Description: Premise: Stranded! Location: Drifting Freighter with one lifeboat filled with money! (Winner: Rose)
If one wished for a simple fighting platform with a unique twist, a vacant freighter certainly qualifies. With a surface area the size of a football field, this particular ship has already begun to sink and was 'abandoned'; It has begun dipping harshly to the right, but should remain fully afloat for a couple days. Saturday Night Fight, of course, took advantage of this and bought it for almost nothing. All three would be flown in, although only Rolento's helicopter sticks around. Which is somewhat ominous, depending. The liferaft is floating in the water nearby, tethered by heavy rope. The commando himself is already within the middle of the fighting grounds, baton yanked free and held lightly in his hand. There's plenty of room to maneuver, but little tactical advantage. At least he can compensate for the shifts and rolls of the ocean, and the uneven tilt of the ship, likely better then anyone else here. "...I dislike these modes of fighting we seem privy to." would be offered towards Rose. Dudley gets nothing; He knows of the boxer, and that's sufficient. Potentially the best in the world, and only as a hobby. But fighting skill alone doesn't interest the USPL leader much.
While Dudley was flown in, it certainly wasn't at the expense of Saturday Night Fight; he does, after all, own his own helicopter (at least one, probably more), though like the man said, he dismissed it after he arrived. Dudley's personal medical staff is excellent; there is barely any evidence of the cutting-up he took at the hands of Balrog, and he prefers it that way. Though Dudley is studied and well-informed, he truly doesn't know much about either fighter he's up against; he already knows that, should he win, that lifeboat full of money will go towards various charities and needy people--in Southtown there are plenty of them. That is, of course, unless Rolento blows up the money. The tilt of the ship... well, that's something to deal with; Dudley isn't used to it, but every moment he spends on the tilting, rolling surface, he's getting more and more used to it. He stands at a spot equidistant to both Rolento and Rose, as the rules demand.
Rose has seen some of the videos; she is well aware of the nature of that helicopter, and as she rides a single-looped rope down towards the surface of the freighter, she sighs inwardly. At least it won't be a surprise, she thinks, before hopping off onto the deck in a slight crouch.
She looks down to the surface of the ship, feeling out, perhaps, the details of the sway and roll of the ocean in the area. "Mm," she says, putting a finger to her lips and looking to Rolento. "Yes; perhaps they're just having good luck with finding ships, lately."
There's no reason to be crass, even if someone would strangle you with a snake if he had the chance. She steps back easily, folding her arms before her; she thinks, too, about how she will dedicate that money if and when she wins. There IS always that possibility in Southtown.
COMBATSYS: Rolento has started a fight here.
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Rolento 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Dudley has joined the fight here.
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Dudley 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rolento
COMBATSYS: Rose has joined the fight here.
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Rolento 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/-------|
The camera crews are set up and the alleged 'referee' shouts: FIGHT! Rose straightens up immediately, attention going towards Rolento.
He takes some thinking. He is very slippery and is a master of counter-assault. Rose knows she is quick, but she does not have that battle-hardened muscle memory filling her every centimeter of tense, straining muscle. She glances over towards the towering Englishman, and contemplates his own bulldog strength. Yes: She may have an advantage here in some senses, but it would be very easily lost.
She steps towards Dudley at first, the shock of hair hanging in front of her face covering her left eye partially. Then, at the equidistant point, her scarf is drawn from around her upper arms and twisted, swirling and forming a drill-like pattern around her left forearm before she suddenly lunges towards Rolento! The scarf whips around, the high-speed soft and gentle fabric serving as a vessel for brain-aching explosions of psychic energy within!
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Rolento with Aura Scarf.
