KOF 2017 - KoF: Rock and Rumble
[Toggle Names]Description: In order to find a team mate, Aranha has to go to a small venue rock show to find them. The audience ends up getting more than they paid for when they get to see a fight with their concert.
[ARANHA]
It was getting close to the King of Fighters tournament team submission deadline and The Dancing Spider needed team mates. Johnny Cage was in Hollywood or something and Aranha had trouble getting in contact with Nightwolf and so he needed to network.
The first person he would seek out would be someone who he met in passing at Mortal Kombat. She lasted longer than him in the tournament but he also had the misfortune of fighting the eventual winner of the tournament early on.
He found out when Alexis Lovell would be playing a small gig and made sure to be there. Throughout the performance hs quiet as he wore his shades. What type of ass would wear shades indoor. The type that doesn't want to get outted as a Darkstalker in times like this.
[ALEXIS]
It's not as big a venue as one might expect for a young and recently rising star like Alexis. The latest Killasaurus Orphanage album is still on the charts months beyond it release. Then again, it's not a Killasaurus Orphanage concert, either - the show is a solo act between Alexis and a stage band of unknowns in a club built for a few hundred.
The show itself is characterized mostly by extended instrumental sequences, more focus put into the frontwoman's guitar work than vocals. It's the sort of play one might expect if Alexis were working through a throat infection, though there's no evidence of such during the parts that she does sing. By now, it's the end of the encore, and Alexis is a bit damp between the effort of showmanship and the stage lights as she hammers out the electric crescendo before letting the climactic chord ring until the speakers hum with feedback.
"I just have one more thing I want to say," Alexis shouts into the microphone to be heard over the noise, bangs hiding her eyes. "My name is Lexi and I hate everybody." A beat.
"Except for you guys!"
Cue a pop from the crowd as Alexis starts to unsling her guitar and step back from the microphone stand.
[ARANHA]
As the encore is completed, Aranha, unlike many of the others at this venue moves towards the stage as he deftly steps around the exiting audience members in a bid to gain audience with the front woman. It's almost odd how he manages to practically dance around the various people as if he had internalized the the rhythm of her guitar playing and using it to get closer to the stage.
It takes awhile but he finally gets there and looks around for Alexis since she had probably moved around by now.
"Yo, Lexi! Long time, no see!"
He's hoping that type of greeting gets her attention so he can get to the first order of business. Seeing if she's got the right stuff for this tournament.
[ALEXIS]
Alexis is having what looks to be a brief and amicable exchange with the backing musicians, an open plastic water bottle in her hand as Aranha approaches. Her guitar has been carried off by a stage tech. There's a barricade set up at the foot of the stage, and a man in a black security t-shirt and jeans starts to approach to intercept what he presumes to be a fan.
"Hey, buddy. You'll have to wait a few if you want an autograph or -"
Though she only barely hears Aranha over the noise, Alexis does glance sidelong toward him as the bassist speaks to her. She's in the middle of raising her water bottle to her lips, and her brow furrows as she tries to place Aranha in her mind. Just as she starts to look back the other way, recognition suddenly seems to dawn in her eyes, and she turns away from the other musicians and walks to the edge of the stage, plopping down to sit on the edge of it and setting her bottle down beside her.
"Hey," Alexis greets the capoeirista with a smile. "Aranha, right? It's been a lifetime, eh?" After a moment, she adds, her expression souring momentarily, "That came out a bit more literal than I meant it. Glad to see you're alright."
[ARANHA]
As that security guard approaches, his foot work shifts to one of readiness. While not overtly aggressive, it gives the sign that the wrong move could possibly go wrong for this guard if he pushes it. Thankfully for /all/ parties involved, Alexis recognizes him and speaks up. Aranha getting chased by the police for a few hours is not his idea of a good time, even if a few of his recent upgrades have made it a bit easier.
Aranha cringes at the lifetime comment, especially since he heard about how her tournament ended. But he smiles in an attempt to keep it from getting too awkward.
"I'm glad you're alright too. I was planning on joining a tournament. And I need team mates."
He holds up an invite to underscore that point before saying, "If you're up to it, we can put on a show and I can see what you can do in a fight for myself rather than getting it second hand from analysts."
