Match of the Millennium

Description: Surviving his fight with the Wolfman Valkenhayn, Duke's wounds from the Ryu fight still refuse to heal. Suffering, he runs into Abigail, who quickly insults Duke, his car, and more drastically, his opera house. Abigail finds himself dealing with another crazy psycho as Duke explodes into him for a violent qualifier match.

[ABIGAIL]
So Abigail lost his first World Warrior Match! It's not that he's not used to a loss mind you. Sure, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him - a giant with biceps bigger then some small cars - literally so, like not exaggerating - and so strong a mere finger flick can send giants the size of Hugo and larger flying across rooms - again no exaggeration...and yet he's lost fights. History would be different if he hadn't considering they had to get past him as the Bay Area Chief and Mad Gear enforcer to get to Haggar's daughter and even recently just his own escapades in Metro City since establishing his business have had some interesting encounters. Ken Masters, Dudley, hell, that Marduk guy. You win some you lose some. He just laughs it off if it was a fight won fair and square.

World Warrior has proved to be something different. He's never felt a murderous intent like that of Juri before and Abigail has about as much a keen sense for 'aura' as your local rock. He felt what she had to bring to the table. These psychopaths and monsters that have gathered are not only on a different level then what he's experienced before..many of them seem to be downright inhuman. And to lose to something like that..while understandable..actually really does -tick- him off. Especially since he came here at all the urgings of other fighters he's met to enter the world stage with his brute strength - won a ticket to the qualfiers and...as far as he sees it.. Rugal owes him money for the damages done to his tires by Blood.

Juri's got him thinking about things a little differently though. Not to mention he's still aching from her kicking his unconscious body around after their last fight. He heals fast though but the expression on his face coupled with his size is keeping the streets -very- clear of him as he stalks his way towards the airport while muttering under his breath.

"These idiots are crazy! There aren't even an good cars to check out!"

[DUKE]
Duke might be a little more familiar to Abigail.

While Opera would very likely NOT be Abigail's interest, Duke had the kind of presence only a mafioso could muster. He had been around Metro City, owning an opera house there, and has the kind of air only a don could muster. His fights with Ryu and Valkenhayn only solidified his presence in the tournament. And yet, despite his endurance, he was slowing down, he felt like he was slowing down.

he could not stop the endless pain in his chest.

Duke was garbed in a deep, crimson suit of light cotton, the crime boss strides with the lightest pinstripes, a more bold combination than his last two outfits. Striding with heavy, oxford shoed steps, he stops, and looks at Abigail. He instantly had low expectations on the mental department, but when the man announces his priorities? Duke strokes his blonde beard, lifting his neck to show the scar across it. And finally, he almost spits out in disbelief.

"... Cars, to check out?"

The dark-skinned man stares with burning, yellow eyes. "This is not the place for cars." Duke rumbles with contempt. "And besides, I except it would be simply German engineered trash. The only car for me is a Rolls-Royce... though I am due to upgrade to a Phantom." Duke growls lowly, staring at his wrist. "If you have a watch." Duke says firmly, with the dismissive tone of command. "Fight me." Duke eases into an open brawler stance.

"Unless you are busy looking for cars, of course."

[ABIGAIL]
"Yes!" exclaims Abigail, incensed at the very implication that the idea of looking at interesting modding prospects or automotive purchases is somehow unintelligent. He fumes, furiously. On top of everything else..his very livelihood and hobbies are now being mocked??

"I mod cars you idiot! Best modder in the world! You want your pansy Rolls Royce turned into a supertanker armed with miniguns....I can do that!" he jabs his thumb into his meaty pectorals and then pauses to actually take a good look at Duke. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out his watch. It's far to small to wear around his wrists considering that'd be like a small tree trunk wearing a watch.

"Oh." He says, matter of factly before stuffing the watch back into his pocket. "You look familiar.." he muses, "Something about some trashy opera house I heard about?"

He beckons for Duke while subtly widening his stance and adjusting his center of gravity into a brawlers hunch not unlike Duke's in the sense that he seems to have no visible signs of a martial arts style or stance. Just someone who knows how to fight. "Well, come on then! I got call home to find out what's going on at my shop!" A slow grin does crease his expressive broad features though, as if despite his nonchalant words, there is eagerness boiling on the inside.

