ROUND 1; Satin versus Gerrek

[Gray Callahan]

The chosen environment; a small coastal island like one on the planet Earth, although the surrounding 'ocean's' waters are green rather than blue. The sand is purple

The two combatants appear on the island, facing each other at a distance of fifty feet.

Have at it, children.

---

[hewhostandsalone]

Gerrek blinks for a moment after staring out at the nebula on the main hall. When he opens his eyes he finds himself surrounded by sand in the immediate vicinity and ocean as far as he can see beyond the sand. A cool ocean breeze brushes past him from his left side as he looks around for his opponent. He kept a relaxed stance for now and kept his eyes and ears open for possible assaults. He had no clue if his opponent was here right now. He was assuming that this was one of the battlegrounds.

The thought occurred to him that he might have to face multiple fighters at once. Though troublesome, he would consider that to be an honor. After all, that would mean he was a cut above the rest anyway, wouldn't it? He shook these thoughts from his head and gazed around more. The only sounds were those of the waves slowly and rhythmically cresting and receding with the tides.

He couldn't fathom why his foe might be late. After all, he'd been teleported here without warning. Shouldn't they have done the same? What if his foe was much stronger than him and they sent him here first so that he might have a sporting chance via the element of surprise? These annoying conundrums kept popping up. He was nearly dying of anticipation.

[satin]

Satin felt an uncomfortable jolt as she was torn awake and soon she found herself by the ocean. The purple sand seemed to comfort her much more than traditional colors, same with the emerald green water. The breezed gently caressed her cheek and she stared ahead of her, at first she didn’t see anything in fact she could hardly fathom where she had ended up… ’ Ah yes the tournament, of course I forgot. I’m here to fight right, and my opponent must be here somewhere.’

Soon satin laid eyes on her adversary, it was a man seeming to be quite impatient, his relaxed stance seemed to insult her in a way. The look on his face however, put her at ease. Anticipation was obvious in his eyes, was he worried about Satin? About her power level, perhaps even about how powerful she was. He was probably transported first, and was waiting for her to show up so he could attack. Satin however had no such thoughts the only thing on her mind was survival and weather or not to play offense or defense.

Satin uncrossed her arms then widened her stance, keeping her eyes on him. She had no false inclination to hit him from behind so she would probably give him a choice. She whistled before raising her voice. ” Hey, boy! Offense or Defense?” She called out slightly smirking as she waited for his response, she was more than ready for either attack strategy.

[hewhostandsalone]

The red skinned alien lizard kept silent as he listened for movement. Just moments later a whistle broke the silence and immediate grabbed his attention. With an almost thankful smile he turned to face his foe. He gave a half bow as he eyed her up and down. "You're honorable it seems. Then this should be a good fight."

Her words that followed the whistle made him raise an eyebrow and smile. "Don't know how you'd know that I'm young for my kind, haha..." He paused as he contemplated her question, but only for a moment, "You can have the first move. Don't disappoint me."

As he finished speaking he lowered his stance by bending his knees slightly and then widened it by spreading his feet apart. He turned so that his left shoulder faced his opponent and extended his left leg out a bit further than his right. He pointed an open palm at her with his left hand and kept his right fist clenched at his waist. Meanwhile his tail was curved to his right, kept a few inches off the ground behind his right leg.

[satin]

Satin smirked, he had obviously gotten the wrong idea about her motives. She smiled as her violet aura surrounded her, she was slowly starting to power up for her attack. ’ Honorable? Why I’m no such thing. However I don’t like the idea of boredom… so lets hope that you don’t disappoint me.” her voice was softer than her first tone, but only because of her confusion.

” You can guess age from arrogance.” She smiled when he answered that she should attack first, it was a predictable answer. But all the same the results were the only thing worth her time, the only question was what to use first. Satin hadn’t had time to assess her opponent but first she would test his reflex before doing an actual attack.

It had been a couple of minutes before she started her power up now her attack was almost ready, but since this was just a test there was no need for a fatal blow right? Satin pressed two fingers against her forehead focusing her energy on that single point. Then after the tiny spark had been incessant for a while she took aim at his chest. ”Makankosappo!” She smiled as the blast took it’s course. It was actually two blast, one straight one, and the other was spiraling around the first one.

