2017-07-20: Lemina Ausa vs. Xantia
- Log: Tournament of Arms: Lemina Ausa vs. Xantia
- Cast: Lemina Ausa, Fei Fong Wong, Sephilia Lampbright, Xantia, Jean
- Where: Lacour - Arms Coliseum
- Date: July 20 2017
- Summary: The fifth round of losers' bracket sees the Innocent Primeval Breaker Xantia -- christened the hero for her dire path through Vile Fiends in the tournament bracket -- up against Magic Guild darling and notorious shitposter Lemina Ausa, a natural villain! Who will come out on top in this dire, desperate fight?
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
'Who's the face here?'
That's the question that's come up a fair bit since the bracket led to Xantia -- who keeps putting competitors out with serious, sucking injuries -- and Lemina -- who literally can't stop antagonizing most of her opponents in the stands, making fart noises, and generally being a tedious nuisance.
Indeed, the crowd today mostly seems excited for two things: A) the possibility someone will be eliminated, and B) MUSCLES! AND! BLOOD! ... Well, maybe more 'blood' than 'muscles.'
Lemina Ausa has always marched to the beat of her own drum, however, and really doesn't seem to care. Clad in leather armor from Knockout and festooned with weapon options -- a careful observer would count *four* at her back -- she strides out of the ready room with a confident smile on her face.
This woman took out Jean, she reminds herself. It's sobering, but not sobering enough to dent the Junior Premier's stride, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei is in the stands. He is hoping that Xantia doesn't have an amnesia moment and cut off Lemina's head. It didn't happen last time so he's feeling almost confident.
Amnesia moments. They're no joke.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is in the stands, with Chauncey. Sephy's dressed in a flashy cheerleader outfit, while Chauncey is grown to big size, wearing a top-hat and looking particularly dapper. They're here to cheer for Lemina! They're also drawing a fair amount of attention, because I mean...
Chauncey. Right?
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Honestly, with the way the tournament standings have shaken out, previous fight results, and at least a fairly decent chance that Xantia isn't actually a horrible murderer, there was only one way the tournament organization could re-spin her angle. "Now making her way to the arena, the Innocent Primeval Breaker, the Slayer of Vile Fiends, XANTIAAAAAAAAA!"
Xantia's advancement path has just happened to make it so that she'll have to eliminate all of the Vile Fiends who entered from the tournament in order to make it to the finals. So that's what they're going with. Whatever sells out the seats. It's all out of Xantia's hands, she didn't have a clue what she was doing and unknowingly signed away any and all say she had in the way she is promoted, and all the profit made from it.
The only thing the fiery-haired brawler takes away from all this is that her title just keeps getting longer and more random, promoting her to cast a mighty frown the announcer's way. The point was that people would remember her name, all this other stuff is just getting in the way! But she gets over it quickly, soon back to smiling and waving to the audience.
And to her opponent. Lemina isn't somebody she really knows, her knowledge pretty much starts and ends with 'I'm fighting another mage'. Which isn't great, but it went alright in the last round. Maybe it won't be so bad?
"Hi! I'm Xantia!" Always gotta introduce herself, even after the announcer's already done it. "I hope we have a good fight! Let's have fun!" She won't be actually playing up her angle, not knowing that she has one, or what one even is.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei hears the announcement for Xantia and immediately shifts seats so he's closer to Sephilia and Chauncey so he feels that the world is a little less terrible.
"Sephilia..." Fei asks philisophically. "Why do we do this to ourselves?"
FEI EEYORE 30 PERCENT.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia sees Fei and beams, waving. "Are you here to cheer for someone too, Fei? Or just watching the tournament? I'm here to cheer for Lemina! I'm part of her Magic Guild! Did you know that?"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong says, "I didn't know that." Now he REALLY hopes Xantia doesn't have an amnesia moment (never forget, they happen). "I'm cheering for Xantia though uh it'd be nice if they could just both win by...not fighting."
He thinks it over before looking over to Sephilia. If he was someone who was not Fei he'd probably suggest seeing who can cheer louder but instead he's like--just turning his head back towards the arena and thinking about how cute Chauncey is.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"And her opponent -- con artist, criminal, and constant presence in the stands, unfortunately... Lemina Ausa, representing Knockout!" Lemina's face scrunches up. Rude.
