Description: A League battle in the Galapagos Islands... On the back of a giant inflatable turtle! It's a 'survival of the fittest' battle in the birthplace of Darwinism, featuring crazy antics and one extreme turnaround. (Winner: Shenwoo)
You know the old adage. Natural selection. Survival of the fittest.
Everyone knows that. Charles Darwin coined it, long ago. And it's true - especially in the world of martial arts. The organisers of the Neo Fighting League are well aware of that. And it seems one of Ken Masters' employees has a rather wicked sense of humour. Or perhaps, an appropriate grasp of irony.
Today's match is in the Galapagos Islands, the famous archipelago visited by Darwin. An event the Equador government is more than happy to accomodate. Rakes in the tourist dollars. It's midday, the bright noon sun beating over the waters. Along the shore of Isla Baltra (home to the islands' airport), a crowd of spectators covers the beach, people interspersed with large video screens and Neo League banners. A helicopter even circles overhead, getting a birds-eye view of the match.
A pretty -odd- match, at that, since the fighters are...out in the bay. On the water. On the back of a giant turtle.
It's not a -real- turtle, of course, PETA would complain. It's a larger-than-life inflatable platform shaped -like- a Galapagos Tortoise, long neck and all. With big cartoon grin. Smaller inflatable shelled beasts bob around the main platform, cheerily floating in the breeze.
On one end of the green platform, Acacia stands. On the head, actually, looking...very much disgruntled with the spectacle of it all. She's clad in a black t-shirt, khaki army pants, boots...and a grimace. This is -ridiculous-.
It really is a bit of an odd choice, huh? Shenwoo can't really say he's ever fought on, you know, a /giant inflatable turtle/, but there you go. Opposite to Acacia, the berserker from Shanghai crouches on his heels; he's not /entirely/ sure of his footing on the back of this thing, really, but he at least manages to make it look like he's taking his ease there, arms resting on his knees. He's also a little worried about getting seasick. While he wears his usual black leather pants, his shirt has been swapped out for a red silk one, with a tiger embroidered on it in gold-coloured thread. His usual shirt, his /favourite/ shirt, met an unfortunate fate the day before... That still irks him, you know. "Kinda weird, huh?" the self-styled 'God of Battle' says towards his opponent, before he finally straightens up on the green platform, cracking his knuckles. But the where isn't important; it's the /what/ that matters to him, and the 'what' in this case is a fight with a fairly unknown quantity, and even though he's a little grumpy, that fact brings a grin to Shen's lean face as he steps towards the middle of the platform and eases into his casual, relaxed boxing stance, leading with his right hand. "So... Why don't you get us started, huh?" A sure sign something's wrong: Shenwoo not immediately launching on the attack.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has started a fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Acacia has joined the fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Acacia
Acacia snorts. "As soon as I get my balance," she retorts, her bootsoles squeaking as they scrape against the glistening inflatable-turtle surface. This isn't really her sort of thing. It ought to be her teammate Seishirou up here. Or Daisuke. Fighting on a big green turtle is a job for -ninja-, not a brawler like her.
Pity she's the one the League officials booked for this insanity. Ah, well. Breathing a little sigh, Acacia squints, studying her opponent for a moment, sizing him up. Then, without warning, her muscles tense...and she moves, throwing herself forward. She leaps off the inflatable beast's head, bouncing off the curve of the shell...hurtling towards Shenwoo, leading with one fist. In the background, the spectators - and an announcer - roar. Acacia ignores it.
Let's see what this guy's got.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo fails to interrupt Strong Punch from Acacia with Kyakuten Touchi.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Acacia
Maybe he's still hurting after his run in with Mature the day before; maybe he's feeling a little seasick. Maybe it's the weird balance on the platform. Maybe he's just too slow! But whatever the reason, Shenwoo gets hit with Acacia's leading fist, having stood his ground to attempt /something/, which doesn't really seem to pan out, his hand grazing right past the younger fighter's neck as he staggers back one step from the punch. "Heh," chuckles Shenwoo, his grin broadening slightly. But right now, it looks like Acacia's getting off to a solid start...!
