Description: The battle continues as Shadaloo's forces continue to push forward. Knowing South Korea could be a potential thorn in his side if left unchecked and knowing if he managed to take the nation that he would find a new ally in North Korea, the dictator sends his new secret weapon to snuff out South Korea and add it to his currently list of conquests. What he didn't expect was the willpower shown by a young fighter named May Lee. Nor could he have realized just how much tenacity and willpower there is in that of Kim Kaphwan. In the capital of Seoul perhaps one of the most important battles of the war so far erupts.
Seoul is aflame.
The battle has raged for two days already, and the nation has been torn asunder by China's fierce incursion. Pushing from the inner boundary of South Korea to the capital by tank and by plane, the combined Shadaloo forces have almost literally rolled over everything that stands in their way; relying on all-terrain vehicular might to keep themselves in motion, the defenders ever guessing. Brave strikes by sapper teams have rendered the more fortress-like of the caterpillar-tracked horde to smoking husks, but this could not stop the final push, penetrating the outer limits of the capital itself, where WAR now fills the streets.
Civilians lie in heaps of the dead and dying, Shadaloo sparing nobody as they sweep roads and alleys. The central Chinese force focuses alternately on holding won lines, or striking from the air; and the largest remaining unit still moving forward is Charlie Squadron. Their arrowlike jets flitter in and out of the high buildings, dropping bombs and spraying machinegun-fire liberally, keeping the defenders on the run as ground troops thrust themselves as deep into the action as they dare.
Truth be told, at this stage terror is all the thin-spread attackers really seem to have. As they approach the United Nations building, tall and shining amidst a landscape of smoking devastation, cornering the thick knot of defenders that has lasted the longest and fought back the hardest, the numbers look... uneven, actually. Aside from those swooping jets - themselves running relatively low in number - there are perhaps a couple hundred soldiers. But at their rear there's a small transport. A truck marked with the winged skull.
A command unit, perhaps, but it's moving forward with the others.
That can't be usual; that can't be /good/.
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|
And so it comes to this.
May Lee has been tireless for days. She is so tireless, in fact, that she looks like death warmed up. The girl's shirt is a mess; bullet holes give way to bandages beneath. Even the froggy design on the front has been badly injured, and she has applied a large bandaid to the top of the froggy's injured head. People have been assuming that this is a morale-lifting joke. People may assume whatever they like, but May Lee will not let Froggy suffer.
The girl stands within the wreckage of Seoul. Her forehead has been grazed and is bleeding, trickling down her face, but she is not retreating. Her back is, quite literally, against the wall. They can go no further without betraying their people. May Lee... has seen death, these past few days. She has met good people and tried to keep them in the fight, only to watch the forces of Shadaloo brutally murder them. She has made her peace with the fact that the rest of the world doesn't seem to care what happens to these 'little' countries and will let them die.
Even if the whole world says that something wrong is right, that does not make it so.
Carefully, the girl rips the bottom off her shirt. For the first time, she is not smiling, as she ties the strip of fabric across her wounded brow. Her goggles are gone, long since abandoned to the whims of a cruel and uncaring univese. Now, it is just this which holds her hair back.
There's a momentary pause, and she steels herself, before ripping the bandages from her torso. These bloody strips are wrapped around her throat, and, thus prepared, May Lee, Champion of Justice down to just her Power Belt in terms of childish artefacts, leaps from her hiding place to stand determinedly in front of the advancing troops.
"FALL. BACK." She shouts, steel in her voice as she makes her demand of the hundreds of Shadaloo's finest, uncaring for whoever may be in the command car; she will not let this go on a second longer!
"IN THE NAME OF /JUSTICE/, RUN AWAY, OR I *WILL* ... HURT YOU!"
COMBATSYS: MayLee has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: MayLee equips her scarf for +10 Justice!
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|
This is not something that many had seen coming. There had been some strange things going on in China, but in the end no one expected an assault that would turn asia as a whole into a warzone. Already many countries are fighting for their lives and now after several days it seems like South Korea might just suffer the same fate as the likes of India and Thailand. The troops have fought valiantly and even as they are pushed back they have done well to hold their own. Shadaloo and China have lost many of their own soldiers. It seems like they are banking on one final push. They better expect for South Korea to push back.
Chae Lim, Jae Hoon, and the others have been fighting as well through out the country. Most of the group has been split up and it has been hard to keep in contact with all of them. Is May Lee the only one currently in Seoul? It seems the young woman has had it rough not just in South Korea, but she had suffered injuries from a defeat of Thailand where even the might Sagat could not stop the advance of Vega and his army. Is the young TKD fighter set to be overwhelmed again!?
Even as she stands there in defiance without backup there is the sound of something whistling downwards through the air. It only turns into a load roar as what looks like a plane has lost a wing and is coming straight down into the ground several yards behind May Lee. It crashes and explodes just making an neat effect behind May Lee that just makes her look even more awesome in her stance. That is when another figure emerges from the smoke and flames.
The outfit is red. Not fully in the way the material was dyed that way normally. It is mostly red from what looks like from having blood soak into the usual pristine white fighting gear that one Kim Kaphwan would wear. "SHE WILL NOT BE THE ONLY ONE THAT WILL HURT YOU!" shouts the elder fighter as he moves and stands beside his student. He has been fighting for what feels like days without getting to stop. He can't stop. Not now. Things are too close to being taken over. He must not let the capital fall to China and Shadaloo.
COMBATSYS: Kim has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
Evil knows no mercy, no shame and no pity. Evil is relentless. Evil marches on, trampling over the fallen, lifeless forms of those who resist - who insist upon righteous action until they fall in battle, or slip away quietly in the night. Failures. The good die, always. Evil... oh, evil can live forever. And it will.
At the Junior Justicer's demand, there is a predictable lack of response form the encroaching horde. Initially, at least, they continue forward, the click-clack of a hundred raised firearms their only response bar the occasional savage grin from the more boisterous of Vega's conditioned thugs. There are very few genuine Chinese troopers left in attendance, but there are a few - enough to make it all the more disturbing that they seem just as willing to crush this resistance, just as willing to kill and be killed for this bloody-minded crusade. There will always be men who wish to conquer the world, and see it conquered.