Lemina has no intention of actually playing to the way she's billed or booked; Lemina is, and always will be, Lemina Ausa. To her, that's the most important thing! The blonde meets Xantia with a smirk after getting dragged on commentary, saying, "Lemina Ausa! And, uh -- good... luck... to you too?" Wow -- after arriving late to most of Xantia's fights, actually talking with her and finding out that this is Xantia is...
... honestly kind of neat! "If I win, you have to hear me out about joining the Magic Guild of Vane, okay?" That comment, however, gets delivered in complete seriousness --
-- and as soon as she finishes it, the bell rings! It's go time.
Immediately, Lemina starts things off with a backstep; she then locks eyes on Xantia, reaching for her back and drawing her bow. She's had bad positioning to use it in her last few matches -- but today, she manages to draw it, nock an arrow, and let one fly! It trails little sparkles -- but for the most part, it's just an arrow.
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Mystic Bow! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia critically Guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Mystic Bow for 15 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"Thanks!" Xantia, impossibly, gains even more cheer when wished good luck by her opponent. That 'innocent' part of her original title does seem to be for a reason, despite the... unfortunate incidents that happened in previous matches.
It shows again in how she takes the Magic Guild promotion at face value, seeming a bit confused by it. "Um, okay? I don't actually know any magic, though." She thinks. She isn't sure what her special moves actually are. They're just... Special Moves. It may be fair to say that's close enough.
Xantia took her time to respond, even though the bell rang while she was still in the middle of it. Easily distracted, or attributing just as much value to talking as fighting? Probably a bit of both. As soon as she sees that bow, however, her gaze hardens, and she takes a defensive stance. By the time Lemina fires, she's ready for it - her right arm swings out, actively intercepting the incoming arrow by striking it with the metal bracer on her arm. Nothing wrong with her reflexes, that much is clear.
Nor with her speed - in the next instant, she dashes forward, bridging most of the distance between her and Lemina in no time flat. Just in case her opponent is real quick with that bow, she ducks low for the final stretch, sliding across the ground the rest of the way with one leg extended, aiming low for an attempted knockdown.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Crash Kick! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa critically Guards a hit from Xantia's Crash Kick for 21 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Well, you can learn!" Lemina notes -- and then Xantia comes in at top speed. It's just like Lemina had been discussing the other day -- there just isn't room for a mage to maneuver in this arena! That quick dash in turns into a low kick, and Lemina's ready for it; she brings a hand low and then whips it straight up, creating a knee-high shield of ice.
... which Xantia manages to crash clean through and still tag her in the legs, but hey! At least it slowed her down, right? Lemina still winces a little, though, and hops away from Xantia.
"... Jean wasn't kidding -- you're fast," she notes, clearly impressed; the Junior Premier does not have Xantia's speed in any way, and realizes that even though they've just sort of exchanged blows, she's already a bit on the back foot.
Putting her bow away and drawing one of her two staves, Lemina takes a breath and lets out a simple cry of, "FLAME!" As she shouts, and her staff swings straight up, it creates a crescent wave of fire - one that, even as it's formed, starts to streak out toward the Innocent Primeval Breaker.
Okay, Lemina thinks to herself, all the while. I can't get separation back just by running -- she's too fast, and frankly, too good. Stick to quick magic... try to build up to the type of magic that can make space...
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Firestrike! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Xantia takes a glancing hit from Lemina Ausa's Firestrike for 51 hit points! GS: Mute! Statuses applied to Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong robotically approaches
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean finally finishes enough of her food to speak up, apparently staring in rapt attention at the two combtants as she, in a ladylike way(?), shovels arena food into her mouth and washes it down with a bunch of beer. She's... Very hungry. But she also wanted to make sure she wasn't talking for a while. It' be terrible to distract Lemina at this stage... and Xantia s fun to watch.
"Remember, don't go too defensive!" Jean shouts at Lemina, and gives Xantia a thumbs-up too. She glances to Fei, leaning in his direction, "No can do. They'll be fine!" Says the woman who got hurt in the arena. A pause. "...It wasn't really Xantia's fault anyway." A grin at Sephilia.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy grins back, then jumps up and down, waving her arms. Chauncey follows the same pattern of waves. "Lemina! Lemina! Go Lemina! I can't think of anything good to rhyme with Ausa!"
Sephy's still not a good cheerleader.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia lets out a tiny yelp as there's a sudden ice block in the way. Though she effectively proves where the 'breaker' part of her title comes from in short order, that was still surprising. That's why she doesn't like fighting mages, she never knows what to expect. If it was just fighting someone armed with a bow, no problem, but this will require her to improvise constantly.
