Description: Atop Strolheim's central tower, the Legendary Wolf Terry Bogard and his bouncy teammate Mai Shiranui face off against protege Rock Howard and the World's Strongest Woman, Chun-Li. A close fight indeed, Terry proves himself worth of his legendary status by handling not only Chun-Li, but his student Rock as well! But, as they say, there can be only one... (Winners: Chun-Li and Rock)
EARLIER TODAY... AT A BERLIN YOUTH HOSTEL:
"Mr. Bogard," a man wearing a dark suit and sunglasses says, standing over a passed-out Terry who is sprawled out on top of two German backpackers in the middle of an 8-bunkbed common room.
"Huh... Wuh... I don't speak German," Terry mutters, sitting up. "It's time for the tournament, Mr. Bogard," the G-Man says, hoisting Terry to his feet with one firm hand under an armpit. "Time to do your country proud."
"Yeah... Right. Who am I fighting today?" Terry screws one gloved fist into his eye blearily. "Chun-Li, the 'Strongest Woman In the World'... And Rock Howard."
Terry kneels down, scooping up his trucker hat and jamming it firmly onto his greasy unwashed hair. "Rock and a chick? Hmm, okay. I can do that." He wipes one hand over his mouth and snorts.
NOW...
A Blackhawk helicopter descends on the Strolheim town square, and Terry, dufflebag tucked over one shoulder, is shoved unceremoniously to the ground.
CONCURRENT WITH EARLIER FLASHBACK, THE BERLIN HILTON
Mai is passed out in the jacuzzi of her almost repellently decadent suite. Luckily, she is buoyant enough that she doesn't risk drowning, but she apparently tuckered herself out writing a thirty-two-page longhand letter about how Germany is so weirdly different from Japan to Andy. She has been separated him him for, as of the letter's writing, approximately nineteen hours.
Out of nowhere, her cell phone starts playing an mp3 of "Umbrella" by Rihanna pretty much as loud as it possibly can, causing Mai to awaken with a start and a snortle.
NOW
Mai's hair is still a little wet when her cab pulls up approximately five feet from where the helicopter is taking off. "Terry!" Mai squeals as her tag team partner hits the ground. She massively overpays the cab driver, believing that 1 yen = 1 euro, and as the driver gleefully drives off, the ninjet bounces over to Terry. "I heard we're fighting Rock! That's got to be exciting, you know, master versus protege! I'd love to have one of those fights someday," Mai says, snapping off the track pants she was wearing over her ninja whoresuit, "but all my students at the dojo keep quitting, like, six weeks in. Huh. Ah well, give me a big hug and--" Mai then gets close enough to smell Terry. "--and, uh, maybe, just, a firm handshake, I mean, like you manly men do."
Terry stands up with a groan and a stretch, scowling over his shoulder at the unmarked government helicopter as its rotors spin up and it takes off, whipping dust and eurotrash techno party leaflets in a rather tacky cyclone as it rises up into the wild blue yonder. The G-Man leans out through the open side door and glares down at Terry before pointing at the horizon, and the helicopter tips its rotor forward, quickly accelerating over the treeline.
"Ugh," he mutters, poking a pinkie into his ear, as if that will help stop the buzzing from the deafening helicopter drone go away. "Ever since George Bush decided I was an 'American Cultural Asset' those guys won't leave me alone." He frowns as Mai bounces up to him, simultaneously reaching into his back pocket to tacket ou a folded piece of computer print-out. "Let's see who my partner is..." He reads painfully slow as Mai jabbers at him, his frown deepening as he looks from the letter to Mai, then back at the letter. Balling it up in his fist, he throws it into a nearby trash can. "For the love of Chuck Norris, I asked for a partner with a lower fat/body mass ratio!" His scowl lightens as he looks at Mai and shrugs. "Ah, well. You're pretty buoyant, at least. In case we have to fight Rock in a sewer or something."
Rock Howard has been busy fretting like an old Jewish lady for the better part of the last 12 hours. Sure, Chun-Li and him are defending their runner-up status from the /last/ Strolheim tournament -- making them the odds on favorites in this year's iteration. Sure, he's been training like a psychopath since that time, improving in almost every category of his fighting technique. Sure, Chun-Li is arguably the best partner alive in the world today -- a compassionate, powerful, and considerate teammate who would rather die than see a partner fall in a fight, but his opponent --
Is Terry Bogard.
"Do you think he'll take it easy on us?" Rock asks Chun-Li, adjusting his leather fighting gloves for about the seventy-fifth time in the last half an hour of pre-fight 'warm ups.' They're situated atop the expansive wall that runs between two of the castle's ostentatious and unnecessary corner-towers; its a wide expanse of stone, but it still limits their manueability. The Strolheim lake is off to one side of the wall; the inner grounds to the other. But then again, Rock's fought on erupting volcanoes before.
"The last time I saw Terry Bogard, he beat up fourteen ninjas while tightening the snaps on his non-fitted Fatal Fury hat. You should have seen it, Chun-Li, he willed the spirit of the Earth and he just --"
Rock stops, swiping his hand through his hair. "Man, we're screwed. We've got no shot. We're fighting Terry Bogard. The /Legendary/ Wolf! We should just give up now and go home. My Uncle will forgive us for not posting -- he'd understand better than anyone being practical about fighting."
Some variety of this conversation has been going on for the entire day.
Mai's offer of a handshake wilts as it goes unseized-upon, and her face twists into a scowl as Terry mentions fighting in a sewer. "Oh, yuck, a sewer? Really? I thought this was supposed to be /classier/ than the Neo League."
Terry throws a few shadow punches in the air, stretching his arms out. While light, the punches still produce a crisp whip-crack sound in the air. "Yeah, man," he grunts, twirling one leg out in a slow, tension-releasing roundhouse kick, his red Chuck swishing through the air. "One of my first bouts was in a sewer, back when the local cops didn't have much tolerance for street brawls. They started arresting any tough guy who smelled like shit, figurin' that was just cause for a charge of illegal streetfightin'." He punctuates his thought with a high kick. "Little Bobby Bluemark couldn't swim. Drowned in a foot and a half of muck." He frowns lightly. "Anyway, you know where we're supposed to meet Rock and this Chun-Ching chick?"
Mai pulls a Mapquest printout out from her vest, which was apparently tucked under her breast or something, one of those issues best left unexplored. "Uh," Mai says, realizing the printout is in German. "Yeah, um, around... here... ish. Somewhere." She scratches her head, putting the printout away again. "I mean, I'm sure they'll find us or we'll find them or something. Maybe I should just, I don't know, um." Mai cups her hands to her mouth. "HEY ROCK! HEY CHUN-LI! WE'RE OVER HERE!"
Although hers was a late entry into the tournament--namely due to having to catch up with people and help certain former NESTS assassins save their sister--it was a breath of fresh air nonetheless. Having arrived on Strolheim grounds a few hours before the other fighter were actually scheduled TO arrive, it gave her plenty of time and room to practice and warm up before the actual fight-to-be. The courtyard was open and free, after all, so she had plenty of room to practice.