COMBATSYS: Abigail has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Abigail          0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Duke has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Duke             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Abigail

[DUKE]
Duke's face has different levels of scowling.

There is the first one, with a little bit of a lip curl, as he glares with yellow eyes. Enough to tell someone to stop what they are doing. But if that's not enough, there is the second scowl. Now, his whole face twists up and turns up, as the fires on his body spreads over him. His yellow eyes would penetrate, pierce with the wrathful gaze. But rarely, very rarely, there was a third level of scowling.

That is the level that Abigail has taken him to.

He was already beginning the first level by the time Abigail calls Duke an idiot. By the time he mentions the pansy Rolls Royce, -his- pansy Rolls Royce? It descends to that second level. But all it takes is for Abigail to mention his opera house, before Duke face begins to boil and split, his teeth crushing under his full face grimace, as the pure wall of hate erupts from him. His eyes were smoking- smoking!- as violet-red energy spreads underfoot as a pool of power. Duke's hands snap and pop as he crushes his own palms into the fists he makes.

He says come on.

Duke says nothing, outside of a rage-filled scream as he explodes forward. Drawing back his foot, he -explodes- with a single, driving kick to -smash- the full force of her rage into Abigail's shin. No finesse, no form. Just pure hate and anger into a towering titan, as Duke gives his rebuttal to Abigail's eloquent response.

Unbridled violence. %

COMBATSYS: Abigail blocks Duke's Medium Kick.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duke             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0          Abigail

[ABIGAIL]
It's like trying to kick a sequoia over. The blow lands with enough force to smash walls down or break lesser tree's in half. Abigail's huge body shudders but remains rooted as he tenses up and braces his body against the force of the blow and his immense figure trembles but otherwise remains unmoved from the spot he stands on. Furthemore he practically no sell's the strike, simply grinning as he adjusts out of his defensive stance and looms up into an offensive one, muscles creaking audibly as sinew pulls against his tremendous bones and a towering arm raises up overhead like a construction sites piledriver readying to piston its force down into the earth.

"Hey! Lighten up buddy! Is this damn tournament filled with nothing but you psychotic crazies?? At least that Juri girl started out by having some fun before she lost her damn mind!"

Abigail's massive fist comes plummeting downward with strength to create localized quakes and form craters from its impact.

COMBATSYS: Duke endures Abigail's Abi Hammer.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duke             0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0          Abigail

[DUKE]
Duke might, for a moment, feel like he was fighting someone a little much for him.

As he kick connects, Abigail just... shudders. That might be enough to give another man pause. But Duke? Duke only grows more enraged, as he refuses to yield, refuses to back down. Body burning with pure rage, he just -takes- the blow coming down at him. Duke's body snaps under the impact, as Duke gets -crushed.- And yet, as he falls to one knee, shoulder out of place, he just reaches up?

And forces that broken limb back in.

Duke doesn't cease, as he rises back up. He -pounds- forward, slamming with the maximum impact right back at those tree trunk limbs. He hurls out the right cross, attempting to smash through it, hammering the limb again and again. All while his body burns, all while the stench of sulfur rises around Duke, the smell of hellfire and brimstone. Duke was going to knock this man down. He was going to tear him down.

And roaring the whole time.

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Abigail with Crushing Lariat.
- Power hit! -

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Duke             0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0          Abigail

[ABIGAIL]
"Aarrgh!"

Okay that did something. Perhaps his timing was off or perhaps Duke just found, via pure rage and fury, the strength needed to plow through, but Abigail felt that one. -Really- felt it. The shockwave and burning energy of that strike races up through his form and nearly buckles the giant downward towards the earth.

He avoids a momentus impact at the last second, twisting his body and skidding backwards, digging up a trench in the ground from the force of his near half ton body but he has moved. Duke managed to move what momentarily looked immovable and Abigail looks plenty displeased as his body creaks and groans to push his implausible immensity back up to its full height. For the moment, the desire to leave a quip leaves him and instead he simply lunges back in, twisting his body around to bring a bulging arm that compares favorably with Duke's whole body, whirling around in a full 360 degree spin.

He doesn't stop either, should the arm collide with Duke or not, his other fist is hurtling around as he finishes the rotation, bringing a fist that has more in common with a wrecking ball around to try and slam into Duke in a thunderous uppercut. "BOOM!!"

