Description: A corrupted Antoine has been leaving bodies in his wake near the shrine when Quon seeking shelter from the storm happens upon his friend. After a brutal fight there's question of whether Quon's efforts were all for naught when a couple of familiar faces step in...
It's raining.
Water pours along, streaming mercilessly. The showers spatter against the ground, pittering and pattering harshly. Those who wander into the area are likely to drench.
Everything in the shrine is in disarray.
The torii is knocked over, the gate offering no form of welcome as the pedestals are lying against the side. The stones that make up the structure are burning with the strange, brownish wash of energy.
In the center of it is a figure.
A suffering figure.
This ebony-skinned man is on one knee, both hands out stretched while the hands tighten to fists.
~ "Serve him..." ~
~ "Realize your true power." ~
Only a howl is heard.
There were rumors of a beast who haunted the shrine that outstretched to the city. Many fighters journeyed to face the beast.
The result?
Bodies everywhere. Men and women are piled up all over the place, bleeding and lose of conscious. It is thankful that they are not dead. Those that do wake up would rather play dead until the beast is gone. However, they are too injured to even move.
Quon hasn't heard those rumors of the beast. Nothing like life on the streets in a self imposed exile to keep a person out of the loop. All Quon knows is that it's raining and sleeping on park benches in this type of weather is not really an option. As a result, Quon makes his journey towards the shrine all in the name of shelter.
what he finds is the beast, and a familiar howl of his friend who seems to lost the battle with the taint within him. Knowledge of this fills the already saddened Chongquan practitioner with even more sadness. He moves closer to the shrine and as he approaches he removes the backpack from his shoulder and looks at what he can only think of as a twisted mockery of his best friend. His best friend is not like this.
He resolves himself to face his friend once more. If he can't find happiness in his own dreams, he can at least help his friend achieve his own of being able to test himself against as many fighters as he can. As it is, he can see Antoine is in a situation where even if he was allowed to fight other styles, he's too savage to gain anything from it. Reflecting on that, Quon would have to say that was the saddest part of the whole thing.
Quon doesn't bother with saying anything. He has doubts it would get through to his best friend right now. Instead, he falls into his fighting stance, as he faces Antoine. That, he's sure will get through to him.
COMBATSYS: Antoine has started a fight here.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Antoine has awoken to his Rage.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Quon has joined the fight here.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
Another shows up.
The head of the creaure, formerly an aspiring young fighter, lifts his head up to see that the challengr is making his way into the 'arena'. His turf. This person, who already gets into his fighting stance, is challenging him.
This is his territory.
Clutching his head, the beast releases a primal scream before a foot steps forward. When he slams his heel to the ground, a burst of that sickening chi is expelled.
As the ground shudders...
The beast charges.
As Antoine closes the distance between himself and Quon, he swipes out the left hand to relase a chop towards the man's face, then the right hand comes out with a swipe. The attack then comes as he launches off of his feet with a spin, leashing out his left leg to strike at Quon's head.
COMBATSYS: Quon interrupts Combo Attack from Antoine with Crossing the Bridge.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Quon
While both Antoine as he is now, and Quon as his default state, are both instinctual creatures, there are significant differences in the way their instinct manifests itself. Quon answers Antoine's savage rage with an almost serene calm in spite of the anxiety he feels for his own situation and the doubts nagging at him about whether he's even equipped to handle this.
He steps back and away from the chop which then puts him in position to launch himself at Antoine in return, flipping forward as his goes ablaze with golden flame. The additional height from the flip results in Quon getting caught in the hip with Antoine's kick as he drives a fiery heel into the tainted Chongquan fighter's head.
The force of Antoine's kick sends him crashing to the ground as well. He could only imagine how painful it would've been to take the impact in its intended location. He rolls backwards before bringing himself in a crouched position and watching Antoine.
The rain pours heavily. As the rain continues to come down like a flood, the bodies enter a state of a brawl.
The savagery meets the calm aura. With the golden blazing foot striking at Antoine's head, the beast is knocked over towards the side. His head is sent reeling along with the rest of the body. The impact sends him rolling along the ground until he lands flat on his face.
With a growl, he peels himself off of the ground, clutching his head to unleash a mighty roar.