Eventually, time wore down and the time to get ready for her fight was at hand. Changing out of sweats and a comfortable women's muscle shirt for her trademark robin's egg blue Qipao, the World's Strongest Woman arrived at the Strolheim castle tower on time with a smile on her face. Up atop the tower, the wind was a bit worrisome, but nothing she couldn't handle--especially after fighting two opponents atop Macy's parade balloons. This was a cakewalk.
Meeting Rock with a smile, the woman offers, almost cheerfully, "I hope not!" However, Rock's uneasiness is noted, and with a sympathetic smile, the woman adds, "Don't worry. I'll give my best. You'll do fine, too. I'm almost positive you're stronger than the last Strolheim. Poor Terry better not take you lightly."
But Rock's uneasiness seems to get the best of him, and in response Chun-Li offers a soft laugh.
"I'm sorry Rock, but I can't give up. I wouldn't want to disappoint my fans--or yours." Lifting a hand, she offers it reassuringly upon his shoulder, still smiling. "So just try to focus on the fight as best you can. You're not alone, after all!"
Meanwhile, it would seem their opponents are lost. ..somewhere that isn't atop the castle tower. Maybe THEY forfeited..?
"Hey Rock, did you hear something?"
"The shout-out method," Terry responds with a knowing nod, walking over to a nearby trashcan. Ripping the metal lid off (it is the kind where the top segment is bolted on to prevent scavengers from having fun with it), he starts noisily smashing it against a light pole. "HEY! ROCK! WHERE ARE YOU BRO?!"
Rock looks at Chun-Li carefully, as if weighing if her words are true. Finally, his disposition hardens and he bobs his head. "Yeah," he says. "You're right. And yeah, I did --" There's some sort of hobo beating on his garbage pale drum for a freee handout. Deeply rooted artistocratic and rich evil father genetics twitch at the mere idea of garbage.
Turning, Rock leans over the battlements of the castle wall and cups a hand to his mouth. "Hey, Terry! Terry Bogard! The fight is up here! And if you keep banging that trashcan like you need some money. you'll interrupt Krauser's steam bath and he'll come out here all pec's and a towel, okay? We don't want that, okay? We just don't."
"Up here?" In the time Terry was bangin' and Rock was yellin', Mai somehow made it up to where Chun-Li and her young partner are, dusting her hands off with no visible sign of how she made it up there. Ninjas -- who needs 'em. "YEAH, TERRY, I GUESS WE'RE UP HERE, THEN!" she calls down to her partner, before turning to face Rock and Chun-Li.
"Hi! I'm Mai Shiranui, from the famous Shiranui Dojo!" She offers a handshake out to Chun-Li and Rock in turn, and when she sees Rock, she squeals, in as annoying a fashion as a human fe-male can. "Rock, you look so big now! You've really been hitting the gym, wow, I mean, I remember when you were like sooo much skinnier and Andy told me sooo much about all the things you and Terry would get up to and your adventures and your escapades and this must be a real trip huh I mean fighting Terry and all well don't worry I'll make sure he doesn't try to go too easy on you so you don't go too easy on him I mean it's not every day that someone gets an opportunity like this and wow Chun-Li I mean what can I say I'm a fan I kind of modeled my outfit on yours well not really that much but I thought it was such a cool coincidence that I didn't even get mad when I saw how you kind of ripped my clan off with the whole loincloth look but you added the puffy sleeves which look sooo cute and the hair buns and oh my god it's so good to fight you!"
Pause. "... Hi, Mai," Rock says, with a bashful deadpan.
Oh. There they are.
Peeking over the battlements just after Rock, Chun-Li shoots a gaze toward Terry and his partner, brown eyes hooding slightly as she squints toward the duo below. Banging a trashcan? Couldn't they have used a phone or something? Then again, it IS Terry Bogard...
Giving a soft sigh, the woman lifts an arm up and offers a wave from above to the fighters waiting below, encouraging them to come up. Soon after she turns away and crouches, stretching her legs out a bit to ready herself a bit more for the fight to soon be, all with a smile still on her face. But before she knows it--likely due to Mai's ninja heritage--the Shiranui ninja girl is there and present. Blinking once, Chun-Li stands upright and offers the woman a smile, her hand extended in greeting.
"E-er, it's nice to meet you too, miss Shiranui," the World's Strongest Woman offers nervously, a light, uncertain laugh escaping her before she bows to Mai respectfully. "I'm glad to finally see you in action in person. I've heard good things about the Shiranui style. And Terry, well...I'm eager to see the Legendary Wolf fight as well."
"Oh, hey dude!!" Terry waves cheerfully up at the castle, quickly walking over to the trash can and jamming the lid back on (it looks like he did it wrong, somehow). Jogging over to the castle wall, he unslings his dufflebag from his shoulder and loosens the drawstring. Rummaging around inside with his tongue poking the inside of his cheek, he eventually produces a military surplus grappling hook. Twirling it a few times next to him, he hoists it up in the air with a heavy grunt in an overhand toss, sending meters of cable spiralling behind it. The grappling hook thunks on the stones next to Chun-Li's curiously muscular legs, before Terry gives it a good tug. It skips and clatters before catching on a turret, and he begins to quickly scale the castle wall, gloved hand over gloved hand. A few minutes later, giving enough time for pleasantries and such, Terry rolls over the top of the castle wall, his face red from physical exertion.
"Hi," he gasps, lying on his back with his knees bent. "Just give me... *huff*... a second here, guys."
Rock watches Terry struggle for breath then turns and looks at the elevator a few feet away, nestled in the retrofit tower's old stairwell. He looks back at Terry. "So that's how you become stronger...?" he says, under a breath.
"I guess," Terry grunts, rocking his knees up to his chest before vaulting to his feet in one acrobatic flip. He leans against the castle wall, staring down at the town below before fishing out a Red Bull from his sack. "Did you know they make these in Austria? That's not that far away," he says with a wink, cracking it open and taking a sip. "Mostly push-ups and raw eggs, though," he advises Rock, pointing one finger from his Redbull can at Rock.
"I thought it was cheap liquor and cheaper women," Rock says, pulling his red replica Terry Bogard leather coat tighter onto his shoulders. "At least, that's what you told me last week when I got you out of jail."
Mai, at the sidelines, frowns, and gives Rock a 'don't you ever' kind of look.
Chun-Li kind of stands around looking awkward.
Terry chugs the rest of the can and smashes it into a flat disc between his palms. "Uh, yeah, anyway," he gives Rock a bit of a look that's like "not in front the ladies dude-bro." "You guys want to do this fight thing or what? Are there like, any special rules, or we just go at it, Street Mayhem-style?"
Rock briefly squints at Terry, not understanding the gesture. Instead, he starts wondering about why he's paired with Chun-Li and not his beloved mentor. It must be another test. He's hardening him up, making him tougher by making him work with new people who can improve his technique. That has to be why. Nodding to himself, Rock looks over to Chun-Li. "Be careful. Terry likes to sucker his opponents in by being really casual, so don't get fooled by that. Also, he can punch a hole in a tank. I've seen it happen. And Mai is tricky. Terry told me that she once told Andy she was preg --" A bird of prey flies by, squaking, and conveniently silencing Rock's comment from being heard.
