Match of the Millennium

Description: "Next, we have Echo facing Shermie! An interesting matchup. Darkstalker facing the fashion designer! Find out who comes out on top as they strive for victory in front of the Sydney Opera House!"

[SHERMIE]
The Sydney Opera House has a history with the Ristar tournament, and it's not a good one. During the previous year's contest, the whole building was destroyed following the match up between Alexis Lovell and La Huesuda, and it's only recently been restored. Needless to say, it took some persuading of the Australian authorities to be willing to risk another showdown on the premises and even after agreeing, the insurance bill is costing a pretty penny.

For now at least, it's back to its beautiful best. The modern expressionist style of the building sports a series of large precast concrete 'shells', each composed of sections of a sphere, which serve to form the roofs of the striking structure, that is set on a monumental podium. Its waterside location adds further to its impressive impact and help add to its status as one of the world's most distinctive buildings.

Shermie Jourdain, of CYS, fashion design and fighting fame landed in the capital of New South Wales in luxurius style yesterday. Accompanied by her pet hamsters and no doubt breaking some kind of animal importing law, she splashed out on a first class ticket, to be sure to feel as refreshed and rested as possible, following her flight from Southtown. Her fellow bandmates haven't come along for the trip. Yashiro is in his native Japan, working on some new angry song lyrics and Chris has his own fight with a racoon boy to deal with, in the strange venue of a Spangles fast food chain. Not that mixing food and fighting was too out of the ordinary. Shermie's own fight in the previous round had seen her facing off with schoolgirl, Mitsuru in the Pao Pao Cafe.

Upon arriving at the oppulent opera house, Shermie had set about changing in to the costume she's chosen to engage in this evening's combat. A slinky, skin tight navy blue bodysuit is worn underneath a smart looking white skirt suit, albeit it one with an ultra short skirt. On her feet are a pair of white leather knee-high boots adorned with silver buckles. As usual, her ravishing red locks are pulled in to two long twin tails at the back and her heavy bangs fall down over her eyes, obscuring them from her opponent's and everyone else in the venue's view.

The set up for the scrap is in a traditional looking ring, such as those seen in a boxing or wrestling match, which has been placed on the main stage. The French fighter gracefully climbs over the ring's ropes, to the sound of the CYS song, Fanatic Waltz, somehow managing not to give the fans a glimpse of her underwear. Once inside, she blows kisses to the crowd, seeking to get them on side.

"Now, where is this Echo, I wonder?" she calls out, before repeating "Now, where is this Echo, I wonder?"

It's an obvious joke, but one that seems to amuse the French fashionista, since she's now giggling madly.

[ECHO]
A pair of black knee-high boots tromp down into the soil a distance away from Shermie, though these are black, not white--on the wearer, white would just blend in too well.

"There is in fact an Echo out here, m'dear," the bat woman announces, her otherwise human visage distorting as it bleeds away into the obvious non-human-looking Darkstalker sorceress, clad in the long black dress. Strung from her belt of pouches and arcane fetishes is a... water spray bottle? Which she liberally douses herself with. The Australia heat is dry and choking. She spreads her wings and vaults up--half-flying, half-grabbing the edge of the ring ropes to swing herself down into the ring, landing on her boots. Folding her wings again she stands up, admiring Shermie's bangs which hide her eyes.

"I love the look, but any longer out here and I'm going to shrivel up," she fans herself with a wing. "No need to go easy on eachother, I'm in this to test my abilities, okay?" she takes a deep breath.

"Right, lets get to it."

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

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

COMBATSYS: Shermie has joined the fight here.

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

[SHERMIE]
"Ahhh, there you are!" Shermie exclaims, her pearly coral pink lips forming into a satisfied smile. "Now we can begin the fun and fighting for the fans, as well as our own pleasure of course."

Her hidden eyes look the other woman over, taking in all the features of her form. "You have wings like Lyraelle. It seems they are on trend lately. Perhaps I will design some in my next collection."

She starts to sashay closer to the slender darkstalker. "It seems you are very hot in this heat. I manage to always keep my cool, so it doesn't effect me."

