Description: Highwire antics! (Kind of.) Frei vs. Aislinn vs. Aranha--and Aranha proves every bit as spectacular and agile as his namesake... at least until Aislinn finally catches him in the face--which leaves Frei a puzzled winner. (Winner: Frei)
The Cirque du Soleil! A surreal circus of bizarre proportions, a circus that focuses not on clowns or magic tricks but a complex set that enables amazing feats of derring-do and acrobatic flair. Right now, a lavishly-made up emcee is standing out in front of the setup, full of ladders and long thin poles and ropeswings.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," he intones, in a deep, dramatic voice. This is one man who knows how to sell a show.
"TONIGHT, WE HAVE FOR YOU, A SPECIAL TREAT! In conjunction with the Saturday Night Fights, the Cirque du Soleil has graciously agreed to let its stage be the setting for a dazzling display of acrobatic combat!! The three fighters lined up for tonight will utilize the Cirque du Soleil in their heart-pounding effort to come out on top!! And now!"
A large spotlight *flares* on, spotlighting none other than Aislinn, standing on one of the high platforms, dressed in her usual NESTS outfit. "Your first fighter this night! A woman known as the Silent Assassin to her friends -and- her foes! Aislinn Doyle!!"
Aranha hadn't signed up for SNF this week, which made receiving a call from Howard Enterprises a complete shock to him. After finding out that they needed someone to fill in, the Dancing Spider agreed. Perhaps he should've looked at the fight card first.
When he found out the scenario for the fight, he instantly understood why they called him in. It was entirely possible he might have been asked to do this had he signed up. The high flying act was his strong suit and this was the ultimate playground for him.
A spotlight then shines upon a man hanging upside down from a rope with it wrapped about his leg. The announcer then continues, "And next we have a man, who uses a combination of Capoeira and Parkour, known in fight circuits as the Dancing Spider. Aranha!"
Frei received the call from the SNF people about the location and the premise of this fight on Tuesday, while pulling a shift at the YFCC. Passersby who watched his expression saw the following:
:D! :D! ...o_oa? ...D:!
Because let's face it, kids, is there anywhere on earth more appropriate to Frei's fighting style and public persona than Cirque du Soleil? I say thee nay. That news cheered him immensely. After all, he loves glitzy costumes and having fun and bright colors. There's the MINOR issue of the deft acrobatics, high wire acts, and other acrophobic miscellany, however, that brought on the attack of D: face. After all, while Frei is certainly in as good shape as anyone who fights for a living could be, flying through the air with the greatest of ease, for him, lacks... well, the greatest of ease.
But he fights on! For the children!
Having done some sightseeing in Toronto ahead of time, Frei made it backstage late this afternoon... to find that a few of the costuming people were ready for him, apparently being fans of some of his old hits like the Rag Rappy suit. Herding him into makeup, the monk was thus cloistered from the SNF crew and other fighters until now, when they're shoving him on stage...
...and out walks, well. It starts with a form-fitting bodysuit in deep hunter green, and scattered around it are leaves in all sorts of autumn colors: red, gold, bright yellow, like a patchy tunic. His headband is gone, and drawn up the side of his face and on his hands, like a mendhi tattoo, is a dark green pattern of ivy leaves. It's very Cirque du Soliel, but on the Irish-ish features of Frei, it actually works pretty well.
Against all logic, HE looks embarassed over it, while the announcer sweeps a hand out. "Finally, our third challenger, the maddest monk since Rasputin... Frei Renard!"
COMBATSYS: Aislinn has started a fight here.
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Aislinn 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here.
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Aislinn 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aranha
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
"And there they are! Your three fighters!" The costumed man turns to the fighters. "Fighters, ready! AND!"
Suddenly he begins descending, disappearing down a trap door elevator. His voice echoes throughout the arena, over the loud cheering, thanks to the PA system. "FIGHT!"
Aislinn doesn't seem to react at all to ANY of the festivities... reverting a little to her previous style of fighting... but the SNF demands creativity and acrobatics. Well, fine; she will provide such. From her high perch she has any number of paths to her opponents... and the first one she picks is Frei.
