Scene #6540: MECC: Starbound Flotilla vs Krusty

Owner	Pose
Starbound Flotilla	https://iodbc.bandcamp.com/track/the-missionary-voice 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. Moonfin's 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. "Do not begrudge me the defeat you suffer. If you should choose to hold anything against me, let it only be the defeat's perfection and inevitability." Moonfin says, his voice dripping with shit-eating arrogance, as his diving visor/samurai helmet obfuscate his three eyes with a cyan HUD. It settles into place and gleams once dramatically as the opening bell dings. "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Waves Heralding Typhoons!" His opening strike comes with a dramatic kiai, and he goes for a rush of sharp, crushing short overhead strikes and forward thrusts.
Krusty	Wings can be heard flapping, the source initially unclear until something rises up over the edge of the arena. The majestic griffin soars through the air above the audience, Krusty in his heavy armour riding atop it. The griffin sweeps down, diving towards the arena grounds before pulling up at the last moment and flapping furiously to stop its descent. It then touches down gracefully, taking a few steps forward before stopping. Krusty's armour clanks as he dismounts from the creature. He pats it a few times, causing the griffin to unleash its cry before its wings open once more and it takes off into the air. Krusty walks forward, reaching up and drawing the large two-handed sword on his back as he does so. Reaching his starting spot he spins the sword around and plants the tip into the ground. He eyes his opponent for a while, before putting on a charming smile as he says, "Good luck to you too." The underwater samurai charges Krusty, who doesn't move. He doesn't even try to defend either as the quick strikes come down on him. They clang against his armour, cutting grooves into it but as yet not reaching anything squishy. It's only after several of these that Krusty finally acts, pulling his large sword out and swinging the flat end at Moonfin. Once. A strong enough blow to send the samurai reeling.
Starbound Flotilla	Reeling is an "almost" there. Moonfin grunts, his armor seeming to actually shift his arm to interpose against the sword-flat strike before he realizes it's coming. It's a partiallly automated defense, and that means he didn't quite parry the whole of it. He's sent skidding back, but enough of it transfers into a shockwave of a blast around him that he seems to care very little. He flicks his blade dramatically into a fresh stance and calls his defense. "Second Sea Hylotl Style: Earthquake Hidden in Waves." Small flecks of red alert HUD show up in his three-part HUD. "Hmph. Your armor is well-made, for something made by lesser craftsmen than the Hylotl and the Flotilla." He brings the blade up, such that the hilt runs almost along his cheek, before he flickers and seems to blip out of existence. "Fifth Sea Hylotl Style: Shifting Stormwinds!" He starts to short-range blink around Krusty, going for rushing strikes that end in huge leaping downward stabs into the earth, ones that crack the floor and let out damaging shockwaves even when they don't hit!
Krusty	Krusty actually shifts into a combat stance after his first blow. This time ready to meet Moonfin. At the compliment of his armour, Krusty grins, "It is the Einherjar Armor. A phantasmal-class armor granted to only those bravest warriors. It took quite some effort to acquire." Moonfin starts blinking around Krusty, who tries to keep up with the sudden movements, but appears to be having trouble. The shockwaves strike him, each one causing him to stumble. He grunts at the impacts, but manages to remain standing until the assault as passed. At this point Krusty chuckles, "Not bad." Krusty brings his sword vertical up to his chest, saying, "Cool Defense." A faint aura comes to life around him. He then crouches slightly, sweeping his blade out to the side. It begins to glow with light as Krusty calls, "Armor-" Krusty pushes forward to quickly meet the quick Moonfin, swinging his sword once more but this time with the edge of the blade, a trail of light following behind it. "-Crash!"
Starbound Flotilla	Slam! The blade impacts Moonfin hard, with only the interposed flat of his katana to prevent him from being cut terribly badly. The edge of the blade still made it past, crunching the side of his armor and knocking him back hard, as well as applying some of its more unusual effects. He goes tumbling back, a hand clutched to the dented armor, panting heavily. He checks his hand: No blood. Not yet. But the wave of power loss in his suit hits, and he stumbles just a moment. "Hmph." He mutters, dismissing bright-red alerts on his HUD. "Trickery and magic as well. No matter." Another position. Another stance. "First Sea Hylotl Style: Brine's Unquenched Thirst." He doesn't flicker forward this time, he simply steps, pacing calmly to Krusty and using low-energy low-impact strikes to constantly keep him off-guard, more and more quickly with somehow less and less motionion, maneuvering in a way designed to keep up his side of the fight while somehow seeming perfectly at rest, catching his breath, and still kind of damn draining to deal with.
