LLK Act II.Lockdown - Lockdown : I Thought We Were Tight

Description: Assault on Taiyo! Brian Battler, Kurenai Takayanagi, and the NESTS Agent Eclipse attempt to take the school--but Brian gets taken out early, which forces the other two to adjust their strategy...



Roberto wasn't quite able to find team mate in the chaos that was Gedo High and it wasn't exactly something that the Soccer phenom was enthused about. To add to his worries, there had been rumors of tanks similar to the one he faced in Thailand.

The fact that he can't quite figure out how to keep the Thailand war behind him has been something that has caused him emotional pain for the longest time. It's not something he'd openly admit right now, after all his former High School and his current University need him right now.

As it stands, Roberto stands near the gate behind a line of soccer balls watching for any signs of invaders. If he knew the connection between the attacks and Geese Howard, he'd actually be kind of surprised that Taiyo wasn't the first school attacked. They have benefitted from many donations from Howard. But without that knowledge all he can do is try to prepare himself and pray that his previous experience with war as horrible as it was can keep him strong if only for the sake of his alma mater.

It's a good thing that Roberto wasn't quite alone here. While he didn't find current teammates, a former one was already at hand. "Guess if anyone had to come here, they'd come straight through the front?" the boxer known as Heavy D! asked, looking at the row of soccer balls the sports star had arranged almost like artillery shells.

It wasn't too hard to get D!...after all, he had been staying with Roberto's family since he arrived in Southtown. It's the least the Metroite could do in return, honestly. "Just hope everything else is set inside." Idly tugging his jacket up, D! set his shades aside on a nearby wall, looking out onto the street. He'd seen the war come pretty damn close to the Gorin Heights, and it felt way too much like the worst parts of home.

"Ready for anything, kid?"

Invasion. An ugly word. And subduing /this/ campus... could be tricky. Fortunately for the invaders, it seems that most of the school's most powerful students are not in evidence. A remarkably good thing for them... and bad for Taiyo.

The assault team--a truly multi-factional team--has been ordered attack from multiple directions... and that just means, as far as Kurenai goes, she gets to choose her own path in. Being ninja, that could be any of a million paths. The one she chooses, though... is right through the front gates. Well, over.

The girl, recognizing the seriousness /of/ this mission... is wearing a traditional ninja outfit. That is, covered head to toe in black cloth, only her green eyes visible. Weaponry? She's got a bandolier of throwing knives slung over her shoulder, and a steel bar, basically--a 'ninja sword' but blunted.

Eclipse Umbra, AGENT OF NESTS, is not in the best of moods on this mission. He completely ruined a triple-prisoner situation through a lapse of concentration, and now Tran, Vanessa, and some guy who disconnects a lot are back out there, interfering. Perhaps it's unrelated, but Eclipse feels like he's being punished, sent out here to some high school instead of his mission against Alma Towazu, which he's failed twice.

He used his status as a general unknown to his advantage, slipping into the school earlier in dirty, salvaged clothes - brown pants a few sizes too big, a yellow hoodie (with a bunch Japanese characters on it that mean something ridiculous) shrouding his face, and a constant expression of haunted terror every time someone looks at him. He's only been there about a day, and he doesn't talk much.

Head down, hands hidden in the front pocket of the sweatshirt, Eclipse looks positively homeless as he shuffles by in the background, watching Roberto and Heavy D! out of the corner of his eye. It should be soon.

The battle for Southtown, up to this point, was primarily amongst Shadaloo, NESTS and the Southtown Syndicate. There wasn't much call for "R" to get involved. But amidst the chaos, seizing the opportunity to sap the walls of all three has become a sound business decision. And thus, the reason a 15 tonne former Soviet Union BTR-80 Armored Personnel Carrier, decorated with the distinct logo of Shadaloo, finds itself hurtling towards the front gate of Taiyo High at 50 miles per hour. The lights are off. Only the roar of the diesel engine gives any indication to the military vehicle's approach until it's ready to barrel through the wall.

The driver, however, figures people are lying in wait at the front gate. He doesn't know the size of the force they're about to face. But the gate is the most logical entry point. Which is why he's taking it... sort of. At almost the last minute, the wheel is wrenched to the side, and a new gate is opened up through the brick wall via steel and speed, turning the section of wall into an explosion of dust and debris reminiscent of a mortar attack.

It makes a lot of noise. It makes a good signal.

The eight wheels of the APC screech as the brakes are applied, digging deep trails into the grass as it skids for 200 feet, turning slightly during the skid. Seconds before the vehicle comes to a complete stop, the back hatch drops open, and a stream of men, dressed in black fatigues and carrying a significant arsenal, slips from the vehicle and begins storming towards the buildings of the school.

But they are of little consequence. It is the giant in black, emerging like a dragon from a cave, that is most likely of interest to the two International Sports Teamers who were just showered in debris. Because, even if he is clad exactly the same as the others, covered from head to toe in mercenary black, Shadaloo patches on his chest and shoulders... there are very few people with the build and stature of Brian Battler.

Considering the kicking power the soccer star had at his feet, artillery shells would be a fair comparison. "I've made it out of Thailand... If I'm not ready now, then I don't think a damn thing will prepare me for what's going on."

