Match of the Millennium

Description: Two winners of regional auditions for Professional Fighting Worldwide's new Idol Showdown Series meet in a head-to-head battle combining musical might with pugilistic prowess! Demonstrating our commitment to the security of our fans and fighters alike, this karaoke kombat kontest will be hosted in the cage of the Meson De Las Flores, allowing live viewers to safely experience the exhibition without diluting the sonic purity of the battle! The trick is, there's only one microphone, suspended above the ring. Who will get the chance to let loose with their big finale when it's time for the coda?

[TAIRYU]
==OVER A MONTH AGO==

"Please, Tairyu-san!!"

"..."

It all started from one particularly passionate round of karaoke at a bar Tairyu didn't usually frequent. Apparently one particular young man, just slightly younger than Tairyu himself, dressed up in an obnoxiously exaggerated punk getup (complete with a mohawk), was so impressed with Tairyu's singing that he immediately had to accost him for... help, as it were.

"...How is that my problem, exactly?" The young Yakuza mutters.

"Because!! That american is always coming here, making a mockery of us!"

"Again, how is that my problem? I can't do anything about him singing better than the regulars here."

"BECAUSE!!! He is not making just a mockery of everyone in this bar! He is mocking all the karaoke singers in Southtown! NO, ALL OF JAPAN! But if you can take him on in a Karaoke Duel, our country's honor will be preserved!!"

Tairyu looks bemused at this notion, and pinches at the bridge of his nose.

"...Aren't you taking this whole karaoke thing a little out of proportion? But good grief... If it's going to get you off my back, fine..."


==TWO DAYS LATER==

Tairyu is, once again, hassled by someone, in the same bar. This time, by a woman roughly a decade older than himself, in a crisp black dress suit. She waits patiently, while Tairyu looks over the business card she handed over to him.

"... You were that guy's manager?" He asks.

"Well, no, not directly," the businesswoman-like person in front of him offers in answer. "Mr Ritchie was not on retainer to any record company or live venue. I am representative from the international singing contest he was taking part of, you see. And that overwhelming loss when he sung against you has circulated on social media so widely that fans following the contest have been calling him to be eliminated already... and frankly, we are agreeing with that notion."

"I'm... sorry to hear that," Tairyu rumbles, with some sincere regret. He didn't expect a comparison of singing ability in a karaoke bar to have such dire effects on his opponents. "But what does that--"

"You see, Mr Tairyu, since you were the reason for his loss, that means you now have his position."

Tairyu freezes. A few seconds are taken to, futilely, attempt to process what he just heard.

"...Huh?"


==NOW==

Several singing duels later, the nature of the competition Tairyu had ended up in in spite of repeated protests had changed its nature. Wether that was always the purpose of it, or if Tairyu was merely lead to it after the realization of his history within the Neo League. And it all has lead up to this -- the Final Battle of the Idol Showdown Series, in Barcelona. Just by looking at the stage, one might not immediately realize the oncoming event even has anything to do with singing. Afterall, the caged arena in the middle of the venue filled with countless spectators speaks more of violent bloodsports rather than a musical showdown.

"... Have I mentioned how utterly ridicilous this is?" Sighs out Tairyu, in one of the opposing entrance halls for fighters, dressed up in his trademark suit and red shirt in spite of preparing to walk up to a brawl in front of an audience screaming for blood just as much as music.

"You have, in fact," an all-too-cheerful attendant confirms, before giving an encouraging slap to the back of the japanese man's shoulder. "But it's exactly what everyone wants! Just be ready to walk out when your name is called!"

"...Right."

[ALEXIS]
It's been a while.

Two years, in fact.

The Canadian regional qualifiers of the were the talk of Toronto - especially when it was discovered that one of the top contenders was actually a Bigfoot from British Columbia in disguise. Public opinion had been supportive of the creature's rise, but freak technical difficulties had occured during the televising of the final qualifying match. This gave the Professional Fighting Worldwide executives just the loophole they needed to keep the Bigfoot - who fell under the categorical ban on darkstalkers from Saturday Night Fights - out of the Saturday Night Idol Showdown, instead replacing him with the runner-up: operatic singer Kelli Lassuraux.

