Match of the Millennium

Description: A few days removed from the fight with Urien, Antonov has decided to hold another open challenge. The location? Loch Ness. The opponent? The mysterious young woman known as Menat accepts and the two clash in a Neo League battle.

[ANTONOV]
It had been a few days, but it still feels like the beating Antonov took from Urien was only moments ago. It is rare for him to face someone so strong and his body still aches at times, but in the end he is the host of Neo League and the show must go on.

That is why an open challenge was staged on the outskirts of Urquahart Castle. Staff have everything set up as a decent sized crowd have come to see who may come and challenge Antonov this time around.

"Despite being sore he stands talla nd proud barely showing he is still feeling some lingering effects from the last fight. A little trail of smoke coming off his cigar as he stands there shirtless and wearing white slacks with white boots. The customer Neo League title he had made for the eventually winner rests around his waist while he watches everything get set up.

A thumbs up from the head of staff lets Antonov know cameras are rolling and everything is ready. Forward the big Russian strides as he raises his arms in the air. "Let the Neo League open challenge begin! Who wishes to try their hand against me this fine evening?"

[MENAT]
Menat found her way to Urquahart ... well, with her, nothing is really accidental, or so she believes. But almost accidentally. She thought she would go, guided by her visions (and her master not-so-subtly suggesting that she should get out more and also be better at fighting so a dinosaur didn't eat her again), so she went, and now she's here. She didn't advertise her presence and she's not especially well-known to most people, so she could get close without being bothered very much.

She is carrying her crystal ball when Antonov made his declaration, and she spares it only a glance, running her fingers over its smooth surface as if in reassurance before she worms her way out, through the gathering crowd.

"I will!" Menat sounds pretty excited as she pushes her way out through the crowd. She's hard to see until she actually gets to the front of it because she's shorter than the average person in it, though the unusual outfit makes her stand out, complete with the crystal ball cupped in one hand and the long scarf connecting her wrist to wrist, hanging behind her.

"My name is Menat," she says, "and I am here to accept your challenge!"

[ANTONOV]
There is a few moments of silence. It doesn't look like anyone is too eager to accept until Menat pipes up. He hears her, but he can't really see her until she fights free of the crowd. "Ahh, good." he reaches to pull the cigar from his lips and he snuffs it out on the palm of his hand before handing it over to one of the staff to take care of for the time being. He rubs his hands together as he gives the young woman a look over and nods.

"Menat, is it? Nice to meet you. I look forward to seeing what you can do." He knows better than to think she might be in over her head. He knows appearances can be decieving and if she wanted to test herself who is he to say no?

He cracks his knuckles and gives a stretch to loosen himself up. He does well not to wince even though the stretch actually gives him some discomfort. 'Come then. Let me see what you have, miss."

COMBATSYS: Antonov has started a fight here.

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

COMBATSYS: Menat has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Menat            0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0          Antonov

[MENAT]
Menat does indeed look like she's a bit out of her league. Has she even done a public match before? Not that anyone can remember off-hand...

But it doesn't stop her, and it doesn't stop her smile. "All right!" she says, before giving her crystal ball a little toss up. It rises, then falls, and then stops just at her fingertips, floating lightly in midair above her hand. That's a good trick, at least.

Menat doesn't even try to use her foresight to tell whether she's going to win or not; that just gives her a nasty headache if she tries. But she does look into the ball for a few moments before she swings it left and right above her hand, just loosening up. "I hope we have a good match," she says, as she does.

And then she doesn't use it at all! She swings the ball up above her head, guiding it with just her fingertips as if it was totally weightless, before she leaps into the air. She hovers for just a moment at the apex of her arc before pushing off of nothing and descending in a slow, gravity-resistant drilling kick toward Antonov; she falls a lot less than it really looks like she ought to be, but that doesn't reduce the impact of her feet!

