Description: What a way to receive a warning! Daniel Little, having involved himself in the affairs of Shadaloo, now finds himself facing a message... in the form of Decapre. But was the message received?
Drawing out of the black spiral.
Daniel Jack, satchel on his back, struts off of the bus unto the bus stop back on his Gedo Street. The sun was setting, the day was late. But after a day dedicated to Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu, it was time to return home. And a long trip it was; going from Taiyo to Gedo was a major trip.
He might even consider moving.
Gedo Street at this hour was quiet; the local gangs of Gedo High students were spreading out from the street. It wouldn't be a private moment for long here. While Daniel enjoyed the good-natured punks, the street held more and more bad memories for the detective. Detective. That title was hanging like a noose around his neck. He was never much of a detective, was he? He was more of a Todoh-Ryuu hero. Someone that inspires children. Inspires Ryuhaku. Inspires Kasumi. The detective sighs, reflection consuming him.
He barely even notices when the bus pulls away.
Daniel might be a detective, but Decapre is a stalker of a much higher caliber. And she has access to resources unimaginable. She has been covert for maybe a week, using natural talent and learned skill to track the man--and, occasionally, masks and clothing to disguise herself.
Does she understand, fully, why she's been tasked with this? No. But she doesn't have to. It's an order from Lord Vega himself and that is enough for her. Now, finally... it's time. She isn't disguised now, at least, not as some teenybopper girl. She is wearing the uniform that is unmistakable to those who know what it means--the black, ribbed bodysuit, reinforced at elbow and knee, the black boots and the red, armored gauntlets...
...and of course, the mask with its glowing red eyes, and the garrison cap.
The claws pop out, a momentary sound to break the silence, a harsh, singing sound--and then she leaps.
A street attack? It's not the most subtle of tactics... but the time for subtlety is over. There's no shout to indicate the attack, no yell--just the swish of air, parting before the lithe from of the young woman, as she attempts a decisive strike--a painful one--those claws reaching for Daniel's chest, to carve six bloody furrows into his chest.
COMBATSYS: Decapre has started a fight here.
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Decapre 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Daniel has joined the fight here.
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Decapre 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daniel
COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Decapre's Medium Strike.
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Decapre 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daniel
Ambush.
Daniel Jack's ears pick up the sound. And with it, he reacts. There is no thought in his head as he turns. No thought as he brings up a forearm to block the coming claws. No thought as he steps with the slashes momentum, moving with the blow to minimize it. Arm bearing shallow wounds, he is beside Decapre now. Eyes focused, spirit on the rise, staring into the mask.
And now, he is thinking.
The bag on his back drops to the ground. He knows that uniform. The mask was a mystery. But what was unmistakable was that this was Shadaloo. And most likely? A doll. Daniel Jack continues to move, stepping back into Decapre with the momentum he set up. Attempting to grab the girl by the hip and shoulder, he will pivot, trying to flip the girl and slam her hard on the concrete sidewalk.... with only a word.
"Does Marz know you are in her turf?"
COMBATSYS: Decapre blocks Daniel's Medium Throw.
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Decapre 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daniel
The slam doesn't happen quite the way Daniel expects, the impact rolled through, that lithe, flexible body absorbing the impact as she twists to roll away from the target. She has some distance--a very little bit, really--but she's going to close it, quickly. The voice, when she speaks, is flattened, robotic-sounding--though that could be an effect of a vocoder in the mask.
"Target sighted," she says, coldly, the blades on her hands flashing in the light as she lunges forward, suddenly, right hand drawn back, red energy blazing around it, leaving a trail as she slashes, blades describing a three-tiered arc as she drives the arm around from shoulder height down to waist height.
It's probably immediately evident that playing around is not what is on her mind--but even a direct hit wouldn't be immediately fatal. Perhaps she's a bit of a sadist...? Notably, she does not reply directly to Daniel's question, though the fact that Marz isn't here might answer it all by itself.
COMBATSYS: Decapre successfully hits Daniel with Razing Arrow.
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Decapre 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Daniel
Target sighted?
