Round 2, Fight 7: Neo America vs. Neo Australia

[Cardi Doorl]

THIRD GUNDAM FIGHT
ROUND 2, FIGHT 7
NEO AMERICA vs. NEO AUSTRALIA

- Miami, Florida -

December 7th, FC 16

Mid-afternoon in Miami during winter meant the temperature was mildly warm at worst. Rather pleasant compared to the locations holding much of the other matches in the finals. The arena itself was, like all the urban arenas in the finals, a 3-mile-by-3-mile square in the mostly-forgotten old downtown. The buildings were high and dense in the area; they'd once been the epitome of eye-pleasing architecture in their time, but were now dilapidated and abandoned. The pre-FC wars, combined with the emigration of much of the more affluent population to space, ensure that. The arena included, on one edge, a three-mile stretch of beach.

Once again, the amount of supporters for Neo America in the crowd was overwhelming, due largely to the fact they lived in the proximity. Much of the Neo American crowd was local, but a sizable chunk was made up of those who'd come from all around the country, even the space colony, to watch their champion. Spirits were at an all-time high since the Cowboy Gundam emerged victorious in the finals' inaugural match.

The support for Neo Australia's representative, however, was far from shabby in its own right. Scoring merely a draw against the Egyptian in the previous round had hardly been exciting, but aside from cynics here and there the Neo Australians were convinced that was a one-time fluke, and that the Outback Gundam would win for sure this time around.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" roared the announcer, who had to compete with an already-energized (and loud) audience, "Welcome to the seventh match of the Gundam Fight finals! I know you're all itching to get on with the action, so I'll make this brief!

"Today's match will feature James Ranger in the Cowboy Gundam, representing Neo America! He-" the announcer realized it was futile to continue that train of announcement, as he was hopelessly drowned out by the sheer volume of cheering and applause and noise that followed the first sentence. In the first match, this problem had been forestalled by the fact that only a limited number of people could fit. Here, the openness allowed for a staggeringly gigantic crowd.

Upon the first sign of the support quieting down, the announcer braved forth, "He'll be pitted against Blade Dundee in the Outback Gundam, representing Neo Australia! Blade-" This time, the Neo Australians drowned him out. At this point, the announcer realized the futility of it all and sighed, "Let the fighters enter the arena and signal readiness to the referees..." Nobody in the audience heard him.

[Psyden]

The sun is shining brightly in Miami as the gentle breeze blows in from the Gulf.

Both Gundam fighters stand at the ready about 600 yards apart from each other, with the center of the arena between them.

The Neo Australian stands at the ready, ready to snap off a shot as soon as the match starts. Last time, there was no clear winner, but this time, he is going up against one of the favorites to win. Blade as done good to make it into the Finals, especially since this is his Countries first entry. No body would blame him for failing now… But it is too soon to think about that now. This is something he must do, not for himself, but his Countrymen!

The Neo American is standing more nonchalantly, with his shotgun resting on his shoulder. This posture disguises the seriousness of which he is taking this fight. True, the Neo Aussie isn’t the most skilled opponent here, but in its own right, that makes him all the more dangerous. He’s an unknown factor. When in a bind, it is impossible to predict what he will do.

Both fighters signal their readiness to fight.

[Wingnut]

Upon seeing that both fighters were ready to go, the Neo Greece referee shouted "GUNDAM FIGHT... RRRREADY... GO!"

[Psyden]

At the signal, Blade chambers a round with lightning fast movements and is preparing to fire, when he sees James about to fire from the hip.

With a dodge-roll to the right, Blade narrowly avoids the cone of death from the shotgun as the outer walls of the buildings near where he was are sheered away by shot meant to puncture Gundanium.

With his rifle up beside him, he takes a careful peek around the corner.

Nothing.

He goes to the other side of the building and takes another peek…

But as before, the street is clear. Obviously the Neo American is hiding, perhaps to lure Blade from his cover.

Of course, Blade can’t hide forever, and neither can James.

As Blade makes his way forward, he takes a glance behind him to make sure he isn’t being flanked, and as he turns to face forward, he sees the tail-end of something rustle across the road and behind another building.

Cleva bugga…

It’s the Cowboy’s Poncho, he’s sure of that, which means, James his hiding around that corner, probably with the shotgun ready to take his head off as soon as rounds the corner. Like bloody hell it’ll be THAT easy!

The Outback tosses its rifle up and forward, rolls into the middle of the intersection and throws out two heat boomerangs, each done on of the streets before coming to a crouch in just enough time to catch the rifle and point it down the street.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to be found, except for the Poncho laying in the middle of the street behind the building. There is no sign of his opponent. Almost as an after thought, he catches the boomerangs as the return.

