Description: Daniel Jack and Gertrude can't seem to stop fighting in the Neo-League. Gertrude's own wanderlust seems to compel her, drive her, sending her straight towards the next fight in another continent. Meanwhile, Agent Little, still recovering from his fight in the abandoned castle with Captain Glenn of the USMC, is unceramoniously ordered to fight Gertrude in Metro City. What ensues begins as a mutual respect in the true spirit of fighting... and then a nasty demostration of just how experienced Daniel was at fighting Karate, Kyokugen or otherwise. <Winner: Daniel>
Gertrude Verhangnis is a traveler by nature; she walks many long and winding roads. Usually, though, the journey IS the destination. She doesn't tend to rush. She takes her time, sees the sights, meets the locals. But sometimes, you wind up in a situation so untenable, so rage-inducing, that getting as far away as possible from it is the only reasonable reaction. So it is that Gertrude has taken out a loan, hopped on a plane, and is now standing before a crowd at the Cabaret Candide, Metro City.
The extra payment from the club should just about cover the cost of getting here. It is almost worth the indignity of ... being in a place like this. But Gertrude couldn't stand to stay in Southtown, and - now she knows that Amy is watching her movements - she hopes that the sudden flight all the way to America will send a strong message about how she felt that last meeting went. How dare she try to tell her how to live her life? As though a Knight Templar could understand the first thing about her experiences.
So it is that Gertrude is in a foul mood already. She's been quite upbeat in most of her matches to date, but here, her expression is thunderous and her body language closed. Her arms are folded across her chest as she stands on the stage, pounding music and a thoroughly overwhelmed MC trying to calm the men down as they PRESUME they are going to be getting some foxy boxing.
Only the fact that Gertrude already knows her opponent is called 'Daniel' can help her feel any better about this situation.
Daniel didn't want to be a traveler.
Oh, he was being made to. Waking up in a hospital in Bucharest, the nightmarish memories of his fight with that marine at the abandoned castle swimming in his head, he didn't know what was coming next. But the nurses delicately kicked him out of the hospital, discharging him under orders from his chief, in order to move on to the next Neo-League match. Bound up in bandages, he dragged himself to the airport, and soon found himself in Metro City.
And after a brief taxi ride, to the Cabaret Candide.
The Agent of Interpol was beginning to suspect he was getting screwed. Entering the swaggering club, the detective is dressed in a trench coat over his bland grey suit. A true government worker. It was times like this that he missed his old Zoot Suit. The man strides across through the crowd waiting in front of the stage, a bandage still wrapped on his forehead.
And with a heave, he pulls himself up on the stage.
"Sorry for making you wait, sweetheart." The detective idles mindlessly, rolling on the stage. "Erm, sorry." He hastily then apologizes, wiggling his mustache. "I didn't mean to call you sweetheart. Just a thing I call dames." Daniel stands up, and freezes. Steadily, he simply facepalms at himself. "Look, your name is Gertrude? Pleasure to meet you." The detective reaches a hand out, for a handshake. "The name's Agent Little. But please.
"Call me Daniel Jack."
For a few moments, Gertrude merely looks at the offered hand, as though she is unable to comprehend that the man attached to it had actually been addressing her. Sweetheart. Dame? The tall German noble isn't used to being addressed like that - no woman has for decades. Slowly, she blinks behind her glasses, and then... then she takes the offered hand, and shakes it firmly.
It is as though the stress and irritation begins to leave her immediately. Whatever the man's faults, it isn't fair to blame HIM for all the weirdness that has gone on in her life. Nor for the locale; that was, after all, entirely dictated by her own misfortune and need for funds. "Agent Little, hm? I think I prefer that, but if you insist on being this Jack Daniels character..."
She shrugs her shoulders, "I am Gertrude. I think these men were hoping you would be Mai Shiranui or something, so, I'm afraid we'll have the crowd working against us... so lets try to make them cheer anyway, eh?"
Indeed, the crowd are already starting to boo as the realization dawns that this guy is the scheduled opponent. Gertrude, though, takes it in her stride and is soon walking across the stage to give Daniel the requisite amount of room. She's even starting to smile again! Screw the audience, this might actually be FUN!
Daniel Jack shakes the hand.
