[Round 2] Dave & Kenpachi vs Handsome Jack & Dane

[Karl Jak]

Dane recognized the city from the view from the rooftop.  He didn’t recall all the devastation, but it was there nevertheless.

“Look,” Handsome Jack lifted one of his legs and shook the foot.  “Magic.”

The swordsman lazily swung the heavy machete.  “Why didn’t they fix your face then?”  He inquired as a second pair of primes appeared on the far end of the roof.

“This is no place for a concert,” Dave muttered as he adjusted his sunglasses.  “The acoustics are bullshit.”

Kenpachi ignored the remark—his eyes focused on their next pair of adversaries.  “Fresh meat.”

Word Limit: 850
Posts: 2
Time Limit: 48 hours
Random Elements: On
Damage Meter: Off

Time limit starts at 5 pm CDT on June 25, 2018

MegaCity One – It is daytime in Mega City One.  This Fight Area is a large one that encompasses 4 square blocks of Mega City One, one of the subzones utilized in a previous Dante’s Abyss.  This area was one relatively un-molested by the primes during the event, so the buildings you can spot here are in working condition.  The Fight Area extends to the maintenance/sewer tunnels underneath (10 feet under) and up above the rooftop of this neighborhood’s tallest building (about 8 stories up).

Stipulations:  The Flight and Super Jumping Powers are disabled.

[Dave Strider]

The four competitors stood together in silence, each taking in their surroundings. Dave’s knuckles managed to become even whiter as he clenched his sword with a single hand.

“Fucking typical. It’s like everything in this world just wants to fuck with me.”

Kenpachi struggled to keep his eyes off the enemy as he listened to his partner.

“Let whatever is stirring inside you be your strength.” Dave’s partner rolled his shoulders in preparation for what was to come. “Then maybe you can manage to strike as I do.”

“Tch.”

Without further ado the Shinigami stepped forward, a crooked smile spread across his face. His steps echoed within the streets far below, the concrete beneath him puffing out a cloud of dust with each resounding stomp.

“You, my friend, look like you need to fuck right off. I see that look in your eyes, the psychos would love you.” The masked man on the other end of the rooftop called out to the god of death, pulling a submachine gun out from behind his back. “Just like the Quickie here!”

A pull of the trigger let forth a stream of bullets as Handsome Jack immediately opened fire, leaving no time to allow his opponents to close the gap. It looked like these guys both wasted their time with swords, so keeping them at a gun’s distance would make this a short fight. However, the bullets that embedded themselves into Kenpachi’s chest served no purpose other than to widen his grin and fuel his adrenaline. Dave burst forwards soon after, his head down while his body trembled with a strange anxiety. His low whisper struggled to make it to the others around him.

“Nothing like a rooftop beatdown.”

Dane, unlike the rest of the participants, took in the sights quickly and began to piece a strategy together in his head. The two swordsmen would overwhelm them if they didn’t keep their distance. The hero took a defensive stance, leading back with Jack and keeping himself between his ally and his opponents. He would need to take a less direct approach to deal with these heavy hitters.

“Stay close.”

“Whatever you say, Fabio, and let’s agree to not go invisible and leave each other hanging this time, yeah?” The masked man crossed the fingers on his free hand behind him as he spoke.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

Dane planted his foot into the roof, reached for his machete, and waited for his moment to strike. Kenpachi sped forward, the first to act and the first to arrive. His daunting sword came down like a guillotine threatening to cleave through the apathetic male. A thunderous CLANG resonated as Dane not only managed to block the strike but actually deflected it back, knocking the shinigami off balance. His whole body ached from stalling the behemoth of a Prime. Dave leaped off the back of his partner to somersault over Dane before rolling towards the gun-wielding trash talker.

“Woah, alright, shotty time!”

Handsome Jack announced his plans as he switched over to the One-Pump Chump. As the weapon formed in his hand, Strider burst forward, closing the gap too quickly for him to react.

“Motherfu-”

Jack winced as sparks flew across his face, Dane materialized in front of him, struggling to hold back the Knight of Time. Dave twisted Caledscratch, allowing the tip of his blade to crack. The broken sword slipped through his defenses and into Jack’s shoulder, breaking through his body shield. Dane stumbled forward and the shotgun blasted its load into Dave’s right leg, forcing a pained shout to escape Strider's lungs.

