Description: Break into a heavily-guarded warehouse. Retrieve the disc of top-secret data. This is real espionage stuff, folks, total spy-versus-spy. It's a clash of skill as ninja Riko Koganei matches wits with the cybernetic Candy Diamond and er...pneumatic Cherry Aguirre, who's totally got a slinky catsuit and everything. Whoa, Riko's totally in trouble now! (Winner: Candy/Cherry)
Good evening, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to guard a warehouse against an insidious ninja thief. Should you or any members of your SNF team be compromised, Howard Enterprises will deny any knowledge of you. Good luck Jim.
This pose will self-destruct in five seconds.
* Queue dramatic theme music and quite possibly a visual montage scattered with occasional credits rendered in a suitably exciting font *
There is, after all, a certain required shape and form to these things
And so we have a warehouse complex, near the waterfront district of Southtown Harbor, a few streets away from the port proper. A fenced-in compound of steel grid and barbed wire. A low-rise building with the access points - doors and loading area - well-lit with clear lines of sight. At the very middle of the building, between shelves and stacks of crates, right in the heart, rests the package that is the objective. A well-wrapped box, padded and sealed, containing within a single data-disc, upon which rests explosive material that could shatter the world if it fell into the wrong hands.
Only the name of its former owner is known, but that is shocking enough.
(it's Choi)
('nuff said)
All that stands between the world and the abyss of oblivion, then, is our dynamic duo, our brave heroic super-spy counter-terrorist bad-enough-girls-to-SAVE-THE-PRESIDENT, except, well, we're in Japan and the head of government is the Prime Minister. But that isn't the point.
Because they are super-spies.
So today, she will be a super spy.
She has been many things. For her to be this is anything but different. For another, it may be fun. there is no such thing as 'fun' to Candy. It will be completely dead serious. The machine makes no motion to hide it's true nature. Unlike the Neo League, or out in the open, Candy Diamond's name is already out. She may as well not hide herself.
It just makes things a bit more interesting, conveniently, as well.
The mechanical maiden stands now infront of the warehouse complex. She makes no motions. Makes no sounds behind the whirring of machinery, and in the light, it's clearly obvious the oddly segmented woman, much like Kula, is anything but like her. Her face is dull, her eyes are empty, irii only truly painted on... and in a see-through ink.
But there is something odd about her. And that's the slight holographic systems that she has.. and they are darkening her just a bit, making the machine woman slightly harder to see, in it all.
While they can not change everything, they are capable of changing her .. slightly.
"Beginning operation." She states, to no-one, as her sensors come to life, head turning back and forth to sweep it across.
She might be a sorta spy, but not when protecting information!
Yes, Cherry absolutely wanted to come back to a mostly empty warehouse for the second week in a row. It really shows.
Why? Because warehouses are BORING. There is no audience here. There are cameramen, sure, but a bare minimum required number. It's just boxes and crates and pallets is the stupid sealed box. The road to stardom involves fans, fans, fans. Fans chanting your name. Fans visiting your website. Fans writing slash fiction about you. Importantly, FANS BUYING YOUR MERCHANDISE. And as a consummate performer Cherry knows that while TV is awesome, getting a personal connection to the audience is best. And they are not here. Plus she is kinda... we'll use the word 'bitter' over last week, since her opponents were not so much interested in putting on a show as they were being either a.) a creepy goth who doesn't know 'cutting' is supposed to be inflicted on the self and b.) a Seijyun girl of Nordic proportions who made Harpo Marx seem like a chatterbox.
Oh, but she's going to make the best of it. How?
Costuming.
Shortly after Candy arrives, Cherry does too, dressed the part. Impossible Mission? Spies protecting an important item to national security? Go back to the basics. Did ANYONE do it better than Diana Rigg? No. And while Candy may be a few chortles short of a Patrick MacNee, and Cherry may have bright red hair instead of Rigg's dark brown, the rest is pure Peel. Which is to say, a lasciviously tight black leather catsuit from head to toe, complete with oblique and seemingly pointlessly-placed zippers, and low-heeled black leather boots. Of course, with her figure Cherry has to leave the top unzipped a bit, Lien Neville-style, giving a decently clear view of her neckline and million-dollar cleavage.
She comes to a stop next to the box, and flips a lock of dark red hair over her shoulder. "Uma Thurman, eat your heart out."
Oh, she's probably stabbing herself repeatedly in the skinny ribcage right about now, in an awful display of gore and self-mutilation. But this is family-friendly prime-time TV, and such graphic images are not suitable for all viewers. No, we only show wholesome violence involving people punching and kicking the crap out of each other.
There's at least one viewer, anyway, who's terribly amused by the whole picture. Half-lidded eyes observe the warehouse from outside, from the roof of a nearby light industrial building - a taller structure with a good view of the site. A slim figure lies prone on the roof overhang, the distinctive yellow fabric of a long raincoat fanning out behind her. Electronically enhanced binoculars click through a few magnifications, their field of vision playing over the stiffly-standing girl near the main entryway of the warehouse, facing the compound's driveway...before shifting to what little can be seen through the structure's glass windows. The interior's dimly lit, but the observer can, from her vantage point, just make out the form of the other woman near the package.