The words were inhuman, mechanical. Kinda like Marz, actually. As she rolls out of the throw, Daniel was analyzing. Was this some kind of assassin? This can't be an assassin. It simply could not be. Between Diesel, and Juri, and Marz.... he should be protected by all fronts. And yet,. , this looked like a Shadaloo Doll... Maybe it was a false flag operation? Readjusting his position, he tries to keep track of the agile woman.
But she slips on through.
Trying to mantain momentum, he finds those claws torn into his chest. Deep wounds, but not fatal wounds. The detective grunts as his skin is flayed, and his suit torn into tatters. And yet, through the pain, he only grew more resolved. "Target my ass; who sent you? Are you even Shadaloo? Answer me!" He roars as he swiftly fires off a palm strike with the right... and then a powerful, slow hand chop of the left, to smash her down to the ground.
Was he getting flustered?
COMBATSYS: Decapre blocks Daniel's Fierce Punch.
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Decapre 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Daniel
If she were an irreverent sort she just -might- target his ass. But she's all business. She doesn't even show any acknowledgement that she made a good strike; the claws are drawn back and that mask... it's so hard to get a read on a person wearing a mask like this, a metallic face that holds no expression.
There's just a -tiny- hint of dark amusement as she replies, "Answers unnecessary." Palm strike meets palm, the chopping left meets forearm, and the impact clearly -affects- her, even through the armored gauntlet... but she doesn't rock back, doesn't stun.
She just jumps back, reaching to her waist as she reaches the peak of her jump--and hurling a small, arrowhead-like, razor-edged projectile, flat and heavy and anodized black like a fighting knife, save for the gleaming edge.
COMBATSYS: Decapre successfully hits Daniel with Thrown Weapon.
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Decapre 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Daniel
She was wearing him down.
The blow comes crushing through with full power, even piercing the lightly armored guard of the smaller woman. But the speed is what comes. As she dances away, small blade is hurled back at him, black and viscious. Daniel Jack attempts to evade, turning to the side to dodge it cleanly. Instead, he catches it in the worst way, taking the hit right in the chest. Fortunately, it hits bone, not flesh, and the cut isn't deep. Pulling the weapon out, Daniel inspects it briefly, before hurling it to the ground.
And Daniel slows it down a notch.
"Answers are damn necessary, you freakin' dame." The detective growls as he rebuilds his stance. Legs spread out, he focuses carefully, eyes burning, balance found. Gradually bringing his hands back up, his palms are open, his eyes are wide. Body bleeding profusely, he begins to focus harder on Decapre. "If you don't want me to rattle up Marz or Shadaloo on the ground, you better tell me who the hell sent you. Diesel? Juri? Marz? Who the hell, scuzzy!" The man seethes.
But for that moment, he does not strike just yet.
COMBATSYS: Daniel kicks it up a notch! BAM!
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Decapre 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Daniel
Decapre's landing is solid, but light as well; she doesn't sound flat-footed at all. She could throw another blade at him, but he's seen that trick just now and so he'll be ready for it... and so... she acquiesces. Somewhat. Her hands come up, and a hazy red energy surrounds her, speckled with blotches of dark, ominous-looking purple--an energy strongest around her hands, but limning her entire body.
Finally, perhaps, she deigns to answer one of Daniel's questions. "Who do you -think-," is what she says, that flattened voice still holding a touch of scorn. Did he really think that associating with Marz was going to protect him from the rest of Shadaloo? Quite the opposite.
But she doesn't explain herself anymore than that. As that energy pulses around her, she slides into a more defensive stance, slightly more defensive, at least...
COMBATSYS: Decapre gathers her will.
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Decapre 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Daniel
Who did he think.
There was one name nagging him. With the news and situation... with his own theories... with Marz's words and authority. He didn't want to say his name. But she was after him now, trailing him down. This strange masked Doll. Daniel Jack's expression shows a glimmer of fear, of realization, of suppression. And then, he risks those words.
'... It can't be Vega. It can't be!"
