2017-07-10: Xantia vs. Jean
- Log: Xantia vs. Jean
- Cast: Xantia, Jean, Fei Fong Wong, Hiro, Lemina Ausa, Riesenlied, Prima
- Where: Lacour - Arms Coliseum
- Date: July 10th, 2017
- Summary: Though relegated to the Loser's Bracket of the Tournament of Arms, Xantia and Jean have a spectacular fight - with a bit of a disturbing ending.
=========================<* Lacour - Arms Coliseum *>========================= Situated immediately adjacent to Lacour Castle, the Arms Coliseum is a temple to the pursuit of perfection in physical prowess. Built more than three centuries ago by King Etienne I, the Coliseum is laid over with ancient Symbols that blunt weapons and protect combatants on the brink of death, allowing competitors to fight to the best of their ability without fear of killing their opponents. The Coliseum is the site of the annual Lacour Tournament of Arms, a competition that fuels the spirit of martial artists and weapons merchants both. The Tournament is a spectacle that draws visitors and competitors from across Filgaia, and is the major event on the continent while it is running. A series of smaller tournaments are organized throughout the year; entering as a combatant is free of charge, but spectators pay a nominal fee that nonetheless provides a significant boost to Lacour's coffers. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8YkgEYlvY
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Hype levels for the loser brackets don't seem to be any lower than those for the matches between those who managed to get through all battles unscathed so far. It may be a long road, but it's still possible for anybody in the tournament to win it all. Many quality fighters remain, and everybody has their favorites to cheer, on this side as well. The stands are no less packed for it!
The red signs with white Xs are more numerous here than in most matches, which can only mean one thing, as the announcer soon confirms: "Now making her entrance, the Innocent Primeval Breaker, Xantia!"
Said 'Breaker' has by now accepted that this is what she's going to be called now, and that she'll never understand what it means. All smiles and cheer as usual, the red-haired fist-fighter briskly strides into the arena, waving at nobody in particular like she usually does. Well, unless certain people are in the audience, perhaps. She will find you.
Upon reaching the designated spot to wait for her opponent, Xantia slams her right fist in her left palm, and begins the usual warm-up stretches before fighting. Any rumors that she might have gotten herself hurt badly enough in her last match to not be in optimal shape for this one were wholly exaggerated it seems, she looks just fine now. Not even the slightest visible indication of getting mangled by a giant whirling sword. Those must be some fine medics they've got on staff here.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
The cheers are loud. The dancer sitting in her waiting room has mixed feelings about that; everyone gets into this tournament, but here she is. She waits through that first entrance without moving at first, looking thoughtfully at the brick ahead of her. And then... It's time.
Jean stands, and starts to move out onto the field, her clothes black with purple accenting, her armor covering her chest and shoulders, with a bit of thigh protection but not much. Instead, she still wears that long bandage on her leg, an indication of an unhealed wound... Or a weak spot, to the unscrupulous. And the announce speaks.
"And opposite her: Vile Fiend, treacherous combatant... The Shadow Dancer, Jean!" There are cheers for her, too, some boos by those who get into the spirit of things.
She looks an opposite figure to Xantia, green-haired and dark and quiet, until she pulls her fans and twirls into a bow for the audience, graceful as ever. The fans go back up as she watches Xantia stretch.
Soon Jean is in place, making no movements. "Good luck," Jean says pleasantly. But she intends to win. Can she, though...?
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
The Dragon Slaying Slacker Fei Fong Wong (why did he pick that code name???) has a need deep in his heart to cheer Xantia on. He has one of those X signs though it looks like he made it himself. He can't afford brand name signs. It might be time for him to go on another *sigh* dig. In truth, he hopes Xantia figures out more about her style because Jean's movements were definitely unusual but powerful.
"I wonder if catdragons find my title offensive." Fei mulls to himself. He isn't one to really appreciate the fine arts of bloodsport but it seems kinder to him than war. Then again, what isn't kinder than war? He shudders to think.
But Xantia is his friend and he wants his friend to do well even if Jean is probably a decent person because nobody can be hated that much by a powerful organization and be a jerk.
He narrows his eyes though. "...What is she doing? if she's still wounded, she should have asked for a match delay..." He is concerned. Xantia's violence is not subtle.
The crowd cheers for the combatants. "Y..y..you can do it Xantia!" before performing a Lemina and ducking his head down as low it can go.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia frowns to herself. That doesn't sound like a very nice introduction for her opponent. Should she be prepared for somebody who fights dirty? Wait a second, something about that sounds a little familiar.
No, of course Xantia didn't do any research beforehand, does she look like the studious sort? She doesn't even watch any matches because she's too much of a ball of energy to sit still for that long.
Either way, it doesn't break her cheerful demeanour for very long at all, all smiles again by the time Jean is in front of her. "Hi! Nice outfit!" Which would have been enough of a greeting before a match, but she just keeps going, as if she was here to have a pleasant conversation. "I think I remember now, are you that Jean with a bountry out on you? Hope you won't get in trouble for being here!" Her eyes move down, towards the bandage. "...or because you're hurt. Are you hurt? Or is that part of the outfit?"
'Is she for real' would be a fair question. But yes, that's just... what Xantia is like. Including just seeming to randomly fail to consider that Fei has a bounty on him too.
And she's not done yet. Looking pensive, she wonders aloud, "The Shadow Dancer, though? Didn't the poster say something else? I remember, it was Friend Ostensibly Without Benefits To The Consort To The Destroyer! ...That's way too long. What does that even mean?"
She's got to be messing with Jean, right? Is this pre-match taunting? Nope. Just pre-match Xantia-ing.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei slowly places his palm to his face.
hey wait a minute fei, didn't you actually think hiro was in a polyamorous relationship?? And said it out loud??? in front of hiro???? You have no room to talk!
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
It's not a very nice introduction. It definitely suggests that Jean fights dirty though. Jean herself suggests little in her stance, though Xantia as a martial artist might spot a quiet readiness.
Xantia's all smiles, and Jean tilts her head, half-opening her mouth for a moment like 'really...? this is really happening?' Well, she's being nice. "Thanks. Having a sponsor helps." A beat, before she continues, "Yes, I'm that Jean. Apparently participants in the tournament are safe; we're fine here." And to answer the other question with a not-unpleasant sigh, "I'm recovering. I had an injury before the tournament. It's fine; I can handle it."
The poster...
It's like a vein on Jean's temple pulses for a moment with that little squiggly shape. "Althena's sake I am not fucking Hiro!"
Uh, that's what it means.
"Just go with Shadow Dancer. It's fine--"
"AND NOW, since our opponents have had a chance to trash each other in advance," is that what happened?, "PRIMEVAL BREAKER Xantia, entering solo,and STRAIGHT JAB sponsored Shadow Dancer Jean, can...!"
"FIGHT!"
As surely as Jean was standing calmly a moment ago she charges, twirling mid-run to free her fans. She stops short to begin a whirling dance that seems almost drunk in its movements, swaying and shifting with the stray fabric on her uniform shifting, dark in the arena.
A fuscia cloud bursts from her as her magic begins, rushing Xantia with choking, irritating mist.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Moth Dance! GS: Jean has completed her action. GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Jean's Moth Dance for 91 hit points! GS: Poison! Statuses applied to Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei facepalms with his other hand. He is now palming his face with both hands. This is already horrifying.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Jean should be commended for her patience in putting up with Xantia's endless questions. Had circumstances been different, they might have been friends, but alas, cruel fate put them on opposite sides in this...
Actually never mind, it's just a tournament, that could still happen.
Xantia's nodding along with the answers, perfectly accepting of them, until of course Jean starts shouting. It's surprising, and confusing. "Wh-wha?" Probably for the best that she didn't understand the first thing about that answer. She doesn't press the matter, at least having enough sense to detect that Jean must not like that other title very much. Shadow Dancer it is!
Clearly not understanding what trash the announcer is talking about, the confused expression lingers on Xantia's face for a moment longer, and she loses initiative when the call to Fight goes out. She takes an instinctual defense stance...