The tactful hero grumbled under his breath. There wasn’t much to keep their opponents from simply charging into them, especially with the lack of restraining abilities he and his partner had. Their foes had already pushed them to the corner of the rooftop. Kenpachi giggled maniacally as he joined in on the action, sweeping his blade at the elusive Dane.

“That was wonderful, but it’s a shame you choose to evade me now. Let me taste your blade, hero!”

“Jack, pull back and regroup!”

“No need to shout, sugartits.”

The hero dashed to the side, escaping the mad swordsman’s range while Strider caught his breath. Jack hugged the edge of the rooftop as they attempted to gain some ground, their foes following close behind. Dane teleported to Dave, landing a brutal lifting kick to his gut. The teenager gasped before reaching down, turning his momentum back and slamming his good leg back into Dane’s chest.

“Just like bro.”

The hero recoiled towards his partner, startled by the kid’s seemingly instinctual response. He had underestimated the kid. Dane rolled back on his feet and rushed to Jack, a new plan in motion.

“Jump!”

“What? Fuck no!”

With a shove from Dane, they vaulted over the edge while Jack attempted to wrestle away from his partner. Dane looked back at the glass panes of the building, staring past them before they suddenly found themselves inside a cubicle office.

“Ugh, my head. Tell me next time you do that, alright Fabio?”

Kenpachi is coming, so keep running.

HJ used the Quickie.

Dane used Break a Leg to stop Kenpachi in his tracks.

Dave used them acrobatics.

Dane saved Jack with a teleport, but Caledscratch's shitty design won out, hitting Jack.

Jack still got his One-Pump Chump shot out on Dave's leg.

Kenpachi still looming over everyone.

Dane teleport attacked Dave, but he is no stranger to rooftop battles, and managed to hit back.

Dane faked out with the Mass Teleport and brought the duo two floors below, into some offices.

Some burst movement in between all of that.

849 according to google docs

[Handsome Jack]

Dim streams of light filtered through grime-covered windows, catching the motes of dust which arose from the duo’s every footfall as Dave and Kenpachi cautiously moved along the dilapidated corridors of the building. It was oppressively hot and stifling within the old apartment complex, and here or there lay some article of discarded property from a previous tenant. Kicking aside an old sweatshirt, the Shinigami grumbled in irritation.

“I still can’t believe you let them get away,” he muttered, his carefully lowered voice still managing to make a faint echo in the long hallway.

“Dude!” Dave replied, a little less worried about volume than his partner, “I didn’t see YOU stop them!”

“Whatever,” Kenpachi continued, his voice laced with irritation. “Let’s just get this over with. Tricky types like these guys piss me-”

The sound of scraping wood in the apartment to their left cut off Kenpachi’s bickering. A wide grin split the ogre’s face, the thrill of battle washing over him as he rushed into the room, his pale companion on his heels. Like the rest of the building, it was practically empty, aside from the dust and heat. There wasn’t even a sign that anyone had been in here. The Shinigami and Timey Rhymey looked around a moment, and were about to exit, when it happened.

One second, there was nothing. The next, a long-haired, machete boy was swinging his blade right for Kenpachi’s throat. Only the man’s nigh-on-superhuman reflexes managed to save him from an uncomfortably close shave.

“It’s a trap!” Dave called out, adopting his best Admiral Ackbar impression, but just like in the movie, it was too late. Before the Shinigami could retaliate against Dane, a salvo of ammunition nearly perforated his torso and from the doorway back to the hallway, the odd couple managed to spot a glimpse of a very-satisfied Jack before he faded back to invisibility.

The plan was working pretty damn well, Jack gloated internally. It hadn’t taken long for Dane and himself to realise that this was the perfect environment for a couple of guys with the ability to turn invisible to wreak havoc. Plenty of rooms, plenty of cover, and plenty of choke points. It was practically tailor-made for HJ, and he made a mental note to thank Karl for the easy win once this was over. All they had to do was keep alternating their attacks from hiding, forcing their opponents to react, rather than attack. Sooner or later, one or the other would get impatient, or make a mistake, and then it’d be all over.

