Description: In an epic historical reenactment on the slopes of Mt. Taygetus, Kyo (Hector), K' (Achilles), and Billy (Leonidas) recreate the Trojan War in a violent clash full of leather armor, swords and shields, exhorbitant numbers of extras, and fake spear LTOs. Who is that mysterious masked person? How did SNF pay for that many extras? And what the hell is Leonidas the First doing at Troy? While this log won't answer any of those questions, it's the epic action that counts. (Winner: K')
On this day, this day of days, this Saturday... The slopes of Mt. Taygetus have been transported back into the Mycenaean age. To the days of great heroes and interfering gods, the days when the Argives and the Achaeans waged war against the people of Troy, to reclaim Helen, the fairest woman in all the world. Arrayed on the mountain's slopes are three mighty armies of extras, all fully attired in the most realistic period dress and armor available. Spears and swords, shields and bucklers, bows and chariots... Movies could WISH they were this epic. And at the head of one of these armies, the Trojans, stands a man. A godlike man.
Hector, son of Priam?!
Resplendent in armor of leather, gold, iron and brass, with a red cloak over his shoulder making him stand out from the press of common men, this figure carries a spear in one hand and a shield at the other, a broad-bladed sword hanging at his waist from an embroidered and silver-studded baldric. He looks like he's stepped right out of The Iliad, ready to do battle with the forces of the Spartans and the Myrmidons, to drive them all back into the sea with his might.
Of course, he's forgone the traditional helm, because he doesn't want anyone mistaking him for anyone else than who he truly is, even in the midst of this massive recreation battle.
In truth 'Hector of Troy' is none other than Kyo Kusanagi, apparently enjoying himself far more than he really ought to. With his army at his back, 'Hector' lifts his spear into the air, the sun glinting off of the brass spearhead, and as he raises a battlecry so too do his proud troops, a mighty din to intimidate their foemen. And what, you might ask, is Kyo's battlecry?
"GREECE SUCKS!!"
It seems that Billy's opted to take the glamor of his distinguished position seriously; He has dressed himself exactly like the Spartan of yore Leonidas, holding a gleaming shield in one hand and a long spear in the other. His battle kilt is impeccable, yet like Kyo he has a bandanna in Britain's colors instead of the helmet. Although he has a sword sheathed, he's obviously not going to use it. In this case, his staff is just a lot more pointy. Attentive eyes would note his spear has three sections. Behind him is a large ensemble of battle re-creators, numbering thirty. A tenth the supposedly true number of this battle, and all dressed in similar battle raiments. The second in command of Southside stands at the forefront, atop a jagged boulder. In response to Kyo, his own spear is raised into the air.
"GREECE SUCKS!!" he repeats, and his men take up the rally cry. "But that's beside the point, Kusanagi!! I don't need three hundred men to take you down. GO FORTH, FOR VICTORY! SPARE NOBODY!" Billy snarls, and his men swarm forward. Billy follows suit, and before long they are intent on matching blade with Kyo's own, clang of steel on steel likely ringing sharply in the air.
But where is sir K' of Lancelot?!
There could have been no better choice, in terms of a faithful and accurate portrayal, for the part of Achilles than K'. Certainly, no one else would have been capable of so completely and totally embodying that all-consuming rage which was the subject of the Iliad's very first two lines. He had been aware of who he was up against long before he'd even arrived in Greece, and mingled anticipation, fear, and rage had had a long time to stew behind his narrowed yellow eyes.
Billy Kane? Who was Billy Kane? Kyo Kusanagi was all K' could focus on-- and focus he did, with a brooding, seething intensity.
The SNF staff, by now familiar with K''s particular temperament, had handled him gingerly, costuming him with the usual trepidation exhibited by people who really didn't want to be set on fire. However, uncharacteristically, K' had simply stood stock-still all throughout their cautious outfitting, barely protesting their ministrations: seemingly lost in some private, unpleasant train of thought. Leather cuirass, pteryges, greaves, a bristling of bronze buckles and iron-stamped straps-- it had all gone on without incident. Once they'd finished, they'd leaned back with a collective sigh of relief and congratulated themselves on managing to escape any life-threatening antics this time... only to suck in their breaths and duck as one when K' suddenly and unpredictably discarded his prop spear straight at their collective heads and stalked out the door.
Opposing Hector's massed Trojans, the loyal Myrmidons stand in rank: obedient, martial, and fearsome-- but completely leaderless. For a long time, 'Achilles' simply doesn't show up. This is, sadly, quite accurate to the original text, except for that fact that 'Achilles' isn't late because he's banging a hot girl in a tent (or sitting in his tent moping about how he isn't banging a hot girl, due to Agamemnon's criminal insolence). He's late primarily because he's had a lot to think about on the short walk from the administrative tents to the field of battle. A lot of rage to keep carefully bottled.
