Description: CAN EVEN THE GOD OF THUNDER STOP THE GAIJIN ARMY? The debut of director Fuji Fujimoto, Gaijin Army 3 is the third in the straight-to-DVD sensation that is the Gaijin Army series. Critics are saying 'this is certainly a movie' and 'Raijin's performance is particularly shocking'. Japan's shores are threatened by the mysterious Gehrt Trude and her Destructo-Tiffany. Will the power of the Thunder God prove great enough to hide the samurai secrets of Japan?!
It was a dark and stormy night.
Gertrude had been surprised when the call came down, but they needed two foreign fighters on short notice, and ... well, Gertrude fits the bill. She's not exactly surprised that she's stuck playing one of the villains, either, but she IS surprised by the outfit that the company has forced her into. Like some sort of bizarre cross between a World War One era German uniform, and a Samurai ensemble. The black and grey laquered armor is studded with many tiny spikes, and one huge one raising from her head... but it is, at least, mobile enough that she can move without it being too stiff. Still, she's not sure whether this is meant to be a comedy, grossly offensive... or both. Also the blood red contacts she's wearing are scratching her eyes like nothing else. Ow.
Stepping forward before the ruined temple, Gertrude looks straight at the auto-cue to the side of the camera, resulting in a rather ... fixed expression. But she's no actress, and the rain! It just /keeps coming/. It is making it really hard to read, and every now and then someone just off-camera rattles a steel sheet to make the sound of thunder. Apparently they'll be adding the lightning in post.
"C-COME OUT, ZAM-U-RAI ZUNDER GOD!" Gertrude shouts, in her thickest, fakest German accent. "Ze RAIN." And she pauses, as though to say 'seriously', and then shakes her head, continuing as best she can, "Ze RAIN of TERROR has only juzzt begun, now ve, ze GAIJIN ARMY, haff stolen your... ZAMURAI ZECRETS!"
"OH HOH HOH HOH HOH!"
You know when you can look at someone on camera and just read the thought 'how did my career come to this' running through their mind? Yeah. Gertrude has that expression painted pretty clearly on her face right now.
Tiffany is one good sleep off of a Neo League fight -- and truthfully, wasn't expecting this in the least. But the money was good, and the exposure was better... and she's more than willing to play this particular role. Wearing a slightly-too-tight uniform top and samurai skirt armor -- both of which the production crew insisted, over her wishes, once they got a good look at her -- she feels acutely ridiculous, but in what she's prepared to call a good way.
She has not been briefed on any component of this piece, and has only now read her lines; accordingly, her actual screen read is acutely ridiculous. Putting her Japanese to the test in contrast to Gertrude -- perhaps to really drive home the 'stolen samurai secrets' angle -- she calls out, "<DESTROY! DESTROY! DESTROY!>" Her emphasis is all wrong and probably agonizing to listen to for a native speaker...
... but then, that may be good news for this kind of production.
She shifts a little, adjusting the oversized samurai-style arm protection with very aggressively Western boxing gloves on the ends that she's been given to wear. These shouldn't be /too/ awkward to move in, she thinks -- but they're a little much!
It's lucky for these guys that Raiden's actually pretty over-the-top anyway. He really has no idea what he's supposed to be doing here. But with his announcement after the fight with Rugal, it seemed like he was a 'hot item', whatever that means in human-speak. Enough that he was noticed by someone important! So the man said, anyway. He was instantly recognized from the fight with Rugal; initially Raiden thought the man was volunteering to assist against Outworld. But no, he needed help of another kind...
It was a quick trip and an even quicker explanation-- he needed someone to fill in for a role. A play? 'Something like that'. Well, it wasn't as if Raiden would need to worry about transportation. Teleporting sort of made that a moot concern. So he agreed to assist in whatever way he could. Which the man had been DELIGHTED over (and totally thought Raiden's archaic speech was him already being in character!). He's even managed not to blow up any cameras. YET.
Well, uh... that's his cue, anyway, the yelling from Gertrude. That's also not a German accent-- even Raiden can tell that. But! It's still his cue! And he disappears from where he had been waiting. Lightning strikes the ground in front of the steps to the temple, and his shape appears from the lightning, as if forming from the ground up.
