Description: Queensryche (2006). Katelynn takes a detour through the harbor just in time to participate in the local fight club. The semi-regular Elle faces off with the shotokan karate master, and discovers that there's a lot more to Katelynn than meets the eye. It's a fight down to the wire with an explosive ending.
His name is Bob Guerra. Everyone calls him 'Bobbo'. He's a short, weaselly looking man in jeans, greasy slicked back hair, and cowboy boots. He's always got the same leather jacket and surprisingly clean T-shirt. Despite his appearance, behind his somewhat irritating personality is a man that knows how to put together a few knuckleheads for some illegal fisticuffs on the dock.
Now, everyone knows that fighting in the street is more or less 'legal'. Streetfighting is allowed if it's sanctioned by the Neo League, Howard Enterprises. Most of the time, even 'unofficial' fights are allowed if they don't do a lot of property damage and don't hurt bystanders. Most people in Southtown are willing to turn a blind eye towards these sort of battles if nobody but the fighters get hurt.
What makes the dock fights illegal are the fact that they don't just allow lethal force. They emphasize it. The more deadly, the more destructive the fights, the better. For this reason, they usually don't get a lot of ranked fighters, or people that are in the spotlight very often. Mostly, they get fugatives, criminals, hitmen and mercenaries looking to make a quick buck during lulls in business.
Elle fits one of these categories.
"So. You got anything for me Bobbo?" Elle asks, striding up next to the man whom she stands over by a good four inches. The woman sees a little more tired than usual. Stress takes it's toll when you're constantly busy, and a lot more so when you don't feel like you're getting anywhere.
"Hey. Elle. My girl. My lady. Naw," Bobbo shakes his head, almost disappointed. "You're too nasty, even for some of the punks around here now. I mean, maybe before, but nowadays, all we're getting are Mad Gear thugs and Syndicate hooligans. Not your tier, babe. Sometimes we get the occassional wandering stranger, though... maybe if you hang out long enough, one will show up, yeah?"
Her name is Katherine Lynn Molina, but on the fighting circuit she's known as Katelynn. She's one of the best known female masters of Shotokan Karate. And she's definitely a force to be reckoned with in the arena. No matter how professional a fighter might be, she can still hold her own against the bigger targets. Indeed, she's making a name for herself on the fighting circuit. But why is she here in a place like this? Has she really been drawn to the dark side of fighting? Is she going against part of the code of Shotokan Karate which states 'refrain from harming others' as one of the biggest rules?
Good question. You'd think Katelynn is a random wandering stranger, but in reality she seems to be a bit more aware of her surroundings than normal. It's almost like she's intentionally here for some reason or other. Although whatever her reason is, it's not obvious just yet...
As Katelynn skulks just outside the area where the fights are about to happen, a cricle forms. It's the same underground fight fanatics as always: dockworkers who are bidding their overtime pay with a chance to make it big, depending on the odds Bobbo sets. It's simple around here. Bets are win or lose. As Elle sits on a crate, watching a Mad Gear thug named 'Damnd' go up against a Tokyo Splatterpunk in a knife fight, Bobbo becomes aware of a spectator that isn't a regular. Bobbo knows a mark when he sees one. Certain people stand out like a sore thumb on the docks. That leads him to step out of the fight he's managing, despite the money being waved in the air, and approach Katelynn, stepping lightly to reach her side.
"Hey! Hey! I don't suppose you'd happen to be a fighter," Bobbo says, already knowing the answer. "I mean, a fighter that's not just some street greaser. Hey, I got a deal for you. I got me a real fighter who's got nobody to fight, and she's getting mored by the second. Whaddya say? It's not big winnings compared to what you're used to in the rings, but it's got lots of street cred, and I'll guarantee one third of the purse."
She may not be a regular in the area, but that doesn't mean Katelynn's going to turn around looking surprised at this whole thing. Instead, she turns to look at Bobbo with a smirk of confidence. "I don't need money, honestly. To me, it's the thrill of the battle that what gets me going." She cocks her head to one side and begins to grin a little, cocking her head to one side. "Even then, none of that money's illegal, is it? As in, it wasn't used for buying drugs or robberies or anything like that, was it? Because honestly, I don't need any run-ins with the law." She chuckles a little, folding her arms.
