Match of the Millennium

Description: Terry Bogard contacts Brandon Malone to find out more about the man who would join their team for the King of Fighters tournament. What does the team captain find out about the detective and will this partnership work out?

[TERRY]
When Brandon had the meeting with Terry and Rock it perhaps one of those 'Too good to be true' sort of deals. He introduced himself, offered his help and even gave reasoning as to why he was getting involved in the King of Fighters. The response he got was a rather enthusiastic yes from the Lone Wolf and acceptance from Rock Howard even if he might have had been a bit more hesitant to saying yes. Perhaps it isn't going to be so easy as a few days later there came a call.

It came up as being from The Duck Pond, but it was Terry on the phone. Looks like he doesn't have himself a proper cell so while enlisting the help of Duck King as the standby he also used the phone from Duck's Establishment to make contact with Brandon. It was simple. Meet Terry over on the board walk sometime in the early evening. Perhaps the Lone Wolf was having second thoughts?

Terry had arrived a bit earlier than planned and was waiting on a bench leaned back with arms spread wide and resting on the back of it. He was mostly people watching, but at least he seemed in a good mood. The look wasn't a serious one so maybe he just wanted to have a chat and learn more about the partner he readily accepted without knowing much about.

[BRANDON]
Brandon had all of his calls forwarded to his cellphone. After all, it's not like his office is currently staffed aside from him at the moment anyway. Because of his job, however and the fact that Terry never actually gave him a phone number, he had to pretty much field every call that came his way until the call from the elder Bogard brother.

The detective pretty much clears his schedule for the day. Also, since the odd coma case seemed to hit a snag he welcomed the diversion from the case at least for the day. He grabs a quick snack and makes his way to the boardwalk.

When the Arcane Investigator arrives he's wearing that mostly white ensemble(how many of those must he have?) the two founding members saw him wear when he approached them, with a smile on his face and his deck of tarot cards in his hands, shuffling them. He arrives at the agreed upon time since on time and late was often the difference between whether or not he got a referral from that particular customer.

"Hello, Terry. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

[TERRY]
Terry is only mildly distracted when Brandon approaches and he tilts his head to regard the detective and gives a grin. "Hey. Not at all." he reaches up and tips his cap a bit before letting it rest back in place. "You may be surprised, but I tend to have quite a bit of free time." Must be a nice thing to have. It is rare some can enjoy fame as a fighter and still have time to just do what he wants. But when it gets down to it if Terry things something bad is going down he is one of the first on the scene.

"I figured I owed the apology anyways. I got a bit excited and ran off without us ever getting a proper conversation." He rises off the bench and stretches his arms upwards. "Look, you have good intentions from what I can gather and while I haven't seen you fight I can tell you are no slouch in that field. You wouldn't be looking to join the tournament otherwise. But still.....as a captain I do have some duties such as picking who fights and when." He gives a bit of a grin at that. Brandon doesn't need to be a detective to know what that means.

It also might explain why Terry set up the meeting at a time and a part of the boardwalk where there aren't too many people. He cricks his neck and rubs at the back of it while moving a few steps away from Brandon. "So how about it? Care to let me see what you can do? If so...." he just grins again and he holds up his hands and makes a 'bring it' motion with one. "C'mon!"

COMBATSYS: Terry has wandered into a fight here.

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Terry            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Brandon has joined the fight here.

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Terry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Brandon

[BRANDON]
Brandon's deft hands stop shuffling the deck as the Legendary Wolf tips his cap and he opens the leather pouch clipped to his belt sliding the cards into the pouch. The smirk on his face being an artifact of just being barely unable to contain the mirth at Terry's excitement at gaining another team mate.

"So I guess you decided we should conversate through combat? Fair enough."

He lets himself slip into a Philly Shell aka the Hitman boxing stance modified with open hands. One guarding the face, one open hand near that leather pouch. Could there be more to that deck of cards?

"The thing is, I don't think just one fight will show all of my capabilities but I'll try to come as close as I can before the fight is done. First, this is me using my deck."

With that he edges in and as his finger tips brush the pouch he lashes out with a flicker jab seeking to test the elder Bogard's defenses but instead of attempting to connect with his fist he slashes out with a 3 of Swords tarot card before following up with a stab from the other hand holding an 8 of Swords that likewise spontaneously appeared in his hand. Both cards glowing yellow as he attempts to deliver his attacks.

