Gereo A: It's cool you guys still like it...
Tornado(Reviewer: That was the point of allowing parts of the story to be skipped, it helps but it's not a requirement, I often make these chapters too long because of my descriptions although this one is over my perfect length but not as badly as my last.
Phoenix619: Well, I can't allow any team to win constantly... that would be boring... but don't worry, they will perform well in this competition I assure you...
Micka: Yeah I'll put in beach Volleyball, nice idea... Although I'll make the pairings different again... but still not within teams.
After the teams had finished listening to Heidern and learning that they would have to learn to work with somebody totally unfamiliar to them they headed for the weight lifting arena.
"Now I will compete in this event" Heidern said in a final manner expecting Ralf and Clark to attempt to persuade him otherwise.
"Okay, I've got the tennis to prepare for anyway" Ralf replied
"I took the shooting so that's fine by me" Clark said
"Just be careful out there, it won't be good if you end up breaking your back or something" Leona said
"Are you suggesting that I am too old for this?" Heidern asked knowing exactly what Leona was thinking, even though she would deny it
"No, of course not…" Leona predictably replied
"Good, then it's settled" Heidern said again in that same final tone
The rest of the teams and crowd again formed into the stadium. Ryan took the names of those competing, only one competitor per team was allowed in this event. Collecting the sign ups after a few of the teams worked out options and planned for future events and who was up to the task, after the teams worked it out it ended up like this.
Ikari Warriors team: Heidern
Outlaw team: Gato
Fatal fury team: Tizoc
Woman's team: Angel
Ash team: Krauser
Japan team: Daimon
K' team: Maxima
Psycho soldiers team: Kensou
Korea team: Chang
Art of fighting team: Takuma
The way the event would work is each team gets only one lift. It would work in a clean and jerk format, that meant they had to raise it up to their chin and shoulders before raising it above their heads and then hold it in that position for 3 counts; if anybody failed their lift they would get the wooden spoon. This was an event structured to allow the lower teams to catch up.
The Ikari team was still leading so therefore had to go first. So out stepped Heidern with Yashiro, Chris and Shermie judging, ready to raise the flags for any fouls. The first lift Heidern would attempt was 120kg.
A/N: Yes I know the fighters fling around Chang like he was nothing at times so these weights are probably far lighter then what they could actually do. Both Ralf and Clark throw Chang high into the air and then land him on their heads before slamming him to the ground, that would probably do far more damage to Ralf and Clark then to Chang, but half the thing about KOF is the fact you can take a bone breaking blow, be set on fire, get frozen and countless more things and most of the time stand up again as if it was nothing. That said I just don't want them going too close to world records here.
The crowd watched in silence as Heidern approached the bar.
"This is going to be a mistake I know it is" Leona shook her head
"120 kilos isn't that much for Heidern… I think he can do this one easily, actually I think he should have gone for a little more" Clark said
Heidern grabbed the bar and lifted it to his chin with a slight struggle. He then put his left foot backwards in order to balance himself and then put it above his head in one smooth motion and lifted it above his head.
1…2…3…Heidern then dropped the bar and the crowd cheered when he was successful. Next out was Gato for the outlaw team who was going for 130kg. Gato walked to the bar grabbed it, and held it up to his chin after a struggle, but he looked secure now… as he focused for the next part, putting it above his head. Gato took a step backwards and had a minor struggle to bring it over his head.
"Come on big brother you can do it!" Hotaru shouted out
Gato went red with anger, and brought it to his head, held it for 3 counts and threw it at Hotaru sitting in the front row.
"AHHH!" The outlaws cried out as the weight came for them.
Fortunately the outlaws and Hotaru were quite a distance away from how far Gato was able to throw the weight, Shermie waved the foul flag.
"But I lifted it! Why did I get fouled?" Gato shouted out in protest
"You can't throw it; you must hold it for 3 counts while standing still during this time period and then put it straight down after. So don't try look cool after your success… because now you look like an idiot" Yashiro said shaking his head
Gato stomped off.