Lucky for Raiden the guy who brought him here thought his attire was PERFECT, and he didn't have a lot of wardrobe to worry about. A quick thought, a quick look to the prompter. His speech is perfect Japanese... he half-recalls memories that he doesn't have time to sift forth now. "<Our secrets are not for one such as you!>" Yeah, he's pretty over the top, but it works. "<The rain of destruction of which you speak will fall upon YOU! For now you face... RAIJIN!>" Well, at least they got that part right, the right name. And as he says the name he raises his hands into the air, a current of blue-white electricity wraps around his body briefly. It moves to his raised hands and then fires from his palms, away into the sky.
Gertrude flinches back from the burst of electricity. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and she looks - with raised eyebrows - to the set manager. Who just waves at her enthusiastically. She thought they said they were adding all the lightning after the fighting, but that... that looked pretty realistic to her! The look of confused uncertainty on her face might not fit her character, but... geez, that's intimidating!
"Oh hoh hoh hoh?" She repeats, "You can try to hide ze zecrets if you vant, but ve haff vays of makingk you talk!?!"
This movie is going straight to DVD.
But at least it'll be a good DVD for fight fans, because whilst the story, dialogue, costumes and camerawork will all leave much to be desired, Gertrude isn't going to skimp on the one thing she's relatively confident in: her fighting work! "ATTACK, DESTRUCTO-TIFFANY!!"
Dashing across the distance as fast as she can, Gertrude's feet splash all across the muddy, wet earth - which makes the running leap look far more impressive as she takes off, and aims to headbutt Raiden right in the chest with that spiked helmet. If she hits, she'll flip up and over, and try to restrain the Thunder God with both arms grappling his behind his back - hoping she can leave him relatively open for her evil ... destructive ... boxing ... samurai companion?!
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gertrude 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Raiden has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Raiden 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Tiffany has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Gertrude 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Raiden
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Raiden has joined the fight here on the top side.
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Raiden 0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
It's become easier and easier for Tiffany to recognize power when she sees it -- and Raiden's power is obviously more than movie magic, plain as day. Or plain as a dark and stormy night, as might more rather acutely be the case at the moment. Tiffany winces a little; she knows they're supposed to lose, but this is a little scary, and Tiffany Lords doesn't intimidate easy.
Eyes wide as saucers for a moment, Tiffany does her best to play the momentary fear off as weird foreign-menace blankness, but can't quite muster it; she is having a /critical/ acting failure. Fortunately, the stage where 'acting' is a thing stops being a thing the instant she's called 'Destructo-Tiffany,' abandoned in favour of raucous laughter that she attempts to turn into maniacal laughter halfway through.
Speeding in, Tiffany does her best to test Raiden's proverbial chest with a forceful first blow. Keeping her stance tall, she whirls her arm around and around; with each successive whirl, they build up a little more chi, and she does her best to keep her tone flat as she says, "Guru, guru, guru, guru..." She actually affects a decent monotone here, managing to keep /something/ dimly resembling character until she's finally ready to swing the arm forward in a vicious punch! Surely she's just announcing /that her arm is spinning/. Right? Right. Sure.
On the inside, barely concealed, Tiffany starts to feel like she's about to die of embarrassment.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Raiden with Improvised Grapple.
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Raiden 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Raiden dodges Tiffany's Very Groovy Punch.
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Raiden 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
Holding back. That's something Raiden has learned to do long before now. His memories are still weird-- maybe he'll never fully get them back-- but he remembers how to hold back his power, and why. He hesitates a split-second too long, and Gertrude's able to headbutt him. Thankfully it doesn't do too much damage. But then she's grabbing for his arms so Tiffany can punch him...
Gertrude may feel the electric tingle of static...
And then 'Raijin' is suddenly not there. He is suddenly about ten feet on the other side of them as Tiffany's still recovering from her spinning punch. The two of them should hopefully be close enough for him to zap them both.
The girls, if hit by this, will definitely be able to tell it's actual lightning. No special effects here.
COMBATSYS: Raiden successfully hits Tiffany with Lightning.
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Raiden 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tiffany 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Raiden knocks away Gertrude with Lightning.
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Raiden 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Gertrude
BZZZZAP!
