GTB VI. Imported from live Gaia guild archive.
Description:A square stone platform raised three feet off the ground. A stadium of a crowd surrounds the entire field (so ignore the backdrop in the above picture).
Field Measurements:
Stone Platform - 40 x 40 yards Surrounding Grass - 15 yards between the platform and the audience
Ten Count Boundary: As soon as both feet touch the grass, the ring out count begins. Going higher than forty yards into the air starts a ten count.
The first match was always the one on the plain arena, it seemed. Too bad she couldn’t have reproduced her first entrance, both for lack of appropriate surroundings and not wanting to be silly. Robyn had gotten up early that morning, doing a light workout to get herself warmed up and psych herself up a bit, then headed to the arena for her first fight. She’d surprised herself with just how psyched she was, actually relishing the challenge ahead.
So it was with a cheerful grin and confident walk that she entered the field, fingerless glove-covered hands raised in greeting to the cheering crowd. Her bushy red-furred tail was raised high as she listened to her name being screamed from the stands. She wasn’t in it for the glory, or the appreciation....but the fox girl had to admit, it was nice. She didn’t look much different from her previous appearance two years ago....in fact, it looked as if she hadn’t aged a day, seeming no more than 19 or so. Her light purple hair was done back in a braid, her ears peeking through the cowboy hat perched on her head. She still wore the same outfit: a short sleeved black shirt under a brown leather vest, plain cargo pants and black boots. All very ordinary looking.
What her opponent would likely be more interested in was the belt around her waist. On both sides of her hips were attached sheaths for a pair of daggers, one hilt wrapped in gold cloth, the other in dark green. As she turned in place, responding to the crowd (and attentively watching her surroundings for any surprises) one could also see the pouch hanging off of it, and the short bar of metal hooked in along the back of her waist, although what it was would be a surprise to anyone who hadn’t seen her fight before.
Robyn was content to pander to the crowd while she waited for her opponent to appear, a true smile on her face and a glint in her green eyes as the thought passed through her mind that yes, she was back, her ordeal hadn’t destroyed her, and she would push herself even harder than before. Look out, Gaian Tenkaichi Budoukai, this was her year, she would be champion.
TO FIGHT WITH HONOR
If they're going to represent the 'might' of the Collective why don't we use Agent IV?
His steps beat the ground as the soldier approached the flat arena. Long legs filled out black pants and on his top he wore a tight black T-Shirt. Black fingerless gloves covered his hand, and steel toe boots were on his feet.
Pay attention, IV is permanently dead. And everyone else has been either deployed or compromised, heavily.
Originally, he was to wear armor for the endeavor. The tournament would not permit it however. Besides, there was only one thing on Hath's mind; proving himself and reaching beyond his limits. To show the strength that his path had brought him. To either live or die.
I think you may find yourself impressed with him... He is a fool that puts far too much stock in trivial matters like 'honor'. I can make that work for us. Men like him are the easiest to control and the hardest to fight.
Dark eyes looked through tinted flat-top glasses. It was not at his opponent that he stared, but at the audience. There was a woman with three armored men. It was Sylvia, his partner. She had clearly been hurt when he entered the tournament. Hurt with worry, hurt with the anger and frustration that she could do nothing but watch, hurt with the pain he may suffer at the hands of others. Hath smiled at her before they dragged him away for training. It was the most he could do. Their relationship remained a secret from all but them.
His steps began tapping on the flat floor of the Arena as he climbed up and faced his opponent. As for her...
Hath cracked his neck. Clearly the more imposing of the two fighters, he stared at the woman. Quickly noticing her belt with weapons on it. His own hunting knife remained strapped into the black holster at his left side. The woman would obviously notice the six inch handle. Slowly, he pulled off his glasses and walked to the side of the ring, placing them on the edge. As he crouched down, he turned to face the woman. His dark purple eyes would meet the woman's with a serene gaze. He would not break eye contact as he walked back to the center to face her.
There was very little to say, so he simply bowed. "It is an honor to meet you..."
More imposing? Definitely. Here was a guy who practically screamed “badass”, what with his all black outfit. And here was a girl who, aside from the odd colored hair and furry appendages, could be your typical girl next door just barely out of her teens, if that. Granted, her bare arms showed lean muscles, her stance showed confidence, and when Robyn turned to look at her opponent, there was a maturity in that gaze that belied that casual appearance. Her happy grin calmed into a simple smile as she spotted him, lowering her arms from her waving to the crowd.