And then Jean does something weird, instead of the punching or... fanning, which is about all that Xantia could imagine was going to happen. This doesn't help her be any less confused. "Um. Hey. I know they call you a dancer, but is this really the time to--"
That's about all the time she gets before the choking fit, inhaling the mist while in mid-blabber. Oh, this doesn't feel good. This doesn't feel good at all. Finally it hits her that Jean is doing something dangerous. She'll have to put a stop to that, the only way she knows how: by punching the problem.
The problem in this case being primarily the cloud, which one move in her arsenal is particularly well-suited for. A small, bright flash of light from within the thick mist is the tip-off that Xantia is about to do something. That something is to punch straight ahead, dispersing the mist through displacement of air. And possible displacement of Jean, if she doesn't brace herself.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Massive Shockwave! GS: Xantia takes 7 damage from Poison! GS: Xantia has completed her action.
DC: MISS! Jean completely evades Massive Shockwave from Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei peeks through his hands to watch Jean truly take advantage of Xantia's weakness: Not knowing things everybody else knows. She truly is a VILE FIEND.
"C'mon Xantia.." He murmurs. "Keep your head in the match."
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean is a pretty patient woman when it comes to questions... Mostly. There are some that differ. But exasperation isn't hatred, and maybe they can be friends in another circumstance.
This isn't that circumstance right now. Xantia's confused, and Jean isn't inclined to explain what she meant about what she wasn't doing with Hiro to this girl. Not right now, anyway. She lets it be. Trash..
It doesn't matter whether it was intentional, though Jean doubts it at first.
'Um. Hey.' Xantia qustions her and Jean enacts her dance, saying as she moves, "This is exactly the time to dance. This is how I fight." Well... Part of how she fights, anyway. But she spots Xantia moving, spots the small, bright flash of light and immediately tenses. The mist disperses, and an instant later starts to fade as Jean leaps and rolls out of the way of the shockwave, kipping up a moment later to stow her fans again. She charges, but in an erratic pattern, ending up falling forward to land on her hands and spring upward straight towards Xantia with a spinning kick. When she hits the ground, she shifts her stance in a blink as she draws her fans and starts hitting with them, one after the other slashing after each for weak points... though she stops short of aiming for the throat, as the style demands.
This is the style she used in her last match; no one here is likely to recognize the Shadow Dragon style.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Feather Step! GS: Jean has completed her action. GS: You do not have any attacks from that person in queue. GS: Xantia critically Guards a hit from Jean's Feather Step for 21 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro pushes back the crowd of observers as politely as he can manage to take the seat by the Dragon Slaying Slacker he's got a bag of popcorn, and is a touch breathless from being late to the fight. There's likely a trail of spilled kernels on the way.
"Hey Fei. What'd I miss?"
Obviously he imagines Fei is going to say something about the back and forth flow of the battle. He offers the bag if Fei wants some.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Hey Fei. What'd I miss?
Fei lets his hands drop and looks towards Hiro. "Ahh--" He says awkwardly. "Well..." No he's not going to mention the conversation. "Xantia has yet to touch her yet, really, but it'll be tougher to avoid her now that she's gonna get her head in the fight, I figure, so it'll probably depend on if Jean can overcome Xantia's stamina before she unleashes everything's she got."
So basically if Jean wins the fight before Xantia wins, Jean will win!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong does take some kernel corn though because obviously. "Thanks," He adds.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is flustered. She isn't used to dealing with magic. Especially the poisonous kind. Though she manages to escape the deadly fumes, she has no idea what's happening to her, clutching her stomach with her left arm. This is the worst condition - the kind that makes her feel like she doesn't want to eat anything. She waves her right hand frantically. "H-hang on, I don't feel so good..."
Most probably wouldn't expect that to do anything. Xantia is surprised that it doesn't actually cause Jean to stop attacking her. She does, however, react when Jean leaps for her, by leaping backwards, narrowing avoiding getting kicked in the face. The fiery-haired fighter frowns. She sees how it is.
A soft white light emanates from Xantia's body - from somewhere inside her body. Immediately, her demeanor changes. Her feeble stumbling ends abruptly, her heels digging into the ground as she takes a firm stance. Her focus is completely on Jean's weapon, and her right, bracer-bearing arm is raised, using the metal accessory to intercept the fan strikes at every turn. Seeming to predict exactly when the series of attacks will end, she brings up her right knee towards Jean's midsection, before seeking to hop back, and follow it up with a spinkick, not skimping on her considerable physical strength.
The light fades from Xantia, now in a proper fighting stance, finally looking as serious as she should have from the very beginning. And... feeling a lot better now, for some reason. Huh. Well, she's not complaining.
GS: Xantia used Mystic on Xantia! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared! GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action! GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Crash Kick! GS: Xantia has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina Ausa... is slightly late!
"AAA AAAA AAAAA DON'T HAVE STARTED YET!" she shouts as she practically flies into the arena, and sees that, sure enough, the battle has already started. She runs down the stairs with not fewer than six different meat-on-a-stick varieties --
-- and stumbles hard, and one of them flies gracefully through the air. Goodbye, bacon.
GS: Jean takes a glancing hit from Xantia's Crash Kick for 52 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Fei fortunately says exactly what he expected and Hiro has this big old grin, "That sure sounds like Jean. We train together and she tends to dance circles around me whenever we start."
He sort of shakes the bag a little, "But thing is, even when I do get my head into our spars, she gets even more into it. Looking forward to seeing how this goes from the outside in." A few seconds and- "Sounds like you've been following a lot of Xantia's matches. You a fan of hers?" Hiro squints, "Wow you weren't kidding, she looks a little... off-balance?"
The cat-dragon isn't quite here yet. There was a restraining order that turned into an exploding order. Which means she needs to take the long and sneaky way in.
Hiro hears Lemina's flustered yelling, and he takes a moment to stand up on his seat, waving towards the girl carrying six different meat on a stick var- make that five. Hiro winces.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"She knows the same moves as I do, well close enough, but we both have amnesia though hers seems more complete than mine--" Fei frowns. "She's a good friend of mine. I don't think I've ever seen someone express joy as purely as--" He pauses for a moment. "Wait a second..."
He closes his eyes. His newtype senses tingle. Somene has to save Lemina's bacon before it's too late.
He snags three kernel corns from Hiro's bag and flicks them into the air. The kernel corn smacks the side of the falling meat on a stick and sends it spinning back into the air. Fei leaps to his feet and runs across people's heads (lightly) as he makes his way towards the stairs and leaps into the air. He lashes out with his hand--A MISS.
There's only one shot left. Fei lashes out with his mouth and catches the bacon-on a stick by the stick between his teeth. He flips in midair and lands in front of Lemina.
He offers the item to Lemina. "Close one!" He says. "Fight just started, Jean's doing well!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
A figure in a particular Ellurian cloak with an eared hood steps onto the audience ranks, her hands placed at her chest. Already, the fight had started. She wasn't certain if she had the werewithal to be in such a crowded area right now, but it felt right to spectate a battle between two women of excellent martial prowess that she'd met and befriended before. Both Xantia, who she last met at Old Petra -- and was immensely glad to see her in health... and Jean, who she still needed to meet again after everything that'd happened.
She gasps as Fei makes his daring bacon-saving manuever, and-- turns towards the audience railing to watch quietly. "... Jean ... Xantia ... good luck."
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro's jaw drops as he watches Fei's display of impressive aim with kernel corn and martial arts and bacon snatching. "Sweet Althena." Hiro looks down at his bag of popcorn in wonder as he climbs off of his seat then looks unto Fei with newfound respect for his food rescuing skills.
"...and here I thought I had good aim with a boomerang."
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
The hype about Jean wasn't all untrue; when she fights, she relies on dirty tricks, misdirection, striking from positions of strength against weakness. She's not in a fully strong position herself...
But it's fine. Xantia asks her to hang on and Jean shakes her head as she approaches. "Not how it works. Forfeit if you want me to leave you be."