COMBATSYS: Antonov interrupts Khamun Kick from Menat with Gigantic Back Press.
*KNOCKED AWAY*

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Menat            0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0          Antonov

[ANTONOV]
His head tilts as he watches the movements of the crystal ball. The look on his face says he is at least impressed by that. It is like the Goblin King in that one movie he watched. Only the ball is bigger and wow.....is it floating on its own. "Oh no, this is why I wanted to do this. So many interesting tricks fighters have."

His own offense isn't exactly anything special, but given his size and strength it rarely has to. At times he is jealous he doesn't have some tricks like other fighters. He can't shoot fireballs or teleport like others. He just has to rely on honing his body to be as strong as it can be and use it to his best advantage.

"Well said!" He barks in reply and watches Menat sail through the air with ease. Though as she is coming down she finds Antonov stepping back and crouching some and then turning right around and pushing off the ground. Her foot impacts and glances off his broad back as he slams it right into her with all the momentum he can muster all the while bringing his arms up to flex while doing so. "Hup!"

[MENAT]
Sometimes, size and strength is its own trick.

Menat is a slightly built Egyptian lady who is maybe five foot four. Antonov is a giant of a man who appears to be made out of mostly muscle and a cigar. (The belt is more of an accessory.) In a pure beef contest, Menat loses every time, and that's what happens this time.

Menat literally bounces off Antonov's back, propelled upward with a decidedly confused look on her face as she ends up tossed end over end. She lands on her back several yards away with a /thump/ so loud it echoes. It's like belly-flopping (well, back-flopping) from too high up, except she didn't hit water, she hit flagstone. Her crystal ball falls on top of her, except it halts about three inches above the small of her back instead of actually hitting her.

"ow"

That doesn't mean she gives up, though. It takes her a moment to roll up, but roll she does, to the side and then pushing herself up to her feet. She hangs back for the moment, the sphere returning to its accustomed position just above her hand. Just for a moment, though - Menat flicks her fingers in Antonov's direction, and the ball flies toward him, trying to smash into his torso with a sparkle of telekinetic energy!

If the sphere impacts, it bounces off, hovering about four feet to Antonov's side and slightly behind; if he dodges, it just hangs there anyway, completely ignoring things like 'gravity' and 'momentum'.

Menat is perfectly okay with being more still for a couple moments, after that one.

COMBATSYS: Antonov blocks Menat's Soul Sphere.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Menat            0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0          Antonov

[ANTONOV]
With a heavy thud Antonov lands and turns about to see Menat further away than he expected. He actually looks rather apologetic even if he probably doesn't need to be. If Menat was afraid of a wall of meat she wouldn't have accepted the fight to begin with he would gather. He is a good sport though and gives her time to recover and get up.

"What brought you here if I may ask? Was it the announcement of my open challenge or something else?" He admits he is curious, but then he finds himself distracted by the ball that gets tossed his way. It comes sailing in and there is something of a pause as if unsure how he should defend himself. It looks expensive and he rather not break it. Of course he has the money to get a new one, but it might have sentimental value!

He opts to crouch down and bring his arms up to let the ball slam into them instead. The result is feeling that telekinetic charge run through him and give him something of a shock that makes the hair on those beefy arms stand on end. "Hmm...." He does not have anything fancy like that to throw back as he glances to the ball then to Menat. With a slight shrug he moves forward to close the distance between the two. This time it isn't the entire Antonov hurtling towards her, but instead him coming in and bringing a arm about to punch her right in the shoulder.

COMBATSYS: Menat blocks Antonov's Medium Punch.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Menat            0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0          Antonov

[MENAT]
The ball hovers. It menaces with... well, no spikes. It's round. But it menaces.

Menat does not hover; she remains in place, apparently expecting Antonov to come to her. And he does! Not at a rush, but at a steady, sustained approach, complete with fist. Menat brings up her hands to catch the fist, and it's enough to slide her back an inch, but she doesn't get hit in the face - and the faint sparkle around her hands means it didn't even sting nearly as bad as it could have if she was less telekinetically skilled.

