User blog:Redknight910/WWYD Hellhound Spazerz

I look my niece up and down, sizing her up. As a hellhound, she definitely has the guts for it, not to mention the stubborness, if she's anywhere near as bad as her mother. On that note....

Do your parents know you're here?" I asked. It wasn't the first time she'd asked me to train her, granted, last time she'd been twelve and I was still in my prime.

"Yep!" She says with a bright smile "Mum finally said I could get you to teach me!

"Okay then. But if we're going to do this, then you're staying here while you train, and you listen to everything I say, got it?" She nodded the moment I'd finished talking. I held out a hand and we shook on it.

I sent her to go set up in the spare bedroom while I contacted her parents, letting them know what was going on.

"Do me a favour?" Her mother asked "Don't go easy on her. She's always wanted you to teach her how to fight, and if she's not going to pay attention when I try to teach her, I at least want to know she's getting trained right." I chuckle at the thought of me going easy on anyone.

"I didn't expect you to be worried about that, after what happened at the retirment party." I hear some grumbles from the other end of the call.

"I was pissed off my face, it still doesn't count!"

"And I still put your ass on the floor without a second thought, didn't I?" More grumbles.

"Fine. But if she's not going toe-to-toe with me by the time she's done, I'm coming for that rematch." With that she hung up, and I was left chuckling at the phone.

"So, what's first, dodging? Throwing a hook?" My niece was an over-energetic bundle of violence, not that I'd expect much different from a hellhound.

"How about we start with breakfast? I was just finishing up when someone interrupted me." She blushes a little and gives me a goofy grin.

I go back into the kitchen, grabbing my bowl and drinking down the dregs of my cereal. After washing the bowl and spoon and leaving them to dry, I go outside, ignoring my new shadow for the time being. I never moved houses after retiring, so there's still a fairly well equipped training room in the shed.

Walking inside I hear an awed gasp from behind me. Flicking the lights on I start to get organised. While I still routinely used some of the equipment, most of the serious stuff got taken down and put into storage, including a number of punching bags.

I get her to help me hand two up, before dragging her away from them and sitting her on a scale. She looks away as I check her weight.