This in no way precludes the /monsters/ who want the same.
As Kim Kaphwan walks through the fire and flame to stand beside his pupil, his countrywoman--
"Halt."
The voice rings out from speakers mounted within the command vehicle's chassis, echoing strangely, but even more eerily calm; a woman's tones, noticeably accented in Chinese. Deadened though, not quite machinelike or artificial, but hollow. The voice of one utterly without empathy or morals. There's almost nothing human about it either, and the thought may occur: that this must be what it sounds like... to have no soul.
Shadaloo's forces come to a jackbooted stop, rifles remaining raised and ready as the truck's brakes bring it to a similar, if slower and more forbidding halt of its own. Tires shriek a protest against the burning tarmac of Seoul's once-vibrant main street, and then the rear doors rattle. Somehow, it's worse that they don't simply open, because in that instant the vehicle seems less a tactical command center and more a mobile prison, the rattling continuing for several moments before there's a terrific, ear-splitting *wham* and two sheets of metal fly from the rear, useless and mangled from a single crushing blow.
Even the troopers seem to falter at that, several weapons lowering. One even fires off a round, finger squeezing fearfully on the trigger. Bullets fly above the heads of May Lee and Kim both, flying on to tear tiny gouges in the already-pockmarked facade of the U.N. building. It's the kind of thing that sometimes draws nervous laughter, but then a pair of boots hit the ground behind, and footsteps follow. A presence looms, as though the very air were suddenly thick with the promise of violence, with the soulless promise of pain - not for any reason beyond it being a necessity, destiny. Perhaps not even that.
Perhaps pain is simply what Lord Vega wants. And what Lord Vega wants...
"Hello, Kim."
Chun-Li stands beside her abandoned holding cell, an abomination of a smile touching painted lips. Her powerful form is clad in a leotard of deepest midnight, touched at the hems with the same scarlet that binds her iconic hair buns. Her eyes are smeared with thick reams of kohl, looking deep and dark in their sockets as her gaze - that of a predator, careless for anything but the very necessary kill - slides from the bloodied master to his stalwart pupil, her childhood already verging upon absolute loss. The Strongest Woman in the World loses her smile, mouth pulling to a grim, merciless line as she takes a step forward, hands clapping to her hips and a deep breath inflating her chest. It gives the poor girl time to look; to /see/.
And then she does the cruellest thing. "May Lee," she says, "I'm here to keep my promise."
From the skies above, the high-pitched whine of jet engines scream to life, as though triggered by those words. Charlie Squadron moves in fast upon their mistress' prompt, two jets streaming in tandem to form a dead centre upon the Korean pair. Traps upon their bottom half clunk, and two payloads are delivered; round, heavy bombs dropping from the air like the dead weights they are. Kim should see them coming-- because he shouldn't be half as distracted as his pupil, who may just be caught in the blaze. The question is...
What burns the fiercest, her warrior spirit or the pieces into which Chun-Li means to shatter it?
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li focuses on her next action.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: MayLee dodges Charlie-Squadron's Death From Above.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
The Champion of Justice regains her smile the moment she hears that familiar voice. An explosion is an explosion, she's heard too many to even flinch when the airplane detonates behind her. Everything is going to be okay, though; Kim is here. May Lee actually closes her eyes for the few seconds it takes Kim to join her side. It is as though the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders.
"Two thousand against two." She murmurs, as weapons click and clack. "Why are they making it so easy, huh, Kim?"
She almost wants to laugh. Her spirit is rising, she feels untouchable, invincible!
Even when the metal explodes outwards to reveal what surely must be the Boss of this force, May Lee's spirit remains undiminished. Vega himself could walk out of there, and with Kim on her side, she would be ready--
And then, she isn't ready at all, any more.
Her smile actually widens when she sees Chun Li, that's the most heartbreaking thing, "Chun--!" She starts, all exuberance. She doesn't know how she did it, but this has to be a trap for Shadaloo! Chun-Li must be ready to spring...
But May Lee isn't entirely stupid. As the full effect of the Strongest Woman in the World's makeover dawns on her, she falters. She steps backwards, as though physically struck by the mere appearance of the woman.
In a daze, the girls walks forwards. She's dimly aware that the place she had been has exploded, but it doesn't seem to occur to her to care. She feels lightheaded. The crazy urge to laugh is back, but it doesn't make it to her lips. The battered young woman just stumbles towards Chun-Li, no heed given to defense or training.
"Why are you dressed like that?" She asks, as she comes to a halt in front of the woman. Desperation cuts into her tone as she looks up at the elder fighter, the woman she had seen as an inspiration, painted in the colors of death and villainy.
"You promised to help us save Korea... so why, are you facing the wrong way?" Not a single member of Shadaloo's armed forces dare to point a gun at the Dark Lady standing in front of them. It, doesn't make sense. It can't be happening.
COMBATSYS: MayLee takes no action.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
There was many things Kim have expected to see emerge from the vehicle. This was not one of them. When Chun-Li makes her appearance it takes Kim by surprise and it takes everything for him to try and keep his serious demeanor instead of just jaw drop at what he is seeing. "Chun....Li....." he whispers and he glances from her to May Lee when there is mention of a promise. What kind of sick joke is this? It can't be the real Chun-Li can it? It certainly looks like her even if the outfit is different. How could she work for the man that she has been wanting to defeat almost her entire life?
He shakes his head. He really can't take time to try and make sense of such a thing at the moment. Even if it is Chun-Li in front of him he won't back down. "Why?" is all he can ask and before he can say much more he comes to realize that there are soon bombers coming in. Much like May Lee he is quick on the feet and the TKD master quickly moves about to avoid the bombs coming down from the sky.
He much feels like May Lee at the moment, but he knows he cannot let himself get distracted. This is a very sick plan only Vega could come up with. "May Lee! Be careful! She is not here to help us today!" he calls out and then as he eyes the two planes trying to get away after their payload drop he gets a running start and he runs up the side of a building before kicking off of it and aiming to bring a leg up and slice downwards at one of the poor planes. "And who said you could get away!?"
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron just-defends Kim's Medium Kick!