A/N: This actually happened in Sydney, although the weight was not exactly thrown he walked away from the spot and continually come to the judges and he lost grip of the weight and almost threw it forwards, it rolled and nearly came at the judges. Needless to say he was annoyed about getting fouled as he held it for 3 counts but not while standing still.
"Tizoc is next… he's going to go for something a bit heavier then others apparently" Terry said
Right he was Tizoc was trying for 140 kilos. He came out and got several roars and shouts from his fans as he stepped near the bar. He came to it and pushed it into his chin and then took a step back with his left foot like Heidern did and lifting it into the air like it was a feather. This caused a greater uproar from the numerous Fatal fury and Tizoc fans. .
Next out was Angel for the Woman's team, they knew they didn't stand much chance of defeating the men in this challenge so merely went for a secure lift to avoid last place as Gato had already made a mistake, Angel was attempting 100kg. She came to the bar and put her hands on it. She focused and lifted it to her chin, the crowd watched eagerly as Angel then lifted the weight above her head and 1…2…3. She slammed it to the ground.
The women cheered as for certain they would not get last place.
Next up was Wolfgang Krauser… he walked calmly up to the bar putting his hands into the chalk on the way. He was going for 150kg, he grabbed the bar and then in a loud shout put it to his chin and shoulder successfully. Krauser focused on the next part and he stepped back and put it above his head and then suddenly…
CLANG! He had dropped it… the crowd gasped in shock as Krauser walked off the stage, followed by a few angry shouts in frustration, Gato's foul however would be considered better then Krauser's failure. Daimon was up now, he was going for 132.5kg. He too put his hands into the chalk walked up to bar, and grabbed it and bend his knees like everybody else. Focusing he then pulled it up fine to his chin and rested it on his shoulders. Daimon then focused again as he summoned the strength to step backwards and put it above his head.
The crowd cheered again as now it was Maxima's turn. He went for 145 kg. Walking up to the bar he grabbed it straight away before getting into position, he then stood up lifting the bar to his shoulders, one second later he stepped back and held it above his head for 3 counts and put it back down. They were now in the lead, Tizoc was next on 140 then Daimon on 132.5 followed by Heidern on 120.
Kensou was ready next, and he was going for 150kg. A little bit of a shock considering his size or rather the seeming lack of strength but there was a trick Kensou had, he and the psycho soldiers just hoped it would be enough. The teams and crowd watched in eager anticipation as Kensou stood in front of the bar. He held it in his hands… focusing his power
"Let's see if any of that training of his has done anything at all" Chin said
Kensou lifted up the weight with incredible psychic energy and physical strength, Kensou looked so determined to do whatever possible to lift that damned bar, there was a lot of pressure on him for this lift, he needed to keep ahead of Jhun, he had to impress Chin so he would think he was training hard which he was despite hating every second of it, and he had to do well for the team. He raised it to his shoulders resting for about a second before he put his foot back and threw the weight into the air. 1…2…3… The crowd then roared with applause and cheers as Kensou threw the bar down, most of the other teams in shock, Kensou back flipped to show his apparent joy.
Chang was next to go he was going for 142.5kg… he would try for more but the weight was difficult for him to lift in a proper manner and he didn't want to make a mistake. He came to the weight and put his hands in the chalk and grabbed the bar, his size made it difficult to do so in a comfortable position. Chang then pulled up the bar and brought it up to his chin, from there it was simple, he just lifted the bar above his head and held it for 3 and put it back down. The crowd clapped as Chang went off the stage.
Takuma was the last to come out, he knew he would have to do better then 132.5 to get an aluminium he would knew he would have a tough time even coming close, so avoiding a wooden spoon by failing to lift he tried for 110kg, Takuma lifted it with slight difficulty, but not a real struggle.
With the event settled the surprised Kensou was awarded the gold, this pushed the psycho soldiers into second position behind the Ikaris, Maxima got the silver which put them right into the contest equal with the Fatal fury team, while Chang got the bronze and Tizoc collected the aluminium allowing them to hold on just against the K' team.