So.
Riko licks her lips, moistening them with the tip of her tongue. Not bad planning, really. Covering both the objective and the approach. Good use of resources.
Of course, if this were a real mission, Riko would quite possibly already have come and gone, utilising all the skills available to a fully trained ninja. Catlike poise and balance, stealth, the ability to make locks and even modern security devices roll over and play dead.
Or at least, that's what you'd expect from most ninja. And from most targets.
But most objectives aren't secured by a couple of world-class fighters. And when one has links to the reclusive NESTS organisation, and the other...uh...um...well, the other one probably has no real underworld ties to speak of. But she does have expansive assets and a good publicist, which in this business really counts for quite a lot. Especially in the wonderful world of television, where that and a slinky catsuit automatically increases your super-spy counterterrorist agent quotient by two hundred percent.
So.
Riko stretches languidly, and then steps off the rooftop.
It's not long, before a figure in that long billowing yellow coat melts out of the darkness, moving past the warehouse compound's guardhouse and heading up the path to the main building, where Candy stands.
Mission start.
And ties to Kagero.. well, that's Riko. But Candy is not certain. Her movements are .. lacking, for the most part, her eyes flicking over to night-vision, gazing out across the entrance. Unlike a human, her vision is more precise, capable of picking up the smallest detail and categorizing it.
She did not initially start as a combat machine .. but with such capabilities in one .. it's always helpful.
To Candy, Cherry may do as she wish, she is inside. She is busy .. at whatever it is that she is doing. The robot does not ask. She does not care about the darkness, or fear what may hide it it. She lacks the little jumpy quirks humans, or other living things, has.
In small terms.. Riko should not have came in from the front, if she had wished to remain unseen.
Like some kind of turret, her gaze locks upon the ninja woman as she heads up the path of the main building.
And while Candy sees her, the machine woman does nothing. Eyes gaze, irii 'clicking' around the moving figure, the only humanoid movement within the entire area, and scanning. Information of any past fight she had ever taken part in filters, flooding the memory of the machine.
But it doesn't move a muscle, content on letting Riko have the belief that she has the advantage of surprise.
It's like that chess game of Man vs Computer.
Candy is Deep Blue, in this instance.
But Riko may be able to notice that something certainly sees her .. and Candy is tracking her.
But if she decides to do anything about it .. that is an entirely different can of worms.
Well, her entrance is made. That's nice.
Oh yeah, and there's the robot.
Really, Cherry's seen some strange stuff in her time on SNF, but this far and away takes the cake. Let's be clear: the redhead's been dropped out of an airplane on what was essentially a floating Megaman stage, she's been subjected to real life Donkey Kong in action, and even lived through SNF: The Takarazuka Revue at one point. But this... this takes the cake, and the Fighting Diva's reaction to Candy, once she has a second to actually look at her and take this in, is pronounced and probably a little rude. She is staring. Let's be frank, kids, if this were you, you'd stare too.
Eventually, however, the Idahoan's natural sang-froid kicks in and she crosses her arms over her chest with a squeak of strained leather. "Boy, I hope that's a costume. Though really, having lived in Japan for some time now, I wouldn't be 100% shocked if it's not." Really, lolibot that can fight? It's a high school nerd's wet dream.
Turning away from Candy, Cherry glances at the box, and then stretches her arms over her head, saying in a loud clear voice, "IF THERE'S ANY NAUGHTY TYPES WITH EYES ON THIS THING, PLEASE COME HERE SO I CAN HIT YOU UNTIL CANDY FALLS OUT." Yeah, subtle. Real subtle.
"No," comes Riko's voice, as she approaches the warehouse, "she's Candy."
Riko draws closer, moving right out in the open, in the middle of the well-lit driveway leading up to the warehouse loading bay.
"She's already out...ne?"
Riko exchanges a look with the strangely rigid girl as she comes further into the light. The little kunoichi's expression is every part as frozen as the android's.
Which isn't the only attribute they share, really.
Riko draws to a halt, just a few feet separating her from Candy.
The shadows of the night and the stark lighting from the florescent tubes along the warehouse exterior mean that precise details are hard to make out. But to eyes like Candy's, there should be something...just subtly off with Riko, her face and hair, even the fabric of her clothes, just too still.
She has a heat signature, but it's oddly uniform, without the minute distortions one would expect. Then there's the pulse of a heartbeat, but again, the sound and vibration is just a touch too regular.
That's when the illusion drops, all pretense of flesh and blood evaporating with a flicker of chi and an incongruous puff of smoke.
What's left behind, when the wisps drift away, is a couple of broomsticks propped up on a wheeled trolley, Riko's yellow raincoat draped around it. There's an electric blanket bundled up around the stick-thin figure, and a battered-looking loudhailer with wires coming out the side.
