Description: Coincidence can be such a cruel thing. It's remarkable how one moment of chance encounter, not planned by any involved, can go so wrong. What started as a surveillance mission for two becomes a nightmare. Two intending to simply disrupt an arms deal find something far more interesting waiting. And then there's Yamazaki and Birdie. Someone find Ryuji's kidney please.
"AUGH GOD!! OOF!"
A body goes fucking flying through the wall of the warehouse, knocking out all but one of the large multiplex windows on the upper right hand side. Hitting the ground at an odd angle, the man-made potato sack's spine makes a weird noise when he wraps himself around a dumpster. Then the metallic ring of a tine torn from the mast of a forklift hitting someone's skull sounds from just inside.
"Bunch of fucking pansies!! Think you can get away with trying to stiff me in the middle of /my/ business?!"
Well, someone's having fun.
Technically speaking, it wasn't really Yamazaki's business at all. But he's involved, so it's kind of his territory, far as he's concerned. Just a gun deal, moving a shipment of 'reappropriated' and deserialized merchandise through a shipping company to some of the lower level gangs that made up the Syndicate umbrella. What made it unique--and as such, worthy of Yamazaki's particular interest, to say nothing of Birdie's, was the fact that there was quite a lot of guns involved. A lot. One has to question whether or not Yamazaki was involved in the shipping, too. There's no orderly crates (well, to be fair, there /was/) just, a huge pile of weapons, wood and ammunition just sitting in the world's biggest pile in the middle of the warehouse.
He may or may not have tried to swim in them.
Forklift whipping the second of the three major dealers into submission, Yamazaki starts to menace a third. Yeah, you gotta search high and low to get a good price around these parts..." Cheap-ass weed jockeys. "Listen. Sidney. You're great. Not a beanhead. Why don't you pay up. Yeah?" Lit from above, his shadow falls over that guy mercilessly. Yamazaki doesn't even pay a lot of mind to the groaning from outside.
It's needless to say Yamazaki makes a compelling argument for the greater part of the Syndicate's distribution network.
Birdie doesn't immidiately turn on anybody. Standing here and minding his own business, Birdie just watches as Yamazaki screams and beats people, going crazy on them. Its an art form, its got to be. Birdie is sure of it. Really sure of it. Especially because Yamazaki pulls it off so well. Calling them names and beating the hell out of them. It should be recorded and played over multiple times in the middle of a museum.
Hahaha. Bunch of panzies. Should just paid." Birdie snorts, "Bloody brilliant of them, eh? You'd think they'd not mess with us. Especially at a time like this." Birdie grunts, looking around once more towards the pile of weapon.
"Why do we even need that stuff? None of us actually use those friggen things." Birdie states, thinking out loud like a really loser thug, "Should we just use them to beat the hell out of blokes?" You know, because beating people with giant rocket launchers are a lot more effective than say, live ammo in a rocket launcher.
Birdie just lays back, allowing Yamazaki to go to town. He also chows down on a watermelon. A whole one, just biting into it. It's not racist, its a drink and a fruit.
This business in Southtown? It was war. Schools and youth centers targetted with the intent to be turned into bases of operations, every powerful enemy the Syndicate had in the world was pouring into the city. When it comes to real wars, there's no such thing as a cheap shot - only 'smart tactics'. While the large scale forces of Shadaloo and NESTS were out attempting to secure real footholds within Southtown, others were more interested in undercutting the Syndicate's options. Disarm, sabatoge, and ruin under the cover of confusion no doubt caused by the other assaults bound to start any hour now.
Rugal had his own angle in all this. NESTS and Shadaloo had a working history, of course. But 'R'? Bernstein was ever calculating and in this lopsided war, he sensed opportunity. He didn't like Geese any less than he liked the other notorious faction leaders. But Geese had the misfortune of being outnumbered here. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. There would be time to deal with the others down the line, when the odds were turned against them...
The information network was rife with leaks - a problem that only grew worse as the pending night approached. The nature of this exchange became known only an hour prior. The masterminds behind this invasion decided it needed to be dealt with. It wasn't Rugal's thing to do field work. That's what minions and Orochi blooded secretaries are for. But with the other fronts already in motion, there was no better way to ensure that this specific operation went off as intended.
Three black utility vans pull up outside the warehouse, their headlights visible well before the vehicles themselves roll into view. The first one ends up coming to a stop on the leg of the ejected dealer. Oops.
Out of the passanger side of the black painted vehicle steps Bernstein himself. Well over dressed for such an occasion, no attempt is made at keeping this covert. There might not even be any surivors to talk about it afterward anyway. One dark eye comes to rest on the body partially covered by the tire. "Looks like there's already a party here," the tall German grunts. "Time to crash it."
A snap of his fingers and 'R' troops begin rolling out of the three vehicles. Only one of his toughest enforcers could be spared for this. But unless there's someone worthwhile within, Brian should be more than capable of directing the cleanup. "Deal with anyone inside, then pile the arms into the trucks." In, out, then back to relaxing while the war plays out. At least, that's how Rugal expects the night to go.
Diametrically opposed to the German, as far as appearance is concerned, is the unbelievably tall Brian Battler. He looks more akin to a rancher, clad in cowboy boots and Carhartt, than to a lackey of the nattily dressed leader of the "R" Organization. Appropriate for someone who expects to get down and dirty.
The Texan keeps himself out of the planning process and the politics when it comes to the Organization's actions. It really doesn't matter to him why things are being done, all that matters is that they are. He's getting paid, and paid well, to do a job. Like any professional enforcer, it's best to not ask questions. Hopping out of back of the last van as they pull in, the former professional football player tips his worn cowboy hat back before leaning over and spitting a wet, chaw-riddled loogie into the face of the downed dealer. Hmm. "I'm on it," he says, nodding at his employer as he readjusts his hat.
Three of the "R" troops hustle over to the Texas titan, and immediately he begins issuing orders. "Team one, I want you around back, covering the escape routes. Team two, cover the far side and prepare to move in when I give the signal. Team three, cover the front and the trucks, make sure nobody gets out and nobody touches the vans." The soldiers wait a single beat before they rush off, moving rapidly and quietly towards their assignments.
The light clack of hard leather sole on the dock soon become the only sound around the warehouse as Brian strides towards the door to the warehouse. Raising his fist, and then on a beat, he extends one finger, then two, then a third... before rearing back and punching the door off it's hinges.
Someone's body politely excuses himself through a window. The sharp, shrieky echo of EXPLODING glass reverberates across the harbor.
And the darkened figure, crouching invisibly on the rooftop adjacent to that marked warehouse responds to it only with the slight movement of her head. Behind nightvision lenses, dark eyes narrow thoughtfully. And that shadowed body allows herself just a brief flicker of humanity when her mouth crooks with ill-humour.
Then she tilts her head, pressing two gloved fingers against her earpiece as her lips silently murmur into the microphone taped up the side of her throat. She is silent until the voice in her ear -- the strong, patient voice of her Commanding officer -- issues his final order.
Whip smiles privately to herself, the surge of adrenaline -- adrenaline and something else, something fiercer, more vengeful -- makes her hands clench with the sounds of creaking leather. She's been sitting here for the last hour thirsting for that request to be affirmed. She's been a long time waiting to deliver this revenge... especially to the Southtown Syndicate. She owes them.
She owes them the chance to taste their own blood.
For now, the Ikari Warrior is silent and patient, erring nether from the default of her military training nor her very nature. Dressed in black ops tactical wear, her body cut into lean lines from her kevlar and strapped-on weapons and communications uplink, the young woman is missed as an indistinct swathe of black against the darkened skies and unlit warehouse proper. She keeps her eyes trained on that warehouse below, moving only necessary as to switch frequencies from homebase to her fellow soldier -- the one acting as the better eyes and ears to the activity as she serves as communications go-to. This time, she's not working alone.
It's then she can hear additional activity from below. A vehicle. Something that the debriefing didn't include. Unable to see from her current position, her eyes narrow further, and the line of her jaw worries with thought. But the orders were still issued...
"Sparrow to bluebird," Whip speaks lowly into her set. "Clearance issued from nest. Bluebird, do you copy?"
At the wall nearby, there are six crates. Precisely six, all of them very large and not perfectly stacked on their pallates, as narrow gaps exsist between them-- tight, thin gaps that barely a mouse should be able to fit between, but nonetheless there. Fitted between the wall and the three crates at the bottom is 'Bluebird,' laying at what would ordinarily be the most uncomfortable angle of her life-- but she's still there all the same. For how long? Nobody knows, but when it comes to Leona Heidern it could have been hours upon hours.
Clutched in Leona's hands is a small device with an eye-pod leading down a narrow cable that fits between a hair's breadth gap between boxes and ends in a tiny camera lens near the edge of the darkness between those boxes. Nigh-impossible to catch at a glance, the fiber-optic link gives her a clear, if somewhat convex view of what's going on in the center of the warehouse.
The clothing Leona wears is likewise nearly impossible to distinguish from Whip's own in differences, save a lack of extras-- less weaponry, less tactical pouches and packs. A .45 strapped to her thigh and a combat knife secured upside-down on her left sleeve are the major bits of notable weaponry, with her bright blue hair bundled up as tightly as possible under a bandanna with a black cap worn over it to keep it secure.
Her arm bends silently for all the time it's been wedged into one position, coming to lightly touch the comm. Her lips barely part, and the harsh murmur returns to her comrade: "Bluebird, over?"
But even as she says it, something seems off. Strange.
At about the time all this happens, Yamazaki is collecting great amounts of cash from the last buyer. He may in fact also be collecting cash from what's left of the second buyer. The first one is outside somewhere, and Yamazaki doesn't feel like walking out there to get it. He can mail Geese a fucking check, or Yamazaki will just have to walk farther later.
