Xenospace - Dock Colony
A convenient stopover for anyone wishing to travel through this region of space, the Dock Colony serves countless spacefaring men and women... provided you're not with the military, that is. This Dock Colony has all the amenities a rest stop could need - the A.G.W.S. & supply store known as Talk To Me, a hospital, and more than enough docking space for a large number of ships. Of course, every place has its ups and downs...and in the case of the Dock Colony, the major down is that its residents were left behind during the Miltian Conflict by the Galaxy Federation Army, and as a result the locals are, shall we say...more than a little hostile towards the military in general. For army men and women, going around here in full uniform is a dangerous proposition...
Stepping out of the 'Talk to Me!' supply shop is Ziggurat 8. The cyborg often spends his time there between missions, and even has a small room rented at the Colony since it is the most convenient place for him to be located. Right now he's walking down the spaceport dock, headed towards the residential area.
On his way to the same shop himself, Laharl takes note of the cyborg and looks him up and down for a long moment while moving. The demon is drawing a fair bit of attention from the other pedestrians, and small wonder; he looks decidedly out of place here, with his odd clothes (or lack thereof) and carrying a sword of all things. Still, he's far from the strangest sight in Xenospace. As for Laharl himself, he stops and looks between the shop and the cyborg for a few seconds, then shrugs and decides to follow the tall man at a fair distance, though he isn't going out of his way to be sneaky or even discreet about it.
As Ziggy passed Laharl the first time, he didn't stop, or acknowledge him in anyway, he did, however, recognize him from a few scant reports that have been made of his activities in the past. He continues walking, though as he does so he quickly scans his memory to retrive what information on Laharl he can, while trying to hypothesize what he's doing here. After a few minutes pass, however, he notices the Demon Prince following him. He stops and turns around, looking at the short, skinny demon for a moment. "You are Prince Laharl, correct?" He asks, abruptly.
Laharl stops a few meters away from Ziggurat 8 and crosses his arms. Swelling a little at the recognition, the demon adopts a cocky smirk. "Hmhmhm! So I'm known even here? Yes, I am," Laharl replies, giving the cyborg a more careful examination now that he's closer. "And you are? We haven't met, but you look a bit like that robot the humans from my zone built."
Ziggy answers frankly "I doubt that the common residents of this Dock Colony would know who you are, I am familiar of you due to the scattered reports by Heroes about you." He pauses, recalling information about Laharl's behaviour, and deciding to adopt a more polite tone. Afterall, it's not like Ziggy has very much pride.
Ziggy answers frankly "I doubt that the common residents of this Dock Colony would know who you are, I am familiar of you due to the scattered reports by Heroes about you." He pauses, recalling information about Laharl's behaviour, and deciding to adopt a more polite tone. Afterall, it's not like Ziggy has very much pride. "My name is Ziggurat 8, Prince. I am a cyborg, not a robot."
Blinkblink. That's a word Laharl's never heard before. "What the hell's a 'cyborg?'" the Prince asks, squinting slightly and cocking his head to the side. "You're made out of the same stuff, aren't you?" As if to prove his point, he quickly brings up one of his boots to kick lightly at one of the metal man's large, obviously artificial legs.
Ziggy pauses, and remains still as Laharl kicks him. Not like it was meant as an assault. "Part of me is made of... 'the same stuff'. Rather, about 75 percent of my body is artificial, mechanical. I used to be a human, but after I-- died, I was ressurected like this, with cybernetics replacing most of my body." Obviously, his head and upper torso still look organic, of course there is still many implants under his skin.
Laharl frowns slightly as his boot makes contact, bouncing off the leg without so much as a blink from the cyborg. Privately, Laharl was hoping he would dodge, so he could test the heavy fellow's speed, but he has learned more about the strange power he felt from the cyborg earlier. As the Prince listens to Ziggy's explanation, though, Laharl's hair-stalks droop slightly along with his eyelids, giving him a rather dumbfounded look; it's clear that the explanation went way over his head. "...So some humans brought you back to life by sticking metal in you? Hmph. You humans always defy your lot in life no matter where you're from, I guess," he says with a shrug.
