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Katt Welcome back to the stage of history!

The MECC stage is not yet, really, online. It's like an open-air holodeck field before the system activates and gives terrain and obstacles to the combatants, surrounded by seating, cameras, and people. And security systems so that none of the above get hurt or damaged, but that goes without saying.

It's Katt's second MECC match and she has already settled into the routine; having been a gladiator for a whole lot of her life, she knows how this works. She vaults into the stage with the aid of her staff, doing a somersaulting flip at the apex of her jump because it looks good before touching down, arms spread before she bows to the crowd.

Well, someone is excited, at least.
Krusty     Krusty walks out of the waiting area on his side of the arena, armour clanking together as he does so. He quickly reaches his starting position and looks over at his opponent for this match. He hasn't met Katt before, which should make this fight interesting.

    Krusty reaches up to draw the large two-handed sword from his back. He brings the weapon vertical to his chest in a warrior's salute, giving a charming smile to Katt and saying, "Well met. I hope you are ready to bring everything you have."

    Krusty lowers his sword a little into a defensive position as he gets into a combat stance, finishing with, "You will need it." Krusty waits for the match to begin.
Katt Katt doesn't know Krusty either, so she takes a moment to look him over. Bigger than she is, but that's most people since she's pretty short; she's more interested in his armour and his weapon, which are also heavier than what she has (no armour and a staff with a stylized cats-paw top, complete with short blades on the claws).

Once she's satisfied, Katt gives a nod right back. "And the same to you! No holding back is just the way I like it!" She sweeps the staff around before holding it before her, diagonally, taking up a rare defensive stance.

It doesn't last, because that's about when the buzzer rings, and the MECC field *changes*.

Last time, Katt got a field setup she'd never seen before. This time, she's a little luckier; she gets an old-style gladiator ring. Packed dirt under a thin layer of sand forms the ground, though in the interest of making it more than a flat plain, some stone platforms rise up out of it, blocks anywhere from mere inches above the sand to the size of a man, giving cover or stable-footing spots if you can jump up onto one.

Katt barely has to look at *this* setup. She's at home, and she launches herself at Krusty, coming in with a fast flurry of strikes as she jabs and strikes with both ends of the staff interchangably. It's meant to keep him off balance and unable to defend more than strike any decisive blows.

For now, anyway.
Krusty     As the arena manifests in front of him, Krusty glances over it for a moment. Nothing too unusual. He keeps several important locations in mind as he slowly begins to step through it. He's in no rush to charge into battle, instead waiting for his opponent to come to him.

    And come she does.

    It doesn't take long before Krusty is assaulted by the Katt, being forced into defending against her blows. They're quick however, which makes it difficult as Katt is able to get several good blows in on the more thin parts of his armour.

    In an attempt to get some room to maneuver, Krusty swings his large blade in an arc around him. It's not a blow specifically aimed at Katt, but rather to create some space between the two. Of course if it hits, it'll still cause some damage.
Katt Katt is fast. She is not adverse to using her speed to her advantage, as Krusty finds out in that first press of blows; the strikes come fast as she aims at knees and ankles and elbows, everywhere where she doesn't have to batter through solid steel.

Not that she *can't* slam through steel, but it's harder.

But the sweeping blow is exactly what he needs; it forces her to break off the assault, bouncing backwards about five feet in a long jump, 'assisted' with a boost of momentum by the weight of that big sword hitting her. "Whoa-oa!" Unlike Krusty, Katt doesn't have armour; she doesn't want to challenge that sword's power head-on.

Katt bounces up onto a stone block about three feet tall and crouches on it, looking down at Krusty for a moment. Her tail lashes as she gathers her force - to jump off it, flying right *over* Krusty and swinging her staff in such a way as to deliver a stinging impact across his shoulders.

She's also using the impact to throw herself further away from him. He's big and solid; she can use him to push off of for propulsion. Or that's her plan, anyway. Hey, it worked on Stella.
Krusty     Krusty stands his ground as he watches his foe closely. She is proving to be very agile. Probably one of the more difficult types of combatants for Krusty to fight. But he's not without options. He just needs to anticipate her movements.

    Krusty takes another blow. Across the shoulder this time. He does appear to be a very heavy object to use for Katt's movements. Though despite his weight, he still seems capable of moving quickly. He displays this as he spins around, once more swinging his weapon around in a wide arc as he does so.

    Unlike the previous swing, this time Krusty's blade glows with light. As it arcs through the air the light jumps off, forming a crescent of energy that streaks through the air towards Katt and tries to cut into her.
Katt Katt does not stop moving. She hits the ground after her bouncing blow and scrambles, circling around Krusty and ducking behind a block big enough - just! - for her to hide behind, if she crouches.

That proves to be very wise when his cutting beam of light strikes the block and shears through it, showering Katt with sharp rocks like shrapnel. "Whoa! Now *that's* a hit!!" Katt is really, really glad she didn't take that one head-on. Getting blasted with detritus was bad enough! She can feel the little cuts all over her arm, where she covered her face.

Leaping over the now-ruined block, Katt hits the ground several yards in front of Krusty and slides, baseball-like, kicking up sand and dirt as she tries to literally slide between his legs. She comes up behind, having deliberately not attempted to go for a low blow - but she has no such qualms about striking him from behind, jabbing low at his knees before winding up for a powerful blow closer to his mid-torso, trying to make Krusty fall forward - where she can take him on while he's down.
Krusty     Krusty can see it...

