Description: A 'surprise' match in the hidden dojo aboard the Suiryuu has both fighters looking... well... surprised! Arika reaffirms her dislike of Psycho Power. Zach gets to learn firsthand just what the punk rock princess can do. Will uncontrolled power be the end of the diva, or will she live to die another day? (Winner: Arika)
Zach has been off of the Suiryuu for a couple of days. He kind of hopes things have not gone TOO crazy in his absense, but he needed a break from the ship. In the meantime, he had worked off some of his backlogged match-ups with the Neo League. So it is moderately surprising when Zach's next fight reads:
Arika Fade: Dojo, Suiryuu.
Zach blinked once or twice at the card, and decided to get there ahead of time. He sits on the mats, legs crossed as he ponders. He knows the Punk Rock Lady is a figher; she wouldn't be in the tournament otherwise. But he does not know /how/ she fights.
Looks like he will be finding out soon!
Too crazy? Entirely depends upon one's definition of 'crazy'. There's been no trucks ramming into the side of the ship, no missing person's reports (that she's aware of), and no one has been tossed into the garbage hold this week, and no one else has fired off bazooka rockets into the dark night.
Arika has, for the most part, just been completely focusing on her information gathering. Seems to have paid off, since last night she hit a windfall of information that changes things immensely. Working it all out in a notebook in her cabin, she's surprised to find an official looking note slipped under her door. Figuring it for her interim roomie, she goes to leave it on his pillow. Curiosity gets the better of her though, and she fingers it open.
Neo League.
Zach Glen: Dojo, Suiryuu.
She's not gone out of her way for a match since they started up the new season. Wasn't expecting to get a fight set up here on the ship. Marcy was supposed to take care of that and inform them of her unavailability. Needless to say, she's surprised and intrigued.
Slipping into the dojo, she peers around -- not for her opponent, but to try and figure out where they are hiding the cameras... and to ensure that the bazookas are still in place so that they can be pilfered later on.
Zach's hard to miss; he's sitting square in the middle of the room. He chuckles as Arika pokes around. "The cameras are pretty well hidden," he says. "And I think this place is a bit of a throwback; nothing explosive but me in here."
Zach hops to his feet, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. He grins a bit as he adjusts his cap. "Ready when you are, Arika."
COMBATSYS: Zach has started a fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Arika has joined the fight here.
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Arika 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
"So they are," she remarks in a coolly neutral tone. Her voice isn't meaning to be offensive, she's just gearing up for a serious fight instead of just a sparring match. Popping her neck to either side, the diva glances in the most obvious place a camera could be lurking. Bringing a hand up to her lips, she blows a kiss at the area and then winks.
Since she's been shown an indication of just what Zach is able to do, she decides to start things off a little differently than she normally would. Stretching her body back, she starts to bop her head to a light beat. Odd, because there's no music being pumped into the room. After a second, she makes a wide, circular swing with her head to the left. Repeating the motion she steps forward. A third circle is done much more rapidly before she simply SLAMS her head forward and down, attempting to crack the top of her forehead to skull and dizzy him a little.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Harmonic Headbang.
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Arika 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Zach
Zach stumbles back a bit as the headbutt hits home. He grins slightly; the hit stung, but he has been hit a lot worse lately between Roy and Ryo. He sets for a moment, pondering for a moment before going with something simple. A technique that he has honed through a lot of practice.
He tucks his left fist by his rib cage as that purple energy flares around it. Zach takes one step in, and fires off a quick straight at Arika's shoulder. The energy, which matches his hair color almost exactly, lashes out as the fist stops. It never really leaves his arm, it just seems to stretch a bit.
COMBATSYS: Arika blocks Zach's Sting.
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Arika 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Zach
Expecting something of the kind, the diva manages to twist to the side and use her forearm as a shield. It's the odd energy that strikes her painfully. Only been up against something of the sort back in Thailand, and it's -not- something she wants to continue to deal with.
"Nice pyrotechnics."
Despite the shock the purple energy sends to her system, she's not about to back down. Smirking, Arika snaps a quick jab toward the side of his cheek.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Jab Punch from Arika with Sparklers.
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Arika 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
Zach /sees/ the punch coming in. It's fast. He gambles that he can be faster. Using the hand that didn't throw a punch, he spreads his fingers wide. Energy flares to life in a very, well, pyrotechnic display. He attempts to simply sweep those sparks across Arick's flank.