It didn't take long for the internet community to suss out from that point that 'Kelli Lassuraux' bore a striking resemblance to Alexis Lovell, also known by the stage name of 'Killasaurus Lex.'

All of which brings us back to the backstage of the Meson De Las Flores in Barcelona, where Lexi Lovell is running through her vocal warmups:

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ha ha ha ha hooo o/~"

She taps her chest lightly and clears her throat before gently reaching for the glass of room temperature water on her dressing table and taking a slow sip. Afterward, she draws in a slow breath before letting it out softly.

A sharp rapping comes at the door.

"Two minutes, senorita~"

Abruptly, Alexis roars: "I KNOW! Get off my ass, dickface!"

Once the sound of hastily retreating footsteps fade, the glare in Alexis' aquamarine eyes does as well, and she sets about carefully making sure that her outfit - a strapless black tulle minidress and punk combat boots - is in place.

==*== TWO MINUTES LATER ==*==

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's the musical mash-up you've been waiting for! The Idol Showdown Ultimate Throwdown, here in La Meson De Las Flores in Barcelona, Spain! And our first Saturday Night Fighter entering the Safety Cage, Miss Kelli Lass- I mean, Killasaurus Lex!" the announcer, a suit-wearing man with a moustache familiar to many viewers as Tom from Professional Fighting Worldwide, announces.

And, as described, Lexi is indeed making her way into the area beneath the cage hanging over the fighting ring like the Sword of Damocles. She doesn't look toward the crowd even as they boo and cheer her arrival, and her face betrays little to no emotion - an unfamiliar look for the Canadian punk rocker, to be sure, but she's been out of the limelight for some time.

There doesn't appear to be anything safe about the 'Safety Cage' - while the rust and blood may be covered up by a fresh coat of paint for the weekend, it's still just a crisscross of unforgiving metal, with gaps large enough for a lucky beer bottle to fly through but too small for your average fighter to escape from.

Alexis' eyes linger on the impending prison for a long moment before she closes them and takes a deep, calming breath, awaiting her opponent's entry.

[TAIRYU]
"...She doesn't look like 'Killasaurus," murmurs Tairyu from the opposite side where he's waiting for his call.

The instant Announcer Tom so much as calls out "And our second contestant--!" Tairyu sets into motion already. He may not be immediately visible with how darkened the arena outside of the cage is. But almost on cue, he's stepping into the lights within the cage through the opposing end, one hand loosely stuck into his pocket. At least the suit finally makes him look the part alongside his Idol Fighting partner in the cage. Even if the particular cut of the suit speaks less "Classy gentleman" and more "Ominous Mobster".

"Yo," Tairyu calls out to... Killasaurus Lex then, once the announcer quiets down, voice loud enough that at least some of the audience can likely hear him. "I like your dress." The hand from his pocket is drawn out, and he goes through the process of cracking his knuckles. "Let's try not to tear it up."

[ALEXIS]
It's not until Tairyu calls out to her that Alexis finally turns her eyes to meet his, a slightly glazed look deadening the shimmering shade of aquamarine in her irises. Her shoulders slacken as she sizes the other fighter up, eyes wandering with a detached slowness from Tairyu's shoes to his hair. She lets out a little snort at the Japanese fighter's comment.

"That was only the one time," she remarks, whatever steps she's been taking to warm her voice up not enough to take the sabulous edge off of it. Her eyes flit askance, then down to her hand. She starts holding her fingers up, one by one. She gets halfway through the fingers of her other hand before giving up the count.

"...Okay, maybe it was a few times. What can I say?"

The punk-opera (?) singer turns into a fighting stance, raising her hands with her hands curled nearly into fists.

"Self-control was never my specialty."

There's a strange, faint warping of the ambient sound in the bar localized in the space around Alexis as she flexes her fingers, followed by a series of quiet ascending tones emanating from her hands as she curls each digit one by one.

Interrupting the display, the microphone - an ostentatious, gold(or faux-gold)-plated, high quality thing suspended from the ceiling - descends down to hang between the two fighters. A moment later, the cage falls as well, a screech of protesting metal followed by a clang as the pair are locked in for the impending battle.

"And now, in the interest of fairness, we will reveal the soundtrack for tonight's family-friendly chorus of carnage...!"

