Description: Russia was the first to fall when China's military might was swayed by Vega's power and influence. After liberating Thailand, Sagat sent Quon Chen and Howard Rust to make the trip to Russia to see that they regain their freedom - something that might be possible thanks to Turkey, Belgium, and Ukraine all gearing up to attack it for the same purpose. The Zero Doll, Cammy, has been assigned to halt the attack. After so many months of torment and tension, well-intentioned or otherwise, it is time at last to settle the score in a battle that may very well be the pivotal battle that could determine the course of Vega's bid for world domination.
Russia is big. Very big. But Moscow is key to the whole country in the modern age, and so it is here that the war is focused, for both sides. European and Turkish forces are making inroads into the capital, while Chinese forces attempt to hold them off. The battle hangs in the balance, which is why Shadaloo have deployed the Killer Bee, to give the defence that little bit more 'oomph'.
She is lurking in Red Square, clad in her uniform, occasionally directing defenders to run this way or that way, to counter this thrust or that assault, looking like a soldier in her element. Hiding behind burned out cars to avoid incoming fire with a Chinese radioman nearby, she's near the Turkish contingent primarily, because she's hoping Hakan is out there and maybe representing his country! She likes Hakan, and is already thinking about how fun it will be to meet him again. She peers across the square every so often, hoping to see his giant red form. She does, of course, plan on being gentle.
After Thailand, Quon's fashion statement had changed. Gone is the mustard yellow kung-fu outfit, and the yellow Converse high tops that he had grown accustomed to wearing before the war. Now he wears combat boots, army uniform pants, and a flak jacket, as a concession to the fact that bullets will be flying at him as a matter of course.
When he arrived in Russia the Chongquan prodigy became antsy having to wait in anticipation of a Chinese/Shadaloo attack on Russia. While he had torn up the draft papers without hesitation there's still some emotional turmoil over giving up his national identity as much of the fact that he's fighting those who have been raised in the land of his birth.
Howard Rust had himself a brief adventure in Iran alongside Mr. Jones en route to Russia - he's lucky enough to have gotten out of that mostly unscathed aside from the innate worry and paranoia that he'd have been detained by Iranians. Instead, predictably, he was detained by Turkish border forces because he didn't have a passport. Things smoothed themselves over pretty quickly when notes were exchanged (Mr. Jones might have helped).
And now, here they are - Howard's with the Turkish contingent as the three nations invading - Ukraine, Belgium, and Turkey - are trying to catch China-held Russia with its pants down. It's a deadlock - a deadlock they are hoping will be broken with the help of those fighters who have come to them.
And so, they fought all the way to Moscow, all the way to the Red Square. Howard, Ol' Rusty drawn and already covered in dust and grime, stands momentarily behind a building as he catches his breath - he casts over a glance to Quon as the Turkish soldiers nearby all shout orders at one another as to how they'll move next.
"Quon," he speaks up after clearing his throat, "you, you okay?"
Cammy stealthily climbs on top of the wrecked car, to get a better view. Her leotard isn't exactly bulletproof, but she's confident in her near mystical ability to get out of the way of any incoming lead, assuming there isn't some sort of ninja behind the trigger. She peers intently at the opposite line. Where's Hakan? She frowns, and digs out a watch, peering at it for a moment. She's been here for ages.
In a minute she's going to have to start wading into footsoldiers, not a task she relishes at all. It's so ... crass. And it's slightly embarassing, as well, for some indefinable reason. She glances over at her radioman. "Is anywhere actually in danger at the moment?" she asks him in English, hoping to get a sitrep, and maybe go somewhere and pound some poor victims for Lord Vega.
"Ok as I'm ever going to be," he responds as he makes it point to not to look at the older fighter, if only to avoid gazing at that fashion don't perched atop his head. Instead Quon focuses on the preparations the Turkish soldiers are making as they do their final provisioning before hostilities begin.
After awhile the contingent of soldiers note their readiness and begin ordering the attack starting with the radio tower on the logic that if they cripple their communications they can slow or disorient them long enough for their attack to be damning.
When Quon receives the orders he takes off to join soldiers in a nigh suicidal run towards the tower.
Howard nods wordlessly at Quon's declaration. He's been worried for that guy since... well, pretty much forever, across a myriad of different fronts and reasons. Most recently, the whole national identity issue, something he'll probably never come to fully understand. There's... been a lot of things he's been having trouble grasping, in the big picture.
It seems like every few months the world keeps throwing new things for him to be confused or conflicted over, but when he is given the gesture he needs to go, go attack, he's following after Quon as fast as he really can. He grunts at the popping of one of his knees as he casts his gaze over his shoulder one last time to check for potential ambushes.
Here we go again, he thinks, another large load of bullets, probably another rocket or two... or a truck... or worse. The most he can hope to do is tough it out and hope when all's said and done, that as many people are still standing as possible.
He's ready for this to be over with.
The radioman merely points, arm shaking a little, as a wave of Turks break cover and head their way. Cammy turns back to the onrushing crowd. "Get some reinforcements over here." she commands him, and then scampers off of the car to run, a lone figure, towards the approaching mass.
After a few steps, she pauses. What is that? A flash of purple? She rolls her eyes, and then goes back to running, though this time she has a specific target in mind, and specific orders, too. "Seek and destroy." she mutters, padding towards Rust at a distance eating pace, while defensive fire begins to scatter the charging Turks ahead of her. Quon, with all his body armour, remains unrecognised.
When Quon sees that lone figure closing in with that incredibly familiar uniform on, he alters his path to put himself right in her path. And from a closer distance there are notable incongruencies with his appearance. The fact that his features are Asian combined with the fact that he's wearing a Turkish uniform and body armor and the fact that he doesn't have a firearm.
