Description: Taking four very talented fighters and having them do battle in a chaotic four way free for all seems like a good start, but it isn't crazy enough. Let's have them fight on the tops of four trucks instead. That helps, but isn't quite there yet. So let's have the trucks rolling along the freeway at eighty miles per hour? Now we're talking. Painful grapples, a frenzy of strikes, and a handful of chi blasts bring the four fighters toward the brutal conclusion. ( Draw Match )
INTERSTATE 5, CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Over a hundred miles of southbound I-5 have been closed off in the name of science, a stretch that cuts through California's Central Valley. Four enormous 18-wheelers haul ass down the interstate, side by side with little regard for lane restrictions or, indeed, lanes at all. It's the closest one is likely to ever get to a solid, continuous surface while going 80 miles an hour; there's only about ten feet of space in between the tops of the trucks.
Each truck houses one of the evening's four contenders, given ample space and supplies inside to prepare, whether that preparation be the injection of body-ravaging illegal drugs or more innocent rituals, such as crying and eating an entire pint of Chunky Monkey.
Or both. You know, whatever.
Inside the cab of the eastmost truck, the trucker known only as 'Rubber Duck' scowls at the vans containing cameras and crew that swarm around the line of trucks. This is a stupid idea, and he knows it, but the pay is good, and ever since that incident on I-10 he'd had trouble getting work. He just hopes the freak in back doesn't fuck up his truck.
"Ah, this here's The Duck," he announces into his CB radio, glancing down at the tiny panel installed on his dash. "I reckon it's time to start lettin' em out, c'mon." Without waiting for a response, he reaches down and presses a button on the panel. A red light turns green.
The back doors of Rubber Duck's cargo trailer hiss and slide open. From the cavernous space emerges one Cody Travers, climbing easily up the back of the truck and hauling himself towards the roof of the semi. He looks patently ridiculous, clad in a one-piece, blue-and-white striped prison jumpsuit like something out of a silent movie. It is an artifact of antagonizing a prison warden... and, more recently, an artifact of antagonizing Rugal Bernstein.
The long chain of Cody's handcuffs clanks against the surface of the cargo trailer as he finishes his ascent and pulls himself up onto the roof, rising to his feet. He doesn't seem terribly concerned that he's standing on top of a speeding truck; in fact, he looks downright at ease, scratching at his nose with one thumb and scanning the passing landscape.
"This..." the blonde smiles to himself, "...should be interesting."
Blue Mary was issued her position in a livestock truck's little 'vet slot,' where you can keep a guy to keep an eye on your prize animals if you're paranoid. She was hoping it was going to be horses, or maybe something inoffensive like cows. Maybe zoo animals. She likes animals; she's very proud of her dog!
She got hogs.
Blue Mary is very eager, when the doors open and the little rope ladder descends from the top, to clamber out away from the squealing four-hundred pound prize hogs. She flips up to the top of the corrugated steel roof, her belt buckle going "clank" against it as she stays in a dramatic three point stance.
She can still smell it. She does see another figure, standing out there, and straightens up, raising one hand in salute to Cody. She'd shout, but you know, /the highway/.
Beneath her, the prize hogs snuffle.
This had to be one of those events designed by someone who had absolutely no experience in competative fighting, Hotaru Futaba was convinced. Isn't engaging in fast paced, brutal striking martial arts bouts against some of the best fighters in the world risky enough as it is? She certainly has come away from such matches with the injuries to prove it in the past. So why, exactly, does the match have to be carried out on the back of trailer trucks moving above the speed limit across the vast expanse of Central California? Is the imminent threat of death or injury under normal circumstances just not 'cool' enough?
Still, in spite reservations, the young Kenpo artist showed up all the same. Having won the Warrior's Belt designation on two prior occasions while SNF was a franchise of Howard Enterprises, it's only fitting that she take another stab at it under its new ownership under Ken Masters. At least the biggest name in sanctioned combat is no longer owned by a career criminal, she concluded.
When the doors open, she scrambles for the top, springing up over the back and landing on her feet only to be greeted by the fierce onrush of wind that happily whips her pigtails against her shoulders or neck depending on which way she stands.
Hands raised, palms parallel, the young fighter braces herself for what promises to be a very risky fight under the best of conditions. Having faced none of her opponents before, she'll have to learn their styles as things go. Cody's style seems to be 'I belong in prison'. What that entails she tries to avoid guessing, chosing instead to notice Blue Mary's arrival from the very 'rustic' smelling trailer. A soft nod is offered toward both of the other two already present, eyes narrowed slightly against the wind rushing against her face. This match most definitely doesn't lend itself to quiet conversation much.
SEVERAL HOURS AGO...
In the garage of a body shop/car stereo shop/hubcap emporium/chop shop/Shadaloo money laundering operation, the finishing touches are being placed on an 18 wheeler that barely fits into the space alloted by not just the garage but the entire maintenence area provided by the shop. A crew of workers whose caramel skin is slick and shiny with sweat earned from a hard day's work in a stuffy, barely ventilated garage is mostly kicking back now, enjoying cold drinks and home lunches.
"'ey, I dunno about this, I mean the pay's real good and all, but... man, I just dunno..."
"What's not to know? We chrome this thing out a little, do some paint, get the rims spinnin'..."
The first worker rubs the back of his neck nervously as he looks at his compatriot, and then up at the truck. "Yeah, but... man, this' some wild shit."
"All I know is, dude paid extra for that fish tank in the dash, /and/ he gave us all that... what's it, hush money? Yeah..."
"Fuck, man, I /guess/ me and Carmen can do somethin' real nice tonight, forget about all this," the first worker mutters. One more glance is cast towards the creation whose form he had a hand in bringing to bear, and then he heaves a sigh of contrition.
ON THE OPEN ROAD...
In primarily red and black, an eighteen wheeler bearing the white death's head of Shadaloo on the sides of its trailer rumbles down the open road. Its shiny chrome rims are spinning in multiple places and in different directions, and it has multiple sets of chrome pipes topped by skulls extending up from the rear of the cab, as well as from the back of the trailer. There's even a death's head painted on the hood.
With a tight, acrobatic spin, Cammy cartwheels out from the back of her trailer to land on its roof, unconcerned with the wind sending her two braids flopping madly save to brush one or the other out from before her eyes now and again. Her little garrison cap is wholly unmoved, even at these speeds, and unlike Hotaru at least she has no qualms at all for fighting atop a moving convoy of trucks. She's slept on top of speeding vehicles, she's eaten on top of them, fired machine guns at guerillas, balanced eggs atop her nose...
This is not the least familiar ground for her, all in all.
She looks towards the other three, just to see what exactly she is up against, and then she softly exhales and tips her chin down in waiting.
In only moments, Cody has had his fill of the countryside, and he turns to watch the other fighters emerge from their trucks, scowling with distaste. Two women and a little girl, huh? "Tch," the blonde scoffs to himself, casually unlatching the handcuff from his left arm and shaking his wrist out. With a sigh, he clamps the manacle back around his wrist and kneels, withdrawing a small black handle from his shoe.
With a flick of his wrist, a blade springs out of the handle, and the man twirls the switchblade between his fingers, frowning thoughtfully. That's the part he hates the most about being forced to wear this stupid jumpsuit... there's nowhere to keep the knives. Oh well. No sense dwelling on it.
He doesn't straighten up first, or go for a running start. He just jumps. The metal underneath Cody's legs buckles slightly inwards, and the blonde springs across the ten-foot gap between his truck and Blue Mary's like it was a puddle, landing in a half-crouch some five feet from the woman.
Cody spins sharply on his heel and springs forwards again, lashing out at Mary's chest with two quick horizontal slashes, the knife a blur of silvery metal. He'd probably be better served going for her face or her stomach... but let's be honest, no matter what he did the woman's chest would probably get in the way.
COMBATSYS: Cody has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cody 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Cody
COMBATSYS: Cammy has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Cody
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cammy 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: BlueMary has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Cody 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits BlueMary with Tokushu Koudou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
This environment's kind of cool, Mary thinks, being half amateur herself. It's risky and stupidly, suicidally dangerous - but kind of cool! Her hair blows free in the wind, whipping dramatically as she nods towards Hotaru and even does a little two-handed finger pistols towards Cammy - she's doing well! That's good.
