Match of the Millennium

Description: It's a battle of the brawlers as Hawksley and Buck dance with each other in La Catedral Tango Club. In this second feature of the NFG double date special, who will be the last man standing and win their place in the grand final in Rio?

[HAWKSLEY]
It's been a couple of hours since Coco and Chevy finished their fight in La Catedral Tango Club in Buenos Aires. The water has been cleaned up, the ring has been reassembled and the crowd are waiting in anticipation for their second show of the night. The venue is noticeably hotter than it was earlier and not just because two fire users are about to take centre stage. There's a scent of sweat and perfume in the air as patrons press up against each other, both to dance or for other reasons.

The strange and sensual sound of Santa Maria by Gotan Project is being played by the resident live band, but as the tango track comes to an end, the style is switched up significantly. It's replaced by energetic pop punk, which for the Hawksley Moore fans in the place is likely recognisable as a cover of Go! Fight! Win! by the Irish fella's favourite band, Ash. "That's my cue." The Cork cruiserweight announces to the barman, stopping briefly to drain the last dregs from his glass and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Wish me luck." Then with a wink, he's making his way over to the wrestling ring.

As earlier, the crowd are close up to the fighters, giving them a grand view of every punch, kick and throw that occurs. Some sit on chairs, some sit on crates with cushions on top, but wherever their backsides are parked, it's clear that they are all in the mood for this match. Stopping to shake some of their hands before leaping into the ring, Hawksley has a beaming smile on his face. He always enjoys fighting his buddy and whatever the result, the two brawlers are sure to have a blast.

Still semi in his smart suit from earlier that evening, Hawksley has taken the time to remove the tightly-fitting double-breasted jacket, leaving him in black pants, lace-up shoes and a white shirt with red braces and the sleeves rolled up. Somehow his hair is still slicked back smoothly. Whatever product Coco put on it is doing its job well.

"Come on, Bucky Boy!" The Irishman calls to his opponent, loudly enough to be heard wherever the cowboy is in the club. "As one of our fellow competitors would say, let's get this party started."

[BUCK]
As if Hawksley's call out was a cue the sound team was waiting for the rock guitar riff and pounding drums of Buck's walk on song rattles through through the club. No doubt he had been lurking outside, enjoying the cooler air outside as he prepped himself mentally for this fight. But the soft jingle jangle of his boot spurs are enough to mark his arrival. "Keep your pants on, Hawks!" He calls as the crowd clears a path to the stage for him with no little jostling.

He strips out of his leather jacket as he approaches, hanging it on a corner post before he slips between the ropes, a sideways glance towards Hawksley. "Wearing that in the ring?" He asks with a note of skepticism. "Shame to ruin such fancy duds." He chuckles and plucks his hat off his head, capping the coat rack corner post with that. He points to one audience member. "Watch that for me, if it goes missing I'm coming for you." And then he finishes the threat with a signature super-wide Buck grin.

At least his boots and jeans stay on.

His eyes scan the crowd quickly, looking for a certain recent victor among the sea of faces, but he doesn't spend too much time on it. He's sure she's not far. Instead he turns back to the Irish brawler once more, thumbing his nose, "Alright. I'm ready when you are." Spurs jangle once more as he shifts his footing and brings up his fists. "Let's give the folks a show."

COMBATSYS: Buck has started a fight here.

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

[CHEVY]
A certain recent victor is, indeed, not very far at all! Chevelle Beaumont has s swapped out the soaked denim she'd been wearing a couple hours prior for a tango dress of her own: a full dress an abstract blue pattern. She's matched this with stylish silver heels, hoop earrings, and her ever-present deer-antler necklace. It's a simple look -- though the bandages wrapped around her forearms and gauze pad taped across the bridge of her nose show that she's still feeling the burn from her fight with Coco. Indeed -- her skin's a -little- more red than usual.

When Buck sheds his jacket, Chevy feels like that's an appropriate time to tuck four fingers into her mouth for a -very- distinctive and also -very- loud whistle. Whether the fighting farm girl has attracted his attention or not -- it's surprisingly hard to see the audience when the lights are shining into your eyes, after all -- she nonetheless cries out: "Yeah-eah! Go get 'im, Buck!"