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu made the comment on the woman's dress without expecting it to have been an already-common thing. And Alexis' response cluing him in on that makes him squint his eyes briefly at her and point out, "Pretty sure this isn't supposed to be a strip-fight."

Not that Tairyu is really one to talk. He has survived plenty of fights that his clothes... haven't.

He doesn't have the same kind of display of ambient energy to show off -- he only has himself. But there's weight in his shifting stance alone, too. Just the weight of his foot over the ground of the soon-to-be-caged ring is filled with purpose and pressure -- and all the more so in the flick of his left arm while it's hand forms into a downward-pointed fist, and finally in his right hand rising up besides his chin, where fingers flex up before curling to form a tight fist. Green eyes so bright one could nearly swear they glow while they glare sharply in prepared focused at his opponent.

"Family friendly my ass," Tairyu snorts out while the announcer speaks. "As if this whole setup wasn't ridicilous already. Right, 'Killasaurus-san'?"

Alexis is not, however, given much time to respond. For it's almost immediately after the song of choice is announced as "Bullet with Butterfly Wings as made famous by Smashing Pumpkins", that the bell rings.

And with the bell, Tairyu immediately swings into motion, snatching the microphone over--

"~ The world is a vampire o/~"

Tairyu's deep baritone doesn't exactly perfectly match the original song's tone as it was sung by Billy Corgan's sharp, crisp style -- though it is quite no means bad, just adding on a more classic rock style to it.

The musical instruments only kick in after the first line, and Tairyu takes advantage of the brief pauses in the lyrics to hand the microphone over to Alexis. ... In a manner of speaking.

To be more specific, he straight up THROWS the microphone, aimed for the woman's forehead in a move that most definitely makes a sound engineer somewhere have a heart attack.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tairyu           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Alexis has joined the fight here.

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

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Tairyu's Thrown Object.

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

[ALEXIS]
"You say that like you don't expect me to blow your socks off," Alexis remarks with a quirky half-smirk from behind her long brown bangs, her whole body starting to rise and fall lightly with each breath as the anticipation of impending violence mounts. She gives a flick of her hair to clear her vision, lifting her chin a little as she stares her opponent down.

"Family friendly's my fucking middle name," Alexis calls out in the silent space between Tairyu's question and the music kicking in - just the right moment for the statement to be caught by the audience in the Meson and in beeped-out form for the viewers at home.

The room fills with feedback as the microphone smashes into Alexis' upraised hand, caught only a moment before it would have struck her straight in the face. The force with which it connected seems certainly enough to have caused some pain for the punk-rocker's palm, but she smiles wickedly as she holds the microphone up to answer back:

"Sent to drai-ai-ain
Secret destroyers, hold you up to the flame o/~"

Alexis' delivery is, of course, an octave up - and a hell of a lot smoother and better-enunciated than what most familiar with her usual vocal fare would expect. She stalks toward Tairyu as she sings, then glides forward at the end of the line, offering the microphone back with a toss - not with the same sort of violence, but rather intending for the device to be caught. It's not an entirely friendly exchange, though - just after she offers back the microphone, she spins around, swinging one leg much higher than one ought to in that dress on a 'family-friendly' show, a high-pitched melodic note ringing out over the music from the heel of her boot as she aims to drop it across the Yakuza's head.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu blocks Alexis' Hammer-On.

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

[TAIRYU]
Microphone caught again, Tairyu's immediately leaning back into the song to keep up with the music.

"~ And what do I get-- o/~"

...Even as he raises his other arm up to intercept Alexis' falling boot with his forearm with a mix of the sonic echo and the more natural sound of flesh smacking against flesh resonating out.

"~ For my pai-a-ain? o/~"

His arm maintains itself held up right above his head and supporting Alexis' leg there for a moment, too, just long enough for him to quickly comment in his normal cadence into the microphone, "Real family-friendly panties, too, huh?"

The live director in charge of the broadcast may be hustling to make sure none of the cameras are set into any unfortunate angles.

