SNF 2009.07 - Detroit PUNCH City! Igniz vs Blanka/Cherry/Ophelia

Description: Saturday Night Fight! Detroit, home of steel, cars, and.. brawlings! Ophelia, Cherry and Blanka take on the 'God' of NESTS, Igniz! (Winners: Blanka/Cherry/Ophelia)



Much has transpired since Igniz had last came public. Since the reclaiming of Gedo High and Igniz being cast away from his 'base' that he had spent a great deal of money on, NESTS once more needed to claw itself out of a financial pit. It wasn't very hard, honestly. With such talented fighters in their ranks, NESTS attempted a victory on any and all Tournaments, moving to claim whatever reward was offered.

Small pots were given with little to no interest, with Candy thrown at some now and then, camoflauged to look like different fighters.

Today in Michigan, on the bridge between Canada and the United States, Igniz had be scheduled to make an appearence. Akin to how a jester would it would seem. Wowing the crowd was the top priority of the hour. A jester Igniz shall be then, making his appearence upon the battlefield slowly, cloaked in a robe of purple, slowly wandering towards the center of the bridge. While being long enough to touch the streets, the cloak never does. If anyone looks closer, neither does his feet.

Stopping at the center on the Canadian side, the leader of NESTS turns about towards the American side, awaiting his would be opposition. Igniz has been rather interested in a test of his skill once again. You see, after suffering rather terrible wounds, it takes time to recover.

Beneath the robe, Igniz carries his trademark smile. It gleams forever, no matter what the circumstances or troubles. Rarely does it break. Today, it anticipates the enjoyment that Igniz experience. The crowd should not be the only ones to glutton themselves with such a positive feeling.

The Ambassador Bridge. Ophelia has never been to it, nor to Canada. She was half-expecting to need to wear a heavy coat even in July, because isn't Canada cold all the time? Everybody knows that.

At the last minute she decided to wear her usual outfit and she's glad. A parka would be overkill. Ophelia hangs on the American side of the bridge, talking with another dark-skinned girl who looks a lot like her, except in a blouse and long skirt.

Ophelia waves at the other girl, who looks somewhere between nervous and pleased, as she walks onto the bridge. Her thumbs are looped around her belt as she struts on, grinning. "Nice robe," she calls.

Hey! Everyone's saying, 'but someone blew up Southtown boo hoo hoo! We need relief and thousands are homeless and stuff boo hoo hoo!' Yeah? Well what about AMERICA'S needs, you selfish Japanese fucks?! Extremely highly-paid auto industry CEOs are going without their yearly five figure bonuses in the United States while you're whining about losing a building named after waterfowl! Well screw that, man. Ken Masters is running this show now and we don't need no petty Japanese disasters taking up our precious charity fighting time. Good old fashioned American telethon-style entertainment is going to raise some money for good old fashioned American business: CARS.

(Confidential to the UAW: we love you guys keep reaching for that rainbow)

And when you think "American" and "star power" and "fighting" you probably think "Ken Masters/Rufus slash non-con" but if you're not into that and you happen to enjoy PR juggernauts then you MIGHT think instead of "Cherry Aguirre", the bombastic Fighting Diva who is extremely happy to be here tonight, alongside some girl from LA and a giant green guy to raise some god damned money up on this bridge, yo. But what of her typical bombastic entrance? How is she going to dazzle us today?

The roar is your answer.

The nice thing about the Ambassador Bridge is that it's a suspension bridge. You get the cool cable thing like the one Snake hung around on at the beginning of Metal Gear Solid 2: Electric Bugaloo. And the nice thing is that you can actually ride a motorcycle down one if you have 1.) a motorcycle, 2.) great balance and 3.) absolutely no regard for your own safety. Thus on a cheap secondhand bike, Cherry comes screaming down the outside cable on the bike with a roar of the engine, only finally coming to a stop at the end as she skids, turning around. As she slams the kickstand down, her black helmet is pulled off as she Farahs her hair out, practically in slow motion, then steps off and observes who's present. Ophelia gets a raised eyebrow, but Igniz makes the other one go up in sheer surprise. "Holy hell," she murmurs. "It's like someone walked right out of 'Velvet Goldmine'."

Blanka could understand the idea of getting back upon a high-horse for another turn at the saddle, that much is certain. Lost in the jungles for many months on a self-revalation quest, he'd only just returned, to find the town he'd chosen as 'home' to be reduced to shambles. War had passed him by, but not his friends and 'family', so he'd had to find ways to help out where he could. The rebuilding projectfound Blanka hauling things about and around, size and strength helping in the reconstruction of Southtown, even if it were attached to bright green skin.

Beyond that, though, he'd sought some semblance of normalcy, something to tie in with how the world was supposed to work, from a Blanka point of view. The opportunity to involve himself in a Saturday Night Fight was nothing to sneeze at, and the gentle green giant was eagerly anticipating wherever he would be sent, whoever he was meant to fight.

