Description: In this episode, suicide and poo. And action-packed antics as Zach and Tran fight Tomoko for their freedom from the sinister devices of Orochi, I GUESS. Mostly the poo, though.
Johanessburg, South Africa, Africa. Strange tremors have been reported lately. They started harmless, alarming only in their frequency. Daily life went as it normally went, with the frequent tremors only a local curiosity that landed itself in the highlight as some weird, whimsical news.
Then the weather started to get notably worse. High winds whip through the city every so often. Thunder rumbles from above. The tremors proceeded to grow in intensity, although the frequency slowed. It was very worrying business - and very, very rife for rumors. Some said that a dying man with strange glowing blue eyes and elongated fingernails emerged out of the sewage system one day.
Which is the description of a typical cultist.
Through the sewer systems, the stench of death is as rank as... anything else. Needlessly open sewage tunnels twist and turn further inward, odd markings in blood serving as directions (or maybe just territorial markings) leading, eventually, to where the real problem lies.
Someone found it fit to make an entire grand, ornate shrine deep within the wastes of human filth, lined with robed corpses left to rot among the refuse of the human society (...and human body).
Fires burn a bluish purple. Bizarre chants echo through the chambers along with the grunts and gurgles of those who seem to pass into their eternal slumber - strangely colored energies flowing through them into an unseen nexus.
Somehow, numerous trees have managed to grow underground to this highly unnatural light. Standing before an altar - her back turned to any people who might intrude, which seems a bizarre security oversight - is a very old lady who has to stand on a box to even be seen from the other side, old, wrinkled hands upon the corrupted stone with a sly smile.
"Yes, dearies, you've done well," she speaks softly to those who raise their ceremonial daggers and plunge them into their very hearts. "You have nothing to fear. Your suffering will end in an instant. You only have the joys of the return of your beloved lord--"
See those dashes? That's the cue for those who would seek a certain old lady for answers.
Apropos of nothing, or perhaps the desire to make a memorable entrance, one of the walls to this desecrated shrine caves onward on itself in a burst of radiant purple. The dust clears out quickly in the wake of the unnatural energies that run through this foul place. Standing in the freshly minted hole stands a young man dressed in an outfit with a distinctly South Asian cut to it, a long, close fitting sherwani coat covering pants that are cut wider at the waist than at the ankles and a loose-fitting shirt that falls halfway between his waist and his knees. Black and gold seems to be the color scheme for the young man. There is an oddity to the outfit, a distinctly Japanese short sword riding at his hip, underneath the long coat.
It might take a moment for anyone who would know the young man to recognize Zach Glen. The outfit is hardly his usual attire, and the long purple hair is cut very short at the sides and back. This, plus the lack of his almost signature Terry Bogard ballcap, make it easy to see the steel in the psion's emerald eyes as the eyes sweep across the temple. They stop on Tomoko's back. They only met the one time, but it would not take the young man too much effort for him to recognize the old lady who helped him ruin his life.
"Excuse me," he says in an even tone of voice. "I've got some merchandise I would like to return," he calls out as he steps through the hole he had just made.
"HOLD IT!" Dr. Tran splashes through knee-high human filth, rounding a corner with all the speed he can muster.
He is met with only echoes, because he is in the sewers of Denmark, because he thought Johannesburg sounded kinda dutch or something. Dejected at finding yet another load of nothing, he continues his slog and resolves to at least fight an alligator or giant rat or /something/ to make this less than a complete waste of time.
NOW
AT THE ACTUAL PLACE
Dr. Tran has given up on shouting, and also splashing, because it's a lot of work for no payoff and he's feeling really tired and depressed, possibly because of the elephant tranquilizers he's been taking every day in a desperate attempt to stay sane. Since he's currently wading through a literal river of crap (and the occasional corpse), one could argue that it's not working in the slightest.
But as the corpses grow in frequency, the big payoff approaches. The doctor can't really seem to muster up much enthusiasm, though.
"Hey, you guys." Tran's voice is flat and worn. "All of you, cut it out. G'wan. Stop it, whatever you're doing."
What may be most disturbing about their entrance to this... place is not just what they stepped into. (Or what they stepped into along the way, that stuff is rather disturbing and nasty business.)
It's how apathetically they are regarded by those gathered around the altar, with raised knives, chants, and the blood that flows through their self-inflicted wounds as the blood mars the muddy - actually, rather earthy, soil-like ground.
