Description: Unfortunately, the CDC was unable to predict the aggressiveness of the current flu season that's rocked the world of late, and it's been suggested that a second vaccine should be put synthesized and put into circulation. Unfortunately, that costs quite a bit of money, and bureaucracy has held up the lines to receive the vaccine. Not to mention the anti-vac protests going on, and the people who already have the flu who are looking for some relief. All in all, this has unfolded into a bit of a fiasco at a local clinic in Southtown. Never fear, SNF is here to chase away what ails you in this three (wo)man Get Well Soon bout! While some space was cleared for the promotion, it's pretty much been overrun by the time anyone gets there, so fighters CHISAKI, TABITHA and SCRATCH will have to get to rubbing elbows with some of the seriously sickly. Luckily, most of them are fight fans out there, who aren't in too bad a mood to be having a good opportunity to get up close and personal with their heroes. Just watch out for an aggressive Patient Zero!
At first, Chisaki thought it was a fight for sick kids -- which sounded awesome, really -- and is now sorely disappointed. The clinic has a nice ring, really, given that it is a clinic. They set up a large area in the parking lot, and the crowd is appreciable today. Some crates and boxes are stacked up here and there, near the dumpster; props for the fight, perhaps, or things to throw about. The problem, rather, is the crowd.
They're sneezing. They're coughing. Some of them are actually running a fever. People shouldn't go to work sick, but they do. People really shouldn't spectate a fight while sick, and they're here anyways. The fighters have to work through a crowd of people infected with the flu -- and the small, overworked, and only slightly apologetic staff.
"Hi, yeah," Chisaki says, the wonder in her voice gone. This is her first SNF match; like her first Neo League match, it is not off to a glamorous start. "Great to meet you--uh, no thanks, I don't do handshakes, oh my god maybe you should go see a doctor--"
She shuffles free of them, into the parking lot proper, and then looks around at the makeshift arena. She can't afford to get sick, damn it!
Tabitha is trying to make a name for herself. She's not sure that making it among the ill is the best plan; fighting in the middle of a sick crowd sounds like no fun. What if one of them is really sick? What if - and this is worst - one of them throws up on her or something? If she was disappointed /before/, Tabitha is going to be even more disappointed after that.
She'd actually guessed, at first, along the same way as Chisaki. She was wrong, too. Some people are just made to be disappointed.
Tabitha, as always, got there early. She's in the cleared-out arena, a surprisingly delicate-featured woman for someone advertised as a bare-knuckle boxer from the pits of Metro City, wearing a dark red sleeveless shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, loose enough to swish around her upper legs when she moves. She is warming up, throwing shadow punches at nothing in particular. No gloves for her; she has handwraps on instead.
Off in her ... corner? Whatever. Off to her side is a man who has the same rich strawberry blond hair as Tabitha does. He must weigh twice what she does, though; he's six foot five, craggy and muscular, and looks like he's been hit in the face quite a bit during his career. He has managed to get a space cleared of sickies and gets to stand all on his own.
He is grinning. That grin gets aimed at Chisaki when she shows up. "Competition, eh," he rumbles; there really isn't another word for it.
The flu certainly is a hell of a thing, and it's not something you want to catch when you want to be active and moving around at a regular clip.
So it's no surprise that when one Cadence Carter, a.k.a. Scratch, finds herself trying to push through the clinic toward the cleared out fighting area inside, she's not too eager to be...well, touching anyone, considering how many sick people are in here for a vaccine. The collar of her shirt brought up over her mouth and nose as she nudges through, she scowls underneath as she realizes how much of a mess the things have already been. Not the best of places to try and keep up a hot fight run, that's for sure.
"Are they serious with this crap?" she asks, not exactly looking like the toughest sort either outside of her punky clothes. Even after reaching the clearing, she doesn't remove her shirt from her face, 'dusting' herself off as she looks across to her opponents. Her first time fighting more than one person, professionally at least. "Just like old times," she mutters under her breath, 'pacing' on her wheels in a small circle, looking between the boxer girl and the darker skinned girl.
"Yeah," Chisaki says to the man with Tabitha, giving him a look. "Competition." Then she looks back at Tabitha; a boxer, she thinks. That could make things complicated. She rotates her neck once, and then she looks towards Scratch as she walks into the ring. She blinks, once, and then shrugs her shoulders.
"It's some bullshit," she says to the punk girl. The skater look is cool, even if it's not quite for her. She reaches her hands out and pops her knuckles. "I mean--I guess we're... helping sick kids, or some crap--uh, hi, sick people! Don't cough on us!"
She waves at them, then looks at the other two. She nods.
Then Chisaki begins to roll up the left sleeve of her windbreaker. Will the crowd run, when they see her arm? Will Tabitha or Scratch freak out? She wonders. "Let's do this."
Tabitha punches thin air a couple more times before she decides her arms are as warmed up as they're going to get. She's still dodging sick folks, though they kept their distance while she was swinging - mostly to avoid accidentally getting hit, granted, but it still counts!
The big guy takes a step backwards, further out of the way. He isn't getting involved despite looking like a much bigger threat than Tabitha herself does. "I don't know," Tabitha says, "at least we're doing something." Her eyes flick from one opponent to the other. A schoolkid and a punk, great. Well Well, she's seen worse. She's not used to being the tallest person in a match though... or the oldest.