He arrives a little later than most, walking along the bridge in 'casual' clothes. Blanka's normal jean shorts are gone, instead wearing a thick grey hoodie with 'SAIKYO A-ROOLS' on the front, and baggy stonewash jeans. His feet and hands stick out, marks of green that certainly do lead to 'Not quite human', as does the spiky shock of orange hair. However, he has a relatively placid expression, a smile for some, and a subconcious trembling eagerness for battle. Approaching the three fighters, he laces his hands and turns them about, sending all his knuckles krik-krakking with wild pops and snaps. "Blanka.. looking forwards to this. Haven't fought.. in long time."

COMBATSYS: Ophelia has started a fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Blanka has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Blanka           0/-------/------=|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Cherry has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Blanka           0/-------/------=|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/------=|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Igniz has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Blanka           0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Igniz
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/------=|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


Igniz isn't certain that the recent exploits on the bridge were prepared before hand, or came with the fighters themselves, but it surely is enough to wager a waning look towards them all. What they didn't know is their exploits are categorized and logged, as if Igniz was taking them in to use later in the fight. Cherry is obviously has good balance. Ophelia has good taste and Blanka has a nice skin tone.

"Thank you," Igniz exclaims in return towards Ophelia, turning slowly towards Cherry after her 'judging'. "A lavish robe is asking very little based on my status." The god of NESTS says, slowly walking towards the center of the bridge.

"There is no question that you have gathered to raise money, to aid this town in their exploits in an attempt to make their lives easier after so many has squandered their livelyhood in the persuit of much more." The god of NESTS stops, "There are others that can put the money to better use, where it will not be perpetuated into a system that will clearly mishandle it."

There are no special effects for what happens next. The robe is removed, ripped off of Igniz's figure like a giant vaccum, quickly replacing itself with a cloak and jet black gleaming over the body of the demi-god.

"Can you entertain a god, rather than the simpleminded mentality of a wayward crowd?" Igniz exclaims, a powerful white light gleaming down about him as a soft prayer is spoke.

Igniz does not because. He already has made his move.

Ophelia is actually pretty impressed by the motorcycle riding. Not for the first time, she wishes she had a cycle, or that her sister wouldn't go insane if she talked about buying one. Those are /dangerous/, or so the lecture she's heard about six times in the last month goes.

On the other hand, she tries to ignore Blanka, because he looks kind of freaky. She's not sure why someone would want to fight in that much makeup, but hey, if it makes him feel better...

As for Igniz, his special effects are pretty good. Ophelia has to give him that; /she/ can't move anything around with a vacuum, although she might be able to make a scarf explode or something. (She makes a note to check sometime.)

The words, however... "Oh, get real," Ophelia says, unhooking her thumbs. "You might be good, but you're not a god, and if you say you are, my sister might decide she actually wants to get in on this gig."

Charity, the other girl Ophelia came in with, abruptly turns bright red.

SNapping her head left and then right to pop it in both directions, Ophelia takes a looser stance, literally bouncing in place, switching which leg is leading every few bounds. "C'mon, then, we'll see how you actually fight!"

COMBATSYS: Ophelia focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Blanka           0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Igniz
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-----==|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


Whoa wait. God what?

Cherry grew up in Boise, Idaho. She isn't a Mormon but she knows a lot of them, and her mental image of them right now is a bunch of SD 'Elder Namehere's jumping up and down, shaking their tiny Republican fists in fury. Thou shalt have no god before Jehovah! Which is spelled with an I in that one Indiana Jones movie. True story. As for herself, the redhead takes it in stride. She knows the value of a good show, and if they pitted three people against him, this guy's got to be a pretty good fighter. She's seen the Blanka-man on TV before kicking ass, and while she is pretty confident in her own skillz(tm) she knows she's also relatively new at this. This ought to be interesting indeed.

Ophelia's comment makes her smirk a little bit. Her hair color's all wrong but the girl knows how to use her assets and she clearly has a nice sense of humor. The Diva gives Ophelia a faint grin that suggests these two will get along just fine. And hey, Igniz asked to be entertained, and Cherry is oh so good at entertaining when she decides she wants to be.

"Alright," she says to Igniz, raising one knee and getting into her entirely stupid, woo-hoo-kung-fu wire-fu movie stance, ready to move. "You asked for it, Blond Ambition."

And then she's in the air, driving at Igniz with a flying kick, one leg extended forward Bruce Lee-style, from a *standing start* which is reasonably impressive. A dragon of flame coils around her kicking leg too, which is also nicely shiny. It's a crowd pleaser, yes it is. Might as well wow them up front.

Blanka's seen gods before. Darn gods! Always going on about how superior they are. Blanka's fought blowhards too - anyone around Dan Hibiki for any length of time has to know about boastful blah-blah-ing, after all! Most of the time, good-natured boasting is part of the mind games of SNF, but in this case, it sounds like something more - or at least, a psychosis that needs to bbe addressed.

Hmn. He'll give Igniz what he wants, though - after all, what's the best way to deal with someone so boastful than to bounce right at them and try to knock them around? The green giant grins toothily, and then follows Cherry in, bounding past Ophelia on all fours. Fingers and toes dig into concrete, and as he closes in, he drops into a spin. Picking up speed, he bounces once, twice, and then aims the third horizontal roll right at Igniz's chest! "AWH-ROOOO!!"

