Description: Some are willing to make terrible deals to reclaim something that the natural order of things dictates is never possible to reclaim: Youth. Falling in line with Saiki, Heihachi Mishima has been granted not only his youth, but a Time Sphere. In turn, he is to stand as a guardian to the Gate that would see the resetting of the timeline. As Rust and Frei approach, the powers at play see them shifted to another dimension... An endless void of white. Powered by fury, hatred, and the ever-annoying exuberance of youth, Heihachi must ensure that they do not escape nor get past him - is there no other way to make it out other than through a bloody brawl to the bitter end?
There isn't much of an organization among those making the fateful final excursions towards the destiny of the planet and the end of the story. At some point, one day, those who dare brave the vortex in Ise simply decide... it's time to go on. There's no going back once the boundaries of the vortex itself is crossed inside the grounds of the Grand Shrine, through a turbulent trip in which scientific understandings of things like 'air pressure' or the like go out the window. It's like diving into ice cold water from a high velocity. A rude awakening, and a sense that one is being painfully torn asunder, atom by atom, to only be reconstructed on the other side as one's existence continues to persist as much by chance as is the humor of a space-time continuum that has ultimately begun to throw its hands up in the air and stop caring about with direction cause and effect flows... if it does at all.
Beyond that single jump and the emotional tensions that come with knowing about the almost completely certain declaration that the world is definitively coming to an end, it's actually a fairly peaceful trot through the historic grounds of Ise for one Howard Rust, Ol' Rusty already drawn and leaning against his right shoulder as his eyes occasionally struggle to focus on the image before him.
It could be disbelief of the present surroundings as much as maybe whatever is constructed around here no longer completely plays nice with the concept of light and vision, and one's mind can only put together a reasonable facsimile of what is actually present via suggested matches from memory. Some... angles, through walkways, arches, and nearby shrines feel like looking at static pictures of these places held at a direction not fully facing him. He's not even certain about the character of the ground he walks on - there isn't much give in what should be dirt, and sometimes the stone feels much, much too soft. Nothing is right.
Sometimes he can't even tell how hot or cold it should be, in passing moments. Who could, what with how the tremendous amount of damage done to the earth itself is now finally causing existence to go down its horrible death spiral? A hand covers his face for a short while, fingers touching at the horrible thing that still rests upon his scalp as he... breathes? Something comes into his lungs and he's no longer certain as to the character of it, but given he's not sputtering and coughing and otherwise suffocating...
His hand draws away from his face and balls up into a fist in tension, seeing him stand still to take it all in. His body locks up, unwilling to bend or move for much longer, but for the moment he feels it necessary.
I am here, this stance declares. I am standing here. I still exist here. His face lies through all sorts of signs of emotional and physical weariness - he hasn't even been able to sleep since the bomb scare.
I am not the only one here. Everyone who's coming here... they're all a part of it. People are counting on him, he's counting on people. He'll have to do his part - a part of which he isn't quite sure of, other than 'get inside the damn vortex and sort this mess out.'
He's sure those who'll stand against Saiki will find one another, some way, some how, as the tension of his body slowly releases to see his continued advancement... no, not just his own advancement. He's already established he's here... and now the ex-construction worker, ex-High school shop teacher, war hero, and Kyokugen black belt decides... I'm going in a direction, and in this direction, he chooses to have faith that it's a direction with meaning towards putting up the fight he and so many others are poised to give.
Matters of 'when' have lost context, as the concept of day and night no longer hold any bearing - only 'now,' and now, he advances.
Try to imagine what life would be like if your closest childhood friend turned out to be, as far as you can tell, a murderous sociopath who is now bent on erasing history as you know it and who has been, even for someone with what feels like infinite worldly resources, incredibly difficult to find. What would you do? Now add on top of that a world that is on the brink of collapse, ready to fall into disaster at any given moment. Countless lives lost, cities destroyed, and you have power and wealth and knowledge. What do you do? Do you abandon everything to find your friend and get answers, or do you dedicate yourself to the cause of what is right and good in the world and hope that, somehow, this is all going to work itself out?
Elisabeth Branctorche chose the latter.
The thought occurs to her on a daily basis that she knows enough about this situation that she could have made a difference, early on; she could have armed people with knowledge, could have maybe given people a head start. These thoughts haunt her as she doles out supplies to survivors, as she repels looters and murderers and god knows what else from people huddling in the ruins of the coming apocalypse. You could have done something. You could have made a START, at least.
Two days ago she woke up and couldn't look at herself in the mirror anymore.
The trek to Japan was not easy, and more to the point, Elisabeth Branctorche has no real knowledge that this is where Ash will be, other than a feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finding a charter plane willing to head even in the direction of Ise given the weather instability -- and other things -- right now, took considerable effort. And once she was there, she didn't REALLY know where to go.
This is when she met the redhead and things got weird.
He seemed nice enough; in the back of her mind, Elisabeth vaguely recalled him from the pro fighting circuits which she followed only so that she could keep tabs on important figures, meaning that this person apparently didn't rise to the level of 'important figure' in the Frenchwoman's book. But he had appeared literally out of nowhere as she strode toward the Grand Shrine, intending to look for Ash alone and settle this alone, and there was just... something about him.
'If you do me a favor,' he'd said, before Elisabeth could even open her mouth, 'I'll find him for you. But there isn't much time.'
This is why, well after Rust's appearance, the elegant noblewoman appears nearby, clearly looking for him. "Are you... Howard Rust?" she begins, cautious. "If so, I've been... looking for you."
The air seems to shimmer and swirl, as if the pair are approaching some distant mirage that happens to be real; that does not make the venture any less surreal or disconnected, however. It's clear that the pair are close to /something/; direction may have decided to take a break in any official capacity, but there's a sense of immense, condensing energy further ahead...
One that seems to finally react to the two invaders. As if the spark between two conscious souls meeting has reminded the surroundings that things are not as it should. The world seems to suddenly glow, an impression of a gate in a distance that seems both the breadth of the stars and within arm's reach.
Bright, until they are blinded, and then a strange, temporal detachment. Something like solid footing settles beneath, after long seconds of floating. Was it seconds? Hours? Days? Did time just end? Is this limbo? Difficult to say...
But perceptions settle once more on something that cannot be called reality anymore. It is simply a blank slate. Endless white. The glow is neither bright nor dim, and goes on to the horizon in all directions. The very fact there is substance beneath is baffling, but there seems to be no particular orientation at this point.
Elisabeth might know it in some capacity. The pair were drawn into a pocket dimension by the orb. However, that means whoever did such is in here with them. Something akin to a crackling storm lingers nearby... an instant proves it is not Saiki, nor any other 'demonic' being...
A figure would be seen, sitting ahead in that transmutable horizon. Back to the pair, what seem to be horn-like impressions thrust up to either side. Yes; they are certainly the one in possession of the key to leaving this realm... but who are they, is the question of the day!!
The aging man is edging on towards paranoia, considering the relative uneventfulness of the journey inside the vortex. The way he snaps to face the noblewoman who appears by his perception from virtually nowhere (and the sound of his joints also resembling that of something snapping off, given teh sudden movement), he half-way raises Ol' Rusty in her direction before lowering it, looking her in the eyes with an empty, partially open mouth.
He grunts at catching himself, perhaps catching onto her own level of caution and carefulness - someone who's here to at last take him out of the picture, based on previous experience, would be more loud, more forceful, more attention-grabbing. (They would also probably hit him before he knew they were there... maybe.)
"Y-Yeah, I'm... I'm him," he nods slowly as he faces... back? To where he might have been looking, where he could swear what he's seen moments before is not what he sees there, like the composition of one's imagined location within the confines of a dream, "sorry, I, ah, well, we're... here." He decides to leave it as 'here' as opposed to trying to put it as eloquently possible as to why he's exactly on edge and probably about to smack the next person who surprises him with a rusted length of pipe--
Speaking of surprises... the blinding light, in which he shields his eyes. Something crackles in the air, and one of his shoulders ache as though tugging his sleeve to look back into the presence of that horizon when his eyes haven't quite recovered from the transition, and has somehow settled his orientation with this new flooring that where he thinks he's looking straight ahead, he's actually face down. It's comically awkward for him to figure out how to stand up when he can't even visually make out a proper 'floor,' other than feel for it, as he scrambles up to a stand.
"A-Are you seeing what I'm seeing-- are we, ah, are we still here," he stammers, having trouble keeping his composure completely together in the face of the inexplicable, other than the one landmark of someone or something that appears to be a person, that figure...