"Alright, if you're going to go into the professional ring, you're going to be in the lightweight comp at this point." She groans a little. I'd always been midweight contender, though I'd dipped into heavyweight for a few seasons.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You're also not going to be competing against the same folks I was. I've fought a few hellhounds before, one of them was even a fellow professional, and they won't give you a chance. If there's one thing I can say about the mamono grade fighters, it's this: They are vicious."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's going to be a lot tougher for me than it was for you. Can we get to training now?" I raise an eyebrow at the dissmissive tone.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Hit me." She looks shocked for a moment, so I repeat myself. "Hit. Me." She takes a few more moments, before throwing a punch. It's not full strength, or speed, or even well thrown, but I move as if it was, ducking and throwing my own punch right back at her. It connects with her stomach, but I ease off as we connect so all I do is force her back.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If that's all you've got, then I don't even know why you're bothering." She arcs up at the words, and throws another, much faster punch. This time I back out of range, before bringing a hook into her head, stopping just before contact and flicking her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"That's better, but you're still holding back. Go hard, or go home." She growls and throws herself at me, raining down blow after blow. Now my old reactions get put to the test, and I have to start ducking and weaving. After only a few minutes she starts huffing, and her blows start to get sloppy. I block one of them, following up with a straight shot at her face, stopping inches from her nose.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Okay, that's better. But a big thing about any good fighter, martial or sport, is keeping your cool, and pacing yourself." I sit her back down on the bench, giving her a bottle of water. "Outpacing your opponent is a valid tactic. I once had a fight where the other guy literally just kept dodging, wouldn't throw a punch and just tried to tire me out. But you need patience and experience if you want that to work."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So... where do we start?" I smile at her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Right here." I pat the bench she's sitting on. "We'll start with fifty pounds, five sets of thirty." She scoffs.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Just fifty? Easy." I smile, she'd better keep that enthusiasm in check.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Sure enough she blazes through the first set, and quickly gets through the second set, before slowing down on the third. By the time she's halfway through her fourth she's barely making the reps. I grab the bar and start lifting.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"No, I... can... do this!" She pulls it up, holds it, then drops it. I catch it before it falls on her chest, lifting back up and shelveing it.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"That'll do for now." She looks at me, confused.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Shouldn't we... keep training?" She pants. I give her a look and stand her up, before quickly pushing her back down. She stumbles and falls with little resistance.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You're not going to get any decent training done if you just throw yourself at it. You're going to hear this a lot in the next few months, but patience is important." I take her back inside, where I cook up some food and grab some cold water.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Could we... watch some of the tapes?" She asks as we sit down on the couch. I chuckle and get up, grabbing the old cassettes and picking one out. My first championship.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Now, I want you to pay attention. As different as mamono boxing is, the basics are the same. And the basics are what you forget first." We watch my old match, I'm more than a little embarassed by the fight, but she's utterly entranced. Every slip either me or my opponent make I point out, trying to get her to focus on the form rather than my victory. She still cheers just as hard when she did when she first saw the fight, a fact that still fills me with pride.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">An hour later and we're back at training, this time going through punches, and how not to break her hand hitting someone. She's quick to get her technique right, since a bad punch will hurt, no matter how thick her fur is. We break for lunch, and watch another video, this time one of my losses.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">My opponent was pretty average as far as build and strength go, but he had the pain tolerance of a minotaur who's seen red. Every hit barely phased him, and when he went in for some blows of his own he gave it everything he had.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"To this day, I don't know what was going on with him. They didn't find anything in his system before or after the fight. My best guess is he'd spent his life being beaten up to the point he just didn't care any more." My niece was in awe both of my attacks and his defence.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So, there are people who can just tank whatever you throw at them?" I nodded.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Yep, and there's probably more in the mamono leagues, though, given the strength differences I'd bet they aren't the type you run into very often."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">We went back to the training after that, with a little reaction training. I grabbed an old bag of balls and smiled. I'd hated this particular training session, but I was going to enjoy being on the other side of the pitch.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Think fast!" I shouted, hurling a ball without warning at full speed. Her eyes widened and she ducked under the ball.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Hey! Give me some-" she was cut off as she dodged another ball. I kept piffing them at her until my arm was tired. When I put the bag down she stalked up to me, growling. "What the hell was that about?!" I was too busy laughing like an idiot to respond for several minutes.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Sorry. No, really, sorry. That was a favourite of my old coaches, and now I know why." I chuckled for a little longer, before looking around the room, now littered with a combination of tennis and baseballs. "You did well, though, only got hit twice, if I counted right." She nodded, some of the anger leaving her features.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So, what's next?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Feel like trying the weights again?" She looked over to the bench, taking a few seconds, before nodding. We went by the same rules as last time. She paced herself much better, and managed to finish the last set with energy to spare.