Match of the Millennium

Description: Did you know that Canada and America used to be part of the same country? That’s incredible! Though that country is being kinda unpopular right now. Fortunately it is the perfect place to talk about cooler independent countries. Canada and America are never unpopular. To help identify how awesome these countries are, why not celebrate their holidays together! To help on this journey through the shared history of both America and Canada, to celebrate 4th of July And Canada Day, we are going to have the combined talents of Lightning Spangles with the lead singer of Killasaurus Orphanage to help you out! A little known fact: Just like with Thanksgiving, both countries were liberated on the same day, but they ended up being recognized on separate dates because of the metric system! MURICA, EH! <Winner: Alexis>

[ALEXIS]
It's the weekend between the First and Fourth of July; the book between the bookends of Canada Day and Independence Day. Similar celebrations are being held by the North American neighbours; it's a time for barbecues, get-togethers, and letting children play with gunpowder-based explosives. What better place to spend the weekend than in a country that doesn't celebrate one of the holidays in question and is probably secretly ashamed of the other?

To make things even better, the weather in London, England is actually pretty chilly at the moment, particularly for a summer's eve. Not that this especially bothers Alexis Lovell, in spite of the fact that she's wearing her usual schoolgirl-punk stage outfit. The Canadian is used to cold weather, though her flight to London came from Jamaica. The bruises she received from a certain fighter while visiting the island have yet to fade, though the swelling of her left eye has at least gone down enough to afford vision. It's a wonder that she's cleared to fight at all, but when the Canadian heard who the opponent would be, she became adamant in her insistence that the show go on.

And so, Alexis Lovell, given the opportunity to do battle in one of England's most sacred sites - a place where members of the royal family are traditionally crowned, wed and buried, as well as where great minds such as Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton have been laid to rest - has decided to play her own prelude to the coming match, along with the rest of her band, inside the vaulted congregational chamber of Westminster Abbey.

Her song of choice?

God save the Queen!
We mean it, man!
There is no future!
And England's dreaming!
No future!
No future!
No future for you! o/~

The Sex Pistols, of course.

The audience's reaction is mixed. Some don't like it. Some don't think they're allowed to like it. Some sing along, because who cares about political correctness when you have freedom of speech?! The chamber is still ringing with the aftermath of the song as Alexis swings her guitar around to hang against her back and downs half a bottle of water before making her way to the area that's been designated safe enough to fight in without causing permanent damage to any national landmarks: mostly, the diamond-patterned tiled floor space before the dais. She does a last-minute check that all of her gear and clothing is in place as she awaits the arrival of her opponent, Lightning Spangles.

[PEPPER]
Following Thanksgiving (which went mysteriously uncelebrated this past year after a major scandal), the Independence Day has always been one of the most important holidays for Lightning Spangles, because Lightning Spangles speaks to the heart of the American people! It's a representation of the American Spirit in its desire to seek out greatness, its refusal to bow down to tyranny, and a vital stepping stone in reaching the modern world through innovation and individuality.

It's also bright, colorful, and explosive. These are all adjectives that could be used to describe Lightning Spangles.

As part of the arrangement for this fight, Killosaurus Orphanage has been given their opportunity to play, but things really start getting moving the moment that the Canadian punk band finishes their set and the next part of the arrangement begins. In stark contrast with the music of the Sex Pistols, what comes next is family friendly and optimisticly upbeat as the notes of the Star Spangled Banner begin to fill the entire abbey as the Showup Hoedown Posse marches in with the Hoedown Dillo himself leading the mascot pack dressed like Uncle Sam himself!

They work the assembled crowd, focusing in on the youngest among them with red, white, and blue bags of M&Ms and small boxes of explosive 'poppers' for relatively safe entertainment that still comes with the wonderful benefit of being able to mark startling noises and be a nuisance (the right of all good people in celebrating the Fourth of July).

It's all just a prelude to the big event as Lightning Spangles herself bursts in through the doors, sparkler shootin' six-shooters in hand, America's Sweetheart is dressed in her traditional white hat, but her vest has been replaced by a blue star-spangled one and her skirt is covered in red and white stripes as she lets out a bombastic "YEEE HAW!" to coincide with the conclusion of the music.

Someone also set her up with a microphone system, which becomes more than apparent when her voice fills the entire abbey. "LIGHTNING SPANGLES IS SO PLEASED TO HAVE ALL HER FANS CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HER HOME, HOME ON THE RANGE!" Even playing to a mostly British crowd, the pure excitement and energy of the starlet is enough to draw a decent array of cheers. "Independence Day is when we all get to celebrate the US of A setting out in the world to make her own way, and while we might have had our troubles way back when, it warms my heart that I can come here to England and have ya'll celebrate this great day with me as one of our closest friends out there. We done had each other's back more often than not, and that makes as good as family."

