Description: Two opposing forces and diametrically opposed warriors face off in epic combat in this thrilling SNF Title Match. (Winner: Ryu)
Howard Arena.
Packed to the gills, full beyond its maximum capacity, the fire chief having made much bribe money on this fight, to keep the doors open well-past the bursting point. There's a thrum in the crowd, an undercurrent that can be felt, an anticipation of something amazing to happen.
And then, the Arena goes black. Pure darkness overwhelms the arena, and the chatter and talk dies out - the anticipation, the beating of hearts speeding up just a bit. This is all part of the 'show', right? All part of what is to come and perfectly natural. It has to be! There's that little naggling anticipation, though - the warriors in the ring tonight have been cast as a 'good versus evil' situation, and there are whispers of the 'evil' one being truly evil indeed. Perhaps this was a plan all along..?
Then - one light comes on, full flush on the ring, with a man standing at its center. Red hat, cape, the quasi-militaristic uniform of someone who once had the world in his grasp.. Vega. Over the loudspeakers, a few feminine, girlish voices speak in unison, to announce his presence. "Tonight, Lord Vega proffers challenge to the King of Fighters, one of the strongest men in the world - A mysterious man with no last name, merely skill unparalelled in his art of choice - Ryu!" Vega, well - he's just waiting. The 'flair for the dramatic' thing isn't really his cup of tea, but as searchlights spin and start to work back and forth from the arena's end to end, it's sure that the crowd will erupt as soon as Ryu makes his appearrance.
Fear no darkness, Ryu.
The words of Gouken echo in his head, as the Ansatsuken Wanderer stands in the doorway, the archway before his long walk to the false mountaintop atop which he will fight. The pitch black rules the arena, and more than that, is the overwhelming psychic presence of Vega. Around the Shadaloo Lord, the chi of the world all but retreats. A border of death, abject terror, an aura of absolute evil that disrupts life on its most primal level - shifting the flow of energy itself by his very presence. It's what sets the audience's neckhair standing on end. It's what puts that doubt in the pit of most fighters' stomachs.
It's why Ryu steels his will, and presses onward. The lights come up, and the entryway is empty. Spotlights quickly find the stoic man in the white gi - already more than halfway down the aisle, calmly striding forward in the dark, willfully ignorant of both the announcer - and his preordained entrance timing. Bare feet fall on the stoney stairs as Ryu strides to the top, stepping out into the arena proper, and facing his military-themed foe. His hands rise, crimson sparring gloves padding both fists... for Vega's protection. Believe it, or don't. Those powerful hands rise in one graceful motion to tighten the long red headband taut about his forehead, dark eyes focused on the cold void that is Vega. He is different than Ryu recalls, but no less malevolent. No less threatening.
Facing off against Ryu is likely a unique experience for the man who provokes so many, to so many empassioned emotions. There is no fear within the nomad's heart, no hate. No terror, and no vengeance. For all the crimes the Ansatsuken Master knows, and all those he does not, he is calm in the face of his adversary's grim visage, and grimmer echo that fills every sense that matters to the nomad.
His teeth clench, jaw flexing sternly as he simply eyes Vega, wordlessly. The so-called Dragon raises his hands, one flexing forcefully into a fist as his stance widens ever so slightly, adopting a ready posture.... he will not waste his time in philosophical debate with this one. Within Vega Ryu senses nothing approaching a harmony of purpose.... It is as if his spirit itself is soiled to the very core.
COMBATSYS: Ryu has started a fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|
Luckily, Vega doesn't /need/ to find weaknesses within the defined beauty of Ryu's single-minded purpose. No way to shake the man presents itself, so Vega discards the thought without much in the way of loss. After all, the energy that races through the crowd is enough for him to pull in, gather. It may not be the same as touching Ryu's spirit directly, but amplified by the number of people here, it still is a mighty emotional energy indeed.
"You are lways so prepared, aren't you..?" Vega is impressed of course - he'd expected, deep down somewhere, to face Ryu in the World Warrior Tournament, not Kyo. The pang of loss that he suffered from not doing so, an echo of something that might have been meant to be, psychic's mind reached on a tangent to another.. time, perhaps. However, this is just a good an opportunity, though it leaves Vega with less of his power, in a reborn body -to face one of the strongest of the strong. He has no real delusions about this match - but intends to launch into it as hard as he can - to prove something to himself, at the least.
