Description: Zach and Domino duke it out for Neo League glory. Zach's efforts are only somewhat effective against the wrestling fighter, extending his dry spell. (Winner: Drake)
At the edge of the road nestled in the northwestern forest, a cordoned area has been set up for a Neo League event - half in the forest, half on the road. Crowds have gathered to spectate, a fair multitde, all cheering in anticipation for the event. On a clear, sunny day like this one, who -wouldn't- want to come out? A clear sky, birds chirping, hot weather, but with a cool breeze.
Domino is the first fighter to arrive at this spot, descending from the depths of the treetops to land in the center of the ring. The martial wrestler lands in a crouch, robe fluttering out behind him and hood concealing his face. This quickly changes as he raises to his full height, turning a quick spin to cast the garment aside in a single movement, revealing the dark-haired model in a set of ring attire. Receiving cheer from the audience for this entrance, Domino thrusts his right fist into the air, beaming a bright, charismatic smile.
After a few moments of this, though, he approaches one end of the ring to await his opponent.
Zach whistles at Drake's posturing as he walks up to the ring. To be honest, it is only the second time Glen has stepped into a squared circle. He eyes the ropes for a moment, considering from Drake's entrance and the way that the taller man carries himself that Zach is once again going up against someone with a home-field advantage.
Zach pauses before clambering up onto the apron. He tugs the rope briefly, before climbing between them. Zach will save the flash for later. Glen bounces on the balls of his feet before sliding into an open stance. "Ready when you are," the psychic says gamely.
COMBATSYS: Zach has started a fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Drake has joined the fight here.
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Drake 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
The opponent that arrives... is not quite what Domino expected. He pauses, quirking an eyebrow at him, and then simply shrugs his shoulders. He recalls that Arika fought him once before, so that gives him justification. Although not exactly intimidating, he's bound to have some tricks up his sleeves if he actually went up against his teammate.
So Domino regards him as warily as he would any other opponent. Only for now, Zach is on the Light Side of Domino, granting him a friendly smile and a flick of a wave. "Heya," he offers, perfectly amiable. "Don't hold back, or I'm gonna plough clean through you." The warning is said sagely, but with a more mirthful grin.
Finally, Domino takes a few steps forward and assumes his stance. His left foot shifts forward while his right foot slides back a little, settling into a shallow backstance. His left hand angles before his body, hand tapering flat, while his right hand chambers at his chest, fingers splayed. The humor drains from his face, leaving only a determined stoicism in its place.
Zach shrugs at Domino's suggestion not to hold back. He bounces again slightly as he considers his next move. The shrug becomes mental; Zach only /sort of/ knows how to hold back anyway, and has only done so in fights twice that he can recall. Arika was one of those fights.
Zach takes two quick steps, before lunging towards Drake to fire a quick punch from the shoulder at Drake's midsection. As the strike approaches, the air around Zach's punching arm shimmers as a purple gauntlet forms around it!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Drake with Jab Punch.
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach
The strike hits as Zach had intended, knocking Domino back with a surprised grunt. "Mmf! Huh.." His eyes narrow on the shorter male, and he suddenly lashes his arms out, attempting to hook his arms around Zach to hoist him up in a crushing, unrelenting bearhug. The amethyst eyes narrow on Zach, teeth grit a bit.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Drake's Blackout.
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach
For once, being short has its advantages! Zach ducks the grab, allowing the sweeping arms to grab nothing but air. Zach stays in close to press the advantage. This may, in retrospect, be a somewhat suicidal strategy against a wrestler. Zach, however, does not seem to mind.
The psychic fires off a palm thrust upward at Drake's chin, using the impact to help sight-in a point blank burst of that strange violet energy that has become his trademark!
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Zach's Medium Punch.
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Zach
Arms sweeping the air uselessly, Domino grunts in irritation and whirls around to face his opponent. Immediately, he spies the oncoming palm thrust aimed for his chin, and his body twists out of the way. The strike out of the way, Domino attempts to hook one arm under Zach's closest armpit, and he torques his body to draw the smaller fighter into the air and slam him down to the ground solidly.
"That's pretty weird, the energy," Domino observes at that point. "Kind've different." As rare as it is for Domino to speak needlessly to his opponent in the middle of a fight really says something about how odd he finds the added energy to Zach's attacks.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Drake's Medium Throw.
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Zach
Zach goes loose as Drake hooks his armpit. He spent some time on his high school wrestling team; he has an idea of what's next. He continues to twist, allowing his feet to come down first with a slightly jarring impact. Glen exhales sharply as he rights himself and turns to face Drake.
