Description: Drake and Ingrid fight during the Hot Air Balloon festival in Iowa. (Winner: Drake)
Saturday Night Fight fans, this promises to be an awesome battle of high-flying combat and special effects that would be considered cheesy, were they not completely real! The hot air balloon festival of Iowa has always been a little lacking in excitement, albeit colorful. So this time, they've brought in two fighters to liven things up a bit. This has lured in quite the crowd on the grassy field, balloons mostly prepped and ready to go.
Except there's a problem.
When you sign up for Saturday Night Fight, you expect to be in top condition when the time actually comes. Drake - or Domino, as his fans know him better - does not have that luxury, apparently. He exits a black sedan, wearing fairly typical, if not a little nonflashy fighting garb. What stands out about him, though, is the bandaging wrapped about his torso in a fairly extensive manner. A couple other men pile out of the vehicle after him, one with a medical kit. The model exhales a resigned sigh, then plasters on a determined look. His would-be dutiful march is hindered by a mild slouch as he makes his way to one of the balloon baskets.
Unlike how Domino would normally treat the cheering crowd, he barely even acknowledges them at first. After a few moments of steeling himself however, he finally turns to offer them their anticipated wave with the backdrop of an inflating hot air balloon. The smile he offers is a weak one, though. Despite that, he raises his right fist to signal the crowd that, yes, he -is- the best fighter here. Even if he looks a bit on the mangled side today.
Saturday Night Fight never even crossed Chae Lim's mind as she sat with Drake 'Domino' Vyril in the Intensive Care Unit. Had it, she likely would have begged him not to go until he was feeling more up to par. Knowing Drake though, she knows that would not have been wise even had he not been able to get out of bed on his own. So when he left the hospital to fly back to the United States for this match, there was only one thing she could do.
Go with him and show her support.
There were things that needed to be taken care of upon reaching Iowa though, and so she parted ways with him at the airport. Due to this, she is not in the black sedan with him and instead exits a big yellow taxi not far behind the vehicle. As Drake makes his entrance, she slips away to the side of the balloon baskets intended for the fighters and right up to one that is nearly ready to fly up into the air. This particular balloon is slightly more drab in appearance, being primarily white with a black crosshatch pattern upon it. Stepping into the basket, Chae Lim reaches down and draws up a bolt of black material which she drapes out over the side of the basket. 'GO DOMINO' is written upon it in white block letters. Moving over to the opposing side, she does the same but with a white bolt of fabric. On this it says 'GOOD LUCK DOMINO' in black block letters.
Turning to face the wrestler she smiles and waves, doubting that he'd be able to make her out from this distance. At least he'll be able to see he's got a fan or friend in the skies though.
One issue with the hit fighting show Saturday Night Fight is that the fights don't tend to be fair, but rather match opponents according to how good of ratings they'll pull. Thus, matching up two flashy fighting styles like the ones Drake and Ingrid use is high on the menu, never mind that the former was severely injured. Had they known about the injury they might even have found a way to play it up, a cancellation being the last thing on their minds.
A few minutes after the sedan and taxi cab pull up Ingrid arrives on foot, apparently having come early as she tends to do. She hasn't done much research on her opponent, but she has at least checked to see what he looks like, and to her as well as the cheering crowd the bandages come as a surprise. Some fighters use bandages as fashion, or as wrappings to keep joints and body from straining, but he wasn't one of those. That along with the somewhat strained look he has too him gives away the injury, and brings a bit of worry to Ingrid. While her last fight was fairly normal, the one before it was set up against a older gentlemen who didn't have a clue what was going on, and the first thing that springs to her mind is that perhaps now they're trying to set her up against someone with a physical infirmity, never mind that she forfeited the fight against Kai Wei.
