Description: Rock is the next young man Rugal approaches with a challenge, though his purpose with Howard's wayward son may seem far less obvious at first.
Rock Howard was recently freed from NESTS Captivity by the ridiculously superpowered TEAM AMERICA composed of his idol and sometimes mentor, Terry Bogard, and one of his best friends, Roy Bromwell. For a teenager who had been looming dangerously close to that invisible line where you start doing things you'll regret, morally, Rock's reencounter with Terry has given him the strength to go back to the old ways: making honest, devoted, efforts to becoming a better person and try to erase the effects of a lifetime raised by Geese Howard.
With Bangkok reacquired by the Thai forces, Rock's obligation to the man known only as Alex was fulfilled, and he was able to return to Southtown without a sense of guilt. The country isn't completely saved, but Rock is pretty sure it's on the right path back, and his fight isn't one born for the rice fields and jungles of that country. No, his fight is for Southtown. The town he was raised in. The place his father runs like a carefully orchestrated symphony. He'd been away, hiding from fear of retribution due to his actions on Geese Tower a month ago, for too long. He had forgotten what he was fighting for.
Riding his motorcycle back towards the city, Rock stopped on a side road off the highway just outside of town. In the hills and forests that surround the city, this particular spot provides a handsome vista of the city Rock loves. And with the sun setting and casting a calming golden twilight over the skyscrapers and the ocean beyond, the view is soothing for his weary soul. And as Rock watches the sun set from the back of his bike, he realizes the the Thailand War was tough, but the battle for Southtown hasn't even begun.
A large black sedan rolls into the clearing via one of the flattened dusty lanes that link back to the highway some distance away. The dust cloud behind it is fairly subdued as the vehicle moves at a fairly slow speed, as if the occupants were more interested in sight seeing than getting to any particular destination.
The sound of tires grinding against the gravel comes to a stop as the vehicle slows down, red brake lights flaring. The front left door opens and a black-suited woman gets out promptly to pull open the rear passanger door. The man that gets out of the back seat is none other than Rugal Bernstein himself. Publically known for the two tournaments he has run over the last several years, though one raised with the kind of connections Rock had growing up, he might likely know the larger story behind the tyrant of "R".
The driver closes the rear door behind Rugal then gets back into the front seat of the vehicle. The engine revs and the car takes off, leaving simply Rugal, Rock, and the motorbike. The end of the war in Thailand signaled a shift in priorities for Rugal as well. His focus has changed - a plan, patiently slow and deliberate in the making, has been set in motion. This evening will just be another small piece of the greater machinations Rugal has begun to weave. That the car pulled in so soon after Rock got here suggests that he was being tailed at some point. This is hardly a simple matter of coincidence.
"Rock Howard," comes the greeting as he walks deliberately toward the only other person to be found here. "Tell me, how is your old man doing lately?" he chuckles deeply.
Rock is no stranger to being tailed. But he usually is able to pick up on it when he's not riding his bike. He's got no experience with being tailed on the road. So when the Black Sedan turns the corner up to the lookout clearing, he doesn't think twice about it. When it starts to slow and then ultimately stop, he's a little more intrigued, but figures it's just someone else trying to take in the view.
Head turning back towards the horizon, Rock takes a deep breath and tightens his grip on his handlebars. His eyes linger on the most dominant structure in that horizon -- Geese Tower. Even the view of his city is blotted by the gaudy obstruction that is his father's headquarters and living testament to his rule of the city. Someday, Rock would like to tear it down.
The sound of car doors opening and closing doesn't distract Rock from his thoughts. Nor does the sound of feet on gravel. But when his name is called, in a deep, unfamiliar voice, Rock's spine suddenly straightens. He tenses visibly, his breath holding in his throat as his teeth come together, his hands gripping the handlebars even tighter. Very, very, slowly he turns and cocks his head sidelong to see who has come here to regard him. There are so many people in the world it could be -- but very few of them, Rock reflects -- would be welcomed.