Roberto Miura doesn't have time to say anything else because the next thing he knows, debris is strewn about courtesy of the APC. "Ok, it's game time!" And he immediately moves towards one of the people clad in black as he dribbles a soccer ball. In fact the build of one of the members of the strike team is quite familiar however the Brazilian decides that is probably something that Heavy D! would probably want to handle himself. Instead of going after the larger black clad fighter he goes right for the ninja before launching a soccer ball her way. He hasn't quite identified Eclipse as a threat. He's the only one aside from D! and himself not wearing black.

The battle for the gates of Taiyo have begun. And already he's wondering how many push ups he's going to have to do for letting that create a new gate into the Taiyo campus.

COMBATSYS: Roberto has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0          Roberto


COMBATSYS: Kurenai has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto


COMBATSYS: HeavyD has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Eclipse has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Brian has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Brian            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Kurenai          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Normally, in this case, with D! wanting to psyche himself up as much as he wanted to psyche Roberto up, the boxer would say something else. Say something inspiring, with all his experience, and what one might consider wisdom. With the tenseness around, it really was quite necessary to make sure things were nice and loose.

All that goes out the window, however, as the APC comes barreling through, skidding toward the wall. "DOWN!!!" he shouts, diving to the side to avoid getting blown over by the giant armored craft. With dirt spraying over all of them, it gets a little hard to see even as the boxer tries to pull himself up from the ground.

However...when he does look up, he can't quite mistake the sight coming out of the craft. Like said...it's hard to mistake someone with that stature and build. "....Brian." D!'s jaw sets, eyes narrowed as he stares at his former teammate....and wastes no time rushing in. Caring not for the numbers or the suddenly uneven ground, the boxer dashes in, a sharp swing of his arm upward as he skids to a stop just short of the APC. "HRRRHH!!" Uppercutting into the air, the boxer snaps out a spreading blast of chi, meant both to clear the area of as many of the mooks accompaning the former football star, but give Brian the kind of greeting D! hoped never to have to give.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai blocks Roberto's Long Shot.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Her entrance was not, on balance, as flashy as Brian's. But it is flashier than the NESTS agent's. That's fine; she isn't here to /do/ flashy, not really. She just quirks a smile, as Brian literally busts through the wall; while she didn't know what he would do, she sort of suspected, having read up a bit on Mr. Battler. Eclipse? He's a true unknown, but even in the salvaged clothes he stands out a bit. But, no time for that--Kurenai's got a soccer ball hurtling at her. Unfortunately, she remembers Roberto quite well... though she can't say it...

... and she remembers just how much his soccer technique hurts. Bouncing slightly on her feet, the ball catches her right in mid-bounce--but that's something she'd expected, and planned for--it blunts the impact, as does the use of her weapon, holding it flat against her forearm and using it to help deflect the weapon.

As befitting her 'ninja' status, she remains silent, but she does close carefully with Roberto, her weapon held one-handed, in a high position in her right hand, her left out, fingers wiggling, flexing.

Already she's wondering how to disguise her fighting style perhaps a little more... if she can. Wondering if Roberto is going to remember fighting her in that random fight. She should have brought two weapons... it wouldn't be as effective to fight with but it would definitely work to help disguise her... she starts to circle around the soccer player, slowing her pace.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai calculates her next move.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Does he, though? It is a high school, and all kinds of people have taken refuge within. Eclipse has, for the last 24 hours, managed to pass as a senior student who has seen more than he ever thought he would.

But, as the action begins, the disguise falls away. His usual shellshocked staggering walk gives away as he drops into a forward roll, dodging behind some Taiyo statuary, pulling his hands out of his pockets - three small throwing knives in each, between the fingers.

"Beginning the mission: Breach Taiyo."

Eclipse leans out from behind his cover, still behind Heavy D! and Roberto, and picks his first target to harass - the one who can't shoot back, from where he's standing. He whips one hand out, then the other, sending all six knives spinning at Heavy D!'s back. He's back behind the statuary almost immediately, producing his longer fighting knife from one of his shoes.

COMBATSYS: Brian fails to slow Blast Upper from HeavyD with Huge Thrown Object.
- Power fail! -

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Kurenai          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


There is something odd about Brian's appearance. The way he's moving is very deliberate and calculated, almost as if he was an automaton. His eyes seem to lack either irises or pupils. And what little can be seen of his face through the balaclava shows no emotion or recognition on his face when D! charges him.

Reaching down as his teammate comes rushing in, the giant Texan lifts the hatch to the APC, wrenching against the hydraulics to pull it back up. As the door closes, he drops his shoulder, slamming his forearm into the door and breaking it free of the heavy metal hinges keeping it attached... but it's ability to fly is hindered by one hydraulic which doesn't want to let go. The door swings to the side, swatting at the boxer ineffectually as his chi blast instead zips through into the military vehicle unhindered, slashing across the former linebacker's face and bloodying him up something fierce. The balaclava shredded, Brian again emerges from the steel transport... and still, not a lick of emotion or pain strains his face. But now, there can be no mistaking this man for anyone else.

COMBATSYS: Eclipse successfully hits HeavyD with Thrown Object.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0          Roberto
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


The kunoichi had deflected his soccer ball so well when he put so much effort into making it as fast as possible. His effort in sending a screamingly fast soccer ball even shows in the way he lets his leg hang in the air for just a little too long.

It was quite fortunate that no one took advantage of his vulnerability... Neither in the form of the black clad ninja nor in the form of Eclipse who dropped his disguise to show that he is a threat.

