Description: Some fights come down to power; some, to speed; still others, to technique. And then there are the battles that, even given all other factors, can only be settled on one merit: sheer willpower. Two titans of vibrant dynamism and fighting spirit, the legendarily tenacious cooking luchador El Fuerte and the gender-ambiguous Radiant Angel Alma Towazu, face off in a Southtown still rebuilding and must each confront the relentless conviction of the other. This match between newcomer and returning champion is a true nail-biter-- and a crucible in which a mutual respect will be forged. (Winner: Alma)
Through fate or grace, somehow, this place survived.
Given the extent of the damage to Southtown, it's a bit shameful, but--
Alma is grateful.
For the first time in months, the beautiful young leader of the YFCC sits in a wire-frame chair at his favorite tea shop in all of his home city. The androgynous champion has been scarce, recently, and for good reason; he has much to consider, and much remains unresolved. But the rebuilding of Southtown has continued apace, and for all his challenges Alma has never been one to stay out of the light for long. The Radiant Angel does indeed spurn the monastery-- and not only because of its lack of hair-texturing spray.
Thus is he out in all his summer glory, the poised prettyboy resplendent in bright but muted tones, three-quarters sleeve fitted shirt and slim designer jeans forging a new peak to his trademark neo-elegant restrained flamboyance. That the previous phrase is a series of nonsense words means nothing to whatever middle-school girls pass by the sexually-ambiguous fighter, casting him doting looks that, of course, the mild-mannered Alma acknowledges with gentle smiles over his tea. He's even /more/ popular these days, believe it or not, and the YFCC hasn't even released an official statement yet.
Those girls might be even more intrigued were they alert enough to notice the cameras been unobtrusively set up in corners of the street. Alma Towazu isn't just here to relax. He awaits a new opponent-- the first in some time.
~ I think I've needed this for a while. ~
Finally, once more, the clash of warrior spirits!
~ Finally, I won't be fighting for my life. ~
From around the corner, the masked man comes. He's carrying a big piece of paper, creased in multiple areas, though he's turning it in ninety degree angles about every second, turning, and looking in the wrong direction. "Donde esta..." He turns around and finally sees it. "Aya! Aqui!" He breaks into a dash and puts on the breaks just in front of Alma. "Lo siento, hermana! I got a bit confundido. And lost. I'm honestly not very good with these... map things." He bows deeply. "I am ready to experience the flavor of your fight, but first, I wanted to give you this!
El Fuerte pulls out, from behind his back, a small red sack. He pulls apart the tiny rope binding it shut and withdraws a small brown wad from it. Its creation must be recent, because had it not been, then the state of its being would be significantly... different. "Helado frito, amiga!" He's just illuminated with pride, and then puts it back in the bag, ties it, and gives it to Alma. "It's just for you. I know that little girls love ice cre-"
Did he just...?
"-am. I could eat it all day long. Anyway, enough of that! I'm ready when you are!" He hops a few feet back and begins dancing in place. There's no music. Just dancing.
There are those who would argue that a fight is only worthy when lives are at stake, that Alma's desire for a more respectful confrontation is at worst cowardly and at best misguided. But although Alma would agree that conflict is made meaningful by the immensity of what is put at stake, he would counter that human dignity is still greater than life -- that people are at times right to die for the beliefs that make their lives worth living -- and it is those who crave only battles to the death, lacking any sense of integrity, that are failing to value the lives they are so willing to toss aside. Yes, dignity is the key. Alma Towazu is all about dignity.
...Dignity.
He gazes down, carefully composed, at the bundle in his hands.
"Thank you very much, Senor."
The tall youth arises with preternatural grace from his chair, setting the gift down temporarily upon the table by which he had been seated. His pronunciation of 'Senor' is pretty accurate; he hasn't spoken Portuguese in a while, but it has at least a bit in common with Spanish, and some things never leave you. Enough to understand what El Fuerte is getting at.
Yeah.
"I'll be sure--"
About that.
"--to pass it on to a deserving little girl."
His low tone, belying his feminine exterior, is as calm and serious as befitting a young man with his poise as his back straightens and his feet shift-- but the slightest of mirthful smiles upturns his lips.
Now /this/ guy is a character.
Alma begins to sway with a faint rhythm, barely detectable at first, but to those with keen eyes, it appears that his body is intuitively reaching towards the tune to which El Fuerte is silently dancing, seeking out the same tune so that they might share in it-- and so that the Radiant Angel may master the movements of his opponent.
