06/12/04
Characters: Chun-Li, Balrog
It's late morning in Southtown, the sunlight burning a pleasant warmth onto the
street outside a humble tower block just outside the downtown area. Humble
translates well enough to 'seedy', and crime is just as rife in this place as
anywhere else.. some might say this makes it an odd choice for one of the
occupants to base herself from. However, for the strongest woman in the world
there is nothing more convenient than being near the beating heart of the crime
she fights. Suffice to say, after a few brief run-ins she's also had no problems
with any criminal nastiness directed her way. Word spreads fast in any
underworld, and Apartment 104 is left well alone.
Which today, of all days, comes as a huge relief to the young woman. Chun-Li now
leans up against the thinly painted wooden door, one hand inserting a key into
the lock as she keeps her gaze fixed down the narrow hallway at the retreating
back of a man equally avoided by the denizens of the block. Ryu. The World
Warrior, fresh from finding her upon the beach in a devastation of injury and
madness, now departing after seeing her safely home. Devastation and madness?
Indeed, for only a few hours ago Chun-Li was left in a bruised heap by her
nemesis Vega, after witnessing what she had thought was the death of a close
friend. Her both states - mental and physical - are flimsy right now, her back a
little straighter and her appearance more regal than it was when she first
awoke, but still it's obvious enough that she is not in the best of shapes...
Vulnerable then? Intensely so, she's only just pulled herself from a lapse into
anger, rage. Feelings associated with her later teenage years, the fury that
first lit her trail having been re-ignited to disorientating effect. Now she's
coming down, relaxing after the discussion with Ryu, and on swinging open the
lightweight door and stepping into her comfortably furnished living room she
breathes a long sigh, leaning against the opposite side of the portal now - her
weight closing it with a dull thunk and a rusty click. And here she pauses,
tired eyes flickering through the gloom across the leather sofa that dominates
the room, across the doors on either side leading to bedroom and bathroom
respectively, and finally to the ceiling, painted a generic cream. She's done
her best with a typical cheap apartment, and now she's glad to have such a haven
to return to... the closed curtains are even a godsend, the low light level
reflecting her mood, the shadows acting as some kind of comfort...
It's all over. It's all over.
When her eyes flick across the room, it becomes apparent that something is very
much out of place. Did Chun-Li leave a handsome Spaniard lazily strewn across
the couch when she was last there? Probably not, but it would seem that little
detail has been conveniently overlooked for all intents and purposes: on his
side, leather shoes resting against the arm of the chair like he owns the place,
elbow on the other and propping up his unmasked chin. He's looking towards the
door was it opens, a vaguely feline smile in place on his face as he meets
Chun-Li's studious glance around the room. Most women would be delighted at the
prospect of coming home to find a half-naked nobleman with a pretty face waiting
on their couch, but this isn't just any pretty face. No, this is one that the
apartment's owner knows. Not a hired stripper: Balrog, the sadist.
"Welcome home."
Oh, that's a familiar face alright... far too familiar. And the apparation of
the graceful Spanish killer is almost too much of a cliched punctuation to the
events of the day to be truly believable. In fact, at first glance Chun-Li
chooses not to believe, to deny the prescence of the sadistic apparition upon
her home territory. This is her place of safety, this is her life away from
Shadaloo, and to have it invaded would mean yet another loss to the evil
organisation. Another failure on her part.
So placing this down firmly to her fevered mind, the world's strongest woman
(and how hollow that title feels now...) closes her eyes and breathes deep,
tilting her head back to rest against the door behind her. "You're not there,
this is just-" her whisper is cut off by the realisation that she is speaking
across another, and his words slice over her quiet sentence like the claws he
wears upon his hands. Seeing things, and -hearing- things now. But no. Something
tells her otherwise, and in the moment of realisation - the moment when denial
fails - a tight gasp breaks past the woman's lips, her head jerking up from its
brief respite and her body propelled into the room with quick application of
pressure from both hands. The sound of her own movement is inaudible to the
sudden thumping of her heart, and the panic rising from within sounds clearly in
her voice as suddenly flashing eyes settle back onto the Spaniard she spurned
from sight a moment earlier, "Balrog! What are you doing here?"
Thumpthump, thumpthump. She glances left and right after directing her foolish
question, then hastily raises a guard, sinking down on shaking legs and lifting
her arms in a loose approximation of her habitual stance. Why else would he be
here? To talk? This feud is beyond words, surely enough.. her only prayer is
that this is some kind of hallucination. Her only prayer is her own madness.
