Description: Locked in a gradually shrinking room, Ayame and Frei face off against the legendary Chun-Li in this week's Main Event. With the clock ticking, the time for maneuverability is limited. ( Winner: Chun-Li )
Another weekend, another full house at Howard Arena.
Packed to the proverbial gills, the arena is alive and buzzing with audience clamor, men, women and children filling the thousands upon thousands of seats. No space was left, and every ticket in the house was sold out--Main Events in Saturday Night Fight tend to do that, after all. But that doesn't make the venue any less enjoyable; if anything, it makes them that much more exciting.
Tonight's is another special event. With the World's Strongest Woman pitted against two recognizable fighters within the circuit in a room that's going to shrink as time passes, there's no doubt tonight's even will be a crowd-pleaser. That doesn't make it any easier for Chun-Li, however.
Backstage she prepares herself, both physically and mentally before a mirror. Fixing the last of her make-up and fitting her qipao comfortably into place, she privately recites a mantra to get herself ready and focused. Fighting in an increasingly shrinking small space isn't precisely the norm, and it's definitely a first for the woman. That, coupled with thousands of eyes watching her and two opponents doesn't make it any easier. But, she assures herself, she'll do fine.
The lights dim, and the buzzing of the audience lowers to a hum. Over the PA, the announcer greets the audience gathered, explaining the night's events. And with the technicalities out of the way, his voice booms, introducing the World's Strongest Woman--
"CHUN-LI!"
Emerging from an entrance, the woman steps out with a bright smile as she waves to the audience. A loud, deafening roar and cheer erupts from the people seated, some rising out of their seats to clap furiously and waves banners with their favorite fighters' names painted across. The cheers draw the smile on her lips all the wider, her confidence bolstering a bit as she heads to the enclosed 'room' stage and steps inside. And once in, she stretches lightly, patiently waiting for her opponents to arrive...
A weekly Saturday tradition - the main event of SNF staged right in the middle of the most famous arena in the world. Seats are always packed, tickets usually bought well in advance of the actual billings. And for Ayame, it marks the first time back in front of a camera that isn't a store's closed circuit security system for some time.
Compared to the legendary fighter she's going up against, she's far less known. But she does have a reputation in some circles as being a mouthy brat that rarely seems to be able to actually keep her teammates on her side. It's any wonder why SNF keeps teaming her UP week after week. Maybe they like the inevitable collapse of cooperation that seems to happen.
She spent no time preparing ahead for the fight but rather stands at the arena entrance staring out over the crowd with wide eyes, mouth just a little agape. Given how pale she looks, it's almost as if the teen fighter is struggling with a bout of stage fright. "...this is ridiculous." she mutters as she takes in a deep breath, closes her eyes, and strides out of the entrance - right into a metal pole supporting a camera. *CLANG*
Bouncing back to rub her nose, "...eyes open, eyes open," the strawberry blond shakes her head, advancing out to the engineered chamber. The walls are thick stone, and the machinery on the outside is clearly designed to send two of the walls closer to ecah other once the match gets underway. The girl glances it all over as she walks, entering the room where Chun-Li is preparing.
Slipping her hand into a pouch at her belt, the teen fighter draws a small tube, twirling it in her hand for a moment before pressing a button and expanding it out to its full length. She glances back and forth, guaging the room she has to work with. It'll get too tight for the six foot long weapon eventually, she muses.
Calculations completed, she glances toward Chun-Li, looking her over, "Don't look so strong to me!" she blurts out without a second thought. Oh, Ayame. A perceptive observer might see through the charade. The nervous twitch of her fingers aginst her staff, or the slightly wide-eyed expression that seems a constant at the moment. Glancing back and forth, she mutters beneath her breath, "I sure hope I've got a giant ox on my team..."
How curious that Frei should face Chun-Li here and now, with the Strongest Woman such a hot conversational topic for him lately. Their Neo League bout in Australia gave him much to think about, and proved to be something he discussed with teammate Hotaru Futaba, who'd also faced her recently as well. The mere mention of her name was enough to cause Kentou Ondori to have a serious fanboy attack, let alone the knowledge that not one, but both of his erstwhile instructors had battled her recently. If she knew those pieces of information, they might warm Chun-Li's heart... although the masses of fans cheering her name probably don't hurt either.
Yet here they stand together, the Main Event of all things. It's a first time for Frei being one of the headlining fighters, news that surprised him a bit; while he's been at this some time and does have some fans, he'd never thought of himself as qualified for top of the marquee, and facing a very challenging opponent. If he weren't a naturally humble type, it'd probably go to his head. As it stands, he walks through the arena floor in a sedate and composed way, giving small smiles and waves to the crowd in the bottom rows as he wanders by. Much like his opponent, he too is silently reassuring himself that this is doable.
Inside the 'moving room' it's blissfully much quieter, the crowd noise outside being somewhat distracting; Chun can see the relief on the red-haired fighter's face as he steps inside, letting out a breath. Unlike a number of fighters, Frei often finds the presence of a massive, energetic crowd to be somewhat frightening... especially now, as he struggles to manage his competitive drive without turning into someone he's not, an issue the young sage discussed with the World's Strongest Woman the last time they fought. Seeing his opponent, Frei waves and gives her a small, somewhat tired smile as he moves into a good starting position. "I guess we're just fated to keep running into each other," he adds, bemused by the thought and suddenly wondering -- noticeable as he blinks, eyebrows going up a moment -- if Chun is participating in Strolheim as well.
However, he also notices his partner for this fight, and his surprise is considerably more evident at the sight of the staff-wielding young woman. Yet likely in a change of pace for Ayame, Frei has a smile for her too when he realizes who it is. "Hm, hello," he says, too casually, almost conversationally, to the weapons-mistress. "It's been a long time since I've seen you last." Giant ox, huh? Perhaps a large stuffed animal version of an ox, maybe...
With Ayame's arrival into the room, Chun-Li greets the girl with a tiny smile and a friendly wave. She doesn't recognize the face immediately, but that doesn't mean she can't be civil or polite to her! But the waving of her hand stops as the girl makes her observations, the look on the Tai Chi Mistress' face faltering somewhat before she just chuckles into her hand. "I'm harmless--really!" she offers in response, holding her hands up at shoulder level.
Sadly, it's a terribly modest lie.
When the door opens again and Frei arrives, Chun-Li smiles politely and bows her head to the final arrival of the evening's event. His words earn him a soft laugh, the woman's shoulders slouching a touch as she nods. "Seems we are," she offers, still smiling. "But that's okay! I hope your training has been treating you well." Her head tilts just slightly to one side as her smile grows a bit further...
As the two fighters get briefly reacquainted with one another, Chun-Li stretches her arms overhead, a light, stifled grunt escaping her before she exhales contentedly. She observes both, still smiling as she's wont to do--until the PA booms again, a call out to the fighters that they're ready to go. With a rumble of machinery and gears the room shudders a bit, the walls slowly beginning to move inwards with the three fighters trapped inside.
Chun-Li frowns just a little, a glance spared to both Ayame and Frei before she asks, "You guys ready..?"
