Description: [Arika vs. Zach] There is nothing left of the Suiryuu's upper decks but shattered timber and tilted, twisted metal plate, bent at nightmarish angles. And this is where Zach not only fights Arika, but himself as well... [Winner: Arika]
It's the beginning of the end; in both a figurative and literal sense.
Figuratively, because by some stroke of luck, the punk rock princess has made it to the semi-finals. Literally, because the Suiryuu is slowly being swallowed by the ocean below. Seems her estimation of 'Titanic' was correct, only they've been assured that there is a contingency plan in place to get everyone to safety... but only after the tourney is completed.
Nothing could anger the diva more at this point, but, she's got to think of all the innocent people still aboard. Injured as she is, as much as she wants to just find a way off the ship and head home... she's got to fight to ensure they will return to land safely. What's unsettling about the whole scenario is the fact that what's left of the Suiryuu is... well... -GLOWING-. Brilliantly vibrant, every color of the spectrum can be seen in the seals that remain. The ethereal glow lights up the water as the massive ship sinks ever lower.
Were this not such a dire situation, the entire illuminating effect might be classified as something utterly beautiful.
What wasn't beautiful was -surviving- that blast. Seishirou's near sacrifice to keep herself and her teammate safe have just raised a million or more questions in Arika's mind, but she can't hope for answers at the moment. Watching the ship be veritably destroyed right before her eyes was unsettling. There is little to nothing left of the upper decks but shattered timber and tilted, twisted metal plate, bent at nightmarish angles. What is left intact is steadily deteriorating and falling apart. There's still a good drop to the water and when one looks straight down, they're greeted with jagged lines of architecture just waiting for a body to become impaled.
But this is where she's actually been -ordered- to fight, and one of the few places still viable -for- a fight. Win or lose, she's got to be careful. She really doesn't want to die, and she doesn't want to be responsible for putting Zach in a position where he might.
So, there she stands. Watching the ship take on more and more water, waiting to see if her opponent shows or if he forfeits.
Zach picks his way through the wreckage. After that fight with Adelheid, Zach =slept=. It seemed like nothing the medics could do would wake the wanderer up. Amazingly, his injuries healed more quickly this way. Some of the more knowledgable on the medical staff surmised that perhaps his weel-spring of psionic energies accelerated his healing processes while he was in that almost coma.
It was the explosion that woke him up, almost completely refreshed. He only has a cursory explanation as to why things are the way that they are. He knows that the ship exploded, and that it is sinking. He also knows they are not letting =ANYONE= off of the ship until this tournament is over. That pisses him off. In his mind, this fight is not even worth what it might win him. He picks his way through the wreckage, until he spots Arika. He smiles faintly at the sight.
"Hey there, Blondie," Zach says with that same grin before it fades, "I'm told we have to fight. That it needs to be done before anyone gets off the boat." Zach tugs on his hat. "Which sucks. Everyone else here is a hostage at this point, and everything I hold to be right tells me that I should just walk away from this match because it might speed things up."
Zach rolls his neck, "But I can't. I just have to see how this rematch goes." He frowns a bit; this is not something he would have said two months, or even two weeks ago. He wonders what has changed in him, that would make him say that.
COMBATSYS: Arika has started a fight here.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
"Heh."
This offered by way of greeting, but also as an acknowledgement that they -have- to fight. To get this done to save others. Self-sacrificing in a way, and that's just so very odd to her. Mind, everything she's done aboard the Suiryuu has been quite uncharacteristic of her. Bonding with her teammate, rushing off to attempt to save Hurricane Hime... even forming some sort of odd friendship with the red witch.
These things she would have never done, had she not been forced into the oddest of situations. So in a way, perhaps she should -thank- the ninjas?
Nah.
"We got three... maybe four hours tops befor' this thing submerges fully. So let's go..."
Arika has done so much fighting lately, that she doesn't even think about this any more. No time for niceties. No time to hem and haw over who gets to strike first. It's just pure adrenaline that has her going now, launching herself toward Zach with a leap. Right fist extends to snap a quick jab to the side of his cheek as she tries to pass by and rebalance herself on a new portion of less-than-sturdy architecture.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Jab Punch.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Zach
Zach grunts as the jab smacks him in the jaw. He shakes his head a bit to clear the cobwebs before regarding the Diva for a moment.