"Alma Towazu, of the Hiten-Ryu style of kung fu," he says, that smile never leaving his face, his eyes beginning to glitter in anticipation. "I, too, am ready, so please--"
He's feeling good about this already.
"Do your best!"
Now, what does El Fuerte have to offer?
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 ElFuerte
Tran arrives from elsewhere.
"Don't think I'll take it easy on you just because you're a girl." His tone is confusing, though. For the, relatively, obvious insult, there is a complete lack of any spite. It's as if he's completely ignorant to what actually goes on just outside of his own skull. "This is my Lucha. You'd do well to learn from it!" The masked wrestler gives a quick smile and thumbs up before cartwheeling off to the left. Once his feet hit the ground from his flagrant gymnastics, he leaps off the ground and stretches his arms and legs wide. It's a pretty obvious manuever, simple in its aggression. "Tostada Press," he shouts at the arc of his jump, now barrelling down with the complete intention of making an El Fuerte-Alma-Floor sandwich. Hey, that's a good one. Writing it down in the cookbook.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks ElFuerte's Tostada Press.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 ElFuerte
"By all means--"
Alma's gaze follows the luchador's rapid movements.
"--don't hold back at all."
Honestly, that might be the only way to /really/ make him mad.
But we'll see, now won't we?
For all the lack of subtlety in El Fuerte's assault, the actual end result of his technique is difficult to predict. Alma stays relatively still until the last moment, but honed instincts and sharp reflexes serve him well enough-- not to sidestep the wrestler's slam, but to thrust a palm up in a powerful strong-arm block, catching the masked man as he lunges from above.
"Hmph!"
A halo of light begins to suffuse Alma's arm, and as he blurs away, shoving El Fuerte back into the air from whence he came with surprising force, that halo travels to other limbs that soon pursue his opponent. As El Fuerte is shoved back, a kick shears high in an attempt to tag him before he is able to control his fall or make his landing, and if Alma can connect, several blurring jabs and short kicks will follow.
The impacts are carefully controlled. More than injuring his opponent, Alma is attempting to feel him out-- and control his movements, while maintaining his own disciplined, subtly flowing stance.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits ElFuerte with Spring Shower.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 ElFuerte
Indeed, the Tostada Press connects with furious negligence for its deliverer's safety, but El Fuerte soon after feels himself pushed back the way he came, as if lifted by some celestial force to continue doing the Good Work. He thinks to himself, 'Perhaps I was graced by God to do his work for Him. I must take on this mission. I will feed all the hungry, and they will b-'
Without warning, he receives the kick right in the jaw, a loud pop easily audible. "Uhh? Aye..." Completely caught off guard and surprised beyond belief, the moments in which he returns back to the ground seem to take forever. 'That wasn't supposed to DIOS MI-' It's only a quarter of a second of time to regain balance before it is immediately lost once more, and just in time to receive an effective pummeling right into his abs. His vision blurs, making it difficult for him to collect the rhythm he had before the offensive.
In an act of desperation, El Fuerte simply reaches forward in attempts to no move away or close to his opponent, but just to make him stop this. The success of which would involve a quick manuever that involved grabbing Alma, turning him a hundred and eighty degrees, and then immediately returning him head first to the ground that he was lifted from. Failure would simply allow an increased chance for the Luchadore's own beating to continue.
Frei arrives from elsewhere.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Medium Throw from ElFuerte with Divine Intervention EX.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 ElFuerte
The trap is sprung.
Alma, staggering the rhythm of his adversary, seeks now to dominate it with his flurry of light but effective blows, and it is only natural that El Fuerte would seek to burst free all at once. But what is natural is what Alma anticipates. He waits until his opponent has imbalanced himself with that aggressive lunge, until he feels the burning in his breast that signals the approach of a violent intent-- and the arrival of perfect timing.
"Uuurraaah!"
The beautiful youth's cry is exultant, body trembling as he revels in the energies surging through him, as his palm thrusts forth all aglow with the ethereal pale fire of Soul Power, pearly white tinged with cherry-blossom pink and royal indigo. That light erupts in a beam of searing force that appears to pierce El Fuerte through, a lance exploding directly through his torso. Of course, the fire is not 'real', not in the conventional sense; there is none of what one might expect to result from one's average torso-piercing. But the pain is very real, and the assault on El Fuerte's psyche -- on his will to fight -- is relentless. Even if the beam itself did not fling him back, the ferocity of the psychic attack might be enough to send him reeling.
