Victory School Sparring

[pacfud]

Diane sat cross-legged in the silent courtyard. It technically morning, but you wouldn’t know it from the look of the sky, which was pitch black. In the wilderness she could hear the faint chirping of birds, and the strange sounds of the other animals that made their home in the untamed wilds of Mt. Paozu. It had taken her much longer than she expected to make it back to Victory School. As it turned out, she slept most of her bus ride to Townsville, so she was flying aimlessly for a some of the journey. By the time her and Zach made it, they were too tired to start training, and decided to go to sleep and start the next day. That day was today.

Diane closed her eyes, aware of the other two bodies near her: Zach, her new partner in her quest for revenge, and Abuul, the Victory School martial arts master who agreed to train the 2 of them. Abuul had woken them up from their sleep earlier than the other students of the Victory school in order to get some hands on training with them. Diane was still a little sore from all the flying from the day before, but it wasn’t anything a little bit of stretching couldn’t remedy. She was more concerned for Zach, who had taken a serious beating to his stomach a few days earlier (Diane still felt a little guilty, but Zach always joked about it).

The three of them sat in a triangle facing each other. Abuul was studying his new trainees with eyes of a hawk. He was silent, his piercing red eyes boring holes in Diane, and admittedly making her a little uncomfortable. Eventually his gaze softened, and he let a smile flash across his face. Glad that’s over… Diane thought with a sigh of relief, I felt he had x-ray vision or something. Abuul rose from his sitting position, dusting off his pants and motioning for them the follow in his suit. Diane got up, stealing a glance at her partner, but she couldn’t get a read on him in the darkness of the early morning.

“Before we start training,” Abuul began with a smooth voice that seemed to melt naturally into the background sounds of nature, “I think we need to get a better idea of how you to work as a team. I already know how well you fight, Diane.” He then turned to Zach. “But I also need to see your strength” Abuul dropped into a low fighting stance that Diane recognized. “I’m gonna to be going harder than before Diane, so get ready.” He called out with a smile.

Diane was about to turn to Zach and discuss some strategy. She wanted to get some sort of plan together before they started fighting, that way they wouldn’t look like total fools out there. Unfortunately, Abuul wasn’t about to let them get an edge early on, and leapt into action with blinding speed. Jumping in between Diane and Zach, he effectively cut off any plans they could have been formulating, and he struck out at Zach’s chest with a backwards kick.

[Zach]

Zach awoke early or rather was awakened early this morning by the dojo’s master. The teen had always been much more of a free spirit, developing his own techniques by trial and error… lots of error, so all of this structure was understandably strange and uncomfortable for him. He’d insisted on remaining in his preferred black pants and red boots rather then one of the school’s gi’s, mostly because he didn’t want to wear anything above the waist. He issued a half hearted grumble of protest and rose from his slumber, lacing up his boots and followed the master to the training area.

He sat as he was directed to but was obviously uncomfortable with all of the sitting and meditating that seemed to go on at the school and thought this was going to be just that. The man’s examination of them, Zach could see was making Diane feel awkward as well. When the master’s gaze was turned to Zach, the boy stared back with a cocky smile which told the master pretty much what he needed to know. The boy was physically strong, self assured to no end and somewhat shallow. He wasn’t dumb, but Zach was always concerned with the present and the material, what he could see was what mattered.

When the master finally spoke and instructed them to stand up, Zach couldn’t get back to feet fast enough. He practically bounced right up and clasped his arms behind his back. He noted Diane’s glance toward him and reasoned she was probably worried about whether he’d be able to stand up to training after their rather painful meeting. He gave her a smile that he wasn’t sure could be seen in the dim light blanketing the area from the moon and from the dojo. His smile got wider as the master specifically stated that he wanted to test Zach’s strength. Unclasping his arms, Zach let them hang loosely at his sides but did clench his fists to be ready.

It was a god thing too as the master attacked without warning, jumping between Diane and himself and leveling a kick into the boy’s chest and knocked the breath out of him. Zach was semi prepared though and before he stumbled too far, made a grab to try and ensnare the Master’s leg and if successful, he’d attempted to both twist the leg to get the man off balance and spin the mater around to the opposite side to get himself between the man and Diane.

[pacfud]

The battle began without warning, and Diane was taken completely by surprise when Abuul jumped forward and kicked Zach in the chest. Zach reacted quicker than Diane did, grabbing Abuul's extended leg as he fell back. He twisted the leg, apparently trying to cause Abuul to become off balanced. Instead of fighting the twist, Abuul twisted his body with it, whipping his free leg around in an attempt to strike Zach in the face.