She would have spoken, but he kept moving, to...take his glasses off? Her expression turned a bit confused, ears canting to the side before she mentally shrugged a shoulder. Perhaps not the smartest thing, leaving something breakable on the arena floor, but she’d try not to stomp them by accident while they were moving around later.
The fox girl’s eyes would light up when the man bowed, and she’d smoothly return the gesture. Previously unmentioned (at the author’s horrible negligence), there seemed to be a tattoo on her neck, a reddish-brown fox paw that covered her artery, the rest of the limb continuing down under the back of her shirt.
When she straightened, it was with a friendly smile that displayed her small fangs, and an easy stance. ”It’s an honor as well ta meet anyone who still shows a modicum of respec’ ta their opponent.” Her accent had unfortunately (to her) been refreshed during her stay at home the last couple months, a smooth southern drawl delivered in a rough alto. ”Name’s Robyn Isedan, an’ you?” He didn’t seem like the type of guy to pull off a sudden attack, but her hands were on her hips, ready to grab her daggers just in case. Now that they were actually at her sides, it would be more apparent that her arms were...longer than they should be, a good foot longer than what would be proportionally correct.
Facing Robyn Isedan, he retained his straight posture. With an iron toned voice he spoke in reply. "Commander Rene Hath." I always pay respect to the last person I may ever touch... As he looked at the woman that stood before him, it was as if they were the only two people in the world. Even his partner became part of their world as she sat amid a crowd that rooted for the opponent he faced. He looked at her abnormally long arms, which coupled with the strange coloured hair immediately confirmed his suspicions that she was indeed something not quite human. A paranormal creature perhaps? Something dangerous in the guise of an attractive woman. The most dangerous things came in small packages.
Turning his right shoulder towards her, he raised his hands and lifted his chin. His face hardened even further as his brow furrowed, the fury in his eyes would make him look like a new man. "Begin."
“Commander”, huh? That meant soldier/military type. Robyn didn’t think she’d ever actually fought a soldier. She was musing over that information when his expression changed, startling slightly at the fury on his face. Her look turned intense as well, sliding her left leg back into a forward stance as she reached behind her to swiftly unhook the metal bar on the back of her belt.
Bringing it in front of her, she slipped the small catch in the center, the foot long bar rapidly shooting out to a good 5 feet in length, and she settled it to match her stance with a practiced motion, gloved hands gripping the staff. The fox girl quickly slipped into her fighter mindset, ears perked, tail making minor balance adjustments constantly, and her eyes watching for the first sign of attack from her opponent. She focused her thoughts on her hands as she waited, calling the power she easily wielded.
If he didn’t immediately attack, she’d slowly close the distance between them, taking careful steps. Despite her intense, aware look, her mouth was quirked up in a sly grin, clearly enjoying herself already.
(Flame Claws: Pre-Post)
As Robyn approached the soldier, his unchanging gaze remained locked on her beautiful snake like eyes. He raised his hands slightly, accessing her defensive stance. It was probable that attacking her body directly would result in a counter. "..." Hath would step to the side as if planning to circle around the woman, suddenly breaking into a forward lunge. His own gloved hands would grab at her weapon. To fight for control of her weapon was his goal. His respect also meant that he would not be taking anyone lightly.
Placing his right foot on the ground between her legs he would attempt to overwhelm her strength with his own.Wrenching the weapon back before forcing it forward, he attempted to crush the warrior lasses nasal bridge with it. Even as he attacked, his gaze remained the same.
Robyn eyed her opponent warily as he took a step, her muscles tensing. Her tail lashed in anticipation, gaze narrowed and smile confident. She hoped he would underestimate her. It was more fun when they weren’t careful. When he lunged, she was a bit surprised, but only on the fact that that was the action he had taken. The move was too obvious to have been taken off guard by, the man’s arms reaching out for her...staff? His hands were open, reaching, rather than balled into fists, or straightened for palm strikes or knife hands.
Pure reaction, pure muscle memory, her right foot slid back, pulling the right side of her body with it. Her right hand raised and her left pushed forward, turning the staff completely vertical before twisting on a different axis, the weapon moving back to a horizontal position. However, there’d be something in the way of one end...the junction between Commander Hath’s legs.
Blocked or not, in the time it took her to maneuver the attack, her hands would suddenly burst into flame, a flickering coat of fire that would spread from the limbs and rush to cover the entirety of the staff in a crimson aura.