"Master, why didn't you try for something to get us a medal?" Robert asked
"Because, we can't afford to start collecting wooden spoons. We need to be given a bit more time, for events we are strong at to come up, Kasumi brings extra strengths to the team so we just have to be patient and wait for the results" Takuma said
"It is true we don't have any of those spoons yet, so we can't be that bad, we just haven't won anything yet" Yuri added
"That's exactly our problem, once we start winning gold we'll shoot up to the table" Takuma said
Now the teams were to go to the tennis courts which were fortunately in the same complex. The crowds had got there before some of the teams. The popcorn, drinks, hotdogs, fairy floss, ice cream and chips, and KOF merchandise was still selling incredibly well. Now it had to be determined who would play against who. Again it would be done randomly.
A/N: I realised a bit of an error in the previous pairings, it has been since corrected, previously I cheated the Japan team out of a player, a bit of a mistake on my part, so I'm adding Kyo and Whip to the pairings but it doesn't matter as it makes the teams semi-even, although not perfectly even so I will have to use byes at one point. Also in this event I decided not to award the wooden spoon, it would take a lot longer to write out the losers bracket when what everybody really wants to know is who wins.
In the first round it would be
Ralf/Hotaru vs. Robert/Kula
Terry/Malin vs. Rock/Leona
Jhun/Vice vs. Geese/Athena
Kyo/Whip vs. K'/May lee
King/Ash vs. Benimaru/Mary
Shen Woo/Yuri vs. Kensou/Shermie
The matches would be all played at the same time, we cut to the first match in the list, Ralf and Hotaru against Robert and Kula. The rules were 2 games a set and 3 set matches until the gold medal finals in which it would be 6 games, 3 sets. Like always you would need a 2 game advantage or more in order to win the set, if it tied at 2 games all a tiebreaker would take place. Yashiro took his place in the umpires chair, the Ikari's were the lines people but Yashiro had the final say and could overrule, the other umpires for the 5 other matches were Chris, Diana, Mature, Heidern and Chizuru.
"Heads or tails?" Yashiro held a coin in hand
"Tails" Kula called out
Yashiro tossed it into the air
"Heads, serving first Ralf?" Yashiro asked
"Yup…" Ralf replied
Ralf went over to his side of the court and bounced the ball and did a few practice exchanges with Robert while Kula and Hotaru did the same just to warm up quickly before the match. After about 2 minutes they were ready to play. Ralf got into position and bounced the ball on the ground ready to serve, he then put a lot of force behind it as he smashed it into Robert's side of the court, Robert reached for it and managed to get it back however it was a slow shot and it allowed Hotaru to move into position in order to place the ball in between Robert and Kula, she hit it with reasonable force and they couldn't return it.
"15, love" Yashiro announced
The game went on in a similar fashion, Ralf's serve was simply too good and they had only lost one point in the game. The next game however it was Robert's turn to serve. Robert served it and Ralf got to it, Kula volleyed it back but Hotaru was able to catch it on the edge of her racquet, she dropped it right after the net causing Robert to run after it, but it was to no use it bounced twice ending the point. It was then known the combination of Ralf's power and Hotaru's placement would prove deadly.
We now move onto Jhun and Vice against Geese and Athena who were playing on centre court. It is Athena after all so naturally most of the eyes were on this match. It was still in the first game and Geese was serving at 15-30. Jhun was determined to beat Geese and prove to Athena that he was far stronger, Jhun's legs allowed him to cover the court well but using a tennis racquet was a bit off putting to his battle style of only using his feet, however that didn't seem to be bothering him as he had won both points that Geese had served to him.
Vice got ready to accept the serve, Geese powered the ball into Vice's side of the court, Vice was close enough to reach it and she put it back into Geese's side of the court. Geese charged his power and smashed it towards Jhun who calmly put his racquet up to block the ball, Athena returned that shot by running towards Geese's side of the court and Geese moved to cover Athena on the other side. Good thing he did as Vice put it into what she thought was an empty corner, but Geese saved it and lobbed it over Jhun's head and into the centre of the course catching him off guard and he had to run back to get the ball. The crowd ooo'ed when Jhun was able to put it back and over Athena's head and into the court behind her, scoring a point as Geese was unable to get to it fast enough. The crowd did the traditional tennis clap and cheers after a good rally was played.
