Round 3, Fight 11: Neo Scotland vs. Neo Hong Kong

[Ziryab]

"What?" Ning tried to interpet the man's speech as she struggled to her feet, or foot as the case was now, while Alexander began to invade her space. "Turn your honour on and off just because you lost a match?"

Just like in the movies, Ning noted. Grinning as she blinked away pain. Her breath not a strained. Her Gundam moving into a high crouch while switching the handle of its beam jian into its left hand. They always take their time with an overhead strike. Ning swiftly crossed her left arm over to her right side.

"Pansy nonsense!" She cried. Letting her voice carry her as her beam jian activated and swung upwards. Right to left as it met the falling heat claymore.

"Then you had no honour to begin with," swiftly pushing off on her one good foot. The Gun Fu Gundam's right thigh opened and the beam pistol jutted out. Instead of grabbing hold and shooting point blank at a mine on the Claymore's bandolier, Ning let her right fist sail forwards. Aiming her punch as near as she could to just under Alexander's right arm. Once her blow collided all that was left was to fall back and quickly roll aside, unable to simply spin her way behind him with just one foot.

((Not sure if my descriptions came out right but basically Ning is swing horizontally to bat away the heat claymore with her left hand while going in for a punch with her right hand in a single motion.))

[Ascension]

Taken completely off guard by his "beaten" opponent's sudden assault, Alexander toppled over backwards.

"Alright then!" he raged, "All right then!"

He scrambled awkwardly to his feet.

"You want to see the power of a real man? You want to see the power of the ancient clans of Scotland? You want to be beaten both soundly and 'fairly'?"

Alexander paused dramatically for a moment.

"REMEMBER THE DEATH OF ALPIN!!!"

With a thundering of explosive bolts the Claymore's outer armor fell away. Freed from its confining metal cocoon the true Claymore Gundam stood exposed.

Alexander drew the beam claymore as soon as he was able and ignited it immediately.

"I need no more than this ephemeral blade to defeat you!" Alexander bellowed, "COME ON!"

As Alexander's rage rose to record levels, his accent mysteriously began to fade. With his radio still cut off, the Neo-Scotland delegation could do nothing but look on in shock as his anger transformed him into someone they barely knew.

((Dun-dun-dun!))

[SNT1]

--Neo England-- (don't worry, She won't preemptively interfere)

Not too far from Madison Square Garden, the Hawker Gundam, unarmed for the most part, save the bow and a few explosive arrows, had landed. Adrianne and her team were ordered by the Neo English team to survey the damages. After all, she fought near-midnight, and the news can't possibly cover the entire scope of the damages.

The view was... somewhat surprising for Adrianne, who never thought the gravity of the damages, seeing the ruined Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. It doesn't matter---the bottom line is, Neo England will not pay for all the damages.

BOOM! "What the?" Adrianne remarks, "A high energy source nearby?" (OOC: woot woot for DBZ-style lines) Tracking with her sensors it led her to the huge crowd, and of course, the current Gundam Fight. Well, duh. I forgot about them, Adrianne mentally slaps herself.

She watches from a safe distance, watches the Claymore Gundam go all out against the enemy (another woman no less!) and notes, "Hah, looks like the man said "screw it" to personal honor!"

She continues to wait in the meantime; she'd rather not get in the middle of the crossfire.

[Ziryab]

Alpin? Ning quizically looked at the Claymore Gundam as she stood on her only avaiable foot.

The breed of dog? Your battle cry is about your dog? Her head tilting a little to the left to exaggerate her confusion. Yet to anyone else watching the tilt of her head show of her ability--narrowly dodging a piece of her opponent's armour as it flew past her head.

But immediately the haze of confusion was cut away from her. Almost instinctively the panels embedded hip hostlers containing Ning's beam pistols popped open as Alexander produced a two-handed beam claymore.

"I need no more than this ephemeral blade to defeat you!" Alexander bellowed, "COME ON!"

In a nod, a grin cracked across Ning's lips. Commanding the holster panels to close she twirled the beam jian's handle in her right hand before wrapping her arm across the left side of her body. Balancing on one leg she bent her knee into a low stance waiting to spring.

Expediently she weighed her options. Doubting that even with the dispersal of its armour this new form of the Claymore Gundam could keep pace with her in normal mode. Yet, she grimaced that even with the lack of armour the machine's defense level was probably still better than her's. Nor could she tempt going into Wuxia Mode just yet. Too many mistakes and the mode would force her Gundam into shutdown like last time.

Ning's left arm crossed over her chest. Twisting at the wrist, she pointed directly to Alexander. A mocking, forced giggle came from her comm. Wanting him to trip himself up just enough to soften him before going into Wuxia Mode. But never having fought in their state while in normal mode herself was not something she had done throughout this tournament. Let alone in a space as confined as this.

"What happened to your accent?" She intentionally goaded him. "Are you not a real Scottish either?"

[Ascension]

"You doubt my heritage? The same blood which courses through my veins was once that of Kenneth MacAlpin, conqueror of the Picts, first king of the Scots! I am no ordinary man!"

