, they /were/ doing so well, too. But.. no use crying over a few smashed oranges, though... ne?
The hobbled Operations Director makes his arrival. Despite the fact the ship is completely overrun, Hiretsu seems quite detached from it all. As if it were only a minor problem. A Rubik's Cube, if you will.
Still, though, this is all quite academic. Quite after the fact.
Largely because Hiretsu doesn't bother to comment until after he arrives. From beyond one of the walls near the security office. That wall explodes outwards, the director's cane driven dead forward through it. His shoes whisper across the deck in desolate tonal silence, a peculiarity following the explosion. One would think Hiretsu a form of eerily smiling cannon, as he moves without delay. Unlike the Stars, Hiretsu moves unerringly straight for what he measures to be the strongest in the conflict. If the "R" mistress isn't at least a little faster than the brute, the Director will impale Vice savagely through the midsection on the end of his cane while she's... otherwise distracted.
No, there is no point on the end of Hiretsu's cane.
Moving at that velocity, you don't need one.
"There are a lot of you, aren't there..?" Hiretsu finally observes, breathless.
This will be a long morning.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu has joined the fight here.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Arika blocks Vice's Misanthrope.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-------|
There is no doubt in Arika's mind that the female is likely the strongest in the conflict. Vice is being avoided for -entirely- that reason. The diva's had the opportunity to meet and have a nice... er... chat... with 'Mistress Mature' after all, and considering the way the woman was laughing, she's quite certain that this woman is another like that -- not something she wants to deal with immediately.
Until she's being grabbed. Struggling to break free, the punk princess manages to curl herself into a tight ball as she hits the deck. Bones are not broken, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Yet, she stands up, seeming unphased by it. In fact... the somewhat broken-minded diva just laughs. Perhaps not as maniacal as she's heard lately, but it's not quite... normal either.
When the Director of Operations deems to join the battle, she just lifts her shoulders in a shrug. Glad for the help, but she's not going to make a big showing of it. Popping her neck from side to side, she focuses in on the man going after her teammate. Eyes narrow steadily, then she whirls herself into a perfect pirouette. As the 'dance' comes to an end, she snaps her foot out toward the extremely tall Texan's torso, a frown developing on her face once more.
COMBATSYS: Eva endures Brian's Light Kick.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-----==|
Two can play at that game. With Eva falling towards Brian, there isn't much she can do but but brace herself for the impending smash, kick, or punch.
5t The flavor of the day is smash. Oh, hello blood. Blowing flecks of blood out her nose as she reels back from the introduction into Brian's nice hard knee, she wipes the tickling stream of blood with the top of her wrist. "..... I'm.... not that attached to my looks, actually... Things like broken noses happen." It *still* hurts, though. And it's still bleeding, too, adding an odd tickling sensation that Eva would be nuts to itch while she's up against such a foe.
While the girl is close and person with the former football player, Eva attempts to throw in a fast uppercut into all that mass and muscle, trying to aim her fist for a certain weak point, if she can find one on the first strike. Well, second, technically.
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Arika's Rhythmic Roundhouse.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Eva's Medium Punch.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-----==|
It's not unexpected that Brian's the one being attacked. Standing over seven feet tall and weighing in over three hundred pounds, he makes an easy target, overall. But if he knew how much he was being underestimated, he'd be a little miffed. Taking the blows from the two women with just slight grunts of effort, the mountainous Texan snorts in disgust. "Y'know y'gonna die, right? Unless you wanna give it up and make with the nice, then I'll let ya walk off th' boat under yer own power. Otherwise, I hope y'got a plot paid for."
He's drawn blood on the brunette, which makes him happy. Hitting people in the face always makes him enjoy life just that little bit more. Hitting women in the face? Reminds him of dating in college. Those were great times. Especially when they cried.
So, perhaps it's time to make the woman cry. Reaching out, Brian attempts to snag the already injured brunette's by her tresses with a huge, meaty hand. If he can snag her, then he'll put her in a front headlock and deliver her skull into the same dent that Tiffany's face made in the deck last night. Convienient.
