Description: Atop Mount Everest, Kula Diamond faces Marisol O'Connell and Mignon Beart, each fighter forced to endure harsh climates and conditions - but worst of all, they've got to fight within fifteen minutes, or else they'll be buried alive! Can they do it!? (Winner: Kula)
Given the harshness of the environment, the prospects of actually doing battle in order to beat one another almost seems redundant. With nature battering against the trio of fighters left to fight on the side of a mountain, punches, kicks, and chi might almost seem superfluous by comparsion. The wind is fierce, the temperature bitter cold, the air thin. There is nothing welcome about the high altitude ledge Kula Diamond, Marisol O'Connell, and Mignon Beart have been brought to. The trio was taken as high as snow mobiles can conceivably go.
Getting cameras fixed to mounts and stands in this environment is tricky, but that's the problem of the SNF staff, not the three gathered. The temperature is severe enough to get Kula's attention for a change, and the young fighter stands clad in a red and white coat that extends down to mid thigh, leaving her legs free to move. A pair of fluffy red ear muffs are worn over her ears to keep them from freezing right off.
With the fight getting ready to get started, the fighters are reminded that time is a limited factor here and they should make the best of it. The long haired girl simply nods softly, having stayed fairly quiet the entire trip to the wide ledge. While final preparations are readied, she simply closes her eyes and lets her mind wander. Listening to the cold, fearsome wind rush over the layers of hard packed snow. The continual creaking of glaciers slipping and ice adjusting beneath their feet... Life may not officially thrive in this hostile environment, but for a moment the girl can't help but think the mountain itself alive - a giant, frozen behemoth patiently tolerating the miniscule mortals to traipse over its surface.
Smiling, the girl is unusually serene as she opens her violet eyes and takes in the environment, not even seeming to need protective eyewear to keep her from going blind from the insanely bright, reflective ground. Clasping her gloved hands behind her back, she simply waits patiently, letting the wind play with her long hair, barely even seeming to notice her opponents for the time being.
So cold.. so cold.. so cold.
Mignon has been under the sheet that she usually has, keeping herself warm as best as she can, her heavy layers of clothing helping but not enough. Too cold too cold! Mignon really doesn't like the temperature, and currently is conjuring up a slight flame in order to keep her hands warm, as well as the rest of her body. And stepping out into the snow, Mignon is GLAD that she's wearing giant space boots. "C-Cold .. c-cold..." Complain now about having cold feet? Not way!
Eventually, the little baubles on her arms and legs kick on, getting Mignon a bit of glowy warmth. "A-ahh... now THAT'S better!" She 's kept warm on the inside by her warm heart, and her arms and legs from her magical glowy bands! "Mignon's really oka-" And then she's hit by a freezing breeze. "AIIIE! Too cold!" She pats herself down, legs moving about as she keeps herself in motion and alive! And with Kula just STANDING there, Mignon walks a bit closer.. having some snow goggles, and a 'kitty' hat, pink in color, before she speaks up.
"H-Hi! M-Mignon hasn't s-seen you b-before and you're n-not really bothered by the ice and c-cold .. w-why is that? Mignon k-knows it's s-special but Mignon's n-not sure and she wants to k-know!" She demands nodding, bobbing her bright pink hair up and down.
Move more? Maybe. But then she might snap off!
Whoever thought hosting a SNF in the bitter cold snow of Mount Everest needs to be punched.
Very hard.
Despite both fighters being gathered and present, there's still one fighter missing from the bunch: Marisol O'Connell. Saturday Fight crew members are confused by her lack of appearance, messages exchanged as they desperately search for the redhead gone missing. Did her snow mobile make it up the mountain okay? Did she sleep through her fight? Did she get caught in an avalanche on the other side of the mountain.
"A...ah...ACHOO!!!"
The loud sneeze comes from just below a crest, where signs of movement can be seen. A figure stands out quite obviously on the snow, clad in a thick green down coat and pink scarf and matching woven cap, along with jeans and snowboots. Huddling inwards on herself, the girl's arms are wrapped tightly around the trunk of her body as she ambles upwards.
"'CHOO!!" a few chunks of snow ominously fall down the plateau designated for the scheduled fight.
Finally making her approach, the pale-faced half-Spaniard peers between Mignon and Kula, eyeing both fighters silently before she blows into her taped-up hands. Without a word one Marisol attempts to warm up her hands a bit more before finally exhaling, lifting her gaze once again toward the other pair of girls.
"Hi, nice to meet you, et cetera, et cetera. Let's get this fight going, eh? The longer we stand around, the colder I get. If we start fighting at least MAYBE I can warm up. Goddamned cold. Whose bright idea was this anyway?"
A few pointed glares are shot to the crewmembers.
Approached by Mignon, Kula shifts her focus from the distant peak of the mountain to the pink haired girl. "I like your hat," she beams, hand reaching out as if to pinch one of the kitty ears before drawing her arm back to rest against her side. "It is cold," the girl agrees, drawing her hands up in a show of hugging herself to stave off the bitter chill, but she doesn't really seem to mean it. "But so am I." she continues, as if that's supposed to explain it.
She turns toward the girl who sounds like, win or lose, she's going home with a cold from this extreme event and nods her head back to the greeting, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Kul-" she starts to introduce herself, only to get cut off as Marisol makes it quite clear that she'd like to get to the fighting as quickly as possible and the greeting was partially only for show.
Nodding slightly, the girl kicks off the snow, landing back a couple feet from either girls. Her feet land lightly, and rather than sink into the drift she seems to find solid footing on the surface of it as if it was solid. She says nothing to either girl as she takes in a breath and exhales slowly. The shimmer of white passing over her body leaves in its wake frosty blue hair where auburn locks hung moments before.
It is impossible, with the snow flakes swirling through the air, to determine where her own point blank weather phenomenon ends and the real storm begins. "Careful," the girl states, raising her hand, a halo of white emanating out from her fist. "Ice is dangerous." Her eyes seem somewhat red contrasted against her blue hair, and it should become clear in a moment that the warning was not with regards to the frozen water beneath their feet as she bolts forward at last.
A violet blur, she moves fast, slipping in near the poor, frozen Mignon. It isn't a fist the girl need worry about, however, but rather a kick. As her foot snaps up, it brings with it a swirl of snow in its wake, the cold matter solidfying into a boot of armored ice to add punishing force to the kick as she attempts to send the poor fighter hurtling backward along the icy ledge.
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marisol has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Mignon has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Mignon dodges Kula's Medium Kick.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Marisol
As Kula beams that she likes Mignon's had, Mignon beams in response! "OH! Thank you! Mignon really likes it too because it's all small and furry and meow!" She cries, pawing the air as a joke. "And yep! It's really cold .. you are too?" Mignon tries to think. Those gears crank it up as she tries to think alright, and she doesn't get it!
If she's COLD then she should put more clothes on.
