Match of the Millennium

Description: The Southtown Young Fighters' Initiative gets a celebrity guest in the form of the Demon Queen in an exhibition match with the Boxing Angel. Two winged fighters burn hot and bright as they clash for the benefit of the young audience.

[JULIET]
The Southtown Young Fighter's Initiative is a project that sees a great deal of interest from many quarters. Nurturing and fostering the talent of the next generation of fighters is a duty that all sorts of groups across the world take incredibly seriously. Whether that is politicians seeking to burnish their reputations or any of the shadowy underground organisations looking for natural talent to absorb and mould in their own image, there's plenty of eyes on the SYFI. Today's exhibition match isn't, on paper, anything too extraordinary; two fighters crossing paths. Both have a significant online following, but compared to the truly huge names in the fighting world they had a long way to go in their journeys. Still. There's a lot of people out there excited to see some real live fighting; especially the clash of 'Demon Queen' versus 'The Boxing Angel'.

It might come as a surprise, then, when just before the pair are due to go out on stage and meet for the first time, there's a knock on Lyraelle's dressing room door, and then it opens to reveal The Boxing Angel herself, just casually inviting herself into the den of her supposed arch-nemesis. She's almost a full foot shorter than Lyraelle, but the costume she wears is elaborate and there's a certain swagger in the way she moves into the space - it's easy to forget that Juliet is so damn short. She SEEMS like she should be tall.

And she's smiling from ear to ear. "Hey, yer Madge, I hope ye don't mind the interruption?" She says as she enters, "Only, I wanted tae catch a few words with ye before we start throwing fists, if ye don't mind?"

Her accent is... a lot stronger, when she's not in the act of fighting. Perhaps she pays less attention to it when the thrum of battle isn't on her. Talking naturally and unguarded, the silver-haired girl's voice is thick with that Scottish brogue.

[LYRAELLE]
There /was/ security at the door, but it was security in the form of a short, rotund pinkish imp sitting on an inverted milk crate and reading a copy of Cat Fancy magazine. As a gatekeeper to Her Infernal Majesty's domain, Red Minion was vestigial at best; opposition was non-existent.

Inside the dressing room - which, though the Demon Queen had demanded the Southtown Young Fighters' Initiative provide her with their most regal accommodations, mostly comes down to a clean space with a vanity mirror - Lyraelle appears to be just putting on the finishing touches of her makeup, her Royal Hind-End perched on a cushioned seat as she makes freshly-lipsticked kissy-faces at herself in the mirror. She's alone in the dressing room, and doesn't seem fazed at all at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, hi, there, sweetie~"

Her Madge checks her profile from both sides in the mirror before rotating on her seat to face Juliet while she slips the cap onto her lipstick and tucks it away in her makeup kit.

"Caught me at just the right time! What can I help you with?"

While the introduction might have been a bit of a slip into the slightly patronizing 'in character' tone that Demon Queen Lyraelle is known for, her tone quickly shifts into that of just a friendly young lady amicably addressing an equal - the persona that's charmed many into Minionship over the influencer's career.

[JULIET]
Juliet isn't used to being called sweetie, that much is immediately clear. There's a burst of unguarded laughter from the girl at that. "Ach, well, I dunnae get a chance tae talk t'many people outside o' the ring, you ken?" The girl is further surprised, as she looks around the room, that she can't see a huge amount of evidence of make-up. There's... a little, but nowhere near the amount that she had assumed would be needed to create the elaborate facade that is the Demon Queen. Then again, Lyraelle is a pro! So it isn't surprising that she has gotten her act down to such a fine art form.

"Th' truth is, I jus' wanted tae say that ye really are an inspiration, Lyra." The Boxing Angel's smile is entirely genuine as she brushes her gloved hand through her hair and straightens, turning to the side to show off her wings a little more. "I must ae watched your tutorials a hundred times when I was thinkin' up my costume. It ain't nothin' on your level, o'course, but when I were jus' a lil' lass in a Glasgow attic, seein' your passion really helped me keep my own. So, I wanted tae thank ye, before we step in th' ring an' th' rules o' the fight take over, ye ken?"

The younger girl's smile broadens even more with her declaration made, and she knocks her own chin with the shiny black glove, "Dunnae expect me tae go easy on ye for that, though! I'm lookin' forward tae showin' ye jus' what I can do! Hah!"

