Circuit of Champions - PCS: Red Rookie - Pepper vs Yuri vs Alexis

Description: A three-way match amongst contenders for the Red and Blue Rookie belts (along with a shot at Sven Maesters for the World Rookie Title belt) features the surprise debut of the new Lightning Spangles (tm).



In the entertainment world, there are essentially no products that can become so tainted that they don't have value in being rebooted. Frequently it doesn't matter whether the reboot has anything to do with the original or if someone has merely taken the name and slapped it on something completely new. Even if everyone who was a fan of the original hates it, all of the boiling rage that accompanies it will bring attention. People watch things so that they can more accurately describe how much they hate them.

Names are the most valuable property, and when a company has poured millions of dollars into obtaining and preparing a name for reintroduction, there's no force that can stop them. Not even the death of a child.

...Or a child's family.

It was months ago when the ink dried on the contract to hire a young actress named Pepper Green to take over the reins on the Lightning Spangle property after the idea of a new reboot had been shopped to the Disney corporation. Everyone knew that Jezebel Faiblesse was a ticking time bomb, just some dead weight that had helped to keep the name Lightning Spangles floating in the public consciousness. If monsters hadn't suddenly appeared and killed swaths of people in Metro City (including Pepper Green's parents), the reboot would have hit within weeks.

In an effort to not appear as though they were exploiting a recently orphaned fourteen year old girl, the reboot was postponed, and someone decided to just let Jezebel keep the property afloat. This person is now sitting in the unemployment line after the disaster at a Donald Trump rally in which Jezebel Faiblesse murdered a child (or so popular perception goes, no story is allowed more depth once easy blame can be assigned).

Producers were mobilized and all hands went to work on finalizing all the details for the New Lightning Spangles, but they still had to wait. Just long enough that they wouldn't look like emotionless vultures (that could have a negative impact on ratings and product sales), and the trap was set for the first opportunity to reveal the new, innocent, and young Lightning Spangles to the world.

A great big fight event that the whole world would be watching was perfect.

The old Lightning Spangles had held a belt during the brief period before she'd imploded, and the new one should, too.

And so it is that money floods into the lowest tier of the Phoenix Championship series. Bigger names, and more experienced fighters may be scheduled for the other fights, but ads everywhere proclaim that this is the match to beat, with a surprise fighter being entered into the match. Everyone on ESPN (which by pure coincidence happens to be a Walt Disney Corporation subsidiary) has been talking about how this is the fight of to see. On those Lightning Spangles obsessed portions of the internet, posts have popped up suggesting that every true fan will need to tune in, and that they'd heard something special was coming.

And now the night is here. The stadium is packed to capacity, and the match is being broadcast as a free partnership showcase rather than a Pay-Per-View (on ABC and ESPN). This is the moment where all those millions of dollars will either pay off or there will be Hell to pay.

The time has finally come.

Alexis Lovell was never really a fan of Lightning Spangles. She was a little too old for the show, especially given that the stations playing in the Great White North were always a season behind the American counterparts. She wasn't big on the localized spinoff 'Maple the Mountie,' either.

In recent years, though, disdain has steadily turned contempt accompanying the realisation that Lightning Spangles represents everything Alexis, as a teenage Canadian punk, stands against - corporate imperialism, 'family friendly' media, fanatical patriotism, and worst of all, country music. A chance to battle against Lightning Spangles is a monumental opportunity for Killasaurus Lex. Not only is it a chance to stick it to the Man, it's also a chance to prove that Canada is pretty cool, too.

And while Jezebel Faiblesse's spangled star may be falling, Alexis' has been on the rise - here in Japan, especially, where announcers have finally started getting the name of her band - Killasaurus Orphanage - right.

Of course, most of the world isn't even aware that Lightning Spangles is going to be involved in the upcoming fight, but it's obvious from the Spangles paraphernalia backstage that that's the big secret about the mystery fighter that the media's been holding out on. When she'd made the deduction earlier, Alexis had made a slight modification to her usual stage outfit, replacing her Catholic schoolgirl blouse with a simple white tee-shirt with a Canadian flag on the chest. If she was going to be facing an American icon, after all, she had wanted to make sure that everyone who would be watching would know the country she represented. Everyone who happened to look closely at her chest, anyway.

"I am sooo gonna kick her ass," Alexis remarks as she finishes adjusting the straps on her gloves while peering out from the backstage curtain.

"Whose ass?" Alexis' bandmate, Kim 'Penetrable' Steele, queries.

"Lightning Spangles," Alexis replies, her expression annoyed.

"Oh man, I love Lightning Spangles! But why are you gonna kick her butt? She's not even in this match."

"Yeah, she is. I know she is. Didn't you see all that Lightning Spangles shit backstage?" Alexis keeps her eyes toward the ramp as she awaits the introductory music to start.

