Description: Frank likes to punch things for money, Tabitha enjoys punching things and then giving away her money. What happens when the two join forces and face-off against against some old guy who could REALLY use a new toupee? I have no idea, completely forgot where I was going with that thought. The Gaia Tournament doesn't hesitate to throw its weight (or wallet) around; Magaki himself confirmed that the winner(s) of this match will receive a considerable sum -- best part is, it's cold hard cash. Does it matter that one participant is a newcomer? Not if she has the guts to fight in downtown Metro City on a gondola. The winds are strong, the rain soaks you faster than the cold water bucket challenge, and you can be certain that the first person who falls in the muck down below will probably never smell the same again, but hey, think of the money. (WINNER: Rust)
The circumstances leading up to one Howard Rust being here... well... there'll be a lot more time to talk about that in more excruciating detail later. The important bits are... without some key necessities on hand for being able to get back into the United States with anything approaching ease, it's been kind of difficult... no real ability to contact anyone, no real cash on their person, just himself, a pipe, and... that other thing people don't like talking about.
The Gaia Tournament folks still found him, by some means. Right now, in this weather? Yes, right now, right here, in this weather. Dressed inappropriately for the weather - an off-white T-shirt with some unreadable slogan, long orange-ish swim trunks, matching sandals, a really cheap-looking novelty watch, and (for whatever reason) a highly visible dab of sunscreen across the bridge of his nose that somehow doesn't magically wash off in the rain, he looks more ready for some time at the beach rather than at the heart of a cold, hard, improbable storm that pelts and floods Metro City.
Maybe it was all the clothes he could get his hands on due to those aforementioned circumstances. Moving on.
Standing upon one end of a gondola that floats through the flooded downtown streets atop filthy, muddied water full of trash and debris swept up from the gutters by the floodwaters, his back is turned to pretty much anyone or anything else. He might not even notice anyone else on there, as though contemplating... probably everything, his left hand atop his scalp as a freak gust of wind threatens both his footing and the balance of the boat this fight is supposed to happen on.
Is it day? Is it night? It's so dark and overcast out there that it's nigh-on impossible to tell. Ol' Rusty is drawn, awful shiny-looking for its moniker today... is that really the same length of pipe he's been known to carry around? As the wind rages and the rain pours, such small details are probably not worth dwelling over too much, given the declarations of those mysterious Gaia Tournament organizers, managers, and backers...
Yes, there will be a fight here, as chaos and disaster surround the lot of them. The gondola ride could have been billed as a free water taxi to sightsee the devastation the weather has wrought, for all anyone else would know.
Tabitha's reason for being here, at this place and time, is much simpler than Rust's:
She volunteered.
When Magaki said fighters of /all/ levels of skill and fame, Tabitha took that as an invitation, and submitted her name. She expected to be rejected, but here she is, fighting in Metro City. She doesn't like seeing it the way it is now - flooded, not ruined but definitely battered. This is her home, and it's uncomfortable to see what's become of it. It's not as bad as what she's heard some of the rest of the world is like, is what she tells herself.
But it's not necessarily uncomfortable to fight for it. Tabitha already knows where most of her money is going after this fight, if she wins - she has to keep victory in mind or she won't have any hope at all! There's a partner to deal with, too. She doesn't know much about him. Nobody seems to know much about him. She just hopes they won't clash too badly.
Tabitha is dressed like... well, a boxer. It isn't any more suitable for the weather any more than Rust is, but at least she's not apparently mocking it by dressing like she's on vacation. Athletic shorts, a tank top, and of course it's raining already. Tabitha briefly considered fighting in a raincoat but decided it would hamper her too much. She'll just have to be miserable about it. She's pretty much already drenched and is very glad she wore all black.
Having taken a second gondola because there's not much other way to get around on this street, Tabitha steps off onto Rust's, waving her tournament escort back to the sidelines. A blast of wind catches her hair as she squints through it at Rust. Perhaps incongruously, only one thing occurs to her.
How does he keep the toupee on in the wind?
Frank's been busy. Helping little old ladies keep flood-water out of their apartments, swimming supplies over to people on rooftops, even swimming animals out of the zoo. He couldn't just let them tigers and lions and bears drown, oh no!
Built like a gorilla, muscles like Samson or Hercules, and a face like a trainwreck and a plane crash got together and had a baby with Down Syndrome, Frank was an interesting guy. Right now he was swimming towards that Gondola, yellow cords clenched in his teeth, and on his back was a bright yellow raft, on which sat Smalls, currently in an inflated life jacket, with a fishing hat on his large head, with his wide freakish eyes darting around.
"Let's go ya big lug, get me outta this Charlie Heston shit, sooner we get this fight done with, the sooner we can get the hell outta here with fifty smackaroos! Man, can ya imagine that many clams? I wish Missus Mustache down at the DMV could see me walkin' around like some sorta big shot! Boy oh boy" he just kept going on and on and on in that high pitched voice, but the fighter swimming to the sight didn't pay his friend any mind. His mind was entirely on the fight at hand. Finally he approached the boat and grabbed the side with one mud-covered, massive hand, the entire craft rocking and swaying violently as the big man climbed aboard, quickly tying that raft to the side of the gondola, to make sure Smalls didn't go anywhere dangerous.
The rest of Frank was covered in mud, but atop his head, instead of his usual dock worker's cap, sat a shiny yellow rain hat, covering those eyes of his but not hiding his spirit. And every step he took made that boat rock dangerously. Who decided to put a man this big on a teensy little boat? Who decided that a fight on a gondola would be a good idea?!
Why does that man still wear the toupee? After that point, pretty much /any/ act of judgment on his part can rightfully be called to question. The gondola rocks slightly at Tabitha's entrance upon the long, thin boat that carries itself down the flooded downtown streets of Metro. The aging man takes a hand to one end to steady himself as it rocks, looking over his shoulder.
This means there are now no hands on his scalp. How... does that stay on his head, anyway?
"H-Hey!" He raises the pipe-wielding hand - itself another curiosity as to how he manages to keep hold, slowly turning about to face Tabitha - someone dressed like a boxer, far as he can surmise (as far as he can surmise anything at all).
He has to yell to actually be heard above the roaring winds, and even then it's a crapshoot as to whether or not anyone can ever truly hear him.
"G-Gaia... tourey, right? I'm, uh... I think... one of the--" He stops mid-shouting as he turns his head over to see... someone approaching, on a yellow raft, and... someone swimming? Visibility is at an all-time low at this distance, and the older man squints.
"D-Do you see," he vaguely gestures with his left hand over to the spectacle of a swimming man and a guy coming buy on a raft, "hang on, I--"
He dares to dip Ol' Rusty into the muck and try to steer the gondola towards their direction. They come in quick, they come in fast. It's been horrific just really taking in the sights, but maybe if they help this guy out...
The big guy swimming in the muck helps himself on board, and the gondola rocks heavily, Howard falling onto his bum on the already rain-slick walking space available to them. A swear word is lost to another gust of wind. It's made clearer as time goes on as to who that is that's just helped themselves onto the boat - and who their little friend over there is.
"...Frank? Uh... Smalls?" Howard asks as he pulls himself up, tapping Ol' Rusty on the side of the boat as if to get off some of the mud, muck, and yuck. The pouring rain doesn't quite rinse all the unpleasantness off of it. Howard thinks to look all around one last time, crackles in his joints lost to the cacophony of weather-driven dangers all about them. (To say nothing of the ambient aches due to the barometric pressure...)
"That's, uh," Howard holds up three fingers on his left hand, "us, right? I heard," he mumbles something else that can't be picked up as he rolls his right shoulder, steadying his stance best he can in the wake of Frank rocking and damn near sinking the boat, legs spread apart, facing forward, leaning backwards with Ol' Rusty pointed back and to the right.
He doesn't see how anyone might be possibly watching this battle - whatever the point of it is at a time like this, he does need the money - let alone truly officiate it, what with all the worrying little things that crop up at the corners of one's vision just drifting by the streets...
COMBATSYS: Rust has started a fight here.
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Rust 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tabitha has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Frank has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|
The toupee must be special, Tabitha decides. She's not going to begrudge a man what is probably his lucky charm or something. Why else would he wear something so... so /that/ at all times?
She has more trouble speaking than Rust - she's not as naturally loud. "That's me," she calls. At least when they're near a building, the wind dies down a little, if only because it's being blocked. That happens a few times. "Tabitha Coren! I'm half your opponent. The other one didn't come with me!"
Tabitha shifts her weight a couple times as if checking the balance on the gondola. This almost comes to a tragic end when Frank comes out of frickin' nowhere (as far as she's concerned) and drags himself onto the boat, sending it rocking; fortunately, she is on the other side, and goes up, not down. She can compensate for up, shifting her weight and remaining upright. (Better than Rust, she thinks, a little smugly. She's not old - he's probably twice her age, at least. Her knees aren't stiff yet.)
Actually, so is her partner. Is everyone around here but her old? Being put up against a pair of fighters in their forties, past what she considers their prime, is kind of... well, it's a thing. Hopefully they set up the teams right, she thinks, looking at the huge muddy Frank with a little bit of surprise. "Hi," she calls, apparently by way of introduction. He heard the rest of it, right? That they're partners? Right.
And with everybody on board, that's that.
Tabitha tries to move across the gondola, getting a feel for its shifting balance - it helps that she is undeniably the lightest person on it, and thus happens to shift it much less, until she gets over to one of the others and causes a tipping hazard. Unfortunately, she's also limited to fighting pretty close in. Boxer and all; she can't hang back and try to keep the boat stable.