"Let's get to it, then."
He snaps his hands up, and fires off several small bolts of psionic energy from his open palms in a tight spray. If nothing else, they may get her to duck...
COMBATSYS: Arika blocks Zach's Warning Shot.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Zach
Duck? After everything she's been through? Nope. Arika watches the spray with narrowed eyes. As the bolts zip closer to her, she forces her wounded left arm up to take the brunt of the damage. Clamping her teeth down upon her lip to keep from crying out, she draws back her arm allowing it to fall to her side. Bandaged though it is, a distinctive wet red mark appears on the white cotton.
Attempting to maintain balance on the shoddy ship is becoming a pain. The glow around her seemingly intensifying with each movement (though whether this actually -is- the case or not is undetermined). Hopping forward a step, she begins to dance swiftly over the jagged edges until she nears Zach. Spinning herself into a whirl, she snaps her foot out toward his torso hoping to get him staggering away from her.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Arika's Rhythmic Roundhouse.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Zach
Zach ducks the kick, almost slipping and falling on his face. He keeps his focus, and prepares his next strike. He spots the bandage, and winces. Better to end this quickly, so that he can get the lady to a doctor.
He realizes he likes Arika too much to do anything less than that.
Zach flexes his fingers out as he plants his feet. He steps up and in summoning that familiar rotating beach ball of pure soul, before driving it at Arika's torso.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Arika with Impulse Flare.
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Arika 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Zach
Oh, yes, right. Get the girl to the doctor by ending this quickly. Sounds good in theory.
Unless, you know, you're attacking her and sending her right down into the jagged mess that was once a ship. For all accounts and purposes, it looks as though the diva is about to plummet right to her doom.
She manages to grab hold of a twisted piece of metal and pulls herself back up. Deep blue eyes seethe with anger, fatigue and irritation, but she has an outer exterior of calmness. "You want it to end that way, Zach?," she asks as she draws herself toward the most stable looking area to stand. "Fine." Dipping her head slowly, she looks as though she's going to concede defeat. A deep breath is taken and she turns her back to him.
Bouncing backward, she twists her body around in the air and then spins a kick toward his head before landing behind him.
COMBATSYS: Zach interrupts Light Kick from Arika with Sting.
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Arika 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Zach
Zach takes the boot to the head with all due grace. That is to say, he yells a bit and sees stars. However, this is not without consequence. Arika takes a psionically charged fist to the midsection in the process. He's learned a =few= things from this tournament, after all.
He staggers, and comes dangerously close to impaling himself on a spar before catching his balance again. He regards Arika not with dread or fear, but with something else. "I just want it to end, Arika. I thought you'd appreciate me giving you nothing less than my best efforts." Zach's breathing very heavily. He's already pushed himself harder than he normally would in a fight.
"Just like everyone else," she mutters under her breath, glaring at him. That's right. Arika said it. No one has understood her reasoning for being here. No one but her likely will. Not a matter for the moment, though. "Best efforts are -grand- Zach, but you've not been 'round fightin' to keep everyone aboard this bloody death trap alive, 'ave you? You've not been in fight after fight after fight for the last few days. You've not bloody well be FORCED TO FIGHT YOUR FRIENDS OR WIND UP DEAD!"
Angry? Angry doesn't even begin to describe the wildness of her words.
Straightening herself out, she exhales deeply and stares past him. She's got to collect herself for this fight, since she's not doing very well at all. "Is winning so important to you, Zach? I would'a thought better of you..." As she asks this, she slips behind him and flings her leg in front of his in an attempt to hold him in place. At the same time, her left arm snakes out to wrap about his neck and her right hand forms a claw. This claw grabs for his side, fingers attempting to apply enough pressure so as to force him down to the remaining portion of flooring.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Dominant Diva.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Zach
Zach does not have much of a response. He's too busy getting a lung full of water thanks to Arika's skillful maneuver. He struggles a bit, before pushing the younger woman off of him roughly. He regards the Diva through tired eyes.
"Yeah. Go ahead and blame me for my lack of conditioning, or the coma I managed to put myself in. Hard to fight when you are busy losing time." Zach tenses, trying to keep his energies in check. "As for winning, that's... that's never been important to me. Hope it never will be. But I have to know."