He starts to approach slowly, one of his knees showing reticence in even wanting to flex to move forward to whoever or whatever this may be, for his eyes are still recovering from that blinding light.
"Uh... excuse me, ah, would you happen to be--"
Let's just say that Elisabeth had no idea what to expect, even from the 'Hero of Nepal', and what she finds is... certainly beyond what she might have imagined. She can't tell if the defiant wielding of the pipe or the not so defiant creaking of the joints is how she should primarily read this situation, but either way, the initial gesture is the same. "Don't worry. I'm a... friend..."
The Frenchwoman trails off as the fog rolls in, immediately setting her on edge. She does indeed notice it, seemingly quite displeased by it, and against all logic, seeks to interpose herself between Rust and the figure in the distance. The sight is humorous; the finely-dressed, lithe Elisabeth seeking to 'shield' the older but considerably more built and durable-seeming American. "Yes," she adds, trying to be reassuring and arriving halfway between that and imperious. "It's begun. I thought we had a bit more time, but I was wrong." Considering she's saying that at THE END OF THE WORLD, this situation is probably pretty dire.
A hand goes to her waist, and the elegant fighter's arm comes back up with riding crop in hand, the slender length of black leather pointed dramatically at the figure standing in the way of both Rust and herself. "Did 'they' send you?" she demands, not even bothering with the niceties Rust deploys.
There's a mild start from the man ahead, who slowly turns his head to the side. Slowly, like a coiled viper, the figure unfolds. Pushing up to his feet slowly, it's immediately apparent they have an incredibly dense build. And as they turn, one hand is palming one of the swirling orbs; white light pouring forth from it, seeming to seethe and seep into the endless terrain they have been brought within.
Slowly, they begin to march forward. Each footstep seems to thunk heavily, figure seeming unusually dark; the light from the Orb of Time is completely overloading his palette. "Finally..." growls out a voice, deep and rough like glass grinding against itself. "Another person came. ...Oh? Two this time? That's fine...!"
Extending an arm out to the side, the orb is suddenly dropped. It thunks impotently on whatever serves sa a floor. Immediately the power within the man spikes downwards; how many people holding such an artifact, and when fully charged, would opt to /discard/ it?
But as he grows close enough for a very distinctive silhouette to be recognized, the man suddenly erupts into cerulean energy. A great, roaring pillar of it surging high into the heavens, dozens of meters; absorbed greedily by the surroundings, as great crackles and flashes of lightning run along, a primal display of raw strength.
Heihachi Mashima; one of the strongest men alive. ...Or is it? He looks to be a man in his late twenties. But that distinctive smirk and body of iron-clad muscle... he wears only the black bottom of a karate gi, with a red belt tied about his waist. Muscles seem to bulge outwards, each vein superimposed. A full head of black hair still possesses two distinct thrusting points, all that remained in Heihachi's twilight years.
He lifts up his hand before himself, a loud hissing heard as curls of chi flow upwards, a wild grin running across his features. "Sent me...? Who do you think I am...?! I came here myself. And I found some waifish, girly thing. Hah. Of course these orbs of power are something I'd seek to get my hands on!!"
But fingers crack, before a fist thumps home into Heihachi's palm. The sound echoes with an actually felt THUMP! of energy, despite still being a good ten meters away. "But a new future? A new past? Am I the only man alive... who has no regrets?! I was the strongest person alive at my peak. I control one of the largest, wealthiest and most technologically advanced corporations in the world! Every aspiration I had in my life I earned... And with barely any effort!!"
Heihachi slows, coming to a stop not far before the pair. "...My enemy was time. Time... chipping away, eroding at me. Hah. Do you know what it feels like? When your only opponent is age? But look at me now!!"
He twists, stamping a foot down and assuming an aggressive-looking stance. Bolts of lightning course and crackle over Heihachi from head to toe then, and a great wave of force barrels all the more intensely in this negated environment, with naught to feel but the full brunt of the Mishima leader's chi.
"I was promised my youth. And, if I waited here... a fight. That is it. I am no pawn... I received exactly what I wanted!! You aren't the first." A thumb jerks to the distance. Indeed, about a dozen broken figures lay in the distance here and there.
"And you likely won't be the last... But..." Heihachi looks somewhat less than thrilled. "Hah... this is truly my youth all over again. Since not a single person can stand before me."
The orb continues to shine in the distance behind. "The orb is already charged. Whatever purpose it has is fulfilled. But if you want to escape... you'll need to touch it. ...And that means getting past /me/..."
However, there's no real sense that he's being controlled or manipulated by any genuine external force. Waylayed by the enemy with an offer nobody else could fulfill, the old eccentric has been turned into a trap for the unwary. But... he might also be a great weapon, if he could be convinced to turn back...
Howard only gives a little protest with a raised hand about his questions being cut off, but it's not a point he's in much of a mind to protest in the face of... this, walking up a ways behind Elizabeth to stand at her right as he brings his left hand over his eyes to see ahead better.
Given how quickly that hand goes right back down and that step he takes back, it's clear he figures out what's ahead a good moment or two before they speak - Heihachi Mishima, in his youth. He never saw him /this/ young, but younger than he... should be now. If anything, the misconception of being flung a number of decades before now is what threatens to come out of the aging man's mouth before he is cut off again by their seeming... relief? Acceptance? Of more company.
Howard shudders where he stands when energy carries through the air from that thumping sound, as though a subtle reminder of what true powers are truly in play. Absolutely nothing Brett had told him could have prepared him for being in the sheer presence of what is unmistakably the Time Sphere that so many have made great big fusses about.
He straightens up as Heihachi draws nearer, as if to hide the position of weakness he has so allowed to seep through his person through uncertainty and unease. Does he know what it feels like when his only opponent is age? Look at Heihachi now--
He recalls, in brief, what almost happened at that NESTS place, the stomping foot shaking the very, er, ground that Howard stands upon. Unlike the other foibles and flaws expressed, he remarkably holds strong without much a change in posture or stance... to be reassured that he's not the first, as a sideglance reveals... and he winces. They... they weren't the first, and it's hard to take one's eyes off that shining sphere that stands behind Heihachi (of which he then goes on to remind that he's there to stop them from going to touch that thing).
"I, I get the idea a buncha people already said this," Howard speaks up as he clears his throat, lungs taking in the essence of something that doesn't feel like oxygen but yet the body appears to be accepting regardless, "but... but we don't got time," nobody has time for anything, technically, but the cliche largely stands even now as the man shakes his head, "look," is he hesitant because this is Heihachi in his prime, or because he truly believes in what he says?
He exhales sharply, flexing out one of his legs to get rid of one of the kinks - a reminder of something Heihachi probably no longer has to deal with, with his newfound youth!
"Can we... save this for, for after we have a word with Saiki?" This is less a politely worded request and more a firmly spoken statement. "We don't--"
'I am no pawn! I received exactly what I wanted!'
Elisabeth Branctorche hears this line, hears Heihachi's diatribe, and... laughs. It is not an arrogant laughter; she is not necessarily dismissing him. For lack of a better word, it's helpless laughter. Because that is how she feels, now, staring down this deluded old man at the end of the world: helpless. For all that it was her mission -- her family's mission -- in life to stop this very event from happening, she couldn't do it. And now she's paying the price. As is this old fool, apparently.
She is about to open her mouth when Rust suddenly steps up, and opens *his* mouth. 'We don't have time!' Well, that's certainly true in the long-term sense. If Saiki has already made himself known to 'mortals' -- it is impossible for Elisabeth to contain her surprise when Rust mentions that name, though the moment is brief indeed -- then the plan is in its final stages.
"He's right," the Frenchwoman says with a nod. "They may have given you your youth, but did they tell you how long it would last? If they succeed you'll be gone and forgotten, as if you never existed, along with everyone else! We might still be able to stop them if you'll give us the sphere and leave."
There is a creak of leather as her grip on the riding crop adjusts. The sound is all that's needed to indicate that she has every belief that Heihachi will ignore the sense of everything she's just said to him, and that this is going to escalate into a battle in short order. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. She briefly shoots a tired, grateful expression at Rust, whose demeanor seems to have changed subtly but considerably in the past few moments... threaded through with something strong, possibly even something dangerous.
Good. He's probably going to need it.