"15-40" Chris said the score through the mic.
Jhun and Vice now had break point. Geese bounced the ball and Jhun moved a bit behind the baseline. Geese served it down the line and Jhun had to struggle to reach it, but he managed to get it back into Geese's side of the court, Geese then noticed Jhun was a good deal behind the baseline so tried to drop it a good distance away from both Vice and Jhun, Vice was on the other side and Jhun was way back so he dropped it on the right side of the court in a very sneaky way, however Vice was onto it and she unnaturally extended her arm and hit the ball and she tried the same shot, so now it was Geese's turn to run to the drop shot. Geese ran, and put it back but it was very high in the air and both Athena and Geese retreat ready to do whatever they could about the inevitable smash that was coming from Vice. Vice prepared for it and she smashed it into the centre between the pair of them.
"Game Jhun and Vice" Chris announced "Jhun and Vice lead 1 game to love"
Leaving centre court we move onto K' and May lee against Kyo and Whip. K' had just served an ace against his sister, leaving a slight flame trail, they had broke Whip's serve in the previous game and this gave them the first set 2 games to love.
"Aren't you excited we won the first set, those are really great serves" May lee said in a really excited tone
K' muttered something and shrugged in reply
K' wasn't trying to serve aces, he was trying to 'accidentally' hit May lee with a flaming tennis ball, unfortunately she moved just after he served the ball every time either resulting in him scoring a very strong serve or singeing the net slightly. May lee was simply unbearable to K' about how they should communicate and work out good team tactics. She also had this really annoying tone in her voice, it wasn't bossy, it wasn't whiny, it was just annoying…
May lee though had a respect for K', after all he and his team mates defeated NESTS after all they had put them through, their lives would take years to repair to a remotely standard state, that was something May lee knew she would hopefully never have to face. So May lee was happy to put up with K's negative side it was just the way he was for the moment.
Kyo came to serve, he bounced the ball a few times and swung through causing another fire pattern. K' returned it with a strong forehand down the line but Kyo was standing right in front of it so was able to return it with a good back hand across the court therefore meeting May lee who volley it, but Whip anticipated the ball to come in the direction and blocked the ball sending it straight back to May lee, however she was not expecting Whip to get to it and the ball landed flat into her eye.
"OOOOOWWW… geez…" May lee held her eye
"Are you alright?" Whip asked
"I… I think so…" May lee blinked a few times
K' was smiling a little bit, but then regained his composure when his sister looked at him.
"Do you want to go on with this?" K' asked hoping May lee would say no
"I do not give up that easily, but thank you for your concern" May lee smiled. What kind of hero gave up a fight let alone a winning one, the shock of the contact was more painful then the actual blow itself.
"Hold this to it" Chizuru came off her chair and offered an ice pack to May lee
"No, honestly I'm fine… let's play…" May lee stood back in position, K' groaned and Whip gave a little bit of a laugh at K's obvious displeasure.
By the time they had finished that set they had won, Kyo held serve, but May lee and K' won the next 3 games giving them the match 2-0, 3-1. Ralf and Hotaru also won without dropping a game, 2-0, 2-0. Jhun and Vice against Geese and Athena were still going after a tight first set saw Jhun and Vice win 3 games to 1, they were starting the second set but Geese held serve giving them the first game of that set. King and Ash against Benimaru and Mary was appearing to come to an end. It was 30-0 with King serving after winning the first set 3-1, and the current one was at 1-0. King served the ball against Mary who returned it, over Ash's head and towards King, King returned the shot as Ash and King swapped left and right positions. Benimaru tried to intercept the high shot King had aimed at Mary but unfortunately his aim was a little too far down causing it to crash into the net.
