Description: Out to score a bazillion Starpoints, Dan provides striker support for Kula and Alex in the midst of a brief, brutal, punishing SNF. From start to finish in only a scarce minute, the fight still promises to deliver all the violence any fight fan can hope to expect. Alex is left trying to puzzle the curiously odd Kula out while the living experiment returns to the life she knows she doesn't want anymore. ( Winner: Kula )
Howard Arena - Host to some of the best fighting events of all time. Each week, patrons of the sport file into the massive stadium to see the action live and up close. To see the fighters making history, to watch as legends battle. Within the impressive arena titles change hands, records get broken, and reputations established. The audience, both attending and viewing live on television, are to be treated to impressive displays of talent, courage, and, oft times, stunning levels of violence. It's the nature of the sport and it's what people want to see.
Exiting the preparation area beneath the seating, one of this evening's combatants steps forward. As fighters go, she is small - made seemingly even more diminuitive upon such a large stage. Her pace is slow, calm, as the announcers positioned to comment on the fight rattle of a series of statistics about her formidable record as a fighter. The cheers and energy of the crowd seem wasted on her, for she notices them not at all. She stares forward impassively as two people seem to fuss over her - NESTS handlers taking recordings, temperatures, and other tests. Pre-fight data to be compared to post-match results. All part of the endless refinement they put into their genetically crafted weapon.
Finally they step back and leave the girl to proceed on her own. The stage of Howard Arena is no place for a non-combatant. Against the carved stone flooring, she stands out readily. Frosty blue hair rests behind her, not quite resting against her shoulders, as if driven by a localized weather phenomenon. Her attire conceals all but her face - violet leather. It looks ordinary enough but the amount of protection the NESTS engineered body armor provides the young fighter is not to be taken lightly. Even as she steps closer to the center of the platform, small flakes of crystalized water begin to drift about her - evidence of that power which has been used to carve out her fearsome reputation.
Hands, covered by thick, insulating, yellow gloves clasp and unclasp slowly as the seconds before the match tick by. She's been told that she'll have the aid of a /Master/ of martial arts, Dan Hibiki, to call upon up to three times during the fight, but that the same goes for her opponent. "I can't be responsible for what happens to him then," she warned when the rules were explained. Though she stands quietly, arms resting against her sides, she is, in every sense, very much ready to fight.
And here he is. At it again.
The sounds of the capacity crowd merge into a continuous dull roar, reverberating through every bone in Alex's body. Its been a long time. He had almost forgotten how it felt. He likes to think he's never been one to crave being the center of attention, but having thousands scream your name - for good or ill - is a damned heady experience. It is not arrogance or vain glory that drives him to pump his fist and shout right back at the crowd, roaring to each corner of the arena. Its acknowledgement. Its respect. Its honoring them right back. That he hasn't been forgotten after his hiatus from fighting is affecting and he is not above letting that feeling known. In so many ways, the crowd is what makes this all possible. They don't usually get the thanks they are due for their dedication.
However, Alex can't afford to spend too much time revving up the crowd. He's got a job to do and its herculean in proportion. The titan roams the polished stone in a slow, stalking circle. Massive arms rotating in the air, in a constant, controlled state of motion. Keeping his adrenaline levels at optimum and his heart-rate at a steady clip. Cobalt eyes inspect the tiny girl before him with a caution that appearances would otherwise make mockery of.
By appearances, this seems more like an execution than a fight. Like Goliath of old, the titan hovers over the frail David, built like a mountain range. He should be able to snap her in half with his fingertips alone. Rushing in head-long is a mistake for the inexperienced or the foolish.
Alex knows he's in for the fight of his life.
The girl's rap sheet reads like an obituary for fighting all stars. A lot of names are on her list. Names Alex recognizes and respects. She hasn't been beaten in a long, long time. A rising star that seems all but invincible.
Heh. That sounds familiar.
The titan is pretty damned flattered, all told. Out for a year, and Howard sends the best he's got at him on the day he comes back. Main event and top billing. Seems somebody still remembers his own record from awhile back. Amazing that, considering how nobody can remember three weeks ago in the fighting world.
In a straight up fight, Alex isn't sure if he can take her. That, more than anything else, makes him damned excited about this match up. Lets see how good the kids are these days..
