Description: Sometimes, brute force and ignorance are just what the situation calls for. Other times, nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps only time will tell which this was. Either way, the amazing Dr. Tran and the enormous Zangief meet ON A MOTHER FUCKING BOAT on the way to registering for the King of Fighters. At the same time, Tomoko, the creepiest grandmother to have ever lived, is along for her own nefarious purposes. Thrills, spills, and a titanic clash of unstoppable violence ensue, as the wily grandmother prods the fires in each fighter. Grandmothers just aren't what they used to be.
SOME TIME AGO
NOT ON A BOAT
Dr. Tran is thrown through the glass window of his apartment, plummeting down several stories to land on a car in a shower of broken glass. It is /extremely cinematic/, all the more so because a single ticket comes floating down after him, coming to a gentle rest on his battered, bloody chest. Above, a woman dressed in the proud uniform of the Southtown Postal Service watches smugly, raising a walkie talkie to her face.
"This is Agent Spew Lita. Delivery complete, returning to base." She sharply turns and walks away.
Tran groans all the more loudly when he sees what the ticket's for.
NOW
ON A BOAT (on a boat)
"Look at me," grumbles Dr. Tran, more to himself than anybody else, clutching a bench tightly, trying very hard not to get tossed about by the violent motion of the raging storm.
"On a motherfuckin' /boat/." He positively spits the word out, then immediately regrets it as he has to choke some vomit back. A seaman, Tran is not.
"A MOTHERFUCKING BOAT INDEED, COMRADE!"
The voice comes booming from a man who positively towers over Tran. All the more so because he is clutching a bench and therefore is a little bent over. By contrast, Zangief stands straight and tall, his hair proud despite the rain, every inch of his muscular form daring the storm to try and knock him over.
The storm doesn't have the /guts/.
"LOOK AT YOU, COMRADE, ON A MOTHERFUCKING BOAT... TO DESTINY!"
Laughing heartily, Zangief moves to clap Tran on the shoulder, assuming he doesn't look like he's going to actually explode if he does so. "Cheer up, friend! Is just a little storm, The Red Cyclone will make sure that you don't fall over! Is nice and warm today at least, yes?"
Well. Compared to being half-naked in Siberia, /anywhere/ is nice and warm.
Hoho. What grand adventures Tomoko Kimura has had! She went to England with a strapping young buck as her companion and managed to see the famous Stonehenge monument... even if that required a little... tete-a-tete with some unhappy people and losing her strapping young buck on the way back. Surprisingly enough, however, part of her return trip involves consolidating her errands. Having ticked off '[ ] Visit Stonehenge' she is now moving on to '[ ] Register for King of Fighters' and thus finds herself on this storm-tossed boat. She had thought to do a little reading on the deck in the sun, but now grey clouds swirl overhead and the seas have become choppy, and it's a little chilly. Certainly, no place for an old woman in her dark green kimono and her white tabi and sandals.
Currently she's walking across the deck with a cane in one hand and her rather large and heavy-looking bag slung across the opposite shoulder. She's not exactly hobbling -- she's in too good a shape and too proud for that -- but she's not precisely walking with the swiftness of the savannah gazelle, if you get the meaning. Thus it is that she looks up, and sees Tran and Zangief, and stops, waving her cane-holding hand at the both. "Come now, you fine young men," she says sweetly, with that grandmotherly twinkle in her eye. "Help an old lady get in from the storm, would you? My sciatica is acting up a little bit." Look at her. Look at Grandma. You should help her inside. If you don't, _you are clearly some sort of monster who grew out of a rock_.
Zangief heartily slaps Dr. Tran on the shoulder. The small man is rocked even further, forced once more to bite back bile. He doesn't answer for several long moments, quivering with the effort. It's not that the doctor doesn't /want/ to explode a hole through Zangief, it's just that it's /unsafe/ in these turbulent waters and he remembers what happened the last time he fell off a boat.
SOME TIME AGO
AN ISLAND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Dr. Tran, delirious and with a huge, obviously fake beard, lies on his back, surrounded by the group of chattering island natives who found him near-dead on the beach. One, wearing a skull on his head, starts cutting away at Tran's hair with a sacred, slightly sharpened rock.