She smiles. "Hey. I'm Tabitha. Let's keep it clean, all right? I've been out for a while, I want a good match." Tabitha isn't familiar with either of her opponents, which is a minus; she doesn't know how good they are. Or how good they aren't. And three-ways aren't exactly her favourite either; she's used to two people in a ring, not three outside by a Dumpster surrounded by crowd she has to keep looking at to make sure they're not inching forward.
Scratch isn't familiar with her opponents either, but that's more due to her relative inexperience than anything. She really doesn't hav a plan going into this, just do what she's always done and make good of it....as well as make sure she doesn't get anything from the crowd that keeps trying to encroach on the fight.
"Scratch," she says, introducing herself after Tabitha does. "And I'd rather get this done sooner rather than later so we don't all end up..." She holds her tongue, looking at the crowd, but the intent is obvious enough behind her words.
Coming to a stop finally, the punk idly adjusts her arm stockings before taking what almost looks like a speed skater's ready stance. She looks ready to dash more than she does to fight...but then again, that's her way, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Tabitha has started a fight here on the top side.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Chisaki has joined the fight here.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Scratch has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
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Scratch 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chisaki
"Yeah, I get it." Tabitha doesn't want to get sick either!
Tabitha gives a slight nod after that. She starts looking a little more serious when the official frees himself from the grasp of the sick crowd (not literally, he just managed to get through it). It looks like he's about to start it, judging by the raised hand. Tabitha tenses, waiting for the hand to drop. Steady... steady...
"BEGIN!"
Tabitha does not immediately advance on the rest of the battlefield. She hangs back, perhaps letting Scratch and Chisaki get to it first; she's so used to one-on-one boxing that she's not entirely sure how to pick her targets and does not immediately do so. Keeping her fists up, she shifts her weight several times but mostly settles into an orthodox boxer's stance, her left side angled forward, her right fist further back. She never quite settles on the...
Well, okay, it's pavement. It's a parking lot. Tabitha's shoes slide across it, but at least the ground is dry and she's not worried about slipping. She seems to be waiting for an opportunity.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha focuses on her next action.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
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Scratch 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chisaki
Pavement is good. Long as it's not cracked pavement, at least, that means Scratch can pick up speed on it. And soon as the signal is given by the official, she doesn't waste time in trying to circle around both her opponents. Her legs pump hard as her skates kick off the ground and build speed. As she races around, she has to decide quickly what she wants to do.
She spots Tabitha taking up a stance and...waiting. She's not sure what's going on there yet, and she doesn't know what Chisaki is up to....
The decision is made almost arbitrarily, with her target being the one in her actual sight by the time she breaks out of her circular path and makes a straight line break toward Chisaki. As she speeds on, she drops down into a slide, one leg tucked under the other and her lead skate grinding perpendicular to the ground, aimed straight at the darker haired girl's ankle.
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Chisaki with Acid Soul Slide.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
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Scratch 0/-------/------<|=------\-------\0 Chisaki
"Like them," Chisaki says to finish Scratch's thought -- a little rude, perhaps, but so be it, with a nod of her head. She looks at the crowd, before she looks back at the two of them. The shout to begin comes; her eyes narrow, and she notices that Tabitha isn't launching at her. Scratch is, though, and that makes her act. She sees the girl come skating in towards her; she draws in a sharp breath.
The skate kick swings in, before Chisaki can duck down low enough to block. It slams into her shin, knocking her backward, and making her stumble. Her feet dance, quickly, as she finds her footing.
Then her hand suddenly, abruptly, shifts. Black energy gathers, motes of black and purple crackling and drawing down into her left arm. A midnight black sheen shoots across her arm, from the elbow up. The fingers lengthen, slightly, and become sharpened. There is a trail of black and purple mist left in her wake, as she lunges quickly at Scratch before she might pull back.
Chisaki swings her newly clawed, jet black hand out in a horizontal swipe in front of her.
Her red eyes dart, quickly, to the boxer, though. She doesn't want a surprise.
Tabitha half-expected to be attacked, but no issue if she's not; the posture might be defensive but it's hardly immobilized, and Tabitha circles around as if looking for an opening. Probably she is, but she also wants to see what the others can do. She's never fought either of them.
Scratch does about what she'd expect: skate. With an outfit like that, what else was she going to do? Tabitha doesn't know /everything/ she can do, of course, but it's enough to give her a hint. Scratch's speed might be a problem later, if Tabitha can't keep up and has to keep withstanding impacts - not that she can't do that, but she's not sure if skates will tire Scratch out faster or less fast. But she still has no idea what's up with Chisaki... until she summons the shadow claw.
"Hell, /what/?" Tabitha recoils from the weird ripple of energy along Chisaki's claw. She wants no part of that! That weird mist following it looks more than a little unpleasant - which may be why Tabitha elects to deliver a sudden jab with her left hand at Chisaki's side, then another higher up at her cheek, Tabitha's right hand held back for defensive purposes. Not that she expects Chisaki to drop from a jab to the face, but she's going to have to be careful.
