Darknet Cage Match Round 2: Runi Verin vs Amea Virou

[Jerec Asyr]

[SIZE=11pt]Deep in Sith Empire territory, the government controls the HoloNet with an iron fist. But outside Imperial monitoring, a patchy, furtive network swaps unregulated data, raw footage, contraband, and things that thrive in the dark. Two of those things are the Darknet Cage Match, and the betting attached thereunto.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The arena is a [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]section of industrial hallway with a firmly bolted blast door at each end[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]. There’s a metric heckton of ysalamiri around somewhere, but not reachable. No Force. No weapons. No gimmicks, no gear. And no referees.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]In corner one: [member="Runi Verin"], fresh from her [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]knock-down drag-out combat[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] against a ruthless Twi’lek! In corner two: [member="Amea Virou"], [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]tenacious survivor of an alien she-hulk[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]! And at stake: one customized Gallofree Transports [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]NUM707 HOVERBUS[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]![/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]A light goes yellow, orange, red - and stays red.[/SIZE]

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

The cold metal walls and floors of their impromptu arena didn’t provide much space to move around in. The cameras mounted haphazardly along the corners provided no comfort. The wrap around Amea’s hands clung to her skin with a sweaty embrace that had been pulled a little too tight. Her line-up with these fights had certainly not done her any favors. First she fought a gentle giant, then she fought her friend. These were always the chances with arranged fights like this, but that didn’t mean Amea had the heart to truly commit to it unless pushed. Sortz had been a, well, good sorts. Runi was a mean one, but…

Ah crap, this was what Amea had feared would happen or even outright predicted. She had seen the roster, seen what had happened when the first rounds were over with and the points calculated. The names were drawn, and Amea Virou ended up on the board right next to Runi Verin. Amea would never admit that she was nervous about it, but the last fight hadn’t been the most serious of fights. It had made things less clear whether or not Amea would progress to the next stage, and yet now that she had she was in a fight with the one person in this hole she would consider a friend. An arranged prize fight but a fight nonetheless.

A sigh parted her lips as she lowered her guard, just ever so slightly.

“We’re not actually, like, doing this. Right?” She muttered over at Runi on the opposite side of their little room. “I mean…”

“Friends and all?” Amea said and chuckled, nervously.

Not that she expected it to work, but being the one to initiate combat with a friend felt wrong on so many levels no matter the circumstances. It didn’t seem like her friend shared this belief, at least not from the look on her. Runi didn’t strike Amea as the one to back down and out of a fight, at least not from what she had gotten to know of her friend. At least not if she knew that she had a solid chance at winning this.

Crap, again. That just made it all the more difficult. Runi most likely knew most of what was up Amea’s sleeve, and most likely had the same few up there as well. Runi would have to make the first move. Funny how principle could get in the way like that.

 

[Runi Verin]

[Member="Amea Virou"]​

“Why enter a tournament if you ain’t plannin’ to fight?”

It was a surprisingly genuine question. One accompanied with a slight lofting of a puzzled brow as the Kiffar faced off against her friend, occasional co-pilot and inadvertent recipient of a force bond. Thankfully with the Ysalamiri lining the arena, the latter would not be an issue tonight. Allowing the two of them to potentially cut loose without being on the receiving end of a cyclical feedback loop from haran. It also allowed Runi to fully enjoy the sense of anticipation that was currently flooding through her veins, lending an almost giddy bounce to her step as she moved around the arena. Almost restlessly trying to find the perfect place in which to start.

Warden of the Sky vs Warden of the Sky.

How often would she get a chance like this again? Unlike with the Jedi, the tradition wasn’t exactly known for its social gatherings or overt presence within the galaxy. They were simply too scattered across the galaxy. Kark, even after spending a lifetime amongst the hyperlanes, Runi was hard pressed to name more than a dozen or so that still subscribed to the tradition - and most of those had seemingly slipped into quiet obscurity.

No, friendship and other complications aside, tonight offered both a chance and an excuse that was simply too good to pass up. She just needed Amea to take it seriously, and to do that…

She would need to provide suitable motivation.

“Burc’ya, ‘lek?” Runi offered, seeming to relax her stance enough to extend her right hand towards her fellow warden as she closed the distance between them. Those scarred lips affecting the closest and roughest approximation of a warm smile she was capable of pulling off, allowing it to become frozen in place even as she abruptly lurched forward from the offered handshake, whipping her left cybernetic arm up into a ruthless cross.

And if that didn’t work, well, the follow up elbow from the right as she continued to press her advance was sure to stir something up in her fellow warden, right?

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

“I didn’t expect this to happen so soon, and besides that I wasn’t sure I’d actually reach the point.” Amea said with a half-hearted shrug and lopsided grin. No, it was quite clear that they were surprised albeit for different reasons. Amea was surprised it happened so early and Runi seemed surprised Amea wouldn’t be one to start a fight if she signed up for it. It didn’t take a bond to figure that one out, it was quite literally written all over her face.