The blue-eyed belle flashes an enthusiastic grin back at Mr Finley -- though if she catches Hawksley looking her way, there's a discreet wink reserved for him as well. Just a little friendly gamesmanship among friends!

Of course -- she's also serving as an NFG ambassador of sorts too. She cups her hands around her mouth, stoking up the crowd. "Y'all ready to light things off?"

[COCO]
One wouldn't know that two hours earlier, Coco had been down to her swimming skivvies and drenched from head to toe, or that her dress had been all but ruined by the club getting turned into an indoor water park. The one that she's wearing now is perfectly dry, hugging her curves with a much more appropriate degree of gusto - after all, as she mentioned during her match, she buys two of everything.

"Boo!" Coco calls out through cupped hands as someone yells for Hawksley to keep his pants on. She's more than a few frozen cocktails deep at this point. When she realises that it was Buck shouting for her boyfriend to keep his pants on, she appears to consider for a moment, pursing her lips, then cups her hands and calls out again louder this time: "Booooo!"

Then, giving a bit more consideration to her calls, she shouts out, "That's Buck I'm booing this time, Lucky!" After all, Coco booing her boyfriend is something of a tradition, if one that hasn't been upheld much lately.

"Come on! Give it your ass, Lucky!"

She claps her hands over her head as Chevy takes on emcee duties and poses her question. "Wooooooo!!!"

Apparently some things haven't changed all that much in two years' time.

[HAWKSLEY]
As Bucks's entrance music plays, Hawksley dances around, rocking out to it. He's clearly hyped up for this fight, but when is he not excited for a chance to have a bloody good brawl?

"You know I only took my pants off in that fight on the island because they got banjaxed. I don't make a habit of getting my kegs off in public. It was a good thing your cailin was around to donate me her shirt." He shakes his head at the memory of having to wear the shirt skirt and then looks down at his current attire. "I can't be arsed getting changed, so I can't. Besides, Coco has bought me another copy of this outfit, so it's all grand."

He winks back at Chevy and then gives his girlfriend a broad grin. The sound of her booing feels almost nostalgic to him, even if it's not directed his way on this occasion. It reminds him of their volatile relationship during the first season. He'd had a glorious old time teasing and taunting her until he'd pushed things too far. He's usually on better behaviour these days but it's unlikely he'll ever be a truly reformed character and there's usually a glint of mischief in his dark eyes.

At the suggestion he give it his ass, the Irish boxer starts to bounce back and forth on his feet. "Tell you what, Bucky Boy, you can get things going. Hit me with your best shot."

COMBATSYS: Hawksley has joined the fight here.

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Hawksley         0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Buck

[BUCK]
Buck can't help but grin at the whistle, he's pretty sure he knows from whence it came, especially when Coco starts shouting at them not too long after. Well, makes sense the two of them might be watching together like he and Hawksley did.

"Why two? You know what.. nevermind." Buck really doesn't want to know. He's still got his farm boy mindset when it comes to clothes and fashion. Functionality over form, and one set should be rugged enough to last. One day someone will get him in a suit, and that day will probably involve a priest and some vows.

He does arch an eyebrow at the Irish brawler. "Why, so you can try to roast me as I come in for the blow? Nah, I don't think so." Buck says, shifting his booted feet a little but more like he's getting ready to hold his spot. He slowly moves to the side, fists up, still acting defensive.

Fake out. He zips in quick, breaking his defensive posture as he seems to slink in, far more nimble than usual and obviously already up to his tricks. He lashes out with splayed fingers, his nails replaces by wicked scythe-like claws that are already aiming to rip that fancy shirt to shreds.

[CHEVY]
Chevy barked out a laugh as Hawksley provides -way- more information about his pantsless streak than most people in the room would be privy to. Her face starts to turn redder -- over and above the bruises from her battering from Coco. In all fairness, though, she is managing her embarrassment much better than a year prior. And since Buck doesn't seem like he wants to know more -- she -did- tell him that story, right? -- She can definitely see the appeal of the NFG's 'what happened on New Zack Island stays there' policy.

She grins as Buck shares her mindset towards the 'buy two fancy outfits' approach advocated by their rivals. But -- not wanting to steal the show, she settles for stoking up the crowd. And, -occasionally-, stealing glances at the inebriated Brit shouting out boos.