Her reaction is very much of the sort that the guest had been hoping for. Vega
has a way of breaking people...and Balrog has a way of finishing the job. His
sadistic practices are very much the reason why he's one of the more "desirable"
members of Shadaloo, after all. And he's very good at what he does, if this
meeting is any particular indication. Much like how Chun-Li's shift to a
defensive stance goes completely ignored, the Spaniard flashing his grinning
teeth in responce and raising his clawed hand slowly to...yawn into it. Lowered
shortly afterwards, the man otherwise remains motionless, apparently too
comfortable to be bothered with sitting up even now that the apartment's owner
has arrived. "Just paying a friendly visit. I have to apologize for the lack of
notice: I've always wanted to meet the Strongest Woman face to face like this."
His smile broadens, seeming both more friendly and dangerous at the same time.
The next few poisonous words only serve to solidify that sentiment: "And if I
didn't now...I might miss the opportunity forever, would I not?"
There's no mistaking what he means by that, even with subtlety. He's referring
to her horrible defeat by Vega. So horrible in fact, that he had to pay her a
visit while he had the chance just to make sure she didn't die on him before he
got the opportunity...
Chun-Li keeps her over-sloppy guard raised as Balrog goes through his motions,
her eyes fixed unblinking upon him and her own attempt to remain motionless
failing miserably - she's shaking like a leaf, shifting uncomfortably on aching
feet and trying to calm herself with a mind too thrown to focus on any one
activity. Vega is good at breaking people - their previous meeting in Thailand
had been a lapse, he underestimated his young enemy, but now he knows her power
he has been able to all but shatter her spirit... and with it, a great deal of
her skill. Balrog's words are cruel, and draw a harsh gritting of the teeth, but
they are also dangerously close to truth. She could be dead now, if the crazed
dictator in the red uniform had not decided to again prolong her existence.
For all her uncertainty though, and for all her apparent weakness, Chun-Li is
quick to respond when the sadist stops speaking. "There's nothing friendly about
a meeting between us, Balrog." She speaks low, the tremor in her tone preventing
the addition of as much strength as she'd like to inject.. but the fire is
there, beneath the broken exterior. "And if you've come to.." she hesitates,
blinking a few times and then re-affirming her stance, jaw clenching briefly
before she finishes her speech, "Complete what Vega failed to finish, then stop
talking and -do it-." She hisses the very last two words, her eyes narrowing and
pulse quickening a second time. Rushing blood clouds her brain, each set of
pounding heartbeats only adding to her disorientation, but if it's a fight she
must have.. then she'll meet the challenge head-on, if only to escape these
mindgames.
Balrog smoothly rises to a sitting position with those words, standing and
drawing closer with slow steps. "Nothing friendly? On the contrary, I happen to
have a very earnest appreciation of you." His smile remains, his own performance
a flawless display as he allows his eyes to openly drift over her form - not
with the tasteless attentions of other men, his eyes not just lighting on the
usual places, but also lingering on her well-muscled arms and legs each in turn
as he draws closer, finally nodding to her once he's done. "There are many
fighters in this world, but few beautiful ones. You, I, and a handful of others
are but the few that can be counted in our class."
He's close now. Not *too* close, but still dangerously so, and not appearing to
be intimidated in the least. Now that he's done giving her the lookover, his red
irises remain fixed on her brown ones, unwavering. "Why wouldn't I want to pay a
visit to the Strongest Woman in the World? Beauty is meant to be appreciated, no
matter how fleeting it may be."
And here it comes, the side she feels so unprepared to deal with today... the
flirtatious mindgames, the dangerous mental ballet the Spaniard so enjoys. This
would not be welcomed at the very best of times, but now it sets Chun-Li yet
further on edge, a creak sounding from the floorboards as the aforementioned
muscular legs tense down their length, this instinctive tension breaking past
protest from bruised muscle and wrenched sinew. Her teeth clench more firmly
too, enamel scratching enamel with that quiet telltake shriek once the man has
drawn close enough... and close enough translates to: too close. Far too damned
close.
