Neo League 251 - #252: Frei vs Adelheid

Description: In which Bernstein the Younger is in flagrant violation of a number of international bans on whaling. (Winner: Adelheid)



The Neo League... Ken Masters' brainchild and global phenomenon... for some these tournaments and showcases are the pinnacle of their life's work, fame and fortune all rolled up into one pugilistic package. But almost as long as there have been fighting competitions, there have been those who've been interested in the competitions for other reasons, nefarious or no. The 'points' and 'brackets' don't really matter to one of tonight's combatants, the statuesque blonde known simply as 'Adel'. An infrequent and unpredictable fighter on this stage, Adelheid nonetheless appreciates what the diversion from his duties with 'R' represents - education. Tonight's fight is a perfect example of that, he's familiar enough with Frei to know that tonight's opponent is capable of some rather impressive displays of chi... and that interests the young Bernstein.
Interest that shows only as an attentive glimmer in the lithe youth's dark eyes as he strides into the open clearing roped off for the fight, flexing one gloved fist into his other palm. The crop of platinum atop his head blow furtively in the gusting wind as Adelheid surveys his surroundings, brushing a hand over the skintight grey shirt he wears, its sleeveless length tucked crisply into black, baggy military fatigue style pants... and of course, combat boots.
The announcer's words filter in one ear, and out the other, Adel's curiousity hardly extending to the theatrics of the ring, or the spectators now surrounding him, and the square's arena.

Well, the lesson you learn if you watch 'Spamalot' is that it's all a show. Probably people like Adel, who take things seriously but in stride, are set up to deal with it the best. They're on the path to success. Others lack their aplomb or gravitas and are probably headed for early deaths. They're also usually perennially late, and Frei has yet to show up.

Interestingly, whenever these fights happen in Metro they draw nice crowds, and Metro street vendors being an enterprising sort, usually the throng around the more outdoor-accessible arenas makes the group around the Today Show window look like a bake sale by comparison. Parents, children, people of all ages gather around as hot dog vendors, souvenier salesmen, and street performers wander their midst, plying their trades. One hot dog vendor swears that his prices are so low, he's practically cutting his own throat. Meanwhile, nearby, clowns in animal costumes hand out balloons or make balloon animals for happy children. It's a fun, carnival-like atmosphere in celebration of spring.

Which Adelheid is enjoying alone because Frei still ain't here. The announcer, wanting to get this underway, grabs the mic. "Mr. Renard? If there's a Frei Tsukitomi-Renard present, could you please report to the ring?"

The crowd, confused and antsy, goes a little quieter as they look around for the culprit holding up the show. Suddenly, from near the ring, a voice calls out "Gah! I totally forgot! Hold on!" The crowd begins to part between the voice's point of origin and the ring.

But it's not until Frei steps into the ring that the full terror of the situation is revealed: he's wearing an animal costume. A killer whale or orca, to be precise, with long flippers over the arms and his face popping out where the mouth should open, his red hair spilling out around the sides. Behind his black clad legs is the tail, and the back is complete with dorsal fin.

Looking over, he espies Adel and waves, extending a flipper. It's... holding something.

"Hi! Would you like a balloon before we start?"

"..." There's just no words that come to Adelheid's lips at first, after the long minutes of waiting and wondering if there'd be a fight after all are dispelled by... Shamu, "You've got to be kidding." The young Bernstein murmurs to himself, next to inaudibly, his booted feet scuffing across the ground as he turns to face Frei, "I'll pass." Adel offers towards his costumed nemesis, the look of disbelief still rather clear on his face. Carnival-like atmosphere, indeed! "Perhaps you'd like to come back, when you're ready to fight?" The young Bernstein offers, apparently seriously, the derision in his attitude seeping into his tone, now. He was expecting a chi prodigy, not a sea mammal! Not to mention... /forgetting/ is just rude, "I wouldn't want to pull you away from the carousel." Complete with smirk.

You might as well try to sand down the Rock of Gibraltar with a tea strainer than get that through Frei's head. He is always serious, which is to say, he is always *his version* of serious, which isn't particularly serious at all. The problem is mainly in his inability to convey that to other people in a serious way. I also just want to say 'serious' on more time. Seriously.