"And now, we play to the marching drums of Howard - you, your part - and me, mine. Defend yourself!" With that bellowed shout, Vega moves forwards in a purple and blue blur, his hand coming up high, and then back down in a strike at Ryu's chest, trying to crack that emotional resolve with all the fury and power that the Shadaloo Lord's mind can proffer up.
COMBATSYS: Vega has joined the fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Vega
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Vega's Psycho Vanish.
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Vega
A singular nod is Ryu's answer to Vega's likely rhetorical question. For some, the art of combat is a sport. For others, expression. For Ryu, it is a philosophy, a way of life - a sacred duty. The Ansatsuken Wanderer defends himself quickly indeed, as Vega all but teleports forward, he blurs to all but the Ansatsuken Master himself. Ryu moves fluidly, in near-synch with Vega's charge, stepping back on his previously forward foot, and bracing an angled arm in the path of that sudden, forceful chop. He intercepts the burning strike high, the searing Psych Power ripping into his resilient forearm, his own inner chi refusing to give way to Vega's overwhelming, malignant force.
"So satisfied to play your part.... until it consumes you!!" Ryu exclaims, shoving off the attack and twisting around. He comes full circle in the blink of an eye, throwing himself with unhesitating, unrelenting strength right back in on the charging dictator. His right foot whips around, a rotorblade of a roundhouse aligned with Vega's skull. Unlike other flying kicks, this one seems to build its own horrific velocity - chi blasts inwards in a shockwave of tangible wind, surging through the nomad as he whips about time and time again, levelling blow after blow at his adversary, "TATSUMAKI SENPUUUUUU KYAKU!!!"
COMBATSYS: Vega blocks Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Vega
Power is one of the things the fighters have in spades - and the arena highlights this well. The swirl and shockwave of Ryu's spinning kick builds palpably, each circular attack impacting on a different limb of the dreaded dicatator. Battering, bruising his guard, Vega manages to retain it long enough to survive until Ryu's past him, then regathers his strength. Turning to face Ryu again, he laughs darkly - his voice dropping low enough that only the two can hear - this conversation is private, meant for warrior to warrior alone. "And you, the victor - as always, Ryu? When the burden comes to you, to dance to the piper's horn, you fell in step as well. Are you better than me for it?" With that, he roars, to draw the crowd's attention.
His guard is broken, his limbs already aching from the strikes of Ryu's feet - so he moves to the offense, forcing his hands together to draw deeply on his psychic aura. He takes a breath, and then gathers in that purple and blue energy, a swirling ball of force and mental mastery that he holds, then hurls at Ryu's chest. Intent on knocking him back, throwing the Master of Ansetsuken off-balance, to give him a chance to prepare for what's next.. "Suffer THIS!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Vega's Psycho Shot.
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Ryu 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Vega
"I find my own path." The nomad retorts, landing out of the deflected strikes in a ready stance, immediately shifting his weight, flowing back as Vega's power charges, steadying his footing as the blast bursts forward. Suffering? Ryu has an intimate knowledge of Hell, and perhaps it's this that leaves him largely unphased by Vega's undeniable presence.... his Psycho Power is an entirely different threat, however. Both arms thrust forward, /slamming/ against the voluminous burst of the malevolent dictator's will, the sphere of psi power exploding outwards in all directions, searing Ryu's arms once more but doing little to truly phase him, "You sold your soul for personal power, for pieces of what only matters due to your own delusions. You have already failed." Ryu observes, his deep voice implacably calm, confident. It's not a confidence born of arrogance or overconfidence in his skill - win or lose, Vega's fate seems all too familiar.
The Ansatsuken Master summons his own inner power, a subtle, then growing blue fire wisping off his form in a smokey aura, the slow growing force of chi indeed growing for the passion of the enraptured audience - the energy of the stone in the arena itself. The current that flows powerfully, beautifully, everywhere but where Vega walks.
Ryu's eyes narrow, his breaths come deep, and he focuses the current through himself - in this moment the young champion is indeed the eye of the storm, a maelstrom centered calmly around a still-gathering storm.
COMBATSYS: Ryu gathers his will.
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Vega
"I did what I did, then - and you dare to judge? What makes /your/ path right, and mine wrong, Ryu?!" Wait, what? When does Vega lose control like this? It's odd, certainly, the dictator starting to become truly irate at the suggestion that he's failed, the placid, determined demeanor across from him pushing him into a further rage, the endless questioning battering at Shadaloo Lord's indomitable psyche.