COMBATSYS: Terry blocks Brandon's Medium Strike.

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Terry            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Brandon

[TERRY]
There is a helpless shrug and an almost child like smile from Terry. "Guilty, but we can talk and I can at least get an idea of what you can do. I am no slouch you know." Well that is an understatement. At the same time he doesn't act like the kind of person that should have the reputation he has. He really comes off as just a down to earth and rather simple guy. Perhaps even easily overexcited if his reaction when the team formed the other day had any say in the matter.

Even so Brandon will quickly realize there is skill the moment he goes for the attack. Terry could perhaps easily move out of the way, but he is more intent on feeling things out which could be a bad thing in the long run.

Admittedly he did not expect the cards, but at the same time Terry seems more than ready to defend himself. The cards hit, but perhaps not the mark that Brandon had hoped. Terry uses a forearm to dull the first attack delivered then he sifts to lift a knee with the stabbing motion with his leg. "Hmm, interesting. A detective with some tricks. Don't have to tell me, but where did you learn to harness your power?" He asks.

Of course he may also not give Brandon ample time to answer. His movements swift and he backs up and he raises a fist. Then he just punches downward into the ground. The fist ignites with his own energy when it impacts the ground of the Boardwalk and hurtles towards Brandon. "POWAH WAVE!"

COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Brandon with Power Wave.

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Terry            0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Brandon

[BRANDON]
Time to answer? Brandon doesn't even have time to respond to the attack itself. There's a motion to crouch down as if he had planned to kneel and spread out the impact between his hands, his lead shoulder and lead leg. Instead, he gets knocked backwards and sent into a roll before eventually skidding to a stop on his back.

As he rises, he dusts off clothes as if he had minimal concern with his clothes being ruined. He shrugs and goes back into his fighting stance.

"Started out as a fight hall brawler as a kid and then an uncle took me in and taught me Thaumaturgy when I refused to stay with my step father."

His hand brushes the leather pouch once more and then the Empress card appears in his hand held upward for just a moment as an aura of golden light surrounds his body as he attempts to shoulder charge Terry.

"However, there was a problem."

COMBATSYS: Terry dodges Brandon's III - The Empress.

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Terry            0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0          Brandon

[TERRY]
The prowess of Terry is quickly made known. And with several fighters relying on one style he has managed to find a nice balance that allows some versatility. He straightens up very quickly and even if he is focused on the movements of Brandon he is also not ignoring what he says. "Thaumaturgy?" he asks and tilts his head just slightly. "A form of magic?"

He might not get his answer right away. Brandon seems more than welcome to press his attack and come charging towards Terry. Admittedly he knows little of Tarot and what the cards mean, but he is finding Brandon's style interesting and his curiousity is growing. "There is always a problem, isn't there?" He has had his share that is for sure. The current problem is the charging Brandon which Terry manages to backpedal fast enough to narrowly avoid it. His leg then snaps forward to deliver a quick kick to the side of Brandon in retaliation.

COMBATSYS: Brandon fails to counter Light Kick from Terry with IV - The Emperor.

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Terry            0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0          Brandon

[BRANDON]
When Brandon had charged forward it was with the intent to stay in close to pressure the immensely skilled fighter in front of him. The backpedaling is just fast enough that Brandon never quite gets in close enough to make contact. As he stops, the card disappears

As he watches Terry come back towards him Brandon has to quickly make a decision. He could go with that illusion of his to intercept the attack or he could repurpose his shield. He realizes the Legendary Wolf is coming in too fast and he decides to modify his shield. He holds up a 4 of Wands and The Emperor card willing the energy from the 4 of Wands into the Emperor card to form an energy shield in front of him. While the shield was quicker than his illusion, it wasn't quicker than Terry lands the kick on his flank as well as knocking the cards out his hand. Brandon stumbles away from the kick before dropping down to pick the cards up and then make them disappear.

With a bit more distance between the two again, he's free to explain what that problem was.

"Too much power for my body to handle. These cards were created as a way to allow me to use my power without tearing myself apart. Without the cards, more power, more of a danger to myself. With, much safer for me, less power."

[TERRY]
Terry could press the attack, but this not a real fight. This is more learning about the man he will be teaming with and that is why he gives Brandon more than enough time to recover and speak. "So too much power and not trained well enough to contain it just yet. The cards are a focus to allow you not to be overwhelmed." He just nods and seems to at least get what Brandon is saying to an extent.