So with a slightly worried look on her face she walks over to Domino and gives him a small smile and holds out her hand as the balloon inflates behind him. "Ingrid Holmann, pleased to meet you." She pauses for a moment, "You're injuries are not too severe, I hope? I hate it if you were seriously harmed while fighting me because of them." The words are put forth delicately; with genuine concern rather than as a mocking taunt.
Unlike Ingrid, Domino hasn't done a shred of research on his opponent. No, it isn't because he's lazy. Quite the contrary. He was just.. you know.. hospitalized. Therefore, the approach of the girl is first mistaken for a fan, until she introduces herself. When you've been around the block as a professional wrestler with a background in modelling, you tend to filter out sincerity from mockery. Therefore, Ingrid is met with a softer sort of smile, and Domino takes her hand gently with every intention to overturn it and lift it. Unless she resists, his head is inclined to place a small peck of a kiss upon its back.
"Domino. Pleasure's mine, I'm sure." Injuries despite, he speaks in his typical smooth, soft tones. "Ah.. it's no big deal. I've got nothin' against you, and it wouldn't be right to disappoint the fans, so I'm gonna give it my all."
Still, he can't help but hope those medics are going to be watching closely. Hot air balloon-hopping? With injuries? It just doesn't bode well.
If Domino still has her hand by this point, he lets it slip away to whisk his gloved hand through his hair. "You ready?," he querries before his hands find a place in his pockets.
No resistance is given when her hand is turned over and kissed. Though his lips will meet the white cloth of her gloves, surely it's the thought that counts, and he's definitely proven himself a gentleman. Ingrid pulls her hand back slowly after it's released, "I'm glad to hear it. If you're going to do you're best I will, of course, try my hardest as well."
For the sake of both of the fighters, the medics will hopefully be top notch. Though they usually are at the SNF matches, this fight in particular has the chance for some truly nasty falls considering that they're expected to fight high up in the air.
The young woman nods her head, "I'm ready, yes. I believe it's just the matter of getting the balloons into the air and giving the signal, now." She then gives him a somewhat questioning look, "Are we supposed to start on the ground or in balloons, I wonder? I suppose that's up to us; I wasn't given any specific instructions." No simple cordoned off ring for this match.
Domino exhales a quiet, hopefully unnoticed sigh at that. Both fighting their best. Albeit his best is a little limited at the moment. Regardless! "I.. don't really know. I'm guessing we'll go when the balloons are in the air."
And by now, his balloon is fully inflated and ready to go.
Domino glances over to notice this, as well as the thumbs-up signal from the balloon's attendee. He then looks back to Ingrid. "Wanna hitch a ride, or hop one of the others?"
Ingrid ponders a short moment, "That makes sense. It is supposed to be a high flying fight, isn't it?" If nothing else, it should certainly bring a bit of excitement to the event. She thinks for a moment as his balloon is ready, "I suppose I should find my own, if only to make sure we stick to the gimmick of this fight, hmm?" She gives a little wave, "That one looks like it'll be ready rather soon. I'll see you again shortly enough."
Those words spoken, she heads off towards a mostly inflated balloon with a sail boat design and blue and white mosaic, hopping into the basket and preparing for lift off.
COMBATSYS: Drake has started a fight here.
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Drake 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ingrid has joined the fight here.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Drake
Domino waves to the girl as she heads off. He then just settles back in the basket and waits for things to get going, watching the crowds continuous cheering. Such anticipation for a fight. Man, he hopes his body doesn't give out during this thing.
But shortly after the girl leaves, the balloons begin to lift into the air. They drift up lazily, ever climbing in altitude, and only barely drifting in one direction. Favorably, there aren't too many strong gusts of wind today. But as soon as the balloons reach an adequate height, a voice sounds over a megaphone.
"FIGHT!"