"Whoa. It's just honest, hard working cash. Bob swears," Bobbo raises his hand. "What people do with the money aftereward is another thing entirely. Not my problem then. It's just joes betting their paychecks. Cross my heart, hope to die."
Bobbo points past the knife brawl to the intensely bored looking woman sitting on a box, a guitar laying next to her. She stifles a yawn. The fight is more circling, with short bursts of action, instead of the kinetic brawls that most people are used to. In other words, it's a 'real' knife fight. It's not terribly exciting, although the shouting from the ring of dockworkers sound like the peanut gallery is demanding blood.
"See that lady over there? Bob's got on good authority that she'll probably be able to give you a good run for your money. You want a 'thrill' in battle? Promise you that she'll be eable to provide it. If I'm lying I'm dying, right?"
The woman isn't someone Katelynn immediately recognizes, but she does seem like a formidable foe. After a moment of consideration, Katelynn nods to Bobbo. "All right, I'll take the challenge." She proceeds to do some light stretching and some shadow sparring to warm up a little. After she's done, she looks towards Bobbo again and says, "So where will this be taking place?"
"Right here," Bobbo says as he strides towards the fight in progress. "Okay you schmoes! Break it up! Break it up! It wasn't going nowhere anyway!" The shouts of protest go up as people seem genuinely mad at Bobbo for stopping the battle. These shouts stop immediately as Bob gestures for Elle. "Elle, we got your mysterious stranger. Step up and see if she's got the bottle, eh?"
As Elle stands up from her box, her hand immediately goes to the steel plated guitar by her side, the instrument flipped idly like a baton before she slams it into a holster strapped to her back. "Great," is Elle's only statement as she strides foward to renewed cheers. She rarely fights out here anymore. Watching her battle's a treat to these hooligans, since it's rare that any actual fighters show up.
Bobbo quickly gathers the cash being waved in the air. "Three to two odds for our own super bad, leather clad, wish you had, cover your eyes dad black market bruiser, Elle, against a 'Mysterious Stranger'!" He gestures towards Katelynn with the hand that isn't scooping up wads of cash. "C'mere honey," Bobbo says to Katelynn with a beckoning finger. "Let's get ready to beat some ass!"
Katelynn nods and rolls her neck around one last time before advancing towards where the fight will be taking place. She smiles as she notices all the others watching. While she's always been about honorable fighting for the most part, nobody said you can't have a little fun now and then. She adjusts her jacket so it's more securely on, and then gets into her fighting stance, waiting for the start of the match.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn has started a fight here.
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Katelynn 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Elle has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Katelynn
So this is the challenger? Elle looks Katelynn over for a second, trying to see if she knows anything about this particular fighter, and draws a blank. The stance suggests 'some kind of karate', but since Elle's not a martial arts genius much less a 'professional' fighter, what she knows about Katelynn's stance could probably be put in a thimble.
Still, it's some kind of stance, and she looks confident. It only stands to reason that Elle do what she can to hit Katelynn with everything she has.
The mercenary doesn't say anything. Instead, she bolts forward, legs churning to eat up the distance between her and her target. Her right arm is drawn back, as if to land a punch on the readied fighter. As she comes closer, Elle swings the arm forward in a straight punch action. However, her hand opens up at the last minute, and a stream of solid sonic foce bursts from her palm.
The sound is like a thousand screaming guitar riffs going off at once as she tries to basically melt Katelynn's brains, and may very well do so, unless Katelynn ducks the force cone, or covers her ears.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn blocks Elle's Metal Health.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Katelynn
Rather than attempt to make a hasty maneuver and end up with a serious injury, Katelynn blocks against the incoming attack. Don't ask us how, she just does it. Fortunately, she's not deafened in the least bit. Just a bit more pumped up for the action.
