Description: The YFCC's Sunshine City tournament pits wanderer Antoine against a foe he'd had a very disturbing confrontation with not long ago. Their rematch doesn't seem as if it's going any better, and the sudden inclusion of a third party intent on sowing chaos doesn't improve the situation at all...
Sunshine City. This is quite an interesting place that is quite some ways away from Southtown. Yet, the name of the city seems to contrast with some of the parts of the neighborhood. In particular, the trainyard is where graffiti tags are prevelant and where the drunkards and seedy men thrive. Yet, the YFCC organization is uplifted and has been working on getting the place right.
While many of the staffers members gather, many of the people ranging from children to adults have made their way into the make-shift streets cleared by the sponsors and hte staff.
Antoine was passing through earlier. Yet, he heard that there was an exhibition match coming up to help restore a town. This is something that his friend El Fuerte would enter. As such, Antoine decided to enter the challenge to see other fighters.
He makes his way towards the center, holding his large duffelbag over his back while giving a thoughtful muse. "...Well, it's been quite a while..." He smiles, "...It seems I'll be going up against a familiar face."
When she came back from Jordan, brimming with newfound resolve and confidence -- even if that confidence wasn't exactly her own -- Farah began looking for her next fight. The plane trip was long enough that the subtle, dark influence of Vega's words engulfed her like a warm cloak, blocking out bits of the real world in the service of keeping her insulated from cold, harsh truths. Her problem, she realized, had been obsessively seeking out her 'teammates.' No... she would practice first, on whatever lesser mortals she could find, until that potential she was assured she had, had been forged into an infinitely sharp razor's edge. Then Denji and Wang would see her true ability... and despair.
The YFCC's tournament was the perfect opportunity, and so she signed up.
The train ride from Southtown to nearby Sunshine gave her even more time to reflect, this time in a more strategic sense. It's obvious that wielders of that most 'common' of powers, chi energy, would always seek to use it against her. She would need to be more careful, develop more tools to handle it. Even from her first battle with Denji when she arrived in Southtown, she found her power could repel that energy if she focused enough. It's a technique she'd need to develop further. As for the rest, well... the rest would come. The important thing was to not be afraid. Before, she'd resisted, tried not to rely on her abilities, knowing they might drive people away as they did a certain Chongquan practitioner months ago. Now, though... no. They were her divine birthright, her gift. Her ticket to the heavens.
When she arrives at the trainyard, giving the gathered and pitiful homeless looks of utter scorn, she sees who her assigned opponent is, and her eyes widen, then narrow.
"You..." Farah says, voice cold, as she takes her cobalt ribbon from her pocket and ties it around her hand, a sort of invocation for the battle to come. "I'd almost hoped it would be you. Last time we met you asked me to show you my true strength." The corners of the Egyptian's lips curl upward into a smile, a smile with a bite of cruelty to it that makes it look rather out of place on the girl's normally pleasant face. "Today I'll do just that."
A FEW DAYS AGO
Eclipse Umbra has not been given a mission. As a result, he is sitting in his room in his NESTS complex. He's been doing exactly that for the last week, doing his own personal regimen of simulations to fill his time. Occasionally, he leaves his room to eat - he doesn't talk to anyone.
Today was different. Today, he took a flyer from a group of agents cracking jokes about it - one advertising the Rising Sun Challenge. Eclipse devours every scrap of information that he can from the flyer, then uses the internet to learn more. Decisively, he stands, and leaves a note: Resuming pursuit of initial mission.
"Towazu..."
NOW
The created human has only recently arrived in Sunshine City, and as is his typical MO, went right to where the most homeless people were, for a change of clothes. He steps out from an alleyway, now wearing several layers of ratty clothing, the outermost a dingy purple sweater with snowflakes on it, many holes in it showing the dark blue sweatshirt beneath, the hood of which is pulled up to shadow most of his face.
Eclipse hears voices, and melts into the shadow of a nearby dumpster, unconcerned about the sour-milk-and-death smell. His left hand darts into the pocket of his jeans, wrapping around the grip of his knife, and he holds his breath. Slowly, he rises, peering over the top of the dumpster, eyes gleaming dully.
The arrival of the female fighter is what catches Antoine's attention. The last time that they fought, Farah managed to hold back a lot of her power. Despite of that, Antoine tried his hardest to get Farah to come out. However, today is a different day and Antoine is looking forward to see how has Farah progressed in her walk of life. After all, both of them had to learn about each other and the life the walk upon.