This proceeds, then, to explode.
The crude face painted on the topmost broomstick looks quite apologetic as it does.
As the blast flare blooms out at Candy, another figure flickers into being - already /past/ the android girl, and through the rolling shutter door of the warehouse, rushing at Cherry:
Riko, sans coat, speeding at full tilt down the warehouse aisle, the wheels of her in-line skates blurring over the concrete.
COMBATSYS: Riko has started a fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Riko 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Cherry has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Candy has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherry
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Candy 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Candy has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Candy reflects Medium Fling from Riko with Counter Shot.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
"Correct." The machine blips in responds. "I am Candy Diamond."
And turning to face Cherry for a moment, Candy's eyes focus on her, the machine shaking her head in the head. "Negative. Unit Candy Diamond is not wearing a costume." She notes, turning away to look back at the empty space.. where there is a yellow figure coming in.
As Cherry yells, Candy does not sigh. She does not complain that Cherry is totally ruining everything dear god why is she yelling so loudly my ears. No. She does none of that. Instead, the machine speaks in monotone. "She is out there." And her body finally moves, pointing forwards.
And then she's right there. Candy had been taking her eyes off. And then Riko stops infront of her.
Candy .. does not really react. Her eyes scan the figure, and they stare at each other... and then what drives Candy's sensors off completely .. shows why Candy could not get a grip.
That was chi.
The real one is out there.
Except, there are wires and a blanket. As the explosions wracks the area, something is off. As expected... as the data had read, the ninja was a fan of trickery. Candy would not be caught off guard this time. But the sight that Riko is ... where she is.. only visible with a blip of sensory data. The only thing moving.
Light erupts from Candy, containing the explosion, guiding it towards the wall of the building.. and the weaving of the solid holographic light points the explosion in a shot like form .. through the wall ..
And towards that moving object.
Candy .. well she'll be moving once that explosion decides to stay exploded.
%tNow that's interesting. Apparently it is sort of a robot kinda maybe. Shouldn't she be wearing The Professor around her neck on a little thing? Bidibidibidi i'm back, Buck, etc.? One dark red eyebrow goes up, the American's face showing traces of sardonic amusement. "Lolibot. *Awesome*. And yet you are still showing more personality than the Jolly Green Giant from last week." Sorry if you're watching this, Flora, but let's face it, you're not the world's most engaging conversationalist.
And then there's Riko's voice, which makes Cherry's head turn barely perceptibly toward the sound. She seems more curious than upset; after all, the IDEA was to get whoever was probably skulking around to make an appearance, as the fight description demanded, and if they were a thief then OBVIOUSLY they're skulking around in the shadows, so why be surprised? "Hm, I suppose you have a point." She inclines her head at Candy. "I guess I'll just have to shake you down for fun and prizes later." Maybe she's filled with iPod Nanos. That'd be awesome.
Oh hello, exploding bullhorn.
What the Fighting Diva processes, as her senses adapt, is that 1.) Candy is unharmed and 2.) there is a girl riding right at her. On roller blades. Cherry pauses, blinks... and then shrugs, before holding out her arm in front of the box. Hey, those things aren't exactly easy to stop on a dime. Plus, as the redhead admits: "I have always wanted to do this." Let's see if Riko's ninja speed is up to avoiding a good old-fashioned clothesline.
COMBATSYS: Riko dodges Cherry's Strong Punch.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Riko blocks Candy's Reflected Medium Fling.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
Riko has just enough time to arch her eyebrows, eyes widening fractionally as she feels the heat of a rushing explosion filling her back. That /shouldn't/ have happened. She placed the shaped explosive charge carefully, the blast radius shouldn't have...
No time to think, though, just react, arcing her body, letting the pressure wave carry her. Her senses are telling her that -something- just went totally wahoonie-shaped in the electromagnetic spectrum. That girl, that...cyborg? Android? She did something.
Riko'll figure out what. Later. When she has time to compare the fight video to her own data recorders and recollections. For now...
The blast causes her to skid a little, but she's still flying towards the woman named Cherry. Who now has an arm stretched out in her path. Riko takes all this in within the space of a heartbeat, even as bits of red-hot metal shrapnel and melted plastic bounce past her to the concrete floor, acrid smoke exploding in the entry-way of the warehouse.
Without missing a beat, she snakes one hand out, slim fingers touching Cherry's outstretched arm. Riko swings neatly round like a gymnast on the bars, using Cherry's own limb as a pivot to slide under the diva's reach.
Then Riko's grip hardens, drawing shut as she /keeps moving/, skate wheels still speeding.
She attempts to, quite simply, keep her hold on Cherry's arm. And drag the woman along with her.
Ninjas, these days. No respect for glamorous superstar supermodel superspies.
As Riko continues to skid forwards, towards the woman named cherry, and as Cherry slides, under the reach, she keeps moving.. and goes to drag Cherry with her.