[LYRAELLE]
There's definitely a good reason why there's not a whole lot of make-up evidence - in fact, there's nothing but the purple makeup bag now placed on one side of the dressing table. The black horns, the majestic (if currently neatly folded) purple bat-wings, and the spaded tail that even now swishes in a completely lifelike manner above the celebrity succubus' backside.

"Oh, that's so amazing to hear!" Lyraelle gushes, the fingers of one hand touching her chest over her heart as her face takes on that sort of happily-heartbroken expressions that people get around kittens and babies. Her head tilts slightly to one side, swishing her billowing ponytail (which is surprisingly well-coiffed, considering the lack of a stylist to be seen).

"Well, that's what I'm here for today! Inspiring all the young boys and girls to become something more awesome! All it takes is a little ambition and fully functional wings!"

She winks at Juliet, looking the Boxing Angel's own wings over before her green eyes return to the girl's face.

"Oh, and, same to you - I mean, no hard feelings over whatever is said or done in the ring, right? It's all part of the show!"

She stretches her arms over her head, then smiles broadly.

"I'm sure that this'll be a lot of fun~"

[JULIET]
"Right!"

Juliet's wings are... not nearly so fully-functioning, but she's done the best she can with what she has. On the shoestring budget she operates with, an already-undeniablly-cool outfit is definitely even more impressive. There's a firm nod from the girl, and then she steps back out of the changing room, and before too much longer both fighters are being ushered out onto the the dojo floor.

And it has to be said, whilst Juliet's costume might be fake... that swagger of hers is completely genuine. Now that she's 'on', it isn't so much that the girl is putting on a totally different face; more that the one she always wears is somehow more real. Out here, under the lights and with the cheers of the crowd, The Boxing Angel feels like she's the most... 'her' that she can be. The weight and expectations of her 'family' can't touch her; the decisions she makes here are her own, and after she took the decision to go and greet her opponent before the fight on her own too, she feels more free than she has in quite some time. Light on her feet as she skips around the arena, shadow-boxing against some unseen adversary.

"I hope you're all ready!" The young fighter shouts, thrusting her right hand up into the air. "Today, we'll be battlin' from the heights of Heaven to the depths of Hell! You think you've seen some impressive fights here? Hah! This'll be a clash of BIBLICAL proportions! The genesis of a rivalry that will shake the fightin' world and usher in a whole new epoch, a battle that'll be a revelation to the whole dang world!"

And she wheels, to jab that fist at the door she is really hoping Lyraelle will walk through.

"It's time for The Boxing Angel to dethrone the Demon Queen!!"

Well. Nobody has ever said that Juliet has trouble building hype, that's for sure...

[LYRAELLE]
Juliet's wishes are - well, not exactly fulfilled - though her gesture does indeed herald the arrival of the Demon Queen's herald.

Hustling through the door comes a green imp, spindly and clearly wound tight as a steel spring, a card in one hand and microphone in the other.

"Now announcing the arrival of The Sultana of the Styx, Sovereign of House Darkheart, and Mistress of All the Hells, Her Infernal Majesty... Queen Lyraelle!"

The demon's high voice cracks cartoonishly at the apex of the announcement; it's a wonder that the Demon Queen still employs the high-strung hellion for the task.

On the other hand, such a pathetic herald does serve to make her entrance more impressive by comparison.

The door flings open, and out saunters the Demon Queen, a snake of green flame draped from her purple-gloved right hand to nearly lick the ground as she emerges, imperious green gaze surveying the youthful audience as she turns her slightly-upturned head slowly so that she can get a look at all of them - and more importantly, so that they can all get a good look at her.

As she pauses, one hand on her hip, the wooden floor starts to catch where the dangling infernal fire-whip is trailing the ground, igniting with green fire. It seems to take the succubus a couple of moments to notice the burning flooring, at which point the whip snuffs out of existence and she turns around and bends over, licks her gloved finger, then snuffs the miniature blaze on the floor out - taking her time to do so. She then gives a wink over her shoulder to the audience before straightening up, tilting her head, and making a V next to her horns with her fingers.

One could probably safely assume that the entire thing was a part of the act.

"Hello, minions~"

Lyraelle gives her signature greeting - albeit said greeting is always delivered with just a little difference in inflection and delivery - before sauntering onward to the ring, fluttering her fingers at fans as she passes. The Demon Queen is firmly in 'tweener' territory - she's often the bad girl in a given matchup, but always seeking and thriving on the adulation of the masses.

