Scene #6541: MECC: Starbound Flotilla vs Katt

Owner	Pose
Katt	The MECC stage is not yet completely online. In its waiting state, it looks like nothing but an empty, slightly technological field before the system activates and gives terrain and obstacles to the combatants, surrounded by seating, cameras, and people. And security systems so that none of the above get hurt or damaged, but that goes without saying. Katt, being Katt, is early. She is eager for (another) go-around at a match; she hasn't placed very well yet and is eager to change that. Plus, she was a gladiator for years in Coursair; she both has a reputation to maintain, and enjoys interacting with the crowd. Inasmuch as you can when the crowd is this big and out of reach. Still, she vaulted into the arena in a decidedly show-off-y way to try to get the eyes of the crowd on her, and has been spending at least part of her time since trying to keep enthusiasm high, giving a salute with her staff toward the audience before turning back to watch for her opponent.
Starbound Flotilla	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. 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. "Am I to battle some manner of furred Floran? Hmph. Prove your distance from a savage styling or do not, but defeat shall come for you inevitably regardless." Moonfin declares, flicking his katana into a challenging point dead-on at Katt. The water recedes from the edge of the battle area. "Do not begrudge me my victory over you. Instead, begrudge its inevitability." What an /asshole/. He takes a ready stance, waiting for the arena to finish booting, and the opening bell to ring.
Katt	The arena programming of the MECC seems to agree with the theatrics of Moonfin's arrival; Katt's side of it spreads out to make a sandy beach that gradually turns into grass, with her standing on a large flat rock instead of the little pedestal she'd started on top of. A shoreline match, then, with some decorative islands far closer to shore than they would be in a normal place. "I don't know what a Floran is," Katt says, one ear flicking in irritation. "I'm a woren, so close but no prize. And you're welcome to try, but if you think I'm an easy target, I think you have a little bit to learn... manillo." (It's not an insult if nobody knows what you're talking about. Katt has forgotten that Moonfin probably doesn't.) The bell rings before Katt can push that line any harder, and she's off like a shot. Nothing about her is slow; she bounds off the rock, tears through the beach and is approaching Moonfin surprisingly quickly in a headlong rush. Katt pulls up - slightly - at the last moment, delivering a sweeping series of blows meant to keep Moonfin off-balance while she circles around him, splashing through the shallow water. She might look like a cat, but she doesn't seem particularly vexed by said water.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin's blocks are flat, almost automated, clearly a combination of both practice and the machinery of his samurai armor moving elegantly but rigorously to interpose the blade between him and Katt's strikes. This leads to no rolling with the punches, and his arms suffering a jarring impact strain, but he's not going to do it for long. It doesn't get him off-balance, though. Instead, the effort to take him off-balance seems to evoke a look of hostile contempt. "All that are not Hylotl are, in their own way, easy targets. Third Sea Hylotl Style: Treacherous Harbor." A single elegant motion catches one of the sweeping strikes; Moonfin twists along it with his entire body, turning so that it moves around him, forcing it down so he can spring-jump off of it, and leaping into a stylish overhead slash that's meant to flip over Katt and land behind her, a preface to a new barrage of tightly-controlled thrusts. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Icebreaker Vessel!"
Katt	Katt's reaction to Moonfin not rolling with the blows is to push harder. She's strong - stronger than she looks, for certain - and she figures he has to strain to hold her off, so maybe she can tire him out. Her increased effort means that, when Moonfin guides the staff around him, she overextends. It's just for a moment, but it gives him the opportunity to spring upward - assisted by Katt lifting her staff to toss Moonfin higher, hoping he lands badly. He doesn't, though it's enough to make the first overhead slash miss her. Not the follow-up thrusts, though; Katt is hard-pressed to hold those off via whirling the staff in a defensive manner, but it looks like Moonfin is holding her down... ...until she lifts one foot and kicks, trying to force him back just enough that she can spring backwards, toward shore. If he has the advantage in the shallow water (and he might) she doesn't want to leave him there. "Do you only know six styles?" she asks. "Because that's not enough. You should be willing to improvise!"
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin skids back from the hefty kick, flicking the blade down to halt his motion stylishly. "Hmph. Improvisation is for those who have not already solved /perfection/. I know the breadth of the seas of the Hylotl styles. You are like many, only worth the first through the sixth. You shall never hope to be worth more, 'Woren'." He says, smugging intolerably at Katt. He pulls his blade out of the wet sand. "If you want more? Earn it." He flicks the sand away, then draws the blade back into a ready stance for another powerful assault. With a loud kiai, he slams one foot onto the ground with enough force to kick up a wave of water and sand, then like a streak of light he seems to short-range teleport right into Katt's face. "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Crashing Waves!" His swipes are made with such force and such strange technology that they not only menace dangerously with each swing, but even emit huge tremors that threaten to knock Katt off her feet, unsteady her, and make focusing a nightmare, while granting him an advantage in the momentum of the battle!