Allowing his own rhythm to settle, a brief interlude as his opponent is sent back, Alma exhales slowly and relaxes his limbs, glorying in the afterglow of his own rapturous spiritual release.
It's been a while.
So close. Just, so close. And then it's just fire. Hot. Hot fire.
El Fuerte slides backwards, his arms clutching across his chest, and falls to a knee. "Que eso? I've never felt this before." His eyes look up at Alma as if sense had been rudely smashed into him. "Quien eres?" Slowly, he staggers back up with his legs spread wide, his arms high. "You're not the normal fighter, of this I am sure. Whatever that was, it certainly wasn't natural. Like I was being fried alive, but..." Looking down, he sees no wound. Uncertain of how to proceed, but with little time to deduce, he begins to simply hop in place. The best offense is a strong offense, they say.
The Luchador breaks into a full sprint without warning, his Habanero Dash. As Alma approaches, the fighter-chef twists to his right, bringing his leg arcing around overhead to land straight on top of Alma's shoulder. As usual, his thought process is generally using speed to influence power, but after the last shock, second guessing sounds pretty tempting. Maybe the 'oven' has since cooled off.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte successfully hits Alma with Heavy Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 ElFuerte
Alma's hand, laid across his chest as he heaved his satisfied sigh, begins to glimmer again as El Fuerte makes his inquiry.
"Soul Power," the Radiant Angel replies, "the manifestation of the human will. I apologize for the abrupt introduction. You are correct; it does not exist in nature, as far as I am aware. But, as one of its rare wielders, I believe it tests the strength of the spirit as much as the body, and as such--"
Oh, he got up fast.
"You should do just fine."
/Very/ fast.
Alma is righter than even he, supposed psychic, knows. El Fuerte's agility and power are to his advantage, but in this case, perhaps even more so is his apparent one-track mind. For while Alma expected based on experience that the luchador's rhythm would continue to be muddled by the aftereffects of his strike, El Fuerte has returned adeptly to full capability. It is Alma who is caught flat-footed by the sudden assault.
"Gghh!"
He barely had time to finish his exposition.
His dodge comes a split-second too late, and all at once Alma has lost the momentum he had been carefully building up to that point, his advantage overrun by El Fuerte's relentlessness and speed. Alma moves to the side, but only manages to get caught on the /opposite/ shoulder, sending him spiralling down to the ground. Yet, composed and well trained, he maintains his focus even as his vision temporarily blurs, immediately reverting to that unblurring second sight to guide his movements. And so it is he too who seems to recover quickly, slamming his palms down to control his fall and lashing out with a sweep kick as he rises, aiming to take El Fuerte down before he can strike while Alma remains prone-- and, in fact, reverse their positions.
"Huuaaah!"
But, if he connects, this is only the beginning. Regathering momentum as he turns, even if his initial counter-attack is foiled, Alma will not allow himself to be felled for long; continue to twist, light gathering about his legs as he moves, a plume of soulfire will burst about them as he lashes out with roundhouse kicks, rising like a phoenix as he scythes out with legs aflame.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte interrupts Rising Fury from Alma with Quesadilla Bomb.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 ElFuerte
Alan arrives from elsewhere.
Haggar arrives from elsewhere.
Landing the kick is only the beginning of El Fuerte's assult, but the oncoming counterattack is something El Fuerte isn't exactly completely prepared for. But, it is his way, as you must know by now, to face the facts head on. He brings his arms up in front of his face, as if blocking, but behind the shield of flesh and bone comes the startling announcement.
"QUESADILLA BOMB!"
He throws each of his arms abruptly to the side and leaps forward, his bare chest careening toward Alma with reckless abandon. The sweep slides cleanly underneath him, an action completely harmless. But, again, dealing with the arcane magics of this world, or whatever this boy seems to do, is not something that El Fuerte has come to read or expect. A plume of similar energy rips up into him as he connects his chest directly into the boy, a similar burning sensation overcoming his body and shredding some more of his willpower. His feet plant back into the ground and stop his momentum. He takes the time to take two steps back wipes the sweat off his mask, waiting for the next odd assault.
Wait, how'd that sweat even get there?
A startling announcement indeed.
"Augh--!"
What sort of person would be so headstrong?
Bodily slammed back to the ground, Alma is interrupted in the midst of his fearsome spiral, flung away before he can fully unleash his fury. He lays there for a moment as the swift El Fuerte gathers himself again, the fighting model blinking up at a bright sky as his ordinarily keen senses attempt to take stock of what just happened.
What sort of person would be so reckless?
