6648/MECC: Starbound Flotilla vs. Riku

MECC: Starbound Flotilla vs. Riku
Date of Scene:	02 June 2019
Location:	MECC Arena 2
Synopsis:	Moonfin of the Flotilla vs. Riku! Things get anime.
Cast of Characters:	6928, Starbound Flotilla
Tinyplot:	MECC 2019

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Riku (6928) has posed:
A TALE OF SOULS AND SWORDS, ETERNALLY RETOLD.

Mostly because no one really seems to die or anything. But then, that's intentional in the MECC. Lethalities look bad and what do you think this is, /actual/ bloodsport? No, this is SPORTSBALL FIGHTMANS. As usual, the arena is hype, and Riku walks into the battlefield in his purple battle suit, giving a jaded look over the people howling to watch him beat up another guy. He gives them an idle wave, but mostly crosses his arms as his opposition makes their own entry into the arena. Looks like whoever's controlling the field settings hasn't chosen anything fancy yet, at least, which could mean anything here.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Moonfin, the soft-blue fishman, arrives with an activation of the MECC's systems that's quite stylish. Water crashes dramatically at the edge of the arena. Only the Starbound Flotilla could pump a small lake's worth of water into the facility, reality-warping zone or no. Moonfin steps dramatically out of it, ascending a staircase built below. Around him, several tiny islands rise, and trees rapidly grow from the earth using esoteric technologies until they bloom into cherry blossoms and begin to cascade their fresh flowery payload onto the field. This isn't even the MECC's field stuff, this is just the Starbound Flotilla doing homemade theatricality.

    His armor is a stylish mix between a samurai's armor and a diving suit, an aesthetic that matches an elegantly-crafted katana sheathed at his waist in what looks like a diver-style piece of industrial equipment. He draws it in one clean motion, whips it just barely above the surface of the water such that it stays dry while still kicking up a stylish slicing wake, and then steps to his corner of the arena and takes a ready position.

    "There is no artistry in your efforts here. What is the purpose of having this battle before millions of eyes, if you shall not grant them a gift of beauty? Hmph. I should hardly expect such efforts from one who is not Hylotl. Ready yourself for the moment I tell you that you are no longer permitted to blink." He takes a dramatic stance, blade parallel to his contemptuous scowl and vision filling with cyan readouts.

    Ding! And as they begin, Moonfin's already blasting off. Microthrusters in the armor and quick steps of his own bring Moonfin in close. "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Waves Heralding Storms!" His wide, sweeping swipes are meant to feel out Riku's defenses, and to most of all prevent him from maneuvering or conveniently parrying, all motions meant to ensure a price for blocking, even if it can't get around the block.

Riku (6928) has posed:
Riku looks around at the changes as the environment takes on a state that is very much suited to his opponent. He looks up to watch the Hylotl descend deamatically and arches an eye. "Fancy." He says simply. "Are you sure these people here are here for beauty, or to watch two people fight it out?"

He smirks a little, still apparently barehanded...

And then the samurai fishman comes in hot and fast, Riku flicking his hand moments before impact as his blade manifests. The Soul Eater slashes out, clashing and taking the first strike,, then the second, but then his arm buckles under the strikes, the blade slashing past and forcing his weapon aside as the blade leaves long cuts in him. "Gggh!" He grunts, suddenly lunging backwards to get a moment of breath to reset himself. "Okay, looks like you're not all talk. But now it's my turn."

A moment later, Riku slashes forward, driving in low with a series of sweeping strikes before his other hand comes around, burning with dark fire. "DARKNESS!" He yells, the hand exploding into a point-blank burst, hoping to open up the Hylotl's guard so he can cleave through!

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    And cleave he may. Moonfin guards against the sweeping low strikes easily, /smugly/, but the blast slams Moonfin's guard aside abruptly; he winds up taking a few of those shots dead-on straight to the armor, and getting blasted back as a result. Sparks spray, and crumpled pieces of ablated metal are discarded through the arena. He grits his teeth, skidding to a stop and restoring his guard. "Negative space is meant to be a tasteful addition to a piece," He says scornfully. "Not the substance of a work."

    Flicking the blade to one side, he casts off the lingering embers of blackness still alight on his armor. He takes another stance, blade pointed up boldly, and twists something in the hilt; it suddenly thrums with exotic elemental energies, mostly some kind of radiation and magnetism. "I shall fill this place with more than shadow. Hmph. Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Lightning Striking Waves!"

