[h2][color=421A8C]Sapphire Rode[/color] - Shelter Lab - Sapphire Vs. Pop[/h2]
Sapphire's speed was not just limited to her movement. Though she may not have Pop's ability to observe everything around her as though time had stopped, she could still take in large amounts of information at once. The moment the scapel left Pop's hand, Sapphire disregarded it as a distraction. It was aimed flashily and in no danger of hitting her. It was meant to draw her focus.
 
Each of Pop's moves were well planned and smoothly executed. He stepped firmly out of the her line of fire blocking the shotgun's path with his left hand and his right in a true boxer's fashion was aimed in a hook at her kneeling leg.
 
Sapphire, in the three seconds she had to think about it, knew she could never get her knee out of the way in time to avoid the hit so instead she swung the end of her polearm that had formerly been pointing at Pop down using her knee as a focal point. The pivot jammed the barrel's muzzle straight into the floor tiles placing her weapon firmly between Pop's fist and her leg. A metallic [i]thunk[/i] announced that the obstruction had done its job. Pushing off the polearm to keep from overbalancing, Pop leaned back.
 
Sapphire then levered her weapon off her leg and used it to push herself off the ground and several steps back from Pop. She didn't like retreating in battle but sometimes it was required.
 
Even though Pop knew he had the advantage, no gleeful smile greeted Sapphire as he returned to a neutral boxing stance. No joy lay for the man in the art of combat, particularly in an unfair fight. No time was wasted on rumination however; Pop moved forward again, lifting up his front leg and springing with his back leg to cover the distance. He punched four times in quick succession, all aimed at either Sapphire's jaw, nose, or temple, chambering each strike.

Pop had said he was a boxer and true to his word he was fighting like one, jabs aimed at the jaw, nose, temple, the vulnerable points from a boxing standpoint. The logical solution was to jump back but they weren't in an arena, they were in an operating room filled with equipment. Sapphire didn't have the space so instead she ducked under or to the side of the blows darting to Pop's side. She gave his fists a wider berth than she normally would very aware of the fact that Pop's fists could change course suddenly in reaction to her movements.

As much as she loved her polearm Sapphire didn't have the right amount of space in this room to wield it without hitting it on the various pieces of machinery scattered around. Sapphire clicked the weapons apart but left the grip extended giving herself two half staffs to combat Pop's fists with. She aimed the first at the side of Pop's face and the second for his lower abdomen confident that he couldn't block both without comprising himself.

Now at a loss for room to move back, it appeared that Sapphire was dashing elsewhere. Continuing to use his semblance, Pop turned as much as he could to face the girl before she attacked once again. He bent his arm into an elbow and raised it to cover his neck, and was a few inches toward blocking the second strike when he had a hunch. [i]Hmm.[/i] His semblance sped his perception up so much that it looked like time had stopped, giving him twenty seconds to think about what was happening. Though she had challenged him, Sapphire was smarter than she gave herself credit for. Blocking both strikes would put him in an awkward position, one that might render further plans of action unwise.

Instead, Pop let the second block hit his abdomen, and tried to ignore the resulting jolt to his semblance. Pop's next motion was twofold: first, he quickly lowered his elbowed arm straight down to clamp over Sapphire's half-staff, keeping it pressed against him. The other arm came around in a hook punch directed at Sapphire's face, and as the left side of his body turned toward her, the right hand side -where her weapon was held- turned away. If Sapphire didn't let go or find a way to weaken his grip, she'd be pulled straight toward him and brutally subjected to his punch.

Contrary to his appearance Pop was actually a very capable fighter. Sapphire's attacks had been intended to throw him into a vulnerable position but rather than trying to block both blows like most people would Pop let the second catch him in the side. It can't have been pleasant but with his substantial body mass and the style of fighting he was used to taking a blow like that wouldn't do as much damage as the same force directed at Sapphire.

Following letting her staff hit him Pop actually took hold of her weapon, pinning it between the side of his chest and his arm, the blade pressed flat and unusable. Sapphire felt the tug of his side moving away from him before the punch was actually formed and she knew what was coming. If she didn't think of something quickly she could easily lose her weapon and while she wasn't exactly defenseless without it Sapphire didn't fancy going toe to toe with a professional boxer.