Did I lose him?

--

From elsewhere, James Ranger looks on, impressed with this kids ingenuity. It is a shame what will happen next.

--

Blade leans against the building behind him, keeping watch over the intersection. James’ll have to show up sooner or later, and trying to flush him out before he’s ready is obviously a fool errand.

Then, a thin shadow obscures a portion of his vision, traveling downwards. It takes him only a second to realize what it is, but that second is too long.

Before he knows it, he off the ground! Blade can’t breathe as something strangles him.

--

“Sorry kid, I hate to do this to ya, I really do… Don’t worry, you’ll pass out soon, anyway and this’ll all be over with.”

James is genuinely sorry for having to strangle the poor Aussie, but there will be not permanent damage. And as soon as the Outback goes limp, he’ll lower it down and take the head, simple as that.

Though, the Texan does feel a bit guilty for using such underhanded tricks, like using the Sheriff’s Star to float the Poncho across the roadway, or hiding on top of this building, waiting for the Outback to get underneath so he can snag it with the Lasso.

A sudden rumble shakes him out of his thoughts. He looks down, both hands still busy inching the hung Gundam up the side of the building, only to find cracks have developed along the roof.

Sh!7...

“Hey, you! Stop yer struggling’ or you’ll bring this entire building down!”

The victim in question does not seem obliged to listen as he continues to thrash his legs.

A portion of the roof gives way, and now the Cowboy is standing on the highest floor, which feels as if it, too will give way.

“Oh shi---!!!”

Which it finally does, as with it, several floors after it as he slides down and out.

The building is still standing, but a large grove has been formed by the falling Gundams.

James is dazes, but the first up. Blade is still coughing, trying to catch his breath. No matter, this is the end, anyway. Without his shotgun, which is somewhere buried in the rubble, he draws one of his faithful revolvers.

“Time to end this…”

The gun is point blank, there will be no misses.

A flash of light!

“WHAT THE?!?”

As the Cowboy recoils from this sudden attack, the front half of the revolver slides off along a diagonal cut and hit’s the ground.

Dropping the pistol, the Cowboy steps back as the Outback stands up. With an up stretched hand, Blade catches boomerang he managed to deploy.

“Vulcans!”

James is no fool. The vulcans probably won’t finish the Outback, but as harassers, the quad 60 mils should do good at covering his retreat. He stops firing as turns a corner just in time to hear his opponent yell out something he was hoping he could prevent…

--

“SHOOT-OUT MODE!!!”

With one hand, he loosens the noose around his next and removes the infernal rope from his head before he gives chase to that Bloody Neo American. The rifle is out of action, which means it’ll be up to his throwing skills to finish off the Cowboy. Fine by him.

After rounding a corner, he is greeted by a trio of near misses, courtesy of the coward hiding behind a building.

“heh… BOOMERANG BLITZ!”

Planting his feet, Blade toss the first boomerang with his left, sending it towards the building, the next with his right, then left, then right, then left and another right, each perfectly spaced.

--

“Holy Jesus!”

James is forced to the ground as a super heated boomerang rips through the building, almost severing his arm. The next one goes right where the Cowboy’s head was, and the others that follow in even spacings, ripping the building to shreds, and forcing James from cover, least he be crushed by falling rubble as the entire building collapses, and then he’s off again, running down a street as boomerang after boomerang bash through building after building in an endless stream. He can’t keep this up forever, he most do something, or he’s finished.

“HIGH NOON ATTACK!”

--

Blade, upon seeing the bright flare launch into the sky, focuses his attack in the area of the flare. There will be no where to hide. The Outback may not be able to track him in that blinding light, but all it’ll take is one hit from a single boomerang to knock him off balance.

A glint catches his attention from the corner of his eye.

--

“Gotcha!”

James fires his revolver, but not in time, Blade has already caught him hiding in the debris of a fallen building and sent a boomerang sending his way while moving out of the way of his bullet.

Damn that Gundam’s fast!

Only by bending over backwards with his left hand behind him on the ground for support, is he able to narrowly miss the first boomerang, though the follow ups will surely finish him off.

As he comes back to standing erect, ready to be dissected by the impending boomerangs, he finds none. Instead, he stands up in time to see the Outback catch the one it threw and start retrieving the 5 that are now embedded into the ground.

Of course! Once he moved, he wasn’t in position to catch them! Once he throws them, he can’t alter their course!

With the last two shots, he lays down a covering fire as he dashes off between more buildings.

--

“Crikey! The Bloody Yank missed!”