    With this power-building process underway, he rushes, now with a variety of thrusts joining the broad sweeps that burst with dramatic blasts of esoteric cosmic energies. Moonfin intends to make a multicolor dazzle of energy around Riku with each assault, and keep enough energies in motion to hopefully push back some of that darkness!

Riku (6928) has posed:
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Riku replies as he stalks forward, looking for an opportunity to follow up his attack... But then the response comes slashing across the arena, decorating it with gleaming energy. "What the...!?" He gasps, taken aback by the flashy strike, throwing off his defenses as he struggles to try to keep himself from getting carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Unfortunately, the Hylotl proves to be very efficient at setting a table, and Riku quickly looks like a patchwork of tingling cuts, his body scorching as the swordwork dips past his guard easily. He can't keep up with this. Not like this. "So that's how it's going to be, huh?" He says, before leaping backwards... Right into a gaping hole of blackness that opens in space, swallowing him up!

He reappears then, not behind the Hylotl like he might expect, but in front of him and to one side... Where a black creature erupts out of it, a hulking thing bound in white bandages, with clawed muscular arms, glowing yellow eyes... And a gaping hole in its chest in the shape of a heart. The creature plunges forward with a sudden brute-force crushing strike, Riku dropping out behind it to slash past and savage the Hylotl's flanks with his own blade!

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The hulking beast attacks. Moonfin keeps his stance as the beast comes down with massive crushing impact, and slams hard into the ground, enough to tear a crater into it and blast a shockwave through the entire arena. But before it does... "First Sea Hylotl Style: Still Waters." It's not that Moonfin doesn't move. Rather, it's that Moonfin moves at the absolute minimum. He steps aside, and takes no more than two calm paces, but each pace is precisely calculated to move him just barely out of the way; his stop is just as calculated to prevent the slash from reaching him with a slow, calm, methodical motion to catch the slash at the hilt of his blade.

    "Shadow." He says. "Darkness. Negative space defines the boundaries of art. It describes its context. But it is not art itself, merely that within which art may be defined. A duel is beautiful, because beauty is where skill and style meet; a well-executed victory is artistic." His weird philosophy session is swiftly concluded, as he twists the hilt of his blade and de-locks them.

    His body is saturated in a rush of light, seemingly building up energy. "I will show you, in fact, before this duel is done. But I warn you for the second time, that I shall not permit you to blink when I do." The waves of energy coming off of him are enough to cause some damage on their own, tearing up the upper layer of the ground and actually having enough force to bruise. "Three more of my onslaughts shall fall upon your shoulders; upon the third, you are forbidden to turn your eyes away."

Riku (6928) has posed:
The way Moonfin moves to stop Riku with that absolute display of grace and economy is not only shocking, but it draws a deep scowl from Riku, the situation stinging clearly as much emotionally as he feels physically. "Darkness is what I have to work with. That's like me complaining that you use a sword."

The energy waves force Riku and the dark creature with him back, the rumbling power staggering him before he straightens himself up.

"Whatever your reasons are, I'm not a duelist. I'm just here to test myself and get stronger. If I have three attacks from you left..."

He scowls. "Then I just have to beat you before then!" Beside him, the Eidolon smashes forward, aiming not at Moonfin but the ground beneath, smashing the island and cratering it with intense force. Riku tumbles over it, bouncing off its back as he throws out his hand. This time, the darkness snaps out, trying to grab Moonfin around the neck and yanking him up into the air, whereupon Riku moves with unnatural speed and motion, rebounding in the air to slash past the Hylotl... And then the Eidolon is there, slamming towards Moonfin while Riku spins and hurls another dark fireball at him in a brutal combination attack!

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "And miss the beauty of your own defeat?" Moonfin asks, incredulous. "The sublime artistry of what shall fell you? No, I think not." He's grabbed, yanked, and yanked hard. "Ghhhh--! Overcoming the mere impact of my energy systems shall not be enough!" He says. "The first stage of the grand three onslaughts need not only be overcome, but opposed in its nature! The first of your mistakes!" He maneuvers the blade in his hands just enough to avoid the worst of the slashing strike. Then the Eidolon's attack! He twists enough to roll with the strike, but winds up rolling right into the fireball. His entire body suddenly flickers, flashes, and disappears with a short "blip!"

    he skids to a stop some distance from where he was, evading the grapple through what looks to be some kind of short-range telepoert. "First is a strike of preparation. Next is a strike of denying the foe their own." Moonfin says, wiping a thin trickle of exotic alien blood from his visor. He plants his feet in a /wide/ stance. "Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Streams Carving Canyons! HAIYAH!" He vanishes. Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick. He zips abruptly to places defined in an elaborate pattern, rushing fast to slice and dice Riku and his Eidolon with small cuts that evoke huge magnetic impact. He rushes in long, stylish lines and wide curves, and slices just near them.

