Description: It's Boss Battle time for the NL. Rugal tests himself against the Soul Power the enigmatic fortune teller brings to bear. The two have history and a few shared interests as well and what better place to catch up on old times than in the midst of a violent battle? It's raw brutal force verses nigh indomitable will power as the two exchange some of the most powerful attacks in the world. (Winner: Rugal)
Neo League has been garnering a lot more attention since they revamped their rankings systems and started over with a fresh new season. Even Rugal Bernstein, typically a brooding recluse, seems to have taken interest in it. Now and then the League officials have thrown fodder at him just for the sake of ratings. But not every fight is intended to be a freebie for the tyrant of 'R'. The public knows him as merely a wealthy eccentric who sponsored some tournaments in the past. Only those with connections into the powerful factions of the world would know of his crime-riddled background.
He always arrives for his matches in a punctual manner. Never early and most definitely never late. Dressed to the gills in an expensive, somewhat gaudy red suit with a thin black scarf hanging open around his neck, the man looks good for the cameras - a well dressed killer when it comes to execution in his actual matches.
The afternoon's fight is staged within the top of a particularly massive clock tower somewhere in the heart of London. A number of intricate gears spin slowly, keeping track of time with eternal patience. The platform itself on which the battle is to start is a gigantic gear on its side. Little by little, it rotates, giving the two fighters a spinning view of the interior of the tower. Light from outside is filtered through the translucent face of the clock with a few extra lights mounted on the inside to get rid of some of the more obscurring shadows. The noise is a constant whir of mechanical tick-tocks, gears grinding, and other pieces of the large mechanism that seem to follow a pattern that is barely discernable.
Standing on the slow turning gear that is to act as the stage, Rugal waits with his left hand in his pants pocket, his right hand folding and unfolding the thin black scarf hanging open around his neck. His opponent is not an unknown to him. Rose has interferred with his business in bygone years. The question of whether he makes the fight to come as being personal or not may soon be answered.
The problem with being destined to be the counterweight of a force of darkness and suffering is that there are always OTHER forces, and you are placed in the position of opposing THEM as well.
Rose was only marginally surprised by the Neo League invitation. The cards, however, indicated a good prospect; if nothing else, the nature of the Neo League would prevent Rugal from devastating her. If he has moved into the realm of mere fighting competition, content to relax in his web of treachery and darkness - well, Rose reasons, it is not good, but it could be worse.
She steps out from the small and rickety access elevator, having been forced into a corner by a gaffer carrying a crate of replacement bulbs to supplement damaged equipment. After pushing her hair back with a sigh, she tilts her head at the sight of the vast, slowly turning gear, and the man standing there atop it. Time's passing, she thinks, and she steps up onto the vast piece of cast metal, carefully minding the gap.
"Hello, Mr. Bernstein," she says, unwinding her scarf from around her neck where it had fashionably sat. Her heels 'ting' slightly against the hard steel. "I hope that you have found yourself well?"
As the platform slowly turns Rugal moves in and out of the shadows while remaining perfectly still, himself. At first the right side of his face is turned away as the man examines the spinning contraptions around him. How much insurance must have gotten taken out on this place is, well, not beyond him, but must be quite an appreciable amount. If the mechanism gets ruined in the course of the fight, it's no concern of his.
When Rose enters, he ignores her until the moment she speaks. Only then does the tall German look her way, the right side of his face - the side that bears that inhuman eye of his, comes into view while he studies the woman impassively. "Quite well, Miss Rose. Quite well." It's always bothered him that he's never been able to find out a last name on the enigmatic fortune teller or where she comes from. She seems to exist between the normal numbers and names that identify most individuals. Even he has a family line that can be traced back through generations of crime... But of her, research has availed him nothing.
"I understand you've had your own shares of triumphs as of late." His information on how affairs went down in Thailand is very thorough. Some of the fleeing Shadaloo forces have been absorbed into 'R' in the interim months after all. "Unfortunately, tonight is not to be one of them." he smirks, raising his right hand and clenching it into a fist, that black scarf dangling some. His left hand comes out of his pocket as the cameramen get ready to start filming the match to come.
"Let's see if you have improved any..."
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rugal takes no action.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rose has joined the fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
Rose came out of nowhere, or at least, nowhere on the plane of conventional, material reality. She smiles at Rugal's words, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Thank you for your kind words," she says, before letting the scarf slide down around her shoulders. "But, are you so certain?"
