---- Recall start ---- Wong says "Mind if Seishi comes?" Seishi enters the bar. Seishi has arrived. Seishi peeps. Pete Wisdom says "Not at all. :D" Wong says "Let me repost the situation." Pete Wisdom says "Seishi-san!" Pete Wisdom says "Hokay." REPOST: Wisdom begins looking faintly disgusted. But it's mixed with a healthy appreciation for a good barfight. "He fancy himself a bit of a hero?" he asks, looking at the barlady again, eyebrows up. "They don't last too long. Heroes." The young punk's having probably too much fun being Tough. If he's not careful, he'll end up parodying himself. "He ever start anything here before?" "It's Ginger by the way," the barlady says, gingerly. She then glances back at Wong, mouth lilting as she says "No, thank God. Last time we had trouble in here..." She cuts herself off, then smiles a cheshire grin at Pete. "Oh, well, it was a mess. Some of our regulars can be a bit rambunctuous. Part of the 'atmosphere', I'm told, but it makes cleaning up after work a real pain in the a -" "Chen Zhen! Ha!" a voice calls out derisively. One of Uncle Ling's friends has noticed Wong, it appears. A handsome yong punk with spiky bleached hair, he removes his wrap around sunglasses and approaches Wong and Pao. "" He starts to pretend to sniff the air around Wong, who, to his credit, is standing statue still, eyes following the man. Pao Li starts to back off. "" A few heads turn. The regulars seem to share Ginger's assessment of the 'kid from the mainland', and they exchange suffering looks at their booths. Ginger says "Oh, fab." [Public] Hal Cascio has connected. Pete Wisdom says "Want I should go, or you wanna pose in here, Sei?" Wong says "Pete - At Bar, hitting on Ginger and being smug. Wong - By back booth, facing young punk working for evil Tong boss Uncle Ling. Pao Li - barguy trying to stop fight. Lot of locals in the bar, what with the New Years holidays and all." [Public] Hal Cascio has disconnected. Seishi says "Go ahead whilst I figure out how to pose in. And thanks, Wong. :)" [Public] Jason has connected. "Ginger," repeats Pete finally, his eyes on the source of the tension. "Lovely name." Casually, he turns around so he's facing the inside of the bar, rather than the counter. And equally casually, he shifts his balance so he can get the hell off the barstool and out of the way fast. Quietly, he leans in to Ginger and asks, "If he's always like this, why inne dead yet?" Pete Wisdom blahs. Sorry. :) To (Pete Wisdom, Seishi, Wong), Buffy pages: Can't leave you people alone for five minutes, and you start a riot. [Seishi has just +fingered you.] From afar, to (Pete Wisdom, Wong, Buffy): Seishi bahs. I never start things! I just finish them. :) From afar, to (Buffy, Seishi, Pete Wisdom): Wong is hoping that we can take this outside. After, y'know, the walls fall down. Long distance to (Seishi, Wong, Buffy): Pete Wisdom awws, poor Feng's. [Celliers has just +fingered you.] From afar, to (Seishi, Pete Wisdom, Wong): Celliers waves. May I wander in? Seishi has been tucked unobtrusively into a corner booth with a cup of tea, not even aware of the presence of anyone she knows and certainly not anticipating any trouble. The exclamation of a name she recognizes does catch her attention, and has her twisting around in her booth to look for 'Chen Zhen'. That she does not speak Chinese doesn't make it any easier for her to get an idea of the situation. She sets down her tea and watches, frowning. [Public] Maelstrom has connected. Pete Wisdom passes el buck. You paged (Celliers, Seishi, Wong) with 'Well, Wong's emitting. Not my call. :)'. Drumming her fingers on the counter top next to her glass, Ginger props her chin in her free hand. She says "Well, he's been in town maybe a few weeks. Sure picked a bad night to come in and start trouble." She glances slowly around the bar, noting a few tough customers who seem to have taken notice of the young tailor apprentice's confrontation with Uncle Ling's hatchetman. "There's Fatty Choi. And Hop Yang. The Tso Brothers." She bites her lip, then looks at Pete. "If you're looking forward to a fight, I'm afraid you'll have to settle for a wholesale slaughter." Pao Li tries to cut in between the punk with the sunglasses and Wong. "" The words are submissive and apologetic, but the tone the big man uses is more of a warning. "" Chang, the punk, pushes Pao aside. "Out of my way, you fat ****." He then jabs a finger into Wong's chest. " Celliers pops out of Sei's pocket. Pete Wisdom giggles. Fatty Choi. [Public] Charis has disconnected. [Public] Wong has left this channel. "Wonder if 'e picked it for witnesses," says Pete of Wong's choice of the holiday. The teenager follows Ginger's narrative gaze, taking note of names and faces (and dates, incidentally), but keeping an ear on the conversation most likely to end in a lot of violence. Absently, he replies to Ginger's last comment, "Don't know that I am; that cold'll be the bloody death of me, out there. But--" pause for a quick grin; Pete looks directly at Ginger again, "--I never peg me as lasting too long, either." Leaning forward, getting ready to jump in at a half-second's notice, the English punk scans the crowd, looking for faces that look frightened, faces that belong to people who might need a route outside cleared for them. Seishi sighs. She may not have understood the language, but she certainly got the gist of /that/, and she hasn't missed the other men starting to get up. "I go out for a cup of tea," she murmurs wryly to herself, also rising to her feet and trying, however much it's possible, to get closer to the epicenter of the impending violence without being hugely conspicuous about it. "I don't know why I even bother." And, of course, with his intuition, it's now that Jack chooses to wander into the bar closests to his flat to get a drink after work. In his suit and with his complexion, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Sighting Sei, he veers towards her - but his amiable grin fades a bit once he notices her posture. "Hello, Sei-chan," he notes, more quietly than is his wont. Pete Wisdom stifles a giggle. "Right, what are the odds? I promise to shelve my class war for the duration, Jack. :D" Celliers grins. Oh ho? Wong says, in slow, carefully enunciated English "Chen Huei cannot pay Uncle Ling what is asked of him. He is a humble man, as am I. I come on his behalf to ask for time and a discussion." Danny Chang Sen sneers, glancing around the bar. "Listen to this; the old weakling can't even beg forgiveness for himself, so he sends his inbred cousin." There is laughter from some quarters, much of it forced. Danny Chang Sen glances back at the large man in the middle of the back booth. The