Today, Antoine will get what he wanted out of Farah, but not the way that he expected. He can hear the voice, but there is a different feel about it. Mind, Antoine had not known her for long, but the good natured young man can tell when there is something not feeling right. He recalls that there was uncertainty about her powers. Now? The entire demeanor changed. Antoine feels that something is off, but he merely shakes it off.
"Good. I had been hoping you'd come about." Antoine finally releases the duffel bag, letting it drop towards the ground with a thunk.
As he steps towards the center, he brings both hands forward; right fist slams into his left palm as he tilts low for a bow. Then, he steps his right leg forward and shoots both hands out in a guard position. His legs and arms move loosely before he focuses his attention on Farah.
COMBATSYS: Antoine has started a fight here.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
"Hmph," Farah replies, tilting her head toward Antoine in a sort of imperious way. "Let's see if you're so confident on--"
She stops, suddenly, eyes narrowing. Normally, her senses are relatively sharp, as Soul Power is all about connection and awareness. As it stands right now, the dark tendrils of outside influence dull her ability to really feel what's going on around her, but they do heighten a fundamentally 'selfish' psychic impulse: sensing danger or attention. Her midsentence stop is abrupt, almost as if someone hit a killswitch, but instead she turns slowly to the side, looking about a bit behind her, as if trying to pick someone out of the crowd. All she sees, however, are fighting fans and drunken hobos, nothing more, nothing less.
Frowning in annoyance, she turns back to Antoine, watching him carefully. Twisted by dark thoughts, her memory of Antoine is not the encouraging, self-assured fighter that he is, but rather of a smug individual who made Farah feel weak and frustrated. For a second, her body is limned with purple-black energy, almost like a sinister faerie fire, that vanishes in an instant. "You may regret those words later," is her only warning.
Then she's crossing the distance between the two, attempting to swing low and then rise quickly, snapping a high-angle upper snap kick toward the bottom of Antoine's jaw. The battle is joined
COMBATSYS: Farah has joined the fight here.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Farah
COMBATSYS: Antoine dodges Farah's Light Kick.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Farah
As Farah's eyes start to roam, Eclipse slowly sinks down - not in a rapid motion, but smoothly. He pulls the matte black knife from his pocket, and starts spinning it between his fingers, closing his eyes and considering the situation.
The first mission he ever received was to kill Alma Towazu. What Eclipse doesn't know is that it was simply a mission given to him to put him up against a force he could not overcome, just to see if he would break. He survived - and thus was allowed to continue to live. A normal person would have accepted failure, but Eclipse does not fail in a mission. He only regroups.
One approach has failed... it's failed twice. It might be time to use other methods. Things more roundabout.
Eclipse slowly resumes observation, the knife that reflects almost no light flicking around in his hand.
Something is off. For some reason, there is that nagging voice in his head that something is wrong. While it is not the sixth sense that Farah seems to have about whatever seems to make her paranoid. No. It is about her aura that throws him off. Although Antoine is a bit perplexed, he is still capturing the fighting spirit. His expression turns quite serious.
"We will see."
That is when Antoine sees the psychic's approach. When she attempts to hook that foot to snap across the lower jaw, he sweeps his head towards the direction to flow with the kick and then his body twists in a full spin. In the course of the spin his back shifts over while the right leg snaps out and then hooks down to strike against Farah's grounded leg.
"What brought about such a change?"
That leg will sweep back and he will shoot his left palm towards her chest.
COMBATSYS: Farah dodges Antoine's Quick Throw.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Farah
Her kick might not have connected, but that gives the Egyptian ample time to consider her next move. Thus when Antoine tries to turn her attack against her, Farah lets the momentum of her kick carry upwards and then over her head, turning it into a backward flip that lands her on the ground in a crouch a few feet away, palm pressed to the ground. She looks a little confused, glancing back over her shoulder again, but can't afford to get distracted. If there is someone in the crowd watching her, the best thing she could possibly do is to perform so amazingly that whoever it is thinks twice about interfering.
When she gets back to her feet, she again gives Antoine that cold smile. So far, so good. "What's the matter?" Farah asks, all innocence, hands up and into her bagua stance. "I thought you wanted a good challenge, right? That's why you wanted my 'full power'?" And here, the smile evaporates; she can't even make what she's about to say into a 'joke,' so disgusting does she find even saying it. "Or perhaps you've just realized that my full power would be far greater than you could handle."