Cody's the first guy to make the leap, Mary thinks further as she turns to face the oncoming criminal, crouching slightly in anticipation as she raises her hands. He's going for a knife. Hah! She weaves to the left --
Just as Pig Pen changes lanes. The sudden shift in motion means that she ends up going /onto/ the knife, which cuts into the cloth over her top and the breast beneath in a way that gets a peculiar expression which is clearly the non-verbal, sublimated form of OH GOD WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THAT. She twists away, landing on her ass with sufficient force to rouse the pigs.
But this is a position she is used to fighting from. She suddenly slides forwards, her body sinuously whipping upwards as she aims a two-footed kick at Cody's hip level, twisting as she does to try and grab his leg and twist it around into a disjointing mass of agony!
With all four participants on the top, it's clearly time for the bout to get started. As the lone man of the match leads the way with a palmed switchblade, Hotaru confirms what she suspected - the man is a tough brawler who's gotten this far by being a powerful brute rather than a martial artist with particular finese or skill. A soft exhale is lost in the wind rushing by her and she can't help but wince when his opening volley of slashes manage to connect against Mary in a painful manner.
Closing her hands and eyes for a brief moment, the girl reminds herself that this is simply the brutal side of the sport she has dedicated herself to excelling in. Months without the weekly exposure to the styles of other fighters in the form of SNF competitions dulled her memories of just how violent the sport could be. She needs to collect herself - hesitation is not the attribute of a champion level fighter!
Picking Cody as her target of choice, the teenaged fighter closes distance quickly, getting accustomed to the traction afforded by the trailers with each step, before sliding to a stop a couple feet from the 'R' owned brawler. Her motions fluid, the girl drops into a low stance before springing up into a small hop, twisting so that she can swing her right leg up and then back down, dropping her heel against Cody - should he already be caught up by Mary's attack, it may be into his chest that Hotaru strikes before he can recover. But if he's still standing, it would be the top of his head her heel zeros in on. "YA!"
Cody, Blue Mary and Hotaru rush to be entangled with one another, and Cammy, on her blasphemous trailer truck... stares. She cants her head just slightly to the side and narrows her eyes as she surveys everyone else's willingness come to blows, and though she's here(at Lord Vega's behest) to do just that, she knows an opportunity when she sees one. She can vividly remember encountering Mary Ryan in the trembling bowels of Howard Tower, but Cody and Hotaru do not ring the same bells; what better time than now to gain some insight into what exactly she will be up against.
So she watches, stock straight as the convoy rumbles down the open road, her slim frame refusing to give to the buffeting winds.
COMBATSYS: Cammy calculates her next move.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cody endures BlueMary's Straight Slicer.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hotaru's Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
Blue Mary's legs lock around a surprised Cody's thigh and twist viciously. Cody has never been terribly bright, and he's always been extremely stubborn; there's a very easy way to mitigate the fact that this woman is trying to wrench his leg out of its socket, and that's to take the fall.
But Cody has never been content to just take the fall. He digs his legs into the ground, baring his teeth in a snarl at the seated woman, as she applies the pressure to his leg. It's akin to putting a column into a submission hold... and, eventually, it works.
With a loud *POP*, lost to the wind of the freeway, Cody's leg pops out of the hip socket and he collapses heavily onto one knee. Of course, this puts Mary in the unfortunate position of being attached by her legs to a man holding a knife and grinning like a maniac. Cody lifts his knife again, and-
-Hotaru's axe kick bites into his head. It snaps less than an inch forwards, but the shock of impact at least forces his knife from his hands. It lands on the metal beneath him and skitters away down the length of the semi.
Without moving from within Blue Mary's leggy grasp - which would be a difficult prospect, with a dislocated leg - Cody rotates and swings his fist in a tight arc up at Hotaru's stomach, twisting his forearm viciously to the side as he does. The actual blow is nothing to write home about; a simple uppercut with an unnecessary flourish.
But the moment Cody's arm reaches its full extension, an eight-foot tall whirlwind, laced with lines of blue chi, erupts into being just in front of Cody, around where Hotaru is... or, hopefully (for her sake), was just a moment before. A whirlwind such as that is likely to send someone flying, and it would be a bad, bad thing to go flying off of the back of one of these trucks.
Yeah, yeah; a maniac with a knife, Mary might think if she was /thinking at all/. The popping noise of a leg bone moving out of the hip bone is pleasant in a horrible way, and after disengaging Mary executes another sinous motion to get back to her feet. "Hey!" she says, to the world as much as to Cody. Who seems to be occupying himself with Hotaru now.
But who has thus far managed to escape attention? Mary's head swivels to look towards Cammy as she watches, and then she starts running down the front of the truck, her footfalls evoking more squeals from the captured piggies as she leaps onto the cabin and then takes a deep breath as she leaps once more, tumbling in a somersault...
... which puts her on the very edge of the Shadoloo Crime Truck. She is in a precarious position and deals with it via immediate backflip, aiming to hook one leg around Cammy's hip and slam her to the ground in a preposterous but viewer-friendly manner.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru just-defends Cody's Criminal Upper!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
The impact of her heel against Cody's head tells the girl one thing real quick - the guy is even tougher than he looks and that's saying a lot. She lands out of her leaping axe kick with each of her feet on seperate trailers, leaving her able to see the pavement speed by between the two trucks. Precarious and becoming even more so as the trucks veer further apart for a moment, capturing the girl's attention even as Cody gets ready to strike back without even taking the time to recover from his circumstances of being accousted by two opponents at once.
Glancing up just in time to detect the strike, and knowing full well that she hasn't the balance to simply meet Cody's fist with a more stable guard, Hotaru springs up just before her feet would have been pulled too far apart to give her the support she needed to escape. Hands forward in a bracing-like position, the featherweight effectively air-blocks the punch with an accompanying shimmer of azure chi sparking to life to contest the threat the sudden explosion whirlwinding chi represents.
The collision of forces sends her flying backward but unharmed, allowing her to drop into a controlled landing some feet away along the length of the big rig, a soft exhale of relief escaping her lips as she recovers her footing. Cody is studied for a moment, the angle of his leg calling to question whether he is going to be able to keep fighting or not, and also giving the Kenpo artist a heads up on how Mary fights...
Not one to strike someone who may not be able to keep on fighting, the girl whirls around to face the other to participants. Mary's taken the fight to the most uninviting looking truck Hotaru has ever seen. Decked out with chrome skulls and an insignia that the girl recognizes the moment her eyes settle on the side of the trailer, the entire setup doesn't speak well for Cammy's likely affiliation. "...maybe they're just a sponsor," the girl murmurs. Benefit of the doubt 'n all that.
It is toward the other two that Hotaru moves next, landing firmly on Cammy's trailer with a light step that carries her quickly into the brawl between the other two. Blue Mary might once again serve as the source of the opening Hotaru seeks as the pig-tailed combatant drops into a low stance before lunging forward in tightly, right palm leading, aiming to land a solid palm strike into Cammy's side if she can catch the agile fighter in place long enough to catch her. "HA!"
COMBATSYS: Cammy blocks BlueMary's Power Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Cammy with Medium Punch.
Grazing Hit
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Cammy
Just having Blue Mary's powerful and familiar leg clenched around her hip is problematic enough without actually falling over; Cammy wobbles slightly, but thanks to a powerfully executed backflip of her own, she breaks free of the clinch and... leaves herself in prime position to be the target of Hotaru's probing attack.
Even with the punch as unexpected as it is, Cammy still nearly dodges it entirely; the twist that she executes leaves her to suffer Hotaru's palm grazing across her side and belly, which is probably better than risking cracked ribs or the like. Bruises are always better than breaks.
She looks towards Miss Ryan for but a moment before crisply saying, "Failed Police Officer." And then she turns her attention to Hotaru, sans greeting as her body twists on a violent axis intended to take her past the Futaba girl so that she is standing in place to lock her into a cruel mockery of a friendly embrace from behind. She will, if her grip is true enough, wrench back to drive Hotaru's head and shoulders into the roof of the trailer in a vicious suplex, unconcerned with any denting that may occur.
