Description: [Momo vs. M0M0] Click click click. Clank. On a tennis court set up aboard the Suiryuu, something sinister is lurking... a mechanical double of Taiyo's star tennis player! Two Momos enter, only one leaves! [Winner: Momo]
Welcome to the 1st annual Jinchuu Sports Exhibition!
I'm Enzan, your host, and today we'll be reviewing the serves of the best tennis mistress since Maria Sharapova! Today's match will take place on the Suiryuu Premiere Arena, which has been retrofiftted by ship's engineers to better fit the theme of today's match! The court looks mighty fine today, Hiretsu.
... *snicker* It does.
Let's cut to our main camera, which shows our first fighter out there today. One Momo Karuizawa! She's still hurting after her tragic loss in attempt to take Tiffany's spot in the great proleteriat's tournament in the last round. Hopefully she'll be able to make up some of that lost ground today. And what about her opponent?
That's still a secret yet.
Oooh. Mysterious. Let's get the match underway!
The P.A. clicks off briefly. It's quite bright out there today. But in that sudden, stunning silence, under the lenses of at least 101 different cameras, the steps of a single crewmember dressed in a Jinchuu standard uniform are almost deafening. He grins, standing by a pile of wood and brass that might have at one point been put together from an array of broken children's toys. He grins. And waits for the opponent.
Momo has been very careful to not let herself by seen. Naturally, this has involved being out in the middle of the day wearing silly hats and presuming that nobody will recognize her, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that the crew already know about her, nevermind the fact that they're NINJA and you can't fool a ninja. She's certainly acting that way, though.
"Whaaa?" the Taiyo tennis player says in surprise as she discovers that the deck has spontaniously become a tennis court. Even more surprising is the voice over the PA, which not only knows that she fought (and lost) to Tiffany, but that she was doing it to enter the tournament proper! "Hey!" she demands, pointing vaguely in a direction which is probably nowhere near where the voice is coming from. "How do you know that stuff? It's not nice to spy on people! I bet you're creepy pervert ninja, watching little girls like that!" She brings her arms in to hug herself, as if she was shivering. "Brr, I feel icky just thinking about where you could be!"
The thundering footstops bring an abrupt stop Momo's berating of the announcers. Wait a minute... making up the last round's loss today? Secret opponent? Does this mean she's in the tournament after all!? The sudden realization puts the Taiyo student back in a good mood, although she continues acting all pouty over being spied on just the same.
Ohhh. Unsportsmanlike conduct. That'll take some points off style rating, which may influence her final score. Still, she does look cute in her pink and white ensemble today. She'll need to be especially careful to make sure today's opponent doesn't char it too much. Is it sponsored by Gucci?
Wal-Mart, I think.
Ouch. Harsh, Hiretsu. Let's get back to the fight. Our technician is about to start the match.
The man on the other side of the net reaches into a pocket. "Now remember..." he says. "Fair play only. Don't go for the eyes, the heart, or the throat. We don't want anyone dying today.." He pulls out... what looks to be a quarter. Marked with the by-now familiar insignia of the Ryouhara. The coin shines briefly as its held under the light. Or is that glowing? "25 cents should be enough," he says, grinning even wider. "Watch closely."
He lifts a piece of the contraption up by what appears to be some sort of skull, fitted with metal sections that vaguely resemble tufts of hair. He drops the quarter into a slot on the machine's forehead.
Then he runs for it.
A few moments later, something.. clunks inside the mass. The entire thing rattles. Then there is a deep,audible thump. Watching the contraption get to its feet is much like watching a newborn calf learn to walk. It is clunky. It is not safe at all. But.. like nature. It works. Eventually. The head rotates a full 180 degrees and *SNAPS* into place. Steam vents from the dorsal bits of the skirt. The eyes turn on, a dull yellow light set into a brass skull. Momo. Meet your Giger-esque replica. Then, slowly, inexorably, it begins to advance on the young girl.
Being called perverts aside, we should mention, today's Momo-type replica has been sponsored by Nikolai Tippin and the Ryouhara clan, who also developed the technology and data necessary to build it. Please enjoy the match, this one looks like it's going to be a real nail-biter! Ganbatte, Momo! (Which one are you talking to?) (I don't know, shh)
COMBATSYS: M0M0 has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
M0M0 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: M0M0 takes no action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
M0M0 0/-------/-------|
Momo sticks her tongue out as her sportsmanship is called into question. "At least I'm not a pervert ninja," she counters to the voices on the PA. A strange clickity-clank sound draws her attention back to her opponent, though... or at least, to the weird contraption he's fiddling with. "Hey! What's that?" she asks, taking a few steps closer and to the side to get a better look at it. As it starts to snap upright, the tennis player's eyes widen.