"So," Rock backs up a few steps on the wall to get on his designated side. "I'm sorry Mai. I'm sorry Terry... But we're winning this tournament! Come on, Chun-Li, let's show these punks how to /fight/."
COMBATSYS: Rock has started a fight here.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|
Terry meanwhile takes a worn cassette tape out of one of the breast pockets on his vest, which has a piece of duct tape hanging off of it: SCORPIONS --- BEST OF. He slides it into the Walkman on his hip and slides a headset over his head. He starts bobbing his head, finger sliding the volume wheel up. "Don't worry, I can read lips," he nearly shouts.
"The Scorpions --" He points at his hip. "They're /GERMAN/."
COMBATSYS: Terry has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Terry
Mai seems almost embarassed by Terry, but hides it well, in that she only makes a completely repulsed face at him for a few seconds, tops. She then shakes her head, as if clearing cobwebs, and assumes her fighting stance, starting to rhythmically loosen up and keep her body moving, as if she had a beat of her own to go along to.
"No way, Rock!" Mai replies, clutching a closed steel fan, and pointing it dramatically. "Team Fatal Fury all the way -- fighting with Terry is /almost/ like fighting with Andy, and fighting alongside Andy is when I'm at my /most/ motivated! So this is like my /second most/ motivated!"
COMBATSYS: Mai has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mai
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|-------\-------\0 Terry
Looking rather uncertain through all of this, Chun-Li only breaks from her silence to turn her attentions onto Rock. Offering the blonde a light nod of her head, she turns her gaze then onto Terry, who casually slips his walkman headphones on. At least Rock knows precisely what he's talking about..?
"Er, got it," she offers, hands curling into loose fists. "I'll be sure to be as careful as can be, Rock." A small grin follows, as almond-brown eyes drift from the famous Bogard toward his buxom teammate. Honestly she's not sure who she should go after first...so that's why she waits, taking the defensive as Rock assumes his side of the castle roof.
"Alright, Rock. Let's do our best! Good luck Mai, Terry!" Another bow follows to both fighters. My, Chun-Li is such a nice lady!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Terry
Terry sees Chun-Li bow -- who knows how much he can hear through his headphones, which emit an audible roar from the general zone of his head. He raises his gloved fists to chest-level, squaring his stance, bobbing up and down. He gives Chun-Li a friendly nod before he crosses over the cobblestones, walking in a measured manner towards the Chinese she-fighter. With his long legs, such a pace still gets him close fairly quickly -- and he suddenly explodes into a flurry of long-legged kicks, twisting whirling as he approaches Chun-Li.
"ALRIGHT, MAI! LET'S DO THIS!"
Rock doesn't offer his opponents any bows or the like -- that's not how he rolls -- but he does wait until they look like they're at least mildly paying attention. When Terry Bogard explodes into movement, Rock takes that as his queue to unleash hell and all of that. Knowing better than to get into the middle of Terry and Chun-Li as they are both launching towards each other (he doesn't want to get his head kicked off), he moves towards Mai.
Breaking into a rough run forward, Rock's cool steel-toed black boots grind against the cobblestone castle until he jumps into the air. Extending his leg, he tries to jump-kick Mai back from the center of pain.
COMBATSYS: Mai parries Rock's Medium Kick!
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Rock 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Terry
"NOTSOFASTAAAH!" Mai cries out as Rock lunges forward, snapping her own leg up in a cheerleader kick to swat Rock's attack to one side, neutering it without trying to just plain smack him out of the sky, as she normally might. C'mon, Rock's a good kid. No need to be harsh. Or -- IS THERE. "If you want to lead off with a jump kick, Rock, you're gonna have to get quicker than that. Quick like -- THIS!" As Mai spits out that last bit of the sentence, she's already starting to twirl.
Naturally, when Mai twirls, nothing good comes of it. Luckily for Rock, she's not trying to get him to dance with her, which would only end in broken bones and tears, but instead just plain attacking him. The 'tails' of her costume flip upward from the speed of her spin, and she grabs them to lash them like a whip -- a whip surging with chi flame. "RYUU ENBU!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Terry's Light Kick.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Terry
When Chun-Li rises from the respectful bow given to her opponents her gaze almost instantly falls upon the biggest perceived threat present: Terry Bogard. And perhaps it was a good idea that she did precisely that; he moves, his steps casual and his stance almost lax as he draws nearer to the Chinese martial artist. Whether he seeks to take initiative and attack or not, that is an uncertainty that she'll have to deal with.
But, soon enough, he makes his intentions clear to Chun-Li. Lashing out with a swift kick, the woman is left with but one choice: block, or be kicked. So she does precisely that; lifting her arms up, Chun-Li shields herself as best she can from the swift series of kicks, each striking her forearms and dampening the blow. Only after he has yielded does the woman drop her guard with a grin.
Moving quickly--and swiftly--Chun-Li seeks to repay the favor in kind. Closing in on the Hungry Wolf, she draws a leg up sharply, her broad knee aimed to snap nastily into Bogard's sternum before she delivers a swift, second kick to the center of his chest with the same leg. "YAA!!"
COMBATSYS: Terry blocks Chun-Li's Medium Kick.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Terry
Terry is apparently deep in the zone, his head tilted down to shield his eyes with the brim of his hat so Chun-Li will have a pickle of a time figuring out just where he's looking -- if at anything. The sound of muffled 80's hair metal buzzing from his head and the steady, rhythmic snort of his fierce breathing are the only sounds he makes as he spins back to his other heel, matching Chun-Li's kicks with his own, wincing as Chun-Li's heel snaps against his ankle -- but it's enough to divert the brunt of the blows.
The brim of Terry's hat suddenly snaps up and he glares at Chun-Li, eye-to-eye, with his piercing caucasian man-wolf stare. Reaching out with a hand, he tries to grab one of her hair buns and throw her to the ground with a powerful lunge.
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Mai's Ryuu Enbu EX.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Terry
Rock's foot gets deflected from its killing intent. He lands back against the stone ground on his toes, taking two quick steps back just in time for Mai to send a crushing spin-kick towards him. "Damn --" he yells, bringing his arms up to block the kick with a brutal crack of the girl's foot against his forearm bones.
Driven back in the figurative sand, Rock's red eyes snap to the side to steal a glance at Chun-Li and Terry's tango. They're still too close for him to interrupt the flow and help Chun-Li out, so he immediately turns back to Mai. "You're pretty fast, Mai! But I've learned a few tricks from all my training. Like," Rock pivots his weight, jams a foot into the ground, and shoots himself towards the girl. He takes two really strong steps and then tucks his elbow, a sudden surge of chi swallowing his arm in its glow as he tries to drive it right through Mai's adequately padded chest.
"This!"