The light surprises her. It proves opposite Jean's attire, Jean's style here. But more to the point she sees that after that frown, Xantia is... different. Her heels dig in, her stance is firm, and Jean's light, feathery attacks just don't pierce through her guard. One after another, her fans' blades spark and skid against the gauntlet, faster than she'd have expected. As she's recovering...
Xantia slams a knee into her gut, whch get her to grit her teeth in silence; it hurts, yes, but she remains quiet, clipping her fans back in an instant. Xantia is strong though; Jean shifts sideways as the spinkick comes in, sideways and back, and Xantia's hair whips her ponytail as she handsprings into a spin to catch her feet... and dart right back in uner Xantia's guard.
"That's some technique," she murmurs. "This should be interesting."
She shouldn't enjoy this match. Her leg already aches, after all. But it doesn't matter. As she gets close, she rears back a fist--and aims with deft finger strikes, hand a claw, for lifeline points along the body to do somthing about that vigor. It... is not a pleasant sensation, cold and paralyzing if it works, faint inky-purpleblack afterimages from her hand lingering. That's... Not great.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Inverse Claw! GS: Jean has completed her action. GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Jean's Inverse Claw for 22 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina graciusly accepts her returned bacon from Fei, and smiles. "Thanks," she says, brightly. "I was worried I'd miss the whole thing! She's so fast, you know!" She gets herself situated and looks down at the match, transferring all her food to one hand for a moment and then producing a sheet of paper from her pack.
Now she has a plate! She can set things down and clench her tiny fists and shout, "KICK HER BUTT!" all she wants.
All she wants is rather a lot.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"No problem!" Fei says. "The fee is 10,000 gella." He pauses for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding. Thanks again for before."
He seems to be doing better.
"Mm?" Fei looks to Hiro, "You do have good aim with your boomerang. It got you the win against Fargo, didn't it?"
He catches sight, past Hiro, of Riesenlied. He bites into his lip. Why is he feeling so frustrated?
He walks back over past irate audience members and sits back down next to Hiro.
"Hm..."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It really is pretty incredible how Xantia manages to keep healthy, considering all the decidedly unhealthy things she keeps doing. Just in this tournament alone she's been punching through lightning barriers, jumping into swords, and inhaling poison. Considering how quickly she recovered from the latter, she must be cheating somehow. It's not quite magic, but similar enough for all intents and purposes.
She'd be the first to argue against the claim that this match isn't to be enjoyed, however. Xantia enjoys fighting, she always has. Things that you're good at are automatically fun, especially when it's one of the few things you know you're good at. Just have to avoid thinking about the lack of answers to the 'why' question.
It's therefore not long that Xantia's miffed frown is replaced with a smile again, though the focus remains in her expression. Now that she's feeling better, and the fight has taken a form that she understands better, she'd have to agree that this could get interesting. She reflexively starts to move back in time with Jean's strikes, causing mere fingertips to graze past her skin - but even just that much is enough to make her shiver and cause goosebumps.
Once she's into things, though, Xantia isn't one to linger very long on the question of why that felt... wrong, somehow. Rather, her preferred answer to make something unpleasant stop immediately is a counterstrike. Thus, she abruptly leaps into the air from a standstill, somersaults at the highest point, only to come crashing down with a leg extended, directed towards the head.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Whirlwind Kick! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Jean takes a glancing hit from Xantia's Whirlwind Kick for 58 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a quiet gasp as the hooded woman watches the latest exchange -- "Is that her... inner power...?" she murmurs to herself, as she senses something akin to a build-up of chi from Jean -- and how Xantia turns it around into a twist and a counterstriking kick with deft acrobatics. She appreciates the form that the two martial artists are upholding, the sense of space that they're trying to control from each other....
She pauses, glancing around for just a brief moment. "Ah..." she looks to Hiro and Lemina, and Fei, before tucking her head down just a little bit more.
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro claps a hand on his shoulder amicably when he returns, not catching his look Riese's way, "Well sure! But like- doing that with..."
He picks up a kernel, displays it, before popping it into his mouth, "One of these... something improvised and tiny and not really balanced to be a weapon is really different. You're pretty incredible 'slacker'."
Which is when he whistles as he sees the finger strikes leaving blurring after images with Jean's hand. "Never seen her do that." He says in wonder. Ruby finally arrives, having had to take a cautious route over the top of the arena... she lands on Hiro's shoulder. "Hey Fei! Hey Lemin- did you have to rustle some livestock to get all that meat? You could end a famine..." She teases.
Hiro simply says, "Glad they finally let you in Ruby." The cat-dragon giggles nervously, "Aha- yeah. Let... me in." Hiro is watching Xantia's flow of movement for a while, her somersault in the air before she comes crashing down and- Fei's early comment about amnesia has finally settled in, "What kind of things have the two of you forgotten Fei?"
It's only then that she sees the woman in the crowd looking at them. And he turns to look at her just as she tucks her head in. He gives her a curious look- as if she seems familiar, but tries not to stare for overlong.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
There's a charm on the innocent, some say. Jean knows otherwise, but it's a romantic notion in many stories and songs. ...Maybe in Xantia's case, it's true, if she is what she appears to be.
But Jean has other reasons to think she shouldn't enjoy fighting, and they relate to things only hinted at by the way she fights. Clearly she has experience, has a trained style.
That she's trained in some mysterious art is obvious to those in the audience who know to look. But what dark art would she know?
When Xantia smiles, Jean glances down levelly. She doesn't smile back, just shakes her head. But interesting it is already; Xantia is able to move with her once again, something Jean can see for sure. It's a feature of her style, this mirroring. How best to counter it...?
Her chi, for those who feel it, is cold and fearsome. But she only used a little. If that's what it was at all.
But Xantia uses something more immediate, leaping into the air and somersaulting down into a kick. Jean looks up, judges the distance, and steps at the last moment, letting the block slam into and slide down her shoulder before it can do all the damage it would've done to her skull.
"You're fast," Jean says to her, stepping back quickly herself. "But are you fast enough?"
Jean lifts her hands into a martial arts stance, forgetting her fans for the moment, her arms high and her body a narrow profile. She shifts her arms and focuses, and that chi builds up again, as if shadows are forming from her feet, hissing off of her.
She lunges, and when she lunges Jean is not one fighter but three, all identical and all pulling something from their belts. Her mirrors fight with her, surrounding Xantia and starting to throw tiny, glinting needles at weak points all over her body, chi points and otherwise.
"Hah!" in triplicate. They fade only once the last of their attack is done, and the real Jean is behind Xantia now.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Needle Step! GS: Jean has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"I'm more interested in starting a famine than ending one," Lemina says, which can be put in the category of 'things Lemina says that will be quoted out of context by Althena's Guard later.' She takes a bite of chicken-on-a-stick, and looks clearly nervous as Xantia redoubles her attack on Jean.
However, looking nervous isn't cool, so instead, Lemina eats food. "You're welcome," Lemina adds, to Fei. "Just remember, you can always count on the assistance of the Magic Guild of Vane!"
GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Jean's Needle Step for 28 hit points! GS: Break! Statuses applied to Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia should know a thing or two about chi. She is manipulating her own quite liberally, sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly, as certain glows displayed earlier gave away. Unfortunately, she isn't really aware of doing it herself, let alone recognize it when others are doing the same. She tends to just lump in all incredible feats that aren't obviously magic under the category 'Special Moves'. Because it's easy to make sense of things that way.
Having executed her flying kick maneuver, Xantia lands in a crouched position, rolls with the impact, and fluidly returns to her feet. She's definitely used to this, and looks ready to deal with whatever comes next. Maybe she even would have been, if the next thing wasn't a question.
"Huh-- maybe? I'll give it a shot!"
She has an incredible talent for calling into question whether or not she knows what she's doing just opening her mouth. Even so, she remains in that defensive stance, preparing for what comes next. In so far as she can, because dealing with mirror images is something she's never needed to do before.
Xantia gives it her best shot. All things considered, she manages fairly well, by adding in her own images - afterimages left in her wake due to particularly speedy movement. With all that, most of the audience probably has issues keeping track of who is where anymore.
