Description: After the attack on Chizuru Kagura, both Shadaloo, in the form of operative Juri Han, and Rose, have a great deal of interest in what she has to say... but they can't both hear it.
Evening falls upon a small private clinic in Southtown Village. Visiting hours are ending and families are leaving their loved ones to return home for the night. Not that everyone was there to see loved ones, or particularly cared about the rules set forth by the clinic.
Of course I speak of Juri Han. A skilled assassin and infiltrator, it was no problem at all for her to scale one of the walls of the clinic and break into a store room for medical supplies without raising too much of a ruckus. And boy, does she ever need it: The Shadaloo assassin has definitely seen better days. Her body is beaten and bloody, her left eye is little more than barely functional hunk of scrap sticking out of the eye socket. It's only by her pure will desire for revenge that her body kept breathing after her run-in with Kain.
She quickly applies bandages to wounds, and morphine applied to the pain. Lucky for her that her target happened to be in a clinic, a well-stocked one at that. Juri leans back against a shelf and breathes a deep sigh of relief as the intense pain begins to ebb away to more manageable levels.
For a combat sadomasochist like Juri to seek pain relief speaks volumes...
Her immediate health addressed, Juri pauses to recall the 'conversation' she had with one of her 'informants'. The person she is looking for, the supposed cause of her psychological trauma during her last battle, should be located somewhere inside. Chizuru was her name, Juri knew that much, and she would find her.
For anyone approaching the clinic to know something is wrong would require a psychic of impressive sensitivity. There is an air that something near the clinic is wrong, dark, evil. A flavor of evil psycho energy similar to that of a certain dictator, and yet the texture is different. It is less restrained, chaotic and filled with a desire to destroy rather than control. It moves throughout the clinic's darkened hallways, stalking its prize amongst the many patient rooms.
Chizuru was attacked. Viciously. THis is not, sadly, an -unusual- circumstance, but it is one that merits Rose's attention. With Miu having disappeared, possibly traumatized by the psychological effects of having killed a man... Rose is worried. Doubly so. Triply so. Of course Rose knew about the attack shortly after it happened, and she was worried.
So it is that she's arrived at the clinic where she knows Chizuru is staying. But finding her took time--she didn't want to call around, because that might tip off the wrong people. She had to use her own formidable skills to do so.
And she managed. But now it's dusk--nearly twilight--and now... she can feel the other presence. The dark, twisted psycho power... "Shadaloo," she murmurs, under her breath. She must move fast. Rose's steps are not stealhy; her shoes don't allow for it. Yet... somehow she'll appear, conveniently, at the other end of the hallway upon which Chizuru Kagura's room is attached to. The lights are blown, flickering, indistinct... but a pearlescent white-blue-green glow will cast light down the hallway, Rose standing there with her scarf alight and swirling spheres of power floating around her hands. No time for subtlety.
"I can practically -taste- the stench of Vega upon you... and for that alone I mut stop you. You're already injured... you should just turn around." Her voice is filled with serene confidence, but her exprsesion tells the truth--she's epecting a fight.
The Shadaloo assassin isn't the only one who gives off a stench. Rose's Soul Power, the antithesis of the twisted and cruel Psycho Power, resonates within the core of Juri's being. All at once she wishes she had the full use of the Feng Shui Engine to properly track the energy throughout the building, and by chance get the drop on her opponent.
No such luck. Even though she's able to hear the approaching footsteps, and even though hers are much softer and indistinct, the two end up on equal footing: Staring at each other down a length of hallway. The lights are blown out and soon the corridor is filled with that nauseating blue-green glow. It highlights Juri's haggard silhouette, much of her frame wrapped in hastily applied bandages. She is obviously bleeding from many of the wounds still, and that left eye of hers ... it must be painful.
The first sound to grace Rose's ears is that of a dry, low chuckle. "Well. My luck really has been shit lately to run into one of you self-important idiots here." Her eyes narrow considerably. A soft hiss rasps through clenched teeth, "Normally I'd have a bit of fun with you before moving on. But I ain't in a playing mood, sister." A soft grinding mechanical whine can be heard from Juri's left eye. A loud snap, and suddenly the whine picks up in pitch as the Taekwondoka's end of the corridor fills with garish purple light throwing back the blue-green glow before it!
"Now. MOVE." With that, Juri takes off at a speed that would be unexpected of one so injured! Her footfalls land silently yet powerfully, propelling her with such speed that loose ends of bandages and her own clothing produce a far louder sound by flapping in her wake.