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Rolento 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/-----==|
There is simple patience, and Rolento had thought he was prepared as the girl moved. Of course he's the most wild prospect here; With an attack chopper hovering around and a penchant for self-destruction, he might sink the ship if he felt like it, cackling as everyone died. But the baton shooting up fails to brush aside the whispering cloth, and it wraps around his body. Silky! Less so is the terrible mental agony that shoots out, sending him staggering backwards with a snarl, reeling in obvious pain. There's not a mark on his body, but Dudley might know that there might be nothing in his arsenal able to have that much combative effect on the commando; And Rolento's by no means an easy foe. "Tch...!" Completely ignoring Dudley, Rolento leaps up high before flinging out a knife, shooting it out to pierce Rose as best he can with raw precision rather then speed. The fight isn't over yet!
Dudley is just as content to let Rose go after Rolento; gives him a chance to watch for a moment. He's relaxed, but not off-guard... and that moment of observation is well-placed, as Rose... devastates Rolento pretty handily. Rolento's got the look of a fighter about him, and despite Rose's beauty, she certainly has the power; Rolento looks -very- pained, to say the least. Dudley whistles low, and starts psyching himself up. Strong opponents... what else can one like Dudley ask for? This--this is the kind of thing he left the boxing world for. Dudley slams his gloves together and starts crossing the field towards the two fighters.
COMBATSYS: Dudley focuses on his next action.
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Rolento 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Rolento successfully hits Rose with Stinger.
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Rolento 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/---====|
Rose's head turns to look towards Rolento as he draws out the knife and takes aim before throwing it. She twists the scarf around as her body tends towards the left, and that may just be what Rolento was expecting on some visceral level, because the knife plants itself in Rose's left thigh.
She breathes in through her teeth, making a soft hiss of pain as her eyes close for a moment. The knife's hilt sticks out and Rose reaches down towards it. She grasps it with one hand, breathes in, and /yanks/ it out -- there is a brief squirt of blood staining her dark stockings, but there's also a faint shimmer of light -- before turning it over in her hands.
"I must say," she says, looking towards Rolento, "that I am very glad that you did not aim for the abdomen!" She tosses the knife, then, but it's a half-assed toss to get the weapon out of her hand; the real attack is when she twists around to snap her uninjured leg up towards Rolento's side.
Her eyes flick towards the approaching Dudley, but he's not a factor JUST yet. She just wants to make sure she knows where he is.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Rolento with Light Kick.
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Rolento 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|
Well, all the preparation and luck possible still cannot compensate for the fact that Rose is a fighter of a significantly higher tier; Although his entire body was prepped for evasion, she was slowed, and the kick awkward, it finds purchase as Rolento attempts to roll away. He slides to a stop, some distance off and with a look of rather firm discomfort upon his features. "..." Nothing is said. He's going to lose a direct fight. Unlike Hyo, tactics and planning will not overcome that energy that churns in her body like a furnace. He does not believe in luck. ...But he can still try. One hand shifts into his vest, stance spreading as he looks disturbingly intent.
COMBATSYS: Rolento focuses on his next action.
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Rolento 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|
What a look on that face... and Dudley honestly isn't sure who's the greater threat. Rose is powerful, yes... but she doesn't have that psycho look that Rolento possesses. She may be easier to deal with from a rational standpoint. Dudley dislikes free-for-all fights; inevitably they are one-sided, one way or the other. He prefers a two-on-one approach from the outset... but who's to say what will happen? In any case, that intent light in Rolento's eyes makes Dudley decide. He nods to Rose then lunges forward, snapping out a quick left straight, for Rolento's nose.
"Son, you better calm down, that's not a healthy look in your eyes!" declaims the dilettante boxer.
Rose steps backwards a pace, favoring her unstabbed leg. Her eyes narrow slightly towards Rolento; her lips turn down faintly in a slight frown. What IS that trick he's trying to do? she wonders, stepping to the side lightly and sliding her scarf down and around her thigh. She cinches it shut for a moment, to encourage the residual bleeding to stop.
"Your ability is very good," she tells Rolento. "If this wasn't a wide-open space, taking away your advantage... I'm sure you'd have me in a much tougher spot."