"Ohohoho, dear me, I'm afraid this isn't our customer service... mmm, you know, that was high humor back in the day." Speaks the voice of the old lady. Soft spoken, entirely harmless to look at. Notably, however, she has no cane with her. That she has foregone it entirely should be a sign, at minimum, to Zach that she was nowhere near as needy in her old age as she looked.
Tran likely already knows this plenty with that bout against that lout, Zangief, on the boat.
"So nice of you to come, though. Did you come to donate?" She looks up hopefully to the two of them with that warm smile. That genuinely warm smile that hides, for all anyone might be aware, the teeth of a grinning shark just waiting to tear into its next meal. She deigns to leave the altar, a slight kick of her feet removing her shoes.
Why would anyone want to walk around barefoot down here?
"Don't mind the others," she says in an even tone as she bows her head, "they're just paying their respects, as all humans are want to. Those who know its true lot, at least. Hm, hm."
Neither of them are likely to be here for small conversation like she seems to be willing to convey. Maybe she's just so old that she can't... uh, smell it. Or maybe see the blood?
No one at all should be this calm in such a horrible place.
Zach frowns deeply, an expression that the part of his brain fighting to keep things on an even keel notes he has been adopting a /lot/ of late, as he locks his gaze on Tomoko. He notes Tran's entrance without showing any sign of recognition; the man walking into the shrine was not much like the Tran he fought all that time ago. Zach does not immediately recognize him.
"Then I guess," Zach says as his left hand drifts down to grip the sheath of the Miraitou, "That I will have to ask to see your supervisor. I'm afraid that my merchandise is not working as advertised." The psychic fugitive tilts his head to one side, the serpentine choker she had given him peeking out from under the collar of his coat. "I'd like a refund."
He is willing to partake in the banter a bit; it seems that pre-fight banter-slash-negotiations are an accepted (and in some cases expected) ritual in the world's fighting circles.
It's true, this is all pretty weird and gruesome; but Dr. Tran's seen his share of both in his time, and right now he's just feeling too worn out, too ragged, to care. It takes what little energy he has just to think straight, to keep his body from boiling the sedative away and really sending him up shit creek. The metaphorical one.
"Don't care, blah blah blah. Too much talking about stupid shit, let's just get this over with. Insane old woman, give me a cure. Insane cult guys, keep going nuts if you want, whatever, nobody cares." Heavily lidded eyes swivel toward Zach and his still dusty hole in the wall. "Insane man in dress, this is not a Sears, buy a GPS."
Shit creek? Might be Shit Lake City at this point, because let's really have a look at this picture here. Blood is pooling on the floor. Strange colors - something that feels similar to the underlying forces of the world, but yet somehow twisted - coalesce together into the aether. The entire ground rumbles ominously. Violently, even - it may even throw the two of them off their feet.
"Well," Tomoko begins, hands clasped together--
Tran decides hell, cut to the point, don't care.
"Oh, don't fault him for it, dear," Tomoko waves a hand. "He's actually so happy he has forgotten that his very wishes were granted with that very gift." She smiles. "Young people are just... so quick to throw away their very blessings."
"However," she starts again as she lets herself stand a bit taller than she normally would. The rigors of age on her body are no small obstacle to even doing that, "you do have a point. Neither of us are getting much younger..."
Thunder strikes loudly from above. Stone shatters and cracks. Light flickers violently in accordance to the lightning strikes clearly able to be heard outside. Air rushes through the tunnels (which, in turn, sends you-know-what whipping about everywhere, ew).
With every strong breeze of air and flash of lightning, Tomoko's form is obscured save for the shape of her shadow. There's just... something wrong with the picture, much less her laughter.
What was once quiet chuckling builds in vigor. Volume. Her throat slowly frees itself from the rigors of age. Running her hands through her very hair, it lengthens... darkens, even, to a much more youthful brown color, as she herself gains in height. It's not all that long before she stands taller than the both of the two men standing there, whipping her head about as if to better highlight her regrown hair (or maybe the fact there's so much of it now it's kind of gotten in front of her face).
Her laughter is much more youthful as the lightning builds in intensity... not to mention her /face/. Before, she was clearly pushing towards... what? Ninety? A hundred? It's the face of someone who looks no older than their /mid-twenties/.