Candy meanwhile has finished weaving the energy. Her motions begin anew, traveling slowly about the building. Candy is a terrible defense guard when it isn't NESTs secrets. Instead of immediately helping Cherry, Candy's eyes flicker, looking upon the Ninja. "I believe you will have trouble of your own. And I do not contain any prizes. You variation of fun is alien to me." She speaks.. but does not interrupt the battle.
"I will assist in a moment. I am making sure she will not leave my sight again."
And how? The machine's irii flicker, taking THIS value of Riko in. "It is quite important that I record her skills for future use in the fight. I am sure you are capable of defending yourself until then." If not, Candy can .. clearly finish the job.
She falls back, eyes focusing.
COMBATSYS: Candy focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Riko successfully hits Cherry with 88 MPH.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Candy
> //////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Cherry
In Cherry's defense, she hadn't expected that to work. After all, anybody who's good enough to be in an SNF probably is light enough on their feet to do something so simple as, say... duck. That might happen. What she wasn't expecting was the grab, and the problem is that when you're used to using footwork to evade rather than your beefy burly man muscles to suck damage up, you are not thinking about how to escape moves that start with the other person *ALREADY HOLDING ON TO YOU*. This is, to put it mildly, a wrench in Cherry's plan. She tries to twist around and actively kick off Riko's body to separate the two, but in fact Riko is already speeding PAST her and that just isn't going to work. The relatively light Cherry flutters along behind Riko like a pennant for just long enough to crash headlong through a warehouse box in a burst of splintering wood, before tucking and rolling off to the side.
The Diva grimaces as she gets up, dusting off the catsuit, which has against all human logic survived unscathed. A thousand fanboys breathe sighs of dejection. "That *could* have been fun, which is why I'm only going to break half of your limbs," the American mutters.
But Riko is still on the move, which means Cherry now needs to keep up with a girl on rollerblades if she wants to do something so normal as 'attack'. Assist in a moment, huh? "Thank you ever so much," she mutters, eyes tracking the warehouse for Riko and then taking off after her... at speed. Considerable speed. In fact she's *gaining* on the ninja, or at least does so enough that the red-haired Pacific student simply kicks off the ground on a mighty leap, twirling in midair and looking to axe kick Riko right into the floor, her kicking leg erupting in a burst of fiery-red dragonflame as she does so.
COMBATSYS: Riko parries Cherry's Cherry on Top!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Riko 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Cherry
Sparks screech against the concrete floor of the warehouse as Riko jams on the brakes, the rear caps of her in-line skates scraping hard against the ground. The sudden abrupt halt means that the woman called Cherry is now coming dangerously close up her blindside.
Objects in the mirror are closer than they seem.
"Saaa," Riko murmurs, tapping her chin with one slender finger, "you're both so -nice- to me..."
As Cherry whirls towards her, Riko makes a leap of her own, knees bending, muscles flexing, the polyurethane wheels of her skates pounding as she leaves the ground, flipping just over Cherry's flaming kick. Smoke sizzles from Riko's baby-blue skate boots as the two fighters briefly come into contact. But there's no impact, just a faint whisper of touch.
And Riko's overhead. Now, somehow, adhering to the underside of the warehouse roof, attached to the unfinished girders that form the rafters of the low-rise storage building. She crouches with the baseplates of her skate pressed against the bare metal. Magnetic adhesion? Something else?
"Sooo," Riko calls, looking down at the catsuited woman and her industrial-bodied companion, "it's only polite to return the favour, ne?"
She drops a hand to one side, slamming it in a tightly curled hammerfist. Shattering the light fixture next to her, destroying the florescent tube in a hiss of sparks and glass. But even as it explodes, the yellow-white sparks jump the spectrum to a cool blue, forming into a coherent lightning bolt that crosses the distance between the ceiling and Candy in an eyeblink.
Bang.
COMBATSYS: Candy fails to reflect Metamysticparallectrolysis EX from Riko with Counter Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Cherry
Candy does not care about being nice or the like. But as Riko calls, sending a tube, the yellow-white spark jumping towards Candy, the barrier begins to re-form as well. But it is not-ready, Candy is incapable of catching up to it in time, and in the end, the shock catches Candy .. it's not exactly a normal lightning bolt. The machine is nearly shortcircuited. Nearly.
It falters, falling backwards, as it smokes, and stares a bit towards Cherry.
"Error. Could not calculate response to others assault." She explains as the reasoning. Truly, that added bonus did not help Candy's work at all.
And in the end, Candy ends up collapsed backwards, smoking.
Guess machines don't like that stuff.
Landing on the ground, Cherry is still perfectly composed despite whiffing by a mile. Perhaps problematically, she turns just in time to see Candy get a lightning boltin' right in the robojaw, which does make her wince a little bit. That sounded like it stung, all things considered, and while she might find the android maid assassin recorderbot thing a little off-putting, she's not a big fan of people taking weather phenomena on the chin unless it's a truly random act of God. Maybe it's for the best that in the process of recovering she missed the riding on the ceiling bit.