Tran giggles incoherently, even when the shaman begins to cut a hole into his head.
NOW
BOATVILLE
"There is something wrong with you." Dr. Tran settles for trying to hate Zangief to death. "You are inhuman, you are..." He pauses because there is a little old lady and she is asking for help. This is a /perfect opportunity/.
"You're the big, strong guy, go carry her off somewhere." Tran can't help but add a silent, mental addition. "And leave me alone." Or maybe he says it out loud. Well, whatever.
"I... AM THE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED CYCLONE!"
Zangief adds helpfully as Tran pauses. Throwing both his arms into the air. He seems entirely immune, or perhaps entirely unaware, of the waves of hate rolling of Tran. This is because Zangief is in such an incredibly good mood! He's going to sign up for the tournament (don't ask where he is keeping the tickets, or how long he has been wearing those shorts), he is going to /feed Seishirou his weapon/, and he is going to get revenge for the seemingly endless parade of strange people who wanted to hurt Mother Russia. World Wrestling will see a resurgence, and a new era of peace will be ushered in all over the world.
This internal monologue is all colored in crayons on scraps of old Soviet-era propaganda. Brought to you by Zangief-o-Vision.
Blinking, when Tran finishes speaking, he turns around and notes the little old lady. Oh no! Someone left their grandmother outside! "Don't worry little babushka." Zangief says, stomping forwards on the slippery deck in his big rubber boots, apparently without a care. "I will get you inside! Come here!" One meaty hand reaches out, fully intending to sling Tomoko, and her luggage, over one shoulder. If dignity was a concern, this may not have been the man to put on the job. Old women can be carried like sacks of potatoes, right?
"Hoh..."
This is the first moment where something might seem off, because Zangief is certainly intending to sweep Tomoko up like luggage, and even as his meaty palm comes flying her way there is, suddenly, the sensation of the tip of her cane pressing into the very center of Zangief's hand, stopping it just shy of picking the woman up. It's as if she managed to strike a nerve point that wouldn't cause any pain but would stop the muscles carrying that arm forward, which is strange because that's *exactly what she did*. Potato sack future averted, the old woman slings off her bag from the other shoulder and hangs it on Zangief's fingers like a Christmas ornament, likely because 1.) have you seen his hands and 2.) straps. "I can still walk, my lad, no need for that, but if you'll carry Granny Kimura's books(*) for her, I'd be appreciative."
Now that one bookbag-carrying hand is free, Tomoko brings that hand up to her chin, stroking it thoughtfully as she looks between Tran and Zangief. "Well, well... I should have known I'd meet such passionate young fighters on this boat, I should. Even old lady Kimura knows about the Red Cyclone of Russia. I know most people think you're a brainless, massive oaf, my boy," Tomoko says in a perfectly cheery, singsong tone, patting Zangief on the... I guess calf, if you consider relative heights... "but you seem perfectly gentlemanly to me."
The oh-so-smiling old woman face swivels to Tran. "And you must be Dr. Tran. I know because my grandson Miki wants to be just like you, my boy! He'll run up to me and go 'Granny, look! I'm almost as tall as Dr. Tran now!' Bless that little eight year old's heart, he'll just be thrilled when I tell him I met you, dear."
She is still smiling. Every word of that was sincere.
(* Actual contents of bag: four dictionaries, a small bowling ball, a 2cm x 2cm cube of lead, and a small portable anvil.)
Ugh, the shouting. Yes, Zangief, everybody on the boat already knew who you were because you shout that you are the Red Cyclone at least once an hour on the hour, like the world's hairiest goddamn clock.
But the effect on Tran is somewhat mollified by how the big man is going away, /finally./ Even if he's going to wind up crushing that old lady like a tin can in the process of 'helping' her, or--
"Wait, what?" Tran does a double-take as the big Russian is stopped cold, and actually cracks a little smile when Tomoko calls Zangief an idiot. well, she kind of ruined it by complimenting him, too, but...but then she turns her attention to Tran.