She goes on the immediate offensive, getting close to Antoine as she can and then whipping her right arm through the air. The twin tails of her ribbon streak out in a wide arc, looking to connect with Antoine's body. The ribbon, unlike the last time they fought, has only the faintest of cobalt blue glows; instead, the energy coursing through the cloth is purple-black flame... a tactic regularly employed by Shadaloo's dolls. Normally, this attack is for defense... but if it connects, that tainted psychic energy will rage throughout Antoine's body.
COMBATSYS: Farah successfully hits Antoine with Soul Reflect.
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Farah
Eclipse has seen enough to formulate a plan of action. He waits until Farah is mid-technique, and grips his knife in his teeth, hopping up onto the dumpster, and from there, climbing up the brick wall of the dingy station next to him without any apparent difficulty.
From there, Eclipse flattens out on his stomach, slowly crawling across the flat roof toward the fight, knife still in his teeth. If he can't defeat Alma directly, he'll defeat the things that he does. If he's put together this tournament, he'll pick it apart, destabilize it. Eclipse thinks back to the time he's spent with Angel, the way she talks, so different from his own. Useless words, useless concepts, but they have a purpose, so they must not be useless.
Eclipse slowly pushes himself up until he can see the fight below, eyes narrowed, waiting for the right moment.
"...True power is brought about from one's own determination." Antoine notes towards Farah, who challenges his mettle. The serious fighter is serious now. While Farah is able to feel an odd presence, Antoine is not as perceptive as she is. Though, putting two and two together does make him watchful.
Instead, he finally starts to catch her weapon coming towards him. As that ribbon streaks out, he can see the change of the color from the last time he saw it.
~ ...This is not right. ~
As Antoine tries to sweep away from the ribbon, it comes in too quick and catches him off-guard. WHen it wraps along, the pain and the flush of that strange energy travels all through Antoine's body. He hisses then he shifts his stance as he grasps his hand.
"I see."
Antoine pulls against that ribbon, seeking to bring her over towards him. Should he is successful on pulling her, he is launching forward with launching off of the ground with his right foot snapping up to strike her against the stomach while the hip then twists upon mid-air to direct a flying foot towards her face.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Farah with Sundering Heaven.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
While the ribbon is too quick and insubstantial to be caught, Antoine's foot still finds purchase and that flying kick slams into the side of Farah's head in a surprisingly brutal fashion, sending her stumbling back. That stung... but only slightly more than the sudden shift in Antoine's bearing. The normally perceptive Farah simply gives voice to what's in her clouded heart, making assumptions based on his tone of voice, and the dim sense of his emotional state she can discern. Eclipse chose wisely to move now, when the girl is most distracted.
"I can already feel you looking down on me," she hisses at Antoine, getting herself ready for another round. She doesn't attack; instead she hangs back to reassess and get her house in order, trying to foretell what the Chongquan fighter is going to do next. "What's the matter? You only want to see my true power if it's one you 'approve' of? Well, I'm not going to limit myself to your point of view on what I should be."
Again, that dark power flares, flowing through her now more than ever that she's given in to its vision of the world. "I will outshine you and everyone else who'd like to keep me 'in my place'!"
COMBATSYS: Farah focuses on her next action.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
COMBATSYS: Eclipse has joined the fight here in the center.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|-------
A dark shape takes off from the rooftop, turning once in midair, and drops. It's all in place, and Eclipse has made his move. Spreading his legs and crossing his arms - knife in a backhanded grip in his left - he attempts to land on Antoine to pin his arms with his thighs, bearing him violently to the ground, knife biting at his neck. His hood flies back as he does so, but Eclipse has only once been in a televised SNF fight, and certainly not in the capacity of a NESTS agent. If anything, he looks even more homeless now, hair a few days unwashed due to travel.
"Is this opponent really worth your time?" Eclipse begins. Though close enough for Antoine to feel his breath, he's not speaking to him. Psychically, the man remains empty, unfinished. It may be a bit unsettling, and it makes him difficult to read. "It seems to me you have someone greater you should be looking for."
COMBATSYS: Antoine just-defends Eclipse's Agonizer!
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|-------
Antoine could had sworn that he felt that something was off. No. Just his imagination. His attention is fully focused towards Farah, who is acting more than a bit unusual. While she undergoes her conflict, Antoine had sought to take a deep breath, frowning towards her words. "...Is it your own power?"
He then starts to rush over towards her.
"...Is this something that you can claim as your own power...?"
Antoine had felt that this power is wrong. Whil, it is part of her, it isn't her. No. This isn't -her- power. "...Reliance on other power is not your tru--..."
'Is this oponent really worth your time?'