"Don't got time...? I'd say. Yeah. The world's fucked. Too late at this point. It's better to just let it all start over. What're you so sentimental about...? You won't remember it. And most likely, your life'll play out almost exactly the same way." Heihachi grins toothily then, as if it were something that didn't particularly concern him. "It's just like dying. What you are hoping to do... is ACTUALLY destroy the world. One way or another, the wheel's gotta go back. So..."
Heihachi opens his arms, as if invitingly, to the other two. "Why not be like me, and have some fun with it? It doesn't matter what changes. When time restarts, I'll become king again... The amazing will always rise to the top!!"
The laughter from Elisabeth seems to only cause the man's grin to widen even further. "Do you get it? Eh? How pointless it all is?" However, then there's a pause. A sort of grimace follows, and a slow crack of the neck. "Erase... eh? Never said anything about erasing. Just go back some years. Do something again. ..." It does seem that the idea he was just brazenly lied to never really crossed his mind. But for a man of his strength and drive, he's also remarkably simple and straightforward.
"Tch. Y'know. Maybe you are right. If time's gonna be rewritten, I don't really trust that sanctimonious prat. I've always said that the more punchable someone was, the less weight their words had..."
Suddenly, behind Heihachi the orb pulses bright. Heihachi freezes, and his eyes seem to cloud.
"Now, now." coos the voice of Saiki, echoing in the infinite. "Don't detour my little roadblock here..."
When it settles, Heihachi's arms slowly slump down, shoulders lowering. And then when his head raises, there's a ferocity behind it that is undeniable. His leg sweeps backwards, both arms brought up as muscles tense. A combative stance. It seems that the puppet master thrummed some strings; reason is not going to be as simple a matter as that...
But getting back to Heihachi's mind is the question. He's a prodigial willpower, and not so easily swayed for long... but how long will it take, for his full might -- mixed with the experience of decades -- to reduce them to ash?!
COMBATSYS: Heihachi has started a fight here as a boss!
HEIHACHI
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COMBATSYS: Heihachi takes no action.
HEIHACHI
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Of course it's all bad out there, and in a best case scenario of the world's continuation - one that is already being largely considered a fantasy! - it's a hell of a mess to clean up after, fraught with peril, poverty, and ruin that humanity may take a long time to fully recover from... should they even be able to.
Howard, for all the trouble he has adjusting to a realm so far removed from reason and even now on some level not quite coming off as ready for prime time for all the resolve and will he's built up to take the plunge towards the final chapters of this world, does not meet that toothy grin with any sheepish smile or embarrassed look away. His face is decidedly firmly neutral.
"Y'know, for... for many years, I've had a, a buncha people talk down to me 'bout... how things're gonna be, this way, that way," he waves his left hand vaguely, more casually than he ought to given that this is Heihachi Mishima, a man who he already knows was a truly terror-inspiring man in the field of honor, back in his physical prime, "'m so done with that. I'm not gonna... gonna stand here 'n," he is stopped by a brief coughing fit, but just as well - what he may be saying could well be something the defeated before them have said and resolved. They're not going to stand and wait for the end, they're going to bring the fight to whoever's responsible... and now there they are, on the... floor? Floor equivalent. There's a lot of comfy space for the both of them.
The far better-spoken Elisabeth speaks her feelings on the matter far more eloquently than he can, even now, and he's silently grateful for it as Heihachi might seem to concede, to back down, to maybe allow them to take a step--
Another voice. Howard turns behind him to ascertain where that voice is coming from, but to no avail, pointing Ol' Rusty out into the infinite void. He sees nothing. He finds nothing, and as he turns back around to Heihachi, who has now entered that familiar stance of his famous family fighting style...
Howard draws back Ol' Rusty on instinct, legs spread further apart with a bit of a bounce at his feet as he enters his own stance, the pipe pointed down and away.
"Doesn't... doesn't look like, we're... we're gettin' much of a choice," he asides to Elisabeth, taking in another breath to steel himself after speaking the utter obvious, unaware of her own full ability but nonetheless not going to immediately interpose himself in front of her - far as he knows, everyone's in over their heads. They're all equals in the face of this incredible crisis.
As were those people lying broken on the floor.
He chooses not to hesitate in the face of one of the most feared combat stances for any one man to dare face against, instead moving with something that inspires or at least is a great facsimile of confidence, moving in shoulder-first with a bit of a glide of feet on the makeshift ground as he feints in a quick turn away before taking Ol' Rusty in both hands, moving to thrust the end of it straight into Heihachi's gut - a gut that has certainly suffered worse, by stronger, by more headstrong, by more courageous compared to the paltry but sincere effort laid bare before him now.
"If, if you can't fight him, then... then let us," Howard tries to work in mid-thrust.
COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 0/-------/-------|
For perhaps the first time in the history of fighting, someone offers a reasonable alternative to being beaten over the head to resolve a problem and it seems like the other person ACTUALLY LISTENS, which is a nice change, and which also lasts approximately 0.5 seconds before someone else decides to intervene. And there is a brief moment where Elisabeth actually feels sympathy for Heihachi, a man who she realizes was staring down his own mortality and was willing to pay any price for a taste of what he used to have.
In that respect, he and Elisabeth aren't so different.
But even as Rust begins to defy Heihachi's claims, there comes a force, and it's one with which the Frenchwoman is entirely too familiar. Saiki. The mastermind behind all of this, who resorted to honeyed words with Mishima because he knew they would work... and because if they didn't, there was a far more reliable failsafe in place in terms of the white-haired master of time's ability to cloud and twist men's minds.
Like Ash Crimson.
"If the only way forward is to fight," the woman says in a stern tone, "then don't expect me to back down. I am coming for you!" she says, staring at Heihachi as she does so, but it's relatively clear that she is speaking to someone else entirely. "And no puppet will keep me from my duty, no matter how powerful he may be. I hope," she says, turning to Rust with a serious expression, "we can count on each other in this battle."
And with that, she wastes no time, rushing forward alongside Rust and, when she nears Heihachi, sweeping her arm out in a wide arc, a crescent flash of pure white light flowing in the wake of her strike. "Apologies, Mishima. But I do as I must!"
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Heihachi instinctively blocks Elisabeth's Etancher.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Heihachi counters Power Pipe from Rust with Heaven's Wrath.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Indeed; when one makes a wish with a monkey's paw, it always comes back to bite them. Having accepted the twisted power of Saiki means that the man's insidious grip is deep within the man. To make matters worse, they now face one of the few people still around who might be able to pressure the damnable mastermind in actual battle... only to waste resources before such in what might be a pyrrhic victory.
"..." There's no response. That's somewhat unusual; Heihachi is a boisterous and loud person in combat, enjoying the thrill and the adrenaline. It seems as if something's clicked off in his mind right now -- although that does not mean he is any less lethal as a result. Twisting up his arms, a slow exhale follows.
His forearm sheaths with lightning, twisting to strike down the blast of energy from Elisabeth... before Rust's trusty pipe is then caught in his free hand. All momentum stops so violently that it might cause a backlash of ache in those old joints.
Rust may have been offered his youth, but that is a much different thing to Heihachi... a man in his twilight years, with a memory of nothing but success. A noble death in battle, if anything, would be his preference. Although there were few who could do that, even aged as he was, replacing every ounce of lost power with technique and ferocity...
And all that which he lost comes rushing back, the still-crackling fist suddenly slamming into Rust's midsection. The air explodes out in a flash of blue, the bolt of lightning surging into the pearly heavens and lifting him clean off his feet. Only for his elbow to then strike Rust in the back, a condensed point of force that would feel like it bounces back and forth in the very core of his being.
He would slam upon the faux floor, which feels almost like rubber; pushing down, down, black cracks appearing as if that blow almost sent Rust careening through reality itself, before rebounding sideways likely the worse for wear.
Saiki's energy is felt thrumming in Heihachi, tethered strongly to the orb. Even if they cannot easily overcome the man in battle, there are other options... hit him hard enough sense returns long enough to fight back, or get to the sphere... not that any of those are likely much easier...!!
There is always that fine difference between observing the sight of the greatest, the strongest, the legendary... and being there with them, a difference one Howard Rust has come to appreciate over the years when he stood toe to toe with those who command far, far greater power that he by any right should be reduced to a smear by.
His pipe caught, Howard's entire body freezes in mid-thrust as pain shoots through his arms with the sudden stop, and his face changes from the resolute face of a warrior moving to strike a blow, to... still that, with a new added shade of 'oh no' from a slightly opened mouth.
