Description: Sagat schedules a meeting with Heihachi Mishima about an embarrassing documentary produced by the Mishima Zaibatsu. (Winner: Heihachi)
The main headquarters of the Mishima Zaibatsu; an imposing and ominous looking office structure that jutts high into the sky, made of cold steel and black windows. Certainly one of the largest of public domains, although the amount of whispers of it's underworld dealings can fill three tabloids every month, it is also the well-known haunt for Heihachi -- who has done so scathing a public review of Sagat that anything less than the mountainous Thai's indignant assault would make them all true. Of course, the first thing that would happen is any massive dark-skinned figure with one eye would be approached and told to leave, by a number of private security with all the power of ants. Still, they will use feeble force, and in short order the front doors are likely under lockdown -- for all the good it does, given that one swift kick would explode them inside. Actually, the security force of Mishima is supposed to be supremely effective, a world renowned fighter at the head... it doesn't seem they are present here, though.
Perhaps because, of all the people in the world, Heihachi is one of those that least needs any sort of bodyguard or protection.
A FEW DAYS AGO
A seventy inch plasma screen swings back and forth on its one remaining fastener as sparks fly freely from the freshly bored hole through its center. The edges of it are blackened, as is the wall behind it; either it's made of supremely stern stuff or the fireball that destroyed the TV was thrown with enough care to spare the structure.
Of course, given that the TV's only crime was playing 'Sagat: The Declawed Tiger' while Sagat was anywhere in its vicinity, it's probably the former. The operatives who were watching the documentary whip their heads towards the rec room's entryway whip their heads towards the entryway; any of them who may have been thinking of saying something think better of it when they see the rage boiling in the eye of the film's subject. Rather than say - or do - anything, though, the Heavenly King just looms in the doorway for several tense seconds before finally stalking away.
NOW
With Muay Thai shorts and taped extremities, Sagat has come to the Mishimia Zaibatsu's home office dressed for business. In the time since the documentary's premiere, he's calmed down significantly--which mostly means that when Mishima's security forces meet him, he gives them enough time to actually ask him to leave before grabbing one of them and hurling him into his fellow guards.
Dealing with the rest is a matter of constant movement, punches to the face, and - once their numbers are nearly exhausted - a flying kick that sends him barreling not only through their remaining ranks, but the security doors. They fly on for several feet as he lands crouched in the lobby; after standing - and letting the doors noisily land where they will - the Emperor of Muay Thai takes a deep breath, throws his shoulders back, and--
"TIGER!"
--thrusts his arms towards the reception desk. As he exhales, chi flows through his body and briefly crackles along his limbs before exploding from his fists in a roaring bullet aimed at carving the trench through the desk and leaving the person behind it intact.
/Someone/ has to let Mr. Mishima know that someone is here to see him, after all--not that Sagat actually stops by the desk to inform the receptionist of such. Instead, he stomps towards the most expensive-looking decoration he can find, intent on hurling it across the lobby before finding something /else/ to break. Eventually, he reasons, Heihachi will get the message, one way or the other.
And if not? Well, breaking all of his stuff won't do a ton to salve Sagat's wounded ego, but it's a start.
The men don't even last a combined total of thirty seconds before they are all broken and hurled away like so much trash. The door explodes inwards, steel rupturing and armored glass rippling in a massive sea of white cracks. A few more guards rush forward into easy defeat, as a smiling man with silver hair looks up from the receptionist desk.
"Can I help you?" he manages to finish, as the chi builds up and is sent hurtling in that direction. A great explosion of cerulean fire roars in all directions, sending broken wood, pieces of machinery, and a smoldering chair everywhere. Yet when a wash of wind billows over, the figure in question is standing in a defensive stance, forearms crossed. His sleeve is completely gone, and the flesh beneath red and angry.
"Ouch~~ Do you have an appointment?"
"LET HIM UP, LEE." comes a hissing voice over the lobby intercom. The Silver-Haired Demon does a sort of shrug, before pointing to an elevator that dings open. "Hmph. Fine. That way, please." He's busy trying to smooth out his dress and pat out the embers at the moment...
When he sees that Lee is /standing/ there rather than cowering as the smoke clears, Sagat narrows his eye and brings his fists up, ready to add Lee to the pile of broken bodies littering the lobby. Lee's presence isn't entirely surprising, but it would take more than Heihachi's adopted son to to dissuade him from meeting the elder Mishima at this point; if he has to drag himself up to the top floor with one arm after dealing with Lee, then so be it.