COMBATSYS: Igniz blocks Blanka's Rolling Attack.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Blanka           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Igniz
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-----==|
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Igniz with House of Ninja.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Blanka           0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0            Igniz
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-----==|
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


The god of NESTS gives the go ahead towards the crowd about. There was no doubt that the many around will be entertained. Igniz is not even questioning that. Like sheep, people will easily flock towards any event. Any event at all.

What Igniz is more interested about is the fighters coming towards him. Blank comes, exploding forward after rolling up and hurling himself. The god of NESTS is given precious few seconds to deal with such a feat, bringing up all defenses to stop it. Four shields of chi pull up, Blanka ripping into them as if they were nothing. Granted, they very well be nothing to him. The force shoves Igniz backwards.

Far enough that he is unable to escape Cherry, the dragon like fire kick slamming into Igniz's side. It sears, beating upon his shields, yet still failing to do a terrible blow to the god of NESTS. Perhaps his defenses are entirely to immense for a single strike to overcome? Either way, there has yet to be any quickly given details to his weakness if he is experiencing any.

"If that is the comunial response then I find I must show you." Igniz exclaims, summoning a wisp to his hands. There, a powerful white light expands, pulsating with a terrible power. Soon enough, Igniz manuevers enough to send such a wisp hurdling towards Ophelia, attempting to send her reeling backwards with such tremendous power behind it.

COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Ophelia with Divine Arrow - Ground.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Blanka           0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          1/---====/=======|
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


The ground-traveling blast goes /fast/. Fast enough that Ophelia doesn't clearly recognize it is coming for her until it is way too close for comfort; her attempt to jump it only means she is thrown, flipping backwards through the air, out past the side of the bridge and toward the water.

Ophelia manages to grab one of the thinner guide cables - not the thick lifting ones Cherry rode in on, this one is only about two feet thick. She grabs it with both hands and uses it like a vault bar, flipping herself around and around and around. "You hit - like a truck - " she calls, voice Dopplering slightly as she speeds up.

Her entire body starts to glimmer in rainbow sparks as Ophelia picks up speed. After about ten revolutions, she judges she's going fast enough and lets go, discharging an enormous firework-like blast of chi at the bridge cable. It's harmless, just very bright - but it does send Ophelia's entire body at Igniz, trailing multi-hued light as she flies through the air, curled up into a ball for maximum impact. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

If she does manage to connect with Igniz - or the ground, for that matter - there is another brilliant firework-flash, and Ophelia rebounds off, flipping backwards to land on her feet. The only downside is that, now, she is exceedingly dizzy.

Primary motto of Meihuazhuang: keep moving. As long as you keep in motion opportunities to attack present themselves and you're harder to hit. Cherry, with her background as a dancer, was a natural when it came to learning it. She's also kind of a spaz when she's in the mood so, again, the whole 'stay moving' thing really just comes naturally to her. So when her kick connects the redhead plows on past Igniz, hits the ground, and immediately sprints off, heading... toward the edge of the bridge?! Has she had enough?!

Noooo.

In an impressive display of wire-fu, Cherry hits one of the vertical support girders found between the cables and literally runs UP it, briefly defying physics before she hits around just above Igniz's total height. Then she kicks off in a backwards moonsault, right at the would-be 'god'.

What she's treated to is the sight of Ophelia getting blasted away, but then performing a totally sweet aerial comeback and then a rainbow-colored counterattack. You have to hand it to her, that was pretty damn awesome. Grinning like a maniac, the redhead calls out to her: "NICE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES WATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" - Well, actually the 'watah' is because as she descends Cherry turns her fall into an axe kick directed right at Igniz's shoulder, followed by using his body as a springboard and kicking off his body for a second attack.

Impact, bouncing off - Blanka is already moving again, even in the air, twisting and turning, catlike. Back arching, he flails until he reseats himself, landing on the ground with both feet. Digging into the concrete, he turns as Igniz breaks into his own attack, and just gapes.

They're fighting /that/?!

Yike indeed! Blanka's gold eyes open wide, and his jaw hangs open for just a second, before he shakes it off. He'd stood up to the King of Fighters before, though that fight was full of camradarie, not the simple disdain of Igniz. It's something to keep in mind - but he certainly can't let it affect him.

While Ophelia and Cherry start to close in again, in the midst of rainbow sparkles and giant axe-kicks, Blanka assumes a more bestial attack - the bum rush, ala Terry Bogard. Barrelling forwards, Blanka throws his shoulder at Igniz's side, trying to knock him further into one of the others' attacks. That should give him something to think about!!

COMBATSYS: Ophelia successfully hits Igniz with Aura Rider.
- CRAZY Hit! -

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Blanka           0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Igniz blocks Blanka's Medium Punch.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Blanka           0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Igniz counters Combo Attack from Cherry with Void Genocide.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Blanka           0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           1/----===/=======|


Sometimes, something slips through the cracks. Not even facts and numbers can defeat sheer luck. Igniz finds this the case as the numerous amounts of people fall down upon him, beginning with Blanka. The assaults are jarring. Blanka leads ala Terry Bogard, bumrushing forward into the god of NESTS shields. All four chi shields appear in turn, slowing the punch down to a crawl. There, Igniz feels very little. Soon enough that doesn't seem to be the case.

