SNF 2010.10 - Sink My Battleship - Faolan vs Mary vs Shiden

Description: Shiden, Mary, and Faolan, all on rafts, have to fight each other, and the sea. The thing is... Shiden and Faolan -really- don't like Mary... (Winner: Shiden)



The skies are clear, the ocean, blue as it is, is anything but a mirror. The seas are choppy today, and the leading directors at SNF have had this to say -

"PERFECT!"

On a boat, Mary finds herself. The water around her is bothersome to her overly dressed nature, the somewhat extravagent dress of a southern belle somewhat dimished today. The dress still is there, but the massive lower half has been changed for something less rock like when introduced to water, the dingle layer that goes down to her lower leg with a slight lacy trim - but she's somewhat older than the teenage crowd, so it isn't risque.

More importantly, the small boat she rides begins to reach the destination - three rafts, loosely tied together and perhaps slightly anchored into place. Just large enough to support two fighters, and just small enough to prevent a third, the triple rafts are buffeted by the choppy seas. If anyone is sea-sick, or really has a water phobia, then Saturday Night Fight went overboard!

Parasol over her shoulder, Mary leaps into the first raft, it shifting with her weight. The camera crew on at least one other boat begins to set up - it shouldn't be long before every single boat is filled... and from there on, magic happens!

"Now isn't this an interestin' setup." Mary notes to herself, glancing about, rocking back and forth due more to the boat's movement than her own intentions.

COMBATSYS: Mary has started a fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-------|


Faolan is starting to wonder if the people that set up SNF just really like putting him in conditions like this or if Heidern is requesting they do so to better his training. First a sandstorm, then the middle of an artillery firing range and now out in the middle of the ocean on a raft that looks like it could fall apart at any moment. "A small matter I guess." the mercenary mumbles to himself as he tugs down some on his cap and he does his best to maintain his balance and not get seasick in the process. He would just like to fight one match on dry land where some weirdness isn't going on. It is bound to happen one day he hopes.

He waits patiently for the other two to get set up and heglances upwards and looks to the left and then right. He seems to concentrate more on Shiden than Mary at this point. That guy looks like he might be a bit of a problem from the looks of it. Of course he is going to have to keep an eye on the girl too he supposes. He tsks lightly as he idly taps one end of his bata on the raft while pondering. "Guess the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get back to dry land, aye?"

COMBATSYS: Faolan has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Faolan           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Mary


Shiden eyes the water dubiously. It -is- getting cold. God. He keeps having to go into these SNFs in conditions where wearing his usual attire just won't do--so he's got on some brown 'homespun' pants, a white cotton button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, suspenders, loafers, and fingerless glack leather gloves. Gives him a distinctly 1920s look, really, combined with the thin 'stache and beard he's cultivating at the moment.

His own Zodiac pulls up to his raft, and Shiden gives it another look, before gripping the polished, stainless-steel rail and vaults over onto his raft. Landing on the raft, he notes how the thick, inflated-rubber flooring bends under his weight. For sure it won't hold three. And then his gaze curls over Faolan and Mary in turn. Hnh. He'd known that SNF was strange.. guess he'll just have to deal with it.

Shiden tilts his head left, then right, popping the vertebrae, then tugs his gloves on... and raises his hands to a fighting pose. That is his clear sign to say "I'm ready."

The last arrives with Shiden, Faolan already happening to be present. It's quite the interesting cast of characters she thinks - and that's simply what makes it so irresistable! "Oh, but they went to such trouble ta' set it up for us! Ya'll should just try to enjoy it!" The grin from the unusually pale woman spreads.

Gazing over at the mercenary, and then towards the assassin, Mary finds a sense of enjoyment in the chaos of all of it, even if she hasn't been informed just who they were, or what they stand for. Urien wouldn't care either way. it's not even her duty as part of the G-project to bother with SNF, but she can't help but be drawn like a moth to it.

"Well then if both of ya'll are ready... ladies first!"

Kicking off the raft she was on, Mary twists the parasol about in the air, landing just before Faolan, swinging the tool low to grasp a leg with the handle - to yank his foot out from under him, followed by slamming a heeled foot onto his chest. After all, she shouldn't be expected to have to deal with these conditions!

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-------|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Mary successfully hits Faolan with Steppin Time.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-------|


Well someone surely is bright and cheery about all of this. The Ikari is sure he will start to enjoy things a bit more once the punch and the like begins. He will just have to remember to keep his footing because he rather not go for a swim right now. He tries to keep his gaze on both fighters at the moment, but it shifts more to Mary when it looks like she decides to start things off. When she leaps he brings his bata up with the expectations for her coming in at a high attack. He seems to misjudge because he soon finds his leg hooked and the plan to keep his footing is thrown off already since he lands on the raft with the woman landing on top of him.

