Description: After Hunter's loss to Vyle, she realizes that she cannot execute her plan--or Shadaloo--alone. She needs help... in the form of the Ikari. And she reaches out to a sympathetic one for that help.
It would be fair to say that Hunter's life hasn't exactly gone according to plan.
Lurching from one tragedy to the next, certain things have been brought into sharp relief. The primary one being that Hunter very much wishes to live. It was a startling revelation; she had thought that she'd be willing to give her life in exchange for that of the Shadaloo filth still stubbornly infesting the world. The fact is, though, that she simply is not strong enough to make such an exchange. The beating Vyle had handed her was utterly humiliating; she hadn't been able to so much as touch the vicious criminal! She needs... to get stronger.
First, though, she needs to survive.
Like a wounded animal, she had managed to escape back to her den. Much of Sunshine City's outer limits are known to her now, and the vast majority of them are overrun by one gang or another, but there are still places which are nominally safe. One of them is the Ikari safehouse that Hunter had been granted access to, and it is there that she has fled. She's made her own improvements to the dilapidated building, adding some additional tripwires, and a particularly ingenious sliding floor trap she is quite proud of.
Leona had said to contact her if she changed her mind. There isn't anyone else she could ask. Sagat? He'd probably train her if she asked him to, but he has suffered so many burdens already. She would not add to them no matter how tempting it might be. Johann? There is more to him than meets the eye, she isn't a fool, but, he'd never shown any interest in teaching her anything, and she'd /failed/ him. They had a plan, with this tournament. To draw out the enemy and slay them. And she had /FAILED/.
The Ikari... had also helped her, and they are, undeniably, strong. They had wanted her skills once... if they still wanted them, perhaps they could trade. So, in the darkness and the gloom, some time ago, she had used her mobile phone to send the message - one word.
READY
She has also got her map of the city, here. Divided into various color-coordinated zones. Like a cancer, Shadaloo is going to spread if she can't contain it, and the thought nauseates her. The world is full of impossible decisions, but this one more than most seems tough to her.
The young woman has at least bandanged herself up as she glares at the map, as though trying to discern its motivations.
Leona's been in Sunshine City for a while. Couple of reasons. One named K'--she has a vested interest in how that young man is doing in the tournament. And some concerns. He is, after all, an inherently unstable person -and- connected to one of the few people that Leona finds not only acceptable but -actually- cares about.
The other is named Whip--that very same person that Leona is worried about and cares for. She's also in the tournament. It isn't Leona's style to necessarily show up and cheer on her fighters, but she -does- watch them.. and so well that they might not even know. It isn't her custom to keep her phone on anything but 'vibrate', and the compact model, no touchscreen or anything like that, vibrates against her hip and she unsheathes it to take a look. Hmm. It's a good thing she was only breaking fast; she finishes her MRE first, then secures where she's staying--atop a high building in Outer Sunshine, well-defended with the kind of traps that leave people dead--before picking up her phone.
Being an Ikari affords one some very special toys, and she utilizes one of them as she heads to the rooftop edge--triangulating the position of the mobile phone that just texted her. She's already leaping from the rooftop, to another one, lower by two floors, as her phone vibrates again to give her coordinates; landing, and rolling, she picks up the phone again, commits the coordinates to memory, and gets moving.
It'll probably be 25-30 minutes before Leona shows up to where Hunter is. The combat-boot footsteps are probably the first thing Hunter will hear, stopping outside her shelter... but not invading it.
Hunter isn't surprised to hear the boots. She'd be stupid to just assume that they are related to the person she just called, though. It could easily be a trap; perhaps Leona has been captured by Shadaloo and they've intercepted the message. Perhaps she's been set up. Perhaps it is just a coincidence and a gang has decided to take this place. It could be any number of things.
She's still somewhat sore as she rolls from the couch, to the door. She's judged, roughly, where Leona is coming from, and one hand slides a throwing knife from her boot, whilst the other opens the door. When she sees that it is, in fact, Leona... crouching in the doorway, looking up with suspicious eyes, she seems to relax just a little bit. Sliding her knife back into her boot, she nods her head, and steps back from the door.
"Please come in." She says, "Mind the wire across the frame there, and just... well, the way to the couch is mostly clear. You want something to drink?" One of the many things that she has taken the time to stock up on are bottles upon bottles of water.
