SNF 2012.07 - SNF: "A Dirge for Degenerates"

Description: Roland's explosive start against Vyle ends in a drawn out attrition match with the Lucha Libre... resulting in an amazing near-comeback when that leaves both fighters down! (Winner: Draw)



Highgate Cemetery. Possibly one of the most famous Cemeteries in the world, and one of London's gloomier landmarks. Ironic, considering it was also considered a nature reserve in some ways. A nice little reminder that from life comes death, and from death comes life. Everyone meets their eventual fate, after all....

Some long to help others meet that fate sooner rather than later though, and some seem on track to meet it sooner themselves. The man known as Vyle seems to be a man that exemplifies both. Even if he's not a cold-blooded killer, he seems callous about life in general...so perhaps it's no surprise that he doesn't seem too disturbed by the setting. In fact, as he looks around, he just finds himself kind of...bored looking.

"Meh. Could use some work," is all he mutters, glancing toward the production crew ready to tape the fight, and sniffing a bit. "Smells kind of British too. Like, Fish, Chips, and Bad Teeth." Stretching, the rudo doesn't even bother to get himself limbered up. Seems like he's taking this fight a little lightly. Or maybe he's just way too at ease amongst the graves and the tombs. Either way, it doesn't exactly reflect well on him.

Cemetaries. Roland doesn't like cemetaries. They just make him unsettled. He has never made a point of acknowleding mortality, even when half-dead with one arm in the hospital after Freeman's little rampage. The discomfort is clear as he scratches the back of his hatted head, trying to avoid getting too close to an adjacent tombstone. "Well... you obviously like the decor more then me." grumbles the trenchcoated prodigy, rolling his good shoulder with a light pop before hopping from foot to foot. "I've been training pretty hard though... Lucha Libre, right? Such a shame. You're up against a former master of cheap, flashy tricks!" It seems he's going to cede the first move to Vyle. A move he might just come to regret...!!

COMBATSYS: Roland has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Roland           0/-------/-======|


Vyle rolls his neck lazily as he finally started to do SOME sort of limbering up, a small hop along the balls of his feet, but it seems to be more for show than anything. It was almost...chipper in its apathy. As chipper as Vyle could get, anyhow. "You seem like you're already one foot in, looking from here. Or maybe one hand in. What, hide one to many aces up your sleeve?" the rudo asks idly before finally coming to a stop.

"And as for tricks...lets just say I can do cheap, and I can do clever. What'm I gonna have to bother with, with you, huh?" he asks with a smirk, sinking down into that unorthodox wrestling stance of his, one hand up and at the ready, and one arm almost hanging limply in front of him. "I dunno if you...LOOK BEHIND YOU, IT'S MONTY PYTHON COME BACK FROM THE DEAD!" he shouts, snapping up from his stance to immediately point behind the cowboy with fear on his face.

Of course, obviously this is one of those tricks Roland had been talking about, and regardless of whether he falls for it or not, the poisonous wrestler will take the moment to try and tee off, charging and trying to level off a punt that would make Vinateri proud.

That's REAL football for you Brits complaining at home! No, seriously!

COMBATSYS: Vyle has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Vyle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Roland


COMBATSYS: Roland dodges Vyle's Light Kick.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Vyle             0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Roland


Roland is already warming himself up well, getting the blood flowing and focusing on his rhythm more then anything else. A bit of a snort follows at the mention of his own state of being. "I'm harder to kill then that. Give me some credit. How many people survive Freeman?" Not a lot, if you look at the raw numbers. He probably got the closest to croaking out of anyone, though. The straightforward response earns a grin, brow of his hat tilted rakishly forward. Only for his eyes to widen, and Roland almost immediately turns away to look in the indicated direction. Only to then whirl to the side, nimbly dodging the assault; a true measure of his spatial perception, the generic maneuver simply getting him clear out of the way as opposed to anything fancy. "Where?! Where?!" He's still trying to look. Before suddenly kicking off a tombstone, and fluidly whirling around to strike the open air with spread hands. "AS IF! I use that the same way also!!" A spray of peculiar plasma-like green chi whirls out... only to detonate explosively a second later, whether it sticks to Vyle or not!

COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Vyle with Roulette.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Vyle             0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1           Roland


Vyle finds his legs swinging out into air as ROland swings out of the way, obviously expecting a trick from a trickster, being a trickster himself. So that's probably not a surprise, but hey, it was worth a shot. "Dammit," Vyle mutters, perhaps not quite so used to someone who knows all the same tricks he does. And unfortunately for Vyle, that's not all Roland can do.

When Roland gathers up that plasma into his remaining hand, Vyle is forced onto the backpedal, scowling and trying to scramble away, but he didn't seem to expect the explosion, one that sends him scattering into a wall with a groan. "Nnhhh...son of a...." he groans, slow to come up after what seemed like a pretty nasty hit.

Of course, looks can be deceiving. Even if he's hurt, Vyle is spry, spry enough to charge in and try to sweep Roland off his feet with a low shoot in and an attempted single leg tackle.

COMBATSYS: Roland interrupts Quick Throw from Vyle with Deuces Wild.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Vyle             1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0           Roland


"Hoho... I think you are underestimating me a little too much..." Roland states when Vyle comes forward once more. He reaches into his trenchcoat, before allowing himself to get struck -- somewhat off-kilter, however. Because the moment that Vyle is the most vulnerable... an onslaught of plasma-imbued razor edged steel cards is flung. His hand is a blur, a good dozen of them sticking into the Lucha Libre fighter before they all erupt into a pillar of scorching green energy. Landing on his back and then kipping up, the one-armed cowboy exhales slowly. "Sorry... but I don't really do tricks anymore, myself...!"

....that....didn't work out so well, it seems.
%Sure, Vyle managed to get his hands on Roland, but before he can even pull him down to the ground, the cards come out, and before he knows it, he's stuck like a pincusion with several steel cards, and before he even has a chance to register the pain, he's blown up with the eruption fo green chi.

There might be some outrage as far as the effects on a natural reserve coming in the future, but in the present, the one with the most stake after that is Vyle, looking more than worse for the wear, outfit shredded at this point. Staggering as he tries to get back up to his feet, he sways back and forth, trying his hardest to get his brain back into it. "Uhnnn...you....sonova...." he groans....

A rather dark look crosses Vyle's face at this point, all joking aside suddenly as he tries to slam forward and stab a knife-hand strike straight into Roland's chest, a sickly green glow surrounding his hand as he strikes for blood.

COMBATSYS: Roland instinctively dodges Vyle's Injector.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Vyle             1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0           Roland


That is an unpleasant looking attack. But Roland manages to whirl backwards once more. He seems to have an incredible natural sense of balance; keeping his hat in place with his hand, he then once more pulls a sleek playing card from the brim. "That wasn't very tricky..." he murmurs, before sweeping his stance and rushing forward. Green energy whirls over the playing card's edge, before he unleashes a brutal three-slash combo, before moving to fling it into Vyle's chest and hurl him away... and a moment later, the built-up plasma chi would detonate once more!! "C'mon! I've heard of you... Back in the day, I always wanted to see which of us was the better trickster. But now... just show me who's the better fighter!"

COMBATSYS: Vyle fails to counter Three Card Monte from Roland with Relapse.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Vyle             1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Roland


Unfortunately, Vyle seems to not be quite so guile right now. Angry as he is, he's not exactly in his usual taunting, openly mocking attitude that's tended to help him so often in fights. Right now, he seems to not be so much purple and green, but seeing red. And that....doesn't seem to exactly help him, as the stab forward is dodged like it was nothing. And the follow-up the card shark tries?

Well, Vyle seems like he's prepared for it, the flashing forward met by a turn of the luchador's body...but before he can snap out that kick that was supposed to follow, he instead gets ganked in the back by the card in Roland's hand, the weapon sticking into his back and blasting him away face first into yet another wall. So far, it looks like the race to see who is the better fighter isn't even a close one at this rate.

