Match of the Millennium

Description: So here is Jeremiah and Faust, hanging out behind the club on the weekend. Acting stupid, getting drunk with their best friends. They couldn't wait for the summer and the Warped Tour. And then they remember it's the first time that they saw her there. One's getting kicked out of school 'cause she's failing. Another's kinda nervous, 'cause all her friends hate her. She's the one, she'll always be there. She took your hand and you made it I swear. Cause you fell in love with the girl at the rock show. Or like, you can just fight each other, I dunno. Blink-182 is still cool, right? <Winner: Punk Ad Rock>

[JEREMIAH]
Yeah, this stage and local was quite a sight, but Jeremiah was a simple man. With the lights not quite strobing just yet, and the people milling around behind the safety barricades, the gunslinger was currently sitting at the bar many yards away from the site proper. His left arm was leaning against the wood as he sat sideways on the little stool set out for him. He was dressed somewhat fancily for this occasion, a nice dress-up shirt wonder underneath a black vest, with black matching trousers covering his legs all the way down to a fancy pair of grey cowboy boots. Across his shoulder diagonally across his chest was a bandolier of bullets, and of course around his waist, over his belt was an old leather gunbelt, from which hung the tools of his trade. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and his gloves and hat were both against the bar itself as he had himself another shot of whiskey, just eyeing and surveying the situation he was in. The SNF seemed to love this 'team battle' business, he was just hoping his partner was a little more prepared than the last one. He also prayed he wasn't fighting another Mishima, he wasn't sure his face could take it.

[FAUST]
The floor may be somewhat packed - at least away from the bar. The lights and the music deafening and blinding, going from black to white to black in less than a second. It's enough to really drive you loopy!

It's a good thing that some just /come/ that way. It hadn't been long ago that the band on stage was surprised when part of the act changed. A white light in the middle of the stage suddenly started to spread outwards in a rectangular shape before solidifying into wood, crafted with care, and then swinging open. "Oh! O hope you all brought an apple for ME!?" Faust promptly fell into the crowd, the large man being tossed about, bag and all, before being discared onto the ground of the crowd, as it were.

Swiming through the ground, dodging feet, the good doctor managed to with some luck, get to the bar. Long arms come to grasp ahold of the bar before the head followed, neck stretching comically before the rest of him -snapped- back into correct position, the man sitting on a stool - and towering over Jeremiah. "Well, I know exactly what I'll need then! Yes, it seems like as part of this establishment, I'll need something with apple! One hard cider, barkeep! Please, put it on my tab!" Of course, it was not by /chance/ that he had arrived there.

Obviously he was there for a purpose! Mmyes! As his hand, somewhat massive and engorged (why?!) is held up until he is served, the bag on his head twists... a whole 360 degrees as he looks about for someone in particular. Or someones?

[ALEXIS]
It's that time of year again - time for the ROCK SHOW.

Or at least, time for -a- rock show. It was at a rock show like this one sometime last year that Alexis Lovell had been set to make her debut on Saturday Night Fight's collaborative media engagement with the Rock Show. Unfortunately for her, the fight had wound up on the dark part of the card and hadn't ended up making the cut for the broadcast. It was probably a really good match, but honestly, no one remembers it now. Even Alexis herself can't remember how it turned out.

Of course, that could have less to do with the match itself and more to do with the number of times Alexis has had her face punched, slammed, and smashed through pool tables since then, especially in the past few weeks. After her latest brawl had landed her in need of medical care with bad burns (luckily she owns several copies of her fighting outfit) and massive bodily trauma, the rest of her band had insisted that she take it easy. After all, the medical fees had far outweighed the three hundred dollars of missed gig money that Alexis had started the fight over. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself: Killasaurus Orphanage got invited to play at an upcoming rock show, sponsored by Professional Fighting Worldwide (and probably Ultratech).

What Alexis had failed to mention to her fellow Killasaurus Orphans (?) was that, once again, the invitation had come with a caveat: Alexis would have to fight.

Lead guitarist Benny "Benny Lava" Lavoie lets out a girlish scream as the stage opens up unexpectedly in front of him in the middle of his solo. In a panic, he bends his E string too far, causing the steel wire to snap and whip across his fingers.

"What the fuck, Benny?!" Alexis half-whispers and half-shouts, turning a glare from the audience to her bandmate. The sound carries to the crowd, thanks to the microphone being too close to the lead singer's mouth when she says them.

"I'm bleeding! Fricking A!" Benny squeals, while still somehow managing to carry on his solo after dropping an octave to compensate for the lost upper range on his instrument.

"Whoa, cool!" bassist Kim "Kim Penetrable" Steele remarks as she watches Faust's stage dive, oblivious to the guitarist's suffering. Matty "Toothhead" Barker, the drummer, presumably hasn't noticed anything from behind his drum kit, sunglasses shielding his eyes from the glow.

Alexis shakes her head and turns back to the microphone.

Holding out for what I'll never get
Fill my world with all your sad regrets
Blown away, thrown away
You got me down and out again
Blown away, thrown away
Gone away again o/~

I just wanna let you know
You can take it fast or slow
You can make it easy
You can make it hurt
I just wanna let you know
You can take it fast or slow
You can make it easy
You can make it hurt o/~

As the Econoline Crush cover ends abruptly, Alexis lashes a foot out to kick the microphone stand in front of her over, catches the microphone out of the air with one hand, and spins her guitar around to hang across her back, all in one motion.

"Alright, everybody! We're Killasaurus Fucking Orphanage, eh!"

A mixed reaction comes from the audience, who mostly went to grab beers or use the bathroom when they heard that Killasaurus Orphanage was playing that stage next. Alexis scowls, then bellows into her microphone.

"Who's ready for a fucking fight?"

A massive cheer fills the area, and at least three fist-fights break out spontaneously in the crowd. Alexis' eyes scan the chaos as a frown forms on her lips. A cowboy, a man wearing a bag on his head, and a blue girl probably would've been easy enough to spot if it weren't for the outbreak of violence (tomorrow's headline: KILLASAURUS ORPHANAGE FRONTWOMAN INCITES YOUTH TO VIOLENT RIOT). At least -she's- up on the stage and in plain sight, right?

[ERIKA]
It turns out that Erika /is/ pretty easy to spot. When she wants to be.

It's just that, for a while, she didn't. She wanted to, if you'll forgive the phrase, chill. That, and she wanted to make an entrance when it seemed like the best time.

As a result of that, Alexis can't find a blue girl in the crowd. Neither can anyone else, including her partner, which may become a problem because it means that Erika has coordinated with him precisely not at all; she didn't see the point, they'd figure it out together, probably. Planning has never really been Erika's strong suit. She'd been around earlier; a few people remember her. But now? Nowhere.

It's not until Alexis calls for a fight that something happens. With no fanfare, Erika literally drops out of the upper portion of the stage where all that stuff is kept and maintained, dropping a good twenty feet before landing with a thump about ten feet from Alexis, also on stage. About ten seconds later, a light turns on and points at her, too.

Turns out she'd just gone into the maintenance area and found her way up there. Who knew?

"Christ, it's hot up there!" Erika wipes sweat that she doesn't actually have off her brow. Instead there's a faint mist around her, like fog on a cold day, though there's not much of it - it certainly doesn't make it hard to see her, it's more like a haze - and it's fading as she gets out of somewhere unpleasantly warm. "All I wanted to do was drop in, not get charbroiled beforehand!"

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah's normally hardened steel grey eyes widened considerably when the towering, seemingly boneless bag-wearing man sidled up to him, causing Jeremiah to start to scoot his stool back, slowly but surely. He gave a nervous chuckle, glancing around the rowdy arena show nervously.

"Yeah uh, good luck with that cider, partner. If you'll excuse me, I've gotta get goin' to planet earth."

Some money was slapped down on the counter, and his gloves, hats, and the bottle of whiskey was swiped up as the partially suited man quickly got up and started moving toward whatever that commotion was. Mud girls, and now freakshows, was this what he had to look forward to from now on, picking fights with things that stretched the definition of 'humanity' a little too thin for his liking?

His answer came in the form of a blue woman dropping from the stage lighting, and the gunslinger realized, as he made his way through the crowd toward the fighting area proper, that this was the "cold customer" he was to be paired with, like what the officially cryptic and unhelpful SNF schedule told him. Still, he was gonna make the most out of it the best he could, and as he hopped the baricade, he dragged his index finger along the rim of that worn black hat of his as a way of greeting, whenever she happened to look his way of course.

"I reckon yer my dance partner tonight. Much obliged, ma'am."

His attention turned to Alexis as he started to pull on his gloves, noticing her getup even as he snorted through his nose. Pure reflex after getting it broken a few times, checking to see he could still get air through it easily. Well, relatively easily.

"And you, I wish you and whoever your partner is the best of luck. And I apologize in advance if things get a little carried away."

Gloves snug and secure, his hands roamed to rest upon the sandalwood finish of his gun's handles, making sure they were still there to make himself feel better. He just hoped his partner was as capable as she was unique looking.

[FAUST]
To planet Earth?