Ziggurat 8 pauses "...yes." That's probably as close as he's going to get. "I will say, however, that it was not my intention to be resurrected, but what is done is done." He normally doesn't go into great detail about his past, and he isn't about to with a young demon he just met. "Now then, if I may ask, why are you in this Dock Colony, Prince Laharl?"
Laharl smiles slyly and turns, pacing slowly around the cyborg with his arms still crossed. "Oh... you know. I was in the neighbourhood, and I thought I'd drop by and see if there was anything interesting going on here..." He's obviously lying, especially considering there are no new ships at the dock. Laharl quite clearly knows this, though, and watches the cyborg with a small smirk.
Ziggy's eyes narrow just a bit. Of course, he can easily tell the young demon is lying, as if Ziggy wouldn't notice something like that. Still, he doesn't wish to do anything that would cause Laharl to engage him in a fight. "Is that so... then where is your ship? I have a feeling that someone like you would not travel on a common passenger ship..."
Laharl shrugs and turns his gaze away from the cyborg, instead casually examining his fingernails while continuing to pace in a circle. "Hmm, yes. Those 'star ships' of yours," the demon repeats slowly. "Yet another weakness you humans have. Honestly, how do you stand it? Sitting in a tiny metal box for weeks at a time, in the middle of all that nothingness.. knowing the slightest accident could send you out into that void..." He gives a mock shudder.
"Actually, my cybernetics allow me to survive in a vaccuum. For a period of time, at least." He interjects. "So I cannot speak for anyone else about space travel. However, it is a necessity in this place, space travel is the only way to get between planets and colonies. I believe most have become adjusted to it by now." He gives Laharl another look "You still did not answer my question as to how you arrived here."
"That's true, I didn't." Laharl agrees, stopping and turning to stare the cyborg down... which would be more impressive if he wasn't dwarfed by Ziggy's size. He is silent for several long seconds before giving a low chuckle and resuming his pacing. "Suffice it to say that I have no need to sail around in one of those metal coffins. Beyond that, I see no reason to reveal my methods to a stranger," he says with another small shrug.
Ziggurat 8 just pauses, meeting Laharl's gaze. Ziggy rarely makes any move to intentionally intimidate someone, unless they were plainy his enemy. He is, however, suspicious of Laharl. Finally he speaks "Very well, keep it to yourself if you wish. However I am sure you will understand that doing so only makes you appear sinister, and heard of your actions in the past." If anything, Laharl's actions have been somewhat random, random enough at least for Ziggy not to be able to guess what he is up to, if he is up to anything "So I will ask you plainly. Are you here to cause trouble, or just for other business?"
Laharl chuckles. "Hmhmhm! Well, how direct. I like that. Hmm... well..." The Prince's head bobs from side to side slowly as he stares at the ground, adopting his best 'thinking' pose. "Like I said, I'm just looking around your quaint little zone," he replies at length. "Seeing the sights, doing some shopping. You know? So, unless you're some sort of... what do you humans call them? Police officers?" He thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "If you're not one of those, my business is my own. You're bordering on rudeness, and I haven't even hurt anyone..." Yet. Though the last word isn't actually said, it seems to linger in the air regardless. Laharl watches the cyborg from the corner of his eyes, a bright little gleam in them.
If he consideres 'haven't even hurt anyone' to be a merit of his innocence, then that is more than enough to keep Ziggy suspicious. His previous record even moreso. "No, I am not an officer of the government. I am, however, a mercenary and while I have not been employed with the charge of keeping this Dock Colony secure, I do make it my business to look into anything which might endanger it while I am located here." Laharl may have actually done nothing yet, but Ziggy has seen enough of no-goodnicks like him to have a sixth sense about these things. But he cannot yet tell if Laharl truly does have nefarious intentions, or if he is just trying to get Ziggy paranoid.
Laharl suddenly looks like he swallowed a lemon. "...What kind of mercenary are you?" he asks incredulously. "For a so-called mercenary who was raised from the dead against his will, you sure care a lot about this human trash." The Prince shakes his head sadly. "And here I would have even offered to employ you, but you're too much of a goody-goody for my taste."
