Match of the Millennium

-== RECORDING #11, POOLSIDE, ISLA ZACA RESORT, 8:50 PM ==- The camera opens on Lou and Tom beside the main pool at the Isla Zaca resort. Lou appears to be relaxing on a lounge chair while Tom is standing upright, his hands in his pockets, occasionally turning his head whenever a noise can be heard. The scene is lit by the poolside lighting as well as the turquoise glow that the pool itself emits thanks to the sconces under its surface. A deflated yellow rubber-ducky innertube drifts into the foreground on the pool's surface. Lou clears his throat, and Tom looks his way before focusing on the camera. TOM: "Ahh, yes. Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and all of our other friends, to our rundown of Day Three of our stay here on Zack Island." LOU: "Was that Day Three? I feel like we've been here weeks." TOM: "I mean, I'm pretty sure that we - what was that?" LOU: "What? I didn't hear anything." TOM: "...Nevermind, I think it was just a frog. Look, are we not going to mention -" LOU: "Just keep it together, Tom. Focus on the competition for now." TOM: "- right. Let's just go ahead and start rolling the highlights. I feel exposed out here." LOU: "Shoulda packed some long pants, then, Tom."

-== ROXANA - Arachnosnake.mp4 ==- When the sword swings in, Rox reacts by bringing up her claws to capture the blade between them. Although it prevents her from taking worse damage, it's not without pain. Not that this shows on the parts of her serene face that are visible. Is that perhaps a hint of a girlish giggle that escapes the gear's lips, as Coco brags about Rox's abilities? If it is, it's soon gone, as the arachnid gets serious again. Dropping down low, she starts to slither between the bladesman's legs, weaving her body in a figure of eight around them as a distraction technique. Should it succeed, Rox will rise up behind him, lifting him off his feet and then slamming him forward into the sand! The thing about Albert swinging his sword? Even though it is a completely fake sword with blunted edges, there's still a considerable amount of force that the farmboy is able to put behind each swing, even with such a casual thing like the probing swing that Roxana's claws catch. It probably doesn't feel very nice for her wrist. Not that Albert can tell since she's manaaging to keep a largely stoic outward reaction to it, so he finds himself in a pretty quick hurry to yank the blunt blade right back again after the fact. Only to find her, uh... "H-huh?!" Slithering down around him on the sandy ground?! His eyes spin a little from the rapid motion (and the confusion over the act as a whole, frankly), but he does instinctively manage to bring himself spinning around to face her-- if only so he can look her in the face when she's hoisting him up with her sudden rise. "WHoawhoawhoahey!" His free hand does grab down at the scorpiongirl while he's getting lifted up, wherever he might be able to secure a hold half-blindly, and gives an insistent shove to send him back away halfway-there. IT does still mean that he's coming down onto the ground with enough weight to draw out an "Oof!" from him when his body drops down there side-first, but it's into a smooth roll to continue his momentum instead of a full-on chokeslam. "A-are you a snakegirl too...? This is starting to feel like a different kind of show..." -== IRIS - Zack Attack.mp4 ==- Iris MIGHT have pushed Coco a little too far, without meaning to. In Ms. Coalbridge's defense, a warhammer to various body parts three times in a row, lightning aura or no, feels like it's going to be tailor-made to upset someone. For a brief, BRIEF moment, Iris legitimately wonders how professional fighters manage not to become raving psychotics in the end. It's not as if she dislikes Coco! But she's got a contractual obligation to introduce her to either unconsciousness or surrender! And then it doesn't matter because the Cocobra strikes with snake swiftness, as it were. But: as is often the case, when the cards are stacked against her is when Iris -- not always entirely under her own power -- shines particularly brightly, or at least demonstrates instinctive defensive ability. Coco is just physically stronger than she is; that's a fact. And with attacks coming from 10 different angles, evading them all seems unlikely. So she's got to weather the storm, but with no real time to think of a defense, the magus just mutters a prayer to whatever deity is listening, and then starts whispering spells under her breath as fast as humanly possible. The jab meets a soft target. It's just that the soft target is a plush Zack doll dressed as a detective. The cross? Zack as a pirate. Various knees strikes? Zack in a business suit, a lifeguard uniform, a doctor's coat, a Power Rangers-esque sentai combat suit. All of these soak a blow, and are quickly discarded as Iris simply rapid fire summons whatever she can without much thought to the matter. Coco's stop to exhort Rox's ass is a moment of calm, before Coco's attempt to grip Iris instead finds purchase on... a very large, torso-sized plush of Zack. Dressed as a magical girl in pink, white, and pale gold. COMBATSYS: Iris just-defends Coco's Full Moon Party! Iris herself, have safely avoided all of that, looks at the sea of discarded Zack plushies that surround her, the aftermath of this, and just looks... dumbfounded, for a moment, before turning to Coco and squinting. "This ONLY seems to happen when I'm fighting YOU, for the record!" -== COCO - Sexy Knuckle Sandwich.mp4 ==- "What do you think, Rox? Babe?" 