Description: By chance, Antoine, Cody and Hayato find themselves sharing the same subway refuge as the military moves into Huangyan. Unfortunately, it doesn't serve to hide them from the Snow Leopard Commandos. With their tanks and helicopters and armored carriers and snipers. What can three men do against so much military hardware? Destroy a lot of it, that's what. But the military isn't the only thing to worry about. Also, Hayato gets a sweet new ride. Getting it through customs might be problematic, though.
The dangerous skies above Nirvana are known to all who would make it their own. The primal energies unleashed on the island bequeaths itself to friend, foe, and the land itself alike - infrequently with moderation, never with mercy. While one tempest made its fury known, another of a different sort was brewing.
A major tropical storm system has begun to sweep the area. While not a full blown hurricane, the rains pound down in torrents upon the shattered land, turning dirt to rivers of mud and ash that flow down into the crevices of ruined pavement and buildings. For all of it that seems to be returning the earth in this fashion, it's hardly in short supply. Footing is very treacherous here, and the most dangerous aspect is now making itself known - what was once nature's thunder booming in the distance is now joined by deafening crackles known to no man; lightning meeting chi and lighting the night sky with fearsome explosions of raw, primal power.
It was under the cover of this storm that they emerged.
Along the coast, naval and troop carriers unloaded their cargo - a cargo that did not acknowledge this land as "Nirvana" as others did. These men knew it as Taizhou, something that belonged to THEM as a people. The presence of insurgent outsiders upon it was an insult to their pride...something that China does not suffer easily to foreigners.
The sounds of the storm mask their approach. It's only once the massed tanks, helicopters, and personnel carriers draw near that the scope of the danger is made evident. Those who that they find - NO, those who are TOO WEAK! - are processed efficiently, restrained and set to march toward their hastily erected prison camp near the shore.
This is where the latest chapter of your story unfolds. Soldiers march onward, encircling your position with man and steel. Their intent is unmistakable.
"ATTENTION FOREIGNERS. LAY DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD. YOU WILL SUBMIT TO IMMEDIATE MILITARY DETAINMENT."
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos has joined the fight here as a boss!
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Alma 0/-------/------=|
As soldiers swarm around today's intrepid heroes, one of the three - Cody Travers - is... is...
... asleep, sitting slumped against a wall at the bottom of a subway entrance, his clothes still torn to shreds above the waist. A thick chain is wrapped around his arm where it hangs at his side; the other end leads off into darkness.
The blonde's eyes twitch as a spotlight focuses on him and the shouting starts, and, slowly, he begins to wake, stretching and letting out a tremendous yawn, sweeping his bleary-eyed gaze over the men surrounding him. "Wha...?" he grouses, reaching up to rub at his eyes with the back of one hand.
"Whadda you pricks want?" he demands grumpily, regardless of the fact that their shouts and loaded guns make what they want /extremely/ clear. But, apparently, not clear enough for a half-asleep Cody; he looks back and forth between the men accosting him, increasingly agitated, until, finally, he runs out of patience.
"Turn that shit off!" Cody calls angrily up at the helicopter floating over the subway entrance, as he hauls himself to his feet. When they do not comply, and, indeed, the men around him merely grow still more aggressive, Cody sighs heavily, grabs ahold of the chain wrapped around his arm, and begins to pull.
There is a metallic scraping and a loud groan... and then a twelve foot long sword, apparently sized for something way, /way/ bigger than a human, slides out of the darkness, its blade scraping along the ground and spraying sparks into the air. Soldiers dive out of the way as Cody twists sideways and whips the sword up off the ground to lance up towards the helicopter hovering overhead, the chain unravelling in its wake.
"I'M TRYIN'A SLEEP< HERE!!"
COMBATSYS: Cody has joined the fight here.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|
It was the matter of the talk with El Fuerto that drew interest from Antoine. Monetary value. However, this tournament only promises more stuff than was noted. To be part of this 'Nirvana', Frei told him. That is unsettling to Antoine. But, the even more unsettling part is knowing what will happen next. He had done some walking in the streets of the land. The tropical storm only made things worse in the travel, due to the high winds and the scares it could cause.
What stopped him on his trail, however, was seeing the men in unifor come his way. He blinks a few times, then he frowns. He releases the duffel bag from his hand. He looks over to see the helicopter and the men. "...I am afraid not." He notes the stranger who just dragged out a twelve foot sword.
The ebony-skinned man's eyes widen at first. Then, he turns to face against one of the guards. He decides to jump in, moving towards one of the men before he steps forward. He seeks to sweep his left leg towards hte ankle of the soldier before his palm strikes towards the chest of that soldier.
COMBATSYS: Antoine has joined the fight here.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Antoine
With the recent arrival of the Chinese military in the Taizhou area, leaving has become no longer an option. So although Hayato Nekketsu is not entirely enjoying his stay in the area, it's too late to back out now. Of course, even if he could, Hayato isn't really the type to cut and run. And so with little else to do, Hayato had followed the signs of destruction and sounds of fighting to the Huangyan area. Unfortunately, so did the army.
The teacher doesn't really want to get into a fight with the army, but options are somewhat limited. They have the area surrounded, so escape isn't feasible, and as for surrendering... Hayato's a Japanese national with some military ties. No way he's going to willing put himself at the mercy of the Chinese military. He'd thought that hiding underground might result in them passing by, and apparently he wasn't the only one. There wasn't really time for introductions before the soldiers showed up, however.