But, ready or not, the World's Strongest Woman is coming! Breaking forward into a dash, she swiftly covers what ground she needs to close in on the chi sage before she plants a booted heel. Her body sharply twists, a leg whipping up and around, aimed high to deliver a kick right to the side of Frei's head. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has started a fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Frei
COMBATSYS: Ayame has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
"Good," Ayame answers Chun-Li's fib about being harmless, "I don't want to get hurt," she adds, tapping her shoulder with her staff, falling quiet as Frei arrives. She looks him from head to toe with a quick inspection. Nope. Not a giant ox. But he'll have to do. Of the two, he greets first.
"Right," the girl replies with a chuckle, her smile quick, forced, a little nervous. "We fought together in that match on the river with the boats. Or, rather, against, now that I think about it." She taps her cheek thoughtfully, "Close enough." she decides.
Whirling around, the girl turns to face Chun-Li directly, hands tightening on the staff. Outside, engines slowly grind into action and the stone walls forming the sides ever so slowly start to crawl in toward the fighters. At first glance, the motion is almost impossible to notice, but the noise associated with it, of rough hewn stone against the stone floor, most certainly isn't. "Lovely..."
The match begins, the Strongest Woman in the world making her move, coming in swiftly to target Frei with a kick. "Here goes!" She takes a step to the side as the Tai Chi mistress closes distance to get in close to the two. A swift swing of her staff horizontally represents her opening blow, before she snaps the weapon back in close and jabs it out with a straighter poke, aiming to shove it into Chun-Li's side as she's kicking for Frei's head.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Medium Kick from Chun-Li with Light Kick.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Frei
Looks like Ayame's memory of Frei isn't as good as his is of her, but her good spirits actually encourage him. After all, in the past when the two have met, she's typically been in... well, 'bad mood' might be a bit of an understatement, for sure. Certainly not as chipper as she is now, for given values of 'chipper'. "I don't think we've ever been on the same side before," he says with a thoughtful expression. "It should prove... really enlightening."
But then the room is moving. Repeat: the room is moving, and that spooks Frei quite a bit, making him jump at the noise and giving Chun-Li an apologetic smile. "Yeesh! Not good for the blood pressure. And yeah... I guess we'll see." He drops into a defensive stance, taking a deep breath and preparing himself. Chun-Li did him the favor of not holding back last time, and he doesn't expect her to do so now, either. She's strong... very strong, and it's going to take some doing to keep up with her, though the match conditions favor Frei, who doesn't rely quite so much on mobility, if he can keep things going that long.
And then she's coming right at him! Deciding that the best defense is a good offense, the sage twists his body and attempts to position himself so that Chun-Li's kick will slam into his shoulder rather than his head, and let him fire off a quick kick of his own to her undefended back. Sadly, that not-relying-on-mobility is because he's not terribly quick on his feet, while Chun-Li assuredly is; he's not quick enough, and somewhat comically the kick slams into the *back* of his head, inadvertently planting him face-first on the floor.
Getting back up, Frei rubs his nose and squints a little. "Harmless, huh..."
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Ayame with Tenshou Kyaku.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Frei
Coming in quick, Chun-Li wastes no time in making her move. After all, they have precious little time TO waste, what with the walls closing in and threatening to cut off what room they have to work with. It would seem that both fighters also have the same thoughts in mind, as the fight begins.
Her leg snaps up, blazing past Frei's offensive strike, her leg whipping around and striking the chi sage square in the back of his head, sending him sprawling. Chun-Li frowns softly, brows knitting before she sets her booted foot down. But just as she turns to regard Ayame, the girl's coming in fast.
In that moment the woman begins to drop, a leg stretching out to her side as she coils. Just as the staff aims to strike Chun-Li begins to let out a sharp cry, her body lifting from the ground--only to stop short as the pole slams into her, followed by another jab that sends the woman stumbling several feet backwards with a distantly stunned expression.
And then, of course, she smiles.
"It's been a while since I fought someone who relies on weaponry," she sheepishly confesses, keeping her cool composure throughout as she eases into stance once more. "Forgive me if I'm a little rough around the edges, alright?"
The girl's staff work is a careful thing - capable of lunging out with attacks without leaving herself unprotected from most angles. And right now, that pays off, the girl spared counter attack as she draws the long weapon back in quickly, having already been preparing to fend off retaliation. That the retaliation was coming in the midst of striking catches her off guard, and she ends up stumbling into the moving wall after the fact, exhaling softly at having been spared any strikes quite yet.
"Eh heh." She just saw the woman kick Frei to the floor with that opening strike. "Forgiven," she replies, managing a grin that only barely masks her trepidation. A glance is cast toward Frei before she nods his way, "Maybe should be apologizing to him." He's the one that kicked to the floor after all. Breathing in then exhaling, the teen fighter shifts her grip on her staff, content to stay next to the wall.
"Can't believe I used to do this regularly," she mutters, shifting her hold on her staff across her at a defensive angle, trying to center her thoughts. The wall behind her nudges into her back, forcing her forward a step. Oh yeah, gotta remember that thing. this time but not
"So," she speaks up clearer now, shaking her head, shrugging off the strange circumstances of the match as much as possible. "You two come here regularly?"
COMBATSYS: Ayame focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Frei
"No... oof... apology necessary," Frei says distractedly, still rubbing his nose a bit. That hurt, damnit. Of course, that's the point in this sort of affair, *but still*. Sadly, he missed Ayame's success in striking the Strongest Woman, as he recovered, but it looks like everyone in mostly unbroken for the time being. "I suppose I deserved it for trying to get fancy kicking with the master of such things," he admits. Even the most out-of-it fighter who knows the circuits has heard of Chun-Li's legendary kicks, likely; Frei experienced her lightning-fast technique first hand before and it's just as painful now.
Shaking his head, he takes a second to look around, glancing at the walls. They're not moving *that* fast, but it's certainly going to make it a little bit cramped in here relatively soon. Green eyes track Chun-Li's movements, though it's Ayame's question that gets answered even though he's not looking at her. "Not really... this may be the safest location for a fight I've had in a long time, come to think of it. Collapsing walls is nothing compared to a live minefield or being blindfolded on top of a high mountain cliff, really." He sounds so nonplussed about it, perhaps because he's done and *survived* both of those things. Besides, in the minefield, Bison was a much bigger threat than any explosive device could be.
It looks like Ayame is keeping her distance for now, and in the interest of pacing, Frei doesn't press the advantage either. Instead he stays back, moving his hands in a slow pattern that's probably familiar to the Tai Chi practitioner, taking deep centering breaths. Let her come to you, seems to be the prevailing logic. Still, the lull makes the chi sage laugh a little. "We could just stop and go play Mario Kart to determine the winner," he suggests. He's good at Mario Kart!
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Frei
Ayame's words give Chun-Li reason to pause, her expression curious and a little apologetic as her attentions shift to Frei. She offers a lopsided smile to the young monk, bowing her head apologetically as he pulls himself to his feet and suggests otherwise. Maybe she'll offer a verbal reply after the fight; for now, though, she has to worry about the fight period.
Her legs tense, arms flexing a touch as she curls her hands. She has to be ready...but no one is...coming?