So she doesn't. She tries to advance on Rust, taking a defense-focused posture rather than immediately commiting; she keeps her right hand up in a warding position while she takes a half-crouched posture, trying a fast jab to judge range and Rust's reactions. She's testing more than anything else (and given the weather and the environment, she's probably testing the boat as much as Rust or Frank).
For Frank, every movement he made, every time he shifted his body weight or moved his arms or legs, the boat would shift and dip and buck suddenly. He was swaying and wobbling, but that was just his natural fighting stance, further amplified by the little amount of balance found on this thing. Whoever decided to put three people on a Gondola and make them fight was completely out of their heads. Still, as he scooped heaps of mud and filth off of himself and flung them off of the boat, he couldn't focus on that right now. He couldn't even talk with Rust, besides giving him a friendly nod and a token 'gesture' with his fist, extending it from where he was, a show of respect even if he didn't expect the pipe-wielding warrior to give up his distance to accept it. That wasn't why they were all here, was it?
No, Frank was here to help his partner and try to win, and that was exactly what he was going to do. In an instant he was grabbing for the massive truck-tire sized wallet chain, lashing it outward and trying to loop it around Rust's pipe-wielding hand, trying to violently and suddenly JERK the veteran forward, and pull him into his partner's quick jab. It was all about teamwork here, right?
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Frank's Wallet Chain.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Tabitha's Guard Knuckle.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|
To Frank's extended fist, Howard nods something back. Hopefully he actually understands the gesture? There's a lot of signals that can be mixed when the wind continues to whip about wildly, especially through the alleyway that the gondola is starting to pass through.
Frank makes a quick opening, the shade cast by the tall buildings on an already dark, damp day helping to obscure the chain. All Howard gets as an indicator to its presence is the tight tug on his wrist. Howard, renowned for his strength and resilience, absolutely has a rival in Frank for sheer muscle - if not superior. A tug of war between the two is something of a losing prospect given Howard's lighter weight, and the slippery footing of the gondola.
"Gkkghfhg," Howard winces as rain pounds at his face and he struggles to stay on his feet as the hand on the pipe - and pipe itself - are both largely incapacitated as being involuntarily entered in a Festivus Feats of Strength contest. This works both for and against him when Tabitha's cursory, space-measuring jab comes in.
It works against because it up and tugs him right into the punch that lands right under his extended right arm. Lips pursed tightly and being pulled in far too tight to really try and swing the pipe into her (even if he could get his arm free of Frank's chain), he hasn't much choice but to just take this uncomfortably close-up distance (well, at least for him, who knows about Tabitha and her own technique) as he rears his head back and, moments later, thrusts it forward at her.
The passage of time between 'punch under Rust's arm he does not appear to flinch from when he is accidentally yanked in Tabitha's direction' and 'threat of Rust headbutting Tabitha' is a fair bit more sudden than the above narration lets on.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha just-defends Rust's Hardhat Rush!
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Frank 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|
Tabitha is pleased that she got a partner that is, apparently, not getting in her way (much, except from sheer proximity, because there's not a lot of room on this gondola and it's going to be crowded if all three of them are standing on it no matter /what/ they're doing). He understands teamwork, at least a little.
"Thanks!" she calls over the storm at Frank. She ends up taking half a step back, mostly so she avoids tripping over him or Rust or tipping the boat over because all three of them have gone to the side at the same time. This is pretty much what saves her from Rust's incoming headbutt.
She recognizes it as a threat remarkably early, mostly because she too uses headbutts to open space. But there's not a lot of room to dodge on the narrow gondola... so she doesn't. Tabitha uses her wrapped hands to catch the incoming headbutt and takes most of her weight off her feet. She feels the impact through her hands, tingling - had that connected solidly, it would have hurt! But instead Rust pushes her backwards (and she has to be careful to not fly off the side).
Tabitha catches herself closer to the center of the boat, one foot resting on the raised lip so she doesn't slide off and the other further down. She pushes herself off the side of the boat, performing a running overhand punch at Rust; on land she'd say this would strike him to the ground (or try) but she's not really stable enough to manage that on the boat that shifts every time any of them so much as /think/ about moving much, so instead it's just a punch from surprisingly high! What makes it a little worse is the sudden discharge of chi through her fist; Tabitha doesn't manage much in that department, but her hand glimmers with a bluish aura, and on impact there is a momentary burst of ice and cold mist, spraying out.
The mist lasts about a quarter second before being washed away by the rain, though. Sigh. So much for looking impressive.
The big man was watching this happen patiently, while he did his part to keep Rust off-balance. His muscles were straining and flexing, tightening to wrestle with the toupee-wearing terror and it wasn't lost on Frank that all these factors against Rust resulted in the two fighters essentially breaking even in a power struggle. Frank was the bigger man without a doubt, but the strength of Rust was known throughout the world as being almost mythic. And Frank wasn't gonna beat that with a wallet chain.
Taking advantage of Rust's distraction with the girl who was on the side of the boat now, the big man very quickly strides forward on the 'benches' of this gondola, trying to reduce the rocking of the thing as much as possible. Of course, it wasn't -really- possible, and it meant that Tabitha would have to throw her energy punch while the craft she was on rocked up and down threateningly, but Frank tried to compensate for that. Letting go of his wallet chain suddenly to try and get Rust off-balance, he'd grab at the man's knees and try and lift him UP into that powerful blow from the boxing girl, and moments later whether that hit or missed, up Rust would go into the air, launched hopefully like a rocket, if this went to Frank's plan.
Frank didn't make many plans. We were in fact, seeing why that was.
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Frank's Strong Throw.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rust interrupts Arctic Blow from Tabitha with Cement Upper.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|
It's hard enough to stay on one's feet with the boat being so wet, and... also being in sandals. Howard really would've been better off coming along barefoot, if he didn't mind the possibility of splinters (but, being himself, that's probably not so much a concern for him). Without much space to maneuver as Tabitha gracefully falls back from the impact of his headbutt, Frank seems to pick the right time to loosen his grip to pull the pipe-wielding fighter off of his feet. Howard staggers a short ways towards him, due in part to compensate for balance and just how slippery it is!
When Frank goes to lift his knees, the pipe-wielding man in entirely inappropriate garb for the situation presses a sandal against one of Frank's outstretched arms for stability as he draws the other foot back. He avoids the trip into the air - it's not quite as sure a bet as, say...
Tabitha, absolutely and assuredly, coming in high with an ice-laden fist. Drawing Ol' Rusty back as he precariously tilts the boat to the side he's closer to in placing his foot down, there's a slight movement of his head as the outstretched cold punch just glances off his chin, shards of ice, frost, and mist obscuring his vision...
As he swings Ol' Rusty in an uppercut-like swing - that infamous Cement Upper, which to date continues to have nothing to do with cement - likely to find purchase around Tabitha's upper body, the strength of which the strangely polished, gleaming pipe (...if that is the same pipe as before this bout, of which it really doesn't look like it is) sees the gondola start to rock violently back the other way. It wreaks such havoc with his footing that he falls to a crouch for a moment, unable to follow up the exchange.
Frank had a few things going against him in this fight, the slippery surface of the wooden boat, the mud clinging to him making him even more slippery, the complete lack of balance while standing on this craft, and the lion's heart and craftiness of his opponent made Frank's attempts to touch him amateurish at best. Throughout the fight Smalls was cheering him on, shouting at opportune moments to catch Howard off guard, but Frank couldn't hear any of that right now. He was a man who focused entirely on the task at hand, no matter what that task may be. As Rust lands suddenly in that crouch(Did Frank hear bubblewrap popping?), that fascinatingly ugly face was staring down at him, the expression as unreadable as always.
"Yer good, yeh. I wantcher t'know, yer a good friend. I really mean it."
This sudden declaration of friendship and trust was accompanied by Frank's long, powerful apelike arms shooting outward, swinging in a wide arc and aiming right for the construction worker's ears, trying to clap thundrously with Rust's head, eardrums and brain being right between the impact point.
With friends like these, right?
Tabitha wore shoes. It is a tossup as to whether they are more useful than the sandals. At least she hasn't been sliding around all over the place quite as much as Rust is?
The Cement Upper (no cement, definitely an upper) comes in towards Tabitha, and two things work against her. One, she's overextended a little bit, trying to drive Rust downwards - and two, the boat is rocking and she still hasn't entirely adapted for that. She goes down right when the upper goes up.
The impact is stunning. Tabitha takes it across one shoulder and down, diagonally, across her upper body. The impact knocks the wind out of her and heaves her upward, both feet losing purchase on the boat. When she comes back down, she doesn't manage to do it on her feet; she lands on her back, hard enough to set the boat rocking in a whole new direction - but, thankfully, the combined and currently more stable weights of Frank and Rust keep it from overturning for now. The fact that she weighs probably half of what Frank does means he's a lot better at moving it (or not moving it) than she is.
Tabitha rolls, though there's not much room to roll; she pushes herself up to her knees, then her feet, rather than roll right off the edge of the boat. And, perhaps uncharacteristically, she does not immediately charge back in, letting Frank absorb punishment for a moment. Instead, she brings her hands up to a more proper boxing position and delivers a hooking punch at the air.
A blob of rippling chi, like an aurora shaped into a roughly egg-shaped blob, launches from Tabitha's hand. The sphereoid moves toward Rust, not especially quickly but unstoppably, exploding into another blast of cold and ice on impact with him - or, if it drifts on past because he's moved, it dissolves several yards out over the stormy sea. Street. Seastreet. She can't even see if she's aiming toward a building or down the road; fortunately, it's too far away for it to matter.
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Tabitha's Winter Bullet.
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Frank 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Rust fails to interrupt Bell Ringer from Frank with Bulldozer.
