Description: [OOC] Tony says, "omgwtfroflololkkggzaki" --- Okay, yeah. Howard Arena is the site for this World Warrior match between the Muay Thai Panther and Zaki. (Winner: Zaki)
...I mean, c'mon. What's more seductive than the cavernous depths of Howard Arena? Who -wouldn't- want the exhibitionist thrill of performing in front of thousands? Ahem.
"...Why the hell am I back here?"
It was really the last thing Tony expected to be thinking about, as he walked the aisle leading onto the fighting floor. The announcer made his normal declarations: Birthplace, Height, Weight, Record, TOOOOOONNNNNYYYYYYYYYY SSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYYYLLLLLLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! And the crowd reacted appropriately with applause peppered with generic cheers and jeers. It was something so practiced that it virtually blended into the background for him. It would be more noteworthy to him if it -didn't- happen.
Tony Styles--referred to as the Muay Thai Panther nowadays--was ecstatic when he received the nod for this year's World Warrior. It was certainly nice to be validated on a worldwide level, but it meant a heck of a lot more than that. That was, in all reality, just the tip of the iceberg.
Ascending the three or so steps to the fighting platform, Tony waited in the corner for his opponent.
For Zaki, things are a bit different. Because the announcer spends all that time enunciating Tony's name, he doesn't have nearly as much time to rattle off the details of the other fighter as she so casually strolls in with her chain dangling down from about her neck, clinking and rattling to announce her presence. But she likes it better that way. Much better. In fact, when he finally gets to her name? She cuts him off. And how does she do that? Screaming into a megaphone? Nah. She just shoots him a glare, and he shuts right the hell up. For that matter he doesn't even move until she stops, as if he was frozen in place.
And when the guy eventually comes to his senses, he tugs at his collar and abbreviates like his life depended on it. "ZAKI!" He then goes on to clear his throat, and swipe his hand down through the air with an even louder shout of, "AND NOWWWWW... Let the night's World Warrior match, begin!"
The redheaded gangster chick doesn't rush Tony immediately or anything once the signal's been given. For her part, she just stands there a good distance away from him and unshoulders her chain, to begin twirling it at her side and gaining whatever momentum she's allowed time for. "Che."
COMBATSYS: Zaki has started a fight here.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zaki focuses on her next action.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|
"I remember you," Tony begins. An interesting tactic, since Tony isn't really known for knocking people out with long-winded monologues. "I remember your chain. You aren't bad."
Advancing forward, Tony rolled up the sleeves of his shirt--apparently, fighting in clothes more appropriate to an upper-end nightclub are his idea of a good idea. His wrists and hands are taped up: if not for that, it might be genuinely difficult to tell what Tony's intentions were here. "You might even have a good career ahead of you."
Balling his fists and lifting his arms into a middling guard, Tony continued to pace forward until they were only a few yards apart. "You can't make it past me, though. Not this tournament. Sorry."
The last few yards are covered in a blur of motion that would seem unlikely in other men his size, the resulting attack simple in it's delivery: A front kick rocketing in for Zaki's knee, looking to push it out from under her and perhaps score a quick knockdown.
COMBATSYS: Tony has joined the fight here.
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Tony 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zaki
COMBATSYS: Zaki interrupts Light Kick from Tony with Chain Flip.
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Tony 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Zaki
Zaki would probably offer the obligatory smile there, but no one would see it with the mask there. "Good to know. I don't do a whole lot of fighting in the circuit, but I like to think I ain't so forgettable." she barks back, still quite focused on whirling that chain faster and faster, till it's making an eerie whistling sound that carries all the way to the stands.
"Yeah, yeah. You might be right. I won't call you a liar if you turn out wrong though. Upsets happen, y'know?" And really, she's only here to *try* in the first place. She got pretty trashed in the last King of Fighters, but it was *fun*. And this being World Warrior, and her not having to rely on teammates? (Especially ones she hardly knows, which was the case last time...) That seemed like a lot better odds, to her. Not only that, but just, she didn't wanna end up feeling left out this time. It sucks when you gotta kick yourself for stuff like that.