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Mai with Hard Edge.
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Rock 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Terry
Rock lives out the fantasies of maladjusted fourteen-year-old fighting fans worldwide as he gets his chance to slap Mai's chest around -- and does so admirably, as Mai is about to make some sort of condescending but well-meaning quip when Rock knocks the air out of her. She hurtles backward, landing on her shoulders, but somehow nimble enough to swing her legs up and flip to her feet regardless. "Oof! I told you you'd been hitting the gym! /Wow/," she says, pride in Rock overcoming the pain of having the canyon between her breasts deepened.
"So I hope you don't mind," Mai continues, flipping a fan out of some skillfully concealed spot, and then flipping that fan into two fans, and one of those fans into a third, "if I try and equalize things a bit!" Using both hands, Mai throws all three fans, which snap open and whirl like buzzsaws as they ride through the air -- one high, one low, and one juuust in the middle, steel blades gleaming in the light.
COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Chun-Li with Buster Throw.
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Rock 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Terry
While Terry may be 'deep in the zone' and empowered by The Scorpions, Chun-Li apparently isn't.
Up close and personal with the Hungry Wolf, her attacks are caught with precise blocking and quick thinking. It doesn't seem to upset the woman at all; in fact, she just grins lightly in response, a foot moving backwards as she seems intent on giving herself a little breathing room--but Terry has other plans.
Snared by an oxhorn, the woman is sent spilling to the ground, a loud 'oof' escaping the Tai Chi Mistress as she tumbles forward. Rolling once and quickly to the side, she exhales as she hops to her feet. That smarted a bit, evident by the way she absently rubs at one shoulder. Still, she's not too worse for wear, and well-off enough to suddenly jerk forward and leap into a handstand. From there, her legs split front to back, and with a fierce shove she flips her body forward and through the air, intent on driving a heel painfully into Bogard if he's not careful!
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Mai's Mizudori no Mai.
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Rock 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Terry
COMBATSYS: Terry interrupts Sen'en Shuu from Chun-Li with Rising Tackle EX.
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Rock 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\1 Terry
Terry winces with just a hint of nice-guy sympathy as he head-tosses a little Chinese woman to the ground. "Sorry, lady," he says, keeping one fist raised, but tucking off his right earphone to ease communication. "But you gotta know I don't hold back!" Dropping down into a duck as Chun-Li explodes into an upside-down whirling kick, he slides his right earmuff back into place before violently rocketing upwards from his crouch into the air. He launches up in an inverted jack-knife position, rudely thrusting his denim-clad leg into the spinnig blades of Chun-Li's propeller kick! "RISING TACKLE!" He booms, crashing straight up through Chun-Li's attack, reorienting in the air with a quick flip, and landing in a three-point stance.
"Aghh!" Rock yells in pain as the three bladed fans cut across his body. One of them slices across his shoulder, severing some of the fabric of his beloved leather coat. The other spins by near his knee, tearing a splash of blood as it cuts across some tendons in his thigh. The third pings off his forearm again, pain billowing across Howard's face from the impact. But he's had worse. He's been stabbed in the chest by Yamazaki, for christ sake. Some bladed fans aren't going to stop him!
Dropping back into his Hakyokusaken stance, Rock rolls his shoulder and studies Mai more carefully. "Chun-Li, you okay?" he calls, pacing a small bit from Mai and eyeballing her -- like every 14 year old fight fan's greatest dream. "You've been hitting the gym too, haven't you, Mai? Andy told me you've been training a lot because you were sick of complaining about him being too fast."
The telltale sound of a Rising Tackle to his right, though, ends Rock's banter. He's spent the better part of his life studying Terry Bogard's best moves. He fell asleep more times than he can remember watching videos of the first King of Fighters tournament. It's like subconscious now. He has a Bogard-sense. Abruptly, Rock shouts to Chun-Li. "Shit, a Rising Takku! Chun-Li, He's going to be weak on the way down, hit him as hard as you can!"
COMBATSYS: Rock assists Chun-Li.
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Rock 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mai
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Chun-Li 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Terry
"Rock, you f---er!!" A German falcon screeches, cutting Terry off. Or would have, if Terry could hear anything Rock was saying through his headphones.
"He said /WHAT/?!" Mai roars, snapping into ninja fury as suddenly as if Rock had just flipped a switch. As Rock is distracted telling Chun-Li what's up, Mai doesn't even seem to care -- she's too busy trying to kick Rock's head clear off. Of course, her fury is susceptible to delusion, just like all of her other emotions: "Andy would NEVER say I said he was too fast, and SHAME on you for lying about Andy, Rock! ANDY! One of your closest friends! And to bring up -- THAT, well, you should have your MOUTH washed out! Oh my GOD!" Mai attempts to wash his teeth with her heel, natch.
Within the span of mere seconds, Chun-Li's assault is broken through, Terry suddenly launching himself upwards in a corkscrew fashion and driving painfully into the Chinese fighter. She yelps, sent sprawling backwards and hitting the ground with a thud as Terry continues to flip into the air. Within moments, however painful it may be, the woman is back on her feet, her head shaking as she tries to dismiss the fuzziness and ringing in her ears.
But just before Chun-Li pushes off and makes her assault, Rock calls out to her with sagely (and cheater??) advice. Blinking, she hears him out before turning her eyes onto Terry as he lands, lips pursed. Vulnerable on the way down? Well, that means she should take the kid's advice and capitalize on the moment.
Drawing a sharp breath into her lungs, Chun-Li's eyes briefly shut as she focuses. Moments later her eyes open and, with a sharp cry from deep within her lungs, Chun-Li fires off. Closing in on Bogard, she attempts to deliver a series of swift, lightning-fast blows with one leg, over and over before, suddenly, she changes up. Kicking with the opposite leg, she pommels at the Hungry Wolf again before she yet again changes up, doing the same a third time before--finally--she switches her legs and drives a foot upwards, to send Terry flying after the jackhammer-like blows into the sky!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Terry with Houyoku Sen.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1 Terry
Terry is, indeed, vulnerable on the way down. Rock may be a rat bastard who'd stab his trainer in the back, but he isn't a liar. /This time./ After furiously metaposing his ill will towards his pupil, Terry can only brace for the incoming burrage of tiny woman fury. His jaw muscles tense visibly underneath his blond face scruff and he raises his fists in defiance as Chun-Li's heel cracks across his temple. He doubles over -- but that's not enough to save him from the machine gun flurry of kicks into his ribcages. By the time she's finished, Chun-Li's ribs of have no doubt memorized the location of each and every one of Terry's heavily calcified ribs. No fractures, but his face turns red and his blue eyes bug out as Chun-Li kicks the air out of his lungs. The final kick causes Terry to vomit up a blast of Red Bull from his stomach, causing him to tumble away in a dazed lurch. Which leaves him open to the final kick, which knocks him into the air like a squealing Fourth of July bottle rocket. While Terry has had his ass kicked before, fans at home (and Rock) will notice that this was an exceptionally brutal beating -- even for him.