Zach's left fist flares with surging power, power barely restrained as it calls to Zach, seems to want to lash out at this angry woman. He takes a moment, then steps back several feet. He shakes the fist loose, dispelling the miasma of energy and pain with an immense effort of will. "I have to know what I am capable of. Both here," Zach holds up the fist, purple sparkles trailing off of it still, "And in here," Zach taps his chest once. During this, he makes no moves. He seems ready to deal with Arika's wrath.
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Zach
"And you think that by 'urtin' someone with uncontrolled energy... you'll find out who y'are?" Arika just shakes her head as she stumbles back and away from him. She's nearly impaled by a piece of metal, but manages to sidestep it before it does any damage. "You 'ave to know who y'are 'ere," she says, pointing to her heart, "Befor' ya can 'ope to know wot yer capable of."
Wow.
Wait.
What?
That actually came out of -Arika's- mouth? Who the Hell is she to be giving advice like -that-, when she can't even rightly say who -she- is any more?
Carefully minding her footing, she swings by him again and attempts to ram her elbow into his nose. Quick. Concise. Painful? Quite likely.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Jab Punch.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Zach
Zach's head rocks back as he staggers back several more paces, stopping only when he feels something sharp looking to poke him in the back, snapping the rubber band holding his hair into something remotely cohesive. He shakes his head once, the hair flipping loose.
"I know who I =was,= before this," Zach's fist flares with power "Barged into my life. I didn't want it, sure as hell didn't ask for it." Zach smirks in a very sarcastic manner, "I mean seriously, what =idiot= would wish for something like this?" Zach sweeps his hand to the side, drawing purple fire in the night sky. "Not knowing when I'm going to blow up, or who I might take with me when I go?"
Zach coughs a bit, getting some more water out of the pipes, "At least in the world of fighting, people =know= they are setting themselves up for getting hurt." Zach seems to be making no offensive moves, as if to allow Arika to lose some steam. "And the fighting is helping," Zach says.
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Zach
Oh, what fun. It's like fighting Vyle all over again. And that?
Well -that- just pisses Arika off all the more.
"Then you should know who y'are -now-," Arika points out through clenched teeth. Any respect she might have had for Zach is almost completely lost when he laments the fact that he was given abilities -beyond- those of a normal fighter. What 'idiot' would wish for something like that? How about any myriad of fans that come out to watch fights that take place under normal conditions? How about any number of regular Joe's that just want a chance to be something -big-? There are a lot of 'idiots' that would wish for it, train it, use it and stop worrying about the fact that at one point they had little to no control.
"So, you'd rather 'urt an innocent fighter than an innocent person? Don't see much of a difference meself, but wotever suits your fancy." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she just advances on him again. Drawing her fist back, she slams it forward, this time aiming low and for the gut. Immediately following this is a burst of bright violet energy which seems to glow even brighter as it encompasses her left hand before she sends the palmheel strike toward his shoulder.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Diva Allegro.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Zach
Zach rocks under the blow, making absolutely no move to get out of the way. He didn't want to be a fighter. Never bothered to really watch the fights, or the tournaments. This whole world that has opened, rather violently to him, remained something of an unknown to Zach. Sure, it was =there= and =happening,= but it's like the football season for someone who is not a fan. Largely in the background. He wanted to be a teacher, to introduce children to the wonders of science, and the stories of history. Nothing so grand, nothing more glamourous than one of the most unappreciated jobs on the face of the planet, Fighting never entered into it at all.
Until that explosion forced Zach to adapt, to change.
Zach falls on his rear end and stays there for a moment. He looks up at Arika, and wipes some blood from the corner of his mouth as he stands. The wind blasts across the wreckage, whipping his hair wildly about his face. "Maybe hoping you would understand was too much for me to hope for," Zach says quietly. "Would be nice for someone to understand." Arika has trust issues, Zach has alienation issues. Afraid to get too close to someone, out of fear that he will hurt them but at the same time needing someone he can be something more than an exploding man with. Zach starts to glow, the seeming aura of purple energy flickering and flashing brightly and darkly, whipping around him and slapping at the water. Zach closes his eyes, tries to keep from exploding here and now. His fists are balled, his shoulders shaking as he fights himself more than he has fought anyone else in his life.
