Match of the Millennium

Description: Zarine and the cheerleader Amber meet atop a roof for a dramatic battle!

[AMBER]
Amber had just finished cheerleading practice at the Dragons Football Stadium in Sunshine City when she got the call from The New Fighting Generation. Despite being told to remain on stand by in case she should be needed as a substitute, she was taken by surprise. She'd enjoyed her previous experience against Iris, even if the other woman had seemed to be upset with her about something and she'd got to hang out in Dragon Books, which was always fun!

Since then though she's got used to being back in her daily routine (albeit with a few extra gym sessions). She'd been planning to go for tacos with some of the other girls but now she was going to have to rush back to her apartment and grab her suitcase because she was needed in Metro City. She would be representing Metal again because of an injury Sarah AKA DJ Supernova had sustained.

Now twenty four hours later she finds herself high above the city on the West Side Rooftops. She can't resist walking to the edge to see just how far down it would be should she take a tumble. Not that she's afraid of heights, her job often involves her having to do daring aerial stunts but she's not sure most humans could survive such a fall. This evening though, she won't be fighting a human.

In honour of the fact her match is with an actual freaking vampire, she is dressed in a Sunnydale High cheerleading costume instead of her usual Sunshine City Dragons clothing. She's not roleplaying as Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself though. No, she's chosen to emulate Cordelia Chase, the school mean girl with hair that's a lot closer to her own style. She really doesn't feel like having to deal with slipping a blonde wig on for the fight! The costume consists of a tight pale yellow sweater with a v-neckline and a 'S' logo on the upper right hand side. The skirt that goes along with it is pleated and maroon red in colour with a pale yellow trim along the hem. On her feet are white sneakers with maroon red stripes and she's carrying a pair of pale yellow and dark maroon pom poms that she's currently shaking vigorously as way of some sort of warm up. She's ready to face whatever this match may bring. Now all she needs is her opponent.

[ZARINE]
Zarine, being an inhuman monster, really didn't have any kind of feelings regarding the substitution beyond slightly annoyed. She had been preparing with film to learn Sarah's style and to be ready for it, but with the switch, she's going in blind.

She's not even sure what a cheerleader -is-.

Even so, a swarm of bats writhe through the sky, swirling down to the rooftop and coming together to meld into the petite vampire. Once again, the staff told her how to dress. She's wearing a mid-thigh length blood red dress in the style that some would call skater. Over this is a knee length black coat with a nice flow to it. Her legs are wrapped in fishnet tights, and her ankle boots are black with heels that are a touch too high to be called sensible. Her hair is held from her face with that headband that looks like iron thorns.

She regards Amber, tilting her head slightly as her left hand extends, her scabbarded sword manifesting into it. "I take it you are the substitute?"

[AMBER]
As the bats fly across the moonlit sky of Metro, Amber stares in awe. "Oh wow, like real life bats and everything? This is like, so cool. I thought they just had those in Dracula and all those creepy movies but I totally heart that real life vampires keep them as pets too."

By the time she realises that the bats actually are the vampire, she's staring open mouthed and is that perhaps a hint of panic in her hazel eyes?

"Oh hey, babe" she greets Zarine with more than a hint of hesitation. "That's a totally cute outfit. There's a goth club on Sunshine Strip where you'd completely fit in. Make sure you don't hit me with that headband though. Talk about lethal looking and you've got a sword too!"

She shivers a little and then straightens both her skirt and long brown hair before giving a bright smile to the white haired woman. "I suppose I am the substitute, yes. Apparently I'm the go to girl when Metal have a British girl missing from action."

She moves towards the centre of the space that's been set aside for them to fight in and asks "So what do you reckon? Your move or mine?"

COMBATSYS: Zarine has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Zarine           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Amber has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zarine           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Amber

[ZARINE]
Zarine regards the cheerleader for a long moment, red eyes unblinking. "I have been there. My first fight was there. It has a nice corner where I like to sit," she says plainly.

Gripping the hilt of her sword, she draws it, tossing the scabbard aside, her gaze calculating as she lifts the weapon higher. She levels the tip at Amber, holding the weapon parallel to the ground at around her own eye level.

"Come."

[AMBER]
"Oh sweet! Then you know what I mean" Amber says in breezy California tone. "I didn't realise you'd fought in Sunshine City."