Given the number of soldiers, and the fact that they've got guns, Hayato comes up with his plan pretty quickly. If he just plows into the middle of them, it'll be hard for them to shoot without hitting each other. And he's pretty sure he can take on a whole bunch of them hand to hand. As for what happens when even /more/ of them keep coming, well, he'll deal with that when he comes to it. The teacher glances at Cody as he drags out his huge sword and launches it toward one of the helicopters. That... seems like a pretty good distraction. People will probably look up for a moment. And so Hayato takes that moment to burst out of the subway entrance and plow right into the nearest grouping of soldiers.
COMBATSYS: Hayato has joined the fight here.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos dodges Cody's Huge Thrown Object.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Hayato's Power Strike.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos endures Antoine's Quick Punch.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
The helicopter pilot was told to expect resistance. All of them were. Reports were clear that many fighters were on this island, and fighters aren't just your ordinary combat opponents. Bullets bruise, tank shells shatter bones...it would be nice if governments could fill militaries with people like these, but they're in such short supply and high demand that it's nigh impossible.
This is not to say that the Commandos are unprepared. But it's one thing to be briefed, and another to have a person chuck A HUGE FUCKING SWORD AT YOUR HELICOPTER from ground level. Panic turns out to be the correct response; the helicopter veers sharply upward out of the weapon's shared airspace, but at least the search light isn't in Cody's eyes anymore.
Nevermind, another just took its place. "DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED.", a commanding voice shouts over the loudspeaker with a Chinese accent. "SCUM WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO FESTER HERE!"
Hayato seems to have the right idea, because while the armed soldiers put up a token resistance from the entrance to the subway tunnel, they immediately begin falling back up the stairs. Even the one that Antoine takes a crack at seems to have other things to tend to, stumbling back from the assault and quickly taking a defensive position on the rear of the line of soldiers as they withdraw.
Well, that was easy enough, right?
Something is shouted in Chinese outside, and suddenly the world is filled with fire and debris. Missiles cascade down upon the mouth to the subway, missing the mark of the entrance entirely and finding their marks further inward. The intent seems to be to flush out the unwelcome foreigners - or bury them alive.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Cody with Killzone - Missile Bombardment.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
Cody glowers up at the helicopter as it pitches desperately out of the way of his latest and largest knife. He may have missed... but, indeed, the searchlight is gone. And really, that's good enough for him.
The enormous sword snaps back downwards as Cody reels it in and tosses it back into the shadows, unreeling the chain from around his arm as he does so. Just as it crashes back to the floor and skids away, a second helicopter swoops in to take the place of the first.
"Oh, you have /gotta/ be /fuck-/" Cody begins. That's as far as he gets before he is beset by a batallion of rolling explosions as missiles stream down into the subway entrance that was his bed, filling it with flame and noise.
After a few moments, the explosions die out, leaving only a slowly spreading cloud of dust and smoke, and certainly no sign of Cody Travers... at least not until he saunters casually out of the smoke and up the mangled stairs out of the subway entrance, his skin scorched and his hair slightly on fire. "You know, I /was/ tryin' ta sleep," the blonde calls as he reaches the top of the stairs, patting the fire in his hair out as he surveys the semicircle of armed men.
"But this," he continues, loudly cracking his knuckles, "Suddenly looks /way/ more interesting."
Without further ado, Cody Travers snaps his right wrist, producing a long, shining, silver-bladed knife, charges the ring of soldiers facing him, and begins stabbing motherfuckers like he is at some sort of GOd damn convention for people who stab other people in their faces (and other assorted body parts.)
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Snow Leopard Commandos' Killzone - Missile Bombardment.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|
It's a battle fo life and death. A battle to be the one on top. The soldiers have made themselves known and their intentions heard. Antoine had to deal with one of the soldiers to drive them back. The path to the subway is filled with ground troops and the helicopter. Crap. Antoine grits his teeth, looking toward the the missiles coming his way. His eyes widen, then he steps his right foot forward. Both hands lift up as he draws forth his chi.
Mind over matter. Mind over matter. As his guard is up, the missiles blast all against the area around him. Shrapnel pierce al over the place. As the chi resonates, the several bits and pieces of the shrapnel frm the missile pierces him. "Egh..!" He hisses forth, releasing his guard. He steps over towards the set of guards, sprinting forward before launching outward to an aerial flip. His body flips to the side while he lifts his leg to have it cut down to few of the military members surrounding him.
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to slow Killzone - Missile Bombardment from Snow Leopard Commandos with Large Thrown Object.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|
It's hard to run away from that many missiles. They're raining down all over the place. And it's not fun to get hit by them, either. So why not try to clear a hole through the incoming wave of ordinance, resulting in a spot where you can stand and be perfectly safe! Discounting any shrapnel or rubbel thrown up by nearby explosions. Yes, perfectly safe. Conveniently, the subway station has some benches, intended as seating for weary commuters. To Hayato, they look like something that he can probably throw all the way up to one of the helicopters.
The bolts holding the bench in place snap easily enough, and Hayato swings himself around and hurls the furniture skyward. It spins about, flying up toward the descending missiles... and gets blown to splinters by the very first one. Somewhere, a government official notes down the several dollars saved by going with the cheapest bidder on the furnishings for the subway stations, then moves on to the next paper in his in box. And then Hayato vanishes in a series of explosions and falling dirt and concrete.