"40-0" Heidern called out
3 Match points for King and Ash. King calmly bounced the ball and concentrated on her serve, she put it in and Benimaru returned it with a strong forehand down the line, it was looking like nobody was there until Ash's ever annoying presence intercepted the ball sending it right between Mary and Benimaru, neither could reach it.
"Game, set and match. King and Crimson. 3 games to 1, 2 games to love" Heidern said as King and Ash shook hands with Benimaru and Mary, despite Benimaru and Ash both holding far more harder then what was necessary.
Mary came over and watched Terry's match, and it was a very close. They were in the second set at a tiebreaker. Rock and Leona had won the first set 3 games to 2 by tiebreak however this time it seems Terry and Malin had an edge, it was 3-2 with Terry to serve. He threw the ball into the air and swung through with a powerful serve, Rock got to it but it was directed at Malin who volleyed it back down the line causing Rock to struggle to return it with a cross court forehand to reach Terry. He charged up and put a good backhand in through the centre, Leona punched it down towards Malin but she had retreated in preparation for such a shot, and she flicked the ball into the air right over Leona's head and she ran around the ball just so she could get in front of it and returned it deep towards the base line causing Terry to have to run to catch the ball and he came through with a quick backhand towards Rock, he saw an opportunity as Malin was near the net and Terry was way over on the other side of the court, he went for a powerful cross court forehand, Rock hit it with a lot of force, however it was too much and it sailed just outside the right side of the court.
"Out…" Mature called as the ball bounced out of the line "4-2… Bogard" Mature said
Meanwhile Shermie and Kensou had both Yuri and Shen woo exhausted as she used the fact that the simply couldn't work out good tactics against them. Shen woo was being a ball hog and Yuri was trying to save the balls that Shen Woo couldn't get to. This of course left both players out of energy a lot sooner and they were still in deep trouble on the score board.
Shermie had serve at 40-15, 2 match points after winning the first set 2-0 and this one they were at 2-1. Shermie put her shot in a good amount of power was directed at Yuri, she returned it back to Shermie however the shot did not have much power allowing Shermie to gather a bit of strength. She played her forehand in an attempt to land it in the front of Yuri's side of the court, she swung through and Yuri prepared to accept but Shen Woo cut across Yuri volleying the ball, Kensou put in a quick lob shot to the right side however Shen Woo jumped high to block it and send it back down towards Shermie. She then went for a quick power shot down the line in an attempt to get past him however it just snagged the top of the net and kept on Shermie's side.
"40-30" Diana said
Shermie was now serving at Shen Woo… he was ready to accept the shot, however Shermie again put a lot of power into it, she served it and it bounced just outside the service square.
"Fault!" One of the lines people called out
Shermie accepted another ball and bounced it to the ground as she threw the ball again and hit it being careful not to hit it too hard and miss. Shen woo took advantage of this and charged his power in an attempt to confuse Shermie by hitting cross court, he hit the ball but then Kensou cut across and hit a very minor shot to drop it just after the net. Yuri came for it but so did Shen Woo and they both dived their racquets at the same time to reach the ball but unfortunately this caused a pile up resulting in both of them falling down and missing the ball.
"Game, set and match. Shermie and Kensou" Diana announced "2 games to love, 3 games to 1" Diana finished
With that there were only 2 matches remaining, with Ralf and Hotaru, K' and May lee, King and Ash and now Shermie and Kensou all progressing. Those matches though had both moved into their third sets, however Geese and Athena had found some form and had broke Jhun's serve giving them a 1-0 lead, with Athena now serving at 15 all.
Geese hit the ball and Jhun swung at the ball however he was seemingly wearing out like everybody else and didn't put enough strength as it clumsily bounced off.
"30-15" Chris said as Geese moved into position ready to serve at Vice.
If Geese was exhausted like everybody else he was doing a good job at hiding it as he released an incredibly strong serve on the outside of the court giving Vice no chance to reply.
