Scene #6621: MECC: Krusty vs Riku=The MECC battle between Krusty and Riku!

Owner	Pose
Krusty	A hole in the floor of the arena slides open, a platform rising out to reveal Krusty standing atop it. His armor's cloak billows out as he stands there looking confident. So far the tournament has been going well for him. And he doesn't seem to have any doubts that it will continue that way. Krusty gives a charming smile to the audience and cameras even as the terrain for this battle begins to materialize. A large field of dirt forms, littered with holes and a few trenches. Lines of barbed wire form, stretching across several sections of the field. So too do the shells of a few destroyed tanks, which begin to smoke. The sounds of distant gunfire and explosions start to play, completing the old war battlefield arena. Krusty glances around the battlefield for a moment with some amusement showing on his face. He then focuses on his opponent in the distance. Around him he can hear the countdown ticking off, flexing the grip on his large two-handed sword while he waits. Moments before the clock ends, Krusty calls out, "Good luck." The starting horn sounds. Krusty is off and running across the muddy battlefield, sword out to his side as he closes the distance towards Riku. But he doesn't wait to meet the other man to attack, his blade starting to glow with light. Krusty swings the weapon, sending the light streaking off it in the form of a cresent. It flies towards Riku, threatening to slice into him.
Riku	Riku rises from another hole, already clad in his purple battle armor. At his side, Soul Eater glistens in the light, drinking it in as the shadows waver and pulse around him. While Krusty plays to the crowd, Riku seems to pretend they don't even exist. His eyes are solely on Krusty. As the terrain shifts, Riku presents a thin smile. "Thanks. You too." He says. He may be intense, but at least he isn't a complete jackass. Krusty strikes at Riku, and the swordsman simply steps into the crescent light strike, catching it on his weapon and sending it flashing away into the ground nearby, creating a smoking hole as his blade and hand burns lightly from contact. "Nice trick." He says... And then he lunges forward, vaulting with blurred speed to fly right over Krusty. "My turn." He says... But instead of going for the backstab, he bounces in midair, pushing off a burst of shadow before he slashes down in a diagonal descending attack, completely changing the incoming vector.
Krusty	Krusty skids to a halt as his opponent goes flying over him. He turns to follow Riku, expecting a back attack. He's only partially right though as the blade comes streaking down from above. It strikes Krusty's heavy armour, not penetrating but still managing to leave a cut behind in the metal. The strike also forces Krusty to step back from the blow. He quickly recovers though, raising his sword once more in preparation of an attack. He does take a moment to compliment Riku, "Nice movement." Krusty leaps to reach the teenager, large blade swinging in a horizontal blow with some dangerous strength behind it.
Riku	Riku doesn't even slow down as he slashes past Krusty, rebounding off of the ground to tumble forward. The blade slashes past him, turning a potent blow into a painful-looking graze as he comes to a three-point skidding stop, Soul Eater held in a reverse grip as he looks up. He grimacesat the pain of the attack, but he forces himself forward. "How do you even move in that stuff?" Riku asks the heavily armored warrior. "Close enough, I guess." He says. If Krusty isn't paying attention, he might not notice the way the shadow lengthens under him. Suddenly, a massive fist smashes upwards, a clawed appendage of shadow that gives way while Riku launches and tries to catch Krusty in the air in a multi-strike combination attack.
Krusty	Krusty apparently does notice, bringing his sword around and pressing his palm against the flat of the blade to defend against whatever comes. The shadow fist is unusual and still catches him, sending him flying. Krusty's armour is sliced several more times by Riku's combo before he finally falls back to the ground. On the way down, Krusty twists in the air, landing on his feet and skidding back a short distance. He's looking a little ruffled by the hits so far. But his face is still showing confidence as he smirks at Riku, "Better than you might expect." Krusty stands his ground as he sweeps his sword back. It begins glowing once more. In a repeat of earlier, Krusty swings the blade to launch a cresent of energy at Riku. However, he quickly repeats the swing several times more, peppering the teen with multiple ranged strikes to try and get through his defense.
Riku	Riku continues to shear into that thick armor, hitting the ground at the same time Krusty does. "Maybe I should have brought a can opener." He mutters to himself. "Yeah, you sure as hell aren't skipping leg day." He replies, then suddenly he's under assault again with light crescents! Riku deflects the first couple the same way he did, but the strikes keep coming, and suddenly he's forced to give ground, pulling back away as the bombardment continues. His teeth grit harder and harder as his defenses are tested, until Krusty finally breaks through his guard, shearing into him with one of the strikes and leaving a long, gleaming slash right across his chest. "Gggh!" Riku grunts, suddenly leaping backwards... But instead of putting his back against the wall of the battlefield, he vanishes into a hole that opens up, a dark tunnel... And he drops out the other side, this one on Krusty's back as he lashes out with several quick strikes, trying to put Krusty on the defensive. "That's about enough of that, don't you think?" He asks, before one hand shoots out, gripping in the air... And Krusty might see his shadow extend, a tank shell in the ground being suddenly ripped up and slammed at him from the side. If his sword can't get through that armor, maybe a sabot round will!
Krusty	Krusty does indeed become defensive as Riku attacks from behind. Several strikes cut into his armour, but he is able to jump away to avoid any further blows. Unfortunately he wasn't expecting a tank shot from the side. The shell impacts, sending Krusty flying. The knight bounces across the ground a couple of times before coming to a stop. He groans a little as he rises to stand. There's a hole in the side of his armour, revealing skin beneath. Krusty reaches up to wipe a trickle of blood from his mouth. He then smirks at Riku, "Yes, yes I think it is. I believe I've learned enough now." Krusty settles into an attack stances, sweeping his blade to the side. It begins to glow like before, but much brighter and with a more green colour to it. Krusty begins, "Aura-" Krusty pushes off the ground and in the blink of an eye covers the distance to Riku. But he's not charging head on, but rather to pass by the teen. His blade swings, the blade turning intangible to bypass Riku's defenses and strike him dead on as it passes through him. Krusty then skids to a stop some distance beyond Riku, finishing, "-Saber."