After a tense pause, the world's strongest woman speaks through her gritted
teeth, the trembling of her voice dying now to be replaced with a dread-induced
deadliness, her spirit rising with the bait dangled before her. "Don't place my
name alongside your own. We're nothing alike. There are few as beastly as you,
Balrog, few who deserve their fate so badly..." as she trails off, her lips
twitch slightly upward on one side, a humourless smirk making its way onto her
expression. Injured she may be, and her fighting soul may be dwindled away to a
shadow of its former - usual - self, but she will not be subjected to further
torment. Not if she can help it.
And Balrog's fate? Barely a second after the words leave her lips, Chun-Li is
lunging forward, one leg darting out to take most of her weight as she throws
herself into a powerful blow.. closing the gap between them and then thrusting
her arms forward, hands together with palms open to deal a dual-powered strike
to the centre of the Spaniard's chest. We'll see whose beauty proves 'fleeting'
today...
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Balrog has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Chun-Li's Sou Hakkei.
Indeed, a ballet. One that Balrog has danced many times, and as Chun-Li leads in
with her scripted step, he plays his counterpoint: rather than ducking out of
the way, the Spaniard flows with the motion, gracefully twisting his torso
around both arms and leg as he neatly sidesteps the attack and leaves her field
of vision. Not that she needs a hint as to where he is: they now stand back to
back, tush to tush, the invader of homes taking the time to study himself in a
mirror on the opposite end of the room. Both of his jaws are mostly healed
again, what little telltale signs left invisible with a touch of makeup. Just
for his little encounter with Chun-Li!
Balrog speaks again, so close now, the heat of his bare back a tangible presence
against her own - yet so very hard to aim a hit at now. "On the contrary. We are
beautiful and deadly, each in our own ways. WE are the fighting elite: a step
above those around us, able to appreciate that which others ignore in passing."
He turns his head to the side, his breath not felt on her ear but the vibration
of his murmer felt across her entire back. "Is that such a bad thing?"
COMBATSYS: Balrog takes no action.
Chun-Li gasps as her arms complete their extension, two hardened palms finding
only the rush of air where there should be warm flesh... of course he's fast.
This is a battle long in the coming, and in truth Balrog is the only Shadaloo
lieutenant she fears. Bison is too stupid, and Sagat too honourable to prove a
true threat. Next to Vega, this is as a crucial fight as she could be plunged
into at this stage.
Remaining extended in shock and a flood of nausea, the world's strongest woman
stares out into the gloom as Balrog speaks, his body tingling against hers and
sending a slight, repeated shiver down the length of her spine. She refuses to
straighten fully, to subject herself further to his prescence, but this is
enough. Enough to unnerve, and distress. But there is scant time for this - his
words demand two kinds of response. The first, verbal. The second, purely
physical. However shattered her athletic form, she must press it to the limit
and escape this encounter alive - if not end things for the other party. She
will not be afraid to kill here, if it comes to that.
"Those things are shallow. Meaningless." She makes her first response, eyes
rolling to the side as she addresses the lithe murderer behind her. "Beyond
these.. we have no similarities. You're a barbaric slayer of men, Balrog. You
work for Vega. Don't presume to class yourself among those of us with -morals-!"
Another hiss of air and she lunges upright and backward, propelling her back
into that of Balrog and then bending, her arms looping back behind to force him
into a roll over her spine. But it will be assisted, with a lunge forward and a
toss across the room - towards a broad, curtained window.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Balrog with Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Balrog
It's a very complicated maneuver that she tries for being in such a position,
but she really has few alternatives at this point. Lucky for her that she tries:
because it works. With a roll of her back the assassin goes flying towards the
window, turning in midair so that his back is parallel to the window with palms
outstretched. The amount of force required to keep himself from breaking through
the window causes his arms and legs to strain mightily, but he successfully
prevents early expulsion from his little encounter. No, not when she's playing
right into him, even if she doesn't realize it.
The Spaniard lowers his arms, stepping away from the window with no apparent
injury. The strain was great, sure, but this early in a fight he's more than
capable of downplaying it: especially if it's for the purpose of demoralizing a
weakened opponent. "Morals?" The Spaniard laughs at Chun-Li's offered defense,
an eerie sound that many men have died to the ringing off. Balrog takes several
slow steps forward, a sinister smile in place now. "Do not speak to me like a
better. Which one of us was the first to offer blows? ...Certainly not me. I
said I came in peace, didn't I? Tsk." He shakes his head then, lifting both of
his hands into an overly lazy ready stance, claw glinting in the lamplight.