(Flame Claws: Active (Staff): 1 turn (20% energy))
As she attempted to obliterate his genitals, the staff would be blocked by his thigh, rendering the first stage of the attack ineffective. He had planned for such an obvious, classless move when he placed his foot in front of himself on the ground between her legs. He began to despise Robyn. "..." As the staff halted against his leg the eruption of fire left a burn roughly inches above his right ankle. A superficial injury from a cheap trick. With the woman quick to reveal her tricks, he thrust himself into action with another plan to use one of his own. The soldier would quickly dash into forward with his left foot, coming at the woman with an extended left elbow. With deceptive speed, he would straighten his arm into a mighty downward chop at the woman's forehead. His fist would close upon the moment of impact. Hammer.
“Dirty tricks” were a matter of perspective. Robyn wouldn’t kick someone who was down, but she would take advantage of every open shot she could in order to stop someone attacking her. Unlike him, apparently, the fox girl didn’t equate fighting tactics with personal feelings or attitude; she held no dislike for the man. His leg moved to catch the staff, causing the weapon to rebound with a painful “smack”. It wouldn’t have been pressed long enough against him to actually cause a burn from that, it would have been more like someone quickly slapping their hand against a heated sidewalk. However, her powers had grown the last couple of years, and while previously, that would have been the end of it, this time, the flames would stick to his pants, spreading as much as a normal small fire would. Easily put out with a couple of quick hits, if one were to take the time and attention to do so.
Robyn wouldn’t give him that time. The rebound of hitting his leg meant the staff didn’t go too deep into that horizontal angle, and she was able to quickly use that movement to swing the right side of the flaming weapon back up, the left crossing back over her forward left leg into her dead side. This brought the upper part back up at a slight diagonal, aiming to block his hammer strike at her head.
All through this, she had the fierce grin of competition on her face, her bared fangs and bright eyes practically screaming to anyone who thought to look: “Bring it ON!”
(Flame Claws: Active (Staff): 2 turns: Energy 40%))
Hath stood to find the staff blocking his fist as it attempted to bash into the fox-girls head. The Commander turned his left hand and grabbed the burning weapon, taking advantage of the black leather material of his fingerless gloves. Ignoring the piddling flames on his leg as he moved.
His gaze softened, holding a small trace of the serenity he once held, complimenting the smirk worn by the woman.
Pulling the staff to the left towards himself, he lunged with his right side in semi rotation. He would slightly burn his left hand in the process. Letting go of the weapon, he came at Robyn's face with a powerful, twisting right punch. His hand would once again remain open until the moment of impact. Strike.
Robyn grit her teeth as the smack of his arm on her staff caused it to reverberate in her hands, leather squeaking as it gripped the metal. Her eyes furrowed when the man actually “grabbed” the burning weapon, wondering if he was willing to deal with the pain, or had some resistance she didn’t know about. He didn’t seem to be reacting to it at all...
He tugged on the staff, forcing her right side to twist forward, and she used the momentum to bring her right leg off the ground in a swift knee thrust to his abdomen. Her left side twisted back in the same motion to compensate, lessening the impact his punch would have, although it sent her reeling all the same. She stumbled back, her tail probably the only thing that prevented her from falling over as the fox girl hopped on her left leg until her right was able to come back down from the strike.
The side of her face was throbbing, and she worked her jaw to loosen the muscle as she stared at him, shoving the pain to the back of her mind. Still in close proximity, he would likely see the light swirls of glowing red starting to drift through her irises; looking for all the world like a lava lamp.
With a nudge of her will, the flames flickered out across her staff and hands, remnant trails of smoke curling through the air. The guy wasn’t half bad at hand to hand, denying her her superior reach, so she’d have to keep on the defensive, waiting for opportune moments to strike.
Recoiling slightly from the knee to his stomach, he quickly put out the flames on his pants and stepped back. At the same time, she fell back from his own hit.
On his lower right leg was only a light burn compared to the one on his right hand. It would now hurt to grab objects with it. Hath had indeed taken the pain as a measure to reach her. His iron will refused to stagger or let it show, separating the sensation from his consciousness.
The flames on her staff went out and he readied himself mentally for more 'tricks'. Staring into her eyes, he noticed the swirling patterns. He stepped forward with his left, bending his right knee so that it was near the ground, supporting himself with his foot. Similar As he did this, he held his left forearm in front of himself so that the back of his fist faced the woman. His right hand was kept at his side in a loose fist.