"It's mine," Zach says simply before hopping back slightly. It seems that he has realized just how bad a strategy he had just then. He throws his arms into the air as three rectangular blocks shimmer into existance, seemingly held in the sky by Zach's willpower. Glen steps forward as he sweeps his arms forward. The blocks drop on a collision course for Drake's upper body!
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Zach's Ka-Psi-Ne Ate.
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Zach
Domino slips around to raise back to his feet in a smooth motion, assuming his stance again. Zach's response gets a dry, humorless smirk from the wrestler. But then the rectangles come into existance, and his brow furrows. Huh. That's different. The movement pattern is however predictable enough. They come searing at him, and Domino drops to the side and tumbles cleanly out of the way, letting them whiz by how they will.
While Domino remains close to the ground, however, he sweeps in towards his opponent. His legs scissor out, attempting to catch Zach off his guard to hook his legs. If successful, he twists over to drop Zach down on his front.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Fast Throw from Drake with Impulse Flare.
- Power fail! -
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Drake 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Zach
Zach attempts two things, simultaneous with each other as those legs come slicing towards him. The first is fairly obvious: Zach jumps. The second is a bit pragmatic by a certain way of thinking. He pulls a hand back, showing a sphere of purple energy that seems to spin in his palm.
Glen thrusts the globe forward, missing Drake's head by a wide margin. Unfortunately Zach, in his attempt to slap Drake upside the head with some good-old-fashioned psycho power, does not get the clearance he needs to avoid those legs of Drake's, and gets slammed into the mat face first. Zach rolls away quickly, hopping to his feet surprisingly fast.
Domino sweeps around to raise to his full height, noting the energy emission again. Man, but he gets a weird feeling off that stuff. It isn't normal, that's for sure. His re-debut match against someone with crazy amounts of energy, and his follow up? It seems to be the same thing! Nevertheless, Domino refuses to be deterred.
Expression locked in stoicism, Domino shifts to his full height again and settles into his stance. After a moment's consideration in distance and angle, he dashes forth to clear what distance lies between them. The moment he enters strike range, Domino drops into a deep front stance on the right leg, both hands rocketing out towards Zach's midsection in a double palmheel strike. As soon as his arms are fully extended, his hands ignite in a dazzling flash of white concussive energy.
COMBATSYS: Zach interrupts Whiteout from Drake with Third Stance.
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Drake 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Zach
Zach lets out a mild curse as the energy starts to emerge from Drake's palms. The scar on his chest burns as the chi approaches. Zach has very little time as he slashes his arm up and towards Drake. The palms and the energy strike home, forcing the shorter man back with a yell of pain.
However, Zach's arm motion was not for nothing, as a ragged spike of energy lances up from the ground between the two fighters. The lance slams into Drake's midsection, lifting him up and away from the smaller man. Zach rubs his chest uncertainly as he eyes Drake. Something about the man seems naggingly familiar, and Glen can't quite place it yet.
Domino likewise lets out a pained cry as he's blasted back from the energy, honestly not expecting that at all. He hits the ground with a hard *THUD* and tumbles over a couple feet before ending in a crouch. Okay, so his first two Neo League fights in a long time, and both fight a lot alike! So much for being done with that sort of headache.
Apparently he'll have to step it up a little. Domino dashes for his opponent again, amethyst eyes narrowing. He attempts to weave aside from Zach instead of making a full-on frontal assault, attempting to hook his right arm over Zach's chest, left arm trying to sweep his legs out from under him to suddenly draw him into a cradled position. Once up, Domino immediately drops to smash Zach's back across an upturned knee for a harsh backbreaker. Immediately following impact, one hand sets under Zach's chin, the other to a leg, and both pushing down harsh to arch him in a painful, linked submission hold.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Drake's Star Breaker.
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Drake 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Zach
Zach lets out a short yell as he gets crunched over Drake's knee. However, before Drake can get the lock down, Zach throws his hands to catch the grip under his chin. This allows Glen to throw himself into a forward roll and free himself from the submission hold. A tuck and roll later, and Zach is once again on his feet. Zach slides his feet shoulder width apart, and lets out a sharp kiai.
Seemingly in response, purple energy flares around the shorter man, wrapping around Zach as if protectively. The fires lick up and down Zach's arms as he waits for Drake's next move.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Drake 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Zach
Domino raises to his feet again and quirks an eyebrow. Huh. Odd. Well, regardless, he's not going to let this odd display stop him. The guy looks ready, certainly, but far be it from him to allow something like this to deter him. It just makes him all the more determined. ..But all the same, perhaps a full-on assault might be a little less than wise in this situation.
So instead, Domino turns and.. runs? Not very far, at any rate. Just a couple feet. Once he's gone that far, he drops low to a skid, grabbing a thick, but stubby tree limb segment. As he turns around to face Zach again, he chucks the modest, but hefty object at Zach, spiraling it through the air aimed for his head.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Drake's Thrown Object.
