Description: At California's famous Hollywood Bowl, the 'God of Battle' Shenwoo, and the Crazy Canuck Maxima face off... Under a time limit! Can these two finish their battle before the Chaos Agent, Kain R. Heinlein, is released to blow them both to Kingdom Come?! FIND OUT INSIDE. (Draw Match)
It was a long flight in Economy Class for the Fightin' Canuck. Wedged between a new mother with her utterly massive 2 year-old and an amateur Sumo wrestler, the massive Maxima was left with very little room. And very little patience. But, it is over now. After the cavity search at customs. And the thumbprinting. And the retinal scans. And the elbow scans. And the endless questions about his chest. And the confiscation of his boots.
BUT HE IS HERE, at the Hollywood Bowl. Clad in a pair of garish discount flip flops which go surprisingly well with his black-and-teal getup.
"Whew," he breathes, stepping out of the shady-looking cab and stretching to the left, to the right, to the back, to the front. "Remind me to buy my own jet when I become a famous billionaire." Casting his eyes over the "arena", Maxima lets out a low whistle. "Faaaaaancy."
Really now. Kain is participating in a match for SNF and he doesn't even get to fight? How disappointing. But, then again, it should provide a good opportunity to impress upon people his abilities. His strength is already fairly well known at this point, of course, but it doesn't hurt to ensure that people continue to have the proper respect. Kain reflects on this as he strides toward the stage. He also casts a tactical eye about, even if he's not going to be one of the actual fighters in this match. Primarily, he wants to determine just how much damage he can unleash without bringing the entire place crumbling down about him.
Damage to the combatants, of course, is not a concern. Even if it was, Kain has seen both of these men in action before, and he's well aware that they can take a lot of punishment. Just as well, since he has the capability to dish out plenty of it. Even if he's obliged to hold it back here, for the most part.
The blond takes up a position near the center of the stage, off toward the back so as not to get in Maxima and Shenwoo's way. No sense in taking any risks if he's not even going to be able to properly participate in the combat.
See, that's why it's good to be rich.
Shenwoo, a world-famous and renowned professional fighter, got a totally awesome seat in first class, and there was even a steak dinner on the flight over. Plus a few of the flight attendants were flirting with him, though in true God of Battle form he found these mortal games beneath him, refusing to acknowledge those antics beyond muttered complaints about them gettin between him and watching the in-flight movie.
Or maybe he was just too dense to realise what was going on. It could go either way, really.
The IMPORTANT thing, though, is that Shenwoo is here, now. In he Hollywood Bowl. To beat up a cybernetic Canadian. Standing on the stage in anticipation of the battle to come, letting the chatter from the audience - the nearly filled stadium making 'chatter' more like 'a low, dull roar' - wash over him as he mentally prepares himself for his favourite pastime, punching people; his right foot taps a stacatto rhythm against the stage with restless energy, while in his left hand the towering half-Chinese berserker fiddles with a trio of those harmony balls, though the soothing noise they produce is completely drowned out.
Notably, his dark eyes are fixed right on Kain, at the moment. Oh, he's well aware of Kain's strength... But to Shenwoo, that's less a deterrent than it would be against somebody who's, you know, not a total lunatic.
Maxima acknowledges Kain with a little mock-salute and offers a grin to Shenwoo. "Glad to see I'm not late! This Hollywood traffic is brutal," he complains, hopping up on to the stage and hunching up his shoulders. He bounces about in place on the balls of his feet, shadow boxing to warm up. "I mean seriously, you can't drive five meters without some wannabe-starlet throwing herself at your car, desperate to escape the downwards spiral she entered when she came out here in the first place."
Maxima rolls his neck. "All the track marks and the bags under their eyes are the worst part, not gonna lie." His head locks back into place, eyes open. "Man I hate Hollywood. So! What's on the menu today?"
Settling into his position, Kain crosses his arms as he observes the other two fighters. He doesn't return Maxima's salute, and both Shenwoo and the Canadian merely get cool looks from the blond man. Not necessarily disapproving, though. He knows that both of them are strong enough to deserve some degree of respect. Which won't stop him from blowing them both up, of course. "You two get started whenever you want, and don't mind me. And don't worry, I'll be keeping careful trick of the time." Kain smiles thinly, letting some black flames flicker about his right hand for a moment.
Finally managing to peel his attention away from Kain, Shenwoo's gaze soon settles on his opponent instead... Well, Maxima might not be as powerful as Kain, so far as he knows, but surely the big man is bound to present an interesting fight, right?
"Heh," the berserker laughs, his mouth pulling into a wide, wolfish grin, showing lots of pearly white teeth. "What's on the menu?" he repeats, left hand clenching with a sound of those harmony balls shattering, before the brawler simply releases the dust that's left behind to spill to the stage.