But when it's all said and done, and Xantia comes to a stop, she still looks very much like a pincushion. Those needles sting more than they should, somehow. She never did try to counterattack. It's a likely assumption that she couldn't figure out which one was the real Jean.
But the very instant that all of Jean's images fade, Xantia's eyes focus sharply, and she whirls about, delivering a single strike with her right palm. She's right on the money - if Jean can't predict this in return, and this strike hits the midsection as intended, Xantia won't be the only one who finds her chi impaired. Though her way of impairment is quite a bit more... direct.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Disrupting Palm Strike! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Jean takes a glancing hit from Xantia's Disrupting Palm Strike for 80 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Jean!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
FAMINE STARTER LEMINA
"Thanks!" Fei tells Lemina. "What is that again?" Sometimes he imagines moving to the moon where nobody knows him and won't blow up towns he lives in. Through some sort of... ship. That goes through...space? Nah, that sounds stupid, probably a portal or something.
Fei takes another kernel though he doesn't eat it. "Oh I don't know, Hiro." Fei says, kind of deadpan here. "What with the amnesia and all..." but his tone softens afterwards. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing good though."
That's definitely Riesenlied, Fei thinks. He recognizes that cat-ear hoodie anywhere. They're not very good at being sneaky. The should adopt an alias like has and be completely sneaky.
He tosses the kernel lightly towards Riesenlied to get her attention. If he succeeds, he'll gesture forward.
Of course he ends up clobbering a hot dog salesman instead in the face.
"Oh shoot." Fei says.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Whatever works, and Xantia's method sure seems to work. Jean canattest to that so far. She's fast, even if she's also...
Incredibly earnest. Jean looks like she wants to facepalm at the answer to her question, but she's too busy for something like that. Apparent scatterbrain or not, Xantia is good, and Jean needs to work on her. So she does what she can. Mirror images...
Jean is pulling out a lot of things that she doesn't usually use, that she didn't use in her last fight. The crowd at least loves having the contrast between the two of them to make the fight more exciting. Those of heroic inclination even cheer for Xantia to beat her. But Jean...
Jean watches Xantia come to a stop, and lets out a breath. Her shoulder still stings especially, but those aren't the only bruises she's going to have from this fight. Xantia's fought clean, though. For now.
Wheras misdirection is part of Jean's style. All the better to sow fear...
Xantia whilrs and hits Jean in her side hard, the strike coming before Jean can finish dodging. She feels something give in her chest, probably a rib or two, and she can immediately feel the blockage, that chill feeling seeping through her.
"Where did you learn your style?" Jean asks, admittedly fascinated as she catches her breath. "It's fascinating."
For her part, she falls backward, catching herself on her hands in a dazzling display of gymnastics as she shoves with her feet and springs with her hands back, then again and once more.
Jean pulls her fans and immediately starts moving in a furious dance, light small steps and rapid spins and sweeping dramatic movements.
There's a buzz in the air as a result, golden bees bursting into existence and rushing Xantia in a cloud to sting and paralyze muscles.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Bee Dance! GS: Jean has completed her action.
DC: MISS! Xantia completely evades Bee Dance from Jean!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro chuckles. Pretty sure Lemina meant that as a joke because it's Lemina. Whereas Ruby just shakes her head, "And you tease me for being the glutton." But- Hiro's watching Jean's techniques and Xantia's response. He's never seen Jean do things like that with the needles and flickering body images. Whereas Xantia's response is just as breath-taking.
Hiro looks pretty embarrassed at Fei's answer mostly because he didn't phrase it well, "Well I meant like- is it just like past a certain point, or did you have to relearn how to do things? Or-" "Hiro stop badgering the guy. He says it was nothing good so why make him speculate?" Hiro shuts up for a moment as if to rethink that line of thought but he does turns his head when another kernel is thrown and gives Fei this startled look- "You meant to hit that guy r-" 'Oh shoot.' "-you didn't."
"Shhh. Jean is doing THE BEES!" And Hiro turns forward eagerly to look.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"You're not doing anything!" Lemina points out to Ruby almost immediately. "I need all this energy to cast magic! You just float around Hiro's head all the time! Besides, when it comes to magic -- the only thing you can really believe in are fats and sugars!"
Lemina's gaze turns up briefly toward Riesenlied; she gives a small wave, but doesn't initiate too much in the way of conversation. Instead, she answers Fei: "Only the best and coolest magic guild of all time! Accept no substitutes."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Oh," Fei says. "Is it also on the moon? How would I learn magic from Vane if it's on the moon?"
But he looks back to Hiro. "About three years," Fei says. "That's the memories I have. I had to learn some things. Other things just come naturally. Like, uh, I guess throwing popcorn kernels so long as I don't think about it too much."
He looks back to Hiro. "Why do you ask?"
Still, he smiles, RUBY REP UP.
IN THE FUTURE
Kahm Yugh slams his hand on the table, "Your operations clearly had the helpful advice of a tiny dragon creature. Who was it!?" He slams his hand again. "Tell me!"
OKAY THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The more you think about it, the more the Innocent Primeval Breaker moniker is actually perfect for Xantia. Awkward-sounding, but appropriate. Not that she has any chance of figuring that out herself, given that she doesn't know what one of the words even means. But the tournament promoters know what they're doing.
Xantia doesn't understand enough about this whole tournament deal to understand crowd appeal, which is just as well - once the match gets underway, she generally wouldn't be distracted by anything coming from that direction. Instinctual or not, she knows not to take her eyes off her opponent. As well as the fact that when you have an opponent on the ropes, you should press the advantage and not let them catch their breath.
So obviously, when Jean asks about her style, she just stands there and answers. "Aww, you don't recognize it either? I wish I knew... nobody's been able to tell me, I just know it's a lot like Fei's." Spoken with all due disappointment, like she was having a casual chat. Though really, she doesn't mind the brief breather too much. She's painfully aware of the needles sticking out of her too, she needs to figure out a way to fix that.
Xantia is prepared for another close range attack, but when Jean backs off an starts dancing... oh no. She's seen that before. Now that she knows Magic Dancing is a thing, she finds herself pretty motivated to do something about that. Dropping out of the reactive stance she's assumed for most of the fight, she suddenly dashes forward with blinding speed, and a blinding light briefly visible on the edge of her fist.
Though she doesn't quite manage to beat the bees to the punch, she does manage to, well... beat the bees with the punch. When Xantia swings her fist, it briefly appears as if her arm is on fire when she unleashes her gathered energy, culminating in a sizable explosion of force.
Yes, she just punched bees. And it worked. Jean won't fare much better if she fails to react in time - energy eruptions don't exactly discriminate between bees and people.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Exploding Fist! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Jean takes a glancing hit from Xantia's Exploding Fist for 75 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Lemina is just about the only thing that can interrupt Ruby from THE BEES. Suddenly she's hovering in front of Lemina's face, forehead pressed up against it. "Is that what you think!? How much energy do you think it takes to breathe fire you idiot!? I'll have you know I eat very daintily for a dragon given what it takes!"
Hiro is still watching THE BEES, startled by Xantia's exploding solution.
And then- "Huh." There's a few moments where he's pausing, sorta abstracted, "Oh it's just. There's no way for me to find out where I came from. Not really. I was too young when my Grandpa adopted me. So it doesn't really bother me."
He shrugs his shoulders as he looks Fei's way, "I think it'd drive me a little nuts though if I could find out and it was just locked away in my own head because I just can't remember it."
-=-=-
Lovestruck Dragon(?)cat Confidant RANK UP - 2?
New Ability - Rubyvention - Sometimes seemingly at random, Ruby will light a man on fire for Fei.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean gets crowd appeal, but this isn't how she's used to getting it. She'd rather be dancing, she tells herself, and for some moments in this fight she is... But it's different. It's not the same thing. It won't be the same thing.
Jean, too, knows to keep her eyes on Xantia, even as she's found herself on her back foot in the course of this fight. She doesn't bother wondering about why or how at the moment, except insofar as it can give her advantage. Xantia is powerful, direct... and fast. But straightforward.