Eventually, the rigid ranks of the Myrmidons suffer a slight disturbance. The lineup starts to Red Sea nervously apart. K' comes stalking out of the crowd grimly, forcefully pushing aside anyone who doesn't get out of his way fast enough; a sword hangs with a comical uselessness at his waist, and he maintains a white-knuckled grip on the shield he's been given. His yellow eyes flash immediately towards the onrush of Billy's army of extras, and a severe displeasure spreads like infection across his face. Sharp words send the Myrmidons rushing off, their instructions clear: to block Kane's charge off, however they can. But meanwhile, what of K' himself?
He's beelining straight for Kyo. He takes one look at the Kusanagi heir, bares his teeth in an approximation of a snarling grin and barks a laugh, and then... just casts that shield clear at Kyo's feet in a gesture of mocking scorn. Evidently, he never watched 300, or he'd know not to do that.
"Stupid." His head lowers, a gesture that mingles threat and a deep-seated, consuming anger. "But it'll do. Show me what I was intended to be..."
...Well, it's not quite 'Therefore there can be no understanding between you and me; nor may there be any covenants between us, till one or other shall fall and glut grim Mars with his life's blood.' But it's close enough.
As a fun aside: If the Trojans had had a Kusanagi on their side last time, they totally would've beaten those tricksy Greeks.
So now it's time to rewrite history - nevermind that they already are, given who the Spartan king is here - and defy the fate handed down by Zeus, as the Trojans rush up to meet the charge of the Spartans and the Myrmidons doing their own thing. The fact is though, the troops aren't the ones doing the real fighting here. That falls to the heroes, the mightiest of men.
But before he can meet with Billy, Kyo is instead faced with K', who is totally not playing along, throwing his shield down and stuff. Meeting that angry face, Kyo looks more mildly confused than anything else, a bemused expression if ever there was one. Somebody... Needs to lighten up. "Oh, come on," says Kyo, rolling his eyes at K'.
"It's for fun. JUST TRY TO ENJOY THIS!" the Kusanagi heir bellows, as he thrusts his spear right at the middle of the engineered fighter's chest. It might only be a prop spear, but with Kyo's strength behind it, it might sting a little.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has started a fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Billy has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Billy
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
In due course, K's men slither in front of the assailing Spartans, and in the rush of bodies Billy is unable to immediately get through. He gets quite angry, and starts booting anyone adjacent in the spine, kicking both ally and enemy aside. Okay, so he's obviously not any good for raw comradery, but these are peons, not brothers in the Southside. After knocking a few teeth free from a Myrmidon's face, he's glaring towards K' and Kyo, not content with being ignored. Shrugging his shoulders in a ripple of armor, the spear is given a twirl before he advances forward. And in one sharp, intentful thrust, attempts to stab Kyo right in the ass. Sandwiching him between either fighter, at a comfortable distance. "C'mon, Kusanagi! I'm supposed to be your true opponent!!" He's just trying to split his attention. With any luck, K' will erode the Kusanagi heir. And then the Spartans will claim victory instead of honorable defeat!!
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits K' with Strong Punch.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
What are you talking about, K' is totally playing along. At least, he'd look that way to somebody who didn't know what was really going on. Nothing about his ALL-CONSUMING RAGE is actually out of character, to tell the truth. He might not really be playing Achilles per se so much as he's just being, well, himself, but 'himself' is already pretty much exactly like Achilles anyway. Except for a few key differences, which will doubtless become clear over the course of the fight. Like, for example, not exactly being invulnerable.
For the time being, K' just contents himself with working himself into an epic sort of rage. Kyo did -not- just tell K' it's all 'for fun.' "'Enjoy this?' 'Fun'?" K''s voice plunges from stark incredulity to a depth of sheer fury that Homer would no doubt have approved, and the harsh breath that kicks out of him doesn't know whether it wants to come out a laugh or a growl. "You really don't fucking get it..."
But apparently, Kyo doesn't really want to have whatever it is he's not getting explained. The Kusanagi heir's barely finished his own totally insensitive rejoinder before he suddenly goes on the offensive, lancing a sharp attack at his angry semi-copy. The weapon is marginally quicker than K''s guard, the erstwhile experiment's judgment clouded by a considerable amount of sheer anger. Struck a solid blow, he goes skidding back a few paces before he can correct, panting a sharp and infuriated breath as he swipes the weapon aside in a bout of frustration.