"You getting your ass kicked," Shenwoo explains to Maxima, though it's more good-natured trash talking than anything else. He settles into his relaxed boxing stance, feet shoulder-width apart and his fists raised, leading with his right, as he leans back slightly. "Hope you can at least make this fun for me... So show me what you got, okay?!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has started a fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain has joined the fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Maxima has joined the fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maxima
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Kain 0/-------/-------|
"Oh-ho! Someone's got a potty mouth!" Maxima replies, laughing and shaking his head. "Well then, let's see... what do I have here to demonstrate my power..."
Maxima trails off, melodramatically puatting at his pockets and jacket, frowning and muttering. "I know there must be /something/ in here... hmm, let me see here..." Pat pat pat. Pause. "Ah-/ha/! /This/ will show the POWER OF THE NORTH. And also, something for that dirty mouth of yours!"
Maxima reaches into his leather jacket, grabbing something in the inside breast pocket and drawing it slowly into the open.
A bar of soap. In the shape of a maple leaf. With a grin, Maxima winds up, leans back, then SLAMS his hand forward, launching the cleansing product straight for Shenwoo's mouth. "SPIRIT OF THE NORTH! FLY FOR GREAT JUSTICE!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Maxima's Thrown Object.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
And lo, the God of Battle did have his serious and cool moment ruined when some weirdo cyborg threw a maple leaf-shaped bar of soap at him. Though it doesn't actually hit him in the /mouth/, due to the fact that Shenwoo is already moving forward once Maxima throws it at him, instead getting hit in the forehead, which leaves a soapy smear behind.
"Think this is just a joke, huh?!" Shen wonders, barely missing a step as he continues forward in the aftermath of getting plunked in the head with a bar of soap. "Fine then! We'll see just how much of a joke YOU are!!"
This declaration made, Shenwoo's forward movement /speeds up/ as he crosses the distance between himself and Maxima quite quickly, rearing his left fist back and then throwing himself into a rushing lunging punch right for the Canadian's breadbasket, the heavy, metallic ring on his middle finger gleaming a bit. "GRAAAH!!" bellows the God of Battle, as he tries to blast Maxima right off of his feet with one helluva punch.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Maxima with Gekiken.
- Power hit! -
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
"Ah, kids these days," Maxima says as the soap impacts Shenwoo's forehead. He frowns. "I'd better work on my aim."
It is at this moment that Shenwoo's puch plows into the cyborg's midsection, where his bionic breadbasket resides. "Woof!" he grunts, attempting to brace himself and failing. The Fightin' Canuck flies backwards and slams into the ground, before rolling over backwards. He manages to get back to his feet, but there's a big dent in his belly.
"Wow! You punch pretty hard!" he says with a grin. "You know I /completely/ forgot we only have 4 rounds here? I guess I shouldn't go goofing off too much." A pause, and Maxima gets to his feet, clenching his fists and drawing them sharply down to his sides. "Ancient Cyborg Technique! POWER RUSH!"
Maxima's chest disc glows a bright blue, flaring up briefly as he draws on his reserve systems to give himself a boost. "Aaaah! Much better. Now then. Where were we in our little tango?" He steps forward, reaching out with his hands as if to accept a particularly beautiful dance partner. "Ah, yes! Now I remember. This is the part where I heft my partner up into the air and the judges give us 9.0, except for the American judge, who gives us 5.0 because we are not American."
Maxima attempts to do just that, and toss Shenwoo powerfully into the air.
COMBATSYS: Maxima successfully hits Shenwoo with Maxima Lift.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Dang cyborgs.
Actually, Shenwoo just looks kind of confused when part of Maxima's chest /lights up/, his expression of feral enjoyment disappearing behind an obvious 'what the hell?' look. This proves to be to his detriment, as he gets grabbed by the Canadian and then hurled into the air, which is sort of unfortunate. As he comes down, the brawler tries to roll and break his fall, but doesn't quite pull it off how he'd like, ending up with what will doubtlessly be a nice bruise on his shoulder, instead.
"You sure talk a lot, don't you?" Shen wonders, as he ends up in a low crouch. Rolling his injured shoulder once, the berserker lets the joy of battle flow through him again, and pushes out of his crouch into a low run, trying to get close enough to Maxima to snag him by his leather jacket, and yank the cyborg down while he continues to move forward...
And then impact with him, Shenwoo's forehead to Maxima's face. "SHUT UP!!"
COMBATSYS: Maxima endures Shenwoo's Strong Punch.
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Shenwoo 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Maxima holds up a hand to shade his eyes as he watches Shenwoo fly up into the sky, then back down to crash into the ground. He chuckles, lapsing into his unusual fighting stance as the self-styled God of War gets back into the fight. His left arm comes up, bends at the elbow, forearm held in front of his torso. The right arm falls straight back behind him.
