Description: In a grudge rematch, former Western Pro Champ Cracker Jack and Season One Neo League Champ Rainbow Mika go toe to toe in a match of pure, unstoppable violence beneath the Arc de Triomphe. [Winner: DKO]
Although less lucrative than holding a title belt, Neo League still has its advantages, namely the chance to test his mettle against fighters of a higher calibre than he meets training Shadaloo goons. That's why Cracker Jack has gotten involved with it this season, after a single outing last season when he was still in the spotlight. Most critics have dismissed his success as a flash in the pan, only made possible because Lightning Spangles was falling apart, and they're right. Jack should never have been a belt holder, it was only possible because Faiblesse was hitting the whiskey heavily before the fight. Humbled, but not to the point of cashing in his chips, Jack has already had a strong showing, and comes here to Paris to see if he can beat the Neo League Champion, Rainbow Mika. He's done it once, and it hurt. Can he do it again?
Cracker Jack walks along the Champs Elysees, the culture totally lost on him, surmising France's rich heritage as a bunch of rich aristocrats feasting on the work of the tumultuous poor. For a highschool dropout, Jack does a lot of personal reading, always doing his research. And after his last fight with Rainbow Mika, he has come up with the theory, from multiple factors he's observed (choice of outfit, constant appeals to the audience, her habit of getting adrenaline from success), that she's actually quite insecure. So he's going to use it to his advantage. All he has to do is stay calm.
As the crowd gathered here parts into a circle and the camera turns on, Jack stands beside the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon Bonaparte's epic testament to France's greatness, smirking. He taps his bat in his left palm, waiting quietly for what he assumes will be quite the entrance.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack has started a fight here.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/-------|
There is a special secret to Rainbow Mika that Cracker Jack doesn't quite understand. Everything she does comes from an understanding of what makes professional wrestling great; it's a connection between the crowd and the fighters, where every individual has a part to play. There was a time, before she began training, where she wasn't happy with herself, but there is now an even more simple answer to why Rainbow Mika acts the way she does...
She's a huge goddamn wrestling nerd!
The whole point of wrestlers is that they are larger than life combatants that fight specifically for the fans, and for that to work they have to engage the crowd and play to the cheap seats. Wrestlers wear ridiculous costumes so that it's instantly apparent who they are. It's like theater, but with people beating the crap out of each other for real.
And so when it comes to Rainbow Mika's first fight in the Neo League after taking away the championship for the first season, the wrestler knows that it's all about presentation. Her opponent is coming in showing off his championship belt, and unfortunately she failed in her bid to pick up the Eastern Pro title... but she's got something nobody can take away from her.
The iconic sounds of Rainbow Mika's entrance music suddenly blare out over the loudspeakers set up specifically for her and the crowd begins to roar with excitement. "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, LIVING LEGENDS LIVE IS PROUD TO BRING YOU THE GREATEST PERFORMER IN PROFESSIONAL FIGHTING TODAY, THE #1 MOST TRENDING FIGHTER ON TWITTER, THE CHAMPION OF NEO LEAGUE SEASON ONE..."
"RAAAAAAAAAINBOOOOOOOW MIIIIIIIKAAAAAAAAAA!"
And with that the wrestling superstar comes flying down the path to the ring, a freshly crafted NEO LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP belt strapped around her waist as she extends her hands to either side, brushing against the frantically extended palms of so many young fans lining the path. With a smooth motion (that she practiced for hours to perfect), she pops off the belt with one hand from behind while gripping it at the front with the other hand, allowing her to instantly hold it up high over her head as she makes it to the center of the crowd.
This is what professional wrestling is all about!
COMBATSYS: Rainbow Mika has joined the fight here.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
Cracker Jack's neutral expression turns into a slow smile as Rainbow Mika enters, the fighter slipping in a pair of earbuds to drown out her fans. The cadence of the Bee-Gees' 'Stayin' Alive' starts playing in his ears, as he slowly stalks forward, his shoulders and upper body slinking along with the bit, a little bit of extra spring in his step. As he watches the fans touch her belt, not the least bit sad that he lost his (he was never much of a fan of fighting, to him it's more of a job skill), he bounces a step forward. Then, as she raises it, seeing the fans shout but only hearing the funky bass of Maurice Gibb and the man's truly fantastic vocals backing it up, he pauses. He watches for a moment, as she turns around to show it off to the fans at her back, before he hops forward. His left forearm swings out to wrap around her neck and get her in a reversed headlock, his bat jamming downwards at her calf.
As he does this, he leans close to her ear, and whispers, "Nice stretch marks."