Or, Jack could just fuck it all up.

As the CEO got ready to make another run, his heel slid back and bumped into something. A something that was revealed, after an semi-conscious glance behind him, to be the pale kid that HJ was still almost certain was still in the room. Jack couldn’t help himself. He froze-up. It didn’t take him much longer to figure out that it was just a distraction, but by then, it had already done its work. The brief moment of hesitation it had caused had thrown Jack off his game, and now he had missed his timing for assisting his partner. The gap in coverage had allowed Kenpachi a chance to launch a counter-assault against Fabio Regan. And as for Dave...

“Heh… Gotta hand it to you, pumpkin. That was pretty clever,” Jack admitted, letting his gun fall to the floor as his hands raised in a gesture of submission. Behind him, Dave’s Time-Dupe popped out of existence as the Time-Table his original had surreptitiously summoned faded into the ether. Ahead: the real Dave advanced slowly with Caledscratch in hand, his deliberate movements and posture at odds with the snarky grin on his face.

Honestly, Jack was in a bind here. While Dane was still doing a pretty solid job of keeping Kenpachi occupied with his teleports and invisibility and shit, the guy was still barely holding his own against the spike-topped powerhouse. No help to be had there, and Jack was kind of out of options himself. One wrong move, and Slim Shady would be on him like crazy on a psycho, and while the CEO was pretty tough, he wasn’t about to try his luck in close-quarters. To put it frankly, he was proper fucked. Then, as if to answer all his prayers, Kenpachi did a very Kenpachi thing to do.

“Alright. I’m tired of playing around!” came an unexpected shout from the Shinigami, as he raised his blade overhead. Shocked by the sudden exclamation, Dave risked a look over his shoulder and immediately recognised just what the hot-headed guy was about to do. But, it was already too late to stop him. With an roar, like a bear awakened from its hibernation, Kenpachi drove his blade down to the age-worn floor beneath him. The old wood proved no match for the swordsman’s might and it practically exploded from the force of the blow, sending the four combatants further into the building amidst splinters, dust, and the bellow of the Shinigami’s laughter.

848 words according to Google Docs.

Dane and Jack used Stealth and trickery to get Dave and Kenpachi into a tight spot.

Dave used Remix to throw Jack off his game.

Kenpachi decided “fuck this shit” and exploded the floor.

We all falling.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

With a hideous creak the floor had given way, spilling the combatants downward into gravity’s waiting embrace like so much garbage. The foursome landed a moment later among a shower of splintered flooring, tumbling haphazardly into what they would eventually realize was a now-disused home gym. The discordant din of domestic destruction would eventually give way to a more somber silence as the rubble began to settle. Save for the occasional threatening creak from the building’s frame, only the gentle gurgling of flowing fluid could be heard, murky, rust-flecked water dribbling from fractured pipes overhead onto the well-worn foam mats that lined the floor. Along the far wall, yellowy, stained window panes miraculously remained intact, painting a golden hue through the blizzard of crumbling gypsum board.

“I don’t know what I expected,” Strider groaned aloud, heaving a particularly large drywall panel off of his torso as he peeled himself out of the wreckage. “But can you try not to kill me here?”

“If these cowardly shits are gonna run and hide the whole time,” Kenpachi explained, steamrolling over the boy’s pleas. “‘Least we can do is keep them on their toes.”

The diminutive deejay rolled his eyes as he readied his claymore. “You cracked my cool guy shades,” he muttered, smearing a layer of dust from the lenses with his sleeve.

Zaraki could only offer a snort in retort before his keen eyes caught sight of peculiar movement from within the downpour of dust. A broad, pearly grin split the ragged ronin’s face as his right hand found his zanpakuto, drawing it back before lunging forward to deliver a quick slash through the visual distortion. The shinigami’s simper soon faded to a frown as the image of Handsome Jack appeared for but an instant before fading into a shower of azure pixels.

“Surprise, motherfuckers!”