A touch of humbleness and thanks seems to draw out even more cheers for the new Lightning Spangles, who certainly seems to have had a great deal more emphasis placed on cultural sensitivity than the last one.

"And I don't wanna forget about our little sister up north, Canada. They got a special day just three days ahead of us that marks them gettin' on the road to being who they are today, so don't forget to give a few hoots and hollers for them, too." There's a pause as she lowers her voice to sound as if she's trying to whisper, despite it broadcasting clearly over the audio system, "Although, don't cheer 'em too hard. I gotta fight one of 'em, and it would sure help if I had my Showup Hoedown Posse in my corner."

There's a chorus of laughs and cheers following that playful banter that gives Lightning Spangles a chance to head down toward the fighting ring.

[ALEXIS]
While the new Lightning Spangles is still giving her speech and greeting, Alexis gives a wave to one of the sound techs for the event, who tosses a cordless microphone over to the Canadian. She holds the stick loosely at her side as she idly waits for Spangles to finish. The brunette punk has a very faint expression on her lips that could be a smile or a smirk; it's difficult to read. Once the cheering picks up and her opponent starts to make her way down to the fighting area, Alexis raises her microphone to speak, interjecting just a little sooner than politeness would allow.

"She's right, you know. 'Y'all' should be cheering for Lightning Spangles. After all, America and Britain have so much in common."

Alexis allows the crowd to settle down, a silence falling over the chamber as most aren't sure to react or are waiting for the punch line.

"I mean, you both have the whole 'history of Imperialism' thing going on. Screwing over other countries so that your rich can get richer. I mean, that was what the whole Independence war was about, right? The States striking down Britain so they could turn around and do the same thing to South America. So I guess if Canada's the little sister, Britain's kind of like the abusive dad and America's the brother who gets in a fight with dad, runs away from home, then turns into a beater himself. That whole cycle of violence thing, eh?"

Now the boos start. Alexis lets them rain down for a few seconds before putting a finger to her lips; the noise continues, but lowers enough for her to continue. "But hey, violence is what we all came here for, right? I know I'm looking forward to it. And you guys can cheer for Lightning Spangles the Sequel all you want."

Alexis turns toward Spangles, holding a thumb up in the air with her free hand as she does so. "Just try not to be disappointed when I wreck her like the British pound, 'cause this time, your vote doesn't matter."

The microphone is dropped without the consideration of turning it off first, causing feedback to fill the room until an audio technician hastily kills the microphone in the speakers. She drops into a brawler's fighting stance as she faces Pepper, raising both of her fists. "Long time no see. Lucky me it ain't a handicap match this time," she says with a sardonic half-smirk, her voice now only loud enough to really be caught by the young Spangles. "Let's do this shit. One vee one me, America."

COMBATSYS: Alexis has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Alexis           0/-------/-------|

[PEPPER]
That's a whole lot of heat coming down on Alexis after that bit of tongue waggling, with Lightning Spangles getting down to the ring proper about the time they're hitting their peak.

"Ya know, I think maybe you're tryin' a little bit too hard to make people lose their temper. Everyone's nice enough to come out here and listen to your band play and ya'll choose to make it somethin' mean about your Queen. Then I thank all these nice people for comin' out to help our countries celebrate somethin' big, and ya just decide to say whatever mean thing pops into your head."

There's a bit of a positive rumble as Lightning Spangles starts to speak her mind.

"So, are you rude because ya'll think it's fun or because you don't got anything interesting to say or do? If you're grumpy because I won the title belt the last time we saw each other, then you can be all grumpy at me if you want, but..." Lightning Spangles pauses as she motions out to the surrounding crowd "...but if it's all ya'll got to offer, then maybe you should have taken more time to learn from your partner in the King of Fighters tournament, because he seemed like a stand-up sort of guy."

That pulls in some taunts from the crowd and a good deal of cheering for America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, as she settles up into a fighting stance.

COMBATSYS: Pepper has joined the fight here.

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

[ALEXIS]
The smirk fades from Alexis' face almost immediately as Pepper begins to speak again, replaced by a furrowed brow and a steady glare. The Canadian punk starts to shift her balance from one foot to the other as she raises her guard. Her lips pull into a frown and her teeth bare for a moment when Spangles brings up her partner from the King of Fighters tournament - apparently Howard Rust is something of a sore spot for Alexis. She purses her lips again when the comment turns out to be a compliment.

"Maybe I'm just saying what I think because I can. It's not like anyone's paying me to say what they want me to. I'm just being me, and they can take it or fucking leave it." There's a rumble from outside that sounds like a storm might be gathering, as if in response to the punk rocker exercising her foul mouth inside the Abbey. An announcer starts a count down, and the crowd join in.