"Yeah, there you go! Bring it to 'im!"

COMBATSYS: Buck successfully hits Hawksley with Raking It In ES.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Hawksley         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
"Well like you said yourself, fella, I might ruin my fancy duds, or more likely, you might ruin then for me." Hawksley laughs. "If I've got a spare set then it's all grand." Since Coco explained it to him, it all seems pretty logical. Like Buck and Chevy, he'd never before bought two of anything, unless it was a multipack of undies or t-shirts.

As Buck suspects Hawksley of trying tactics, the Irishman holds his hands up to protest his innocence. "I was just letting you go first, so I was, but if you don't want to, like..."

Fooled by Buck's fake out, Hawksley decides if the American ain't gonna come to him, he'll take the initiative. As the Cork lad moves to get up close and personal, he finds himself clobbered by the claws, and yup, that smart white shirt is already sliced. "Ah feck it." The brawler shrugs, slipping out of the shirt and braces, which leaves him with his usual bare torso. "Who am I fooling trying to be all fancy? I'm gonna have to stick with the shoes though. I ain't brought my trainers with me. Unless..."

He kicks his lace-ups in to the crowd, leaving him in his black silk socks. "That's better." He decides, before angling forwards with an aggressive elbow, that he intends to aim at Buck to throw him off-balance. If this goes to plan, he follows up by pivoting into a devastating right-handed haymaker, looking to land in Buck's centre of mass to send him falling backwards.

COMBATSYS: Buck blocks Hawksley's Detonator.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Hawksley         0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0             Buck

[BUCK]
Buck grins as his fake out seems to work, but who knows how off put the Irishman really was, still, the Oklahoman seems amused by it, "Chev's been giving me tactical advice." He admit with a chuckle as he flexes his fingers, claw tip retreating.

"Fine, but don't you come cryin' to me if I step on your toes while we're dancin'." Says the guy who's spent half his fights barefoot. The boots are only for fancy occasions after all.

Speaking of boots.

Buck catches the elbow strike in the palm of one of his hands, keeping it from his chest and managing to keep his balance from the blow. His retaliation is quick, bringing up one of those booted feet, trying to drive the hardened leather toe right into Hawksley's now exposed stomach.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley interrupts Medium Kick from Buck with There's A Star ES.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Hawksley         0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
"Well if Chevy is on the case then I'm fecking done for." Hawksley half jokes. "I usually spend most of my fights against her flat on my back."

The idea of the Irishman crying has him scoffing at his friend. "It takes a lot to make me cry, fella." He claims. "A few clumsy dance moves ain't gonna cause me to break down." Something Hawksley has noticed however is that his socks seem somewhat slippy. He may need to sort that later.

For now though, he has a kicking cowboy coming at him after Buck has comfortably dealt with the Eire man's erratic elbow. Tensing his solid stomach, just in case this doesn't go to plan, Hawksley rapidly produces a ball of fire in the palm of his hand. As he starts to swirl it through the air, he spins into Buck, slamming it into his bare flesh. A second later the ball explodes, creating an effect reminiscent of fireworks!

[BUCK]
"Yeah, that's what happens to me when we spar." Buck murmurs with a laugh. His grin shifts to a little as his attacks seems to be stymied for the moment, and he doesn't have quite enough time to get out of the way of that flaming fist.

Instead he braces himself for impact, the flames scorching his skin. Gritting his teeth against the fire and cursing not having dragon scales at the moment, he instead stays on the attack.

Electric sparks begin to flare and pop and pop in the flames. Buck swings his fist through the explosion, blue electricity wrapping around an arm with slightly greyed skin.

He's trying to return the favor in a different flavor, the electric fist coming in response to the flaming one, a crack of electricity exploding off the blow at the end of his swing.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley blocks Buck's Shock & Awe ES.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Hawksley         0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
"I'm glad I'm not the only one, fella." Hawksley laughs, as the other lad admits he too struggles to stay on his feet when up against the redhead. Unluckily for them, whoever wins this is gonna face her formidable force in the final!