He pauses, mid-suitcase conspicuously stacked with green.
"You know, I never really thought about it," Yamazaki mentions, trying to shut the suitcase with one boot. "Some people are pussies and need that sort of shit, though." He discards his forklift tine, all 80 lbs of heavy steel slamming into the earth some ways away. "Not my problem if nobody ever told em what riding a real train's like..." he growls, his voice soaked in bile. "But--"
He raises an educating finger.
"You ever shoot someone in the face with a shotgun?" he asks. "I've yet to see anybody walk off a pound of buckshot to the fuckin' eye." Pause. "Well, except for that one time.."
He picks up the suitcase, then the limp body of the knocked out thug, presumably to drag him outside once the money's good. Priorities, after all. "Beating someone with a rocket launcher, though. I gotta try that, I--" See, the fact that he's more or less oblivious to Whip and Leona's ministrations is made moot by the fact that there are headlights shining in the windows. Really fucking bright ones. Be frowns, taking a good sniff of the air. Smells like some old blood...
He mutters.
"Figures. Always somebody who wants a piece of the apple pie..."
Brian kicks down the door, and the Syndicate mercenary (not enforcer) grins, waving the body in one arm like a handkerchief. "YOO HOO~ stranger!" He'd blow a kiss, if he had any of his hands free.
"Welcome to my party," he exults darkly.
"Gimme a name for that grave I'mma put ya in.."
Birdie snorts at the thought of Yamazaki beating someone with a Rocketlauncher. That's pretty classy, actually. He's going to have to try that as well sometime. Maybe he can even get a cannon and try using that as a weapon for a few weeks to see how it works out. It might be a little too heavy in the long run, but one can't really tell immidiately without a little practice.
"Haha. Yeah, I know what you mean. When you're up top you never wonder why the other blokes do what they do." Birdie states, mouth full with food as he chows down right there and then, not really put off by Yamazaki's voilent tendencies. **** happens most definitely. As long as there is no blood of him Birdie's all fine and dandy.
Looking over towards Yamazki again at the question about the shotgun, Birdie just shrugs. "Dunno bloke. Never used guns. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Black man and guns, but bloke I'll bloody promise you I've never used a gun." Birdie grunts, once more plowing his face into the watermellon. He might be hearing Whip and Leona. He's pretty much just sitting back and enjoying his meal. He's a lot smarter than he looks.
Thats about when Brian busts in the door, and Birdie drops the watermelon all together, looking up towards Brian.
"Ah, man. You made me drop my watermelon. Its bad now." Birdie shakes his head. "Bloody hell you're gonna replace it."
As Brian heads for the door, Rugal stays behind. He needn't get his hands dirty with the cleanup job inside. He's seen Brian in action plenty of times. The Texan is worth the money he's paid. The lackies can handle most of the resistance that's likely to be found... and if anyone thinks they're particularly tough, Brian's boot to their head should quickly prove otherwise. Hands slip into the pockets of his pants as the crimelord leans back against the side of the van. It won't be long before the streets of Southtown are awash in violence. Igniz, with any luck, will be seizing Gedo High as a foothold within the borders of the metropolis, while Vega and those working with him by force or loyalty will be venturing further into the city in a more darring bid for the Youth Center.
The explosion of wood as Brian breaks down the door or the dead body lying on the concrete are small precursors to the widespread death and destruction lurking just over the horizon. In that light, the night harbor is almost peaceful by comparison; a bit of irony that the idle tyrant finds amusing as he allows his mind to wander, working its way through countless plans that need to be executed for this unprecidented cooperation amongst warlords to succeed in his favor by the end.
That the evening's activities are being observed by an uninvited duo goes completely unnoticed. Confident and relaxed, Rugal can fathom no reason why he should be concerned. That is, however, until Brian makes his entrance and in doing so riles the attention of something best left be. With a soft grunt, Rugal pushes himself from off from leaning against the vehicle, hands slipping out of his pockets. "Perhaps this promises to be interesting after all..." Some /thing/ deep within him resonates with the mercenary inside and as he draws closer to the newly 'opened' door, he can feel it build in intensity.
His mouth curls into a predatory smirk, his hands tightening. He knows that corrupted blood. By extending his hand and touching a sealed god, he unintentionally became an adoptive part of that twisted geneology. As he stops in the entrance, Rugal's hand gasps the frame, his one human eye coming to rest on Birdie for only the most miniscule of moments. "Brian. Deal with that."
And then his attention is on Yamazaki and Rugal feels his blood begin to boil. Deeply rooted power clammoring to be unleashed against one of few Orochi blooded monsters that walk the Earth. The presence within Yamazaki is strong and it is upon that Rugal focuses first and foremost. But somewhere, in the back of his mind, he can't quite shake that nagging feeling that the mercenary isn't the only one that trace of Orochi within him is reacting to... but surely, the hapless dealers about to be caught up in the middle of this bloodpath couldn't have anything to do with it. What then would? His hand tightens, crushing the frame to splinters beneath his grip, "Let's have some fun."
COMBATSYS: Rugal draws upon forbidden power.
Looking around, eyes adjusting to the light inside the warehouse proper, the Texan notes the two larger figures with a sigh of resignation and irritation. He knew there'd be problems. There's -ALWAYS- problems. The voices he recognizes; he's dealt with them before. Rarely has it been in a positive light. "Great," he mutters, spitting another chaw-soaked mouthful onto the concrete. Turning his head to look back at his boss, he intones, "We've got a situation. Syndicate."
Stepping into the warehouse, Brian moves to the side to allow his boss entry. Upon being assigned a target, the former linebacker nods quietly and starts stepping towards the British punk. "On it," he says, cracking his knuckles. Perhaps Rugal is correct. This does prove to be an interesting evening that is brewing... It has, after all, been quite some time since he's had to really give his all in front of his employer. Sure, roughing up a crimeboss here and there has it's perks, but something like this is a rare treat. A tight smirk crosses the Texan's face as he steps forward. "Your watermelon?" he says, tapping his hat backwards. "Given the amount you're about to bleed, you're gonna think this was a Gallagher show."
A lone man from Brian's team two stops between two warehouses long enough to light a cigarette. The embers flare brightly against the darkness.
Then someone's hand reaches around, clasping over his mouth and snuffing it out.
It takes Whip under five seconds to dispatch of him, delivering him a good enough concussion to keep him sleepy. Moving silently, her black ops wear making her near seamless in the low light, she drags the unconscious body and folds it behind a few stray crates. She hears more footsteps, and swiftly turns shoulder and hides herself, protecting her stealth beyond all else. If she's inadvertantly discovered, it won't be too long until Leona will be found. And she's in there alone...
She presses her back against the outer side of the warehouse, still operating at the perimeter where a battle is resolved to begin within. Whip waits for those distant footsteps to grow silent, and then reactivates her communication unit. It flashes a warning to her that her piggybacked satellite uplink has only a minute before it hits an hour of dead air. "Sparrow to nest," she whispers urgently, "we have bogeys."
She flips up her NVD when the voice in her ear instructs her for further intel. Whip exhales lowly. And she sidestrafes, very slowly, very warily, keeping her back to the wall as she nears a single window that lines the warehouse's outer wall. She keeps her steps soft. She keeps her presence all but invisible. And very slowly, very carefully, the young soldier straightens her back and turns her head the single heartbeat she needs to take a bullet-quick glance inside the room.
Her eyes widen. She ducks back down.
Whip utters breathlessly into her set, "B- Bernstein?!" before the communications goes dead.
The two are officially alone.
And... the Ikari can only tighten her jaw when a cold reality hits her straight in the gut. Leona...!
He enters.
Rugal Bernstein.
One of the most infamous characters in the lives of her fellow Ikaris and all across the criminal underworld, a man with no mercy, pity, or restraint. A man that's standing there in an outfit far too classy for this occasion, his presence is undeniable, and it's all the more the reason why Leona Heidern keeps her mouth clamped absolutely shut and still in her tiny little hiding spot. Slowly, carefully withdrawing the fiber optic cable to make as little noise as possible in the midst of the cacaphony of arms dealers and arms dealers, too many things are crossing her mind at once:
Inform Whip, inform Ikari HQ, inform HEIDERN, withdraw, get out before she's seen.
With the equipment drawn back, her priority now becomes evacuation-- leaving the optics and the reciever unit will be totally forgivable as long as she can make it out of there in one piece, especially with the likes of Ryuji Yamazaki and Rugal Bernstein about to butt heads.
Suddenly, muscles tense up in her stomach, like some kind of immediate, wrenching nausea...
Really interesting scents were all around the Syndicate mercenary. That's sort of the difference between him and the other collected playthings littering the battleground. You salarymen do what mommy tells ya, cus papa will spank otherwise. Yamazaki does what he wants, and requires sufficient sums of cash to be told otherwise. The suitcase full of that green hangs dense and laden from one claw, a body slung over his shoulder with the other, looking over Brian.
One huge step jostles the concrete beneath one shiny blood-stained shoe. He positively leeches anger, kept in check only by simple eloquence--nothing's gonna happen to interfere in Yamazaki's good time, and he wants to savor every last bit of it. Cept, that with the new company being so rude and all, Yamazaki's starting to get a little insulted. His grip tightens on the body over his shoulder. There is an audible moan.
You can hear the mercenary's teeth grind even from across the room, the compactor-like drudge of only moments before his breath slits into the open and chill air in hot bales.
"Gallagher ain't got **** on what I'm gonna do to your ****ing head, if you don't answer me--"
A hand lays on the frame of the door and Yamazaki's pulse speeds up.
The scent is pervasive and comes from every angle, causing the intensity to swell around Yamazaki until it crushes everything else that tries to get close. The huge man--almost Birdie's standard in height--is deathly silent for some time, a creature of silence writing names out on a list only held in memory. So the punk's name was Brian, eh?