He also comes to, even at a time like this where such small details could otherwise be sweat in the big picture, a renewed appreciation for the nine-hundred ninety-nine-thousand, nine-hundred ninety-nine in a million chance that people such as himself might regret the folly of believing it is a keen idea to step forth and take one's chances against them, and even in the best of days, no one walks away from such a choice unscathed.
Like the dozen before them, Howard contorts and bends to the numbing, overpowering effect of electricity coursing through him that it robs him the ability to appreciate - well, until moments after the fact - what incredible physical force is put into the aptly-christened technique, staring blearily and emptily into the void that appears to suspend the lot of them from being swallowed into the bright nothingness, a stunned expression giving way to terror that melts into pain as he is repelled a ways away.
It's one of the broken bodies that break his momentum in a manner hardly comforting, to stare into the face of one of the defeated, the gravely injured - of one of many who were foolish or brave to think to stand and challenge the might of Heihachi, backed by someone... greater.
"Glkmfkrtm," is Rust's incomprehensible vocal take-away of all this as he shakes out his head, looking away, looking up... still holding the pipe on virtue of having held it in both hands in his attempt to strike, Howard thrusts the pipe into the ground for support, the tink of rusted metal against void understated and unremarkable as he groans to pull himself up, lips pressed together tightly.
That he chooses to get up so soon after such a great blow without a second thought, without lingering upon 'I'm out of my depth' or 'I couldn't take more than two or three of those, tops,' may be what separates him from the fallen... for now, as he inches back closer to the battle without a challenging or mocking word, fighting back the sensations of pain that flood through his entire torso.
Elisabeth's claims that the two can count on one another in this battle may prove a touch premature yet, if simply getting back up after such a blow is all the so-called 'Hero of Nepal' can truly offer, but yet...
COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
No wonder Saiki chose this man to buy him time. It sounds like a bit of a cliche, but Elisabeth feels like SHE felt the blow that Rust just took, in her own way. It looks as if the American took the blow in the worst possible way, which his earlier coughing fit suggests is now exacerabting an already-existing problem (apparently, classy French nobles are immune to volcanic ash). She had hoped to press her attack while she could, ideally using aggressiveness and swift dual tactics to crack an opening in Heihachi's defenses. As it is now, that doesn't seem likely to happen.
Backing off, the noblewoman assesses the situation, continuing to keep a tight grip on that riding crop, an object that seems more like a silly toy than a weapon, but which in Elisabeth's hands can be surprisingly effective, even against the seemingly supernatural toughness of the average fighter. Still, she doesn't feel like tackling Heihachi alone; while she doesn't know much about Rust, the man's build suggests he's a durable fighter indeed, a quality the Frenchwoman does not exactly have in abundance.
"I know you are hurting," she says to Rust, without taking her eyes off Mishima, "but you must stand. At this point there is no choice in the matter. This really is a 'do or die' situation."
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth focuses on her next action.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
While Heihachi may be under the sway of another, simply falling back for the moment is not liable to snap him out of things anytime soon; although in his wake, survival might be the first and most immediate concern. He continues to hum and crackle with chi even when relatively resting, muscles tense like coiled springs, power evident in even subdued motions, or the measured manner that he takes his breath. With Rust left reeling but unbowed, Elisabeth does at least manage one thing; his sights are upon wounded prey, allowing her to gather herself unhindered.
Kicking forward, a shimmering blur seems to position Heihachi in front of the wounded Rust as if he teleported; the simple action of explosively kicking off the ground, only to slam his foot home right in front of the other man, using strength to transpose himself such distances.
A sudden swing of both hands snaps up, but the assault may not be what's expected; both hands attempt to settle about a meter apart, with Rust's head between.
And then there's a great CRACK as a bolt of electricity arcs between, aiming to shock the hapless hero's brainmeats thoroughly from one ear to the other. Following such up with a brutally simple toss; aiming to grasp Howard by the front of his shirt, heft him upwards, and deposit him with whipcord force directly into the unyielding faux-ground at his feet!!
COMBATSYS: Heihachi dazes Rust with Quick Throw!
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Howard would give a (mostly) reassuring nod as he stomachs the pain in his... back, ribs, also stomach even as he struggles to pull himself back to a hundred percent when he seems to have come in at a solid seventy-something percent instead, but the relentless offensive of Heihachi Mishima does not allow much room for friendly banter among two who have come to know themselves very quickly as having the same goals, the same aims.
Howard's left hand tenses up as he swings his upper body back, completely misreading Heihachi's approach from a particularly memorable battle from a good twenty years back. Remarkably, he holds fine with the seismic stress inflicted upon the ground made of bent reality without losing his balance.
The moment those hands are in position around Rust's head, though, that is where any such compliments may end as electricity surges, blanking him out in a realm already blanked out. He has absolutely zero sensation of what happens next, but to the other outside observer he doesn't appear to put any sort of meaningful ability to mitigate the impact that spawns curious sounds as though reality itself isn't sure what sound to make between a body hitting that ground so /hard/ and the vague nothingness that is substituting for a floor. His body goes limp during those next, tense seconds as one Howard Rust appears to be added to the collection of the felled.
He can't make sense of much of anything, but there is... movement. Crackling, nasty-sounding movement of a body that seems to desire to still flex and move but fights itself to do so, nerves receiving orders like his brain could be sleepwalking (it basically is).
All that remains in that moment is instinct, and there is some acknowledgement of something in his hand resembling a pipe. What does he do with pipes in a pinch? What is the first, most well-honed instinct for him to do when he's holding onto something like that?
Swing it.
It's a clumsy, upward movement that fights a weakness settling in his shoulder from locking up, but the tip of the pipe scrapes against the floor substitute en-route to its upward direction. Whether Heihachi is actually there or not does not quite seem to be the concern, when he is so... out of it that he cannot even comprehend much in the way of color or shape, but this years-honed reflex may be what could give him a chance to come back to.
A ghost of one, as his body moves and staggers in a way that it's not even quite aware of how to actually stand all the way back up.
It's not clear that even if he were in his right mind at the moment that Heihachi would be pulling his punches any, but with Saiki's influence basically switching the Mishima CEO into reptilian hindbrain mode, the point is moot: his attacks on Howard Rust make it clear that the rejuvenated fighter is planning to put both of these challengers on the mat more or less permanently, and Elisabeth has a great deal of admiration for Rust that he does not shatter into a cloud of flavorful Skittles considering the power Heihachi is putting into his blows.
Can she offer any less?
"Mishima!" the Frenchwoman shouts, realizing that this may be futile, but it may ALSO be the duo's only chance of getting out of this in one piece. "If you are truly the champion you claimed to be, do not let yourself be controlled this way! You were deceived. Regain your pride!"
In reality, though, she is merely talking to make herself feel better. A sinking feeling sits in the noble lady's stomach like a boulder as she evaluates the situation. Neither she nor Rust have put substantial hands on Heihachi for the time being, whereas Rust looks ready to pack it in after two blows. Thus there's no time for more emotional combat.
She'll just have to try the normal kind.
Charging Heihachi, she stops just short of him even as Rust swings his makeshift weapon in a wide arc, Elisabeth tumbles forward, flipping and rising into a backwards handstand, looking to drive both of her feet right into the bottom of Heihachi's jaw. If finesse cannot be counted on, perhaps power is the best she can manage.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi blocks Elisabeth's Strong Kick.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Heihachi with Cement Upper.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Kudos to Rust; he was hit so hard and so quickly that Heihachi actually turned his attention away, shifting from the downed figher to face Elisabeth once more. He seemed to prepare something rather more devastating when she began her assault, only for her words to cause him to falter slightly. Instead the heels of her feet impact a powerful cross-arm block, static feedback liable to make her calves feel like they've slightly fallen asleep afterwards.
But Rust undersells himself; that simple motion of his pipe is not random. It's one he's practiced doubtlessly hundreds of times, and even with the mind shut off, his old bones know what to do. Finding an unexpected enemy striking from an unexpected angle with unexpected competence, the end of the lead pipe *THUNKS* Heihachi right in the chin, a few swirls of electricity feeding back into it and sending toupee hairs standing on end.
"...!! Tch... you think... I don't... want to fight?!" Heihachi growls, in a sort of half-lucid manner. Well, technically, he's not incorrect. The orb seems to glow even brighter then, but Heihachi simply roars while suddenly flaring with even greater energy.
