Disclaimer: True Love Makin' comes from "Capcom VS SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium." I don't know exactly who owns the rights, but I'm assuming Capcom has fair claim on it. And I'm frikin' serious when you see the lyrics... the song doesn't have much in the way of word variety. But it's catchy.
Later on, the two rivals stood distanced from each other in the center dance floor, as the other attendees gathered around them in anticipation.
"I'm ready to lay beat down whenever you are." Dan cried.
"Alright then. So what are we waiting for? Let's get this party started!" Rock announced.
The surrounding crowd roared as the duel between two pretty boys was under way…
Meanwhile, at the DJ booth, a fun-loving young man with tan skin and a purple bandana was prepping up the tunes and making the ladies swoon with his smooth voice.
"Welcome one and all to the Club! This is your happening DJ Kai speaking, and boy do we have a treat for you! It looks like we have ourselves two hotshots on the dance floor ready for one hot duel! And boy is this competition smoking! It turns out one of the competitors is Rock Enrole, the reputed wandering dancer ready to take away the gold for this year's "Mark of the Century" tourney with his dirty "Deadly Rave" technique! The other is Dan Hibiki, the gambler of Flower Bud Village! They say he loves hot ladies, gambling, and kicking it in the dance floor! All the guys in the house better keep a good eye on their girlfriends! You never know when these swinging bachelors decide to sweep yours off their feet! Anyway, this special duel calls for some special music, so I'm busting out the tunes! Get ready cause I'm slipping in one of Capcom Records' greatest hits: True Love Makin'!"
The DJ then takes out the current record and puts in a new one in it's place. An upbeat, hip-hop melody started playing around the Club, and got everyone in a dancing mood.
At Center stage, Rock and Dan started off doing a few shimmies and criss-crosses to the rhythm of the beat.
This is True Love We Makin'
This is True Love We Makin'
This is True Love We Makin' All the Time.
This is True Love We Makin'
This is True Love We Makin'
This is True Love We Makin' All the Time.
Dan started breaking off his coordinated moves with his foe by doing a few disco points, followed up with a few moments of the "Running Man". He then goes into a funky arm wiggle and really gets into it. In fact, his entire body starts to wiggle along until he gets onto the floor and starts doing a very fluid "Worm", which got the crowd roaring. As the music went on, Dan's movement started appearing more dolphin-like until he "rose and fell" to great heights. Eventually, he landed one of his "Worm Waves" hand first, went into a cartwheel, then did a front flip followed by an impressive splits. The crowd's cheer intensified to an overwhelming volume after that.
"Ha! Beat that, Rocky!" Dan taunted.
Rock merely smirked in response as he begun his own session.
The blonde dancer first planted his bottom on the floor, picked up his legs, and started spinning around on said bottom like a crazy top. Sometime later, Rock started arching his back further to the ground, then shot his legs out. Soon enough, he put his crazy footwork on display as his pretzel legs went every which way with lightning-fast break dancing, which really got the crowd going. He then thrust his body towards one direction, causing him to skid forward on both knees, but then he went into a miraculous hand plant mid-skid. He then propels himself off the floor and lands cleanly on both legs. His performance resulted in yet another ovation.
The two opponents faced each other with unnerved glares.
"I hate to admit it… but those were some sweet steps you got there." Dan reluctantly admitted.
"You're not too bad yourself. You actually managed to pull of throwing in a bunch of old moves in a completely new routine… I don't think we'll be able to settle it this way." Rock replied.
After the two made a few more rhythmic steps, both of them reached an interesting idea.
"So… you're thinking what I'm thinking?" Dan asked.
"If you mean settling this old school, then I'm all ears." Rock smirked back.
Suddenly, the two immediately went into fighting stances, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise. The challengers then stared each other down with deep animosity as they watched for a chance to strike.
"BRING IT!" they both challenged.
"Ooooh! Will you look at that people! It looks this dancing duel has turned into a bona fide brawl! And the crowd is going absolutely wild! With this sudden change in tempo, who'll be walking away the champ, and who'll be walking away the chump? I sure don't know, but place your bets, folks! The dance floor's about to really heat up!" Kai commentated.
Back on the dance floor, Dan made the first move by flexing a muscle.
"You've got nothing on my sweet muscles, blondey!" Dan taunted.
He then brought his hand back and channeled a surge of chi into it.
"Prepare for smack down like never before, because my Sexy Style's about to put the hurt on you in so many ways!" he bragged.
After the chi fully manifested itself in the form of a ball of flame, the tanned man threw it forth with great force.
"GADOUKEN!" he shouted.