Blinking as Ayame makes conversation, Chun-Li swiftly chuckles thereafter, nodding her head lightly in response. "I do as of late. It's a good chance to test myself, physically and mentally. It makes for good and interesting exercise." Training alone gets boring after a while, after all. Her eyes shift from the blonde to the monk, a thoughtful look on her face--doubly as he mentions an entirely different solution.
Lifting a hand, the woman jerks a thumb to the crowd behind her. "I don't think they'd appreciate that as much, I'm afraid," she offers with an impish smile. They have fans to entertain, after all! "So let us do our very best!"
On that delightfully chipper and cheerful note, Chun-Li kicks into action once more. Her eyes set on Ayame this time, she seeks to close in on the girl and grip gently at her shoulder with one hand and pull firmly forward. The other arm, at the same time, thrusts forward, crooked so as to drive her elbow hard into the girl's midsection. "HAH!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to counter Medium Punch from Chun-Li with Bright Renewal.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Frei
Frei just gets a slightly raised eyebrow at the suggestion they just sit down and play some games to resolve the match. That isn't a swell idea at all in her mind. Her motivation more closely mirrors Chun-Li's. Exposure to styles, learning to fight, and, most importantly, getting paid! Her idle chatter may have provoked some responses, but she isn't taking her focus off their opponent, brown eyes narrowed slightly as she concentrates on keeping her breathing under control.
There's the slightest nod of acknowledgement as the Chinese born fighter speaks about doing their best, but she remains otherwise silent. In rushes the masterful fighter, hand snapping out for her shoulder. She misreads the motion, thinking it a strike, and whips her staff up with the intent to intersect it preemptively, only to become aware an instant later that the real threat is the elbow.
Trying to correct a moment too late, she manages to fend of neither blow, getting pulled into the elbow strike to her stomach instead. The force is more than enough to crumple her to her knees, eyes widened as she gasps for breath. But she isn't going to stay down after just one hit. Grimacing, she releases her staff with her right hand, pushing back up to standing, skipping back a step to press against the sliding wall and re-evaluate from a bit of distance. A flicker of a rueful grin reflects her recalling Chun-Li calling herself harmless.
A glance at the heavy walls closing causes her to swallow nervously. It always looks so much easier, on TV, the crazy things they throw fighters into week after week. Taking a deep breath, she exhales, bunkering down a little. If she's going to be of any help to the team she was invited onto, she's going to need to get her head back into this. "Lucky hit," she finally speaks up, though the grimace behind her tone suggests that lucky or not, she'll be feeling that one.
The responses of the other seem to confuse Frei more than anything else; his already messy red hair is further mussed as he runs a hand through it with a sheepish expression. "I wasn't really suggesting we stop and play Mario Kart," he says, sounding kind of embarassed. Bringing his hand down, he gets back into stance and prepares to keep fighting, fingers curling and uncurling. It's tough out there, but he's got to be ready. "Besides, Smash Brothers would probably be a better test anyway."
He grimaces a little in sympathy as Ayame gets struck in the tummy, eyes flicking to the walls for a moment or two. Everyone seems a little on edge, but a collapsing room might do that... taking a deep breath, he redoubles his efforts to keep himself calm, which for Frei isn't that hard. He's usually hard to ruffle even in the nastiest situation, though lately fights have been making a sort of giddy energy push through... yet more of that competitive drive, perhaps.
There's a flicker of red around Frei's body as he takes off running for Chun-Li, who thankfully isn't *that* far away. The glow becomes an aura of fire licking around his entire body as the YFCC instructor suddenly drops low and scythes a kick at Chun-Li's legs... but at the same time, the fiery aura becomes a 'clone' of Frei made of flame, which lashes out with its own kick at a different angle entirely. Neither blow is particularly forceful, but it might be that the tricky combination will catch the Strongest Woman off guard...
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Frei's Kagerou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Frei
Gripping onto the weapons girl, Chun-Li drives her elbow in swiftly, connecting to poor Ayame's midsection with frightening force despite her attempts to thwart the woman. Almost immediately the Chinese fighter steps back, giving the blonde plenty of breathing room to recover from the harsh blow she'd just taken. A little part of her feels bad and usually does in these sorts of instances. But she can't underestimate them or be too sympathetic; they can just as easily hurt her!
"Perhaps," the woman replies, grinning lightly as she shoots Ayame a fleeting, friendly wink. It's all in good fun, pain for poor Ayame aside. Shifting on her heels, a glance is spared toward the monk--and such was likely good timing on Chun-Li's part. He snaps a leg out and in response an arm drops low to intercept the strike. The fiery 'clone' is intercepted as well, her hand snapping outwards to intercept the fiery chi-blow before she takes a hop backwards, followed by a few steps. She breathes.
But the walls jerk lightly, crawling forward still as the room gets smaller and smaller. She frowns a bit, her thoughts turning over and over. This won't be too easy on anyone--especially the Tai Chi Mistress. So she has to be quick and on her toes and, more importantly, she can't really stop. Not while she's still relatively able-bodied.
Drawing a breath in deeply, she lets her mind clear. Focusing, she bows her head, assuming a stance briefly with arms raise and a leg crooked. Though the walls are closing in, she can't let that get to her. So, instead, she smiles to herself.
And then, suddenly, her eyes snap open as she darts forward, charging Frei swiftly before she plants one leg firmly on the floor. The other draws up and tightly coils before she snaps it outwards, delivering a rapid series of varying, lightning-quick kicks at the monk's chest with a sharp kiai.
The wink catches her off guard. It seems the experienced fighter is really hard to rattle. She can respect that - begrudglingly. Her hand brushes at her sternum, as if idly making sure nothing's broken /yet/. Seems she's still good to go, she concludes with silent relief.
A moment's reprieve and Ayame is ready to go again. It means Frei has to lead the charge by himself as she collects her wits, however. The girl watches him in action, drawing that chi figure to step forward, a burning clone of energy to challenge Chun-Li's defenses from multiple angles. Right, the girl muses. Multiple angles. She can do that too. She's silent as she kicks back into action, except for the rattle of chains rattling around her neck.
When she charges forward, her hands once again tightly gripping that metal staff of hers, the girl leaps at an angle, swinging the weapon out in such a way that it could easily clip the Tai Chi mistress in the arm. But her real intent becomes more clear as her feet plant on the wall behind the champion level fighter and the girl springs right back from the opposite direction.
All the forward momentum of that return spring is put to use, the girl spinning through the air, her staff centered horizontally in her grip, aiming to crash it fiercely into the woman's upper back. Timed right, it might just well provide Frei with the opening he needs if the two start acting in unison instead of disjointedly now.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Chun-Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> ///////////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Frei
There's that kicking technique, the second time Frei's had to face it. The first time he walked right into it, but perhaps after that first blow to the head he's being a little bit more cautious at this point. The blows are fast, and he can't stop them all, but on the defensive the young sage is surprisingly sturdy when he wants to be; rather than try to stop all of the kicks, he focuses only on the ones he knows he can block, slamming his palm or forearm into the sole of Chun-Li's boot to deflect those. Needless to say it's not an unqualified success; the strikes that get through slam into his chest repeatedly, forcing his face into a grimace, but it's much less nasty than taking them all on the chin.
