Description: Fate's sticky web draws together Chun-Li and Sagat -- but will their collision destroy Bangkok in the process?!
Thailand... shit.
Still in Thailand. But then, Sagat is not likely to leave anytime soon -- having earned status as a folk hero rather than a national disgrace, its people are good to him, and help to keep him hidden from Shadaloo as he roams from village to village, living on donated food (although he does not bother waiting to see if the merchants will offer first) and staying safe from the tropical rain in ramshackle little huts he builds himself from sheet metal and fronds. Truly, he is a fighter fallen.
Today, however, Sagat is a bit more on the grid than usual. His face obscured by the shallow cone of a farmer's hat, casting shade down onto his sallow, aged features, wearing a shirt to cover his signature scar as he strolls through the crowd like some sort of oversized ghost, neither spoken to nor gazed upon, as if the respect he now commands of his people was still very palpable fear.
What has brought Sagat out of hiding?
Howard Enterprises is running a local media stunt -- 'Who is the next emperor of Muay Thai?' It's a veritable Pop Idol of people who kickbox, with celebrity fighter judges lured in through promises of donations to children's charities, particularly martial arts community outreach programs in poverty-heavy areas of China.
The pursuit of justice is a flame which never dies.
The vigilante Chun-Li had long since given up her proper ties to the corruption of Interpol in favor of pursuing Shadaloo--and Vega in particular. She travels when she can, following various leads and bits of information gleaned from contacts she'd established during her Interpol tenure, struggling to keep as close behind the Shadaloo dictator as possible, his men included.
Her contacts have once again drawn her to Bangkok. Whether Vega is here or not, it does not entirely matter. In due time she'll track the dictator down. For now, though, she has found as good a reason as any to wander astray. Word got to the Tai Chi Mistress that a local charity was being sponsored, particularly one to help children. A sucker for helping the youth of society, she couldn't help but be drawn to the affair.
Among the crowds she watches as people gather with excited fervor in hopes of seeing their favorite Muay Thai fighter make an appearance. Chun-Li has drawn quite a stir herself, what with her being less-than incognito. Offering to sign autographs and take photos with eager fans, she seems content to submerge herself among the locals during the event. All seems well enough.
But there is someone here with far more clout than the woman, far more recognized as a hero among his people, whether he inspires fear in them or not. He stands out, the Emperor of Muay Thai, a large and imposing form in a sea of much shorter men and women. And for a woman as determined to take down Shadaloo and all its subordinates, it would be impossible for her to forget that figure.
But this time, things are a little different.
"I was wondering if I was going to see you here," a voice pipes from behind the Thai hero. Standing casually is Chun-Li, arms akimbo and hands resting comfortably on her hips as she offers a small, lopsided grin. "Though...is it really safe for you to be here?"
Sagat turns his head to glance down at Chun-Li, turning with his good side so that he can actually /see/ her, his one eye glaring out from beneath the wide hat. "Nowhere I go is safe," Sagat says, slowly, his deep voice rendering his thick Thai accent as some sort of demonic slur, "for my enemies." His large upper lip twitches.
"Do you see how they mock my legacy?" he asks, turning back toward the stage, where someone fails to break a hundred-pound block of ice with his forearm and is attended to by medics when his arm gains a new joint. "I do not see them putting out cattle calls for the next 'world's strongest woman.'" Even the crowds around Sagat keep a respectful distance -- forming, consciously or not, a circle around the two warriors, as the entire event seems to slow down and then stop -- Chun-Li and Sagat standing next to each other! What could happen here?! "Pfah."
Sagat turns again, tilting back his cap and exposing his rather ugly face. His features are huge and exaggerated, with his massive body making his head seem littler than it is, bald and scarred, with deep lines of age cut into tan flesh. "I suppose you are here, Chun-Li, to harass me as your friend Guile did. To demand I tell you what I know of Shadaloo's activities." Sagat glowers down at the bearer of the universe's most famous thighs. "I know nothing," he says, evenly. "Take your little white boots and trot off to someone who will not crush you if you press the matter."
