Match of the Millennium

Description: He beat up her mentor. She insulted his mama. It's a battle for mutual vengeance between a raging bull and an angry beaver on the Neo-League's dime when Alexis tracks Craig Marduk down to Club Haddaway in Jamaica. Both are ready to show each other what love is, and neither is ready to ask for the hurting to stop. What did Alexis say to get Marduk so mad? Can a beaver even hope to whittle a bull down to size? What is right and what is wrong? At least one of these questions will be answered in this very fight.

[MARDUK]
"YEAH! YEAH! TOP ME UP!"

That is the bellow from seven feet of massive, tanned hairy man. The giant Craig Marduk is inside the Club Haddaway, a remote bar out on the coast of Jamica. The steel drums plays in the background, though the spirit was clearly out of the place. The bar was half-full, the women half-assaulted. Both a benefit of the titanic man being a patron of the Patron. The man was finishing up another 'Voodoo Skull' a plastic skull tumbler of way too many liquors. He was along at the bar itself, the others having learned to clear away from the loose cannon by sticking to the tables scattered through the bars. His presence here?

To celebrate.

"So there he was, on the ground, just SOBBING like a BABY!" The massive aussie roars into the dark-skinned waitress struggling in his arm. Her forced polite smile was at a cracking point. And yet, the massive brawler had her pinned against his chest. "Rust Howard, you know, the WORLD CHAMP? And he was on the GROUND just BABBLING and SOBBING. What a LOSER. So naturally, I had to just POUND HIM you know? Guy was easy as pie once I got him down. And MAN, let me tell you, what a WEINER. Canadians are pretty much the biggest GOD DAMN PUSSIES in the WOR- Okay love." Smashes down his plastic skull cup, snapping it. He brings BOTH hands around to seize up the waitress. "You better stop this struggling, you understand? It's REALLY PISSING ME OFF." He draws back a hand, threateningly.

"You don't wanna be like that downer chick with the broken jaw, do you?"

[ALEXIS]
The door to the Haddaway swings open with a crack at the insistence of a black leather boot at the end of a pale and shapely leg. Through the entrance steps the owner of both leg and boot, dressed in a rather out-of-place ensemble reminiscent of a cross between a Catholic schoolgirl and professional wrestler. Alexis Lovell's entrance, along with the hard scowl on her face as her eyes sweep the club, goes unnoticed by most of the other patrons between the pounding drums drowning out the noise and the massive Australian whose presence, like the gravitational pull of the Earth, draws all eyes unto himself. Alexis' aquamarine gaze is no exception, and when she catches sight of the situation Marduk and the waitress are in, she starts to make her way over. The Canadian's approach is measured and undemanding of attention, at first. A few of the locals look up as she brushes past their tables; none seem to recognize the punk-rocker-come-prize-fighter. Nor is much mind paid to the camera man who sidles into the bar half a minute after Alexis does. As she gets closer, though, a definite strut comes into her movements.

"Hey, there, big guy," Alexis addresses Marduk as she saunters up to the side of Marduk on the opposite side of the waitress, her voice somehow carrying over the steel drums despite its velvet tone. "Why don't you let her fetch you a drink? I can keep you company in the meanwhile." Alexis places her hands on the bartop and hoists herself up, spinning around and planting her backside on the spot beside the one Marduk is seated at. The elevated spot puts her at roughly eye level with the seated giant, and a faint smile hangs on her lips as she watches for Marduk's reaction.

[MARDUK]
"What the-"

The doors swing open, and Marduk tightens his grips on the waitress. The woman sobs to herself, as Marduk scowls. He expected trouble, at first. Instead, he saw a young woman, toned and strutting in. The man licks his lips, looking from her boots, up to that skirt, and then winding the gaze right on up. And she was calling him right there. As she takes her position on his flank, he looks at the camera, not registering what it meant. Instead, he looks over on his other side, and grinning, nods his head.

"Mmmmm Marduk likes."