Cody arches an eyebrow when Hotaru goes soaring away from his whirlwind with a flash of chi... and lands neatly on her feet. That one's new to him. Then he turns back to finish his business with Blue Mary... and finds her departed, a fact he missed, thanks to a combination of the distraction Hotaru provided, the roar of the wind, and the rapidly spreading numbness in his leg. He really ought to do something about that.
So he does. With a snarl, he gives his dislocated leg a sharp wrench and it pops back into the socket. It hurts like a son of a bitch, but... well, it's not like he's going to just sit over here and watch. Where's the fun in that? The blonde rises back to his feet, unsteady only for a moment, and crosses the short distance to Pig Pen's cab in two long steps. Not much to work with up here... but he'll make do.
Cody's fingers dig into one of Pig Pen's dual vertical exhaust pipes, crumpling the metal into a thin 'handle'. With a sharp jerk of his arm, he rips the length of pipe free of the cab. Pig Pen the man rolls down his window and starts shouting obscenities at him, but Cody ignores him, striding back up the top of the trailer and crossing over to where the brawl has moved with a quick hop.
Nonchalantly, Cody rears his newfound pipe club up with one hand and slams it downwards like a hammer, towards Cammy. Should her grip prove true enough to put Hotaru on her back - insert derogatory accusation re: Hotaru and promiscuity here - Cammy'll get it in the stomach. If not, the back of the head will have to do.
Mary's position means that she is left flopped on her back again - now we know why she wears darker tones, so it shows less obvious soiling! She straightens up in a more conventional manner as Hotaru and Cammy throw themselves at each other, turning slightly to face Cody. Her hands clench at her sides, forming firm, tight fists.
She takes a deep breath, of the hot, dusty, polluted American wind, and lets her power gather together, eyes narrowing slightly as her lips split in a sudden, cheek-crinkling grin.
Light glitters around her feet, leaving pink-toned scorch marks on the top of the trailer, but that's probably gonna get covered by Ken Masters. Probably.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Cammy's Hooligan Suplex.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Cammy
Getting in close enough to connect a hit with Cammy at all, Hotaru begins to snap her arm back, anticipating retaliation to come back swiftly her way. The 'friendly' greeting offered the previously-slashed woman is heard, suggesting some kind of history must exist between the two, but Hotaru doesn't give it much further thought other than to make a mental note that Mary is or was a cop.
Expecting a more direct strike, the girl starts to take a step back, readying her defenses and trying to watch for her next move. That's when Cammy moves, stepping forward faster than the Futaba girl thought possible to slip in around her in the process even while she was trying so hard to keep facing her.
No time is afforded to ponder just how the Shadaloo sponsered young woman is able to move so quickly as in the next instant, surprisingly strong arms find their way around her torso from behind. "Eh-?" the teen combatant squeaks before she's immediately hefted off her feet, her upper back on collision course for the unforgivingly hard surface of the truck. Getting suplexed is all well and good when it's faked and the ring is a very springy mat surface... but this promises to hurt bad!
A desperate twist of her own body brings the girl crashing down on her upper arm and shoulder instead of on her head; the surface of the trailer giving a little with a strained groan as Hotaru falls the rest of the way onto her side rather than her back. Slamming her hands down quickly and rolling to a crouch, she's back in action in time to see Cody close in tightly to go swinging with literal part of the truck for Cammy. It might be attacking him from behind, but with the way he fights and the fact that it's a crazy four for all brawl, leaves Hotaru not hesitating to take a chance at landing a quick hit.
Springing forward, she tries to get a tight enough hold on his arm to twist the prison-escapee off balance and tumble him to the trailer roof. In the same step, she's already pushing off of him as well, aiming to put a bit of distance between her and the other three by the time she finishes hopping back!
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Cammy with Random Weapon.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Cammy
The combination of Hotaru being kind of slippery and Cody hitting her in the stomach with a goddamn pipe breaks Cammy's grip violently, and causes her to flop to her back and stare up at the clouds for a second or two.
That one over there, it looks kind of like Lord Vega laughing. And that one over there, like Lord Vega if he were a frog.
She rolls backwards to plant her hands into the surface of her truck and springs into a tight somersault, spinning through the air in an arc that leaves her perched unmoving atop a chrome skull. Taking a little while to actually recover from having some ex-con try and push a hard metal object through her abdomen seems like a wise idea.
COMBATSYS: Cammy gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Cody with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Cammy
Take /that/, uterus!
Cody swivels to track Cammy as she somersaults away, lifting his pipeclub for another strike, but quickly abandons that plan of action; she's just too Goddamn bouncy. At the sound of footsteps behind him, he swivels, preparing to bring his pipe down... when Hotaru grabs his raised arm and wrenches.
The combination of his own movement and the sudden and surprising yank from Hotaru not only destroys Cody's balance and brings him down, it brings him down /hard/. His feet slip out from under him and he crashes awkwardly onto one shoulder, his pipe flying from his hands and disappearing over the edge of the truck. Cody, too, strikes with such force that he bounces... and follows right after his weapon, tumbling over the side of the semi trailer.
His left hand lashes out at the last second, grabbing onto the semi's edge, fingers sinking into the metal. Practically flapping in the wind, Cody dangles from the side of the truck, scowling down at the road below. That was close.
The blonde moves to pull himself up, but hesitates suddenly as a wave of dizziness washes over him. His heart pounds in his chest, faster and faster. Cursing silently, the man reaches and feels behind his head with his free hand, dragging his fingers through the trickling moisture he can feel on the back of his neck. He pulls his hand back in front of him, and sighs with something resembling relief; it's still the vivid red of blood. He's not gone yet.
"Havin' too much fun," he lectures himself. But he can control this. He took less than normal, too. That should help... right? Rather than climb atop the trailer again, Cody continues dangling from the side of the trailer, taking deep breaths and willing his pulse to slow. He'll let them come to him. He's always preferred it that way, anyways.
COMBATSYS: Cody focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Cammy
Mary opens her eyes again, feeling vivacious as all get out. Good! she thinks, before she sees Cody go in for the good old fashioned Baby Bane. Her lips quirk in mild dismay, though it seems that Cody's being crowded. The proper strategy in this situation, she thinks...
Then a Cobra GTO drives by on the other side of the divider, ruining Mary's train of thought. She rolls her neck instead, and looks towards Hotaru, poor little Hotaru! Who's trying to just get a little distance away so she can catch her breath.
Mary leaps upwards, not very efficiently - if it wasn't for whoever is driving that particular truck braking slightly, causing the truck to move more swiftly backwards relative to Mary! (Or more accurately, Mary's speed remains the same, and the truck slows down, but this is pedantry.) The end result is that Mary's leap is accelerated, to the point where she has to twist around and grab Hotaru to stop HERSELF as much as anything else; however, even as she tries to get the girl to tumble with her to the top of the nearby sleeper cab, she's aiming to get her into an armlock and plant her into the doubtless evil Psycho Pressed Aluminium of the trailer's roof!
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Hotaru with Mary Spider.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Cammy
Cody goes tumbling, as intended. What wasn't intended was the severity of his fall - a fall that nearly takes him clean off the truck and beyond to an introduction to the pavement with eighty miles per hour of momentum factoring into the impact! Sliding to a stop, she thinks to have bought herself a precious moment of reprieve. Cammy is perched in a position that makes her rather difficult to attack directly, and all she can see of Cody is his /hand/ gripping the side of the truck so she isn't about to go over and try and stomp his fingers free or something.
That leaves Ma- ack! The featherweight is caught by the flying Mary, stopping the woman's momentum but also resulting in herself being pulled into a tumble to the roof of the sleeper cab of the large, ominous semi. But if there's any evil baked into that roof, that isn't what Hotaru's feeling pain from so much as it is her arm being wrenched painfully!
"Ow!" Caught on her back, her wrist in Mary's hold, her arm being bent back painfully, it's all the girl can do to free herself as a flash of azure chi flares to life along her left forearm and fist. Teeth gritting, the Kenpo artist twists herself just enough to bring her left arm up and unleash a close proximity blast of vibrant, sapphire blue chi against Mary in a bid to force the woman to let go.