"Ohohoho, I was saving that one," she coos. "But I digress. I know what you're here for, so, how about we play a little game, dearies?" She gestures out with one well-manicured hand, her arms bare roughly from the elbow outward, bending a knee from one of her elongated legs slightly.
Amazingly, whatever she was wearing prior fits her rather well. Very decent - but exposes plenty of leg.
"You love your roughhousing. If you don't like your little gifts so much... convince me. Otherwise, well," she brings one of her hands to her face and cackles as lightning strikes through the hole leading all the way down here, and into the altar.
It is deafening. The wind whipping about (and the foul, foul smell) does no favors to Zach or Tran alike - but one should consider the gauntlet as good as thrown.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko has started a fight here.
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Tomoko 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tomoko switches her Mindset.
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Tomoko 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Tomoko
COMBATSYS: Zach still bears the choker, which shimmers an odd color.
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Zach [E] 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Tomoko
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Zach [E] 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Tomoko
COMBATSYS: Tran has joined the fight here.
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Tomoko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
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Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tran has awoken to his Rage.
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Tomoko 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran [E] 0/-------/-------|
"It helped. Once." Zach concedes as he digs his heels in against the dispay of force. "But it is /not/ what I have been seeking. Your gift has been a hinderance to my goals since that one day." Then Tomoko... changes. If Zach is surprised, it does not show in his bearing. Perhaps he has seen enough inexplicable things of late that this is just one more for the pile.
In the face of Tomoko's speech, Zach's grip on the sword sheath tightens. The /moment/ the word 'convince' is out of her mouth Zach blasts forward, propelled like a shot fired from a cannon. He didn't need much more invitation than what was given. Zach's right hand flies to the hilt of the sword, drawing the psionically augmented blade free even as he close on the now younger appearing woman.
Violet energy roars in the wake of the sword slash, adding force to the strike. Zach winces; while he has made it a point to push the limits of his ability to contain and control the energies at his command in an attempt to compensate for the wild boost the choker provides, it is apparent that he still has a long way to go...
Tomoko's still talking, but all Tran really hears is 'blah blah blah blah blah i love wasting your time blah blah you suck dicks LIGHTNING LIGHTNING LIGHTNING'. It makes conversation difficult, to say the least. Not that there's really anything you can say to a little old lady who just turned into a smokin' hot babe.
"Knew it was a trick, somehow." Well, maybe that, although Tran's observation is drowned out by the shaking and the noise. He doesn't really know how she managed it, and doesn't really care, either. All he knows is that now she wants to throw down. Ironically, for once he wasn't really planning on a fight, but...well, whatever. The doctor is beyond protesting.
Lightning strikes again, wind whipping past and around Tran, a wild storm come to the depths of the earth. It's kinda refreshing, like a challenge from nature itself, fighting against the stupor that's possessed the doctor. He breathes deeply, exhales, thin trails of steam instantly being scoured away into nothing by the wild winds.
And then it's like he's a completely different person, eyes wide and alert and above all else, /angry/. Enough of being jerked around, enough of this stupid game, and these stupid people, and this stupid bullshit weather, and this bullshit /shit/. Tran is moving, exploding through the last of the sludge on a direct line toward the revitalized Tomoko, fist raised and trailing a streaming, ever-thickening line of steam. He strikes. There is an explosion.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko blocks Zach's Aggressive Strike.
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Tomoko 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran [E] 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tomoko counters Medium Punch from Tran with Sankan.
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Tomoko 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran [E] 0/-------/-----==|
"Just the once?" The young(?!) Tomoko asks with a mocking grin. "Oh, I beg to differ--"
The time of mocking commentary has long since passed, as both Zach and Tran attack together, Zach with sword and the violet energy turned especially violent. With a lower crouch, Tomoko leans into Zach's slash as she thrusts an elbow up against his hand in order to stop it cold. Zach being Zach, even his bare hands backed with his mighty power is enough to send the ground shaking beneath the two for a clean block. There's not many elbows in the wide world of the six billion plus people with roughly twice that in elbows (barring amputees and birth defects) that can stand to that sort of thing.
