Description: Mei Lin wants to challenge big name fighters. Gertrude is somewhat surprised to learn that being in the top five of the neo league qualifies her for that, but it is also the first time she's actually been specifically challenged! So, it'd be rather rude of her to turn it down. A close-run fight leaves the whole crowd wondering... just who could survive that much dust, huh?! (Winner: Gertrude)
Despite his defeat at the hand of the rockstar Alexis Lovell, Mei Lin's spirit remains unphased. Mei Lin delights himself with the opportunity to face other martial artists more than the actual resultat for now. Every fight would bring its share of experience and allow him to improve himself and this is what he seeks more than anything else, what he's never been able to have.
The bruises from his last fight a few days prior have semi-healed even though they've left rather nasty black spot on his skin and he's ready for more. The energy of youth, perhaps... The league has brought him off Japan for his next match as he picked another opponent : someone called Gertrude. Apparently, she was one of the big shot in the league... Why not try to challenge her?
The Neo League had picked up a spot away from Japan for this match : some old gothic castle in Transylvania. It was definately an impressive, even from the outside and inside. Mei Lin strides into the courtyard slowly, glancing around. He has a bright smile on his lips, his gaze seems lost in the distance even as he turns his head around, "Woah... What a place for a fight," It sure made it seem like fighting was big of a deal.
Gertrude has accrued a fair amount of points in the Neo League. She's also had a challenge against the Western Pro Belt holder. The embarrassing fact that the vast majority of her fights have been losses hasn't, yet, been allowed to overwhelm her. Sure, she'd love to have emerged victorious far more often... but she has to remind herself, she's making a living doing what she loves. She has an APARTMENT, and REGUlAR MEALS. She's even signed autographs a few times.
And it has been months since someone tried to kill her at random!
Meeting at Transylvania was odd, but this is also the first time someone has challenged her, and she'd hardly turn that down! The older woman is all smiles as she approaches, passing off a very expensive flannel coat to one of the camerapeople.
"Hey there, Mei Lin, right?" She says, eyebrow twitching just a little bit. There's something, off, about this guy, and she can't quite put her finger on what it is. It isn't just the grey, blank eyes, though. "Nice place for a fight. Verhangnis Castle is scarier, though." A little joke as she offers her hand and... realizes the blind guy probably can't figure out she's doing that. "Want to shake before we get down to it?"
Mei Lin hasn't been around long enough to have heard about all of Gertrude's prowess, but the fact she's amongst the top is already proof enough of her talent. The young man turns on his heels when he hears Gertrude's voice, his smile never leaving his lips, "That's right... You must be Gertrude?" He asks.
Even though he's facing her, his eyes seem a little off, never quite looking at her. His attire is pretty modest, like some sort of monk's outfit. "It is quite impressive, I can feel it," The man concurs. Surprisingly enough, Mei Lin offers his hand up to Gertrude a few seconds after she did, grasping it and shaking it.
"Thank you for accepting this challenge..." He says in all honesty, "I mean... I've just started after all... It's a honor to fight someone like you, I never thought I would have the chance to! I am sure I'll learn a lot from it," He says, obviously having trouble to conceal his excitment. "Ready when you are," He says, letting go of her hand and taking a few steps back.
Gertrude does have an innate talent for reading people. One of those little things that often gives her a flash of insight. She can tell pretty quick that the guy isn't seeing well... but he must know what he's getting himself into; she's not consdescending enough to question it. If anything, the fact that he's so enthusiastic about fighting her proves that he deserves the opportunity.
She laughs when he compliments her, instead, and squeezes his hand strongly. Gertrude is... not a small woman, and that much should be immediately obvious. "I'm honored. I'm sure you'll teach me a thing or two as well." She says, backing off in turn, and looking to the referee. She still wishes that she could put her finger on what it is that seems off about Mei. There's... SOMETHING, but it isn't quite--
The whistle is blown, the fight is underway!
Immediately, Gertrude bursts into motion. Coming in quick, she's trying to size up her opponent's style. The blindness will obviously mean he's compensating in some way, but she's no idea what. So rather than try to guess, she goes lunging right in and tries to grasp the young man by his shoulders. If successful, she'll brace him up against her knee, and roll backwards, releasing him at the perfect apex of the roll to send him hurtling through the air and into the ground a goodly distance away. Thump!