"Oh, that's..." At first, Tran struggles to be properly flattered by a fan, but then...then... /oooooooh/.
Although in a way, the doctor is relieved. He's not sure he had it in him to be kind and gracious, anyway. "Go drown yourself and finish what should've been over a decade ago." See, the implication is that she's really old, and should die, and... maybe he should clarify a little.
"Crone." There we go.
Zangief's arm is stopped dead, and for a moment, he doesn't really seem to believe it. Even as the evidence mounts that, actually, yes, his hand has been stopped completely dead by a little old lady. What is this? A problem that physical strength can't solve?!
SUCH A THING DOES NOT EXIST!
Zangief, when he recovers, looks completely stupefied. Just that little bit too dense to understand that the old woman is /actually/ insulting him with what she said, rather than complementing him in a roundabout fashion, he instead takes great offense to what Tran has said instead. That is far more obvious.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, DOCTOR!" Zangief bellows, swinging the bag around and above his head, "The Red Cyclone will not stand for insulting the el--"
And at that point, the anvil falls out of the bag, and clonks him square in the head with a dull 'clang'. Which makes Zangief drop the rest of the bag, and clutch at his skull. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! MY HEAD!!! BABUSHKA IS A BLACKSMITH!?"
"Well, now you won't get any takoyaki once we get inside," Tomoko says to Tran gently, tsk-tsking in the back of her throat and shaking her head. It is the universal grandma gesture of Kids These Days, You Do Not Know How To Behave, If I Were A Little Younger I Would Take You Over My Knee Young Man, There Are Children in China Who Don't Have Anvils, You Should Be So Lucky! Her matronly disappointment radiates outwards like some sort of elderly battle aura. And then she sees Zangief whirling her bag overhead and says, with as much dismay as she can muster, "Be careful with that, dear, some of Grandma's things are very frag-"
Oh, now look what you've done. An anvil (a small one) fell out of the bag and hit Zangief on the head, then continued downward. Thankfully, it's going to miss Doctor Tran, or this situation could go south very, very quickly inde--
Oh, look, an unexplained(*) burst of wind just veered the anvil off onto a direct collision course with Tran's upper cranium.
(* there is an explanation, this is a lie)
Shocked, simply shocked, Tomoko brings a hand to her mouth. "Oh my, now how did THAT get in there?"
COMBATSYS: Tran dodges Tomoko's Large Thrown Object.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Somehow, Tran is unaffected by the prospect of missing out on delicious snacks. Could it possibly be because the thought of eating anything on this godforsaken hellbarge is repulsive? Yes, yes it's probably that.
Plus old people food is gross and it might be full of pills. Just sayin'.
"Look, I don't care about--oh my god." And now Zangief is shouting again and he's angry for some stupid reason and--
Tran starts laughing, really busting a gut, because anyone who doesn't see the humor in Zangief bonking himself with an anvil (out of basically nowhere) is probably dead.
"Ahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaah! Whoa!" Yet somehow the big man is still dangerous, as in his moment of mirth Tran almost misses the anvil continuing to fall /right at him/. A situation that was hilarious immediately turns to /life-threatening/.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! That could've hit me!" What if Tran had been knocked out, washed to sea, horrible fate, etcetera!? The short-tempered (and just plain short) man takes a step forward and shoves Zangief in the universally accepted gesture of 'i think you are a jerk let's fight unless you are a pussmaster'.
"Asshole!"
COMBATSYS: Tran takes no action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Zangief has no idea how the anvil went flying at Tran. He didn't throw it. Maybe the winds around the ship are getting /really/ strong? That would make sense. The fact is, though, that he didn't do anything, and now this little /girly man/ who hates the elderly and all that is good in the world, is pushing him!?
Well that's enough of that!
"What is wrong with me?" He booms, "What is wrong with YOU!? I bet... YOU DON'T EVEN LIKE WRESTLING!!"