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Drake 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Zach
Zach chucks his arms up, leveling his elbows at Drake and forcing the tree stump to deflect up and away from him. Zach skids back a short distance. He looks at Drake carefully, and simply continues to draw on his wellspring of psychic energies.
Zach is still trying to puzzle out where he has heard of Drake before, but he simply cannot place it yet. Strange.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Drake 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Zach
Domino furrows his brow at the almost indifference the stump made to Zach. Well, he still doesn't trust that display. Not in the slightest bit. So he feels he's going to have to approach this cautiously. Quick, decisive, but cautious. Domino draws in a slow breath, then exhales a tiny sigh.
Well, here goes.
Domino rushes for Zach yet again, weaving low on Zach's right, then skirting over to the left, and suddenly, he pops back to the right where he launches a quick, sharp hook punch for Zach's jaw.
COMBATSYS: Zach endures Drake's Quick Punch.
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Drake 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach
Zach rocks back with the punch, the energies surrounding him flaring to life as Zach slams a foot down hard against the mat. This this allowsn Zach to drive forward with surprising force as his right hand opens to reveal a purple-white baseball. Zach grips it tightly, the light flaring before wrapping around his whole arm like a piece of armor.
This armored fist is driven hard into Drake's torso. Shot placement is not really important to Zach at this point; there is a disturbing amount of power behind this strike.
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Zach's Burst Strike.
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Drake 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Zach
Quick, decisive and cautious. That was Domino's approach, and it remains in full effect even after his strike lands. Zach didn't so much as -attempt- to move out of the way. It puts him on high alert.. and for good reason, he finds. The energy wreathing around the fist and, indeed, the entire arm!
Domino acts on pure reflexes alone, skipping into the air and twisting aside, piroueting clear of the attack to land in a crouched position. Holy -crap-, he could feel the energy surging through that attack. That would've likely hurt more than a little.
"Hmh.."
One of the few vocalizations Domino makes during a respectable fight.
The wrestler quickly gets back to his feet and attempts to catch Zach still in the recoil from his launched attack. One arm attempts to hook over his shoulder, the other going to hook his opposite leg to snap him into the air. Torquing his body over, Domino attempts to powerslam him onto his back, with his weight landing crossways atop him. Though following the hit, he pulls into a forward roll to raise and face him, stance assumed once more.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Solar Eclipse from Drake with Third Stance.
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Drake 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Zach
Zach throws his hand forward in that familiar motion, the lance of energies firing off just behind Drake impotently as Zach gets ready to go for a ride. Glen lets out a short yell as he flies across the ring, and landing with a loud impact. Zach lays there for a moment, before kipping up to his feet.
Zach frowns; things are not going as well as he would like. He needs to land something quickly here.
On his feet at the ready again, Domino levels his gaze on Zach. If he can keep this momentum up, he could possibly finish this - draw it to a close. That'd be pretty ideal, he thinks. The sense he's picking up from those energy outputs are very, very different from what he's used to. It's... like what he sensed from the agents he fought in Thailand.
Wait...
Does this guy have ties in Thailand? Shadaloo?
Domino's eyes narrow a little more, fists clenching. Now he has a mission here. Whatever this energy is, he needs to get a good handle on it and figure out who this Zach guy -really- is. He fought Arika, after all. A teammate who came with him to aid the resistance. This could be a lot more serious than just a League match.
Domino moves in quickly, keeping low and maneuvering in at his right side. His right hand suddenly attempts to grab the right wrist, left boot whipping up to set to his shoulder and push him down to the ground, pulling the captured arm upright backwards.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Drake's Fast Throw.
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Drake 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Zach
Zach catches the facial expression. Something bad is about to go down, Zach thinks as Drake steps in. Glen is having none of it, sidestepping the grab neatly to get to Drake's flank. A gust of wind blasts away from Zach as he plants both feet and pulls both hands back by one hip in a classic-appearing stance.
Purple energy gathers between waiting palms, growing with intensity and size before Zach thrusts both palms foward, fingers spread wide in that classic 'hadouken' movement. There is nothing classic about the horizontal column that blasts forth from those hands, punching clean through the ropes and a couple of trees outside of the ring. Drake does not want any of this...
COMBATSYS: Drake dodges Zach's Burst Stream.
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Drake 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Zach
Domino's grab misses, and he whirls around in time to see the blast of energy streaming for him. Not unlike the Domino Helix in overall shape, but definitely not of the same shape or appearance. In an instant, Domino arches to an excruciating degree, knees bent and hands set behind his head to keep himself from falling completely to the ground to evade. The energy blast courses just before his face as Domino tensely holds his position.. until it finally ends.