Ophelia comes from behind. While Igniz is usually punctual about this, a minor glitch here, a technical difficulty here, it all leads to the forcefields dying all at once, fading away into oblivion. Just as Ophelia strikes, exploding upon Igniz with a terrible ferocity, pushing him backwards with what isn't entirely expected at once from the fighter. Igniz pauses, visible damage done to his figure. The damage, however, begins to disappear almost magically.

"You take me too lightly," Igniz exclaims softly as Cherry bounds off of the wires, coming right down towards the god of NESTS. Impressive, but Igniz manages to grab her much too quickly. The attack is visibly traced, only for Cherry's kick to be caught mid assault by one of Igniz's cape tendrils. Raising a hand out towards the enthralled Cherry, a small columb of chi forms... only to thrust out, sending Cherry sprawling backwards with a powerful display of chi.

Ophelia springs off, lands on her feet, and poses for a moment, grinning. Good, /very/ good. Less good is her teammates getting beaten up; she's still ignoring Blanka, but so is Igniz so it works out all right.

"I don't know if it's 'lightly'. I mean, you might be good," Ophelia says. "It's just that, well, you shouldn't write cheques your ass can't cash."

Oph pauses momentarily, then corrects herself, "Please do not actually try to cash a cheque with your ass."

Leaping back into the air, Ophelia plants her feet on momentary pulses of chi; she basically uses them to launch herself higher, bouncing off thin air until she goes for Igniz's head; she tries to plant one foot on her and have one of those rainbow-hued explosions launch her off and higher, simultaneously kicking downward for added damage.

Cherry ain't enthralled. Prevented from hurting Igniz by a big column of energy? Sure. But does she find him fascinating to the point of adoration? That is going to take a lot more than some VO5 hot oil treatments and a creepy cape. Top-heavy but overall light, the Fighting Diva rebounds from the countering blast pretty handily, all told; thankfully she was hit out of midair and thus, spiralling backwards into a flip, she lands gracefully on one leg on the edge of the bridge, bringing her hands together and breathing out. "Not bad, Ming the Merciless," she says, raising an eyebrow. That hurt quite a bit, actually, but not enough to take the Boise Bombshell out of the fight, by a long shot.

"Sadly, I can't let Bouncy McPunchandkick and her extremely shiny looking gay pride chi show me up. I, too, demand the adoration and emulation of drag queens everywhere."

Then she vanishes.

When she reappears, moving at the speed of Kung Fu++, it's weaving through the attacks on Igniz from everyone else with, to start things off, a nasty-looking high kick to his chin. If that connects? Well... we'll see.

COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Igniz with Disco Inferno.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


Nothing. Blanka might as well be bounding into a brick wall, for all the effect he's having. The only hope he has is that his constant battering against those force fields is slowly wearing them down. At least his partners are holding their own. Or still standing, in this case. It's a tricky thing, indeed - and as Igniz counterattacks, the bestial bushman can't help but wince. Yeesh!

Dan never hits that hard.

As Ophelia comes in from overhead, Blanka tries to get around and behind Igniz. There's a blur that goes past him that he has to assume is Cherry - after all, Igniz doesn't have help here, right? He reaches out to snag Igniz's fist, and if he can get a hold, the jolly green giant will wrap his arm around the 'god's' back, and open his mighty maw wide. In this case, he's going to get through those defenses.. one way or another. AWM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!

There should be a nice, comic, Mario Bros. 2 *BOM* once she connects. The kick is the prelude to a rapid series of palm strikes and kicks, each one flowing into the next, as Cherry essentially blows through everything in her repertoire in series. An orange-red glow gathers around her body as she does so until, finally, the last strike segues into the Fighting Diva leaping upward, chest thrust out, and the fiery red aura becomes a massive phoenix-shaped aura of fire that engulfs Igniz.

COMBATSYS: Igniz dodges Ophelia's Sky Dancer.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Igniz dodges Blanka's Wild Fang.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-------|


Igniz has a lot to deal with. He can even see that Cherry is moving rather quickly. When the assault finds itself, even as Igniz manuevers gracefully through both Blanka's and Ophelia's assault, blinking in and out of existence as their assaults pepper down upon him.

Ophelia comes down, attempting to vault of of Igniz's head. When she does reach his head, the body is no longer there for a split second, sending her flying even further forward. Blanka, on the other hand, comes down rather quickly in an attempt to bite right through Igniz's armor. The teeth come around and then... down on nothing, leaving Blanka with a momentary case of rattling teeth! It's going to really be one of those annoying things that really leaves you speechless! Or breathless. Or both.

Cherry manages to sneak past them both, leading up with a vault kick to Igniz's chin just to send him back enough to be snagged in the assault, being struck with almost everything Cherry has before being thrust backwrads with a massive pheonix shaped aura that engulfs him! It burns the gods figure. Wounded, Igniz still stands, his smile piercing even the pheonix's flames as his attention quickly diverts towards Blanka.

Nothing fancy is given towards the mighty green warrior. A simple, powerful punch is deliver towards the beast's chest in an effort to knock a little more than just wind out of him.

