Description: Two acrobatic and somewhat smartmouthed fighters take to the air and the sea in this agile battle in the Hong Kong harbor. An evenly-matched pair of fighters with similar styles makes for a very impressive battle with a surprise twist ending! (Winner: Cherry)
Hong Kong harbor! On the one side, the spires of one of southern Asia's greatest cities, a home of pop culture and capitalist success, a reminder of British imperialist aims and a mishmash of various Chinese and other Asian cultures. The skyscrapers are tall and painted pale blue in the reflected bright sunlight even at this late afternoon hour. That silver-blue eventually becomes the grey and white of concrete foundations, then the dark brown of wood and the varying colors of sails that dot the near harbor.
Summer is a chance for many to bring their traditional junks out of storage, or down from upstream, and moor them here. The result is a small sea of wooden Chinese boats, some squarish in shape, others with a more traditional crescent sort of hull. On some residents fish or shout stories to each other; still others sunbathe, do laundry, or simply till the rudder at a slow pace, wandering around the harbor.
And then there's the Neo League cameramen, balanced on top of a few (with the owners' permission, of course). Apparently they know the proclivities of these two fighters pretty well, and wanted to give them a fighting ground that would really take advantage of their particular ways of moving around the battlefield. Regardless of who wins or loses, it's very, very likely that the fight that's about to occur is going to be fantastic to watch, either way.
The NL folks bought a used, mostly empty junk for the two fighters to start on, and since getting a motorcycle near this location would be slightly difficult, Cherry bit the bullet and just showed up, standing on the flat deck of the slightly rolling boat and looking out over the skyline. That SNF wasn't a great public debut, but this just might be her chance to really show what she's capable of.
And when Aranha saw the tapes of Cherry's fights(Neo League and SNF) what little there were he made note a lot of things notes about her style but there was a few notes about how Cherry was known for making a spectacular entrance and so he expected her to pull a stunt. He also wanted to pull a stunt of his own. After all, it would be fun and also it was something he thought the audience would enjoy.
If one looked out into the distance they would be someone who was parasailing. As the sound the of the motor boat gets closer it becomes apparent who is harnessed in the parachute. The Dancing Spider, Aranha.
The motor boat gets close to the junk boats and makes a sharp turn whipping the traceur further over the field of boats and that's when he releases his harness dropping him from high above to drop into a roll right in front of the red head.
He rises to his feet a laid back smile on his face as he pulls out his Oakley Thumps and slides them on. "You're Cherry, right? I go by Aranha."
Parasailing. You can almost see the look in the girl's green eyes as she jots that down on some internal notepad. Considering she's from Boise, Idaho, she didn't exactly do a lot of boating. Now, if this were a ski resort, she'd be set. But it never pays to LOOK too impressed by your opponent, even the ones you like, so she sets her mouth into a faint grin and claps faintly as Aranha lands, one hand held up and motionless, the other lightly slapping into the opposite palm a couple times. It's a Wimbledon clap, for sure. But, her lips -- with dark red lipstick, deeper a shade than her namesake color -- are curled in an amused smile even as she does it.
"'Spider', huh..." she observes, bringing one hand down to put it on her hip. "I'm sure the people on FightTube will have a field day thinking up some sort of pun about that." The thought does not seem to deter her, however. And indeed, she is watching Aranha very closely. She's seen a few of his official fights, and knows a little bit of what he can do. Cracking her knuckles, she gets into a loose stance, hopping a bit on the balls of her feet, and says in a dry tone, "I hope spiders can swim."
Then there's an air horn from a few boats away: the signal to start.
Cherry doesn't waste any time, either; she pushes off the deck and drives forward, looking to ram her open palm into the underside of Aranha's chin and knock him clear into the air... and possibly off the boat entirely.
COMBATSYS: Cherry has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Aranha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cherry
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Aranha with Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Cherry
Aranha cracks a smile as Cherry gives him the tennis clap. Though he probably would've preferred an Australian Open or US Open clap, he'll accept a Wimbledon Clap. But as she claps, Aranha's eyes are already at work, looking over his opponent. He's taking quick measurements of Cherry, as he adjusts the song on his MP3 playing sunglasses.
The fight horn sounds and Aranha doesn't quite get a chance to start his own particular dance before he's cracked in the chin by a palm that sends him flying into the air. It looks as though he's about go overboard before he quickly snags the edge grabbing hold for dear life as he tries to keep himself dry.
"Man. What is it with people trying to wash me away," he jokes as he pulls himself back on to the before he suddenly starts breaking into a run before climbing up into the rigging and leaping up on the sails. The ultimate result will be to leap off feet first at Cherry.