The wrestler twists over and raises to his full height once more, taking his stance. His approach this time comes in the form of an aerial assault, closing the distance with a spinning hook kick aimed for Zach's head.
COMBATSYS: Drake successfully hits Zach with Light Kick.
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Drake 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Zach
Zach is, quite simply, booted in the head. Glen staggers, his vision swimming as he tries to shake the cobwebs loose. Zach spins, and stumbles away, breathing hard while he tries to get his bearings.
Zach blinks slowly as he casts around to find his opponent.
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
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Drake 1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0 Zach
Following the boot to the head, Domino lands neatly and assumes his stance again. From appearances, Zach is a bit on the shaken side from the last hit. So he decides to attempt capitalizing on this with a greater display of aerial finesse. Domino jumps into the air again, twisting over in a firm butterfly kick aimed to smash under Zach's chin to send him into the air. Domino continues to rise, but now with his opponent, if successful. Once they reach the pinnacle of the jump, Domino twists over in a second butterfly kick, this time slamming the boot into his midsection to blast him to the other side of the ring.. or clear out of it.
COMBATSYS: Drake successfully hits Zach with Lunar Eclipse.
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Drake 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Zach
Zach sees Drake in time to watch the start of the move. He knows, almost instinctively, that he won't be able to withstand /one/ of those kicks, nevermind two. He lurches forward, trying to dive past the wrestler.
He is not fast enough. He is sent upward, before he is sent out on the receiving end of both kicks. He lands with bonecrunching impact.
Purple energy rages around Zach's fallen body before evaporating into the ether. He stirs a bit, groaning, before going limp again. He isn't getting up without help.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Drake 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Drake 0/-------/------=|
Following the kicks, Domino rotates through the air. He finally lands in a crouch, facing away from his opponent. After a couple seconds, he rises to his full height and whirls on his opponent... who's down, it appears.
After a few moments of inaction, the fight is called a close, declaring Domino victor by K.O.
With the match over, Domino dashes to a corner of the ring, hopping to the top rope. His stern stoicism melts away to his other, far more personable side again. He flashes a bright smile out at the audience, thrusting his right fist into the air in empassioned victory. Spying a camera, he adopts his trademarked finale pose, setting his left hand casually to his hip while his right hand whisks through sweat-slickened, yet still perfectly styled bangs. To complete the pin-up look, Domino flashes a roguish smile at the camera.
..Couple seconds of that later, and he's rushing towards the fallen Zach. He skids to a halt by him and sets his hands to his hips, head cocked aside slightly. A few medics have closed in to ensure Zach isn't injured or anything of the sort, but Domino isn't about to be shrugged away. Not until he's learned a thing or two first. "Hey. What was that energy you were firing around? That was unlike most anything else I've encountered..."
Zach is helped to his feet by the medics. He's beat up, but not horribly so. He has, recently, had a lot worse. He wobbles a bit as he looks at Drake. "I told you. It's mine. Noone gave it to me, I didn't get it from anyone or anything. It's something that I've always had, and only learned about a few years ago."
Zach is eyeing Drake warily. He's not used to such interrogatives about such things.
COMBATSYS: Drake has ended the fight here.
Domino relocates his arms to fold over his chest, eyeing Zach critically. He does nothing to get in the way of the medics, not necessarily having any reason to hold malice against Zach. Not yet anyway. It depends on what he learns here. "The only other time I felt something like that was in Thailand." He pauses a moment to start letting that sink in for Zach.. if it should actually mean anything at all to him. He then proceeds to attempt shocking him into a more clear response:
"When I fought agents from Shadaloo."
Thailand means little to Zach. The other name, Shadaloo, that gets a reaction. Zach pales slightly before shoving the medic away none too gently. He looks angry, which may seem strange given Zach's relative calm during the fight. "Why the hell is it that =that= name always comes up. I've heard of them, but I would never work with them, or for them."
Zach looks like he may be ready to fight again, though it is hard to tell why.
Domino studies Zach intensely for a few long moments in strained silence. Zach's reaction, the speed of it, and the magnitude it gets are all taken into account.
Finally, the socialite breaks his hard look, softening it to a degree. His eyes lid and he gives a small nod. "Glad to hear it. I know you fought my teammate, Arika, before... so I had to be sure," Domino says, voice losing its edge. "Anyway, you did well with.. your powers. Keep it up." He offers a small smile lifts a thumb to at least indicate a lack of hard feelings of any sort. Zach's answer seems to have been satisfactory.
Zach scowls. "That's where I heard the name," he says with a low growl. Maybe he doesn't take well to veiled threats and accusations. Zach turns and walks away after making one last comment. "Tell Blondie I said hi."
Log created on 18:53:06 05/14/2008 by Zach, and last modified on 20:49:30 05/15/2008.