He can't sense the gathering of energy, Vega almost chi-blind, unwilling to make himself part of the world enough to feel how the energy ebbs and flows - instead, his path lies amoungst taking, stealing and pushing away , inflicting his own power on others. This.. is what he tries to do. He knows Ryu's next line of attack - knows it deep enough in his heart that he can tell exactly how this will play out. But, as said - he's a puppet, today, fufilling a role laid out for him , and waiting for that one brief second where he can turn the tide of what happens, twist it into a victory instead of the 'good defeats evil' tripe that has been told over and over. He leaps towards Ryu, his hands raking down through the air. Behind them, a wave of his power explodes, a veritable Psycho Wave, one might call it - full of this rage at being cast and judged by someone as Ryu - white eyes narrowed as he tries to break the metaphorical shackles that Ryu intends to place on him.
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Vega's Psycho Wave.
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Ryu 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Vega
"The lives that you /destroyed/!" Ryu answers without a moment's hesitation, "The importance you place on yourself, that impedes true wisdom!" He doesn't hope to sway Vega from his path - but he can sense the rage building within the dictator. Even if he can't deter the malevolent megalomaniac, the Ansatsuken Master can analyze him, push him, study both his power - and what remains of his mind. It is an inevitable showdown, and one that Ryu does not expect to end anytime soon. After all, even if destroying Vega were a simple equation, the young champion is not an ends justify the means kind of guy. Once again he meets undeniable force with a stubborn, self-sacrificing defense. He doesn't care what story they're trying to tell - Ryu has a message of his own. White hot Psycho Power washes over him as he thrusts flexing arms high, meeting the wave full-on once more, the explosive power reverberating in a shockwave outwards from both fighters, Ryu reeling backwards as Vega lands before him. Of all things, the nomad smiles, widely.
"You are strong, but it is your power itself that controls you, forces your hand. You are lost." With that he throws himself forward once more, whipping around to level a blurring, efficient side thrust kick at Vega's ribcage, the deceptively simple strike all but thrumming with internal chi, the point of impact resonating with a force all its own.
COMBATSYS: Vega endures Ryu's Medium Kick.
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Ryu 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Vega
Blah, blah, blah, shut up, Ryu. Vega doesn't care - well, okay, he's like a clingy girlfriend who 'doesn't care' in a way that makes it plainly obvious that he cares /far/ too much about what is happening, and how it affects him. It doesn't help that someone is daring to say that their way is better than his - and still worse to feel the pang of truth in it. No, no, this is not really what Vega wanted to hear at all, and if anything, the one thing he truly dreaded bout this battle. Ryu's fists, nothing. Ryu's spirit - inconsequential. The truth that with all Vega has given up in his quest for power, that it is still /not enough/... That's the true failure.
As Ryu's kick hits home, Vega steps forwards, taking the impact in a rib-shuddering crack, shock showing in those pale white eyes. He steps /into/ the kick, taking the full brunt while knowing his guard would have held.. Solwly to get face-to-face with Ryu. So he can look into Ryu's eyes, to search deep inside and find exactly what he was suffering, what truth was there. And as his hands reach for Ryu's face, fingers glowing - it looks as if he's planning to /rip that truth out by the roots/. Hands grab at Ryu's head, intending to raise him high - and then slam him into the stone floor, leaving himself open as he tries to power through Ryu's guard! "Then feel the power I can control! I AM ITS MASTER!!"
COMBATSYS: Vega successfully hits Ryu with Psycho Fall.
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Ryu 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Vega
The problem with prodding a badger, is that sooner rather than later, it gets quite irate. Vega doesn't fail to disappoint on this count - his ire rising all but tangible, from where the Ansatsuken Master considers his adversary, studying every motion the dictator makes. His might is indeed impressive - Ryu's strength, honed as it is, cannot match the Shadaloo Lord on such a level. But that is, perhaps, part of the nomad's entire point. He drives Vega back - but it is not enough. Gripped by his skull, flung upwards, and slammed harshly into the stoney ground, the Ansatsuken Master tries to roll with the impact, but it proves simply too severe. His very mind burning with the intensity of the psychic explosion, the nomad kicks out of the slam, hurt but far from down, "The amount of force you exert suggests otherwise. Heedless of the consequence, the impact on what you covet. Addictive, isn't it?" Again, Ryu smiles slightly, it's almost maddening - it might even distract Vega from the fact that Ryu's hands are braced at his side.
In an instant, he thrusts those opposing palms forward, and roiling fire boils from his grip, rolling off his fingers, surging from his hands, erupting in a fiery maelstrom of meteoric might that scorches the air between Ryu and Vega in a superheated, wildly luminescent blaze, echoed by the legendary incantation: "HADOOOOUKEN!!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Vega with Shakunetsu Hadouken.