COMBATSYS: Rainbow Mika blocks Cracker Jack's Cracker Blitz.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
There is another important aspect of professional wrestling that should not go ignored. It is time-honored, and a major source of the drama that the wrestlers hope to build.
The Heel.
There needs to be somebody willing to play the bad guy to help build up tension that the face might lose. There have been some incredible heels in professional wrestling, and even if Jack isn't from the world of spandex and grappling, he's got all the hallmarks. Right when the face is holding up a championship to the crowd is the perfect chance for one of them to strike, and so there's a part of Mika that's ready for it as Jack strikes from behind (much to some instantaneous boos from the crowd).
First step is to let it start to happen, it wouldn't sell the moment if she wasn't in some trouble (and quite honestly she's not sure she could have rolled out of the way, even if she saw it coming). Jack manages to put Mika into a headlock, and for a brief moment she struggles against his arm, but this is one moment when being shorter has an advantage, she drops and twists, yanking her body down and out of the western champ's hold just in time to make that swing a strike.
Step 2, make certain your belt is out of the way. Mika is quick to circle back, looking as if she's simply trying to build appropriate room between her and her opponent, but using it as an opportunity to pass her belt off to one of the officials so its out of play.
Step 3, get back into the fight.
"I've got to say, it's a good thing your fashion sense is so out of date, I don't have to worry about ruining a flat hat like that when I introduce your head to the ground!" With that taunting forewarning, Rainbow Mika lunges back into the fray, leaping up just as she gets near her opponent to hook an arm in back around his neck. As she goes back to the ground, she plants a hand on his chest, using the dual motion of her fall to haul him up vertical on her shoulder before she drops back to bury the old school fighter head first.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack blocks Rainbow Mika's Brain Buster.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
Cracker Jack moves fluidly with Mika's drop and twist, releasing as he jumps over her twisting form and landing gracefully with his bat held up in the air, unable to hobble her for the time being. He swings around gracefully, apparently dancing to the music he hears in his earbuds (that nobody else can hear, making it somewhat bizarre), his entire body showing off his love for discotheques and dance culture. As she circles, he tucks in lower lip and watches her from beneath the brim of his hat, his hips sliding back and forth along with his torso, loafer-clad feet twisting on the ground. As she gets back into the fight, he makes an undulating nod, gesturing her forward with his left hand and backpedaling into a grooving semi-boxer stance, bat held in reserve.
Mika rushes forward, and Jack notices that she's gotten much faster than he remembers from last time. That's fine, because he's gotten tougher. As she grabs him by the neck, not bothering to waste his energy fleeing, he puts his left hand on her shoulder, bracing himself. He's lifted up into the air, going vertical, but he thrusts his arm straight at the last second and flies sideways off Rainbow Mika, his entire body extended as he flips to her flank in some bizarre acrobatics. He lands on his side with a thump, bouncing once on the ground, before he rolls away and into a crouch, turning to look at her with a grin.
Jack rises from the crouch and punches his pelvis forward, before he slithers his upper body like a snake, spinning his bat about his hand before catching it. He turns to face her, and rushes forward, his bat flying out with a practiced swing at the very tip of her chin.
"Your roots are showing!"
Swing!
COMBATSYS: Rainbow Mika endures Cracker Jack's Batting Hero.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
There is another important aspect of Mika Nanakawa, the woman behind the tights, that needs to be exposited on in relation to Cracker Jack's attempts to get at her. Mika Nanakawa doesn't really pay much attention to anything that isn't professional wrestling. Of note is the fact that she doesn't know anything about fashion that isn't related to how to obtain the right look in the ring. So, given her natural blondeness (which is weird an unexplainable), it stands to reason that Mika Nanakawa has no clue what Cracker Jack is talking about.
There is a brief moment of confusion as Rainbow Mika wonders if Jack is claiming she has a regional accent, but there's a bat flying toward her face, so no time to worry about that.
Well, there is time, because she does absolutely nothing to get out of the way, instead letting the blow strike clea and spin her around. For a moment she sells like she's falling away, but with a quick twist she turns back to face Cracker Jack, grinning as she catches him on the back of the swing.
Attempting to take full advantage of the opening, Mika launches herself up into the air, slipping powerful thighs on either side of his head and clamping down tight to lock him in place as she uses all the momentum her body contains to knock him flat on his back with her on top. The grip of her thighs tightens as she plants both hands on the ground, hauling her foe up over head and then slamming him head first right back into the ground.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack endures Rainbow Mika's Paradise Hold.