"So, you think that you'll be de-throning me? I guess sending an angel for the job must mean that somebody's getting desperate," Lyraelle says as she sashays around Juliet to take her place opposite.

"I hope you're not too attached to those wings, little birdie - because you're about to get pinioned~"

All of the friendliness is gone; the Demon Queen's smirk exudes malice and arrogance as she rests a hand on her hip and tips her chin at the Boxing Angel.

"Now, show me what you've got!"

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle has started a fight here.

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

[JULIET]
The entrance is certainly a lot more impressive than Juliet's. Then again, Lyraelle has the advantage of actual magic and minions backing her up. Juliet still doesn't know how the heck she manages to get those imp things moving around so convincingly. The special effects budget that she's working with must be something truly spectacular. Nevertheless, where a lot of girls her age might be intimidated to be facing off against one of their idols - let alone one who has made such a dramatic entrance - it only seems to get Juliet more pumped up. Those bright red eyes of hers are shining with the promise of battle. She can feel it in her heart, and she embraces it wholeheartedly.

That's the funny thing. She can feel the surge and anticipation of the crowd as though it were a tangible force; but it isn't something she feeds on, exactly. It's the promise of combat that has her blood pumping and her heels bouncing. This is exciting. This is the moment she lives for! How great is it that she's come so far that she gets to stand here, in this place, and fight this person?

"You might have all the Hells at your beck and call." She says, standing tall and proud as she can. Damn, the girl really does have a good sense for the dramatic, too. Straightening up as she does, her shadow seems almost to stretch across the arena towards the other woman as she raises her arm. "But in this ring, it's just you an' me, Queenie."

A wink.

The bell rings.

And in that very instant, the girl is just exploding forwards. If Lyraelle has done even cursory reading up on who she is facing, she must surely be expecting this; Juliet NEEDS to get in close if she's going to have a chance, and she's damn good at closing that ground, too. This is, to her, all part of that expression. She needs to be close to her opponent, forcing them to see her, to recognise her, to look her in the eye as she stands against them. In the ring, despite her diminutive size and stature, NOBODY can ignore Juliet.

And that arm of hers punches out straight and true; a blazingly fast jab aiming to test the defences of her opponent as she already starts to shift to keep in as close as she can, wanting to back the Demon Queen into a corner right from the first bell.

COMBATSYS: Juliet has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Lyraelle         0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Juliet

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle blocks Juliet's Wonder Jab.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Lyraelle         0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Juliet

[LYRAELLE]
The Demon Queen's smirk doesn't fade, nor does the gleam in her green eyes, as the Boxing Angel rushes toward her. She stands her ground, letting the teenaged fighter close the gap without so much as shifting her posture into a proper fighting stance - then, at the last moment, her right hand snaps up, the back of her purple glove intercepting the lightning-fast jab with a speed to match.

"You're right. It's just you and me~"

The succubus' eyes glint as she looks down at the shorter fighter.

"And nobody beats me one on one!"

As she makes that declaration - one that can be considered technically valid based on her public fighting record - a fiery green glow ignites around the horns at the side of her head. And then, attempting to keep the Angel just as close as she intended to be using her gloved hand, the pink-haired hell-maiden rears back, lifting one knee and tipping her head backward, before slamming forward with devastating force - attempting to slam her forehead into the girl as the fiery glow bursts with malevolent heat!

COMBATSYS: Juliet blocks Lyraelle's Dark Queen's Crown.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Lyraelle         0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Juliet

[JULIET]
Juliet is quietly impressed at the speed with which Lyraelle went from nothing to a competent defence. She can't match that level of instinctive action; but she does at least have a good sense for what is going to happen next. She twists from her attempt to set up the next attack to instead raise her left higher and bring it to the fore. Tearing her fist from the older woman's grip, both forearms take the brunt of the headbutt - licking flames scorch over her skin, and it draws a pained hiss from her... but at least she managed to deflect the bulk of that blow. That would have been devastating.

Just the impact was enough to send her feet skidding a few inches. Her expression is suddenly a lot more serious. Less smiling, more intense. Her breathing is calm, rhythmic. Her jaw clenched. She needs to leverage every advantage she has if she's going to hold her own here, she can tell that much already.

