Description: Salvatore Ellis and Kula Diamond are on a mission from God, and by God we probably mean Igniz, but not really. Their mission, if they choose to (and do) accept it, is to cut the power to Southtown. Luckily for Southtown, K' happens to spot them, and decides to be a nosey bastard.
It's night time, which is always the best time to launch a strike such as this, an attempt to rob the city of electricity and what little laughter remains. And naturally, the ability to do anything at night, given the potential for there to be a lack of lighting.
How it all started is perhaps the most interesting part of it all, but one that will be covered by this paragraph alone. At one of the camps setup by the haphazard team-up of the Cartel and Shadaloo, a simple man in simple black walked up and asked to speak to somebody in middle-management. He was brought before said man, and somewhere between his eyes changing color to now, an arrangement was made for this man out of nowhere to be given an escort in an attempt to bring down the power and sow some additional chaos, to stop the resistance from being able to do anything during the hours of seven to seven, when the sun is down.
They decided to give him a tank and the Anti-K' but the company hasn't mattered much to Salvatore Ellis. The man, clad in black and now sporting a black face-mask to hide what features he can, simply rides on the top of the tank as it draws ever closer to the power station, Generalissimo Electricano, no doubt an Italian business.
Which is fitting, since the man on the back of the tank, swathed in a black coat as well, happens to be half-Italian. While he may have dreamt up and organized the idea, somehow wheedling the support from the city's present domineering forces, he simply acts as backup, letting the more powerful think they have the lead. "We're nearly there," he reports despite the mask, as the tank simply runs right over fencing. He grips the main turret to keep himself from falling off.
But indeed, the tank rolls to a stop, and the rest of the work is likely to be on foot, as they don't want to simply blast the power station to pieces. There are dangerous looking electrical coils everywhere on the outside, and the interior is likely to be full of giant generators and turbines, all kinds of crazy technological energy stuff that's highly dangerous if simply blown apart. Plus, the power will have to go back on at some point, hence the need to proceed on foot.
"Shall we go?" he asks his cohort for the mission, running a hand through his medium-length dark hair. It flounces, and his eyes twinkle as he leaps off the tank and starts forward, a sheathed sword briefly visible beneath the coat.
Throughout the invasion she has been used as a weapon. On call for kidnappings, territory grabs, assassinations, and defense, Kula Diamond has been given very little downtime during the weeks prior. She was out while the mission was being planned; not that she would have any say in how it was carried out anyway. She returned on schedule for this operation, however, her right cheek bleeding from a close scrape while assassinating one of the city's officials the new regime didn't want to have to deal with in the aftermath.
She was silent as the new operation was explained. It seems a simple enough affair. The city is in chaos. The likelyhood of defenses are minimal. She's practically overkill at this point but the idea of a cakerun mission does appeal to her on some level. Now if only there was actually cake at the end.
The ride over Kula is quiet, seated in the armored vehicle, elbows on her knees, chin propped up by her hands, eyes staring, unfocused on anything at all. Black leather armor fitted perfectly to her lithe figure creaks slightly as she breaths in then exhales, a drained look on her face that doesn't fade significantly when the young operative suggests they head in. A slight tilt of her chin is her indication to the affirmative as Kula slips out into the cover of darkness and eyes the power station. How anything in there works at all is beyond her. She definitely wasn't brought along for her expertise in electronicsc.
Strawberry blonde hair is tossed over her shoulder by a flick of her hand but beyond that, she stands mostly perfectly still. Violet eyes glance over the premesis, the girl wondering, perhaps, if she should do some scouting ahead just to make sure. Igniz nor Zero will be happy if there's unnecessary casualties from this little excursion.
For his part, K' spent much of the invasion as a solitary figure, though he did perpetually keep an eye out for certain people of consequence to him. Alliances meant little to him: the assistance of others, as part of a group effort, was a concept which he gave barely any thought. Other people served him only in the sense that they could provide him information on where NESTS would be moving its forces to strike, and his latest tipoff had brought him here.
The tipoff had not included any assessment of troop strength. But K' can virtually smell Kula off the lone tank approaching the power station. He can detect her presence in the way his blood seethes, the Kusanagi fire in him responding to the frigid kindred power she wields. And if he knows -she's- here... she sure as hell knows that he's around too.
Escape remains a possibility, even if she is aware of him. And yet... this is also an opportunity. Wasn't it his intention to use this fiasco of an invasion to target major NESTS figures? To kill them while their resources were already strapped attempting to siege and hold the city? Hadn't he already successfully assaulted Krizalid nearly to the point of killing him? Why not try an attack? She's alone, as far as he can tell: there's a tank, of course, and the personnel who are required to drive it, but K' doesn't even care about either the vehicle or the people manning it. Neither present any kind of difficulty to him.
Funnily, the question 'shouldn't he do something to preserve the city's power grid' never does quite occur to him, in between all those self-centered thoughts.
And so, K' lingers. He leaves his perch at the fringes of the plant's premises, slowly drawing closer and keeping his presence concealed. But it's not until he's too close to easily disengage that he sees Salvatore leave the tank and start forward... and the addition of this other person to the mix-- who is clearly not NESTS personnel-- gives him pause.
Noting that the aid he's been given for this impromptu off-the-cuff mission is remarkably not talkative, Salvatore Ellis continues on nevertheless, humming a pleasant little ditty as he does so. It's a child's nursery rhyme, perhaps something from his past, meant to simply pass the time as the duo walk forward, through the maze of electrical coils and towards the plant's doors. Twirling a riding crop between his fingers, the half-Italian's footsteps slow for a moment, before they speed up again.
And as he passes by one of the bigger coils, he turns to glance over his shoulder, eyes briefly flashing green as he looks squarely at the location K' is presently concealing himself behind.
A coincidence, surely. With nothing more than the glance, this unknown operative turns to face forward again, and casually continues his forward ingress. He's nearly at the doors. Yes, he may not work for NESTS -- unless he's a recent recruit -- but there's definitely something about him. "You feel that, don't you?" he asks of the Anti-K' from the side of his mouth, voice pitched low so pesky K's can't hear.