The Time Knight’s pale paw instantly summoned up an ethereal turntable, a dramatic, rhythmic thrum meeting his comrade’s ears as Jack’s oblong ordinance skittered across the ground, stopping to tap gently against Kenpachi’s tabi-adorn foot. From across the room, the hunky narcissist and his stoic companion watched from behind a rack of dumbells as the towering samurai seemed to fast-forward as the tempo of Strider’s sick beat rapidly accelerated. With supernatural speed, even for Kenpachi, the robed shinigami lifted his knee high into the air before driving his sandal-clad foot down sharply onto the Thot Potato. A muffled boom shook the area a beat later as the munition detonated, discharging a fresh plume of smoky debris.

“Huh,” Dane chuckled, resting his stolen cleaver against his shoulder. “Didn’t think that would wo-” His comment was cut short as a familiar toothy figure lunged out of the chalky miasma, ebon mane flecked with bits of shredded blue yoga mat. “Yeah, that’s about where I thought this was going.”

“That guy is straight-up cut from the same cloth as the psychos,” Handsome Jack gawked, hastily drawing the One-Pump and ducking under a racked barbel to take off across the studio. “Sword vs. Machete; sounds like you’ve got this one covered, sweetie!”

Before Dane could offer a witty retort, he was forced to raise Jason’s blade to block what he could of the berserker’s nodachi. Despite a textbook parry, Regan quickly found himself staggering backward under the sheer might of the Death God’s strike, flashbacks of his only-too-recent clash with the masked murderer fresh in his mind. Steeling his resolve, the spellsword allowed the brute’s strength to drive him backward, turning abruptly on his heel as they neared the room’s back wall. Like a practiced matador, he steered the overeager samurai into the masonry as he would a frothing bull, the stoic battler smirking with smug satisfaction as Kenpachi barreled through an enormous poster of a greased-up meathead hefting an overloaded barbell. “Olé!”

“I thought you were gonna kick that grenade or something!” Dave called to his companion as he made chase behind the fleeing CEO, Caledscratch in hand. Despite his griping he kept his eyes on the prize, holding a Timetable at the ready as he kept at Jack’s heels. “Just my luck to go up against someone else who can duplicate. Luckily mine are the real McCoy.”

Meanwhile, Kenpachi emerged from the newly-created doorway into the adjoining room, raring for more. The same almost mocking grin was still etched into his countenance as he leapt toward Dane like a pouncing wildcat. He laid slice after slice into the wiley warrior, managing a few clean slashes across the swashbuckler's unarmored chest before Regan evanesced before his eyes. The shinigami truly hated fighting something that couldn’t keep still.

“Where the fuck are you hiding?” the shaggy samurai called out, emerging from behind the dumbell rack and shoving a torn punching bag out of the way to prowl for his quarry, grenade-ravaged foot leaving a trail of bloody prints in his wake.

“I wouldn’t call it hiding,” Dane commented as he reappeared, drawing the ebon-haired shinigami’s attention in time to witness the mage frisbeeing a 25-pound steel plate into his head.

849 words, via Google Docs.
Handsome Jack threw down an illusory dupe before tossing out a Thot Potato.
Dave accelerated time around Kenpachi to allow him to get the grenade out of the way, but Ken instead stomped it into the floor because he ain’t no coward.
Dane steered Ken into a wall and Dave is chasing Jack.
Dane threw a plate at Kenpachi’s face.

[Dave Strider]

Dave clutched Caledscratch as he attempted to weave in and out of different gym sets, the rain of fire from Handsome Jack clinking across the various metal bits and bars. The CEO could feel something was off, either this guy was astoundedly stupid or he just purposefully missed a few opportunities to give him a thorough slashing. The kid was just avoiding him, but why?

Another dash around a cart of dumbbells. Dave’s chest pounded along with his heavy breaths, his body starting to ache. Why couldn’t he do it? His eyes glanced to the side. As if watching for something else. A barrage of bullets brought his attention back, a few nicking his exposed shoulder from behind the cart.

“C’mon punk! What the hell are you doing anyway?”

Dave shook his head, trying to regain his senses. His instincts were against him. Bro wasn’t here. He knew that. He knew that ever since he saw him in Skaia…

Quiet this time except for a few footsteps. Dave sighed between breaths, tightening his grip on Caledscratch with one hand. Even though he knew that Bro was gone, those few things back in the Nexus, the hint of danger no matter where he was, was it all just his mind playing tricks on him? No matter the case, he had to defeat this asshole.

