Description: Shadaloo and NESTS aren't the only organizations invested in the fall of Geese Howard. Ikari Warrior Whip has been tasked by her commander, Heidern, to infiltrate the heavily guarded Geese Tower and assist those within with the apprehension of Howard and his cohorts. But getting in is harder than it looks -- especially when you're not the only one attempting to sneak your way to the top. In the midst of moving up Geese Tower's elevator shafts, Whip will find herself coming face-to-face with Shadaloo assassin, Juli... and a guardian of the tower, keeping a careful watch over both parties...
You spend enough time anywhere, it starts to become like a home to you. It becomes strangely calming and comfortable.
Whip feels that way about ventilation shafts. She can't count the number of times and days she's spent inside of them, but some of her first memories involved ventilation shafts, and the yards she had to crawl through them or the hours she had to wait unmoving inside of them in her various assassination missions. Dark, cramped, and concussive, they end up feeling almost like a womb, surrounding you in a suffocating warmth and space so small that everywhere you can hear the echoes of your own shallow breathing. It's its own membranic world with a foetal reality, separating the young woman from everything else in her life. Ikari. NESTS. Family.
With the past month she's been having, it's almost appealing.
But Whip doesn't lose her mission to the endless, far-reaching darkness of Geese Tower's extensive ventilation system. She knows a lot is counting on her to make the successful infiltration. Commander Heidern is trusting her to be successful. Silently, the young woman keeps moving, pausing in the darkness to periodically check the blueprint screen on her wrist, as well to lay down fibre optics in her path -- her only means of defending herself in enemy territory. If someone is keen on following her, she'll know.
And from what she's seen, her route is one of the few remaining that lead into Geese Tower. It's hell out there.
Finally, her long journey seems to hit a dead end. Whip stops, her path blocked by a screen, and behind the lenses of her infrared NVD, her eyes narrow. She checks her screen again, the interior plans of the building flaring a faint bluish glow in the ventilation duct. She seems to be in the right place. The air is changed, the smell clearer and cooler. She can detect faint light through the metal grating of the screen. Bingo.
After doing a cursory check with a mirror slid through the grating, checking the probable areas for motion detection devices, Whip finds the path clear. She turns in the duct over onto her hip. And she lets one leg thrust forward.
The screen rips off its screws, caught in mid-air before it can make a noisy clatter. Two seconds later, a black-fitted form pokes out of a two-foot ventilation duct, its head turned up.
Whip takes off the NVD, exposing her eyes to the wide mouth of the elevator shaft. She looks up. Then she looks down. Both look equally endless. The cool air off the building's internal AC moves her dark hair, and she inhales deeply, no doubt appreciating the change from the stuffy ventilation. But she doesn't break for long.
She has a long way to go. And it's straight up.
Pulling back her sleeve, she stops to type briefly into the panelled screen on her arm, pulling up the tower's blueprints. She blows out a gusty sigh. "They always gotta be on the top floor..." Whip mutters to herself.
Feet in sturdy, soft-soled boots pound up the secondary staircase down the hall from the elevator. Her strong arms pump, her legs piston and steps are taken by twos as she vaults up what would be considered the 'long way' in the tower. Subtlety was a chief priority of the mission, but with the chaos that Southtown is experiencing, the Shadaloo Doll took it upon herself to improvise the mission; take an alternate path that would be longer, but not as long and tedious as, say, climbing through a ventillation duct.
*ahem*
Shouldering herself through a staircase doorway, the guard standing near the elevator has only seconds to react before the black-clad form is upon him, legs scissoring out and snapping around his neck. Hips twist, arms swing out, and Juli drives the man's face into the steel doors hard enough to crush bone and cartilidge, leaving him to drop to the floor with the worst bloody nose of his life.
Dragging the unconscious-- or dead, who cares?-- man to the stairwell doorway and casting him onto the concrete landing, the Doll calmly walks back to the elevator doors, clad in form-fitted tactical body armor, and lifts up a finger to calmly poke at the "up" button of the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.
It's all come down to this.
With the media all but revealing the truths of Howard and his illicit empire, built on crime, corruption and greed, there's little time left for the last vestige of his influence. Geese Tower stands for now, but how long until his enemies see that it falls..?
Shihong doesn't even want to think about it.
The past few days have been stressful, to say the least. Everyone is on edge, and all those who follow Howard have mixed feelings. Some have abandoned him, while some remain confused and uncertain while some--like Mao--have stayed loyally by his side. Strength and power, both financial and physical, breed loyalty, after all.
When she wasn't pacing the halls of the Tower, she was sticking by with what was left of Howard's security team. With the danger Howard's enemies pose now, more than ever, they had to keep observation twenty-four seven; after all, his enemies never rest, and they were more than willing to pry their way past the ramparts and break into the fallen King's castle.
It doesn't take long for one such rat's stink to reach the noses of security. A black and white image, one of thousands on a wall of monitors, catches the eye of security--Juli's prowling around, easily dismantling him making a mess of security. "Miss Mao--"
"Yeah, I know. I'm on it. I have my radio."
This, of course, leads us to now.
Slowly but surely the elevator rises, ascending floor after floor with a patient crawl. Eventually, the groan and dim hum of electronics can be heard, as the elevator reaches its destination. And there, before Juli's soulless Doll eyes do the doors hiss open--
Revealing a woman in a black suit.
"The hell are you doing here, you Shadaloo puppet?" the woman all but spits. "The nerve--you know what? No, I'm not going to bother. If you turn around and walk out now, I won't have to beat your face into the floor and I'm sure your Master will be glad his little Real Doll is a-okay. But if you insist on staying around, which I'm SURE you're going to say you are, I'll be forced to do that. And by god, I really--"
"Mao, problem," the radio crackles. Half-turning a bit, the woman cranes her neck and pushes a button.
"Listening."
"The elevator shaft--we have movement detected, and I'm sure it's not vermin."