"Changed my mind," he explains tersely.
"Birdie. Clean up the trash," he says, looking over Battler's head.
He discards the suitcase of money and almost stomps a mudhole over it dragging the body across the dirt towards Rugal, every corded sinew in his body causing every fiber of his jeans and shirt to stand at attention, to whine and beg release. His fighting glove on that body is tight enough to use as slingshots. A free hand goes boneless for a moment, snapping at least a few feet longer than a limb ought to have before it slides into a pocket. His eyes are blood red. Even if he knew that ****ing stink wasn't just him and Rugal, even if he did more than simply intuit the presence of another on some lost and utterly base level, it wouldn't matter.
Nothing matters.
"I'm gonna see how much it takes before this guy cries."
He lifts the body. "Cries..."
He snarls. "CRIES--"
The concrete snaps underneath his step.
"AND ****ING SOBS!!"
And then the mercenary goes off like the cannon they were just discussing, /flinging/ the entire bloodied and ruined affair of flesh and former crimelord headlong for Rugal's body.
Brian can try to stop him if he likes.
A lot of **** happens at once. Birdie's watermelon is dropped, breaking it all over the floor. Now, Birdie doesn't usually care for that stuff. Well, he actually doesn't care all too much about it this time either. It was pretty much aten anyways, so no need to cry about it, right? Right. Birdie just looks at mister tough and stuff and snorts.
"Well, Gallagher huh?" Birdie announces, cocking his head towards the side. "I don't even bloody know who that is but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that its pretty dumb." The brawler announces as he looks up towards Brian Battler, even as he's getting into place.
The Yamazaki stops as Rugal enters the fray. Now, Birdie's not really sure, but Birdie's fought Rugal before. He just looks up towards the man and kicks the water melon away like he's breaking a terrible habit.
"Well, bloody hell." Birdie grunts, "If it ain't him. Yeah. Oh yeah he's yours. You take care of him now, alright?" Birdie announces with a shake of his head, having nothing to do with that may very well be the best thought of the day as he turns his attention towards Brian.
"Well, ya heard what the man said." Birdie announces as he picks up the remnents of the watermelon, cradling it before hurling it right towards Brian, attempting to break it on that thick ol' skull of his.
COMBATSYS: Rugal endures Yamazaki's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Birdie 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Brian
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|------=
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
So this is Yamazaki. It's rare that Rugal can look out and see eye to eye with another man so evenly as this living nightmare. His name has gotten around. One of Geese's better assets if the reports are to be believed. It's a shame, really, Rugal muses as his inhuman eye studies the figure before him. He could be useful. There's more than their respective heights they have in common. "Hmn," Rugal responds as the powerful man makes his way toward him. Pushing off from the splintered door frame, Bernstein advances in return.
Of the man Yamazaki wields like a weapon Rugal thinks nothing. It's meat, little more. Maybe he's groaning with the pains of one who is still alive but perhaps regretting it, but in the eyes of the crimelord he's irrelevant. As the mercenary whips the body into the air, however, Rugal only explodes forward with reckless abandon. The sack of flesh crashes against his chest with punishing force as Bernstein turns himself to the side such that it slides off without slowing him much at all in spite the momentum the body possessed.
"Ryuji Yamazaki," the man states, blood dripping from off his previously pristine white dress shirt. "Your reputation is significant." He moves faster, closing that distance, his right arm going for the thick neck of the Syndicate man as he intends to just keep right on going back to the nearest wall, slamming Yamazaki into it. "But I'm more interested in what's inside of you..."
His left hand draws back, fingers pressed together, extended, forming a knife-hand like gesture. Elbow bent, finger tips pointing toward the chest of the man, a flair of red, vorpal edged chi flares into existince over his left hand. "This might be a slight bit uncomfortable, but think of the bigger picture here." His hand will slam forward, aiming to spear directly into Ryuji's torso, seeking to drown itself in that demon-contaminated blood. "Call it research, if that makes it easier."
His hand would dig deep, slicing through flesh with ease with razor edged chi. "Or the prelude to a very interesting party once our other company gets introduced properly." There's another here with the same twisted blessing of so much power. The coincidence seems incredible. Impossible even. But passing up on this opportunity just isn't an option. The War can wait.
COMBATSYS: Brian endures Birdie's Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|------=
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
The melon does in fact crack Brian across the face. But the giant Texan doesn't seem to budge, instead quietly wiping the remains of the melon out of his eyes and hair. Hmm. Seems his hat has come off. This isn't acceptable. "Classy," he mutters, spitting a seed out from between his teeth. "Y'know, I shouldn't have expected any better from a mohawked retard like yourself."
Now, it's time to take care of business. He's been given an order, and he's not about to let his boss down. Slapping a hand against the wall, shaking the entire building as he shoves himself forward, taking off in a full sprint towards the Syndicate britpunk. Like a steamroller posessed, the former NFL linebacker decides it's high time to show why the Dallas Cowboys paid top dollar for him for so many years. Lowering his shoulder, he attempts to drive it into Birdie's midsection and up under his ribcage... while rocketing his forearm down in a wide arc to part the uprights and lift the other giant off his feet and put him (and his three best friends) in a hurt locker.
Half-crouched against the wall, Whip can barely parse her own throughts through her shallow breathing. They are just two, and literally trapped in between two enforcers from the Syndicate against Rugal Bernstein himself. This is bad.
Gritting her jaw, she checks her satellite tel again, cursing internally to find the signal dead. She doesn't even have any means to receive orders from the Commander. It means she's going to have to get Leona out of there herself.
The young woman flinches slightly, drawing closer to the outside wall when she can hear the first strikes resound as a battle begins. It's death to get in the middle of that... like getting trapped in between a pair of scissors. But there's no way Leona will escape undetected. There's one clean entrance in and out. And they will find her. It's only a matter of time...
Whip sets her jaw, and quickly switches frequencies back to her best friend. "Bluebird--" she starts, before her voice changes, desperation touching into that cold soldier's inflection. "Leona, listen to me. Mission is FUBAR. You need to get out of there now; the closest exit to you is to your right. If you look up, there's a bay window on the north wall directly nine feet up from the ground. I'm going to create a diversion. You /run./ We'll split and regroup one klick east. Copy?"
Whip doesn't even give her best friend time to respond. "...Start counting to ten."
She moves immediately, returning to that mess of crates where she's stashed a man's unconscious body. She hefts it up by two handfuls, telling it in a whisper, "It's time to be a space cowboy."
If Leona's been counting, her partner's timing is on the dot. 8. 9. 10--
BOOM. And someone's unconscious body -- one of Rugal and Brian's men -- suddenly CRASHES clean through that window Whip had once occupied, barrelling through at a crazed speed and on dead aim to try to crash violently into the nearest person--
It's not bile. Bile feels different-- that urge welling up inside her. Foggy thoughts start to roll in her mind, keeping her from focusing on the task at hand-- the task of getting the hell out before it's too late, before someone goes ahead and does something stupid. It's like trying to see through a zero-visiblity blizzard, like wandering in the middle of a starless, moonless night, and a dozen other similies.
'-- klick east.'
Leona Heidern's eyes come back into focus with a startling clarity, her arms and legs suddenly finding themselves to be better than the dead weight they were moments ago. Twisting, wriggling, and moving with the precision of a cat squeezing through a tight space, she dislodges herself in lieu of the observation equipment held on-hand, pulling herself ahead with her palms and a SURGE of arm strength. Breaking free of her cover as the window suddenly shatters in and a one hundred twenty-five pound projectile aims to go crashing into meaty form of Ryuji Yamazaki, the daughter of the Ikari Warrior's chief turns sharply on her heel, clearly not having heard the entirety of the plan. "Whip!! Wait!!"
COMBATSYS: Leona takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki Toughs Out Whip's Large Thrown Object!! =8D
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki endures Rugal's Scorpion Deathlock.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|-------
With his dark cheshire grin glinting in the astringent contrasts of the overhead task lighting, he looks at even Rugal as a man--another person with their lifespan ticking away quietly without their notice, a value Yamazaki could almost taste devaying on the wind. But he's not just a man, is here? There's a certain kind of scent going on here... something he recognizes just as surely as the scent of his own blood, going wild in his veins, full tilt, full throttle.
And then, when Rugal runs his mouth in that cloying all-too-assured kind of way, Yamazaki 'gets' it. He recognizes that scent, just as Rugal can sense it in him. But mixed with that is a similar scent, one he doesn't understand yet. He wouldn't even care, if it wasn't so familiar. And not quite controlled, not quite hard like Rugal's scent. It tastes like a vulnerability.
Absent a source...
He just. goes. harder.
For the most part, though he'd had every opportunity, the idea of 'defense' isn't really mass or meter that Ryuji indulges. Sure, he could put a stop to this nonsense, but really... that just wouldn't be any kind of fun, would it? People really don't get what you're about. What you can do. Until they learn otherwise. He's literally impaled on Rugal's knifehand as he slams into the wall, blood spraying all over the place. It's like God's Hammer met the Devil's Anvil, shaking the earth and scattering countless bits of lethal 'merchandise' everywhere.
"heh--" Yamazaki snorts, blood trailing from massive internal bleeding, "If I'd wanted a kiss, ya ****in hamburger, I'd of asked your grandma!!!!"
He reaches out for Rugal's face--
--And is promptly knocked offbalance by a flying body.
"ngh mpf!" (trans: that's it!!!)
Faceful of flesh.
Yamazaki muffles ambiently, getting ahold of the man's crotch and hair in both hands. The pressure those talons are able to exert is enough to induce a groan from even the most beaten lowbie bastard. A groan, then a shriek, as Yamazaki's cabled triceps twist--they flex, bone cracks--
And then Yamazaki just tears that guy in half at the waist.
