Description: Egypt gets a taste of prodigious ice as rising star Shun ends up fighting against fish out of water Brett Neuer on the Stanley Bridge in Alexandria. Who will stand tall in the brutal Egyptian Sun? (Winner: Draw)
Almost overnight, Shun had gone from an unknown fighter with practically no fame to her name to a name that people could point at and say 'she's damn good' because, well, out of six fights, winning four and losing only one is nothing to sneeze at. This bridge in Egypt is the stage for what she hopes to bring her to lead position in the Neo Development Project.
Waiting for Brett to arrive, Shun is not relaxing. She's mentally going over past moves, analyzing what she did will... and what didn't go too well. She intends to win, but more importantly, she intends to get better. She can as of yet hardly be considered more than a student into her chosen martial art. But that doesn't mean she's going down easily.
Of course, she's not going to go down at all without an opponent.
"Man...it's hot..." comes the plaintative sound of someone obviously from out of town. For one thing, he's talking in English, which is already immediately suspect. Two, he's pale and blue eyed, another big indicator. And three....he's wearing things no self-respecting Egyptian would be wearing in any season. Thick padding around his abdomen and kidneys, thick padded gloves, and roller blades? What? Who is this guy?
Oh, right, it's Brett Neuer, former second line wingman for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds and preacher of the good book of Ice Hockey. Which make sit even odder why he'd be in Egypt of all places. This looks to be one of those obligations to the NDP rather than a locale he would have preferred from the way he swelters.
And when he sees who his opponent is, he swallows. Yeah, the prodigy. Crap. "Hey....Shun, right?" he says in a slightly weary voice as he slugs down another mouthful of water and wipes off the sweat pealing down his forehead with his right glove. "Um...good luck, alright? Not that you'll need it, I guess?" Whoo boy. Hockey kid's got his work cut out for him.
Oh, those clear signs of being feared. Somehow, those satisfy Shun, but she knows she can't afford to underestimate her opponent based on the fact he fears her alone. He might be overestimating her, which is good for her in a way, but all in all she's going to fight him as though her life was on the line.
But first, formalities. The fight hasn't started yet, "That's me." She agrees, "And you're Brett Neuer?" She might just have done a little research on her fellow participants in the NDP. She makes a polite bow, as she always does at the start of a fight, speaking the same words she does all the time. "May the best fighter win." Of course, this time it's clear to her who her opponent thinks is the best fighter, but she isn't going to make that judgment herself.
Yet.
COMBATSYS: Shun has started a fight here.
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Shun 0/-------/------=|
Smiling and nodding back at the bow he gets from Shun, Brett goes along his pre-fight check list again, trying to take his mind off the heat. Eventually, he just squeezes the entire bottle of water over his head before putting his helmet back on. Good thing his hair is short enough that it won't be too much of a problem.
Snapping the clasps back on, tighting his gloves and skates again, the hockey kid takes a deep breath. "Alright...." Picking up his stick again from the ground, he takes another breath....then suddenly cracks the stick down on the street as he hunches over into a face-off stance. Those tracking his career, as low-key as it's been in fighting, know this is his personal psyche-up routine, and the look on his face as it comes up shows he's definitely not worried about the heat or reputation now. "Ready...." comes his deep reply.
And then the signal comes, and on cue Brett starts off straight toward Shun. He seems like he's going for a straight on battering ram rush...but then he skirts off to the side, his stick raising up high. The blade of the stick comes up to her neck level, acting like a crook as he tries to yank her straight down on the pass.
COMBATSYS: Brett has joined the fight here.
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Brett 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Shun
COMBATSYS: Brett successfully hits Shun with King's End.
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Brett 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Shun
Aaand Shun is yanked by the neck, it hurts. She hasn't quite been prepared for a fight like this, but a true fighter's strengths are not in the anticipated but the unanticipated. So she doesn't let it disappoint her as she recovers from the strike and looks over at Brett and his movements.
And with a quick movement, one foot drives itself into the bridge's surface, forming a focal point for her other foot to use as an axis. She pushes the non-stationary leg up and circles around, trying to hit Brett in the head with a roundhouse kick.