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Tokushu Koudou.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Splitting the Earth.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|
There was only one place for the foreigners to flee if they wanted to see daylight again for days, and that was into the welcoming party at the mouth of the tunnel. Flashlights attached to assault rifles and helmets greet Travers and Antoine. Combined with the searchlights, the killzone is painted with a blinding hallogen white as two dozen trigger fingers coolly tighten their grips.
Gun barrels ignite, hundreds of firey plumes blazing out of the weapons as the Defenders of Nirvana are ruthlessly cut down professionals.
...
Pfft. Bullets...
The ground commandos keep their jaws squared as these men plow past what would have killed mere mortal men, what might have knocked the wind out of them had they not taken the energies permeating the very air and made it their own. They were also briefed on this, and they know what they're doing. What they were not briefed on is why you don't fucking shine floodlamps and flashlights into the face of Metro City's top vigilante. Military CQC is put to use to restrain, redirect, and then ultimately just shield themselves from the relentless plunging of Cody's knife, and Antoine's cool resolve. One man falls. Then another. As the injuries continue to build, something is yelled in Chinese again and the troops begin to fall back in an organized fashion, attempting to cover for their standing wounded as they disperse into three split units. In the distance, the gaps between squads are marked by small obelisks in the distance; tanks and personnel carriers that are moving into firing position as the ground ranks reconfigure their formation.
The tactics that would have felled ordinary terrorists have proved useless. Or maybe not quite useless...after all, one of them has not emerged from their initial strike. Unfortunately, they can't really spare the manpower to confirm a casualty at the moment.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Cody with Inf. QBZ-95 Assault Rifle.
- Power hit! -
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|
It is a scientific fact that a bullet that would kill a regular human being is often barely enough to even wound a fighter of high enough caliber.
It is also a scientific fact - albeit one that is not as glorified and well known - that even if you are a fighter of sufficient caliber, it still fucking sucks to get shot.
It isn't that the lead pouring into Cody's sides and back as he rampages through the line of Chinese special forces is /dangerous/, per se. It's just that it's painful, and distracting, and, above all, /annoying./ Combined fire keeps knocking him off his balance, and although he never falls, he does stagger a few times, and the constant fire keeps him from really taking advantage of his usual Terminator-like strategy.
But there's power in being angry and frustrated, too!
When the soldiers begin to withdraw and regroup, Cody pauses briefly, apparently ignoring the gunfire rattling against his bare chest as he takes stock of the situation. He weighs up the three groups, and then points at one and declares to his unlikely allies - shouting to be heard over the din of battle - "DIBS!"
Having marked the group as his as much as he can without simply peeing on it, Cody takes off at a sprint towards the retreating group. The speed is impressive, especially considering he rarely deigns to move that fast... at least not over very short distances.
As he draws up to the regrouping soldiers, he leaps into the air, drops into the midst of the men, and gleefully uppercuts one in the solar plexus hard enough to kill any children he may have already fathered.
Which is bad enough on its own... but while extending his arm, Cody savagely twists his forearm, and a moment after he throws the punch a ten foot tall whirlwind suddenly erupts into being in front of him. And, as such, in the middle of a group of heavily armed men.
Let's watch what happens!
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Antoine with Inf. QBZ-95 Assault Rifle.
- Power hit! -
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/-======|
Believe it or not, Antoine can understand the Chinese fluidly. Being here for about eight years would do that to you. The martial artist had been able to take the time to note the people that he is fighting with. In particular, his yees fall over towards Cody, who is just using his knife all over the place. Then there is Antoine, who is fighting the best that he can to fend off the soldiers. He launches his foot out towards one of the guards to shove them away.
Then, his eyes widen when he sees the incoming rounds launched out towards him. "What th--" His eyes widen with a gasp as the bullets penetrate and pierce his entire form. He hisses as blood sprays from the arms and legs, then he falls with one foot planting to the ground.
His eyes narrow, then he shifts his stance as he prepares himself. The chi manifests around him as he takes a deep breath. With a shift of his stance, Antoine grunts as he shifts his entire chi towards his left foot. "....Okay, punk asses. Time for a nigga' moment."
He steps forward, then he launches the left foot out. On cue... a whirlwind is created around him. It is spread throughout the area as the wind is seeking to ensnare many of the soldiers nearby within its wake.
From back inside the entrance to the subway there's a rumbling noise, and then an explosion of rubble. The sound mixes with a wordless shout as Hayato rockets out of the entrance, dust and rock flying behind him. His body blazes with orange chi which forms a wake behind him as he arcs up, then lands heavily in a crouching position. He pauses there for a moment, then slowly rises to a standing position, eyes blazing as he stares at the soldiers with a wide, not entirely pleasant, grin on his dusty face. Then he cracks his knuckles and begins striding toward them. Weren't there guns to be afraid of? Eh, whatever!
COMBATSYS: Hayato gathers his will.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Cody's Criminal Upper.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Antoine's Gale Rises to Heaven.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|
Another order is barked. Antoine can make out what is being spoken, but lacks the context to understand what is being conveyed other than an order. It's like fighting against a football team. ...Armed with weapons that would have long since killed you by now if you weren't bad of the ass. On a playing field that would have had its game called off on before it even began.
Speaking of badasses. Hayato makes himself known again; the third squad was keeping their guns trained on the other two, but some chatter and a few hand signals later, and suddenly Hayato finds himself being directly charged. With the distance he's gained, they don't bother with suppressing fire, instead holstering their weapons. You'd think that they'd pull out knives or something, as outmatched as they are in hand to combat like this.