Jean starts her dance, and stops it abrubtly when Xantia swings her fist, seeing that fire on her arm and sprinting to the side, trying to use the explosion's light to hide herself as she accepts the awful burn all down her body as the cost of moving into her next fight. Even that was only a glance; if she'd taken it head-on, she might be done.
The bees are gone; Jean is not, suddenly hurling her fans, bouncing back with each stroke or just sailing back on their own as she rushes forward with both until she's hacking up Xantia's front.
Her body is still chilled, her energy still stopped, but she pushes through anyway, shoving through the pain.
"I'm not from your world," Jean murmurs as she strikes, "So I wouldn't recognize it."
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Razor Dance! GS: Jean has completed her action. GS: Xantia critically Guards a hit from Jean's Razor Dance for 25 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina briefly considers picking Ruby up by the hind legs and making her do a ridiculous dance. Unfortunately, her hands are full, so all she can do is go "Kyaaa!" and pull back from Ruby as she insistently shouts at her. "Yeah, but how often do you actually do that...?" she asks, though her expression is friendlier than the sass implies.
"You could try coming to the moon!" Lemina notes to Fei. "Just as soon as... we... figure out... how to come to the moon."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Meanwhile Ruby gets her own confidant rank up though she can't read the dialogue box.
Amnesiac Artist Confidant RANK UP - 2
New Ability - Idtervention - Should Ruby suffer enough damage in battle, Fei may destroy a civilization for Ruby.
Fei is sympathetic to Hiro's plight. "I'm sure one day I'll remember, but whatever it takes--I don't think it'd be worth it. People seem to be after what's in my head, or what's inside of me--It's not great, especially not knowing what it is, but if I did know...it'd probably just be worse." He pauses. "But I have to find out anyway, because otherwise it'll keep happening and nothing will change." He laughs softly, smiling. "I hope you find it, if you want to, but if you're happy without it? If you don't worry about it--then you've got what's really important."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Then Fei thinks about the moon.
"A boat? With jets on it?" He offers.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia lets out a breath after her energy blast fades, taking a moment to flex her arm and back muscles. Huh, those pins aren't needling her anymore. Must've shaken them off in the process. Or maybe the energy burned them off. Doesn't matter to her, whatever works.
"Your style doesn't seem to trigger any memories either," she remarks casually as if nothing happened since the last time she spoke. Just sort of... expecting Jean to be okay after that, apparently. "What a shame. I guess it's always a long shot, but I keep hoping..." And not explaining in detail, although it's probably not that hard to fill in the blanks at this point.
Soon enough, Xantia takes that defensive stance again. Though her own method of combat is most definitely as straightforward as it is powerful, her ability to improvise appropriate reactions has been noteworthy. Despite the claim to be unfamiliar with Jean's style, as she rightly should be, she is yet able to read the fans' incoming trajectory with perfect accuracy, ducking, weaving and using her bracer to deflect as required. Perhaps's Jean's impaired condition makes this somewhat easier than it would normally be... or are Xantia's instincts really that good?
Frustratingly, closing the distance with Xantia doesn't seem to make a difference - especially when Jean's rush brings her close enough for Xantia to switch to offense, which she abruptly does. After using her bracer to swat an incoming fan attack out of the way, her other hand comes in to deliver a single left straight. Not her off hand - it probably doesn't surprise anybody at this point that she's ambidextrous, capable of delivering equal force with either arm. It also shouldn't surprise anybody that even her normal-looking punches, accompanied by the level of force that she can muster, are abruptly devastating upon impact. On the other hand, her abnormal physical strength isn't exactly easy to ever be completely prepared for.
...and still, Xantia just continues speaking in conversational tone afterwards, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and 'being from another world' the most normal topic in the world. "Well... that might not make a difference. I wouldn't know."
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Focus Punch! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Jean takes a solid hit from Xantia's Focus Punch for 142 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Ruby does at least get out of Lemina's face after a moment. "You didn't really get to know Ronfar for very long, so trust me. A lot."
She is thankfully oblivious to ominous dialogue boxes.
Hiro slowly nods at Fei- "That's rough buddy." Is that really all he's going to s- "Not feeling like it's worth it but having to make yourself go through it anyhow- and not knowing whether it'll just make things worse."
He scratches the back of his neck, "I thought we had it bad, standing up to our whole world- but standing up to some unknown side of yourself... sounds way worse."
He keeps going back to the same thought of wishing Fei could just retire somewhere peaceful again. But what if it just blew up because he didn't face those things?
"I hope it goes better than you think it will." And he does manage a smile at the end, "But yeah I'm happy without it. It's like- I wouldn't trade my adopted family..."
Fei may catch him looking at Ruby and Lemina right now, then Jean in the ring, "...for anything. No sense chasing after another one, right?"
There's a wince at what he sees in the ring- he looks thoughtful and then he cups his hands over his mouth and calls out, "HEY JEAN! IF YOU DON'T WIN THIS I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE UP COOKING DUTY TONIGHT AND NOONE WANTS THAT!" "I sure don't!"
It's really a toothless threat as they're standing at the hotel, but he hopes the joke puts her at ease and gets her back into the fight.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Nobody wants that. Fei doesn't argue with Hiro. He's a good guy after all. Maybe a bit nosy, but good guys tend to be nosy. He was raised in a small town so some nosiness into other people's business is actually familiar and relaxing.
Fei may be thinking of others whose names begin with L and B but he doesn't out and say anything like that. Instead he says, "Yeah, pretty much," simply enough.
He focuses on the battle. He finds he's holding his own breath in.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Her style. Jean watches Xantia as she speaks, and as a matter of fact she is relatively okay. She's still fighting, anyway. But it's a strain, keeping it up, when she's spent so long not using what she knows, avoiding bringing it out or even thinking about it. But her style...
"If my style brought up memories," Jean says to Xantia, "I'd be very worried for you. No one you see fighting with this style is a good person, Xantia. Remember that." A pause, "...But hey," she says, looking softer with her headtilted, "I hope you figure it out."
Xantia is moving, and that improvisation has been a terrible foe in this case; is Xantia more committed than she is? Her fans she swings and tries with, but she can't get a good hit in.
Even close it's the same way. Jean is moving and then a left straight comes in hard, straight at her armor.
Jean's chest armor cracks audibly under that abnormal strength, and the pieces are shoved into her flesh as she's thrown backwards by the sheer force of the blow, skidding along the arena floor.
There have been no special effects in the arena for this fight. They might not have been necessary.
"Guess..." Jean takes in a breath with a winced smile, "You wouldn't then. But I'd probably... recognize your style otherwise."
She might've broken something. Jean can't entirely tell yet. Her hand rises, as she starts to make a fist, knowing what move she could try next, what move could strike through those defenses.
But what if it actually worked? Even if it doesn't, can she bring herself to fight that way?
Hiro calls down to her and Jean manages a laugh, finally getting back to her feet. "NO YOU DON'T!" Jean alls up to him, using the shout to give herself energy, to get on her feet and bounce a bit. Her fans go down. "Hiro..."
Jean takes a breath, lifts them again and starts another dance, this one a quick waltz, dreamy and and soft, as if Jean is simply whirling about the battlefield for nothing but the joy of dance.
"Good night," she says to Xantia with half-closed eyes, and gray mist swirls around the amnesiac... before an adorable blue-tinged sheep falls down towards her and the center, the mist bursting into an even more potent soporific.
"Just a little more time...!" Jean says to herself, staring through with fans stowed and arms up to defend.
GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Sleep Step! GS: Jean has completed her action.
DC: MISS! Xantia completely evades Sleep Step from Jean!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"No one...?" Upon Jean's explanation, Xantia is left with that question on her lips, her head canted slightly. She seems to have realized the implication, and is confused by it. Jean seems like a perfectly good person. Even the way she put that just now, that was a nice thing to say. Sure, that opening move was... not pleasant, but other than that, it's been a good fight! Xantia's enjoyed herself tremendously.