Yes, whoever this man is, he's most definitely in tap with the unknown.
She's slow to pick up on it; that resonance with another who shares the gift or curse of the Kusanagi blood, depending on how one views it... Thinking, but not accutely so. She's been working without a break for days now and even her passive instincts are starting to slip. The much smaller fighter walks along with Salvatore, glancing toward him on occasion, a curious edge in her eyes as if she's wondering about the song he's humming.
She wonders at his nature, his personality. Those in charge seemed to trust him but with him his loyalties lie is certainly not clear to her. "Is it for money?" she asks after they begin to walk admist the coils, no hint of judgement in her voice, merely an inquisitive mind trying to make sense of his motivations here. The hum of generators and power converters throughout the structure rings in her ears and at first she dismisses that sensation of being close to one with whom she has a long history as being just that - some distraction from all that energy.
But after a few more steps it becomes too strong to miss. Her company will notice her pace shift a little, her body tensing up slightly. The girl glances back and forth in front of her, brow furrowed slightly. Why can she not get a better fix on his location? Is it really him or is she just losing it? She's fought a lot lately. Killed a lot too.
But as Salvatore whispers just loud enough for her ears to hear, she knows she cna't be mistaken. "Nn," comes her vocal admission, not accompanied by even so much as a slight nod. It's the first audible noise she's made in Salvatore's company this entire excursion and evidence of her becoming more alert, her body already begining to pump adrenaline into her blood in anticipation of what is likely to come. "Might not..." she muses; she's hoping this isn't going to be an incident, "...be a problem." K' isn't the sort to get himselve involved just for the sake of screwing around. But if he has an objective in his mind... that changes things.
K' knows he's been noticed. He can tell from the way the man's eyes cut straight towards his location. And with that one gesture, K' can also tell that this man is not a mere foot soldier. No average NESTS soldier would have been able to detect him now, when he did not want to be detected: this man is something more. Kula's own shift to a highly alert state is expected, and so K' pays her slightly less mind. His yellow eyes rest instead on the unknown factor in the equation.
Kula's musings are correct. K' is not the sort to involve himself unless he has a particular goal. Unfortunately, in this instance, the runaway does have an objective. And that objective happens to include taking down any and all NESTS personnel of import.
His eyes cut back and forth, assessing the environment. While he knows himself to be more lethal in a closed environment, his grafted flames as perfectly capable of smothering air and producing choking smoke as natural fire, he also knows that Kula holds a similar advantage indoors in her ability to instantly transform tight enclosed quarters into veritable deathtraps. Best to keep it outdoors, where the race between the up-close lethality of fire and ice does not even become a factor. Where he's not as easily flanked between the two.
Might not be a problem, huh? Come on. K' and his antitype, all in one place? Problems are inevitable.
"You know better than to think that," comes the sudden reply. K' appears beside a generator silently, slipping seamlessly out into ready sight. He does little for the time being, simply remaining in the shadow of the generator. His eyes have left Salvatore, coming now to rest on Kula with an odd intensity. "You know why you were made." It could almost be a taunt.
The two lethality's can fight all they want; Salvatore is here to meet objectives, not settle old scores. There's no immediate response to Kula's question, the relatively lanky man in the mask opting to just hum that pleasant tune even as matters threaten to escalate.
He also didn't need Kula to confirm the presence of K', he simply wished for the girl to acknowledge what he felt off of her correctly, that she was in tune with whoever the mystery person is. So when said mystery person appears, the man simply draws up short, one foot on the steps leading into the power station, hand reaching for the locked door. Rather than speak up, he opts to let the two do as they see fit to one another.
Turning about, he simply crosses his arms, seemingly just another person accompanying Kula Diamond along for the ride, with the girl squarely in charge. He may yet tell her why he's doing this, why he came into their camp and suggested this idea, but for the moment... no, he keeps his silence, simply a figure in black with a partial facemask on.
The two are getting closer to the door with each step and Kula's combat instincts begin to predict possible scenarios, potential vectors of attack, and ways to cover not just defending herself but ensuring that the mission goes off without a hitch in the process. She's had enough missions go awry in recent weeks with last minute bursts of power, interference at the final moment before success, and other unexpected developments.
Having K' lurking in the dark places of the power plant is just one more 'unexpected development' to deal with. She lifts her yellow glove covered hand to her face, brushing a length of her hair back over her shoulder and out of her eyes. She doesn't start to turn in circles in a vain attempt to spot him. Something about the young man has always allowed him to move through the shadows with ease; as if he had a natural affinity for the dark places of the world. He'll make his presence known when and if he so desires.
And at the door itself, K''s direction becomes known. He's hard to make out from the shadow but to her eyes there is almost a glimmering outline of visibility, as if the fire within gave him a glow by which she could perceive him. So much for staying out of their way. "I don't know what you need to do to the switches here," Kula notes as Salvatore stands at her side. The implication is clear: He better survive this because she sure as heck has no idea what to do with anything in the area besides break it. And that wasn't within the mission protocols.
Her hands tighten at her sides as K' attempts to goad her. It's a good bet. She's tired and a bit stressed, her mind not accustomed to the hours she's been keeping or the rampant chaos of full out war. Normally passive enough to be slow to provoke, now is a different time all together. "I do." she replies, her voice terse. It has been a long time since they fought.
"Perhaps it's time I fullfilled that." she replies, an edge to her tone. A deep breath is taken, a swirl of energy coursing up around her body, blowing her hair about her shoulders and leaving it a frosty blue in its passing as her combat potential is finally unsealed. She shouldn't charge him, her instincts tell herself. She should make him decide his opening move from a distance. But she's a bit irritable and right now playing it safe can take a backseat!
She's gone from Salvatore's side in an instance, spanning the distance between her and K', her right hand at her side shrouded in a shimmer of white before ice solidifes into a foot long blade in her hand. She aims to slide past K', dishing out a vicious slash into his side in the process. She would slide to a stop a few yards later, pausing to inspect the edge of her blade for any telltale signs of heated blood.
