Serafina vs Mae

	 Fassad, as usual, enters the arena with his normal style and aplomb. He waves to the audience, and throws a rose to a cute girl. His Shinki, Serafina, an Olbern, is resting on his shoulder.

	 The two of them pull out their swords, with a flourish. They're going for /total style/.

	 It has served them well so far.


	Kagenashi, of course, is about as subdued as ever. She only strides confidently and elegantly toward the arena, with Mae perched on her right shoulder, arms crossed and fangs glinting with her broad grin. As usual, the fox shinki is far more obviously excited about this than her master, simply brimming with confidence and assurance.

	Once they reach the main arena, Mae simply hops off and floats down to the combat level, her armor appearing in a flash of white light. She hops eagerly from foot to foot, punching in midair as she gets ready for the match to start. Kagenashi, meanwhile, simply leans down to give the little fox a pat on the head before striding along to sit in the master's booth.


Fassad activates the Visualizer. In a flare of light and color, it deploys the Battle Field:

OIL RIG
	Standing high above the waves in the middle of an endless sea, this Battle Field is an commercial oil drilling platform. Pipes and equipment crowd the top decks in impossible mazes, filled with flammable black liquid. Catwalks and steel walls form basic structures and buildings, and the lower decks form a more claustrophobic battle arena than most. It's all scaled to shinki size. Oil drums and large tanks, processing and drilling equipment, living quarters and control rooms. A large tower looms over it all, with a helicopter landing pad nearby.

<J-IC-Moderated> Prince Goro says, "Greeeeettings Multiverse!! It is I, Goro, THE PRINCE OF PAIN! Bringing you what is sure to be an eventful Round Three of the Shinki Tournament. Meet our Semifinalists!! On the Blue Corner; The elegant Olbern Serafina here to dazzles us with her elegant display of swordplay. Her opponent in the Red Corner; the enigmatic Renge Mae, looking ready to employ the shadowy subterfuge that her kind are notorious for. Join me in (OOC: 1X) to see this miniature warriors met in MOR--cursesalwaysgetthatwrong-- BUSOU SHINKI BATTLE ROYALE!!"

 	 Off on the side, Goro is seen sitting on a stone throne to oversee the match. Being a real Martial Arts enthusiasts, he even has a super powered binocular not wanting to miss a single detail of the fight.


Fassad signals the start of the match!
                                   ...3...
                                   ...2...
                                   ...1...

                                   RIDE ON


	 Olbern leaps into the battlefield just before it starts, her battle armor formed. She flies through the air. With the battlefield being an oil rig, there isn't a /lot/ of places for the Renge to hide. Olbern, though? She is going to /force/ a victory as soon as possible. She is /this close/ to winning, and bringing glory to her Master! She /has/ to win.

	 And so, she flies in fast, bringing her sword down from above. She lets out a battle cry as she does so. Sure, it makes her location more obvious. But it also is used to psych out the opponent a bit.

You suffer 2 points of damage.
Fassad does 2 damage to Kagenashi with a Graze hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Slash from above weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>

	All that confidence in the little Renge just steadily slips away when the arena is revealed to be an oil rig. This is...really going to make things difficult for her, considering the lack of open space. But she'll just have to try her best-

	And Serafina is already rushing toward her. Mae has to think quickly, and thankfully she has something to help her right here. Two of her sword tails appear in her hands, and she immediately lifts them up in a cross to try and catch her enemy's sword between them and avoid getting hit. Not that it works entirely: the blade still comes down just enough to graze along the top of her head, between her pointy ears. Still, better than getting cut in half already.

	"Geez, lady, calm down!" With a grunt of effort, Mae tries pushing Serafina's sword up and away so that she can bring one of her own swords in to stab at the Olbern's stomach. "You're not gonna get anywhere if you freak out about this!"
Kagenashi does 6 damage to Fassad with an Above Average hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her poke weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>

<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "Oooh! A sneaky surprise attack at the start of the round! The Serafina is eager to meet her shadowy opponent in close quarters where she presumedly has the advantage. With a might warcry, she charges headlong into Mae to deliver a vicious overhead strike with her sword, aiming to cleave her opponent in twain! Mae responds by bringing two blades into play, stopping Olbern's sword with an up X block, showing us that she can fight up close if needed. Only minimal is taken by the Renge! Mae attempts then to wrest Olbern's sword away and get inside her guard to deliver a double stab to the Serafina's torso! This match is starting out brutally. JUST AS IT SHOULD BE!"