Krusty	Krusty watches his opponent closely, seeing the quick but low-impact strikes for what they are. They might have worked as intended, if not for the aura currently surrounding Krusty. Each blow appears lessened as it strikes, Moonfin able to feel a physical repulsion from whatever magic Krusty cast. The blades do still strike, sparks flying as they scrape across armour. But their results are less than Moonkin might have hoped. Especially as Krusty is still looking rather calm and steady. Krusty follows Moonkin's rapid assault with one of his own. He grips the large sword in both hands and steps forward to meet the Hylotl. The blade moves swiftly in its series of strikes from the left, right, above, below. Not as fast as the other swordsman, but impressive still due to the blade's size and the heavy armour its wielder wears. But Moonfin might notice that Krusty too is being rather careful in his expenditure of energy.
Starbound Flotilla	Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Sparks are flying. Moonfin maneuvers his blade, and Moonfin's blade maneuvers him. Automated defenses work in sync with battle instinct, causing Krusty to shear off ablative armor layers but never find precise purchase. "Mmmmmmh..." He and his foe are so achingly close to evenly matched in this exchange. Eventually, his slashes turn to wider swipes with the blade held at length, meant to drive Krusty back. Once he can get enough distance, he goes for one larger swipe and a wave of energy from it, before abruptly leaping back, handspringing to get some distance. Specifically, to... reload his sword? Indeed, he's moves his arms in an odd twist and a spent capacitor ejects from the hilt, which he swiftly replaces with one that has better charge at the moment. It's an opening for Krusty. Will he take it?
Krusty	Krusty begins to step backwards as Moonfin switches his means of attack. However, Krusty doesn't not look concerned. Admittedly it's hard to tell, given he has a rather impressive poker face. But Moonfin will probably notice that Krusty's steps are more thoughtful than might have been expected. The final swipe is met by Krusty's own blade in counter, cutting through the energy and dimming its effects against him. But the defensive aura that had been surrounding Krusty fades at this point. Krusty watches his foe jump back, making no immediate moves to follow. Instead he smiles, "This has been interesting. You're a skilled swordsman." Krusty stands to his side somewhat, sword sweeping out in preparation. It does look like he intends to take advantage of the opening. Once more Krusty's sword begins to glow with light as he prepares another skill. The light is shining brighter than before, suggesting this one is going to hurt. Finally Krusty swings, making no move to close the distance to Moonfin. Nor does he call out his attack, letting it speak for itself. The light jumps off the blade, quickly expanding into a large crescent of energy that streaks towards its target. The energy roars as it crosses the distance between them, its edge ripping up the arena ground as it closes in on the Hylotl.
Starbound Flotilla	"Of course I'm a skilled swordsman." Moonfin says, smugly. "I'm a Hylotl. We are skilled at all things we choose, warrior." What a piece of shit. Krusty's attack may come with no callout, but Moonfin provides his own. A heavy breath, and then... he plants his sword onto the ground. "Let me show you." The massive energy strike approaches. Moonfin goes for the classic of his nature. "Second Sea Hylotl Style: Empty Seas!" He catches the energy-strike between two palms! Armor shears off of his arms, but he holds fast, and then sweeps both arms to one side to bodily toss the attack away before it washes over his body. He moves from his stylish arms-right position to retake his sword. "Your end comes soon, warrior." He says. "It is an inevitability. Come, grand knight. I shall teach you of a steel yet greater." He twists his blade in his grip. Its newly refreshed capacitor begins to hum ominously as it charges something great and powerful. Merely the shockwave its powered edge emits is enough to blow off a little armor and batter the body lightly. He moves into a dramatic ready stance, three-eyed cyan visor blazing with three pinpricks of red light that are the Hylotl's own eyes. He's about to go for a /huge/ rush!
Krusty	Krusty turns his body into the shockwave, letting his armour tank the majority of it. He is pushed back a little across the ground as it hits, but he is able to quickly steady himself again afterwards. Watching his opponent begin to charge an ultimate attack, Krusty appears to be in no hurry. He chuckles quietly at the Hylotl's arrogance. Before saying, "Very well. I look forward to seeing this greatness you possess." Krusty turns to face Moonfin full on, continuing to maintain the distance between the two of them. He spins his large sword around, stabbing the tip into the ground in a repeat of his appearance at the start of the match. This time however, the blade glows. The ground begins to rumble. A crack forms where the sword is embedded, quickly stretching out in Moonfin's direction. It widens as it goes, beginning to form a shallow chasm that will cause the Hylotl to drop a not inconsiderable distance should he choose to not move clear, or fail to do so.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin's footing falls. A chunk beneath him descends. Crashing stone rises above his head as he falls, but he stays motionless, readying his strike even as crushing earth slams into him, battering his armor; one chunk even draws blood. "Now, warrior." He says. "Come, see, with what little perception you may yet muster, the true grandeur of the Hylotl. Dare not blink, human. You shall fall either way, but I will not forgive you if you do not witness the beauty of your defeat." As the chunk of earth he's standing on slams into the side of the chasm and shatters, he leaps off of it, up into the space of the wider chasm's upper area. "Sixth Sea Hylotl Style: Burial at Sea!" He flickers in mid-air. The speed with which he approaches Krusty, the force that he swings with, and the sheer, unthinkably absolute precision he strikes with make it only possible for the very best in gamer reflexes to recognize what is happening as it happens, and it's impossible to see or to even feel its effects for a good few seconds after. As Moonfin lands behind Krusty, he draws his blade along his techno-sheath, then gently slides it in... And the moment the hilt clicks into place, the best reflexes might be able to recognize the damage, if any, that his high-precision slice has brought upon the knight. The mostly perfectly cliche samurai douchebag move of all.