Daniel Jack draws back his arms, power building in his limbs. The chi energy surging around his arms run down to his body, the detective repositioning himself as he advances towards the woman. He had to supress her, to keep her off-balanced. One arm is hurled forward with pinpoint accuracy, aiming with a rhythm, a timing. She could block with her claws high and low, making a good closed defense. But Daniel Jack had one trick in his sleeve that crashes down, and surges up in a small shockwave to knock her staggering back.
"KASANE ATE!"
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Decapre with Kasane Ate.
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Decapre 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Daniel
It is, of course, predictable. That shockwave -explodes- the Doll. Decapre goes flying, in a very literal sense; it is only when she thrusts her claws into the ground, drawing a shrieking sound and scraping up sparks, that she is able to slow herself--and right herself.
There's no sense of superiority--no sense of ego. Nothing to worry or not worry... it's hard to get behind that mask... and even harder to force her out of it. But the explosion of chi definitely -affected- her...
But it doesn't keep her from charging forward again, making up the lost distance and then... jumping, kicking outwards, snapping her right foot out to try and tag Daniel right in the head. "Identification... unconfirmed," she says, maybe just to tweak Daniel a touch.
COMBATSYS: Daniel interrupts Light Kick from Decapre with Jumping Jack Flash EX.
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Decapre 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Daniel
Kasane Ate? Predictable?
Perish the thought.
Building momentum, Daniel Jack knocks Decapre back as he builds towards the relentless assault. But behind that mask, Daniel felt nothing. He couldn't sense anything. He could see the pain, the damage. But those words only grind into him. "Then what?!'The detective bellows. "Marz? Is Marz doing this? TELL ME!" Daniel Jack had a poor aerial technique, rarely attacking from the air himself.
Unfortunately for Decapre, taking to the air around Daniel was inviting trouble.
Taking the kick cleanly to the face, the detective's other hand comes swinging up. Catching Decapre by the offending leg, the detective pivots hard. Infusing the limb with chi energy, he turns around, lifting the Doll overhead, before aiming at the concrete. With a single, powerful spike, the detective hurls the doll to the ground, spiking her visciously to the sidewalk with a burst of chi energy.
"KASANE ATE!"
This is useful. Data. She'll be more prepared next time... but it's also starting to -hurt-. And she doesn't -like- being hurt. She's not a masochist like Juri. She doesn't get off on this. She bounces off the ground and is exploded by more chi and... what's this she's feeling?
Pain? Yes.
But also... rage. Actually... she always feels that. But she's usually in control of it; it seethes like heated water, but rarely boils over. Even now, she's still in control of it, truly, but it's licking at the edges. That red haze she's seeing isn't because of the optics in her mask.
Fortunately the mask mostly--at least 90 percent--hides the pain in her voice. "Answers... are not required." She cocks herself back, then lunges forward again, still mostly hiding the pain in her body, darting in and striking--low, aiming her left-hand claws for the inside of one of Daniel's thighs, looking to make a shallow, painful cut.
COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Decapre's Weapon Jab.
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Decapre 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Daniel
Was Marz really the sociable one?
Daniel Jack couldn't believe that dolls could be this... detached and single minded. He thought he understood dolls. But this... this was a force of nature. This was an embodiment of destroying Daniel, to hurt him. To make him, for lack of a better word, bleed. He can hear the 90% of concealment. But that 10% of pain is hardly a scrap for the detective. Decapre wasn't a masochist like Juri.
But Daniel wasn't a sadist like her either.
Daniel catches the cut, exchanging a shallow, painful cut to the thigh.... for a shallow, painful cut to his palm. Wincing, he glares into the mask, trying to find the eyes. "Answers are required, kid. You screwed up any assassination attempt that you might have mustered, and if you are trying to scare me, do I look scared?!" The detective thrusts with his other palm, an opening jab as he swipes his other hand around, letting it burn with chi energy as he unleashes a weak Kasane Ate, to stun her. "If this is a warning, you better spit it out while you are still conscious! Fantastic!" He roars as he winds back his free hand, unleashing it into an explosive, energy filled palm strike.
"... Todoh PAAAAUNCH!"