When that voice comes in over the intercom, the Invincible Tiger snaps his gaze towards the nearest speaker, and then back to Lee, who gets a low snarl before Sagat relaxes his stance. "Thank your father, boy," he spits at the silver-haired man before before heading towards the elevator. As soon as the doors close behind him, he sinks back into that aggressive posture, just in case Mishima is planning on meeting him as soon as he arrives.
"That's fine, that's fine. I might have lost..." Lee allows, putting his hands on his hips and looking around at the ruined desk. "And I had almost finished downloading that Chun-Li photo set..." A wistful sigh would be the last thing heard by Sagat before the elevator doors close. A soft hum, and then the most aggravating elevator music in the world is heard. A quick glance shows sixty floors. A number of beeps happen, but a strange sense is felt. ...Ah, it's going slow.
Really, really slow.
Yep, it just passed '3' after one minute.
About twenty-five minutes later, likely with the interior full of massive fist and knee-sized dents, it dings at the top floor of the office proper. Doors slither open to reveal a massive office. Bare but of high quality, the entire wall is glass. A great wooden desk looms in the middle, and a gargantuan chair is turned with the back towards Sagat.
Within it, two gray tufts of distinctive hair can be seen near the top. Nothing is said, however... although an intense killing presence is certain suffusing the entire story. Heihachi is TRYING to make him rage. Has since that documentary... is that something wise to do?
That might be found out very soon.
It takes a certain amount of patience to reach the heights that Sagat occupied in his prime: it took decades split between fights and training sessions, all carried out with the nagging aches and pains of age and constant wear to achieve excellence before being unceremoniously cast from this throne. For that matter, he waited days after seeing the documentary before coming to exact his revenge, just to prepare himself for meeting Heihachi; waiting for gratification isn't the worst thing in the world, even for a man as intense as Sagat. Oftentimes, it makes success that much sweeter when it's finally had.
Somewhere around the three minute mark, however, his patience runs out; suffering through years of hardship to achieve a goal is far different from standing around in an elevator because Heihachi Mishima has taken it upon himself to toy with him, and his tolerance for such games is much shorter. By five minutes, the cab is shaking periodically with the force of his frustrated blows against it; by ten, barely human roars have begun accompanying the staccato beat of the Emperor's rage.
When the doors finally open, they do so just as he's throwing a vicious hook, causing him to stumble out of the elevator when his fist finds air instead of metal. After straightening up and quickly snapping his head to either side to check for hidden security, he sets his eye on the chair
"Mishima!" he roars, storming towards desk. "I have had /enough/ of your games--face me!" He intends to punctuate his demand by putting his fist right through the desk--assuming that Heihachi allows him to get close enough, anyway.
There's no reaction as Sagat bursts out of the heavily armored elevator. It's truly testament to the iron body of the man that he managed to damage it at all. Ceramic-Cadloy Steel composites, able to take a tank shell. Sometimes, Heihachi doesn't bother fighting his opponents at all. Many people have met their death, impotently raging within the steel oubliette, last sound heard the distorted elevator music as it filled with gas, or dropped sixty stories to crash on the basement level and get hosed out by Lee.
Today, Heihachi is hoping to make a point, in more ways than one. The rushing tiger is not intercepted in any fashion, and his fist ruptures the fine mahagony desk, sending two halves spiraling in either direction as if it were made of paper. And then slowly, squeakily, the chair turns around.
Sitting within it is Kuma, the full-sized grizzly bear. His paws are steepled, one leg crossed. Atop his head is a fake head of Heihachi's hair, worn with plastic. Somehow, they manage a very serious expression.
At the demand for challenge, Kuma spirals up and then lands heavily in a stance, flaring out claws and roaring in defiance towards Sagat. And then leaps at him, in a ferocious bear-kick! ...Okay, this will last all of five seconds, but is it even possible for the elder Mishima to deface Sagat even more?
"The great Heihachi Mishima," Sagat snarls as the chair turns and shards of wood spray into the air around him, "Resorting to /slander/ and /pranks/ to--"
Sagat catches a glimpse of brown out of the corner of his eye, and it narrows as he straightens up to see--a bear with a hairpiece sitting in Mishima's chair?
The Emperor's eye opens about as wide as it'll go as the latest in what has quickly become a long line of feints is not only revealed, but lunges at him. Should he have come as soon as he saw the documentary after all? At least then Mishima wouldn't have had days to prepare this gauntlet of insults for him.