This is difficult, and Rose knows it. She is quick and her Soul Power places her orders of magnitude above a casual fighter. And yet her body is not as resilient as some - and there are few, indeed, who can claim to have bested Rugal Bernstein in this situation. Still, giving up before the game's begun works in his favor!
She steps towards Rugal, though not close enough, it seems, to touch. She moves towards the left several steps, feet deftly moving one over the other, and then she, surprisingly enough, ducks.
Having done this, she snaps one arm out as if flexing it, or casually back-handing someone. The fist is too far away from Rugal to have a prayer of contact, but the scarf around it glows, Soul Power filling it and making it ripple in an unseen breeze, aiming whiplike towards Rugal's center of gravity!
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Rugal with Medium Punch.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Rose
"How can I be anything but certain," Rugal replies, sounding amused that she would question the inevitability of his victory here. An unpleasant chuckle escapes from his lips as he stands up a little more straight, leaning back a little as he rolls his shoulders beneath his suit coat. Confidence. One needn't be a mind reader to see it defined in the very way he moves so calmly in the face of a fighter who should /not/ be taken lightly.
When Rose comes in to throw into question his own balance, he appears to prepare for a strike of the more direct sort, his right arm raising, bent in front of him, hand turned outward as if ready to block and grab in the same motion. But the scarf slips through the defense and his plans of grasping a fist avail him nothing in defending against the more fluid form of assault. It strikes cleanly in the stomach, eliciting a grunt as he bends forward just a little from the strike.
"Interesting," he mutters. It's been years since he's felt Rose's varient of Psycho Power first hand. Even for him, time can dull the memory of nearly any pain. But it comes back swiftly now. And with that minor comment, Rose is forced to defend herself as the man takes a step forward, swinging out swiftly with his right leg, black shoe covered foot aiming to deliver a snap kick into the mysterious woman's stomach before his left leg swings out in a wider, sweeping arc, in an attempt to follow up the first strike with one to send her reeling sideways. "HAH!"
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Rose with Medium Kick.
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Rugal 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Rose
The blossoming flower of Soul Power fades as Rose is struck, the blow to her stomach making her face contort as the second strike hits her, already turning halfway away, and sends her staggering back. She forces herself to move back, and up, rather than down to the side; falling prone would be fatal in this! Perhaps not even metaphorically, either.
She breathes hard for a few moments, straining, before regaining some composure. "Your confidence is charming," she says, raising a hand to waggle one finger, scarf wrapped around her wrist. "But, I suppose you will forgive me for not sharing it?" She takes one step back, although she doesn't follow through and is left in a wary stance.
She then breathes again, inhaling through her nose and out through her mouth; a simple focusing trick. Light glimmers around her, pastel shades passing through the range of the spectrum and then seeming to gather down into her body. She does not strike forwards again, just yet.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Rugal 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Rose
There's nothing friendly about that kick from Rugal, to be certain. Far from his hardest strike, it was yet still quite effective in giving Rose a taste of his own strength in return for her power imbued scarf whip. His leg lowering, the man had prepared for retaliation - knowing full well that he hadn't delivered a hard enough hit to fell a fighter like her. But she backs off instead, taking a moment to focus that energy within her. The Soul Power that drives her own attacks manifests itself and Rugal's human eye narrows suspiciously. Hnnnn...
"I don't mind... I might be accused of not being the sharing type... However, before long you won't have a choice, dear Rose," the man replies, his implied friendliness is unctuous, almost nausiating for those who truly know of his vicious nature.
His right fist raises, bent at the elbow, hand wide open, that black scarf finally slipping free to hang freely against his side. As she builds up Rugal takes very swift but deliberate steps, the giant gear vibrating with the motion as he advances on her without slowing down. The chi that builds up in his open palm would be impossible to miss even if one weren't sensitive to it. A bright flash of white explodes into a much larger sphere as he swings that hand forward, hand clenching into a fist while enroute to strike her in the side of the head. Pause to concentrate against him, will you? Bernstein seems to have another idea in mind.
The swing ends early, but the explosion of white chi that emanates outward from the attack persists much longer. "RAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Barrier Crash from Rugal with Soul Reflect.