"Son of a--"
She doesn't even bother with Juli for now; instead, the woman turns on her three-inch steel heels and walks briskly back to the elevator. Once there, she just hops and supports herself on the hand rail before punching a hole through the maintenance hatch, revealing a gap--which she crawls through while shouting clearly,
"Fucking better show yourself because on top of that goddamned Shadaloo girl I'm really starting to lose my goddamned PATIENCE!"
With a push off her legs, she makes the six-foot jump from the ventilation duct to the thick set of elevator cables that run the length of the shaft. Her gloved hands clench down, and she skids from both fists before sliding to a stop. And there, the young woman simply dangles in the darkness of the empty tunnel, giving her head a shake to clear her bangs from her eyes. She grits her teeth, and pulls up one leg, propping a booted foot against the wall and twisting her shoulders to support the rest of her weight.
She dares a glance over her shoulder, down into the deep, black recesses of the elevator. It's a long way down.
All the more incentive to make this quick.
Planting both feet against the wall, she finds natural grips in the serrated terracing of the wall, finding footholds on her arduous journey up. Whip moves hand over hand, relying on little more than her own upper body strength to pull herself up the elevator shaft, her gloved hands burning against the thick cabling. From the blueprints, she surmises she has a good forty floors to ascend, and if she keeps a steady enough pace, she could reach the top of Geese Tower in under twenty minutes.
Without further preamble, Whip keeps on climbing. She moves quickly but steadily, all of her years of training preparing her for this kind of stamina. She keeps her eyes turned up, focused straight on her goal.
She gets about five minutes' worth of climbing.
If there's something about a closed, confined space like an elevator shaft, silence is precious, and sound seems to carry on forever. It's enough to break even the most formidable of concentration, even that of a conditioned Ikari Warrior. The first, abrupt shout stops Whip short from her mission objective. She pauses, dangling there against the elevator cables, her eyes narrowing against that screamed threat.
It's not that she's been found out what surprises her. She... recognizes the voice.
The harbour. The shipment of weapons from Russian dealers. The assignment gone wrong. That woman... who sold her... handed her over to Mister Big. Syndicate bitch.
Whip's leather gloves creak audibly as her hands tighten lethally around the cables. Her breathing slows and shallows. And planting one foot on the wall, she leans over her shoulder and stares down the length of the shaft, into the dark source of that sound. For a brief moment, the Ikari soldier sees red.
Shihong Mao demands her to show herself. Her lips twitching into a humourless grin, Whip decidedly formulates her reply. She clears her throat deeply--
And leans over her shoulder to spit the contents straight down the elevator shaft.
She straightens her body, and inhaling, lets both hands go. Her legs push off from the wall. Her back curls, and she falls headfirst.
Should Whip's lucky aim have that wad of saliva hit Miss Mao straight in the face, the Syndicate woman will only get two seconds before it's followed up with a sudden blur of movement. A body suddenly forms out of the darkness, falling fast, only a series of streaking glimpses of kevlar, holsters, and angry brown eyes-- before it twists in mid-air, trying to meet the woman with an elbow rammed straight at her jaw, SLAMMING down with all the Ikari's suicidal speed.
COMBATSYS: Whip has started a fight here.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shihong has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shihong
She stands there, waits, almost defiant of the building security. She has a mission to accomplish-- and little things like the security operatives in the building will not stop her.
Then the doors part, and Juli finds herself standing face to face with Shihong Mao.
The Doll says nothing, but takes a step closer to break the optical beam. The doors will remain open for a bit longer by doing that, while the apparent security guard in the business suit takes her step back into the elevator. She punches open a hatch in the ceiling, and Juli watches as she nimbly climbs right through the hatch and onto the top of the elevator while the invading Ikari decides to step in and attack from above.
So where does this leave the German?
Quietly, the Doll strides into the elevator, eyes focused upward. Disregarding the pair at the top of the elevator, no matter what jostling or shaking they may cause to the car itself, the psychically-enhanced girl reaches out with a slender, gloved finger and presses the button to reach the top floor. Hopefully, they haven't yet shut down the elevators, or else sneaking past the pair and climbing straight up the cables would be a large inconvienence.
COMBATSYS: Juli has joined the fight here in the center.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Shihong blocks Whip's Medium Strike.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|-------
Neglecting the Doll for the time being, Shihong's priorities have shifted from the invading Shadaloo agent to some new, mysterious intruder within the elevator shaft. She's not dumb; if left alone, there is good chance that whoever is sticking their nose about will just carry on. And at the moment, Juli seems relatively harmless with her bovine glares and silence.
And so, turning her back, Shihong Mao all but punches her way up through the roof of the elevator and shouts. There's no response, earning an audible 'tch,' followed by a, "That's so typical. What, are you scared or something?"
The woman's thin brow shifts, however, as something above sounds. Is that..?
Seconds later she finds her forehead struck with a glob of slime.
"OH YOU FUCK--!!" shouts the Syndicate enforcer, red eyes wide--and glowing--as she glares up through the drafty elevator shaft, a hand snapping up to wipe her forehead clean. "Show your face, you son of a bitch! I DARE you to--!" She cuts herself off when a form blurs from above her. Shifting her heels, the woman braces her weight and steadies herself. What the hell is that..?
The form all but collides with frightening speed, an elbow aimed for her face. Fortunately Shihong snaps her arms up at the last second, bracing her arms and taking the blow on her forearms, impact resulting in a loud WHUD of colliding flesh and bone. A shove of her arm later, the woman separates herself from the other woman.
Below, Juli just quietly goes about her business, pushing the elevator button. The elevator jerks slightly as doors shut, but for the moment Shihong just ignores it. Instead, she's giving the Ikari woman a wide sneer.
"Well, isn't that a shame," the woman offers coldly. "I figured Big had his way with you and then dumped you in the ocean. Oh well, that's okay. I'll just knock your ass out again and take you back. I'm sure you'd like to get reacquainted with--"
The elevator then begins to move.
"Goddamn it," hisses the Syndicate woman. "It's like trying to corral children!"
She hops up, her body moving backwards as she aims her legs right for the hole she'd made in the roof of the elevator. Before she can drop fully the woman's legs SNAP out, attempting to kick Juli in the head or whatever she can kick with a patronizing cry of, "Bad GIRL! Bad!"