Then again--it's entirely possible that all of this was arranged from the moment the film first aired. After all, Heihachi must have known that Sagat would be here /eventually/; it certainly wouldn't be much of a stretch for a man of Mishima's intelligence and means to lay plans well in advance of the Emperor's arrival. For all he knows, the documentary could have been an elaborate piece of bait designed to draw him into the CEO's games.
Sagat turns these possibilities over in his head even as he seizes the soaring bear's outstretched leg in a two-fisted grip just above the paw, pivots all the way around, then slings it towards the elevator. Open, closed, it doesn't matter; either way, Sagat just wants to avoid being mauled by Kuma. "MISHIMA!" he bellows afterwards, his right hand coming in to claw at his chest briefly before coming away as he turns back towards what's left of the desk so that he can grab the chair. "So help me, I will raze this building to /nothing/ if that's what it takes to summon you from your hole!" He will, unless Heihachi or some fresh distraction of his emerges, punctuate his point by hurling that chair through the glass in front of him.
Kuma is not a complete joke. He's actually a savage and well-trained fighter, instincts mixed with proper technique and an intelligence higher than your average bear. But still, there's not much he can do about being hurtled backwards, bouncing twice before crashing into the elevator hard. Slowly the battered doors ding shut as the disoriented Kuma sloughs sideways to his side. He probably got off easy. But that was also Heihachi's beloved pet. Breaking him would certainly enrage the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu... although that, too, might be a poor idea.
Finally, a hidden door slides open at the middle side of the grandiose office. Stepping out is the legendary figure himself. Wearing only a black gi bottom, he still has an incredibly powerful body. Each muscle sculpted masterfully, age seeming to be no more an inhibitor for him than it is for Sagat. His grin is one absolutely deriding, flexing his fingers slowly before throwing a fist into an open palm.
"How the mighty have fallen. Thirty years ago, you were one of the few people able to last five minutes in a ring with me. That number fit on both my hands."
And then he slams down his heel, assuming an iron stance. A circular motion follows, slowly exhaling. Chi suddenly erupts out. It's primal, powerful, but it is no tiger. It is like a dragon. The window shutters and debris goes flying backwards as the very surface of Heihachi's bottomless reserves are bared, crackles of lightning going across his hardened frame.
"I brought you here to humble you, Sagat. Every loss you have is avoidable. Your eye. Your chest. And even to that pathetic dog, Adon... all because of one simple thing. ...You think fighting is a game. A sport. Is that what they taught you in Thailand, God of Muay Thai...? Hahaha!!"
Heihachi's charged fist strikes the ground. A billow of force roars in all directions. Columns split, one shattering in a roar, as the armored windows shatter and spill out over the growing evening air. A burst of wind roars in, and Heihachi stands upright, fist pressed to an open palm. "FIGHTING IS A BATTLEFIELD. You learn it to KILL. To BREAK. A man like you having mercy... you will wear those scars for the rest of your life, little cat!! And to think... the sort of leash you have around your neck now. As if it's not your own fault...? Tch. Come. I gave you the greatest rage I could."
"Now let'
"Now let's see just how much stronger you've become!!"
Sagat has Heihachi's desk chair over his head when the hidden door slides open, and while the sound elicits a deep, rumbling growl from his breast, his lips are twisted into a savage grin. With a quick twist of his hips, he sends the chair sailing into the elevator doors instead of a window; now that Mishima's revealed himself, there isn't much point in further property damage.
Not that the thought of smashing whatever's closest doesn't cross his mind as Mishima continues to goad him; the fact that he's doing it face to face now hardly makes it better. The Emperor's grin fades into a snarl as mockery and chi both wash over him in waves, the latter ruffling his shorts and the former drawing his hand unconsciously to the freshest of the scars that the elder man mocks. As his fingers trace over the warped, bulging expanse of flesh, the air around him begins to shimmer with the unleashed fire of rage made manifest.
Peals of mocking laughter nearly send him charging into Mishima, but the burst of chi that follows them keep him in place; exploding glass and stone force him to throw his arms up protectively in front of his eyes, lest he end up impaired before the fight even begins. When it's safe to uncover himself, he does so with a roar worthy of his totem, bands of blazing orange chi exploding from his chest and snaking up his arms for a second before flickering out of existance.