When Rock's thin eyes settle onto the imposing form of Rugal Bernstein, recognition dawns. He knows Rugal from the King of Fighters and he's heard rumors of his other activities. He knows he's a dangerous person. The question, also, connotates bad intention from the mustached man. "I wouldn't know," Rock says back to Rugal, voice deliberate and even. "He could be dead for all I know... Or care."
The man's gaze looks at Rock, then through him, past him - his sole human eye clearly looking in the direction of the unmistakable signiture building of Southtown, Geese Tower. "Now, now, that isn't entirely true," he replies, Rock's expression of derision for his father perhaps just the reaction Rugal was interested in.
"If you were to learn that someone else had beaten you to him, wouldn't you feel a little... cheated?" It seems he has a better feel for the problems between Rock and his father than he may have initially let on. "Or do you not strive to match his power someday? To become one strong to topple that impressive piece of architecture to the ground?"
But maybe he isn't too interested in having Geese's boy confirm or deny his suspicions, as with two swift steps forward, his hand lashes out, attempting to grab Rock by the front of his shirt in order to throw him to the side, away from the motorcycle. "I'm curious though, Rock. I want to see just how far along learning from the Legendary Wolf has gotten you!" he shouts, his voice having shifted from a calm bantor to a roaring challenge.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rock has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Rugal's Quick Throw.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
Rock's eyes widen when Bernstein suddenly breaks into motion. He doesn't even have time to answer the man's question before the much larger guy's fingers are curling into his red jacket and black t-shirt. Rock is a strong and tough kid, but he's not in the same weight class as Rugal. He's got nothing he can do to keep from being lifted, twisted, and hurled away from his bike.
But he can roll with it. Tucking his shoulder are Rugal heaves him for the gravel-covered lookout's turf, Rock hits the ground in a roll that swallows much of the momentum. He ends up about a dozen feet from his motorcycle, skidding on one knee after two full rotations, one of his hands grazing the ground to slow his momentum.
Digging his heels into the ground, Rock squints at Rugal, his shoulder already pinging with pain. He's confused. He doesn't know very much about this man or why he would be attacking him like this. It's gotta have something to do with his father. Is Rugal trying to send a message to Geese by battering Rock to pieces? It wouldn't be the first time in Rock's life someone tried to use him to send a message.
Rock rubs his mouth with the back of his hand and calms his mind with a slow exhale. "You want to see it?" he repeats Rugal's challenge, rising back up to his full height. Howard blood beats in Rock's veins. They can never stand down from a challenge. "I'll show you, Mr. Bernstein, but you'll /regret/ it!" Suddenly breaking forward, Howard goes into a straight run for Rugal. He doesn't mask his intentions or wait to show the man what he wants. He goes right to his favorite technique -- the one he learned from emulating and training with the Legendary Wolf. Breaking into Bernstein's wingspan, Howard's right arm slices forward as he sends the elbow exploding for the center of the man's chest -- a blinding swirl of chi trailing off it.
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Rock's Hard Edge.
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Rugal 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Rock
"Yes," comes the one word reply as Rock confirms his challenge. At the warning that he'll regret it, Rugal's mouth curls into a faint smirk. The boy reminds him of so many other young men trained from a young age to fight. Feeling the power coursing through their veins... in Rock's case a very /distinctive/ power, they can't seem to pass up the chance to show what their investment has earned them. As if his ten to fifteen years of training should impress a man like Rugal - a man who has decades more experience on him. This is exactly the spirit he seeks, however.
When Rock comes at him, the man shoves a strong, suit-sleeved arm into the path of Rock's elbow, grunting and leaning forward against the momentum as he absorbs and disperses the strength of Rock's momentum throughout his own body, muscles tensing, his feet slipping only an inch against the grass-covered ground.
"You've had Terry as a mentor. The man who has soundly defeated your father once before. How many years is it now that he's guided you? Are you any closer to your goal?" the man asks, his tone demanding, challenging, almost mocking before he pushes back on Rock to put space between the two of them.