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Alright, that'll do for today." I said as I rounded up the last of the balls I could see. She looked at me, ready to argue, but I shook my head before she could say a word. "If you want to win your first fight, you need to be well rested, and well fed. Which means no marathoning my highlight reels, alright?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Okay... wait, first fight?" I smiled.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I called an old friend, we're borrowing her ring for the day." Her eyes were practically popping out of her head. We ate, watched a few more tapes, then went to bed. The next morning she was groaning and refusing to get out of bed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You need to get up, or I'm going to give you a morning shower." She just growled at me. I walked over to the bathroom, grabbed a bucket and filled it with water. Walking back into her room I told her one last time to get up.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Let me sleep." She grumbled.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You have to the count of five before I dump this bucket of water on you." I saw an eye peek out from under her blanket.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You wouldn't dare..." she whispered, I just grinned at her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"One, two, three." I lifted the bucket in preparation. Luckily I didn't need to use it, the blanket just about hitting the roof as she bolted out of bed. I served us up a hearty meal for breakfast.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Is everything gonna hurt this much every day?" She groaned between bites of bacon.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Only for the first few weeks. Heh, can't wait to see how you handle your first real match." I chuckled as she groaned again.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So... who am I fighting today?" She asked as we started walking to my friend's ring.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Like I said, an old friend. Remember when I told you I fought a pro hellhound boxer?" she nodded "Well, that was Roxy Charon, fans call her the Bouncer?" Her eyes went wide as I mentioned the name. When I'd fought her she was still just a pup as far as fights in the ring went, but even then she'd been able to beat me to a pulp.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You fought Roxy Charon?!" She all but squealed as we stepped through the door.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Well, fought's a strong word, kiddo." The lady herself was standing in the ring, leaning on a corner post. "I think it was more he tried to get away from me while I beat him senseless." I chuckled.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"That's funny, I remember you complaining about that bruise on your ribs for a week or two after the fight." She barked out a hard laugh.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Glad to see you didn't forget. Got a lot more a few months later, though." She looked at my niece, who clung tightly to me under her gaze.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"This timid little thing's the mighty Ronnie, huh?" She held out a paw, my niece hesitantly taking it.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Um... i-it's a pleasure to meet you, miss Charon." Roxy laughed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If we're doing this then you're gonna need to stop clinging to your uncle like a girl on her first day at school. Also, trust me, once we're done, niether of us are going to be thinking about pleasure." She looked at me for a few seconds. "Well, maybe a little." I rolled my eyes, remembering what had started that fight all those years ago.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The two stepped into the ring, Veronica getting into the pose I'd shown her, keeping herself light on her feet. Roxy barked out another laugh, cracked her fists into each other, and got into a similar pose.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Care to count us in, old man?" I huffed at the title Roxy called out, but stepped in anyway. After a few words about a clean match I stepped to the side and let them have at it. To say Ronnie didn't stand a chance is an understatement.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Rox played with her for a few minutes, letting her take punches at her while keeping anything serious stowed away. At the five minute mark she burst forward, raining down blow after hellish blow on my poor niece. She ducked and weaved out of a few of them, but any attempts to return fire were met with a hop to the side and a blow to the ribs. The fight only lasted five and a half minutes.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Holy hell." Veronica huffed, sitting in a stool and holding her ribs. "If that's what I'm up against... who do I even...." Roxy barked another quick laugh.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Kiddo, that's way over what you're getting into. Someone just wanted to show you where you might end up if you're any good at this." She gave my niece a smile. "And you're far from the worst I've seen. You've got good moves, and a decent insinct. If that's what you can pick up in a day of training, then you've got a long career in this biz waiting for you." Veronica smiled, then groaned as her ribs hurt again.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I don't suppose this gets any easier?" She asked, taking a hand off of her ribs to grab a bottle of water. Roxy shrugged.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You learn to tune out the pain a little. Still hurts like hell, but the adrenaline helps keep it off 'till the fight's over." She then turned on me "What about you, old man, got any fight left in you?" I chuckle at her, shaking my head.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If I couldn't beat you as a newbie in my prime, what hope do you think I've got now?" Her face broke out into a grin.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If that's the case maybe I should pin you down right now." I just shook my head at her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I may not be able to throw a punch like I used to, but I can still move when I need to." Turning around I ducked under a shotput ball. As I heard it crack into the wall I gave Roxy a glare. "What the fuck?!" Roxy was too busy laughing to be bothered by the rebuke.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Oh, gods, the... the look on your face!" She broke out into laughter again. I marched up to her and brought the bottom of my fist down on her head.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Argh, hey!" She growled, looking up at me with anger.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I'm not a mamono, you idiot! And I'm not an incubus either. You could have killed me!" She stopped laughing right then, sniffing carefully.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Shit, you're not...." She muttered, before turning bright red.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Why the hell would you think I was?" She looked at me for a few moments, before looking away.