Well, maybe soon! "Mignon's not sure but OKAY!" And Marisol wants to get to the fighting? Skipping over, Mignon's heavy amount of clothing .. the undershirt, the shirt, the dress shirt, the vest, and the long underwear, under the black pants, are really keeping her enough warm .. that and the glowy baubles that are filled with magical energy! "Oooh.. Kul... Kul, it's nice to meet you! .. And MARISOL! Mignon thinks that JUST because it's cold doesn't mean you have any right to stop people from getting to know each other! Mignon is really happy to meet someone..." This drones on for a while as Mignon shakes her finger with Marisol, and then stops.. "And another thing .. Mignon is cold too but this is a REALLY nice place and Mignon thinks it's beautiful BUT so cold so cold oooh so cold!" She needs to make up her mind.
And then pwomph. Kula is away.. and ... "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!" Mignon cries out, before Kula moves like lightning towards Mignon, the foot snapped about as she attempts to send Mignon to the icy ledge!
Buuut Mignon's pretty fast, "Wait! MIGNON SAID WAIT A BIT!" But the kick doesn't, and Mignon's forced to leap over it and into the air.. flipping forwards in the air like a spiral!
Attempting to come straight behind Kula. "Mignon .. MIGNON KNOWS NOW!" She cries out. "YOU USE MAGIC! MIGNON WAS SO TOTALLY RIGHT!" She yells out, "SO tell Mignon how you get the energy to make you cold and not cold too, because Mignon KNOWS you can, and Mignon REALLY wants to know how you did it! .. Oh we're .. fighting uh ... bombs away!" She calls, before she flips over, attempting to land ontop of Kula and kick kick kick kick! Before finally push down and leap away!
Acknowledging Kula, the half-Spaniard girl eyes the NESTS agent carefully, full lips pursing tightly as she regards the odd young woman. She seems alright as far as she can tell, and by no means as weird as her scheduled teammate Mignon. Lazily, the girl's gray eyes slide back onto the self-proclaimed witch, eyeing her closely before she merely exhales and shakes her head with a shrug.
She came here for a fight! Not to socialize.
"Whatever, let's just get to it, huh? Besides--" Lifting a mitten-clad hand, Marisol jerks her thumb over a shoulder in a random direction. "We gotta do this fast ANYWAY, since some idiots at the SNF office felt they needed to blow us up." What a gyp!
"So you can get to know each other AFTER the fight. Right now, I just want to warm up." Cracking her knuckles, the redhead's eyes shift onto Kula, who...for some odd reason changes her hair color in an instant, shimmering with chi before she's ready. At first the half-Spaniard girl is stunned. Then she smirks, eyes hooding as she quips, "That must be a great trick at parties."
And then they're off. Kula makes her assault on Mignon, and Marisol stands by. Hopping lightly in place, she readies herself a bit, arms wriggling lightly before she solidly clenches her fists. It's cold. Her body feels like a popsicle and in fifteen minutes they're going to blow all three fighters up. What's a girl to do?
"HYAAAAAGH!"
Charging for Kula, the fiery half-Spaniard seeks to deliver a threefold attack: opening first with a fierce punch to the stomach, followed by a grab of her head and driving it into Marisol's knee before tossing the girl upwards and swinging her leg up for a kick to Kula's jaw!
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Mignon's Defoliation.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> //////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Marisol's Chain Reaction.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> //////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Marisol
It may seem almost unfair at a glance, the lineup of the match pitting two fighters, one current title holder at that, against the young, waifishly thin girl. But those who monitor these things know what they're doing, and the young operative is expected to be a fitting challenge for the two of them. Kula snaps her foot down as Mignon leaps out of the way, shifting her attention toward Marisol, as if not interested in following the pink haired girl's trajectory.
"I've never been to any parties." she replies simply to Marisol's remark about her hair-color changing prowess. "But I'll make sure to remember it if I ever do." She draws her hands up, combat algorithms spinning up to full speed. The environment invigorates her, the cold air only doing more to strengthen her connection to the world around her. Her power to draw upon chi is already formidable, but the frozen mountainside only adds to it even more. She barely even has to make any ice of her own as the element is in abundance all about her.
The icy boot that covered her foot shatters, spreading over the snow that she seems to have no trouble standing upon. And then she's being attacked. A duck and weave to the side allows her to slip out of the way of the spinning Mignon. And as she comes up standing, she fends off Marisol's attacks by slamming her forearm into the path of the red-head's punch, slipping backward before any additional hits can be dished out.
Shaking her arm as she lowers it, she speaks up for Mignon's benefit, "It isn't magic." she states calmly, "But it is powerful." Extending her hand to the side, she draws up a mass of ice into her hand. Whirling toward the girl in a hurry, Kula doesn't help her cause of trying to get warm at all as she brings her hand up, takes a deep breath, then exhales.
A wintery blast is sent hurtling toward the girl, drawing up even more ice as it traverses the distance between them. Small, needle-sized shards, icy razor edged rings, and other frozen matter threaten the Spainard while Kula turns back toward facing Mignon as if expecting the point blank storm to do its job.
.... "Oh please Marisol it's not like we're timed or anything!" And then Marisol says they are. "... Wait .. we are?" Mignon stands, looking up at the mountain. That's .. alot of snow. And it's going to come down upon THEM? Mignon is suddenly frantic. "NO NO NO! MIGNON DOESN'T THINK SHE LIKES THIS ANYMOOOOORE!" She cries at first, running in circles a bit, before stopping. "Must stay calm .. come on Mignon, you can do this! You're not scared of a little . bomb that's going to smother them with snow NO you're a witch, and you have to do better!" She talks to herself for a second before turning around. "OKAY! Mignon is totally going to really help you out now, okay Marisol! HERE GOES MAGICAL MIGNON, using her powers to make us not blow up!" She totes, grinning.
Kula's already out of the way as Mignon landed a bit okay, and she spun to a stop! Phew, she's not able to do anything really.. not now at least.
But then as Kula mentions it's NOT magic, Mignon watches as the ice traverses through the air, towards Marisol. "NOOOOO! You're lying, and Mignon's not going to accept it! That IS magic and MIGNON WILL SHOW YOU CAUSE IT'S MAGIC AND SHE KNOWS IT UH-HUH!" She points at Kula and them .. Gunshot!
Yes, a gunshot, before Mignon launches a blast of FIRE straight towards Kula, to melt her ICY WAYS. "FIREE!" She cries!
And then Mignon is shot backwards, rolling on the ice, "AIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" until she comes to a stop in a snow pile, eyes sticking out. "Mm... Mignon isn't sure she likes being a snow witch!"
It's a dud! Mignon's left with only one choice, and leaping to her feet, spins around. "Divine wind spirit! .. Work, please!" The fire ball ALREADY fizzed out on her. And Mignon is spinning .. and SUDDENLY WIND!
It's not really hard to do, there's so much wind u p here it just speeds it up!