- Power fail! -
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Frank 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|
Easing himself to a steadier stand with a wince, Howard tries to stretch one of his legs out about as far as he really can in the aftermath of shooing the young boxer off of himself. It's not much of a secret - his joints are a wreck. In this weather, in this environment, it's one discomfort after another. (Some of which he probably could've avoided if he put on something a little more appropriate...!)
Frank frankly shares his feelings as Howard pulls himself up to face him. There's... something of a nod, or maybe a slip in his posture, hard to say. If he's mumbling anything, it's lost in the loud winds.
His elbows come up as those meaty hands come in. They slap loudly against them as his stance goes to an awful strange posture - almost as though he were sitting precariously on a chair that just had to be balanced on a chair that is already almost incapable of having any sort of steady footing with all this water splashed everywhere.
Tabitha is not paid much mind as Howard puts his strength against Frank, will against will, staring the bigger man in the eye as Ol' Rusty is held horizontally between both hands. Tabitha has a clean shot at his back, with no margin for error. It's a clean, icy strike as the sphere shatters into shiny bits to be swallowed in the torrential downpour, which in turn spurs Howard's forward momentum as he appears to shudder where he... sits in midair? It's difficult to describe.
It pushes him with enough oomph that his feet slide forward to get caught in one of the seat-like boards on the gondola proper, seeing him bow forward as though to headbutt--
No, Frank catches him clean between his big, meaty hands, and Howard's eyes bulge humorously as all hearing briefly leaves him to that piercing ring, those clapping hands of Frank's loud enough that one can't hear the clap of thunder a ways away. It's quite a sound.
Not as much a sight, as Howard falls to his knees once again on the teetering, tottering gondola across the mud-and-water-filled streets of downtown Metro City, mumbling something incomprehensible as he lays a hand on one side of the gondola.
Still quite a sound.
Chi blasts are not Tabitha's specialty. She learned how to throw them, with effort; it always feels vaguely unnatural to her, and that's why she has to punch them instead of properly throwing them. That Rust can absorb the impact without significant negative effect doesn't surprise her. It's a little disappointing... but not surprising.
Which is why she uses it as cover to advance again. This means that the boat is progressively more unstable as Tabitha gets closer to the center of mass on it, which may be Rust's first warning that she's trying to approach him; fortunately, he's just landed and is not still in Frank's grip, or this would be a pretty awkward approach.
Tabitha doesn't come in with anything fancy. She tries to get Rust while he's apparently down, firing off a pair of punches; the first, left-handed, is as much or more a distraction than an actual intended impact. The more impressive, dramatic blow comes from her stronger right hand some moments later, a strong straight punch (ideally as he tries to rise, but she doesn't mind hitting a downed person in the upper chest) delivered with a surprising amount of force behind it. Tabitha's entire body tenses with the blow; she apparently puts a fair bit into her single solid strikes.
She bounds back afterwards - yes, bounds, despite the poor footing. She almost bounces out of the central area on the gondola, which would have been a horrible mistake, but recovers quickly. Tabitha says something, too, but it's lost in the storm - possibly an exhortation to keep going, possibly a request of her teammate, who is frankly doing a very good job on his own without tactical coordination. Who knows?
In another time, Frank versus Rust would be a much, much different fight. Two mighty heroes pitting their muscle against one another, big heavy bruising hits and lead pipes cracking bones, there's no doubt that as powerful as Frank was, that he had a long ways to go to even be on Rust's level.
Unfortunately for Rust, that wasn't doing him very much good right here.
Frank took a weary step backward, knuckles crackling as he balled his fists up again, a snarl on his face as the heat of battle was taking over. His blood was rushing through his veins like the flood all around them, and he was breathing heavily, tired but clearly ready to do more damage. He pulled back to swing a wild ugly haymaker where Tabitha wasn't punching...when the entire gondola lurched to a sudden stop and Frank almost lost his footing. Turning around, he saw that in front of them was a wrecked and ruined former neon sign, stuck in muck and clearly, they weren't going to go -anywhere- with this massive construct in the way.
So of course, Frank turned around, forgetting the fight for a moment, so he could grab at the edges...and start to lift, muscles straining...but the muck starting to give.
COMBATSYS: Frank takes no action.
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Frank 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Tabitha's Straight Punch.
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Frank 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|
The first warning of her approach is properly heeded, to the fullest extent that a man whose ears continue to loudly ring allows him to. He's robbed, for the moment, of the ability to take in the sound of her footsteps. Those that can be heard under the brewing storm, as it is.
The first punch, the feint, appears to be - and is! - fallen for as he brings his left forearm up to catch it. It's more he leans an elbow into that feint punch, as the boat suddenly rocks from a sudden, violent stop. Some would say that this would be the momentum that luckily positions him towards catching that second, far heavier blow.
No, that one's all him, choosing to risk his right arm to slam his shoulder into a straight lunging punch as opposed to somewhere comparatively softer, something the joint in his right shoulder does not appreciate in the least as well-honed fists for punching once again make collision with a better-honed body for, well, duress. It's a good blanket word for 'pretty much everything.'
It's kind of like punching a hard rock. Maybe even metal, with only a loud exhale in response and two (comparatively, to earlier) more focused eyes.
The temporarily robbed hearing is what nearly gets him when going back to that point about the boat rocking - unaware that it's because of the collision of the gondola to a sign, he grows so unsteady that his left hand reaches out to grab hold of Tabitha just to stay on his feet, moments later moving to slam an elbow into her and shove her back with that free hand to butt the current held end of the pipe into her upper body (or thereabouts), turning his head back briefly after the attempt to convert his recovery into its own counter-offensive - and to maybe see what the hell might be going on with Frank, which could be an opening - however brief - for Tabitha to sneak another punch in regardless.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha blocks Rust's Armed Pipe Combo.
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Frank 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Rust
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Tabitha 0/-------/=======|
The entire gondola - briefly - comes to a halt. The sudden shift in the movement of the boat - specifically, the way it /isn't/ cutting through the water anymore after that first big lurch when it fetches up against it - is enough to make Tabitha reconsider and check her balance. It seems to be all right, and Frank is...
Frank is clearing the sign out of their way? She's not sure whether to thank him or ask him to help her take down Rust. Maybe a little bit of both; she gives him a little nod of her head instead, not that a) he's looking at her right now and b) it is particularly noticable even if he is.
Unfortunately, Frank abandoning the fight for urban renewal, however temporary, means that Rust has a new target. Tabitha is willing to rise to the challenge; she knows Rust is (at least officially) above her skill level. He's certainly more experienced than she, the fresh-faced new boxer, seems to be. But that doesn't stop her from giving it a shot anyway.
Tabitha is grabbed by Rust and pulled partially off-balance, but she manages to interpose her wrapped hand between the elbow and her body, and is still protecting her upper body with both arms in a boxer's guard when Rust's pipe smacks against it. It stings - more than stings, she feels the tingle in her arm from the sheer force of the impact, but Tabitha knows how to turn her defense into offense.
She comes out of the guard suddenly, as she is forced to step back with the impact of the blow. Rust is already very close, so she doesn't have to run (good, on the boat); instead she takes the single step forward and delivers one single punch at eye-blurring speeds, only bare instants after breaking her guard at all. It's not quite impossible to see clearly, but it's definitely a mark of speed - and power, as it turns out, as Tabitha strikes a lot harder than it looks like she really ought to, abandoning her defensive stance for at least a few moments.
Sign is ripped right out of that clinging mud, and flung aside where it won't bother them again. Frank finally looks up and wipes dirt and sludge off of his work gloves to see Tabitha engaging with Rust again. Frank hangs to make sure he's not getting in the way of that dangerous looking Turbopunch, but he dashes forward(causing water to splash inside that boat, just a little but already enough to make it feel a bit...heavier) and raises his arm up, smashing his elbow down and aiming it for the crown of Rust's skull, trying to smash him right through his all-natural and luxuriously beautiful looking hair.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha successfully hits Rust with Blue Streak.
- Power hit! -
>> Decisive Hit!! <<
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frank 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Frank's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frank 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
By a lot of standard measures of skill and strength, it is true that a lot of people would rate Rust higher than the both of them here - maybe even combined. That line seems to blur in that moment in which Tabitha comes in at a speed comparable to that flash of lightning that blankets the entire sky in white in that brief moment he takes to look to check on what exactly Frank is doing over there.
That proves a big, big mistake as he bends over from the strike that nails him in the chest, teeth clenched and head tilted to the side as he is forced to skid along the uneven footing of the gondola itself as Frank very narrowly misses catching him on the scalp with that gigantic, meaty elbow (throwing his legs up into a tumble probably helps with that, to an extent).
That both Rust and Frank are now on one side of the gondola means there is a sudden tipping to the end the two are on, a sudden and real threat to invite all sorts of skunky water to flood into the boat and sink it into the same depths that the downtown streets now lie underneath.
He mouths a word that's lost in the rain and wind, but it's a pretty easy guess as to what it is as his left hand goes atop his scalp, scrambling to try and move past the giant gorilla of a man that is Frank (ducking a second time) out of the urgency to re-balance the gondola as he sucks in what air he can in the foul-smelling, damp roads of one of the world's greatest cities now being brought to its knees with record rainfall and terrifying winds.
He swings Ol' Rusty towards Tabitha - a seeming conscious decision to get her out of the way? - though on closer inspection, or perhaps impact, it's a lightweight, weak hit... because it isn't.
He's trying to lift her up by some point in her clothes with the end of Ol' Rusty, held now in both hands, to lift her up and swing her forcefully towards the other end which is probably overcompensating for the balance issue as he remains in something of a crouch to keep his profile about as small as possible against Frank's massive, powerful swings that he knows are sure to be coming.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha just-defends Rust's Wrecking Ball Swing!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frank 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
Once her punch is delivered, Tabitha uses the impact to take the half step back, returning to her more standard defensive stance. She needs to be able to block in case Rust has a particularly violent response to that.