Unfortunately, this isn't a straight up fight. There's a wild card here and he isn't sure if this is a good or bad thing. He doesn't want any help, and he doubts he can take on Kula AND Dan at the same time. How this plays out is going to be real interesting. As ever.. play fast and loose.
One more glance to the crowd and Alex rips his flimsy shirt off with a half-hearted gesture. Tossing the shredded vestment to the crowds as he squares off with Kula, looking down to the little girl with a stony poker face only half as good as her's, "Hey sister. You ready?"
She watches as he circles the stage, turning just enough to keep him in sight. Observing him attentively, the way his body moves, the way he carries himself - all data to be fed into her passive combat algorithms. With his scarcity in the fighting circles since NESTS started bringing their ice princess out to fight and train she hasn't already been able to profile him. It will require extra attention paid during the opening of the fight to remedy that.
She looks neither excited nor annoyed to be there. It would be easy to think it's merely an act - an assumed aloofness some fighters adopt in order to create a certain presence about themselves. But the truth is, she just doesn't really care. Her interests are to get through this match with as little pain as possible and go back home. Some might think attitude makes her weak - lacking heart, not dedicated, not focused enough.
If her fighting record is any indication, it makes her ruthless. Whatever it takes to remove the capacity to fight from her opponent. No strike is too sharp, no blow too savage. If she spots an opening, she will take it, without reservation. It is a crimson eyed killer that Alex will be facing today and that patient expression with which she looks back at him is by no means an act.
When he speaks, however, she seems caught off guard, eyes widening slightly, mouth opening. "I'm not your sister." she declares. She sounds almost uncertain, as if by the nature of his greeting he's begging the question. She recovers, though, eyes narrowing, deciding the moniker was /used/ to throw her off rather than simply being Alex's way of saying hello.
"No matter. You have four seconds in which to act. And then I will start hurting you." Spoken clearly yet she makes no move to defend herself or attack, her sleeve clad arms still resting against her sides as if she was anything but abou to begin an intense, punishing battle. One...
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kula takes no action.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Alex has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Alex
COMBATSYS: Dan has joined the fight here.
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Alex 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Dan
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kula has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Dan 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kula
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Alex 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Dan has left the fight here.
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Alex 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Dan has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Dan 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kula
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Alex 0/-------/------=|
Dan Hibiki >:|
COMBATSYS: Dan has left the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Alex 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Dan has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Alex 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Dan
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
Most probably just think her an uncaring, arrogant little ice princess. At first Alex would be inclined to agree. Her complete dispassion for being here engraves a disapproving frown on the titan's face. If she doesn't care, what's the point?
Except..
Alex's gaze strays a moment to one of her retinue of handlers. Watching as he seems to wield some device quietly in the corner.
Something's not right here. Even her words as she speaks them lack the haughty conviction they should possess if she was truly arrogant. Not to mention the moment of innocent confusion that strikes her face at his mildly smarmy greeting. Something doesn't add up with all this. Weither he can use that information to defeat her or not remains to be seen.. But it does give him some ideas.
"Huh.." Alex calmly muses at her threat. Taking two seconds to calmly raise his open hands and hunch forwards to achieve a semblance of eye-level. Lets see just how literal she is.
Three. "Bring it then. Tinkerbell." His blue eyes narrow to slits. Muscles tensing in preparation.
Four.
COMBATSYS: Alex focuses on his next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Alex 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Dan
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
The stadium is filled with fans of either fighter. Many eagerly await to see Alex in action after a long time without. Others cheer for the quiet girl who seems to care as little for them as she does about being in the fight to begin with. One thing is for certain, however - when she makes her move, blood will be spilled. Either her opponent's - prey to the sharp, jagged strikes she throws, or her own, as those she fights do whatever it takes to make her stop.
The seconds count down and as each fraction of time passes, she seems no different than the one prior. But as that fourth second passes, the moment the crowd has been waiting for begins and the girl begins to move. She kicks backward at first, putting distance between her and Alex, her feet slipping over the dust covered stone before coming to a stop. Turning her side toward the significantly larger fighter, she tenses for a moment, building up her own potential energy.
"My name is Kula Diamond." she states with an edge to her voice. She glances around the stage. There's supposed to be a third here. Those were the rules. "I want Mister Hibiki to attack Alex now." She raises her voice, desiring to be heard. Someone promised her a striker, so where is he? "If he is not available, anyone else will do."
