Description: As the Trial of the Dragon tournament rolls on, the All-American Girl takes on probably the least Japanese-seeming Japanese citizen in a clash of cultures and combat. Also, the special effects budget for the rest of the tournament is now used up. (Winner: Frei)
Jezebel had bad memories of California.
It didn't strike her suddenly. Sunshine City was just another city. Just like Hong Kong. Just like Southtown. But here in the outskirts, the memories rush back. The painful, awful memories. California was a childhood home, when she was picked up by Disney. But it was the home of her downward spiral. Her shame. Her murder. Out here in an old demolition derby arena, she felt the hot tears of her own personal disgust.
Not that anyone could see them beneath the mask of Lightning Spangles.
"WOooooo-wweee!" Came the cry as Lightning Spangles stretches. Lifting up her long leg on one of the poosts that marks the large fighting ring. On the outside of the dirt, mud, and debris-filled fighting ring were several wrecked-up, hodgepodged cars and trucks, revving up and roaring. Lightning Spangles almost looked like a tasteful card girl amongst the show, dressed in her blue jeans, white chaps, and guady, all american ensemble of star and thunderbolt sequined red vest top. Adorned in her white hat, she switches legs, keeping up her proper stretching. Smiling the whole time.
She could never stop smiling, when everyone's attention was on her.
It was a bit of a surprise when the tournament people told Frei he was advancing to the next round; considering that he only joined the tournament to have an excuse to come to Sunshine City in the first place, and that he had a double knockout with Zach Glen, Frei had assumed there'd be more hoops and hurdles involved in the process. But apparently, there was a simple 'last man standing' rule and for a few seconds Frei had indeed been the last one standing. So here he is, in the outskirts of the city, where the tournament feared to tread in the first round, about to fight a total stranger and get himself embroiled deeper and deeper in whatever it is the powers behind this tournament have planned.
The burden of knowledge is a terrible thing.
Jezebel isn't the only person at this fight with something on their mind. For days, the recollection of his talk with the 'guardian' of the Black Dragon has haunted the red-haired fighter, not the least reason being because everything he said was so damned VAGUE. Never mind the fact that finding either Lynn Baker OR Freeman has been impossible, so far; Frei gets a near-miss at the Ryu Zui Ken dojo on a regular basis. And as for the other two 'dragons,' there's been neither hide nor hair, and Frei is confident he'd have noticed if another mystical force of that magnitude had been hanging around. No, things were not good. Not good at all.
And then he sees the ring.
Ducking inside the area for the fight, he slowly slides his wooden sword through his back belt loops and glances at the surroundings before giving a low whistle. "Holy Truckasaurus, Batman..." he murmurs, before turning and seeing the woman doing stretches against a corner pole. Both dark red eyebrows go up at that. "Wow. That's, uh... that outfit's very... uh, American," Frei finishes lamely.
He's had a rough week.
"Well sure shootin', sunshine!"
Lightning Spangles bright, bold presence was bleeding forth, almost exploding out when compared to the more serene monk. The actress had little concerns about the dragons and the like. Even the crime was not a huge concern to her. For Jezebel, it was all about the apperance of caring, the performance of charity. This was all one big publicity stunt to her. And if she made it big.
She might finally break out into a hot second career.
Bouncing on her heels, she hops into the ring, stretching her legs some more as she lifts a foot behind her, pulling it as she balances on one foot. "I'm Lightning Spangles, the All-American Heroine! Boy howdy, you're a short one. The last guy I fought was bigger than a backwater buffalo from the Badlands! Woooo-weee!" She yodels again, dropping the foot and raising the other. "I better warn ya, pardner, I'm hotter than a big bowl of El Paso Chili, and gosh darn meaner coming right on out. Are you ready to get it down out here in the Wiiiiiiild West?" It seemed she was already in performing mode. Inspecting the man one last time, her smile does not fade.
It was almost as if this wasn't even a real fight.
Let's be honest, Frei's a little eccentric. It's a byproduct of being a professional philosopher. When what you mostly do is wonder about the nature of the universe for a living, you pick up weird habits.