COMBATSYS: Marisol endures Kula's Diamond Breath.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> ////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Marisol
"You haven't?" Color Marisol stunned. She seems likable enough as far as the half-Spaniard can tell. Tilting her head lightly to one side she idly rubs a mitten-covered finger on her rosy cheek. "Odd. Well, I'm sure you will! Even if it's your own birthday party? --er, I didn't mean that as an insult, I swear."
But soon enough the fighters engage! Tearing forward, the redhead finds her attack thwarted, Kula's forearm staving off the initial blow to her gut before she hops out of harm's way. Hooding her eyes, the girl does her best to not get distracted by the talkative Mignon, instead doing her best to focus on the opponent at hand.
As expected, she drew the icy girl's attention. Observing as she simply draws upon her icy chi before she exhales, a burst of sharp flakes and harsh snow blazing for the Pacific Resistance leader. Rather than try to run away or stave it off, Marisol instead lets out a loud guttural cry as she plods forward THROUGH the burst to get in close to Kula. Why?
To deliver a straight punch at Kula's face, followed by a nasty uppercut before she swings a leg around and attempts to check the NESTS girl in the temple of her brow with a spinning hook kick. "RAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Mignon's Windstorm.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> ///////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Kula interrupts Iron Whip from Marisol with Crow Bite.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> /////////// ]
|=======\=====--\1 Marisol
As Mignon gradually begins to realize the special time limit applied to this rather risky match, Kula stares at her patiently, her arms resting against her sides, the girl's combat instincts making an effort to accertain the combat style of the young, pink-haired girl. She doesn't practice a style that her vast directory of martial arts styles is able to identify quite yet. And she has a peculiar way of discussing chi as well. "Hm... I guess maybe it could be like magic," the girl finally allows after a moment's consideration, the thought bringing a smile to her lips.
And then the cat-eared wonder draws her arms back to send a surge of flaming flying Mignon's way. At least, that's the idea. Send some fire hurtling over the frozen wasteland, attempting to heat up their already cool opponent. But nothing happens. Kula blinks softly, leaning her head to the side slightly, "Are you all right?" The question is answered by the whirlwind of energy sent spinning her way. Like the blast sent Marisol's way, it bears with it some of the ice from off the ground, but Kula moves to the side to avoid it once again.
Only, her hand trails behind, sweeping into the whirlwind, drawing from it all that whipped up snow as she spins back around on Marisol. Her algorithms have begun to identify the red-head as an aggressive, assault-style fighter, capable of striking physically hard if she gets into range to do so, and as such, the girl decides to retaliate with decisive force as the yell reaches her ears.
Snow and ice whirl about her arm as she turns her shoulder into the straight punch. The force staggers her only a little. Were she on a less sturdy (for her) surface than the hard packed snow, she might have even slipped a bit and fumbled her attack. Her left hand comes up, forming a barrier of solid ice, a shiny mirror, opaque, showing the European girl her face in the reflection as it stops the uppercut solidly.
The mirror shatters next, not from Marisol's uppercut, but rather Kula's, as the violet-clad girl smashes through it with her chi-charged fist into the torso of the other girl. The power upon impact is staggeringly forceful, enough to take them both into the air from the momentum. And once air born, the girl spins around, sweeping an incredible amount of the snow in the air into a giant clump of frozen matter over her arm... and then slams that into the red-head to knock her away before dropping back down to the ground and landing in a partial crouch.
Rising back up to standing, Kula looks toward wherever the other girl lands, "Maybe someday." A flicker of an expression works its way into her otherwise impassive face as she whirls back around to face Mignon. "Have you been to parties? You're probably popular at them too with your neat hair." she pipes up, sounding intrigued at the prospect of hair-color having some kind of influence over one's popularity at parties.
OH OH OH SHE SO CALLED IT SHE SO CALLED IT! "Mhmmm.. Mignon really thinks so it's really nice to have magic and it keeps her ALLLL nice and toasty!" She's certain about this one alright. But as Kula asks if she's alright, Mignon holds up a hand .. it sticks out of the snow pile .. and it has a THUMBS UP.
And then Mignon like TOTALLY bursts from it, leaping up into the air. "YEAH Mignon is A-OHSO COOOOOOOOOLD!" She calls, holding herself and shuddering. And then Mignon gets a front seat view of Marisol hitting the ice barrier and being utterly PUNCHED for it. SHE GASPS! What drama! Mignon has .. no idea! The Chi charged fist seems to strike, and strike HARD. Poor Marisol! SHE WANTS TO HELP! But Mignon's magical powers are KAPUT without a bit of charging. Dawww.
"Marisol, MARISOL are you okay!?" Mignon cries, following the girl, before turning to Kula.. who asks her about the parties. "Ooooh! Mignon had lots of people like her hair and lots of parties liked Mignon too she thinks, and Mignon's went to ALOT of parties but lately Mignon's been a bit busy BUT SHE TOTALLY LOVES PARTIES! Mignon thinks maybe we can have a magic party too and you can be invited.. Mignon knows alooooot of witches, and magic users!" She points out. And then bounces around, on both feet, this way and that, but facing Kula.
"Oh .. I'm sorry MIGNON DOESN'T WANT TO GET CRUSHED! And she's cold too so FIIIIIIIIIIRE!" Her hands extend outwards, giving a brief to a small flicker of flame .. before PWOOOF. Erupting outwards in a gout of flame that this time actually takes shape as a burning sphere! It's part strategy.. Mignon will TOTALLY melt that ice barrier! Meanwhile, Mignon goes skidding from the force. "WOOOAH Mignon forgot that makes it FASSSTTERRR!" And thus launches her back. She clings onto a tree though, holding herself there. "Pheeeeew!"
Not as planned.
Though Marisol's initial strike collides with the girl's shoulder. A split-second later...her reflection? "What the--?" is all the redhead can manage, stunned by the odd display of Kula's talent. And then, of course, the following sweep of her body, an icy-uppercut to the half-Spaniard's body that sends her sailing high above...before she lands several yards away, practically disappearing into a huge pile of snow.
Despite Mignon's cries, Marisol does not make any immediate motions to get up and move. Instead, she lay in the cold, her vision blurry and distorted as she struggles to make sense of the fluffy white clouds and cerulean sky overhead.
"Hrrrgh," is ultimately the only real response the redhead makes as she pulls herself from the snow, specks of red pitter-pattering against the cold ice. Spitting up a little blood she tries to rise, staggering and stumbling in the thick snow before she gives up and pitches forward at the waist. Supporting her torso by placing her hands on her knees, Marisol takes her time, breathing deeply in and out, struggling to make her body stop aching enough so she get back in there.
"...need...a moment...nngh."