	 Serafina simply grunts, even as the swords stab at her stomach. Luckily her armor will help keep things from being over too fast, but she flies back a little bit, frowning at Mae.

	 "I've come so far... I can't calm down yet! Master Fassad has faith in me, and I can't let him down!"

	 Seh dashes forward, grabbing her blade with both hands. She swings it, in a wide circle. It's a classic technique from Hyrule swordsplay. Normally meant to take out groups of enemies, but the spinning sword technique can be good for hitting one enemy as well.

	 Serafina honestly did /not/ expect to get this far. So she isn't going to relent at all now that she is here.

You suffer 4 points of damage.
Fassad does 4 damage to Kagenashi with an Average hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Spinning Sword Slash weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	In all fairness, Mae is getting pretty desperate herself. Despite her confidence, she wasn't actually sure how far she could even make it in the tournament. Kagenashi, however, has been a good model on how to remain composed even in the most stressful situations, and with that in mind, Mae does her absolute best not to let the strain get to her.

	Ah, but if she can get her /opponent/ to feel the heat of the situation...

	Well, better to think about that later, when she's not being assaulted by a powerful, cleaving arc. Immediately Mae goes up to block again, letting Serafina's sword hit hers with a resounding clang as Mae herself is knocked back. The blade doesn't get to her armor, but she does end up slamming against a nearby railing with another loud impact of metal on metal.

	"Ow, damn," Mae hisses, wincing but at the same time preparing to jump in again. "Well, fine, go ahead and freak out if you want, but don't blame me when you trip over your own feet!"

	And then she's leaping off, rushing through the air toward Serafina. She doesn't attack with her swords, though, instead angling to strike her opponent with a solid blow of her knee to the chest.
Kagenashi does 8 damage to Fassad with a Direct hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Fox Knee weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>

<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "Serafina is clearly burning with dedication to win this championship, but will that be enough to overcome her skillful opponent?? The swordshinki backs away from her foe to put some distance between them, clearly wanting to take advantage of the superior range her broadsword has over Mae's blades. A spinning attack! What an unorthodox technique! I am told that it is reminiscent of a move performed by warriors from a land called Hyrule. The Renge goes for the side block, using her double blades to deflect the heavier sword of her opponent. It seems it prevents Serafina's blade from cleaving through Mae's armor, but it successfully slams her against a nearby metal railing. Cornered against a better armored foe, Mae performs a risking knee technique to strike Serafina on her chest and force her away from her! A superb display of martial skill!"


	 The knee strike hits dead on, sending Serafina back. She struggles to fly for a brief second, but then manages to restabilize her flight. She flies up, though, preparing an attack. How best to deal with such a shinki as Mae...

	 "I won't trip over myself now! I will win! For great justice and heroics and honor!"

	 She flies /straight/ down at Mae, sword pointing down. She's trying to use the force of her fall to make the sword pierce hard against the Renge.

You suffer 6 points of damage.
Fassad does 6 damage to Kagenashi with an Average hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Downward Stab moderate attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	Mae immediately settles into a prepared position once she lands from her attack, swords raised and body turned to face Serafina. The Olbern takes a moment to consider her options, though, a fact which Mae takes advantage of to switch out her swords for heavy claw gauntlets, each with four of her sword-tails. Now she only has one blue blade emerging from the small of her back.

	When Serafina dives down at her, Mae is quick to react. Though perhaps not quite quick enough. She leaps back, but still suffers a slice along her inner right calf thanks to the force of that sword's descent.