In the last twenty minutes, she has mostly put a knife into the map roughly where she judges the most likely spot for Shadaloo's own safehouse. A little bit obsessed, perhaps, but she just can't... get over the fact that she isn't going to be able to do this on her own.
Leona's dark blue eyes examine the structure critically. Wire, yes, she sees that... There are a few things Hunter missed but, in all likelihood, they're minor things. She ducks under the wire smoothly, picking her way smoothly towards the couch, but stopping just before it.
"No, thank you," she says, brieflly, to the offer of water. But she can see that Hunter has a good sense of what's important--food and water and shelter, in a warzone, are as valuable as weapons. Sometimes more so. She nods approvingly then turns those azures on Hunter, noting the map and the knife.
"I watched your fight against the wrestler," she says, her voice surprisingly low, with a certain harshness to it--just becaues it doesn't get used much. She presumes, a little, in thinking that that fight was the impetus for the text message she received.
"You believe that you're ready to join the Ikari?" She's also noted the injuries; abruptly, she turns and walks out the door; when she reaches the threshold she turns her head and snaps, "Come with me." And then she's out the door, heading down the corridor for the nearest exit. If Hunter lives up to her name, tracking the Ikari this far, at least, should be easy.
Hunter is, surprised, to learn that Leona had been watching. She'd been entirely unaware of that, and that alone speaks volumes about Leona's skill level. Hunter prides herself on being aware of her surroundings, knowing everything that is going on and how to turn it against her enemies. If she'd known Leona was nearby, she would have led Vyle right into her. But, she didn't. Yet more evidence of her apparent weakness. She never /wanted/ to be a fighter. She wanted to provide for her village, and later, she wanted revenge. Apparently, that latter goal is going to require that she becomes... much sharper.
"You're the one who wanted me." She says, mildly. She doesn't wait, but she does grab a fresh bottle, stubbornly resolving to ignore her aches and pains in order to keep up. "I obviously can't do what I have to do on my own. That was my mistake. Thinking I could. So. If you still want me, I'm ready to learn."
The young woman has no idea what she'll do if Leona decides the offer is no longer valid. The fact that she's turning to mercenary work - even with a group as moral as the Ikari had seemed to be during the war - feels like a small betrayal of her people's memory. She's not going to beg, but she's running out of options. It is never good to feel backed into a corner, but that's exactly how Hunter feels these days.
"Mmm," says Leona, replying only after they've come up into an empty, urban courtyard, scattered with trash and dust and detritus, sprayed with graffiti hopeful and obscene and colorful. Leona walks out about twenty yards into the courtyard then turns to face Hunter.
"We did. But the Ikari aren't in the habit of hiring -losers-." Her voice sharpens on that last word, as do her eyes. Is it true? Yes and no. But Leona has to test Hunter's resolve, to try to understand her mindset. Her voice returns to that harsh evenness that marks most of her communcation as she folds her arms across her chest.
"What do you want from the Ikari? What do you need?" Simple questions, and Leona will give Hunter time to answer them. She knows what the girl wants, and why she was reluctant to join the Ikari, even if they aren't your typical 'for-hire' merc group, more like the A-Team but actually killing people when necessary and without disguises.
"Show me you have what it takes to join the Ikari." She leaves unspoken what it requires--resolve, determination, skill, the willingness to follow orders -and- to question them when necessary...
Hunter is a loser. Perhaps there are people who would get angry at the notion, but, she has accepted it. She couldn't stop her village being slaughtered. She couldn't stop Diesel chasing her through the jungle like a wild animal. She couldn't even defeat Vyle who - with all the respect in the world - is about as far down the Shadaloo food chain as it is possible to be. She'd fought and bled in Thailand to save her country... she /had/ killed dozens of those soldiers, even a General! But to her mind, even those accomplishments now seem ... tainted. Had she turned the tide? Would the outcome have been different if she had simply laid down and died with her family?
And so Hunter's eyes meet Leona's. Cold blue, dead inside. She shrugs her shoulders, and loosens the position of the bow slung across her back. It is a nice bow; she'd used the money Johann had been paying her to upgrade it. Carbon-fibre, perfectly calibrated for herself, painted matte black. She could put an arrow from that weapon, confidently, anywhere up to four hundred feet. But she could not hit a man like Vyle. VYLE! And she'd thought she might be able to chase the Killer Bee out of her city.