His eyes now flash red, filled with that blind, savage rage. The call to continue the assault rings in his head. That is why Antoine launches towards Quon once more.
He sweeps his right foot against the ground, seeking to catch Quon off-guard with the next foot coming forth. The scorching blaze accompanies his hand as a force of the chi roars out, tearing into existence through the sickly brown hue.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Quon with Roaring Guardian.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Quon
The movements are the same but all Quon can see is a bastardization of Chongquan technique(Though Shiden would probably argue that Quon's own personal interpretations were a bastardization of Chongquan technique as well). The corruption and taint palpable even before Antoine's technique makes impact with his body. When it hits there's a revulsion at what has hit him not to mention the massive amounts of pain going through him right now.
Being hit that hard by the corrupted technique only serves to to make those doubts nag at him even more. He even begins to wonder if he'll die at his own friend's hands and whether or not everything he's attempting to do for his friend is all for naught.
He staggers to his feet as he attempts to silence all of those doubts. He then suddenly goes from staggering to almost a blur as he leaps into the air and then descends downward on the other Chongquan fighter with one foot extended before kicking off of him and into a flip with a 180 twist in the air.
COMBATSYS: Antoine blocks Quon's Eagle Catches Mouse.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Quon
Although Quon takes the full brunt of the corrupted technique, the beast is not done. Watching the Chongquan fighter fall back, the demonic beast is walking towards Quon.
Slowly. It creeps forward.
When he descends to the fighter, Antoine reaches his hand towards the descnding foot. As Antoine's arm impacts against the foot, the young man finally launches off of the ground. Upon rising into the air, the foot reaches forward to release a foot towards the sky before twisting about to another strike of the foot to smack Quon down.
"GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Quon with Sundering Heaven.
- Power hit! -
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Antoine [E] 1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Quon
Quon is still in the air when he gets reintroduced to the ground by way of Antoine's foot. When he rises to his feet, he's brutally battered and bruised. In addition to that, his morale is severely damaged. Truth be told, that wasn't much of a change from how he entered this battle. He came into this fight with a damaged morale from everything that has gone wrong in his life. The expulsion from college, the loss of his job, and apartment, and life's inability to just finish the job on him and end his life. The only thing keeping him going is the small, almost infinitesimal hope that he can at least make things better for his friend.
The muddied and bloodied Chongquan fighter takes to the air once more and at first, it looks like a repeat of his previous attack, but he remains in the air, alternating between feet as he stomps on the other fighter's head before pushing Antoine away with both feet as he flips backwards and if he should land on his own terms, slide backwards on the muddied ground.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Antoine with Breaking the Shell.
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Antoine [E] 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Quon
When Antoine lands on the ground, he drops down to one knee. His eyes pinpoint the fighter that just hit the ground. A snarl is given towards the fighter, creeping over towards him slowly.
With the muddy and bloodied fighter taking to the air to strike, Antoine prepares to counteract his maneuver. The impact of the heel strikes against Antoine's head. This sends him slamming face first towards the muddied ground.
He lies there for a few moments, but then both hands push out in front of him to get up to his feet. Antoine step towards Quon, ready to finish the job.
... However...
~ You know... You're quite a fighter. You're wasting your time getting worked up by those jackasses. Climb Antoine. ~
Part of Antoine's memories return. In his struggle, the beast releases a roar. This time, it is comprehensible.
"Quoooooonn... Fightttttt..... FFFFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!"
"CLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMBBBBBB!!!!"
As Antoine clutches his head, the aura releases a resounding burst of energy. Spreading everywhere, that energy tears into the air, becoming a whirlwind as it sucks in the rainstorm.
Drenched in wetness, Antoine continues his howl.
COMBATSYS: Antoine focuses on his next action.
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Antoine [E] 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Quon
Quon slides backwards in the mud shifting his weight forward as he plants a hand to drop into a three point stance and stop his own slide backwards. He then rises back to his stance only to be startled not only by the roar but by the fact that Antoine, the actual Antoine and not some horrible distortion of his friend is speaking to him.
