Description: LOCATION: Metro Costume Emporium, Metro City Financial District! (Winners: Makoto and Tessa)
Balrog stands in the Metro Costume Emporium, wearing his typical mask and claw, eschewing the thought of wearing one of the hideous costumes they sell here. He stands in center of the shop, in a large, open air area with many rows of costumes hanging from racks. He studies his claw, smiling beneath his mask at its bright shine. Soon, however, it shall be soaked in the crimson blood of his enemy's deaths.
Makoto is, on the other hand, wearing a costume, despite her better judgement. But hey - costumes are cool.
It's a musketeer costume, and consists of a dark violet tunic, grey tights, low boots, and a black hat with a peacock feather in it. Makoto did skip the prop sword, though, mostly because it would just get in her way. The boots alone make her sort of uncomfortable. She also has a little black domino mask because apparently it was non-negotiable.
Right now, Makoto is stomping around in her boots and getting a good look at the costume emporium, and where things are. She might, after all, need a new mask. She also might want to throw something. You never know.
Tessa shows up just a touch late, but it's a matter of seconds rather than minutes, really, so it's not something anyone would really notice. It just means she wasn't the first one here. As to why this is so, well, she had to pick up her costume from elsewhere. She wanted the mask to be a little more sturdy than the kind they sell in a place like this. Metal > plastic!
But yeah, she's here, and she's totally unrecognizable, which is okay in this fight. She shouldn't have to introduce herself, as anyone wearing a mask must be a part of the match, right? Stepping up alongside Musketeer Makoto is a girl in a realistic-looking Predator mask, all shiny and chrome with the attacked dreadlocks and everything. The rest of her outfit is roughly the same though, just for the sake of simplicity. She doesn't want to be mistaken for an *actual* predator. Her shield is totally one of those mean-looking throwing disc though, and the real one was left at home.
"Ah... it had to be Shadaloo." she mutters to herself behind the mask, just before giving Makoto a thumbs-up for no reason at all. She doesn't have anything cool to say right now. Too busy thinking.
COMBATSYS: Tessa has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Balrog 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Makoto has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Balrog 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Makoto
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Tessa
Balrog looks at his two opponents, lowering his claw to the side. "Ahhh...I've read up on both of you. This should be interesting, hmm? It's a shame we have these masks...You both must be quite beautiful." He withdraws a pair of red roses from nowhere with what looks to be street magic, and tosses one a piece at the women. "En garde!" He leaps into the air and balances on one of the costume racks, dashing across it. He springs off the end and flies into a flip, whipping through the air as he lands with a hand on the ground, his legs slamming down towards Tessa's shoulders.
Makoto returns the thumbs-up, surprisingly casual, before it looks like it's time to start, judging by the surprise flying rose. She has to admit, 'beautiful' is a nice change from what she normally gets called.
When Balrog charges Tessa, Makoto stands back for a moment. He's as fast as she remembers. She only bursts into action herself after that momentary hesitation; where Balrog goes over costume racks, Makoto bulls through them, shoving them out of the way in her haste to get toward Balrog. One crashes as she knocks it over.
Once there, she reaches out, trying to grab ahold of Balrog's throat and lift him up by it, pulling him closer. She's certainly strong enough to; it's only her speed that Makoto isn't sure about.
COMBATSYS: Tessa blocks Balrog's Flying Barcelona Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Makoto
> //////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Ah, so Balrog knows a little about her. She was afraid of that. Thankfully she hasn't had any real clashes with anyone from Shadaloo before so it's not like there's any real cause for alarm, but it's still kind of creepy just knowing someone from that organization is already digging up dirt on her before even before she's had the chance to make it known that she's their enemy. When that day finally comes that's likely to make it a little bit harder to hide!
"Hm... cute trick." But she definitely doesn't want it! She knocks the rose aside just before basically doing the same with the man's super-fast kick, pushing back on it with her prop-shield and then taking a step back to hit the bladed thing under one of her metalic bracerlets and case a bright shower of sparks to shoot up and over Makoto, aiming to get Balrog in the eyes with them should they manage to find the eyeholes in his mask.