At the apex of his flight, Terry achieves a sense of weightlessness as the kinetic energy of Chun-Li's kick and the irresistible pull of Earth's gravity achieve a split second of buoyancy. Terry's mind wanders...
SOUTH TOWN A.K.A. "THE OLD SCHOOL":
Terry and Andy, around ten years old, stand in an alley. A man in a martial arts gi and fingerless gloves towers over them. "Oh, you kids think martial arts is gay, huh? You think it's for the kids not big enough to get on the Football team?" The middle aged man scowls, punching his fist through a dumpster and causing it shower in a flash of red-white spiritual energy. "CAN A LINEBACKER DO THAT??" Andy and Terry start to cry.
NOW...
Terry's eyes open. He begins to fall back towards the ground -- and possibly a broken neck -- but he seems intently focused on the burning sensation in his right hand. Unclenching his fist, red-white ki fire climbs up his arm. He opens his mouth in a howl, rising his fist over his head before punching it into the ancient cobblestones of the castle, burying his arm up to the elbow before the ground underneath Chun-Li's feet explodes like so many South Town dumpsters.
"POWER GEYSER!!!" Terry shouts, saliva trailing from his lower lip.
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Strong Kick from Mai with Gedan Crack Counter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Terry
"-- Holy shit!" Rock panics as Mai explodes with fury. He isn't even sure what he did to piss her off! He was just repeating what he heard while pressing a pint glass to the door of Andy's bedroom five years ago! He was sure those noises they were making were them deep ... in ... training. "OhMyGod, IneverEvenThought --"
There's no time for apologies when involved in the sacred /fight/. There is only action and reaction. Force and counter force. Talent and technique. Strength and skill. Cliche and cliched. Reacting quickly, the son of Geese Howard starts to piroette beneath Mai's foot at an angle, defying the laws of reality to then spin and flip into the air. The back of his booted heel spinwheels with his flip, burying itself into the back of the ninja girl's head in a sweet variation of the Crack Shoot.
Landing on the other side of Mai, Rock tugs at his coats collar like the Fonz and straightens his back. "Man, I'm getting good at -- " POWA GEEEYSAAA. Rock shields his eyes with his hand, squinting to see if Chun-Li is still alive. " -- this...?"
Mai's ponytail is kicked so hard that it slams into the back of her skull. Well, Rock's boot hits her, too, but still, the ponytail is what's important. All the same, she flips ass over elbows (and what an ass) and lands with a loud, nasty CRACK sound. If she's injured, though, she hides it as she pinwheels to her feet. "You'd better be, buster, because you're /REALLY/ in for it now," Mai says, running at Rock -- and then leaping into the air.
"SHIRANUI--"
Mai attempts to grab Rock by the head and /flip/ him as she herself flips over his standing body.
"--GOURIN!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Terry's Power Geyser.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Terry
With one final, bone-jarring kick, Chun-Li sends Bogard flying painfully into the sky. Part of the woman feels a distant remorse for going all-out with such a brutal technique, but another part of her realizes it's a competition and she's on a team. She can't let Rock down, after all. Not when he is fighting just as hard against the Shiranui woman.
Brown eyes remain fixed on Terry as he falls, that chi energy noted as he begins to fall to the ground. Second later he suddenly falls to the earth proper and punches it open, a roaring geyser of pure energy launching itself toward the woman. So what does Chun-Li do? She shields her face and chest from harm's way, arms folded over her body as she absorbs the majority of the energy. It hurts. It stings. But, somehow, she weathers it through.
Shaking her arms out--arms which are, at this point, somewhat numb--the woman offers a small grin. "That was really scary, mister Bogard," the woman offers in a friendly manner. "I'm honored to have been able to see it. Thank you!"
But despite her kind words, Chun-Li does not relent. Instead, the woman skip-hops into motion, jogging forward as she closes in on Terry. Once near--if at all--she lashes a leg out, a turning side kick aimed high, for the side of Bogard's head. "YAH!"
COMBATSYS: Terry endures Chun-Li's Light Kick!!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Terry
Terry remains buried in the castle up to his elbow after the nigh-orgasmic unletting of chi that just occured. The melting rock starts to cool, leaving Terry literally stuck, elbow-deep, in the castle -- with a melted tunnel that turns into a jagged crater where half of the turret used to be. He tries to wiggle his fingers; can't. He frowns just as Chun-Li snap-kicks him in the ear, breaking his headphones and knocking them off his head. "Hey! Hey! C'mon, c'mon!" He snaps at her, annoyed. Tugging at his buried arm, his other hand plunges into his vest pocket, pulling out a pair of emergency earbuds. He then speedily slaps his hip, ejecting the SCORPIONS tape to the ground. He spirits a second tape, JOURNEY: GREATEST HITS, into his hip-based Walkman. Slaping the tape bay closed, he thumbs PLAY.
"STREET, LIGHT... PEOPLE..." The words buzz from Terry's head, and he smiles serenely, the pain starting to flow from his body. Meanwhile, he tries to hook Chun-Li's ankle and trip her to the ground -- trying to keep her busy.
COMBATSYS: Rock just-defends Mai's Shiranui Gourin!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Terry
Rock gulps and tries to chop Mai's arms near the wrists before she can get a grip on his head for what he knows will hurt. Using the brief impact to his advantage, he then pivots beneath and her extended arms while tucking into a one-handed cartwheel to get away.
Shaking his hand in the air like he just punched a brick wall, Rock tilts his head around and gives Mai a cocky grin. He's confident about his team's chances, even if he's not sure about the way him and Chun-Li are operating right now; they've essentially paired off to fight their comparable opponent... But that's the predictable tactic. That's what everyone expects to happen. The Geese in him tells him that the true method to victory is being merciless and taking advantage of your opponent's weaknesses. Or, in a team fight, double-teaming someone. But as Rock looks back over at Terry Bogard, he remembers the principles he tries to live by, rather than the one's he was taught --
"I'm going to end this," he yells to Mai, his face flattening. "So don't try and stop me!" Rock's evil blood boils as he slams his foot into the ground, moving into a movement familiar to anyone who has watched even the most basic Street Fighting. His right hand clutches into a fist at his hip, as his left foot pistons forward. Cutting the arm forward, a burst of glowing blue chi snaps off the uppercut to churn across the ground. "DOUBLE!" Rock shifts and mimics the motion with his left hand, a second burning wall of energy tearing off behind the first. "REPPUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Mai with Double Reppuken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Rock 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Terry
Mai tries to jump.
Operative word there is 'tries.' The first blast of chi hits her like a rocket, sending her into the air like a spinning pinball, and the second blasts her right in the spine, causing her to flatten out and flip in the air like one of her mother's delicious homemade pancakes.
Mai lands, face down, bouncing her skull off of the ground, opening a rather disgusting gash from the impact. Blood streams down her face, the whites of her eyes highlighted by her new dark mask. "Rock--?" she asks, woozily, but can't get any more out of whatever question she had in mind.