His words are intimidating, but they don't dishearten the world's strongest woman. If anything it only encourages her to be all the more friendly with the massive mountain of a man, the tiniest of smiles on her lips at his words. She knows better than to prod the man and earn his ire. So long as he remains out of Shadaloo's custody, well...he's no enemy to her.
The woman's gaze slants, peering from the imposing figure toward the stage at the spectacle with distant interest. She offers a light wince in response, her lips pulling into a slight frown before brown eyes wander back onto Sagat. "My apologies, then," the woman replies with a genuinely respectful tone. "But it doesn't mean you're not any less respected by the people who look up to you." She pauses briefly, a glance spared toward the distantly gathering crowds before she looks back.
Then, slowly, she shakes her head. "No, I didn't come here to demand anything of you," she explains calmly, her form still very much relaxed and casual. "As long as you are out of the clutches of Shadaloo and Vega, I do not see you as an enemy of mine, so I have no intention of 'harassing' you. Asking, maybe. But harassing you? No." Pausing, a hand reaches up, drawing back her bangs from her forehead. "Truthfully, I didn't even come her seeking you out specifically. It's chance, really." She offers a smile.
...which becomes a small frown as he glowers and tells her to bugger off.
"Er, that's not my intention," she tries to explain, her casual demeanor faltering somewhat. "Honest." Still frowning a bit, the woman meets the imposing Thai's gaze directly, her brows lightly furrowed, until...
"How about this," she offers, the beginnings of a proposal.
"A spar. If you win, I will leave you be. If I win, you can tell me whatever information regarding Vega's possible whereabouts or any rumors you've heard regarding the Lord of Shadaloo as of late--even if you know nothing, that's fine." Pausing, she offers a light smile.
"How does that sound?"
Sagat does not know friendliness, just as the tiger does not attend box socials with the panda. He holds a grudging respect for Chun-Li's fighting prowess -- who wouldn't -- but he does not respect her as the bear would the mountain cat, to use an old cowboy adage. He listens to Chun-Li's words, acting as if the crowd around them simply did not exist -- Sagat never did anything for the adoration of anyone, as much as the sense of satisfaction he gave himself. "If you are so committed to learning nothing, Chun-Li," the huge Thai replies, "then very well."
With one smooth gesture, Sagat rips open the front of his shirt a la Hulk Hogan, exposing the mottled and gnarled curls of scar tissue beneath, shaped like a giant slash across a torso defined in such sharp relief that it it could be considered a modern miracle of anatomy. He lets his hat fall to the ground, and tears his pants off at the waistband, revealing the signature blue and yellow shorts beneath. It would seem Sagat came prepared. "I am ready," he says, kicking the debris of his quick-change aside. "Come at me, then. I am not going to be intimidated by a woman."
Like friendliness, gender equality is also not practiced by tigers, and thus Sagat is ignorant of it.
"I wouldn't put it that way," the woman replies, offering a small, barely-perceptible smirk as she regards the tower of a man before her. "Even if you have no information regarding Lord Vega, I do not think I will come out of this empty-handed." After all, he was one of Vega's most formidable subordinates, his prowess notorious and his strength fearsome. What she can learn or gain from him, well...
Thus does the Tai Chi Mistress offer a small nod. "But yes, I am committed regardless." She bows her head politely to the fallen Emperor of Muay Thai. Whatever his past, the woman seems to offer some shred of respect--perhaps more than some. Likewise, she can respect his strength and fearsome skill. So she waits, as the man all but sheds his outer wear like some python, readying himself within mere moments.
"I wasn't trying to intimidate you," she offers quietly, lips pulled into a lopsided grin. "Ready yourself, then!"