[hewhostandsalone]

Gerrek frowned when she corrected him. So his assumptions about her were wrong? How annoying...fighting against opponents who used underhanded tactics was always more trouble than it was worth. It seems he wasn't the only one making incorrect assumptions, though. She took his words of expectation and anticipation were arrogance. Still, she had already begun to summon up a sizable amount of energy. He kept his guard up, but let her have the first move as he said he would.

"Don't mistake anticipation for arrogance. I never claimed that I'd win. I just want the fight to be interesting, too, like you." It was pointless banter, really. Something to keep the tension low for the time being while she built up power. This attack didn't seem to be the type that you could use on the fly. It was likely that this would be the only time he'd see it if the charge time was any indication of how much usability it had. When she finally did let it fly, he had no choice but to take notice of her power and the power of the technique.

The two thin beams, one spiraling around the other, traveled at impressive speeds. Gerrek could see in the nature of the drill-like motion of the attack that putting up a defense would be a disastrous failure. His only option was to evade. He jerked backward and dropped down quickly, planting his tail on the ground behind him and then extending his form backwards. Using the strength of both legs and his tail to propel himself out of the path of the beam, he used his tail to flip himself over mid-dive and land on all fours in a sprinter's position. He smirked back at her as he stood up straight. Piercing energy attacks weren't uncommon. Having fought on numerous planets against all kinds of fighters, Gerrek had seen his fair share of that sort of thing.

Gerrek thrust his left arm in her direction and loosed three small, basic blasts of energy. They carried little force, perhaps comparable to a light jab at best, and they weren't moving extremely fast. They only needed to serve as a distraction. As they made their way to her, Gerrek dashed to the side and leaped into the ocean. He was still on the continental shelf of the island, so he wasn't going to just disappear into the depths. That wasn't his plan to begin with, though. Using his special ability he began to take in water through his pores while submerged. He wouldn't have to hold his breath for too long. He wondered if she could attack him now, considering that he'd moved out a bit from the immediate coast. Would she even know where he was in the green waters of this foreign sea?

[satin]

At first Satin watched his movements carefully with her arms folded and her eyes steady, trying to estimate and perhaps even predict his movements. It would have been fatal if he let the attack hit him, so the only logical movement would be to dodge correct? Men never seized to amuse her, all thinking the same thing. ’ I wonder… perhaps-’ Just then she caught a glimpse of the blast coming towards her.

Satin made the split decision to dodge, she had seen him disappear into the ocean so if she stayed on the ground it would be easier for him to ambush her. ‘What a dirty little trick!‘ She jumped backwards, using the strength in her arms to push her self into the sky. After that proved successful in dodging the blast, she allowed herself to fall into the water. If he could hold his breath for this long then so could she. After all she used to drown herself as a child for over fifteen minutes at a time, this was no different.

’Now where is he…’ Satin opened her eyes to look around, she couldn’t see where he was at the moment. The salt water stung her eyes, but it did feel much better than fresh water. ‘I wonder if this is the reason why they always use salt waster in spas… interesting.‘ However an underwater battle would indeed be stimulating. Satin started to gather up her energy once again just incase he tried something she would be ready for him… this time.

[hewhostandsalone]

Things had gone smooth for him so far barring the near painful demise from that piercing beam earlier. He had managed to dodge that attack, and he counted that evasion among his blessings for the day. He had to remain submerged for a little longer to absorb enough liquid to fill up his storage gland next to his stomach. The potential benefit of a surprise attack like this one would be worth it in the long run, though. Especially if he could get close enough to give her a real surprise.

He floated just below the surface, looking around for her in case she followed. Sure enough she had come underwater as well. Why would she follow him? He wondered about this, but tossed the question aside. If she was brave enough to follow him then so be it. He had no qualms with that. Of course...this turned the battle in his favor as he now had an attack that she couldn't see while underwater. A forceful spray from his mouth would surely have her reeling. If he knocked her out of breath while submerged it would be an easy win. Of course...he had to watch out for the same to happen to him. Moving was a bit more difficult down here than normal, so normal evasion methods would be troublesome to attempt.

He could see a faint glow of energy around her form again, but he decided to brave it and go on the offensive himself. He darted to and fro through the water by propelling himself with his energy. ZIG-zagging toward her in varying lengths from one side to the other. He would reach a few feet from her this way. He would launch one orb of energy from each hand directed toward her.