'HERE I COOOOOOME!' "Nevermind, you're obviously busy - HEY!" Coco's eyes go wide as Albert's blunted sword drives into her back, causing it to arch painfully as she's knocked sideways. "What the? You're not supposed to attack me until -" Coco's eyes turn askance to where Roxana is lying on the ground nearby. "- oh, right. Well, I can take a double-teaming," Coco says with a sigh, looking between both her opponents. "Right, then. Let's get sexy!" She throws herself at Iris, apparently intent on continuing her current campaign. This time, she tries to hook both legs above Iris's hips before throwing herself backward - intending to slam the Cantabrigian straight into her German mentoree and land on top of both in a sorcerer sandwich. If she succeeds, she'll start unloading - elbows and fists flying toward whichever face she can reach at any given moment! COMBATSYS: Iris blocks Coco's S.O.T.B.. This got complicated in a hurry. Coco driving right at her is not a surprise to Iris; they're fighting, Coco's a very physical person (PHRASING), and that's just sort of an inevitable outcome. What makes this slightly more of a big deal is that just as Iris is planning out what to do on the defensive, she hears Albert leap into the fray, does quick math on Coco's trajectory vs. her mentee's, and then simply says: "Oh, *bugger*." Now there is simply no time to work things out. Coco has her before Iris can even think to react, and all three competitors go down in a HORNY SANDWICH [frantic backspacing] ISLAND SANDWICH. Upside: Albert breaks Iris's fall somewhat, and she gets her bearings enough to extricate herself from being deli meat in this fight-age-a-troi. Downside: Coco still has all those punches to deliver and now Iris isn't in the way to soften the resulting blow for her mentee. "Yeah, we're done already!" Albert provides cheerfully as explanation to offer back to Coco as explanation for why exactly he is here now, swinging for her and all. But still. He's settling into a slow strafe along by Coco then, watching her carefully, waiting for her to attack him. When she goes assaulting Iris, instead? He dutifully comes charging in to try to take advantage of some blind spot. Only to be met by the aforementioned Iris flying at him. "Wait wha-?!" Before he even has a chance to fully register what is happening, he finds his mentor's back slamming against him, and he's likewise sent flying back only to end up right underneath her with a "GAH!" ..And for just a split second, just a little hint of red at his cheeks in that brief moment he has there before Iris has gotten herself well out of the way. And for good reason, too -- which unfortunately is, again, not one that Albert registers properly before it's already too late. Which, in this case, is when he finds Coco on top of him instead of Iris, and he blinks like a deer caught in headlights at her. "...Hi?" Is about all he manages to get out before the first punch comes. COMBATSYS: Coco successfully hits Albert with S.O.T.B.. - Power hit! - >>> Punitive Hit!!! <<< ~~ Alluring Hit! ~~ After the first slam of a fist across his face, he does try to jab his sword hand up, but an ensuing followup strike to the jaw jostles him enough that the weapon actually falls out of his hand completely. And just like that, poor Albert is left getting pummeled brutally there, to the point that even having displayed a considerable amount of pain tolerance in his previous fights, he actually finds himself letting out several yelps and groans of pain now. -== ALBERT - Mind Your Mannaz.mp4 ==- "How would I--" he starts to protest, but... 'Don't let me down!' Oh, hell. He can't bring himself to ask any questions in the face of that. So the faux-knight swallows all his doubts with a declaration of "ALRIGHT!!!" and without even giving it a second more of a thought, he's simply charging after Coco. He doesn't even stop to pick up his lost sword. Which might seem a little odd when, after getting within arm's reach of Coco, he is very much lifting his right hand up as though he were preparing for an overhead swing with a weapon-- And there is one, in the next blink of an eye. IT's not his sword. But rather, a one-handed warhammer, taken straight out the pages of a Thor comic, complete with hints of crackling electricity and all. "RAAAH!" Down it comes to swing for Coco, the electricity coursing through the weapon exploding on the way there to create a small shockwave of lightning, before the weapon disappears from his hand completely. Another step forward. His left hand swings in -- and suddenly, there's a mace there, glittering with flicks of icy particles that leave a trail of frost