Match of the Millennium

Description: Ken and Sub-Zero meet for a rousing frolick on the beach followed by violence. The frolick is also violence.

[KEN MASTERS]
Ken Masters is gearing up for his next World Warrior Match and this time it's going to be against one of the more cooler headed individuals that exist in this fighter space. This tournament does like to put him up against a few different types of fighters. This time his fire is going to be going up against some ice.

The chosen location for this here bout seems to be well within the wheelhouse of Ken as it is a beach. He's loving every thing around him and is all smiles as he lets his feet dig into the sand a bit. Soon enough, his opponent will arrive and they can begin to fight like Warriors of this World.

Until then, Ken's going to chomp down on this slice of pizza because it is freaking delicious.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero has started a fight here.

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Sub-Zero         0/-------/------=|

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters has joined the fight here.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
It's as if God just asked who was playing on the thermostat in his house:

On a clear, sunny day clinging to summer with all its might, a cold mist descends upon the beach, drawing long shadows from objects and onlookers alike. Hot, steamy pizza chills in the Ansatsuken master's hand until there's an ice crystal dangling from the far end of the crust; the falling remnants of a wave near the shore hang in frozen repose, sparkling in whatever sunlight filters through the haze.

"Better," flatly trickles from the cold-hearted assassin's lips, wafting through the air around--

-- well, Ken.

/Just/ Ken; the American prodigy's alone on the fighting grounds for a pregnant moment after that declaration, until the solitude is abruptly broken by a pair of hands breaking through the mist, intent on seizing Ken's arms and assaulting them with a burst of freezing chi so he can then be staggered by a palm strike to the chest.

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters blocks Sub-Zero's Black Ice.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
The warning of the mist and the destruction of his pizza is enough to have Ken realizing that fight is about to begin. What's left is dropped to smash or whatever as Ken turns on his senses to make sure that he's prepared for something coming in his direction. His eyes dart and his body shifts, arms twisting to stop those hands from grabbing at him. He stands his ground, hands blocking the blast of ice that comes at him. There's still some chill that happens, his hands catching a quick bit of frostbite. It's enough to allow him to keep his hands in place to smack against the palm strike.

"You don't waste time. I kinda' like that." Ken flashes a grin and winks at Sub-Zero while raising his foot overhead. His body lunges forward as he drops that heel towards the chilling opponent's skull!

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero blocks Ken Masters' Inazuma Kakato Wari.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
Ice flows along a leanly muscled arm owned by a masked ninja in deep, dark blue. It forms an oval buckler between Ken's heel and his skull, rebuffing the attack while sending a shock of pain through his arm and spine.

Already chipped and cracked by the force of Ken's mighty legs, the shield snaps in half; the halves in turn melt, flowing towards Sub-Zero's hands and reforming into a pair of dimly sparkling sais.

"I'm not here to grandstand, or perform," accompanies the frigid air curling from beneath his mask.

"But to learn--"

accompanies a lunging dash, the ninja practically hurling himself into a vicious frontal onslaught of stabs intended to pepper the Ansatsuken master's chest and stomach.

"-- and /konquer/!"

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters dodges Sub-Zero's Polar Puncture.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
"Really?"

Ken's movements speed up as he responds to Sub-Zero's stabbing attempts by sidestepping and sliding out of the way of each one. Really doing so with a smile on his face the entire time. He's loving it.

"Cuz I can teach you how to grandstand, perform..."

Ken spins on his heels to reach out for Sub-Zero. There's enough of a grin on his face that blowing a kiss at him seems annoyingly appropriate for this situation. "/and/ conquer."

That's all followed up by a wink as Ken attempts to grab onto Sub-Zero and plant a foot in his chest so he can drop backward and down towards the ground to roll backward with his sno-cone of an opponent and send him sailing off!

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters successfully hits Sub-Zero with Jigoku Guruma.
- Power hit! -

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Ken Masters      0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
Even after bouncing and tumbling along the ground courtesy of Ken's rolling throw, Sub-Zero hisses, "You can hardly say the /word/ with the resolve it begs for," as he picks himself up from the ground.