The other two combatants might take note of the same realization. Cody will note that these guys aren't quite the same pushovers as the Metro Thugs he once trashed, but for all their finesse they simply lack his stopping power. More soldiers fall to Cody and Antoine's efforts, laying still and moaning in the muddy deluge that washes past them.
Suddenly, there's a spoken order - not yelled out loud, but a quiet buzz from many earpieces at once.
Suddenly, all of the soldiers drop to the ground as they were instructed before they touched down on land. Arms grab at legs from every direction, like a horde of muddy zombies trying to secure their prey for the greater horde. Grips are hard to come by between sweat, rainwater and mud, but numbers may manage to offset the disadvantage.
Three loud shots ring out.
...And then they immediately ring out again, and again. Normally it would only take one, but these guys? They're not taking chances.
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Snow Leopard Commandos' Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|
Cody is, at least, taken aback when all of his foes suddenly throw themselves to the ground. Are they... giving up? Naw, they couldn't be, maybe they're-
The blonde suddenly rocks backwards as the first rifle round slams into his chest and flattens, windmilling his arms frantically as he comes close to toppling. He might have, were it not for the swarms of men clinging to his legs. For a moment, it looks like it might have worked.
There was a time, long ago, when Cody Travers was felled by a sniper rifle; it was a headshot, delivered at the end of a grueling battle against Mike Bison, by an antimateriel rifle; a .50 caliber gun designed for shooting vehicles, not people.
These guns are not designed to shoot vehicles.
Cody suddenly straightens up with a whuff of irritation and plucks the flattened bullet off of his chest, investigating it briefly before tossing it aside. "Gay," he scowls, turning to survey the direction the bullet came from.
The second round comes, and this time, Cody doesn't even flinch; the bullet flattens against his bare flesh, and although it leaves a bright purple bruise in its wake, he doesn't seem to really... notice. Indeed, even as more rounds come, Cody shifts his grip on the knife still in his right hand, and carefully lines up a shot in the direction he's taking fire from.
He shifts into a ready-to-throw position, narrows his eyes, and waits until the next rifle round before he actually throws, the knife lancing off into the distance like... well, like a bullet, Towards the undoubtedly very disbelieving sniper.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Antoine with Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/=======|
The orders that are barked. They are like another language to him. Even if he understands the language, the fact that military talk is a league of its own, it doesn't help matters. As such, Antoine is looking towards the soldiers as they many collapse through the muddle deluge. What brings things to a disadvantage is the sheer -numbers- of them as they are reaching for the legs, grabbing and keeping him from moving.
Antoine struggles to get away from the hold of the muddle, zombie-like soldiers. "Damn!" And then... the rounds are fired from the rifles. Both eyes widen as the bullets pierce him. "AGH!" Antoine's skin peels off from the impact of one of the bulles, "...Damnit...." He growls, then he starts to steel his body.
His foot stomps to the ground, manifesting the technique as he keeps pressing the foot out. Foot stomp out towards the backs of each soldiers, the movement is in the same style of a form, or a kata. While the hands shoot out, the important thing is the purposeful stomps that plant towards the soldier's head.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Hayato with Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
There's a soft thump as a bullet slams into Hayato's shoulder, twisting his body about. But with all the red clothing he's already wearing, it's hard to tell just how much damage it actually did. Apparently not too much, as just a few moments later he spins about to face the soldiers once more. And he's still grinning. Well, until he notices the guys grabbing at his legs. Then he looks down with a frown.
Hayato slams his fists together and there's a flare of orange energy before he starts flinging punches at the clinging soldiers. Lefts and rights thrown wildly and thrown until there's either no longer nobody near Hayato, nobody near him is moving, or they manage to force him to stop somehow.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Hayato's Manly Punch.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Cody's Knife Throw.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Antoine's Immovable Mountain.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
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Cody 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
Metal on metal. An anguished cry, swiftly turning into a gurgle. A body falls the overhang above the turret that Hayato emerged from. ...Sneaky bastards. Antoine and Hayato seem more concerned with subdueing their captors, but as luck would have it...none of them seem to want to have anything more to do with the three anymore. They don't need another order. Their part to play here is done; every body that is able scrambles to their feet and moves to withdraw, some slipping and tripping, others only crawling if their body will still allow it. A few noble souls hoist who they can between their shoulders. All of them make for their armored transports, but an unlucky half-dozen are left behind.
Even if the sniper fire failed to take out the targets, it did succeed at providing the ground troops the distraction they needed to begin escaping. They've enabled what damage they could. Now it's up to...
A whirring can be heard in the background as smoothbore cannons are levelled into position. Loud cracks rivalling the thunder itself begin counting off with shells designed to punch through plated armor. The tanks are taking their shots while they have the advantage of distance. Spotlights remain trained on the three fighters, shifting slightly now, suggesting that they plan to do more than just observed if they're allowed to finish orienting.
There are many threats. The question is, which will be the greater?
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Snow Leopard Commandos' ZPT98 125mm Shells.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
"WHERE YOU GOIN', BITCHES?!" Cody calls after the fleeing soldiers, his little countersniping endeavor suddenly dwarfed in importance by the fact that his entertainment is fleeing. "BUNCHA CHINESE PUSSIES IS WHAT YOU FUCKS ARE! YOU LITTLE PRICKS, COME BACK HERE! I'M GONNA-"
And then Cody is hit by a tank round.
The shockwave borne of the impact sends dust and debris rippling outwards from the blonde, but it doesn't knock him prone; indeed, all it does is force him to take one staggering sideways step. He lingers there, leaned slightly sideways, as the crumpled shell slides off of him and falls heavily to the ground.