"My mountain has crumbled around me. Your mountain is still there to be climbed. Just remember that you're not some hateful and corrupted beast." He then adjusts his stance a bit and slowly steps in closer. When he finally arrives, he lashes out a kick to Antoine's knees before following with punches to the stomach before finishing with a palm strike to the chin.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Antoine with Combo Attack.
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Antoine [E] 1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0 Quon
There is till Antoine in there. Although he is suffering against the strange power. He is still there. No matter what kind of pain that he has to endure. No matter the suffering of what he sees himself as, he is still trying to break out.
It's through Quon that he keeps fighting. Here the guy is, down on his luck. Yet, here he is, fighting for him.
"Nngghhh.... Find... new mountain... do... not... falter... if you do.... you already lose... everything... No matter... how bad...--------------GGGGGGRRAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Unable to remain himself, the beast now releases a mighty roar in the air.
As he roars, lightning crackles from his body. The surging enery tears into the air, creating a fearsome ripple. As the energy crackles and fire all directions. With the flames erupting in his hand, the crackle of lightning manifests forward.
Antoine charges towards Quon, releasing opening his jaws as he brings his right hand back. "GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" As he winds his fist back, he is releasing a powerful surge of lightning to tear through the air, seeking to tear Quon with it in front of him.
COMBATSYS: Quon dodges Antoine's Perfect Storm.
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Antoine [E] 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Quon
If Quon was a bit more self-centered, he'd respond that he has lost everything except what can be held in his backpack. He isn't and besides, this is about Antoine, not Quon so instead, he continues to fight not just an Antoine who could just barely keep a lid on his rage for just a few moments before it took over again, but the fatigue in his body and the aches and pains that keep telling him that he shouldn't continue, as welll as those doubts inside of him that continue to say that he is ill equipped for this.
He edges in cautiously since pretty much everything that Antoine has dished out in this fight has hit him pretty hard. He throws out a quick open palmed strike to the jaw to test the raging fighter's defenses and then he circles around in an attempt to get ready to finish this fight.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Antoine with Quick Punch.
Where Quon is cautious, Antoine moves with wild abandon. When he thrusts that fist against Quon's head, the other fighter manages to get out of the way o the strike. Antoine is left open.
And it is the opening that Quon needs to succeed.
The open palm strikes him across the face, sending him sprawling back and he twitches. He shakes his head, snorting. He grits his teeth, bringing his hands together as he crosses towards Quon. Dashing his way, Antoine shoots out his arms wide. The leading hand aims to strike Quon against his solar plex.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Quon with Moving the Mountain.
And while Quon was somewhat prepared to see savagery from the beast that takes on the form of his best friend, he wasn't prepared for it to be unleashed with such speed, he only starts to dig in to hold his ground just as the palm makes impact. Instead of staying close like he had originally wanted he finds himself stumbling backwards in pain.
It's only through force of will and emotion, which Marz has once stated in her report that she thought made him weak, that he manages to stand up right now. It's only through those things that he finds hope that he can help his friend. It is that hope that drives his leg to deliver kick, after kick with a speed that makes it seem like his foot is in several places at once, hope that allows him to switch legs to deliver even more kicks at high speed in spite of the fact that his body is in no condition to be attacking like this.
And then in the end his body has no more left to give, and he falls to the ground.
His last conscious thought is verbalized in the form of, "Please let me not have failed you, friend."
COMBATSYS: Quon can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Antoine with Wild Dragon.
Antoine strikes with the palm, sending the monk stumbling backwards. Antoine lifts his head up, glaring towards Quon with those crimson eyes. As the crimson eyes burn with the fury, the feral fighter now charges towards Quon.
Antoine attempts to come through to tear into Quon.
...until he is caught with the resolve of the fighter in the form of the leg striking him. The foot rapidly strikes against his body, beating and tearing against the form. The last kick strikes Antoine towards the head, sending him spinning in the air and he falls flat on his face.
He tries to pull himself up. "Nnggggh.... I... Grrrr...." However, he collapses on his face. "Ughhh....."
COMBATSYS: Antoine can no longer fight.
Zach, after cleaning up the mess that had become his apartment (it is amazing how a fight will mess up a place that doesn't have a lot of stuff in it) and bandaging a trio of shallow knife cuts, had gotten a phone call. It was the police.
