Match of the Millennium

Description: Rodrigo and Roxana face off for their rematch of their fight during the Odyssey stretch of the 2nd season. However, their experiences on the island have left some issues that neither of them had an opportunity to work out.

[ROXANA]
Roxana has been on quite the wild ride. Not just her of course. The rest of her NFG colleagues that opted to take the trip to Zack Island have all been through a trauma. Considering the events they endured in their time there, it's amazing any of them have the strength to continue, both in body and mind.

Fighters though are a tough bunch, and perhaps they feel they have a point to prove to those who wished to stop them in the height of their season. There is also the matter of contracts to consider and Roxana wouldn't dream of not honouring hers. It just isn't how she operates.

Today she's back in her usual competing costume. This consists of a black unitard jumpsuit with one-shoulder, made of stretchy material covered in silver diamante studs. It comes down from the right shoulder to connect at the waistband with what resembles a pair of black bikini bottoms. From here run two separate panels on either side of each leg with sheer mesh in-between. On her arms are a pair of sheer mesh gloves reaching as far as the middle of her upper arms. A pair of sparkling silver diamante sneakers with stacked heels adorn her feet. Her hip-length glossy black hair is woven into a scorpion-braid that swings from the top of her head, resembling a weapon when its in motion.

As she walks into the Arena Mexico she swings her hips and holds her head high with confidence, her posture picture perfect. She may stand at a diminutive five feet and three inches, but she has no intention of being intimidated by her much taller opponent, the matador named Rodrigo.

This is not Roxana's first run in with him in a professional capacity. The pair previously fought during the Odyssey event, where she played the part of a scorpion to his Orion. She'd defeated him on that occasion, but only barely, and she knows that he will prove a worthy match for her today.

Slipping through the ropes in a fluid motion, as Jimi Hendrix sings about his Scorpio Woman, she makes her way to the centre of the ring and bows deeply towards the crowd. The Arena is at full capacity for this evening's bout and Rox feels like all 16,500 audience members are making some noise. She smiles to herself, happy to be here to have her shot at the tournament title. All she needs now is for the man who stands in her way to arrive.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo's return to civilization was fraught with stress as he rushed to have money wired to replace his cape. Rush orders on stab and slash resistant material for the outer cape, kevlar inner material for additional protection, and chainmail layer to reduce the chances of penetration should anything get past the two previous layers as well as serving as an attachment point for the weights he uses to tangle his opponents up in or as bludgeoning weapon should he wish to take a swipe at them with it.

Replacing his sword, blackened by the blood of [redacted], falls by the wayside seeing as replacing his cape was a more pressing matter. His sword, while an unpleasant reminder of his time on the island, was still functional and though it filled him with distaste to use it, he pretty much was forced to. Should he make it past the first round, he'll actually have a replacement by then.

When he arrives wearing instead of the matador outfit, he wears an unbuttoned teal button down shirt, showing off his muscular torso and a blackened dot on his chest from where [redacted] spat on his fallen form. He is wearing black slacks and black light weight shoes. Much to the dismay of his fan girls, his hair is shaved into a crew cut due to all damage from fire and acid damage done to his hair on the island.

When he comes out it's to a Spanish guitar cover of Habanera from the opera Carmen calmly walking to the ring and when he slides in, he immediately rises back to his feet to perform a sword dance incorporating flamenco footwork and as well as the circle walking and twists and turns from Baguazhang forms to perform an almost mesmerizing dance and when the song finishes, Rodrigo moves to his corner where he raises the sword close to his face in a salute to Roxana before getting into his stance.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|

[ROXANA]
Roxana watches every move Rodrigo makes as he approaches her, studying the details of his attitude and appearance. There's no visible reaction on her face and it's not until he's completed his impressive performance and is close enough to converse with that she attempts any interaction.

Her dark eyes are drawn to his weapon but she speaks no words on it. Since she was present on the island, there's really no need. She does remark on his change of hairstyle however, complimenting him controversially in contrast to some of the crowd. "It suits you what way." She states sincerely. "I like your shirt too. I remember it from when we first met on The Mermaid." There's a slight smile but then she's back to business.

As Rodrigo raises his sword, Rox starts to transform into her scorpion hybrid form. Black chitinous armour forms over the top of her head and upper face like a protective helmet, and then spreads to her shoulders, arms and legs. She curls out her manicured fingers as they become claws, gives a testing prod to the air with her newly appeared pincers and then angles her body forwards so her tail is sent over her head.

"Coming ready or not." She murmurs softly, before sending a spray of deadly poison towards the Spanish swordsman.