"Yeah, but isn't Lightning Spangles in, like, rehab or something? It's probably not her stuff. Oh! Hey!" Kim's face brightens. "Maybe they're gonna audition for a new Lightning Spangles!"

"No way, Kim. It's totally gonna be her, and I'm totally gonna kick her ass," Alexis scoffs.

"But what about the other girl? The cute one who beat the crap out of you last time?" This time, it's Benny, Killasaurus Orphanage's lead guitarist, who speaks up. Alexis shoots him a venomous look and starts to open her mouth when her chosen music - a Killasaurus tune called 'And The Horse You Rode In On' - starts to blare over the Howard Arena's sound system. As with most Killasaurus Orphanage tracks, it's full of angry guitars, violent drums and screamed expletives. Most prominent is the refrain from which the title would seem to be sourced:

o/~ F*** you!
F*** you!
F*** you!
And the horse you rode in on!! o/~

It's not exactly Gordon Lightfoot, but Alexis has something of a prideful smirk on her face as she heads down the ramp to the fighting ring, her red electric guitar slung over her shoulder. She waves a hand to the audience as she saunters to the stone stage.

"Totally gonna kick... both their asses," she tells herself under her breath as she ascends the steps up to the stage.

It doesn't matter where or how it's being broadcasted. The fact that Kyokugen Karate is being shown to so many people all at once is excellent for Yuri. Not to mention, there's this whole challenge thing going on as well. But that's just the icing on the cake in the opinion of Yuri. Because frankly, the more people get to see Kyokugen Karate, the more opportunities for new students at the Kyokugen school! It all works out well in Yuri's opinion. It's a great time for a three way fight, while showing off the awesomeness about Kyokugen Karate, since it's been awhile since Yuri had a chance to get into a real good fight. All the stuff that goes on behind the scenes is for someone else to handle in her opinion.

For as long as she can remember, ever since hearing about the match-up, Yuri's been taking the extra time to train in her usual style of Kyokugen moves, including attempting to develop some new tricks and combos to try to surprise those who might be familiar with who she is. She's given up her usual antics too, such as chatting with Robert Garcia (he'd understand) and other things like that. It shows just how eager Yuri is to make this a one of a kind night to fight in. She's even stayed up extra late for practicing extra strong, like she really wants to make this work. The closer the day got, the more she trained, even going as far as to force herself to go without resting or water at times in hopes of improving her overall performance under pressure. It's been a long, hard road, but with perseverance comes accomplishment, and Yuri feels like she's accomplished quite a bit. She's even learned that Robert himself will be watching from the VIP seats, thanks to having lots of money and resources available. This makes her even more motivated to do the best that she can!

In the locker room, Yuri is getting suited up in her usual fighting attire and warming up a little. She ties her headband and laces up her Chuck Taylor sneakers. Then she stops to admire herself in the mirror, and smiles. "Yuri, you cute thing! You're gonna rock the ring tonight!" She winks then steps out of the locker room and heads onto the ramp leading to the ring.

Once she is on the ramp, she stops to wave with both hands to the crowd while grinning cheerfully, occasionally stopping to give a thumbs-up and a wink. After a few of these gestures, she gives one final wave then runs towards the ring. "Time to show everyone the ultimate power of Yuri Sakazaki, Princess of Kyokugen!"

Given the event, an incredible amount of budget has gone into showcasing the previous highlights of both of the known combatants. Full titantron work-ups, and music (where not supplied by the fighter) has in fact been provided. Certainly this is a match to determine champions, but more than that, this is a match to build a commercial empire, and it won't be worth the effort to have Lightning Spangles debut here if she's fighting nobodies.

Of course, there is a distinct commercial edge to the videos, with a quick plug about stores that will be specially stocking new albums for Killosaurus Orphanage (which, it turns out, have arranged special deals for the debut album for the new Lightning spangles as well) and even a notice about how to apply to study Kyokugen Karate with an ad that has more flash and effort put into it than the entire dojo website.

Despite all of that effort, nothing compares to what comes next. All the lights on the ring go down as they begin to swirl in around the arena entrance and out over the loud speakers comes an enthusiastic:

"HOWDY, YA'LL! THIS LOOKS LIKE THE PERFECT PLACE FOR A LIGHTNING SPANGLES SHOWUP HOEDOWN! TIME TO PARTY WITH ALL MY FAVORITE DEPUTIES!"

Every Lightning Spangles fan in the crowd would instantly notice that this isn't the voice of Jezebel Faiblasse, it's far too youthful. The voice of someone in Middle School, not an early mid-life crisis.

Just as those words end, an explosion of pop-country that holds all the familiar tones of Lightning Spangles' theme explode as all of the Hoedown Pardners come running in. Leading the pack if Hoedown Dillo, followed by the Jamboree Jack Rabbit, Anthony Conda, Buckaroo Bronco, and Fiddlin' Annie Longhorn... but even those are different. Gone are the low-budget costume pieces, instead replaced by full Disneyland quality suits. And right behind them...