	"Yeah, well all that just isn't enough..." Mae turns slightly in midair, angling herself so that she plants her feet on another nearby railing. Immediately after landing, she kicks off yet again, driving one arm forward in a direct punch of her claws to Serafina. "...against the GLORY OF AZUMAAAA!"
Kagenashi does 3 damage to Fassad with a Graze hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Super Flying Fox Punch moderate attack! <Standard Mechanic>


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "The Olbern is relentless on her attack, wanting to continue to stay on the offensive. I do not know if this is an effective strategy as the Renge seems to be anticipating her every move! We'll just have to see if Serafina's aggressiveness can catch Mae off guard to deliver a solid blow. Here it comes! A dive bomb attack performed by Serafina! She flies downwards with her sword extended going for an all out attack against the elusive fox shinki! Hah! It pierces through that defense this time! Caught in mid weapon trade, Mae suffers a wound to her leg whilst he was busy switching from her blades to her claws! I can't fault her logic however, as claws will give her the advantage against an opponent that insists on staying in brutal close distance fighting. Mae finds her footing on another rail and flies forward towards Serafina with a fist extended! Come on! Let's see some uppercuts with those gauntlets!"


	 As the punch-claws come in, Serafina moves back. This at leasts serves to lower the force of the blow, though it dents her armor a bit. This person is quite a close range opponent, though... And that gives the Olbern more ideas.

	 She dashes up to the top of the Oil Rig, smiling. She's trying to look as heroic as possible.

	 "I am Serafina! But, my master has given me a grander name! Lady Serafina Christina Spryte Ari-Arcadia! The Third! I shall win, for the glory of the kingdom of Arcadia!"

	 And with that, she slashes at the top of the oil rig, trying to cut the top of it off. So that it will slide down and possibly ram into Mae.

You suffer 7 points of damage.
Fassad does 7 damage to Kagenashi with an Average hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Slicing the Oil Rig - Incoming Building Chunk moderate attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	And down Mae goes again, landing on her feet after her blow hits. Just as she's about to leap in for another strike, though, Serafina...runs away. The fox shinki looks on in some confusion, but still braces herself to prepare in case Serafina still decides to actually do something.

	Which she does, though it wasn't nearly what Mae expected. A gun or a laser or something, not cutting the oil rig up to weaponize debris. Mae's eyes go wide briefly, and her surprise stops her from reacting quickly enough to avoid the debris entirely. The debris smashes against her lower leg as she leaps aside, drawing another wince from the Renge before she rolls and pushes herself up again. A frown comes over her features as she tries to consider how best to approach this.

	Thankfully, she has some ranged options to consider. Sure, that didn't go quite as well last time, but why get in close if she can make use of the distance? With that in mind, Mae lifts one gauntleted arm and fires off three of the swords from it right at Serafina before ducking back to try and avoid a counterattack.
Kagenashi uses Sword Throwing is the Best moderate combo attack on Fassad.
The attacks resulted in a series of, Above-average, Direct, and Graze strikes for a total of 14 damage.


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "Serafina backs up, lessening the blow from the gauntlet covered fist courtesy of Mae! Finally, a semblance of strategy! As much as we of the fighting community appreciate a non-stop action match, Serafina /must/ use effective footwork against this fox if she hopes to win! There we are! She flies back and away from the Renge, positioning herself in an advantageous position a top an oil rig. She raises her sword and.... is she giving a heroic speech? Uh..perhaps.. a part of her strategy? Yes! The Olbern makes full use of her environment and slices the oil rig apart to pummel the fox with debris! Mae's dexterity helps her avoid severe damage, though I see some it caught her leg again. It is fortunate that these shinki that they have the capability of flight or the Renge would be having mobility problems right about now. Perhaps Serafina should target Mae's jetpack next to hinder her mobility. Oh! The Renge isn't out tricks yet! She aims her gauntlet up at Serafina and fires her blades up at the Olbern!"


	 The swords strike the Olbern, and hard. She attempted to use her sword to counter them, but is simply just a bit too slow. This... Is not going well. But she's the good guy, right? The good guy is /always/ supposed to win!

	 At least that's what Fassad says.