Frank gets the sign out of the way, and the boat starts moving again, albeit a little burdened by water. Tabitha's feet have been wet for a while, so it's honestly not much of a difference yet, but she'll notice more later. Of course, if they end this in a reasonable amount of time, they won't have to deal with the possible sinking of the boat.
There's /more/ water in when the boat tips thanks to Rust and Frank being on the same side of the boat. Tabitha's words are lost in the storm (but that's okay; nobody needs to hear her curse) as Rust finally comes after her, swinging Ol' Rusty up, around...
It catches Tabitha's tank top and hefts it (and her) up. If Rust was hoping for launching her across the boat, though, he's going to be disappointed; Tabitha manages a precise twist and a quick slap of her palm wrappings against the pipe. While it's harmless to both her and the pipe, she manages to unhook her shirt collar, and then she's starting to descend again, toward Rust.
Tabitha does not come down kicking. She's a boxer, that would be weird. No, she comes down in a grab, trying to land more or less on Rust's back and piggyback on. The position is bizarre (both for her and for him) and kind of uncomfortable, but if she manages it it does give her a good location to both twist and hammer down with both hands. Unfortunately, this means that her weight is added to his on the boat, and also without her feet on the ground there's not a whole lot she can do to get away. "Got you!" She hopes.
Fighting on this boat was no way to fight, in Frank's opinion. He saw Rust nimbly and deftly avoid his overhead elbow-smash, and he saw the resulting scuffle between his opponent and his partner for this fight. Frank was starting to grow frustrated, only amplified by the howling wind and rain, and for the bit of hail that came down and smashed against his face. Nothing that could hurt a powerhouse like Frank, but it stung his nose and startled him, and out the corner of his eye he could see Smalls dodging balls of hail the size of his head. Not to mention, the little man had a boat oar and was smacking against the water, trying to fend off something swimming just underneath it. Something that looked green and scaley, something that was probably living in the sewers before being flushed out along with everything else scary.
Frank was tired of this, and regardless of whether or not Tabitha was still 'clinching' Rust, Frank decided to act right then and there. Lashing out he grabbed at Rust's leg or knee, and if he made contact he would suddenly swing the brave warrior overhead, and violently aim him for the edge of that gondola not caring if he hit the boat, or the water, or the hard rubble and debris just over the edge.
"HRAAAGH!"
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Tabitha's Violent Clinching.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Frank 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rust interrupts Power Throw from Frank with Jackhammer Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Frank 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
The pipe-wielding fighter with at least a few different levels of questionable judgment finds him - well, no, it's more fair to say with Tabitha's momentum, at this point, more like found him - off his guard. The slap against the pipe is more effective than one might be lead to believe, between how damp everything is, how hard it can be to keep a grip on much of anything... especially when his right hand, the palm now a little bit more visible in the heat of the moment as being scarred from some horrific combination of a burn and laceration wound of years past, does not have as strong a grip as his left.
He twists forward and low to both try to keep balance on the gondola and to keep a hold of the pipe without it slipping out of his hand and into the muck, and that's the best possible opening for Tabitha to piggyback on him.
His left fist clenches as his body tenses up. Loud, horrible popping noises can be heard as he flexes himself to try and wriggle her off, adjusting best he's able versus her blows to try and mitigate them (mostly by swinging his left arm up and back as though an attempt to elbow her - it cleanly intercepts at least one of those hands).
Frank comes in heavy, and snags one of his legs. There is a sharp pain that runs through his knee upward, and Howard turns over to the large, bellowing man at the very end of his patience. Frank tugs, as if ready to throw him off...
Howard strikes.
He strikes way more than once.
Wrestling with his own grabbed leg to try and twist Frank's forearm slightly, there is a reason for this wrestling - the sudden, outward swing of the grabbed leg to try and strike at whatever part of Frank's body is best exposed to it... repeatedly. Rapidly.
As they all pass towards another dark part of the gondola's tour of the disaster zone that is Metro City, a faint flickering, washed-out light gathers around his leg from the knee down with every blow. Chi manifestation. Not... a particularly impressive one. More impressive is the sound of every strike, as though it were a jackhammer. Frank's meaty arm is what stands between these kicks and the possibility of accidentally shattering the bottom of the gondola out then and there, as Howard wrestles with one on his back, one on his leg. Where it didn't seem like he was going to be able to handle the both of them together...
It's too soon to count him out, from the looks of it, even as he visibly struggles to draw in breath as the rain pours ever harder.
Tabitha's strikes are awkward; hanging on somebody's back with your legs is not a good way to get enough leverage to hit hard, and Rust manages to twist away from the worst of several blows, catching them with his elbow or simply turning them into glancing hits at best, easily ignored in the heat of a fight.
After a few moments of this, Tabitha decides it's best to bail and take her chances getting another solid hit in. Helping convince her that this plan is the best is Frank; when Frank comes in with intent to launch Rust off the side, Tabitha decides it would be a /really good/ idea not to be there anymore.
She drops to the deck, landing relatively lightly on her feet. The gondola is really starting to sway, all of them moving around and never really giving it a chance to settle properly. She'd be worried about it if she wasn't more worried about accidentally being caught in the crossfire between Rust and Frank; instead she hangs back for a few seconds, letting the rain and wind wash over her. She glances around, pushing her hair out of her eyes, trying to locate their position in Metro City - she has a pretty good idea where they are, or she does after she catches sight of a building she knows.
Tabitha decides to try to put down Rust for the count before he kicks through Frank or the bottom of the boat; either would be bad, but for different reasons. She inches around to the side (as much of 'the side' as there is; she's honestly closer to the back of the boat than anybody's side), looking for an opening. All she needs is an instant -
And then, she sees it. Tabitha goes for it, her entire body prepared for the blow, muscles tensing all over. She shifts her weight, moving it to her front foot and shifting the boat again before letting out a single blow, jackhammer-strong, at Rust's flank as well as a sudden roar - she's trying to interrupt him kicking before he takes out the boat. It's not Tabitha's best blow, but it's solid.
Perhaps Frank should have held back and tried something more varied, perhaps not fully commit to such a wild and dangerous attack, but Frank didn't get to where he was by playing it safe. He lifted that leg a fraction of an inch and heard Rust cry out, but that was as much as he was aware of before the first jackhammer smashed against his left leg. Instantly he let go of Rust's leg and suffered a full on onslaught, made worse by the fact that in order to prevent Rust from destroying the floor of the ship, Frank repeatedly PUT HIMSELF IN THE WAY, taking the impact and causing his teeth to grit while his legs cramped up from the sudden stress and pain. Finally it was too much and the big man cried out himself, something strangled and garbled in this heavy wind and harsh weather.
In response, Frank threw his own onslaught outward, not moving his feet(not needing to in this close proximity), just throwing out wild, wild, wild rights and lefts that tried to turn Rust's head into a speedbag. If this worked, it would end with the uppercut to end all uppercuts, trying to launch Rust straight toward the moon!
Or sun, depending on what time it was. Damn this apocalypse.
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Tabitha's Impact Knuckle.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frank 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Frank's Jab Light Flurry Combo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Frank 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
Caught in the middle between two distinct ambitions, of two fighters of their own notable talents and ability even compared to him. Frank, with his gigantic bulk and sheer brute strength. Tabitha, with her willingness to go uphill with no-nonsense boxing tailored by herself to suit her needs.
Howard Rust, who... despite appearing in a state of ongoing decay on more than one level...
Refuses to break.
One of the steps Tabitha puts against the unsteady boat is a subtle key, as Howard aggressively thrusts his right elbow into the single, powerful blow that could probably blow out a few layers of concrete alone. The boat shudders as the impact passes through him and into the boat.
On the other end, Frank starts throwing out wild swings, left, right, left right.
Howard only has one arm free as he draws his leg back, his left. He raises it in such a way, arm tense - entire body tense - that it can't quite make it past, even when those huge hands should easily dwarf his none-too-small arms. The boat continues to shudder and shake with every powerful, mighty strike indeed. When Frank goes in for that final, incredible uppercut, his shoulder pops as he leans a bit in Tabitha's direction...
And swings his elbow down into Frank's uppercutting fist to stop it cold. The sound of mighty working man fist against mighty working man elbow echoes loudly across the largely abandoned streets and walkways of Metro City, accompanied only by the fighters, a noisy tagalong, and the forces of nature that pepper everyone with force almost equal to what blows are being thrown at one another.
Howrd's mouth hangs open in brief, as if to hold back some sort of pained expression, followed by... saying something. Mumbling? It is lost to the storms, his head slightly bowed as he clearly sucks in breath. It's hard enough to breathe when the wind gets really going, as it often has.
What isn't lost is as Howard's body goes back to making those worryingly loud joint popping noises as he stiffly but determinedly steps towards Frank to grab him by the collar, an attempt to hoist him up with that one arm and make use of his unwieldy bulk and somewhat uneven seating on the gondola itself, pulling back only a little force to force him to an uncomfortable position where he has to navigate his nearly unfathomable size against what little space he has to move and pick himself up with - and to put him between himself and Tabitha, perhaps with the belief that cornering himself to one side is better than being stuck in the middle, for whatever reason.
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Frank with Not-Strong Throw.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frank 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
Tabitha lets herself breathe more normally after her blow was delivered. The single instant of incredible tension has passed; she opens her fist, flexing her fingers once before settling into a more natural boxing fist.