For an instant, the Ikari Warrior just drops at Shihong, her entire falling weight momentarily supported by the Syndicate enforcer's quick arms. Whip's wild hair frames the murderous look on her face. In a heartbeat, the enemies meet eyes, barely a breath of space between them.
Then, shoved back furiously, Whip twists backwards, hitting the roof of the elevator with enough force to shake it on its cables. Steel dents under her boots, convexing the ceiling not too far from Juli's head.
Her heavy bangs shadowing her dark eyes, the soldier widens her stance, bracing herself to pull to her full height on top of the rattling, stirring elevator car. She doesn't seem to neither notice nor care. Her full attention is on Shihong Mao, staring dangerously at the woman as a slow, hazardous smirk breaks out across her lips. Fury ignites the blood in her veins, especially when the Syndicate woman dares to speak to her. Dares to imply she knows what Mister Big did to her. "Is that right?" Whip answers, her voice low and thin. "Come on. I'm gonna make last time look like a god damn VACATION!"
She starts forward-- the instant the elevator starts to violently push into movement. Whip has to turn one ankle to keep her balance, her eyes narrowing and, unable not to, quickly glancing up the length of the shaft. It's not a safe place to be right now, but she may have enough time...
But Mao has other ideas, snarling out in rage before disappearing through the hatch back into the elevator car, no doubt for the person who is manning the controls. If there's a third enemy in on this fight, she'll deal with that in time. For now, her revenge refuses to remain patient.
A heartbeat after Shihong's attack on Juli, Whip is snarling from the roof: "Think you can get away that easily?!" And there's a sudden CRACK that echoes inside the small space of the elevator, as a blue whip darts down through the open hatch and simply tries to snag the Chinese woman by the throat. If the attack connects, it may even hold Shihong still for the second Juli may need to retaliate.
But that's not Whip's intention. If that weapon of hers catches, she's simply attempting to HEAVE the woman by the neck out of the elevator, pulling viciously on the line and trying to throw her into one of the moving walls of the shaft. They're moving fast enough that it could grind someone's flesh away.
COMBATSYS: Juli blocks Shihong's Medium Kick.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|-------
There's screaming from above-- and a loogie being fired off?
Juli regards the ceiling with a curious stare as she continues to stand there, hands behind her back and watching the indicator of the elevator's ascent. Despite the pull of the elevator and the people atop it, the Doll remains perfectly calm, as though standing in the enemy stronghold dressed in tac armor with two women battling it out atop it is a completely normal occurance.
Of course, her brows crease and her lips slightly purse with curiosity as the feet leave the deep dents in the ceiling.
Juli's attention immediately turns to the red-eyed woman as she drops back in from above, driving a powerful kick right at her with those three-inch heels, forearms crossing to allow the blow to be soaked into the hard-shell plastic of the forearm guards she took to wearing for this particular mission. Her back strikes the steel doors; the German grunts and retains her footing-- even if she's leaning back to steady herself on the doors, legs still ahead.
Latent psychic energy -surges-. "You forgot your quarry," she says, ignoring the fact that Whip is already throwing her own attack from above.
Juli's body drops toward the elevator floor, one hand scooping beneath her head to catch herself with a jostle of the elevator in it's tracks. And then she -surges- straight up, looking to drive her foot through the ceiling of the elevator and literally blast a hole through it with the force of her kick alone-- one that would carry her up to the Ikari and seek to plant right into her face, discharging an excess of that odd-feeling psychic energy.
COMBATSYS: Shihong blocks Whip's Zed.
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Whip 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|----===
As much as Shihong would love to rub Whip's rage all over her face and make her explode with anger, there are other problems to deal with--particularly Shadaloo's Seventh Doll and the elevator crawling its way up along the incredibly high elevator shaft. Being outside of the elevator at a time like this isn't exactly the best of places to be.
So without further word to Whip, the woman just drops out of sight--sort of. Snapping long legs out, the woman's heels collide into heavy reinforced plastic with a loud snap, and momentarily does Shihong let her usually-calm expression shift into one of annoyance. It quickly fades when the Doll suddenly surges with energy...familiar energy.
"Yes, I am well-aware of th--"
A whip cracks suddenly from above, wrapping itself tightly around the woman's throat. Unable to really do much, what with her arms supporting her body in-between being within the elevator and without, dangling there, she's grabbed and viciously towed upwards. Gasping and grunting, the woman's hands finally snake up and attempt to claw at the thick braided blue leather, to no real avail. Seconds after she's drawn from that hole she's snapped outwards toward the nearest wall--nearest 'moving' wall.
The woman shifts her weight instantly, letting her heels grind nastily against the wall while gripping onto the whip coiled at her throat. Crouching there against it, she springs OFF the wall--even as Juli breaks through the roof of the elevator and tries to kick the other woman in the face--flying feet first as she attempts to drive both heels right into Whip's...well, back, side; whatever is prone. Only then, afterwards, will she try to rip the coiled whip from her raw neck.
COMBATSYS: Whip dodges Juli's Cannon Spike.
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Whip 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|---====
COMBATSYS: Whip dodges Shihong's Thrust Kick.
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Whip 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|---====
In the cool, dark, breezy expanse of the moving shaft, something strange and ineffable burns at the corners of Whip's eyes. She can feel a strange, unidentifiable energy pressing against the nerves in her face and hands, sudden and unnerving, almost smelling like ozone--
Something tells her to move. She's not one to question her intuition.
Dashing forward, Whip merely dives the instant the roof EXPLODES under her feet, escaping the blast and Juli's legs by hairs. She lands deftly, hitting hard down against the moving elevator car, her dark hair wild around her surprised face. Turning shoulder, the Ikari glances back... and Shihong Mao is moving at her. Moving mechanically, she widens her stance and curls her back, ducking under the Syndicate woman's swung leg and strafing off to one edge of the car.
The roof of the elevator isn't big enough for the three of them. Straightening back up, Whip's eyes fall on the other two women. Her lips crease humourlessly.