"LIGHTNING SPANGLES IS HERE TO KEEP THE PEACE, AND WITH ALL MY DEPUTIES, WE'RE GOING TO KEEP THE BLUES AWAY, YA HEAR!" This time the voice doesn't sound pre-recorded, instead it comes quite clearly from the young woman strutting down the walkway to the ring. What authenticity had been held with the old Lightning Spangles has been replaced with glitzy rhinestones scattered all across a showy cowgirl costume complete with a white hat and pleated, ruffly skirt. Right on the back of her vest, in those blinding rhinestones, is a fanciful "LS" brand.

Moving with a casual haste, she gets down to the ring to be helped up into place by her mascot sidekicks, grinning as wide as can be as she looks at her opponents. "Well, pardners, looks like you're first in line for the Lightning Spangles line dance!" As she finishes her greeting, Lightning Spangles spins her microphone with remarkable dexterity and slips it into her holster.

COMBATSYS: Pepper has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Pepper           0/-------/-------|


For the first time ever, hearing the voice of Lightning Spangles announcing a show-up hoedown causes a grin to spread from ear to ear on Alexis' face. She /knew/ it. The knuckles of one of her hands push into the glove of the other, making a quiet popping sound. The only way that this could be better would be if she was going to face off against Justin Bie-

Wait a minute.

Alexis' smile turns upside down when she realises that the cowgirl coming to the ring isn't Jezebel Faiblesse, but some... kid? Suddenly, it all makes horrible sense. The Disney logos everywhere, the fact that Spangles is involved in a Rookie tier match... all the enthusiasm Alexis had for battling it out with the American seems to evaporate, replaced by an awkward stare shifting between Yuri and the cowgirl of the hour.

"Who the f*** are you?" she asks Pepper, point blank. Luckily the microphone men are on point to capture the awkward question for the entire audience - something Alexis clearly didn't expect, judging by her ever-more-uncomfortable expression.

COMBATSYS: Alexis has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Alexis           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Pepper


While Alexis is questioning Pepper, Yuri is making her way to the ring and into the ring. She rushes up to the ringside, then jumps up onto the apron and then literally VAULTS over the ropes, doing a forwards somersault once she hits the canvas, then looks around and waves once again to everyone. The grin on her face is unmistakable, it's definitely Yuri herself! She looks around at the two challengers, stopping as she sees Alexis and remembering her from awhile back. "Oh, hello there!" She says with a smile. "How are you?"

Yuri awaits an answer, but doesn't get one. Instead, she hears Alexis asking the other fighter who she is... albeit while dropping a four letter word. Unfortunately, Yuri doesn't take kindly to the use of profanity. She shakes her head and scowls. "What do you think you're doing, using THAT kind of language? That's not nice!" She hmmphs a little. "I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson! In fact, in the dojo you'd have to do one-hundred knuckle push-ups on a rough surface as a punishment for swearing. But we're not in the dojo so..." Yuri looks around and gets the nod from the official that they can begin the fight.

"I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson right here and right now!" Yuri brings her hand back and then launches forth a small fireball shaped blast of chi at Alexis. "THAT will teach you to use bad words when there could be kids listening in!" An evil grin forms on her face, which might indicate she was just looking for an excuse to pick someone to attack first. Or maybe she doesn't like profanity after all. Regardless, Alexis had best look out!

COMBATSYS: Yuri has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Alexis           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Pepper
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-------|


Not the best response, but above all else it's important to keep up appearances when you're Lightning Spangles, and luckily for Pepper Green, once she chooses to get into a role, she embodies it perfectly. Lightning Spangles wouldn't frown or get upset, Lightning Spangles would be as helpful as possible to her great new friend, no matter how crude they might be.

"Well, I'm Lightning Spangles, and I'm here to give you a welcome to the Lightning Spangles Showup Hoedown!" As Lightning Spangles says that, she shifts into a not-at-all-accurate shooting stance and gives a wink as she fires two finger guns at Alexis. What becomes immediately apparent as that two glittering sparks of chi shoot out a good two feet in front of her fingers before exploding into miniature fireworks.

Which is slightly taken away from by the fact that a big fireball is launched from the third part of this Mexican Standoff drawing first.

Now, what would Lightning Spangles do in a situation like this? Obviously it's rude to try to gang up on somebody like that before they know what's happening, so there's only one choice. "Well shucks, I guess you're itchin' to be one of Lightning Spangles Showup Hoedown Deputies. Something like that means you deserve a gold star!"

With no sense of hesitation or concern over the fact that the fight she actually came here to fight has actually started, Lightning Spangles walks right up to Yuri and pulls a genuine Lightning Spangles Showup Hoedown Deputy badge out from somewhere under her vest and pins it to the front of her gi.