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has started a fight here.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin has joined the fight here.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mei Lin
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin auto-guards Gertrude's Tomoe Nage.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mei Lin
It was hard not to be enthusiasm about Gertrude -- from what she has heard, Gertrude embodies everything Mei Lin has been striving for. A strong woman who has managed to reach the heights of the Neo League thanks to her martial art skills.
And now he gets the chance to have a demonstration of this talent first hand and see how well he can do against her. His smile never fades away as he gets into his fighting stance : a low horse straddling stance with his hands in front of him, fingers joined together like a spike.
When Gertrude lunges at him and gets a hold of his shoulder Mei Lin rolls with in instead of struggling against her grapple. He moves his body with her and lets her hurl him off, allowing him to flip in midair and land gracefully a couple of feet away, rolling back to his knees and absorbing the impact with relative ease.
He straightens himself up and turns on his heels to face Gertrude. He charges at Gertrude and swings the back of his right hand at her face, followed by his left at her midsection before he snaps out with his right again with the tip of his fingers on her breast.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude dodges Mei Lin's Stone Crane Fury.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mei Lin
For such a large woman, Gertrude is certainly quick on her feet. She notes the rapid movement into her attack with quiet approval, and when he simply lands and comes back in for her, she is even more pleased. She is, at her heart, a sportswoman. The thrill of a good competition is all she ever really hopes for. Well. That's a lie. A good competition that she emerges from victorious is always better, naturally.
For such a large woman she is surprisingly quick on her feet, too. She swings around to the right to avoid the first blow, and then twists again to the left to avoid the second. When the last jabbing strike comes, she leaps up into the air, bringing her feet up sharp to her chest to avoid his fingertips by the narrowest of margins, and then...
"KIYAH!"
The explosive shout is coupled with a sudden downwards bursts of motion, putting her full weight into the return to the earth, the side of her palm comes striking down, aiming to crash powerfully into Mei Lin's shoulder in the purest expression of her Shotokan Style she knows - the good old fashioned overhead karate chop!
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Mei Lin with Utopian Crusher.
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Gertrude 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Mei Lin
Mei Lin expected no less from Gertrude : the agility she displayed to avoid her crane style flurry was astonishing. The young man's gaze follows Gertrude as she leaves the ground and breaks the momentum of Mei Lin's attack, turning it to her advantage. He tries to lift his arms up to shield the blow but his reflexes aren't fast enough.
A loud growl of pain escapes his throat as his knees give up under the power of his blows, causing him to drop to one knee and bend over slightly. Mei Lin's gaze stays down for a moment, panting loudly. His body still trembles from the powerful impact -- he still felt that echoing through his body. Gertrude's strength matched her agility, it seems.
With a grunt of effort, Mei Lin manages to force himself back to his feet, shifting his posture slightly. He brings his hands beside his waist with fingers curled : the tiger claw style. He lets a loud qi shout escape his throat and attempts to slam his palm at Gertrude's midsection with all his might.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude interrupts Strong Punch from Mei Lin with Rebound Grapple.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Mei Lin
As Mei gets back up, Gertrude nods her head. One hand comes up to adjust her spectacles, and as he forms the Tiger's Claw, she seems to reach her decision. Her feet shift to shoulder-width apart, and rather than try to dodge, this time, she steels herself, and it isn't until his palm is starting to make contact with her stomach that she moves at all.
Stepping into the blow, one arm lashes around to break the momentum of the strike at the elbow. The palm still crashes into her stomach, forcing a light grunt from her lips, but her teeth grit, and she keeps moving. Her other hand comes down to grab firmly at Mei's shoulder...
And in the next moment, she is swinging him up and around, bringing him down into the dusty earth with enough force to bounce him against it. Only then does she let herself breathe again.
"Your form is very strong. Where did you learn it?"
Mei Lin lacks the grace he had this time when Gertrude retaliates and swings him around. Losing his balance and grip on the ground, the young man shakes his free arm and struggles in vain as Gertrude smashes him against the ground.
Mei Lin arches her back in pain and groans, slowly rolling to the side to get back on his feet. He seems a little desoriented by Gertrude's throw but soon steadies himself, "Chinese Hung Gar... I've learned it from one of its master, Wong Hon Syu,"
Her compliment makes Mei Lin smile despite the beating she's getting. If she said it, it must be true after all, and Mei Lin's training was more informal than formal. She shifts her stance once more, letting her left leg slide back while her right one keeps a square angle at the knee. Her left hand rises up above her head while the right one goes in front of her.
