The sky was clear, the temperature warm, and the sunlight strong as Angel stood placidly in the center of the huge shopping mall that was her designated battleground today. A large fountain tinkled behind her, but she waited calmly with her arms folded at her chest, her trenchcoat fluttering lightly in the drafts created by passing shoppers. She wore well-worn sneakers, a T-shirt, and loose cargo pants under her long flowing coat. Her opponent hadn't shown up yet, but she knew he'd be here soon.
And there he was. Shirtless, barefoot, wearing the skin-tight calf-length bright green pants that were his trademark, Craig Marduk stepped into the space left open by the skittish spectators. He'd shaved his head since yesterday, Angel noted idly. He flexed his muscles as he stretched and warmed up, something Angel had already done. She couldn't help but feel dwarfed by the giant, his massive chest seeming to double in size as he flexed his pecs for the crowd. Angel, however, was just the opposite, standing calmly in one place, her eyes never leaving her massive opponent.
Bryan wasn't there behind her to whisper encouragement, much as she wished otherwise. At the moment, he was at the Shinjuku, getting ready to beat the living daylights out of Mr. Violet Purple. She sent him a quick thought of encouragement, which she felt him recieve, and he thought hard in kind, knowing she'd pick up on it.
Finally Marduk was ready, and towered over her. "I'll break your face!" he snarled, and pointed a finger the size of a salami at her. Angel merely cracked her knuckles and stood silently. There was a paused, and suddenly the giant lept at her, rushing at her like a living freight train with no warning at all. But Angel had been warned by her unfair window into his mind. She cross-stepped quickly to the side, at the same time throwing an ox-jaw chop that connected just behind his ear. He snarled, stumbled, and turned to face her again, all but snorting and pawing the tiles. He crouched like a runner about to take off, his eyes boring in to hers. This time Angel swayed slowly on the balls of her feet, ready to leap aside again.
She watched the giant's swaying ankles, paying careful attention to how his calf muscles expanded and contracted as he shifted his weight. He swayed once, twice, a third time, and paused. The moment his huge muscles tensed, Angel lept straight into the air as his massive form charged underneath her and hit nothing but air. On his way under her, however, she laced her fingers and brought both hands down hard, smashing into the back of his head with that massive double-fist. He growled and stumbled a bit, his momentum continuing to move him despite the blow, and he nearly crashed into a marble pillar as spectators yelped and moved quickly out of the way. Angel landed easily in a semi-crouch, her trenchcoat fluttering to the ground behind her like a long cape. Slowly she stood, and faced her adversary once again.
Now he was pissed. He roared and towered over her like a grizzly bear, stepping slowly closer in an effort to intimidate her. In a movement too fast for him to follow, Angel's left foot suddenly whipped out and bashed him squarely on the nose, then dropped back behind her again. He took a step backward and rubbed his rapidly swelling nose, this time under no illusions as to how fast she was. If her feet were that fast, her hands would be even faster, and he would take no chances.
With surprising speed for a man that large, Marduk charged forward in a punch rush, his giant fists pumping out like pistons. She lept backward and tried to get around them, and nearly got clobbered. Seeing an especially hard punch coming, she took the only avenue left to her and dropped into a crouch as a fist the size of a Virginia Baked Ham whistled over her head. She countered by charging forward in a punch rush of her own, all aimed at that massive six-pack. He tensed those muscles, and it almost hurt to hit them, but Angel gritted her teeth and waded in, putting all she had into those strikes.
In an unexpected counter, he wrapped his massive arms around her in a bearhug, and squeezed. She tightened all her muscles in a desperate attempt to save her air, but all the wind was taken from her in a single massive squeeze. Thankfully he threw her to the ground after a moment, where Angel gratefully took a breath and attempted to roll out of the way. No such luck, as the mammoth man sat on her stomach and threw a right. She saw it coming and blocked just in time, only to get struck soundly by his left. She saw stars for a moment, before her brain snapped and she suddenly went back into that 'battle mode' that had saved her life a few weeks ago. All her judo training, under the guidance of old Parris back home, came to the forefront in an instant.
Both her arms whipped out to grab his left hand and pin it to the ground against her upper arm. Her right ankle snaked out from under him and pinned his left foot. She then bucked her hips up, where his weight flew up and over her head, before changing direction and rolling to her right. With both left-side limbs pinned, he couldn't catch himself, and crashed to the ground on his left side, her momentum completing the roll. Suddenly HE was flat on his back with his opponent sitting on HIS chest. He snarled, and made the all-time classic mistake of reaching out with one arm, his left, to push away at her sternum. She grabbed the arm, and spun around so that her right foot whipped around his head while her left leg straightened and both were now across his massive chest. Laying perpendicular to him, his arm cluched tightly in both her hands and pulled straight out, her hips bucked cruelly up. Marduk roared in pain at the arm-bar, and tried to reach over to grab his spasmic left hand with his right, only to find himself stopped by her feet buried into his bicep. He was stuck, and snarled in agony as she nearly broke the elbow joint by bending his arm the wrong way. Such was the arm-bar, and now Marduk was feeling the pressure to get her off.