If that isn't enough to allow recognition, the golden flames covering his knuckles as he makes his approach will. As much as he didn't like the idea of fighting Cammy, he knew that it was a forgone conclusion the moment he decided to stand up for himself and the moment he decided to stand up for others.
COMBATSYS: Quon has wandered into a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|=------\-------\0 Quon
COMBATSYS: Cammy has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
Cammy is a highly skilled assassin blessed with incredible agility and a keen sense for how to get in and out of places undetected - Howard does not even suspect that she's gunning for him, or that she's even /there/ as his previous look over his shoulder gives him a satisfactory thought that maybe they aren't about to get ambushed or what have you.
It's only when Quon suddenly breaks formation and moves past him that the older man stops to turn his head.
"Quon, what's wro--" The sudden flash of golden flames in his fists reveals he's definitely seeing something... someone worth moving towards instead, and things kind of put themselves together from there from when he knows that she's /there/.
"K-Keep movin'," he says to those Turkish soldiers who may have also noticed Quon suddenly breaking formation, "we'll, we'll handle this!"
It's debatable if they actually understand him, given that some of them start yelling again, but Howard gets into his stance, Ol' Rusty pointing down and away while approaching from behind Quon - it's probably too late to tell the younger of the two to be careful in approaching her.
It's all happening so fast, that he can't really dwell on the irritation of having to see /her/ again.
COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
Cammy pulls up abruptly when suddenly Quon is front of her. The golden flames dont actually mean much to her, as she didn't throw down with Quon much - just once - but she does recognise him. "Why are you here. Why are you in the way. Why are you defending Evil Rust. You might get hurt." she asks him crossly, in the sort of tone of a mother angry with her child because the child ran out into a road and almost got knocked over.
She clearly isn't all that interested in Quon anyway, as she promptly leaps up into the air to pass over both Quon and Rust's heads, landing behind them, though thanks a mid air somersault and twist, facing Rust. Clearly, he is target numero uno.
COMBATSYS: Cammy calculates her next move.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
"Let's get this clear right now. Cammy, not everything I do is about Rust. It's about who you work for and the things they've done to me and done to those who can't defend themselves." He slides into his stance getting ready to throw down with the Zero Doll. He ends up being slightly slow to react when Cammy takes to the air to clear both of their heads and then focuses her gaze on Rust.
He quickly turns around to see the significantly slower Howard Rust between himself and Cammy. "As much as you've trying to avoid it and as much as I know you don't want to see me hurt, you're either going to strike me down or walk away because I'm done rolling over for your precious organization and your lord Vega. Shadaloo has hurt enough people."
And then Quon quickly takes to the air and then descends down one foot extended downwards before flipping away.
Strong and tough as Howard might be, he's not a match for Cammy's sheer agility and supreme amount of battle focus, the way he turns somewhat clumsily. It's harder for him to filter out all the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and cries of anger and fear from men and women alike when he has to rely on his eyes most of all to really /track/ her.
She thinks /everything/ he does is about him? Man, Howard frowns, he'd have thought the exact opposite. He's mostly wordless when Quon has his piece, politely stepping off a few ways in case Quon decides to want to come in from behind him (that Quon goes to the air renders this moot).
"I'd, I'd say much of the, uh, the same things," he clears his throat as he lowers his stance, but really, what else can really be said to Cammy about it? Far as he cares, she's going to plug her ears and go 'la la la' about the horrors that Vega has been trying to inflict, lunging forward with a straight left palm in the familiar Ko'ou Ken motion famous in the Kyokugen school (without any of the actual chi manifestation that follows it).
"B-But I'd just be repeatin' what he said," he says.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Eagle Catches Mouse.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Cammy with Random Strike.
Grazing Hit
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
Cammy can dodge Quon easily enough, and she just cartwheels off to one side. She's not quite quick enough to get out of the way of Rust's outstretched fist though, which grazes along her back as she tries to wriggle out of the way. "But he is always here with you." she grumbles. "And he is a Bad Man. He is very judgmental. Like everybody else... only three people ever seemed to really like me, the rest, bah!". Rust, the living embodiment of everybody who ever gave her a hard time.
She promptly leaps towards Rust, forming a tiny ball in the air, aim to bowl him over in a tangle of arms and legs, hopefully with him ending up on the ground underneath her boot. "Go away Quon..." she hisses. She seems quite happy though, she's wanted to do painful things to Rust for a long time! and this time, it's even part of her mission parameters.
Quon's feet touch the ground with a light impact before he flips backwards landing seemlessly into a lighter bouncier version of a Chongquan stance. "Sometimes, you're judged by the company you keep. And had I met any of your associates before I met you, my perceptions of you would be colored by those previous experiences. And based on my experiences with your organization and your own commentary on some of the people in it, I'm inclined to believe some of the company you keep is pretty horrible."
As he talks, he's circling around trying to get into position to stifle at least some of that agility of hers before coming in with a quick jab to apply pressure. "As for going away, you're going to have to deal with me like it or not."
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Cammy's Cross Scissor Pressure.
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Cammy 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
Cammy bowls into Rust in a tangle, but for having one free hand and apparent issues with his joints, he proves pretty capable of withstanding the tangle - the most she can get him down to is a kneel as he shifts his weight and flexes his body accordingly to her various movements, but this is no simple feat - Cammy's skill in grappling her opponents is something else, and even going to a kneel Howard has to wonder if he's actually turning and twisting the way she's trying to /get/ him to for maximum damage.
Especially when he has to lean off to the side to account for Quon's upcoming jab so he doesn't accidentally get punched.
"God damn," he curses out after a wheeze, "are you, are you... workin' with people who, who're killin' god damn innocent... y'know, /people/. Hurtin' the people who, who you're calling friends," he wheezes out once more before he tries to reach for Cammy somewhere - /anywhere/ - with his left hand, to just yank her clean off and toss her into that nearby car unless she slips out of his grasp or otherwise cleverly demonstrates her superiority in such close quarters combat, "because I, I don't worship the, the god damn ground that you're, y'know... walkin' on?!"