[ALEXIS]
Alexis' head tilts a little to one side at Aranha's words. There's a bit of apprehension in her expression, initially. "This isn't another one of 'those' tournaments, is it? Like... last time?" Her eyes fall on the invitation in Aranha's hands. Sending letters instead of magically abducting people? That's an encouraging sign, at least.
"Pfft. Yeah, like any analyst has ever been right about what's going on with me. What's the story with this tourney?" She's already planted her palms on either side of her to support her slide off of the stage; she comes over and leans forward against the barricade with her hands. Her posture is sort of aggressively casual, relaxed but demanding. There's definitely a sense of eagerness despite (or perhaps because of?) having just come off of a performance.
"And who else is in the team?"
[ARANHA]
'Those' tournaments. That pair of words and heavy implications that come with them is understood. As far as he was concerned, she had every reason to be apprehensive. She had experienced her death. He shakes his head to indicate that it would be a negative.
"Nope. No fights for the fate of Earth, as far as I know. And killing your opponent is grounds for elimination from the tournament. Prize for victory is Money. Lots and lots of money. Combot rights and apparently a team headquarters built to specs. Hell... Just participating, you get 20K."
Next thing out of his pocket is the news paper article about tournament as well as the second and third place prizes. But while she gets to look that over, he says in response to her question, "You're the first one I've asked but I'm thinking about recruiting a Dragon-like guy I've heard rumors about."
[ALEXIS]
The reassurance about not getting killed again is all well and good, but it's the words that come out of Aranha's mouth after that that make Lexi's eyes light up: Money. Lots and lots of money. She snatches the newspaper article and starts perusing it immediately for the details on the potential prizes. "Holy shit. Ten million dollars?" That's more money than Alexis has ever been offered for anything, from prize money to record deals.
"Huh. Dragon-like guy. Okay." Lexi looks up from the article, offering it back to Aranha as she steps over the barricade one leg at a time. Her eyes meet his. "I got a pretty open schedule nowadays, so I'll audition for your team. But if I beat you, I wanna be the team captain." A beat later, she amends, "Or, you know... at least co-captain."
[ARANHA]
"I'm fine with this."
After putting the envelope away, he steps back to give his prospective team mate a bit more room to step over the barrier and get herself situated and then when she looks like she's ready, he smiles as he says, "Play me somethin' I can dance to." A little joke harkening back to their conversation about each of their relationships of respective martial arts and music.
He makes no motion to take off the shades he's wearing, but instead he beckons her to come attack him before swaying to and fro in his capoeira ginga.
COMBATSYS: Aranha has started a fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|
[ALEXIS]
Alexis stretches her arms out to either side before sweeping them up over her head to flex her fingers against each other languidly. With that done, she glances over her shoulder and puts her fingers together to whistle loudly at the musicians still on stage.
"Tell the sound booth to keep the levels set and jam on something we can dance to," Alexis instructs the band when they turn to her.
"Is that a trick? Everyone knows you can't dance," the bassist says as he starts to put his strap back on, the other musicians following suit.
"Thanks a bunch," Alexis says with a sweet smile while flipping the bassist off. She turns back to face Aranha, raising her hands in an open brawler's guard as the band starts to kick back in with a heavy guitar riff, drawing the attention of the crowd toward the pair in front of the stage. The security personnel move quickly to create an impromptu invisible cordon around the pair as fighting stances are assumed.
"You gonna be able to see me with those shades on, Corey?" Alexis asks, though she leaves little room to answer before stepping in with a high side kick as if to test her own question, the heel of her boot buzzing with a bass hum as she does.
COMBATSYS: Alexis has joined the fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Alexis
COMBATSYS: Aranha blocks Alexis' Strong Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Alexis
[ARANHA]
She doesn't give much time to answer, however his actions speak much louder than words. He brings up his forearm and takes the impact on his shoulder and uses it to spin him around. He probably could move completely out of the way but he wanted to get a feel for the person he was fighting. How hard they hit, how hard they take a shot, what things did they do well and what things they need to work on. That sonic chi bolstered attack had a pretty decent kick to it(no pun intended).
