Description: Stasya, Cherise, and Kiyoko find themselves facing a truly unusual set of stipulations in this SNF match: held, suspiciously enough, in a long and windowless corridor. To win, all Stasya needs to do is throw one strike at Kiyoko... but she must first get past Cherise, who is assisted by Kiyoko herself. (Winner: Stasya)
COMBATSYS: Stasya has started a fight here.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Cherise has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherise
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherise
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Kiyoko 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Oh my god what is this place? It looked like a warehouse on the outside, but on the inside it was completely different. Oddly tiled walls, cameras that seemed to stare at you and follow you around placed everywhere. Textured glass with god knows who standing way up there and watching everyone down below.
The specific location is a long, tall, very thin hallway. On one end is Stasya, and on the other end is Cherise and Kiyoko, the latter of the pair standing behind the older Frenchwoman. In her hand is a long, gray and electrified device normally used for herding cattle. Perhaps a crude person would comment that Stasya doesn't look like a cow, and an even cruder one might say that she does. But for her sake Kiyoko is simply standing there looking addled. She's supposed to be /protected/ by someone who she knows very much enjoys hearing her scream in pain. This... this cannot end well! "I can't believe this. How is this supposed to be a real tournament fight? I've seen some crazy things on TV before but this really takes the cake." A whirring camera seems to zoom in on her as she speaks those final words, and without noticing it a shiver goes up her spine. "This place creeps me out..."
It creeps Stasya out, too. -More- than that, really; it frightens her. The girl had been adamant with her parents about getting back into the fighting circuit and continuing to refine her control over her weird energy, but now she's beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea to do it in SNF after all. The events are usually fairly tame, but this-- the stipulations of the match, the weird location full of cameras and locked doors, the -cattle prod-...
...it's all starting to make Stasya extremely uneasy. The prod, in particular, reminds her of how she was treated a mere few months ago. The girl just escaped kidnapping and death: being locked up again in a facility isn't her idea of fun or safe. Pulling nervously at the fingerless gloves guarding her hands, the blonde resolves that the instant the match is over, she's leaving. Even if she does manage to win, she doesn't want to stick around here after what's happened to her in the past.
Sighing out a long breath, Stasya steels herself and starts to edge down the long corridor towards her opponents. She's still a bit too far distant for easy speech, but already her empathic senses are reaching ahead of her: trying to discern anything about how the other participants might be feeling in this grim and desolate place.
The girl walks past a camera, trying not to stare at it. It whirs in polite interest as it swivels to follow her progress.
Those were odd walls, weren't they? And the cameras that stared at you like one of the portraits in the creepy old houses you see on the TV ghost shows with people going on and on about 'the orbs, man' and the other nonsense. And the crazy French girl standing in that hallway, her back slumped against the right-hand wall-- her right-- and with one hand dangled at her side, her fingers drumming at a high-speed, rhythmic pace like she were playing some sort of a song.
Certainly catchy enough of a beat.
But her attention isn't on Kiyoko at all, not listening to what she's saying or listening to any odd noises that may sound out, not even paying attention to the cattle prod the girl's got in her hand, no: With eyes a little wide and her grin pulling into a wider and wider smile, her expression becoming almost a crazed leer, Cherise Bouchard's attention is purely on Stasya.
Cherise is a little more decorated than usual for this appearance-- sure, she's wearing her usual short dress and boots, but she's added a heavy belt around her waist with a pouch set at either hip, a small bit of metal poking out of either side. Paying no mind to anything else in the hall, the thickly-accented silver-haired girl opens her mouth to speak: "I'm going to want to play with you so much more, later~!"
Kiyoko is feeling uneasy, worried, and conflicted. Probably nothing unexpected in a situation like that one, though perhaps a bit so since she's not supposed to be a heavy target today. At least not until Stasya gets through Cherise, if she can. The voice of the Frenchwoman brings other emotions up: lingering fear and a mild aftertaste of disgust.