He is not fast enough; the punch cracks him in the jaw for the second time in a week, causing him to stagger back a half step. "Thanks," he mutters.
Energy displays are always fascinating to the diva's calculating mind. Each is examined to see if she can utilize something like that on stage during a performance. As flashy as her chi-bursts tend to be, with them comes quite a bit of uncontrolled power and she'd much rather -not- wind up killing her fans in an accidental explosion.
"Welcome."
Very little time passes between that exchange though, and Arika's already moving in again. Distance is kept, but only for a specific reason. Pivoting on her heel, she springs the outer edge of her foot upward in the direction of his stomach and attempts to knock him back into the sliding rice paper doors in the back.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Arika's Light Kick.
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Arika 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Zach
Zach's torso twists in a swift manner. Arika likely did not know that Zach could move as fast as he did there, but the kick flies past.
Zach's response is fairly simply. He reaches for Arika's kicking leg, and then twists some more, attempting to throw the Diva to the mat.
If lack of control is what Arika's concerned about, perhaps the two should exchange stories some more.
COMBATSYS: Arika fails to counter Strong Throw from Zach with Diva Allegro.
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Arika 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Zach
Feeling hands upon her leg, the diva reacts accordingly. Her body twists a little, and her right hand shoots out as she leans in toward her attacker. Her fist never strikes solid though, and just like that, she finds herself upon the mat.
Arika -knows- wrestling tactics though. Even if Zach doesn't know them, she's preparing for a pin to fall upon her and so she's rolling to the side and drawing herself up to her feet regardless. Not a chance she's just going to lay there for him to come in at her again.
Zach is not following up, strangely. As soon as Arika is on her back, Zach takes two quick hops back from her, as if wanting to keep some distance.
He's breathing a bit heavily, but that slows down after a moment or two.
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
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Arika 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Zach
Things aren't going as easy as she would have expected. Time on this ship is making her lax in her training, and it's showing. Arika watches as her opponent attempts to catch his breath, but she takes no time at all to catch hers. Rushing toward him, the diva reaches out to grab at his right arm. A successful grab will see her wrenching his arm and yanking him down toward the mat. Dropping down herself, she'll twist and try to drive his shoulder into the tatami mat.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Quick Throw.
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Arika 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Zach
Zach hits the mat with a heavy thud, a grunt escaping. He's been fighting almost daily during his time off the ship, and you could hardly tell. Zach does not try to pull the arm away, but simply aims the palm of that hand at Arika.
She might recall the incident at the pool; the power seems to escape the easiest through his hands. That goes double for the psychic volleyball that appears in his hand.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Arika with Impulse Flare.
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Arika 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Zach
Volleyball - not a sport Arika is overly fond of.
Psycho Power - not an energy type the diva likes at all.
"Bloody 'ell," she mutters as the energy hits her in the chest. At least it's not drawing up images of her friends dying, or singing songs of Hell at her, but it still -hurts-. Trying to slam him away from her, she spins about and jabs her elbow back toward his face.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Medium Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Arika 1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1 Zach
Inducing images would require understanding and control of his power. Zach... lacks both, actually. He staggers away from Arika's bruising punch, trying to put some more distance between the pair. He reaches for the weapons rack, grasping one of the blunt weapons there. He snags a club, and slings the weapon right at Arika's breadbasket with the intent to wind the girl.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Arika with Thrown Object.
- Power hit! -
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Arika 1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1 Zach
Ooof. Weapons. Another bane of Arika's existence.
Air knocked out of her, the diva doubles over. Arms clutch around her stomach, and she doubles over. This does not stop her in the least though. A -sane- person would be trying to catch their breath. A -sane- person would be focusing on their opponent so they could find away around their defenses.
No one ever said that Arika was wholly sane.
Barreling forward, she uses her doubled-over position to attempt to advance on Zach. Nearing the weapons rack, she makes a grab for his sides in order to hoist him up off his feet and fling him toward the opposite wall.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Arika with Sparklers.
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Arika 1/----===/=======|=======\======-\1 Zach
Zach clasps his hands around Arika's waist in an attempt to block the throw, before channeling power through his hands again. Sort of a 'Rib Shocker' on crack, if you will.
Instead, the diva's speed proves too much, as his hands slip free and send him smashing into the wall. He slumps to the ground, and does not get up right away.