He tries to move in before Alexis can put that bass humming boot down, Aranha tries to sneak in his foot and hook it around the planted foot and pull it from under her and drop her either on her back or her side.
"I am, but even I wasn't, I could still hear you."
COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Aranha's Medium Throw.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Alexis
[ALEXIS]
The commitment to the high kick, though loose, is still enough to leave Alexis open to the counter-sweep from Aranha's foot. She takes it rather gracelessly, the baggy pants she's wearing not lending themselves to quick movements below the waist.
"That's good. I generally aim to make myself heard," she comments from the ground with some pain in her voice.
Rather than trying to minimize her time on the floor after smacking against it with her back and backside, she opts to try and bring Aranha down to her level. She aims a kick at his shin with one boot to try and throw him off-balance, before pulling her upper body up to try and make a grab for Aranha's arms. If she can manage to grab one or both, she'll drop back and bring her boots up in an attempt to pull Aranha's torso against them before flipping him over her with the momentum of his fall and a push from her own feet accompanied by a sonic shove.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Alexis' Charged Combo.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Alexis
[ARANHA]
Capoeiristas /hate/ getting their legs kicked at. Aranha is no exception. So when he sees that boot going for that leg, he kicks himself into an aerial right above the rocker and her foot finds nothing but air as he performs the acrobatic manuever over her.
She hasn't quite gotten back up to her feet but has also shown that she is willing to fight off of her feet, he won't hesitate to attack while she's prone. He goes into another acrobatic manuever. He reaches down to the ground across his chest and uses the momentum to flip him over as he drops a heel on her torso. The combination of both gravity and momentum should probably make this a painful experience if it should land.
COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Aranha's Heel Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Alexis
[ALEXIS]
Alexis manages to get her knees tucked up again as Aranha's heel drops toward her. She grunts as her shins take the brunt of the impact, then quickly rolls sideways like a log away from Aranha before pushing up onto her feet, stumbling back against the barricade rail in her haste. By now a sizable human wall surrounds the two fighters at a 'safe' distance on every side but the stage.
"Hey, give us some room to work, eh?" Alexis yells at the fans as she sits back against the barricade for a moment, then swings her legs over the top of it. With a quick hop and a push with both hands against the stagetop she ascends to the band's domain. Standing at her full height, she takes a deep breath through her nostrils, focusing on the sound of the music all around her, especially from the drums in close proximity.
"Hey Aranha, fair warning - I never half-ass a show!" With that declaration, Alexis takes a leap off the stage, aiming to fly back over the barricade and collide with the capoeirista in what would generally be considered a crowdsurfing disaster were it not intentional. If she can manage to do so, she'll swing herself around him and hook an arm over his neck before dropping to the ground with him and drivng his head into the mat, unleashing a sonic shockwave that would sound akin to a cymbal crash.
COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Aranha with Stage Dive.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Alexis
[ARANHA]
Never half-assing a show. What an admirable trait!
Aranha's face takes on a stunned look as he's frozen in disbelief by what he's about to experience. The rocker slams right into him and manages to slam him face down into the ground. By some miracle, he manages to keep the shades intact.
The capoeirista slowly climbs to his feet and begins moving towards Alexis and...
A few minutes later...
The Dancing Spider finds himself laid out on the ground, breathing heavily as he desperately tries to pull oxygen into his bruised and battered body that thankfully is beginning to stitch itself back together.
He turns towards Alexis and says, "Welcome to the team, co-captain."
[ALEXIS]
If Alexis was working up a sweat from the stage show, she's practically drenched by the end of the after-show scuffle. She's also managed to pick up a shiner on her right eye, along with various other bruises - even in her best form, the Canadian's never been known to take a fight without taking a pounding herself in the process. At least her clothes made it through the fight intact this time.
She lets out a groan in response to Aranha's welcome as she props herself up from where she's lying with an elbow, pressing the hand of the other arm against her bruised eye.
"Thanks, chief. Got any paperwork for me to fill out, or can we sort it out over some drinks? I could go for a beer right about now..."
Log created on 19:54:52 07/28/2017 by Aranha, and last modified on 10:21:07 07/29/2017.