Summary:Shiranui calls out Shadow Stalker and Midnight. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Without having to care for a group of recently unfrozen probably ninja, Kian has been at liberty to do what he does best and make trouble - specifically regarding the people who created that situation to begin with. Tonight's trouble was relatively easy to arrange. Midnight and Shadow Stalker had both come back into town from causing trouble in New Jersey. Kian had for once found out where they were and arranged to issue a challenge to them.
The challenge was simple 'If you want to get me, I'll be waiting at the West Side Yard after dark. If you don't come find me, I'll come find you.'
The West Side Yard is an area where trains are laid up and stored and thus not much used after hours. It's open, away from people and yet has a lot of terrain to hide around/behind/inside. Shiranui is in full armor, sitting atop one of the trains, in the shadows, keeping an eye on the yard. He expects he'll get an answer on this one, if only to shut him up.
Ranna had sighed when Kian had told her that plan and questioned his sanity more than once. It's not like she'd let him go alone - he's very competent, if a bit mouthy, but she owes him for the beating he gave her.
Um. From saving her from the Order - she means.
It's a silent Ryoshi that's sitting near Shiranui. She's in armour as well - thin, cogmium 'scales' that cover her body - head to toe - it's light and flexible and lets her move.
"Where will you find them, if they don't show here? And don't you think you would have been better off offering them me?"
"I sort of did. I implied very heavily that I knew where you were." Which is true. He does know that. She's right here. It's convenient like that.
"And I'll find them where they're staying. I picked them up once and I have a sniper rifle, if you recall. It's an easy thing to set up a mile or so away and just wait for a good shot." And he's good enough at moving around that it's unlikely he'd be seen. The city is too dense, it has too many hiding spots, to keep a good search up in a two mile diameter for someone like him. And all he needs is one good shot.
There's a noise at the far end and two figures, one all in black and sleder, one bare chested and powerful, enter the train yard on foot.
"Right on time…"
"You did, huh?" Ryoshi thinks Shiranui would get a better go at Midnight and Shadow Stalker if he was to offer her up, gift wrapped so to speak but this works.
Her head comes up and she watches the pair enter the yard - an involuntary shudder going through her. Shiranui will feel it.
"What's the plan? Do you go in there punning and sounding like a fortune cookie? Or do you want me to create a distraction?" She hasn't called any of her weapons - Shiranui knows that doesn't take her long to do.
"I thought we'd fight them, embarrass them and then maybe upload the video to youtube." He might be serious about that, it's just really hard to tell with Kian. Who does stand up and walk to a point at which he is visible.
"Glad you two showed." He says in his modulated voice.
"You know what we want. I'd say give it to us and we won't hurt you but that would be a lie." says Shadow Stalker.
"Your honesty is refreshing. Let me be equally honest. She's here. And she's going to help me twist you both into pretzels."
"Right. So it's the punning and fortune cookie you're going with." Ranna mutters, melting into the shadows as Kian stands up.
"It?" She says sotte voca to Kian after Shadow speaks. "Did he just call me an 'it'?" She sounds a little offended.
While Kian trades quips, Ryoshi slides through the shadows, shaping the metal that covers her bracers into her chakrams. With her mind, she sends one disk flying at the pair - from a position about 40 degrees from her location.
She doesn't say a word to the Order pair. Right now, she wants to stay hidden and cause some havoc.
"He did, yes. I think that's insulting." Shiranui says. Yes. We're going with fortune cookie. "That or he doesn't know you very well."
Shadow stalker starts to spin his chains while Midnight draws his blade. In response Shiranui draws both gun and sword and crouches low.
And then the chain shoots out. The Project Ninja leaps to avoid it and when he lands Midnight is right there. There's three quick strikes, all of which are met by shields or blades before they separate. In that short time Shadow Stalker has gotten to his left and whips his chains out again. It's very coordinated, but Kian fights like he can see them even without turning his head… which it is possible he can.
The chakram spins by and knocks Shadow's chain out of the way, circling around to 'buzz' his face. It's impossible to tell where Ryoshi is doing this from - mostly - and she's adept at fighting from the shadows.
When Shiranui closes, she's nearly behind Shadow, and the chakram returns to her hand. With a quick step, she closes behind the Order ninja - and swipes the chakram out at the backs of his legs. "I'm not an 'it', I'm Ryoshi and you better remember that."
Shadow Stalker rolls forward at the last second, his great bulk belying his agility. He comes up and lashes out his chains blind, aiming for the unseen former Order operative. They twist in the air, low and high both. He's skilled. Kian did this on purpose. He wanted to give these operatives the opportunity they were looking for, and then take it away from them.