"THREE!"

"TWO!

"ONE!"

"And at least Rust being a nice guy isn't an 'image' thing," Alexis asserts in the moments between the words 'one' and 'FIGHT,' irritation evident in her tone and a hum building around her clenched fists. She very nearly jumps the gun on the countdown, moving straight in with a low punch aimed at Lightning Spangles' gut before attempting to grab Spangles by the crown of her cowgirl hat and pull her into a sonic energy-infused knee strike to the head.

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Pepper with Charged Combo.

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

[PEPPER]
It isn't too much of a surprise for Lightning Spangles when Alexis starts to get all heated up, she's clearly got some anger issues that could potentially get sorted out by not trying to make everybody else feel as grumpy as she does, but there's no real time to think about how to get the Candian Punk on the right track when she's right in the middle of trying to knock her block off.

With Alexis as amped up as she is, she's out of the gate before Lightning Spangles has a chance to draw on her, leaving America's Sweetheart little option but to try to just duck out of the way, but the firecrackers getting the muscian beat out Lightning Spangles' attempts as she takes a clean hit to the gut before getting a knee to her cheek.

Stumbling a bit from the assault, Lightning Spangles rights her hat back onto her head as she tries to find a new avenue to approach this.

"I never said you should do it for an image, ya'll just seem like you're pretty miserable and tryin' to take it out on other people," Lightning Spangles starts to circle as she talks, trying to avoid being an easy target from the start. "Maybe if ya tried being nice to people, you'd get a better outlook on life and find somethin' that makes you wanna be a positive contribution, ya hear?"

Life advice from a 14-year-old TV starlet.

Regardless of how upbeat and optimistic it may be, it comes across a bit strange when it's aided by the act of that same starlet (Lightning Spangles) suddenly lunging forward in an effort to throw a knee at your gut to put you in position to wrap her arms around your midsection and swing you up and to the side in an almost classic Belly-to-Belly suplex.

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Pepper's Stay In Touch.

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

[ALEXIS]
The grin on Alexis' face as she glories in her initial success turns into a frown when Spangles continues to chastise her attitude. "What, you think tryin' to make me feel bad is gonna help you win, eh?" she asks as she covers her midsection up with crossed arms to block the knee strike. The position still leaves her open to be grabbed by Pepper and hoisted into the suplex, but Alexis manages to catch herself with her elbow pads as she hits the tiles. She grimaces as her hips smack against the floor, but quickly rolls to her hands and knees before pushing herself into a crouch, her back still facing toward Pepper.

"It's not gonna work! You're wrong about me. I'm not miserable!" Alexis' insistence on the subject is punctuated by the punk rocker throwing herself up to her feet, off of the ground and into the air, flipping backward with both legs extended. "I'm havin' a good fuckin' time!" A high pitched pair of harmonic tones sound from the Canadian fighter's boots as she spins, tucking her legs in before thrusting them out at Pepper's face. Should the dropkick connect, a blast of sonic energy would be released with a sound like the chord caused by the Canadian's kicks being completed.

COMBATSYS: Pepper reflects The Windmill from Alexis with Someone To Hold.

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

[PEPPER]
All of this extra sound is clearly going to be a bit of a problem, especially with the way that it's adding a real impact to those hits of Alexis's. Honestly, Lightning Spangles had managed to avoid the worst of Alexis's attention in the triple threat fight for the Rookie Belts simply by virtue of the fact that Alexis had done a great job of making herself enough of a jerk to draw Yuri's ire, and Lightning Spangles had been more focused on the fact that it was her first appearance than the fight itself.

If it had been one-on-one back then, she'd probably have lost, but Pepper Green has gotten more experience since then. The young fighting genius having participated in the Rumble in the Streets Tournament (and lost, admittedly).

With Alexis barreling down on her, she determines the best solution at a time like this is to skip trying to get out of the way, and just power yourself through! A faint grin froms on Lightning Spangles' face as she holds her arms out, suddenly looking a lot more like a wrestler than a brawler and her chest begins to glow red, white, and blue. As the punk rocker's comes flying in, the glow bursts outward into a giant sheriff's badge, catching the boots and setting of their sonic payload in the opposite direction.

As the wall of sounds starts to blast the Candian back, America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, leaps up to catch Alexis by her boots and then yanking back as hard as she can to swing the older girl back around before slamming her onto the floor.

"In my experience, goin' around trying to make other people angry is somethin' you do when you've got problems ya'll don't really want to think about."