Still stings a little, though. Menat shakes out her hands afterwards. "Well, I did want to take your challenge," Menat says. It's a good way to get practice, she figures - and she does want to do well in the League. "...also I don't know if there's actually the Loch Ness Monster here, but if there is, I want to see for myself."

Menat does not strike at Antonov. She watches instead; she doesn't have the crystal ball so she stares at him instead, getting a feel for how he moves. Perhaps she's learning already.

COMBATSYS: Menat focuses on her next action.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Menat            0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0          Antonov

[ANTONOV]
There is a good amount of mustard on that punch so being able to stop it like she did gives an appreciative nod from Antonov who pulls his hand back and takes a step back. "Oh? I have always wondered that myself. Perhaps if we are lucky she will take an intereset in the commotion. Then again she seems quite shy." That is if she even exists of course. "I was planning on spending some time here to watch and see if anything interesting happens. Welcome to join me after the fight!"

He finds himself on the defensive, but no attack incoming. He quickly glances about to look for the orb to find it not flying at him from some random direction so he is left there in a moment of awkwardness where there is no action. Far be it from him to let that remain the same for much longer. There is an audience to entertain so he steps forward to close the gap between the two once more.

This time he comes in low as he clenches a fist. The wind almost seems to ripple about it as he swings upwards looking to drive it into the gut of Menat with a bit more force than his last punch.

COMBATSYS: Menat deflects Whale Stream from Antonov with Soul Reflect - Knot of Isis.
? Strange Hit! ?

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Menat            0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1          Antonov

[MENAT]
"Certainly!" Menat is in good cheer, at least, despite having smacked into the ground so hard she's going to feel it for a week. "Surely two sets of eyes are better than one for looking for her. Master says, sometimes it helps to look beyond to the truths outside."

Menat is certainly doing a good job of watching Antonov. She knows he's going to come at her - she saw that, and she didn't need foresight for that, just a grasp of what he wants to do. He's here for the crowd, after all, as much for her, and so she just has to prepare for his attack, which is coming -

Now!

Menat makes a sharp gesture with her hand, and the sphere returns to her, suddenly. It whips right past Antonov as he clenches his fist, completely harmlessly; it passes around Menat's side, around her back as if orbiting, and around to her front, whirling around her faster and faster as Antonov strikes.

He doesn't hit the sphere, but he doesn't hit Menat either. Antonov's fist hits a dome-like barrier of telekinetic force, the outer boundary of which appears to be the frantic orbit of the crystal ball; it's visible for an instant as he does, faint bluish ripples in space that repel his fist and blast him backwards, leaving Menat untouched in the center of it. If a little frazzled.

The ball slows its orbit afterwards, returning to Menat's hand and spinning in place. She taps it with her finger, letting it wobble to a stop, hovering in place again. "Yeah!" More like that!

[ANTONOV]
The sphere moves quickly and Antonov can feel a slight breeze as it surges past and returns to Menat. He was expecting her to use it to strike him again, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead it works with Menat to create a barrier that his fist slams against full force. It ripples, but not give and in act Antonov seems more than surprised when it blasts him back and off his feet to where he lands on his keister a few feet away.

That confusion gives away to laughter and the big Russian starts to stand up. "Ahaha, so many tricks. I sometimes wonder how people come up with some." he says and at the back of his pants. "I guess I should be more careful."

At the same time there is only so much he can do really. He can't stand back and staying at a distance just seems to make him more an easy target for that orb of hers. So he does all he can and moves in close once more. THis time looking to drive an elbow into Menat before stepping back and delivering a follow up shoulder tackle in an attempt to knock her off her feet.

COMBATSYS: Menat blocks Antonov's Combo Grapple.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Menat            0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1          Antonov

[MENAT]
"Practice!" is Menat's answer to how she has so many tricks. "And my master teaches me quite a lot. I wouldn't be nearly as skilled without her!"