With that cry the woman gives charge, powerful legs tense beneath her jeans as she moves swiftly forward. She continues forward without fail, intent on drawing herself dangerously close to Sagat before she snaps an arm harshly forward, an attempt to clip him swiftly and harshly in the ribs with her elbow. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has started a fight here.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sagat has joined the fight here.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
COMBATSYS: Sagat blocks Chun-Li's Medium Punch.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
"Ah. I can never tell when you young fighters are posturing and when you're not these days," Sagat says, lurching forward to sharply swing out his arm opposite the side Chun-Li is punching -- not to try and strike her, but to eat up the blow, her punch connecting with the massive, muscled forearm of the fallen Emperor before it can strike ribs. He does not allow his body an inch of give -- his arm doesn't even move from the blow. "It's all the same to me."
Sagat then hops backward, bringing up his fists, his insular fighting stance making him akin to a muscle monolith as he stares down at Chun-Li. "You strike fiercely," he says, his lips locked into a deep frown, even as he indulges in banter. "I almost felt it."
Then, suddenly, with a quickness no man that size should have, Sagat lunges forward again -- and swings one of his tree-trunk legs out, swinging his shin at the side of Chun-Li's head. (It's the hair buns; they're perfect targets.) "TIGUH!" he screams, loud enough that it echoes -- underscoring the silence of the crowd as they witness a fight unlike any that has ever graced the Bangkok Maria Howard Memorial Community Center.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Sagat's Medium Kick.
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Sagat 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Chun-Li
Despite his words--and what could likely be considered posturing of his own--the woman makes her move, as quickly as she can to strike. But as expected, he's made of much sterner stuff than most fighters; likely, her attack had little impact on a body that's likely forged of muscle and tempered steel. But it doesn't dissuade her; if anything, it's only just encouragement.
"Thanks," the woman offers, grinning up at the one-eyed man. She takes a step back, followed by another, distancing herself as best she can from Sagat; but, before she can actually get out of harm's way, he moves--fast, at that. Her only response in that fateful moment, as his massive leg swings up and outwards, is to lift an arm up and intercept the blow. It strikes--hard. Very hard, in fact, Chun-Li offering a light wince and a soft hiss before she drops her arm and steps back.
"And you strike /very/ fiercely," she offers, shaking out her poor arm.
Still, the world's strongest woman is not upset; pushing forth once again she attempts to close in on Sagat and grab at him, before she snaps a leg fiercely upwards to try and knee the Thai man in his sternum. It's all an opening; she switches up almost immediately after, her leg shooting up and high, to try and kick him in the face with a side kick and send the mountain of man soaring up...only to ultimately fall on his back. "HI-YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sagat interrupts Kirin Shuu from Chun-Li with Low Tiger Shot.
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Sagat 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Chun-Li
"Hgh!" Chun-Li's knee finds itself impacting Sagat's sternum rather roughly -- the giant man is given pause as precious, life-giving air is knocked from his lung by the world's strongest legs. As Chun-Li twirls upward, however, the former Emperor is ready, already calculating his next move, like a tiger would whilst mauling a human woman, because theirs was a union that was never meant to be.
As Chun-Li's high kick rises, Sagat slaps it away with the same force that a tiger might use when slapping a meerkat. He then rears back -- and it's alarming how fast he is -- stretching his arms out. And then, like a steel trap closing around a tiger's leg, he snaps his arms together. The tops of his fists collide, arms held stiff and straight, pointed directly down at the falling Chun-Li. He might as well be breaking an atom between his fists, which is supported by the crescent of orange chi that blasts forward, directly toward the fighting female's chest. It is not possible that a 'crack' akin to flint sparking against flint is heard when his fists collide; this is because Sagat drowns out the noise of his own projectile with a "TIGUHHH!"
To Chun-Li's dismay, her attack is swiftly and effectively plowed THROUGH.
