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My pleasure.

When the duster hit the ground, Iden surged forwards. Once again, he was seeking a strike to the ribs, using his right elbow as lead. The blow was the opening of a one-two strike, where his elbow struck first, followed by a bodyblow from his left fist.

The strike made a sickening crunch, as Iden's skull took the blow and sported several cracks for it. But Iden's head moved with the impact, his own Celerity working to help him take the blow in stride.

Cerberus would be hard pressed, however, to distance himself out from Iden. The strike to his head made him duck, and slide forward into a rising uppercut to Cerberus' chin. With his left fist in a tight guard to stave off further blows, Iden was keeping light, and keeping cautious. But...he had yet to strike with Potence. Thus far, he was only using Celerity to match Cerberus' speed, and little else.

The uppercut did not do what Iden meant...but the follow up would. Cerberus' backflip would strike Iden, but so too would Iden strike Cerberus. His uppercutting arm slammed down, catching Cerberus' leg between his arms. Iden flipped up, and over Cerberus, and his momentum would turn the aerial display into a forceful slam into the ground. Even if Cerberus caught himself...it was only a means of putting him position for Iden's boot to stomp viciously at his counterpart's leg, the force sufficient WITHOUT Potence to pulverize the knee of the leg Iden held, by merit of Cerberus' body going one way, while Iden's grip forced his leg in the other.

Iden was tossed, but he didn't seem to be hurled uncontrolled into the bar. His arms hit first, having reached out to intercept the counter and shift Iden's momentum to pass OVER the counter instead of THROUGH it.

The young Brujah's body made a neat frontflip, which planted his feet against the shelves. Glass broke and crunched under his boot, filling the air with razored shards of glimmering reflections, but Iden seemed unharmed.

He caught himself by reaching out for one of the shelves, and held himself against the wall just long enough to sweep his free arm down to ensnare a bottle. His thumb and forefinger cracked it open, and he took an easy swig.

Wiping the excess from his lips, Iden returned the leering expression, his own grinning condescension matching Cerberus' in far too many ways.

'S that it? And you're supposed to be watching my back? We're doomed, if that's the case...

Iden's legs slammed off the wall, propelling him with astounding speed. He skipped off the counter, and seemed to glide across the floor into another bodyblow, once again leading with his right arm.

You insult me by existing. We're even.

When he found the resistance was too much to move freely, Iden's advance shifted direction. His legs were tripped up by the lashing shadows, but his fall was anything but a problem. His hands pushed off the ground, sending him in a springing bound to the side, lunging at a diagonal to his original path. This would bring him out of arms reach of Cerberus, but still in reach of the tail. The key was...the duster. Iden's grasp snared the garmet, and snapped it around, using the leather to shield himself from the poisons.

The point of it all...Iden WANTED Cerberus to hit him with his tail. When the lashing appendage struck, he took the blow full on. And in turn, he anchored himself with his low stance, and heaved.

Cerberus mayhaps could slow Iden down. But Iden was a melee fighter first and foremost, above and beyond even his skill with firearms. People never seemed to realize this, as he tended to run and gun fairly often...but this was his kind of fight. And once he had his grip, made firmer when his knuckles spiked his claws at the appendage, the full weight of his Potence would start swinging Cerberus around like a ragdoll, using him as a cudgel with which to break anything and everything within reach. The momentum of the swing would deny the chance for Cerberus to pull in close, and Iden need not move FAST to do this. He only needed his low stance to stay well based.

The detatchment of the tail was well and good. Cerberus still came to grips with Iden.

Iden staggered back a step from the strike, but with the tail detatched, Iden had released the appendage, and with the double kick to his chest...so did Iden slam both claws into Cerberus' legs with bone-dusting force. He did this..and pushed. True, Iden would find himself feeling the expanding numbness over his skin from the toxins Cerberus breathed, but the Sabbat twin would not be capable of coming within arm's reach, as Iden used Cerberus' LEGS the same way he had used his TAIL. For all Iden looked physically sickened from the strike, and for all the dribble of blood that seeped down his lips from it, sheer force of will was seeing him taking his broad stance again to slam Cerberus once more into the surrounding bar like a ragdoll.

Through blurry, squinting eyes, Iden saw what was occuring. Cerberus smashed the table, and slammed it for Iden's head.

Iden did not know the stake was coming. Even if he had, it wouldn't have changed things, not in the slightest. Iden did not guard his chest. Both hands remained in place. It was his legs that moved...they straightened, which shoved Iden from the ground. Both boots came together, and kicked at Cerberus' chest. This would prevent the staking, for the fact that Iden's knees would be in the way of the blow. Wood punctured flesh, sending searing pain up Iden's leg. But with Cerberus' sternum and chin making a prime place for both booted heels to slam into, driven by Potence, and further still by the fact that Iden used his grasp on Cerberus' legs to force himself into the blow...it would hurt, even though Iden's limbs were growing sluggish enough that past the kick, he would be in trouble.