Her eyes flick over towards Dudley then, and she closes her eyes. That light which Rolento had detected and felt despair over glimmers and shines out of her again, some of it forming will-o-the-wisp light near her sides.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Rolento 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rolento dodges Dudley's Light Punch.
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Rolento 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/------=/=======|
The sudden onslaught of Dudley seems to incite something much more savage in Rolento, as he leaps backwards in a tight roll. "So this is a fight with no honor?! Assaulting a wounded combatant already severely outclassed ... I had thought better of your history!! If you wish for any semblance of fairness to be absent, then I will hold nothing back!" But still, he vaults over Dudley rather quickly, flipping a few times before descending rapidly towards Rose; And launches out his heel, attempting to impact her within the face and send her charging self into the ground as best he can. "HNNNGH!!" is all he offers in terms of intelligible conversation, however.
Well that's hardly fair. They're -both- injured. By all rights Dudley should just step out of it; except he signed the contract and thus he has to honor it. Dudley pulls his punch back and turns, frowning.
"Son, I don't like it any more than you do, but you look dangerous, and besides..." Dudley shrugs, as if in apology, "I don't think you'd do any less."
That said, he certainly does seem to favor Rose in this (who wouldn't?) as he lunges forward, once again attempting to just tag Rolento with a good straight punch. From the right, this time. Though he'll wait 'til Rolento's done flipping--and he'll announce his intentions, just to give the scarred freakout good warning. Honorable, really--though it's just a loud grunt.
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Rolento's Mekong Delta.
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Rolento 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/-----==/=======|
Who wouldn't favor Rose? Many people; those who hate the idea of precognition as a deprivation of their free will. Those who support Shadowloo and Vega's rule. Male homosexuals. She is, at least, more pleasant to be around than most of the other great warriors in the world. Unlike Takuma, she cares for her appearance; unlike Ryu, she dresses adequately.
As Rolento lunges over the top of Dudley's agile yet burly body, Rose's eyes widen. She brings her arm up to block his attack, but the scarf is occupied; instead of hitting energized fabric, he hits flesh and bone! Something grinds, although there isn't the satisfying meaty snap of wrecked bone; Rose's teeth do clench as if in pain, before she steps back.
It isn't a very long step. Already, when Rolento descends, she is leaping up into the air. "Your diction is unusual," she says as she twists, trailing her scarf's edges from her left thigh where it has been left tied over her wound. Her hands erupt with shining light as she twists them around to grab at Rolento's head and, ideally, send him flying over with a burst of psychic static in his brainpan.
She finishes her statement, even though Rolento may not be able to hear her at that exact moment. "Where are you from, originally?"
COMBATSYS: Dudley successfully hits Rolento with Ducking Straight.
- Power hit! -
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Rolento 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rolento interrupts Soul Drain from Rose with Mine Sweeper.
- Power hit! -
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Rolento 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/--=====/=======|
Well, Rolento gets punched. He was really not paying any attention to Dudley; And it pays, as he's struck resoundingly in the ribs far harder then intended. Although speaking anything right away is probably difficult for Rose, as Rolento has started to spin backwards quite abruptly, unleashing a grenade just as her swipe of energy flickers across his body. It explodes immediately, sending her flying into a long chain of detonations that would end in her smoldering form shooting overhead, and a panting Rolento on the precipice of defeat hunkered near the ground. Tch. Another fight where he is double-teamed. There's no value in these types of engagements. At least the anger has faded to more genuine exasperation, although at this point it's likely that Rose is going to be very softened up by the time Dudley actually bothers attacking her... "I was born in America, to a coward." is his only reply. At least he heard her over the kabooms.
A good punch. The only kind Dudley wields. Still--he felt the punch connect to the ribs; a good punch to say the least. And then Rose comes rollin' in.. and the explosions go off. Wow. Dudley lunges to his side, away from those explosions, and grits his teeth. That, he knows, could very well have been him... and those explosions can't be doing anything good to stabilize the ship.
"I don't like it," he repeats, as he lunges for Rolento, "But I think for -all- our safety you need to be put down!" He comes out of the duck with a quick uppercut, his left glove whistling through the air.