"Quite the contrary." Ziggy states. "I care about upholding law and keeping the peace." Ziggy doesn't care about the individual residents of the Dock Colony, but he does have enough of his humanity left to try to prevent their lives from being thrown into chaos "Say what you will about humanity, however I am bound to follow law and my programming." He pauses, as Laharl hasn't shown great skill in understanding technological terms "...I am bound by a number of set rules put forth by those who revived me. Those rules state that I if I have no other outstanding obligations, I should do what I can to keep the peace." His eyes then narrow a bit "And you would not be able to employ me, even if you wished. I am the property of one organization, and they would not sell me to the likes of you."
Laharl snorts derisively. "Rules only behind you as long as you let them, fool," he spits with an angry toss of his head. "You're just making excuses. And you sound like you think you're too /good/ to work for me." He pauses, glancing slyly at the cyborg again and turning to face him while folding his hands behind his back casually. "Well... since there's nobody here worth taking back to the Netherworld..." A slight tremor passes through the ground and begins to slowly grow in intensity. "And nobody seems to be able or willing to supply me with one of those 'AGWS' robots..." A bright red glow seems to be coming from somewhere immediately behind Laharl's back. "Might as well enjoy a good fight with an uppity merc, huh?" While Laharl's right hand flashes around his body to the hilt of his sword, his left is raised above his head, holding a large red ball of swirling energy. That arm swings down, sending the ball flying toward a nearby residence on an angle a few meters to Ziggy's side. It's moving fast, but not too fast to stop (bodily, unless he's more talented than he looks) if his reflexes are good. Immediately afterward, Laharl's sword clears its sheath, the Prince holding it in one hand with surprising ease.
As Laharl's ball of energy is flung towards one of the homes, Ziggy reacts surprisingly quick. He wanted to test the cyborg's reflexes, well there ya go. Ziggy doesn't possess any magical means, however his Ether circuit may be sufficient. His elbow blade quickly slides out of his arm and snaps into place, and he slashes at the ball of energy either dispelling it, or absorbing the blow himself. "You do not know enough about cybernetics, I AM bound by those rules. I can no sooner disobey them than a human could breathe in space without aid." He stands up, taking a fighting stance "If you wish to fight an 'uppity merc' then so be it." He pauses, waiting for Laharl to make the first move.
Laharl smirks and immediately charges forward, blade held diagonally in front of himself. He moves surprisingly fast, running straight at Ziggy, only to spring aside at the last moment and lower his blade, trying to score a hit on the cyborg's flank as the demon rushes past.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his weak Feint And Slash attack.
You have taken 10 damage.
Ziggy should have expected the demon to be quick, given his size. He proves to be just too fast for the cyborg, and the blade cuts into his side a bit. It's a shallow wound, but it damaged both flesh and metal. Since the time for pleasentries have passed, Ziggy doesn't bother saying anything more either. He turns to face Laharl and gives him a quick slash with his elbow blade. His sword is literally an extension of himself.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his weak Jack Knife attack.
Laharl turns himself about, and all of a sudden the big cyborg is upon him. A guttural growl comes from the Prince's throat as he mentally readjusts to compensate for Ziggy's uncharacteristic speed, while he raises his sword defensively, but too late; the blade scores a hit across Laharl's forearm, sending rivulets of blood running downward. Hey, it's blue! In response, Laharl decides to put his size to his advantage, spreading his feet apart to lower his profile while swinging his big sword at the cyborg's knees with two hands.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his Knee Slash attack.
You have taken 16 damage.
While damage is given, the outer armor of the legs was strong enough not to cause the damage to interfere with Ziggy's movement. Laharl would find that his sword had amounted to just deeply scratching Ziggy's knees. And he will soon regret ducking down like that. Ziggy raises one leg back, then sends it forward, planting a metal kick in Laharl's face.
Ziggurat 8 misses Laharl with his High Kick attack.