He can't do much to help D! right now, he has to deal with his own situation. And with his earlier charge, he's not quite in position to get to his soccer balls just yet. As a result he has to wait patiently until Kurenai circles herself into a path that would bring her right between him and his soccer balls and then he pushes out towards her shoulder first in the form of a soccer tackle. Ideally that shoulder ramming would bring the both of them closer to his soccer balls but if there was one thing Roberto learned from Thailand, the ideal situation rarely happens in war.

Now THAT disconcerts D! more than the fact that Brian is caught in with this crowd, even with the insignia that the boxer recognizes as nothing but trouble. D! had been looking in Southtown for the charter member of the former US (now International) Sports Team, having heard about rumors of his involvement with this kind of stuff. He was all ready to try and punch some sense into him too, if it turned out to be true.

But seeing him without even those trademark scowls or violent glee is...worrisome. Enough that after the Blast Upper shreds his mask to reveal the dead expression, the boxer can't help but be taken aback. "...the hell...." It's a good enough distraction that D! ends up finding knives flung straight into his back. While the blades don't stick too far into the boxer's broad back, it still draws blood and stings enough to throw the Metroite off balance. "Nnn....what the hell happened to you?" he asks, even as he twists his head back...and finds the only other fighter behind him already engaged with Roberto. Figuring the knives coming from Kurenai, the boxer turns back toward his former friend, eyes narrowed. Even if he's brainwashed, or something...he can't let him break through, if he's being used by someone. "Looks like I need to punch some sense into anyways," he says, frowning deep as he drives forward with a quick left straight aimed for Brian's face.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Roberto with Piercing Sparrow.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           HeavyD
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Picking on a girl, eh? Rberto's headlong charge is met with the same, by the ninja--but let's face it. Roberto is just stronger than she is; her attempt to abort his attack, to cut it off at the knees, so to speak, is a failure, and the ninja is sent tumbling across the courtyard, thumping loudly against concrete and stone. She goes at least twenty yards back, but regains her feet quickly enough; her expression is, well, unreadable, but there's a definite sense of wariness...

But then, that's almost natural, isn't it? She turns, pointing her weapon at Roberto again... though she doesn't speak, still. Oddly silent, but maybe she's taken a ninja code of silence or something--or maybe she just doesn't have anything to say. Limping? She might be. But she's also staying away from where the soccer balls are, because, -duh-, those are his weapons... and the more you can keep someone disarmed, the better, right? Still, she's not going to win the fight this way. She's going to have to come up with /something/... facing a superior foe one on one isn't her idea of a great time.

Eclipse remains unseen as he creeps up to the front gates from behind while Roberto and Heavy D! are kept looking ahead. He loses the hoodie and pants somewhere along the line, revealing his sleeveless NESTS bodysuit, the cybernetic bands on his arms gleaming. He flips his knife in a backhanded grip, and switches targets.

From Kurenai's perspective, Eclipse's head emerges from behind Roberto's shoulder, calm and businesslike, before his right hand comes up behind his shoulder, his legs enfold Roberto's, and he just drops back, pressing the blade of his knife against Roberto's chest and rolling over on top of him, stretching the muscles /and/ cutting, simultaneously.

"You should give up," he observes.

COMBATSYS: Brian Toughs Out HeavyD's Light Punch!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           HeavyD
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


The fist comes in.

The fist connects.

Nothing. Changes.

"Engaging hostile combatant," the big man intones, voice soft and monotone. Could this really be Brian? A man given to roars and large commotions? There is something discernably -off- about all this. Blinking once, the milky-white eyes showing nothing to his (perhaps former) friend, the giant pulls himself free of the APC and stands to his full height. Towering over the Metroite for a moment, the huge Texan shifts into a stance utterly not his own. Seems more akin to... Vega? It's wide, with a fist held back at his jaw while the other hand is open and down around waist height. It gives D! a moment of reflection before something else un-Brian-like shoots forth towards his face... A hard, fast and precise roundhouse kick.

COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Eclipse's Agonizer.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           HeavyD
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: HeavyD blocks Brian's Medium Kick.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           HeavyD
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Man....D! knew Brian could take a punch, but even then, there's something totally, decidedly inhuman about the lack of reaction from the towering tackle. "...." The robotic intonation, and the completely alien stance unnerves the boxer even further. That's definitely not the lurching football stance of Brian's that D! knew. "WHat the hell happened to you man?" he asks.

The sudden kick is strange, not the kind of kick D! knows Brian would throw either. An arm rises up, managing to catch and block the shot before it slams into the boxer's head. "Nhhh....HOW YOU DOING, KID?!" D! shouts loudly, unable to look back to get a gauge on how Roberto's doing. He dare not take his eye off his current opponent.

"Alright, Brian...long time coming, might not do any good, but here it comes..." Driving in, D! comes in with a wide stride, trying to lunge in to a possibly suicidal range up close. Why? Well, to get his shots in, of course, three rapid body blows striking out, all aimed at the right side under the ribs.

Roberto just barely notices the hand on his shoulder right before Eclipse pulls back on his body. And while Roberto falls back. It's on his terms. He spreads his stance a bit, keeping himself from getting both legs tangled up in his attacker's and as they both go down, Roberto reaches out with one hand to break his fall and to give himself just enough stability to keep Eclipse from rolling on top of him. The other hand is being used to grab at the knife and slashing a hole into his red gloves.

"Give up? Obviously you didn't study the psychology of Taiyo students very well." And with a sharp twist he attempts to shoulder the NESTS agent off of him not to injure with the push but rather to set himself up to come down with a hard punch on him.