along the weapon when it swings for Coco from the side. Another step. A club in his right hand this time, crackling with electricity much like the hammer. The faux-knight keeps on pushing forward, wildly swinging in with each step -- and with each swing, a different weapon, charged with Iris' elemental magic. "DORARARARARARARARARA!!!!" -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- TOM: "I certainly didn't think we'd be seeing Toxique knocked out of the running this early after the performances they've both had in singles matches." LOU: "Not to mention the performance they had in the keijo contest. The last time I saw two young ladies that in sync was when I took my granddaughter to see an idol band." TOM: "At least it's a relief that our fellow Zack Islanders are capable of standing up to monsters." LOU: "Keep it cool, Tom! And besides, we already knew Coco could be defeated." Match link: http://motm.kicks-ass.net/log/idx/0012422.shtml

-== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "So, last night one of our intrepid NFG fighters decided to investigate Zack-of-All-Trades and found more than they bargained for. Unfortunately, we only had audio footage from the first few minutes of the encounter, seeing as both Homura and the camera person thought that there was a zombie in the shop." -== AUDIO: ZACK-OF-ALL-TRADES, 3:00 AM ==- HOMURA: "Why don't you go bother that Texas girl! She loves purifying stuff! Or dipping them in barbecue! You can't have my hair zombie!" .. HOMURA: "Oh. Ew. Um. Sorry? Kinda? Though, I guess it's not like it matters to a zombie. Or.. hey, what are you staring at? Don't get any ideas, there's nobody on the island who could even fill that thing out--h--hey!" .. HOMURA: "Yeah, did you like the landing? I really have been working on my balance, and I think it really shows. Man, you're a nice guy. And that carnation looks good on you too.. Wait, what am I saying? We're totally fighting!! Don't get all nice guy on me now! Then I'm gonna feel bad!" -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "It turns out, it was actually just John Doe." -== HOMURA - This Isn't SLAMFEST.mp4 ==- Then, seeming to sense their battle is not yet at an end, friendly or not, JD lifts himself up to kneel in the trash. One hand planted in the heaped thongs and innertubes of party life, he gathers himself. Then, all at once he is surging back to his feet, right hand lashing out to try and grab a hand full of Homura's robe at the chest. There is easily enough strength in the mysterious actor to heft the other man clean off his feet and hold him up and out with his arm perfectly straight, just like a villain from the movies. There is also enough strength in the Probably A Michael to bring the Crow Guy crashing down in a brutal slam that would snap the surf board cleanly in two, then heft him up and swing him around to plough through the jean shorts and flowered shirts. Then bounce him off a rickety wall and set the whole shack to shaking. Then finally launch him spinning up toward the ceiling with the casual might of a monster from a horror film. "Ah! That's impolite!" Homura blushes. "Ano, luckily I eluded the camera-person...think of what the hosts would say.." Of course, Homura is scratching the back of his head and paying more attention to the very suspicious pile of bikinis in the corner than his opponent, recovering in a pile of trash. Maybe he really should -- by the time he remembers he's in a fight, his opponent furiously has him fully tackled, and this time there's no carnations to save him. "W--AH!!" "H--hey, w-ait a minute!" The boy's waraji skitter as he's drug bodily off his feet. Even in loose robes, the boy's legs pump the air as he's dangled -- and nigh effortlessly, at that, as if he weighed no more than a mouse. "Can we talk about this? T-th-this isn't SLAMFEST!!" Then Homura goes right through a surfboard, snapping it in twain like his opponent were wielding an axe. But there's a problem. It takes measurably more effort to break the surfboard than it normally would with an opponent's body. The weighting is different, the force required is too great, as if the entirety of the boy actually -did- weigh no more than a mouse. "Ano... it's a-a-a-a-lm~~ost like you coulda been a contender--" And then -fwip-. It's like with a sudden assertion of the boy suddenly and violently weighs nothing, and doesn't strictly exist. The prettyboy's undeath-grip on his lapels slips. Not for any want of purchase, but more that there is no longer anything to gain purchase on. The boy's voice breaks, passing through a watery echo before his momentum drains to zero, sending the zombie's swing all the way through the image of his current location. The boy is suddenly set free-wheeling through the air, tumbling end-over-end in the opposite direction, like a soap bubble. A fingertip rises to his lips, conspiratorially: shh. COMBATSYS: Homura manages to escape John Doe's Dawn Of The Dead! The fight suddenly and violently becomes a battle between paranormal forces, as the ghost shugenja alights as a feather on the wall of the little