"Yeah, play... Um, I know I'm not on your side here, but be careful, okay? She's painful to fight." No, she didn't say hard or difficult. She said painful, and for a reason. The purple haired youth gives a light shake of her head, "I guess I can't go easy on you though! I wouldn't want to make a bad show of it or let anyone down." She wields the prod dramatically, and then nearly drops it, the shocking end nearly brushing into Cherise's arm on the way down, "S-sorry!" Now she's feeling embarrassed.
Stasya's grey eyes travel towards Kiyoko as the girl addresses her nervously. Absently twirling a few strands of hair around her fingers with an equal nervousness, she inclines her head slowly. "I'll... keep that in mind," she nods at Kiyoko, looking a little pale at the news, but trying to crack a bit of a wan smile; it's clear the surroundings are affecting her to a degree where she can't really feel at ease enough to act as she naturally would.
It helps that she can literally -feel- Cherise leering at her, in her empathic senses. What her senses are also telling her is that the girl is ... likely very crazy. There is a weird blend of restlessness and joy and crazed bloodlust in her that mingles into one very disturbing signature. One which Stasya is becoming more and more unsettled by as time passes.
Well... she's got to make the best of this, somehow. Whoever's running this wouldn't allow anyone to die, would they? Trying not to think about the answer to that question, Stasya tries to shake off her disquiet (a difficult task, given her empathy and the fact she's picking up on the nervousness of everyone else within a decent radius) and focus on Cherise.
"I am hoping you don't mean 'play' in THAT way," she finally manages to quip, a little wryly, before the start of the match is called and she flits into motion. Pushing off once she gets close enough, the girl's lithe body leaves the ground: her leading leg snapping abruptly back to lend a little more momentum to her rear leg, as it lashes forwards in a snapping kick. A sharp edge of abrupt red energy veils the strike in the last moments before impact. The energy might look and feel a little familiar to Cherise: after all, there's someone else she knows who uses red psi.
COMBATSYS: Cherise endures Stasya's Medium Kick.
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Stasya 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
The strange girl doesn't mind the conversation going back and forth between the two girls while they prepare, but once Stasya starts to draw close enough? Then Cherise steps off the wall and moves to advance. Stasya's speed is something she didn't expect-- nor the strength of the attack coming in at her. Still, she manages to shift into a defensive stance-- one that, ultimately, shatters the moment the leg comes in. The moment that energy -swells-.
Now it's as if those bright blue eyes could see right into the Russian's soul.
Cherise's head whips hard to the side as a result of the kick, but her footing entirely remains. With her head lashed aside, a noise starts to bubble up and out of her throat:
"Heheheh. Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha~!"
Twisting on the balls of her feet, her right arm hooks low and lashes outward, hooking upward with an upturned palm. From the tips of her fingers extend blades of silver, thin as paper and a blurry afterimage left in their wake. At such close range, the projectile doesn't have all that far to go, but ... should it strike Stasya, she'll know it-- she'll know it from the similar energy, and that this power is acutely trained-- trained so that it will literally cut through clothing and skin all the same on a hell-bent path to dealing as much damage as possible.
"Superb!!"
And as Stasya and Cherise move together and join the fight in earnest Kiyoko is left standing behind the gray haired woman with a cattle prod. There's... there's really not much she can do! She can swing the damn thing at Stasya as she comes in to kick Cherise, but she's so damn clumsy with the thing that the best she'll be able to manage is random stabs. And from the raw power of the hit she just laid on her 'partner'? That might not be the best thing.
Now if she could do as Cherise was doing and hop into the air and send a secondary blast of energy towards Stasya to give her an even harder time, she'd do it in a second. But right now she's not feeling confident in her abilities. Luckily she doesn't /have/ to swing the damn thing at Stasya if she really doesn't want to. And there is a tiny part of her that's rooting for the Russian against the uncouth teen she's facing down... so for now? For now she's going scoot up behind Cherise and hold the cattleprod over her shoulder, interposing it between the two. "Stay back! Stay back or I'll stick ya'!" To emphasize her point and make herself seem menacing she taps the prod against a wall, a nasty electric jolt sparking and repelling it away. She waggles it in Stasya's face. ...menacingly!