But even in that case, after Jezebel does her song and dance -- and it really is a song and dance in a very serious way -- the redhead just kinda... looks at her for a moment, one eyebrow up. He has absolutely zero ability to hide his mood, and so every inch of his expression radiates the phrase 'Are you for REAL?', before he suddenly clears his throat, hearing a Terry Pratchett quote resound in his own head: 'Sometimes glass glitters twice as hard, because it's got more to prove.' Who is he to judge? Well... he's Frei, but that's not the point.
"Scatological jokes about Tejano cooking aside, I have every expectation that this will be an interesting fight for the audience to watch," Frei says guardedly. He's not even going to try to follow that rodeo act she just put on. Instead, he tries to think of what kind of fighter this bombastic young woman is going to be. She's dressed like she's about to represent the US at Miss American in the 'National Costumes' portion of the show, she's loud, just crude enough to make the audience smile, and probably has an epic Bedazzler kit somewhere. "Something tells me I'm not about to see the subtle art of aikido on display."
For a moment, the redhead closes his eyes, breathing in and then taking a breath out, slipping into stance and opening his eyes as he does so. "I'm a guest in your country, Miss Spangles," he says with a smile. "Ladies first."
COMBATSYS: Frei has started a fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jezebel has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Jezebel
"No poop jokes."
The low, soft voice that Lightning Spangles belts out lacks the accent, lacks the drawl. It wasn't the voice of a character, but the voice of a veteran actress. Jezebel had a career to keep up. Frei was an opponent, yes. And this was an official match; no extra stagehands and no advertisements.
But she had an image to uphold.
The voices shoots back up in the bright, chipper tone again. "Sure shooting, pardner! You ain't gonna see any Aikido! What we got is Tae Kwon Do! The Official Martial Art of Lightning Spangles, and the Show-Up Hoe-Down!" Pulling up her guard, she begins to hop from foot to foot. Picking up speed, she finally nods on it. "Well, ain't you polite, pardner. Okay!"
"Here we go!"
Lightning Spangles erupts in a blast of speed. Lunging in towards Frei, she unleashes a single snap kick, aiming for the chest of the man. Keeping the foot in the air, she bends it slightly, smashing it a second time. Working with the momentum, she snaps around around, unleashing a bone breaking roundhouse kick, before snapping around a fourth and final time, fininshing off the dynamic display with a roundhouse kick.
"Can I get a yee-haw?"
COMBATSYS: Jezebel successfully hits Frei with Quick and the Dead.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Frei 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Jezebel
Well, he wanted to see what she was capable of. And so Frei sets his stance and prepares to repel boarders. Perhaps disconcertingly, he doesn't actually prepare an active defense; he's just going to let her hit him, and then he's probably going to try and hit her back. This is good, because it means his ego's intact when she actually just kicks him, three times. In fact, she really manages to drive the force home with her energy and verve!
Problematically, what Frei MOSTLY does is stand there refusing to be knocked down, rubbing his jaw. "Ow, dangit," he says, thickly, before giving Jezebel the squinty side-eye. "And if you think back a few minutes, madam, you'll find you made the first such joke." He doesn't even DO anything for a second, like he's pulling a 'go on; I'll wait' just long enough for her to replay the previous 45 seconds in her head and find what he's talking about. "Also, how surprising! I don't know many American tae kwon do types." Lord knows Kim and May Lee have kicked Frei in the face enough times that he can recognize THAT style.
And then, as if the motion were something equally conversational, Frei steps forward and attempts to grab Jezebel's arm, run a charge of violet chi lightning through her whole body, and then front flip her onto the dirt, judo style. "Heads up."
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Jezebel with Medium Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Jezebel
Lightning Spangles turns bright red for a moment.
She DID make the first joke.
"Well sure enough, well gosh darn it, I'm just gosh darned embarassed!" She suddenly blurts out. "Sure shore sorry, pardner! I guess I jumped the gun right there!" Of course, when he compliments her Tae Kwon Do background, she just beams with pride. "There are sure plenty of us! Haven't you been to a Tae Kwon Do strip mall dojo?" She asks, rather frankly.