The raging Tran, now roaring for a fight thanks to the taint running through his very self, explosively runs forth with a powerful straight that she coils an arm around just as it comes close to hitting her (beautiful, oh so beautiful) face and jerking it unceremoniously upward as her fingers press down so hard upon his wrist. Absolute pain should shoot through his forearm and the rest of him.
Almost explosively, for the lack of any explosive impact as she releases both men with simple upward shoves as she remains standing tall, too calm for the deafening storm and roaring winds around them. "Why, even now the both of you seem oh so very happy to have it! Imagine where you two would be without it now... hm?"
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Zach's Aggressive Strike.
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Tomoko 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran [E] 0/-------/-----==|
Zach barks out a bitter laugh. "You really don't know me that well," Zach says as he returns the wakazashi to its sheath. He turns to face the woman just in time to see her put some hurt on Tran. Something has been nagging at him. "Though I have to ask. What'd Howard Rust ever do to you guys?" Zach pulls his right hand back, pouring energy into his palm as he considers his approach.
"You went after me," Zach says. "Your friend Brihan went after Antoine. Rust is the common thread." During the questioning, the energy has continued to build. A small trickle of blood is already drying on his upper lip as the very rough sphere expands to the size of an exercise ball. Zach is preparing a large, difficult to dodge, blast instead of trying for something faster or more accurate. He is fairly certain that the choker would foul such a precise working.
However, if it is big sloppy displays of terrain-wrecking power you want, then it is an excellent tool. It is generally considered prudent, or at least pragmatic, to use what tools you have at hand.
Tran doesn't react quite right. Tomoko captures his arm and does some weird young old lady thing designed to cause intense, incapacitating pain. Although the entire arm does hang limply for several moments afterward, the mad doctor does not cry out, or indeed acknowledge the agony in any way.
"SHUT UP!" At least, not the physical agony. He still has to listen to her, and there's nothing worse than someone who doesn't know when to just stop talking. "SHUT UP! THIS IS THE WORST!" Tran's voice rips out of his throat, lacking even the faintest control or restraint.
"FIX IT!" Tran swings his foot back and then launches it forward with a complete lack of finesse, coated along its entire length in a faint layer of steam. "FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT!"
COMBATSYS: Tomoko blocks Tran's Medium Kick.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 [E] Zach
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Tomoko 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Tomoko with Impulse Flare EX.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tomoko 1/-------/=======|
"Oh, I know plenty about you, Zach," the smug hen smiles to the laughing man - but she allows him the question about that... guy. "I'm afraid I don't foll-- ah, yes, you were all teammates in King of Fighters!"
Of course, Tran is calling for everyone involved to shut up and have things be fixed and goes to hurl himself foot-first into Tomoko. Her toes wiggle about atop the bare soil (among other such... unpleasantries), before she digs her feet down. The meaning for this gesture becomes ever-so-obvious when, despite Tran's powerful anger and anger-powered kick leaves a steam cloud en-route to what would roughly be Tomoko's upper back, she doesn't flinch even as she narrowly brings two fingers up against Tran's ankle to halt the kick other than the slight quivering of fingers nearly bent in an unnatural direction to try and halt it, the cloud of chi steam washing uncomfortably over herself.
"As I was saying before your well educated friend here interrupted me," she continues, "I would chalk it up to just poor luck of the draw! I hardly have any idea what goes through that girl's mind even now, when half of what she says is just vulgarity." She tsks.
"Of course," she says as Zach's psionic power climaxes into a giant blast that goes through her with an agonized scream. Her basic outline shows that she largely holds her ground, if with exceedingly narrow success as she bends and sways like a tree about to be uprooted by a tornado, the powerful blast ripping through stone, piping, and - of course - shit.
Zach's destructive power is on full display, even drawing awe from those cultists still alive long enough to watch this. Their eyes, though compelled by the rage gifted to them by their fell lord, dim to outright fear at this.
"That power!!" Tomoko starts as she somehow rights herself up to a stand, like a flower trying to hold tall in the wake of the elements coursing around her. "That you so freely used without restraint against that British showman to a crowd! That you willingly used to your advantage when so convenient!" Any veneer of calm is stripped away from the pain that goes through her. One can only imagine how her /ankles/ feel right now. (Seriously, the way she bent up against that blast? Ouch.)
"You think it brought you all your problems, do you, Zach?!" She sneers, hunched over as her hair obscures her face. "Could you even blame it for that poor receptionist you nearly killed with that little car you rode into the hospital with?!"