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
As the youthful Taekwondoka stumbles forward, fifty or so guns snap immediately to face her battered form. They're interrupted by the coldly insistent snap of Chun-Li's left arm, raised beside her with such casual force it causes all fifty to lower just as speedily. A few feet shuffle uncertainty as one of their only worthy opponents in this whole, short and brutal conflict stands in their midst. Seemingly lost. Seemingly broken. The Strongest Woman in the World just watches her with a dead sort of amusement. Little more and no less than a snake surveying the approach of a particularly stupid preybeast. Too easy.
"I am saving Korea, May Lee," she replies evenly, the hollow edge to her tone worse than any smugness could be. It's easy to hate the insulting and the boastful; she's neither of those things. "I'm saving this country from itself, delivering it to the only man in this sad, abandoned world who might be able to restore order." Stepping forward, she moves in perilously close to the girl she likened to herself just a few weeks ago, hand slipping through the air to cup her cheek for a moment. "Poor little girl," she intones.
And then her hand is retracting, hovering a few inches away as though uncertain.
"This is the justice you need. This is Vega's justice."
Suddenly, she's /striking/, twisting at the waist to launch her raised arm into a searing straight punch - enough to pitch May Lee back from whence she came, back into the smoke and fire. Even without the emotional impact, it would be a blow far beyond mere military ordnance. Chun-Li promised to teach May Lee, to stand alongside her, to show her what her style could do; they promised to do that for each other. This is her part of the bargain. Behind her uncoiling fist, she watches with distant eyes, calmly sinking her posture and windmilling her arms until they fall before her in more familiar style. She's still in there...
That has to to be the worst part.
In the skies above, Kim's efforts are rewarded by another deft display of the piloting that has brought the coalition force this far; Shadaloo's training is no joke, but neither is that of the Peoples' Republic. His kick easily carries power enough to crush a single plane outright - and they know this. As he closes in, a nitrous flame explodes from the rear of the aircraft, providing a speed boost verging on the dangerous, a rolling sweep of the wing carrying the 'craft into a smooth roll-- the combination of velocity and deflecting momentum serving to swat Kaphwan aside like he were a mere pest.
Machineguns are blazing before the second plane even comes around, pellets exploding against the surrounding buildings and then honing on on the Korean hero, the already-searing air now alight around him with a half-hundred rounds of tungsten-tipped steel. Charlie Squadron isn't playing; this is war. Time to get serious.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits MayLee with Strong Punch.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
May Lee does hear Kim... but she can't accept it. This really has struck her hard. If Chun-Li's corpse had been hurtled out in front of her, it would have been easier to accept. Death is something she can understand (she's certainly had enough of it thrust in her face over the past week that denying it seems impossible). This, though? This is completely beyond her. She struggles to make sense of Chun-Li's words, uncomprehend as to what is going to come next after 'poor little girl'.
The blow smashes into her, and the next thing she knows, she is denting flaming metal with her skull. May *bounces* off the metal, and she rolls to a gentle stop which, for all the world, it does not look like she is getting back up from. She hadn't even tried to defend herself. She hadn't been able to believe that it was going to happen.
If there is one language that May does understand, though, it is the language of Justice. Hearing *that man's* name put in front of it...
She wobbles as she gets back to her feet. She's bleary-eyed and shaking. "People are *dying*. Y-you... you... *YOU* are killing them. People who LOVE you!"
Actual tears are welling up in May Lee's eyes now, and even though she doesn't know if she has the strength to follow through, her foot digs into the rubble. Her arms raise. There's a visible effort made to control her breathing, even if fresh blood is soaking through the strip of cloth wrapped around her head.
"WAKE UP, CHUN-LI!" She shouts, "This world, doesn't need war! It needs Justice. Justice... can never happen through killing!"
Though right now, if she had the power, she also does not know if she could stop herself if *that man* was here. Something... terrible has happened! She has to be strong... she has to make herself, act!
COMBATSYS: MayLee prepares herself for a dramatic comeback!
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Kim dodges Charlie-Squadron's Bullet Spread.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
It seems the pilot is much more experienced than Kim had expected. He expected the guy to go in a panic given the fact it isn't often you would see a person in the sky aiming to kick your plane out of the air. He ends up keeping his cool and Kim finds himself sort of swatted and left in the air as he is fired upon. All he can do is just twist about and hope he can avoid the enemy fire and surprisingly it works as he flips about on his way back down to the ground. He lands not far from May Lee.
The poor girl is so broken up all over what has just happened. Truth be told Kim is as well, but he can't let his guard down. Maybe if they can defeat Chun-Li they can try to figure out what just happened. He has a few ideas, but really right now is not the time to think about such things. A mistake right now means he or May Lee could get killed. "May Lee! She is not herself so we must defeat her! Remember your training!"
His gaze never breaks away from Chun-Li and it seems the planes are forgotten for now as the TKD master instead looks to unleash JUSTICE on Chun-Li now. "I apologize my friend, but you are not yourself!" he yells while attempting to deliver a roundhouse followed up by a second and finally lifting his leg up high to bring it down hard across the face of the woman. "Juuuuuustiiiiiice COMBO!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Kim's Sanren Geki.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
Somewhere in the back of Chun-Li's mind, everything that May Lee says get through. It does. Like stone slabs falling into place on a hillside, constructing some vast primitive image, a message to the gods on high. But they're speaking too; or rather He is, her consciousness under an assault so consistent and strong that it's nigh-on impossible to break. Through words alone, it may truly be. The Chinese woman has passed through her own suffering, through the agony of failure and the realization of defeat, to grasp onto the one truth that presented itself. Desperate hands will clutch at any straw. The being wishes only to survive.
Perhaps, in a few moments, May Lee will reach the same dreadful conclusion.
The Strongest Woman in the World - herself broken and reforged - begins to straighten as the girl cries out, flexing off those unparalleled legs to propel herself through the rubble, prepared to sweep down the avenue of gathered troopers trained upon her quarry. Prepared to deliver one last cold, heartless blow; she could drop May Lee easily, as simply and flawlessly as Shadaloo have left so many nations crumbling beneath their heels.
"Killing is the only thing left, when you dare to resist."