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Salvatore has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits K' with Aggressive Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
K' 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Salvatore
K' doesn't make it any easier for Kula to see him. He remains still, a dark patch sewn into equally dark shadows, his eyes gleaming occasionally every time stray light makes it to his face. He wasn't expecting her to be quite so quick to attack him, nor quite so easy to set off. He's said far worse to her before and been met only with a look or an odd reluctance to attack.
A snarl crosses K''s face when Kula replies him. The expression doesn't entirely lack in amusement. "Fulfill it. Heh. You think so?" And yet, from his tone, he doesn't seem to question her ability to beat him in a fight... as much as he does her willingness to do so.
That question doesn't even leave his demeanor when she scores his side open.
The boy spins abruptly to one side with a scattering of hissing, unusually-hot blood, skidding to face the girl now beyond him. He doesn't talk any further, doesn't say anything more than that one damning question he leveled at her earlier. Instead, he just attacks: his turn transitioning first into a brace of his heels, and then into a seamless leaping kick thrown straight towards Kula's face.
Nothing really -needs- to be said. The tense violence the two antithetical experiments trade should speak loudly enough.
Indeed, nothing really needs to be said. For his part, Salvatore has little intention of adding to the talk. He really does not know anything about the past between these two, but he does not need his special abilities to know that it's something substantial, some kind of rivalry that's almost palpable. From what he can feel between the two though, he knows he doesn't want to get caught in the middle.
Thus, he remains on the stairs, simply biding his time.
Then again, the fact his eyes are completely green now, and there's a faint waft of mist extruding from them, that probably doesn't help with him being a supposed bystander.
So he shuts his eyes, the ultimate defense against getting noticed as the two clash with fire against ice.
COMBATSYS: Salvatore gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
K' 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////////]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks K''s Minutes Spike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////////]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
By the time she skids to a stop, she already knows the success of her hit. A glimpse from eyes now the same color as the blood that coats her ice knife glance the surface of the weapon over before discarding it with an indifferent release from her fingers. He's been cut and that's strangly a very satisfying thought in her mind all of the sudden even as the doubt echoed by his follow up question lingers in her mind. Let that be a demonstration, she tells herself, her childish mind reeling at the idea that he'd question her resolve.
This is a war going on. And while the success or failure of the campaign may not rest upon this very moment, her intention is to not another chance to prove her worth slip through her fingers. She whirls on K' just as he steps into his own retaliation only to have him springing toward her, aiming to introduce the heel of his foot into her face with no further thought. Her reaction speed is quick as ever, however, arms crossing in the path of the foot as he connects with enough force to send her sliding back, narrowly having avoided the clean blow.
Over the shoulder of the young man she sees the enigamtic Salvatore. She assumed him a fighter, but up until now had no idea as to his capacity. And, as the hints of energy are seen about his person, the utter lack of any resonance with her finely tuned aura leaves her even more confused. But she doesn't expect him to enter the fray. To contend with someone of K''s calibur... well, that's why she exists after all, right?
He's close right now and she's feeling... bold. Which might be why she goes out of her way to rub in his face the techniques that she has of his. A step forward, attempting to catch the young man before he lands, and she slams her right hand forward, fingers only half bent... For less than a heartbeat, her hand may seem to rest just out of striking range, as if she had pulled her punch. K' will know better. He'll know the crushing force that is to follow. Even without chi backing her attack, the girl can hit with killing intent with physical strikes alone. And right now it's his sternum that might pay the price.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits K' with One Inch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////////]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
Salvatore is registering now only as a buzz of psionic energy off to one side of the confrontation. And for the time being, K' leaves him well enough alone. K' knows what kind of energy the stranger is using, he's felt it enough to know what it is... and if he can avoid it, he won't provoke its use against him. There are few things K' hates more than being hit with the uniquely invasive and unsettling Psycho Power.
His attention switches back to Kula the instant he feels her guard his attack. Dropping out of his strike, left in that uniquely undefensible position that always follows that particular reckless strike, K' doesn't have the balance or assurance of stance to get out of the way... not even of this most familiar of moves.
The fact that his original intent was to completely soak the attack doesn't help him in avoiding it. The girl's hand hits home slightly lower than he'd intended to allow it, bringing the runaway to snarl in something halfway between pain and fury. "Cocky little shit," he hisses, forcing words even as his own right hand lifts. "You -proud- of being my little copy?"
K''s knuckles crack audibly when his hand, instants away from her body, winds shut. The sounds herald the fact the original version of that move is winding up, and if Kula has any sense she'll get clear: she may hit hard, but she still isn't her prototype's physical match. "You trying to -flaunt- what you stole?"
The boy drives a matching strike forward towards Kula from point-blank range, striking with force enough to hole concrete. "Try having one original thought in your life!"
While simply standing there and gathering his strength seems like a novel idea, it's not something that Salvatore really intends on doing the entire way through. No, to simply stand here and do that would be an insult to his upbringing, to the years of training. This mystery man with the connections to Kula may be powerful, but...
Well, what's life without a little risk?
Adopting the gambling persona, he grins beneath that partial face mask. The two seem rather concentrated on one another. The least he can do is help out, certainly, even if it seems that -- for now at least -- the girl has the upper hand. He mentally notes not to bother her if he can do so, since for a girl so slight... she certainly seems to pack a tiny punch.
So without further adieu his eyes snap open, a solid green across both orbs, and he throws back one side of his coat to reveal a sheathed sword. His figure disappears, moving very swiftly, only to reappear right beside K'. His goal is simple. While the genetic weapon is busy trying to punch Kula, pop him square in the face with the butt of the sheathed sword. The catch; the sheathe is glowing the same color as his eyes.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Kula with One Inch EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Salvatore
She sinks her knuckles into him, applying her punch with piston-like force and the utmost in control. Control not reflected in her stressed mind as the girl thinks more about hurting K' until the smugness bleeds from his voice than anything to do with the mission anymore. She's been needing some way to prove herself after encountering frustrating failures throughout the campaign and right now her entire psyche seems to be focused on making this fight that chance.