COMBATSYS: Duke Toughs Out Abigail's Abi Twist!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Duke             1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0          Abigail

[DUKE]
It was the rage.

Duke was not a man to be called an idiot. Duke demanded a certain level of respect, and treatment? And if he didn't get it? Then heaven help the man. Duke wouldn't just talk to a manager, he would eliminate the little cockroach that doesn't get him what he wants, with no mercy, no sympathy.

Abigail may have fixed car for men like Duke before.

And yet, despite the momentum, the power, Abigail does not stay down. And Duke does not slow down, as he strides back towards the titanic man. Duke was not used to fighting men bigger than him, and as the giant hangs over him, he spits to the side, spitting out a broken tooth... chipped by his own grimace. The whirling fist adds to it, however, as it -smashes- into Duke's hand. There is an audible snapping sound, as Duke's neck doesn't look... right. But as the second blow comes, hurling into an uppercut, Duke just manages to get ahead of it, just avoiding it knocking him into the chin... as he takes the blow to his chest. There is a disgusting crushing sound, as Duke's rib cage shatters. Blood pours from his lips, as his yellow eyes bug out. Spitting out, he roars breathlessly, struggling to breath with a collapsed lung. "Stand down, you FOOL!" Duke wheezes bitterly.

And Duke lifts his palm up.

Wave after wave of pure energy pulse out around him almost immediately, the full gravitational force wrenching out. Without any knock back, without any slowing down, or stunning, Duke's momentum fixes him in place. Wave after wave of pure energy runs over, as Duke stares back at Abigail, his eyes burning. Should Abigail stay too long? He might feel the gravitational pressure crushing him, just like how it was crushing the earth around Duke, in a broad crater. The energy surges up once more...

Before Duke's hand snaps at the wrist, stopping the assault cold.

COMBATSYS: Abigail barely endures Duke's Gravitational Wave but gets knocked away!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Duke             0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1          Abigail

[ABIGAIL]
"What the!!" is all Abigail manages to get out before the impact of the strange force crashes into him and sends his titanic body to the ground as if the full weight of all the cars in his scrapyard have come tumbling down upon him. -Now- he goes down. His titanic form slamming full bore and with the fullness of his weight into the earth forming a crater that increases like rapidly forming sinkhole from the sheer pressure of the gravitational forces being unleashed by Duke. The force sliding him backwards, digging up a trench around his body as his immense form scrapes through the concrete searing his flesh and the crushing power wrecks havoc with his interiors, causing blood to rupture from his nose and ears and well up in his eyes.

He grits his teeth now, true fury gripping him for the first time as he presses back against the gravitational forces as if attempting a pushup with the weight of a skyscraper upon him - and as soon as the assault lets up, he springs forward, lunging into the air with a tremendous jump that carries him the distance back to Duke. As he comes in, he hits the ground so hard that the entire block shakes and lurches, setting off any seismometers monitoring the region. His colossal hands reach out to grasp for Duke should the man be knocked off balance, and he lunges forward attempting to lift Duke up into the air towards a leaning overhead lamp post which such force to leave him embedded in it--

COMBATSYS: Duke barely endures Abigail's Abigail Special but gets knocked away!

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Duke             1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0          Abigail

Duke hanging free like a speed punching bag, Abigail reaches up and begins to literally box the mans entire body, slamming his huge fists into him over and over again with a series of rolling boxer punches, one fist at a time while roaring with a full toothed grin< "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"

He ends the assault with an open palm slap that arcs around and slams full power into the Southtown Syndicate boss with enough force to blow windows out in nearby cars and stores, dislodging Duke and sending the man hurtling away like a rocket towards any convenient nearby obstruction. "Haah!"

He's enough time to straighten back up and dust his hands off before Duke lands. "Yeah! Don't go underestimating me, you chumps! It's a dead heat!!"

[DUKE]
Such humiliation.

As Duke unleashes the waves of energy, he neatly stands fast, as the waves of force crushing the blood vessels of his opponent. Even as his wrist snaps at the power, he almost treats it as a minor setback. As the full force of Abigail hangs over him, Duke smugly glares at him, a smirk at the corner of his lips. Duke was, by his standards, the strongest man here in Strolheim. And this was just some punk idiot, who was a little big.

Duke finds himself proven wrong, as Abigail neatly lifts him up, and -smashes- his head into a lamppost.

