Match of the Millennium

Description: With Might and Magic victorious in their first round match and Toxique victorious in their butt-battle, one of these teams is about to have their (decidedly short) win-streak broken. Perhaps this match will settle the dispute over whether metal breastplates or literal bikinis provide more suitable protection in combat.

[ROXANA]
Fresh from her victory in the keijo contest, Roxana has high hopes for today's match. It's late in the afternoon and the most brutal rays of the sun have started to dip over Niki Beach, making the heat somewhat more bearable for the four fighters about to rumble with each other.

The Nebraskan woman is feeling somewhat better physically too, having had a chance to wash her bikini and her hair in coconut scented toiletries. Hawksley Moore had managed to find some in the Seabreeze Cottages, whilst searching them with Henry, Chevy and Tanwen, and had kindly passed them on to his girlfriend and her mentoree. The white linen robes, that Rox, Coco, Kenzo and Ishida had found in the pool house, provided the perfect thing to change into whilst Rox was doing her laundry. All in all, she's feeling fresh and fit, albeit slightly starving. A quarter of a granola bar a few days ago and bowls of plain rice aren't quite cutting it.

The scorpion-girl starts to stretch out her limbs, preparing for the beach battle ahead. She's dressed in the aforementioned bikini, which is white in colour and nothing else, since she's kicked off her diamante sandals on the sand. "I'm very much looking forward to today." She announces in her soft, serene voice. "It will be good to test my abilities again, especially against new opponents."

Might and Magic are likely to give Toxique a challenge. Bursting with both talent and personality, Rox anticipates that Iris and Albert will provide fun as well as being formidable fighters. Iris, she hasn't actually met yet, given that the English girl didn't show up to the opening gathering at the atrium or Rodrigo's party, the two social events that the black-haired beauty braved on the cruise ship. Of course, they'd both been on board the boat that brought them to this island but they'd been sitting at opposite ends and hadn't had a chance to talk before all hell broke loose. Albert, Rox has met and her impression of him so far is mostly that he seems very loud! She's looking forward to getting to know both of them better and what better way to do so, than in the midst of a brawl?

[IRIS]
THE EVENING OF THE PREVIOUS ROUND MATCHES:

It took some doing to wait until nobody was around and most people had fallen asleep, but Iris Osterlund wanted to test a theory. That's why she's sitting here on the beach, looking out at the wall of flame keeping everyone theoretically on the island, doing some mental math. In her hand is, well... an unripe, tiny coconut about the size of a baseball.

There are many prevailing theories about what magical teleportation actually DOES. Some theories claim items are shifted entirely in another plane that borders our own where the rules of space are different, then pulled out, so that they reappear in 'normal' space having traveled a distance. Others argue that whatever is teleported is broken down into magical particles, which then move at a speed greater than physics allows before being reconstituted, a Star Trek-ish explanation. Other possibilities exist; practical mages, like Iris, are content to know that it Works.

She reaches back and throws the coconut, which vanishes swiftly after leaving her hand. In the distance, there's a flicker of light past the curtain of fire, which gives her hope...

...until the coconut bursts into flames and is ash before it hits the sea.

"Alright, well," the Brit says, tonelessly, "that's why we test first."

NOW:

While the idea that the tournament continues to go on despite... well, all this... still strikes Iris as 'deeply weird' at a minimum, it's also a useful distraction from thinking about the implications of what happened to that coconut. Thus as the sun's rays bake the beach golden, she and Albert are... escorted is maybe overselling it, but 'directed' seems reasonable... toward the beach for their next fight.

The magus likely seems subdued, especially compared to her energetic mentee, but she's got a lot on her mind, and not all of it is flaming coconuts. If Albert hadn't won against Rodrigo and come to assist, Iris isn't entirely sure she'd have been able to win against Sarah. She's made great strides since the start of the first NFG, but the Cantabrigian can't help but thinking something is still missing, some... final element that will turn her haphazard collection of weapons and offensive magics into an actual capital-s Style. And maybe if she'd figured out what it is by now, she wouldn't have felt so... stymied in her last fight.

But it wouldn't do to present that particular face to Albert on the verge of battle, so she brings herself to ask him, ever so casually, "Is the breastplate holding up? Does it fit properly?"

[COCO]
==*== ISLA ZACA, TODAY, 7:00 AM ==*==

Despite her phone's battery being dead, Constance Coalbridge woke instinctively on the hour, the tropical music of her alarm playing in her head and informing her that it was time to salute the sun. She turned over to find herself with neither of the expected hairy beasts in bed with her, decided that one of them must have taken the other for a walk, and thought no further of it as she went about the business of showering, donning a vending machine-fresh Strawberry Cream bikini, and performing her ritual sun cycle on the beach, feeling strangely at peace with the world.

==*== ISLA ZACA, TODAY, 8:00 AM ==*==

Constance Coalbridge found herself surprisingly not minding the half-bowl of rice from the stash that Tom and Lou and the crew had located. It complemented the tang of the island's tap water.

==*== ISLA ZACA, TODAY, 10:30 AM ==*==

Constance Coalbridge had waved off the Rhythm Renegades on their way to the radio station. While she would have liked to have been the first person to see inside Zack's home on the island, she was feeling relaxed about the situation, and spent the next hour daydreaming about the house party they might have tonight if all went well.

==*== ISLA ZACA, 11:30 AM ==*==

Constance Coalbridge found herself wondering if they had anymore of those strange green herbs she'd found while foraging around the pool last night, and also trying to remember what she'd done with them.

==*== ISLA ZACA, 12:30 PM ==*==

Constance Coalbridge was delighted to find that she'd be having another half-bowl of that nice rice from breakfast for lunch.

==*== ISLA ZACA, 1:30 PM ==*==

Constance Coalbridge found herself getting sleepy and decided to settle down for her second nap of the day.

==*== ISLA ZACA, RIGHT NOW ==*==

"Has anyone seen Morgie?" Coco calls out as she approaches one of the patches of beach that's been set up as a fighting ring perhaps since the time of the Trouble in Paradise tournament. In an effort to preserve the natural feel of the beach while providing a suitable surface for slamming, it seems that an enclosure has been created within which the sand has been dyed in multiple colours. At one point, it may have been a giant sponsor logo, a clearly demarcated and professional ring, or possibly just a pop art portrait of Zack. Presently, it just looks like someone's tie-dyed a so-and-so-by-so-and-so section of the beach and put a short wall and a rail around it.

Maybe that's what it was always like. Zack was always an eccentric.

"Trippy," Coco says as she swings a leg over the railing and enters into the arena proper, staring at the floor. "This reminds me of taking the Rorschach test on LSD," she comments, before adding after a beat, "My psychiatrist was very old-school. Actually, it sort of matches my bikini, doesn't it?"

It sort of does. Her bikini is also covered in swirling patterns of peachy red and orange that clash a bit with their surroundings.

"Come to think of it, has anyone seen Lucky, either? I'm starting to wonder where he is - but, nevermind. More pressing affairs to pursue! Hiya, Rox!"

She air-kisses Rox's cheeks before turning and fluttering her fingers at Might and Magic. "And hello, Iris! Have you brought that giant teddy bear again today?"

She seems to be sincerely hoping so. Coco presses a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Actually, couldn't you magic us off of the island? I mean, if we wanted to leave, that is."

[ALBERT]
In contrast to Iris, nothing really seems to be getting Albert's energy down. Even in spite of basically wearing metal around his upper body now in the middle of an incredibly sunny day in a tropical environment, the heat does not seem to be affecting him in the least either! (Though for all anyone knows he might be swimming in sweat underneath that thing and no one is simply able to see)

"It's great!" He even offers as answer to Iris on the matter of the breastplate itself, giving it a couple thumps with his knuckles. "It's better than I could have hoped for! You did great with it, and I'll cherish it!"

The boy's usual smile very much suggests he's not at all aware of any doubts Iris is having, either. He probably isn't the kind of guy who is able to read other peoples' feelings very well either, in spite of his own overall sincere personality type.

"So, what do you think we should do this time?" He goes on to prompt Iris, too, while they're still on their approach for the designated area. "Any cool tricks you have? Oh, oh, should we do a super combo move?!"

No, Albert definitely does not have any idea what a 'super combo move' would even entail.

Once the girls from the other team are in sight, Albert raises his free hand - the one note propping his sword against his shoulder - and waves it energetically. "HIIIII! WE'RE HERE!"

[ROXANA]
"Morgie? Not since yesterday afternoon I think. Hawksley? Perhaps a little later in the evening. Do you have cause for concern?" Rox responds to her mentor.

When Coco comments on the appearance of the area they will be fighting in, the Nebraskan looks down at the sand, tilting her head to the side. "It's very eye-catching." She diplomatically decides upon, stepping on to the coloured surface to see if it feels any different. Deciding it doesn't, she focuses on the purple-haired girl's greeting, mimicking the gesture and then turning to face the other two.