After his incident with Carroll Jayne, and his journeyto get out from under the influence with the Cult of Gaia, Zach Glen had turned himself over to the Southtown Police Department. There, he had confessed to his role in the explosion that he had caused, and the three deaths he had had a hand in.
It was decided that, at least while the Cult of Gaia was still at large, putting Zach in a holding cell would effectively be a death sentence not only for the psion but for those around him. The odds that those who were out to kill Zach before would not come after him approached zero pretty quickly. Instead, especially after the young man's run-in with Ken Masters, the police decided to employ the psychic fighter to deal with the growing riots in Southtown.
Zach was informed of the rumors surrounding a shrine outside of town. His eyes went wide when he realized that this might be a lead to finding Antoine. Upon hearing that more than a few fighters had not returned, Zach grabbed a first aid kit and started praying that he would not be too late to help.
He sprinted through the rain, the faint yellow aura Zach was generating to help light his path casting flickering shadows around him. He skids to a halt as he sees Quon's last gambit. "/Shit/," Zach says he surveys the wreckage Antoine as called. Thinking quickly, Zach pulls out his cell phone. Much more effective than telepathy, really. Especially when one considers that Zach does not know that trick. The first call, perhaps oddly, is to one Howard Rust. Glen hurriedly gives Rust the lowdown before hanging up and calling 119 and requesting a ton of ambulances.
MEANWHILE, AT THE SCENE OF A WRECK
"Yeah... that, that oughtta do it," Howard says as he slams the hood of an ambulance down, voice tired and exhausted as though ready to drive off. He stopped at a convenience store late in the night to get himself a nice bag of frozen french fries, and yet, somehow ended up being the only man present to help get an ambulance back operational.
His cellphone rings admist the sea of thanks and calls back to dispatch on the part of the emergency workers. Zach doesn't need to say much for Rust's jaw to suddenly hang open as he slaps his forehead. "Holy shit. Zach. Really. Really? Where's..."
He waves off the workers as he rushes back to his truck to drive down to where Zach has, at last, supposedly found Antoine - already subdued thanks to Quon, from the sound of things.
Humorously, it's not more than a minute later on the road that the ambulance he helped fix immediately speeds past him - evidently going the exact same way. He can only hope it's nowhere near as bad as Zach has made it out to be.
His bag of frozen fries is doomed this night to spoil.
Zach closes the phone, quickly stuffing the device in his pocket before looking around again to take stock of things. He rolls Antoine onto his back before starting with Quon, pulling out a coldpack and bandaging to treat the burn on Quon's chest before moving onto the collection of cuts and scrapes that a fight tends to bestow.
Zach is certain of only two things regarding Antoine: the first being that the younger man is not dead. The second is that Zach is not entirely certain what to /do/ with Antoine. After all, should the Orochi-tainted fighter wake up, he could resume rampage. Zach is not sure that he can contain Antoine without killing him, if it came down to it. The psion moves on to some of the other injured people around the shrine, helping where he can, giving assurances that medical help is inbound.
During all of this he is keeping an eye on Antoine, making sure that the unconscious fighter is still down.
Antoine is rolled onto his back. It is a good thing he is unconscious.
The people, for the most part, are getting healed. Many of them are able to wake up. Many of the people are groaning in pain. They are alive, at least. Zach's healing allows them to try to get up. The sirens of the medics blare, ringing forth as they are slowly making their arrival.
When they do arrive, the paramedics are getting out of the vehicles, getting the stretchers ready. They are all positionng to gather and help the people in need. However, they do not arrive at the shrine yet.
After some time has past, and Zach runs out of medical supplies (there is only so much a person can carry in a hurry after all) the psion turns his attention to Antoine. He considers carefully. There has to be a reason that the Cult of Gaia is hunting down psychics as they are.
Perhaps there is merit to their claim that psychics will bring ruin to the planet; Shadaloo does tend to collect (or create) evil psychics with a passion. Or perhaps those who wield the power of the mind, or the soul, would be instrumental in stopping whatever plans the Cult had laid on.
Zach had been giving a great deal of thought to the nature of his power since kicking down that Cultist temple with Rust. That since strong power, especially psycho power or soul power or whatever the hell you want to call it, derives from and responds to strong emotion...