Given her circumstances and the speeding wind, it isn't her best shot, but she she's also lobbing the burst of chi from point blank range too - with any luck for her, it will smack into Mary with concussive force before splashing away and leaving no trace in the wind. "YA!"
With her right arm out-stretched and the fight continuing to unfold below, Cammy vaults from the truck. Her eyes do go first to Cody, who's oh so close to to being splattered on the pavement below, and the thought of, say, stomping on his hand to help him on his way did cross her mind. He, however, is judged to be near enough to getting himself killed that he can probably do without further help.
So that leaves Hotaru and Blue Mary, and thanks to the explosion of chi generated by the former, the Zero Doll's options are swiftly narrowed down to just the former officer of the law. Her lithe body twists in the air to carry her close to Blue Mary's back, with that outstretched hand reaching for a handful of hair.
Whether Hotaru succeeds or not, Cammy will be trying to extricate the two by yanking the investigator away to fling her towards one of the other truck trailers with a casualness that will very much belie her incredibly tiny body.
It takes him several seconds, but Cody is eventually able to wrangle his heartbeat back down to something under approximately a billion beats per minute. With one last deep breath, he pulls himself upwards with a quick burst of strength. His feet, pulled up underneath him, clear the edge of the trailer with almost a foot to spare, and he lands heavily in a crouch.
He's just in time to see Cammy rush in to attempt to extricate Blue Mary from her grapple with Hotaru. It takes him only a split second to decide to give braided woman a hand - if only technically - and he lunges in after her, hands outstretched towards Hotaru. He owes her for so masterfully deflecting his favorite technique.
Perhaps the way to keep it from happening again is to be less flashy. Counting on the breaking grapple to distract the girl, Cody reaches for the back of the girl's head, intending to close his hand around it, digging his fingers into her scalp and lifting her into the air as he rises to his feet. "See how you like it," he snarls, as he grabs at the girl.
This is because, should he succeed in getting a firm grasp on Hotaru and lifting her off the trailer truck, he will slam his forehead into her face and then fling her off the side of the trailer, into - and probably through - the side of Pig Pen's semi trailer currently some fifteen feet away.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits BlueMary with Hakki Shou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits BlueMary with Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Cammy
The incoming burst of chi hits Mary as she tries to lean back to avoid it, sending her bouncing off the back of the truck - which is wide enough that she doesn't hit the road, which is good, at least. However, what is less good is when Cammy plucks her up, her legs bicycling like some kind of big-breasted hamster, and then she is flung at the truck - where she also bounces off, tumbling out of the 'field,' to all apparent lines of sight.
But Cammy's masters in Shadoloo, or Cody's criminal contacts, or Hotaru's ferret overlords, didn't count on the presence of eleven long-haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse microbus.
Mary lays atop the dented roof of the bus as one of the hippies for Jesus rolls down a window and tosses up a bottle of ice cold water, which Mary catches. She takes a long pull from it, pouring the rest over her head, the coldness shocking her back to full awareness (of her bruises, too, but such is life). She stands up as a wordless communion brings the hippies out into the break down lane, momentarily. Mary grabs the back of the Shadoloo truck's doorway, hefting herself to the top of the trailer and landing in a three point crouch, the light on her body gleaming in a shade of rose for a moment. Her hair blows out in the breeze, shedding droplets of sparkling water for one beautiful moment.
Then she does a forward flip off the edge of the bus, somersaulting through the air towards Cammy. Her legs spread out with sudden force, aiming to grasp Cammy securely between her thighs - head first. Maybe she can get out of the way.
If not, Mary performs another reversed flip, aiming to twist Cammy around and perform some sort of horrible suplex on her, a burst of light in the shape of pink, delicate rose petals erupting around her with sufficient force to terrify nearby pigs!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Cody's Savage Combo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Cammy
Her chi-ball does the trick of freeing her from Mary's painful hold. And an instant later, the two are attacked from multiple directions as Cody and Cammy descend upon them to catch the two off guard. Scooting backward on hands and feet, Hotaru finds a helping hand in the form of Cody's powerful grip assisting her with the process of getting back up.
Except he's gripping her by the back of her head and as he turns her around to face him, his intent strikes her as absolutely anything /besides/ helpful. Feet dangling, she hasn't much in the way of traction to work with. But... given her height and stature, this is hardly the first time Hotaru has been hefted around by a firm grip on her skull. Which is why she knows something of what to do under the circumstances! Both hands chop up for the underside of Cody's outstretched arm, forcing herself from his grip with a sudden jolt right before his head slams forward in an effort to bash her senseless... "I don't," she notes, regarding her invitation to see how she likes it.
Landing in a low crouch, the girl is there for only a second before she springs back completely out of range, sliding to a stop further along the length of the trailor, fingers pressed against the hot steel roof, azure eyes focused back on Cody for a brief moment. Something about the state of that man prompts her to try her hand against Blue Mary again rather than charge right back for him.
Bolting for the woman Cammy declared to be a police officer, the girl attempts to catch her while possibly distracted by her complicated assault on the Shadaloo-sponsered one.
Zipping for the probable point of landing, Hotaru drops into a slide kick across the trailer, aiming to drive her heel into the back of Mary's lower leg in a bid to upset the balance of the blond. "Ya!"
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Cammy with Twister Rose.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Cammy
It's basically a wonder of science and industry that Cammy and Blue Mary don't wind up inside of the truck they're on; as it is, they wind up in a deep, deep indentation in the metal that's forced into it with a horrific squealing and grinding sound.
The Killer Bee is not still, however, nor is it her head and shoulders that emerge from the fading panoply of lights and flora; it's her legs, seeking to mimick the beginnings of Blue Mary's attack as the police officer dodges or does not dodge around Hotaru's kick and assumedly finds her bearings.
Even if she misses, she's vaulting herself towards an upright position through the strength of her arms, but should she connect she'll swing her body in a full revolution around Mary Ryan's to build momentum before bending forward as if performing a vertical sit-up and grabbing for the top of the investigator's head and her throat both. Her legs will then slip down to cinch tight around Blue Mary's body as she bears down with her arms in a vicious choke hold, hoping to keep her opponent of the moment from getting properly in gear again.
Hotaru hits Cody with the legendary double chop, and the man's arm betrays him and spasms, dropping the girl out of his grip. He reaches out with his free hand, but she's leaping away by the time he even gets his fist open. "I hate fighting girls," he sneers, as Hotaru sets into BlueMary, apparently hesitant to come after him again. "They always run."
The man crouches, legs tensing, and then springs into the air, soaring across the gap bewteen the Shadoloo big rig and the truck all the fun has migrated to. Landing, however, is a very laborious prospect... so he cuts it out entirely, soaring straight towards Hotaru. If she manages to get that grapple off, well, that ought to just make her an easy target!
He doesn't even bother using any of his limbs. It's like he's trying to chest bump her into submission. "You got nowhere to run, little girl!" he roars, almost jovial.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Hotaru's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits BlueMary with Flying Neck Hunt.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
Blue Mary doesn't get long to enjoy the feeling of Cammy between her thighs before Hotaru starts sliding towards the crater they've formed. She releases the Shadoloo Doll to block with a sudden cross of her legs, which, while practical, is probably going on someone's compliation. The struck blow sends her skidding over, grimacing as she feels her thigh's flesh bruise, but not, it seems, daunted yet. "Hah!" she declares, flipping up and tumbling to her feet...
Just in time to get Cammy's killer grasp. As she's grabbed from the waist and the neck at once, her arms raise as she feels her face flush from the pressure at the blood vessels and the uncomfortable sweaty closeness of Cammy. Ugh! she thinks, unable to make a sassy remark what with being choked. What is there to do?
A flying backdrop as her hands go up to grab at Cammy's forearms, aiming to slam her head right into Cammy's taut abs with crushing force!
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges BlueMary's Crushing Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
She hears Cody's remark about running away even as she changes targets to go after the female law enforcer. It gnaws at her for only a second before she puts it out of mind. Of course she's not going to try and trade savage strikes with him as opposed to making him contend with her practiced speed. How else is she going to keep up with the strength he brings to bear?