"Oh? I imagine there's good weather today!" Faust declares, the good Dr. finding the man, Jeremiah, pulling away after a chuckle. With money slapped down, Faust looks down and back up before watching as the SHOW began in ernest. Why, yes, Alexis was hurt previously in ways that normal people could not comprehend! Why, one of her band-mates hurts themself almost immediately! Are you ready for a ---- fight!? "My, such foul language! Oh, but if that is the way that she wishes to express herself!" Faust would, of course, not chide it. As the cider, hard, came in, Faust bowed slightly and rummeged into his pocket for money, placing on the bar an object - it's a giant candy bar. "No, no that isn't right!" And then a bomb. "Oh! Wrong again." Finally he places a dollar atop it and gives a nice hand signal of thanks, before the top section of his bag peels back and the man dumps the drink entirely into it, before placing it back on the bar. The bag seals.

It doesn't get wet. "That certainly hit the spot! I can't hang around here though! My compliments to the bartender." Of course the fight begins.

"How lively! It seems her health is the least of her worries, no, that won't do at all!" As such, the man splashes down, almost literately, as he crawls across the ground, under the ruckus of fighters, before standing tall nearby Alexis. He licks the guitar, a giant tongue flicking forwards before sliding back. "Ah! The taste of sweet music!" He declares, "Yes, KFO fans, I'll be here all night, so if you're especially hurt, just lay there! I'll be with you in a moment!"

A hand shoots out, pointing to the brawl. "I'll try to get all the teeth back in place, as well!"

[ALEXIS]
"We're looking in a pill," Benny remarks, clasping his injured hand in the other as the situation in front of the stage.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Alexis questions, anger rising in her voice as she keeps her eyes peeled toward the crowd.

"I mean, we're probably screwed. You just started a riot and HOLY SHIT!" The lead guitarist stumbles backward and topples over, crashing into a stack of amplifiers as Erika lands a few feet from him.

"Eh?" Alexis turns around to see the blue girl standing on the stage. Her head tilts a little to one side as she looks Erika up and down, and she lets the mic drop from her hand to hit the ground.

"She's so... bluetiful," the dazed Benny murmurs woozily from the pile of speakers he's lying in. The baby-blue-haired bassist raises a thumb in approval on the other side of the stage.

"Shut up, Benny," Alexis says with a roll of her eyes before tilting her chin in an upnod toward Erika. "Nice makeup job. Dry ice is kinda retro, though, isn't it?" She tugs at the fingerless black gloves on her hands before dropping into a fighting stance. One eye catches Jeremiah out of the corner, and her lips purse as she listens to his words. "Guess that means it's you and me kicking shit off, eh? Didn't realise we'd be sharing a stage with Blue Rodeo."

"Wait. Lexi, aren't you supposed to be taking a break from fighting?" Kim says with concern.

"That was yesterday," Alexis states blithely as she raises her hands in front of her.

"Oh, okay!" Kim says with a smile. Matt frowns behind the drum kit, but says nothing as he starts to beat out a steady rhythm on the kick drum.

Alexis senses something touching the back of guitar, but by the time that she snaps her head around to check -what-, the tongue has already retreated. "Bagface? I didn't know you were still playing - oh." It's unlikely that Faust is whatever musician Alexis has mistaken him for. "You're... my partner for this, aren't you," Alexis realises. What is it about her that seems to bring her into contact with the weird ones? She shakes the thought out of her head and looks back to Erika. "Fine. I guess that makes me your nurse for today. Let me know when it hurts!"

COMBATSYS: Alexis has started a fight here.

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

COMBATSYS: Erika has joined the fight here.

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

[ERIKA]
Erika gives a little wave to Benny, and returns his thumbs-up. She heard that! It may be the first time anyone has used that particular word to her.

Or to anyone. It sounds new. Maybe it'll catch on?

"Looks like," she replies to Jeremiah. She doesn't know him either, she barely looked up who she was going to be partnered with besides being vaguely sure she would recognize them when she saw them, but at least he seems pretty thankful for being partnered with her - if that's what he means by obliged, anyway.

She spots Faust, but doesn't immediately intuit that he's the second opponent. This is because most of her attention is on Alexis. Erika's eyes narrow slightly as she feels she's been insulted. "As for you, though. You think this is makeup and dry ice?"

Erika grins, suddenly, rather fiercely. "You're wrong~ - but that's your right, isn't it? You'll learn. And if you want to know when it hurts - "

"FIND OUT YOURSELF!"

The frigid mist around Erika swirls, condensing around her hand, in what might be the sign that the battle is about to begin whether Alexis is prepared or not. Erika brings her hands to her lips, cupping them in front of her and exhaling once and sharply, releasing chi as she does.

The blast is made of of tiny ice flakes, almost like snow, with sparkling motes of energy dancing within it; it becomes a whirling cloud of whipping fog and ice as it moves, sparkling so brightly it's hard to see through and threatening to frost over anything it comes in contact with. It looks a lot like standing in a blizzard from inside the blast.

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Erika's Whiteout.

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

[ALEXIS]
Having played dozens, if not hundreds of shows as the frontwoman for Killasaurus Orphanage, Alexis is fairly well-accustomed to cold receptions, but of an entirely different variety. Of course, she's also Canadian. She wears skirts in January. Watching a miniature blizzard breathe forth from Erika, though, gives the punk rocker pause.

"Oh Jesus," Alexis exhales as she throws up her arms to shield herself from the flurry. Her face is covered as the blast washes over her, leaving frost clinging to her hair and forearms. "F-f-fuck! Kim, why didn't you mention she was an Ice-type?!"

"I couldn't find her in the database!" Kim calls from the sidelines, where she's started to join in with Matt in playing a musical backdrop for the battle. "Try using fire attacks on her!"

"I don't -do- that!" Alexis growls in frustration as she shakes frost from her hair. "Screw it!"

With a quick forward dash, Alexis skips off of a boxy monitor speaker and launches herself into the air, swinging herself sideways and flying in a position perpendicular to Erika. A hum starts to build around her body, amplified as she passes over the speaker, forming an aura of sonic energy as she flies toward the blue girl. Should she collide with her, the sonic energy would be released and she'll attempt to wrap herself around the icy fighter before looping an arm over her neck and dropping backward to pull Erika head-first into the stage!

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Erika with Stage Dive.
- Power hit! -

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

[FAUST]
There's a blistery blustery blizzard, and as Erika creates it all around, Faust flips out, spinning around once in place, his head remaining stationary with a single eye-hole while the rest becomes almost blurry, like a whirlwind! Atop Faust's head is now a hat on the bag - one of those warm knitted ones.

A nice blanket over his shoulders as well.

And a mug of hot chocolate, which he 'sips' by pouring it back, with the rest of his head tilting back nearly like a pez dispenser. "That's right! Don't let them decide how you'll be! Just be yourself! But if you have to be someone else, it's a safe bet to be nicer than you usually are!" Faust creeeeeeeps backwards, inching away and hunching over.

[ERIKA]
At least the blizzard doesn't last long. Erika only has so much air in her lungs, after all, and she doesn't seem inclined (or possibly able) to cheat that.

"You called the dry ice, I thought you figured it out!" Erika takes a couple steps to reposition as Alexis gets the frost out of her hair. "Want another shot? I can do this all day." She ignores the call to use a fire attack. Who's going to do that on the stage? (More importantly, the advice isn't going to help, because either Alexis can do that or she can't - and it looks like she can't.)

The stage dive, though - that catches Erika slightly by surprise. She might be powerful, she might have a knack for fighting, but she's not as experienced as a lot of people on the circuit - how can she be, this is one of her first publicized fights! The impact drives her backwards a step as she drops completely out of what combat stance she had, the sonic eruption ringing in her ears.

This means Alexis gets to learn what touching Erika is like - yup, she's cold. Feels like flesh, though - just very cold flesh, right around freezing. She's not invincible and it's not like hitting a solid block of ice, which may be reassuring. The chill in no way stops her from wrapping her arm around Erika's neck, and a moment later Erika finds herself faceplanting into the stage.

It hurts.

"guh," Erika says, rather indistinctly, as she tries to roll away from Alexis. She pushes herself up and springs the rest of the way to her feet, one hand up to her nose to make sure it isn't broken (it's not). She decides to waste no time at all and drives forward almost immediately in a kick aimed solidly at Alexis' gut, trying to preempt a second attack with a powerful ice-cold kick.

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Erika's Strong Kick.

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

[JEREMIAH]
The entire time, away from the spotlight, Jeremiah just leaned himself against one of the taller railings and watched the fight unfolding. He was studying Erika's abilities, of course, but more than that he was watching how Alexis did things, noting her wild nature. Cigarillo hanging from his lips, he brought up a lit match to one end, holding it until the thing was burning ember at one end, and providing stimulation and relaxation at the other. Idly he twirled one of his guns, not even looking at the weapon but just giving his hands something to do. And waiting until the moment he was needed. If he was needed, Miss Blue seemed to be seven different shades of dangerous.

"Glad I ain't fightin' her", he muttered out loud, to no one in particular.