...maybe, just maybe, he could do things with his ability that /don't/ involve blowing shit up.
Zach takes a tentative step towards Antoine. There are things that could go wrong with this. While, perhaps, he could aid Antoine in purging himself of the tainted chi that runs through him, it is similarly possible that he could worsen Antoine's injuries. Or even kill Antoine.
While he has a lot of possibilities, he also knows nothing will get done if nothing is tried. Zach Glen focuses on his desire to help Antoine as he crouches beside the injured fighter. "I don't know if you can hear me in there, Antoine," Zach says softly. He rubs the palms of his hands together for a moment. "I'm not sure if this will work, or how," he says. Zach pulls his palms apart, yellow energy flowing from them like silly putty with the strands drooping slightly.
"But I'm going to try and lend you some of my strength," he says as he reaches for Antoine with both hands. "It's going to be up to you to fight it off." Zach places his right hand on Antoine's solar plexus, the chakra point for sense of self, ego, will. The other hand is placed on Antoine's brow, the point of knowledge and thought.
Zach envisions his energy, driven by his own will, flowing into Antoine. Bolstering the martial artist's strength of mind, hopefully kick-starting the process of expelling the foul influence of Orochi.
It is that vision... That help... is what Antoine needs.
The warrior that was filled with rage is now struggling.
Here is Antoine, now faced with the fact that he is in a stramge place. Within his own mind, he is in a different world, in a way. The area around him is pure white. However, there is darkness encompassing the entire area.
He walks around this empty hall, clutching onto his head. "Nnggh..." Those calls, those that mocked him... brought him down. Antoine's eyes narrow as they cast low.
"...Must fight on... I must fight it..."
This dreamescape. This place where he can feel something come over him. This will to fight. He can feel some sort of strength.
Quon. Rust. Zach. Lau.
The darkness is filled with the inky tendrils of a foul, darkened ochre. The echoes that have haunted Antoine's mind since that very day still resound brightly. In its familiarity, it may have become a gentle whisper... but in the face of adversity, a rare opportunity - Antoine's only - to fight against it, the words repeat.
The words still etched to his psyche.
WHEN YOUR TEAMMATES LIE BLOODIED AND BEATEN BY THEIR OPPONENTS...
This happened. They were routed in the very first round of the King of Fighters. They all lost, one by one. Rust. Zach. Yuri. It is entirely possible that if all five were allowed to fight, the Wrestlefriends would have still won.
REMEMBER WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU.
From the inky darkness comes a visage ever so familiar to Antoine. It is not of his friends, of those who cared. As two narrowed, yellow eyes pierce the darkness, a humanoid form steps out, clad in a gi of a slightly brighter color - if 'brighter' can ever be used as a descriptor for the darkness.
It is looking into the mirror. The mirror, to find yourself hating everything about you. The self-loathing that allows such thoughts to triumph, as it falls into the familiar Chongquan stance.
The question is, does Antoine now, at long last, have the strength to throw a punch at it?
It all starts to come back.
The loss that his friends faced at the King of Fighters tournament. That is when the voices came back. The students at the dojo that rejected him since he was a foreigner. The people in his hometown that betrayed him, sold him out and nearly got him killed.
As the voices ring in his mind, it is overcame by the loudest one challengng him.
"... I will fight on... I'll face the voices... I'll face all opposition."
Antoine steps his right foot forward. Both of his arms rise up, guard up. The fists turn into palms as they open up. With his gaze turning towards himself... The chi expels out, erupting in a violent rumble. He is calm.
"I'll face myself."
The color of Antoine's expression of chi clashes up against the ochre darkness. The two intertwine, never accepting one another, never quite resisting. Such abstractions cannot hope to be resolved on their own.
THERE IS NO HOPE IN THIS WORLD FOR THOSE OF HONOUR AND GOODWILL.
So the voice declares as it moves forth, this Negative Antoine's body not following the rules of human physiology. It is a mere abstraction of Antoine's inner mind, after all. But there is no mistaking its movements as humor.
It is vicious, made up of subtle mistakes and weaknesses of the various forms Antoine had previously dedicated his entire person to practicing. Dashing forward, it expels further ochre darkness against the white backdrop of Antoine's mind, form twisting sideways (if it even has a side) as it launches both arms out, the leading palm going straight for Antoine's chest.