Right. There's only two defenders; it should be damn near simple as hell to take them out, shouldn't it? Especially with the three of them versus the two. But that kind of analysis never takes personal strengths into account, and so Kurenai knows it just isn't going to be that easy. She would, however, like to make it slightly easier--of course, taking out Roberto is going to prove to be a chore, in and of itself. With the soccer player shoosing to strike out at Eclipse, Kurenai can get in, and get in she does, moving swiftly despite the creak in her ribs that feels like it's slowing her down a step.

She aims to coem in behind Roberto; attacking from behind just makes sense, really. And she doesn't need to make any feints or distracting manuevers--she can just get in there, which is what she tries, leaping for Roberto's back--intending to thrust her weapon into one of Roberto's thighs while she barrels into his back.

The weapon isn't sharpened, so no actual injury may occur, but.. the man's primarily a kicker, and so denying him the use of a leg can only be a good thing. She has no words, no time for Brian and Heavy D... just yet.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Eclipse with Strong Punch.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           HeavyD
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|


"You won't survive with that kind of atglmf-" Eclipse's hold is broken by the sudden shoulder, and the fist cracks against his face, cutting him off as his jaw snaps painfully to the side. He disengages smoothly, pulling away as Kurenai comes in, meeting her eyes briefly with a nod. He should, in fact, have thought of that.

Eclipse resettles himself, flipping his knife back around. "You won't survive with that kind of attitude." Back at the lab, one of his handlers groans - just give that kind of thing up when you get punched in the face! Eclipse ignores the background noise, glancing at Heavy D! and determining him locked in combat with Brian, so he darts low and forward, striking with a shallow gouge at Roberto's already targetted leg. His weapon certainly /is/ sharpened.

COMBATSYS: Brian endures HeavyD's Rapid Combo.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Brian            0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           HeavyD
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|


Still, the Texan takes the shots without a scowl, without a grunt, with nary a standard Brian Battler reaction to the physical assault. Instead, there is only the slight shifting of a body being subjected to force repeatedly. Even the former linebacker's breathing is slow and steady, as if there was little physical exertion to this endeavor.

Feinting a quick kick towards D!'s legs (another decidedly alien action for the giant), Brian quickly leans back, crossing his hands at the wrists before launching forward in a tight spiral, fists extended out in a modification of the move he's best known for... but decidedly more like the Shadaloo leader's own spinning torpedo. The Texan may lack the Psycho Power of Vega, but his movements are decidedly akin to the dictator's.

COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Kurenai's Armed Combo.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           HeavyD
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Roberto interrupts Random Strike from Eclipse with Diving Header.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           HeavyD
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          1/-------/=======|


COMBATSYS: HeavyD blocks Brian's Brian Tornado.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Brian            0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0           HeavyD
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          1/-------/=======|


Roberto grits his teeth as he watches them both go for his legs preparing himself for what he knows will be crazy but in a situation like this, he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. If things go south he'd like to be prepared.

Luckily for the soccer star things go exactly as he planned. He slips to the side with a spin move that pulls him out of the way the combination charge and sword thrust and moves him closer to the knife wielding NESTS agent Eclipse. And when he's there Kurenai might see something familiar. The bending of the knees providing the sign of what's to come. Unlike their previous fight, Roberto shows what would've awaited Kurenai had his timing not been off. He dives head first into Eclipse's stomach just as the blade makes contact with his shoulder as a result of his dropping his weight low in the first place.

After a moment he rises from the ground to glance at D! for just a moment before returning his sights to his two opponents.

The feint is taken, D! ready for a shot to his legs....but when Brian starts flying at him instead, the Boxer is in...well, he's not in a good place to react. Eyes widen, when he is forced to bring his arms up again, and stop the drilling torpedo attack. "GHhhhhhh...." Skidding back, boots digging into the soil, D! manages to catch and halt the attack, teeth gritting from the exertion. "Dammit, man...." he manages to grunt out.

Hearing the further sounds of fighting nearer as he was pushed back, the boxer gets a vague idea of where Roberto and his two assailants are. "Hold on, Roberto...just...give me a moment..." Not wanting to leave the soccer star alone to fight two opponents, D! can think of only one way to get things into a better light. Grabbing for Brian's shirt with his right hand, D! tries to pull him in and set off several sharp shots into the lineman's stomach, shot after shot, before hopefully tossing him down with that grip on the shirt to join the other two. Best to have all your attackers in one place where you can see all of them, right?

Thank god the timing ;is/ off. Otherwise very terrible thigns would have awaited Kurenai, indeed. She can't help the low whistle when Robert slams into Eclipse, but she's far too busy dealing iwth her own recovery to worry too much about it. She tucks, rolling and coming back up--flowing smoothly into another attack. Roberto's fast, and strong... but he /can/ be taken down. Kurenai has accomplished this once, with help--she can do it again.

Maybe. For now, though, Roberto clearly has the upper hand; Kurenai closes in with another lunging strike, though this one is just a thrust from her blunted blade, aimed to catch Roberto in the stomach. Simple, but sometimes the simple ways are best...

COMBATSYS: Brian fails to interrupt Reverse Stomach Buster from HeavyD with Samurai Bomb.
> Determined Hit! <

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Brian            1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          1/-------/=======|


Eclipse hits with a grunt, picked up and dropped back into the ground. The knife manages to rake against Roberto, but more impressively, he keeps a solid grip on it the whole time. His NESTS suit isn't filled with the fancy technology the higher agents have - for Eclipse, it's just armor, really sexy armor if you're into man bondage.

