Icarus flipped to the side, dodging her hand so she could swipe her other arm at his landed posture, him ducking under her baseless attack. Crouched, he drove his fist at her chin, leaving Natalia to cover her face via her arms, the uppercut he'd infused only 5 percent of his power with had sent her soaring into the air, aimlessly flailing her arms from side to side, gasping repeatedly with a tight chest. A tendril squeezed on her ankle, destined to land her into the ground, but just before she could crush her skull, he punched at her chest with another fist, knuckles snapping more of her ribs. Her back didn't hit the ground, though it stood just a centimeter over, for eventually, she bent her posture into a backward roll, gliding her to a crouching stance, once more.
Stabbing her palms into the dirty bottom for it to obliterate, in a mere split-second, it rearranged instantly, now in the form of exorbitant spikes. Pointing out the surface so they could attempt to stab his leg, the Jester washed his hand simply over the plentiful spikes aimed to kill him. Instantaneously, they perished, but, now, after taking his time to rid the ground of the projectile nuisance, there was no Plague standing some distance across.
"Is that the only power you have?! Rearrange, destroy, is that all you got? NO IMAGINATION AT ALL?! WHY DO YOU THINK I GIFTED YOU THAT POWER, GIRL?! PROPERLY FIGHT ME AND BACK ME INTO A CORNER, GIRL!!!!!" The Jester's pleading cry echoed into the clouds, spreading them apart, it all provoked what he'd sought all this time.
Her hand attempted to clasp his face, but he dodged easily, attempting to claw at her face, she spun in mid-air, driving her hand so it could slam into his shoulder and disconnect it from the body, strings of flesh separating at such a clean cut. Analyzing the slice only briefly, the second he'd taken to examine had been wasted, as Natalia had disappeared from his front, now pulling at his hair so she could throw him over her shoulder and slam into the ground behind her. The body slam was enough for her to gain her edge, as that wide-toothed grin showing fangs was surely not just for show. Crawling back so she could stand properly now, Natalia put up her fists, watching as Chrollo did the same movement... feeling his coat move with the odd flow of the summer's winds.
"My Chimera Virus can rearrange, destroy or fuse any target I touch with my hands. However, this isn't just for whoever I touch; it can also work wonders for me. By hardening the flow of Vita around my fists, I can channel the destructive or recuperative properties into my attacks for any desired outcome. Meaning my hand works like an eraser for everything! Get ready, scum!" Natalia cried, leaving Icarus to tilt his head, claws embedding into the dirt, dark pupils rapidly searching his environment.
'Why's she revealing her technique? Isn't that counterintuitive? Whatever. I want to see the limit of this power.'
But just like that, from the two of them, the logic was smothered by an instinct resurging. Revealing itself from the back of his mind, it was one she knew all too well. Humanity's dormant predatory pattern unlocked, the Plague stared ahead at this fight, knowing what might be lost if it should continue. The people that'd suffer, the babes that'd cry, the hope, no matter how small that fire was burning right now, she couldn't let it extinguish. If nothing more, even with all the lives stained on her mind's conscience, she could atone for it- with just one action. Fight.
He launched at her with malicious intent, striking at the air, but she rolled to the side, now witnessing his vanishing, leaving nothing in his disappearance. The sound of rippling fabric alerted her to his impending descend, for she jumped out the way as his legs stabbed into the earth, leaving only a dusty cloud to emerge from his landing. Scraping away at her obscuration, Chrollo emerged, this time, his arm morphed to a lance, stabbing away at any dangling hair strands, but she didn't retreat this time. Instead, she grabbed the spear at its side and tightened her hold, throwing it to the side to pounce at his open chest, raising her fist, knuckles lit ablaze with the fire of determination- of obliteration.
Now without a right arm, the Jester was left discombobulated, confused, viable to be attacked as the fist entered his stomach, sending some of his ribs to shatter as crackling lines formed from the impact. However, while that attack did allow some damage to form inside, on the outside, he was left at a standstill, maybe processing this otherworldly sensation coursing through his original nerves.
It stung at the crux, extending outward like a spill to send everything into disarray. And as his DNA computed this genetic error, his consciousness was overtaken by the simplest desire, the one he'd ingrained into his psyche for so long: continue fighting, until the one he was battling perished at his hand or the very fire of his life had extinguished. But, as of right now, the virus coursing through his veins hadn't reached the heart, as the embers of his life kept him going, the Jester knew, from only that, his time was dwindling.
His death was imminent, and unfortunately, he didn't even get the chance to fight an advanced Ace during such a world-altering event. He coughed, swatting her away so she could flip and land further away, as graceful as a ballerina dancing on stage.
"Your power... it truly is such a marvel to behold. With just one touch, and you managed to affect the very core of my being before I managed to exert any percentage of my full power. Of course, I'm not backing down so easily. Before I pounced at you, you revealed the power of your technique, and your Vita output increased sixfold. Allow me to do the same."
Her hand like a magnet, drawn to the ground, whatever shape she'd attempt to reorganize the ground into had been intruded, for the surface she'd touched was not dirt, scattered with pebbles. Rather a dark sphere, a bubble in space, designed just for her.
"Dear Blossom, do you remember when we both were part of the Deck, members, together? Before I stole the powers of the other members, I only had this one ability - Life. The ability to control or manipulate or reshape life to whatever degree I desire, for any intention I want. However, that meant I can steal the essence of life from other people and insert it into myself. Since naming this ability simply 'Life' or 'Vita' would be a bit boring, I deduced another cadence for my gifted technique.