And then stamps down, launching himself towards Elisabeth abruptly. He sweeps one foot in a brutal arc, an explosion of lightning roaring out in a broad wave as he attempts to strike her with earth-shattering force in the midsection. Not content to settle there, he rides the wave of current, twisting around to lash out with a second, even harder downwards kick, trying to launch the girl down and away as a thunderbolt roars down from the heavens once more.
"Grr.... grrraaaaaugh!!!"
Howard continues to feebly mill about half-upright while the rest of his body is returning sensations of pain to his brain to remind him that maybe he's probably still awake, alive, and drawing in something that's at least acting as a reliable substitute for breath in these parts. He's getting too old to keep being... savaged, and with every brutal beating it feels like his body wants to take that closer step to calling it quits, no matter how much he manages to will himself to keep going with a body that, at the best of times, is a cracked mess on the verge of collapse even with just how difficult it seems to be to ever make those cracks grow without significant effort.
Color and shape return. Sound is still a ways off, his head ringing as the situation still remains firmly in short-term memory. Sphere. Saiki. Heihachi Mishima. He coughs again as both hands grip the pipe as he better gets something of a grip, staggering and still bent over as he looks over behind him to Heihachi's back, and... the noblewoman, and much further away, the sphere.
He's seen how fast Heihachi can move. He could not ever hope to beat him on foot to that sphere from here.
Shaking out his right arm with a nasty pop, he moves to swing his right elbow into the small of Heihachi's back in hopes of disrupting or slowing what he knows is not going to be pleasant for her to suffer (but he would likely be already too late for that), following it up with a low kick to the back of Heihachi's ankle before swinging in with his left hand to the back of Heihachi's head - risking even contact with another surge of the famed Mishima lightning and making him wish he wore his rubber gloves when suiting up for this final bout in the collapse of reality - to try and faceplant him forward into the lack-of-a-floor floor.
"G-Get the sphere," he mutters out, clearing his throat to speak again a bit more clearly. That's the intent.
"Sphere, get!"
No, he doesn't quite make it in the attempt to be more coherent, because of a twinge of pain going through his chest when he tries to yell.
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth counters Hell Axle from Heihachi with Platinum Mirage.
- Power hit! -
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Elisabeth
'Get the sphere!'
Elisabeth is forced to evaluate Rust's demand and Heihachi's planned attack in a superbly short period of time, but it's a testament to the Frenchwoman being cool under fire that she ends up making the right decisions in the nick of time. Her eyes dart for the sphere, trying to track its location, and she finds it lying on the ground where Heihachi left it just in time to see the Mishima CEO bearing down on her. If Rust was doubled over in pain from his blows, then the comparatively more fragile Elisabeth will almost certainly be shattered into a thousand pieces by it.
Strangely enough this is exactly what happens.
Heihachi's fist slams into what appears to be Elisabeth, but in truth, he'll know immediately that there's no satisfying feeling of flesh hitting flesh. Instead, the shape that USED to be Elisabeth disappears into a rapidly fading haze of prism-edged white light. An illusion generated by her unique chi abilities, nothing more.
Meanwhile, the noblewoman is making a beeline for the sphere, hoping to capitalize on this brief moment of confusion and counting on Rust to run interference for her if need be... it's not likely that Heihachi will take such a devious ploy's success with good humor.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi dodges Rust's Armed Pipe Combo.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Elisabeth
"...?" The sphere? No. They can't do that! He won't let them!! It's apparent through the mirage that Heihachi unleashed an additional level of onslaught where Elisabeth just was. A great eruption of lightning annihilates her chi substitution to naught but motes, leaving the shimmering form of Heihachi crouched down upon it. He quickly makes out the girl bolting for the sphere, letting out a snarl deep within as he suddenly inhales.
And then there's a great surge of electricity, his ribcage visible as his very nerves seem to dance to life. A shimmering afterimage flows with him, and it's one of those that Rusts' pipe thrusts through, dissipating it with a shimmer.
Still a few meters from the orb, Heihachi slams down from above, landing in a crouch. Only he's twisted his right arm close to his body, palm open. A swirl of dark blue energy suddenly coalesces and cracks into his closed fist, a low humming noise beginning to build in crescendo.
"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!!"
He then bursts forward, thrusting upwards with a brutal strike aimed right towards Elisabeth's ribcage. Attempting to take her up into the air with him, fist twisting brutally as crackling bolts of energy erupt out.
But such is not the end; at the apex, he would flash with energy, and unleash a /second/ uppercut, this one attempting to launch the hapless girl so far backwards that she'd likely end up well behind Rust, unless she fully wards off his blow...!!
"This is... nnngh..." He seems once more disoriented. They can't have it... why? It's his? No. It's... the orb begins to pulse, bright and painful. At least it seems they've begun to stress Saiki's ability to remotely control Heihachi...
And luckily, making him angry is a good method to go about doing it!
For how unsteady Howard seems to be able to stand after having suffered at least two (he has no internal count of what he has suffered so far) incredible series of attacks that have easily felled even men far tougher and more capable than himself, the slight overcommit to the combination to try and bring Heihachi down to something remotely manageable and give Elisabeth the full window to scurry off and get that sphere is quickly corrected with a forward step in the wake of the afterimage that is - was - Heihachi.
Well, aside from another jumpy twitch in his shoulders just from the lingering energy of that afterimage coursing through him. Even a mere /afterimage/ has enough lingering power behind it to give this man a moment of pause - such is the power of the way of Mishima.
Howard murmurs another in his narrow but colorful list of four-letter words (okay, it's "wait"), as Heihachi bursts forward, away. Howard can only take off after him in a comparatively more mundane, slow jog as he repeats that four-letter word.
"Wait!" Is he telling Elisabeth, who may be moments away from certain doom, to wait?
He staggers across the flat plane of now slightly cracked crystallized-ish reality-floor after him, the shine of that accursed orb threatening to blind him if he so much as looks at it for more than a moment...
His toupee, the most horrible thing, slides a bit down one side of his face, either through fortunate circumstance or some sort of understanding between himself and an inanimate abomination but the logistics of that are not important beyond the brief shielding of light. He's so driven towards whatever spurs him to go off on that jog that this slip of a disguise that no one has ever been fooled by (everyone knows he's balding) doesn't register to him.
"Wait," he says sharply as he balls up his left hand into a fist, and swings in an uppercut--
No, it's not! He tries to wedge it between one of Heihachi's arms and pull up, an attempt to lock him in place through his famous ability to brace himself for damage by becoming almost statue-esque in just how his entire body locks up in place every time, be it subconsciously or otherwise.
"Y-You let us take that," Howard tries to reason, his words breathy and pained given he hasn't quite fully soaked what has already been fully inflicted upon him, "I, I know we're lookin' at... the, the end of the world, that, that maybe... there's... not much left we can do, but--"
Howard clears his throat (very rudely, near Heihachi's ear, but he can't quite help that, urgency overrides politeness and he's been half-way beaten to death as it is), as he continues.
"M-Maybe what comes after... y'know, I, I had a lotta... failures, mistakes. Bad calls," most recent, letting Rolento take that safe, "if, if there's a way... I'm, I'm facin' it head on, Heihachi," is he on a first-name basis with him? No, but he's desperate enough that he has no choice but to be frank between trying to speak his mind and speak at all when his body just wants him to back off and catch his breath, adrenaline pumping to push him forward.
"That, that Saiki... I, we can't, we can't let him do... what he wants." He rephrases it. "/We/ can't. It's, it's not just... me, or, or her. Or... or them. We, we can't just... sit back and, and let it all happen... even, even if what's next, after this... if, if it's in my power... our power, I'm fightin' through it. The... the destruction, the, the famine, I'll... I'll do my part."
"I'm... I'm not letting Saiki use that to, to... to compel us to give up," Howard strains himself to keep talking regardless of whether he even gets that arm locked on Heihachi to begin with, "I, I didn't bow to... to Vega, or... or those... uh, Orochi types," he remember that and he still can't get Frei's name right?!
"So, so many others didn't, either, and... and they ain't bowing to him now... and... and neither is the... the god damn Heihachi Mishima," who is probably about to beat him three-fourths of the way to death.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi knocks away Elisabeth with Dragon Uppercut EX.
! VENGEANCE !
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Elisabeth
She had her chance...
"Wh--"
She wasted it.
It is impossible to describe exactly what happens next because it occurs so swiftly, so brutally, that there's barely enough time for an onlooker to see and process, let alone to actually make out individual details. Elisabeth is running for the sphere; Mishima is chasing her, intending to take her out of the fight and away from the treasured time sphere. Ideally, the Frenchwoman's illusionary deception would have given her enough time to make some distance between them, give her enough time to at least get out of the line of fire.