COMBATSYS: Marisol gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Mignon
> /////////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Mignon successfully hits Kula with Fire Ball EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Mignon
> /////////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Marisol
Landing out of her uppercut, Kula stands quietly, observing the drift Marisol came down to land in. Her arms, resting against her sides, clench and unclench slowly, the girl seeming to debate going in for a follow up strike while the other girl is down. Her style of fighting is ruthless - made for matters far more severe than the weekly SNF spectacles she is thrown into for practice and training purposes. But her instincts write Marisol off for the moment and the violet leather clad girl whirls around to face Mignon.
Kula tries to follow the words of other teen fighter, eyes narrowing a little as so much of what she has to say seems to fly over her head. "Parties seem nice." she finally replies, beaming back at the girl. She watches the girl throw her hands forward, readying some kind of retaliation, and blinks curiously. "Why do you keep saying your name so much, Mignon? Is it to help you remember it?" the ice wielder asks pleasantly.
Sounds behind her remind her that Marisol is still around, the European girl hanging in there after such a powerful hit, but Kula keeps her focus on Mignon. The fireball unleashed spins through the air at great velocity, but that extra little nudge added by an untimely, timely slip allows it to catch her directly. Sliding back a few steps as she brushes away the point of impact on her leather jacket, the girl frowns a little, then glances back up toward Mignon, "Fire..."
Her left hand comes up, tightening into a fist, drawing frozen matter out of the air around her into a small, jagged, /heavy/ glove of translucent ice. "I have just the cure for that!" Kicking forward, the girl slips in on the side, slamming her hand out, attempting to clock the girl on the side of the head before dropping her elbow down toward the top of her head in an attempt to push her down. Atop the same surface that proves slippery for the would-be witch, Kula moves gracefully.
COMBATSYS: Mignon fails to reflect Fierce Punch from Kula with Water Shield.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Mignon
> /////////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Marisol
And that is when Kula comes towards Mignon, after the fireball hits Kula! Mignon is just pulling herself up when she sees Kula coming after her, so Mignon has enough of saying it to finally choose this! "AHhh.. Mignon DOESN'T WANT TO BE COLD!" And there comes a jagged glove of ice. It's funny, because Mignon attempts to put up WATER.
Sometimes Mignon's a complete retard.
"WATER UP-WAIT why'd it only go waist high?" And then the fist SMASHES into Mignon and into her body and the blades pierce causing Mignon to bleed rather terribly. Infact Mignon now has quite a bit of read about her head. Jagged ice + magical school girl = horrible pain!
"OWWWWWWWWWWW!" Mignon calls out, and is slammed on the side of a head too.
She thumps to the ground, eyes rolling, and with a bit of blood.. okay more than a bit.
Mignon .. can't just recover from being stabbed! It huuuuuuuuuuuuuuurts.
Still off to the side as Kula and Mignon exchange pleasantries--both painful and verbal--the redhead is struggling still to get her wits about her after suffering a particularly trying strike from the NESTS girl. With a hand pressed gingerly to her chest, where her downy jacket has since been shredded up the front, leaving a particularly nasty gash no thanks to Kula's ice, she watches as the girls have at it.
At least until she remembers one very important thing:
The mountain is going to blow up soon.
Shaking her head fiercely, Marisol bites at her lip before her hands curl into tight fists, eyes widening. Slowly a smile edges over her tanned features, her expression alight with morbid glee. Sure, the fight doesn't seem to be going in either girl's favor, but damn if the opponent isn't challenging. The girl is more than she appears. She's been taking this Kula girl far too lightly.
"ALL RIGHT THEN!!" the half-Spaniard cries, causing the mountainside snow to shift a bit, to the dismay of SNF officials. "Let's DO this!! HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Like a bullet Marisol shoots forward, kicking up snow as she blazes forward with newfound vigor and zeal. Wide-eyed and sporting a terribly sadistic smile she clenches her fists ever tighter, and when she's near lashes out with four nasty hooks. Should they land she recoils, her right fist drawn back tightly at her side, muscles straining beneath her jacket sleeves with considerable force...before she lunges in, to deliver a potent straight punch for the center of Kula's chest!
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Marisol's Atom Smasher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Mignon
> /////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Marisol
Kula skips backward from the catastrophe that is Mignon's attempt at water magic in the frigid wasteland. She looks... a little surprised. A lot of her attacks involve skewering her opponents with ice, wearing them down with destructive force until their bodies can go no further. And while she had certainly meant Mignon no good, coming in with that two hit combination that could have possibly delivered a mild concusion if the girl is unlucky, she wasn't out for blood just yet. But Mignon's defense disaster has gotten the poor girl cut up, slashed, and stabbed all the same and that the otucome is much like her more ruthless attacks leaves Kula just a little puzzled. "I guess sometimes, it doesn't matter what you do..." Mignon is going to be there for a little bit it seems.
"It's neat that you can use water and fire and wind, Mignon." Kula speaks up, her tone as amiable as can be in spite the brutality of her strikes. She clasps her hands behind her back for a moment, leaning forward to study the girl's condition, "You better keep moving or you're going to freeze up though."
But another cry brings her attention elsewhere at last, and the young fighter whirls around to face Marisol. Her expression becomes more serious as she regards the red-head, her hands coming forward from behind her back, raised only partially as she prepares herself. Her combat algorithms warn of impending danger - that the fiery girl's zeal for combat is written all over her face - that whatever is coming next is not to be taken lightly. Her combat algorithms warn her to prepare for the worst.
And, as they often are, they are completely right. Her hands come the rest of the way up, a flare of white chi heralding the swath of snow and ice she draws into her control from the world around her. Marisol's battle cry is met by widened eyes, the girl looking rather impressed at the surge of enthusiasm. She can't help but respond in kind, a flicker of a smile working its way into her mouth. "You really like fighting, don't you." the girl observes.
And then she is forced to defend herself. Swing after swing is met with solid, unrelenting ice, as the girl moves her hands into position, creating small barriers to intersect the hook punches. As Marisol readies her big finisher, however, Kula leans forward, holding both hands out, creating one last barrier with which to defend herself.
The ice shatters clean through, smashed to pieces in spite all the energy she poured into that last defense. But by the time Marisol's fist collides with her target, the girl has crossed her arms in front of her, sparing herself the worst of it as she goes sliding back over the solidly packed snow. Coming to a stop, the girl exhales, unfolding her arms, ignoring the ache lingering from the impact, muted as it may have been by her specially engineered jacket.
The girl looks at Marisol curiously for a moment longer, finding her enthusiasm almost a little inspiring. That there are fighters that enjoy the battle as much as that girl makes her smile a little. But after that brief moment to compose herself, the NESTs operative is back in motion, a blur of speed as she whirls back on Mignon, coming back to attack the poor girl that was hampered by her own defense.
Standing or sitting, Kula goes for her neck with her left hand, applying enough strength to hoist her up off her feet and hold her up a bit should she get a tight hold. "I believe," the girl remarks, her left hand charging with a sphere of white, swirling energy, "Our time is nearly up." And with that, she slams her left hand forward, attempting to discharge a icy storm of painful chi directly into the pink haired girl while releasing her neck.