He doesn't spend too much time seething over his miscalculation-- that would just be heaping stupidity upon stupidity. He just lunges as soon as the spear's out of the way, trying to slam a harsh snapkick into Kyo hard enough to send him clear into Billy's... somewhat apropos form of attack. "You're really an idiot if you think anything I do can ever just be 'for fun...'"
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks K''s Minutes Spike.
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K' 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Billy successfully hits Kyo with Weapon Jab.
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K' 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|
See, that's K''s problem. He's just plain too /serious/. Sure, it's a fight and it's for glory and money and whatever, but here they are, dressed up as long-dead and probably entirely fictional dudes, legitimately fighting each other while a bunch of hired stuntmen, also in costumes, pretend fight each other. How... HOW... Can anyone take this so seriously? It's a laugh, it's for fun! K' has no sense of perspective.
"Oh, come on," Kyo says, shaking his head, as K''s kick impacts with his shield with a resounding noise, sending the Kusanagi heir staggering back half a step. Unfortunately, this means when he hears Billy coming and twists to try and block /that/ attack too, he doesn't quite make it. Instead, he gets a speared in the butt. This does not please Hector of Troy.
"Kane... Do I /look/ like your sister?" Kyo wonders of the British fighter, turning his attention from his attempt to lecture K' on the importance of being able to laugh about ridiculous things. His butt /hurts/. It's a good thing he's wearing armor. Gritting his teeth, and with a bit of a snarl, he twists more and hurls his spear, casting it right at Billy. Again, sure it's a prop... But he's throwing it pretty hard.
COMBATSYS: Billy overcomes Large Thrown Object from Kyo with Large Thrown Object.
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K' 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|
It's assured that Billy's in a similar mindset with that of Kyo. He's smirking, and isn't taking this seriously in the slightest. Kyo is a raging jackass, but not in a way that's really abrasive in many situations. They are disturbingly alike, after all. Probably why he tried to stab him in the ass instead of in the jugular, after all. Yet the moment his sister is mentioned, his features go steel hard, eyes narrowing to slits. "...!!" Apparently there's some topics one shouldn't joke about! As he notices Kyo twisting, and the shifted grip of his weapon, his sword is pulled out. "HRRAUGH!!" he snarls, hurling his sword in a vicious overhead, spiraling in billows of displaced air. It connects with the spear, and continues onwards; risking some mild penetration of the right thigh. The spear flashes past, gouging his armor. It would of hurt were he naked, but in this case it barely elicits a grunt. "I'm gonna do a hell of a lot worse then stab you in the ass if you mention my sister again...!!" Death glare.
The thing is, it's not the situation itself which K' is taking seriously. Not even K' could find anything remotely serious about a huge mock battle full of men in leather skirts. In fact, were this a mock-up, dress-up SNF involving anyone else BUT Kyo, K' would probably be so magnanimous as to just make a face and boredly -play along-. What he's -really- getting pissed off about here-- what he's really getting so serious about-- is Kyo himself. His very existence. His presence is a constant grating upon K''s blood, a heat that sears along his poorly-controlled stolen fire.
The fake soldiers, the costumes, the very setting might as well not exist. All the maddened K' can register is Kyo's presence: infuriating, cocky, eternally -superior-... eternally -better-. Something which just gets reaffirmed when Kyo blocks K''s attack without much trouble, sending the lighter boy glancing right off his guard. K' lands in a crouch, a snarl briefly baring his teeth. And then, he notices Billy.
He had kind of forgotten about Kane. The reminder that there's a third combatant sours his expression immediately, a line of displeasure drawing out along his brows. K', like most with immature, childlike natures, isn't very good at sharing... and he doesn't really want to share Kyo with the former King of Fighters. Even if the reward for -getting- Kyo to himself is bound to be little more than a whole lot of pain, in his twisted mind nothing will prove -anything- to him save a straight one-on-one with the man he was built to be. And -that- means...
Fire snarls to life down K''s right arm as he pulls himself to a stand. A sharp upwards swipe, and he fills the air before him with his stolen flames. Whirling abruptly, K' cracks a kick into the mess of fire, sending it bolting straight for Kane in a heated rush of energy. He'd have joined in on the high-speed trading of weaponry and flung his sword for kicks, but 1) he'd find that incredibly stupid 2) in all the excitement he seems to have forgotten he's armed at all. Oh well.
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Billy's Large Thrown Object.
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K' 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|
"Ha ha ha!" Kyo laughs, as he ducks back out of the way of Billy's sudden reprisal, the sword spiralling past him and embedding itself in the ground. Luckily it ended up there and not in a stuntman! "Too close to the bullseye there, huh?" It's a bit surprising to him, though, that K' chooses to go after Billy instead of continuing to assail Kyo himself... But hey, that's why it's a hilariously mismatched melee, right? Wouldn't be too fun if it was all ganging up and so forth.