COMBATSYS: Vice blocks Hiretsu's Fierce Strike.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-----==|
Vice isn't given time to wonder over Arika's strange reaction to being smashed into the deck-- which is just as well, as the mad Orochi assassin wouldn't bother thinking over such things at all in the first place. She's got other things to worry about now, it seems.
Something warns Vice about incoming danger-- a bestial sixth sense that whispers in her ear as sibilantly as Hiretsu whispers across the deck. She whirls in the wake of her assault on Arika, dragged off her erstwhile quarry by the sight of a cane coming straight at her. She literally bats the cane aside as it stabs towards her, managing to redirect it such that it grazes hard against her side instead of slamming straight into-- and possibly through-- her.
"So nice of you to join us," she murmurs, momentarily distracted from Arika as she seeks to shut her hands about the Director's cane and simply -throw- him by that point of leverage: ripping him from the ground and slamming him into whatever hard surface is closest.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu parries Vice's Quick Throw!
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Arika 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-----==|
The acknowledgment is taken easily and quickly, with a minimum of fuss. A simple glance to his side during that tense moment of deadlock with Vice. After all, Arika and Eva are still /their/ guests, are they not? In some fashion one could presuppose that it's something of Hiretsu's duty to interject.
There is /still/ a Proleteriat to crown victor, after all..
"My pleasure," the director acknowledges the assassin.
But his hands are a little quicker with that cane than one might expect. Vice's movements are quick and instinctual, but savagery can be matched with brutal efficiency. The style of the director. His stance widens. He twists his cane easily at a right angle to the axis of Vice's grip. Simply--he'll make it very hard for her to get into a position where ripping him off the ground is at all possible. "Now, if you will.."
The thing about a Rubik's Cube is simply finding the right segment to twist--
Weakening her grip will allow him to break it. And then it will allow him to strike again. But this time it's a whip-like shot with the tip of his weapon, a thrust fired off from deep somewhere in his shoulder, aimed square at the assassin's throat.
"...get off our boat."
"Wot? Make nice with you lot so you can slap a collar on me again? Not bloody likely."
With the woman being handled by the Director of Operations (who she is hoping can fend for himself), the punk princess continues to maintain focus on the enormous Texan. Why? Well, for starters, he's picking on her teammate. Her attention is nearly completely shot when she hears Hiretsu speak though. His request that they leave the boat is almost like listening to some hillbilly telling folks to 'get off mah lawn'. It's only through clamping her teeth down hard on the inside of her lower lip that she doesn't burst out laughing.
C'mon... maintain focus....
Dashing to the side, she leaps up onto another of the crates. Heck, she needs the height to be able to reach Brian properly. Launching herself off of the box, she twists in the air and attempts to come down behind the large man in order to wrap her arms about his neck and begin to choke him.
COMBATSYS: Brian successfully hits Eva with DDT.
- Power hit! -
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/--=====|
ow her head hurts something's grabbing ahold of it and
*SLAM*
It's painful just to hear the sound Eva makes going into that dent, making it cave in even further. ".... Ow...ow...." Not crying, Brian, but Eva is wincing and holding her face as she stumbles out of that meaty grip of the burly man. Ow. Ow.
Eva then speaks, her voice muffled by that hand and her blue eyes opening. "Mm mused to dis." Bulky and big? That's her father. ..... And that's who trained her, for better or worse. This, high pain tolerance, but she has a tendency to attempt things her body just isn't good at, like going through several fights without calling it quits. With the consequence of her body sometimes failing her, even in the middle of a fight. Now, she lets her hand fall to the side, blood now spilling like a geyser down her face. She repeats, this time more clearly as she takes off her windbreaker, ".... I'm used to this. It hurts, but I'm used to it."
Eva keeps speaking, because her friend Arika needs an opening to get to Brian. ".... I can still fight, though!" So she does now, her windbreaker now in one hand as she savagely flicks it in Brian's face in a move resembling an uppercut- thought, it's more to gain momentum and distract her opponent before she wheels that fist in to their (or in this case, Brian's) massive gut.