Given how much time she's taking talking, Tran's probably got another clear shot for asking his question again.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko gains composure.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tomoko 0/-------/-======|
Zach scowls. "Yeah," Zach says caustically, "I think that the lady who is out TO DESTROY HUMANITY has absolutely no claim to the moral high ground." Zach drops to a low crouch as he considers. "I've been fighting professionally for almost five years now," Zach says. "Anyone who gets into the ring with me at this point should either be aware of what they are in for, or have their head examined." Violet energy seeps out from the psion, whipping around wildly in the wake of the otherworldy energies of the temple.
"In point of fact," Zach, for some reason, decides to explain, "She did /not/ die." More of that energy boils to the surface, reacting to Zach's urging. Something about this temple is running him down faster than usual. Perhaps this effort will slow that down. "I paid the resulting medical costs. The ATV was one of a bunch of mistakes surrounding that fight. Perhaps you mean to tell me that, about a century ago, you didn't make a bad decision in the heat of a moment?"
The violet takes on a subtle tinge of crimson. "I mean, I'll understand if you don't remember any such thing. It /had/ to be a very very long time ago, and they say that memory is one of the first things to go."
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tomoko 0/-------/-======|
Bluh bluh bluh, Tomoko says. Hulb hulb hulb, Zach says. It is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most infuriating thing Dr. Tran has had to deal with in the past day.
SOME TIME AGO
Dr. Tran spits out a brownish cloud, throwing a small mug to the ground, sending coffee and shards of ceramic everywhere. "I SAID DECAF! DECAF, GOD DAMN YOU! RRRRAAAGH!" Witnesses will report that it was like 'a tiny nuke went off, there was a mushroom cloud and everything'.
NOW
"I SAID SHUT UP, GOD DAMN IT! NOBODY CARES! THIS SHIT DOESN'T MATTER!" Steam builds and swirls thickly around the doctor as both other involved parties take a breather, precipitating a lull in the fighting. Well, to hell with that.
"I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE HERE, BUT BECAUSE OF /SOMEBODY/, I CAN'T...I can't..." Tran trails off, looking briefly confused, before surging forth with renewed effort. "I CAN'T EVEN!" He draws his foot back again, swinging it forward like he did just moments before, but this time his aim is off. His kick strikes the ground in front of Tomoko-- and then rips through, digging a furrow through it and erupting up at her in a magnificent shower of dirt and blood and crap.
That'll teach her to do that stupid toe thing around a /real doctor/.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko dodges Tran's Fierce Kick.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 [E] Zach
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Tomoko 0/-------/=======|
"Always another person, is it, always... their fault," Tomoko tsks with a teasing waving finger--
Her feet suddenly tear out of the earth they've embedded themselves in like a blur when Tran continues to scream and moan and otherwise throw a temper tantrum with a kick whose launched spray of dirt, blood, and dung is, by itself, strong enough to break walls (like that tree over there, which snaps in two underneath what's launched from Tran's All-American kick).
"My, always been so unpleasant," Tomoko hmphs as she lowers her stance, legs slowly spread apart, "I'd imagine one like you - one so just... /angry/ at everything would have had rather enjoyed this lot in your life. All that anger, all at your disposal to express your displeasure."
Zach is, for the moment, ignored - likely an incredibly fatal mistake unto itself as his violet lights illuminate the room to his declaration of moral superiority and expectations of everyone else around him. The granny-who-for-some-reason-is-now-not-a-granny suddenly moves forward in a blur across the messy battlefield as the various cultists continue their ceremony, disturbed but not stopped under the guise that maybe delaying this all would be a bad idea.
The whipping winds and the bright bolt of lightning that strikes the center among the gathered cultists is in full agreement.
With that, Tomoko goes to thrust her fingers into Tran's solar plexus. A simple touch against the nerves, in an attempt to turn control of his motor functions almost literally inside out, to course pain just from that simple touch, like so many aggravatingly skilled old men in those movies.
Except now, /they're in one/. With an aggravatingly skilled old woman.
"Behave yourself."
Zach rolls his eyes at this. He knows Tomoko is trying to get under his skin at this point, has known it almost since the conversation started really. It is distracting, at a time when distractions could be fatal. Tomoko makes a judgement call, turning to face Tran. Tomoko could have, one could argue /should/ have, manuevered a bit differently. Given that both Tran and Zach have a tendency for... explosive displays of damage output, one might be well-advised to keep an eye on /both/ of them.