Tairyu's arm sweeps to knock the leg away, finally, and in that same instant, his own leg rises up to meet Alexis' body while it's still shifting from her upraised limb brought lowering down. A snapping kick for her side, a step forward when the intruding foot lands and forms a base for his other foot rising up high for her chest in a follow-up kick, all the while he continues his rumblng singing.

"~ Betrayed desires
And a piece of the game o/~

When his second kick winds back again, the microphone is tossed up into the air between him and Alexis -- and with his hands all freed up, he leans fully into an assault on his opponent, a quick jab leading into a quick uppercut, and then a low hook aimed for her middle-section -- and a sudden leap up, lifting a knee up towards her chin!

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Tairyu's Soaring Assault.

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

[ALEXIS]
They aren't, really, but would anyone expect anything else?

Alexis' teeth clench as Tairyu pushes her shapely leg away and slams his own into her side. The first kick comes quick enough to set her off-balance for the follow-up, which connects with the punk-rock front-grrl's cleavage. She manages to recover in time to catch the microphone on its return, just in time for the ensuing barrage - the jab and uppercut causing her to flinch, though she manages to keep a grip around the handle of the gold microphone, singing through the assault:

"~ Even though I know
I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold
Like old Job o/~"

The punchy style of the lyrics allow them to be delivered around the attack, though somewhat more hoarse and weak, though the last sustained note is cut short by the knee connecting with Alexis' chin. As the music builds up, though, so does the strange hum in the air around the Canadian combatant. She staggers backward, reaching up to wipe blood away from her mouth for the moment where the pre-chorus builds up into the higher-octane chorus itself, and when she belts the first line of the chorus out, it's with a fantastic violence, sound given physical force as it's unleashed at Tairyu:

"~ DESPITE ALL MY RAGE, I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAGE! o/~"

A faintly visible shimmer in the air warns of the impending shockwave as the sound is shaped by the Canadian songsmith and redirected toward the yakuza. She release the microphone - it's apparently not all that necessary to project the roar of the Canadian Killasaurus; in fact, belting the song out directly into the microphone may have only been with the intent to spite the audience, given the havoc it wreaks on the production's audio levels.

The force of the shockwave itself is enough to rattle the cage viciously, spilling the drinks on one of the tables on the other side - making one wonder whether the steel cage truly serves the safety of the attending crowd as well as the hosts would like them to believe...

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Tairyu with Power Chord EX.

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

[TAIRYU]
THe sheer sonic boom of Alexis' voice along sends Tairyu skidding along the floor. Instinctively, he draws his arms up in a cross formation before his face -- but how the hell is one meant to block pure *sound*, anyway? The answer is simple: One isn't.

The pure assault on the senses rocks Tairyu through the core, threatening his eardrums and disrupting his sense of equilibrium. It shows in the wobbling posture and step that begins before she's even finished the yelled out line from the song.

But-- even so, Tairyu presses further. Stomping feet carrying him up to the microphone she just let go of, and despite a dribble of blood leaking from each of his ears, he is outright defiant in his guiding the microphone to his lips--

"~ DESPITE OF MY RAGE I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A RAGE! o/~"

It may not have the same screaming intensity of a rock singer, but the roar of the Yakuza is one filled with passion, regardless. And though his voice doesn't hold the same destructive quality, he's not one to pull back either. For while his stomping motion brings him leaning in for Alexis, still, his free hand swings out in a quick hook aimed for the side of her head. No frills about it, just a straight up punch meant purely for maintaining his own momentum with her.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu successfully hits Alexis with Medium Punch.

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

[ALEXIS]
The sudden brutality of the fighters' exchange is in keeping with the energy of the song - a violent reply to a violent reply, the transition from the clean, confident and low-key look Alexis had at the beginning of the match to her current state - bloodied and screaming (if with impressive command of tone) - matching the shift of the classic nineties single.

She puts up a fight as Tairyu comes in with another hook to the head, but he blasts through the guard of her raised arm, sending her teetering for a moment, but when she gets her footing back, she steps back in, belting out without the assistance of the microphone:

"~ THEN SOMEONE WILL SAY, WHAT IS LOST CAN NEVER BE SAVED o/~"

At the moment of the word *SAY*, she snaps her foot up, aiming a toe kick at Tairyu's vitals to try and create an opening in his defenses. Following up to it, she'll then make a lunge to try and catch the Yakuza by the shoulders of his jacket, curl her fingers into it, then wrench him down into a doubled-over position. If she succeeds, she'll then step forward, forcing Tairyu's head between her thighs before trapping his arms in a double underhook as she focuses the ambient sonic energy toward where she has the gangster captive - before throwing both legs out and letting gravity take over, using her hips to try and drive the dragon face-first into the floor and unleash the gathered energy in a disonnant shockwave!

