Durden/Moss/Valkyrie/Ayano v Galanos/The Order

[UKWF]

Post your RPs for the match below. 4 RP cap per side, max. 1 RP per character, max. 500 words per RP.

[Γαία Γαλανός/Davey-Boy O'Brien]

A lonely wilted rose stood in a vase, surrounded by naught but silence. After a long moment, Gaia Galanos’ visage appeared behind the rose, inspecting it. Her steel blue gaze turned toward the camera. “This is the only thing that keeps me sane anymore. It reminds me of a love lost.” Despite the grave look in Gaia’s eyes, there was a gentle smile upon her lips. Her eyes shut momentarily as she recalled the feeling to have love reciprocated. “I felt like a child in the warm embrace of young life,” she explained, “but it ended before it began.” Suddenly, that cold glare returned with a vengeance.

“Just as I’m,” Gaia paused for a second to correct herself, “we’re going to put an end to this uprising before it even begins. Night Train and Valkyrie both had viable options. Night Train could have just stayed away. She could have lived happily oblivious to what would happen if she ever stepped back into a ring with me.” Galanos shook her head in amazement. “The worst part about all of this is you’ve dragged Valkyrie down that same road of self-destruction. There was a time Valkyrie’s name struck fear in the hearts of her enemies, but now she’s nothing more than a pedestal for a man who was undeserving of his title. A title I could very well be contending for if it weren’t for Night Train.”

A hint of intrigue shone through in the small smile on her lips. “Thanks to your troublesome partners, the Welsh Thing, the four of you have attracted the attention of what will soon prove to be the most destructive quartet this sport has ever witnessed.”

“The unfortunate truth is we present a united front between myself and The Order. But, riddle me this, Night Train, what are you going to do when your alliance tears at the seams because Neal can’t stand in the same ring as The Shard? What will you and Valkyrie do when the Welsh Thing abandons you for fear of what The Order may do to them?” Gaia allowed herself to exhaust a sigh. “I can’t help but feel a little sorry for Valkyrie honestly because she’ll be the last left standing in the ring, facing certain doom. Bravely and defiantly albeit futile because of a… flaw of yours, Night Train, the same flaw that ruined Hunt By Night and lost us the UKWF Tag Team Championships to a team we defeated in WarGames.” One-by-one, Gaia plucked four petals from the dead rose and studied them in her hands as if they were playing cards. “The Battle Lines have been drawn and you’re going to fail them just like you failed me,” echoed Gaia’s voice as she released the wilted petals before adding, “then all you’ll have are those stupid jokes in broken English and your fucking Twitter followers. My congratulations or my condolences.” Galanos left without another word, leaving us to watch the four petals float to the floor.

[Neal Durden]

June 1, 2017

Chicago, Il

The night had finally gotten to the darkest hour. I’ve been sitting here pondering about my life decisions so far. Life decisions that have lead me to have my back covered in glass shards as a result of a deathmatch that I wanted no part of, but I pulled it off… I pulled it off with a victory no less. The Slaughterhouse they call it, what would a bloody scrawny newcomer like myself be doing in a place like that, when the last few times people have seen me, it has been ‘running away’ for dear life. 

As I light up the cigarette and the stream of smoke invades the small place of the city where I’m at, I laugh. Not because I wanted to laugh, in fact I wanted to lay down and cry, but out of irony. The order seemed to have our number these past few weeks and now, now, we would have them in front of us, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and probably… I’ve been targeted as the ‘toughest’ of the two… truth couldn’t be further away from that. 

Still, I garnered enough strength to hit the record button on the camera and after inhaling from the cigarette, I started to speak. 

“A mighty task is ahead of us. A four on four encounter that might determine the course UKWF takes for the foreseeable future…” A light laugh escaped me as I ushered those words. “It’s funny how things, change… but at the same time, remain the same. Last time it was a power struggle between ‘owners’, now… now it’s an all-out civil war and again WE are in the middle of things.”