Katt	Katt fumes at Moonfin's response to her. Really, what a jerk! "Man, you're a jerk!" she says, out loud, because of course she does. Katt is spending more of her attention on fighting than witty repartee, as she often does - she gets really into fighting sometimes, and she's going to do that this time, too. But 'more' doesn't mean 'all'. "We'll see who's standing when this is over," she snaps. The quaking attack is... new. Not entirely new - Katt has fought people who could make the earth move before - but new for this match, and not what she was expecting out of her opponent. He rushes her, but she stands her ground except for one step back to absorb the first teleporting rush, leaning back as she deflects at least some of the strikes. She feels the quakes run through her arms every time she even comes close to blocking a strike. And Katt knows she can't stand that for long; she's a lot of things, but she's not all that tough. So she doesn't. She tilts back, back - and falls down backwards, but hooks her staff around Moonfin to try to pull him down with her, on top of her just as she raises her feet. If she manages it, she kicks him off, launching him up and over - and right into one of those pretty cherry-blossom trees he used in his introduction. It serves him right, she thinks, viciously, as she rises back up and tries to knock sand off the back of her legs with her tail. Which is equally sandy, so this does nothing useful.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin is sprung off of Katt's feet. But in mid-air, something strange happens. His armor glints oddly, and his body twists and turns, until he lands right on one of those trees. On his feet, elegantly poised, like some kind of dancer, blade at his side. Like he /meant/ to do that. He even has his eyes closed for it! "I am not a 'jerk'." He says, smugly. He is a jerk, but that's just my opinion as a writer. "Perfection is perfection, savage warrior. To call it anything else is simply to lie for the sake of comfort." The armor on his lower legs makes a "ca-chunk!" noise, ejecting a pair of thin cartridges of some kind of glass. Hyperglass, used in his maneuver! Taken from The Line and depleted to power his motion! "So struggle, warrior, and claim all you wish that you have a chance in this battle, but know that you do not have one. Observe, and despair." He kneels on the branch he landed on, and the armor builds up energy. The petals around him swirl as he says, "Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Storms Upon Seas.". And they follow as he leaps high into the air. he descends with a dramatic kiai... "HOAH!!" He strikes from above, blade twisted down, and the shockwave of the impact is enough to leave a crater on the beach and kick up a tall wave of water, shaking the entire arena with force that he's trying to bring directly down onto Katt!
Katt	Damn, Katt thinks. He's agile. She would have trouble recovering in such a way as to land on one of the trees, and she's agile enough to balance on her staff while it's on end. Or... Her eyes narrow as she looks at his armour a little more closely. Is he cheating? Of course, it's not really cheating, but Katt has some opinions. Even without it, he'd be good; she can tell that. But he's got some good gear, and Katt has a stick. To be fair, it's a nice stick. Katt does not stick around to be dived on. Moonfin doesn't touch her directly... but he doesn't need to; the shockwave from the impact blasts her off her feet, sending her tumbling back. Somewhere midroll, she jams the butt of her staff into the sand, and the whole thing bends dangerously as she keeps going... ...and then it snaps straight, sending Katt flying directly back toward Moonfin! She does a somersault flip while in midair, driving her clawed foot toward his shoulder and trying to half-kick, half-bowl over Moonfin. "HAIYAA!" It's not a powerful attack; it's as much an improvised method to get her close to Moonfin as anything else. But sometimes, that's what you need.
Starbound Flotilla	"A poor choice." Moonfin mutters, as she closes in hard. She slams into him, and they're suddenly in close-quarters combat. Moonfin calls out again, "Ghhh! A poor choice, but an /annoyingly/ painful one. Third Sea Hylotl Style: Treacherous Harbor." Again, he takes close-quarters striking to its limits, whirling and leaping and jabbing. His grip is choked, and he's suddenly terribly unafraid to manhandle his own blade with his gauntlet just to improve its maneuvering and blocking against staff and flesh alike. "This shall be your last chance. I end this match... In the two more moves!" He declares, eyes suddenly blazing with cyan light as his helmet projects a dense HUD over his vision. "Be ready, warrior! And do not dare to blink! I shall not forgive you if you deny the chance to see the beauty of your defeat by my blade!" He goes for a heavy thrust, a rushing point-first strike meant to drive Katt back and stabilize him for the upcoming assault, one that will clearly benefit from distance -- and one that might suddenly be upon her even if Katt can close the distance on him! Only a fraction of a second after the strike, his blade is already whirring and buzzing with energy that builds up in it!