COMBATSYS: Roxana has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Roxana

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo instinctively blocks Roxana's Scorpion Spray.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
While unlike their previous encounter, Rodrigo didn't have the initiative the way he did before, he still ends up responding to Roxana's poison spray much like he did in their first fight even down to how instinctual it was intercept the poison with his cape. Just like before, he still managed to get some of it onto his hands leading to the still unpleasant sensation.

At first, it looks like Rodrigo is content to repeat their dance at the beginning since that was something that went right for him in their previous encounter. He even moves behind as if he was ready to perform the quick slash to her back before spinning to her side. No. This time is different as instead performing the slash, he darts in with a thrust directed towards Roxana's side.

"It's not how I would've preferred to wear my hair. But 'she' had to ruin it."

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Rodrigo's Velocity Flash.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[ROXANA]
Roxana has no need to ask who 'she' is and she doesn't wish to prolong Rodrigo's pain regarding the loss of his luscious locks, so she lets the subject slide.

The cape comes up to prevent her poison from penetrating him for the most part, with only his hands suffering some of the sting. Still, for a swordsman that's bound to make things at least somewhat uncomfortable.

Speaking of Rodrigo's blade, it slashes in with speed to swipe at her side, causing the scorpion-senorita to stiffen, so she can brace herself against the impact. This prevents it from pushing into her flesh deeper, but she does suffer a nick to the skin, which sends a stream of blood trickling down her body beneath her costume.

This is certainly not severe damage for someone who has been trained in combat for as long as she could walk, but something about it seems to unsettle Roxana. Bringing herself back against the ropes, she looks towards the matador man and starts to breathe deeply, whilst keeping her eyes fixed upon him.

COMBATSYS: Roxana focuses on her next action.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
It's a bit of a surprise to Rodrigo that Roxana doesn't come in to return the favor on the attack. It's a mixed blessing though due to while not getting attacked is a good thing, he can't help but wonder if it might be a trap.

The Spaniard, decides that trap or not, he needs to continue to put pressure on her or else it will be a problem for him later on in the fight. He moves in closer to her.

It almost seems counterintuitive seeing as it moves him inside the range of his blade but now he's drawing upon the influence of Baguazhang and its eight kicking methods, one of them in particular being a kick delivered with the instep towards her knee to upset her balance mostly but if it does some damage too, all the better for him.

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Rodrigo's Light Kick.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[ROXANA]
The truth is that Roxana isn't trying to trick Rodrigo. She's simply feeling shaken by being back in a fight following the events she was involved in at Professor Blaine's laboratory. She's determined that it won't deter her from giving her best performance today though, so gritting her teeth and clenching her claws, she composes herself once more.

As Rodrigo comes close, Rox reacts rapidly, bringing up her armoured leg to take the brunt of the blow from his lower limb. This leads to her more vulnerable knee avoiding taking the damage. His foot instead finds her thigh. Does it hurt? Yes. Can she handle it? Yes again.

Dropping down at the Spaniard's feet, the scorpion-female starts to force open his legs, so she can slither between them, working her supple frame in a figure-of-eight motion. If she can find her way through to the back, she will rise up behind him and attempt to sweep him off his feet, before slamming him forwards into the ring's ropes.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo endures Roxana's Scorpion Slam.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
At first the swordsman has his legs forced open to be slither around and through. By the time he realizes what is happening, it's already too late and he finds himself falling towards the ropes. That's when he lets his creativity take over, simultaneously tilting himself at an angle and turning his torso so he hits his shoulder on the rope. He doesn't have training necessary to do a proper ring run like a wrestler so he doesn't absorb the bounce in a less painful manner.

What the bounce did, however was allow him to spin off the ropes in a circular manner allowing for his Bagua influence to circle to her side once again, he then lashes out with the cape to tangle her legs similar to how a retiarius gladiator would tangle their opponent up in their net. With an angled step and thrust delivers a quick stab with his blade before performing a matador style pivot and turn which generates enough momentum to pull Roxana's legs from under her and ideally drop her down to the ground.

In one instant, Rodrigo has shown most of the influences on his style of swordsmanship. His version of what could be called vulgar Destreza.

COMBATSYS: Roxana counters Armed Combo from Rodrigo with Deadly Scorpion EX.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Rodrigo          1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0           Roxana

[ROXANA]
Working her way through the swordsman's legs goes fairly smoothly for the scorpion gear. As she watches him fall forwards, a slight smile appears on her face, though it doesn't stick around too long.

Although she's clearly done some damage to Rodrigo by pushing him into the ropes, he's definitely up to something. As he spins towards her, she lets out a gasp and gets ready to defend herself by whichever means available. The cape starts to wrap around her legs, threatening to envelop her in it, so she swiftly steps out of it and springs forwards to grab the matador man's arms with her pincers, so he can't follow through with his blade as planned.