Kim's entrance is well-timed, Chun-Li's words barely out when he lands within striking range. Kohl-rimmed eyes dart to his bloodied form, widening perceptibly as he speaks out. But it's not fear, shock, or even hesitation that garners the reaction; it's something darker, her stance swinging to face him, feet stamping their mark on the street's surface as she drops low. "I assure you, Master Kim," she'd said it before without mockery, but now it's there through grace of circumstance alone - how could it be anything but, when she evades his incoming kick with a simple shift of her skull, barely glancing at his foot as it screams past her ear.
"I know full well who I am." She shifts just as quickly to avoid the second kick, a hand bracing to the floor as she scoots backward, tearing violent ruts in the tarmac. The forces behind her retreat backward, making space for the two devastatingly powerful warriors, providing Chun-Li the room she needs to straighten and spin aside, entering a blurringly fast pirouette that carries her past Kim's blow and into counter-striking proximity. Her form flexes within that dark leotard, as she chambers a foot in an instant.
"I'm Chun-Li, and you're in my master's way. YA!"
Her black boot blazes forth, the first strike so fast it almost defies belief; looking to nail the ally of Justice in his gut, staggering him for the micro-second it takes to turn one kick into a dozen, the woman's powerful thighs propelling enough force down her striking limb to crush a tank into metal scraps. It's a dizzying, nasty, insidious attack when she's like this; somehow her technique lends itself too well to the purpose in which she now finds herself, coating the already-wearied man from head to toe in stinging blows.
She strikes so hard it would be say to miss a second burst of sweeping gunfire, coming from above, centred on May Lee.
What, you didn't expect Shadaloo to fight fair, did you?
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron successfully hits MayLee with Bullet Spread.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kim
In the end, it isn't Chun-Li's actions that bring May Lee back to reality. Every action that the woman makes is like something out of some horrible nightmare. No, it is Kim who drags May Lee back from the precipice of total despair. Remember your training! May Lee's heart is pounding, and she finds herself nodding her head. "L-look after Chun-Li!" She shouts, clenching her fist, "I'll take care of the others!"
And then there's gunfire. May tries to dodge to the side much like Kim had done, but she's still a little wobbly on her feet. The bullets rake across her side, and the girl is *angry*. These people - they could be blamed for this! They are the ones pushing on and killing with bullets and bombs, not Chun-Li. THEY are the ones responsible!
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"
The forces of Shadaloo had experienced this twice at Thailand, and the Master of Shadaloo himself had been knocked into the dirt by it. May's chi is erupting out of her at an absurd rate, suffusing the air above and the world around her. Their bullets might be painful, but even as bloodied as she is, May Lee is not someone to be taken lightly!
In a sudden BURST of strength which defies all logic, May JUMPS into the air. Her foot leads the way, and she aims to go straight through the cockpit of one of the aircraft, and carry the pilot on her foot through to the next.
"RIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
And the skies above Seoul will burn, echoing with an enormous explosion of pure JUSTICE-fuelled Chi Energy. In one fell swoop, May Lee fully intends to rid the world of Charlie Squadron and clean the skies of Seoul of these evil Shadaloo soldiers once and for all.
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCKU!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Kim with Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Kim
The attempt to perhaps knock some sense into Chun-Li in the physical manner does not work this time at least. Instead the TKD master is just left unleashing the amazing display of kicks and striking nothing but air. Her speed is amazing and in the end Kim knows as good as he is he can't match her there. He will have to try and play it smart. If anything at least May Lee seems to have his back and he can concentrate on Chun-Li without worry of the planes. "Just be careful, May Lee!" Not that she needs to be told that. He just can't help worry about her. Especially now with Chun-Li appearing as a very dangerous foe.
He tries to stop that first incoming kick, but the force staggers him as it slams into his gut and knocks air out of him. The flurry just batters his body before he manages to stagger away and falls down to a knee. "I don't believe you. I do not know what happened, but I will help you!" he declares and he gets back to his feet. If she wants to use flurries of kicks two can play that game!
Kim crouches then launches himself upwards and towards Chun-Li. He twists about in the air and comes down at her feet first. Already both legs are moving as he begins to deliver a furious flurry of stomps intent on driving Chun-Li into the ground if she can't get out of the way.
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron endures MayLee's May Lee- The End!.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Kim's Hishou Kyaku.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 MayLee
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Charlie-Squadron 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kim
"Charlie Four-Oh, take evasive action!"
"Negative number one!"
"That's an order, Four-Oh!"
"NEGATIVE!!"
The pilot's teeth are gritted as he hammers the afterburner for the second time, slamming off his comlink with the other hand; he doesn't need to hear the objection, and he doesn't need his comrades to hear his screams. Word of May Lee's assault upon Lord Vega has reached the ears of coalition forces, no more than in the pilot's mess. Knowing he was to take part in the final push against Seoul, Charlie 40 has bragged about taking the little Taekwondoka down, about making a name for himself - a medal, maybe! Vega is a generous man, after all.
He won't have that dream undone now, so he POWERS forward, meeting the Rider Kick with a heartfelt yell of his own-- wordless but almost as passionate as that of Miss Justice herself. He believes in his cause, too. He keeps believing as the craft superheats, tearing into steel shrapnel as it's overwhelmed by chi spreading from the point of impact. The cockpit caves, and a sneaker-clad foot finds Four-Oh's face, splitting his helmet in twain, the shockwave spreading down the length of the plane which simply EXPLODES. But his charge has done what he intended; it's bought time for his comrade to strafe around, slipping into a barrel roll...
Then coming up on May Lee's airborne flank. There's a snap-hiss of mechanisms releasing.
And it's so sudden; the sky is no longer aflame just with her chi, but a blaze of covering machine-gun fire, hiding in its wake a salvo of missiles saved for this precise purpose. The only thing in their arsenal capable of utterly decimating a trained fighter-- or so the squadron has been led to believe. Perhaps, in May Lee, they've met their match. Perhaps the day CAN be saved.
The fight below scarcely suggests as much, Kim's flurry of kicks meeting a solid guard, honed through experience and years upon years of training. Even with her mind corrupted, and her body clad to Vega's psychotic whim, Chun-Li is every part the fighter that the Kaphwan dojo knows and loves; at least physically. Her face tells a different story, distant annoyance tainting the usual excitement in her brown eyes as she backpedals in deft, smooth steps, knocking each kick aside with a forearm or guiding palm. She weathers the assault with a 'hmph', stepping in to meet Kim as he lands, right arm /thrusting/ upward.
