Description: Episode #9: Vyle's Vacating the Ville OR Downed By The Sickness! With Southtown in peril, Nataya, the Spirit of Balance can no longer withstand the terrible destruction plaguing Southtown. When she finally meets up with the vicious villainy of Vyle, she does her best to neutralize his nasty nature by any means necessary. Whether or not she does is totally up for interpretation!
Many people wiser than Nataya have made statements and posited questions about war.
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."
"We have war when at least one of the parties to a conflict wants something more than it wants peace."
"War. Huh! Good God, y'all, what is it good for? (Absolutely nothing!)"
And so Nataya does not deign to comment on it. For her, war is a natural disaster, stemming from the ingrained need of humanity to crave what isn't theirs. She doesn't look down upon that: it's the nature of man, and as such it will all work itself out in time.
But that doesn't mean she doesn't work in her own small way to curtail the pain and suffering around her. It's usually only the smallest of things. Fate has an interesting way of accumulating karma on it's own. Only the barest of pushes is required one way or another. Not every solution requires a hero. Sometimes it just needs a few like minded indviduals who have decided enough is enough.
Therefore, through streets that are solemn save for the staccato burst of gunfire, Nataya strolls down the sidewalk as if it was any other given day, making subtle work of ensuring darting refugees make it to wherever they're going. Not through any overt means, mind, but by ensuring attention never falls upon them by covert or overt means. A trail of odd fog seems to follow her, obscuring vision. For the wayward soldier that gets lost in it, nothing. However for the more persistant, crippled, broken and bleeding bodies occasionally dot the sidewalk like mangled living works of art.
And yet Nataya keeps a sunny disposition and a generally cheerful attitude. It's her nature, and really is no more questionable than why men and women engage in war. Or so she likes to beleive.
Gunfire...hah. Real men, they destroy with their hands, kill with their hands. They enjoy the much more...personal means of destroying a man.
Now...Vyle had never actually killed a man. Not out of any virtue or moral that kept him from doing so. More out of a sick anticipation of their future suffering after he had kicked someone's ass and had them at his mercy (either that, or he was the one with the crap kicked out of him, but that's neither here nor there). He was a fairly sick man, and that sickness extended to his work in the city these days as it was locked down. After aiding and abetting in the kidnapping of Frei and Ichiro, he had taken to trying to keep the city unsettled in his...own unique ways. From petty thievery, to attacking dojos, he found his ways.
And today? Well...we felt particularly mean and devious. Thusly, he had his bag, one that looked fairly heavy and filled with...something as he walked around the streets of Chinatown. He looks rather normal actually (as long as you call wearing all gaudy bright purple and green 'normal). That's, of course, until he pulls into his bag...and starts tossing around some small canisters of something. "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
And said canisters? They start hissing and seeping out acrid white smoke. WHile it's just smoke, and not something worse like tear gas, it's still not going to be exactly welcome in the streets of a public place, all of a sudden. "Oh won't you be....my neighbor..." Smirking, walking through the growing plumes of smoke, he pulled out several little canisters with fuses. M-80s. And a lighter. Just what exactly does he have planned here?
There's a certain thought process to a soldier. Most have joined a cause for better or for worse, and are merely following orders. Those thoughts are usually free from pure malice. Getting caught up in the moment and doing terrible things is part of the horrors of war.
None of that causes any sort of disturbance. Group think is the hallmark of mass conflict. When a mass of people move to beleive and take action as a whole, sometimes things like morality get swept aside. Onceagain, Nataya can't find fault in that.
But then there's malice for the sake of malice. Cruelty for the purpose of causing suffering is another matter altogether. That's a disturbance, with no purpose to man but to cause waste and suffering. No ends are ever acheived through that.
So when Vyle makes his appearance with smoke bombs and firecrackers, Nataya changes course without a word and without pause. Her face continues to display the same warm, generally happy expression as she approaches, the fog behind her suddenly taking a proactive step as it seems to grow more solid, dispersing or absorbing the smoke from the bombs. They seem to clear the way for Nataya as a friendly gesture to her as her feet plod softly against the street. She stops just a few meters away from Vyle.
"In the grand scheme of life, some people are destined to cause change," she says, putting her hands in her sleeves. She seems rather nonaggressive and as physically imposing as a fire hydrant. "But some people are just petty nuisances, neither accomplishing anything, nor having the courtesy to fade away. The Universe is giving us all a choice." She winks.
"Choose wisely."
COMBATSYS: Nataya has started a fight here.