Just after the fight is called, Aislinn... begins running. Running -down- one of the cables, one that is just taut enough to support her weight. It's impressive, but perhaps no more or less so than the way she gathers the tension underneath her to leap into a dazzling, twirling tumble... that ends with her trying to come down on Frei with both feet.
Aranha had been studying the paths that the other two fighters could take to him and he's fairly surprised that the Silent Assassin didn't take the opportunity provided by the fact he was hanging upside down. He doesn't wait for them to change their mind though. Instead he unwraps that leg and leaps off towards the trapeze.
Swinging from the trapeze he launches himself to another rope before swinging at the two other fighters Indiana Jones style and directing a foot right for the Silent Assassin's side.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Aislinn with Ame no Murakumo.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 0/-------/----===|
The D: face continues.
Could it be that actually being on Cirque du Soleil, or in that weird costume, or some other combination of these factors, has finally cracked Frei's facade? Are his tights too tight? Or perhaps he's just... not a very good fighter. Whatever the reason, he doesn't process that Aislinn's coming at him until far too late to do anything about it, though he tries; there's a faint flicker of wind around his hands as he turns and looks up, before Aislinn's feet catch him double in the chest and send him, well...
...flying. He's pretty light, after all, and he goes tumbling through a set of barrels set up for one of the clowns' routines. Which is fine and all, as he lands behind them on his back... then the barrels fall on top of him. Oh, dear.
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Aislinn with Medium Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 0/-------/----===|
Aislinn lands, tucking and flipping backwards, as she's forced to reuse some of her kinetic momentum... and Aranha's timing proves to be excellent. His flying kick catches Aislinn -just- as she tucks--and she has nothing underneath her to help mitigate the sudden transfer of kinetic energy. The crowd 'ooohs' as Aislinn literally goes flying--off stage. Well, that was certainly painful, wasn't it? For a moment it seems as if Aislinn is destined to make a quick exit--there's puzzlement as she doesn't reappear for a moment.
But apparently there was a trampoline around, or something--because Aislinn is suddenly flying through the air yet again, tumbling acrobatically. Her path is destined to take her past Aranha, her body a tight ball of leather and flesh. As she tumbles, she suddenly kicks out with her right leg, which scythes out as she passes over Aranha... her heel aimed to smack him in the head.
Oh, and the audience is treated to a flash of energy as her kicking leg cuts a path through the air, red-white electricity sheathing her right leg.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn successfully hits Aranha with Light Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 0/-------/----===|
The Dancing Spider felt a satisfying impact on his foot. He knew that he hit the Blackjack Operative just right. The problem is that afterwards he begins to spin out of control. And that gives Aislinn the opportunity she needed. Aranha manages to regain control just as red and white lightning cleaves its way into him taking him off the rope befor he could raise his legs to intercept the kick.
Aranha's hand snaps outward as he falls towards the ground to grab a platform and when he gets both hands on, he muscles himself up before moving to the next platform and quickly climbing up a pole and kicking off of it to hit the ladder at a precise height to propel him right for Aislinn's head and then bounding off to move closer to the monk.
Did Aislinn... kill Frei? Did the barrels kill Frei? He's not Mario! If he's killed by barrels there's no coming back!
Yeah, whatever.
In a sudden burst of light, the barrels suddenly go flying, as Frei... well, blasts his way out of an early, wooden grave, breathing heavily. A few of the decorative leaves on his sorta-tunic are torn, and the ivy drawn on him is a little smudged, but he seems no worse for wear otherwise. Except for the fact that he's STILL flushed, either with embarassment or exertion, his faint freckles standing out.
He doesn't even SAY anything; he just finds the nearest fighter -- Aislinn -- and, throwing his hands forward, unleashes a person-high shockwave of multicolored energy right at her, even as she drives at Aranha, with an inarticulate "HNGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
After a moment, while the projectile flies onward, he murmurs, "Why did it have to be *tights*?"
Apparently there are things that can shame even Frei.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Aislinn with Hadou Souran.
Glancing Blow
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Aranha 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn endures Aranha's Sky's the Limit.