With Mary's timely deflection of her slide kick, Hotaru recovers quickly, pushing herself up to standing, arms raised, palms facing toward each other as she readies herself to attack from a more controlled, stable position as opposed to her sprint toward Ms. Ryan. It seems like a good idea until she realizes she's front and center to Cody's impressive landing. Glancing up just as a shadow appears on the trailer at her feet, her eyes widen as she realizes he's still very much insistant on catching up with her in spite her swift speed.
Though she pulls her arms up to try and guard against Cody's, well, manly chest, the momentum behind the larger fighter proves to be so much more than Hotaru is up to fending off. The crushing hit sends her sliding a little ways, but she digs in as best she can, angling her feet to bring her to a swift stop, her hands clenched, her teeth grit. It's time to stop running from this guy, she decides, stepping forward, twisting into a half spin such that her back is facing him for a brief moment... before she slams her foot out back and to the side, aiming to deliver a punishing mule-kick to Cody's stomach. "Kya!"
"Failed Police Officer," Cammy wonders aloud as she wrenches her arm violently against Blue Mary's throat, "are you not breaking many laws right now?" Her arms are jerked free from Mary's grasp as the pair go flying backwards, and thanks to briefly planting her feet against the officer's back, Doll Zero is able to vault herself away in a backwards somersault that leaves her planted safely atop the next truck over, feet sliding along the surface a short ways before she comes to a stop.
The moment her slide stops, she pushes off to sprint along the top of that trailer, launching herself off at the edge to go hurtling directly at Mary Ryan. Her knees pull up near the end of her horizontal arc as she seeks to smash them right into the side of Mary's head in passing before landing before her.
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hotaru's En Bi Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
Cody's still catching his balance when Hotaru half-spins away. It's not /hard/ jumping between rapidly-moving trucks, per se, but it is... complicated, and a misstep would be extremely bothersome. It'd be a bitch catching up to the trucks, after all.
No sooner does the man finally straighten up than does Hotaru lash out with her backwards kick. It slams right into his abs with a thick *thud* of impact, the force of the blow sending an imperceptibly small ripple through the flesh of his torso.
The flesh underneath Cody's jumpsuit bruises instantly, swelling and turning an ugly shade of purple. But he doesn't move. He barely even flinches, save to sway slightly backwards. One of his manacled hands snaps up to latch onto Hotaru's ankle as he lowers his gaze, briefly, to the point of impact. "Little girl," he says, grinning broadly, "You're gonna have to hit me harder than that."
Without so much as tensing up, Cody springs several feet into the air. One of his feet snaps out towards the back of Hotaru's head, but it isn't a kick; indeed, he places it there positively gently. He brings the knee of his other leg up to slam into the girl's back, however, and then he forces all of his weight on the back of her head, trying to force her face-first into the roof of the truck, riding her down to the ground as he does so.
Whether Hotaru's under his foot or not, he plows heavily into the roof beneath him in an awkward kneel... and he's slow to rise. Gradually, rivulets of neon green taint the stream of red blood leaking out of the back of the man's head, the ratio of red to green changing by the second. That probably isn't good.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary dodges Cammy's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
Mary feels a pang of irritation at that statement, but she doesn't answer Cammy right away. She's not feeling good enough to multitask, at least, not in any way she considers reliable. She leans back sharply at Cammy's assault, rolling in a sideways manner without falling down as she feels something stretch and then rip - for a moment she wonders if she's pulled a muscle loose...
Then she feels a peculiar new sort of hot soreness where the wind biting's her...
She looks down at her chest, where the stab mark has now deepened and spread out, enough to admit a departing guest, at which point Mary scowls and starts energetically shrugging and manevuering the tunic to try and cover it up. She sees some of the signs of Cody's POWERTHIRST abuse in the side of her vision, but she's got much bigger (or proportionately much smaller) problems right in front of her.
"There's nothing illegal about Saturday Night Fight!" she declaims in her best Blonde Heroic Fashion. "Even if Ken Masters just sits at home with his comic books and Bauhaus albums nowadays, he's an upright guy - everyone who signs on for this event knows the risks! It's all paid for... That's like saying that because it's illegal to sell a kid liquor, buying a drink's a crime! And second,"
Mary doesn't do anything terribly artful here, instead taking a step forwards and slamming her fist towards Cammy's face with full-body force! This seems to be the sum of her secondary argument.
It does mean her boob flops out again.
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Hotaru with Bad Stamp.
Grazing Hit
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
Hotaru drives her foot into Cody's stomach but the end result is hardly as satisfying as she had hoped. Trying to snap her leg back out of fear of retaliation, she finds Cody's hand faster than she anticipated. Ankle caught, she's stuck hopping on her other foot for a moment, trying in vain to pull herself free from his hold. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the rib-crushing kick she had been hoping for. "I have a name," she replies, a bit of an edge to her voice. Maybe she's tired of being called little girl!
And then she leaps, twisting her other leg, intending to kick against Cody's chest and try to pry herself free that way. Unfortunately for her, the ex-convict takes to the air at the same time and instead of escaping, Hotaru finds herself pulled heavily along for the ride. The foot against the back of her head is a warning of pain to come, but the knee against her back provokes an immediate response as she starts in pain. Fortunately for her, the swift girl's instincts spare her further harm as she extends her hands out to her sides and twists swiftly mid-air to the side into a spinning barrel roll.
When Cody crash lands against the trailer, doing untold damage to the now well abused roof, Hotaru lands off to the side in a low crouch, exhaling softly at another close scrape from more severe harm. A quiet moment is taken to survey the battlefield. There's something off about the color of 'sweat' on Cody as if some censors felt neon green was a much more acceptable color than the garish crimson of shed blood. Okay, that's weird. And it seems Mary is suffering wardrobe malfunction while still battling fiercely with Cammy. Hotaru shakes her head, pushing herself up to standing. This fight has taken some interesting twists and turns. Time to focus herself for the final attacks...
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cammy blocks BlueMary's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Cammy
"Fighting atop moving vehicles on an open highway. Would you have allowed this? No won--"
Cammy's head slowly tilts to the side as she stands up straight before Blue Mary and observes her TMZ-worthy fashion faux pas. She looks down at herself, quickly sweeps her hands across her sweater-slash-bathing suit-military uniform, then reaches up to right her cap before returning her gaze to Blue Mary and her struggles.
She is only /just/ in time to pull her arms up and catch the fist that's coming towards her on her armoured forearms, and it still kind of hurts. Once it's safe for her to drop her guard, she softly suggests, "Perhaps tape. Or bandaging," as she gets low and darts towards the investigator. "A better breed of underwire. Did this happen while you were on the force?"
With that last question, she turns her forward run into a sharp upwards arc as she shouts, "Cannon Spike!" and points her right foot square for Blue Mary's jaw as physics are merrily defied.
Cody kneels atop the speeding truck, still and rigid. Once again, his heart beats a mile a minute, and he struggles to control his breathing. He can control this, he's sure. Maybe he can even invoke it on demand. But he refuses to let it happen today. He'll probably go charging right off the truck, and then the festivities would be over. That'd just be a shame.
But he can control it. All he has to do is hope none of these girls come at him while he's down like this. All he needs is a few seconds. All he needsis to stay... perfectly...still...
Bare flesh flashes in his peripheral vision, and as if drawn by a magnet, Cody's head swivels. He ogles Blue Mary's exposed 'asset' for about a second and a half before his balance and his vision fail him simultaneously. He collapses to the side, clumsily throwing out an arm to catch himself and mostly failing. His heart beats ever faster, and the green taint in the blood he spills spreads through the entire stream in the blink of an eye.
Even dazed and confused as he is, Cody manages to murmur, "Worth it."
He follows the statement up almost instantly with an animal roar, voice oddly modulated by the drugs rapidly taking hold in his system. Maneuvering awkwardly onto all fours, the blonde punctuates the long, trembling roar by slamming his fist into the roof of the truck so hard it pierces entirely through the metal.
His muscles swell, pressing against the already tight fit of his striped jumpsuit. Eyes squeezed shut, he does little but writhe for several seconds, one hand buried in the semi trailer's roof and the fingers of the other digging into the metal of it. But it's over surprisingly quickly, and the entire 'transformation' process seems somehow abortive.