Bloodied but unbowed, Mai pushes herself up with a grunt, sloppy and uneven on her feet like she's been drinking -- or, more accurately, like she has a concussion. She stares at Rock blankly for a moment, mouth moving to try and say some patented Mai witticism, but when nothing really comes out other than "uhh" she decides to launch right into her next offensive. Gaining enough footing to run, she does so, gaining enough speed to leap forward, handspringing off the ground and adding a twist so that her elbow soars toward Rock. "HAAA-AH!"
COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Chun-Li with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Rock 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Terry
The headphone-breaking noted, Chun-Li offers a small, sheepish shrug and a coy smile, mouthing 'sorry' apologetically to the man before she hops back post-assault. Assuming a defensive stance, her arms lift as a leg crooks slightly, poised and ready for whatever the Hungry Wolf has for her. But she can't help herself--a brief glance is spared toward Rock and the ninja girl, to see how the young man fares. And as far as she can tell, he's doing just fine.
When Chun-Li looks back, however, Terry is suddenly THERE and in her FACE, grabbing the woman and sending her into the ground with another heavy thud. She coughs lightly, giving her head a shaking out before she rolls backwards and handsprings to her feet, offering the man a lopsided grin. A split-second later the woman crouches low and bends her knees deep before she leaps forward, seemingly intent on leaping OVER Terry. But midflight, just at the apex of her flip over his head, both feet shoot outwards, the soles of her heavy ivory white boots slamming forward to crash into the back of Terry's cranium!
COMBATSYS: Terry blocks Chun-Li's Tenshin Shuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Rock 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Terry
COMBATSYS: Terry gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Rock 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Terry
Terry remains with his arm stuck in a pool of melted rock, so it makes any hope he might have had for dodging Chun-Li's power-stomp useless. He can only grit his teeth and raise his free arm, grabbing the soles of Chun-Li's boots as she presses down on him. Still, his hand is pounded into his chest and his entire body slams down against the groud. "Ngggh!" He grunts, eyes squinting in pain. "Can't you see I'm stuck?!" He flails, punching his free hand into the ground. Nostrils flaring with rage and humiliation, he closes his eyes, trying to find...
*GONG*
... his /chi/.
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi from Mai with Gedan Crack Counter.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Rock 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Mai
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Terry
"Maybe you should call it a night -- I don't want to hurt you --" Rock says to Mai, laying down the ultimate cliche insult between two world warriors, while watching the girl wobble back to her feet. He would feel terrible if he seriously hurt Andy's girlfriend. But then again, she entered this tournament to win just like he did. There's no friends when you're fighting for pride, honor, and access to a huge plate of poorly defined Germanic Meats at Krauser's victory banquet.
"Maybe you should call it a night -- I don't want to hurt you --" Rock says to Mai, laying down the ultimate cliche insult between two world warriors, while watching the girl wobble back to her feet. He would feel terrible if he seriously hurt Andy's girlfriend. But then again, she entered this tournament to win just like he did. There's no friends when you're fighting for pride, honor, and access to a huge plate of poorly defined Germanic Meats at Krauser's victory banquet.
Rock came in second place the last time his Uncle Krauser hosted the teacher/student tournament. This year, he wants to win. He wants to prove to all the people in the world that he has what it takes to be as good as, or /better/, than his father. He wants to prove that he doesn't need Geese Howard to become a powerful fighter -- to become a champion again. Mai is a great fighter, but on this day, Rock Howard is just more focused. He's got the razor's edge back. The killer instinct; the burning adrenaline of the fight surging in his veins.
Grappling Mai's elbow, Rock immediately drops his weight backwards so that the force is deadened. And while Mai hopefully stumbles forward, he sweeps his body around into another ridiculous display of agility; letting her fall forward while he flips over top of her head and kicks her squarely in the shoulderblades like she was the step of his stair master. Vaulting off her, he lands in a forward roll and comes out of it on one knee -- his blond hair swaying awesomely and netting him a thousand new MySpace friend requests.
"I'll win this tournament for you, Mai Shiranui, Master of Ninjitsu."
Mai is /pummeled/ -- like, Rock handles her like she had the skill of a baby, and the crack of his foot against her spine is like a gunshot. As Mai lurches forward from the impact, though, she suddenly starts rolling with it.
Mai tucks into a somersault, and when she comes out of that, she's still running. She's going a hundred percent on pure instinct, every synapse still functioning in her bruised brain serving to power this one move, as she suddenly lunges downward again, into another handspring. Incidentally -- she's like a foot from a wall.
And when Mai comes out of that handspring, her legs bend, feet slamming into the stone wall so hard it kicks up some dust. She violently kicks off, putting such force into her sideways leap that she leaves shadowy afterimages, funneling chi and whatever inner strength she can shore up into this last, desperate flying elbow. "CHOU -- HISSATSU -- SHINOBI -- BACHI!"
COMBATSYS: Mai can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rock 1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Rock endures Mai's Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi EX!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Rock 1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|
Recoiling her legs from the grasp of Bogard, Chun-Li springs off the man's palms and flips once more, landing in a neat handstand before she springs off and lands on her feet proper. Blinking once, she peers thoughtfully toward the blonde, who pools his chi energy. A ghost of a frown crosses the woman's lips before she absently shrugs her shoulders, grinning in response before she wags a finger.
"Sorry mister Bogard, but I can't wait all day," she playfully teases. Rock and Mai go otherwise forgotten for now; instead, Chun-Li inhales a deep breath into her lungs before she slowly exhales, finding her focus. And once she's found it--
Tearing off like a bolt of blue lightning, Chun-Li zeroes in on Terry and, much like her brutal attack from before, unleashes a series of rapid-quick blows, her heel jackhammering relentlessly at his chest in varying angles--high, mid and low--to try and pierce his defenses. "YA YA YA!!"
COMBATSYS: Terry just-defends Chun-Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rock 1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/--=====|
"DON'T. STOP. BELIEVIN'." Terry's headphones roar triumphantly, and he looks up at Chun-Li with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Hey, Chun-Li," he says, pushing his headphones off his head and leaving them hanging around his neck. "I'm the one who's been waitin' for /you/!" He grits his grinning teeth together, /tearing/ his arm out of the melted stone pool -- and a huge chunk of rock around his forearm, as well! Pebbles and dust scattered to the ground as he waves the huge chunk of rock clinging to his fist, raising it to block the hammering of Chun-Li's kicks, pulverizing the rock into dust! With the final kick, the last bit of mortar is knocked off of Terry's wrist, which he shakes a few times, trying to restore the circulation. "Ha-ha!" He cackles maniacally, hopping from one foot to another. "Thanks for that! OVERSHOOT--" He sucks in a big breath, heaves the freshly-freed fist over his head, and slams his chi-crackling knuckles in front of him, sending a blast of energy shredding the cobblestones right towards Chun-Li!
"-- GEYSAH!!"
Rock was certain that Mai was done for after that. The shakiness. The blank stare. They were all signs of a fighter on the edge of collapse. So as he straights back to his feet, feeling really damn coy and proud of himself for taking down a really acclaimed fighter, his red eyes go supernova when he hears the thunderclap scream of a ninjatrix unleashed.