Seeing the suited fighter leave the ground so swiftly may come as a bit of surprise as Rugal launches himself almost horizontally at Rock, one foot straight forward. If he manages to connect with Rock's chest, his trailing leg will come forward to deliver a punishing second attack, all intent on knocking young Howard back some distance. Face the Hien Shippu Kyaku of Kyokugen fame. Rugal has been looking forward to the chance to dish it out on someone since recently integrating it into his own style...
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Medium Kick from Rugal with Gedan Crack Counter.
- Power hit! -
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rock
Rugal's question is precisely why Rock has started to seek other methods and mentors to move closer to achieving his goal of defeating his father. The mysterious Grant, the enigmatic Kain, and even his wayward uncle, Wolfgang Krauser. But Rock also knows that it's his own fight -- no degree of training from even the best fighters in the world will make him powerful enough. He has to assimilate it all, make it his own. He has to own his spirit and his will, like his father has, to surpass him.
Luckily, Rock has experience fighting Kyokugen fighters. He can feel what Rugal is attempting a hair second before the foot snaps to life. Backing up a step, Rock's jaw settles and he waits until the first foot is blazing towards his chest to act on that anticipation. When Rugal moves, Rock moves too.
Jumping forward to, atypically, meet Rugal in the air -- Howard times his leap perfectly and arcs just over Rugal's head in an open flip. His body contorts as he somersaults, performing a complete flip, before he improvises a variation of Bogard's Crack Shoot and sends one of his black booted heels barreling for the back of Rugal's head.
Rock lands a second later, back to Rugal. He swallows a breath, eyes locked on Geese Tower on the sun-stained horizon. "Every day that I /fight/, I am closer to my goal." Rock's head tilts back, eyes thin as they regard the man. "/Why/ do you care?"
The speed at which Rock manages to flip over Rugal earns him that strike to the back of his head. Getting struck like that in the middle of an aerial attack might be enough to send a lessor fighter crashing uncerimoniously to the ground. But Rugal lands on his feet just fine, sliding to a stop, shaking his head once as he turns around to face the young man again.
As if his successful attack earned him the right to hear an answer to his demanding question, Bernstein hesitates for a moment. He laughs a little - a dark, unpleasant sound... amused. Perhaps at the fact that he got struck or because Rock so bravely demands answers from one such as he. "Care? That might be a strong word. But I am curious... and I hate having uncertainties out there. You're far from the only one vying to get back at your father. Men of his stature make countless enemies. Why do you insist at going after him alone?"
That dark, metallic right eye of his suddenly lights up with a shimmering red pin-point light as he studies Rock closer now. With that eye he can see so much more than a human could. The way Rock's muscles constrict or relax, the way his body moves, the styles he draws upon, matching them against a literal encyclopedia of attacks contained within Rugal's brain. Giving the boy a moment to answer, Rugal simply waits. And studies.
COMBATSYS: Rugal focuses on his next action.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rock
Rock backs up a step when he realizes that Rugal only has one eye, and that other one looks like the Terminator. He's not sure what it's actually doing, but he's confident that it's up to no good. People's eyes don't glow naturally or without reason. He met Maxima once when he was feuding with K'. He's seen cybernetic parts before. Plus, you know, he just busted out of NESTS a week ago.
But the question warrants answering. Rock owes it to Rugal for slowing his assault long enough to afford him that luxury. "Because it's /my/ fight," he says, voice rigid with affirmation. "He's my father and my responsibility. And after what he did to my mother--!"
Rock doesn't explain what he means about his mother. It's possible Rugal knows that Rock blames his father for her death without him needing to say it. But what Rock /does/ say, he says with his fists. Breaking into a full run, Rock tucks his body low to the ground and comes right at Rugal again. Leaping forward two steps away from the man, his legs skim the gravel floor as he rears his favored right fist back. He lands just at Rugal's base and sends his arm rocketing forward, knuckles born for the man's jaw, the memory of his mother burning bright on the front of his mind.
COMBATSYS: Rugal interrupts Medium Punch from Rock with Genocide Cutter EX.