"Very well then. Let us induldge in YOUR bloodthirsty ways, Chun-Li. I once
considered the possibility of fighting one such as yourself an honor, but
perhaps I am misplaced. You are little more than a frightened girl with a
vendetta." Now wait just a second. Isn't he supposed to be the ill-meaning one
here? Yet he raises a valid point - it was she who turned this into a fight, not
he. Hopefully she isn't reflecting on that too deeply - because soon he darts
forward in a roll, careening across the room towards her, and possibly into her,
ending with a slash to her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Chun-Li with Rolling Crystal Flash.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Balrog
Chun-Li can't help but smile breathlessly as she feels her awkward manuever
succeed, straightening up with some renewed vigour and watching the Spaniard
hurtle across the room.. away from her, and away from her life. Perhaps
permanently - those falls can be nasty. But... it's not to be, and a grimace
contorts her expression once this becomes apparent, the shiver returning to her
form as the o'er-acrobatic man slinks back towards her. "Dammit..." she
breathes, slipping back a pace and into a slightly better rendition of her
stance than she managed before. So the fight is joined, and while it may be her
doing it was better this than give the clawed madman an opening...
Not that he'll admit it her action was sensible. This is all a game, a horrid
little game that despite her scathing attitude.. is working. Her pulse hammers
just as quickly in her veins, her heart's acceleration has reached its peak and
blood still clouds her vision. She's running on pure rageful adrenaline, and
nothing else. How long can it last? Not long enough, it would seem, and with
Balrog's words echoing in her head she barely notices his roll through the murky
room towards her, and barely starts to move before with a pained cry she feels
sharp metal sink through her tatty dress and into the pale flesh below...
She buckles around the claw, tears of pain clouding her vision further. And it's
only instinct that sees her pull backward, yanking herself free with a bright
spray of crimson that scatters through the air like stardust to settle upon the
mask of its fey summoner. "This isn't over!" She pours the three words forth,
injecting bile and desperate defiance into her tone, then kicks herself into
action, ignoring the blood dripping thickly from her stomach and focusing only
on the hateful individual before her. "KOUKEN!" Her hands have shot to her hip
and back to the fore in what seems an instant, a flash of golden light marking
the emergence of a short-range projectile, its organic blue sheath barely formed
in the time it takes to cross the distance to the over-extended Spaniard.
COMBATSYS: Balrog blocks Chun-Li's Kikou Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Balrog
For a "hateful individual", Balrog seems to be moderating himself extremely
well. No sooner has she sprung away is he pacing his way closer, arms crossing
before him to accept the projectile without any hesitation to his step. A wash
of blue light flows around his defensive position, dissipating blue flowing
harmlessly around his guard. Taking advantage of the proximity of his claw,
Balrog angles his head to the side so that his tongue can flick across the tip
of his claws, offering her the most smug of little grins as he savors the taste
of those red-tipped razors. "No. In fact, it's just getting started." His teethy
grin briefly visible once more, like some twisted parody of Kim, he darts
forward with surprising speed to make a grab for her sides. If his grip proves
good enough, he'll heft her upward and come crashing backwards with her into the
floor.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Chun-Li with Rainbow Suplex.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Balrog
But this isn't what could have been over... it all could have been, the entire
saga ending with a horrific beatdown and a final running through. Shadaloo vs.
Chun-Li, it all could have ended today. But now she knows it cannot - she can't
give up, can't allow herself to slip even under the mental assault she has
suffered. Though she is far from her top form, and will be for some time even
should this battle unfold in her favour, she is at least ready to be.. hatred
propelling her back onto her chosen path.
Before much progress can be made however, further knocks must be taken.. and on
feeling the grip of her opponent, the young woman is ready to twist free and
propel herself in a roll away from his clutches. How hard can this be? She
rarely allows a grapple or throw to succeed, so rarely is not in good enough
form to lower the rate of injury to herself. But today, she can only give a
pained grunt after her short trip through the air, as her powerful form is
slammed into the plain carpet of her own apartment. "Nngh!"
Not resting there, Chun-Li rolls to the side after the impact has passed,
shaking the stars from her vision as she rises and then steps forward, once
twice and.. up with that muscular right leg, the booted foot lashing out in a
vicious kick to the side of the Spaniard's head as he rises. "I'll take you
down, Balrog! I swear!" Yes, she's driven by hate.. and that alone, now. All
that primal fury normally so well contained is being poured forth, this ambush
used as a time of catharsis for the disturbed Chinese woman.