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Rugal 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Rose
Rose doesn't speak up as Rugal does. She doesn't want to crow before the egg is laid. Her eyes narrow as Rugal's hand raises, his /own/ scarf moving. Ironic, perhaps, she reasons, before he charges forwards. Breathe in, she tells herself; feel the ripple...
The gear is quivering with his approach. The light blossoming in Rugal's palm - even if Rose cannot feel that chi intuitively, she can sense the hostile intent. She doesn't move yet; if anything she relaxes, stance becoming more casual. Just as Rugal comes close, the fist clenching and swinging towards her head, she raises her left arm like the lever of a clock.
The white flash blinds those nearby for a fleeting moment, but the explosion's color goes from a bright, blinding white, to a shimmering turquoise blue as the standing wave of Soul Power interacts destructively with Rugal's own. The subtle energies of the nerves must control the grosser energies of chi, and so they too are reversed. Rose doesn't stand still, either, ducking low and pirouetteing to the side, putting a few paces between herself and Rugal before shaking her head slightly.
She raises her index finger, glancing at Rugal from beneath her bangs. "I don't?"
Again with the scarf. This time Rose's power meets his and washes over it, consuming the white light and striking the man back in the process. It slows Bernstein, causing him to stagger a step back, losing precious ground on the swift woman after his vicious assault. There is a twitch in his mouth, a faint indication of the pain he felt through that strike.
"Now, now," he replies, his voice returning with that same calm control he had a moment ago. "A nice trick, but hardly anyting to turn the tide, I'm quite sure..." He straightens up, extending his blasted arm out to his side, glancing at the shreaded red sleeve idly. That power of hers is not to be underestimated, to say the least. Slowly the gear turns, giving them each an ever changing view of the room around them. But all that matters to him is the target before him.
His right eye lights up, a red thin glimmer in the pool of black that is his cybernetic eye socket. And with that he studies Rose anew. Able to see the way she moves, the rate she breaths, the strength she has. Not an expert in Psycho Power himself, he can study the levels with which it thrives in the woman - the mystery without an explanation. "I wonder... Your fight with Vega... Thailand wasn't the first time. Is it simply business? Or is it personal?"
COMBATSYS: Rugal focuses on his next action.
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Rugal 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Rose
Rose takes another step back, just for the sake of insurance, and then stands still - but not truly; the camera crew is moving relative to them, slowly rotating to the side. She smiles, faintly, looking at the artificial, red-glowing appurtenance in the man's eye. "You speak as if the two are truly seperate spheres. It is a common belief, I find; but, it is better, I suppose, than the thought that it is all business."
"It would be unwise, I think," she continues in a clear if rather low tone, "for me to tell you everything. But, if you'd care to make a guess, I would be pleased to hear."
She is not focused, of course, /entirely/ on sassing the man. He may detect a peculiar tracery of 'Psycho Power' from around her eyes and head; of course, her efforts to project her perceptions into the future and anticipate things before they happen are not the sort of thing that science can easily quantify. Not yet, at least.
COMBATSYS: Rose focuses on her next action.
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Rugal 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Rose
There is a slow, only slightly disgruntled sigh from the man as Rose plays hard to get with the information that would sate some of his curiosity about the questions that surround her. "It's best to keep them seperate," the man states coolly, "Or else needless distractions such as satisfaction or anger can provoke mistakes that would have been abated otherwise..."
He holds his ground for a long moment as if debating her invitation to conjecture on matters about which he doesn't hold a lot of facts in his hand. "Hmn. You do seem the do-gooder type. Pests that meddle in affairs that needn't concern them. Always getting in the way..." He's seen his fair share to say the least. "But I don't believe the similarities between your own powers and Lord Vega's are mere coincidence either."
There's a pause then, a tip of his head. Perhaps inspecting her for any clues that he can exploit to further his theories about the strange woman. As far as seeing into the future goes... can she see the sudden charge forward, Rugal cashing in on both brutal speed and incredible power as he swings out for her with both his hands. His right hand comes in high, a clenched fist toward the side of her head. His left hand comes in low, an open palm aimed for her stomach. He strikes with the kind of force that could powder stone... what it could do to the woman? If she fails to avoid it then there will be no need to wonder for long.
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Rugal's Fierce Punch.