But rather than subdue or humble that attitude of his she only seems to succeed in setting him off further. His first reaction only provokes a smirk in return as she remains leaning forward, right arm extended, only slowly recovering from the forward force of her crushing punch. But as he continues, he's close enough to notice a rapid shift; the way her smirk melts or that little twitch in her cheek as he calls her his copy.
The cracking of knuckles as the young man acts isn't missed but she's not fighting as cautiously or defensively as she normally does and the distance she should have gained is left untaken as he continues, her mouth curling into a hint of a scowl. She was trying to show off, it's true. And he doesn't seem terribly impressed. A point driven home by the force of his fist into her torso. But for two factors, he may have broken bone. Her leather body armor is some help against blunt physical force, providing protection for her delicate frame. And that crackle of ice of one of her last second barriers falling to pieces around K's arm, his wrist literally burried into the sheet of frozen matter.
Kula is driven backward, her breath forced from her lungs. Even with so much mitigation, the blow was a severe one and the way she winces shows it. "Fine." Her voice is pained, hurt by the blow but something deeper is bothering her too. If he wants original, she'll give him that. Extending her right arm to the side, a shimmering of white chi solidifies into a long pole, a hooked blade of a scythe extending from the top end of it.
Taking hold of it with her left hand as well, she takes in a breath before bolting forward, intent on slashing into K' with that self-same weapon with crushing force. She's already in motion when she realizes Salvatore is in the mix; the young man making his move to help her deal with the renegade experiment who's time has run its course. She should have anticipated that. He was clearly a fighter. And he clearly had the missions's success on his mind. She should hesitate; should be more careful with that wild swing toward her antithesis lest she lop into the young man as well...
But caution is for cooler minds than hers right now. The fierce swing goes unabated!
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Salvatore's Laudes Divinae.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: K' interrupts Fierce Punch from Kula with Heaven Drive.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
K' 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Kula
> //////////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Salvatore
It's the flutter of the coat as it opens that attracts K''s attention. The young man, despite not looking like all that much, reacts with the speed and precision of a bred and trained weapon. He splits his attention almost instantly even as Salvatore begins to move to attack, his eyes flickering to one side even as his hand crashes into Kula with crushing force, and as the pommel of the sheathed sword comes towards him... K' almost contemptuously catches the attack in his free hand.
...in the next moment, he regrets it. The energy, noticed a moment too late, gives him a rather nasty shock. Gritting his jaw, K' forces back against Salvatore's attack, trying to disengage to avoid any further encounters with that stinging psi.
In the next moment, he retracts his other hand and swaps attention back to Kula, retreating a pace and lifting his head with maddening smugness. Kula will find out soon enough that there is simply no ridding K' of his attitude; the boy would have sardonic fangs to bite with even if he was beaten within an inch of his life. He seems similarly disinterested in allowing himself to be some metric by which Kula reclaims whatever sense of self-worth she clings to, and he shows it by teaching her exactly why copies should not try to best originals with their own moves.
He would likely have said as much aloud, were his opponent Krizalid. He'd have taken every chance he could get to taunt her while she was reeling from his attack, if she were that man. But for some reason, against Kula, he holds his tongue: though his eyes still mock her, asking her why she persists with this pointless exercise. Perhaps it's that lingering sense of guilty responsibility he feels for her existence that keeps him silent. Perhaps it's because he senses she isn't nearly as far gone as his mad brother. Or maybe he's just decided whatever lesson he wants to teach her is best imparted through pure force.
Yellow eyes watch her as she crafts that vicious scythe of ice. They narrow in clear asssessment: flashy, certainly original, but slow. Slow... and all but useless at close range. K', reliant only upon his bare hands, doesn't try to open up space between them: he moves to -meet- Kula's onrush, bolting forwards and under the swing of her blade. He's inside the reach of her weapon in instants, and it bites his arm only shallowly before the boy makes a last lunge into his counterattack.
K''s Kusanagi fire finally shows its face, sparking to life with a roar as its wielder twists savagely into an uppercut. Flames trail the arc of his strike as he crashes into Kula, bearing her into the air with that first attack: he repeats it a second time, harder, smashing her higher into the air and following her up, before twisting in midair and driving an axe kick into her to reunite her forcibly with the ground.
COMBATSYS: Salvatore blocks Kula's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kula
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Salvatore
There's a faint smug smirk on Salvatore's face, the problem of course being that he's wearing a mask so it's pretty much impossible to see. The smug is for the mild shock the tainted energy gives K', but it's quickly replaced as it becomes apparent that Kula's swinging wide.
Left with no choice, he turns to the defensive; he's too in the thick of it, particularly while being shoved back by K', to leap out of the way. So the scythe catches him as well, the massive swing forcing him back as he partially fends it off with the sheathed weapon before it carries on towards the real target here, the interloper. Still, that hurt. His coat in particular has been insulted and torn, not to mention the flesh beneath.
But it seems events are turning decided unpretty, and Kula may end up that way if this continues for much longer. He watches the pair loft into the air thanks to the combo K' shows off just how hot to trot he is, and his head shakes slightly. "I was hoping this wouldn't be necessary," he growls the words out, not speaking with his typical voice, as his grip tightens upon the hilt of his blade.
In one fluid motion he slashes the air in front of him. It's quick, it's fast, and the weapon -- simply a blur of metal and green -- is back in the sheathe in the blink of an eye.
The air is filled with a wide V-shaped blast though, an arrowhead slamming through the air in an attempt to catch K' right after the genetic weapon deals with Kula.
She was reckless and it cost her. She knew even as she stepped into spinning the heavy, sharp bladed weapon that she was making a mistake. The previous times she had fought him she had been cautious, controlled, confident. And right now she fights with none of those attributes in place. Leaving herself wide open simply to make a vain point, the consequences for her aggression are made abundantly clear as Salvatore is forced to scramble out a defense against her savage attack and she only manages to succeed with a grazing cut along his arm for her trouble.