Her speed is complimented, but what Xantia chooses to focus on is, "Oh, you know Jean? I hope she's okay!" Oh hey, there's Jean in the audience right now! She actually takes the time to wave when she notices.
The bit of pleasantness belies the seriousness of the fight, the fist fighter noticing a spell is being cast a moment too late to attempt to stop it from happening... though she certainly tries. Through the most direct way possible, an immediate charge, and a single palm strike towards the sternum. Even though it takes her directly in the path of the flames.
Well, at least she got through it really fast, so it didn't hurt as much as it could have. Unfortunately, her cloak is now on fire, which is quite a distraction to put it mildly. "Ahhh, no no no, not again! Go out, stupid flames!" She actually does know rolling is more effective than trying to swat at the flames like she's doing right now, but she isn't sure she can afford to do that in the middle of a battle, leaving her at this impasse.
But who knows if Lemina fares any better. If Xantia's strike managed to get through her defenses, she'll find it a rather unpleasant experience, leaving a sense of something being painfully stuck inside the body. Chi techniques would be a lot more heavily affected than magic, but... pain is pain.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Disrupting Palm Strike! GS: Xantia has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Uh--" Fei says. "Xantia ... cis really..."
He trails off. Ahhh Bahhh Gahh?
"Punching...ah?"
Maybe they need to have easier names to rhyme with!!!
GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Xantia's Disrupting Palm Strike for 64 hit points! GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Lemina Ausa!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
'You know Jean?' gets a big smile from Lemina and a nod. "Yeah! Jean's great," she affirms -- shortly before trying to bring her staff up to guard herself from that forceful strike. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out quite that way -- she can't spin fast enough to create a super-cool shield of staff, and she doesn't have the control to just meet with a block.
Accordingly, for the most part, she just gets hurt -- though the movement back that she does in the process keeps it from being extra dire. She lets out a sharp cry of pain, and her whole body sags a little bit.
She rocks on her heels a little, taking a step back -- only a step, though. "Oof -- she really wasn't kidding. If I let you set the pace here, I'm toast..." She breathes out and upward a little, blowing a stray hair back into place as she tries to focus on things other than the pain singing through her body.
"... So instead, I think it's time for you to be toast! MEGA-MAGIC FLAME!" She twirls her staff around again, and as it whirls around, a ring of fire forms around Xantia. Lemina's hope is twofold -- on the one hand, to hurt her, obviously... but more importantly, to try to discourage Xantia from moving too much.
... then again, the ring is tight enough that it'd actually probably be better to get away than try not to cross it, but...
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Fire Ring! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Lemina Ausa's Fire Ring for 70 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean reaches out to ruffle Sephy's hair from her wheelchair. "It's not bad! A cheer doesn't have to have a rhyme, it just has to have a good rhythm!" Yeah, this is really practical advice for this situation. Jean is still cheering in her own way, wincing when she sees Xantia actually wave back after she's sure she's not looking anymore. While she's looking, there's a big smile.
"Goes for you too, Fei." Jean's stuck up here for now anyway, and is generally happy about the exchange about her that she can see on their faces. Not that she... should be.
"Okay," more quietly, "Time to get ready..." She looks a little worried staring at Lemina though, until she shakes that off and focuses on staring through eating mysterious hot wings.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm pretty sure," Fei says. "That there's much better rhymes you could--"
He cringes as Lemina uses Xantia's greatest nemesis: Tactics!
"Oof... hope she gets through this this time..." He says before looking back to Jean. "Hiro's heading into this bracket next round too, isn't he?"
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Even though Xantia chose not to roll in order to be more ready to react to things, she fails to be ready to react to things because she instead takes off the cloak and proceeds to stomp out the flames instead. Phew! That worked better. Smiling in satisfaction, she places the garment back around her neck.
Only to find out what happens when you stop paying attention to the nice mage who can set you on fire. More fire. Her face falls. A dismayed exclamation, "Why more fire!?" And more tiny noises of dismay when she turns about and finds herself surrounded by it. Darnit, is there really no way but to do this again?With a resigned sigh and a helpless shrug, Xantia leaps through the flames once more.
Even though her leap forward ends in a nice roll, it doesn't take long for her to notice the inevitable. Her cloak's on fire again. "Oh come on, really?" Her cloak is tossed to the ground, where she kicks dirt over it to extinguish the flames. Forget that thing then, she'll pick it up later.