COMBATSYS: Brian blocks Arika's Quick Throw.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Eva successfully hits Brian with Sfumato Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
What's this about the collar? He knows nothing about this, and could care less. "I don't know what th' hell you're jawin' about, missy, but let's just say it ain't gonna happen like that." As Arika leaps onto his back, he simply shifts a bit, preventing her from gettting a proper choke onto him. But while doing this, he gets distracted by a windbreaker to the face... and a sock in the eats. It actually makes the man flinch, that punch. That's something.
Well, what to do now. It seems pretty obvious. While he might have gotten socked pretty hard by the brunette, he does have some young thing dangling off his back. Seems the best thing for him to do right now is to reach back, attempt to grab the humanoid cape off of him and to plow her into the deck something fierce.
COMBATSYS: Vice endures Hiretsu's Medium Strike EX.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
That cane worms out of Vice's grasp with a deft twist and flick. The woman finds herself grasping nothing but air, and the next moment... that weapon is arrowing straight for one of the most vulnerable points on a human body. So Vice does the sane thing.
She stands there and takes it.
The woman hisses with a feral intensity as the weapon slams into her throat, a choked-off snarl kicking out of her at the blow; but for some reason, it doesn't seem to stop her the way a direct blow to the throat SHOULD stop any normal human. "Weak," she rasps through the burn, her red eyes focusing with deadly intent on the Director.
The look of pain on her face twists swiftly into a mad grin as she lunges at Hiretsu and seeks to retaliate, trying to sink talons into the man and bodily -throw- him as far from her as her considerable strength can muster.
COMBATSYS: Arika fails to counter Samurai Bomb from Brian with Diva Allegro.
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Arika 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu interrupts Deicide from Vice with Fierce Strike.
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Arika 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
While he must admit some surprise at the old woman's determination in simply failing to collapse on the floor in a choking mess with his pinpoint accuracy, Hiretsu isn't so simple so as to be kowed by base displays of insanity. As she rushes into him the director doesn't evade deftly--some things simply can't be calculated--and meets her at the hip.
From both shoulders this time, the broad length of his cane intersects between the two points of contact--her claws lance past and through his jacket, tearing and ripping, perhaps drawing blood from the sheer ferocity of the motion. His gloves brace, and as she flings him--he twists in the air.
Flips upside down, curving his momentum straight up in an almost unreal way...
And works to simply drop on Vice's shoulder cane-first. Oh, it's likely he'll use her as a springboard to bounce off, the cane whirling away with the momentum after transmitting shock through his body and Vice's both.. but the oddest thing.. when the cane lands, it lands point first on the deck and suspends there, as if stuck.
The director then lands on the cane's end, balancing carefully on the tip, his guard low, his arms dangling free and limp in the air, an odd amalgam of tournament official and spectre. His sharp eyes open, and glaring forward across the way.
Oh, don't they know about the collar? The pretty little explosive she was allowed to model while being forced like a leashed puppy to fight her friends? Maybe Bernstein doesn't tell his minions every little detail, which is for the better since she's got the collar with her and it might just come in handy.
A large hand reaches for her, and Arika quickly drops her right arm from about the large man's neck. Balling it into a fist, she slams it upward in the hopes of hitting his head before he gets a good grasp....
But then the punk princess plummets to the deck, in nothing less than a fierce manner. Her body crashes into it, causing a small dent to form beneath her. There she lays, trying to catch her breath and assess the damage done to her. Bruising over every inch that hit, no doubt, but she didn't hear any sickening cracks or pops so maybe her spine is in tact.
Eyelids drift closed, she winces and then weakly mutters one word and one word only. "Ow."
It's not completely out there that the collar isn't generally known among everyone in R. Maybe it was a one-time deal, in order to beef up a force that had been lacking due to people being wounded and so on. "... Let's just say we're not all too happy with the organization, nor do we trust it enough to surrender. Besides, you wanted someone to fight you, remember? Be glad with what you recieve in life."
Eva's chatty tonight, and that may not be a good thing for her. Hopefully things will work in her favor! ..... Though, if she recieves any favor, it may be good to forward it onward to Arika. "...Ow." Eva winces as she hears her comrade's impact with the deck. ".... Ow....." Nostrils flaring, Eva rushes towards Brian, wheeling her foot around, like a blunt knife, around in an arc, leather boot toe pointed towards a specific area she hopes will miss the ribcage and hurt the fleshy organs beyond.