Laharl seems to have anticipated just such a response, however. With a predatory grin, Laharl waits until just before impact, then suddenly rises and twists his body to the right so that the leg passes beside his torso and just under his arm. That arm swings down and under the leg, grabbing it around the knee as Laharl begins to turn. Dropping his sword, he places both arms on Ziggy's leg, and... yes, he's actually going to try to lift and throw a cyborg into a nearby wall. But will even a demon be strong enough!?
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his Needs More Collateral Damage attack.
You have taken 19 damage.
This, Ziggy was NOT expecting. He should have known that Laharl's abilities would betray his size, being a demon, but he didn't expect his opponent to be able to lift him. As Ziggy crashes into the wall, he does his best to regain his composure and stand again. Noticing the large pieces of debris around him, he decides to take advantage of it, and uses his kicking ability once more, to launch a giant piece of wall at the Prince.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Ziggy ought to play football: STONE PROJECTILE attack.
Laharl knows he's in trouble without his sword, even with his great strength, so the first thing he does - well, after the requisite smirk - is bend down to retrieve the blade. Standing tall again, he turns to Ziggy as he taunts, "Well, are you ready tUGH!" It appears they've both underestimated each other; Laharl didn't think the cyborg would recover so quickly, and so he takes a nice chunk of concrete in the forehead. The Prince stumbles backward, shaking his head to clear the dancing lights in his vision, and manages to keep his balance. Once he's stable again, he lifts one hand and fires off a smaller version of the energy attack he used before, one which builds up much faster. The other hand replaces the large blade in its sheath, then moves to the Prince's forehead to use a basic healing technique, one which will prevent blood from getting into his eyes, but doesn't do anything else in the way of recovery.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his weak Generic Chi Ball attack.
You have taken 10 damage.
Ziggy tries again to activate his defensive ether circuit, but is unable to in time, and not all of the Chi was absorbed. Stepping out of the rubble, he decides to keep the distance between him and the Prince, and shows him that he is not all strength. Electricity crackles in his hand for a few moments, before he quickly fires a small bolt of lightning at the demon.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Laser Blade attack.
Forgoing defense against the very fast projectile, Laharl uses his favourite tactic: charge! Leaping forward, Laharl grunts as the bolt burns into and blackens the flesh of his bare stomach, but apparently his natural toughness prevents what would probably be a very serious, if not fatal wound to an ordinary mortal. The demon's jump takes him over the rubble to land right next to the cyborg. Hoping to get the jump on him, Laharl feints with his sword, then swings a glowing red fist up at the metal man's midsection to hopefully knock him back against the wall. If that hits, he'll press the attack and take a heavy toll on Ziggy with a series of powerful swings of his demonforged sword.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his Combo smash attack.
You have taken 31 damage.
Ziggy tries to block the assault from the surprisingly agile demon, but he only succeeds in holding his ground, though the damage is extnesive. Now, Laharl should actually be able to get a good look at what it means to be a cyborg. His abdomen ripped open and expose, there are a number of metallic circuits mixed in with blood and muscle. Surprisingly, Ziggy doesn't appear to be too concerned, but he rarely looks concerned. In truth, though, that did damage him quite a bit. Nevertheless, he is ready with an appropriate counter. He raises his left arm up again, crackling with more electric and magnetic energy. Bits of debris, stone and metal like, begin to lift off the ground and fly into the air, and they form into what looks like a giant guillotine. Ziggy takes a quick jump back to get some distance between him and his target, and he shouts "Executioner!" Sure enough, the debris blade plummets towards Laharl.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Executioner smash attack.
Laharl holds his ground in the face of the cyborg gathering energy, waiting to see what Ziggy will do. At the shouted word, Laharl's eyes widen slightly, and he is unable to dodge effectively, causing the mass of debris to thump him squarely on the right shoulder. "AH!" The demon shouts in pain, taking a quick glance at the arm, which is already starting to swell up and turn purple. "Dislocated..." he mutters to himself, then turns to Ziggy and gestures angrily with his blade. "Who calls out the name of their attacks!? That was so stupid, I couldn't even dodge!" Well, that's his story, anyway. With a snarl, Laharl rushes forward, intending to make the cyborg pay a heavy price for the demon's injuries. Leaping forward again with his blade held overhead in one hand, Laharl swings the heavy sword down at Ziggy's neck, his swordsmanship apparently having suffered very little despite being forced to fight one-handed.