"One of my technique will break through your guard eventually," Mei Lin says. She charges aggressively at Gertrude and punches at her midsection with her right hand, quickly followed by her left. She shouts with each strike, following with a powerful elbow smash aimed at Gertrude's rib.
At the same time, her left leg stomps the ground, channeling her chi through it. A pillar of rock/harden earth cracks through the cobblestone of the castle and bursts out at an angle to smash Gertrude's other flank.
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin successfully hit Gertrude with Iron Dragon Fist.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Mei Lin
Mei Lin's words proove to be quite prophetic. The woman can feel the familiar, unpleasant tingle of energy surging out from the other fighter, and it is that, more than anything else, which encourages her to try and dodge again. Unfortunately for her, this time, she is markedly less successful. The woman twists and turns, but each blow lands clean, and the pillar of stone knocks the larger woman clean off her feet, landing to the ground with a heavy gasp as the air is driven from her lungs.
"Hrf... that, was unpleasant."
Rolling back into the fray, though, Gertrude doesn't stay down for long. Instead, she comes up from her feet and immediately aims to grasp Mei Lin by the waist. If she manages that, her right leg will brace against the ground, and she'll simply try to guide the teenager back down into the earth. It is almost an elegant technique... albeit one which tries to recapture the momentum just as quickly as she lost it, and place Mei Lin exactly where she wants him - on his back, having to come at her again, rather than the other way around.
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin blocks Gertrude's Graceful Fall EX.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Mei Lin
It seems the aggressive dragon style was what Mei Lin needed from his repertoire to pierce through Gertrude's defenses. A smile curls on his lip at his success and the young man turns around to face Gertrude. He doesn't even seem to bother to move aside or break free from Gertrude's grasp, expecting what was coming next as she flings him over against the ground once more.
Mei Lin rolls along and smacks his hand against the ground as he lands, to send a bit of the energy through it but also momentarily soften the earth underneath her to make Gertrude's takedown be less unpleasant, as if he had been slammed against training mats instead of the rough ground.
He rises back to his feet, his eyes staring in Gertrude's general location. He attempts to retaliate just as rapidly as Gertrude did. Once he's on his feet he swings his right leg for a low kick aimed at Gertrude's shin with the flat of his foot.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude blocks Mei Lin's Medium Kick.
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Gertrude 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Mei Lin
Gertrude rolls her shoulder, and as the low kick comes in, she steps forwards. Crouching down, the back of her hand catches the swinging heel, and she takes another deliberate step into Mei Lin's personal space.
As she rises, she comes in once again with that well-practiced move. Absolutely, it hadn't worked exactly as planned the first time, but she is hoping that the sudden, unexpected turnaround will put things in her favor. Her hands go to his shoulders, and if she can just... get him braced up against her...
For the second time, Mei will find himself being flung through the air backwards as Gertrude rolls - though this time, she's aiming to pitch him against the walls of the castle, and she'll be running to close the distance again as quickly as she can.
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin fails to interrupt Tomoe Nage from Gertrude with Steel Tiger Claws.
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Gertrude 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Mei Lin
Bracing for impact, Mei Lin quickly shifts into his tiger stance : the low horse straddling along with the 'paws' beside his waist. When Gertrude grasps his shoulder, Mei Lin attempts to counter attack immediately. His right hand attempts to sweep off one of Gertrude's arm from his shoulder while the other attempts to smash Gertrude's abdomen.
Unfortunately though, Gertrude's faster than he is and he fails to properly connect and complete his attacks before Gertrude carries him with her and tosses him over her head. This time though he was definately not as prepared at the first time as he's sent flying off a couple of feet before crashing against the ground. He groans painfully, his knees and elbows scrapped from the fall and he slowly gets on his knees and rises back to his feet. "You're really good.. It's impressive... I'm glad to see someone as strong as you are," He admits.
"Then I'll show you my best!"
Gertrude's shout actually echoes, and there's a glimmer in the woman's eye. Mei might be feeling outclassed, but Gertrude is no fool; the boy had only managed to score a few good hits on her, and that had been enough to leave her reeling. If she didn't keep the pressure up, he'd definitely make a comeback. Some people might call it unfair, to put your all into downing an opponent who is just getting back to their feet...
But Gertrude is a professional above everything else; she's here to win. It'd be disrespectful not to try as hard as she can!
Carrying on the charge from the end of her throw, Gertrude aims to smash her shoulder right into Mei Lin as he recovers. Whether that connects clean or not, what follows is a masterclass in expertly placed blows. Her palm comes smashing down once, twice, three times in rapid succession - very similar to the earlier technique he had seen, punctuated with a shout of:
"UNITY!"