COMBATSYS: Pepper assists Yuri.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Alexis           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Alexis with Ko'ou Ken.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Alexis           0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


Alexis' state of disbelief is only given enough time to be captured by the cameras ('IGNORANCE IN THE LAND OF THE IGLOOS: CANADIAN TEEN FAILS TO RECOGNIZE CULTURAL ICON' is a likely caption to later be found in various forms on American media) before she realises that she's being censored - violently. She shifts her body to try and deflect some of the heat being sent her way with minimal injury. "Seriously? They have f***ing techs for that shi- hrrgh!" The fireball slams into her side, slipping her guard and scorching her shirt. Alexis stumbles to the side, wincing in pain as she whirls to face Yuri.

"Jesus Christ, I freaking hate it when - oh what the hell?!" Spotting Pepper pinning the star on the Princess of Kyokugen. "I'm not gonna let you trick her into some kind of Cowgirl Coalition! This sh** is every girl for herself!"

Incensed, Alexis hops onto one of the upper ropes surrounding the ring, bouncing once before springing off and flying at Pepper crossbody-style. Should the Canadian collide with the cowgirl, she'll swing around her, maneuvering into a facelock before dropping back and driving the much younger teenager head-first into the ring floor in a tornado DDT accompanied by a burst of dissonant sonic chi released by the impact.

Being caught off-guard by the badge, Yuri looks to Pepper and raises an eyebrow, but then realizes her attack hit just after she was deputized. "Well, thank you very much! It's nice to be a deputy! Maybe I should make you an honorary sempai in the dojo!" She grins, but then realizes that she's here to fight, not chat. "Uh, we'll talk later!"

Wanting to focus on her current opponent and not betray the person who deputized her, Alexis takes Yuri's attention again. "You need to watch your language, you know that?" Yuri yells. "I don't see the need for such language, but if you see the need for it, then I see the need to take you out!" Yuri waits for Alexis to finish her attack, before attempting to run at her and deliver a semi-jumping armbar.

COMBATSYS: Pepper endures Alexis' Stage Dive.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Alexis           0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


One of the core tenets of the Lightning Spangles philosophy is that friendship and teamwork at super important! Sometimes when you and somebody aren't getting along, all you really need to do is try to be friends and everything will work out.

This obviously doesn't apply when somebody is leaping at you with intent to do serious injury. When faced with a villain who intends to do wrong, Lightning Spangles will not show any fear, she'll stand up and do the right things. In this particular moment, it appears that doing the right thing includes actually just standing there as she's snared and whipped about until she hits the mat. A small problem unfolds, however, when the sonic chi manages to hit the microphone in Lightning Spangles' holster. You see, the microphone was never actually turned off, because even where it was, the people in the audience needed to be able to hear what Lightning Spangles was saying.

Everyone in the audience is hit with a deafening screech over the loudspeakers for a few seconds before the highly trained (and highly paid) sound technician interrupts the feed, giving everyone a chance to recover, and hopefully preventing any bleeding ears from the horrendous feedback.

All of that is more than audible in the ring, but none of it seems to bother Lightning Spangles in the least, she pops up from the floor behind Alexis and planting a boot into the small of her back right after Yuri comes flying in. The kick is intended to send Alexis flying into the ropes and then bouncing right back.

"As Lightning Spangles always says, spitting vinegar will just curdle your milk!" says Lightning Spangles as she leaps up into the air, aiming to catch Alexis with a leap into the air that turns into a proper frankensteiner.

COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Alexis with Medium Punch.
? Strange Hit! ?

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0           Pepper
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Pepper successfully hits Alexis with Someone To Hold.
- Power hit! -

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Pepper
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


Yuri's arm smash catches Alexis from behind as she's picking herself up from the aerial assault on Disney's Lightning Spangles (tm), knocking the Canadian fighter off-balance and causing her to bounce against the ropes before stumbling forward again.

"Hurgh!"

It's at that moment that Pepper kicks Alexis in the small of the back, sending the already-off-balance battler careening forward into the ring ropes opposite. Rebounding off of the cords, Alexis ends up walking right into the leg scissors and is send tumbling across the ring with a series of thumps audible throughout the arena.

A lot of the fans in the audience - mostly those young enough to identify with Pepper or those old enough for the return of Spangles to be a moment for nostalgia, untarnished by cynicism - are already starting to chant the debutant's stage name - a good number more than those cheering for Alexis, despite technically being less of an unknown here than the other individual now representing the Spangles franchise. Though the frustration at this fact is evidenced by the scowl on Alexis' face as she picks herself up in one of the corners, inwardly, she feels that she can use it. As the sound in the stands rises, a look of concentration conceals her scowl, and she sucks in a deep breath as she raises her fists, showing her readiness to fight once more. A hum starts to emanate from the corner of the ring where Alexis is standing as she feeds off of the building noise, preparing to harness it to her own ends.