"Woah! Is that... RoboMomo!? What are you doing building robots of Momo? Momo is unimitable!" She thinks that's what the word is, anyway. Reaching into her shirt, the girl quickly pulls out a pink cell phone with an adorible tennis ball strap and begins taking a video of the machine as it slowly marches forward, watching it closely in both the phone's screen and in reality. "It doesn't even look like me! You could've at least given it a cute face."
COMBATSYS: Momo has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
M0M0 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Momo
COMBATSYS: Momo focuses on her next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
M0M0 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Momo
Oh, it looks like Karuizawa is none too happy with this predicament. What's she doing, though? It looks like she's trying to get some pictures of the replica. If she wanted a tape, she could have just sent us our fee and gotten a premium high-quality match video! By the way, did you know that this replica is the third design of the Ban-kun Type Beta? Only the second functional model, though..
The contraption whirrs, loud and long, as if mildly offended at the schoolgirl's insult. Then, once it gets to a point past the net, the winding stops. And snaps, loudly. Suddenly the entire mass of wood and steel snaps into the air as if shot from a cannon. It descends towards Momo at maximum speed. With its reinforced racket arm spinning as if a giant drill. Oriented dead on Momo with a vaguely eerie sense of accuracy.
That racket /will/ drill right throguh the deck. That's only if Momo isn't there to absorb the damage, though..
COMBATSYS: M0M0 successfully hits Momo with Flip Flap Racket.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
M0M0 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Momo
Momo is so caught up in watching M0M0's jerky, stilted movements that she's caught completely off guard as the machine suddenly goes airborne. "What?!" she cries as her eyes track upward, pocketing her phone and raising her racquet instinctively to try and bat away the RoboMomo. Unfortunately, she's not properly braced to volley the brass and wooden contraption as it drilled into her.
She screams in both pain and surprise as the drill raquet bores into her, getting a taste of what her own bolt-laden weapon is capable of doing as it tears into her arm. The squishy tennis player tumbles back, quickly rolling to her feet and shaking the feeling back into her arm. "Hah! That was nothing!" she says nonchalantly, nevermind the nasty gashes she now sports.
"I'll show you the true power of tennis!" Momo calls out to her robotic clone, pulling one of the balls off of her harnass and throwing it into the air. Her racquet is drawn back lazily, then brought forward with a bit more gusto, sending the ball straight for M0M0's coin slot.
COMBATSYS: M0M0 endures Momo's Whale Serve.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
M0M0 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Momo
CHANK!
The tennis ball hits home handily, smashingi nto and denting the contraption's headplate an d causing the thing to bend at the waist, falling backwards with speed until its skull hits the court with a deep resonating WHOOM, as if a distnat bell rung. It stands there, feet planted on the ground, skull planted behind it, bent all the way backwards in a posture that would shatter the spines of all but a very select few contortionists. It's shock stillas if contemplating.
Its racket is still spinning wildly, suspended in the air on one stiffened arm.
Oh, those exchanged blows have to hurt. That drill racket had to have been spinning at at least 1800 rpms. But Karuizawa's serve isn't to be discounted either. Her rackets are reinforced for a reason!
The automation slowly begins to move. The racket stills, as a gear is disengaged. Shifting slowly, it stands up. On its head. And balances there, delicately. There is the sound of a gear being reengaged. Only a moment later, the entire creation begins to rotate. Slowly at first, but then picking up an unnerving amount of speed, the entire blur of brass and wood then careens past Momo, but-- abruptly shifts, curves around towards Momo's back and..
OH! Look out behind you, Karuizawa!
Eva comes from the Cabin area.
COMBATSYS: Momo interrupts Light Kick from M0M0 with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
M0M0 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Momo
"...Momo can't do that," the (real) tennis player says in wonder as her duplicate bends in half and then straights up upside-down. She begins hopping from foot to foot, her happy-bouncy battle stance that screams of hyper little girl. It's a far cry from M0M0's jerky movements.
