Description: It was a long travel between Zach and Jiro, now Ullr, who came from several paths. However, their paths crossed when the landmines became a death trap to the two. Will they survive?
[OOC] Crow says, "I think you might be better served by going with a motorboat, and saving the psycho blasts for emergency thrusters."
TWO DAYS AGO...
Zach stood at the SouthTown harbor, loading up a small craft with some supplies. Food, drink, that kind of thing. He had a little help from his family, who gave him some advice and one other item that didn't strike as particularly useful to him. In fact, it seemed absolutely counter-productive. However, his old man was insistant on this. Zach accepted the glove-looking thing with reservation, tucking it into his pack as he gives his last hugs and waves before climbing aboard and leaving for China.
TODAY...
Zach gives the motor to the small craft an irritated kick. He severely underestimated how much fuel he'd need to get to Taizhou. He peers out over the bow with a frown, shading his eyes from the sun. He sees a harbor, and checks his compass. He glances at the charts for a moment. So close yet so far. And yet he doesn't /dare/ just jump out and swim. If this iteration of Jinchuu was anything like the last one, there would be something nasty just under the seemingly calm surface.
[OOC] Jiro 'Random Splatter' Kasagi or not. Okay! Works on his pose!
Death... What a great place.
Yet the re-awakening was something that was unexpected. Yet, when he had awoken, he was no longer Jiro Kasagi, but Ullr, a member of a secret organization. What awakened him... was the lingering feelings of someone. That lingering feeling was something that was lost. That feeling...?
It drives him.
The answers seemed to have lied within Taizhou. The goal is to check out the situation.
For Zach, there is yet another boat catching up to him and fast. It is a small sail boat that has a motor on it. Currently sitting down, the figure is wearing a padded armor, similar to a SWAT member. It is black and it bears a strange insignia on the right side. The face is obscured by a faceless helmet, except for the eyes.
The motor keeps turning.... and there are three fins off to the side. Dolphins? They were his guide through the ocean.
Soon, the sea creatures are turning away after guiding the figure. 'Ullr' turns to face the dolphins, waving them off, then he turns to face ahead, noticing another boat, if even smaller.
Zach frowns as he sees the fins, and the other boat. He looks up from his work to look at the fairly armored individual in the other boat. He clenches his fists. Armored goons like this guy rarely bode well for him.
That invasion of Southtown, and the time Ayame kidnapped him for experimentation have not gone forgotten. Zach stirs the well-spring of his energy while he waits for the helmetted man to get close. If nothing else, he could always blast the dude and swipe his boat. Zach keeps an eye out for any guns. Getting shot would be most counter-productive.
There are no guns. At all.
The figure is actually armless for the most part, at least, seems to be so. The helmetted figure is zooming over towards the boat, actually on its way of moving past the guy. There is no aggressive movements from the 'armored goon'. Instead? The figure lifts a hand up, bringing it to his head, then pops a two-finger salute.
Yo.
Other than that, no passing thought.
Zach raises an eyebrow at the man, aping the two-fingered salute before scowling and getting back to his oars. Nutjob. Gotta be. Zach doesn't know the other man on the other (obviously functional) boat, so Zach does not know how far (if at all) the figure can be trusted. Probably about as far as he can be thrown.
Better to keep to himself, Zach figures. Although the guy is likely heading the same way... no. Zach starts rowing again.
As the dolphins swim away, one of them leaps through the air in a sparkling spray of water before splashing down and joining the other fins quickly swimming away. Behind it, the water ripples quietly.
Blup. Blup.
Blup.
...Beep.
Deep in the water, an eerie blue glow springs into being. And then more and more join it. A moment later an explosion blasts through the calm surface of the ocean, sending water spraying up into the sky. But the water doesn't seem to be spraying apart into droplets. Odd, that. Odder is the sudden cold snap and the sharp crackling of ice as the sea itself begins to freeze. It doesn't turn to solid ice, but the surface becomes an ice slurry so thick that parts almost look like they could support a person's weight.
And then the water from the initial explosion comes raining down... as long, sharp shards of ice.
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou has started a fight here.
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here.
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Jiro 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyoujou
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Jiro 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou successfully hits Zach with Raining Ice Blades.
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Jiro 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou successfully hits Jiro with Raining Ice Blades.