Now Zangief is the one channeling hatred. Stamping on the ground, he even pushes Tran back, though, much harder. Focusing all his fury at the world, speckles of spit foam in his beard, and he points one shaking finger at Tomoko, "This sweet little babushka just wants some help, and you SPIT IN HER FACE?! Then, when terrible accident happen, you LAUGH!? YOU THINK MY PAIN IS FUNNY LITTLE DOCTOR MAN?! ZANGIEF WILL BREAK YOU IN HALF! THE RED CYCLONE WILL TURN YOU INTO PASTE! WHO WILL BE LAUGHING THEN, LITTLE DOCTOR MAN?! TINY! LITTLE! MAN!!"
COMBATSYS: Zangief gathers his will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tran 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
"Hoh..."
There's that hand again, coming up to Tomoko's chin thoughtfully. There's the sound of the anvil washing overboard. Now how will Tomoko level her blacksmithing skill? It's a sad day for old ladies. But at the moment, the old lady seems to be perfectly content taking a moment or two to sit there at a healthy distance, looking at Tran and Zangief stare each other down and doing her damndest to look like this is just terrible, and she hates it when brothers fight at the Thanksgiving table, but dears it's best to just let them have at it. Would you pass the rolls to Grandma? There's a sweet boy.
What she says aloud is, "Now, you lads... don't lose control." Hohoho~.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko takes no action.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
"/Wrestling/," Tran begins, the vehemence in his voice already making it clear exactly where this is going to go, "is for musclebound IDIOTS who can only get their jollies by GRABBING OTHER MEN'S GENITALS!"
There it is. The glove's thrown, although Tran doesn't yet make an actual move to kick Zangief's ass just yet. He's still got more to say (and do), although maybe not to the Red Cyclone in particular.
"AND YOU!" His head snaps over to Tomoko, soaked hair whipping around his head. "First, don't think I've forgotten about you. As soon as I'm done with him, you're next! And second..." Power swells around the doctor, in an effect that would possibly be visible if it weren't for the completely awful weather conditions making a mess of everything.
"...I /never/ lose control!"
COMBATSYS: Tran gathers his will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Tran 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Zangief is... pretty pissed off.
Wrestling is not about grabbing another mans junk (unless you are a turkish oil baron). Wrestling is a way of life! A beautiful thing which pits man against man, or woman, in a battle of will, brute force, and gaudy costumes. It is an arena in which good and evil may pit themselves without anyone ever really getting hurt. It is the roar of the crowd, and the joy on a young man's face when a bear is brutally piledriven through a wrestling ring. It is all of these things, and more.
How will Zangief communicate this to the Good Doctor?
"ggggr..... grrrARAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"
As eloquent as ever, Zangief is suddenly hurling himself forwards at Tran, heedless of his own safety, the storm whipping around him, and the old woman watching the fight. Control? Well, losing it would imply that Zangief ever /had/ it, and, really, that's a matter of intense debate.
His love of the sport propels him forwards to try and scoop Tran up, however. If he can just get his hands on Tran's waist (wait, is it hot in here, or is that just chi?), he'll lunge through the air, leaping, with Tran spinning around, to crash his back down heavily against the handrail of the ship, the whole boat rocking even more for the impact.
He will conclude his rebuttal with a second, "GRAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"
COMBATSYS: Zangief successfully hits Tran with Flying Powerbomb.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Yeah, now he's done it. Dr. Tran has successfully reduced Zangief to the level of an actual bear, as is easily observed with a simple checklist of the big man's behavior. Incomprehensible growling: check. Covered in bristly hair: check. Rabid: check. Powerbomb: ch-wait, do bears
Unable to prevent Zangief's gigantic manhands from finding a solid grip, Dr. Tran goes for a ride. He's smashed into the boat, bending metal and splintering wood with the force of his Russian-mandated impact.
"Ugh..." Groaning after that one, Tran pushes himself up with one hand, mildly dazed. What can he do? Well, possibly the most rude thing he can do; seeing the babushka's bag lying nearby, he quickly moves to it and reaches inside, hoping for another anvil.
Instead, what he immediately hucks without really checking, is a small cube of lead. Well, too late to try again now. It's already soaring.