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko assists Cherise.
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Stasya 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
COMBATSYS: Stasya blocks Cherise's Argent Claw.
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Stasya 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Stasya's strike hits home, as she knew it would based off the stipulations of the match... and Cherise's response? Unsettles the girl to no end. Backing away once that surge of amusement and -joy- rushes through her opponent, Stasya's eyes narrow. Her expression twitches its way towards a frown, the girl attempting to consider her opponent clinically: not knowing how else to take Cherise's evident enjoyment of the pain. "Y...you're enjoying it," she notes of Cherise, sounding mystified: and from her tone it's clear she means the pain in specific. Not the fight.
But now, she's got a pair of attacks coming right back at her to contend with. Or at least, Cherise's is an attack: Kiyoko, she soon realizes, is just trying to run interference. Scooting back as Kiyoko brandishes the prod at her, the girl switches her attention just in time to bring up her arms in a guard against Cherise's attack. The painful energy lashes against her forearms, but the pain is soon outweighed by surprise. This girl uses the same energy as her...?
She isn't given much time to ruminate over it-- or over the weird connection that flashed between the pair, glimmering briefly in Stasya's mind-- as their energies met. Cherise may use the same power as she does, but Stasya isn't too sure the girl is someone she necessarily wants to go too in-depth in interactions with.
Eyes narrowing, the girl abruptly lunges back forwards. Psi sparks along her hands and arms, spiking out sharply with an unpromising *shing!*, and she attempts to thrust one arm straight forwards towards Cherise's center: that keen psi focusing down her arm and lancing abruptly forwards towards the other girl.
COMBATSYS: Cherise interrupts Halteclere from Stasya with Argent Striker.
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Stasya 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
It's hard to say why exactly she is the way she is. At least, from the outside! Cherise barely recognizes it for herself, ultimately leading to the French girl being taken in and learning what she does know. And what her "father" would say should he ever find out that his little prodigy is using the skills she learned for something as menial as prizefighting!
With her energy struck and guarded against in such a way, only the lull of laughter is the sign she's exerted herself at all. It comes back up in full force as the 'blade' of psychic energy lances toward her, as the fist impacts with her stomach. As the energy lances through her, in that moment, Cherise whips her arm in the air in a smooth arc just over Stasya's wrist. She might feel the sudden pressure on that wrist.
"A-Ah... s-so very much~."
And then with a fierce thrust of her leg, she drives her boot into Stasya's stomach to push her back down the hall a bit. Cherise only tugs hard on the thin air next-- the thin air that shows a wire running from her grasp to around the Russian student's wrist. And then she lunges forward while pulling Stasya in, her fist thrusting forward to drive knuckles in against tender, exposed ribs-- and release a violent burst of psychic force that could rightly knock the girl back -again-.
With a sharper tug and a snap of her wrist, the wire frees itself from the Gedo student, as if the most subtle of gestures could animate it to her will. "More..."
Whether or not Kiyoko's interference had anything at all to do with Cherise's success is up for anyone to decide. Maybe those ever watching cameras will be able to figure it out in the stop-motion frame-by-frame replays they're no doubt capable of, but that's of no use to those standing and fighting at the moment.
One thing is certain, however. Stasya did not stay back. She moved forward and attacked. Even of Cherise managed to turn the situation to her advantage it doesn't matter. Even if Kiyoko's threat was more intended to rattle than anything else she has to back it up, doesn't she? Her brows furrow just a slight bit, and then a resolute look forms over her face. "I warned you!"
With a sudden ferocity that seems improbable Kiyoko moves right up behind Cherise, nearly touching for need of reach, holds that cattle prod by the back and then jabs it forward like an improperly held spear. The tip hums with electricity as the surprisingly powerful stab is made, Kiyoko letting out a harsh, "Yahhhh!"