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Makoto's Karakusa.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Makoto
> /////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Tessa successfully hits Balrog with Shinespark.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Makoto
> /////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Balrog springs off his hand as he impacts against Tessa, moving the other direction and gracefully moving his loafer-clad feet to the floor. He ducks under Makoto's arm, but is burnt by the sparks, which cascade over his back. He does a backflip through the air and lands behind Makoto, putting her between him and Tessa. His arm blurs as he sends a fast claw strike at Makoto's kidneys, attempting to sink into her flesh with his tri-pronged claw and gouge her internal organs. The pain, and bleeding, will slow Makoto down, and make her continued effort in this fight strained. He has no illusions - they're too advanced for most of his killing techniques.
COMBATSYS: Makoto blocks Balrog's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Makoto
> /////////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Makoto spins quickly when Balrog leaps past her, bringing her arms up almost immediately to deflect attacks toward her torso.
This actually works, for a change. The claw scrapes against her arm, although she does not appear particularly disturbed by what seems to be a very minor wound; Makoto takes advantage of the proximity by bringing one foot around in an arc as she tries to smash it into the side of Balrog's leg with a crushing blow. "Haah!"
Tessa watches intently as Balrog tries his second strike, this time aiming to wound Makoto with those wicked claws, and she's pretty surprised that they don't. Blackbelt or no, that looked powerful, and her block must have been equally powerful for her to come out of it with just a scrape. "Nice!"
And when Makoto attacks, the Predator-chick tries to skirt around to one of Balrog's sides and rush him with her throwing-disc held out to clip him in the side while he's hopefully distracted. This thing isn't as big as she's used to and she's not too sure of it.
COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Balrog with Medium Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Tessa's Sideswipe.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Makoto's leg slams into the side of Balrog's calf, whipping it out from under him. He falls to the ground seconds before Tessa moves past, the disc-cut flying above him. As his leg pulses with pain, he pulls himself to his feet with a backwards roll, distancing himself from the fighters. He narrows his eyes behind his mask and rolls towards Makoto, before stopping before her. His claw arcs downwards with the momentum of the roll, seeking to slash Makoto open.
COMBATSYS: Makoto interrupts Rolling Crystal Flash from Balrog with Hayate.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Makoto expects to be rolled at. She's seen Balrog fight before.
Unusually, though, after a brief period to focus herself and draw her arm back, Makoto charges at Balrog instead of trying to defend herself. This means two things: one, the claw is not aimed properly for her forward-rushing body, and two, she has managed to deliver a straight punch toward Balrog's chin with a good deal of force behind it.
After her strike, she keeps moving, bruised from running into the rolling Balrog and getting her shoulder hit by his hand, and makes it several steps further before she turns around.
Tessa goes sailing by without much chance to really see what happens after Balrog throws himself into a roll and goes after Makoto with his claw again. All she hears is a distinct smack as Makoto instead punches him in the chin. Did she hit the mask?
"I was just about to say we should probably start aiming at his mask, but I guess you're already on it!" And of course now she has to follow up and try to do the same. Best way she can think to do that, is scramble her way back around to where her Musketeer partner is and use both hands to support her shield while she brings it down from way up above her head in an arc meant to slam it into the Spaniard's immaculate face.
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Tessa's Falling Arch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> //////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Balrog gets slammed right in the jaw, flying backwards and into a pile of costumes. He rolls to the side to avoid the shield aimed at him, and twists up to his feet. His left hand touches his mask, where there's now a sizeable fracture. "My face...MY FACE!" He charges at Makoto, bursting up into the air. He aims to land on her shoulders and lock his ankles on either side of her head. He then gracefully falls forward into a roll, and if he's got her, toss her with the momentum of his body moving to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Makoto endures Balrog's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Makoto
> //////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Makoto is not actually all that fast-moving. For Balrog to get his ankles around her head is not terribly hard, nor is bringing her around in a roll. Makoto, however, has a different plan than being thrown.