Rose was expecting some kind of vicious jab or counter-throw but was not expecting GRENADES.
She goes flying upwards, leaving a few trails of faintly visible sparkles of light as she goes; her dress, doubtless, is /ruined/ by the raw explosive force. She lands with a thump on her front, with a groan of dismay, a few yards away.
She pushes herself up, however, panting for breath. "I see," she says, although Rolento may be too engaged to hear her. "How... sad, for you."
COMBATSYS: Rose gains composure.
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Rolento 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rolento blocks Dudley's Medium Punch.
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Rolento 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/---====/=======|
Ryo heads to Europe.
"Affirmative." Rolento states, twirling his baton and intercepting the fist between it. He's jostled lightly, but by no means defeated by the assault. "Yet I desire to tilt the scales as far against the woman opposite as possible. If I was not given a fair chance in this conflict, neither shall she." Rolento then yanks out a rather obscene amount of knifes, shifting backwards and placing them all upon the end of his weapon. "Ready?" Before he flicks them straight upwards. Despite the rolling ship and boiling sea, it's managed impossibly quick. A split second later, a literal rain of them fall upon Rose, attempting to smother the girl and penetrate her rather thoroughly from head to toe.
This is just... getting too odd. Rolento is certainly single-minded, this is for sure. Dudley frowns and... backs off. Not afraid, certainly; there's no fear on his face. But he senses that Rolento just wants to fight Rose, and as such... he'll just let that happen. No, Dudley doesn't like these kinds of fights at all... he'll sit back and just watch, for now. It feels dishonorable, but Rose has already proved her strength, and Rolento wishes to test that strength...
COMBATSYS: Dudley focuses on his next action.
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Rolento 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Steel Rain from Rolento with Soul Reflect.
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Rolento 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
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Rose 1/---====/=======|
"I chose to target you first, as you are the most perilous one I knew --!" Rose declares, not, of course, that it brings her any relief as Rolento gathers out his knives. Her eyes widen as she shifts down, preparing herself. She can see them coming...
Every last one.
They travel towards her. Her mind can track every glimmering dot of Rolento's fighting spirit and anger as exemplified in those knives, but her body reacts more slowly. She yanks on her scarf, which obeys her command and loosens the knot she had tied to affix it with, and pulls it up and around her leg. That wounded leg is lifted as if she wished to expose herself to the approaching weapons, until she steps forwards and kneels.
Several of the knives, of course, go sailing over her head as she abruptly loses height. Others are subjected to a twisting, turning maneuver as she sweeps the scarf up and around her, the edge of it bursting with fragments of light as the knives hit the cloth and lose their forward motion. She bundles them up with a twist over her head and slings them back the way they came, all in a single twisting gyration: "Soul Reflect!" she cries, perhaps unneccessarily.
COMBATSYS: Rolento slows Reflected Steel Rain from Rose with Stinger.
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Rose 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
COMBATSYS: Rolento can no longer fight.
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Rose 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Well, it's pretty apparent that Rolento's got no recourse against a hail of his own knives but to throw one. Bullseye! A single of them is knocked clean off-course. His aim can't be doubted. The issue of course is that there's still a dozen more, which sink rather grotesquely within him before he stumbles backwards, and crashes on his back. His handy helicopter at least flits overhead, USPL soldier descending rapidly on a line and landing in a crouch. Hefting his CO over a shoulder, it retracts before the vehicle begins to shoot back into the sky. Of course it takes the time to turn, and fire the automatic weapon at the lifeboat. Tinktinktink! Wet money immediately sinks into the ocean. He may not win... But neither will the charities!
... Dudley shakes his head. Rolento's another psycho... and with sharp weapons too. Maybe he's that Balrog girl's lover or something... Dudley turns towards Rose, his expression serious. Normally he might suggest 'let's fight like gentlemen' but... doesn't seem right, right now. Instead, Dudley raises an eyebrow and glances at Rose--not in a perverted manner, but calculating and analyzing.