With the cloak out of the way, a detail about Xantia's appearance that normally doesn't attract much attention is suddenly front and center: the thick metal choker around her neck. That does not look comfortable at all. Is that really something one would wear by choice?
Best not to stare too long however, because once she dumps the cloak, she's immediately on the move again. Giving Lemina time for even more fire would be bad, so she seeks to prevent this the only way she knows how: by hitting her opponent with all the considerable physical strength at her disposal. Her movement is a little blur as she dashes from Lemina's front to her side, spinning her body 360 degrees while lashing out with her foot to deliver a powerful high kick.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Whirlwind Kick! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa critically Guards a hit from Xantia's Whirlwind Kick for 25 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Ever observant, Lemina notices the choker almost immediately -- but she realizes that she can't get caught up in staring at some tiny detail of Xantia's fashion sense. Instead, she takes a quick step back and brings her staff up -- and unlike the earlier strike, this one is big and broad enough that Lemina can block it with her staff.
She shudders to think what would've happened if she hadn't brought her staff up to block it -- but it's worth a sigh of relief that she did, at least. The Junior Premier decides now -- while she's shoving Xantia's leg away from her at great effort -- is a great time to ask, "Is -- is there something up with your neck?"
Maybe it's a medical device, Lemina thinks. Previous neck injury? ... exploitable? -- No, that's way too dire, Lemina thinks.
While her body is still crying out in pain from Xantia's earlier palm strike, Lemina knows she can't just take a second to be miserable -- she has to push on bravely! She takes a step to one side, and then says -- with a certain amount of casual indifference -- "Anyway, Ice Storm!" While the Junior Preier usually swings for a big wind-up with this particular spell, it's mostly for showmanship's sake; right now, she doesn't have the luxury -- her staff swings around, and at its head -- and subsequently in Xantia's face (or, at least, general direction) is a big ol' icicle!
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Ice Lance! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia critically Guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Ice Lance for 22 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia grits her teeth when her kick is intercepted. Not something that happens very often, not with that level of effectiveness anyway. Mages, she just can't predict what they'll manage next.
A question is posed, making her blink in confusion. She feels her neck, or more accurately, she runs a hand over the accessory that covers it. "I don't think so? Why do you ask?" Nothing out of the ordinary going on there, not by her frame of reference.
If the matter isn't pursued, it'll be quickly forgotten about, especially when forced to deal with ice next. At least it isn't fire, how could she complain about some ice to put on her burns? Burns that are definitely there, and look painful, but don't appear to bother her much. Hmmm.
Ice sent at her face in this form however is solidly rejected, Xantia's fist lashing out to intercept it. Hitting an icicle in the sharp tip would've been bad, but she manages to strike it from the side, with enough force to send most of the the ensuing shards away from her body. Left-handed, even. It's like she has experience punching icicles. Which... she might have? Amnesia is a hell of a thing.
Her follow-up is immediate. Having just thrown a punch with her left hand, the next comes from her right. A brief white glow is the only warning before she strikes the air in front of her, the true attack taking the form of an erupting flash of energy, exploding conically outward.
Lemina is nice, but Xantia isn't going to try any less hard to win just because of that.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Exploding Fist! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Xantia's Exploding Fist for 87 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
"Yeah, Hiro's coming up," Jean says back to Fei. "I'm not sure how that'll go yet." A beat, "Xantia's tough. One way or anything, she'll get through. Though maybe I'm just saying that because she beat me." Jean eyes clsely, "Go on Lemina, mixing it up like that is good..." But Xantia has experience.
Jean shakes her head. "That move hurts. Good luck, Lemina."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Well technically Xantia has the least experience here what with no memory. But then, her body does seem to remember when it needs to.
"Haha..yeah..well I'm sure he'll do fine. I mean he already did fine. It's almost over." He looks away because the fight is hard enough to watch as it is.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"The thing around it," Lemina notes -- shortly before Xantia comes in with a right-hand strike. That bright white glow -- that's intense, to be sure... Lemina doesn't have time to get out of the way, either. She's not particularly fast -- or even that tough, for that matter.
For a split second, she thinks she managed to backstep it. Then the actual explosion comes, and Lemina goes flying backward, skidding across the arena sand with a wince. "Hhhffff," she groans, one eye screwed shut as she gets herself back up on her feet; once she is on her feet she offers a slightly more coherent, "Yikes."