"Pleasure to meet you. Or should I say, Freut mich." The agent of Interpol releases her hand. "And the name's Daniel Jack. I only drink Jack Daniels. Well, used to. Now I have to be a professional representative of Interpol." The detective rolls his eyes at that, wiggling his mustache. He was looking over Gertrude, inspecting her. She was tall, and her stance was... haughty. Not too arrogant, but someone who held high composure. An officer, a CEO, or maybe even old nobility. "Mai Shiranui?" He echos, now focusing That's... That's a ninja. Why would they want to fight a-" And Daniel Jack shuts his eyes tight. "Oh, you are kidding me. They expect that from a classy-looking girl like you? Jeeze, I didn't think the league would have those kind of sleezeballs promoting the fights. " The older man gives a bit of a grin to the younger woman, looking up at her.
"Let's disappoint them then, shall we?"
The detective falls back to his defensive stance. One hand forward, one hand back, with both palms open and forward. Legs apart, he assumes the half-body stance familiar to Aikido. It seemed that the agent of Interpol had his roots in a grappling art. Keeping steady, Daniel watches Gertrude with that same grin on their face.
"So what's your style, then?"
COMBATSYS: Daniel has started a fight here.
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has joined the fight here.
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Daniel Jacks it up a notch!
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude smirks faintly, "It is what it is." She says, easily. Adjusting her glasses, she falls into a well-practiced stance, her feet braced apart, arms raised in front of her. Truth be told, Gertrude's style is almost deliberately generic; it makes it quite difficult to place exactly what to expect from the woman. But when Daniel straight up asks her, her smile grows more genuinely. See, world? This is how League fights are supposed to be conducted! In the spirit of gentle discovery. Why, they've been talking for thirty seconds now, and neither one has threatened to kill the other!
"That's an interesting question." She says, "I use a variant of Shotokan Karate. The fundamentals are practiced all over the world, you see. I have found it interesting to compare how they differ in different countries, and adapt my style accordingly."
"SHUT UP AND HIT EACH OTHER ALREADY!" Comes a hollar from the crowd.
That, gets an angry look from Gertrude, and almost just to spite the heckler, she turns her attention fully back to Daniel. She scrutinizes his own form quite closely, it seems... familiar, somewhat. Aikido, but not quite aikido - it seems as though Daniel is ready to get more aggressive than that. Her lips purse as she studies his technique.
"And yourself, Daniel? That doesn't seem like a police stance, who did you study under?"
COMBATSYS: Gertrude calculates her next move.
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Daniel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
Daniel Jack doesn't even react to the shouts.
If he was more insecure, he might have. But the fact of the matter? Daniel Jack grappled with an Egyptian demigod. And managed to impress him enough, that he was kicked into the underworld for his service. For some asshole in the audience to call him out?
It was small potatoes.
The detective studies Gertrude, his own "Shotokan Karate? I must apologize, though, I've not heard of the Shotokan variety of Karate. Most of my experience with Karate has been against the Kyokugen school." He straightens his composure, revealing himself to be quite proud of him talking about his school. "I studied under the legendary Todoh family. They trained in the traditional japanese arts of Todoh-Ryuu Kobojutsu, a regional technique based in the Southtown region of Japan." The detective takes in a deep breath.
"Let me show you my art."
The detective moves forward. He neither explodes forward, nor creeps forward. He moves with a prudent approach, rejecting aggression and caution for a practical medium. He doesn't break his gaze on Gertrude, every step coming with diligence and discipline. He wasn't fast of foot, that much was clear now. But he was balanced. The footwork is so precise, so careful, that it would be on par with the precision the Germans were well renowned for.
What comes next might even surpass it.
Finally closing in on Gertrude, the Agent of Interpol leads forward with a single palm strike of the left, aiming straight for where the shoulder and chest meet. With a step in precise unison, he unleashes the next blow, a hand chop of the right, aimed straight for her collarbone. Following the pair, the detective will take his next step: moving to the side slightly, he will draw in his right arm, placing his right hand into his left palm. There, he will jab out with his right elbow towards Gertrude's abdomen, right below the ribs. Deep within her guard, he will finish the combination with a final step in, unleashing his left hand into a sweeping, rising palm, straight for her chin. A careful, precise chain of blows, reflecting the Todoh-Ryuu school of strikes. Meager, in comparison to most schools of karate.
But what it lacked in power, it compensated with grace.
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Gertrude with Zoot Suit Riot.