"Oh, it's no problem!" the monk says cheerily, walking over to the edge of the ring and handing his flipper full of balloons to a happy young girl who takes them with glee. If there is a Jungian essence of "^____________^" Frei is it right now. Turning back and burdened no more by balloons, the whale-costumed monk gives Adel a bow, and then... gets into stance. IN THAT COSTUME. Surprisingly, he's moving in it rather well, all things considered. But... a tai chi stance still looks a little weird when the normally balled fists are instead, uh... well, flippers. "Sorry. I kinda got into the balloon animals thing, which isn't easy with this on, let me tell ya. But now I shall put that digression to my advantage, channeling -- as the Inuit hunters of the frigid north do -- the killer instinct of the mighty orca, who rends his enemies limb from limb! Let's go!"

A beat.

"Or I'll get a sudden compulsion to balance you on my nose, but I really don't think that's likely."

COMBATSYS: Frei has started a fight here.

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Frei             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Adelheid has joined the fight here.

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Frei             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0         Adelheid


Seriously weird. Adelheid crosses his arms over his chest as Frei responds, way too cheerily, and just sort of... rocks his weight back on one heel, eyeing the orca indifferently, his expression dulling back to alert neutrality with the passing of one more smirk, and a shake of his head, "Right." He murmurs, not moving as Frei prepares his stance, Adel's dark eyes levelled evenly on his opponent.
A deep sigh follows, and as if an inner decision was suddenly made, Adelheid snaps forward, crossing the distance to Frei at an alarming rate, the young Bernstein's feet barely seeming to touch the ground.... culminating in a sharp stop that brings him in just short of the costumed fighter, his left fist snapping around with a twist of his body, a bit of a flourish added to the obviously taunting smack, "Wish I'd brought a harpoon."

COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Adelheid's Quick Punch!

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Frei             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0         Adelheid


Perhaps a harpoon would have been a good idea, because punching is not proving as effective as Adelheid may have hoped. As the punch comes in, Frei just... pushes up a flipper, gently directing it to the side and then spinning around so that he's facing Adel from the opposite direction, an oddly graceful little dance. Maybe Frei has a future in Sea World after all. "Well, I mean, it's only lycra and faux fur, you hardly need a harpoon for that," the monk says with an earnest nod. "Nice punch, though!"

Deciding not to wait to go on the offensive, the !whale brings his flippers up to his chest, holding them together and gathering a largish sphere of icy blue-white chi. "Hm. Is that your natural hair color? It's kinda nice. I've always wanted to be blonde." And then, without shifting out of his easygoing, conversational tone, Frei pushes outward with both hands, tossing the ball at Adel. Of course, he's not trying to hit the young Bernstein prodigy so much as he is trying to just get the thing near him, because when that happens, the improvised ice grenade explodes, showering Adel with many shards of freezing hail.

COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Adelheid with Hyoushou Rengeki.

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Frei             0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0         Adelheid


Alright, now there's a danger in reaching the write-off level of flippant with one's adversary... and that danger comes when the other fighter really shouldn't be written off, however goofy they seem to be. A lesson Adel never quite seems to learn, when confronted with the Frei and Benimaru's of the world. So he's flanked by a killer !whale, and as he twists, and darts back, the explosive ice-chi showers him with shrapnel, knocking the young Bernstein back with a grunt, his boots digging a thick divot out of the grass twice over in stopping his momentum, as he simply rights himself, seemingly nonplussed, "Not bad." the young Bernstein admits, "And yes, of course." /This/ doesn't come from a bottle. A brush of his hand sends his bangs back from his face, Adel apparently taking a time-out. Though in reality, his attention remains on Frei, analytical. Time for a reassessment.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid focuses on his next action.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Frei             0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0         Adelheid


"Oh. It's a really nice color," Frei reiterates, smiling. He seems friendly enough, although the costume probably isn't helping... but there is something *weird* about that smile. Like there's this big empty space behind it. Still, with his opponent deciding not to press the attack, Frei decides not to do the same and instead gives out a mighty kiai, extending his flippers before him in a slightly defensive position, the wind around him kicking up in resonance with his chi. "Of course, I happen to like this shade of red too, so. But if I was gonna be blonde... I'd be THAT blonde. Heeyaaah!"

COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.