Twenty feet away Kian goes hammer and tongs with Midnight. Blades flash. Temporary force fields wink into being just in time to deflect killing strokes. Several shots from his pistol go wide. Then Shiranui leaps up and away and snaps out several exploding psychic kunai which turn the thin roof of the train into a hole. A hole in which Midnight falls.
It doesn't matter that Shadow rolls, the chakram misses but follows him anyway. Ryoshi rolls, the wound in her back from her operation healed for the most part, keeping low and avoiding the first chain.
The second chain hits her - sounding against the armour with a dull clang, but the nimble little woman uses that to tumble again.
The second chakram leaves her hand, almost lazily, and connects with the chain - knocking it wide again and this time heading for Shadows face.
Shadow Stalker brings up his arms - which are wrapped in chains - to deflect the next chakram, but takes a cut in the back of the neck from Ranna's first. He whips out both chains, deliberately wide and straddling where he thinks Ryoshi is, then he yanks them back, the snaking, spiked things dangerous as he twists to give them some extra motion and to try to force her to come into the light.
A sword blade penetrates the train in front of Ranna. Midnight has traversed his car and is cutting his way out again. Shiranui has landed but is on the next train over. He's taking aim with his TK weapon, but Ranna may need to - briefly - engage two on one.
Ranna was expecting that sort of attack from Shadow and was already moving as the chains snake out. Her roll takes her towards to the Order ninja, and into the light - just as Midnights blade pierces the car. It barely misses her head as she rolls.
"Can't you two take a little girl?" She taunts them, knowing that Shiranui is nearby somewhere. At least … she hopes that's the case. He's probably videoing this to put on YouTube later. Along with a silly soundtrack and captions for her movements.
The chakrams return to her hands and then fly out again - one towards Midnight's sword as he starts clear the car and the second for Shadows wrist this - if he's going to keep flinging those damn chains at her, she's going to take his hands off - one at a time.
A shot rings out and the sword takes the hit. Two more go into the train and there's a muffled sound of alarm as Midnight has to reposition. He winds up cutting his way out the side but while he's doing that, Shadow Stalker still has to deal with the flying Chakrams. Unable to effectively block them he tumbles out of the way again, uses the chains as a swing and slings himself by a loading arm over to the next one. Then he disappears behind it. That's a problem because he cannot be done with this fight.
In the mean time Midnight has gotten himself clear of the kill box Shiranui had put him in and slaps one of the chakram out of the air with his blade. Then he throws several small, techy looking round devices, scattering them in Shiranui and Ryoshi's direction.
"Bombs!" And so they are. He's going to try to return the favor that Shiranui did him a couple of minutes ago.
"Shit." Ryoshi mutters as Shadow disappears. She's not stupid enough to follow him. That way lies madness. He'll come for her in a few moments. Or not. If he doesn't - Shiranui knows where he's staying.
The chakram that was aimed for Shadow spins back to Ranna's hand as the second one wobbles precariously in the air - Midnight got a good strike on it and it takes a moment for Ryoshi to get control and bring it spinning back to her direction.
"No shit." She says to Shiranui as the small devices scatter in their direction. The chakram in her hand splinters into twenty little daggers, which fan out in front of the ex-Order ninja.
With a thought, she sends the out to the devices that have scattered "You might want to jump." She tells her partner. She's no idea if the knives will explode the devices or disable them.
She tumbles - intend on gaining the roof of the next car if she can.
What the knives do is MOVE the devices. They still explode but they don't explode in the neat little crescent pattern that Midnight had intended and mostly, they explode on the ground. It is about that time that Shadow comes back near Shiranui, this time. He slings onto the platform and tries to curb stomp him as the Project Ninja evades the bombs. He does catch him in the chest with a kick but Shiranui manages to evade a more telling strike. Then his blade is turning into a bladed whip and now it's chain on chain as the two martial artists whip their weapons through the air.
Midnight targets Ryoshi with a spread of shuriken but it is only a cover so he can get closer. He's got a sword and it's got her name on it.
Ryoshi grunts as she tumbles. The wound might be healed but she's not quite at full throttle. The force of the explosions buffet her, making her roll up to a standing position as the shurikens come at her. With the chakrams in hand, the ex-Order ninja's mind reaches out and takes control of the weapons, sending them back in Midnight's direction.
That's going to cost her shortly - as her mind fatigues. Those shurikens, strangely, aren't made of cogmium.
"If you know anything of me, Midnight. You know that I can take control of your sword. And when I do, I'll send my chakrams to take your head off. The Order made me a killer and I *will* kill you…."
He advances though and Ryoshi drops the shurikens to the ground. Her mind reaches out to control the blade in Midnights hand - she doesn't try to disarm him or take the weapon for herself. All she wants to do is make it hard to use.
That's when both chakrams spin out again. The edges cruelly serrated as she aims for his throat.