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Daniel 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude tries to move to block the chain of blows, but she is too slow. The woman fails to turn aside the first, and from there, it is an easy matter to juggle her along until the final snapping palm strike draws her head up. There's a faint grunt from the woman, and she shakes her head faintly. You can indeed tell a lot about a person from their fighting style; what she's learned from Daniel, so far, is that it is not a fantastic idea to let him inside her guard.
"Interesting."
Her murmur is genuinely impressed, but she hasn't been moved back by the chained combination - not enough that Daniel is out of reach, at any rate. The young woman is fairly tough; its just a natural consequence of being that big and tall. However, rather than lunge into any similar display, Gertrude simply raises one foot, and SLAMS it down into the ground to recover her firm stance.
From there, she aims to grab Daniel by the shoulders, and pitch him down into the floor, over her leg, with a surprising amount of force. Compared to the swift sequence of blows, it is a deceptively simple action; there's no followup, no immediate tricky addition...
But the end result will still be Daniel on the floor, and Gertrude looking down at him from behind those glasses, waiting for him to get back up.
COMBATSYS: Daniel blocks Gertrude's Graceful Fall.
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Daniel 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Gertrude
"Thanks!"
That was the response from the detective as he recovers from the palm strike. He lost no footing, no balance from that assault, even as he remains within her guard. As she slams down a foot, the detective takes a step in kind, matching her movements. Keeping his palms up, the larger opponent (though Daniel would never point that out) deftly grabs up, and is chucked over the leg. Hurled to the ground. Daniel gives a little roll, tumbling with the impact. He was tussled. And he was on the ground. But the fact was, even on the ground?
Daniel was still inside her guard.
As he rolls back towards her leg legs, the detective remains in a crouch. Bringing on palm up to catch any greeting attacks, Daniel Jack reaches out to seize the woman's leg by the shin with the other. Should he get the grip, he will duck step in, putting his shoulder against her thigh as he just stands up to upheave her. And if he manages to knock her off her feet? He will control her fall, letting her land on her back. The agent of Interpol will take his other hand upon her leg, and finally standing tall and above her, demostrate why Todoh-Ryuu would interest an Interpol agent.
By wrenching her knee out of its socket.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude fails to interrupt Mad Jack Crack from Daniel with Rising Knuckle.
* Attack Of Opportunity! *
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Daniel 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude steels herself as Daniel goes on the offensive again. The man obviously has a wealth of experience; as would be expected from somebody in a law enforcement field, with nearly a decade on her. But it is still frustrating to find herself being so easily handled. As he grabs her leg, Gertrude crouches down to meet him - the intent being to hammer him off her with a powerful uppercut...
But what actually happens is somewhat less than dignified.
She tries to punch him, and he jerks her footing out from underneath her at just the wrong moment. The move is disrupted, and she grunts as she falls back against the stage, her head ringing with the pain of it. The woman's knee stays firmly in joint, but more due to her stubbornness than anything else.
"Hrmph. That's an, unorthodox style." She grunts, rolling back and away, to get to her feet and try to regain her footing. "But I can't deny that it is effective."
"That's my style."
That is what the detective states, as he struggles to dislocate the limb. Unable to wrench it out, though, Daniel is forced to release he as she rolls away. The fact she could rise was evidence of Daniel's own mistakes. Of course, as she crouched to meet Daniel's own offense, her own attempt to knock him clean out of the attack had failed. And yet, in the face of both actions, she claims that it was an unorthodox style?
That seemed to offend Daniel mark.
"Martial arts are a tool." The agent explains as he rises and approaches, a steady advance that wastes no time. As she fights to get to her feet, Daniel was moving. "A joint lock that leaves a criminal limping is a foundation to build on. That is what the martial art is. This is the mistake Hitomi made, another one of my Karate opponents. She expected a sparring partner. When you throw me over your knee? That is skill. For me to use that as an opportunity to try and cripple your leg?" The detective's arms begin to alight with an orange light.
"That's expertise."
The chi energy flows over his arms, flooding under the agent's sleeves to his fingertips. Tightening his fist, the orange energy brightens, infused with the power. Daniel Jack stops dead, taking in a deep breath as he raises both arms high. Stretching them back, he rotates them, building up individual momentum in both clawed hands. And with that, he slams his hands, palm first towards the ground in Gertrude's direction. Waves of orange energy surge from his body to the ground, ripping across the stage in a shockwave of energy. If Gertrude doesn't react in time, the assault will threaten to consume her. And yet, Daniel Jack does not seem slightest bit winded from the powerful chi attack.