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Aranha 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 0/-------/-======|
Hmph. Double-teamed. Well, she's come to expect this kind of thing. Aislinn darts forward, attempting to avoid the splash of energy from Frei; she's only partially successful, as that shockwave is just larger than to be expected. And Aranha? Well, his kick bounces off her head, for sure. But she didn't really try to move away. Instead, she's bracing herself for the attack, and checking where she thinks Aranha is going to go...
So even as she's impacted, she's thrusting a hand up, and out, and just as Aranha leaps off, her internal cybernetics are preparing a flare of energy, processing it... and a laser-like blast lances out from her extended fist, aiming to strike Aranha right in the back.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Aislinn's Diamond Flare.
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Aranha 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 0/-------/-======|
While in mid-air Aranha easily notices that Aislinn is not moving to defend himself. A sense of urgency comes over him and he finds himself taking advantage of the moment to brace to gain a more stable foothold on the NESTS agent and then pushes off harder than he had originally intended in an attempt to get away and he's rewarded for his efforts.
It also has the side effect of causing him to overshoot Frei and he lands on the ground dropping into a roll to prevent injury from the landing. Once back on his feet he spins around and then performs a cartwheel right at the monk and crashing into him one foot after another. As much as he'd like to go after the Blackjack operative some more, it's just not part of his current plans.
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Change-Up Kick from Aranha with Strong Throw.
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Aranha 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/-------/=======|
Once he's got the screaming rage out of his system in the form of a fireball of sorts, Frei actually seems to calm down a little... possibly too because for five seconds he's not being assaulted by either other fighters or the landscape. "Ha... ha... sorry," he says, rubbing the back of his head... and carefully standing behind or around things so that the camera is never looking at his hips.
If Frei's friends were here, they'd probably find this fascinating, hilarious, or both.
However, the reprieve does not last long. The monk's eyes -- which match his green costume perfectly, by the way -- track the Dancing Spider as he flies up and overhead. Turning quickly, Frei has just enough time to process the incoming kick and, thinking quickly, snaps out a hand and GRABS the first cartwheel right out of the proverbial air. Wincing in pain, since such defenses aren't easy, he nonetheless gets his other hand on Aranha's calf and hurls all of his weight to the right, starting to spin. Midway through this impromptu knockoff Giant Swing, however, the cyclonic motion is added to by... well, a real cyclone of wind chi that swirls up around the two fighters before Frei simply *lets go*, sending the Spider flying. "Sayonaaaaraaaaaa!" Frei says, before the spinning and the dizziness send him ass over teakettle as well. Oops.
It seems Aislinn has a rare moment to herself; she intends to take the most use of it. A simple crouch, and leap--and she leaps higher than it would seem a girl of her size -should- and she's standing on one of the high platforms. Standing there... and doing nothing.
Or so it appears; the flow of chi is evident to Frei at least, and probably Aranha, as she builds her own power, feeling that she's going to need it pretty soon... in any case, it's going to help in other ways as well.
From her vantage point, she watches as Frei executes a rather impressive manuever--something he tried to do to her, in a way, she thinks... and she is rather glad he failed.
COMBATSYS: Aislinn gathers her will.
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Aranha 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Aislinn
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Frei 1/-------/=======|
Aranha is whipped around like a rag doll before hurled off and thrown to the winds. His body spins around until his body hits a ladder and bends on it with a sickening crunch. Though most of that sound might've hit the ladder. Aranha struggles to fight off the feelings of nausea.
"If that was a park ride, I want a refund. It made me sick." He uses humor as a defense mechanism but truth be told he's hurting. He slowly rises to his feet and then decides on a plan of attack. He can't exactly put his finger on what Aislinn is doing but he knows he wants to put a stop to it right away.
He runs quickly his footsteps quiet and efficient before he swings a blue glowing roundhouse followed by a spinning jumpkick powered by the spin of the previous kick and finishing a backflip kick driving a glowing foot down upon her head.
Getting back on his feet, the monk finds that his opponents are... at it again. Well, that's fine by him, since he's still a little dizzy from that last attack. "Man, I am so the wrong guy for this," he says as Aranha flippy kicks away like the agile beast he is... and Frei saw first hand what Aislinn is capable of with aerial acrobatics too. By comparison, the monk is feeling a little slow and clunky.