"Yeah," Acacia mumbles, continuing her mental diatribe, this time out loud, "fighting on a goddamn giant -TURTLE-..."
She gives a small shake of the head as she draws her fist back, flowing out of the follow-through. She almost stumbles, her movements not-quite-sure on the less than stable surface of the overgrown cartoon float. It's not just swaying with the waves, the damn thing is also -soft-. How the hell is anyone supposed to fight on this thing?
Instead of falling, though, she tries to bleed her momentum of...by crashing -into- Shenwoo, forearm against his gut, hoping to knock him down...or at least, throw him off balance. If she's going to stumble, she ain't gonna be the ONLY one.
"...should've sent the damn -ninja-," Acacia grumbles.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Acacia's Quick Throw.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Acacia
It's really distracting, all the give and whatnot. It almost reminds him of jellyfish. And Shenwoo /HATES/ jellyfish. He gets crashed into of course, not really bothering to try and avoid it or deflect the impact any, stumbling back... And from there, pushing /off/ of the inflatable surface to go right back at Acacia, throwing his beringed left fist forward in a very /awkward/ rushing punch. "Hey, no point in complaining!" he calls out, as he tries to punch the girl in the face. "Just try to enjoy it!!" Pfah, sending ninja. When is /that/ ever fun? With their crazy teleporting and their evil chi attacks and stuff like that. Give Shenwoo a good old-fashioned brawl any day!
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Shenwoo's Gekiken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Acacia
And a good old-fashioned brawl is what he gets...kind of. If you ignore the fact that he's fighting a little five-foot-tall schoolgirl on the back of a giant floating turtle. Well, tortoise, actually, but whoever manufactured the inflatable platform wasn't paying much attention to little things like proper species classification. Which is sorta ironic, considering that these -are- the Galapagos Islands. That's how the metaphorical cookie crumbles.
Oddness aside, Acacia reacts much like a brawler. Shenwoo's punch slams her head back - that'll be a bruise on her cheek. In a little while, at least. But she rocks with the blow, twisting her leg up in a retaliatory strike. Driving a knee towards the man's gut.
She'd have aimed lower, but she isn't that mad...yet.
"Freedom of speech," she mutters, "life, liberty, pursuit of bitchiness."
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Shenwoo with Light Kick.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Acacia
Alas, Shenwoo doesn't really have the knowledge to appreciate the irony involved; he just knows that this is really awkward. He smirks a little, though, as Acacia takes the hit and brings up her leg for a kick, and while he /tries/ to get out of the way... Not so much! Okay, well. It's not like things would be fun if they were easy, but he's at a definite disadvantage now. It's in an attempt to resolve this, then, that he snaps a fist out at Acacia's face again; this time, he's using his right fist, so no metal ring, at least. "Tch..!"
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Shenwoo's Quick Punch.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Acacia
As Shenwoo's fist flashes forward, Acacia's eyes narrow, fractionally. She watches the movement, mind racing, taking in the scene.
Off on the shore, the shouts and cheers from the audience reaches fever pitch. Above it all cries the League's official commentator, amplified voice blasting from speakers along the beach. But even -he's- drowned out by an even LOUDER voice, coming from an Ecuadorian man in a loud shirt. A man hawking tacky souvenirs from a tray hanging round his neck, screaming as he brandishes little brass tortoises in his hands. The little brass reptiles seem to have two tiny human figures glued atop their shells, locked in mortal combat.
Acacia ignores that, though.
Instead, she watches the water.
Wait for it, wait for it...
...-now-.
The inflatable turtle -shifts-, platform moving, swaying in the water. Prepared for it, Acacia darts closer to Shenwoo. She doesn't -quite- manage to avoid his fist; it pounds hard, into her collarbone, scrapes across her shoulder...but she's in close range. Her -own- fist rising in a powerful uppercut. Not just any uppercut.
You know how loud the sound is, on the shore? For a moment, Acacia's -louder-. With her mouth still shut.
The chi does the shrieking for her, shimmering waves blasting into being, around her hand. Raw concussive force, primal and screaming. Colourless, but distorting the air. Power.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo parries Acacia's Bonecrusher!