And with that, he releases the waitress. "Go get me two more of those Voodoo Skulls, babe." He slaps her on the bottom, as he turns his attention back on Alexis. He raises up an arm, inviting her to slip right into the grasps of the man. "Why don't you slide right on up in here, sweetie." Marduk rumbles in what must be a 'coo' for the titan. "I can tell you about how I'm the greatest fighter there is. Unless you aren't interested in that; I'm okay with us just skipping to the part where you get to experience..."

"... The Marduk Experience."

[ALEXIS]
The brunette scoots herself over in front of Marduk, her gloved palm sweeping the crushed remains of the first Voodoo Skull from the bartop as she moves to occupy its place. The girl brushes her bangs out of her face before renewing her smile. Her tone remains sweet, but not quite sickly so. "So, you're Craig Marduk, eh? I mean, of course you are. How could anybody mistake a body built like that for anyone else, right?"

One leg lifts up to hook over the shoulder attached to the elevated arm, if she's allowed to do so. "Oh, I already know about what a great fighter you are, mister. I mean, I watched that video where you beat the shit out of the World Champion. What was his name again?" She taps her index finger against her lips as she seems to think for a moment, her leg pulling a little tighter. "Rust Howard, or something like that?" She leans closer, conspiratorially so, a twinkle in her eye. "And then the bit where you threatened his wife and family? That was great!" Her body shakes as she covers her mouth, barely containing laughter. After a second she settles down, then swings her other leg up to try and hook it over Marduk's over shoulder to pull him closer still. "Listen, though. By the time that I'm done with you, you won't just be the best fighter there /is/..." She leans in, cupping a hand over her mouth to lend a further sense of privacy to her next words.

"You'll be the best fighter there /was./"

With that, Alexis swings herself off of the bar, attempting to draw her legs tight around Marduk's neck and pull him off of his stool before sending him towards the nearest table with a leg scissors throw. In the background, the cameraman has set up his equipment just in time to catch the action.

COMBATSYS: Alexis has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Alexis           0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Marduk has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marduk           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Alexis

COMBATSYS: Marduk blocks Alexis' Medium Throw.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marduk           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Alexis

[MARDUK]
"Aw yeah, I'm Craig Marduk all right."

That is the response as she begins to wrap her leg around his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, that's a great video. I think it was-" And she interrupts him. "Whoa, holy SHIT! You are a big fan, ain't cha?" Marduk guzzles the Voodoo Skull, as Alexis gets the other leg around. He leans in close, utterly taken in by this strange girl who is treating him just as he ought to be trated. He puts the skull down on the counter, as he basks in all this. "By the time you're done with me? Yeah, I'm just really the best there will, and ever be, was and is-"

"HOLY SHIT!"

And suddenly, scissor takedown. The legs snap around his neck, as he knocks over his out the skull juice. She got the grip around the neck, that much was there. But as she moves to the leverage, a hand snaps down on the counter hard. Marduk doesn't go flying, but neither he nor she was going anywhere. A stalemate breaks out, from the ambush, from the leverage. There is the sound of splintering wood as he digs his grip hard, as his other hand comes up to shove against the woman. "BITCH! BITCH! GET OFF! GET OAAAAGH!" He spits, as he attempts to drive his palm into the woman, and just -wrench- him off the neck. Not slam her down, not hurl her away.

But just get her OFF.

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Alexis with Quick Throw.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Marduk           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Alexis

[ALEXIS]
Context can be deceptive. From her perch on the bar, with Marduk seated on the stool, it had looked to Alexis as though taking the man down would be easy enough, given the element of surprise. As Marduk gains traction by grabbing onto the bartop, leaving her thighs struggling to take him down, the reality of the situation becomes evident.

Craig Marduk is really, really big.

This thought echoes in her mind as the huge palm pushes back against her body, wrenching her legs free from Marduk's neck, then sending her tumbling backward off of the bar in a rather undignified manner. She hits the wooden floor on her back and shoulders, only managing to cover her head with her arms as she slides top end-first into the shelf at the back. A few bottles tumble off as the wooden structure rocks with the impact, some deflecting off her forearms as others crash onto the floor. Thankfully, for the owner, none break as of yet.