man glances from the two flirtatious Asian bimbos at his sides, then shrugs, then makes a thumb gesture over his shoulder. Danny nods, looking to Wong. "Pao Li, you and the rest of Feng's boys can back off. This one's ours." A few wait staff join Pao in backing off. The space in front of the back booth clears, save for Danny and six oversized goons who surround Wong. "" Danny says. He punctuates the request by lifting his jacket to show a shoulder holster. Ginger casually lowers herself behind the bar, remembering to take her drink with her. "Might want to get down, handsome," she says to Pete. Pete Wisdom says "Anarchy in the UK! Oi! Up the revolution!" Celliers sniffs with great disdain at the member of the hoi polloi. ;) [Public] Pete Wisdom says, "Good band, that." Wong says "There's Seven guys around Wong. You guys can Emit more Tong goons as per your own preference, preferably with wacky Chinese gangster nicknames and whatever weapon seems appropos." [Public] Pete Wisdom mavs. You have left channel Public. [Public] Pete Wisdom has left this channel. Pete Wisdom says "Are they all over, then? Presumably blocking the path to 'out the back'?" Wong says "Name Generator -> http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pound/fsnames.html" Celliers cackles. I am Iron Dragon YAng, and this is my friend, Drunken monkey lung. Wong says "Yeah. More can run out from back hallways if we run out and aren't satisfied." Celliers needs to finish his app for his chop sockey villain on here. Wong shakes Pete. [Celliers looked at you.] Taking a deep breath and letting it out with a quiet half-laugh, Wisdom shakes his head. "That'd be too bright, love. Been a pleasure, it has." Taking his own neglected drink in hand and polishing off the rest of it quickly, he stands and starts rolling up his sleeves, obviously intending to follow the combatants outside. Which is, of -course-, when he spots Seishi and Jack - and freezes. Then closes the remaining distance and growls under his breath, "You lot aim to /improve/ the odds, yeah?" Pause, and Pete /hopes/ Jack can understand Japanese and that no one else in the place can, but he addresses Seishi. "" Glance backward; aaagh, many large men shifting around. Pete Wisdom ngh. God damned panels. Wong tries rattling Seishi. Seishi aggleaggleaggle. Celliers replies, in remarkably pure if a touch old-fashioned Japanese, As he speaks, he slants a teasing look at Seishi, before returning his attention to the gathered thugs. Not taht he could sneak around in here if he tried. Seishi pauses as first Jack and then Pete make their appearances--and sighs, and looks very faintly pained. And then blinks. When did Jack learn Japanese? Sheesh. she protests, not without humor. Pao Li and his men advise a few more peaceable regulars to depart. The rest divide evenly between those who want to watch or participate and those who are already on their way out. The bartender and the busboys then take station behind the bar with Ginger, who is already phoning the bar owner and perhaps an insurer. Danny locks eyes with Wong, Knuckles tighten and a few hands reach inside of jackets. "" he says with exagerrated politeness. "Out. Back. Door. Now. Quickee quickee, you..." His hand goes for the gun. Wong's hand meets Danny's, propping the gun skywards. The other hand removes the slide from the top of the pistol with a sharp metal clank. It takes perhaps a second, but its perceived by just about everybody. In the pause that follows, Wong drops the slide. "You won't be needing that." The seven men blink, glance at one another. Danny sputters "Get...Get him!" They pull weapons or ready stances and move in with loud shouts to teach the tailor some manners. Wong says "Commence ca Kung Fu Fighting." Celliers would look very ludicrous trying actual kung fu, and just wades into the brawl. Wong says "That too." Seishi ninjas! Rar! "Yeah," says Pete, wrinkling his nose slightly at Jack. "Right." He rubs his nose, then starts to outline what to do - when the whole thing blows up behind him. "Oh, fucking hell. Bugger subtlety, then." He spins, looking vaguely like he's had training of some sort, and yells at the crowd of thugs, switching back to Cantonese for the insults. "Oi! You! " "Indeed," Jack agrees, tone dry. The walking stick he's been tapping along with is quickly hefted in one hand, all the better to use it as a short staff. With his free hand, he makes an impatient, beckoning gesture, as if urging on a recalcitrant child, before advancing. Pete Wisdom says "Man, we three look like such a joke. :D" Seishi says "Speak for yourselves." Pete Wisdom says "You're a -girl-. I said /look/ like a joke. :)" Celliers giggles. Indeed, we do. Two skinny englishmen, one scruffy, one effete, and a little Japanese woman. Not precisely a sight to inspire fear in the hearts of thugs. Pete Wisdom says "One a scruffy *teenager*, no less. Let's kick some butt and embarrass the hell out of them! :D" Celliers says "That's the spirit, my boy. I can almost forgive the safety pin, for such spirit. ;)" Pete Wisdom buttons his lip to prevent his spamming the log, which he would. :> Wong waves a hand in front of Seishi. Seishi's brows go up signficantly at Wong's swift motion, but there isn't much time to be impressed just now. Her expression goes once more wryly pained as she glances sidelong at the two Englishmen and steps into a competent guard posture. At least she really looks like she knows what she's doing. She'll let Pete handle the insults. She's no good at insults. Too much of a Nice Girl. Instead she breathes in, visibly seeming to focus herself--and when the first thug makes a move her way, she darts forward and meets him with an impossibly fast straightarm. And follows it with a kneecapping kick. Being, you know, a Nice Girl and all. A few annoyed audience members glance at the brash punker. "" a Tong goon watching the fracas shouts, standing. "" another says, moving to join the former. They get in Pete's path, presumably to keep him or his two friends from annoying their friends as they go to work. One moves to grab Jack's stick and try and wrench it from his hands. He he is clotheslined by Seishi's arm. He tries to rise, but the anticipatory kneecap blow pretty much quashes that. Wong has dropped into a Gung Bo stance, front leg bent like a bow, back leg straight like an arrow. He straight punches at either side of himself, the fists colliding with the stomachs of two Tong goons rushing him. The men stumble back, clutching their middles and teetering over a few chairs. Chang Sen drops his useless firearm, then lashes out with a spinning sidekick. Wong blocks the shin with an extended forearm, stopping the kick cold, then