She starts to move towards the vampire, her poms poms disguising the fact she's digging her nails into her palms right now to try and keep her calm in the face of the sword pointing in her direction.

"I guess come is your way of telling me to bring it on. That I can do!"

Amber lifts her arms high above her head and starts to gather glowing golden yellow energy around them before bringing them down to try and crash into Zarine's head.

COMBATSYS: Zarine blocks Amber's Touchdown.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Zarine           0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Amber

[ZARINE]
She still doesn't know what a cheerleader is. She does, however, pick up on the fact that Amber is at least decently skilled. Especially when the energy gathers in holden waves. Like the hated sun. She nearly hisses in reflex, but instead it just comes out as a grimace.

As Amber rushes her, Zarine pivots, planting her back foot and swinging her sword down behind her as she brings up her free arm to catch the blow. The golden power stings and nearly sizzles, but she manages to stave the worst of it off. Now so close, she meets her gaze with Amber's. Her bloody red eyes staring. Searching. Looking for weaknesses.

She shoves Amber back, slipping away to get a little space. She whips the sword back around, bringing her free hand up and slashing her own wrist. Ichorous blood oozes from the wound, spiralling around her blade even as the wound seals itself. She darts closer, boots thudding on the roof, and she swings. The tendrils of blood release and launch, transforming into razor sharp ribbons of magic that race to entwine the cheerleader.

COMBATSYS: Zarine successfully hits Amber with Ribbons.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Zarine           0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0            Amber

[AMBER]
Amber can tell she's made the vampire uncomfortable, even if her attack didn't go exactly to plan. Her energy is reminscent of the sun, which could put her at an advantage here. Could being the operative word.

The blood red gaze is unnerving. This is a whole different creature to the eccentric English girl she faced last time. Surely The New Fighting Generation wouldn't put her life in danger for real though?

As she's shoved back, her sneakers can't stop her from losing her footing. She's already unsteady on her feet when she screams at the sight of Zarine slashing her own wrist. The cheerleader has a sudden violent urge to vomit but she's got to keep herself together. She can't let this woman break her spirit!

Easier said than done. The razor sharp ribbons wrap around her, threatening to squeeze the life out of her slim frame. The more she struggles, the more she seems to suffer the effects of their binds, her body crying out in pain. Is it too late to decline the invitation to be a substitute?

She closes her eyes, picturing Sunshine City where it always feels like summer. The feel of the warm rays on her tanned face, the light breeze blowing on her bare legs. It helps her to gather herself enough to push through the prison.

As she regains her freedom, Amber leaps into the air, bending at the hips in order to bring her chest to her knees, whilst keeping her legs straight. Folding her body into a piked position, she points her toes and angles her legs at ninety degrees, before arching her back on the descent, with the intention of landing in the cradle position on top of Zarine, with her whole body covering her and facing away from the fear inducing foe!

COMBATSYS: Amber successfully hits Zarine with Pike Basket.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Zarine           0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0            Amber

[ZARINE]
Luckily for literally everyone involved, Zarine does not have any supernatural fear inducing powers. She's just a tiny vampire who happens to be scary. These things happen. She's also not really used to fighting brawlers. She's fought Laurel, who fights with a very large knife and a bunch of ghosts, and Chevy who fights like ... Chevy. So this is a new experience.

This is why she moves wrong when Amber comes flying towards her in an acrobatic assault. She jukes when she should have jived and takes the full brunt of it, sending her tumbling to the ground. The proximity will give Amber even more things to be creeped out by. Zarine isn't breathing heavily. In fact, she's not breathing at all. And she's cold. Clammy. Corpselike.

Luckily, she's not there long. Her body dissolves into a cloud of silvery mist that flows away to reform into the vampire. She looks at Amber imperiously, feeding power into her blade. Wisps of black shadow bloom along it, almost seeming to crackle as they build. She lunges, taking the weapon into both hands and swinging it in a mighty overhead slash.

COMBATSYS: Zarine successfully hits Amber with Sunless.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Zarine           0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0            Amber

[AMBER]
Of course Amber knows the lore behind vampires. She's clearly a Buffy fan going by her Cordelia Chase costume but to actually be up close to one for real? Chilling.