COMBATSYS: Balrog interrupts Strong Kick from Chun-Li with Weapon Jab.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Balrog
Mocking laughter meets her ears, not the deep sinister chuckle of Vega but the
derangedly amused titter of his chosen assassin. "Such bold words!..." Balrog
allows, straightening from his suplex with utmost ease, the face of the
too-agile man proving too daring a target as he steps *in* to the attack, taking
a solid blow to his side, only to reward her effort with a merciless stab
between her shoulderblade and collar. "...Such poor form." Penetrate, wrench,
rip away...leaving three filial ribbons of blood on the wall of her apartment.
He steps past her with that motion, claiming what small bit of distance the
apartment allows before turning to face her once more with hands at the ready.
"Keep talking to yourself. Maybe you'll inspire one of us..." Because it
certainly doesn't seem to be helping the woman herself, now does it?
More fuel for the fire, every spoken whiplash creating further rage and venom
within the woman's weakened spirit. All that calm focus, the stoic mask of
battle, it's all melted away by the pressures of Shadaloo and the life Chun-Li
has been forced into. Or indeed.. forced -herself- into. It's through a heated
numbing to pain that she takes the retaliatory stab, cringing but making no
other concession, simply sliding back with it to rest herself against the clean
apartment wall. "Poor form.." she hisses, "Is attacking a wounded opponent, on
their own.. territory..." she applies a palm to the wall and rushes forward in a
blur of motion, one loping stride carrying her into Balrog's guard, before the
same leg whips up in a rather similar kick... but this time it is followed with
an explosive flurry, her leg creating a fanned blur of power as she aims a
machine-gun round of solid blows up and down the length of the Spaniard's body -
"YA! YA! YA!" - finally ending with a final physical insult to the face.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Balrog with Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Balrog
She was bound to get lucky again at some point, the sheer drive of her anger
accomplishing what her lack of clarity cannot. Propelled by the verbal barb,
Chun-Li meets Balrog with a crash of blows with a final to his...chin, the man
catching that blow out of the corner of his eye and rocketing his head upward
just in time to catch it in a more favorable place. Not this time, dearie. The
last impact sails him flying back...or does it? He catches himself on his palms,
flipping backwards several times despite the close quarters to claim some space.
She's beginning to gain her focus again - mocking her won't serve him well, it
seems. That's fine. An assassin isn't limited to just once choice of venom,
after all.
"And it isn't poor form to be the breaker of amnesty?" He chuckles darkly, those
blows he's taken beginning to awaken the real sadist that lurks within. "Where
are all of those lofty proverbs now? No, you make for a poor teacher of mankind.
I've always found it ironic how the blindest ones preach the loudest..." With
that he ducks low into a crouch, only to break out in a rapid sprint towards the
woman, veer off at the last moment, and kick off of the wall: he hopes to score
a deep gouge in her side with his passing, and more delightfully, a nice cry of
pain to wash down the bad aftertaste of the blows he just took.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Chun-Li with Flying Barcelona Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Balrog
There. Nailed at last, and with each flashing blow Chun-Li's confidence gains a
minor boost, the whole adding up to bestow quite the restorative effect upon the
world's strongest woman. The final strike may be avoided in all its
face-crushing goodness, but any strike is a strike closer to taking out one of
Shadaloo's elite. And each is satisfying for that reason. She remains extended
from this last, bending her leg at the knee and pressing this close to her body,
her arms swinging out to accustomed, balanced positions around her upper body.
And she takes in a slow breath, fixing Balrog with deep brown eyes burning with
the hate she throws into each motion. Here comes another verbal assault...
One that is received, once it ends, with a cry of empassioned rage, the woman
surging forward into the Spaniard's own sprint with a dash of her own, turning
as he springs to spin away from what he has planned and come flipping back with
a responding counter... but no. Truly her emotions are bettering her, and once
again claws sink in and draw blood, the passing slash also succeeding in
throwing Chun-Li off balance. She spins through ninety degrees, letting rip with
a scream of pain - the one he'd hoped for - and then crouching low herself, to
apply enough pressure to execute a tight forward flip. The movement carries her
just over the arm of the miraculously-avoided leather couch, and before her head
can hit the floor she whips her hands down to the floor and propels herself into
a horizontal spin, legs thrusting to either side as an all-too-familiar assault
is displayed...