sidesteps a slashing butterfly knife wielded by a fourth assailant behind him. Uncle Ling watches with his bimbo escort, momentarily distracted from having a cigar prepared for him. Wong reduces the 'he he is clotheslined' to 'he is' "" yells Pete, practically in the guy's face. He hasn't thrown a punch yet. Or anything. Oh, god. The guy's a giant compared to the teenager, too. But - Pete /doesn't/ throw a punch. He got up in the guy's face, and now he suddenly stomps the guy's instep with his combat boot and bears down on the stomp with nearly all his weight. No pride, see? Whisper has arrived. Wong says "Feel free to pose results for your own attacks or defense. And @emit people attacking your friends and neighbors." Pete Wisdom says "Fracas! Yay! Okay. :)" Feng's Bar--Chinatown A dark little hole in the wall place ringed with paper lanterns. A tiny bar, whose only charm is the small jade accents attached to its carved wood sides, stands crushed against the left wall. The musty, shallow shelves behind the bar are crammed with exotic and ancient looking bottles, all with labels covered in various kanji. Buddhist gratitude cards, yellowed with age, are plastered to the walls by the hundreds, along with charts tracking Chinese astrology and the course of the stars into time unforseen. Chinese dragons, cut out of paper, curl around the slat-covered windows, protecting the bar from evil spirits with their fluttering crepe breath. The saki here is generally held as the very best in the city, although that fact is not highly publicized. The walls are lined with cramped, two-person booths, the shoulder-high backs of each miniature pair carved with scenes from the oriental countryside. There are no tables here, only booths, stools and standing room around the miniscule bar. In the far back left corner of the room, just beyond the end of the bar, one might notice a good sized trap-door, but if you ask Feng, the owner of the bar, about it, you're likely to just get a dirty look. Contents: Whisper(#472PJce) Celliers(#593PJOce) Seishi(#1190PJOce) Wong Obvious exits: Trapdoor Out Celliers turns lightly to slash the stick across the face of the nearest goon, ,then whips it back to strike the vulnerable point at the temple, using it almost more as a whip than a bludgeon. His face is cheerfully intent, as if this were a particularly engaging game. That thug taken care of, he turns his attention to those after Seishi. You paged (Celliers, Seishi) with 'Hey -- idea! :D How about, Jack, you emit the thugs after Seishi, I'll emit the thugs after you, and Seishi can emit the ones after me?'. From afar, to (Pete Wisdom, Celliers): Seishi giggles. We can try it that way, though I'll confess I sorta suck at keeping up with NPCs. You paged (Celliers, Seishi) with 'It's okay, I fight like a sissy, so it'll really only take one or two guys to keep me occupied. Just concentrate on reacting to the ones sent your way and keeping a couple guys focused on beating me up. :)'. From afar, to (Pete Wisdom, Seishi, Wong, Whisper): Celliers grins. Sure. Round robin NPcs, if we can - though hey, Pete, repage that to all of us? You paged (Celliers, Seishi) with 'Okay! :) Jack emits for Seishi, Seishi emits for me, I emit for Wong, Wong emits for Whisper, Whisper emits for Jack. So you react to the thugs attacking you, then you attack someone with thugs, all in the same turn.'. You paged (Seishi, Wong, Whisper, Celliers) with 'Okay! :) Jack emits for Seishi, Seishi emits for me, I emit for Wong, Wong emits for Whisper, Whisper emits for Jack. So you react to the thugs attacking you, then you attack someone with thugs, all in the same turn.'. Long distance to Wong: Pete Wisdom sorries. But since it's apparently a new idea to them, I figured I'd better be clear. From afar, to (Pete Wisdom, Seishi, Whisper, Celliers): Wong nods. "Works for me. Let's pick up the pace, though. I need to get to bed in an hour." From afar, to (Pete Wisdom, Seishi, Whisper, Wong): Celliers nodsnods. And ups the speed to Super-asskicking? You paged (Seishi, Whisper, Celliers, Wong) with 'Yep. :) Seishi next. Whisper, if you want to wait a round before entering, I'll do Jackthug Reactions this round.'. There are certainly enough to go around. Seishi vaults over the thug she just dropped, intent on plowing straight into the ring surrounding Wong--though he really seems to be handling those just fine on his own. The big guy lets out a yell as Pete's combat boot grinds down on his instep, and swings a fist down wildly at the smaller Englishman. Great work, Pete! You've pissed him off. From afar, Whisper grins. I can go in this round. Basic barfight? Wong reaches up to grasp the forearm of the hand that lashed at his back with the butterfly knife. He pulls and heaves forward across the balance of his shoulder, flinging the assailant overhead into a goon attacking with a club. He turns a little on his heels as he senses a new entrant into the circle - Seishi. He blinks once or twice, then nods approvingly, apparently having deduced that she's not helping Ling's men out. You paged Whisper with 'Yeah, a -lot- of really angry thugs yelling in Cantonese and trying to beat the hell out of Wong and anyone who tries to help him. :)'. You paged Whisper with 'And, Jack just sliced into the face of a goon with his walking stick and smacked him in the temple with it.'. Wong pages: Just between you and me: Only problem with Whisper is - she kills combat dead, especially without supervillains. Her power makes her Invulnerable and able to disable anybody who isn't wearing a rebreather. Kind of one sided. From afar, Whisper nodsnods. Ruckus was pretty audible from outside, right? You paged Wong with 'Ngah. Want to trade, or are you okay with emitting for her?'. You paged Whisper with 'I'd think so, yeah. ;) And it's bitterly cold outside.'