Glancing Blow
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Jiro 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-----==|
Zach hears the explosion before he notices the light show. He turns and stares slack-jawed at the work of the ice mines. Which, of course, leave him more than open to being slashed all over by ice blades. Blood and cloth fall to the deck of Zach's craft in an unequal mixture as the psychic lets out a yell of pain and rage.
As far as he can see, there isn't much he can do about stopping the mines. While it /appears/ that he could probably run on the ice on the water, Zach is not absolutely certain of that, either. Zach breathes deep, summoning up his energy. Psycho power gets to work, closing up some of his wounds. However, he's a sitting duck and he knows it. Glen crouches at the aft of his boat, cupping his hands as if holding a ball. Energy roils forth as Zach thrusts his palms away from his chest. Hopefully, the ensuing blast of psychic force will force the boat into motion. He needs to get to land, and quickly!
As Ullr turned to see the dolphins leap through the air and splash down, he cannot help but smile inwardly through the masking helmet. In a way, he felt alive with the animals again.
It was peaceful. Ullr was able to recognize the figure who was on the boat, yet he didn't really care. Unfortunately, there was no point in trying to deal with him. Jiro was on his own mission, after all. That mission involved something very important...
However, Ullr turns his head over to see that....
Things are going wrong.
Wait, what the?!
The blue glow springs out and several explosions blast through the surface, causing a thunderous wave of water splashing into the sky. The helmetted figure hisses forth before he tries to have the boat steer, having the motor going on.
The ice blades are piercing over towards the boat.
...Shit!
Ullr has the boat steered over towards the left and the right, narrowly avoiding the shards until one of them strike against his arm while another tears through one of the structure. Looking back, Ullr curses, "Fuck me..." He grunts, then he looks over towards the sight of.... Zach, who doesn't look to be fairing off. He suerves over towards his direction, grumbling.
"Hey! Get on this boat! You won't survive on that one!"
[OOC] Zach says, "There we go."
COMBATSYS: Jiro takes no action.
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Jiro 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Jiro 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-----==|
Beep.
It's hard to see the glow down there now with all of the ice clogging up the water, but there are a lot of lights. And a few of the lights are changing hues now, as they detect movement in the water above them. Although they're quite good at detecting such things, their reactions aren't quite as precise. But they make up for that in quantity. Glittering blades of ice begin to punch up through the slushy surface of the sea, splashing frigid water about and then remaining, forming sharp but now unmoving obstacles.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Hyoujou's Glacial Blade.
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Jiro 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-----==|
Ice and fiberglass splinters tear into Zach, who gets a field of energy up just in time to avoid getting debris to anything vital. Cuts appear, and haze over in purple energy as they start to seal up. At least he won't bleed out. Right away.
Zach growls, "Doesn't /work/ that way."
He focuses his energy a little more, summoning a larger amount of psycho power as he uses his energy (and Newton) to drive towards the harbor!
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Jiro 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou successfully hits Jiro with Glacial Blade.
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Jiro 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/----===|
And then Zach is ignoring the offer/demand for him to get on. This draws forth a scowl on the vetean fighter, who is shaking his head. A grunt is made as he turns away, "...Bah, why do I bother?" Ullr reaches over towards the steering wheel, then he grabs for the lever. Pulling the lever down, he presses his foot down for more ga---...
Right into the watery blades piercing up towards the front end itself. Fragments of the front end of the boat become damaged, leaving a nice fraction of the boat left. "Oh fuck you!" The Einherjar Elite grunts as he is rolling back towards the end with the motor. He hisses forth, then he calls forth a whistle.
Maybe he can get one of the dolphins to get him if things get any worse. But then again, likely not.
For a few moments things seem calm, but that's because the ice prevents the sailing fighters from seeing all the bubbling going on in the water beneath them.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeep.
The rumble, however, is quite noticeable, even over the sound of crackling ice. As is the way the ice their boats are slogging through actually begins to shake. And then slush and water fly everywhere as a massive spire of ice erupts between the two boats, shooting up into the sky, with jagged blades of ice sprouting out in all directions around its base. The motion is violent enough that even through all the slurry the waves rock the two small boats.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Hyoujou's Erupting Spire.