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Quick Punch.
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Cammy 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Rust's Medium Throw.
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Cammy 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
Cammy just tries to ignore Quon, as best she can anyway when she's cartwheeling, jumping, twisting and backflipping as needed, weaving a strange sort of dance of death around the two of them. And besides, what he says is hurtful. Insulting the omnibenevolent Lord Vega so. She wishes he could understand. Maybe one day, he will.
Rust, however, she can spit abuse at. "You are not /innocent/, Howard Rust. You are a cruel and suspicious man! I have seen enough of people like you, like those fighters in America who were trying to kill Chinese medics while claiming moral high ground.". She must admit, he's hard to move, and even her profound skill with tying people in knots seems to be stymied - for now. On the other hand that last attempt was something of a try at creating an opening. She leaps on him once more, hitting him full force this time like a tiny human missile, and assuming she hits, trying to send him earthwards in yet another tangle of combined arms and legs - the sort of tangle the quick Doll is deadly at exploiting. Especially with poor Rust's creaking joints as targets.
"He's not innocent but what about the farmers in Thailand who all they wanted was to live a peaceful life and put food on the tables for their families? What about Indonesian villagers? Those fighters in the US are equally reprehensible. Though as painful as it is to say about my former countrymen..." He looks like ate something bitter as "I'm also pretty sure that the Chinese Medics wouldn't have lifted a finger to help those villagers injured by war who had nothing to do with this war besides being born there."
As he continues the fight it slowly becomes easier and easier to discard his national identity. He backs off for a moment, not able to risk another attempt at Cammy without risking Howard Rust in the process.
COMBATSYS: Quon focuses on his next action.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Cammy's Hooligan Combination.
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Cammy 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Rust
The Geneva Convention mention elicits nothing but shock to the older man. He witnessed - by proxy - Chinese fighters doing the same thing in Nepal. Did Cammy witness a fighter in America doing that exact same business back? War's never pretty, but the comment is disheartening.
It takes a pretty secondary backseat to Cammy's strange spinning missile-like approach. He tenses up his left hand to try and stand tall against it, but she's too thorough in her knowledge of how to hit the human body to make it bend and twist in ways it shouldn't, and collapses to his side almost like a mannequin while a sharp pain runs through one of his legs.
Quon's commentary about 'not being innocent' gives him enough anger that he fights through the bad positioning anyway, striking one of his legs out so forcefully and repeatedly that one might wonder if he's just breaking his own knee over and over and over again with every kick, each one punctuated with that washed-out, flickering energy somewhere in the vague direction he assumes to be Cammy's position.
"The hell I did what?!" He manages to yell this out clear as day. "I, I saw them shoot medics in, in Nepal... sh-shit!" The stutter comes when he eventually has to stop with the kicks, lest he actually tear the leg entirely out of his socket while his body deals with that sudden onset of incredible stiffness throughout.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Rust's Jackhammer Kick.
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Cammy 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Rust
Cammy backflips away from Rust and his kicks, and not uncoincidentally towards Quon, ending up between the two of them. She looks first at one, and then the other, clearly weighing things up in her mind. "At least you are more flexible than Rust is." she mutters to Quon, while plotting her next move and turning back to Rust. "I do not know about Nepal. In any case, you never liked me, even though I am one of the kindest, most patient, most diligent, most precise people I know. I will enjoy using you as a parcheesi board when the war is won." she hisses at him, with her eyes narrowed.
Quon is perhaps foolishly ignored again as she nips forward, to grab at one of Rust's outstretched legs, planning on catching it and twisting it viciously so he falls, and hopefully with his knee even more messed up than it already is. She is quite remarkably single minded! And more than slightly mean.
"The moment we chose to take part in this, we discarded our ability to claim innocence. Our implements of war be they knuckles, feet, or pipe are covered in blood as sure as the soldiers' bullets and shrapnel are. Death surrounds us and we leave pain in our wake. But I guess, my lost innocence is for a good cause. So others may hold onto theirs and so I can prevent devastation to those who can't defend themselves."
And the Quon rejoins the fray flipping forwards as a leg extends. His entire foot is engulfed in golden chi fire as he attempts to bring a booted heel down upon Cammy's arm.
COMBATSYS: Rust interrupts Strong Throw from Cammy with Cement Upper.
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Cammy 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Rust
The groanworthy self-appreciation of her virtues makes Rust reconsider his stance about whether or not he wants to disconnect his leg from his socket - but it does seem like Cammy's already thinking the same idea as she gives it a good, hard tug. He's already still in a lying position, so the damage there is not quite as great as it would've been had she waited for him to pull himself back up.
This does not really, ultimately, mitigate how good she is at manipulating said leg, muscles cramping up immensely with her every movement, one eye shut in pain and teeth clenched extremely tightly as he's in that situation where even pulling his leg the way he wants it to will probably make the damage worse.
The grip on Ol' Rusty tightens as much as his right hand really can any more, drawing it back against the cold concrete enough that sparks fly.
"G-Get off me," a brief break from the moral talk and accusations as he finds the clearance to swing Ol' Rusty up in that classic uppercut with enough momentum behind it that he manages to sit up, most likely dislodging Cammy via sweet chin music to give him space to work out the difficulties that may come in being able to stand back up so shortly after she's given that leg a hell of a work-over.
A few more seconds of that and she might have taken that leg out entirely.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Cammy with Crossing the Bridge.
Grazing Hit
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Cammy 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Rust
There's a horrible crack as Ol' Rusty connects with the point of Cammy's (very small) chin. Really, when smashing someone who looks rather look a schoolgirl in the face you'd expect them to go down like a sack of hammers, but Cammy, though clearly she's not very happy about it, just staggers back a step or two - though dazed enough for Quon to land a chi-soaked kick onto one elbow.