"Gnnk, not bad." He grumps while still laying down. He then starts to move to get back up, but he then quickly brings his bata around to slam into the knees of Mary before he launches himself upwards to headbutt her right in the chin and to knock her off the raft. "You are right. I guess it is time to enjoy myself." he says with a bit of laughter. He is just going to have to try and ignore that this damn raft might sink at any moment.

It's fine with him, if those two want to mix it up. Shiden's gonna take the time to watch 'em both. Information is the way to win a war, after all, and the more he has on these two, the better. He'll have to take action eventually--hell, he -is- a fighter--but for this moment, he can watch and wait. His expression is pleasantly blank--it gives away nothing--except his eyes, which narrow in a predatory fashion.

He wonders if it's prudent to hope that Faolan manages to knock the woman into the deep, cold sea--or how long she'd stay there--as he shuffles about, getting a feel for the way the sea rocks the rafts. He doesn't just want information on the fighters, but he wants to know how to handle himself on these rafts as well... knowing how they'll fight is nothing without knowing what he'll be able to do, as well.

COMBATSYS: Shiden focuses on his next action.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Mary blocks Faolan's Sheehan Special.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/------=|


A sharp, but quick, laugh is emitted by Mary as the man falls over, residing underfoot. Not bad, he says? Well, that's certainly something nice to say about it! "Oh, I'd hope little ol' me wouldn't disappoint." But he's not planning on staying as her doormat!

Mary finds herself with a bata swung towards her knees, which is actually quite the stinger. She staggers backwards but doesn't end up taking the full force of the headbutt, the metal pole of the parasol dented by the headblow - he might have not even felt it!

Now that'd be something!

Coming to the end of the raft, Mary leaps across, over to the other raft, coming face to face with Shiden - busy with his eyes wide open! "It'll do no good for ya'll to just stay on the sides, darlin'!" She so cheerily exclaims, her wrist flicking outwards as the 'handle' of the chain erupts off, swinging off towards Shiden's arm, aiming to hook around it and yank him across the rest of the raft.

It's just not /fun/ to hold back and wait for things to happen!

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|------=
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Shiden negates Snap Lash from Mary with Tiger's Shout.
Glancing Hit

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|------=
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|


It is times like this that Faolan has a hard head. Getting beat about it by the various other Ikari sort of helped with that. He feels his head hitting metal instead of a person, but it at least isn't going to slow him down. It does make him have to take a moment to shakes his head and clear out the cobwebs though. "Hey ge...." he raises a brow as he watches Mary go jumping away again and this time towards the other opponent which makes him watch just to see what he might do in response. Hopefully he can handle the initial attack than Faolan did.

The mercenary jumps a bit lightly on the raft just to see how it handles it then he hmms lightly and decides to kepe his ground for now. Mary is certainly the more energetic one here, but much like Shiden it doesn't hurt to observe sometimes. He is at least getting a general idea of what Mary can do, but he hasn't been able to see what Shiden is capable of. He looks ready in case one does jump this way at least.

COMBATSYS: Faolan focuses on his next action.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|------=
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|


"Oh, don't worry, 'darlin'," Shiden replies, his voice calm even though it's loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the sea and the boats. "I'm just getting settled in, is all..." Then she leaps, and attacks as she's leaping. His lips curve upwards, and power races up his arm, flaring into being at the end of his right hand; he thrusts it forward, a hissing, orange-red projectile of his own life-energies flashing outwards, throwing the parasol handle off to the side.

Not the -best- result he could've hoped for, but good enough, as he watches Mary land; he leans back on his right foot, tilting his left up, otherwise leading with his left hand. Right now, ninety percent of his focus is on Mary, since she's right there in the raft with him; ten percent is left for Faolan. If he decides to 'come on over', then -one- of them is gonna have to book off quick, or it's just going to be one cold-ass dunking.

Just getting settled in? Well, Mary can't allow that! "It'd be far faster if ya'll just dived riiight in, y'know!" She claims, although the hissing projectile that comes towards the handle crashes against it, knocking the link of chain to the side, the heat sizzling against the chain up until it strikes the water, a bout of steam erupting from the combination.

"But I can't but think ... I'm forgetting someone." She grins, wide, as she twists around, the chain retracting as she tilts her head, that man, Faolan, didn't seem to wish to get involved, either! "Oh, these days ya'll have to do everything yourself!"

She rocks yet another boat as Mary kicks off, twisting the parasol around and pointing it towards Faolan from the edge she lands at.

"I'm sure a man like you might know what happens next." The parasol's top clicks - just as the front goes sailing right towards Faolan, spinning through the air to dig into his side.