There's no need to kick herself here though. Tony looks like he wants to do it for her. But she sure enough doesn't want him kicking her either! Especially not somewhere weak like the joint of her knee. And so with a violent twitch of her wrist she slings her steely chain out and makes the end of it wind around Tony's ankle not unlike a python, before starting to tug on it with both hands in such a way that it starts to unwind, and send Tony send Tony spinning and flipping away from her, to hopefully eat dirt.
Landing with all the grace and agility of a meteor, Tony collides with the floor with a loud, dull thud. It's difficult to tell wheather or not he felt it, though: From the way he almost immeadiately springs back up one might think that flesh can indeed win the human vs. concrete battle.
Rolling to his feet, the Muay Thai Panther isn't much for slowing down. This time the assault takes flight: Leaping into the air, Tony tucked and brought his knee to bear with hopes of scoring contact against the side of Zaki's head. The reality of things would no doubt unfold in moments, though it's easy enough to see Tony's initial strategy: Offense, and more offense.
COMBATSYS: Zaki dodges Tony's Medium Kick.
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Tony 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Zaki
Zaki begins tapping one of her high-heeled boots on the floor of the arena, but given that Tony leaps back to his feet almost immediately it's clearly not about her being impatient with him so early in the match. It's just something she does, she counts beats, and tries to meter out the pace of a fight when she can. And on this occasion it seems to serve her well. She guesstimates the moment of impact, and slides herself just out of range in the nick of time.
And assuming that she can catch the Panther before he's able to recover from his own near miss, she brings her chain to bare once more and lashes out for his dome with it, hoping to pile every link she can into that one spot and bowl him over if possible.
COMBATSYS: Zaki successfully hits Tony with Hakai no Tessa.
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Tony 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Zaki
...And so, the dangers of a high-flying offense.
Tony's miscue is abused, likely rightly so: Had the tables been reversed, Tony would've done much the same thing. Sniped out of midair, Tony slams into the ground again--this time getting up a bit slower, his forehead promising to display a badge of honor from the fight.
Rolling onto all fours, Tony breathed a deep sigh as he pulled himself back up to his feet, face settling into an oh-so-comfortable grimace. "Nice shot," Tony murmured, settling himself back into an aggressive stance. Not much more time is wasted, though--if Tony was to lose this fight, it would be done so quickly, cleanly. On his terms, if nothing else. Launching himself oncemore, Tony presented something a little different--an elbow with designs on returning the favor to her forehead.
COMBATSYS: Zaki parries Tony's Fierce Punch!
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Tony 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Zaki
Zaki watches with slightly narrower eyes as Tony takes the brunt of her chain-attack to the skull and falls, to slowly roll to hands and knees and climb back up with that grimacing face of his.
And with a curt nod of her head the schoolyard gangboss continues her tapping, waiting for some sign of where the Muay Thai brawler is going to go next. And well, when she sees big meaty elbow coming at her head, she thinks hey, mine's not so meaty but I know stuff about things. Physics. So her elbow comes out to meet his, though it's not so direct. Her elbow and the slick sleeve that covers it are meant to throw his off course, and they seem to do the job as she guessed. Her head is never struck, and he's thrown off kilter, in prime position for a little more chainwhipping, this time about the throat and chest.
COMBATSYS: Zaki successfully hits Tony with Kuuha no Tessa EX.
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Tony 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Zaki
Note to self: Stop jumping around.
Tony found himself experience something akin to Deja Vu, as the chain comes in to clean up oncemore--lashing the larger fighter with pinpoint accuracy. Tony's eyes went wide as links collided with his windpipe, and the Kickboxer found himself doubled over on the ground again...and now gasping for breath.
This was getting...bad, and Tony knew it. It would be one thing to lose this fight...but another entirely to lose in such a convincing fashion. This...couldn't be allowed. It was time for a new tactic...something...better than this.
Slowly bringing himself back up to full height, Tony took a moment to study his quarry, to watch the chain and the movements it was making. What the hell could he do here?
Stay tuned, fight fans!
COMBATSYS: Tony gains composure.