[satin]

Satin started to question her earlier decision to follow him here, it wouldn’t be very easy for her to move since she wasn’t a fish based creature, and besides her lungs could only last down here for a short time. ’Lets see why would someone possibly want to choose this for a hiding place? Unless of course he’s a water based creature himself, then I’d better get out of here as soon as I can.’ She looked around one last time not really seeing anything other than salt.

She then caught sight of him coming towards her, it was obvious that he was going to attack. Why else would he even think of getting so close? Satin had a special trick up her sleeve, just in case he was planning on attacking her. However it work better if she were on land instead of in the water, it would be harder to maneuver. ’ I’m running out of air, I need to move this battle to the sky.’ She felt a sharp pang in her chest, but it would pass after she reached the surface.

It would be incredibly hard for her to do this, but it was worth it. She put her hand in front of her face and focused her aura into light energy. ”Taiyoken!” She called out, however the words barely made a sound. Yet her eyes remained closed as she made a break for the surface of the water, she wasn’t a terrible swimmer yet she wasn’t a good one either.

[hewhostandsalone]

Gerrek's assault had been cut short by the split second defensive action of his opponent. Though the technique was not at full strength because of the refraction of light caused by water making it more difficult to perform, the Taiyoken was still more than bright enough to blind Gerrek for a few moments. The brilliant flash caught him off guard so much so that he actually half shouted under water, "Ack!" Needless to say this forced him to rush upward out of the water, coughing a bit as he spit up the water that had gone down his windpipe. Unable to see and recovering from this annoyance, he wasn't in any shape to launch an offensive. He took a defensive stance in the air a few feet above the water's surface as best he could, waiting for his vision to clear and calming his breathing.

OOC: Sorry for short post, but he's not able to do much at the moment.

[satin]

[0oc: understood. I would actually struggle if i had to respond to me right now.]

Satin had exited the water a few moments before her opponent followed, her lungs began gasping for air as soon as she got her head above water. Her violent coughing and exhausted breathing was nothing short of embarrassing. However she was still able to make it to the coast unharmed, but despite her situation she could easily spot an opportunity when it presented itself. She might have been a little tired to attack right away, however that didn't mean she didn't have time to stock up on her energy while she waited for him to recover.

Satin got up slowly and tied her hair back since it was bugging her, she smiled and stretched out her leg. It was still bruised from her previous fight, but luckily she hadn't been blasted... yet. Satin gathered up a small portion of her energy and ascended into the air, she was slightly enjoying herself but still the fact that she had almost been blind sided dampened her mood. Once again her energy started to build up and her eyes never wavered from her opponent.

[hewhostandsalone]

Slowly Gerrek's vision was returning. It was no longer a white out for him. Blurred forms had returned to his visibility. He could already make out the green water below him and the purple sands to one side. The sky was separate from both of those bodies as well. He didn't have to look too far to see a flickering blur. Judging from the color of the flicker and the fact that it WAS moving he assumed that it was his foe. As his vision continued to return his suspicions were confirmed. Unfortunate as it was, his recovery from her technique had given her time to summon up more of her power.

He could see that she wasn't charging energy into her fingers like before, and he hoped it would stay that way. He didn't want her to use that technique again. It was dangerous. With a lack of alcohol available to him his primary offensive technique was inaccessible. This left him with two options. He could prepare his best defense for what she was about to do, or he could unleash all of his power and try to end the fight quickly with a heavy offensive. He elected to avoid the latter option if at all possible. He was uncertain as to just how strong she was, and if she wasn't strong enough then using his full power even in hand to hand combat could severely injure her or worse. And it was a motto of Gerreks that he was a Mercenary, not a murderer.

That left him with one viable option for the time being. He narrowed his gaze on her and took a deep breath. He let out a light chuckle as his aura sprang to life around him, engulfing him from his feet upward until he was surrounded by his energy. The ripples of energy danced wildly around his frame while he waited. He would be able to protect himself from her attack now, whatever it may be.

[satin]

Satin smiled as he seemed to recover from her earlier trick, she was surprised that she had made it to this point almost unscathed. The only thing that had weakened her from this was almost drowning, and that was normal for her. ’What do I do now? Who new this little contest could be so infuriating, if I lose this round I guess it’s not like I wasted my time or anything. However, the fact that I’m almost out of tricks is really getting on my nerves. And to think, I still don’t even know who my opponent is.’ She smirked and began to prepare herself for her previous attack, after all it would take time to charge up so that it would be powerful enough for her to carry on with her strategy.