[ALEXIS]
"You remind me of home," Alexis gasps out as she's getting up from her takedown attack on Erika. The stage rings with the feedback from the unleashed energy as she rolls to her feet. However, one voice reaches out above the noise to give some important advice to the Canadian fighter:

"Oh, yeah, I guess fighting-type moves work too."

"What moves -aren't- fighting type?" Alexis wonders as she raises her hands up. She sees the kick coming in toward her gut - she reasons that she could probably just plow through the kick and end things quickly. After all, she's fought guys twice Erika's size lately.

She hadn't considered what having a block of ice rammed into her kidneys might feel like, but after letting the kick smash into her stomach, Alexis feels like she has a pretty good idea of it.

"Ffffff," the air escapes Alexis even as she's barreling forward, trying to throw Erika off-balance by pushing back against the foot before whirling around with a punch toward the blue girl's own midsection, her fist humming in the air. Should it strike true, she'd continue to spin and try and press her back against Erika's front before hooking an arm over Erika's head, then throw out her boots and let gravity pull her to the stage and Erika's jaw into her shoulder.

COMBATSYS: Erika deflects Shoulder to Cry On EX from Alexis with Frigid Aegis.

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

[ERIKA]
"Where're you from?" Erika asks this almost casually - she really didn't learn much about her opponents before she came, did she? "I know you've got that band - nice, by the way - but that's about it!"

Despite the casual tone of her voice, she's taking Alexis seriously - or as seriously as Erika takes any fight, anyhow, which may be as much as she can hope for. Erika watches, keeping her arms up, hands ready as if to punch an aggressively incoming musician.

But she doesn't actually punch, even when Alexis uses the impact of her foot to push back. Instead, Erika holds her hands some distance apart, and ice starts forming between them; first a delicate spiderweb, but it thickens rapidly into a solid chunk a good inch thick. It's not spiked but it's kind of lumpy and irregular.

It's that which Alexis' fist hits. It apparently absorbs the impact of the chi, vibrating strongly enough that Erika feels it in her bones - she's not really holding the edges of it so much as has her hands slightly frozen into the block. She grunts, trying to absorb the impact as much as she can, but it still shifts her back slightly. The ice block hums, resonant with the chi as Erika shifts it to absorb the next strike -

As Alexis keeps moving, the shield explodes. It detonates in a spray of ice chunks ranging from the size of a fingernail to the size of a fist, a rough spray of destroyed barrier and wildly freezing chi. Frost trails form along the floor in odd patterns away from Erika. Some of the lightest chunks fly all the way to the crowd, though honestly anything that gets that far is small enough to be pretty much harmless. The only really damaging area is pretty much right in front of Erika.

Which, well, is where Alexis is.

"Huh," Erika says, with a grin. She flexes her fingers, and with the sound of cracking ice, the last bits break off her hands and scatter on the stage. "Guess that was a mistake~!"

[FAUST]
"Well, that's certainly why you may be here for!" Faust declares as he shivers. "Oooh, so cold! I'm practically frozen!" He loudly exclaims, before watching Alexis take a foot to the main body and then try to keep on charging in... only for Erika to create a rather cheerful explosion of chi - an entire block, as it were, of ice! It absorbs it and then it all detonates! Why, Faust is certainly nodding his head right about now! "Frozen to the core... I wonder how cold she really is! An examination might be called for!"

But there's a subtle nuance - this woman is older than she puts on. It is clear to the doctor, but not entirely so. There would be one way to figure it out, of course.

[ALEXIS]
Punching an inch-thick sheet of ice isn't generally a pleasant experience, even in the best of circumstances. Cathartic for a moment, perhaps, but then there's the bruised, frozen knuckles. Having the ice explode back toward her, pelting her exposed arms, midriff, and chest with chi and frozen debris, is certainly not pleasant in the slightest. Welts are already starting to form on her midsection, and minor cuts open up on her sides and through the fabric of her shirt as her own sonic energy lends its force to the projectiles' velocity.

"Frig," wheezes, staggering for a moment as her brain receives a status report from the rest of her body.

That status report is 'ow.'

"Oh hey! Lexi! Rock-type attacks should work too, eh?" Kim shouts over the noise. By now, even Benny has joined in with the rest of the band.

"Rock... type, eh?" Alexis mutters questioningly, half-squinting from the pain. Then, suddenly, her eyes light up. "Right!"

Reaching over her shoulder, Alexis grabs her red electric guitar by the neck with both hands and unslings it, holding it low like a battle-axe. "I'm Alexis Lovell," she says as she hefts the instrument, the body of the guitar throbbing. "And I... am... Canadian!"

Whirling forward, she aims to bring the guitar crashing against the side of Erika's head with (more or less literally) thunderous force!"

COMBATSYS: Erika blocks Alexis' Tribute to Townshend.

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

[ERIKA]
Punching ice /is/ never fun. That's why Erika made sure it happened.

Erika only looks a little sheepish. "It doesn't usually explode," she assures Alexis, which may or may not actually make her feel any better. Erika is still pushing the limits of what she can do pretty much every time she tries it. Still, she can't deny that it helped her this time.

Also, she's decided that she likes fighting with backup music. Even if it's not her backup music. So there's that.

Erika maintains a mostly defensive position this time rather than pushing her assault further. This means she's just about prepared when Alexis rushes in, though she wasn't expecting the precise method... "It isn't actually an axe!" she yells at the other girl, bringing up her arms in an X to try to absorb the force of the blow.

Ice starts to form along Erika's arms, spreading down across her lower arms and meeting at the junction. The impact of the guitar shatters all the ice, sending a cascade of tiny slivers falling to the stage around Erika like little chimes. It would sound pretty if it was actually audible over the noise of the rock hall.

It also stings like the dickens, but Erika doesn't say that part. The way she shakes her arms afterwards makes it clear enough. "Well /I'm/ Erika," she says, skipping a surname, "and I'm American. So take that, America's hat!"

Erika has gotten good use out of her kicks before. She tries another, though this one doesn't get up so high and isn't quite as powerful; it's more of a sweep to take Alexis out at the knees. "Or maybe this time America is higher...? I didn't think about that one first."

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Erika's Medium Kick.

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

[ALEXIS]
The body of the guitar rebounds off of Erika's icy defense, the sound filling the stage as it strikes the ground - apparently, the instrument hasn't been withdrawn from the stage's sound system. "Literally speaking? No," Alexis says as she slings the strap back across her chest, dropping the guitar back across her back. "On the other hand, who gives a fuck?"

This time, when the sweep kick comes in, Alexis opts to defend herself more appropriately - lesson learned - by turning to one side and lifting her knee, catching the kick with the side of her boot. The breeze from the impact causes the girl's tartan miniskirt to flutter dangerously.

"No, I think the hat thing works," Alexis retorts with a fierce grin. Turning back toward Erika, Alexis snaps a toe kick out toward the blue girl's upper body, trying to keep her off-balance and low before she can fully come out of the sweep. Then Alexis steps forward, attempting to grab hold of Erika's upper body and force her head between Alexis' thighs before, if successful, she'd hook her arms under Erika's and let herself drop down to the floor, smashing Erika's face into the wooden stage with her hips.

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Erika with Drop D.
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~

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

[ERIKA]
"Hey, suit yourself," Erika says, returning to a standing position after her sweeping kick doesn't make much of an impact. "Though if I were you, I might think about switching the skirt for some shorts if you're going to kick yourself - " Oh, she is /actually/ going to kick. Fancy that.

Erika weaves backwards sufficiently that the toe kick only grazes her. Unfortunately, the way she had to sway backwards did exactly what Alexis wanted - it kicks her off balance, keeping her craned at a bad angle when Alexis steps forward to do -

Well. What she does.

Erika goes down, head compressed and face smashed solidly into the stage. It's a rather uncomfortable position, not to mention an inherently ridiculous one from her point of view. This isn't where she wants her head, dammit. "I'm not into this," she mumbles into the stage. It's not really understandable.

What makes her point a little better is her reaching up at an awkward angle and trying to plant her hand on Alexis' bare stomach or back (she got turned around as to which way Alexis is facing). Where her hand was pretty cold before, this time it is absolutely glacial; contact with bare skin is bone-chilling. Her head is starting to supercool too, which may convince Alexis to let go of her - at least, that's Erika's hope, because it's a much better plan than accidentally freezing Alexis to Erika. (Unlikely, with skin being involved.)

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Erika's Deep Freeze.

[                           \\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Alexis           1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1            Erika

[ALEXIS]
The idea of putting Erika's head between her legs, knowing what Alexis already should have about the girl, may not have been the best plan. Even for a Canadian who's participated in the Bain de Neige contest more than once, it's not the most comfortable position. The wide-eyed and bemused expression on her face conveys her sentiments on the sensation as the shock momentarily makes her forget to stand up, and it's in that moment that she notices the prickling chill at her back.