IF YOU WANT THE STRENGTH, YOU WILL FIGHT FOR IT.
"...There is a place for those who uphold their tradition and honor..."
As the chi resonates, Antoine draws upon the inner energy to push against the darkness that seeks to overcome his. When the form launches both of his arms out towards the chest, Antoine brings both of his arms to guard agains the impact.
However, while his arms are up, the young Chongquan fighter is sent flying across the air. The darkness blasts him against the ground, he is rolling along the ground. However, he slowly stands up.
"...No matter how strong the adversary is... I will climb!"
As the white chi pushes towards the darkness, Antoine springs off of the ground with a mid-air spin. He launches his right leg to strike against the figure's head, followed by a spinning heel kick of the left foot.
Antoine's energy is his own, its color clashing against the muddy taint that has since occupied the majority of Antoine's thoughts, feelings, memories - somewhere, somehow, Antoine's color starts to strike back, and the figure before him unnaturally twists...
BECOME THE SOLDIER...
It seems almost too accepting of Antoine's own violent recourse as it twists and contorts formlessly into an undefinable mass - aside from the eyes - reforming a ways away, just out of reach at the end of Antoine's spinkicks. There may be no physical weight to be felt... but does such matter within the mind?
Shiden's corruption of the style - or his more pragmatic interpretation, depending on who one would ask - bleeds through the psyche, to crash the bridge as it leaps forward, one leg-like appendage lifted high up to be brought down as an axe-kick, prior to his other leg going to a crescent kick of the entirely opposite direction.
SERVANT TO HIS RAGE AND HIS AMBITION.
Can the white hold its ground?
This cannot be.
Antoine can see the shadow version of him contorting unto an undefineable mess. It reformed out of his psinning kicks. He grits his teeth, looking towards the shadow version of himself.
When it leaps out towards him with the leg, Antoine lift his hand up to guard against the axe kick. Then, the other hand moves toward the crescent kick, gripping against it before the hand seeks to shove it away.
"...I will become no one's soldier..."
The white aura flares.
"My ambition... is to understand the world..."
It bursts.
"I will not let you corrupt me any further than you have..."
Does Antoine have a strong enough ideal to fight the one imposed upon him by the strength of Brihan's utter contempt for humanity and the world around her...?
Antoine's catch and attempt at a shove is met with something far more, as the fell color clouding Antoine's mind makes its power play, all whiteness growing dark... absorbing. Larger.
All this coincides with a foot stomped forward before a jagged, sick line of energy of undefinable color strikes the dark figure, arm-like appendages thrust forth to smother - or perhaps beat back - the light.
DO THIS.
It mocks.
AND MAYBE NEXT TIME YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOURSELF, AND THOSE YOU LOVE. UNTIL THEN...
It thrusts the makeshift, vaguely recognizable shape of palms hard into whatever part of Antoine still resists, to still fight on in its one decisive bid to use the one technique Antoine has truly perfected as his own... his signature, one of the great standing legacies of his late master, his inner darkness now seeking to trump the light in this decisive strike.
SLEEP.
As Antoine attempts to catch and shove the power away, the young man is grittin his teeth. He muscles are tightening. He can feel it starting to consume him. However, he must not falter.
The whiteness is growing darker.
Both eyes widen.
~ No... I... I cannot falter! They fought too hard to get me this far! ~
Quon. Rust. Zach.
The jagged line of energy thrusts to smother and beat back the light.
The voice return.
"...D--damnit...." Antoine grits hs teeth as the figure shapes itself. The palms are striking towards the chest, seeking to slam Antoine back. The eyes widen to see that legacy... The Immovable Mountain being drawn.
~ "Antoine. You're progressing nicely." ~
~ The young boy, no older than sixteen is looking over towards the old chinese man in green. The ebony-skinned boy grins, "Thanks, pops--err... sifu!" He has a bright grin. "It's thanks to you and Quon that I'm able to keep going.." ~
~ "...Climb, Antoine." ~
As the mountain stands in front of him...