"You sure you're up for this?" he asks, rubbing his chin with one gloved fist. He'll fight, if she wants to fight, but he won't be taking the first swing at her...
COMBATSYS: Dudley takes no action.
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Rose 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Rose looks faintly worried when Rolento is hit with his own knives and so many of them sink into his tender flesh. Then, of course, he is evacuated via chopper, and she worries less; it grows somewhat quieter once the USPL craft leaves. She shades her eyes --
They're shooting the lifeboat.
"Well," Rose says, after glancing towards where the lifeboat is rapidly breaking up and turning into so much floating styrofoam with seaborne money around it, "that is one way to fight inflation..."
Her attention turns towards Dudley. She smiles, slightly. "I feel well suited to continue. Don't worry -" She lifts a single index finger. "I'm less fragile than I look."
COMBATSYS: Rose takes no action.
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Rose 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Hmm. Well, maybe he will be taking the first punch in this second round, then; Dudley rolls his shoulders and his neck, then nods.
"Very well then, Rose. It is an honor to fight you," he says, contemplating his target... then lunging forward in a boxing manner. As previously noted, in a fight that's pretty much all he does; it's just what his training dictates. And his first punch is a simple series, two left jabs followed by a right cross--aimed for Rose's shoulder. He won't be going for her face, that's for sure.
COMBATSYS: Dudley successfully hits Rose with Medium Punch.
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Rose 1/-======/=======|===----\-------\0 Dudley
Rose weaves in response to those feints quite well, but the fist that comes up to hit her in the shoulder takes her by surprise. It doesn't dislocate the bone but there is a satisfying (or is it right to be satisfied by such things?) thump as it hits her. She steps back, looking briefly pained, but regains her composure easily.
Her arms spread and she smiles, slightly. "You are much more pleasant to fight," she says, before her head leans forwards a bit. Shortly afterwards, she lunges forwards, twisting her scarf around her arm as she goes; she throws a servicable, and surprisingly quick, uppercut towards Dudley, aiming to launch him off the ship's deck --
JUST long enough to lunge up after him, grasping him with one arm around the waist and a blossoming of psychic light, before hurling him back to the derelict's deck.
"Forgive my haste!" she calls, shortly before the lunging begins.
COMBATSYS: Dudley fails to interrupt Aura Soul Throw from Rose with Slipping Jab.
- Power fail! -
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Dudley
Oh, man. Dudley doesn't--he doesn't like the look of this and he's right to, for sure; he attempts to stop the uppercut with a quick jab -- but he hesitates, not wanting to hit her in the face. And he who hesitates--is lost. Well, he hasn't lost yet, but man, did that hurt; Rose has her way with the boxer and he lands with a hard thump, rolling backwards and shaking his head. My goodness.
"I knew you were powerful," he grits out, "but that was very painful... my compliments..."
Rose lands with her legs slightly spread to cushion her impact. She twists her scarf around one arm, snaps it behind her and grasps it with the other hand, stretching it out for a moment before it goes up to rest around her upper arms again. She smiles slightly at Dudley, and lets him have the opportunity to recover.
"Forgive my inquisition," she says while relaxing for the moment, "but your accent. It is English? Please forgive me if it is not!" South Africans and Irishmen get angry about that one for some reason, she's found.
COMBATSYS: Rose takes no action.
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Dudley
"Indeed... I am a Briton, born and raised." He raises an eyebrow as Rose chooses to... relax? Giving him a chance to recover? That's a very interesting concept, there; Dudley appreciates it, even though it is foolish to do such a thing.
"There is no other place I'd rather be! Britain is the best!" He smiles proudly and... well, he does take a moment and it might look like he's resting, at least... Rose is either supremely confident or supremely -over-confident...
COMBATSYS: Dudley focuses on his next action.