Lightning arcs from above, and the blast of power lights up the set! It connects directly with Gertrude's ridiculous helmet, and the woman's arms and legs splay out to all sides like a star. "EEEEEEEEEE!" She squeals, and the lightning just... keeps on flowing! She flashes on and off like a christmas tree, the camera actually picking up the neat outline of her skeleton before she is suddenly let go, and blasted backwards to smash through the (thankfully, plywood) wall of the temple set.
"Gott in himmel..." Gertrude mumbles as she stumbles back up to her feet. Little sparks of electricity keep fizzling about the outline of her body, and she twitches faintly. Right now, she isn't even sure where the enemy got to... more to the point, she doesn't care! Her helmet is half-melted, and she is stumbling around in a dazed, confused state.
"Mein hamster ist gestorben..."
COMBATSYS: Gertrude gains composure.
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Raiden 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
Tiffany isn't sent quite as far by the orce of Raiden's tremendous power, but she is blasted pretty roughly; she feels just faintly ill-used, or at the very least, ill-informed as the shocking force of 'Raijin's' lightning flows through her whole body. She slumps over, clearly in agony; for a moment, she considers not getting back up -- but that seems a little wasteful, so she /instead/ decides to just keep right on keeping on.
"D... Destroy," she murmurs, trying to keep character even though she's mildly worried that these gauntlets have fused to her arms -- they /probably/ haven't, she feels like, but it's at least a thought that's in her head. The fight won't look good if at least /one/ of them isn't aggressing at any given moment, anyway...
Stepping in, she aims a direct, unceremonious kick for Raiden's face with all the strength she can muster. It's slow and it's telegraphed, but sometimes that's all you can muster.
COMBATSYS: Raiden dodges Tiffany's Heavy Kick.
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Raiden 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
Hopefully the camera's pointed away from Raiden in that moment. Because there is a wince of sympathy at Gertrude's and Tiffany's states. He didn't mean to zap either she or Tiffany QUITE that hard. And in fact, the director might just be calling out for him to 'dial it back'. The lightning around him decreases noticeably, and the feeling of ionization in the air fades to something less hair-raising.
Gertrude seems to be collecting herself, but he's not going to look away from her too long. Only long enough to disappear and barely miss being kicked in the face by Tiffany. She'll probably feel her foot pass through the still-ionized space where his head was not a second before. It shouldn't hurt her, though.
Unfortunately, the next thing is aimed to do just that-- though hopefully not to injure. He aims an open-handed strike at Tiffany's forehead. Should that hit, he'll follow through-- lean back to 'kick' at her stomach (it's more of a push than an actual kick), and then once that foot hits the ground again aim a two-handed, open-hand strike at her stomach. But he's not going to actually hit her. What MIGHT hit, though... is a burst of lightning.
COMBATSYS: Raiden successfully hits Tiffany with Weakened Flash Storm.
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Raiden 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
Gertrude is brought back to reality when she sees the flash of lightning. Gosh, that looks like it is quite some distance away. How on earth did she get over here? Well, no time to worry about that - there's fighting to be done! And whilst Gertrude might still be dazed and confused, there's no way she's going to turn that down. Especially when she's got a teammate to watch out for.
For the audience at home, it is a dramatic moment. Tiffany gets zapped, and then suddenly there's a loud "KIYAH!" From above. Gertrude descends like she'd never been hurt at all - pushing the pain and protests of her body to the back of her mind, she instead comes down fast, like the hammer of an angry God, and her foot leads the way!
Her heel aims to crash powerfully into the side of Raiden's jaw, and if she gets that connection, she'll spring off, using the momentum to bring her other foot around and complete the graceful motion. "Did you think that would be enough to finish me?!" She shrieks, voice high-pitched and ridiculous accent (thankfully) dropped, "You'll never beat the power of the EVIL GAIJIN ARMY, Thunder Dog!!"
The series of strikes catches Tiffany... well, no, it doesn't catch her off-guard, she tries her best, but she's so outclassed by the God of Lightning that it's almost pointless that it doesn't. Head snapped forcefully back, Tiffany leaves herself wide open for the rest of the blows.