"Ha..."
It sounds almost like a cough, at first.
"...ha ha ha..."
And then, grinning widely, the mild-mannered youth rises slowly to his feet, shoulders shaking as he looks up with sincere warmth and admiration.
"...Right."
That's the kind of spirit that never dies.
Alma says no more to acknowledge it. Far more important is that he reciprocate. And so he is unhesitating when he throws himself forward into the fray, attacking El Fuerte without a second thought. There can be no deliberate control over such a man. Now is the time, with fever pitch, to clash without restraint.
Now, the opportunity has arrived.
Blurring not with Soul Power but with raw intensity, Alma Towazu does not hold anything back, unleashing an aggressive series of varied punches and kicks, aiming high and low to circumvent evasion and crush any defenses. Even as he attacks his body smoothly continues moving, maintaining a graceful unpredictability to forestall counter-attack. There is no time for fire; all his soul is devoted to a head-on collision of his own.
All that fire is in his eyes, glittering with incandescent passion.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte blocks Alma's Combo Attack.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 ElFuerte
The flurry incoming is not too hard to predict, especially since El Fuerte is specifically on the defensive. The ferocity coming from such a cooled entity, however, isn't. He brings up his arms, attempting to keep the timing and motion with the attacker by taking steps back and effectively parrying attacks as they come. An elaborate, violent dance appears to take play with El Fuerte following the lead as best he can, though taking some damage from rogue attacks that make it through. Attempting to anticipate the end and not seeing one in sight, El Fuerte brings his arm up to block a punch, the fist connecting solidly, and then he breaks off into a sprint away from Alma. He crouches low to the ground for a fraction of a second to get the spring needed for the jump he takes, leaping backwards in an exaggerated arc. Following the usual trend of obvious announcement, El Fuerte shouts down as he falls, "Tortillaaaaaaaa!"
The proceeding actions upon connection are difficult to explain, if only because they're directed by raw power. The luchador reaches down with his hands in attempt to grab onto whatever he can of Alma's body. Immediately following, he will begin swinging around whatever it is he grabbed, be in an arm, neck, or head. Using the momentum of his fall as the initiation of his force, he will continue swinging in such a way that it will generate a lift off the ground. Once he has reached a significant height of about a foot or two, he releases to safely land a distance away from the plummetting victim.
Failure, of course, means he just plops down right next to Alma in a magnificient display of complete embarassment.
COMBATSYS: Alma endures ElFuerte's Propeller Tortilla!
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Alma 1/---====/=======|=======\====---\1 ElFuerte
Alma, eyes bright, features inscrutible, gazes upward at his foe.
Having been unable to overcome El Fuerte's defenses, he is silent in the face of that resounding cry, looking straight at the oncoming wrestler-- and his coming fate.
He does not turn away.
Grasped by the falling luchador, the model is flung about in a wild display of acrobatic ability, aweing the people-watchers that have turned spectator to this match. As El Fuerte leaps away himself to safety, Alma is sent plunging down toward the street, limbs wrenched and akimbo.
He never makes it.
"HAAAAAAAHH!"
That such passion might emerge from an otherwise gentle youth is surprising.
That it is heard from behind El Fuerte is even more so.
For Alma vanished from the eyes of those gathered a hairsbreadth before he struck the stone, only to reappear behind his still-descending foe, utterly reversing whatever advantage of time and distance El Fuerte might have had. If the luchador is able to react to that telling battle cry in time, if he has the wherewithal to resist -- or even the sheer luck to just turn in time -- he will see the Radiant Angel, eyes afire, lips parted with an almost religious fervor, reaching out to him, fingertips shining with a blinding light.
Teleportation: perhaps the highest of the psychic arts.
Having embraced his opponent's spirit, Alma now offers his own.
Inspired by his adversary, Alma seems swept away by the intensity of the moment.
Is there a will can that withstand such overwhelming force?
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte full-parries Alma's Absolution!
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Alma 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 ElFuerte
El Fuerte loses his guard when his glance shifts to his landing position to find his enemy standing exactly where he wanted to be, and doing that crazy light show stuff he doesn't understand in the slightest. But suddenly it's upon him, like some sort of reckoning force that enters right into him and shakes against his will. No, not this time. He's not going to lose this time. His body rebels against him, as if attempting to explode to avoid the power that's surging into him. His downward motion stops, and all he can do is let out a guttural roar as he throws his arms to the side and disperses any energy flowing through him. It phases off; he's completely unaffected. What the hell just happened.