Spitting to the side, he rolls back up to his feet, a little blood trickling from the side of his mouth, fouling his facial hair. "Not bad." He rolls his left shoulder, then grits his teeth. The bands on his arm tighten as he starts forcing power through his limiters, black shadowy energy building up around that knife, sucking in what light there is in the area. Eclipse takes a step back, and then springs forward.

The energy flows from his knife as he makes a wide swing at Roberto's face, doubling the range, adding a cold pain to the wickedly sharp blade. Eclipse makes no noise aside from a hiss of his own pain as he does this.

The rotors of a military helicopter rise above the din of battle as the enormous Texan finishes his final rotation of his Psycho-less Crusher. Feet hitting the trampled earth with force, Brian attempts to get himself back into stance before D! can make his assault again. As the smaller man rushes in, Brian's hands try to gain purchase on the boxer's jacket, but the blows are just too strong for the man to not react. For the first time in the fight, there's a facial reaction to the punches, his eyes closing and a look of distress shooting across his face. And when thrown, the giant tumbles more than a man in control would allow himself. He's clear of the immediate combat zone, rolling several yards past the ninja before coming to a stop, half curled in a ball with his back to his opponents.

Slowly, he begins to stir, raising to his knees with his hands to his face. A pained, confused groan slips from his lips as he shakily rises to his feet. He looks past Roberto, past Eclipse and Kurenai, and blinks repeatedly, recognition finally crossing his face.

"D!?" he says, looking quite unsure of what he's involved in. "What the hel--"

Overhead, a cord unfurls from the helicopter. At the end is something large and dangerous-looking, almost like some kind of meathook. The chopper zooms past the field of battle, this device of destruction swinging low, it's path unerringly towards the enormous Texan. Brian's words are cut short he instinctively turns away from the incoming pendulum just before it collides into his back. An explosion of red, enough to likely spray everyone involved, heralds the man's departure from the combat as he is airlifted violently away.

The Blackhawk gunship starts winching in the limp, bloody form of Brian Battler as it circles the school. A side door, emblazoned with Shadaloo's insignia, slides open to reveal a single figure within. Silhouetted against the sky, only two things are noticible -- a cape and a military-style cap.

COMBATSYS: Brian has left the fight here.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Kurenai's Medium Strike.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Eclipse's Wave Knife.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


The boxer managed to fend off the attempted grab, the one thing fairly familiar about this fight between past spars with Brian. It's fortunate that D! was able to get in as close as he could with those punches as he did. Deterimination and a much keener insight of where to aim his punches from the years since that first King of Fighters has tempered his abilities quite well.

Tossing Brian out behind him, and watching the Texan tumble away, the fistfighter frowns, getting a glimpse of Roberto's situation before focusing back on Brian. "..." Eyes are set in a deep focus as his opponent rises up with a groan...and meets him with not the robotic expression but a genuine look of confusion. "...Brian? That you ma-" he starts to ask, before fate comes on grim wings.

It's very rare when the man known as Heavy D! uses a curse any harsher than a 'damn', 'dammit', or 'hell'. Working with kids back home has given him more than enough reason to put a restraint on his tongue that way. That, combined with a concerted effort not to sound 'ghetto' lest people think bad of him, his neighborhood, or his sport, keeps his language relatively clean. So the fact that his tongue slips enough to let out something worse should show just how serious things have gotten in his view. "SHIT!" comes the loud, unmistakable curse when the hook tears into Brian and hauls him up like a dead cow at a meatpacking plant. The spray of blood doesn't spare him either, the gush staining him as he takes a step back to process the whole thing if possible, eyes wide in shock.

COMBATSYS: HeavyD takes no action.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


Roberto settles into a goalie's stance as the two adversaries advance on him. He deals with the ninja's attack first, by bringing a glove clad hand down to swat away the attack to his stomach before it could cause harm to him.

The other gloved hand moves to intercept the knife before it can reach his face. But the knife and the chi dig into his hand causing him to grunt slightly as droplets of his blood hit the ground.

Soon after, Roberto finds that his former team mate's blood joins his own on the ground. He shouts out in surprise, "Brian!" As well as spraying him. Unfortunately star striker still has to deal with two more people. He has to keep poise if not for his other ex team mate then for his school. There is nothing more Roberto wants to do than throw up at the nauseating display but he has his priorities.

Instead, he focuses on steeling himself for the end game... Pumping himself up. After all the urgency has just been stepped up for both of them.

COMBATSYS: Roberto psychs himself up.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


"Jesus Christ on a crutch, that hurt like f***ing hell."

The man in the military cap and cape tossed them aside as he helped the former NFL linebacker into the helicopter. "Hey, this was your idea," he muttered, grabbing the cape again to wipe the blood off his hands. The "R" soldier closed the door to the Blackhawk as it sped offshore, heading home to the Black Noah. "I bet you'll never wanna try an extraction via neomydium skyhook ever again."

"Mmph," Brian grunted, pulling the white contacts out of his pocket and tossing them behind him. "Well, overall I consider it a success. I'm pretty sure D! bought it, hook, line and sinker." Adjusting his neck, he added, "That novocaine salve on the face worked better than I could've hoped. I thought he was about to shit himself when he hit me and nothing changed." Shedding the bloodsoaked jacket as much as he could, the Texan began to unhook the flight harness that held the half-inch-thick steel plate to his back. Undoing the straps around his crotch, Brian took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. "Oh, man, Tom and Jimmy didn't like that, no, not one bit."