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Eva's Medium Kick.
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Arika 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Brian
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Hiretsu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Vice
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Eva 0/-------/-======|
After spiking Arika like a football after a touchdown, Brian turns his head and spits. Looking down at Eva with a nonplussed expression on his face... almost like a cow's expression in it's level of uncaring. The slight jawing he does as a matter of clearing his mouth furthers this train of thought. All he needs is some cud. Shame he doesn't have his chewing tobacco right now.
"Listen, honey," he mutters, turning into the kick. Taking the blow, the mountain of a man barely pauses in his speech. "I don't mind ya fightin'. I just want ya t'know that it ain't me killin' ya. I'm Dr. Kevorkian, an' you're commitin' suicide." Now, he intends on showing her exactly how much of a suicidal task it is, attacking a man like Brian Battler.
Reaching out, Brian attempts to snag the brunette by her tresses. If he gets his meaty fingers in her hair, then he plans on lifting her into the air, grabbing Eva's ankle with his off hand... then releasing his grip on her hair and grabbing the other ankle. What would that lead to? Why, him slamming her face against the deck like he was using a sledgehammer to pound in a railroad spike on the line. Probably a good seven times. Seven sounds nice. A good number, seven. All while humming some country song.
A shocked breath kicks out of Vice as the Director not only fails to get out of the way-- but actually leaps into her attack, abruptly twisting midway through her attempted throw and ripping out of her grasp. She's only surprised a moment, however, not customarily coherent enough to maintain any emotion save her all-encompassing rage for long... and what Hiretsu does next only pisses her off further.
She's barely managed to track his new position before he drops clear out of it, cane-first, impacting her shoulder with the full weight of both himself and his weapon. A howl of pain rips out of her ragged throat as she recoils from the negative stimulus, circling back warily as Hiretsu comes to a deft balance on his cane. Enraged by the sudden agony that writhes down her arm from that point of contact in her shoulder, she lunges blindly at the Director again, not seeming to know when to let up. She leaps at the man, her claws tearing towards him, seeking to knock him clear from his perch, slam him into the ground, and drag him a short distance before slinging him bodily into the nearest unyielding object.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu parries Vice's Gore Fest!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-======|
The Director floats there, balancing on his narrow perch as easily as one might ascend stairs. His gloves hang limp in the air, his eyes only barely visible from the shadow cast under the brim of his Staff Cap. The director looks on, dire as Vice lunges forward to him, the woman creature seeming a malleable thing made of liquid night in his eye.
The Director.. grins.
He tilts forward--the cane only moving seemingly at his will, forward to meet Vice..
Now.
The director pushes off..there is an audible click..he moves to /catch/ Vice's closest arm..
And then the man ceases to exist.
The perch is all that is left, canted at a weird angle relative to the deck. Only, it seems a long slit has been opened in it. The sound is all that is heard. The director moved at the last moment--meeting the assassin.. and .. ever so slightly moved to shift her momentum.
It might put her off balance. It might throw her solar plexus over the rounded ball of his cane, to break her wind. But that hardly matters. It is but a temporary distraction. What matters much more is the vicious stab Hiretsu lunges at Vice's exposed back, having flipped over her neatly with the move.
Only then, an instant later, will that sound before his disappearance be recognized. The sound of steel exiting wood. A kodachi, held in the director's nimble--and cold--hand.
"Ugh." Arika pushes up out of the little crater, only to trip backward again. Taking deep breaths, she squeezes her eyes tightly shut and forces herself to stand. "Wot's the matter? Papa bear couldn't come to give us 'is fond farewells 'imself?" Er... not that she -wants- Rugal here... he makes things hurt a whole Hell of a lot worse.
Deep blue eyes dart from side to side, taking in each of the interlopers. Looks like it might be time to fight a little dirty, and considering what she's been through the last little while can anyone blame her for acting like such a heel? Well if they do, she'll just stick her tongue out at them and tell them to shove off, because right now all she wants to do lose the intruders so she can get back to dumping weapons, gathering information and maybe just going home.