When it comes down to it... Lemina doesn't actually have too many tools. Her list of maneuvers is not particularly wide, especially for a situation like this. It's around this stage of the fight, more often than not, that Lemina gets... predictable.
With a twirl of her staff, thus, Lemina continues her alternating fire-and-ice assault -- by going right back to fire! A second burning ring of fire forms around Xantia, the blistering heat just the same as before.
What has changed, though, is the extent to which Lemina's starting to have difficulty concentrating through the pain. Xantia is definitely pressuring her in a big way, and while she's not in the danger zone yet, it's plain to see she's starting to feel the burn of the fight.
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Fire Ring! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia takes a glancing hit from Lemina Ausa's Fire Ring for 69 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The glow fades from Xantia's fist in short order, leaving her free to use that hand to touch her choker again. She frowns in confusion. "No... I don't think anything is wrong with that either." She... she really doesn't get that there's anything unusual about this, does she. But why would she, to her this is normal. Why aren't all of you wearing heavy metal objects around your necks, huh?!
Predictable though Lemina may be, it's a lot harder for Xantia to read which movements lead to which spells than it is to start getting an inkling of which fighting stance will lead into what sort of attack. She doesn't see the fire ring coming, yet again, until it's too late, and she's already surrounded by it. "Ngh... you're not gonna stop doing that, are you?"
The 'solution', too, is the same. Xantia just leaping straight through the flames. What else can she do, really? The rest of her outfit is thankfully less immediately flammable, but how many fires can one reasonably jump through before it gets to be too much? A cross between a sigh and a grunt is let out, Xantia biting back more of the pain that she definitely is feeling. It's just going to keep getting harder to suppress. She's can't let herself get worn down like this. Her strength lies in single, powerful strikes - what she needs is a clean hit with one.
There's an odd pause from the otherwise so sponteneous Xantia. She's actually taking a moment to focus, to think about what she's going to do before doing it. To form some kind of rudimentary plan. It's not incredibly complicated, because Xantia is not incredibly complicated, but it's still atypical.
The first part is simple enough: close the distance, once again. She pushed Lemina back herself just now, which isn't the smartest when she wants to be in close. Her method of approach is similar as before. She enacts another sliding kick across the ground. That's a feint, this time. Before actually reaching Lemina, she plants her boot firmly, pushes off the ground, and leaps directly over the mage, intent on delivering a single, powerful punch from behind as soon as she lands.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Focus Punch! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa critically Guards a hit from Xantia's Focus Punch for 29 hit points! GS: Lemina Ausa enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Nope! It's kind of my thing," Lemina answers, cheerily, when Xantia asks if that's gonna stop. "And -- no, that choker is seriously not normal! I mean, maybe you just have weird fashion sense on the Blue Star -- I mean, Lucia looks like a petty dictator fell into a clothier's 'maybe next year' pile -- buuuuut... That's seriously weird!"
Xantia leaps over Lemina, and clearly means to use Lemina's weak speed to her advantage and drill her in the back. Lemina, fortunately, is at least kind of ready for this; she brings her staff around to meet the blow, and while it nearly splinters and nearly exhausts her right then and there, she manages to block cleanly.
It's not Lemina's fire that's getting her to sweat -- it's Xantia's technique. She needs to put an end to this real fast... the longer the fight drags on, the less it favors the Junior Premier. She has to find a gap...
... or make one.
Lemina says, "Anyway -- sorry, but...!" She raises her staff briefly, before holding it low and back with a baseball-bat-like grip -- or perhaps more like a katana? Either way, it's an unusual hold. "It's time to kick this into high gear! FREEZE CLAW!"
She swings the staff hard to one side, claws of ice extending a few feet in front of it, lashing out at Xantia and hopefully pushing the Breaker back. She then corrects her momentum and sweeps hard again; the claws gain length, and come from the other side. She finishes with a third swipe from the original angle, at which point the mighty ice claws now extend several feet -- not just pressuring Xantia, but hopefully giving Lemina room to work...!
GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Lock On! GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Freeze Claw! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action! GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Lemina Ausa's Freeze Claw for 184 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia frowns deeply. Not because Lemina's words hurt her feelings or anything, but if there's one thing she doesn't enjoy, it's being confronted by the fact that things about her are Not Normal. The choker is a minor thing compared to all the things she can do that Normal people can't, but... it's yet another thing that she never considered abnormal, until it turned out that it actually was. Why does there just keep being more of that?