For the record, Whip threw the guy's body through a window.
Covered in blood, Yamazaki just comes through the wall directly adjacent after her ass, scattering brick, mortar and bits of "R" gib in all directions. "****ing--getting in the middle of MY BUSINESS?!" he rages, coming at Whip less with punches or kicks or any kind of conventional attack moreover sheer martial arts size, trying to tear through whatever clever rebuttal, cinder block, foot, fist, pistol, whatever she thinks might be funny, with his skull.
Did you know Yamazaki's skull can explode with the force of an artillery shell?
It's gonna crack pavement no matter what he hits, let's watch!
COMBATSYS: Birdie blocks Brian's Hyper Tackle.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|-------
The melon cracks against Brian, which doesn't seem to do a **** ton of anything. Other than break a melon on the boys head of course. That's enough for Birdie as he produces a **** eating grin from Brian throwing himself haphzardly into it. Of course, Brian speaks ill of Birdie. Well hell no that can't happen. Birdie's snorts even at hearing that.
"What did you bloody say?" Birdie asks intently, looking on towards the Texan as he calls Birdie a retard. "Gwah! Gwahahahahaahah! I may be a thug, but I ain't bloody retarded." The exwrestler annonces even as Brian rockets forward to deliver a mighty hefty strike towards Birdie's figure. Well, he would if both monsterous arms didn't rise up to take Brian by surprise, keeping the larger football player from putting the real hurt on.
Hell, even the black arms recieve welts as the possessed steamroller cracks into him, driving the man backwards.
"****, you realy mean it don't you?" Birdie announces, attempting to seize even after being driven backwards, attempting to use Brian's forces against him and lift the man right over his head with a nasty grapple and an even worse trip down towards the pile of men.
And in one violent stab, Rugal has exactly what he was after. A healthy portion of the mercenary's blood over his fist. Snapping his drenched hand back, Rugal releases Yamazaki, paying almost little attention to the reach for his face; so facinated he is by the crimson victory dripping through the fingers of his left hand. He might have stood obliviously by in the face of any retaliation were it not for the meaty sound of a body crashing into Yamazaki from the side. Voices crying out sound the alarm that even more are present than the crimelord anticipated. That's just as well. More people for the party.
The sound of the body being torn asunder doesn't provoke so much as a blink from Rugal even as a small stream of arterial spray streaks a line across his jacket and shirt. No... what has his attention now is that name called out. 'Whip.' An Ikari. But of even more interest is the voice that shouted it. Data from his implanted cybernetic eye identifies the source immediately. Pulled from fight tapes and other archival data, it pulls up a name immediately and feeds it directly to the tyrant's mind: Leona Heidern.
"This night just keeps getting better..." the man growls, whirling back around to face the Ikari warrior at the same time Yamazaki goes exploding through a wall. The blood coating his left hand begins to boil in time with the heated spirit within that hungers for release. "But not for you!" He charges the young woman, propelled forward not just by muscle strength but by something darker and more sinister; an unnatural power lending force to his tackle.
His right arm extended, aiming to hook the smaller combatant with a crushing clothesline in passing, the blood burning along Rugal's left arm only seems to increase in intensity, mixed with liquid energy of matching crimson, it trails behind the monster, the drops that reach the floor behaving like acid, burning small holes and sending an acrid smell into the warehouse air!
COMBATSYS: Brian fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Birdie with Brian Tornado.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-------
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|-------
Like a speeding car with a JATO rocket attached to it's roof, the Texan charges and slams into a wall better known as Birdie. Despite causing some trauma to the large British ganger, it's not exactly the kind of injury he was hoping for. Minor bruises and welts don't make people quit fighting and/or die, they tend to instead piss people off and make them try and hurt you back. Well, at least that's what it does to Brian. He is a touchy bastard sometimes, after all.
Continuing to press forward, the former linebacker feels the other man's hands reach out for purchase. Instinctively, Brian twists, attempting to eliminate the hold and instead drive his body like a drill into Birdie's midsection... only to find the momentum shift from the Syndicate enforcer sending him flying like a football overhead, his own tight spiral sending him crashing face-first into the spilled entrails of the bisected "R" trooper.
Slowly rising to his knees, the somewhat dazed Texan takes a moment before realizing that he's dripping in the viscera of one of his own men. "Jesus," he spits, a spray of blood shooting from his lips, his hands scrabbling at his face trying to wipe the gore from his eyes.
COMBATSYS: Whip blocks Yamazaki's Bomb Headbutt.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Rugal
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|-----==
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|-------
--did he just bisect the guy?! With his bare hands?
And then, to make matters worse, Whip feels the ground drop out from underneath her feet when, through the window, she does not see Leona taking direction. She does not see Leona enterprising an escape. She is just seeing Leona, in clear, transparent form -- as does anyone else with one eye and as many braincells to knock together--
"Leona!!" Whip is snarling urgently into her comm, the voice in Leona's ear tight with barely-contained fear. "Leona, get the hell out of there, it's Bernstein--!"
BOOOOOOOOM.
That's when Yamazaki crashes straight through the wall.
Lunging back to escape the flying debris, her guard already raised, Whip can only stare on with incredulous dark eyes. The right teitches a little in its socket. Then, widening her stance, she lets the note of surprise drop out of her features, and she steels herself as a soldier should. She pulls herself together in time to react the second Yamazaki turns on her-- covered in blood--
He's definitely insane. But she's fast, moving as he does, shadowing Yamazaki's uncoordinated rage in a perfect, doppelganger mirror of military precision. She moves backwards, already moving one hand for no doubt the arsenal of weapons she carries on her body-- but he's got no patience for it. He goes for her with-- his head?!
Thinking quickly, Whip decides to just brace for it, channeling all of her genetically-modified strength as she holds her ground and puts all faith into her own ability. She has to. /Leona.../
And that's how Whip manages to catch Yamazaki's headbutt straight out of the air, absorbing all that terrifying strength and chi straight into her bracing arms. She holds her ground, but the sheer brutal force of it makes her boots tear grooves as she skids back against the concrete. But she's safe. She's also got him by the hair.
"In your business?" the Ikari soldier grits back. "Chief, I bet you were boring before I even got here."
There, she tries to shove him backward the space she needs to draw her favourite weapon with her free hand. Voodoo lashes to its full fifteen feet. Half-smirking, half-sneering, Whip just tries to unleash her whip on him, trying to score Yamazaki with several deep, ripping strikes, the last of which tries to end with a choking grip around his throat. And if it connects, that's when the lean, willowy little soldier is going to try to /throw/ him clear across one end of the harbour.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Leona with Gigantic Pressure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|------=
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
Prior to the point of impact, there were only two possible outcomes. Get the hell out of the way or be swept up by the crushing onrush of incredible power. There's no slowing down even after the impact either. Not until Rugal has smashed through the very crates Leona had been hiding behind like a bull raging out of control, sending splinters flying in every direction. Not until he has pressed Heidern's daughter up against the wall with his right hand extended, vice-like fingers gripping her neck as he squeezes the breath from her.
At arm's length, the monster stares at the caught girl with a predator's intensity, his artificial eye aglow with a thin red light, studying her. "So... it looks like you have a secret, little girl. And somehow your old man has managed to keep it contained all these years..." An unpleasant chuckle resonates from deep within his chest. What a startling discovery. That the very daughter of that hated thorn in his side would have that corrupted blood running through her veins. "Been holding out on me!"
When he turns, it's to take Leona with him, the man charging all the way back across the warehouse with the same dreadful force he caught her with initially. Weapons, crates, tables, and what's left of that man's body parts are dashed into the air in Rugal's passing. Smashing Leona into the wall with enough force to literally drive her through the now shattered wood. If only he would have let go of her neck, the Ikari would have landed somewhere outside and that would have been the end of it. But he's not finished.
Turning around again, Bernstein slams her down, her upper back hitting the concrete floor. "And now to see if we can send him a little gift in return for his lack of courtesy, shall we?" Pinning her there with his right hand, he draws his left hand up, that mixture of acidic chi and Orochi defiled blood literally aflame over his forearm... Before he slams it down, a crushing hammer against the woman's sternum.
"Ha, ha, ha," the demon within laughs, thrilled at the prospects of releasing that which has been unfairly restrained all these years. Something which yerns to be free; hungers for blood; lusts for murder. A fissure explodes open beneath Leona and, like a gateway to hell, spews forth a gout of that same burning energy in a fluid splash over Leona. Reaching over six feet high, it drenches the both of them, but Rugal doesn't seem to mind in the slightest as he continues to laugh like a mad thing.
The sound escaping that fissure is horrific - the wails of untold suffering combined with the piercing shriek of the reaper's howl accompany the detonation of chi as Bernstein taps into that forbidden power; that curse he earned by extending his hand a little further than any man was meant to. "Ha, ha, ha!" Rugal's voice is barely his own, as his jacket and hair are whipped about by the power exploding up over the poor girl. It only lasts for a mere few seconds though it may feel like an eternity before the fissure closes and the wave of corrupted energy splashes down against the concrete floor, literally burning a hole through the surface and sending black smoke into the air.
Slowly Bernstein stands, looking like hell worn over, blood dripping still from his left arm, his suit jacket torn, his breaths haggard. Time to see if he has a new present for that twice-damned Heidern to deal with. No gift is too much for a dear old friend, after all...
To be honest, her only thought was to turn on her heels and do whatever it took to help out her friend. It would've taken a lot for both of them to get out of there, but by god, she would've done it. She would've fought tooth and nail and punched through Hell itself to stop Whip from taking the brunt of anyone's attacks, but then there's a freight train by the name of Rugal Bernstein.