"...You're both under arrest," the Ikari tells them.
She moves. Whip decidedly turns on Juli, seeking to eliminate the strange assassin so that her attention can ultimately turn back on Shihong Mao. Her whip, having been freed from Mao's throat, snaps back to life, suddenly directed on the Shadaloo woman, attempting to catch her by any way she can: an arm, the waist, the throat. There Whip pulls and moves at the same instant, making new dents against the roof as she pushes off and tries to meet her headlong with an aerial roundhouse.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Whip's Strength Shot - Yuuetsu.
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Whip 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|---====
She bursts through the ceiling, the panel flipping up through the air end over end before it cuts a short corner in the air and drops down, down, and down toward the vacant space at the side of the shaft. Flipping into the air at the peak of her attack, she can already tell that she's missed Whip by hairs. The narrow space of the elevator shaft, the fight between the three-- it results in Juli grabbing onto the elevator cables above them to steady herself. The elevator still ascends, the cables pulling her right back down to the elevator proper.
Releasing the cables and dropping from the elevator proper, Juli throws her legs out in the air and scissors them as the twist of her body keeps her from being caught up by Whip's namesake weapon. She intends to lock both knees around the Ikari woman's ears, holding as tightly as a vise, and PULLING with all the strength and momentum she can build-- intent on driving the Ikari into the floor of the elevator, face-first.
Then, after this, she can turn her attention to the building's guardian...
Sailing beyond Whip, there is a momentary expression of annoyance haunting the Chinese woman's pale face. Moments later it's gone, instead replaced with a faint smirk as her heels touch down, a loud grind of her stiletto heels across the elevator roof. Immediately she spins, pivoting sharply on her heel to about-face and face down the would-be intruders.
At least the odds aren't...entirely against her.
"You'll never take me alive," the Enforcer offers flatly, her joke executed with no effort.
Fortunately, Juli makes her attack, leaving the woman momentarily unscathed as the two exchange blows. Still smirking to herself, the red-eyed Enforcer just observes, watching as Juli sails past and attempts to vise grip the Ikari. A moment is spared, eyes glancing upwards toward the rooftop. There still appears to be some time left...
So while Juli throws herself onto Whip and sees about trying to slam her into the elevator rooftop, Shihong moves once more, hopping forward and swinging her body in turn, executing a three-hundred and sixty degree turn before using that momentum, snapping her leg out to catch Juli with a stunning blow, before recoiling her leg and delivering a second but swift kick to her, before finally she twists her hip and slams her leg outwards, attempting to all but stab the girl savagely in the chest.
COMBATSYS: Whip endures Juli's Air Frankensteiner!
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Whip 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|---====
The Ikari Warrior's attention cannot afford focus. So much is happening at once. She's sharing an elevator rooftop with two lethal women, one who has already proved herself to deserve Whip's wrath. The car is moving, and not slowly, and it won't be long until she eventually reaches her mission objective -- and get literally crushed by it. When Juli artfully outsteps the speed and reach of her weapon, Whip isn't put out for very long.
She doesn't have time for it.
The next instant happens so fast, and she holds her ground, trying to keep aware of her peripherals. It's been a while since she's had multiple opponents, and fights like these require both patience and coordination. And knowing when to move. From above, the Shadaloo assassin is missiling herself down at the Ikari, and not a moment later, Whip can detect Shihong's similar movement. She only has half a heartbeat to decide what to do.
Whip widens her stance and simply takes it. She puts her faith into her own strength and her reflexes. Her arms shoot up the instant Juli's knees try to lock down, gripping down to shield the more tender parts of her own head. Still, she doesn't fight the momentum, going boneless and twisting at the last moment, as she hits the roof solidly and painfully with her hip rather than her face. Her hands are still holding on.
Whip's hoping she can hold Juli still long enough, and distract her, for Shihong to make herself useful. There, the Ikari tries to roll away from the ensuing attack, pushing up to her knees and huffing a little to reclaim her breath. The little sprite hits hard.
Still, now Shihong's attention is on Juli. Whip's expression darkens. She doesn't waste a moment, calling Voodoo back to play with a snarp crack. She turns it against Shihong, trying to snap it across her torso in a few stinging swipes, the last terminating into a repeat of the earlier chokehold around the enforcer's bruised throat. Should she succeed, Whip pulls murderously on her weapon, aiming to try to /pull/ the Chinese woman straight off the side of the moving elevator. And let her dangle.
COMBATSYS: Juli blocks Shihong's Prancing Stag.
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Whip 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|--=====
The strength of her legs still carry Whip to the floor of the elevator, as much as she tries to flat-out smash the girl's face into the floor and stun her. Despite the rather loud crash and the elevator protesting on the cables, Juli's eyes are focused, for the moment, on the Ikari locked between her legs. Posed as she is, Shihong has the perfect chance to attack, and she does-- the kicks come lancing in, deflected once, forearms crossing to absorb the second blow again in the hard plastic forearm guards-- though this time, the plastic releases a loud, discomforting CRACK. Juli stumbles off of Whip, half-tumbling backwards in the elevator and landing on her back in the confined space. Slowly working her way to her feet, hand against the wall, the Doll lets out a slow breath.
"I do not submit to your authority," she says in a hiss between her teeth, directed Whip's way. Whipping around in a circle, psychic energy again builds in her body, channeling toward her armored glove and into her hand. Glowing with that searing energy, Juli attempts to drive her knuckles across Whip's face and send her staggering!
COMBATSYS: Shihong blocks Whip's Boomerang Shot.
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Whip 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|--=====
Much to Shihong's (distant) surprise, Whip actually takes a hit, the painful crunch drawing a faint wince from the woman before she simply dismisses it and makes her move. To her dismay, however, Juli is anticipating her attack and, skillfully, deflects her kicks with her plastic wristguard. Frowning faintly, the woman's red eyes narrow as she takes a step back, expecting the Doll to counterattack. But...she doesn't?
