6624/MECC: Nova Terra vs N'Raha

MECC: Nova Terra vs N'Raha
Date of Scene:	27 May 2019
Location:	Shrine of Adversity
Synopsis:	First round MECC action between N'raha and Nova Terra
Cast of Characters:	N'raha Tia, 6381, Inga

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N'raha Tia has posed:
    Tonight's match featured a pair of relative 'unknowns' among the larger Multiversal audience and perhaps that's much for the best. One of them isn't supposed to be found, while the other is 'new' again, after a long time away.
    That said the crowds aren't light for the show. Nor is this the typical place for a fight. It's not a sound stage, an arena, nothing like that. Instead, stands and seats have been set up outside a large section of scrub land and farms along the outskirts of a massive walled city. The astute among the crowd will know it to be Ul'dah, and tonight's match is in fact sponsored by the Eorzean Alliance Tourism Commission.
    A section of the surroundings have been cordoned off, including some rock formations, a bridge over a slow moving brook, and some sparse grasses and cacti.

    And in the middle of it all, stading on the edge of the bridge, is one N'Raha. He's clad in his full suit of armor, letting the setting sun glint off the shiny red metal, the desert breeze swaying the kilt of the chest piece. His massive ax Bravura waits for use, resting against his hands and the stone of the bridge.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    Blue light washes through the air to reveal Nova casually striding towards her starting position. Her rifle is resting over her shoulder, an amused smile on her face. So far she's been doing pretty well in the tournament. And if she can win this, her last fight for the round, she has a good chance of proceeding to the next.

    Nova glances around at the surroundings that have formed for this match. She doesn't recognise them. Or their significance. Doesn't really matter though. She'll adapt! Nova then looks to her opponent. She has naturally heard of N'Raha before. But they've only met the once. And she doesn't recall much. So she's going into this fight mostly blind. But then that's not all that unusual.

    Coming to a stop at the other end of the bridge, Nova gives a nod to N'Raha in greeting, "Nothing personal." Nova brings her visor down over her eyes and shifts her rifle into both hands. She keeps her focus on N'Raha as the countdown does its thing.

    3... 2... 1... The horn sounds!

    Nova turns and dashes to the side, beginning to head away from the bridge as she raises her rifle and fires off a burst of rounds at N'Raha. More surpressing fire than accurate killshots. Nova's obviously trying to keep the melee fighter away.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    NOT EVEN ANY PROPER PLEASANTRIES WHAT SORT OF MONSTERS ARE WE

    Raha waves a bit to Nova, seeing that rifle, knowing, well. He's up against a very accomplished and deadly assassin here. Gotta be on guard. Which is a shame as he's slightly taken off guard as that gun comes up immediately, and the catman is leaning into the shot, rather than shying away from it or getting up his defenses or anything. He yelps, and then the suppressing fire starts to rain in, and-

    Raha plants his boots, lifts up his ax, and- He's gone, in a cloud of red and dust and aether, suddenly barrelling across the sand and scrub to shoulder tackle Nova, and give her a swat with the flat of his ax for good measure. "Howdy."

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    The sudden disappearance of N'Raha from his original position and subsequent reappearance right near Nova is a bit of a surprise. But only a bit. Nova herself has the same move. She proves her reactions to be impressive as at the last moment she zigs to the side, avoiding the shoulder tackle. Then as the axe is swung towards her, she turns and twists her body to it just barely misses.

    During the same motion evasive motion that Nova pulls off, she brings the end of her rifle around, swinging it towards N'Raha's head in an attempt to give him a bit of a tap with the butt. It's not a heavy blow though, as Nova remains somewhat defensive, jumping away from N'Raha to get a little distance.

    Recovering and standing straight, Nova gives N'Raha a grin, "Hey." There's your pleasantries!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    If someone was going to list the people Raha has problems fighting against, so far it would have to be foxes and metaphorical foxes. Because as Nova avoids that attack and plonks him in the head, the strike rings at his helmet, blonging at his ears and making him stagger and take some... very unsteady steps. He shakes out his ears, or tries to, forced to lift up his visor to try and get his bearings. He stammers a bit, and hikes up the ax again, lashing out with a cry.
    There's a wash of energy, several axe shaped blasts of irritating aether sweeping out from the head, peppering at Nova's location.

Inga has posed:
Inga was a tad bit late, but she is here, sitting right near the front, her staff across her lap and a steaming cup of tea in her hand in a nice porcelain cup. She's dressed in a long blue dress in a medieval style, made in light linen, a belt around her waist hung with charms, a small knife, and a leather pouch.

She has a small blue flag in her other hand that reads, more or less, "Go Raha!" or some such. She waves it lightly! Maybe she'll be good luck.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    "Bye!"