"'Humility'...? Is THAT what I was meant to learn from these games? Ridiculous! Save your lectures for whichever of your children will still hear them; I don't need lessons in the art of combat from a man so clearly teetering on the precipice of senility! I care nothing for the legend you've built for yourself--your fate was sealed from the moment you first dreamt of your ill-conceived propaganda!"
He punctuates this declaration by charging directly at Heihachi, intent on getting just close enough to thrust one massive leg forward in a kick aimed directly for the older man's midsection. "These scars that I'll wear for the rest of my life," he bellows as he charges, "are the only lessons that I need; I assure you that you'll find no mercy here!"
COMBATSYS: Sagat has started a fight here.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Heihachi has joined the fight here.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Heihachi
COMBATSYS: Heihachi counters Medium Kick from Sagat with Heaven's Wrath EX.
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Heihachi
"...No, not really." Heihachi states then, scratching at his chest in an idle fashion. "It's rather late to wish you had been a better rival... at this stage, you are no longer able to even bare your fangs at me anymore." Slowly he grins, eyes narrowing as he stamps down into an aggressive stance, bringing his right arm backwards and leading with his left. A centering breath flows along with a circular motion. He's taking this seriously. Words are one thing, but he is facing a world champion. Whatever the record the pair shares over the long decades... he has never been an easy match.
"I'm here... because of the man you work for...!" Hands suddenly burst into dark cerulean chi, and he swishes them. One hand catches the ankle of Sagat's incoming strike, and then yanks him forward in a brutal motion. Only for his elbow to strike out with lightning speed, hitting the larger man in the solar plexus with a force that cracks the paneled wood beneath. Stepping inwards, his right leg explodes upwards striking Sagat dead center a second time, causing a blast of lightning to erupt out his back and sizzle in the air. And then with a roar, one massive elbow descends to impact the back of his head, intent on sending him face-first on the ground before the iron-clad fighter.
"Shadaloo, right...? How pathetic. If you wanted to be someone's pet, kitten, you should have come to /me./ I have a score to settle after that large chinned bastard's gambit in Thailand... and I hope that beating up his strongest enforcer just might draw his attention."
Sagat's eyes almost bulge out of his skull when he takes that first hit to his solar plexus; despite his lack of breath and the pain radiating from his belly, he /still/ tries to jerk himself free of Mishima, but the older man's grip is as hard and unyielding as the rest of him. He's face down before he knows it, and while he doesn't waste much time in pushing himself up, his arms are trembling a bit from the effort. His body is burning and he's already seeing double; not good.
And Heihachi is /still/ just toying with him; even worse. Once upon a time, he was a king--an Emperor who would have never suffered such insults; to hear Heihachi tell it, the treachery he suffered has reduced him to little more than a pawn at the CEO's feet, an obstacle on his path to greater conquests.
"I--" he rumbles as fire blossoms in his eyes, "--am NO man's pet!" His hands ball into fists that support his weight for all of a second before he pulls himself into a crouch--which he in turn uncoils from immediately. As he leaves not just his knees, but the ground itself, he drives his right fist skyward, aiming to unleash his fury upon the elder Mishima's chin as he ascends. His landing - if he lands, rather than being caught - is sure to be markedly less than a perfect ten; for all his bravado, he's already feeling the effects of having been in a fight with Heihachi.
"TIGER!"
COMBATSYS: Heihachi instinctively blocks Sagat's Tiger Uppercut.
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Heihachi
"Then why do you work for such a pathetic man?! Because he thrives on rage and hate, just like you?!" Heihachi growls, slithering backwards when Sagat maneuvers to his feet. This is no mercy, but caution. Pressing forward would make him vulnerable to an explosive uppercut from that vantage point. Instincts and experience... indeed, Sagat is not the superior in that regard. Yet the difference between them may be the drive they had when growing up. Sagat's dream was to conquer Thailand. That was a monumental task. But once he managed, he was content. King of Muay Thai.
Heihachi had his sights much, much higher. To dethrone his father, take over the Mishima Zaibatsu, and become one of the most powerful people in the planet.
Both of them have done their life's work. The primary difference is the lofty heights to which they aspired. Only when Sagat lacked even a shadow of competition did he move on to World Warrior, while Heihachi strove to fight those who could stress and test him his entire life, his throne built on the backs of his failed opposition...