She grabs Balrog instead, trying to stay close to him and twist the roll to her advantage; this means she gets her head smashed into the ground when he rolls instead of being thrown away, but if there's anything Makoto has, it's a hard head. Attempting to control the roll and end up on top, Makoto drives a series of punches toward Balrog's gut to knock the air out of him and keep him down. Sure, it's not damaging the mask anymore, but it might make it easier to do so later.
Tessa completes her swing with an audible *whiff* as Balrog goes charging at Makoto. Obviously the other girl did hit his face from how he's shouting about it now. Apparently, hitting in that particular area really upsets him. This doesn't scare the security officer into shying away from doing so, but it's certainly something more to consider, and given the tumble he and Makoto are still in she can't really find any way to strike there that wouldn't just be totally awkward and make it easy for him to avoid so she just kind of kicks wildly and hopes it helps to knock the masked-man away from her partner. "Hn!"
COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Balrog with Araiso.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Balrog 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Balrog parries Tessa's Light Kick!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Balrog 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Balrog gets pinned under Makoto and gets kicked in the gut briefly, before his entire body snaps like a whip, his hips surging upwards and flinging the girl off. He rises to his feet and leaps into the air as Tessa kicks. His leg flies out and matches her kick, his foot bouncing off of hers. He does a graceful backflip through the air, trailing behind Makoto. He hits the floor on his left hand, as his legs snap out behind him, attempting to log them around the karate girl's head. He then performs a wrenching twist, hoping to throw Makoto with the torsion.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Makoto with Crescent Line EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Balrog 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Makoto felt that one. Balrog's legs wrap around her head and face, and this time Makoto goes flying despite her attempts to stop herself; she arcs a good fifteen feet through the air and crashes into a display.
Her hat stays put, drifting to the ground. Her mask's string is looped on Balrog's foot.
By the time she stands up again, Makoto has a new mask on; it is a rather generic-looking robot mask on over her face. She spends a few moments adjusting it so she can actually see through the eyeholes, which not so coincidentally lets her catch her breath.
COMBATSYS: Makoto gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Balrog 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Ooh... that wasn't helpful at all. If anything that earned Tessa a bruised shin for nothing as she's still being pretty much ignored by the big Spaniard while he stays totally focused on throwing Makoto with his legs. That's twice in a row he's done the same basic thing, just, that last time looked way more painful, and it knocked off Makoto's mask.
Not wanting things to be over quite so quickly, the Strolheim member hops her way back to the karate expert and tries to afford her some room to breathe by stepping directly into Balrog's path to her and raising her weapon. "Oh come on, quit picking on her already. You got your revenge for the crack in your mask, wouldn't you say? Try coming at me seriously for once."
COMBATSYS: Tessa assists Makoto.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Balrog 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Makoto
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Tessa
Balrog rolls to his feet after the leg throw, and turns to face his foes. "You?" he hisses, looking at Tessa. "Well...Why not..." He suddenly charges forward in a burst of speed, dashing as his feet fall quickly on the ground and a shrieking yodel emerges from him. His claw surges forward, aimed at Tessa's chest. If he hits, he then tosses her up into the air, before extending his claw straight up, with the intent of skewering the falling fighter on his deadly weapon.
The distraction caused by Tessa is vital. Makoto uses it to finish settling her mask, and then she walks sideways, always keeping her arms up - the one bleeding one, and the merely bruised one.
When Balrog charges her, that is when Makoto chooses to act. She rushes out at almost the same time, swinging a mighty fist straight toward Balrog's stomach with a grunt. HIt or miss, she follows this up with a flurry of strikes toward the chest area, and then one mighty upward strike toward the underside of his jaw with all the force her body can produce. "SEICHUUSEN GODANZUKI!" she roars, scarf blowing in the sudden wind from her rapid, forceful movements.