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Nataya 0/-------/-------|
The plan was simple. Blanket the area in smoke. Then, when vision was obscured all over the street, M-80s would be set off around the area, along with a few other strings of firerackers, to emulate gunfire. Once everyone was either running around or locking themselves up in panic, that's when Vyle would sweep in, knock a few heads together, break a few bones...and when the dust settled, you'd have a fresh, new incident to keep the people afraid.
And then it all had to be ruined, when some little bint in a robe approached him just as he was about to set up the M-80s. "Eh?" Turning around as he hears a voice behind him, in front of the alleyway he was about to duck into to set up, he frowns and eyes Nataya. "...who the hell are y-...no, wait, nevermind, forget I asked, it doesn't matter anyways. You want me to choose something?" He looks between Nataya...and then his M-80s...and smirks. "Alright...I'll choose something..."
Flick. The lighter lights up. Hiss. The fuses are lit. Thwhip. And then they fly toward Nataya, threatening to blow up in her face. Vyle's answer? "Catch."
COMBATSYS: Vyle has joined the fight here.
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Vyle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Nataya blocks Vyle's Thrown Object.
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Vyle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nataya
A hand raises, and the fog itself whirls through the air, catching the firecracker and halting it before it can get close enough to do any real damage. The flash is still enough to be annoying, but no more so than it really should be.
Well, she tried.
Rather than spend an extraneous amount of time chatting away, it behooves her to take action. She leans back, putting her weight on one leg, entering a combat stance as her hands raise, the prayer beads dangling from her wrists starting to glow brightly as her hands clench into fists.
Then she darts forward with a short grunt, springing quickly to whip one leg about. The foot shoots forward at a good rate of speed, which would definitely do some damage if it connects.
But it doesn't.
The foot flies wide by nearly six inches, but that's really not the point, since the other foot slings around, the heel crashing against three tiny glowing beads that suddenly flare to life as they blast forth from her kick. The tiny beads flare to life as glimmering silver spheres that seek to crash into Vyle and infuse him with energy that saps the very will to fight.
COMBATSYS: Vyle dodges Nataya's Three Gems.
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Vyle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nataya
He had hoped the M-80s would give him room to dart down the alley, and continue his little plan of distrupting the tenuous peace of the neighborhood...but no go. Vyle had a hanger-on, and he'd have to make her the first victim if he wanted to do anything further.
It's good that the luchador is quick though. WHen she whips out the leg to shoot out, he's already in motion, dropping low, and diving into the alley. While the feint jars him, it keeps him moving long enough to avoid the sudden shot of silver gems flying at him, rolling then jumping against the alley wall to evade them. "Sorry, toots, but looks like you're first." Landing from his spring off the alley wall, he leaps again, this time trying to loop an arma round Nataya's neck and drag it down to the street with a vicious neckbreaker slam.
COMBATSYS: Vyle successfully hits Nataya with Strong Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Vyle 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Nataya
Well, not the best start. Vyle's attack strikes clean and then some as Nataya is driven to the ground, her head crashing against the pavement. Stars light up in her vision, if only for an instant.
Still, she's take a lot more devestating hits than that, so recovery comes quick as she pushes the man off of her and takes position again. Coming back from a deficit isn't all that unheard of. All she needs to do is stay focused.
A quick front step forward has her closing the distance at a rapid pace. Then the second step comes as she raises a foot to a straight snap kick as she tries to further define Vyle's defensive capabilities so she can mount a more solid offense.
COMBATSYS: Vyle blocks Nataya's Light Kick.
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Vyle 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Nataya
Pulling himself up from the ground, Vyle already hears a few shouts of panic from the nearby cloud of smoke growing down the street. Smirking, he turns back to the girl trying to keep him from going anywhere. When the quick snap kick comes, he brings his arms up, knocking the sharp kick aside before stepping in a bit closer to her.
"Now...what were you hoping to do with that? Don't you know that I'm impossible to catch, like mist....speaking of which..." Suddenly, lips purse, his fingers pressing against the side of his throat. And while it's not quite smoke, the sudden cloud of green mist that sprays outof his mouth toward Nataya's face is...well, it's probably something she's going to want to breath in even less.
COMBATSYS: Vyle successfully hits Nataya with Venom Breath.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Vyle 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Nataya
Right now, it looks like Nataya's not having the best of luck at all. Vyle's burst of poison mist strikes her in the eyes, and it's about as unpleasant as it gets. She coughs, hacking out a wheeze at the unpredictable fighter's attacks.