"I remember the teddy bear." The scorpion-girl says gleefully, giving a grin to Iris. "Didn't it have a cute name or something?"

As Albert approaches, Rox waves back at him, calling out. "I can see that! You've clearly come prepared to battle." Of course she has her own armour, but as yet it's not on display.

"So shall we toss a coin or something, to see who gets us going? Does anyone have any of the Zack currency spare?"

[IRIS]
"It's not really necessary to cherish something I threw together with whatever I could find in the machine shop of a cruise ship," Iris says to Albert, equal parts gentleness and bewilderment in her tone, considering. Part of her wonders if this is farmboy politeness, or if Albert grew up poorer than she thought. "But I'll take the sentiment to heart. If it helps you, I'm satisfied with that."

As for super combo moves -- and her expression says she has no idea what those are -- the magus shrugs. "I have no idea if the rules are like last time, where I can't interfere in your fight or vice versa, or not. I suppose we'll see?" she offers, trying to... well. 'Be encouraging' might be overselling it, but not harshing Albert's eternally unharsh-able mellow intentionally.

Well, and then there's the two supermodels.

"Bacardi," Iris says to Roxana, amused that the story of the teddy bear continues to circulate, though its appearance was in a fight with her mentor, so that's not entirely unexpected, "and he's resting comfortably at home. As for the other question," Iris says, turning to Coco with a raised eyebrow and then a slight grin, "I couldn't teleport anyone far enough to matter, and even if I could, well..." A shrug. "I dunno what your feelings on toasted coconut are, but." Bit of a non-sequitur, innit? Some private joke for Iris herself, perhaps.

Shaking out her hands, the Cantabrigian glances at Albert, then at Rox and Coco. "Not me. And considering the horror stories I've heard about the vending machines, I THINK I'm alright with that."

[COCO]
Upon being greeted by the boisterous voice of Albert, Coco blinks her eyes as if confronted by a violent wind. Maybe she is. Can someone shout so loud that they generate a stiff breeze.

"Oh, yes. You're here. Thanks for reminding me. I was wondering where that towel on my chaise longue this morning had come from. Constance Coalbridge. You can call me Coco."

She takes off her sunglasses and hands them off to one of the techies before extending a hand out toward Albert to exchange greeting however the European squire will.

"I'm sure it's fine," she assures both herself and Roxana with regards to the conspicuous absence of her two most prized possessions on the island. It's a 'later' problem, and hardly the first time her hirsute companions have gone off on their adventures without her.

Coco tilts her head a little at Iris's response to her suggestion.

"I prefer my coconuts untoasted," she says carefully, eyes flitting downward before returning to the faces of the opposition. "And I haven't really been paying much attention, but it's one on one until someone goes down, isn't it? Anyways, I'm sure they'll count us in."

She nods toward the small crew that are here to record the battle on the swirling rainbow sand.

[ALBERT]
"Well..." Albert's smile might turn to something more subdued than his usual smile while Iris rebukes his praise, but even so, it refuses to fade completely from neither his lips nor eyes.

"You made it for me, right?" He insists, reaching his hand out to lightly pat at thet mage's shoulder. "With your own hands. Such a thing should be cherished."

By the time the pair get closer to Coco and Roxana, Albert's starting to finally get a proper look at their opponents-to-be. Like, really actually get a look at them.

"?"

His head tilts slightly, at first, in that innocent sort of puppy curiosity -way, while his eyes otherwise roam pretty obviously over the length of first Coco's figure, then Roxana's. Depending on how unthreatening and innocent one might find Albert's overall presence, it may or may not look suspicious.

"Just a second!" he calls over, still with a smile, and then slowly turns to face Iris, rather purposefully so that his back is turned to the bikini-clad girls, and...

His smile is suddenly gone and his cheeks are flaring red.

"H-hey, were we supposed to be wearing swimsuits?!" he whispers, which... for him, is thankfully low enough of a volume that unless people have particularly good hearing (or a rather pricy directional microphone), his exact words can likely be heard only by Iris, but still just loud enough that some measure of distress might still be picked out from him from afar purely through tone and body language alone.

"What do we do?! I don't know where I'm supposed to look and I feel *super* out of place here!!"

[ROXANA]
"I believe that Albert and I will battle, while Coco and Iris take each other on. Only when someone is out of the match will things change." Rox remarks in her soft, velvety voice. "I must admit to feeling quite exhilarated about the whole thing." For someone making such a claim, she seems incredibly calm and composed.

"Yes, Bacardi." The Nebraskan nods. "Like Bacardi Breezer or Bacardi and Coke. It's kinda funny because Morgie is named after a type of rum too."

The talk of toasted coconut peps the black-haired beauty right up. "The scent of that is sensational." She almost purrs. "If you happen to have some, I'd love to share it."

Coco's words on Albert's towel go way over Rox's head. Apparently she's not aware of British stereotypes about Germans and sun loungers, so she simply looks between the pair in bemusement. She herself has no concern about the whereabouts of Hawksley and the bearcat, given that the Irishman seems like the kind of person to just wander off as he wills. Besides, she's confident the brawler can look after himself and she and Coco have a fight to focus on.

The sweet exchange between Might and Magic goes uncommented on but it is noted by the gear girl, like almost everything else she encounters. She does say something about Albert's staring though. "Is everything quite alright?" She wonders. "Perhaps the sun is too hot for you. Do you have some water you can sip? Are you wearing sunscreen?"

[ALBERT]
"Bwuh..."

Albert actually practically wriggles in place for a second upon being called out by Roxana. Well, more or less called out. He remains turned back away from them for roughly 2.4295 more seconds

"I'm fine! Aaaah! Whatever!"

He practically snaps himself around right then, and he's suddenly *bolting* into a dash forward. "I'm coming! Get ready!!!"

That's about all the warning anyone gets before he's leaping out for the rest of the way. Clearly he's now at the point where he simply wants to try to get through this as quickly as possible before he has to think too much about it all, or end up *too* distracted by. Uh. Swimsuits?

Whatever the farmboy's exact line of thought here is, his leap carries him feet-first forward, and into a slide across the arena drawn into the sand, and - if things go his way - to knocking feet-first through Roxana's legs before he can roll over on the other side into a braced posture again.

COMBATSYS: Albert has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Roxana has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Roxana

[COCO]
Coco doesn't quite catch what Albert is talking to Iris about, but she's an empath. It's not like it's hard to read between the lines of the world's fastest sunburn, either. For her part, she decides to take a moment for a tactical stretch, twisting her arms behind her head and arching her back as she limbers up in preparation for combat. Between her posture and Roxana's coquettish needling - for which Coco is silently proud as her social sensei - the two are already displaying a lot of skin. Er, synergy. Skinergy? She gives Roxana a look, tipping her head toward Albert while his back is turned and winking discreetly. Discreetly to Albert, anyway.

She turns her attention toward Iris, shifting her stance and bringing her fists up in a Muay Thai posture as the start of the match is signalled. Was it signalled? A grown man in a tin can sliding across the hot sand seems like a clear enough signal.

"Me and thee, then, babes! Show me what you've got!"

But not before Coco makes to show Iris (and Albert, and the cameras) what she's got - swinging her long and shapely leg out of her kickboxing stance into a hard spinning kick as she shifts forward toward the sorceress!

COMBATSYS: Coco has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Coco             0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Albert
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Roxana           0/-------/-======|

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

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Coco             0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Iris

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Albert's Gutsy Slide!.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Coco             0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Iris

[ROXANA]
A slow smile appears on the scorpion-woman's face as Albert seems to squirm on the spot. "Oh good. You are fine. I would hate for you to be feeling under the weather when we have a fun fight ahead."

As soon as the words have slipped out of her mouth, Rox's shape starts to shift. Black chitinous armour starts to form over the top of her head, upper face, shoulders, arms and legs and she develops claws, pincers and a tail. "That's better." She sighs. "Now I am prepared to begin." Whether this makes it more or less likely for Albert to feel uncomfortable around Roxana, remains to be seen.

As the German announces he's coming, Rox readies herself for him, just as he suggests. He does indeed slide into her but his progress will be stalled by her clasping together her legs, so he is unable to slip through them. "That was a good effort." She comments coolly. "Let's see if I can do better."

As she angles her sleek and sculpted frame forwards, she gives a brief glance to the two Brits beginning to battle it out but then she's back focusing on her fellow second seasoner. Her scorpion tail sprays out venom from over her head, aiming towards the gutsy young knight!

COMBATSYS: Iris dodges Coco's Strong Kick.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Coco             0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Albert           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
"Albert," Iris says calmly, placing a hand on her presumptive mentee's shoulder, much as he did for her a moment ago. "You're from rural Germany. I'm from Cambridge. We're on a tropical island. We ARE out of place, here." A couple pats of the shoulder. "You'll just have to roll with it for now." Translation: your beach episode is coming, almost assuredly. More of the tournament arc needs to play out first, though.