"I want to get stronger. I don't think there's an animal on the planet I couldn't kill. But you people, know how to kill human beings. That's what I need from you. I'm a Hunter. I need to be a fighter."
She doesn't make a move on Leona; not yet. Instead, she loosens her stance. The courtyard doesn't have a lot of cover; mostly empty, abandoned. Not a living soul in sight, at least.
"I don't think I can beat you." She says, honestly. "But I've, tried to adapt my style a little already. If you want me to try, I won't hold back."
The truth is, everyone's a loser, sometimes. Even the most God-blessed of people don't win every time. It's only those people who can't accept loss and learn from it that =remain= losers. Bue those blue eyes are merciless as she regards Hunter, as she listens. "Killing humans is easy," she says, not dismissively, but informatively, "if you approach it in any number of ways." But it's knowing -who- to kill that is the hard part. Leona regards the woman in front of her again, then unfolds her arms.
Taking up a fighting stance, her hands loose, feet apart and her center of gravity lowered, she says, calmly, "Come at me. Show me what you've learned." This won't be a fight to the death, of course, but she has to see, regardless. It's like a tryout, although, as Hunter said, the Ikari did want -her-... and that is still true.
Plus she still has some wisdom to impart, about the Ikari. "If you join us, Hunter, you will not be allowed to simply roam free and kill any Shadaloo soldier, fighter, or scientist you find," she adds, conversationally. Well, to an extent, that's true. "We are mercenaries of a certain moral bent, not mass murderers."
"I know. Soldiers are expected to have discipline."
Which is something that, despite all her control, Hunter has never had. Even when she was Sasithorn, providing for the village, she refused to do it in the way the elders tended to want - she did it in her own way, in the way that she wanted to do it. Still, best, not to dwell on that. Nor the implication that she is a mass murderer.
Hunter crosses the ground between herself and Leona as quickly as she can, and as she does, she draws the bow from her back...
But it is a feint. Her foot comes sweeping along the ground, kicking up a spray of dirt and gravel, as Hunter herself comes around from the side, kicking out hard at the back of Leona's knee, and only /then/ starting to knock an arrow into place. It might not be a fight to the death, but, Hunter's particular style doesn't... lend itself very well to non-lethal techniques. Perhaps that is what she'd meant about holding back.
COMBATSYS: Hunter has started a fight here.
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Hunter 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Leona has joined the fight here.
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Hunter 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Leona
COMBATSYS: Leona blocks Hunter's Light Kick.
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Hunter 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Leona
Leona seems to be still as the quiet earth. Perhaps Hunter's caught her off-guard? but, no; the Ikari turns at the last possible moment, sweeping her left hand low to catch the kick on her forearm. She approves, though, of taking the initiative; were Hunter to have waited for her to start things off, especially after such a clear invitation, Leona would have been... disappointed.
Of course she sees Hunter fitting an arrow to her bow, but at this range--melee range--she'll have to fade back at least a -little- to get some clearance to fire, and Leona doesn't intend to let her get it all that easily. She takes a loping step forward, jabbing her left hand out for Hunter's throat--a stiff-fingered strike that, done properly, can kill a man in a slow, painful manner, crushing his throat and leaving him gagging on his own blood and fear.
That isn't her goal, but the jabbing strike is the opening to a quick, deft lift of the fingers, which would put them into Hunter's jaw, just under the chin, where she could lift, ruining the girl's balance--and then trip her over an extended leg, sprawling her to the tarmac.
"That's right. Discipline is our watchword. Without it, we are nothing better than the attack dogs that men such as Vega and Igniz employ..."
COMBATSYS: Hunter blocks Leona's Quick Punch.
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Hunter 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Leona
Hunter, doesn't seem to be all that intent on backing off. With Leona striking at her, the girl brings the bow sweeping around instead. The strike crashes into the weapon, but, with the momentum going in her favor, she can divert it, and roll around to the side. She'd learned the hard way against Vyle that trying to keep distance can only work so far.
She does need to back off, but far less than most would think. A half-step, and she's leaning back. The bow, however, is not, and as she pulls the string back, there's a glint in her eye. She'd /never/ try this in a normal hunt. What sort of idiot hunter lets themselves get so close to their prey? But, fighters are not ordinary prey. They call for a different set of tactics.