COMBATSYS: Stasya dodges Kiyoko's Random Strike.
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Stasya 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
In getting close, Stasya opens herself up far too much to Cherise's well-timed return assault. It's a mistake, she thinks, she'll have to remember to correct in the future. But for the time being... Stasya experiences a whole lot of pain.
Laughing all the while, the other girl purrs her approval as Stasya's psi starts to connect, scything deep; and then Cherise abruptly attacks, battering the Russian girl back and forth like a yo-yo. Cherise strikes her back once, Stasya stumbling away before she can regain balance-- and then abruptly she finds herself reeled in again, only to be hit yet again with a burst of psi.
A little unsteady on her feet after that, Stasya keeps her distance: slightly doubled and trying to catch her breath. Her narrowed eyes try to track the wire as it reels back in. Her senses remain alert, and a sudden spike of aggression alerts her to activity from Kiyoko. The other girl's warning actually, ironically, helps Stasya get her bearings as to what angle Kiyoko is attacking from, too: enough that she can twist to one side as the prod snaps forward, crackling menacingly with electricity.
Completing her twist to take her further away from Kiyoko, the girl doubles back on Cherise with the sort of quiet grimness that accompanies realization that she'll be -hurt- if she doesn't focus. She turns back towards Cherise in a rapid spin, building momentum and closing the distance, and once she's facing Cherise again she tries to ram her shoulder into the other's center of gravity and get a good grip with her hands. Should she manage, she'll twist and throw Cherise over her shoulder, the joint abruptly -spiking- with pointed, outward-impaling psi as the other girl's body pivots over it.
COMBATSYS: Cherise interrupts Laevateinn from Stasya with Vital Striker.
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Stasya 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Cherise just ... laughs.
The whole thing is beyond amusing for her, on multiple, painful levels. Advancing a bit, walking forward at a slow pace, trying to get a good close-up bead on Stasya in the tight confines of their hallway, the French assassin brings up her arm and twists a bit at the side, trying to give the striking Kiyoko a bit more room while she manuvers the cattle prod around. The angry electric weapon... it reminds her of the day her father tried to wake her up with a taser.
Stasya's closed the gap herself this time, shoulder-tackled and stuck with a fierce grip. As she's lifted into the air, as the spike of psychic energy blasts through her, Stasya may find that suddenly...
She stopped.
Gripping hard onto the back of Stasya's collar after lifted, her legs thrust forward as if she were sitting with her ass right up in the air, half-locked around the Russian girl with sturdy legs alone.
"More."
And then her elbow drives back, planting into the back of Stasya's head. Much like the attack she was using on Cherise, a bolt of psychic force jolts out from the point of contact, this time straight into her head.
Pushing herself off a bit, Cherise lands on the balls of her feet, throwing a swift punch very low at the blonde's gut, a similar bolt of energy bursting out of her fist. Next is a stiff kidney shot, then an uppercutting blow to the solar plexus. To round it all off, both hands thrust out while she tries to grab Stasya's chest and -shove- her into the wall, leaning in close. Standing in a way that's almost complete face-to-face contact with the student, her wide eyes have a strange sense of calm and serenity, and the smile's even left her face... almost as if, ... she's disappointed, in a way? She whispers:
"More like this."
Whipping her arm around, she issues a stiff chop to the side of the neck-- burst of energy included-- and ends by thrusting out her palm again at Stasya's chest, driving a final, exacting blow into the girl's body.
And then she steps back, back in front of her so-called 'ward.'
Kiyoko's hard, crazy attack with the cattle prod misses wildly as Stasya slips out of the way. Well, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? She can't just sit back and do /nothing/. But actually, Kiyoko doesn't feel /bad/ about missing Stasya. No, in fact the fact that she missed is actually a little easier on her conscience as Cheriese out and out brutalizes teenager. Throughout the whole ordeal the student of Justice High can only stand and watch with a slack jaw as the attempt at smashing her into the ground goes so very, very wrong.