It bears a simple, direct palmheel, aimed to take the Korean master upon the chin, propelling him away.
Conveniently enough, into the mass of her own gathered troops, who fall over themselves once more to move aside. Fear hangs thick in the air as Chun-Li moves to follow in the wake of her blow, not releasing her guard for a moment; utterly focused on crushing the man she's called friend for so many years. On the man that she should have been calling comrade-in-arms today. "You'd help me?" She asks, voice hollow and untouched by the mirth that it would at least make it human. "Help yourself, Kim Kaphwan. Run, and tell the world I'm coming."
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron successfully hits MayLee with Full Auto.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kim
May Lee hadn't really been giving much thought to defending herself. She had hoped that if you set the sky on fire, the planes would go with it. As it turns out, this is a dream which does not come true. The world is full of missiles. Her heart is pounding. All she can think to do, is draw her arms up around herself and weather the storm.
The detonation which answers hers is terrifying, and the girl *SCREAMS* as she is blown out of the sky. May Lee, for all that she may dream otherwise, cannot fly. Kim had said that she should try and remember her training, but she's never done skydiving before! Being thrown off tall buildings and being shot out of the sky are for the MASTER class of Tae Kwon Do! She hasn't gotten there yet!!!
What she does have, is a pilot on her foot. And as she comes screaming out of the sky, she can hear some of what Chun-Li is saying. The poor girl is holding on to consciousness by a thread, but narrows her eyes.
"You aren't Chun-Li!"
The shout has real conviction to it, in the few seconds before May Lee seems destined to grace the ground with her presence.
"Because Chun-Li knows..."
And impossibly, the girl, now a streak of blue, red, and Shadaloo-uniform black from the momentum of her descent, guides the ambitious pilot towards Chun-Li's head.
"HEROES NEVER RUN!"
COMBATSYS: Kim just-defends Chun-Li's Medium Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kim
He kicks and kicks and kicks and kicks some more! It isn't enough to break Chun-Li's guard and eventually the TKD master has to push off and flip about to land on the ground. He does not like what has happened with Chun-Li at all. The way she talks, the expressions on her face. He misses the good hearted fighter that always seemed to smile despite having a rough childhood. It almost distracts him to where Chun-Li may have landed that strike aimed for the chin. Kim snaps out of it at the last moment and he hops back as he kicks upwards, his foot deflecting the arm as he shakes his head. "I will not run!"
"Even if you can manage to beat me I am sure someone will beat sense into you." Or at least he hopes. That is when he hears May Lee shout to show she too won't be running. What he didn't expect was the limp body that is being thrown Chun-Li's way.
It isn't something he would normally approve of, but this is war and the pair are fighting for their lives. If anything that flung body might be enough to throw Chun-Li off her guard and Kim tries to capitalize by coming in afterwards and jumping upwards, making a somersault kick aimed to take Chun-Li right off her feet. "FOR MY COUNTRY AND PEOPLE! FOR JUSTICE!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Kim's Hien Zan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li interrupts Large Random Weapon from MayLee with Fierce Kick.
- Power hit! -
>> Decisive Hit!! <<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|=======\=======\1 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kim
Heroes never run. That doesn't mean villains do.
Sometimes, they just strike back all the harder.
Chun-Li is impressed, insofar as a predatory killing machine can be; as she stalks forward after Kim she almost quirks a smile, lips tugging up at the edges and eyes flashing with something akin to pleasure. Though it could be purely imagined-- certainly she'd shown no sign of such just a few moments before, and it's gone quickly, replaced with the same hard, distant gaze as she steps in to meet his somersaulting blow. "You keep using that word," she coldly remarks, twisting at the waist, presenting a crossed pair of forearms sidelong, bearing the brunt of the rising blow and placing herself all the closer to counter as Kim goes high...
"I don't think it means--" And then May Lee is shouting, descending upon the remnants of Charlie 40. The Strongest Woman in the World emits a hissing outbreath, spinning away from Kim, her arms snapping out to either side for balance as she rears backward. Justice? Here it comes. Her grounded leg flexes as the right lifts aloft, pistoning toward the heavens with enough force to topple a building, to crack the Great Wall asunder. And behind it, Chun-Li meets the gaze of Kim's most exceptional pupil. Now she /is/ smiling.
And it's horrible. It's... heartbreaking.
As her foot strikes the pilot, his body disintegrates, blood and bone stretching into a viscous haze between the two women. That's not the terrible part - not really; this is war, after all. Rather it's the unmitigated, unrelenting power with which she goes on to hammer the youthful operative of Justice back into the skies above. If she flies far enough, she just might catch the eye of the second pilot through his cockpit window, as he descends in a looping spiral to rain further fire down on the ground below. Literally, this time; no machineguns blazing, but a small, tightly packed bomb bearing a bio-hazard symbol on its dull flank.
It actually lands amidst the ground troops, who scatter their last, now occupying the very flanks of the buildings below as the bomb goes off. Spreading a wave of sizzling napalm across the street. Darting a quick glance back toward Kim, Chun-Li is already moving to evade in long backward strides, her guard raised and legs ready to propel her forward, back or upward; one pest may be eliminated, but this fight is just beginning.
May Lee is, blessedly, unlikely to remember the exact details of what she's just been through when she wakes up. The healing power of the concussion is a magnificent thing, at least as far as ensuring that you remain relatively sane is concerned.
There isn't really much left in May, she can't really be sure what she's meant to *do* in a situation like this. She's so airborne that when reality remembers she needs to come back down, that in itself is going to be a serious problem. This is a difficult problem to fight with kicks.
~Remember your training!~
And then it comes to her. She does know one technique which will be effective from the air. Grinding her teeth, she gathers her energy. For once, it is the careful gathering of control rather than the frantic, desperate power she's been throwing at the war so far.
And from above, she lets loose! "DISPOSITIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON, FROOOOOOOOOOOGU."