But then he grips her arm.
The man was fast. Very fast. And as she is pivoted and tossed, clearly dangerously agile. Hitting the ground, a normal person would have gone flat, with a grunt. But Lightning Spangles. She rolls. Tumbling with far more flamboyence than skill, she oversells the very throw, finally ceasing her tumble as she hits the ground, facing landing hard in the mud puddle.
How embarassing!
Rising up, she wildly swipes the muck off from her face furiously. "Well boy howdy, thanks for the warning pardner. You bucked me like a mule there!" She bursts out, picking up speed. Short of Frei, she breaks into a long, high vault into the air. Arcing high, she swings her leg in a similar wide circle, sweeping it through the air. From the inside of her calf, a flash of energy bursts out. A blaze of red, followed by a blaze of blue. The final blaze of white comes as Jezebel peppers the arena around Frei with the chi. As the energy hammers the ground, it does not explode, not just yet. At least, not until she lands on the ground. The explosion of th All-American colors comes blazing out. The woman had some talent in chi, though for someone like Frei, the talent wasn't an endearing one. For past the white, the red, the blue... was a very clear fact to such a genius of chi.
It wasn't her own natural aura coming out.
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Sundance from Jezebel with Hatsuyuki.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Jezebel
At first Frei wasn't really thinking much of Jezebel's performance, other than that she is probably another character actor type who's making the bridge from 'entertainment' to 'pro fighting'. And it's not as if there's no place for showmanship in the world of pro fighting; just look at the SlamMasters circuit, or hell, SNF. The All-American Girl is a pretty durable archetype, after all. She probably made a good choice. "Not... really," he responds to the question about strip mall tae kwon do schools. "I live in Japan."
And then she's airborne! The crowd goes wild! Which they actually do; that sort of crazy acrobatics stuff, most people eat right up. And then comes the hail of patriotic chi bolts, one after the other, red white and blue. For a moment, Frei's typically guileless expression switches to one of interested surprise. He's never seen... well, to be blunt, patriotic chi before. Most people who can externally manifest chi in some way do so elementally, or with some sort of generic force and color. The bright blue of Hotaru Futaba's Hakki Shou comes to mind. But not even the most jingoistic of fighters has produced FLAG CHI before.
Taking up the challenge, Frei decides to fight fire with fire... or, more accurately, he plans to fight patriotism with ice. In a flash of blue-white, Frei sweeps a hand through the air, a wave of visible icy frost sweeping in its path, swallowing up one of the red bolts.
For a moment, Frei's green eyes track that meeting of forces, and in a moment of impossibly slow time, he watches a process happen that brings both eyebrows up in surprise.
When time feels like it starts again, Frei is moving his arms in circles, using the wave of frost trailing in his wake to soak up more and more of Jezebel's saturation bombardment; just as she lands, he glances at her appraisingly and then hurls the remaining wave of ice at her. It's lessened, eroded by Jezebel's attack, but there's still enough left to put a damper on the Cowgirl's day.
"You're very... interesting, Lightning Spangles," Frei adds, almost in a murmur.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Jezebel with Hatsuyuki.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Jezebel
Well, Lightning Spangles used to be big in Japan.
Heck, she was hoping her second wind of career choice would carry her over the top. She had to look good. She rolls in those cheers, feeding off them. Indulging in them. It was filling her heart with meaning, meaning that normally was gone. Jezebel was an empty woman, wrapped around in the shell of a heroine. A mask that she lived by. But like her energy, the mask was hollow. The blasts are torn open by icy bolts. Jezebel's eye go wide.
And the icy sheet break on through.
The blast catches Lightning Spangles square in the skull, blowing her hat off. Landing on the muddy ground with a sickening plop, her all American outfit was well soiled. Moaning, she rises back up. That hurt. But it was worth it. Those cheers were feeding her, giving her a second lease."Whoa! Boy howdy, you got a real kick! Maybe you should tour with me!" She begins, as she drags her feet from the mud. Covered in grunge, she begins to focus.
And then, she breaks forward.