She doesn't attack. Why? Because she decides she doesn't want to. Riko can come to them, maybe, for now. Instead she runs a hand through her hair and tries to keep her eye on the superball-like nerd-ja, running a hand through her red hair with a sort of distracted expression. "Please don't break that," she says lazily, hopefully to Riko but maybe to Candy. "If you do, some lonely anime nerd in his garage is going to be very sad that he won't have an entry for the science fair after all."
COMBATSYS: Cherry gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Candy
> ///////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Cherry
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, Riko gives Cherry's suggestion due consideration, subjecting it to an intensive peer review process with objective and rational procedure.
Meaning to say she sticks her tongue out.
The flash of pink vanishes back behind her glossy lips, and Riko smirks.
By now, there's a lot of smoke rising in the battered warehouse building. Wisps rise from the wreckage of Riko's exploding dummy, particularly from ground zero, where the ninja girl's discarded raincoat lies surrounded by the charred remains of broomsticks, loudhailer, and wheeled trolley. Shattered packing crates damaged by the fighters litter the area, some of them beginning to smoulder from secondary fires.
Then there's Candy, of course, and she's producing a rather large amount of foul-smelling fumes as well. Not very lady-like, that.
Riko does, though, examine her critically...observing where smoke seems to be pouring out of vents and seams. Hm, probably not a cyborg, then. Unlikely to have significant organic components, given all that. Odd. And Interesting.
The ninja turns back to Cherry.
"Okay," she says, impishly, "I'll leave her alone. For now."
That said, Riko drops off the ceiling.
Falling at an angle...towards Cherry.
With one hand outstretched, her palm open, fingers splayed. Almost beckoning - at least, if it wasn't for the clear crackling arcs of residual electricity still engulfing Riko's arm.
The little sight from Riko draws no ire from Candy. She may do all she wants, but then, it is not the sight of Riko that Candy truly needs. But as she begins to move, the machine's irii draw back to Riko.
Her decision to leave her alone is a poor one, considering what Candy is capable of. And what she is capable of is varying, at every point in combat.
It is expected she would try something risky, when it is capable. Her motions draw her back upwards. Back to operation. She will make best of what information that has not been washed from the assault, destroyed, corrupted in the moment it took for a single bolt to travel.
But as Riko falls towards Cherry.. something lances for her.
Only a small stream at first, something about Candy moves. The light about her is bending, weaving. And then it finally weaves around itself, spiralling towards Riko, like vines wrapping around each other, the multi-edged vine of light lances towards Riko, to pluck her from the air. She may be too fast, but it may be just enough.
Ending, Candy would look towards Cherry.
"Target is fast. Capable of preying upon weaknesses. Do not find yourself unaware." Her voice is slightly ugly, untransformed. Much like you would expect a robots to.
COMBATSYS: Riko successfully hits Cherry with Light Fantastic.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> /////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cherry
You should be watching people if they're on the ceiling, Cherry.
To her benefit, the Fighting Diva notices that something is awry well before she can sense that someone is falling toward her. On the downside, Candy distracts her somewhat, and the nature of Riko's attack makes it so that Cherry -- who uses chi pretty much on instinct alone -- doesn't have a natural feel for which way to duck out of the way, and gets consequently tasered in the arm. It's not a fun time, especially because that leather catsuit is a rental. On the plus side, her hair does not suddenly poof out into a massive afro or anything of the sort, which the fashion-conscious Diva might considered a plus if she could feel her shoulder and jaw right now.
Instead, she simply pivots and tries to land a high kick delivered with all the force she can currently muster right into Riko's jaw, attempting to pop her right up into the path of... whatever the hell it is Candy just did. "Do tell," the American responds to the robot, in a very dry tone.
COMBATSYS: Riko dodges Candy's Critical Shoot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> /////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Riko fails to interrupt Heavy Kick from Cherry with Dragon Seal Blue EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Cherry
Energy flashes past Riko, coming dangerously close to piercing her scalp. She moves, though, just in time, at the very last instant - such that the light blazes past her face, close enough for her to feel the heat, close enough to singe a few hairs from her head. Riko glances to the side, blinking once. That wasn't a chi attack; she felt no pulse of spiritual focus in it, nothing at all.
Her smile broadens.
She's still wearing that smile when Cherry's heel crashes into her chin, forcing her head back with a tremendous CRACK. Neck muscles and spine strain against the immense pressure, Riko's whole body arching with the blow. She falls, bouncing, twisting, ending up crumpled on the warehouse floor.
Near the neatly wrapped package she was supposed to retrieve in this whole sordid operation.
Even as Riko begins to rise, her eyes flick to the box, then back to Cherry and Candy.
Still smiling.
Riko slides out of the way. Truly troublesome.
But Candy does not stop in her motions, and while the strike may have failed.. Candy continues her motions. This member shall not gain the box. It is obvious why not. If they do, they have failed.
So they can't allow it.