Rust leaning in her direction makes her worried about a counterattack, but none comes. He is far, far too busy dealing with Frank, the big guy - Tabitha can understand that, big guys are often her bane too, with longer arms and more muscles than she has. Both her fellow fighters fit the bill. She doesn't think Rust is underestimating her because she's a girl, at least, which spares her wrath; he's just a busy man.
A busy, fighting man.
Rust going for the grab on Frank leaves Tabitha free for a moment. Her first instinct is to keep pressing the attack, try to disable Rust while he's occupied; it's the tactical choice. It's also more sporting. If she ends up fighting Frank afterwards (as it has been suggested by the Gaia organizers she might want to, for twice the reward, which admittedly she won't be keeping anyway), letting Rust beat on him is the better option, but it makes her feel a little guilty. Right now, at least, they're teammates.
She settles for a bare moment of hesitation. Enough to catch her breath, but not enough to really recover. Tabitha's favoured boxing style does not really include flurries. As Rust has already experienced and Frank probably noticed, her tendency is to go for big decisive hits. But that doesn't mean she /can't/, and she goes after Rust with a one-two-three combo, trying to push through what remains of his guard by a string of attacks. Even her combination flurries are a little deliberate, though, each hit relatively powerful rather than a blazing-fast flurry.
It also helps her get around him trying to keep Frank between her and Rust. Tabitha just takes a quick jab whenever an opportunity presents itself instead of winding up for the slower attacks; if she does /that/, Frank might just end up being used as a shield entirely. And that's not cool by her.
After a moment, Frank's world was turned upside down. When Rust reaches up and grabs a(now wet and washed off) tank top "sleeve", the big gorilla-looking man reaches one massive arm up to try and break the grip powerfully, and a fraction of a second later the powerhosue is sailing through the air, smashing into the end of that gondola in a way that causes it to dip and lurch up into the air suddenly, letting more wanter in, and causing small, hairline cracks in the wood from where Frank's face made contact. Worse than that, his head and the back of his neck was caught between the bottom of the ship(with water filling his nose and mouth, causing his hidden eyes to bug out of their head), and the top 'bench'. He sits here for a while, arms darting and panicking, and a second later they each grip the edges hard enough for the wood to break around his grip. He violently pulls his head up, smashing right through that bench and gasping for air over in the corner, coughing and spluttering, and taking the time to adjust his hat that had been pulled down over his head. He was red-faced after finally getting oxygen into his lungs, and a moment later he dashed up to his feet in a rage. When he turned around, those eyes were still shaded from the "light", but it was still impossible not to see the fury in them, burning like Hellfire!
The big man leapt through the air, covering the length of the gondola with the boot of his foot, aiming it right for Rust's chest. This was the kick to end all kicks, and there was no way Rust wanted it making contact with his sternum.
Whether or not it hit, Frank would hit the 'ground' of the Gondola hard, and would scramble back to his feet clumsily.
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Tabitha's Rapid Combo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frank 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Frank's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frank 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
Tabitha comes in as fierce and seemingly tireless as ever. Between the two, it's no secret to see that Howard, not especially famous for speed, reflex, or agility, is also feeling the sting of what he's so far suffered and sheer exhaustion. He also has just about nowhere else to move on this godforsaken gondola in the middle of a goddamn... gust? That's the only alliterative word available.
Her fists are quick, and he's not quite as quick - he has to settle with being just fast enough to sway his head as the gondola goes unsteady by his own actions upon Frank's person, which likely helps. The closest to a clean blow she lands at his conscious attempts to sway his body as he can just brushes off under his left arm, a whistling noise coming out of his mouth, one eye wide, the other shut as the rain hitting his face square on makes it hard to really see.
There's no missing the shadow of Frank's giant body pulling himself up and taking to the air, casting a tremendous and terrifying shadow upon the two fighters.
Hwoard points to the right with his left arm at Tabitha as if to say 'go over there,' as he decides to take to the air himself even with protest from one of his knees.
Both Frank and Rust, mid-air, just pass by one another. The giant foot displaces the air around him, seeming as though by its strength alone that it fights back the wind now blowing against the two of them.
Howard's jump height compared to most other fighters is pretty much pathetic - not one of his strong points, but as he just passes Frank, he grits his teeth and takes Ol' Rusty in both hands - a bright, shining gleam uncharacteristic of the name he gives it, as it somehow finds some light to reflect in the dark dreariness, a brief nod to Frank if he so casts his head back to look at the smaller working man just narrowly evading him...
As Howard chooses to sacrifice a good, easy landing position to go for the swing of all swings towards Frank's head, swinging it down and back with a strength that has helped topple some of the most feared names in the world in spite of almost every reason not to, making use of all the added reach he has with the pipe in such a nasty swing as the course of his jump - plus the wind - should see him to the other side of the gondola, maybe in time to land with enough force to balance it out in the wake of whatever Frank's landing is going to do to it.
COMBATSYS: Frank endures Rust's Legendary Chin Shattering Pipe but gets knocked away!
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frank 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Rust
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tabitha 0/-------/-======|
Unlike Rust, Tabitha's entire style is built around being tireless and letting other people wear themselves out on her. It helps that it's impossible to tell how hard she's sweating (she's already soaked by rain) and even difficult to tell if she's breathing hard because of exertion. In this weather, who wouldn't be?
Honestly, she looks rather bedraggled from fighting for so long in a storm on a narrow boat. Her hair is plastered down like - well, kind of like a drowned cat, honestly, but she'd never use a metaphor like that. It certainly isn't attractive. She's a little cold (okay, a lot cold) too. But she's still moving, and that's the important part.
When Rust gestures for her to move, Tabitha almost doesn't, just to be contrary. But she sees the point - because by going where she's going, and giving a little hop to land in time with their landing, she just /barely/ manages to make the boat rock back enough that it doesn't quite capsize. A fair bit of water comes over the side, though, making the already treacherous footing even worse.
Rather than immediately rush over to Rust after he delivers that hellacious uppercut (upperpipe?) to Frank, which is enough to make even /her/ wince, Tabitha hangs back, building up another one of those aurora-coloured chi balls in her hand with a good deal of effort and punching it toward Rust. She hit him in the back this way once; maybe she'll manage it again.
Some days, it just wasn't your day.
And when you were fighting Howard Rust with the kind of wildness and untrained fury that Frank fought with, that was gonna be a given. The big man scrambles to his feet, and he just faintly hears in the background, a shrill screaming voice telling him to "friggin' duck you goddamn imbecile moron jesus he's gonna", and that distracted him long enough to be completely, utterly blindsided by that powerful, powerful pipe-strike. It almost happened in slow motion, the pipe smashing into his cheek so hard that the pipe was bending almost completely while that big ugly visage of Frank's wasn't helped. It snapped to the side, blood and spittle flying and spraying over the side of the gondola, and despite what a big man Frank was, despite what a mountain of meat he was, his lack of footing and the sheer power that WAS Howard Rust, just proved too much for him. He was launched right over the side, splashing so hard into that muddy, murky water that it gave a cannonball-sized splash. The green scaley thing that was harassing Smalls' raft suddenly turned, diving happily as that big tail slapped the water. Air bubbles, then complete silence.
Until suddenly, there wasn't! That form of Frank practically SOARED upwards, reversing that cannonball and completely covered in mud, muck and grime, so much that nothing underneath was visible in any way. But in his right hand was held a large, giant green scaley thing, and he didn't even land before he swung it 'upward', trying to golf-swing-uppercut Rust into the air in an attack that would launch that alligator a mile down the road, hit-or-miss.
But that was only the set-up. Still in mid-air, if Rust was launched upwards, if Rust was currently higher up in the air than Frank, the big man would suddenly lash out with that wallet chain, trying again to jerk the pipe-fighter towards him. But this time, it would be met half-way with a powerful haymaker to end all haymakers, a Megaton punch that could turn a mountain into a pile of diamonds, and could definitely knock the rustiness right out of...Rust. But only if it hit.
COMBATSYS: Frank can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust guards against Frank's Stay The F&$%K Down!.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Tabitha's Winter Bullet.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
On one hand, Frank's not about to come and demolish their ride when he comes back down, even though Rust's landing is not exactly soft when he comes down upon that end of the gondola he does. It's a surprise it doesn't just capsize over given where it's already suffered stresses between everyone rumbling and rolling and wrecking.
On the other, knocking Frank back into that muck elicits a clear look of worry as he peers out the side. He can be heard yelling something - probably Frank's name - that's lost to the storm.
Frank pops up again, wielding an alligator, and that should take the wind out of pretty much anyone (along with any additional words), knocked into the air, higher up to where the heavy rains, the balls of hail, the horrible wind... how exactly does that hairpiece stay on his head?
The look on his face speaks all. Oh crap, oh crap. He waves his limbs in the air as the wallet chain is latched out to him to pull him closer as Frank draws back his arm, and Rust knows exactly what this means for him. Frank is not subtle about hiding his intentions, and Howard - no matter how further advanced he is as a fighter in almost every conceivable way - does not take what's about to come lightly.
Tensing back his left hand, he doesn't put up his forearm in the proper defensive posture. Wincing, he chances the ire of his left shoulder and elbow, heck, his wrist... his entire hand, as the haymaker to end all haymakers is thrust forth.
With the skills drilled into him from his Kyokugen training, he decides to meet Frank head on, fist to fist, smaller hand versus larger hand. Both hands meet at once, a visible, deafening shockwave of power that creates waves in the water from their impact.
It is impromptu brofisting, intentional or otherwise. A great moment that will be lost to the rains that threaten to bury Metro City into the deep, washing away generations of memories, of triumphs, of tragedies, of everything. IF the storms keep up, it could be as though this city never existed.