shop. Katana flips correct in his grip as the boy's physical mass reasserts itself as he stands on the wall at a ninety degree angle. For a split second, gravity has him. And then he's across the room, and a flicker arc of moonlight and steel trails in his wake. One cut, perhaps two. That's really all it's going to take, for the boy to shear off what's left of those rags from his opponent to the waist. In any other context, it would be a head-taking strike. The NFG, OTOH, gets a cornucopia of fanservice. Uh, maybe a -little- violence. Homura isn't really -that- surgical. The strike looks way cooler than it is, and it is a lot to prevent the boy from outright crashing into the same rack of jean shorts he was about to get smashed through. Hey, cut him some slack.. The final flailing swish of John Doe's hand, now free of the insubstantial weight of his opponent, flings forward through empty space with unexpected speed. Caught utterly off balance, the actor punches through an oddly pristine rack of sunglasses, sending 100 dollar frames flying in all directions. One of these just so happens to impact the disguised mass of colorful fabrics with a loud CRACK of breaking lenses, though whether it's the glasses or the camera within is anyone's guess. -== JOHN DOE - S Rank Style.mp4 ==- "Huh." JD mutters, withdrawing his hand with a pair of darkly mirrored shades balanced on his palm. Turning back to face Homura, he shows the wall-walking Totally Not A Ghost his prize, grinning beatifically at his good fortune. It is in that moment, with his smiling eyes meeting the other fighters, that some sort of connection clicks into place. Whether its instinctual showmanship, or a bro message beamed directly from one brain to the other, JD knows exactly what is about to happen. The Shugenja leaps... The actor leans... Moonlight flashes along the length of a glittering katana... With twin slashes and the minutest of gentle sways, the pair come apart, Homura nearly acquiring a face full of Daisy Dukes while JD steps passed and turns his back toward the wall so recently stood upon. In dramatic slow motion the actor's ragged shirt comes apart into three pieces, cloth scraps drifting to the ground to reveal a pale, beautifully muscled torso with only the faintest of scar marks running across it. Winking at Homura for the assist, JD snaps open the sunglasses, already void of a price tag, and slides them cooly onto his face. Stylishly done. Then, the actor steps forward, cocks back his right arm, and attempts to slug the ghostly guy right across the jaw. Manlyly done. -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- TOM: "Yes, indeed. In a shocking turn of events, former NFG competitor John Doe has resurfaced on Zack Island, of all places." LOU: "Yup. That was probably the third weirdest thing that happened today." TOM: "I thought we weren't mentioning -" LOU: "You're right, Tom. That was probably the second weirdest thing that happened today."

-== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- TOM: "Allow us to contextualize the following footage. Early this morning, Hawksley Moore discovered that Captain Morgan, Coco's binturong, had gone missing during the night." LOU: "So he did what any responsible boyfriend would do and grabbed his protege Henry to go searching through the jungle for the little scamp." TOM: "The binturong's disappearance was believed to be a kidnapping by a group of meerkats. However, it's uncertain as to whether Hawksley had been assisting Coco with the foraging of local medicinal herbs the previous night, which may have led to impaired judgment, hallucinations, and increased appetite." LOU: "Yeah, which is why we decided not to go with them." TOM: "However, we can assure our viewers that what happened next was real. Please be warned that this footage is somewhat harrowing, so for our more sensitive viewers, you may want to sit this one out." -== CAPTAIN MORGAN - King of the Meerkats.mp4 ==- There's a familiar chittering from the jungle. The group follow the noise, eventually breaking through the undergrowth to reveal a strange sight... A clearing full of meerkats - and their multitude of trinkets, stolen from the Zack Island resort. They've even taken a sun lounger, of all things, upon which lies a half-dozing binturong. Sat on his head is an ostentatious crown that says 'King of Isla Zaca' on it, presumably somehow pilfered by the creatures, and around him is a pile of Zack Coins - tribute for the newly-coronated monarch of the meerkats. As the meerkats spot the interlopers, they all turn toward them one by one... then scamper off into the jungle, leaving Morgie behind, a quizzical expression on the binturong's face before he turns and starts chuckling at the group. -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "And hey, they found Ayala too! I swear this isn't scripted. Anyway, unfortunately there wasn't much else interesting to show from the binturong rescue." TOM: "And Lou and I are happy to report that Hawksley is expected to make a full recovery from meerkat-related injuries suffered during the rescue of Captain Morgan."

-== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "And here was where our party posse - Sarah and Rodrigo - decided to try and raid Zack's house for, uh, supplies, assuming that the owner was not and would never be home." TOM: "An assumption made somewhat prematurely." -== ZACK? - Murder On The Dancefloor.mp4 ==- Zack (?) is already spinning from his backhand blow and ends up facing toward Rodrigo as the swordsman cuts in on the tango. "ZACK?!" the monstrous disc jockey demands to know as the Spaniard approaches. As he lunges in, the giant shifts his arms, fending the jabs with meaty muscle, though the series leaves his arms scored with bloody cuts. Whirling again, Zack finds Sarah rolling toward him. Automatically assuming that she's going to aim low, he instinctively covers up his basement, hunkering down, only to have the pop-up uppercut pop up into his chin, causing him to stagger backward like an opponent in Mike Bison's Punch-Out!, collapsing into the bar and knocking several glasses out of the cupboards. Momentarily dazed, the giant shakes his head as he snaps back to the present, his head turning between the two intruders as veins in his neck and temples start to throb prominently, his skin reddening. "ZACK!!!!" The brute lumbers forward, unclear as to who he's planning to target, winding up like he's about to unleash a wild swing with his arm - then instead aiming an incredible kick at Rodrigo aimed at slamming him into the wall. The carnage would continue as Zack (?) would pursue Rodrigo, aiming another high kick at him, then following up with a sweeping axe-kick to knock him down, followed by another kick before he'd hit the ground, and finally finishing with a hopping straight kick. "ZACK ZACK ZACK ZACK!" When Rodrigo sees Zack turn towards him, a look of nervousness quickly appears on his face. The prodigy of sword and cape bends his knees to get ready to hop away from the kick but he gets caught right as his feet leave the ground. The duelist's back slams into the wall leaving a vertical Rodrigo shaped dent. The subsequent high kick sends his body into a wild spin, the next kicks bounce him off the ground before the final straight kick sends him back into wall to leave a horizontal Rodrigo shaped dent as well to make it look like a plus sign. -== RODRIGO - Zacktetsuken.mp4 ==- While Rodrigo maintains his guard after the slash at the leg, he goes into a full body cringe when he both sees and hears the impact of the elbow. If the former prospective matador had to be completely honest with himself, he didn't like his chances with an extended engagement with the performance enhanced version of Zack. As he looks over at Sarah, he realizes that he needs to apply pressure and a lot of it if the two hope to come out of this fight with minimal injuries. Elimination aside, injuries are to be avoided when possible. Rodrigo delivers that rapid fire barrage of cuts and thrusts once more. His blade was moving fast enough that it looked as though it was attacking multiple locations at once. The goal was to bleed him and remove some of the fight from him. Eventually the blade stops moving and he delivers a front kick as a bit of payback for putting him into the wall... Twice. -== SARAH - DJ Supernova On Deck.mp4 ==- Round and round and round she goes, where she stops... Zack sure knows. Sarah's hit in the middle of her attack and drops like a sack of potatoes onto the ground. "But sir, there's no way penguins can ride a double-decker like that..." She babbles. After groaning in pain a little and gritting her teeth, Sarah rolls onto her stomach and pushes herself back up, rubbing her side a little after she remembers the pain there. "That was quite humiliating!" She gets back into the ginga, but that usual smile has been replaced with a scowl. "It looks like you're not playing with a full deck... so neither am I! It's time to show you what I'm truly capable of!" With that, Sarah launches into a cartwheel, intending to strike Zack with both of her legs. If that hits, she'll launch into a faster version of the spinning kick she attempted previously, and then finish off with a chi-infused uppercut. Yeah, it's complicated, but it hurts like hell if it lands. -== ZACK? - Murder On The Dancefloor Part 2.mp4 ==- Despite his obvious physical strength, it seems that Zack (?) is struggling to keep up with the speed of Rodrigo and the agility of Sarah. "ZACK?!" he protests as Rodrigo's sword starts to slash his skin again and again, leaving oozing cuts. At the same time, Sarah cartwheels into him from the other side, both legs colliding with the titan. Zack (?) ends up trapped between the repeated slices of the sword on one side and whirlwind kicks coming from the other. All the while his breathing becomes heavier and heavier, pain and anger etched on his face as his teeth clench. Finally, he's kicked in the stomach and punched in the chin at the same time, sending him staggering backward. He lurches forward, looking as if he might fall - but he stops himself, lifting his face one more time to glower at Sarah and Rodrigo as the sunglasses fall from his face, revealing yellow eyes with slit pupils. "Zaaack," he growls in a low voice, before suddenly raging forward. Both hands come down from either side, aiming to smash down on the heads of each opponent simultaneously. Then he starts swinging his arms back and forth while sliding forward, aiming to batter both Sarah and Rodrigo into his path as he rampages toward a display shelf full of records at one end of the dancefloor. Finally, he'll wind up both arms at his sides before blasting forward, aiming to slam a double-fisted strike into both Rhythm Renegades and send them flying into the vinyl collection! Regardless, though, he'll end up dropping to both knees, a sudden look of shock appearing on his face as something gives way within. His wounds will start to flow freely as he collapses forward, face-first, onto the tiled surface beneath him as the turntables continue to play the number of Zack (?)'s last dance. It's murder on the dancefloor But you better not kill the groove Hey, hey, hey, hey It's murder on the dancefloor But you better not steal the moves DJ, gonna burn this goddamn house right down o/~ -== ZACK - I Just Went Out For Ice Cream.mp4 ==- Disturbingly, it doesn't appear that Zack (?) will be okay. As the monstrous brute bleeds out on the dance floor, he offers no answers - only more questions. Could this be the true end of Zack, previously thought to have vanished along with the original Zack Island in 2015? What will this mean for the NFG? Suddenly, footsteps approach from behind Sarah and Rodrigo, and a silhouette steps through the front door with a gallon tub of ice cream in either hand. Both tubs drop to the floor as his mouth gapes open. "Seriously, people? You couldn't find the spare key under the doormat?" Zack (!) says with dismay. "Well, this right here is a real mess." -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "This reminds me of when I used to come back after leaving my teenagers at home alone." TOM: "It reminds me of when I used to leave my cats at home alone. Oh, uh, don't worry about Zack, by the way. He's, uhh... totally fine." LOU: "Maybe we should've cut this bit too."