"Oh man, I have to try and hit her now, don't I?" This isn't like the match where Cherise fought her. In that match Cherise was attacking /both/ fighters. Here is what seems to be an even fight, and Kiyoko trying to cattle prod someone fighting a sadomasochist. Maybe she wouldn't have so much empathy for Stasya if she couldn't easily see herself on the other end of this. It's almost enough to make you want to turn tail, forfeit the match and then run off. But she can't do that, because she must do what she's here to do. Cherise is back in front of her, Stasya was just beaten on hardcore... and now Kiyoko leans forward and sends a fast stab with the prod at her, aiming for a leg.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko successfully hits Stasya with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Stasya 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Painful indeed. Stasya can sense what's going on under Cherise's psychotic exterior, and it's freaking her out to a point where she's finding it hard to concentrate properly. Particularly in their surroundings. In an attempt, perhaps, to get Cherise away from her, she slams into the girl, twists around her, and then tries a sharp (literally) throw: perhaps even hoping to drive Kiyoko back as well by slinging Cherise at her. The plan is fairly sound, but it doesn't quite work out. The reason?
Cherise has locked on. The realization hits Stasya at about the same time those stabbing strikes lance into some of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. A choked-off -scream- actually escapes the normally composed girl as the psionic force pierces straight into the back of her head; in large part because the mundane, physical pain is only part of the agony. For Cherise's psychic energy to invade so close to the seat of Stasya's own created a whole other class of pain... and disturbance.
Forced against the wall, Stasya's shocked grey eyes regard Cherise for the space of an instant. It's the insinuation of disappointment more than anything that gets at Stasya's temper, and her eyes abruptly narrow: the challenge leveled. 'More like this.'
Sent stumbling back again in the wake of Cherise's spurning final attack, the girl ends up tagged by Kiyoko as well. The prod is more an irritation than anything, a momentary shock of electric damage-- but in its wake, the panting girl does nothing further. Has she been deterred? Is she afraid to attack Cherise again? Afraid of the girl herself?
The answer comes, soon enough, when the blonde abruptly throws herself -forward- at Cherise. A haze of red trails her as she arrows in, the energy coalescing into those by-now familiar psionic blades riddling her skin like a glowing armament of impaling spikes. With a psi-laced leg, the girl tries to slam a sharp kick up into Cherise's jaw... to then reverse and drop her heel across her face... and then, to execute a full backflip, soundly kicking Cherise clear into the air on the way.
COMBATSYS: Cherise endures Stasya's Khanjali.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Stasya 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Now that Stasya's been pressed physically and mentally, pushed back by the furious assault thrown at her, Cherise has a scant few half-seconds to piece together the next part of the puzzle. The expression lingers on her face, the lack of the leering smile and the large eyes without all that much myrth. Why be overjoyed? Why let her relish in it? The more harsh lesson will get better results, as much as she'd like to think or not.
When Stasya comes charging in, the French wire-slinger's posture shifts, changing positions and spreading her legs wide-- getting a good center of gravity before the first kick rips her head straight back, recovering only to get the downward axe. On the final kick, she launches into the air.
What Stasya likely doesn't plan on is her landing: Bending backwards while in flight, Cherise's flexibility is put on display for the cameras, her partner, and the Gedo student. Her hands reach back and her body goes loose, barely clearing the ceiling and nearly landing on her partner in the process-- but all the same, landing in a tripod stance, her other hand slowly raising to her face. The back of her hand drags along her cheek, where that powerful heel, psychic-laced as it was, impacted, and the scuff of skin peeled off with it.
"Ahn, so much better..." she says, licking blood off her hand. "I think you should see this."
And then her arm rears back, the wire she wields becoming visible for a scant moment-- a loose line that swishes the air just beyond Kiyoko's head, reeling out to a good length. Cherise's arm is suddenly directed forward, her hand making only a single gesture:
Pointing, at Stasya.
