Match of the Millennium

Description: When you come to Vegas, you expect to see the sights. Taste the smells. Enjoy the strippers. But some people, especially those in the Neo-League, are looking for a fight. And Cracker Jack, the hard standing champion of the Neo-League, decides that this Marduk fellow seems like a good guy to challenge, and recruit into Shadaloo even. Marduk wants to punch people. Cracker Jack is people. How well does the Marduk Experience go, in the end? <Winner: Marduk>

Cracker Jack saw that interview on television, with Craig Marduk, and had a chance to peruse his file that Shadaloo keeps on interesting fighters. Cracker Jack needed to get close to Mr. Marduk, to study him, see how he fights, and more importantly, extend to him the offer of working for the organization. And he knew just how to offer Marduk the contract: by giving Craig an opportunity to skyrocket to the top of the Neo-League. Cracker Jack could really care less about the Neo-League and professional fighting in general. It was really just a job, one he could care less about, only the endorsements and paycheck mattered. But hooking Craig into Lord Vega's ranks? That could be a wonderful retirement some day, if Craig worked out. And Shadaloo operatives rarely could think about such a thing as a villa on Baja California, perhaps with a small winery nearby and a pretty Mexican wife ten years younger than he was.

Cracker Jack waited on one end of Fremont street with his wooden baseball bat in hand, tapping it in his left palm as his idle gesture to burn off the twisted, angry edge inside his being that turned him into such a coiled snake in a fight. Night time was falling, and people were gathered to see the fight. There were cameras and a few sporting press journalists nearby, that knew tracking Cracker Jack's tumultuous career was an immediate payday to their editors, whether or not the j-outfit's readers loved or hated him. His hat was down over his face, one eye showing from between his black bangs.

COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack has started a fight here.

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Cracker Jack     0/-------/-------|

[MARDUK]
"GOD DAMN!"

That was the bellowing from a figure behind the crowd. You could tell. You could -see- the bald head forcing through. The staggering figure was covered in visible hair even from here, and it was just pushing its way through. And all the way, he was just babbling out. "The ether IS WEARING OFF! THE ACID IS LONG GONE. But HOT DAMN, this mescaline is running STRONG." Marduk staggers through the crowd, shoving people aside as he nearly reaches the street. Here, his beetle-sheen purple and green shorts, knee pads, and gloves could seen, along with the rest of the bear-like hair covering him. "You know, mescaline comes on slow. My first hour? All waiting. Halfway through the second hour, I was cursing the GOD DAMN creep who BURNED ME, cause you know? NOTHING'S HAPPENING!"

"And then - ZANG!!"%

Marduk stops dead in the middle of the street, looking around with his hands on his hips, smacking his lips before he fixes his gaze on Cracker Jack down on the end. The camera crew and judge begins to get in position, as the titan just hooks a thumb right at CJ. "Is this the GOD DAMN asshole I am fighting?" Marduk bellows at the judge. "Sir, I need you-" "JUST ANSWER MY GOD DAMN QUESTION!" Was the roar as Marduk hovers over the judge. The man just shuts his eyes tight, and nods. "GOOD! WE'RE STARTING. I got SLOTS!" Marduk turns back towards Cracker Jack.

And he just charges him.

"GRAAAGH!" Was the roar as the titanic brawler just runs down the street. Hastily, the judge signals the fight to begin. CJ would be getting a warning. Every barefooted step of the giant comes with a slap as he forces his way down the street to his victim. Marduk would just dip low, to seize up Cracker Jack by his knees. Should he get the grips there, he would lift him up high. And promptly power bomb him back down, slamming him like a broken toy.

All while screaming his head off.

COMBATSYS: Marduk has joined the fight here.

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Cracker Jack     0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Marduk

COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack blocks Marduk's Power Throw.

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Cracker Jack     0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Marduk

Cracker Jack hears the bellows from the crowd as Marduk forces his way into pre-eminence for the fight to begin, his bat slowly shifting from its resting place on his left palm into a ready position. As Marduk runs forward, Cracker Jack's eyes slowly widen as his neutral mouth slowly slides into a slim line, favoring the right with a faint downturn, his jaw gritting right and indicating his paranoid antisocial disorder. He looks around, suddenly suspicious that he's been set up by the fight promoters, a foolish distraction due to his inner demons that proves costly.

As Craig manages to grab him, Cracker Jack lets out a howl of anger as he loses his footing and kicks in the air, before being slammed to the ground. He manages to land on his shoulder with a last minute twist, before he bounces over his shoulder and lands on his back. He rolls to his feet, slowly, feeling his shoulder scream with pain both shooting and dull. "Mr. Marduk. Your reputation proceeds you."

Cracker Jack's left hand slaps out for Craig's neck, along the back, as if he's going for a judo turnover, before his right hand sends his trusty bat whining through the air at Craig's knee, from the side.