A chi-clad forearm strikes out, moving forward instead of giving an inch. A crackle of energy as Sagat goes airborne, but Heihachi's naked toes clench with a creak upon the floor and he does not budge. And indeed, as the monolithic man descends at his most vulnerable, Heihachi is once more upon him. Stamping down a foot, his pronged head leans back, before moving to grasp Sagat by the throat and unleash a sudden, lightning-infused headbutt straight to his face, happening at the speed of an eyeblink. To send his entire body and central nervous system reeling as a result.
"I saw the World Warrior fight, Sagat. You defeated Ryu. He was on the ground, broken. ...Tell me what truly enrages you. That he did not cede like a coward, when his heart still burned with a desire to win? Or that you did not crush him like an insect while he was vulnerable, like a true warrior should have...?!"
COMBATSYS: Sagat blocks Heihachi's Stonehead.
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Sagat 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Heihachi
Sagat is snatched from the air at the worst possible moment, but even when vulnerable, he refuses to be made helpless. Heihachi's battle-hardened skull approaches his at terrible speeds, but it ends up meeting the Emperor's palm - swirling with fiery chi that clashes with the lightning coursing along Heihachi's arm - rather than his face; the impact is still enough to send jolts of pain shooting up the length of his arm, but he would gladly take a sore limb over a scrambled brain.
"I provide him what he needs, in exchange for him giving me what /I/ require," he hisses, digging his fingers into Heihachi's skin for as long as he's able to hang on. "when he's no longer useful to me, our partnership will end; save your taunts, Mishima!" If Heihachi hasn't broken free yet, he'll release the older man then--but only as a prelude to twisting his lower body into a vicious knee-strike aimed at the side of his head.
If /that/ doesn't encourage him to set Sagat down, it'll be followed with more until he complies. In fact, even if he /is/ released, Sagat will take a step towards the older man with intentions on seizing him by the shoulders and forcing him down to meet his knee several more times. Either way, as soon as he's no longer tied up with Heihachi, he'll hop back a step or two for spacing and bring his fists up in front of his face.%r
"The tournament was a mistake," he allows with a hateful snarl, hand clutching his chi-scorched abdomen, "only a fool would deny it. But I am /not/ the man who allowed himself to be conquered then--nor will I be your messenger! If you wish to tell Vega something, you may whisper it through your broken jaw when I have dragged you back to him."
COMBATSYS: Sagat successfully hits Heihachi with Tiger Rage.
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Sagat 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Heihachi
"Tch. And what is it you need, kitten?" growls out Heihachi, pressing his lightning-shrouded forehead firmly into Sagat's hand, not relenting; even attempting to advance a step, with a stubborn manner that's rather impressive. Only when the first brutal knee finds the old man's midsection does he grunt. The second makes him stagger, and the third sends him hurtling backwards. He's reeling, certainly feeling the strength of that blow, but still manages a wheezing laugh.
"Oh my." the Mishima daiymo mulls, brushing at the thick bruises already welling up from what seemed so simple a series of blows. "You... really /are/ out of touch." Lightning starts to hum back to life once more, spreading into his classical stance in a swift action. "But you just confirmed to me... you know where he's at, don't you?"
Suddenly, Heihachi kicks forward. It's a strange, lunging stepping technique, one that seems to utilize the voltage conduit to move with a speed that belies his dense frame. And then a brutal punch strikes out, aiming to /slam/ Sagat right in the face. This one is intended to stagger, before he pinwheels his entire arm around into an overhead blow, intent on striking Sagat with another CRACK of lightning, and slamming him into the floor likely hard enough it explodes upwards.
A moment later he supercharges his right foot, hefting it up high while his opponent is hopefully dazed... and then axe-kicking straight down towards Sagat's spine, with the intention that the cataclysmic blow sends him literally bouncing back into the air.
If such manages, Heihachi will grasp Sagat by the face and twist around, roaring as he hurls him like a ragdoll towards one of the cracked pillars from when he summoned up his chi in earnest. A true, full-brunt assault without hesitation... now, Sagat can properly measure himself against the old warrior!!
COMBATSYS: Heihachi knocks away Sagat with Demon's Wrath.
- Power hit! -
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Sagat 1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0 Heihachi
It's true that Sagat took his time before truly expanding his horizons in the world of fighting; he claimed his throne at such a young age that he had little choice /but/ to defend it from a whole country's worth of fighters who deemed him to be unworthy--a curiosity at best, a fluke at worst. But just being the God of Thailand was never - /could/ never have been - enough for him; he'd set his sights on total supremacy well before that fateful tournament, before his reign in Thailand was truly cemented, even. He knew that he was the best his country had to offer well before the rest of his country did; how could he have settled for merely silencing his detractors when there was a whole world of fighters out there waiting to be conquered?