It's just that, knowing that she can't accidentally kill anybody thanks to the arena's wards, and told not to hold back, well... her punches may well do the sorts of things that the last one just did. Her apparent lack of concern for Jean is just because, well, she's expecting the same from everyone else in return. This is what tournaments are supposed to be like, right? Hitting each other as hard as you can until someone stops getting up? Everything's gonna be just fine afterwards, she's sure!
She briefly looks confused when Jean calls out to the audience, not seeming to have heard anything. "...I don't get it, I'd love to have someone cook for me." ...or maybe she did. For someone who seems so oblivious most of the time, every now and again she manages to notice things unexpectedly. Xantia takes a moment to look towards the stands, trying to discern where that shout came from...
...Distracted long enough for Jean to get another one of her magic dances going. 'Good night' is the only warning she gets about what's coming. Just too late to prevent mist from happening, and... was that a sheep? That just reminds Xantia even more about food...
Really, she should have fallen asleep at this point. But what actually ends up happening is the sheep turning into an electric sheep. Or maybe that's just Xantia, literally filled with so much energy that it ripples and arcs across her body, in the form of electricity, which then pushes outward. She's unsure how this ended up happening. She just started fighting against her sudden fatigue, and this is how it ended up manifesting - an electrical barrier, neutralizing the effects of the mist... at least long enough for her to move towards Jean.
A slow step, at first. Then another. And another, her pace quickly increasing as she forces herself forward. All that's on Xantia's mind is stopping that dance, somehow. And so, she's doing what she can to reach Jean, and, should she be able to do so, grabbing the dancer by the shoulders.
It's... probably bad to be touched by someone surrounded by electricity. Not that Xantia realizes this, after all, what's happening right now isn't harming her... and she's a bit on auto-pilot right now.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Thunderstruck! GS: Xantia has completed her action.
DC: MISS! Jean completely evades Thunderstruck from Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
As the battle enters true bullet time, Fei slooooooooooooowly eats a popcorn kernel for the duration of the next exchange. Sometimes the camera swaps back to him so the audience knows how ridiculously quick the two fighters are moving.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen just a little bit as she senses the incoming flow of mist, and Xantia breaking through with a shroud of electricity -- a twitch from her eyebrow murmuring, "It is much like Miss Gwen... but does she harness it naturally through her chi? Or...?" A pause. She does not know, but humans truly do have a wide variety of talents that are not to be outmatched by the demons themselves.
She smiles quietly as she catches Lemina waving at her, nervously -- waving back in turn. She should come greet them, but... it feels like it would be rude at this point...
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean thinks Xantia gets it; she's pretty sure she understood what Jean meant, because the green-haired woman definitely included herself in what she said. Nice or not, there's more than that to being someone good. Jean thinks so, anyway.
Jean doesn't expect concern out of Xantia at the moment. They're fighting, after all, and the dark-clad woman hasn't shown a lot of concern for Xantia. She's fought dirty, tried to find sneaky angles, and now...
She doesn't answer about the cooking. She dances.
But while Jean is watching Xantia and the cloud for retaliation, that energy radiates from her opponent. Jean narrows her eyes, showing not surprise but focus. What should have been fatigue turns into some kind of barrier. Xantia keeps moving, and Jean keeps herself light on her feet, one fist far out in front of her, pointed upward with her arm slightly curved. The other remains back. It's a stance with a lot of tension. And Xantia keeps coming closer to reach her. She gets within view and--
Jean rolls back her arm and uses the start of that momentum to fulfill her spin, twirling on one foot before she leaps, spins to get her bearings, and lands with arms out, lightly and gracefully. Xantia is slow for a moment. Jean has one opportunity. Just one. And it means...
"I'll show you what I mean," Jean says, curving one arm over her head and the other before her, lowering her center of gravity. Where before her maneuvers felt cold, this one is pure ice as the chi builds within her. She takes a quick, deep breath, and starts to step forward once, as if in form. Ice gives way to something worse, radiating from her body as her arm becomes covered in purple-black mist.
Suddenly the Shadow Dancer is up in melee with Xantia, as if she'd not actually moved the distance between. Jean's eyes are dark, her muscles taut as she rears back and intones:
"Shadow Dragon Palm."
She strikes, rapidly, and it swings in violently, crashing against perception. It's not just an open-handed strike to the center of the chest; it's an assault on Xantia's life force. And Jean stares at her the whole time.
She says nothing.
GS: Jean has activated a Force Action! GS: Jean has attacked Xantia with Shadow Dragon Palm! GS: Jean has completed her action. GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Accelerate! GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Jean's Shadow Dragon Palm for 174 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
--suddenly, however, she buckles just a little as that wellspring of inky-purple mist gathers about her form. This felt... different, as if the Jean she'd known before had suddenly shifted towards a side she'd not seen before. It wasn't just the chi -- the way she moved, with such deliberate precision and pragmatism --
--she cups at her mouth and makes a little affected noise. She could sense the force which seeks to tear against one's life. "... Jean... is this your...?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
crunch.
Fei frowns. "That move.....!"
He leans forward. Several audience members look at him expectantly because of how fierce he looks.
"I have no idea what she's doing..!"
They throw trash at him in annoyance. Fei endures this stoically.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina's eyes lower a little as Jean goes for the vicious blow. Jean... that technique...? Here? It's certainly true that no one dies in the arena, but...
She glances away, taking a deep breath in through her nose. Suddenly, it's hard to cheer.
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
The fight slows down to bullet time, his expression caught in excited shots from the side of the camera whenever it shifts to Fei. Even his trained eyes can barely follow the movements of both martial artists. Electricity reflects in his eyes. And then all of a sudden- there's that negative feeling on a spiritual level. He'd felt it before at the castle... he didn't expect to feel it here, much less see it.
Hiro stands up again soundlessly, moves past Fei- just as several audience members start throwing things, and down the aisle, all the way to the front of the arena. All the way down the aisle to the front of the row where he leans against the side as close as he can get without going out there. His hands grip it- white knuckled. His expression is tense, and grim. Speechless. He can't put the way he feels into words.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a quiet yelp as Riesenlied -- who's probably standing not all that far away from Fei -- gets hit by an errant can that's flown a little far past its intended target. She watches as she turns back, and faces Hiro as he comes to watch, along with his mage friend. "Hiro, Lemina..." she looks towards Jean and Xantia again. Her expression is a little more stern -- but it's hard to avoid the expression of concern that's still rather stricken across her face.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is none the wiser, about anything. She tends to need things to be made abundantly clear to her before she understands, moreso than most people. Of course, at a time like this, when there's a crisis and her body is doing weird things that she didn't consciously tell it to do, there isn't much thought about anything. There's just the single-minded thought of 'stop Jean from doing the thing she's doing'.
Even if not put to sleep, Xantia isn't exactly as fast she she could be in her approach, not used to being in this state. Discharging electricity through a punch, that was one thing, but this... this is out of control. Literallly. She doesn't know how to turn this off, stop this from happening. Just when she thought she got over her fear of electricity, it's back with a vengeance. Is this the reason why she was afraid of it? Her inability keep this under control?
Thankfully, Jean is there to help... sort of. A sudden palm strike stops her dead in her tracks, her electric aura fizzling out instantly. Relief doesn't last long, as the follow-up strikes start to impact her, Xantia starts to rapidly feel weaker. This is-- she doesn't know exactly what this is, but every instinctual alarm bell she has is going off all at once. She manages to cast an incredulous look Jean's way, only to confirm that this is serious. This is not going to stop. The only way to escape is to make it stop. But can she? She can barely lift her arm...
No-- there's no question of can or can't. She must.
It's happening again. As soon as she starts to think about giving up, some part of her immediately pushes back against that thought. What energy she can still muster surges in her body, a white light briefly pushing back against the shadows - just long enough for an opportunity to raise her arm, and strike back with a single palm strike of her own. A move that she's used already during this fight, but with far, far more urgency this time. An attempt to forcefully cut off whatever is being channeled against her right now.
Whatever the result, she can't possibly remain on her feet any longer afterwards, falling to her knees. Breathing heavily, strongly weakened... but conscious. And very, very confused. But catching her breath comes first.