"So much anger, yet so little use for your skills in your life as you lead it."

COMBATSYS: Marduk Toughs Out Cracker Jack's Power Hunter!

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Cracker Jack     0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0           Marduk

Marduk -loved- to hear them howl.

"Yeah, yeah, you HOWL for ME, BITCH!" The towering brawler slams down the flailing Cracker Jack, steadily returning back to a stand. He was close in a clinch, and close quarters with Marduk was... a bad thing. As it turned out, though, close quarters with Cracker Jack wasn't that good either. The other fighter was faster, much faster than the behemoth. By the time Craig was in a full stand, Cracker Jack was already on him. The left hand hits clean, hitting like it was striking a block of frozen beef. Cracker Jack gets the grip, and goes for the turnover as the bat smashes HARD into Craig knee. And on impact, the brute rumbles as he falls down to one knee, arms slamming on the asphalt. % R
"You making fun of my SKILLS?!"

That was the response from Craig as he already adjusts, adjust was coming back for another grab. "I am PURE SKILL BABY!" He roars from his crouch. His knee was swelling and turning black, the impact was not flawed in the least. But Marduk didn't seem to be registering the pain in his head. Or worse, turning the pain into rage. "I am the LEANING TOWER of SKILLS! If I got a middle name, it is gonna be one word: SKILLS!" Craig was already rising back up to seize Cracker Jack by his knees again. It was repetitive, and Marduk was not subtle. But the pure power, the pure force was rolling in: should Marduk get that grip again, he would spin Cracker Jack around, dipping him low with the moment... and throw him into the air.

High in to the air.

-Very- high in the air.

COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack endures Marduk's Around The World.

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Cracker Jack     1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0           Marduk

Cracker Jack's eyes open wide as Marduk soaks up his bat blow to the knee with little more than pure piss, rage, and spirit. As he's lifted into the air, his mouth opens in a breathless shout, before he's sent flying through the air, flipping head over heel. There's a sudden sound of voltage as he collides with a neon sign, electrocuted as he impacts into it, before bouncing to the ground. On his feet, no less. He can play that game, too. Seething with rage, his teeth chatter from the aftereffects of the current running through his body, a low sound from the crowds watching.

Cracker Jack goes running through the crowd back into the street, people parting in sheer horror, as he heads directly for Marduk with his bat and his smoking clothing, eyes wide and shot like a charging bull that's chosen to attack a rodeo clown instead of a cowboy. He winds up with his bat as he gets close to Marduk, before he skids to a halt and swings, his entire inertial charge flowing through the bat as he transfers his forward energy into his arms, and via his arms, into the blunt edge of the bat, aimed at the side of Marduk's head.

COMBATSYS: Marduk barely endures Cracker Jack's Home Run King.

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Cracker Jack     0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0           Marduk

He made him fly.

Marduk cups his ear as Cracker Jack goes airborne, mouth open. And he waits.... waits until he hits the sign. Grinning like a moron, he pumps his arm. "SCORE! That's a HOLE IN ONE SUCKERS!" He bellows, slapping his palm into the crook of his arm in a salute to the falling Cracker Jack. He didn't have long to celebrate, though. It seemed that Cracker Jack was a champion for a reason too. The batter was already bolting straight at Marduk. And the brutish titan unhooks his arm. He should be afraid.

Instead, he was just cocky.

Falling into his ready stance, his legs apart, his hands apart, he grins as he waits for CJ to thunder back. "Oh yeah. OH YEAH. You wanna hit me? YOU WANNA HIT ME? Well guess what bitch. I WANNA GET HIT. I WANNA TAKE THE BEST YOU GOT. Cause you know what? The best you got? It's NOTHING. YOU'RE NOTHING. I'm gonna take it. I'm gonna take it so easy. I'M GONNA TAKE IT SO-" The man is cut off as Cracker Jack, roaring in, finally connects with Marduk, slamming the bat straight and hard right for the temple of Marduk. There is a sickening crack as it connects.

As a matter of fact, he could only barely take it.

The full force of the blow actually knocks Marduk staggering. His eyes cross on impact, as he breaks from his stance into a stumbling dance. Circling around, he rocks back and forth. One of his pupils was dilated. The other wasn't. The dance ends, as he begins to stumble backwards now, his arms flailing, as unconsciousness tries to creep on over him.

"You just hit me in the head?"

The brute words slur out, and the sweet embrace of sleep is driven away. Craig regains his footing, stomping down HARD on the street. Cracks spiderweb on impact, as he firmly gets down. He brings a palm to the side of his head... and pulls away, looking at it. Blood. He blows his nose, as fluid and blood pours out. That was... that was not a good sign. He steadily turns a red purple, glaring at Cracker Jack with gritted teeth. "YOU HIT ME IN THE HEAD!" Froth pours from his mouth, mingling with his leaking cerebal fluid across his face.
"YOU JUST HIT ME IN MY GOD DAMN HEAD!!!"