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Rugal 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Rock
That red light in his eye goes out as Rock begins to speak, his human, left eye blinking once as he smiles just ever so faintly in spite himself. Ah, the rashness of a youth driven by revenge. It's refreshing to see that kind of vigor, that determination, that headstrong stubborness in the face of impossible power.
And it is against such impossible power that Rock hurls himself now. "Yes... yes of course," he replies, with a tone that /almost/ sounds sympathetic to young Howard's purpose. There is no time to say anything else though, as the vastly younger figher is upon him, striking out with strength against a man who has felled far mightier than him.
"Genocide-" comes the first growled word as Rugal kicks straight into the young man's chest with an upward swing of his leg. Though Rock's fist lands the blow, it may have been merely a glancing hit at best, given the power pushing back on him from Rugal's leg. The force is incredible. He's shattered trees with a kick that strong. And it's more than enough to carry the both of them into the air with the momentum behind it. "CUTTER!" His other leg swings around, kicking Rock up even further as Rugal spins around in the air. His first leg comes around again, this time in a downward axe-kick against the boy's shoulder, driving Rock back down to the ground.
Landing on his own two feet right next to Rock, Rugal merely stands in place, not backing up to give his opponent for this moment any room, but not following up his attack with something else immediately either. "Will you ever have the strength to take him down on your own? Will you ever have the /power/ required? Even if you manage to defeat Geese Howard in a fight... you would be a fool to think that would be the end of it."
Rock is good at doing stupid things. One of those stupid things was running in and trying to punch Rugal Bernstein in the face. This goes into the book with trying to free a POW Camp by himself and fighting the NESTS Vice President or storming Geese Tower with Roy Bromwell to try and kick his father's ass. It's just not something that otherwise rational young men do.
Stupidity breeds a thick skull and Rock Howard needs it here. Blasted up with a terrible bonecracking noise by the first part of the Genocide Cutter, the subsequent series of kicks brings about similar noises. They echo down through the basin that houses Southtown below. But high up here in the hills surrounding the city, it's just Rock Howard and Rugal Bernstein to hear the terrible noise as Rock's shoulders crater back into the ground -- the crust of the earth trembling and ripping open around him.
"Ngggh," is all Rock can manage as he stares up at the sky. He can hear Rugal's feet meeting the ground nearby. He can feel his presence looming behind his head. The question is posed; it's one Rock has asked of himself a thousand times in days past. It's one he's never really found the answer to. He's blind with his determination; he's rash and emotion-fueled. He's never considered consequence or truly how to achieve his vengeful dreams.
Curling a fist into the ground, Rock manages to grind the knuckles and use them to push himself back to his feet. He can feel that one of his ribs is probably fractured, if not broken. It's hard to breath. But he does it anyway. His voice comes out soft but defiant. "Is this where you offer me a solution...?"
COMBATSYS: Rock focuses on his next action.
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Rugal 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Rock
"Heh," comes the reply from Rugal. With the slightest raise of his shoulders, he almost seems to shrug at the idea. As if he hadn't thought about it, but now that Rock mentions it, it could be a possability.
But now that boy that would have been heir to all Geese owns has gotten back on his feet, Rugal gives him very little quarter to catch his breath or concentrate. "I don't make offers until I understand better what I would be getting out of the deal," Bernstein smirks, already sliding forward, moving with surprising swiftness for a man of his size.
Once in close, he'll strike out with crushing force for Rock's chest with one fist. His other hand isn't far behind, reaching in, fingers flayed open, a clawed hand lunging for Rock's throat.
COMBATSYS: Rock interrupts Scorpion Deathlock from Rugal with Raging Storm'.
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Rugal 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rock
That isn't quite the answer Rock was expecting. He has experience in these types of things -- he's probably had more world famous fighters than anyone else in the world offer to train him. Most of them do it because they hate Geese Howard. That's another living testament to the man's legacy. His scion is embraced by so many because he's made so many of the very enemies Rugal spoke of.
But then, none of that really matters when the huge man's fist is crushing into Rock's sternum. He feels his rib cage bend beneath his skin, pliable bone pushed to it's limits; wanting to snap with but a little more pressure. It drives him back against the ground, his heels digging through the dirt from the force of the contusion. A moment later, Howard makes a muffled noise as Rugal's fingers close around his throat.