Stumbling across the bow, she begins to pick up more and more speed. Frei would have a lot more time. But despite the mistep, despite the injury, her mask was still up. Rushing in, she stops well short of Frei, slowing down to keep her advance steady. Sweeping her leg up high, she rotates it around, before trying to hammer it down hard onto the monk's shoulder.
"Your real interesting too, pardner!"
COMBATSYS: Frei dodges Jezebel's Heel Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jezebel
You got to hand it to the American spirit: they don't stay down for long.
It's the hat falling off that really seems to do it. Somehow he knocked a girl into the mud and knocked her hat off. Somehow, against all logic, good-natured Frei has become the villin in this scenario, and it shows with the brief confused grin of embarrassment he gives the crowd, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about the hWHOA--"
She didn't waste any time, and Frei hurls himself into a swift backwards step to avoid taking the business end of Jezebel's boots right to his *face*. It isn't elegant, but it works, and Lightning Spangles finds her foot slamming harmlessly to the ground while Frei ducks in a crouch nearby, having come out of his defensive somersault there.
He can see it in her attacks, feel it in the bombastic fury of her speech, and sense it in... other ways. Lightning Spangles is 90% veneer. Something is very wrong here, and thanks to his incomplete information about Johann's movements and the nature of this tournament, Frei is suddenly Very Suspicious Indeed.
"I try to be," is Frei's response to the claim of being interesting. Taking a breath, he drops into a loose stance for, of all things, iaijutsu or battoujutsu: body tilted forward, low to the ground, and one hand hovering over the 'hilt' of the wooden sword through his back belt loops. Around his body, a faerie fire of silver-gold light starts to gather, and the wind flutters out of nowhere. "Allow me to share some of *my* cultural heritage."
COMBATSYS: Frei charges his next attack!
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Jezebel
Frei wasn't really the villain.
He was just plain trouble!
The heel comes smashing down hard into the soft dirt, Lightning Spangles gradually, almost clumsily recovering. For all her flash, all her acrobatics, it seemed she actually had poor relaxes. Almost as if she was waiting for cues. In fact... she looks out on the side lines. Her manager begins to make obvious hand singles. Jezebel nods.
Cues.
Focusing back on Frei, she spies that BURNING KYOTO ENERGY. Stumbling back, she looks around panicked at the wind blowing around at first... before regaining her footing. Her ponytail was dancing in the wind. Making a hand signal, she sweeps her own hand in a circle before her. "'Try to be? You are a darn natural! Isn' this charity event great?" She begins, as she begins to burn with a flash of red, a flash of blue, and a flash of white. The white, however, seems to be the strongest, almost a grey. Her expression unbroken, she begins to counter Frei's heritage with All American HOT BLOODEDNESS, as per her contract. Focusing, she finally lets loose a high-pitched, hearty yodel that fills the whole arena.
"YEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAW!"
COMBATSYS: Jezebel gathers her will.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Jezebel
To his credit, Frei's eyebrow doesn't even twitch at the words 'charity event.' Right now, because of what some old man told him, there are probably minions of some crime lord out there with Frei's description and a 'kill on sight' order. And there's the fact that while it's low level, he can now feel that edge-of-his-consciousness awareness of the Black Dragon *everywhere* in Sunshine, not just at that temple.
"Oh yes," he says evenly. "I'm a big fan."
Welp. She decided to stay where she is and escalate the chi-gathering war, eh? "Alright, then. I guess I'd better Japanese this up as hard as possible, shouldn't I?" And maybe there IS a bit of natural performer in him, because Frei resumes that forward crouching battou stance, his right hand hovering over the hilt of his 'blade,' and his left extended in front of him, forearm straight up, index and middle fingers raised. "Musou Tenkei special technique..." he intones, in a precipitously dramatic voice, before dashing *straight at Jezebel* in a crouching run. When he gets close, there's a flash of silver-gold as Frei suddenly draws the wooden sword, sweeping it forward in a vicious overhead arc...