Satin took a single deep breath before forcing all of her energy into her finger tips on her right hand. It was the only attack she could do with her best accuracy, in fact it was her favorite as well. The attack was designed as a drill, incredibly easy to dodge and hard to block. If he realized this she was as good as dead. What would she do if he were to dodge her? How would she react? He would either block or dodge, if he blocked then she would summon all of her power and try to finish him off to the point where he would lose. If he dodged she would simply use her Taiyoken to blind him so that she could take the offensive in hand to hand combat.

She was slightly surprised when she saw his aura consume him, it wasn’t often that she got an opportunity to see this. Besides it was obvious that he would try and block her, and since she had been charging for the last few minutes her blast would probably be her strongest yet. Satin took aim her eyes were slightly dilated from the salt water, and the amount of energy she had charged into the single point in her fingers. ”Makankosappo!” She watched as the blast shot itself, one thin beam of energy surrounded by a spiral. Her body was anxious to move out of the way incase he fired his own attack, but she also wanted to stay incase this was the last attack she would use to win.

[hewhostandsalone]

Gerrek frowned when he realized that she actually was using that technique again. And if he had to guess he'd bet that she'd use it again and again, too, if the fight so far was any indication. He growled under his breath as he saw the corkscrew beams zooming towards him. He wanted to make sure she wouldn't use this technique again. The only way to do that was to stop dodging and completely shut it down. He'd gathered a considerable amount of energy, so he thought his barrier would be able to take the piercing power out of the blast. After that he was confident that he could easily survive the beams themselves.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Gerrek focused the energy he'd brought forth into a shield bubble around himself. He focused most of the energy on the front of the barrier seeing as he wasn't being attacked from any other direction. He focused more and more on a specific point s the beam got closer until most of the energy was blocking a beach ball diameter circle where the beam was closing in. The bubble was still complete around him, it was just thinner elsewhere.

The two spiral rays collided with the wall of white energy that was Gerrek's barrier technique. For a moment it appeared as if the barrier had blocked it completely. The two rays would not be ceased entirely, though, and broke through. Gerrek kept focusing the barrier on the place that the beams were penetrating even after it broke through to weaken the remaining beam length.

And then it happened. What of the attack that managed to reach him made contact. The blunted blast pounded away at his forearms and pushed him back as he floated above the water. The clash of the beam's energy with his barrier's had caused a small smoke cloud in the air, so it would be unclear as to the result of the attack for Satin.

When the smoke cleared Gerrek was floating in that same position with slight burns and some bruising on his forearms. "You won't be beating me with that technique. Stop playing around and come fight me." As he said the last bit he lowered his arms to his sides with his fists clenched. He still had a couple of aces left, though he preferred not to use one of them at all.

[satin]

At first Satin had shut her eyes since she didn't want to see the end result of her attack. However her opponent possibly would have easily dodged it, it was asinine if he actually... wait did he? She looked down all she could see was smoke nothing more nothing less, and since there appeared to be no opening in the smoke he couldn't have dodged it. Then that meant he actually tried to counter it or perhaps just try to block it with his strength alone.

The smoke had cleared and she could barely make out his shape, and she couldn't assess his damage from this distance. She was slightly taken aback by the position he was in, but it only confirmed her suspicion of him trying to block it. Satin tiled her head to the side, her expression was mixed with amusement and a smirk. " But I like to play, infact it's the only thing... you wouldn't expect from someone like me." She giggled then faced him seriously, her smile turning to a slight frown.

'It probably would be wise for me to blind side him, but then again that would be dishonorable right? However it worked once it should work again. Then I'll be free to actually 'fight' him.' Satin smiled to herself then put her left hand in front of her face and focused her aura into light energy. She then put up her right hand to shield her eyes. ”Taiyoken!” She screamed out happily as the whit light seemed to submerge her, then she would be free to plan her next move.

Without waiting to see if her attack worked, she charged into him aiming her foot at his torso. She wanted to finish this battle so she could get on with her life, but Satin was planning to drag this out if needed. And so far she wasn't planning on using any other techniques other than hand-to-hand combat from this point on, until her motives changed.