I would’ve loved for things to be different, for Lowri and I not to be in the position we’re in right now. For everything to be, better. Yet, it seems trouble finds us at every corner. I took another deep inhalation from the cigarette as I started to feel a bit of blood pouring out from the gushes in my back, soaking the gauzes covering them. 

“Once again, we might need to do the best we can in order to fend off the opposition and take what’s been denied to us ever since we became a team.” I flick the cigarette a bit, just enough to make the ashes fall but keep it lit up. “Yet, there’s a difference from the last time we went into this kind of rodeo. Lowri has been a revelation in FGA and I… well… I’m aiming to become the king of deathmatches here in Chicago.” A large smile appeared on my face. “So, if Gaia and The Order, feel they’re going to face two helpless rookies that don’t know much better… well, they’re in for a treat. Because, the time for running is over… at Battle Lines…” I throw the remaining cigarette away and pull out a kendo stick from my back. 

“WE… FIGHT!”

The scene fades to black. 

[Lowri Moss]

‘Fifty-eight seconds.’

The voice that is heard is instantly recognisable as belonging to Lowri Moss. The scene fades in to show Lowri sat in a dimly lit room, gazing in the direction of the floor. She is dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

‘I had waited five months to get to team with Neal again, but then - when we were finally partners in a match once more - in less than a minute, that came to an abrupt halt.’

After a wait of a few seconds, Lowri raises her head, to look at the camera.

‘Ever since Fight For The Future in April, when Magdalena Waechter and I were opponents in a one-on-one match, she and her followers have targeted me; getting the one, two, three in that contest simply wasn’t enough for Magdalena - she wanted more. It was on that night in Ipswich that Neal resurfaced, coming to my aid, and while I’m glad that he did, for the sake of his well being, I kind of wish that he hadn’t.’

Lowri bites her lip.

‘By assisting me, Neal got himself dragged into a situation that he might’ve been better off avoiding. I’m no stranger to doing that sort of thing either though, as I’m sure Gaia Galanos would attest to, and if someone is going to stand beside me in all this, I’m pleased that someone is Neal.’

She lets out a small sigh.

‘So here the two of us find ourselves then, seemingly outmatched against Magdalena Waechter and her Order, but definitely not overawed - not now.’

Lowri shakes her head fiercely.

‘The Shard might very well be the most physically intimidating person I have ever encountered. He shares his name with a building in Central London, and he’s about as tall as a skyscraper too - he even makes Moonlight look like a short-arse. However, anyone can be brought down, no matter how big they are, and we’ll prove that the Shard is no different in that respect.’

There is a brief pause, before Lowri continues.

‘As for the other member of the Order, Grendel, she’s more creepy than intimidating, and her stature certainly makes her a more ideal opponent for me. Just because she’s a foot and a half or so shorter than the Shard though, that doesn’t mean we can take her lightly. I’m sure Magdalena Waechter wouldn’t allow Grendel to set foot in the ring if she wasn’t going to pose a threat, but even so, when push comes to shove, I reckon I can get the better of her.’

She stands up.

‘With our allies, Night Train and Valkyrie, by our sides, it’s time for me to renew acquaintances with Gaia, and for me and Neal to take on Magdalena and the Order. No more running for safety, now it’s time for us to fight for our future.’

Lowri stares towards the camera, and after a few seconds, the scene then fades to black.

[CraigTheCylon]

"Oh, you silly, silly girl."

[Grendel Oberrung whispers quietly to herself, staring into the reflection in the scrying pool. She winces, and scratches at the collar of her newly-fitted wrestling gear, its mithril fabric only amplifying the ethereal quality of her ivory skin. She exhales sharply, closing her eyes.]

"It is fine. The Canoness does this all the time and makes it look easy. Just imagine yourself as her..."