He muses a bit and studies Brandon a bit more. "So you continue to fight and look to master your technique. Just like us all. Admittedly some of us learn to do it quicker than others." Terry is a prime example given he is not even thirty yet and he is a well known and skilled fighter that can take on masters who have spent their whole life training to become just as strong. "It is interesting. I like your style." He then grins.

There is no attack. Instead Terry sort of straightens up and takes a deep breath. Brandon is sensitive to the nature of chi and energy in general. He can feel things gathering around Terry even before the aura of flames start to surround the young blonde. It seems he is in a way showing what Brandon can maybe one day achieve fully. The gathering of such a mass of energy it can almost feel overwhelming. And despite all of that Terry seems to do it with relative ease. "Shall we continue?"

COMBATSYS: Terry calls upon the energy of the Earth.

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Terry            0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0          Brandon

[BRANDON]
"Pretty much sums it up."

He can feel the shift of the flows of energy all of drawing to a central point and gathering. As he does so, Brandon meditates on his own processes. His version is more ad-hoc since whenever he's in a situation where he would need gather some energy like that, it's usually in a situation where he doesn't have time to stop and draw in energy. But he's only really capable of that when he's using his cards. When he's not, it more like the energy within him ramps up rather it being drawn from an external location.

"I suppose I should also show you what I'm like when I don't use the cards. In case things get desperate, you'll know what it'll look like. I believe you can handle it and I'll stop before I go too far."

There's a sudden feeling as if a chain was released on the binding of his own energy and unlike his appearance in last year's King of Fighters, there's no ceremony of dropping his pouch. His stance changes into a peek-a-boo boxing stance as his entire body glows with a bright golden aura steadily getting brighter.

COMBATSYS: Brandon switches his Mindset.

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Terry            0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0          Brandon

[TERRY]
Terry is somewhat attuned to the energies around him. He wouldn't be able to manipulate it himself if not. At the same time he is no expect so when Brandon talks about showing his power when not using the cards he is a bit curious.

Even more so when he watches the stance shift and seemingly Brandon's power grows. "Hmm. Something to keep in check? We don't want to hurt innocents." he says and gives a nod. "But if you feel you can control it at least for a little while might be worth using if things get desperate." Not so much in a tournament match, but if they have to work against some shady dealings.

The Lone Wolf doesn't show any sort of hesitance though. He has dealt with large amounts of energy before. Brandon's is impressive, but it is also raw and not dangerous near as dangerous like if Terry was facing off with Geese. Even so Terry finds it only respectful to not hold back as he pulls back a fist. "BURN...." He then leans forward, fist igniting with his own energy as he looks to punch Brandon straight in the chest. "KNAUCKLE!"

COMBATSYS: Brandon blocks Terry's Burn Knuckle.

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Terry            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0          Brandon

[BRANDON]
As the fist comes in, Brandon turtles up allowing him to catch the ignited fist on his forearms as the energy singes his black shirt and the fist itself sends the detective sliding backwards.

With slight readjustment to his stance he moves in bobbing and weaving like a boxing infighter before attempting to grab the Legendary Wolf by the collar and if he can get that grip, moving in to perform a hip throw that wouldn't look out of place in a Judo dojo before forming a multi-chromatic ball of light in his hand and detonating it on his chest.

"Not all of my attacks have a wide area. My problem lies in contolling what it does to me internally."

COMBATSYS: Terry blocks Brandon's Prismatic Burst.

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Terry            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1          Brandon

[TERRY]
There is a grin. Terry seems pleased with what he has seen so far. Perhaps concerned in the fact of not wanting Brandon to overextend himself, but right now he is more than happy about accepting the detective onto his team. Not only that Brandon is more than showing he can handle himself in a fight as he properly defends himself against the attack and if Terry wasn't quick enough he would perhaps find himself in a worse situation that ends up happening.

Terry isn't a big guy, but he is harder to throw than perhaps brandon expected. He can't take Terry to the ground, but that ball of light is still within close enough proximity that Terry can do little to get away from the blast. It knocks him back, but he manages to knock get knocked off his feet and regains his balance. "Don't overdo it. I don't want you to hurt yourself. This is a tournament. Fight for fun, but if we have to deal with shady people....well....save it for a last ditch effort."