Instead, Whip picks up the slack. The bullwhip she wields snaps out, striking her twice before it goes for the throat. THIS time, however, Shihong is expecting the worst; lifting her arm up, she lets it wrap around the back of her throat and forearm before she's slung off the side to dangle. "B-bitch," the woman hisses, feet scuffing and scrambling to find foothold on the side of the moving elevator. Eventually she finds it, her heels making purchase as she drags herself back up, arms keeping her support as she reaches the top.
And just in time! Juli attacks.
Scrambling up over the edge, Shihong finally pulls her body back up and clambers hurriedly to her feet. She wastes no time in attempting to close in the distance between her and Juli, attempting to lash out at the Doll with a spinning kick before doing it again--but, this time, Shihong attempts to hook her heel around the back of Juli's neck before shoving fiercely downward, attempting to slam her face-first into the rooftop of the moving elevator.
Geese Tower has stood for years in Southtown as a testament to the man who runs this city. A spire that stretches beyond any other building in the city, it stands out as a symbol -- a veritable Tower of Babel for a man whose ego knows no bounds. Geese Howard is king. And his tower is his castle.
But there is something to be said about the Tower of Babel. Fights rage across every level of the tower, but as they do, their can be heard some distinct sounds: the sound of a low humming, growing louder and louder, the faint shaking of the tower's foundations. All faint, scarcely recognizable, really. All precursors -- heralds to something else.
The earth-shattering boom.
SOMETHING impacts the tower; an explosion is set off; /something/ to cause the entire structure to shake, /violently/, as if being wrent asunder by some unseen force. The ceilings clatter, crack, and rubble begins to fall... as that rumbling grows greater and greater. Something has just hit the tower, hard. And no matter what it may be, where it could be coming from...
... everything is beginning to collapse. Quickly.
COMBATSYS: Whip blocks Juli's Axle Spin Knuckle.
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Whip 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Shihong
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Juli 0|-------|--=====
Pulling up with one arm, Whip slams one boot down on the blue line of her weapon as she all but invites Shihong to a good hanging. Her muscles burn with the exertion it takes to keep the woman dangling like bait off her weapon, but she's determinably not letting go. The reason why reflects in the furious slant of her brown eyes. She's watching it. She wants to see suffering.
Even an Ikari Warrior can have a little bit of latent bloodlust.
Unfortunate to her desire for revenge, her punishment doesn't last long. The Syndicate woman gets a foot up on the elevator. As for Whip, she doesn't have time to spare Shihong another glance. Juli is swiftly interjecting herself back into the picture, the soldier's attention switched like a polar magnet when she hears the Shadaloo assassin speak at her shoulder.
A flick of her wrist frees her whip from Shihong, briefly allowing the Chinese woman to her own devices. And Whip turns on heel, whirling just in time to pull one arm against Juli's swung fist, accepting the strength of the hit into her radial bone. Her teeth snap down against the onslaught of the blow -- not the physical force of it, but the maelstrom energy that follows, unleashed like a torrent against the Ikari and literally sending her boots skidding back down the length of the roof. Hissing, she shakes her arm out a little, her flesh feeling numbed and prickly even through the heavy material of her tac sleeve. She's never felt chi like that, as much as she goes out of her way to avoid chi-based attacks. It almost reminds her of...
Whip steels her jaw, coiling forward as--
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The explosion makes the elevator do what it was designed to do. The emergency brakes lock it in place. It stops moving up, but now it will absolutely refuse to go down.
Rubble SLAMS in front of her feet, brick and mortar denting the elevator roof just inches from her body. Given pause, the Ikari glances up, the colour washing out of her face as she notices two things.
One, the top floor is quickly closed in on them, trapping the three.
Two, the top floor is FALLING ON THEM.
Pieces of shrapnel begin to rain down around the three women. "Jesus Christ," Whip is already hissing to herself, ducking and misstepping another falling block of brick. There's only one thing she can do.
"Get OUT of my way!" she snarls suddenly, dashing forward, and with little patience, simply tries to make room. She thrusts a short, violent punch at Shihong, swung at the woman's jaw to move her violently aside. Her other hand is reaching around her own body, and clenched in her fingers is the gleaming weight of a desert eagle. Squinting, Whip aims the barrel on the cables supporting the elevator car.
She fires.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Shihong's Kick Combo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Shihong
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|--=====
Indeed, the energy wielded at the hands of the German Doll is not the chi that Whip is used to. Not at all like the energy wielded by her friends at the Ikaris, and something strong, unique-- and potent. Transmitted through the glove, into Whip's arms, Juli narrows her eyes and releases a short breath through her nose. "Clearly you are not some idiot grunt."
Letting the pressure off from Whip's defense as she backs off, prepares for another attack, the Doll too is taken aback at the incredibly loud noise above them, the very sounds of the infastructure becoming unstable. Her hands come up to her cover her ears as the sound ricochets down the vertical concrete passage like an echo chamber, the sound near-deafening to her while she takes a step back and drops back down into the elevator proper. Landing in a crouch, attempting to hold her equilibrium, Juli looks up to see the next action taken in the confines of the elevator shaft:
The Ikari is shooting out the cables.
Is it worry? Desperation? A fall from this height could flat-out kill them all, and she is certainly not going to allow the woman to try to escape. The whip could likely be used as a way to slow her descent or used like a grappling hook to escape the fall with enough time to land safely and -get out-, which means ... first, she has to get it.
Springing back up into the air, Juli's arms snake out in an attempt to lock one of the Ikari's arms up high, the other arm attempting to lock the joint of her elbow at Whip's neck. Thusfar, much of her focus has been placed on Whip solely out of convienence. Now, if she can lock down the soldier, drag her down into unconsciousness, maybe the gear she brought along could be used to save her own skin.
Who cares about the other two, anyway?
COMBATSYS: Shihong interrupts Strong Punch from Whip with Savage Tiger.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Shihong
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|--=====
"Damn it--!" is the first thing out of Shihong's mouth the moment Juli ducks out of the way and avoids her disabling kicks altogether. Goddamned Shadaloo playthings. Why did one have to come here, on TOP of this Ikari grunt? Sometimes she wonders if she's getting to old for this shit.