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Tairyu with Drop D EX.

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

[TAIRYU]
"Hhgh--?!"

The song itself is forgotten in short order as a result of not just the quick hit to Tairyu's solar plexus, but also the woman's thighs wrapping about his head and slamming him down.

BAM!

Face-first on the ground, the sound of the bone in the man's nose crunching is only covered up by the sonic vibrations sent out from within Alexis.

"Rrrrh--!" The instant the impact has gone through, his feet kick at the floor-- pushing at it, leveraging his lower body upwards. More and more in a rapid motion that sees Alexis tipped over, too, even under the threat of Tairyu's own neck being strained too much from the weight imposed. Ultimately, one final powerful kick at the floor sends his whole body up, flipping Alexis off as he, himself, somersaults through the air.

There's barely any time in between him landing and him continuing the motion, however. His foot kicks into the bloodied floor all over again to send him spinning into the air one more time -- but this time, launching him straight towards Alexis in repeat, with one leg raised outwards, sent scything through the air in a furious aerial spin for the top of the punk rock opera singer's head!

COMBATSYS: Tairyu successfully hits Alexis with Dragon's Descent ES.
* Attack Of Opportunity! *

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

[ALEXIS]
The last line of the chorus goes unsung as Alexis surrenders the line then rudely interrupts his ability to deliver it, the noise from the ring mics likely drowning out much of the music anyway during the explosive exchange.

In a subversion of the natural order of things, Alexis is the one flipped off - and then, like the blade of a headsman's descending axe, Tairyu's leg descends on the Canadian before she can get her feet back under her, driving her down into the ring floor.

"Nnngh!"

The brunette grunts as she shudders on the ground, lifting her face off of it. Blood covers her chin, flowing from her busted lip as the music pulls back to a simmer between the chorus and the second verse. She pushes further up to knees, reaching for the nearly-forgotten microphone just in time for the lyrical return:

"~ Now, I'm naked, nothing but an animal... o/~"

The delivery is softer and more meek, and perhaps a bit strangely sensual considering the Canadian singer's busted mouth - but it almost seems like there's an intentionality to it. She throws out a sweeping kick to try and bring Tairyu down to her level before she gets upright, regardless of her success.

"~ But can you fake it, for just one more show? o/~"

She makes a grab for Tairyu's nearest arm as she sings the second line of the verse, before attempting to turn her body around and swing one leg over the limb if she manages to do so. Should she find success, she'd pull the captured arm up between her legs and extend it before dropping down to the ground again to trap the Yakuza in a rather brutal armbar, channelling the painful vibrations of her noise-flavoured chi through the limb as she'd wrench and hyperextend it.

She'd even be thoughtful enough to hold the microphone next to Tairyu's face to get his response, if she does.

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Tairyu with Whammy Bar.

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

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu's landing after the impact of his foot against the brunette's head is a wobbly one. He's left in a lowered posture of his legs stretched out like a wound-up spring -- though, really, it was just all he could do to stop himself from simply falling down over.

His recovery from the landing is long enough to give Alexis time, too, to close back in -- and his already-wobbly feet are swept easily out from underneath, sending him flipping over in the air and landing down onto the bracing of two arms.

...ONly for one of those arms to be caught by the woman, groaning out from pain from both the twisting of the bone and muscle -- and the vibrations shaking the molecules within him. Bursting blood vessels within.

A panting breath is let out just before she settles the microphone in front of him. He sends a bright-eyed look to her.

"I don't fake."

With a grunt of exertion, he uses his free arm to push himself upwards, enough to prop himself up further with one knee, and-- he lifts up the arm caught within Alexis' leglock with enough force to lift her up, too -- high enough that he can then drop her right back down to the stage floor with a resounding *THUD* if he's able to pull through with it.