So rather than drawing his own sword straightaway, Kyo rushes at Billy in the wake of K''s fiery football, lunging to try and snag Leonidas by his harness, before following it with the predictable but sudden explosion of Kusanagi flames that one would expect in this situation. "/BURN/!!"
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Billy with Second Shoot.
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K' 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Billy blocks Kyo's Koto Moon Positive.
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K' 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
Billy is just as surprised as Kyo that K's attention shifted. He really doesn't much care about anything but victory at this point. Oh, he's got a sheer amount of arrogance and pride, but there's no chance for anything but brief flings of direct fighting, and it's somewhat meaningless either way. There was a lunge away from the burst of fire, but he's impacted in the knees and blown backwards, one hand digging into the soil as he impacts a battling Spartan and bowls him over, legs pinwheeling in the air as he's stuck like a turtle with his kilt bared to all. He was staggered too much to tell K' that didn't hurt before being snagged; His own staff flares in a hiss of sparks, billowing out a flash of heat that connects with the true Kusanagi energy in the same moment. Both fighters are momentarily lost in the inferno, yet Billy is relatively unscathed; Of course, he completely failed to overpower Kyo, but it's better then eating it in the face. But this much closeness shall be taken full advantage of, trying to grasp Kyo by the shoulder while rearing his head backwards. To impact him in the face not once, but twice, trying to slam him into the ground!!
Tell the truth, K' is just completely out of control at this point. Which is, again, still totally in character, considering Achilles-- when he finally got on the field-- was pretty much known for hitting anything that moved. Torn between the overpowering desire to just punch Kyo until he stops moving, and the knowledge that ganging up on him with Billy won't tell him a damned thing other than he's good at beating on Kyo unfairly, he's left to prowl back and forth restlessly on the sidelines as Kyo and Billy engage one another.
To try and get rid of Billy, and engage Kyo alone... to just attack Kyo directly, unfairness be damned. It's a hard choice. But K' was always more noted for impulse than for deliberative thought... and the sudden sight of Kyo's wide-open back is just too much for him.
The angered experiment is lunging at that presented target before he can catch or stop himself, closing with Kyo just as Billy fields his own attack. Whether or not the former King of Fighters succeeds, it doesn't matter to K'. K''s only concern is with snaring whatever of Kyo's chest armor he possibly can, dragging him even further off-balance and trying to slam a debilitating blow just between the shoulderblades: one hard enough to take Kyo off his feet, if he isn't off them -already-.
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures K''s Spot Pile.
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K' 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo fails to counter Fierce Strike from Billy with Random Weapon.
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K' 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
Suddenly, Kyo is once again beset by two foes! This puts him in kind of an awkward situation. When K' comes up behind him, Kyo doesn't even try to avoid the clone's attack, letting himself get caught and taking the elbow strike between his shoulderblades, letting it drive him down... But he doesn't /quite/ fall, catching himself with one hand.
This is where things get extra hairy, because Billy is trying to headbutt the crap right out of him. It's possible that Kyo could avoid the telegraphed attack, but you know... Sometimes when you're as overconfident as the Kusanagi heir is wont to be, you take silly chances. Behold, then, as he gets caught a second time, this time by Billy, and his hand goes right for the hilt of the sword hanging at his side... But he can't draw it in time, instead getting hit in the face twice, with indeed enough force to send him flat on his back.
Kind of like Billy's sister.
Meanwhile, either in eerie coincidence or because they're good at what they do, the Trojan stuntmen seem to be getting driven back by the Myrmidons and Spartans. Is this the end of the sacred city of Ilios?!
Were Kane capable of telepathy, he'd be going nuts about now, but instead he stands there with a sort of utterly cocky and aloof expression, at the very least on par with what the true Kyo can put out. His sleek spear rests upon one shoulder, hand askew at his hip. The small line of blood dripping from a split above his eye is ignored; yeah, he headbutt Kyo that hard. "That all?" He sounds downright disappointed, but doesn't do anything immediately thereafter. Yet the mock battle rages on; The Spartans simply repelling, sandwiched between invading forces and taking many pretend casualties. But while Leonidas stands, the will of his people will not buckle!!
COMBATSYS: Billy focuses on his next action.
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K' 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
Even as the great fighters clash upon the battlefield, more violence wages in the background, in the shadow of the titans - but the clash of the three armies is by far eclipsed by the fight waging between their supreme generals. For this story is not about mere mortals, but about heroes...
...very pissed off heroes beating the utter crap out of each other in ways that make for good TV ratings.
