Description: Where in the World is Rose Sandiego? Well. Somewhere in that crazy funhouse of mirrors, a twisted hallway of infinite reflections. Which is probably gonna make it difficult for her opponents to find her. Then again, one of said opponents is Acacia, who tends to break fragile things like mirrors. And the other is Choi. Who's just generally broken in general. All those mirrors make for a pretty distorted fight...like, for example, the fact Acacia seems to be siding with Rose, not the fighter she's supposed to be teamed with. What's going on?! (Winner: Acacia/Choi)
They say Berlin is a thoroughly European city.
Which is saying a lot, and yet saying nothing - all at once.
It's one of the largest cities in Europe. One of the oldest, and today, one of the busiest and most visited. It has a long and storied history, one not always bright. It has ancient architecture - and buildings altogether more contemporary, risen from the devastation of the long wars and the divisive years between East and West. Today it prides itself as having an economy based on the service sector, a hallmark of German efficiency...and yet, at the same time, is claimed to be a jewel of liberal life and avant-garde arts.
Reflecting nothing more than the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. And nothing less.
Bewildering. Confusing.
/Eclectic/.
Which may be the reason why SNF has chosen Berlin to host this match above all matches.
Or maybe the crazy Germans were just the lowest bidder.
A crowd's gathered today, despite the poor and chilly weather, damp even for the river along the city centre. An audience of locals and fans from much further afar, clustered around the fenced-off perimetre of a large and ramshackle structure. It has the look of something temporary, which of course it is...but the scaffolding and superstructure still gleam in the rays of the afternoon sun.
In the mouth of the main entrance, Acacia Gillespie waits. Calmly, she adjusts the velcro straps round her wrists, tightening the fit of her fingerless motorcycle gloves. The gesture has the mark of long-practiced habit. She stands, her poise deceptively casual, deceptively at ease...despite the roar of the crowd behind and around her, onlookers leaning past the barricades bedecked with SNF emblems and the logos of other corporate sponsors. She gives a small toss of the head, silver hair shifting as she regards the makeshift building.
Within lies a massive twisting network of mirrors. Funhouse mirrors, in all their reflective glory, arrayed upon themselves in a man-made labyrinth, a complex maze. And somewhere in there, Acacia muses, she has to fight the enigmatic woman they call Rose.
Mind you, Acacia's not too worried about that.
With rather more consternation, she glances at her erstwhile teammate for this match.
Who just happens to be a small Korean man...
%... A small Korean man with a heart of gold! Well, iron pyrite, maybe. Clutching himself tightly, he was briskly rubbing himself in an unusually non-sexual way. Choi normally would be focusing on Acacia if it weren't for the unpleasant German weather. He assumed it would be the nice kind of wet. No, not that kind. The warmer kind. I mean, when he thought of Europe, he thought of it would be a wonderful happy place filled with milkmaids looking for a handsome stablehand like himself. Sneering, he looked into the reflective abyss. He couldn't wait to get inside the mirror room. At least it would be warmer in there.
However, he wasn't going to be the one going in first. Are you nuts? That would be suicide! Choi wasn't stupid, he knew Rose, despite her amazingly attractive body and kinky 'Psi' abilities, was nasty AND dangerous. Acacia, however, seemed tough enough to handle it. Besides, if Choi was lucky, they would wrestle. In front of him. And kiss. With tongues!
The Korean suddenly lets loose a high-pitched cackle, amplified by his shivering. "Eh heh heh heh heh! Well, uh, I see we are a step closer to being one, eh babe? So, uh, how about you go first. I mean, unless you feel cold and scared." Leering broadly, he shuffles over to Acacia, still hugging his naked arms around himself. "Because I know at least 27 ways of keeping a woman like you warm all throughout the night." He winks at her in only the way that a man twice his age could wink. In other words, the way that made tasers a popular accessory in the world.
Rose isn't wearing her usual fighters' outfit, which is part of why she's swinging by the front entrance. She moves as if she belongs here, and indeed she does; it's HER part of the world, after all. She looks over the brim of her sunglasses as she steps away from the catering table, freshly hydrated and relaxed.