She's got all the right attributes to play the heroine in a horror movie. Hourglass figure that fills out a tight top nicely? Check. Swishy and shiny long hair? Check. Clean cut image with just a suggestion of sexiness? Check. But is she as brave as they are? Time will tell.

She's certainly not feeling too courageous right now. Despite her flashy move working out wonderfully for her, the cheerleader can't help but be disturbed by the doll like creature beneath her. Imagine not having to actually breathe. Imagine only being able to go out at night. Imagine never having to worry about an anti-ageing skin care routine. Well, there has to be some benefit to being dead.

If the cold corpse was creepy however, the silver mist that replaces it is worse. If Zarine is in that form, how can Amber ever hope to get a grip of her? Okay, so that was a temporary thing. Amber puffs out a sigh of relief and gets ready to react to what happens next. But she's far too slow.

Twelve hours of cheerleading practice and another twelve in the gym each week are still not proving enough for her to perform at her peak level. She's slashed by the sword, her Sunnydale sweater being sliced in two to reveal her white bra beneath. Hopefully Constance Coalbridge won't sue her for stealing her gimmick.

Unfortunately for the spirited Sunshine City resident, the skin beneath also shows signs of being struck. She glances down to see a tell tale trickle of blood heading south towards her skirt. "That's not good!" is her somewhat understated response.

When she positions her pom poms, it initially looks like she's going to use them to cover her modesty. Pretty soon though, she's lifting them aloft, fixing a smile on her face and chanting "One, two, three, four, Amber's gonna show you more! Five, six, seven, eight. Who do they appreciate? Go Amber!"

COMBATSYS: Amber shakes her pom poms.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Zarine           0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1            Amber

[ZARINE]
Zarine, after her blade strikes, takes a little hop backwards. Amber's blood left on the blade spirals up the metal and absorbs into the vampire's hand. She lifts the weapon defensively for Amber's next attack, but it doesn't come. Instead, there's a ... rhyming chant?

"What sorcery is this? Are you casting spells?"

When nothing happens, the vampire just looks confused. Then her body language shifts. It's subtle, but the change is there. A little bit of the human mask slips. Her gaze burns, honing in on Amber. Her superhuman senses lock in, taking the young woman in. Every breath. Every twitch of muscle. Every beat of her heart.

It's kinda creepy, honestly.

COMBATSYS: Zarine focuses on her next action.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Zarine           0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1            Amber

[AMBER]
"It's cheerleading!" Amber helpfully informs Zarine. "I suppose you could call it a form of magic because it gets the crowd going and then The Dragons can feel all fired up and ready to roar"

Zarine's confused face almost has the California girl feeling sorry for her. She continues to chatter on. "Do you ever watch Oprah? She has this thing called the magic list and..."

She's stopped by the sensation of Zarine being able to see right through her. Her lips fall open in shock. Should she run whilst she's still reasonably intact? No! She must do her utmost to seal the victory for Team Metal.

She starts to wave her pom poms again, dancing past the pale skinned vampire until she's standing on the ledge behind her, perilously close to plunging to her death. From this position, Amber raises her arms out over her head, continuing to shake her pom poms, as she works herself into a steadily building state of high energy.

Somersaulting in the air, she comes crashing down to try and land on the corpse like beauty forwards first.

COMBATSYS: Zarine blocks Amber's Empowered Pyramid Scheme EX.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Zarine           1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0            Amber

[ZARINE]
Seeing sometimes doesn't help much. Seeing sometimes just gives you tunnel vision and impedes your reactions. This happens to Zarine. Mostly. She watches Amber move, following her like a hunting snake about to strike. The thing is, she's preparing to attack, not to defend herself. So, yet again, she fails to get out of the way.

What is, in essence, a flying tackle comes for her, and the vampire mitigates by dropping her sword and reaching out to catch Amber. Even so, despite her undead strength, she still can't defeat physics. This is a problem about being tiny. The force with which Amber throws herself at Zarine causes them both to hit the ground very hard. Cracks are audible as various bones snap and crack. That hurt.

Her sword spins out of her hand, skittering across the rooftop. For a moment, everything is still. Without warning, she hisses, fangs extending and she uses the close quarters to lunge and bite at Amber. To feast on her blood and regain her strength.