She doesn't immediately reply. She doesn't know what to say. Well, she knows one thing to say, which she does end up saying after her strike fails to land cleanly, out of pure frustration. "I'm not weird!!" The volume and sudden vehemence of that denial shows just how badly those simple words affected her. Her attempt to focus her mind had completely failed, her intentions too obvious. This is not a good mindset to have in the middle of a fight.
This also results in her taking one risk too many. When Lemina declares her intention to cast a big spell, she charges. She figures she'll either beat the mage to the punch, or dodge out of the way at the last second. Ill-advised when you have no idea what's coming. Xantia discovers this the hard way, suddenly forced to contend with ice claws. The first strike hits her cleanly, unbalancing her, and at that point, there's no stopping it. The follow-ups are easy hits, met with not even the possibility of a defense. The final slash violently knocks her back, and she crumples to the ground.
For a moment, it seems like that might be it. Maybe it should have been. However... Xantia suddenly slams the ground with both fists, with enough force to cause cracks. At the same time, electricity crackles across her knuckles, sending sparks every which way. "Not... yet... I can still... fight!"
The fiery-haired brawler lurches back to her feet, and is back in Lemina's personal space in no time flat, afterimages blurring her dashing motion. It's actually extremely straightforward, aside from the sudden burst of speed by someone who really shouldn't be moving like that with the kinds of wounds she's sporting now. And the fact that the punch she throws isn't just massively powerful, it unleashes a blast of lightning, scattering and arcing all over the place. A move of desperation, to be sure, but not one to be taken lightly.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Thunderstruck! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard! GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Xantia's Thunderstruck for 98 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Well yeah, you're not any weirder than anyone else on the Blue Star -- prrrrobably -- but you're weird in a unique way!" That's... the best Lemina has for Xantia. Lemina's fine with upsetting people -- when she wants to upset them, or at least, is aggressively shitposting at them. Upsetting someone genuinely actually catches her a bit off guard. It's hard to know what to do!
Xantia nearly falls -- but Lemina has learned from watching these fights go down to the wire that you only want to celebrate well after the bell rings. Sure enough, Xantia's up at the count of eight, and --
-- She worked so hard for all that space and it's gone just like that!? Lemina screams as Xantia comes in with that massive burst of lightning. She pulls out her umbrella in a panic, treating it like any other storm -- and while that does insulate her from some of the worst of it, it leaves her and her parasol pretty singed.
Her whole body sags a little, as smoke rolls off her from the lightning burns. "... I thought that was magic when I saw you do it the rest of the time," Lemina murmurs, "But that's... not like any magic I've ever seen..." She doesn't want to call Xantia weird again, but Althena, if she isn't thinking it.
She doesn't have time to think it for very *long*, though. Lemina lowers her staff again, but shifts to a more conventional grip; a murmured chant escapes the Junior Premier's lips, and she affirms, "Sorry about this -- but a winner's favor could go a long, long way toward my mega-huge, mega-romantic dream! ICE STORM!"
As before, Lemina conjures a large icicle; this time, though, she puts a little more speed behind it, her whole body going into the flick of her staff like it's a lacrosse stick. It's a little unwieldy for being up this close, but the sheer speed Lemina manages to tease out of her sad nerd body might well make up for it.
GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Lock On! GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Ice Lance! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action!
DC: MISS! Xantia completely evades Ice Lance from Lemina Ausa!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The attempted mitigation of weirdness doesn't make Xantia feel any better. It's too late now, her mind's gotten stuck in a bad place. And now she's stuck with the irony of being too stubborn to give up and too desperate to keep going that she's breaking out all kinds of additional weirdness. But, mercifully, she is still herself. Nobody wants to see another Fargo happen, least of all Xantia. She'll fight with everything she has, but she refuses to lose control like that. Not again. Never again.
Which means that her current state - lightning crackling across her body - is her actual conscious doing. She has a lot of mixed feelings about the ability, since it is most definitely Weird, but in the end, it seems like a better idea to try to master it than to repress it, and risk losing control of it again. The lack of control is still evident: the lightning storm she unleashed, though mostly focused on Lemina, goes on to arc further than that, crashing into the symbology wards protecting the audience and filling the air with the smell of ozone.
This much doesn't phase Xantia. What Lemina says, that does give her pause. Though she didn't remark on it, she did take notice of the fact that Lemina's magic, too, was unusual. No obvious signs of Crests or Symbology involved. And yet, what Xantia can do is yet unlike anything that Lemina is familiar with? One hardly needs to give voice to it for her to feel like the weirdest person in the world right now.