She slides them off her face, smiling at her two upcoming opponents. "Well," she says, "I am very glad to see the both of you! And I hope that this will be an educational experience for you all. I would let you know, though - be careful with what you see." She then winks once - at Choi!? - before turning to step around the ramshackle structure, heading over to where /she/ goes in. (Otherwise, there's just no challenge...)
As Rose disappears around the corner of the building, the referee over near the sound boards indicates thirty seconds til match starts. How IS Rose going to get in there? Either her dark abilities, or perhaps the more direct expedient of a side door.
Acacia eyes the boards as the countdown ticks deeper to ground zero. Then she glances to the side once more. It's probably saying a lot about Acacia's composure...that she /doesn't/ recoil in horror at the realisation that she's now all alone with Choi, and will be for the next few moments of the foreseeable future. A grim picture indeed. But all she does is wince slightly, her lips pressing together.
Acacia doesn't move. She doesn't back away from Choi. Nor does she seem inclined to visit extreme physical violence upon the little imp's person, the other logical reaction to this conundrum. No. In fact, she doesn't even look at him. Quite deliberately, she turns her head away.
"Save it for Rose," Acacia advises, in belated reply to his offer, "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you...inside."
Setting the troll on Rose is probably a rather uncharitable thing to do, and probably betraying some kind of universal code of sisterhood...but all's fair in love, war, and SNF matches.
As the buzzer sounds, the air horn blasting across the lot and over the cries of the audience...Acacia strides through the entrance, her combat boots sounding faintly against the flooring. An infinity of reflections echoes her movements.
Choi gives that snazzy grin as Acacia ignores him. He takes this opportunity to give her a check over. Good height. Not too tall. Choi licked his lips briefly, and moves in closer. When she tries harder to look away, the old man look at her with anticipation. And then she drops the cockblock. No. Cockparry. Instead of blocking it, she is redirecting his libido to a different target, gaining special in the process! Now Choi's horniness was Horny EX, and ready to leap into action.
Glancing over at Rose, he doesn't catch most of what she says. But he DOES get the wink. And combined with the inside comment, Choi made up his mind. He was going to get 2nd, maybe third base. First base, the bare minimum. How could he ever refuse a girl that sexy when she wants him so bad. When the buzzer sounds, Choi watches Acacia charge forward. Staring at her bottom briefly, he suddenly felt his EX pull himself into the countless version of himself and others. Surrounded by beautiful women wrestling and fighting. Choi loves Saturday Night Fights!
The mirrors give the inside of the building a surreal appearance. Of course, it's not just a flat and open space surrounded by mirrors; that would be too simple.
Rose isn't immediately visible. She then steps into six different places, from the perspective of the front entrance; all of them glance forwards, apparently over towards that entrance, before all six of them vanish. Rose is briefly visible in three, then for a fleeting moment, just one, down some distance away...
Then six again, then none. Rose laughs, somewhere distant in the maze.
COMBATSYS: Rose has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Rose 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Acacia has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Rose 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Choi has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Choi 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Acacia
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Rose 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Choi has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Rose 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Choi
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Acacia
"She laughs," Acacia grumbles, under her breath, "does she -have- to laugh?"
Quite possibly she does. It's probably dramatic tradition when faced with a long dark hallway of mirrors and countless reflections stretching off into the unseen distance. And this is a televised fight, after all, with cameras and microphones scattered throughout the maze.
It doesn't make Acacia's patience any less thin.
She clenches and unclenches her fist, sweeping her gaze in the seeming direction Rose came from. The visual input lies, but /sound/ does seem to come from that direction. Not that the acoustics in these twisting hallways are much of an improvement.
Acacia doesn't bother to convey this to Choi. The visual cue should be good enough.
As the image of Rose fades to a single reflection, Acacia lunges in that direction, footfalls pounding against the flooring. It's not exactly an elegant manuever, but she moves -through- the space, almost more by instinct than sight. One breath, two, three...
Then she skids to a halt.
One boot snaps out, the heel crashing into the nearest mirrored wall. Silver shards spiderweb out from the point of impact as Acacia pistons a kick through the surface. But rather more than a kick - a shockwave resonates from her foot, travelling through the adjacent space. Shaking the corridor.
And hopefully smoking the quarry out.