Antoine's eyes widen as his senses kick off. When the man attempts to land over towards im to pin the arms with the thighs, Antoine quickly turns around to whip his arms over towards the agent, slamming his foot towards the ground as the figure impacts against Antoine.
A burst explodes all over, resonating across the field while he channels the chi to augment his stance. He presses his arms out towards the man, then he explodes both of the hands forward towards his chest to send him flying.
"Where is /your/ true power, Farah?"
Interruption. The expression on her face says everything you need to know about how Farah feels about her duel with Antoine -- for it really has become something of the sort -- being interrupted. Having it interrupted by someone whose aura, or lack thereof, gnaws at her like a loose tooth she can't help wiggling is just going to make it worse in the long run.
But Antoine turns to face the intruder instead, and she's going to use it to her advantage.
"That would be terribly convenient, wouldn't it?" she says to Antoine, clearly taunting, ignoring Eclipse for the moment, starting to slowly walk closer to the two, however, even as the Chongquan fighter adroitly repels Eclipse's opening gambit. "'Oh, well, she beat me, but it wasn't HER power'. I'm not going to fall for that!"
And then she's running, charging the two even as Antoine attempts to blast Eclipse away. JUST as the burst ends, just when she is safe and Eclipse might not be, the Egyptian is there, using the distraction to her advantage, looking to snag Antoine's arm, twist him around, and then slam her palms into the small of his back, shoving him away.
She spares a split second to look at Eclipse -- perhaps before he goes flying himself -- and say, in a low tone, "Don't interfere."
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Eclipse with Immovable Mountain.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|----===
Eclipse's feet hit Antoine's hands, and for a moment, the two hang there, limbs shaking at the point of impact.
Eclipse loses the war, and is sent flying right back where he came, his ankles clipping the edge of the roof, flipping him gracelessly over to land on his face. He takes a moment to think about what went wrong there, and isn't able to determine any one issue. A hand slowly fills in the last dot for 'All of the above.'
Normally, a man might either be in too much pain or have had his pride straight hurt too much to go on, but Eclipse comes to his feet, reaching up under his layers of shirt for the smaller throwing knives he keeps on the waist of his bodysuit, and flips them up between his fingers. With one more flick of his wrist, he sends one down at Antoine, keeping the other in hand. Again, to Farah, "Nonsense. This man is garbage. Let me deal with him."
COMBATSYS: Antoine dodges Eclipse's Thrown Weapon.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|----===
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Farah's Combo Attack.
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Antoine 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|----===
Just as the calm sea carries the ship through the sails, it quickly turns into a raging storm. The tide turns against Antoin as he has enemies from both sides. Antoine has to deal with one fighter who has dramatically changed from the last time he saw her. It feels like a full one-eighty. His eyes also befall over the man who is knocked bck.
Now, while Farah uses the advantage to go after Antoine, he finds himself caught as she snags his arm and tries to twist him around. He turns to face her just in time enough to twist the arm to try to keep her from putting him in an even more horrible situation.
The other hand, however, quickly catches the knife as it sails towards him before he tosses it towards the ground. "Do not interfere..." However, Antoine knows that deep down, this guy will continue to interfere. He will have to be on his guard from the both of them.
As such, Antoine moves his arm to grab at Farah's arm and then he finally swings his body over to sault against the air. He releases the hand enough to twist about and then he lands on the ground.
He greets her by stepping forward to thrust a palm right at the side of the collarbone near hte throat area.
COMBATSYS: Farah fails to counter Strong Punch from Antoine with Gensekiju.
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Antoine 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|----===
She can really feel the anger welling up inside. This has gone all wrong. Suddenly there's someone else in the bout making trouble, acting like he knows her, and in the process distracts her. Farah's arm comes up to almost literally slap Antoine's punch out of the way and instead all she does is divert the force into her shoulder, which helps not at all. Her teeth grit as she hisses a breath out, incredibly annoyed. Behind her violet-eyed gaze those purple-black flames seem to rage. He swore to her that if she kept at it, all would be made clear. And it hasn't been. Antoine is clearly besting her, and control of the situation is slipping away from her.
This may explain why she whirls on Eclipse, after her abortive defense, as if it's his fault. Perhaps because, in her head, it is.
"What do you know about it?" she snarls. The more and more she gives in to whatever dark impulse is fueling her right now, the more and more obvious it is that whoever it is that Antoine started fighting isn't Farah... or at least, not the Farah he thought he knew. Her breathing is heavier now, and every part of her seems to want to lash out at both Antoine and Eclipse. "This is between this... mortal," she says, echoing a word she's heard her 'mysterious mentor' use, "and me."