She's still in 'observe' mode, trying to see what Brett is going to to do before getting /too/ serious.
COMBATSYS: Brett blocks Shun's Inazuma Kakato Wari.
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Brett 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Shun
As Brett comes by on another pass after yanking Shun down, he doesn't engage. He's still circling right now and trying to pick up speed. So when that high roundhouse kick comes, he's still free enough to bring his gloves and stick up to catch the kick. The shot stalls his momentum a little, but not enough to keep him from moving on and picking up speed once more. He's got to get more speed if he wants to keep this match going his way.
And he's not exactly ignorant of Shun's style. He may not have seen her matches yet, but he's heard enough hearsay to have gotten word on style similarities. Which is why he knows distance is gonna be his enemy here. He doesn't play coy, he just pushes right in, ducking low as he gets in range again and sweeping out his stick as far out as he can. As he rolls, he picks up in rotation, sweeping that stick out low as if trying to mow Shun's legs right out from underneath her.
COMBATSYS: Shun interrupts Ice Thrasher from Brett with Giji Shoryuken.
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Brett 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Shun
Distance isn't just going to be his enemy here. Getting too close is also risky, as Shun handily demonstrates upon request. Her fist covers itself in the licks of burning chi as she ducks down before jumping upward, crying out the two words that name this attack.
"GIJI SHORYUKEN!"
Brett's head may be armoured, and Shun might be hit against her legs, but that burning, rising uppercut is good enough to hit Brett right in the chin, taking much of the bite out of the hockey player's attack.
"Nice try."
Ok, that hurt. That really hurt. That's dangerous. Brett really wasn't banking on the uppercut like that, not as low as he was coming in. And sadly, he pays for it, suddenly popped up into the air from that low thrashing in a way that completely stalls the momentum he was working so hard on building up. The impact with the street is...not pretty, and he's left groaning and writhing. "Ughnnn...."
Slowly, he pushes himself back up with his stick, trying to get his legs steady on those skate wheels once he gets back up. "NNnn...." Still, he's not exactly a talkative sort during a fight, past grunts and groans. A wittier fighter might have some kind of retort. Brett? He just instinctually knows he needs to get back in the game, and his response is to flip over forward, trying to smash his skate wheels into the top of the Ansatsuken fighter's head with that heavy somersault kick.
COMBATSYS: Shun blocks Brett's Falling Star EX.
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Brett 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Shun
Shun sees the attack coming and raises her arms to defend herself, taking the punch out of Brett's somersault kick. She sees what the guy she's fighting has been doing so far, and with a quick decision, she decides to take a bit of a risk.
Her hand moves upward, and once again she jumps. This might be interpreted as an attempted Shoryuken-style move, but then her hand opens and she tries to grab Brett by the deep part of his chin, and if she manages to get a hold of him the remainder of the attack would unfold, her jump was a backflip, and in the middle of it she lets go of Brett's chin to slam him into the ground.
Hard.
COMBATSYS: Brett Toughs Out Shun's Jigoku-Guruma!
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Brett 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Shun
That's...not good. That's definitely not something Brett's going to be able to stop before Shun grabs him, not with such a strange movement. Squeezing his eyes shut, he just goes with it...and tries to use his stick to catch the street before he gets slammed down He crashes face first into the ground with that hard yank and toss. The stick though, manages to keep him from being flung too far away, and with a strange sort of determination, he pushes himself back up. His face looks bright red, and a few scrapes and dabbles of blood there already. But...he's got that weird focus in his eyes as he narrows them down on Shun...and charges forward.
Soon as he's within arm's range, he cocks back, then swings forward, trying to slam his right elbow into Shun's face while his stick rests in his left arm. He keeps swinging, elbows turning into haymakers. And if it gets far enough? He'll finish off the whole shebang with the mother of all high checks, putting his total body weight into a massive stick swing upward, hard enough that he leaves his feet.
COMBATSYS: Brett successfully hits Shun with Broad Street Barrage.