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Zach
"Maybe if we weren't standin' on a sinkin' ship, about to drop into the ocean and -die-, I'd be a wee bit more understandin'." A frown creases her brow and she brushes the hair out of her face, trying to keep the strands from her mouth. "Would be nice if we -all- 'ad someone that'd understand us, but guess wot? The 'uman race ain't very forgivin' and findin' someone like that is rare." Arika has trust issues, indeed. In the last few days though, she's been shown that maybe she should be a little more trusting. There -are- people out there that will do anything in the name of friendship, and maybe that's what's changed the diva a little.
Watching the odd aura gathering around his body, her eyes narrow once more. "Gonna try to blow me up, are ya? Wouldn't be the first time I've been through that recently..." Shoulders shrug upward and she's got three options now. Dive into the ocean and be done with it all -- but that would be very defeatist, forfeiting the fight in an anti-climatic manner. Stop and catch her breath, trying to stay in the match a little longer. Or...
... she can attempt to slam her fist forward again. This will be the third time she does this, trying to slam it against his shoulder this time.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Medium Punch.
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Arika 0/-------/-----==|=======\======-\1 Zach
Zach spins with the punch, the spar at his back slashing through his shirt and digging into his back, spraying blood across the wreckage. He tumbles as he cries out in pain, before regaining his footing and looking at Arika.
...is Zach smiling?
"The exact opposite, actually. If I am going to do this, I'd rather," Zach tucks his left fist to his side, the purple energies flaring once more as he twists the flaring arm away from the Diva. "Do it with everything that I have learned." Zach starts to walk towards Arika, staggering a bit. "About myself." The flaring seems to cohese, to solidify. "About my power." Zach stops. The distance is perfect. The energies snap into focus, vaguely resembling a large gauntlet. "With every bit of focus that I can manage!"
Zach steps once more, driving that massive sleeve of energy towards the Diva. Zach has aimed his strike carefully; Arika, should she be sent flying from this, will find the one piece of flat and not sharp section of wreckage in the immediate area.
COMBATSYS: Arika dodges Zach's Burst Strike.
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Arika 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Zach
He's smiling?
Confusion runs rampant in her mind, but then she hears his words and she offers a slight grin in his direction. Said with such determination of will, some of the lost respect is regained. "That is a much better attitude to 'ave," Arika points out, trying to say it loud enough so that he'll hear her over the sounds of the ship being swallowed by the ocean. Slow process though it may be, it's not exactly -quiet-.
Warily watching the built up aura of energy, she blanches. She knows that if it hits her, she's likely to go flying overboard and the distance to the surface of the water is still frightening. Chances are, with the way her body is feeling she'll just hit the waves and pass out before drifting to the bottom of the ocean floor. ALL her attention is focused on this now. Every ounce she can muster to make sure she survives. Dropping into the crevice where the rest of the ship once resided, she clutches to a twisted piece of iron and attempts to wait out the storm.
Once the aura dissipates, the diva swings herself back up toward him, slicing her hand in the process. Wincing, she clenches her hand into a tight fist to stop the bleeding. Blood rivulets down her hand, spilling itself upon the chi-laden markings. With that same fist, she swings toward his head only to purposefully miss him. Feet begin to move then and she pirouettes back toward him, slamming her foot out toward his chest, trying to knock him toward the same area he intended for her just moments ago.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Rhythmic Roundhouse.
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Arika 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Zach
Zach leans out of the way of the punch. The kick, however, is what does the job. He skips and bounces across the wreckage, grzing himself on some of the sharper metal pieces along the way. Zach skids to a halt on the clearing that he had meant for the Diva. The wanderer lays there for a moment before pulling himself into a sitting position. He reaches for the sky, his eyes closed.
The torrent blast of psi lights up the skies for a moment before fading to nothing. Zach then falls on his back, waving a sort of surrender to Arika. "No more... 'Mdone, m'lady." The water tugs and pulls Zachs hair in strange patterns, mingling with the blood from the cut in his back, and looking sort of like a purple blood spill in and of itself.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Arika 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Arika 0/-------/----===|
Knowing that kick isn't all that powerful, she's expecting the psi-wielding fighter to lash out at her once more. Arika braces herself for the onslaught of energy, eyes closing so that she doesn't have to view her demise.
It never comes.
Instead, he's saying that he's finished.
