Match of the Millennium

Description: LOU: "At 'Marble Lake?' I think we're in for another horror show. Let's just hope for Sarah's sake that she's the Final Girl."

[SARAH]
What was that they always said about chasing waterfalls? Stick to the rivers and lakes, right?

Well, there's plenty of water here, but the scene here isn't about swimming or anything like that. It's about the New Fighters' Generation tournament, and there's another battle happening right here, right now!

First up, it's the acrobatic disk jockey herself, Sarah Kuzumi, who enters with a smile and a wave before running towards the fighting area center, doing a few somersaults and cartwheels along the way. Once she's in the center, she holds her hands up to greet her fans before stepping back to do some warming up.

"Another great fight is coming up, I can feel it!" The blonde haired girl says as she gets loosened up and her blood flowing for the fight.

[LAUREL]
Last round, Laurel woke up on a slab with a sheet pulled over her head. There was a stretch where her vitals were so threadbare as to lurk just below registerable levels, so it was a perfectly understandable mistake; nevermind the horrific array of wounds she'd been wheeled in with. She doesn't carry any ill will about the whole thing; the medical team were just doing their jobs, which means that every day's a brand new set of challenges thanks to the wild variety of fighters present in the NFG.

It's just another li'l oopsie for the nightmare ledger; no big deal!

Still, though: a part of her hopes that Sarah won't turn out to be some kind of hyper-rhythmic werewolf or banshee or serial killer, or something-- that they can have a nice, clean fight without staining the 'lake' red.

Or, you know.

As nice, as clean of a fight as her worse half will allow, anyway.

After a brisk walk to the arena - for some reason, Laurel didn't earn herself many fans to interact with after last round's performance - the tall, toned woman wearing a dagger sheath on her left hip takes her spot opposite Sarah. After a couple light bounces in place, she steps forward to offer the other woman a handshake, a smile, and--

"Good luck!"

[SARAH]
Nope, no monsters or anything like that here!

Just a disk jockey who loves Capoeira and parkour, while personally having a dislike for shoes!

"Best of luck to you as well!" Sarah says with a smile as she returns the handshake to Laurel before stepping back a little and getting into the ginga while waiting for the signal to begin the fight.

COMBATSYS: Laurel has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Laurel           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Sarah has joined the fight here.

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Laurel           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Sarah

When the fight does get underway, Sarah maintains the ginga for a few moments, as is the standard of all practitioners of Capoeira, before she advances on Laurel, and then attempts to demonstrate her skills with a simple kick aimed at her foot.

Nothing major or flashy here, just a simple technique to get things underway. Sarah likes to save the best stuff for later!

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Laurel with Light Kick.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Laurel           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Sarah

[LAUREL]
One of Laurel's hands is in Sarah's hand; the other's rummaging through her leather jacket, digging-- rooting--

"-- ow!"

Really, it's her own fault for not bothering to look up when the handshake ended and the fight began in earnest. She stumble-hops back a few steps before catching herself, knees slightly bent; groaning, quietly, as she hastily yanks the cracked, weathered porcelain mask she was searching for free. Despite its utter lack of expression, its features are eerily lifelike, with Laurel's own dark brown eyes completing the illusion once she pushes the mask against her face and gazes through its empty eyeholes.

The tall woman takes a deep breath, bracing herself--

-- straightening, squaring her shoulders such that she almost seems to gain a couple inches--

-- and rather than release, she simply explodes forward, intent on scooping her arms beneath Sarah's and carelessly hurling the other woman behind herself.

COMBATSYS: Sarah dodges Laurel's Crushing Throw.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Laurel           0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
Seems Laurel has intent on grabbing Sarah and throwing her. She's got good focus and she's got good technique.

What she doesn't have is good speed!

Before she can grab Sarah, the blonde-haired disk jockey has cartwheeled to the side. "Nice try, but no good!" She says with a grin. "Strength alone won't win in this battle!"

Sarah then shifts to face Laurel again, doing a few steps in the ginga, before suddenly attempting to perform a backwards flip, attempting to strike Laurel with her bare foot as she does so.

COMBATSYS: Laurel blocks Sarah's Flip It Good.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Laurel           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Sarah

[LAUREL]
The foot collides with Laurel's forearm, edging her back slightly before she plants her feet and widens her stance. The grin and needling are met with silence and a bright, twinkling red stare.

Just as Sarah lands, the tall woman sweeps her hand towards the hilt on her hip and pulls. There's a slight resistance and a wet, sustained sucking noise, both of which last several moments before she finally pulls a gleaming sword inscribed with radiant blue runes from a sheath far too small to suit it; several drops of water gush free as the sword clears that sheath. Without adjusting, she slashes forward, cuts at nothing--

-- and the sword responds by segmenting, separating, and rippling through the air, suddenly becoming a chain comprised of miniature blades whipping towards Sarah to coil around one of her limbs so Laurel can drag her inward with a vicious jerk.