Though this beast might well be dangerous to the hunter.
Meanwhile, as Acacia is taking this thing seriously, our plucky Korean is choosing a far less amazing path. After chasing booty for a brief distance, Choi is met with a shock. Reaching out to grab the female on that young nubile toosh, he is shocked when he meets nothing but a fine piece of glass. Choi stomps his foot, clutching his hips indignantly. This place was supposed to be a great place to have fun, goose girls, and blame it on the other girl! Now Choi had no idea where that sexy piece of hard body lovin' was.
But no matter. He could just enjoy the reflection. He grazes a claw lightly over the mirror, tracing an outline of the 18 year old. Those grooves. Those curves. Even though she was facing away, the old man was getting quite the show. The Korean leans in towards the mirror, pressing his cheek against the image of her cheek. He nearly forgot why he was here. Oh yeah. Sexy Swinging Rose. He giggles lightly, and opens his mouth wide, letting his tongue hang loose. He then moves in, ready to taste imaginary girl through the window when suddenly...
Acacia spins around, giving what looks like a glare of utter rage. Choi screams, leaping back. "Whoa, babe, I was just, uh, tasting my way to find Rose! Yeah! I sense great with my taste!" However, when she brings her legs around for the kick, Choi lets his reflexes take over. Rolling backwards, he tries to avoid what he suspects is Acacia striking out at the pervert.
His reward is bumping into a mirror himself. Cursing loudly, he feels the crash rushing through the corridor. And then, he feels it. That slight change. That extra seismic vibration. He looked around, and stared at his own reflection. A woman. He could sense the female presence nearby. With a ki shout, he blindly unleashing a upwards flying kick at his own reflection.
Hey, it was worth a shot!
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Rose with Aftershock.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Choi successfully hits Rose with Hien Zan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ///////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Acacia
The shockwaves from that brutal kick echo out into the depths of the mirror maze - and Rose stifles a cry as she's struck, visible momentarily through the shards. Choi strikes then at the same time, his own upward spinning kick hitting Rose from behind, carving a red stripe along her pale, half-bared back, making her eyes squeeze shut - before she tenses just a bit, twirling around with a flourish of her skirt to smile at the two younger warriors.
Well, she corrects herself, /one/ younger and one older warrior. Though Choi may just not carry it very well.
She opts to begin with Acacia, it seems, as she turns to face the younger woman, the grayish scarf around her neck unrolling itself and glimmering with light as it wraps around her forearm. "Clever," she says thoughtfully, before one foot rests among the glassy shards, pressing her forwards; the scarf swirls outwards into a glittering drill-like form, the light suffusing it seeming more greenish with the lack of yellow for contrast! She doesn't shout along with this strike, though Choi may notice - if he bothers to look at Rose's face - that she seems unusually intent.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Acacia with Soul Spiral.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Acacia
The light casts a distinctly ethereal glow in the hall of mirrors, reflecting crazy-quilt off the remaining shining surfaces in the hallway. It makes the move hard to trace - though perhaps even with full awareness it wouldn't have made all that much of a difference to Acacia. The blast hits her full-on, crashing into her and flinging her bodily off her feet. She crashes into a far wall, hard...impacting with the back of her head and her shoulders. More mirrors shattering in a fall of razor shards, one drawing a thin red line across her cheek as she spills to the floor.
All that, though, is nearly incidental to the far more insidious sensation of being hit with raw psionic energy. Acacia hisses, drawing a breath. So, Rose has /those/ powers, does she? Acacia's been aware of the nature of psi ever since a conversation with Athena years ago...
...knowledge, though, doesn't make it hurt any less.
Acacia brings the back of her hand to her face, wiping away the fresh trickle of blood. She looks past Rose, eying Choi in her peripheral vision, trying to communicate with the Korean man silently. She'd rather NOT exchange eye contact with him across a darkened room, but one does what one must.
To Rose, Acacia retorts, "Flattered."
She moves, again. More slowly now, feeling the pain from that hit. But glass cascades from her mottled camo jacket as she rushes the older woman, chambering one arm and flashing it forward in a straight-line punch.