There is a brief moment where, air being crushed from his lungs, that Rock can see squarely and true into Rugal's single living eye. The look that Rock gives the man might be familiar -- no doubt a reminder of the blood that runs through the teenager's body. For as their eyes lock, Rock's red to Bernstein's red and black, the young Howard calls upon the power of his father. The cursed, blood boiling, power of his anger--
--It starts with a Geese Howard grin. A macabre, twisted expression of a man who has nothing left to lose. And then it all happens quickly. Rock's chi aura explodes with brilliance, detectable for a mile, as he wills it not from the living environment but rather from the tremendous fuel of his internal anguish. Within seconds, a brilliant golden light swallows him and the pulses in a radial shockwave outward. The ground beneath their feet shakes, the horizon is swallowed, and the infamous call of, "RAGIIIINNNNGGGGGG STOOOOOORRRMMM!" is made.
It would be impossible for a man such as he to not feel it. The build up. The well of impossible levels of chi being unleashed into the world. Power, tapped and honed by anger and pride. Rugal should know it well. As his hand tightens on Rock's neck, pulasing with a sickly, purple chi, he feels the change in the ebb and flow of energy within the boy.
He knows he's too late to get away. There's no time to react. All he can do is smirk, the grip on Rock's neck loosing just before the blastwave comes. Nothing the boy had hit him with before was enough to shake the stance of the much taller fighter. But the Rising Storm is no normal attack.
The force sends him flying off. If he hadn't released his hold on Rock's neck, it's likely that he would have been struck even harder, his body unable to adjust to the smashing force as easily if the two were linked together by his grip. Rugal lands on his back. And pauses. Tasting the power of the Rising Storm, even if from the less experienced fighter, reminds him of the forces he is reckoning with. The risks and gambles he engages in, tempting fights with the most deadly warriors in the world.
When he gets back up, his suit coat and white dress shirt are ruined, destroyed, tattered by the blast. These useless things he sheds, ripping his shirt along the buttons then shrugging the heap of cloth to the ground at the back of his feet, leaving a tightly fitting green muscle shirt over his chest.
"You truly are Geese's boy. It must pain him to know you've rejected all he could offer you... the wealth, the power..." Rugal chuckles, "What could be worth more than what Geese Howard could provide you?" Precious little time is left to answer this time as Rugal leans forward into another charge before sliding to a stop. He kicks low with one foot, attempting to direct Rock's attention to defending his shins. But then his other leg comes up high and downawrd, a swift axe kick for the boy's shoulder.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Rock with Light Kick.
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Rugal 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rock
Phantom chi smoke rises from Rock's body in the wake of the Raging Storm, coiling around him and up into the increasingly dark air. Rock stands there, his arms braced against the inside of his knees, breathing in and out deeply. His earlier injuries makes it painful and hard to get his breath back but it's a necessary pain. It's the pain of fighting and it's one any of the thousand professionals around the world knows well. It's the cost of doing business.
And the family business is not what Rock Howard wanted. He saw, with his own naked, young, eyes what his father truly was involved in. He witnessed the terrible things Geese would do to maintain and increase his power base. Terrible, horrible things. He ruined lives to benefit his own. He crushed anyone who got in his way. And more than anything, he tried to brutally force this thinking onto his own son.
Rock doesn't have to say his answer to Rugal's wonderment. He has a simple answer; it comes flooding to his mind immediately, without any hesitation. Rugal's leg slams into Rock beneath the knee, buckling him forward with surprised pain. The axe-kick comes next, cracking him squarely around the shoulder. It shoots Rock straight forward, face-first, into the ground.
He can feel the bruises already forming. But he hold to that answer. The memory and dream of his mother gives him the strength he needs as he rolls onto his back, right beneath Rugal's imposing gaze. Tucking his legs in towards his body like he was preparing to kick-up to his two feet, Rock instead suddenly inverts his body's mass onto his back as he rocks back. With sudden momentum, he plants his palms, pushes with all his strength, and then sweeps his arms out and around his body; willing suddenly more chi to launch himself into an improvised version of another of the Legendary Wolf's techniques.