Domino whirls around to scan the horizon, searching for Ingrid. It isn't long before he spots her, and he prepares to do something he has to hope dearly he'll not regret. He perches on the edge of the basket, balancing with practiced ease. He then hops into the air and twists back in a painful backflip, feet planting on the side of his balloon. The balloon bounces him back outwards, propelling him not unlike a rocket towards Ingrid. Left hand is extended to catch one of the corner ropes of her basket, right fist jutted out in hopes of colliding with her head.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid fails to counter Strong Punch from Drake with Sun Upper.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Drake
Ingrid does her best to keep her eyes on Domino's balloon as they rise into the air, just in case he decides to be tricky and move to a different one and try to blindside her. His form stays inside of it, however, and after the announcer gives the opening shout it seems that he's going to attack head on.
This may not be the wisest course of action, but sometimes direct force is exactly what's required in a situation. As he jumps up and finds a way to use the balloon itself as a way to speed him over to her, Ingrid steps back in her balloon, leans forward, and points. In front of her forms a swirling disk of golden energy, intended to catch whatever it is he decides to attack her with, be it a fist or a leg. Unfortunately, even with the speed increase, she's overestimated his velocity, and by the time he gets to her the disk is fading away, leaving her face completely open to attack.
The fist smashes into her, and due to her location, backs her up into the basket and flips her right over the edge. Luckily she's quick enough to at least grab one hand on and keep herself from falling to the ground right from the start, but she's still in a terribly position for the fight having just started. She takes a quick look around, plants her feet onto the side of the basket and shoves off hard, flinging herself to the top of another nearby balloon. Well, that didn't work!
Domino's attack works a lot better than he honestly expected it to. Hand gripping the rope simultanious to the strike landed on Ingrid, he swings over to land neatly in the basket. Except.. no Ingrid. Except for fingers on the edge of the basket, that is. In a rush, Domino quickly goes to lean over the edge with every intention to help her back up into the basket, but she's already flying off to the next balloon. It's just as well, so long as the girl doesn't plummet to the ground and get herself seriously injured.
With little other option left, Domino hops up to perch on the edge of the basket again, and he simply leaps off of it to pursue his opponent to the next balloon. This time he isn't attempting a dive-attack, though. He hits the fairly bouncy material and tumbles over to his feet. Teeth grit from the motion and the strain it puts on his bandaged body, but he quickly raises back up to his feet... balancing fairly precariously.
Well, slamming a girl down onto this sort of platform isn't going to do much good. So Domino opts for submission holds, instead. He moves in towards her, a little slower than he would normally rush, but made up for by an agile manuevering intended to bring him behind the girl's back. If successful, his hands lock under her jaw and he hops up to plant his knees against her back. When he drops back against the balloon, he simply pulls up on her head to force a strain over her torso. Though considering the lack of firm surface they're using, the initial shock of pain from spine-to-knees impact is lost, forcing the pain to come simply from the hold itself.
COMBATSYS: Drake successfully hits Ingrid with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Ingrid 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Drake
Megumi got here a little late; the 'stage' for this battle is already airborne as she moves to join the crowd. While definitely a spectator, eyes to the sky-fight going on...she looks more worried than thrilled, albeit staying quiet about it.
While normally sticking to extremes when defending against attacks, namely avoidance or counterattacking, Ingrid feels that with her recent failure she should go for a more moderate approach. Domino manages to slip behind her, and when she feels his arms move around her neck and fall she tries to twist away from him and miss landing on the knee, the result being landing on him and a cushy hot air balloon. This proves to be a rather fantastical mistake, however, as the hold he puts on her is too tight for her to roll away like that, and instead she ends up putting her side, and thus her kidney, right onto his knee, amplifying the pain received by, well, lets just say a lot, and a sharp gasp escapes her.
As the past has proven, holds tend to be a rather ugly weak point for Ingrid. If one doesn't know how to break them you can end up being completely locked down and unable to fight back. Luckily, she does have a 'cheat' for this exact situation. Though still caught nearly helpless in his arms, she still has the ability to call upon her energy. If he isn't careful Domino might not notice her arms moving behind her, attempting to simply plant them against his chest and release a large stream of glittering golden energy.