Still, there's something to be said for going out there and getting back in the fight, and that's exactly what he does. Ducking toward Aislinn and Aranha at a low run, he tumbles forward, plants his hands, and LEAPS toward Aislinn's high perch, hands already glowing blue-purple as he attempts to front flip over not only the Silent Assassin, but also her attacker... to grip Ais's shoulders as he passes by, twist her about, and deliver a nice jolt of crackling electricity all at the same time!
With such a complex plan, how could it fail?! (Answer: A lot of ways.)
COMBATSYS: Aislinn dodges Frei's Charged Throw.
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Aranha 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Aislinn
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Frei 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Aislinn with Aggressive Dance.
- Power hit! -
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Aranha 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/-------/=======|
Once again, she has to deal with the two deciding that she's the bigger threat. Though she had planned to build her power for a final attack... instinct takes over for her, better or worse, and she abandons that plan in order to avoid Frei entirely. That does, once again, put her at Aranha's mercy; she's kicked several times, that blue chi just adding a bit more pain to the whole process. It's a wonder she hasn't just gone down already, really; of the three fighters she's certainly taken the most -hits-...
But Aranha is the one that's pissing her off the most. As she recovers from her failed defense, she seems rather intently focused on the Capoerista... and she simply lunges at him. No art here, no intent to be flashy or original. She's simply seeking Aranha's nose with her right fist, in a clean, swift punch, as she simply propels herself right for him. She doesn't really care -what- Frei does, right now.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Aislinn's Medium Punch.
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Aranha 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/-------/=======|
Aranha leans away from Aislinn's punch knowing full well that he has her full attention and he pulls himself just a centimeter away from the punch and inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. He then waits for Aislinn to draw back her punch as he plants his hands on top of her head and vaults over her to put himself right in front of Frei.
He isn't going to use fancy tricks this time, he just spins around, thrusting a powerful side kick into the bread basket. On the other hand there's a bit more of a laid-back smile for Frei than there was for Aislinn.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Aranha's Strong Kick.
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Aislinn
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Frei 1/------=/=======|
While Ais and Aranha are showing all sorts of fantastic aerial agility, Frei is sort of flopping around like a landed fish. Case in point: as the Assassin slips free of his acrobatic attack, the monk is now forced to consider things he hadn't before, like... oh, *landing*. Instead of a graceful three-point which gets roaring ovations from the crowd, he sort of... tumbles downward and rolls to a stop in an ungainly sprawl. At least the tights didn't rip!
No time for doublechecking the package, however; Aranha's sailing in for a kickful of pain. Wincing, Frei doesn't have time for tricky defensive maneuvers and just slams his forearm into the kick, gritting his teeth as the defensive maneuver cuts down some but not all of the damage. "I shoulda done more on the springboards and parallel bars in school," he mutters, as he sends a good old fashioned fist right for Aranha's jaw before he can back away, a corona of searing flame surrounding the blow for extra nastiness.
He... he laid hands on her. That... see, that is just... Aislinn snaps, internally. She's conditioned herself against the reaction, when it comes to punches, and kicks. Even when she's up against someone who uses grappling maneuevers primarily. That she understands. But this--this casual touching, leapfrogging her? Frei got away with it once. Aranha is a bit more unlucky to have to deal with the brunt of Aislinn's rage, as silent as it is.
She lunges. It's that simple. She lunges for Aranha, and the light in her eyes has gone from concentrated to utterly dangerous. In her eyes, she's seeing red, a very dark red that is focused entirely on Aranha. Very few are the people that can get away with a casual touch. Many who have done so--either accidentally or deliberately--have found themselves very much wishing they hadn't, afterwards. Perhaps Aranha will find this also.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Aranha with Fierce Punch.
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Aranha 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Aranha blocks Aislinn's Momentum Overdrive.
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Aranha 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/------=/=======|
Aranha gets the feeling that everything has changed. As the fiery punch makes impact he gets sent backwards. It was only a matter of time before something like that landed. It's a miracle that he can get a hand up to deflect lunge leaving behind a likewise jarring impact.