Choi? Staring at a girl's face? Are you mad? No, after his randomly successful kick, our Korean friend was focused squarely on those legs and fish netting. And that sweet tender bottom, bouncing up and down, beckoning Choi to give it just a little pinch. Even as Rose unleashed her Psi energy unto Acacia, he didn't lose his focus. Choi just watched them tense and untense. They WERE talking to him
"Touch us, Choi, Give us a squeeze. We need it so bad!" The Korean nodded his head dumbly. Yes, talking buttocks. You needed big daddy Choi. The Korean didn't even see or hear Acacia. There was only one thing, and one thing only.
Ass.
With a shrill shriek, the Korean launched himself forward at the well toned female. Spiraling through the air like a football, he began to chatter like a monkey, claws out first. But instead of his traditional slashing style, they seemed to be more of a... groping style? And why was he targeting straight for her rear end?
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Rose with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Choi
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Choi's Houkou Tenkan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Choi
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Acacia
Rose has to deal with two opponents on two sides, and that makes everything harder. She pulls back, as Acacia strikes! It's not enough; that fist strikes her in the side, registering with painful pressure against Rose's own personal, indeed, /beloved/ flesh. She winces, staggering back a pace at the force of it. "Well," she says softly, "I suppose, at least, I will not have to wonder if the two of you --"
She turns her head to look at Choi as the small horny man makes his move, lunging at her, doubtless intent to give her a vicious clawed pinch of some agonizing, humiliating kind. She actually smiles, but that's because a moment later, she stops being there in a sudden flash of glittering light.
There's another rippling laugh from somewhere in the hall of mirrors, and then the mirrors light up! Rose is gathering energy somewhere, and the light from it is bouncing crazily off of a dozen - a hundred mirrors. If you can follow the pathways that the glows are outlining, it should be easy enough to find her. Of course, that might be her entire plan!
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
> /////////////////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Acacia
Well, Rose might find the whole business a laughing matter. Acacia, though...
She probably /should/ be searching for where Rose has gone. Knowing that, of course, the other woman can't -literally- have teleported. But she's still looking incredulously at Choi.vHer mouth opens, parting in an expression of pure unadulterated surprise - her eyes widening accordingly. For a second, Acacia just gapes.
..did he just...
He did.
With an effort, Acacia restores her usual mask of composure. Well. Almost. She can't -quite- keep the look of rattled distaste from her features.
"Is it," she calls out, her voice echoing through the mirrored hall, "too late to change sides?"
It's a dry question, though, sardonic. She's not -entirely- kidding...but no, she's not quite ready to violate the match rules with a pointy stick. Not just -yet- anyway. As she speaks, Acacia scans the reflections, trying to trace the source of light.
There.
She moves, striking forward, swinging a tightly clenched fist. Black leather stretches tight over her knuckles, forming over the bone. But more than just muscle and sinew rockets towards Rose. As Acacia attacks, a dull roar explodes from her skin, her own spiritual energy bursting forth in waves, a concussive rumble that drives the fist through a half-wall of mirrors, into the steel framework beneath, and out as Acacia dives through a solid barricade to get at Rose.
Oh ho ho! So now Rose was playing hard to get? Even though his powerful goosing strike missed, the midget had quite the fight left in him. Getting nothing but air, the dwarf rolls on the ground for about 4 feet before smashing into a mirror butt-first. Thankfully, he does not end up with a pane in the glass. But he lost his target. Or did he?
Even Acacia's wit could not break the old man's optimism for some quality time. "Oh, come on, toots. Do you really want to be on the receiving end of the- hey!" He exclaims, his one night partner already running off. Man, why was she so hard to break. Choi might have to start using pick up lines. He was good with those! Picking himself up, he dusts off before running along the light. Of course it was likely to be a trap.
Wait. A trap. Could Rose really be female? A wave of curiousty and dread swept over Choi. He never did the testy test. That always proved or disproved it. What would happen if Rose had him in a grapple, and pinned him to the ground, and then, then, oh gosh. Rumors of a guy meeting a supposed chick named Poison came to mind. He shuddered, and picked up the pace. He had to test this out.