Krusty	Krusty does have epic gaming reflexes. Honed by some years of actually practicing his art in 'reality'. But even Krusty wouldn't be able to keep up with that speed. Thankfully, he doesn't have to. There is no call out this time, just an amused muttering, "Castle of Stone." The ultimate defensive skill of the Guardians activates. A light gray washes over Krusty's body, appearing to turn it entirely into some kind of marble. From this point he is unmoving, a statue on the ground. At the click of Moonfin's hilt, a large gash across Krusty's chest forms, the stone there oblitterated into dust. Shortly afterwards, colour returns to Krusty's features as his skill ends. The gash is still there, having completely cut through the armor and cloth beneath. Blood begins to leak out, running down the armour to drip to the ground. There's a pained look on Krusty's face. A testament to the samurai's power. To the audience, it looks like deadly strike. Only Krusty and Moonfin know it could have been much worse. Krusty turns to face Moonfin, reaching a hand up to the wound. Through a pained smile he says, "I see. Impressive." His hand moves back to grip his sword in both hands, settling down into an attack stance, sword raises horizontally with the tip aimed at Moonfin. The blade begins to glow red as Krusty says, "But. Not quite enough. Scarlet-" Krusty pushes off the ground, quickly closing the distance in a burst of speed as his blade attempts to pierce the samurai. "-Thrust."
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin turns, standing taller with wide eyes. His HUD dismisses. His mouth is agape behind the visor. "You still stand? /Impossible/." He says, in that tone that only a truly arrogant piece of shit can say in that one special way. "/How?/" He scrunches his face up, like he's dissatisfied with the artistic merit of his expression and he's throwing it away in the bin. "No matter. I will remedy what must be remedied. Come, you who will soon be defeated." He closes his third eye calmly. "I am ready." There's a long sound of a scrape as Moonfin maneuvers around the long blade, shifting his blade into position to suddenly CLUNK into place, the tip pressed against the handguard at the hilt. He's just halted the blade's tip at his chest, leaving a harsh dent but one he'll survive. The maneuver took a lot out of him, and exhausts him hard, but he speaks up with a dramatic tone as he responds in kind. "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Trecherous Harbor." And then he shifts his blade elegantly, and...! Swings a massive and unexpected uppercut at Krusty, the kind you swing at a man to break their jaw and lay them out, and tries to get Krusty stunned and reeling! What happened to "elegant samurai"?! What a jerk.
Krusty	How? How you ask? Because he's Krusty! The uppercut was unexpected. Resulting in a solid blow that catches Krusty in the chin. He stumbles back, a little shaken by the blow. A little blood trickles from his mouth. He's definitely looking close to defeat at this point. But again. Not. Quite. Enough. Krusty shakes his head to try and clear it, before returning his focus on Moonfin. The close quarters make it difficult for Krusty to swing his sword proper. So instead he tries to bash Moonfin in the visor with the pommel of the his weapon.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin really, really expected that last one to do it. Enough that he swung that swing without any intention of having a defense available. Arrogant ass, he's spent this entire fight since starting up his Burial at Sea with the assumption that he was just about to win with one more hit. That's why he's not prepared to maneuver out of the way of the oncoming pommel strike. CRACK! His helmet goes flying off, a chunk of the visor shattered with a clean pommel-shaped hole in it. It rolls dramatically to a stop, clacking against the ground as it lands upside down and the sides of the helmet leave it rolling. He stumbles back, bleeding just a little from the bruises on his head, until he reaches that point where he can only keep himself up by pressing the blade of his katana into the ground. He makes yielding motions, tapping out of the fight, unable to properly engage Krusty now. Ding ding ding! Krusty is a winner! The Hylotl takes a few seconds to catch his breath. He's kind of a poor sport, a shitty loser. Where a proper Good Samurai with things like inner peace or a well-defined and equal code of honor would turn around his opinion and respect Krusty, Moonfin moves to do the end-of-fight handshake and exchange of congratulations with somehow /still/ a teeth-gritting look of contempt and arrogance in his eyes despite just now completely eating shit and failing to do his certain-kill attacks and such. "/Congratulations/ on your /victory/, warrior." He says, clearly making sure to show off how magnanimous and kind and great the Hylotl are with his effectively hollow gesture.
Krusty	His opponent has yielded. Krusty accepts it, returning his sword to his back. The post-match chat comes. Krusty of course provides his own, "Well fought." However, there's a hint of a smirk on his face as the Hylotl congratulates him with such obviously concempt. It seems Krusty is enjoying having proven Moonfin's boasting wrong more than he is having won the fight.