The rain of bright blue orbs from above is likely surprising to *everyone*. Normally, May's chi control is rather, close-range. She prefers to keep it that way! But with the last of her waning strength, she throws everything she has into keeping it up, blasting the enemy forces, and hopefully Chun-Li... though the 'rain' is sporadic at best, perhaps a dozen bright balls of energy the size of a clenched fist being launched downwards.
COMBATSYS: MayLee prepares to take her last stand against Chun-Li!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Kim
And then May Lee tumbles back down to the earth.
By all rights, that should be it. But, somehow, on shaking legs, she manages to get up to her feet again. She's absolutely covered in blood and gore, and even the sticky plaster on her poor injured frog has been kicked off, but she manages to stand.
"... not done yet!!"
COMBATSYS: Kim dodges Charlie-Squadron's Random Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 MayLee
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Charlie-Squadron 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Kim
Kim has to admit he is doing better than he thought and May Lee taking care of the troops that came with Chun-Li is helping sway the the battle perhaps more towards the defending forces. Then he goes a bit wide eyed at the sight of a body pretty much exploding right in front of him and May Lee getting hit hard. It feels like things are going in slow motion as he sees his student kicked away. This was not what he wanted. He knows it is a risk of war, but the thought of May Lee may have just been killed from such a strike has him shaking.
It is when he hears her yell from above he finds himself smiling. She really is a great student. A daughter he never had. The worry is still there, but reduced greatly by knowing May Lee still lives. "Where do you think you are going? We are not done yet!" he calls out to Chun-Li. Even as fireballs rain down and the troops try to burn him with their weapons the TKD master ducks and dashes past all without a scratch. He must keep this up. He must not give Chun-Li more time to think about what to do next.
He manages to get through the forces and close in on the woman once more. "Time to kick sense back into you or send you crawling back to Vega! We won't let you win this day!" he declares and leaps off the ground and aims to drive a quick kick right into the face of Chun-Li. Time to eat smelly foot. "JUSTICE!"
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron fails to interrupt Disposition Frog from MayLee with Grenade Volley.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 MayLee
> ////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Charlie-Squadron can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 MayLee
> ////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li full-parries MayLee's Disposition Frog!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 MayLee
> ////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Kim successfully hits Chun-Li with Snap Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 MayLee
> ////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Kim
Kim's good; he's very good. Chun-Li barely has time to see him coming through the hellfire, kohl-rimmed eyes narrowing as he emerges like a vengeful god, only his incessant boasts alerting her enough that she's at least in the right position to meet his assault. His leap is well-timed though - her foot slips upon a broken corpse lying in the street, and with a snarl she's taken full across the cheek, his heel near enough fracturing the delicate bone beneath. She recovers with just a quick stumble though, running a hand over the angry red mark, gaze gaining new intensity as--
As the sky falls down.
Without thinking, moving on honed instinct the Chinese woman flips backward, meeting the storm with both feet held high. A stream of blazing chi rises up her leg, blue-white fronds coalescing into a vibrant light upon her polished black boots. May Lee's energy blast scatters into glistening motes, and Chun-Li lands in a crouch but for an instant, her stare finding Kim immediately through the glow. "Justice," she agrees.
And then the Strongest Woman in the World is flying forward, rolling out of her squat, one set of dextrous fingertips brushing the tarmac as the other arm lifts outward. With a breathtakingly graceful flip she reverses gravity, launching off the grounded hand with legs lashing to either side. Strong muscles bulge as she twists from the hip, over and over, coming in so fast and so hard that waves of force scattered to hammer against the outer buildings; and her own men who wait there, falling to their knees and throwing up desperate arms to shield from the gale. She doesn't announce the attack; she doesn't need to. Kim knows it well.
In the air above, her remaining air support fares much more poorly...
"Releasing countermeasures!" He's gritting the words out to himself, through clenched teeth, as though keeping his nonexistent wingman informed is the only thing keeping Charlie 1 sane at this point. Fighter jets shouldn't fall so easily to these jumped-up martial artists; but he doesn't plan to go down /easy/ anyway, slamming back on the control stick to enter a steep upward climb through May's spheroid energy assault. A wing is ripped in twain as one blast strikes clean, the others rolling off armoured hide as the plane yaws about. A yank upon an overhead chord forms his response the very moment he's level with the aerial Taekwondoka...
The engines pick that precise moment to detonate. May Lee struck more than just wing; she got a critical hit. A tremendous explosion erupts above her head as the jet spirals out of control and rips into four heavy fragments, spinning away to collide with the buildings on either side; including the monolith U.N. HQ. Those people inside are screaming as windows shatter inward and the structure catches aflame, beginning to groan under its own imbalanced weight. The Shadaloo forces below raise a bloodthirsty cheer in response.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits MayLee with Spinning Bird Kick EX.
> Determined Hit! <
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Chun-Li 1/-----==/=======|=======\====---\1 MayLee
> ////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Kim
May Lee is standing, and that means, she's still in the fight.
Chun-Li had assumed that her kick had taken May completely out of the fight. In any sane universe, it would have done. But if there's one thing this fight has proven, on all counts, it is that this is not a sane universe.
Leaping into the air, May Lee comes down between Kim and Chun, just as the woman starts to wheel her kick. May brings her hands up to try and defend herself, but she's far too slow. The blows rip into the girl, but she doesn't scream. She just... takes it. Standing between Kim and Chun.
When it at last passes, the girl sinks to her knees. "Hah... I think, that's, my limit, Master." She coughs. "Please... save..."
We may never know for sure what May Lee wants Kim to save. Instead, at last, the girl collapses forwards, unconscious and incapable of carrying on the fight.
COMBATSYS: MayLee takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: MayLee can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kim
Finally he managed to get through the woman's defenses. Maybe he is finally starting to wear her down. It is going to be tough, though. He has been fighting for so long he is pretty much running on pure adrenaline at this point. Even so he keeps his focus and he watches as Chun-Li starts to come at him. He prepares to try to meet her strike with one of his own. Before he can do such a thing there is May Lee coming between himself. "May Lee! Out of the way!" he shouts, but it is too late and she is battered by the powerful legs of Chun-Li.