When Alexis' arms lower down to her sides against the floor, she's... grinning? "What's the matter?" she asks as she grabs hold of a shelf and yanks herself to her feet. "You upset 'cause someone showed up just to try and ruin your day?"

At the other end of the room, standing beside the cameraman, the lead of the house band shouts over the noise of the club, the beat unceasing as he does: "LADIES and GENTLEMEN! TONIGHT, CLUB HADDAWAY WELCOMES the NEO LEAGUE for... ALEXIS! VERSUS! MARDUK!"

"Guess that's our cue to get started," Alexis says with a quick, ironic wink before hopping up onto the countertop, spinning 'round with the same motion and raising one leg up nearly parallel to her body before bringing her boot down at Marduk's head, heel-first. Should the cranial kick connect, a *PONG* sound would penetrate the pounding of the drums as a burst of sonic energy accompanies the strike!

COMBATSYS: Marduk blocks Alexis' Hammer-On.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Marduk           0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0           Alexis

[MARDUK]
Craig Marduk was in fact very big.

The seven foot tall titan felt the squeeze more than the pull from the punk star. And yet, as he shoved him off, it had not fully sunk in what was happening. "What the- are you flirting with me? Is this a kind of CRAZY SEXY thing going on? Are you a stripper?" Were the questions coming out of the confused, giant man. Rising from his chair, he stumbles backwards, looking around. She was smiling. "Ruin my day? Show up? WHAT ARE THESE WORDS MEANING!" He bellows. And then, the lead of the house band suddenly announces. And it just then begins to dawn on Marduk.

"Neo League?"

"NEO LEAGUE!?"

Marduk was thrown off balanced, still trying to take in everything that was happening. The boot doesn't meet the head, as the hulking brawler brings his forearm up to the kick. The impact itself doesn't do much. The sonic blast, however, is more than enough to send him staggering back, stunning him briefly. "AAAGH! My EARS. What the HELL you PSYCHOBITCH!" He agonizes, drawing back his arm to cup his hands on his ears. "GOD DAMN! WHAT KIND OF BITCH JUST SHOWS UP AND FIGHTS!" Marduk steadies his feet, and lurches back at Alexis. He was still reserved, still on the defense. Moving slowly, cautiously, he approaches Alexis, bringing up his guard. "You seriously want this?" He barks, as he hurls out jabbing right, followed by a cautious body blow from the left.

"YOU SERIOUSLY WANT THIS GOING DOWN HO?"

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Alexis with Quick Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Marduk           0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1           Alexis

[ALEXIS]
Given her choice of dress, Alexis has been mistaken for a stripper enough times that that particular question from Marduk doesn't even offend her. In fact, Marduk's reaction to her words only serves to encourage the girl's smirk. "Maybe," is all the answer that his questions receive as the heel drops. The way that he catches her kick, though, has the opposite effect, and her teeth grit momentarily as she pulls her foot back to steady herself on the bar. The giant's screaming about his ears in the aftermath does cause her to grin again, though.

"Shit. You're complaining about /your/ ears? You should try listening to yourself," Alexis says as her eyes follow Marduk's lurching, arms coming up to try and cover herself up. "And the whole confusing violence and flirting thing? Something you might wanna work - oof!" The jab comes harder than expected, opening her guard up and allowing the body blow to slip it. The strike doubles her over, her arms cradling her guts as if she were afraid they might escape her. She gasps once, then sucks in a sharp breath. "You shouldn't call me that," she wheezes, her voice betraying her pain while her tone defies it. "I'm too young to be your mom."

Righting herself faster than she probably should, she leaps off of the bartop, swinging her body sideways and aiming to crash straight into Marduk's upper torso, her own brimming with sonic energy fuelled by the noise-filled club that would be released should she manage to collide with him. The cross-body would then be followed up by Alexis trying to swing her body around Marduk's, hook her arm around his neck, then use all of her weight to pull him head-first down into the bar with a second and more dissonant sonic burst.

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Marduk with Stage Dive.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Marduk           0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1           Alexis

[MARDUK]
Marduk finally realized that this was a real fight.