"I'll show you. This ain't a Hoedown, it's a god-<bleep> rock show!" One fist is thrust in the air as she throws up the horns, bringing a roar from those of the crowd who came in support of Killasaurus Orphanage.

COMBATSYS: Alexis surges with the power of rock!

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0           Pepper
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


For the time being, Yuri is enjoying this impromptu team-up that she has going on with her other opponent, but she knows that can change at any time. And she knows that once Alexis goes down, it's one on one. Still, the Kyokugen fighter shows no sign of letting up with her fighting skills. "This is a fight, not a rock show!" Yuri says, giving a raspberry before slapping her rear end. "But if you want it to be a rock show, I suppose we could think of it like that...

"Because," Yuri adds as she steps back a little to give herself enough room for her next attack, but stops to stomp her feet and clap a few times, "Yu-ri's Gon-na ROCK YOU!" She sings with a huge grin on her face, before bouncing off the ropes to give herself a little extra momentum as she races at Alexis. "Feel how rockin' my favorite attack is!"

Yuri rushes closer to Alexis, then abruptly ducks down and attempts to leap into the air quickly. She lets out a battle cry as she spins around with her arm raised. It's her own unique version of the Dragon Punch, albeit with a special 'Yuri' touch to it. If it hits properly, it could show Alexis just how rockin' this show truly is! But if it fails, Yuri's the one who's gonna get rocked!

With all of the action going on between Yuri and Alexis at the moment, there's a good chance that the cameras don't catch the flicker of thought going across Pepper's face as she takes in the view of Alexis working up the crowd. Behind the new Lightning Spangles isn't just some young girl with an ounce of fighting talent and a smile, Pepper Green ended up where she is now because she's a master of observation and imitation.

Of course, more important than imitation, is the ability to take what someone did and make it your own.

With Lightning Spangles' great big friendly grin returning she looks out toward the crowd, pulling out her mic (as a signal to the tech team to boost the gains again) and shouts. "You know, with horns like that, I don't know if this is a rock show. It looks more like a good times rodeo!" Lightning Spangles free hand goes flying up into the air, twisting "the horns" by spreading her fingers further apart and managing to give them a faint curl to look more like proper steer horns.

COMBATSYS: Pepper gathers her will.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Alexis           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=------\1           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Yuri's Yuri Chou Upper.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Alexis           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=------\1           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


The fist raised over Alexis' head in the traditional metal 'devil horns' drops down as Yuri closes in on her. Turning at an angle toward her incoming assailant, Alexis brings both arms in a boxer-style guard - it's not quite as effective as if both fighters were actually wearing boxing gloves, but it does manage to absorb the brunt of the impact that would otherwise have risked connecting with the Canadian's face. Burn marks and bruises are already forming on Alexis' forearms from the blow as she steps back along the ring mat, but she seems somehow invigorated by the pain, more focused than before.

A momentary look is shot toward Pepper - or rather, Lightning Spangles - as Alexis recovers from the blow, hopping up onto the corner ropes and balancing on them, bouncing a couple of times. "If this is a rodeo... shouldn't the two of you be wearing barrels?"

With little warning, Alexis' attention turns back to the Kyokugen fighter who just hit her with the burning punch. Launching herself from the ropes, she sails toward Yuri with her legs far enough apart to attempt to drive Yuri to the mat, directly into a mounted position. Should she manage to take Yuri down, she'll assault the Kyokugen princess with a barrage of punches, each accompanied by a sonic chi shockwave sounding out as different note on the melodic scale!

COMBATSYS: Yuri auto-guards Alexis' Beatdown in Three Four.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Alexis           0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=------\1           Pepper
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


Yuri's attack didn't land properly, instead having it blocked, leaving her off-balance a little. She stumbles backwards, attempting to regain her footing, before clenching her fists together again and returning to her usual 'bouncy' stance. "Guess I miscalculated there!" If she were an anime character, she'd sweatdrop right now. "Oh well, I'm still totally cool!" She grins, before shifting her focus back to Alexis. She wonders what's in store for her as Alexis prepares her next attack, only to be answered abruptly as Alexis comes at her from off of the ropes. Yuri narrows her eyes and plants her feet into the mat hard, waiting for Alexis to get to her.

When Alexis does arrive, Yuri actually catches her and lets herself roll onto the mat! Then, she manages to deflect each and every punch with amazing swiftness and seemingly no effort whatsoever. After that, Yuri breaks free and gets back onto her feet, shaking her head. "Sorry, but you're no match for the awesomeness of Kyokugen!" She laughs mockingly. "You'll have to do better than that!"

Yuri pauses for a moment to wipe her forehead, albeit in a legitimate manner as opposed to trying to mock her opponent. She takes a deep breath and blows it out, then attempts to go in quickly to deliver a swift, Kyokugen takedown maneuver! Apparently, CQC is implemented in the style of Kyokugen also!