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Ryu 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\0 Vega
About now is where Vega would throw back his head and laugh. The old Vega would have tried to taunt his way through capitalizing on this victory, small though it may be. However, it is not really to be - instead, this Vega focuses on those words, but on the fight as well - he knows. He knows what comes next, and he knows that he's about to step into the path of destiny and fate with his eyes wide open. "Whatever you offer, Ryu - that wisdom you hold dear - it's worthless. In the end, I will be ready for your challenge." And he is, really. He sees the hands go to the sides, he hears the inhalation of breath that heralds one of Ryu's powerful chi-hurling attacks - and he's ready for it. He begins to move to the side, to eel out of the way of the powerful ball of chi and fire - but fate grabs at his ankles, makes his feet slow on the stone, and clutch at him, holding him in place until he's knocked back from the warrior, blazing, burning brightly, pain shooting though him. He lands uncerimoniously at the edge of the arena floor, staggering back to his feet and covering his chest with one arm, as if to hide the truth of the matter from Ryu - though really, he's a trained enough warrior to see the damage that has been done. "Show me something /better/, Ryu. Give the people a reason to cheer your name again and again - you know... " he coughs, wiping at his mouth afterwards. ".. you want to. Another follower or two, and you'll end up where I am." Power rages around him, the dictator giving in to what fate has for him, as he heedlessly tries to draw all the emotional content from the arena into his body, preparing to hurl it at Ryu. "COME ON!"
COMBATSYS: Vega gathers his will.
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Ryu 1/-======/=======|=======\===----\1 Vega
"I care not what your self-important judgements are, 'Lord' Vega." Willing to openly make light of Vega's importance... either Ryu is masochistic, or indeed committed to his own purpose - which couldn't be more opposed to the life led by Vega, "There will always be every sort of person in this world - there will always be good and evil, light and dark. It is the nature of much more than man, but you, Vega.... you are not part of that nature, you are something tragic set apart." Ryu senses the buildup of immense power within Vega, draws a final deep breath, and stands his own ground, "Every time you rise, the universe itself will strike down your ridiculous ambition. You are an abomination."
Ryu doesn't charge, he doesn't answer Vega's request to show him his real power. He summons his spirit itself once more, thrusting his hands forward with a fierce flex of his arms, his fingertips spewing impressive, densely charged blue fire, the focused burst exploding outwards in a direct path for the vengeful overlord, echoed once more by a fervent cry of, "HADOOOUKEN!!"
COMBATSYS: Vega endures Ryu's Hadouken.
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Ryu 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Vega
Man, Ryu gets to talking when he thinks he's winning, don't he?! Vega's pretty bad about it himself, and he can see it in other people - and the fact that Ryu's blathering on about how he's set apart and an abomination... well, that means that Ryu's feeling pretty good right now - at least, so far as Vega can see. Narrowed eyes watch, Vega listening to Ryu's words - and then /laughing/. There's the out he was looking for, the way to defeat the universe and its' plan for Vega's ambitions. To be stronger, to be better - to prove himself more an abomination than the world could ever withstand. This, this is the crazed chance that he's been waiting for... and one that he reaches out to take with both hands, come what may.
Into the fire he walks, starting slow, then leaping forwards into the heart of the maelstrom of Ryu's attack. It batters him, knocks him down, but momentum takes him forwards still. To his knees, to quickly regroup, to force himself into Ryu's personal space with little to no time to react - that is what Vega plans, and what he does with that little space, well...
Another explosion. This one, Vega's - power and fury all channeled down into one single strike, one arena-filling blaze of energy that blasts from the tips of Vega's hands, surrounding him as he barrels in at the Ansetsuken master, intent on crushing him beneath the weight of Vega's psyche. You all know the drill, folks.. Say it along with me.
"FINAL...
PSYCHOOOO...
CRUSHAAAAAA!!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu interrupts Final Psycho Crusher' from Vega with Shin Shoryuken EX.
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Vega
How shocking, Vega is unphased by the Ansatsuken Wanderer's little monologue. It's not an outcome that Ryu didn't see coming, at least... the cold, wild laughter echoes hollowly around him as the berserk dictator charges forward, slamming /through/ the searing Hadouken to throw himself full-bore at his opponent. Perhaps there truly is some cosmic loophole that this megalomaniac, or another, will fine... perhaps fear of death has blinded them all to the maze they've become lost within. In Ryu's book, win or lose, he's already made peace with himself. Vega, on the other hand? It's obvious how much triumphing over the resolute young champion matters to Vega himself. The dictator's entire life has been about power - here, this so-called Dragon shuns his 'true' potential, and walks a narrow rocky path, instead. No fear of death, no hestitation in fighting this nigh-unstoppable madman.