Clasping both hands together to form a solid double fist, she rears back before spinning herself quickly toward Brian. The end result will hopefully end with her slamming that nice solid fist into his groin in order to double him over and make him an easier target for Eva, provided she survives what he's intending for her.
COMBATSYS: Brian successfully hits Eva with American Supernova.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 1/----===/=======|
again meaty fingers in her hand waugh
*SLAM*SLAM*SLAM*SLAM*SLAM*SLAM*SLAM*
Seven, as a number, is generally good. As a marker for how many times to slam a person's head into the deck, it's a dreadful thing in the mind of the person whose face is being slammed into the deck. "ha.... ha...." More blood is spit out of her mouth as she fumbles away whenever Brian's grip manages to loosen. *pft* She wipes her mouth, only to witness Arika doing the unthinkable- slamming a homerun into the family jewels. Or some sort of euphemism for this sort of thing.
Eva's just not going to let a chance like that slip by her now that the odds are against her. "Nugh!" Throwing her foot out savagely towards Brian's face, it's quickly followed by a precise kick to the midsection, and one to the shins, the whole procedure looking like a stroke of a paintbrush in how one flowed into the other.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Brian with Medium Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Eva successfully hits Brian with Carmine Crush.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
There's nothing quite as nice as seeing blood arc out of someone's face as you lift them off the ground, only to slam them back where they were. Releasing his now messed-the-fsck-up foe, Brian turns towards the other woman... And gets caught in the crotch. With a very well placed punch.
The man's brow furrows, though hidden by the mask he's wearing. That, that was uncomfortable.
In fact, the Texan is distracted enough by the shock of actually feeling pain down below that Eva's attack cuts through easily, and he gets hit repeatedly. The blows finally cause the mountain of a man to stagger back, the first crack in an apparent armor of steel. In fact, he does take a long moment to stare at the two women and then shakes his head. "I am gonna tear your heads off and shit down your throats."
COMBATSYS: Brian gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Vice dodges Hiretsu's Deep Strike EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
Vice skids to a stop. Her own attack handily avoided, she barely even seems to be trying to discover where the Director disappeared to. Instead, her red eyes focus with a startling clarity on the minute slit that has opened up in the strangely-canted cane. She stares hard at it, some sort of thought process grinding its tedious way through her shattered maze of a mind. And then--
--she whirls around to face the man, twisting out of the way of his vicious stroke in the same movement. Beyond just seeing that tell-tale sign of a cane sword... her keen, bestial senses had picked up the keening whine of steel through air.
Vice's hands coil, her own natural weapons now finding themselves matched against a cold blade. She seems undeterred by the fact. A snarl knifes her expression open, baring the pure insanity beneath the pretty face, as she cuts air with a vicious clawing stroke of her talons-- straight at the Director's face.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu blocks Vice's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
SLICE!
The director is driven back, his kodachi never tasting flesh. That blade gleams under the light, as the director's arm lowers., the sleeve a tattered rag of Vice's tender affections, revealing just a touch of blood. It is true.. Hiretsu can bleed.
"Not bad.. for a child of the past," Hiretsu acknowledges. Lifting the kodachi in one hand, and balling his fist in the other, the director shakes his head once. "I'm afraid you're not that important to our goals... that means this should end soon. Still, if I leave you standing, you'll only trouble some of my agents, like that brute over there..."
He frowns, faintly.
"The age you lived in ... is over. I think it's time you went away."
The kodachi twists, and the director assumes a stance, only faintly troubled by the lack of his cane, which is still stuck in the deck behind Vice.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
See, here is where most people would blanch at the imagery that the tall Texan was so nice to provide. Arika, on the other hand is in the serene state of fight-mind where she's ignoring things -- especially the odd feces fetish he seems to have. Brian's not half the conversationalist that Mature was. For as insane her babble might have seemed, it struck a chord in the diva that has left her with quite a bit of inner turmoil.
Said turmoil bubbles back up to the surface when she watches her teammate... no. When she watches her -friend- nearly turn into a piece of the deck with all that dreadful slamming. The damage to Eva's face is noticed, and she makes a mental note to try and find a really great healer for her when this is all said and done.