    ... This isn't going well.

    Krusty steps back on reflex as sand and dirt is kicked up in front of him. The Katt is able to slip through his legs and come up behind him. He can feel the block to the knees, knocking him off balance just a little.

    She's too fast. He needs to even things up just a bit.

    Krusty's sword suddenly falls to the ground, released by the knight. As Katt goes for her more powerful blow, Krusty spins around, cloaking billowing around behind him. With one gauntlet equipped hand he catches Katt's staff. The impact still hurts a little, but is no where near as bad. With the other free hand he reaches out to try and grab Katt by the neck.

    If Krusty can achieve his grip, he proceeds to swing Katt around and smash her into the side of one of those tall walls dotting the arena with enough strength to certainly crack it, perhaps even shatter it in the process.
Katt That's twice in two matches that someone has grabbed at Katt's staff... but it's the first time anyone has done it *by hand*.

Katt twists her staff and then pulls it just so, managing to free it from Krusty's grip - but, critically, not her neck. She jack-knifes, drawing her legs up to try to plant them against Krusty's torso and shove to force him to let her go.

She isn't strong enough for that with this awful angle. Katt goes up, around, and *smashes* into the side of the block. It doesn't just crack - it shatters, leaving a battered, dazed Katt behind. Battered and bruised but, critically, not yet defeated. "'m not... giving up... you know!"

It looks like she might be beaten for a minute, though. When she drops to the ground, having finally gotten out of Krusty's grip, she wobbles, planting her staff to keep her upright. Katt squeezes her eyes closed as her ears flatten down against her head, then opens them again, showing teeth.

Yeah. She's into this. She hasn't had a fight this intense since... well, yesterday. But before that! It had been a while.

Katt lunges. She doesn't want to get grabbed again, so she drives her staff forward, wielding it more like a spear as she jabs with the tip of it; she drives it into Krusty's stomach, trying to knock the wind out of him and prevent a repeat. It's not a blow the equal of the one she just suffered - she needs another moment before she's ready for that - but it's certainly enough that he'll feel it. Or so she hopes.
Krusty     Krusty flexes his hand after using it the way he did. He definitely felt that. But seeing Katt's state, he feels it was worth it. He smirks at her, a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, "Good."

    Krusty's opponent seems a little more wary now, choosing to use her staff to jab rather than whack. A smart move. It makes catching it harder. So Krusty doesn't try. Nor does he try to block the blow. Instead the knight charges towards Katt. This gives her the opportunity to get her hit in, the end of her staff smashing into Krusty's stomach. His armour actually dents from the block and Krusty winces as he feels the impact.

    The blow isn't enough to stop the large knight's charge though. Stumble for a moment, perhaps. But he is able to recover and push forward. He reaches out with both hands to try and grab Katt again, but not her neck. This time he goes for her shoulders to pull her forward and down. And in an attempt to return the favour, he brings his armored knee up towards her gut.
Katt Katt is clearly warming up to *something*. Her jabbing strike is meant to keep Krusty at just the perfect range to do ... well, it's not entirely clear what she's planning, but she's definitely working on repositioning him.

She plants her feet, digging her claws in, but Krusty's additional weight and momentum wins out. She carves little furrows in the packed earth with her claws, but can't stop herself from being pushed back as Krusty rushes her, nor can she hold him off successfully. Her staff bends slightly before Katt shifts the angle to avoid it breaking.

And that's what that does it. Krusty brushes past the differently-angled staff, getting his hands on Katt again and lifting her right off the ground, slamming his knee into her (unarmoured) gut. It knocks the air out of her with a wheezing gasp, and she doesn't really ever get her feet back under her after that, slipping out of Krusty's grip but splatting against the ground, breathing hard and unable to rise in time.
Krusty     Krusty stands over Katt, waiting for her to get back up so he can continue. However, after a short while she doesn't rise. And soon enough the announcer calls it, giving Krusty the win.

    The terrain of the arena fades away, the strange effects of the Shrine beginning to reverse the injuries the two suffered.

    As he feels his strength beginning to return, Krusty reaches a hand out to Katt to help her up, "It's rare that I find myself in a situation where ditching my weapon is my best move. Your fighting style is unique."
Katt Katt elects to stay down until the arena does its thing. Breathing is hard until it isn't.

She accepts the hand up. Twice, she thinks. She needs to get better. "Well," she says, once she's up and has retrieved her staff (and made sure it is not broken - it isn't), "I was a gladiator in a place called Coursair! You probably haven't been there, but I was the champion there until I left!"

Katt looks at Krusty - and offers a hand. "You fought well, too. I'm sure the crowd loved it!"

And, indeed, if he grabs her hand, she shakes it with far more energy than it needs - and then turns to the crowds and cameras (still holding the hand) and dips into a bow toward them, attempting to get him to play along via the simple means of tugging him harmlessly along.
Krusty     "Impressive. I've never been a gladiator, but I've heard of them from my history. It doesn't sound like an easy feat to champion such a place."

    Krusty does indeed proceed to shake Katt's hand. And when she tries to pull him into playing to the crowd, Krusty accompanies her willingly. As Katt bows towards the crowd, Krusty places his hand to his chest and does so too.