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Ingrid's Sunbeam.
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Ingrid 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Drake
Flailing arms are to be expected when someone is put into a submission hold. So at first, they don't really register in Domino's mind. He just keeps the hold locked in place, milking it for all it's worth while he can keep her there. But something clues him in. The arms are moving almost with a purpose. Trying to make contact with him? But w-
The first sign of glittery energy triggers the reactive instinct in Domino, and he quickly releases the hold in a harsh shove to the side. He tumbles in the opposite direction and situates himself on hands and knees atop the balloon. She uses chi, apparently. That's usually unpleasant. He pushes himself up to his feet with a slight wobble, and he closes the distance on the girl again. This time, he tries to just soften her up by running at her, right arm extended to clothesline her across the neck and collar area. Of course, his movements are still obviously a bit strained, but he's pushing himself nonetheless.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid fails to counter Quick Punch from Drake with Sun Upper.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Drake
The shove to the side seems to have proved easily enough to keep the energy from engulfing him, but at least the hold was broken, which could have ended in Ingrid becoming helpless for the remainder of the fight. Ingrid picks herself back up quickly and turns to face him, readying herself for whatever onslaught he has ready for her. Though fairly quick, the clothesline attack looks to be relatively slow, to Ingrid, and once again she attempts to fall back on her signature move, leaning forward and pointing, a swirling disk of that energy forming in hopes that his arm will run into it. And it does, but, unfortunately for Ingrid, a fair bit before the disk is actually formed, the arm moving right through it as if it wasn't there and smacking into her neck, causing her to stumble backwards and nearly fall.
Keeping mindful of the balloon's width and their relative positions, Domino relents on the girl a little. For what he has planned next, he'd hate to blast her right off the edge or somesuch. And this follow-up usually is accompanied by a tumble, so he can't be too careful.
Yeah, it's a fight, but Domino isn't in it for blood. Part of why he's regarded as a face.
Anyway, he circles around the girl steadily, keeping his torso squared to alleviate a bit of the strain he's put on himself. Once at an acceptable angle with plenty of balloon to bounce around on, he moves in towards her again. When the distance is closed, he raises up onto his right leg briefly, hands chambering at his side. He then suddenly drops into a deep forward stance on the left leg, hands rocketing out in a double palmheel strike aimed for her midsection. The motions are hard enough to do with the injuries on his body, but the focus of the accompanying bursts of dazzling white concussive energy forces out a slightly pained sound along with it. "Hng..!"
COMBATSYS: Ingrid dodges Drake's Whiteout.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Drake
Ingrid is grateful for the momentary lull in the combat, needing the time given to her to pull herself together and start fighting back, finally. She circles with him when he begins moving around her, not wanting to get put into one of those nasty locks again. When he moves up onto his right leg and chambers his hands, she takes in a quick breath, seeing the attack coming but remembering how she had before and still ended up getting hit, and hard. Then, when he finally moves in to attack she leaps into the air, jumping over the top of him while flipping and spinning around, sailing over the powerful palmstrikes and accompanying energy.
She lands lightly on the surface of the balloon facing him, thus revealing the point of the fancy maneuvering in the air, her right arm held back. Sparkling gold energy surrounds it, and she swings it quickly forward, a large ball of shining energy forming and arcing up in the air before quickly descending back down towards him, the idea being to strike him before he can recover from his attack. It also shows one more of Ingrid's attributes, her staggering stamina.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid successfully hits Drake with Sun Shot.
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Ingrid 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Drake
Her plan works rather well, all things considered. Domino doesn't have either the time to turn around, or the ability, what with his injuries. He's struck, and the model cries out in pain. He's brought down against the balloon harshly, looking stunned for a moment. Though after that, he begins to crawl away from her, teeth gritted to refrain from making any more noises. The last thing he wants to look right now is pitiful. Once he's a fair distance from her, he raises back to his feet and turns to face her, breathing having become more labored. -God- that hurt. What in the heck was it? Or are his wounds just amplifying things? Ugh..