Duke is blinded, stunned as the electrical current runs from the top to the bottom. That in itself is enough, as the jagged glass digs deep into his face. But then the hits come. Duke is a boxing bag, as his bones crush and shatter under the brutal barrage. By the time Abigail mercifully ends it? Duke is more like a sack of bruised organs, landing with a wet bloody plop as he smashes into a castle wall. For a moment, the burned, broken man does nothing. The stench of sulfur rises, as the smoldering heap of Duke does nothing. Was he dead?

"Heat?"

Duke rumbles, his body barely able to rise up. He stumbles, striding forward barely, trying to keep his momentum. As he falls to one knee, he changes his plan. The crime boss draws his arms back lifting into a stand. Staring wild-eyed, Duke's head was burned, bleeding, and lacerated. His chest? A flap of a sliced wound was torn open, the gift of Ryu's Metsu Shoryuken. And it was turning into a single, puckered bruise around it. "Let me turn up the heat for you, fool!" Duke roars, as he -slams- his arms down. A tidal wave of fire boils out, roaring forward with flash fire fury. The flames were consuming, endless, and dared to wash over Abigail.

Even as Duke struggled to stand.

COMBATSYS: Abigail endures Duke's Sledgehammer EX.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Duke             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0          Abigail

[ABIGAIL]
Abigail isn't in great shape either but perhaps is weathering it better outwardly. His monsterous physique is so huge and tough that it maintains look of a sturdy vault door but even those can be dented and he hobbles slightly as he attempts to regain his wits. To say he's bruised and welted would be an understatement. "More of that super natural mumbo jumbo.." he complains and then as Duke prepares his next assault he roars, "Hey! You're a MESS! Just give it up already! I aint out to kill nobody."

Then his eyes widen as the gout of flame races towards him. A force of fury unleashed his way like the explosion of a backdraft or a brigade of flame thrower users. He brings both of his massive forarms up to shield himself as the inferno roars around him, scorching his hair, lighting his clothes on fire, cooking his skin, boiling his blood.

His senses are ripped from him and all he finds now is rage and a desire to preserver and endure. He goes charging forward, barreling violently through the firestorm until he emerges from the other side, a titanic fireball bearing down on Duke like an semi truck bearing a load of gasoline ready to explode.

"Vroooooom!" he roars while lunging a huge hand down to grasp for Duke's waist as he rushes past him. His arm swings up, looking to hurtle Duke so high into the air he can see the tops of the buildings and the layout of the town of Strolheim before coming back down. "KABOOOOM!" he thunders as he brings his palm back around to try and slam it into Duke once he is in reach again.

But he's all out of gas. Hit or miss, he goes tumbling forward to slam into the ground, heaving great gouts of breathes as he tries to stay conscious.

COMBATSYS: Abigail can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Duke interrupts Abigail Smash from Abigail with Minefield EX.

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

[DUKE]
Duke was a mess.

His body was burning, broken, and battered. Even as the next wave of fire comes, his body was almost rotting from the effort. It had happened so fast; one moment he was kicking Abigail. Then next? He was becoming beaten like a sack of meat. And yet, as he hurls the flames through, the endurance of his opponent reveals itself, as he just -smashes- through the flames. Duke doesn't even have enough time to stand back up, as he is scooped up into the air. Thrown in the air like a ragdoll, his chi begins to focus around him as he locks eyes at Abigail. He focuses hard, trying hard to get the timing just right. As the hand comes roaring around, to slap Duke-

The point of contact -explodes-

Duke's skin rips open as he blows apart, a plume of fire jetting out on impact. The recoil breaks Duke away, sending him tumbling. He lays a moment, before slowly, gingerly rising up. Abigail was face down, and Duke.... Duke tries to stand, tries to walk towards him....

ANd he yields.

"..... You are right." Duke snarls, ripping a hand at his chest. "You aren't here to kill nobody." Duke pauses a moment, lips turning into a sneer. ".... anybody. You aren't here to kill anybody." Duke inspects the damage to his chest, where the wound continues to burn. This was 2 fights now. Why wasn't it healing? Looking back at the downed brawler, he shakes his head. He turns his back to Abigail, a curse on his lips as he limps away.

"... Rolls Royce are the peak in quality, I've never..."

Log created on 13:12:01 02/08/2018 by Duke, and last modified on 17:20:54 02/08/2018.