Alas, he isn't finished yet, and gravity takes its hold once more. Unfortunately for Alma, El Fuerte's new landing spot is right on top of his shoulders, a decision of positioning the boy might soon come to regret. With a powerful should invigorated by his sheer force of will, he bellows, "ELLLL FUEEEEERTEEEEEEEEEE!" and throws a finger up into the sky, pointing to his point of destination: the Heavens themselves.
"FLYING..." his ankles tighten around Alma's neck as he tucks forward and rolls, attempting to slam his opponents face directly into the floor. Upon success, he uses his new footing to launch himself into the air, "GIGA BUSTER!" With a backflip, he reaches up to grab ahold of his tethered opponent's legs bending them backwards so that they land directly on their chin. Also, the force of stopping would continue to bend Alma's spine backwards in such a way that is most painful. I hope it hits because it'd be totally radical.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks ElFuerte's El Fuerte Flying Giga Buster EX.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 ElFuerte
What.
/What./
"What--"
I know, right.
Yet the question that Alma is asking himself, as El Fuerte leaps mightily into the air with triumphant spirit and the viewers stare with jaws apage, is not 'How did that just happen?' No, Alma is not one to be staggered by the ever-extending limits of possibility. What Alma is contemplating is more unusual and, perhaps, far more personal.
~ Why am I not surprised? ~
At this point, faced with such an unflinching will--
"Hnnh!"
Alma is prepared to believe El Fuerte can do anything.
But not, in this case, throw him. For Alma does what he always does when faced with an incredible fighting spirit: he perceives it as an opportunity to engage, and reciprocates with equivalent resolve. El Fuerte's technique is outrageous and incredible, but Alma's hands, even after that stunning reversal, move deftly to cut off the ankles that seek to lock about his throat. With that leverage, Alma is able to roll with El Fuerte for the first few moments before springing away and out of the hold before El Fuerte can leap back into the air, negating the majority of the strike. Anti-climatic, maybe-- but a testament to the intensity of Alma's focus.
"Hrruuuaahh!"
No less so than the spike of power that now emerges. For Alma is quite depleted, and under normal circumstances would be bereft of Soul Power to draw upon so immediately. No, he does not even think about why, does not have the time, but El Fuerte's resolve sparks infinitely more in Alma's own heart. He thrusts out quite suddenly, right hand flaring up with a lance of snow-white sparkling energy, aiming to strike home with breathtaking suddenness while the luchador is still recovering from his failed assault and shatter, for now, a fighting spirit that has clearly been pushed to the breaking point-- and beyond.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte interrupts Self Expression EX from Alma with Calamari Slide.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 ElFuerte
With the escape from his totally awesome wrestling move that could've been so awesome, El Fuerte's leap instead becomes a minor hop out. With a spin around he sees, seriously? Great googily moogily, another beam thingy? Things are starting to hit their boiling point, and even El Fuerte's dedicated and some-what foolhardy resolve is starting to buckle. Alas, now is not the time to stop attacking, and so he Habanero Dashes straight towards Alma. In an attempt to slide under the beam and sweep out Alma's legs out from underneath him, he makes a dive. Unforunately, it clips through his shoulder and leaves an unbearable sting. His attack is in motion, however. Alma is home plate, and he's going feet first in hopes of that final score.
Some people just don't know when to quit.
And sometimes they fight each other.
Alma's legs are kicked out from under him as his lance of light goes awry, sensing partial impact as, his eyes widening, he is flipped up into the air. It appears inevitable that he will crash ignominiously to the ground in a split-second, while El Fuerte continues to slide under him. But even with the world a spinning blur and his spirit struggling to still shine, Alma's aura sense is fully active; he can /feel/ the man passing beneath him. A resolve this formidable is hard for a psychic to miss.
And so it is that, half-blind but as true as if he could see, the androgynous beauty strikes straight down, an outrageous acrobatic move of his own. With primal reflexes he lashes out with a fierce punch even in the midst of his careening downward, aiming to strike the sliding El Fuerte resoundingly in the head before slamming heavily to the ground.