Weaving back away, Tiffany drops her head low and resolves to just bull through. It's not like she can do a whole lot else, after all -- her body is going to give out in short order at this rate, even from the weakened assaults. Sometimes, it's all you can do just to hang on and keep things exciting.
And 'exciting' is exactly what Tiffany goes for. Ducking low, Tiffany speeds in toward Raiden, whirling her whole body around to aim her fist squarely for his face time and time again; with each successive backfist, her hand glows a little brighter with energy, and she says, firmly, "DESTROY!"
After four attempts, she brings her stance tall again, pinwheeling her arms like before; there's no 'guru, guru, guru' this time, though -- just a brightening of her hands until she finally swings them forward at high speed, trying to smash through the God of Thunder's guard concurrently with her partner's heel strikes.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Raiden with Double Spin Heel EX.
- Power hit! -
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 1|------=|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Raiden interrupts Groovy Special EX from Tiffany with Weakened Sudden Energy EX.
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Raiden 1|-----==|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
Raiden stands firm when Gertrude's attack comes at him-- this does have to look good. But the strike to the jaw has more force than he expects, and he's staggered. The second throws him tumbling to one side. He's down! Perfect time for Tiffany to sweep in and--
Oops. He disappeared again. As he reappears, he throws two open-handed punches at Tiffany's forehead, but instead of throwing a third hit, aims a blast of lightning from his palm at her stomach.
Gertrude lands, and in the same instant, the God of Thunder disappears, reappearing to assailt her partner. There's a flinch of sympathy from the German woman in her half-melted costume. But... Tiffany's a tough gal. She can probably take it, right? Right. So, best to focus on giving the people what they came here for! She's managed to make one impact; lets see if she can't keep that up and give the director some more cool moments to play in slowmo or from like six different angles simultaneously.
"Wa-TAH!"
The loud shout is coupled with a sudden surge forwards, and Gertrude aims to barge Raiden away from Tiffany with her shoulder. Ordinarily, she favors a more calm and measured approach to fighting; but she's supposed to be playing a villain, right? So she goes for something just a little more reckless. If she can get her hands on Raiden, the Thunder God is in for a deeply unpleasant time, as she aims to slam her forehead into his nose and deliver a powerful set of knee strikes into his stomach, followed by a brutal hurl into the ground. If, by some miracle, she actually manages to land her impromptu and barbaric assault, she'll reach down and try to take his hat, to put it on her head!
"OH HO HO HO HO HO!"
It's hard not to get discouraged when someone is both clearly holding back /and/ clearly better; Tiffany knows there are a lot of better people than she is as far as fighting goes, but she's having an increasingly difficult time feeling like she's being toyed with. It gets her upset -- but at least it's a kind of upset that she can deal with in a direct, straightforward way!
She isn't sure, rightly, if he's /teleporting/ outright or just so much faster than her that it feels that way... but there's a trick she has up her sleeve for just this situation, and it's one that she's suddenly much less worried aout wasting, after taking blow after blow to the head and lightning strike after lightning strike to the body.
Leaping up into the air, Tiffany aims her legs for Raiden's head; her goal, of course, is to sit herself neatly on the God of Thunder's shoulders, upon which time she starts... spinning. And spinning. And /spinning/. Seriously, is everything about some different form of spinning with this girl?
... the samurai skirt armour makes it a little harder to land such a blow, though -- she has to use the edges of her ankles, rather than her thighs as is her usual preference. Will this slight change in tactics be her undoing -- or propel her to new heights?!
No one can ever know, as Tiffany calls out, "Destroy -- destroy -- DESTROY!" as she sails through the air in her attempt to land this high-speed attack.
COMBATSYS: Raiden endures Tiffany's Groovy Screw.
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Raiden 1|---====|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Raiden interrupts Savage Grapple from Gertrude with Weakened Elder Fury.
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 1|=======|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Gertrude
Raiden's shoulders are sat upon, and then there's spinning! And then there's taking down! But he doesn't stay down, no. Tiffany will feel the very distinctive sensation of an opponent 'rolling with' her move. Sure enough, as the takedown happens, Raiden is redirecting the momentum, getting himself out from under Tiffany...