. From afar, Wong is okay with it, but wanted you to know his take on it. "I'll likely toss some disposable gunmen her way to keep her busy and let us show off on our own." You paged Wong with 'Okay. :)'. Blue mist flows under the crack in the door and, forming itself into a long stream of smoke, wraps itself around the face of one of the thugs attacking Celliers and Seishi. It looks amusingly like a scarf, except that this guy *should* start turning blue and passing out in the next minute or so. One of his buddies, who dislikes this a lot, lunges at Celliers from behind, trying to grab the Englishman around the neck and achieve an eye for an eye or something similar. From afar, Wong nghs. The blonde Briton whips around, all the better to plant a sharp elbow in his attacker's throat. As he's distracted, the thug he was after persists in his attempt to filet Seishi with what looks like a commando knife. One thing Pete /is/ good at is ducking. Another thing is running, but he's already done that in front of Seishi once, and damned if he's going to do it again. So all quick like a bunny, blood pounding in his ears, he fights like a dirty street kid because he can get away with it; as he ducks, he half-turns and jabs a bony elbow (forearm side) into the guy's knee from the side - the instep-smashed-foot knee. The man that Wong just used to basically club the guy with a club crashes, knife and all, into the wall - along with the club-guy, who's now out for the count and bleeding quite satisfyingly heavily (love those head wounds). Butterfly Knife, however, had his crash cushioned - and apparently objects to being used as a projectile. He comes at Wong again, furious and screaming in inarticulate staccato bursts of indignation. [Whisper looked at you.] Uncle Ling stands, his two bubbly female associates following suit. The trio makes their way toward the back hall. As they do so, six men rush past them in the other direction. The Tong boss mutters something by way of orders to them as he moves away from the mayhem. One nods and they simultaneously draw hatchets. The thug Whisper attacks runs for the exit, apparently hoping the mist thing about his head will leave him allow in open air. Stumbling around in the snow on the sidewalk, he is unfortunately hit by a passing station wagon which fails to stop in time. There is an audible crunch and a puff of snow where he falls. Bystanders begin peeking into the windows of the bar to see whatever is the matter. Wong turns on the man charging him, his brows furrowed as if unsure what caused him to be so damn angry. He leaps up to one side and kicks off of the head of a bronze lion statue, turning in mid air to bring a foot around in 180 motion into the man's gut. Well, that's done with. The mist leaves the man as he stumbles out the door and gets hit, and zips toward the man by Seishi. The one with the knives. Knives are bad. The mist doesn't like 'em, apparently, as it tries to do the scarf treatment to this guy. Meanwhile, someone jumps forward from the crowd around Sei, kicking for Celliers's face. Seishi comes around on one foot to meet her newest attacker, and by the time she's all the way around her tessen is in her hand. She snaps the iron fan open, and the point of the knife wedges between its ribs, so that a quick turn of her wrist wrenches the weapon from his hand. As soon as it's gone--lost somewhere amidst many scuffling feet on the floor--Seishi leaps again, vaulting over the standing man the way she did over the fallen one a moment ago, leaving him to the mist. It's the last straw for Pete's opponent, whose leg gives way underneath him and sends him crashing to the floor, where he struggles to get back up again. Near at hand another thug sees hi go down and, in true barroom brawl fashion, picks up a chair to swing at Pete as though he means to pound him into the floor like a tent peg. Celliers manages to turn enough to take the foot in the side of his jaw, rather than straight on - but it's still enough to send him staggering a few steps, dizzily. The next few blows are warded off by his upraised arms, but his attacker pursues the advantage. Another pair of goons turn away from watching Wong to head straight for Seishi, one raising a gun. Oh, struggle to get up, will you? The young English roustabout delivers a boot to the downed man's head, perfectly willing to kick a man on the ground. His extra thoroughness costs him vigilance points, though; he doesn't turn to see the chair coming at him until it's almost too late to dodge, and it winds up descending on his left shoulder with enough force to both deaden the kid's arm and break the chair. "Bloody /felching/ HELL!" he gasps, staggering back a step or two. Butterfly Knife jackknifes spectacularly from Wong's kick, flying back once again, his weapon skittering across the floor. And his indignant rage is firmly shown the door by the quick application of the corner of a booth table to his temple. But as Wong was in midair, another guy took the momentary distraction to snatch up a half-empty beer bottle from the counter and give it a running toss at the back of Wong's head. The knife-weilding Tong fighter slashes at the air to no avail, losing his weapon to Seishi's fancy fanwork. He starts to choke and then he falls down unconcious. The newly arrived hatchetmen begin tossing their implements at the blue mist after seeing this, the edged implements spinning and smashing through paper lanterns, sticking in wallboard, and out of glass windows with mutual destructive impact. A few foolhardy bystanders at the windows who didn't flee when the getting was good are getting dangerously close to the crossfire passing through Whisper... Wong lands from the aerial kick and almost immediately turns to punch the beer bottle coming at his flank. It explodes around his fist, cutting it around the knuckles. Looking for a hand implement to toss back, he grimaces and pulls a stack of plates from a busboy's tray. He turns on one foot, torso and arms out spinning,like a human fan. Three plates are launched across the dining room at the beer-tosser in rapid succesion. He stamps a foot to stop his momentum. "" he shouts over the clash of weapons and thud of fists, seeing that the man he hoped to talk to has left the scene. "" Not surprisingly, Uncle Ling doesn't do as commanded. Pete Wisdom says "/Cool/." Wong says "Its all done with wires." Pete Wisdom says "Go and ruin the mystique. Killjoy." The mist is really, really not effected by weapons. Pointy things just pass through. And eep, gun. Guns are bad. The mist moves from the fallen guy to intercept the one with the gun, or to try, anyhow. The guy attacking Celliers presses his advantage, sweeping a foot toward Cel's ankles. Wong pages: Dare I have a hatchet hurt a bystander? :/ You paged Wong with 'I would. But I'm kind of an asshole.'. From afar, Wong will. "This is the second time I've tried being nice about consequences with her. And...its there, in the emit." You paged Wong with 'Yeah. I mean, there was total warning there.'