COMBATSYS: Mignon dodges Kula's Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Mignon
> /////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Marisol
If there's one thing Mignon does /not/ want to do it is to be hit /again/. That could truly mess things up! You know, if Mignon focused on moving at the moment. She's more or less sitting on the ground, and somewhat tired.. as well as dizzy .. as well as really cold .. as well as dizzy.. as well as cold .. and dizzy.. and ... she leans forwards, pushing herself up.
"Mignon .. thinks .. she should have just kept moving ... then she can't .. eeeeveer get stuck like this ... again..." She notes, but as Mignon mentions it's cool, Mignon's not in the right state of mind to respond well. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Of course it's cooooool Mignon's coooooold!" She adds, staggering to her feet, still dizzy.
As Kula tries to go for her neck however, by that time, the swings of strike after strike coupled by the noises made by the ice barrier do one thing alright. It brings Mignon back up.. and she is freezing cold.
"COLD COLD COLD!" She states, before flipping backwards. "Mignon .. MUST.. GET WARM! SO MIGNON IS GOING TO MAKE EVERYTHING WARM!" And raising her hands, the witch concentrates. And concentrates. AND CONCENTRATES. And a giant ball of earthen matter is created above her.
And then promptly bursts into /flames/. "MEETEOOOOOOO!"
And then she leaps upwards with it.
And then fires DOWN.
This propels her into the air, meanwhile, hopefully melting everything on the ground with the fiery shockwave! And explosion. ... Like Kula's ice!
Tearing off like a bat out of Hell, Marisol swings her fists at the blue-haired girl without mercy. But for all the effort, it would appear Kula is far more durable than one would guess. Staving off each blow with a unique blend of self-defense and her icy chi, each punch is met only by icy barriers. Even her final strike is met with resistance, the wall of ice shielding Kula from the sheer brunt of Marisol's assault.
"D-damn," the half-Spaniard mutters, withdrawing from her coiled strike to rub a hand across her chin. How did she manage to block that so easily..?
Her thoughts are otherwise distracted when she recalls the brief mention before Marisol's onslaught, asking about her love of fighting. Those gray eyes hood, a Cheshire's smile crawling slowly over her full lips before she briefly nods. "Hell yeah I love fighting. It's only just the best thing EVER." However frustrating a road it has been to walk for the girl. But even she has to admit: she's come farther than she'd envisioned.
And she doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon!
Back into the heat of the fight, Marisol watches as Mignon narrowly avoids the icy girl's strike, instead flipping up skyward and unleashing a massive ball of earth and flame onto Kula. Headless of this or any potential dangers the redhead blazes in, seeking to capitalize on an opening to deliver a straight punch at Kula and, should it land true, follow up with a mighty - and quite vicious - uppercut.
"HYAAAAAAAAAGH!"
COMBATSYS: Starscream has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Marisol
14:00
Battle has continued to wage on for nearly a quarter of an hour across the harsh terrain of Mount Everest; there is no forgiveness here. The environment does not relent or forgive, nor does it restrain the biting cold that whips across the winds on the respective fighters. They have carried on through it diligently, and the sounds of battle continue on.
14:15
Blows are further exchanged, as workers from far off in the distance begin setting up equipment. Sensors, readouts, status reports -- and most important of all, a trigger. Conclusion has yet to be reached.
14:30
The spark of flame and power ignites through the veil of white harsh winds as Mignon winds up with her mighty Meteo Strike in retaliation to Kula. The countdown ticks down...
14:45
Marisol swings forward with that vicious uppercut. And as she shouts--
15:00
... Nothing. Nothing. There's peace for exactly three seconds... before a distant rumbling can be heard. The sudden shudder of what must be an earth-shattering explosion. Silence again. And then...
... A massive wall of snow and ice and pure force comes rushing in on Kula, Marisol and Mignon like a train. A full-blown avalanche set off with the ignition of man-made TNT sends a tremendous rolling mass of pure cold and jagged ice straight for the trio in a deafening roar. Nature's coming for them. Time's up.
COMBATSYS: Marisol successfully hits Kula with Snap Wind.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Mignon successfully hits Kula with Meteo-Strike.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Starscream successfully hits Kula with AVALAAAAAANCHE!.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Marisol
15:15
Everything reaches Kula all at once. Boulders, rocks, ice, a mountainside-worth of snow all come tumbling down at her as both of her opponents rush in to take their best shots. One or two of those factors she may have been able to account for cleanly, but the three catching her at once is an overwhelming experience for the young experiment. Combat recorders back at the NESTs outpost further down the mountain fly off the scale as the the scientists observe their little project in action.
More ice barriers appear to be the flavor of her defense as the girl whirls toward Marisol first, waving her left hand, leaving a shield in its wake. It's enough to stop the straight punch short, but the ice is cracked, giving way, and she's already whirling around, trying to ready for Mignon's 'spell' when the uppercut comes in next, shattering through what remains of the barrier to smack her in the side of the head soundly.
It throws her defenses against the incoming ginormous ball of earthy chi, but it also knocks her a little askew of its path. While it doesn't strike her directly, a little of the aftermath from the impact against the ground does scorch her jacket and knock her further to the side. Dazed, but not unaware of the incoming pain train, the girl has but a split moment to turn and face the sliding, frozen mass, bringing her hands up to create one more last ditch barrier, pouring what she can into maintaining.
And it holds. Divering the dangerous 'natural' disaster around her, leaving her safe from the worst of it. It takes everything she can pour into it, but it holds. For about three seconds. She can stop a lot of things with that icy power of hers, but this proves to be too much. Overwhelmed, she vanishes from sight as the ice sweeps over the ground she was holding.
When it all comes to a rest a little ways further, she's no where to be seen, at first. At last a portion of the settled snow, a bit down from the ledge where the fight was taking place, shuffles a little. Sitting up then rising to her feet, the blanket of white falls off the girl as she shakes her head to clear her mind. Her face bears countless small scratches and tiny bruises, but the worst of it is concealed beneath her rugged leather armor.
Lowering her arms to her sides, she doesn't brush the rest of the snow off of her over coat or out of her hair. Rather, she raises her right hand, palm up, and draws all of that risidual snow into a sphere over her hand. The snow shifts, swirling about that small ball, gradually disolving from frozen water into pure white energy. A quiet breath is taken, visible vapor in the air beyond her chilly lips, and then the small mass of energy collapses into her hand, restoring her strength and reinvigorating her a little. It's something to do until her opponents resurface, unless they've faired better than she did with dealing with a falling mountain.
COMBATSYS: Kula gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Starscream successfully hits Mignon with AVALAAAAAANCHE!.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Marisol
8:00 AM. Sunday Morning.