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Well, it's just that... you're a bloody legend, how does a guy like you not have a wife by now?" I gave her a deadpan look.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"A little thing called not looking for one? And turning the girls at my door around because half of them are half my age, and the other half are double it?" Roxy swore under her breath.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Sorry, just... sorry." There was a nervous cough from the ring, and we both turned to see Veronica looking at us with a mild blush.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Um... should I go train some more?" We both shake our heads.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You feel up for another round?" Roxy asked, cracking her knuckles. Never have I seen Veronica decline an offer faster. "Well then, maybe we'll go through some proper training. I've got some stuff here that old Red Rocket over here wouldn't be able to wrap his head around." I give her another thump on the head for using my old title.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If we're going to be doing this all day, just stick to old man." I grumble as we walk over to some of the equipment.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">We start with a proper warmup this time, going for a small jog and doing some stretches. Then we start doing some real work. We spend the whole day going over some more agility training, this time using a special pitching machine. While it wasn't as fun as throwing it by hand, it wasn't nearly as exhausting either, though I doubt Ronnie shared my thoughts.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Once Veronica had worked herself into a puddle we called it a day. As we were leaving Roxy pulled me away before I could reach the door.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Hey, if she really wants to get in on the whole boxing scene, I can get her into a little local tournament next month." I raised an eyebrow, to which she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, we both know she's got what it takes. Two days and she's already getting into the swing of it. If she keeps this up, by the time the tournament comes around the hardest part's gonna be keeping her ego in check." We shared a laugh, and I looked over to my niece, waiting by the door. Well, collapsed by it, anyway.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Okay, you get her in the comp, and I'll get her into shape." Roxy grinned at me and thumped me on the back.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You got it, champ." I huffed at her, before turning back to the door.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">On the way home we swung by a Zipangu place to get some dinner, then ate at home.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So, how would you feel about going into a tournament next month?" I asked as we started eating. Veronica just gave me a shocked look. "Okay, fine, there'll be other tournaments."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"No, wait, I, I want to go, but... do you really think I'll be ready?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Do you think I'd be asking if I didn't?" She gives me a big grin, before buring herself in her food. She went to bed early that night.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The weeks that followed were long, hard and painful, at least for Ronnie. They got easier after the first two weeks, when she wasn't waking up sore quite as often. As she got better, I stepped up her regimen, By the time the tournament came I had no question she'd be a challenge for anyone who came up against her. The tournament, unsurprisingly, was a thinly veiled recruitment event for some of the big players, and was held at Roxy's Ring. We arrived by foot, and I got to see mroe than a few pampered wannabes show up in true celebrity style.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If I ever catch you acting like them, I will knock you flat, got it?" Ronnie snickered at the girls in thick coats and silken gowns.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If I ever start acting like them, save yourself the trouble and just shoot me." We shared a laugh as we stepped into the building. More than a few people were surprised to see me.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What's he doing here?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I thought this was a mamono league event." I ignored them, wasn't the first time I'd been ridiculed for attending a mamono event. I gave ronnie a pat on the shoulder.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Go get signed in, I'll be watching." She nodded, running off. As she dissapeared into the crowd I heard a familiar voice behind me.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Right this way you two, I made sure to get you some excellent seats." Turning around I could barely believe my eyes. Roxy was walking my brother and his wife towards me.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Why didn't you tell us our little girl was going to be having her first fight?" Her mother shouted, looking around at all the young, strong mamono.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"He probably just didn't want to freak her out. Remember how much you were panicking when mum and dad showed up for your first major fight?" I sighed as my brother reminded me of the occasion.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Ooh, come on, baby, let's go get seats!" His wife dragged him off towards the ring.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"So, wanna make a little wager on tonight's fights?" Roxy was giving me a sly grin that implied trouble.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I've never been much of a betting man." She laughs and slaps me on the back.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I know that. But I think the kid has what it takes to win this." I give her a sceptical look. "Oh, come on! What do you say, she wins tonight, and I get you for a night. Sound good?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"And if she doesn't?" Roxy grinned.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Then you don't have to worry about getting molested by a single hellhound with anger issues ever again." I took a moment to think on it, then sighed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"As confident as I am that she's got a good shot at this, some of these girls have spent the better part of their lives training for this. Throw in a free dinner, of my choice, and I'll take the bet." Roxy's grin grew even bigger as she grabbed my hand.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You're on!" With that said and done, I went to find Veronica. It wasn't hard, since some of the others were apparently taking their offense with me out on her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You don't stand a chance, if you've just been training with a human."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You're not gonna make it passed the first round, pip squeak." I cleared my throat to get their attention.