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Frei             0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0         Adelheid


"Ha." Adelheid laughs with a quick flash of a grin, "Better keep up with the roots!" he advises, apparently not convinced Frei is going to steal his hair from a dye, and willing to rejoin the fight in style, his right boot cleaving a quick half-rotation around, slamming down before him as his right side orients with Frei...
The same instant a shimmering tremor distorts the air behind the path of that boot, dirt blasting outwards before the force is focused forward, the ground exploding as a coursing edge of silvery chi blasts across it, the waist-high wave crossing the distance between the two fighters in a flash, threatening to envelope Frei in shearing winds. Behind the blast, the self-summoned winds buffet Adel, whose casual, lithely prepared stance remains unchanged.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Frei with Reppukyaku.

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Frei             1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0         Adelheid


Hmm. It doesn't seem like it should be so hard to defend against that attack, or at least that's what Frei's initial expression seems to suggest. After all, it's wind, and it's fairly large, and Frei's already in a defensive stance... no problem, right? Yeah, well, the best laid plans of orcas and men seldom go as they are originally designed. Frei crosses his flippers over his torso, but really fails to account for the *enormity* of the area of effect, and thus is buffeted from the sides by the powerful winds. A little mini dust devil envelops the monk briefly, hiding him from sight.

When it clears, there's only the remains of his now-tattered killer whale costume floating in the artificial breeze, and Frei himself is descending from the sky at an angle, right palm held out before him and a glowing sphere of golden energy forming at the tip as he falls toward Adel, long headband fluttering out behind him. "Man... if that were my costume, I'd be really ticked!" he says cheerfully, before attempting to explode the sphere of fiery Yang chi right in Adelheid's face.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid reflects Hizashi EX from Frei with Dark Barrier.

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Frei             1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0         Adelheid


If there's one thing Adelheid knows, its how to wield his chi... and that's a fact that's proven once more as the seemingly nonchalant Bernstein eyes the fillet'ed !whale's aerial assault, Adel's eyes snapping to the monk an instant after he's revealed past the tumult of impacting energies. Energy that Frei builds on as he drops in on Adelheid, the blonde youth stepping back a half-step, and lifting his right arm, palm outstretched.
Patiently, the moment hanging in slow motion, Adel holds that pose as Frei drops in, and a split second before impact... a greyish burst of swirling energy coalesces at the young Bernstein's palm, forging into a disc-shaped barrier in an instant, the dull silvery glow crackling with grey arcs as the fiery sphere impacts it, flames surging outwards through the shield as its circumference ripples with the exertion of opposing the force brought against it, before the entire construct simply /explodes/ back outwards, upwards, blasting Frei with the flaming backlash of his own attack, the torrential winds blasting out behind.

All things considered it's probably a good thing that Frei's not only light for his age and height, but also fairly nimble. He is a little surprised when his attack just kinda gets shoved back in his face, but he's not one to dwell on the little things, instead letting the blast carry him backwards through the air farther than it might if he were focused on landing *immediately*; the result is a really impressive-looking backflip dismount right onto one of the posts that make up the ring's border. He grins, somewhat unsteadibly balancing and examining Adelheid carefully. "That really is a neat trick. Someday I'm gonna learn how to do it."

But until then... deciding to leap back in the fray (pun unintended), the monk plants his feet and does a front flip right back at Adelheid, tucking in midair and coming out of it almost face-first, intending to reach out and snag the young Bernstein's shoulder and then carry him forward in a quick spiral before slamming him down into the ground by his face, *hard*, an explosion of earthy chi in the form of spectal leaves accompanying the impact. Provided it works, anyway.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Frei's Daichi Kudaki.

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Frei             1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0         Adelheid


One of the family trademarks, that... and for good reason. Adelheid, still unmoved, faces Frei sidelong, eyes tracking the nimble monk's recovery, and then... retaliation. Adel twists with the grab, spinning with the aerial momentum, right down into the ground, his own centered chi fending off the worst of the premature landing as he rolls out of it, the shockwave dulled and rushing outwards in a rapidly dissipating wave of force, Adel himself little worse for wear from the short trip. Rolling up to bring his legs underneath him in a crouch, the young Bernstein all but throws himself in at Frei, hopefully catching his opponent before the monk can fully recover, this time, "It will take more than that!"
Should he find his grip? Adelheid hefts Frei up in front of him, the young Bernstein's feet simply leaving the ground as he hurtles forward at an alarming velocity, the rocketing flight not stopping until his grip on Frei has left the monk rather suddenly and savagely sandwiched between that ironclad grasp... and the thick trunk of an aged Metro oak, which shudders with the (potential) impact.

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Adelheid's God Press.