Though visibly distressed, and leaving a clear opening for Lemina to cast her spell... the Ice Lance passes right through Xantia?? No, she's just moved again at impossible speeds, leaving only an afterimage to pass through. Before anything else, she launches a spinkick from her new position, using a similar technique as she employed before. But this time, the effect is different. The violent air displacement from her distant kick creates an actual small whirlwind, electricity dancing inside of it, to try and entrap Lemina with.
Only then does Xantia respond. She sounds... sad? "...must be nice. To know what your dreams are."
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Whirlwind Kick! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard! GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Xantia's Whirlwind Kick for 74 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Meanwhile...
- Shatter*
That's the sound of Xantia shattering Fei's heart when she talks about dreams. Or more accurately, a lack thereof. A visual representation of this happening to Fei has been deemed unsuitable for viewing so please enjoy this cute art of Jean, Fei, and Xantia enjoying parfaits.
Amnesia, you'll never forget it
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"... So that's..." Lemina pauses with a frown -- even as she brings up her staff, just as before, to try to block Xantia's kick. This time, though, the kick is a whirlwind unto itself; it's unusual, and Lemina has to adjust her defense at the last second when she realizes it's not just going to be a big ol' spin-kick that closes the gap.
The winds cut at Lemina's armor and the electricity bites at her, prompting a shout -- but Lemina doesn't go down just yet. She murmurs, "... It is," at first -- but even she realizes that that's a little too hurtful, even delivered solemnly, so she finishes, "... I hope you can find yours, too."
She bobs back and forth on her feet a little, trying to find a good, stable footing to aggress from again; her staff twirls, and she says, "For the sake of the Magic Guild of Vane, though... sorry, but I've gotta finish this!"
She spikes her staff into the ground with tremendous force, and the ground beneath Xantia heats up again. As before, there's a giant ring of fire -- but unlike before, instead of just cutting off avenues of escape and flaring up a little, it becomes a high vertical pyroclasm.
She turns away from Xantia for a moment, her expression... sadder than seems to suit the energetic, boisterous mage of Vane, and much moreso than the one who's been billed as the villain in this bout.
GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Pyro Pillar! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Xantia guards a hit from Lemina Ausa's Pyro Pillar for 76 hit points! GS: Mute! Statuses applied to Xantia!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It's nothing but the simple truth. Xantia's past contains all the dreams she used to have. How can she follow her dreams, when she doesn't know what they are? It would be awfully presumptuous to decide on new dreams, it would feel like she were giving up on the old ones. And giving up, that's just something she's not willing to do. She may just be flat out incapable of doing so, considering the fact that she probably has little business still being on her feet right now. She smiles, though, at Lemina's encouragement, affirming, "I will. One day."
But, in the end, this is still a battle. She has to stay focused, as tough as it may be. She's pushing her limits as it is. The ring of fire is a good move - once trapped, Xantia's ability to speed-dodge like she was doing before is cut off. She's been jumping through too much fire already, at this point she has to give pause and consider if she could do it again without collapsing in the process.
She isn't given a moment of contemplation. Additional fire bursts from the center of the ring, a fate that she was perhaps spared before due to her immediate willingness to take damage in exchange for a quick escape. Now, there truly is no more escape. Xantia is engulfed by the flames, obscured from sight.
And when the flames clear... Xantia is gone? Wait, there are wards to protect against being completely incinerated, aren't there? Yes, which is why the red-headed martial artist didn't suffer that fate. Eventually, she did move, just too late to avoid getting a serious scorching in the process. That one moment where Lemina looked away, she dashed from the flames, once more moving at - let's call it for what it is - inhuman speed, for just long enough to make it back towards her opponent, and throwing what will more than likely be one last punch.
Xantia is spent, seriously burned and frostbitten at the same time. So there's nothing left to do but pool together what internal energies she can still muster, and add it all to that one single punch. The explosion of energy caused in doing so is massive enough to launch herself backwards, landing flat on her back.
But, will she stay there? Even now, she's showing signs of struggling to get back up. Just... incapable of staying down, while she's still conscious.
GS: Xantia has attacked Lemina Ausa with Exploding Fist! GS: Xantia has completed her action. GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard! GS: Lemina Ausa guards a hit from Xantia's Exploding Fist for 91 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.