Then right the end, right when she is a few meters from Rose, Juri vanishes! Or rather she seems to vanish. Instead she simply moves with such speed it acts as a crude teleport, one that will put her within range of Rose a couple seconds earlier than expected. Early enough to hopefully deliver her heel up against Rose's sternum.
COMBATSYS: Juri has started a fight here.
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Juri 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Rose has joined the fight here.
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Rose 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Juri
COMBATSYS: Juri successfully hits Rose with Heel Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Rose 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Juri
Move she must--the impact is crushing. As a Tae Kwon Do master, Juri knows how to use those legs to their fullest, certainly. Rose offers a harsh gasp, not quite a cry, as the impact shoves her far back--and yet she doesn't fall. No, she's not that weak.
"So it's you, 'Juri Han'," she replies, mastering her pain admirably. She smiles--not a nice smile. Those are reserved for nice people. Obviously, she's still in pain--added tightness around the eyes a clear indicator--but her spirit flags not in the least.
"That's fine. I'm not -playing- either..." Right hand goes to scarf, and suddenly she's whipping it out, fair filling the area with glowing, snapping silk--cloth moving with a speed and a heaviness that seems unreal, though the way it carves furrows in the wall sure isn't an illusion.
"I'm afraid I just can't let you get to Chizuru... I need her to live, and I'm all too aware of your propensities..." She isn't just striking at Juri, though--she's trying to force the woman back, away from Chizuru's door.
COMBATSYS: Juri blocks Rose's Aura Scarf.
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Juri
What little joy Juri could derive from this battle is, woefully, dulled by the very same morphine that allows her to move so swiftly despite her injuries. It's frustrating that despite the crushing force of her blow she can only feel the numb tingling of pressure on her extremities. No, the Spider is not a happy Spider and it shows from the fact that she is still scowling angrily as Rose gives her a not-so-pleasant smile.
The fact that Rose knows her name earns a small quirk of the eyebrow from the Korean, "Oh good. You know my name, introductions are such a boring waste of time anyway." Suddenly a flare of energy fills the air around Juri, and suddenly that ugly rag that Rose is holding becomes a holy weapon sent to lay the cruel beast low!
Only it doesn't. It does catch the side of Juri's arm heavily, and causes her to stumble back a couple of steps, but the energy infusing the scarf quickly diffuses across her arm. Juri's tongue can be heard clicking, "Heh. It really is too bad. You seem fun to play with - I almost /felt/ that one." A taunt, but an ironic one. The fact that she can feel any pain from any blow right now is amazing and speaks to the power behind the impact.
"If you think you can run me off with something like that though ... guess again!" With that she'll make a short leap in the air before spinning around to deliver a downwards angled kick aimed at Rose's side. "I don't know what your stake is in this, and I don't fucking /care/!"
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Juri's Sekku.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Juri
The spinning kick is intercepted by Rose's forearms; the impact drives her against the other wall, excepting that she stops herself with her upraised left leg, thrusting her heeled shoe back with a *clicK* to absorb and redirect the impact. "Mm. I -do- know your name, Juri, that's certainly true..." The impact leaves her left arm numbed, but she grits her teeth as she thrusts Juri's leg away from her. Ripples of emotion flicker over the pond of serenity that seems to cover her, the purple-haired Mistress of Soul Power working hard to maintain her composure.
"But, as you say, introductions are boring..." Disengaging from Juri's foot, once again, Rose draws backward, giving herself a few feet to work with--lashing out again with the scarf, that bright Soul Power gathering into a pulse that slashes down the scarf as she whips it--the slightest motion causing it to -snap-...
And that snap hurls the bolt of power straight for the Poisonous Spider's chest, a potential explosion of energy that is the antithesis of everything Juri is. The spherical energy sizzles and crackles in the air.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Juri with Soul Spark.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Juri
The soul spark snaps out and strikes against Juri's chest with full, furious force! The end result is that it sends her flying backwards with an explosion of sickeningly wholesome Soul Power. Although Juri is quick to recover, landing on her hands and flipping back into an upright crouching posture, after she lands she rubs the spot on her chest still sizzling with that energy so opposed to her own.
It hurts on another level: It tears apart at the foundations of her being. The foundations built upon the pain and desire for revenge she feels. She has faced this power before, but the amount that girl could muster is nothing compared to what Rose could summon forth. And for the first time Juri regards Rose with something similar to concern.