Finally deciding to act, Diane jumped forward, planning to to attack Abuul while he was preocuppied with Zach. She brought her fist forward, aiming a punch at Abuul's head. She hoped to daze him early and bring him down before he could reveal his true strength. Unfortunately the move was obvious, and Abuul was expecting a second assault as soon as he engaged Zach in the first place. As soon as Diane went in for the punch, Abuul thrust both of his hands forward at his incoming opponent. From his outstretched palms fired a single, deep blue energy wave, the classic kamehameha.

Diane wasn't expecting Abuul to bring out the big guns, especially not that early in the fight. She let out a surprised yelp, stumbling backward and getting blasted full on by the energy wave. She flew backward a few feet, landing hard on her back. Luckily it wasn't a very powerful attack, and she was more surprised then injured. Damn it! Diane scolded herself, leaping quickly from the ground, Get your head in the game! You have to focus on what he's doing! Don't let any of his moves surprise you!

[Zach]

As Zach twisted and yanked on the master’s leg, the caught the full force of the man’s other boot smashing across his face. The boy lost his grip and tumbled with the force of the kick, dropping to the ground on his side. Getting in gear faster then Diane it seemed, Zach sprang back to his feet, turned and stalked towards Abuul. His arms came up in his classic, boxer’s defensive posture that protected his head and chest. He knew his stomach was open and he hadn’t yet fully recovered, but this was his posture and he refused to change it.

Hopefully though their teacher wouldn’t pick up on his weakness, he wanted to impress the man, no showcase his faults. As Zach moved forward, following the man’s energy blast at Diane, he closed and attempted to hammer a punch into the master’s kidney and then twist and deliver his opposite elbow to the back of the man’s head.

[pacfud]

Diane jumped up from the ground, ignoring the embarassment she felt from being so easily grounded. As she landed on her feet, she saw that Abuul was preparing to continue his attack. He had drawn his fist back, and was about to swing forward and strike. Before he had a chance to, however, he was caught in the kidney by Zach's fist. Abuul grunted, the attack obviously drawing some pain, and Zach was about to follow up with a vicious elbow. Unfortunately Abuul wasn't one to be taken advantage of. He easily ducked under the thrown elbow, and countered by driving his own elbow into Zach's exposed stomach.

As this was happening, Diane rushed forward to double team the martial arts master, but it all happened to fast for her to stop. This time though, she was prepared to counter attack. Judging from his position, Abuul wouldn't be able to aim and fire another kamehameha at Diane in time to stop her from hitting him with a ki pulse. She thrusted her palm forward, firing a shockwave of ki at her opponent.

Diane was obviously aiming for Abuul, but the experienced fighter was just too fast. Pushing off Zach with his elbow, Abuul was able to narrowly avoid the blast from Diane's ki pulse. The energy continued, however, straight toward Diane's partner. Aw great... Diane fretted. I'm never gonna live this one down... Diane kicked herself for not being more wary of her surroundings. Lets just hope Zach can get out of the way...

[Zach]

Quite happy that he connected with the punch to the man’s kidney, Zach followed through with his intended elbow to the back of the master’s head. As he swung though he knew something was up when his arm passed through nothing but air, the teacher was gone. No not gone, just below Zach’s line of sight and an instant later Abuul’s elbow exploded into his midsection.

“Gaaaagh!...” Zach gagged and hunched over as spit flew out of his mouth. His abs hadn’t recovered in the slightest yet and the man’s powerful blow was torturous. Still he tried to retaliate, swinging a sloppy left cross that probably wouldn’t hit anything. Then something else hit him, right in the ribs under his over extending left arm. Zach grunted and was tossed away, landing on his back a few feet away, panting. He didn’t know which one of them hit him with the energy pulse, but knew the master had delivered the elbow, not that it mattered, he wasn’t going to take it out on Diane.

[pacfud]

Diane's ki pulse hit Zach dead on, launching him backward. She was about to say a word of apology, but thought better of it. She would be able to apologize later, but for now she had to worry about the fight. Focusing her attention back on Abuul, she realized her opponent had that same look of genuine concern on his face that he had during his first fight with Diane. Abuul was obviously worried about Zach, and like before it gave Diane an opening to exploit.

With a cocky smile Diane threw herself forward, swinging a fist at Abuul's head. You're mine! she thought to herself, bracing herself for the feeling of her fist against Abuul's face. Much to her surprise, the attack actually connected. Subconsciously she had been expecting Abuul to avoid the hit like usual, but it seemed that he was really distracted by his compassion. An instinctive ki pulse was released from Diane's fist, rattling through Abuul's body and knocking him back a quite a way. It was like a replay from their first battle, except this time Diane knew that her opponent wasn't really dazed from the hit. Instead of persuing him like before, she positioned herself between her partner and her opponent. Keeping her eyes on Abuul, who had landed on his feet, Diane tried to whisper at Zach.