COMBATSYS: Zangief endures Tran's Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Zangief wastes no time at all. Following up his vicious powerbomb, the huge man is fighting for something more important than an old woman, now. He's fighting for the very name of /wrestling itself/. Never mind every other thing which is wrong with the encounter, never mind the fact that Tomoko, from the moment she stopped his arm, is very clearly something odd. Tran had said wrestling isn't the best thing in the universe. That will NOT stand!
The cube of lead hits Zangief square on, but, aside from leaving a red welt, it doesn't really slow him down at all. "HAHAHAHAHA!" He bellows, heedless of what, exactly, it /is/ that has just hit him. "DON'T YOU KNOW LITTLE DOCTOR MAN? NOTHING STOPS THE RED CYCLONE!"
In order to demonstrate this fact, he aims to snare hold of Tran by the legs. What would follow is... unpleasant, as he aims to simply pitch the Doctor over his head, and at the wall of the cabin with all his considerable might. Finesse and intelligence might not be his strong points, but when it comes to overwhelming physical force, there are few who do it better than Zangief.
COMBATSYS: Tran dodges Zangief's Rebound Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Would you look at that? Zangief's definitely got the upper hand. And grandmothers definitely want their kids to play fair, don't they? The old woman is watching the fight with... well. If Tran or Zangief spend five seconds looking her direction they see nothing but the calculated visage of grandmotherly shame and hurt that comes from seeing fundamentally good boys fighting it out. When they are not looking -- and believe me, a mother of 8 and grandmother of many more, at her age, *knows when you are looking* -- she wears the tight smile of someone whose plan is going exactly as she wanted it to, with barely any effort at all on her part! Isn't that lovely?
Still, the woman has... goals.
This may be why, after Zangief lunges at Tran with the promise of great pain, that Tomoko clucks her tongue. "Well, now, how disappointed will little Miki be if his hero were to lose like this?" she asks aloud, being as passive-aggressive as humanly possible, shaking her head at Tran. "Here, let Granny give you a little help."
She then attempts to deliver a tiny, old woman straight arm punch to Zangief's leg, followed by a pressure point jab to his upper hip that... well. It doesn't necessarily cause a lot of 'damage' but boy, that sudden sharp pain that you can feel right in the marrow is certainly... *distracting*.
Thankfully, THANKFULLY, Dr. Tran is rather quicker on his feet by now, now that he's warmed up a little (even though it is freezing cold and awful). Seeing the huge wrestler ignore it the weather completely ignites Tran's stubborn streak, because he will be damned if he's going to lose out to this.../freak/. Look at that, he just completely ignored the cube, that thing was heavy! Relatively! Come on!
"Yeah, well if nothing stops the Red Cyclone, then I..." Dr. Tran trails off, having not really thought about where this is going. Luckily, he's given excuse in the form of the old woman, who helpfully pisses him off further.
"Are you crazy? I'm just getting warmed up over here! I don't need you butting in!" Tran takes a step forward, anger practically rising off him in a wave that--wait, wait no. That's not anger.
"AND I'M SICK OF THIS GODDAMN COLD!" Rather, it's chi, steam rising off him in an ever-thickening sheet. It may not make him any less wet, but it sure helps with the temperature.
COMBATSYS: Tran switches his Mindset.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Tomoko successfully hits Zangief with Improvised Grapple.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Zangief is completely and totally unaware of Tomoko. Right up to the moment her fingers jab painfully into his leg. A deep frown passes over his features, and he turns to look at the old woman. The sky above seems to darken just that little bit more, and the steam rising from Tran only helps to add to the intimidating air radiating from the huge meat machine.
Zangief might not look it, but he has a truly amazing knowledge of the human body. Or at least, which bits to twist to make it hurt lots. God only knows how he wrote off the /first/ block. Old lady luck, probably. But twice?
"Babushka!" He roars, "That HURT. Do not do it again, or I will be VERY ANGRY WITH YOU!"
Actually, he's very angry with her already. He just doesn't want to actually clobber her across the face right now, because that would not be a very nice thing to do. Just as Tran is psyching himself up, though, so is Zangief getting more and more pissed off with how this thing is going. Defending this old lady made her stab him in the leg? What is wrong with old women today?! They are not the kindly old grandmothers of his youth!