Moving on from poetic waxing, Frank still has the advantage of traction, as Rust is in midair at the point of brahsome impact. To what should be dumb luck, the angle is as such that he is sent thrust back at the gondola at lightning, even deadly speed at a largely horizontal angle. So long as he can catch himself...
...or Tabitha can catch him...
As the wintry ball is thrown upon him, he's going far too fast to ultimately notice. Even if he did, there'd be nothing he could do - and he'd still be coming towards her. Giving a sharp spike of a cold feeling to his upper back, the best he manages is to start twisting his lower body to slightly raise a knee, one arm bent up and back, the other awkwardly held in front of him defensively to which nothing other than the rain attacks.
...That incredibly strange flying kick of his, there is no mistaking it. The wintry ball only slows his approach back towards the dedicated boxer, maybe enough that he won't completely fly off the gondola if he whiffs.
Any further matters of stopping him are entirely in her own two hands.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha blocks Rust's Not-Strong Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
Tabitha was not expecting Frank to go quite that berserk. Pulling a sewer alligator? Tabitha isn't sure if it counts as dirty pool or not - certainly dirty /something/ given the condition of the streets, but possibly in only the more literal of senses.
But he's out; he might be in okay shape but she's not sure he's going to do any more fighting tonight. Tabitha takes a moment to push her hair out of her eyes, slicking it back along her head as Rust descends in what looks to her like an incredibly awkward flying kick. Not that she knows a whole lot about flying kicks, or kicks in general, but there it is right there.
And take it into her hands she does - literally. Tabitha catches the boot with both hands; if she was more experienced or had a more grappling-based style, she might turn it into some kind of throw, but all she does is drop it like it's hot, letting Rust land, crash, or otherwise deposit himself on the gondola. (At least it's not over the side?) It rocks again. It's barely upright; it's taken on so much water it's halfway to sinking all on its own.
Which means Tabitha has to make it fast. She doesn't need to rush because Rust is still very close by; instead she drives her fist downward, starting to summon up that wintry chi again. It's another overhand punch, but with less running this time; still, Tabitha seems to prefer the option of smacking Rust down to the ground, the chilling aura amplifying the power and breadth of her fist.
"You hit hard," she yells over the wind and rain. "Your pipe is impressive!"
Truth be told...Frank wasn't conscious for the last hit. Alligator flying off into space, Frank's entire weight was committed to that blow, and even though it doesn't quite hit the way he wanted to, that wasn't a concern for him now. Right now there was only blackness and weightlessness, as he fell like a meteor, head aiming for that wooden gondola, and as luck would have it, aiming for the far edge, right where his head got stuck before. Luckily there was no bench to get in the way, no, that boat was just going to take the weight of a 308 pound gorilla-man falling with all the grace and subtlety of a cartoon piano.
He went straight through, that gondola splintering into nothing at the end, and Frank submerging down into the depths. This caused Smalls to immediately jump to his feet in worried panic, trying to 'paddle' his raft over to the impact site and finding that difficult with said raft being tethered to said gondola...said gondola with one far edge that was completely, and utterly, destroyed. Maybe...maybe that would help it float better?
(No, it really wouldn't. You should know better.)
"Frank! Oh crap, Frank no! Aw jeebus!"
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Tabitha's Arctic Blow.
COMBATSYS: Rust refuses to stay down!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
The last man standing between himself and the prodigal fisticuffs-flingin' young lady nearly... isn't. He comes down on his knee pretty hard, a yelp as his back remains faced to Tabitha for a time. He's stiff and tense all over, as Tabitha may be able to hear more clearly now that the immediate concern between the two of them isn't Frank hitting the--
CRASH!!
Moments after Howard swings the back of his right arm up into the wintry overhead blow with more disconcerting, disturbing pops in his body, Howard spins and falls onto his bum as the gondola sharply spikes upwards. Given he is closer to the edge, and up higher, he has the high ground over Tabitha.
"Uh... y-yeah, thanks, you--" He stammers, difficult to hear over the storm that wears away at everyone involved. It seems like he has more to say... even as he has trouble sucking in breath thanks to those clean shots that got him in the body, there's something he can hear above all the noise of the weather.
Who couldn't hear the panicking voice of that lovable loudmouth, Smalls?
Heat of the moment, as a fight, he's not as down and out as he looks even as he struggles to stay on his feet, pushing himself up with his free left hand as the gondola starts to sink. He could grab for her, dunk her through. Maybe oen good, hard, forward lunge to wrap things up... punch her up, fling her off... take a breath to gather himself, prolong the end of the engagement? His vision is hazy from all the water that gets into his eyes.
And yet... the sight of...
As the gondola threatens to start sinking downward, Houward reaches out with his left hand to lightly tap Tabitha's shoulder.
"Anoth--" He coughs once, shaking his head. He doesn't bother to clear his throat to speak up again, or to otherwise clarify what he was about to say as he leaps clear the boxing blonde, straight forward...
Into the very muck. who knows what else is crawling in there, aside from the alligator? One thing comes to the forefront of his mind before the big reason he ought to be fighting his damned hardest comes to interject.
The way he dives into the water, it should be plainly obvious what the intent is.
"Frank!" He manages to call above it all as he comes splashing in. (He probably stands to accidentally get muck all over Smalls on his little safety raft.)
Howard takes a deep breath and submerges himself in the cloudy, muddy, gross water, even in his state of injury, to get down there and pull Frank back up - maybe to safety. Somewhere.
No amount of money in the world after losing your identification, cash cards, keys to your car, phone, pretty much every other life necessity, is - to him, albeit in a fit of desperation at the sight - worth letting a friend of his possibly drown as an afterthought to some grand beginning of the ultimate tournament within a world that appears at its end.
COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
Tabitha is certainly not impossible to defeat. There are any number of ways Rust could do it, some of which would involve him being luckier than others. The fact that she's on a wet - now sinking, judging by the crash - boat probably doesn't make it any harder; if Tabitha had favoured terrain to fight in, this would be about as far from it as physically possible.
Well, maybe while skydiving. That would be worse.
But Rust doesn't try. He goes after Frank, and Tabitha takes half a step as if to follow him. She can't take much more; going at all to that side of the boat threatens to submerge it pretty much instantly. She backs up instead, reaching down to bail out some of the water and tip the boat away from its broken end. Maybe it'll stay up a little longer that way? (Yeah, right. Especially with the way Rust just dove off it.)
But Rust is going for Frank, and if there is one thing Tabitha is not willing to be a part of, it is punching or shooting the guy in the back while he's helping a friend. Instead, she unties the raft from the gondola, letting Smalls paddle properly instead of being locked into place. "Get him!" she yells. "I'll wait!"
Possibly in the water, if the gondola keeps sinking, but the point remains.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
Frank was gone, unconscious and if you thought he was heavy before, him as (almost) dead weight was even worse. Still, the advantage to him being so massive was that it probably wasn't hard to grab a hold to any part of him. Rust would have to try -not- to grab him, and even then there'd be a strong chance of him failing if he tried such a feat.
For Smalls' part, he gave a sudden nod to the boxer, tipping his fisherman's hat and speaking with kindness and sincerity in his voice.
"Thanks, sugartits. I owes ya!"
That was all before he quickly paddled over to where Rust was, reaching into the muck to try and grab an ankle or a wrist, to keep Rust from submerging completely. To try and do -anything-.
The gesture of kindness in waiting is one that's appreciated, but given how he's handled a number of blows at this point, he'd probably have still kept going even if she did try to give him a good parting gift as he left into the muck.
He's just like that, from all appearances.
Howard cannot see a damn thing in there. He can only feel for Frank, thrusting Ol' Rusty downwards into the swampy tide to give him additional range in which to probe for the bigger lug. He feels a tug up at one of his ankles - he does nothing about it, hoping beyond hope it's indeed someone trying to hold on to stop him from going in too deep.
The moment he finds any sort of heft to Ol' Rusty, he pulls and yanks upwards, hoping to make use of relative weightness of one's person in water to try and get Frank up to the surface. There is a matter of trying to find high ground to carry the big man so that he won't drown while the two finish up, but, he'll cross that bridge - or swim up to it - when he gets there. If he can get there.
Regardless of getting a hold of Frank or not, he surfaces briefly, eyes shut and irritated from whatever the hell he's decided to swim in. (And yet, the toupee remains largely spotless - not even the disgusting water wants to touch that...)
He waves his left hand out to Tabitha, hopefully still there on a gondola that has yet to completely sink.
"Do you... do you see anywhere? Any... any... any place to," to put Frank, probably, he's interrupted by coughing. Wait, how is the sunscreen still on his nose? Well, moving on.
"Gotta... gotta find a, find a place to," he coughs again as he tries to take in a deep breath. It doesn't quite relax him any, or make what injuries he's suffered so far any lighter. It just fulfills the minimum requirement of continuing to breathe and take in oxygen.
COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
Tabitha almost regrets helping at the 'sugartits'.
Almost.
"Side of the street!" Tabitha gestures. There are buildings there, because pretty much everywhere in downtown Metro is a building. Buildings have steps, lower floors, second floors with windows - places you could theoretically put a body. Or, hopefully, a not-body. "Use the raft!" It gives Smalls something to do, and - yes, Tabitha still expects to continue the match, just afterwards.
Tabitha isn't doing much to help directly because she is still trying to get the gondola to not sink. It is a losing proposition. It has only a little bit of time left in it - but dammit, she's going to hold it on as long as she can before it finally collapses inward, downward, or both. It doesn't help that she has very little to bail with and the rain is putting water in as fast as she can get it out. The last bit of the fight - duel now - promises to be very... dramatic.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rust
Indeed, Rust manages to grab a hold of Frank, the big man easy to find easy when blinded by foul gunk. Underwater he's relatively easy to bring up to the surface, and if Rust can manage to get them both above water, he'll even splutter and cough. Not dead, refusing to die, but not conscious or coherent enough to do much except float. Given how much Rust would be lifting otherwise, that's actually a massive help if you think about it.