"Not bad, it looks like I'm really gonna get a challenge here," Katelynn says with a smirk, before bringing her right fist up and aiming it directly at the woman's jaw.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn successfully hits Elle with Quick Punch.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Katelynn
The punch strikes Elle's jaw cleanly, causing her head to snap back. That was rather unpleasant, but it could have been considerably worse. Nevertheless, it causes the mercenary to take a step back. Her initial strike usually puts people on the ground. Not many people seem capable of absorbing it too well. Just another interesting event that she files away for further consideration.
But there'll be time enough to consider the implications at a future date. Right now, there's the fight to take care of.
As Elle backs away, she makes scertain she's at a safe distance before falling into a crouch, her hands touching the ground. Suddenly, there's a low rumbling sensation as Elle pulls energy from her surroundings, the low bass vibrations beneath her feet pulling more sonic energy into her, charging her up.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
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Elle 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Katelynn
Looks like Elle is taking a moment to get pumped up, which is a good idea, but Katelynn doesn't need to do something like that. She's already got a rush of adrenaline inside of her. And that's what fuels fighters.
Can Elle avoid an attack while she's charging? Let's find out! Katelynn brings her right fist back, and encircles it with her chi, and then thrusts forward, sending the chi in a sphere shape right at Elle's stomach!
COMBATSYS: Katelynn successfully hits Elle with Energy Fist.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Katelynn
It seems Elle's off her game today. Normally by now, she's got her opponents on the run. At best, she's getting pummeled about by a newbie. A little upsetting to be sure, and the crowd is already screaming for her to do /swomthing/ as opposed to getting wrecked by Katelynn.
While Elle is of the similar perogative, she's not doing it for the crowd. It's more for her own safety as the fist belts her clean, sending her backwards with s stumble. Elle had best get herself back in the game if she's going to manage a win.
Elle doesn't seek to close the distance. Instead, she stands up to her full height and raises an arm. It seems that closing the distance wasn't such a good idea. Therefore, she'll work the distance game. Elle's hand charges up with power, and releases a powerful blast of electrical chi, the arcing blue bolt ripping forth to blast Katelynn across the harbor.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn endures Elle's High Voltage.
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Elle 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Katelynn
Seeing the electricity coming at her, Katelynn braces herself for the impact. It does hurt, naturally enough, but in being hit, it seems she's also gotten a slight bit of power within her (excuse the bad pun!)
Without wasting any time, Katelynn immediately springs into the air and brings her left foot down towards Elle's head. If she doesn't get out of the way, she's gonna find a boot heel hitting her.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Katelynn's Light Kick.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Katelynn
Getting out of the way isn't really something Elle does a lot. In general, she stands her ground and absorbs hits, or deflects them. This time around, Elle seeks to block, raising her arms to defend herself from the incoming kick. The hell slams into her upraised arms, driving the mercenary backward a little.
Still, it's not enough to concern her overmuch. She's still got of time to push for a lead.
Elle reaches behind her back, and withdraws a series of razor sharp spikes. Each of them are a little over six inches in length. With a flick of her hand, Elle launches a series of them at Katelynn, continuing to keep her distance between her and her opponent.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn endures Elle's Thrown Object.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Katelynn
Elle's aim is just as sharp as those spikes are, since they're coming right at Katelynn, and there's no place for her to dodge. So she brings her forearms up quickly to deflect them away. A couple of them still hit her, but she manages to deflect the majority of them.
Once that's done with, Katelynn brings her right leg forward while pushing off with her left leg, flying directing at Elle with a swift kick aimed at her chest!
COMBATSYS: Katelynn successfully hits Elle with Missile Kick.
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Elle 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Katelynn
Katelynn's attack is well placed. As Elle attempts to prepare for the impact, she mistimes the speed of the incoming strike. The foot smashes against her like a baseball bat, forcing the air to go rushing out of her lungs. Her stance, normally sturdy, falters a moment, forcing her to stumble back again. It seems that Katelynn has an uncanny knack for circumventing her defenses, despite the ease that Elle expects to counter her attacks.
Even so, Elle's not without her resources. Time to make up for some lost time.
Elle raises her fists into the air, concentrating carefully, feeling the energy build up around her. Katelynn's distance is judged, and Elle's forced to grit her teeth. Focusing her attack without her guitar is difficult to say the least... but she'd rather continue to try than to be hobbled by the instrument.