. Celliers giggles. Whisper says "Snuh?" Pete Wisdom says "Feel the Snuh. Touch the Snuh. Love the Snuh. GIMME SOME SNUH!" Seishi dies dies dies. Whisper giggles. A lot. And then hides under her bed, where she's eaten by a Grue. I really need to clean. Pete Wisdom grins. Ooh. Fellow TIMster? Whisper nodsnods. From WayBackWhen. Except I'm not on much since I met an Insane Baptist Guy on there and there was a relationship and badness supreme, and we should really take this to page. Celliers pets. Celliers says "My turn?" Whisper does believe so, yep. Wong says "Believe so." Seishi says "Mine, actually, I think." Wong says "Right, my mistake." From afar, Whisper was, wow, '96-'97. Huh? (Type "help" for help.) Long distance to Whisper: Pete Wisdom is still technically there - got on in '94, and every once in a while I get a bit active. Is ThesaurusLass. Seishi is, briefly, left looking for a target. She doesn't see the gun--what she does see is Jack going down, and she springs into motion again, using a handy table for leverage to send her flying at his opponent from above. The tough who just bashed Pete with a chair drops the piece of ruined furniture and comes at the Englishman with his fists now. He's not giving Pete any time to recover, but luckily the guy who just got kneecapped a minute ago is still flailing around on the floor and generally getting in the way. Pete Wisdom says "Aww. :) *pats Seishi*" Seishi hms? :) Huh? (Type "help" for help.) Pete Wisdom says "You don't want him to break my pretty face. ;)" From afar, Whisper nodsnods. Is a generally Spiffy place. I just avoid it insamuch as there's this guy on there I never in my life want to see again, ever. Wong would have just smished you. Seishi grins. But getting smished is no fun! Celliers keeps his feet, as his attacker goes down like a load of bricks. RAther than risking shooting his allies, the one with the gun reverses his grip and comes at Seishi using the firearm as a club. Blinking woozily, Jack brings his own weapon around, and clocks her attacker firmly with the handle end of the stick. The room is starting to clear a bit, considering the number of thugs already disabled. They just don't make combat boots the way they used to. A boot to the head used to be a lot more emphatic about knocking a guy's lights out. At least he's rendered too incoherent to get up, even if he's not unconscious, right? Pete keeps backing up, now, as the guy in front of him advances; his left arm hangs at his side, not much use as anything but a club at the moment - and for that he'd have to rip it off. There's no fear in the teenager's face, though. Slight disappointment, maybe, as he raises his right hand out in front of him, and the wavy shimmer of heat in the air surrounds it. But the kneecapped guy inadvertently gets a reaching arm tangled in Chair Guy's legs-- The plates wing through the air, and maybe Beer Bottle Guy could've had a chance to get out of the way of one, but not three at once, which they pretty much are. The first one collides with his neck, likely going to make talking painful for a while; the second gets him in the chest and drives his breath right out, and the third gets him in the teeth. Gnnah. He's still standing, but he's desperately wishing that he wasn't, so he kind of just clutches and gasps a lot and hopes everyone'll go away. There is, however, a really large fellow stepping into the doorway to the back exit, and looking like he plans to stay there. And -he- has brass knuckles with claws on. Pete Wisdom ehs, "I don't mind. If I minded getting smished, I wouldn't play a pansy-ass who relies on weapons and superpowers. :)" Seishi told you I sucked at this, anyhow. that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :) From afar, Izzy bites. Hatchets are drawn for a second volley at Whisper, the six men weilding them apparently hoping they'll have better luck with a second combined effort. They hiss through the air, and more windows shatter. On the other side of the front of the bar, there's a sharp cry of pain and distress as a hatchet imbeds itself in the shoulder of a gawking teenager who was peeking in through the door. He falls down whimpering and teeth chattering, a pool of blood forming on the cold snow beneath him. The bar brawl has suddenly become less of a spectator sport and a dangerous reality. Somebody runs to call 911. The gunman smacked by Jack's cane stumbles back, dropping his gun. He is about to try and dig in with his fists and feet when his vision is blurred by that crazy blue mist and he feels his lungs seizing up on him. He calls out "Larry...Shen...somebody hel...help me! A ghost! A Ghost!!" He tugs at his collar and weaves around melodramatically, superstition getting the better of him, before tipping over backward onto the carpet in a faint. Poor bastard. Wong is glaring toward the hallway man with the Tiger Claws when the shout from the wounded kid outside gets his attention. He glances back at the windows, then at the hatchetmen. Inwardly cursing his own rashness in not taking Pao Li's advice sooner, he starts to walk to the Throwing Section of the dwindling thug brigade's ranks. "" he says. He snap kicks a serving tray skyward between the hatchetmen and their target, trying to deflect some of the missiles. Pete Wisdom says "No no! I was all flattered. ;)" Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom chomp. Barfight. From afar, Izzy chuckles. Wong says "You Do Not Suck, Seishi. Ninja, baby. Ninja." Pete Wisdom says "Neenja!" Celliers lurves Seishi. Seishi awwws and blushes. The mist moves toward the Men With Sharp Pointy Things as well, after it finishes with the gun. It started this, might as well do something about it, so it descends on the guys. Wong says "Think we can put a cap on goons with the six hatchement and Tiger Claws now?" Seishi thinks so. Pete Wisdom laughs. Eehee. Yes. :> Whisper says "Before I @emit, who's left doing what?" Long distance to Seishi: Pete Wisdom grins. Do, however, feel free to maul Pete a bit. He feels a bit cheated if he can get out of a bar brawl without at least getting some visible injuries which he can gloat over and brag about his prowess (You should see the other guy!). ;> Whisper says "Hatchet Guys, Brass Knuckles Guy, and anyone else?" Wong says "Six hatchement tossing hatchets. Big guy with claws at rear. Bystanders running for help out front. Bar staff hiding behind bar. Seishi and Jack don't have any assailants now. Pete's kneecapped guy and Chair Guy are struggling." Pete Wisdom is being all threatenny-powersy to the guy coming to break my head off and Kneecapped Guy is messing with-- yeah. :) Wong says "hatcheTmen." At least one guy thinks better of the whole "throwing stuff at things that aren't hurt by it," and spins, hurling a hatchet in Jack's direction. Seishi gave Jack some breathing room--the guy she landed on isn't getting up again in the immediate future--and he's returned the favor. The cry from outside has her face going cold and hard. "Enough of this," she says crisply, seeming to somehow draw into herself for a moment before seizing the nearest thing to hand. It's not a serving tray she throws at the hatchetmen. It's a table. Chair Guy windmills frantically to keep from