[ALEXIS]
It's bad enough that Alexis insists on jumping around as she does while wearing a skirt; having her own sonic outburst turned on her, then her feet grabbed before she can fly far in the opposite direction, has downright undignified results. It's uncertain whether said results or the fact that the momentum seems to be swinging in favour of Lightning Spangles is responsible for the cheer that erupts from the crowd as Alexis is sent to the floor. It could be both.

Alexis presses her palms to the tile and forces herself up onto her boots' soles. Her hands drop to her sides to straighten out her skirt hastily as she glares at Pepper. Her voice is low, but loud enough for the cowgirl to hear easily. "Honestly, I don't really care if they're pissed off or what right now, as long as they get loud about it. I'll take whatever noise I can get." There's a palpable tension in the air as the humming sound around Alexis grows. "I don't give a damn as long as they do. And as it turns out?"

Facing away from the audience, the Canadian punk raises both fists in the air, then extends both middle fingers toward the onlookers. Almost predictably, retaliatory booing is quickly fired back. There's even a 'You suck!' chant started by some of those present without qualms about doing so in the current venue.

"Pissed off is easy," Alexis states with a smirk as she lowers her fists back into a defensive guard and the humming continues to build in intensity.

COMBATSYS: Alexis surges with the power of rock!

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

[PEPPER]
As Alexis's skirts fly up, Lightning Spangles works immediately to appear as though she is accidentally standing between the nearest camera and the Canadian's southern exposure. The whole process is covered up by the American starlet turning to wave to the crowd in celebration for her success.

This is also a good reminder for Lightning Spangles on why she actually wears a pair of shorts under her own skirt. Seems like all those Disney handlers have been doing their job looking out for her.

As for the inappropriate finger action, Lightning Spangles doesn't have a whole lot she can do about that, considering the older girl's got almost half a foot on her (although it's certain that same of the rebroadcasts of this fight are going to have a great deal of censorship going on). All she can do is try to throw together some words of wisdom.

"Making people loud can be a lot of fun, but it's a whole lot more rewarding when they're cheering because you've made them happy," Lightning Spangles's tone drops enough that the crowd probably can't hear it. Maybe not even Alexis can with all the heat she's brought, "...too many things in this world to be sad about, don't gotta make things worse."

Taking in a deep breath, America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, clenches her leather-clad fingers tight, then raises her left hand to point at the punk rocker, her voice once again bright and clear, "Don't let ya'll get too focused on being a jerk to forget you're in a fight!"

That other fist is cocked and loaded, with the hammer pulled back. Lightning Spangles pulls the trigger and it comes flying forward as a solid straight that looks simple enough until half-way to it's target, a second fist seems to fly forward from it just a few inches, only this one's made out of red, white, and blue sparkles and is ready to carve open up the trail!

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Pepper's Medium Punch!
* Attack Of Opportunity! *

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

[ALEXIS]
It is indeed probable that the broadcast will be getting some censorship, which is something Alexis is no stranger to. A Disney representative had approached her before the match to politely request that she dial back on the usual obscenity levels for the sake of the expected younger audience. She had assured them that she would.

Believing her may have been a mistake.

As the particularly-patriotic punch flies at her, the punk rock princess turns into it, allowing the blow to land flush against her shoulder. The sleeve of her schoolgirl-style shirt shreds as sparks of chi crash against it, tearing the fabric and bruising the skin beneath as she pushes through the attack to get into a more intimiate proximity with Lightning Spangles. At the same time, Alexis' own fist pulls back, clenching as sonic energy gathers in it before swinging forward as she attempts to pound it into Pepper's solar plexus with a sound like a cymbal crash.

Should she manage to deliver the blow, which is intended to double the teenage target over, she'll follow up by attempting to force Pepper into a classic professional wrestling position with her head between Alexis' thighs before slipping both arms under Pepper's in a double underhook. The move would be finalized by Alexis throwing out both legs at once to allow gravity and her own weight to shove Lightning Spangles face first to the floor of Westminster Abbey, accompanied by a sonic shockwave sounding not unlike a distorted D chord on an electric guitar.

COMBATSYS: Pepper blocks Alexis' Drop D.

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

[PEPPER]
Putting Lightning Spangles back out into professional fighting had been a bit of an undesirable situation for her handlers at the Walt Disney Corporation ever since her charity fight against Corporal Panesh a few months back that ended with America's Sweetheart getting her lights knocked out in front of a crowd of children. But it was Independence Day, and arranging a spot on Saturday Night Fight had seemed like a great way to repromote the brand.

Someone at Professional Fighters Worldwide as going to get a message more in line with Alexis' crowd working than the tone of Lightning Spangles tomorrow morning.

As for the actual fight itself (the one where bodies were at stake instead of money and jobs), Lightning Spangles has to act fast as Alexis aims to take advantage of any opening in her stance. Doing everything she can to act at all, America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, pulls up her other arm over in a defensive posture to intercept that first raucous hit on her forearm. Not being sent reeling, she has enough time to pull back away from the follow-up attempt and build a bit of space.