"Ohhh," he says quietly to himself as he straightens up, and if he'd only just now realized what was going on. "Iii get it!"
"Those guys were the /warmup!/"
Actually smiling to himself, Cody turns and begins ambling towards the distant tanks. He even hums a little ditty for a few steps. "Man," he calls happily, "You guys know just how to cheer me up! This is just... I mean, it's really awesome. I feel great! I feel... ... feel..."
Cody's steps suddenly falter, and he drops heavily to both knees and then slumps forwards face-first into the ground. He attempts to prop himself up, but fails, managing to only claw his fingers through the dirt and let out a deep, rumbling noise, halfway between a growl and a groan.
Sweat pours off of Cody's bare back in thick streams - should he be sweating that much? He probably shouldn't be sweating that much - and his breathing accelerates into hyperventilation after only a few seconds of kneeling there, obviously dazed. After a few moments, he lets out another, much louder growl, balls his hand into a fist, and slams it into the ground, blasting the dirt into a puckering crater.
Oh dear.
COMBATSYS: Cody gains composure.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Antoine just-defends Snow Leopard Commandos' ZPT98 125mm Shells!
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-==============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/-======|
Things are bad and they sure will become worse. Antoine had found himself dealing with the soldiers fleeing as he kept stomping their way. is eyes are shifting over in the midst fo the destruction while he notes the incoming crowd. "Damn. ...Time up the ante." He tightens his fist, then he springs towards the group of soldiers that are still surrounding the area. In fact, he is moving over towards the tank itself.
As the shell is launched from the cannon, the explosion of the shell moves towards Antoine. To combat against the offense that could be his death, Antoine finally brings both of his hands up and he slams the foot towards the ground. Chi is expelled as he hiss forth. "SHAAA!"
*KABOOOM!!!!*
Shrapnel hits everywhere... yet all away from Antoine. The young man swoops over towards the tank, gritting his teeth while he is moving through the crowd. While rushing towards the trajector of the tank, Antoine finally springs forward to launch himself off of the ground. One of the feet snap out to smash against the tank, then the other foot slams against the cannon's nose.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos successfully hit Hayato with ZPT98 125mm Shells.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|--------------=|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 1/-----==/=======|
An explosion blasts the ground immediately in front of Hayato, and whatever dirt and dust he might have shaken off his clothes up to this point is immediately replaced. Chunks of dirt and metal crash into his body, sending him staggering backward with a failed attempt to shield himself with one arm. But the end result of the attack seems to be mostly some superficial cuts and bruises. And he turns his attention back to the soldiers, who are... running away. Hmm.
Or at least temporarily retreating. But that works just fine for Hayato's purposes. And if they take the transports they'll be out of here all the quicker. So no need to go hunting them down. Tanks, on the other hand... Hayato rushes forward, leaping toward one of the tanks. Tank armor is thick, but there are places where it's thinner. And hatches have to have joints. The commander and gunner have surely ducked inside upon Hayato getting so close, but that's little concern. He'll simply try to rip the hatch off the gunner's compartment, leaving him free to stamp downward into the fellow's face.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Sundering Heaven.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------------==|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Strong Kick.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|---------======|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 1/-----==/=======|
No amount of briefing will prepare a tank operator for the experience of having a person rush a tank head on. Or for that matter, engaging in the act of *peeling off armored plates*. This combined with the sight of Antoine rocket jumping over a tank shell is enough to give even these steely soldiers reason to sweat just a bit more inside of these armored battle titans.
One of the tanks rocks on its treads as Antoine delivers his first kick. The second gives off a solid, echoing *CWUNK* as the side of the barrel is dented inward. Through the barrel, he's rewarded with Chinese cursing from the gunnery assistant who was manually loading another shell at the time.
Antoine's assault is audibly overshadowed by Hayato's own assault, a horrible groaning of metal assaulting the ears of those gathered as he peels away at armored plating with his *bare hands*. Once the lid is peeled off the sardine can as it were, Hayato comes face to face with a more than slightly concerned gunner who immediately proceeds to cover his head with one arm (which under Hayato's assault, is going to have more than a few broken bones) while moving a hand to his earpiece with the other. The words have even less meaning for Hayato than they do Antoine, but they sound angered than pained.
The tanks can't fire at each other. They could take a shot at the seemingly downed Cody, but that does nothing to immediately cease the costly and operation threatening assaults of the tank hunters. Nothing the helicopters have to offer can assault Nirvana's Defenders without also endangering the tanks and their operators.
Checkmate?
Three more shots pierce the night, a familiar sound, but certainly not a familiar *sensation*. Human rights violations? Only if someone lives to tell about it...
All is fair in war, you see.
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Snow Leopard Commandos' Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 1/-----==/=======|
It is easy to aim at someone who is collapsed, even if they are sort of pounding the ground with growing fury.
The rifle round strikes Cody right in the neck, blasting off several layers of skin and a small chunk of flesh. Immediately, blood begins to pour from the wound, a thick stream that runs down his arm and chest.
The sudden spray of gore is much less startling than the fact that Cody's blood is currently luminescent, neon green.
It takes Cody a few beats for the blow to register... and when it does he throws his head back and roars, a terrible, bestial noise that echoes through the environs. When he lowers his head and opens his eyes, they are solid, glowing green, the same color as the blood still flowing freely from him.