"40-15" Chris announced again
2 match points. Geese threw the ball up, and swung through, hitting it just over the net, Jhun hit it with a slice, but unfortunately it was right in front of Athena who volleyed it lightly and put it into Jhun's side, he ran hard to get to the ball and chipped it over Athena. Noticing that Jhun had clearly run out of energy, Geese fired another shot at him forcing Jhun near the base line, he put a good forehand in towards Geese but never expected Athena to come in and volley towards the back right end of the court well away from both Jhun and Vice, Jhun ran again to get the ball but it was too late.
"Game set and match, Asamiya and Howard, 1 game to 3, 3 games to 1, 2 games to love" Chris announced as the crowd cheered loud for Athena and a few of the outlaw supporters, some of which were paid to set in the crowd and cheer, others threatened.
Terry and Malin were still playing against Rock and Leona. It was Malin's serve at 30 all, with Rock serving in the first game and holding serve. Malin served towards Rock but put it too deep into the court.
"Fault" An unnamed lines person called out
Malin focused and bounced the ball again, she swung through but it chipped the net and crashed down. A sound of disappointment and shock went through the crowd as now it was 30-40 and Rock and Leona were at match point.
Malin served a lighter this time putting it in for certain, Leona came through with a back hand, Terry cut it off but Rock caught it on the edge of his racquet chipping it well over Terry's head. Malin looked at it, it looked as if it would go out, but she went after it anyway, it sailed downwards and landed just on the line, Malin returned it but Leona made a surprise move by coming to the net and volleyed it deep into the other corner giving them no chance of returning it.
"Game set and match Heidern and Howard. 3 games to 2, 2 games to 3, 2 games to love" Mature called out as all 4 exhausted players shook hands.
With that match decided the 6 remaining teams drew pieces of paper from a hat, it had written on them bye or no bye. There were 2 byes in the hat and 4 no byes. The people who drew byes got byes for the next round, those who did not would have to play.
K'/May lee vs. Kensou/Shermie
Geese/Athena vs. Rock/Leona
Ralf/Hotaru bye
King/Ash bye
A/N: I know I can have Ralf/Hotaru and King/Ash play each other but having 3 finalist sucks, so I just determined the pairings randomly.
Most of the competitors were very tired and out of energy from all the games so the rest day that would be tomorrow was very much welcome to them. So after day 3 the tally looks like this.
1. Ikari warriors team: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 aluminium (Ralf, Clark, Leona, Heidern) (1st, no change)
2. Psycho soldiers team: 2 gold, 2 bronze, 2 wooden spoons (Athena, Kensou, Chin, Malin) (6th, 4)
3. Outlaw team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 2 aluminium, 2 wooden spoons (Geese, Billy, Yamazaki, Gato, Hotaru) (4th, 1)
4. Fatal fury team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 aluminium, 1 wooden spoon (Terry, Andy, Joe, Rock, Tizoc) (3rd, -1)
4. K' team: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 aluminium, 1 wooden spoon (K', Maxima, Whip, Kula, Diana) (5th, 1)
6. Woman's team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze (King, Mai, Mary, Angel, Chizuru) (3rd, -3)
7. Ash team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 2 wooden spoon (Ash, Duo Lon, Shen woo, Krauser) (9th, 2)
8. Japan team: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, 1 wooden spoon (Kyo, Iori, Benimaru, Shingo, Daimon) (10th, 2)
9. Korea team: 1 gold, 1 bronze, 2 aluminium, 2 wooden spoon (Kim, Jhun, Chang, Choi, May lee) (7th, -2)
10. Art of fighting team: 1 silver, 2 bronze, 3 aluminium (Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Takuma, Kasumi) (8th, -2)
A well deserved rest for our fighters/Olympians tomorrow, events on day 5 include ping pong (or Table tennis whatever you want to call it) and the Bao toss and two mystery events. While on Day 6 there will be the second round of the mixed doubles tennis, sailing done pirate/KOF style, fencing and the long jump.
It seems that despite the Japan team striking back they are still at the bottom of the table, and the Ikari's are still leading. Will May lee mysteriously disappear? What do the Art of Fighting team need to do to win a gold? Rock and Geese finally meet in an event, can Rock defeat Geese and get his team back ahead of the outlaws?