Puppet Master: Ringleader's Supremacy. I'm a thief, a grave-robber, so to speak. I'm rather proud of defiling my dear subordinates' corpses to steal the powers that made them feel so powerful. That being said, let us continue this fight. If you touch me one or two more times, I will die. Let's avoid that, shall we? And if you're skilled enough to corner me... I'll appraise you as I go to Hell."
The hovering bubble was devastated into shards, the Plague landing on her knee, she rose. The anger she held wasn't serene, it was chaos incarnate, unpredictable, retribution for his many sins finally laid before him, even as this virus ate away at his life, he'd reincarnate, he'd appear, time and time again. But now was not the time to gawk, for their time together was fading, and he needed to keep that light ablaze- as long as he could.
They charged at each other, reaching the other's face in mere seconds, he punched her, but she weaved effortlessly, pushing up his chin, slamming him to the ground. Biting through her palm so she could see through the bloody hole, a fist came at her cheek, leaving her disoriented, the arm retracted into the gateway as he flipped back on his feet. She recuperated easily, but this time, as she'd expected a punch, she went for his arm, but to her surprise, he chopped at her throat and she coughed for air, leading a kick to her chest leaving her unbalanced. Stumbling to regain balance, Natalia scowled, grabbing at his face, the way strands seemed to move so elegantly, the shine of the moon dazzling onto his face, he seemed so entranced by the reflection of his beauty in her brown eyes that he didn't even realize his hand was gone.
This time, however, the wound was cauterized, and the plasma blade pointing out her knuckles was the cause. But this didn't stop him, not even for a second, as he kicked at her face, she stumbled to the side, using his hands on the ground, bottom-half limbs stabbing the air. Another punch coming to her right, she ducked right under, stabbing him through the chin with the gleaming blade, then punching him right in the face for a follow-up. No doubt more of Chimera Virus entered his system, but even so, he couldn't hold back. Coughing onto her face so blood could prohibit her sight, she punched wildly, bumbling forward into the air she stroked, emerging from her shadow, Chrollo pulled her hair and dug his hand into her back, disconnecting her spine.
Repairing her back instantly as she started to fall, Natalia caught her breath, chills with no signs of subsiding over her skin, a leg connected to her gut. Garnering whatever remained of her strength so she wouldn't fly, she punched at his face, to which he blocked and moved her fist, Icarus tearing off her arm afterward. As if the attack didn't even happen, he clenched his teeth, taking another punch to his face, knuckles locked into place over his cheek. Pulling her forward by her weak arm, he raised her body so he could slam over, and over, and over at her chest with his fist, for what followed was nothing. As hard as he tried, no matter how much strength he put into his attacks, whatever damage he'd sustained had remained, even if he took some time to repair his wounds with his technique, there wasn't enough time.
'Then again... there's always THAT variable.'
She fell out of his grip, but whatever pain she endured faded, the adrenaline was pumping, the blood rushing to her head, she couldn't back down or stop fighting now, she had to throw more punches, she had to slash more, she had to destroy EVERYTHING HE STOOD FOR!
"Ah... ah... I think... I'm done toying with you. I accept my defeat, for I am already dead. That being said-"
Icarus fell to his knees, bloody and beaten, Chimera Virus had worked like a charm, and with just three punches landed on him, the extended time he already had... was decreasing with each passing second. The Plague stepped forward, if she wanted to ensure his demise, the best thing she could do was rid him of his head. After all, he seemed like an honorable man to uphold what he'd say, but, she was still a naive child, sometimes. As she got close enough, her hair was grabbed, nostrils broke as her head was guided to his knee, and her chest was kicked once again.
"I'm not going to bend over and surrender myself to you. I might cause more chaos, might find your friends and kill them, you never know! So, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!!!"
The oddest thing about that was... that he ran. He didn't use Miriam's ability to warp anywhere, he didn't submerge himself into a shadow and attempt to pop out elsewhere, no. He sprinted, leg after leg, guiding him to whatever place he was destined to end up at. But she didn't think twice of it. As she ran and ran after regaining her composure, the two of them entered one of the roads, this time, deserted, with only dead bodies scattered about the surrounding buildings. There was a spark, in the beginning, when she saw him again in the Remnant World when she gained access to this power; he was responsible, but not for her betterment.
To toy around with her, to use her, and discard her when the time came, just like those damned Obliterations from the forgotten Old World. Use her as their scapegoat, assess the power of the Reaper, whose name was so infamous even God seemed to be frightened by that power. And for what? Nothing more came from that, everything returned to normal, and as she was resurrected, she was the one to live with that torture. Those sins that would never be remembered were entrenched in memories that she couldn't even remember her life before those dead bodies stood at her feet.
'If I want to be a kind person, if I want to be... what Kim told me- I have to do this. I HAVE TO KILL YOU, so stop running...'
"YOU COWARD!!"
Standing on the edge of a rooftop as two people ran between, her short hair with purple highlights flowed in tandem with the wind, hand over her eyes, shadowy patterns below. What a coincidence that none other than Kima Myers was in the area, and with one beast already by her side, she was itching for a fight where she could test out the limits of this new Artifact.
To Be Continued.