Still, he's definitely chatty, which does give her some time to consider her next move.
Her hands spread, and four beads materialize in the air, forming a square in front of her. The energy between the beads seems to flicker and shimmer like a mirror, forming into a silvery film standing between her and Vyle. Then she steps forward, the shimmering feild moving with her as she starts to run, building momentum before leaping, the jump kick being forwarded by the bright glimmering energy between her and Vyle as she seeks to smash the energy mirror into the man and drive him back a little further!
COMBATSYS: Vyle dodges Nataya's Four Noble Truths.
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Vyle 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Nataya
Yes, Vyle is a talkative one...but that's how he rolls, keeping himself talking both to boost himself up, and unsettle his foes. So it's no surprise that despite his chatter, he's all ears and eyes, watching the beads materialize...and easily dropping low underneath the shattering energy mirror, letting it fly over him and slithering further underneath Nataya as she sails through the air. "Tch, tch, you know that's 7 years bad luck, but I suppose considering things, you've broken more mirrors just by looking at them."
He continues to chatter, grinning and reveling in his asshole-dom when he rolls back. When his feet flip over into the air, he pushes off the ground rather than completing his somersault on the ground, forcing his legs out into a low drop kick right toward the back of Nataya's knees.
COMBATSYS: Nataya interrupts Light Kick from Vyle with Six Seals EX.
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Vyle 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Nataya
Despite the fact that Vyle seems perfectly able to avoid her and is quite frankly beating her around the place, Nataya knows that down isn't ever out until someone actually falls.
So when Vyle tips his hand into his somersault at the back of her knees, Nataya knows exactly what needs to be done. She sidesteps, whirls, and charges straight for him, despite the burning in her eyes and the damage from the eventual impact.
But that's not the end of it by a long shot. Nataya crouches, and then slams into Vyle with an uppercut that would have made Sagat nod with approval. The powerful blow crashes clean into Vyle's face with a level of violence rarely seen outside someone with murderous intent. Then, and Vyle is sailing, she settles onto the ground and prepares the second halfto the brutal surprise. A flurry of beads whirl out around her and form concentric rings around one of her arms. They spin furiously, focusing the clouds that follow her into a brightly coalescing energy that she eventually fires like a cannon. The stream of power strikes forth as Vyle descends. It doesn't cause pain, however. It's a dull, numbing feeling, like someone put novacaine directly into the brainstem. It's not dulling the pain of the hit... just the senses.
And despite this mercliess attack? Nataya's face is still disturbingly neutral. No shout of triumph, no menacing smile. Just a passive face set in calm concentration, no more, no less.
Well, that was a surprise.
He was striking as quickly as he could to make up for the awkward position he was attacking from. However...he wasn't expecting the vicious, full body uppercut that strikes him straight in the chin and lifts him up with a swirl of energy and jaw-breaking raw power. And then...the powerful energy that envelops him on the way down? Well, it numbs him, but not in the good way. Grunting as he lands, he coughs and glowers at Nataya, rolling over into a crouch. "You...oh...now you asked for it..."
Gritting his teeth, he comes in low, his stance reptilian and odd as he approaches. Suddenly, he lurches forward, trying to grab for Nataya's arm and yank it down right across his own knee in a strange sort of armbreaker.
COMBATSYS: Nataya blocks Vyle's Improvised Throw.
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Vyle 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Nataya
Now Nataya's starting to get her bearings. The hand grabs her by the writs, but she rolls her arm. She's a whole lot stronger than she looks, and while some damage is done by the twisting, she breaks herself free from Vyle's grasp and pulls back.
Still, her focus is on Vyle. The calm intensity she seems to exude doesn't hide the fact that she's been worn down quite a bit by the heavy beating she took from Vyle earlier on, though. She may have evened the score a little bit, but it's not enough to bring Vyle down, and she knows it.
That doesn't keep her from stopping her offensive by any means, however. The monk-trained woman doesn't let the distance between her and Vyle linger for too long. Instead, she whips about swiftly, her left arm coming in for a straight jab. However she deliberately misses, the feint shooting by Vyle's head quickly.
The /real/ attack is the incoming elbow on her right. The hard sturdy chunk of bone rockets towards Vyle's collarbone as she attempts to cause undeniably painful amounts of damage with her merciless assault.
COMBATSYS: Vyle counters Strong Punch from Nataya with Antidote.