"Missed me~!" she sing-songs with a leap to the side as the robot spindashs past her. She turns her head to watch it's path, and... isn't really that surprised when it turns around for another pass. "Oh no you don't!" Momo yells as she whirls around herself, one of her legs lashing out in a vicious roundhouse kick at the moment M0M0 reaches her. Sure, kicking rapidly spinning metal'll hurt her just as much as it hurts the doppelganger, but it's worth it to try and knock the thing off balance.
A masterful evasion by Karuizawa! Look at that deft footwork! Any fight fan worth his salt would see she's got a good rhythm going, Hiretsu. As I seem to remember, during our pre-fight interview you were a little skeptical that she could stand a chance against her opponent today. I guess you're eating your words now, eh?
(bitterly, but only faintly so) I suppose there is something to be said for suicide tactics, Enzan.
Hah, it's not suicide unless you die!
The replica automaton is knocked off kilter by Momo's attack, struck full on in the side of a leg. This causes a kind of cascade failure, causing the top-like thing to start wobbling as it loses gyroscopic stability. Ominously causing metal to creak, and the thing to start careening into the net.
CREAK. snap. SMASH!!
At that point, the net is torn off its hinges by the machine shortly before it crashes into the rail somewhat catastrophically. .. Yet slowly? The machine rises once again. It comes to a stand, limned in shredded netting and poles. That's about when the ship pulses underneath the machine. It tilts back, it's jaw opening wide and unhinging. The sack at its back distends, a bulge following a circuit through its chest, up its throat.. and finally.. *KABOOM!* Out of its mouth, a green streak rocketing up into the sky like a cannon. Laboring underneath the netting, the strings whine as the machine puts tension on them each in series. There is a brief whistling there as the ball sinks back to earth.. and then the machine swings.
BOOM!
If left unchecked, the tennis ball will rocket through, bounce off the deck, shatter the rail and go over the edge. And cause a massive upswell of water over the railing after the ball explodes there. That is, of course, if Momo isn't in the way. Then things could get a little messier.
COMBATSYS: Momo reflects Subsonic Whale Serve from M0M0 with Racket Return.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
M0M0 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Momo
A tiny fist is pumped into the air as M0M0 goes wobbling off, the pain in Momo's leg quickly forgotten. "Yes!" she cheers when it tumbles through the net, impacts the rail, and collapses. "No evil robot clone can beat Momo!" Her celebration is short-lived, however, as the creature rises, looks to the sky, and vomits out a tennis ball.
"Oh!" the Taiyo student says, drawing back her racquet as she watches the ball hang in midair and then begin to fall back to the boat. "Now we're talking~!" She takes a few light steps back to give herself more room to react. The robot swings...
In a fraction of a second, Momo has shifted her grip on her racquet, one hand on the handle while the other is on the top of the net, to better brace it as she holds it directly in front of herself. "Right back at'cha!" she yells in the next moment as she pushes forward, the ridiculously fast tennis ball impacting the net square in the middle. The tennis player can FEEL the strain of her racquet, the frame begging to shatter under the immense pressure... but that thing is reinforced for a reason! The strings of the net bend back then rebound, sending the tennis ball back at M0M0 at a more than comparable speed.
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits M0M0 with Reflected Subsonic Whale Serve.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
M0M0 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Momo
The tennis ball impacts the machine head on. And knocks it right into the foundations of the lower decks and when it lands, the ball explodes, causing a deep shudder to shake the ship itself, engulfing the area in smoke and obscuring all sight.
Whoa. That was some very nice racket work. We can't see a thing out there. What's going on?
Twin lights pierce the fog and haze that darkens the sun. Of sound, now there is but the rickety sounds of pumps hissing, a small engine backfiring. And the endless, relentless clattering of gears.
Click. click. Click. click. chk..
It's an ephemeral theme. A soft pretty thing of bells and chimes. A music box has been triggered inside the machine. Rattling from the smoke, it is a grim background to the scene, as a ruined machine faces Momo. Springs are revealed. A lot of its brass architexture has been battered away, revealing most of the machine's inner workings. In but a moment, the machine has been broken open like some egg. And yet.. by some divine act of providence or engineering.. the machine still stands. It faces its oppoent. And that music tolls. A voice box trips, causing a single, pre-recorded message to fill the air in that moment.