Though her knee strike finds its mark solidly, Sagat is more than sufficient enough to handle it and actually pierce her offense. Beneath her, Chun-Li's leg is knocked away, causing the woman to lose balance and begin a fall to the ground. But it doesn't quite end /there/.
Before she can even attempt to correct herself midair and try to cushion her land, SOMETHING hits her. A burst of orange and white floods the Tai Chi Mistress' vision as Sagat's blast of chi crashes painfully into her form, sending her flying back from the force of his blow. She falls a few feet away, hitting the ground and sliding a bit on her back before, slowly, she exhales.
"O-ow," she manages, slowly pulling herself up off the ground and giving her head a gentle shake. Soon enough she's got a small grin on her face, brown eyes half-lidded as she offers a friendly response of "Impressive. I see you haven't lost your touch." She tilts her head, offering the surly Muay Thai fighter a respectful nod.
But then it's business as usual! Moving swiftly, the leggy woman makes her charge once again in an attempt to close in as swiftly as possible and deliver a quick side kick aimed for the center of Sagat's barrel-like chest.
COMBATSYS: Sagat endures Chun-Li's Light Kick.
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Sagat 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Chun-Li
Sagat says, ""It was never I who lost touch," Sagat says as he looms over Chun-Li. "It was the rest of the world who lost touch with /me/." He doesn't seem to react to either Chun-Li's pratfall or her respect; he remains a glowering figure, shoulders moving to a slow rhythm as he maintains his tight stance -- he is focused, like the tiger chasing the owl through the Canadian snowfall. His brief indulgence in banter is over -- he is silent now, save for the heavy snorts of breath coming from his wide nostrils.
When Chun-Li swoops in, however, he is nowhere near as fast as her, like a tiger attempting to race a sunray. He grunts in acknowledgment of physical pain as Chun-Li's kick smashes into his ribs, a resounding, meaty 'thock' marking the collision of boot and flesh. He has no recourse but to suffer through.
When Sagat finishes his turn, though, he is suitably enraged by this turn of events, like a tiger that finds the poacher that killed its family. His scar pulses with chi energy, like a giant taillight on his chest; the massive Thai kickboxer surges forward, chi crackling and burning around his fist as he swings upward, attempting to catch the small fighter under the chin. "TIGUH!""
COMBATSYS: Sagat successfully hits Chun-Li with Tiger Uppercut.
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Sagat 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Chun-Li
A vague but grim expression crosses the Chinese woman's face at Sagat's words, her almond-brown eyes distantly sympathetic as she regards the Thai warrior. It would seem nothing can really repair the pride and honor he'd lost a long time ago. It isn't that she'd set out to try and do that--but at least trying to make 'amends' with a man she'd considered her enemy before he'd fled Shadaloo was an attempt.
Still, she isn't thwarted.
Her kick finds its mark, though she knows in the back of her mind it likely did little to really thwart the steel-like man. Furrowing her brows, she swiftly recoils her leg, setting it down before she attempts to move from out of Sagat's immediate radius. Unfortunately, he's far faster than she'd anticipated. He leaps up, a fist aimed for her face and crackling with chi...
Then, briefly, her world goes blank.
When Chun-Li lands on the dusty ground, reality surges back to her. There's a horrible ringing in her ears, her body wracked with pain as she lay on her back. She squirms lightly, rolling to one side with a distant groan as she struggles to get back onto her feet. It's a slow, tedious process...but eventually she manages.
Unlike the last times, Chun-Li says not a word. She shudders, struggling to keep conscious as she focuses on the man not too terribly far from her. Right now, there are three Sagats; which is the real one? Pinching her eyes a few times, she tries to get her wits back as her arms slowly raise. A crackle of chi begins to dance across her fingers, a dim glow of blue.
"Haaaa." She breathes in and out, focusing her energy.
The dim glow becomes stronger, a sphere of blue energy forming in between her palms as she stands. With every breath it becomes bigger and stronger, all of her chi energies begin to build and mount, the sphere growing larger, until--
"KIKOUSHOU!!"