She's so close she could almost touch now. "So you were saying you wanted a test? I will do my best to deliver."

Shermie launches herself backside first into Echo, with the intention of smashing into her face. If successful, she will use the fact she's stunned against her and straighten her legs in mid air, before spinning into the furry female feet first like a drill.

COMBATSYS: Echo endures Shermie's Axle Spinning Kick.

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

[ECHO]
"You design any open-backed dresses? I'd be intrigued--" Echo is not just here to talk about fashion, however--she's steeling herself for the model's attack--who feels as if there is more than meets the eye.

Imagine one's surprise when the back of Shermie crashes into them, and then they are picked up and spun around--the body of Echo seen distorted as she's whirling like that high speeds--before finally disentangling herself from it and landing with a thud against the ring floor. Whack.

She's glad she's in her boots, to be sure--pulling herself and swiping her long black hair out of her face, the bat lady forms a glowing dark green fireball in her hand before hurling it at Shermie, her orange-yellow cat-like eyes narrowing into slits and grunting as it's tossed.

COMBATSYS: Echo successfully hits Shermie with Spirit Wrack.

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

COMBATSYS: Shermie focuses on her next action.

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

[SHERMIE]
"Of course. I design almost anything, as long as it's classy, chic, sexy or stylish. I believe such a dress could fall under all those categories, if in the hands of a talented designer, which is exactly what I am."

As the bat woman is battered by the brunt of her attack, Shermie simply nods her head, calling to the crowd "Wasn't that perfect?"

She's so busy gloating that she doesn't spot the glowing green fireball soaring towards her. Throwing up her hands in a protective gesture that comes far too late, the rockstar is rocked, falling down to the mat and finding herself gasping for breath.

"That was very naughty" she murmurs, when she can finally manage to speak. "You knocked me off my feet." For now she remains grounded, as she tries to gather her energy to fight on.

[ECHO]
"Hardier than I thought, I should have guessed," Echo raised brows as Shermie takes the fireball, able to still rise afterward. That would have incapacitated or killed a normal human, likely. "I have been told I am such," Echo nodded, before holding her arms out--her dress starting to billow around her as if by unseen gusts of air.

"Neither the brave nor bold--writers of stories sold!" voice rising imperiously, a blue spectral phantom shape appears nearby Shermie--arms and a head, the lower body a long tail, the face skeletal--it attempts to grab Shermie's arms by the wrist and give them a stretch.

"Hey--I said pull--not stare--damnit," Echo stamps a foot and bossily shouts at the spectre. To be fair, they've been dead a long time.

COMBATSYS: Shermie fails to interrupt Abracadaver from Echo with Shermie Whip.

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

[SHERMIE]
The rockstar slowly rises to her feet, just in time to see the spectre appear before her.

"Are you a witch?" she wonders of Echo, curious about the spoken spell that summoned the skeletal creature.

As it grabs at her, she struggles to break free, squirming and scrambling to scissor her legs around the source of the stretching, in a bid to squeeze its frail looking form. In her battle, she falls backwards, slipping and sliding across the ring, the stretched sinews of her arms providing her only support.

"This is tres painful!" she protests, torn between wiggling some more and falling back down, or bearing the burn of the phantom on her flesh.

[ECHO]
"I prefer the term 'sorceress'~ but yes," Echo directs the spectre to pull--and at last it obeys, hauling Shermie briefly off her feet as she's suspended by whatever this thing is--spectre, illusion perhaps to the onlookers. Shermie's legs pass through the apparition as if it's thin air--finally getting dropped as it lets go, sending her to the ring floor.

"Doubtless he still wishes he had a body," Echo's hand radiates pale blue residual energy as the ghost familiar is dismissed, fading away like it had never been.

"Need more power..." her eyes begin to glow red as her dress whips up again, her wings buffeted by it, her face twisted and teeth bared in a grimace as power begins to radiate off her!

COMBATSYS: Echo raises arms, eyes glowing red as she conjures FELL MAGICKS to her aid!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Shermie          0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1             Echo

[SHERMIE]
The French woman finds herself flat out on the floor, a position that is becoming familiar to her in this fight.