Were that the least of her worries, she could recover from that mess. But the flare of flame along the rogue experiment's arm is merely the precursor to a punishing assault. With an expansion upon the only slightly less punishing Crow Bite the two of them share, he takes her into the are with a crushing uppercut, twisting smoothly along to follow it up with a second punch when she's already airborn and rendered defenseless. Her vision blurry and her bearings disoriented, she's still witness to the axe kick that serves as the final strike and attempts to ward it off in a hopeless attempt at defense before she's sent hurtling to the ground.
She impacts roughly, landing on her side in a heap. Her leather jacket is scorched open at an angle and what isn't flat out burnt is still smoking as she props herself up with her gloved hands, arms trembling slightly as the aftermath of the punishing technique takes its toll. She's losing it, she chides herself as she rolls to her knees and then presses back up to standing, only vaguely aware of the swath of power sent K''s way from the young man she's supposed to be working /with/ rather than against.
Her right arm, sleeve still smoking, wipes across her mouth to draw away blood from some wound inflicted internally by the force of his blow. He got in past all of her defenses. No barriers of ice, no jacket to withstand that attack. She has to pull herself together, she tells herself, trying to shake the ill temper this encounter with K' has brought to the surface. She grimaces a little, wishing to simply be away from this place. But there's a mission... and she isn't ready to run from K' like she was on one cold morning in distant Russia in what feels like an age ago.
She takes in a deep breath. She needs to be controlled even if she doesn't feel like it. She tries to wrestle emotions into check as she brings her hand to her mouth, palm up. She closes her eyes, her left hand clenched at her side as she at last exhales. A gale-force wind rips across the distance between her and K', sending frozen shards of razor edged ice spinning in the current's midst. This time her aim is more precise, her control teetering on loss but not quite there. She can pull this together she tells herself, jaw clenced in strained silence.
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Kula's Diamond Breath.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kula
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Salvatore's Benediction.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kula
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Salvatore
Landing in a long skid after the force of his attack, K' quickly flicks his attention between Kula and Salvatore. It only takes a quick assessment to ascertain that Kula won't be getting back up anytime soon: as such, the experiment swaps his attention fully back to Salvatore when the psion speaks. I'd kinda hoped this wouldn't be necessary either, K' retorts. After all, he -is- the one outmatched here right now, the one for whom a retreat might soon be necessary. Power grid be damned.
The urgency of the situation only increases once the two finally begin to coordinate. Two blasts, composed of very different kinds of force, snarl towards him from two different angles. But still, there's a relatively simple way to deal with attacks only moving in the horizontal place. Go vertical.
Even so, the young man barely makes it out before the dual attacks hit where he'd been standing instants before. It takes a sudden, perceptible twist of chi-- K''s own natural chi, a sort of shadow chi that spatially relocates him in something like a teleport-- to get him clear in time. K' braces, turns, and slips into the darkness painted thickly between the generators, and for a few moments he becomes nearly invisible: ephemeral and swift.
Reappearing atop a large generator behind both Kula and Salvatore, K' crouches low to the metal and stays quiet. He doesn't broadcast where it is he's gone with any taunting words. That would just be stupid. Instead, he narrows eyes on the girl and her companion, breathing fast and trying to assess what it is he should do next. K' doesn't care that much about the power going out, except where it might make things more dangerous for the very few he cares for. What he cares about is whether he can have a chance to cripple Kula... and at this juncture, he isn't entirely sure.
COMBATSYS: K' focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kula
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Salvatore
When the two blasts manage to hit nothing, and K' vanishes from view, there's a slight grind to the gambling Salvatore's teeth. Gambling, by the way, is largely illegal in Italy; there are no casinos to speak of, aside from those on sovereign land masses. "Well now, that's just cheating," he says into the mask, eyes fading from blue to green as he swiftly seeks out the location of the interloper. "I trust you can take care of him," he directs those words towards Kula, as he idly leans a hand against the hilt of the sword he sports.
For his part, while he has indeed located K's location, he feels no need to assault the man -- not when he's on top of a generator like that. "You could hit that generator," he notes to Kula however, quite willing to let the more powerful -- to judge by that blast she just breathed out, what is she, Supergirl? -- partner put herself into harm's way by attacking a big power generator directly.
But no, no. For his part, Salvatore feels happy to simply wait and see what K' will do next. He starts taking steps backwards towards the door to the station, his breathing slow and rhythmic.
COMBATSYS: Salvatore gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kula
> ////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
By the time she's lowering her hand from her mouth, risidual ice crystals raining down around her feet, K' has already made his move. Faster than she remembered him being and even her passive combat algorithms are reeling in trying to adjust to the experiment's evasive tactics as wind driven ice and that swath of psycho power collide in a harmless display of steam and sparks. She takes a few steps forward, placing herself more squarely in the center of the fenced in area as the young man vanishes into the shadows. It leaves her in the open, allowing an attack from any angle possible, but also grants her a better shot of reacting to whatever K''s next move is regardless of the angle he opts for.
Crimson eyes study the darkness from different angles, the girl turning slowly, arms resting at her sides as if standing down her guard in the absense of an immediate threat. Salvatore's first comment goes ignored. There's no such thing as unfair in an exchange like this. Cheating just means playing the game better; fighting to live a bit harder in her mind. His second remark about her handling him on the other hand does provoke a response. A slight nod - an outward indicator of confidence she doesn't feel within. "Nn." She's /supposed/ to be able to handle him but somehow in the long months since she last saw any sign of the fire wielder, he's gotten away from her.
Salvatore points out the generator at the same time her eyes come to rest upon it. It makes sense. It's a good position. Easy to react from and strike from. The advantage of the higher ground. He's fighting very smart whereas she was doing anything but that when their fight began, she muses, and just that thought vexes her further. She turns to stand directly facing him, her gloved hands clenching tightly, the leather creaking. She won't play into his game. She'll get him from a distance!