No matter. Following through with the movement of her kick, Shihong sets her foot down and plants it firmly, red eyes slowly shifting from Juli toward the Ikari woman. Slowly but surely the elevator begins to reach its destination, the three women still riding atop of it, battling it out. Privately the Chinese woman feels outclassed here--but the thought quickly passes. They're just getting lucky, that's all. She'll have this in her favor soon enough.
She takes a step forward. Her heel falls.
But the sound it makes isn't what she'd expect.
Overhead, high above the three women, /something/ strikes the landmark tower. The entire foundation shakes as result, the elevator shuddering viciously as result. Shihong flails momentarily, arms pinwheeling before she manages to secure her footing, red eyes snapping upwards toward the source. Her first signs are grim: a large chunk of rubble nearly crushes the woman in the face. Fortunately, she weaves out of the way, eyes wide as she watches it hit with a heavy THUD on the elevator roof.
"What the hell??" she wonders aloud, likely sharing her companions' sentiments that moment.
And here she is, stuck in one of the worst places possible.
Whip's snarling shriek causes Shihong to blink with disbelief as the brunette comes barreling toward her. She lashes out, intending to strike her with a nasty punch into her jaw. It hits, the woman's head snapping sharply to the side, a mane of inky black hair whipping wildly about. But there's something else.
There's a hand, and it's gripping her wrist like a vise.
"I don't THINK so!!" the woman snarls, wrenching Whip's arm painfully to one side. Seconds after she leaps upwards, using the front of the Ikari's body to stab her heels into her chest, ascending higher until she's hanging midair above the girl. And then? With another savage wrench of the girl's arm she slams BOTH heels down into Whip's backside, to force her face-first into the ground, the maneuver coupled with a nasty, violent burst of rich vermillion psychic flame.
COMBATSYS: Juli successfully hits Whip with Choke Hold.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Whip 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Shihong
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|-======
Whip's shot goes long when something grabs her by the wrist. The bullet grazes the cables of the elevator car, fraying them but with no break. The car tilts but stays strong. The discharge of the bullet SCREAMS inside their confined prison of crumbling walls. The Ikari snarls in outrage, her shot missed, and glances back in time... to have Shihong Mao descend upon her. The woman's heels bury into her body, the blow buffered only minimally by her kevlar, but the momentum rattles the lean young woman, her gun lost out of her hand and clattering invisibly down the long drop below.
One instant later, the soldier is meeting the roof of the elevator painfully, her body forging another dent in the steel. For a few moments, she can barely even see. The crumbling bits of mortar hitting her exposed limbs quickly sobers her. "You... idiot..." Whip is gravelling murderously, spitting out blood as she tries to galvanize her arms and legs against that crippling, numbing sensation of that strange power. The same thing she felt before from Juli. Both of them... she's had enough of this.
Trying to push herself up to her feet, blood running down her temple and out the corner of her frowning lips, the dazed soldier tries to regroup her balance, only to find herself attacked again. She can see it this time, and tries to outstep it, but she's hurt and the Shadaloo assassin is fast. One arm gets snagged, the one that Mao had pulled viciously only moments ago. The pain makes Whip cry out, until Juli's second arm quickly cuts her off. Bone and muscle pushes up against her windpipe and carotid sinuses. Almost immediately, she can feel the burning in her eyes and at the back of her throat as blood is cut off.
The building is falling. If she gives up now, she's not going to wake up. She can't... not like this...
Whip tightens the muscles in her throat and seizes her jaw down, trying to brace against the chokehold, trying to summon the remaining recesses of her strength. She just needs an inch of room to do this--
And, inhaling suddenly, she reacts, moving suddenly, violently against her trapped arm. The shoulder slips the socket. It gives Whip enough room to twist and move with her free arm to try to slam her elbow beneath Juli's jaw, attempting to extricate the woman right off her body.
Freed, the Ikari coughs against her ruined voice box. She whirls on the two of them, Shihong and Juli both, and crackles murderously through her teeth: "E- /enough./"
There's only one way out of here. It's going to be through them.
She doesn't even have time to replace her dislocated shoulder. Whip only turns on them both, her remaining arm snapping all fifteen feet of her weapon back to attention. And there she just /dives/ at them both, pulling her arm opposite to the guiding length of Voodoo as it rips against both of them. There, if she can find an opening, the Ikari soldier unleashes all her engineered strength into a battery of strikes, attacking for all parts of their bodies -- intending for this makeshift cage to trap them for this unstoppable torrent.
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Juli with Red Whip Genocide.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Shihong
[ |||||||||||| ]
Juli 1|---====|=======
The grip is locked in, held tight-- and held with the skill and precision of a master. Whip is an assassin, and so is she-- right down to the stone cold look in her eyes as she attempts to flat out strangle the Ikari Warrior into unconsciousness right there on the elevator. It isn't until she feels the resistance, the strength, and the sheer will to remain standing in Whip's body that the Doll grits her teeth and attempts to reaffirm her grasp-- but it's to no avail.
Whip is free, and now her weapon becomes a blur of lashes stinging out at her in a massive wall of attacks. Juli lets out a particularly loud gasp with each powerful strike slamming into her, the German's body going almost limp and staying yet supported by the attacks from Voodoo.
Dropping into the elevator one more time, she starts by hitting the emergency stop-- then hitting the button for the elevator to descend-- travel DOWN, get away as quickly as possible. Clicking the elevator back into service despite the lurch, the Doll looks back up with a stern face.
Dropping into a crouch, Juli's body begins to twist up, hunker down... and then VAULT, launching straight up into the air in an attempt to carry the enforcer into the air with a series of kicks, and, if all goes to plan, knock the woman right on her ass!
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Shihong with Red Whip Genocide.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Shihong
[ |||||||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Shihong just-defends Juli's Reverse Shaft Breaker!
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Shihong
[ |||||||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|-----==
Hopping off of Whip's prone backside, Shihong is quick to distance herself from the bleeding Ikari, knowing well the woman is a force to be reckoned with. For all her posturing and arrogance, the last encounter she had with her left Shihong a mess of sorts. She couldn't take her out alone. Can she take her out now?