COMBATSYS: Cherry parries Aranha's Sky's the Limit!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Cherry
She's watching him, she is; Aranha's more impressive parkour tricks have been on the highlight reels of more than one DVD, if the Spider wasn't aware of it. But the Fighting Diva is also a footwork specialist, even if she isn't QUITE working in the same way. Thus even as she feels her foot connect, she doesn't bother to stop moving. The principle tenet of Meihuazhuang is to keep that center line in motion, never let them get a direct bead on you, and keep everyone guessing right up to the very last second. It's a good fit for a flashy fighter like Cherry, without question.
Cherry is ducking around the rigging even as Aranha climbs it, and actually gives a low whistle at the agility such a feat requires. Of course, that whistle comes across as slightly sarcastic, given that even as he drops down at her feet first, she suddenly pivots and starts... well, running up the mast. Not very far; wire fu tricks aside, gravity is gravity. But it IS far enough so that he breezes past her as she accelerates up in the *opposite direction*.
Just as Aranha lands, she takes her opportunity to strike, using the sudden close-range evasion to give her a considerable advantage in getting the drop on him... and that she does, pushing off the mast and twisting to invert herself in midair. The result is an axe kick looking to crush the Dancing Spider right into the deck, the Diva's leg ablaze with an aura of red-orange flame. "It's the Man," Cherry shouts with great amusement, "trying to keep you... down!" Oh, the puns. They are everywhere.
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Aranha with Cherry on Top EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Cherry
As he touches down Aranha drops into a roll since from that height he's forced to due to the need to soften his landing and protect his joints. When he rises, the usually evasive fighter seems to be caught flat-footed. It's not a sensation that Aranha is completely used to.
The chi engulfed foot comes down on his head and drives the capoeirista down to the ground with thud. He mutters with a pained expression on his face as he pulls himself to his feet and then he swings his foot around with a powerful spinning back heel kick to the side of the head. After that, the capoeirista shuffles away and attempts to get his rhythm back by swaying from side to side in ginga.
COMBATSYS: Cherry fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Aranha with Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Cherry
Unlike her opponent, Cherry isn't particularly good at controlling the fight to go her way; instead she just keeps at it, assaulting people physically and even verbally when the need arises. Many have claimed that the term 'offensive' applies to her on multiple levels. As far as the Fighting Diva is concerned, that sort of thing just usually means her tactics are working.
That kick is a bit slow, and so rather than try to dive off to the side, the redhead tries to turn it to her advantage by getting an arm around it; she has no *particular* desire to see Aranha in the water, but the constant threat of SENDING him there might make him rethink a few things now and then, after all. Sadly, the angle of the kick she expected was more toward her face, and when it instead snakes around to the back of her head, she's caught unawares, the blow sending her stumbling forward with a sharp exhalation of breath. That... stung.
However, she soon pulls herself to her feet to see Aranha getting his groove on. Grinning a bit, she suddenly slumps forward, letting her right arm dangle a bit before bringing it up and snapping in time with the Dancing Spider's... uh, dance. "Crazy! Cool! Crazy! Cool!" she singsongs. Dork.
Aranha, through it all, maintains that laidback smile of his. His body sways to the rhythm of his sunglasses before he begins to dance back inside kick range. All of a sudden he drops low to the ground and then he continues to approach but there's a difference.
As he comes in, he swings an extended leg around before hopping over it with his non extended leg hopping over it before the leg swings around again. All told, he looks like he's using himself as a skip-it. With each swing of his leg he threatens to sweep Cherry's own legs from under her but the sweep never comes. Instead, Aranha suddenly dives past her on all fours and whips his heel up at her head which for all intents and purposes looks like a scorpion tail striking.
Aranha's method? Get her looking low before striking high. But he's not going to go without responding to the red-head's own song. "Crazy? Cool? I'm glad you like."
COMBATSYS: Cherry dodges Aranha's Short Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Cherry
The gambit to get her looking low *does* actually work, but perhaps not in the way Aranha might have expected; rather than stepping backwards away from the sweeps, she actually steps *toward* them, as if she were playing hopscotch with the 'Skip-It(tm)' of Aranha's continual scything leg. Thus when the scorpion tail kick comes right for her, she's no longer there; instead, the redhead is a few feet away, spinning back to face Aranha after her somewhat reckless aggressive evasion. Not quick enough to capitalize on the difference like before, but enough to keep her from harm.
"Oh, it's interesting, I'm just a little sad you didn't get the reference," the redhead says breezily as she turns around. That was an interesting attack he just made... something about the Dancing Spider has piqued Cherry's interest. Of course, the more she likes you, the more she needles you. "Mind, I think that's a personal best for getting someone down on all fours. And captured on film, no less."