    But each one comes from a strange angle, each one lashes out with elaborate cosmic energies, trying to wear away Riku's ability to resist and set him up for something truly dangerous. Esotetic radiations build up in armor and tough flesh, trying to weaken them, if just for a moment, in preparation for something big coming up next...!

Riku (6928) has posed:
What Riku was not expecting is that Moonfin has his own teleportation! This quickly allows the Hylotl to break the air juggle combination before he can finish it off, Riku hitting the ground and skitting away opposite the samurai with a deepening scowl of irritation. "There's nothing beautiful or artistic in losing! If you lose, you're dead! That's how it works everywhere else!"

He straightens up. "Where do you get off? You're nothing but-" What he might be is unknown, however, as Riku is suddenly under assault. He works to try to guard against the onslaught, getting lightly sliced as the strange energies begin building up around himself and his dark ally, making it harder and harder to move properly. He feels so.... /heavy/. "It's not..." He gasps, forcing himself to move despite the apparent weight and growing bulkiness of his body. "OVER!"

At that, the Eidolon slides over and pulls Riku up before simply /hurling/ him at his opponent, abandoning any fancy maneuvers to simply deliver a close-in explosive blast of power! He might be slowed down, but he can still use his darkness...

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Moonfin skids to a stop after that cosmic energy therapy session. He keeps his blade near his side, held in a strange grip. "Hmph." He makes a particularly arrogant noise. "There is nothing beautiful /about/ losing. Victory is a canvas. So is defeat. The beauty that can be found there is that which we paint upon it. We are the men whose duty it is to take the ugliness of that fundamental nature of conflict, and grant it the beauty it deserves." He shifts the grip further, taking one hand in reverse, the other rightways, holding the blade quite worryingly horizontal. What's the plan?

    His foe declares that it's not over, and goes directly for him. He makes a contemptuous "heh" sort of noise. "It is now. Dare not blink; I will not forgive you if you fail to witness the beauty I craft from your defeat." His legs bend hard, and the built-up energy in his armor suddenly comes to such a head that the ground beneath him is blasted apart by the shockwave of his stepping forward. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Burial at Sea."

    He moves forward at exactly the same speed as Riku's fastball special. His blade is folded behind him, stylishly kept in aerodynamic place like the spoiler of a fast car. He launches off of the ground to meet Riku at the same angle as his approach. What happens next is very nearly impossible for any human being to see. Most notably, Moonfin moves and somehow cleaves directly through the explosive. His ability to, ah, improbably defend is limited, and so it only blunts and reduces the damage. When he arcs out of that meeting-in-the-middle strike, he winds up skidding to a stop and clutching one shoulder that was most severely exposed to the damage. But it's not quite enough. He only winces for one second.

    Then, of course, shithead that he is, he dramatically draws his katana along the opening of his matter-manipulator sheath, then slowly inches it inside. And the moment the hilt clicks into place, Riku will likely be able to comprehend the full beautiful details of the precise, stylishly geometric arc with which Moonfin's shining, shimmering, energized blade tried to precisely and deftly carve a deep cut into his body. It was so fast that it's hard to realize it happened. In fact, it was so fast and precise that, if he made that cut, it'll only reveal itself at the exact moment of the...

    Click!

Riku (6928) has posed:
Riku was expecting something like this, but there's something to be said for the experience of it all. As he blasts the Hylotl, Riku is told to not blink. Is he blinking? It's hard to tell at this point with just how things pan out. As they swap places, Riku hits the ground, standing there as Moonfin does his dramatic pose.... And when his blade is sheathed, everything goes dark as Riku suddenly explodes in an artful roostertail of blood, scattering with the sakura petals. If this was any more anime, there would probably be ancient Hylotl text with the name of the attack showing up as it happens.

It probably does, but who's counting.

Riku falls in the aftermath of the attack, slumping down while the hyperconfident Hylotl likely revels in the artful strike... Until a clawed hand grips around the back of Moonfin's head, a horrible presence right behind him as it tightens on his helmet. A voice, terrible and dark, whispers into his ear: "I didn't blink. Did you?"