And with the last chop, she brings her boot sweeping upwards, hoping to clock the boy right in the jaw and guide his head downwards. Her hand clenches into a fist as she does, and, if all has gone according to plan, she is left in the perfect place to finish shouting:
"DRIVE!"
Before HAMMERING her fist upwards in a powerful uppercut, twisting with the motion and rocketing into the air with all the power she can muster.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Mei Lin with Unity Drive.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Mei Lin
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin has left the fight here.
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Gertrude 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has ended the fight here.
Mei Lin barely has the time to rise to his knee that he can feel Gertrude rushing back at him. He saw no disrespect in her attack, in fact, he's grateful Gertrude doesn't show him mercy and fights him to the best of her abilities. He had to be faster, had to be able to react even if he was still recovering. It was part of a fight and still was valuable experience...
That comes with a fairly painful price though.
Not in any position to defend himself and left vulnerable, Mei Lin has no other choice but to brace for Gertrude's incoming smash. He hardens his body and steels his mind for the incoming blow. He lifts his hands up to try and intercept Gertrude's shoulder smash but does little to cushion the actual impact.
When Gertrude slams into him, Mei Lin is forced back to his full height : his feet grounding themselves to prevent him from being knocked back any further by Gertrude's flurry of chops. He just stands there and takes the blow -- too dazed to actually manage to defend himself correctly though he manages to delay the pain his body receives by Gertrude's fury.
The boot to his jaws place him just where Gertrude wants, bent over slightly just ready to get uproot by Gertrude's fist against his jaw which literally sends him flying off a couple of feet, breaking through his iron body technique.
When he finally crash-lands on his back a few feet away with a loud thud, Mei Lin finally lets a growl of pain escape his throat -- he felt that last uppercut in spite of his technique. The pain from every blow slowly echoes through his body, threatening to crush him any moment but it gives Mei Lei just enough time to fight on for a few more seconds.
With his remaining energy, Mei Lin rushes to his feet and charges at Gertrude. As soon as he gets close enough to Gertrude, Mei Lin balances on one foot and uses her other leg to deliver a succession of rapid kicks in all direction : low, mid and high kicks with lightning speed, each rapid blow followed with a shout.
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin successfully hit Gertrude with Avalanche Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Mei Lin
Gertrude usually has a pretty good handle on where other fighters are in a battle; so when she feels Mei Lin just TAKE her blows, she's pretty confident that the other fighter will be down and out as a result. What actually happens takes her completely by surprise, because not only does Mei Lin get back to their feet, but they are surging back at Gertrude with incredible force!
The elder fighter does her best to recover her guard, but it is too little too late. Before she can interpose her arms, Mei Lin is knocking her around with those powerful kicks, the tall woman grunting as she's forced backwards. When she's finally endured the lot of it, she's bleeding from the corner of her mouth, and she brings the back of her hand up to wipe that away, staring down the teenage fighter.
"I've never seen anything like that before." She says, quietly - as though she's talking more to herself than to Mei Lin - and she steels herself, digging her feet back into the earth. After all that, she doesn't feel as though she could actually come back at Mei - she's still staggered... and she doesn't know what she's dealing with here.
"How the hell is he still standing?!"
COMBATSYS: Gertrude calculates her next move.
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Mei Lin
The after effects of each of Gertrude's blow is slowly starting to take its toll on Mei Lin and the pain he managed to ignore at first has only been delayed. After the flurry of kicks, Mei Lin bites his lips and groans in pain, flinching a bit even though Gertrude hasn't touched him. There's only so much the mind can do to resist physical trauma and the body can't endure being push beyond its limit for too long.
As if catching up on her, Mei Lin coughs up a bit of blood as well, her stance faltering a moment before she steadies herself and tries to maintain the iron body technique longer. Gertrude's words cause a smirk to spread on his lips, "It's called the iron body..." Mei Lin says through gritted teeth.
He doesn't continue his explanations though, knowing he has very little time left before his body will refuse to obey his commands and the pain from Gertrude's onslaught get the better of him.
Mei Lin lifts his right foot up and shouts as he slams it against the ground, infusing the pavement ot the castle with his chi at the same moment he plants his feet on the ground to charge at Gertrude.