Another part of trying to get some breathing room is keeping the pressure up on your opponent, so Lightning Spangles lashes out with a quick straight kick aimed at Alexis's chest, her boot heel charged with a small explosion of Star-Spangled Chi as she aims to get some more room between herself and Alexis.

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Pepper's Light Kick.

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

[ALEXIS]
The exchange picks up in tempo as Lightning Spangles successfully slips the straddling facebuster attempt from Killasaurus Lex. Thrown momentarily off-balance, Alexis has to throw up her gloved palms quickly in order to catch the Star-Spangled heel kick before it can collide with her cleavage. The impact causes Alexis' body to shudder momentarily. "Nice boots," she comments between clenched teeth as she steadies herself from the blow.

With the slightly smaller fighter spacing herself from Alexis to keep out of reach of her grappling attempts, the Canadian girl shifts her tactics back to taking to the air, as is traditional for martial artists trying to get close with their opponents. "Now, let me show you mine!"

This time, there is no flipping of birds, bodies, or skirts; she simply takes a two-step running start into a leap forward, then extends her leading leg out to aim the heel of her own black leather boot for the face of Lightning Spangles. As she nears, the tell-tale hum of Alexis' particular brand of energy gathered around her boot's sole for an impending release will become obvious to the cowgirl.

COMBATSYS: Pepper counters Medium Kick from Alexis with Touch The Sky.

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

[PEPPER]
Fighting someone as aggressive as Alexis requires a hell of a lot of concentration, especially when you're Lightning Spangles and have to worry about doing everything you can to avoid getting any pictures taken during the match that might make it look like you approve her the punk's less than wholesome messages. A mistimed smile and you go from America's Sweetheart to the next broken starlet in the blink of an eye.

Keeping the pressure up on the Canadrian soundsmith has proven to be the mose effective option in her toolkit so far; not only does it give Lightning Spangles a real opportunity to win the fight, but it doesn't give Alexis too many opportunities to upset everyone around her.

So, with Alexis coming in with a big boot, the goal is to 1) avoid taking a boot to the face and 2) hit her back hard. The high-kicking heel is luckily avoided by Lightning Spangles dropping low to the ground, her white cowboy hat narrowly avoiding being knocked off her head in the process. The second part involves launcher herself up before Alexis can even start to get her feet back under her. America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, clenchs her fist and red, white and blue sparks of chi begin to fall off it like snowflakes before she kicks up into the air, catching Alexis full on in the gut with a rising punc that takes the pair a good few feet off the ground, ending with an explosion of energy at the summit.

In other words, some real pretty fireworks.

[ALEXIS]
And as tradition also dictates, Alexis' aerial over-aggression is punished by a flying fist to the gut. A sharp exhalation escapes the Canadian as she's taken back into the air. "Mother fuuu-" Thankfully for Lightning Spangles' target demographic, the foul-mouthed musician's obscenity is cut short by the explosion at the peak of her flight before she flies back to crash onto the tiled floor. The cheers from the viewers on-site are nearly deafening in the acoustics of the chamber.

Alexis' chest heaves as she draws in a deep breath to replenish the air driven out of her lungs by the attack that's left her on her back. She presses a palm against the fresh bruise that is joining the others on her bare midriff that are still fading from her fight a couple of days before. She winces. "God damn," she wheezes, adding 'taking the Lord's name in vain while standing in a major Christian religious site' to her list of offenses for the evening as she pushes herself up with her other palm. Quickly, but unsteadily, she finds her feet, whipping her guitar around to the front of her body by its strap and flicking the power for the instrument on with her palm. She smashes the strings to test the sound (a test which confirms that the device is both on and very loud), then produces a pick from somewhere in her shirt. As her fingertips tighten against the fretboard, the first six notes of the traditional 'God Save the Queen' buzz out to mingle with the roar of the crowd. Then, just as the crowd are starting to get into it, she shifts to playing the beginning of the final crescendo of 'the Star-Spangled Banner,' the melody to which 'oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave' would normally be sung. The mini-medley seems only to confuse the audience for a moment before Alexis bursts into the opening of 'O Canada,' played in an up-tempo punk style and with brutally aggressive shredding fills. The sparse and simplistic use of the first two anthems appears ironic in retrospective comparison to the full-on effort of the Canadian one.

The musical interlude is clearly no diplomatic offering: visible waves of sonic energy roll off the instrument with crushing force toward Pepper, reverberating from the vaulted ceiling to assault from multiple angles!

COMBATSYS: Pepper dodges Alexis' Shredding Solo.