Suddenly, a massive hand clamps down around her throat. On contact alone, it feels as though her blood is burning to accompany the feeling of her throat being crushed under his grasp. Leona's eyes go wide as the charge begins, the hat spilling off her head and fluttering to the floor. She gets slammed through object after object, passing the weapons, over the air in his odd glide, and her back slams into the wall with bone-breaking force. The energy borne from the second part of this assault rips straight up through Heidern's daughter, and she can't even let out the noise required to scream. Leona hits the floor more like a wad of packed meat than a human being, even with the protection of her fatigues and the flak jacket. Stunned, only starting to move when his hand reels back, the hammerblow feels more like the finger of God being driven right into her ribs. Flak jackets weren't designed to take this kind of abuse, let alone the explosive, burning chi that rips up at her from below. The bandana bursts away and burns. The jacket to her fatigues begins to sear, tear, and rip away in massive chunks, and her back still somehow manages to arch under Rugal Bernstein's strength. And then he lets go. Writhing on the floor for a moment, Leona's heels scuff at the floor as she suddenly starts choking. Rolling onto her side, away from the German, she manages to get herself up onto all fours.
Back in the base, a console bleeps. "Sir!! We've got communication back!!" the officer shouts back to the Commander.
Leona Heidern's body shudders forward all the way from her hips to her back, body awkwardly arching and bending as her throat swells up a bit. Blood escapes her mouth in a massive, painful cough and splatters on the floor in an amount far greater than what there should be. Fingers half-exposed through burned and torn gloves claw at the floor. In an almost pleading way, Leona's eyes look frantically for Whip's own, and the expression in her face is something her best friend has certainly never, ever seen in her life.
Sheer, absolute TERROR.
Clawing at her throat, the Ikari Warrior falls back onto her heels, kneeled up and back arching high. Her eyes turn a milky white while her fingers grasp wildly at the strap velcroed around her throat, clawing at the comm while her hair starts to wash out in color from roots to tip... from blue, to blood red.
Though her arms snap wildly to the side, though her comms are ripped away from her throat, the transmission carries on through the comm held so tightly the casing begins to crack.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
Carrying it's own echo even BEFORE the acoustics of the warehouse come into play, Leona Heidern is clearly no longer "normal." No longer the "Leona Heidern" that Whip knows so well.
Now, there's only a nightmare in her place.
COMBATSYS: Leona switches her Mindset.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|------=
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
"Commander, there's a problem!"
"What is it?" Heidern asks, exercising a surprising amount of calm, all things thus far considered.
"It's Leona, sir! Communications with her--!"
The Commander of the Ikari startles, looking visibly disarmed for the first time...well, ever. Men and women look on with concern as the man assumes stiff posture and holds his breath. He remains silent for what seems to be an eternity. Then--
"Cue Leona's comm. I want that transmission now."
What follows is the stuff of nightmares. A loud, horrible and gut-wrenching cry bellows through the tiny commander center, startling the men and women present. Heidern, on the other hand, drops his eye to the floor, his body painfully tense. He shudders discreetly, his body seized by a mix of rage...and the faintest hints of fear. He knows this feeling--this terror that rattles him to the bones. He's seen this once before.
And he never, EVER thought he'd see it again.
"S-sir. W-what should we do?"
"Keep in contact with Whip. Do NOT lose transmission whatsoever. I want everything."
Turning on a booted heel, the Ikari Commander turns away from everyone and walks briskly toward the door without so much as regarding a single subordinate.
"Sir--?" The words don't even leave the soldier's curious lips.
"I'm going to Southtown."
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki endures Whip's Boomerang Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
Yamazaki has always been a measure of nutty. When it comes to these guys, she only thing he really wants is to make them hurt. The giblets from that turkey he gutted are of little consequence, not meaning much more to the bloodstained mercenary than the wall he just went through trying to murder Whip. The cool mercenary is less hinged in that respect, holding nothing back outside of the neat little camera angle of Saturday Night Fight. It didn't really matter who it was, at this point, people are just going to die. He has a priority list.
And everybody is on it marked for being killed to varying degrees.
Sorry Birdie.
Let's hope he never gets to you.
More importantly, something deep in that reptillian brain of his, the part that never quite evolved beyond the very basis and seat of instinct, he calculates. If he can just kill the muffins, he can have a good time with Bernstein over there, make him shave his moustache. But he has a problem right now. It's that Whip is not crushed like he thinks she should be.
He isn't alright with that.
His head crashes into Whip's brace, his energy exploding all over the two of them catastrophically, drawing almost as much of his blood as hers, only he seems to take it as encouragement, angry and ill fed with the lack of bones cracking and snapping.
Then Leona shrieks.
"The ****?"
Almost immediately, Yamazaki becomes aware of what that scent he caught was. In the veritable potpourri, it's difficult for him to pick out any one true thing amongst them all--but now, with Rugal ferreting out the other squirrel and making her squeal... yeah.
"OH~" he giggles, before Whip's lash just kind--of--tickles, slicing rents across his arms and his body, her lash tightening around his neck and pulling him off balance, the mercenary drugged with an intense euphoria that he can't really describe in words--
His hand whips across the distance, boneless, unnaturally long. In addition to one deep wobblnig step, it almost matches the length of Whip's lash. He doesn't bother with anything stupid like triyng to drag her in by the whip. That's just idiotic--he's going to snatch her from across the way by the neck. He doesn't know she's genetically modified, but let's see. We can see how tough she is with his hand completely encompassing her throat and probably doing a good job of trying to choke the life out of her.
"C'mere, kid--let me show you what I do to kinks..." he growls, his voice a rock scraping across a rusted dumpster.
We can see how tough she is when he puts his other fist clean through her midsection, with all the grinding and goring force of a metric ton of Yamazaki's own particular flavor of chi.
Brian goes flying as Birdie tugs on him, sending him sailing away. The assault is devastating, at least it looks that way towards Birdie as he just watches Brian twist and go, even as he's unable to breath through Birdie's unrelenting grasp. Maybe its because Birdie puts all this effort into it is the reason it manages to stop him cold.
Either way, as Brian lands in the bisected remains of the R-Soldier, Birdie isn't quick to follow. Not immidiately at least as he raises an eyebrow. "What the bloody hell. Seriously, why the hell. That's just realy bad **** right there." Birdie sneers, shaking his head as he looks up towards Yamazaki. He's working with that? Well **** him.
Birdie doesn't really hold the fort for too long either, barreling forward in an attempt to stab his hairpierce right into the chest of Brian, and failing that, right into Brian.
The plan works.
Rugal stands over Leona as she convulses. It's as he suspected. That control, no doubt taught to her by Heidern himself, shatters under the pressure of so much of that forbidden power and the monster within frees itself. With the frenzy Yamazaki unleashes at the other Ikari, the violent gore Brian finds himself drenched in, and the spasming Leona in front of him, the draw to surrender his own control is strong. Just give in to it. Just become that monster he, himself, keeps contained if just barely.
But no... he reminds himself, exercising what little is left of his proud will. This isn't the time for it. Standing up straighter, a breath taken, Bernstein forces himself to study the battlefield with an analytical eye. Leona... that poor girl is about to flip out. The changes coming over her are even more than the man had anticipated. She's the real deal, it seems... years of repressed rage about ready to burst forth. "Heh."
Rugal turns to glance toward Yamazaki and Whip, giving the two a cursory inspection. Yeah, that's about to get terribly ugly. The gun trade he rolled the 'R' vans here for has been thoroughly disrupted as intended. There's really no point in even collecting the shattered or bloodstained weapons at this point.
"Brian," the man grunts, reigning in that drive to just go crazy, to surrender to the side of him kept at bay for now. "Our work is done here. Pull out. We'll deal with these guys later..." The tall German turns and makes strides toward one of the now... many exits from the warehouse. The 'R' soldiers not already killed due to violent bisection follow orders, retreating for the vehicles parked outside.
Leona's howl drowns out any other words Bernstein would utter at a time like this, leaving him to enjoy a moment of smug smirking, hands, blood and all, slipping back into the pockets of his crimson suit pants.
COMBATSYS: Rugal reigns in his forbidden power.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
COMBATSYS: Brian blocks Birdie's Bull Horn.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
Eyes cleared of blood and gore, Brian spins on his knee to turn and face Birdie. The demonic screams of rage, terror and pain turn his attention towards the two naturally-born Orochi for a moment, just enough time for Birdie to come barreling in. His hands raise up, slamming home in order to catch Birdie's head like an incoming pass, slowing the mohawk from fully impaling him, instead driving his own elbows into his midsection roughly. A grunt of effort squeezes through his clenched teeth as air is forced from his lungs.
Shoving backward slightly, the Texan pops back onto his feet and seems about ready to strike back... when his boss calls his name and orders him to retreat. With a simple, single nod, Brian acknowledges this order, circling around the Britpunk as he makes his way back towards Rugal's position and the front door. Raising his hand to his ear, he presses a button on a small bluetooth headset and intones, "Back to the vans. We're leaving." With a nod towards the other man as he removes himself from the scene of battle, the former linebacker says, "See you around, Birdie."
"We'll finish this another time."
COMBATSYS: Brian gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki successfully hits Whip with Yondan Drill.
Grazing Hit
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Rugal
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|=======
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|----===|=======
Whip already knows this is FUBAR. This entire mission is bad. It's really bad. And her attention is torn between three different directions: Leona's wild-eyed, trapped image under the shadow of Rugal Bernstern, the flashing light at her waist signalling her that satellite tel is back on, awaiting her communitication, and the snarling, bloodsplattered Yamazaki puffing breath into her face.