-== CHEVY - Let's Go For A Ride.mp4 ==- She's got her blue eyes locked on the brawler's font of energy. And when he starts to lunge at her, Chevy just... steps back, slamming her pole into the floor with such force that the lower bucket seemingly rebounds -upwards-. That's what it -looks- like, but the fact is that she's relocating her chi foci using her hydromancing skills. When Braun's hand reaches in, he'll find the pole smacking alongside his wrist at the instant before impact. And in the very next moment, a fearless Chevy will be leveraging his own arm as part of her counterattack, as she wraps one arm around his leading arm, and folds herself tight against his chest as she uses her pole to 'guide' him right off his feet, and slam him back-first into the floor! "Let's go for a ride, big man!" -== CHEVY - The Full Chevy Experience.mp4 ==- Her eyes widen as Braun suddenly lurches into a knee strike -- and Chevy realizes there's just no worming out of it! She turns sideways, folds up her arm, and brings her shoulder to bear against Braun's incoming knee. The hog wrestler thankfully still has some meat on her bones, thankfully -- but even then, the force knocks her off the floor, and carries her backwards a few feet! She's able to land in a low crouch, the moment punctuated by the sounds of escaped water slapping across the deck. Undeterred, she swings her pole in front of her, gripping it with both hands in a wary stance. "See? I just cain't let my guard down 'round you, Braun." She grins back. Though, it might be easier for Braun to -feel- that the air between the two is starting to get a little... chilly. "So you get the full Chevy experience!" -== TANWEN - Endangered Species.mp4 ==- Tanwen may find it difficult to forget it, because she's very good at remembering things, but there are other things to be thinking about at the moment anyway. Like the fact that Arisa has just pulled out a pair of submachine guns. Those aren't in the Player's Handbook, but it doesn't mean she doesn't know what they're for. "Oh, dear," she says, quietly trembling, until the moment that Arisa starts her strafing run. As the first bullet lets loose, Tanwen leaps off of the ground, using her wings to execute an evasive maneuver. The bullet rings off of the metal rim of her umbrella-shield, sending Tanwen into a spin. "Eep!" Tanwen flits into a barrel roll, barely avoiding the bullets as Arisa tracks her trajectory. Shots embed themselves in the wall of the poolhouse behind her. Two ricochet off of the Zack-in-the-Box, leaving it seemingly undamaged. << Whoa, there! Let's be keeping things civil! Maybe try taking a soak in the pool! >> the vending machine implores with Zack's voice. Tanwen swoops upward before reversing her roll, spinning over the spray as she continues her elusive efforts. "But I'm an endangered species!!! AHHH!!!!" she cries, a trail of tears glistening in the air as she emerges from the second spiral to dive toward Arisa in a desperate attempt to close the gap and put a stop to the Big Game Hunter's brand building. -== BRAUN - One Final Rodeo.mp4 ==- "Tth...shoulda done this sooner.." he grumbles as he pushes up to his feet. "Looks like you been hittin' the proverbial gym, Chevy. Gotta admit, I under estimated ya. Almost like I forgot you were nearly the victor of the last tourament or somethin'.." he grumbles while rubbing his mouth, still in his energized state. That he's maintaining it is telling as in hte past he'd only been able to do so for short bursts but here he is, still a towering beastial monster albiet one that is clearly disadvantaged. He holds his ground, beckoning for her. "Let's try one final rodeo..." -== ARISA - Beating The Heat.mp4 ==- Staring down the maw of Literal Dragon Fire Breath, Arisa Hawkins says "NOPE!" at the top of her lungs before frantically looking around and seeing what her options are, other than 'be roasted alive'. Dive behind a table? No way. Tanwen's flame would just roast one of those things instantly, never mind that it seems EXTREMELY unlikely that Zack Island got even 'good' tables for this place. Jump 10' straight up in the air and just, you know, float over it? Unli-- and then she literally says, "OH RIGHT." Shortly before jumping INTO THE POOL. If you need to beat the heat (that can melt steel beams) then the pool is just the thing. But there IS a great slow-mo still captured later from this VOD of Arisa tucking and pseudo-cannonballing into the pool as Tanwen's stream of fire LITERALLY clears the top of her head by mere centimeters. It's a moment or two later when the thankfully-wearing-a-swimsuit Texan emerges from the shallow end, dripping wet and heaving big heavy breaths. "Ha... ha... okay... let's not... do that... again... thanks..." she pants out, looking around to gauge her surroundings. Chevy and Tanwen, still standing. Braun, her (supposed) teammate, out cold. Hmm. "Right," the Texan says, gritting her teeth and preparing for the worst. "Just gotta take out a season one semifinalist and a literal dragon, on my own. No pressure." -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "So, Tom, which do you think was more sexually charged: Coco flip-slamming Iris on top of Albert while shouting 'I can handle a double-teaming', or all of the highlighted dialogue between Chevy and Braun?" TOM: "That's a tough call, Lou, and one I'd rather not be involved in the making of. Instead, I'd like to take a moment to appeal to our viewers on behalf of the 'Society for the Preservation of Dragonkind.' Your sponsorship could mean that the only known survivor of this majestic species avoids starvation. Please send donations of food to Zack Island Resort Casino, Isla Zaca, Postal Code 4. By the way, I hear that dragons love sauerkraut and kielbasa." LOU: "Isn't sauerkraut and kielbasa your favourite food, Tom?" TOM: "Ketchup and mustard as well, please." LOU: "Is this why we left out the part where the dragon got shot with a rocket launcher?"