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Rose 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Dudley
Rose smiles as she lifts one hand, although her expression becomes a bit more inscrutable as she rests her pinky finger along the edge of her lips. "Ah, yes? Well, I suppose that I shall have to disagree, but only because I am very fond of Genoa instead. London is lovely, however..." At least when it isn't raining.
She doesn't advance on Dudley; instead, she snaps her scarf around and twists it over her head, light glittering behind her and then flowing outwards, down the cloth. "Soul Spark!" she cries as the coruscating glob of light flies out towards him; perhaps, now, she's taking it as an opportunity for vigorous exercise. It's always quieter when Rolento isn't around.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Dudley with Soul Spark.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Dudley
Hnn! Dudley's been Soul Spark'd; he tries to weave around the projectile but it strikes true, bathing him in a painful shock of psycho power.
"That isn't chi," he murmurs; he doesn't know much about psi but knows a bit more about chi, having at least done some research on it. Ah well; the strike slows him down but still he plows forward, driving his body in against its will, or Rose's, perhaps, and aiming a low left hook for her side. He said he wouldn't hit her in the face--but that means everywhere else on her body has to be a target, by necessity.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Dudley's Hook Punch.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Dudley
Akira heads to the Unites States.
Akira heads to the Unites States.
Maki heads to the Unites States.
Rose ducks slightly when that left hook slams towards her side. This might be very embarrassing in terms of where she's hit, if she didn't seem to abruptly /skip/ backwards; there's a faint sparkle of light but not enough of one to be truly an effort of that peculiar power.
"It is not," Rose confirms. It may not feel quite the same as Psycho Power, but Dudley may also not be one to split hairs over something so alien. Rose then steps forwards, twisting her hand around, openly; she aims what resembles an overforced knife hand strike towards the boxer's midsection, although the spark of Soul Power in its wake is likely the real weapon.
COMBATSYS: Dudley fails to interrupt Medium Punch from Rose with Rocket Upper.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Dudley sets himself; having seen Rose's speed, he knows he can't count on being able to just hit her, and so he intends to counter-attack... he'd already planned on it, and so he'd been starting his rotational switch...
Only to be stopped cold by the simple knifehand. It isn't that it hurts all that much; but the mere act of having his Rocket Upper stopped so simply, perhaps it's damaging mentally.
After this quick strike, Rose leaps back again -- landing several yards away in a slight crouch. She looks, perhaps, a bit guilty.
"I am sorry," she says; "I am not very familiar with boxing techniques! I did not mean to interrupt your development." She straightens up and adjusts her scarf again, before looking over her shoulder briefly towards the sea. Then back towards Dudley.
She considers what to say. Something encouraging without damage. She wants to build the burly fellow up, not knock him down. "I must say," she continues, "that you do fight quite chivalrously, without sacrificing ability."
She doesn't press the attack, even as the sea breeze stirs that weird shock of hair a bit.
COMBATSYS: Rose takes no action.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Interrupt... his -development-? That sounds dangerously close to an insult, and Dudley's eyes narrow. Is this woman now making fun of him? He growls, to himself, and advances again.
"It is an insult," he says, evenly, "to not treat this as a true fight. Perhaps you are stronger and more skilled than I am. That can only be borne out in battle. But if you are simply going to... -stand there-..." Dudley turns away.
"Then this battle is over. This is not honorable combat."
COMBATSYS: Dudley takes no action.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Rose seems to realize what she has said quickly; she bows slightly at the waist, hands resting on her thighs as she does so, steering clear of the stab wound. "Oh, I see - please forgive me. I meant no offense; I meant, rather, that it seemed improper of me..."
She rises back up. "To prevent your opponent the chance to develop his technique is good tactics, but can be dangerous. If my understanding of Rolento is correct... he relies upon his speed alone. If he had a wider experience of his opponent's methods, he might be even more dangerous..."
She bows her head again. "But, I understand now. We approached only from different directions, even if we came to the same place, in the end. If it is still your will for us to halt, I will not protest."
She is quiet for a moment, before adding, "/But/... if you wish me to not hold back, I shall also honor that wish."