“Gotcha!” A wide shot from the CEO’s shotgun blasted directly into Dave’s back. “If you’re gonna wuss out, might as well get close and personal!”

The air in Dave’s lungs were forced out as he gasped in pain, turning with a grimace to face his attacker. Even with the throbbing sensations in both his back and leg, Dave pushed forward,a widened eye barely visible past the missing corner of his sunglasses. Jack raised his shotgun up in defense, managing to barely catch the blade as he found his back against a wall.

“Fuck you and fuck everything about this place! Fuck whoever saved my shitty ass life and put me here!”

Dave raised his fist and slammed it right against the CEO’s cheek. A flash of blue reflected the hit.

“Sorry darling, you forgot about my-”

Another punch.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Another. A crack began to form.

“Get the fuck off me!” A shot went off, blasting what was left of the ceiling of the room they stood in, the gun forcing itself out of Jack’s grasp, Caledscratch along with it. The two stared at each other for a moment before Jack smirked and laughed.

“What, you can’t bring your shitty ass sword back? Sucks to suck!”

The shotgun began to form as Jack approached Dave, stopping when he noticed the kid start to float a bit in the air. Jack prepared himself as a sudden wave of Dave’s appeared, all menacingly staring at him. Jack aimed his shotgun at one of their heads, preparing his shot before all at once they disappeared.

“Fuck it. I don’t have the patience for any rhymes right now.”

“Huh?”

The CEO looked at the kid, who seemed to appear a bit surrounded by some wispy shit. At his sides, the floating turntables sped up, leaving a moment of stillness in the air. Jack took no extra time as he began to pump shells into the kid. He watched with glee as blood poured out from the holes in his chest, until it disappeared in front of him.

“Shit, not again.”

Jack turned and searched for the real Dave, who must have been one of the dupes he thought had vanished. It didn’t take long to see the rushing towards him, faster than ever before. He didn't even have time to react before the blade shoved itself into his chest, completely shattering the blue shield around him.

“Work out a bit while I was distracted, hun?” he spoke from a dark chuckle before he spat blood in Dave’s face. The Knight of Time pushed and twisted the blade, forcing Jack to groan, the CEO then pressing his gun as close to the kids face as he could before pulling the trigger.

The shell spread across the left side of Dave’s face, shattering his glasses and tearing off a chunk of his ear. A loud whine rang in his ears, his left one completely deaf. Dazed from the shot, Dave swung his sword and sent the man to the nearest wall, a satisfying crack echoing from the impact.

“Die in a hole, you fuck.”

Dave limped quickly towards his partner, managing to have a decent speed even with his injuries. The two had been going at it, both having a few marks on them, though Kenpachi seemed to be less deterred by his injuries.

“Back already?” His partner asked.

“Just shut the fuck up and get this over with.”

The shinigami grunted in response. Keenly aware of his lack of a partner, Dane grumbled. Dave knew he would be back, but his mind was on this piece of shit. The way he acted, the way he fought. Just like that superhero douchebag. Just. Like. Bro.

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

“If these two would quit cowering,” Kenpachi sneered in reply, contempt knitted in his brow. The towering swordsman had no issues with taking whatever pain his enemy could serve up, but throwing cheap shots from the shadows was an affront to his pride. “Gettin’ sick of swatting flies.”

As if on cue, the aloof brawler opposite the duo vanished from sight, once more dipping into the aether. A restless sigh forced its way free of the Death God’s chest as he leaned against a nearby weight rack. At this rate it would be easier to just wait for the pests to show themselves.

“Get the fuck out here and fight me, you cocky douchebag,” Dave all but growled, his pale skin flecked with blood and gunpowder. Kenpachi hadn’t paid much attention to the boy’s fight, but it was apparent he had sustained some hits to his psyche as well as his body.

“Heh, you heard the kid,” Kenpachi called into the dilapidated gym. “he’s bleedin’ all over the place and has more of a spine than either of you two.”

Shinigami and Time Knight stood shoulder to shoulder as the seconds ticked slowly by, the taller of the two taking a moment to glance down at the resolution in the boy’s eyes. Scarlet fluid dribbled lazily from the boy’s deafened ear, tingeing his blonde locks a coppery orange. A playful grin wormed across Kenpachi’s face as he thought back to Soul Society and his encounter with a similar adolescent who had stormed in and changed him for the better. The massive blade clutched in Dave’s grasp served only to cement the resemblance.