Roland simply remains standing where he is; that is his trademark move, at least in terms of how dangerous it is. The only one of his former cheap moves to be evolved and reproduced after he completely rebuilt his style. "Hrmph." He doesn't seem to be verbally gloating any more then he already is. Yet another card dances into sight within his fingers, before he twists and launches it spiraling through the air in Vyle's direction. "Don't give up on me, now!"

COMBATSYS: Vyle parries Roland's Thrown Object!

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Vyle             1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0           Roland


Falling back down from the impact with that wall, Vyle ends up in a rather shameful state, flat on his back and looking torn up while Roland was barely scratched at all. He looked almost defeated and the fight had barely begun. It's almost rather pathetic at this rate....

But then again, the thing with Vyle is that once you think he's dead, he comes back even more annoying and even more vicious than before. The card flung out at him sails true, right up until the back of the rudo's fist smacks it out of the air. Growling, Vyle kips back up to his feet as well...but doesn't turn around. Not until after he's ran for the wall he just collided against, and springs off it toward Roland. Twisting in mid air, that dark expression on the luchador's face comes closer and closer until he tries to wrap his arm around Rolento's head and drill him with a flying Tornado DDT of his own making.

COMBATSYS: Roland blocks Vyle's Dead Spiral EX.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Vyle             1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0           Roland


It seems the listless card throw was successful at getting Vyle's blood pumping; there's a look of surprise when he capitalizes on that split moment of vulnerability to rush forward and lunge out. Grasped as desired, he's brought spinning through the air; but his remaining arm suges with green energy, and he catches himself clean on the ground with splayed fingers. Absorbing the majority of the blow, he then launches himself away, breaking the proximity without the best of ease or finesse. "That was a close one...!" He lost his hat somewhere in the midst of the exchange, and it's caught on the edge of a cross-shaped tombstone. But he seems content to break forward again, before leaping upwards and dropping his heel violently down, aiming to strike Vyle right atop the head!!

COMBATSYS: Vyle parries Roland's Light Kick!

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0           Roland


The attempted Dead Spiral catches Roland, but Vyle's unable to plow him into the ground like he had hoped. Damn that energy being so multi-purpose. But just because he wasn't able to DDT the cowboy doesn't mean Vyle is finished. That surge of energy seems to continue on, catching the heel drop and knocking it aside before it can do any damage. With wild eyes surging, the rudo tried to get straight into Roland's face.

And if the lurching of his throat didn't give the cowboy a clue, the sudden blast of green mist erupting from his mouth toward the Cowboy should be clue enough...but it might be too late after that.

COMBATSYS: Roland dodges Vyle's Venom Breath EX.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0           Roland


This fight is certainly not ending in the way Roland expected. When he thought he had Vyle dominated, he suddenly began reacting with the same brutal efficiency that Roland started the engagement with; although he's barely managing to remain ahead of the dangerous maneuvers. A shimmer of emerald, and then Roland ducks, a microsecond before the exhaled gas hits him in the face. At this point, his maneuver becomes a touch less subtle, as he drives forward to try and slam his knee -- right in Vyle's groin!!

COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Vyle with Quick Strike.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0           Roland


Unfortunately, it seems that surge is finally letting up, as when Roland ducks, then snaps off that knee to Vyle's groin, it meets far more success than the rudo's own attempt did earlier. The strike buries itself into the essentials, sending the wrestler lurching forward painfully, vision going white at the blinding pain.....

But even then, Vyle doesn't exactly go down easy. As he starts to fall forward, he drives forward yet again, attempting yet another tackle, this time putting his entire body into it as he tries for a double leg slam....

COMBATSYS: Roland parries Vyle's Outbreaker!

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0           Roland


Tenacity; Vyle certainly has a respectable amount of that. It's as much luck as skill that the trenchcoated one-armed brawler is as unscathed as he is. It doesn't help that Vyle decided on rather straightforward attacks -- his speciality in avoiding, especially if an opponent is highly irritated. His palm swishes out, and an arm check follows; blindingly obscuring Vyle's face before vaulting clear over him! Only to whirl in midair, flashing a trail of green afterimages before he lunges down, fingers dancing with plasma-like chi as he attempts to grasp Vyle once more and hurl him bodily into the ground -- where a moment later, the emerald lightshow would detonate explosively yet again!!

COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Vyle with Seven Out EX.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1           Roland


Whether it was skill or luck, it was obvious: Vyle's tenacity, no matter how fierce it was, was about the only thing he had to offer in this fight, and it could only go so far. And even that was easily negated, the flash of green stalling Vyle enough to avoid that tackle attempt...and when Roland lunges down at the rudo's back, even a desperate lunge away isn't enough to avoid being plowed into the ground before yet another explosion sending Vyle up and over, barely propped up onto a tombstone upon landing.

"No....no...." he growls, twitching as he tried to push himself back up, face a mask of furious frustration as he lurched forward, barely able to kick up a stray stone toward Roland as he starts to falter back....

COMBATSYS: Vyle has reached second wind!

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1           Roland


...and barely catches himself on that tombstone before he fully drops dead away. Looks like he's not quite done yet.

COMBATSYS: Roland overcomes Small Thrown Object from Vyle with Thrown Object.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1           Roland


A normal fighter would have fallen well before Vyle... and not been able to get up afterwards. However, a randomly kicked stone is hardly going to be dangerous to the cowboy. If Vyle wants to fight in a more desperate manner, he'll oblige! A flicked card neatly cuts the incoming stone in two, razored steel whirling onward towards Vyle's shoulder! "C'mon... kicking dirt clods, now?!"

COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Vyle with Thrown Object.
Grazing Hit

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Vyle             0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1           Roland


Unfortunately, tenacity, while it keeps Vyle up, isn't helping him avoid damage much more, shaky as he is. The stone he kicked up gets blown out of the air by Roland's card, and despite trying to push himself away, he can't quite avoid the card in time, slashed in the arm as he tried to lurch aside. Stumbling, the rudo just tries to muscle himself forward, diving for a sloppy looking lariat which not much behind it, but it's the best he can do at this point.

COMBATSYS: Vyle successfully hits Roland with Quick Punch.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Vyle             0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1           Roland


Roland's weakness happens to be his endurance... Vyle dragging him into a no hold's barred slapfight is actually what allowed him to finally nail a true hit, impacting Roland in the throat and sending him thumping upon his back on the grass-covered ground between graves. "Alright... enough of this..." he growls out, before twisting and pushing upwards. Five cards fan out on his hand, before he rushes forward in a blur of green chi. Before imbuing all of them in tandem, and swinging in a brutal arc upwards, intent on leaving each behind -- seguing into a brutal takedown throw, to send him just out of range of a collateral damage explosion!!

COMBATSYS: Vyle blocks Roland's All In.

[                          \\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Vyle             0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Roland


Barely able to keep from falling over after that sloppy lariat, the rudo barely catches himself on his hands and scrambles back onto his feet. Stopping on a stone cross, he pushes himself back around, just in time for that repeated assault from Roland. The slashing, chi-fueled strikes meet his forearms as they're crossed in front of him. Wincing as they cut and cut and cut, he weathers the blow, until the throw comes. Trying to slacken and go with the momentum, he waits at the last moment before trying to pull Roland back down with him, arms wrapped around his head in hopes of driving his face into either the rudo's own shoulder or into the ground. Either way....

COMBATSYS: Roland blocks Vyle's Medium Throw.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Vyle             0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0           Roland


Relentlessly, Roland presses forward, intent on trying to end this fight as best he can. This makes it rather easy to suddenly get him in a headlock and twist him around; avoiding the shoulder, he twists and hits the ground unevenly, but twists around with a disturbingly flexible motion. His good hand shooting down, trying to get an intimate grip of Vyle in order to heft him straight up... and body drop him backwards, right atop the point of the adjacent cross spine first!!

COMBATSYS: Vyle counters Quick Throw from Roland with Antidote.

[                            \\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vyle             0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0           Roland


The attempted drag down doesn't go quite as well for Vyle the first time around. Sure, he managed to pull Roland over, but he some how managed to flip out of it before that crushing impact...but if at first you don't succeed....