She needs to get them out of here... She needs to think. She needs to--
Whip startles immediately at the sound of her best friend screaming. Her head turns, unable not to, and for a fleeting moment, through the hole bore through the wall she meets eyes with Leona. She can see the terror in them-- and it's not right. Leona is never nervous. Leona is never upset. Leona is never afraid--
"Le--" Whip starts to cry out, before a hand crushes her voicebox shut. Immediately attenuated back to Yamazaki, the Ikari's expression darkens, even as painful stars begin to burn into her own vision. She diverts all her strength into ignoring the urge to use both hands to pry his hand free. She can't afford to. She has to use the muscle to keep herself breathing, keep the bone from snapping...
Her throat feels so tiny in his palm.
Even though she can't breathe, Whip reacts to that unleashed fist. She moves as much as she can despite that collaring tether, darting to one side and escaping a premature disembowelment. The kevlar saves her from the rest of it. But it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. It's more of a graze, but the force and the chi still barrel into the young woman, kicking her backwards as her mouth moves with the gasp she cannot utter.
She still manages to cough up a mouthful of blood. She's bleeding internally.
That's when Whip moves, having had enough of this. She wrenches her head to one side, and in one hand comes a flicker of metal. If he doesn't intend to release her throat, then she'll have to persuade him, either with a long swipe at the brachial artery or a brutal stab into the more useful tendons. The movement is quick and desperate.
The first words she can muster, when she has the breath, are a low and papery "S-Syndicate sonuva bitch...!" Then, violently, Whip moves, putting out of her mind Leona's tortured scream as she tries to bear Yamazaki down. Voodoo returns in a furious strike of leather up his body, terminating right at his face. She's trying to snare him by her weapon again, right around the throat and /return/ his gesture of a painful strangulation. If she manages to hit, the furious young woman tugs fiercely on the line, trying to both sweep him from his feet and draw him closer to her heavy, steel-toed boot that intends to CRACK down on his head.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Birdie 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Brian
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|=======
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|-----==|=======
COMBATSYS: Brian has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/-------|
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|=======
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|-----==|=======
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Yamazaki with Grand Sabre.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/-----==|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|---====|=======
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Yamazaki with Strength Shot - Shouri.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/---====|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|---====|=======
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
He can feel her heartbeat in her throat as he tries to squeeze the blood out of her adorable little head. Even if she tried to pry his hand off, he'd merely clamp on all the tighter, his grip machinelike, a compactor exerting slowly increasing pressure. You know, it doesn't even matter what most people try to do at this point, they kick, fight, flail like worms on a hook, try to bite, try to cut themselves free. Yamazaki's had it all kind's've ways. Oftentimes, the result was the same no matter what they tried.
Past a certain point, their necks just snapped.
Past a certain point, their heads just popped off.
Whip's lucky she's a little too tough for that kinda thing.
Right now, Yamazaki's heartbeat, fast and drumlike, can be felt through the crushing weight of his claw, as Whip kicks and fights out of the way of his drilling--but only just so. Explosive bile rises in the his throat, a mercenary indignant-- "You know, there's something kind of -- familiar about you," the massive gangster murmurs in a vague cloying annoyance. "I don't know--what the fuck it is--" he looks up, glancing to his left, his voice carrying a high keening pitch, girlishly loud, but halfway into a full out roar at this juncture, "--but it feels like a FAMILY REUNION!!" he seethes, one eye drifting an inordinary number of degrees from center as his vision blurs and refocuses on Leona, who is by now a red streak of vomit and gore.
Whip can feel it in her throat now.
Yamazaki's heartbeat, no matter how panicked he might sound, no matter how shrieking his roar..
It just. stops.
One beat.
"... it's more like my kind of party, now ..."
For /once/, he actually starts to think about blocking.
At once, it's a kind of car wreck of things occuring, with Whip slicing his arm almost clean open at the same time Leona nearly disembowels the fuck--though one hand raises quickly, it can't put a stop to him being choked and leveraged to the ground almost in tandem with Leona's tearing him open a second time, the gangster rolling across the ground, now an easy glide when he's skidding in a puddle of his own viscera. Somewhere along the way, he slams into an adjacent warehouse, his nice new C.K. Apollo pima cotton shirt all but just torn off in the array of anarchy.
Warrior tyrant kings have gone down and stayed down under such duress.
Countries have been liberated through less.
But when Yamazaki stands, only moments later, it's with the idle sniff of someone who simply does.. not..care. A hand slides into a pocket just as he adjusts the hang of those tatters that used to be a shirt, a grin so tight around the gangster's lips that it might just be sadomazo time.
His hand is bloody from the toothpick, but that doesn't stop him from reaching out--see, he knows how this kinda thing goes already. The cute one is gonna be on top of either him, or the kinky one well before he can ever rise to his full height, before he can really even look up. But that's fine. One way he wins, the other way he doesn't have to move as far. He's going to snatch the cute one from wherever she thinks she's gonna be in the next bloodied instant or so (you should see just how far he can reach when he wants to) in one hand, like snatching a feral kitten unawares, all claws and teeth.
And then he's going to slide a switchblade out of his pocket.
His voice cool, confident. Bloody. "Welcome to the menage, honey.."
And then he will earnestly try to just slice Leona in half with it.
It's a little harder than you'd think.
Switchblade knives aren't quite made for cutting people in half. They're not long enough.
It's less a 'clean' motion and more a prolonged 'sawing' affair.
Rest assured, if you leave Yamazaki at it for enough...
Birdie watches as Rugal and Brian disappear, making their way out the same way they came in. Birdie snorts, nodding towards Brian as he takes off. "Yeah, you bloody American. We'll settle this some other time, hehe. Lots of fun ya'know?" Birdie announces, the large, rather muscular black man announces as his heart tatoo on the side of his head glimmers with unseen light.
His attention turns towards Whip and Leona as they both descend upon Yamazaki. The crazy bastard probably finds this arrousing. Birdie has flashbacks to his Free For Alls in the SNF's that Geese Howard set him up in. How many damn girl onlyz fights did he get into? Probably several. It wasn't all that great to deal with, but god damn were the women soft to the touch. Brittle too.
Now thought its time to find out if these lovies are the same way.
"Hehe, hey. Why you all taking on that dude? He's pretty bloody crazy. You might wanna stand back." Birdie says, "No I mean really crazy. But since he's crazy and on my side, hehe. I can't complain right?" Birdie snorts with belly laughter, launching his bulk forwards towards the agent known as WHIP.
What comes next is akin to a black meteor, as it is Birdie as Birdie does. Lurching forward into a blow that he puts his all into, Whip will have the very own front row view of the pain train. "GYAAAHH!"
COMBATSYS: Whip dodges Birdie's Aggressive Blow.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/----===|
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Leona 1|---====|=======
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
Whip doesn't get long to revel in her brief victory over this mad dog of the Syndicate. She doesn't get long to try to choke her revenge out of him.
It doesn't matter now.
What matters is that thing that lunges out of nowhere, screaming as it savagely tries to rip the innards out of Yamazaki. Spooked by its arrival, as well as its rabid bloodthirst, Whip widens her eyes and quickly draws back, an absent pull of her arm returning her weapon to her side. Setting her jaw, exhaling a shallow breath, the Ikari reaches her free hand for her side, though her gloved fingers pause between her gun and her comm unit. What the hell is that? Is there another front to this battle? Did Bernstein do something? What is--
Whip sees a flicker of the creature's face as it still tears on Yamazaki. Light shines briefly on its uniform. Leona's uniform-- "Leona?" she asks, no longer sounding like a strong, unaffected soldier. She steps back, her shoulder blades hitting dully on the side of an adjacent warehouse as she stares dumbly on the scene. It's not -- it couldn't -- what happened to her?! What the hell did Rugal do?!
"LEONA!" Whip finds her voice an instant later, moving forward desperately when her peripherals see the fallen Yamazaki as he jerks back to life. And reaches for her--
She doesn't know what the hell is going on, but she has to get to her friend. And Whip is racing urgently towards them... until Birdie suddenly gets into her path. The brunette pauses, widening her stance, her attention visibly flickering between him and the other two. But she's not given much of a choice. He lunges at her, but the Ikari reads his movement, and her quick steps dart her under the reach of Birdie's arm as she tries to angle herself at his turned back.
Whip's got another one of her many knives pulled off her her body, twirling through the fingers of her hand before she tries to drive it viciously straight into Birdie's back. "Don't have -- time for this!!" she snarls under her breath. She needs to help her fiend--
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki successfully hits Leona with Sabaki no Aikuchi.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ \\\\\ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/--=====|
[ |||||||| ]
Leona 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
She moves with precision. There's no doubt about it anywhere, all of that battle-hardened skill and training with the Ikari Warriors, the training from their nigh-legendary mercenary leader himself guides her wild, rampaging movements all the way to the hulking, muscular form of Ryuji Yamazaki. There's a lot of blood, and her expression distorts somewhere between a wild smile and a bloody roar.
Sailing upside-down farther than she ever likely has before, Leona rides the momentum into a backflip that sets her back down on her feet with a harsh squeal of her boots' soles dragging on the ground. Her fingers are clawed out, dragging on the floor with the effort to keep her steady. Even then, even there, with her hands on the ground and balanced on the balls of her feet, blood seeps out of her mouth and drips onto the floor. She lets out no coherent noise, no recognizable voice, but an oddly echoing growl that befits the animalistic, completely vacant eyes that look back at the gangster.
She moves in again, lashing out with primal instinct, but Yamazaki catches her right by the scruff of what little is left of her flak jacket and pulls her right in. Pulls her into the knife... and just starts cutting. He'll feel her body wrack with spasms on the blade, her stomach muscles tightening up as her arms seem to go rigid in a half-folded position. More of that tainted crimson seeps out of her mouth, out of the wound in her stomach, as her hand suddenly comes down to stop that sawing motion somewhere around halfway across her belly. She looks up at him through a veil of brilliant red bangs, the howling beast suddenly smiling with the curve of a crescent moon.