The muscles in his left leg tightened as he suddenly launched himself at her her once again, keeping the same position with his arms and his right knee extended with 250 pounds riding behind it. If she were to remain still, his knee would hit her in straight in the chest.
Sadly, Robyn was not one for remaining still. Her biggest advantages, aside from maybe her reach, were her speed and acrobatic ability. She didn’t really “grapple” well, even if she did have more strength than your average human. So when Hath stepped forward, she tensed, crouching a couple inches into her stance, her hands flexing their grip on her staff. She would have clenched her teeth, but that caused a lance of pain to strike through her jaw, so she settled for a loose grin.
The fox girl saw her opponent tense to launch an attack, and her already prepared body sprung into action, pushing herself up and forward with a slight spin to her jump. Ears flat, tail waving, she would soar over Hath’s head, clearing him by a good two feet. Her spin had her nearly backward now to how she had taken off, facing her opponent’s back, and she pulled her left arm down, sweeping the lower part of the staff straight at the right side of the man’s neck.
If it hit, the movement would push her landing more to the side, the staff giving her leverage to maneuver in midair. Otherwise, her feet would hit the stone floor about 5 feet behind him, possibly more, depending on how far he’d gotten with his charge towards her.
As the woman leaped over his head Hath held extended his right palm forward as the pole hit it instead of his neck. It was painful, but still a light blow. At least, compared to what she would need to pull out in order to harm him beyond altering his appearance, it was.
There would be a golden glow around both of his hands as he summoned energy into them. "Shield!" The glow from his hands would suddenly shift into the air, creating a golden wall of light. The energy shield was his special defensive technique. It's primary use was to avoid lethal attacks that were otherwise unavoidable.
The shield was tilted slightly like a steep ramp. Extending his right leg just enough to place his foot on it, he would immediately launch himself back into the air after Robyn with a powerful kick. The shield would quickly shatter afterward. Adept at using his meta-abilities in unconventional manners, Hath wished for this move to completely catch the woman by surprise, twisting into his attack gracefully. 6 feet in the air above the woman's landing spot, he would come crushing down with his left leg and his right hand extended. If she did not move quickly enough once again, she would be hit by his full weight from above, his bootheel would collide harshly with her face.
Cool down: 0/3
Robyn frowned when her staff smacked into the man’s right palm instead of his neck, but eh, she would take what she could get. Ordinarily, her disproportionate strength would mean an extremely bruised, or possibly even broken limb for her opponent, but the man seemed to take hits without blinking.
And then, just as her feet were landing with a thump on the stone floor, her skin tingled lightly, hairs standing on end, and she blinked in surprise. He’s not plain human? Her thoughts were confirmed when the golden glow shined out from his hands, coalescing into a ramp that he then used to reverse his momentum. Somewhat forewarned, the fox girl gave a little yelp as she dodged to the side, hand sliding the catch on her staff, retracting it down to give her room for a shoulder roll. She immediately twisted and jumped back to her feet, extending the weapon once more and holding it in a defensive position as she faced Hath.
Her green eyes, still with those swirling bits of red, would shimmer, practically glowing for a second, before she charged forward. Just as she was going to strike, though, her form…split. Her legs would still seem the mostly the same, albeit a little blurry as if from an overlap, but her upper body would appear to be going for two completely different strikes. One image was swinging the right end forward for a strike at his head, the other was dipping down to sweep his leg(s, depending on his stance after his landing) with the left side.
Quote: Wrote:> -Illusionary Confusion: Creates distracting illusions, usually doppelgangers of herself. They are identical to the original, complete with scent and body heat (in the case of the living), and/but any and all illusions have her aura surrounding them, making it most useful for copies of herself. The only exception is that they have no physical tangibility (can’t be touched). If touched in any way, the object will move through the illusion, with no effect on either party. They can/do seem to act with the environment around them, ie: kicking up dust, leaving an imprint in soft material. However, this is only an extension of the illusion. > > When used, the copy of the object/person being copied is placed wherever she wants it, even overlapping/covering another object/person.
If Hath went to block the strike to his head, he’d find nothing to block, the image having no physical structure. The sweep at his legs though, would be more than real enough.