The Taekwondoka returns to her feet, "Almost ready." She mutters under her breath before breaking out into another dash. No fancy tricks this time: Just her trying to duck low before delivering a painful upward split kick! A flash of baleful purple psycho energy swirling around the foot she intends to impact against the Soul Powered mystic's jaw.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to reflect Fuhajin from Juri with Soul Reflect.
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Rose 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Juri
Rose reacts as she should--calling her own power to the fore, beginning a sweeping strike of her scarf, glowing with power, that wouldn't just negate Juri's upward-striking kick--
But she stumbles, and instead she finds herself thrown against the wall, more pain searing her body as she slams into it--without the benefit of any tricks to absorb the impact. Her breath gushes out of her, and she rolls, blindly, away from the wall, from where she last placed Juri, lashing the scarf around her blindly--to try to prevent Juri from immediate pursuit, until she can get into the middle of the hallway.
"Well... you're certainly built well," she comments, taking firm hold of her dry wit, centering herself with it.
"Hope he fixes you when you break..."
Fractions of a second, that's all it takes sometime. The difference between having your foot impact against someone, and having your own attack turned against you. The result is painful regardless, the matter is only resolved as to whom it hurts. In this case Juri is victorious and once again she is robbed of the thrill of the woman's jaw impacting against her foot: Bones cracking, teeth rattling, sinew tearing. She can imagine all of this in her mind but she has no sense of it through her numbed limbs.
So it is with a frustrated snarl that Juri lowers her foot again and watching as Rose, once again, gets between her and her target. The comment Rose makes causes Juri's right eye to blink, and the left eyelid to quiver slightly around the painful looking mess jammed in its eyesocket. That's when she starts laughing.
An uncontrolled, quivering chuckle that causes Juri to hold her sides and shake her head from side to side. Her disheveled hair 'horns' threatening to shake loose of their bonds at the slightest provocation. Juri responds with a snort, "If you knew him, you'd know he wouldn't even spare his spit to glue me back together with!"
Suddenly Juri's left eye, or its jumbled remains rather, can be heard rattling and whining: Straining with unseen effort. The Taekwondoka will do a small backflip, landing in a crouching posture as garish violet light flares around her, "Kill... Kill... KILL!" She declares her intent as a punctuation with each flaring psycho powered kick aimed in Rose's direction. A low one, a middle one then a high one intended to launch the other woman in the air. After that attack is finished she'll perform a sweep kick, delivering a slow moving arc of psycho powered energy along the ground to hopefully cushion Rose's descent and one final upward arcing spinkick!
Maybe this won't be ... /too/ loud.
COMBATSYS: Juri successfully hits Rose with Fuharenjin.
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Rose 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Juri
Juri's rage is overpowering in its intensity. Rose hasn't felt its like in... a long time. It's stunning, and Juri's kick comibination lifts Rose into the air for that final slash of power--one which crushes her into the ceiling tiles and sends her skidding back along them before falling, twisting halfway, almost gracefully, to land on her back, her head snapping against the tiling.
"Such rage... this is why Vega's Psycho Power cannot be allowed to propagate..." Of course, Juri was probably broken -before- she received the power from Vega, through S.I.N. So it's entirely likely that she'd be this little psychobunny killer girl anyways. But Rose is certain that Vega's influence can't have helped in the least.
Painfully, she pushes herself to her feet, dusty and broken, but still elegant as hell.
Power surges in her, and she glows briefly--bright white-blue-green--before she sends her lemon-yellow scarf, crackling with power, slinging out for Juri. It seems to have a homing sense--aiming to wrap around a wrist--and if JUri can't avoid it... it becomes the conduit for fifteen seconds of pure pain, all of Rose's built up Soul Power flowing from her, through the scarf, and into Juri--a symphony of pain, sung for the Korean.
COMBATSYS: Juri blocks Rose's Illusion Spark.
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Rose 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Juri
In fact it was the other way around. Juri was broken first, and then dumped into S.I.N.'s claws. An early, failed attempt at a Doll after Cammy was created. The end result was both disastrous and fortuitous: It shattered Juri's psyche completely, left her almost catatonic. Her mind was like a million shards from a once beautiful mosaic. These shards were slowly, laboriously put back together in a maddening vortex of pain and torment. In some ways a reflection of Vega himself. In the same ways, a reflection of the darkest aspects of the human spirit.
Much of who Juri was is gone. The only joy she knows is the joy of delivering torment upon others. A joy denied to her in her current state, only further perpetuating and amplifying her rage. Each strike against the elegant woman is filled with that same rage. Make no mistake though: Juri and Vega are different. Vega wishes you to submit to his will or die. Juri simply wishes for you to die.