Laharl misses Ziggurat 8 with his Downward Slash attack.
Ziggy only does that occasionally. He never even picked up the habit of pronouncing attacks until he met the others. Finally, with a bit of leeway against the demon, Ziggy is able to sidestep the oncoming slash. Now with Laharl left open and unguarded, Ziggy quickly raises his right leg and delivers a quick kick to his side, accompanied by his flame jets to deliver that extra painful burn.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Cyber Kick attack.
Laharl is looking pretty hurt as it is, and the flaming kick doesn't help matters. Stumbling backward after the blow, Laharl needs a moment to recover, but then he's stepping forward again, not about to back down quite yet. Putting the full length of his sword to use, Laharl turns his body sideways, half-kneeling forward with one knee while thrusting the very tip of his sword at the cyborg's exposed innards.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his weak Look, cyberguts attack.
You have taken 10 damage.
As the blade punctures further into Ziggy's abdomen, there's a mix of blood and a sort of mechfluid trickling down the blade. Using his left, cybernetic, hand he grabs Laharl's sword directly. Luckily his hand is especially durable, it is also the hand that generates electricity. Electric Hand + Metal Sword = Fried Prince.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Electric Feedback attack.
Even as the electricity burns into his body through his arm, Laharl smiles savagely. "That was a mistake, metal man!" the demon snarls, gripping the hilt fiercely - then suddenly lets go of it altogether, pivots and lifts a boot to kick right at the sword's pommel and send it into the cyborg's insides with all the strength he can muster.
Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his Not To Be Taken Internally smash attack.
You have taken 27 damage.
Ziggy is taken aback by that attack, he wasn't expecting Laharl to abandon his own weapon. The blade cleanly cuts through his body and sticks out through the other side, if Ziggy were just a normal human that probably might have killed him. Luckily, he no longer possesses any of the sensitive vital organs in that area, but his internal cybernetics are quite damaged. Ziggy remains standing, though, probably to Laharl's surprise, his endurance lasting him for the moment. He then grabs the sword hilt, and pulls it neatly out of his own abdomen with exceptional control only a cyborg could muster. If a human tried to yank a sword out of their body they would likely do more damage than anything. With the demon's sword in hand, Ziggy merely tosses it to the side, out of Laharl's reach for now. "That was also a mistake, I still stand and now you have no weapon." Ziggy keeps cautious, however, since he's already seen the magic Laharl possesses. The fact that he uses his free organic hand to clutch the entry wound also keeps him alert and on guard. Deciding to try to put all of his energy into his next attack, Ziggy leaps into the air, and hangs there for a minute, as the fire jets on his feet begin to warm up. Then, a series of large fireballs are launched out of the cyborg's feet as he yells "Meteor Shot!" Yeah, there's that attack name pronouncing again.
Ziggurat 8 strikes Laharl with his Meteor Shot smash attack.
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 grunts, and it sounds like his breating is suddenly laboured "This demon Laharl is quite persistant. I do not know if I can win, and I am not sure if he will do anything to harm the Dock Colony if he defeats me. Is anyone on standby?" Chun-Li arrives from Space Zone - Deep Space. Laharl strikes Ziggurat 8 with his Overlord's Wrath attack. <Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 doesn't transmit anything, though there is the roar of an explosion, and after a few moments a distress beacon.
By the time Ziggy lands from his attack, Laharl's counter is already on top of him. He tries to raise his arms to guard, but it does no good. His ether defense circuit was taken offline when Laharl ran him through with his sword, and because of that he has no defense of any sort to block the Overlord's Wrath. Once the explosion clears, Ziggy has fallen.