As it stands, the people out there watching for a real fight are clearly starting to get a bit annoyed by the antics of Lightning Spangles; so far she's barely attacked and has spent a lot of her time just talking to the crowd. This was billed as a triple threat, and right now it's looking a whole lot more like a one-on-one with someone cheating by pulling in a partner.

Of course, Lightning Spangles isn't here to rain on anyone's parade.

"You know... this doesn't seem all too fair. We can't just have the two of us ganging up on somebody like that when she was told we were supposed to be fighting each other, too." Suddenly, electric chi begins to coil out from around Lightning Spangles' wrist, wrapping up around her hand and hanging loose like a rope. "Even if people are rude to you and use bad language, it doesn't excuse being a bully, now does it?" With a sudden flick of Lightning Spangles' wrist, the electric rope goes flying out toward Yuri as it sizzles the air. The energy lasso comes down, looping in around Yuri from above and then cinching around her chest, crackling with power as the cowgirl yanks to the side, tossing the Kyokugen gal at the ropes.

COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Alexis with Quick Throw.
? Strange Hit! ?

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/-<<<<<<|=======\=------\1           Pepper
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/------=|


It's one thing to get ganged up on in what's supposed to be a three-way match. It's another to throw everything you have into an assault, only to have it deflected with apparent ease. It's that mocking laugh, though, that really gets under Alexis' skin. When Yuri steps in to take Alexis down to the mat, the Canadian fighter braces for the impact, ready to try and roll with the fall, but the unorthodox takedown catches her off-guard, and she lands face-first on the ring floor.

The faceplant is more damaging to Alexis' ego than her face - though her nose certainly smarts. All the more frustrated as she starts to pick herself up off the ground, Alexis is a little slow to rise. Observing that Pepper has taken to the offensive against Yuri, Alexis remains down on her knees. Awaiting an opening, she clenches a fist, gathering sonic energy with a hum that's easily overpowered by the noise of the arena. Then, as soon as Yuri appears off-guard - either in trying to avoid Pepper's lasso attack or as a result of getting thrown to the ropes - Alexis springs up with sudden force, aiming a sonic-powered punch right for the Kyokugen fighter's vitals!

"This a match for your awesomeness, eh?!"

COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Pepper's Reaching Out.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1           Pepper
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Yuri with Hitting the High Note.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1           Pepper
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/--=====|


Indeed, Yuri's instincts come true, as her ally has turned enemy and is attempting to gang up on her alongside Alexis. Fortunately, Yuri doesn't mind the challenge one bit. It makes things a LOT more interesting. "I'll take both of you! Come on!" She immediately assumes a defensive stance against Lightning Spangles, bracing against the lasso and eventually breaking free somehow. "You're no Wonder Woman, so don't quit your day job!" Yuri says with a smirk, but her arrogance turns out to be her undoing.

Because before she can even react, she's hit in the vitals... hard! Yuri is knocked across the ring and into a nearby turnbuckle, causing her to stumble forwards a little as she attempts to regain control of herself. She holds her head and gasps a few times, before shaking off the dizziness, although she begins to regret that, since she feels the pain in her side kicking in, and that makes her wince in pain.

"Owww!" Yuri exclaims, grimacing a little before looking between her two opponents. "All right, it's time to bring out the big guns!" Yuri says as she stares down Alexis. "I've played nice so far, but now you see what happens when you push Yuri Sakazaki over the edge!" She brings her hands behind her, focusing the power of her chi into them. "When you make me mad, you get what you deserve!" She throws forth a large fireball at Alexis while calling out, "HAOH SHO KO KEN!" Bigger than the normal fireball she used earlier, this could be dangerous if not dealt with properly!

Alright, so much for the lasso. That was something real impressive, and Lightning Spangles is more than willing to give credit where it's deserved. What all of this has also shown is that Yuri is a real fancy fighter and deserves a bit more attention, what with the giant fireballs, breaking out of electricity, and completely nullifying that attack from Alexis.

"You earned yourself a place as a deputy at the Lightning Spangles Showup Hoedown, Yuri, but if you want to keep on tusselling with Lightning Spangles, then I suppose we'll have to keep at it," Lightning Spangles says before quickly tacking on. "Of course, it's never a good idea to fight with your friends if you ain't both trained and there's no adults there to make sure it's all safe."

In an overly dramatic moment, she winds up her arm, spinning up for a strike like some sort of cartoon character, and then lunges forward for what seems like a rather mediocre punch... right up until her fist suddenly explodes out with rolling flames that seem to twinkle as if filled with a miniature solar system.