Anticipating what's coming, Alexis grits her teeth - then lets out a yelp anyway at the freezing feeling against her spine. "Jesus!" she whines as she tries to force herself up to her feet, her skin, skirt and finally leg brushing past Erika's hand as she gets upright. "Not cool!" she protests, in direct contradiction of the facts at hand. Tugging at her skirt to restore her modesty for at least a moment, Alexis sucks in a deep breath, then throws herself into the air in a backflip - perhaps calling into question why she even bothered - her legs humming with two harmonic notes as she spins before aiming to drop them across whatever part of Erika she can manage to, attempting to act before she can rise fully again.

COMBATSYS: Erika fails to interrupt The Windmill EX from Alexis with Medium Punch.
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~

[                           \\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Alexis           1/------=/=======|=======\=====--\1            Erika

[ERIKA]
"Very cool!" Erika disagrees, because she knows how to make a pun. Just not a good one.

Having 'convinced' Alexis to get off her, Erika gets to her feet. She's not as well-off as she was mere moments before; the continued impacts are taking their toll on her. She dusts herself off, trying not to look as sore as she feels; at least, with her skin tone, it's really hard to tell where she's bruised. She looks a little flushed, though - maybe that's her equivalent.

"All right," Erika says as she rises, "I've had about enough of this music. Time to bring on a change in the band - or whatever." Okay, she can't do music references. Either way, she makes an awkward swipe at Alexis as she kicks before Erika is ready, her hand glittering with ice to reinforce the power of her impact -

The kick really /does/ hit Erika before she's ready. She recoils, still on her feet as Alexis' resonating boots impact her shoulders, but her strike goes nowhere near Alexis and it ensures Erika is off-balance a little longer. Plus, now her shoulders hurt. She's tough, but even she can't take much more of this.

[FAUST]
As the fight continues, Faust's neck extends upwards as he gets a different view of the fight - neck? No, actually, it's the bag. The BAG ITSELF stretched upwards, eye at the top getting a top down view for a moment before it elastics back to normal, the doctor nodding his head. "Oh, yes, yes! I should get ready. One of these women will need a bit of care before the next fight!" Was he put on duty for that?

Of course not!

That doesn't matter, however, as the man begins to break out a stethoscope and also a hotpack... then stares at it. "Would a cold-pack or hot pack be better in this circumstance...?" That is, before he smashes them both together - and they merge. Stranger things. "This will certainly do!"

This is all coming from a small box with a white cross on it! What a surprise.

[ALEXIS]
It's chaos in the aisles at this point - people are hitting each other with whatever they can get their hands on, a mosh pit has formed in front of the stage, and some teenagers are even managing to pay attention to the fight on stage for more than a consecutive minute. The natural order of things has been well and truly subverted (then again, it is a punk rock concert, so perhaps not so much).

One thing's certain, though - things have gotten very, very loud. As Alexis rolls away from the exchange with Erika and back to her feet, she takes a moment to breathe and bask in the noise. Turning toward the crowd, her mouth hanging open from exertion, she sucks in a breath, then throws one hand up into the air, presenting them with the devil's horns as Killasaurus Orphanage build their instrumental to a fever pitch behind her.

And, for once, the crowd actually cheer for Alexis. It helps to have the home turf advantage, so to speak.

A shift at the waist allows her guitar to slide back around to her front, and Alexis turns to face Erika as her fingers begin to fly over the frets, shredding freestyle over the sound of the band. Her eyes glint with challenge as she plays, not apparently weaponizing the sound just now, but building up the decibel level with the combination of her playing and the audience's reaction to it.

COMBATSYS: Alexis surges with the power of rock!

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Alexis           1/--=====/=======|=======\=====--\1            Erika

[ERIKA]
Erika likes chaos. The volume is just short of painful, everybody is doing something, and some people are paying attention to her. She's having a lot of fun right now, pain (from volume, injuries, or both) or not. When you're in a fight like this, you /expect/ the pain, anyway.

When Alexis turns to the crowd... so does Erika. She doesn't have a guitar and she doesn't throw up the horns; she just waves to it, apparently just happy to be here. Who knew? "WOOOOO!"

But then Alexis turns back to Erika, and Erika turns back to Alexis; the two manage it almost simultaneously either by intention or coincidence. Alexis looks serious and then begins to shred. Erika looks serious and begins to not shred.

Actually, she thrusts her hand forward at Alexis, sending a blue-white beam of chi at her. Surprise! It's cold too - but there's a certain amount of impact involved too, more like a traditional chi-blast than the frigid ice and snow Erika has been creating so far. That'll keep her moving!

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Erika's Winter Beam.

[                                < >  /////////                     ]
Alexis           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\======-\1            Erika

[ALEXIS]
Alexis' eyes narrow as Erika thrusts her hand out at her. The guitar in her hands shrieks almost abruptly as Alexis bends the strings almost violently at the moment of the icy attack's release. The guitar is swung back around to her back, and the Canadian fighter charges forward - directly in the path of the oncoming beam. The frigid chi slams into her - and slows her charge, assuredly, as the freezing energy strikes her in the exposed portion of her chest, chilling her straight to the heart. Adrenaline, though, carries the Canadian forward as she throws her weight against the blast, boots digging into the wood to steady her with each step.

As she gets near to Erika, Alexis lowers her shoulder, intending to charge into the blue girl and wrap her arms around her waist before spinning around to slam her to the stage floor!

COMBATSYS: Alexis can no longer fight.

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

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

[                           \\\  <
Erika            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

From there, the dauntless Canadian straddles her cold competitor, drawing back her fist as it hums with sonic chi. Then, blow after blow, right after left after right, rains down, playing out a melody using her fists and Erika's upper body. Seething words provide counterpoint to the song as she delivers the brutal assault:

"H-ho-"

*BING*

"-l-ly-"



*BING*

"Sh-shit-"

*BING*

"Th-this-"

*BONG*

"I-is-"

*BONG*

"S-so-"

*BING*

"F-fucking-

*BING*

"C-cold!"

*WHOMP*

Perhaps in hope of escaping the sensation of onsetting frostbite, Alexis finishes the onslaught with a headbutt before lolling sideways off of Erika to smack against the floor. It would seem that she's not getting back up soon as she lies there shivering uncontrollably.
too many"

[ERIKA]
Erika is slow from all the beatings she's taken - it's hard to tell when she's bruised by looking just because knocking her black and blue only adds one more colour. She had expected the beam to slow Alexis down - that or make her get out of the way entirely and abort her attack while trying to dodge it - and, when it doesn't, is left without many options.

The one she tries is to make more ice, coating her arms as ice starts to flare out into shields. But that actually only makes her upper body more unbalanced, and when Alexis picks her up and tries to slam her into the floor, there's not a lot stopping her; Erika goes down like a ton of bricks.

Punching Erika works, all right, but Alexis is right - it's really fucking cold! Erika doesn't warm up when she gets tired and starts using less chi; apparently this is, for better or worse, her actual natural temperature nowadays. Which means while it's not quite the same as sitting on ice, it's not a whole lot better. She's too dazed to conciously do anything about it until Alexis rolls off her, and then Erika rolls too - in the other direction, reflexively putting some distance between them.

She'd say something but she doesn't currently have enough non-dazed wits about her to speak. She's mostly seeing stars. Maybe it's time for some new talent to take the stage?

COMBATSYS: Erika takes no action.


COMBATSYS: Erika can no longer fight.


COMBATSYS: Jeremiah has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|

[JEREMIAH]
It was chaos all around, but somehow, that raging maelstrom of flying fists and shoving has been avoiding the man with two loaded guns, as if all the kids knew instinctively that messing with him was gonna bring something bad. For his part, Jeremiah had been watching the fight with a wide expression, watching two lovely(?) ladies beat each other down in ways that were not always dignified, but then when was a fight ever? He watched the two of them collapse and gave a heavy sigh, his eyes flicking over to the strange one, whom logic and physics seemed to avoid being seen with.

"Can't say I blame 'em. Sheeeit."

Cigarillo was tossed on the ground and stamped out with a boot, and all the way from the ground, where there was still a little bit of fight space left? Jeremiah reached into his gunbelt, pulling that whiskey bottle out from earlier. With a quick underhand toss it was hurled throughout the air, spinning and reaching just above Faust's head...when Jeremiah pulled that gun of his, fanning the hammer and firing off a quick shot, a shot that echoed throughout the building like thunder through a tube. The sound of it was deafening, and instantly the cheap amplifiers and the trashy excuse for 'music', quieted down real fast.

The incendiary bullet Jeremiah fired, well that wasn't so quiet, puncturing through the thick glass bottle and exploding. Very quickly that liquor was turned into raining fire, coming down on the mad doctor. And announcing the start of the new round.

COMBATSYS: Faust has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Faust

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah successfully hits Faust with Firewater.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
With Alexis in the ONSET of frostbite, the good? doctor makes his move, grasping the icyhot bag and making a break towards her! That is to say, spinning around in place and then placing his hand, and the icy-hot bag, atop Alexis' forehead. "Perfect! I'm sure you'll be fine in time!" He declares. The bag of course seems to pulse. Why? No reason, obviously. None at all!