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Frei             1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0         Adelheid


Well, the grip is easy to get. After all, Frei is sitting right next to Adelheid and the young Bernstein is rather quick on his feet. Well, that and Frei weighs a couple pounds soaking wet, as it were. Interestingly, though, the monk's expression as he sails through the air in Adel's grip is kinda like: "...wheeeeee!" In fact, if his actual "whee!"ing is any indicator, he might be enjoying it. Right up until Mr. Tree makes his appearance. In a really fascinating display of foresight, though, Frei suddenly kicks one leg back, bracing himself between the tree and the young Bernstein practically in midair.

"Oh, obviously," he says agreeably. "I'm really outclassed here, but what the heck. It's a paycheck." Hoping that Adelheid doesn't suddenly let go, the monk draws his right hand back, gathering chi of all forms to it, the sudden and rather unnerving shift in the balance between Yin and Yang probably obvious to Adelheid as a prismatic glow begins to halo Frei's palm. "Taste the rainbow, blondie!" Grinning like a fool, the monk hurls his right hand forward, palm out, at Adelheid's chest, the glow vanishing if he can just get his hand near... and an invisible pulse of compressed elemental chi suddenly erupting blasts the space between the two fighters wide open, air rippling from the aftereffect.

COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Adelheid with Fukami Reikai.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Frei             0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0         Adelheid


Why do they all have to get their legs up like that?!? Adelheid's intended crushing of Frei results in the monk a bit too close for comfort, the rampant upsurge of chi tangible to the young Bernstein... but that doesn't make him quick enough, despite his attempt, to twist away from it. Nearly at point-blank, the elemental conflux blasts into his shoulder and spins him about through the air, dropping Adel a short distance away in a tumble of limbs.
Using the momentum of his landing, Adelheid pushes up into a crouch once more, with a bit of a strain, "Outclassed is hardly an excuse." Adelheid observes. Not that Frei seems to be making any. Which makes Adelheid more inclined to push his own limits, a flaring aura of silvery power glimmering to life around him, its wisping currents drifting slowly before dissipating, the buildup of energy within Adel obvious.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid gathers his will.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Frei             0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1         Adelheid


The monk's seen that pose before. Right before Sakura blasted the hell out of him in their last fight, if his memory serves... or perhaps it was Alma. In any event, Frei knows enough that anybody pulling the chi-gathering trick he himself is rather fond of is about to result in Lots Of Bad News for him. Deciding that the best thing he can do at the moment is to keep the pressure up, he breaks into a run.

"It wasn't an excuse," he explains, driving straight at Adel. If he can find purchase, the monk does something highly unorthodox: he runs right up the blond fighter's body, planting one foot in his hip, then another in his chest, and then spiralling off with his back turned to land in a crouch. Of course, thoughts of pursuit may be slightly dulled by the sizzling bolt of purple lightning that arcs out of the sky at Adel the second Frei kicks off. "Just an observation!"

COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Frei's Tenrai Enbu.

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Frei             0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1         Adelheid


"I'm aware." Adelheid observes simply in response, weaving away from Frei's skysprinting attack, and simply throwing one arm up and around to intercept the blast of energy that threatens to catch him mid-backstep, "Thank you." he notes with a simple nod, apparently accepting it as a compliment, instead. His left, blocking arm sweeps around to his side, brushing the last remnants of shimmering energy away from the deflecting guard, the young Bernstein himself leaping in on Frei, his pursuing jump bringing him angling down beside the monk, and Adel uses the momentum and force behind that descent to twist sharply, swinging his left bootheel in line with Frei's temple, "Let's finish this up right!" he all but shouts, as he rejoins the battle.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Frei with Light Kick.

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Frei             0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1         Adelheid


"Oh, you're wel--" *WHAM* That's the sound of Adelheid's boot impacting solidly with Frei's face, sending the monk stumbling back more than a couple feet, wincing in pain. That hurt like a mofo and it shows; Frei's really taken a beating in this fight, and with comparatively few hits compared to his opponent seeming in fairly good shape despite Frei's blistering assault. Well, 'blistering' being a relative term. Wiping blood from under his nose with the back of his hand, the monk grins at Adelheid. "I was all ready for the big flashy finish and you went and KICKED me." Throwing his arms down to his sides, hands balled into fists, Frei takes his own turn at gathering his strength. "Well, two can play at that game!"

COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.