[Drawing herself up, Grendel manages a passable mimicry of Magdalena's knowing smile and turns to survey the courtyard...but the facade crumbles when she notices the camera already pointing her way.]

"Nk - ! H-how did you get in here?"

[Flushing, Grendel chews on a nail, and looks to her sides desperately, hoping for some support - but out here she is alone, and must fend for herself. With effort, she tears her thumb from her mouth, clears her throat, and...laughs. In full-on pantomime fashion.]

"AHAHAHAHAAAAA! So! Our warnings were not enough for you, Lowri and Neal? Instead of laying your lives down as you should have, you think to challenge us - to challenge the Order! - in the gladiators' pit? As if we have not been preparing these long months for exactly that! Consider this your final warning...after, erm, the various other warnings previously mentioned..."

[The gaffe throws Magdalena's disciple off-track, and it takes a few moments of stammering to set her right.]

"It...it has been good fortune alone that carried you this far! The fortune to only encounter us where there was ample room to flee like the craven cowards you truly are beneath your unconvincing bluster! Now, however, you have let that bluster get the best of you, and are trapped within the workings of your own 'sport'. Hah! Fools! Neither the Canoness nor the Shard of the One will need to dirty their hands - I shall defeat you both myself!"

[She takes a cleansing breath and half-turns away.]

"Was that good? I think that was good. Did I leave anything - oh, yes - "

[...and turns back.]

"Not that I forgot your associates! Though I may as well have forgotten them for all the difference they shall make - but I did not!"

[Low groan from Grendel. Even she knows that was poor.]

"Listen well, Valkyrie and Nocturnal Freight Carrier - your time would have come in due time! I mean 'course', in due course.
But if you must rush to judgement purely out of - urgh - kinship, you will find the Order ready and willing to deliver you unto whole new realms of suffering. PREPARE YOURSELVES!"

[Grendel's chest swells with unrestrained pride at reaching the end of this ordeal in one piece. The video starts to fade...]

"Oh, and GAIA WILL ALSO BE THERE! For whatever difference it makes..."

[...unto black.]

[CraigTheCylon]

...the rocks.

He stands on the rocks. Or the rocks weigh upon him. In one direction, a truth; in the other, equal but different truth.

Neither truth will trouble the rocks, for their existence is simplicity. In a hundred years they will remain here.

In a thousand, they will only grow more smooth. More perfect.

How unlike life they are.

He hears them, as if from a great distance, when in fact they are so close he could reach out and crush their throats.

He hears them, their jaws snapping up and down, up and down.

He hears them, and...does not understand.

Their calls are unfamiliar. Their faces, so revoltingly simple. Only two eyes...why only two?

The smaller one, she carries a slate of magic. Images appear upon it when she drags her curled hand over it.

And through it, she speaks to him of others. Others who will not bow when they see him.

One, an ambassador of death.

Another, a vessel of poison.

And two she simply calls, 'Welsh' without explanation.

He knows death, for he has teetered on the brink of it for longer than he cares to remember.

He knows poison, for he has felt it seep through the earth and down into his cell for nearly as long.

The Welsh, though...that is an enigma.

More sounds from the ones who woke him. They behave as if their bleating will help him. This is not a truth.

But, there is one place he knows he can discern the nature of things.

In the smoke and din, the palace of light and scent and teeming life, things are easier.

A dozen tales, all ending in one spot.

A thousand maws, all speaking with one voice.

Just like the rocks, there are only two truths.

That which is with him, and that which pits itself against him. Here, at least, is familiarity.

Here, at least, is comfort.

Death is truth. He has seen everything die.

But death has never laid a finger on him. That also is truth.

And poison? All things sicken, by nature and by malice. This is truth.

But it is also truth that he has breathed through the toxic earth for millennia and remains strong.

Death and poison hold no sway here. Nor shall their champions.

As for the Welsh...

...ah. Familiarity.

Before, they fled from him, and now they run to meet him. Two truths equal. Like the rocks.