It's just a normal bag melded together from two normal bags and it is also moving!? Yes. Although that's just because inside of it is a very little man, it seems, with a bag on his head. A doll! Not weird at all.

He spins around, twirling towards Erika next and peering a bit close as he leans over, stehoscope first as he presses it to her chest. "Hmmm, how peCUliar!" The inflection is clear as he nods, "MMm yes. I wonder... ah! But you're in pain, that can be saved for later!" Another icy-hot bag is placed atop her head. Maybe it'll warm her up!

Finally, the man extends a hand to the air and spins around once before CRASHing to the ground, head tilted up towards Jeremiah. "Howdy, partner!" Faust proclaims, the moment that the man fired at him causing Faust to, simply, scramble for cover! It was... well, it was a scramble! One that Faust attempted by crawling under the assault, except one cannot crawl UNDER fire. You have to give him credit, however! "Yow! Ow! Such pain!" Faust declares as he burns, tottering backwards and flailing a tad. "Why! I thought we were going to have a moment to say our hello's! But you seem far more interested in goodbyes! Well, it seems like the operation already began and I haven't prepared! Don't worry though!" Faust exclaims, his head still on fire. "I won't charge you a single thing!"

Crawling forwards, the man attempts to - clasp onto Jeremiah and then lick him!? Before he would butt him away - with his butt!

His bag head is still on fire.

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah parries Faust's Medium Throw!

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
"Mister, if they're givin' folks like you medical licenses, I'd rather take my chances with prayer, or eatin' vegetables, or...somethin'. Now I'm tryin' ta be nice to you, on account of you bein' a curious kinda folk an' being twelve feet tall, but yer gonna take them bags off them girls' heads. NOW."

Well, it seemed that demanding didn't work with a thing that was crawling towards him like a mix between a spider and a nightmare, coming at him so fast that Jeremiah felt himself swearing in spanish even as he rolled backwards to avoid a tongue the size of him. His eyes were wide, the look of horror on his face evident.

"Mister, what in the hell is your problem?!"

Instantly as Jeremiah rolled back to his feet he was lunging right off of them, his right gloved fist covered in a pair of brass knuckles, knuckles that were aimed right for the side of Faust's skull...if he had a skull, under that bagged dome of his.

COMBATSYS: Faust blocks Jeremiah's Medium Strike EX.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Faust

[ERIKA]
Surprise! Erika has a heartbeat.

She lets out a muffled grunt and rolls over when an icy hot bag is put on her head by Faust. Somehow, it stays on. She'll probably knock it off in a few minutes when she comes to a little more, though.

[FAUST]
"Hmm? Oh, i couldn't possibly do that!" Faust declares as Jeremiah explains his case! "Why, that would be counter productive to the healing process!" It is his final answer, one that is quite clear. With Jeremiah even stating that he will take his chances with prayer, Faust is honestly floored! The very words cause the doctor to crash against the floor - multiple times, actually! "Ah, could it be!? A doubter in medicine!?" Faust balks, but it is with Jeremiah's quick reflexes that he manages to avoid the tongue. "Eh? Oh! I seem to have been a little tongue-tied! Wa ha ha!" The laugh is quite clear, but it's a bit... maniacal. Still, the man is quite cheerful none-the-less! Even as he asks his problem and then slams a pair of brass-knuckles for the side of his skull and bag. The fist slams clear into him, but the head /bends/. It's probably not supposed to do that. The neck bends with it, Faust managing to ... oh.

The fist doesn't quite make it as deep as Jeremiah wants. What with the six foot scalpel that Faust had pulled from nowhere suddenly impeding the process, the heavy metal between him and Jeremiah. "Why, I have no problems at all! I'm only here to help the hurt, and those two seem to fit the bill right now!"

With that answered, Faust leaps into the air, frog like, before swimming through the sky. Quite literatelly, actually, as he slowly paddles across the ceiling and. "Ah, the fire! It's burning me up!" The bagged head, aflame, is tossed down towards Jeremiah! ... Wait, is his head in that still? He THREW HIS HEAD? A new one pops up right after it. All better! Except for the possibility the burning head explodes and passes it back to Jeremiah, like some kind of hot-potato!

Faust says, "Is this the burning flame of love!?"

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah blocks Faust's Love.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
A man swimming through the air is enough to stop the moshpit that had already been slowing down thanks to the lull in music. Faust ripping his own head clean off of his shoulders? That's when they started to scatter and stampede for the exits, and Jeremiah wished, deep down, that he could join them. Instead, Dr. Faust's worse half was hurled down at the gunslinger, who instinctively caught it with his hands before quickly letting go of it, horrified.

"Ah ah ah ah AHH, shit!"

The head went off and exploded, the shockwave sending Jeremiah flying himself. But he was moving with the momentum, twisting and leaping behind the barricade that was originally separating the fighters from the civilians, before this all became a huge mess.

Jeremiah wasn't hiding behind there long, however. After a moment he popped back up, gun in his left hand, hammer cocked back. Those eyes of his were staring right at the utterly ridiculous opponent in front of him, his sights aimed right for the man's belly, his stomach, if he had one of those. Really, at this point it could be anything in there. But if it was anything halfway important, than Jeremiah was hoping-praying, even-that the good doctor wouldn't appreciate a hole being put through it.

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah successfully hits Faust with Gutshot.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
With the many, and the few, leaving towards the doors, Faust looks about. "Where's everyone going? Ah, if you're all worried about the gun, I can assure you, he only means to harm me!" Faust declares, cheerfully! Even then, he continues. "And I can fix you up if he misses!"

Of course, they're not leaving because of that. Still, with Jeremiah sent flying, Faust had to peer at the man who, shortly after, hid behind a barricade. What a peculiar location for that! Why, very peculiar. Still, it is when Faust lands that Jeremiah makes his shot - and attempts to make it count!

It slams Faust straight in the gut, the man staggering backwards. "Hrk!" He declares, with a quite simple statement, of pain and suffering, that seems to flow freely! "You... are quite the shooter!" Faust exclaims with such vigor and vim, still cheerful, seemingly, despite it all. "But those guns could certainly hurt someone!" Faust, also, adds!

He isn't missing a mid-section, though. Oh of course he isn't! It's not at all missing. Yet.

Staggering and suffered, Faust is left to find some degree of strength in... well, chopping things down!

Which may involve the scalpel being swung forwards. "Why, lets see if I still have it in me! Wahahah!" Faust declares, the scalpel 'burning' with a degree of energy it should not have, the single eye sparking with frightening light!

COMBATSYS: Faust successfully hits Jeremiah with Medium Strike.
Glancing Blow

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Well, this wasn't good. The giant, freakish thing was shot all to hell and didn't seem to treat it as anything but a passing annoyance. And then a scalpel the size of a polearm was being swung around and Jeremiah only just fell backwards in time to avoid his ribcage falling out of his chest. As it was, his left shoulder was opened up, his vest and shirt both being sliced clean through and a red ribbon of pain was opened up in the most terrible way. The gunslinger screamed out in pain as he rolled mid-fall to land face down, clutching his wound in agony.

"Is this what I get fer not eatin' an apple a day?"

He chuckled humorlessly in pain, and instantly flipped over on his back, his right boot reaching up to place itself on his tall, freakish opponent. Would Faust notice the derringer wrapped around the side of that boot, hidden until just now when his pant leg finally raised up enough? Would he notice the ring and string around Jeremiah's ring finger?

"Hey, doc. Keep away!"

Mr. Graves wasn't gonna give the man enough time to put two and two together before giving that string a firm pull, and suddenly both "barrels" of the miniature firearm fired in tandem. It was amazing how much kick such a tiny little thing could have, as Faust would, hopefully, discover soon!

COMBATSYS: Faust dodges Jeremiah's Intercepting Strike.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
The burning energy on the end of the scalpel, cutting through reality - or maybe just wood - certainly doesn't help either! With the left shoulder bleeding somewhat, Faust had to look at it. "Oh! I'll have to help you after this is over!" Of course... he'll have to inflict a tad few more strikes like that before hand! With Jeremiah rolled and landed face down, Faust stepped closer, long, spindly legs and a towering thin torso as he loomed over the gunslinger. "Oh, that old adage? A well balanced meal is only the start! A good daily exercise regime, like this, will help you even more so!"

Still, Faust, as close as he was, was staring down the miniature firearm - 'barrels' launching in such a close distance. He had little time to respond but lots of time to respond - single eye bulging a bit from the hole as a visible sweatdrop, not staining the bag, appears. The barrels were fired and Faust bent backwards, farther and farther - and farther. His legs, locked on the ground, bent at a 90 degree angle as the weapon's payload goes above him, Faust barely bending underneath it before leaning forwards, back towards Jeremiah, using the momentum to follow up, a hand swinging forwards in a karate chop, down towards his hiding place.

It grows, massively, becoming the size of his torso as it would impact! "Neither rain nor hail nor pouring... Oh, I already said rain, didn't I? Well, nothing will keep me away from my patients!" Faust declares.