COMBATSYS: Faolan blocks Mary's Quick Shot.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
                 [   ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|------=
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/---====|
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/------=|


Those few moments were helpful to help him at least get an idea what Shiden can do now. It still isn't alot, but it certainly is alot more than he knew just a few moments ago. he just nods and his attention shifts to Mary as she returns her attention back to him. "No worries. Forget about me all I want." he says with a bit of a chuckle as he uses his bata to block her attack for the post part. He onlys stumbles back a step from the impact due to how shakey the raft is.

He decides to leave her be for now and instead seems more intent on finally leaving his own raft as he leaps upwards and then forwards. He twirls his Bata about between his fingers before grasping it with both hands and bringing it downwards towards Shiden. "Figure I might as well say hello to you now too." he comments as his rather large body landing on the raft makes it almost sink then and there. It actually takes on a bit of water, but it is still afloat at least, right?

COMBATSYS: Faolan has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-------
                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|---====
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Faolan successfully hits Shiden with Medium Strike.

                 [     ||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|------=
                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|---====
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/------=|


Shiden staggers under the heavy blow from the bata, which catches him in the right shoulder; it drives his body nearly halfway down, forcing him to bend his knees to avoid taking heavier damage. That, however, is not enough to put him down; he rather grins, taking up his 'jovial fighter' personality. "What a way to say hello!" he remarks, as he straightens up.

"I don't recognize your fighting style, what is it?" he asks Faolan, as he very briefly considers his options, then pushes off the floor of his raft, leaping into the air--and falling towards Mary, from high up, aiming to land not on her but just in front of her--but with a crushing, downwards-falling elbow that would, in fact, duplicate Faolan's earlier efforts on Shiden.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|---====
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/------=|
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Shiden successfully hits Mary with Medium Punch.

                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|---====
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/-----==|
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/----===|


What goes around comes around, and as Shiden leaps over, landing right before her, the elbow striking against her, Mary certainly wasn't very pleased with the result - and yet it wasn't so bad. It simply wasn't /that/ bad. "Ahaha... Oooh!" Crashed to the ground, Mary glances up - it's spinning, somewhat. Not that it entirely bothers her.

More motion, in the ocean, is always good news.

"Quite a strike to ya!" She claims, as she staggers to her feet, shaking herself off. But she doesn't stay still, infact, seems interested in Faolan once more. "Sorry I can't stay darlin', I'm just not that kinda gal." And she proves it, kicking off towards Faolan, swinging the chain towards him the moment she makes contact. Her aim, to toss him upwards and send him spinning, letting him land hard against the floor - but more importantly, looseing the chain all about the raft.

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [      |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|---====
                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|----===
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Faolan interrupts Go Fly a Kite from Mary with Jig Kick.

                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-======
                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|--=====
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/-----==|


It looks like Faolan might just finally be getting sick of how this girl just keeps jumping back and forth. He is about to ask Shiden if he feels like he is up for a game of tennis if she keeps this up. For now he keeps silent as he watches Mary come right for him again. He seems more ready this time around when attempts to get him all tied up in her chain and send him flying. The chain hits the mark, but she finds it very difficult to be able to get him lifted up to toss about.

In fact he jumps upwards when tugged and uses his own momentum to to swing one leg upwards to kick forward and slam into Mary's knee while he brings his bata about to slam into the back of the knee of Mary's opposite leg. "Rince an Bhata Uisce Bheatha. A defensive fighting style." he finally replies to Shiden as he lands back down on the raft and takes a moment to regain his balance. "Old family tradition."

She certainly is bouncing around--and all the motion can't be good for the rafts. In fact, they're starting to twist slowly on that liquid surface, which means Shiden's field of vision is twisting slightly--but he has to look up, anyways, to see Faolan deliver that kick. "I see!" he replies, clearly quite impressed, or sounding like it, at least.

Hmm. Now this is a problem... he knows the rafts can't handle three people for longer than an instant, but being stuck over here... well, whatever. Shiden backs up all of two steps, then takes those two steps forward, pushes off, and leaps over into the other raft--aiming a super-neato flying kick for Faolan's jaw, leading with his rubber-soled right foot.

"I've trained with weapons but I'm best with my hands and feet, really."

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-----==
                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-======
                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|--=====


Perhaps, for once, she gets the message. As Mary moves in, Faolan does as well, a kick slamming against the knee of her leg - and another strike to the very back of it, causing her to lose her footing for that crucial moment - and she falls off, splashing into the water.

Cue Mary moving to the other raft, pulling herself up, and sitting on the edge. "It's very nice of you to share that," She gets out, taking her dress and beginning to wring it out, looking on at the two as they continue the heated combat between each other.

But she'll stay on this raft, it's much more cozier - like it was her home at one point! "It /is/ quite interestin'."

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-----==
                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-======
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/--=====|


COMBATSYS: Mary gains composure.