COMBATSYS: Scratch wards against Chisaki's Shadow Claw Strike.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-------
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Scratch 0/-------/-----<<|==-----\-------\0 Chisaki
With the sliding kick hitting home, Scratch pops up to her feet, finding her skate wheels again and avoiding losing too much momentum from that strike. It's a tricky thing, but it does leave her in a good position to react to attacks better, such as when Chisaski has to turn to find her and retaliate.
Eyes widen when the angry looking claw of energy comes down, an abrupt stop coming as she brings her arms up and guards as much as she can against the swipe. She manages to soften most of it, but it leaves her careening backwards toward the dumpster maintaining the circle around them.
"Ooof...." she grunts, pushing off the dumpster post haste to get her mometnum back. Wary now, she watches as Tabitha finally dives into the fray, engaging Chisaki, who is loking to be the bigger threat amonst the two right now. She's not making any moves to dive in herself, picking up speed still as she makes an informed decision. Finally, she decides to charge in, trying to follow up and grab at Chisaki's non-shadowy arm, hoping to twist her around and onto her back.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha successfully hits Chisaki with Guard Knuckle.
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Tabitha 0|-------|------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/-----<<|====---\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Chisaki counters Fast Throw from Scratch with Shadow Claw Lance.
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Tabitha 0|-------|------=
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Scratch 0/-------/---<<<<|====---\-------\0 Chisaki
Chisaki's teeth grit together. The shadow claw got both of their attention, which shouldn't surprise her. Her eyes dart between the two, and she sees Tabitha coming first. She tries to raise her right arm up, but the boxer is quicker than her. The blow to her cheek catches her and knocks her to the side; her jaw doesn't break, but it may leave a bruise in the morning. She stumbles a couple of steps, before she turns to see Scratch charging in.
She does two quick steps to pull back from being close range with Tabitha; that gives her the room to swing her left arm up, and her red eyes widen with that.
"Not so fast!" she yells at Scratch, more out of instinct than anything else.
The hand suddenly shifts again, the fingers adopting a liquid-like consistency just before they sublimate into a now non-distinct tendril. It hardens, a moment later, into a sharper spike -- and then it extends out a good ten feet, shooting straight ahead of her, and directly at Scratch before she can grab for her other arm.
Or her only arm, at the moment, depending how you look at it.
Okay.
That's just gross.
Tabitha has fought supernatural things before. She wasn't sure, at the time, that she /believed/ it was supernatural, but she was eventually forced to accept the truth, and she's going to have to deal with it this time too. There is no way that hand is natural. She shudders. And she's fighting /that/? ...maybe once she's gotten tired fighting Scratch.
Tabitha does not follow Chisaki when she takes the steps back. She circles instead, getting closer to the elusive skater. When Chisaki counterattacks, Tabitha lays a blow of her own at her, a single heavy blow aimed straight at Scratch's torso. On the plus side, it might keep her away from that crazy spike arm! On the minus side... well, she's being punched really hard right in the stomach. Can't have everything.
COMBATSYS: Scratch blocks Tabitha's Fierce Punch.
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Tabitha 0|-------|------=
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Scratch 0/-------/-<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Chisaki
One thing that Scratch, general neophyte as she is in the fighting world, should learn, now that she has this chance to: sometimes, attacking the biggest threat first isn't always the brightest of ideas. That's because someitmes, they're the biggest threat for a reason.
The skater quickly learns that as her attempted arm twist ends up caught by those weird shadowy tendrils. The result is her being blown back by the shadowy energy before she can get a grip on Chisaki, knocked back hard enough to take her breath away temporarily. Gasping, she finds herself slowed, just enough that she can't quite muster up the energy to get away when Tabitha decides to deal with her instead. Thankfully, she's able to get her arms down and in the way before that hard body blow further takes her breath away. But that also means more time not moving, especially as her arms start getting number. "Dammit..." she grunts, gauging her options.
Thankfully, much trouble as she is, her adrenaline spikes enough to keep her from getting too discouraged. And a rush is not the best thing to give an adrenaline junkie like the skater. WIth the same general idea as Tabitha, she focuses her aim at the boxer rather than the girl with the crazy shadow power. Skating straight at Tabitha, she takes a sudden veer rightward, trying to pass by and hook her arm at the boxer's. If she can, her hands would end up glowing with a faint green sheen, the heel of her palm pushing at Tabitha's shoulder to help spin her around with all that momentum Scratch has before flinging her down and away.
The shadowy arm-turned-lance pulls back, and then recombobulates into the five-fingered hand, ending in claws, and she glances between the two of them for a moment. She focuses while the two of them engage each other. She needs a moment to breathe; dealing with both at once took a lot out of her.
She does just that. Her shadowed fingers flex; motes of purple and black light form in the air -- sucked from the environment, perhaps, or just made to appear by the thing bound to her spirit and body. They gather into the claw, as she takes a breath.
She sees the look on their faces. She magnifies it, in her mind, and feels herself growing angrier at the thought.
COMBATSYS: Chisaki gathers her will.
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Tabitha 0|-------|------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/-<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Tabitha blocks Scratch's Rewind Whip.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-----==
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 Chisaki
Tabitha breaks off as soon as she's landed a punch on Scratch - not a clean one, but impact nonetheless. She backs up, getting dangerously close to some of the crowd, which has edged forward since the last time she looked. That's a problem, especially if she gets thrown into them.
