Match of the Millennium

Description: It's time to meet a star! Kongou encounters Lyraelle. Time for some tips on being a Fight Tube celeb -- or threaten each other with violence. Whichever.

[LYRAELLE]
Downtown Southtown at midnight isn't the safest place to be even at the best of times, but with

Downtown Southtown at midnight isn't the safest place to be even at the best of times, but with Darkstalkers of all shapes and sizes rampaging through the streets, it's become a haven only for the bold, the wicked, and the insane...

...All of which could be used as adjectives to describe the self-styled Queen Lyraelle Darkheart. No wonder, then, that she is in fact treating it like a haven. The pink-haired demoness has her legs dangling over the side of a three-story brick building, a bowl of ramen noodles and a pair of chopsticks in hand, likely procured one way or another from the noodle restaurant on the ground level below whose front has been smashed in. She's stuffing her face and swinging her legs in an entirely unregal manner, taking the privacy afforded by the moment to set her royal affectations aside.

Sitting along the rooftop next to her are three short demons; one green and spindly, one squat and pinkish-red, and one stocky and yellow, with a white goatee and ram's horns. All three are dining in similar fashion to their fearless leader; a set of recording equipment sits nearby, currently disused.

"Okay! I've got it. Red will be the bait. Get a pack of them to chase you. Dodge can record it. Then, I come in and rescue you. That way, we show that Darkstalkers are victims too, and more importantly, what a benevolent ruler I'd be."

"Do I have to be the bait? You know I get asthma attacks," the pink demon says as he chews a bit of beef.

"Don't make me whip you, Red," Lyraelle snaps at the minion with a scowl, eyes flaring with green flame. Both the red and green imps jump a little, the former trying to hide behind the latter. "I-I, I take it back, Your Majesty," the red demon stammers.

"Good." The green flame dissipates from Lyraelle's eyes as she smiles sweetly. "Let's all remember to keep in character, shall we?"

"Yes, Mistress," the green and red imp says in unison, while the yellow one grunts and nods.

"Right. Now, finish your lunch break and get in position..."

[KONGOU]
In the streets below, a sudden ripple occurs. It's..almost like watching a mirage dissipate or the waters of a pond become disrupted by a pebble being dropped into it. It fills the empty road up, shimmering vertically from the ground like a rising curtain which then begins to press outward giving the look of something like Saranwrap being pressed on by something extremely...large..from the other side.

So large a heavy *TOOM* rumbles thorugh the landscape, followed by another *BOOM* and then a *THOOM* and other variants there of. Abandoned cars bounce up and down. Lights flicker and the earthquake increases as the reality distortion grows..until FINALLY .. Kongou arrives.

And by arrive one means he presses through that ripple like some sort of muscular monstrosity that has dined on a parade of the world's biggest bodybuilders and fighters and then moves on to the next worlds offerings and then the next. Street wide pectorals burst through first, followed by the rest of his torso without seeming end in sight. Like some sort of Kaiju he thunders on in. A dsplay of obscene immensity.

There's also a tiny green goblin riding on one of his shoulders. A normal man could use such a shoulder as a wide table so to the goblin it's basically a landscape. The goblin is also, uh, bearing a broken laptop and dressed like a gaudy hip hop fan.

"You gotta take it easy when I'm trying to record, boss!" it belts out at the behemoth, "This is the fifth laptop! And now that guy wants to take my job to!"

[LYRAELLE]
By now, their meals finished, the demons have dispersed; the yellow ram's-horned demon has set up on the ground below with a video camera on his shoulder, his spindly green compatriot standing behind him in a directorial role. The reddish-pink one is just wandering out into the street when the ground starts to shake.

"M-Mistress!" Red yelps, voice cracking as he staggers with the quaking of the asphalt under his feet, before turning to scramble away from the mountain of man that has appeared before their very eyes. "Save me!"

"What did you do now, Red?!" the Dark Queen shouts into her micro-headset, clapping her hands over her pointed ears as static floods their comms. She leans over the roof's edge to peer down at the scene below. "...I said a /pack/ of them, not a stack! Do you /really/ expect me to save you from... that?!"

There's only screaming from the other end of the line as Red flees haplessly toward his colour-coded comrades.