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Tony 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Zaki
Regardless of how others might see it, Zaki's starting to think she really has a lot of work still cut out for her here. Her arms are getting an awful lot of exercise swinging that chain around, especially since, she's trying to account for the fact that Tony is known as a meat brick and swing twice as hard. But that's not her only reason for backing off here and trying to bide her time. She has some idea of what Tony's doing here, and she isn't about carelessly throw her chain about while someone is watching it like a hawk! They might get the rhythm and throw her game off.
"Whenever you're ready, man." she offers, tightening her gloves and straightening the cuffs of her jacked-up school uniform.
COMBATSYS: Zaki gains composure.
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Tony 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Zaki
"...wha?"
Tony blinked, once, twice, three times in disbelief. The guard dropped, albeit slightly, as confusion took over. "I...wha? Wh..." One more rise and fall of the lashes, then. "Whenever I'm ready?"
"Whenever I'm ready?!"
The last was loud, surprisingly loud, as anger and resentment began to take over. "Don't [Censored for Content] patronize me, girl! I was headbutting STEEL TANKS when you were busy flunking life science! You want ready?!?"
Coiling his body low, Tony's face shifted into a mask of rage and veins. Mostly rage.
"HERE IT IS!"
Exploding forward, what results is an airborne Tony, though there's a heck of a lot more behind it than in previous attempts. It's almost as if his anger were a catalyst for kicking butt, or something. Regardless, there's a knee, and if Tony got his way it'd send Zaki's head into the fourteenth row of viewers.
COMBATSYS: Zaki blocks Tony's Flying Knee Thrust.
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Tony 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Zaki
At Tony's sudden outburst, Zaki raises a thin scarlet eyebrow, letting him get it allll out before giving a vaguely sympathetic shake of her head. "Hey, whatever. I speak my mind. Gangsters don't do the whole polite thing well. But yeah, that's exactly the way I'd react if you were pissing me off. But you ain't yet!" Seriously, she couldn't care less that everyone automatically assumes she fails classes, just cuz she dresses and acts the way she does. She won't even try to correct them, tell them the only class she even comes close to failing is P.E. on account of refusing to put on one of those degrading little gym outfits like Sakura. She'll let it go everytime. Not that there aren't plenty of other ways to piss her off!
Now, how she blocks that knee, given how much rage Tony is throwing into it? She doesn't really even know herself, but she did it, even though it made her skid a good number of yards from where she started after her arms crossed up and got in the way of it. And what else she doesn't quite see yet, is where to hit him when he's all tensed and angry like that. She's gonna need a better opening, as the clack of her heel on the bottom of the arena sounds out for the right moment again.
COMBATSYS: Zaki focuses on her next action.
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Tony 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Zaki
And so it went--Tony back on the offensive, though this time the offense at least appears to be a bit more...offensive. Fists high in the guard, Tony followed the knee strike with a second as soon as a planting foot could come into contact with the ground. The time for words appeared to be over, as the Muay Thai Panther's attention focused wholly on breaking Zaki's defenses down.
Even while he was worked up, Tony knew well enough to realize that she was holding back for something. It was how he got caught earlier, how he put himself in a hole...but that wouldn't stop him from using some of his bread-and-butter striking methods regardless.
COMBATSYS: Tony successfully hits Zaki with Light Kick.
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Tony 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Zaki
Still nothing. Maybe it was time to just let loose now, maybe the moment was right there and she missed it because she couldn't keep the beat going while her feet were flat and she was sliding across the arena. Whatever the case, the moment is passed and she's not quite ready to be hit with another knee. She puts her arms up again same as before but it's not enough to stop the Panther twice over. Damn.
She's slammed back, staggered, and unwilling to wait for a third so she starts to throw her chain up into the air and whirl it like a lasso before turning with it as she attempts to drive the end of it into Tony's sternum and knock him over as before, glowing red as it is with kinetic energy, somehow.
COMBATSYS: Tony endures Zaki's Hakai no Tessa.
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Tony 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zaki
...Did Tony even notice being hit? It's likely he did, but in the same breath it seems to be doing less and less to him as the fight wears on. The chain certainly strikes home, leaving the promise of more bruising and welts on his already-marred skin. It's enough to knock a hesistation into the Panther, though little else. He had every intention on making this latest offensive foray mean something, and that meant not letting up.