That isn't to say there's /nothing/ going on in the background. Certainly, the armies are struggling furiously for survival. The Trojans breaking beneath the enemy, the Myrmidons rallying, the Spartans holding their ground.
So when one of the stuntment just stops moving, and simply /stands/ there...it's unusual.
But this one costumed figure is different from that of the other actors. Most of the brave souls fighting and screaming their lungs out are wearing ornate costumes, but few as elaborate as -this-. Despite the heat from the burning sun, beating down on the battlefield with incessant rays, this one figure is clad head-to-toe in leather and burnished metal. There is no hint of skin or flesh - solid boots, not sandals, cover its feet, and a heavily detailed mask is bolted to the curve of its helmet. That masks lifts, as it just watches, lowering its weapons. Staring up at the greater battle above.
And again... Kyo simply lets K' land a hit. K' can feel that prepared permissiveness strung through the Kusanagi heir the instant he snares a grip on the other's armor. Frustrated beyond rational belief at the allowance, K' recoils instantly from his attack like a snake withdrawing, circling back and brooding over his options as Kyo gets knocked right onto his back.
For once, instead of giving in to his usual desire to stomp Kyo's fallen body with a sort of petty vengefulness-- even hotheaded as he is now, he recognizes such a move as certain suicide-- he holds back, breathing steadily, his narrowed eyes watching the other two combatants. Billy's attention is obviously reserved solely for Kyo-- and while normally K' would have frothed and seethed at being so insultingly overlooked in favor of his superior 'brother,' now-- for whatever reason-- it doesn't seem to bother him.
It's probably because he's too busy staring fixedly at Kyo himself, cursing under his breath that he was robbed of a straightforward match with just the Kusanagi heir. No extras. No third parties. Just himself, Kyo, and a pure, unadulterated test of just how far he fell short from what he should have been...
With a deliberate sort of insolence, he gathers the Kusanagi fire planted so haphazardly beneath his skin right in front of the face of its rightful owner. A steady fire coils down his arms, the line of his shoulders, winding about his wrists: subtle, hardly ostentatious like the flare of pure power that Kyo can summon... but nonetheless, extant.
COMBATSYS: K' gathers his will.
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K' 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
That whole thing could've gone a lot better, you know? A whole lot better. But with the other two fighters choosing not to attack him while he's down, Kyo rolls a bit - clattering metallically as he goes - and then pushes himself up with his shield to get back to his feet, hunkering down a bit as he looks from K' to Billy and back again. His confidence doesn't seem particularly damaged or anything though, from the look on his face, a fixed expression melting back into his usual faint smirk.
"So we're just gonna stand around staring at each other now?" Kyo wonders, shaking his head. With a snap of his fingers, he sets a spark to light, sweeping his free hand through the air... And releasing a seed of flame towards the ground, where it springs to life in a small patch of flames that courses over the mountainside towards Billy, in defiance of physics and common sense. "Bo-ring!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Billy with Yami Barai.
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K' 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
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K' 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Billy
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
Well, Kyo's fire hurts a bit more then K', yet not to as large an extent as anticipated! Which really just goes to show how potent the experiment is, since it hurts like all hell. His feet erupt into flames, blowing upwards and searing his fire, buckles cracking and metal warping. He begins to go "Owowowowow!" while tearing off the breastplate and letting it drop on the ground, whereupon it sizzles. Dancing foot to foot, he narrows his eyes. "That's it... Now it's personal...!!" Twirling his staff, it's finally used in a non-violating fashion. Thrusting it out, all three segments detaching to reveal the flickering chain within. Only it's about a meter from actually hitting the Kusanagi; Instead rocketing out to impale K' in the stomach. "Psyche!" is called, trying to channel a sudden flash of napalm-like chi to swathe over the pseudo Kusanagi, while yanking back his weapon with hopefully bloody consequences! "We can't be having a reject win... Lemme just even the playing field real quick!!"
COMBATSYS: Billy successfully hits K' with Blazing Cane Thrust.
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K' 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Billy
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
Fixated on Kyo, K' doesn't see the trajectory of that attack against him until it's too late. It had certainly looked like it was heading for Kyo again at first, which is why K' had been so quick to dismiss it-- and the sudden realization that it's actually a few feet -off- comes too late for K' to do anything but hiss a sharp breath, turn, and try not to get blasted.
But unfortunately, he reacted about two seconds too late to succeed in any guard he wanted to erect against that vicious attack. The staff section sinks deep, tearing easily into the experiment with a blast of searing chi, and with a bitten-back grunt of pain and surprise, K' half-skids, half-reels back a few unsteady steps. His stance eventually stills, widening to brace him upright, and for a few moments he fails to move entirely.