Eclipse doesn't try the tackle again, dropping forward and grabbing the edge of the roof for a moment so he doesn't, you know, fall too far. Some people still have to worry about that kind of thing. He lands, and gives Farah an even look, his tension only betrayed by the knife flipping around in his left hand, faster and faster. "I know enough that this is not the mortal you need to concern yourself with." This is difficult. Nobody said it'd be this difficult. Eclipse has to restrain himself from flinging after them both... it's so much harder to talk than fight.
Eclipse continues to talk as he goes into a low-slung stance, gripping the knife, approaching Antoine with quick steps. "If I understand right... we have aligned purposes." He springs, knife leading, trying to bury it into Antoine's body with all of his weight behind it. "You couldn't have come here just to destroy this man. Who are you here to obliterate?"
COMBATSYS: Eclipse successfully hits Antoine with Power Strike.
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Antoine 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|---====
Those words and that anger bring forth a revelation to Antoine. "Farah. This isn't you. You know this. Use your own power. When I fought you, you eventually finally gave me your true power. For some reason, that day, I had a brief moment of who you were. However... this... This is not you!" His eyes narrow balefully, "If you wish to win under your own power, then fight me as your true self! Not..."
...Here he comes. Antoine loses the trail of his conversation hn the man finally approaches him. Yet, when Eclipse finally drives forward with the knife out, Antoine lunges forward to take the incoming blow. His eyes narrow as the teeth grits, preparing to take the impact.
However, what was not expected was the fact that the knife burying him sends him stumbling back. As he pulls back, the blood runs free along the stomach. Gritting his teeth, he lunges forward, aiming to drop to a low stance while shooting the palm towards Eclipse's stomach.
"That's enough out of you!"
Should the first strike aim true, Antoine will twist his hip out and launch his fist upward towards the man's chin with the flying uppercut.
'Who are you here to obliterate?' 'Fight me as your true self, not...'
Everyone doubts her. Nobody believes her.
It's starting to wear her down.
The fact that Eclipse does not register on her mental radar is starting to wear her down. Is he an observer, sent by the OTHER man she can't 'read'? After all, the first time they met he used some sort of plant or decoy to get her attention. Maybe this is a test to see if she's worthy of his greater teachings? Or simply to watch her. On a totally different vein, the persistence of Antoine's conviction that this isn't her is slowly hammering away at Farah's resolve. The dark cloud over her can perhaps convince her that his motives are selfish, but only for so long. Now... in the presence of his passionate exhortations, she cannot keep the truth she feels in her heart buried for long.
It is the sort of uncertainty that would drive someone to great violence.
Antoine turns from her, and it's all the excuse she needs. Whirling on Eclipse, she too strikes out at him, making a sort of spinning leap and attempting to slam her hand into his shoulder from above, driving him right into the ground. Her attack and Antoine's come from different angles, with different goals... but if they connect together the result might be decidedly unpleasant. "Hnnnnnnragh!" She doesn't even have thoughts to give voice to, anymore.
She only wants this confusion and pain to stop.
COMBATSYS: Eclipse blocks Antoine's Heaven Descends to Earth.
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Antoine 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|--=====
COMBATSYS: Eclipse dodges Farah's Strong Punch.
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Antoine 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|--=====
Eclipse brings his knee up to stop Antoine's palm cold, and leans his shoulder into Antoine's uppercut. Through all the sweaters and sweatshirts, he hits something harder than flesh and bone, causing the swarthier man to flinch for a moment. Immediately after, he seems to just melt away from Farah's punch, coming up behind Antoine, one leg hooking at his ankle... and pulling.
"Towazu," Eclipse spits. It's not working, why isn't it working?! "You want to defeat Alma Towazu, and I want to see him defeated." It doesn't matter how the mission is completed. After the attempted trip, Eclipse's leg keeps moving, lifting high. He's still focusing on Antoine, still hammering away. Manipulation - that's what his big sister taught him, it has to work eventually! "Let me clear your path--!"
He drives his foot down at Antoine, again and again, stomping with brute strength until he's bouncing him right off the ground enough for him to shift legs and kick him away.
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Eclipse's Furious Abandon.
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Antoine 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 0|-------|-======
There is something that Eclipse needs to understand.