Oh ho, now things are serious. "QUON! You hit me! But... why???" she gasps, more concerned about the graze than being smacked right in the face by a pipe. Now the gloves are off it seems, as her face twists, calm mask temporarily torn away, as she leaps at Quon, looking for vengeance at this betrayal. She's not all that disciplined about it, she just charges right at him, hands outstretched, looking to grab him by the throat, and if she gets him, lift him up and start shaking him as hard as she can. "Stop it!!!" she shouts into his face. If it's Shadaloo or Quon... apparently it's Shadaloo. Just.
COMBATSYS: Quon interrupts Choke Hold from Cammy with Roaring Guardian.
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Cammy 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Rust
Quon is slow to react to that initial movement of Cammy rushing at him and so he's unable to stop her fingers from gaining purchase around his throat. His eyes bulge as her grip gets tighter and tighter. Desperation sets in as he gets lifted off of the ground and so he begins working fast. He draws in the ambient chi to his finger tips as his face begins to turn purple and then he lowers his hands towards her abdomen and releases that built up chi in the form of spherical, ripple in the air and blasting the two of them apart.
Quon gets back to his feet and gasps for air for a few moments before saying in a raspy voice referring to when the attempt on Yuki's life went south, "I told you. If you're going to choke me out, you're going to have to earn it."
"Quon!" Comes Howard's voice as he sees Cammy grab for his neck. He knows how strong her grip is - he has ways around chokes, something Quon may not, and it is immensely worrying as he scrambles back up to his feet while flexing out the lingering aches of a leg Cammy nearly twisted clean out the socket.
The way Quon forces Cammy off seems to bring a moment of relief, to the extent any relief can be had - they're surrounded by people fighting for their lives. Chinese soldiers and those Russians converted to their way of thinking fight with just as much fear as the invading forces looking to topple over this communication tower.
Then, he sees something that got knocked loose in one of Cammy's assaults upon his person - something that he cast out of mind surprisingly quickly after he let it around his neck after Iran. That scarf. It is, in the big picture, just an article of clothing she lent him while he was recovering in Nepal (and didn't actually have the time to hand it back before he was ushered to India alongside Chun-Li and Munin).
As Quon throws Cammy his challenge, he takes the moment to gather himself. He can't let himself sink too low into the negativity of it all - that negativity isn't what let them fight it through this far. He saw the tail end of May Lee's broadcast from someone's television in Turkey... man, her and Mr. Jones, how the hell do they even stay so peppy even now?
Bringing that scarf back around his neck with a flourish, this moment of contemplation does well to take a little bit of edge off his leg as he steps back to Quon's side proper.
"Nobody's choking anyone out. And, I mean... I mean, nobody." So Rust says, as he points Ol' Rusty at Cammy once before drawing it down and back, moving back to his ready stance anew as May Lee's scarf briefly flutters in a passing breeze.
COMBATSYS: Rust focuses on his next action.
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Cammy 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Rust
Cammy is blasted away from Quon, to end up, briefly, in a small heap on the floor. But she rolls backwards with the blast, and flips back up onto her feet, scorched, but as of yet undaunted. And she looks warily at the two of them, as she prowls around, catlike. The earlier rage has already vanished, her face back to being an impassive mask. Emotions, terrible things... it's just better to be a placid Doll for all concerned, including herself.
Quon is clearly somewhat out of it, so she makes her next move towards Rust. She's some distance away, but she suddenly LEAPS at him full tilt, a blue barely visible streak, planning on darting around him in a frenzy of lightning fast kicks. Assuming they hit, each one kicks Rust a little higher into the air, and then as a finale when her leg is finally sore, she leaps up to grab him, bringing him earthwards with an abrupt and painful thud.
With Cammy no longer questioning his involvement Quon is given freedom to be silent and try to get his breath back. His eyes widen when he watches Cammy dart around Howard Rust with a barrage of kicks. Quon at his current skill level has no hope of keeping up so he watches and waits until he can get fix on her location.
It's only when Cammy finally stops her assault on Rust that Quon can get his own opportunity to attack. He then comes in with something that doesn't quite fit in the catagory of Chongquan. If anything, it's a knee strike that was inspired by Muay Thai directed right to her side.
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits Rust with Killer Bee Assault.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////////// ]
|=======\=======\1 Rust
In all fairness, Howard did say there would be no choking. It is difficult to consider the exchange that happens soon after to be a violation of this rule of choking, held only together by an unspoken gentlemen's agreement.
This is because Cammy is so fast that by the time he might consider maybe leaning back or intercepting a flying kick, she's already got him moving up off his feet. With no traction from finding himself launched into the air with bugged-out eyes, he's basically all hers as she darts about with each kick moving him up higher and higher and higher and higher yet - a frightening sight to any soldier who might look this way, to possibly think... oh shit, one of our fighters is getting mauled.
The wind taken out of the older man's lungs, he's only party there after a good last kick to the face when she grabs a hold of him. He has no real sense of how high up he is, or how quickly he's about to hit the ground - the sense of both is knocked right back into him as he lands hard on his back enough that a small crater sends debris flying pretty much everywhere. The communication tower nearby even violently shakes.
For fleeting moments, they might believe that she has his number. That she may have, finally, at last, put the man that has given her so much grief about not being instantly in love with every social grace or visit she so very nicely bestows on her friends.
Moments later, he pays the immense bruising of his upper back no real mind as he pushes himself up with his right elbow, swinging his left hand out to grab Cammy with a wide swing of his arm to drive her down into the pavement and smash the butt of Ol' Rusty down into her.
"Should've went for, for my nose again," he growls out all the while.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Strong Kick.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////////// ]
|=======\=======\1 Rust
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Rust's Armed Combo.
