Match of the Millennium

Description: In this matchup, Yuri Sakazaki, eternal sidekick to her brother Ryo will face the eldritch master of the ancient craft of Necromancy, Echo. At the Clown Motel in rural Nevada. Why the clown motel? Because something has to be scarier than the necromancer.

[YURI]
Clown Motel. Not a place for someone who's afraid of clowns. And despite what some might think, a fear of clowns is more common than what one might think. There are many people who are afraid of clowns, and sometimes it seems like their fears are justified when one gets a good look at clowns sometimes.

But that's not saying everyone is afraid of clowns. There are many people who don't fear clowns.

Namely Yuri Sakazaki, the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Kyokugen Karate,' who seems to be more bothered by the fact that she's fighting at a motel based around clowns rather than the fact she has to deal with them. "Seriously? They put me in a place all about clowns? This is so totally uncool!" She shakes her head. "I just hope Robert isn't watching this somewhere, as I'll never hear the end of it from him!"

Putting her annoyances aside, Yuri begins to warm up, getting her heart pumping and her body loosened up for the fight. "I just hope I don't have to fight one of the clowns."

[ECHO]
Yuri is not alone here, for this is the Rising Star tournament, after all--there's likely some bystanders around here, cameras, etc--these things don't happen in a vacuum, after all. This does however provide a good cover for Echo to not have to worry about her usual disguise shenanigans, however--even if it was magical...

"Greetings!" Echo is suddenly just there, standing a good many feet away from Yuri, but tossing off what looks like a large circular fabric hat and brushing the skirts of her long black dress aside. She had worn knee high boots for this, not like she was showing up to a tournament in her Jimmy Choos.

"I can see why you humans fear these fellows--fishbelly white skin, crimson red lips--green hair, it's quite wonderfully eerie!" Echo was apparently speaking about the clowns, though there doesn't seem to be any around right now. Yet. "I am Echo--I am to be your opponent, I think," she grinned, her illusion enchantment over herself now dropped already, in all her batly regalia.

[YURI]
To say that Yuri was caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of Echo would be an understatement. Even with the cameras and bystanders here, the graveyard makes things a bit spooky. One minute, Yuri's warming up and doing some stretching, then suddenly she's face-to-face by a woman who wasn't there a minute ago. This causes Yuri to jump in surprise and stumble backwards before falling on her rear. Ouch!

Not one to be humiliated easily, Yuri quickly performs a kippup back onto her feet and shakes her head. "I'm not afraid of clowns," Yuri says with a slight sneer. "I mean they're annoying, yeah, but I'm not afraid of them." She narrows her eyes a little bit. "And you didn't scare me either, you just caught me off-guard."

A pause. "And YOU'RE supposed to be my opponent? Are you supposed to be a magician or something?" Yuri then smiles a little bit. "Regardless, I won't let you beat me that easily! Because I am Yuri Sakazaki, the Queen of Kyokugen Karate!" With that, she faces the onlookers and gives a thumbs up before facing Echo.

"I'm ready when you are! Bring it on!" Yuri makes a 'come on' gesture before getting into her fighting stance.

COMBATSYS: Yuri has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Yuri             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Echo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Yuri             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Echo

[ECHO]
"Aww, fallin' for Echo already, honey?" the bat lady raised a hand, which glowed with a pale while/green color, and Yuri would feel herself lifted back up as she performed her kick, perhaps she'd over-correct her momentum and stumble a little, at that! Whoops.

"I didn't?!" Echo looked genuinely surprised at that, holding a red-nailed, milk-white furred hand to her chest. "Then I need to fix that--" her eyes glowed red briefly, and she brought her hands up, palms flat to the sky.

"Killed by the husband... drowned by the ocean," at once from beneath the ground around Yuri, it shifted and heaved, like it was giving away.

"Shot by his own son... she used the poison in his tea..." a pair of skeletal hands exploded free from the very ground (and through the pavement, if they were in the lot) grabbing ahold of Yuri's ankles!

"...And kissed him goodbye," her eyes returned to orange and cat-like, grinning as the skeletal hands burst free from the ground around her, clawing at her!

COMBATSYS: Echo successfully hits Yuri with Abracadaver.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri             0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0             Echo

[YURI]
What is going on here? Echo is chanting bizarre nonsense and making weird gestures. She's also making Yuri feel a bit unusual in terms of gravity and whatnot.

And now...?

Skeletal hands?!

"Ahh! Get them off of me!" Yuri yells, struggling to get the boney hands off of her, but they grab into her ankles and rip through her leggings, causing a few scratches here and there. When Yuri finally breaks free, she looks down at where she was scratched and realizes what happened. "Just after I did laundry too!" She hmmphs before looking at Echo with a scowl.