But?

But in a thousand years, the rocks will still be here.

While all else here shall be dust.

These...animals that squawk and sweat and circle him with anger in their souls?

They are less than the stones they callously tread upon.

And that truth is the one he will share with them.

[tnt]

Three men in lab coats peer down at a patient, an unconscious test subject.

“Do you believe the amount of sedative we had to administer to the designate, Dr. Winston? These levels are unlike anything I’ve ever seen…”

“We were fortunate to find such a specimen in short order; in a dumpster behind a roadside bar of all places. She smelled like curry, ash trays and a lifetime of bad decisions.”

“Her shoulder was decimated, the cartilage and socket were chewed to bits, it was a severe bone on bone grinding action.”

“And recall how she came to just enough to giggle when you said bone on bone grinding action? It was quite the juvenile and sophomoric behavior from our green-haired Asian female subject here. “

“Regardless, she has been the perfect choice for our level of experimentation. The shoulder has been fully reconstructed, and we have cleaned up some cartilage damage in her knees as well. Dr. Jenkins successfully bioengineering her hair follicles to produce green pigment, rendering any future hair colorings unnecessary.”

“Dr. Howell capitalized on the subject’s alcohol tolerance and sexual libido, infusing alcohol and pheromones directly into her bone marrow. Now physical exertion alone can amplify her drunkenness, and if she actually drinks it increases further. However, her speed and reaction time or not hindered in the slightest, in fact they are heightened. And her aroused state is off the charts, although her fascination with…”

Just then Dr. Jenkins was cut off, as the test subject’s hands flew up from her sides on the table that she lay upon and grabbed each man’s ass. Her eyes flashed open.

“HONK HONK, MOTHER ICE ROAD TRUCKERS. BREAK ME OFF PIECE OF THAT SWEET SWEET KIT KAT BOOTIE!”

She leapt to her feet in a crouched position on the lab table, various IV’s and other hoses connected to her flew around. She ripped more out of her as she turned in a tight circle on the table, the surgical gown open at the back.

“YOU STARTING AT ME CABOOSE? TAKE A PICTURE IT LAST YOU LONG TIME!”

Dr. Winston fell on the floor aghast, looking up at her.

“Miss, do you… do you know who you are? We are but three disbarred surgeons playing God. You were the clay in our hands that we shaped to our own twisted and perverted vision.”

She looked down at herself. She ran her fingers over the gown and then winked at him.

“ME NAME IS NA-…. NIGHT TRAIN. NIGHT. TRAIN. AYANO. ME CLAY? YOU CALL ME CLAY? ME NOT CLAY, MR. GRABBY HANDS. YOU CALL ME MUNIGHTRAID ALIYANO… FLOAT LIKE BUTTERFLY TRAMP STAMP , STING LIKE MILWAUKEE BEAST! IS OTHER NAME IN HEAD… ME NO LIKEY. ME SAD.”

She frowned.

“GAIA…”

She leapt off the table and ran toward the wall, bursting through it, leaving a Night Train shaped hole in the wall. The three doctors looked at each other.

“Well… it appears that Weapon XXX is a success…”

[Valkyrie and Hana]

The human, she's not in a good mood again. She often comes out here, alone this time, not with the shorter one who she spends a lot of time close with, but it's early in the morning, my mate she's gone flying for food for the little ones, and the human has that box thing out that she stands in front of and makes noises to and waves her things about.

She calls me Lukas, often times I don't fly up close to her unless.. oh she has got food! Taking flight, I move across to where she stands, landing next to her head where the noise comes from, and as soon as I bring in my wings, there's a nice warm dead mouse for me. They never last too long but I can hear the words more clearly now, I don't quite know what a Neal, Lowri or Night Train is, but she speaks of them quiet, as though they are family maybe? Friends or something, doesn't mean a lot to me. She says these words often, and the word “Team”

Sounds good to the beak, I try and say it myself and as I do, she goes with those little things on the end of her hands straight to the neck, ruffling my feathers. Big weakness and I thought only my mate knew about it, but this human, she knows I enjoy it, I nuzzle the hand thing, saying that word Team over and over.