COMBATSYS: Laurel successfully hits Sarah with Hell Ride.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Laurel           0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that Sarah knows never to expect anything when dealing with an opponent, whether new or old, as they're always changing in terms of their abilities and techniques.

And here's a case where Sarah finds that it seems, no matter what she does, she just can't win.

She gets a bit tied up and finds her left arm being caught and pulled towards Laurel. "Hey, what gives?" She cries out in surprise and disbelief. "So, you want to get personal, do you?"

Laurel may have the upper hand with Sarah's arm ensnared, but Sarah's got a trick of her own up her sleeve! As soon as she's close enough, she drops down and plants the palm of her trapped hand on the ground, then proceeds to spin around twice, first attempting to strike with her left leg (the upper one) and then the right leg.

COMBATSYS: Laurel endures Sarah's Tornado Warning.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Laurel           0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0            Sarah

[LAUREL]
"No," is all the answer Laurel gives.

On one hand, the tether around Sarah's arm gives Laurel the perfect means with which to disrupt her counteroffensive: as soon as the capoeirista's palm presses against the ground, the towering woman /pulls/ up, jerking Sarah right off the ground.

On the other, Sarah's a dangerously trained combatant who lives and dies by the strength of her legs. A little thing like being pulled up at the worst moment is a minor setback: those kicks not only fly, they strike /true/, slamming into Laurel's chest and head on the way up and staggering the masked woman in place for a beat.

(Un)Fortunately, she's able to recover in time to quickly gather the whip-sword around her right arm and /wrench/ her hips around in a bid to drive Sarah straight to the ground and follow it up with a quick stomp to the ribs.

COMBATSYS: Laurel successfully hits Sarah with Armed Combo.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Laurel           0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1            Sarah

[SARAH]
Not one for many words, that Laurel is.

She's more of an actions-speak-louder-than-words person.

And those actions hurt like hell.

Sarah is brought down and then stomped on in her ribs. She cries out in pain before managing to get her breath back and then get back onto her feet. "Oww... Oh bloody hell..."

Sarah slaps herself a couple of times as she returns to the ginga. "I have to say, I never expected to encounter someone with a weapon like yours, but don't think that a weapon gives you a full advantage!"
%Sarah attempts to do a forwards somersault and wrap her ankles around Laurel's neck. If successful, she'll do a twist and toss Laurel to the ground while Sarah herself rolls forwards and gets back onto her feet.

That's not to say she won't be grimacing...

COMBATSYS: Laurel blocks Sarah's Medium Throw.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Laurel           0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1            Sarah

[LAUREL]
Said weapon slithers away from Sarah and winds itself back together again until it's resting snugly in its hilt, leaving a wet trail behind.

This time, the closest thing she has to an answer is a slight, sideways cant of her head-- the same head Sarah swiftly captures between her boots in order to flip the larger woman to the ground. Rolling through the impact, Laurel winds up in a three point stance with her sword clutched close in a knife grip-- and she doesn't so much /stand/ from it as she flows forward, from kneeling to pivoting on her forward foot, to spin-stepping towards Sarah with a grace that almost seems foreign in the context of her performance thus far. Along the way, the sword flips through the air to be recaptured in a proper grip-- just moments before she draws close enough to threaten Sarah with an upward arcing slash followed by a lateral cut.

COMBATSYS: Sarah parries Laurel's Monsters Ball EX!!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Laurel           0/-------/-======|=======\=======\1            Sarah

[SARAH]
Some people find that weapons suit them well, while some feel that they are their own best weapon. Sarah is definitely one of the latter, and she intends to prove to Laurel that she doesn't need weapons to put up a good fight.

In fact, even though she's unarmed, she manages to swiftly deflect the sword away before the first slash even begins! It happens so fast it's almost like the speed of light! How does that disk jockey do it?

That's a secret only Sarah knows! And she's not telling!

"That was a good try," Sarah says with a smile. "But unfortunately, not good enough!" With that, Sarah brings her hands back and focuses her chi into them. After that, she throws forth a large blast of projectiles that loosely resemble butterflies. All of which are flying at Laurel... and none of them are friendly!

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Laurel with The Swarm Is Coming EX.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Laurel           1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0            Sarah

[LAUREL]
The first few butterflies are simply swatted aside, but there are too many: before long, Laurel is inundated with sparkling wings that drive her back from Sarah until she's hunched several feet away from the other woman, tense as smoke and fading light curl from her body.