Recoiling a step, he takes a few deep breaths, collecting himself. "Ha... ha... just as bad as last time," he offers with a goofy smile. He probably won't be doing anything that miraculous again for a while, but for now he's satisfied. Flexing his fingers again, he watches Ayame's movements carefully, chiding himself for not really considering the staff-wielding girl's movements so far. After all, it was he who said they were a team today, right? Her initial staff charge seems to confuse even him, but as she kicks the wall the light seems to dawn... though unhelpfully, he has no poker face at all. Hopefully Chun-Li won't realize that he realizes what Ayame is doing!
To that end, he is more than happy to be the frontal assault, bringing his hand up and throwing it down to his side, a hazy green-gold-brown glow surrounding it. "Okay. Time to put into practice all those DVDs I watched of old SNFs!" What the hell is that supposed to mean? Charging Chun, the young sage rears his fist back and, getting in as close as he dares, suddenly shouts "Power..." before slamming his fist into the arena floor. The earth chi he had been building up suddenly explodes upward in a close-range pillar of concussive green-yellow force, hitting from a very curious angle and hopefully keeping Chun-Li focused on him rather than the girl striking behind him. "...Geyser!"
Yeah, the lawsuit will probably be filed tomorrow.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Chun-Li with Reiki.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Ayame's Random Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Frei
Meeting Frei's comment with a smile, Chun-Li offers a helpless shrug as she puts her foot down and paces backwards, again cautiously and carefully giving distance to the chi sage, as well as her own self. It gives her a chance to collect her thoughts, at least. Or so she hopes, anyway; who knows what these two fighters will do next?
Sure enough, they come charging. Spying Ayame first, the woman notes the odd angle of the girl's incoming strike and, with a twist of her body sharply to one side, avoids her altogether. But it doesn't end there, as the weapons-user plants her feet behind Chun-Li. She glances back, eyeing as Ayame plants her feet before suddenly thrusting forward. Again, Chun-Li sharply maneuvers to one side, deftly avoiding the potentially nasty strike with a faint sigh.
When she looks back, Frei's coming in from behind. Stumbling a bit as he punches the arena floor, she attempts to shield her body from the attack. But with such an odd angle and pure energy, it makes it exceptionally difficult--so much so she's sent flying backwards, her back crashing against the slowly-moving wall. A heavy sigh follows.
Pushing off, Chun-Li lightly shakes her head as she moves forward. Despite her turn of bad luck she smiles acknowledging both fighters as she paces toward them. But her walk becomes a stride; her stride becomes a jog, her body moving forward hurriedly toward the chi sage. And, half-way, the woman suddenly tumbles, dropping to the ground and rolling before she shoves off with both arms, using that forward momentum to throw herself upwards into the air.
"SPINNING BIRD--!"
Her body corkscrews, legs snapping out in either direction as she continues to spin--right at the man with every intention of battering into him with her long, powerful and fearsome legs!
"KIIIICK!"
Her two strikes miss all together, but Ayame lands cleanly all the same, feet touching down, the girl sliding to a stop, kicking up a small plume of dust from off the stone floor. She barely has room to skid to stationary before she would have driven her face into the wall closing in from that direction. "Jeez, almost didn't notice."
Whirling back around without pausing for even an instant, she observes as Frei's attack manages to be the one that actually dished out legitimate damage in that exchange. She looks at the monk narrowly for a moment. He's so adept at throwing all that energy around. It doesn't even seem to be hard for him a all. The girl frowns slightly, looking down at the staff in her hands. Ambushed a few weeks ago, it had burned with a fiery red energy. But in her grip now, it remains a calm, glinting metal. "Che."
It'll have to do. When she sprints forward this time, it is a more direct attack. Or so it seems. The staff user is running out room to do these tricks though with the increasingly tight quarters. Leaning low, it may seem she intends to strike for those dangerous legs. But the girl springs up, staff held horizontally as she targets Chun-Li's neck.
The real intent of her plan becomes more clear as the girl tries to hook the weapon under the more experienced fighter's neck, flipping up and over behind her in the process in order to land with her back to Chun-Li's, attempting to pull the woman right forward over her shoulders with that staff crushing against her throat in order to slam her into the floor!
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Spinning Bird Kick from Chun-Li with Shindou EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Frei
How does she do that? Really, *how*? Physicists want to know!
For his sake, Frei finds the spinning kick, one of Chun-Li's trademark moves, fascinating to watch. She didn't use it in their last bout, either, which means he's all the more entranced by it. Of course, 'entranced' isn't exactly a good place to be when said helicopter-ing kick is looking to smack you right in the puss, and it shows. He's just not up to blocking a move like that a second time, his hands still smarting from the *first* series of amazing kicks from Chun-Li; dodging in these cramped quarters would be practically impossible even if he were inclined to do so. The only other option is to try and do his best to knock her out of it, somehow. Setting his feet, he braces himself, like an old-time Superman comic where he's trying to catch a freight train.
It doesn't work, which is the understatement of the year; he tries to grab for Chun's extended leg as it whirls by but to keep her moving in that crazy inverted state, her legs have to be cycling really, really quickly... way too quickly for Frei to get a grip. He misses, having leaned forward to even try, and for his trouble the *next* kick in the rotation slams into his head and sends him whirling through the air right into one of the closing-in walls perpendicular to his line of attack with Chun-Li. He slams a little bonelessly into the wall and then slides to the ground, dazed from the impact.
It takes a second, but eventually he gets back up, eyes a little spinny as he puts a hand to his face and shakes his head. Two blows to the noggin in one fight from someone like the world's strongest woman... that's enough to dizzy even the sturdiest foe. But still, when his hand comes down, he's grinning... sheepishly, but he is. "Now that was impressive. How do you DO that?"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Ayame's Blackmail.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Frei
Leaving Ayame to her lonesome for the time being, it would seem that the World's Strongest Woman has her eye on the likes of Frei. Charging in, she lets her body whip into a motion she's trained for years, rolling, tumbling and shoving into the air before she helicopters forward like a whirlwind of power. Despite his attempts to weather and snare her legs, the motions are just too much; struck, he's battered repeatedly before he's sent flying.
As for Chun-Li? Her body eventually loses its momentum--but before then her hands drop downwards, fingertips brushing against the smooth arena floor before she drops her palm's heel. Letting her body whip around, she pivots on her palm and drops her legs, falling into a cross-legged crouch with her arms outstretched at her sides. She watches Frei carefully, brown eyes curious before she smiles and rises to her feet as he does.
"Ancient Chinese secret," she teases. Somewhere, someone groans and facepalms.
Her attention is almost instantly drawn thereafter, as Ayame suddenly makes her charge. Bracing her legs, Chun-Li readies herself for the strike to her legs--but it doesn't happen; instead, the tiny girl springs upwards and tries to hook it around the woman's throat. Immediately her hands shoot up, intercepting the titanium staff and dampening the choke hold considerably before she's sent tumbling, hitting the ground with a cushioned blow on her backside. It draws a loud 'oof' from the woman.