The metallic weight at the end of the wire and the sudden lurch of forward movement causes a barely-audible 'crack' like a whip, the length of sturdy wire -screaming- forward at high speed. It doesn't travel as a whip would, however... strangely, it travels on a straight-forward course towards Stasya, trying to blow past the girl's throat like some sort of insane bullet. With a gentle flick of her wrist, the wire inexplicably curves hard, trying to whip around and ensnare Stasya's throat... in time for Cherise to -yank-.
COMBATSYS: Cherise successfully hits Stasya with Argent Sniper.
[ \\\\\\ < > //// ]
Stasya 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
With the initial pull of the wire, it becomes clear very fast that Cherise knows full well what she's doing with this wire. The dexterous movements are followed by Cherise thrusting her left foot forward, pulling the length across her chest and gripping it tightly with both hands. Then her left hand, the one closer to Stasya, shifts-- and then she plucks the wire like she were playing some sort of instrument. But in this case, there's no note that comes out-- only a burst of silver energy crackling down the length of the wire to directly blast Stasya in the face and throat.
The process repeats, constantly, painfully. Burst, burst, burst, burst, burst...
And then finally she drops herself down to one knee and -yanks-, trying to rip the Russian down to her knees before one last violent burst of energy streams up to blast the girl in the face and send her flying-- free of the strangulation and free of further flares of psychic force on that hellish wire.
Standing tall again, Cherise whips her arm back just a bit, subtle flicks of her wrist sending the wire spooling back towards the bracelet dangling around her wrist.
And then, with her leer having returned, she speaks: "I like you. What is your name?" She doesn't take the Russian girl's throat or her ability to talk into consideration. Why bother? She's clearly made of tougher stuff than that if she's -here-.
So the cattle prod actually found purchase that time! Kiyoko realizes that in the future she's really going to need to control her emotions better. Having second thoughts and regrets about even fighting because this might be unfair doesn't make sense on SNF. Sometimes it's not /supposed/ to be fair. But how fair the fight may or may not be is quickly called into question as Stasya pulls out all the stops and tears into Cherise, kicking her around soundly. And Cherise, Kiyoko can tell, is much worse for the wear. But not, it would seem, down and out.
The natural result is that her 'partner' goes after the Russian with equal ferocity. And as she does? Kiyoko has to figure out what she's going to do. Right now there's just nothing she can do to help Cherise indirectly... The problem here is that Stasya has been thrown completely out of what range she does have, given to her by the length of the cattle prod. So she instead lifts her hand and scratches her head a little, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko takes no action.
[ \\\\\\ < > //// ]
Stasya 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Cherise
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
'More like this,' Cherise says. And, stung by the insinuations laden in that vaguely-disappointed chide-- that she wasn't hitting hard enough, wasn't hitting -well- enough, just wasn't -good- enough despite what she's come through in the past few months-- Stasya abruptly lunged in and... pretty much went all-out on Cherise. Or did she? Perhaps there was something she could have brought to bear that would have struck even harder...
But that's neither here nor there. What is important for her to take note of now... is the retaliation that comes screaming at her. The girl, landing a little awkwardly after her attack and winded from the effort, doesn't have a chance to defend or escape the initial snare... and once the wire wraps about her throat, the successive bursts of energy that follow find no -physical- resistance as they slam into her with brutal force. And yet, in an effort to somehow dull or soften the edge of that assault, there is some psychic resistance there: a gathering of the copious psionic energy concentrated in Stasya's mind in order to defend her from being blasted into sheer insensibility.
Finally forced back by the psychic assault, Stasya gets sent skidding straight back down the long corridor, reeling and dazed with her mind swimming in pain. Her senses effectively shot by the psionic mauling, the constant feed of empathic information upon which she usually relies sputters and dims. Pulling herself back up, Stasya stares back down the hall at Cherise, pain pulsing in her mind... her senses now restricted to the mere mundane.
"I'm not sure I am comfortable with you liking me," she replies warily: she's wondering now, a little unsettled, if Cherise might go so far as to kill a person, seeing as she seems to be such a crazy sadomasochist. "...But you are good. I will give you that." She's quiet a moment, as she-- against her better judgment-- starts to close with the French girl again; if she can just finish this, they're sure to call the match and then she can go home...