Elsewhere, Smalls was helping in what little ways he could, which translated to not at all. Still, he would paddle the raft to follow Rust and Frank, and would reach out to grab at the fighter if it looked like he was going under too much.
And conveniently, up to their right a bit there seemed to be the flat 'roof' of a small office building, so covered with cigarrette butts that it would be impossible to really touch the 'ground', even if they weren't all soaking wet and filled with water. 'Soggy' and 'gross as all fucking hell' were the words of the day...
'Dry' would have to be good enough as a qualification for Frank's wellbeing as Howard nods his head above the dirty drink. A turn to the right as he first considers the possibility of maybe getting Frank through that office window over there....
He points a hand over to that roof, then signaling for the lot of them all to come along as he dives back down one more time so that he can get both hands (well, hand and pipe) upon Frank to get him up to the surface and help push him along to that roof. That roof that, unbeknownst to Howard, is filled to the brim with soaked cigarettes and probably some other really unpleasant bits. As it is, any port in a storm is the operative saying...
"Frank. Frank." Rust speaks up as he coughs some more, "we got... we got some... dry ground... uh... maybe. m-Maybe." He doesn't cast much of a look back towards Tabitha as he guides his friend along over. Sure, Frank is huge, Rust isn't quite as large - he's small among the typical brute types, as it were - but putting his all into it, he redoubles his resolve to at least get him to safety even as the rain threatens to pour harder.
Waves in the water start to get a little more violent, threatening to take them both back under. Howard doesn't seem to stand for it.
He... doesn't sink for it, either, even as it wears gradually at what adrenaline seems content to shove back into him. He only has so many reserves - sometimes, only resolve can keep him going between the stresses of swimming through turbulent waters, physical fatigue, and trying to help hoist a heavy man to the roof indeed.
COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1 Rust
Tabitha can't really... steer the gondola very well. She doesn't have paddles and it's missing half of its front (which, yes, is threatening to disintegrate at the front). She wonders what the Gaia organizers are going to think about this when they finish their fight on top of a soggy, flooded building instead of on the gondola as intended.
She tries, though. She practically rams it into the side of the roof - and while she's not as big or as physically strong as Rust, she clambers out of it and onto the roof (she has shoes, she doesn't care) to help him lever Frank up. She /is/ stronger than she looks, in the way of a lot of fighters; nothing unearthly, but definitely a rather athletic girl.
She doesn't speak until Frank is up and not about to drown. "Give him a hand," she suggests to Smalls - up here, at close range, she doesn't have to shout quite so much, but she's pretty sure babysitting Frank is well within his capabilities. "We've got unfinished business to finish. Unless you'd rather not?" Tabitha looks at Rust a little uncertainly. She'd take surrender if he'd rather not... but she isn't going to give up if he doesn't.
Tabitha brings up her fists into her fighting position again. She's not exactly /recovered/ during the time spent steering and bailing, but her arms are aching a little bit less; she makes a 'come on' type of gesture to Rust, but isn't the first one to strike in case he does want to just call it quits.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1 Rust
Frank was pulled to safety, laying atop soggy cigarrette butts that were rebelliously smoked over the years in protest of increasing anti-smoking rules at that office, which made for a very safe and padded, but also extremely gross and sticky, place for Frank to rest up and cough crud out of his system. Beside him was Smalls, who every so often poked and prodded the big guy, nagging at him to get up, all the better to hide his concern with.
Sometimes it just didn't pay to be a big guy.
Howard climbs up onto the totally gross cigarette butt-filled roof after helping Frank there, sputtering and coughing the entire way as he tries to rub the muck out of his eyes and mouth. He never wants to ask what was all in there. He can guess. (He's not guessing.)
Tabitha stands at the ready. Gesturing. Young, on fire. That's youth. Howard's not exactly a young man any longer. Casting a glance over to Frank, he nods his head once as he scratches at that toupee that is somehow more disgusting and vomit-worthy for him to touch as opposed to what he just swam through. At this point... might as well leave the rest to Smalls to see to Frank's survival, assuming he knows what he's doing.
"Okay," he nods his head once, bowing to Tabitha. That stance does all the talking. She's waiting for an answer from him. Is he still good, after going through...
He raises up Ol' Rusty, somehow still relatively fresh looking even through... exposure, leveling it to her and pointing it back. He doesn't quite look completely on his feet. He's doubled over slightly, no doubt from aggravating what wounds have been inflicted by the two of them upon him. Who knows what other nastiness he breathed in...
He grew up with one understanding as he balls up his left hand into a fist. Doesn't matter how sick you feel, doesn't matter the weather. Even if it's storming like crazy, even if there's a record snowfall, or a crazy heatwave...
You go in to work. A self-abusive mindset that gave him no shortage of health problems in years that have gone on, as his joints indicate.
Most other people would take a couple more seconds to cough out the gunk, or just call it off. Heck, most other tourney organizers would've called it off then. Him?
He goes in, moving to suddenly do a small leap in the air near Tabitha, launching his left fist skyward in a typical rising uppercut.
That's only the beginning, if it hits. Should he get her clean, he intends to catch Ol' Rusty in her clothes by some means, taking the pipe in both hands as he whirls her about rapidly in midair until deciding to fling her away (in this case, straight down - he's not interested in throwing her into the muck either).
Assuming, he gets that far.
The fact he's willing to walk that far up so soon... that's walking pretty far after all that, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Tabitha with Crane Launch EX.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 1/=======/=======|===----\-------\0 Rust
Tabitha doesn't want to know what's in the water any more than Rust does. 'Everything', pretty much - and Metro City is not exactly the cleanest city in the world to begin with. When she thinks everything, she means /everything/.
Rust is right. Tabitha is young; more, she's new, and still trying to make a name for herself. She could almost certainly have stolen the win by harassing Rust while he was trying to go rescue Frank; she did not. Not only would she pretty much not be able to live with herself afterwards without feeling horribly guilty, that's not the kind of reputation she wants or the kind of challenge she's interested in. It would have /been/ stealing it. Tabitha doesn't steal.
She wants a good, clean fight. Even after all that, it looks like Rust is ready to give it to her. It might be a struggle for either or both of them, but they're still going at it. And really, that might be enough.
Tabitha expected the uppercut, or some sort of punch. She is definitely ready for that. She is not ready, at /all/, to have the pipe tangled in her shirt again, to be spun around like she was caught in a washing machine, or to be spiked to the ground. All of this catch her by enough surprise that - well, Rust can /do/ them, without her managing to get out of it like she did before. There's no picture-perfect escape this time, no escape at all until he slams her down.
Tabitha hits the roof and rolls. She has acquired some of the grit and dirt and gross debris that litter it for herself; wet as she is, some of it sticks to her. She is dazed enough to not brush it all off when she starts to move after the impact, either, turning her roll into getting her feet under her, pushing herself painfully to her feet.
Her scramble upward pauses after she rises. She's up, but she's dazed - that disoriented and hurt her more than she's willing to admit. Rust may be able to sneak out a victory anyway, after all that, but Tabitha doesn't want it to end quite so easily. She raises her fists. She looks at Rust.
And then she rushes. The run is a little awkward. but less so than on the boat; Tabitha is much more comfortable on stable (more or less) ground (for certain values of ground), and it shows. Once again her entire body tenses at once, propelling every iota of force her muscles can produce through her rush forward, channeling that even more narrowly into a single wall-breaking punch, suitable for crushing through anything that stands in her way. Including Rust, unfortunately - but that's the risk he (and she) take in any tournament fight, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Rust dodges Tabitha's Final Impact.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Rust
As Howard comes back down to a crouch, he coughs again. Grumbling. Grousing. He casts another look over to Frank when he has the moment to steal one as Tabitha pulls herself back up to her feet. She's still good, then - there's no arrogant smirk or shock. She still wants to fight, he...
He's still up. He's getting up there in years, and overworking himself has made him physically a bit older than he actually is. He takes one step towards her as she looks ready to attack again. He exhales loudly. Fatigue. He was slowing down since even before the rancid river rescue. He's not looking that much faster for it now.
With all her youth and desire to make a name for herself, there isn't much fault in her approach even as she fights through a swimming head, weakening legs.
In Howard's corner, where he no longer has youth... he has experience. He's a man famous for his ability to withstand incredible amounts of punishment and swing back in turn, even when such an exchange is to his detriment. He's not the strongest man alive, not the fastest... maybe not the toughest, despite that.
As Tabitha draws back her hand for one, final, great punch - her very greatest - he questions whether or not he should stand there and take it. No, that's not true, he never does. To do that would sell her strength short, to really underestimate her down at the wire.
He sways his entire upper body and steps right out of the way as she blows past. Cigarettes fly everywhere. He can see the little contrails form on that fist - a pretty clear indicator of just what was the punch that could - and should - take him down.
His left hand immediately springs to action just as she passes him, moving to place his hand atop her scalp and simply thrust downward, leaning into it as he points Ol' Rusty backwards. To try and faceplant someone into the polluted water that still pools on the roof that Frank and Smalls have been relocated to is, outside of any other context, a mean thing to do.
It is, in a split second decision, his intent entirely rooted in kindness. He doesn't know how far she might carry herself past him. She might even fling herself into the water by accident - lord knows, his own similar take to the idea of one great, big, final lunge would have seen him do the same.
It's as much his attempt to put a hard stop to catch her, as much as it is to call the fight over. They're stranded on the top of a building as flood waters are bound to rise ever higher. Help does not appear to be in sight. Everyone involved is injured, tired, damp, and smells really bad.