Her motions begin to become more automated. She has failed, so far, in her tasks. She will have to step up. Leaping off the ground, Candy touches off, heading towards Riko, bouncing off a line of boxes.. her metallic frame pushes off the wooden structure, pistons pumping, causing her to flip about.. grasping a light in midst the air, and bringing it down with her, swinging the weapon towards Riko as she lands.
It spins, but in a wide radius about her.
She may still be smiling.. but Candy has a look of indifference..
Until she speaks to Cherry. "Negative. Unit Candy can handle herself."
Despite herself, Cherry allows herself a little smile at the feeling of that kick connecting. There IS something satisfying about lashing out with what you feel is a nice, solid hit and having it connect... especially against an evasive opponent like Riko. Not that the Diva bears her a grudge; in her place, Cherry would be doing the exact same thing. Her leg drops, but only so that it can hit the ground and keep her moving again. Riko's tricksy... but Cherry's no slouch in the speed department either. If she wants to keep things going in her direction she's going to have to try and keep up. Even if the girl can ride on the ceiling.
Yeah, well. I know that trick too, sort of.
"Oh my god," the Idahoan mutters as she sets off toward Riko in a dead run, giving Candy the briefest of glances. "No more warehouses, no more sci-fi conventions. Next week I demand to fight in some sort of resort." Don't say that, Cherry... look what happened to Marisol and Hotaru. The Diva barely processes that Candy is making some sort of aerial assault, probably from the sound of her impacts on the boxes, and thus Cherry herself goes the opposite route; she appears to run right *past* Riko, but suddenly drops low, almost as if she were going to make a baseball slide... and turns it into a very low turn, doing an improbable 180 as if skimming across the ground and suddenly launching herself, feet first, for the back of Riko's knees. Let's see you get off the ground in roller blades, kiddo.
COMBATSYS: Riko endures Cherry's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Riko fails to interrupt Random Strike from Candy with Dragon Seal Blue.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Candy
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Cherry
But she doesn't dodge the low strike. Doesn't even try. Riko simply lets Cherry's sweep cut out her balance, spilling her on her back, hard to the concrete. She's facing the ceiling, though, so she's got a good view of the mechanical marvel as Candy descends from the heavens like some kind of avenging angel. Except without wings. And equipped with a considerably greater amount of hardware.
That means Riko's able to snap her hand out, and said arm is /still/ blazing with a cool blue aura of highly-charged electrical power, intercepting and---
Well.
That was the theory. Empirical practice proves different. It appears that Riko's plan did not, as it were, fully account for all the variables.
The light fixture wielded by Candy slams into Riko's arm, an impact that explodes through the warehouse like a gunshot.
"Huh," Riko manages, sounding oddly philosophical, her eyes glassy.
The crack of the light is a bit helpful, for Candy..
But this time, the machine simply steps backwards after the assault. To see Riko crash backwards, Candy's vision is flushed, slightly, with new data. Her eyes seem odd. Her actions seem slowed. It would be a perfect moment to strike.
It is a perfect moment to strike.
And so the machine moves as promised. It begins to pull forwards again, leaning down to face Riko. There is more to be said than she is saying. "Hello." She finally states, smiling. "Are you well? You look terrible. Your rapid tissue manipulation will not be effective in such a state." She notes.
"Neither will your tricks. You have tried. I am sure your master will understand. Like mine." She exclaims, before backing up. Cherry might understand what the garble she had noted. But looking to Cherry, Candy adds. "We must defeat her swiftly." Before attempting to yank Riko upwards and throw her, simply, against the box.
Against the box!?
Mission in danger!
Cherry, on the other hand, isn't able to capitalize on her momentum. Why? Because she can *hear* Candy and is standing *right there* and let's face it, not even a word of that made any sense to a normal person... and despite being able to kick through cinder blocks, summon dragon's fire, and dress to impress with nothing more than a cocktail napkin and a length of ribbon, Cherry entertains delusions of relative normality. "Whoa, wait, master who manipulation what now?" Yeah, none of that made sense to her... probably to her unexpected benefit, as it's likely Candy would have to kill her if she actually understood even a word of that.
Instead the redhead turns her attention to Riko, who is perhaps a little wacky but so far hasn't done anything stranger than throw lightning or defy gravity. "Unit Cherry thinks she's going to need a nice, strong drink after this," she says evenly. Apparently it's contagious.
But the warehouse setting is getting to her, and she wouldn't mind bringing this fight to a close either, really. "I'm down. This thing needs to be back to Lucky Tanaka's Costume Rental by 10." But what to do in this scenario? More double-teaming makes her grimace a little, but Cherry decides to just go for it anyway. Bringing her hand up to her lips, the Fighting Diva 'kisses' her fingertips... bringing her hand down as a burst of flame appears in her palm. "Nothing personal, Electrolass," she adds, sweeping her hand in front of her. The fiery aura becomes a coherent sphere of flame, which Cherry suddenly slams with her palm, sending it spiralling toward Riko in an unpredictable pattern.