Her name? "W...wasn't it on the card?" Stasya wonders, possibly stalling a bit out of reluctance to GIVE that name: and immediately thereafter, lunging forwards in an attempt to slam into Cherise, deftly trip her to the ground, and then emit a pointed blast of psi straight into the other girl's chest.
COMBATSYS: Cherise fails to interrupt Cortana from Stasya with Argent Striker.
[ \\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
COMBATSYS: Cherise can no longer fight.
[ \\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
"This is hardly a matter of if you like it or not. It is a simple statement of truth: I like you. It does not matter if you claim that you feel otherwise." And at that, she's staring at her fingernails more than Stasya, making sure they're still in order and presentable. This is, of course, almost like a joke in and of itself, what with the scarring on her fingers.
And then her head tilts, canting to a slight angle to regard the girl one more time. She recovered from the attack better than she had anticipated, the Frenchwoman notes, but it didn't have as much effect as she would have preferred it to. Why is that, she's left to wonder? She must be a little tougher and more resiliant to the energy than she had first assumed: After all, she uses the same stuff. ... Sort of.
Not that Cherise even realizes how tuned Stasya's senses are by comparison. "Was it? I didn't read it. I don't care to remember names unless I know they're better than guttertrash."
But then, much to Cherise Bouchard's joy, Stasya stands back up and gets right back on the proverbial horse. Charging in, even! Her arm comes right out, ready to ensnare Stasya's wrist as it comes in one more time-- but the fist impacts with her chest before the wire can alter the trajectory, before she can do much of anything about it.
With her eyes wider than they even normally are and her smile breaking halfway to genuine surprise and something rather close to ecstasy, Cherise twists hard to the side and slams into the wall. Her legs give out, and she only barely manages to keep herself up on one knee, breaths ragged and shallow:
"... Ahh... j-just like that..."
Of course, now Kiyoko's totally exposed.
And now the trouble has really begun for Kiyoko. Right before her very eyes Stasya moves quickly in to attack Cherise, this one finding purchase as her partner is tossed down and then blasted with energy. Kiyoko makes a little wince, waiting for Cherise to get up and fight back... only for her to rise only to a single knee. "Uh oh."
For all intents and purposes that's it, it's over! But... formalities! No, the fight isn't /really/ over until Stasya comes in and attacks her. That leaves only one option- she's got to try and /knock her out herself/! ...using a cattle prod. It really isn't Kiyoko's weapon of choice- she doesn't even have one of those. At first she backs off half a step, brandishing the shocking weapon and then suddenly throws all her weight forward, wielding the thing like a baseball bat and rushing forward, swinging it as hard as her arms can manage right at the Russians head! The past pain her opponent has gone through means nothing, she has to attack full force, with no regrets! "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
COMBATSYS: Stasya dodges Kiyoko's Deep Strike.
[ \\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
Disquieted, Stasya faces down Cherise quietly. Her statement had been made wryly-- she is of course aware that her opinion of Cherise's liking of her really doesn't matter-- but Cherise opts to take it literally. Perhaps it's because she's insane? Stasya isn't keen on questioning it too much, whatever the reason. Some part of her wonders if she should be flattered that she's liked... and then the rest of her-- still in blistering pain-- decides that it isn't really feeling too privileged.
"I... I suppose," she finally responds Cherise's matter-of-fact explanation, a little nonplussed. Cherise can like her if she wants to, can find out her name if she's -really- inclined; Stasya herself doesn't try to explain how she's feeling towards the French girl, her emotions a mix of curiosity and reserved apprehension. Instead, she focuses on her attack; and though she perceives Cherise attempting to intercept her again, she had anticipated it this time and adjusts to compensate.
She connects with her attack; but something about the way Cherise -enjoys- it makes her feel more than a little uncomfortable about having thrown it. Backing away a few steps, her thoughts are abruptly wrenched away again by the sharp cry from Kiyoko.
