[closed] ohh, i just died in your arms tonight.

[dying]

Who| Thane Krios & Cinderella...and later, Shepard.
What| Thane's totally getting murdered.
Where| In the elevator.
When| Mid-Week 4.
Warnings/Notes| Murder and sadness.


Upon meeting Shepard here, Thane started to take a different approach to the arena. A death match with only one survivor and Shepard's presence meant that he would die and that he would do what he could to make sure Shepard got as far as possible. They had been gathering information, keeping their eyes open as they moved through the arena. He had been so glad to see her, but there was also the fear he had the night before Omega-4 settled deep into the back of his mind.

He learned quickly that the resources here were scarce, and when the opportunity arose to gather any, they should take it. As such, Shepard had gone into the bathroom to obtain some water. He played guard outside of the door, able to keep his eyes open. It was his preferred position. It was a place he could be where he could ensure she would make it through the arena and not get jumped.

He knew she could take care of herself, but that wouldn't stop him from not wanting her to die in front of him. She had just stepped in and he had taken his position in front of the door, when he heard, from not far away, the ding of an elevator. He readied one foot behind himself, prepared to fight.

Seeing nothing there, he quickly made his way towards the elevator and stepped inside, scanning the elevator first.

Comments

[undercoverprincess]

She'd gotten this down to a science. Killing that one girl had shown that what she was doing was actually going to work. Which was nice, since she hadn't been sure about that before. But everyone wanted something when it came from the elevator, especially with resources becoming scarce. They'd been here for four weeks or so, by Cindy's reckoning. Time was so difficult to figure out once you were in an arena.

This elevator had been down and was now traveling up, which was why she was on top of this one versus the other. There was something in there, and before the elevator got to the floor, she'd already opened the panel and checked it out. Then the panel went back where it was, but with a small skew to it. Enough to open it easily, while not looking like it was open if someone looked up.

Cindy didn't give anyone the chance to look up. Just like this guy. It's practice now, the top sliding off and her dropping down, kicking him so he slammed against the wall next to him.

The elevator door closed.

[dying]

Thane really should have known better. He had spent nearly all of his life learning how to prevent unfortunate situations like this. He was a trained killer (assassin, he hardly considered himself a killer). He shouldn't be walking into rooms without checking out everything to prevent being jumped. He had been taking the elevator, though, and watching it without incident. He slammed into the wall and shifted his body a little to head towards the door and place all of his fingers on the buttons.

Too late.

The door was closed and had started to move. He kept his back against a wall. It was the best way for him to stay poised and standing. His eyes darted around watching her.

She hit hard, harder than any other human he's met. Of course, dealing with exceptional humans wasn't unusual. Between Shepard and the others aboard the Normandy, strong, fast, efficient people were his allies (or friends, perhaps).

His arms immediately went to cover his weakest parts - his throat and his chest.

Thane knew this wasn't the ideal situation right away. He wasn't a fool. It was a small place with nowhere to move or escape. So many walls to back up against. He quickly started to form a plan. If only he could trip her up.

Humans had many different weak points. He'd have to hold her off long enough to find hers.

[undercoverprincess]

It took her just a quick moment to come back to herself, back on her feet, so when he turned around, she was ready to go for him again. One of the things Cindy had learned, and a trick that Bigby had taught, was about weak points and how to spot them.

"You can assess a weak point if you have time to look. If it's human, you should already know. If it isn't, start reading up. But if it's humanoid, you attack first. Then look to see where they protect themselves. That's their weak spot. Everyone has one, Cindy. Now go exploit it."

She attacked high, a kick to his head with her leg, flexibility showing off, to kick him and then hit him in the next, going for his side. She'd have to work her way up.

[dying]

She was smart. She fought smart. All that meant to Thane was that he had to be smarter about it. While the kick to his head didn't bother him as much, the kick in his side hurt, and he braced himself for it, in an effort to make it hurt a little bit less. She was getting dangerously close to him.

He needed to move behind her, or get closer to her. He stepped in close, minding how she moved and that she preferred to kick. Of course, with the confined space in an elevator, there wasn't much of a choice other than to stand in close.

He had to stop protecting his chest and throat, though, in order to act. It was risky.

[undercoverprincess]

It helped that people could underestimate her. She wasn't very big, and didn't look that strong. She looked like the girl you see talking on the phone while shopping for the latest fashions at a pricey brand name store. And Cindy did do that, and liked to do that, but underneath it all, she was still a hardened killer.

And she didn't have just one move. She had multiple. He got close, and she got closer. Cindy knew that if she kept trying for spots that she would normally, it wouldn't work. She needed to get him off balance again.

Ducking down, she closed the little distance, putting all of her strength into shoving him into a corner as hard as she could. Cindy had to get to get him to stop protecting the weak points.

[dying]

Thane did not enjoy being cornered like this. Close combat was not a problem for him, however, there were certain movements that he required. Killing someone who was shoving you and getting close meant that it would be harder to escape once the kill was made. He couldn't just defend, he would have to go for a hit. His fists didn't go up, instead, he removed his hands from the defensive and towards her.

They both went towards her shoulder. He was undecided if he would simply shove her away, or try and snap her neck. He had to do something.

[undercoverprincess]

That was the opening she needed, what she'd been trying for this whole time. To get at the spots he was protecting, because they were the spots that could hurt him the most. Being vulnerable, no matter how it happened, was terrifying. Being vulnerable to being killed, well. No word to describe that.

She couldn't let him get her neck, though. Cindy put both of her arms up to block his hands, pushing them to the side; being grateful for the height differences, she hit him with her head, getting to his neck.

[dying]

When her head collided with him, he was stunned, only briefly. People didn't normally get lucky enough to land blows on him, and as a result - Thane didn't really have the capability to deal with them. Between getting injured and his illness, most wounds could slow him down seriously, or kill him. So he practiced not getting hit.

He needed a second plan.

And to catch his breath. He may just have to evade. At least until he could get out. He moved, again, seeking out another corner of the elevator.