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-----==
                 [         ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-======
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Faolan Toughs Out Shiden's Aggressive Strike!!

                 [    |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-----==
                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           1|-------|=======
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/----===|


Well at least Mary is taken care of just for a few moments since she goes splashing into the water. He doesn't even get much time to admire his work since Shiden is coming right at him. His footing isn't at its best now and he doesn't think getting out of the way is much of an option. That is why he does best to keep his stance firm and he leans forward some and that foot slams right into His jaw. It makes the mercenary grunt a bit and his head is twisted to the side, but beyond that he is barely moved by that strike.

"Fists and feet work just as good sometime. It is all a manner of preference." he comments and rubs at his jaw for a moment before he quickly snaps his bata forward to hit Shiden in the chest in an attempt to knock him off balance. His bata then starts to crackle as black energy begins to snake around it. If he manages to get Shiden off balance he starts swinging the bata about quickly, aiming to hit him pretty much in every limb before finally giving one final thrust that aims to slam into Shiden's chest again and releases a powerful blast of energy. "Hah!"

COMBATSYS: Shiden blocks Faolan's Hair of the Dog EX.

                 [       ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|---====
                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-------
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/----===|


The Chinese/Japanese fighter senses that crackle of black energy just before it flashes across the bata; abandoning thoughts of a flashy defense, he simply puts his limbs in the way of the initial strike and the followups, turning his limbs, erinforcing them, so that the impacts are lessened, slipping them so that they're glancing blows. That final strike, though... he ducks underneath it, hiding the pain from his battered limbs, and shakes his head.

"Can't let her just stand around, now, can we?" he says to Faolan, rhetorically, coming up out of his ducking to leap towards the leftmost raft--his leap also carrying him forward into Mary's position, striking as he does so. Those hands of his are set in clawed formation now, and he sounds something very like a tiger's roar as he strikes--first with his left, then his right--slashing the air with orange-yellow-white trails of energy in a cross-pattern, centered on Mary's torso.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-------
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Shiden           0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0             Mary


COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-------
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/---====|
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Mary interrupts Pouncing Tiger Strike from Shiden with Singing in the Rain.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Faolan           0|-------|-------
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/=======|
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


"Oh /my/."

Mary stands in awe, having twisted out the last of that pesky water from her clothing, and the results of that strike from Shiden are apparent - Faolan is on a /spree/ of murder, violence, or pure adrenaline, she will not be sure of. But it certainly appeases her!

"Darlin'!" She fans herself, watching as he powers into the assault, bata crackling with such terrible energy, the strike surging forwards. Energy too! It's a treat for the eyes, and Mary stands up to clap for it - for applause is befitting.

But no strike is made, Shiden capable of deflecting the blows. Very, very impressive, but ultimately disappointing. She wanted to see its results. "Oh, don't worry about little ol' me!" She waves her hand - but really does hope he comes over. As he roars, coming closer, slashing the air - they tear into her, rending, and the pain she feels does not simply vanish, but hangs onto her.

But she had moved to meet him. "I have a lil' habit of makin' my own fun." She says, quietly, as she hooks the chain about Shiden's foot, above them, clouds spread. With a bit of a heft, she spins Shiden around, twisting him back and forth once in the air, before launching him upwards towards the cloud - which is laced with rather lovely acid like chi, which begins to rain down on his return, as well as rain down upon the raft Mary stands in.

As she recoils the chain, the pale face seems to glow brighter, a grin plastered across it. "Now ain't that fun, dear?"

All that extra effort put into his strikes and he couldn't even seem to break down Shiden's defenses. This guy is pretty damn good. A shame they are fighting under such conditions. He may have to track the man down for a fight without other people being involved and also a fight that would be on dry land. He is seriously getting a bit sick from all this bobbing about from being on the rafts. Not only that most of them have water in them now so his boots are getting all nice and wet. What a pain.

He is soon left on his own raft though and he watches Shiden sail over and get intercepted by Mary. He squints slightly and he starts to realize that girl might be more dangerous than he thought. Now he is just unsure who he should deal with in this case. Standing around isn't going to get anything done, though so he goes to leap forward again and towards the raft to land on it awkwardly. The poor thing is about to capsize right then and there with the extra weight and he goes to grasp Shiden by the back of his shirt and quickly toss him aside back towards one of the other rafts. "Let me have a go at this one again." he grumbles as he narrows his eyes at Mary.

COMBATSYS: Faolan has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/=======|
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-------|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Shiden blocks Faolan's Quick Throw.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/=======|
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-------|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


'Fun'. No, that ain't fun. But Shiden doesn't let Mary get to him--psychologically, at least. Not much he can do about the chain; he's flung up, and down, and then there's that big brute Faolan grabbing him byt he back of the neck and hurling him away. Fortunately, he's able to control his fall, turning it into a controlled, brief tumble which ends with him feet-first against the wall of the other raft.