COMBATSYS: Amber blocks Zarine's We Hunger.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Zarine           0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0            Amber

[AMBER]
As the girls hit the ground hard, one might think they are watching a football match rather than a fight. Amber may have picked up some moves from the players she has spent so much time with but she doesn't quite have their brawn. Though not as petite as the vampire, at only five feet, four inches and one hundred and fifteen pounds, she lacks any real bulk. As such, it's not only her opponent who feels the effects and she lets out a groan.

As the sword goes spinning, the cheerleader watches it's journey, glad to see that go. Without her weapon, perhaps the diminutive vampire will be less deadly.

Within seconds this hope is dismissed when Zarine sinks her fangs into Amber's firm flesh to drink her blood. She tries to pull away but she's already starting to feel faint. Her eyelashes flutter and she has a sudden urge to let herself go limp. Sleep would be so lovely right now. Maybe she should just surrender.

"NO!" she suddenly shouts, her voice sharp and shrill. "If the boys were down in a game, I wouldn't stop cheering for them. I can do this! I can push through the pain!"

She rolls away from her foe and forces herself to her feet. Starting to jump up and down on the spot, she tries to psych herself up to continue with this bloody battle.

She raises her arms upwards to form the shape of the letter 'V', her hands clenching into tight fists as they start to glow with golden yellow energy. From here she thrusts them forwards, aiming both fists at Zarine's face simultaneously.

COMBATSYS: Zarine endures Amber's Victory V EX!

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Zarine           0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0            Amber

[ZARINE]
The vampire feeds. It's not as much as she would like, but it's enough to get her head back on straight. As Amber wrenches free and rolls away, Zarine's red eyed gaze follows her, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. She swipes at it with a finger and licks it clean absently as she gets to her feet.

She watches the cheerleader pump herself up, jumping and thinking happy thoughts as she charges her power. The vampire's head tilts to one side and then the other, like a confused dog. She extends her right hand, and her sword quivers and shakes and lifts from the ground. It sails through the air towards her grip and the hilt slaps into her palm.

At the same instant Amber strikes her in the face.

Zarine takes the full force, her undead flesh sizzling under the energy assault. Her feet shift ever so slightly, the heels of her boots clicking on the rooftop. Her expression doesn't change save for a flicker in her eyes as she swings the sword about, lashing at Amber mercilessly. Drawing on the power of her blood, she strikes once and twice, using proximity and the likely shock from her just taking the terrible blow to the face to her advantage.

COMBATSYS: Zarine successfully hits Amber with This Corrosion.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //                            ]
Zarine           0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1            Amber

[AMBER]
The sword is back in the vampire's cold grip. Amber looks across at her wielding it and trembles at the sight of her own blood being licked away from the predator's pretty mouth. What exactly has she got herself in to here?

She's given a brief respite when her glowing golden yellow enegy connects with Zarine's face. The sounds of the sizzling are soothing to the Sunshine City cheerleader but she's soon back on her guard as the weapon swings at her.

Amber aims to use her natural agility to duck and dodge out of the way of the blade but the vampire's supernatural speed ensures she strikes her target. Her stomach is slashed, as is her arm and soon she's slumping down to the ground, the pain and punishment her body has taken overpowering her.

On her way down, she makes one last ditch attempt to bring the other woman with her.

She shakes her pom poms proudly producing more yellow energy. This time it's even brighter, almost blinding for anyone who looks directly at it! The energy spreads to circle her feet and then forms into a ball which Amber kicks towards Zarine.

COMBATSYS: Amber can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Amber successfully hits Zarine with Sunshine City Spirit.

[                                <
Zarine           1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Zarine takes no action.


COMBATSYS: Zarine can no longer fight.


[ZARINE]
Zarine strikes true. Her sword is lightning quick, delivering debilitating, but nowhere near lethal, slashes to Amber. As the other woman stumbles back, the vampire straightens, boots clicking upon the roof.

"Victory is mine!"

Except maybe not. She gloats and fails to forsee the final attack, the burning blast of golden power hitting her hard enough to blow her off the roof. She sails like a ragdoll, arcing over the edge and disappearing. There's no thump, no horrified screams from below.

Just a swarm of bats that spiral up and cross over the moon, disappearing.

Log created on 18:53:26 10/11/2023 by Zarine, and last modified on 17:05:37 10/14/2023.