COMBATSYS: Faust successfully hits Jeremiah with Crushing Strike.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah remembered accusing people of having no spine when he was younger, usually to goad them into fist fights and later on in his life, duels to the bloody death. But now he was discovering that the truly spineless had a distinct advantage, like when they wanted to dodge bullets for example.

Jeremiah did not have that incredible ability, which would have been useful in dodging a massive, oversized hand that was threatening to smash him right through the wooden floors. It didn't happen exactly like that, but the floors did crack and crater from the impact, causing Jeremiah's arms and legs to fly up almost comedically, and also causing blood to fly out of his mouth. Something inside him did not take kindly to cartoon violence, especially not when it was perpetrated against him.

He crawled from the wreckage almost feebly, staggering to his feet and almost lurching forward like a drunk sailor standing on a slide. Unfortunately for Faust, this was all calculated, with Jeremiah's fist clenched, brass knucks coming back into play. He was throwing a wild haymaker that put all of his rushing forward momentum into the hit. Hopefully, the front of that bagged face would prove less bendy than the side? Jeremiah wasn't sure about that, but he had to try!

COMBATSYS: Faust blocks Jeremiah's Crushing Strike.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
Spineless! He sure may be! At least at the moment.

Yet Faust is not one to back down! He, after all, leapt forwards at all costs! In this case, with Jeremiah smashed into the ground by the impact, the good doctor was clearly ... well, not really /enjoying/ it, but certainly seemed to be cheerful about the whole encounter! "It might hurt now, but your back will feel great in a few hours!" Faust promises, though he is back to crouching on the defensive, body actually under Jeremiah's height as he peers forwards, scalpel held onto and reaching above his head.

With the man staggering to his feet and lurching forth, brass knuckles come into play - and the good doctor gets a GOOD smack from Jeremiah, the wild haymaker swung towards him as the scalpel, suddenly, was spun with such force and speed that the impact from the assault was, at least partially, slowed. It catches the arm once more but this time the good doctor is forced backwards, tottering away as he staggers. "Why! I certainly am glad I didn't feel the full force of that!" He declares, before his hand slides into his pocket - !? "Let's see what we have here, shall we!?" He asks, rummaging. "No.. no... ah, what could this be!?"

IT is pulled from his pocket. IT is a cartoonish bomb with a skull on it and the fuse already lit. "OH! This is ... not quite good!" Faust declares, before tossing it towards Jeremiah. "Take cover!" He declares!

The bomb harmlessly sits there for a moment... up until it explodes in a sudden and massive chi infused explosion - how frightening!

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah parries Faust's What Could This Be?!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Jeremiah         1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah was still swaying a bit from being chopped by an oversized novelty hand into the floor, but despite spitting a lob of blood out at the feet of the good doctor, he was still aware and focused. And the second Faust threw down that ridiculous, hilarious and no doubt dangerous old timey bomb, Jeremiah definitely in 'the zone'. His trigger fingers were itching, and even as the bomb started to explode at his feet, he felt the world move in slow motion. Already he was running along, leaping away from the blast and in fact, running on the barricades, leaping for one of the big pillars even as his hands pulled both guns from his holsters. The color from the world was slowly draining from his vision, Faust and the environment all around him looking like shades of brown and sepia. Sound was distorted and slowed, the deafening roars of his twin guns sounding like a slow-moving, powerful tidal waves, motion and rings of sound coming from each bullet that was traveling towards the doctor.

Jeremiah was firing even as he was leaping up into the air upside down, even as he landed hard on his back, even as he was sliding backwards under tables and chairs. He kept firing until his back hit the base of the stage, when the empty 'click' of his guns could finally be heard. Then and only then did he stop, smoke coming from the barrels. The only sound he could hear, was the sound of his own heavy breathing, as the world slowly, slowly started returning to normal. That always took a bit out of him.

COMBATSYS: Faust dodges Jeremiah's Twelve Angry Bullets EX.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Jeremiah         1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
The bomb detonated - and Jeremiah was stuck in the slow-motion notion in the commotion! Running, leaping away from the blast and on the barricades - Faust was already on the move as well, though far less physically awe-inspiring. It just isn't the same when he pulls up the counter from the floor as if it was a rag, peeking under it for a moment before the single eye grows wide, watching as Jeremiah began to fire upon him. Shot after shot - after shot! Jeremiah unloaded his endless (but ended) bullets upon Faust, back hitting the stage and all! With a wide eye and a cry of, "Do pardon me, I 'll need to exit the stage right about now!" Faust dove under the counter as the bullets tore away at the wooden exterior and interior revealing...

Nothing?

"My, that was a close one!" The voice comes, however, above Jeremiah. The doctor simply crouching above him with a donut in his hand. "You almost had him!" Faust declares, "Oh, him? Me! Wa ha ha! That took a bit out of me though! So please, don't mind me!" Faust declares as he tosses the donut up into the air. His head, and neck, spins upwards like a turtle to snatch it, head bending like a pez-dispenser to catch it. All the while he stood crouched right above Jeremiah on the edge of the stage.

"Very impressive!" Talking with his mouth full!?

[JEREMIAH]
Back literally and figuratively against the wall, guns empty little better than makeshift clubs, Jeremiah was definitely up shit creek without a paddle. Reaching his arm up, he wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth, the plasma mixed with spittle clinging to his bare forearm. He was content to sit and catch his breath, when the goddamn doctor was right above him the entire time. The gunslinger's face dropped in a mixture of frustration and exhaustion, his arms dropping at his sides(and the guns clacking on the floor a bit) as he looked up to study the strange, strange creature. He almost wanted to give up, until he saw the donut, and saw how idle his freakishly towering aggressor seemed to be at the moment. Sweat streaming down his face, and his lungs almost on fire from how much he's been pushing himself, Jeremiah cleared his throat violently before spitting a reddish brown something out across the fighting floor. With that out the way, he began to speak. And with luck, Faust wouldn't notice Jeremiah's left hand subtly beginning to reach behind him.

"Hang on Kavorkian, ya gonna eat all that without something to wash it down with? Get the taste of chocolate hangin' around your mouth all day? Can't have that. Here, have a little something on me. Catch!"

With that done he flung the trap upwards, before grabbing his guns and half-ran half-crawled as far away as quickly as possible. Because what Jeremiah just threw up? Three thick red sticks all bundled tightly together with thin rope, white fuses burning down quickly and frighteningly. If Faust didn't do something quickly...he might need a new bag for his big creepy head.

COMBATSYS: Faust successfully aids himself with Chocolate Donut.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Faust

COMBATSYS: Faust dodges Jeremiah's Short Fuse.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
With the donut snapped out of the air, Faust pats his stomach through his doctor coat, letting out a soft sigh. "Oh, that really hit the spot! These sort of things can really tire you out!" Faust declares as he sits atop the stage still. Content, Faust once more worried... about his compatriot!? "I hope you have some - oh, for me!? A gift!? Oh you shouldn't have!" The man declares, all before the trap is set and thrown. Three thick red sticks bundled together with ... thin rope. "Aha! It's... oh dear me!~" He declares, out of the firing range and into the fire! Or explosive, as this may be.

The massive scalpel slams into the ground as Jeremiah makes his way out of the explosives path - and it's not the only one to do so! Pulling back on the scalpel it bends before sending both the doctor and his weapon straight through bar like a slingshot, the good doctor giving a pointer, pink and thumb salute as his legs grasp the scalpel.

"GANGWAY! Cooo~ooming through! Oh no, I'm going to crash!"

Head spinning now like a corkscrew, Faust flies straight towards Jeremiah the gunslinger, in a half-hearted assault. He really didn't /intend/ for it to be this way!

Honest!

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah blocks Faust's Power Strike.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah didn't see Faust get clear of the explosion, he was still running when it went off, but he turned around in time to see the big giant psycho hurtling towards him like a spiraling missile and instantly brought his guns up, cocking the hammers back and pulling the triggers. Pure reflex, pure killer's edge.

Click. Click.

"Ahh, shit!"

His eyes widened in surprise and concern, only at the last minute did Jeremiah happen to hop over the barricade he was standing in front of, braced for the impact as Faust smashed right into the metal fencing. The force of it still slammed into the gunslinger and sent him sprawling away, sending his hat flying another direction, but it was better than the alternative. Right?

Jeremiah kept rolling until he found himself at the bar where he started, lying on his back and working to a sitting position. Or he started to, falling backwards and instead, using that momentum and his own agility to roll himself to his booted feet impressively. Or it was halfway impressive, given how much he wobbled and swayed. He holstered his guns and quickly grabbed on to the bar itself for support, Grabbing a beer from around the counter, and using the counter itself as a bottle opener, to let it flip through the air and land on the ground. He took a mighty swig, not even tasting the liquor as it washed down his gullet like a waterfall and smashed into his system. Truth be told he hardly noticed it, it was that light. But it was something.

As he drank, he turned to face his strange opponent, speaking to him since he was the only one here.

"You know I met a girl made a mud a few days ago. She lived in a swamp in Louisiana, and I think she stole my truck. After throwing a snake at me. I thought that night would be the weirdest and most disturbing of my life, but now I Know that it was the height of hubris and naivety for me to hold such a foolish belief. Tell me something, doc, where in the hell do you come from? Did you even go to medical school, or are you just makin' it up as you go along?"