pitching headfirst into Pete, and does go down on one knee (the wind leaves Kneecapped Guy's lungs with a 'whoof!' and he's finally still, dazed). He gropes on the floor for a broken piece of chair and hurls it at Pete's head, trying to buy himself a moment to get back on both feet. DEspite his rapidly purpling bruise, Jack dodges the thrown hatchet, before lunging forward and bringing the knob of the stick right into his assailant's kneecaps, then flipping it to bring it up into contact with his skull. That one taken care of, he turns for the pair of hatchet throwers that are turning to aim for Seishi, having deemed her the most pressing threat. Seishi says "Throwing tables has always worked so well for Seishi. :)" Celliers grins. Seishi, Waitress of Doom. Celliers says "Leave me a bad tip, will you." Seishi says "She clobbered Aquarius with a picnic table way back when! So proud." Seishi says "Though it really lacks that Hong Kong flair, I suppose." Wong says "Nah. They do it all the time." Wong says "Granted, they tend to play Kick Tennis with them if its two competent kung fu guys against another, but this is Mook circumstance." Seishi grins. Seishi says "Mook!" Celliers says "Mook?" Throwing his good hand up in front of his face to deflect the piece of chair, Pete winds up catching it - and it immediately bursts into flame. This apparently entertains the hell out of the teenager, even though *ow* catching that wasn't the best idea in the world, and he gingerly waves the fiery debris at Chair Guy, holding the burning part of it -- and then he pulls back and tries to deliver a boot to *this* guy's head. This one's more vicious since the last one was so wussy. "Fascist toerag!" he yells almost gleefully. The thrown hatchets are indeed deflected, and the hatcheteers look vaguely put out before getting mad. One of them makes a grab for the flying serving tray and pulls it out of the air, then swings it two-handed at Wong's head. Another one sees Seishi's table coming and just _runs_, and screw the consequences. And the last one has gone scrabbling for his hatchet. Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom got to call a guy a fascist toerag!! :D Hatchetmen are beset on all sides by sticks, tables, and blue glowing things. Those that aren't gasping for air already fall down hard when the furniture collides with them. Pinned to the wall by it, they emit weak wheezes and exasperated sighs. Wong punches the underside of the serving tray as it comes at him, changing its direction to smash back down on his assailant's head. As the man sinks to the floor, he looks from the fallen axe-tossers to Jack, Pete, the...blue mist...and Seishi, then bows his head in gratitude. "You have my thanks," he says, looking somewhat shamefacedly toward the destroyed front windows and the growing glow of an approaching ambulances' twirling red lights. "More could have been hurt but for your fortunate assistance, though too many have been already. I was a fool to come here like this." Pao Li pops his head over the bar, wincing at the scene laid before him - groaning or unconcious men littering the floor. Shattered tables. Broken glasses. Spattered dinners. Paper lanterns torn asunder. "" Izzy pages: Woo. From afar, Izzy takes Nyquil. Long distance to Wong: Pete Wisdom giggles. The...blue mist... From afar, Wong mutters. You paged Wong with 'Hey, it came out looking awesome regardless.'. Wong pages: True enough. :) The mist sort of inclines part of itself toward Feng, then vanishes out the window as Things are Taken Care Of. A red-haired young woman, hair loose and disheveled, joins the crowd of bystanders after a moment or two. Chair Guy managed to get back on his feet--and was then so busy boggling at Pete's party trick that he catches the boot squarely in the chest and pitches backward with a sound something like 'guh!' He's not getting up again in the near future either. Seishi looks for anyone who might have escaped her flying table of doom. There doesn't seem to be anyone, and so she turns and bows her head to Wong. "Even the best of us must have a care for the numbers," she comments with a half-smile that goes very wry at Poa Li's declaration. She didn't understand the words, but she can make some inferences as to the meaning. "And, ah... we had best be going. Quickly." Seishi eyes her typing. Celliers agrees, finally straightening up properly, "Yes, shall we? Perhaps to my flat?" Wong says "Pete's pose and a last emit from me and then I'm sleepin'." "No /shit/, Sherlock," retorts the stringy-looking English punk holding the still-burning piece of wood. "Just like the fucking X-Men. 'You lot, listen,'" he mimicks, paraphrasing, "'you're BAD PEOPLE. Stop or I'll make you pay!' And you're surprised when shit gets all fucked up? Bloody brilliant move, I'll tell you that much." For all his irritation, though, he obviously dug the adrenalin rush. He glances around. Everyone accounted for? "Too right," he agrees with Pao Li, then pauses. "Ginger? You all right?" Ginger looks warily at Pete as she peeks over the counter. "I'm okay, handsome." She looks at him with new appreciation. "Wow. I guess you didn't need to take cover after all. How's your head, though?" Pao grumbles "Get out of here, kid. You're in as much trouble as any of the rest of them." Outside, bystanders can be heard talking excitedly about the New Years Fight in Feng's Bar, one likely to be remembered in local legend for a while. A paramedic helps the wounded teen onto a stretcher. Wong watches the ambulance depart, sirens wailing and disappearing around a corner, his expression even more dour and reserved than usual, which is really saying something. He nods vaguely to Seishi. "I will try and make this up to you, Pao Li. You spoke wisdom and I..." Pao Li looks really angry now. "Little late for that now, isn't it? Now get out of here. And if I were you, Chen Zhen, I'd lay low for a while. Maybe want to tell Chen Huei and his family the same." Looking thoroughly crushed, Wong nods, mouth a thin line. He follows Seishi and Jack without another word, fists clenched. Pete Wisdom says "Aww." Wong sleeps. "Thanks guys. Hope you enjoyed it." Wong plays a violin. Pete Wisdom says "Naturally! You kick ten kinds of ass." Wong waves out. Wong has disconnected. Whisper thamks! It ruled! Seishi is going to let that be it for her too so that she can also go sleep. You guys rule. Pete Wisdom says "Cool. Who's continuing? Sei, wanna exitpose for the log?" Celliers can stay. Whisper eyes the speech from where she stands, "Oh," she says, not bothering to make herself inaudible, "wonderful. Another Englishman with an attitude." Australian accent there, sort of bemusement in her tone