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

[PEPPER]
With all of these different national anthems coming in so quickly one after the other, the crowd certainly doesn't seem to know how to react. Some of the local audience have continued attempting to sing along to "God Save the Queen" despite the change in music, which makes the few who are doing it very hard to sync up, which means that not only are they singing songs different from the tune being played, they are singing at different speeds and it just all adds to the fact that it's nearly impossible to tell what anyone is singing, shouting, cheering, or playing in the entire abbey.

That means it's a real good thing that the music coming down to knock Lightning Spangles off the charts can actually be seen, otherwise she'd be plum out of luck, like a canoe without a paddle.

Working now off of pattern memorization and interpretation, two things that have helped the young woman playing Lightning Spangles a great many times from her early years as a toddler copying what she'd seen on the TV. Despite what reviewers may say about Killosaurus Orphanage, it's clear that Alexis does have an understanding of music, and even in a wall of sound there is a certain expectation for how the sound should come together. Once you figure out which ones should be coming in at what time, you just have to do your best to not get hurt.

That's the really hard part. America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, narrowly manages to roll out of the way of the first while taking a path that clears her from the second but would put her right in the way of the third if she didn't manage a last second kick off the floor to narrowly avoid getting overwhelmed by the potent sonic energy.

And she's breathing a bit heavy just from all of that. "Shoot... you throw one heck of a hoedown. If ya'll can play like that, you'd be real popular if you played stuff people wanted to hear."

Okay, probably not the most diplomatic way of putting that compliment, but at least this Lightning Spangles didn't manage to insult an entire culture the same way the old one did.

As soon as Lightning Spangles manages to catch her breath, she throws herself right back into things, trying to prevent Alexis from getting off more devestating guitar solors by flying in with her cowboy boots once more. As Lightning Spangles kicks her foot off the ground, it starts to let off enough bright, patriotic chi that her leg ends up looking like a sparkler, leaving that distinct lingering trail in the eyes of every viewer as it comes sweeping in from the side like a whirlwind.

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Pepper's Heavy Kick!

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

[ALEXIS]
In an audio vacuum, the hardcore version of the Canadian anthem would actually be rather pleasantly executed in the ears of the sort of person to appreciate the style. In tandem with the divergent noises coming from the crowd, though, it's a hellish cacophony, reflected by the violence with which Alexis' sonic waves strike various surfaces. There's a sound of glass being crushed that one would hope isn't one of the ornately-decorated windows of the historical site being blown out. (It might be.)

The compliment from Lightning Spangles doesn't appear to improve Alexis' mood. In fact, she looks downright pissed off as she slings her guitar back over her shoulder. There's a fire in her eyes, and it isn't just the reflection of the sparkling side kick swinging toward her. She doesn't move to avoid or even catch it; perhaps erring in her judgment, she allows the foot to crash into her side with full force. She does flinch - the attack is decidedly painful, and it shows in the gritting of her teeth. However, she does remain standing - and now very close to Pepper. "I'll show you a hoe down," she hisses just loud enough for Pepper's mic to potentially catch as she throws herself into the teen star, trying to ground her with a quick shoulder slam so that she can straddle Spangles.

Should she succeed, Disney's live broadcast of the event may be cutting to commercial to avoid showing the two-fisted musical beatdown that follows...

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Pepper with Beatdown in Three Four.

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

...as the Canadian punk rains punches down on her American counterpart, each accompanied by a burst of energy delivering a different percussive melodic sound, as if someone were brutalizing a xylophone.

[PEPPER]
Lightning Spangles had, perhaps, thrown herself a bit too much into that attack. After she connects and Alexis doesn't go flying, she doesn't have a whole lot room to move. All she's got left for her is the possibility that maybe she can get her foot down behind her and hold herself up in time for the hit so that she can at least keep her feet under her rather than going to the floor.

It doesn't work out.

With only one foot to balance on, Lightning Spangles is already off balance as she rapidly tries to move her foot, and the punk rocker has the advantage on the assault, putting Lightning Spangles to the floor where the girl struggles to find any way to protect herself from the vicious onslaught of sound and fury.

Only after the beatdown has gone on for long enough to first silence the crowd, then draw out heated boos and angry yelling all aimed at the Canadian rocker does Lightning Spangles manages to find a break in the assault to shove Alexis back off her so that she can scamper back along the floor to get some breathing room. There's blood dripping down from her nose and one of her eyes is clearly starting to swell shut, but beyond that there's still a fire burning.

"Seems like you're real ornery... when we got some wild beast goin' crazy like that on the ranch, there's only one thing you can do..."

Tendrils of energy begin to crackle down along Lightning Spangles' forearms, twisting up into tight coils of sizzling energy as she raises one hand to point dead on at Alexis, "Ya'll need to get hogtied with one of my LIGHTNING LARIATS!"