"Gladly," he mutters, though Faolan now can't hear him, as Shiden pushes off, getting back to his feet, and taking a short breather. Hell, this has been quite the fight so far, he can't be mad. It's a chance to improve his skills, as formidable as they are. Shiden knows he's got a lot of ground to cover yet, in development of his power.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Shiden           0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0           Faolan
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Shiden gains composure.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Shiden           0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0           Faolan
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


As Shiden is tossed to the side, after being tossed to the side, Mary lets out a giggle, unbefitting to her age or her looks. "Darlin', you just had to ask to have a whack at me again! I ain't going to play hard to get!" The parasol's chain is slid back, handle held carefully as he moves over.

But now, it's a private loveboat.

The rain continues to fall, and Mary only seems to absorb it, her fatigue melting away as the rain bears down upon her, more and more covering her, her skin almost glowing a light white. "I'll have to make it worth your time!" She cheerily claims, leaping above, towards the cloud.

She won't make it straight up, but it will come down, lower than her at one point - and that's the point her eyes squint. There.

The parasol opens, spinning, as she dives down, the 'cloud cover' dissolving as she breaks it apart, charging through, and diving right towards Faolan, the tip top of the parasol now a rather sharp looking blade, having reset itself.

Shiden's strike still burns, though the water seems to mitigate the harsh assault - it cannot remove it entirely. The familiar pang of pain flows through her body, but it only drives her on.

COMBATSYS: Faolan blocks Mary's No Explanations.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Shiden           0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0           Faolan
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/---====|


Well Shiden was at least thrown out of the way. Of course now part of the problem is his back is to the other fighter at least at t he moment. More so he is fully distracted by Mary when she charges forward and he notices that sharp blade at the end of the parasol. He brings his bata up and he thrusts his arms forward to slow her momentum, but she still manages to get enough reach to where the tip of the blade sinks into the mercenary's skin. He grunts a bit, but at least he managed to keep it from hitting any vital parts.

He continues to push forward and hopes to knock Mary off balance as he goes to slam one end of the stick into the woman's stomach as he hefts upwards and he turns about to where he has her between himself and Shiden if all goes well. He takes a deep breath and that black energy starts to swirl around his bata once again and he gives Mary a wink. "Have a nice trip, lass."

Right. Enough lollygagging about. There's a bitch needs punishing. In this, Shiden and Faolan are of the same mind--so Shiden makes the jump again, crossing from his raft to that same raft again, hurling himself through the air, twisting towards Mary--an impromptu combination with Faolan, a spur of the moment thing.

As he twists, he brings his left foot around and down in an overhead kick--followed by his right heel, moments later, in a heavier axe kick, both blows aimed for one of Mary's shoulders. The thinking appears to be straightforward, really.

First of all, Mary represents the most danger to Shiden, right now... and it would be harder, much harder, to get past her to attack Faolan. He doesn't have anything witty to say--be kind of hard to get it out in a proper fashion anyways, what with flying through the ocean air and all.

COMBATSYS: Faolan successfully hits Mary with One for the Road.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           Faolan
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-======|


COMBATSYS: Mary dodges Shiden's Crashing the Bridge.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           Faolan
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-======|


COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             0/-------/-======|


The continued push against Mary comes, and the woman is unable to fend it off - the rain falls in its specific ways, and as the end of the stick is slammed into her stomach, she is launched - towards Faolan. She lets out a pained, and surprised, cry. Her escape attempt failed, as she crashes upwards out of her control.

A brilliant flare of pain is welcome to the alluring motion of the waves. She had not anticipated that.

But Faolan's strike manages to at least change a truth - Mary was between two seperate identities, a force between the fighters. Through the air, Mary could not control herself, and while she flies through the air, she is a perfect target to stomp upon.

She introduces the parasol as an edge, twisting it to deflect the foot whilst using the force behind the kick to twist about, landing on one of the other rafts - somewhat gasping. But she has no time to rest, now. "Hah..." It's ... more than a little tiring. "You two are quite the pair." But it's her turn to pay rapt attention to the two.

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|-======
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Mary focuses on her next action.

                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|-======
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/----===|


As much as he is trying not to show it Faolan is starting to feel the rigors of this fight quite a bit. He at least manages to get Mary off the raft and away from him momentarily so he can regroup. A shame that Shiden wasn't able to get a solid hit either on his way over. That girl is pretty damn slippery when she wants to be. Faolan eyes Shiden rather dubiously as they share the raft. "I don't know about you. We can keep fighting like this I suppose, but this girl is rubbing me the wrong way." It is almost as bad as that weird whip wielder he had to fight out in the desert.