Summoning the violent anger that had been his trademark for years, he roared and rolled backwards over his left shoulder, one foot nearly hitting her head, as she was forced to drop the arm and roll out of the way to avoid being crushed. However, she was still much faster than he. As he was just getting his balance, just beginning to stand up so he could turn around and stomp the life out of her, she leaped out of a crouch onto his back, where she clung like a leech. He roared once again and tried numerous ways to get her off, though all failed. She put him in what judo called the rear-naked choke, otherwise known to wrestling fans as the sleeper hold. She shot her right arm forward and around his neck, so that his windpipe--as well as the all-important arteries--fit nicely in the crook of her elbow. She then reached her right arm over to grasp her left bicep. Her left hand traveled behind his head to press it forward into her elbow. The hold was not intended to choke, but to cut off the arteries that supplied vital blood and oxygen to the brain, thus rendering her opponent unconscious due to oxygen deprivation. She clung to him hard, her legs not wrapped around his waist but hooked to the insides of his thighs, giving him no easy way to grab her.
How he roared then! He flung his arms all around, trying to hit her, but she ducked her head and pressed all the harder, trying to render this massive giant unconscious so this fight would be over. He stumbled around, and in a flash of inspiration he stumbled over to a marble pillar and turned his back to it. Angel saw the attack coming and desperately tensed her muscles against the oncoming blow. He growled that wild, animalistic growl and rammed his back against the pillar. She grunted loudly, and almost lost her grip. He snarled and tried it again, managing to disloge her legs.
But never her arms. Her legs now dangling freely, she held onto that choke with all her impressive strength, trying to finish him off without killing him. His oxygen-starved brain was beginning to feel the effects of it, and he was slowing down. His movements were slower, less coordinated. He was stumbling a lot more as he tried one more time to squash her against the pillar. It failed, and he dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. After what seemed like an eternity in that position, he finally fell flat on his face. Angel slowly dislodged herself from him, and stood.
The official referee of the match rushed over to Marduk, and pronounced him unable to fight. Angel Fury was the winner! He lifted her arm like a boxing champion, which she quickly withdrew and grabbed her own shoulder. One of Marduk's rams against the pillar had landed squarely on one shoulderblade, and now her entire right side felt both numb and sore at the same time, especially in the back. She winced as she massaged the shoulder, rubbing with cautious strokes. God damn, it hurt.
After all the fanfare, Angel was allowed to go back to the hotel room for some much-needed rest. Thankfully, there was going to be a full day's rest between every fight, to let the victors hopefully heal up any injuries they'd gotten in the previous fight, like she had. The moment she got back to the room, she took of her shoes and coat, flung them haphazardly over a chair, and flopped down on her bed. She started dozing, but was awakened some time later by a staggering Bryan. "You okay?" she asked, concerned. He really didn't look too good.
"That little fucker was FAST," he growled, flopping down onto his bed. "Sure, I beat the shit out of him, but DAMN if he didn't pack a punch."
"What style did he use?" Angel asked, curious.
He gave her an insolent glare. "How the hell should I know? Damn near broke my kneecaps."
"Well, he reminded me of somebody from the fighting circuits a long time ago. Some guy named Lee Chaolan. Big Ninjutsu champ. Adopted son of Heihachi Mishima, believe it or not. There was some kind of family fracas, and then Chaolan was barred from all Mishima-sponsored events." She lay back and folded her hands behind her head, pensive. "They called him the Silver Devil. Had hair that was shiny silver, like mine. He dyed it, of course. Not only is that not a natural color, but his eyebrows were black."
What she had just said sank in, and Bryan looked over at her. "Not a natural color, huh? Do you dye your hair, then?"
She looked away and closed her eyes. "No."
He blinked, and rolled over on his side for a nap. A lot of stuff she'd said lately kept eating at him, though.
'Are we even sure I'm human?' she'd asked.
'I can do stuff that nobody else in the world can do!'
'I gave you that scar.'
'As far as I'm concerned, you are my brother... if you want to be.'
Bryan's eyes popped open. He raised his head to look at the clock, which told him that he'd been asleep for a couple of hours. He rolled over just enough to see that Angel was indeed asleep. Sighing, he lay flat on his back, and stared at the plaster ceiling.
Beating Violet that day had been harder than it should have been, which was a sure sign that he was weakening drastically. He didn't have much time left, he knew. It was no longer a matter of months, or even weeks. He was counting days now.