AND this damned Shadaloo Doll..?
"Idiot? Me?" she calls back, pacing three steps from the fallen Whip. "I think I might have smashed your face a little too hard into the elevator, hon. Idiot? Ha--!"
Then, Juli is THERE and strangling the crap out of her.
It causes the Chinese woman to blink her red eyes once in bemusement, her expression distantly puzzled before she offers a light sneer. Right now, the crumbling remains of Howard's empire fall around her, but all the woman can see are these two bold women who dared to try and tear down the foundations from within. Quietly the Syndicate Enforcer rages, a hand clenched into a fist at her side shaking lightly. She only sees red, especially when Whip manages to wrench her way out of Juli's vise grip at her throat.
Seconds later Whip is a blur of motion, the elevator roof and surrounding shaft suddenly a prison of leathery pain. Over and over and over again the weapon lashes out, cutting through the fabrics of her high-dollar suit, leaving cuts and welts of deep, angry red across milky flesh. It leaves Shihong writhing, barely coherent as she's tossed about with each strike--
Until, finally, the Ikari relents.
From the corner of her eye, she spies Juli drop into the elevator. Seconds later the elevator stops, lurching lightly before it begins to drop downwards. Part of her thanks the Doll for her generosity--
At least until she suddenly springs into the woman's peripherals, causing the Enforcer to gasp with surprise. Shihong leaps up in turn, hands glowing with odd vermillion energy, each kick and strike absorbed by the woman's psychic flames. Only when the young Doll finally ceases does Shihong fall in kind, hitting the roof with a muted thud. Her eyes narrow sharply.
Wordlessly she tears forward after Juli, hell bent on dropping low and planting her hands atop the elevator roof while snapping both legs forward. Impact will result in a burst of fiery psychic flame, even as she swings her legs upwards shortly after, one leg snapping up to clip her in the jaw, followed by a second snap of her other leg as she comes to rise in a handstand--while trying to knock Juli off her damn feet.
Once more, Shihong Mao forgets the tower is falling.
Misdirected by Voodoo's brutal reach, the Ikari immediately backs up, regaining both her balance and her space on one corner of the descending car. Debris falls all around her, and she stands weakly amidst the rain of crumbling mortar and falling bolts, blood sweat down her temples and her free arm clutching protectively at her useless shoulder. Still, the Ikari stands off, awaiting some kind of reprisal...
Yet, for a moment, the Syndicate enforcer and Shadaloo killer seem to have turned on each other. In that heartbeat, it seems as both have forgotten the Ikari Warrior altogether. Though Whip knows that to be far from her sordid reality, she takes what time she can get. Because it won't be much. Instead of wasting this moment on pointlessly thanking some god above, the young woman uses it mechanically to ram her popped shoulder back into joint with the heel of her hand. The pain waters tears out of her eyes and makes her stance stagger, but she remains silent. She merely flexes her other hand, tightening it against the numbness that streaks up and down her arm.
Exhaling silently, her eyes briefly turn up. Whip still isn't sure just what happened outside of this corridor, but whatever it was, Geese Tower might not be able to take it. The skyscraper has to be well over fifty stories... can it really be taken down?
She doesn't have much time left. Whip grits her teeth and glances widely over their cramped environs, her patience well spent to start to trust the elevator's untroubled descent. She needs to find another way out, another way that --
Whip's eyes twitch and find Shihong Mao once more. The Ikari isn't sure where it comes from, but the fury again pulls every muscle of her body into a strained trembling, her eyes set and her jaw twitching. She's still got time...
Adrenaline awakens the young woman, compelling her forward as she all but dives towards the two locked in battle. It won't do Whip any good to return to her commander with only her life, but if she can bring a crippled hostage with a broken jaw-- First thing's first, Whip's revenge doesn't want to share. She needs to get Juli out of the picture to finally take out the SouthSynd woman once and for all.
Lunging at them, Whip swiftly inserts herself into the fray, her coiled weapon silent in her hand as she twists sharply off one ankle, trying to swing her booted foot straight at Juli's ribs. The Ikari is trying to kick her right off the very side of the car.
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Juli with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Shihong
[ ||||||| ]
Juli 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Shihong successfully hits Juli with Coiled Serpent.
# Disabling hit! #
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Shihong
[ || ]
Juli 0|-------|=======
Her kick stops completely-- COMPLETELY. There's a look of shock on Juli's face that wasn't there before, the expression of someone that didn't plan on encountering a defense like that at all. Landing with a grunt, her legs spread and her arm drops to support her weight as the rooftop of the elevator looks almost as though it were about to finally buckle and break from the constant fighting.
Her heels slam into Juli's stomach with more force than she ever prepared for, the armor padding at her abdomen cracking. Another kick blazes up her jaw, and one last one to pick her up right off her feet.
The Doll manages to stay upright, but she can't breathe correctly-- the powerful, sequenced kicks left her breathless and dazed, only managing to stay on the top of the elevator with the heel of her boot keeping her upright on the car. Her hands reach out, forward, grasping for anything that she can find to keep her upright and steady...
Only... it doesn't happen. Whip whips about (hah!) and drives her heel into the Doll's ribs, Juli caught off-guard and at her weakest moment. She flies backward and strikes the wall with a gasp...
But then, gravity takes over.
Dropping faster than the elevator does, the Doll falls down the open shaft and disappears into the darkness below while the fight continues on top of the elevator. Though with all of the distance she falls, if there wasn't the cacaphony of the building literally falling on their heads, there might be a distinctly noticable -lack- of dead weight hitting the bottom of the shaft.
COMBATSYS: Juli takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Shihong
COMBATSYS: Juli can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Shihong
There is no mercy in the Enforcer's assault, nothing held back as the woman figuratively descends upon the Doll. Forgotten--however brief--is the Ikari; instead, Shihong wants to see one of these two women, these invaders, taken out. Even if it results in someone dying.
She's sure, however, it won't be /her/.