With little fanfare, Cody suddenly hauls himself to his feet. He looks like he's gained maybe two inches of height, and his muscles are swollen and bulging, but he hardly looks inhuman. Mostly he just looks like he's been hitting the sauce. Finally, he opens his eyes... and they've become solid, glowing neon green.
They're also still looking at Mary's chest. But, apparently, that doesn't interest him anymore. He leans forwards, his calves tense, and he practically sprints down the length of the truck towards Mary, even as Cammy flings herself at her. That same fling, in fact, puts Cammy right in the man's path when he's just two steps away from the women, and apparently he decides that's good enough.
Cody takes the last few steps in one long lunge, reaching out with grasping hands for Cammy's body just as her Cannon Spike attempt reaches its /fateful conclusion./ He's not trying to swat her out of the air, or even grab her and put her in some ridiculous submission hold. No, he's just trying to grab her by the legs and get a real tight hold. He's not exactly gentle about it, of course. So what if he cracks something with his newfound Roid Rage strength? She'll be fine.
Fine enough for what comes next, at least.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary counters Cannon Spike from Cammy with Stun Gun Smasher.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 1/----===/=======|=======\======-\1 Cammy
"You really ARE just a constant stream of bitchy remarks, aren't you," Mary answers Cammy as she crouches slightly, perhaps to keep on bobbin' and weavin'. "On the force I wore a damn jacket!" And then she's diving at her, foot first.
Mary was, as previously established, going low, and she turns around with a sudden flourish as she snaps one arm up, grabbing Cammy's leg at about the knee and twisting around to slam her elbow back at what she assumes will be Cammy's abdomen, which may of course be totally wrong. "Hey!" she declares, for strength, before doing another of her backslam, tucking and rolling away towards...
The far end of the truck, which she almost falls off of, hooking her toes over the edge for a moment as she looks at the speeding pavement. OH GOD!! she thinks, before grabbing onto the big plastic Jesus fish and using it as a climbing hold point. This does mean she's missed Cody's hulk out - for now.
From her perspective just off to the side of the 'festivities' as Cody considers it, Hotaru has an opportunity to watch everything play out. Cammy's taunts, Mary's wince-worthy skillful response. Cody's crouching down, pulling himself through something that the Futaba girl knows nothing about but what she can see. Green blood that draws the eye with the way the unnatural hue matches his eyes. What /is/ this guy on? At the start of the match she dismissed him as a fighter that had gotten by on brutal strength, remarkable endurance, and a certain lack of cunning in actually defending himself. But what he demonstrates is something beyond that all together...
She has to stop him, she decides. There might be better tactical options, she muses, hesitating for only a split second. But, the girl concludes, there's no telling what he might do in this new state of mind. Sure, it's a match between all of the four present but there's something decidedly scary about what the blonde is doing or becoming.
Drawing back her right hand, her forearm becomes imbued with a flare of her signiture azure chi. Taking a step forward, twisting to the left, Hotaru swings her arm forward, fingers uncurling to unleash a bolt of sapphire energy across the distance between her and Cody. It sails swiftly as Hotaru hopes to rob him of his capacity to keep on fighting any longer. Of course, whether it's in time to make any difference for Cammy remains to be seen.
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges Cody's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=======\======-\1 Cammy
Blue Mary's elbow slamming into the Killer Bee's abdomen is enough to send the small blonde slip of an assassin /off/ of the truck they've been fighting on; she only barely has the awareness necessary to pull her limbs in close to her chest so that they're not so easily grabbed by the Incredible Culk, and that does little to change her bouncing off of the asphalt below with velocity that no human body should be striking a hard object at.
Miraculously, she takes control of her roll across the asphault, springing up onto her feet and sprinting after the convoy. She's scraped to hell all over her legs, arms, face, and even torso; her uniform is lightly shredded here and there to show traces of blood. But she's still running. And what's more is... she's not really being pulled away from.
Actually, for that matter, it almost seems as if she's... gaining on the trucks?
The more she runs, the more indistinct her form gets, blurring at first around the edges, and then completely, invisible to the glass eyes of the cameras filming this encounter but possibly barely visible to the trained eyes of the fighters aboard the convoy.
By the time she's coming up alongside the truck that the combatants have been sharing for the last several moments of this fight, there /are/ a number of ghostly, pseudoreal images of the Zero Doll visible in a long trail behind her; some of them leap staggering distances or simply climb to mount the truck and race towards Hotaru, throwing punches and kicks with no true physical weight before darting away to move along the sides and tops of the other trucks as well as the road itself.
As for Cammy herself, once a few of those phantasmal blows have been thrown, she leaps onto the hood of the truck, and then up onto the trailer to try throwing a powerful cross to Hotaru's jaw in passing. And then like her many images, she'll slip away to join the distracting, Psycho Powered flurry, now and again sneaking back in to throw more quick attacks amidst the confusion she is hopefully creating.
When it is all over, she'll stop in a crouch not so far from where she was originally standing with Blue Mary, the many images of her all rushing to converge on her form and her lips slightly parted as she softly pants for air.
COMBATSYS: Cody Toughs Out Hotaru's Hakki Shou EX!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Cammy
Blue Mary tumbles from the truck - obviously fallen forever - even as Cammy's legs slip through the closing fingers of Cody's (AKA The Incredible Culk's (AKA Pillsbury Doughboy's)) hands, and for a split second, he looks downright disappointed. It doesn't take long for that look to twist into an enraged snarl, however. They both had some fight left in them yet... what a waste. The blonde lowers his hands, and turns around almost casually.
He's greeted by a glowing bolt of sapphire energy about three feet in front of his face... a fireball.
Cody hates fireballs.
He doesn't throw up his arms to block, or dive out of the way, or do any silly thing like that. No... without pause or hesitation, he starts walking forwards, straight into the oncoming bolt.
It blasts into his chest in a burst of light, railing against the man's flesh... and it doesn't even slow him down, exploding into sparkles of light against the advancing Cody. The force of it blows a gaping hole into the chest of his jumpsuit, blasting it apart into scraps of striped cloth. The skin underneath shows through, already bruised, and now blistered and burned from the force of the projectile.
But that's far from the most interesting thing Cody's exposed chest reveals. Even what fanservice factor there might have been is dulled by the fact that someone appears to have taken a knife and carved the word 'CODY' into his chest. The wounds are relatively fresh... and, like his eyes and the blood spilling from the back of his head - along with a few already burst blisters on his chest - the words glow bright green.
So that's fucked up.
In contrast with his initial charge, Cody keeps up his steady stroll back towards Hotaru, even as Cammy and her myriad ghostly images return to the fray and unleash a veritable bonanza of attacks on the girl. By the time Cammy finishes her assault, Cody is still some ten feet away from Hotaru, well outside striking distance.
That stops being a problem when Cody stops suddenly, lifts his right foot, and jams it straight outwards like a piston. The kick emerges with such force that Cody's left foot, still on the ground, abruptly goes sliding forwards, shearing a thin layer of metal off of the roof of the truck's trailer as the man propels himself forwards by main strength alone, foot poised to crash into Hotaru's stomach.
"Holy shit," Mary says regarding the alien sight of Cammy running and catching up with the /convoy/. She pushes herself up further onto the truck's surface, only to get a good juicy eyeful of Cody's current mantastic bare chested state.
Which manages to not even be marginally appealing, especially as he's apparently moving to go administer a brutal kick into Hotaru's midsection. While tactically sound, Mary winces anyway. She then decides to go with it; Cammy is apparently trying to catch her breath, and apparently will be able to get back onto the cars if necessary. So...
She twists around, hard enough to make her belt jingle and shift on her waist, as she aims one booted foot at Cammy's hat-wearing head in a roundhouse kick!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Cody's Ruffian Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Hotaru effortlessly blocks Cammy's Killer Bee Assault.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Cammy
In a flash, Hotaru finds herself suddenly the center of attention of at least two of the powerful fighters present. The sapphire sphere of concussive chi she sent flying impacts Cody with enough force to rip the top of his jumpsuit to shreads, exposing a horrifically carved pattern of letters in his flesh. In a sense, time seems to slow down for the teen fighter. The sight of the grisely carving on Cody's chest... the unforgettable sequence of Cammy being lost to the trucks only to literally catch back up and return to the battle...