Ophelia bounds away and lands on her feet again, legs still trailing a multicoloured haze for a few seconds as she recovers her footing. For all that it's not actually working very well, she's still grinning. This /is/ fun. She was right to have done this.

She watches for a few moments while she catches her breath, something that doesn't take her very long. Cherry's certainly fast. And Blanka... well, he's chewing on Igniz's head, or making a good attempt at it. That's only a little creepy over there.

Ophelia suddenly darts forward. There's no chi involved, she's not speeding up crazily - she's just sprinting, dropping into a sliding kick that looks more like a baseball slide than anything else. She tries to strike with her heel, then flip up using nothing but her palms to throw her into the air, arcing backwards. He's looking at Blanka. That might mean she gets through. Right?

Three-point landing! A little overextended, Cherry was, but it appears to have paid off; when she drops back down to the bridge proper after her midair fiery display, landing in a crouch, she's got the satisfied smile on her face that is typically associated with a small number of other activities. Let's just say that adrenaline and endorphins are involved in all sorts of physiological responses and leave it at that. But even in the middle of a fight and having delivered the shiniest, most complex attack in her repertoire for the cameras, she has enough stage presence to stand in a very Liefeld single-page panel sort of way, one knee bent slightly, hands coming up and through the red hair. Venus from the foam, maybe not, but about as close as you're going to get on a bridge in the middle of a battle.

It's looking like Igniz has plenty of trouble heading his way. Cherry, herself, would like to take a couple seconds to catch her breath at this point, but considering the speed and strength Igniz has shown so far, that doesn't seem like it's in the team's best interests... keeping the pressure on is, on the whole, a far better option as far as Cherry is concerned. Thus she lets the Jolly Green Giant and Ophelia head in ahead of her, it's true, but after a second to collect herself the Fighting Diva does the exact same thing.

Keeping parallel with Ophelia, the Boise Brawler drives in low toward Igniz, and when she gets close, does a sudden stop, spin, and circles around... her goal is to slip a leg through the would-be god's stance and hook her ankle around his, then yank it back toward her. The result would be a really short but unpleasant trip to the ground, face-first, for poor Igniz.

COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Blanka with Fierce Punch.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


Darn those dodgy gods! Blanka's teeth catch nothing but air and each other, a rattling sort of clatter, his head bobbling comically as he tries to recover from the bite. As Igniz steps up and pulls his hand back, Blanka takes to his own two feet, and stands up into the punch. Time to show Igniz that he can take as well as he can give! The impact catches him full in the chest, the green goliath knocked backwards, off his feet and right past Ophelia and Cherry. The look on his face as he goes by is definitely akin to surprise, shock - awe. All the good stuff as he bounces once, twice, a third time on the bridge, skidding against asphalt as he starts to slow down.

However, Blanka actually doesn't slow down - he tucks into a tight ball, and begins to speed up. A long arc takes him from one side of the bridge to the other, and he begins to pick up speed as he comes back for more. Rolling at something akin to motorcycle speed, he attempts to slam into Igniz on his way through, timing the hits to come close to Cherry and Ophelia's own attacks, a bounding ball of green and red!!

COMBATSYS: Igniz dodges Ophelia's Strong Kick.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Igniz dodges Cherry's Medium Throw.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Blanka           0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Igniz with Ground Shave Rolling.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Blanka           0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


Wonderfully sparkly and unsurprisingly bright, Igniz is given very little leeway upon the continued assaults on his personage. From Blanka to Ophelia to Cherry, he's had to take everything that he was given, no matter how slim it has been.

Ophelia begins by sliding beneath the god of NESTS defenses, moving to flip up and attempts to catch the man. Unfortunately, there is no man to be caught, Igniz floating away in an attempt to delay what the crowds and fighters wish for.

Cherry finds herself blasting forward once more, moving to dive down into Igniz, attempting to hook the unhookable, only to be given nothing. Cherry finds most importantly that there are no feet beneath Igniz, rather, simple air. If it was a little higher, there would have been a greater amount of leeway. For now, there is none!

Blanka, however, finds himself with a fist sandwich, one that he intends to show Igniz a thing or two about! The rolling green streak comes directly at him, bouncing around before spinning out of control, directly towards Igniz. Blam! A direct hit, sending Igniz back, shattering the chi that surround him in an attempt to push the Blanka train off its rails! Diverting it even! Nothing is gained for poor Igniz.

Do not forget about him yet, however, as a monsterous flood of chi seeps into the palms of the would be god.

"You have shown yourselves to be aptly impressive," Igniz maintains his composure, even with a growing number of substantial wounds about him. "It is time for fireworks of my own..." The god of NESTS exclaims before rocketing forward, palm out in an attempt to grasp the last offender of his existence, Blanka.

Should Igniz grasp his neck, bad things would abound.

COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Blanka with Brutal God Project+.
+ Epic Hit! +

[                          \\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Blanka           1/-======/=======|===----\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


Igniz explodes across the ground. It is a given that nothing good can come from the clouds of dust that Igniz kicks up as he rockets across the width of the bridge in a direct attempt to assault Blanka. Taking him off guard, his next destination would be against one of the many steel gurders that shoot up into the air.