For the first time during the battle, Elle lets out an audible noise. With a sharp shout, she slams her fists to the ground, and an eruption of sonic chi hurls at Katelynn, the narrow wall of sonic energy shooting towards her with the sound of screeching dueling guitars. If it hits, it'll sting. A lot.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn blocks Elle's Black Sabbath.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Katelynn
Again with the horrible noise, and again Katelynn does her best to protect herself against the cacophony. It's very loud and annoying as well. Fortunately, Katelynn's ears aren't all that sensitive to loud noises, otherwise she'd probably be half deaf by now.
But it seems she's underestimated her opponent, which is why she decides that it's time to pull back a little and regain some fight.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn gains composure.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Katelynn
Well, if Katelynn's going to take a moment, then so is Elle. The mercenary's clearly not having a lot of luck today. Katelynn wasn't exactly underestimated, but she seems to be performing beyond of scope of Elle's own ability to defend herself. All it means is that she's going to have to take a moment to tighten up her attack and defense patterns.
Not many survive getting hit straight on by her nastiest attack and walk away without feeling it. Katelynn, however, seems to have simply shrugged it off, and that in and of itself is a little disconcerting.
As Elle circles, she takes a moment to redirect her considerable power inward, attempting to regain lost energy and put herself back into balance.
COMBATSYS: Elle gains composure.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Katelynn
OK, enough down time, it's time to resume the fight, since the crowd is here to see a fight, and it's a fight they're gonna get. Katelynn gets back into her fighting stance and advances on her opponent again.
As she gets close enough, she attempts to grab her by the shoulders and hook her leg around Elle's. If successful, Katelynn will push Elle back while tripping her up at the same time.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn successfully hits Elle with Sweeping Throw.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Katelynn
Elle hits the ground, but it's not particularly hard. The fact is, despite Katelynn's best attempts, none of her attacks seem to be causing Elle a lot of damage. The fact is, even as she rolls back and stands up, the amount of pain Elle seems to be in is fairly minimal.
Still, it's a little bewildering as to how Katelynn seems to be circumeventing her defenses repeatedly. Elle really has no explanation for it. The only real solution now is to just keep hammering away at Katelynn until she falls over.
But first, Elle steps forwad to test the other figter's own seemingly impregnable defense. Approaching at more of a brisk walking pace than a run, she turns into a step, and slams a side kick at Katelynn, attempting to break through and actually tage the woman, more to see if she can block it rather than to do damage.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Katelynn with Light Kick.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Katelynn
Katelynn knows how to block very well. But it's also about timing as well as knowing the actual technique. Unfortunately, Katelynn's timing is just a tad bit off, and she ends up getting kicked in the side, which does hurt a bit.
"Ow!" She says as she's hit by Elle's kick, causing her to stagger to the side a little. She rubs at the spot where it hit her, but it's not that painful. Nevertheless, Katelynn decides it's time to up the ante a little.
Bringing both of her fists back, she focuses intently on both of them, drawing a great deal of Chi into them, and then thrusts her fists forward, sending a larger than normal blast at her opponent!
COMBATSYS: Katelynn successfully hits Elle with Full Energy Fist.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Katelynn
This is getting repetitive. Katelynn once again breaks through Elle's defenses, and there's not a whole lot she can do about it. Despite the powerful blast, the break in Elle's defense doesn're really inflict the sort of finishing damage Katelynn might be looking for.
Nevertheless, she's pounded backward, tumbling end over end, landing with a thud against some boxes. It takes her a minute or two, but upon Elle's recovery, she can only shrug. She's not sure if Katelynn is just lucky, or actually has any kind of skill.
Time to see if she can take having her head removed. Elle charges in this time, almost leaping instead of running. As she does so, she once again plants her foot into the ground, and leaps over Katelynn. Hands grab for the girl's head as Elle tries to wrench it to one side before hurling her to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn counters 17 Crash from Elle with Palm Blaster.