The fireworks cause the crowd to ooh and ahh. Their cries only get louder when Buck adds his own floor show to the mix. As the electric blue energy heads his way, Hawksley allows himself a split second to admire the view, but he knows he can't linger too long before reacting. He brings both his fists up to block the blow and then starts to jerk backwards as the impact of the electrical currents courses through his body. "Feck. I can't decide if that's painful or pleasurable." He ponders, finding the sensation incredibly strange.

With his throbbing fists still raised, he lifts them higher above his head, forming them into a pair and then smacking them down on the top of Buck's head in an axe-handle smash.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley successfully hits Buck with Improvised Punch.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0             Buck

[BUCK]
"You hear that, Coco?! He likes getting shocked!" Buck shoots Hawksley a mischievous grin. One that doesn't manage to last too long as in his distraction he isn't quick enough to bring up his guard up to deflect the blow that takes him right on the crown of the head. "'Ey now."

He takes a quick step back, shaking his head to clear out the sudden ringing in his ears. "Fine, if that's the way we're playin' it." He replies, knowing damn well that his and Hawksley's fights usually devolve into what looks like the world's weirdest bar brawl. But it suits them.

The horns d'jour seem to be rams', curling out from his skull and along the top of his head to make a nice casing of hardened horn that he then tries to drive right into Hawks' forehead, adding a little jump and downward bash of his skull to give the audience a show.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley blocks Buck's Bullheaded.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hawksley         1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley can't resist a glance towards his girlfriend as she's addressed by Buck. He raises his thick dark brows and then gives her a wink before turning back towards the other brawler with a grin of his own.

"You can handle it." He tells Buck, as he begins to protest his rough treatment. "We're both big boys." When the horns appear however, Hawksley decides he'd rather not deal directly with those. He leans his head downwards, looking like he's focused on the dancefloor, so the top of his head takes the impact rather than his forehead. Weirdly his hair still doesn't get messed up. Obviously Coco has been using mega hold hairspray on him. The headbutt still bloody hurts but it beats having the ram's horns so close to his eyes.

All this aggression is enough to drive a fella to drink. Slipping a hand into the snug pocket of his slim-fitting suit pants, Hawksley produces a silver flask that he makes a show of holding up before taking a swig. There's excited yells of approval from some of his fans in the club, which escalates further when he sets the alcohol alight in a bid to blow flames at Buck's face!

COMBATSYS: Hawksley successfully hits Buck with Hedonism.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1             Buck

[BUCK]
Buck tries to back up and bring up his arms to shield his face from the worst of the flames, but those can only be mitigated so much and they end up scorching him again. Good thing his burned skin heals quick enough or he's be a little extra crispy by now. But as the flames die there's still smoke drifting up from Buck, his head hanging low.

"Well, as mom says, goose gander something, I wasn't really paying attention." As he speaks, more smoke drifts up, coming from his mouth. "Might have been the kettle saying.." He says again thinking about it, then shrugs.

Taking a deep breath, he snaps his head up, scales decorating his already horned visage as he opens his mouth, letting more of the smoke billow free before he responds to Hawksley's flames with a massive gout of his own, enough that one might worry about the wooden structure around them. No doubt they took that into account putting to fire users into the same ring. Hopefully.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley just-defends Buck's Burn Out ES!

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hawksley         1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley isn't someone who loses too much sleep about what he subjects others to in scraps. Come the morning after a brutal brawl in his local boozer, he'd leap out of bed, fry himself some bacon and go about his day without any concern. It makes things even easier when he's facing a fella like Buck, who he knows can heal from pretty much anything he throws his way. As such, he doesn't feel too bad when the fire finds its target and causes the shapeshifter to appear more crispy, which as it happens is exactly how Hawksley likes his aforementioned bacon.

"Goose what now?" The Irishman wonders with a bemused expression. "What's that about the kettle? My mammy has a fair few sayings of her own. Her favourites are you've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was, and a good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures. She's a wise woman is my mammy."

Apparently Buck is more concerned with breathing some fire of his own than listening to the sayings of a Cork cailin. Fair play to the fella, they have a fight to be getting on with after all. The burning scent fills Hawksley's nostrils as the flames come flying towards him but instead of getting the hell out of the way, he holds his arms over his head and simply stands his ground as the heat intensifies. A strange thing starts to happen, although the fire is making contact with the flesh of his arms, it spares his skin, as if his own inner chi is protecting him from the peril.