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Jezebel with Empowered Houken.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1 Jezebel
...which actually takes him *past* the American, where he slowly stands, back to her. As he slides the wooden blade back into his belt loops, the arc of his seemingly innocent slash suddenly blazes to life with a massive, parabolic blade of chi as if on time delay. Meanwhile, Frei's long red bangs flutter in a wind from nowhere.
But for Jezebel?
She was never part of the criminal underworld in Sunshine City. She stayed away those types these days. She didn't need to do dirty work anymore, work in money laundering productions. She was a good woman now. A real white hat. She didn't have to think about that past. Those darker days. It might be better for her not to know the truth about the Trials of the Dragon.
And instead indulge in the fantasies of being a showgirl.
As the battle between east and west reaches a climax, Frei shoots from the hip first. And frankly, Jezebel is speechless. He was the PERFECT wise man character. An oriental on the side would be epic. Maybe he was willing to do SNFs. As he breaks out the sword, she throws up her arms to brace for it, to catch the blow... But there was no contact. Jezebel pivots, looking at Frei confused briefly...
Until the explosion comes.
Explosion is the wrong word. A shockwave might be closer. Consuming the woman, she is floored hard to the ground, breaking into a roll. "WHOA!" She shouts, digging a trench in the pit with her face. Looking back, her face was cut up and bloody. Fortunately, despite feeling the pure hurt, she was NOT horribly injured. But as she rises, sweeping her arms about, her body was quivering. Her heart a flutter. A tear was streaming down her cheek. But not of shame. Not of pain.
But of joy.
".... So EPIC!" She exclaims, taking a stomp despite the gravel in her grin. "You are a real star!" Lightning Spangles cries out. "You truly are a symbol of Japan! But perhaps your mystic powers of the Orient have their limits! We better handle this like a good ole' fashioned American Style special moves!" She begins to lower down, focusing hard. It was time to go big, or go out. This was just like Raiden. She had to hit Frei HARD. Charging her self up, she finally leaps forward, spiralling through the air, crying out the name of the attack.
"WHERE EAGLES DARE!"
Wreathed in Red, White, and Blue Energy, she attempts to sweep up Frei into her whirling chi. Whether he gets drawn up or resist? She would unleash a trio of aerial kicks, each bringing their own respective explosion of red fireworks, white fireworks, and blue fireworks.
For AMERICA.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Jezebel's Where Eagles Dare.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Jezebel
Red-haired, freckle-cheeked Frei, symbol of Japan up in this bitch. Somewhere in Japan, people are turning away from their TVs and just throwing up their hands. For his part, all Frei can offer is a slightly embarassed laugh and a really unfortunate flashback to Acacia once telling him that 'if nothing else, you've got some of the prettier fireworks out there.' That had been an awkward day. Then she talks about the 'mystic powers of the Orient' and he's reminded of Kentou referring to Frei's particular fighting style as 'old Chinese magic,' something he was 100% unable to dissuade the youth from doing.
Tactically speaking, it probably would have been wiser for Frei to leap into the face of Jezebel's attack, trying to power through it and strike her while she's unprepared. Certainly, he's tough enough to pull that off. But in reality, the... EXCESSIVENESS of her attack quite literally intimidates him into holding his ground, letting the Fourth of July Bonanza of attacks slam into his upraised guard, wincing a little at the dulled-yet-still-painful impacts. And then he has the chance to stare the woman's chi in the face a second time at close range, so that by the time Jezebel is done pummeling his guard, he's got... things on his mind.
She's either one of the most amazin actors of all time, Frei has decided, or the woman is legitimately, certifiably insane. "Yeah... it's gonna be that sort of day," he says aloud, unthinkingly.
Deciding that he wants to keep the action going, lest the correct answer be that Jezebel is indeed certifiable and she's going to snap into her Hitlerella identity any second now, Frei charges the American with his own sudden, stomach heigh sobat kick, a wreath of scarlet fire curling around it. "...this doesn't actually have a name!" he adds, mid-kick, almost as an afterthought.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Jezebel with Light Kick.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=======\=======\1 Jezebel
Everything about Lightning Spangles was loud, in charge, and rootin AND tootin.