"Clear out!" Tabitha yells, meaning them and not her opponents. She actually gets a bit of response; some of the people obediently shuffle, and though she doesn't get as much room as she wants, she gets a little more - enough to deal with what needs being dealt with.
Scratch gets a hooking grab on her arm, and Tabitha lurches sideways, as much to dislodge Scratch as anything else. She moves with the impact, not letting Scratch shove her so much as allowing herself to be moved, though the energy thrums against her in an unpleasant manner. Disengaging before she can be completely thrown to the ground, Tabitha keeps backing up, back in her boxer's position as she suddenly slips sideways.
She ends up almost behind Chisaki, at least back and to her side. Tabitha tries a fast straight punch to get Chisaki to turn towards her, then keeps moving, repeating the process; always trying to stay just out of view and therefore (theoretically) out of reach, a jabbing series of strikes to keep Chisaki moving. And Scratch, for that matter, if she tries to follow.
Now if only she can avoid running into the crowd again. They really want to get closer, don't they?
Trying her best to wind Tabitha around and fling her away, the best Scratch can quite get is a temporary lock, as the boxer is able to writhe away before the skater can get a firm enough hold. Deciding it's not worth pursuing to try and further push that attack, Scratch wheels away, skating to the further end of the circle of humanity. "Hey, back up, back up!" she shouts to the crowd as she makes her round around.
Seeing Tabitha and Chisaki engaged now, it's scratches turn to collect herself and hang back. Watching, she turns away and ends up hopping her way up to the top of the dumpster, skates hooking onto the edge and standing atop it for a better view of things. It's not the best seat in the house, sure, and it smells something awful, but at least it's not diving into the sea of sick patients and subjecting herself to eventual flu-dom.
COMBATSYS: Scratch focuses on her next action.
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Tabitha 0|-------|-----==
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Chisaki blocks Tabitha's Blindside Step.
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Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Chisaki
Chisaki is keeping her eyes on her opponents, so when Tabitha backs up towards her, she is wheeling to face her. The jab punch swings in, but connects with her shadowy claw; it scrapes along it, and the skin is frighteningly smooth and cold, like punching something with the texture of steel that feels more like flesh in its give. She does a quick hop backward, and then she leaps into the air, rather than try to back up into the crowd.
She can jump high and does, rising over the heads of the crowd, and turning down towards the ground. She doesn't drop for Tabitha, though, but rather Scratch -- deciding to keep one opponent occupied rather than not.
Her lips split into a grin, as her adrenaline gets going. Maybe she hates the stares, maybe she hates the questions, but she loves this part.
She comes down swinging, with her leg; she launches one midair roundhouse as she drops down. Her foot hits the top of the dumpster, boot scraping into the steel, and she finishes with another roundhouse, before she swings back her claw. The slashes fly, fast and rapid then, as she swings her shadowed claw down. Each leaves a purple streak of energy in the air.
Tabitha takes it easy when she realizes she's hit the claw. Spike. Whatever it is; she doesn't want it to turn into a crab cracker or something and crush her fingers, and she has no idea what something like that can do. Mysteriously, her boxing practice doesn't tell you what to do against someone with what might be a demon-possessed arm; that's something you need to figure out for yourself.
She does know what to do against someone wearing a manhole cover as a chest protector, though. Legacy of a misspent youth and all.
Chisaki bounds away, and Tabitha is left behind with crowd nearby, with the others fighting over a dumpster. This is the point where someone like Ryu, she supposes, would do one of those hadouken things - but that's not really an option in her skillset. She ducks low, moving across the lot, swaying every once in a while as if taking an evasive approach even though the two look a little occupied.
Apparently she has decided to focus on Chisaki again, because Tabitha suddenly pops up, snapping an almost testing punch with her left hand, a quick jab followed almost immediately by a right cross. The relative height of Chisaki being on the dumpster (and Tabitha not) means it's actually aimed at Chisaki's legs, and is likely to knock her off her feet if she's not careful!
COMBATSYS: Chisaki successfully hits Scratch with Nightmare Divebomb.
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Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Scratch 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Chisaki
Scratch didn't have any delusions about being safe on a dumpster or anything. After all, it wasn't exactly the highest of perch or the steadiest. She was just there to try and get a better sense of things before she decided to rush back into the fray. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't even get that much of a reprieve, as Chisaki decides to bring her attention toward her, dropping from the air toward the skater.
Eyes widen, as she tries to get her arms in the way, but the initial roundhouse kick was far too fast, hammering her down from the dumpster, then again, before the claws tear into her. Screams of pain reverberate as Scratch tries to scramble away from the assault, her shirt torn and her body looking well battered after that heavy assault.
Gasping in pain, she looks rather...lost suddenly, her adrenaline rush failing her. Hobbling upright again, she looks back between Tabitha and Chisaki.
Her priorities set, she takes aim at Chisaki again, building up speed and making a leap again, to the dumpster. Rather than stick a landing on it though, she uses it as another launching point to toward the girl with the crazy shadow powers, trying to fly with arms and feet out toward her. THe aim? Grab her shoulders, swing her feet forcibly into her gut, then fall back to fling the girl overhead as high as possible.