As America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, whips both arms toward the punk rocker, the coils of energy unwind, lashing out into a half-dozen separate strings of energy that aim to grab the older girl anywhere they can, sweeping in for limbs, or even settling for the neck or the torso if they hit, instantly twisting in tight around whatever they can grab as electricity pulses through them. Once they've made their mark, Lightning Spangles brings her hands together, gripping all of the ropes of chi between them as she twists around and hauls full force to yank Alexis up off the ground, swing her overhead, then slam her into the floor on the other side.

COMBATSYS: Pepper successfully hits Alexis with Superstar.

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

[ALEXIS]
As the adrenaline fuelling her assault ebbs and Pepper pushes her away, it becomes more evident to the average onlooker that the Canadian is probably on her last legs. Her ribs have taken on a mottled hue, and her breathing appears laboured as she gets back to her feet, while the arm that took the brunt of the earlier attack to the shoulder is hanging a bit loosely at her side.

When Lightning Spangles calls out the name of her next attack, Alexis gets ready to duck. After all, anyone knows that a lariat is just another word for a clothesline, which is just another word for putting your arm out and trying to knock someone down with it. It takes a second to register that she's dealing with the cultural element that still might actually make use of the traditional type of lariat from the days before professional wrestling. In this second, one of the energy coils snaps around the punk fighter's battered arm. She tugs at it reflexively, but as her attention is focused on the first strand, five more wrap around her limbs and waist.

"Oh, what the fuck is thi- yeargh!"

The Canadian's complaint loses coherency as electricity courses through the cords of energy and into her skin. She's hoisted over Pepper's head and into the floor with a *THUD* that fills the building.

The crowd cheers as Alexis uses what looks like it may be the last of her energy to wrench herself free on the ground. With pain still shooting through her nervous system as she props herself up on her elbows, Alexis considers the possibility that getting back up just might not be in her best interest in a brief moment of lucidity.

It's at that moment that she hears a boisterous British accent shouting the words: "Stay down!"

"Fuck you," she growls at voices within and without, pushing herself up to her knees in defiance. Gathering her bearings as her consciousness fades, she gauges the distance between herself and Spangles in what rough manner her mind will allow. Seeing that the gap has been opened up between them, she charges forward, throwing herself into the air in a cross-body as her body hums with what sonic energy she can still retain.

Should she collide as intended, she'll try to wrap her way around Spangles until she can hook an arm over her neck, then drop backward into a pro-wrestling-style DDT accompanied by a harsh, ringing release of audio energy.

Whether or not she does, she may not be getting back up after her own attack...

COMBATSYS: Alexis has reached second wind!

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

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Pepper with Stage Dive.

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

[PEPPER]
This is really starting to wear Lightning Spangles down. While she may be a wholesome roughrider out on the plains rounding up a good time for all her friends in the Showup Hoedown Posse, Lightning Spangles gets tired at time. Worn down and sore from all the injuries that Alexis has given her (and kind of burned out from the hassle of the rocker's bad behavior), Lightning Spangles was hoping that maybe she could have kept Alexis down with a hit like that.

She's definitely not that lucky.

As the Canadian takes to the air, America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, tries to dive under the flying fretter, but gets caught up in the aerial acrobatics. Hitting the ground with all the force churned into her neck, she lets out a pained shriek for a moment, but manages to carefully role away along the floor.

Lightning Spangles can't take a hit like she'd done in her fight against Mint. That match had been completely friendly, and one bad moment had hurt all of the fans out there. Watching it back on replay, the fans had been crying. A nice woman who had joined up with the military to protect her country had been treated like a monster by people because Lightning Spangles had messed up and gotten herself knocked out far too hard.

If things went badly this time, would Lightning Spangles be allowed to step out into fighting again? Would they even restrict Pepper Green from participating in matches? Those were the only times she didn't feel the weight of everything pressing down on her.

She couldn't give up like this.

As she gets back up to her feet, Lightning Spangles sets her hat back in its proper position on her head and then rushes in at the older fighter. There are no fancy speeches or clever gimmicks, she just tries to put Alexis back on the ground to keep her there. Opening up with a quick elbow jab at the rocker's stomach to throw her off balance, Lightning Spangles grabs her arm and swings Alexis around before letting go at the right moment to hopefully send her crashing into the corner of the ring.

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Pepper's Quick Throw.
COMBATSYS: Alexis refuses to stay down!

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Alexis           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0           Pepper

[ALEXIS]
As a divisive-at-best element of the Canadian music industry who has yet to be officially signed to any major label, Alexis is fortunate enough not to have the same weight of expectation on her shoulders as Lightning Spangles. If she disappoints or offends, she's only matching expectations. She can throw herself into any fight reckless in the knowledge that, win or lose, as long as she lives, no one will be able to tell her not to do it again the next time. Even that line she's been known to skirt, though.