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah gains composure.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
Crashing into Jeremiah causes Faust to slam against the man like a window, stopping while the other man goes rolling backwards! Faust, flattened against thin air as he was, sinks down it with apparently no wounds from the assault. Head, and hands slowly slide down as the explosion behind him sweeps him up in dust and smoke as he sinks beneath it. With Jeremiah rolling away, managing to come to a stop by the bar, it was a pretty large distance for Faust to cross - and one that the man, under the smoke, doesn't seem to be able to do so immediately. Especially as Jeremiah spoke on after serving himself a drink!

"My, a girl entirely made of mud? How odd! I'll definitely have to investigate such a thing! What did they want? Oh, so many questions! ... Aha! And you already answered a few!" Faust clearly adds, head streeeetching to poke out from the smoke, the eye and bag the only part that stretch up, monolithic.

"A mud girl who collects trucks... and throws snakes! Mmm, so many more questions... oh!" A hand pokes out from the smoke as well, giving Jeremiah the OK finger and thumb circle. "Disturbing? I can't imagine what would cause this to be such a way!" Faust retorts, "I'm a medical GENIUS! It's been years since I've been to medical school, however! Even then, you see, there's nothing I can't cure!" Pause, "Well, almost nothing!" He adds as he seems to just slide up to his feet as if raised by a crane by his shoulders. Standing at his full nine feet, he is quite impressive. "Where do I come from? ... These days, just about anywhere! Wherever there is a soul in need of help, the great Doctor Faust will be there to answer their cries for hope!" A hand points up to a good twelve feet up, his single eye twnkling and sparkling! "Oh!" His head twists around 180 to look at Jeremiah, "I don't mean to brag or anything, however! It really is all for the people."

Of course, Faust turns about. "I could go forever.... but we can get to that after this! Those two didn't beat each up other for nothing! Wa ha ha ha!" He falls. Oh he falls! As he falls, his arms clench the scalpel's handle as he topples right onto his back as he swings, the weapon crashing through wooden ceiling supports and anything seperating Jeremiah and Faust!

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah dodges Faust's Deep Strike.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah was mid-swig when he saw Faust do -something-. The doctor's back was turned, and the cowboy was immediately acting on instinct and reflex, darting and rolling out the way even as that scalpel was slicing through everything like a lightsaber, and it was only through Jeremiah's instincts and his savvy that he wasn't split right down the middle like a human-shaped birthday cake. In his anger, he kept running after the roll, heading towards a pillar and putting his right boot on the firm foundation. With that done he was launching himself up into the sky, flipping through the air and pulling out a fun present from his gunbelt, a big, heavy Bowie knife, both gloved hands wrapped around the hilt, the edge pointed straight down. And as Faust was still on his back, when the cowboy plummeted he brought that knife down, aiming for the doctor's chest, or heart, or sternum. Or whatever was inside that nonsensical and deranged body of his.

"HRAAAAGH!"

COMBATSYS: Faust blocks Jeremiah's Power Strike.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1            Faust

[FAUST]
With Jeremiah rolling, angrily, Faust is left on his back like some sort of turtle! Rocking back and forth, the man attempted to right himself! Unfortunately it seemed like Faust wronged himself with Jeremiah suddenly atop of him! Launching up into the sky, Jeremiah begins to leap upon Faust with a rather heavy knife! It's ... aimed right towards him! Oh no! The body of the blade was spun, the blade itself slashing and pushing deep towards Faust - and managing to dig in somewhat - but always being brushed off by the spinning scalpel! Eventually it stops, Faust holding Jeremiah off. "My.... you'd think I was under surgery or something!"

What is /probably/ a bad sign is the sudden lightbulb that lights up above Faust's head and then crashes into the ground. It is /sideways/ after all! "AHA!"

Legs bend in ways that should not be humanly possible to kick Jeremiah upwards into the sky. Why? Because as he would fall, Faust would be on his feet once more! Unfortunately the spinning blade, this time, was more of a /blender/, the sharp scalpel blade wielded, all six feet of it, like it was a childs play thing, swung about and spun fast enough that it blurred, energy hazing all about it as well, as if it guided his very hands and tempered his work!

"If you were interested in surgery, well, I'll make an exception this once! The doctor will see you now! WAHAHAHAHAH!"

He might be enjoying this part too much.

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah fails to interrupt Hack n Slash EX from Faust with Tennessee Haymaker.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
The stab didn't work, and soon the knife was flying through the air away from the fight, as Jeremiah was kicked up into the air so hard that he smashed into the overhead lights rather brutally. Blue voltage ran through his body, and for a brief flicker for a moment, his skeleton could be seen, screaming in silent agony. That was only a moment though, and soon the cowboy was falling half conscious, towards a shining spinning silver sight, his eyes having trouble focusing. And soon, his screams filled the concert hall...

--------------

Jeremiah was crawling with his right arm, his left lacerated too deeply to be of very much use, his legs not quite wanting to work, blood turning that white shirt into a sickly mix of pink and crimson. His vest was shredded and hanging off of him by threads, and his hair was matted to his head and face as crimson poured down his face to pool in his mouth and dribble out on the floor. Behind him was a slick and sticky trail of plasma. He did not look like a very good sight. But his eyes were open wide, the shock to his body starting to wear off, as the pain of every single cut started to burn with horrible, horrible sensation.

"Aaaah! ...AAAAHHHHHH!"

[FAUST]
"VIOLA~! Operation complete!" Faust proclaims cheerfully, sliding the scalpel into his mouth in the bag and doing a dog like scratch dance with his legs.

Screams.

It's not the first time Faust has heard them. It echoes through his mind in the possibly empty passages that fill the bagged head. Screams of pain and yelling that has, in the past, put him over the egde. He used to listen to those voices. The yelling and screaming. They only get louder - or was it the man in front of him doing so? Mouth releases scalpel, which falls to the ground, clanging heavily. A hand, hanging now, picks it up.

The eye, normally white in the hole, is dark inside of it. Almost red, actually. The man takes a heavy and slow step, the doctor looming over Jeremiah almost like a horror monster, the scalpel being raised with both hands as it is aimed, clearly, for the back of the man. Slow and steadily it raises ever higher, the hands shaking with anticipation as each inch is raised upwards. "We ... we can't just leave it like that! There's Still MORE to do!"

In but a moment, it is plunged downwards, the blade and body of scalpel, as one, towards his aim. Every centimeter passing in but a split second, the slow blade of eternity carving through the air. Whistling towards Jeremiah - capable of being heard behind his own screams in his ears.

The blade slams infront of Jeremiah, stopping him as he crawls forwards, but does not pierce or dig into the man.

Atop it, Faust sits, legs crossed around it as he looks down towards Jeremiah, once more the thumb, pointer and pinky salute is given. "No hard feelings! Wahaha! Do you think I've gotten a little rusty? I didn't mean to leave you in such a sorry state!" Meanwhile, he coughs and slams his stomach a few times where he was shot.

Shell cases fall out from under the bag. "Oh! No wonder, I had lead poisoning!"

Like a monkey on a vine, he simply sits atop the base of the scalpel, looking down.

And then a flower pops out of his head. GLOWWWW.

Then one from the ground before Jeremiah, gently kissing his cheek. It has a face. It literately kisses it.

COMBATSYS: Faust successfully hits Jeremiah with Weapon Jab.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Jeremiah         0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Crawling along on the ground, Jeremiah was only dimly able to react to the scalpel burying itself in the wooden floor, the burning aching wounds all across him taking too much of his concentration. He could hear sounds being said by the doctor above him, but he couldn't connect the dots and recognize them as words. He saw life grow in front of him, but his brain couldn't tell him what was so strange about a horrific flower with a face leaning up towards him. But he could grimace in fresh stinging pain as that flower kissed his cheek, the plant equivalent of saliva mixing with an open wound and triggering a small chemical reaction that caused the right now prone gunslinger to groan out weakly. But it also caused that left arm to reach around, and clench around the base of that scalpel, just before the blade. The arm was slowly going more and more numb as time went on, but Jeremiah just grit his teeth and fought past it, using all of his strength and all of his grit to slowly, painfully, pull himself back to his feet. As he slowly started to stand, his right hand reached under his button shirt, to pull out another little surprise, a double-barreled sawn-off surprise that was quickly cocked, and aimed point-blank at the monkeydoctor's stomach where he was previously shot. Jeremiah lingered, staring into that one exposed eye of Faust's, not blinking, his teeth grit and the hatred on his face evident to nearly anyone. Especially covered in his own blood and half past dead as he was.

No words, no clever lines. Just a moment of silence before the both triggers were simultaneously squeezed. And Jeremiah was launched backwards once more just from the sheer force and power of what he hoped would be a fight-changer.

"CH-CH-BOOM!