She's careful with the placement of the shot - aiming for Leona's thigh, it is doubtful that it would be anything more than a momentary frustration... but that isn't what she's doing it for. She's doing it to try and force the Ikari warrior to break the close distance first; so that she can follow, and keep her on the back foot.
"I thought that I could be happy just, living." She says, her words measured and careful. "But, I can't. Maybe I am no better than the people Vega uses. I just know that I want to make sure people like Vyle, have something to be afraid of. That is what I want."
COMBATSYS: Hunter successfully hits Leona with Medium Shot.
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Hunter 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Leona
Hm. Good... and yet bad for Leona. The arrow carves a bloody furrow into her leg, hidden only by the baggy BDU pants she wears, but the strike is true; the sharp pain draws a response from Leona, a tightening of the eyes, but pain is not unfamiliar to her. Nor does it yet slow her down. Hunter may be going for non-lethal attacks, a useful conceit when in a public fight, but if she loses that ability to make her attacks a kill when she needs it, then she'll be largely useless to the Ikari.
Leona bulls forward, literally, planting the injured leg and twisting on it, defiantly using it as the platform for a swift kick, rotating her body at the hip and snapping out her uninjured leg in a strike aimed for Hunter's midsection--a thump that would almost certainly bruise, at the least, particularly with the steel-toed combat boots that Leona favors.
She offers no comment yet, the fight oddly silent but for the harsh breaths, the sounds of feet shuffling and scuffling across asphalt, the twang of that bow and the grunt of exertion as each woman does her best to subdue the other.
COMBATSYS: Hunter dodges Leona's Light Kick.
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Hunter 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Leona
Hunter is surprised that Leona presses the attack on her injured leg with quite so much stubbornness, but she doesn't break from her plan. The heavy boot aims for her midsection, and as Leona twists, the bow is slung up and around onto her back. Hunter is quick, and she darts around with the blow, following its path around until she's coming up behind the Ikari warrior.
Her free hand draws out some wire from her pocket - another modification to her usual repertoire. Whilst she had used rope in the past, wire is much stronger, and easier to store. This comes whipping around, aiming to tangle around Leona's outstretched leg, as Hunter completes her sliding circuit.
If all goes according to plan, she'll tug heavily on the wire as she comes around. The end game is to bring Leona down to the ground, with the smaller woman standing over her. There's no more words from her, either, yet. She's said what she has to say... the only real question left, as far as she's concerned, is whether or not she can put up a good enough show to make up for the humiliation she'd endured at the hands of the vicious wrestler.
COMBATSYS: Leona just-defends Hunter's Snare Trap!
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Hunter 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Leona
That she's willing to face Leona, knowing, perhaps, that she is not yet the Ikari's equal, speaks well enough of her. That she fights with such ferocity is yet another point in her favor. Leona, in truth, has already made her mind up--had done so within moments of the start of the fight. But she won't let Hunter know that it was that easy or simple to convince her. After all, there's a mystique to be maintained--and anyways, the test is barely started.
The wire is a nice touch--harder to see, as well as easier to store and stronger, but Leona can feel it wrap around the leg, and there's only so many things one can do with such a wire in such a position. When the tug comes, Leona is ready for it, spinning with the tug, performing a quick leap, letting the tug whirl her in midair--but when she lands, its on her own two feet, and she's close enough to practically kiss Hunter.
So maybe it's to surprise Hunter that Leona steps back, a half-step, bringing her arms up and wrenching them outwards--her hands flaring with blue-white power as she gathers then releases it, in the form of a sparking, ball of crackling energy, ringed with sharp-looking circles--like a 50's artist's rendition of 'atomic power'.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Hunter with Baltic Launcher.
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Hunter 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Leona
In some ways, Hunter is glad that Leona handily outclasses her technique. If she couldn't, it wouldn't speak very well to what she could /learn/ from the more experienced fighter, now would it? Nevertheless, she had said that she'd give it her all, and, she will.
When Leona steps backwards, Hunter steps with her. When the bright blue-white energy is powered up, she feels sweat bead on her brow. The unleashed power is frightening, and her instincts tell her that nothing in /her/ arsenal could match it. She does the only thing she can think of, and tries instead to leap *over* the oncoming power...