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Brett 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Shun
Shun is struck, as should come as no surprise. She doesn't /like/ this turn of events, but she is thrown back by that barrage and has to admit it hurt big time. She gets up again easily however, as she's definitely been hit by worse during the NDP, and so when she rises she has this kind of amused smile on her face. Somewhat.
This fight isn't going perfectly, making it all that much more enjoyable. She observes her opponent for the day, taking him and watching his moves, comparing his current moves to his previous moves and generally taking a little bit of time to plan what she is going to do next. She isn't going to go down easy. If Brett must win, which she still doubts, she's going to make him earn his victory.
"Bring it."
COMBATSYS: Shun focuses on her next action.
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Brett 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Shun
The heat is starting to get to Brett, sweating profusely...but no doubt the damage she's already done to him probably is getting to him worse. Sure, he finally managed to land a palpable exchange to make sure Shun wasn't about to roll all over him, but he's still got a ways to go before he can consider himself back in this fight. Swallowing a bit as he tries to catch his breath, he sees Shun goad him into an attack. That's...setting off warning bells. And to cause someoen like him, who so relentlessly pushes forward, that's something.
Still, he can't leave this fight on the table. Narrowing his eyes, he charges out again, driving straight forward. It's not tactically sound, but it's what he has to do. He has to stay true to himself, and keep moving forward, and with Shun in his way....well, that just means he has to knock her out of his path, right? Which is precisely what he tries as he tries to high stick check her straight across the collar bone. Hard enough that he'd spin all the way about and nearly 360 to where he could kick off his back foot and finish off with a final shoulder charge to the chest.
COMBATSYS: Shun fails to interrupt Hurricane Check from Brett with Shoryuken.
- Power fail! -
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Brett 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Shun
Shun might have gotten a bit /too/ cocky here, underestimating her opponent or something to that effect. Because as she moves to make her strike, chi flames licking alongside her fist, she is struck in her collar bone and falls back, the chi energy dissipating harmlessly. She grunts and crawls back up, but whatever momentum she might have had is now all gone.
"Ow."
That's the kind of hit that Brett needed, for sure. Sure, he was pushing it with that kind of heavy shot, already feeling heat exhaustion kicking in and still feeling the effects of Shun's earlier offense. But that kind of hit was...well, invigorating. It's the kind of check that turned games around on the ice, and it very well may do so today too.
With Shun knocked away though, he has to make up distance again. This charging forward toward her again, he drops low again...unlike last time, he slides in, trying to aim one of his skates straight into her ankle in a fast rolling kick.
COMBATSYS: Brett successfully hits Shun with Light Kick.
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Brett 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Shun
The kick lands, and Shun is getting progressively worse for the wear. Although... she doesn't look like she's planning to give up yet. She looks at Brett, narrowing her eyes, as she starts to plan her next move. But for now? For now she's taking it slowly, reducing the pacing of the fight to get herself the chance to get back into the swing of things. It'd /suck/ if she broke her winning streak here.
"You're not bad." She admits.
COMBATSYS: Shun gains composure.
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Brett 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Shun
Brett manages to roll in and clip Shun with that low kick, but he knows he can't let up now. Even now, rolling past so far, he gave her a chance to catch a breather. He can't allow himself to let up on the pressure. He has to keep moving. Looping around from the end of the barricaded areas, he surges forward again to where Shun rests. Trying to cut her down on the pass again, he skates by with a sharp hacking swing of his stick, trying to crash the heel of the blade straight into her collarbone again.
COMBATSYS: Shun fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Brett with Combo Attack.
- Power fail! -
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Brett 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Shun
COMBATSYS: Shun has reached second wind!
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Brett 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Shun
Once more, Shun attempts to pierce through Brett's offensives and fails. This time, the movements are bad enough that she seems like she has lost. Falling down to the ground, she looks like there is no way she can get up again. The arbitrator even starts the countdown, but at the count of nine Shun rises. She doesn't quite have the ability to force Brett to straight away, but she has is standing and moving. Ready to continue this fight.