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Yuri's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Pepper
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-======|


Alexis is still shaking her hand out from the punch to Yuri's vitals when the Kyokugen Princess starts to rebuke her. Alexis stares at Yuri as if she were speaking German. One hand reaches up to scratch her head. "That was you playing nice? Jeez, what a -" Whatever the commonly-crass Canadian was about to say is cut short by the imminent threat of incineration. Being quick to get out of the way of an attack was never really Alexis' thing; she turns her side toward the incoming blast, raising her protected left elbow to catch the brunt of the fireball. In spite of her attempts to defend herself, she's still sent staggering backward - she's clearly on the ropes in a figurative sense, if not a literal one, with the clothing on the left side of her body blackened and bruises covering much of her exposed skin.

"Red Green wasn't wrong. Duct tape would definitely fix your loud mouth," Alexis mutters, reaching over her shoulder and grabbing the guitar slung over it by the neck. Pulling it off her back, she brandishes it, not as an instrument of music, but as an instrument of war, holding it low and at her side like a battle-axe. Whirling forward, she brings the guitar up, the instrument humming as she aims to clobber Yuri upside the head with it. Whatever the guitar should connect with, a burst of sonic chi will accompany the impact!

COMBATSYS: Pepper successfully hits Yuri with Strong Punch.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1           Pepper
[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             1/------=/=======|


COMBATSYS: Yuri reflects Tribute to Townshend from Alexis with Saiha.
COMBATSYS: Alexis refuses to stay down!

[                         \\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Alexis           0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1           Pepper
[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             1/-------/=======|


Another case of being double teamed. Despite being beaten up a bit, Yuri still refuses to show any sort of mercy. Even though her last attack was blocked, she's still got the guts to keep going. Although, that might be diminishing because of the huge punch that just hit her. And the way it twinkled or something, that makes it hurt even more! But even then, that doesn't mean she's totally defenseless.

Somehow, Yuri recovers just in the nick of time to raise her hands and throw up a shield of chi in front of her. The shield protects her from the incoming attack from Alexis, meaning that her intent of clobbering her with that guitar is out of tune! Yuri staggers back after she's done protecting herself though, rubbing at her injured spots and sighing a little.

"I sure underestimated them... but I won't do it again! Kyokugen fighters don't give up either!" She cracks her knuckles as best as she can, and grimaces through the pain as she returns to her usual stance. "I'm still ready to fight! Come on! Who's next?"

"Hooooo-eeee, that's some real fancy fighting you've got there, Deputy," Lightning Spangles remarks as Yuri sends Alexis flying as that wall of sound bounces right back on the rocker. It certainly looks for the time being like Alexis has been put out of the match, leaving Lightning Spangles alone with the Kyokugen specialist and all those fancy techniques.

"I guess this means the two of us are dance pardners for the rest of this Showup Hoedown," Lightning Spangles remarks, somewhat incorrectly. "So, let's see who's got the fancier footwork." With that, Lightning Spangles suddenly lunges forward thrusting the point of her knee for Yuri's gut as the point glows with energy, exploding like a small landmine as she makes contact. A remarkable number of sparkles fill the aftermath.

The shield created by Yuri causes the sonic energy empowering Alexis' armed assault to backfire, sending Alexis flying back against the corner turnbuckle. The girl's back smacks against it, and she slumps down to a seated position, arms resting on the ropes. It would seem fair to count the punk rocker out of the match, but Alexis has never been one to fight fair. Her eyes clench shut at the ringing in her ears from taking her own sonic attack, but she reaches a hand up shakily to grasp the top rope, pulling herself up.

Alexis came into this match expecting to fight Lightning Spangles - intending to gun for the American icon. However, circumstances have changed. Through blurred vision, she sees Pepper and Yuri more toward the middle of the ring, with the former on the offensive against the latter. Alexis goes for the more opportune target, coming in to attempt to suplex the girl who's been kicking her ass all match from behind - this time, unaided by the musical energy that typically infuses her attacks.

COMBATSYS: Pepper successfully hits Yuri with Breaking Down Walls.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Alexis           0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1           Pepper
[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             1/-----==/=======|


COMBATSYS: Yuri interrupts Power Throw from Alexis with Yuri Chou Upper.

[                                < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Alexis           0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1           Pepper
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             1/----===/=======|


The explosion from Lightning causes Yuri to become a bit disoriented at first and leaves her staggering backward... but she recovers just in the nick of time to launch forward into her signature uppercut again. Unfortunately, she's caught by Alexis as well, meaning they both go down to the ground. Yuri tumbles a bit but then forces herself back up onto her feet, albeit hunched over and looking a bit on the dishelved side. She groans a little and slaps her face a few times. "How humiliating to come this far... then blow it all... No! Yuri! Don't give up!"

She slaps her face a few more times, then tries to retain her stance. Unfortunately, it's plain to see that she's on the verge of passing out. But the power of discipline and determination helps keep her going for a little while longer.

"That's right, don't give up! Believe in yourself and you can do dang near anything!" shouts Lightning Spangles to her opponent. Certainly it's not appropriate to tell someone that they'll win for sure if they believe hard enough when you've got them in a fight, so she makes certain to add on (for all the kids at home), "And even if you try as hard as you can and don't manage to succeed, at least you'll know you did your best!"