"Sure I talk a lot, buddy! We're just a couple of guys, havin' a good time!" Maxima does not resist as Shenwoo grabs at his jacket, but lowers his own head so that a certain metal plate is there to meet the berserker's headbutt. CLANGGG. Shaking his head to clear the double vision, Maxima grins. "Now that's what I call using your head!" he quips. Everyone watching at home groans.
Maxima's powerful gloved hands snap around to grab at Shenwoo's shoulders. "But you know, just because I laugh a lot doesn't mean I'm not going ALL OUT! Haha! Here, check this out for SERIOUS!"
Maxima attempts to lift Shenwoo into the air, then slam his head into the opponent's midsection, then throw him into the air.
Then he tries to catch him and do the same thing.
Several more times.
"MAXIMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! REVENGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
COMBATSYS: Maxima successfully hits Shenwoo with Maxima Revenger.
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Shenwoo 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Metal plates... Are apparently not much of a deterrent to Shenwoo, as the berserker just grins hugely even after smashing his forehead into Maxima's cybernetically enhanced one. Perhaps the powers of science are no match for the power of the God of Battle?!
Though science still has a few last arguments to make, here.
When Maxima grabs at him again, Shen doesn't even try to resist, instead going with the flow, which proves to be something of a tactical error on his part. Tossed into the air and then repeatedly batted back up by the big Canadian, Shenwoo has a really bad time of things, ending up looking extremely worse for the wear by the time he impacts with the stage again. It seems like both fighters are well aware that they're working against a time limit here, throwing out powerful blow after powerful blow... And quite possibly, Shenwoo is getting the worst of it.
So why the heck is he laughing?
"Ha ha ha ha!" the Shanghai-born brawler laughs as he slowly gets back up, coughing out a mouthful of blood onto the stage. "You're pretty strong, even if you /do/ talk too much," Shenwoo declares, which means that Maxima is pretty much okay in his books. It also means that he, too, is about to go all out.
Which is why Shen steps forward and then practically seems to /disappear/; even Maxima's superior technology might not be able to keep up with the movement of the God of Battle now, as he propels himself directly at Maxima at insane speeds, his hair and shirt trailing behind him as he flickers in and out of sight, his left fist extended, carrying on it a massive shockwave of force that envelops Shen entirely, turning him into a crazy screaming human bullet... Headed right for Maxima. "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
COMBATSYS: Maxima interrupts Zetsu! Gekiken from Shenwoo with Maxima Missile.
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Shenwoo 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Maxima
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Kain 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
"Yeah, not gonna lie, I'm tough as nails!" Maxima replies, grinning hugely. "You're not so bad yourself, buddy!"
The Ragin' Canuck falls back into his fighting pose, eyes widening to an almost unnatural degree. "Ah, yes," he says quietly as Shenwoo makes his preparations to attack. "Zetsu! Gekiken," he continues, pupil shifting oddly, inhumanly. "I can see you VERY well, Shenwoo." A smile which, in most context, would be considered creepy. "So /very/ well."
Maxima's wrist clicks, loading in an Interruptor Special. The fist begins to rise, crawling through the air in slow motion compared to Shenwoo's rocketing assault. But Maxima has calculated it down to the last decimal. He knows when to strike. Where to strike. Because he can SEE you.
Maxima's arm missile fires a nanosecond before Shenwoo slams into his chest, sending the titan's planted feet skidding back several feet along the stage, digging a gouge into the ground.
But the missile, at least, seems to have done its work. Wounded but still walking, Maxima grins, pointing his spent arm to the ground. Steam curls lazily upwards into the rafters.
What the hell dude. Shenwoo isn't even sure /what just happened/, but whatever it was it kind of hurt. Staggering, barely able to remain on his feet, the brawler casts a brief glance towards where Kain is presumably still hanging out, waiting for his chance to blow them the hell up. And then, Shenwoo grins. "Looks like you don't get to have any fun," he says to the German, before returning his attention to Maxima.
He's pretty much out of the fight, Shenwoo can tell... But that doesn't mean he shouldn't try to take Maxima with him. So, a second time, he starts rushing forward at the Canadian with that blurring speed, throwing everything he has left into one final blow. "Why don't you... SEE THIS, THEN?!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo can no longer fight.
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Maxima 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kain
COMBATSYS: Maxima endures Shenwoo's Zetsu! Gekiken.
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Maxima 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kain
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, he's a sassy one!" Maxima says, casting an eye over at Kain. "I get the feeling he's going to be having all the fun he wants..."
Of course, Shenwoo makes his final assault, another bullet blow, and Maxima winces. "Man, it was hard enough to follow that the first time!" he complains, rooting himself and bracing for impact. For all the good it does.