After her blows are finished Juri lands from her strikes opposite of Rose. The fallen woman's mocking voice can be heard in reply to Rose's comment about Vega, "Finally, something we can agree upon." A dry chuckle esapes her lips...
Then she stops laughing just in time to see the crackling yellow scarf snap around her wrist like a friendship bracelet from Hell! Soul power rushes through the scarf like electricity through a live wire, and cascading through Juri's diminuitive frame! The Korean grits her teeth in pain, then with a ragged hiss fortifies herself with her own psycho power. Pushing it outwards and back through the scarf enough to cancel the rest of the attack, before pulling her wrist away and holding it tenderly. She sneers, "Heh, that one really did hurt. Probably means the morphine's about to wear off. Which means it's time to end this."
A sickly whine can once again be heard from Juri's left eye, followed by a worrying crack. A whiff of ozone can be caught as the broken remains suddenly alights with purple energy and the inner mechanism whirls to life again! It's disturbing to look at, for sure: Imagine a woman with a LED-lit blender for an eye and that's what it looks like. Though Rose will only have a moment to admire it before Juri delivers her first strike.
It begins with a sweeping kick aimed at the legs, and will continue as she pushes herself upwards in continuous spinning blows! A nebulous cloud of concentrated psycho power will swirl vibrantly around her, threatening to engulf any that are caught in the vortex...
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to reflect Kaisen Dankairaku from Juri with Soul Reflect.
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Rose 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Juri
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
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Juri 0/-------/-----==|
...a vortex to which Rose finds herself utterly victimized by. Though blessfully it ends, and had to end, just before the two of them punched through the ceiling.
Rose will be able to see out of the corner of her eye as Juri rises next to her body, both floating in the air. Juri's foot is raised up while that swirling vortex psycho power flows around her body. The foot descends like a shot, and delivers all that physical and psychic force in one terrible kick!
Rose is descending to the ground now with incredible velocity, but again Juri can be seen out of the corner of her eye. This time streaking toward the ground even faster than she is! Landing upon all fours to cancel the momentum of her descent, Juri has but scant hundredths of a second to pull off the next part of her attack, which she does with mechanical precision. She stands, spins on her right foot and delivers an upwards kick aimed directly at the spinal column contained in the small of Rose's back!
As Rose hangs in mid-air, held by Juri's foot, she'll be able to see once again that painful looking eye grinding right next to her face. So close that if Juri were to lean any closer Rose would likely walk away with a new design carved onto her cheek. She whispers, softly, "Shhh... patient's are sleeping."
With a soft laugh Juri suddenly removes her foot from Rose's back and lets her crash down atop her knee, before rolling off and landing face first on the ground. A much quieter, but in no way gentler end to the combination.
The power to heal is not as focused as the power of destruction. Nor is it as potent, in many ways. Rose may well be Juri's equal in some respects--and her better in others. But in terms of pure violence? That is Juri's field. Rose isn't even quite sure what's happening to her, her instinctive reaction to the upwelling of dark power as automatic as she knows it to be late--her Soul Power flares in her scarf...
...and sputters out under the onslaught. She has no words left--she rolls, limply, to the floor. This... this is why Rose did not want to confront Vega, directly. The purity of her power needs -time- to work.. and time is not something the dark and evil are inclined to give. But she knows... if she allows herself to fall unconscious here, there won't be anything stopping Juri from killing her. So she apologizes to Chizuru--within the recesses of her mind--and she calls upon her power, one last time... and she glows blue then...
disappears. She believes that Juri wants information from Chizuru... information that Rose herself wants... and Chizuru is not so weak as to be easily broken. There's still time to save her... but not as Rose is now.
It is finished, and with that, the body dispsoses of itself.
Well that's not quite right. Juri knows good and well that Rose is not dead. She could also likely follow the trail of the soul power to track her down again. If that's what she wanted to do. If that was her goal. It is not though, her goal is so much closer and within striking distance.
The glow in the hallway dulls as Juri's ruined Feng Shui Engine stops spinning within its eye socket. Small wisps of smoke visibly curl from within the damaged mechanism, and no doubt Seth will be furious when he looks at it. This thought brings a small smile of sastifaction to Juri's face as she approaches the door to Chizuru's room.
"Now then, time to get some answers. One way... or another."
Log created on 21:28:32 05/17/2011 by Rose, and last modified on 09:44:42 05/23/2011.