10-29-2016, 03:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-29-2016, 03:17 AM by The Future Warrior.)
For all her confusion up until now, finally Graowr was back in her element. There was no confusion to slow her down, nothing to leave her stumbling and struggling with a new discovery or any silly 'thinking'. Now it was just fighting. She was back in her element! And it was good she was so ready and eager, because she was outnumbered about forty to one. She wasn't that good at math, but even she knew those were really, really bad odds. Little bits and pieces of information she'd picked up told her that primes could only summon a few really powerful secondaries, and that they couldn't summon anything more powerful than themselves. And the Shark didn't really seem...that strong. So anyone summoned by him was bound to be even less strong, and not a real threat in a straight fight. Against anyone here, she could probably come out on top in a fight without much trouble.
....the problem was, of course, it wasn't going to be anyone here.
She was already forced to move, darting forward and sliding through the legs of someone meaning to introduce a pool cue to her face. She wasn't really sure what it was, but it looked enough like a staff — or a good old beating stick, really — that she figured it would be best not to get a close look at it. She hopped back up, and leaped up, sailing several feet off the ground and with a blur of movement, the heel of her boot impacted the side of the man's face as he turned around to see where she'd gotten, with a meaty-sounding crunch, sending him staggering out the door and toppling over, dazed but not out of it just yet. The moment of distraction left her open, though, and as she alighted on her feet again she felt a pair of arms close around her from behind, lifting her bodily off the ground. She yelped in surprise, flailing against the sudden grapple, but was kept pinned by sheer size more than anything.
At least until her head suddenly snapped around one hundred eighty degrees and stared into the face of the man who'd grabbed her. "Lemme go," she said plainly, and out of sheer surprise he did just that, stumbling back with wide eyes. "Thank you!" Landing on the ground, one leg snapped back, stretching much like her arm had done earlier, and impacting the surprised man's gut, sending him toppling over backward. Almost immediately, it snapped back forward, rebounding like a rubber band and going in the complete opposite direction, hitting the knee of another of the bar patrons and sending him falling over sideways, howling and clutching the damaged joint.
"Gods...you all are fuckin' useless!" the Shark suddenly bellowed. "Just...just keep her occupied, will ya?! I'm outta here!" The frantic pounding of footsteps on the wooden floor drew her attention to the well-dressed form of her target making a hasty exit, weaving through the crowd toward the rear entrance.
".....oh. That's just rude," the little majin whined. "He said he'd stay here and fight after I dealt with you all!" In her frustration, she was unprepared for the sudden blow that struck her in the back of the head, sending her flopping to the ground. "...ow..."
She didn't get the chance to get back to her feet, finding herself hauled up by the ankle and held in the air by a particularly large gentleman, his towering bulk putting him a full head and shoulders above the rest of the occupants in the building. "Well, ain't you just somethin' else, ya crazy little thing. Thinkin' you could fight alla us by your lonesome?"
"Could you put me down?" she asked flatly, arms just dangling over her head, toward the ground. The answer was a fist the size of a dinner plate slamming into her gut. It certainly didn't feel good, and it made her sway comically back and forth, like a pinata. "Ow...don't do that; I can't fight if you don't let me down!" She tried to gain some momentum to swing up and grab hold of the hand holding her aloft, to break the grip, but couldn't manage it with him swinging her around.
"Alright, boys; go wild! Beat some sense into this stupid little bitch!" the giant man hollered.
"...okay. I'd like it if you didn't do that." Her left hand came up, palm facing at the man's face. "Gonna ask again. Lemme go!"
He just laughed mockingly at her. "Whatcha gonna do? Slap me around, like you was doin' before? I'm tougher'n any of these goons. Shark summoned me personally!"
"Oh. Okay. Then this shouldn't hurt you too much." And the brilliant glow of ki flared to life in her hand and impacted the man's face. It threw up a brief cloud of smoke, just long enough for her to bring her other hand to bear, and follow suit with a second blast. And then several more, from each hand. Individually, they probably didn't do much more than sting, but a dozen of them was another story altogether. And when his hamfisted grip loosened around her ankle, she knew she was right on the mark. She wrenched her leg out of his grip, and shot both arms out to grab onto his shoulders, bringing both of her legs up and down. Right on his head.
There was an almost comical, reverberating crash of metal, and the massive brute just froze in place, hands still half-lifted to go for his smoking face. And then slowly, ever so slowly, he tipped backward, falling in virtual slow motion, and seeming to shake the entire bar when he hit the ground. Graowr flopped down, landing in a sitting position on the man's stomach, letting out a quiet "Ooooow.....what was his head made of....?"
"Jeez, man; she took out Hammerhead, just like that?! Hell with this!" The sound of several pairs of feet making a hasty exit sounded, and when next she looked up it was a much more manageable dozen or so people still standing, ready to fight. "Buncha cowards, the whole damn lot of 'em....if we hold this crazy blue bitch off, the Shark'll be real grateful-like. Probably give us a promotion; up from this shithole bar to some place with actual business, see?" He flipped open a switchblade, dropping into what might generously be called a combat-ready stance.
"Yeah! We still got her outnumbered here, like, twelve-to-one! We got this!" Another man adjusted a pair of brass knuckles on his fists.