Howard gets about half-way turned to face Mai before the girl's elbow is crashing into his upper chest. It is like an artillery shell hammering against the side of a Destroyer hull. Blasted back from the impact, Rock hits his back on the incredibly hard Strolheim stone and then tumbles two more times in a roll from the momentum. He finally smashes into the stone walling of the castle's elevated perimeter; some shards of rock splintering and dropping down into the lake below.
Rock groans as he rolls forward, plants a black leather gloved hand against the stone, and hauls himself to his feet. He squints through the cobwebs in his brain to try and see if Mai is still Ninja Gaidening around the embankment. It looks like that was her last hurrah, though. Exhaling through his clenched jaw, he summons his strength back and assesses Chun-Li's situation.
FIVE YEARS AGO...
Rock is watching X-Men: Evolution with his father, Geese Howard. Magneto has just monologued about mutantkinds' right to reign supreme. Geese laughs, turning to Rock. "You understand the lesson of this cartoon, boy?"
"No sir," Rock says, cringing from his father's menacing stare.
"The strong must destroy the weak."
"What?" Rock stands up, looking affonted. "But that's Apocalypse's ideology!"
"It holds true to Magneto as well, boy," Geese says behind his impossible glower.
"-- Terry Bogard was right!! /Y-you/ aren't a true X-fan!! Screw you, Geese! I'll never forgive you and never come home!" The door slams, leaving Geese to his thoughts.
NOW...
"If I want to win, Terry," Rock says under his breath. "Then I have to show you how strong I've become. I'm sorry, but I know now that sometimes you have to sacrifice a little honor if you want to /win/!" From the other side of Terry then, a huge surge of Rock's chi aura flourishes around the teenager. He's got the blood of fighting kings in his veins -- a gift from a linneage of impossibly powerful men. And he uses that to execute the one technique more valued by his father than any other. Deadly Rave Neo.
Rock comes onto Terry Bogard like a maelstrom, sending a blitzkrieg of punches and kicks towards his mentor with a building frenzy. It all culminates with a climatic clenching of his wrists together at the side of his hips. "DEADLY," he yells, red eyes burning. "RAVE!" Chi explodes into a swirling tornado around him, as he thrusts the palms straight forward like one of Ryu's Hadou attacks -- only a slicing beam of blue-white chi bursts forward. "NEO!!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Terry's Overshoot Geyser.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|
Upon landing her strike, Mai passes out, falling forward and slumping on the ground. Luckily, she has the courtesy to do so where no one will trip over her.
Blinking in surprise, Chun-Li backpedals a bit as Terry seems no worse for wear after her assault. Though a ghost of a frown edges its way across her lips, the woman doesn't seem by any means nonplussed by the outcome. If anything, it makes it an even more difficult obstacle to overcome in this fight. She thinks she's done pretty well so far, even if they're more or less on even ground.
For now, anyway.
Before she can properly reply to the Hungry Wolf's comments, the man's arm explodes with energy, sending a powerful burst of energy launching right at the woman. Bracing herself, she weathers the blow once more, debris and sheer energy cutting against her aching forearms as she withstands its brute force. Once the energy subsides the woman exhales, sagging her shoulders as she struggles to breathe.
Just as the World's Strongest Woman begins to move, a blur of motion catches her eyes. Rock blazes forward, assaulting his mentor with a barrage of attacks. Not about to get under the youth's foot, Chun-Li steps back and merely observes, keeping distance for now so that Rock can get in--and out--without her being in his way.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Terry endures Rock's Deadly Rave Neo!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 1/----===/=======|
Terry's eyes are squarely focused on Rock when his protege charges him from his blindspot -- only Chun-Li's shifting her eyes causes the Hungry Wolf's own pair of sharp blue spheres to snap to the corner of his field of vision. He clenches before Rock's blast impacts, but only a moment before -- it sends Terry spiraling, lifted like a ragdoll off of his feet and smashed into an unforgiving stone wall that spider-web cracks on his body slamming into it. Terry blacks out for a moment with the power of the blast, his body crumpling into the fetal position and slamming against the ground in a cloud of dust.
A split second passes and he gasps, eyelids fluttering as he fights to cling to consciousness. Grasping at the wall of with one blackened hand, he pulls his body up -- though one arm hangs limply at his side. "I'd clap," he rasps, turning to face Rock, "But, well..." He shakes his shoulder, causing his arm to dangle at his side.
"Hey, Rock," he says, lifting his chin up and offering the younger man a grin. "You deserve this one, okay?" He lifts his still-active arm over his head, a ball of chi gathering in his palm. "ROUND WAVE!!" He yells with conviction, launching a slashing ribbon of force at Rock.
COMBATSYS: Rock effortlessly blocks Terry's Round Wave.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rock 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 1/----===/=======|
"Yeah!" Rock yells, loving when he gets to bare witness to Terry Bogard in a grueling, brutal, all-out fight. There is no man on the planet more inspiring, who fights with more wild abandon. It's why he's the Lone Wolf, the Legendary Wolf, the -- Rock almost forgets that he's fighting /him/. It's all he can do to get a barrier of chi up intime to avoid being cut in half by the Round Wave.
The golden energy of Terry Bogard meets the blue aura of Rock Howard with a crackling hiss of power. The edges of the elevated castle wall explode outward from the shockwave of impact -- stones exploding down onto the foyer and lake from both directions. With smoke spinning off Rock's body, the Howard scion doesn't let up on his attack against his mentor. He knows it is the only way to win.
"I'm giving you my BEST!" he yells, running right into Terry's melee threat range. He's not sure what this will do to Chun-Li's planning, but he wants to show Terry how strong he's gotten. And to do that, he varies one of Terry's best moves -- chi blossoming off his fist as he drives it straight for the Legendary Wolf's heart; but at the last moment, he tucks it and lets the chi flourish down to his elbow, driving it towards Bogard's sternum.
With Rock in Terry's sights, it gives Chun-Li 'free reign' to go about relatively undetected, as it were. Standing her ground, the World's Strongest Woman observes as Terry attacks his protégé, and as Rock handles the assault with relative ease. A tiny smile edges its way across her lips--Rock is doing very well this fight, she decides. And here he was worried!
But the fight still isn't over. Biting absently at her lip, the Tai Chi Mistress watches as Rock runs forth and drives a fist kissed with chi at his mentor's chest. Chun-Li decides now is as good a time as any to act; dashing forward just as Rock attacks, she seeks to draw in close and crouch low. Once Rock is out of harm's way her body will suddenly launch upwards from the ground at an angle, her body whipping around as she attempts to deliver an aerial roundhouse kick at Bogard's chest. But it doesn't end there.
