Stage 2 - SitKombat

Murasaki gladly accepts more sake. "Thank you. Could you leave the bottle? This is very good!" She's going to have a monstrous hangover in the morning. Unless she has a toxin-purging technique in her expansive repertoire of Secret Moves.

"It is as O'Hara-san says. If anyone has groped you or whatnot, I will break them for you." Murasaki pauses to have some sushi. "That being said, it sounds like they could be useful to us. If they're betting on us, it'd likely be in their interest to give us a little help."

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Atsuko

Atsuko leaves the bottle. As for questions of what was done to her…

"Well, one of them called me Sweet Cheeks, but he didn’t touch me." She hesitates a moment, then glances back at the south side of the building before she adds, "His exact words were, ‘are you serving the girl-fighters, Sweet Cheeks?’ Then he just grinned and told me to tell you he said that."

Her cheeks redden. She’s not sure whether to laugh or swear.

"Maybe he said something before and I missed it? Unless he wanted me to tell you he called you girl-fighters and me Sweet Cheeks. It doesn’t make any sense, right?" She deflates a little, expression and tone apologetic, "It’s so dumb… I shouldn’t have told you. I’m not ruining your dinner, am I?"

"No, no, you're not ruining anything! But what they said sounds...kinda weak? Passive-aggressive, ya know? I expected something more...rape-y and insulting, I guess...."

Lacey downs some more sake. With each swallow, her femme fatale nature expands significantly.

"What say we go chit-chat with 'em, ladies? Even if they aren't scumbags who need a good thrashing, they might be useful to us. And who knows? If they actually have some gentlemanly qualities, I might fancy a roll in the hay...."

[ +- ] 🎸 Something Putrid by the Bay

As Lacey rounds the bend, she recognizes a man seated in a wheelchair. It was he who called the waitress ‘Sweet Cheeks.’



LACEY’S FLASHBACK
He’s the same creep who captured Lacey a few years ago…

He pulled her by the hair, tied her to a chair… Belcher was his name. He really thought he was a hot shit, having Lacy ride the armrest of his wheelchair while awaiting a couple o’ tough guys to come and rescue her.

But dainty as Lacey was, she was also a little ‘top-heavy.’ Just enough that the wheelchair tipped over from her weight. That’s how she got away.
And that happened right here in New Amsterdam City, where Belcher is still one of the top crime bosses.

"Holy shit, Lacey," he says as if he’s your old college buddy and not some asshole who tried to control the mayor by threatening to kill an innocent woman. (You because pretty blondes make great hostages, especially if you wear a red dress. Everyone knows that.) "It really is you who beat the skate girls!" Belcher laughs so hard he farts.

Murasaki can't help but find his face to be extremely punchable, but she offers a handshake against her better judgement. "Greetings, I'm Murasaki of the Bombshells. You know O'hara-san?" She hides her distaste behind a curious question.

Belcher is taken aback by Murasaki’s polite introduction. He accepts the handshake, his own quite firm. "Arthur J. Belcher at your service, Miss. Lacey and I do have a past, but it is the present which concerns me. I have now twice made the mistake of underestimating your friend. You see, I placed a bet on the Skate-Girls. And, well, I can’t help but wonder whether you won from their stupidity, or… are you really that good.

"So, I’d like to make you an offer."

He gestures to the three men at his table. One is wearing a mask, a claw, and a shirt that was obviously provided by the menu as it doesn’t match his tight matador style pants. The other two men look like weightlifters.

He introduces the men:


Balga


Abgore


Hujo

Belcher looks a little annoyed when his gaze meets Hujo’s. "Put your whore back in your pocket, Hujo. There’s only three of them now, and I want this to be fair."

The woman hops off her man’s shoulder and struts to her seat, giving Lacey an appraising glance and a crooked smile as she passes her by.

Belcher ignores her.

"Ladies, here is my proposal. An exhibition match between yourselves and the ’Roid Ragers. I will pay each team a fistful o’ Yen for partaking. And the winner gets another two fistfuls."

Balga, the masked one, chimes in. "You are scheduled to fight Bill’s Killers tomorrow," he says with a serpentine lisp. "Refuse this dance, and I fear we’ll not have another opportunity. Even if you win, Bill’s Killers are very sore losers. Should defeat appear inevitable, they’ll see to it not all three of you make it to the final fight."