(Active Abilities: Illusionary Confusion)
The burned skin on his palm had split open from the impact of the staff upon it. As his feet hit the ground, he stared into the fox-girls glowing eyes once more. In the back of his mind, he was glad she avoided his attack, wanting to prolong the fight without having to hold back. At the moment however, he was also at her mercy, in a sense. There was no way he would be able to avoid her attack with the little time he had.
His eyes would narrow as her upper body split into two. The main issue with her strange technique was that she was still freakishly close to him, putting her within striking distance of himself. But she was about to get herself into a world of trouble. At the moment her attack closed in on him, Hath lunged into a low, open palmed left hook at the woman's abdomen. He aimed where the two images began to intersect, grabbing her as the blow landed and his body continued to careen forward.
Hath threw his weight upon her as she painfully bashed his legs out from under him. They were both going down, preferably with him on top.
Cooldown: 1/3
”Nnngh!” Robyn strained as she was suddenly grabbed around the middle, the “upper attack” image vanishing, but lifting something with your hands and holding it with your core were two completely different things. Her legs buckled and she followed after him, her momentary resistance buying her a second for him to land first, although it would probably give him leverage to maneuver himself onto his back. The fox girl sprawled out over Hath, her left hand letting go of her staff to try to catch herself from smacking into him too badly.
Her tail lashed as she chuckled. ”Most people buy me a dinner an’ a drink first. I guess I’ll just settle for dinner.” Mentally making a disgusted face she leaned forward and sank her fangs into his shoulder, trying to tear a wound in his skin. She hated the taste of human blood, and she was risking a surge from Selene with this, but it was a good option. Many people reacted badly to being bitten by someone (or something) else, and often became frantic trying to dislodge the biter. Even as she bit, her legs were pulling under her, feet finding purchase on the ground as she got ready to stand back up when she could.
KytanaTheThief Wrote:> ”Nnngh!” > ”Most people buy me a dinner an’ a drink first. I guess I’ll just settle for dinner.”
It seemed the woman was getting both dinner and a drink in one. Briefly, he considered whether or not her so called 'dinner' would taste awful and unnatural due to the nano machines in it. They were simply there to track his vitals and assist with his immune system. Apparently, every soldier in the Collective had them.
When her teeth sank into his shoulder Hath's mercy would end. Growling growled as the fangs punctured his skin, the girl became simply another monster like the rest in Gaia prime. With his hands free, he would place his right on the back of her head, forcing her face against his him in a surprise move. This increased his pain and caused his skin to tear further, but also held her in place.
Willfully with his left, he drew the hunting knife from it's holster. His eyes narrowed from the pain, as well as the decision he made. He would stab the blade over half way into Robyn's right side, under her ribs. If nothing stopped him, he would cut down her side until her strange, foxgirl organs slid out.
Hunting Knife: -handle: 6 inches -blade: 10 inches
Almost as soon as she bit did Robyn recoil, gagging with her face twisted in disgust. **”Oh, ick, bleh, what, do you just drink iron or something?”** Or at least, that’s what she tried to say. Instead of having a clear space to breathe/speak, she found her head held back against Hath’s body, so it came out a bit muffled. Granted, he still might be able to hear some of it, given the proximity.
Now, her body was pretty much covering his, except for her legs, which had pulled up. So she could feel her opponent’s movement, even if she couldn’t see him. She was already somewhat twitchy when she felt his arm moving, but she froze when her ears heard the familiar sound of metal sliding out of a sheath. The fox girl immediately tried to pull up as much she could, using her legs and right arm, while the left hand darted up to dig her suddenly extended claws into Commander Hath’s neck. Her eyes were wide, she realized she was in a very vulnerable position held against him like that, and she needed to even the odds.
Hopefully the feel of extremely sharp points digging into his neck, pressed just enough to draw pinpricks of blood, would be enough to get the soldier to pause.
If that were the case, the fox girl would hurriedly speak, breath a bit ragged from her fear and the press of Selene on her mind, screaming at her to tear the man apart. ”I would think twice about that, if I were you. You could hurt me, but I could stop the bleedin’, an’ likely heal. I don’ think you could survive havin’ your throat ripped out, though, an’ I could most assuredly do that at tha same time you moved.”
Here, she took a chance, hoping to distract the man.
Quote: Wrote:> -Seduction: Robyn is capable of creating a pheromone that causes most people to at least become interested in her, if not downright start lusting after her. Those with strong wills will be able to resist, although they might not realize what she is doing. She can choose to only affect certain people, or create a field around her, both types reaching only about 10 feet. People who would not be attracted to her in any way will feel their attention shifting towards her, only in interest, not physical attractiveness.