She feels Heihachi close the gap more than she sees or hears it, turning at the last second, caught unawares. There's a moment where she can at least TRY to save herself, to make some sort of defense, enough to make it so that she's still on goal to getting the sphere.
Heihachi hits her twice and sends her flying into the mist, with envelops her, obscuring her from sight... and after even a reasonable amount of time for her to get up and return, there's no sign of her.
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth takes no action.
HEIHACHI
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Rust 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Heihachi with Weakened Quick Throw EX.
HEIHACHI
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[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Elisabeth
Indeed, Heihachi had landed heavily when Rust's grapple takes place; intent on rushing towards the distant speck that he had just launched Elisabeth into. But an interfering Rust suddenly grapples him thoroughly, although he barrels forward a few steps all the same before seeming to realize the other fighter is still there. Blood sizzles and burns upon the knuckles he just struck into Elisabeth, and whether she's been knocked clean out of the fight or not is a question also.
"Haa... haa... head on...? Yeah. You need to take your fate..." He clenches his fist, before shooting out to grasp Rust by the top of his poorly covered dome. "BY THE SHORTHAIRS...!!
He then attempts to twist and wrap an incredibly massive arm beneath, and twist to lock a rather face-tomato'ing headlock on the hapless Rust Howard. His free hand then bursts into lightning, attempting to apply a noogie at a thousand grinds per second...
And then explosively kicks out, foot seeking Rust's chest in order to launch him backwards once more, to make sure both of the fighters have given the orb clear leeway.
"Nngh... you... want to make your own destiny...?! Then... why haven't you... until now?! Are you not happy, boy? You've flown as high as you can. Higher than anyone woulda given you credit. And now... you've nowhere to go but down. ...That's... the only fate in this world... I refuse to allow!! Even if everything else burns... the world breaks to nothing... I will not watch everything I accomplished fade away!! Not with kiss-asses like Lee and my weak excuse for a son all I've got to leave behind!! Kuma's better suited to run the Zaibatsu!!"
He does seem to have regained a fair sense of his reason, all the same. Despite the strobe-like glowing of the orb behind him. Stiffening now and then, he manages to assume a combative stance once more.
"Come... come on... this is the world we live in!! Both of you... want to save the world...?! Then barrel THROUGH me...!! Give me everything you have... and if it's not enough..."
"I'll make sure you both die in this godforsaken pit!!"
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Heihachi's Neck Breaker but gets knocked away!
HEIHACHI
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[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\======-\1 Elisabeth
It is thanks to the flop of the toupee a bit down the side of Howard's head that he's stopped from being blinded.
It also happens to give a very enticing opening in which for the iron fist of Heihachi Mishima - one of those who could rightfully claim to be the king of iron fist! - to find purchase after that headlock that Howard hasn't any hope of breaking out of on short notice. Strong as he is, Heihachi in his prime is... stronger. His entire body remains tense just to stop that meaty arm from crushing his windpipe alone.
Where fist finds purchase on scalp, to brush against the pathetic brownish-blonde combover'd hairs (...how does he still have a proper combover under a toupee), there is a different sensation other than... well, on top of... pain. The pain of the ultimate rapid-fire noogie threatening to drill a hole through his very skull, or at least set it on fire. (Or both.)
Yet, the words can still be heard even with the sound of iron fist against not quite as iron scalp flesh and wimpy stringy thinning hair, the electrical numbing to his mind. Doubled over, there's a solid kick to his chest to send him spiraling back--
He doesn't. Though he wheezes pathetically as blood and spittle fly to provide further color to the white void, his boots skid against the cracked nothingness beneath him. He wants to double over and vomit his gut out, and maybe even pieces of ribcage if any have been shattered thoroughly. They might have.
He's a ways away from Heihachi now, stopping the increasing distance by thrusting Ol' Rusty's tip into the ground for a hard stop. For all the pulsating in his head and the fire in his chest, and misery that is his abdomen...
Howard Rust nods once. How much of it all he truly heard is a mystery, but he's heard enough, by the look of his bleary, tired eyes, that the terms of Heihachi's demands are clear. He does not let the nod linger, he does not let the aches and pains of a body that continually seems ready to quit on him halt him.
In a cosmic sense, he has been punted away to just short of arm's reach... but he's holding fast before Heihachi can fully draw back the kicking leg, sliding in as his lower leg from the knee down is wreathed in a flickery, not at all impressive washed-out chi that could be... white? Gray? Blue? Green?
It's just not a warm color, or a fierce one... but it is thrust down low to one of Heihachi's shins with all the sincerity and strength he has to muster, the invitation to show what it means for him to have supposedly flown as high as he can, how willing he is to take this to a crumbling world that inspires only despair and escapism...!
"I don't want to save the world."
Where did she even COME FROM. There's no way Elisabeth made it back from Outer Mongolia, where she landed after Heihachi's blow, into such close proximity to both fighters in such a short time. Yet when Rust finally makes his bid and steps in close to Heihachi, somehow the Frenchwoman is there, right behind him. It doesn't even seem possible that she came back so fast, and so entirely undetected, does it?
And maybe that's when either Rust or Heihachi might realize that Elisabeth's ability to create illusionary selves and move at faster-than-sight-tracking speeds is not limited to escaping being hit. Perhaps it has other uses... deceptive uses. Tactical uses.
It was worth it, really.
"This world is probably beyond saving," Elisabeth continues, walking toward Heihachi, flickering motes of white light starting to gather in a nimbus around her hand. "You know that. So you indulged yourself. Well I'm indulging myself too, Mr. Mishima. I am going to find a friend who's caught up in all this, and I'm going to save him from it, even if I have to watch the world burn to do it. I'm sure he's the same way," she adds, inclining her head at Rust. "It's not about morals or good or evil anymore. It's not about destiny. It's about following what our feelings tell us to do!"
As Rust makes his move, so does Elisabeth. Rising from the ground, she floats momentarily in the air, surrounded by a blazing aura of the purest white, its edges tinged with the prismatic sheen of rainbows at the edge of a sunbeam.
"Go into the light."
She spreads her arms, and suddenly the world is full of that radiance, exploding outward, guided by Elisabeth's will, sparing Rust... and looking to put a serious hurting on Heihachi.
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth successfully hits Heihachi with Noble Brass.
HEIHACHI
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0|---------------|===============
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Heihachi fails to counter #Built To Last+# from Rust with Low Heaven's Wrath.
HEIHACHI
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1|--------------=|===============
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Elisabeth
There is a remarkable shift in the movements of the aging American pipe-wielding martial artist from careful, measured, deliberate hits - oft believed (and probably true as) a factor of how the various aches and pains accumulated over the years have slowed him, placing more of a sharp focus on incredibly powerful though simple sequences of blows over more flowing, rapid-fire offenses with few exceptions.
The switch gets flipped.
In the immediate wake of the energy-wreathed low kick, there is an almost uncountable number of lightning-fast striking movements. Kicks. Pipe swings. Elbows.
Even with the concept of footing remaining a vague concept within this pocket reality that has so far conformed to an even plane and this man's occasional struggles within this short span of time to really grasp it, there is no pause to account for any stumbles or mistakes in the transition between strikes accounting for his unsteadiness and grievous injuries accumulated.
That is because there is none.
It goes on for far longer than the strings of ten that may be more common in Heihachi's neck of the woods, with an abrupt transition as he throws a wicked uppercut with his left hand to put space between the two of them as Elizabeth reappears, bathing the void of white in a light that somehow pierces and shines brighter than the concept of white itself. The visible color spectrum to the human eye refracts at the edges of her expression of power, and casts a contrasting halo around Howard Rust in her care to exclude him from harm's way.
Howard's stance drops, legs slightly further apart, as his arms show a blurring motion even though they are going very much at a speed visible by the human eye - very slowly - a flickering, washed-out light difficult to see in the majesty of the Blanctorche arts as he draws back Ol' Rusty, the flickering energy traveling through it until it shines brightly at the tip. The light is not visually impressive, in comparison to the aspect of pure light and the fury of lightning Elisabeth and Heihachi bring to bear, respectably.
"Wh-whatever end this goes," he finally adds commentary in the moment of calm between tremendous blows, "none of us're... goin' down without a fight."