Let's hope this surge of willpower gives her the chance to turn the fight in her favor.
The momentum seems to have shifted fully in Brett's favor, but he can't take it for granted. Especialy when Shun still looks to have life in her. He paces on his skates, not wanting to lose his literal momentum as he waits to see if she rises. When she finally gets back to her feet, Brett is still speeding around, something he tries to make use of as soon as the ref signals the fight continues.
Barreling forward again, he charges again, trying to keep that heavy speed on as he swings forward again, this time trying to hack straight into her stomach with the blade of his stick itself. If this doesn't help keep her down....
COMBATSYS: Shun dodges Brett's Power Strike.
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Brett 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Shun
This time, Shun dodges with ease. She moves out of the way of Brett's attack rapidly and gets a hint of inspiration. She's ready to re-take the momentum and move to keep herself from losing this fight. "Tough boy, huh?" She asks.
And then she moves, trying to grab Brett, pressing herself against him and trying to give him a peck on the helmet covering his forehead before using what she hopes is surprise to throw him down hard. "Is your heart also that tough?" It's a fair question, especially after making such a daring move as this one!
And what a spectacle for the audience back home...
COMBATSYS: Brett endures Shun's Quick Throw.
~~ Alluring Hit! ~~
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Brett 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Shun
Well, Brett wasn't an NHL prospect for his puck handling skills. Toughness and physical presence WERE his best qualities on line. Of course...he wasn't expecting to have his resolve tested with...seduction? What?
When it becomes clear though that it's a ruse to drop him down though, Brett just solidifies himself to take the drop. Wincing as his back meets the pavement, he pushes himself back up with his stick, again bracing it on the street so he doesn't go too far. After this fight is over, he's...going to have some words to exchange with the young prodigy. For now, he just tries to do his best to bring this fight home, flipping over from his crouch again for yet another Falling Star drop.
COMBATSYS: Brett successfully hits Shun with Falling Star EX.
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Brett 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Shun
As she tries to move out of the way, Shun fails and is hit. But she's still standing, which is really the important thing here. She hasn't even been downed by Brett's attack, though she has been thrown back. And she increases her distance even more. She gathers some blue-ish white chi in her hands, and shouts.
"GIJI HADOKEN."
And it's thrown, the chi-blast not even remotely like what the real deal is, but close enough to be enough of a resemblance to make it clear what it's supposed to be representing here and now. Shun seems to refuse to go out of the fight, even if that would lead her to a road of less pain.
COMBATSYS: Shun successfully hits Brett with Giji Hadouken.
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Brett 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Shun
Well, crap. That's not good. Sure, Brett hit that Falling Star flush this time, and crashed into SHun with that heel....unfortunately, she's still up. And she's back....and she's gathering chi in her hands. That is SO not good. Brett hastily tries to bring up his arms so stick and gloves can catch the blast...but he's just a hair too late, and the blast slams into his chest. Gasping as he feels the concussive force make his breathing hard, he ends up looking dead on his wheels....until his stick pushes off the street again. Just barely enough to give him some forward movement. "Good....fight...." he manages to get out, until he dives foward, one last gasp as he tries to shove the top butt of his stick straight toward Shun's chest.
COMBATSYS: Brett can no longer fight.
[ \ <
Shun 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Shun fails to interrupt Weapon Jab from Brett with Quick Punch.
COMBATSYS: Shun can no longer fight.
Shun tries to deflect the punch, break through it like there was no other thing in the world that could save it. Unfortunately, she failed, and she fell down. While Brett hasn't defeaten Shun, he has managed to take her out of the fight, force her winning streak to come to an end. Perhaps another time, she could learn from this fight and defeat Brett where today she has failed.
Because as she falls down, the double KO feels like failure to Shun.
Brett groans, still conscious, but obviously not getting up again within the next 10 seconds, forget trying to fight again. Rolling over onto his back, he sighs. He didn't win....but at least he didn't lose again this time....right?
Log created on 16:23:40 04/18/2012 by Brett, and last modified on 13:43:22 04/19/2012.