Heavy with thought, his eyelids began to droop again, and he settled comfortably down for a good night's sleep.
'Accept what you are! Become what you must! That is the way of things.'
'You are who you make yourself to be.'
And there he was. Shirtless, barefoot, wearing the skin-tight calf-length bright green pants that were his trademark, Craig Marduk stepped into the space left open by the skittish spectators. He'd shaved his head since yesterday, Angel noted idly. He flexed his muscles as he stretched and warmed up, something Angel had already done. She couldn't help but feel dwarfed by the giant, his massive chest seeming to double in size as he flexed his pecs for the crowd. Angel, however, was just the opposite, standing calmly in one place, her eyes never leaving her massive opponent.
Bryan wasn't there behind her to whisper encouragement, much as she wished otherwise. At the moment, he was at the Shinjuku, getting ready to beat the living daylights out of Mr. Violet Purple. She sent him a quick thought of encouragement, which she felt him recieve, and he thought hard in kind, knowing she'd pick up on it.
Finally Marduk was ready, and towered over her. "I'll break your face!" he snarled, and pointed a finger the size of a salami at her. Angel merely cracked her knuckles and stood silently. There was a paused, and suddenly the giant lept at her, rushing at her like a living freight train with no warning at all. But Angel had been warned by her unfair window into his mind. She cross-stepped quickly to the side, at the same time throwing an ox-jaw chop that connected just behind his ear. He snarled, stumbled, and turned to face her again, all but snorting and pawing the tiles. He crouched like a runner about to take off, his eyes boring in to hers. This time Angel swayed slowly on the balls of her feet, ready to leap aside again.
She watched the giant's swaying ankles, paying careful attention to how his calf muscles expanded and contracted as he shifted his weight. He swayed once, twice, a third time, and paused. The moment his huge muscles tensed, Angel lept straight into the air as his massive form charged underneath her and hit nothing but air. On his way under her, however, she laced her fingers and brought both hands down hard, smashing into the back of his head with that massive double-fist. He growled and stumbled a bit, his momentum continuing to move him despite the blow, and he nearly crashed into a marble pillar as spectators yelped and moved quickly out of the way. Angel landed easily in a semi-crouch, her trenchcoat fluttering to the ground behind her like a long cape. Slowly she stood, and faced her adversary once again.
Now he was pissed. He roared and towered over her like a grizzly bear, stepping slowly closer in an effort to intimidate her. In a movement too fast for him to follow, Angel's left foot suddenly whipped out and bashed him squarely on the nose, then dropped back behind her again. He took a step backward and rubbed his rapidly swelling nose, this time under no illusions as to how fast she was. If her feet were that fast, her hands would be even faster, and he would take no chances.
With surprising speed for a man that large, Marduk charged forward in a punch rush, his giant fists pumping out like pistons. She lept backward and tried to get around them, and nearly got clobbered. Seeing an especially hard punch coming, she took the only avenue left to her and dropped into a crouch as a fist the size of a Virginia Baked Ham whistled over her head. She countered by charging forward in a punch rush of her own, all aimed at that massive six-pack. He tensed those muscles, and it almost hurt to hit them, but Angel gritted her teeth and waded in, putting all she had into those strikes.
In an unexpected counter, he wrapped his massive arms around her in a bearhug, and squeezed. She tightened all her muscles in a desperate attempt to save her air, but all the wind was taken from her in a single massive squeeze. Thankfully he threw her to the ground after a moment, where Angel gratefully took a breath and attempted to roll out of the way. No such luck, as the mammoth man sat on her stomach and threw a right. She saw it coming and blocked just in time, only to get struck soundly by his left. She saw stars for a moment, before her brain snapped and she suddenly went back into that 'battle mode' that had saved her life a few weeks ago. All her judo training, under the guidance of old Parris back home, came to the forefront in an instant.
Both her arms whipped out to grab his left hand and pin it to the ground against her upper arm. Her right ankle snaked out from under him and pinned his left foot. She then bucked her hips up, where his weight flew up and over her head, before changing direction and rolling to her right. With both left-side limbs pinned, he couldn't catch himself, and crashed to the ground on his left side, her momentum completing the roll. Suddenly HE was flat on his back with his opponent sitting on HIS chest. He snarled, and made the all-time classic mistake of reaching out with one arm, his left, to push away at her sternum. She grabbed the arm, and spun around so that her right foot whipped around his head while her left leg straightened and both were now across his massive chest. Laying perpendicular to him, his arm cluched tightly in both her hands and pulled straight out, her hips bucked cruelly up. Marduk roared in pain at the arm-bar, and tried to reach over to grab his spasmic left hand with his right, only to find himself stopped by her feet buried into his bicep. He was stuck, and snarled in agony as she nearly broke the elbow joint by bending his arm the wrong way. Such was the arm-bar, and now Marduk was feeling the pressure to get her off.