	 But she goes silent, for now, and rushes forward. She's not doing too good at keeping a distance anyways. she moves in, aiming for a simple stab straight at Mae's center of mass. Her eyes are looking more determined.

You suffer 12 points of damage.
Fassad does 12 damage to Kagenashi with a Direct hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Stab moderate attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	Wow, that's a little faster than Mae expected. She probably could have managed to block that stab a little better if she hadn't managed to forget in her last-minute reaction that she's down three swords on one arm. But no, she attempts to use /that/ arm to block, completely missing Serafina's sword and suffering a painful-looking stab in the gut for her mistake.

	The fox shinki gives a brief cry of pain, stumbling where she stands. But after her brief flash of damage, Mae smirks. "Well...hey, I always do better at close range anyway!"

	With that, the Renge pulls back the arm that now only has one claw on it. Rather than using that, however, she instead delivers a solid uppercut to Serafina with the blunt part of the gauntlet, not even bothering to pull the sword out of herself yet.
Kagenashi does 10 damage to Fassad with an Above Average hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Crowd Pleaser moderate attack! <Standard Mechanic>


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "How frustrating it must be for Serafina! The fox seems capable of both dominating close combat /and/ keep her threatened at a distance with a variety of missiles. The Olbern attempts to weave through the fired blades but is nonetheless struck by them! Bah! I too dislike being forced to play the projectile game! I can feel Serafina's desperation, she dives in for the attack again with a lunging strike meant to pierce Mae's abdomen. It's a solid blow!! Though it's a precarious position to be up close against the Renge again. Should Serafina engage in quick in and out techniques?? Such a strategy is usually reserved for lumbering slow opponents, not nimble fox ninja warriors! A troublesome match indeed, if only Serafina had a way to grapple against her foe to keep her rooted in one place! Look out! Here comes the Renge's counter attack! OOOH!! A devastating uppercut to the jaw taking advantage of the Olbern's charge!! TOASTY!"


 	 Goro raises his arms and roars in approval! He likes uppercuts.


	 As the uppercut hits, Serafina at least manages to keep ahold of her sword. She is tossed skywards, and crashes a bit back on the oil rig. She is, honestly, just lucky that she didn't get air combo'd. Still, the impact on the ground is /hard/.

	 She rights herself, though, staring at Mae. And, despite the pain, she finds herself smiling.

	 "...Well. I might lose this one. But, at least I'm doing my best. And I'll stay doing my best til the end."

	 And with that, she flashes forward, and proceeds to let loose a rapid fire burst of stabs. Trying to hit as many times as possible, in as short of time as possible. She's /also/ trying to keep her distance a bit. Swords give her /slightly/ more range than fists, or even a renge's own weapons. If she can keep just the /right/ amount of distance...

Fassad used a combo attack on you and hit you for a total of 18 damage.
Fassad uses Rapid Fire Stabbings strong combo attack on Kagenashi.
The attacks resulted in a series of, Direct, Direct, Mild-graze, and Average strikes for a total of 18 damage.


	Mae wasn't expecting Serafina to be quite /that/ fast. The Olbern immediately puts on the pressure, stabbing and thrusting with enough speed to take Mae off her guard. The first couple of strikes hit her squarely before she can properly react, and even after she raises her gauntlets to block, those jabs get in between her guard.

	The Renge has to grit her teeth and focus, trying /very/ hard to find some sort of opening in the constant pressure Serafina is giving her. And soon enough she finds it, thrusting her arm forward and to the side to parry Serafina's blade in that next stab.

	In another flash, Mae's gauntlets vanish, and the last flash comes as she brings her hands together over her head. With a shout, she brings the weapon down on Serafina even before it fully forms: a large hammer, formed from all nine of her tail-blades being assembled together into one heavy, bladed mass.
Kagenashi does 13 damage to Fassad with an Above Average hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Super Fox Tail Hammer strong attack! <Standard Mechanic>


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "The Olbern has formidable endurance, I will give her that. She has earned her title as a warrior before my eyes! Serafina rights herself up after the uppercut and dashes in again with a flurry of attacks. There we are! Now she's taking full advantage of her blade to pierce Mae with fencing like thrusts! Even the fox's agility can't help her escape this barrage of steel! Mae is forced to curl up and take the blows on her forearms, but even with her armor Serafina's blade manages to pierce through the foxes defenses and strike at her torso! Wait, Mae is regaining her composure. She smacks the Olbern's sword out of the way and switches weapons in mid strike-WHAT IN THE NETHERREALM!!? Mae summons a warhammer to strike Serafina right on the top of her skull!! I do not need an X-Ray camera to know that will cause a serious skull fracture!"