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Cammy 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////////// ]
|=======\=======\1 Rust
Cammy comes back down again lightly onto her boots, looking blankly serene. Giving Evil Rust a good kicking like that... it feels good. She tries to bury that feeling away somewhere inside though, knowing that being in control is always when she is at her best - and just to prove it, she dances around Quon's knee and slips beneath the swing of Rust's arm, fixed calm look on her face throughout, almost like she's in a trance. Meanwhile, the battle all around has paused somewhat at seeing the titan of Rust arise from the slight crater he found himself in, bruised, bloody but unbowed.
The Doll is herself a little surprised at Rust slowly getting up, and backflips away from him, looking coolly between the two of them. She does shake her head a little at Quon, a motion which would be imperceptible if it was not betrayed by the gentle swinging of her long braids - at least one hint that she is thinking, even if her expression remains unreadable.
COMBATSYS: Cammy gains composure.
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Cammy 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////////// ]
|=======\=======\1 Rust
Quon had a feeling that knee wasn't going to land true. While he had been training with Sagat, it hasn't been that long and so he doesn't quite have grasp of that style quite yet. Even still thought it was at least worth a shot just due to the fact that it might've been somewhat surprising to see that.
He then goes for something that still doesn't seem all that Chongquan inspired. His hands dart upwards as his hand clasp behind the back of the neck and in the process he closes his forearms so that he squeezes the sides of her neck with a Muay Thai inspired clinch. If he can lock it in, he'll swing her from side to side.
Rust has himself a real time standing straight as he staggers further out of the crater made by Cammy's trademark all-out assault. The scarf, though scuffed, still flutters every so often with every slow, lumbering movement. A flex of an elbow works out another popping kink.
When Quon moves in, Rust pauses for a moment to line something up in his mind as he puts more weight on his less-injured leg.
"You still want to... do this?" Rust asks out loud, though perhaps he should be asking himself that given how she very readily and easily dances around the two of them like nobody's business. "You... you see what it's all, it's... it's all doing, don't you?" Will she listen? Probably not. To be fair, in her place, he wouldn't really listen either.
That's when he suddenly lunges forward, a foot dragging on the uneven, spider-cracked concrete hard enough to leave a slight skid mark as he kicks out with the weaker leg in a fashion that is anything but, carefully striking multiple times from low to high to low again in a way that's very carefully aimed as to not accidentally strike Quon just inches by him, exhaling loudly towards the end of the assault while the open cuts and bruises from those slams threaten to put a damper on the rush of adrenaline from that killer assault of mere moments before.
He's definitely faster than he was the last time she embarrassed him, but he may not be fast enough to really catch her.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cammy 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Quon
> ////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Cammy blocks Rust's Man At Work.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cammy 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Quon
> ////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Rust
He is... pretty fast. The Killer Bee is fortunate that she got a breather in there, and some space between them - the canny doll did expect some surprise from Rust, and there it is - in truth she didn't even know he could move that fast! Quon sneaking up on her while her attention is on Rust to throw her is a threat she can more easily handle - there is little Quon, or the vast majority of people in the world in fact, can teach her about throws and holds, and she manages to wriggle away from his clinch deftly.
Rust's assault however, is too fast for her even to attempt the usual acrobatics. Instead, after trying to spin Quon into the way to distract Rust for a moment, she raises up one knee and her arms. One leg kicks out and glances off that muscular leg of hers, the next strikes her gauntlet with a painful sounding THWACK that echoes across Red Square. Half turning, the rest mostly thud into her forearms as she lifts her guard like a boxer.
Bruised, the strikes have pushed her back a little ways, giving her a little bit of space - and her foot is already lifted and ready. Her boot flicks out at Rust's chin, her whole body weight behind the strike, planning to bounce off of him - he is sturdy, after all - and backflip high up into the air, to come down a respectable distance away again.
Quon's attempt at a clinch meets nothing but air as Cammy once again dances away from his attempts to attack her he finds himself spun towards the ex school teacher. He's able to get his footing right away but if distraction was the intent, the damage was already done.
The Chongquan fighter then circles around toward's Cammy's side and attempts to throw a haymaker when she lands on the ground hoping that she'll be too busy sticking the landing to deal with his powerful punch.
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Cammy's Cannon Spike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cammy 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Quon
> /////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Rust
Cammy's boot meets Rust's chin. A chin that has seen many, many punches and kicks in its lifetime, but none so heavy - or so light, at the same time - as that of the boot of a tool of a murderous conqueror. Blood sprays out the side of his mouth to the blow, his neck turning to the impact of the blow.
Through the way his head is turned, he can look out and see how things are going. A few buildings are on fire, just a ways away. People scream as one helps another try to stop what is almost certainly fatal bleeding. The war around them continues to be ever relentless, and flashbacks to that sight where Nepal's own forces were willing to sacrifice themselves for /his/ sake - for whatever prompted them to do so.
Her kick is too good for him to completely shrug off, especially with all her weight behind it. Shaking his head once, the man looks back to the fight, stumbling forward through sheer grit regardless of the numbing pain through jaw and neck, looking to catch her as he swings his left hand up in a monstrous uppercut to try and pop Cammy up.
If she's hit by this, he leaps up after her (at a height that far exceeds what he is typically capable of), looking to latch Ol' Rusty into some part of her uniform somehow to spin her around and around and around before letting her fly off into the ground... if he can catch her.
Knowing damn well what is at stake, at least, sees him have the strength to take that one golden opportunity to try and catch her.
COMBATSYS: Cammy parries Quon's Strong Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cammy 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Quon
> ////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Cammy with Crane Launch.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
> ////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Rust
Haymakers are almost trivial for Cammy to stop even if she is off balance. She blocks Quon's incoming arm at the forearm, and PUSHES him hard, causing him to spin off towards Rust, in an attempt to deter the onrushing Rust. But somehow, Rust finally manages to land a solid blow on the reedy Doll.