She starts to squeeze them forcefully, holding him in place whilst her tail comes into play, smacking the Spaniard over and over with it.

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo, to his horror, is powerless to stop the scorpion tailed onslaught while his hands were pinned by the pincers. The Spaniard is reeling from the tail attack and the venom that came with it.

Rodrigo was forced to use some fancy wrist work to free his sword hand and then he pries his cape hand from the other pincer. He then takes a step back to get himself into sword range.

The swordsman takes a swipe before spinning away and just barely out of the range of Roxana's tail.

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Rodrigo's Splendid Slash.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Rodrigo          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0           Roxana

[ROXANA]
As Rodrigo earns his freedom, Roxana lowers her pincers for the present moment, but her tail still twitches threateningly.

The Spanish man steps away to safety, but he's soon back on the attack, swinging and spinning with his sword.

Using that tail to come between the blade and her body, it takes a bashing in the process and Rox lets out a little wince. She waggles her claws at Rodrigo in warning and then throws herself towards him, striking out with each in turn, before bending backwards and landing in a bridge position.

COMBATSYS: Roxana successfully hits Rodrigo with Evasive Strike.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Rodrigo          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
The warning waggle of her pincers was heeded as Rodrigo attempted to get out of the way. Just because the warning was received doesn't mean he was able do anything about it. He gets caught by both strikes sending him stumbling backwards.

He takes a moment to get his feet back under him before attempting to deliver another thrust. This time, he isn't attempting to reposition.

COMBATSYS: Roxana blocks Rodrigo's Quick Strike.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Rodrigo          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1           Roxana

[ROXANA]
As Rodrigo comes for her again, Roxana remains in the bridge position, using her left leg to shove the sword away.

From here, she rises upwards, seeking to slash the Spaniard from above with her scorpion claws. If she's able to get these initial strikes in, she'll continue on to claw at him vertically, before throwing her body into a backflip and landing upright on both feet.

COMBATSYS: Roxana successfully hits Rodrigo with Spinning Scorpion.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Rodrigo          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo's every attempt to keep himself safe with his movement has been stifled by Roxana's speed. The initial claw strikes find their marks and the follow up attacks find no opposition with the final flip kick sending the swordsman down to the ground.

The Spaniard slowly makes his way back to his feet. His stance is unsteady due to the beating and venom his body has received. He takes a deep breath and then focuses in on his opponent.

His blade flashes with a multitude of fast cuts and stabs to Roxana's body before attempting to hook the sword under her arm to pull her in close then spinning around to take a slash at the back of her leg knocking her down to the ground. Should he manage all of that, he'll deliver a couple of stomps to the torso before spinning away.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo successfully hits Roxana with Merciless Dance.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\=------\1           Roxana

[ROXANA]
As she lands firmly on her feet, Roxana can't resist giving a gleeful look towards Rodrigo. For someone who's got a pretty good poker face, it's a rare slip in her serene expression that allows this emotion through. "I'm enjoying this immensely." She murmurs to him. "I hope you are too."

Once he's resumed a standing position (albeit a slightly unstable one), Roxana again prepares herself for his incoming revenge. Perhaps it's overconfidence at her successful and speedy display so far, or perhaps she doesn't feel like taking any more blows. Whatever is behind her next decision proves to be disastrous for the diminutive gear.

Hurling herself sidewards in a display of acrobatic prowess, she somehow sends herself soaring the wrong way. Instead of finding herself clear of his cuts and stabs, she instead propels her body straight into them. She cries out loudly, the sound likely shrill in the Spaniard's ears, as the pain starts to register through her compact frame. Once again the blood starts to flow, soaking her jumpsuit as it oozes from her injuries.

The usual honey colour of her skin starts to fade to a much paler shade and she looks like she could vomit over her opponent. "You got me good." She gasps, slumping backwards as she tries to catch her breath and suffers the stomps on her battered body.

Staggering to her feet she glares at the matador intensely. The look in her eyes can only be described as one of pure vengeance. Swinging her slender form around swiftly she seeks to strike him again with her tail, though this time it's being employed purely like a pugilist's weapon, rather than with the intent of poisoning him.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo attempts to interrupt Fierce Strike from Roxana with Frenzied Barrage.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1           Roxana

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo successfully hits Roxana with Frenzied Barrage.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Rodrigo          0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
Rodrigo had initially planned to hang back and keep himself safe, especially knowing how dangerous that tail was but he ends up spotting an opportunity.

Rodrigo steps in and lets the tail glance off of him, causing him to let out a pained hiss just as he lands his first strike. His blade once more flashes, as it darts from location, looking to the camera and untrained eyes like he's attacking multiple locations on her body simultaneously. Each strike seeking out gaps in her chitinous armor in order to further hinder movement and fatigue her.