A breath in is taken followed by a slow exhale as she pulls together the concentration needed for an attack of greater significance. By the time she leans forward, planting her hands against the ground, the temperature around the girl has noticeably lowered and bands of ice energy encircle her limbs. K' will know what's coming. He's seen this before. But simply being aware isn't enough. Surviving her attack will take more than that.
The energy whipping around the girl is suddenly channeled into the concrete ground proper, seemingly vanishing from sight and mind but for the rumble of a greater threat. The surface of the concrete begins to slick over in an ever expanding circle around the girl until ice begins to crawl up the sides of the generator itself...
When the first spike rises, it spears right through the machinery, piercing it as if it were soft butter as it explodes up through the top to force K' to move. The generator sparks before exploding, creating its own hazard, but the danger it presents pales compared to the four spikes that follow, rising up in K's path whichever way he decides to go as Kula tries to pin him down. Getting caught by even just one would be catastrophic because that's all it would take for the rest of her power to be spent in additional spires meant to finish the job. The area around K' becomes a field of razors, each one edged with jagged spikes thirsty for his blood!
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Kula's Diamond Edge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
K' 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Kula
> ////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
Swathed in the heavy darkness surrounding the plant, the only easy way to tell him apart from the black generator his shock of white hair, K' leans forwards slightly as he watches Kula move. He knows exactly what it is she's doing, and in anticipation of the move his entire coiled, crouched body tenses. Heat is already coming off him in waves when the first of those spires crashes through the generator.
Like a cat, K' lunges into a single momentum-charging bound before he gathers himself and leaps clear of the generator and its explosion. Landing on both feet in a skid, twisting around to continue facing Kula even as he does: he knows that this attack doesn't just stop at one spike. As the others rear from the ground, attempting to hem him in, K' braces and lets the fire stream right out of his blood, wreathing himself in a surge of flames hot enough to strip the lethal points from the incoming spires before they can rip him open.
Half-protected by his own fire, K' ducks away from the questing spears of ice, retreating further and further to avoid being slammed too hard by them. Even if he is shaving the sharp edges and points from them with his impromptu shield, the impacts still do damage enough from sheer blunt force. Leaping clear away from the last one, K' twists into a backflip in midair, the flames he's already pulled out focusing abruptly around an ankle as he does.
The experiment completes the backflip in one savage movement, raking his ankle around in a swinging kick. The movement launches the gathered flames like a sling, and all that fire propels itself directly towards... Salvatore. K' had initially debated to himself whether to attack the other man at all, but had then realized that if he wanted to escape from this engagement... it would be better that he cripple and slow both adversaries down, leaving neither in good enough shape to run him down.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Salvatore with Air Trigger.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
K' 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Salvatore
"That-a-girl," Salvatore murmurs the encouragement as Kula makes good with the ice, tearing into the generator. He had hopes that it would also cause the interloper to be knocked out as well, but it seems it isn't quite Christmas yet; he isn't getting anything he asks for. Instead, he finds himself on the receiving end of something altogether too potent, and a touch too fast.
An attempt to draw his arms up to block the incoming fire works, sure. The problem of course being that it's powered by a living battery, and it's a giant wave of fire. Caught up in it, Salvatore Ellis is launched clear off his feet. In fact, he's more than just launched, he is shot as if hit by a cannonball, flying back and through the doors to the power station. The locks break, the hinges snap, and the man disappears into the buildings innards, last seen on fire.
Of course, said fire won't last for too long thanks to a prompt stop, drop and roll, and once Salvatore gets back to his feet, the half-Italian will limp further into the building. The extent of his injuries will be revealed in the fullness of time. "Time to focus on the objective," he mutters, drawing his weapon as he approaches the control room unless properly pursued.
COMBATSYS: Salvatore focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
K' 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kula
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Salvatore
Her attack flushes K' out from his lofty perch, forcing him down to an even plane with her. A plane slicked with ice and about to become a bed of frozen nails of the rather large variety. She expected him to try and avoid the onslaught; intended to catch him in the process by trying to be a split second faster. If she could catch him with his guard open, there would be practically no end to the damage she could cause.
But he has with him a defense she hadn't anticipated. Employing the counter to her blade encrusted ice is a wreath of flame answering to his beck and call. The precision of his control in keeping it in place for defense does not go missed by her. The sharp edge is taken off each of her spikes. At first she thinks to simply outlast him. To throw more and more of the diamond-strong spires his way until he wears out but there seems to be no limit to the flame that bleeds from his skin to form his protection.
Taking in a breath, Kula at last relents, drawing her strength back before she expends herself any further without accomplishing her goal. The spires stay in place; mounments to the attack K' weathered without severe harm, their edges dulled and blunted by the proximity to the heated aura that surrounds him. Her hands tighten as she pushes herself up from out of a crouch, only realizing in that moment the young man has gone airborn.
Defense becomes his offense as those unleashed flames are gathered up into an immediate follow up attack and turned into a maelstrom of flame launched toward Salvatore at vicious speeds. Waste not; want not. It's a been a part of her own fighting style all along but to see him go from defense to offense so smoothly only reinforces her suspicions. He's better than she remembered...
It's only then that she notices. In the darkness and with her temperment that little from for details, she hadn't caught sight of the detail that should have stuck out to her more than anything else. His hand had always been protected by that engineered glove before. A contrivance, a crutch to keep the experiment from being consumed by the very flames he was supposed to wield. She blinks, opening her own hands, glancing down at her own gloved palms, fingers splayed open.
The impact of flame against Salvatore snaps the girl out of her epiphany back into focusing on K'. Her mind reels at wanting to know; wanting to find out what happened, what he went through, and how he overcame. But she has to stiffle the questions and leave room for her combat inititives to take over. As she springs forward the goal is clear - to get to him as he lands, right hand leading the way as she seeks a grip on the back of his neck.
And should the young assassin get her hold, her left hand would clamp around in front of him to plant over his face, unleashing an infusion of that bitter chi of hers before the girl would turn into a throw and try drop him right to the ground over her shoulder. Slowing him might buy Salvatore time at least...
COMBATSYS: K' interrupts Quick Throw from Kula with Second Shell.