Unfortunately, it would seem - at least today - that his path to perfection led him astray, even before Ryu wandered onto it; as Heihachi laughs off the first real blow he's taken today, the Heavenly King's hand wanders up from his searing belly to the reminder carved across his chest. Rather than answering the CEO, he responds with a subhuman snarl, baring his teeth as he circles towards Mishima's left; if he saw the World Warrior tournament, then it's a question that requires no answer.
He does, however manage to growl, "That, I think, is the least of your con--" before Heihachi advances upon and lashes out at him. The Tiger's arms are raised, ready to be brought to bear for defense--which proves futile when Mishima's fist forces its way through his guard as if it isn't there. Blood sprays from Sagat's nose as he stumbles back, and while he's plenty angry at having been so suddenly and savagely wounded, his wide eyes betray as much surprise as anger.
This is not his first fight against Heihachi Mishima; it may not even be his last. This is, however, the first one he can remember entering into with confidence rather than caution, and it's quite possible that by the time it ends, he'll find himself with a new souvenir to remind him of his folly, even if it's just a nose that never quite sits straight again.
He's too busy reeling to prevent himself from being forced down again; the best he can do is bring his hands up so that he isn't hitting the ground directly with his head. He still ends up with with a bloodied face full of splinters though, and when Heihachi finishes his onslaught by snapping him up and casting him away, he's left splayed across the jagged remnants of a pillar, his chest and stomach similarly streaked with blood and bared to the world for the agonizing seconds it takes him to slide off of the broken support to hit the ground.
He's breathing, but only just; his eyes are cracked open, but keeping them so seems to be a struggle. To his credit, he only lingers on the ground for a second before trying to regain to his feet; to Heihachi's, however, this mostly just means flopping on the ground and trying under his own power before being forced to wrap his arms around the pillar and drag himself up to his knees.
"Haa..." he gasps as he struggles to catch his breath. "Hggh--ha--ha--"
"--ha--ha ha--" After a sharp, painful cough that sends flecks of blood spraying across the ground, his already swelling lips twist into a smile that briefly bares teeth before he tosses his head back; what was panting seems to have become raucous, if unsteady laughter. "--hahaha--hahahahaha--HAHAHAHAHAHA! What are you thinking, Mishima? That you'll /beat/ his location from me?!" The corners of his mouth are still pulled up as he grimaces with the effort of dragging himself the rest of the way to his feet. "That just because I allowed a /child/ to snatch destiny from my grasp, I've fallen so far as to be cower before your terrible might?! Your business is with /Vega/--perhaps you will conclude it after today, and perhaps you won't! Regardless--you will leave here having learned something! Tiger--"
With a final heave, he not only forces himself up, he /slingshots/ his battered body right back at Heihachi, drawing his knees up to his chest as he soars. Chi boils forth from his body in hateful waves, collecting around his body until he's practically aflame; when he pushes his right knee forward so that it's lined up with the center of Mishima's mass, a tongue of the stuff lashes out from it, before settling to form a scintillating field between himself and the man who seeks to make him into a message. If he makes contact, he'll roar another word--
"DESTRUCTION!"
--as his massive frame drills into Heihachi, the fires of his hatred exploding out from the violent meeting of their two bodies with such force that glass would rain down on the streets below if Heihachi hadn't already blown the windows out on arrival. Despite his size - despite /Heihachi's/ size - and the intense pain he's suffered at Mishima's hands, he's moving with such force that the two of them would be carried across the office for several feet before Sagat finally touches the ground.
It's a new technique--or rather, a devastating variation on an old one; Heihachi very well may be familiar with it from footage, but no camera could hope to convey the sheer power that gathers in his limbs when he crouches, then leaves the ground /again/--this time vertically. Unlike the uppercut that Heihachi spotted and turned aside, this one carries the crushing weight of a misspent life and the searing embarassment of having been so thoroughly embarrassed and dismantled over the space of a week. It's intended to carry its victim along for a harrowing ride, only to leave him helplessly airborne as Sagat glides back to the ground.
Of course, this time, his landing is sure to leave him on one knee instead of standing imperiously over a broken foe, but that is about the best that he could hope for after what he's endured today.
COMBATSYS: Sagat keeps on fighting!
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Heihachi
COMBATSYS: Heihachi endures Sagat's Tiger Destruction+.