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Frei             1/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1         Adelheid


Landing lithely out of the quick kick, Adelheid regains his stance, such as it is, turning to face Frei fully, "Oh, it's coming." Adelheid promises, an almost wry smile tugging at one corner of his lips, though it's not an expression without its share of dark enjoyment. So what if the tournament circuits provide a bit of catharsis, here and there? You'd need it too, if you were Rugal's son, "I just wanted to see what else you could do." The young Bernstein admits, expression and stance unchanged, his breathing steady despite the searing in his shoulder, taking the moment to simply flank Frei, almost predatory, as he steadies his nerves, and steels himself for whatever the monk might have left.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid gains composure.

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Frei             1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1         Adelheid


A faint grin crosses the monk's face as his eyes track Adelheid's movements, Frei himself not moving just yet. "Which is to say, you feel you've won and you're toying with me. Well hey, at least you took me seriously for a while, unlike that other jerk who just called me up out of the blue to ask me to punch him." Despite the weird tone, Frei doesn't sound particularly bothered; if anything, he seems more amused at feeling he has Adelheid pegged. "It's no surprise you use wind chi. You've got the personality for it, I think... well, at least, consistent with my theory on that sort of thing. Your own mileage may vary."

Cupping his hands in front of his chest, palms inward, the monk closes his eyes for a moment, gathering a simple little, baseball-sized sphere of golden chi, which he holds up in front of his face in the palm of his hand, smiling at Adel. "Well, this might not be the best technique in the world, but it might certainly be one of the shiniest." With a single breath, he blows the sphere toward the Bernstein youth, the orb tracking a wobbly, erratic pattern through the air until it stops hopefully just before Adel's body. And when it does? Frei's smile widens. "Happy Independence Day!" he singsongs, right before the sphere explodes into an incongruously huge burst of multicolored explosions of fiery chi, not unlike a rather colorful fireworks display.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid endures Frei's Hizashi Ronde.

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Frei             0/-------/-------|=======\======-\1         Adelheid


"You misunderstand." Adelheid states, though he's apparently not going to explain his motivations beyond that. The young Bernstein does, however, offer, "Fights with those who do not interest me go far differently." But, if Frei wants him to play it a different way, well... he'll oblige. Mixing it up is, also, part of the heritage. Rather than making any attempt to evade or defend against the explosive display, Adelheid hurtles /through/ it, each blast propelling him into a sidestep, twisting with the momentum to keep his balance, that spin coming in low... and then up and around, his right foot cleaving the ascent, with force enough to launch Adelheid off the ground, and in the last distance on Frei, his rising roundhouse slicing the air with a vibrant edge of silver chi, the intense blade sheathing his foot, and etching itself along the entire path of his half-moon roundhouse, meant to send Frei through the air.... and out with the aforementioned bang.

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Adelheid's Omega Genocide.

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Frei             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0         Adelheid


It sort of works. Frei is actually kinda dazzled by Adelheid softshoeing his way through the Hizashi Ronde... while it might not be one of Frei's more devastating techniques, it usually serves him well in terms of playing keep away, giving him some breathing space. When your opponent just wades through it like it never happened, well... that's worthy of respect. He even *whistles* appreciatively. "Wow. o/~ Nice woWHOA!"

Hello, silver kick of death. Blinking and moving with absolutely ridiculous rapidity, Frei suddenly throws out a hand practically blazing with golden light... a healthy dose of Yang to balance out the decidedly Yin bent of Adel's cold, logical, emotionless silvery energy. Or at least, that's Frei's view. The result is actually visually spectacular, as Frei's impromptu mini-parry and Adel's kick grind against each other like a welding torch to metal, sparks flying in every direction... until eventually, Frei's energy and Adel's suddenly negate each other in a burst of gold and silver. Which would be a great triumph if there wasn't the matter of the kick itself to consider, which catches Frei right under the chin and sends him *sailing* through the air to land nicely far away from Adel on the ground with a resounding *THUD*.

It takes a moment before the monk gets up, holding his head. "...not exactly how I expected that to work, but I'll take what I can get..." he murmurs, a little dazed. However, now's not the time for rest. Grinning, he tightens his handguards and turns to Adel. "Yeah? How do those go?" he asks, genuinely curious. Meanwhile, Adel might notice that he's not the only one here who can use the wind, as suddenly the air around the young Bernstein starts to spin and whirl, intending to send Adel skyward. If that works? Frei leaps up after him with sudden speed, intending to grab the blond fighter in midair and drive him into the ground, *hard*.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid reflects Ame no Murakumo from Frei with Dark Barrier.