Needless to say when a hand was offered Amea took it with a hint of hesitation. She extended a careful hand towards her friend fully aware of what was most likely about to happen. One moment it was there, the other there was a dull pain against her cheek that forced Amea into a stumble. Her entire back curved, her hand instinctively reaching up for her face as she found balance a few feet back before she found herself on stable ground again.

An indignant set of brows lifted in disappointment as Amea’s lips curled into a frown.

“Fine then, ‘lek.” Amea's voice dripped with poison as her brows lowered into a frustrated glare. She had no intentions of getting angry, not in the slightest, but there was something that had ignited right there. The feeling of metal having bruised her skin, having impacted upon her cheek with a surprise left that she should have seen coming from a mile away.

If that was how it would go, then that was fine.

Amea didn’t say a word. Her fists rose to cover her face from any follow-ups and tried to find an opening. There was no plan here, no strategy or thought. Under most circumstances the fights happened on her terms one way or the other, but this wasn’t it.

She went for the stomach seeking to follow it up with a kick straight to the teeth.

If Runi wasn’t playing around there was no need for Amea to feth around either.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]
​

Runi would be lying if there wasn't a small measure of satisfaction as her first blow hammered home. The blow rocking her fellow Warden back a few paces and leaving her with a faint blemish for her troubles. It had been more of a love tap than a proper 'put you on your shebs' haymaker. Designed more to get Amea's head in the game than see her down for the count. Her fight with the Twi'lek had been more to prove something to herself than winning. This fight, on the other hand... This fight had been a long time coming. Offering answers to a question she'd been wondering since they'd first crossed paths in that ill-fated ship years ago. Judging from the fire in her friend's eyes, she was about to find out.

She twisted as Amea retaliated in kind with a punch at her midsection, the blow skimming the edge of her ribs as she attempted to step in. Her attempt to answer in kind stalled by having to block the kick to her head at the very last second. The impact enough to drop her to a knee and cause her a flicker of stars to cross her vision. The smile that wasn't quite a smile widened.

That was more like it.

With an effort, the Kiffar lunged from her position into an uppercut, the blow more of a diversionary tactic than a real attempt as she sought to close the distance. Using her momentum to barrel her into her fellow Warden and attempt to put them on the sand.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Fighting was all she did at this point. It was what Amea had come to define herself with for the sake of finding value in what she was doing. She fought for others and she fought for what she knew to be right. She held herself to the principles of justice and mercy. Yet this wasn’t it. This fight was for herself and for no other reason than to prove herself to people she didn’t care for. Maybe it was the adrenaline talking, maybe it was some part of Amea that she didn’t know existed, but as the boot connected to Runi’s cheek she felt a spike of excitement surge through her entire body as if to pat herself on the back. Part of her reveled in this and knew that she was more than capable of hurting her friend. Yet a small, quiet part of herself knew that this was wrong.

But clear, rational thought rarely had a place in a situation such as this. Amea pushed against the impulses of rationality and overlooked the fact that Runi was the only friend that she still had any active contact with. Looked past the fact that just a few moments ago she had gone from hesitant and unwilling to take the first punch to wanting to rip apart the scarred lips that seemed so hell-bent on taunting her with their insistent grin.

Runi swung from below and Amea reached to grab her by the wrist, yet before she could act upon the advantage it was already too late. There was a thud, a momentary state of confusion, and a dust cloud. Her head spun yet there was no time to assess the damage. She had to act fast and consider her options.

Amea thrust her hand into the sand. Honor had no place here.

A grunt parted Amea’s lips as the blood in her veins began to boil. With a swing for Runi’s cheek there was only one thing on Amea’s mind: blinding her opponent. After that, push her off and try to reverse the situation and get on top of Runi instead. The fire that burned in Amea’s eyes, the fire that Runi had ignited began to spread like a wildfire throughout her system. It was an unexpected reaction but one that felt…

Strangely welcome.

 

[Runi Verin]

[Member="Amea Virou"]​

​

Even as Amea hit the sand with a thump, Runi was already bearing down on the fallen Warden. Knees straddling her opponent's waist at either side, moving into a full mounted position in which to rain down all manner of haran on the other woman. Or at least, that was the initial plan. Honestly, you'd think after an extended period being psychically linked, the Kiffar would have realized that Amea was every inch the sore loser that Runi was and in some ways more. That she should've foreseen the underhanded move coming a mile off.

As it was, she barely had achieved her mounted position before a she received a face full of gritty, fine sand. Forcing her to instinctively rear backwards and bring her hands up in an all too late attempt to protect her now stinging and blinded eyes. Her attempt to continue her assault essentially reduced to one angry and loud string of curses that resounded through the cage.

"FIERFEK! YOU MOTHERFETHING KARKBAG!"

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Legs around her waist yet open to the cheapest of tricks. Amea knew very well her move had saved her a knockout in the tenth second and the eternal taunts of a gloating Runi. In the end Amea had no option, she had to find a way out and in Runi’s state she had only the one thing she could do.