! VENGEANCE !
-@- Dazing Hit! -@-
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Heihachi
"In the future," he'll conclude as he hits the ground and crumples, "Leave. Me. /Out/ of it."
Heihachi slowly breathes, bringing up his crossed forearms in the aftermath of the assault and then bringing them down hard, a blast of energy rushing out in all directions as he disperses the built-up power. "There's a reason, I think, you stayed within Thailand for decades, Sagat... because there, you could be king." And then he shifts to stomp down, facing the bloodied warrior. "But as long as at least I lived..." A thumb jerks up to his chest. "You had no hopes of being on top of the WORLD."
Although the words from Sagat, a man obviously teetering on the brink of consciousness, seem to incite little concern. "I do not believe your loyalty to Vega is greater than your loyalty to vengeance, Sagat. Such as becoming a permanent cripple, unable to take vengeance upon a greedy fly that lands upon your ruint flesh." From the hard look in his eyes, there is no doubt that Heihachi would do such. Indeed; there's a monster within him, a greedy, voracious dragon. Of a different sort than Vega, but one who tore down and chained his father, adopted a child he cared nothing about purely to antagonize his son, and hurtled the latter into a chasm for disappointing him.
The world is Heihachi. It will flow with him, or it will break around him.
At least, that is the way things normally work.
"HAH! Show me... your desperate fury...!!" Suddenly, the old man hurtles himself forward. The blow strikes the middle of the Mishima's chest. The sternum breaks, denting slightly inwards. A spray of blood leaves his lips. He pushes forward, other foot stamping in advance.
Such is a proverbial thing. Brutal, furious blows strike Heihachi backwards despite such petty defiance. His back slams into the wall, shattering stone all around. Only Heihachi's clenched fist remains, slowly beginning to glow cerulean.
And then, right as Sagat's brutal uppercut is sent, Heihachi fires off his chambered round. A flash of cerulean, attempting to impact the other man in the temple. Ultimately, the end result is no different. He's hurtled upwards, crashing into the ceiling in a great, rumbling crash that shatters expensive marble. His battered body is lodged for a few moments before cascading down to land upon his knees on the ground, coughing up an ominous amount of blood.
"G... gahahaha... that was... a good hit!!" he wheezes out. Whether Sagat lands upright or managed to ward off that perfectly timed blow... that remains the question. "Do you see now..." He licks blood from his face, expression wild. "When you fought Ryu... you were battling with rules. He was battling to WIN. ...Hahaha. The moment you consider it a game, a simple contest with restrictions... you shackle yourself to the ground...!! Does it not feel fantastic -- to let loose, knowing the only way to settle things is one of us unable to get back up...?!"
Punctuating that, Heihachi zombie-rises to his feet, shrugging stone and dust from his heavily muscled frame and wheezing heavily. "But I've been... in this state dozens and dozens of times... how many times have you...?!"
COMBATSYS: Sagat fails to interrupt Demon Uppercut from Heihachi with Tiger Crush.
- Power fail! -
-@- Dazing Hit! -@-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Heihachi 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Sagat can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Heihachi 1/-------/=======|
Heihachi has his loyalties pegged--not that that's a particularly impressive feat. Anyone who's both aware of the World Warrior finals and has spent five minutes with Sagat could probably draw the same conclusion pretty readily; if it ever really came down to it - if the only way to assist Vega in achieving his goals was to sacrifice his own dreams and well-being - the psychotic dictator would surely be down a King. When it comes down to it, it isn't love for Vega that makes him resistant to sharing the man's location, it's pride--that, and the unavoidable fact that for now, Vega represents his best shot at redeeming himself
For all he cares, Heihachi could tear his boss limb from limb--as long as he waited until after Sagat got what he needed from him.
Even as his knee drills into Heihachi's body, the CEO's last insults linger in his ears and sting at his heart; whether it's that emotional distraction or the exhaustion of the bout catching up with him, he hesitates for just a tick upon landing, which gives Heihachi just the opening he needs to ready his revenge attack. Their fists connect almost simultaneously, Sagat's sending Heihachi skyward and Heihachi's landing with such thunderous force that the Emperor only actually makes it a foot or so off of the ground before crashing back to it like a pitted stone; he's on his feet for all of a second before collapsing into a barely breathing heap. Debris rains down on his body from the broken ceiling, giving it a fine gray coat; it, at least, can be washed away, unlike the memory of being overcome yet again.