Clutching her side, she takes a deep breath and just glares at the large man. Driving herself forward, she leaps up into the air and once again tries to strangle the man. If his neck weren't so thick, she'd just use the nifty little toy Rugal left her with. As she attempts to make the grab and the thought filters through her mind, she shoots a look over at the woman.
Hmmm....
The attack hits, and Eva backs off scrunching up her face. ".... Ew. That's just.... *gross*." She shakes her head. She has to keep going with this, however. No matter how long it takes to take him down, she has to keep going until her body fails her. "Okay..."
Timing her fist to coincidence with Arika's attempted strangle hold, Eva steels herself and throws a punch into the man's gut, attempting to perhaps knock the wind out of him. Or make him very very uncomfortable.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Brian with Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Eva's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hiretsu 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
This fight has gone on a little too long for his own interests. Obviously, these two ladies are not going to give up, and with his female companion tied up with someone else... and all his backup STRANGELY MISSING (*eyes both Invader and Kurow here*), the mountain of a man just frowns. Frowns. He's sick of this shit.
But Arika jumps on his back, choking him, and rather than taking his vitality away, it simply takes his will to deal with this completely away. As Eva pings a punch off his abs, the black-clad Texan turns around and manages to finally break the grip of the bint on his back. Staggering forward a few steps before wheeling around. Angry eyes burn the visages of the two women into his brain...
He will come for them one day. Oh yes.
But as for now, Brian yanks a hefty pack off of the back of his belt that had been pressed against the arch of his spine. "I'll be back for your souls later," he mutters, tossing the satchel charge between the two women. As soon as it lands, a small remote is produced... and the button is pressed.
Kaboom.
When the dust settles, he is gone. Like ninja.
COMBATSYS: Brian can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Vice
Vice is silent as Hiretsu speaks, heavily-lidded eyes not even focused on the Director. A cryptic smile pulls at her mouth as her head dips, long bangs obscuring much of her eyes and throwing the majority of her face into shadow. "What do you know about us," she utters, a surprising moment of clarity peeking through the madness. "What knowledge could -you- claim?"
Uncaring of the actual answer, she lunges forwards on the heels of her words: her aim, quite simply, to smash Hiretsu into the deck, as if slamming a door shut-- and then, to rip him up again, throwing him from her with a growl of exertion.
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu dodges Vice's Black End.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Vice
"One could say--I know enough."
A meaningless answer for a question that asks nothing.
The director whips around, slipping around Vice's lunging moves as if he simply didn't exist. He wastes no time in fancy words--that exchange was enough to discern what he needed to know about Vice.
It was enough.
For the rest, his acts will speak. Folding that weapon hand back to 'seal' Vice's inevitable winding sidestep, the director responds in the way that Vice will best understand. A full lunge to drive his fingertips into the woman's side. He's going to hold her there somewhere beneath her kidney, wrench, and simply bleed. her. dry.
Unlike Vice, he is without passion as he does this. His goal is simple. Eliminate her from the problematic equation entirely. The trouble of this is--well. If he gets ahold of her. .. /he/ probably won't be able to move either, with his hand so occupied.
COMBATSYS: Arika dodges Brian's Large Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Vice
More enemies for the Stars.... yay? Somehow, Arika doesn't think the team leader is going to be all that pleased with her ability to make new friends. Oh well, can't really be helped. It's either the devil you know or the devil you don't in a case like this, and while the fights aboard the Suiryuu have been rather -odd- at times, and they -did- kidnap her... they've not actually tried to kill any of the Jinchuu participants. R on the other hand...
... R is trying to destroy her with explosive devices again. Seeing the satchel she blinks, but when she catches the remote out of the corner of her eye, she leaps up and ducks behind a crate. "EVA! Get away from there!" She would have tried to grab her teammate, but there's some things that you think of -after- you're already ducking for cover.
Once the dust settles, she peeks her head up over the crate and then rushes toward the woman. A fist slams forward without any ceremony toward her face, but then she changes tactic. Instead of trying to slam the collar on like she was going to, she sends another fist up to the side of Vice's head. Should either of those two strikes land, she pretends to be Desi Arnaz and plays bongos with her temples.