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Acacia
The thing about Shenwoo is when he gets into a fight... Not just /when he fights/, but when he gets /into/ it, into the proverbial 'zone', to borrow a pretentious sports term, nothing else really registers. The announcer, the crowd, none of it; all he can see and here is his opponent and his immediate environment. As his fist hits home, Shenwoo twists, avoiding Acacia's powerful uppercut by a matter of inches and throwing all of his weight onto the girl while she's hopefully put off-balance by her attack; his intent is to bear her down onto the back of the inflatable turtle platform, where he will straddle her, and unleash a vicious pair of punches, followed by an equally vicious headbutt. Though it might be mitigated somewhat by the give of the surface on which they're fighting. ...Also, he's looking a little green. Ugh, the motion of the sea is just... "GRAAH!!"
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Saikouhou-Geki EX from Shenwoo with Unyielding Stance.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Acacia
A little gasp of -irritation- escapes Acacia's lips as her opponent evades her blow, only to snarl even -louder- when she's driven to the ground. Well, 'ground' in this case being the large bright green expanse of rubberised waterproof material making up the cheerful cartoon turtle. Tortoise. Whatever. Thankfully, it's soft, and breaks her fall much like a practice mat.
Of course, the fact Shenwoo's on her back and punching her rather...cancels out that small blessing.
Except, Acacia doesn't make any sounds of pain. And for Shenwoo, it feels like...punching a brick wall. Renforced by extra steel rebar. When he finally slams that headbutt down...
He finds his forehead -caught-, in one slender palm, as Acacia squirms -round-. And kicks him off. Not hard enough to injure, but hard enough for her to break free.
"Not that kind of girl," she states, flatly.
"Heh," laughs Shenwoo as he ends up on his duff, watching Acacia with his dark eyes. He wasn't expecting her to be /that/ hard to hurt, but... She surely was. "That was pretty impressive," he says, shaking his hands... But it's not like that's enough to discourage him from continuing to fight, you know? Getting to his feet as quickly as he can on the unstable surface, Shen advances on Acacia again, aiming a harsh kick at her side; he can tell she's good at standing up to this sort of punishment, but it's not like he has all /that/ many alternatives, given his general lack of fancy tricks. "ORA!!"
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Heavy Kick from Shenwoo with Icon of Stone.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Acacia
Crouched low to the ground, spine arched, feet spread - keeping her centre of balance low, something important on uneven turtle-shaped terrain like this - Acacia watches Shenwoo come, unflinching. And when he kicks, she intercepts the attack with one rigid forearm, slamming it into the path of Shenwoo's leg...hard enough to send a painful shock into his shin.
"Thanks," Acacia replies, mildly, "appreciated."
Okay, ow on that one. Shenwoo grunts as that sudden pain runs up his leg, but again... It's not really enough to make him /stop/. He twists off of the impact against his leg, to try and wrap his arm opposite his kicking leg around her neck... And then he's going to keep twisting, trying to take Acacia right off her footing and onto the, uh, turtle. The impact likely won't hurt much, but that's why he puts his entire weight on top of her if it works. Shenwoo /landing on her/ will probably be at least kind of painful.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Acacia with Quick Throw.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Acacia
Acacia, for all her ability to strengthen her durability with chi...is still a small girl, by far outmassed by the Chinese fighter. So, Shenwoo hits her, and hits her hard. Unprepared for the tactic, Acacia goes down, buried beneath him. The shell of the inflatable turtle caves -inward- with a loud -squeak-...a dent, a crater, so hard it distorts the platform and obscures Acacia from view.
Then...
...there's another sound, something hissing. Like an air leak.
It only lasts a moment, though.
Before it becomes an -explosion-, the rushing of air and rupturing turtle-material accompanied by the distinctive -ROAR- of Acacia's chi. A roar, as she releases energy in all directions, a blast wave ripping from her body. With Shenwoo still in close proximity.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo dodges Acacia's Irresistible Force.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Acacia
Oh. Oh man. That wasn't Shenwoo's fault. He didn't damage the turtle, it was all Acacia! And then there's all that force, with only a few moments of warning, the girl's chi raging around her, but... The tall fighter isn't there anymore. Yes, proving that even the 'big strong guy' can move quickly when he needs to, Shenwoo is actually now on the /head/ of the turtle, crouched low, because he doesn't want to end up in the drink. "That was a close one," Shen laughs from his new position. Man, hopefully they don't /sink/ over here. But for now, he's waiting to see what happens, and keeping a close eye on what tricks Acacia might try next...