more than anything else. Whisper grins. Can stay! Pete Wisdom says "No, you did already, neh? Cool, Jack. :D" Pete Wisdom says "Yay!" Pete Wisdom says "Okay - gimme one second to exitpose, then who's coming can head to Jack's?" Seishi eyes Pete for a moment, and has to cover her mouth to smother an inexplicable snickering fit. When she's under control again, she shakes her head; "I need to get home. You guys be careful, all right?" And with that admonishment, she turns, sneakers crunching over some of the debris of the fight for a moment before she's gone. Celliers cocks an amused look at Whisper. "Indeed, Barbara. They do seem to accumulate around here," he drawls, before gesturing gracefully aat the dor. Whisper snugs Seiward@ Seishi snugs! CellierssnugsSei. Seishi goes OOC. Seishi has left. Puffing up somewhat, Pete finally puts the fire out, his left arm still irritatingly dead, and gives Ginger a wry grin. "Years of experience. Head's fine, ta. You take care, all right?" He gives Pao Li an apologetic look, then nods, acknowledging the directive, and follows Jack and Whisper out the door. Huh? (Type "help" for help.) ---- Recall end ---- % "More" paging enabled. Use TAB to scroll. Pete Wisdom says "Okay! Got the log, too. Where now?" Celliers grins. Follow me. Whisper fastens her coat as she follows Jack outwards, "Mm. So the portal has some property connected to tasteless food and inferior beer, hmm?" Her tone's lightly teasing, leftover energy from the fight making her voice quick and her eyes bright. Celliers leaves Feng's Bar. Celliers has left. Whisper leaves Feng's Bar. Whisper has left. You wallk out of Feng's Bar. Chinatown Northgate Avenue intersects Main Street to the south and cuts north into an area that has become known as Chinatown. Named originally for the Buddhist temple clearly visible on the west side of the street, it eventually attracted all manner of businesses here, not just Chinese, but Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and others. Now the streets are lined with shops and restaurants, boasting signs in a wide variety of languages and a pleasantly chaotic jumble of architectural styles. DAMAGE Contents: Whisper(#472PJce) Celliers(#593PJOce) Obvious exits: Pilot Street Main Stretch Black Phoenix Dojo Cherry Blossom Florals Feng's Bar Greenwood Properties Celliers heads towards Greenwood Properties. Celliers has left. Whisper heads towards Greenwood Properties. Whisper has left. You head towards the Greenwood Perperties apartment complex. Greenwood Properties--Chinatown A boxy, mid-sized apartment complex built in the somewhat popular, but very ugly semi-Spanish style. The walls are off-white stucco and the sloped roof is laid with dingy blue-grey half-lunette tiles that make the roof look like it was covered with cardboard tubes cut in half. Rows of metal doors, painted beige, face blindly outwards on both sides of the building, no windows can be seen. The complex is three stories tall with winding metal stairs connecting the floors at both ends of the complex. Steel-railed 'balconies' of concrete push out from each floor, alowing access to the apartment. The numbering system seems rather random, the bottom floor is all even numbers in the one hundreds, the second floor is odd numbers in the one hundreds, and the third floor is squentially numbered from 200 up. A small, cramped parking lot encircles the building. Contents: Whisper(#472PJce) Celliers(#593PJOce) Obvious exits: Apartment 244 <244> Apartment 28 <28> Out Apartment 135 <135> Celliers opens the door to apartment 244 and steps inside. Celliers has left. You open the door to apartment 244 and step inside. Kate and Jack's Apt--Greenwood Properties(#544RAJ) You step into a comfortable one-bedroom apartment graced by a prominant window with a view looking out over the 'main drag' of Beacon Harbor's Chinatown. The living room area features a green plush sofa and loveseat combination in addition to her adjustable futon couch. These pieces are arranged in a conversational grouping around a very attractive Korean lacquer table set with mother of pearl insets forming peacock-like designs. A small television rests on a pale wood stand with a VCR underneath it, and closer to the kitchen one can see table and chairs set up for dining. A rice cooker and a few other appliances sit on the counters of the kitchen area proper. The focus of the bedroom area is a handsome sleigh bed, hung with one of those Indian mosquito netting canopies over the head of the double bed so that the white gauzy material gives a kind of romantic, dreamy quality as it hangs down. Matching bookshelves, a desk and bureau make the room seem very nicely fit for habitation. Throughout the apartment, various curios and pictures have been hung on the walls to give the home a true sense of personality. ~ +views available ~ Contents: Celliers(#593PJOce) Obvious exits: Front Door [Celliers looked at you.] Whisper comes in through the front door of the apartment. Whisper has arrived. Whisper pauses as she enters the apartment and takes a look at Celliers, "So, do I get an explanation for what was going on in there?" Pete Wisdom hee hee hees. Celliers looks faintly disappointed, as it seems that KAte is not home to greet him. "Bit of a tiff," he explains, having graciously ignored the comment about inferior beer. THe food he doesn't argue with. "Drinks, either of you?" he wonders, as he removes his rather torn suit jacket. Whisper now unfastens her coat and drapes it over the back of a chair. "Something hot, please," she says. "One of these days, I'm going to leave my clothing somewhere *heated* when I transform. Ugh." She turns slightly and offers a hand to Pete as an afterthought. "Hi. I'm Barbara. Jack seems to trust you, so I'm pretty sure you're not evil." "Ta," replies Pete laconically, shrugging off his battered leather jacket and folding it over a chair; he begins massaging his shoulder and trying to bring his arm back up to snuff. Then he looks up and grins lopsidedly. "Met you briefly before, Celliers - right chuffed I am you cottoned who I was." Letting go his shoulder for the moment, he takes Whisper's hand - and his hand is feverishly hot. "Barbara," he repeats, then nods. "Pleasure. I'm Pete Wisdom." [Whisper looked at you.] Celliers takes a moment to translate Pete's comment into the Queen's English, already, heaing for the liquor cabinet to pour himself a scotch. "I didn't think we'd had the pleasure of each other's acquaintance," he replies, drawl as languid as ever despite the swelling bruise on his face. After knocking back a few fingers of the drink, he sets about brewing Whisper a cocoa. Pete Wisdom says "Pfft. I'm sure you've got a handle on