And with that, she acts. Springing forward, Kula's feet slip over the stone as if skates over ice, allowing her to reach impossibly fast speeds as she barrels straight for Alex, a violet and blue blur. She starts low, snapping up to lunge for his neck only at the last possible moment. Her left hand goes for the rugged fighter's neck, a flair of white energy heralding the attack to come. Should she get a grip, that energy will be put to use in an immediate attempt to literally freeze a portion of the blood flowing through his throat. Prolonged exposure would not be healthy.
Her right hand proves equally deadly, however, as the smaller fighter attempts to palm Alex's face with her glove. Given a chance, she'll leave a layer of ice right over his face, threatening to block his nose and mouth and endanger the brawler's ability to breath at all. If he doesn't manage to defend himself from this attack, he'll soon find where the girl's reputation comes from...
From the top of Howard Arena, A large pink box falls in the background of the fighters. Perfectly 24' on each side it is a cube that knows no rival. It is perfect, beautiful, and happy. "Pop goes the weasel plays" as Kula makes her request, and when it gets to the pop part, springing out of the box is a huge 18' replica of Dan Hibiki as a giant jack in the box muppet-man holding in his right arm a smaller orange box.
"That's the night the lights went out in Georgia" begins to play, and when it gets to the part about them hanging an innocent man, Dan SPRINGS into action, being dropped out of the bottom of the smaller box via Bungee cord. Where he spins himself at Alex. His fist launches out like a missile or a torpedo or some other kind of VED (violent explosive device), twisting in the air terribly as it careers right for the grapplerman. Whether that terrible punch hits or not, That bungee snaps back and pulls Dan back into his orange home away from home. What an ELABORATE AND EXPENSIVE DISPLAY for Geese Howard to have paid for! OH MY!
COMBATSYS: Alex blocks Dan's Kyuukyoku Tenchi Gadou Zuki.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Alex 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Alex interrupts Strong Throw from Kula with Air Stampede.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Alex 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> //////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Kula
As the girl darts into motion, Alex shifts in place only slightly. It seems the girl really is completely without guile..
...Well. Almost completely, as she quickly orders up one Hibiki. Good to know the girl ain't so dumb to telegraph her move so blatantly without some kind of insurance. It was worth the risk to see just how earnest she is with those eyes.
Of course, the fact that she called Dan out gives Alex a measure of warning, even if he could never of guessed in a million years the vector of his allied assailant. As the gigantic box crashes down at the corner of the arena, Alex swiftly looks in that direction with arms up and at the ready and..
"What. The. Hell." Cobalt eyes staring at this ludicrous muppet-man vaulting out of the box.. Holding yet a second box. His neck cranes quickly, "You are @#$%ing me.." As none other than Dan makes his illustrious appearance. Fist first, diving forth like a missile.
And he isn't alone, by the time the titan snaps his attention back to Kula.. She's already inches from his grill. Icy fingers reaching for his neck with a murderous intensity that do not reflect in her eyes.
It happens in a split second.
Alex -leaps-. Powerful legs springing and sending the man skyward with speed that belies his size and actually intercepting Dan's downward dive as he leaps cleanly over Kula's swinging arm. Her fingertips brushing his pant leg, leaving a trail of frost in their wake. The giant slams a blocking hand into Dan's fist with a loud crack, absorbing the impact completely and jarring his gigantic arm.
"ThanksDan.." Alex grunts out past clenched teeth before pushing off and sending the striker back up skyward.
And -CRASHING- down onto Kula passing beneath him like a ton of bricks.
The titan's boots slam cleanly against her and -drive- her into the stone with tremendous force as he lands upon her in a low crouch. Holding steady a moment before vaulting back and away in recoil.
The thing about beating up little girls is.. Alex knows not to see them for their appearance. See them for the danger they really represent. He saw what she was reaching for.. She's playing for keeps.
She isn't fighting him. She's trying to kill him.
But... why?
The nature of Dan's unexpected entrance doesn't go unnoticed by the younger fighter as she attempts to get Alex into a stranglehold of pressure and icy energy. But as surpring as the striker's arrival may be, it doesn't end up being /quite/ enough distraction to keep Alex from being able to retaliate decisively. Arms extended, she's caught off guard as the brawler's leg ends up suffering the injury meant for his neck.