And then, her hand starts at the right side of his chest and sweeps to the left in an insanely fast, powerful gesture, that cutting chi promising him more of the blood, the gore, and the sadomazo.
All he has to do is let it happen.
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki fails to interrupt Dead End Inferno from Leona with Guillotine.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ <
Yamazaki 0/-------/-======|
[ ||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|--=====
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
COMBATSYS: Yamazaki can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/------=|
[ ||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|--=====
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
Immediately following the relentless bloody slash, Leona's whole body breaks into a backflip, right then and there on the spot. Kicking, then and there, the cutting energy releases a wildly powerful SHOVE to it, one that has enough power to even throw the bulky frame of someone like Yamazaki right up into the air. With the switchblade still hanging out of her belly, Leona springs into the air to chase after him with more height and speed. A leg thrusts out and drives into his gut, and that too has enough force to start sending him right back towards the ground.
If only Leona Heidern-- if only this beast-- were so merciful to let it end there.
Using the force of the kick to vault into another backflip, Leona's left arm swings back with a forceful expulsion of chi, launching her right down at him with her leg thrust out again to kick right into him, dig in, and then, well.
Kaboom.
A massive explosion of the chi more often associated with her father erupts with enough power and distance to consume them both. However, only he will be launched out of this force-- whereas Leona starts to straighten up as the flames clear, standing with her shoulders hunched forward.
Bending at the knees, arms thrown out to her sides, her back arches and one more echoing, powerful howl rips through the warehouse as though a predator had conquered it's prey. The problem is ... who's next?
Her boots squeal in his own blood--
He slips to the side, just past a lashing claw.
His hand blurs.
The click of a switchblade.
Then it really starts to get messy.
Yamazaki, in his current state, can only be described as anticlimactic, cool and calculating as he puts the rioting kitten to sleep. He doesn't so much simply cut her as he does enjoy her fervently, picking up the violent little thing lovingly. Breathing that bloodscent, one eye rolls into the back of his head as teeth long since stained with his own blood lock against eachother. You can hear the enamel squeal. Massive, he lurches over, hitching the woman up hard by the flak jacket as he works in a rough hand.
His eyes half-lid.
Blood sprays across the ground in long arcs.
You see, you don't always have to be loud to have fun..
Her body twitches, spasming against him. He pulls against her with his latching hand, deep gouging and tearing motions surrendering the flesh by a corded arm thick with muscle that twists with every motion, dexterous with that knife as if he were trying to cut through to some archaic bit of anatomy her blood forgot all about and take it for himself. Stainless steel on the tight iron of her stomach. His steeled resolve culminates in a low purr giving to hot breath in the red-haired woman's ear.
"If I'd known you cats were this much fun, I'd of found you myself.."
She grins.
Yamazaki frowns. "....Witch."
"FUCK--C'MERE--"
In the space of an instant, Yamazaki's lost his iron grip on the little thing, as she starts letting loose a lot of that brilliant grinding energy in a short period of time. Though he snaps out a hand, even his massive frame is launched into the air from that flip, Leona bracing against simply nothing to flick him like someone's dirty lucky dime. Before he knows it, she's above him--
_earth_
_explosion_
Before the brawler knows it, he's sprayed all the way down the alley, in a long heaving trail, spread eagle and looking to the sky in eyes that don't really quite see anything. He twitches, ambiently.. before rising. Coughing blood, and eyes shot through with it worse than anything else, he's ready for this much, and more. That's the thing about mercy. Yamazaki doesn't have use for it.
You're gonna need to do a whole lot more than that..
"n..gh.."
....that his kidney?
He gets about halfway up, before he collapses in a wet thud reminescent of a gutted fish hitting the deck.
COMBATSYS: Birdie fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Whip with Murderer Chain.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|--=====
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
Whip stabs for Birdie. Birdie, being Birdie, throws himself into the assault even as she hurls herself into it, wanting to move through. The second she moves around his assault and powers in, Birdie has only one attempt.
And when he does, it doesn't go so well. Even as Whip is moving, Birdie's trying to keep Whip THERE. Leona's up. Whip is up. Yamazaki is down after a powerful explosion, and here, as Birdie attempts to do something like Yamazaki, there's no way he could fail.
Well, as Whip lunges through, the knife is driven into his back. Birdie, unable to reach around far enough, spazzes out with the knife in his back, only able to rip it out after a short time. Birdie grunts annoyed as he falls forward onto his chest. Knives friggen hurt.
"Bloody hell! Using a knife? You might cut some one. Heehehe." Birdie snorts with a grin. "Yeah, hurt some one. That'd be pretty keen."
Whip leaves the knife behind in Birdie. She has plenty more where that came from. Half her body mass is her walking arsenal.
Yet, despite all the weight in weapons she might carry, the young woman is light-footed as she darts back, clearing a wide berth between Birdie and herself. His comments earn her ire, her patience long lost ever since her comrade somehow became -- that thing --
Keeping up her guard, the Ikari however refrains from acting. She utilizes the time Birdie takes to reassemble himself to widen her stance and check her defense, as well as pulling Voodoo close. "You--" she starts to snarl back at Birdie, before Leona's next howl splits the air. No time...
"I'll give you one chance to get the hell out of here," Whip warns Birdie, looking up at the man's massive bulk with more impatience than anything. There would be no other time she'd be willing to let some hired muscle of the Syndicate go. But there's no other option. But her free hand closes into a fist, her dark eyes narrow, and the more realistic side of her doesn't think he'll think so highly of her very generous offer.
That's when something moves against her other peripheral, and Whip can't help but briefly glance that way. Leona, or what used to be Leona, is rising from the darkness and stringy pieces that used to be inside Yamazaki. There's something wrong with her eyes, Whip is thinking to herself as she stares. Her eyes-- "...Leona?"
COMBATSYS: Whip focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|
[ ||||||| ]
Leona 0|-------|--=====
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
It doesn't matter where he goes to. Where he lands, what he hits, or how hard he hits. The only thing that Leona comprehends right now is that Ryuji Yamazaki's GONE, and there's still a hot piece of stainless steel sticking out of her stomach. Recovering from her howl, the Ikari pulls the knife out almost nonchalantly. Calmly, even, while she's covered in blood and gore that certainly is a mix of Yamazaki's and her own. Her shoulders shift back and forth a little as she lets out a harsh, raspy noise that could even be construed as some sort of chuckle... if you were morbid enough.
Rubbing the back of her hand across her mouth as if she were to clear the blood, it only helps to smear it across her cheek more. She's breathing hard-- clearly injured, but ... it doesn't seem like she cares. It doesn't seem like her body realizes it's in the condition it's in.
Staggering a few steps, her unbound red hair sways left and right. Her attention seems to be focused on the next slab of meat: Birdie.
Breaking into another impossibly low-set sprint, the Orochi-blooded girl clears the distance between them in what seems like the blink of an eye. Her arms lash out to the sides, and a sphere of swirling, cutting chi appears between herself and Birdie, though it doesn't have the clarity, the control that it normally would. Instead, it becomes more and more of a swirling ball of death, intent on carving the chainman into chunks on the floor.
COMBATSYS: Leona has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 0/-------/-----==|
[ |||| ]
Leona 0|-------|--=====
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Birdie with Baltic Launcher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 1/-------/=======|
[ |||| ]
Leona 1|-------|=======
[ |||||||||||||||||| ]
Whip 1|------=|=======
So Birdie is left alone. He should be alright, right? I mean, its not like any of them can throw fucking fireballs or nothing. His girth will protect him. There's no way around that.
Well, it doesn't. Even when he gets up and Whip just offers him a chance to get out, Birdie just laughs at her. Laugh laugh laugh. Chuckle chortle. And there, Birdie just shakes his head. He ain't leaving. Nope. Nadda. Especially not now.
"Fuck no." Birdie snorts, looking right towards Whip. "I ain't goin' anywhere." That's basically when Leona enters the situation.
Here Birdie though, you know, she'd been taken out. Instead Birdie is ripped into peices by Leona. The sphere cutting into him as he looks over, the sphere pretty much making Birdie have a horrible day. A lot of his strength is just ripped right out of him in it, the chi searing into his loosely armored skin. Well, even Rhino's have weaknesses to chainsaws.
Being blown halfway across the floor, Birdie just gets up. He's bleeding but internally. Somewhat. He doesn't want to think about it. Snorting, he turns his attention towards Whip again. Yep. And from there, Birdie just moves forward to try to lay Whip out with a powerful punch that could very well hurt someone.
COMBATSYS: Whip interrupts Strong Punch from Birdie with Red Whip Genocide.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Birdie 1/---====/=======|
[ |||| ]
Leona 1|-------|=======
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
He's not agreeing. Whip can't help but feel her aggravation surge. She wants more than anything to dedicate her full attention to her friend, or what's possibly /left/ of her, but she can't even try to think of Leona without first neutralizing the enemy. Shifting her weight slowly, turning her dark eyes back on Birdie, she quickly numbers her priorities. Take him out. Calm Leona down... some how. Get them both to safe coordinates. Contact the commander. He might know what's going on... he might know what Bernstein /did/ to her...
But first thing is first. Whip moves-- and then suddenly retreats to one side, her eyes wide, as that maniacal creature that shouldn't be Leona Heidern swiftly intercepts Birdie before she can. She can only stare, until the light burning off that chi is momentarily too bright for her eyes. She turns her her head against it, and raises one hand against the resultant explosion. She barely has time to recover her guard in its wake, turning her head back in time to see Birdie pulling up from the ground and go at her again with one fist aimed.