He instead chooses to make his forward momentum the point of awe as the flickering chi energy envelopes him with that forward thrust, its collected size exactly as large as the famed Haoh Sho Ko Ken. Rather than project it away from him, he carries itself with him with a forward pipe thrust so potent that in the absence of consistent and understandable physics regarding the air and friction in this realm, light parts around it in fractal, colorful patterns.
The marriage of his own self-taught techniques and that of Kyokugen coalesce together into that one final lunging pipe strike into Heihachi, carrying himself to the other side of him after one deafening, destructive impact, leaning forward into a three-point stance to catch himself with Ol' Rusty pointed up and behind himself.
The force of the impact jostles the toupee free of his scalp to send it flying in Heihachi's direction with all the threat a limp, soft, extremely poorly-done, miscolored, not at all convincing /thing/ might represent at a velocity of a gentle softball pitch.
Rust doesn't seem to notice the naked feeling of his scalp.
Elisabeth actually surprises Heihachi; he had kept his attention almost entirely upon Howard Rust instead, ignorant of any other speck of chi that might have flitted within the near literal storm he emanates constantly since powering up for the start of this battle. Certainly in direct combat, her belief in outpacing the man's vision is one thing, but during such a distraction... she is no meager practitioner of the skill, enough to make even Seishirou himself give a grudging nod of respect.
"Hah... well. If you want to do that... then you know what you have to do!!" is all that he states upwards. Whatever assault he might have expected, however, was not a mere grandiose display of luminous chi. It strikes him full-force before he can truly begin to fathom what's taking place, blinded and recoiling backwards. Sinking downwards with a grunt, he can hear Rust' approach despite it all...
But then Heihachi stops, just shy of catching Rust's blow.
Deliberate. That likely does little to change the state of affairs as he's struck hard in the leg, only to find a veritable storm of imbued strikes bearing down upon his iron flesh. Each leaves a crackling hiss, and likely causes a growing discomfort as his surging body's own chi sparks back in rebellion, muscles resisting such impacts with surprising force.
And as he barely remains standing once sent skidding backwards, toes digging into the phantom floor, that last massive blow rains down from the huge pipe, slamming into his midsection and sending him flying backwards. He then crashes upon his back, rolling away from the pair, coming to a stop within arm's reach of the orb.
"Hah... hahah... the hell was that?" he states, wheezing. It becomes apparent he's not talking about the actual assault, however. "Lettin' you little worms tear into me without a proper fight... maybe I've grown soft, too... Well."
Slowly he gets back to his feet, stance spreading. He's heavily blackened and covered with countless red marks, hiss of steam leaving his black hair before he grins bloodily at the pair.
"If I had any mercy... I just gave it to you. ...That's all you are going to get from me. We're on even footing now... finish me off, whelps!! If I put you down now... then it just means you ain't got the drive to change anything!!"
That three point pose isn't held specifically for a photo op - in the wake of both parts physical duress and exertion (on top of the aforementioned issue of 'not having slept in a while' among other such things that should probably see someone checked into a hospital... or therapy).
It's harder and harder to draw breath, sweat rolling down Rust's face as he staggers back up to a stand, every flex of an abdominal muscle met with painful feedback. Where Heihachi grows stronger in the face of both of some of the absolute best they have to offer...
The laughter should demoralize. The laughter should stay, straight-up, you're out of your league. That's the best you had, what's left for you to do? No doubt, among those already laying here defeated, they've probably felt the pangs of despair at the hands of the King of Iron Fist in his prime.
It might be more telling than anything that Howard's already just marching along up to him even barely coming out of that stagger, even as the pipe in his right hand is held low, like it were just about to slip out of his hands to begin with. Heihachi's steam-producing grinning face is met with the tired, maybe not quite stoic, but enduring thin line of...
Rather than regard as to whether or not he actually has the drive to change anything with protest or begging for him to step aside from the orb, his left hand reaches out to try and firmly grab Heihachi's shoulder. A precursor to some other combination that the once-elderly Mishima would laugh off, stand tall against, and add these two to the pile of the defeated...?
It ends - or maybe it's better to say, begins - with a headbutt, garnished by the sweaty, poorly-looked over remainder of the natural hair on his scalp backed by a skull that has suffered significantly more physical trauma than mere bone and flesh should ever be able to endure.
Howard Rust puts in his bid for potential change of the situation with just that. No witty debate, no action one-liners... a headbutt.
She had not expected her technique to do much more than buy either herself or Rust more time; what Elisabeth could not anticipate is that Howard Rust would unleash the pinnacle of his art in a desperate bid to bring the fight to a close. And for all of Heihachi's bravado, she is experienced enough in these things to know that it ALMOST accomplished that goal in the end. Mishima's toughness may seem superhuman, but the longer she fights beside him, the more the Blanctorche scion is coming to understand that the American's strength of will burns hidden but intense, and it gives his combat prowess a boost that perhaps not even Rust understands.
Sadly, Heihachi's response also seems to suggest that any hope of this resolving bloodlessly, as it were, is now long gone. The noblewoman can feel the tightness in her chest as her breathing becomes rapid and heavy, the soreness in her muscles from enduring just one of Heihachi's devastating blows, let alone any that might come after. And perhaps worst of all, the knowledge that even if she and Rust manage to overcome this trial, there is worse ahead... much worse. Saiki is clearly using Mishima as a sort of puppet, one that -- given Heihachi's rather uncomplicated emotional state -- isn't that difficult to control even with your hands off the strings. What sort of state will Rust and Elisabeth be in to face him, after this? Especially if there are more from Those From the Past en route or already here.
Her jaw is set. She doesn't buy Heihachi's borderline-insulting comment about 'mercy'; no man, no matter how experienced or supernaturally empowered, is invincible. And if she must go through him to accomplish what she's set out to do, so be it. As soon as Rust makes his move, she does as well, charging in with surprising speed, her hand already glowing with that pure white radiance. As soon as the American swings his mighty cranium in for the kill, Elisabeth finishes closing the gap and swings her arm up at point-blank range. On cue, a geyser of that blinding light erupts from the ground, looking to launch Heihachi right into the air. If it does, without missing a beat, Elisabeth rises after it in a spiralling jump, catching the Mishima CEO at the apex of his rise and slamming him down to the ground in a single light-imbued strike.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi instinctively dodges Rust's Hardhat Rush.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|--------------=|===============
[ \\\\ < > //////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth successfully hits Heihachi with Grand Rafale.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||| ]
1|------------===|===============
[ \\\\ < > //////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
At this point, after Rust exhausted himself in such a manner, he has all the menace and presence of a lion kitten. No more words are needed or expected; whether any more can be spoken with his fist is still to be determined. But he suddenly swishes, kicking backwards away from the attempted battle with a dismissive ease, turning his attention back towards Elisabeth...
Too late. She still has a respectable amount in her tank, and for all of his posturing, being struck by the hardest blows of them both in tandem brought him close to unconsciousness.
But... they were supposed to go all the way. He allowed Rust to strike him... but it wasn't enough. Not yet. That token resistance, that tenacity leaning itself towards self-destruction, was the primary betrayal that he could offer against Saiki in this state.
But as he's launched into the air in a sudden blast from below, Elisabeth's unorthodox and masterful chi usage again taking him off-guard, when she strikes hard and slams him down, there's a solid report. That got him good. There's no chance he's...
Suddenly he slams his fists down, shifting back upright with surprising vigor. Despite the blood, and the sizeable dent in his muscled back, it appears he's still clinging. A slow exhale allows a billow of steam, and his eyes are white.
Now, he is naught but a bundle of martial arts... and one with the Mishima drive for success -- at all costs.
Roaring with electricity, Heihachi suddenly digs his toes into the ground, twisting to face his side towards Elisabeth.
And then he's there. A shimmer, flash, a blur, before an electrified elbow attempts to slam into her stomach with bone-shattering force. All restraint now gone, the full power of the Iron Fist and Thunder God brought to bear on the woman unfettered...!!
COMBATSYS: Elisabeth just-defends Heihachi's Raijin's Wrath!
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----------====
[ \\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Sometimes, the most dangerous part of a fighter's body is the mind.
Matching Heihachi strength-for-strength is impossible, even with the two of them. Elisabeth knows this. But more than that, they're fighting the man's lifetime of battle experience, which shouldn't be discounted either. There's no muscle you can train, no exercise you can repeat, to make up for that. That he saw through her earlier illusions is proof of that. However...