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Vyle 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Nataya
Vyle doesn't let the distance remain either, even as his arm breaker is twisted away from. Lurching low in his wrestling stance toward Nataya as she backs away, he smirks, ready to pounce the moment she does something wrong.
And that feint jab does the trick quite nicely. As soon as the arm shoots past his head, his own arm comes in to hook at it, shifting enough that the attempted follow up elbow barely even brushes down his back. Grip shifting so his arm grasp around her chest and right shoulder, and his other arm grabs low at her leg, the luchador lifts. Almost like a suplex...until he drops down to a sitting position, dragging Nataya down with him, jarring her spine from tailbone up onto the concrete, and her jaw straight into his shoulder.
The Cure for the common life: The Antidote.
Nataya's made from sterner stuff, however. As fancy as the move looks, it doesn't rattle her all that much.
The problem is that damage is starting to compound, and Nataya's not having that great of a time coming back out from under it! Nevertheless, she's stillgot a little fight left in her. Giving up right now isn't going to solve anything. This is too small to let lie.
Rolling back up to her feet, Nataya summons up those beads again, and three spheres hover into existance, swirling around her quickly as she circles the luchadore. She then steps back, and lets fly with three short snap kicks, sending the energy spheres at Vyle at a breakneck pace to blast him backward and give her some time to think and plan her next move.
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Vyle with Three Gems EX.
- Power hit! -
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Vyle 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Nataya
Now that was quite harsh.
Just as he was getting up from rattling Nataya up like that, Vyle was...a bit slow in getting up. That wasn't good. And when Nataya attempts that same gem blast she did at the start, and it comes in FASTER than before, thanks to three sharp kicks sending each...well, that's a problem too. And it's a problem that the rudo can't quite solve before it happens, the blasts sending him flying and rolling over on the street. "Uhgnnhh...ghhh....."
Slowly, he pulls himself up from the street, pushing up from the face down position he had fallen in. "Ughh....you bitch..." he grunts, finally coming to a crouch and staying there for a moment to get himself together again. "C'mon...don't you wanna finish it, huh?"
COMBATSYS: Vyle gains composure.
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Vyle 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Nataya
The woman smiles slightly, despite the fact that she's bruise across the face, aching, and bleeding from the accumulated cuts and scrapes. Overall? She looks pretty terrible. In far worse shape than Vyle, at any rate.
But there's no mistaking that he seems upset, whereas Nataya? She's just happy to be there.
"You're pretty strong, you know. You can stop trying to get my goat, though. It's just wasting your time. Instead, just concentrate on putting me down. It's more... honest that way, I think."
Her eyes lock with Vyle's, and she raises a hand, two fingers parallel to her face. "But... I won't lecture you. It's obvious that you like who you are. It's something I appreciate, even though I can't abide by your actions. Not because I particularly beleive you're any more wrong or right than the next person. It's just that I have this thing against harm for the sake of harm."
With that, energy flows out of her, swirling around her legs and then whirling around her face, curing her minor injuries and raising her concentration and resolve. "So. Let's finish this, alright? No silliness. Just show me what you have."
COMBATSYS: Nataya enters a meditative state.
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Vyle 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Nataya
Snort. "Honest". What a word...and it's a word Vyle really has no use for. And Nataya's chatter is...well, it doesn't do much to change Vyle's mind, even if she's accepted that. "Finish it, huh?...sounds good to me," he says with a sneer, snorting again and cracking his neck. "If you're that eager to find heaven, I can easily hasten things."
With that, he suddenly charges in, one of his hands glowing an ill green and pointed out like a knive-edge, trying to spear Nataya straight in the gut. And one might even swear there's some green liquid spilling off his finger tips as it spears out.
COMBATSYS: Nataya blocks Vyle's Injector.
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Vyle 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Nataya
The woman's eyes never leave Vyle's, and her hand knocks his away, some of the splash landing on her to cause some pain, but not enough to concern. And then Nataya does something she doesn't do very often.
She frowns.
She doesn't really say much, though. Vyle's got her full attention now. Even this late in the game, Nataya's still got enough fight in her to cause some damage. The woman steps back and then erupts in an explosion of shimmering silver clouds and a swarm of beads that seem to pour from her sleeves like tiny planes leaving a carrier vessel.
Like angry bees, they enter a maddening dance, swarming about her, whizzing in a bewildering pattern around her body. She raises a hand, and they stop, then coalesce into a single, massive ball of energy, pulsing and shimmering with anticipation before she directs it at Vyle with the flick of her hand.
COMBATSYS: Vyle blocks Nataya's 37 Factors of Enlightenment.