After a few moments, the former linebacker realized the sensation of a wet, sticky mess on the back of his legs. Pulling off his gloves, he reached down, bringing two bloody fingers up. "Jesus, D! didn't f*** me up that much. Did this thing not work?" Dropping the harness to the floor, he flexed his back, feeling out any injures more serious than a bruise.

"No, no," the "R" soldier said, flipping the jacket over to reveal the mashed rubber tip of the hook. "I had the boys shape the skyhook like a giant meathook and stuck a pig's blood squib into the tip. Sprayed the whole lot of them. You should've seen their faces."

Brian smiled viciously as he turned to the other man. "You do good work, Samidh."

"Thanks, boss. I try."

COMBATSYS: HeavyD has left the fight here.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0          Roberto
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|


Sticky situation, this. With Brian having made an early exit, the triumvirate is... weakened. And rather severely, as Brian -was- the major muscle for the group. The odds of the assault on Taiyo High succeeding do not look good. Kurenai is, however, not -quite- up to quitting just yet... though she steals a glance at Eclipse. She doesn't really know the guy, and he doesn't really know her, as far as she knows, so communicating may be a problem--there are questions that are not yet answered.

Defeating just Roberto might be out of the question--not to mention Roberto -and- D!. It's time to be wary--very wary. With her attack deflected, she draws the weapon in--and then steps in, feinting another mid-level stab--but instead leaping backwards and up. As she does, her left hand goes to her waist--and then whips outwards, flinging a series of small explosives at Roberto--almost nothing more than firecrackers, except that they are created with a shell that will splinter into jagged shrapnel...

Gambling, apparently--hoping that Eclipse will pick up on unstated cues. Teamwork will definitely be necessary here...

Blood spatters in a wide line across the front of Eclipse's face. Shadowy energy still fading from his left arm, his only real reaction is to twitch back, eyes narrowed in consternation. Out of calm curiosity, he runs his tongue along his upper lip, tastes it, and spits it out with that same relaxed calm, frowning. "Euch."

With the abrupt departure of his ally, Eclipse is forced to acknowledge that this mission is not quite going as planned - but at least he can't take all of the blame for it. Shoulders rising and falling with effort, he rolls his knife in his hand, looking back and forth between Roberto and Heavy D!. Hmmm. Well, best not to fix what's broken. Eclipse suddenly drops, rolls to the side, and feints a lunge at Roberto - before revealing his true target, springing high to the side to come down on top of D!, landing on his shoulders to knock his wind out and falling behind him, raking his knife down right for his spiiiiine.

COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Kurenai's Thrown Weapon.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0          Roberto
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: HeavyD fails to interrupt Fierce Strike from Eclipse with Uppercut Punch.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0          Roberto
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1           HeavyD


D! still finds himself in shock, the scene before him so gruesome, so incredibly galling, that his mind is almost off the two other attackers that accompanied Brian.

The flash of movement however brings him back to his senses, spotting a figure leaping toward him. "YOU!" he shouts out, a heavy handed uppercut flying upward toward Eclipse as the operative tries to land on the boxer's shoulders.

Unfortunately, that second of shock proves a problem, missing the punch and his shoulders forced down before a knife rakes across his back. IT's good he's build up his back muscles enough that he can avoid serious wreckage....but it still hurts enough to be a wakeup call. "NGHhhghhnnn..."

Roberto's moment taken to get himself together is to the soccer star's benefit. He watches as the ninja makes a feinting stab which he reacts too pulling himself even further away from her. In the end the soccer star still has enough enough reaction speed to react to the very real attack of explosions coming his way.

With multiple lateral side steps and spins which look as though he's moving with a soccer ball he slips through the explosives and then when he's actually close to the ninja again he veers off. Making his dedicated target Eclipse. After all, the NESTS operative has gone for his legs with the knife and has talked about his ability to live. Both things that Roberto feels are dangerous to his future soccer career and both things that are sure to get on his bad side.

The soccer star makes his displeasure known in the form of a couple of kicks to Eclipse's leg.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Eclipse with Combo Attack.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0          Roberto
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


Eclipse's sexy little knife rakes down Heavy D!'s back, drawing a gout of blood and staining his hands to match his face. The punch slips right in front of his face after landing on D!'s shoulders, and he really doesn't think about it as he backs away. "We haven't met," he replies, probably to the impassioned shout of YOU that was put out there.

Eclipse should, however, have paid better attention. He realizes that Roberto is gunning for him around the time a powerful foot drills into the back of his leg, snapping a metal band clear off his pants, leather creaking as he nearly collapses. The next kick strikes him in the thigh, and he loses his stance completely, dropping onto his side and rolling back and away, closer to Kurenai, where he pops up and immediately sags against a wall.

His eye twitches, almost imperceptibly, as he reaches down and pops his knee back into place. "This mission is going south. The Shadaloo agent abandoned us too early."

COMBATSYS: Eclipse gains composure.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0          Roberto
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


She speaks, for the first time. "It is." Looking at the people arrayed before Eclipse and her, she asks, simply, "Do you want to abort?" A fair question. After all, the two agents are in a... bad position, so to speak. The knee thing, that draws a wince from Kurenai--but she remains resolute, bringing her blade up again. Waiting for Eclipse's reply--if he wants to abandon the mission, then that's fine as far as she's concerned. But acting rashly is going to make things even harder for the two--continue or retreat, either way.