Zach may not be planning on getting up any time soon, but this also doesn't stop Arika from moving in. Poor showing on this fight, and she's feeling it in a big way. Needless to say, she's quite -happy- that the energy fizzled out before it could shock her.
Close enough to him, now, she throws herself into a somersault. Something new to wow the audience at home with. As she unfurls from the acrobatic move, her right fist snapping down toward his cheek. Left hand remains flat, a bright violet energy bursting forth from it. The chi-encompassed palm strikes out toward his chest as her feet plant firmly upon the floor.
COMBATSYS: Arika successfully hits Zach with Diva Allegro.
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Arika 1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach
Zach's eyes snap open a moment before Arika's strike lands. Instead of that bright green she might be used to seeing, all that there is to be seen is a dark, royal purple. You need a very good stopwatch, or mayb an excellent freeze-frame to determine what happens next. It goes a bit like this:
Arika's cheek slap hits its mark. About three one-hundreths of a second before the chi-strike lands, and it does land, a massive outburst of Zach's energy signature all but fills the small room. What happens next is completely up to Arika.
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Arika 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Arika dodges Zach's Storm Flare.
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Arika 1/---====/=======|
And here, the punk princess thought she was going to end the show with a bang! Instead, the massive outburst of energy nearly catches her off her guard. The last she was faced with such a powerful outpouring of energy, she was tossed over the side of a ship and nearly drowned -- that is -not- going to happen today.
Faced with only one place to head when she decides to get away from the burst of psycho power, she crawls along the floor to the rice paper wall at the back of the room. That stuff isn't as thin as you would expect, but the diva punches her way through it and scoots through. Sure, she could have -opened- the sliding door, but this was quicker and more effective.
When the energy dissipates, she does slide open the door and steps back out to the tatami mat. Arms raise in the air as she pirouettes in a perfect circle and kicks at the same assumed camera area as before. Foot hitting wall, she winks at the camera again and blows another kiss. Not as flashy as some victory acceptances she's done, but it'll do.
She's just happy to have survived that odd, odd energy.
As an afterthought, she glances to where she last saw Zach and tilts her head. "You alright there, mate?"
COMBATSYS: Arika has ended the fight here.
Zach's eyes are squinched shut, his breath ragged. His head is bowed, and for now Zach considers it a good thing the Diva cannot see his face. He is trying to keep the tears back. The fact that he lost does not even matter. The fact that Arika kicked the snot out of him is irrelevant.
He knows what happened just then.
He takes a moment to collect himself, "Nothing a nap won't fix." No stiff drink for him, thanks. Control is hard enough as it is.
"Let's get you back up to the cabins then." Arika takes one glance at the bowed head and then turns toward the exit. "Unless you'd rather stay a while in 'ere. Wotever is best for you." She's trying to be nice at the very least, which is odd for her. Normally, she'd leave her opponent there, but there's something about Zach's mannerisms that denotes he might be taking things a little badly -- or perhaps having trouble facing something that happened during the fight.
Zach slowly pulls himself to his feet, wiping his face with his sleeve. He looks up and... well, Arika has never seen Zach tired, but right now he looks older than his years when he faces the her. There is none of that usual grin on his face when he speaks.
"I'm... sorry about that. I didn't want to hurt you."
He's on his feet. Good sign at least. Mustn't be something she did, so she let's the worry slide away. Not her concern if he's got inner demons to work out.
Arika brushes off the apology with a wry smile. "You didn't. Wot's fightin' but pain anyway? None'a us would bother doin' it if we were terrified'a bein' 'urt." Slipping out of the dojo, she calls over her shoulder, "We can discuss the philosophy of it all another time." Zach did mention he could likely use a nap, and well, the punk princess needs to make a quick call and reevaluate the plans that have been made previously.
Zach sniffs once, and shrugs. "There's fighting and there is what I almost did to you back there," Zach says as he watches Arika leave. He enjoys that quite a bit, actually. But he does let her go, if she is so inclined.
So inclined she is. Arika's a busy woman, and just because she's on the cruise from Hell doesn't make her any less busy. She's got a manager to call about this match, a team leader to call about her findings, and a teammate to find so that plans can be reworked. She's out of the dojo and the library without another peep, disappearing onto the ship... somewhere.
Log created on 16:43:00 09/29/2007 by Arika, and last modified on 10:01:14 09/30/2007.