Sapphire's training with her father had taught her that in a fight when someone applies force to you, whether it be a grap, a push, or a hold the worst possible thing you could do was resist. That was exactly what they expected, that was what were they prepared for. Instead as Sapphire felt the yank on her half-staff she let the momentum carry her. She ducked down using his own force to slid under his attack.

Of course the force that carried her wasn't enough to move her all the way to the other side of Pop. She stopped just past him but her goal had been accomplished. Her half-staff had shifted under Pop's arm. The barrel wasn't quite pointed strait towards his shoulder but it was close enough. Sapphire pulled the trigger.

As keen as ever Pop was able to barely weasel out of the way of Sapphire's shot. As counter intuitive as it might have seemed to a less experienced man, closer was better when it came to firearms. The polearm's dust payload, however, surprised him. A silvery flash and crackling noise announced that the dust shell had hit the ceiling, close to the glass dome but not quite. Ice sprang from the impact site and fell just as quickly, a shower of pointed crystal. Not wanting to risk unnecessary damage to his aura, Pop jumped back, ignoring Sapphire for now. Some shards of icy glass still found their way to him, eking a little from his semblance. He flipped the tool trolley over, spilling various tweezers and things upon the floor, making it into a crude shield that he then punched across the slick tiles in Sapphire's direction.

With Pop's masterful use of his semblance he truly was a formidable foe to be in combat with. If Sapphire had been fighting nearly anyone else that would have been the end of the battle. Knowing what she was doing as she did it however Pop leveraged himself just out of the way of the dustshot that Sapphire had unleashed. Sapphire had known one of her half-staffs was loaded with fire the other with ice. This was the ice cartridge.

Massive growth of crystallized water grew over the ceiling at an incredible rate. Too fast, in seconds the ice had compromised the structural integrity of crystal ceiling. Pop knowing what was happening released Sapphire's weapon and turned a tool trolley on it's side as cover. Sapphire still on the ground from her last attack didn't have that luxury. Fast as she could Sapphire rolled to the edge of the room and out of the way as a huge chunk of ice and ceiling collapsed where she and Pop had been fighting seconds earlier.))

Though Sapphire had gotten out of the initial impact zone the ice shattered on the ground propelling small chucks in all directions. Having no protection of her own Sapphire aimed her remaining loaded gun at the ground. The fire round exploded out of the barrel creating a barrier of flames between Sapphire and the incoming ice.

In theory the ice and fire would cancel each other out. There was however something that Sapphire hadn't taken into consideration. The projectiles were not all ice. Some were made of crystal from the ceiling. Though the flames melted the ice the crystals pierced Sapphire's protection.

Having to move left Sapphire flipped her back towards the danger hoping to minimize the damage. She felt nine jolting impacts, each painful but rejected by either her jacket or her aura. That is, all but two. Two particularly sharp pieces of crystal made contact with her skin directly. One grazed her side and the other cut into her back lodging about half an inch in.

Sapphire was breathing heavily now. She heaved herself to her feet as the rubble and dust kicked up by the ice settled. Sapphire was just too late the realize that Pop, the moment he had no longer needed his shield had punched the tool trolley directly at her. There were still bits of the room that were burning but that wouldn't be any sort of defense. The door was on this wall but too far to reach.

At the last moment Sapphire leaped into the air and managed to grab hold of of section of crystal in the ceiling that was now full of holes with one hand. The trolley hit the wall with force and Sapphire was glad she hadn't been standing there. Her back was burning as she dropped back to the ground swinging to the side to avoid the now stationary trolley.

The jolt of the drop sent a shot of pain threw her back but Sapphire ignored it as she scanned the ruins of the operating room for her opponent.

She received verbal confirmation before visual, for the melding of fire and ice had created a haze of vapor that helped obscure the scientist's position. "Have you figured it out yet? One young trainee stands no chance. You oughta give up now...I might still let you leave in [i]peace![/i]" The enunciated word came along with a fist from Sapphire's right, this one aimed at her ribs.