Hotaru begins to realize that being at the center of these two events means trouble if she doesn't move /immediately/. Cody flies in with the initiative, foot first, promising enough crushing force in his heel to possibly knock the featherweight fighter clean off the truck. But Hotaru escapes in time, ducking low then tumbling forward at an angle, coming up in a low stance, arms raised, hands held in front of her face, leaving enough room to see by.
And that's when the onslaught commences. Each pass by the Killer Bee nearly crushes through the girl's defenses as she swings, weaves, and deflects attack after attack. Each of them take their toll, sapping her strength and jarring her limbs with each impact. Shins are brought up to block as her arms get weary, the girl bunkering down, operating completely on auto pilot as she weathers the storm. Instinct combined with talent backed by a life's incessant pursuit of training leave her still standing when the combination at last ends.
That she converts immediately into an attack is just part of the whole, the girl sinking down lower, arms at her sides, body leaning forward... Fluildly she adopts a stance to best prepare herself for a speedy launch and in the next instant, she makes good on it. Without even giving it full thought, Cammy becomes her target as the girl bolts forward faster than she had been thus far in the entire fight.
Kicking into the air, she spins, sweeping her arms into a pair of windmilling strikes designed to batter Cammy's defenses. A second hop into a second pair of windmilling strikes would follow. "Tenrenge!" Should the talented young Kenpo artist find an opening in the other girl's defenses, she'll finish with a rising shoulder slam only to twist into an aerial spin kick to finish the blonde off before dropping back down to the trailer top exhausted!
COMBATSYS: Cammy dodges BlueMary's Roundhouse Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Cammy
COMBATSYS: Cammy blocks Hotaru's Ten-ren-ge.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Cammy
A precisely timed sideways cartwheel not only allows Cammy to duck beneath the roundhouse kick on the initial low sideways movement leading into the maneuver, but her legs as they swing through the air are used to block the initial two sets of windmilling strikes that Hotaru subjects her to. When she reassumes her feet, she surges forward into the shoulder block, blunting the impact somewhat painfully for herself by meeting it head on.
She perseveres long enough to hop into a backwards handspring rather than wait for what else Hotaru has up her sleeves; she thinks briefly of being allowed to actually hold onto the belt she hopes to win before it's taken off to be added to Lord Vega's trophies, and that keeps her from keeling right over the way a sane person might.
As soon as one backflip ends, another is launched, only at the terminal arc of this one it's clear that she wants to cinch her legs around Blue Mary's head in a way that is, by now, perhaps familiar in a wholly disturbing fashion. If she secures her grip, she'll reverse her momentum completely to try flipping Mary forward onto the top of her head, and then she'll roll backwards to crouch atop the truck and fight to remain conscious.
Cody's leg cuts right through empty air as Hotaru ducks away; he lingers there, leg extended, for a full second before he slams it into the ground, cratering the roof of the trailer inwards. With a snarl, he wrenches his foot out of the metal puckered around it and straightens up again, turning his eyes onto the plethora of acrobatics occuring all across the roof of the truck.
He's sure he could keep up with it if he tried... but his limbs feel so awkward. Even in the throes of the Glow, he can recognize that his body is changing more and more every time this happens. He's like a pubescent teenager, still getting used to his new body.
So he bides his time. It's surprisingly easy, right now, to swallow the fury welled up within him... and it certainly helps how heavy his legs feel.
So he bides his time, taking a few careful steps forward as the girls flit around like ninja fairies. He tracks Hotaru especially - the girl's like a gnat he just can't swat - and he lifts his arms before him, the somehow still intact manacle chain jangling expectantly.
Just as the girl lands back on the surface of the truck, Cody lunges, lifting his arms over her head and trying to loop the chain of his manacles around her neck. Rather than just choke the girl should he succeed, he twists to the side and attempts to flip her over his shoulder and fling her down the length of the truck, pulling her by the chain wrapped around her neck.
Mercifully, at least, the strain of doing this - or of his awkward flailing, should the maneuver go south - explodes the chain, spraying shattered links in every direction.
COMBATSYS: Cammy successfully hits BlueMary with Frankensteiner.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\ < > //// ]
Cody 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=------\1 BlueMary
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Cammy
Nobody here is doing very well. Mary makes her effort to dodge, but unfortunately for her this involves advancing, lowering her head, which would have perhaps normally meant that Cammy got to feel her hair whish past. This is not what actually happens, and she gets a dark sweaty moment before feeling herself slam, head first, into the top of the truck.
She flops onto her back bonelessly for a moment, the world ringing. She doesn't think of anything else for a moment. Probably, somewhere the SNF people are figuring out if they should deploy Keanu with a stretcher to haul her off.
And then she sits bolt upright, eyes wide. "Hey!" she says, not for the first time, leaning forwards onto her hands and knees and then straight up. "What's wrong?!" Her voice is loud and her eyes are slightly unfocused. "Tired out!? You can always just - Tap out, if you gotta!!"
Then she runs towards where Cammy is trying, if vainly, to catch her breath, whipping around her in a tight circle and then concluding with a flying kick that may send her flying back into the pig truck - /or/ which will produce a rising twirling pair of strikes from her other arm, which might just send /Cammy/ into the aforementioned mess o' hogs.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
[ \\\\\ <
Cammy 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Hotaru with Prisoner Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
[ \\\\\ <
Cammy 0/-------/---====|
Into the air Hotaru lunges, attempting to finish taking Cammy to the ground with a final couple of strikes only to have the other girl slip out of the way to safety. Landing, Hotaru pushes up out of her crouch, ready to bolt forward again for a follow up attack.
Only to find any attempts of such cut short as a strong chain drops down in front of her vision, the young fighter having been caught completely off guard by Cody's approach this time around. The chain locks into place as her hands lift, seeking to get a tight enough grip to fight against it, eyes widening as she struggles for breath. But any attempt at fighting back is cut short as Cody twists around and yanks her over his shoulder and sends her flying down the length of the truck, promising an even more painful wrenching of her throat when she'll reach the limits of the chain's length.
As chance would have it, she doesn't have to worry about further neck sprain or worse as the links shatter, flying into the wind as Hotaru slides to a stop on her back, gasping for welcome breath, her hands going to her neck to rub at the red chafing caused by her brief lynching. Gritting her teeth, the Kenpo artist rolls onto her side then to hands and knees, pausing in a low crouch as she eyes back at Cody.
Taking in a breath, the girl decides to try and settle the score with the rugged brawler, springing to the air with more of that acrobatic stuff he's been forced to follow so much this bout. The apex of her leap would have her transition into a sharp dive, knee first, aiming to impact his shoulder with her right knee... and should she accomplish that, she'll follow up with a swift kick with her left, using the impact as leverage to spring away into a long back flip to possible safety!
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Cammy with Splash Rose.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
[ <
Cammy 1/-------/=======|
The many hogs in the truck that Blue Mary rode in on have a new friend, and she's not even dressed like one of them; it's a miracle on many levels. Amidst the straw and the muck, Cammy struggles to push herself upright, falters and falls, then grits her teeth and makes one more go of it, her every muscle shaking in exertion as the Psycho Power raging within drives them to function one last, great time.
In a burst of uncanny speed, she explodes through the side of the pig truck and punches through the trailer of the vehicle adjacent, running along its floor until it's time to repeat the process. She will continue until she is beneath Cody and Hotaru, at which point she'll twist into a momentary crouch before firing herself directly upwards like a little blonde Democracy-hating bullet. Feet first. And spinning at high enough speeds to act as something of an organic drill as she tries to direct herself towards Hotaru.
COMBATSYS: Cammy can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
As Hotaru recovers from being thrown like a bag of potatoes, Cody flexes his arms outwards, enjoying the freedom from his (entirely voluntary) shackles. Grinning broadly, he turns back to face Hotaru, crossing his arms over his chest, and just waits.
He gets what he wants when she springs in, driving her knee into his shoulder, and again, he barely flinches, though his flesh ripples and bruises. She follows it up with a kick to much the same effect, and then she springs away. Only once she's on the retreat does the man actually react, unfolding his arms and snapping them out towards Hotaru as she flits away.