"You may think you're scary, but in reality you're just annoying!" She taps her fists together a couple of times. "You think your magic and your monsters are gonna scare me, but let me tell you something, bat-girl! You're just cruising for a bruising from Yuri herself!"

And then, Yuri brings her arm back behind her briefly before throwing a fireball at Echo. The fireball is somewhat small but it still packs a bit of a punch.

COMBATSYS: Echo blocks Yuri's Ko'ou Ken.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Yuri             0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0             Echo

[ECHO]
Echo watches with some interest--the sight of ripped tights is a fun one for the cameras, likely, to be sure. "Don't worry, they just want a hug--hnff--" she reacts quickly enough to the energy projectile thrown at her--her wings beating and creating wind resistance against it, before fending it off with her arms and shoulder.

"I thought bats were annoying to humans here, aren't they?" Echo grinned in a smart allecky way, stepping off from the ground as her wings beat--aiding in her jump toward Yuri as she attempted to bring her fists down against her!

COMBATSYS: Echo successfully hits Yuri with Quick Smash.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Yuri             0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0             Echo

[YURI]
"Darn right they're annoying! They spread filthy rabies and other uncool stuff!" Yuri plants her heels firmly in the ground in an attempt to fake-out Echo and dodge her at the last second. Unfortunately, planting her heels is a bad idea since her fake-out didn't work.

Yuri gets hit by the attack and is not only left seeing stars, but the impact knocks her to the ground, face first. "Owww!" Yuri says as she stands up, rubbing at her head and checking her face to make sure she's not bleeding or missing any teeth. Fortunately, she seems to have made it through without either of those. But Yuri herself is quite annoyed by this whole thing.

"You think you've got it made just because you're a bat-girl, but I'm capable of a few tricks of my own as well!" With that, Yuri doesn't wait for a response, instead dashing at Echo and attempting to launch into her own customized version of the Dragon Punch, albeit edited to her own liking. "This is my favorite attack! The Yuri Chou Upper!" She calls out.

COMBATSYS: Echo instinctively blocks Yuri's Yuri Chou Upper.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Yuri             0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0             Echo

[ECHO]
Just before impact, Echo had brought her hands together in a hammerblow--though the results of this on Yuri were greater than expected, to be fair. Random chance causing the strike to connect just right.

"I know we can't all be perfect--but if you play your cards right maybe you can get an upgrade someday," Echo tilted herself back and brought her arms up again--this time letting her wings snap open behind her as she was tossed back by the rising punch, creating a windfall for her to regain her balance. Balance in the air, anyway--as she began to flap her wings vigorously to create distance between her and Yuri--before coming back around to sail down towards her--diving down towards her and trying to slash at her with the large claws at the apex of her wings!

COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Echo's Glider Spike.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Yuri             0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0             Echo

[YURI]
Now THAT'S humiliating, having your favorite attack blocked effortlessly. It's got Yuri with a bit of a deeper scowl than before on her face. Unfortunately for Echo, it also means that she's on higher alert than before, knowing that this could have deeper consequences than Yuri might initially think.

Of course, being on high alert means that, this time, Yuri's not going to be hit that easily. Meaning that when Echo comes in at her this time, Yuri jumps back quickly, leaving her unscathed but with Echo a bit too close for comfort. "Excuse me, but I'm not interested in getting to know you well!" The Kyokugen Karate girl says annoyedly, before attempting to grab Echo and roll back so she can throw Echo away from her. If that works, she'll jump up and point at her as if making a 'Take that!' gesture.

COMBATSYS: Echo interrupts Quick Throw from Yuri with Wing Charge.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yuri             1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1             Echo

[ECHO]
Swooping by and regaining lost altitude and inertia after her attempted wing attack, Echo doubles back again--this time coming down faster and lower than before--bringing both arms up and attempting to shoulder check Yuri as she sailed down toward her--impacting into her and meeting Yuri's arms--coming into contact and likely getting open-handed punched--or with fist--as she tumbled down into the dirt into a roll.

Pulling herself into a kneel, she brushed her long black hair out of the way and dusted herself off--this, this is why she elected not to wear the Jimmy Choos.

[YURI]
Yuri's attempt at getting some space backfires extraordinarily. The poor Kyokugen Karate girl is hit by Echo's wings and left down on the ground, looking even more bruised and battered than before, and even a little bloodied too!