But the moment she's released, Chun-Li springs into motion. Leaping off the ground in that close proximity, she lets her body pivot around, an arm snapping out to deliver a backfist strike, to strike poor Ayame in the head with a powerful--and potentially nasty--punch. "YAH!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Chun-Li's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Frei
The girl isn't really wondering about the ancient Chinese secret like Frei might be. She's too busy dreading just how painful of an experience it is that the woman just put Frei /through/. "Oooookay..." the teen fighter exhales as the young man takes a beating. That he even manages to make it back to his feet comes as a surprise to her. He must be a lot tougher than he acts, she decides.
Her charge attack doesn't go as cleanly as she had hoped, but it could be worse. She could have got spinning ow kicked in the head like Frei. Landing on the other side of her vault over the woman, she follows through, pulling Chun-Li over her shoulder to the floor. Unlike the breaks the Chinese fighter has given her in letting her recover her wits now and then, the girl would have gladly followed up with a kick or two before she could get up.
But the more experienced fighter cushions the blow well, rolling back to the attack faster than Ayame even expected. Eyes widening, the girl ducks, then steps backward quickly, the fist meant for the side of her head just barely failing to collide - giving her a nice, up close view of those heavy, spiked bracelets of hers.
Okay, time to rethink this, the young fighter decides, sliding to a stop against the encroaching walls. Time may soon prevent anyone from playing the evasive game at this rate, but for a moment the girl is going to take her chances to catch her breath. "Uh... still with us here?" she asks toward Frei, not entirely sure how he's weathered so much abuse.
COMBATSYS: Ayame gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////// ]
|=======\======-\1 Frei
At Chun-Li's response, Frei can't help but give a hopeless laugh... well, and maybe that reassures Ayame that he's not on the verge of death or anything so dramatic, since he seems sensible enough. His hands come up to the sides of his head, massaging his aching temples, but he gives the Tai Chi mistress a wink as he responds while doing so. "If you mean to say you ate Calgon to strengthen yourself, I'll be pretty darn impressed." Oh, Frei. You're showing your age. He turns his head to the side a bit, tilting it toward Ayame, and then nods. "For now, yep. Sorry I haven't been more help so far."
Hmm. What the young sage would like to do right now is sit down and take a nice long nap... but that's probably not in the cards. Still, he's not 100% sure he's up to charging Chun-Li alone at the moment. True, it's going to mean both he and his teammate are on the defensive in the moments to come, but that might be a darn sight better than wobbling around like an insensate idiot. Thus, he too decides to hang back and see how things pan out for now, taking a deep breath.
Beyond that, he closes his eyes for a moment, and curiously his body is limned with a greenish glow that bursts outwards in tiny spherical motes that vanish as his eyes open. "I've got a couple ancient Chinese secrets of my own," he says to Chun-Li with a smile, pointing a finger at his red hair and freckled cheeks. "Don't let the Irish fool ya."
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
> //////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Frei
When Chun-Li strikes with a sweeping blow, Ayame does the sane thing: she ducks. Her arm cutting through empty air, Chun-Li simply spins on her booted heel, letting her body follow through the swift motion. A few steps are taken backwards almost immediately after, distancing herself briefly from the girl, who almost immediately after poses no real threat to the Tai Chi Mistress. That only leaves Frei, to whom she calls out to.
Glancing back to the monk, the Chinese woman offers a lopsided smile and a helpless little shrug. Calgon or no, the woman seems more than intent on keeping the two of them on their toes, evident by the way her grin turns almost playful shortly after. Her gaze slips from Frei to Ayame, then back to Frei, before her attentions turn on that slowly moving wall. Their gap is narrowing...
Exhaling lightly, the woman draws her eyes to a close, letting her mind again clear. Focused, she clenches and unclenches her hands, legs planting firmly as he resolves herself on her next course of action. Opening her almond-brown eyes, she fixes her attentions on Frei.
And then, like a shot from a starter pistol, Chun-Li lunges forward in a blur of blue, seeking to close in on Frei before he can offer up a suitable defense. And only then does she snap her leg out like before, to deliver a rapid series of kicks onto the trunk of his body. But it doesn't stop there; she'll switch up, changing legs before kicking repeatedly again, then switches up AGAIN and unleashes another series of lightning-fast kicks. From there she switches up one last time, her leg drawn tight at her hip before it shoots upwards, aimed for Frei's jaw to send him flying!
Little by little, the chamber grows more and more narrow, gradually starting to look more like a corridor than a /room/. It's not a pleasant sight or the girl that's coming to realize that her staff really isn't going to fit in this place much longer. Skipping backward, she moves in behind Frei as he starts to catch his breath. She's bravely letting him be in the way of Chun-Li's next attack.
"You're doing good at taking her hits," the girl grins faintly. It could be worse. It could be HER getting pummeled around by those kicks after all. "Keep it up!" she encourages ever so helpfully. Exhaling softly, the girl reluctantly collapses her staff down to a small tube. With a partner to consider and the narrowing confines of the chamber, it's just not going to be so useful anymore.
Slipping it into the pouch at her belt, the girl clenches then unclenches her hands, deciding to take a chance at engaging the incredible fighter again. Sure, Frei has to deal with what appears to be a nightmare storm of punishing kicks coming his way. But Ayame is going to try and give Chun-Li something to think about as she crouches a little then springs up into a forward flip over Frei.
Her target this time is Chun-Li's shoulders as she tries to hand plant atop them for a brief moment in a fit of acrobatic technique. If successful, she spins down out of the handstand, attempting to scissor her ankles around the woman's neck as she free falls to the floor of the room, seeking to pull the Tai Chi fighter down with her. At this point, anything to slow down the woman seems like a good idea in her book!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Frei with Houyoku Sen.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
> ////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Frei
There's no way. He rubs his head in embarassment at Ayame's injunction, which does effectively read 'keep getting kicked in the jaw so I'm not plz', but honestly, this is the second time he's been faced with the apotheosis of Chun-Li's kicking technique and his reaction *now* isn't much better than it was *then*: he braces himself and prays as hard as he can that he can deflect it somehow, and those dreams are dashed as the very first blow slams into his stomach at lightspeed. The rest is so quick it's a blur to everyone, even Frei, but the final telling blow literally slams him into the *ceiling* of the collapsing room, from which he raggedly falls into a sprawl with a loud *THUD*.
Somehow, he gets up.
Boy, does he look bad, as one might expect, but he's not out... not quite yet. If nothing else, Frei is a survivor of the first order. He might not pop back up raring to go like some fighters do, but he proves remarkably hard to put down in the right situations. "I should... feel honored," he says to Chun-Li, holding one hand over his eye as he slowly unfolds from his crouch. "That's the... second time you've felt it necessary... to use that technique." It might sound insincere, but he actually means it; if he merits one of her strongest skills, that's a feather in his cap.
"Sorry, Ayame," he also adds, shaking his head. "I think I've hit my limit on getting punched for the... moment. But... I might be able to help out anyway." But on assaulting Chun-Li? Not so much. Holding one hand out in front of him, he closes his eyes and concentrates. Seven swirling balls of pure white energy appear, spinning in an erratic pattern. "Seven holy stars..." he mutters, flicking his wrist. The orbs float through the air, spinning toward Chun-Li in a rough line. But they don't seek to hit her; rather, they sink into the floor around her.