COMBATSYS: Drake focuses on his next action.
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Ingrid 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Drake
Though it might not appear so at first glance, upon being struck by it it's fairly obvious to anyone that Ingrid's energy is quite unlike any kind of Chi. Of course that's probably true of any psion, but the effect is no less dramatic for that. The young woman reaches up and brushes her hair back behind her ears, and then idly begins twisting a lock of it around one of her fingers. It certainly doesn't looks like she's getting ready to immediately press her advantage.
And indeed, she's not, rather content just to sit back and survey the situation. Perhaps that's where she went wrong in the first place; fighting on impulse rather than tactics as she normally does. And since Domino is now giving her a few moments to breathe and figure things out, she's going to take them.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid focuses on her next action.
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Ingrid 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Drake
So it's come to a stand-off of sorts. Domino just eyes her intently, not terribly certain what to do. That last shot? It hurt like no tomorrow. Couple that with his condition, and he seriously won't be lasting long. So his best bet is to try and use what he's discerned about her to put on a hard and heavy strike.
So after a few moment's more consideration, Domino begins to close in with wobbly steps. Fingers spread out a little, looking ready to grab... and grab he does. He attempts to grab ahold of the girl's neck with his left hand, and hook an arm between her legs with the other, all in an effort to yank the girl off her feet and settle her across his shoulders on her back. If captured, both arms pull sharply downwards to arch her spine in a torture rack submission hold.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid counters Strong Throw from Drake with Sun Delta.
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Ingrid 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 Drake
Unfortunately for Domino that is, in fact, exactly what Ingrid was hoping he would do. She is fairly vulnerable to such powerful attacks; but that's only when she's been hit, and she has a fairly large arsenal for dealing with powerful, slow techniques. When he closes in and attempts to grab her, there's a large flash of energy around Ingrid, and once again she leans forward and points. This time, however, instead of a small disk of energy there's a small triangle of energy acting as a power amplifier, and then a huge disk to accompany it, easily as large as she is. The grab causes him to move right into the disk, which drags him inside of it and then slowly pulls him up into the air while Ingrid leans back and gives him a teasing little salute, searing at him the whole time before dropping him back down towards the balloon. There's one last bit of pain left, however, as Ingrid lifts her fists up into the air and gathers one final burst of energy, holding her arms out when he's at her height and causing a huge symbol, the same one on her hair ornaments, to burn into life with her energy. Then, after that, he's allowed to hit the balloon again.
Domino is... toyed with, in one of the most painful ways he can figure up. To say the model cries out in pain is an understatement. It garrish, really, being made to look both ridiculous and helpless at the same time. The energy all but rips him apart, from the looks and sounds of things, until he's deposited back onto the balloon. And there Domino remains, facedown, feeling about ready to just keel over.
...But that wouldn't be terribly good of him for his fans, would it?
So despite all rational logic, and despite the injuries that have now become a bit more exposed along his torso from ripped bandages, Domino pushes himself back up to his feet, squinting at the girl.
No options are really left for him. If he has -any- hopes of winning this, he'll just have to do as he said he would: give it his all. So he forces himself to rush towards her the short distance, hands shooting out to attempt grabbing her by the shoulders...
COMBATSYS: Drake successfully hits Ingrid with Total Eclipse.
- Power hit! -
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Ingrid 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Drake
Once grabbed, Domino yanks the girl forward and down at a hunch, locking her neck between his legs. He then reaches over to loop his arms around her midsection, hoisting her into piledrive position.
So begins phase one of the Total Eclipse, seeing Domino's arms tighten sharply along her midsection while holding her upside-down. The arms flex repeatedly, each time crushing further and further against her midsection, keeping the inverted bearhug going for several long, excruciating seconds, ignoring the pain it does to himself as well. Squeezing someone against wounds is not a comfortable thing to do.