"SPINNING BIRD KICK!" She cries, turning with startling force as she rips
towards the clawed sadist, ready to strike him time and again and propel him
back toward the outer wall of the building. And yes, once again towards the
window she failed to shove him through before... there's her everything in this
attack, moreso than the last, and the force - should it strike - might prove
again that she -is- a threat, whether in control or ruled by her emotions. She
will not be taken lightly!
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Balrog
All too familiar, but not quite in the described fashion: he's seen Ryu do
similar. It caught him off-guard before, but not this time. Cresting neatly
around her by flinging his weight to the side in a near-miss, he crouches down
into a ready stance as the woman *herself* goes hurtling towards that window she
apparently so desperately wants to put him through, in her blind fury commiting
herself to an extremely foolhardy move that risks her own death in an attempt to
claim his own. He could let it end like this, really: woman crashing out the
window, falling to her doom...but such an ending doesn't suit this battle he
feels. Instead of letting her risk crashing through it, he dashes afterwards in
persuit, timing his grab to do something even more astounding than dodging the
attack: grabbing her by the leg in motion and heaving her in the exact opposite
direction through sheer agility of form. No doubt she'll fail to notice the
favor, but such is the way of the Balrog: the honor is there, it's just tricky
to see sometimes.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Balrog with Hazan Tenshou
Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Balrog
Well... admittedly she's throwing herself too headlong to notice such things, so
steeped in the height of emotion, letting it guide her every action. So yes,
there's a favour of sorts occurring.. but this will go yet more unnoticed.
Indeed, after not feeling her expected impact with Balrog's form, Chun-Li is
preparing already to turn his response into something in her favour - to again
reverse the situation. Her eyes close and she summons up what little focus she
has left to depend upon, and when the grab comes? She twists in Balrog's hold,
lashing out with one hand to catch the floor and turn her flight into a short
drop to the floor, before launching something painful... and there's pain. But
it is not his, it's her own. The attempt fails, and she's twisted into a crazy
sidelong spin, that sends her slamming into the back of that many-times avoided
couch with a heavy thwump...
And then it tilts backward, sending a vibration through the floor of the room
and flapping the bottoms of the heavy curtains with its created gust. Chun-Li
disappears from view, concealed behind the underside of the heavy leather-clad
furniture. Cue some silence from our rash heroine, as she recovers herself in
the shadow... this is not going well. Not at all, though is that any reason to
give up?
Really, could he have expected any less? No, but thankfully he wasn't expecting
her to realize the favor he was doing her. No indignance, nor a vocalized hint
of being anything more than a coldblooded killer for Shadaloo...just the way he
likes it. He *knows* that he is better than his opponents, not only in speed but
class, and he needs no one but himself to praise such things appropriately.
Instead, to completely dash any idea of his sainthood, he laughs at the
following woman: a chilling whoop of delight followed by that mocking titter.
"Chun-Li, Chun-Li...your edge is lost! Is that the attack I've heard so much
about? Hoooooohahahahahah!" He takes this opportunity to pace closer, wisely
choosing to relocate himself away from that window. Twice is no accident: he
knows what she wants to do now, and that's going to make it all the harder for
her to accomplish it now.
And why doesn't the sadist choose to attack? That couldn't have been enough to
down her. And since she's been playing his game so well thus far, he doubts
she's capable of responding to such scathing jeers by lying down and feigning
unconsciousness. No...he watches her carefully, waiting for the next attack.
COMBATSYS: Balrog focuses on his next action.
Way to kick an opponent when they're down... that remark stings, coming through
a brief respite like that. To say the sound of that mocking laughter reclouds
Chun-Li's thoughts with bloody red rage would be only too true, and the first
indication of her return to the fight starts low, building to a martial
scream...
"Heeeeee-YAH!" With a second sharp thump of impact, the grounded couch is lifted
clear from the floor and straight up towards the ceiling, spinning with a
ponderous grace as it is struck heavenward at a perfectly central point. Rising
from below its path is one seething Chinese martial artist, her chest heaving
below the ornate dress covering her bruised - and now bloody - frame, breath
pounding from between her lips. But it's rhythmic, focused enough to keep her in
the game for perhaps the first time this fight. Enough defeat, enough
embarassment, and enough Shadaloo! She rears up for a second kick just as the
slowly gyrating sofa starts its downward route from the ceiling. "HYAAAH!" An
axe-kick, foot rising far above her head then coming down in a blitzing strike
to the mid-point of the heavy airborne item, sending it careering at a crazy
rate towards the gloating Spaniard across the room. He may not be beside a
window, but doubtless if it impacts this makeshift projectile will cause some
delicious pain, all the same...