The shining flame was hurled forward a mere foot before it completely disappeared.
"Wh-what?!" Dan shouted in disbelief.
"Oh… I've seen you've been working on chi-based techniques in your bid to a bad guy as well. Looks like you need to work on that little attack." Rock taunted.
"No way, man! The almighty Dan ain't some poser! Our dancing earlier must've drained my mojo and kept me from unleashing its real power!" Dan retorted in excuse.
But the blonde dancer merely shrugged before he started channeling the forces of the wind into his own body.
"Alright then, let's see how bad my mojo's been affected." Rock replied as wind chi gathered in his hands.
"DOUBLE REPPUKEN!"
He then threw both of his hands in an upward arc in quick succession, throwing a out a violent blue gale that slid in the ground.
Dan laughed mockingly as he saw this attack. "What's up with your stupidly-named attack?! It's moving around like a runaway skate and--- OW!"
The great gale slashed at him mercilessly, dealing considerable damage. The wounded man rubbed his side afterwards.
"That… actually hurt." Dan groaned.
But Rock wasn't about to let up on his foe and continued mounting his offensive by throwing out a single wind-charged hand.
"REPPUKEN!
A smaller, yet faster gale suddenly shot forth, but Dan saw it coming and leapt up into the air to avoid the projectile. He then shot out his foot and unleashed the loudest, most ridiculous warrior yell ever to plague the ears of the club people as he performed a flying kick.
Somehow, Rock recovered fast enough to retaliate against the incoming Dan. He crouched down on his knees, placed a single hand on the floor, and gazed upward in amused. He then launched himself into the air foot first.
"RISING TACKLE!"
The amazing blonde pulled off a gravity-defying twisting kick that was sent straight into Dan's gut and sent his opponent flying backwards. Rock managed to get into position mid-kick and land solidly.
With a moan, Dan picked himself off the floor and stared at his opponent with disbelief.
"What the heck, man? Are you some kind of ninja or something?" Dan shouted.
Rock chuckled.
"Sometimes you just gotta be able to defy physics if you're going to be a truly badass bad boy! Guess you just weren't aiming high enough for your goal!" Rock smirked.
"Oh yeah?! Let's see if you can show off without your little ninja moves!" Dan cried.
Before Rock had the opportunity to unleash another special attack, Dan rushed in with a punch that the blonde blocked easily, but Dan was relentless in his assault and forced Rock into a struggling defensive. Oddly enough, the pair struck and blocked in time with the music, giving off the appearance of a coordinated dance fight.
The crowd roared once more as both contenders continued to punch, kick, duck, and weave by each other in impressive harmony.
"Just look at moves! It's like everybody's kung fu fighting and the music won't let them stop! They're putting in all they've got against each other and they're giving us quite a show! Keep up those moves, guys, & keep it to the beat!" Kai cheered.
Eventually, both men stepped back to catch a breather from their lengthily duel.
"I'll see this: you put a way better than Rick ever did. You've certainly got the moves, but I don't see the power." Rock said.
"Then let's cut the small stuff and really show off!" Dan proposed.
Rock nodded.
"Let's settle this once and for all!" the daring blonde proclaimed.
The audience let off another wild cheer in anticipation of the grand finale.
Both men then charged each other with their fists raised in the air, but they ended up dodging each other and instead exchanged places with their backs turned to each other. After that, the guys turned to meet each other, but Dan proved to be significantly quicker.
"It's time I show you the greatest maneuver of Sexy Style!" Dan thought manically.
The dark man tightened his fists and slammed both feet on the floor.
"SEXY STYLE SUPER TECHNIQUE!"
He then charged in at full force with his hands prepared for a pummeling, but he was stopped dead cold with a fist to the face.
Poor Dan was left to rub his painful nose in shame.
"H-hey! You weren't supposed to jab me in the nose like that! I was going to unleash my "Rambo Assault" on you!" he complained.
"Too bad, this is a fight. And there are no rules on the battlefield." Rock scoffed. "If you're going to be a true bad guy, you gotta screw the rules."
Dan let out a furious growl as he eyed his foe with deep disgust. He was about really let Rock have it as he stood there unguarded an full of him self. But as he let go of his nose and prepared to strike, the blonde was gone in an instead.
"What the---"
"And now I'm going to dish out a serious beat down with my stylish Deadly Rave. See ya." A menacing voice uttered from behind Dan.
The bandana-wearer gulped. He knew very well who the owner of the voice was. His one concern was if he could turn around in time to counter it. The desperate fighter made his rotation, but again his movement was cut off by another brutal blow. Unfortunately, the assault didn't stop there as Rock worked his fancy moves into a devious combination of strikes and kicks.