Laharl stands hunched over from the pain, watching the fallen cyborg carefully for any signs of trickery. When about half a minute has passed without signs of movement, only then does the demon slowly stand straight and walk over to retrieve his discarded sword. An awkward moment is spent trying to place the blade into its sheath, which is on the same side as his arm, until he has the presence of mind to unbuckle his sword belt and do it that way. Afterward, he slings the belt over his good shoulder, keeping it in place with his hand. Moving slowly, he staggers over to the prone cyborg and peers down at him. "Hmm... *huff* he could be... *huff* trouble... *huff* better finish... *huff* him off..." Laharl murmurs to himself, as rubberneckers begin to appear in the area now that all the noise seems to have stopped.
"Kikouken!" a female voice bleats above the murmur of the crowd. A warning ball of blue chi snaps close to Laharl's face, perhaps just an inch from his petite little nose. And standing there not far away, looking decidedly stern and probably ready to deliver the mother of all lectures, is Chun-Li. "That was a warning shot," she states clearly, raising her voice to be heart. "Step away from that man if you care about your health."
Ziggy lies there, unmoving. Though neither Laharl or Chun Li can see it, the nanites that would normally be deployed to effect enough repairs to Ziggy's damaged frame to bring him back to consciousness aren't working. Perhaps due to his damaged Ether Circuit, the Overlord's Wrath so much damage that it disabled that safety device.
Laharl slowly turns his head up to look at the woman, blinking a few times and shaking his head slightly to clear the fuzz out of it. "...What are you, his lover? You don't want me as an enemy, human - stay out of this," he warns quietly, though he does take a half-step backward; he can sense her strength, and he's in no condition to fight someone like her at full strength. He's so beat up, he doesn't even think to be horrified by her sexy body!
Chun-Li smiles, her eyes gleaming at the threat. And steps forward. "Listen carefully, and think clearly. You are damaged from this fight, and badly so. I am fresh, healthy, and only too inclined to give your young butt a swift kick. I have defeated two gamemasters. You will not prove a challenge to me. Do you still wish to proceed?"
Laharl snarls, his good hand clenching at the sword belt. His demonic blood calls for him to teach this puny human a lesson, but his brain realizes his condition. Slowly, his rage subsides, until the demon smirks while glowering angrily at the woman. "Hmph. You're not the only one who's defeated 'gamemasters,' human." The Prince spits the title as if the word leaves a bad aftertaste in his mouth. "I'm going to take you up on your offer, VERY soon. Nobody crosses the Great Laharl and gets away with it! Haaaaahahahahaha!" He gives a weaker version of his usual laugh, quickly swallowing the blood the effort brings into his mouth. Taking several steps backward, the prince frowns for a moment, until a swirling blue portal appears in midair beside him, drawing oohs, ahhs, and screams from the onlookers.
Chun-Li inclines her head. "As you wish. I accept and look forward to your challenge." Except it was a threat, but that doesn't matter. He's leaving, and Ziggy is left alive. She closes the distance between her and the cyborg, moving to crouch protectively over him. "Until then."
Laharl gives the woman a final dark glare, burning her appearance into his mind, then steps into the portal. With nary a sound, it swiftly closes behind him.
With the threat gone, Ziggy's condition remains the same. Now that Chun Li can get a good look at him, she would see that he is particularly damaged around the abdomen. There is a clean slice arcoss his stomach, exposing both muscle and cybernetics, and on the right side there is a deep puncture wound that goes clean through to his back. Various other knicks and cuts dot his body, but that is where the most damage lies.
Chun-Li shakes her head. "The youth these days," she murmurs under her breath, turning her gaze back to Ziggy's face. Her eyes scan over the rest of him, and she quietly sucks in her breath. "This looks bad... Hold tight, I'll get the medical personnel to help you," she states, even though it's unlikely he can hear her. She places a palm upon his brow soothingly, even as she activates her radio.
Luckily there is a medical facility on the Dock Colony. They're underfunded and understaffed, but at the very least they are diligent. Some of their personel were even watching the fight, and lucky for Ziggy help has already been sent for. He needs it too, the damage is extensive enough that there is no way for him to recover from the injuries on his own.