Zach recalls advice. Power and strength are secondary things. The will to /use/ them is paramount. Zach has always had some mixture of these three things, but the weak point in that triad has ever been his own will. His will has almost always been hindered by his hesitance, even in his claims of not wishing to bring undue harm unto others. In truth, Zach's reluctance to use his power was always firmly rooted in his fear of it. Of what he could accomplish with it, even if the only thing he could do with it is destruction.
If destruction was what he could do then he feels obligated, for lack of a better word, to at least destroy something that is a clear threat to the lives of those who are important to him. To say nothing of himself. The sword is drawn slowly. "I'm sorry," Zach says to Tomoko. Might as well give her /that/ much warning. She cannot undo what has been done to either himself or Tran if she is dead. "I'd have rathered it not come to this," he says as he brings the sword blade high. "However, There are things that I must do, and to do them, I must win this fight." Violet energy whips around the psion, racing up the Miraitou as the red bleeds out of his aura. The aura shifts once more, golden yellow bleeding into the protective cloak...
...and into Zach's hair, the violet in his hair bleeding away to just the tips of it as a fresh trickle of blood seeps out of the previously dry nostril. This purely physical change goes unnoticed by the would-be swordsman; he is bringing to bear the thing that Hyo Imawano mentioned to him. The sword swings down, missing Tomoko completely. Zach is too focused on the forming the crescent-shaped blast of energy that surges forth in the wake of the simple slash of the sword.
Regardless of whether or not it hits Tomoko, the attack evaporates either on impact with the woman or just after it passes where she was standing.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko successfully hits Tran with Han Kengai.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
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Tomoko 1/-------/=======|
"I am so happy that you made me angry because I was angry, that was really helpful YOU DUMB BITCH DO YOU EVEN LISTEN TO YOURSELF JUST SHUT UP!" Tran almost seems calm for a moment, but that is quickly revealed to be flat-out untrue as he falls back upon the shouting and the hurtful words almost immediately. And then Tomoko lightly jabs him in the stomach with her fingers.
Tran convulses and goes down, falling backward onto the disgusting ground, where he spends the next few moments rolling about uncontrollably and covering himself in filth. Conveniently, this means he isn't actually too close to Tomoko as she is made the target of a massive energy sword. The downside should be obvious.
Driven on by his rage, rage at Tomoko, at his surroundings, at Zach, at the cultists, at basically /every single aspect/ of this entire situation, Tran cannot stay down. He /can't/, not even if he'd like to. Though his body is not entirely his own, in a couple of ways, he rises jerkily nonetheless and does the only thing he can.
Tran flings himself headfirst at Tomoko like a brutal bullet, coated in a thick layer of steam.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Tomoko with Burst Stream.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tomoko 1/--=====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Tomoko with Aggressive Strike.
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Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
[ \\\ <
Tomoko 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Of course, there was never any reasoning with Dr. Tran - now that he has the Rage going through him, it seems as though from the outside that there is negative reasoning with Dr. Tran. (This means, in theory, any social rolls against him by Naerose should instantly succeed. Am I right? ...Hello?)
There is no denying that either man, alone, is a highly credible threat even without their... unique situations. Tomoko, even with whatever fell power she has going through her, would not find it easy to handle either of them for when they choose to go all out - either out of rage, or out of some other deep-seated reason to remove what they have.
"Don't be sorry," she says to Zach as she lets Tran convulse in the wake of what she /did/ to him, "you know full well it is not heartfelt, child."
Never mind the fact that her body may now, physically, be just as young or maybe a little younger than Zach.
It matters not whether or not Zach's words are heartfelt, for he truly means to use his power to the extent it will. To whatever meaning he assigns to Hyo's, in whatever quest of bettering himself, there does remain at least one undeniable truth in this whole matter as he puts on the glow and Tran starts to thrash around proactively in ways that allow him to get back up and fling himself back into the fray.
Zach's resulting sword swing is met with a taunting 'come hither' gesture from Tomoko as she gracefully backflips from the feint, probably to be a show-off - something that proves her undoing because of one very important fact.