"...Hello, me. :)"
A kanji flashes on the machine, symbolic of 'Judgment'. Energy creeps across sealwork visible only in the machine's architecture, as it begins to charge its internal systems from some unseen source.
COMBATSYS: M0M0 focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
M0M0 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Momo
Ryuujin enters from the corridor.
Momo shields her eyes as the deck is suddenly filled with acrid black smoke, not that the gesture does much in the way of keeping it away. Her eyes sting and water, and it takes a concentrated effort to keep them open. At least she has something to lock onto; those twin headlights blazing out from the darkness, the music box tinkling it's slow, dreamlike melody as if nothing was amiss... and finally, the damaged form of M0M0 clanking forward.
The audible :) is what really pushes things into creepy.
"Hey, not-me," Momo replies to the message. "Sorry I have to do this, but you're kind of an evil robot and I need to break you now," She begins to bounce on her heels again, carefully watching her robot double as she focuses her chi. A pink heart begins to glow in the middle of her tennis raqcuet's net, misty and obscured in the thick smoke but present nonetheless.
COMBATSYS: Momo focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
M0M0 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Momo
A genuine Mexican standoff. While the replica's thrown some good moves, it seems like there is no real substitute for good old fashioned home-grown and raised fighters. Momo is clearly in the lead here, and her double is gonna have to put out some serious effort if she's gonna stay in the match!
Ticking absently, the machine hangs there, racket absently scraping across the charred deck, surrodned by the delicate tune, reminiscent of Christmas morning. Were one not thuroughly aware of what stood before them it might be easy to mistake it to be thinking about what to do next. Sizing up its opponent, with those bright headlight eyes.
In reality, it's merely counting off seconds until its next attack.
The music box clicks off, anticlimactically.
And then, uncomprehendingo f Momo's speech and without any other response, the machine jerks. It throws the netting bar around in the air in a very wide arc, still attached to remnants of the charred netting which is itself still wrapped around the machine. This will simply wrap Momo up, if the little girl is not quick. If successful, the automaton will reel itself in with a sound similar to a really pissed off lawnmower, and bring its racket to bear on the poor girl.
What's this! It looks like.. the machine is using the net to try and trap Karuizawa! It's hard to see in all the smoke--what's she going to do!? It's got its racket.. it's not gonna--!!
COMBATSYS: M0M0 successfully hits Momo with Racket Spank.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
M0M0 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Momo
Is she--OH SHE IS. Oh. /oh/ the devastation. Oh, that is not kosher. It's like someone put a weedwhacker in that thing--Oh. Oh.. I can't watch this, I'm covering my eyes. Hiretsu, tell me when it's over.
...........
... Is it over yet?
No, no. I'll tell you when.
Momo doesnt bother trying to get out of the way of the net, confident in her ability to snake her way out of it. She's just expecting it to drape around her, though, not wrap all the way around! "Hey! Physics doesn't work that way!" she cries out, struggling to free herself as M0M0 approaches, racquet-arm ready to maim.
Unfortunately, she doooesn't quite make it. The screams as M0M0 goes to town on her are loud and heart-wrenching.
After a somewhat extended beatdown, the tennis player has finally had enough. "Get off!" she sobs, trying to twist away but finding herself still caught in the net. "It hurts! Stop it stop it STOP IT!" She twists even harder, hoping to once again throw RoboMomo off-balance by the net that's tangling the two of them together. And then? She'll jam her racquet into M0M0's gut. Surely those delicate and now-visible gears won't like being so rudely interrupted
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits M0M0 with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
M0M0 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Momo
It's over, Enzan.
Oh, oh is it? Whew.
The automaton is struck solidly in the gut with the butt of Momo's racqet, causing the machine to lurch back, several of its gears popping and flying out, with the whine of snapped metal and cables. This causes its racket arm to go limp, until a secondary gear winds into place. The system ticking ominously, it falls back and off balance, disrupted in it's disciplinary action, though likely not soon enough not to assure Momo has a little trouble sitting for the rest of the day. Speaking of whom, she is still trapped in the net. Which allows the automaton to--an eerie imitation of something very familiar--begin to spin again.
It will spin Momo around and around...
.. at least until the net snaps before it reaches optimal velocity. Though some speed may be imparted, Momo probably isn't going to be flying through any scenery anytime soon.
OH. Fumble. That almost looked like a pretty good comeback, Hiretsu.