She attempts to withdraw, arms snapping back in anticipation of the attack to come, but there's no defending against the crushing stomp at such close range. The force is more than enough to smash the featherweight to the ground with Alex's feet digging into her upper back. A soft cry escapes frozen lips at the unexpectedly effective counter attack. But for the physical support provided by the leather jacket covering her torso and arms, the damage could have easily been enough to break something important.
There's a second grunt as he springs back off of her and in that moment she moves, rolling to the side into a low crouch, ignoring the creak of bones in her upper spine as she sizes Alex up with new found, healthy respect. He's not so easily shaken by brutal, questionably unethical attacks as she had hoped. A soft cough reminds her of her own limitations and with that her next action is decided, the girl rising back up to standing, her right hand moving to her mouth, palm facing skyward, fingers extended toward the experienced fighter.
"Funny man," she calls for Dan again, waving her left hand toward Alex, "Attack him again. This time make it count." A deep breath is taken followed by a forced exhale over her gloved palm. What ends up being sent Alex's way is far from harmless, however, as gale force winds explode out toward him, charged with thick sleet, thousands of jagged ice needles, and razor edged discs of frozen matter in attempt to not just force him backward to but to cut him up in the process.
As Kula speaks, Dan obeys?!? Maybe. The orange box doesn't even budge. In fact it budges not. It doesn't even move even a little bit. The crazy jack in the box muppet-man's mouth begins to open very wide though. Too wide. Oh my lord, he's got a flip-top neck. And corkscrewing through the air attached to his tongue is the REAL Dan Hibiki. Propelled by a number of rapidly emptying CO2 canisters on his gi-belt, Dan quite literally rockets towards Alex in his twisting uppercut, although from this angle it's more like something Dhalsim would do. Whatever. You can't make flash entrances without breaking a few lemons.
At least it's a cool smoke machine effect, with all that C02 spraying around. I wonder how much this all cost?
COMBATSYS: Alex blocks Kula's Diamond Breath.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Alex 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Alex endures Dan's Kouryuu Rekka.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Alex 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Kula
Tinkerbell isn't the only one who has a solid pokerface. If the girl's murderous assaults are affecting, they don't phase Alex's grim mask of stoicism. This is game time and as much as he questions why this little girl is such a vicious thing, that doesn't change the fact that she can easily kill him if he isn't on his A-game right here and now. Questions can come after.
However, unlike the girl, Alex is a civil fighter. Waiting for the girl to rise back to her feet and giving her space, taking the moment to leave his crouch and wind his arm. Wringing out the numbness in his shoulder from blocking Dan's earlier attack. Shaking out his leg and sloughing the frost from his thigh. The titan gives the flashy faus-Ansatsuken fighter something of a sideglance before returning his attention to her in full. He's never personally fought the man before but he has something approximating distain. Ryu never really told him the whole story about that guy, and Alex never bothered to ask. Eh.. He probably should have got more details out of the wanderer, it might have saved him serious headache in this fight.
If it wasn't for the fact that Alex did some homework on this girl and watched a taped fight, he'd wonder what the heck she thought she was doing blowing him a kiss like that. As is, Alex very quickly crosses his arms before him and hunkers down. Gritting his teeth as the fullsade of razored ice slashes into him like a jet of blades. The titan, however, is made of sterner stuff. The jagged edges smashing against his arms, leaving cuts and slashes here and there but doing little more than surface damage. Like throwing glass shards on solid rock, splintering and exploding.
Okay, he's taking a pounding here. He needs to step up his offense.
Oh yeah. And about Dan..
Hnn, this'll hurt but he needs the element of surprise.
Alex's mighty arms unfurl, spreading wide as Dan -clocks- him right on the jaw. His knuckles sending the Titan's head in recoil with a lash of blood splattering from his lips.
Of course, that's when Alex attempts to grab Dan by the collar of his gi.
"HnrnnMake yourself USEFUL and hit -HER-!" Alex barks out as he then 'assists' Dan by throwing him high in the air in a lazy arc. C02 canisters spraying all the while and veiling his immediate presense in the white smoke.
And moments later, the giant form barrels forth from the obscuring mists like a freight-train, attempting to lunge for the girl and cross the distance as fast as he can manage to grab ahold of her middle. And should he connect... Leap with her -high- into the air, flip her upside down and -CRASH- her hard into the stone floor with enough force to rock the first row with an earthquake.