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Riko with Burning Love Breakdown.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Riko blocks Candy's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Riko 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
"Nothing personal, she says," Riko quips, lopsidedly, from where she's lying, lopsidedly, on the floor, sprawled awkwardly over a decidedly battered package. The box broke her fall, ensuring a safe landing despite the budget travel of NESTS Airways, but it does little to make her fireproof.
Little trails of smoke rise from singed and soot-stained patches all over the ninja teen's sprawled form. She tilts her head hither and yon as she levers herself to one knee, the wheels at the base of her other foot brushing against the concrete floor. She gives it an experimental flex.
"I think Miz Roboto knows allll about my personal details already, ne?"
Riko smiles disarmingly.
Before she spins.
The edge of her in-line skate scrapes a circular path around Riko, sparking against the concrete. Sparks that briefly form distinct arcane tracings in their wake, complex multi-formed runes and interlocking patterns of retina-searing brightness, finally culminating in an almighty release of electric energies, a pulse wave that blasts out from around Riko.
Cherry, who blasted Riko from a distance, a moment earlier, is out of the range.
Candy, who preferred the personal touch...probably not so.
COMBATSYS: Candy reflects Level 360 from Riko with Counter Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
As Riko goes on to pick herself up off the ground, the box breaking her fall.. what with Cherry having set Riko a bit on fire. As she still smokes, Candy watches, eyes fixated on Riko, twitching, predicting what movements she will make. Her words are ... simple. "Error. I cannot reveal what I have learned."
A statement that yes .. she quite indeed does.
But then Riko spins. The edge of her skates cause a circular path.. and sparks begin to form. Candy is not ready. A multi-formed ruin, interlocking patterns.. and finally a release of such electric energies.. a wave, pulsing with energy, that erupts.
And Candy.. threatening to be short-circuited from being within the radius.
Her logistic circuits state it is too late to move. Too late to prevent the assault. But the option she has not yet taken, to overclock herself for a moment, yet rests. It is tapped into.. and in split seconds, Candy is surrounded, solid light holograms spiralling out from under her, encasing her.. weaving the charge about her, barely trapping it between the thin weavings of light.
Computer calculated perfection.
The energy is re-directed, much like a ripple hitting the edge of the lake, but as the sparks, and the energy of the pulse erupts backwards.. the weavings move with them, sharp, solid light bits threaded into the energy of the mysterious ninja woman.
Just enough.
Candy collapses backwards, reserves low.. her warnings beginning to crop up. It was risky.
What.
So, apparently ILM decided to step in and is taking over special effects for this part of the program. It's not that Cherry is unfamiliar with chi; she can use it, after all, though maybe not with the grace and finesse that Riko is capable of. But man, *this*? This is too much. Already at a distance, the Fighting Diva is absolutely NOT getting involved in this little matchup at all. In fact, she stays right where she is and watches the outcome extremely carefully, probably in an attempt to figure out just what the hell is going on here. Holograms? Light bouncing? Electricity everywhere? Even by fighter standards, this is pretty extreme.
But even confused, you can't shut her up.
"I do not have even the remotest idea what the hell just happened," she says, voice measured to be dry and 'unimpressed' as always. "But I feel like there should be moog 'Star Wars' music playing in the background."
COMBATSYS: Cherry takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Candy successfully hits Riko with Reflected Level 360.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
More smoke rises from Riko's form, faint trails spiraling from her t-shirt and shorts. And /this/, above all the heat and burning that's been thrown around already, is finally enough to set off the warehouse's fire alarm.
A loud ringing rattles through the cavernous building, followed by the distinctive hiss of a sprinkler system coming to life, sending sheets of water cascading down from above. The debris left by the fighters, smouldering from the battle, hisses dangerously in reaction.
As for Riko herself, she twitches slightly, muscles spasming, as she pulls herself to her feet, skate wheels slipping a little on the suddenly slick surface underfoot. The package is tucked under one arm. Her left eye spasms as she regards Candy. It isn't every day she gets her own attack directed back at her, especially by purely mechanical means.
"Interesting," Riko says, blandly, her voice now devoid of any trace of levity. Her expression is unreadable, "someday, we'll have to examine you."
The plural is quite deliberate.
COMBATSYS: Riko gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
It is as Riko is smoked, and that Candy begins to be hit by sheets of water, that she finally finishes scanning the results. Effective. It has been completely effective. NESTs will love such data. Candy will deliver them everything they may need... and she will do so without being thanked once.
She would get to be with Kula more, after all.
But as Riko stands once again, Candy's gaze means something different this time. "Interesting?" She quips, in response.. but those words are interesting, to Candy. The latter especially. "Negative... you and... him do not have access." Candy has little to add to that.. as the reserves are re-charged, Candy releasing a bit of stored up energy to the air about her, re-fueling her own form and energy reserves with such a use.
Unfortunately. Candy knows it would be useless to resist. She knows so willingly, able to measure the strengths. It is unfortunate.
"Finish her." She states to Cherry.