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo focuses on his next action.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Acacia
Thankfully for both the fighters, this is a technologically advanced turtle, built with such punishment in mind. After all, the League officials -expected- some collateral damage. It's a fight, duh. The rupture caused by Acacia begins to seal itself...though not completely. Air still escapes from the damaged float, and the entire structure becomes even -more- unstable. It isn't quite sinking yet, but it's definitely bobbing lower in the water. And the shell part looks a little floppy.
Acacia rolls out of the deflated bit, getting back to her feet. She watches Shenwoo. Like a hawk. But doesn't make any move to approach him.
"Not close enough," she replies, to his comment of a moment ago, "I -missed-."
She sounds faintly miffed at that.
COMBATSYS: Acacia takes a breather.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Acacia
Hey, everybody misses once in a while. Happens to the best of fighters! Shenwoo, of course, isn't the sort of person who'd let that get him down... But he's also not the one who missed. He grins ferally at Acacia from his perch, considering for just a moment... And then he springs off of the turtle's head, landing just in front of the girl, twisting around. "Then just... TRY HARDER!!" he shouts, swinging a vicious uppercut at the girl's jaw, intending to smash right through her guard!! If it lands, then he swings a second punch, before grabbing her and lifting her over his head, for another trip down onto the inflatable turtle, accompanied by him dropping on her /again/. Blast the turtle for not being hard enough for a proper throw!
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Shenwoo's Saikouhou-Geki.
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Shenwoo 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Acacia
Lifted. Slung. Thrown. And finally, slam-dunked like a humanoid basketball into the turtle. She hits the inflatable reptile and -bounces-...but doesn't travel far, since Shenwoo's descending on her, driving her down...into another distended impact crater.
The turtle-tortoise is made of tough stuff, though. This is a Neo Fighting League turtle. It begins to regain its shape, pushing both Acacia and Shenwoo back into view.
And it should be now apparent to Shenwoo that while he -did- solidly connect with Acacia, with...what will be bruises, once they get the chance to purple, decorating her skin...
She's still conscious, and she's...now definitely pissed. "TRY THIS!"
With the retort, she squirms round, driving a rigid hand, fingertips extended like a knife, square for the middle of Shenwoo's throat.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo interrupts Strong Throw from Acacia with Zetsu Gekiken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Normally, the technique Shenwoo is about to do involves a lot of space. Here, though? He doesn't have that luxury, nor the time to get it. Instead... He's got a crafty little plan. He twists remarkable speed, his figure blurring as his beringed left fist is brought down on Acacia from point-blank range, a shockwave of his own chi engulfing his hand as he strikes the girl's torso, deflecting Acacia's knife hand almost entirely; her fingertips just graze against the side of his neck. And the force of the punch? Shoves the turtle /downwards/ causing a great torrent of water to splash up around them as a fair portion of the force is distributed to the stage on which they fight, rather than Acacia. "DON'T YOU... UNDERESTIMATE ME!!" he roars, though it's probably a bit drowned out as they get all that water dumped on them. Whoops. It's a good thing it /is/ a technologically advanced turtle, otherwise they might've gone /through/ it.
Acacia -splutters-, as the turtle resurfaces, water sluing off its rounded sides. And dripping from her wet, bedraggled form. Hair clings to her scalp, plastered, while her clothes are just -sodden-. And the attack from Shenwoo just adds to her misery. She coughs, spitting up water and phlegm, as she levers herself to her feet. "Gahh...-not- underestimating you," she grinds out, "sue me for trying the goddamn witty banter thing? Huh?"