Pulling her body into a handstand, the woman kicks her legs back, psychic flame licking about her legs before winking out of existence. Heels touch down with a faint click of steel on steel, and soon enough the Chinese woman is back on her long legs. Instantly her red eyes flicker aside, keeping watch as Juli wobbles a bit--and Whip takes advantage. The woman is momentarily surprised.
Almost--almost--she feels inclined to thank her as her heavy booted foot crashes into the Doll and sends the young woman spiraling toward the edge, where she seems to fall to her demise. One down.
One to go.
"Well," Shihong remarks, drawing her eyes shut as she exhales a ragged, tired breath.
"It would seem it's just us now. I owe you, you know." Opening a single eye, the woman's pupils pinpoint, her cornea glowing a fierce red, like roused embers in a smoldering fire. "You know, for the harbor a while back. Plus, I'm sure Big really would like to see you again.
"So, I guess this is goodbye."
Like a bolt Shihong suddenly moves, her body hurling itself forward, legs outstretched and suddenly igniting with that same, awful Psycho Power. She intends on cleanly striking into the other woman heels first with what is, at best, a mere push of her feet.
COMBATSYS: Shihong successfully hits Whip with Bird of Paradise.
[ \\\ < > ///////////// ]
Whip 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Shihong
But it isn't the touch that hurts.
It's the sudden, painful swell of Psycho Power that cuts like a jagged knife.
That energy swells and grows in that fateful moment, a potent burst erupting between Shihong's feet and Whip's chest with enough force to potentially send poor Whip flying off the back of the elevator and into the nearest wall of the shaft, while Shihong will simply bound off and flip, landing daintily on her heels.
"Get OUT of here!"
Landing cleanly to her feet, Whip keeps one eye trained on Juli's unfortunate plummet down the elevator shaft. When the Shadaloo assassin's form recedes into darkness, she becomes little more than an afterthought to the Ikari Warrior. This is war, and in war there's no time for mercy.
And Whip's mercy has long run out, feeling instead only a returning surge of her bloodlust the instant Shihong Mao speaks. The elevator still moves, descending down the infinite floors of the crumbling Geese Tower, playing both stage and audience to two women who share a mutual hatred.
Whip's already forgotten Juli when her dark eyes find the Syndicate enforcer. Her face is painted in blood, her features pitted in shadow that reveals little more than the murderous twitching of her lips and the visible gleam of gritting teeth. Specific mention of Mister Big makes Whip's hand tighten around the coils of her weapon. Then she just snaps, snarling back: "You--!!"
Almost mirrors of each other, Whip moves the instant Shihong does, leaping homicidally towards the woman, one fist recoiled back--
But Shihong Mao is quicker. And she proves herself to truly be one of Geese Howard's best employees, her coordination unbroken even in the midst of her employer's own crumbling building. Whip thinks she has the attack outstepped, slipping ankle over ankle to try to escape the Chinese woman's kick which feels oddly soft. But that's not the attack at all. And it's not over. She can smell the energy swirling into life, can feel it cooking the air--
Psycho power detonates savagely, throwing the Ikari Warrior backward by its sheer display of power. She slams into the moving wall with the painful, telltale snaps of breaking bones, her footing lost as she slips and disappears off the moving elevator.
For the next few moments, all is silent. The tower is crumbling, but the soldier is no more. The elevator moves patiently in silence, and when Shihong make think she's won, that she's defended her turf from enemy hands--
One of those hands stretches out of darkness and grabs a bleeding handful of the terraced shaft wall. The descending elevator car slowly reveals that it is not over, not entirely, as a battered, and barely-conscious Whip dangles there, hanging on with what little strength she has left. Her eyes lock onto Shihong's. And with a voice wet with blood, she sneers back, "...not without you, princess."
Something gleams inside her free hand. Whip's found her Desert Eagle. Something twitches darkly along her lips, the morbid ghost of a good-bye smile, and the Ikari raises her weapon back on the cables, lining her sight up with the section already frayed by her last bullet.
Her other arm is straining. Her blood-greased fingers are slipping. But gritting her teeth, she hangs on long enough... to fire.
COMBATSYS: Whip can no longer fight.
> ///////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Shihong
COMBATSYS: Whip successfully hits Shihong with Random Weapon.
Glancing Blow
> /////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Shihong
'You--!!' the Ikari curses.
There's a smirk on the woman's pale, cut-up face as she flies right at Whip.
Employing no kindness or mercy, the woman makes her move with ruthless efficiency, launching her body feet first into the Ikari soldier. Heels connect, though there comes no immediate physical pain; instead, Shihong employs an ethereal sense of violence against this woman, psychic energy her weapon of choice. It erupts as intended, a bright burst of rich, vibrant red that momentarily casts an odd, eerie red glow within the shaft as Whip is thrown several feet back.
And then, she's gone.
Landing with a slight, pained crouch, the battered, bloodied and beaten up Syndicate enforcer just gasps for breath as the elevator continues its trek down the last remaining floors of the rapidly-collapsing tower. Drawing her eyes shut, the woman stumbles backwards before tipping her pale face upwards before exhaling loudly. Slowly her red eyes open, the dim glow within them fading as the flames around her feet wink out of existence.
Of course she won. A smile edges its way coldly across her pale face, eyes lowering--
And then, right THERE, Whip's dangling figure is there.
"You bit--!!"
Her words abort on red, bloodied lips as the Desert Eagle glints in the dim light of the shaft. Before she can do much of anything the woman lifts the gun--but it isn't aimed at HER; instead, she aims it at the last remaining cable supporting the wobbling elevator. At first the woman is surprised.
Then her eyes cut back, shooting the Ikari a smirk.
"I'll see you in hell," she murmurs with frightening calm.
The bullet screams in the confines of the shaft, a deafening bark. The bullet finds its mark.
With one loud, screech of steel and groan of metal the elevator begins its heavy plummet into the darkness waiting below, carrying the Syndicate woman with it, her fate--such as Whips, and even the Doll--in the aftermath an uncertainty.
COMBATSYS: Shihong has ended the fight here.
Log created on 23:16:16 05/14/2009 by Shihong, and last modified on 21:38:02 06/07/2009.