He stays in this position for a few seconds until the flames start to subside. "Jesus, fella. That was hotter than Coco in her bikini." He shoots a look the British babe's way. "Well, maybe not quite that hot."

No worry about the wood in the club is necessary, since as Buck suspected, the owner of La Catedral fully prepared for all eventualities in both the previous fight and this one. News of the sad fate of The Dead Squirrel had spread to South America and although it's now back in business, it had cost the Metro City Irish bar months of profits following the match between Braun and Junko.

Finally lowering his upper limbs, Hawksley uses his right forearm to thrust it forwards towards Buck's body in the hope his attack will send the other brawler off-balance and onto his backside!

COMBATSYS: Hawksley successfully hits Buck with Improvised Smack.
- Power hit! -

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Hawksley         1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0             Buck

[BUCK]
There's an annoyed, "Tsk." From the draconic Buck as his flames just don't seem to make the impact they normally do. "Maybe I need to figure out how to do that with water." He mutters under his breath, the few last wisps of smoke trailing off.

And then comes the response, and despite Buck seeming to want to just power through the incoming blow to deliver some attack of his own in response, it takes him square in the chest. He doesn't land on his back though, only because the ropes stop him and he just hangs there for a moment.

Maybe it's comfortable, because he just stays there, arms along the ropes as he sags a bit, enough that the ref looks like he's thinking he might need to call it.

Except he lifts his head after a moment, fixing a gaze on Hawksley. All the mirth is gone from his expression, instead he just looks contemplative.

It's with almost slow deliberateness he gets off the ropes and back to his feet, brushing his hands off on his slightly scorched jeans.

Then he brings his fists up again, crooking one finger at the Irishman in a 'come at me.'

COMBATSYS: Buck focuses on his next action.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Hawksley         1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
"You looking to put my fire out, fella?" Hawksley asks as Buck mentions water. The Cork cruiserweight is watching his brawler buddy carefully as he rests against the ropes following the forearm smash. The referee might be contemplating if the American has had enough but Hawksley knows better than that.

He returns the farm boy's gaze, the fondness in his own apparent, despite the attacks he's been throwing at his friend. As Buck invites him to come closer, the Irishman doesn't need to be told twice. Crouching down in his corner, the lad then launches himself forwards and upwards, looking to land a powerful punch squarely on Buck's jaw. As his feet leave the floor, his fists start to flame with fire, adding both heat and force to the uppercut!

COMBATSYS: Buck blocks Hawksley's Shining Light.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hawksley         0/-------/-<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Buck

[BUCK]
As Hawksley comes in at his tacit beckoning, Buck crosses his arms in front of him, this time letting them take the brunt of the flaming assault. He's starting to look a little sunburnt, but that'll heal up in a jiffy once he's out of the ring. But for now he holds his ground against the attack, not even shifting his feet as is he was pressed up against a wall, or had a third foot planted to the ground.. or maybe..

The thick reptilian tail Buck sprouted to help balance him, using it as a tripod leg lifts off the ground once the worst of the attack is passed.

He half-turns, half whips the muscled length of scale covered tail around toward's Hawksley's side, though slightly more concerning are the massive spikes that adorn the end of the tail.

The brawlers have both faced swords barehanded, what's to worry about a dinosaur spike?

COMBATSYS: Hawksley fails to interrupt Thagomizer from Buck with Numbskull ES.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hawksley         1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
"You're a fecking hard bastard, aren't you?" Hawksley compliments Buck with admiration in his brown eyes. "That's why you're always so fun to face off with."

Once again the scent of singed skin and hair is in the air. As the Cork fella gets close enough to breathe it in he spots the sprouting tail appearing behind his opponent. "Ah feck." He protests, suspecting that the shapeshifter is about to smack him with it. Now a sane person would likely try to get out of the way at this point and protect themselves from the scary looking spikes that are looming towards them. This is Hawksley Moore though and he's always had a reckless streak in his soul. Instead of trying to escape, the lad throws himself towards the tail and with his head of all things!

The idea behind this is that he'll use the distraction to grab Buck's body and bowl him over. Instead a very sore-skinned Hawksley is sent down to the canvas, clutching his head in his hands. Finally that super powered hair product gives up the ghost and his dark wavy hair spills forwards on to his bleeding brow.