...oh right. She had almost forgotten. Alerted just in time, Stasya turns and twists aside in one movement, letting the crackling weapon whip past her and-- looking at the force with which it was swung-- thanking God it didn't connect. She comes right back at Kiyoko afterwards, one arm firing forwards to throw a simple strike straight for Kiyoko's center. Her hand, once it draws close, flares abruptly with that cutting red energy.
Hit, miss, or intercepted... whatever happens, Stasya retracts instantly afterwards. "I... guess we're done," she notes. Looking a little awkward, she glances towards the staff, wondering what on earth the 'main event' they were told about at the start is... and whether she even wants to continue on to it, judging by how shady everything about this particular event looks. After having been kidnapped, very recently, Stasya is not keen to walk willingly right back into another trap...
COMBATSYS: Stasya successfully hits Kiyoko with Medium Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kiyoko
Swinging a weapon in such a crazy manner leaves you very, very open if you happen to miss. And with Stasya being agile enough to get out of the way of the strike Kiyoko is left completely open when the punch comes in. It's not like doesn't try to avoid the blow- she in fact does everything she can to escape. It's just that she's in such an awkward position... The punch slams home in perfect form, a sharp gasp escaping her rather than a sharp cry only because the air is forced out of her lungs. The girl then doubles over and leans forward, cattle prod clattering to the ground as she wraps her arms around her stomach, dropping to her knees. An inward gasp followed by harsh coughing ensues.
Stasya immediately looks contrite. Apparently, she hadn't expected to strike quite -so- hard. "H-here, let me..." The girl trails off preoccupiedly, hurrying over and laying a hand on Kiyoko's shoulder. Eventually, once the other girl gets some breath back in her, she tries to help her up, and then takes a few steps back.
Notably, she doesn't -apologize- for having hit that hard, though. A rather competitive and strong-willed soul, Stasya never felt the need to apologize for much of anything while in an organized fight setting. Everyone present consented to experience pain when they stepped into the ring, after all.
Briefly, she glances over at Cherise... but the other girl seems as if she'll be okay as well. Already, fight staff are swarming the area, busily making notes for their 'research,' and medical staff are coming out of the woodwork to tend to injury and render the combatants shipshape for... whatever plans they have for that 'main event.' Uncomfortable with the entire thing, Stasya stiffly tries to avoid inspection.
She doesn't think she's comfortable enough with this entire thing to want to proceed any further... especially since she doesn't know what's waiting at the end of all these locked doors and windowless rooms.
Kiyoko accepts the offer as soon as it's given, giving a slight smile as she is pulled back to her feet. "Thanks. You hit a lot harder than I was expecting! I'll have to be pretty careful if we ever go one on one." The girl looks around a bit as the small hallway is suddenly swarming with people, waving away any and all medical staff. Even if it was a hard one, she was only hit with a single punch. She can make do without being poked at by doctors and nurses for sure.
A hand goes up and scratches idly at the back of her head as she looks around, "I wonder what the deal with this place is, anyway. Seems pretty weird to me. And those cameras really creep me out."
Stasya can't avoid the medical attention quite as much; Cherise -really- did a number on the girl, even if most of the damage was blunt force, and the staff are starting to frown at Stasya for standing around wasting time when she needs to be looked at. They begin to usher her off, even as she's trying to reply to Kiyoko. A faint smile flickers on her face at the initial compliment.
"I don't know, but it is -too- weird. I have never heard of anything like this." Briefly, Stasya's expression darkens: especially as she looks around at the windowless, cheerless corridor... at all the locked doors and science-obsessed staff. "I do not think I will go on..." she adds, just before she gets nudged out of sight into another room for treatment, "but if you do, I am wishing you luck."
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko takes no action.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kiyoko
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko drops her guard to recover.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kiyoko
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko takes no action.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Stasya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kiyoko
Log created on 23:02:29 06/13/2008 by Stasya, and last modified on 13:34:55 06/17/2008.