Inwardly, Rose chuckles to herself. It is almost marvelous how so many different persons, from so many different techniques and traditions, come to a similar understanding of 'honor' and 'battle'. True to her word, Rose does not strike - especially since her opponent's back is turned. She does step forwards, however, aiming to circle around Dudley and face him once more.
COMBATSYS: Rose takes no action.
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Rose 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Dudley
Dudley's anger... dissipates. He wants Rose to treat this as a fight, not some sort of 'vigorous exercise'. What isn't at stake here is money, or a winning record, or any such nonsense--what is at stake is pride and honor, and the joy of a true battle. His eyes narrow again as Rose steps around to face him... and then he grins, though not entirely happily.
"I do -not- want you to hold back, Rose. I suspect you are a teacher of some sort. If that is so then you should know that holding back, as a teacher, is the -worst- you can do!" Dudley lunges forward, the fire burning again inside him, advancing on Rose with a series of jabs again, once again aimed for Rose's body. He still won't be hitting her in the face, though.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Medium Punch from Dudley with Light Kick.
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Rose 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Dudley
Rose's teaching methods are different; it is unusual when you train the mind rather than the body itself. "I understand," she says, however; the point is well taken. When Dudley comes towards her, she pivots, bringing one leg up --
The flaw in her technique is this. In physical blows, at least, she does not pour her all into it; as her leg comes around, Dudley's fist does as well. Of course, Rose is not so foolish as to leave herself completely open; his fist strikes the left thigh and hurts, partly for the bruising, and partly for the aggravation of the stab wound.
She staggers back, briefly off balance, and manages to smile despite a hint of blanching in her face. "You prove your point quite artfully, sir."
Ah yes... that's something else he won't be doing--going for that thigh wound--deliberately, anyways. Surely, tactically, hammering that wound until she can't use her leg is the surest way to win--Dudley is well-versed in the arts of opening and abusing cuts, though usually they're on the face--but he never preferred such a technique.
Though still a little winded, Dudley presses the attack--perhaps not the best idea, given Rose's vast power, but it is what he was -trained- to do... though he can step back and wait, and play mindgames, boxing is, at heart, straightforward, and that's what Dudley wants.
The man nods to Rose and advances again, feinting a left hook--then shifting his body so that his right is forward and firing a side-on uppercut--aimed a bit low, for her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Dudley's Fierce Punch.
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Rose 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Dudley
It is not beyond the veil of possiblity that Rose could, at least, force a draw with a disabled leg. Besides, current filmmaking indicates that the 'ability' in 'disability' is there, if you can only find it.
That feint is a warning, and Rose takes it; she leaps back away from the uppercut, sparing her poor abdomen another pummeling. She lands, shakes her head just once - perhaps more at the target zone than anything else - before moving forwards, quickly. She twists around once she's drawn close enough, twisting her scarf around as she raises her wounded leg up -- pirouetting on that good leg's toe as she twists the cloth around, to aim a series of sharp, whiplike strikes towards Dudley's side and midsection!
COMBATSYS: Dudley blocks Rose's Soul-piette.
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Rose 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Dudley
Dudley's tried to be fast; he's tried to counterpunch. This time... he just brings his arms up, interposing them between the scarf strikes. They hurt, but not as badly as they could... and Dudley's vitals are left unexposed.
And this time... Dudley -does- back off, backslipping a few feet back. "A most interesting technique," he murmurs, rubbing at the welts left on his arms. "I wouldn't imagine that cloth could sting so!"
COMBATSYS: Dudley gains composure.
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Rose 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Dudley
Dudley seems rather nice for a toff, and so Rose takes a moment to explain while stepping forwards, rather carefully. It's not as aggressive as she could be, but Dudley asked that they fight seriously -- not that Rose attack fanatically.
"It is Soul Power," she explains. "The cloth itself might sting a bit on its own, but it is a channel for energy; it is the energy which imparts it such force. You saw how Rolento showed no bruises when I struck him with it?"