-== KENZO - New Ink Regrets.mp4 ==- Kenzo rolls backwards out of the ink cloud and wipes the ink off of his combat specs. This enables Kenzo to get a glance at the fight between Max and Ishida. He can see Max studying Ishida very intently and just gets a hunch that Max is getting more information out of that moment of watchfulness than most would get. He can't quite prove it and it isn't exactly something that could be picked up through his specs. Unfortunately, before Kenzo can give a warning to his kouhai, he watches as Ishida dart forth and snap his foot upwards and then send it in the opposite direction. "Careful. She's tracking your movements." With that, Kenzo returns his attention to the fight with Buck. The nin-gineer didn't go diving into the ink cloud in the previous engagement and he's not about to do so now. He whips the chain into the cloud as sort of a range finder with a diagonal downward swing with the weighted end and then whipping it around to attempt to wrap it around his feet and pull them from under him. -== ISHIDA - Double Sobat.mp4 ==- The words float to his ear -- distant, and easy to miss, but standing out from the din of the mostly-abandoned casino: 'You'll have to carry on without me.' Kenzo is out of sight, but far from out of mind as he carries out his own battle with Max. He grimaces as his kick slams between Max's shoulders -- though, considering the bone crunching he'd heard when she'd grown her gorilla-like arms, he's come to understand that might be less of a problem for Max. "Ee, wakatta..." he states calmly; a short statement to signal to Kenzo that he'd heard, and nothing more. Shortly afterwards, he can hear the bombs go off in his periphery; a sign that perhaps his master has gone out with a blaze of glory. And, as the scholar of qigong that he is, he's able to sense his mentor's qi shifting to a new location. It's this key fact that he brings to the forefront as Max starts to show signs of retaliation. It seems that time has run out. He might have been able to withstand fighting with Max a little longer -- but knowing that Kenzo has departed the immediate vicinity, he prepares himself to act on things he wasn't able to observe directly. But, having heard the bombs, he can run the math, weighing a potential collision with Buck against the clearly telegraphed option presented by Max. And, as he hears no footfalls of increasing volume heading his way, he assumes Buck is airborne -- and having a bit harder time to adjust his trajectory. So he dives into a tumble off to Max's side, narrowly missing Buck as the Oklahoman thunders past! This, of course, keeps him close to his crouching opponent. He -thinks- he can be limber enough to swing his torso out of her way as he rises -- but the claws puncturing the flesh of his abdomen state otherwise. His breath hisses through clenched teeth as he staggers backwards, his knuckles white from his attempt to keep from crying out with the pain. "Gghhhh..." Somehow, he manages to hold it together, even as his blood wicks into the fabric of his jacket. But now -- with both Max and Buck within striking range, the one standing member of Shock and Roll decides to take a big chance: attacking both fighters at the same time. His shoes scrape on the floor as he lunges sharply forward, thrusting his elbow back at Max. "Hnnnn...!" He'd then seek to barrel forward into a rolling sobat kick, bringing his foot scything around in such a fashion as he could -potentially- hit both of the fighters at the same time! He'd plan to capitalize on his momentum in such a way that he'd be able to channel his momentum into a dramatic aerial attack to finish the sequence off: a flying elbow for Buck, and a spinning heel kick for Max! -== BUCK - Mess With The Bull.mp4 ==- Buck begins a slow circling walk around Ishida as he examines the fight with a small smile on his face. He's also trying to put himself right on the other side of Ishida from Max. He runs his tongue along his teeth for a moment, prodding his canine almost seeming to check if its loose. Now it's all about trying to get in the last strike. The way things are Ishida has a chance, and it's not something Buck likes to think about. He may still be moving normally, especially now that the electric jolts from Kenzo seem to be wearing off, but his energy is low. Shapeshifting takes a lot out of him, more than he usually lets on. As Ishida charges, so does he, likely hoping to pincher the qigong fighter between two shapeshifters, and if anyone has seen a three car pile up, it's pretty typical that it's the middle car that takes the most abuse. Head lowered, a pair of horns bursts from either side of the Okalahoman's skull, which thickens considerably as it takes on a more bovine countenance. And then Minobuck simply tries to battering ram his way right into Ishida's