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Cracker Jack 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Rainbow Mika
As Mika turns back around, Cracker Jack's snide face disappears. "Motherf ---" is all he can mutter before Mika is over him, landing on his shoulders and catching his head between her muscular legs. This is the worst position a man can be in with a female athlete, given that their center of gravity is lower. He lets his bat fall to the ground as he slaps both hands on her legs, his thick fingernails digging into her bare skin for purchases. He's lifted up over head, his legs kicking out, before he's sent right back into the ground. But instead of his body laying flat, his legs are extended into the air behind Mika. He can still hear the Bee-Gees, although now the music is annoying him from the discomfort he's in, his head throbbing. But it's more like a mosquito biting him while he's being mauled like a wolf. He'll handle it later.
Jack's extended legs come flipping around behind Mike as he digs his knees into her back, then his ankles flash up. He shows off his flexibility, better than someone at his muscle mass but not impressive, and attempts to lock his feet around her neck. If he can do it, he digs his heels into her throat and suddenly roars from beneath her, straightening his body out to get her off him and reverse the hold, so he can sit up, arms around her thighs.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack successfully hits Rainbow Mika with Power Throw.
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Cracker Jack 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Rainbow Mika
If nothing else, Mika's thrilled that they're putting on a good show. The downside is that Jack isn't too bad at taking a beating, and as much as she tries to figure out a way to turn around his hold, it gets a lot harder once she's goot a boot heel on her windpipe. She lets out a pained scream that seems to be a mixture of both real suffering and show.
First things first, she's going to have to get out of this somehow before she can hope to keep going. Jack's got real strong arms from all the bat swinging, but it's a well-known fact that legs have the advantage in strength. Grunting in exertion, her thighs begin to part Jack's arms (in a clip that's sure to go up on one of those creepy websites) until she's got enough room to twist her weight around and roll back, feet first. It's enough to at least keep her from being trapped, even if it wasn't enough to avoid a hell of a lot of pain.
Okay, new plan: reset. Mika can feel the excitement of the crowd as the match builds, with a few cheers from the Rainbowmaniacs standing out above the rest now that she's back on her feet. At a moment like this, the best hope is to build it up big.
"You're note terrible on the ground, I guess that's all the experience you must get trying to slide into home before you get tagged out. If you don't want to worry about fighting for one plate, then show me a Home Run!"
The bases are loaded, time to make the play. Cracker Jack isn't given an opportunity to give it much thought as Rainbow Mika comes charging in at him again, planting her heel right as she gets within arm's reach. With a smooth motion, all of that forward momentum is twisted into rotation as she swings about with the back of her palm aimed for a clean attempt to bean him in the side of the head. A small kick with her free foot and there's another pass, aiming to ring his bell with a second temple strike before both feet kick off the ground and she goes flying ass first into a gut check.
COMBATSYS: Rainbow Mika issues a challenge!!
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Cracker Jack 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Rainbow Mika
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack endures Rainbow Mika's Rainbow Hip Rush.
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Cracker Jack 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
Jack's arms wrap around Mika's thighs as she stretches them apart, grunting, before she finally surges free and rolls away. Well, that's good for both of them. Mika gets to breath, he gets back to territory he's more comfortable with. He stands up, slowly, pulling his earbuds out and rolling his head around to stretch his muscles after that cramped space his head was trapped in. He watches her carefully, before his eyes scan across the ground to see where his bat is. He raises his fist, looking to his left into the crowd, before lowering his fist.
A man in a black trenchcoat scurries out of the audience and grabs Jack's bat off the ground, before standing and slinking back into the crowd.
Jack turns his attention back to Mika as she rushes in, feeling the backhand across his face, head jerking to the side briefly as spit flies from his mouth. Then, a kick to his stomach, which bends him forward, but he surges upwards back to his fighting stance. Next, another shot from her hand, wincing as it grazes across his temple, head snapping sideways. Finally, the gut check, knocking him backwards. He then thrusts his body forward with his fists upturned and his arms bent, shouting through his teeth with an inhuman growl, before he pulls his gloved right hand back. It catches, ever so briefly, before his fist flies forward at Rainbow Mika's nose.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack successfully hits Rainbow Mika with Final Punch.
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Cracker Jack 1/=======/=======|=======\====---\1 Rainbow Mika
Alright, this is a good response. Under the circumstances, Mika is pretty certain that getting out of the way is the best option, but one of the big disadvantages of turning your back on your opponent to attack is that it makes it a heck of a lot harder to see what they're doing. By the time Mika sees it, there just isn't enough time for her to dive out of the way.
She did tell him to try for a home run, so he can't be blamed as she goes flying back, rolling uncontrollably until she comes to a stop just short of the crowd's feet. An important aspect of a Rainbow Mika match, that is often overlooked by those that look at her as being nothing but looks and flash, is that Mika isn't afraid to bleed, and the amount of violence she throws together can be overwhelming.