Instead, the woman's body continues to rotate, and take Terry up with her! Over and over her body will spin, carrying both her body and Terry's into the air as she delivers kick after kick. A total of ten are delivered before she drops a heel into Terry's chest--should she catch him at all--to spike him like a human volleyball into the ground. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Terry dodges Rock's Hard Edge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rock 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Terry auto-guards Chun-Li's Hazan Tenshou Kyaku!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rock 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|
Terry just grins at Rock as the younger fighter charges at him. Despite his battered appearance, Terry's spirits seem livelier than ever. At the last moment, he simply ducks to the side, Rock's fist ramming through and obliterating the wall Terry was previously propped up against. "Rock," Terry says, his voice frank and honest. "If you want to clock out the guy who taught you everything you know," he hesitates, raising a hand to catch Chun-Li's ankle, stopping her kick a few inches away from his brow. "You're going to need to do MORE than your /best/!" He shoves Chun-Li away before rising his right fist up, smashing it into the ground directly beneath Rock's feet and causing the entire ground underneath both of them to explode like a giant blister of glittering golden chi energy.
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Overshoot Geyser from Terry with Joudan Crack Counter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Terry
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|
"You need to --" Rock says, relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Terry Bogard on such a stage. The confidence of having Chun-Li backing him up in his corner is really letting him feel free to take risks he otherwise might be too pussy to take in a fight. Bouncing back, Rock lands on the cracked walling of the castle and uses it as a vault to Spider-Man flip right over the wave of chi. It incinerates more of the stone behind the younger Howard.
"-- Learn some new moves!" he trumpets, Crack Shoot kicking Terry in the back of the head like he did to Mai so many times before. He lands on the other side of the embankment, closer towards Chun-Li. Sweat drips off his face from the kinetic pace of this fight; his breathing coming rough and wild from his exertions. "I haven't ... haa ... seen him fight ... haa ... like this in a long ... haa ... haa ... time."
With minimal effort, Chun-Li's attack is stopped cold.
Blinking with disbelief, the woman recovers by dropping and rolling backwards, giving herself distance from Bogard as he speaks to his protégé. Pushing up off the ground, the woman huffs and puffs, trying to get a good, deep breath in the middle of all of this. Terry is forcing her to work a lot harder than she'd expected, and even their combined efforts seem in vain. Can they really overcome the Legendary Wolf?
Glancing aside as Rock rebounds from intercepting Terry's assault, she offers the youth a small grin and an appreciative nod. "Good work," she offers her teammate before her gaze slips back onto the blonde, brown depths hooding slightly. Surely they can do this..!
Dashing forward without a word further, Chun-Li seeks to grasp the man by his collar and pull him in. At the same time a leg shoots up, her knee seeking to slam painfully into Terry's sternum before she lets his collar go and pushes back. Twisting her body then, Chun-Li switches legs up and shoots her leg upwards, a high side kick angled right for Bogard's jaw with a sharp kiai.
COMBATSYS: Terry just-defends Chun-Li's Kirin Shuu!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Terry
[ \\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|
Terry stumbles forward when Rock's boot cracks into the back of his skull, the impact driving him into a remaining wall and knocking his dangling arm -back- into the socket with a soft, wet, crunch. "Pfffff," Terry gasps as his face is mushed against rock. He counter-kicks with his outside leg, fending off Chun-Li's attack. With face battered and flushed, Terry lunges at the woman, one hand raised in a square-knuckled jaw-slammer. "BURN KNUCKLE!!" He hisses, like a cornered animal, his fist exploding into flame before contact.
Rock is momentarily startled. It is hard for him to not fall into the familiar role of observer and fan when his favorite fighter is going to new limits as a warrior. But Rock takes solace in the fact that he has helped push him there -- and he wants to show Terry his own limits being surpassed. Together, they will make each other better!
Rock seizes the wake of Terry sending the Burn Knuckle at Chun-Li. He hopes his mentor has enough in the tank to handle the attack, but if not, he has to make this one /count/. He's only going to get a momentary opening, if Terry's speed and strength continue to hold up. Running as fast as he can, Rock reaches Terry's wingspan and jumps into the air. But instead of sending any sort of jump kick at the Lone Wolf, his right fist bursts to life with more glowing blue chi. Extending it in mid-air, Rock deviates on the Power Dunk, slamming his exploding first for Terry's head.
COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Chun-Li with Burn Knuckle.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Terry
[ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|
Not only does Terry's fist explode, but so does Chun-Li. Struck by the man's flying fist, Chun-Li is thoroughly smashed in the face by Bogard's frightening fist, her form sent flying backwards from the force. Rolling and tumbling, she only stops when her back smacks up against the wall opposite of the three fighters. A tired, ragged exhale follows.
Bleary, barely conscious and thoroughly exhausted, Chun-Li struggles to pull herself to her feet. It's a chore and a half, but somehow she manages. Wobbling and stumbling, she attempts to move forward, a slow and cautious effort...before she picks up her pace. Jogging slowly forward she seeks to close in on Bogard and, like before, unleash those rapid series of frightening kicks onto his person.
Hit or miss, though, Chun-Li is out after that!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Terry
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Terry with Rage Run Dunk.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Rock 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Terry
COMBATSYS: Terry endures Chun-Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Rock 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Terry
Terry takes the glowing energy blow to the face, sending him stumbling backwards, his jaw slack and eyes glassy. He stumbles away, taking a flurry of kicks from Chun-Li, who looks about as worse off as he does. Giving the defeated Chinese fighter a shove out of the way, he locks his sights on Rock. "Rock..." He hisses, wiping some blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sometimes... You gotta GO..." He draws in a big breath, ribs aching as he does so, but focusing through the pain, "With whatcha KNOW!! OVERSHOOT GEYSAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He shouts at the top of his lungs, blood and spittle rocketing from his mouth as he lurches forward, glowing fist smashing into the ground and causing what's left of the ruined castle turret to explode in a mushroom cloud of mortar and dust.
COMBATSYS: Terry can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Rock 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Terry's Overshoot Geyser.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Rock 0/-------/--=====|
Rock can't really do anything but stand his ground and eat the freakin' pain train that is another geyser of Bogard chi. As the Strolheim Tower starts to collapse in on itself from all the sudden explosions of energy, Rock tumbles down with the falling rocks and stones. Dust explodes everywhere like a building being demolished and its a good five minutes before the wind has fully cleared from the rubble.
Clawing his way out of it, Rock stands, clutching a dislocated shoulder. His leather coat, given to him by Terry a year or so ago, is destroyed except for one tapered sleeve still clinging to his dirt and dust-covered skin. Cuts and scrapes cover every inch of his flesh; a huge gash running across his forehead. But he can see that he's the last one standing. That doesn't happen very often.
"We ... we won?" he asks weakly, looking around, his shoulder throbbing.
LATER...
Terry is hidden in a full body cast, sipping a milkshake through a straw. "Huh," he mutters through his jaw wired. "I wondah if they evah found Mai." He shrugs (imperceptible beneath his cast, also incredibly painful) and slurps on his milkshake. "Fugg," he groans, when Total Request Live comes on the TV.
COMBATSYS: Rock has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:42:56 11/16/2008 by Chun-Li, and last modified on 13:41:10 11/20/2008.