Throwing out the careful combo, he keeps himself steady, keeps himself apace. He wasn't letting his temper get him yet. He was more confused than angry right now. "HEY! People love my voice!" He counters, as he shakes his hands at the punk rock star. As she continues to banter back, Marduk starts to go cross-eyed. "Well, of course you aren't mama."

And then he pauses.

"Why are you talking about mama though?"

Confusion overtakes him, as he struggles against his opponent's words. "... Too young to be mama... then why would I call you Mama?" He starts, as he tries to catch the woman by the wrist as she leaps off. But his reflexes were, at the moment, as quick as his wits. He is seized by the neck, and then slammed into the bar, head first, with another burst. Stunned, and blinded, he moans in pain, staggering away Alexis. "I didn't call you mama though. I flirted with you though..." He mutters, coming to a rest by a table with both hands. Getting his balance, he turns back around at Alexis.
R"But I wouldn't flirt with Mama!"

Marduk declares defiantly. "Yeah! I wouldn't flirt with Mama! And mama wouldn't wear a skirt like that, cause mama ain't no hooker. You are just trying to CONFUSE ME!" He points to the side of his head, before shaking it. "But I'm way to SMART to fall for it. We'll see how clever you are compared to my FISTS!" And with that, Marduk stumbles into an approach against Alexis. He was committing now, throwing more force into a singular, staggering triple body blow combination, aiming to hammer Alexis right in the breadbasket. "Besides, I didn't call you Mama, so you being too young to be... my... mama..."

"... Wait a minute...."

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Marduk's Gut Check.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Marduk           0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Alexis

[ALEXIS]
Rolling away as she releases the brute at the end of her maneuver, Alexis finds herself seated in a puddle of some unidentified liquid gathered on the wooden floor. Grimacing, she pushes herself up off of the hardwood and wipes a hand across the seat of her skirt. Waxing experimental, she raises her hand for a quick sniff. "Whew." Just rum. Rather pungent rum, but hardly the worst thing she's ended up sitting in at a bar.

"Try not to sprain anything, eh?" Alexis suggests as she gets her arms back up into a wary guard, circling opposite the seemingly flummoxed fighter. "I mean, fuck, you're making me feel bad. I can spell this shit out for you if you want. What I was basically saying is..." Then Marduk is coming back at her again. She could try and block, but Alexis - for some reason - decides to stand her ground. It's probably a good thing that the Canadian was never a bullfighter. The first body blow slams into her gut, causing her to flinch. She coughs out her next words: "Your mom..."

*THUMP*

"...is a..."

*WHUD*

After the third body blow, Alexis' arms go wide, as if surrendering her guard - but instead, she steps in, under Marduk's arms, as if finally accepting Marduk's earlier offer to embrace him. "...ho," she finishes her thought as she aims to wrap her arms around his waist - perhaps the only part of his upper body that she could get them around - then hoist herself up to hook her legs around his waist while twisting and dropping backward in an effort to slam Marduk down on his back in a straddling position.

COMBATSYS: Marduk barely endures Alexis' Beatdown in Three Four.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Marduk           1/-------/=======|>>>>---\-------\0           Alexis

As she manages to mount Marduk, she'll start raining down on his head with her closed fists. Each punch is accompanied by a sonic shockwave with a sound reminiscent of a different note being played on a xylophone. Also accompanying the musical number is a vocal track, delivered with a zeal and volume to rival Marduk's own outbursts:

"AND!"

*DING*

"THIS!"

*DONG*

"IS!"

*DING*

"FOR!"

*DONG*

"HOWARD!"

*BING*

"RUST!"

*BANG*

"JUNIOR!"

*BING*

"YOU!"

*BONG*

"SICK!"

*TING?*

"MOTHER..."

*RING*

"FUCKER!"

*GONNNG*

The final blow, a veritable haymaker, rings out through the club like a crashing cymbal, drowning out the drum beat from the rather persistent house band.