It's lucky she didn' lose all her teeth in the process, as she flies up into the air, the pipe snaking after her to hook around one boot - just about the only part of her that is really hookable - and haul her down into the concrete with an slab-shattering crunch.
The Doll stares up at him from her spot on the ground, the blank look perhaps making him briefly think that she's been knocked out... But she hasn't. And if Rust is leaning over her to check, thats a bad move. Long legs suddenly last out at him as she goes into a modified kip-up - and those legs go to grab at Rust, trying to wrap firmly around his neck, before smashing him down onto the ground with her.
Cammy's evasiveness has made how far the gap between them is. Quon knew this the moment that he saw her moving through the ranks. Because of that, Quon was grateful that he had Rust along side him even if the man made him face palm often due to his craziness and the fact that he could barely stand looking at Rust due to the horrid thing on his head that would scare even great old ones.
He had to face facts, Muay Thai while effective martial art just wasn't natural, wasn't committed to his muscle memory deeply enough. He had to go back to what he knew. His modified Chongquan.
He dashes toward Cammy and tries to catch her with his foot as she's performing that modified kip up in an attempt to bombard her with a rapid fire series of snap kicks. His foot moves fast enough to look as though he's kicking five different locations at the same time, he then switches legs to repeat the process before finish with a hard punch to the body.
COMBATSYS: Rust Toughs Out Cammy's Frankensteiner EX!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
> //// ]
|===----\-------\0 Rust
He does make that fatal mistake when he comes back down with a crouch, shooting off a glance over to Quon briefly before rising up with the roll of a shoulder (and accompanying creak).
"You did good," he tells Quon in approval, "you... you did the right thin--"
Not yet!! The long legs suddenly lash out around his neck, a gasping grunt as her legs get around his neck. She has all the leverage she needs to suddenly hoist the larger American man over her and slam him face down (ass up, bitch). His more injured leg comes down pretty hard on some shrapnel, which stabs into his leg thanks to the strength of which Cammy can slam him - something that, in the long run, decides his continued participation in the fight more than the actual slam itself.
Especially when he otherwise goes with the side roll immediately after the impact, bloodied and bruised face as he comes to something of a crouch. The entire world feels like it goes dark for him, for a moment, save for the forms of Cammy, Quon, and himself. Time feels like it stops.
In an extremely bad heat-of-the-moment call, he puts weight on the leg that just got shrapnel in it as the other foot draws back. There is a brief glimmer of light that goes off his boot as he suddenly swings it forward on the ground. With it... something Cammy may not have seen as possible for him (or even Quon, for that matter).
The very sight of some sort of washed-out chi energy, flickering precariously like an arcade game sprite as though its existence were questionable at best, swirling in an unbalanced disc shape that looks like it's ready to spill over in its glide just above the ground vaguely in Cammy's direction.
It's not the sort of thing that instills confidence when it could potentially be all that stands between Russia's liberation or its continued occupation - especially not when the stabbed leg he puts so much weight on gives in on Howard in a twinge of pain that sees him finally fall over onto the cold concrete.
It would take him a good minute of struggling for him to really come to grips with the fact that he's not going to pull himself back up to keep fighting, he can't - that it's really up to Quon to finish things with Cammy and make his stand against her choice.
COMBATSYS: Rust can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Rust's Detour.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Wild Dragon.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
Surprise! Cammy wasn't exactly playing possum, she was in a bad enough way, as becomes evident when she climbs off of the frankensteinered Rust, getting up on shaky legs. She falls backwards away from the two of them as various rapid fire attacks come in, and once again demonstrates just how quickly she can disengage.
Now, it's just Quon, and Cammy. The fighting all around is ongoing still, yet in this small corner of Red Square there seems to be something of a hush, the soldiers of both sides who can see the mighty beatdown going on in between the two lines somehow aware that this mano a mano is more important than all the smaller fights all around the city.
The Doll finally focuses upon Quon, having almost entirely singleminded focused upon the easier - at least emotionally - target. "Quoooon. Go home. My analysis suggests that you will not win this, and I don't want to hurt you unduly." she admits. "But I /will/ hurt you unduly if need be. If you do not leave immediately, I have no choice.". She takes the opportunity to get her breath back, and waits for his answer.
COMBATSYS: Cammy gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
"Obviously you haven't listened to a single word I've said, Cammy."
He's out of breath. She's dodged his best moves, he's practically thrown kitchen sink of both Chongquan and Muay Thai moves in his repertoire. He knows he's in deep and needs a miracle just to get through this fight. "I..." The words are coming harder to him not because of him trying to find them. He knows exactly what he wants to say. "I'm not running... Your choices are either killing me or walking away. I refuse to live in the world that Vega wants to create from the dead bodies of innocents."
He sluggishly moves closer as he his muscles refuse to let him close in with ease and then he throws a hail mary of a punch at Cammy. He doesn't care where it goes. And quite frankly the fact that he's currently seeing double due to pushing himself too far even if he's been for the most part untouched, he doesn't really have the control to direct it where he wants it to go.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
Howard rolls on the ground back and forth, scrambling to pull himself back up despite the stabbed leg on the pavement. The silence is palpable among those who have gone from fighting the war to watching what seems to have turned back into a spectator sport. The silence is bone-chilling to the older man, who can only now best manage trying to prop himself up with his left arm to stare out to the battle unfolding between Vega's favored Doll and a young man who has had everything taken away from him.
The prospects look bleak. He can't pull himself back up to fight any further, much as his adrenaline tries to command him to do so. At last, after some close calls in the war thus far, it seems his body has won out in demanding he stop. He goes from active participant to spectator in moments, and this sudden helplessness frustrates him as Quon and Cammy go with exchanging blows and words alike.