He isn't sure what Shiden is going to do so Faolan keeps his defenses ready in case the man decides to change targets. All Faolan knows is he needs a moment to regroup and catch his breath even if it is for a moment. The worst part is after all of this he isn't even going to want to take a nice soak in a tub full of ice and water. He is about tired of water at the moment so maybe he will just bury himself in the comfort of heating pads after all of this nonsense.

COMBATSYS: Faolan gains composure.

                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|-======
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shiden           0/-------/--=====|
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|


Shiden smirks at Faolan. "I agree," he says, and with that, he turns and leaps after Mary again. Persistence is a common trait amongst Chongquan fighters--he isn't about to let her just prance around. Of course, just attacking her straight out hasn't been effective but...

That's another trait of Chongquan--when you meet a wall, you smash through it. It's rather similar to 'hard' styles like Kyokugenryuu karate in that sense. When Shiden leaps at Mary again, he simply looks to grab her by the front--an arm, or her clothing--and, with a plant of his heel and a twist of the body to redirect momentum, hurl her right back at Faolan.

"C'mon then, no running away!" he grunts, as he lands.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the top side.

                 [            |||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|--=====
                 [                |||||||||||||| ]
                 Mary             0|-------|-======
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Shiden successfully hits Mary with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
                 [                     ||||||||| ]
                 Mary             1|-------|=======
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|


In her fatigue, Mary isn't quite capable of ... continuing in the same way that she could before.

Hanging back, watching on, Mary attempts to hold back - to stay back. It is just a moment that she rests, but it isn't quite as long as she had wanted. Shiden grabs her by the arm, twisting her about with minimal trouble. As she tries to fight back, she slips, somewhat wet still, managing to put another counter into the wounds that she had gathered from the continued battle.

"Ya'll just have this thing-" She collapses on the other raft, almost face first, as she pulls herself up. "Ya'll .. just have such an attraction to me, don'tya?" She staggers to her feet, eyeing Faolan, twisting the handle in her grasp. "You're helping me feel so alive - I can't help but ... to give something back!" The whip twists out, spinning, attempting to grasp the man's leg and yank him upwards and over, back towards Shiden.

Despite the red that begins to mar her pale skin, it's perfectly fine to her.

COMBATSYS: Mary has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-----==|
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             1/-------/=======|


COMBATSYS: Mary successfully hits Faolan with Rebound Whip.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-======|
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             1/------=/=======|


Well that looks like things might go just dandy with this plan. Shiden sends Mary back towards Faolan and now the Ikari has had time to catch his breath. "Here we go." he says and as he steps forward he suddenly finds his ankle snared as as much as he tries to keep his balance he isn't successful this time. He gets taken off his feet and finds himself getting tossed upwards and towards the raft Shiden is on. He manages to twist about and land on the raft and pretty much launch himself forward off the raft once again.

He just barrels forward this time as he brings his bata up over head and he twirls about a full 360 as he aims to knock the girl right up side her head full force with the knobbed end of the stick. "Oh yeah, just loads of fun." he says in a rather dry sense of humor. "More of a soccer guy, but lets see how my baseball swing is!"

"Sorry," replies Shiden, "I don't date women who use whips. That's a strict rule." Cracking his neck, he figures... at this point, Faolan appears to be going all out on Mary, and from the looks of it, he wants this one bad. Real bad. Can't blame him--Mary's been positively dangerous, and that attitude of hers certainly invites retribution.

So he will let his fellow warrior try and take her out before making his own move on it. It's also something of a pragmatic issue, the Chinese warrior wanting to conserve strength for the later battle--either Mary goes down or, potentially, Faolan goes down in the next moment, though to his practiced eye, he's not sure Mary can pull that off, as painful as she's been.

COMBATSYS: Shiden focuses on his next action.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           0/-------/-======|
[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Mary             1/------=/=======|


COMBATSYS: Mary interrupts Fierce Strike from Faolan with Beg Your Pardon.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           1/------=/=======|
[                         \\\\\  <
Mary             1/-----==/=======|


"Haha... You're not the dearie I'm interested in," She remarks, looking to the rather strong military man. He's certainly /something/!

But it's as Shiden hangs back that Mary fights, tooth and nail, giving everything she still has - because it is when, at this edge, she feels complete. Nothing drives her on like it.

But Shiden is right. Something will happen. He's just wrong about the outcome.

Despite the strength of Faolan's swing, despite the movement of the man, barreling forwards, Mary charges as well, the woman opening the parasol, popping it open, just as the bata is supposed to knock her down, and out. The bladed edge barrels into the man's chest, knocking his strike to the side, charging into his own assault.

Mary's shoulders sag. She won't win - but she was never planning on such a thing. The sagging is fatigue, but her eyes are wide. Despite the fatigue, she is awake. Wide awake. "It could use... a bit of improvement."