Nevermind that he's clutching his arm close-- that he's taking his time, to give himself a little space to shake it off. It's about attitude right now.

"So it often goes among those desperate for the approval of a crowd," he observes, curling his injured hand into a fist. "Kombat isn't about life or death, for you-- it's a mere /sport/--!"

The accusation comes with another reckless charge, only this one stops a few feet short of Ken with the ninja locked in place mid-run.

Gleaming.

Melting--

Appearing at Ken's flank, Sub-Zero throws a thrust kick at the blonde man's ribs, then hop-steps back to put a little bit of space between them.

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters dodges Sub-Zero's Front Kick.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
"Hey! I fight because I love it to fight. The adoring fans chanting my name is just a pretty bonus." Ken feels the need to defend his style of combat to this magically gifted ice thug that seems to be using so many ice tricks that Ken's going to have to start turning up the heat if he's going to try and keep up.

He can feel it.

Ken's already moving when Sub-Zero's rush stops a bit short. He's not sure what's coming but he does know something is and ends up catching sight of Sub-Zero's flanking arrival just in time to hop out of the way of that foot aimed for his ribs.

There's almost no hesitation as Ken whirls on his heel and extends a foot to see if he can't catch Sub-Zero off guard with a roundhouse kick of his own!

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero counters Medium Kick from Ken Masters with Cold Encounter.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
"And I fight because it is what I was made to do-- because to do anything /but/ would make me as useful as a sword which refused to cut," Sub-Zero retorts.

"A raindrop which refused to fall," emanates as he takes a step back into the mists creeping in on the fight.

"A seed which never grows--!"

Even though he somersaults away from Ken's whirling kick, it seems at first that he was too late: the Ansatsuken master's heel catches him cleanly mid-jump, shattering him--

-- into a million points of frozen, glittering crystal dust--

-- and buffeting Ken with a blast of arctic chi in the process.

[KEN MASTERS]
"Soooooo what you're saying is that you're a tool?" Ken flashes a cocky grin. "Agreed."

And then Ken pays for that snide commentary because his heel smashes right into... what seems to be a SUB-ZERO MADE OF ICE?! What the hell?! The shattering and freezing puts Ken into a position of pain and his muscles tense up in response to the sudden change in body temperature.

Ken's muscles are mostly frozen for the moment, at least the ones in his legs, so his movements are a bit slower than usual. Be that as it may, Ken spins to reach out for Sub-Zero once again and this time aims to hoist him up and flip him over his shoulder and to the ground to maybe put a stop to all this arctic arrogance.

"Dude. Chill."

Ken grins. He /had/ to.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero blocks Ken Masters' Seoi Nage.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
Rolling through the hip toss, Sub-Zero winds up hunched in a four point stance just a few feet from Ken. With full eye contact shared between the two, he answers the string of jokes with glacial silence and a slow cant of his head. Moments pass. Seconds--

"I'm only just warming up," he finally intones before tucking and rolling forward, unfurling only when he's close enough to launch a kneeling uppercut at Ken.!

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters dodges Sub-Zero's Uppercut.

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Ken Masters      1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
"Oh come on! That's not even fair! I set you up for that one!"

Ken almost seems to be complaining to the non-existent crowd about Sub-Zero's joke. Or, well, at least Ken's taking it as a joke. This is what happens when your best friend is Ryu. You think everything's a damn joke. Or at least turn things into one so you can have a little fun.

If there's one thing that Ken knows, it's uppercuts. And when Sub-Zero aims one at him, Ken hops backward to clear the path for Sub-Zero to hit nothing but air. "Nice form." Ken adds with just a hint of mockery.

"Almost as nice as THIS!" And Ken leans into a punch aimed for Sub-Zero's face that can only be described as: FIERCE.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero blocks Ken Masters' Fierce Punch.