When the onslaught finally ends, he delivers a push kick to send her away and give himself some space.

[ROXANA]
Roxana is suffering both physically and mentally. The exterior damage is obvious to anyone close enough, the dark red liquid soaking into the thin and stretchy fabric of her costume. The emotional effects are more subtle, such as the tension in her jaw or the tightness of her posture. She's seething with a desire to strike back at this man who's unsettled her state of mind. For now though, she'll have to be patient, as Rodrigo continues his impressive form.

The swordsman swerves her violent tail for the most part, as it barely brushes against his backside. The metal of his bloody blade sparkles under the lights of the arena, and Roxana struggles to try and slip out of its grasp, but she's fading fast. Her body jolts and jerks as each strike finds the soft human flesh beneath the arachnid armour. "Oh." She gasps, as she falls to her knees, looking up at Rodrigo. She only has a second to see the determination on his face, before she's sent flying backwards by his brutal kick, landing once again in a bridge position.

Gathering her strength, she forces herself into a forwards roll, setting herself on course to crash into the Spaniard. If she scores a hit, she'll flip into the air, repeatedly slashing with her claws as her body rises and falls.

COMBATSYS: Roxana successfully hits Rodrigo with Killer Scorpion Roll EX.

[                                < >  /////////                     ]
Rodrigo          1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Roxana

[RODRIGO]
And once again, Rodrigo finds his ability to escape Roxana wanting. Much like his fight with Junko what few times he had enough of her attention to be attacked. Much like a good portion of his fight with Albert. There's a certain level of emotional damage that comes from feeling as though attempts to keep himself safe are doomed to failure.

And so Rodrigo finds himself taken off of his feet with each successive hit taking him closer to the inevitable end of the fight.

Rodrigo brings himself back up to his feet and for a moment it looks like he is considering attacking one more time to see if he can make last push to get into the next round. He just can't see a scenario where he isn't either getting blocked, countered, or if he somehow lands a blow, doing too little to still move on.

He looks at his blade in disgust. This same blade that he had found it was impossible to clean of Junko's blood. That same blade he couldn't look at without thinking about the misery he felt on the island. Without him moving on, he has no reason to hold on to it and so he tosses it out of the ring and collapses into a seated position, head cupped in his hands, and tilted toward his knees.

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo takes no action.

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

COMBATSYS: Rodrigo can no longer fight.

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

[ROXANA]
As the scorpion warrior lands for the final time, her claws coated in the blood of the matador, she turns her head to look at him, sending the bottom of her braid swishing and swaying.

Looking into his eyes, she witnesses the disappointment he's feeling and wills him to fight on, to see this battle through to the bitter end. As he discards his blade and collapses, she rushes to comfort him, bending down beside the fallen fighter and whispering soothing words.

"You are magnificent, Rodrigo." She tells him, her voice seeking to calm his turmoil. "You had me feeling pretty desperate there and caused me severe pain." She says this like it's something to be celebrated. "We've all been through an ordeal this summer, but we have survived, and now we must go on to thrive and become the best we can be. Our battle this evening may be over, but if you seek friendship, you can find it with me."

With that she rises, bowing firstly to Rodrigo and then to the crowd. Some of them cheer and others (mostly in the young female demographic) jeer, sorry to see their sex symbol defeated.

Before their eyes she again becomes a beautiful black-haired female, all signs of the scorpion gone until the next round of the tournament, where she will take on either a rockstar or a dragon. Whichever of them stands in her way, it's sure to be a thrilling adventure.

[RODRIGO]
Roxana's attempt to comfort Rodrigo go without response, at first. One might even wonder if he heard her through his misery. To his credit, he isn't shedding tears on TV.

He finally breaks his silence, saying, "If I ever compete again, it will never again be with that sword and it will never again be in the NFG."

Rodrigo doesn't seem inclined from the cupped hands covering his face.

"That sword and the NFG will forever be associated with 'her' in my mind. I want nothing to do with any of them."

Rodrigo remains in that seated position unmoving.

[ROXANA]
Roxana seems stunned to silence at first when Rodrigo finishes speaking, but eventually finds it within her to say. "I am very sorry to hear this. It seems a shame to let her take that from you. Perhaps one day you will have an opportunity to get your revenge on her. Until then, you know where to find me."

She gives his shoulder a squeeze and then makes her way out of the ring, swishing and swaying as she heads for the backstage area of the arena. The crowd remain in place, watching and waiting whilst the man remains unmoved.

Log created on 15:14:07 11/21/2024 by Rodrigo, and last modified on 07:54:27 11/26/2024.