He may be tired, but at least of all things Faolan is a very sturdy guy. Probably a good thing given the circumstances. He wasn't expecting for Mary to meet his mighty swing head on and then he lets out a pained grunt as he grits his deeth when he feels the blade sink into his chest. At least it seems not to have pierced anything important from what he can tell. Then again his whole body has slowly become more numb from all the fighting. He pushes off and he stumbles over the raft and into the water.

He is actually under for a few moments and finally the bata comes flying out of the water onto the raft no one is occupying. He manages to climb onto said raft soon afterwards while coughing a bit and he spits some water. "Damn women. Nothing but trouble." Or at least the ones he keeps running into for the most part. At least that Farah girl was all right. He gets to his feet and picks up his bata again as he tries to catch his breath and rethink his strategy for a few moments.

COMBATSYS: Faolan focuses on his next action.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Faolan           1/------=/=======|
[                         \\\\\  <
Mary             1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Faolan has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

                 [           ||||||||||||||||||| ]
                 Shiden           0|-------|-======
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Faolan           1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1             Mary


Shiden isn't feeling particularly nice towards Mary. And he did form a pact of sorts with Faolan... these things happen. it's only natural, in a free-for-all, that things will turn political, that alliances will be made and broken. So he feels little shame in going after Mary. She is, after all, an opponent, as much as Faolan is. So he leaps across again, landing on Mary's body.

"I know you're at the limits... I can see it." He taps his forehead, grinning faintly. "But I just can't go easy..." And he doubts she'd want that, either. Few fighters do, and he's glad to oblige, as he casually goes up on his left leg, cocking his right at the knee, and then lashing out with a heel aimed for Mary's forehead--a classic 'knockout' blow, intended to rattle her brain and drop her.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Faolan           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           Shiden
[                         \\\\\  <
Mary             1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Shiden successfully hits Mary with Light Kick.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Faolan           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           Shiden
[                           \\\  <
Mary             1/----===/=======|


The cherry tap, at such a speed, is too much for Mary - she tries to roll with it. She cannot - though she managed to get rid of Faolan, somehow. She staggers backwards, just as Shiden claims she's at her limits - and he's right. She barely stands - and the left leg is lifted, smashing against her forehead, giving her limited time conscious.

"But you /did/ go easy," She remarks, a dreamy smile on her face. Like a child getting tucked in, the blood oozing from her as she staggers.

She dashes forwards, the last of her energy, as she swings the parasol forwards. The downpour grows. It almost darkens the limited skies - and she seems intent, even if her wounds heavily hamper her.

COMBATSYS: Mary can no longer fight.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Faolan           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           Shiden


COMBATSYS: Shiden dodges Mary's Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Faolan           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           Shiden


As she dashes forwards, she is unable - collapsing forwards, on herself. "Ahhh. such a good time with ya'll , two strappin' young lads..."

She's removed from the rafts quickly after, though - it would simply not do to have dead weight on SNF!

Well at least Shiden managed to finally take that woman down. It took a whole lot more than he thought. rather embarassing it took two men to take her down when he thinks about it. With a light tsk he gives a nod. "I guess that means our truce is broken." And he doesn't hesitate to give Shiden much time to allow himself become undistracted from what Mary might be even doing as she falls. He is too tired to try and let this drag out even further. Instead he is just leaping upwards and forward over onto the other raft.

That black energy begins to manifest again and he takes a deep breath as he lands hard on the raft once again. He then starts to twirl his bata about as small motes of energy, seven total, form and then quickly dart towards Shiden. They begin to merge and turn into a rather large sphere that seems intent on rolling right over Shiden and giving him quite a large electric shock in the process.

COMBATSYS: Shiden blocks Faolan's Black Friday Rule.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Faolan           0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0           Shiden


Shiden watches Mary collapse even as he's sidestepping her rush. But there's little time to celebrate--with the elimination of Mary, Faolan has decided to, in the current parlance, 'bring it'. Really, if he hadn't, Shiden would've. It was a marriage of convienence, nothing more. Faolan is at least kind enough to say it before attacking; Shiden might not have, though he would've broken the truce in any case. "Guess it is," he says, sounding unconcerned.

On a raft like this, there isn't much room to avoid an electric storm like that--the Chongquan fighter simply has to resist it with his arms and his aura, feeling it sizzle off him. "Che... ruined another shirt, huh?" he says, looking down at himself, at his shirt with numerous holes burnt in despite the wash of rain. He exhales.

"Right... guess we're down to finish this then..." Backing up, he takes another running start, hurling himself across the intervening space, towards Faolan, turning almost lazily.

His target is Faolan's head and shoulders--he intends to land with his thighs clamped down on Faolan's head, using his momentum to yank that appendage around nastily, and then plant Faolan into the rubber flooring of the raft.