She moves a touch away from Eclipse, not to abandon him, but to give both of them room to move. She is leaving the decision on Eclipse, but he's the most injured one--for godsakes he just popped his knee back into joint! So it's only fair to let him decide.

She, however, is preparing for anything.

COMBATSYS: Kurenai calculates her next move.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0          Roberto
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


The large Metro-ite hisses, jacket torn and blood spewing down his back from the rather ugly wound Eclipse managed to leave on him. However, his anger isn't quite dampered, nor is his fighting spirit, turning to where both of the operatives are backed up. A deep-set scowl's on his face as he glowers at the two. His fists grip tightly, eyes narrowed as he seems ready to simply try and plow through both of them as is....

"Get out of here...now. Otherwise...." The threat hangs in the air as D! sinks down into his stance, eyes piercing as they peer over his knuckles, in pinpoints directed at the both of them, ninja and shadow op.

COMBATSYS: HeavyD focuses on his next action.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0          Roberto
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


Roberto for his part has a slight frown on his face as he considers the NESTS agent, a combination of burning spirit and rage at their brazen attack on the school, and anger at the seeing Brian getting meat hooked.

Roberto utilizes that fury on Eclipse shooting forward as he closes in quickly with a growl. "Soldier boy, is mine!" And then he reaches out grabbing for Eclipse's waist before attempting to pick him up and then power bombing him to the ground. If he can get that initial power bomb he'll follow up with a kick to the backside to send the soldier on his way. As for D!'s threat to the enemy, Roberto doesn't hear it since he's so caught up in going after his designated target.

COMBATSYS: Eclipse fails to interrupt Mundane Save from Roberto with Dive Ripper.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0          Roberto
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


Heavy D!'s threat is ignored. Eclipse only respects action, and he talks right over the second half of his statement, voice low: "Not an abort... more of a shift. We won't penetrate the wall without a miracle."

Roberto comes on, and Eclipse backflips up out of his grasp, booted feet smacking into the wall behind him, arms crossed over his chest. "Abandoning initial mission: penetrate into Taiyo High. New mission objective:..."

Eclipse springs forward at great speed, knife leading. "...weaken defenses, for future attacks--!" It does not, however, go so well. The NESTS agent springs right into Roberto's arms, slammed back into the ground and kicked away. "Hrrngh!" Eclipse rolls shamefully along the grass before fetching up against Taiyo's wall, his nasty Tran-induced forehead wound reopened, already covering a third of his face in red. He leaves his right hand on the wall to steady himself. He's failing again, he can feel it coming on. He needs to train harder.

".. Understood. Don't push yourself too hard, agent. Neither of us will be useful if we're captured here." That, of course, is said well before Eclipse charges and... fails. She doesn't -quite- facepalm... but if she understands Eclipse's meaning properly... she nods to herself. Right. D! is, essentially, an unknown factor to her--and unknown factors are bad. As tough as Roberto is, she has experience fighting him, and that experience is valuable to her.

However, when Eclipse springs forward... Kurenai isn't far behind, though she takes a different path--lunging forward, then taking a step to launch herself into the sky at a low arc. As she tumbles past Roberot she attempts to stick him--literally. The weapon she holds is blunted, but it still has a tip, and while she probably won't get the deep penetration a sharp weapon would get, the attack--made at one of Roberto's kidneys--will hurt, if it hits...

COMBATSYS: Roberto endures Kurenai's Medium Strike.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1          Roberto
[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Eclipse          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


"You were saying I wasn't going to survive, with my attitude?" Roberto doesn't quite have time to finish his thought. Kurenai's weapon stabs him forcing a grunt from his lips as he takes the weaponized kidney shot before stumbling forward before he utilizes the momentum to move himself forward.

"It was that attitude that got me through the Rival Schools incident. It was that attitude that got me through the Thailand War when by all rights, I probably shouldn't have made it out in one piece." Let's ignore the fact that he came out of that last one with PTSD. "Before you question my ability to survive, you need to know more about me and where I come from!"

And with the momentum from his emotion and the push he received from Kurenai he launches himself at Eclipse with a powerful kick as he attempts to take the bleeding NESTS agent down.

Well, so be it. The two are staying...and that means it's up to them to run the attackers off still. D! doesn't answer them vocally at least, as it would do no good at this point. Instead, he looks on, seeing how Roberto reacts, taking the hit from Kurenai to launch himself into the already injured Eclipse. Using the soccer star almost like cover, D! surges in behind, trying to catch the ninja off guard.

And once he's near? A hook, low and sharp, followed by a shunt around to circle to Kurenai's side, a second hook aimed to drill her right in the temple.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Eclipse with Strong Kick.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1          Roberto
[                             \  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Eclipse          1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Kurenai blocks HeavyD's Ducking Combination.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1          Roberto
[                             \  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Eclipse          1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0           HeavyD


"Maybe it won't be me."

Eclipse gathers himself as Roberto charges in, legs bunching up beneath him, and he brings his injured one up onto the wall.

"But you will die someday, if you don't give up on foolish opposition."

He springs to the right, but Jesus christ, soccer players are fast. He doesn't have as much space as he thinks, unfortunately, and the kick catches him back out of the air, shoving him hard back into the wall. It cracks and craters beneath it, and with a horrible noise, he coughs a gobbet of blood down the side of his mouth. "Father... that's three times. I'm sorry."