Ryu throws himself /into/ that blaze, much as Vega had done to his Hadouken a moment before. The purest, hateful vengeance espoused by the Shadaloo Overlord crashes full bore into Ryu, burning as if his flesh itself were melting from his bones. The nomad screams, a loud, primal cry, "HAAAAAAAUUUUUHHHHH!!!" as he defiantly forces past that raw display of /force/ with a show of his own power. His gloved fist reaves through the energy around Vega, slams squarely into the overlord's chest, and stops his trainwreck momentum in an instant. Ryu twists about as the malignant energy dissolves around Vega, blasting him with still more psi shrapnel as he shifts his weight and comes about in a fluid crouch.... suddenly leaving the ground as if fired out of a cannon.
Some call it cliche, overdone, generic. But this rising uppercut is an embodiment of elemental force, carrying the enigmatic young champion's namesake to the fore in a lightning-quick, resounding moment. The rock-hard fist collides with Vega before he can touch ground once more, launching him up, up, and away with immense, sudden harshness. The blow cracks loudly through the arena, the rocketing Ansatsuken Master turning two full rotations as he rises fluidly through the air, the technique executed with graceful, resolute determination despite the burning agony that still wracks through him.
'Fear no fire, Ryu. To be burned is only a reminder.'
'A reminder of what, Sensei?'
'The weight of our own humanity.'
Even before the pain hits, Vega knows he's lost. Again, he's thrown himself headlong into a fight he should have prepared for differently, to find some way to scrabble his hands along fate's surface and rake victory from the jaws of defeat. To lose to Ryu... Really, it should be something that a true warrior could accept, and move on from, with renewed vigor and dedication. Something a /true/ fighter would use to better themselves. And that, in the end, is the difference between Vega and Ryu - Vega i snot a true fighter, deep down where it counts. He's already lashing out in his head, about how he should still stand, how he should still be able to crush Ryu beneath his heel. In his mind, there is nothing to learn from this battle, because something else has taken away the victory that was rightly his.
He lands in a heap on the arena's stone floor, bruised and battered, bleeding. He gets to his feet, a staggered, dazed motion that leaves him dizzied and blinking. The referee's flag comes up for Ryu - and Vega seethes. That blaze of power from before was nothing compared to what he keeps in reserve - and it's all let out now, each and every little bit of it thrown into another attack, as the bell rings to signify a changing of the guard, a new champion. The belt will be delivered to Ryu somehow, if he even cares about it - Vega has that much honor, at least. But in this moment, Vega bears down on Ryu with all the psycho power he can muster, a slower afterimage of the previous attack - but still as deadly.
COMBATSYS: Vega can no longer fight.
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Vega successfully hits Ryu with Final Psycho Crusher'.
Glancing Blow
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Ryu 1/-----==/=======|
Vega lands hard indeed - Ryu can see it as he lands far more lightly, though little better for the wear. The collision of the two masters was indeed magnificent - and the Ansatsuken Wanderer finds his breath coming harder than before. He holds his ribs a moment, dark eyes scanning Vega as the overlord rises once more, despite the premature convictions of the fight officials. Hmph. Good triumph over evil. Even if it were as simple as the script makes it out to be, there are problems inherent in the lack of context white light brings. The gi-clad warrior tries to steady his footing, focus his mind, move fast enough as Vega launches himself through the air in that last-ditch attempt to crush the nomad into the ground....
But he's spent. He was expecting a parting shot from the dictator, but the magnitude of this second offensive catches him by surprise indeed. As he steps aside, the bullet of an overlord rampages on through like an artillery shell, the edges of energy crashing along Ryu's chest even as he moves.
His graceful dodge becomes a sudden, toplike spin, coming about time and again through the air before he lands harshly on one knee, and one palm. The rock skins his limbs, he skids even once he touches ground, gritting his teeth and refusing to fall. That... stings.... so bad. The nomad clenches his jaw, closes his eyes, the young champion refusing to fall.
.... but neither is Ryu able to rise, for several long moments.
COMBATSYS: Ryu takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Ryu can no longer fight.
Log created on 11:42:23 08/23/2008 by Ryu, and last modified on 22:30:32 08/26/2008.