Riku	The moment Krusty goes flying, Riku is laeaping over the potholes and trenches and barbed wire, trying to chase Krusty down in order to take advantage of the hit. "You think you know what I can do!?" Riku says... And then he blinks at the blurred charge attack. "Oh hell." The Aura Saber cleaves right through Riku, and he stops, facing away from Krusty as the knight finishes his attack... and behind him, there is a sudden explosion of blood as the Heartbrand staggers, a huge slash opening across his body as he falls to his knees with a choked scream of pain. He falls forwards, to his hands and knees as his vision swims from seeing the way his blood falls from his body... It would be so easy to just... let go. His body begs him to. Just end it. His hands clench in the war-churned, bloodstained soil, however, as his jaw sets, summoning up incredible will. "It's... not.... /over/." He hisses, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Around him, his shadow rises, forming into a large, distorted humanoid bound with white bandages. The eyes glow gold, the skin inky black, a gaping, heart-shaped hole in its chest... And its clawed hand pulls Riku up to his feet, both of them turning to look to Krusty. "You're pretty good with that light... But my power is DARKNESS!" At that, Riku raises a hand, the Eidolon mimicking the action as a massive sphere of dark fire coalesces, Riku hurling his hand forward as the blast descends like a meteor upon Krusty!
Krusty	Krusty stands his ground as the Riku rises with that large shadow. The large dark fireball streaks down towards Krusty and explodes, engulfing the area in flames. As the flames die down, Krusty is still standing there. His armour is scorched in several areas and there are some burns on his face. But he's still smirking as he says, "Darkness is just another element to me." Krusty charges forward, sword lashing out in a series of quick swings and jabs designed to overwhelm Riku's own defense with his blade. Krusty is looking a little spent during the assault, but his strikes are still quite troubling.
Riku	Riku looks on the way Krusty comes right out of that fireball. "You really are made of metal, aren't you? Holy cow, you're built like a tank." The swordsman comes after him, and Riku moves to engage in swordplay. He strikes out, trying to find a way past the man's guard, but he gets caught out, punishes with another brutal cut for his trouble. "Gggh... Fair enough. But to me, it's a tool. Let's see how long that smirk stays on your face!" He lashes out, suddenly blurring to one side and cleaving forward, slashing over and over as the dark creature slams forward to keep up the assault and pressure!
Krusty	The two swordsmen clash on the battlefield, each exhanging blows. Some are blocked, others make it through. Krusty is wincing with each blow that does connect, showing that his defenses are waning. But he does hcuckle at being called a tank, "Funnily enough, I'm not as tanky as some of my fellow Guardians." Krusty blocks one blow, admitting, "This has been an enjoyable fight, whether I win or lose." Krusty deflects another of Riku's strikes, this time releasing one grip on his sword to clench his hand into a fist and launch a gauntlet-covered punch to Riku's face.
Riku	Riku's strength is waning. Willpower can only take you so far, and his mind begins to get fuzzy and drift, unable to quite keep focused. Enough that punch clocks Riku and sends him reeling... But not so much that he doesn't manage to barely parry the followup strike. "Gggh..." He hisses from his split lip. "Yeah, this is a good fight. You sure are pushing me hard..." But a moment later, he simply... Falls through space, a portal opening beneath him as he erupts from Krusty's side. "BUT I CAN STILL PUSH BACK!" He yells, hurling himself across space as he slashes past Krusty, vanishing through another portal to repeat the attack from another direction. And again. And again. And again, faster and faster, Riku works to simply batter down Krusty's defenses and shred him until he is forced to yield.
Krusty	Krusty is being battered. Riku is moving too fast and too unpredictably in order to actively try to block. So instead he's left to relying on his already damaged armour to absorb the blows. Each strike forces Krusty lower and lower until he's down on one knee. He shakes with each blow. This looks like it may very well be the end for Krusty... "So... Can... I. Counter- In a seemingly impossible move, brought on by the activation of his skill, Krusty raises his sword to meet Riku's. There's a flash of light as the two blades connect. The skill draws strength from the blow that it had connected with, allowing Krusty to rise and push back against Riku. As he does so, Krusty calls out in defiance, "-Break!" Krusty leverages all his remaining strength to break through Riku's defense and smash the flat side of his blade into Riku.
Riku	Riku was not prepared for the Just Defend. As he's framelocked into a counter-punish, the Heartbrand is helpless as the blade knocks his out of the way and then crushes the hell out of him, plowing him into the ground and putting an end to his desperate offense. There, he lies on the ground, grunting in pain. "Enough. You win." Riku groans. "I yield." He lies there in pain, waiting for the arena to do its thing and erase his multitudinous wounds. He can't even manage to summon up his Eidolon right now.
Krusty	Krusty is barely standing after his strike against Riku. It looks like he could fall over at any moment. But his opponent is defeated. Krusty takes in a deep breath, summoning the strength to remain upright. He slowly moves his sword to place on his back, before nodding respectfully to Riku, "A close fight. I doubt I would have lasted much longer. Your speed is impressive." The Shrine's effects begin to take hold, grdually reversing the wounds the two have suffered.
Riku	Riku peels himself off the ground as he feels his body recover, and he stands, giving Krusty a handshake. "Thanks. Gotta fight strong people if you're gonna improve, and you were pretty damn strong." He turns away, and waves as he walks off. "Fight you again sometime. See you."