Antoine is gritting his teeth as he releases a scream. The white energy is expelling outward. That expelling energy is then drawn as Antoine finally moves forward. His body crackles with that lightning that consumes him.
"I will not fall... I will not sleep for no one... My body will not sleep... I will achieve this through the means of Chongquan! ....JUST AS SIFU WOULD WANT ME TO!"
Slamming his hand against the Mountain, he twists the palm forward. Then, he twists over to shove against it and set up for the cleave. His body flashes with a blue aura before he tears forward, thrusting that fist upward against the mountain.
Moving the Mountain, Heaven Descends to Earth.
"I WILL CLIMB!"
The white aura is seeking to fight against the black, seeking to cleave through the unnatural aid of the darkness.
Heaven Descends to Earth.
With it, what belongs in Hell is to be cast down to its prison.
The mountain of inky blackness vibrates, shimmers, and contorts against the blue energy. Those words, the words that Brihan have said repeat themselves in increasingly warped, eventually totally incomprehensible ways as it starts to melt beneath Antoine.
It is not sinking.
Antoine is rising.
The Negative Antoine's form is no longer able to even be recognized as some facsimile of Antoine, its yellow eyes splintered into flecks of light... perhaps nothing more than a mere perception of the mind as such, the barely visible dull sparkles of yellow falling well beneath Antoine's climb up from the darkness.
Maybe the darkness will not fully disappear, even as the ochre fades to orange... yellow... to the faintest beige, before disappearing entirely in Antoine's climb, where the white awaits him.
Antoine no longer has any time to look down to see if it's still there, waiting for him. Antoine is to climb.
To climb back up to where his friends are all awaiting him...
Antoine no longer needs to look down.
Those voices of doubt... Those that haunted him in his past are becoming deafened.
Antoine climbs towards the light.
As he reaches for that white light, everything is now becoming brighter. With that bright flash, Antoine reaches for the sky.
....As he reaches...
His eyes awaken.
The dark traces of the energy leaves Antoine as he slowly starts to pull himself up.
His eyes no longer consumed with the rage, Antoine is running his hand along his head. He is trying to regain his senses around the word. "..Nngghh..."
Zach quickly pulls his hands away from Antoine, motes of amber light that quickly vanish trailing away from the palms. He falls back onto his rear end, regarding Antoine with narrowed eyes. It becomes clear that Antoine is not going to attack (right away), so Zach gets his feet under him, putting the psion in a crouching position.
"Hey," Zach says. "You back with us?" he asks, somewhat uncertain. He was not at /all/ sure that would work. Glen has been oblivious to the goings on around him, and the paramedics have given the pair a clear birth. They are not entirely sure what just happened either.
The impact of these events will not be felt by Zach until later.
"Zach!" Comes that familiar voice, followed by an equally familiar pop of a knee joint as Rust comes jogging all the way over to where Zach is knelt down to an injured Antoine and Quon. "Is that... h-holy shit, Antoine!" His voice breaks from heavy breath into brief laughter - an Antoine that seems to be conscious.
"Y-You guys stay right there," he gestures with an open palm as he looks back to whence he came, "I'm, I'm gonna cook us up some... some fries, with my car."
As Antoine becomes more coherent, he looks over at Zach with a faint smile. He offers a nod towards the psychic. "...Yeah." Then, is eyes turn towards Rust, the young man looks a the older man, offering him a faint smile. "...Heh.."
Slowly, Antoine is starting to stand up, looking towards the gathered. "...I want to apologize for the way that I have been. ...I will be seeking to make it up to everyone."
He looks at those that have been injured, maimed, and near death. Those that are gettin treated, Antoine shuts his eyes, "...I will be making things right and continue the way that Sifu would want me to continue."
COMBATSYS: Quon has ended the fight here.
DVD Extras
COMBATSYS: Antoine can no longer fight.
[OOC] Antoine says, "oh right, overburn"
[OOC] Zach "1 Bao" Glen says, "Whoops"
[OOC] Quon says, "lawl."
[OOC] Rust says, "now now, guys."
[OOC] Rust says, "Antoine, rejoin and we can pretend this didn't happen with the log edit."
Log created on 20:48:28 07/17/2011 by Quon, and last modified on 17:25:12 07/24/2011.