Chun-Li receives nary a response, which really isn't good. But seeing some doctors already on the move is enough to comfort her fears and keep her from resorting to more desperate methods of healing, such as a chi exchange. She's not sure it would work on a cyborg anyway, and their ratios might be too different to be effective, or even safe. She can't help but wonder how this all got started, but she supposes she'll ask after Ziggurant is conscious and tended to.
The confused crowd begins to break apart as the medics arrive, though a few stragglers remain behind. Carefully the medics load Ziggy onto a stretcher (from the future, ooooo) and hovor him back to the facility. Chun Li is asked to come along to fill out standard admission paperwork.
Chun-Li always gets stuck with the crap after a fight. Sitting primly on one of the chairs, she holds the clipboard in her hand while using the special high-tech pen to depress the keys. Female. 23. Asian descent. Yes, she had medical insurance. ~This is so ridiculous...~ Luckily her records are still on file, given that her ties with Gaignun and Jr. had often brought her to the Kukai Foundation's medical facilities on more than one occasion.
Ziggy is on file too, thankfully. Though the SOCE has no ties with this particular Dock Colony, so he cannot recieve aid from them. Finally, one of the Doctors comes out to speak to Chun Li, and asks her to come into a room where Ziggy is now lying awake. His abdomen is heavily bandaged, and even through that there are stains of both blood and some sort of mechanical fluid. Ziggy was only staring at the ceiling until Chun Li finally enters.
Chun-Li doesn't ask the retarded 'Are you all right?' question. It's obvious that he's not all right. She steps quietly into the room, dragging up a chair to sit beside him. "How do you feel?" she asks instead, keeping her voice low-key for the moment.
Ziggy pauses for a moment before he responds. "I've been better." He says, making an attempt at humor "I believe I am long overdue for an upgrade, I have not had much luck in battle ever since I first went into Videoland." He tries to sit up, but can't quite do it, so he settels for propping his back up on his pillow. "... Thank you for coming, I do not know if I would have recieved much aid from the surrounding residents."
Chun-Li smiles, laying a hand upon his shoulder. "Rest easy. You did well. And it was no trouble, really. You're an excellent fighter, it just takes time to adjust to everything here." It certainly took her quite a while to adapt. It was probably even more difficult for someone with robotics and cybernetic logic circuits. "What brought him here anyway, if I might ask?"
"It took me awhile to get the truth out of him. When I first encountered him he was headed to the Supply Shop as I was leaving it. After a few moments I noticed him following me. I recognized Laharl from a few reports, and I knew enough of his nature to guess he was up to something. Eventually he told me he was looking to aquire an AGWS model, though he had given up on that and decided to attack me, calling me 'uppity'." Ziggy pauses for a moment and resumes "And the result is as you see. I believe the fight was close, but he got the better of me. I believe when he ran me through with his sword he completely disabeled my Ether Circuit. It is like my equivalent of magic, or chi. With that offline his next attack, which was entirely ether based, tore through me with no way to guard against it. They do not have the methods to repair or replace my damaged units, and I will have to go to the Kukai Foundation soon to have it done."
Chun-Li winces sympathetically. To be cut off from one's chi... What an awful feeling that must have been. "I see. Thank you," she inclines her head. Skilled in both magic and weaponry. Seems like Chun-Li will have quite the fight ahead of her. "I'll contact Junior to be expecting you then, or whoever is available. Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?"
Ziggy pauses again, it seems he does not like to ask others for help. "Could you help me to my shuttle? I don't want to trouble you, but the damage Laharl has done disabled one of my legs. Once I'm on board I can set it to take me to the foundation on auto."
Chun-Li smiles. "It would be my pleasure," she inclines her head, standing to her feet. She's a strong girl. And while Ziggurat 8 may weigh a great deal, Chun-Li is the strongest woman in the world! Hoo-hah! Besides, she's lifted him before, she knows what she's getting into. Moving forward, she bends at the knees to slip one arm under his back, the other beneath his legs. "Wrap your arms around me, and we'll be on our way."
Ziggy nods, and does so. He tries not to let on that he finds the situation awkward, before he met up with Shion and the others he rarely would have accepted help from anyone.