With boomerangs now safely stored, the Outback gives chase, past one building, around another, and suddenly he’s out in the open.

“The beach?!? A Trap!”

He hears his opponent roar “SHOOT OUT MODE!”

“We’ll see about this! There’s no where for you to run from my BOOMERANG BLITZ!”

--

As the Cowboy shifts to high gear, he can feel the extra thrusters coming on line, but that’s not what he needs, with the freshly reloaded pistol, James takes aim as the boomerangs start closing directly at him.

With both hands, his aim is steady. He squeezes the trigger as time seems to slow down. Twice, thrice, again and again, each bullet finding its mark.

--

“Crikey…”

Blade is stunned beyond yelling as each of his boomerangs violently veers off course. With six shots, he deflected all six of the boomerangs, and at this distance, there is no way he can take the Neo American out with 90 millimeters before he reloads and blows off the Outback’s head.

But when defeat seems all but inevitable, the Cowboy drops its pistol and signals for the Outback to charge.

“So that’s how it’ll be, then, mate?”

--

“JAMES?!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? FINISH HIM OFF ALREADY!”

“Just a minute, Jo, this match ain’t over with jus yet.”

“IT WOULD BE IF YO--”

With a flick of the wrist, he shuts to com link to his advisor, while his right arm reach behind him to draw his large heat bowie knife. The Outback has already unsheathed its hunting knife, so this should be quite fun.

His feet leave the sands the same instant as the Outback’s…

--

Jo is furious. Not only is James giving up his range advantage, but he’s actually egging the Neo Aussie kid into a knife fight! In the specially rigged Gundam Fight Operations Room (or G-FOR for short), Captain Josie Westwood has at least a dozen different angles of half again as many screens to see James recklessly endanger his chances of winning the match and risking millions of taxpayer’s money in repairs to the Cowboy Gundam. Even so, the fight is hard to follow, such is always the case with knife fights, which unlike gun fights that can go without a clear winner, or sword duels, which can be quite elegant to watch. Knife fights are close in fights that are not graceful nor elegant. They are brutal and base things where the objective is to maim the opponent as such as possible as it is to disarm him. This close in, the only rule that a fighter must follow is quite simple: Victory at whatever cost.

--

Blade goes for a slash at James’ right hand, trying to disarm his opponent, but with a downward slap of James’ left, deflects the blow and opens James’ for a thrust to the chest, which is thwarted by a rotation of Blade’s left.

And this continues. An attack that is counter, which is intern countered, which is countered and so on, until the entire affair is nothing about trying to counter the other’s counter, resulting in damage across the Gundams, from the chest to the thighs, and even the arms, the armor is melted and cut all over as the heat blades make contact, but not enough to take out the other.

Finally, the Gundams are locked, each has in their left hand the other’s right wrist. To let go would most certainly mean defeat, to break free certain victory, and so they struggle against each other’s.

The lock seems indefinite, like there will be no victory, until the Cowboy knees the Outback violently where the ribs would be of a person. In the briefest of moments, the Outback lets go and slugs the Cowboy in the face hard enough to warp and twist the metal, sending the Neo American machine sprawling onto it’s back.

James is quick to return to his feet, but only in time for the Outback to shove it’s super sized, super heated hunting knife all the way to the hilt.

--

At her seat, Jo can only clasp her hands at her mouth and gasp in horror.

--

“Sorry mate, ya left me with no choice.”

James, feeling the knife simulated deep within his chest only smirks.

“Ya…I’m sorry, too…”

Before Blade Dundee can inquire further as to what that is supposed to mean, the Cowboy slams the bowie knife into the side of the Outback’s head and snaps off the hilt.

Dropping the now useless handle, James pulls the hunting knife from the Cowboy’s chest before falling to a knee, out of breath and out of power. As the systems shut down, he can at least see that the Outback has been disabled. He has won the match…

All that’s left now, if for the ref to call it…


((P.S. Sorry that it took so long, but my sister is getting married tomorrow and I have been bogged down due to preparations and a fairly heavy case of writer’s block for the fight scene.))

[Wingnut]

The Greek referee didn't entirely understand the reasoning why the American would give up such an advantage in weapons for a close encounter where he could easily lose.

He was about to call the fight when he saw the Australian plunge his weapon into the chest of the Cowboy Gundam, but the decision changed when the Cowboy brought its own knife up into the neck of the Outback Gundam and disabled it.

"This match is now over! The winner is James Ranger and the Cowboy Gundam!
Fighters may now retrieve their fighters and Gundams."

[Cardi Doorl]

Match Result: Neo America wins