With a sudden intensity that belies his injuries, Frei twists his wrist and yanks his arm up, inverting his hand and clenching it into a fist. "Give me strength!" On cue, the orbs sunk into the ground explode upward into pillars of pearly luminesence, looking to put a serious hurting on Chun-Li if she can't find a way to avoid them!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Frei's Hokuto Rekkoudan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
> /////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Ayame's Armed and Dangerous.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
> /////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
With the last kick fired off, Chun-Li exhales lightly, eyes drawing shut as she pulls her leg back and sets it down. When her eyes open, they look to the battered Frei who, despite all of that, somehow manages to stay on his feet for the time being. Upset? No? Annoyed? Never; this is Chun-Li, after all. She smiles instead, her eyes offering a warm expression before she replies, "Well, you two are quite a handful. I don't think I can go too lightly here." Which is the truth.
Glancing up as Ayame speaks, she chuckles softly and shakes her head, long ribbons from her ornaments brushing against her shoulders. Rather than immediately reply she grins, eyes shifting from the blonde to Frei, and then back again. They're going to assault in tandem; therefore, she has to be on her toes.
The spheres of energy are noted as they fly forwards, striking the ground at her feet. Blinking, the woman acts on pure instincts; leaping into the air she springs forward before she hits the ground and tumbles, rolling out of proximity of the giant pillars of light before she handsprings to her feet. And when she's grounded once more--there's Ayame!
When the girl leaps and reaches out, Chun-Li takes a cue from her book and simply ducks out of her grasp. Moments after she shoots back up, grinning lightly as she remarks, "Sorry to keep neglecting you." To prove just how apologetic she is the World's Strongest Woman snaps a leg out, a swift, fleeting sidekick aimed for the weapons-toting girl's side. "HAH!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Ayame with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Ayame
> /////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
Landing out of a handstand when your intended target ducks out of the way ends up being a tricky proposal but Ayame pulls it off, correcting for the longer fall by whipping her legs back down, landing in a soft crouch as she gets her feet into position at the last moment. "Oh, that's quite all right," she states tersely, not eager to have the woman's attentions turned her way any time soon anyway. Keep fighting, Frei. Hang in there!
Not to say that Ayame isn't resorting to other options, her right hand reaching for the neckline of her top, fingers pinching over the tip of a metal object sheathed there. Realizing the next attack is coming her way, she hopes to fend off the worst of it with her new toy. Whipping it open, the girl whirls into the kick, attempting to intersect with what turns out to be a bladed fan of solid iron fabrication.
Said iron doesn't stop the blow, however, as the woman's kick smashes through it solidly, sending Ayame sliding back some distance along the narrowing corridor before coming to a stop. "Oof." she grunts, hands tightening as she tries to shake it off. Looking at her now dented fan, the girl squints a little, just picturing the magnitude of power it'd take to accomplish that. She's lucky she got it in the way at least, even if it wasn't enough.
Shaking it a little, she grins back at Chun-Li, "Don't worry, got a replacement back home." But that doesn't mean she isn't going to try and put this one to use, swinging out hard with an arcing slash with the bladed end of the weapon toward the powerful fighter!
He'd hoped the close quarters would make that attack stick, but Chun-Li's speed is not to be underestimated, it would appear. Never mind the fact that... that took a lot out of someone who was already sort of wobbling. Just because he's not face-down on the floor doesn't mean Frei's exactly in tip-top condition either. Poor Ayame gets no encouragement from the redhead as he slumps forward a bit, hands on his knees, taking big gulps of air. Although he's feeling... surprisingly frustrated, the sage appears to be in a good mood, all things considered. Let's see you be chipper after getting booted in the head so many times!
Finally standing up, Frei shakes off his fatigue and whips an arm down to his side, fingers extended in a knife hand position. Said hand begins to glow with a silver-gold, metallic light as he rushes Chun-Li with all the energy he has left in his body, skirting her to flanking position with Ayame's fan slash and sweeping his hand upward in a parabolic arc, looking to drive both it and the slicing line of metal chi right into Chun-Li from the opposite side, the strike making a sound like a struck tuning fork if it connects.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Chun-Li with Random Strike.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Ayame
> ////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Frei's Houken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Ayame
> ////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Frei
No really, Chun-Li insists!
Fan or no, the kick finds its target, denting metal and sending the poor girl reeling backwards in response. Silently she lets her leg draw back to her side before she sets it down, peering rather curiously at the girl and her makeshift shield. Interesting choice. But the girl's comment draws her out of her thoughts, a small grin edging over her thin lips. "Good! Sorry about that, in any case." It doesn't stop Ayame by any means, however.
Blinking as she suddenly whips forward, the woman hops back--but just barely out of the bite of the bladed fan's edge. A gash rips across her upper chest, cutting through blue silks and leaving a bleeding little line across her skin. It stings, but she can't think about that, especially not when Frei comes charging shortly after to strike her. Turning quickly, she lets his incoming knifehand strike her hand, that slicing chi cutting into her and causing the woman to softly hiss before she stumbles back a few steps.
Another glance is spared to the walls. They're getting even closer than before...
Exhaling in mild frustration, the woman offers a tiny grin to both fighters. Drawing her arms up, she rests one palm over the other hand's palm, a faint flicker of blue energy roiling between both hands. "Like I said, you two are quite the handful," she offers in a friendly way, grinning broadly as the energy grows larger, energy forming into a large blue glob...before her arms whip up and back. Almost instantly after she thrusts her hips up and throws both arms forward, sending that energy flying forward, the once-glob now a sphere of rich cerulean that flies right for the monk!
"KIKOUKEN!"
The dented warfan manages to snag Chun-Li with a bit of its bite but it isn't enough to distract her from defending against Frei. Moment after moment, with those walls closing in, the girl becomes increasingly convinced that this woman has earned that title of hers. World's Strongest Woman is not a moniker will placed it would seem.
Drawing the fan back, she continues to grip it in her right hand. It might come in handy. Right now the two have Chun-Li trapped between them as the woman sends a globe of punishing chi directed for Frei. Wincing, Ayame decides that she's in no position to worry about Frei. He'll have to take care of himself.
Forgoing using the fan this time, the girl simply steps forward, getting in close, aiming to catch the woman while her focus is on Frei, and snaps her foot out, targeting Chun-Li's lower back with the sole of her brown Dr. Martins shoes. She really gets into the spirit of the kick though, going so far as to exclaim a "HA!" to echo along the narrowing wall like all the serious martial artists she's seen before.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Chun-Li's Kikouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Ayame
> ///// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Frei
On the upside, Frei is aware enough of the attack to actually do something about it; on the other hand, that doesn't mean he's in any shape to handle even a lessened blow. In a surprisingly aggressive move, Frei's hand glitters inky purple-black as he effectively 'punches' the sphere of chi Chun-Li has sent at him; the Kikouken and the aura around his fist explode in a swirl of the two colors, but the backblast is enough to send him stumbling backward, grimacing and clutching his chest in pain. Defense or no, Frei's had enough.