As for Roxana's waxing on Bacardi's name? "That was indeed the joke," the Cantabrigian says, quirking a faint smile. "After all, it was yon Coco over there I was fighting when he appeared, after all."

But then it seems like things are going to Get Started, and while Iris has significant respect for Albert's fighting skills, she knows nothing about Roxana, and DOES know that Albert is gonna need plenty of room for his particular fighting style, so she backs off from the second season combatants to square off with Coco. Flexing her fingers a bit, Iris hops on the balls of her feet, watching her former Team Blaze teammate closely. Party girl persona or not, Coco knows how to fight and hits plenty hard; not an opponent to be taken lightly by any stretch of the imagination.

This vigilance pays off when her fellow Brit's scything kick sweeps through the air, Iris ducking backwards in a hop and landing in a brief crouch, the arc of Coco's foot passing far closer over her head than Iris might like. She seems about to say something in return to Coco's opening comment, when some tug on her attention draws her eye to Roxana in time to see the scorpion armor forming. "...huh," is the only thing she says aloud, before getting back up to her feet and squaring off with Ms. Coalbridge again.

Extending a hand, there's the typical flicker of rainbow sparks and when they pass, Iris is holding the black and gold baseball bat in her hand that made a few appearances in season one. "No edged stuff," she says to Coco, grinning. "It's a legitimately nice swimsuit and I'd rather not ruin it, especially given the situation."

Of course, that does not stop her from attempting to swing the bat right into Coco's stomach. But at least it won't cut her bikini straps or anything!

COMBATSYS: Albert dodges Roxana's Scorpion Spray.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Coco             0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Iris

[ALBERT]
The faux-knight's advance forward may be holted, but he still keeps himself moving in spite of it -- if only by way of his feet, halted against Roxana's (suddenly carapace-covered?!) legs to forcefully push himself back and - with a leaning to the side of his weight - rolling off to the side consequently. There's no time for the fact taht there's chitinous armor on his opponent to really fully sink in, before his instinct alone is already pushing him to scramble out of the way of the spray of poison like that.

The farmboy-slash-knight rolls across the sand like that, and smoothly springs up to one knee -- and only then does he get a good look at Roxana, in her transformed state. He stares at her, eyes-wide for a second, with what might look like horror, except--

"--SO COOL!!!"

His eyes immediately take on a childlike sparkle of awe.

"That's what Arisa talked about!! Aaaaah, you're like some transforming hero from tv!!! Oh-- right, wait, RIGHT!"

As if only *just then* remembering that he's supposed to be actually fighting her, he springs up the rest of the way after blurting that much out. The german boy keeps his posture lowered in his advance to get closer enough again to swing his (very much blunt) sword for the scorpion-lady's shoulder in a quick swipe. There's nothing fancy about it -- and if anything, it's almost like he's deliberately trying to test how that armor feels to strike at.

COMBATSYS: Coco blocks Iris' Medium Strike.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Coco             0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Iris

[COCO]
"I need a Bacardi for Captain Morgan," Coco comments wistfully as she pays witness to the cuteness of a binturong being introduced to a giant pink stuffed bear in the framework of a momentary daydream. She then pictures the bear giving the binturong a hug, and suddenly remembers what happened to those medicinal herbs after all. "Actually, I could go for a Bacardi and a Captain Morgan. Has anyone looted Zack's bar yet?"

She returns to the present, eyes locking with Iris's irises, following them to Roxana as she's covered in natural armour before meeting them again.

She puts a hand on her hip and smiles smugly. "Oh, yeah. Mine's a secret scorpion. They're adorable, aren't they?" she says, as if praising a pair of Pokemon gifted to the first-genners by the NFG.

Squaring back off with Iris, Coco smiles when the fellow Brit presents a bat, implicitly announcing her attention to bludgeon her with it.

"My God, that's SO thoughtful," Coco says without the slightest hint of irony. "I mean, I've got another - nevermind that. SO thoughtful!"

There's something that Coco cares more about preserving than her modesty. Namely, the structural integrity of her practically flawless skin. Getting that fixed had required a rather dear investment.

Coco twists as Iris takes a swing at her, presenting her outer thigh as a substitute target for her vitals. The bat smacks into her flesh, sending a ripple through it and a wave of some pain shooting up through her body until it appears on her face as a flinch, teeth digging into her lower lip.

"Okay, so it still bloody hurts," she remarks as she gets her foot back on the ground. She attempts to lock eyes with Iris again, moving in to try and grab hold of the other girl's shoulders as she simultaneously attempts to establish a mental link with the magician. If she can establish the grapple, she'll drive a knee up into her magical girl's midsection in an effort to double her over so that she can pivot into straddling the back of Iris's head. Should that succeed, she'd use her own weight to drag Iris backward into a stagger, using the previously-established link to superimpose a sense of spinning from her own perspective to disorient her, before slinging her away with a twist of her hips!

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Albert's Quick Strike.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Coco             0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Albert           0/-------/------<|-------\-------\0             Iris

[ROXANA]
Roxana watches the interactions between Might and Magic, observing that they already seem to have developed a close comfortableness with each other. Likewise, Rox feels relaxed around Coco, but then it's hard to ruffle the Nebraskan.

She nods her head as Iris explains the joke behind the naming of the bear as Bacardi. "It's clever. I approve." She states simply. "I watched your fight with Coco on the streaming service. It was excellent entertainment."

As for Albert, he's faster on his feet than the scorpion siren suspected. "Impressive." She murmurs, before flashing a smile as he calls her cool.

"Yes, Arisa was my first fight in this contest. I found her to be an intriguing opponent." She has a sudden flashback to the Texan surfing behind two chariots.

When the sword swings in, Rox reacts by bringing up her claws to capture the blade between them. Although it prevents her from taking worse damage, it's not without pain. Not that this shows on the parts of her serene face that are visible.

Is that perhaps a hint of a girlish giggle that escapes the gear's lips, as Coco brags about Rox's abilities? If it is, it's soon gone, as the arachnid gets serious again.

Dropping down low, she starts to slither between the bladesman's legs, weaving her body in a figure of eight around them as a distraction technique. Should it succeed, Rox will rise up behind him, lifting him off his feet and then slamming him forward into the sand!

COMBATSYS: Iris blocks Coco's Singapore Sling.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Coco             0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Albert           0/-------/------<|==-----\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
"Have you ever been kicked in the head?" Iris observes to Coco, in a dry tone of voice, as Ms. Coalbridge (correctly) observes that being hit by a baseball bat hurts. "I mean, I get what you're saying, but also, that's not exactly pleasant either, is my point." Her fellow Brit doesn't begrudge Coco her right to complain, but let's be real: it's fighting! Everything hurts! Even pointed thoughts can hurt, depending on the context!

Which is exactly the context that Coco tries to introduce Iris to first-hand. The bat vanishes back to wherever it is Iris's weapons go when she's done with them(*), and while the complexity of Coco's assault means that it will probably hurt like the proverbial Dickens if it connects, that same complexity is also what saves Iris; a lot of moving parts depend on that first knee blow staggering her sufficiently to make the rest of it fall into place, but while Coco is able to get in that knee blow cleanly, Iris has enough of her faculties left to duck out of the way of the grappling technique... possibly because as soon as Coco started moving, there was a weird, sluggish feeling in her head that made her wary as hell.

One does not learn to shape the fundamental building blocks of our vast multiverse without at least SOME degree of willpower, after all. Still, even as Iris backs away from Coco, she can feel that residual... swirly-ness in her head, blinking a few times as if she'd been staring into a bright light.

"That was... bracing," Iris says, breathily, before locking gazes with Coco again. "But once was enough, thank you!" A finger comes up, trailing violet light, and draws a rune in the air -- a sort of angular-topped 'T' -- which swiftly disappears. Iris's shows of supernatural ability may be more flashy than Coco's, in a pretty literal sense, because the rune of Thor calls up a violet-blue lightning bolt out of the clear blue sky to give Coco the tasering of a lifetime!

COMBATSYS: Albert blocks Roxana's Scorpion Slam.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Coco             0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/-----<<|==-----\-------\0             Iris

[ALBERT]
The thing about Albert swinging his sword? Even though it is a completely fake sword with blunted edges, there's still a considerable amount of force that the farmboy is able to put behind each swing, even with such a casual thing like the probing swing that Roxana's claws catch. It probably doesn't feel very nice for her wrist.

Not that Albert can tell since she's manaaging to keep a largely stoic outward reaction to it, so he finds himself in a pretty quick hurry to yank the blunt blade right back again after the fact. Only to find her, uh...

"H-huh?!"

Slithering down around him on the sandy ground?!

His eyes spin a little from the rapid motion (and the confusion over the act as a whole, frankly), but he does instinctively manage to bring himself spinning around to face her-- if only so he can look her in the face when she's hoisting him up with her sudden rise.

"WHoawhoawhoahey!"