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Ken Masters      1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
The punch collides with forearms as hard as stone, forcing Sub-Zero to stagger back a step-- followed by a couple more as the ninja makes an abrupt shift towards putting enough space between the two men to facilitate studying the Ansatsuken master. Cold air whips around his fists as he draws them in close, keeping them ready as his eyes narrow on Ken.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero focuses on his next action.

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Ken Masters      1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
Ken uses the moment of respite to hop backward and give himself some extra space in the middle of this here battle of the elements. He hasn't shown his flames quite yet but he might be gearing up to do just that. His feet backpedal a bit and he narrows his eyes at Sub-Zero while gathering up his chi and stepping forward with those well known outstretched hands.

"HADOUKEN!"

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters successfully hits Sub-Zero with Hadouken EX.

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Ken Masters      1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
The burning chi wave splashes against Sub-Zero's body hard enough to shove him back a couple feet before he drops to the ground, balanced on a knee and a fist. Immediately upon forcing himself upright again, he backsteps into the mist; a heartbeat later, he's charging towards Ken's flank to through a sweeping kick at the other man's legs.

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters blocks Sub-Zero's Sweep.

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Ken Masters      1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
This mist has go to go! Ken's having a bit of a hard time trying to keep up with Sub-Zero's mist-ical movements and it's only because he stays mobile during these moments that he's able to react fast enough to catch that leg sweeping at his own. He brings his leg up and smacks against Sub-Zero's to make sure he's not taken off his feet.

"Tryin' to get a leg up on the competition, eh?"

Ken's in his Dad Joke bag today it seems. "Gotta' say, Subway, that's gonna' get me heated!" And Ken takes a quick step and hops into the air, his leg igniting with flame as he aims a spin kick in Sub-Zero's direction.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero fails to interrupt Senpuu Nata Otoshi from Ken Masters with Freezer Burn.

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Ken Masters      1/=======/=======|=======\==-----\1         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
The frozen claws that harden around Sub-Zero's hands melt on their way to intercepting Ken's attack, and in turn his flaming foot sends Sub-Zero spinning away before the ninja can reach him. He doesn't stop staggering away until he's a few feet removed from Ken, at which point he clutches the side of his head and takes a knee to recover for a beat.

[KEN MASTERS]
Ken pours on the pressure now that he's starting to feel the flames burning within. He doesn't stop, stepping towards Sub-Zero and bringing a less flamed foot around as he aims to send another kick towards the skull of his opponent. Maybe he can keep him backed up if he doesn't land this. Either way, putting this dude on the defensive may be the best way to... put him on ice.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero dodges Ken Masters' Strong Kick.

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Ken Masters      2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1         Sub-Zero

[SUB-ZERO]
Rolling back from the kick, Sub-Zero leaves a brief trail of ice in his wake only to promptly catch himself with a palm against the frozen ground and launch himself forward, skidding towards Ken at high speeds in the hopes of catching him unawares when he shoots to his feet with an elbow strike to the neck.

COMBATSYS: Ken Masters interrupts Front Punch from Sub-Zero with Shinryuu Ken+.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\1         Sub-Zero

[KEN MASTERS]
Ken stays on the move even as Sub-Zero skids back towards him. Ken has no idea what's coming his way but does know what to do with ice and pulls up short to drop down into a well-known crouoched position when Sub-Zero shoots to his feet. Ken wastes no more seconds before launching himself into a vertical, spiraling, flaming rising dragon punch of a very specific nature to collide with Sub-Zero's chin.

"SHINRYUUKEN!"

[SUB-ZERO]
It's enough to lift Sub-Zero from his feet right along with Ken, the two men flying several feet directly up until one of them falls; the other, of course, merely lands.

Smoking, wreathed in fire, Sub-Zero careens towards the beach until he finally finds himself at the bottom of a long, hissing furrow violently dug out of the ground, buried too deeply to pull himself free and launch a counterattack before the referee deems him counted out.

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero takes no action.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Sub-Zero can no longer fight.

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Ken Masters      0/-------/-<<<<<<|

Log created on 15:06:11 10/13/2023 by Sub-Zero, and last modified on 20:29:08 10/13/2023.