- Power hit! -
~ Cruel hit! ~
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kula
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Salvatore
Kula -could- have tried to outlast him, creating spire after new spire to throw against his defenses. But she probably would not have been able. While Kula would have had to expend energy to reshape and recreate her ice once the flames melted it into worthlessness, K' could have worked defensively with a fixed amount of flame, the fire undimmed in its heat, without using much energy at all. Only that which it took for him to shift the flames to each new defensive position.
And when the girl eventually relents, perhaps realizing this, those same flames find themselves instantly and efficiently translated from defense into attack. The force of it puts Salvatore straight through the door, and K' instantly tenses: a lot warier now that he's unable to see one of the combatants arrayed against him.
That hyperawareness alerts him the instant Kula starts to cut towards him, doubtless wanting to catch him in the middle of his descent. The boy doesn't even give her time to get close before he twists in a 360 to face her and counter her intentions. His right hand-- bare, as she has noticed-- calls to life another burst of flames, and K' swings around in what little air he has left, axing a kick straight down through the fire and down into Kula's shoulder. The aim? To simply slam her down into the ground.
"What's the matter, Kula?" K' asks his antitype, even as he cruelly tries to put her in the dirt. "Hit your ceiling? I've been watching your fights, and I never saw anything new: not unless you did something outside 'protocols.'" His right hand clutches visibly, right where she can see it. "I told you. You won't really evolve, won't really get better. Not while you're with NESTS. Change comes slow when it's controlled by people who don't really give a shit if -you- get better."
K' shrugs, a smirk edging his expression. "Why should they? They can just take what they learn from you and make another weapon. A better Kula."
But even as he talks, somewhere in the back of his mind, K' becomes aware that Salvatore isn't reemerging from the plant. And abruptly, K' realizes what NESTS is after. They want to cut the power... or use it for themselves. He hesitates a moment, clearly debating whether this is anything he even cares about, before he abruptly backs up and turns to pursue...
Yes, leaving Salvatore alone for too long is probably a bad idea, not with K' suddenly having an inkling as to what they must be here to do. It's not as if they're borrowing power to charge some kind of orbital cannon, at least. Not yet, anyway.
Given enough time while K' stops to make a speech of all things, the half-Italian is swift to head right for where he needs to, slashing at equipment along the way with that sword of his. Closer inspection would reveal the blade to actually be blunt, and most of the cutting is done via that energy he channels into the weapon. But then, who's ever really gotten close enough or taken the time to inspect such a thing? There's a rivalry going on outside, after all.
But that dreaded sixth sense of his, it's warning him that spending too long away is both a bad thing, and that his time is running short the moment K' turns with the intent to pursue.
So, the half-Italian does the simple thing. He turns, regarding all the pretty infrastructure in place within the building. He stares right down the corridor, out the broken doors, and sees K' turning to look in his direction.
Mustering speed, he heaves a slow breath, and then exhales it all in a rush. In a flash, the man goes from point A to point B, rushing right down the corridor and back out the door, right past K' in fact. There's two problems though.
The first is that on his way out, he's tapped everything to one side with the drawn sword he freezes out there, still holding and glowing an ominous green. The second is, of course, the sudden strike he makes against K' directly. The third is, of course, the fact that every strike has put an explosive charge of Psycho Power into the targets, and as the man slowly puts the weapon back into its sheathe... there's going to be a few explosions happening.
She's closing distance fast, leaning hard into her attack with the intent to seize him when he hasn't the power to do anything but be caught in her grip. Even as her plan is processed in her mind she wonders at the conservative nature of it. Why is she simply trying to slow him now? Is that the best she can expect of herself? To buy precious time for the enigmatic recruit to do what it is they came to do? There was a time when she believed herself to be far beyond simply slowing K' down. But as he reacts mid-air, spinning into that flame imbued kick that cracks into her shoulder with more than enough force to drive the more lithe fighter hard into the ground.
She gasps, from pain and surprise at the precision of his counter attack as the girl impacts the concrete solidly. She starts to push herself up the moment she lands, but her left arm gives out on her in the process and the girl nearly faceplants a second time, a second cry utters. Her vision blurs with the pain even as her mental conditioning fights to bite back the 'distraction' of a possibly dislocated shoulder. The pain of the injury is augmented only by the cut of his words. Her ceiling? Did she have a limit? Did she run up against it already? So young? "No," she hisses, her right hand planted, Kula starting to push herself back up while avoiding pressure on her left, knees shuffling into place in the process.
Her head is bowed, her teeth gritted. Bloodied lips part just long enough to spit to the side. Perspiration rolls down her temples. She's running out of the strength to continue. Never had she been so thoroughly bested by another. Not even Igniz could handle her so easily. Why then can he? "No they can't," she insists, shuffling into a crouch, her right hand moving over to rest against her left shoulder as she grips it tightly. She could hear the smirk on his lips; it bleeds into his every word. "There's only one of me! They can't make another one just like me!"
She looks up to discover that she's crying out to the leather clad back of K' as he goes instead back after Salvatore. Gulping back her breath, she pushes herself up into a stumbling start that she only manages to recover after a few almost clumsy steps. Happenchance has her darting after him at roughly the same time Salvatore springs his dangerous attack. If she were thinking coolly, she would be relieved at the opportunity to combine their efforts. As-is, she almost feels robbed. She was supposed to be the one to take K' down. And she was supposed to be able to do it by herself.
Thus it's with an edge of frustration that the ice wielder makes her next attack, drawing upon one of her most lethal techniques. Ice crackles to life in her right arm as she pulls it away from her left shoulder, leaving the limb to hang uselessly at her side for the moment. The energy solidifes into a sphere of potential power demanding to be molded into a weapon to put this exchange to rest. The explosive charges detonate, providing the backdrop to the three lances of steel-like frozen matter she aims to skewer K' with. He may have dealt with her handily, but she still believes the price of turning his back will prove to be more than he can afford now!
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits K' with Critical Ice.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
K' 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kula
> /////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: Salvatore successfully hits K' with Dies Irae.