He shakes out his arm growling in pain. Even just that was more powerful than the attacks that Aislinn landed outright. He begins to move towards the cyborg and lashes out with kick after kick each kick glowing with blue chi before finishing with a series of spinning handstand kicks all glowing with blue chi.
It might make Aranha feel a little better to know that after he *delivers* that punch, the monk has to shake out his hand afterwards from the ringing impact. Chi or no chi, Frei is much more comfortable using grappling techniques that focus on leverage than just popping someone on in the face. When he finally gets a grip, however, he sees that the Silent Assassin is once again dancing with the Spider... and for a moment, the monk begins to wonder if there's something going on there that he doesn't know about.
However, rather than let the opportunity go to waste, Frei decides not to get involved, instead pulling an Aislinn circa 2 minutes ago or so. He shimmies up one of the ladders and stands precariously on a high-wire, displaying that while his acrobatics need work his sense of balance is top-notch... as long as he doesn't look down.
Which he does.
The chi that had begun to swirl around the monk wavers, flickering colors in the air, as he briefly pinwheels his arms backwards and forwards, trying to get himself to stand upright. "Yeah, that's right!" he shouts, full of stupid bravado. "I meant to do that! Flying Wallendas, eat your hearts out!"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Aranha 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Aislinn
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Frei 1/-======/=======|
COMBATSYS: Aislinn endures Aranha's Royal Flush.
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Aranha 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Aislinn
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/-======/=======|
Aislinn is bound and determined to HIT Aranha. A blocked attack isn't good enough. She wants to hurt him for what he did to her, even if it is what most would consider a minor offense--if any at all. So she stares down Aranha's swirling storm of kicks fearlessly.
They pummel into her, they crash, they smash. She'll be out of the fight soon enough. But before that, she wants to put the hurt on Aranha in a manner like you wouldn't believe. See, she's fought Capoeristas before, and she managed then... now? Well, now she's staggering towards Aranha.
Her goal is to grasp him by the shoulders... to hold him in place...
... and to deliver a single, hellacious, headbutt to Aranha's nose. It's the only thing she has left that she even wants to try; success or failure, she's taking herself out of the fight thereafter, literally walking off the stage (well, limping).
COMBATSYS: Aislinn can no longer fight.
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Frei 1/-======/=======|====---\-------\0 Aranha
COMBATSYS: Aranha fails to interrupt Brutal Hammer from Aislinn with Bad Beat.
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Frei 1/-======/=======|
COMBATSYS: Aranha can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Frei 1/-======/=======|
Aranha knows from the moment that his shoulders were grabbed that he was going to receive a headbutt to his nose which already has been deformed from breakages in the past. In a last ditch attempt to protect his face he lowers his head to deliver a headbutt of his own. Unfortunately, He doesn't get his head down quickly enough. Aislinn's forehead meets his own and then he falls down, completely unable to stand. He's already unconscious by the time his head hits the ground.
Here is the problem with grandstand power charge posing: usually you know when to STOP when someone tries to punch you in the face.
Nobody tries to punch Frei in the face.
In fact, he has a grand old time monkeying around on the highwire for a while. He doesn't do anything too dangerous, just some high stepping, or spinning on the ball of one foot, even one handstand that gets some appreciative nods from the crowd. Of course, emboldened he then tries something ridiculously stupid, like a cartwheel... and then plummets to the ground from the highwire in a screaming, flailing mass.
Like so:
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Frei with Random Weapon.
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
...of course, that's not enough to keep Frei down in the slightest, and he gets up and dusts himself off just as the announcer comes over and raises Frei's arm, causing the monk to blink at him in confusion. "And your winner this evening... Freeeeeei Renaaaaaaard!" Turning the mic to the monk, the emcee follows up. "Do you have anything to say about tonight's match?"
Nodding his head solemnly, Frei takes the mic. "Yes," he says in a grave tone. "Never agree to wear tights on international television."
Iris out!
Log created on 22:00:26 01/14/2008 by Aislinn, and last modified on 18:58:54 01/15/2008.