Using the momentary lapse in judgment Amea pried herself out of Runi’s grip to get back on her feet again. Her weight shifted, arms and hands raised to assume a more defensive position, and with that do little more than await the storm that was surely about to come her way.

“Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have done the same.” Amea said as she tried to regain her breath. “We both know only one of us is leaving this ring while they are still conscious.”

Oh yeah, this fight was only getting started. Pride had just gotten itself involved in all of this.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

With her quarry effectively squirming out of her grip, Runi was left with nothing but a sense of frustration and a set of streaming red eyes for her trouble. Her vision a blurry haze of pain and fine particulates. Rubbing them only seemed to make the issue worse, only serving to grind the grit and sand in deeper. She bared her teeth, dulling her pain by giving into the anger and rage that simmered beneath the surface, forcing herself to rise to her feet.

"Difference is, I don't need sand to beat you bloody." The Kiffar spat out. Not that Amea wasn't necessarily wrong in her accusation, what with her native brawling style of Kol Atorn was simply built upon a commitment to whatever worked, but she wasn't about to admit that. She was too pissed for honesty at the moment. The sand trick was one thing, but it was the simple fact that the other Warden hadn't taken advantage of the situation that really rankled her. Amea still wasn't taking this seriously. Wasn't taking her seriously. "But you are right about one thing."

Runi dropped into a low, aggressive stance as she spoke. Anger aside, she was too experienced to rush an opponent while half-blinded and running on rage. Knuckles cracking as she tightened her fists into a loose a guard. "I ain't leavin' until I get my pound of flesh."

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

Between those agitated blinks, a grin grew on Amea’s lips. If Runi needed to tell herself stories in order to swallow defeat that was fine with Amea. Had they been worn down and on truly opposite sides perhaps this was the part where Amea would have drawn the comparison between the two and how they weren’t all the different to each other. Both parties refused to know defeat and would go further than most to ensure that they came out on top. That was the reality of this situation.

With her breathing back to normal Amea began to collect her thoughts. She too wanted to play the defensive, wanted to trick Runi into doing something stupid. Yet it seemed that despite her disposition Runi was far clever than Amea would have given her credit for. Her opponent was furious and rightly so, but she didn’t do anything rash…

A disappointment to some extent.

A great extent, actually.

Amea would bite the bullet then. If Runi didn’t come to her, Amea would have to come to her. In the end she could have held out but to let the fight devolve into a staredown, such a thing was beneath her. She knew what Runi could do just as much as she knew what Amea could do, and to that end it was only right to act upon it.

Amea made a break for her friend and swept for the legs. With Runi on her back it would have been easier to knock her out, much like Runi had hoped to do the same with Amea. Difference being Amea was not much for grappling. She wasn’t the strongest out of the two, but she certainly worked with her flexibility. The best tactic would be to simply outlast her opponent.

 

[Runi Verin]

[member="Amea Virou"]​

​

The leg sweep was intercepted with a counter in the form of an aggressive kick. The Kiffar battering away Amea's leg before stepping in once more with a vicious one two salvo, attempting to put the woman on the defencive while she closed the distance. Having fought together several times over the last few years, she knew Amea's strengths almost as much as her own. The woman was always more cunning for certain, Runi's stinging eyes could presently attest to that, but she lacked the same raw force and brutality that Runi brought to the table. If she wanted to win this, then she needed to bring it close and and personal - and if she couldn't find that on the ground, then she would just have to turn this into a good old fashion slugfest.

Bam-bam.

She repeated the combo again. A right jab and a straight from the left. More vicious this time, more coordinated. Attempting to put Amea's guard up before paving the way for a follow up body blow hooking upwards from the right with her cybernetic arm. Committing her weight behind it fully to really drive it home.

 

[Amea Virou]

[member="Runi Verin"]

The kick hurt, the connection Runi’s fists made as they struck Amea’s cheek and nose did too which was not to diminish the extraordinarily painful metallic hand. A subtle ‘thwomp’ began to pulsate and build pressure against Amea’s ears and she staggered backwards from the impact. Focusing got harder and for a split second the lights grew far brighter than they should have.

No, she was not going out like this. Not to Runi Verin. Albeit late with her guard she found a stable footing amidst the chaos. As the assault continued, Amea did her best to hold the attacks off. Right deflection, left dodge, and with the not-unheard-of lunge Amea grappled at Runi to throw her at the ground and grant herself space to work with.

The top of her lip ran red with a tickle, her cheek pulsated with evidence of her own passiveness. That anger inside of her, the excitement of trying something new seemed to have changed into something else. Not quite anger, not quite rage, yet something that burned inside of her like a fire that called out for… Something. She needed to see Runi incapacitated because there was no other alternative. It was do or die, and Amea was more than done with dying.

Regardless of if the grapple and throw worked or not Amea would push on. Top priority was in keeping that metallic arm under control. Undeniably Runi’s other fist was just as capable of hurting, but that mother hurt even worse. To that end Amea tried to push herself through the guard and up against Runi to land a hit to her stomach, follow it up with an elbow to the face before backing off.

The first drop in the sand might have been hers, but it wouldn’t be the last.