"Ah... excellent." Heihachi states. His body is battered in numerous areas, dents like iron beneath a hammer. Bruises and bleeding, but he slowly stands with a dull crack of the neck. A finger presses to the side of a nostril and a rather obscene amount of blood is spurted out. The elevator dings open, and a thoroughly groggy Kuma begins to pad his way in on all fours, glaring down at the unconscious Sagat.
"Now we can get down to business." Looking around, Heihachi's office is in shambles. So he just gestures at Kuma, who slumps on his side. The Mishima heir then settles against his newfound fuzzy seat, crossing a leg and steepling his fingers. "What is it this worm Vega is offering you, King of Thailand...? I am curious why you need to be beneath the grand shadow of his chin. When I have the Mishima Zaibatsu, power unrivaled, and a professional business relationship that he lacks." Yes, since the first time the pair ever fought, Heihachi made a point of mocking, demeaning, and insulting Sagat. This documentary is just the latest.
"All surly semantics aside, I respect your strength. There's a dozen people in the world who can rattle these old bones like you just did. Do you want your pride returned? Do you wish to rematch Ryu? Do you want signed, director's cut editions of Sagat: The Declawed Tiger with the exclusive Adon interview?"
He throws a case on the ground. It seems to be a Blu-Ray of the documentary. Adon is on a sticker attached to the bottom corner, played by a man dressed in a Lucha Libre chicken outfit.
"I don't particularly want anything from you, outside a savage battle whenever I get bored. It would be hard to gain greater independence than that... Hahahaha!!" Oh, Heihachi, if only you weren't completely insufferable and unbearable. Outside the bearing being done on Kuma, but that is of the literal variety.
If Sagat were awake, he might tell Heihachi to take his offer and shove it. And then perhaps, ponder it during a quieter moment, because while Heihachi might be kind of an ass, he is markedly less of a raving lunatic than Vega, which is a petty good quality in an employer.
But Sagat isn't awake; his big, broken body is sprawled out over the office floor, and it'll a while before he's conscious again. If there's any silver lining at all, it's that the hours between now and what is sure to be a very painful awakening will be spent uppercutting an endless line of old men with wild, spiky black hair and pristine white gis.
That, and the fact cleaning all of this up is sure to lead to one /hell/ of a bill for Heihachi.
Long moments pass. Rummaging around in some broken debris from his desk within an awkward stretch, a drawer is hauled over and a cracked bottle of whiskey is taken up. He twists off the top, and takes a few heavy drinks.
"'Screw you, Heihachi. I will work beneath no man!'" he says in a booming voice. "'I am beneath Vega only by my own choice... and only while it suits me!!'" Another drink follows. "No, Sagat! You are being unreasonable!" Heihachi offer, sounding plaintive. "But I can see that you are utterly unable to be negotiated with. Such a shame." Sanity... well. Heihachi is assuredly eccentric. Likely the utter ennui and boredom of a man with no peers, although much of his erratic behavior is every bit intentional. It enrages people, makes them underestimate him, and he has -- since he was a man in his prime -- simply enjoyed being something of an ass.
"Alright then." Tossing the bottle aside, Heihachi reaches down and plucks up Sagat. Holding him overhead, he then marches to the shattered window of his office tower, glancing down. "I think Geese survived this, didn't he? Well... here we go."
And... he just kind of hurls Sagat out the window. To plummet dozens of stories in a freefall. Kuma wanders over to rear up and glance down, looking over to Heihachi with a shocked expression.
"What? He'll survive." ... "Probably." Looking down, a few moments later there's a great SPLASH of water. "Oh, see? He hit the pool. Hahaha! ...I meant to do that."
Digging out the phone, he then presses the intercom. "LEE, YOU DIRTY BASTARD. CLEAN UP MY OFFICE. BUY ME A NEW WINDOW. AND GET THAT LONG POLE WITH A NET AT THE END TO FISH SAGAT OUT OF THE POOL. PROBABLY THE LATTER FIRST SO HE DOESN'T DROWN."
Nothing but static, since Lee's desk exploded earlier on. Heihachi sighs in satisfaction. "Well. That was invigorating. Let's go home." Slinging an arm around Kuma's shoulder, who hefts up to his hind legs, the pair make their way towards the battered elevator, with a friendship and love only Marco could possibly understand.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi has ended the fight here.
Log created on 23:56:40 08/16/2014 by Sagat, and last modified on 02:53:10 10/25/2014.