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Tairyu's Quick Throw ES.

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

[ALEXIS]
It seems as though the Canadian punkette was not anticipating such a forceful escape from the seated armbar; she clings to the limb as she's lifted up off of the ground, only releasing it when she's given the violent ultimatum and finds herself unable to refuse. She hits the ground with the expected *THUD*, landing on her back and knocking her head against it as it's jerked by the impact. By all appearances, the lights seem to have gone out - the music continues, words unsung as the guitar line seethes toward the chorus, the sound dulled in Alexis' head by the ringing in her ears and throbbing in her skull.

'Even though I know,
I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold
Like old Job...'

She struggles on the ground, rolling over and trying to dig her fingers into the unrelenting concrete. She's wavering, and it seems as though there may be a call for knockout - but just before she is, just as the chorus is about to kick in, the cage begins to rattle around them. Alexis' head comes up, her hair concealing her face, and she takes a deep breath -

And out of her lungs comes a piercing note, the culmination of her recent vocal training fusing with the passion and raw power that the punk rocker was already known for. She's not singing the words of the chorus, but it's in key with the music - taking the energy of the newly returned distorted guitars and thundering drums and making her own, then unleashing it along with her own voice.

The result is like a banshee death wail, the waves of barely-visible aural force more violent this time, with a sort of cutting edge to them - not only capable of breaking glass, but shredding loose clothing and even shearing the bars of the cage in places where it connects.

COMBATSYS: Alexis has reached second wind!

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

And when her lungs are spent, she'll fall back to her knees - but one hand outstretched to catch herself as she manages to keep from sinking into the abyss, just yet...

COMBATSYS: Tairyu blocks Alexis' Shredding Solo EX.

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

[TAIRYU]
The instant ALexis' limbs release Tairyu's arm, he rolls himself over with a violent cough, propping up onto one knee with a wheezing breath of air. Hand brought up to wipe off blood leaking out from his nose while the punkette is still left on the ground.

Blood wells up in his throat, too, spilling out past his lips -- not a lot of singing to be done right there and then, no.

When Alexis works herself up onto the ground, though? Tairyu actually looks almost happy for it, with his bloodstained-smile and all. He pushes himself upwards in time with her, wobbling on his feet. Glaring back at her in one final face-off of two battered and beaten fighters.

She ends up being the first one to make a move. WHen the powerful scream comes at him, Tairyu holds his arms up in an instinctive protection gesture once more. For all the good it does. THe abused fabric of his jacket and shirt both tear against the pressure, strips and slices flying off around his arms, buttons popping off of his shirt. It all results in his arms bared, and his shirt falling open to bare out his abs and the center of his chest.

A couple panting breaths fall out of his throat, green eyes early glowing with pain redirected into pure focus.

And the instant Alexis falls down onto her knees and one hand, Tairyu lunges into motion. Crossing the distance between the two of them, right hand clutching into a tight fist--

"~ DESPITE ALL MY RAGE-- o/~

A fist launched into a violent uppercut aimed for Alexis' down-hung chin.

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Tairyu's Rise And Sweep.

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

Knuckles impact with the lower side of Alexis' head, thus, and send her flying right up off the floor from the kneeling posture. The instant her legs are brought up into the air, though, Tairyu grabs hold of both by the ankles.

"Hhh--!"

A stomp of his foot sends him turning over, and Alexis swinging along around him.

"~ --I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAGE! o/~"

Nearly a full revolution after, he lets go of his hold and sends her flying through the air, across the stage until she's slammed right up against the cage instead with a loud clattering of metal.

[ALEXIS]
Once again, Tairyu's fist connects with Alexis' face, driving up from below this time and slamming her jaw shut. She doesn't even seem to be trying to guard against the punch, literally taking it on the chin; it's questionable whether she's even aware at this point. She's lifted off the floor, then has her ankles grabbed, and finally finds herself slammed into the cage.

The metal grating, already weakened by the sound waves that have blasted through it earlier in the fight and rusted in places beneath the paint, gives way - a whole section of brittle bars snapping free and falling out of the cage, Alexis' upper body slumping through the gap.