"....I'm gonna start hitting you all now," Graowr said flatly, and in the blink of an eye she was in the air, curled into a ball and smashing into knife-man like a cannonball, knocking him flat as she flipped back, landing on her feet. "Numbers don't really mean much if you're this weak, you know. Even I know that!"
....the problem was, of course, it wasn't going to be anyone here.
She was already forced to move, darting forward and sliding through the legs of someone meaning to introduce a pool cue to her face. She wasn't really sure what it was, but it looked enough like a staff — or a good old beating stick, really — that she figured it would be best not to get a close look at it. She hopped back up, and leaped up, sailing several feet off the ground and with a blur of movement, the heel of her boot impacted the side of the man's face as he turned around to see where she'd gotten, with a meaty-sounding crunch, sending him staggering out the door and toppling over, dazed but not out of it just yet. The moment of distraction left her open, though, and as she alighted on her feet again she felt a pair of arms close around her from behind, lifting her bodily off the ground. She yelped in surprise, flailing against the sudden grapple, but was kept pinned by sheer size more than anything.
At least until her head suddenly snapped around one hundred eighty degrees and stared into the face of the man who'd grabbed her. "Lemme go," she said plainly, and out of sheer surprise he did just that, stumbling back with wide eyes. "Thank you!" Landing on the ground, one leg snapped back, stretching much like her arm had done earlier, and impacting the surprised man's gut, sending him toppling over backward. Almost immediately, it snapped back forward, rebounding like a rubber band and going in the complete opposite direction, hitting the knee of another of the bar patrons and sending him falling over sideways, howling and clutching the damaged joint.
"Gods...you all are fuckin' useless!" the Shark suddenly bellowed. "Just...just keep her occupied, will ya?! I'm outta here!" The frantic pounding of footsteps on the wooden floor drew her attention to the well-dressed form of her target making a hasty exit, weaving through the crowd toward the rear entrance.
".....oh. That's just rude," the little majin whined. "He said he'd stay here and fight after I dealt with you all!" In her frustration, she was unprepared for the sudden blow that struck her in the back of the head, sending her flopping to the ground. "...ow..."
She didn't get the chance to get back to her feet, finding herself hauled up by the ankle and held in the air by a particularly large gentleman, his towering bulk putting him a full head and shoulders above the rest of the occupants in the building. "Well, ain't you just somethin' else, ya crazy little thing. Thinkin' you could fight alla us by your lonesome?"
"Could you put me down?" she asked flatly, arms just dangling over her head, toward the ground. The answer was a fist the size of a dinner plate slamming into her gut. It certainly didn't feel good, and it made her sway comically back and forth, like a pinata. "Ow...don't do that; I can't fight if you don't let me down!" She tried to gain some momentum to swing up and grab hold of the hand holding her aloft, to break the grip, but couldn't manage it with him swinging her around.
"Alright, boys; go wild! Beat some sense into this stupid little bitch!" the giant man hollered.
"...okay. I'd like it if you didn't do that." Her left hand came up, palm facing at the man's face. "Gonna ask again. Lemme go!"
He just laughed mockingly at her. "Whatcha gonna do? Slap me around, like you was doin' before? I'm tougher'n any of these goons. Shark summoned me personally!"
"Oh. Okay. Then this shouldn't hurt you too much." And the brilliant glow of ki flared to life in her hand and impacted the man's face. It threw up a brief cloud of smoke, just long enough for her to bring her other hand to bear, and follow suit with a second blast. And then several more, from each hand. Individually, they probably didn't do much more than sting, but a dozen of them was another story altogether. And when his hamfisted grip loosened around her ankle, she knew she was right on the mark. She wrenched her leg out of his grip, and shot both arms out to grab onto his shoulders, bringing both of her legs up and down. Right on his head.
There was an almost comical, reverberating crash of metal, and the massive brute just froze in place, hands still half-lifted to go for his smoking face. And then slowly, ever so slowly, he tipped backward, falling in virtual slow motion, and seeming to shake the entire bar when he hit the ground. Graowr flopped down, landing in a sitting position on the man's stomach, letting out a quiet "Ooooow.....what was his head made of....?"
"Jeez, man; she took out Hammerhead, just like that?! Hell with this!" The sound of several pairs of feet making a hasty exit sounded, and when next she looked up it was a much more manageable dozen or so people still standing, ready to fight. "Buncha cowards, the whole damn lot of 'em....if we hold this crazy blue bitch off, the Shark'll be real grateful-like. Probably give us a promotion; up from this shithole bar to some place with actual business, see?" He flipped open a switchblade, dropping into what might generously be called a combat-ready stance.
"Yeah! We still got her outnumbered here, like, twelve-to-one! We got this!" Another man adjusted a pair of brass knuckles on his fists.
"....I'm gonna start hitting you all now," Graowr said flatly, and in the blink of an eye she was in the air, curled into a ball and smashing into knife-man like a cannonball, knocking him flat as she flipped back, landing on her feet. "Numbers don't really mean much if you're this weak, you know. Even I know that!"
Quote:Hand of the Empire quest progress: 845 + 1043 + 1022 + 1107 + 754 + 661 + 866 + 963 + 1046 + 1208 = 9515 words