A moment later, he is hurled into the air bodily, Riku taking a risk that Moonfin can't teleport himself out so quickly of another aerial assault. But it frankly doesn't matter, as black holes begin to yawn open all over the battlefield, Riku plummeting into one that gapes open below him. While Moonfin flies through the air, Riku emerges from portal after portal, bleeding profusely from a massive slash through his center mass. His expression is one of unrelenting focus as he carves down and through Moonfin's position, only to fall into another Corridor.

Then he does it again. And again. And again. And faster. And again. And faster. And faster. And again. It keeps going over and over until Moonfin figures out a way to break out of the assault, or Riku runs out of energy, eventually collapsing to the ground.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The clawed hand grabs Moonfin. "Wh--!" He starts, his HUD suddenly flashing red. "NO!" He's yanked hard, launched into the air. His microthrusters start to try to right his body, and that's exactly when Riku manages to carve into his armor. "How! How did you--" He takes another slam. "How did you survive--!?" He draws his sword and only manages to block the worst of another hefty strike. "Impossible!!" He declares, in profound frustration. One of the strikes even manages to slam the sword away from his hands, smashing it into the ground.

    "Aaaaaargh!" He cries out in the classic way of old samurai movies, as one gets really, really intense purchase. That's when his whole body shudders, the power systems in his armor seem to spark and shut down, and he goes kind of limp, battered around until Riku finishes, and collapses.

    The armored figure slams into the ground limply. It looks like Riku's the winner! The twitching, sparking form has no motion. No sword. And... no face in the helmet. Moonfin isn't inside the armor. He's elsewhere, unarmored, and has pulled his sword out of the arena floor. He's approaching Riku, who has collapsed, but is still battle-ready. He waits only for him to start getting up to start wailing on him.

    "It is impressive that your swan song could annihilate my armor so lethally." Heavy overhead strikes, mixed with tough kicks and elbow slams. "I will have to ensure Seft's craft accommodates such things in the future." He spits, venom on his voice. "But it will not be enough. I granted you the chance to suffer a beautiful defeat, but such things are pearls before swine for you. If you shall not have a beautiful defeat?" He starts mixing it up, pummeling with the hilt of the blade as well. "I shall grant you the ugly defeat your worldview so craves." No called style name for this nasty finishing effort, but the fact that it's so distributed over multiple blows, and the fact that Moonfin is now unarmored, means there's a chance Riku might lash out and get this last moment victory...

Riku (6928) has posed:
Riku slowly staggers to his feet afterwards, the effort of the attack clearly mingling with blood loss to put him clearly on his last legs. He tries to move to intercept Moonfin's attack, but it is too slow. Maybe if he were not drained, if he was not weakened, he might have fended it off.... But no, not like this. Riku tries to interpose his blade, but Moonfin simply smashes into him, beating through his guard and cutting int him over and over until finally, he falls backwards, hitting the ground, even the Eidolon melting away as Riku loses the last of his fight, unable to do anything more.

The buzzer sounds, announcing Moonfin the winner, and Riku grunts as the arena starts to undo the damage, reinvigorating him.... But not immediately. Moonfin stands victorious... But not as beautiful as he had hoped.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Moonfin pants from the exhaustion and exertion of the process, sheathing his sword with a much less graceful motion. "Everyone thinks they're better than a beautiful defeat. But in the end, we are the men who make our own choices about how we treat these things. We can choose a cruel and brutal world, the one provided without question and by default, or we can choose a beautiful one. You said you only have the power of darkness, and that all battle is ugly, but have you ever tried to search for another power? Do you even want battle to be something else? Hmph. Do not blame the world for your unwillingness to seek a greater choice."

    He's being a huge over-assuming dick, but that's just the usual Moonfin and his usual arrogance. He moves to collect his slowly-repairing armor -- what, not even a handshake? /Dick!/ -- and makes his haughty exit.

Riku (6928) has posed:
Much of Riku wants to just discard and spit the arrogant Hylotl's words back in his face, but something he says interrupts him before he snarks back.

Did he ever try to search for another power? The question causes him to pause in his retort, and he simply replies with a grunt. Not much of a response, but certainly a kinder one than Riku was planning to give. As he gains some small measure of strength back, he watches Moonfin take his leave, and shakes his head, quietly pondering.

Looks like he has some things to work out after all.