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Rose
Rose doesn't answer the questions of seperation with words, instead lowering her head slightly and closing her eyes with a faint 'hmm' of acknowledgement. The rest, however, makes her head lift. "Really? But they /do/ concern me; you see, I must live in the same world as injustice, and there is no guarantee that power will stay with you. Everything may fade, or be taken, or seperated, or turned against one."
Her head tilts then slightly to the side, although this time, she does not smile. "Perhaps such things should concern you - but then, perhaps you prefer to avoid such worry." Her tone is warning, but then, Rugal doubtless knows about her habit of warning others about arbitrary and ridiculous things.
Then he lunges forwards, both hands leading in front of her. Rose throws both arms up in response, crouching down as her scarf whips around in its own response, wrapping in a seeming myriad of layers around her arms a moment before Rugal's fists meet the crossing of the two limbs. It billows out, like an air bag might, and the fist's impact is softened from something that would slay a whale to something that would merely stun an ox.
Rose staggers back, body shaken violently under the impact. Her teeth grit for a moment, eyes narrowing as the pain comes. But it's from the body, and the nerves; the mind and a proper flow of energy can suppress it. "Hooh," she says, the scarf sliding down with a toss of one arm. She lets them spread out, glittering light shimmering on her skin again as her hands travel through a series of small, light gestures while completing a half-circuit apiece. "
And now," she says as the light flares, spiralling eddies forming shapes like spheres to her sides for a fraction of a second, "I must ask you another question: Why do you call that man 'Lord'?"
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Rose
"Hnn," Rugal grunts as his powerful strikes are repelled. Not flawlessly, mind, but effectively enough to deny him the satisfaction of delivering the crushing blow he had sought. He doesn't pursue immediately, having invested a lot into those powerful punches than one would be able to tell simply by watching. He holds his ground as Rose backs off again, lowering his arms slowly, switching from what was a boxing stance back into his relaxed, patient position.
"Why Rose, are you trying to warn me of something?" he asks, sounding almost pleasantly surprised. Her reputation in claiming to be able to read into things that she believes to be coming seems to have not escaped him. "And here I haven't even paid the price of admission," he tsks. Nothing like a free fortune!
As she manipulates her own energies once again, Rugal gives her a moment's leave this time. "Ah." he states, followed by a deep throated chuckle. "The title he claims for himself I freely give. It is merely a word, after all, and conveys no power other than that which lessor men give it. If that is the appellation by which he wishes to be addressed I see no reason why not to accommodate it... /If/ I sought his ruin..." There's a strange nuance to the 'if', almost implying that the word should almost just be left out of the sentence all together. It isn't just if with this man. "... the harm I would inflict would be far more severe than denying him his simple title!"
The final exclaimation comes not from emphasis but exhertion as he charges forward again, swinging out with a swift but deadly roundhouse kick aimed high with his right leg, followed by three rising strikes with his left leg, aiming for shins, stomach, and chin, each blow a powerful strike in and of itself. "RAAGH!"
COMBATSYS: Rose interrupts Strong Kick from Rugal with Aura Soul Spark.
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Rugal 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Rose
"Perhaps so," Rose says, tilting her head forwards. Her eyes close as Rugal moves into his approach; explaining things, perhaps, that Rose files away. She might have suspected, but the confirmation is nice. It is easier to deal with the darkness, she reflects, when it is not combined.
She doesn't move into a defensive posture this time as Rugal approaches, instead inhaling again, lips parting slightly. Her head lifts up, though her eyes stay shut. Rose takes a step back from the first kick, spreading her legs out with one behind her for support. Light glows around her as Rugal's second strike hits her shin with a noise like a rock splashing into shallow water, but the third never lands. The scarf whips around - her arm crooked back but the cloth achieving a full extension of its length, the very tip of it resting a fraction of an inch from Rugal's chest for just a moment.
Rose's lips quirk back for a moment, and the coruscant sphere of light arcs lightly around her arm and builds up speed from the compressed track, travelling forwards just as Rugal's leg draws back for that kick into her stomach. Now it is her turn to briefly outshine the stage lights, the spectacular blast of Soul Power likely to send sympathetic aches into the crew, however transient they may prove to be!