There is ice cream. Happy happy fun show. And cartoons dancing around the screen. Mignon is currently finding out it is a bad idea to mix icecream and sugar frosted cereal, not due to the taste, but because she's grounded from jumping around incredibly fast ALL OVER THE PLACE when her mother tells her not to.
Mignon comes out of this warm fuzzy memory to see AHHH GIANT FREAKING WALL OF IIIIIIIIIIIIIICE. And snow.
Mignon's collided into by the snow as she kicks up, flailing, but instead, Mignon is SWALLOWED BY THE SNOW! And really, at this point, Mignon's best bet would be to just stop already! But Mignon seems to REFUSE TO. Nah. Actually, she's pretty much buried under the snow.. and it's not a very good thing at all! Hugging herself, Mignon barely crawls out from under it, clawing before she ends up on top, and then looking to Marisol and ..
"HEREEEEE!" She cries, as something SPARKLY flies towards Marisol.
And then Mignon falls forwards. Tired. Snow collided.
Ouchies. "Mignon .. doesn't like .. walls .. of ice."
COMBATSYS: Starscream successfully hits Marisol with AVALAAAAAANCHE!.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Marisol
COMBATSYS: Mignon successfully hits Marisol with Magical Healing.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Marisol
Pressing her assault on poor Kula, the half-Spaniard girl just perseveres, pushing her fists as far as she can to crash past those icy barriers. Right here and now, the girl doesn't pay attention to her environments; instead, those gray eyes are fixed on the blue-haired fighter and her skill. She wants to overcome this obstacle. She wants to beat Kula and prove her strength, not only to her opponent, but the world. She must..!!
Unfortunately, these thoughts serve well to distract her utterly; by the time the half-Spaniard pulls back and briefly focuses on the world as a whole, there's a white wave of churning ice and snow barreling right for all the fighters. Her features flush...
And moments later she's rolling, tumbling and bouncing painfully in snow, rocks and ice.
But all things which move will eventually stop--or something like that, the girl distantly reminds herself. So when the avalanche finally comes to a standstill. Digging herself up and out toward the top, she finally submerges, her head poking out of the snow, face riddled with cuts and scrapes. "Goddamn," the girl grouses, wincing as she pulls herself out completely. The other fighters present are briefly forgotten as she grumpily dusts the snow off. And then something draws her attentions. "Here?"
When she turns she's being struck by something sparkly that, surprisingly does NOT hurt. Instead, it invigorates and rejuvenates; cuts begin to seal up, wounds sealing themselves. It's definitely...different. But not the first time something like this has happened to the girl. Regardless, her eyes shift to Mignon, offering her an odd look before she says, uncertainly, "T-thanks..??"
But there's a fight still! Turning her gaze immediately onto Kula, the redhead smiles broadly, a predatory look on her sun-kissed features as she observes her closely. "All right. Now that I don't have to worry about some damn avalanche or other impending doom coming to destroy me, I think I can get my head better in the game." Her hands lift, knuckles cracking loudly before she eases into a neutral brawler's stance. She'll bide her time carefully from now one, to see if the icy girl has any exploitable openings in her seemingly impervious style...
COMBATSYS: Marisol focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Marisol
Lowering her arm to rest against her side, Kula remains calm, composed, content to wait for her two opponents to get themselves out of the ice, rubble, and snow. The ice that had packed onto her form is gone, reabsorbed back into her to renew her strength and provide her with the ability to carry on after such a rough tumble down the side of the mountain. As Mignon struggles to move, Kula glances up along the slope of the harsh peak, a moment of silent respect for the frozen environment. Such magnificant power, she muses, in the aftermath of the avalanche. Capable of squelching any life, any fire that seeks to exist in its path. Just like her own strength.
Crimson eyes glance toward Mignon, the girl leaning her head to the side as at first glance it seems that the pink-haired wonder has attacked her partner. Head turning toward Marisol, she waits and watches, observing the change in condition come over the other girl. A slight frown brings her focus back toward Mignon. Grim, cold, calculating algorithms identify the young teen as being a source of rejuvinating power for her teammate. This means she's a problem. In spite her wounded condition, she needs to be eliminated, Kula's engineered instincts conclude.
And it is to that end that she slips easily over the soft packed ice, feet not even sinking into the deep snow or falling prey to the newly formed crevices amongst the field of ruin. She might be called cruel if she actually derived any delight in what she does next, drawing close to the prone girl. But cruel suggests she enjoys what she's about to do. The truth is... least on the surface, she doesn't seem to care.
A boot of ice forms over her foot before she lifts it up and drops it back down against the girl's back, "You need to stop now, before I have to hurt you further," she advises softly. Maybe there is some hint of mercy burried in there somewhere, but it wouldn't be noticeable in the way she doesn't pull her kick.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Mignon with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Mignon
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Kula 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Marisol
As Kula watches on .. Mignon seals her own DOOOM. And then bringing her eyes up to Marisol, gives a niiiice sloooow wave. "Noo oprooooblem.. Miiignon's here to heeeelp~!" She cries out, her little baubles sparkling .. slowly now. She's not feeling so good and Mignon just wannnts to sleeeep...
BUT THEN COMES KULA AND THE WORLD FLIPS OVER!
Mignon looks up, and sees Kula. And then a boot of ice strikes Mignon, as she attempts to stop it!.... But Mignon's suddenly chilled from the assault, and any flailing she may do ( there IS flailing ) is wiped clean by the freezing assault.. Mignon cannae do much about it now..
And she might have even taken a nice ... snow nap.
UH OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH.
She was too tired to protest! And .. well move.
COMBATSYS: Mignon takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Marisol
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Mignon can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Starscream 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Marisol
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 1/-----==/=======|
With Mignon thoroughly 'eliminated' by Kula, Marisol is left by her lonesome. The girl falls, hitting the snow and passing out, the very gesture earning the pink-haired witch a scowl from the redhead. What, she's going to give up so easily? She won't even TRY to push herself to the very end? Narrowing her eyes, Marisol's expression remains somewhat disgusted as she glances back to Kula. "Weak," she mutters under her breath.
But the fight isn't over. Now, more than ever, Marisol has to push herself and her limits against this seemingly impervious opponent. Hooding her eyes, she offers the other girl a small grin of sorts as she cracks her knuckles lightly at her sides. "You're pretty good," she muses aloud, still eyeing the icy fighter closely. "I had doubts about this being a two versus one at first, but now I see why."
Digging a foot into the snow, the redhead wedges her boot's sole far enough into the ground for leverage...before she springs off, her body pushed forward as she drives a straight path right for Kula, with every intention of delivering a nasty left hook right at the other fighter, should she get close enough!
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Marisol's Hook Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Kula 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Marisol
It seems Mignon took Kula's kick-emphasized advice. Stay down or I'll keep hurting you. Spoken with calm tone, as if she is simply stating facts, without much personal investment in the matter. After all, she's weathered some of the pink-haired girl's attacks now. Highly reliant upon chi. Something Kula is perfectly accustomed to combating. Engineered to weather the chi sourced flames of K', the poor wouldbe witch didn't have much of a chance of defeating the NESTs operative.