And then zooming towards Gertrude. With lightning surrounding his body, trailing blue energy, and screaming... something. It's anybody's guess what he actually said, but it kind of sounded something like "HAIYIBABADAAAAAAAAH!" Hamming it up for the camera, right? Nightwolf could tell that wasn't just him acting, however. Though whether it's a good or bad thing that he's not there is hard to tell.
When Raiden impacts her, Gertrude is sent skidding back several feet, sandals digging deep into the muddy earth. She's faintly surprised to discover that she's still conscious, but the 'ancient samurai secret' on display did... far less damage than she was expecting. Is he holding back, now? There's a questioning look behind those startling red contacts, but... but whatever! She's here to give a show, not ask questions about whether or not Raiden could have chosen to destroy her utterly in that instant.
If Gertrude had been able to watch the Saturday Night Fight, she might be more respectful - but that particular SNF had been horrifying to her, what with the building dropping on her head and all. Painful memories.
So instead, she hams it up right back "You think your Hi-yee-baby-dah Technique can stand up to me?!" She demands, although the fumbling over the word still ruins her attempt at acting, and she actually looks to the left and right, eyes shifting as she tries to think how best to ham it up. Oh yeah, there is ONE obvious way!
OLIOLIOXENPAAAAAAAAAAAUNCCH!!"
And with that, she brings her right fist hammering upwards with all the force she can muster behind it, twisting into the punch and slamming her knuckles up as hard as she can - hoping to make a bone-shaking connection with Raiden's jaw!
Tiffany gets a short reprieve from getting hammered with Raiden's sheer power, and uses it to just breathe a sigh of relief; she can tell that he's got their number, but at the very least, he's managed to make the fight exciting for the cameras! She can appreciate that much, at least. It's a hard balance to strike!
Rolling her shoulders, Tiffany decides to give the cameras something exciting, too. With a quick hop and a skip, Tiffany shouts out, "RRRRAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH!" as she leaps up into the air. It really does give her a slightly higher jump...
... which is really mostly a liability as she points her feet down, aiming both of them squarely toward Raiden's face with a loud, bright, "<LIGHTNING...> KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!" Somehow, she has forgotten any of the myriad words for 'kick,' despite the fact that one of them sounds like 'kick' with a drawl.
Come on.
COMBATSYS: Raiden dodges Tiffany's Exciting Kick.
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 1|=======|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Raiden dodges Gertrude's Rising Knuckle.
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Raiden 1|=======|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
Raiden almost chuckles at Gertrude's blunder over the words. That's fine, they're not meant to be spoken by the mortal tongue anyway. Which probably explains why they sound so silly to others when he says them. His body is mortal, even if it contains the spirit of a god. Wouldn't be the first time his mortal-ness has gotten in the way of something.
Gertrude's punch is met with probably the best way of avoiding damage... simply not being there when it occurs. Tiffany's gets the same reaction as well, though her feet crater the ground where he was just a few moments ago. That would have been extremely painful if it had hit, and he has to hide a wince. He does not envy Tiffany's opponents in a normal situation.
However, he reappears on the steps of the temple, his hands folded before him in the palm-in-fist pose. And he speaks, again in Japanese. "<You have proven worthy opponents. I give you one final chance. Surrender now... or be wiped from his land utterly.>"
COMBATSYS: Raiden enters a meditative state.
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
"It is you who will be destroyed!"
Pointing her finger at Raiden, Gertrude tears the helmet from her head, and squares herself up to the Thunder God. Long blonde hair flows behind her, caught by a dramatically appropriate wind - thoughtfully provided by an offstage fan. There's a serious determination which burns in Gertrude's eyes as she faces down the far more powerful warrior.
"You can surrender if you like... I will kill you faster if you do! OH HOH HOH HOH HOH!!!"
Gertrude is actually starting to enjoy this now. Its kind of fun playing the overblown villain. Lord knows she's dealt with enough ACTUAL villains in the course of her life; whatever happens next, it is deeply unlikely to be anything good for her... but she'll give it her best!
"For you have insulted my honor... /NOW WE MUST KUNG FU FIGHT!/"
... not that ANY of the fighters here actually use kung fu at all ...
COMBATSYS: Gertrude calculates her next move.