"...Ugh."

In spite of her previous words, Lyraelle leaps off of the rooftop, her wings allowing her to glide swiftly down toward the ground until she lands lightly on her high heels. Her hands drop to her hips confidently as her green eyes rise to greet the dimensional interloper.

"Hello! My name is Queen Lyraelle, Sovereign of House Darkheart, and I'm here to... gosh, you look waaay bigger from down here," the pink-haired hellion trails off, her eyes losing focus as she tries to take in the sight of Kongou. "So... big..."

[KONGOU]
"Well you set up to close, Zeke!!" argues the huge ...whatever he is as he thuds forward. "You know my fighting technique has..uh..alot of range! Even here in this thick murky miasma they call Earth!"

"Hey I didn't trust that guy you wer chatting with. He's after my job! And what'll happen when you -do- get all your mojo back! I ..er.." The goblin falls quiet and then reaches out to grip the hair of the giant to steady himself as the demon is spotted and begins shrieking at the sight of the two interlopers.

Kongou turns his full attention to the here and now, watching as the red demon goes scrambling away. He just looks on, confused now while the goblinoid, Zeke, leaps with his equipment in tow to clear the distance and perch atop a nearby lightpole in a panic at the flurry of events.

"What is this?" rumbles Kongou in surprise, "..The Makai? Also here??"

And then Lyraelle has arrived and Kongou merely blnks a few more times as she addresses him only to let a huge grin spread across his features, "Oh hoh! So it's true!" But when she declares her name and then grows seemingly dazed by his immensity he keeps grinning but raises an eyebrow, "Uuuuuhhh.House..Darkheart? I don't know a House Darkheart.."

Meanwhile Zeke peers forward now that Lyraelle has arrived and tips his baseball cap up, "Hey....heeeey. I know you. You got a channel!"

[LYRAELLE]
With Kongou sufficiently distracted by his queen - though it's questionable whether there was ever any intent to threaten his well-being in the first place - Red rejoins his fellows, clinging to the green imp as both cower behind the demonic yellow camera-man, who seems almost unfazed by the situation. It's hard to tell whether the shaking is nerves or simply the effects of being in Kongou's presence.

Meanwhile, Lyraelle herself has managed to successfully transition from gawking openly to subconsciously chewing on her lower lip as Kongou speaks. The look in her eyes is difficult to define, but it certainly has a glint of covetousness behind it. The mountain's failure to recognize House Darkheart causes the demoness' lower lip to push out into a petulant frown. Her hands remain on her hips as she stamps a heel against the ground - a gesture which might carry a bit more emphasis in less grandiose company.

"Of course you haven't. Ancient usurpers would have the name of Darkheart forgotten forever! I -"

Her attention is drawn to the goblin atop the lamp-post. "- oh, yeah! That's me!"

Suddenly, the celebrity ascendant is all smile. All it takes is a bit of recognition, it seems, for the Demon Queen to abandon kayfabe - or to embrace it. It's difficult to tell whether she's putting on a mask or taking one off.

"Demon Queen Lyraelle! Did you want an autograph? Selfie?" She flicks her bangs and strikes a pose, purple-gloved fingers positioned in a traditional rock devil-horns sign, but held near her head as one might expect to see a victory V. "This is so crazy! Are you two in costumes, or what?? Are you demons, like, for real?"

[KONGOU]
"Hell yeah I do!"

Zeke hops down from the light post, rebounding from a mailbox to land in the streets and then scurries towards Lyraelle. He slows upon seeing the three demons, looking cautious even in the shadow of the massive Kongou who one would think would bolster his confidence as the two are together. Even so, it pays to be..safe. Plus there is a new fact that begins to surface, "Heeey..so the getup -isn't- fake?? You really -are- a demoness and a queen??" Zeke seems..actually really pleased, "So this can really work!"

"Of course it can!" remarks Kongou cheerfully, "I do not know why these humans choose to call me something strange like.. CGI and...Motion Capture but..look! Sheis Makai and is a viral hit and famous right? So it must be possible!" He gestures at Lyraelle rather cheerfully though he does withdraw his massive hand and asks, "You -are- famous on FIght Tube, yes? Oh! And we are Youkai! Perhaps not to dissimilar from Makai. We're from The Backyard but I think it is called something else here.. This is Zeke and I am Kongou The Strongest Titan. The Mountain!"