"EAT THIS!"
And what was 'this?' well, it was a leg. That shouldn't be surprising, even for the least perceptive. The leg in question was brought high in a roundhouse meant to tee off on the chain-ganger's head: A potential killer, should the strike go unmolested.
COMBATSYS: Zaki parries Tony's Strong Kick!
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Tony 1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1 Zaki
Wow, and there it is. The chain snakes out and she's got her rhythm again. Doesn't seem to matter that Tony's becoming a bit more resilient to chain beatings. He doesn't go down this time but it's all the same to her, she found her timing again either way and she's able to react to Tony's somewhat telegraphed move by slapping his thick leg down in the middle of his roundhouse, sending it off to one side of her and allowing for what she hopes will be a devastating blow to his spine, with her Supreme Electrocution Chain.
At first, it might seem like nothing new to Tony. Heavy-ass chain, the only change being it's aimed at his vertebrae for once. But if it's able to dig in there, and she's got enough time to run a current of electric chi through it, jeebus is it gonna sting. "NO, YOU!"
COMBATSYS: Tony blocks Zaki's Hissatsu Denkou Tessa EX.
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Tony 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Zaki
Oh, that chain again.
Tony was beginning to get used to the play/counterplay on things, which might've been a boon to his short term survivability. The long term was beginning to look somewhat dire, though there had to be something he could do to pull it out. Just...what?
The chain ends up meeting with Tony's raised shin as opposed to his spine--the current dissipating somewhere within that meat of his. Stomping the foot back down, Tony does something unexpected. He laughs.
"Okay, look. Maybe, just maybe you're good enough to get past me. Maybe I underestimated you, really and truly. Maybe I overestimated myself. Still, I ain't going down like this...ever. If you want to even have a chance at this, you're gonna have to hit me like a grown-assed man. Can you do that?"
COMBATSYS: Tony gains composure.
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Tony 1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0 Zaki
Zaki sets her jaw and grits her teeth behind that mask of hers when she feels her chain hit solidly against Tony's shin, and throw some of the current does seem to get through it's not near enough so she can see no reason to let it hold in such a spot and continue on. That'd just leave her wide open most likely.
But yeah, after collecting her chain and backing up a couple steps, putting her guard up, she hears Tony out and then gives a nonchalant shrug. "Alright, if you're gonna be humble enough to even say that, for even a second, I got no beef. No chain on this one." And with that, she drapes it back round her neck like some kind of beach towel or feather boa or what have you, and she puts her palms out, spitting into them before pressing them together and wringing them together, to ultimately make a single fist and draw it back. And when she thinks she's got enough heat on it? She runs in and throws the hardest uppercut she can manage and tries to knock him off his feet by taking him under the chin, turning with the effort and growling like a damn lion. It's not quite Seijyun's Iron Fist without someone setting the guy up for her, but it's as close as anyone at Seijyun can probably get by their lonesome.
COMBATSYS: Tony fails to counter Kokou no Pride from Zaki with Panther Ambush.
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Tony 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Zaki
"PANT--"
Seeing an opportunity to perhaps take the fight more towards a realm he was used to, Tony went for a fallback he found dependable in the past...a fallback that managed to fail him when it was most crucial. Such is fate, though...and the offending strike of his adversary.
"--HUNK!"
Sprawling out on the floor, Tony was especially slow to get up after that one. In fact, he wasn't getting up at all.
Well, far be it from Zaki to kick a man when he's down. ...yeah right, you know how she is. She beats up her own teammates for the sake of slamming their limp bodies for the sake of helping said teammates win. If she's not gonna kick him, then she's certainly do something else. The fight ain't over and she's let Tony take enough breathers already. There's no reason to go at this all night just because one or both of them is -capable- of it. So in the interest of either finishing Tony off or getting herself suddenly destructed she stomps her way over mere moments after punching Tony just like a grown man the way he asked and attempts to pick him up by the shirt lapels and shoulder-throw him.