No fancy words; just a determined grunt as the girl's feet turn the skidding into momentum, wheeling around, twirling, and suddenly leaping to come in with a swinging left hook aimed right for the Demon Queen's middle, and if that makes contact she's already using the momentum to swing back around ~again~ to the woman's other side. Pretty sure, now, that if she stays still for even a second it is all going to be over for her!

COMBATSYS: Juliet successfully hits Lyraelle with Sacred Check EX.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Lyraelle         0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0           Juliet

[LYRAELLE]
It's common knowledge amongst those who've watched the Demon Queen in action before that Her Infernal Majesty is fully capable of taking to the air, but here, the succubus seems to be opting into playing the boxer's game. She herself seems to be reeling slightly from the delivery of the blow - the business end of the headbutt may have been intercepted, but it's all the more disorienting for the demoness. As she rocks back onto her feet, the angel is already swooping in with another combination of punches. Though Lyraelle tries to twist one way, then the other, the blows smack solidly into her torso - and while she's tougher than she looks, on account of supernatural genetics, she's certainly not made of steel.

The demon girl gives a snort of disdain as she pulls back, heels clicking across the mat.

"Oh, this isn't a boxing match, is it?" she asks as she circles - less lazily than before - to keep herself from getting cornered completely. "I'd hate to be accused of breaking the rules~"

As she makes the assertion, she immediately does so - or would, if it were actually a boxing match. Spinning around, she thrusts her right heel up and out toward Juliet's face in a back kick that flaunts the form and power of her thigh-high-clad leg - and other assets, besides.

As that foot thrusts out, it starts to crackle with visible arcs of blue lightning - threatening to pack a pain beyond what Lyraelle's heel might normally promise!

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle successfully hits Juliet with Medium Kick.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Lyraelle         0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1           Juliet

[JULIET]
"Fight as you will!"

And it'd be easy to assume that Juliet is going to regret those words later, because her attempt to twist around the side of the incoming heel fails miserably. Rather than taking it in the face, she instead takes it full in the shoulder with enough force to wrench the limb painfully out of position. The burst of electricity literally picks the girl up and throws her across the dojo, where she lands in a smouldering heap. The girl's crash into the dojo's floor is dramatic and for a moment it seems that she might not be getting up.

But no. There's a reason why Juliet has been able to build a devoted following in spite of how often she finds herself in positions like this. It is because she refuses to stay down. And this time is no different.

Forcing herself back up to her feet, the girl takes a firm grip on her dislocated shoulder, and SCREAMS as she wrenches it back into position. There is, perhaps, a hint of desperation in her now; those red eyes streaked with tears of genuine pain. Oh, there's a lot of theatrics in the ring, and a lot of banter back and forth... but that agony is real, and it is spurring the girl on harder. She's still conscious. That means she can still pull it back.

Her fist clenches tight within her boxing glove, and a brilliant white light surges as she steels her will. Tearing back towards the pink-haired menace, the Demon Queen has it nicely telegraphed for her; she can see as the streaming white light carves a beautiful zig-zagging path across the dojo, and then Juliet is rising up, and aiming to simply HAMMER Lyraelle in the jaw - a burst of her own incandescant power sparking at the moment the impact is made, if she's lucky enough to land a second clean hit!

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle blocks Juliet's Heavenly Cross EX.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Lyraelle         0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1           Juliet

[LYRAELLE]
As Juliet is sent flying by the lightning-laced kick, Lyraelle whirls back around to face her, taking a moment to pose for the audience by running her fingers through her pink mane with a preening smirk. Some of the teens in the audience cheer, but many boo - the underdog is almost always favoured, and there are those who love to hate the Demon Queen.

Some might even just not like Lyraelle very much.

Her emerald eyes are remorseless as Juliet recovers from the shocking blow, performing painful emergency treatment on herself.

"Sorry, did that hurt?"

As Juliet starts to zip and zag toward her across the fighting floor, the pink-haired hellion maintains her poise and pose - but there's a subtle movement in her irises, carefully tracking the telegraphed movement. While there's a certain air of disrespect on the surface, close examination would reveal that she's not being dismissive. She whips her arms up as the blow hammers toward her jaw, unleashing a brilliant flash as the punch smashes into her guard. Despite catching the attack before it could do real damage to her royal visage, the succubus slides backward, heels digging trenches along the surface beneath her.

"Hmmph!"