COMBATSYS: Chisaki fully avoids Tabitha's Medium Punch.
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Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Scratch 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Chisaki dodges Scratch's Aggressive Air EX.
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Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Scratch 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Chisaki
Chisaki expected them to both come after her, this time. She has enough experience from fights in Nepal and a few more in Southtown, and her father's training, to be ready to fight two at once. She knows it, but it is still new enough to bother her -- and so, when Tabitha comes rushing in at her, she does a quick hop. The jab shoots through the air, and then the right cross sails over her as she lands -- just nearly hitting her chest, as she does a midair backflip.
Scratch comes flying in, leaping for the dumpster. She hits the dumpster's edge in a handstand and then pushes off it to go airborne -- and the swing of Scratch's foot sweeps just over the edge of the dumpster.
She comes down for a second landing, and this time, Chisaki is upright. Having started moving so fast, she doesn't stop now; she comes at Tabitha, swinging a foot for the boxer's midsection as she lands.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha just-defends Chisaki's Heavy Kick EX!
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Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Scratch 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Chisaki
Tabitha stays off the dumpster. In fact, she takes a long step away from it, not wanting to get into a fight where she's obligated to climb on top or have Chisaki (or scratch) continue to attack her from the high ground. She's used to rings, not boxes and dumpsters and trash, oh my!
It's getting into kind of a cluster over by it, though. Between the dumpster, the alley or side entrance that dumpsters always seem to be near, and the crowd that still wants to crowd around, it's getting a little busy. Tabitha's big relative in the crowd is staying well out of her way, but he's not interfering with anyone else, because he doesn't want to be accused of fixing the fight.
"Oh come /on/," Tabitha says, more to herself than anything else. Both of the others are starting to look a little worn down, Scratch most of all. On one hand, Tabitha might be able to just take out Scratch, but on the other, if she leaves her up she can keep wearing down Chisaki -
Tabitha looks like she's lost in thought when Chisaki comes down. She is not. She catches - literally catches - the foot with one hand, pushing it up higher than Chisaki had intended to kick to keep her off balance, hopping on one foot and unable to easily follow up on the attack. Holding her in place for a moment lets Tabitha have a moment to breathe, too - and draw her right fist back, tensing.
All at once, Tabitha acts; she lets go of Chisaki, pushing up and backward. Her instinct is probably going to hop away from Tabitha, and Tabitha takes advantage of that; she uncoils her body all at once, the tension all pushing through her torso, her arm, her fist - the single sudden impact of her fist, with the moment to prepare, is incredible, hard enough to cause a shockwave of air from the impact point, crack stone, or down a lesser boxer with a solid shot to the head. "Haaa!"
Well, Scratch does get that moment, at least.
Missing her attempted flying assault, Scratch ends up catching the top of the dumpster again as Chisaki slips beneath it. Grunting and cursing under her breath, Scratch holds back and turns herself around atop the bing, watching as Chisaki comes in with a hard kick toward the boxer. Frowning, she tries to find a way to pick her spot here.
Finally, after Tabitha comes in with a hard massive punch, Scratch leaps down again, skating in slower than usual. She's not in a rush, as she has to pick her spot...and finally, she goes for it, planting her hands on the ground and doing a handstand of her own, feet coming over her head to hammer her heels toward the shadow girl's head.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha successfully hits Chisaki with Impact Knuckle.
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Tabitha 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Scratch 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Chisaki fully avoids Scratch's Handplant Hammer.
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Tabitha 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Scratch 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
This time, Tabitha hits home. The massive impact of her fist hits Chisaki hard, throwing her back through the air. Some of the crowd of people parts quickly; flu patients can move surprisingly quickly, and Chisaki hits the ground hard, rolling a few times on the concrete. She stumbles to get upright--
--and finds herself face to face with a man in a hospital gown, wearing a manic grin, and with six different needles attached to syringes sticking out of him. Patient Zero, truly, is an extreme method actor. He screams in the girl's face, irregardless of the demon-tainted arm of shadow that she has.
"ARE YOU DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!?"
"Uh, no, here, she can catch it!" Chisaki yells, as she plants a kick in Patient Zero's stomach. The man stumbles back with a loud wail, and Scratch comes flying down -- right in time to slam into his head, and drive the actor to the ground with a thunk. Chisaki is there right after, throwing her hand out to grab at the skater girl, and then throw her back away from her.
But also from Patient Zero, who is writhing animatedly on the ground. This may pass for a favor.
Tabitha shakes her hand out a little after that. One does not punch like that without feeling it afterwards! She wouldn't dare if Chisaki hadn't been knocked back like that and Scratch hadn't decided to focus on Chisaki.
Patient Zero finally gets into the crowd. Tabitha /really/ doesn't want anything to do with that; she is down with no sicknesses at all, and though she'd managed to avoid being coughed on too much, that would be a bit much. Who knows what's in those needles, or what he's actually sick with?
Fortunately, he's going flying the other direction. Tabitha lets him. Rather than gang up on Scratch immediately, or try to follow through to down Chisaki, she hangs back, up in her defensive posture from before. She sways occasionally, dodging left or right as if about to get hit by another, bigger boxer, despite the fact that none exist here.