His free hand does grab down at the scorpiongirl while he's getting lifted up, wherever he might be able to secure a hold half-blindly, and gives an insistent shove to send him back away halfway-there. IT does still mean that he's coming down onto the ground with enough weight to draw out an "Oof!" from him when his body drops down there side-first, but it's into a smooth roll to continue his momentum instead of a full-on chokeslam.

"A-are you a snakegirl too...? This is starting to feel like a different kind of show..."

He tries his very, very best to not think about that too much. At least he has a prime method for distracting himself out of that line of thought right ahead of him -- in the way of his rising body pressing his foot tightly down against the ground, carving a small line through the sand underneaath his heel like an olympic sprinter preparing for the run signal. And then he's launching forth, crossing the distance left between him and Roxana, with his sword brought up for a quick overhead swing. And one that's followed immediately after by a rapid series of follow-up swings, switching quickly to different diagonal angles for a total of five rapid swings!

"DORARARARA!!!"

COMBATSYS: Iris successfully hits Coco with Thurisaz - Mjolnir's Echo.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Coco             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/-----<<|===----\-------\0             Iris

[COCO]
"Umm," Coco starts to answer as Iris asks her if she's ever been kicked in the head, consulting her memory banks with the query.

==*== FIGHTFEST 2023, ROUND 2 ==*==

"Bit of a boxer, are you?" she queries as her guard is hammered by the combo. The cross hits with more force than she anticipates, causing her guard to falter as her right arm is blown out by the punch, giving Hawksley an opportunity to grab her by the left and pull her down by the shoulders. Coco's face flushes faintly as she finds herself briefly subjected to a close-up of Hawksley's bare chest, then stomach, then the rising bulge of his --

*SMACK*

==*== PRESENT ==*==

"I can't remember," Coco finishes her thought. "So, probably."

She does take Iris's point, though. There's no claiming that she's come back to the NFG without full awareness of the painful possibilities she was consenting to - certainly not after having her face burnt off in the first season.

(For those just now tuning in: she got better.)

In fact, she'd returned with that very memory still fresh in her mind, intent on dishing back to the New Generation the same measure of suffering that she'd taken on herself at the end of her first journey with the competition. She'd been prepared for pain, anticipating the opportunity to deliver it.

All that had been forgotten when she'd seen the look on Hawksley's face when he'd broken her mask and laid eyes on her restored visage.

That doesn't mean she's back to being the girl who was terrified of actually getting hurt yet sliding through the competition on her own successes in the ring. It just hurts when you're getting hit with a bat.

"But you're right - no need to complain about it," she says as she turns about face toward Iris after the other fighter ducks her grasp.

The violet rune in the air reflects in Coco's silver eyes as she does, and her eyes widen as she realises what it likely means. She starts to throw herself to one side, but it's too late - the violet-blue lightning slams into her, causing her whole body to start spasming as arcs of eletricity jolt through her extremities.

"F-f-fucking hell! OWWowowOWW!!!"

Yet again one of Coco's resolutions is instantly broken when confronted by hardship. She staggers back against the railing as she electricity works its way out of her, and there's a smell of something burning - with the question of what being revealed to be her swimsuit, the ends of the halter-tied straps of which are charred and starting to fray. Realising the impending disaster, Coco quickly reaches behind herself to catch the ties.

"Wait, wait! One tick."

Deftly retying the garment a bit more snugly, she pushes back off of the rail and forward into her fighting stance.

"Okay, ready," she declares herself as she lifts her fists in defense and starts to shuffle toward Iris again. On the plus side, that shock to the system seems to have cleared the cobwebs a bit from whatever it was she was affected by earlier.

COMBATSYS: Coco focuses on her next action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Coco             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/-----<<|===----\-------\0             Iris

COMBATSYS: Albert successfully hits Roxana with Gutsy Swings! EX.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/---<<<<|===----\-------\0             Iris

[ROXANA]
"Pain is part of combat, which is why I prepare myself to experience it." Comes the commentary from the younger member of Toxique.

That said, she's back to focusing on her own fight, since Albert is proving to be quite the challenging competitor. The scorpion-woman does manage to lift him up and the two teens find their faces up close as the German lets out his cry. His hand slips to her hip, using it to propel himself backwards into a landing, whilst far from soft, that's at least smoother than the one she would have served him.

"No, I am not a snake-girl." Roxana replies. "That is Coco's thing. Well, one of her things anyway."

She watches as the brown-haired boy positions himself perfectly to sprint towards her and she prepares to tense her body to block whatever is coming her way, deciding it's too late to try and dash out of reach, given the speed he's moving at. She finds herself overpowered by his muscular frame, falling down to the ground as his sword swings at her in a speedy sequence.

"Mind over matter." She mutters under her breath, the less protected parts of her petite form protesting the damage he's dealt her. She's not ready to get back up and attack right now, so instead Roxana stays down, choosing to take a chance to recover as best she can from the assault.

"You aren't all just hot air." Rox remarks with respect. "Sometimes those who shout loudest hit weakest, but certainly not in your case."

COMBATSYS: Roxana focuses on her next action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/---<<<<|===----\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
Hmm.

"You know," Iris says conversationally, circling Coco a bit, as her fellow upper crust-ian declines to go on the immediate offensive. "The more I think about it, maybe it's those of who DON'T shout 'ow that hurts' when we get kicked in the face or lit on fi-- hit with some big glowy energy ball, or whatever," the magus adds, course correcting mid-sentence with less than ideal swiftness, "are the weird ones?" She'd never really thought of herself as particularly stoic, but maybe the Stiff Upper Lip is a little stronger with her than she'd thought.

The break in the action gives Iris a moment to look sidelong at the Roxana/Albert part of the battle, raising an eyebrow at that moment apparently having descended into brief detente too. But, she can confirm one important thing that she was privately worried about and didn't express to Albert because... well. It felt condescending and he's not like Buford or whatever?

Very hot girls didn't shortcircuit his brain, though, and that's good. "Though..." Iris mutters, audible mostly to herself (or the aforementioned expensive shotgun boom mics), "should that worry me a little?"

Somewhere, one hopes that Arisa Hawkins will not find her fight interrupted by a sudden need to sneeze.

Still, there's Coco to be dealt with, and if her fight with Sarah was any recent indicator, there's no reason to let someone sit there and plan your downfall without complicating the matter first. A little magic motion of the fingers, and Iris's hands are suddenly sheathed in a pair of thin metal gauntlets. "Right, let's keep it moving, shall we?" she offers to Coco, before making an approach and a passable attempt at a one-two pair of jabs.

Downside: Iris is a weapon type, not a strict martial artist, so these aren't the most elegant punches in the world.
Upside (for Iris): even an inelegant punch is gonna hurt if it's made with a mailed fist.

[ALBERT]
THe final swing that sends Roxana down onto the ground actually makes Albert wobble forward on one foot a little bit, too. But he does manage to force his balance backwards again, with another wobbling little motion before finally steadying his posture fully again.

"Hehe... Glad I didn't disappoint you, Miss Roxana!"

Thankfully, the german is completely and blissfully unaware of any worried looks Iris may or may not be sending his way, and much less the concerns she might still let linger inside her mind about him interacting in a fight with girls who, by his own admission too, are kind of really hot.

Maybe it helps that Roxana is currently half-scorpion? Who knows.

Albert does take another step back while Roxana's gathering herself up on the ground, and he gives his blunt sword a quick swirl within his palm before gripping on tight at the hilt again, His posture lowers ever so slightly with the ensuing bending of his knees, and the sword is brought to above shoulder level, pointed at a horizontal level at the Gear while he watches her, carefully.

"Come on, let's not disappoint the others either."

COMBATSYS: Albert focuses on his next action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/---<<<<|===----\-------\0             Iris

COMBATSYS: Coco blocks Iris' Quick Strike.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Albert           0/-------/---<<<<|====---\-------\0             Iris

[COCO]
Coco gives Iris a clear 'I'm not saying anything' look, shrugging her shoulders and holding her hands up to either side in answer to Iris's musing. And then she answers a question that she didn't actually hear, half of which wasn't spoken at all.

"He's probably just got a one-track mind."

The gauntleted fists that Iris comes at her with next are more Coco's speed. Boxing is something she's actually trained for, after all. The thin metal gauntlets may be an advantage, but it's only really enough to level the playing field with Coco's own fists - weapons which have become hardened enough through combat experience that she doesn't even bother wearing the padded gloves that she used to in her fights anymore.

"Oh, now you're boxing clever," she says as she uses her own fists to deflect each jab of the combination in turn, "but there's a two-drink minimum at this party." She locks her eyes on Iris's as she says so, immediately moving in to try and take advantage of the momentarily reduced reach advantage of the Magic half of Might and Magic by trying to tie her up in a clinch. Another knee would be thrown, though in this case it would be more of a feint - intended to draw Iris' guard to her midsection in anticipation of the repeated maneuver so that Coco can twist into a hard elbow over her lowered guard and into her face.