[LYRAELLE]
The Demon Queen shifts her weight from one hip to the other, her tail swishing behind her. To the untrained eye, it would be difficult to believe that the rubbery appendage could be so life-like - not to mention the wings at her back, possessed of an uncanny range of motion and no visible controller. To the trained eye? It's even less believable, in spite of any FightTube how-to videos to the contrary - one might even notice subtle differences in both features from the ones shown in the demonstration videos. It seems that CGI might be something the Demon Queen and her associates are familiar with.

"You're clearly not mo-cap, or CGI," Lyraelle says as she adjusts her gloves, tugging at the sleeves and wiggling her fingers. "And... well, I... I am a Demon Queen! I mean, it's my persona, right?"

If Kongou or his companion can sense the nature of Lyraelle's aura, they may have even further evidence that it's more than a persona. Shifting back into character, she straightens up.

"I'd say that I'm pretty famous! I may not have as many followers as some Fight Tubers, but the ones I have are totally the best." A wink and a hand-heart are turned briefly to the yellow demon's camera before Lyraelle looks back up at Kongou. "I bet... you definitely look like the Strongest Titan. We totally need to network... I wanna know about the Backyard. And other Titans. And where I can get more minions like that one." She tilts her horns up at Zeke.

"Speaking of which..." Lyraelle puts her hands on the back of her waist and looks waaay up at Kongou's face.

"...You should totally work for me."

[KONGOU]
"Oooh? Are we being filmed??" Kongou blinks a few times, looking rather delighted at this, upon seeing her turn back to the camera man to compliment her subscribers. Also there is the subtext. He may act buffoonish but he's not oblivious to all matters that may concern the supernatural. She is almost certainly truly of The Makai and yet there was no true committment to that outside of the persona before the camera. Kongou purses his lips in thought and then when the offer to work for her is made his eyes light up in with bemused humor and his pressed lips begin to tug at their corners into a big smile.

It's a smile that turns into a booming laugh that rocks and rumbles the area from it's force. "How sudden!" he rumbles before crouching down somewhat, coming to his knee and leaning forward against it with an arm braced atop the bent leg, "Come work for you and do what? Maybe I am business for myself? Do you know of this thing called.. Saturday Night Fights?"

[LYRAELLE]
Do what, indeed? A prickle at the back of the covetous Queen's mind reminds her that the camera is awaiting her answer to the question as surely as Kongou is. Her lips spread into a bright smile, eyes wide and innocent.

"Whatever I want you to, of course. That's how those who serve royalty are always expected to behave."

The audacity of Her Dark Majesty is palpable as she puts her suggestion to the Mountain. "And of course I'm familiar with Saturday Night Fights. It's a classic program. I even deigned to grace the last episode with my royal presence." She raises one of her hands to make the motion of buffing and examining her nails through the glove that she's wearing, eyes filling with feigned detachment.

"I take it that you're interested in being famous, then? I'm sure that working for me could only help with that. There's still room on my coattails for passengers. Metaphorically speaking, obviously."

It's hard to read from one moment to the next what of the Queen's words and demeanour is genuine hubris and what is affectation.

[KONGOU]
"Fascinating!" Kongou as he inclines his head and exchanges a quick glance with his golbionoid er staff member? Manager? Handler?

"But I'm afrad I must decline.

Kongou slowly rises back up to his full height, producing a creaking sound like stretching leather as his physique's sinew pushes and pulls against his bone structure. The top portion of his upper body falls into shadow as he leans back and continues, "You see, I work for myself and while I intend to be famous it won't be by riding any coattails. Im here on Earth test rumor of the strength of the warriors here and so far I've been a little surprised and entertained! But I need to not have any strings attached to me. Especially for what the second part of my plan involves.."

[LYRAELLE]
All of Lyraelle's airs of dignified detachment (mercurial as they are) cannot conceal the disappointment at the man-mountain's refusal to bend the knee to her - at least, in the metaphorical sense. A small, girlish snort of derision escapes the Demon Queen's nostrils, and she turns her back on Kongou, hands on her hips once again as her tail swings back and forth with more visible agitation.