	 The hammer strikes in, knocking Serafina against the wall of the oil rig. She pries herself off of it. Man, she is /really/ running out of ideas. She wishes she could do some of the magical stuff her Master could do! At the least, she eventually needs to get a long range weaponry.

	 Still, the 'just keep attacking wrecklessly' thing has been working for her so far, and in all of her past battles. And so, she dashes forward. Once again, she is trying for the spinning blade cut, spinning and slashing.

	 "HYAAAAAAAH!"

You suffer 18 points of damage.
Fassad does 18 damage to Kagenashi with a Direct hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Spinning Sword Slash strong attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	Mae can't help a little grin of satisfaction when she sees Serafina go flying back. This might turn the tables, if she can keep it up. A few powerful strikes, a few good dodges, and-

	And she should probably pay more attention to her opponent rather than getting caught up in thoughts of glory and victory. That sword swing strikes right into her side, and then it's her turn to go flying aside and tumbling head over heels along the rig's floor. She rights herself quickly enough, but some clear damage is really starting to show. If she doesn't get back into things soon...

	Mae grips her hammer tightly, then lifts it and delivers a quick swing. It's not to Serafina, though; instead, she aims for a nearby oil drum, launching it at the shinki as a sort of distraction. She follows it up immediately with a step forward and another spin, building momentum into a powerful golf swing aimed to send Serafina flying away!
Kagenashi does 5 damage to Fassad with a Graze hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Tricky Fox Hammer strong attack! <Standard Mechanic>


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "It's turn into a battle of attrition, fighting fans!! Serafina goes full berserk after having sustained such a devastating hit to the skull and closes the gap again to deliver another vicious spinning attack! Mae is caught unprepared this time and she is unable to parry in time! The Renge is flung some distance away and it seems she is unable to access her projectiles whilst her hammer is summoned. Aah.. so there is a clear weakness to her style after all.. I understand now. Having no means to retaliate from a distance, Mae is forced to improvise by smashing her hammer against a nearby oil rig in hopes it'll fall on top of Serafina! She swings her hammer at the Olbern afterwards trying to capitalize on the distraction!"


	 Serafina /almost/ flies through the air. But, just barely? She manages to block /some/ of the impact with her blade, slowing the hammer down as it hits.

	 Still, she /moves/ back as fast as she can, straight towards the main tower of the oil rig. Yeah. It's time for something epic. Something to /really/ make the crowd go wild.

	 She cuts at the oil rig, sending the /rest/ of the main structure to try and crush Mae.

You suffer 25 points of damage.
Fassad does 25 damage to Kagenashi with a Direct hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Oil Tower Falls Down, Completely epic attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	Mae recovers from her swing just in time to see Serafina swing her sword nowhere near where she is right now. The Renge pauses, blinks, and only when she hears the screeching of falling metal does she think to look up at the tower falling down toward her.

	Yeah, no matter how fast she moves, there's not much mitigating that.

	The tower falls right on top of her with a crash. For several seconds, it seems like Serafina has successfully crushed the fox. Eventually, though, the rubble shifts and stirs and Mae crawls out from the wreckage, looking very much the worse for wear with dents and cuts all over.

	"...okay. Good trick," she winces, managing to get to her feet and hold her hammer tightly in her grasp. "But I'm...not giving up yet! Not as long as I still have hope to see the GLORY OF AZUMA!"