Just like any other part of the body, the mind is subject to fatigue and injury. When Heihachi was fresh, there was likely no way Elisabeth could have accomplished what she did just now, but after the severe beating that Rust just delivered -- and the obvious strain that fighting against Saiki mentally is putting on him as well -- she might have a chance. It's a risk, but everything is on the line.
Heihachi's fist shatters the illusionary Elisabeth in a flicker of white lights.
In a perfect world, she would have been able to use that moment to capitalize and take the offensive, to make a strike back, but this is not a perfect world. Just one blow -- not even his mightiest -- from Heihachi almost put Elisabeth out in one fell swoop. She's not going to take that chance a second time, for certain."I wish," Elisabeth says in a solemn tone, as she sweeps her hand forward and flings another crescent of white light at Heihachi, "that this could have ended differently...!"
The aging man hardly knows much of anything of Elisabeth, in turn - only that, as far as he can know of her aside from maybe only the vaguest hints of having heard the name Blanctorche, she is on his side. He told Mimiru - rather naively, he must now admit - that he was certain no one would, at the very end of it all, take advantage of one another when it was time to buckle down and come forth.
Right there he stands, half bent-over from over-committing into a headbutt, his abdomen spiking with such pain that it gets a wince, a gasp, and another wince as he draws back, taking in what breath he can.
It is fortunate that Elisabeth comes to back him up as she has for the short time they've been together - he could've sworn she might've taken a nasty one or two. To see her still stand, still keep going where he seems to be running on fumes, it's kind of humbling. (Also inspiring, but humbling.)
Also blinding, but that's forgivable in the short term as he squints and turns away, in time to have his footing ravaged in the proximity of Heihachi slamming a fist down... and the near-miss is not one that immediately registers, given how the electrical forces course subtly even where they stand, his legs starting to go numb from the sensation.
"Drff... aaa... er," he mentally cannot quite decide to call out for Elisabeth's name when it happens (as he doesn't recall it), a warning, or a challenge as he draws Ol' Rusty back to steady himself.
Even when not the present target of Heihachi's brutality, the physical pressure - and perhaps on more than one level considering the nature of why they're here, where they are, and what is going on around them (or what isn't, to be precise) - is overwhelming. There is no chance to catch one's breath, hardly a chance to gather one's efforts to any sort of laserlike focus.
For his mental meandering, physical plodding, and energy expenditure, Howard opts instead to move in, the only sign of relief he gets - a rather delayed one - is when he hears Elisabeth speak with perfect clarity after reappearing from a shattered illusion, moving down to a crouch as his knee rests upon cracked, battered reality.
Moving to hook Ol' Rusty into Heihachi's belt and heft him up as he takes the pipe in both hands, he has this to add, free of stuttering and pauses but still probably in need of more volume...
"We all do."
Taking in a breath as he presses his lips together tightly, he strains his tired muscles for one more expenditure of energy to heft Heihachi up by the tip of said pipe and swing him down into the makeshift ground that this void has provided with one harsh kiai.
Howard Rust may not be the King of Iron Fist, now or ever, but nonetheless he dares once again - even in the face of the hardest punches, the nastiest kicks, the electrifying shocks - to throw another blow when most anyone else would have long tapped out.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi blocks Elisabeth's Etancher.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----------====
[ \\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Heihachi with Wrecking Ball Swing.
HEIHACHI
[ |||| ]
0|---------------|--------=======
[ \\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Ah; a perfect time for another doppleganger to be launched. Heihachi had built up an incredible amount of power, which rather abruptly detonates into the surrounding area once it's clear that Elisabeth herself has shifted away. Like a masterful matador, she's evaded what might very well have been a fatal assault; and after the successful sabotage, only barely clinging to consciousness against both fighters.
Reeling downwards, the two come at him once more. It feels like his body is full of lead; and he's reacting purely on instinct at this point. His right hand crackles with lightning, and he snuffs out the sudden flash of energy launched towards him by Elisabeth...
Only for Rust to lunge at him once more. Grasped from behind, he can only vaguely understand what on earth is going on before he crashes upon the transparent floor once more.
"Grrrk... gakk... ...!!"
In a spray of blood, Heihachi twists back to his feet. A roar of defiance blows out into the endless wastes, before he twists and then suddenly moves to strike out a brutal impact to the side of Rust's ribcage, twisting like a corkscrew. A brutal three-hit combo follows, before he suddenly shifts to heft up a leg far overhead. Roaring with lightning, a downwards blow attempts to slam atop Howard's head and drive him so hard into the malleable ground he literally bounces, before striking out to catch him by the head...
To end it by twisting and hauling him in an overhead throw, right into the floor at the other side. Twisting, he then flashes out a lightning-imbued kick, intent on a last, brutal hit on Rust's spine...
Before collapsing to his knees, panting heavily. A shuddering attempt to get back up fails...
Elisabeth would know then. The orb. This time... there's no way for him to intercept her...! But what happened to Rust for this opportunity to manifest?!
COMBATSYS: Heihachi can no longer fight.
[ \\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Heihachi's Demon's Wrath.
[ < > ///////////// ]
Rust 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
Howard staggers back to give space to Heihachi in successfully slamming him against the solid piece of reality they fight, a few more cautious steps back in anticipation for the counterattack - but all the anticipation in the world does so much good against something that appears difficult, if not nearly impossible, to stop. Heihachi Mishima, pressed to a corner, is the sort quick to blow out the walls on all sides...
Howard's left hand tenses as Heihachi comes back roaring, and the entire void shudders with the impact intercepted against his ribcage with his left arm...
The blow completely dislocates his left shoulder on the spot, and does absolutely nothing to stop the three hits that come after. He's willing to risk his right arm to hold them off.
First hit, Ol' Rusty falls out of his hands to hit the ground. Second hit, his right forearm is flung upwards with a painful pop in his right arm. Third hit... lands clean to his chest, staggering him back and forcing him to a kneel, just in time for that perfect overhead kick.
From there, it seems decided - it /is/ decided, a strong initial defense overcome. The only sign of life is when his right hand tries to grasp at the outstretched wrist of the hand that holds him--
It is lingering at best, as he hits the floor again, face light in terror above dizziness with the fear that the floor itself might at last give out completely on him (as opposed to all the other sorts of things that will probably contribute to eventually killing him going on /right now/).
There is a pained, echoed string of bizarrely pronounced consonants that echo through the void as he tries to push himself up with that final lightning-imbued kick that forcefully puts him back down, electrical energy coursing through him and then fanning outwards in a shockwave that neatly highlights where, exactly, one is able to walk as an added convenience.
No movement - if any - appears to stir from the Kyokugen pipe fighter as he lies face down where he is.
COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.
> ///////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
COMBATSYS: Rust can no longer fight.
> ///////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Elisabeth
There is a horrible moment of indecision for Elisabeth at this moment, drawing back as she does after her assault on Heihachi. Rust, who should by all rights be fleeing the scene at the moment, choosing to live rather than continue to face off against Heihachi, throws himself into the fray. A part of the noblewoman knows that it's a last stand, that even if he SURVIVES, Rust is going no farther than this point. Part of her knows that Elisabeth herself has suffered less at Heihachi's hands because the pipe fighter was there to soak Heihachi's wrath, literally, for a time. Part of her thinks that she should strike Mishima down while she has the chance.
Part of her wants to reunite with Ash and see her life's work through. And that is the part that sends her diving for the sphere at top speed.
Heihachi may be more experienced, perhaps even stronger, but for all the pain the Frenchwoman suffered she is not as debilitatingly damaged as he... and her speed is already quite generous. He may come and rip the sphere from her hands, but it is unlikely that he can stop her from snatching it from its resting place on the ground.
It takes effort not to scream when the metal slips into her palm.
The object feels impossibly heavy for its small size, as if the actual 'time' contained in the sphere were a leaden weight anchoring it to the ground. But that is nothing, NOTHING, compared to the sudden assault on Elisabeth's mind that just hold it creates.
She actually looks at Heihachi, briefly, with a renewed if grudging respect. How long did he have this sphere? How long did he hold out against these maddening whispers?
There is no time to waste, however.
"I won't let that sacrifice be for nothing," the Blanctorche scion says with a quiet intensity, looking at the two men behind her. "I thank you. And... I hope that in whatever comes, you can both find a kind of peace."
Carrying the sphere before her like a lantern, the woman strides into the mists. One more task left to fulfill...
Log created on 14:59:19 10/18/2014 by GLaDOS, and last modified on 14:59:34 10/18/2014.