[ \\ < > //////// ]
K' 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Kula
> /////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
K' pauses, moments before fully turning his back. He glances over his shoulder at Kula as she shouts that denial, and a mixture of derision and pity bleeds into the smirk already twisting his features, robbing the expression of its amusement and replacing the humor with bitterness. "They -made- you," he offers, briefly. "Why wouldn't they be able to make a thousand more of you?" The young man turns his back, and walks away. "Distinguish yourself. You wouldn't be so easily duplicated then..."
Someday, he'll learn not to incite people with harsh words like that.
For the time being, however, K' is cruel enough to leave Kula where she's lying, in favor of trying to stop Salvatore from whatever he's trying to do. But too much time has already passed, and the man has already completed his setup. The experiment barely gets time to blink, his wary eyes adjusting to the sudden gloom of the corridor, before Salvatore whips right past him, striking him a sharp, slicing blow as he does. Hissing a startled and pained breath, K' whirls around, only to find both adversaries facing him again.
Kula's anger and frustration finally pay off, her fury giving her the speed to catch K' before he can avoid her once again. All three vicious lances pierce into him, two pinning him through the chest, just beneath his shoulders, and the last missing his lungs by a hair: the subsequent explosion slams into him, sending him stumbling to one side into the wall-- but also snapping the spires of ice off, detaching them from their originator to drag along the ground in a macabre display.
The ice spikes, no longer attached to their creator, lose the feed of energy that would have kept them from melting against K''s overwhelming heat. His stance spread, one shoulder leaned heavily against the wall, K' slowly starts to draw out his fire again: melting the ice, cauterizing his own grievous injuries, and... preparing another attack. K' braces himself upright heavily, something halfway between a snarl and a smirk starting to infect his expression, his eyes fixing on the two standing there, barring his exit...
"Sorry..." he hisses at Kula, fire wrapping his bleeding figure even as it tenses and angles forward: like a racer waiting for the signal to start. "But I don't intend for you to fulfill your 'purpose' in life today." With that scant warning, K' lunges forward from a dead stop, leaping from 0 to 'a blur' in less than a second: leaving a long line of fire burning the floor in his wake. Still drenched in flames, K' tries to bodily slam -through- both enemies barring his exit, heedless of whatever retaliation they might heap upon him along the way: attempting an escape even if he should be attacked along the way.
COMBATSYS: K' keeps on fighting!
[ \\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kula
> /////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Salvatore
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Salvatore with Heat Drive.
~ Cruel hit! ~
[ \\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kula
> ]
|=======\====---\1 Salvatore
There's nothing really witty from Salvatore after dealing the strike. Mostly, he's just glad that the speed he employed was enough to both land a clean hit, and also get him past Kula before that dangerous trio of spikes were launched. All's well that ends well, right? They can get on with the mission now, right? Maybe not.
It seems K' isn't down just yet, and he spares a glance back towards the interloper before it becomes readily apparent than rather just standing there, it would be much more prudent to get out of the way.
Naturally, that doesn't work so well, such is the gap when an r1 fights an r5, oh wait there goes the fourth wall. One moment he's upright, and the next he's flat on his back, complete with a scorched boot mark on his coat where he just literally got run over by the renegade NESTS employee.
Left staring up at the nighttime sky, he won't interfere with the escape by K', but it seems a prudent time for him to state to Kula; "You need better friends."
Give him ten minutes and he might be able to get up and finish the job. Maybe they should have used the tank that was sitting just over there, instead of duking it out with that guy 'evenly.'
COMBATSYS: Salvatore takes no action.
[ \\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Salvatore can no longer fight.
[ \\\ < > //////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks K''s Heat Drive.
[ \\\ < > ///// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Kula
K' ends up being ground zero for a pair of brutal attacks timed in a second act of coordination. And unlike their prior attempt, these two attacks are delivered with the necessary precision to catch the NESTS escapee cleanly between them. The piercing technique of the ice wielder is broken off as Salvatore's attack blasts K' off and away from her. It keeps her from pinning the young man to the wall like she had half a mind to do, but she can't deny that it in and of itself dealt out a respectable amount of punishment of its own.
The shards melt rapidly once no longer in contact with NESTS' little ice princess but there's more where that came from and she has it in her mind to introduce K' to another dose of it. Her right hand crackles to life with more energy, the girl forced to push herself further than she normally musters. But for K' she's willing to make extra effort.
But he's back on his feet, not staying down as she had anticipated. Again his drive to continue on surprises her. After all he's been through, why is his life so important to him anyway? She stops after another step, some yards between them. The words escape his lips but the flare of flame is what she feels first, sensing it for the attack it it. Crimson eyes widen as she brings her arms up in front of her, crystalizing matter into a barrier as she crosses her limbs, trying to simply bunker down and survive his furiously speeded charge!
The young man explodes past her, forcing her back against a shattered generator, the flames of his attack burning away her defense and scorching her jacket even further. An exhausted gasp escapes her lips as she starts to slump down to the ground, vaguely aware of the fate of her partner in crime. She catches herself with her right hand against the machinary, her legs bracing, the girl refusing to collapse entirely even after all she was put through.
Slowly she stands up straight, ignoring the smoldering steam rising up off her black jacket, her right arm reaching over to her left shoulder and applying pressure. A bone-on-bone pop indicates the limb being returned to its proper socket and the girl clenches and unclenches her left hand to make sure she's going to be all right in the long run. "He's a dangerous enemy," she replies to Salvatore quietly. Perhaps his mask will have protected his own identity enough such that he doesn't need to worry about K' ever taking a shot at revenge someday. She, of course, never has that kind of luck.
By the time she has the strength to look in the path he left behind, the flames of his passing have ling since extinguished and he's no where to be seen. Somber, the girl leans against the generator, lost to her own thoughts, thinking intensely upon that gloveless hand K' now possesses.
COMBATSYS: Kula takes no action.
[ \\\ < > ///// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Kula has left the fight here.
[ \\\ <
K' 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:38:52 04/18/2009 by Salvatore, and last modified on 00:24:24 04/22/2009.