Disturbingly silent since the first coda of the fight, the rudo barely even grunts as Roland tries to give him a taste of his own medicine...but Vyle's had years of learning how to shfit his weight to his own advantage, managing to reverse course somehow before he's fully flipped over, and renewing that grip onto Roland's head as he tries the crushing faceplant once more.

Okay. Credit where credit's due. Vyle is legitimately a much better wrestler; which is why this sudden turn of events is less then painless. His face slams into the ground rather heavily, causing a grunt of pain. But he struggles once more, aiming to hulk himself to his feet with Vyle in tow. He's not in his fluid dynamic environment anymore!! But he still is a pretty adaptable person. Which is why he tries to unleash a flurry of chi-imbued punches right into Vyle's kidney, before going to a trip-down maneuver to hurl him away. Tenacity is starting to work!!

COMBATSYS: Vyle dodges Roland's Sleight of Hand.

[                            \\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vyle             0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Roland


While Vyle isn't quick to get back up after the faceplanting, that possibly works in his favor, as when Roland gets back up and tries to flurry punch him in the kidneys, all the rudo has to do is fall back again. Of course, it's a bit hard to do much from down there.....but he tries, dang it. Lifting up just barely enough to try and throw a punch from his back, he immediately drops back again, hoping to follow with his legs to vault the card shark over in a rather messy variant of the monkey flip.

COMBATSYS: Vyle successfully hits Roland with Combo Throw.
- Power hit! -

[                            \\  < >  ///////                       ]
Vyle             1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Roland


It seems the lazier Vyle gets, the more effective he is on the ever-exhausting Roland. Struggling above Vyle, who remains far superior in this kind of engagement, he's sent hurling away and opposite; slamming head-first into the side of a tomb, and limply thumping to the ground afterwards. Slowly he gets up, gingerly rubbing the back of his head with a hiss of pain. "Heh... well. Whoever says not giving up's pointless needs to watch this... but..." And then he lunges forward, planting one foot on the top of a tombstone and launching himself over!! Bringing down his heel in an attempt to slam into Vyle's head, and hopefully drop him clean out of the fight!!

COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Vyle with Light Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[                                < >  ///////                       ]
Vyle             1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0           Roland


Not so much lazy as it is simply not having the proper strength for technique. But sometimes, what works works, and you go with it. Vyle could feel the momentum shifting, but ragged as he is due to that painfully slow start, he can't really rush in to capitalize. And despite the comeback he makes, some things just have to come to an end. Stumbling forward to try and take another stab at throwing Roland down, he's forced to stall when the cowboy launches himself in a vault from one tombstone. And with his momentum already throwing him forward, he literally ends up running straight into the heel drop, cracking him in the skull and sending him down....

But perhaps not without a fight. As he falls, his leg shoots up one last time, trying to end the fight the same way he began it: a junk punt.

COMBATSYS: Vyle can no longer fight.

[                       \\\\\\\  <
Roland           0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Roland blocks Vyle's Light Kick.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Roland           0/-------/----===|


Roland would have never guessed the fight would end this way given the first few exchanges they had... a crushing beginning ends in a slow attrition, and finally Roland lands a brutal blow. But his guard is dropped, and he drops his good hand. The kick hits it dead, before slamming his knuckles into his groin. "...!!" As Vyle crashes to the ground, Roland tries... tries... and fails. He crumples to his knees, curling up and clutching himself. "Nrrrgh!!" He's told to get back up or it will be a double TKO... he tries once, then just crashes over, pained and fatigued. A draw!

COMBATSYS: Roland restlessly fiddles with a playing card.


COMBATSYS: Roland can no longer fight.


Barely hold on to fleeting consciousness, Vyle barely manages to lift his head up, watching as Roland crumples to the ground and tries his best to rise before the 10 count...but simply cannot. As he drops his head back, Vyle finally speaks, the first since the beginning of the fight. "And for my next trick....I'll...make you look like a 2 pump chump...." he says, one laugh before coughing and falling silent once more. He'll let the SNF crew worry about dragging him back out of the cemetary at this point.

Log created on 20:20:36 08/02/2012 by Roland, and last modified on 23:39:13 08/03/2012.