Possibly this was expected and hence, yes, the weapons aren't made of cogmium. By the time that Midnight is up and in striking range his sword is proving… difficult to maneuver. So much so then rather than defend himself with it he lets go of it, produces a pair of shorter knives and tries to thread the needle to get to Ryoshi. One of the chakram hits his throat. It doesn't cut through that suit he's wearing but the impact must have hurt, must have made it hard to breathe.
Which doesn't stop him from trying to slip those knives between the cogmium scales, though.
Down in the yard another series of explosions go off and this time Shiranui follows them up, getting Shadow Stalker around the ankle and hurling him off the train with it. Hard. That'll hurt.
"Do you need a hand over there?" Ryoshi calls to Shiranui, the strain in her voice obvious.
"Where are the knives coming from?" She asks Midnight, as she dances back a step or two trying to avoid that knife thrust.
The scales aren't easy to see - Midnight hits the armour at least once but he gets lucky and the blade slips through and into Ryoshi's side. She cries out in pain - but she doesn't stop.
With the sword out of the way, she brings the chakrams round again - never leaving Midnight alone for a moment. With the last of her psychic energy, Ryoshi takes control of the sword and flings from where Midnight drops straight at him … it's not tidy or nice but it should puncture the armour he's wearing.
"I would be more concerned in where they're going to." Midnight grunts as his knives spin. He still has to keep the chakrams away. When they come around again he bats them back. And then again. He just about has her for a really, really telling hit when the sword drops down at him. He rolls but not fast enough. It penetrates his armor near the shoulder and slices along the length of the shoulder blade, leaving a gouge an inch deep.
Midnight drops with the impact. And Ryoshi can hear Shiranui's weapon go off several times while Shadow Stalker is down.
"I know where they're going *to*" Ryoshi answers. "It's a pity you're delivery needs some practice." She feel the blood trickling down the inside of the armour and the burning pain associated with wound.
The chakrams wobble in the air, sent in a different direction. With her concentration split between them and the sword, Ryoshi is stretched. It takes long moments to regain the control of them.
She has to move to try and avoid the knife thrust - her injured side screaming in pain as she does.
When the sword drops, Ryoshi wades in and delivers a flurry of blows - catching her chakrams as they spin back to her and using them as melee weapons.
It's now or never - she needs to finish this.
Vaguely she wonders if Kian has killed Shadow Stalker - but she can't spare the brain to ask that question.
Now instead of responding, Midnight does his best to parry what's coming in on him. But he takes a number of hits. Four or five, bad ones too. When finally he drops off the platform, it's Shadow Stalker who catches him. He is in really bad shape too.
Shiranui's weapon rings out a couple more times as the big man takes the two of them out toward the exit and disappears behind a train. The Project Ninja does not chase. He could but killing them was not actually his goal. Oh if he had done it during the fight it would have been okay. But the point had just been to beat them badly enough that he could humiliate them later. Why? Because the Order and the Hand are both fundamentally Oriental organizations and because of that concepts of social standing are very, very important to them.
And THAT will make them much, much less effective. At least for a bit.
Ranna is breathing heavily by the time that Midnight drops off the car. She's in pain from the knife wound and her head is pounding too. She doesn't even have energy to move her cogmium weapons. "Shiranui?" She calls, watching as he fires a couple more shots.
"I didn't hear any good fortune cookie quips from you. Are you slipping?" beat "Also, did you get that video'd?" She doesn't think he did but the banter will help her keep her mind off the pain.
"I suppose we … should be going."
"They were a bit more challenging then I thought they might be together. They also worked better together than I thought they might. But…" Shiranui smiles. "Now they're wearing tracking devices so… it works. And yes, we got that recorded and I am going to upload it a bit later. Did you take any hits?"
He can see she's exhausted and moving a bit 'funny'.
He did. He took two that got through the armor. Well not though it but blunt weapons are more effective than bladed ones by a country mile. And chains, well…
"A bit more challenging, hmmm?" Ryoshi rolls her eyes. "I don't know why you're surprised they were working together so well. The Order trains to work together." Tracking devices makes her smile though. Not that Shiranui can see it.
"I want to see it before you do. " The video she means, before he uploads it. "And yeah, I did. But we need to move. Judging by the way you're moving, you got hit too. We can tend to each other."
"I'm not hit badly, but probably bruised. I don't do very good stitches, I am afraid, but we both know people. Let's head over there and get that taken care of…" And then he can do some video editing.
"Martial artists of that kind, and of that caliber, are often prima donnas. Lets see if we can bring something of that out. The less well they work together, the better it will be for us. And yes you can watch while I do my thing. Shall we?"
Ryoshi sighs. She should go to the clinic and get stitched up … that's the smart thing to do. Eventually she nods "Alright. But we're buying alcohol afterwards and you're sharing a drink with me."
She's exhausted - not that Kian would know that - he might soon.
"Let's go."