Swinging her right arm back, the demoness conjures the blazing lash from before back into existence and whipping it around behind herself.

"I hope you didn't think I'd be weak to holy just because I'm a dark type!"

The weapon seems to become 'taut' as she brings it about to snap toward the Boxing Angel in a burning arc.

"Now, let's see how you resist fire!"

Sparks of blue energy fly off of the green whip as she lashes out with it - as if the hellfire weren't enough, the electric energy returns to pollute the fresh strike!

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle successfully hits Juliet with Imperious Scourge.
- Power hit! -

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Lyraelle         1/-----==/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Juliet

[JULIET]
Markedly less banter from Juliet now that the fight is in full swing, that's for sure. She isn't put off by the quip. She'd noted the whip at the start of the fight, too; and had thought that might be problematic. She's not fought a whip before, and the additional reach and ability to overcome her standard guard by lashing around it was an interesting conundrum. Something that she's been musing in the back of her mind as she's traded blows with the Demon Queen. Every single blow she's seen thus far has been laced with energy, and she doesn't yet have any working strategy to get around it - but she can try.

The instant the whip is lashing towards her, Juliet realises that she isn't going to be able to dodge it. It is just moving too quickly for her. So instead, she reaches out to try and snare the whip; a motion made more awkward because of her glove, but her thinking is that if she can at least grab it and haul it out the way, she can direct where it hurts and maybe break Lyraelle's focus on the weapon earlier.

What ACTUALLY happens is that the coiling brand of fire and electricity lashes around her arm again and again, the girl giving the manifestation of power a nice and easy conduit to flow full force and unhindered into her body. She grinds her teeth together as she tries to haul it back, but it isn't a physical thing and she has no ability to hold it tightly. Her limb slips through the weapon after much more contact than just a single initial strike, and the burning looks... bad.

"That." She says, "Wasnae a good plan, eh?"

She takes a deep, shuddering breath, and then the injured hand clenches tight. Lyraelle has seen this before. So have the rest of the crowd. It's her final, last ditch effort. Brilliant white light spills forth from between her singed fingers, visible through the scorched, cut boxing glove, and her nostrils flare as she stares deep into the older woman's eyes.

"Well, if I cannae take your throne, Queenie... mayhaps, I'll at least knock off yer crown, aye?"

And with that declaration of intent made, the girl flings herself upwards. The bright 'holy' light spilling from between her fingers is almost blinding as she aims to crash it into Lyraelle's jaw, enough force in the motion to carry the woman up into the air she has avoided throughout the entire fight - but whether or not Lyraelle is with her at the apex of the jump, the light will explode into a thousand fluttering white feathers.

Most of which will hit the ground long after Juliet herself lands with a heavy, and very final, thud.

COMBATSYS: Juliet can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Juliet successfully hits Lyraelle with Miracle Uppercut.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lyraelle         2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[LYRAELLE]
The simmering whip snuffs away as Juliet escapes it, the pink-haired demoness eschewing the weapon as she drops into a ready stance, her gloved fingers curling and rolling as she leers at the boxer like a predatory animal. She looks as if she's about to raise her guard, but then, the lumiscent explosion blots out just what happens - the Demon Queen enveloped by the glow as she's carried up and up and up. Then, as the feathers of light float down toward the ground, the boxer emerges to descend down and hit the floor - and then comes the Demon Queen, wrapped fully in her leathery purple wings, almost like a cocoon.

As Juliet lies still, the wings unfurl, revealing Lyraelle rising languorously to a seated position as she reaches a hand up to press against her head for a moment. Then, her eyelashes flutter, and she looks around - before smiling, tilting her head and making a V next to it.

In spite of the valiant blow, it seems that there's a clear winner of the bout.

There's a big pop from the crowd - a mixture of cheers and jeers, but mostly the former; whether or not all watching appreciated the result, it's polite to applaud the spectacle - as well as the spirit of the Boxing Angel.

"C'mon, dozy!"

Barely back on her feet herself, Lyraelle is already at Juliet's side, trying to rouse her with a light shake and an arm up in support.

"We've got selfies to take!"

There is, after all, a queue already forming around the ring's perimeter of young fight fans looking to be meeted and greeted.

COMBATSYS: Lyraelle has ended the fight here.

Log created on 12:14:31 04/17/2021 by Lyraelle, and last modified on 18:11:25 04/17/2021.