As may well soon be evidenced as she pushes back up to her feet with a smile on her face, despite the fact that there's blood running down her chin and one of her eyes is swelling shut. "Not bad... but it takes more than one run to win a game."
In a surge of reckless motion, Rainbow Mika clears the space between her and Cracker Jack in a flash, getting in close enough to plant her hands on his shoulders and then slam her forehead against his own. It's not just one blast, but a relentless series of violent blows to the head aiming to leave him so dazed as to have no way to react when she slips her arm in around behind his neck, bending him at the waist. "HERE... WE... GO!" She shouts as she goes charging forward, dragging her opponent along behind her as she makes a beeline for an open patch of cement pathway, leaping up into the air and dragging Jack face first for the patch of pain as her arm plants all of her weight on the back of his neck.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack blocks Rainbow Mika's Heavenly Dynamite.
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Cracker Jack 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Rainbow Mika
Cracker Jack's face twists into a grimace as she sees her get back up, before she swiftly closes in again. He bends his knees and semi-squats as she headbutts him, moving lower to give her the harder part of his head. He takes several thrusts of her head to his, before he jams his head forward with a sudden burst of strength, grabbing her wrists from the undersides to loosen her grip. Then, as she grabs him around the neck and drags him, he's pulled along with her, stumbling from his dazed head, but he's not quite out of options. Thanks to saving some of his stamina by taking the blows to his crown instead of his forehead, he pulls through at the last minute, standing behind her as she falls to the pavement with nothing under her arm. He turns, raising his arm. There's a shout from the crowd, and his bat is sent flying through the air in a high arc, flipping head over head.
Jack catches the bat out of the air, then looks at Mika, his eyelids low as he frowns sternly at her. He listens his bat in the air above his head with both hands, then brings it swinging downward with both arms, the bat aimed directly at the top of Mika's head with horrendous power and fury. He says nothing and makes no audible sound, merely performing the act.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack knocks away Rainbow Mika with Home Run King.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/----<<<|=======\======-\1 Rainbow Mika
Oh, that's not good. Foreign objects in pro wrestling are a big threat, but when it comes to foreign objects in the hands of someone who really knows how to use them, that's going to Sting.
As the bat comes crashing down on her, Mika puts her arms up in an effort to ward off the blow... to no avail, they're knocked aside as a nasty crunch fills the air, accompanying the splatter of blood that is incredibly visible against the backdrop of Rainbow Mika's bright blonde locks. The way that Mika's body slumps is horrifying, and after a moment of pure shock, the calls for medics is the first thing to break the uncomfortable silence flowing from most of the crowd.
That could be a career ending blow right there.
All around her, Mika can only hear the strange, far-away noise. It's like the sound of a party going on when you're under water, everything muffled and hazy. Her still good eyes looks around confused as blood begins to cloud her vision. She can't think, can't piece together what's happening.
And so her body reacts all on its own, pushing her back up to her feet and nothing but pure adrenaline and training. You don't give up a wrestling match just because you took a bad hit, you give it your all from bell to bell! Surging with every last bit of strength that she can muster, Mika takes a blind leap for Jack, aiming a double boot dropkick right for his chest with all the force of a charging bull. She rebounds into a surprisingly clean landing and then keeps on pushing, capturing Cracker Jack around the neck with her arms, hauling him up onto her shoulder as she leaps up into the air with every ounce of energy she has left in an effort to bury his head in the ground.
And then that's it. Her body wants to keep moving, but there's nothing left as she slumps to the dirt.
COMBATSYS: Rainbow Mika can no longer fight.
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Cracker Jack 0/-------/----<<<|
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack endures Rainbow Mika's Sardine's Beach Special.
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Cracker Jack 1/------</<<<<<<<|
Cracker Jack's bat breaks across Mika's skull, splinters flying everywhere, leaving him with a sharp spike of wood in his hands. Looking around him at the stunned crowd, he drops the bat to the side, panting slowly. Then, as he hears some sound from the people watching, he slowly turns his head to see Mika stand. He lurches towards her, ready to finish her, before she springs into the air with a dropkick. The boots slam him backwards with a grunt and a thump from his sternum as his lungs empty through his mouth, head snapping backwards. Then, he's lifted up by Rainbow Mika, above her head, stunned and unable to do anything, before he's slammed headfirst into the ground. His body goes limp, then spasms straight as he flips to lay on his back. He lays there, dazed and confused, struggling to breath as he feels blood leaking down his face and in his hair.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack focuses on his next action.
COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack can no longer fight.
Log created on 14:16:19 11/22/2015 by Rainbow Mika, and last modified on 19:40:47 11/22/2015.