It was so much better than the real Jezebel.
As finally explosive kick comes, Lightning Spangles hits the ground in a three-point landing. Crouched down, she slowly rises back up. Frei WAS a mystery to her. But a damn entertaining one. Her lack of reflexes has been her doom in this fight, though. Utterly crippling. Was Jezebel insane? Probably at least one Amy Whitehouse in terms of crazy. But she was clean now. And happy. So happy. It was all about a happy mask that was so real to her, that it was real.
And the kick comes roaring in.
Staggering back, her eyes begin to grow dim, she groans, holding her stomach. Overselling it again, she had twisted aside at the last minute, making it a grazing blow, instead of a direct hit. Direct kicks were SO much easier to handle than chi blasts. Swallowing, she finally belts out... but not looking at Frei. "Boooooy howdy. Lightning Spangles is starting to really lose it, kids!" She begins, looking towards the camera. "But Lightning Spangles isn't out just yet. Come on, kiddies. I can hear you out there! "
"I need YOUR help with giving me that little extra kick."
"If you are deep down a real deputy of Lightning Spangles, you will clap your hands. Let me hear that clap?" Lightning Spangles pauses, as a few idle claps are scattered about the audience. Lightning Spangles shakes her head. "Now, sure shooting, that's hardly a gnat's whistle. Come on, kiddies, You gotta give Lightning Spangles a real Show-Up Hoe-Down clapper! Come on! Come on!" Lightning Spangles rolls her hand, as more applause begins to come. "Boy howdy! That's what I'm talking about. Now a clap!" As Lightning Spangles claps her hands, the audience claps with her. "Another clap!" *CLAP* Lightning Spangles pumps her arms, shaking it in the air. "Now how about y'all give me a YEE-HAW!" The audience shouts out, built up into a frenzy as a chorus of young and old shout back.
"YEEEEE HAW!"
Lightning Spangles applauds to the camera, to the audience. "That's it! That did! WOOOOO WEEEE! Lightning Spangles can feel it coming right on out of her cowgirl heart. Okay, pardner!" She finally states, turning back to Frei. Tensing up, she gives a wink to the monk. "It looks like it is time to get gosh darn serious. Are you ready for Lightning Spangles, when she finally shows...."
"Her TRUE GRIT!?"
And with that, she fires forward. In a style that would make even Kim shed a tear, Lightning Spangles hurls kick after kick, unleashing the full spectrum of her Tae Kwon Do talents. High kicks, low kicks, roundhouse kicks, snap kicks. Kick after kick after kick comes, attempting to unleash the full frantic frenzy of true American might. Lightning Spangles just pours on the kicks until she leap towards Frei, attempting to two-foot stomp him right on the face, launching off him in a slow flip...
Landing on her feet to salute the audience.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Jezebel's True Grit.
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Frei 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Jezebel
That windup takes... a while. There is actually a part of it where Frei looks away from Jezebel and looks down at his fist, with a clearly confused expression on his face, because he as much as anyone cannot figure out why it is he isn't just walking over and decking her one in the jaw in the midst of her do-you-believe-in-fairies act. But he doesn't do it, because that's just Not How This Is Done. She's got to have her powerup sequence first. It's only fair.
With a faint smile, and sotto voce so as not to draw attention, the redhead observes aloud, "I guess the madness is catching."
Then he has more to worry about: namely, the fact that Jezebel is coming right at him, powered by her fans, feet first. He... prrrrrobably could have made an effort at a proper defense, but there is something about this woman that makes the sage stand his ground, feeling the energy of the earth seep up through his feet, helping him withstand the crushing tide of kicks. And there seems to be an endless supply of kicks to withstand; even as he fights to stay upright, unmoved, and conscious, Frei marvels at the sheer *magnitude* of it all. And of *course* the final blow is a rebound off his *face*. It's always the face. Grimacing, he holds his nose with both hands as Jezebel salutes the audience to roars of applause. How could it be anything but?
The problem is that a technique which should have left Frei dazed on the floor doesn't seem to have actually knocked him over.