If that maneuver works out, she'll follow up by swinging her hips hard sideways into Iris in an attempt to knock her center of gravity out from under her. The attack would feel twice as powerful as it actually was, inverse empathy channeling the impact's sensation from Coco to Iris before the link was broken.

[ROXANA]
"Are you calling me weird?" Roxana wonders of Iris. Her tone is more amused than annoyed though and there's a further clue when her lips curl up at the corners.

From her position on the ground, the scorpion-female sneaks a peek at the other battle taking place on Niki Beach. So far, Coco seems to be coping better than her at dealing with her opponent. Rox could do with stepping up her game, but right now, she's still not fully recovered from her encounter with the knight's sword.

On the plus side, Albert seems somewhat unsteady too, so forcing herself into a standing position again, she starts to sway her hips as she moves towards him, accepting his invitation.

"I don't intent to disappoint but I am not responsible for the emotions of others." She calmly says, as her claws come out to strike at him. She uses the left to try and get him to turn away from it, not actually making contact. If he falls for her ploy, he will find himself clawed in the face with her right.

COMBATSYS: Coco successfully hits Iris with Tiki Bongo.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Albert           0/-------/---<<<<|=======\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
It's the feint that does it, really; after all, in kickboxing, a repeated knee shot is sort of de rigueur, and Iris might not be a martial artist, but she's also not an idiot. She watched plenty of pro fights of folks from various fighting styles, once she'd made the decision to join the NFG. But, expectation can work against you, and it's doing the work for Coco that she anticipated it would at the moment.

Standing makes Iris grit her teeth a bit; she's still feeling some of the induced vertigo that Coco's attack involved, and some part of her mystical nerd brain is trying to figure that stuff the hell out. She can TELL something is off, and not knowing what is really eating away at her. In a way, Roxana's question is almost a relief; something to focus on. "Young miss," says the not-much-older-than-Roxana magus, "I'm a literal wizard. You are a scorpion, apparently. We are BOTH weird." The entire thing is said with a matter-of-fact tone, as if she were saying 'we both enjoy pizza'. But it's Coco that's got her attention, even as she speaks to the other half of the toxic (THEY NAMED THEMSELVES THIS) team.

Apparently Coco's response to Iris's unspoken thoughts sailed right by her in this process, which -- given what her background processes are working out, mentally -- is kind of a shame.

Shaking out her hands again, Iris rolls her shoulders and squares off with Coco. "Right then, without further ado." A hand is extended and a simple but solid warhammer manifests in Iris's grip; her left hand traces another violet rune on it, causing the thing to crackle with purple thunder, and closing the gap between them, the Cantabrigian tries to 1-2-3 Coco in her own way, with naturally flowing swings of her weapon, letting the weight decide the trajectory.

COMBATSYS: Roxana successfully hits Albert with Random Strike.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Albert           0/-------/-<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Iris

[ALBERT]
Albert does, in fact, sway himself to the side in time with Roxana's left hand sweeping in for what he at least *assumed* was going to be straightforwardly aimed strike. Which probably would have still given him the room to keep bobbing to avoid a followup hit, but...

Well, it was never Roxana's intention to even get a hit in with her left punch. So that ends up proving that the scorpion-girl is swinging in with her right claws much quicker than he thought, and--

"Gwah!"

The german is actually sent spinning around after the clawing hit, scrambling back roughly two steps before the full 360-degree revolution comes to an end -- and there, he finds himself instinctively holding a hand to his left cheek, where a couple long scratches have started forming.

"*Ow..." He actually huffs out, giving his own head a quick shake before he forces himself to stomp forward -- and suddenly using that same stomping leg to kick himself up into a high leap! All the way into a sweep that sends him somersaulting forward through the air, and guiding his sword to coming down upon Roxana from above!

"Raah!!"

COMBATSYS: Iris successfully hits Coco with Teiwaz - Prism Blade.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Coco             1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Albert           0/-------/-<<<<<<|=======\-------\1             Iris

[COCO]
Coco is dusting her hips off as Iris rises, though there's hardly much need to do so. It might be a bit like someone blowing the smoke away from the muzzle of a fired revolver - more for show than anything functionally practical.

"You're right," Coco says as she straightens her bottoms, "You're all weird. It's the NFG brand. That's why people love watching you."

What might have otherwise been a reassuring remark is somewhat undermined by the failure of the psychic who metaphysically identifies as a poisonous reptile to include herself in the statement, but before she can be called out on it, she finds herself faced with the business end of a Cantabrigian warhammer. Coco's faith in her ability to deflect the weapon with her own body is somewhat less pronounced than when it was a bat or a gauntlet, and she opts instead to try and dance back away from it, reasoning that a hammer should be a pretty easy thing not to get hit by.

Unfortunately, her hips find that rail that demarcates the edge of the arena, and she finds herself coming to an unexpected stop - and then it's Hammer Time.

*WHUMP*

*CRACK*

*POW*

Coco is knocked off-balance by the initial blow, doubling over only to get hit in the sternum by the follow-up swing before getting knocked down by the third.

"Bloody hell," Coco declares as she finds herself lying prone at Iris's feet. Her body protests inwardly as she forces herself back upright before the Upper Crustian can follow up with a coup de grace. Almost on instinct, she snaps out a left-hand jab at Iris's upper body and follows it with a right cross, swinging a knee up directly after as her hands shift protectively to the sides of her head. She pivots into a strike with her bent elbow, almost posing as she keeps her hands up next to her neck, then pivots the opposite direction to strike with the opposing joint, then again with one more in an attempt to unsettle the sorceress. She then makes another grab for Iris, attempting to overpower her and deliver a series of sense-obliterating knee strikes to the head which most certainly aren't feints this time.

All going to plan and sense successfully obliterated, she would turn her back to Iris, keeping one hand on her opponent's head as she'd pose for the cameras and her partner, putting the 'hip' in 'hypnotic gyration' while calling out, "Come on, Rox! Give it your ass!"

The next attack would be fairly predictable - particularly for those now familiar with Constance Coalbridge's history in amateur Western keijo: a pull and a backward thrust intended to add insult to injury. Of course, insult in this case could involve literal psychological damage, given the psychic's empathic imbuement of the blow.

COMBATSYS: Roxana fails to counter Gutsy Leap! from Albert with Deadly Scorpion EX.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Coco             0/-------/---<<<<|==-----\-------\0           Roxana
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Albert           1/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1             Iris

[ROXANA]
"Perhaps you are older than you look." Roxana remarks, her perfectly groomed eyebrows raising at Iris' words. She can't really argue with the content of the Cantabrigian's response though. "I suppose we would be seen as weird by most, yes." Her sleek dark head turns to look at Coco, causing her scorpion-style braid to swing with the motion. "You too, Coco." Her intent is not to irk her partner, more to include her.

Her mentor's advice to give it her ass is met with a cheeky comment. "Like I did to you all in that keijo match."

Nevertheless she does pay heed. Once she's made her mark on Albert's youthful face, he comes for her seeking revenge. The somersault is first, followed by the sword from above, the farm boy's extra eight inches of height and superior strength giving him a clear advantage.

Roxana tries to stop him in his tracks. She makes a grab for his sword with her pincers, attempting to force it out of his hands. Instead she only makes matters worse for herself, as the blade draws blood, ruffling Rox's famous resolve and causing her to collapse to her knees in agony. Perhaps she should have used her ass after all!

COMBATSYS: Iris just-defends Coco's Full Moon Party!

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Coco             0/-------/---<<<<|==-----\-------\0           Roxana
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Albert           1/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1             Iris

[IRIS]
Iris MIGHT have pushed Coco a little too far, without meaning to. In Ms. Coalbridge's defense, a warhammer to various body parts three times in a row, lightning aura or no, feels like it's going to be tailor-made to upset someone. For a brief, BRIEF moment, Iris legitimately wonders how professional fighters manage not to become raving psychotics in the end. It's not as if she dislikes Coco! But she's got a contractual obligation to introduce her to either unconsciousness or surrender!

And then it doesn't matter because the Cocobra strikes with snake swiftness, as it were.

But: as is often the case, when the cards are stacked against her is when Iris -- not always entirely under her own power -- shines particularly brightly, or at least demonstrates instinctive defensive ability.

Coco is just physically stronger than she is; that's a fact. And with attacks coming from 10 different angles, evading them all seems unlikely. So she's got to weather the storm, but with no real time to think of a defense, the magus just mutters a prayer to whatever deity is listening, and then starts whispering spells under her breath as fast as humanly possible.

The jab meets a soft target. It's just that the soft target is a plush Zack doll dressed as a detective.

The cross? Zack as a pirate. Various knees strikes? Zack in a business suit, a lifeguard uniform, a doctor's coat, a Power Rangers-esque sentai combat suit. All of these soak a blow, and are quickly discarded as Iris simply rapid fire summons whatever she can without much thought to the matter.