Thrusting both arms forward, that sphere suddenly surges wide, a massive dome of energy which surrounds her and expands outwards toward the Muay Thai master. The energies roar, a deafening surge of power that threatens to suck him into the swirling dome and batter and burn him senseless..!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Sagat with Kikoushou EX.
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Sagat 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Chun-Li
Sagat stalks toward the fallen Chun-Li -- like a tiger who has been thrown from a boat, he can smell blood in the water. Honor was never really a word that had much cache in Sagat's vocabulary -- even at his peak, when he carried the title of the world's greatest fighter, he did so by capitalizing on moments of weakness -- by being brutal and merciless, and striking whenever he was most likely to destroy his opponent. This is the moment, he reasons, as Chun-Li regains her wits -- he pauses, standing over her, and clutches his pectorals tightly, leaning back into a loud, deep laugh.
This, naturally, gives Chun-Li the opportunity she needs. Sagat's downfall, as it ever was, is caused by his ego -- he is too slack in keeping his one eye on her that by the time he realizes she's up to something, there's nothing he can do. He knows what she's up to -- he knows how bad it will hurt -- and he knows that he's got to avoid it, because charging through like a tiger leaping through a ring of fire at a circus is a poor choice.
By the time all of these scenarios have been assigned appropriate tiger analogies in his mind, like a tiger who has invented a card catalog system, Chun-Li is smashing this huge sphere of blue-white energy into him, and he is pulled in, vibrating and shuddering as if a live wire had been hooked to his tongue, like a tiger being tortured for illicit zookeeper snuff films.
"HUNGH!" Sagat says as he is blown to the ground, landing on his back with a massive 'WHUNK.' "Cow," he sneers, pushing to his feet, "you do not understand the force you have just trifled with." Sagat, before merely annoyed, is now visibly angry, the whites of his teeth showing, vein in his forehead bulging thickly.
Sagat is fast, but now he's faster. So fast, in fact, that he leaves an afterimage, blue shadows trailing his motions. He charges toward Chun-Li, smashing forward with a giant knee the size of her face. "TIGUH!"
Sagat is unrelenting. After the first knee, he attempts to follow it with another. "TIGUH!"
Then, to complete the technique, he surges forward in another hellish move, spinning as his shadow images blur around him. "TIGUH UPPERCUT!"
It is the most fabled technique in Sagat's repertoire, and the most feared in Muay Thai: The Tiger Genocide.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li parries Sagat's Tiger Genocide+!
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Sagat 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Chun-Li
When the energies subside, Chun-Li sags her shoulders, her feet very nearly betraying her. Shuddering after such a massive expenditure of energy, the woman gasps for breath as the Thai fighter hits the ground hard. Moments later he's rising up like some massive, stony monolith, drawing a mildly bemused and startled expression from the woman. He's still up? No way...
Cow, he calls her. The woman frowns deeply. Biting back her pain and the urge to just give up, she stands firm as he grimly speaks. Oh, he's upset. But...she isn't. If anything, she offers a playful, half-hearted smirk in response. The odds are against her, but...she's not out. Not yet. He's underestimating the world's strongest woman.
He moves fast--she'll give him that. But now more than ever she's on the alert; wide-eyed, she watches as his form blurs, a shadow of himself following as he thrusts a knee forward, intent on driving it cleanly into her face. The woman's response is swift and simple; lifting her hands, she places her palms out and forward, letting the intercept before she redirects the force.
But there's still the issue of his uppercuts to deal with.
Long, powerful legs tense considerably, the woman's body like a live wire and burning with adrenaline. She lets it guide her, a powerful leap back and away as he tries to drive another knee at her; instead, she leaps up and OVER Sagat, letting him sail beneath her as she gracefully spins and twirls through the air, to land in a deep crouch behind him with arms outstretched.