"Fine. No one can say that I didn't ask politely," she says as her eyes close, the camera catching every bit of the drama in her expression in its shifting degrees of subtlety and distinction. She turns her head slightly toward her shoulder, eyes peeking open again to look the Strongest Titan over from bottom to top. Her tone is as light as it is laced with underlying threat. "But I want your power to be added to my own... and sooner or later, I'll have what I want. One way..." She smiles sweetly up at Kongou. "...or another."

Meanwhile, across the road, the pinkish, squat demon nudges the green imp beside him with a stubby elbow. "Hey, G, do you think her Highness is biting off more than she can chew, here? I mean, look at that guy. He could use you for a toothpick."

"Quiet, Red! He might hear you... and get ideas!" the green imp hisses through chattering teeth.

[KONGOU]
"Ah this must be what they call ... performance art!" Kongou nods knowingly and grins at Zeke who nods his head, "Yeah, see! I told you! Izuna was right!"

"I love it!' says Kongou, rather cheerfully. He then crouches back down and holds a massive hand overhead, casting the demoness and her servants in shadow before he forms a fist and squeezes. A sound like chasms being cracked open and tree trunks splintering rumbles through the area as the behemoth cracks his knuckles and squeezes tightly while his eyes become slightly..madcap perhaps..in contrast to that big grin of his. He looks, briefly, mildly insane.. And this is, perhaps, not an act.

"I cannot bend the knee to anyone not as powerful as myself. But! You said you fought in these..Saturday Night Fights? So when next we meet you will have to show me! Then I might reconsider. Sadly, I would give you the chance now but..I have just finished a spar with another I sense I am still somewhat weakened by this Earth plane. It's like I am moving through tar and molasses an weighted with a great weight.."

He un clenches his fist and reaches over, leaning down to find purchase on an abandoned car. An instant later and he's rolled the large machine upwards and is sandwiching its bottom and roof between his immense hands as he stradles it infront of his chest.

An instant later and the car crumples tinfoil. Metal screeching and glass shattering. The engine block compresses and the car balls up in the giants grip spraying oil and other fluids everywhere.

"..You see?" Kongou sounds disappointed. "That would have taken far less time back home! I cannot possible fight you while I'm in such a weakened condition but maybe I will be less sick in a few days..."

[LYRAELLE]
Lyraelle begins to carry on sauntering away with a swivel in her hips as Kongou comments on the nature of her display, heels clicking quietly on concrete and asphalt. The shadow falling over her causes her steps to slow, and her eyes flit back to regard Kongou's initial demonstration of might with some detachment. When he challenges her - or at least, promises a future challenge - she comes to a stop, the corner of her lips tugging upward slightly.

When the Mountain picks the car up off of the ground, the demoness takes proper notice, slowly turning so that her side is facing him and her face is pointed in his direction. While her body remains relaxed as the pressure on the vehicle increases, her eyes widen slowly, that same covetous expression from before returning and causing her glimmering green irises to seem ever larger. When the car crumples, a shiver breaks through the Demon Queen's cool and collected demeanour for a moment - but rather than fear on her face, it's a toothy grin that flashes for a moment.

"Fine... in that case, we'll have to settle this... when you think you can handle me."

And with that, she starts to sashay steadily away again.

The camera-toting ram-man looks up from the feed, then cuts it and quickly starts hurrying after Lyraelle, the trio of minions gathering their things and hurrying after the demoness on their much shorter legs.

"M-mistress! Wait for us!" the green imp calls out in a high-pitched, nasal voice as he and the others give chase, permitting Kongou as wide a berth as they can manage.

[KONGOU]
The brute stands back up and holds onto the crumpled car. He merely arcs an eyebrow at Lyraelle and then slowly turns his attention to Zeke who grins and thumbs up to the giant.

"Well..I think she took that..rather well!" declares Kongou once she's moved further away. He then tosses the ruined car over his shoulder and lets the boulder of scrap go crashing into a closed and boarded up storefront. "Let us go!"

And with that, the odd pair begins stepping off.

Log created on 22:06:34 04/04/2020 by Kongou, and last modified on 02:44:34 04/05/2020.