Where's Grim Eyes 2: Electric Boogaloo

[loveandwillpower]

Aquarium. A long and purposeful walk all the way up, all those - fish and sharks and eels and so on, all that water pressure and silent fishy witness going on, kind of a spooky place to plan a final standoff, a good old-fashioned fight to the finish, almost like the North Pole except she's not freezing her butt off in a miniskirt and even if she dies, she'll win. Not that she wants to die, but - either way, the raccoons'll have to yank that penalty off.

...She is wearing a miniskirt, though. Short skirt, long gloves, leotard, ballet flats, not the real sailor uniform but close enough for a confidence boost. She's got a throwing star fixed to the back of her bow just in case the glitter nunchucks don't do the job. Also a confidence boost! It's no Love-Me Chain, but it makes her feel just that much more like a proper magical warrior.

With no magic, but still. She's Minako Aino, Guardian of Love and Beauty, and she's going to fight for the lives of her friends.

Comments

[liveronhersleeve]

The aquarium has always seemed incongruous to Grim Eyes; all that water so high in the building, a perspective on the sea life that nothing that breathes air should be able to see. It's not how things are supposed to work. Maybe that's fitting, then, for this fight.

She'd considered adorning herself, painting her fur in symbols for valor and luck that she's pretty sure she wouldn't even remember except that the skills that this place gave her have brought those old skin-paintings to the fore of her memory. She'd decided against it. She doesn't even want to try to consider whether the one who had first showed her those symbols would approve of what she's doing here tonight. Anyway, she doesn't need to try and invoke anything more than her own strength, she thinks; the sharpness of her own teeth and the carving knife she'd swiped from the kitchen days before should be enough to get the job done.

When she reaches the agreed upon place, her opponent is already waiting. The hyena pauses in the entrance, hand on the hilt of her knife. "Minako," she says in greeting.

[loveandwillpower]

"Grim Eyes! Great! You made it!"

Her cheer sounds hollow even to her. But it has to be done, so why not smile through it while she still can. She's tense - yeah, without her powers, and with all that muscle and teeth staring her down, surviving's a slim chance. Good thing she's so used to slim chances.

Deep breath. Maaaan, starting this off without a speech seems weird.

[liveronhersleeve]

"I said I would." Her home isn't the only one at stake; perhaps if she'd chosen some other option tonight she'd be more sure of the result, less liversick over the possibilities, but she'd agreed to be here. One way or another, both of their homes will be safe.

She draws the knife, holding it at her side; knuckles tight on the handle, but arm loose. "You're ready?"

[loveandwillpower]

This might be Sailor Venus' swan song, she's already got the outfit, if this is it then she's going out with style. Flips the nunchucks around. Just like on television, you've gotta - bounce it off you the right place for momentum?

"The Sailor Senshi of Love and Beauty! In the name of Venus, I bring the divine punishment of love!"

That means yes. It's habit, this is a fight now, she's prepared to bash her sort-of friend in the face with a big hunk of wood.

[liveronhersleeve]

That certainly sounds like a yes. Either that or like Minako has taken complete leave of her senses, but either way, there's no reason to drag this out.

Grim Eyes raises the knife, and springs toward the human girl with a snarl.

[loveandwillpower]

One could argue that Minako has no concept of taking leave of her senses for the same reason that fish have no concept of water. Anyway, knife!! No matter how sensible she isn't, it's a pretty basic fact that knives are better on the outside of the body and not the inside, and Grim Eyes is pretty fast, huh?

Not fast enough not to dive away from, mind you, but. Fast. Roll, spring back up, and-

...Right, Minako's weapon doesn't have the range she's accustomed to. That's the trouble with acting on instinct.

[liveronhersleeve]

Grim Eyes had, honestly, not been certain what to expect from Minako; the human doesn't look like much of a warrior, but then, humans rarely do. She's nimble, though; Grim Eyes finds that she has to turn, reorient herself, find where her opponent has gone. It's not a huge delay, but it's enough to interrupt her.

Having regained her equilibrium, she tries again, slashing at Minako - or at where Minako is currently, which is perilously close to the duct-tape patch in the wall of the tunnel.

[loveandwillpower]

Minako yelps and ducks, and tries for a proper counter-attack this time - i.e., whacking Grim Eyes across the shins with the nunchuck. Is it fierce or dignified, no it is not, is it promising be a painful impact and get her off balance QUITE LIKELY, and that's good enough for Minako.

[liveronhersleeve]

It's painful - not disabling, at least not immediately, but certainly distracting. She half-trips, stumbling for a moment and catching herself against the wall as she regains her balance.