Antoine is resiliant. He focuses baed on the hard aspects of his style. While he does stop the palm cold and swaying over from the fist to pull him towards the ground. As Antoine finds himself in a strange position, he is now finding himself getting stomped upon like there is no tomorrow. He brings his arms to guard against the impact of the foot. While it does start hurting with each movement made, Antoine immediately catches the next foot from striking him and attempts to wrap his legs around the other leg, swinging his body with a twist to have the man slam towards the ground.
Face first.
Defeat... Alma Towazu?
Now Farah has to process memories, but the result is... unpleasant, or at least it seems that way. Her eyes widen when Eclipse mentions him, and then she just as suddenly squints her eyes shut in confusion and concentration. That name...
And then everything floods into her recollection at once. Seeing him fight on television, perhaps as a teenager, and feeling a connection to that expressive fighting style, even if his speech didn't seem to make sense. Not having a word for the strength she felt welling up inside until she chanced upon Rose in Genoa, and the fortuneteller told her that she had a very special gift, just like someone else she had an interest in. Realizing she wanted to fight, and learning a style but incorporating elements of Rose's, and also of Alma Towazu's, despite their having never met...
Saying goodbye. Meeting Denji, and Wang, and Quon, and Faolan. Fighting Amy. Meeting the mysterious man, and feeling the dark tendrils of selfishness and despair close around her heart. Shouldn't she want to defeat Alma Towazu, as much as anyone else? Shouldn't he be another stepping stone on her path to greatness, the silky-smooth voice asks in her head, ever the serpent. Yes. A new goal. Prove her power is even greater...
But wasn't he one of the reasons why...
Her hands come up to her head, and Farah shouts, an inarticulate sound just shy of a wail. No. She's here to defeat Antoine. Or is it Alma? Or is it Eclipse? Or has she just been slowly betraying her own morals for weeks now, one by one, because she gave in to despair...
She barely even moves, hands still clasped to her head, but her emotions take on an actual form, spreading outwards from her like a barely visible psychic hammerblow; the only telltale sign is a shockwave-like halo of cobalt blue, surrounded by hazy purple-black flame, that rips off her body.
A few of the hobos and observers clutch their heads or fall over. It's not a good day to be an observer here in Sunshine Trainyard.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Eclipse with Strong Throw.
> Determined Hit! <
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Farah
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Eclipse 1|------=|=======
COMBATSYS: Eclipse blocks Farah's Sacred Heart.
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Farah
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Eclipse 1|-----==|=======
Eclipse throws his right hand out as Antoine bears him to the ground, but it isn't enough with the momentum, and he just folds down hard, dirt flying up in a circle from the point of impact. He can feel he's getting worn... but Eclipse isn't a man that knows pain. Nothing that compares to...
He twists his legs and practically flings himself back to his feet, flipping his knife to a backhanded grip, and only doesn't turn toward Antoine because he sees the shockwave coming. His brows slowly come together. "Hm."
Then the force is hitting him, and stumbles back, rolling when he staggers right into Antoine. A normal man would be caught up in the horrible wave of psychic confusion, but Eclipse... he doesn't even /understand/ most of these emotions, he barely even has the capability to feel them. As such, the mental impact is deadened far beyond what it should be. He hits the ground, skips once, and fetches up against a pile of trash that smells a little better than his clothes do - and his head droops, eyes hooded, attempting to look unconcious.
COMBATSYS: Eclipse gains composure.
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Antoine 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Farah
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Eclipse 1|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Farah's Sacred Heart.
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Antoine 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
It was expected that the guy would try to intefere with the match. Whatever the goal that they have, heis uncertain. Yet, when Farah seems to be struggling, Antoine shouts, "FARAH! SNAP OUT OF I---..." It falls on deaf ears as she gies out a scream and everything fals out of plce as the shockwave of cobalt blue, surrounded by the purple-haze. "FARAH! BECOME YOUR TRUE SELF!!"
As the flow of the strange energy comes forth, Antoine brings both of his arms out to guard against it. As the jolting impact strike true to his form, he uses his feet to dig into the ground to act as a 'ground' or the bolt of energy striking him. While it sizzles him to the inner core, he winces while he tries to deal with the more pressing person at hand: Eclipse.
Instead, Antoine turns to face the interfering man, until he sees the man is caught by he blast and he falls unconscious. Well then... Antoine turns to face Farah. When he finally awaits for Farah, Antoine nods before he says, "Come on, Farah... Come back."
He draws upon that flow of energy, already feeling part of him building up.
COMBATSYS: Antoine focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Antoine 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
That... didn't really help.