She staggers at Shenwoo - then suddenly speeds up, moving into a fluid lunge...thrusting an elbow at his sternum.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo interrupts Mass Driver from Acacia with Gekiken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Acacia
Bouncing back after his powerful punch, Shenwoo is still grinning; no, witty banter isn't exactly his forte - that's more the sort of thing his two erstwhile companions would do. But they're off somewhere after making a team with Benimaru and some other guy, so to hell with them! For now, anyway. The sudden speed up catches Shen's attention, and he sees the elbow coming at him, but he's learned something: Just trading blows with Acacia doesn't seem to work. Giving her time to prepare herself isn't healthy for him. So the self-styled 'God of Battle' does what he does best, and takes some really, really crazy chances. Gambling recklessly again, Shenwoo launches himself /into/ Acacia's assault, her elbow glacing off of him - though it does still hurt - while his beringed left fist is driven right into the girl's face in a rushing punch, to knock her away!! "EAT THIS!" And she does, it seems!
And eat it she does. Her head snaps round, the -crack- of bone echoing across the waters, reaching the spectators. Acacia flies back, away from Shenwoo's fist...propelled by his mighty blow. Spine arching, face a mask of agony, she hits the soft turtle-shell, bounces off the slick waterlogged material, and vanishes over the side. Splashing into the water.
Vanishing from sight, slipping beneath the waves.
On the shore, the announcer and crowd go -crazy-. There aren't even air bubbles rising from where Acacia vanished, just ripples.
And then...
Remember when Shenwoo hit so damn hard he made the entire turtle rock? Yeah. It happens again. This time from BENEATH. It's like an -earthquake- hitting the entire inflatable, pulsing vibrations shuddering through the platform, the concussive force of Acacia's chi conducting -through- the water. And turtle.
Acacia surfaces a moment later, to starboard of the SS Neo League Turtle, gasping for air. "Bloody -HELL-," she hisses.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo parries Acacia's Irresistible Force!
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Acacia
Man. That's probably... Not good. As the turtle starts to rumble, Shenwoo crouches, and then he springs /up/ with the force of Acacia's chi, keeping just out of the range of her blast. And then... There's the girl herself, popping back out of the water, huh? Unfortunately for her - and /fortunately/ for Shenwoo, potentially - his arc back down is heading... Right towards her. So, like some tall, lean human missile, the self-styled God of Battle drops out of the sky at the girl, feet-first, his legs locked and straight. Either way, they're both going to be in the water, but if this lands...!
COMBATSYS: Acacia fails to counter Tenrenshou EX from Shenwoo with Icon of Stone.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Acacia can no longer fight.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|
...and it does land. He crashes into Acacia, feet-first, and the air-to-surface Shenwoo missile sinks Acacia's battleship. With a great -SPLASH-.
It's only after a good long while that Acacia claws her way back to the surface, fingers clinging tightly to one of the many smaller mini-turtles floating around the main fighting platform. Clinging to it like a life-preserver. She looks barely conscious, at that, and it's obvious, the way she's -barely- keeping herself afloat.
"I...concede," she gasps, as the Neo League camera chopper hovers overhead, capturing her words on gun-mike and film. At the shore, the crowd bursts into cheers as the announcer declares Shenwoo the victor. Acacia just hangs her head, and tries to keep from drowning.
Then she looks up, suddenly. Eyes searching for, and meeting Shenwoo's - once the man's in her field of view.
"BUT," she adds, jerking her head towards the big floating turtle-tortoise platform, now lopsidedly waterlogged in the sea, "I get to keep the turtle!"
Innovation is, clearly, one of Shenwoo's strengths; of course, given that he doesn't really have a standard 'style', it sort of has to be. He created his own fighting style, so anything he comes up with is obviously a part of it! Resurfacing, the berserker from Shanghai spits out a mouthful of water, likewise grabbing onto one of the smaller turtles to keep himself afloat. No, he never learned how to swim. DO YOU WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT? "Wh..." Why the hell would she want that thing, he wants to ask. But he doesn't. "Hey, I'm not gonna stop you," the former thug says, shaking his head. "Good fight, though. I had to get creative." As, well, Acacia no doubt saw. Now then, he just... Needs to get back to dry land. And get some dry clothes. Why did he agree to fight out in the water like that?!
Log created by Shenwoo, and last modified on 20:04:15 12/10/2005.