Things get kind of weird when Cammy explodes out of the trailer beneath them. Cody checks himself mid-reach and takes a staggering step backwards, caught off guard by the sudden arrival of a meat drill. It's not disastrous... he wanted something bigger than that, anyways.
"You hit," he taunts Hotaru regardless of her fate at Cammy's, uh, drillbit, his voice modulated by the Glow. "Like a girl. Stop... dancing around..." He sways suddenly, reaching up to clutch at his head as if in pain. What was he saying...? Oh, right.
"STOP DANCING AROUND!" he screams, suddenly furious. "HIT ME AS HARD AS YOU CAN! HAHAHA!" And just as quickly as he jumped to fury, he's out of it. The laughter is positively gleeful. "COME ON, LITTLE GIRL!" he cries, pounding his hands against his chest. "HIT ME!"
COMBATSYS: Cody focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
COMBATSYS: Hotaru effortlessly dodges Cammy's Reverse Shaft Breaker.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
Occupied with her attentions focused squarely on Cody, Hotaru is oblivious to the climatic exchange of powerful attacks that transpire between the other two females in the grueling match. Her trajectory holds true, driving her knee into Cody before she kicks back off of him. Her backflip takes her just over Cammy as the Shadaloo killer explodes up out of the trailor, adding yet another pot hole to the already thoroughly trashed trailer roofs. A last second twist of the young girl's body allows her to escape the blonde's trajectory, however, and Hotaru slides to a stop, unharmed by the parting shot.
A pained gasp escapes her lips as she stares back over at Cody - the man still standing even after all the attacks she had thrown his way. Kicking him reminds her a lot of kicking Marco Rodriguez's giant wrecking ball during her year of training under the Kyokugen household. His body barely seems to give at all as she launches attack after attack his way. And then he goes on to call her out, pointing out what she herself was learning the hardway - she wasn't hurting him nearly as much as she needed to.
The teen fighter grits her teeth at his taunt, blood rushing to her head, pusling with the pace of her rapidly beating heart. The eighty mile per hour wind whips through her hair, her two pig-tails trailing out behind her as she pauses, facing off back against Cody all on her own now. No more fighters to provide distraction. It's just the two of them. She shouldn't be provoked, she tells herself repeatedly. She should catch her breath and continue to play her speed against his stamina even if it did nothing but earn more of his ire.
But not everything in life can be a tactical, cool headed decision, and as he mocks her she can't help but be provoked to an item of action far from prudent. Gasping for breath, the hot wind provides little in the way of relief for the tired fighter. But so be it. Pushing back up to standing, Hotaru clenches her hands, closing her eyes, attempting to center herself to keep going even after all this. Bringing her hands up, she opens her eyes to focus back on Cody as he pounds at his chest.
Taking in a deep breath, the Kenpo artist bursts forward with speed, closing the distance quickly, charging the monster with the green, unnatural eyes. She's a step out when she twists into her attack, springing forward in order to drive her right shoulder into his chest as she rises up at an angle, hoping to finally bring enough power to bear to drop the powerful, frighteningly influenced man with one final attack. "HAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Cody endures Hotaru's Tenshin Shou.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Cody
As Hotaru rushes in, Cody bares his chest invitingly, spreading his arms wide. He gets his wish; the girl plows her shoulder straight into his chest. There's a horrific cracking - from the volume and the placement of the blow, it can only be his sternum. The force of the attack drives him backwards, his feet dragging along the top of the trailer.
But he still doesn't flinch. He rolls his neck, grinning, and takes one step forward, returning to the place he stood before he was struck. He seems totally unperturbed, despite the numerous injuries that cover his body... and despite the sickly green discoloration spreading across his chest, a clear sign of internal bleeding.
"Not bad," the man says. He even sounds a little impressed.
And then he draws back his right fist. For a split second, time stands still. Sickly green light whirls around Cody's feet, and all other color across the entire convoy and the wilderness surrounding it fades. Also, there are /totally sweet action lines./
And then it's over, and the swollen, brutalized man's fist lashes out with impossible speed, moving so quickly it leaves hazy, semi-transparent green afterimages. Even stranger, his entire body is flashing with some sort of ridiculous golden light. Nothing makes sense anymore; God has abandoned science and logic.
Despite his earlier cries of protest, it's only a jab, aimed for Hotaru's chin... but it's followed by another one, and then another. And then... Cody turns around. It's over in a blink of an eye, but it definitely happened. He unleashes three more jabs... and then turns around again. And then three more... and then he turns around again. It's very peculiar behavior... but then, most of his behavior has been peculiar so far.
Finally, he follows through on the third set of jabs, hurling a vicious right hook at the side of Hotaru's head, and then a left cross, and then finally a devastating uppercut. The blows thrown, Cody turns his back on the girl carelessly and takes a few strolling steps towards the cab of the truck.
"But not good... enough..." he says. His voice falters simultaneously with his step, and his stroll suddenly becomes a stagger as the Glow begins to wear off. The blood streaming from his body becomes, in places, red once again, and Cody keeps staggering forward, suddenly uncertain of where he is.
He staggers, in fact, right off the edge of the trailer.
Cody bounces off the roof of the truck cab and strikes the windshield with a thunderous *crack*, turning the glass effectively opaque by cratering the entire sheet inwards. The driver screams and slams on the brakes. It's not enough to stop Cody's tumble; he rolls onto the hood, and from there off of it.
The entire truck shakes as it runs over the fallen form of Cody Travers, and then several more times as each set of wheels pass over him. The driver keeps braking, but he's going too fast; it'll take him awhile to stop, and Cody by now is surely long gone.
COMBATSYS: Cody can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Cody successfully hits Hotaru with Final Destruction EX.
[ <
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|
The girl jams her shoulder into the man's chest. It isn't her all together most punishing technique, but it's the most she could muster in her present condition. The body can only be pushed so far. Well. Without neon-green-blood-causing-drugs, that is, and Hotaru isn't into that stuff!! She slides down, partially leaning against Cody for support until her feet touch the ground at which point she shoves herself back, stumbling a step. She's barely aware of his evaluation of her strike. Staggering back a step, the exhausted girl merely tries to keep on going, raising her hands in front of her as if intending to assume her ready stance once more even if she's beyond being able to put it to use coherently.
Unfortunately for her, Cody has a fair amount of strength left in him. His lasting power may be in question, but his offense isn't lacking. She tries to draw back as he attacks, spanning the distance between them in a green, hazy blur, but his hand slips through her guard before she can manage, jabbing her in the chin. It's a light hit, but she's in bad condition, and it's enough to throw off her further attempts at defending herself. Stumbling, the younger fighter is pray to the jarring follow up strikes. Even the moments he choses to turn around offer insufficient time for her to pull herself together.
The machinegun jabs are enough to cause her to falter - perhaps enough to collapse her on their own, though she clings to consciousness all the same. It's the three final hits that seal the deal, however, as one after another they send Hotaru reeling to the left, then the right, her knees giving out, her body ready to drop, until his uppercut drives the gnat-like fighter into the air in a lazy, uncontrolled arc.
Descent takes her into a hard landing on her side on the neighboring truck as Cody turns away. Dazed, on the cusp of unconsciousness, the girl rolls onto her stomach and starts to push herself up. Lifting her face to watch Cody turn his back and start to walk away with a dismissing attitude, she grits her teeth, determined to prove him wrong. Blood pours from her lip and her arms tremble. She can make it, she tells herself. She's a fighter. A survivor. She can set things straight with one more go at it...
Vision bluring, she's only vaguely aware when the truck next to hers slams on its break and falls behind all of the sudden. Shouts go up around the trucks as all the drivers begin to apply brakes and bring the rolling disaster of a match to a close. Telling herself she still needs to hit Cody one more time, unaware that the truck that just fell behind /more/ than handled that for her, Hotaru struggles a final time to push herself upright before she collapses, lost to the relieving blanket of unconsciousness.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
Log created on 20:11:53 07/12/2009 by Hotaru, and last modified on 12:59:59 07/18/2009.