[MARDUK]
"Wait a minute..." He begins, the gears in his head turning as he slams his fists into her gut. "Don't- I think I got it. Wait... wait a minute..." Marduk mulls, as she explodes right under his arms. He also tries to keep his ground, but he was still in that daze. It is but the dawning thought was preventing a real defense. Scooped up he is slammed down, slammed down hard. And there, mounted, he is socked again and again, each blow ringing his ears with the cataclysmic smash. Blow after blow comes, as he just lays there, taking the full fury. As the final haymaker comes, he slams HARD. Marduk's face was swollen like a head of cauliflower. For a brief, pregnant moment, there was a silence from the brute. Maybe this was it, this was the moment, this was the final nail in the coffin of revenge. And then, the brute's lips move.

"Wait a minute..."

The man repeats. He blinks twice. And then, he narrows his eyes at Alexis, his voice dropping real quiet..

"... Did you call mama a B-I-T-C-H?"

"...DID YOU JUST CALL MAMA A H-O?!?!"

For a brief moment, Alexis might get the sensation one would get sitting on a washing machine. Marduk was trembling, the veins on his body bulging as his body turns a crimson purple. His whole body was flexed as he begins to froth at the mouth. "AND YOU HAVE THE FUCKING NERVE TO MOUNT THE CRAIG! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MAKE FUN OF MAMA!? YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MAKE FUN OF MAMA!?!?!" The volume was causing the very foundations of the building to rattle, a hurricane of rage was booming from him as he -rises- from the mount. He aims to shove both of those meaty palms squarely into each cheek of Alexis's ass. "OKAY BITCH." Comes the boom.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE REAL MARDUK EXPERIENCE!"

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Alexis with Skull Crusher.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Marduk           0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Alexis

And then, Alexis is smashed into the floor.

HARD.

The floorboards cracks under the full impact of the slam. There isn't time to think. There is just time for Marduk to mount squarely on her chest. And for a brief moment, she gets to see what Rust saw, and what Cracker Jack saw. The difference? Alexis insulted Marduk's mama. Marduk clutches her on the side of her head, with the same force that crushed the bar. The other? Brings blow after blow straight to the head, as he pounds her. All while screaming with each impact.

"MAMA"

"AIN'T"

"NO"

"HO"

"YOU"

"FUCKING"

"BITCH"

And suddenly, the pacing changes.

Marduk gets a surge of new fury as he just places BOTH hands on her head, and begins to slam her head back again and again, wrenching her neck in the process. The stream of consciousness flows as suddenly... suddenly the bar starts to rise. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! FUCKING! KILL! BITCH! BIIITCH!" Was the frothing madness...

And suddenly, the sound of a shotgun chick-chucking is heard.

"Get off her, mon." The bartender states firmly, leveling the shotgun at Marduk head. Marduk stops his pound, and looks up at the bartender. He was breathing hard, gasping for air. He looks back down at Alexis. And then, he dismounts her, rolling off to the side. He goes up to a stand, continuing to gasp for air. He was beginning to return back to a normal color. "Whatever. "WHATEVER."

"She ain't getting up from that."

[ALEXIS]
Alexis is too winded from her own outburst to pull herself off of the big man when he starts to shake underneath her. She squirms as he rises, wigging her hips to try and escape his grasp. When it becomes clear that the effort is futile, she closes her eyes tightly and tries to brace herself for the coming impact.

*KRRACCKK*

At first, Alexis isn't sure whether the cracking sound coming from underneath her was her spine or the wood floor. She can't feel or move anything below her waist - but she realises soon enough that has more to do with the nearly-four-hundred-pound Vale Tudo fighter on top of her than severed nerves.

In the short term? It doesn't really matter. There is no escape from what's to come for the Canadian.

Maybe she shouldn't have insulted his mother.

Any objective observer would likely come to this conclusion as the girl's eye turns an ugly violet colour and swells over from the beating it's receiving from Marduk's lead hand. Blood runs in rivulets from her busted nose and lips. And then the double-handed pounding starts... it's little surprise that someone intervenes. Not that Alexis is aware of the fact...

==*== MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE ==*==

Save for Lexi, all of the band members of Killasaurus Orphanage are sitting and lounging in hammocks tied between trees along the path leading to the Haddaway. None of them look especially relaxed. Except for Matt 'Toothhead' Barker, whose sunglasses (worn at night) and typically flat expression make it difficult to read whether he is relaxed or not. They sit in silence as the sounds of battle reach them from the building. And then... it goes quiet.