COMBATSYS: Momo endures M0M0's Midget Swing.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
M0M0 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Momo
Momo pants heavily, tears streaking her cheeks, as she twists her racquet once before pulling it out of the robot. She tries to step back, to escape the net that tangles them together, but the robot recovers before she can. And spins. "Uwaaaah!" cries the Momo as she tries desperately to keep up with the spinning off the robot. She fails comically, her legs losing their footing as she trips over the net and begins to go airborne as the spinning gains speed-- or not! The net snaps and Momo tumbles away, sliding across the deck with little fanfare, gaining some nasty friction burns but nothing more serious.
"Owwww," the tennis player says as she gets to her feet, the snapped net now much easier to escape from; she just shrugs it off! "Momo doesn't want to play anymore, you're a cheating robot," she says, sniffling weakly and shaking a finger at the machine. Marching up to the mechanical monstrocity, she attempts to grab one of it's arms and yank it forward. And then she really gets into the swing of things.
Or rather, gets M0M0 into the swing of things. You can never get as good as the original, you see, and Momo has far better strength and leverage than some dinky clockwork toy. She spins and spins, hoping to get M0M0 sufficiently off the ground before suddenly swinging up and letting go, hurling the thing up, up, up into the air! And possibly onto the promenade deck.
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits M0M0 with Giant Swing.
[ < > ///////////// ]
M0M0 1/=======/=======|=======\=====--\1 Momo
OH! What a spectacular move from Karuizawa! The replica is going up.. up...!
After bouncing off of one of the ship's masts, the jangling machine hits the top of the promenade like a small brass meteor, with a deep, calamitous crash of metal and wood. Though the point of impact cannot be seen from that vantage.. an arm falls down from the top of the deck and breaks against what remains of the tennis court.
Is that it? Can we get a feed from one of the mast cameras? Where's our technician?
All seems quiet for a time. Until a silhouette rises from the top of the promenade. It is wrecked. Stripped gears hang from its chassis, dangling precariously from cables. The machine labors--it can still move--towards the edge of the promenade.. and stops there.
click.
The machine's eyes, previously glowing bright, dim. A moment later, they go dark. The contraption falls silent.
Hm. Looks like that's all 25 cents will buy you. WINNER IS MOMO KARUIZAWA! What a spectacular match! The unfettered aggression! The damage! All things considered, that replica did better than even I expected. Hiretsu, what did you think?
.. Hiretsu?
Huh. Where'd he go?
COMBATSYS: M0M0 takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Momo 1/--=====/=======|
COMBATSYS: M0M0 can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Momo 1/--=====/=======|
Heavy panting suddenly stops as the malicious silhouette with the glowing eyes appears on the edge of the promenade deck, Momo watching with bated breath. Her muscles tense, her grip upon her racquet tightens. Is it still going!? When the lights go dim, the tennis player breathes a sigh of relief. It's over...
Wait, over? That means she won! She points at the machine on the upper deck with a frown on her face, and declares loudly, "Boo, evil robot clone." Then she spins around once, and raises her weapon into the air triumphantly. "Hooray, Momo!" She doesn't know if this means she's in the tournament or not, but it DOES mean she's managed to one-up the ninjas, and that's definitely something to brag about.
Well, that was an amazing, amazing match, all held aboard the proleteriat's infamous arena flagship Suiryuu! Jinchuu brought it to you first ladies and gentlemen, the first ever real life MIRROR MATCH! .. though I don't know if they could really call it that.. that thing kinda needed a better paint job... oh well. This is Enzan Shikimachi, your adorable announcer from Fight News who got heartlessly abandoned by guest commentator Hiretsu.. eh.. Hiretsu.. (what is his last name anyway? oh I'll just wing it--) --heartlessly abandoned by HIRETSU OPERATIONS DIRECTOR. Always keep fighting and Fight News in your heart--I'll see you at the next match!
Meanwhile, atop the promenade deck, the ruined automaton stands still as a statue. Effectively, a rather silly looking gargoyle. Most people would be kept away from it by the crew after the fact--security measures, they say, until the Director can come with the final deactivator key. Until then, it's more or less just furniture.
At least until some time during the late night, when the machine begins to tick softly, obediently punching a set of boot check diagnostics onto a roll of tape.
Log created on 21:37:03 09/21/2007 by Momo, and last modified on 03:46:15 09/22/2007.