COMBATSYS: Zangief gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
She is shocked. SHOCKED.
"Now, my boy," Tomoko begins, looking totally grandmotherly and stern, clucking her tongue again. "When people come to my shop and they say 'Kimura-baasan, we think Zangief is a Communist relic and a lunatic who should give up and go home to wrestle bears forever' I look them straight in the eye and say 'Now, there's no call for saying that in my store' and they don't get a second helping when dessert comes around, and that's a fact." This woman has *mastered* this act. It's unnerving. She then rounds on Tran, shaking her head. "And Granny was just trying to give you a little nudge, Mr. Tran, and that's a fact. Why you should be so ungrateful when I've only got your best interests at heart, well... that's just awful."
She drops into an aikido stance, looking... ready for battle. That part doesn't even seem to make SENSE at this point. Also: where is her cane?
The old woman just shakes her head. "I may have to teach you naughty boys a lesson if you're going to treat your elders this way!"
COMBATSYS: Tomoko focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Tran 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
"Oh my god, is this really happening? Are you still not getting that this isn't just some little old lady?" Tran doesn't know the full extent of Tomoko's trickery, naturally, but he doesn't believe in cooincidence. Not anymore. Not after what's happened to him.
sOME TIME AGO
Awful things happen to Dr. Tran all the time for no reason.
Sure, there was some /initial/ doubt because she's not in the usual age bracket, but now he's almost completely sure that she's Satan, come to Earth for the sole purpose of tormenting him further. God, look at that. She called him /Mr./ Tran. MISTER.
"This is BULLSHIT! AUGGGGGGH!" And then the doctor is off, doing what he does best by charging Zangief because he knows in his heart that no matter how fragile and innocent Tomoko might seem, she is absurdly powerful and he will be humiliated YET AGAIN and probably fall overboard, to boot.
So instead of tempting fate he just jumps up and does a somersault to axe-kick Zangief right on top of one of the man's massive shoulders. /Obviously/ there is an explosion of steam accompanying it.
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Zangief with Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
Zangief turns around, in time to get an axe kick to the face.
Although he had, tried, to bring his arms up to defend himself, really, there's little evidence of it. The big man can be quite sluggish, especially when he is confused. The sheer force of Tran's boot to the face sends him stumbling back a step, steam erupting all around him, making his eyes water and his face so very sore. ARGH. Now THAT had hurt! What the hell is going on here?! He's so confused.
"ALRIGHT!"
Zangief BELLOWS this, as though to dispel any doubt. "IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, LITTLE BABUSHKA, WE WILL FIGHT!"
The large man takes a deep breath, "BUT FIRST, YOU."
And because Tran had done such a good job of smashing his face in, Zangief lunges forwards, one meaty hand trying to grab the unluckiest doctor in the world by the throat. If he can manage this, he will /cram/ Tran's face between his legs, confirming his worst fears, before LEAPING into the air, to spin, gracefully.
And come down /hard/ on the deck. Enough force in that well-practiced motion to send the entire ship bobbing deeper into the ocean.
"Oh dear," Tomoko says to Tran's implication that this isn't just 'some little old lady,' shaking her head. It's enough to make you just want to give up on life, isn't it? But secretly, it's always better when they suspect, because that means their eyes are open, but fixed on the wrong thing. "I don't really like fighting, no I don't, but... well." And here she turns to Tran, with an expression that is perfectly genial except for that SINGLE FRAME out of 24 total where she wears a face of cold, calculating disdain. "Even Granny Kimura has her limits."
She might have to wait in line for the Spinning Piledriver to be done, or she might not. Either way, once Tomoko gets her opening on Tran, she looks to simply kick one leg out and knock him on his backside before the cane appears out of nowhere and whips downward into a nerve point around the neck to keep him nice and pinned to the ground, paralyzed, while she makes a gesture with her other hand. The stormy air responds, blades of iridescent green wind sweeping out of the froth to slam into Tran's body. And if they connect, well...