MacAlpin and the Claymore took a step towards the Wuxia Gundam.

"Enough of this! The time for words is past! Now is the time for action!"

MacAlpin raised the beam claymore high and charged directly towards the Wuxia Gundam at full speed. The glowing blade fell, slicing diagonally downwards far more quickly than any similarly sized physical blade ever could.

[Ziryab]

Just luck, Ning told herself. Wanted to hope it was.

In a blink of an eye the barechested Gundam had closed the between them, forcing Ning to jump in what spare moments she had. He was too close to take an effective swing act, let alone not lose her arm in the process.

She twisted as she repelled herself upwards. Corkscrewing herself as she leaped in the air over Alexander as his beam claymore's tip etched a long nick into her thigh and leg. Landing just behind him Ning landed on her hands and pushed off again, throwing herself into hand over-hand flips until she through herself against the beam ropes--wincing as she allowed her severed knee to press against it.

"Some heritage," pushing herself against the beam ropes then letting go, shooting herself directly at Alexander like an arrow. "Sounds more like a brand of dog food than a hero!," pointing her arms forward, beam jian ignited as she fell.

[Ascension]

"Why you little..." Alexander raged, spinning around to face his agile foe.

He was somewhat shocked to see the Gun-Fu Gundam lunging towards him at a prodigious rate of speed. He was only able to throw up his beam claymore, interposing it horizontally between himself and his opponent, before impact.

[Ziryab]

"HA!!!" Ning bellowed as she flew forward.

Defending with his beam claymore or not she kept her Gundam on course, even igniting the thrusters for added momentum once she connected. Besides, she couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to anyway.

Embrace and enjoy the ride, a thrilled grin crossing her face with eyes wide open. Bending her elbows at least her body remained straight as an arrow as she ululated ((Think Xena's waryell)).

[Ascension]

Alexander barely had time to brace himself before the two beam blades clashed. He answered Ning's yell with a deep bellow of his own. A spray of random incandescent particles leaked from the blades' containment fields where the two swords met, mimicking the overly dramatic special effects sparks from a fictional portrayal of a metal-on-metal collision. The Claymore Gundam slid backwards, its heavy metal feet tearing furrows into the "mat" beneath it, but it remained upright despite the powerful impact.

If Ning was trying to start a battle of sheer strength, she was getting herself into a fight she couldn't possibly win. ((Disclaimer: From Alexander's point of view.))

[Ziryab]

"Gotya!"

As the force of the impact began to dissipate, the Claymore's stance tearing into the mat to slow her down, Ning bent her rigid for at the knees. Swinging her legs forward she aim between the opposing Gundam's legs as she intended to slide underneath him.

As she did, in her right hand, the beam jian was still lit. Her arms cross over as she slid, Ning attemted to let her blade cut across Alexander's right ankle, wanting to put him on some equal footing with her.

[Ascension]

As the pressure was suddenly released from the blade Alexander began to lurch forward, but caught himself short of falling flat on his face. The stinging bite of a deep cut through his ankle armor, however, finished the work his momentum started.

"Well, it's over..." Moira muttered in disgust as the notoriously not-nimble Claymore Gundam toppled to the mat...

...b-but wait! It didn't topple to the mat! As soon as Alexander judged that staying upright was impossible he immediately flicked off the beam claymore and transformed his forward motion into a surprisingly acrobatic roll, coming to a stop on his knees about a hundred yards away from the Gun-Fu Gundam.

"Och! Where'd he lairn t'do tha'?" Moira exclaimed in utter shock.

"Saints presairve us, now I hafta fix the bloomin' ankle!" Jenny lamented.

"Ugh..." he grunted, "ankle hits do sting! I'll give you credit for putting in a wonderful effort, girl, but, well... now it looks like it's time to really get serious here!"

Alexander painfully rose from the mat, the strain showing visibly on his face despite his attempts to conceal it from the fans.

"I've had enough of your fancy moves, Hong Kong. Let's see you dodge my ultimate weapon!"

Alexander engaged the beam claymore and brandished it dramatically before him.

"THIS BLADE OF MINE BURNS WITH AN INNER FURY! ITS LOUD ROAR COMPELS ME TO EMBRACE DESTINY! FEEL! THE WRATH! OF! THE CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"

The machinery within the beam claymore's apparently simple hilt sprang to life. The cross guard and grip expanded to twice their normal size. the blade itself grew to enormous proportions as nearly every system aboard the Claymore Gundam routed its power to the sword. The cockpit displays visibly dimmed, the ventilation systems coughed to a stop, the ornamentally glowing eyes faded.

"In a ring this size there's nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! You are MINE, woman!"

Alexander forced himself into a sort of hobbling charge towards the Gun-Fu as the giant beam blade swept horizontally across the arena

((I figured it was probably about time to start moving towards a conclusion, Ziryab... Hope I didn't overstep my bounds or violate Domon's copyright...))