She may not finish, but Kim can guess what she meant and what she wants saved. He knows his students well. Perhaps more than they might expect given his usual fun loving nature and goofy personality. He lets out a sigh and closes his eyes. "Of course I will. You did well." That is when he grins wide and despite how dirty and bloodied he is those teeth shine bright as he looks up and towards Chun-Li as he leaps to land in front of his fallen student to protect her. "It seems like it is just me and you now."
He takes a deep breath and gets back in his fighting stance. "Very well! For my student I will do what I can to save you and my own country at once. Prepare yourself!" he yells loudly and then brings a foot up and brings it down hard while shouting more, the combination of both creates a force powerful enough to knock away debris between him and Chun-Li and maybe even bowl her over if she is unprepared. "I AM KIM KAPHWAN AND TODAY JUSTICE WINS!"
COMBATSYS: Kim successfully hits Chun-Li with Haki Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kim
Is there even anything left to save?
But the time for questions is passed. Kim's defence of his homeland must continue alone; it's time for heroes to rise as only they can, pushing to the forefront when all is at it's most critical point. May Lee's sacrifice is a tiny, insignificant thing when viewed from above - as part of the war consuming the world, it's practically nothing. A flutter of a hummingbird's wing. From such moments are the greatest victories won, and so it seems as Kim surges forward with another attack, the already ravaged street erupting before him.
Chun-Li doesn't budge an inch, standing in the line of fire as it consumes her, sending her hurtling backwards, dark-tipped ribbons snapping as she rights herself with a heartless snarl. A shake of the head is all she needs to come back into the game, uncaring of the poor, fallen girl - and giving not the smallest regard for the friendship she had with this man. Her boots tear up the melting tarmac as she surges toward him, sacrificing grace and speed for savage power as she reaches out--
Seeking to snare that bloody gi, she hauls the man toward her, grinning with the fierce rhythm of battle. A hand lifts and twists into a rocking uppercut, seeking to drive him back, before she steps forward and to his flank, twisting one powerful leg up and over the back of his neck. With a whipping motion she slams the leg back to earth, seeking to drive Kim forward with it- facefirst into the dirt he loves so much.
"You've already failed your student. Now it's time to fail your country."
Like she did.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Kim with Combo Grapple.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Kim
As long as someone is still breathing there is something to save. It is this sort of believe tha has made Kim as strong as he is. In the end it might be what gets him killed too. Will that day be today? It remains to be seen. Right now he is more focused on just doing what he can right now and that is to try and take down Chun-Li. After that he can try to figure out what to do afterwards amid all the chaos. Maybe reunite with Jhun and all the others to see what they can do. He is grabbed even as he moves to step away and it ends in a very bad way.
He is ragdolled about before that powerful leg slams him facefirst into the ground with enough force to break the man's nose. The amount of blood pouring from it as he pushes himself onto his hands and knees is not pretty at all. "You are as foolish as the man you now serve. I guess he removed whatever brain you had." he chuckles weakly before looking up at her. "I have not failed anyone yet. Even in defeat Justice will find a way." he then quickly hops to his feet and he brings a leg back as he twists about then unleashes a massive roundhouse right towards Chun-Li. Not even caring in doing so he has left himself rather wide open to attack at the moment. "And that is why I still smile!" He shouts as his teeth gleam when he grins. *Ping*
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li interrupts Colossal Kick from Kim with Housenka.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\======-\1 Kim
The Strongest Woman in the World already occupies the best position she could desire; it's over, Kim Kaphwan, because she has the higher ground. Kohl-rimmed eyes narrow to slits in an instant, mirroring in darkness the gleaming expanse of the Taekwondoka's famous grin. The kick is vast, sweeping and majestic-- it's also perilously slow, but of course he's aware of that. Heroes are so predictable. It's why the greatest and most misunderstood of villains must strive to be the same; so that in victory, they can triumph just as well. There is no glory in safety, no praise to be won. No world to conquer.
Which is why Chun-Li drops at the precise moment that his foot slams into her opposite cheek, drawing a matching bruise upon his uncaring opponent as she falls into a crouch, muscular frame twisting to propel her legs upward with a corkscrewing twist. His own leg is still up when she catches him beneath the chin with both heels - hard enough to murder most men, hard enough to end most wars by itself. She's still eerily quiet as he flies heavenward, pinwheeling her mighty thighs then springing after him with a flexion of the forearms.
Her legs never stop moving, catching him with repeated, devastating kick after kick; the same treat that May Lee stole from his clutches by her bold sacrifice, but stronger and harder, imbued with waves of gleaming blue-white chi so thick and fast as to be called a tornado. It all culminates in an explosive final blow - a variant on her usual technique, as she rides high into a second somersault, ribbons trailing behind along with a thousand scintillating after-images. Her left leg soars to the very sky, and then comes down with a scolding axe kick to the dead centre of Kim's mass, propelling him back to earth. Riding his body as May rode the body of Charlie 40; another cruel parallel to a battle that needed no more...
Another explosion as they land, Seoul shaking to its very outer reaches as forces collide.
Lord Vega has chosen his weapons well.
Did he know it was coming? Perhaps in the back of his mind. Even so he had to do something. simple quick kicks aren't going to win a fight with Chun-Li. He must be brutal as well and do his best to take her down with him at worst. He pays for his actions this time around. Chun-Li was more than prepared and the world turns upside down for the TKD master as his body is further battered by the powerful kicks before finding himself coming down into the ground at high speed as the ground explodes from impact and sends debris everywhere.
It just may be the end of Justice for this battle at least. Kim isn't moving at all as he lays in the crater that was created from his impact. His body is covered with bruises and scrapes and his blood stained outfit looking almost as bad off as he is. It looks like South Korea really will fall and no one is able to stop it.
Then there is movement. Just a twitch of a hand at first and perhaps some spasms from where bones have been broken and nerves damaged. Those few spasms are followed by the sudden explosion of Kim pushing off the ground and exploding out of the crater. The battered and near unconcious Kim flings himself right for Chun-Li "I am not done yet!" he declares while aiming to slam a kick into Chun-Li's chest.