Summoning the violent anger that had been his trademark for years, he roared and rolled backwards over his left shoulder, one foot nearly hitting her head, as she was forced to drop the arm and roll out of the way to avoid being crushed. However, she was still much faster than he. As he was just getting his balance, just beginning to stand up so he could turn around and stomp the life out of her, she leaped out of a crouch onto his back, where she clung like a leech. He roared once again and tried numerous ways to get her off, though all failed. She put him in what judo called the rear-naked choke, otherwise known to wrestling fans as the sleeper hold. She shot her right arm forward and around his neck, so that his windpipe--as well as the all-important arteries--fit nicely in the crook of her elbow. She then reached her right arm over to grasp her left bicep. Her left hand traveled behind his head to press it forward into her elbow. The hold was not intended to choke, but to cut off the arteries that supplied vital blood and oxygen to the brain, thus rendering her opponent unconscious due to oxygen deprivation. She clung to him hard, her legs not wrapped around his waist but hooked to the insides of his thighs, giving him no easy way to grab her.
How he roared then! He flung his arms all around, trying to hit her, but she ducked her head and pressed all the harder, trying to render this massive giant unconscious so this fight would be over. He stumbled around, and in a flash of inspiration he stumbled over to a marble pillar and turned his back to it. Angel saw the attack coming and desperately tensed her muscles against the oncoming blow. He growled that wild, animalistic growl and rammed his back against the pillar. She grunted loudly, and almost lost her grip. He snarled and tried it again, managing to disloge her legs.
But never her arms. Her legs now dangling freely, she held onto that choke with all her impressive strength, trying to finish him off without killing him. His oxygen-starved brain was beginning to feel the effects of it, and he was slowing down. His movements were slower, less coordinated. He was stumbling a lot more as he tried one more time to squash her against the pillar. It failed, and he dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. After what seemed like an eternity in that position, he finally fell flat on his face. Angel slowly dislodged herself from him, and stood.
The official referee of the match rushed over to Marduk, and pronounced him unable to fight. Angel Fury was the winner! He lifted her arm like a boxing champion, which she quickly withdrew and grabbed her own shoulder. One of Marduk's rams against the pillar had landed squarely on one shoulderblade, and now her entire right side felt both numb and sore at the same time, especially in the back. She winced as she massaged the shoulder, rubbing with cautious strokes. God damn, it hurt.
After all the fanfare, Angel was allowed to go back to the hotel room for some much-needed rest. Thankfully, there was going to be a full day's rest between every fight, to let the victors hopefully heal up any injuries they'd gotten in the previous fight, like she had. The moment she got back to the room, she took of her shoes and coat, flung them haphazardly over a chair, and flopped down on her bed. She started dozing, but was awakened some time later by a staggering Bryan. "You okay?" she asked, concerned. He really didn't look too good.
"That little fucker was FAST," he growled, flopping down onto his bed. "Sure, I beat the shit out of him, but DAMN if he didn't pack a punch."
"What style did he use?" Angel asked, curious.
He gave her an insolent glare. "How the hell should I know? Damn near broke my kneecaps."
"Well, he reminded me of somebody from the fighting circuits a long time ago. Some guy named Lee Chaolan. Big Ninjutsu champ. Adopted son of Heihachi Mishima, believe it or not. There was some kind of family fracas, and then Chaolan was barred from all Mishima-sponsored events." She lay back and folded her hands behind her head, pensive. "They called him the Silver Devil. Had hair that was shiny silver, like mine. He dyed it, of course. Not only is that not a natural color, but his eyebrows were black."
What she had just said sank in, and Bryan looked over at her. "Not a natural color, huh? Do you dye your hair, then?"
She looked away and closed her eyes. "No."
He blinked, and rolled over on his side for a nap. A lot of stuff she'd said lately kept eating at him, though.
'Are we even sure I'm human?' she'd asked.
'I can do stuff that nobody else in the world can do!'
'I gave you that scar.'
'As far as I'm concerned, you are my brother... if you want to be.'
Bryan's eyes popped open. He raised his head to look at the clock, which told him that he'd been asleep for a couple of hours. He rolled over just enough to see that Angel was indeed asleep. Sighing, he lay flat on his back, and stared at the plaster ceiling.
Beating Violet that day had been harder than it should have been, which was a sure sign that he was weakening drastically. He didn't have much time left, he knew. It was no longer a matter of months, or even weeks. He was counting days now.
Heavy with thought, his eyelids began to droop again, and he settled comfortably down for a good night's sleep.
'Accept what you are! Become what you must! That is the way of things.'
'You are who you make yourself to be.'