She's prepared.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha focuses on her next action.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Scratch 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Scratch dodges Chisaki's Strong Throw EX.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
Scratch isn't quite down with the sickness, but she doesn't have time to be annoyed with 'Patient Zero'...mostly because she doesn't really notice him, until after Chisaki has moved out of the way, and her Handplant Hammer drives him down to the ground instead. She looks at the down at the laid out actor, blinking. "Huh?"
Seeing her target gone triggers something in Scratch, feeling the hackles on her neck raise up. And when Chisaki grabs for her, the skater barely catches the movement through the corner of her eyes before ducking straight out of the way. It's not so much an adrenaline rush as it is fight or flight, and right now, she's in flight mode.
Ducking away, she speeds away from Chisaki and tries to get some distance from her for now, knowing she REALLY Doesn't want to get hit by anything the darker girl can dish out at her. Instead, she spots Tabitha....and decides on pragmatism. "You go after her instead!" she shouts, trying to catch her through her swaying and fling her almost wrestling irish-whip style straight toward Chisaki as a sacrifice.
Chisaki takes a breath, trying to focus for a moment. Patient Zero is still wriggling on the ground, and she plans to leave him right there, so she can focus on her opponents. She shakes her head to clear it -- and then her face screws up when Scratch tells Tabitha to go after her. "What--don't talk about me like I'm some kinda freak!" she snaps, angrily, and then...
...points at Patient Zero. "That dumbass is a freak!"
"FREAKY SICK!" the actor says.
Her eyebrow shakes with annoyance. Chisaki lunges, then, running forward. She hurtles towards Tabitha, and leaps into the air, fist swinging back. She drops down with another kick, a mighty drop kick slamming down for the top of the boxer's head. Her right hand -- the normal one -- balls up, and she punches hard for Tabitha's face, then.
COMBATSYS: Chisaki blitzes into action and acts again!
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|---====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Tabitha with Medium Throw.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Tabitha dodges Chisaki's Heavy Kick.
[ |||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Tabitha blocks Chisaki's Medium Punch.
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Chisaki
Tabitha's safety, while the others were leaving her alone to fight each other, couldn't last forever. What she wasn't really expecting was the sheer speed and ferocity of the attacks, where they just kind of opened up on her like she was a huge threat.
Well, maybe she is. She wasn't even breathing hard yet.
That changes. Scratch grabs her and pretty much flings her toward Chisaki - and, unfortunately, a lot of Tabitha's guards just don't work well against someone who's willing to grab and push, being designed to take impacts. She is whipped toward Chisaki, staggering as she tries to retain her balance.
Weaving wildly actually helps, briefly. The drop kick misses Tabitha as she regains control of her movement enough to lurch to the side, slamming into a couple long-forgotten cardboard boxes (Tabitha does not know what was in them, and frankly she doesn't /want/ to know). She crashes into them but somehow manages to stay upright, spinning to take the blow aimed at her face on the outside of her arm.
It's hard - hard enough that her fingers tingle for a moment, but not hard enough to make her entirely drop her guard. Tabitha shakes her hand, once and sharply, as if trying to regain feeling in the fingers, letting out a hissing sound through her teeth - and then she /lunges/ out, moving so quickly her body is almost a blur. The boxes clatter and bang around her as she drives directly toward Chisaki, trying to land a running straight on her and keep going right past!
Sending Tabitha away as a sacrifice, Scratch is safe for now...but at the same time, she feels her energy peaking. She can't afford to sit idle or just let them knock each other out first. She doesn't know if she can stay in if she just coasts right now. She needs to attack, and attack now.
So as Chisaki goes all in for the assault, Scratch pushes herself into the fray again. And with Tabitha focused on Chisaki, back turned to the skater, the opportunity is there for the taking. Picking up some speed, she comes in sidelong, and flies straight toward Tabitha, both feet extended out and flying straight toward the boxer's side trying to knock her away hard with all her weight.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha successfully hits Chisaki with Blue Streak.
[ |||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Scratch 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Chisaki
Chisaki is small and fast, and not particularly built to get close to and stay close to a boxer. When the punch comes and hits her, it slams her backward roughly, throwing her back into the dumpster. She hits hard enough to slam a dent into it, and thereafter stumbles, her knees shaking when she does. She breathes hard; her back hurts, her side hurts, her jaw hurts. Everything hurts, and the hurts are blending together.
"Ow, fuck, ow," she grumbles to herself, before she shakes her head. She takes a moment, though -- and a single, deep breath. Her claw is held out in front of her, energy gathering as motes of light.
And then she leaps, launching back towards Tabitha. She comes from the other side as Scratch, letting the other fighter go past. She does a spinning kick as she lands at Tabitha, somersaulting in midair and slamming her foot down at the other woman. She hits the ground, then, and swings her shadowy claw back.
It suddenly grows in size, swelling out to twice, then thrice its usual size. It has the weight to back it, and Chisaki throws a mighty punch straight at Tabitha.
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Tabitha with Rocket Booster EX.
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Tabitha 1|-----==|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Scratch 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Chisaki
COMBATSYS: Chisaki successfully hits Tabitha with Twilight Cross Smash.