”Besides… She purred from her spot at his neck. ”You wouldn’ wanna hurt me, would ya? I don’ wanna hurt you…so how ‘bout you let go of that knife of yours, an’ then I’ll let go of your neck. Sound good?” Even with the aid of her ability, she was sincere in every word she said, although there was a slight tinge of regret in it. Of course, that could also be the disgust she felt every time she tasted the blood still in her mouth.
(I make this post fully aware that should her grab fail, or he doesn’t let her talk, over half of it will be null and void.)
Silently as the woman spoke to him, Hath scanned over her eyes with his own. Demon. Even if she meant every word she said, the Commander doubted it. There was no way he could trust her. Not after the reprehensible acts he's seen committed by their kind. Certainly there were noble demons, but their existence only served to further the deception of their malevolent kin. "What did you say?" She would heal from the stab wound? That only meant he could decimate her body.. ...And she would live.
As her nails pressed into his skin, he closed his eyes. "No." Grabbing hold of her hair with his right hand, he would yank it in such a way that the force of his strength would sling her slightly away from himself. She still remained on his body in what resembled the *missionary position. Following the maneuver, he he would plunge the knife into the right side of her abdomen and slit her open. His right hand had let go of her hair and he would hold his forearm out in a protective manner. Had his focus been any less than 100% on the fight, he would have felt a deep regret for having witnesses to see what he was about to do to the fox girl.
Cooldown: 3/3
*The missionary position where the chick sits up and rides the guy as he lies down.
(As a note, it’s the “cowgirl” position that you’re thinking of.)
Robyn panted as he listened and considered, every muscle tensed. Surely he had the instinct of self preservation that most did. Surely he had something to live for. Whether she would have gone through with her threat or not (she actually probably would have changed her grip to something less lethal), it should still give the man pause, right?
Apparently she needed to stop underestimating her opponents. Her eyes went wide when he spoke his denial, mentally swearing. She was even more surprised when she was suddenly yanked up, but this was actually a blessing for her, she now had the space to move rather than being held against him. The foxgirl only barely noticed his other arm moving, more just focused on getting away from the dangerous position. Her head was pulled up, and the rest of her body went with it. Her right hand and leg pushed down, hard, and she twisted her torso, sending her body spinning to her left. Her hand around his throat had retained her grip, since with her longer arms, pulling her away as far as his arm would go would still give her the reach. All she would do, though, would be to drag her claws up as she pulled her arm away, leaving just-over-shallow furrows of blood in his neck.
The purple-haired girl would basically be rolling her head around his hand, a hold on her hair much more flexible than one flat against her skull. Depending on his grip, she would still be sort of stuck to him, unable to turn her head past a certain point, but her body was flexible, and she was used to quick, awkward movements, often managing to make them look graceful and planned when she was really just moving instinctively. Her body would roll over, her left foot still planted on the ground for stability as she aimed to land almost in a bridge position, back arched to accommodate being unable to completely turn her head.
From there her left hand would have repositioned to grab at the hand holding her hair, digging her claws in, squeezing painfully hard, and twisting, anything to make him let go, and break his fingers or hand if she could. With the same movement her legs would push off, this time her right hand being the one supporting her as she went into a handstand, her lower body arcing above through the air in an attempt to land behind her in a more natural, crouching position, basically positioned “above” (relative to Hath’s view) his head.
"Geeze, I wasn' really gonna kill ya!" She sounded less "confident evil demon" now, more back to the casual way she'd spoken at the beginning of the match.
The moment his blade met air instead of Robyn's flesh, he dropped the weapon. The shallow wounds her claws left upon his neck would bead with droplets of crimson.
When Hath called himself a soldier, he did not mean to say that he was merely a human trained in combat. He did not refer to the fact that he was able to use firearms. Nor was he speaking of the deaths at his hands. It was a way of life, not just the routine work outs, missions or the paperwork. Nor the politics and additional responsibilities offered as games of the trade. The Collective he represented was something he believed in. Justice and order to replace the endless chaos of the countless horrific worlds in the multiverse. In the seconds before the knife 'clanged' against the ground, his fists would be upon her.
Where it not for one thing. Robyn's claws tore into his right hand as he looked her in the eye.