Hohoho~
COMBATSYS: Tran dodges Zangief's Screw Piledriver.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 1/-----==/=======|=======\====---\1 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Tomoko successfully hits Tran with Shidare-Zukuri.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 1/--=====/=======|=======\====---\1 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
Rebounding back neatly from the force of his own kick, Tran lands hard in a crouch, sliding back a short distance because everything is slippery because boats are awful and rain is awful and together they are miserable. On the plus side, it gives him that much more distance from the RED CYCLONE, who is /so angry/ right now good lord.
The doctor might by angry himself, but he's not /stupid/. He doesn't want any part of that; for now, at least, his agility is enough to keep him clear of Zangief's grabby fingers, but for /how long/.
Unfortunately Zangief is about all Tran can manage right now, and so Tomoko catches him basically completely unaware. She was saying something or something, he doesn't really notice being otherwise occupied until she forcefully makes him pay attention.
The doctor goes down, completely helpless as the glowing green blades slice into him, leaving a strange, sickly burning feeling behind. This does not go unnoticed.
As soon as he's able to move again, Tran surges forward on the offensive, summoning up his own chi into a flat disc, about the width of a basketball; a mirror that doesn't reflect images.
"What the hell was that?!" He smashes it forward with the palm of his hand. The surface ripples.
Zangief is just the right combination of angry, stupid, and strong to be very, very dangerous. For instance, consider; Tran has dodged not one, but two of his attacks. This has leveled Tran up from being a mere opponent, to being a /ninja/. The likes of which Zangief hates with a fury which burns greater than a thousand suns. His long-standing hatred of ninja goes back a very long way indeed, and whilst Tran might be more focused on Tomoko, right now, in this moment, she could sprout a dozen cackling demon-heads. It would not stop what Zangief intends to do.
Nothing. Stops the Red Cyclone.
An incoherent, bellowing howl of fury heralds Zangief's return to the fray (if he could be said to have left it at all). Coupled with a forwards lunge that aims to grab Tran by the back of the neck, and haul him up into the air. "I SAID WE FINISH THIS FIRST, LITTLE MAN!" He would bellow.
And from there, Dr. Tran's day is likely to get /even worse/.
COMBATSYS: Tomoko blocks Tran's Operation - Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Zangief
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|----===
Well, she's made her move. Now let's see if he...
...well then.
It's a somewhat bizarre sight, Tran shouting and going full-force against this little old lady who just looks shocked, SHOCKED, that someone would dare to assault her in such a way. "Tch..." she says, crossing her arms in a practiced way and letting the steamy mirror slam into her. It... stings quite a bit, even with that defense. More importantly, however, it provides Tomoko with a read into Tran's condition, and it is that read which makes her suddenly smile... again, a perfectly pleasant-looking thing for 23 frames of 24. There's just that one, less-than-a-second, fragmentary vision of her with a far more sinister glance buried somewhere in all that matronly pleasantness.
"Just like those darn brats in England," the elderly woman says reflectively, before she glances at the oncoming geologic terror that is Zangief, and raises an eyebrow. Well, this will be a perfect test, won't it? He'll either crunch under the pressure (and the deck), or he'll... hmmm.
"Don't play too rough, my lads," she says. But her eyes... her eyes are on Tran. Watching.
Hohoho~
COMBATSYS: Tomoko gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Zangief
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Zangief knocks away Tran with Ultimate Atomic Buster!
[ \\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Tran 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Zangief
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
Zangief snares Tran, and the poor Doctor is hauled bodily up over his head, brought crashing into the deck in what can only be a very, very painful instant. Unfortunately, it does not end there.
The Red Cyclone comes up with Tran in his hands, one arm on his shoulder, the other gripping a leg, and he drives his knee, as hard as he can, into the Doctor's back, with a cry of...
"ULTIMATE!"
For the spirit of Pro Wrestling is STRONG in Zangief, and his blood is boiling! He is suddenly leaping into the air, spinning, with Tran's head crushed between his legs. With all his might he drives the Doctor's skull into the deck, causing timber to splinter and crack... but it doesn't end there, either.
"ATOMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!"
No, there is one last leap, to prove the /ultimate/ superiority of his art form, and he comes down as hard as he possibly can, literally driving himself through the deck, through the hold, through and into the ocean floor.
A massive mushroom cloud of water is thrown up into the air as the boat splits apart, tons of water displaced by the sheer atomic /force/ of the move, and even through this, though slightly muffled by the ocean, Zangief's voice is audible.
"BUUUUUUSTBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRR!!!!"
At which point, he seems to realize what he has done, and that he has let go of Tran. He looks up, at the boat, splitting in half with the choppy seas helping that.
"... bloops."
For all Dr. Tran cares at this point, Zangief can just throw himself overboard and swim to their destination. The big man's been shuffled away under the category of 'things that do not actually matter'. After all, suddenly there are important things to worry about. For example:
Has Dr. Tran been poisoned!? Well, he's not sure; he's not feeling any particularly nasty effects just yet, only that unpleasant itchy burning that's spreading through his body. It's annoying, but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down.
Though he tries to go over a mental checklist of the various substances that could cause a reaction like that, and how they could be applied via chi, Dr. Tran is having some slight difficulties concentrating.
"Look, shut up! I've got--" The doctor finally turns to Zangief to tell him that he's just not interested anymore when the big man hits him like a freight train. It gets real ugly, real fast.
When the proverbial smoke clears, Tran is floating in the broken gap between the two ship halves, body broken and battered. Slowly, oh so slowly, he sinks out of view.
And then five seconds later the water erupts, gigantic chi blades slicing through the boat indiscriminately, ripping and shredding the two halves into yet smaller pieces, just in case anybody mistakenly thought that there was some faint hope it might somehow survive the trip.
COMBATSYS: Tran can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zangief 0/-------/------=|
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Zangief with Oh Shit It's Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zangief 0/-------/=======|
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
From his position at the bottom of the ocean, Zangief has a pretty good view of what is coming for him. It isn't like he hasn't taken hits from giant explosions before, though. His plan, ingenious as it is, is to simply /ride/ the tide of the explosion, and let it take him all the way to his destination, like some kind of horrendous surfboard made of pain and burning.
This turns out to be an idea almost as stupid as everything else Zangief has done today. /who could have seen that coming/?
Mostly because the explosion of energy is just too much for him to go with, and rather than have any control over his trajectory at all, Zangief winds up being picked up, and thrown into the storm of slashing blades which rip through the remains of his once-proud transport. One thickly-accented voice rises over the horrendous cacophany of pain and ... pain, though.
"DAMN YOU, TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
COMBATSYS: Zangief takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zangief 0/-------/=======|
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
COMBATSYS: Tomoko dodges Tran's Oh Shit It's Dr. Tran.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zangief 0/-------/=======|
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
Tomoko is left standing on the middle of the now-imploding hull, while people scream around her and run for lifeboats and generally just head for the hills where the hills is 'anywhere but this sinking ship in the middle of a storm'. Tomoko, for her sake, doesn't seem perturbed when the two disappear beneath the waves. Instead she cups her hands to the sides of her mouth and shouts, "YOU TWO BOYS PLAY NICE NOW."
Then Zangief -- and a massive amount of chi explosions -- erupt from the sea and basically shred the boat in a storm of spray. This one time, actually, she *looks genuinely surprised* though probably not for the reasons that would be surprising in this scenario, i.e. the boat just blew up. "Oh my... looks like Granny chose we--"
Then there are waves and explosions and this becomes hard to hear and see amid the spray.
When the dust settles, Tomoko looks out over the desolation with a sigh. "And now an old woman has to walk home... public transportation just isn't what it used to be, my lad."
She reaches down and taps with her cane. What she taps is the shark she appears to be standing on. "Come on, now, there's much to do and Granny's not getting any younger."
COMBATSYS: Tomoko takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zangief 0/-------/=======|
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
Tomoko 0|-------|-----==
Log created on 15:20:22 02/12/2011 by Zangief, and last modified on 22:19:19 02/12/2011.