Deciding that now is the time to keep at it, she takes off at Aranha at a dead run... and actually, unless he intervenes, she runs right PAST him. Of course, once she reaches the deckhouse, the Fighting Diva does something quite interesting: she skids to a stop and pushes off the thing like a swimmer making a sudden turn, driving at Aranha from behind, one fist extended. However, the fist isn't the problem; it's the spherical halo of blue-gold energy that explodes around it that is a more pressing problem.
COMBATSYS: Aranha interrupts Heartbreaker from Cherry with Malicia.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Aranha 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cherry
After his missed kick, Aranha is in no position to intervene as far as preventing Cherry from zooming past him. In fact Aranha given the choice, might not have done so anyway. But right now he uses what he's given to work with.
Aranha is still on all fours and with the fighting Diva moving past him but just because his back is turned doesn't mean he's not dangerous and it would seem that his butt just seems like it has a bull's eye painted on it. But he is looking under his legs and so he sees Cherry pushing off the deckhouse and he sees the spherical halo of energy poised to blast his caramel colored kiester.
That's when Aranha suddenly flips backwards as he jams his blue chi infused, indoor soccer shoes into Cherry's gut, driving her backwards and knocking her back as he likewise gets caught in the blast of her energy. Fortunately for him, he was caught in the shoulder and as a result he manages to go into a controlled roll. Even still, Aranha finds himself rubbing his shoulder.
Well, the effect is impressively dramatic: the chi-laced kick gives Cherry some of her own medicine. In fact, it gives her a bit of an OVERDOSE of her own medicine: it knocks her clear through the deckhouse in a shower of splintering wood. Of course, this has the somewhat dubious benefit of obscuring the redhead from sight briefly, but it's almost certain that not only being hit, but being hit so hard she flew through a standing structure was almost certainly not a good thing for the Diva at all.
In fact, she's counting on that.
Hopefully, in fact, Aranha isn't listening all that hard to the sounds of faint splashing, especially as they get closer... and Cherry suddenly yanks herself over the side of the junk, looking to swing her leg right into Aranha's head as she does so. Yes, she *swam* around. Apparently those huge boobs are particularly buoyant. "WATAH!"
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Aranha with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cherry
Aranha listens and at first he can't quite hear Cherry as she splashes around swimming to the other side. He waits and dances expecting her to come from out of nowhere. Unfortunately for the Dancing Spider, expecting it isn't quite the same being prepared for it so when he finally hears both the drips of wet clothes and hair, and the light taps of footsteps coming from her direction, it's already too late.
The kick catches the capoeirista right in the back of his head sending his shades flying from his face. Luckily for him, they are still in tact. After Aranha is finished stumbling around he whips his arm around sending a blue spider web of chi at the red head. "You know, this wouldn't be the first time I've gotten a woman wet on live TV before."
Yes, while physically moved by the kick, he decides to verbally focus on the positive.
COMBATSYS: Cherry dodges Aranha's Web Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cherry
The result is visually quite nice, actually; as Cherry whips over the side, sending Aranha stumbling back away from her with a brief but servicable boot to the head, it clears a space for her to land and get herself in order. The visual effect is straight out of a porn film: she rises slowly to her feet, throwing her chest forward and her head back, shaking out the long red hair as glistening drops of seawater run down her body.
There are a few appreciative whistles from men in other boats, followed by a long series of angry-sounding shouts in high-pitched Chinese from those same boats.
The blue web of chi gets a raised eyebrow, but Cherry's Swimsuit Edition pose isn't held so long that she's going to get hit by it; as the thing is about to shear by her head, she actually leans very, VERY far back over the side of the boat... and causes another bout of whistling and shouting to erupt as the shot flies overhead. "Not bad," the Fighting Diva remarks, amused, as she shakes out her hands and lets them drop to her side. "I was worried when you didn't get the West Side Story ref, but you've completely redeemed yourself. And I might be wet, but..."
And then she holds up her hand, palm up, almost like a waitress carrying a tray, before bringing it to her lips, like blowing a kiss. As her hand pulls away, a bloom of scarlet fire appears in her palm. With a wink, she grins at Aranha around the fiery energy. "I'm hot, too." Letting the fire flicker in midair, she reaches back and then slams her palm into it, turning the fiery burst into a spiralling orb of flame that looks to give Aranha one very hot kiss he won't soon forget.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Cherry's Burning Love Breakdown.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cherry
Even if the web didn't find its target, it still did its job which was to buy the capoeirista some time to think. Aranha's energy web ends up striking the side of another junk boat. The energy web bonds to the side for just a moment before it fades out of existance the mark the only piece of evidence that his energy web was there.
Meanwhile he has his own problems to deal with in the form of a fiery kiss from the red head. As the burst of energy travels towards him he suddenly dives to the side landing that his body is angled to the ground and his side is rested on his elbow in what looks like a break dancing pose.
He twists out of it before spinning back into a standing position. "Well... I ain't tryin to get burned though. Let's leave that fate for Ol' Dirty... May he rest in peace."