When the worst of it appears to be over, Farah still brings her hands down and looks into her palms with a sort of distracted, glazed air. Nothing makes sense anymore. Visions whirl in her head of everything from good times with friends to visions of killing her own parents. The harder something inside her, a core of light, pushes back and tries to take control, the harder the grip the darkness has on her becomes, until it's impossible to tell one from the other. She can't even scream anymore; her breathing suggests hoarseness from the pseudo-word sounds she makes, trying to figure this all out.
When she looks up, her face is a roadmap to the intense internal battle she's fighting, and her words are loud and clear but don't seem to make much sense.
"I'll... kill you... and you... and then..." Yes. You alone can shine. Once you've shown them they'll have to acknowledge you. Not even Rose nor Alma is as special as you are. You will take everything from everyone who's ever tried to define you.
Like a goddess, you shall rise above all others.
She leaps at Antoine, a diving, midair twirling roundhouse to the head that is painfully telegraphed, slow and ponderous. Farah is giving no thought to grace, now; only pure power, power to destroy.
Eclipse is the furthest thing from a sensitive there is. He can barely recognize emotions in others, putting people in categories of 'threat' and 'non-threat'. ...but the murderous intent Farah is showing is unmistakable even to him. He murmurs a specific password, calling up his surgically-implanted direct link with his NESTS handlers, and subvocalizes: "Initial operation... success. Allowing situation to develop." He shuts it down.
Rubbing his thumb against the flat of his knife, Eclipse starts to move, slowly rolling off of the pile of trash and rising into a half-crouch. Now's the perfect time - Antoine is wrapped up with Farah, and he was dismissed as down. There's an alleyway near him - Eclipse makes for it.
COMBATSYS: Eclipse takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Antoine 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Farah successfully hits Antoine with Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Antoine 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
Everything seemed good. Right? Farah was back to normal, right? No. She had started uttering those words to kill. The eyes are drifting over towards her when she leaps out towards him. When she dives in the mid-air with a twirling round house, Antoine had sought to move away from the easily telegraphed strike. However, when Antoine tries to move back, his body feels a it more sluggish than before. This makes it more viable for her to catch Antoine across the face, sending him reelng back as the foot connecs towards his cheek. "Nngggghhhhh!!"
Blood splatters across the ground, and then he finally sighs. "...Very well. If you continue to choose this path..."
Lightning manifests along his hand. The eyes narrow towards Farah as she had chosen her fate. The fists tighten and the determination marks along his eyes.
"You bring yourself into ruin. ...Accepting the 'alien' in you only makes you weaker..."
That determination comes... That drive... To make the point.
Antoine's body shoots out like a bullet.
He is already close to her with a streaks of lighting crackling behind where he slid from.
The right palm launches out like a cannon, aiming to plant deep into her abdomen while the surge of the chi launches out to explode agains her form.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Farah with Perfect Storm EX.
> Determined Hit! <
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Antoine 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
It may be that Antoine, striking with all his strength, is attempting to quite literally beat the crazy out of Farah. Certainly, he strikes with such speed and strength that she has fractions of a second to get out of the way, and even working at peak capacity that would be difficult indeed to do. The chi-empowered blow lands in the square center of her stomach and quite literally blasts the Egyptian across the yard and straight through the door of one of the abandoned subway cars in a shattering of glass. When all is silent afterwards, that is perhaps a sign that he accomplished his goal. The crowd looks ready to give him the fight.
This is when the windows of that subway car suddenly explode outward in twinkling shards of glass, as if someone had detonated a bomb inside.
Bloodied and bruised, Farah walks out of the subway car in a dream-like state, moving forward with somewhat jerky, uncontrolled movements. Around her, her psychic power rages without any semblence of control, unsure if it wants to be the starry-night color of her own, or the purple-black flame of the man whose influence hounds her. The result is a crackling nimbus of black fire and light that sears the eye to look at. She is young yet, and lacks control, but freed of her will's constraint, this is perhaps an indicator of power that Farah would someday grow into.
It burns behind her eyes like a corona.
She extends her hand toward Antoine, palm out, and says in a cracked and quiet voice that somehow echoes throughout the yard, "...begone."
A wave of power surges out from her, looking to hammer Antoine's very soul. It's as if Farah's spirit is attempting to simply erase the Chongquan fighter from existence itself.
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Farah's Heart and Soul EX.
[ \\\\ < > ///////// ]
Antoine 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Farah
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
As the impact is made against Farah, Antoine bears witness to her flying across the yard and straight towards the subway cars with the shattering glass. It feels like everything is said and done...
"...Farah..." He shakes his head with disappointment.