Muscles swollen and pale, Cody rises to his feet, takes a deep breath, and then sprints across the distance between him and the closest (whole) tank, occasionally shooting a glance in the direction of the latest man to shoot him. It takes the blonde only a few seconds to reach the armored vehicle and leap on top of it, reaching down to grab the barrel of the main gun without so much as a second thought.
Cody's fingers dig into the metal of the gunbarrel, and for several seconds he strains against the thing sa he pulls upwards on it. Eventually, he starts screaming again... and that, it seems, gives him the force he needs.
To straight-up tear the tank's entire turret off.
Cody lifts the turrett above his head, hops into the air, and smashes it back down on the main body of the tank like an enormous club. He repeats the process a few times, and then turns and flings the turret off into the distance. It's sort of towards the sniper who shot him, but mostly it's just... into something.
He keeps roaring the entire time.
COMBATSYS: Antoine endures Snow Leopard Commandos' Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|---============|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 1/---====/=======|
Damn... Antoine is in a bad situation here. The military here are relentless. Antoine, however, will not relent either. That is why he has to focus on the current tanks. While he hears the Chinese swearing, Antoine replies with his own bit of Chinese that he had learned.
However, the young man notices that Hayato makes an assault towards the next tank. Bare hands! That is impressive! Antoine is gritting his teeth as the helicoper releases more fire. Antoine hisses forth, then he tightens his stance. "Da---hgg!" As the bullets pierce the body, he clutches his arms while blood contiues to drip. He grits his teeth, his breathing becoming heavier as he can feel his strength leaving.
Tightening his stance, Antoine is soon springing over towards the tank and -off- of it. While Cody decided to deal with one of the snipers, Antoine is moving towards the helicopter. As he soars towards the chopper, his body is crackling with the surge of lighting as it trinkles along his form. With discharge of lightning manifesting along his body, he brings his right hand back. The wind around him becomes rougher, yet the force of chi rockets him towards the helicopter like a bullet. As the lightning storm draws around him, his fist is winding back as he feels the surging lightning tingle along his hand.
"...SHHHH----"
He brings his right palm outward, aiming to impact against the helicopter when he gets to a good distance, "HHHOUUUUU!!!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Snow Leopard Commandos' Inf. M06 Sniper Rifle.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|---============|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
Although he's somewhat busy stamping on someone's face, Hayato notices the glint of light off the sniper's sight as one of them takes aim on him. That's not good. On the other hand, he's got all this nice armor sitting around. It might not be enough to stop /him/, but it should probably be able to stop a bullet. The teacher drops into the hatch just a moment before the clang of the bullet striking off the tank's armor plating.
For a few moments there are shouts from inside, and the tank shakes a bit.
Then things are quiet. Until the tank begins to swing around until it ends up facing the spot the snipers have been firing from. Hayato's military experience pays off! His aim is purposefully a little bit off, though. He doesn't actually want to /kill/ these guys. But continuing to deal with these potshots, or running into a hail of bullets to deal with them both seem like bad ideas. Time to encourage them to fall back. And then the tank fires.
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Random Weapon!.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos blocks Antoine's Perfect Storm.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ ||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Snow Leopard Commandos with Huge Thrown Object.
SNOW LEOPARD COMMANDOS
[ ||||||||||||| ]
1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
Once upon a time, there were three tanks.
Their task was simple; provide supporting fire to a squad of highly trained elite commandos in the event that they couldn't suppress the threat by themselves. A few fighters versus a three hundred strong unit, combined between ground troopers and vehicle operators. Easy enough for professionals, right? Except...the missile flush out couldn't do it, the ground troops couldn't do it, the snipers couldn't do it, and hell, the choppers and tanks couldn't properly run supporting fire without cutting their troops down mercilessly. China may conceal a great deal of ruthlessness under the table, but only what they can get away with...and brothers in arms slaughtering each other wholesale isn't something they've cooked up the mind control rays for yet.
Tank One. Status: Incapacitated. With a bent barrel, its role here is almost entirely diminished.
Tank Two. Status: Appropriated. The Mainland is *not* going to like this.
Tank Three. Status...
In the most awe-inspiring display on the battlefield tonight, one Cody Travers more than just decapitates a tank. HE RIPS ITS HEAD OFF WITH HIS BARE HANDS. Malleting the tank with its own turret repeatedly, alarmed cries are heard from within as metal plating crunches inward once, twice...the disturbing frequency of the successions is making it hard to keep track of really. For the occupants of the vehicle, it's a waking nightmare of the likes they could have never conceived of without the help of Metro's Finest. It's to their great fortune that Cody seems to lose interest in smashing them to a pulp with that particular implement and tosses it to the sky. Inside, one trooper has a concussion, another has a broken ribcage that is currently being supported by a slab of battered metal embedded in his body, and the driver...erm. He doesn't have much wiggle room, but he got off better than the others, and he makes damn good use of this fortune. Ash-peppered mud sprays through the air as it flounders for a desparate 180-degree turn, settles for a 90 in the end, and abandons all national pride to the wind as it just hauls ass outta there.
The turret doesn't hit a sniper. Sadface. Luckily, Hayato is right on that. Having appropriated *a freaking tank*, one that seems to be sporting some of the most advanced electronic sensor packages to have ever been crammed in mobile armor, he's got everything he needs to rain (debris) on the parade of the snipers. A ruined building or two has another chunk knocked out of them courtesy of Hayato's "mercy". The top of a jungle gym is blown off, and the sniper it was housing heeds this polite warning to get the hell out of there.