[BUCK]
Buck learned most of his basic fighting style by brawling with his brothers out in the barn when they were younger. Well, two of his brothers, the oldest was too busy pretending to be responsible to join in... much. But they as a group also learned from watching TV. And one time, as he will tell you, one tried doing something fancy and ended up hurting himself.

Well, Buck has an idea.

With Hawksley down on the mat, a slight grin returns to Buck's face, one that not many people get to see. This isn't his usual happy or good mood grin. This is his, 'I'm about to do something stupid all for the benefit of my idiot brothers' grin. If his mother is watching from home on TV, she is no doubt worried for her third son right now.

So, back to trying to replicate the failed move that Boone once thought was a good idea. He takes a few steps forward, leaps into the air while tilting back, and brings his elbow down on the grounded Hawksley Moore with a shout of, "Boone Bomb!"

At least the attempt will get him free drinks the next time he's home.

COMBATSYS: Hawksley blocks Buck's Fierce Punch.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hawksley         1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0             Buck

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley hasn't had too many brawls with his own brother. Just the one as it happens. Despite Shane being a boxer, their twelve year age difference meant that he was always told he was too old to be messing with little Hawksley. Not that this stopped the younger lad from trying to taunt him and get a reaction. It took Shane till Hawksley was seventeen before he finally snapped. Their da had got between them and stopped things before they really got started but a few blows had still managed to get thrown. Fights were much more common with his sister Sam. Only a year apart, the tearaway tomboy had once given her little bro a black eye for breaking her Barbie. This hadn't stopped her being his favourite sibling.

As the grin appears on Buck's face, Hawksley can tell he's up to something. As someone who is usually up to something himself, he's got a sense for such things. When the wild elbow threatens to feck him up, coming at him along with the alarming call of "Boone Bomb!" Hawksley decides to sit up and bat it away with his bare chest, no doubt giving himself another bruise in the process. From here he pushes up further to his feet and that's when he spots a senorita stepping away from her front row seat to use the washroom.

Reaching out of the ring to grab her now vacated chair, he lifts the lightweight wooden weapon over his head before attempting to bring it down on Buck and break it over his head!

COMBATSYS: Buck fails to interrupt Light Random Weapon from Hawksley with Spit Take.
- Power fail! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Hawksley         1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1             Buck

[BUCK]
No! Buck's perfectly planned maneuver to get one over on the second of his brothers is foiled by Hawksley moving out of the way. Well, Boone is not as experienced a fighter as Buck, maybe he can still convince him it was a perfectly acceptable outcome, and maybe for giving him a boost by calling him out on TV. Yeah, Buck'll spin it somehow.

His eyes go a little wide as he sees the Irishman coming at him with a chair. It really has broken down into a bar brawl, hasn't it? Well, Buck isn't about to just let himself be smacked with a chair, instead he rolls to kneeling, his face going a little snakey as he gets ready to shoot Hawksley with a little venom, only to get clobbered before he can do so.

Instead, he swallows what was meant to be a projectile, and starts coughing and weezing.

"Oh crap, that tastes horrible.." He coughs again, sticking out his tongue and spitting on the ground to try to get the taste of snake venom out of his mouth. And for a brief flash of a moment somewhere deep in his soul, he feels sorry for Buford. It doesn't last long.

[HAWKSLEY]
Whilst Hawksley was advancing towards Buck there was a definite gleeful expression on his face. The lad is obviously having a ball with his bar brawling antics. As the chair shatters into splinters and Buck swallows down his snake spit, there's a hint of sympathy from Hawksley. He moves over towards his buddy in a show of patting him on the back to try and aid with the coughing fit. "Do you need a drink to wash it down?" He wonders, eyeing the audience and snatching one from an unsuspecting fella. The man begins to protest but seeing the sight of the bleeding, bare-chested boxer he thinks better of it and instead orders himself another.

"There you go, fella. That should wash the taste down, so it should." The drink seems to be Anana Fizz if the scent of pineapples is anything to go by. If Buck should choose to take a sip, Hawksley will at least give the lad a chance to try it before he goes back on the attack.