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Frei             0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0         Adelheid


Adelheid can only track the reflexive way Frei deflects his most fearsome technique with his eyes, committed to the singular blow. Rising after it, though a bit more gracefully than the monk, Adelheid reorients himself to Frei's landing spot in descent, landing prepared for the monk's followup.
The winds that gust in at the young Bernstein are met by his own chi, the dark shield bursting to life at the end of his reach, Frei's chi shearing into it, the shield rippling with the sudden influx of power, "They were over... very quickly." the blonde replies, voice carrying the intense focus of concentrating that much chi... and reflecting it back to its source, a swirling column of dark winds blasting back over Frei's position, rather effectively aborting plans for a charge.

Oh. Yeah, winds coming BACK at him, not so good for the monk, who goes skidding across the ground from the sudden counterforce, kicking up dirt and grass every which way. It's very ungainly, and it takes a second for Frei to get back on his feet... unsteadily. But hey, he's up! Which is more than could be said for many fighters at this point. "Oh, well..." he says raggedly, grinning with one eye closed from being black and blue. "I was never very good at staying down." Gritting his teeth, the monk breathes out, then does a single two-handed tai chi push outward, centering himself. "If I say 'hit me baby, one more time', are you gonna get mad about the Britney ref? Not that I listen to her or anything." Beat. "Except 'Toxic', I kinda like that song.'

COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Frei             1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0         Adelheid


"Makes it more interesting." Adelheid admits, "Though that's not going to get you another breather." Nor will bad pop music, apparently. Twisting in his stance, Adelheid snaps a quick kick up in front of his body, a short jump accompanying it, not carrying him more than a short span off the ground... perhaps a foot or two... the momentary hover, however, does cleave a tumultuous blast of wind chi from thin air, sending the blast across the ground, the lance of swirling silvers blasting in at Frei as he attempts to focus more power into the battle. Hopefully... the monk won't mind a little more.

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Adelheid's Reppukyaku.

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Frei             1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0         Adelheid


WHOA, wind. Pushing outward with both hands, Frei suddenly is surrounded by a halo of those green glowing 'leaves' of light, using earth chi to counteract the force of Adel's wind chi. He grins, but it's a ragged grin. "'Breather', then you chuck a tornado at me. Kinda punny for such a straight-laced guy!" The leaves disappear, almost entirely negating the force of Adelheid's attack... but even a little bit is enough to trip Frei's breaker switch. "Man... you're tough."

Barely upright, Frei cups his hands to his side, much like the many Ansatsuken practictioners do... though they have no real trademark on the stance. Golden-red chi begins to swell between his palms. "That was a really good fight, even... OW... if I just got... OW... owned. Let's... OW... do it again sometime!" And then, without further ado, he whips his hands forward palms out, bellows "KAME HAME HA!" and basically unleashes a bitchin' big beam of golden energy right at Adelheid, hoping to give him one last thing to remember Frei by. As if, you know, the orca costume wasn't enough.

Once the light clears, the monk gives Adel one final thumbs up, and then face-firsts onto the ground in an ungainly heap. KO!

COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.

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


COMBATSYS: Adelheid reflects Hizashi Ronde from Frei with Dark Barrier.

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


"Unintentional." Adelheid offers, his confident tenor still sounding just as cool as before, though the blonde does smile a bit more, steadying his own stance as he lands, and faces down the monk. That charge is certainly impressive, and unusual, and the blast that follows, well... that's equally impressive. And dangerous, to boot.
It also slams full-on into a disc of greyish chi equalling it out in diameter, the vibrant blast slamming into the silver barrier with a crackling intensity, the very air about the meeting shuddering with violent tremors as chi bleeds off in all directions, before blasting back full bore, denying Frei his face-first flop in favor of being enveloped once more by his own power, the brilliant beam surrounding the falling monk, "Indeed." Adel agrees. Something to remember /him/ by, a flick of his wrist sending the wisping tendrils of greyish wind-chi off into the air as he brushes his hair back and turns away from the battlefield.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid has ended the fight here.


It's not until a few hours later, while the monk continues to snore peacefully on the Metro City park grass, that a lone voice is heard crying out, in the darkness:

"WHAT BASTARD STOLE MY WHALE SUIT?!"

Log created by Frei, and last modified on 04:14:23 05/11/2006.