“What?” The chronomancer spat, offering Zaraki only a brief moment of eye contact before turning his attention back toward where Dane had vanished. “What’re you looking at?”

The captain slowly shook his head, once more displaying a wide cheshire grin. “You remind me of someone,” he replied simply, his slender fingers tightening around the grip of his zanpakuto. He could feel his heart rate climb as he rolled his shoulders, Dave’s resolve lighting a new fire in his veins. “Maybe after this is over we can cross blades, like he and I did.”

Strider’s face registered a second’s worth of confusion before allowing the thought to pass. There was really no time to parse what the robed ronin had meant by that statement.

“I don’t mean to break up the touching moment here,” the mocking tones of Handsome Jack broke the silence, followed shortly by the rhythmic thrum of his submachine gun. Though he still played the charismatic manipulator, it didn’t take a psychiatrist to spot the cracks in his facade. “But there’s always time for a quickie!”

A constellation of slugs wound their way up Kenpachi’s side and tattered his robes as the sneering CEO closed the distance, dousing the duo in a deluge of lead. The Death God lifted his blade to give chase, but before he could make his move, Dave sprung upon him like a wildcat, coming down upon him with an impressive display of acrobatics followed up by a heavy downward swing of his broadsword. Before the shinigami could pay the scuffle more than a second’s attention, his disappearing opponent re-materialized before him, locking eyes to enthrall him in another pact of mutual agony. Despite his superhuman defenses, Zaraki found himself staggered by the sudden feeling of blades twisting behind his optics.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” the shaggy samurai muttered, chuckling as he brought his free hand up to shield his eyes. “I’m not very good at figuring techniques out. Not at least until I’ve seen them a few times.”

“So you intend to fight me with your hand over your face?” Dane monotoned, chuckling softly. “That’s not a great idea.”

“You’ve got me all wrong,” Kenpachi replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t hide or cower. And I’m definitely not gonna let my buddy over there one-up me.”

In one smooth motion the shinigami slid his fingers down the slope of his nose, digging his fingertips forcefully into his eye sockets as his world went dark.

“There!” A sickening squit later, blood dribbled down Kenpachi’s cheeks as his smile grew impossibly wide. “These aren’t doing me much good against you two anyway!”

Sparing not a single second, the blinded battler tore toward Dane’s location, swinging his nodachi in a wide arc. For all of the swashbuckler’s skill, Regan could do nothing to combat the sheer idiocy of the--quite literally--blind swipe of the shinigami’s enormous blade. The craggy brand carved a ragged valley up the man’s chest, barely missing his neck. Feeling the resistance of steel on flesh, Zaraki, hungry for more, threw a fist forward, slamming square into Dane’s nose.

“Finally!” Zaraki cried, adrenaline spiking the already aggressive cocktail flowing in his bloodstream. He didn’t need his vision to tell him that it would be a matter of seconds before his opponent fled into whatever respite he could find, but it mattered little. “Run all you want, I’ll tear this building down looking for you worthless shits!”

850 words according to Google Docs.

Jack jumped out and shot at two bros chatting, Dave sworded him. HE MAD.
Dane tried to Death Stare, but Zaraki blinded himself for reasons.
Zaraki is battle drunk and hasn't a single shred of self-control.

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#25 Dave Strider & #41 Kenpachi vs #42 Dane Regan & #09 Handsome Jack

Kenpachi stood and stared at the building.

He had been a man of his word.

Amid the rubble of destroyed structure was two unconscious fighters who had tried to stand against the adrenaline-fueled might of the brawler.

“Feed me more,” Kenpachi sneered as he was ushered back to the facility.

[spoiler]

Dave Strider (2.85) & Kenpachi (3.2) defeat Handsome Jack and Dane

#42 Dane Regan ELIMINATED

Dave & Kenpachi advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face Zedd & Violet.

Handsome Jack moves to Match H of the Consolation Bracket, where he will face Pennywise & Shantotto.

Dane may use the Elimination Exit thread to teleport to where ever he may like.[/spoiler]