Jean remains silent now. No cheers, no advice, no nothing. The dancer doesn't even touch her food a she looks down to the two fighters, to Lemina and Xantia and how hard they're working.
She glances once at Fei, and reaches out to rub his shoulder. But then she's staring again, down at the arena.
She says one thing, "Lemina..." But Xantia is concerning too. All into one punch...
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Even though Lemina proves herself with tremendous reflexes -- not only turning back to face Xantia in time, not only realizing what the nature of her opponent's maneuver is, but also managing to throw up a full, thick shield of ice in the intervening moment -- it almost isn't enough. The force of Xantia's massive energetic explosion blows through the shield, raining ice shards into Lemina on top of the backblast itself.
She, too, ends up sent flying, landing on her side with a yelp as her shoulder hits the dirt, an ice shard getting slammed in by the force of her landing. "Nnghh... hhahh!" she groans, her expression souring as she tries once to get up. The count hits four.
"Nngngh...!" The count reaches seven. Lemina closes her eyes. Top eight in a contest you aren't even really 'the type' for isn't so bad, is it? Would it really be so bad to just lie down and...
Eight. It's at nine that Lemina remembers to use her other arm -- not the one that's freshly crunched and iced, thrashes in a circle, and pulls back to her feet. "... If there's anything I can do to help you find those dreams without giving up on my own," she breathes, pushing her hair back, "... just ask."
That's the final kindness Lemina does Xantia, for the moment. She doesn't have a lot left in the tank -- not for kindness, and honestly, not for anything. She plants her staff in the ground, using it as much to stand as to focus her magic, and tries again to form one of those massive ice lances.
She doesn't get one. She manages an icicle -- not feet long, maybe a foot at most -- before running out of energy. ... It'll have to be enough, she thinks, as she aims it carefully for Xantia's dominant arm, hoping to pin her to the ground and squeak out a victory by the count -- because she knows she can't beat Xantia on raw tenacity.
GS: Lemina Ausa has activated a Force Action! GS: You have activated the Force Action Lock On! GS: Lemina Ausa has attacked Xantia with Ice Pick! GS: Lemina Ausa has completed her action. GS: Xantia has activated a Force Action! GS: Xantia takes a solid hit from Lemina Ausa's Ice Pick for 91 hit points! GS: Xantia has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia won't stay down. She won't. She can't. As long as she has anything left, anything at all, she'll keep going. At this point, that 'anything' isn't a whole lot. But it consistently happens - the thought of giving up is violently pushed back against and rejected. If Lemina was at all within reach, she would have still tried to attack, no matter if all it amounted to would be some awkward flailing, the most likely event at this point. She hears Lemina's words, but is too focused on her attempts to regain enough balance to get to her feet again.
Until Lemina summons her icicle. Sends it towards Xantia's left arm - neither is dominant, that just happened to be the one she was using to prop herself up - with perfect accuracy... and piercing right through Xantia's hand.
With a pained scream, Xantia collapses, effectively rendered unable to get up in time to avoid a countout. Though perhaps a bit more brutal a result than intended, it simply was what it took for this to end. No one can fault Lemina for that. Well, some might, but Xantia won't.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina... decides to be a gracious winner. When the bell rings, she's immediately out toward Xantia; while she'd just left when she beat June, and hobbled off after defeating the "Dark Hero" "Z," Xantia... despite the pitched battle, she feels an obligation to help her.
To live a life bereft of dreams... that's exactly the kind of thing her mother would've said was just too sad. And as much as she wouldn't admit it to anyone but Xantia herself -- Lemina would say that, too.
"... Lemme help you to the ready room," Lemina says, gently. "I mean -- I'm not... in great shape either, so, it's gonna be best if we -- both make it there at once, right? Make it easy... on the medics. Hhhah."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
With all the tenacity she put on display, one might expect Xantia to be the kind to doggedly refuse help, and get back under her own power. But no, nothing of the sort. Once she manages to pull the sharp tip of the icicle free from her left hand, she readily offers her right for Lemina to help her get up.
"Yeah... rather not... be too much... of a burden," she explains, haltingly, painfully aware of all her injuries now that she's stopped pushing herself. Quick healing is another one of her abnormal traits, so she'll probably seek to sneak away from the medics sooner rather than later, if they haven't Xantia-proofed themselves better in the mean time.
"...good fight," she says a moment later, managing a smile. And despite everything, claiming, "I had fun."