Menat has the advantage at range - she can throw her orb, and Antonov has no equivalent. Keeping her close is his best strategy, and he realizes that (probably as soon as Menat does, if not earlier - he's more familiar with what he can do, after all).

But Menat recognizes he's coming at her again and is at least somewhat prepared. She whirls her ball in front of her, grasps it with both hands, and uses it as a physical defense against the shoulder tackle; it drives her backward, and further than Antonov might expect as Menat gives a little hop, almost curling up around her ball -

She vanishes with a backwash of that same energy she's been using for everything else. Mere moments later, she appears again, about ten feet away from Antonov and behind him, but she did what she wanted to - get out of the way of his inevitable follow-through.

COMBATSYS: Antonov interrupts Left Eye of the Lion from Menat with Kamchatka Collapse.
*KNOCKED AWAY*

[                             \  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Menat            1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0          Antonov

[ANTONOV]
His shoulder crashes into that orb which ends up being more sturdy than he ever imagined it could be. It is a good thing because he rather not be picking glass shards or whatever it is made out of out of his skin if it did shatter. He pushes her back slightly, but she was more than prepared for what he was doing and he finds himself being assaulted by that strange energy she wields once more as she teleports away.

She gets distance, but it doesn't seem to be near enough. While the last blast took him off his feet it seemed like this one did much less and he is already turning about to quickly close in at high speed.

One mighty leg swings back before she gets much chance to do anything before swinging forward and upwards with such force it makes the ground seem to explode as his foot skims over it before delivering a bit boot heel to the chin of Menat with all his might. His moves may be rather simple compared to most fighters, but he is obviously good at using them to their full effect.

[MENAT]
Upside of teleporting: teleporting is cool and good and can get you out of situations that regular old 'movement' in 'three dimensions' can't.

Downside of teleporting: reappearing kind of leaves you open.

Antonov takes advantage of that, whether he knows about that or not ahead of time; before Menat is doing anything more than reappearing and dropping to the ground, Antonov's MIGHTY LEG is in position to smash her from the sky. His boot heel catches Menat with a pained yelp and sends her tumbling end over end to land in a rather awkward heap some distance away.

She left her ball behind. The crystal ball hovers in place before zipping off to the fallen Menat. It might hit Antonov in the back, but it was probably accidental; Menat isn't getting up after that one, at least not without quite a bit of time to recover. Her everything hurts.

COMBATSYS: Menat can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Antonov dodges Menat's Soul Sphere - Ankh.

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

[ANTONOV]
The problem is after a fight with Urien he is perhaps putting a bit too much oomph in his strikes. That was like chipping away at a mountain with each big punch or kick he delivered. Menat......is not a man mountain and thus Antonov feels a bit guilty once again. "Ahh, are you going to be okay?"

He then notices the lack of orb around her and he moves just in time to see it coming to where it was about to hit him in passing and he manages to hop to the side and avoid it. She looks like she isn't going to be fighting any more so he quickly motions for staff to declare the fight over so the medics he has on hand can go check on the young lady.

With the fight over Antonov flips open the main plate of the belt to reveal a row of cigars hidden away and pulls one free before closing things back up. He chomps down on the cigar, but does not light it as he approaches. "Let the medics see to you. I will see about getting some food if you wish to watch for Nessie still."

That is of course if she can even really make out what he is saying. He straightens back up and looks about the crowd. "Everyone give Menat a hand!" The crowd applauds and the cameras start to cut off. One open challenge for the evening is enough. Even if he is feeling decent still he doesn't want to push himself too much given he is still somewhat recovering from the fight with Urien.

COMBATSYS: Antonov has ended the fight here.

Log created on 19:14:30 10/23/2018 by Antonov, and last modified on 00:10:57 10/29/2018.