As such, it is Howard's call, by the movement of his attack...
Let's call it a day.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha dodges Rust's Brick Stacker.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Tabitha 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Rust
For all of Tabitha's force, the attack was less reckless than it looked. She goes for the big hits, yes, but it's a calculated sort of exposure; her strategy is much more to wait her opponent out, then end it quickly, rather than go in like a berserker brawler and simply smash everything to pieces.
It's just that Rust is very, very hard to wait out.
Yes, he's twice her age (and then a little bit), and yes, he's fatigued. So is she. It isn't that her strategy is failing so much as she can't see it through to the end; something that comes a little more with experience, one supposes. She's nineteen; no matter how long she's been boxing, it can't be as long as a lot of the legends of the street fighting circuit have been going.
The positive part of Tabitha not flat-out charging as much as she could is that she can actually brake. It's an effort - she skids, her sodden shoes and the wet roof not really very conducive to managing to stop on a dime - but she does manage it, and without Rust throwing her to the ground. She whirls, bringing her hands up as she does.
The net effect is that, while turning back to face Rust after her successful evasion of the faceplant, her fist is coming around in a spinning backfist. No normal boxing technique, that, but then again Tabitha is street fighting; there's no ring here, and nobody has given her boxing gloves and directions to hit above the waist. If she /was/ boxing, she wouldn't do this, but if she was boxing her opponent wouldn't have a pipe either.
The backfist is a prelude to Tabitha swiveling her body and delivering a single hooking punch at Rust's midsection. Much more and she will have to call it a day; she's breathing hard, and now it's obvious it's not from the weather. There's just still a little bit left in her, and she's going to push it as hard as she can, as long as she can - it's down the the last decisive moments before the final bell, and she knows it.
COMBATSYS: Rust interrupts Hook Punch from Tabitha with Cement Upper.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
[ \ < > /// ]
Tabitha 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rust
From the outside, it's all a blur. Spectators can only see what's in front of them when it comes to the blows that are traded between martial artists, brawlers, scrappers. Fighters.
Yet, there's a whole lot of little things that are communicated simply between just the fighters themselves in the middle of the fight. Howard's attempt to help catch her and simultaneously put an end to the bout. The way she surges back by turning around and throwing a punch right for the midsection to take the last of his wind out of him. The fumes look about ready to leave him.
The way he drew back Ol' Rusty alone is another unspoken cue.
He's ready.
His left hand tendses up into a fist, a now easy tell for that little trick of his that has added to that legend of just how difficult he is to really, truly put down unless one means it. He grunts and shrugs his left shoulder, which - somehow - doesn't elicit a popping noise as though he elects to completely tough his way out of his joints locking up completely.
That hook punch means it. It means it so much that it meets no defense as it tries to bury itself into there with all the might she has trained into her body and technique.
A split second later, the pipe scrapes against the rooftop, hardly slowed by the thin layer of squalid rainwater that rests upon it as he ultimately toughs his way through it in one seemingly decisive exchange, Ol' Rusty once again raised upward in that advancing uppercut swing as he so aptly demonstrated to Tabatha closer to the very beginning of their bout.
With a small twist - he puts the force significantly more vertically, in an attempt to guide Tabitha upward rather than away should she lose her footing. He doesn't want to hurl her into the drink after all the effort everyone involved went to relocate the drowning Frank all the way over here - who knows if he'd even have it in him to dive after her if he accidentally tossed her in.
He exhales loudly as he brushes at the midsection where it now bruises in the wake of that last punch, staggering back once, twice, as he tries to catch sight of where Tabitha is as the wind picks up to spray water, dust, and whatever else it picks up in his face to prevent him from doing this.
Yet, he doesn't relax.
Honestly, there's not as much left in Tabitha as she'd like either. She's done some fighting, of course; she's won some small tournaments, fought on others she didn't win. It was rare for her to run into anyone who can take as much punishment as she can and keep on ticking.
She is pretty sure that Rust is her superior in this, and this is a new experience. Not necessarily a /bad/ one. She is here for the challenge; she expected to be rated pretty low in the Gaia Tournament as these things go. But a new one.
The rising Cement Upper catches Tabitha and /does/ lift her up. Rust is being careful not to throw her back, off the roof. This is a thing Tabitha will notice more later, after the fact; right now she's more focused on not doing it than realizing that he's making it easier for her.
Easier doesn't mean easy, though. The sheer force of the blow is enough to nearly put Tabitha out - might put Tabitha down, in fact, no matter how much she struggles to battle her opponent. But even when she's falling through the air, she has options; she manages another auroric discharge of chi, though it holds together less well when falling from the sky, almost vertically.
She crashes down a few moments later. She /does/ land on the roof, though near the edge. It is to be see whether Tabitha can actually get up from the landing under her own power.
COMBATSYS: Tabitha can no longer fight.
> /// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Tabitha's Winter Bullet.
> // ]
|==-----\-------\0 Rust
He just spies the big ball of ice by the bit of light it seems to emit among the dreary, stormy setting. It's coming down on him quick, so sudden that he loses the chance to track Tabitha's movements as he clenches his fist one last time, where the chi-born ball of ice splinters against his hand, spraying his face full of cold, sharp pieces.
He turns his head away, holding his face as he murmurs some unintelligible string of consonants. He bends down, as though appearing about down. He's expecting her to pop up and try to slug him any minute while he shakes out the unwelcome, painful bit of cold that's gotten all over his face, probably even in one of his eyes.
There are no further wet, heavy footsteps to suggest movement. After a good thirty seconds of effectively catching his breath, he blinks several times to open his eyes. The rain doesn't give him a break. Lightning flashes from just a block away from the lot of them, turning the sky white. The wind continues to howl and otherwise violate all sorts of noise ordinances.
When he stands up, he doesn't see Tabitha at first. He panics. He looks over the edge of the building to see if he knocked her into the wa-- no, he couldn't if she did, it's too dark, too opaque! His pacing grows more and more labored as tired muscles, aching bones, and screaming nerves ask him to stop moving around. Where is she? Where did she go? Did he--
He nearly trips over her in his frantic search, the rain having come down so hard with the thin layer of water on the roof nearly obscuring her unconscious form. He exhales loudly in... well, not relief yet. There's three overexerted, battered, barely conscious fighters (and one tiny loudmouth). No help in sight. The rain is not going to let up. It hasn't let up for the short time he had in Metro before being urged to go to that Gaia Tournament match. There is no end to all this. The water level will continue to rise...
Howard, at least, goes through the effort to make sure everyone's sitting up, not lying face down, between Tabitha and Frank... at which points, he collapses on his rear end near Smalls, eyes unfocused, left hand to his face. No cellphone... probably wouldn't have any reception anyway. No megaphone, no flares... hope rests entirely in one man.
5t"H-Hey," Howard speaks, looking to Smalls. "Hey, we're... we're kinda... trapped, out here, I," what can he ask the loudmouthed tagalong?
"I, I need you... to call out as, as loud as you can," the Hero of Nepal from one of Vega's vicious land wars murmurs out, pointing his finger with his left hand, "and... and keep shouting. Keep shouting, 'cause... 'cause... someone, someone's gotta hear us, I, I can barely--"
He coughs as he clutches his midsection. That hook punch really should've been the one to take him out of the fight, it seems.
While the match, arranged in dangerous and strange circumstances, may have its victor... from here, it appears like the future of everyone gathered rests upon Smalls' ability to never shut up in hopes someone comes by to shut him u-- rescue the four of them.
COMBATSYS: Rust has ended the fight here.
For his part, Smalls was just keeping water out of Frank's big, gaping open mouth, keeping his hat over the big lug and pouring it out every so often. When he looked over at Rust he blinked, seeming to consider his options, looking down at Frank who was starting to come to, but would still be out of action for a long, long time. And even then, it would be very unlikely that he could swim them all out of here after the beating he took at the hands(and conspicuous new pipe) of Howard Rust.
Gesturing for Rust to take the hat and take over the duty of preventing Frank's mouth from becoming a birdbath, Smalls nodded and stood up, adjusting his slacks and rubber galoshes, and pulling what looked like a bent tin can with no bottom from his inflated life-jacket. Smalls(who was starting to go a bit bald up top) walked up to the very edge of the building, and the deafening crashing thunder and rainfall paled in comparison to the brave little man's mighty bellowing roar.
"JESUS CHRIST SOMEBODY GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE I'M STUCK UP HERE WITH SOME DUMB PUNCHY BROAD AND A HAIRPIECE FROM OUTER-FRIGGIN'-SPACE AN' THAT SHIT AIN'T FOOLIN' NOBODY IT'S GONNA GIVE ME NIGHTMARES I DIDN'T EVEN WANNA BE HERE BUT FRANK HE SAYS TO ME "OH IT'S SAFER THAN BEIN' INDOORS FOR A FLOOD" WELL WHAT'S SAFE ABOUT THIS DUMMY YOU JUST GOT YOUR ASS KICKED AN' AN ALLIGATOR ALMOST ATE ME AN' THEY WAS CHARGIN' SEVEN WHOLE DAMN DOLLARS FER CANNED TOMATO SOUP WHAT IN THE HELL THERE'S A FLOOD GOIN' ON AND YOU GOTTA STIFF ME ON SOUP YOU FAT COW WHY DONTCHA GET A REAL JOB LEMME TALK TO YOUR MANAGER OH YOU ARE THE MANAGER? WELL WHY DON'T YA MANAGE THAT BIG ASS OF YOOURS?!!"
A helicopter flew in five minutes later.
Log created on 16:35:07 08/24/2014 by Rust, and last modified on 17:10:46 08/26/2014.