Still spinning like an idiot from his previous trajectory is now reversed onto his first caller. Spinning wildly he sends his fists out crazily to try and force himself back to a controlled flight as the CO2 wildly and randomly jostles him about in the air. He's punching so much that it becomes a flurry of wild uncontrolled super cool looking kata-esque punches.
If only he had studied when the Howard corporation's jetpack instructor had told him how to fly correctly this might not be a problem, but as it stands he's unwittingly unleashing Saikyo's ultimate technique in Kula's general direction. What a day!
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Dan's Hisshou Burai Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alex 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Alex successfully hits Kula with Powerbomb.
>> Decisive Hit!! <<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alex 1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> //////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Kula
He would find, were the tables reversed, she isn't going to give him a second to catch his breath, gather himself, or even get up off the ground if she can help it. The shorter she can make this, the less of a risk of him landing some punishing blow that she's going to be feeling for a week. Or maybe break something painfully that leaves her in traction. Traction isn't fun. So decisive strikes are pretty much her solution, no matter how dishonorable they might come across.
But in this situation, Alex defends himself handly from the blast of frozen slurry and jagged edges. Lowering her now ice-encrusted hand, the young fighter clenches her fingers, cracking the thin shell of frozen matter covering her hand, never taking her eyes off Alex. Dan jumps into the fray as per his post-waiver-signed job, only to have Alex turn around and try to use him as a weapon right back.
Eyes narrow slightly, identifying the Saikyo-ryu instructor's trajectory, allowing her to skip to the side, twisting out of the way entirely of his crazed, spiraling arc through the air. The escape from jetpack-propelled-collisions leaves her backing right into Alex's hold, having not anticipated the tough looking brawler to be able to pull such effective tricks out of his pocket on the fly like this.
As his arm hooks her torso, she attempts to retaliate, right hand coming up, a short, jagged spike jutting out from the bottom of her clenched fist with the intent to slash his arm deeply with the impromptu blade. She'll teach him to get his hands on her- But propelled forward as he is, she can't quite muster the control needed to stab before he's hefted her clean off her feet. In the air, without any kind of traction, she's helpless to free herself from the impending, painful descent.
The stone platform is given a new set of spiderwebbing cracks at the point of impact. Ground zero is easily powderized just like Kula's bones could have been were it not for the thick drift of snow padding the impact where her upper back connected with the ground, a last ditch effort to diminish the severity of the unavoidable pain.
She unfolds from the landing, slower to move now as she twist back into a crouch, wobbling slightly from the jarring pain. She had fought a powerful Russian wrestler just the week prior, but nothing the monsterous man could dish out had prepared her for what Alex can do. Her left hand goes to rest against her upper back as she gasps for breath. Her right hand, on the other hand, flares to life with that white energy once again, this time solidfying into a sphere of translucent, diamond-strong ice encasing her fist.
Her moment of recovery is brief as she opts to attack back quickly, hoping to catch the powerful brawler off guard before he can mount any kind of defense from the savage technique intended for him. The distance between them is narrowed silently, her right hand drawn back before being slammed forward, causing the frozen material covering her arm to shift.
And in the next instant, Alex is forced to defend himself from three fearsome lances of ice that shoot out from that sphere. Of varying lengths, the girl seems hell bent on spearing him right through with it with the kind've force it would take to secure a man to a wall were there actually one behind him. The lethal attack is performed with all the detatchment of an amoral killer. Viewed in isolation, it might make one wonder if there had been a contract put out on Alex's life. But no... that's just how she treats everyone!
COMBATSYS: Alex fails to interrupt Critical Ice from Kula with Stungun Headbutt.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alex 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> //////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Kula
Perhaps Alex could have finished her off more decisively if he did pursue her instantly. Maybe giving her a chance and letting her get to her feet will doom him in the end.
That's okay. That's not the point, you see. Fighting isn't about killing the other guy before he can kill you. Not this kind of fighting.
Alex's lips shift as Dan misses his target by a mile, but that's okay.. It let him get the job done as a distraction. Blue eyes narrow as he spies the powdered snow and ice beneath her.. Clearly having cushioned her from what would have been immediate defeat. Alex has ended more than a few fights with that move. The fact that she's moving -at all- says worlds about how much tougher she is than she looks. And how right he was to come at her with everything he's got. But now that she's on her feet, he knows he can no longer waste any time.