The impetus that keeps her coming back for more has nothing to do with the fans. There's clearly something within, though, that brings her back to her feet, welcoming more punishment to her body even when it's already had more than one would think it could handle.

With her hair still dangling in her eyes, Alexis manages to deflect the elbow jab toward her stomach with her own elbow pad. This has the intended effect of opening up her guard, allowing Spangles to get hold of Alexis' arm and take her for a spin. It looks like the Canadian may be cruising on a collision course with the corner of a wall that would surely put the lights out, but at the last moment, she puts her hands out to catch herself, her forehead stopping centimetres from the extrusion.

In spite of everything from a naturally sour attitude to the aching in her guts, Alexis grins to herself.

Turning around, Alexis appears somehow energized, if not necessarily in any less precarious a state of consciousness. She reaches up to brush her bangs from her face, then turns her head to one side to spit because apparently she hasn't desecrated the holy site enough already.

"Let's finish this, America," she challenges Spangles before lunging forward. As she nears her opponent, she hops and twists into a spin, raising her boot high. The heel seems to sing as she aims to drop it down through the cowgirl's hat and onto her cranium.

COMBATSYS: Pepper fails to reflect Hammer-On from Alexis with Bouncing Back.

[                                <
Alexis           0/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Pepper can no longer fight.

[                                <
Alexis           0/-------/=======|

[PEPPER]
This isn't good. Lightning Spangles had hoped she'd be able to get Alexis on the ropes with that one, but she just couldn't seal the deal. The starlet doesn't know how much more punishment she can take if she wants to be the one standing at the end of this, and whatever it is that fuels Alexis seems like it isn't planning to run out of steam anytime soon.

As the rocker sets up for one last draw between her and America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, Lightning Spangles settles into a wide ready stance, her hands set just off to her sides as she tries to be ready for whatever comes next. Maybe if she can win this exchange she'll be able to put Alexis out.

As the Canadian's boot starts coming down at Lightning Spangles, the girl whips her hands up, a sheriff's badge of pure chi forming at the tips of her fingers as she moves to intercept the boot and it's infusion of musical energy. It works at first, with notes blasting back up for a moment, but the second the boot heel touches the badge, it just powers straight through, shattering the tin star and crumpling Lightning Spangle's iconic white hat down upon her head, slamming into the peak of her skull, and then sending America's Sweetheart, Lightning Spangles, crashing down to the floor.

She lays there for a moment as the Abbey fills with hushed concern. Lightning Spangles' arm twitches for a moment as she tries to pick herself back up, but there's just no strength left to fight and she collapses to the floor.

...Which cues a deafening chorus of boos and jeers for the Canadian rocker.

[ALEXIS]
Alexis' hair is once again in her eyes as she staggers back from her fallen opponent. She draws in a deep breath and her arms drop limp at her sides. She isn't aware of her own victory - she's just pushed herself too far to keep up the fight. It's the booing of the crowd that tips her off to the fact that she might not have to. She pushes her hair from her face again, her aquamarine eyes falling on the fallen star. A grin spreads across her lips, and she allows her bangs to tumble back down like curtains once more. She raises both fists to the booing fans.

Moments later, both her hands reform into giant pixels across the video screens of viewers at home.

At that moment, the announcer chimes in, stoking the heat from the crowd to a fury: "And your WINNER IS... ALEXIS!"

Alexis lets her arms drop again and basks quietly in their loathing for a few more seconds as a long sigh shudders through her. When she notices that Pepper still hasn't gotten up, she steps toward the teenager and starts to bend down, extending an open hand down. "Hey, 'Murica. You gonna get back on your feet, eh?"

Abruptly, her would-be offer of assistance is intervened against by the interposing figure of the Hoedown Dillo, who places his (?) hand on his hips.

"Hey there, Missy! You should leave Lightning Spangles alone. Refusin' to comply just might get you wrangled up by the Hoedown Legal Posse!" The voice of the Dillo is strangely roboticized, as if to mask the identity of the speaker.

One of Alexis' brows quirks in confusion. "Chill, dude. I was just gonna -"

"Have a nice evenin', y'all!" The Dillo remains stoic.

Alexis' expression remains bemused for a second more before she shrugs, lifting up a hand. "Whatever," she replies as she steps away, the camera zooming out as the hand being presented to the Hoedown Dillo goes blurry once more.

COMBATSYS: Alexis takes no action.

[                                <
Alexis           0/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Alexis has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:31:47 07/03/2016 by Pepper, and last modified on 09:37:03 07/07/2016.