The other girl is a problem though, Kula's found. A hard hitter and she isn't swinging wildly. She can tell the red-head has been thinking, observing, and then charging in with determination and guts to put her observations to use. It was impressive, and it meant she needed to be taken seriously. Turning away from Mignon, the girl faces Marisol directly, crimson eyes blinking slowly. A couple years younger in appearance to the Pacific student, it may not have seemed like a fair match to begin with. But as she acknowledges, it's turned out that way all the same.
"Thank you." the girl speaks up in response. "I've been given a lot of training in dealing with more than one opponent." Her defenses have been tough to circumvent and her offense has proven to not be slacking either. Her composure has been level - not even the avalanche was able to perturb her. And as the fight goes on, she doesn't seem to be wearing down either. Her pacing perfectly tuned, her balance between offense and defense not seeming to wear her down as time goes on. If anything, it may seem she's speeding up. As demonstrated by the way she whips around the hook punch, her long hair trailing behidn the movement as she slides clear out of the way.
"It's good that you're doing something you like," Kula states quietly as she leans forward calmly and plants her hands against ice several yards off to the side of Marisol. "That way it doesn't feel like chores all the time." White energy courses over her body, concentrating on her arms as it seems to be channeled directly into the surface of the snowy mess. Wind whips around the girl, blowing her hair about and stirring up a small, point blank snowstorm. But the actual danger is near Marisol herself.
A brief tremor heralds the spire of ice that suddenly surges forward at an angle toward the girl, sending a shower of crystals flying into the cold air. Another rises second, then a third, each one angled, trying to pin the boxer in, scraping along her sides, slashing or puncturing skin, or just bashing the trapped girl. And once the trio of towering ice spires have risen, they simply sit there, like monoliths to this frozen mountainside battle.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Marisol with Diamond Edge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\======-\1 Marisol
"I can see that," the half-Spaniard girl coolly replies, gray eyes half-lidded in amusement as she surveys the girl from head to toe. For someone so waif and someone so apparently young, how can she be so damned skilled? It's almost daunting that there are people so talented out there, people younger than her with so much power and control over their styles. She wants that - and it's what she works for. It's her driving goal.
Charging in with vigor and zeal, the redhead's fist swings, but finds no purchase on Kula's face; instead, her fist whiffs through empty air, the girl's icy blue hair whipping just beyond her peripherals as she skillfully darts aside. The miss earns a light grunt from Marisol, gray eyes narrowing slightly as she plants a foot firmly. Turning, she faces Kula.
"Well, why do something like 'fight' if you don't enjoy it?" she asks aloud. "It could be said of anything, really." But her words make the redhead wonder aloud, "Why, do you not enjoy it? I mean, you're pretty damn good, and all..."
Before she can obtain any real answer, however, the girl shows her prowess, a sudden jolt of the earth beneath Marisol's feet giving rise to a icy spear, followed by another. And another. Repeatedly she's buffeted and tossed about, caught in the maw of icy blades that cut and scuff and rend, leaving the half-Spaniard with little more to do than give out a pained cry. It seems endless, but...
Wedging herself free in a sluggish and too tired fashion, Marisol emerges from the pillars of ice, bloodied and battered. Her outfit slashed and marred by blood, the girl looks like a horrible mess, her hair tussled and in disarray. But for all she's endured...she offers a bloody smile. The odds are terribly against her, but she just doesn't care. Her response to it all?
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Like some bat out of Hell the girl throws herself forward, slashed-up legs carrying her swiftly toward the NESTS girl. Fists clench painfully tight at her sides, dandelion-yellow flames surging to life around her knuckles and roaring up her arms as she narrows in on Kula, intent on delivering not one but three fiery hooks to the girl's face before she stops to fire off a swift uppercut. And if all goes well for the fiery Pacific Resistance girl she'll stop again and snare Kula's collar, to drive HER skull into the NESTS girl's forehead, only to seal the deal with another nasty uppercut, to (hopefully) send the girl flying sky high.
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Marisol's Cloud Nine.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Kula 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Marisol
"I have to." Kula responds when asked why she fights if she doesn't think it's the best thing in the world like her eager opponent. Her tone is calm, suggesting of acceptance of her lot in life. "I get in trouble if I don't." she finishes with a faint, conspiratorial grin. Out here, the icy winds will more than drown out their conversation from the watching cameras. The answer comes, ironically, while Marisol is forced to pry her way free from the brutal spikes, a few razor sharped edges dripping with fresh blood before it freezes quickly.
But her moment of dialog passes quickly as Marisol clearly isn't coming out to chat. Unlike Mignon, whom she warned needed to quit before she got hurt any further, the girl doesn't bother with any such patronizing behavior with Marisol. She can tell the other girl isn't one to give up. No. Matter. What. This fight isn't over until it's over. Kula isn't sure how she feels about that, exactly. If the fight ends, their conversation does as well. But as long as the match continues, she has an opportunity to continue speaking to someone outside of NESTs. Someone with a different, intriguing perspective on combat. The girl smiles faintly, drawing both hands up, shimmering white energy emanating in the form of a halo about each of them. She decides she's glad the fight is still going.
Marisol charges back in, driven by determination, adrenaline, and maybe some pain. It's up to the stick thin fighter to defend herself once more. Again those barriers of ice come into play, Kula weaving them into the air in the path of the hook punches, dispersing the yellow energy accompanying them. The third hook cracks the last ice barrier and the girl scrambles to reinforce it.
But Marisol is coming from a different direction then, grabbing her by the collar, bypassing the ice barriers all together. Eyes widen as Kula realizes the nature of the next strike at the last instant and the girl gets her opposite arm up across her face, allowing it to absorb the worst of the headbutt but without the protection offered by her ice manipulations. The wince is evidence of the pain of just that strike alone, but the uppercut that follows is stopped just in time with a desperate swing of her left arm into the path of that chi laced fist.
The impact sends Kula reeling backwards, arms flailing, even the trusty snow beneath her feet doing little to help her regain balance. She may not have been sent flying sky high, but that combination of attacks left their mark all the same as Kula rubs her forearms, regarding Marisol like some kind of dangerous animal. Had the combination hit cleanly, she would be in bad shape.
Shaking her arms to work out the numbness in them, Kula's grin returns slowly, "How did you learn to fight? I have a committee of scientists and researchers and experts from around the world helping me." She waves her hand toward the cameras mounted on nearby poles, out of the path of the landslide. "After this fight, they will review everything I did right and wrong, and then lecture me about it. If I do really good, they might say nice things." She brings her hands back in, leaning her head to the side slightly, "How about you though?"