She demonstrates with perhaps a bit more force, twisting the scarf around to lash it towards Dudley's arm. This time the strike is slower, but the scarf glows far more brightly - it doesn't FEEL any less painful, practically like being struck with a bullwhip, but the skin doesn't tear or rip.
Much, at least.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Dudley with Aura Scarf.
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Rose 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Dudley
That whipping strike is right on; Dudley grunts as it hits home. Man. The pain is evident on his face--he knows it wasn't the physical act that hurt, but that surge of energy... he staggers, his stance widening for a moment.
"Soul Power... it is pretty intense," he admits, feeling the burn all through his body.
"But I'm not done yet!!" he shouts, once again lunging in, swinging his left fist around in a hooking punch... but as he recovers he stops his rotational movement and reverses it, swinging his right around in -another- hook. A double-hook that is.
COMBATSYS: Dudley successfully hits Rose with Hook Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Rose 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Dudley
Many kinds of powers are intense, and Rose proves that psychic power is not unstoppable as she turns around - slowly, almost obviously, and probably due to fatigue - when that fist comes up and hits her squarely and cleanly in the midsection. Fortunately for her, it strikes around the solar plexus, rather than the abdomen itself. She staggers, coughing twice, and steps back with a nearly drunken wobble...
But she doesn't fall, perhaps thanks to the ship's own sway.
She straightens. "It does. Now, in apology for my earlier - earlier, actions. Let me show you..." She lets the scarf uncoil, the tip of it resting on the deck as she regards Dudley.
"The best that I have!" She twists around, swinging the scarf up and outlining a faint curve of light in front of her before the usual blossoming of light - easily three times brighter than it had come previously - erupts behind her and arcs down her arm, riding along the scarf as it launches itself towards the boxer. It almost hurts to look at -- can Dudley watch it long enough to keep it from hitting him right square in the jaw in an explosion of psychic pain?!
COMBATSYS: Dudley fails to interrupt Aura Soul Spark from Rose with Slipping Jab.
[ \\\\\ <
Rose 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Dudley can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\ <
Rose 0/-------/-------|
He has no choice; there isn't time to get out of the way and he surely can't absorb such a powerful strike head-on, either blocked or simply endured. All he can do--his only chance--is to try and reach Rose before that aura manifests fully. Unfortunately, his injuries and his reach aren't quite enough; the jab comes out but the aura overwhelms him, blasting him away from Rose--and this time, he's not getting up. At least... not until after Rose is declared the winner. But it isn't a fight that Dudley feels bad about losing.
After the camera crews issue the formal declaration, Rose steps over towards Dudley; she knows, after all, just what he's going through. (She has hit herself with most of her projectiles, as a way to tailor their psychic effect.)
She puts a finger to her lips and crouches slightly, ignoring the ache in her leg. "Do you feel alright?" She dispels what lingering effects she can with but a thought; however, echoes aren't always so easy to dissipate.
After a bit, Dudley opens his eyes; and he nods, getting to his feet, if painfully. "Yeah... I'm alright, Rose." He cricks his neck, and smiles.
"It was a good fight! Once you started fighting me seriously. Perhaps next time we can simply fight on the same side without having to go through all this other stuff as well... and you have given me much to think about. Thank you."
"I'm glad," Rose says, with a faint smile. "And you would be an excellent ally, I think!"
She folds her arms, then, and seems to be content to leave her wound untended for now. She looks left, then right... out towards the endless waves.
After a meditative pause, she asks Dudley, "Do you have a ride back?" Perhaps this is a prelude to graciousness; that, or she plans to freeload.
Dudley chuckles faintly, then... nods. "Yes, my helicopter should be coming back any moment now... do you need a ride back to the mainland?" he asks, seemingly amused. One would think that SNF would provide for its fighters...
"I'm sure my butler will have some excellent tea and biscuits waiting as well, if you would care to join me."
Log created by Dudley, and last modified on 15:54:11 04/22/2007.