GS: Xantia has attacked Jean with Disrupting Palm Strike! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Jean has activated a Force Action! GS: Jean takes a solid hit from Xantia's Disrupting Palm Strike for 104 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Jean! GS: Jean has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro stares at the match- mostly Jean, but at her opponent too. It's like he doesn't even realize anyone is speaking to him.
He closes his eyes and inhales one deep breath. "Riese."
And when he looks again, it's over. His grip relaxes, a hand shaking with anxiety is filtered through his brown hair.
Ruby just still kinda stares open-mouthed- and then slowly she closes her jaw, and comments softly, "Wow she went that far to not have to eat Hiro's scrambled eggs again."
Hiro doesn't wince, but he does look at Riese like he's trying to solicit her opinion on what she just saw. But he doesn't ask aloud.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There is a nervousness from Riesenlied that she tries to keep within her -- especially as Xantia recovers from the blow and yet... seems to struggle with her own power. She could see the fear in that young martial artist, as she goes from discharging electricity to... panicking? She bites her lip as she keeps watching -- seeing that palm strike push through the darkness and strike. This was going to be over very soon.
"... the human body," she murmurs quietly, "... as I understand it, possesses natural reserves of energy -- many practitioners call it 'chi'. And many schools still refer to a balance in that power..." she lowers her head. "But it seems that Jean's art harnesses an extreme of one end -- an excess of negative chi."
She lowers her head and closes her eyes. "From the way you look, I think you could sense it too... it takes an extraordinary amount of training and self-control to do that." Is self-control the right word to use? She isn't sure. But...
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei stands himself up, dusting some trash off and looks towards Riesenlied. "So that's what it was..." He shakes his head. "I can't even imagine using anything like that."
He closes his eyes. "...She doesn't seem like a bad person, but to use something like that in a tournament."
FUN FACT: If you use Fei's ultimate dark chi attack in the tournament against Wiseman, it freezes because it is not allowed to miss and Wiseman is not allowed to be hit!
Fei looks back towards Riesenlied. She's likely felt the dark chi when he was in control, but Fei doesn't know about any of that.
"I still feel like she wasn't using everything she had, though."
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
For her part Jean has a need to avoid being caught up by that eletricity. Her armor is already cracked; she feels the sting of many strikes, feels the sharp pain in her ribs when she breathes and the cold spread of bruises.
Xantia might not think much at the moment, but Jean doesn't either. Feel, perceive, move. It's enough. In a way, Jean is there to help... But not in most senses. In the most immediate, real sense Jean delivers an awful palm strike, awful not because it is poorly executed but because of the chain reaction it causes in Xantia's body. The electricity is gone.
Jean doesn't have to lift her hands for these follow up strikes; they cascade seemingly on her own, pops of deathly essence that drag someone down. Xantia casts that look at Jean, and Jean continues to stare. Incredulous or not, Jean is still concentrating, careful. Just the right moment...
"Everyone who uses this style," Jean adds, to follow up on her statement earlier.
But thre's a white light--just long enough. Concentrating as she is on this move, she can't move quite as quickly as she'd like. Jean moves to jump back out of melee range, snce Xantia can apparently still move, but that palm rockets out.
Ordinarily she might have let this move go, but she tried to keep control. And now as she moves, Xantia's palm impacts flush with her bandaged thigh, hitting hard and spinning her mid-air before she falls hard with another crack of her armor, another press on what are probably broken ribs. Jean clenches her teeh to avoid crying out, but she sees stars. Worse, she feels the nausea of her energy cutting off.. and Xantia is freed from the grip of the Shadow Dragon.
Jean hisses, shoving herself up to her side, but doesn't stand. Oh she tries... and that leg buckles beneath her, bleeding now through bandages. "N-Nice... Nice counter," she winces out, feeling like she might throw up. She thinks about what she did, about how afraid Xantia might have been...
The crowd gasps. They're both down, but Xantia got the last move, and is sitting rather than laying. The announcer says nothing yet.
Jean is silent.
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro is attentive as Riese talks about Chi. He'd never heard anything like that, despite having very martial interests. "Negative chi." He repeats. "An extreme."
It's like a student trying to digest a teacher's wisdom there. When Fei says it like that- at least he says she doesn't seem like a bad person... "She's not." Hiro says very mildly, but still pretty quickly. It'd be much harsher if someone had declared her to be.
There's a spasm on his face at Fei's asessment.
"I don't think... she'd... I mean... I know she once..." He puts a hand to his head, his thoughts are all getting mixed up here. He stops, starts again, "... people tell me Lucia feels bad all the time because of all that malevolence. That she deserves to die, when it's a curse... someone else put on her."
Hiro takes a deep breath, "I'm not going to judge Jean either just because her techniques feel..." He looks at Riese, "...negative." He's not saying Riese or Fei are either certainly, he's just trying to give his opinion now that it's formed, "That's what I can do for her as her friend. Judge what she does, not... how what she does feels, or how she feels."
And yet it's obvious it still rattled him some.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods softly towards Hiro, and expresses, "I do not believe positive and negative chi to necessarily be associated with morals. After all, one must have a balance of both in order to achieve martial harmony..." A pause. "Is what a lot of schools I've studied believe in. Light and shadow, positive and negative space, object and whitespace..." She looks towards the arena once more, sighing quietly.
"I'd pay closer attention to what experiences led her to possess that kind of negativity... more often than not, it's typically bound in a harmful context that has led them to this outcome," she murmurs further. Before quietly clasping her hands.
"Technique without control is a recipe for disaster... and I think Jean knows that more than any of us."
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina stays completely out of this discussion. She knows more than anyone else here does but it definitely isn't her place to say it. Accordingly: dead silence, broken only by the occasional bacon.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Everyone is used to Xantia always being full of energy. Most of all Xantia herself. Nothing before has left her feeling so... drained. Sure, she's fought or otherwise tired herself out to exhaustion before, but it was nothing like this. Nothing like this at all. Though strikes rained against her, it felt more like things were being pulled out of her. She wouldn't be able to describe the experience any better than that. There was a lot more to it, but she can't even begin to make sense of it all.
She's not even sure how she managed to escape from it. She's an instinctual fighter, but that went a notch beyond the usual. This was pure survival instinct. It wasn't so much that the effectiveness of the wards guaranteeing her life in the arena were called into question, but that she wasn't considering them at all. There was simply a powerful, primal need to make whatever was happening to her stop, no matter what.
Whatever it was she ended up doing, it worked. It takes time for her to recover, more time than she can afford to just keep sitting there. And so, in a sudden lurch, Xantia drags herself back to her feet. She's unsteady, visibly weakened... but she manages to stand.
The crowd erupts in cheers. The announcer calls Xantia's name as the winner. Xantia doesn't look like she's heard it. Her eyes are unfocused, expression zombie-like.
...for exactly two seconds after the announcer finishes extending the 'A' at the end of her name far longer than necessary. Then her eyes fly open, and Xantia looks about, confused, as if suddenly recalling where she is. "Huh? What? What's going on, what happened? Is it over?" Right back to her usual self.
And then... she notices the fallen Jean. The events of the past few minutes fly through her mind. She remembers now. Every vivid detail of Jean's moves, especially that last one. She winces. How is she going to react to this? With fear? Anger? Disgust? Perhaps a mix of all three?
Xantia rushes forward, completely forgetting about her weakened state and collapsing halfway, crashing to the ground right next to Jean. But she doesn't pay attention to the minor scrapes she suffers. Not when someone else is in a far worse condition. "Oh no, oh no, it's bleeding so bad! Did I do that? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Fear, anger, and disgust indeed. More like remorse, concern and compassion. Xantia... Xantia is a special case, those who have met her can probably agree on that much.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm sure she's a good person," Fei says though he's well aware one could say that about any psychopath if you really thought about it, but saying such things seem to put people at ease from time to time.
He looks towards Riesenlied and says, "But using that in a tournament against my friend. Why is she so desperate to win? Well," He shrugs. "I'm not one to talk about that."