Only to wind up being caught head on in mid-air. The blasting power detonates and throws her to the ground, where she lands, heavily. With a cough, the young blonde pulls herself back up to her feet, and wipes her lips with the back of her hand. Her other hand reaches down and draws a wickedly sharp knife, curved backwards and serrated.
"Good shot."
But her eyes are focused on Leona, still. She's not exactly surprised to find that she's outmatched... but she's still standing, she's got no intention of staying down just yet. Even in her mildly injured state, she needs to prove, if nothing else, that she can take a hit.
COMBATSYS: Hunter focuses on her next action.
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Hunter 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Leona
Knives, hmm? Leona nods to Hunter, as the blonde woman pulls herself back up to her feet and she pulls that weapon out. Things are escalating a little, but she knew Hunter employed weapons to fight. There's nothing wrong with that, of course--Whip employs guns -and- her namesake, and she's just as effective a fighter as Leona herself.
It won't be much longer--this was a test, not a beatdown intended--but, one last exchange... she can see the intensity in the young woman's eyes, and she has to respect it. She takes another long, loping step, only ducking down at the very end of it...
And then, as she pushes up, her arms windmill out and around, that blue energy flaring brightly around her knife-like hands, cutting twin arcs through the air with the sound of steel singing, that harsh-sweet sound employed in movies the world over.
COMBATSYS: Hunter fails to interrupt Moon Slasher from Leona with Poisoned Knife.
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Hunter 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Leona
Hunter steels herself as Leona comes in again. She's prepared for it - she actually thinks she knows roughly what to expect. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the energy is gathered, and she presses her lips together tightly. There's two options here - she can evade and then strike, or try to go through Leona. What might not be so obvious is that the knife is covered in a clear liquid. A custom agent of hers; not deadly at all. Numbing. And as Leona's energy flares...
A droplet of poison falls from the edge of the blade, dripping onto the ground.
And Hunter steps forwards, bringing the vicious weapon around with all the force she can, stabbing right into the heart of the flaring energy...
And she's overpowered, grunting heavily as she hits the dirt, her knife broken and flung away to the side. She rolls as she hits the ground, scrabbling for her next weapon, and trying to get her feet back underneath her. Gods that hurt.
There's another step from Leona, and a hand outstretched--to help Hunter up, not to attack her again. "Good." The single word encompasses a variety of things, some of which are evident, some of whicn may not be. Good: You didn't flinch. You didn't back down. You fought hard. You proved yourself worthy of the Ikari.
Hauling Hunter to her feet, she gives her a once-over, and pronounces, firmly, "You'll live." Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out a piece of paper, something already written on it--the location of the Ikari Base. "Memorize this," she says, showing her the paper--but not giving it to her. She'll hold it out there for exactly fifteen seconds, no more. Then it's gone forever.
"Once you're done here," she says, gesturing at the city, "Send me a message. From then, you will have one week to make it to the location on the coordinates. If you don't make it within that week, you'll have to re-apply to the Ikari. I won't be the one testing you in that case." Leona turns to go, looking over her shoulder at the girl.
"If you do? Then welcome to the Ikari."
Hunter takes the offered hand, and pulls herself to her feet. She's hurting, no doubt about that. The energy has ripped off some of her bandages (or bandanges, as they are known in the tongue of her people), those will need to be reapplied. But, she's been through worse. For all that she might have been acting like a suicidal lunatic, having stared death in the face once again, she has been reminded of a simple fact. She is a survivor. She's been through hell, and she'll go through it again, a hundred times, if she has to.
"I will." She replies, and her eyes scan the paper. She takes it in, and nods her head, once, firmly. When she's done here? What good could she DO here? She'd tried, she'd failed, she has no wish to throw herself into the same trap again. She'd pass on what she knew to Johann, and pray that the concrete jungle could look after itself. She'd tried to make it home... but it isn't.
"It shouldn't take more than a few days." She murmurs, "I'll let you know when I leave, and I will get there." A simple statement of fact. Though, what comes after, does bring with it just a slight hint of emotion. A rarity in the usually cold young woman.
"Thank you."
Log created on 09:53:38 06/23/2012 by Leona, and last modified on 17:37:55 06/23/2012.