She's not here.
But she is.
Mature is always there where Vice is. Sometimes she's seen, sometimes she's not. But she's always there. In spirit, if not in person. The blonde Orochi assassin knows when she's needed and when she's not. The almost Corsican Brothers-esque connectiont hey share travels past 'friendship'. It has to. Otherwise both women would hate each other with a passion only eclipsed by the hatred they show towards the rest of the world.
Nonetheless, Mature appears, perched on high rigging over the battle, and clicks her tongue. How disgraceful.
She claps twice, to get the attention of those below her, and calls out.
"Tick tock. Time's up, my dearest. it's almost daybreak, and you've yet to defeat the most important of us. What shall it be, my dears? After all, the time comes, as the walrus said, to speak of many things. Of shoes and ships, and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."
The chant is almost singsong as she leaps, and lands next to Vice. "Oh, and look. My dearest Vice, you look a fright. What happens when I'm not there to take care of you. Disgusting. Absurdly disgusting. There is simply no excuse." She lets out a sigh, scanning the combatants over once. There's the punk girl, and a new face, and the old man. The explosion left by Brian goes off, darkening her features as the fire blooms behind her, occluding all but her enigmatic smile, a perfect set of white teeth showing despite the shadow.
"Let us stop playing, for now it is the time for all good artifacts of the past and children to sleep, yes?"
COMBATSYS: Eva dodges Brian's Large Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Vice
Thankfully, Eva has enough time to heed Arika's warning. As if the suspucious setup wasn't enough. "Ngh!" Leaping backward from the thrown explosive, Eva grunts as the blast throws her aside further, though with no true harm done. However, what Brian needed it to do was to allow him to escape, so it worked perfectly in that respect, leaving him free to possibly terrorize them again.
Getting up, she blinks as she sights Mature. Two of them? Eva thins her lips worriedly; unlike the night before, she's somewhat clear-headed this time around, mostly due to the pounding headache and blood smears on her bruising face. Getting by Arika, she stalls, cautiously seeing what the new person will do before deciding to strike.
COMBATSYS: Eva takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Vice
COMBATSYS: Vice endures Arika's Drum Solo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Arika 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Vice
COMBATSYS: Vice interrupts Deep Strike from Hiretsu with Gore Fest.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Arika 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Hiretsu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Eva 0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1 Vice
Snarling and incoherent with rage at yet another whiff of her deadly claws, Vice simply blasts clear through Arika's assault, the blows landing solidly and yet... not seeming to deter the woman. She's focused on Hiretsu, locked on to him, unable to be wrenched from her killing path: so deep the hatred of that man has sunk into her. She is going to -wreck him-.
The lunge she makes is short. Hiretsu hasn't gone far, after all. His attack sinks into her side, splashing blood liberally across the deck, but the warmth of her own blood and the coppery smell only seem to madden her further. Her claws sink into him, her pouncing attack slamming him into the deck, and she simply -smears- him across the wood with all the fury that's built up in her over that seemingly countless number of times she's been thwarted of his blood before: finally letting up only to sling him from her full-force, skidding to a panting, mad-eyed stop shortly afterwards.
And that done, it is entirely likely she might have turned her attention to the two unfortunate girls-- that is, if Mature hadn't shown up.
Vice straightens up the instant Mature lands by her side, her head slinking low as she casts a sidelong, murderous regard at her other half. Her hands lower to her sides, taloned fingers still tensed, blood dripping from her claws as she cracks a white-toothed snarl at her counterpart. What happens when she's not there, Mature asks of Vice; her voice oh so sweet, as is the blonde woman's wont?
"What happens is I get some freedom from your worthless, pointless prattling..." Vice growls in reply, eternally blunt: though she makes no further aggressive move. If Mature carries orders from Rugal himself, then Vice will comply without complaint...
His capability at this level, 'twould seem, has reached its limit.
That is the accepted price of risk--as much damage as can be done in a short amount of time will be done here, the director seeking to efficiently /harm/ Vice in perhaps the most literal way possible, but at that same time, he is distracted by Mature's appearance. His glance tilts--just so, but it is enough to interrupt his focus. And as an extension, his guard.