With his body corkscrewing straight upwards, Rock tries to drive his spinning heel right into the chin of the mustached man, chi blossoming off his body as it performs the Rising Tackle.
COMBATSYS: Rugal counters Rising Tackle from Rock with Quick Throw.
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Rugal 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Rock
He's seen the Rising Tackle before, the move burned into his mind as he's reviewed fight after fight, tape after tape, broadcast after broadcast. He didn't expect Rock to try it now. But he can sense it when it comes, able to tell what the boy is doing even as he inverts himself into the risky maneuver.
And then he reacts with a move that may very well be familiar to the son of Geese Howard. Rugal's arms cross in front of him, open palms reaching out to take a tight hold of the boy's feet as they're driven up at him, catching hold of him by the ankles. Turning to the side and uncrossing his arms with a wide, windmilling sweeping motion, he sends Rock flying up into a high arch over the top of his head, mimicking almost perfectly that infamous counter of Geese. There would be plenty of opening to strike the boy as he comes back down, but Rugal ends up just standing his ground, allowing him to hit the ground on his own.
"You didn't do too bad... you have potential. But that potential needs to be honed, refined, focused." He speaks as if the boy is out of the fight. Surely that was the last of his strength after all. After the smashing Genocide Cutter... the debilitating choke hold... and the other strikes he's gotten in, could Rock possibly have it in him to get back up again?
"But when you go against Geese, you are going against a man with overwhelming power such as mine. You are going against a monster." Bernstein states, brushing his pant leg off idly with his hand as he lectures the boy a little.
This is familiar. Rugal's hand around his leg is the last thing Rock cognitively realizes before he's being twisted like a ragdoll and hurled into the pavement again. He strikes it awkwardly, skidding forward on his side until he's at the lip of the lookout. The Highway railing is dangerously close to his head; he can see down the slope into the basin that houses Southtown below. A little more strength and he would have slid right off.
Rock breathes in and out, gulping in gusts of precious air. He flexes his brow, eyes creased shut, trying to calm the pounding pain in his head. He thought he had left the war behind him in Thailand; but this is worse than any battle he fought on foreign soil. Compared to Rugal, Zero, NESTS, Alex, Sagat... They all felt like amateurs compared to this strange man.
There's only one thing left to try. Rugal asked to see the training of the Legendary Wolf and Rock is going to give it to him. He's going to give him the full taste of what Terry Bogard has taught him. He'll show him his favorite technique; his famous technique. He's taken down champions with it. He's even used it to drive Geese Howard to the lip of that rooftop office.
Rock slams his palms into the ground at his sides. His fingers splay against the turf, pushing deep, as he tries to find the will to stand up again. That's the best he realizes he can do here. Rugal is out of his league; he knows that. But he can't give up. Terry would never give up. His mother would tell him to stand up and fight. Forgetting the face of Geese Howard, Rock drives a foot into the ground. And then the other. He uses the metal railing to pull himself the rest of the way up, his back facing Rugal, the winged star-crest of his red fighting jacket reflective in the night.
One last breath is exhaled, as Rock's fingers curl tight against the metal wall. His mind clears and he half turns to stare at Rugal over his shoulder. "I used to think to beat the monster... You had to become the monster. Terry showed me otherwise."
And then Howard does it. Pooling his weight on his far side, he shifts it forward suddenly and breaks into a streaking run. His body mirrors, bluish chi flowing visible off from him in a swirling contrail. He comes powering into Rugal, his right fist accelerating with a terrible crescendo forward -- the chi swallowing itself and running down the length of his extending fist. He doesn't do his own variation of Bogard's signature attack. He doesn't mask it or hide it; he embraces the simple and best lesson he ever learned. He embraces the mark of the wolf.
"SHIIIIIINNNE KNUUUUUCCKKKKLLE!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Rock's Shine Knuckle.