When Acacia unleashes her overwhelming attack, Choi staggers to slow down. And then, with a leap and burst of energy, he dives through Acacia's legs. With a roll or three, he yells out to all open female ears. "Hey, baby. Your legs are like peanut butter, and just can't wait to spread them!" And then, he slashed at what he hoped was the real Rose, and not a reflection. Would Choi's Female Dowsing Rod help him again this time?
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Acacia's Mass Driver.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Choi successfully hits Rose with Quick Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
The mirrors are made out of treated plastic, which is probably a good thing, considering how often they're broken!! Rose is revealed in shimmering glory as she turns to face Acacia, raising her fist and the scarf swirling around that forearm. "Hnh," she says as the burning strike hits the energized fabric. Nothing but Soul Power energizes it, and yet it manages to absorb most of that killing intent, sending Rose pushing backwards and leaving her with a bruise on that arm. She swings it back --
SUDDENLY CHOI
Choi's claws slice up the side of her leg as Rose barely manages to half turn, avoiding an even more intimate encounter with the slicing gloves. As it is, her hose has a run in it, and her thigh is bleeding; she seems to lose that cool, at least fractionally, as she looks down at the little Korean gnome with the shades and the bald head and that ratty hat!
He's also still rising fractionally. Rose twists around, the scarf wrapping tight and blossoming with blue fire as she aims to body check Choi right in the mid-section, sending him, should all go according to plan, down to the plastic-shard-covered floor with a shout of effort, and burning with the smokeless, unburning flames of Soul Power! Just because it doesn't leave a mark doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, after all!
COMBATSYS: Choi dodges Rose's Soul Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Now, typically Acacia'd do something to try and -stop- Rose from turning her teammate into a telekinetically smeared cinder of blood and gristle. There are, though, certain mitigating factors.
The first is the fact that Rose's deflection of her forward charge left Acacia out of position - having being deflected, she crashed into a wall. And now her arm's rammed all the way up to the elbow, smashed straight through mirrored surface and all the way into plaster and metal substructure. It's a moment before she works herself free, so she can only watch as Rose does her level best to nuke the living hell out of Choi.
Of course...
...Acacia does seem to be taking her own sweet time pulling her arm from the wall. In fact there's a half-second where she just stands there, flexing her fingers briefly, as the last gout of azure energy erupts from Rose.
Acacia lifts an eyebrow.
"Missed," she remarks, glumly.
Acacia cocks her head vaguely at Choi, "Try that again?"
And yes.
She just STANDS there.
Genuinely encouraging Rose.
It's a moment of sisterly bonding, really, it is.
COMBATSYS: Acacia takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Well, this was not what Choi expected. Now, the positive is when he manages to close in on her. And that is a big positive there. The moment he sees the pretty skin yield to his mighty claw, he squeals in utter delight. And even better, he got a nice close look. The jury is out. And then the jury is back! Female!
The negative, however, is when she tries and counters. Psionics is never a good thing, and Choi himself isn't really an expert on it. But she looks scary sexy as opposed to tough sexy. And the male dowsing rod doubles for that kind of danger too. He waits for her to move in with that beautiful arm before he rolls back. And to his surprise, Acacia doesn't attack her! In any way! However, when Acacia motions to him, and asks the question, Choi understands.
He winks at her, and nods knowingly. "Well, baby, I didn't think you were into watching it." He coos, rolling forward. The poor uptight girl. Filled with sexual repression, that only a man like him could slowly release. Vouyers are as vouyers do, that is what his mother always used to say. He explodes from the roll, leaping at Rose's front. And if he got a good grip with his legs, he would be practice home-style tailoring from the waist up.
Through stabbing!
COMBATSYS: Choi successfully hits Rose with Zujou Sashi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Rose 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
There is a terrible slicing noise. Rose feels her skin get pierced, torn, but that's not the real action here, is it? No, that's not what the SNF cameras will be looking at. Rose staggers back as Choi gets his work going, bouncing freely as her face blanches in embarrassment. Yes, she's Italian; but even a European woman doesn't INVITE being bared open like this.
There is an instant of stillness, just as Choi brings his hands back.
"HAAAA," Rose shouts, her bare hand rising upwards as light glitters out of it, bright and radiant blue. The intensity grows so strong that Acacia's eyes may sting, stars like a thousand galaxy seeming to sparkle within the wave of expressed soul power. She strikes down with the 'blade' of the open hand, aiming right straight at the bridge of Choi's nose, the power discharging itself in a fractional instant of blinding intensity!