"Listen man," she told him, "As you can see, this guy is fast, strong, and skilled. His one weakness is that he doesn't want to see anyone get hurt, but I doubt that he'll be tricked by that one again. We'll just have to work together and catch him off guard whenever we can." It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all Diane had at the moment. By now Abuul was recovered, and he wasn't happy that he let his opponents have a moment to strategize. With an roar, Abuul fired another kamehameha at Diane. Not wanting to let the blast hit Zach, she raised her arms in front of her face and stood her ground.

[Zach]

Rolling over onto his hands and knees, Zach watched the exchange, noting that the master had been looking at him rather then at Diane. That was good, that’s what he was there for, take the hits and be a distraction. Watching the man land on his feet, Zach climbed to his own feet and then Diane got between them. He appreciated the sentiment, but he was tough enough to take a few hits. Still this provided an opportunity to get some trickery of their own in.

“Got it, but don’t you think that I…” Zach was saying that he was better suited to be in front, but was cut off when Abuul thrust his hands forward and proceeded to launch an energy beam at them. Acting more instinctively then on reason, Zach quickly made a grab for Diane with the intention to spin them so that the beam struck him in the back rather then her. The teen’s muscles tensed as he did his best to protect his partner. Once the beam had been expended, reason kicked back in and he released Diane, turned and ran strait for the master, still acting as a distraction so that Diane could attack from the side. Zach didn’t have anything special in store, just a simple flurry of punches to try and tie the man up. He was of course slowed down considerable by the aftereffects of the man’s energy attack.

[pacfud]

Diane was surprised to find that instead of being blasted with wave of ki energy, she was instead twisted around to be blocked by Zach's body. After playing human shield, Zach turned around and rushed Abuul. He was apparently trying to divert the master's attention from Diane, using a multitude of punches to take up his focus.

You're tough Zach... Diane growled in her head, But you're not invincible! She didn't wan't Zach to bite off more than she could chew against Abuul, so she too rushed into the fray. As far as she could tell, Abuul was blocking and dodging most of Zach's punches, countering with a few shots of his own. Zach seemed to be a little sluggish after his run in with the kamehameha. Lets hope I can take him off your hands before you're overwhelmed...

Zach's tactic appeared to have the disired effect, because Abuul was apparently too focused on his melee to notice Diane running up beside him. Diane swung her leg out, hoping to catch Abuul's leg and knock him off balance. Unfortunately Abuul was more wary than he let on, because Diane's leg met powerful resistance when it ran into Abuul's. Abuul had been expecting Diane's attack, even though it seemed he wasn't paying attention.

As soon as Diane engaged him, Abuul redoubled his efforts, aiming punches and kicks at both of his opponents. A frightening 3-way brawl ensued, Diane unable to find any openings to get away or get a good hit in. She glanced over at her partner, hoping for some ideas, but the momentary lapse in her guard resulted in a solid knee in her stomach. This was followed by a punch that landed square on her cheek, launching her backward. Luckily she retained the presence of mind to lash out her leg on her way back, firing a ki pulse at her opponent. While Abuul was barely able to avoid the attack, dodging it forced him into an extremely off-balance position. This left him vunerable to attack.

[Zach]

As Zach continued to launch punches at the master, the man was striking back with frightening speed and the boy was finding it difficult to block, parry or roll with the punches, both due to the condition of his midsection and the pain in his back. Thankfully Diane engaged the man and saved him from what Zach was sure would be an uncomfortable lesson in speed. Unfortunately while she was taking some of the heat off of him he was still too busy to get in a good hit, just basic, almost powerless jabs.

Then a break, Diane was kit hard but managed to land what seemed to be an equally damaging strike to Abuul in the process. If not damaging it certainly had left him in and awkward position and Zach jumped on the chance, literally. Without backing up to gain momentum, the teen jumped up from right where he was and attempted to slam a punch downward into the man’s chest and ride the punch down to the ground provided the other was toppled by it. If all went well, Zach would end up sitting atop the man’s hips, with his fist cranked back to deliver another shot.

[pacfud]

Diane didn't see what happened after her fall, but she did hear what sounded like someone being tackled to the floor. Quickly lifting herself off the ground, she looked at the two other fighters. Somehow Zach had taken advantage of the situation and wrestled Abuul to the ground. he was sitting on top of the martial arts master's chest, poised for another strike.