His chi manifests around of Gertrude, a few stone spikes bursting from the ground all around Gertrude to trap her within the criss-cross slab of stones but also smash her at various angle. They'll remain to stay hard and block her long enough to make her vulnerable for Mei Lin's charge who leaps at her and swings his fist with all his might at Gertrude's chest.
The stone itself grows soft and crumbles to soft earth a few seconds after they've cracked their way out of the ground.
COMBATSYS: Gertrude dodges Mei Lin's Earth's Grasp.
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Mei Lin
Gertrude's heart pounds in her chest. She can feel the attack coming more than she knows how to deal with it. It is one of those moments where she feels as though the whole world is slowing down for her. Damn, but she wishes she had learned some actual techniques to cover this situation! Energy has consistently been one of her weakest areas, throughout her whole life really, and /knowing/ that your opponent is about to unleash an attack doesn't help if you can't think of a way around it...!
But there it is. The attack is coming from below. She feels that through the soles of her thick, heavy boots. And so the moment that Mei Lin unleashes it, she LEAPS into the air as high as she can! The woman manages a full six feet straight up, tucking her knees up tight to her body as the stone spikes attempt to trap her where she had just been moments before. One leg unfolds, and using that as the base, she springs off it to come down directly behind Mei Lin, an acrobatic display worthy of the title!
And it is only when she's completely landed on the ground once more that she twists, aiming to pivot and plant her boot in the young man's back, to shove him into the softening stone and earth he had tried to hit her with, accompanied by a shout of: "Just... stay DOWN already!!"
COMBATSYS: Gertrude successfully hits Mei Lin with Quick Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Mei Lin
And suddenly Gertrude disappears before Mei Lin can punch her. The young man seems totally unaware where Gertrude is at least until she uses her stone spikes to jump back and this time he's able to follow her movement somewhat.
Considering Mei Lin is able to 'see' his opponent when they touch the ground, the acrobatics tumbles and few jumps from Gertrude feels to him like Gertrude had disappeared from his vision.
He feels Gertrude's presence only when she touches the ground once more and alas, it's too late for him to avoid the boot in his back. Mei Lin lets a high ptiched scream of pain mixed with surprise as the force of the impact sends him right into his stone pillars before they soften up. His whole body trembles with pain and exhaustion, Mei Lin was reaching his limit and his body was giving in to the abuse it had taken from Gertrude, the pain to his jaws and head coming from Gertrude's first powerful attack, only amplified by the one she's starting to feel in her back and chest from the attack Gertrude just did.
She tenaciously fights to the end though, having just enough energy to slam his foot against the ground and causes one last stone pillar to burst out from the pavement, this one aimed straight for Gertrude's abdomen.
Whether or not this desperate last attack succeeds, the pain of Gertrude's attacks final cause Mei Lin's form to grow limp with a groan of pain. She lies against the softening stone that crumbles a second later against Mei Lin's weight.
COMBATSYS: Mei Lin can no longer fight.
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Gertrude interrupts Stone Spike from Mei Lin with Rising Knuckle EX.
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Gertrude 0/-------/--=====|
There's a low growl from Gertrude as the younger fighter just... doesn't go down! She's sweating profusely by this point, and the woman glares through her glasses, staring down Mei Lin as though his refusal to submit is a personal insult. In truth, that's not quite the case. She can't REALLY fault someone for giving it their all - that's the point! But she is exhausted. She wants to go home, now she has a home to go to, and sleep it off.
When the pillar bursts from the ground, what follows is pure instinct. In the instant that the stone starts to come in for her, the woman's fingers tighten from her usual loose, chopping motion, tightening into a clenched fist. It hangs loose by her side until the last second, where the stone is about to clock her in the stomach. And then--
"RISING!"
Her fist SLAMS upwards, punching straight through the oncoming stone and hammering into Mei Lin's chin one last time - it is, in fact, the exact same uppercut which ended her Unity Drive - practiced to such a heightened degree that when she needs it, it just... happens!
"KNUCKLE!"
And in this instant, she really did need it. Mei Lin is treated to a bone-crunching blow. The stone and dirt sent all around in a respectable dustcloud. When it finally clears for the cameras, Gertrude is brushing off her shirt, breathing hard and disheveled. She snaps her fingers to get that ludicrously expensive coat tossed back in for her, and shrugs it back on, looking down at the other fighter.
"... You did good, kid. I don't know how you did it, but you had me worried at the end there. Feel free to challenge me again some time."
COMBATSYS: Gertrude has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:19:18 02/24/2015 by Gertrude, and last modified on 21:57:09 02/25/2015.