He may want to try to get clear.
COMBATSYS: Choi blocks Rose's Turquoise Soul Overdrive.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
And Acacia /still/ doesn't intervene. Even as the immense blast of power erupts from Rose's hand, a burst so strong she can feel it all the way from where she's standing...
...she remains where she is, watching impassively, almost dispassionately as the furious psionic energies race to consume Choi.
Oh, it's probably not altogether good sportsmanship to effectively stand there while your partner for this match gets toasted by an irate fighter, but honestly Acacia doesn't particularly care.
Besides, if the little pervert proves any more durable, she might well punch him herself...
COMBATSYS: Acacia takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
And now, it can be safely said that Choi has really won this match, as has likely countless lucky male fans at home. And female too. Unless the live censors intervene before this wardrobe malfunction becomes public. Yes, Choi finally frees those who were confined for so long. To live and breath out in the hall of mirrors. To reflect to infinity for all the see and enjoy. Breasts were meant to be free for the world to love! They are nothing to be ashamed of! Of course, Choi has upskirt photos of Tiffany in his hat right now, so maybe his opinion on the matter may be skewed.
Entranced by the ectasy of the moment, he still manages to transceded his earthly desires to a higher level of perversion. Yes, he was coming on top. That light that was burning, however, was going to be her chance to come on top. He was wound back for the next stab, yes, but now he had something more important. With a small grunt, he releases Rose and brings his claws forward. Legs snapped back, he takes it full on. The Psychic energy washes over him, the blinding glare filling the entire hall of mirrors.
And from that very same moment of blindness, the Korean blasts out forward. Both legs stuck straight out, he was sailing through the air. Burns and cuts grazed his arms, but his body was unharmed. Did the powers of Rose's own naked body inspire something great from the Korean? Things were suddenly changing now. Choi was aiming not for her breasts, not for her groin, not even her buttocks. It was her face. Yes, he was a pervert. But he was a practical one at that. And now, he doesn't have to play around to have his desires fulfilled anymore.
And he still doesn't pay attention to Acacia. After all, he knows that she must be enjoying the show in her own private way. And yes, he is thinking in that private way.
COMBATSYS: Choi successfully hits Rose with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Rose has to recover her center of gravity, she thinks as she takes a step back after being /suddenly kicked in the face/. This stings, although the feeling of damaged pride is perhaps marginally worse. Despite Choi's efforts, she's not naked so much as badly dishevelled, which may mean he has more work to do.
After a momentary look at Acacia, she vanishes in another bright sparkle of light, appearing now as far as she can reasonably /get/ from the gruesome twosome. She crouches down for a moment, wiping her face with her scarf and trying not to shudder with revulsion. Oh, she thinks, such glory I must bring them with this. One day I shall wear a leather jacket and a pair of leather jeans with steel inlets, she vows, and we shall see whose body is displayed then!
COMBATSYS: Rose gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Meanwhile, Acacia seems to be conscious of the same fact. Thinking on remarkably similar lines, though reaching a different conclusion.
Acacia watches Choi out of the corner of her eye, tracking the small man in her peripheral vision. She's not so confident as to ignore him entirely. That...would not be wise. She's not convinced he won't suddenly flip out and attempt to molest -her-.
Certainly by her complete inaction, Acacia herself has already largely thrown the rules of this match out the proverbial window.
She tilts her head towards Rose, though, regarding the other woman through the maze of reflections.
"Seriously," Acacia says, gesturing vaguely at Choi, "want me to hit him for you?"
COMBATSYS: Acacia takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Sadly, Rose, Leather makes a poor deterrent against men like Choi. As he bounces off of the Psychic Wondergirl, he lands into a handstand followed into a roll. He perks right up, filled with the spirit! "KYEE HEE HEE!" He cries, shaking his claws in the air. Thankfully, he hasn't really been listening to Acacia! Looks like the feeling has been mutual, maybe? "Oh, hey, Acacia! I hope you are filled with the same kind of energy I'm pumped with! Woo! Come on, toots, lets makes like weasels and take down this bouncy like bunny!"