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"If you've got a problem with me, then bring it up with me. If you've got a problem with my niece, you can take it up in the ring." A jinko stalked up to me, looking down on me.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I don't take orders from you." She growled.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"And I'm not scared of a little girl who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Why you...." She grabbed me by the collar and pulled her fist back, when a black hand wrapped around her arm.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Bonnie." Roxy growled as she pulled the tigress away from me "If you start one more fight outside of the ring, I'm going to take it personally. Now get your ass moving, your up in five." She then looked at me.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"And you, maybe take some of your own advice, and learn when to stop talking." I just gave her a sly smile. Veronica walked up to me, looking around nervously.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You can do this. You won't be fighting someone her size in the ring, anyway." She looked at me, and all nervousness left her face.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I kinda wish I was. She deserves to get beaten to a pulp for treating you like that." I just grin at her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Don't worry about her, or me, for that matter. You just focus on your fights. We're in four matches tonight, and if you win those you're in the finale. Just remember, patience, performance, and...."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Persistance." I nodded, and walked with her to the ring. Her first fight was a lizardman, a surprise, but not completely unexpected. While she hadn't been very strong physically, she was fast. But Ronnie kept her cool, and didn't let her opponent frustrate her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Next was a jinko, who became an unfortunate victim of Veronica's earlier anger. She took a few more hits that round than she should of, but still managed to come out on top.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The third round threw everyone for a loop. It was an oni fighter, but she was a blue oni. The way she moved and fought was brutal, very red, but if you knew what to watch for, you could see the precision in her blows, each movement made for maximum pain. It was another hard fought victory, but it had been close.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Her last fight was a minotaur. The woman wasbuilt surprisingly lightly, but the dense pack of her muscles and the fact she'd made it to the semi-finals proved she knew what she was about. It was the first fight in the lightweight category that had been brought down to points. Ronnie took the victory by two hits in the final round.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I... I'm in the finals." Ronnie was beside herself while we waited for the other fight to finish. When I looked at her next oponent though, I didn't know whether to cheer for her, or feel sorry for her. The girl was an  ogre, who must have only just scraped into the lightweight category, much to her apparent pleasure.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Any idea's, coach?" She asked me, I'd been wathing every fight over the night, and one thing was clear about this one, she was a brute. All of her fights had been a decisive knockout, and while she'd taken plenty of hits she didn't even seem to care.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Just one. Keep out of reach. Wear her down, and don't let her hit you. Just wait it out." She nodded as the round concluded. The two stepped up for the final round, the ogre was more than a little smug.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Ready to get smashed, puppy?" She growled, raising her fists. Veronica didn't respond, just put her own two arms up. The bell rung, and the began.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> That fight was perhaps one of the longest of the night. The ogre had good stamina, enough to keep the blows coming thoughout the first round and into the second. As the bell for the second round rang out Veronica took her chance for a breather. The ogre was panting heavily, but still had that smug look on her face.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "When I'm done with you, I might have to see if that coach of yours is any good." I gave the girl a glare, which just got a laugh from her. I could hear Ronnie quietly growling. As the two stepped back out into the ring, I could see it in Ronnies eyes. She was angry.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> The bell rang, and I don't even think the ogre knew what hit her at first. Veronica lashed out before the bell had even finished sounding, and every attempt the ogre made to get back on the offensive was met with more pummelling. The finisher came when the ogre threw out a double handed punch. Ronnie ducked and stepped to the side, before bringing her fist straight into the green girls head.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> She fell to the ground with a groan, and just layed there. She wasn't knocked out, but I think she was stunned. And she wasn't alone. The entire crowd was silenced when she hit the floor, and Ronnie was down low, waiting for her to get back up. The ref started counting, and that was that. When she finally managed to sit herself up, she just blinked a few times, looked around, then looked at Ronnie, panting in her corner.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Well damn...." She muttered, before a huge grin spread across her face. "That was the best fight I've had in years!" She cheered, walking over and hugging Ronnie. She just looked at me, confused as hell. All I could do was shrug and try not to laugh, at least until the ogre winked at me, then I was reminded of my bet with Roxy.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> The tournament was concluded, Veronica got a nice big trophy and some offers from some of the other mamono coaches, and her mother couldn't cheer hard enough.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "I knew it was the right thing, letting her train with you!" She pulled me into a bear hug, which then turned into a sandwich as Veronica came in from the other side.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "I can't believe I did it! Thank you, thank you so much!" She squealed, and it was only when I started turning blue that they let me go.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Hey, old man!" I winced at the voice, turning to see Roxy marching up to us. "Hope your ready for that bet, cause after watching all that I'm fired up." The other three look at me questioningly.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "I may have had my doubts about you actually winning the competition. So... I'm spending the night with Roxy now." My sister-in-law broke out into laughter, while Veronica blushed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> "Yep! Come on, I'll still get you dinner, okay? Ooh, your in for such a long night, Rocket." I was promptly dragged into the back for a preview of what was to come. Roxy definitely hit the nail on the head when she said it was going to be a long night.