COMBATSYS: Tony interrupts Medium Throw from Zaki with Strong Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Tony 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Zaki
"...ngh?"
Sucking air like nobody's business, Tony was only mildly aware of the fact that he was being hoisted up, only mildly aware that he was in the middle of Howard Arena, only mildly aware that he was surrounded by thousands, and only mildly aware that he was on the verge of being eliminated from the World Warrior tournament.
He was fully aware of the fact that he very dearly wanted to stop being moved under someone elses' power. As such, Tony did what he could, tapping into the sort of moves he learned on the street oh so long ago. As Zaki picks him up by the jacket, Tony launches a foot through the figurative uprights, looking to use his shin to 'split the middle' as it were. Ahem.
Maybe that's a little bit of karma for all the times she actually *has* kicked some poor fool while they were down, who knows. Certainly not her. All she does know is that fuggin hurt. When it's a shinkick hard enough to lift you off the damn ground, between the legs? It doesn't really matter which equipment you have. It's a huge shock when you don't see it coming and it's gonna leave a bruise.
"MOTHERFFFFF- NNGH!" With a hiss, she tries to walk it off, letting right the hell go of Tony and shaking out first one leg and then the other before adjusting her skirt and turning on him with a sudden wrath in her eyes. Whether he's up or still floored, he's about to get electomacuted.
Chain goes out, seeks the crook of an elbow, and if it gains purchase then here comes the zap, along with a hard tug to draw him in close.
COMBATSYS: Zaki successfully hits Tony with Hissatsu Denkou Tessa.
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Tony 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Zaki
Well, it probably wasn't the greatest idea. Sent a message, though...that's for certain.
Tony was back on his feet by the time Zaki was done walking it off, though it wasn't by much. Starting after the chain-wielding ganger, Tony practically walked into the last yet again: And on this run-though, the shock was enough to blur the vision and buckle the knees.
Yep, that's.../probably/ game.
A yelp of pain escaped Tony's lips, loud and echoing through the accoustics of the main building. It likely served as a better barometer of his health than the sizzle of flesh or the variety of welts on his skin. His will, though? That kept on.
"I'll be damned..." Tony murmured, reeling his leg back in an attempt to steady himself. Darkly colored chi began to emnate from his body, tears and sweat evaporating from contact. "...I'll be goddamned..."
Whipping his leg around in a high-arcing roundhouse, a thick wave of chi followed behind, marking his passage in the air before separating from his body and moving for Zaki in frisbee-like fashion.
"PAN-THUR SHOOOOOOT!"
COMBATSYS: Tony can no longer fight.
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Zaki 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Zaki parries Tony's Supreme Panther Shot!
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Zaki 0/-------/-----==|
Zaki's legs weren't all that happy to be supporting the added weight of Tony, so the excess, the dragging him over, that didn't really happen. But then it seems that in the end it wasn't necessary, no matter what she had planned to do when he got near enough. Probably slug him in the gut or backhand him like a good little gangster. Probably good that it never comes to pass. Slapping Tony might wake him back up, or get his blood up enough to take another swing at her, and given how hard he hits that might kill her dead in the state she's in. That was a World Warrior fight, and damn if it wasn't enough to tire her the hell out.
But she's still got one trick left to perform lest she get herself knocked out of the running in spite of the fact that her opponent is looking like that was *his* last. And how she deals with it? She drops down into a crouch, but not so she can try to duck it or roll out of the way. It's to to blaze up one foot with a visible aura of fire and punt the Panther Shot. And when her foot collides with it, the beefed-up projectile just kinda explodes into tiny fragments of the chi that formed it.
And when the dust settles on the arena floor, she turns and looks at the fight official, shrugging at them and telling them with but a glance, that she's done here.
COMBATSYS: Zaki has ended the fight here.
And Tony? Dead, perhaps, though that was unlikely. Still, the way his body hit the concrete made him look like one of those ragdoll enemies from certain First Person Shooters. Really, they call that realistic gravity effects when the final result is a man being doubled over backwards three times? C'mon.
We digress. The end result is a very much Kay-Oh'd Kickboxer.
Log created by Tony, and last modified on 20:11:33 04/03/2007.