The crowd was simply memorized by Rock's moves as he danced Dan into a messy pulp. This crafted maneuver proved not only to be ultimate attack in his arsenal, but also his greatest dance routine.
After one more physical blow, Dan was sent into a dizzy paralysis, which allowed Rock plenty of time for his final strike. His hands gathered as much chi as it could from all around him, and channeled it right into his palm. Soon enough, it manifested into a brilliant blue light, which he unleashed upon Dan.
"HYAAAAAAHH!!!!"
Rock's battle cry echoed across the dance floor as Dan flew right into a wall.
Seconds past, and while Dan no longer had the strength to get up, Rock stood triumphantly over his fallen foe before proceeding to strut his stuff at the pleasure of his audience.
The crowd was in a frenzy. The former dance off that turned into a brutal battle ended up being a thing of beauty, and there was no doubt in their minds that they received a pleasing performance.
Rock continued his celebration by taking a random lady from the crowd to dance the night away.
"Goddess! That was just… astounding! In the end, Rock showed us all that he's capable of busting out moves of all kinds, and he's not certainly not afraid to look good while doing it! Honestly, Dan was literally blown away by what our man of the hour had to show! I swear, I haven't seen moves that fierce since Goose Coward in his winning performance last year at Osaka, Japan!" Kai announced.
A surge of anger suddenly boiled inside of Rock.
"Goose…" he uttered quietly with deep malice.
"Whether he continues laying it down on the dance floor, or decides to make a switch to the Martial Arts world, there's no doubt that our man Rock Enrole will have a bright future ahead of him!" Kai concluded.
"Hey, champ! Are you okay? You look a bit stressed!" Rock's dance partner asked.
"Eh, sorry babe. I think I'm beat. The Rock's used up a lot of energy fending of that guy." He sighed.
The young lady pouted in disappointment at first, but immediately took notice of Rock's weary body.
"Oh. Alright, sugar. I'll go ahead and let you rest for a sec, then. I don't want to pass up a dance with a winner, okay?" the lady said with a wink and a smile.
Rock nodded.
"Don't worry. I don't want to pass up the chance to dance with a babe as hot as yourself, either." He assured her.
The young lady responded with a pleasant smile before heading off to the dance floor, leaving the weakened Rock alone. He decided to head to the nearby bar to take a seat and think things over.
"Again I hear that accursed name. "Goose Coward", the Canadian Crime Lord of Northtown who's stealing my moves and making a name for himself out of it. I don't know how this guy's getting a hold of my moves, let alone showing off my Deadly Rave he invented it, but I'm not going to let this go on any longer! You know why? I don't care how cliché it sounds, but I'm still planning to cook your "Goose", old man! I don't care how many Canadian gangsters you have working for you! I'm hand them all serious beat downs, and them I'm gonna dance all over the big man himself! Just you wait! I'm going to take Japan by storm and dominate that tournament because I'm the Rock!" he thought to himself.
After ordering and gulping down more Moo Juice, a sudden pleasing thought came to the aspiring dancer.
"Wait a minute… didn't that looser say something about a girl he couldn't win over in his home town? Eve, wasn't it? Well, maybe I should pay Flower Bud a visit and make one more conquest while I'm at it…" Rock smirked.
At that moment, the young lady whom he promised a dance with arrived by his side.
"So, are you ready now, Champ?" the lady asked in a flirtatious voice.
Rock turned around and met her with a thoroughly pleased smile.
"For now, I think I'm going to enjoy the spoils of my victory." He thought.
Rock then let out a little chuckle.
"Sure, babe. Let's hit it." He agreed.
And so, the victorious Rock proceeded to dance the night away with the ladies while the defeated Dan ended up sleeping it away instead.
Author's Note: "Goose Coward of Northtown"; a blatant play on "Geese Howard of Southtown." Have you ever heard of the fighting "Fatal Fury", especially "Mark of the Wolf"? Well, that's where some of the kooky in-jokes came from.
Apparently, Rock is a common Japanese conception of an American name. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't be seeing this goofy parody. So thank you, Rock Howard of Fatal Fury, for having the same first name as Rock from Harvest Moon. You guys at SNK and Natsume have really made my day.
Will there be more in store for this saga? Will Rock EVER get to face Goose, who as the Mineral Town Farmer from story 2 hinted, may actually be related to our goofy hero?
I kinda doubt it, actually. It just sounds like a convenient plot device to make it sound like more sequels possible.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little tale of dirty dancing. Keep on reading, people!