In a strange, yet coordinated movement she flipped over him landing behind his body. His eyes darted from side to side as he kicked his legs into the air, using the weight to land on his feet. Sliding away and spinning, he faced her once again as he had earlier when the first entered the arena. She spoke as he continued his to intently stare into her eyes. "Geeze, I wasn' really gonna kill ya!" "If you're a noble demon, it pains me to fight you. But.." Raising his hands, he tightened them into fists making an audible sound. "If winning this tournament is worth your life as well... Then you will understand." He allowed his focus to break as he glanced at Sylvia Owens as she sat amid the audience. One second was all he allowed himself before looking back at the demon, he finally admitted to himself that she was also very beautiful. To harm one like her gave him no pride. He spoke in an attempt to rationalize his actions. "Standing before me, no... Standing a ring like this signifies that you have accepted death. If you deny that, then you are merely a coward playing games." Crouching onto his right knee, he held his left fist at his side and his right raised in front of himself, the elbow perched on his knee. "I'm not strong enough to subdue you without injury. If we keep going, I'm going to hurt you, possibly even kill you... Are you ready?"
((Knife is in the middle of them like Cody's in streetfighter))
When Hath took the chance to reposition himself, Robyn scrambled back, putting a few more feet of distance between them. The guy was dangerous close up. Her eyes darted to where he had dropped the knife, extremely close to where she had released her staff, but it would be suicide to go after either of them.
When he called her a “noble demon” her face twitched, the corners of her mouth quirking up. She couldn’t hold it for long, quickly busting out into laughter, trying her best to keep her eyes on him as she laughed. ”Noble...demon?” She could barely even say it without dissolving into a fresh set of giggles. ”Ok, props for figurin’ out the demon part...although you’re slightly off. I’m no demon. I just live with one.” The fox girl tapped her head with a finger. ”Selene appreciates the compliment, though.”
The giggles died down as hath finished speaking, the purple-haired girl resuming a more serious guard. ”Well, you’re not exactly supposed to go for tha lethal shots in this thing, but I understand what ya mean.” Her face took on a serious expression, and she almost looked...sad, as she pulled off her hat and carefully tossed it to the side, freeing her ears for better movement. ”If’n ya wanna play hardball, that’s fine....just..be careful what ya ask for.”
At that statement, the green would swirl completely out of her eyes like water going down a drain, leaving only a faintly glowing red for her irises. Her posture changed, hunching over, fingers flexed to bare her claws, her stance widening. Her grin, normally playful and challenging, pulled back into more of a manic, wild baring of her teeth and fangs. There was intelligence in the gaze that now stared at Commander Hath, oh yes, but there was nothing human in it now. This was a being that would give no regard for others, or safety, or danger. It took what it wanted with violence and bloodshed. And it was looking at him like a predator looks at prey.
Mentally, Robyn was holding the translucent fox Selene appeared as to her upright by the scruff of its neck. ”You know our agreement now. I let you have control, but you let me back in the instant I say so.” She disgustingly shoved the demon away from her, settling back on a wall to watch the proceedings. She really hadn’t wanted to do this, but she was being too nice to the guy, and it was getting her in bad situations. No more.
Back on the stage, Selene, now in control, let loose an eerie, almost echoing “yip” that sounded like laughter as she leaned forward to set her hands on the ground. It was then it became apparent what advantage Robyn’s longer arms gave despite a better reach. She was perfectly balanced on the ground, able to move easily on all fours, and she began to prowl to the side of the man in front of her, circling him. If he didn’t move other than continuing to face her, she would dart left, seeming to go for his right leg before revealing it as a feint, exploding up on her hind legs, intending to barrel into him and knock him off balance, swiping her claws at his chest.
(slight edit because i forgot to write her taking her hat off, which she always does when intentionally switching)
Hath allowed himself to smirk slightly as the two exchanged details. She commended him for figuring out that she was a demon. He was unimpressed with himself for not having guessed sooner. "Thank you. Unfortunately, I don't specialize in exorcisms.." Hath was not known for his sense of humor. The small talk was nice however. Taking a step back and still holding his fists up, he continued to speak. "It's not often I meet interesting people. Not without arresting them." The really interesting ones were the ones I killed. They left him no choice. He took another step back. Right now he had a choice. To win by a technical decision. Or to just kill her and get on with it. Was this woman worth even a tiny fragment of mercy? Perhaps she slaughtered people in her spare time, as an effort to feed the demon. It would be hard to put her down without killing her and he could easily do it amid combat to make it seem like it was unplanned. Like a last nano-second panic. And he hardly wanted to waste either of their time figuring out if he could suffocate her or how much blunt trauma it took to knock her unconscious. The sadness in her face was not lost on him. As if she had wished him no ill will along. Her laughter was misguided. Perhaps she was a noble demon. She took off her hat and he took a moment to laugh with her.