- Power hit! -
[ |||||| ]
Tabitha 1|=======|=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Scratch 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Chisaki
Maybe letting them both stay in was a mistake.
Tabitha is attacked from both sides almost simultaneously, and though Tabitha can do a lot of things, she can't be in two places at once - and, more to the point, she can't easily defend two attacks at once. If she was doing well, she'd have been able to block at least one of them.
But she doesn't.
Rocket smashes her one direction, coming in from the left, and Chisaki strikes from the other with a gigantic fist. Something has to give - and that something is Tabitha, caught in the middle, who lets out a wheezing sound as the air is knocked out of her. She feel her ribs flex a little; she's not sure one didn't break, especially on the side as Chisaki's giant freaky hand. She manages to push away from both of them, slumping downward for a moment like she was about to drop.
Tabitha wouldn't be Tabitha if she gave up easily, though. She forces herself to rise, standing straight despite her battered frame, the fact that she barely has any air and her entire side - both sides - hurt real bad. Tabitha draws her fist back, bracing herself, tensing her entire body. The muscles in her arms and legs stand out for a moment as she strains at nothing.
She tries to roar. It ends up sounding a little less healthy than she'd intended, but Tabitha releases all that pent-up energy in a single blow. The one she leveled at Chisaki was impressive, but this one - aimed at Scratch instead - is enormously stronger, and the shockwave of air radiating from the impact point even larger, suitable to blow hair and tug at clothes. If she misses, well, she might be explaining why she dented (or broke) a Dumpster.
So she'd better not miss.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha successfully hits Scratch with Final Impact.
> Determined Hit! <
[ |||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Scratch 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Chisaki
With the fly in, Scratch managed to crash hard directly into Tabitha's side, barely able to land from the hard committed flying kick. Managing to settle into a crouch afterwards, Scratch tries to get her body to listen to herself further. She knows she's dangerously close to her body giving up on her if she doesn't keep moving.
Unfortunately, that time left to try and pick herself back up and move is all the opening Tabitha needs, and the massive punch she levels into her is...well, it's enough to blow her hair straight out of her ponytail, and make her clothing...well, dangerously ripped. But more importantly, it's enough to sap her of all her breath as she ends up gasping for air.
She's not quite down yet....but it's clear as she tries to take to the air that this is her last gasp. Her legs flash out as she goes airborne. She doesn't really care who her target is at this point, but her path, regardless, sends her toward Tabitha, flashing skates leaving streaks in the air as she tries to take Tabitha with her in an uncontrolled spiral before finally landing in a tired heap.
COMBATSYS: Scratch can no longer fight.
[ |||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|----===
[ \\\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/------=|
Scratch is out of the fight, and her final mad spiral is directed for Tabitha, not Chisaki. The school-aged girl decides that's luck, but she takes it. She watches as she flies -- and then she runs in afterward. She is not out of control; her body protests sharply at the fast movement, but she can see a chance -- if slim -- for victory. She plans to take it. The girl does a last second feint to the side, swinging back her left arm.
It's returned to its normal size, but it still has a slight size advantage, and a definite strength advantage. Purple energy rolls off it, like a foul mist, as she swings it backward. Then she's up close with Tabitha.
She swings it down in a heavy slash, the clawed finger tips raking at the front of the boxer, and a trail of black and purple left in its wake.
COMBATSYS: Scratch successfully hits Tabitha with McTwister.
[ ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tabitha dodges Chisaki's Shadow Claw Swipe.
[ ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
More chaos! Maybe this is what the match needed? It certainly is getting a lot of crowd cheers.
Tabitha's mighty hit succeeded, but it leaves her off balance for a moment; she leaves herself open to deliver blows like that, and it shows. Scratch's spiral throw twists her around, and Tabitha can't see any way out of her grip - so she rolls with it. It's painful; she feels that rib grate.
But it does what she wants it to do, which is keep her under Chisaki's attack. The slash catches Tabitha by the hip, but she rolls, and it only rips at her athletic shorts; there's a rip down the side, not that it shows anything that it shouldn't (just some more muscular leg), and Tabitha isn't hurt by the claw.
She may not need to be. She's wavering, barely upright; Tabitha forces herself to her knees, then rises all the way up into a uppercut, sufficient to throw Tabitha up into the air as she tries to lift Chisaki up by the chin. Unfortunately, her landing is almost entirely uncontrolled; she crashes down, gasping for breath on hands and knees. She tries to rise. But can she make it...?
COMBATSYS: Tabitha has reached second wind!
[ |||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chisaki dodges Tabitha's Bound Upper.
[ |||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|=======
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
Chisaki bends backward, and the uppercut sails past her chin, barely missing her; had it hit, it would have slammed her down, but she doesn't take it, and she stays up on her feet somehow. There is a mix of relief and annoyance in her mind; annoyance that Tabitha is getting up, but relief that it wasn't Scratch's blow to bring her down. If she wins, she would rather it be by her own hand. The thing merged with her pulses a sense of agreement with that idea.
She turns, quickly, on a foot -- and swings her foot out, trying to kick hard into Tabitha's side. It's a quick kick, though; she aims at knocking the other woman down, rather than with particular power behind it.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha blocks Chisaki's Light Kick.