Coco's stop to exhort Rox's ass is a moment of calm, before Coco's attempt to grip Iris instead finds purchase on... a very large, torso-sized plush of Zack.

Dressed as a magical girl in pink, white, and pale gold.

Iris herself, have safely avoided all of that, looks at the sea of discarded Zack plushies that surround her, the aftermath of this, and just looks... dumbfounded, for a moment, before turning to Coco and squinting. "This ONLY seems to happen when I'm fighting YOU, for the record!"

She holds out a hand and attempts to summon a weapon, a length of silvery chain which she gets, having been fearful she was about to get a Zack(tm)-branded bullwhip or something equally insane. Twirling the chain a bit, she lashes out at Coco with it, attempting to snag her fellow Brit's arm with it, then pull her in close for a knee to the gut of Iris's own!

[ALBERT]
It might just be the weight of the armor on Albert, or straight up some absurd force of his personality itself, but when the faux-knight's feet land on the ground post-leaping-swing, there's actually a miniature shockwave that sends sand flying out into each and every direction from around his feet.

"Yosha! Sorry, Miss Scorpion! A knight can't let his weapon be caught!" He declares triumphantly, even hoisting his sword up in a boisterous gesture--

Which also just happens to result in his peripheral vision clearing enough to prompt him to look to the way of the mentors' fight. And see the, uh...

"Eh?! Iris?!" He suddenly blurts out, with a tone of utter bafflement while he stares at the collection of plushies appearing out of nowhere and then being left scattered across the sands. "Are you a collector of Zack paraphenelia?!" Albert does tell himself, inside, that he shouldn't judge, but... really, you have to admit, if that really was the case, it'd be a *little* weird, all things considered.

"U-uh... I'm glad you've had such a successful hobby..." He offers akwardly right after, apparently jumping already into that ridicilous conclusion on his own.

But nevermind that for now! THe boy's sweeping himself back to the Gear still down on her knees, and makes to carry himself over with quick, surprisingly smooth footwork. "Sorry! I was told I shouldn't give my opponents too much pause!" He offers that much apologetically, before sweeping his foot through low along the ground, to kick for the back of Roxana's thigh, in what might very well be an effort to shove her leg out from underneath her.

COMBATSYS: Coco blocks Iris' Armed Combo.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Coco             0/-------/--<<<<<|==-----\-------\0           Roxana
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Albert           1/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\=====--\1             Iris

[COCO]
How does one girl have so many Zack plushies? And how does another girl continue battering through them without stopping to question what's going on?

The latter can probably be adequately explained by being battered about with a warhammer, medicinal explorations notwithstanding. As for the plushies?

'This ONLY seems to happen when I'm fighting YOU, for the record!'

Coco suddenly finds herself flashing back to the last time she fought Iris.

==*== THE LAST TIME COCO FOUGHT IRIS, SKYWALK LANE, MC ==*==

There is a flash of rainbow light.

Coco's gauntleted fist collides gently with the softest teddy bear imaginable.

There is a brief moment where Iris (and probably Coco) are allowed to simply... stare at this result. It's one of the really good size ones, not the little stuff you get at Build-a-Bear Workshop. It was definitely fluffy enough to stand up to Coco's not-inconsiderable strength, which is saying something.

After the moment passes, Iris points at the teddy bear with her other hand. "This right here? Is why magic isn't cheating."

Thanks to the quick thinking of one of the fight photographers, the crisp and clear image of Coco in full (mostly) scout trooper gear punching the stuffing out of an adorable teddy bear while Iris presumably tries to hold it back will forever live in posterity on Star Wars fan forums as a symbol of Imperial oppression and on fighting fan forums as a symbol of Coco's hypocrisy as an animal rights activist.

"I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to punch your teddy!" Coco apologizes, apparently far more broken up inside over this result than for any of the violence she's attempted to visit on an actual living, breathing person.

==*== PRESENTLY ==*==

And then, she finds herself flashing back to her twelfth birthday.

==*== COCO'S TWELFTH BIRTHDAY ==*==

"I'm sorry, Connie. Still stuck in Switzerland. Happy birthday, kiss kiss. Pee ess, hope you like the bear."

Connie looked up from the postcard at the gift from her father. To be fair, it was the softest teddy bear imaginable. Definitely not the little stuff you get at Build-a-Bear Workshop.

==*== PRESENTLY ==*==

Coco's eyes flit down to the Zack plushies laying sundered around their feet with mounting horror.

She raises her eyes to Iris.

She wipes her expression from her face and shrugs her shoulders.

"No clue."

Coco brings her arms up as the chain lashes toward her, inadvertently managing to get it wrapped around both wrists before pulling tight, binding them momentarily together.

"Oh, crap!"

She's pulled closer, only managing to bring her elbows down to cover her gut against the knee strike through sheer physicality as she's bent double. While she's able to save her ribs, her dignity remains in its usual imperiled state - soon to be preserved as still shots of her with posterior positioned prominently and imprisoned by the wizard's chains 'round her wrists.

Trapped on a deserted island or not, some things don't change.

Coco finds herself flashing back to a visit to a night club in Berlin, but the footage for that particular memory has been lost.

"Ananas!"

Putting the flexibility honed by years of yoga to use, she bends further forward, swinging her heel to try and kick Iris in the back of the head and secure her own freedom. Sure, aiming for her shins might've been easier and more effective, but the fight choreographer in Coco's head hasn't thought of that.

COMBATSYS: Albert successfully hits Roxana with Light Kick.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Coco             1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0           Roxana
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Albert           1/------</<<<<<<<|=======\=====--\1             Iris

[ROXANA]
Toxique are taking a bit of a beating. Albert is massively overpowering Rox and Iris is coping admirably with the fierce force of nature that is Coco. Despite this, the gear girl has no intention of giving up. She has yet to lose since joining the New Fighting Generation but that doesn't mean if she does, she will surrender her dignity. She suffered many defeats at the hands of her siblings over their years training together, so she knows how to handle it with grace.

She just needs to focus on this fight as best...are those Zack dolls? How can Rox be expected to even remember Albert exists when such bizarre antics are going on right by her on the beach?

"Where did all those come from?" She wonders, really struggling not to stare. Which is perhaps how when Albert kicks out at her, she's slow to react. Right at the last second, she makes a clumsy attempt to thrust her claws in front of her but his leg lands on the back of her thigh, which causes her to buckle again.

Taking a deep breath, she brushes the sand from her swimsuit and bends backwards into a bridge position, showing off her agility and athleticism. From here, she pushes herself forwards into a roll, intending to crash into Albert and knock his legs out from under him.!

COMBATSYS: Iris fails to interrupt Medium Kick from Coco with Isa - Fimbulwinter.
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0           Roxana
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Albert           1/------</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
"Anan--?"

*SMACK*

Iris's trailing left hand HAD been glowing an icy blue-white as she prepared a reprisal, but perhaps Coco is empathically projecting... something? Maybe there was space dust? Maybe Iris made a plain old everyday mistake. Either way, the rune she was about to trace winks out of existence probably outside of everyone's line of sight, as does (more visibly) the chain she was holding as Iris's head whips forward, concentration momentarily broken on both counts.

She's gonna be asking herself for DAYS if that was a word in a language she didn't know, or was supposed to be 'bananas', or something. That is, at least, preferable to dwelling on her failure just now.

Rubbing the back of her neck as she straightens, the magus rolls her shoulders and says, in a MUCH louder tone of voice than is warranted if she just wanted to say it to nearby Coco, "I do NOT own ANY of these." Any observer can probably intuit what 'these' refers to. "I suspect they were just... around the island and that's what you get when you try to summon something without doing a lot of specifying first! And I think it says more about Zack than me, FRANKLY."

Oh dear.

COMBATSYS: Albert blocks Roxana's Scorpion Roll.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0           Roxana
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Albert           1/-----<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Iris

[ALBERT]
"U-uh, I'll take your word for it..." Albert murmurs, surprisingly meekly, in Iris' general direction. Maybe taken just a *little* off guard by her protest.

Which is kind of unfortunate for Albert, too, since his focus is pretty much split partially that way now, even after getting to smack his foot into Roxana's thigh. It's split enough that he actually manages to miss her lifting herself up into that bent posture. And only *just* manages to catch her movement from the corner of his eye when she's rolling for his legs.

"Huhwhahey?!"

He doesn't quite have the time to get out of the way, but the german boy does get the focus back, at least, to shift his weight down over with the motion that's about to be forced onto him -- and brace himself into the sand when he falls with one arm, succeeding in keeping himself up on one knee at least instead of ending up into an unfortunate segfault.

"Sheesh-- I'm still not convinced about the snake thing!!" He insists, suddenly snapping his hand over to try and grab at whatever he might be able to get a hold upon on Roxana. Which hopefully will be something like her shoulder instead of... uh. Something else. But either way, whatever his hand might manage to grab on to, he'll make the effort of using that hold to shove her back down onto the ground, hopefully long enough to let him scramble back up to his feet too.