He only has a little bit, and by God, he'll use it. Eclipse braces his legs up, and corkscrews himself hard, trying to shove Roberto's foot aside, drawing his knife back and planting his feet on the ground.

Then, suddenly, he lunges forward at obscene speeds, just trying to plunge the Gerber Mark II into Roberto's chest, dragging him a few yards. Then he pulls back and slices, moving a few yards past Roberto with equal speed. After the slice, he falls to his knees, fumbling at his wrists as his vision swims.

COMBATSYS: Eclipse can no longer fight.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1          Roberto
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           HeavyD


And... that will just about do it, won't it? Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Heavy D! coming in--and then sees Eclipse get taken down by Roberto. The other agent's last attack is impressive, indeed--but for the ending of it, where Eclipse goes to his knees. "Mission objective change," she says, half to herself--just as D! comes in. The puncher's fists are blocked, the impacts still jarring her body--she's a small girl, after all--but the last one she uses, timing her movements to let Heavy D's punch send her towards Eclipse's position.

"New mission, evac," she concludes, as she sheathes her weapon, going to snag Eclipse and haul him over her shoulders. It'll slow her down enough to let the two try to get in their parting shots, if they decide, but she's not going to be retaliating...

COMBATSYS: Kurenai takes no action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Kurenai          0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1          Roberto
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Eclipse's Shrieking Shank.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Kurenai          0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1          Roberto
                                  >  ///////////////////           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0           HeavyD


The final attack is obscenely fast but Roberto is just a touch faster. The soccer goalie swings a pair of gloved hands shredded with the wear and tear of combat into the path of the knife sending more droplets of his blood to the ground and forcing him to hiss in pain.

He doesn't have time to say anything before the ninja swoops in and grabs the fallen NESTS agent. He sees them retreating and while he would be happy to see them go, he also wants to make sure they get something to remember the experience by. As Kurenai moves to retreat, Roberto runs to his artillery line of soccer balls and charges it slamming his foot into the soccer ball and sending it at the two in a fiery streak. If the ball hits, it will explode and engulf the pair in fiery chi. But there's a bright side for Eclipse. he only will have to worry about the blaze of chi. Kurenai will have to also worry about the physical impact of the ball itself.

Regardless of whether his parting shot succeeds or not, Roberto collapses to his knees in an exhausted heap, unable to move without pain.

D! isn't terribly habby about having his punches blocked. After all, it probably would have been more satisfying for his emotional state to actually get in a solid hit. Furthermore though, some sense of justice wouldn't want to have Kurenai managing an escape with her cohort, after what they tried to pull.

With both of them in retreat, and Roberto sending out his own attack to stem their retreat, the boxer surges forward, trying to get into his range, once again using Roberto's own attack like a lead blocker. Regardless of whether the blazing soccer ball will hit, they'll find D! coming in with his own shot, the same blasting uppercut that Brian tasted to begin with.

COMBATSYS: HeavyD successfully hits Kurenai with Blast Upper.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Kurenai          1/--=====/=======|=======\===----\1          Roberto
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           HeavyD


COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Kurenai with Blazing Strikers.

[                                < >  //////////////                ]
Kurenai          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1          Roberto
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=======\=------\1           HeavyD


Just before Eclipse loses conciousness, something crazy happens. The bands on his arms loosen, emitting a burst of steam, and his skin changes to a dark tan as his hair bleaches white. That shadowy chi from before blooms around his arms, and he cries out in pain... pain that gives him one final burst of adrenaline. He manages to whisper, "Left," before focusing on his arms. He's only dimly aware of Kurenai under assault as she carries him, and he swings his arms out.

Eclipse's unstable black chi, so diffuse as to be little more than a cloud of shadow, blooms out and spreads across several alleyways. Eclipse goes completely limp right after, only able to get out, "Sorry..."

Was she expecting parting shots from the two? Not--really. It isn't what she'd consider heroic, as these two have positioned themselves to be. But--that's what they did. And both of their attacks impact--D!'s blastwave of chi, and Roberto's flaming soccer ball--but at least the impacts, despite leaving Kurenai in great, great pain, her suit shredded and exposed skin blistered with residual energies--help propel her out of the area.

Just as Eclipse does what he does--and Kurenai did NOT imagine that cry of pain--she takes his advice. A cut left, the girl swallowing, almost, a harsh cry of pain as some nearby bushes scrape exposed, tenderized skin, and she's using that shadowy cover to get away.

She has absolutely no idea -where- to go--she's going to have to go to where she considers 'home'... and she's going to take Eclipse with her. Yurika... Yurika will know what to do...

Well, that was satisfying...in a sense. But somewhat empty as well. Both put what they could into that last attack to see if they could stop that retreat...but D! definitely didn't count on that weird shadowy chi suddenly coming in to help mask their escape, losing them in the fog after Kurenai was launched away.

Heated blood still raced in D!'s veins, the sight of Brian hooked like he was still fresh in his head as he walks back to the Taiyo courtyard. It seems like they managed to run everyone off, the soldiers that accompanied Brian run off along with the linebacker, and the other attackers just disappearing in their retreat.

Sighing, trying to calm himself lest he try and punch something that doesn't need it, he looks over toward the exhausted Roberto. "Ok there, kid?"

Log created on 20:41:53 03/09/2009 by Kurenai, and last modified on 11:44:17 03/16/2009.