Abgore and Hujo look at each other, seemingly triggered by the phrase ‘final fight.’

Belcher looks at Lacey(‘s legs) expectantly. "I’m not in the business of forcing women into doing things against their will." Anymore implied. "The choice is yours. We’ve even arranged a cage." He looks Murasaki in the eye as he adds, "To ensure no one gets kicked to the curb a hundred stories below."

Lacey recalls Belcher's sweaty paws groping her...his sour breath...his nostril-burning farts. And now he has the gall to pretend her abduction was some minor episode in the past?! And he wants the Bombshells to fight for his entertainment?!

"Seriously, you fucking slimeball? Hell. No."

She turns to her fellow Bombshells: "This is one of the assholes who captured me back in the day. See how smug he is? Like it was just some...some disagreement, not a kidnapping!"

"He must think he's hot shit, to treat me like I'm some gnat who can't hurt him. Let's prove him wrong, huh, ladies?"

To the Roid Ragers: "My quarrel is with your dirtbag boss, not you all. If you insist on protecting him, this won't be some tame exhibition match...it'll be war. Don't let this sexy getup fool you...I'm real fuckin' eager to break bones and stain this expensive carpet with blood!"

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[ +- ] 🎸 SF2 - Vega’s Theme

@Eltesla,@Dmbrainiac,@Totes_McGee
As Lacey mouths off to the crime boss who kidnapped her and got away with it, the woman he called a ‘whore’ signals her oversized boyfriend to come hither. He obeys.

The other two move to their boss’ side. "Big mistake," Abgore says. Balga says, "Now instead of facing three, you fight all four of us."

Belcher’s wheelchair speeds in reverse, cackling, "And instead of money, you fight for your life!"

Abgore picks Lacey up and hurls her!

—not knowing that behind him, Hujo’s girlfriend is pointing to a lever. "I don’t want to crack a nail, luv."

Hujo pulls the lever.

—a cage slams shut!!—and Lacey slams into the cage! If not for the cage, she’d have fallen to her death!

Belcher’s wheelchair slams into the opposite wall of the cage! He’s trapped inside his own battle arena on the southeast side of the roof.

Hujo asks his girlfriend, "If I’m the only one strong enough to pull the lever, how do I get in the fight?"

"You don’t," she says. "It’s three on three, like the boss said."

"Oh. That makes sense." Hujo scratches his head.

As for Poxy, she looks a little tense.

Belcher fires his crossbow at Murasaki!Balga dangles his claws over his head and casually draws a rapier from his hip. "Seems we’re playing for keeps. Appropriate in your case, Princess. It is a sushi dinner, after all."

In case his insult didn’t cut her, Balga also uses his blade.

Murasaki calmly catches the crossbow bolt when it's just centimeters from touching her. "Is this truly how you want it? Very well." She crushes the bolt in her hands and rushes right for Belcher, crossing the roof in a flash! She leaps into the air and tries to hit him with a flying knee, but the wheelchair-bound man is evidently more mobile than he looks...

"Fish are friends, not food!" Gong-Ju insists as she tries to parry Balga's blade. She activates the magic of her trident's central prong, attempting to blast the baddie and leave him FOUNDERING!

•
🤺🧑🏻‍🦼🏃🏽 THE ’ROID RAGERS
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No one is hurt so far, though it appears Gong-Ju has worked some kind of magic!

"The three-pronged approach requires the use of all three prongs, your highness. Allow me to demonstrate."

Balga raises his three-pronged claw to attack Gong-Ju…

Lacey is on fire. Literally. Her rage is so intense that flames dance around her body. She feels the irresistible urge to perform another hadouken!

This time will be different, though. No weak gadouken. Not every a normal hadouken. Channeling her fiery hatred and frustration, she shoots a Shakunetsu Hadouken, or Blazing Surge Fist at her foes!And it reduces those bastards to ash, somehow sparing Belcher's wallet, or whatever he carries his money in. Victory!

....

No, it misses! Lacey is so wrapped up in her vengeance that she aims poorly, and her special move is wasted!

"They taught me how to kick butt!" Gong-ju says a she tries to bash Balga with her trident and then slip behind him to deliver a swift kick to his posterior!

Murasaki dives out of the way just in time to avoid being rammed! She kicks her heels off, returning to the familiar realm of bare-footedness, and rushes him down. She swipes a hefty bottle of booze from a nearby waitress and uses it to whack Belcher's head.