"Heh... sorry. That... that's about all I got," he murmurs, eyes heavy-lidded. Hopefully Ayame won't be too burdened all on her lonesome, but it's about time for him to check out. "I guess I wasn't... quite up to the challenge this time, either." Despite his demeanor, however, there is a sadness in his tone when he says that... or maybe more accurately described, disappointment. Despite his knowing that Chun-Li is more experienced and talented than he, it still gnaws at the young sage... a feeling he's still not entirely comfortable with.
But he's going to give it one last shot. "Heh. This one's for you... Kentou." Hands glowing bright green, the color of spring foliage, Frei suddenly lunges forward, almost like a guy in a zombie movie, and thrusts both palms at Chun-Li. The air between them is suddenly alive with leaves of pure green light, wood chi set loose, slicing through the air in a chaotic storm.
Afterwards, Frei slumps backwards and onto the floor. He's done here.
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li parries Frei's Reiki!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Ayame's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Ayame
There's an obvious look of surprise on Chun-Li's face as Frei suddenly moves, his hand afire with chi as he does what she does not really expect: he punches her sphere of energy, dispersing the energy, but not without consequence. Slowly the woman blinks her almond-brown eyes, lips pursing lightly as she takes a small step back. It may have taken a lot from the sage, but it still does the trick.
She offers a smile regardless, shaking her head lightly as he sells himself short. "Not exactly," she explains, her voice carrying despite the grinding of gears and stone on slab behind her. "You did very well--both of you have, especially considering circumstances." A hand lifts, pointing at the walls closing in, her lips curling just a bit more.
"Just don't give up or stop believing in yourself. That is important."
But the monk doesn't give up; he moves, as well as Ayame, coming in close to pinch the Chinese woman in. When Frei's glowing palms thrust out the woman drops low and opens her arms out from her sides, letting her body flow underneath the surge of leafy energy that slices the air dangerously above her. Shifting her legs, she twists again, coming to stand facing Ayame, rather than with her back to her. The kick that comes in is intercepted with the woman's palm, a light grunt escaping her lips.
Giving Ayame's heel a light and gentle shove away, Chun-Li says nothing more as the monk takes a much-needed rest; instead, she hops backwards, giving herself distance from the weapons-user. From there the woman then flips forward, landing into a sharp handstand. Instantly her legs snap outwards, her arms bending slightly before she pushes upwards. Whipping her body forwards, she draws that extended front leg down in a vicious arc to strike poor Ayame and send her crashing into the floor. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame endures Chun-Li's Sen'en Shuu EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1 Ayame
It all seems to be going according to plan. The exchanges of energy between Chun-Li and Frei. The swift evasion of the monk's final chi projectile before whirling around to catch Ayame's foot in time to prevent a clean blow. The girl is sent stumbling back as Chun-Li gains distance before springing into another punishing strike. With the way the weapons user isn't able to escape the attack, it must seem Chun-Li's course of action has been perfectly executed.
But Ayame has a plan. It's a crazy plan, but a plan all the same. She doesn't budge from her spot. She's going to quit trying to escape those punishing attacks. She's going to surprise the woman and catch her before she can recover from that aggressive attack of hers if it's the only thing she does.
The impact against her shoulder is punishing, driving her down to a knee with a pained gasp. But she's not down yet, and even as she drops to a knee, she converts that motion into a forward lunge, literally trying to tackle the Chinese national to the floor by leading with her opposite shoulder. If she manages to slam the Tai Chi fighter to the ground, the more violent side of Ayame's 'style' manifests itself as she whips that bladed fan back into play.
Laying into the woman with a rapid frenzy of quick slashes, the girl aims to dish out as many painful slices against the veteran fighter as she can risk before she finally pushes off and leaps back to her feet, not wanting to linger any longer than seems safe. It's all a gamble, but not one ascertained randomly as the girl executes her punishing plan.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Chun-Li with Entrapment.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Just when it seems that Chun-Li has Ayame trapped under her heel--literally so--the girl pulls a deceptively swift counterattack from out of her proverbial sleeve. As the Tai Chi Mistress draws her leg back in an attempt to recover from the odd attack and stand back up, Ayame rather suddenly and unexpectedly plows forward, driving the Chinese martial artist back first into the floor with a loud 'oof' and a heavy thud.
But before the woman can move her hands up to try and push the girl OFF of her, Ayame lashes out, repeatedly smacking the woman with that bladed fan. It cuts and rends, slicing cloth and fabrics, drawing blood and cutting flesh before--finally--the girl hops back onto her feet and leaves the woman to her own devices.
Stunned, baffled and incredibly sore, Chun-Li pulls herself to her feet with a soft groan, a bloodied, cut up hand reaching up to press against her slashed-up chest. Bleary-eyed, the World's Strongest Woman looks up, offering a weak smile to the girl before she says, a little hoarsely, "That was...really impressive." And the fact she's still standing after enduring the woman's axe-like kick...
Her head shakes lightly, clearing out the fuzz and fog before she lightly clenches her fists. Allowing her legs to tense up, she focuses entirely on Ayame, her smile fading a little. It's down to the wire now, and the walls aren't getting any further away. She has to make it count. Drawing a sharp breath deep into her lungs, the woman shifts her stance.
A split-second later she lunges into action, closing in on Ayame, much like she did Frei, before she whips a leg up, attempting to barrage the girl with seemingly thousands of kicks aimed from collarbone to her stomach, rapidly striking and attempting to send the blonde sprawling if she's not careful! "YAA!!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Hyakuretsu Kyaku from Chun-Li with Bright Renewal.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
As she expected, Chun-Li is still able to stand after all that. After all those hits from her weapons, the strikes, the slashes. All those attcks sent her way from Frei, the young man demonstrating incredible chi manipulation... And even Ayame's plan, executed frightfully well... and Chun-Li is going to get back up again. The girl looks visibly impressed. This woman's legend is well earned.
And now, with the walls so close together as to make lateral movement literally a non-option, the weapons prodigy is running out of room to operate. "Thank you." she replies, sounding abnormally humble for the girl that's built a reputation on being an obnoxious brat. Her shoulder throbs, her stomach aches, her side hurts. Her body has been battered by the best, but she's got a bit more left to give before she's finished.
Chun-Li is going to retaliate though and Ayame knows full well that one more strike is going to be 1 strike too many. No room to run, retreat is futile. It's down to her, her wits, and Chun-Li's punishing kicks now. In the end, her answer proves to be the only choice she had. To fall back on her reliable weapon, that staff that has served her so well.
In such limited space, drawing a six foot long weapon may seem ridiculous. But it is the weapon with which she is most familiar, and the one with which she can perform the most miracles. She draws the tube in the blink of an eye, the hydraulic hiss heard almost after the thing shoots out to its full length.
She holds it vertically now, and in that instant, is forced to defend herself. Kick after kick is fended against, the first few coming so fast that it's partially blind, desperate luck moreso than accurate timing. But the girl is fast, her reflexes and eyesight pinpoint accurate when put to the test, and when the opportunity presents itself, she sweeps the low end of the staff toward Chun-Li's supporting ankle, striking it forcefully to threaten her balance and possibly even knock her to the floor. Anything to cut off that turrent of kicks!