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Vyle 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Nataya
The sphere crashes against Vyle, exploding like so much energy infused shrapnel. Energy rips and tears at the man, but to no avail. The damage Nataya has sustained is just too much to allow her the concentration necessary to continue with the attack. As such, the lights don't continue with their relentless assault, instead drawing back towards her as they abandon their attack, the clouds withdrawing as well, leaving Vyle to respond as he sees fit.
The sphere shatters against Vyle's guard...and while it's damn powerful still, the luchador stands firm and keeps his head up, even with his legs unsteaded. "Hhghh....hehehe....heheheh....that's all you have, huh? That's all you have...little buzzing bees of energy, and that's all they could do to me..." he asks, smirking, before it turns to a cackling....
And without warning, the luchador charges in, coming with a low dash and diving as he tries to tackle Nataya to the ground by her legs. Something's being set up, that's for sure...
COMBATSYS: Nataya dodges Vyle's Outbreaker.
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Vyle 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Nataya
Whatever Vyle was setting up will by a mystery to Nataya, however. As the luchadore sweeps in to take her off her feet, Nataya takes off the ground in a short leap over him.
She lands, footing a little unsteady due to the fact that she's definitely suffering from the effects of the damage she's sustained. Still, there's something to be said about remaining positive in the face of adversity. Though it's been tough going, she's managed to stick it through this far against someone that's clearly stronger than her.
Still, now's not the time to be sitting back on her laurels congratulating herself on not getting creamed! She sweeps around, concentrating on her next move. As Vyle gets up from the ground, Nataya will follow into a nasty strike to the back with a knee, attempting to drive her kneecap straight into the man's spine and send him to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Vyle counters Strong Punch from Nataya with Antidote.
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Vyle 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Nataya
Damn....that was supposed to be it. Usually, people were worn down enough when he did this that they couldn't avoid the leadup tackle...sadly, seems Vyle misgauged things, and simply comes in with nothing to show for it. Gritting his teeth, turning and watching Nataya as she lands behind him, he glowers. Now, he's irritated. And when she comes in to try and jam him in the back with her knee, he makes her pay for it. Turning as she flies out with the strike, he faces her, just long enough to grab at her head with both hands before he twists again...and when she falls, so does he, dragging her down and dropping her face first into his shoulder again in a textbook Cutter.
And pay for it Nataya does. Despite her attempts to move with enough speed to avoid the man's defensive reactions, she's just not good enough. Not yet, anyway, and she takes a face full of shoulder.
She's forced to stagger back now. She just can't take further pounding, and the fact that she's been outmatched is abundantly clear. Nevertheless, Nataya still has one final trick left up her sleeve. Quite literally in fact.
"It looks like you've won," she says, her face calm but bleeding as she raises a hand, smoke pouring out of it. "I guess I'm not strong enough to face you yet. I hope I didn't disappoint you as I've disappointed myself. But..."
And with that, beads fire forth from her sleeve like tiny bullets, the shining pinpricks of light closing the distanceon Vyle with considerable speed. "Sometimes the most honorable thing to do is also the dirtiest."
Her form shimmers within the clouds as she attempts to use them as a smokescreen to cover an escape, leaving Vyle to deal with her incoming 'presents' that will explode with considerable energetic force on impact if they connect.
COMBATSYS: Nataya can no longer fight.
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Vyle 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Vyle with Ten Perfections.
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Vyle 0/-------/--=====|
At least that finishes it. Because Vyle's got a problem keeping up himself as he stands up from giving Nataya that final cutter. Grunting as he tries to stay on his feet. He doesn't bother even looking at Nataya once she surrenders. WHich...is probably the worst thing he could have done.
Not expecting such a final attack, the wrestler ends up suddenly engulfed in explosions of energy and striking him straight in the back and sending him flying into an ally, crashing into the trashbins there with a loud clatter. "AGHHNnnhh...."
The smoke clears from his smoke bombs disappears and fades...and the place does suitably look like a war zone. Just not the way he had meant it to...and it seems Vyle had done a good part of what he wanted to do earlier. Just...he didn't think it would've ended up this painful. PUlling himself out of the trash, he groans, and glowers toward the fallen Nataya. "....b-bitch..." he grunts, slowly shuffling and lurching toward his bag. Maybe....maybe he'll just have to try again with this later. After some treatment for severe internal trauma...
Log created on 12:34:55 04/12/2009 by Nataya, and last modified on 16:04:24 04/12/2009.