"Quon!" Rust yells out, none too helpfully for his situation as he continues his futile attempts to pull himself to a stand. A four-letter word escapes his lips. Don't die here, Quon!
...Which goes for the rest of the soldiers here, but, especially Quon!
Poor Quon. He's tottering so much that Cammy doesn't even have to resort to acrobatics. She spins around, positively slowly by her standards, and sliding around behind him, wraps her arms around him in a somewhat steely, muscly embrace, her chin resting upon his shoulder. "You can barely stand, Quon..." she tells him. "This is pointless. But if you stay... it is going to hurt.".
It is fair to say that a hug wasn't actually her real intention, as she suddenly grips him painfully tightly, and drags him back over her head in a suplex with bonecrunching force. She's avoided hitting him so far and has managed to work out her anger on Rust, but she can't do that anymore - there's only Quon to hit, now.
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits Quon with Weakened Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Quon
Quon's too tired to break the hold or move out of the way. His oxygen deprived muscles refuse to cooperate as he's painfully hugged lifted and slammed into the ground. After some mental coaxing, he finally manages to get his muscles to cooperate if only enough to stand up after being brought down to the ground like that.
"Cammy, do you want to know what hurts? Seeing the tears of little children becoming orphans because of this rediculous war. Seeing the masses lose their homes because your organization's ambitions. Numerous lives ruined. What you're doing to me now? Nothing. Killing me would be a tender mercy compared being forced to see this repeated over and over again."
He takes a deep breath once more trying to get more air into his lungs hoping that maybe that large gulp of air would buy maybe a few more seconds of cooperation from his muscles. And then he leaps into the air and descends upon her in a similar fashion to his unsuccessful attempt to kick her before but if he should connect with that first kick, he continue to alternate between feet a few more times before shoving her away with his feet and plummeting to the ground in a relatively ungraceful fashion.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Cammy with Breaking the Shell.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Quon
Cammy somewhat arrogantly doesn't bother with the backflipping route, instead just trying to twist to one side - but Quon isn't quite so slow that he can be dismissed /that/ easily. He manages to catch her just below her throat, and knocks her back - though he goes down hard, she managing to go into a backflip.
"If you all just submitted to Lord Vega there would be no war." she points out to him. "He is not nearly as bad you seem to think, Quon. Your friends, like Evil Rust, are no better. He has always hated me, despite my best efforts - Lord Vega has always been so good to me in comparison, even when I fail him.". She's wobbly herself, but still confident, as Quon moves like a drunken hippo about now - it's almost like trying to kill one of her non-fighter targets. She delivers a swift kick to his midriff, still not quite with as much force as she would apply if she had her heart fully in it - but one way or another, he's going down.
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits Quon with Weakened Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Cammy 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Quon
Quon's arm rises to defend but he's simply too tired to lift his arm to put up an adequate defense. The kick even while half-hearted still gets through and physically rocks him. One could only imagine what she would've done to him if she actually hit him like she meant it.
"I'm going by what I've seen and what I've experienced. I'm going by how I saw some soldiers shoot someone who was already unconscious just for shits and giggles. And we don't need to go through some of my other experiences. You are already familiar with those." He goes back into his stance though his guard is lowered. He then goes for another punch this time sacrificing power for speed. Even still he's not exactly able to see anything but a blurry figure due to a combination of fatigue and sweat dripping into his eye.
Howard finds some sort of equilibrium of comfort (or, the least amount of discomfort) just laying on his side with one arm propping him up as he grits his teeth and looks to the two of them still slugging it out between one another. To hear their arguments so plain and clear, a part of him sinks once again at mention of 'Evil Rust.'
As though a part of him wonders, for a moment, if this whole mess would have been avoided if he actually played patty-cake and had tea parties with Cammy. Then again, that would've required...
No, forget it! He shakes his head and finds some strength to yell out again. "C'mon, Quon!" He calls. "You.... you can do it!" It's not too in-depth, but god damn he's not going to sit here and lay down incapacitated quietly when so much is on the line.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Cammy 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Quon
"I have not done anything to you! And war, pfft. You can hardly blame war on Lord Vega, there have been countless wars all through human history.". She ducks with her supernatural speed beneath Quon's flailing, tired fist, and spins around so her back is to him, just as she grabs at his hand. "Shut up Evil Rust!" she pauses, so she can shout at Rust. "Or I will kick you some more! Putting evil thoughts in Quon's poor head.". It's bad enough she has to fight Quon, she will never be rid of this turbulent Rust!
Just to emphasise her dislike, rather than trying to throw the mostly senseless Quon over her shoulder as planned, she throws him more or less at Rust. Quite possibly not hitting him, but she needs to express her venom /somehow/.
COMBATSYS: Quon just-defends Cammy's Weakened Quick Throw!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Quon
Quon remains silent as Cammy continues to plead her case to him and spit her venom. And to further cement her dislike of Rust, hurls the Chongquan prodigy at the fallen teacher and he goes end over end until he lands on Rust which has the intended effect of throwing him at Rust but a few unintended effects.
First his landing is much softer than it normally would be. Secondly it got the Chongquan fighter to get off his feet and rest for a moment. He breathing much easier even if he's still tired.
He stands up to his feet and walks towards Cammy his now bruised and battered body taking his stance once more. He's throwing powerful more straight forward punches but his timing is now being diverted towards getting his breath back rather than trying to put punches into the air. Even still his fighting seems to smack of someone who is not only not afraid of death it seems as though he almost welcomes it.
Rust's eyes widen at the sudden flying Quon, holding his hands up from his lying position as if to say, 'don't worry, I got you, I got you--'
He doesn't, actually, as Quon gently rebounds off of him with minimal injury and fuss. The older man, in comparison, suddenly wheezes as his back hits the ground uncomfortably, a low series of groans as Cammy gets, perhaps, at least part of the intended effect of the whole thing.