Terry takes a moment then he clenches a fist. Brandon can already feel the energy building around the Lone Wolf once more. "But I only have one last question." Then that power erupts as Terry rears up and then comes forward with another lunging attack. "ARE YOU OUKEI?" If that last energy laden fist wasn't bad enough. This one looks to connect and then explode with an even more powerful blast to send Brandon hurteling away. "BUSTAH WOLF!"

COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Brandon with Buster Wolf.

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Terry            0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2          Brandon

[BRANDON]
His arms were already kind of sore from taking the impact from that first chi engulfed fist. The follow up actually put the detective in a situation where he had no choice but to try avoid it. His arms couldn't handle it and he just not willing to bet it all on his ability to take a hit to return a harder hit. Terry Bogard was just too powerful and too precise for him to be willing to risk it all. Plus, Terry was right. It was a tournament and putting himself in the hospital before the tournament begun just wasn't prudent.

His knees bend readying to desperately dive out of the way but he gets plowed into by combination of fist and chi explosion.

For a few moments, gravity loses hold of the detective as he spins in the air before gravity once again takes hold of him and lands on the ground.

The detective is on his back for a good 10 seconds. That aura that was gradually building both in size, brightness and intensity gets extinguished immediately. He wasn't willing to keep the power unleashed and add further injury to injury. Next moments are spent on his back trying to regain his breath as he works his way to one knee.

"I'm not okay... yet. Give me a few moments."

COMBATSYS: Brandon takes no action.

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

COMBATSYS: Brandon can no longer fight.

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

[TERRY]
It is perhaps a bit too much, but Terry at the same time just wants to test the limits of Brandon. At the same time so close to the tournament it wasn't the best idea. The lone wolf stands there after delivering the blow and he starts to let the own power he has built up fade and he looks about. There were a few people rubbernecking, but they all seem fine about moving on when Terry gives a glance around. "Apologies. I had to just see."

He then steps over and offers Brandon a hand to help the detective to his feet and even helps steady him if need be. "We are going to be up against stiff competition. I know Rock can take it. Hell, he is Geese Howard's son so I know he is tough." He gives a faint smile. "But you handle yourself well. Just keep healthy and keep an eye out for anything strange. You seem to know more about what is going on than I or Rock do. Don't rush in without help either."

Once it seems Brandon can stand fine on his own Terry legs go and he takes a step back. "I don't have a phone, but if you need me contact The Duck Pond. My buddy runs it and he is going to be an emergency member if we need him. He knows how to get a message passed on." With that he reaches up and adjusts his cap. "And well.....any questions for me? I feel like I have been asking them all."

COMBATSYS: Terry wanders on to find the next challenge.


[BRANDON]
Brandon is not too proud to accept a hand up and part of the reason he had taken his time to get back to one knee was so he could get his head together and his legs to cooperate without looking completely punch drunk. After a few deep breaths he proceeds to collect his hat, knock some of the dirt off of it. His trick for keeping his clothes clean and in good condition relied on not being battered.

As Terry talks about the other members of the team, Brandon finds answers to the questions he was going to ask before he was going to ask them. Yes Rock is Geese's son but he seems unconcerned by it. Then again, he was quick to accept his help too.

"I don't think I have any questions at the moment but if I think of any I'll either forward it or we'll deal with it in close proximity via booked hotels or at the matches themselves.

[TERRY]
Terry just gives a nod. "I look forward to this. It has been awhile since I have challenged myself so.....well I did fight Mai and that Fumiyo girl....and....well..." Perhaps it is best not to talk about that. Of course Brandon might have already seen the video of that and it wasn't perhaps the best moment for Terry. "Anyways!"

He gives the detective a light pat on the shoulder. "Rest up and get prepared for the tournament. If you need anything just try to contact me or Rock or worst case I suppose Duck King." The latter might not be much help beyond giving Brandon a way to contact either of Terry or Rock.

"If you get any info....be sure to share it. I think it is best we are all on the same page." With that Terry turns about and starts to wander off. A hand raises and he gives a faint wave. "And as serious as things can get. Remember we are in the tournament for fun. The stuff on the side is another manner." And among the crowd he disappears.

Log created on 19:36:40 07/25/2017 by Brandon, and last modified on 09:37:33 07/26/2017.