COMBATSYS: Faolan blocks Shiden's Riding the Dragon's Tail.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Faolan           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0           Shiden


There is a bit of a grunt once again elicited by Faolan. In part from the wound he still has in his chest and in part that Shiden still looks like he has plenty of more fight left in him. Perhaps more than Faolan has. That is for sure. He sets his jaw though and makes his stand. No use in complaining about it. He's an Ikari Warrior and he isn't going to just lay down no matter who it is. That sort of mindset seems to keep him upright too when Shiden goes to strike.

He manages to crank and twist that neck, but Faolan manages to keep his balance. This whole time he instead reaches to try and grab the man as he staggers about and pull him off. "Don't put yer junk in my face." he grumbles as he attempts to twirl about and toss Shiden off and away so he can take a moment to regain what little composure he has left.

COMBATSYS: Shiden fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Faolan with Quick Throw.
- Power fail! -

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Faolan           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0           Shiden


Caught, Shiden attempts to reverse the momentum again--but fails, his grip slipping thanks to the seawater. Instead, -he- gets flung, straight out into the other raft again, landing with a thump and a slide up to the seawall. He's up quickly enough, grinning wickedly.

"Guess you still got some fight in you, huh," he remarks to Faolan, raising his voice to be heard across the distance--it's coming down to the wire, and Shiden is doing all he can to avoid showing off his weak points, to present a picture of strength and power...

An attempt to intimidate Faolan, perhaps, or simply just the way he is. He's in a superior position at this point, though such things tend to be rather.. slippery.

Who knows if Faolan can even be intimidated in this case either. He certainly has seem wreckless enough that he doesn't look like he cares what happens. Truth be told he was annoyed at the start of the fight, but the longer it has gone he has found himself having more fun. Sure he is wore out, but he can feel that adrenaline pumping through him. "I'm a soldier. We don't quit very easily if at all." he comments and gives a bit of a chuckle and he goes to leap towards the raft to join Shiden once again.

While he jumps forward he thrusts his bata forward once again. A mote of black energy is formed again that is about the same size of the seven he created earlier. He jabs that bata again as if he is fencing with it and he sets that ball forward to smack right into Shiden as he comes to land on the raft and almost fall backwards and off of it. It certainly looks like the man is on his last legs.

COMBATSYS: Shiden dodges Faolan's Bata Blast.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Faolan           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0           Shiden


This time, Shiden takes a chance, twisting his body to evade the incoming blast of energy. He can see the man is on his last legs. But he can also see that Faolan isn't intimidated by it. A true warrior, in the Chongquan style, facing down any odds without blinking. He nods to his opponent in respect...

But just like with Mary, he's not interested in letting up. His right hand drops to his hip, clenched, orange-red-yellow power building into a sphere within a claw-like grip--and then he thrusts -that- forward, releasing his own ball of energy, aimed to take Faolan in the chest. This is the same thing he used to deflect Mary's hook-chain earlier, of course, but it seems a fitting way to potentially end the exchange.

COMBATSYS: Faolan fails to interrupt Tiger's Shout from Shiden with Jig Kick.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-

[                             \  < >  ///////////                   ]
Faolan           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Shiden


COMBATSYS: Faolan can no longer fight.

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Shiden           1/-------/=======|


It looks like the mercenary is going to be defiant to the end. He doesn't even attempt to sidestep the attack as it comes at him. All he plans to do is charge forward and he leaps off one foot and towards Shiden. It seems that blast of energy is just too much for Faolan to overcome, though. he crashes right into it and it is enough to knock him back against the other side of the raft where he almost goes up and over the edge of it. He keeps his bata gripped tightly and he starts to sit up. "I like yer style. A more proper fight is in order."

He grins some as the wound in his chest combined with the beating is enough to finally slow and stop the Ikari as he slumps forward and ends up sitting there with bata resting across his lap and head leaned forward with eyes closed. There is still a bit of a grin on his face despite being passed out. This has turned out better than he hoped. Now if only he could get a damn normal fight for once.

Normal fights just don't happen in SNF. You just gotta look at the various postings to understand that. This was more normal than some, which would come to a surprise to those viewers less famiilar with the quirky event. Shiden grins back. "Yeah. We'll go again somtime, I'm sure." Either publically... or privately.

With the fight decisively concluded, Shiden waits for the boats to arrive to come take the fighters away; as he turns away from Faolan to stare out at the sea, that jovial attitude falls away. Not too injured... good. He can still make the meeting. It's a busy life, being a freelance enforcer for certain criminal elements.

COMBATSYS: Shiden has ended the fight here.

Log created on 16:22:04 10/23/2010 by Shiden, and last modified on 12:07:14 11/03/2010.