But after that begins phase two. He uses the springy balloon to launch himself into the air with the captured girl, and begins to pull into a series of forward flips. The movements become increasingly fast on the rise, and by the time the two are descending, their bodies have blurred together into an opaque swirl of motion.
The force of the whirling piledriver blasts the two clean through the canvas of the balloon they were riding, and sees them coming out directly into the basket, whereupon the full momentum of the rapid flips and their combined bodyweight comes crashing down against Ingrid's head in the basket.
After which, Domino simply rises from the female and steps aside, fully expecting her to be finished. But.. uh.. in the meantime, the hot air balloon begins its zig-zaggy descent towards the ground below.
Ingrid is in a bit of trouble here, knowing that when someone makes bulrushes at you like Domino is now that there's probably going to be a /lot/ of pain coming your way unless you manage to get out of the way. That's exactly what she tries to do, but the suddenness of it all overcomes her speed, and she's snatched up by the shoulders before she can get away. She's flipped over and crushed against him for a long enough time to become incredibly painful, and then after that's over she's leapt up with, spun around incredibly fast, and then has her head /crushed/ into the basket floor.
For a few long moments it would most certainly look like she's unconscious, but though she's seemingly frail and such moves have quite an effect on her, she's a lot tougher than one might expect her to be. She actually seems to be trying to use this to her advantage, as well, because as the pain subsides she stays completely motionless on the ground, collecting herself, and then all in an instant is back in the fight, shoving off the ground with her arms and back flips, her legs kicking out for Domino's chin while a stream of energy flows out from her feet. Surprise, surprise.
COMBATSYS: Drake counters Sun Arch from Ingrid with Solar Eclipse.
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Ingrid 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Drake
Domino... is starting to worry. Did he overdo it on the girl? Man, doesn't that figure? He tries to keep her from going over the edge - even though it likely wasn't even necessary - and he winds up splattering girlbrains all over the basket.
But lo and behold, she lives! And she jumps! Domino goes off of base reaction and actually leaps after her as she does this. Right arm hooks between the legs, left arm hooks over her shoulder and at her back, cleanly snatching her right out of her attack. Body spins over with her clutched to him crossways, and that doomed hot air balloon is left in favor of a low-flying one. ...Though the landing in the basket is a little less than pleasant, what with Ingrid being driven down against her back and Domino's abs landing across her stomach for added punishment.
But then Domino raises up from her and backs up again, obsidian eyebrow quirked and doubled over, hands resting atop his knees. In silence, he observes the girl.
On the ground below, people scatter to avoid the falling balloon.
Of everything in this fight that's happened, that would be the one that surprises Ingrid the most. Being picked up out of the air, mid jump, and then spun around some more and slammed into the floor of another balloon. This time...she's not getting up off of her feet. The pain running through her body is simply too much to handle, and she lays rather limply on the floor of the balloon. Just because of that, however, doesn't mean she doesn't have one final push left to give. A brief flash of energy forms around her, and she lifts her hands to her chin, a small, dull little sphere of energy forming in her hands, which she 'blows' gently towards Domino, and it floats rather innocuously towards him, Ingrid letting out a long sigh afterwards, knowing that no matter how that goes, the fight for her is over.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid can no longer fight.
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Drake 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Ingrid's Sun Burst.
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Drake 0/-------/----===|
Domino starts to lower himself beside the girl, but then her hands move. He pulls back sharply with a wince, and prepares himself to leap from the basket again. Lord knows he doesn't want another one of those explosive dear-god-make-it-stop attacks nailing him.
But what comes out is surprisingly... dainty in appearance. Nevertheless, it's not something he's interested in coming into contact with. So as the ball drifts closer, Domino pushes the pain of his injuries - both new and old - out of his mind and he swerves low until it passes by. He then raises up to his full height and peers down at the girl. She looks a bit on the helpless side right now, but.. best to not just assume things.