Abuul smiled, impressed by the student's fighting spirit. He closed his eyes, as if satisfied by the way things had turned out thusfar. Then, without warning, his golden aura virtually exploded, gushing out of his body with enough force to make Diane stumble backwards. Diane knew he was getting ready for something big, and they didn't have much time to stop it.

"Hold him down!" Diane yelled at Zach over the sound of Abuul's raging ki. She leapt into the air, positioning herself so she had an unobstructed view of Abuul's face. He had an excited, labored expression on his face, and the power of his ki was slowly building. Please work... Diane prayed, pulling both of her hands behind her in a universally recognized fashion. "Kame..." she muttered, and she began gathering her ki into her hands...

[Zach]

Zach was elated that his power punch went off without a hitch and as planned he ended up on top to Abuul’s torso. He had his arms up, ready to smash his fist into the man’s face but when the master smiled and closed his eyes, Zach interpreted it as he was yielding and the match was over. He had no idea how wrong he was and a moment later it was proven to him. When the man’s aura burst up all about him, Zach too was nearly blown away by it, in fact he had to tighten his legs against the master’s sides, effectively pinning his arms there for the moment. Zach also leaned back and gabbed a hold of the man’s legs, hoping to keep him from bucking him off.

Then he heard Diane and spotted her moving around in front of him. He was already doing as she instructed but realized that she knew more about what the man was up to then he did just by the commanding tone she used. Then she pulled her hands back in a posture he recognized and Zach went a little wide eyes. ‘Holy cow she can’t be serious!’ he though to himself. Looking down at the master’s raging expression and then down at his own body, he hoped she was accurate with that technique because his groin was right in the line of fire. Slamming his eyes shut, Zach prepared himself for the worst, hopefully she wouldn’t miss or at the very least wouldn’t fire high because he really didn’t want to be singing soprano for the rest of the day.

[pacfud]

Diane could feel the energy building up in her hands. She could feel that it was working, that her first kamehameha would be successful. “Hame…” she called out, her energy almost done charging. She was focusing on preparing her attack, but did look up to see Zach successfully keeping Abuul on the ground. The ki emitting from Abuul’s body still steadily increasing. Diane could tell that his technique was nearly ready as well. It was just a race to see who could get their attack off first.

There was a sudden shift in Abuul’s ki. He was about to launch his attack. Diane could no longer wait, she had to strike now. She thrust her hands forward, releasing the store of energy she had gathered. “HAAAA!!!” she roared, the ki bursting from her hands like a dam breaking. The beam of energy was remarkably concentrated, and either by luck or fate she managed to aim her attack accurately. Abuul’s eyes widened and he ki faltered as the wave of energy rammed into his face.

[Zach]

As Zach held the master down and felt the ever increasing waves of energy washing over him, the boy kept his eyes shut. He couldn’t actually feel the energy being generated by either Diane or Abuul, but certainly felt it’s tingling effects on his skin. His lack of an energy sense wasn’t what worried him though, it was the fact that Diane was about to launch an attack that could very well miss and leave him screaming on the ground.

A moment later he heard the discharge of energy and cringed. He felt the master’s body beneath him spasm but thankfully there was no sudden shock to his manhood. Peaking to ensure all of his parts were still there and just wasn’t feeling it, Zach was relieved to see himself intact and that Diane’s beam had hit it’s mark. Pretty sure the man would be finished by the attack, Zach climbed off of him and kneeled at his side but looked up to Diane.

“That was pretty good, little over kill. But thanks for not hitting me too.” The boy stated with a smile.

[pacfud]

Diane was extremely tired after firing the kamehameha, and she was thankful that it had hit. It definitely seemed to do the trick, as Zach got up from Abuul and congratulated her, thanking her for her accurate aiming. Diane smiled and scratched her head, "It's just a good thing you were keeping him steady, or that could have turned out differently." she said, adding: "Great teamwork by the way." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Abuul stir on the ground. Uh oh... she thought to herself dropping into her fighting stance yet again. I dont have enough energy to keep going at this!

Abuul rose from the floor, raising his hands in a 'don't kill me' gesure. "Whoa there tiger!" he laughed, "I think thats enough for now." He rubbed his head with his hand. "I'm gonna need a some tea for this headache..." he muttered. Looking up at Zach he gave a thumbs up. "You've got some skills there buddy, but how about gaurding that stomach of yours? It seems like you've taken some damage lately." With that, he proceeded into the dojo. "You guys are free to do whatever for the rest of today... Have fun!" He gave them a wave, and then was gone.