Leaving Blanka dazes against the sheet of metal, Igniz leaps back, the color draining about him in the pale comparison of his true essence of chi. Much darker than it was before Igniz starts his terrible work.

A chain-whip appears in hand, taking the form of a sword before being shot forward, cutting across much of Blanka's body, only to be a prelude to a seconds strike. Whipping around, Igniz's cape flutters with every movement.

Once airborne, Blanka finds himself at the capes mercy, cutting forward towards his body like metal spikes, spearing into him one after another intending to turn the man into a pincushion. All those watermellon seeds will do no good.

Following up, four balls of energy emerge about Igniz's figure, glowing brightly in tune with his chi. White, imaculate, many words describe them. Bright and beautifully, Blanka's pain becomes the crowds enchanting fireworks as the balls collapse, ripping forward into Blanka at once, pillaring out into white explosions.

Finally, a single ball of chi errupts from Igniz's grasp as he raises his arms to the heavens, a soft prayer accompanying from nowhere. Light powerfully falls around Igniz as he drives the ball of pulsating white chi direction into the figure of Blanka, entirely encompassing the wild beast with what seems to be a writhing mass of energy using his body as a conduit for its built of power.

Flaring violenty once or twice, the orb disappears, the powerful light fading from this world. Igniz stands, content, with that abhorid smile upon his face.

"Damn!" Ophelia says, mostly to herself, as she vaults back up. She's certainly good at the whole flipping around thing; she spends more time in the air or launching herself through odd angles than actually in her combat stance... which is so mobile and tends toward bouncing on her feet that it barely counts as 'standing' anyway.

She /really/ doesn't want to be the one hit with his glowing hand. Ophelia leaps backwards, but it's unnecessary; Igniz's hand isn't reaching toward her at all. On one hand, she's glad she didn't just explode, but on the other hand, it's kind of annoying that the green freak is getting more attention than she is... She sort of thinks she can stand up to the fireworks, the chi blasts, and the whole thing. Maybe. Briefly. Or at least she can keep ahead of it. (She can dream.)

Ophelia whistles, piercing, at Igniz's back. This is all the warning he gets before she comes in low again, trying to handstand and launch him upwards with her feet. She follows, drilling with her toes before making an impossible twist in midair, pivoting around her long axis and striking with the side of her foot to try to launch him away and sideways. "Eyes on me, prettyboy!"

Keep moving, that's important. Without missing a beat, Cherry turns her trip attempt on Igniz into a pivot that sends her heading back in the opposite direction she attacked from, moving away from the blond fighter and picking an angle separate from Ophelia's. After all, with all that glorious hair he can't have eyes in the back of his head, right? This does mean for a moment or two she has her back turned to Igniz, and when she corrects and spins back around to make another pass she's JUST in time to get an eyeful of what he has in store for Blanka. That, in fact, is enough to make her stop moving, skidding to a halt and shielding her eyes with her hands.

When all's said and done... looks like things aren't going too hot for Big Green, which makes Cherry wince a little bit. That probably hurt an awful lot, now that she thinks it over. He really took one for the team, it would appear. "Yyyyyyyyyyeah," she mutters, giving Igniz a sidelong glance, one eyebrow up. "Shoulda included the 1812 Overture in the background," she adds breezily. Never let them see you sweat. "I find that always gives fireworks displays that extra 'oomph'."

No sense in letting him rest on his laurels, however; Cherry sets off at a dead run, looking to get right up in Igniz's grill and, curling her fingers in, slam a palm strike right into his chin from below. It's inelegant, but hey, whatever gets the job done.

..Wha... Yii!

Grabbed, tossed upward and sliced at, Blanka howls. Even in midair, he's trying to twist and turn, to face the power that's just lifted and thrown him like a sack of very light potatoes. Up against the girder, up into the air, cut and sliced and hurt in ways that are usually reserved for the fighters that are much more evil than POOR MONSTER BLANKA. As he starts to fall to the ground, well - there's more waiting for him, fire and chi that rocks up back up into the air, explosions aplenty that leave him a green-skinned mess, shirt blown off, green and blood red mixing sluggishly. Dazed, he flails as gravity begins to take over again.

One hand captures the girder on the way down. Nails tougher than steel hold on, a desperate little clingy hold as he sways above the battlefield. Dizzily, gold eyes try to line up and refocus, his other hand twisting wildly to gather purchase. He gets a grip on something - and then he laughs. Beaten, bruised, sore - he laughs.

Look out.. Beroaaaarooow!" he cries, the last of his strength used to grip the box he'd left up here, a tumbling waterfall of melons of various shapes and sizes headed right towards Igniz' noggin. The beastman is in there somewhere, knees aimed at driving the 'god' off his feet. When he lands... who knows what will /really/ happen?

COMBATSYS: Blanka can no longer fight.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Igniz with Tropical Hazard.
Glancing Blow

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Ophelia successfully hits Igniz with Rising Twist Kick.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Igniz blocks Cherry's Strong Punch.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


Faced with a rather impassible display of power, Igniz must once more dive around the great deal of assaults that he's given. For better or for worse, he makes a choice towards them all in an attempt to level the playing field to what he hopes for the most.