As his third kick tears through the air Rugal becomes aware of the retaliation coming in. He can see it plainly visible even if not inherently in tune enough with the power she weilds to sense it quite like he might attacks he's more familiar with. And then comes the scarf again - this time it lingers just about to strike him and while there is splinter of time in which he could have attempted to fend for himself, no such effort is made. Now he will see what her power is capable of. He will measure HER varient of Psycho Power by the strength of that blast that comes next!
And wow was that a lot to measure. The soul rending blast sends Rugal staggering back several steps, struck harder than he had even remotely anticipated. Having sparred with Vega back when the two would be tyrants were on better terms, he knows what the Shadaloo leader can do... and now he's quite surprised that Rose's own control over that power is not trivial in the slightest.
"Why, Rose," the man growls, his jaw clenched, muscles in his neck tensing in spite the faux calm with which he speaks, "It seems I had underestimated what you could muster with that tenacious neckwear of yours..."
He isn't wasting time to talk for long though, the man charging back in, assuming an aggressive boxing stance as he lashes out with a straight right followed by a hook with his left.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Rugal's Medium Punch.
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Rugal 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Rose
Rose tsks her tongue once against the roof of her mouth. "Oh? Does the scarf bother you?" she asks, before /actually/ tensing her body up as Rugal moves inwards. Perhaps Rose is exhausting her reserves; can she maintain the intensity of this sort of battle for a long while? That oddly relaxed stance may be hard in some other, non-physical fashion.
However, both of the punches are easily avoided by a simple and straight-forward expedient of suddenly leaping aloft, above and over Rugal's head as he executes his short combo. She seems to move faster than she should, though not so fast as to blur in passage. She lands, twists around - and tosses her scarf into the air. Once it leaves contact with her body, it becomes little but a long strip of yellow cashmere.
She then puts one hand on her hip, raising the other. Her fingers curl and uncurl quickly as she says, "Is the power truly in the scarf, Mr. Bernstein?" Then she snaps that hand forwards, in a swift arc that leaves her with her arm extended at a ninety degree angle from her side. The familiar light glimmers and streaks forwards, wobbling slightly as it leaves her fingertips rather than trailing along the scarf. Perhaps it's not quite as trivial to her as she's implying.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Rugal with Soul Spark.
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Rugal 1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0 Rose
Rose slips away from the two strikes intended to deal devestating blows. He's evaluated her ability to take damage from his attacks. Even with the few kicks that have landed throughout the fight he's gotten a feel for what it takes to level her and those strikes were intended to set up a culiminating finishing blow next. But Rose proofs the swifter in that exchange, avoiding him deftly, and Rugal holds his ground in preparation for what she'll do next.
"Che," he grunts as she tosses the scarf into the sky though his eyes do not follow it. He knows when he's being mislead or toyed with and he isn't about to fall for that... And when the less then certain wave comes in toward him, he simply raises his arms, intending to weather the strike out. How bad could it hurt, after all?
As the Spark tears through his defenses all the same, Rugal is sent reeling back once again. Even bracing for impact was insufficient to defend against the Soul Power Rose is capable of weilding. Duly noted he grunts, wishing he had come better prepared to contend with the extent of her abilities. "Very well," he growls, standing up straight, concealing with some effort the strain it's taking for him to remain standing.
Both of his arms extend out from his sides, his hands held open, a blue-white aura beginning to concentrate in his palms. "If we are to banty powers back and forth like this, then let me share my own with you." He claims it his own - that stolen technique from the proud German noble who can weild it better than any other man alive can hope to aspire. But that's just the arrogance of Bernstein at work...
The power in his hands increases in magnitude as he stretches his arms behind him, arching his back as he digs deep, amassing destructive force in each hand. "Behold..." And finally he brings his arms forward, slamming them together as he unleashes the combined energies as one gigantic shockwave of blindingly bright, burning chi that blasts toward Rose now. "The KAISER WAVE!"
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to reflect Kaiser Wave EX from Rugal with Soul Reflect.
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Rose
All fighters have reflexes. Total rational control over one's techniques and style is an ideal, perhaps, but in the time it takes one to reason out the perfect response, one has, generally, already been hit. Thus, the nature of things is to prepare oneself and to learn to be able to control the nature and degree of one's instinctual, reflexive responses.
Rose's are not idea. The streaking wave of energy makes her snap her arm forwards towards the incoming projectile. A useless if beautiful ripple of Soul Power forms in front of her, and then the Kaiser Wave strikes her full on. "Ghah!" she cries out, the blast throwing her across the vast main gear; she lands, striking hard enough to introduce a wobble into the clock and likely throw thousands of people's life schedules slightly askew.