Flying right back into the fray, Lightning Spangles is still here to give it her best, even if her allegiances through this fight are a bit confusing. Leaping up into the air, she comes screaming back down at Yuri from above in a cowboy booted dive kick.

The uppercut to the jaw catches Alexis completely off-guard in her bleary-eyed state - she was barely hanging in through sheer stubbornness before, and after that one, she seems to be out on her feet. When adrenalin wanes and stubbornness fails, Alexis has but one reserve left to tap into; the bottomless well of spite inside her. With the last of her will, she staggers toward the Yuri-shaped blur in front of her, nearly as zombie-like as her first Halloween battle last year.

Wordlessly, Alexis draws in a deep breath, lifting her head high - before smashing it toward Yuri's own head. The humming energy typically surrounding Alexis has faded away completely, causing the brutal, self-disregarding attack to seem almost eerily quiet, before Alexis drops to her knees...

COMBATSYS: Alexis can no longer fight.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Pepper           1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1             Yuri


COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Alexis' Aggressive Strike.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Pepper           1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1             Yuri


COMBATSYS: Pepper successfully hits Yuri with Light Kick.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Pepper           1/----===/=======|=======\=======\1             Yuri


Yuri utilizes her defensive skills as best as she can, hoping to do another amazing defensive skill like before in the fight. But unfortunately, she fails to properly defend this time. The first block is barely enough to protect her, while the other one fails entirely. Yuri is hit by Lightning's kick and is sent staggering up against the ropes. She glares with one eye at her remaining opponent. "Looks like I'm out... but before I go... here's a parting gift!"

Yuri brings her hands back one last time, though she's having trouble keeping steady on her feet obviously. All of her chi goes into her hands, as if there's something bigger and badder than before. Then with an immense shout, Yuri sends forth a barrage of several large blasts at Lightning. One after another the fireballs go at her opponent, in hopes of doing a little extra damage as a final parting gift...

Then Yuri falls flat on her face.

COMBATSYS: Yuri can no longer fight.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Pepper           1/----===/=======|


COMBATSYS: Pepper stops Denjin Haoh Sho Ko Ken from Yuri with Bouncing Back EX.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Pepper           1/-------/=======|


With the incredibly complicated rules of the Phoenix Tournament in place, it seems that Lightning Spangles has managed to pick up a victory! Except, it appears that Yuri isn't quite done, yet, given the sudden barrage of chi being launched straight for her. Even if it doesn't actually change the results, that's sure to hurt.

In a moment, Pepper's eyes flare with a sense of urgency as for a brief moment she channels a portion of Alexis's dedicated willpower, her refusal to give up in the face of unpleasant odds. And then Lightning Spangles returns, throwing her hands up with an incredible speed as she forms a tin star out of chi as if shields on both of her fists. Despite their relatively small size, she moves with an incredible speed, intercepting each and every energy ball that had been flung at her and deflecting them harmlessly to the sides.

There's a brief pause as she waits to see if either of her opponents gets back to their feet... but she's now the lone figure standing in the ring. The referee climbs in to make the official announcement, "The winner, being granted the opportunity to fight for the Worldwide Rookie title... LIGHTNING SPANGLES! Runner-up, being awarded the Blue Rookie Title... YURI SAKAZAKI!"

And just like that, the Showup Hoedown Posse comes clammoring into the ring to surround Lightning Spangles as she lets out and incredibly energetic, "YEEEE HAWWW!" before she turns walk over and offer a hand up to Yuri, with the aid of the Hoedown Dillo. Lightning Spangles pulls her microphone back out of her holster and says, "I'd like to thank Ms. Yuri Sakazaki for being a real nice Showup Hoedown Deputy, and apparently her family runs a martial arts dojo here in Southtown! Everyone saw that she knew how to kick like a mule and had some swell techniques, so maybe ya'll should check out the Kyokugen Karate dojo."

Then Lightning Spangles moves over to Alexis, offering to help up the rocker if she hasn't already managed to get up, or at least standing close enough to clap her on the back. "And this here is Alexis Lovell. She might have a bit of a dirty mouth, but I guess that's pretty good when you're in a rock band. It ain't for the young deputies, but if you thought she was pretty cool, maybe you should check out the Killosaurus Orphanage. I hear they've got some albums in stores right now."

With that plug down, she walks back to the center of the ring, surrounded by the whole Posse. "And I'm Lightning Spangles. If ya'll want to see more of me, check out my next fight to see if I have what it takes to be THE WARWOLF! Or you can watch my new show on the Disney Channel starting this Thursday at 8 PM!"

COMBATSYS: Pepper has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:52:29 01/11/2016 by Alexis, and last modified on 23:03:56 01/13/2016.