backside. -== MAX - Typical Cat Behaviour.mp4 ==- Turning away from Buck, the girl wanders over to Ishida's fallen form and kneels down at his side. Gently, she wedges her hands underneath his shoulder and hips and rolls the man over onto his back. Her tiny fingers reach out and pry one of the monk's eyes open, leaning down to peer into his unconscious stare as if she were a doctor inspecting a patient. Whether he stirs at her prodding or remains comatose, the Gear grins and nods, satisfied by whatever she was looking for. Then, without preamble, she extends her tongue and... licks him! Like any cat, the surface of Max's tongue is a little rough and highly textured. Unlike most cats, the surface is coated with the same slimey goo that she used to groom herself earlier. As weird as it probably is to be on the receiving end of this treatment, the alchemical mixture proves just as potent on humans. Within moments the substance starts to sink into his skin, soothing the aches and pains no doubt plaguing the man after such a brutal contest. There isn't much of her healing reserves left, unfortunately, so it isn't enough to completely dispel his injuries - but it should prove enough of a balm for him to regain his wits and get back on his feet. "Hey," the girl says, impatiently shaking Ishida as if he were a lazy child lingering overlong in bed on a sunny day. "Wake up, wake up!" -== DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY ==- LOU: "Do you think Ishida felt a bit like a kid whose dad left him alone in the zoo, there?" TOM: "Are you speaking from experience, Lou?" LOU: "Luckily in my case, it was the giraffe exhibit and not the bull pen that I climbed into." TOM: "Do they have bull pens at the zoo?" LOU: "Should we re-shoot this bit with me sayin' Ishida felt like the farm hand whose boss went on vacation?" TOM: "I thought we might riff about all the fluids that the opponents of Wild Things should be prepared to contend with." LOU: "Nice."

-== RECORDING #12, POOLSIDE, ISLA ZACA RESORT, 9:00 PM ==- The camera returns to Tom and Lou next to the poolside. Both are now standing. TOM: "And so, we move into our semi-finals, where -" Suddenly, a tinny voice broadcast from somewhere nearby cuts in, drowning Tom out. << Hello all you sexy New Zack Island people! Yes, I'm talking to you! It's nine o'clock! >> LOU: "Oh, right. I knew we were forgetting a major talking point." << So that means it's time to head on over to Radio ZACK for our emergency meeting party! >> TOM: "Yes, indeed. It appears that Zack is in fact alive and well. For the time being." LOU: "And he wanted to throw a house party for all of the NFG fighters by way of apology." TOM: "Which may or may not involve the divulgence of crucial information explaining mysterious goings-on on Zack Island, such as... meerkats." LOU: "God. You don't think there could be any meerkats between here and Zack's house, do you?" A moment later, Zack wanders into the frame, armed with a megaphone. ZACK: << Hey! That means you three too! You coming, or what? >> TOM: "I mean, I guess it's more urgent than explaining the semi-finals matchups for now." LOU: "I could freaking murder a pina colada, even if it did come in a can. Whaddya say, Steve? You can have the rest of the night off, too." STEVE: "Oh, yeah. Let me just get this boom put away and I'll catch up with you guys." As Tom, Zack and Lou wander off and footsteps can be heard retreating, a silence save for the chirping of insects and the gentle flow of water descends on the poolside. Then, suddenly, there's a gentle croaking from the darkness on the other side of the pool, followed by a rustling of plant fronds. The croaking grows louder, and a silhouette looms out of the bushes... before retreating instantly at the sound of footsteps approaching again. STEVE: "Whoops. Almost left this running..." -== RECORDING TERMINATED ==-

Greetings, doodz! Thanks again for your participation and congrats on getting all of your scenes completed on time! Instead of heading straight into round 3, we're going to have an open social scene featuring DJ Zack where some background information will be shared, next steps will be discussed... and what better place to do that than at a party? This will be happening at the Radio Station beginning tomorrow (Thursday July 18th). The party scene will be running from until its natural end point (sometime before Sunday 28th July). After that point, we will be taking a short hiatus from scheduled content as I'll be on vacation in America. That time will be open to further social or training scenes on the island (we'll assume nobody* wants to do official stuff the day after the party). We'll be picking back up Wednesday, August 14th with the official Round 3, including semi-finals matches. Expect two more rounds after Round 3! - Pringer X * on the NFG staff