[ |||||| ]
Tabitha 1|-------|=======
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/-------|
Tabitha forces herself to her feet by sheer determination. Her face is a little pale; she's sore, and it's not because she's managed to get a cold from one of the sickies surrounding the place. Her cousin, the big guy with hair like hers, is looking somewhere between worried and determined; he's still cheering.
Chisaki's foot whistles in, and Tabitha manages to interpose her arms again. It hurts; she's already taken a lot of impacts to her arm, and she's going to have a hell of a bruise later. But it's not broken, and she's going to keep going just as long as she can.
Tabitha grins. It looks a little wild. "Sorry," she says, low. "I'm not going to give up yet." They're not fighting in a boxing ring, but for a moment Tabitha feels as if they are; she leans back for a moment, then drives her right fist forward in a strong straight, keeping her other hand up and raised defensively. She winds up again afterwards, another punch, then another - and then, all without dropping her guard, a finishing blow straight at Chisaki's head to rattle her or knock her out!
COMBATSYS: Chisaki fully avoids Tabitha's Impact Guard.
[ |||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/------=|
Somehow, Tabitha is getting back up. Chisaki's eyes go wide when her foot slams into the other woman's arms, and she holds her back. She looks genuinely surprised, and she only barely manages to block the punches as they come in. Her shadow-coated arm moves, catching each, holding the blows at bay by locking forearms. Each parry knocks her backward, sweat flying from her highlighted hair. Her eyes narrow, then, and she nods.
"Yeah," she says, quietly but sternly, "right back atcha. Guess we'll see who can--"
She does a backflip while she jumps. Her left foot snaps up then, trying to kick at Tabitha's chin -- and then she's dropping back down, and executes an axe kick, dropped down for her head in an effort to drive her back to the ground.
"Hold out longer!"
COMBATSYS: Tabitha just-defends Chisaki's Diving Double Kick EX!
[ ||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/------=|
"Me," Tabitha says back, still almost out of breath.
Chisaki's axe kick doesn't just get stopped. It gets stopped rather impressively; Tabitha literally holds Chisaki off her for a couple seconds with crossed arms. This time the foot doesn't impact and add another bruise; she catches it in the X, holding it off her with all the strength in her body, holding it for a moment to catch her breath like some kind of wrestling spot.
She pushes back, disengaging for a moment. But /only/ a moment, because Tabitha lays right back in. She comes in fast, a series of jabs where she tries to drive Chisaki back toward the junk on the ground, the scattered boxes she dropped down before.
Only when she thinks she has Chisaki bogged down in junk does Tabitha go to the body blow, a solid strike to launch her into the poor battered Dumpster! (Not /inside/ it, she's not that rude. But against it.)
COMBATSYS: Chisaki dodges Tabitha's Body Blow.
[ |||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/------=|
Chisaki knows she can't keep this up. Her kick is held off and she leaps backward from it, ducking away from the series of jabs. She backs up towards the junk -- but instead of backing into it, she sidesteps quickly, and kicks a piece of wooden crating. She sends it flying to the side of Tabitha, where it hits the ground in a burst of wood flecks -- a feint.
She has an idea. It's dangerous; risky, even. But what does she have to lose?
So, she grins, raises her hand, and curls her finger in a taunt.
COMBATSYS: Chisaki gathers her will.
[ |||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-------
[ \\\\\ <
Chisaki 0/-------/--=====|
What do you have to lose?
ONLY YOUR VICTORY.
Tabitha twitches slightly but she identifies the feint just in time. She doesn't waste a ton of time avoiding it; instead she's watching Chisaki as she... taunts?
Despite her pride, Tabitha actually can't do this forever. She'd love to be able to, but a lucky hit will knock her out, or she'll simply tire herself out to the point that she has to stop. So she inches forward, looking like she's going to strike from the front -
Tabitha suddenly darts forward and past Chisaki. She makes it halfway behind Chisaki before she spins, delivering a hooking punch with her right hand as she whirls; while probably not an official boxing maneuver, and neither is the constant string of jabs she keeps up with afterwards, it's effective enough - as long as she can stay at the edge of Chisaki's sight, or just out of it.
COMBATSYS: Chisaki fails to counter Blindside Step from Tabitha with Shadow Claw Lance.
- Power fail! -
[ ||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Chisaki can no longer fight.
[ ||||||| ]
Tabitha 0|-------|-----==
"Got you!"
Chisaki doesn't. Her arm discombobulates again, the fingers sinking in, and form that long spike of shadow-stuff that shoots out -- but it flies right over Tabitha's shoulder. The boxer swings in, and the punch slams into her face, slamming it back. She stumbles; the jabs quickly hit her torso, each slamming into her side, and finally she stumbles backward.
Then, she trips over the prone, writhing Patient Zero, and falls down with a thunk.
Patient Zero screams again.
Tabitha ducks her head for a moment, planting both hands on her knees and looking like she's going to pitch forward.
She lifts her head back up a few moments later, whipping her hair backwards so it's mostly behind her again instead of going every which way. She's still gasping for breath and trying to ignore the painful ache in her side, but she raises one hand anyway.
Victory!
Log created on 16:09:19 01/25/2015 by Tabitha, and last modified on 01:53:33 01/26/2015.