Though how long he'll stay down is anyone's guess.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte blocks Alma's Quick Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 ElFuerte
In the span of a few seconds, El Fuerte brings an arm up in attempts to catch the blow. He is technically successful, but the force of the punch forces the chef to basically knock himself into the forehead as he slides underneath. And then inspiration strikes. Alma's legs float in slow motion above him. With the hand that wasn't blocking, he reaches up and attempts to grab hold. The intent of the following action is as follows:$R
Pull the "hopefully" constricted leg directly downward (to him, so paralel with the ground) with enough force to grab Alma's chest by sliding his legs in under the armpits and squeeze around his chest. Then, with the arm that blocked the incoming blow, push hard against the ground along with pushing into it with his upper back in attempt to "jump." This jump will facilitate the motion required to do the backflip he wants to do to slam Alma into the ground. So think of it like an eight turning into an infinity symbol and then flipping the infinity symbol but much more intricate and violent.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks ElFuerte's Medium Throw.
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Alma 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 ElFuerte
So much technique, so little time.
In the brief span of a few seconds Alma flips, punches, is blocked, and has his legs grabbed before he can finish what was already an only barely controlled spiral down to the ground. Eyes widening again in surprise, he is dragged back toward his opponent, and is unable to react before El Fuerte's grasp begins to squeeze the breath from his lungs, limbs wrapped around his chest. Choking and coughing, Alma feels the luchador push off of the ground and knows what must come.
The ground, that is.
And so, maintaining his composure and his timing, it is at the last second that Alma is able to kick free, breaking out with a sudden surge of spirit at that dramatic moment right after the backflip but before El Fuerte was to slam him against the ground. The beauty rolls and practically skids to a stop, eyes blazing with unrelenting purpose even if they are not focusing properly, and scrambling to attack before the wrestler can once again get his wits about him, Soul Power sputters to life about his hand-- which he quickly casts forth, a sworling dart of psychic energy to blast the last of the vitality of El Fuerte's formidable self.
Even if he hits, Alma can't be certain he'll be able to get up himself.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits ElFuerte with Sacred Wave.
> Determined Hit! <
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 ElFuerte
$R The energy washes over El Fuerte, and he finally succumbs to their weight of his body. He drops to his knees, staring up at Alma, in complete awe of the power he posesses. "...oh... see I saw Alma on the map and just thought you were a flat-chested girl the whole time." He stands up very slowly and struggles to move toward Alma. You've beaten me, and as such, I must offer you what I've learned from ... whatever is even happening any more. Aye, mi cabeza." He procures a pan from nowhere and another bag of Helado Frito, which he plants onto the pan (though it is most consistently melted in this case) and begins to droll.
"You see, your... whatever it is, it is like ice cream. It certainly feels like it is powered by good, and I'm sure everyone would love it if they weren't on the receiving end of it all, but," he pulls out some tequila and pours it all over the ice cream. "Helado Frito just became Helado FUEGO LOLO." He lights a match and throws it into the pan. The ice cream catches flame and burns with an interesting scent, to say the least. "This is how it feels... to receive your light. Luz de Fuego. It is very powerful, I must admit, and you've beaten me. Enjoy your desert."
As El Fuerte begins to offer the creation to Alma, he dizzies and simply falls straight forward onto his face, completely losing hold of the flaming pan. Bittersweet indeed. A point blank alcohol fire is in your future, and nothing burns like cheap tequila.
COMBATSYS: ElFuerte can no longer fight.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges ElFuerte's El Fuerte Dynamic Cooking Time.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|
Flat chest heaving, Alma gazes bleary eyed at his felled adversary, slowly struggling to his own knees as El Fuerte begins to speak.
"That's understandable."
What's not exactly understandable is where that pan came from. Or that-- what is that mysterious liquid? Or the-- what on earth is he doing now? Alma watches, and only his latent charisma makes a 'silent and inscrutible gaze' out of what is in fact a blank stare. Which is to say he is doing what the audience is doing, only more impressively.
"Th... Thank y--"
Dodge. He has to dodge. But he can't move. He can't go anywhere--
Except down.
Simply allowing himself to collapse, Alma hits the street face first, and the frypan passes directly overhead, sizzling concoction missing him by inches.
For several moments he is silent, breathing heavily, as the viewers continue to watch, still stunned. Then, rising laboriously to his hands and knees, the exhausted young man crawls toward the concoction, though not before glancing back over his shoulder once more at the noble luchador.
"Excellently... fought."
Without a doubt, a worthy opponent.
Turning back to the bizarrely fried ice cream, Alma gazes at it for some time before, finally, picking up the hot item and, silently enduring the heat, taking a bite and chewing amidst the stunned silence.
But...
"...It's... terrible."
Sometimes, even will isn't enough.
COMBATSYS: Alma has ended the fight here.
Log created on 01:24:51 07/31/2009 by Alma, and last modified on 14:22:41 07/31/2009.