Normally, the bulk of K''s rage would be channeled entirely towards Kyo. Nothing anyone else could do or say could wrench his obsessive, focused anger and fucked-up need to prove himself away from the Kusanagi heir he was meant to emulate. But there are always exceptions to every rule, and Billy just found his way into one of them. He called K' something you never really want to call K' unless you're prepared to have the full weight of that obsessive, violent hate fall on you.
Something extraordinary happens. K''s malevolent yellow eyes tear -off- Kyo, and resettle on Billy Kane. Narrowing with a violent sort of intent focus, his eyes lock with Kane's; his peripheral vision reading every last movement from the former King of Fighters. "...-what- did you call me." Man, even Kyo hasn't said anything -that- bad (yet).
COMBATSYS: K' focuses on his next action.
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K' 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Billy
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
Further down the battlefield, that one stuntman who just /stopped moving/ sets his spear in the ground, resting the endcap of the long weapon in the Grecian soil.
Oiled leather shifts as the strange creature pauses on the slope of the mountain, raising its head to look at the greater war above - an island of stillness amidst the milling human bodies. It makes a small movement, shifting the hardened wood of the shield hanging off one arm - an arm that apparently bears wickedly serrated talons instead of human fingers. This doesn't seem to hurt the motion of the arm, though, as it raises the shield - and the camera lens built into it, focusing the eye of the world upon the main contenders.
A cameraman, then, simply situated among the soldiers. That doesn't explain the full body costume, though, or the odd mask attached to the helmet. It's a strange mask. Anachronistic for this time and place. The rest of the costume is the appropriate burnished metals and crafted leathers, fanciful but not inappropriate for Classical Greece. The mask, though, is one that would be more at home among the Gladiators of Rome - or perhaps even further afield, for the curve of the eyes and grotesquely twisted mouth and nose are more akin to the death-masks of Egyptian princes or Japanese oni...
But that aside, the camera is zooming in. This is too good to miss, after all.
It looks like this might turn into a titanic struggle between K' and Billy now, of all things; poor Kyo is now forgotten by the wayside, except as a part of Billy's clever diversional tactic! So 'Hector' backs up a bit as Billy takes it to the NESTS-engineered fighter, Greeks turning on Greeks, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. He keeps backing up as it seems the /other/ former King of Fighters manages to raise the ire of K' with a poorly-chosen word, and it seems like Kusanagi is maneuvering himself into a better position, or maybe just planning to, opportunistically, let the others fight themselves out before sneaking in for the win.
But the point is that as Kyo moves back the warring stuntmen carefully avoid him, moving out of his way, except, probably, for one. Which is why once Kyo finishes moving backwards downslope, and turns to speak over his shoulder when he notices someone else standing there: "Man, the kid looks pretty angry, doesn't he?" is what Kyo says, but there's only one 'stuntman' he could be talking to, the funny-masked one.
Not that Kyo notices, since his attention is fixed on K' and Billy.
COMBATSYS: Kyo focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
K' 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Billy
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-------/=======|
The masked figure does something to the back of his wooden shield. There's a glint of light, reflecting off the camera lens, as the angle changes - virtually impossible to see from where the fighters are, but indicating a zooming in all the same...framing Kyo's visage as he makes his quip to the viewers at home.
Behind the mask, the camera-wielder in the strange costume...begins to laugh. The sepulchural sound emerges from inside the helmet, filtering through the ornate mask, echoing as from a great distance.
Either person is simply observed by Billy, who taps his staff against a shoulder while frowning deeply. K' initially receives attention, the expression seeming to hint that ole Leonidas thinks the experiment to be slow in the head. "Hmm. What's a tasteful way of calling you a weak poser? I know you, chump. I respect Kyo here about as far as I can throw his girlfriend, and that ain't much, but you'll never be in our league. Just be happy Geese tossed you in for shits and giggles, pretend to be dead, and maybe you'll last into the final inning." A big clout of dust is then kicked in K's direction, caught in the wind to blow towards him. Thereafter, he looks back to Kyo. "And weren't you the one mocking us for standing around?! Get over here...!!" He then rushes towards the younger man, twirling his staff before thrusting the dull end towards Kyo's throat; Trying to pelt him dead on -- luckily not with the blade -- and try to lift him into the air. So he can strangle him with a cackle, before snapping him down to faceplant.
K' continues to stare at Billy as if uncomprehending, yellow eyes fixed in an unadulterated rage that only ticks higher the longer Billy talks. By this time Billy has managed the impossible-- he's managed to tear aggro completely off Kyo and onto himself. Singleminded and fixated as ever, it's Kyo's turn to be completely forgotten by his boy; certainly a highly, highly unusual occurrence. Kusanagi might want to take this moment to treasure not being at the top of K''s list, for once in his life.