COMBATSYS: Kim successfully hits Chun-Li with Hou'ou Kyaku EX+.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kim
And despite looking like he shouldn't even be able to stand the TKD master has alot of force behind that kick that knocks Chun-Li off balance. If she wants to get into kicking flurry battles Kim once again will oblige with a punishing amount of roundhouses and snap kicks. He can feel no pain right now. All he can do is continue to put the hurt to Chun-Li. He can't let May Lee down! After several blows he finally flips into a somersault kick to knock Chun into the air then he twists about and roundhouse kicks her away. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" he shouts and lands rather shakily before going down to a knee. There is no way he can keep this up for long.
Chun-Li is quicker to rise than the Korean champion; her own stance resumed easily enough, before she abruptly drops it. Hands flutter to her sides as she draws and releases a breath, then begins to turn away. A wave of calm seems to settle across the shattered battlefield, the Tai Chi mistress finding her composure even in the depths of what must be some form of advanced madness. Her gaze scans across the bodies of the fallen, settling on the hundred or so men still flocked against the buildings on either side. Cowards, if useful ones.
Her thoughts are interrupted as Kim comes blazing in with twice the speed, and twice the power of anything he has thrown yet-- no small feat, for fighters this fast and devastating. The Strongest Woman in the World is readier than she appears, her initial motions giving at least the illusion that she CAN and WILL evade, one leg lifting as the other taps against the ruined tarmac, sending her back into a light hop. A twist of the body and she can-- *wham* The first of many strikes, leading her into Kaphwan's legendary Dance of Justice.
It seems as he kicks her away that /she/ might be done; her body loose and heavy in the air.
But then she bends forward like a reed in the wind, slowing her escape velocity enough that as she comes in for landing it's with a shriek of protesting leather boots; not the hard collision Kim might have hoped for. "I won't," she assures in that dead voice, dark eyes finding him through the settling storm of his own kicks. He'll just about have time to blink before she suddenly reverses her wild career, both palms slapping to the floor, blood spiralling away from torn flesh as she soars like an eagle - like a winged skull from the very depths of hell, blue-white energy screaming around her midnight form as she closes in an instant.
"/Hazanshu/." It's not a kiai; it's a promise. Her striking leg carries with it a vicious cutting edge of chi, sharpened by focus and the dull rage imbued within her stolen soul by Lord Vega himself into something far more bloody-minded than she would ever normally use. She means to cut this man in two, if that's what it takes; perhaps the two halves of his broken corpse can serve as an example to his other students.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Kim with Hazanshu.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kim
Of course if he can do anything like that again remains to be seen. That might have been all he had left because he has trouble getting back to his feet even as Chun-Li comes in right towards him. He tries to will his body to move quickly to get out of the way. There is just no way he has the speed he just showed left in him. And while the kick doesn't slice the man in half he twists enough to perhaps save himself from that fate because he is caught by it to be sent away to perhaps where he will finally come to rest and admit defeat.
His farewell before he sails away is one quick kick aimed to slam into the side of the head of Chun-Li or attempt to. It is hard to get the angle right as well as trying to deliver an accurate kick while fighting through so much pain. Away he goes though and into more rubble as his battered body crashes into the remains of a plane that crashed earlier. The flames have long been snuffed out, but plenty of smoke is still coming out and obscuring what has become of Kim. Wait, was that ping?
COMBATSYS: Kim prepares to take his last stand against Chun-Li!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kim
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li fails to interrupt Fierce Kick from Kim with Kikouken EX.
> ////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Kim
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li can no longer fight.
> ////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Kim
May Lee didn't fall to see her hopes shatter and die...
*crack*
/This/ is why she fell.
Chun-Li's triumph is cut short as Kim's backward flight is accompanied by one last, desperate sweep of his leg. She's in no position to evade after hurling herself so bodily into his destruction; but her eyes gleam nonetheless, an upsurge in her aura signalling something so tremendous that the ground begins to quake in the last possible micro-second before the Taekwondoka's heel can find a mark.
Tremendous isn't the half of it; at the epicentre of the vibration, a shockwave rings out that sends Shadaloo's remaining troops scattering once more against the half-toppled buildings they use for shelter. Chun-Li is sent scattering, limbs flying every which way as she skids and bumps through the torn roadway. When she comes to a stop, the battlefield lies eerily still too, making the sound of her pathetic coughing all the more woefully apparent to the men so ready to embrace victory a moment before. Seoul may still be burning - the United Nations building may be evacuating in a last-ditch rush to save as many officials as possible from its collapsing bulk - but Justice has somehow managed to win out at the very last.
Vega's puppet sways to her feet, kohl-rimmed eyes glazed and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth before she reaches up to wipe it away. She looks over toward Kim, his fallen student laid out behind him, and then begins to step rapidly backwards. Her legs are shaking, she probably couldn't kick out so much as a small elephant right now, but she's got enough to sound the retreat-- triggering the small microphone held against the hemline of her leotard, doing exactly that. There's no way they can take and hold this place if the Korean master still stands. The cost would be too great.
She says nothing as she leaves, but keeps her gaze trained down the street toward her old friend.
Contact will be maintained until the last, her mouth a bitter line.
This isn't over. This was just the beginning.
It was a gamble. A desperate attempt by a man that just wanted to protect everything dear to him. It seems his willpower is what won the day this time. There is no movement from the wreckage that Kim landed in at first, but soon a figure staggers out. One eye is almost swollen shut entirely and he staggers out still somehow managing to stand on both of his feet. Could he really do anything in his condition? Given how much trouble Chun-Li had with him the soldiers still around the area are not really wanting to find out. The retreat is signalled and they start to scatter as the remnants of the South Korean soldiers fire at the fleeing groups.
There is a faint smile that comes from the face of Kim. It only lasts a moment because he knows there is alot of work to do. Shadaloo will come back. Perhaps even worse next time Vega himself might come calling. He won't be happy about what happened at all. Kim just hopes it is enough time for him to recover and to make sure everyone else is all right.
He staggers to where May Lee is and he drops down to where he sits next to the still unconcious student and he closes his eyes. "I could not save her this time, but I did save our home." he says with a small chuckle. The chuckle fades and the head leans forward a little. soon there is the sound of snoring. It seems like the TKD master has finally earned a small nap.
COMBATSYS: Kim has ended the fight here.
Log created on 12:09:41 02/18/2012 by Kim, and last modified on 09:55:10 02/20/2012.