"OH MY GOD! I mean, don't worry, folks! This is all part of the show!" Tom helpfully remarks. The crowd, of course, are cheering the turn of events, apparently unconcerned about the structural failure of the Safety Cage.

Alexis slides back through the gap, falling on her backside on the ring floor in a daze.

Then, somebody in the crowd gets a bright idea.

A couple of seconds later, an electric guitar slides though the new gap in the cage, clattering to the ground next to the Canadian.

For a moment, Alexis' eyes almost manage to come into focus on the instrument next to her. She reaches out, taking hold of the guitar by the neck and pulling it up as she gets shakily to her feet. The guitar starts to hum - even without the support of an amplifier - as she turns around in search of her opponent.

Finding a pair of Tairyus across from her in the cage, Alexis grips the guitar's neck with both hands - then, charging forward with a battle yell, she swings the axe in a full circular sweep, aiming to hit both of the Tairyus with one blow as her momentum carries her onward - and likely straight into the cage on the other side, if she isn't interrupted.

COMBATSYS: Alexis can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Tairyu counters Tribute to Townshend from Alexis with Tiger Drop.

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

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu takes a single step back involuntarily after having set Alexis hurling. Legs unsteady, he sways noticably, with blood flowing down along from his smashed nose.

He almost has thinks he has time to relax while his opponent slides down onto the ringfloor from the hole in the cage, but...

Then the guitar is thrown in.

"...Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

While Alexis grips onto the guitar as though it was a great battleaxe, Tairyu's hands settle into fists in his prepared battle stance all over again, no matter how wobbly it might still seem. And how unreliable it might seem, considering he doesn't make any other motion while the guitar-wielding Alexis charges at him, and sends the axe swinging for him....

That's to say, mere fractions of a second before the guitar would come into contact with him.

In an instant burst of motion, the Yakuza's right knee drops down onto the floor to send his body weight lowering down and leaning forward, at the exact same time his right fist is launched into a fierce straight punch so fast it's barely perceptible with the naked eye.

A force of momentum so great that the impact of his knuckles against Alexis' midsection creates a loud, cracking sound akin to a sonic boom. The strike is powerful enough to completely redirect the brunette's momentum, and send her flying back. The guitar swing still continues in a dangerous path towards her head, but in those nanoseconds in between she's already sent back enough that the corner of the guitar passes over the tip of his chin by merely a fraction of an inch--

And the next thing anyone knows, she's slammed right back against the cage next to where a portion of it was already destroyed. Potentially breaking off further pieces of metal, or even sending her completely through this time.

At the end of it, Tairyu is left there, panting heavily while down on one knee.

The band outside of the ring has paused in playing their instruments, and in silence, all eyes are on either the kneeling Tairyu or the slumped-over Alexis.

And ultimately, the japanese man is the first one to bring himself back up completely. Even if it comes with a spit of blood and a couple shoulder-hanging, wobbling steps. Steps that might at first seem desperate to simply get him out of the ring, somewhere safer. But, after the third step, his hand reaches up and out.

And grasps onto the nearly-forgotten microphone.

One deep breath sets the rhytm of his body straightening up, and then leaning a bit further back with an arch of his back as the microphone is raised up towards his lips, and his other hand is raised up high to the skies in a fist.

"~ Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage!
Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved!
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage! o/~"

A wild roar punctuates the last sung-out word, and not only is the upraised fist swung back down to his side, but so is the hand holding onto the microphone, defiantly letting go of it at the apex of the sweeping motion to toss it down onto the ring-side floor.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu has ended the fight here.


[ALEXIS]
In the aftermath of the tiger-felling power punch, Alexis is left sprawled across one of the bar's tables, having ruined two fight-goers' drinks (but likely made their nights) and left a vaguely Alexis-shaped hole in the cage around the fighting ring.

"Well, it seems that our Saturday Night newcomer Tairyu has defeated Killasaurus Lex by... what is it, ring out? Knock-out? Er, sorry, ladies and gentlemen; it seems my microphone was still on, there! Our Idol Showdown winner is Katashi Tairyu, by knock-out! Goodness, I'm not sure that the Safety Cage was that great of an idea, after all..."

Log created on 11:43:38 07/29/2020 by Alexis, and last modified on 17:13:05 08/03/2020.