The scarf lands neatly in a small pool on the metal.
Rose pushes herself up, a few moments later, staggering slightly. Her jaw is set, and she sounds, perhaps, less - energetic? as she steps forwards, crouching to collect her scarf again. "So I see," she says. "So I see."
Few have been brave enough to test their strength against the Kaiser Wave in such a bold fashion. Run, sure. Bunker down in craven fear, sure. But to try and simply stop it by sheer force of WILL alone? That's... actually something he would do. And deep down inside he can respect the attempt even if it wasn't met with success. "Fearless." he remarks, eyes narrowing. Whether that was meant as a compliment or an insult to her judgement would be hard to say for certain.
"No doubt it is that same attribute that sends you against a man such as /Vega/." The title is left off this time, it seems. "I would almost say that as our interests in not seemingly in conflict with regards to his future, we would almost be able to work together... But of course," he shakes his head slowly as he begins to advance on Rose now. "That could never be, now could it. For the moment you dealt with one tyrant, you would be eager to interfer with the affairs of another..." He shakes his head slowly. Everyone is always interferring with each other, it seems. No wonder no great power in the world has truly obtained what it sought. No wonder dictators rise and fall over the course of history. "People like you..." he growls, suddenly speeding up to return to the offense, "Are just as much a problem as any warlord!"
The swift left kick is a feint, aimed low, to distract her attention from the high axe kick that comes from his right leg next, crashing down toward her shoulder with incredible speed now. While extremely wounded on levels not immediately visible to the mortal eye, Bernstein's reserves are still going strong.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Light Kick from Rugal with Aura Soul Throw.
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Rugal 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
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Rugal 0/-------/-======|
Rose tries not to stagger, as it would be rather unladylike. The scarf, reclaimed, wraps around her arm again and she breathes in, channeling the sheer force and will of Soul Power through her body to keep her afoot. "You could always," she suggests, "try treating people well -"
Further back-sass is prevented by the incoming kick. The power flares around Rose as she tenses as if to leap, aiming perhaps to hit Rugal's /incoming leg/ with some sort of savage force. However, it remains a might-have-been as the leg is a half-second faster than Rose, striking into her shoulder hard and brutally. The strike is enough to send her flying down to the ground, her shoulder audibly dislocating; she leaves a dent in the metal, small but notable, and doesn't get up or move for a good six seconds.
"Haaaaaah," she shouts, abruptly; her body shifts, and with an audible 'pop' the shoulder joint slides back, after which Rose lays still. Her eyes aren't closed, though they roll up towards Rugal, lips pursing into a slight frown. He is evil, she knows, but she can dimly see that the chance of him attempting a finishing blow in front of television cameras is minimal - and besides, if she /had/ to, she could escape. She thinks.
While Rugal has been responsible for the ending of many lives over the years, it would be worthy to note that, at least as a matter of public record, he has never used sanctioned matches as a means of metting out his complete revenge or even pursuing his twisted objectives. The reasons for this are many. Perhaps it is that distinction between business and personal matters he touched upon earlier. Maybe it's a third aspect part from them both - pleasure. That transient joy in meeting another fighter in combat sates his battle lusts in ways that no other triumphs can... And were he to be banned from participating in leagues that opportunity would become more scarce than it already is for the veteran fighter.
As Rose stays down this time, Rugal crouches down next to her, his hands, covered with black, fingerless leather gloves, clasp together as he chuckles. There is amusement in his voice, but it isn't as utterly mocking as one might expect. "You fought well, my mysterious Rose. You have my gratitude. And perhaps... perhaps you have a point. It just might be that someday our paths align, if but for a singular purpose, and we meet not as enemies but brief allies. But until that illusionary day comes... I encourage you to stick to your fortune telling."
And with that, he stands up straight, his hands lifting to the lapels of his jacket as he shifts the tattered, ruined garment back into position. For the cameras, perhaps. The tie at his neck is adjusted next before he turns to walk toward the elevator. It's probably best that she catch the ride down on the next one...
COMBATSYS: Rugal has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:16:17 09/28/2007 by Rugal, and last modified on 09:57:11 09/30/2007.