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
This time, Raiden takes a second outright -- and Tiffany decides that it's now that she'll take the initiative. Letting Gertrude take center stage in terms of the flow of the scene, Tiffany decides to do something much less glamorous but just as important: get the positioning she wants.
It takes her a second, but she does indeed manage it; weaving around /behind/ Raiden, she takes a second to pray silently, her ridiculous outfit disguising the gesture as her flexing. This plays well enough for the cameras, at least -- and besides, Gertrude has the real center stage on this one, anyway.
Launching herself forward, Tiffany goes into a high-speed cartwheel, aiming both of her feet for Raiden's back in a pair of broad, hammering blows.
COMBATSYS: Raiden dodges Tiffany's Groovy Wheel.
[ |||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
Raiden waits for his reply to Gertrude. His speech, and Gertrudes, have given Tiffany enough time to get behind him. However, as before, he manages to sense her moving as she attacks, and she zooms past him as he teleports. That feel of ionized air is there around Tiffany's feet again-- clearly she only BARELY missed him!
He reappears in the same place. Tilting his head up, he scowls. Yes, he's playing this up for the cameras. So neither of the girls needs to worry about him actually being upset. It's... actually kind of fun to be able to fight without it being a life-or-death situation! Even if this is a rather ridiculous situation to be fighting in. Still, it's helping out.
"<Then you have chosen your destiny.>" Lightning lances down from above, his voice booming out as the called lightning arcs over his body rather than hitting the ground. "<MEET YOUR FATE!>" And then he's darting forward, a lightning-fast strike. Grabbing for the two girl's throats-- should either of the girls find themselves in his grip, they will note that the grip is firm but not in the slightest painful.
But the lightning that courses through him-- and possibly through Tiffany and Gertrude as well, should they not be able to get free before it-- proooobably hurts. But yes, this is Raiden holding back. But there's only so much he can throttle back...
COMBATSYS: Raiden knocks away Tiffany with Heavenly Hand.
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Raiden 0|-------|=======
[ < > /////////////// ]
Tiffany 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Gertrude
COMBATSYS: Gertrude fails to interrupt Heavenly Hand from Raiden with Rising Knuckle.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 0|-------|=======
[ <
Tiffany 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Gertrude can no longer fight.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 0|-------|=======
[ <
Tiffany 1/---====/=======|
As the Thunder God comes down, Gertrude comes up. Despite his gentle grip, though, Raiden plucks her out of the air as though she were little more than a feather - and she's held fast. Her attempt to deck the Thunder God arrested before it can even begin.
Again, she's lit up like a bulb - the electricity flows through her, and the camera is treated to a flashing X-ray image. Unlike last time, though, there's no more fight left in her. Blessedly, she just goes limp, and her eyes cross in the moments before she sags and passes out.
Hopefully the movie studio has sprung for some medics!
Hefted aloft in a chokehold by the God of Thunder, Tiffany feels herself give up before the actual moment of impact; she knows what she's in for, and there's really nothing she can do about it. Eyes wide open, she feels the electricity coursing through her body well before the proper surge of it. She's probably going to have really cool marks for a while at least, she reflects shortly before she can't exactly reflect on anything.
When the electricity kicks up in earnest, Tiffany's body spasms for a while, then goes totally, unceremoniously limp; eyelids fluttering briefly, she slumps hard against that hand, still held aloft.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany takes no action.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 0|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Tiffany can no longer fight.
[ ||||||||||||||||| ]
Raiden 0|-------|=======
Doubtless they'll put an edited image of 'Raijin' holding his defeated opponents aloft by the throat as some narrator rambles on about how the secrets of the Thunder Temple were kept safe from the EVIL GAIJIN ARMY. Fact, they'll have to, if they want that shot. CG it in later or something. Because Raiden's gentle as he kneels, bearing both the girls to the ground carefully. And as he places a hand on the shoulder of each, he does something odd.
Again lightning will course through them. But this isn't damaging lightning. Far from it. It's gentle. The feel of a harmless tingling in the body, like a mild sensation of fingers or toes being asleep. The lightning is energizing, giving what remains of his own strength to the two unconscious girls. It should at least bring them back around.
Log created on 08:40:27 12/28/2014 by Gertrude, and last modified on 12:27:34 12/28/2014.