K' knows on a clinical level it's just bluster. But he simply isn't wired to just shrug it off. He's too emotional. It looks like Billy touched a serious nerve when he brought up the issue of K''s ability ceiling-- because K' himself has no idea where he'll cap off, and he's afraid, very afraid, that this really -is- it.
The young experiment's expression twitches minutely as the kicked-up dust drifts past him. Then, it tics again. At first it looks like it's heading towards a scowl, but with time what really comes out is just a convulsive sort of fierce, mocking smile... the sort of snarling grin that an animal would give instants before it lunges to bite. The expression is completely lacking in either humor, warmth, or human quality. It isn't any sort of sentient look a man would wear. It's just a warning bare of teeth.
Shaking dust out of his hair, his head dips thereafter in clear threat, the boy so tensely wound tight he seems on the verge of vibrating in sheer rage. He did ask a question. He got an answer. "Huh. My mistake," he eventually shrugs, that maddened look still sharp in his eyes even if his voice stays deceptively level. "I thought you might have something to say worth hearing."
His gaze tracks Billy as the old King of Fighters suddenly breaks and bolts at Kyo. For a moment, he almost calms enough to manage a dispassionate look; but soon enough, it becomes clear that was just an instant of concentration. Made reckless with anger, K' lunges straight for Kane: his execution sloppier than usual, motions wide and furious with rage. Absent his usual art, he simply tries to tear into Billy as long and hard as possible, savaging at him with a violent burst of barely-controlled fire: attacking wildly, as if hitting Billy could relieve the doubt that's sprung up in the back of his mind.
COMBATSYS: Kyo fails to counter Hell Drop from Billy with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Billy
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-----==/=======|
"Uh... Yeah, it wasn't that clever," Kyo admits at the sudden CREEPY LAUGHTER coming from the individual he spoke to. This is, unfortunately, a distraction, as he turns to look over at the mysterious masked figure, brows furrowing. And /then/, yes /right then/, he notices the black treachery on the part of Billy Kane. And, once again, Kyo makes a tiny bit of a miscalculation.
He reaches to try and grab Billy's staff, but the latter fighter manages to power right through Kyo's grip, and so the Kusanagi heir gets taken right off the ground by the crazy strangling staff attack, and then smashed facefirst into the ground.
This could be going better.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Billy with Chain Drive.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/----===|=======\=======\1 Billy
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-----==/=======|
The Kusanagi is handily dealt with. Hah! That's for World Warrior! Now everyone can see he's on the same level! Maybe his superior acrobatics and spear have something to do with it, or maybe Kyo just doesn't care. Really, it's like finding 20 dollars on the ground. You don't care if someone lost it, or the situations surrounding it, you just care that you got it, and it's awesome. That is what punching Kyo in the face is like. However, it seems K' has taken things personally, the former King of Fighter turning far too late and taking the impact dead on. The incredible onslaught begins without any hint of trying to dodge, but there's no doubt he didn't want to get his ass thoroughly whipped. At the finale he stumbles backwards, but all hope of remaining standing drains when he collapses and doubles forward, grasping his spear with white knuckles and cupping broken ribs with the other. He pants, blood dripping from his face, what armor remaining shattered and dented, searing fist prints in exposed flesh.
But then he looks up, wild eyes manic and grin returning to his face. Not of masochism, but satisfaction. "...that it? ...can't even... take me out?!" With an arduous shrug he gets back to his feet, and heat suddenly erupts around him. He snaps back his spear, and it erupts into myriad segments. "If that's your ace in the hole... here's mine!!!" More bloom, until a rippling stream of segments flows behind, blowing away all three armies that stray near. His body goes rigid as in a flash of chi, it all erupts into a hissing stream of fire.
"I'll do what you can't, chump... See what a King of Fighter can do... I'LL FINISH KUSANAGI OFF!!"
Oh dear.
With that, Billy turns and swings a vicious underhand, tearing a huge swathe of ground away as he tries to slam Kyo into the air. Inverting it and going overhead thereafter, to begin swinging the massive amalgamation of weapons many times like a giant flyswatter, the force so extreme he temporarily ascends into the air; And the final slam creates a huge geyser of fire, blowing every mundane person within a few meters clean on their asses. Then he lands, the weapon retracting in a snap.
Aw yeah. That was way cooler.