	With a shout, the fox rushes in after Serafina again, her hammer lifted above her head. Rather than actually smashing it down, though, Mae suddenly ducks and twists, instead delivering another upward swing to the Olbern. And, of course, she doesn't leave it at that. She angles the points of the hammer toward Serafina as she's in midair and launches all nine of the swords from its end at the shinki to follow up with an aerial combo!
Kagenashi does 27 damage to Fassad with a Direct hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her Super Awesome Fox Gunhammer Upswing epic attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	 As the hammer comes up, it takes Serafina by surprise, followed by the swords cutting into her incredibly hard. She ends up crashing down, falling to the ground, barely able to move.

	 Thankfully this is all a simulation. But, she is still struggling. Still, she gets onto her knee, pulls back her sword? And then, she stabs it forward, trying to cut straight into the Renge, using what little energy she has left.

You suffer 2 points of damage.
Fassad does 2 damage to Kagenashi with a Graze hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Weak Stab weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "Impressive! Serafina not only manages to dodge the debris thrown at her, she also successfully blocks Mae's hammer with her sword! While the impact undoubtedly put devastating pressure on the Olbern's arms, it is far better than to take the strike full on the torso. Serafina flies up again! What is she planning now? Could she have some secret missile that she hasn't use through out the fight? She's swinging her blade at the oil rigs again--I see! The Olbern brings the oil towers down with one swipe of her blade, trapping Mae in an avalanche and crushing her completely! Is that it..? I see movement in the rubble. Mae emerges, injured but still willing to continue! Careful! She's leaping towards Serafina again to narrow the distance and she's leading with her hammer! A good strike and a Nine Hit aerial combo is followed by unleashing all her blades! Marvelous!"


	Now it's Mae's turn to be quick. The fox shinki manages to read Serafina's pull and slips back just enough to avoid little more than a scrape. Not that she'll be able to /survive/ much more, at this rate. Sure, she keeps her agility up even with this much damage, but that's mostly her determination keeping her from outright collapsing now.

	"Why won't you just /lose/ already," she shouts, then steps forward again to strike with a one-handed horizontal swing of her weapon. She stumbles and leaves herself more than a little open afterward, but maybe...
Kagenashi does 6 damage to Fassad with an Above Average hit.
Kagenashi hit Fassad with her diiiiiiie weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>


	 The swing comes down, causing a bit of a cry of pain from Serafina. Still, though, she looks up. She's only /barely/ holding on, by a threat. She lifts her blade, and, in a last act of desperation?

	 She throws it at Mae, trying to hit her square in the head. This is just a simulation, after all. So headshots should be fair game! Throwing the blade might be a bad idea if it misses, but Mae is still a /bit/ more mobile than she is at this point.

You suffer 9 points of damage.
Fassad does 9 damage to Kagenashi with a Direct hit.
Fassad hit Kagenashi with his Blade Toss weak attack! <Standard Mechanic>
Kagenashi has been knocked out!


<1X-Supplemental> Goro says, "Th Olbern was injured quite heavily from that last combo. She falls gracelessly out of the air and struggles to get back up in a desperate attempt to stab at the fox. She's running on fumes now! It is getting close now, both warriors will need to reach deep within themselves if they hope to achieve victory over the other. Mae avoids the thrust barely and swings her weapon in an arch! Serafina is down! It doesn't look like she'll be able to continue! The Olbern is raising her sword upwards and she's throwing it?? Hahaha!! Mae is struck down!! I could not have foreseen this turn of events."


	Unfortunately, Mae's left herself way too open with trying to attack with such a heavy weapon. That sword stabs right into her head, and the fox stumbles, then simply flops onto her back. Victory for Serafina!

	Of course, the simulation ends not long after that, leaving Mae looking perfectly fine as she lies on her back and groans more in annoyance and resignation than pain. So close!


	 And with that, Serafina poses dramatically, motioning to the audience. Wow! She /made it to the finals/. She could never even dream this would of happened to her! She was just an orphaned shinki! Look how far she came.

	 Fassad, meanwhile, smiles. He walks forward, and lets Serafina leap up onto his shoulder, once again. Following this, he waves to the crowd himself.

	 VICTORY!