The effort, the timing, the adrenaline rush all come at cost though as Ayame stumbles backward, coming to rest against the wall behind her, releasing a gasp for breath. /That/ was intense. This whole scenario is intense. And right now, she's clinging to standing with what little strength she's got left. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to kick like that," the girl observes with a faint trace of a grin. The staff is still in her hands, held up at a steep angle. The fan she was using lies on the floor near where the exchange of attacks had begun. The girl flows constantly from one tool to the next with little need to pause, it seems.
There's an almost determined look on Chun-Li's face as she kicks, her foot not striking the pole but instead, pummeling the titanium pole held between the girl's hands. Her kicks continue as she tries to break through Ayame's defenses, a barrage of strong kicks that have every intention of trying to break the weapon in half. But before she knows it--
The girl shifts the staff and knocks the woman's ankle out from underneath her.
Sent sprawling to the ground, the woman hits with a grunt, her head shaking lightly before she stubbornly pulls herself to her feet. Grinning faintly, she shakes her head a bit, a hand reaching up to gently rub at the back of her aching skull. "Sure you can, if you keep at it," she explains. "It's like I said--just don't give up."
She steps back shortly after, giving herself a bit of breathing room as Ayame maintains the defensive. Mulling over the options before her, Chun-Li plots and plans her next course of action. Her body is tired and aching, and those walls are drawing dangerously closer. She can't just sit around--she has to do something.
Stubborn till the end, Chun-Li makes another charge after Ayame, her body crouching briefly before she leaps high. At first it looks as if she intends to simply jump OVER the weapons-user; but the moment her body crosses over the girl's skull does she suddenly thrust her legs forward, attempting to deliver a stunning blow to the back of Ayame's head. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame blocks Chun-Li's Tenshin Shuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Ayame
Sweeping Chun-Li back to the floor with her staff doesn't prove to be enough to beat the woman even after all this. She's back to standing again, leaving her and Ayame facing off in the narrow corridor. It would be hard for the walls to close much further before the fighters are going to be in a dangerous position of getting crushed, but the girl wasn't told /that/ was part of the plans. "I sure hope someone has their finger on the stop button," she muses softly, starting to feel claustrophobic.
The room to manuever is limited, but the graceful Chun-Li finds a way, springing up and over the girl, trying to catch Ayame woefully off guard. Whilring around, she doesn't have the necessary movement to try and counter the attack with anything cleaner than simply intersecting the staff up in front of her at an angle, bracing the ends of it against the wall with all she can muster.
The crushing force applied nearly floors the young fighter as she grunts, knees bending, shoulders feeling about ready to give before pushing back to shove Chun-Li off of her. There's really no hope of attacking with the staff at this point though. All she can do is swing it up and over her head like some kind battle axe, and even that doesn't strike her as terribly effective.
Another hydraulic hiss and the staff gets collapsed once again, likely for the final time this match, the girl tucking it away into the pouch at her belt. Gasping for breath, trying to keep going against increasingly difficult odds, the girl charges Chun-Li directly this time. With no lateral space to work with, she practically throws herself at the woman, literally trying to tackle her to the floor like she did just moments ago. There's nothing graceful about it, the girl is just running out of tricks, lacking her complete arsenal of weapons - it'll have to do!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li parries Ayame's Medium Throw!
[ \\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Ayame
Legs snap out, striking again that titanium pole in the girl's grasp, sending a shudder of raw power throughout the length of metal. But regardless of how well the young weapons prodigy handles it, the woman simply pushes off the pole and tumbles backwards, hitting the ground with a light roll before she springs up. And when she rises, she finds her back against a slowly moving wall.
A heavy sigh escapes the Tai Chi Mistress' lips. This is getting daunting...
Glancing back to the blonde, Chun-Li offers a friendly, albeit tired smile, her head bowing softly as she regards the equally-tired young fighter. "Pretty scary, isn't it?" she asks, tilting her head lightly. Brown eyes narrow only slightly, as the girl's staff collapses. Moments later she charges forward, and in response Chun-Li's body tenses. She holds her ground carefully...waiting and watching...until--
Just as Ayame tries to tackle her Chun-Li swiftly pivots on her booted heel, whipping around and behind the girl. From there, she'll attempt to grab her arm and whip HER around before driving a knee upwards toward the girl's sternum. And should it connect, Chun-Li will drop the offending knee briefly, only to drive it sharply upwards for a kick aimed right for Ayame's jaw!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Ayame with Kirin Shuu EX.
[ \\\\\\ < > ]
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Ayame
Stumbling forward as Chun-Li slips out of the way, Ayame staggers, forced to plant her hand to the wall to keep from simply flopping forward to the floor. Scary as the collapsing walls may be, they don't have anything on how scary her opponent is when she gets a hand on her. The girl tries to pull back the second that grip connects with her arm, but there's no contending with the woman in a direct exchange of force. She's going to get bashed. And hard.
It's hard to be actively scheming when getting a knee to the chest. Ayame gasps, the air forced from her lungs as she feels like her sternum is about to cave. Lucky for her, Chun-Li doesn't target it a second time, instead snapping her foot up into a jaw jarring kick that has her seeing stars.
There is one last stunt to pull, even if she doesn't have the capacity to recklessly charge the woman again. "Okay, that one might not have been a lucky hit..." she notes, reaching for her neck, extremely dazed. She's quick to open the clasp that releases the chain dangling there, allowing her to draw it out for one last crack back at Chun-Li, going for her neck with a whip-like snap.
She may not have the strength to get back to the Tai Chi fighter, but if the woman isn't able to escape the chain, Ayame is going to use it to pull the two of them right back together, using the opportunity to unleash a short flury of strikes - punches, knees, and a snap kick, using the whip like a crude leash to keep the stronger fighter put.
It's her swansong though, for successful for not, the girl collapses to the ground, releasing the chain in the end.
COMBATSYS: Ayame can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Ayame's Manslaughter.
[ \\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|
Letting Ayame go when her leg strikes her jaw, the woman sets her foot down and lifts her arms, assuming her neutral stance before pacing back a few steps. Unfortunately, there's very little room at this point to really go much of anywhere. But even now, the shrinking arena is becoming less of her concern; after all, Ayame is still on her feet, albeit staggering a bit and tired. At the same time, so too is the World's Strongest Woman.
But however tired or exhausted she may be, Chun-Li finds enough strength to offer a soft laugh and bow her head helplessly. She shrugs lightly, grinning still as her gaze sweeps up from the floor at her feet to the girl. And when she locks her eyes on Ayame, she notes the drawn chain. Briefly her brows furrow, lips pulling into a thin line across her face.
When it whips outwards, the woman whips her upper body to one side, letting the snare smack into the moving wall behind her before she weaves out of its way entirely. When she finally looks back, poor Ayame is collapsed. The Tai Chi Mistress frowns lightly--but only briefly. Seconds later, the walls cease to move.
Over the arena PA the announcer declares the fight over, with the World's Strongest Woman the fight's victor. Almost immediately Chun-Li exhales, eyes drawing to a close as she leans her back against the stopped wall. It was a long and testing battle--both physically and mentally--but she pulled through somehow, and that very fact brings a tiny, impish smile to Chun-Li's face.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:56:01 10/04/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 16:40:56 10/07/2008.