Katt	The strike does what it's meant to do; it drives Katt back, the force and speed of Moonfin's assault combined providing sufficient impact to blow her away. Katt is not in good shape. She's battered, almost beaten - but she refuses to stay down, picking herself up - albeit perhaps not quite as quickly as before - and giving him a rather feral-looking grin. "Well, how about I show you a trick? I learned this all by myself!" They wouldn't let her into school, not that she's going to explain that. Katt spreads her arms, holding her staff high as her tail lashes energetically. The air starts to go dark near Moonfin as Katt channels power into it, slim bolts of lightning arcing from nowhere to crack into the beach harmlessly. Katt is not what anyone would call a skilled mage. Her use of power is wasteful; she's throwing everything she has into a single spell without any concept of holding anything back for a second casting, and not very efficiently at that. When she said she learned it by herself, she wasn't kidding - nobody with any training would cast a spell quite like this. That doesn't really matter because, inefficient as it is, it still produces a bolt of lightning thicker than a man from above, smashing into the surf with enough energy to glass a disc a couple feet across and send a shockwave of air pressure and smaller, crackling bolts blasting out. Sometimes one shot is all you need... if it's big enough. "CATCH THE LIGHTNING!"
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin, charging up and ready to attack, has pure lightning descend on him. A bolt strikes him, one that seemingly crashes into his body dead-on from above. The sand beneath his feet twists and churns into molten glass, and the surrounding area "blooms" in a stylish "flower" of melted silicate as the lightning superheats and merges the sand. A blast of dust is left behind, and it slowly begins to clear... Leaving behind Moonfin's prone form, among convoluted waves of glassy landscape, his armor seemingly split open by the strike. The onboard systems are wrecked, and it's clearly sparking and twitching. "One last move." It would take the average viewer precisely two seconds to realize that Moonfin is not there, in the armor. The hole torn in the chest splits it wide enough to see the armor is hollow, the glass at the helmet reveals that it's empty. It would take such a viewer precisely one more second to recognize the footsteps of molten glass, left in distances of bounding leaps, carving a trail to Katt. And only a second more before the sound of a blade is heard, sliding into the Matter Manipulator sheath at Moonfin's side, and the hilt closing in... And he names a second Sixth Sea Style. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Burial At Sea." It's on the final click that Katt might realize that he's behind her, his blade having traced a precise, glorious, artistically-fine-tuned slash towards and past her, trying to put her down in one clean strike. It was so clean, so pure, and so fast, it was hard to tell it even happened until now, when its damage might reveal itself... The perfect samurai douchebag move of a rapid-cut and delayed bloodspray. What an /asshole/ that fishman is.
Katt	It's a big bolt. Actually, it's a lot of bolts, just only one that's impressively big; Katt put her all into that spell. Unfortunately, that means she really put her all into that spell. When she lowers her arms, she feels decidedly enervated. She's wiped and could really use a moment to catch her breath, and Moonfin isn't going to give her one. Having never seen armour quite like Moonfin's before, and never wearing armour herself, Katt is taken in by the ruse; she didn't know anyone could get in and out of it that fast under any circumstances short of literally teleporting. "Wh - " Katt turns toward Moonfin just as the blade clicks back into the sheath. That seems to be the trigger for it - her turning as if to follow him. The slash makes itself obvious as Katt lurches, blood spraying from her flank as she puts her foot down, has it fail to support her weight, and collapses down into a pile. She even drops her staff, which is the real way you know she's out.
Starbound Flotilla	It was, in fact, teleportation. A convenience of the combination of hammerspace and short-range blink teleportation is a certain speed of donning these sorts of things. It looks like Moonfin's still smoking a bit from where the lightning grazed him /badly/. But he's quite well enough on his feet to raise a fist and provoke the crowd to cheers. He walks to Katt, and says in that classically arrogant way, "Your lightning strike would have felled a lesser man. Anyone besides a great missionary of the Hylotl would have been brought down, overwhelmed by pain. But my insight is undeniable, and my evasion, precise." He leans down, making sure to arch his back in that classic way that makes it not count as a bow. "You would have won with that move, at that time, in that context, against any other opponent. But your defeat was an inevitable byproduct of my perfection. Take pride, fish of a smaller pond." He wipes ash from his cheek, where his flesh was singed by the lightning. "But not too much." Well, it's a /kind/ of respect. Probably the best one can get out of this jerkface. He strides out, arms wide to encourage the crowd still more.