The two fighters in the ring both have a move they call Burn Out. Buck's already displayed his version this match but Hawksley's is pretty different. Setting his arms and fists ablaze, he starts to throw a series of hooks and crosses towards the American's body before attempting to finish the combo with a straight punch to his face.

COMBATSYS: Buck fails to counter Burn Out from Hawksley with Aggressive Strike.

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

COMBATSYS: Buck can no longer fight.

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

[BUCK]
Buck doesn't care where the drink came from, only that there's something to wash the taste out of his mouth with. He gulps it down, but he doesn't let the fight stall long. In fact, he shifts his grip on the glass, eyeing Hawksley sideways when he expects the attack to finally come.

He takes a swing with the glass holding hand, both intending to punch Hawksley and break the glass on the side of his head, likely cutting up his hand in the process, but that'll heal.

But the first punch comes from Hawksley and sends him off balance from his own strike. The blows rain down on him and he falls back against the ropes once more then slipping to the floor.

He tries to pull himself up, but his legs give out and he drops back to the mat. He just waves a hand at the ref, knowing even though he's still holding on to consciousness, barely, that his body has no more left to give right now.

Instead he just tilts to the side then sprawls out on the mat, staring at the ceiling for a moment before shouting out, "Someone get me a damn steak or something. I'm starving.."

[HAWKSLEY]
Hawksley looks at Buck in horror as his own kind gesture gets used against him. "Next time I'll let you steal your own drink, so I will." He scalds but the shock quickly passes and he's soon smiling again.

As his fiery fists find their intended target, poor Buck is battered by a flurry of flesh and flames. His friend is now literally on the ropes and from the look in his eyes, the Irishman can tell he's about to fall.

Noting the wave from Buck, the referee looks between the two brawlers before moving over to Hawksley and lifting his hand aloft in victory. Luckily for him, the scalding heat has now subsided. "Your winner and going through to the grand final to face Chevelle Beaumont in Rio de Janeiro, it's Hawksley Moore!"

The section of the crowd who are fans of the Cork Cruiserweight let out a loud cheer. "Sort this fella a steak out, someone." Hawksley suggests, gesturing to the collapsed cowboy. "I hear they have some fecking fabulous ones around here."

[CHEVY]
Chevelle Beaumont had been, much like Buck in the preceding fight, on the edge of her seat. She'd been whooping and hollering with the rest of the crowd, showing her support without causing any unnecessary distractions.

And... she'd been holding her breath, right up until she sees Buck slammed right against those ropes. She leaps out of her seat -- and she's not the only one! But it seems the tallies are in, as soon as he slumps down to the mat. She waits -- wrapping one hand around her necklace in hopes that Buck can make a last stand...

Alas, it's not to be. And as soon as the announcement is made, the hog wrestler ducks and weaves through the crowd, snagging Buck's jacket before stepping over to ringside.

Snaking one hand under the ropes, she reaches out and tousle's Buck's hair affectionately. "You put it all on the line, Buck! Great job out there!"

Her expression hardens as she looks up to Hawksley. "And I *guess* you did alright too, Mr Moore..." Grinning to show her good humor, she adds: "We'll settle this in Rio."

Turning her attention back to Buck, she gives the canvas a good slap, letting the reverb carry throughout. "Spotted a steakhouse on our way here. I'll let 'em know we're on our way!"

[COCO]
'Unnecessary distractions' is practically Coco's middle name (she'd probably prefer it to Louise), particularly with the number of cocktails she's had tonight. However, she's not been loud enough to intrude on the actual fight - the rest of the fans are at least almost as vocal, anyway, and there's been the house band to contend with. She's a little slower than Chevy to get to ringside, having drained a daiquiri at the last minute so as not to have to worry about abandoning the drink.

"Are we going to the steakhouse too, Lucky? You know I'm a vegan, but I'm sure they'll have something for me. All the places that keep up with the times do, obvs. Nice job! Who won, by the way? Morgie was being chatty and I missed it."

The binturong in question climbs up into the ring off of Coco's shoulder, moving over to snuffle at Hawksley and presumably offer congratulations on his victory.

Log created on 16:17:06 01/17/2025 by Hawksley, and last modified on 15:10:29 01/21/2025.