"Ingrid? You okay? Match over?," the model asks breathlessly, amethysts affixed to her face. The crowd, meanwhile, waits on the ground below expectantly.
From her seat in the black and white balloon not too far from the fighting, Chae Lim's doe brown eyes widen. Even though she is able to see into the basket in which the fighters are, she cannot really tell if the girl is no longer able to fight. Leaning over the edge, she peers over and silently cheers.
Without even knowing if Domino has won or not, she lets out a girlish shriek and cups her hands over her mouth. "GOOD JOB, DOMINO!" Her voice carries down to a lower flying balloon and from there echo down on the voices of fans to the crowd below. A chant of 'Domino, Domino' can be heard even though the fight is yet to be called.
After it misses, the ball of energy just floats off into the sky harmlessly. Hopefully it wont end up hitting anything important. From the ground, Ingrid nods lightly, trying to move as little as possible until the pain subsides. "Yes, on both accounts. Just give me a few moments rest and I'm sure I'll be fine. Oh, and congradulations."
First, Domino's attention is yanked over to a black and white balloon. How awesome is that? Hey, and it has banners.. that have his name on them. He squints at the figure yelling and shrieking...
"Chae?"
Well, he didn't expect that. He offers a wave, then quickly turns back to Ingrid. Just in case, you know. But after she gives her admittance, he bows his head. "Thanks. Your... whatever that was... really hurt. So good work on that."
But he then leans over the edge of the basket and waves both arms out to the crowd below, signalling to them. Whether they understand it or not, he has no idea. But after that, he brings the balloon down gently to the ground, where he climbs out slowly and carefully. A few steps along the field are taken before he faulters to a knee and winces. He's gonna need those medics he brought over.
The acting official runs over to check Domino, who gives him a thumbs-up. He then scurries to the balloon basket to spy Ingrid and her condition. Pretty clear to him what happened. So up lifts the megaphone again.
"Your winner! Domino!"
And with that, Domino lifts his right fist into the air in vistory. The model wrestler then pushes himself up to his full height and attempts to preen for the crowd, as they always seem to love. Left hand sets to his hip, right hand lifts to whisk through his bangs, and a roguish smile is cast out to them.
Another loud cheer comes from the vicinity of the black and white balloon as it begins its descent. Chae Lim just offers a friendly wave in return, and then disappears to the center of the basket so that she doesn't inadvertently tip it.
From balloons all around the fighters, the fans go wild. Many give shouts or cheers as Drake brings the balloon down to the ground. Meanwhile, on the ground the crowd is forming a tight circle around the landing point. Loud cheers and whistles are given to the winner; Domino defeated Ingrid despite his injuries and all other odds. Cameras snap pictures, fans push in to get autographs signed and banners wave high.
Until Drake falters.
It's at this time that Chae Lim's balloon lands, and the Korean girl exits with a polite thank you to the balloon operator. She's quite certain he didn't care too much for her girlish shriek of delight. Turning toward Drake, she gasps and rushes over to him. "Domino, are you alright?" Moving out of the way of the official, she motions for the medics to come in and check him. "If they give you a clean bill of health, I would like to take you out to dinner to celebrate."
And so the medics move in towards Domino at the signal. Domino himself just shrugs to Chae Lim and lifts his left arm to loop around her neck for a half-hug. It's habbit. Honest. Pretty girl standing beside a professional wrestler after a win, they automatically become armcandy.
"I'm okay. I'll live. I just.. need to get back to the hospital, I think," Domino says sidelong to the Korean whilest smiling out at the crowd. Right arm lifts into the air again.. and then the medics all but tackle him down to re-apply the bandages, check his pulse, and whatever else pops into their mind.
Megumi goes home.
COMBATSYS: Drake has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:52:31 07/21/2007 by Ingrid, and last modified on 06:00:35 07/23/2007.