"Not -- ow -- bad," he concedes. And it's the truth! For all her... eccentricity... the woman is clearly on her way in the fighting world. "Almost kind of a dare." Taking a slow breath out, Frei brings his hands in front of him, fingers interlocked. He doesn't have Jezebel's ability to call on the crowd for help, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't get the kind of help he *needed*. So instead, Frei's going to call upon his version of a higher authority. BUT, he does recognize the need for drama, and so he speaks aloud in a particularly sonorous and dramatic voice. That seems to be the sort of thing that Lightning Spangles would want, anyway. AND he was nice enough not to punch her out of her power up sequence.
"You who stand between the heavens and the earth, open the gates of Hell and call forth your divine lightning!"
Which is actually when it gets kind of freaky. The wind kicks up, sending clothes and hair aflutter. The ground under Jezebel glows with a blue and violet mandala, lines of light lancing out of it up toward the sky. Harmless special effects, but drama is drama. Frei's hand glows with the same eye-searing light, as he grins at his opponent. "Let's see you try out some of my lightning, Spangles."
And then he rushes her. The circuit has to be complete; he has to make contact with her aura, but a hand pressed against her stomach or shoulder is enough. If he finds that purchase, Frei's voice booms out "ROAR, SACRED THUNDER!" before quite frankly a hellaciously large lightning bolt pretty much drops out of the sky and looks to give Jezebel a tremendous zapping. It's the big brother of the technique he used on Zach Glen earlier.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Jezebel with Shinra Banshou EX.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Jezebel
Wait was he citing scripture?
As she stands at attention, posing for the cameras. Grinning wildly, she notices something from her manager. Waving his arms. Pointing BEHIND her. The cues. Turning around in time to hear the warning of standing between heaven and earth, it SOUNDED holy. Of course, more Buddhist than Christian, most likely. The end of days and cataclysmic atmosphere, however, makes Lightning Spangles go wide eyed. Standing tall, she readies herself to roll out of the way of everything. Anything.
But in the end, avoids nothing.
Frei makes contact with her body, her aura drawn so deep inside, hidden so far within. But the contact on her shoulder is enough. As Jezebel tries to push him away.... she is struck by Lightning. Lighting up like a christmas tree, she screams. "KYYYYAAAAAAAAAA...." Falling to the ground, Lightning Spangles is deep fried. Struggling, she writhes on the ground, in the mud. Idly, she finally rolls over, looking up at Frei. And her final words?
"....And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."
She smiles a gravel-filled smile at Frei.
"John 14. Verse 16 and 17"
And quietly, she passes out, unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Jezebel takes no action.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jezebel can no longer fight.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
The last flickers of blue-violet light, and the thunderous sound, fade away as Frei draws his hand back. Then she starts quoting Christian scripture at him, which is... disconcerting. Weird enough so that when she stops talking he makes sure she's not, uh... dead, because that would be Extremely Bad News, but people suddenly talking about God is usually a pre-Death scenario. "Maybe ix-nay on that technique in the future," he says, mostly to himself, once he's assured that Jezebel is merely out. "I feel like I'm sending mixed signals, there." Stick to fire and ice. People understand fire and ice, and stuff. Colored lights.
Yet for a second, he pauses and thinks about that scripture; in fact, he stands near Jezebel, looking up at the sky and mouthing it for a moment, before he looks back down at his opponent. His expression is surprisingly friendly, all things considered; even sympathetic. "Truth, well... if we don't know how to see the spirit of Truth, maybe it's because how it looks changes depending on your point of view. But inside, if you follow your heart, you know what the 'truth' is." That's his reading of that verse, anyway, and the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that's probably a part of the Bible that Jezebel made herself intimately familiar with at some point in her lifetime.
Probably the part right before 'Lightning Spangles' came to be.
With a jaunty gesture, Frei's hand comes up to his temple, mimicking the salute that Jezebel gave the audience not that long before now, before bringing that hand down to face level, index finger touching the tip of his nose. "Sleep tight... cowgirl."
Log created on 19:05:46 06/28/2012 by Frei, and last modified on 09:48:54 07/05/2012.