    Nova is still grinning as blue light washes over her body. Just as N'Raha unleashes his attack. The Ghost quickly disappears from view, moments before the axe blasts pepper her location. Unfortunately they hit nothing, as apparently Nova is no longer there.

    For a short time, Nova is nowhere.

    There's a muffled gunshot. A single round streaks towards N'Raha from the side. Unlike the earlier shots, this one is much more accurate and thus much more deadly.

    The shot does highlight Nova's location for a moment, the air shimmering as her cloak is disturbed. The outline of Nova can be seen, rifle raised, head looking down the scope.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    All this dodging around, all these faints, and Raha is suddenly remembering why he does not enjoy fighting shinobi. Because they do this sort of thing all the damn time. It's even more evident when that blast SWATS into his side, denting the molded armor, and staggering him off balance. There's a...
    Well. It's not a happy noise. A lion's roar escapes that visor, Raha's eyes starting to glow red in the dark of that helmet. But he can see her. She's got to plant her feet to properly aim and fire, and as the blast hits him, he's moving again. Much faster than anyone in his sort of armor ought to be. Who knows what it's made out of though. That axe comes around, and the catman... judges. No. She's moved. She has to have moved. And instead of a straight overhead swing, there's a wider, heavier chop, that sends him slightly off balance.

Inga has posed:
"Now is not the time for fury, Raha! You must focus to predict what she will do!" Inga calls out her advice, hoping to help him keep his fury in check. There's time when a berserker is needed, and times when it's a bad idea to let yourself give in to that rage.

Tea-sip.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    N'Raha apparently judges correctly. As the shimmer of Nova's cloak begins to fade, once more hiding her from view, N'Raha's axe comes swinging in. Nova had indeed tried to move to avoid it, but fails to move enough.

    The edge of the axe slices into the Ghost.

    Nova's suit manages to absorb some of the damage, keeping it from being a particularly bad blow. But the axe still manages to cut through to her skin, drawing blood. The hard hit throws off her concentration, Nova's cloak failing to reveal her once more. Quickly going defensive, Nova jumps away from N'Raha, starting to run away to gain some distance once more.

    However, Nova does not expect the Miqo'te to simply let her do so. Which is why she left a little something behind to delay him as she retreated. The spherical Pulse Grenade rolls across the ground at N'Raha's feet. There's only moments to react before it unleashes a blast of destructive energy.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    And the catman has exactly ZERO interest in losing Nova again. Which is why he sees the magitech device, considers things, and then charges right on through it, lowering his shoulder, and letting the concussive blast rattle his armor again because...

    There's an aetheric noise as the smoke clears and the catman out of that heavier plate, shed down to chainmail and boots and rage in his eyes. The Odin's Fury is reaching him, and he's blistering to beat the snot out of Nova, it would seem.
    And that's bad, because it's apparent to the psychic powers of the Ghost that the miqo'te's energy has shifted from a defense mien to something much more deadly. This could be a problem.

    That ax comes around again, a straight overhand swipe downwards at Nova's postion, followed up by a skipping step and a massive cleave. "STOP RUNNING AND FIGHT ME, HYUR."

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    Her opponent seems angry.

    Good.

    Nova is caught up to once more, the first swipe slashing into her back. Once more it cuts through her suit, drawing a line of blood. Nova cries out in pain. But even in her pain she's able to sense the follow up cleave. She raises her arm in time to catch the blow on her wrist armour. Her arm is still pushed to the side and she is sent flying a short distance by the power of the blow. But at least the axe blade didn't penetrate.

    Nova bounces on the ground before twisting her body and skidding to a stop on her feet. There's some pain on her face, but she still manages a smirk as she raises her head to N'Raha, "Why? This is much more fun!" Her hand reaches down to her armored boot. In one swift move she pulls out a combat knife and sends it flying towards N'Raha, aimed for an opening in his armor.

    Nova is then off and running again, making her way back towards the bridge that the two had started on.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Another decisive strike, and the Warrior of Light now has a dagger stuck in his shoulder. He angrily wrenches it free, blood spraying the sand, there's a moment when that right arm goes limp, but it's ONLY a moment as Raha's energy surges, and spikes and overflows. He's drawing Aether from somewhere, some deep well of pain and wrath that splits the Wash with his rage, the lion's roar nearly deafening. BUT.

    The 200 Percent Angry is only going to take him so far. The rest he's having to do himself. Which is why he's charging right alongside Nova, that ax swinging up and around. There's a sudden, baleful rush of energy, as the head of that ax flashes over a dangerously lurid red, and it comes down right in Nova's path... followed by a massive flurry of follow up strikes, one after another, ghostly after images of his attack ringing out and blistering the surface of the bridge, if not the Ghost.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    As they reach the bridge, Nova actually throws away her rifle. She reaches up to grab the handle of her psi-blade. Pulled free, the sword's blade forms from psionic energy. Nova then spins around to face N'Raha as he makes that first swing.