Peeking her left eye open, then her right, she blinks. "Zach?" Brushing her hair off her face once more with her non-bloody hand, the diva takes careful steps forward. Concern, actual concern flashes for a moment. "Are you alright?" Using his energy may take a lot out of him, but keeping it in check must do a number on him as well -- something she never considered before.
Reaching a hand down toward him, she tries to help him up. "C'mon. Let's get you some medical attention. Ain't sure wot they've got goin' on down below but..." Her right shoulder is lifted in a small shrug and she offers him a smile. "... Eva might 'ave somethin', and..."
Wait. Why are they going down below? The ship is -SINKING-. Wouldn't it make more sense to stay above? Eh. Who knows any more? The Suiryuu is confusing. Maybe it'll use the chi-engery it still holds and transform itself into a submarine.
"Hey, Zach?" This said after the offer to help him up. "I'm proud'a ya. You maintained a lot of discipline back there and I could tell it was 'ard for ya. I'd say if anythin'... you won this match by keepin' in control."
It's =always= easier to simply let loose, to lash out and destroy than it is to keep your cool, stay in control if not of the situation then of yourself.
Zach has a smile on his face. His eyes, however, are closed. He lets Arika speak her peace before opening one eye. "Nonsense. Yer... the last one standin'. You won this one... fair and square," Glen says as he allows Arika to help him up. "I don' like... blowing up like every seems to think I do.. y'know," Zach mumbles weakly. Arika cannot tell the condition of Zach's wound. Red and black do not allow blood to show very well at all, let alone at night.
"I ev'r tell ya... wanted to be a teach'r... sci'nce 'n hist'ry..." Zach is obviously trying to stay on his feet here. It wouldn't do to make Arika do all the heavy lifting, and it's kind of embarrassing for a guy to be in this position.
Oh, you mean like Arika does when someone is hurting Drake? Lashing out and not caring who gets hurt in the process? Funny how that's one of the few things that tends to make her lose serious control.
"May be the last one standin', mate, but you 'ad a pretty big battle goin' on internally. I'd say that warrants at least a little commendation." She's not going to mention it again though, since he seems to want to pass it over. "Nah, y'never told me that. You can still teach, y'know. You showed a lot'a restraint today and I bet with trainin' you can get it completely under control and do wotever you want in life."
With him on his feet, the diva starts picking her way across the remaining architecture, being careful not to let her feet fall onto any portion that seems as though it might slip from under her. "'ang in there, Zach... almost there."
A weak chuckle escapes Zach's lips, "Why... d'y'think 'M... here fer?" Zach does what he can to help the pair get across the wreckage, but he is a mess of cuts and bruises, and he's lost a bit of blood in this fight. "What you... gunna do wit th' prize?" Zach asks. He needs something to focus on, and Arika's possibily inevitable victory seems as good a thing as any to Zach's tired mind.
Picking up the slack without letting it be known she's doing it, the punk princess slows her steps a little. No point in pushing him to get down to the others quickly -- the ship is sinking with or without them down there, after all. "Probably be best to find ya a trainer on land somewhere. Ain't sure where to go 'bout findin' one for wot'cha need though..." Right. Arika should really quit babbling. His second question makes her blink. "Don't know. To be 'onest, I ain't even sure there -is- a prize... but it ain't never been 'bout that for me anyway..." Even though the money would probably be enough to get the nightclub open and fully functional.
Pause.
"You really think I 'ave a chance?"
COMBATSYS: Arika has ended the fight here.
Zach raises an eyebrow, "Y'got this far. Y'beat me... 'n I ain' 'zactly a pushover..." Zach exhales, "Futaba c'n tell ya that..." Zach continues along gamely, "Was gun' use it to keep me in rent 'n food fer a while to try 'n get..." Zach stumbles a bit, "...get this un'ner control."
Carefully adjusting her movements to account for the stumble and keep him on his feet, Arika nods. "You'll find a trainer, Zach... I know ya will." As she continues forward, she nearly trips over a jagged piece of metal. Instead, her foot crashes into it and sends it careening toward the ocean. "Ow! Uhh... be careful there would ya? We should probably pick up the pace a lil'... I'm bettin' the floorin' is about to fall right out from under us..." As she says that, there is a rumble behind them and the portion that she last kicked him to begins to crumble inward.
Log created on 18:16:56 10/23/2007 by Zach, and last modified on 22:21:52 10/23/2007.