He is smashed. He is smeared, he is crushed.
The old man smashes into the deck with a soft grunt and a tensed hand somewhere near Eva and Arika. And.. he is slow getting to his feet. He.. smirks, wiping stray blood from a ragged, haggar face that seems as if it might have come two steps shy from simply being torn off by the mad woman.
Not bad.
The kodachi slides neatly back into the machined notch on his recovered cane, and twists to the side, snapping into the cane with a soft click.
His free hand flexes, still dripping with Vice's blood.
The old man simply waits.
Almost daybreak? Before realizing what she's doing, the punk princess looks to the sky and blinks.
Then the voice sinks in.
"YOU!" In a very accusatory tone, Arika continues as she points in Mature's direction, "I owe -you-! Do you know your little leader thought it'd be funny if 'e made me your pet? It -ain't- gonna happen again!" Focusing on her rage and not the woman's words this time, she doesn't even mull over who the 'most important of us' actually is. She -does- however note that Mature and the other woman seem to be rather... close. Good knowledge to have if it ever comes down to it.
Every muscle in her body tenses and she just glares at Mature, deep blue eyes seething out the hatred she feels for the woman. She looks as though she's about to lunge forward with an attack, only Hiretsu picks that exact moment to land nearly right atop her feet. Arika glances over at Eva, then down at Hiretsu and is about to ask if he needs help up, but then thinks better of it. He seems to be waiting for something, and so she bides her time. Almost waiting to see if Mature will make the first move again.
Eva looks back and forth between Arika and Mature, before lifting a hand to rub her neck. "..." This was the woman who kidnapped her? What a strange one. If her head and face didn't hurt so much, Eva would probably try to attack immediately, but, as it stands, she's having a hard enough time as it is. Looking wearily down at Hiretsu as he lands at their feet, she kneels down, and offers a hand to the man, should he need it.
".... I dislike this ship," she says, softly when the moment becomes right for her to speak, "however, no matter what your reasons, you helped us. Thank you." Looking back out towards Vice and Mature, she, too, waits, albiet nervously, to see if they'll leave, or if they'll stay for more.
"Ahh ahh ahh. Communication is the key to any endevour," Mature lectures lightly, and turns to face those before her with a gentle smile. "A discussion is key to any situation, whether it be combat or a simple chat over a lunch at Sardi's. I do so miss Los Angeles in the fall."
She laughs as Arika points at her. "What Rugal does with his toys concerns me not in the slightest, you little bit of flotsam. Whether or not he breaks them or simply admires the handiwork is none of my concern. No, no, no," she says, wagging a finger, "Bad little girls make bad little assumptions. The fact of the matter is that it is only what Rugal /wants/ that is my concern. You, my dear, are at the wrong department."
The woman seems almost cheerful as she straightens up Vice's hair and clothes, dusting her off with the tone of a concerned sister. "Tch. At any rate, I have a question," she says, almost offhandedly. "I've had an interesting duscissuon with a great many people, and now, I pose the questions that none ask, solely because... well, likely none of you are smart enough to ask, yes?"
Ice blue eyes fall to Hiretsu, and she puts a finger to her lips. "A vessel on a vessel. Which rides the other? Who transports Jinchuu, hm? Within one are the hopes and dreams of the many. In the other, the hopes and dreams of one. It does depend on who travels aboard what vessel, hmm, Mr. Shipmaster? So which do the children hold their alleigance to? The vessel... or /the/ vessel?"
She puts her arm around Vice. "Later days, my dear, dear children. And somewhen we shall cross paths, little debutante, we shall dance under the moonlight once more for the sheer pleasure it brings."
And with that, she leaps, extracting Vice per Rugal's orders.
"Ask the questions," she says, her voice lingering after she's gone. "But don't foget to listen to the answers."
COMBATSYS: Arika has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Hiretsu 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Vice
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Eva 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Eva has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Hiretsu 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Vice
COMBATSYS: Hiretsu has left the fight here.
> ///////// ]
|=======\=------\1 Vice
COMBATSYS: Vice has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:20:38 10/20/2007 by Arika, and last modified on 18:26:50 10/21/2007.