Scarf? Yeah, it came untucked from her musketeer outfit.
COMBATSYS: Balrog successfully hits Tessa with Red Impact.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Makoto
> ////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Tessa
Tessa looks pretty confident about it, even as Balrog questions her offer. But she's sorely underestimating that claw of his and just how fast he can thrust it at a person. The claw goes right under the edge of her shield the same as if he never even tried to block with it and she gets stabbed right in the middle of her chest with every single blade. There's a huge spray of blood before she's tossed into the air and then further impaled on the glinting steel, but since she's still got enough life left in her to reach back and throw that bladed-disc at his mask while fitfully cursing him out in Italian it's a safe bet to assume he must have missed her heart.
COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Balrog with Seichuusen Godanzuki.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Makoto
> /////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Balrog dodges Tessa's Shield Boom.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Balrog 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Makoto
> /////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Tessa
Balrog dumps Tessa off his claw, the three prongs coated in her blood, dripping grotesquely to the ground in a pool at Balrog's feet, his body splattered with Tessa's life fluids. He turns about just in time to be struck in the stomach by Makoto. He backs up, raising his arms to ward off the flurry of blows aimed at his torso, before the uppercut slams into his jaw. His head snaps up and he pops up into the air. On the way up, he flies about like a rag doll. He somersaults at the climax, however, and falls to the ground in a controlled twist. He emits a low growl as he leaps through the air and aims to fall behind Makoto. He grabs at her waist and attempts to fall backwards to the ground with her in his grasp, before throwing her into a wall.
COMBATSYS: Makoto fails to interrupt Stardust Drop from Balrog with Fukiage.
[ \\\\\ < > //// ]
Balrog 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> /////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Tessa
Makoto crouches down as Balrog approaches from the air, balling a fist. She is absolutely not impressed by his show of what she considers dirty fighting; unfortunately, he is too fast for her to just haul off and punch a few dozen times until he stops stabbing people.
She rises up as he comes down, but her fist is a little slow, and she was expecting a diving stab rather than a diving grab. Makoto is thrown rather unceremoniously into a wall, which crunches under the force of her impact, and it takes her a few moments to stagger back up to her feet and shake her head free of stars and nifty lights.
Tessa falls to the floor and knocks over one of the racks on herself in the process, unable to even catch her weapon which was meant to boomerang back to her even if it failed. It just kinda, lands amongst the costumes that all got piled onto her for her to bleed on.
With a groan the tattooed woman reaches a hand up out of all the robes and cheap cloth to take hold of the predator-disc again and try to stand, but it takes her a good while, what with the massive injury and dizziness.
COMBATSYS: Tessa gains composure.
[ \\\\\ < > //// ]
Balrog 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> ////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Tessa
Balrog rolls up to his feet from the toss, and looks either way, with a fighter on either side. He takes a deep breath, his muscular chest rising and falling. He flicks his claw to the side, blood splashing out on the ground. "You two don't look that good..." he hisses, snickering a bit. He's an arrogant bastard to the very end.
COMBATSYS: Balrog gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Balrog 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> ////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Tessa
"Neither do you," Makoto says. She doesn't sound much better, though; a little raspy, and thick-tongued, probably because she's hit various objects with her face several times throughout this fight. Thankfully the rubber mask is tough. It can take it.
She takes a breath, let it out, and then advances toward Balrog slowly and carefully in her strange-looking walk, left side forward. She isn't charging, this time - until the last step or two, where she dashes forward and delivers a low kick toward Balrog's knee, the same one she hit before.
With her mask being made of much thicker and heavier stuff, Tessa is already starting to have some trouble just holding it up, letting alone get enough air through it as she needs to. One can almost see steam coming out from behind it, and with out the lenses in the front are getting so fogged up she still needs a moment more to get herself a good lock on the Spaniard and figure out what she can do to get him to stand still long enough for her to hit. Hopefully she can still run well enough to charge him.