Cockney. :)" Pete Wisdom says "(Ta is thanks. He accepted the offer of a drink. ;))" Whisper's eyes widen as she takes his hand. She'd meant the *drink* should be hot, thanks. "Nice to meet you. Are you all right?" Gaze lifted to his face for a second, a medical sort of expression--pupils dilated? Face flushed? Anything abnormal? and she adds after a second, "I'm guessing this is the reason you've been pulled in to this lovely vacation spot, but if I'm wrong and you need help and are just being macho, I *will* have to hit you on general principle." Celliers grins. And thinks about it., Yes, you're right...half of his enlisted men'd have talked like that. Pete Wisdom grins Celliers pokes his head back out of the kitchen to ask Pete, "What is it you'd like to drink?" "Yeah, Blue Note," says Pete offhandedly, offering Whisper a quirky smile. No abnormalities other than temperature, and possibly taste in clothing. "Lara, Seishi, Conjob, your--" The teenager glances about the flat. "Better half? I'd just the one eye at the time. An' if you've Scotch back there, me 'ead would love you." He's gone back to working at the nerve cluster in his shoulder, and now he addresses Whisper's concerns with a faint expression of amusement. "Yeah, metagene. Bloody wretched power in this weather, I tell you." Whisper blinks at the "just the one eye" concept, but relaxes and takes a seat on the sofa, leaning back. "Oh. Heat radiation?" she asks, making a sympathetic face. "Yech, I'd imagine. You unfroze my hand, at least, although I'm not sure if people will like you too much if you take credit for letting me play the guitar again." She grins. Celliers ahs, as he pours out a generous measure of scotch adn wanders back out with it, proffering it to Pete. "Ah, yes," he replies, before sitting down on the couch to start removing his boots. Celliers peep. Whisper grins. Pete? "Part of it, yeah," affirms the punk rocker, accepting the Scotch with a pleased repetition of his initial "Ta, Celliers. A prince among men." Sitting gingerly on the edge of the futon, he swallows a mouthful of his drink and starts working his hand and elbow, flexing and bending, giving them an exasperated glare. "As far as the row goes, it was because of that Chen Zhen bloke - his uncle owed money to the man in back with the tarts draped all over 'im." Pete Wisdom says "Sorry. :) No idea why that took me so long. Better now! :D" Whisper makes a face, "Oh," she says, with a certain amount of annoyance. "Money. Was Chen Zen the one who you yelled at or the one with the brass knuckles or what?" Celliers heads back to the kitchen to get himself a bag of ice for his jaw - it's going to be quite a mess for quite awhile, by the look of it. Gods only know how he'l explain it to his 'better half' when she gets home. "Nn?" He wonders, curiously, before simply folding himself down onto a floor cushion. The walking stick is leant against the arm of the futon. % You have new mail in /home/brainy9/Mailbox Whisper ums? Another swallow of Scotch - by the way, Pete's compliments, it's good; he holds it up a bit, eyebrows raised in approval at Jack - and nods to Whisper. "Bloke I yelled at. From what I caught, Ling - the one with the tarts - is the local equivalent to La Famiglia. Fucking crooked, but bloody powerful, at least regionally." He has a much better vocabulary than your average street punk. Among other things. Like observational skills. And languages. "An' this Chen, his uncle's in debt to Ling. So he came for a fight." Shrug, look of disgust. "Heroics." Celliers rolls his eyes. "Posturing, then?" he wonders, after acknowledging the unspoken compliment. Jack's fussy about his drinks, after all. % You have new mail in /home/brainy9/Mailbox Pete Wisdom says "That /is/ about as fast as I get when I have to translate everything into Pete-ese. *-.-*;" Whisper explains to Jack, "Trying to figure out how I ended up suffocating men with hatchets when what I was thinking of doing was going home to a good book." A brief shrug at the point about heroics, "They do have their place, although perhaps not when bystanders are that involved." Whisper nodsnods. It's just, I need sleep in a very few. "Posturing, desperation, ill-advised or misplaced righteous indignation," lists Pete, making a vague and dismissive gesture with the hand with the glass in. "Don't know why. Know he looked ashamed after." Pete Wisdom curbs his run-on mouth! :) Celliers just shrugs. Despite the differences in class as well as age, he's actually being surprisingly un-dimissive of Pete. "Indeed. Possible repercussions?" he wonders, casting a look out the window where a red neon dragon blinks arrythmically. "Since I do live in the neighborhood, after all," he notes wryly. Whisper tucks her feet up under her where she sits. "You'd think, though that people would have consideration enough to keep their problems out of bars. Well," she adds, "I'd think, but I'm disturbingly optimistic." Pete Wisdom looks apologetic, now, shaking his head at Jack. "Bit early to say. Fucking memorable, we were, so I'd say stay low, be as paranoid as you can stomach. Heard the bartender, yeah? Said Ling, likely Feng too, they'd be after blood." Brief, self-satisfied grin. "We embarrassed the hell out of them." He laughs at Whisper's comment. "In my experience, it's a rare pub what doesn't have its share of slow-boiling problem-wracked patrons." Celliers grins at Whisper, as well. "Indeed. Life would be considerably easier for the rest of us if most had the courtesy to keep their problems at home." TO Pete, he nods. "Ah, well. Not as if I blended in here, as it is. I'm known at Feng's." Another insouciant shrug, as he swirls the remaining ice in his glass. Whisper spreads her hands, conceding the point, "Mm, well. True enough. I'm used to bar fights," she notes, "just not gang wars. Or mob wars." She gets up from the sofa, stretching briefly, "And I think I need to be going. If anything weird happens, tell me, all right?" Whisper thanks, but really must crash. Celliers snuggahs. Sleep well. Whisper grins and snugs and thanks for sceneage. Want to direct any more poses toward me, or should I say I headed out? Pete Wisdom watches Whisper for a moment, then tosses back the rest of the Scotch and stands a little stiffly. "Got to track me mate Izzy down, meself. Celliers, you're not bad in a row. Barbara, it was a pleasure to meet you." He sets the glass down carefully, then gathers his jacket, getting ready to go. Celliers rises to let them both out. "Indeed. Take care, the both of you." Celliers should sleepy, topo. Whisper nods to both statements, smiles, and heads out the door. Whisper hugs around. Night! Pete Wisdom hugs! :D Thanks, you both! :)