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Chun-Li's Large Thrown Object.
...Woah, that was unexpected! That'll teach him to rub salt in a lady's wounds.
All the same, the effort goes unrewarded. Dodging to either side would forfeit
that split second of advantage he has on her action, so rather than doing that
he dives under the airborn couch in a picturesque roll, barreling underneath it
in an incredibly surprising turn of events, only to come up from the dive in
that familiar roll - straight at the likely unsuspecting woman. She's seen this
move only a few minutes ago, but will it be enough to help her overcome the
surprise? Let's hope so, or else she's due for yet more quality time with Balrog
at the wall and enjoying a matching slash to the other side of her stomach!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li endures Balrog's Rolling Crystal Flash!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Balrog
Chun-Li's eyes flash as she watches her long-feared opponent dive away from her
unorthodox attack, the crash of the couch tearing down a shelf on the opposite
wall and then hitting the floor muffling the sound of his movements as he then
dives in under her guard and thrusts forth a shining claw. There's no time to
move, to dart aside in her physical state, so instead the Chinese woman simply
smirks, the expression setting in stone as pain overwhelms the senses, claws
again piercing flesh and drawing forth a spurt of warm red. Her only sound this
time is a light grunt though, and as soon as the initial shock passes she's
already acting - her left leg swinging up and lancing forward to catch the
Spaniard with a thrust kick to the chest, the woman moving further along his
lethal implement in the process. It may hurt more, but it should be worth it...
and with the first kick thrown she hurls herself off the impaling claw to take a
long leap back and then?
"SENRETSU KYAKU!"
Chun-Li surges forward with everything at her disposal, whipping her right leg
up this time to catch the hopefully staggering madman in the face with an
explosive burst of kicks, then spinning full circle to bring the left leg up in
a strike to his side... and finally, once more to deal another burst to the
chest. As the final kick lands, whether on air or lithe Spanish flesh, she pulls
back and rears up on one leg, still and silent for a moment with the end of the
attack... poised perfectly as she regains herself. By now her head is spinning
again, her senses clouding over with confusion. She may not even realise that
her unconsciously aimed attack would propel the graceful man through the door to
her bedroom - an extra burst of pain coming from the door, should he be thrown
through it. But she doesn't care now.. pain is pain. A successful flurry just
that, and nothing more. She just has to do the best she can...
The price of defeat could be high.
COMBATSYS: Balrog endures Chun-Li's Strong Kick!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=======\=====--\1 Balrog
At this close quarters however, such things aren't as easily called. Sure, the
flurry of kicks begin, but he doesn't seem disposed towards blocking it either.
No, he welcomes the embrace of pain this time, forcing himself through the
through Chun-Li's flurry of attacks, smiling coldly as he does so. He came here
to break her, and he means to do so. Each crack hurts like one of Bison's
punches, but instead of being knocked away like he should, his balance is too
good - too precise. Each blow meets him solidly, his only attempt to evade being
his ungloved hand deflecting the one aimed at his face, each step of his made
with purpose. Earlier, before blows were exchanged, she felt it was dangerous
when he was within a few feet away. Now there is no distance, the man leaning
forward to nibble on her left earlobe. And unless she's quick enough to realize
his intention, she'll be feeling cold metal barbs sinking into her belly. Not
like the glancing stabs before, this one is deep, and unless she proves able to
tolerate the pain and force him away from her...only more pain will come.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Chun-Li with Red Impact.
Indeed, metal barbs sink in. It doesn't end there, however. For all of his
gentle attention to her earlobe, it's an entirely different story with his claw,
the man slowly pulling upwards to cause as much pain as he humanly knows
possible. Indeed, pain is the only way that he can make this move work, tearing
so much of his opponent's concentration away to that he can have the precision
he needs. Satisfied that a sufficient dose has been administered, he graces her
lips with a brief kiss. "I enjoyed our meeting. A pity you weren't in better
form." Taking several steps back, unsheathing his claw from her stomach and
moving both of his hands to grip under her arms as earlier, he glides her up
into the air above him with what little space he has available, lowering himself
into a squat with narrowed eyes as he prepares for the finishing strike. The
killing one. But no...he finds that at the last moment he does not, in fact,
wish to kill her. Maybe it's that burning hatred for having lost someone she
loves: he understands it too well, though it bends him to too far darker things.