[COCO]
Disentangling herself from Iris' clutches in the aftermath of her flexi-kick, Coco coils up into her kickboxing stance once more, arms and one knee raised as her chest heaves with each breath. She's already worked up quite the sheen under the Caribbean sun, and while it might be quite fetching to the outside observer, this fight is really starting to take it out of her.

"Look, there's no telling whose Zack Dolls they are, but I don't think we should be judging anyone for choices they made when they were twelve," Coco remarks as she rocks on her heel. Then, leaping forward, she aims what looks more like a flying Tae Kwon Do kick than a Muay Thai kick at Iris, one foot extended like a lance ahead of her.

COMBATSYS: Albert successfully hits Roxana with Quick Throw.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0           Roxana
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Albert           1/----<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Iris

[ROXANA]
The match between the two mentors is eye-catching and entertaining. Rox almost wishes she was observing it as an outsider, so she could fully appreciate the skills of two of her favourite fighters from the first season. Alas though, there's an Albert to deal with and the young man feels like he's some kind of a machine. Not that her other opponents hadn't proved challenging. Arisa was full of enthusiasm and pizzaz and Rodrigo and Ishida had pushed her to fight to her full potential to win. The German though is something else. Part of the problem is he's just so hard to hit. Whatever Roxana throws at him, he seems to be able to brush it off without too much bother.

So it proves again when he thwarts her attempt to crash into him before it can cause him too many problems. "I'm not a snake." She says softly. "Look at me. I'm clearly a scorpion."

As he grabs on to her armoured arm, she finds herself shoved into the sand, causing her to have a coughing fit. She's actually struggling to catch her breath and her lithe body is starting to go limp beneath the boy. She watches as he stands up, blinking at him with ink-black eyes, the colour starting to drain from her honey-coloured skin. She's definitely broken but not enough to stop her from battling on.

Once again she manoeuvres her body into a bridge position and it seems she is simply going to repeat her previous attempt on Albert. This time though, if it happens to work, she will follow up by flipping him into the air and then repeatedly slashing him vertically with her claws, as he rises and falls.

COMBATSYS: Roxana can no longer fight.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/----<<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Iris dodges Coco's Diving Kick.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/----<<</<<<<<<<|

[IRIS]
"When they were twe-- hey!" One has to wonder if Coco's combat banter skills are just her natural sassy talent, or a calculated attempt to have her opponents have to stop and go 'wait what' just long enough for her to kick them in the head. This time, however, we have no ananas today; the flying kick is certainly mighty, but there's enough lead time for Iris to sort of diving roll to her right, turning perpendicular to their previous position, coming up into a fighting stance again and shaking out her shoulders.

"Are we talking about Zack, here, or someone else?" she asks, oh-so-casually.

Much like Roxana, Iris really wishes she had the time to watch the mentees fight. Obviously she cares about Albert, but there's something about Rox that keeps drawing Iris's attention, too; some little irresistable mental pull saying 'pay attention to this!' that she's been subtly denying so far... because Coco is too formidable an opponent for her to be able to split her focus!

"We should have lunch or something, when this is over," Iris says, hooking her right arm cross to her torso, a small wooden shield blinking into existence on her arm. "If we can find something to eat that doesn't require something that is miraculously even more suspect that cryptocurrency." Apparently Iris has feelings about Zack Coins!

And then she's Captain America-ing at Coco, a shield-first dash attempting to just cannon into the sensual kickboxer before this can go south!

COMBATSYS: Albert dodges Roxana's Killer Scorpion Roll.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/----<<</<<<<<<<|

[ALBERT]
The shove, truly, ended up having much more of Albert's weight behind it than he might have expected. Maybe he was instinctively that hold on Roxana's arm to help prop himself back upwards too? Either way, the result is a shove that sends her down to the ground much more forcefully than he was thinking he would, and the farmboy actually looks down at her amidst her coughing fit with a rather sizeable measure of concern once he is up on his feet.

"H-hey, are you okay? I didn't--WHOA!"

He sees the bridge-posture forming this time, and he has the good sense to kick his foot down against the ground to launch himself into a backstepping leap, just *barely* early enough that Roxana's rolling body ends up just tickling at the tips of his airborne toes instead of crashing into his legs proper. Leaving him to land a meter or so away from her, and already raising his sword out in preparation for a continued assault... That thankfully doesn't quite come.

"...I guess that's a yes," the faux-knight murmurs with a slightly nervous edge in his voice. "U-uhm. Sorry if I was kinda rough... I'll get you ice cream or something later..."

But with all that said and done, he thumps his fist against his chest once, and promptly sets off into a run for the *other* half of the arena!

"HERE I COOOOOOME!!!" he declares loudly for both Iris and Coco alike since, again, sneak attacks clearly are not his forte in any way or form. So Coco has plenty enough warning to see the farmboy charging straight for her with his sword drawn far back behind him.

"HEY COACH WHAT'S CRYPT-CURRENCY?!" Apparently he somehow managed to not only hear that particular complaint, but also split his hot-blooded focus enough to actually question Iris on that (slightly mis-heard) subject, just before his foot stamps down with sand-shockwaving force roughly 1.5 meters away from Coco, and he launches his sword forward in a mighty, spear-like thrust for her!

Thankfully, the tip of that sword is also *very much* blunt, so it's not like she's actually in danger of being run through or anything. However, with the absurd physical strength of the farmboy, it is still not terribly unlike a piledriver being launched at her!

COMBATSYS: Coco blocks Iris' Algiz - Shieldmaiden's Burden.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Coco             1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/-----<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Albert successfully hits Coco with Gutsy Lunge! EX.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Coco             1/-======/=======|======-\-------\0             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|

[COCO]
Coco lands barefoot in the sand, skidding to a stop as Iris rolls out of the way of her kick. She turns to face her fellow Brit, disdainfully blowing a few strands of hair out of her eyes as she inadvertently strikes an Action Girl Movie Poster pose. It's not disdain for Iris, mind; it's disdain for the fact that her opponent is proving far less permissive than the Tribe Called Quest. The suggestion of lunch softens Coco's features, though.

"Yes, let's. That rice is lovely," she comments, smiling even as she brings an arm up to block the shield charge, planting her feet as she's pushed back along the rainbow-coloured arena floor.

"What do you think, Rox? Babe?"

'HERE I COOOOOOME!'

"Nevermind, you're obviously busy - HEY!"

Coco's eyes go wide as Albert's blunted sword drives into her back, causing it to arch painfully as she's knocked sideways.

"What the? You're not supposed to attack me until -"

Coco's eyes turn askance to where Roxana is lying on the ground nearby.

"- oh, right. Well, I can take a double-teaming," Coco says with a sigh, looking between both her opponents.

"Right, then. Let's get sexy!"

She throws herself at Iris, apparently intent on continuing her current campaign. This time, she tries to hook both legs above Iris's hips before throwing herself backward - intending to slam the Cantabrigian straight into her German mentoree and land on top of both in a sorcerer sandwich. If she succeeds, she'll start unloading - elbows and fists flying toward whichever face she can reach at any given moment!

COMBATSYS: Iris blocks Coco's S.O.T.B..

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Coco             0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1             Iris
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           1/---<<<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Coco successfully hits Albert with S.O.T.B..
- Power hit! -
>>> Punitive Hit!!! <<<
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Coco             0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1             Iris
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[ROXANA]
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Roxana says, somehow still managing a smile towards Albert. As she rolls towards him however, she knows in her heart of hearts that hit or miss, she's about to be done as far as this fight is concerned. It's taking every ounce of her depleting energy to push her body past the pain and towards the knight.

As he leaps out of the way, she keeps on rolling, right out of the ring! There's a groan from the gear girl as she slumps on the sand, the scorpion parts of her body slipping away till she's back to resembling a human.

It takes Rox a couple of minutes till she can compose herself enough to sit up and when she does she immediately regrets it. She's going to have to recover as best she can herself though, since there's no medics present on the island. The Zack doll dressed as a doctor does not count.

"I'd rather have a bloody steak." She calls out to Albert when he offers her the sweet dairy treat. "I can't say I've seen many cows wandering around the island though."

Then he's back in motion again, making his way over to test himself against her teammate. "Come on, Coco! You can do it." Rox calls out in a slightly croaky voice, which sends her into another coughing fit. She reaches for her water and makes herself as comfortable as she can to enjoy what's left of the match. She looks back towards the threesome just in time to see the purple-haired pugilist take a sword to the back.

Her marvellous mentor is not going to let that stop her though. Soon she's taking on both Might and Magic at once, with her suggestion to get sexy!

[IRIS]
This got complicated in a hurry.

Coco driving right at her is not a surprise to Iris; they're fighting, Coco's a very physical person (PHRASING), and that's just sort of an inevitable outcome. What makes this slightly more of a big deal is that just as Iris is planning out what to do on the defensive, she hears Albert leap into the fray, does quick math on Coco's trajectory vs. her mentee's, and then simply says:

"Oh, *bugger*."