Or rather, stumbling against the wall and plunging the knife through the - already questionably effective, honestly - duct tape patch over the previously existing hole in side of the tank. Reflexively, she yanks it out again. This does not, in fact, help the situation, and her eyes widen a little as the trickle of water from the slice in the tape rapidly strengthens to a stream and then a jet. "Shit."

[loveandwillpower]

Minako steels herself for a harder blow, maybe if she hits her real hard on the head that'll be a kill-

"Ackphgofff"

Someone's been hit, all right, and it's Minako square in the face with a jet of fishy-tasting water. Groooooss. Gross and also in her eyes, gotta, like, frantically deal with that before she gets stabbed.

[liveronhersleeve]

Luckily, perhaps, Grim Eyes has no real desire to fight directly in the path of the water; while Minako is distracted, she steps back, regaining her composure as much as is possible in a room which is now flooding again for the second time in less than a week. She's placed herself between Minako and the exit to the fourth-floor hallway proper, but for the moment she doesn't advance again.

[loveandwillpower]

Does this mean that Minako has to be the one charging? Which, yeah, she's got a weapon and all, but there's claws? And a knife?

Being wet sucks, at least it's both of them, at least if she has to hide for whatever reason she'll smell the wet dog coming.

She gives the nunchucks a couple more test whirls. Back and forth, whipping around, momentum and some more physics junk that Ami could explain but why bother explaining when you know how it works.

[liveronhersleeve]

Grim Eyes could not for the life of her tell you what that weapon Minako is swinging around is called, but she knows better than to assume that just because she doesn't know what it is it can't mess her up.

Still, she does still very much need to kill the girl holding the strange jointed staff, or die trying, so she adjusts her grip on her own weapon, bares her teeth, and starts stalking through the rapidly deepening water toward Minako with as much speed as she can muster without losing her footing.

[loveandwillpower]

It's definitely getting harder to spring around with her usual agility? This could get bad. She sloshes sideways around Grim Eyes, circling is how standoffs go in movies unless it's got guns in it, she's going to need an edge-

...Something scaly's brushed her leg. She glances down for just a moment - AHA! Without bothering to think through her newest brilliant plan, she scoops it up and flings it at her advancing foe!

"STINGRAY TIARA ACTION!"

If it's disc-shaped, of course it's going to fly true. Frisbee's an inherent warrior skill.

[liveronhersleeve]

That was. Unexpected.

Grim Eyes dives out of the way of the... fish? That's a fish, right? She's no expert on sea life, shark-punching notwithstanding. But it's definitely a thing being flung at her, and even with the distraction of the water and the fight, she definitely hears the word "sting" in the way that Minako is improbably announcing her attack, and it kind of seems like not getting hit by whatever it is would probably be good for her health. It... mostly works. The ray clips her shoulder, and she stumbles a little, and while she doesn't fall she does drop the knife.

She scrambles for a moment, trying to locate it, but the water is deep enough to make the effort difficult and getting deeper.

[loveandwillpower]

Yeah! These dangerous fish are the way to victory! Minako catches sight of a whip-shaped fish, that's perfect for her actual style, just gotta grab that-

The gloves insulate her from the worst of what the electric eel does, but it's still enough of a shock, considering she's in the water right next to it. Her muscles all twitch up at once, bad idea while lunging through the water.

Good news is that it's deep enough that she's concealed underwater, and that she's got a weapon tangly enough that she's still got it. Bad news is that she's underwater in a current after a literal nasty shock and isn't entirely clear where she is.

[liveronhersleeve]

Well, a blonde human girl is considerably easier to locate under the water than a smallish knife. Grim Eyes doesn't know why Minako has fallen, and perhaps it would be wiser to proceed with more caution, but she'd rather not draw this out. She lunges, grabbing at Minako - and holding her under would be effective, but... maybe she's caught by a sense of unease about not doing this face to face; maybe she's just not thinking particularly coherently at the moment anyway. Either way, she pulls Minako up with a clawed hand twisted in the front of her leotard and bearing her teeth as she considers the best angle to take out the girl's throat, heedless of whatever weapon, animate or inanimate, Minako might still be holding onto.

[loveandwillpower]

Oh shit oh shit oh shit, so this is how she dies, torn apart limb from limb by a slavering beast -

She can't actually get any momentum going on the 'chucks like this, so she does the next best thing. Reflexes and sheer nerve, that's her talent! The moment Grim Eyes goes for her throat, she's shoving her weapon in there. Is Ulaz also a dentist because Grim Eyes might need a dentist.