She closes her hands and holds them up front of her, leaning back and forth on her feet, as if mimicking a rough approximation of a boxing stance. She winks, then suddenly she's on the offense again, coming in blazingly fast in spite how long the fight has gone on. She swings out for Marisol with her right hand, clenched, like one of those hooks the red-head keeps throwing at her. But the real menace is what she's doing with her left hand, clenching her fist, flicking her wrist, but not striking with it directly... Rather, a small sphere of ice appears behind the other girl, only to explode near the level of her back, unleashing a burst of that freezing energy, intent on stunning the girl with the bi-directional assault.
COMBATSYS: Marisol Toughs Out Kula's Behind Slash!!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Kula 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Marisol
"Wait...what?"
Kula's response is, without a doubt, strange to Marisol. Why would anyone HAVE to fight if they didn't want to? Sure, there's the military and so forth, but they're a far cry from the likes of people who fight in these arenas. Thus does the redhead absently tilt her head to one side, gray eyes half-lidding as she curiously observes Kula.
"You get in trouble? What kind of teacher do you have??" Clearly, Kula is trained by Nazis.
But there's precious little time for conversation. She's abused and tormented by icy blades, but despite it all, she still chooses to fight. She's nothing like the mousy magic girl who gives up when the going gets tough. Marisol is determined to carry herself as far as she can go in this fight. If she can't have a solid victory, well...she'll do her best to see to it that she takes out the ice princess with her.
But again, that girl proves her meddle, defending the bulk of Marisol's forceful attacks with her icy barriers and quick thinking. Obviously, whoever trains the girl is very GOOD at what they do. It's almost enough to inspire jealously. But Marisol knows better than that - her grandfather is as good as anyone, and her idol, Shenwoo, is the best fighter she's ever known.
Again the two fighters are separated, Kula sent reeling and Marisol staggering back, running on vapors as she gasps for breath in the biting cold. With open wounds and exposed skin it's hard to focus, her body threatening to shut itself down and force her to stop fighting. But she refuses; clenching her teeth hard, the redhead is determined to fight.
Her determination falters a touch as the blue-haired girl speaks. Her teacher isn't a teacher - it's teachers, and likely, lots of them. Squinting just a fraction, Marisol regards the girl with a mild expression of disbelief before she lightly shakes her head; a moment after a sharp whistle belts past her lips."Wow, that's pretty impressive. Scientists and researchers?" It definitely inspires her imagination to run a little wild. Is she like the Bionic Man?
"E-er, me? It's what you'd expect, really. My grandfather's been training me for some time now. But while I rely on him for tips on form and power and pointers, my real training comes from experiencing the fights first-hand. I guess it's KIND of like what they say: what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger?" Pausing she nods once to herself. "Well, then there's asking other fighters for pointers, of course." Like her idol. Which inspires a slightly-excited inquiry of: "Have you ever fought Shenwoo??"
Thoughts scatter like broken glass as Kula takes to the offensive once again, her mock stance earning her a sly grin from the redhead. Letting her feet brace down into the packed snow, she narrows her eyes and observes Kula's approach. She's ready for whatever happens, and unlike her former teammate in this, she doesn't seek to hurl herself out of the way. Instead, she stands her ground.
It comes from two directions quite suddenly: a punch to the face, and a sudden spear of ice that strikes Marisol in the back. Her teeth grind, her expression pained as she stands there, enduring the attack at what seems to be face-value...
But her features shift, a smile edging over her lips as she regards the girl face to face. "D-damn," she curses, flinching slightly in that moment. But she bites her will to just pass out back; instead, those eyes widen, a fierce look flooding over her tanned face. Pushing herself to the brim, Marisol draws an arm up from her side and swipes an elbow at Kula's face, in hopes of stunning the girl before dropping her fist and slamming it forward, a blow aimed for her stomach. Her arms drop then, igniting with energy as she swings two wild hooks for her jaw, each punch marked with a burst of yellow chi.
But win or lose, the girl is far, far too spent to carry on, evident by the way her eyes briefly close and the shuddering stagger of her body before she hits the ground, gasping for breath.
It's been ages since she'd pushed h
It's been ages since she'd pushed herself like that.
And she loved it.
COMBATSYS: Marisol can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Kula reflects Red Clover from Marisol with Counter Shell.
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Kula 0/-------/----===|
Kula is listening, judging by her attentive focus, but says nothing in return. Grandfather training. A family style then? Her own wasn't developed over generations but rather years. Taught to K' first, then altered, adjusted, and in her opinion, improved for her. Her training didn't start out normal either. Brainwashing, programming, experiments that continue to this day. How nice it might be, Kula muses, to learn from a grandfather.
"Shenwoo? Yes, I have fought him in these events before. He's very brash and rude, but he also seems to have lots of friends. I think maybe I just don't understand him well enough." Seconds pass, and she's left to watch Marisol recoil from the two-direction attack. Striking forward and from behind at once, with speed unlike that which many fighters can even produce, the technique is one of her hardest to defend against. That it succeeds here isn't a surprise to the girl... That Marisol is still standing afterwards, on the other hand, is very much so.
She had been ready to let down her guard. Relax a little, enjoy the ancient mountain and its wintery landscape. But she doesn't have the chance just yet. Shifting her focus to purely defensive in nature, the girl springs back a step, waving her left hand, then her right hand, leaving a barrier, just like she has before. But this one is different. Appearing paper thin and highly reflective, it might appear to Marisol that she's swinging out at an identical girl swinging back at her in that mirror's pristine, flawless surface.
The energy interacts with it oddly, seemingly deflected harmlessly to the sides, dissipated rather than smashing against the blockade. The physical strikes still do a number, however, as spiderweb cracks work their way across the perfectly smooth, frictionless surface. From behind her shield, the girl speaks up again, "Your grandfather... must be very proud of you." she states with the utmost in solemnity.
In the end, she springs back again, just as Marisol's two final hooks end up shattering the barrier just a moment too late. Scattered to the wind, the protective shield turns to white, miniscule specs of dust, blown horizontally away from the two girls like a whirlwind of diamonds, while Kula is standing a little ways back, safe from being harmed by the boxer's combination.
She stands silent, lowering her arms, at last feeling the ache of having expended so much energy throughout the match. Leaning her head back, her hair loses its frosty color, shifting back to auburn locks, the girl closing her eyes as she turns her face skyward. A deep breath is taken, her arms dangling at her sides as she contentedly loses herself to the winds and snow, allowing the frozen peak to restore her strength slowly and renew her vigor.
"Thank you," she speaks up, still gazing into the sky with closed eyes, "This fight was different from most." At last she lowers her face, having paid her silent respects to the highest mountain in the world. And with that, the girl turns to slowly walk down the mountain, head bowed in thought. It isn't long before her small figure is lost to the wind driven snows as she wanders off to enjoy some quiet time alone.
Log created on 18:01:36 08/24/2008 by Marisol, and last modified on 00:04:02 09/04/2008.