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Rugal 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Rock
There is a pause as Rock gets back up. That he can stand at all isn't too much of a surprise. Rugal went easy with that last attack of his, simply putting the boy to the ground in an intent to end the fight but leave him conscious. But that he seems to be powering up for yet another attack /is/ somewhat surprising. He can see it coming, of course. That attuned, focused eye of his, aided by whatever it is the cybernetic twin eye can see.
When Rock comes for him, Rugal raises just one arm, intersecting the boy with his forearm, muscles tightening to brace against the strength Rock pits against him. His shoes do slip a little this time, but his footing remains strong. "Impressive. And has Mister Bogard shown you how to take down a cartel? Has he shown you the depths that you must sink to destroy an empire?" the man asks back as he pushes Rock away from him by simply extending that blocking arm of his. "Does he know anything beyond punching and kicking his way through his obsticals? There is so much more to it than that, you know. Were even the world's mightiest were to take you under their wing, they still will never equip you with what it takes to destroy what Geese Howard has built."
This time Rugal's arms extend out to his sides and a literal sphere of white, bristlening electricity forms around his body. "Hahaha. You have guts, kid. But it's going to take a lot more than that!!" And then he's charging forward, attempting to smash his shoulder into the young man. Though with the sphere of energy around him, it would be impossible to stop Rugal by brute force alone without being hit by the field first.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Rock with Barrier Crash.
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Rugal 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Rock
Rock had made plans with his uncle (one of them), Kain Heinlein, to take down the Southtown Syndicate. It's a long, complicated plan that requires total deceit and secrecy. They are the only two men in the world who know the extent of it's plans. Not even Kain's right-hand man, Grant, the Martyr of Might, was involved in it's formulation. Unfortunately, this plan of action hasn't happened yet. There hasn't been the right moment to activate it.
So Rugal's words strike true. So too, does the Barrier Crash. Body sagging after the Shine Knuckle is pulled back, the last remnants of Rock's chi curl off his knuckles as he lines his eyes onto Rugal. "What do you want from--"
He doesn't get a chance to finish the frustrated question. Rugal slams into Rock; the energy field swallowing him first. The chi burns through his body like he was caught in the middle of a tsunami, his mind lighting up with pain. But then Rugal's physical mass barrels into Rock and his toes leave the ground as he is rocketed back from the crushing impact.
Rock's back slams into the guard railing on the side of the road. It dents severely from his impact but it saves him from the far worse fate of falling down the incline behind it. Slowly sagging forward onto his knees, Rock gives a pained expression born more from realization of his failure than the pain churning through his body. And then he loses it. Consciousness winks out into the black abyss, he slumps forward onto all fours like a wet dish towel, and lays there dreaming of the stars.
"Heh," Rugal grunts as Rock falls to the ground, that final assault finishing the fight with decisive, brutal force. "What do I want from you..." he mutters to the unconscious boy. One hand slips into his pants pocket, withdrawing from it a simple black business card with crimson red text. A phone number. A voice mail service. Nothing more.
Steping forward, he reaches down and slips the card into the pocket of Rock's oh so familiar jacket. Perhaps the boy will continue to rampage forward on his own. Perhaps he already has machinations in play with other forces. Or perhaps he will come to find that he is not satisfied with what he has now and will seek other options. To Rugal, it's almost the same either way. Another thorn in Geese's side, whether guided by his own hand or not, is still a piece in play. And that's all he needs to know.
He turns and walks over to the shed coat and shirt, lifting them from the grass and slinging them over his shoulder. He looks over his shoulder one last time toward the slumped over young man. "Children. Heh." Geese has his problem child, Rugal has his. In some way he can sympathize. But at least his boy isn't out actively seeking his ruin... at least, not that he's aware of yet.
He strides off then. There's a phone in his suit pocket. He could call the car to swing back and pick him up. But for now, he feels like walking. A quiet moment to enjoy the onset of another new night.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has left the fight here.
> ]
|===----\-------\0 Rock
Log created on 21:06:49 07/04/2007 by Rugal, and last modified on 01:55:27 07/05/2007.