"Is it over?" Benny 'Benny Lava' Lavoie is the first to break the silence.

"It might be over," Matt replies noncommittally.

"Do you think she won?" Kim 'Kim Penetrable' Steel says hopefully, running her fingers through her mauve locks.

"I doubt it. Have you seen that guy? He is a mountain with legs," Benny spouts. "You know why she made us wait out here, don't you? She's committing suicide by fighter."

*SMACK*

"You take that back!" Kim shouts with an uncharacteristic fury after an uncharacteristic display of violence.

"Augh! Jesus, Kim! What's gotten into you?" A beat. "And how did you even hit me from over there?"

"She didn't do it because she didn't want us to see what happens to her," Kim insists with conviction. "She told me before. You know Alexis never had a dad, right?"

"Biologically speaking, that's actually impossib-"

"Shut up, Benny! You know what I mean," Kim continues. "Alexis never had a real dad. She hated her foster parents. That's why she left home when she was sixteen. Rust Junior is the first dad-type-person Lexi actually looked up to. She even followed him through all that stupid stuff. She watched him get hurt in front of his kids because she wanted to be on a team with him. And then she watched that Marduck guy beat Rust up and threaten his family on FightTube." Kim draws a deep breath, looking between her bandmates and failing to find any understanding in their expressions. Finally, she concludes: "Lexi didn't make us wait out here because she didn't want us to see what happened to her. She made us wait out here so we don't have to see what she does to the other guy."

==*== BACK IN THE HADDAWAY ==*==

Alexis gets up.

She strains to push her upper body off of the floor, her entire body shaking with the effort. She's effectively blind in one eye, and bangs matted with blood dangle in front of the other. The network of nasty bruises up and down her back and front are only partially visible along her exposed midriff, but she can feel the ache of them crossing nearly every inch of her torso. Her head is bent forward at an angle to compensate for the mottling around her neck. One might easily mistake her for the walking dead.

But she gets up... if only for a few moments.

"Hey... Marduk."

Alexis' words, though spoken low, are easily audible, as the room has gone oddly quiet in the wake of the sound of the shotgun clicking. The drums are still playing, more softly now, in the background. However, a deep, bassy pulse has been building ever since Alexis hit the ground. As her risen body turns toward Marduk, the pulse throbs faster and faster. It's clear that it emanates from the space around Alexis; a scarcely visible ripple starts to fill the air.

"FUCK YOU!"

It's more than just Alexis' lungs that fuel the blasting, vitriolic scream emitted from the girl's mouth. It's as if all of the noise in the last minute - the pounding of the drums, the raging verbal exchanges, the crushing of glass - has been gathered, compressed, amplified, and now released with the fury of a gale toward Marduk, the wall of shelves behind Marduk, and everything in between. Glass shatters and clatters to the floor as bottles, glasses and jars are sundered.

Alexis staggers as her assault is expended...

COMBATSYS: Alexis has reached second wind!

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Marduk           0/-------/-------|>------\-------\0           Alexis

...but somehow, she remains upright.

==*== OUTSIDE THE HADDAWAY ==*==

"Oh. They're still going, eh?" Kim announces with a smile as the shriek from inside the building fills the night. The other band members nod and grunt their agreement before all three lean back in their hammocks.

==*== BACK INSIDE ==*==

COMBATSYS: Marduk endures Alexis' Shredding Solo.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Marduk           0/-------/----===|>------\-------\0           Alexis

[MARDUK]
The crowd erupts into a cheer.

Marduk was taking it in. As the crowd begins to roar, he throws up his arms. "YEAH! YEAH! That's what I'm talking about." Marduk was unaware of what was happening behind him. The crowd hoots and hollers, as the bartender drops the gun back behind the bar. And almost instinctively, he ducks HIMSELF behind the bar too. Marduk starts to narrow his eyes. "Wait a minute... waaaaaaait a minute...." And then he hears his name.