COMBATSYS: Tessa focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Balrog 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Makoto
> ////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Balrog blocks Makoto's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Balrog 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Makoto
> ////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Tessa
Balrog raises his leg, the kick impacting into his shin and leaving a mark, as he hops backwards with the inertia of the blow. He throws a glance over his shoulder at Tessa, noting that she's not attacking him. Good. He suddenly leaps into the air, aiming to plant his fingertips on Makoto's head as he spins about. He lands behind her, and then suddenly grabs at her, before springing into the air with a piercing yodel. He travels in an arc, aiming to bring Makoto to the ground on her head. It's a furious assault.
COMBATSYS: Makoto fails to interrupt Izuna Drop from Balrog with Tanden Renki.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Balrog 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Makoto can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Balrog 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Tessa
Makoto turns when Balrog leaps over her, but not as quickly as she'd like. Her face turns red as she prepares to smash him one across the face, and maybe shatter the mask the rest of the way, and she even manages to raise her arm before he manages to grab her.
This pins her arm to her body, and Makoto can't do much until she hits the ground. Actually, she can't do that much afterwards, either; she seems dazed, and slowly rolls to the side and a little bit out of the way.
Tessa watches Makoto's last ditch effort and winces slightly when it fails, leaving her down and seemingly out of the fight. However, the former law enforcement agent can at least take solace in the fact that the younger girl was never stabbed like she was. That's something.
Herself not eager to be stabbed again, either, Tess takes her weapon and holds it out in front of herself, pointed firmly in the direction of Balrog, and a bright silvery field begins to flow out from it in waves, extending into a barrier of force not too unlike her more familiar shield. She then puts all of her weight behind that disc and barrels forward with what she thinks is probably the last of her strength, intent on slamming the Spaniard into whatever clothing racks are nearby and possibly even all the way to the back wall, hoping that *something* breaks that mask of his even if it's not her attack itself. "I won't make this easy for you! Take this!"
COMBATSYS: Tessa successfully hits Balrog with Super Charger Heaven.
[ \ < > ////////// ]
Balrog 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Tessa
The burst of chi strikes him right in the face, causing him to fly back through the racks, breaking them apart in a furious roar of metal breaking. He slams into the wall with an audible thud, before rising to his feet, shaking his head back and forth. His mask falls apart, and he doesn't bother to put another one on - he begins mentally counting down how much more time he has as he charges forward in a sudden flurry of flips, blurring as he clears the space between him and Tessa, before trying to slam his legs into her and pin her to the ground by her collarbones, his heels thrusting hard in an effort to break both and take his opponent down.
COMBATSYS: Balrog can no longer fight.
> ////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Tessa
COMBATSYS: Tessa dodges Balrog's Scarlet Mirage.
> ///////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Tessa
Tessa slows to a halt somewhere in the middle, feeling the impact and thinking it's more than enough to send the tall blonde man flying. Following through and trying to drive him into the wall still harder would just drain what little energy she has left, and make it almost impossible to defend if he's able to keep fighting. Which, he is, if only for that one last series of flips. She has no idea what he's trying to do, but she does know that in her current state she probably couldn't withstand it, and she can't just let a guy that muscular fall on her shield, so she opts to dive as far from the spot she previously occupied as she possibly can, and it just barely saves her.
Tess is able to roll up to her feet after that, putting pressure on her wound with one hand and holding her weapon at the ready with the other, and since her mask is still intact on top of all that, they announce her and Makoto's win a moment later and send the medics out to tend to all the fighters. Thank heaven.
Balrog scowls as Tessa avoids him, and the match is called. He turns to face Tessa, smirking. "I hope your friend isn't dead. It sounded like she has a major concussion." He turns, and walks off, breathing hard as his heart races.
Log created by Balrog, and last modified on 17:08:59 04/22/2007.