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Elle 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Katelynn
Don't take Katelynn's head off, she really needs it right now. Especially given that she's prone to losing her head when she's on the impatient side of things. But she won't have to worry about that right now. Just as Elle is about to leap into the air, Katelynn ducks down and does a swift palm strike hitting Elle in the leg just as she leaps. To make it even more powerful, Katelynn's enhanced the strike with her chi.
Caught by the retaliatory strike, Elle's not precicely sure how to progress at this point. The girl sneaks past all her defense, and seems capable of blocking everything Elle tosses at her. If it's not one thing, it's the other, and Elle's starting to wear down by a considerable amount.
Hands charge with energy as Elle hurls herself at Katelynn yet again. There has to be a break in her defenses. She can't survive continuous assault forever, especially considering that Elle is going to continue to pound away at them until they crumble.
Once again, she lets fly with a massive burst of sonic energy, the loud, screeching sound of a guitar shooting for Katelynn's head to break eardrums and wreak havoc with the other fighter.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn blocks Elle's Metal Health.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Katelynn
It doesn't exactly break Katelynn's eardrums, but it does hurt nonetheless. It seems Elle is truly a fighter with an unusual style of fighting, one that Katelynn never expected to encounter. And if she doesn't keep going, she's probably gonna be humiliated by this woman. So once again, Katelynn takes a moment to rest.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn gains composure.
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Elle 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Katelynn
The mercenary's eyes narrow. Katelynn can't keep it up forever. Elle's got more than enough power left in her to ensure that. But the endless amount of defense is somewhat worrisome. The merc still can't figure out how Katelynn is capable of defending against everything. It doesn't seem possible. She's hit nastier looking targets than her, and managed to bring them down.
No time for complaining, though. Elle once again draws more energy into her. If she can't make the next attack land, then she's fairly sure that she's not goign to have enough energy to finish this battle off in any clean fashion.
COMBATSYS: Elle gathers her will.
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Elle 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Katelynn
Enough resting, it's time to return to action. Katelynn rushes towards her charging opponent and decides it's time to take her down for real. She drops into a crouch and brings her leg out towards Elle's ankles. But just before the sweep hits, Katelynn stops abruptly and then pivots around to bring her other leg to execute the real sweep!
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Katelynn's Feint Sweep.
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Elle 1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0 Katelynn
This time, Elle's a little better prepared. The assault slams against her legs, but she's able to keep herself in enough balance to manage to step back. Fighting Katelynn is tiresome, and it seems to sap much of the energy from her. So far, the two have been keeping up blow for blow, with Katelynn winding Elle down by quite a bit.
All she can do now is concentrate. One last shot to really punch an attack through and finish the fight. After all, it wouldn't do to have invested so much energy without having anything to show for it.
COMBATSYS: Elle focuses on her next action.
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Elle 1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0 Katelynn
With Elle a little off balance, Katelynn decides that it's time to bring the balance back to her. Or should we say, help her go completely off balance? Because just as Elle starts to focus on what to do next, Katelynn is running towards her, bringing her left fist towards Elle's stomach!
COMBATSYS: Elle interrupts Quick Punch from Katelynn with Black Sabbath.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Katelynn
Punching Elle in the stomach has two effects. First, it connects. It does do some damage. However, it was probably an bad thing to do, considering Elle was preparing to unleas a torrent of power just as the fist connected. With an explosive burst of energy, the sonic chi erupts from Elle's body like a bomb, blasting everything away. Katelynn, spectators, crates, barrells, loose debris, almost everything in the wake of the sonic blast goes flying through the air.
Elle, for the most part, drops to one knee, winded by the punch, but more exhausted by having to unleash such a destructive blast. The mercenary can only pause for a moment before she immediately starts to look around. Katelynn has to be around here somewhere, even if it appears nobody else has stuck around.
Unfortunately, Katelynn has pretty much been blown clean off of the docks. She ends up landing about a yard or two away. Either way, she's been hit good, and there's no more fight in her. It's over, and Elle wins again. But at least it's no loss to Katelynn, since she's earned plenty of money being a touring fighter in the circuit.
COMBATSYS: Katelynn takes no action.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Katelynn can no longer fight.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|
Log created on 13:44:27 09/30/2007 by Elle, and last modified on 02:14:26 10/02/2007.