Marduk turns around and looks, and his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. "oh hell naw' He growls, as he realizes that she got up. And now, with his attention on her, she screams. The full volume of the sonic assault blows him back into the bar, his body slamming against it. For a moment, he seems trapped there... until he pushes back, and starts to hurl himself into the screaming storm. "NO..." The brute rumbles, blood running out of from his ears.

"FUCK =YOU="

And Marduk hurls himself in, the moment she relents.

Both of the massive mitts lash out towards the defiant Alexis. The titan was now really feeling the pain of the fight now. With a huge chunk of his rage burned out into Alexis's face, his body was aching. Fatigue was already starting to creep up on him. And yet, there was always new rage to fuel him. She was standing. That was TOO MUCH for Marduk. Bellowing, he will attempt to scoop up the woman, raise her high overhead, and fall to one knee. Yeah, he was gonna break the bat.

He was gonna slam her back first across his knee.

COMBATSYS: Alexis endures Marduk's Back Breaker!

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Marduk           0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1           Alexis

[ALEXIS]
Alexis is barely able to keep herself upright after unleashing her sonic barrage, and practically blind with blood and hair obscuring the vision of her one good eye. She can make out Marduk's approach, but as much as she wills herself to try and put up a defense or get out of the way, it's just not something her legs and arms are up for just now. Her last semi-lucid thought as she's scooped up into the air is: "Oh, shit, he's gonna break my fucking guitar."

*KRRRTHWMP*

Alexis lets out an agonized cry as she's dropped across Marduk's knee. Through some measure of grace, her spine withstands the impact, though the damage to her ribs and the rest of her insides has them screaming in protest. As she rolls off of Marduk's knee and onto her own, one hand fumbles blindly at her back.

"My... guitar...

There is no guitar there.

"Where's my -fucking- GUITAR?!" What should most likely be more concerning to the punk is the blood-to-saliva ratio of the fluids dripping and spraying vehemently from her mouth with each word. The only conclusion that Alexis' violence-addled brain can come up with is... "You -BROKE IT!- You PIECE of SHIT!"

The truth is, Alexis' guitar is currently on a flight to London after a mix-up in the baggage department at the Toronto airport. However, the insistence in her voice that she should really have a guitar -right now- prompts the leader of the house band to dig out an old Fender electric from the side of the stage and slide it across the hardwood to come to a stop next to Alexis.

"'Ere ya go, girl! Ya guitar is a'right, see? Now why don't ya call dis off an' play us a tune?"

Alexis notices the guitar appearing on the ground beside her out of the corner of her eye. A momentary sense of relief fills her as she wraps her gloves around the guitar's neck. She starts to slump forward, as if she can finally rest - but stops after about an inch.

This guitar is -blue.-

Her guitar is -red.-

"THIS AIN'T MY FUCKIN' GUITAR YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!

Whirling around violently, Alexis could almost be described as being pulled off the ground by the guitar rather than vice versa, though the latter is true until momentum kicks in. The 'axe' sweeps toward Marduk at knee level, its body humming with the tell-tale sound of sonic energy waiting to be unleashed as Alexis lets out a berserker cry: "RAAAAAUUUGGGHHH!"

As the surge of adrenalin starts to fade, the weight of the instrument will bring her down to her knees again...

COMBATSYS: Alexis has reached third wind!

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Marduk           0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Alexis

And somehow, it seems she may still have some grasp on consciousness...

COMBATSYS: Alexis successfully hits Marduk with Tribute to Townshend.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Marduk           0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Alexis

[MARDUK]
That should have been it.

Marduk releases her as the backbreaker is unleashed. He even shoves her away with his foot, not a kick, a shove. "THERE." He barks, sweat pouring all over his hairy body. "THERE. DOWN." And yet, she was... muttering. She was getting back up, and going for a guitar. "WHAT." Marduk just bellows. "NO, seriously. WHAT. WHAT IS THIS SHIT! NO DON'T GIVE HER A GUITAR- OH GOD DAMMIT!" Marduk just -fumes- as he strides towards Alexis. "This is BULLSHIT! I SWEAR TO SHIT! THIS IS UNFAIR!" The towering mass of man actually goes into whining, as he closes in on Alexis...