Ophelia dives forward, striking out low and sending Igniz into the air, sending him spinning with the staggering display of gymnastics. The god of NESTS has very little space to move, finding himself sent sideways. Her words are heard, but fall on deaf ears. He has others he must attend to.

Cherry comes in, delivering a powerful punch falling upon Igniz's shields, compressing it to an amount where very little damage finds itself upon the suit of armor. It is wracking up quickly, giving Igniz very little places to actually meander. He will, soon enough, have to make his move.

Blanka's final assault catches Igniz unawear. The assault comes in low, digging out as watermelons bounce about him only for Blanka to land one of he knees, sending Igniz sprawling backwards into the metal gurders himself. Breathing heavily and very little time left, Igniz chooses to recover whatever strength he has left in him in preperation for an all out assault.

"You have my undevived attention." Igniz exclaims.

COMBATSYS: Igniz gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Ophelia          0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/------=|


He /did/ listen. Surprising.

Ophelia holds her position, then, one hand on her hip as she regards Igniz. "Really," she says. "I don't think you're capable of it. I bet you don't bother paying attention to anyone but yourself - I mean, why would you? You're a /god/." Her sarcasm is palpable.

She stares at Igniz for about three more seconds, steps forward, and tries to punch him in the gut. That is a feint; Ophelia switches to a strike right at his face a moment later, her fist producing a corona of rainbow light on impact with his face or his hand. It's more flash than anything else, but the surge is pretty impressive for someone of her stature and (lack of) training.

What.

Falling fruit? Lots of falling fruit. And not, like, lime-in-de-coconut from trees falling fruit. This is a *suspension bridge*. And they're not even made of chi! Like, in Cherry's book, when random objects come flying at people at a high velocity in the middle of a fight regardless of the *shape*, they should probably be 1.) obvious weapons or 2.) glowing maybe. These were... fruit. For the second time she's stopped in her tracks, blinking in obvious confusion because realistically speaking this doesn't make a lot of sense.

Once it passes, however, she simply tilts her head to the side and, with a total lack of self-consciousness, adjusts her corset-style top. "Usually I'm the one bringing melons to a fight," she observes, faintly amused.

Deciding not to ram another suicide run into Igniz's face, the redhead stays back, observing her opponent and giving Ophelia time to shine on TV! She even cheers for her as she gets back into stance. "Go go, unnamed girl!" the redhead shouts. "Get him right in the Vidal Sassoon!" You are really helping, Cherry.

COMBATSYS: Cherry focuses on her next action.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Ophelia          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Igniz reflects Flash Hand from Ophelia with Nega Genesis.
- Power hit! -

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Ophelia          1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|


While down, he most certainly not out. The god of NESTS displays a unique ability to play many things by ear, by eye, by technology in an attempt to eke out the most raw effectiveness out of anything he can.

As Cherry takes her time to prepare her assault, Igniz watches knowing fully well what may happen. Even beyond the bushels of fruit. Cherry will be deadly, and Igniz will have to prepare as well as he can. In this case, his only option is to turn towards Ohpelia and push her away. Cherry's cries might have even triggered an unwanted response.

Admist shouts and cries, Ophelia pushes forward towards Igniz with sarcasm thicker than the assault she prepares. "Oh, I care about many things besides myself." Igniz declares, even as she moves to punch him in the gut. He twitches as Ophelia brings the coron of rainbow light forward.

It connects with a field of white, flaring outward as she strikes, moving back to absorb her into it with her own assault, roaring to life as it pushes against her, exploding back and collapsing.

Lowering his hand, Igniz merely give a smile. "Your insolence, for one thing."

The flash and bang is enough to pick up and launch Ophelia, especially amplified with Igniz's own power. She hits the asphalt and rolls, coming dangerously close to the edge of Ambassador Bridge - or she would be if there wasn't a guard rail for vehicles in the way.

Ophelia actually stays down for a while, looking at the sky. Only when Charity calls for her does Ophelia realize she's still there and still concious; Ophelia vaults upwards, looking rather the worse for wear, and weaves slightly on her feet.

"Okay," she admits, sounding a little like she's been hit in the head (probably because she has). "Okay, maybe a little bit. Still an asshole, though."

COMBATSYS: Ophelia focuses on her next action.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Ophelia          1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|


"Dude," Cherry says absently, glancing at the entire reflect and burst exchange, never mind the verbal back and forth between Ophelia and Igniz. "Your dialogue is like, straight out of Cobra Commander's script from the old GI Joe cartoon." She pauses, then tilts her head at the blond would-be god momentarily. "You... are you actually a crazy serpent thing wearing fake skin? And crawl around hissing 'I wassssss a mannnnnn!'? Because that would actually be pretty sweet."

Then she's running! For reals, if Ophelia needs a second, Cherry will step in. And forward. And up. It's amazing how much lift she can get; maybe that rack is filled with helium or something. Either way, she leaps upwards and drops toward Igniz in a twisting fall. As she drops by him, the Fighting Diva snaps out both legs, looking to lock both her ankles around the NESTS overlord's neck. If she gets her grip, said necklock suddenly inverts Igniz's body and he finds himself slammed down to the ground beneath one full-figured American redhead.