It's at that point Whip has simply had enough. She needs to remove him. Gritting her teeth, the Ikari swiftly abandons all her prior calculation, recklessly meeting Birdie -- every solid last meaty pound of him -- head on. There's few who have gladly taken one of his punches straight at the side of her face, least of all some lean, soft-faced girl. But she soldiers through it with a steeled jaw and furious eyes, moving one arm and snapping her trusty whip forward to snag Birdie by his outreached arm. Her other hand pulls to the holster on her back, and she draws another weapon.
A second whip.
"I... warned you," Whip snarls, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
And that's when she lets loose, attacking as testament to the very name she gave herself, moving foward to beat Birdie raw between the swirling, coiling lengths of her two whips. She strikes again and again at him, tearing up clothes and flesh in her wake.
Whatever the calling is that drives Leona Heidern right now, it seems to drive her onward at a single target at a time. It doesn't matter to her that he's hurting so badly, or even the chance of him bleeding internally.
Right now, she's just out for more and more blood.
Her lips quiver into a mild pursing as her body lurches, rumbling forward again despite the pair of whips that seek to utterly beat the larger man into submission. Even as Birdie hits Whip, even as both of her namesake weapons cause all of that devistation, Leona moves in at a low angle. Almost as though she could see the best, most opportune moment to snake herself into the assault, she just ... moves.
From an impossibly low stance, legs spread and squatting so low she may as well be sitting on the ground in a split, Leona's arms whip around with remarkable speed, one following the other into a swift crescent, letting that vicious cutting energy trail from her hands one more time as she seeks to, in short, bisect the man from top to bottom without a hint of humanity or restraint. "RRRRAGH!!"
COMBATSYS: Birdie fails to interrupt Moon Slasher from Leona with Bull Revenger.
[ <
Birdie 0/-------/-======|
[ ||| ]
Leona 1|------=|=======
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
COMBATSYS: Birdie can no longer fight.
[ ||| ]
Leona 1|------=|=======
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
Well that was the shortest run ever for Birdie. Okay, more like the second shortest. At least Brian was possible for him. After that? Everything goes to shit.
Birdie tries to land a clean punch onto Whip, only for Whip to exploding through him, instead have whips striking out at him before coiling and cutting and tearing into his non existent clothes. It's pretty painful no doubt. There is a real pain in there even for Birdie.
Then Leon comes out of nowhere once more. Birdie's not able to respond well enough either. Leona just keeps coming with that chi or energy or whatever the hell. And it really bloody hurts. It strikes once more and Birdie's just unable to push through it, driving him backwards once more and towards the ground. It hurts, but fuck if Birdie's going to die from such a bitch. Naw, he's going to need a whole lot of rest and not hanging out with Yamazaki to heal. He can totally get through that too.
"Blood hell, fuck this." Birdie snorts, "Not paid enough..." He mumbles as he makes his way out. Oh yeah, he's out of here. Even if it means falling unconscious and just laying there. HES OUT OF THERE.
Exhaling raggedly, Whip watches Birdie's retreat with a steady eye, then just as quickly dismisses him from her thoughts.
Brushing blood from the corner of her mouth, splitting another painful mouthful of it to the pavement, she slowly straightens to her full height. And realizes that all that's left, all that she's really aware of, are her best friend and herself. Quickly, her attention returns to Leona, and Whip stares at her, at her red hair, at the way she hunches there amidst all that darkness... She can't forget the way her eyes looked.
Whip can't help but back up a step, unsure of what she's dealing it. She's not even sure if that's Leona Heidern any more. No, she has to fix this. She's an Ikari Warrior, and she oathed to herself that she would protect her comrades. Even if it means from themselves. She needs to figure out what the hell Bernstein did to her. She won't let him, or anyone, take her friend away. "Leona..." she dares to call out to that figure, the one she witnessed tearing /apart/ a Syndicate enforcer. Her stance widens. Slowly but surely, she begins to assert her ground, her stance widening and shoulders squaring. "I know you can hear me, Leona... tell me you're OK."
COMBATSYS: Whip takes no action.
[ ||| ]
Leona 1|------=|=======
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Whip 0|-------|----===
It drips. Slowly, but it drips, tapping the ground even after Birdie makes good his escape, providing a constant, rhythmic noise in the sudden stillness of the warehouse. Hunched over into that crouch with her back to Whip, her wildly red hair settled over her shoulders as she exhales deeply, Leona's body stiffens when her name is called out. Slowly, her gaze shifts to look over her shoulder, those yellowy-white, pupilless eyes focusing now upon Whip.
The blood dripping from either side of her mouth wanes as her mouth briefly closes to have a hand clad in a ripped-up glove drag across it again, doing little to aleviate the horrible appearance of Whip's best friend covered in the blood of two other men and her own.
Slowly, she rises. Slowly, she turns around.
Slowly, she shambles towards Whip.
In the past, there hasn't been a lot of times that Leona Heidern talked about herself outside of her time with Heidern. She never spoke of her childhood, but Whip was still one of the only people in the world to ever hear about her problems. What was bothering her, what was going on in her head. This...? This was never once, never remotely mentioned by her, and likely not by her father.
Her right arm draws back. Her fingers straighten into a rigid line. Leona becomes a sudden blur of movement, intent on driving that hand into her best friend's solar plexus like she were a stranger.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Whip with Rebel Spark.
[ || ]
Leona 0|-------|------=
[ ||| ]
Whip 1|-----==|=======
Her fingers may as well be the knifing hand of the Commander himself, for all the intent and power behind it. When her fingers make contact, a rippling surge of chi thrusts through her body; forming, channeling down her arm, and being violently spiked into Whip's body. All in all, her fingers should have likely pierced her body much like the switchblade that had carved into a section of her own stomach.
Thrusting a leg ahead, Leona violently jerks her arm back, somersaulting a short distance from Whip. Her arms reel back, and she lets out one more painfully loud wail to the heavens. It signals what should be the end of all of this, head violently shaking from side to side.
The chi pressed upon her friend, hissing like a lit fuse, suddenly EXPLODES. Greater than the energies she's focused so many times against others, or demonstrated in all of the times the pair of them had sparred, that Rebel Spark is harder, more furious, and more dangerous than it ever has been before.
And now, in a fraction of a second, she's turned it against her best friend.
Breathing slowly, bracing her legs solidly against the ground, Whip meets her friend straight in her changed, flaring eyes. On the brunette's face is a desperate mix of worry, confusion, and an analyst's duty to make sense of this. But she can't. She has no idea what's going on, how to intercept it, how to stop it... if she can't help her friend, it might come down to having to chain her up somewhere until she can find someone who can. Commander Heidern would know what to do.
Because she doesn't. And she especially doesn't know what to do when Leona /moves/ at her. For a fleeting instant, Whip doesn't know what to do. She doesn't even think to move. Because it's Leona. It's her friend, the only person that helped her open up since she joined in the Ikari, and she trusts her. Leona wouldn't hurt her, not like this, not--
But she is. Whip realizes this a moment too late, when her friend is so close that Leona can smell the blood at the corner of the brunette's mouth. Recognizing her own mistake, she tries to escape Leona's outstretched hand, but it's too late. Her best friend's fingers cleave through her kevlar (already ruined thanks to Yamazaki) and plunge straight into flesh. The weapon-fighter can only grunt a shocked, pain breath, more blood rolling free from her lips.
But it's not finished. Leona's familiar -- but not, not right now -- chi detonates thunderously, and an instant later Whip's sailing body SLAMS into a nearby warehouse, ripping its door straight from its hinges in a tinny snap of sheet metal. For moments, she is silent, but a voice that Whip isn't really listening to nonetheless forces her to her hands and knees. Blood is pooling from the break in her kevlar, and she heaves another mouthful of it up to add to the mess.
Immediately Whip tries to stand back up, and regrets it. Despite her hardy will, her body fails her, and she drops back down with a sharp cry. Blackness starts to cut into the corners of her vision. She's not going to last. There's two things she needs to do.
First, she reaches a fumbling hand to enter a command into the buttons on her comm unit, reprogramming the telecommunications into a homing device that tracks back on the same satellite signal. It's more than enough for Heidern to be able to find her, even if she's not conscious, not even alive...
Second, Whip pulls her last bit of energy into standing up, and braces her half-broken body against the doorframe. In her left hand, she clutches at the blood pushing out of her. In her right is her unholstered Desert Eagle. She needs to stop Leona by any means necessary... can't let her--
"You'll... thank me," Whip gasps as she aims it on her friend. She fires.
COMBATSYS: Whip can no longer fight.
[ || ]
Leona 0|-------|------=
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Leona with Desert Eagle.
[ ]
Leona 0|-------|-----==
After that burst, Leona breathes heavily. Hard. She still can't consciously parse the damage that's been done to her body, but yet it still has an effect on her. Physically, and especially mentally, Heidern's daughter finds herself completely exhausted afterward... but, still, more than willing to continue. It shows well after Whip meets the door and goes clear through it. It's clear as she continues to walk towards her.
And then Whip is in the doorway.
And then, the gun.
Her head quirks to the slighest of angles, almost as though she recognizes the signifigance of the massive handgun. Before she can even react, the hammer strikes and sends the firing pin off to conduct the violent, explosive symphony that results in a hot bullet casing flipping through the air. The song of a large caliber bullet screaming through the air as it spirals ahead.
It ends with the violent impact that sends a new lash of blood up from Leona Heidern's chest. Then, there, her legs give way as her shoulder snaps back with the impact, the Orochi-blooded girl hitting the concrete floor with a disgustingly wet impact, rife with the blood spilled all over the warehouse.
After all of the damage, the carnage... this time, she doesn't get up.
COMBATSYS: Leona takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Leona can no longer fight.
Log created on 00:21:32 02/14/2009 by Rugal, and last modified on 18:39:37 02/28/2009.