Now there is simply no time to work things out. Coco has her before Iris can even think to react, and all three competitors go down in a HORNY SANDWICH [frantic backspacing] ISLAND SANDWICH.

Upside: Albert breaks Iris's fall somewhat, and she gets her bearings enough to extricate herself from being deli meat in this fight-age-a-troi.
Downside: Coco still has all those punches to deliver and now Iris isn't in the way to soften the resulting blow for her mentee.

BUT, this does mean the Cantabrigian has a few seconds to get to her feet, dust herself off, and think about how to react (while Albert is being beaten senseless). After all, Coco will still need to be reckoned with after this ('this' being Albert being beaten senseless) and she's no pushover by any means.

"Alright, Osterlund," she says, thoughtfully. "You're a team. Act like a team. What do you have Albert doesn't? What does he have that... oh. OH." Probably only the sound team heard that, other than the fingersnap at the end, before Iris begins muttering unintelligble fantasy magic words under her breath and tracing a number of runes in the air.

"I'm counting on you to get what I'm doing intuitively, Albert!" she yells, as he (hopefully) gets back to his feet. And, because she knows exactly what kind of personality he is, she adds:

"Don't let me down!"

[ALBERT]
"Yeah, we're done already!" ALbert provides cheerfully as explanation to offer back to Coco as explanation for why exactly he is here now, swinging for her and all.

But still. He's settling into a slow strafe along by Coco then, watching her carefully, waiting for her to attack him. When she goes assaulting Iris, instead? He dutifully comes charging in to try to take advantage of some blind spot.

Only to be met by the aforementioned Iris flying at him.

"Wait wha-?!"

Before he even has a chance to fully register what is happening, he finds his mentor's back slamming against him, and he's likewise sent flying back only to end up right underneath her with a "GAH!"

...And for just a split second, just a little hint of red at his cheeks in that brief moment he has there before Iris has gotten herself well out of the way. And for good reason, too -- which unfortunately is, again, not one that Albert registers properly before it's already too late. Which, in this case, is when he finds Coco on top of him instead of Iris, and he blinks like a deer caught in headlights at her.

"...Hi?" Is about all he manages to get out before the first punch comes. After the first slam of a fist across his face, he does try to jab his sword hand up, but an ensuing followup strike to the jaw jostles him enough that the weapon actually falls out of his hand completely.

And just like that, poor Albert is left getting pummeled brutally there, to the point that even having displayed a considerable amount of pain tolerance in his previous fights, he actually finds himself letting out several yelps and groans of pain now. Call it the defference in level between Coco and the Season Two fighters.

All in all, it leaves the farmboy with a long groan reverbating out from his chest well after Coco has finally excricated herself from him. No one can probably blame him for wanting to take a couple seconds down tehre out of the count.

But he does, in the end, manage to get himself pushed up, even if his head is spinning enough now that he doesn't even consider the option of picking his sword up again. "Guuuuh... Huh?" That last vocalization of confusion? Oh that one comes from him hearing Iris call his name while he's still rubbing at the side of his (surely bruised) face.

"How would I--" he starts to protest, but...

'Don't let me down!'

Oh, hell. He can't bring himself to ask any questions in the face of that. So the faux-knight swallows all his doubts with a declaration of "ALRIGHT!!!" and without even giving it a second more of a thought, he's simply charging after Coco. He doesn't even stop to pick up his lost sword. Which might seem a little odd when, after getting within arm's reach of Coco, he is very much lifting his right hand up as though he were preparing for an overhead swing with a weapon--

And there is one, in the next blink of an eye. IT's not his sword. But rather, a one-handed warhammer, taken straight out the pages of a Thor comic, complete with hints of crackling electricity and all.

"RAAAH!"

Down it comes to swing for Coco, the electricity coursing through the weapon exploding on the way there to create a small shockwave of lightning, before the weapon disappears from his hand completely.

Another step forward. His left hand swings in -- and suddenly, there's a mace there, glittering with flicks of icy particles that leave a trail of frost along the weapon when it swings for Coco from the side.

Another step. A club in his right hand this time, crackling with electricity much like the hammer.

The faux-knight keeps on pushing forward, wildly swinging in with each step -- and with each swing, a different weapon, charged with Iris' elemental magic.

"DORARARARARARARARARA!!!!"

Until, finally, at the very end of his stubborn charge, a quarterstaff appears in his hands, and he turns his whole body around to swing the shaft of the staff in for Coco's feet, with a sudden, concentrated gust of powerful wind sweeping in right alongside the wooden weapon.

COMBATSYS: Iris and Albert successfully hit Coco with Mannaz - Gutsy! Arsenal.

[                                < >  ///////////                   ]
Coco             1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0             Iris
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Albert           0/-------/<<<<<<<|

[COCO]
"And that was for Rox," Coco decides when she finally stops trying to batter Albert senseless, wiping sweat away from her brow and leaving a trail of blood from her knuckles instead as her chest rises and falls with each breath. Realising that she's still sitting on him, she finally picks herself up and turns around to look for Iris, her eyes looking slightly glazed.

And then, she senses that Iris is about to do something. She even gets a sense of what it is that Iris is about to do, upon making eye contact. Summon a bunch of weapons? How is Albert possibly going to know what to do about /that/? Scoffing inwardly, Coco turns around to face the German fighter, her eyes meeting his as she tries to assess whether he's on the same page as Iris.

It's a little too late when Coco realises that she just might have inadvertently served herself as a sort of mental middle manager between her opponents in this martial menage-a-trois.

Nevertheless, she steels herself - trying to brace for the onslaught, arms raised, attempting to invoke that mind-over-body hardening that she's been able to achieve when pushed in previous battles - but Mjolnir hammers straight through her guard, knocking her backward. Fortunately, there's an icy mace there to cool Coco off from the electrical burns that the hammer has just inflicted. She's already out of it by the time that the mace crashes into her midsection, and the staff and the stiff breeze that accompany it find no opposition in sweeping her off of her feet to land face-first in the sand.

There's a muffled groan from the gal as she struggles to try and rise, but after a moment, she gives in - letting herself relax and embrace sweet oblivion for a little while as somebody blows a lifeguard whistle to signal the match's conclusion.

COMBATSYS: Coco takes no action.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Albert           0/-------/<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0             Iris

COMBATSYS: Coco can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Albert           0/-------/<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0             Iris

[IRIS]
After all of that exertion, as the whistle is blown, Iris is sort of... leaning forward just a bit, breathing obviously and heavily through her mouth. All of that fight was challenging as heck, after all; Coco hits hard and knows what she's doing. Sure, impromptu creativity might be Iris's specialty, but she needed all of it just to keep pace with her opponent!

Her mentee, on the other hand...

Standing up a little straighter once she realizes she doesn't need to defend against another Coconslaught, Iris wipes her forearm across her brow and looks over to Albert, who... well, let's be honest, tanked a beating in her place just now. AND, who also managed to perfectly intuit what she was planning to do. "Well done, my lad," she says, again perhaps leaning a bit too hard, as she did with Roxana, on a couple years of age difference. Maybe it's a wizard thing?

Speaking of Rox, Iris turns to look toward her, now that she can take five seconds to do so. The whole scorpion thing looks particularly fierce, and Coco was genuinely one of season one's most fearsome competitors; anyone she trained will have what it takes. That Albert did so well against her speaks volumes about the wannabe knight, that much is clear. "Starting to think maybe you should be the mentor, not me," Iris says to the German, amused... and maybe like 10% not at all joking. "I feel like I'm struggling every match."

[ALBERT]
After all the dust settles, Albert is left standing there. With the last of the conjured weapons gone from his hands, and his shoulders heaving with his panting breaths. The farmboy watches Coco on the ground, with his fists curling closed tight, half-expecting her to suddenly lunge at her one more time...

Only to let all the tension from his body leave him when her attempt to get up ends in a flop right down. A hand slowly wipes over his own forehead and the sweat gathered there, and he turns himself around to face Iris...

Just to give her a kind of dumbfounded look. He doesn't say anything at first, choosing instead to silently walk the way over to bring ihmself standing right in front of her.

"What are you talking about?" He asks, bluntly. "I couldn't have done it without you."

He holds a shockingly serious expression when he says so, all while maintaining direct eye contact with the magus.

"Now come on..." He murmurs when some of his smile does start returning. "Let yourself feel triumphant. Cuz, I mean, afterall..."

Rather than simply finishing his sentence, he suddenly stomps the rest of the way over to Iris. And unless she puts on a particular show of protest? She's going to the faux-knight's arms suddenly around her, and scooping her right up off her feet, just to be swung around amidst a hug!

"WE WON! HAHAHAHA!"

Log created on 12:05:54 06/19/2024 by Coco, and last modified on 07:26:24 06/25/2024.