After he's said his peace, the Dancing Spider leaps up over Cherry kicking out at her back before landing and then hopping across to another Junk boat. After all, there's still more boats to ruin
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Cherry with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\====---\1 Cherry
He's awful good with those kicks that land in places you don't expect, yes he is; knowing that her physical strength is fading a little bit, Cherry decides to play it safe and try to deflect that kick toward her back with a twist and a raised forearm. Sadly, all that does is make Aranha kick off her shoulder instead of her arm... not a lot better. Of course, even though it hits home, the kick doesn't hit with crushing force, merely bruising... but bruising adds up over time, and the Fighting Diva is starting to feel it.
Of course, then Aranha is off to a nearby boat. Frowning, Cherry judges the distance between this boat and that. She's already wet, and not clearing the jump to land in the drink is not her idea of a good time, nor a sound tactical decision. Turning, however, she spies the mast of the boat she's on.
And grins.
A quick ducking step, a loud shout, and a fierce roundhouse blow to the base is all it takes. With an obligatory "TIM-BERRRRRRRRRR~!", Cherry effectively builds herself a narrow bridge to the other junk by kicking over the mast, which lands just behind Aranha's arrival with a loud, wooden *WHACK* sound.
Hopefully, he's paying attention too, because running down the water-slick, round, narrow mast like it was firm ground is Cherry, angling toward Aranha with a quick jab to the stomach...
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Aranha with Disco Inferno.
[ \\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Aranha 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Cherry
...which is all the opening she needs.
What comes next is an unholy barrage of high speed kicks and punches, delivered in true kung fu movie, this-technique-came-from-my-ancestors style. Kicks and palms strikes all over the body, capped off by an upward kick that puts Cherry in a full vertical split for a moment, before she arches her back and leaps skyward after her target, the air around her exploding -- for just a moment -- with a massive aura of flame shaped like a phoenix. A little exhausted when she slams to the ground in a crouch, but hopefully the Dancing Spider came out of that the worse...
Aranha suddenly turns around to see the bridge being created and then the red head running to him and so he tries to set his feet down in an attempt to defend himself. While he isn't sensitive to chi, he doesn't need to feel it to know that it's building up to something big. The muscle mechanics, her stance, the nuances in her footwork are just tiny things telling him that he doesn't want to feel this. And his eyes are right.
The first jab slips under his elbow as he's rocking back and then it all becomes a blur. Attack after attack lands on him and he's sent reeling before the vertical split (which probably got some appreciative whistles out of it) sends into the air only to catch him in a fiery Phoenix oblivion.
Aranha's body hits the ground and he slowly gets up, his body completely wobbly as he stumbles towards Cherry. "So much for not getting burned."
Then it's Aranha's turn of course, it all starts with a blue glowing outside crescent kick slapping the red head with his foot.
COMBATSYS: Aranha can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Cherry with Royal Flush.
[ \\ <
Cherry 1/-------/=======|
And then Aranha whips around in a frenzy. Glowing kick after glowing kick striking her face and her torso. Spinning side kicks, spinning heel kicks which occasionally involve him touching the ground, more outside crescent kicks. The Dancing Spider spins and spins occasionally changing direction to deliver more punishment before suddenly as if it were a whim changing direction again.
There's a moment's reprieve when he tilts himself into a handstand but it's short lived if only because of his finale of the glowing handstand kicks before his body gives out on him and he collapses to the ground.
It looks like Cherry's not the only one with a final flurry of kicks to lay out. She grimaces as she sees Aranha coming at her despite feeling that final assault of her land, gritting back any witty retort in an attempt to weather the storm, block some blows, and PERHAPS come out on top this time. Sadly, it's not meant to be; that slapping kick slips by her guard and opens the door to a world of blue-tinged, chi and physical-delivered pain. She's literally flung to the other side of the boat by the final handstand kick.
There's a rumbling from that part of the deck, as Cherry groans in pain, and...
COMBATSYS: Cherry takes no action.
[ \\\\ <
Cherry 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Cherry has reached second wind!
[ \\\\ <
Cherry 1/-------/=======|
...slowly but surely gets to her feet. "God DAMN."
How she manages to pop up like crabgrass after these fantastic beatings is anyone's guess, but it doesn't come without a price. It takes Cherry a few steps to get over to where Aranha is kinda sorta face-down, and sit herself down on the edge of the deck, smiling at him. "That was fun; you're really good. I hope you enjoyed yourself."
And then she runs a hand through her hair, thrusting her chest forward JUST a little for the cameras. Yeah, Aranha was strong and that was a very tough fight... but you have to look good for the cameras.
Log created on 21:33:17 07/08/2008 by Cherry, and last modified on 02:36:32 07/09/2008.