But she can't let him get the best of her--she has to act!
"YAA!!" Surging forward like a blur, the woman attempts to close in on the Muay Thai master and unleash a barrage of kicks onto his burly chest, jackhammer-like blow after jackhammer-like blow delivered with lightning-quick precision to overcome any defenses he may attempt to draw.
COMBATSYS: Sagat blocks Chun-Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku EX.
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Sagat 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Chun-Li
Sagat puts his all into an attack that kills millions of tigers with every use, like a tiger that has turned upon its people and sought to destroy them, and come up empty-handed. As Chun-Li jumps him like a tiger jumping over a candlestick, Sagat gapes for a moment -- just long enough to refuel his inhuman rage. He swings his arms inward, putting one forearm parallel above the other, soaking up her kicks as he braces himself with one leg kept taut.
Sagat's arms swing open when Chun-Li finishes, and he nearly roars at her, an inhuman, bestial snarl. He doesn't seem fazed by Chun-Li's assault, so much as supremely pissed off. His scar even glows, he's so angry. His arms are out in cruciform, muscles flexing, every vein throbbing. He is like a tiger full of dynamite -- ready to explode. "TIII--"
Sagat slams his fists together again with a 'CHOOM,' a massive orange beam exploding out, made up of dozes of brilliant orange chi crescents. "--GUUUHHHAAAHHH!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Sagat's Tiger Cannon.
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Sagat 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Chun-Li
With one last barrage against his defenses, the waif-by-comparison woman withdraws, brown eyes widening as he all but snarls like an angry tiger in her face. Pissed off and angry for reasons she's not entirely sure of, Chun-Li lets her legs tense before she crouches and hops back, giving the burly Thai his distance.
Breathing heavily, she merely observes, tight-lipped as ever as she just watches the man seethe and rage. Even the crowds around the pair of fighters take an extra few steps back and away, for fear of being caught in the storm of rage that threatens to erupt from the man.
And it does--sort of. Drawing his fists together, a massive gout of pure chi launches forward, an orange beam set on vaporizing the Chinese woman. She lifts her arms immediately, shielding her vulnerable chest and head from harm behind her forearms, though strength alone from the strike pushes her back slowly but surely. Only when the energy subsides does she relent her defenses. It stings a LOT, but...
Biting back the pain, Chun-Li again surges forward, though her steps aren't nearly as confident as before. Riding on the brink of her body's limits, she is as determined as ever to make the charge forward. As she closes in, however, she suddenly leaps upwards, body corkscrewing as she inverts into the air. A lance of chi ignites, travelling down along her powerful legs as she ascends...before both legs split and her body sharply and forcefully whips around, body properly upright as she brings one chi-laced leg suddenly DOWN upon Sagat like an axe, to slam into him with potent force and a surge of blue-violet chi!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Sagat with Tensei Ranka.
[ < > //////// ]
Sagat 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Chun-Li
Chun-Li's dazzling kick connects with the top of Sagat's skull -- the force is sufficient to sling his head downward so hard and so fast that he all but does a flip, feet launching into the air and face driving into the concrete ground with a sickening cracking noise -- bear in mind that as his head hits the ground, gravity is also weighing it with that seven-foot body of his, too. He lays on the ground for a moment, still as death.
Then, with another snarl, Sagat launches himself upward. "You -- you -- you --" he stammers, unable to finish whatever insult he wishes to hurl beyond that initial stutter, instead settling for:
"TIGUH!"
Sagat blasts into the air with the last of his strength, leading with his fist, hoping to take Chun-Li out with him as he feels his consciousness starting to fade from the massive concussion he's just incurred.
COMBATSYS: Sagat can no longer fight.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li full-parries Sagat's Tiger Blow!