In fact, the energy was still flowing at his fingertips.
COMBATSYS: Daniel successfully hits Gertrude with Chou Kasane Ate.
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Daniel 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
Gertrude sees the attack coming. It isn't a particularly fast blast of energy, and she attempts to step around the side of it - but instead, she misjudges the size of it, and the powerful wave of chi engulfs her completely for several seconds. She refuses to shout; to make any noise at all, in fact. She is annoyed, and that frustration is evident on her features as the energy dissipates away. He is lecturing her like she's an amateur, and she's doing absolutely nothing to disprove that notion.
Bringing her hand up between herself and Daniel, the woman's expression is difficult to read. Her eyes close, her brow knits. There's frustration there, certainly, but it is only partly annoyance with Daniel's words - mostly, it is annoyance with herself, that she's made herself look like the sort of person who needs a lesson in the basics of martial arts.
When she opens her eyes again, it is coupled with a sudden, intense burst of speed. She aims simply to grab Daniel by the shoulders, and brace him against her - on the very knee that he had intended to injure. That's all the opening she needs to roll backwards, and hurl him the full length of the stage. She doesn't stop this time, though. She continues, completing the roll, and following after without so much as breaking stride.
Expertise. She'll SHOW him Expertise!
COMBATSYS: Daniel interrupts Tomoe Nage from Gertrude with Fantastic Todoh Punch EX.
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Daniel 1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Gertrude
"... Fantastic..."
That was the response as he stands tall in the aftermath of the shockwave. Daniel Jack draws back a hand, flattening it as he tenses up his entire arm. Chi flows into it. He didn't see Gertrude as an amatuer. But the Hitomi fight was nagging him. Another Karate Girl. Another strong fight, with him dominating the fight early on. What was the same as with Hitomi and this? What was different? What was different from this and his fight with Zach... or Ibuki. This questions only lurk in head, as the German approaches the Interpol agent.
"... TODOH...."
Daniel Jack was stoic now, focusing hard. The energy was now growing dense, building at his hand. As Gertrude grabs his shoulders, he inhales. His entire body was tensed, trembling from the power restrained. He does not react when she brings her knee up. He does not react as she rolls to through him. But as she readies to launch him?
He reacts.
"PAAAAAAAAUNCH!"
That was the cry as the palm strike rockets past the knee out to her chest. A blast of energy surges over Gertrude as he is hurtled away, partially by Gertrude throw, partially by the sheer recoil of the astoundingly powerful strike. Daniel Jack lands with a tumble, rolling on the ground with a grunt. Steadily, he rises back upright, back into his defensive stance. His eyes were locked dead across to his opponent.
He was ready for her next move.
Next move?
No, no. Gertrude is punched clean through the wall. There will be no next move. Knocked unconscious, it is perhaps a mercy that she doesn't need to reflect on just how badly this went for her any longer. She might not have earned the fight money she was hoping to help cushion her landing here in Metro City, but perhaps the Neo League's medical coverage will serve just as well.
Hospitals, after all, have soft beds. It is one of their more redeeming features, in Gertrude's experience. She's spent more than enough time in them in the past to know this; if one were a cynical person, they might even suspect that the traveler deliberately goes out of her way to get knocked unconscious on another person's dime.
But that's almost certainly not the case.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude takes no action.
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Daniel 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Gertrude can no longer fight.
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Daniel 1/------=/=======|
The response should have been applause.
As Gertrude is obviously unable to continue the fight, the detective slowly lets down his guard. The audience should be cheering. They should be clapping. But instead, there is muttering. At first, it is a whisper. But soon, it spread, rising to a cacophony. One of the mutterings soon reaches Daniel Jack's ears.
"Isn't that the guy who beat up that other girl?"
"Yeah, yeah! That's the guy who beat up that cute girl in the apartment!" The words deflate the detective, as sweat forms on his brow. Looking over at Gertrude, he shakes his head. "Yeah! What is this creep's issue? Why can't he actually give these girls a chance." The Agent of Interpol furrows his brow, as he walks to the edge of the stage. Dropping down, he just stews in his head... until a waitress steps in front of him. The woman holds up a cellphone, and shoves it into Daniel's hands. "Excuse me, Mr. Little? Someone called 'The Chief' is on the phone."
"He wants to have a word with you."
Log created on 16:07:05 12/14/2014 by Daniel, and last modified on 18:58:01 12/14/2014.