Shenwoo crashes straight into Maxima's chest, and the cyborg closes his arms around the self-styled God of War. Blue cyber-blood spews out of Maxima's mouth as internal systems are crushed and rearranged. "Gnnng!" he cries, managing to turn in the air... so that he can use Shenwoo to break his fall. "Sorry... buddy!"
When it's all over and done with, Maxima staggers woozily to his feet, weaving to and fro as his system struggle to repair themselves. And him. "Woo..." he says, coughing up some more life-sustaining fluid. "That Zetsu! Gekiken sure packs a punch, even the second time around!"
Maxima then reaches into his jacket pocket and withdraws a weird syringe. It is full of sparkling blue stuff. Holding it up and gritting his teeth, Maxima slams it Right. Into. His. Nuclear. Heart. "HNG! HAH!"
Shaking himself off, Maxima turns to the FINAL CHALLENGE, looking confident. "Alright guy! I already won, but I'm sure you wanna get in your licks too." Maxima holds up a hand, beckoning the German. "Let's dance!"
COMBATSYS: Maxima gains composure.
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Maxima 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kain
Has Shenwoo fallen? Oh, terribly sorry. If asked later, Kain will have to say that he didn't notice, or thought the God of Battle was about to get back up. The whole time the fight has been going on, Kain has been glancing at his watch, letting the allotted time go by. And now that he's finally free to act, he's not going to hold back. If he doesn't do /something/ this whole trip would be rather a waste.
Kain doesn't verbally respond to Maxima's call, but he does lift up his right hand. There's a flash of blue light in the palm of his hand, then a few moments later a small sphere of blue chi appears a few inches in front of his hand. The chi swirls about violently and the orb pulses once, twice... and then there's a blinding flash and a deafening roar. All the cameras were placed well back for a reason... and the stage is going to need to be rebuilt after this, because the explosion is massive, leaving a crater in the center of the Hollywood Bowl. But what will happen to Maxima and Shenwoo?!
Maxima watches Kain. Watches him hard. He sees the Power up. He sees the glowing hand. And, glancing down, he sees the prone Shenwoo at his feet. A smile quirks the corner of his mouth.
"I am /such/ a great person," he says, face breaking out into a grin as he reaches down, grabbing Shenwoo by the back of his jacket and hefting him up, one-handed. It almost looks like he's going to throw Shenwoo into the path of the devastating attack's shockwave, thus saving his own skin at the expense of further damage to Shenwoo's body.
Instead, Maxima turns to the cameras, and gives them a MAXIMA THUMBS-UP, the powerful pose cracking the stage below his outstretched arm. Then, he tosses Shenwoo's body out into the sea of chairs with all his might. Finally, he turns back to face Kain's assault. "Sorry buddy, just don't feel right letting an unconscious guy take this kinda hit, y'know? What would the kids at home think."
Then, Maxima stands there. And he crosses his arms. And he shuffles his foot out behind him, bracing himself for THE FINAL IMPACT. It may be a futile gesture, but Maxima's just not the kind of guy for running away.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Maxima with Himmlischer Atem.
- Power hit! -
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Maxima 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Kain
The shockwave envelops Maxima with crushing force, ripping away his jacket, his gloves, disintegrating his cheap flip flops, even destroying his leather pants. Fortunately he has an indestructible teal skintight suit on underneath.
The attack finally ends, and Maxima... is still standing. Half-naked, wires and tubes sticking out of torn and bloody gashes all over his body. Sparks fly. Blue blood leaks everwhere. He spits up another gob of it, nearly blinded by the damage. But he takes one shaky step. Then another. Slowly, inexorably, his arm rises, pointing directly at Kain.
"You knew the rules. And you broke them. I can... respect your desire to fight and blow things up. But you broke the reuls, and that's just not cool." His eyes narrow. "Think of... the children."
One last act of defiance. His fist rumbles, vibrates, flares... then flies straight off towards Kain. "ROCKET! PAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!"
COMBATSYS: Maxima can no longer fight.
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Kain 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Maxima's Maxima Missile.
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Kain 0/-------/---====|
Kain raises an eyebrow. "The rules?" The vibrating of Maxima's fist is noted, and Kain quickly steps to the side, letting the Canadian deal some further damage to the surroundings, but not Kain. "The rules were that after a certain point in time, I was to use any single assault of my choosing against you both. If your abilities weren't properly taken into account when the time was chosen, that is not my concern." And with that Heinlein hops down from his perch, walking through the rubble toward the exit.
COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.
In the final shot of the film, it is revealed that Maxima's fist... had a raised middle finger.
The End...?
Log created on 20:15:46 05/17/2008 by Shenwoo, and last modified on 17:44:59 05/21/2008.