She's not rooted herself to the dirt. In midair, there is no traction for the great crescent-shaped blast of energy that evaporates upon contact with her (though there's enough left over to leave a significant mark in the ground and in the remainder of the ceiling of the entry to that one pipe).
It is Tran doing his flying headbutt that scores the decisive blow, her screams wordless to the sound of crashing thunder as his head meets her abdomen and promptly launches her into one of the fractured walls that, at last, collapses under her mass between the combined might of Zach and Tran.
A team worthy of the fabled crossover of Axe Cop and Doctor McNinja, as steam, smoke, and a faint hint of vaporized fecal matter rises up from the wreckage where Tomoko has been launched.
The cultists do not move to interfere. If anything, they are more than happy to keep killing themselves, assuming there's even any still alive.
The wind starts to die down. Lightning appears to stop striking. Rain, instead, falls in from above, promising to wash the offal pretty much everywhere as a soiled, bloodied young (NOT!!) woman rises from the wreckage, head pointed down low and hands shaking violently in her attempt to pull herself out.
"Hm, hm. If you wanted me to remove them so much... you'd think better of using such force, now... wouldn't you," she chortles quietly as she falls again over to a kneel.
Right there, the two men won - but what's the next step in getting them free of their respective curses?
COMBATSYS: Tomoko takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
COMBATSYS: Tomoko can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 [E] Zach
Zach flicks the sword down and away, whisps of soul power whisking off of the blade. The aura fades away to nothing, by the effect his display had on his hair remains. He sheathes the blade, setting that aspect of himself aside for a moment as he calmly walks towards Tomoko. Blood, fecal matter, and foul water seep into the edges of the sherwani. "I know full well that I /am/ sorry," Zach says as he takes a knee. The stench of blood and sewage assaults his nostrils, but otherwise goes unheeded. "Despite my vocation, despite my apparent aptitude for it, fighting is not what I wanted to do with my life. There should be more to it than being able to beat people up."
Zach stares at Tomoko for a moment. "But you work with what you have," he says. "Railing about what is out of your hands is worse than pointless." He grunts. "Given what you thought you knew about the two of us, did you really expect some other outcome?"
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Zach's Burst Stream.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 [E] Zach
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 [E] Zach
After his head violently impacts Tomoko, Dr. Tran falls into the filth with a loud splat. He is now thoroughly coated on both sides. The nice thing is that, after being so inundated with the stench, it sort of becomes less bad. That doesn't really make Tran feel any better about it, though.
Slowly regaining the fine motor control that was temporarily stolen from him as his body furiously works to undo the damage (at the cost of damage of a more subtle nature), Tran pushes himself up onto his feet, still steaming, giving Tomoko the kind of look that says 'I wish I could eviscerate you with a thought'. Which, if you think about, he's more than capable of doing to most people.
But rather than anything so violent, Tran exercises the last vestiges of his self-control to the fullest, pulling himself back from the brink for as long as he can manage. The strain is evident in his voice, as it comes close to cracking several times.
"Tell me. What you want." He takes a deep breath, exhaling raggedly, fist clenching and unclenching rapidly, almost spastically. "Any price."
COMBATSYS: Tran takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 [E] Zach
With strenuous effort, Tomoko rises - encrusted in filth and blood, some of it hers (the blood... mostly), where Zach goes with his lectures and his apologies, where Tran - clearly more desperate, far less in control - asks the question. What would she want? Her price?
"Hum." She smiles under all that hair as she has to brush it away, again. Man, suddenly going young does not do wonders for having unobtrusive hair. That's good advice for anyone.
Especially Igniz.
"Well now," she speaks weakly, "I suppose at this stage... there is... no longer any harm in just simply letting you boys go on your way." Both arms rise, one so very close to the other man. Rather menacing, really.
Completely menacing, in how quick they strike out and snatch either man by their neck. In Zach's case, her grasp intends to pierce the very nerves in his neck, to remove feeling from just about anywhere from the neck down - a move that would leave him so incredibly vulnerable to virtually anything she or anyone else could want to do to him. Why, if there was so much as a cultist standing behind Zach with a knife, there would be - very literally - nothing he could do to defend himself.
The thumb of the hand clasping Zach is jabbed into the choker, which writhes about against Zach's skin. The other hand's already on Tran's head. She is, visibly, significantly gentler to the American Doctor than she is to Zach as something - /something/ - gets drawn away from him. Thunder crashes down nearby to those involved, sure to leave ears ringing. Tomoko may be attempting to explain what she's doing, but if so, it's likely lost.