As they leave the Hospital, Ziggy informs the Doctors to bill the treatment to the Kukai Foundation, if they must it can be forwarded to the SOCE from there. Ziggy's shuttle is still at the spaceport, as they near it he speaks again. "Did you still wish to have a talk with me?" He says, bringing up their last encounter.
"It can wait," she smiles, a little twinkle gleaming in her dark eyes as she follows his directions. The shuttle is recognized from before, and thus her course changes to make a beeline for it. "Repairs come first, we can chat later when you're in perfect health. Gently Chun-Li lowers Ziggy onto his good foot, allowing him to use his access codes for the craft. "Besides, I believe I have a scheduled match against Ryu this evening. He gets anxious if I'm not punctual," she chuckles.
Ziggy nods as the door to the shuttle opens. "I see. And you have already challenged Laharl to a match, I hope you don't overwork yourself." He still isn't familiar enough with her to know just how often she does this. "Thank you for your help, I'll make it up to you another day." He says, limping inside.
Chun-Li chuckles. "You're welcome. And you don't owe me a thing. It's just nice to know that I could be of help somehow." She bows her head to the cyborg, lifting it again with an easy smile. "You take care of yourself in the meantime. Call me if you ever need my assistance."
Ziggy nods once more, as the shuttle door closes and me makes his way to the cockpit. After a few minutes the shuttle starts up and exits the Dock Colony.
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<Fac-Palace> Princess Lana says, "All right... ANyone want to try and fill in the blanks in regards to gameshark, since at best he's a brief one line in the report?"
<Fac-Palace> Chun-Li says, "I am."
<Fac-Palace> Maya says, "Mike broke Gameshark's brain with his mind powers."
<Fac-Palace> A f named Red Wizard meows. At length.
<Fac-Palace> Princess Lana says, "That's... It?"
<Fac-Palace> Maya says, "It triggered a snowcrash and Gameshark's mind is still broken."
<Fac-Palace> Princess Lana says, "..."
<Fac-Palace> Chun-Li says, "Do you wish for my assistance now, Ziggurat 8, or would you prefer to wait?"
<Fac-Palace> The Hero Of Spielburg says, "Yes...Not good at all."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero Of Spielburg says, "KOS-MOS and Teegee were badly wounded, and even worse since...well, they ain't robots 'nymore."
<Fac-Palace> Morrigan Aensland says, "Broken? I'd say it went on vacation and forgot to leave a forwarding address."
<Fac-Palace> Lady A says, "...."
<Fac-Palace> Lady A says, "How large WAS this crash?"
<Fac-Palace> Jim Raynor says nothing but the medic who worked on saving KOS-MOS snores soundly.
<Fac-Palace> The Hero Of Spielburg says, "I dunno...huge I'd bet."
<Fac-Palace> The Hero Of Spielburg says, "Indeed. Gameshark was already dangerous, now he could be even more."
<Fac-Palace> Ziggurat 8 says, "Standby, Ms Li, Laharl appears to be quite injured as well. I'll let you know if I eed assistance."
<Fac-Palace> A f named Red Wizard meows some more.
<Fac-Palace> Chun-Li says, "As you wish."
Chun-Li has arrived.Without his sword, Laharl doesn't have a lot of options, and can't really run for his sword with fire raining down from above. With that in mind, he holds his ground and simply roars as fire, smoke, and debris obscure his vision and the area around him. The demon's voice swells to a crescendo, then suddenly stops. His form still enveloped by the cloud, all is silent... until it clears, and SHOCK! Laharl is still standing - though probably through sheer adrenaline - and holding his good arm above his head, another large ball of pulsating red energy in hand. The moment he can see Ziggy, Laharl grunts with effort as he swings his arm down, flinging the ball square at the cyborg's center of mass.
You have taken 19 damage.
Ziggurat 8 has been knocked out!
After some time passes the Doctors give their preliminary report on his condition. Ziggy will be conscious again shortly, but many of his cybernetics are damaged and will need to be repaired or replaced before he can move around again on his own.