He throws a thumb up at Quon as he lays on his back as if to say, 'I'm marginally less not okay than you think' before letting the arm fall limp while he wheezes and catches his breath.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Combo Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Cammy 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Quon
Cammy continues to dance around Quon - well, 'dance', she's not doing the full acrobatics routine that she was earlier. Poor Quon, so tired still. Cammy is not tired at all, in fact this is all rather relaxing. "A shame, Rust is still talking somehow." she mutters, even as she cartwheels off to one side to try and get around him. "What would it take to shut him up?" she grumbles, and flashes Rust a vicious look, that implies that while Quon even if incapacitated might be let off easy, she probably isn't planning on being so nearly so gentle with her current hate object.
"Come on Quon, fall over.". She hops in quick, one arm going low and one going high to try and pick him up, Zangief style, and just bodyslam him into the concrete. Or, rather, more or less pick him up and drop him, she doesn't want to hurt him /too/ bad.
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits Quon with Weakened Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Cammy 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
Quon's body gets lifted up into the air and practically dropped onto his back. To the an outsider it looks pretty silly as he's thrown around like a rag doll. It's relatively obvious to at the very least the Chongquan fighter that he should be down by now if not for the fact that Cammy's heart is not into it.
While Quon has fallen over, the problem for Cammy is that Quon won't stay down. He slowly rises to his feet but even as his body continues to get slammed, he continues to gain more and more clarity. Those multiple Cammys are starting to actually form into one.
He then comes in close swinging a still somewhat sluggish kick to her shin and then to her ribs. His pacing still being directed towards getting his breath back.
Rust, on the other hand, is mercifully significantly more quiet post Quon-tossing, still having to catch his breath after getting a whole lot of his air knocked right out of him. Lazily and painfully, he turns his head while laid down on his back. What can he say to help Quon, at this point? Can he even really do anything other than be a spectator?
The older man's frustration grows by the moment, but his breath does not.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Quon's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Cammy 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
Cammy is rarely hit even by fast kicks, let alone sluggish ones. She steps aside almost casually, and puts her hands on her hips. Really though she's not having all /that/ much of a good time, she's covered in bruises under that leotard from the earlier kickings and pipe-beatings. "You should have trained with me, Quon. I did offer, remember? We did it once, and you were terrified the whole time. I always was afraid of sparring with you though, because you were so scared as it was, I thought it'd only make it worse.". She sighs. "And now, you choose not to be afraid. You have poor timing, I think.".
She shakes her head, while staring at him. Really, by rights she should be killer bee assaulting him right now. But he's so messed up already, and he's not nearly as sturdy as Rust is. Maybe he'd die. She weighs up the odds of that...
COMBATSYS: Cammy takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Cammy 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
"Do you want to know why? Do you want to know where all this courage came from?" His breathing while still heavy is slowly but surely getting better. And it's only a matter of time before he's back to taking risks again which is when he's at his most dangerous. "It came from losing damn near everything. It came from watching others get their lives ruined. You also had been trying to get Sagat to train me. I took him up on that offer. Do you want to know why? He offered me a chance to strike back at the organization that causes so much misery. Training with you wouldn't have. And god dammit. I'm fucking done running. So once again. Strike me down and be done with it or walk away. I'm not going to stop coming until you take me down."
He goes back into his stance for just a moment before delivering a couple fast punches to the body before sending a last one to the face.
COMBATSYS: Quon successfully hits Cammy with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Cammy 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Quon
"Yes, I wanted the best for you, and persuading Sagat was not very easy." Cammy tells him. "But I never did /anything/ to you. Life is not fair to me.".
She tries to dodge out of the way of his quicker fists, but he just about manages to tag her, and the doll slowly sinks to her knees. "Meh... But all you did was strike back at me. And Vega will be unhappy with me now..." she gasps, eying him balefully. She probably has enough oomph left in her to do horrible things to Quon even now. Maybe, maybe not. Is it really worth finding out and then sleeping? It's probably better just to sleep.
She slowly falls over backwards into the dust, eyes still open and staring up at the sky blankly. Except this time, unlike earlier with poor Rust, they really are unseeing.
COMBATSYS: Cammy takes no action.
> //////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Quon
COMBATSYS: Cammy can no longer fight.
> //////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Quon
And as Cammy falls down, a tear rolls down his cheek as he finally lets himself feel the sadness at having to fight her. "I knew from the beginning that us becoming close would only end in misery. I tried to keep my distance. It didn't work that well, now did it?"
He then takes a deep cleansing breath. He mutters to himself, "So loyal to someone who doesn't even deserve that loyalty." He doesn't even know if he's referring to himself or to Vega. Probably both.
He drops to the ground on knee and then slams his fist to ground cracking the ground in frusteration. And then he slowly rises back to his feet. "I still have more work to do. I hate this god damn war so much."
Perhaps rallied by the apparent defeat of Cammy (it takes them several moments to figure out she's really down for the count, given the last time a certain someone mistakenly thought she was down for the count), the coalition of soldiers between Turkey, Belgium, and Ukraine move on to overtake Moscow primarily by destroying the communications network hub the enemy had going here.
Russia is not a small nation. The withdrawal or expulsion of China's forces would not come within a day - it would take a long, hard push by ordinary men and women alike whose bravery and sacrifice would eventually see Russia regain its independence, if perhaps ultimately for a fleeting moment if Vega's war machine were to ever regain its momentum.
Most strikingly to those who were present to witness what they called a decisive battle in the campaign, they would speak of a young Chinese man who, in the face of one of Vega's most dangerous agents, wept as he struck the final blows that would signify the beginning of the end of China's grasp of the nation.
The event would become increasingly romanticized as words were traded between those who were there.
Log created on 09:41:34 02/29/2012 by Rust, and last modified on 09:53:34 03/01/2012.