Then the humans tone changes again. This time, there are different words and they aren't spoken with as friendly. Magdalena, Grendel, Shard and... Gaia. Gaia is familiar. Heard it before. Few years have passed since she said that one, but Gaia. The other human, almost as tall as this one, same coloured hair, not like the really tall red one. Gaia is no friend anymore it seems. The last time I heard it mentioned, the human was throwing things about, something that doesn't happen a lot but usually has me and my mate watching intently, but she never harms us, gives us food and neck scratches.

But the other names, Magdalena I think she's mentioned in the past as well, again not in the friendly manner, but Grendel and Shard, along with Magdalena and Gaia, she uses a lot of the words like Thunder, Thor, Skulls, blood. Words that the human likes to say a lot, and I can say those last two, Blood! Skulls! Also good to the beak. She talks of breaking bones, kicking skulls and drawing blood. Then she mentioned the name she calls me, she said Lukas. And food. Food for Lukas and Mjoll. Mjoll she calls my mate. But I figured it out, Magdalena, Grendel, Shard and Gaia are prey for this hunter, all of them must be big prey if she needs to break them, but if me and Mjoll have nice warm bodies to feed on and for our babies, the hunter can hunt away!

[CraigTheCylon]

[Elsewhere...Magdalena is painting. Her brush circles a mess of mixed colours on her palette, then skims across the canvas in broad, bold strokes, stopping briefly to consult the old, twisted tree sprouting from a hillock before her. She makes no indication of noticing the camera, but speaks to it anyway, keeping her eyes on her work.]

"I have never been a craftsman of particular skill. It takes time to cultivate art, and a relaxed hand that responds to unforeseen changes. Two things I rarely possess. But, today, I can say with no little pride that this new Kampfgruppe of mine has assembled with shocking haste. Grendel's loyalty was a given, of course, and despite the dangers I was convinced the binding of the Shard would be a success by its second day. Gaia, however..."

[The Canoness taps the wooden end of the brush against her chin in thought.]

"I wanted her so very badly, but you cannot push a mind like hers into a decision, and she is much too smart to be led. So I was forced to simply wait, and hope that events would work in my favour...which of course they did. It is unlikely Gaia will ever truly join the Wilting Rose; she retains a certain quantity of ego that does not belong within our creed. But, the scales have fallen from her eyes, and she sees just how worthless humanity is. That is what matters, and it is wonderful to see someone else accepting the truth without being...forced."

[Magdalena 'tsk's to herself and dabs white spirit over one edge of the canvas.]

"No crafting is perfect, however, and now fresh cracks attempt to split our resolve. Durden and Moss we are well familiar with - their tenacity does them credit, but their words betray their inevitable fall, speaking more of trying their best than guaranteeing victory. Their partners are more...vexing. Gaia treats this Ayano woman alternately as her primary threat or near-irrelevant; I will concede to not giving her any thought in the past, for she seemed uselessly insensible, so I shall defer to my new colleague's guidance on the matter. And finally there is the Valkyrie."

[Sigh of disappointment.]

"There was a time, once, when I thought her a prime recruitment possibility. Ach, but the tides of war kept us distant, and now she throws her lot in with this rabble. Perhaps there is some poetry in a 'chooser of the slain' keeping a close eye on the Order's enemies, ja? Our work shall keep her busy."

[The Canoness steps back from the painting. It is less a tree and more a blazing mushroom cloud. She nods appreciatively.]

"Battle Lines shall be the true beginning of the Order's reign, and it will be painted in fire and blood as the One intended. A pity that Durden, Moss, Ayano and Valkyrie shall be too close to the epicenter to appreciate it."

[End.]