And is met with a kabong of a guitar, exploding out with her sonic scream.

Marduk doesn't get knocked back this time. The full force of the blow could be seen in the steadily swelling knees, and body, and even raking -wounds- weeping blood from the sonic assault. But from Marduk's swollen face, he didn't even recognize the pain. His body could. His head couldn't. He stares down on the punk girl. ANd he actually gets his voice more quiet than before. "Why won't you... why won't you stay down?!" His rage fells to uncertainty, to disbelief. "JUST STAY DOWN!" He finally roars, throwing out a staggering haymaker. "Just... stay down." Was the growl afterwards. He was disturbed, heavily disturbed.

Why wasn't she staying down."

COMBATSYS: Alexis blocks Marduk's Fierce Punch.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Marduk           0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0           Alexis

[ALEXIS]
It's a perfectly fair question, honestly.

Everything about the situation would suggest that just staying down is the best choice that Alexis could make right now. On the other hand, Alexis has never been about making good choices, even when she isn't completely punch drunk. The guitar drops to the floor as her fingers are no longer able to maintain their grasp on the instrument. The pain is nearly the only sense that's registering for her anymore. Her ears are filled with only a thick ringing hum in the wake of her own aural violence. Her nostrils are obstructed by blood, the taste of which has become dull on her tongue. All that her eyes can make out are a blurry shape looming large - but it's enough for her to recognize the impending blow. Through instinct, she throws up an arm, somehow catching the blow inches from hitting her face. A faint, involuntarily whimper escapes her lips as capillaries burst along her forearm.

As her defending arm shudders uncontrollably, Alexis raises her head toward the dark shape blotting out the light in front of her that she can only assume is Marduk's face, her hair spilling off of her face as it tilts toward Marduk's. She wheezes as blood trickles from the side of her mouth. Her other hand balls at her side as she answers his question: "'Cause I'm... not... done yet..."

Her free arm snaps upward with a motion that suggests more than a little muscle memory. Her fist hums as she drives it into a forward arc - straight between Marduk's legs.

"...asshole," Alexis finishes as she wobbles forward toward the floor...

COMBATSYS: Alexis can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Marduk interrupts Hitting the High Note from Alexis with Bull Charge.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Marduk           1/-------/=======|

[MARDUK]
She wouldn't make it to the floor.

Not without assistance.

Marduk was already stepping in to follow up after the haymaker. As she unleashes the hum, he hurls his chest right into the fist, prempting it painfully. And he keeps going. Both arms forward, he charges her, headbutting her before lifting her up. And there, he slams her down hard into a table. She was down again, and Marduk was mad.

But he wouldn't ground and pound her.

Marduk puts both of his hands on his knees, wheezing for air, gasping. "You... crazy bitch... I... huuurgh.... I... huuuuuurgh...." Marduk leans down for a heave, as the crowd starts to boo. Wiping his mouth, he just looks at the crowd. "Oh screw you guys. Screw ALL of you! I'm the champ! I'm the best...." He trails off, as he just charges. The crowd stops silent, as Marduk works past them... right outside. Striding past the Killasaurus Orphanage without even looking towards them, he wipes out a cell phone from his pocket. He hits a familiar button, as he strides out into the Jamacian night.

"... Mama?"

"Hey Mama, it's Craig..."

"I just wanted to call you up to say I love you Mama, okay?"

COMBATSYS: Marduk has ended the fight here.


[ALEXIS]
The last thing that the camera catches is the group of young Canadian tourists, identifiable mainly by their odd hairstyles: a dark-skinned young man with an enormous pompadour and sideburns, a sunglasses-sporting guy with a green mohawk, and a girl with long, black hair. All have concerned looks on their faces. They quickly gather around the broken and unmoving form of the brunette lying atop the wreckage of a table and its former contents. It's a good thing that Club Haddaway is probably insured.

"It looks like da winner is Craig Marduk," the band leader's voice fills the awkward silence, which lingers for a couple of seconds before the camera feed cuts out for the sake of decency.

Log created on 17:27:31 06/30/2016 by Alexis, and last modified on 16:54:33 07/01/2016.