Zach will likely feel a numbness throughout his entire body for several moments, but the accursed purple choker splashes down into the filth, undone. Her work with Tran is not entirely finished as an entire part of his /being/ may feel like it's being torn apart.
This cannot be helped. After all, she is trying to rip out something that has, in some fashion or another, chosen to try and be a part of Tran. An overwhelming part of him. Like something is bleeding free. It's not entirely clear where it's intending to go...
Until she releases Tran by unceremoniously shoving him away, for he's always been a rude and ungrateful boy - but that chewing feeling of rage should be gone.
He may still have a gnawing feeling of complete upset, though, because he's Dr. Tran.
"Take a look around yourselves." Tomoko speaks, her task done. "It doesn't matter, does it? What do you hope to do against the oncoming fall, I wonder? Humanity is wretched. Even you all can see it yourselves. I have... not done you a favor, considering your eventual fates."
Zach does not pull away. The nerve is struck, and he lets out a gasp of surprise. He stares numbly at the choker in the dirt for a long moment before scooping it free of the muck. The choker is shoved into a pocket, a reminder of the price of shortcuts. He pulls himself to his feet and tugs at his coat to adjust the fit.
"Fuck fate," Zach says as he starts to walk out. "Just because it's coming doesn't mean I won't stand against it. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to answer for." Unless something goes crazy, Zach leaves.
COMBATSYS: Zach unequips Serpent Choker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Zach
COMBATSYS: Zach has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|
If Dr. Tran appeared spastic /before/, boy oh boy does that pale once Tomoko lays her hand on his head and begins her strange work. He can feel her touch inside him, that strange power twisting inside him, like his insides are on fire. It's agonizing.
Twisting and screaming in Tomoko's grasp, flailing wildly save for where she holds him, Tran goes a little bit insane. It seems to last forever, as though he's being rent in two for eternity.
But eternity ends, and Tran is eventually left on his ass in the mud. He's not terribly bothered by this, considering how he's already almost entirely coated by the vile slime. Plus, for the first time in a while, he's in a good mood. Sure, he's a little miffed that things didn't quite go like he expected, but the feeling of having his mind back, of being able to think clearly; well, it's a relief like he's never experienced. So maybe he can afford to be nice, for once.
"Shut up." Or, well, as nice as he ever gets. Tran's delivery is wholly without rancor, even if he's still an ass. "I'll decide if you've done me a favor or not, granny." Nevermind how she looks right now, Tran knows the /truth/ about her age. Unlesss that's just a facade. Hell, who knows, who cares.
"...so, you gonna be OK? You kinda look like shit."
COMBATSYS: Tran unequips The Rage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tran 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Tran has ended the fight here.
"Always so ready to dismiss things with a one-liner." Tomoko chuckles, pained, as she eventually sees it fit to let herself crouch into the very muck. It's a very unladylike thing, but then again, she just UNNATURALLY AGED IN REVERSE so really any standards of ladyhood are kind of out the window at this point.
"Hmhmhm... truthfully, good doctor, I would be... much more worried about yourself." She says as she finds the strength, once more, to rise as all sorts of unpleasant things drip off her hands as she steps towards the altar.
"It isn't over. Not even me! Those of us who have seen the follies of humanity... or, my friends may say, those of us who inherited the truth of their follies..." she says as the wind picks up again to dangerous speeds. Thunder roars overhead. Could she be having a second wind at last?
"...will see to it that they get their just judgment. Neither of you shall be exempt, I'm afraid. Whether you choose to fight, or simply live out the rest of your days peacefully, hmhm, well..."
Her hands spread out wide as she looks upward. A great bolt of lightning strikes down and shatters the very altar into a countless number of tiny (dangerous) fragments of fell rock, scattering bodies and blood everywhere as Tomoko's form disappears completely into the lightning bolt with nary a trace.
In its place, a heavy downpour follows that leaves both men - freed from their curses inflicited upon themselves by this woman - with the ability to choose their destiny from there.
Worldwide, the slaughter continues. What will they do?
Log created on 17:39:33 05/23/2011 by Tran, and last modified on 09:55:30 05/24/2011.