Antoine? He's gone straight from hobbling a tank to blasting off after a circling helicopter. Like frickin' superman. His fist collides with a helicopter, *caving in one side completely*, but miraculously leaving the rotor blade housing intact enough to continue operating. This does not prevent the vehicle from careening dangerously with the force of the impact, and were it not for the occupant being the best of the best by virtue of *being* here, there is no way he could have not only recovered control of the vehicle but also prevented a mid-air collision with a smoking scrapheap that used to be another helicopter.
Wait a minute. What happened to *that* helicopter? Considering the fact that WZ-10 helicopters generally do not come from the factory with ZPT98 125mm rotating turrets installed in their starboard, it doesn't take much imagination there.
The rest of the squad has decided that further presence on this battlefield is suicide with no victory. The one intact helicopter, along with the its erraticly tilting (courtesy of Antoine) cousin make one last pass on the area with missile strikes before cutting their floodlights.
...And getting out of there before Travers finds something ELSE to accidentally hit a helicopter with.
COMBATSYS: Snow Leopard Commandos can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Cody Toughs Out Snow Leopard Commandos' WZ-10 HJ-8H ATGM Launcher EX!!
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
As the tank speeds away from him, Cody roars after it; he's too out of it at the moment to actually taunt it, so he settles for screaming. He's not screaming for long, however, because the remaining helicopter starts spraying missiles like a motherfucker. The barrage washes over Cody, consuming him entirely in flame...
... and, when the worst of the explosions have cleared, the blonde is still just... standing there, in the flames, totally undeterred, as if the missile strike were just a light drizzle.
Still standing in a field of flames, Cody sucks in breath after deep, gulping breath, and turns his head left and right to survey the battlefield
Not... that it's much of a battlefield, anymore. The enemy, it seems, are in full retreat; Cody can't find even one soldier still willing to face hi-
Oh, there's one.
Unnervingly calmly after his previous displays of rage, Cody strides out of the field of flame. Even more unnerving: as he leaves the fire, the tongues of flame follow him, stretching after him until they're fanned out behind him kind of like a cape. For a moment, the very tips of the fire even seem to burn green...
... but after only a few steps, the fire suddenly snaps back to normal. It must have just been a trick of the eyes.
Probably.
Amidst all the flame-related excitement, it's almost easy to miss the fact that Cody is walking straight towards Antoine.
COMBATSYS: Cody gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Snow Leopard Commandos' WZ-10 HJ-8H ATGM Launcher EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/---====|
Tear the plane apart? Hell yeah.
Unfortunately, Antoine did not get as much mileage as he was hoping for out of the ordeal. While he did make a nice dent to it, it was all but destroyed. The descension from there leaves the young fighter to land on one knee. "Tsch." He lifts his head up, gazing over at the plane, "Well then." He blinks when the helicopter starts releasing the turrets in its erratic movement. Wait, two of them. One of them is still good.
Antoine immediately runs away from the incoming blast from the missile, seeking to leap out and take cover from the impact of the missile. Unfortunately, the explosion releases shrapnel to pierce against the skin, "Eggh!" He grits his teeth, blood running along his sides now.
This time, he reaches over towards one of the destroyed tanks and he takes a nice object that looks like it would make a nice javelin.
Antoine, needless to say, is taking careful aim towards the helicopters. He starts to run off before throwing the large object towards the helicopters. "I had enough of this!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Snow Leopard Commandos' WZ-10 HJ-8H ATGM Launcher EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/---====|
Okay, now the down side of being in a tank. You make a rather large target. When the helicopter comes zooming back toward them, Hayato has his head poking out of the hatch and realizes that there's going to be a problem. And, sure, he did beat up all those guys inside the tank, but he doesn't want them to get blown up! He quickly ducks back down and scrambles over an unconcious guy, jamming the tank into reverse. The treads rev up and the vehicle rolls backwards, out of the line of explosions. Man, hopefully there wasn't anybody down there in the mud.
Then Hayato climbs back up the hatch, peering out to survey the situation. Well, looks like the soldiers are retreating. Man... that means Hayato doesn't have anybody else to shoot with his tank. It was fun, and he's still pumped up. But oh, hey, there's somebody walking out of the flames and stalking toward Antoine. It's either a Terminator or Cody. He sure looks intent on something. "Hey you guys, we'd better get out of here. There's probably more where those guys came from."
COMBATSYS: Hayato's Burning Spirit keeps him going!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Antoine 0/-------/---====|
Cody doesn't respond to Hayato; he doesn't even seem to hear him, despite the fact that he is sitting in a God damn tank. His gaze stays fixed on Antoine as he walks ever closer to him, eyes still glowing bright green, green blood streaming down his chest. He walks right up to the man...
...
... and then past him, continuing on towards the now half-collapsed subway entrance he was sleeping in earlier.
Whew. That was a little scary there, for a second. Why, the way Cody is now, he seems to ooze menace; there's no telling what he might get up to, in this state. But at least for now he's just going back to where he was sleeping, digging a massive chain out of the rubble, and pulling on... ...
... ah.
Cody rips his enormous sword out of the subway tunnel and then turns back towards Antoine, dragging the huge weapon after him. This time, he /doesn't/ advance all the way to the man...
... because he doesn't have to. He takes a few steps, and then grips the chain he's holding with both hands and swings it up overhead, arcing the enormous blade over his head to smash down at the man who is, theoretically, his ally.