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Jiro 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/----===|
Zach grins as he shifts his hands to the right, sending the boat roarin up and out of the ice and away from the erupting spire. He lets out a whoop as he slings more energy, turning the boat into a large sled!
Man, he thinks, I am going to be /whupped/ when I get to shore. But it felt good to really cut loose for once. The old man had kept him out of fighting for /months/ to practice his control. So worth it, in retrospect.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Jiro 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou successfully hits Jiro with Erupting Spire.
- Power hit! -
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Jiro 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/---====|
Everything is calm. That is good. Ullr is handling the situation well, all considering. Although the boat is torn down by a nice chunk, what he is left with is a smal chunk plus the motor. This is looking up for him, nevertheless.
Unfortunately, it all comes to an end when the signs of crackling ice make its presence. This causes the body to become alarmed. "...What the... ff--"
CRASH! The spire of ice erupts against the two boats, shooting up intot he sky with the jagged blades.
...Annnd unfortunately, as he blades tear through not only the boat but against the sturdy armor, Ullr is flopped off against the icy edge while sliding off to grasp onto the boat.
...As it finally forms up.
Jiro finally pulls himself up.
He finds his boat at the top of the spire.
"...God damnit."
He takes the moment to break off the _LAST_ small fragment of the boat, leaving him with a few inches _AND_ the motor. To start him off...
A hand is lifted up into the air. The gathering of chi is radiating from the body as flaming fireflies spiral around him. As the flames swirl into him, they move towards the extended hand. A whine echos as the charge of the chi gathers towards that hand.... Then a big explosion is shot forth, aiming to blast downward to the glacier to have the ship explode from the burst and send the motored boat off to move along.
It seems the two fighters are making some headway toward shore. And the edge of the ice field can be seen... but they haven't reached it yet. And getting to safety means passing through the worst the defenses have to offer, first. The surface of the ocean churns, ice and water flying everywhere as even more spires begin to erupt from the depths, turning the surface into a forest of ice. The noise is deafening as pillar after pillar shoots up toward the sky, between the violently displaced water and the cracking of the ice. The spray and rocking of the waves makes visibility pretty dicey as well. For a few moments the entire world seems to consist of ice and frigid water.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Felling Towers from Hyoujou with Pile Smash EX.
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Jiro 1/----===/=======|=======\=====--\1 Zach
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Jiro 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Hyoujou
Zach skips along the ice merrily, or perhaps psychotically for a bit, until the sounds become too great to ignore. He turns in time to see a massive pillar of ice form directly in his path. Letting out a primal roar, Zach whirls around to face the oncoming threat.
Zach falls back on training, throwing his hands up into the air. Four sheets of solid psychokinetic energy rip into existance as the fighter takes a half-second to aim. He only has one shot at this...
Zach sweeps his arms down, and the Pile Smash lashes out against the pillar. Ice goes flying, but everything settles out just in time to let Zach know... that it wasn't enough. The boat slams into the pillar, throwing Zach clear of the ice field and into the water. He does not emerge right away...
COMBATSYS: Hyoujou successfully hits Jiro with Felling Towers.
- Power hit! -
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Jiro 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Hyoujou
This is quite the situation. They have been making it towards the shore. They would be there soon. Unfortunately, it does not look like that things will be going well from there. The storm is only getting worse.
The surface of the ocean churns and the ice and water are flying everywhere with more spires turning. The sight has Ullr turning around to examine the frigid grave. "...Geez." He grunts, then he notices the pillars forming...
"Sh----..."
And the pillars shoot up towards the sky, knocking his boat and him away. He tries to maintain the hold, but the motor is destroyed and Jiro can already tell that he is starting to slip.
Things are going black for him...
Yet, he remains clutching...
...Until the grip is lost and he falls into thed epths of the ocean.
SPLASH!
COMBATSYS: Jiro takes no action.
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.
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Hyoujou 0/-------/-------|
As the boats and their occupants sink beneath the surface, the churning of the water begins to calm down, and the lights in the depths slowly wink off. The ice remains, however, taking some time to melt. Will it serve as a gravemarker? But by the edge of the ice field, a set of fins can be seen approaching, then dipping down below the surface to pass under the ice. Jiro's dolphin friends... or some opportunistic predators?
DUN DUN DUN
Log created on 21:08:51 04/05/2010 by Jiro, and last modified on 01:51:04 04/13/2010.