"It is all very spooky" is her summary of the sorcery on display. "Is he someone you used to know? An ex boyfriend perhaps?"

Whilst Echo works on harnessing her power, Shermie is focusing on finding her feet. Once she's upright again, she starts to steadily circle the red eyed and radiating woman.

Attempting to take advantage of her being distracted, she flips forward in to a handstand, before lashing out her leg, with the aim of bringing it down on Echo's head hard. If she pulls this off, she will follow through with a flying knee attack.

COMBATSYS: Echo blocks Shermie's Shermie Stand.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Shermie          0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1             Echo

[ECHO]
There's all sorts of bad shit floating around Echo now--in the way of powerful, malevolent aura and little spectral images and all that. So many so that when the kick from Shermie comes in--she attempts to grab the booted foot to stop it--only relenting when she has to finally give way for it to land on her shoulder. Ow.

"Whole load of these guys waiting for ya, haha--" Echo's wings flare out around her and she jumps back, her wings flapping as she uses the rope of the ring to help catapult herself forward--the claws at the peaks of her wings slashing out at Shermie as she swoops down!

COMBATSYS: Shermie blocks Echo's Glider Spike.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Shermie          0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1             Echo

[SHERMIE]
If Shermie's eyes could be seen, then it would be noticed that they are currently very wide, in response to the sights swirling around her opponent.

"This magic is dark" she announces, following her words with a comically dramatic shudder.

Her assault has once more been thwarted by her furry foe, but she is not one to become downhearted with ease. As Echo hits back, she runs towards her swooping silhouette, seeking to swerve the strikes that come her way.

For the most part, she is successful, but she still feels the force of the wing tip a it whacks her in her cute little chin.

"Ow" she pouts, backing away to get out of harms way. She lets herself lean back against the ropes, as she contemplates her next move. When she finally comes to a decision, she keeps it simple, lifting up the lithe lady and trying to throw her across the ring.

COMBATSYS: Shermie successfully hits Echo with Medium Throw.
- Power hit! -

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shermie          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Echo

[ECHO]
Noting her fly-by attack has been thwarted, Echo is able to turn (a corner that sharply is difficult, to be fair) and swing around--only to be grabbed by Shermie briskly out of the air and SLAMMED down against the floor of the ring. WHUMP.

"Is that the best you can--Ack--ow..." Echo's fangs are visible as she convulses a moment, the wind knocked out of her--before she squirms and struggles back up to her feet, holding her front.

Sneering with a bit more than just sharp humor, the bat sorceress raises a hand limned in read energy--her hands to the sky as dark energies begin to coalesce!

Chi users can /feel/ it, to be sure, meanwhile cameras or other devices might start receiving interference and static.

COMBATSYS: Echo snaps her fingers and grins as her right eye glints. It's Showtime!

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Shermie          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Echo

[SHERMIE]
"Not the best, but good enough for now" the rockstar replies.

As Echo's hands are raised skywards, Shermie tilts her head to watch their progress. A strange sensation starts to stir within her and she finds herself groping for the ropes, grabbing on to them for support and sanctuary.

"Strange things" she stage whispers, eyeing the sorceress with suspicion.

She sidles over to the other woman and tries to wrap her arm around her neck, positioning herself to perform a choke hold and hopefully break her concentration.

COMBATSYS: Shermie issues a challenge!!

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Shermie          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Echo

COMBATSYS: Echo blocks Shermie's Choke Hold.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shermie          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Echo

[ECHO]
"Come now--come one, come all, for the best show--one night only!" Echo cackles--even letting herself be grabbed by Shermie's sleeper hold, which contacts--leading to strangled gurgling from the bat woman. That is until unseen hands slowly begin to pull at Shermie's forearm and bicep--actually prising the necromancess's head and neck free from her grasp.

"Ack--guh--quite the arms on you--" Echo clears her throat--before throwing the giant ball of surging red energies she'd been cultivating up--like so many red balloon!