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Antoine with Epic Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
[ <
Antoine 1/---====/=======|
There is a pant. Antoine had did what he could to have the enemies flee so that they can live. That was a strange one. While panting, Antoine looks over towards Hayato, nodding towardshim, "....Probably a good idea..." And of course, Cody is glanced over with a wary glance. The man did fight like a madman. And.... as he walks over to him, the young man actually tenses, anticipating what is coming his way.
He relaxes when the man moves past him, turning over towards the entrance of the subway, or... at least to find another route within.
His expression, however, is filled with surprise as Cody swings the huge weapon towards him. Antoine prepares to take a large leap into the air, but....
That enormous sword smacks against him; one can hear bits of the bones crack as his head turns to the side with a messy look. His body is spinning in the air before he lands on the ground with a harsh thud. ....And it doesn't look like that he's getting up.
COMBATSYS: Antoine takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Antoine can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
Ah, crap. As if the soldiers weren't bad enough! Looks like Cody is going to have to be pacified before he does something that everybody is likely to regret. Hayato briefly glances down at the tank, then shakes his head. It's not going to be much use against Cody, now is it? The teacher heaves himself out of the hatch, leaps down and hits the ground running. Can't really take it easy; Cody could take another swing at Antoine. And just one seemed to damage him rather badly.
As he draws closer, Hayato leaps toward Cody, whipping out his shinai as he does so. Not so much use against a tank, but it hurts people remarkably well. He holds it over his head as he leaps with a twist, turning into a blazing, spinning blur that threatens to crash head-on into Cody's torso and keep right on going as far as it can.
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hayato's Burning Windmill.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
One down.
Having thoroughly crushed Antoine, Cody calmly reels the sword back in by tugging on the chain, looping the metal links around his arm again. On the bright side, it seems the blonde's interest in Antoine has ended immediately, presumably because the kid isn't getting back up. It's no fun if they just lie there, after all!
As Hayato charges in, Cody - again, calmly - turns to face him... and then lets out a strangled roar as the spinning teacher crashes into his chest. Although the American doesn't double over or go flying, Windmill Hayato forces the drugged-up man backwards despite the fact that his feet are firmly planted, and they drag thin furrows in the dirt as he's pushed.
When the propulsion finally stops, Cody finally takes one uncertain, staggering step backwards. He looks dazed for a moment... and then snarls and roars again.
Now he's mad.
Still roaring, Cody springs backwards a good ten feet, and then jumps again, this time straight upwards. Rather than arc the enormous sword he is still... not so much carrying as dragging behind him... over his head again, he draws it in and then throws it like a ridiculously large spear (or... well, knife), lancing it down towards Hayato at an angle.
Hit or miss, about seven feet of it end up buried in the dirt.
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Cody's Random Weapon!.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
The wind up for the blade being launched is long enough for Hayato to get a pretty good idea of what's coming. He steps quickly to the side, moving just enough to avoid being impaled as the weapon flies by and buries itself in the dirt. The wind from the passage causes Hayato's jacket to flutter behind him. And then, of course, there's still Cody in the process of descending. Hayato grins as the target starts coming into range.
Hayato leaps up to meet Cody, dragging him right back up into the air. He attempts to flip Cody around, getting a good grip, and positioning the fugitive for a head first impact with the ground. The spin that Hayato imparts to the fall just adds that little extra oomph to the meeting of Cody's face and the ground.
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hayato's Kaiten Shinai Otoshi.
[ \\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
Cody's ridicunormously huge sword ends up buried half in the ground, and when Cody wrenches on the chain as Hayato leaps up towards him, the thing doesn't even budge. The Burning Phys-Ed Teacher wraps the distracted Cody up in his manly embrace (but not in like a gay way or anything let's not get weird) and drives him right into the ground head-first, and, as per usual, Cody doesn't seem worried; indeed, even as the two are falling, he's reaching up towards Hayato's face.
That changes on impact. Unlike... well, everything previously done to him, striking the ground makes Cody suddenly crumple, falling limply out of Hayato's grasp into a pile on the ground. If one had to guess why, it is probably because of the fact that he was shot in the God damn jugular, and a ridiculous amount of his blood is currently coating his arm, shoulder, and chest.
Not that that is, necessarily, enough to stop him. After a moment of lying still, Cody begins struggling weakly to his feet, lifting himself up onto all fours...
COMBATSYS: Cody takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hayato 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Cody can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hayato 0/-------/----===|
He can't make it any farther than that. His entire body convulses before he can rise to his knees, and he collapses again. Slowly, green blood begins to pool underneath him... and, eventually, the green is joined by red, as the blonde's body returns to normal.
So, Antoine appears to be injured, and Cod, after Hayato inspects him briefly, appears like he could be bleeding to death. Sure, Cody may be acting crazy, but Hayato can't say he hasn't felt similarly, especially here in Taizhou. In fact, it takes him a moment to fight down the urge to continue trying to kick Cody's face in. (Maybe he got in one or two kicks before he managed to calm down, but hey there's no witnesses left.)
The teacher tries to staunch the bleeding, at least. And then... well, probably best to get Antoine and Cody out of this particular area before any military reinforcements come back. Carrying two injured people could be kind of rough. Conveniently, Hayato's got a tank idling right over there. He just needs to toss a few unconcious guys out of it. He'll even be so kind as to strap Cody's giant sword to it. Though if Cody wakes up inside the tank and tries to start breaking things, Hayato's going to have to administer a sedative. With his fists.
COMBATSYS: Hayato has ended the fight here.
Log created on 17:29:16 06/19/2010 by Hayato, and last modified on 01:05:26 06/23/2010.