Malevolence, Fei thinks, the way Hiro says that. That's how it feels around Lily sometimes, he thinks, like there's a malevolence there. He scratches into his arm lightly.
"It doesn't appear in a vaccuum. Far as I know." He says simply.
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Again he's attentive to Riese. And then he just nods. "She doesn't like to talk about those experiences. So I don't press her. I have some ideas but I'd... it's not my place to talk about that."
And sidelong he looks at Fei. "I wouldn't say she's desperate. I mean, when we entered the tournament we all were... but since Lucia woke up..."
Still it's a good question. He thinks about it and... he rubs his face and- "Jean hates fighting." Hiro finally says to Fei- then more quietly, "But I think she does because she knows she loves it. And sometimes when you get caught up in a fight like that, in the rush..."
It doesn't appear in a vacuum. His expression freezes, and then he just looks a little distraught over it, "No... I don't think it does."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... it doesn't," Riesenlied voices it after a moment. "I sincerely believe no one is born that way." Except maybe discounting certain world-eaters and other beings of unfathomable nature. "... not even Lord Siegfried..." A pause, but she realises this isn't the time. She really ought to return. She's starting to realise part of the anxiety is concern for a friend who was badly injured. It would be the same for Fei and Xantia, or Hiro and Jean... you just can't help but show concern for someone you have a relation to.
She lowers her head further, biting her lip. "... I'll come with you if you three are going to check on them after this battle, if that's all right...? I imagine they'll both need rest..."
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean doesn't know Xantia, and she's already accustomed to her being full of energy. There are people who are easy to read in some ways, and Jean thinks Xantia is one. Thinking, of course, is difficult at the moment, but she learned long ago to order her mind in the face of pain. Stars still blossom but Jean keeps her breathing slow, calming her heart in the face of the blood she's rapidly starting to lose.
Sometimes survival is its own willpower. Jean understand that herself, and has been reminded of the same.
Xantia rises, and Jean doesn't. She watches the other fighter rise, curls her fingers and looks down with an exaggerated smile and sigh. "Ah, well," she says, loud enough for Xantia to hear. "I tried."
That comes out after Xantia is her usual self again, an ean tilts her head. "Yeah," Jean offers her from the ground, "It's over." Jean watches the girl standing over her, waiting for the inevitable reaction, the fear, the revulsion... and Xantia rushes her. For a moment Jean wonders if Xantia's going to strike while she's down, thinks of a defense plan, but then she... apologizes. She actually apologizes.
"WHIIIIIICH MEANS.... Say goodbye, ladies and gentlemen, to the Shadow Dancer, Jean! Unless she darkens our arena again in... exhibition matches!!"
Mixed reactions from the audience wash over her as Jean watches Xantia, and there's an obvious sign of utter guilt and misery in her features that she gets a handle on for the most part, shaking her head. "You did, but I was already hurt. And it helped you win. Whatever your reasons for joining... That's important." A sigh, pain still apparent in her features but only barely, "You are... Not what I was expecting. You don't need to apologize. I think you deserved that win."
The medics start rushing their way over from the other side of the arena as Jean continues not to stand. Jean watches Xantia's face, thoughtfully. "...Good job!" A smile, "I'm not really a fighter anyway. I'm a dancer."
Guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Alright, Riesen." Fei says, he isn't going to argue. Maybe if she sees human suffering more she will eventually stop helping the metal demons attack their cities.
"Huh." Fei says. "...Yeah, I understand that." Maybe he understands it a bit too well, actually. Wellp, not if he buries it deep down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KSBEChzpMM
"I'll come down in a minute."
<Pose Tracker> Hiro has posed.
Hiro gives Riesenlied a long look after she says Siegfried. He has to think about that given- Siegfried. And- "I don't think any... people are born that way. Hyadeans, or humans or Seraphs..." He may look slightly ill, "But I think some... things... are that way, and have always been."
When you've been in the presence of a dark god of destruction. You can't imagine them being any other way.
"Yeah I'd really like to go check on both of them." He rubs the back of his neck, "Jean's not going to be feeling really good about herself right now so..." It's sort of like this unspoken request.
He nods to Fei, "See you when you get there."
<Pose Tracker> Prima has posed.
Prima, in the audience, scoffs and shakes her head, then turns to leave. She came here hoping to find a rival. She was not unimpressed by the skills of those humans she witnessed this day...but she was disappointed all the same. The Shadow Dancer had lost.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia's mind isn't on the tournament or anything surrounding it for the moment. She does think rather straightforwardly, mostly about what's right in front of her. And when right in front of her is someone who's hurt, then how she possibly not give that her undivided attention?
Well. There is one instance where that could be the case. If she were convinced that the one she was fighting is, as she so eloquently tends to put it, a 'bad guy'. But she's already decided that Jean isn't one of those. She doesn't assume so by default, and nothing Jean did convinced her otherwise. Not a thing. Not the poison, not the needles, not the sucking out her life force. Not even being directly told, to her face.
Not very sound judgement? Probably. But whether this is due to being just that simple-minded, due to seeing things others might fail to, or perhaps a combination of the two... the jury is still out on that one.
Honestly though, the way Jean is talking now, there's no way Xantia can believe that she isn't dealing with a nice person. The crippling guilt, that she doesn't pick up on, mainly due to being too focused on the crippling injury. "No, no, I would never have-- I mean, if I was thinking straight--" She's even trying to take some of the blame in the matter. It's difficult though. She thinks everything was a reflex. But what if it wasn't? It might be part of her nature, her original nature. But that's too disturbing to think about.
When Jean tells her she deserves that win, though, and smiles... well, Xantia is easily fooled by an act. "...really? Well, I tried my best, but if I'd known you weren't a fighter..." Nothing would have been different. She'd still be trying to win. It's hard to hold back and trying your best to win at the same time. "...I don't know why you were fighting if you're really a dancer, though... that's a dangerous hobby." Good info, Xantia. There's a momentary pause, before she considers, "Actually, I wonder if I could..."
There's a soft burst of light, Xantia's right hand becoming immersed in that energy once again. Up close, it seems all but certain that what she's doing is some form of chi manipulation. She gazes at Jean's leg wound intensely. She's never actively tried to heal someone else's wound before. But this could be worth a shot. She slowly lowers her hand...
...Only to get her wrist grabbed by one of the intervening medics. "Hey! Haven't you done enough? Back off and let us do our job!"
Xantia winces in the face of the unexpected reprimand, feebly protesting, "But I, I was just trying to..." No use, they already stopped paying attention to her in favor of tending to Jean.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean might tell Xantia again. For now, she has some concern for the girl before her; Xantia may clearly be strong and powerful both, but there are some things that get around strength and power, things that slide right to the heart of those who don't know to expect them. They are not good things.
Xantia says she wouldn't have, and Jean shakes her had, the blood starting to seep out of her bandages. "But you weren't, and you did," Jean points out, "And with all that protective magic... It was a good move." A faint laugh that stings more than its volume implies. "Not that I don't appreciate you worrying, but don't."
It's an act, but it's an act Jean believed in herself for the longest time. She doesn't know that she can. "I entered to help a friend," Jean explains, closing her eyes and focusing on keeping her heart down, keeping the blood from pumping too fast. "But she's fine now. Then I wanted to help my other friends... But they'll have to handle things. I hate fighting anyway." It feels hollow and wrong to say that now.
"Yeah, it's dangerous--huh?" Jean blinks at Xantia and her light, unsure what she's doing or whether this is a good idea, and the medic makes it over quickly. "Ah," she says, and gives Xantia a thumsb-up. "See you backstage!"
The medics quickly determine that Jean isn't walking off of the arena floor, particularly with her blood on the grond. So they load her onto a stretcher and carry her off, where she focuses on nothing but her breathing for a while.
She's not wearing shoes for the arena match. She looks up at the medics, "Hey guys. This isn't a bad ride. Could I hire you to cart me around?"
They're a little creeped out by what they saw of the fight. Their answers come slowly.
Jean will see Xantia again soon, she's sure.