COMBATSYS: Igniz just-defends Cherry's Diva la Revolution!

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Ophelia          1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|


Ophelia and Cherry have put Igniz in a corner. From some one who thinks of himself as a god, now Ophelia and Cherry have the tools they need for him to fall. A simple strike is all that is needed to defeat the beast of a man that thinks of himself as a demi-god. Neither of the three combatants are willing to back down, for a good cause, or something more vile.

Ophelia's words are warrented. Igniz does what he must to prepare himself a victory. Now, as Ophelia curses him out, Cherry makes herself known the only way she knows how. Perhaps the best way she knows how. Her apt prowess to performing for the crowd gives Igniz ample notice to prepare for the assault. "I am not too familiar with animation, but I assure you that I am no snake. I do not have the scales."

In a blur, Cherry takes off, attempting to snap both legs out towards Igniz's neck. Four plates of chi rip into existance before covering each other, Cherry unable to push any further. The protection, while usually meant to slow, can be used to deny with extensive research, or in this case, study. There is very little Cherry can do to push through the field, finding it solid more than the weird gel like substance it usually takes to.

"I am glad you agree." Igniz says to no one in particular, obviously not finished with Ophelia as he turns towards her, hand glowing with a terrible power once more. A white light eminates from his palm, summoned to exist before being shot off with very little fanfare, moving to envelop and absorb Ophelia in its power. To wisk her away from this fight once and for all.

"I think you must be taught once more."

COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Ophelia with Divine Arrow - Air.

[                                < >  /////////                     ]
Ophelia          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0            Igniz
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|


"You're certainly a humourless bastard," Ophelia says, having gotten her eyes to focus again (although nothing can be done about the headache). She lets Cherry rush in first, perhaps thinking she'll draw off Igniz for a few moments.

Ha ha. Right.

The wisp of light hits Ophelia as she starts to run toward Igniz, starting to shimmer again. The impact is enough to slide her back, her feet dragging against the bridge as she braces against the force; she keeps struggling onward, breaking through it with white lines shot through her multicoloured aura where Igniz broke it.

She vanishes, reappearing at Igniz's side, yelling; her arms literally blur with motion, and so does Ophelia herself, whipping around Igniz so quickly she's hard to locate. Don't even try to see exactly where her arms are; it's pretty much impossible.

The aura around her explodes after several long seconds of this, blasting out in a short-lived aurora. The fight seems to go out of Ophelia at almost the same time, and she pitches over backwards, eyes blank.

COMBATSYS: Ophelia can no longer fight.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Cherry           0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0            Igniz


Hm, that IS a poser. Solid chi is an interesting phenomenon which Cherry has very little time to actually consider or observe. After all, her own energy-using abilities are basically instinctual and fueled by personal charisma and drama more than knowing what the fuck she's doing, anyway. But the shield does give her one curious advantage: she briefly has a solid platform to stand on, and she takes the opportunity to not miss a beat and leaps directly up into the air. But where is there for her to go? It's a suspension bridge!!!

Oh right. The cables.

For the second time this battle, the Fighting Diva hurls herself at the support cable above, snagging it with one arm and hanging from it briefly, swinging back and forth. "So that's how you wanna pl--" She gets about that far into the sentence when Ophelia gets gobsmacked with... whatever the hell it is that Igniz is using to attack. Blinking, Cherry considers the situation. "Dude, that blows. I kinda liked her." And with that she starts swinging back and forth. Brachiating, ho! HAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE

Regardless, what happens is that Cherry gets a good spin going on, trapeze-style... and just as Ophelia suddenly unleashes the SPARKLING PRETTY SHINY RAINBOW OF DOOM, the Boise Brawler's spin hits critical velocity and she... lets go, twirling through the air aimed right at Igniz. Normally, the technique she employs is done from below... but Cherry inverts herself in midair and basically does the entire thing upside-down. The result is that a series of 'rising' kicks that would normally launch Igniz into the air instead look to drive him into the concrete at speed.

COMBATSYS: Ophelia successfully hits Igniz with Ophelia Finale.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Cherry           0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0            Igniz


COMBATSYS: Igniz fails to counter Hot Legs from Cherry with Cape Sweep.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Igniz can no longer fight. Is this the end of lovable Igniz?

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Cherry           0/-------/----===|


Igniz isn't able to see beyond the rainbow assault, the aura explodes out, just enough to tag Igniz as he begins to move. It is, as it were, just enough to put the god over the breaking point, sending him into the dreary unconsciousness. Of course, that was not the completion. Not at all. Igniz would not go down without a single point.

Cherry comes forward in an attempt to take Igniz down, twirlign through the air. In a last minute attempt to stem the tide of Cherry's assault and finish her off, Igniz sweeps forward, moving to eliminate whatever assault would come towards him in an instant, only to misstep in his counter and find himself struck down by rising kicks. Kicked over the side of the bridge, Igniz plumets to the waters below with a splash.

There is no doubt the god of NESTS survived it, but it was, if anything, a fitting end.

COMBATSYS: Cherry has ended the fight here.

Log created on 19:31:23 07/14/2009 by Blanka, and last modified on 18:26:13 07/27/2009.