Instead of impaling her on his claw, in one harsh movement he twists his torso
around and swipes his claw down her entire front with tremendous force, leaving
three horribly deep gashes running from the base of her neck to just below her
stomach. Not a blow that kills, but definately one to remember him by. The woman
crests overhead, sailing by with eerie grace towards the ground as the Shadaloo
assassin turns his back to her. And only then does he notice that he just
splattered her blood all over himself. "... ...Shit."
Beast.
...it's certainly one word to describe such a man. Chun-Li's harsh rain of kicks
seems only to appeal to his sadistic nature, tearing up the hideous killer from
inside his 'charming' exterior, and the very instant that the distance between
them is suddenly reduced to nothing... she knows that this is over. The teeth of
the world's strongest woman grit as his lips close on her earlobe, and before
she knows anything else - before she can formulate and execute some valid
reaction - there comes that red-hot flash again, of polished metal piercing her
surface and burrowing deep inside her person. "Hnnk.." she stiffens against her
torturer, barely keeping her eyes open against tears of burning pain once the
claw shifts around, accelerating her level of suffering to new heights. There is
mental pain, and there is physical pain... what she suffered earlier this day
was mostly the former, albeit at its most intense. Now there is the physical,
the very zenith of agony yet to come. At least she can say she fell to the hands
of a master...
Though what a thing to have mastered. His jibes fall on deaf ears, the throbbing
of her searing heart and the hastily formed thoughts of distance - of a way away
from this moment - blocking out everything BUT the pain. External, internal,
it's all nothing to the dreamlike state this final strike places her in. Whilst
dimly aware of the grip then assumed upon her, Chun-Li can do nothing, will do
nothing to stop whatever she is being placed through. Her rage carried her far,
but not far enough. Her bruised body carried her far... but not far enough. It
was an effort, at least. But how many could stand up to two such assaults on one
winter's morning?
Finally though, this terrible day is over. The next few -weeks- are over,
dismissed to a time of desperate healing as the very final slash is made... the
woman hurled overhead and then torn asunder by harsh blades. Stricken deeply,
blood drenching forth and then.. a belated scream of pain, shrill and loud, but
at the same time so pitiful. The toppling of a martial artist grown so strong in
such a short time, the utter defiling of a talent who dared to push herself too
far...
With her dress wide open, to reveal the hideous wound beneath, Chun-Li falls to
the carpet, bouncing twice in further showers of crimson before falling still,
fingers clutching limply at the shagpile. With the scream ended, her only sound
is the ragged rhythm of her breathing, barely there at all. She's alive, but may
as well be finished for all the difference it makes to her conscious mind... it
will be some time before she regains life, before her dimmed eyes flicker again
with the light of a fully wakeful mind. How she can survive at all is a miracle,
but that spark deep within will find a way. It cannot end like this...
...can it?
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has left the fight here.
Balrog can hear commotion outside. The fight didn't go unnoticed, especially
with heavy furniture being turned into impromptu projectiles as the fight waged
on. Already someone can be heard pounding on the door, asking what's wrong.
Good...she'll get medical treatment, then. Perhaps she'll live to give him a
better fight in the future...admittedly, he came here not to fight originally,
merely enjoy a pleasant evening of verbally breaking someone. And...that he did.
Not only that, but he had the opportunity for an exquisite indulgence of
sadistic side. His sadistic side appeased, he reaches down to heft a small table
and test its aerodynamic properties, before casually flinging it towards the
closed window. He'll be exiting through the window, you see: just not in the way
the Strongest Woman had planned.
Taking two steps forward, the assassin pauses to look back at his victim
briefly. "...Quit. While you still can. And learn what you can from your enemies
before attacking them next time: only a fool rushes into things." That said, he
begins pacing towards the source of the cold breeze that blows into the
apartment, soft leather shoes crunching on broken glass as he leaps to a nearby
balcony and begins scurrying down the fire escape. Does he have no heart? Does
he feel no mercy? ...Not quite, as he's spared the woman's life twice tonight.
That alone is enough to justify this end to things alone, at least in his skewed
mind.
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