And Marduk explodes into a charge at Cracker Jack...

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Cracker Jack with Skull Crusher.

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Cracker Jack     1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0           Marduk

And Marduk was going straight for the takedown.

Lifting Cracker Jack up in the air, he just slams him down on his back, and procedes to mount on his chest. And there, Marduk plants his left palm right on the side of the cowboy's head. And with the other hand? He begins to hit him in the head. Again and again, pounding his fist into the head and face of Cracker Jack. "YOU LIKE THIS? HOW YOU LIKE BEING HIT IN THE HEAD? YOU THINK BEING HIT IN THE HEAD IS =FUNNY=" He roars as he pummels again and again. "WELL GUESS WHAT FUCKER"

"IT IS PRETTY FUNNY!"

"HAH HA HA!" He bellows as his pummeling finally stops. Instead, he plants BOTH hands on Cracker Jack's head, and begins to pound it into the street. Again and again. AGAIN AND AGAIN. The judge cries out. "FOUL! FOUL!" Was the cry. Marduk wasn't stopping. Pounding again and again, he was guffawing. "YEAH! YEAH! THIS IS SO GOD DAMN FUNNY ISN'T IT ASSHOLE! ISN'T IT ASSHOLE!" And finally, finally, Marduk stops. Releasing the man, he rolls off his chest, coming back up into a stand.

"Got anything else to say about my skills, bitch?"

Cracker Jack's bat splinters to pieces across Marduk's skull, and the broken handle drifts out of his hand gently, falling to the ground with a wobble on the pavement. Jack exhales as he grins and watches Marduk stagger, his face twitching spastically as he feels the electric charge still in his body flicker. And then, Craig charges.

"HWUFH!" Jack guffaws as Marduk charges into him, pinning him on the ground beneath him. Jack's hands claw at Marduk's wrists, as he's pinned to the pavement and repeatedly pounded. And then, the smashing, over, and over, and over again. His head, severely concussed by now, drifts out of consciousness, as Marduk gets off, a little wink of alertness fading from his pupils as his still open eyes stare at Craig.

And then, in Jack's head, a little trumpet plays. The training sequence theme from Rocky 1 plays in Cracker Jack's head, and his jaw slams shut, eyes opening wide. Like a machine, he stands up, blacked out but still functioning, as if demonically possessed. He lurches forward at Marduk, swinging left and right and left over and over again, like Frankenstein's monster, unable to alter direction until he finally starts swinging at air and falls onto his face, gone for good.

The fight medics rush over, as the siren of an ambulance wails.

COMBATSYS: Cracker Jack can no longer fight.

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Marduk           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Marduk endures Cracker Jack's Lazy Buffalo but gets knocked away!

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Marduk           0/-------/----===|

He didn't think he would get back up.

As Cracker Jack rises, the brute doesn't really register it. Craig Marduk was too busy raising his arms up to the crowd, who was... booing. Actually booing. People were STILL showing up to the fight, expecting to catch the middle of it. Instead, there was... this shit. A round of applause and cheers finally come, and Craig eats it up. "Yeah, yeah, you all like that. You all-"

And a raging force of nature roars in to his flank.

"GRAAAGH!" was the roar as the first blows come. Turning around, he tries to face him. "You just WON'T LEARN YOUR LESSON BITCH!" The brute rumbles, as he starts to lean in to the frenzied blows. That suddenly fails when a stray punch hammers squarely into his head... in the same place the bat broke upon. Marduk sways hard, stunned by the blow. Staggering away, he goes into the punchdrunk swagger again, as Cracker Jack falls down. Marduk takes a full 10 seconds to get back into his senses, refusing to fall, unable to see. As he begins to come together, he looks across at the man who dared to strike him in the head TWICE.

And saw a medical team already around him.

"Oh bitch no. OH BITCH NO" He roars as he begins to approach the downed man. "Get the FUCK out of my WAY I am not DONE with that ASSHOLE!" Craig snarls as he actually pulls away a medical official. The boos of the crowd break out again, as the judge gets up in Marduk's face. "Back down! You're done! You've won the fight! Back down!" The judge barks up into Marduk face. The brute grabs his own head, the noises giving him a splitting headache... as well as the massive conscussion. "Ugh...." He groans, anger boiling up. The judge continues to scream at him, the audience continues to boo.... And Marduk just turns around. "What the fuck ever." He just sulks, storming away. The crowd parts, though the booing and hissing continues out, as the medical team swiftly go to work to keep Cracker Jack alive. Craig just thunders away, muttering to himself. "I don't got time to deal with you assholes." He scowls, speaking softly.

"I gotta call my momma anyways."

COMBATSYS: Marduk has ended the fight here.

Log created on 17:59:14 06/28/2016 by Marduk, and last modified on 20:13:22 06/28/2016.