With a grunt of effort the man -lunges- forwards. Hoping to close the distance between them with more speed than she's anticipating. His hands outstretched as he races up while she summons the white power. Pulling back her diamond-ice encased fist just as Alex leaps through the air in a high dive, hands reaching for her head like a cruise missile!
*SLAK*
Massive hands loom just at eitherside of Kula's head. Held still in space. The titan's face is just a foot away from Kula's own, a slow, wry grin spreads across his usually stony lips, "Nice shot.." As blood begins to trickle from the corners.
Lances of ice sprout from his back like a morbid crystal porcupine. Stopped his momentum dead in his tracks.
A quiet moment as Alex simply falls to his knees in a loud crash, a hand clasping the stone floor for balance. In an instant, the fight all but ended. Mighty arms shuddering just to keep him vertical now.
By any account, he should be dead. That should be a series of fatal wounds on any human being. Thankfully for Alex, he isn't built as weakly as most.
It was a close shot. A split second later and he would have gotten his hands on her head. And if the last time she was caught up in the titan's paws was any indication, that most definitely would not have ended well. Even as that dreadful pause transpires, where the two stare face to face, he might notice the flicker of fear hidden behind that impassive stare back into his eyes. He almost got her. But in this sport, almost doesn't cut it. It's the grin that spans his previously focused expression that seems to surprise her the most, however.
Only to be trumped by the compliment paid. It doesn't make any sense to her. She just skewered him, tried to strangle him, freeze his face over, and bring the blood in his neck to a slurried stop in order to deprive his brain of oxygen. And he compliments the speed and accuracy of her fearsome technique.
The stronger fighter drops to his knees and Kula takes a step back, withdrawing her hand from the sphere of ice and allowing the constructed weapon to collapse to the ground into a pile of scattered ice shards. She blinks back at Alex, looking just a little confused. No one's ever complimented her on one of her strikes before. All she ever hears is 'That's not how you fight!' or 'You call that an attack!?' or 'What the hell is wrong with you!' To have someone actually express an appreciation for the way she fights has left her too surprised to press the immediate advantage, keeping her distance from Alex.
She opens her mouth, seeming to be intending to say something, then closes it again. Another second passes before she tries again, her words coming reluctantly, as if she was trying to mimic something she had seen someone do once rather than really knowing how to express it naturally, "Nice..." There's that pause again, her mouth quirking into a mirror of his own grin with a certain shy edge to it at feeling suddenly awkward, "...try." Well, it was worth a shot.
"Prepare yourself." she offers a warning, unusual for her. The surge of white chi building up around her evidences the power of the attack to come as the girl leans forward, pressing her hands against the stone surface of the arena. "Funny man, get him now. This is your last chance." Make it count. Every single profiling algorithm she's got says this fight is over.
And then she unleashes the enrgy, sending it into the stage with a rumble as stone is infused with an incredible amount of chi. A slick of ice expands out from around the young assassin, stretching out to expand past Alex. And then they errupt, one after another, glintering spires of jagged ice stabbing up out of the smooth ice, attempting to cage Alex in, slash him in passing, and remove all capacity to attack back from the powerful brawler. After two painful exchanges of attacks, the engineered fighter is taking no chances.
The area above them is filled with a shower of falling ice crystals as the spires surge upward, the breath of everyone in attendence held at once as Alex is given almost no time with which to defend himself.
Dan having finally wrestled himself away from the tongue of the Dan in the Box and his own horrible horrible aim, looks at Kula and then at Alex. "Okay,"
With his mighty tree limb of an arm he sweeps forward, a spotlight activating and tracking its movement as it shoots, RIGHT INTO HIS OWN GI LAPEL! Ladies and Gentlemen this must be some sort of strange technique that can't be understood by ma-oh he's got a picture of himself and a marker.
False alarm! He's just signing an autograph while whistling a Ray Stevens tune. It sounds kind of like the streak. Yep, he definitely seems like he's whistling 'The Streak'. When he's done? No one can prepare Alex for that autograph that comes his way. Making it count. Nice.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Alex with Diamond Edge.
[ \\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alex 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Dan successfully hits Alex with Premium Sign.