Visibility in the operating room had become dangerously low. This was however more of a boon for Sapphire than it was for Pop. With his semblance it likely that she still wouldn't be able to surprise him completely but the fog granted her the opportunity to make sure that he didn't see everything she was going to do a mile off.

Sapphire's semblance had a rather serious side effect which induced blindness after she stopped using it. Because of this she'd received training from her father how to fight in this state. Perhaps she wasn't as competent without the use of her eyes but she wasn't helpless either. She knew how to use her other senses to detect an enemy, displacements in the air signalling a fist was coming, squeak of a shoe on the floor indicating her opponents position.

It turned out however that she didn't need to utilize these skills at all because Pop began to speak. She still couldn't see him through the haze but she heard his voice. Rather than turning towards him she waited. He was threatening her, telling her she could never win and shouldn't bother trying. Sapphire smiled slightly. If he wanted her to stop it meant that there was a decent chance of him losing this fight and as her father had always said, [color=Indigo][i]"Admitting the possibility of defeat increased the odds of it happening. Never go into a battle believe loss in inevitable. If you do, it will be."[/i][/color]

When the punch came Sapphire was ready. She had been expecting an attack and she could feel the disrupted air and hear the fist punch through the mist. As it headed for her right side Sapphire twisted nimbly out of the way and hit Pop's outstretched arm with one of her half-staffs. With her opponent temporarily off balance Sapphire knew this was the time to strike. She aimed her other weapon at Pop's neck, the blade of it on point. It wouldn't kill him, not with his aura in as good a condition as it was but if it made contact properly it should take sizable chunk out of Pop's protection.

Growling, Pop moved to fix his error. Rather shortsightedly, he had thought that the vapor in the room would mask his presence and increase his advantage; instead, it had worked both ways, and kept him from being able to figure out what Sapphire's counterattack would do. Unable to get a good view, he'd no choice but to deactivate his semblance and allow what was about to happen do so. He did, however, decide that Sapphire was too credible a threat to be played around with, particularly as the girl's blade connected with his neck, gashing his aura substantially--even enough to let the edge nick his skin through the remainder.

Now that he was close enough for sight to no longer be an issue, Pop could use his semblance to ensure his next move's success. The doctor snaked his own extended arm around Sapphire's, capturing it almost completely, and clamped his hand on Sapphire's throat. "We're done here." Employing the full force of his weight, he pushed forward, shoving Sapphire sideways against the wall, wedging her other arm. His grip on her windpipe tightened, and the doctor began to squeeze.

The next thing that Pop did took Sapphire completely by surprise. She'd stabbed him in the neck, he should have recoiled, he should have reacted, she could plainly see she'd drawn blood. Instead however it seemed as though she'd only enraged him.

His hands shot out like vipers. One capturing the arm of the weapon that had just injured him and the other clamped around her throat like a vice. Using his substantially superior body mass Pop thrust Sapphire against the wall pinning her remaining arm and both her weapons. The half-staffs fell from her grip, clattering on the ground as Pop constricted her windpipe.

She could feel it coming, the darkness, unconsciousness. Pinpricks of light burst against her vision and her head started to feel like as though it was disconnected from her body. On the other side her body seemed to double in weight. Her stomach convulsed violently and her body tried to force the obstruction from her windpipe unaware that it was an exterior threat.

Sapphire managed to suck in a tiny breath through Pop's grip. She needed a weapon. Something to dislodge his hand. Anything would do. Instinctively Sapphire clapped the arm Pop had pinned with his own trying to activate Morpheus, if she could just release even one of her mother's weapons she could use the rocket or the dust cartridge to free herself.

She slapped her wrist over and over again into the wall but nothing happen. She didn't have them with her. They'd fallen from the airship and more than likely over the edges of the Beacon waterfall.

Her head bucked violently and her body jerked and flailed every direction but to no avail. Her strength in battle had never been in strength itself. She was no match for the strength Pop was exerting on her.

She could feel it, blackness started to enter her vision and her body began to slow. She could barely see Pop's face in detail anymore and she remember thinking in that moment. [i]Damn the furball, I'll kill him if I get out of this[/i]