Not wasting time, he looks over the mirrors passage ways. Hm. This was going to be tricky. And now his dowsing rod was going to be all out of whack! And whacking it would be a bad thing to do right now. He takes a few steps down, and hears the crunching of plastic shards under him. Plastic shards. A cunning idea began to boil in his mind. Taking a few steps backwards, he suddenly charges through the corridors of the mirrored hallway. Whirling like a dervish, he was kicking up more than just a cyclone. The shards of plastic were now his tools. He was going to cut her down, no more games. This was all him, baby.
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Tatsumaki Shippuu Zan from Choi with Soul Reflect.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
"Could you please?" Rose calls out as Choi homes in on her, drawn, no doubt, by her buxom curves. She is bracing herself, however, perhaps anticipating Choi's probable nature of response once he's whirring around. She's crouching down, and he can get a good long look at bared things for about a second before she whips her scarf up, the grayish cloth glittering green as she shouts, "HA!"
All of that force, all of that wind, all of that gathered energy turns around abruptly, redirected into a singular blast inwards by the raw force of Soul Power! Choi is quite likely to go flying backwards, to say nothing of being mildly stung by his failure to lay his dirty hands on more Italian sugar. "Hmf," Rose says, straightening up and pushing her stray jagged lock of hair back.
"It's tempting," Acacia says, blandly.
She watches impassively as Rose redirects the full force of Choi's attack, turning it back upon the Korean man in a savage display of thawarted violence. Acacia cocks her head a little, tapping one booted foot against the ground. The heavy rubber sole raps against the floor panels, crunching upon a few fallen shards of broken mirror.
She speaks over Choi's fallen form, talking directly to Rose - literally over his head.
"But. Don't know how the judges will take it," Acacia continues, making a face. She seems somewhat disappointed as she admits this.
COMBATSYS: Acacia takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Choi spin attacks right at Rose. It was a great technique! After all, it was one of Choi's most favorite strikes. It sometimes even blew up skirts! However, as Rose points out, there is a problem. Choi notices that his cyclone leaves his control. This is a bad thing, as he is in the middle of it. The shards of plastic rip into him as he is sent back the way he came. Caught in his own storm, he is tossed and turned about. As a final parting gift, he is smashed through a mirror headfirst.
He lays there, bleeding broadly across the countless leisons that peppered across his body. With a pained groan, he gingerly pulls himself out of it. Well, that was weird. It must have been one of those Psi things. Well, darn. With a grunt, he springs from the mirror, and begins leaping from mirror to mirror. A trickle of blood ooze from a large wound in his head, distorting his sight. He was fairly focused on what ends he wanted, though. Every reflection of Rose he saw he leap onto, and hacked viciously. He was trading in finesse with anger. Passing by a reflection of Acacia, he spits bitterly out at the image. "Look, unless you want to fight her alone, help me here you little snot! I think I am bleeding from my eyes!" And then, he unleashes another vicious swipe, maybe hitting the real Rose directly over the heart.
COMBATSYS: Rose interrupts Power Strike from Choi with Soul Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Choi
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
As Choi leaps towards her like some sort of hellish flea, Rose is called into action! Her eyes narrow and she leans back, letting Choi get his momentary jollies as his clawed, vicious glove hits the real her right over the left breast in a way that is going to sting for days. Then she says, "Really?"
Something gleams in her eye as light flares, making the mirrored background seem to be composed of pure Soul Power for a moment. "Good!"
Then her arm comes again, body-checking Choi right in the midsection while he descends from his airborne loop. Once again he is struck, and Rose is throwing her weight, such as it is, behind the strike this time; it does not simply reverse his chi, but rather angles to send him backwards, searing with psychic flame. "Haaa!" she cries, visibly strained by the effort - but in the end, it may just be worth it!
Acacia shrugs her shoulders, holding her hands with the palms upturned, pointing at the ceiling. She looks vaguely apologetic, after hearing Choi's outburst, her lips tightening, her mouth and cheeks twitching. She dips her head, looking uncomfortable.
"Sorry," she murmurs.
The thing /is/...when she says that, in a quiet voice, she isn't talking to /Choi/.