    Nova's psi-blade meets N'Raha's axe. Red clashes against blue. The two weapons separate, only for another strike to come in and the two to meet again. Nova ducks beneath the third blow, weaves around the fourth, brings her blade up again to meet the fifth. Nova's not the greatest swordsman around, but she's using her nimble nature well to make up for it.

    But each strike is forcing Nova back a step. And soon enough she's up at the edge of the bridge.

    The two weapons clash again, getting locked into a struggle. The strain on Nova's face is easily noticeable. But she's grinning through it.

    Is it enjoyment?

    Or has N'Raha followed her to where she wanted him?

    Nova suddenly gives in to the struggle, letting N'Raha's axe slide down and off her blade. It just barely misses her as she slips around the Miqo'te. Psychic energy flares up around her hand as she tries to place it against N'Raha's back. On contact, she unleashes the massive telekinetic burst. The close contact blast alone is enough to wrack N'Raha's body inside his armour. But the force can also send him flying off the bridge, adding the fall.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    And that strike, it's a clear shot, right at the catman's vitals, N'raha's not even defending them... but as the psiblade comes in, there's a moment of clarity in the miqo'te's eyes, as he meets Nova's gaze. And if she'd look down... there's a glowing, horrible chain of energy linking the two around the midsection now. It's got them BOTH locked into place now, with no where left to go.
    Raha's chest is a mangle of blood and chainmail, his chest shredded, blood seeping from the gaps in the armor. But he's not giving up just yet. "...NOT. YET."
     His fangs click together, and he just leans forward and HEADBUTTS the trapped Ghost, following up with a straight strike with the shaft of his ax against her own chest.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    Nova is shocked. Like. Visibly shocked. She had not expected N'Raha to be able to withstand that level of punishment. A close range telekinetic blast like that has shattered the limbs of lesser men in the past. Not only did N'Raha survive it, but he also held his ground against the force.

    In her shock, Nova is caught off guard by the headbutt. She stumbles back, losing her grip on her weapon. The blue glow of the blade fades as the sword clatters to the ground. Nova looks open to the follow up attack.

    But looks can be deceiving!

    Nova manages to recover her senses in time. She twists her body at the last moment, the jab from the axe shaft grazing along her side. With one hand she grabs onto the weapon, pulling it further towards her to hopefully unbalance N'Raha.

    Nova steps into the cat's space, other hand moving to grab his arm. She then plants her shoulder into him, twisting as she leverages all the psi-enhanced strength provided by her suit to try and lift N'Raha up into the air, over her, then slamming down into the ground.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There's so much rage. So much fury in the cat's eyes, even as he watches Nova sway with the strike and come back at him with that throw. But this time there is no getting away. After all, he's got them leashed together, doesn't he.
    The judo throw is enough, and the catman cracks his head against the bridge, going quite still.

Inga has posed:
Inga gasps, covering her eyes for a moment. She knows its the shrine, it will fix him, but...

She moves down toward them anyway, pulling the knife from her belt and slicing into her arm, throwing her strongest blood magic healing spell toward him. Even if the shrine fixes him, the pain is very real. She doesn't want him to have to feel it any longer than necessary.

Inga nods to Nova. "If you would like a healing boost as well, I can provide one. I don't...know how quickly the magic of this place works."

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    Nova stumbles back after the throw, catching her breath and waiting to see if the cat can stand. He does not. Soon enough the fight horn sounds as Nova is declared the winner!

    Nova takes in a deep breath, even as the Shrine's effects begin to reverse the serious injuries the two suffered. Turning to look at Inga as she offers healing, Nova shakes her head, "I'll be alright. It doesn't take too long."

    Nova looks down at N'Raha, expecting him to recover soon enough. She grins, "Man, can you take a hit!"

N'raha Tia has posed:
    between the energies from his seer and the Shrine it's not taking long for the miqo'te to recover. Those eyes snap open, and Raha's quickly struggling ot catch his breath again, tamping down the rush of adrenaline that's shoving its way out of his body now. He sits upwards, his armor fading away to a white beach shirt and board shorts. Very casual. "Hnnngggg.... that's what I'm here for, put myself between the bad things and other people." A wry grin, and then a wince. "You're slippery." His ears wilt a bit. Another loss.

Inga has posed:
Inga nods, and reaches a hand down to Raha. "Come on. I'll make you some catnip tea," she says.

"Congratulations on your win," she says the Nova, then leans on her staff to make her exit. She was hoping there'd be more people she knew to talk to in the audience. Alas.

Nova Terra (6381) has posed:
    Nova walks over to collect her weapons. She does chuckle at N'Raha's compliment, "Well. That kind of is my job!"

    Nova returns her rifle and sword to her back, then smile at Inga, "Thanks." Nova begins to walk towards the exit, saying in parting, "Good luck in the rest of your fights!"