COMBATSYS: Candy gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Cherry
You and who now? Seriously, it's like they're talking in Esperanto. Never mind the lightshow, it's obvious to Cherry that these two know each other and clearly have some axe to grind, although the redhead visibly puts her fingers to her temples at the realization she is thinking of Candy as a 'person'. Of course, the Fighting Diva has no idea that Candy's program is so complex she really IS a person; in fact she's not entirely convinced that it's not a woman in a really good costume at the moment. Of course, the robot's comment gets under her skin, and the redhead snort a little, waving a hand in the air. "As you command, Shang Tsung. Christ."
Turning back to Riko, she tilts her head a little. "I wanted to say the thing with the lightning and the rollerblades was interesting. Oh, and one other thing." Holding her hand out in front of her, like a waitress holding a tray, Cherry concentrates for a moment, a roiling red-orange sphere of dragon flame whirling into being there, no bigger than a baseball. "Goodbye."
Then the world is flame, the burst erupting to become a huge dome of fire that expands outwards from Cherry's body, looking to envelop Riko entirely. And uh, hopefully Candy knows to get out of the way, but hey.
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Riko with Cherry Bomb.
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Candy
> ///////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
"Fatality," Riko deadpans, with surprising sangfroid for someone who's just been damn-near incinerated. She seems oddly calm for someone who -must- be hanging onto consciousness by the slenderest of threads. She says this from a spot near the wall, blackened and charred by the massive release of catastrophic energies.
Water splashes and sizzles, some of it flashing into steam, as the warehouse's fire containment system continues to go on its merry way.
The girl's sprawled at an awkward angle, her back against the vertical concrete surface. She manages to lift her arm, though, turning her head just enough to look at the contents of her hand - barely recognisable as something that used to be a package. At some primordial time in far-flung history. She studies this for a while, before giving the best approximation of a shrug she can manage while slumped against the wall like that.
Riko tosses the package away. It splashes into a puddle beside her. She gets back to her feet, wobbling slightly on her skates. Riko spares a glance at her raincoat, lying all the way near the entryway of the warehouse - where she set up that initial dummy trap. With the sprinkler system still going full-tilt, she kinda wishes she were wearing it.
Oh well.
The ninja girl regards her opponents, then gives another small shrug.
Then she sweeps her foot to the left, down, tossing the ruined remains of the package into the air with the toe of one skate boot, then slamming it forward in a kick with the blade - leaving the whole mess spinning at Cherry.
As Cherry burns into Riko, with a massive dome of fire, Candy .. Candy is out of the way alright. And she's watching. Watching as Riko seems to barely stay upwards, ontop of everything. As well as how the package.. as damaged as it is, is merely tossed away.. before tossing the remaining bits of the package towards Cherry, as Candy watches.
"Mission accomplished.. battle over." Candy states, before walking away from Riko, eyeing her in return. She is not continuing the fight. She is not going to continue to collect information in such a damaged way. "Unit Candy finishing combat systems, returning to normal mode."
Before Candy slides back the tonfa, and the generators finish spinning. She .. isn't going to fight, it seems. Not anymore.
The machine could accurately weigh just how much of a chance Riko had, and perhaps, Riko had knew it.
It was not in her mission to terminate. Merely to participate.
COMBATSYS: Candy has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Cherry dodges Riko's Power Fling.
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Cherry
If Riko were at her full strength, it's not likely this would play out as it does, but as the deadly(?) package comes sailing at her, Cherry simply reaches out and snags it with one hand. Of course, this is when Candytron 9000 decides that she's put in her 8 hours and is calling it a day, and in a complete disregard for 'the mission', the Fighting Diva hurls the caught box over her shoulder, where it lands an appropriate delay of seconds later in a clatter of shattered wood and displaced metal tools. "Oh, izzat so?" she asks, not looking pleased about this development at all. "Batteries running low? I was going to ask where the BASS DRUM AND YOUR SHADES WERE!" she follows up, shouting to be heard as Candy gets farther and farther away.
There's a pause, and Cherry turns to look at Riko for a few long moments.
When she finally speaks, it's with a shrug. "Meh. You wanna go get a milkshake or something?"
COMBATSYS: Cherry takes no action.
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Riko 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Cherry
Riko scratches the back of her head, looking vaguely nonplussed. She runs her fingers through her hair, brushing back loose wet and singed strands. She arches a slender eyebrow at Cherry.
For a moment, there is tension in the air, as the two remaining opponents regard each other across the ruined warehouse.
Then:
"Okay," Riko chirps, sounding almost too cheerful for someone in her condition.
She rolls across the concrete floor, scoops her battered raincoat from where it was lying, and slings it over her shoulders, worming her arms through the sleeves.
"So," Riko asks, conversationally, "you know where we can buy one of those...?"
Riko points in the direction of the departing Candy.
And thus did détente (and milkshakes, and robots) end the Cold War.
COMBATSYS: Riko has left the fight here.
> ///////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Cherry has ended the fight here.
Log created on 20:36:00 10/03/2008 by Riko, and last modified on 19:03:10 10/04/2008.