From around them, the ring turns into a ghastly parody of a theater--or maybe a gameshow. All around Shermie there are sparkling neon lights, a bit Vegas-like, as what looks like a huge marquee of said lights rises up behind her. She's the main contestant! Alongside Echo are various cold iron bloodstreaked torture devices, a rack, a bed of nails, and coming into view behind Shermie is--an iron maiden, the two folding halves of it springing open like the jaws of a lamprey!

"Lets hit it--" Echo exerts the rest of her energy into the spell, all the lights of the marquee lighting up one by one!

COMBATSYS: Shermie endures Echo's Empowered #Grand Guignol#.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Shermie          1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|>>-----\-------\0             Echo

[SHERMIE]
"You are quite the show stopper" the French woman flatters. "I like to be entertained and you are providing this well."

As her arm is wrenched free from the neck of the necromancer, she prepares for whatever the witchy woman's next trick may be.

When it comes, it's even wilder than Shermie could have expected. As the neon lights sparkle and the macabre spectacle starts up, she startles, a small shriek escaping her lips.

"Oh, tres bien et tres mal aussi."

She spins on the spot, staring at the various violent devices on display. So frightened is the fashionista, that she fails to flee, remaining fixed to the spot and letting the ghastly and ghoulish show have it's full horrific impact.

She remains tortured and trembling for what seems like an eternity, but eventually, finding the strength and spirit from somehere, she wills herself onwards and upwards, leaping in to the air, before making a dive towards Echo, aiming to grab her around the waist and swing herself into a suplex position behind her.

If her positioning goes to plan, she will do a double backflip and seek to slam the sorceress into the ground, before pulling her roughly back up into a belly to belly position and then bending backwards and pushing her head into the ground. This would surely leave her opponent reeling, which would allow Shermie to lock her legs around her neck, spin horizontally and then slam them into the ground with her hips, as a final flourish.

COMBATSYS: Shermie successfully hits Echo with MAX Shermie Carnival.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Shermie          0/-------/------<|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1             Echo

[ECHO]
"W-What, you're still okay?!" Echo's maw is hanging open after somehow Shermie springs back out of the iron maiden which had snapped closed on her, looking left and right quickly, furtively--as she is kinda worried now. She gapes as Shermie comes down right against her, squashing her onto the ring and slamming her body and chin down /hard/, her lips bloodied. She's then picked up by Shermie's legs and spun--slammed down beneath her as she's kind of a squashed bat, now.

"Uhhhhnn..." Echo coughs, sputtering blood--as she quickly attempts to draw a strange sigil in the air with her bloodied fingers--the hair on the back of one's neck may rise.

Something is coming.

From above, a strange portal opens--unleashing a torrent of spiritual energy down on the two--along with a plume of green fire!

COMBATSYS: Echo can no longer fight.

[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Shermie          0/-------/---<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Shermie blocks Echo's Weird Conjuration EX.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Shermie          0/-------/--<<<<<|

[SHERMIE]
"Okay is a matter of opinion" the mademoiselle muses "and also a way I have never been described before."

There's more shrieks as she lands her series of showy moves, but this time of delight and celebration.

The satisfied smirk on her visage isn't to last though, as she peers upwards through her thick curtain of hair to spy the portal.

Her mouth opens, her body tenses and she's teetering on the edge of terror again. She musn't surrender though, she can feel that the finish line is close and she has to fight off any obstacles that come from her opponent.

Her arms are thrown towards the energy, flying out to find the vivid flames, instead of retreating as her instincts tell her to. Some way, some how, they flicker out, instead of hitting her with their full force. When she realises the danger has diminished, she falls forward on to her hands and knees, crouching down on the mat and closing her concealed eyes.

"You were a worthy adversary" she offers her opponent, before pushing herself up to applaud the crowd and strike poses for the cameras.

"Merci merci" she calls, echoing her previous display of blown kisses as a curtain call.

COMBATSYS: Shermie takes no action.

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

COMBATSYS: Shermie has ended the fight here.

Log created on 14:30:57 05/28/2022 by Echo, and last modified on 18:00:50 05/28/2022.