COMBATSYS: Decapre blocks Daniel's Fantastic Todoh Punch.
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Decapre 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Daniel
Daniel clearly does not understand what being a Doll entails. They're not all the same. One look under the mask would probably more than adequately explain -why- Decapre is the way she is. But he's not going to get a look under the mask, because hiding -that- is probably as important to her as fulfilling Lord Vega's missions.
The incoming punch is... met with a steel-braced forearm, and Decapre looks... singularly unimpressed. And from here? From here she can assault Daniel again. That red haze flares around her arms and blades again as she rushes forward, slashing repeatedly, those red lines getting drawn in the air as she cuts at Daniel with both arms.
Each strike is aimed for Daniel's torso--striking at the places where he's already been cut, opening new wounds... but again, not striking to -kill-, not yet, at least. Of course, he might end up bleeding out, or bleeding very heavily, and that just can't be helped, now can it?
COMBATSYS: Decapre successfully hits Daniel with Razing Barrage.
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Decapre 0/-------/-----==|=======\=======\1 Daniel
And that was the heart of Daniel's ignorance.
For Daniel, he saw that the will of Vega suppressed all individuality. Marz and Decapre and Cammy and Diesel were all the same; only through other people does it come out. Daniel thought he could bring out the humanity. But Decapre... the detective didn't even know if she was fully human, or part machine. The detective's finishing punch comes, as he tries to refind his center. But she was on the move, shifting like lightning. The detective makes an opening.
And she exploits that opening.
Daniel is opened to an orgy of blood. Tearing open new wounds, horrible new wounds, Daniel's suit is stripped away, revealing a blood-soaked body underneath. Stumbling back, he crashes into the bustop bench. Bleeding out, he lays on the bench, writhing in agony.
And then, he smashes a fist into the bench.
The bench begins to shatter, a light infusing all over Daniel Jack. Rising up like a spectre, he seizes the remains of the bench. And then, hot with anger, the orange energy transfers to the pieces.Hurling the remains at Decapre, he begins to tear apart the rest of the bus stop. The overhanging covering, the glass, the bus stop sign itself. All were being ripped apart as Daniel Jack levels the bus stop, hurling piece after piece at the Doll. Screaming at the top of his lungs. "You don't think I am serious, you damn dame!?"
"Well, I mean business now!"
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Decapre with Mean Business.
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Decapre 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Daniel
Funny. Decapre never insinuated that she thought that Daniel didn't mean business. In fact, she'd been treating him just like any -other- opponent... with deadly seriousness. What an assault, though. They may be unaerodynamic chunks of the scenery, but they -hurt- when they hit... but not enough to knock the Doll out.
But it's time to leave. However... she won't leave without a final fare-thee-well... and so she just rushes forward, striking again--not just again, but twice, lashing out with her claws again... another left strike, across that bloodied, striped torso...
... and then she's gone, leaving the scene, not hindered enough to not be able to get away. Was the mission a success? That depends... on what happens afterwards.
COMBATSYS: Decapre blitzes into action and acts again!
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Daniel 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Decapre can no longer fight.
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Daniel 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Decapre's Random Strike.
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Daniel 0/-------/=======|
When Daniel was backed into a corner, he truly could bring down the house.
As the fusillade of debris is hurled helter skelter into Decapre, the detective finally drives away the woman. Not thath e recognizes it at first. As she rushes back in, the detective once again parries the claws with his hands, catching the hit painfully with his palms, pushing it away. And then... she disappears. Gone. A mere memory.
As for afterwards?
Daniel Jack is just confused and bleeding out. Why was he attacked. Was it truly Shadaloo? Or simply a false flag operation? If it was Shadaloo, why? Was Marz no longer keeping him alive? Or was she in trouble. And if it was a false flag... who could it be. Standing dumb and bloody, he takes in a deep breath. He had spare blood in his apartment; Gedo Street was no longer safe. Maybe it was time to move. Only one thing was clear, to the detective.
He had dire questions to ask.
COMBATSYS: Daniel has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:40:29 08/09/2012 by Decapre, and last modified on 07:28:35 08/11/2012.