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Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|
When Sagat's face drives into concrete, Chun-Li almost instantly recoils; leaping off, her form twirls, bounding off from the sheer force as she rotates and lands a few feet away. Her balance off, she staggers somewhat, shoulders sagging deeply as she breathes heavily. Fighting Sagat is a nigh-impossible task for a woman who is notable for her immense (and perhaps freakish) strength. But...she's persevered, and it would seem it paid off...
Then, suddenly, Sagat roars like a wounded animal and leaps to his feet. Oh, he's angry. And an angry Sagat is not a pleasant or rational Sagat. She'll have to act fast. Chun-Li absently bites at her bottom lip. Again, her long legs tense as she readies her body for come what may.
The moment he blasts forward the woman whips violently aside, her body a blur as she again reaches up and redirects the blow elsewhere. The fist is rendered harmless, guided anywhere but Chun-Li's prone face as she gets her body out of harm's way. And once beyond, she takes another cautious, quick step aside, giving the angry Thai room.
Only then does the woman exhale lightly, frowning deeply as she looks at the fallen Muay Thai Emperor, but says nothing for a moment. Then?
"Don't worry about the deal," she offers, turning to step away from Sagat. "I thank you, however, for the fight. It was an honor to fight you on level grounds, and not as an enemy of Shadaloo, Sagat." She turns her head, followed by her body, to fully regard the man once more. Only then does she lift her arms and fold them, bowing respectfully from the waist up to the man.
"Your strength is fearsome."
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has ended the fight here.
Sagat slams into a nearby concrete pillar when Chun-Li parries his attack; thankfully, it is not a load-bearing one, as his fist shatters it, shards and splinters of stone bursting everywhere. His fist bloody, bits of broken rubble sticking out of his knuckles, Sagat slumps forward onto one knee, exhausted, beaten. When Chun-Li speaks, he doesn't move his head -- nor does he move at all until after she has bowed. It is then that Sagat looks up.
"Hhh," he wheezes, in heavy, ragged breaths. "Hhh. Hhh. See how far I have fallen, Chun-Li." He slowly rises to his full height, feeling dizzy, swaying a bit on his huge feet. "See how deep failure can run. I have helped my people -- but it has earned me nothing. I have sacrificed so much -- and I live as a dog would, and upstarts and small things defeat me."
Sagat lets out another heavy wheeze. "Consider the rewards of helping others, Chun-Li -- you who value it so much. It will only end in misery. I am proof of this."
The disgraced Emperor, having delivered his delusional tirade, turns and begins to slowly stagger away, fist dripping blood on the ground in a small trail.
How far he's fallen..?
Blinking in response, the woman's tired face is momentarily surprised, thin lips pulling into a line as she hears the exhausted fighter out. Men and women around them begin to scatter and disperse, leaving the two to their own discussions, but they go ignored--she isn't even aware of them. Right now, she listens to the disgraced fighter.
Dropping her arms from before her to rest at her side, the Tai Chi Mistress shakes her head softly and frowns in response. That can't be true--it isn't true. She refuses to believe his words, but...would protesting really help? Would someone so bitter and spiteful listen? Or is he too far gone?
"That...isn't what I see," she replies, quietly. "I think, if anything...you have become a much better person, and a man I can now respect. You haven't fallen, as far as I can tell. Your people respect you. You have helped them rebuild after Vega's reign of terror. Isn't their respect...isn't that enough??" What does Sagat want for all his sacrifices?
Frowning, the woman recoils, shoulders sagging deeper than ever as he begins to stagger away, bleeding. She watches as he goes, her expression sincere in its sympathies for the former Shadaloo King. To her, he has her respects for cutting his horrible ties to Shadaloo. But can he honestly stay out of their grip, or will his delusional and misdirected spite have him return..?
"I hope we don't become enemies again," she calls after before she turns, to take her leave.
She means it.
Saishu suddenly appears as the security to a death rabbit tournament.
"Yeah," he says, "my ass is in /everything."
Log created on 20:24:46 12/14/2008 by Sagat, and last modified on 01:02:15 12/15/2008.