COMBATSYS: Billy successfully hits Kyo with Salamander Stream.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Billy
[ <
Kyo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Really, this time Kyo barely even gets a chance to recover before he gets attacked again; Billy's ferocious attack blasts right through his guard, knocking him into the air then smashing him down with what seems like a whole ton of three-section staves and also a freaking explosion. It seems history is repeating itself here, because Hector just got his butt whooped by the Greeks.
But this time, Hector has a last word for them.
"Ha ha ha," Kyo laughs, getting slowly to his feet, stumbling a bit on the way there. He's hurting, and it's pretty bad: Billy is no slouch, after all. For the moment, the creepy laughing mask guy is largely forgotten, the Kusanagi heir's focus is instead on something else entirely as he raises his right hand, flames springing to life in his palm.
And then, Kyo takes a stumbling step forward, sweeping his arm out and throwing the flames ahead of him, which rapidly expands into a furious, hellish storm that seeks to engulf Billy and K' both, as well as scorching a large swath of the mountain's slope.
Good thing the stuntmen are all BEHIND him.
COMBATSYS: Kyo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Billy 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 K'
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Billy with Orochinagi'.
[ < > /////////////// ]
Billy 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 K'
Ouch. Well, Billy knows the biggest gap he has with Kyo is that damn Orochinagi; adaptability only goes so far against a god killing technique. But he made his point. He beat Kyo and K' didn't; No matter the outcome that won't change. There was a token attempt to evade the flash of fire, which fails; he's launched backwards, utterly entombed and skidding away. Yet he pushes back to his feet, scorched black in many places. "...Not letting... the reject win...!!" he roars once more, spinning his staff blindly. Both ends pinwheel into fire in tandem, swirling into a vortex that barely has cohesion before being flung towards K'. The recoil is too much, sending the King of Fighter already on the precipice of conscious flying backwards, spear leaving his hand as he hits his head on a discarded codpiece and blacks out. Ouch!
COMBATSYS: Billy can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Billy successfully hits K' with Blazing Whirlwind Cane.
[ \\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Kyo's Orochinagi'.
[ \\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/=======|
Reeling to a halt in the wake of his exhausting attack on Billy, each heavily-winded pant edged with an infuriated growl, K' looks like he still has a good deal of bad mood he wants to take out on the former King of Fighters. Unfortunately, momentarily out of breath that he is, Billy manages to get himself out of range before K' can attack him again. His mistake, however, was in getting K' even angrier with that remarkably effective taunt.
K' tries to tell himself it doesn't matter Billy gets the shot at Kyo here. Gritting his teeth, letting his head dip in exhaustion-- physical and emotional alike-- he tells himself it wouldn't have had any meaning even if he -had- managed to be the one to finish Kyo. With a third person in the mix... it's too unpredictable, it just doesn't mean anything. But it still stings, especially since he's forced to watch it happen while rooted to the spot, tired and immobile: too weak to do it himself.
No, even after all these months, he still doesn't have a strength that can match Kyo's sheer force.
But it seems if the past few months have done anything for him, it's to give him the wherewithal to at least -survive- Kyo. That last gasp of energy-- and painful past experience-- lets him exercise that most fundamental of human instincts, self-preservation, in anticipation of what will happen next. The instant K' feels Kyo's fire surge, his own blood responds painfully. He knows what's coming next, he got hit with it once already, and that knowledge is part of what helps him just -throw- himself out of the way in time to escape the seething roar of fire.
Tumbling ungracefully to a stop off to one side, K' rolls dazedly back upright just in time to get Billy's flung staff right in the face. It knocks him right back down again, and this time K' takes a lot longer to sit up. Nonetheless, after a while, he does, looking a little too dizzied to properly register what it was Billy -said- about him just before he flung his lethal projectile. Which is just as well, because at this point K' barely has the energy to even be angry or bitter anymore, amazing as that is.
Sadly, this also means he doesn't have the strength to stand up, get in a chariot, and drag Kyo's body around in a wide circle three times, but it's doubtful SNF would permit that level of faithfulness to the script.
Would they? You never know. The SNF people are an odd bunch indeed.
Case in point.
Far in the background, amidst the swirling chaos of the staged battle, the one solitary figure watching the main fight...the one figure in the strange masked costume...chuckles darkly. The camera held in his shield, trained upon the battle, swings away.
"Kweh-he-he," the figure cackles, shoulders shaking, "and so the heroes fall, fall, fall...as the eye of the world watches...all proceeds...according to plan."
Around the figure, a few of the other renactors begin to pause, shooting the strange spectre odd glances. They receive an admonishing glare, and a dismissive flick of talon-clad fingers - the message clear: back to work.
The match may be over, but there's still a war to be fought, after all.
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:22:15 02/16/2008 by K', and last modified on 16:28:16 02/19/2008.