And then, the car explodes outward, the eyes narrow as he grits his teeth. A hand lifts up to shield along the eyes. Wincing to himself, he tightens his fist. With Farah bloodied and bruise to match Antoine's state, he sees her body become... zombie-like.
Now, she greets him with the wave of power surging against him. There are not a lot of options that Antoine can do. Except guard. He grits his teeth while bringing both of his arms up to fight against the tide. This sea of power rushes against his form, biting into his mind and his spirit.
It wears on Antoine, however. While he does mitigate the worst of the blow... It is wearing on his body. He can feel his eyes become heavy.
Blackness.
...No.
Antoine grits his teeth, staggering up befor he sprints towards Farah. With all of his might, he rushes over towards her, swooping to close the distance. As he twists, his left joins the right leg. His arms cross together....
And then he explodes out towards Farah.
As both arms spread across line wings, the arm outstretched towards Farah aims to strike the deceisive blow towards her stomach, trying to take her down before he finally loses that sliver of consciousness.
COMBATSYS: Antoine can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Farah 1/-------/=======|
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Farah counters Moving the Mountain from Antoine with Gensekiju EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Farah 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Eclipse 1|-------|=======
It's not quite fate that has Angel hanging out at the nearby Sunshine City Mall's Food Court, halfway through both an order of Kato Cajun's bourbon-fried chicken and her Cosmo. The Mexican has been listening to her smart-phone via a headset, for the past HOUR. In that time she has gone through three magazines and two orders of bourbon-fried chicken. It's definitely gotten her more stares than she's used to - from more genders than she's used to. Two of her onlookers are about to ask her a question - one specifically wishes to know why she likes the chicken so much, while the other is pretty sure she's flagrantly breaking Sunshine City dress code. Before they can get to walking her way, she perks, eyes narrowing curiously, one gloved hand flittering to an ear.
"Oh, shit! He actually did it?"
Chicken and bras forgotten, Angel's dashing out of the mall, past security and gourmets both. In minutes, she's thundering out of its parking lot on the back of her obviously super-high-end, custom-tuned motorcycle. It's so fucking badass that she doesn't bother following the speeding laws.
-----
Distant thunder rumbles closer to the scene! In moments, Angel parks her bike at the end of the alley Eclipse has turned down. Sirens can be heard behind her, distant, but slowly gaining in speed. Her expression hardly matches the situation, considering the way she's beaming at him.
"Aw, hell! You really did it, just like I toldya? You're gonna be doing your own stuff in no time if you keep it up, little guy!" She scoots forward in her seat, thoughtfully pats the leather behind her. "Hop on, we're gone." She peers over Eclipse's shoulder, spies the two fighting... well, she's sure there are files on them, somewhere.
She whistles. "I'll tell the boss all -about- this. Daaamn."
"Angel..." Eclipse shoves his knife in his pocket in the magical way he has of doing that and not cutting it or him wide open, and hastens his pace, tearing the filthy sweater (easily the stinkiest thing he had on) off and dropping it in the alley behind him. As he goes, he stretches one arm out almost desperately, touching the bike she's on as though he was desperate to reach Base. His shoulders rise and fall.
"Angel... it was hard." Without any hesitation, he climbs up to ride bitch, circling his arms around her midsection completely platonically because otherwise to Eclipse it would be incest. And that's disgusting. His hands are shaking a little bit. "Fighting people with words is... hard. It would have been easier to eliminate them both, but..."
Eclipse rests his forehead against Angel's back. "This is the 'long game', right?"
COMBATSYS: Eclipse has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Farah 0/-------/----===|
He would dare to touch her?
No.
Farah doesn't even appear to be paying much attention at this point to anything on this realm. She's sort of looking... toward, but also past Antoine, at some unclear point in the middle distance. He is determined, giving his all to try and bring this to a close, to make some sort of conclusion happen. He rushes in with the last of his strength to deliver a telling blow, to perhaps stop what might be coming. His arms extend and...
...Farah gestures, and that aura of power frankly grabs him out of the air and flings him into the distance without a second thought.
Afterwards the area is quiet. Way, way too quiet. Farah herself seems to just stand there for a moment, while the hobos and fight fans stare back at her.
She turns toward them, and they shrink back.
And then after a tense moment, she just... walks off, psychic energy still grounding itself in the earth around her now and then. It's not entirely sure WHAT'S going to happen now.
It'll probably be bad.
Log created on 19:45:57 01/07/2011 by Farah, and last modified on 15:15:50 02/13/2011.