No, she's speaking to Rose.
Acacia moves, then, finally breaking her impasse. She surges forward, even as Choi goes flying. She mouths the apology to Rose - honestly, no offense, just business - as she balls her fist and drives a punch straight at the other woman, leather-clad knuckles flashing to her midsection.
It's probably past time to resume fighting in earnest now. Since Choi's been beaten up so badly he's started to call Acacia a 'little snot' rather than something perverted.
Seriously, that's a major improvement. Progress has been made.
Choi charged ahead. He expected to claw her to pieces. But then he got something worse. Another counter-attack. And this time, it was worse. MUCH worse. Choi cursed under his breath. He knew he should have kept with the perverted attacks. At least then he was winning! Girls fight worse when they are feeling violated! It was a stated science fact!
In any case, Choi was sent through not just a mirror, but a whole cluster of them. Shards flying through the air, it isn't clear what happened to the poor Korean. The fires were nasty enough to melt the plastic itself. The pile of warped mirror pieces just lay there. There is no sound. And then, a light tinkle.
Choi rises up from the pile, caked in blood and burns. His body looked like a giant abrasion. His clothing was in shreds. And over his left ear a pink slip of a panty drooped from his hat. He simply glared at Rose with dead eyes. He made a short jump in the air. And then, he was gone. The light of area seems to warp and turn, painting the hall of mirrors with shadows. And suddenly, Choi appears in one of the reflections. He leaps out in a blur of blood, raking at Rose in a giant slash.
COMBATSYS: Choi can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Rose with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Choi successfully hits Rose with Shakushi.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Acacia
Rose turns to face Acacia as she comes in. She's fighting normally, at least, and Rose is at least able to deal with it as if Acacia was a mere opponent instead of a depraved sex-crazed gnome! She draws one hand back towards her hip, as if preparing to provide Acacia with some sort of countering technique. Then, suddenly -
The deep gouge in Rose's side more or less finishes off that side of her dress; Rose herself staggers, her punch striking forwards without any real strength or good angle behind it. About the only thing Acacia has to worry about is that flare of Soul Power that burns between her fingers, forming a rough, unusually wide fireball.
She falls, then, groaning as she hits the safety-glass plastic-mirror shards.
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
> ////////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Acacia
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Rose's Medium Punch.
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Acacia
Faint wisps of dissipating psionic energy rise from Acacia's blocking arm, curling from the sleeve of her jacket and from her exposed skin. She lowers the limb, exhaling heavily. She pauses for a moment to catch her breath, then flicks her eyes to the other fighters.
Amazingly, she's the only one still in any condition to continue.
Acacia blinks, once. Granted that's not much of a -victory-, considering she spent most of the fight just standing there and cheering, well, Rose on.
What.
She's allowed to switch sides.
Acacia picks her way through the shattered ruins of the mirrored hall, making her way to where Rose lies amidst a bed of broken reflective plastic. Acacia extends a gloved hand, in a mute offer of solidarity and support.
"You okay," Acacia asks, matter-of-factly.
As for her actual assigned teammate for this match...
...eh, he can go screw himself.
Wait.
Okay that's probably a bad turn of phrase to use in any sentence about Choi.
After cutting through Rose, Choi smashes into another mirror. The last one standing, in fact. In a bloody pile, he slowly staggers up. Is this it? Is this his second wind? He had to inspect her body! He wouldn't have it any other-
And then, the mirror falls over, smashing him over the head. And here lies Choi, broken, battered, and actually did most of the fighting in the match. And probably Acacia will get all the credit, too. And for 'ethical reasons.' Because she wasn't the pervert.
Well, at least he will have fans.
COMBATSYS: Acacia has ended the fight here.
Rose reaches up to take the hand. "I could use a bit of help to the first aid station," she admits, without lifting her head to look up. "/Ugh/... Well, that will teach me to dress up for a fight in this way, won't it?"
At least she's got good humora bout the situation!
"Plate armor," Acacia replies, flatly.
She looks at Choi.
Then back at Rose.
"Plate armor," Acacia repeats.
She doesn't seem to be joking.
Log created on 20:08:39 03/23/2008 by Acacia, and last modified on 17:42:34 03/26/2008.