"Unngh... where's the ticket outlet?" Yuri babbles as she struggles to get back onto her feet. "Did anyone see my homework?" As she struggles to regain her focus, the girl slaps her face a couple of times, gritting her teeth as she does so. "Oww... That hurt!" She then looks up at Echo and grits her teeth as she scowls again.

"OK, if that's how you want to play, then it's time to bring out the big stuff!" With that, Yuri goes behind her back with both hands and focuses her power into them, then throws forth a larger fireball than before. This one is a bit more potent than the previous one she used, meaning Echo might need to actually bring up her defenses!

COMBATSYS: Echo blocks Yuri's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Yuri             1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1             Echo

[ECHO]
"Oof--" Echo brings up her arms and wings over her, like a shroud--and tries to take cover from the large fireball sailing her way--managing to only get hit by a portion of it--having to flap one of her wings that had the very tip of it catch fire to put it out. Urgh, pain.

"I can see you've done this before--" Echo brought a hand to her chin, dabbing at the blood from where one of her teeth had cut the inside of her lip--using the now blood-soaked finger to draw a glowing deep blue sigil in the air in front of her--casting some kind of enhancement spell over herself!

COMBATSYS: Echo rears back, steadying herself as she focuses on her next move!

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Yuri             1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1             Echo

[YURI]
"I've done a lot more than that!" Yuri says with a scowl as she watches Echo carefully, waiting to see what her next move will be. However, it doesn't seem to be an attack but rather some kind of enhancement spell. "So, you want to use your magic to help you out, huh?"

The girl, tired and beaten as she might be, isn't giving any leeway or taking any time to recover. "I'll get you where you least expect it!" With that, the girl suddenly jumps into the air, arcing upwards as she spins around with a whirlwind kick before coming downwards towards Echo.

COMBATSYS: Echo just-defends Yuri's Chou Mawashi Geri!

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Yuri             1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1             Echo

[ECHO]
As Yuri's roundhouse swoops over Echo--the white-furred form of the bat lady grows indistinct--her kick only meeting the cloth of her dress--which wraps around her shoe and leg, neutral as laundry cast down on the ground--the body it just clung to disappearing into white mist. This leaves the dress on the ground and no opponent...

"Ahh, Makai shadow magic, been a while since I'd used it," Echo is standing several feet away again, and Yuri can likely see why it had been a while--Echo is now just in her knee high boots, bra and panties. A bit embarrassing, perhaps, if one had shame to begin with, that is.

"And now--" her wings flared out and arms raised high, a huge circle made of green fire appeared behind her--lines emerging from inside the circle to form a giant rotating pentagram.

There is a spark from the center of the circle and what looks like a giant cyclopean humanoid figure crawls free--wriggling and falling to the ground in a heap, like Frank out of the sofa in Always Sunny in Philedelphia. The giant monstrosity is a deep cyan blue and missing patches of skin, showing bones here and there. A zombie!

"Here we goooo!" Echo screams, and the figure gurgles, bringing down a huge gnarled club of bone down in Yuri's vicinity!

COMBATSYS: Yuri fails to reflect Weird Conjuration EX from Echo with Saiha.

                                  >  //////////////////////        ]
                                  |-------\-------\0             Echo

COMBATSYS: Yuri can no longer fight.

                                  >  //////////////////////        ]
                                  |-------\-------\0             Echo

[YURI]
In an act of desperation, Yuri brings up both hands in hopes of using her Saiha technique to be able to stop the incoming attack. It's a genuinely true act of desperation. Too desperate, in fact.

There's no stopping the attack. Yuri is caught and there's no escaping what happens next.

When all is said and done, Yuri is left lying unconscious on the ground. She's still breathing, but she's not getting back up to fight. It seems she lost this round, but there will be others.

COMBATSYS: Echo has ended the fight here.


[ECHO]
Echo walks toward the now fallen Yuri, dismissing the cyclops zombie with a flick of her wrist--it gives a gurgling wail, very quickly dissipating into a black ash that itself soon disappeared also, as if Thanos had something to do with it. Reaching down, she picks up her dress, tossing it over her shoulder and looks down at her opponent. Taking a deep breath she makes a queer gesture in the air with her hand, and bright green motes of energy trickle down into the air above the purple tights-clad fighter. That would take care of keeping her stabilized till she saw medical attention. With a quick fluid movement, the dress was back on--the summoning circle of green fire behind her winking out like a birthday candle. In several moments, no trace of anything supernatural remained, as they were wont to do.

Including Echo, who now wreathed in her illusion once again, appeared as a very pale human woman with her size and shape and features, sauntering off.

Log created on 11:46:34 05/08/2022 by Echo, and last modified on 15:19:50 05/08/2022.