COMBATSYS: Faust interrupts Deep Strike from Jeremiah with Spearpoint Centrifuge Dance.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Jeremiah         1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1            Faust

[FAUST]
Looking down from his throne on high - that is to say, the pole of the scalpel, Faust's head tilts, and tilts again, bouncing back and forth rhymatically as he waits for the response from the man. The flower, kissing him, is definitely not the normal GARDEN variety, at least! The hand comes up along the pole of the scalpel, Faust tilting down towards the man, the base bending with him as he looks down. "Ah... you know, you don't look so good."

The analysis from Faust is clearly medical level! He definitely used his years of diagnostics to declare such a thing! Still, with Jeremiah beginning to stand, Faust nodded his head. "Yes! That's right! You an do it!" Of course it's not quite as expected, Faust's head bending in on itself to peer at the shotgun, then back up at Jeremiah. "...Not that though! Don't do that!"

The gunshot launches Jeremiah backwards but Faust... what the hell IS Faust doing?! The man bends backwards, some of the buckshot slamming into the medical professionals form as the scalpel bends away before suddenly shooting forwards, a tongue slipping out from under the bag to chameleon Jeremiah back towards him with almost a sticky sort of pull!

Then Faust's head would slam into Jeremiah over and over as the blade and scalpel bounce forwards with his motions, almost dribbling the man with his head and body before leaping off. "Tadaaaah~!" He declares, "How did you like the performance?" He asks.

[JEREMIAH]
The shotgun was flung to the air and Jeremiah was fully prepared to roll to his feet. Or, in his condition, probably fall to the ground and sputter. He was not, however, expecting to be pulled right back, as if his feet were stuck in cartoon super glue. He swung back like a clown punching bag, finding his skull in a collision with Faust's in a way that smashed his head back and caused even more blood to spray, this time from the gunfighter's nose even as his mouth hung open in clear agony. He was pulled back and smashed into again and again and again, each time battering Jeremiah more and more and more. By the time it was over and the gunslinger was allowed to collapse to the ground, both of his eyes looked to be almost swollen shut and his face in general looked like swollen hamburger that was past the expiration date. His arms were splayed and the fingers occasionally twitching, his eyes swirling and twitching as well, the man was destroyed in the worst way possible, by what had just occurred.

But even then, his earlier action was hopefully paying off, as that shotgun flung into the air, was spinning down and falling faster than a meteor, until the heavy wooden stock with the weight of heavy hard steel behind it, was coming down potentially on the crown of Faust's head. Even nearly unconscious on the floor, Jeremiah was potentially dangerous!

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah successfully hits Faust with Thrown Weapon.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Jeremiah         1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1            Faust

[FAUST]
As Jeremiah throws the weapon skywards, Faust wasn't quite paying attention! TA-DA-THUNK. The heavy barrel and butt of the weapon causes Faust to stagger for a moment, completely brained by the assault, eye nearly spinning from the assault as he teetered this way and that from the impact, clearly a little less stable! "My goodness! Such a weapon." Faust declares, shaking his head. "No, this won't do!"

With a comedic bump sticking out of his head, Faust looks down towards the fallen man. With his nearly unconcious on the floor, a slight bump was nothing TOO worrying about - but it does cause his vision to swim. So what does he do?

Swim, obviously!

With no surprise, Faust takes to the sky! His swimming is quite apparent as he ... frogs forwards, almost gliding, before he, and scalpel, come down towards Jeremiah, spinning!

"Why, there's so many of you! ... But I think I know which one is correct!" Spinning and dizzy of course, are bad combinations... which make them perfect combinations for Faust!

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah blocks Faust's Light Kick.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Jeremiah         1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1            Faust

[JEREMIAH]
Jeremiah was working to his side, when he took a boot to his ribs and stomach, barely a kick at all but it was enough to cause the smaller, normal, and profusely bleeding man to roll from the impact and sputter out even as he worked to his knees enough to 'crawl' away in pain, crawl away until he was climbing up with help of a table in front of him. His right hand went down to his right revolver...but he seemed to hesitate, as if remembering something. With him hunched over, it might be difficult to see just what the man had planned, until he spun around, bottle in his hand even as he flung it down, throwing it and trying to get it to 'smash' at the ground next to Faust's feet. This was done to distract the doctor, to try and get him not to notice Jeremiah suddenly lunging forward, with what could only be described as a running field goal kick, one aimed right for Faust's Mephistopheles, and two of his circles of hell. Jeremiah was desperate to survive. He didn't give a good goddamn about good sportsmanship at the moment.

COMBATSYS: Faust interrupts Strong Kick from Jeremiah with W-W-What Could This Be?.

[                            \\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Jeremiah         2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0            Faust

[FAUST]
The flying Faust, as it was, was a very succesful animal! There was only ever one recorded, but as you see, it was the most beautiful of its kind! Landing, Faust brushed off his head and rubbed it once more. "I'll be feeling that for a few whole hours! Carrying around everything must get real old!" Faust declares. Of course Faust says this. Right before he eats his own words!

He doesn't have time to cook them, though, with Jeremiah spinning the bottle in his hand to throw it - and Faust glances down. "Huh?" He asks out loud as he hunches forwards to look down and ...

Jeremiah is currently lunging towards the good Doctor, attempting to perform an act he has NO RIGHT to perform without a license! "Oh n-!"

The kick slams into his stomach as he ducks down immediately, crouching to the ground in a near panic and bobbing backwards from the assault - toppling over and rolling back and forth, writhing like a spider without a leg or two! "Argh! Oof! Woe is moe! Looks like I'll need something to fix myself up now! And I have just the thing! I wonder what could it be, though!?"

As he rolls about and writhes, he comes to a stop before his hand sparks for a moment, shining, and then /reaches/ into his coat pocket at the speed of a hummingbirds wing beat. First up, a hammer flies out - possibly whacking Jeremiah atop the head! A mini-Faust like doll follows suit, beating upon him - complete with a balloon! A giant burning rock flies up into the ceiling of the rock and roll plaza and finally, an anvil crashes down to slam right before Jermiah, to knock him off his feet! Just in time for /a local meteor shower/ to tear through the ceiling and crash down among Faust!

Other random items fly about, donuts and chocolate bars, gas and a vial conspiciously looking like poison! Even a drum that is leaking oil all over!

Only after the rampage does he look back at Jeremiah. "How are you holding up? I'll find it yet, just let me keep looking!" Faust declares, "I can't leave a patient in such a state!"

[JEREMIAH]
The world fell on Jeremiah, rocks and hammers and voodoo dolls, an anvil and a meteor both falling down, and the impact was so violent and so horrendous that the thin wooden flooring completely gave away, objects and gunslinger both descending down into the darkness of the local sewer system. The bad news was that Jeremiah's unconscious body ended up in a sewer pipe, caught by the strong undercurrent of sewage and being swept away to nowhere. The good news was that as a result of this horrible event, he'd be able to skip that checkup after all.

If Jeremiah ever managed to wake up from the beating he'd received, he'd count his blessings.

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah takes no action.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faust            0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Jeremiah can no longer fight.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Faust            0/-------/---====|

[FAUST]
"Eh?!"

Faust overlooks the hole that had Jeremiah in it - well, where Jeremiah was SUPPOSED to be! "No! A patient got away from me! Come back!" Faust declared, before looking down, peering far below. "... He'll be fine! If he was in any danger, he'd be yelling 'Help'! Right about now!" The man declares, nodding his head before twirling over to Alexis and Erika and leaning over to examine. "Yes, yes... these two. How odd!" With a steady eye, he looked upon the tiny bag men, stuck in their tiny bag prisons, just like the one that was currently riding the currents down below the sewers.

"That one doesn't seem to be .... ah... but this one, I've seen her charts... hmmm young lady, you really should take a rest now and again!" Faust remarks to Alexis, awake or not. "Especially with how you fought today... you should take quite a rest!" He reiterates!

Something he couldn't place, though, about Erika. The bag froze - and that /wasn't/ supposed to happen, the tiny man frozen in prison. "VERY peculiar!"

[ALEXIS]
With the battle winding down and a rather sizeable hole now blown through the stage, the song being played by Killasaurus Orphanage comes to a rather awkward rock-'n-roll fadeout ending.

"Don't tell him, but I am in serious doubt of that man's medical credentials," Benny stage whispers to Kim.

"Yeah. I'm not even sure if he's a /real/ doctor, either," Kim stage whispers back.

Suddenly, a shrill, yet groggy cry fills the ears of those near the stage.

"What the /fuck/ is on my face this time?!"

The tiny bag man is sent flying as Alexis staggers to her feet, wiping her hands over her forehead and eyes. "Ugh, was that a squirrel? I hate squirrels! Why didn't anyone /tell/ me there was a squirrel on my face?!"

"I thought you liked squirrels, Lexi," Kim says with a devastated look.

"Well I hate them /now/," Alexis mutters as she presses her palm into her brow. "Why does my face feel the way peppermint tastes...?"

For this most philosophical of questions, the Killasaurus Orphans (who are not real orphans) have no answer.

Log created on 13:54:58 07/30/2016 by Alexis, and last modified on 16:20:21 08/03/2016.