Rather than rush back in, she just remains there, hunched-- head slowly lifting until empty, black sockets have locked squarely onto Sarah's eyes.

Watching.

Studying, as clouds begin rolling in to strangle out the midday sun.

COMBATSYS: Laurel focuses on her next action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Laurel           1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0            Sarah

[SARAH]
Sarah can tell that her attack landed quite well, but it also seems that Laurel is up to something now. At first she considers doing the same, watching and waiting what her foe is up to.

But those moments in the ginga of staring at Laurel intently are more of a ruse. Because after a moment, Sarah takes a couple of running steps and then performs a diving roll, somersaulting across the ground towards Laurel, before springing upwards with a swift uppercut!

COMBATSYS: Laurel interrupts Roll With It from Sarah with Broken Wings EX.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Laurel           1/-----==/=======|=======\====---\1            Sarah

[LAUREL]
Sarah goes high and Laurel does too:

Without much of a warning - no bent knees, no dropped shoulders, no telegraphing at all - the masked woman simply /explodes/ upwards as Sarah arcs towards her. She seizes the capoeirista's throat in one hand and wrenches back so that when they come down, she's ready to slam Sarah back first into the arena floor. Afterwards, she remains hunched over the other woman.

Staring, blank-eyed.

[SARAH]
There are times where you find you shouldn't be doing certain things. Namely attacking when your opponent is watching you like a hawk.

It's almost like Laurel was reading her mind or something. Maybe she's psychic or maybe Sarah just zigged when she should have zagged.

Regardless, the fact still remains that Sarah goes down onto the ground and lets out a groan as she hits the ground. As she rubs her body, she winces a little before slowly forcing herself back onto her feet and into the ginga.

"Well played," She says with a slight smirk. "Very well played. But I'm not done yet!" And then, she cartwheels at Laurel, attempting to deliver a stunning kick with her cartwheel. If she succeeds, she'll perform a swifter version of her double spinning kick from earlier, then repeat the rising uppercut again, only this time infused with her chi!

COMBATSYS: Sarah successfully hits Laurel with My Favorite Remix.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Laurel           1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0            Sarah

[LAUREL]
The first kick slips right along the flat of Laurel's weapon, raised protectively in front of herself; it hits her in the chin, staggering her in place.

The next two drive her backwards, then to her knee with a heavy thud, where she lingers as her shoulders bow forward.

A second after Laurel hits the ground, a single, sparkling tear falls. Ever so briefly, time seems to slow through the descent, strangled to a bare crawl in the split-second before impact.

Before an invisible, but wholly palpable ripple spreads along the platform and pricks the higher senses of those trained to perceive such things.

As that sparkling droplet expands into a swirling, spectral wraith made of claws and wrathful anguish, more tears follow; more /wraiths/ follow-- and in a matter of seconds, Sarah has a swarm of mournful ghosts coursing along the ground, intent on seizing every one of her limbs and holding her in place.

COMBATSYS: Sarah blocks Laurel's For The Nightmare Children.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Laurel           0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Sarah

More ghosts look to bind Sarah as Laurel herself slowly rises to her feet--

Slowly, steadily marches forward--

-- and ultimately attempts to cleave Sarah with a heavy, downward slash once she's close enough.

All the while, encroaching clouds have turned a bright, sunny match into a twilight fight for survival, if only for the moment.

[SARAH]
Sarah doesn't know what to make of this, so she adopts a defensive stance, hoping to make the best of things.

Unfortunately, even though her defense is strong, it's still not enough to keep her standing. Weakened and knowing that she's got little chance of staying on her feet, the girl takes a deep breath as if trying to summon what's left within her.

Then she tries one last attempt at an arm strike as she goes down onto her face. Looks like she's out either way.

COMBATSYS: Sarah can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Laurel blocks Sarah's Medium Punch.

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

[LAUREL]
It's at least enough to stop her from taking a sword to the chest.

After Sarah wrenches free of the ghosts long enough to stop the concluding blow, Laurel is met with a punch to the face. It's only at the last moment that she's able to shift her free hand up to protect herself, throwing the punch off course without quite /protecting/ herself-- and thus taking a blow to the chin that leaves her reeling even as Sarah goes down.

Moments later, when she recovers, Laurel drops to her knees, back turned to Sarah; both hands rise to her face, cupping the mask and pulling firmly for a few seconds until she manages to disconnect from it.

A few seconds after /that/ - when the color and life have returned to her eyes - she tentatively looks over her shoulder to peek at Sarah-- and then lets out a relieved sigh upon seeing that the other woman isn't a bleeding mess.

COMBATSYS: Laurel has ended the fight here.

Log created on 21:27:27 09/27/2023 by Laurel, and last modified on 16:47:41 09/30/2023.