[ \\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alex 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
That's what it always comes down to when to fighters are so close. All it takes is being a fraction of a second too late, and everything is decided then and there. The entire battle between them was barely a minute, start to finish. Sixty seconds is all it took for the main event to be over and done. Alex knew it would come down to that, with how destructive they both are in their great power. Sure, he berates himself inwardly for being just a second too slow. But, she got him. Maybe the new generation of fighters really is better than him? If that's true, he's got a lot of catching up to do.
Alex isn't one to complain. He's been through more fights in his life than he could count. He's been through enough to know that crying 'no fair' when someone pulls a gun or a knife is just being a whining kid. He's put enough dastardly punks into the floor to know that not everyone plays by the same rules.
What's confusing about this is... Kula doesn't even seem to know what rules she plays by.
As Alex uses the last of his strength just to keep from sprawling on the floor, his hardened expression, trembling with pain, stares at Kula's confusion once more. He'd expect gloating or some similar villainous crap out of her ... But surprise is not a look he thought he'd see on her. Something is seriously wrong with this girl, Alex knows that now. How she fights and why she fights do not add up. As such, all he can offer in the split second of conversation her pause allows is this.
"...You sure you really know what you want?..."
That spoken, he does as she suggests and slowly raises his arms in weak defense as best he can. Yet impaled on several long ice spears even as she dissolved the bulk of her previous attack. Even if he was working in top condition, he would have had a hard time preparing for her next assault. As is.. It's all he can do to keep those spikes from lancing through vital regions. His great body virtually disappearing in a forest of translucent crystal. His powerful hand only clearly visible within all that destruction, groping about for..
... Oh. Thanks for the autograph Dan.
The fight is clearly over now. As..
*KRIK*
..A icicle cracks. Another.. And another.
The forest of ice -shatters-. Sending fragments in every which direction as the formerly captive titan -roars-. Blood spraying from his lips, covered in dozens of wounds.. As he staggers out of the cage. Teeth gritted in agony, snow and blood coating his form in equal measure. Anger? No. -Determination-. He's half unconscious, perforated in more mortal strikes than a living thing can logically take. Dan's crumpled autograph is hurled over his shoulder as he -lunges- at Kula one last time. Lurching like Frankenstein as his great fists swing at her in a series of wild blows. His eyes seeing nothing except a red haze. Unconscious even as his fist sweeps at her one more time before -crashing- to the stone in a massive heap.
COMBATSYS: Alex can no longer fight.
> //////////////////////////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> /////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kula
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Alex's Boomerang Raid.
> //////////////////////////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
> //////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Kula
At first, Kula isn't paying any attention to what Dan in the Box is up to, focused as she is on controlling the massive surge of power needed to drive the fight finishing technique. But when Alex's hand smashes out of the mess with an autographed picture in hand, she hazards a glance toward Dan, one narrow eyebrow slightly raised. "You're a very unusual man."
It's the last she can spare before Alex explodes back into a charge toward her, powerful fists swinging through the air with brutal intent. That she weathers the attack at all is thanks in large part to the barrier of ice she creates in front of her - inches thick, the frozen matter hovers just past her forward facing palms as the girl tries to stop the unstoppable.
Ice, strong as it may be, can only take so much, however, and before long it shatters, reduce to fine powder that falls to the ground, scattered to the wind. But by then she has mustered a more basic defense, bringing her arms up, the leather armored sleeves absorbing just enough of the impacts to keep her from being destroyed by the strikes. The momentum still sends her sliding, but given Alex's condition, there's no reason to fight being pushed away.
By the time she stumbles to a stop, yards away, he has fallen forward, and the viciously short fight has come to a close and the stadium is alive with energy seemingly not reflected in the calm fighter. She's quiet, staring back at Alex. An interesting man - he seemed puzzled by her, but she isn't sure exactly how. As she turns to the side, she catches a glance at the cadre of scientists and handlers rushing up onto the stage to usher her off, eager to get their test results and data while the fight is still fresh. At the forefront of her mind is the question Alex asked as the stalwart brawler faced down her fearsome technique. "Yes, I do." she murmurs. "...not this."
COMBATSYS: Kula has left the fight here.
> //////////////////////////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Dan
COMBATSYS: Dan has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:49:09 12/06/2008 by Kula, and last modified on 03:10:28 12/07/2008.