Hath's eyes widened as something unexpected happened. Robyn got on all fours and came running at him. "Alright.. Fuck it then.." Hath once had to kill a man with his dead comrade's intestines. He knew a thing or two about killing. So when he saw the crazed look on the woman's face, he knew that she was just starting to play for keeps. "Don't hold back!" He shouted, taking several steps back. He began running forward to meet her attack, as she performed her feint he leaped 20 feet into the air. His hands would begin to glow, his left leg raised to perform a powerful kick should she remain in the same place during his descent. His hands would glow faintly with a golden hue.
Hath would probably be surprised to learn that tournaments like this were how she satisfied the bloodlust of the demon inside her. Robyn had killed, yes, but since she had been hit with the curse 12 years ago, she could only place the blame for one single death solely on her shoulders. And that had been a monster worse than her, for he had no human host to hold him back. She had let Selene rip him apart with no second thoughts.
Here, though, Robyn wouldn’t let the demon go that far with her opponent. That was their deal, since their reunion. Robyn would let her out more readily, not fighting the mental takeover...as long as Selene didn’t fight the swap back. It did have its advantages. Selene was mildly faster, stronger, more cunning and an instinctive fighter, although she lost Robyn’s martial abilities. She could override pain and make better use of her senses.
So it was child’s play for the demon to keep moving past her initial attack point once Hath leaped into the air, intentionally dipping down to tumble over her shoulder and quickly spin back around to face where Hath would be landing. 20 feet was a fair height, about the highest the fox could jump as well, but it also meant it took a few seconds to come down from that height. Selene would quickly maneuver herself to be positioned wherever the man’s back would facing. Unless he had some way to turn in midair, normally a hard task at that short a height, she would time it so she would be dashing forward when he landed, aiming to basically use his back as a ramp. The demon would leapfrog over him, slashing her claws along his back as she did so, pushing off his shoulders to spin flip into a landing about 10 feet away, facing him as she slid backwards along the floor due to momentum.
Sailing through the air as the woman avoided his attack, Hath allowed himself to collide with the ground. Sitting on one knee, he held out his left glowing palm behind himself. "Shield." Robyn's leap frog would fail as she collided directly with Hath's energy shield. In a swift movement, Hath would spin to his feet and face her. Hurling into a superman punch aimed towards her stomach, through the energy shield, which would shatter and disintegrate as he hit it. His hands remained aglow in the golden light.
Selene leapt forward, at an incline in preparation for climbing up Hath’s back. Her red eyes narrowed as they caught the man’s palm thrusting back, along with the fox’s skin buzzing. It was all the warning she had, a little too late, as there was suddenly a glowing wall in front of her.
A little too late to stop her collision, but the smack of her palms, the jarring of her arms, and the bonk on the head were of no consequence to the demon. Robyn sighed and shook her head, knowing she’d be the one dealing with that in a few minutes, but Selene didn’t even flinch, immediately pushing off in the opposite direction, much as Hath himself had done earlier in the match with his “ramp”, although the lack of preparation meant she’d be moving more towards her right than directly back, conveniently moving her out of the way of his punch if he still followed through with it.
The fox would use the side momentum to spin around quickly on the ground, claws grating as they slid along the stone arena floor. If Hath hadn’t punched and the shield was still up, she’d start circling him again. If he had, or if he’d dissipated it anyways, Selene would quickly dart forward, just past his left leg, raising a clawed hand to slash at his knee. She aimed to sink her nails in deep, using her momentum, strength, and better leverage from her position near the ground to pull the man off his feet in addition to causing him pain.
Hath spun around, he could see that the demon had reacted in time with his shield. Thrusting both hands towards the portal, he would break through it at the moment the fox girl leaped away. As the glass like shards of energy disintegrated around them, his own body followed through the air after hers. Not as fast. It was her tail that would betray her. Grabbing onto it's end with one hand then the other, he landed on his feet and trusted his elbows towards them. Straightening his arm so that it was parallel with the floor of the arena, he planned to slam the woman into it.