[Ziryab]

You get used to it, Ning wanted to respond to Alexander's pain wrapped about his own ankle. he experienced. Before Alexander could rise she lifted herself erect. Motionless she stood on one leg as the other with her missing ankle was tucked under her.

Tightly she gripped her beam jian as she waited for him to stand.

"I have failed a dozen countries," Ning told herself. "Their fighters returned to their homelands, defeated by my hands. Yet in this tournament only two have failed me. You will not become a third!" A harsh whisper she spat to herself.

"I've had enough of your fancy moves, Hong Kong. Let's see you dodge my ultimate weapon!"

So is this what you saw Justy, mocking the Neo Vatican fighter in her head, as you kept your own head balanced? Frosty? Like I'm doing now?

Ning inhaled deeply as Alexander brandished forth his beam claymore once more. Panels on her Gundam's calves suddenly opened, small nozzles protruded forth. Panels in the machines shoulders slid open and vents in the machine's face began to flare with steam as it began to glow.

A vicious grin of enjoyment took hold of Ning's face as Alexander bellowed what could have been his victory speech. Ning caressed on of her canine teeth with the tip of her tongue. Waiting.

And just as sudden. Her excitement left. Her beam jian deactivated.

And she tired not to laugh.

"You make this far too easy for me," not intending to mean his defeat but the fun she could have at the expense of such a phallic symbolism as Alexander's beam claymore burst with sudden life, growing larger than its normal state. No doubt draining power from the rest of the Gundam. Desperately she held back laughter as the eyes faded as if it was a sign of blood rushing from the head into another place.

"In a ring this size there's nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! You are MINE, woman!" Alexander roared at her while she tried to think straight of a counter-manuevar. Jumping was obviously out of the question. She'd be skewered long before she could land on a turnbuckle.

Now in Wuxia Mode the Gun-Fu Gundam bent its one good leg in preparation. Alexander hobbled, but charged forward. The massive beam claymore made a devastating horizontal swing across the length of the ring. Ning dove forward on all fours. She wondered how long it would take for the Claymore Gundam to get its weapon that big again if it ate so much power in one connecting attack. In a boisterous bout of laughter the Gun-Fu Gundam crawled forward on hand and knees at the Claymore.

[Ascension]

The oversized blade passed over the Gun-Fu's head. Alexander let out an animalistic grunt of outrage when he saw that his opponent was still operational.

"Power reserves at 60% and falling!" the shrill computer voice warned.

"Ah still have time..." Alexander muttered, a wee bit of the brogue creeping back into his voice.

The wonderful thing about an enormous beam sword is this: Despite its size, its mass is still negligible. Alexander recovered easily from his horizontal swing and switched to an overhead attack.

"ONCE MORE!" he called out as the massive blade came arcing down in a vertical slash.

[Ziryab]

"Amateur!" Ning almost fell forward when she skidded to a halt during her frenzied crawl. On hands and knees as she tried to make her way to the Alexander she kept an eye focused on the movement of his hands and arms.

"Next time," dropping her limbs and rolling to her right, Alexander's left, as she tried to avoid the blade "sweep again," standing on her knees.

Harshly gripping the beam jian's hilt, the Gun-Fu Gundam reeled its arms back. The beam ignited as the right elbow pointed in the air. Every available thruster then ignited, beginning to propel her forward for a thrust aimed directly at the Claymore Gundam's head.

[Ascension]

The mighty blade, having missed its intended target, plowed directly into the mat, putting a deep furrow right through the center of the arena.

"Power reserves at 30% and falling!" the computer trilled.

"Shut up!" he muttered.

Wresting his blade free from the arena floor he swung it around in an attempt to block Ning's charge... but it was too little, too late.

The blade abruptly flickered off as the Claymore's head became the Gun-Fu's shishkabob.

"NO! I can't lose like this!"

[Ziryab]

For a moment there I almost closed my eyes, finally exhaling as her beam jian had just skewered the Claymore Gundam's head as far as her hilt.

For a moment the golden Wuxia Mode of the Gun Fu Gundam stood motionless upon one leg, the other, with its missing foot from the ankle done, was bent under it like a stork. Then suddenly, it began to tilt to one side, mimicking its pilot's relaxing form, the dazzling sheen and aura of it's Wuxia Mode slowly began to fade, the Gundam returning to its normal colors.

"If you plan to take on Neo Spain in this manner," feeling the sensory feedback of his forearms against her, "then I worry for you." If her thrusters were any slower in shooting her distance she have only succeeded in impaling herself, reaching inside Alexander's final swing too late.

"Left much to be desired--your sword skills... Mr. Honorable Scotsman."

[Ascension]

Alexander and his headless Gundam collapsed. Defeated... disgraced...

He opened up the line to his team again and allowed Moira and Jenny's scorn to wash over him, to drown out his own thoughts. It's easier to face the criticism of others than it is to face your own doubts.

[Wingnut]

"This match is now over! The winner is Ning-qiu Ouyang and the Gun-fu Gundam!
Crews may now retrieve their fighters and Gundams."

[Cardi Doorl]

Match Result: Neo Hong Kong wins