5th | When your own flesh and blood renounces you... [Video]
Rock grit his teeth, bracing against a palm strike by Geese, digging his feet into the ground and bringing both arms up to block. “You fucking abandoned us! Left mother to die...why?! Why did you leave? Your goddamn business more important than your own family?!!”
Geese’s leg snapped up, catching Rock by the thighs before he was hit in the solar plexus. The younger man coughed, the wind knocked out of him before he took a couple steps back. He was just...smiling. And that made Rock’s blood boil all the more. It was like he knew something Rock didn’t. “C'mon, boy... is this what Bogard's been teaching you?”
“SHUT UP!” Rock screamed, finding air again before swinging an arm upward, a torrent of energy speeding toward his father- a Reppuken. “Don’t you dare insult Terry! He’s more of a father to me than you ever were!”
Geese laughed, a single harsh bark He then stepped forward, leaping towards his son, neatly evading the oncoming blast. As he flies towards Rock, he twists, drawing his left hand back... then, as he approaches Rock, he strikes at the younger Howard's chest with a slashing chop, his hand radiating sizzling blue energy--Hishio Nichirin Zan, the Flying Sun Slash.
Rock immediately brought both arms up, eyes narrowed as he backed off. Time it... He knew that Geese had to come down, all that mattered was avoiding the energy that was coming at him. Once he came down, Rock smacked his arm away, spinning his entire body around, his right leg crashing down on Geese’s head- a well-timed Crack Counter.
Geese took the blow in stride, only to give that same damn knowing grin that pissed him off- “Heh... Yes... he took you in. As I knew he would, boy...”
Rock’s jaw clenched. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean...” But he shook his head, no, he wasn’t going to let him get to him-
-but he already had. Rock’s entire body shuddered before he raised his hands, engulfed in energy. “Never mind, I don’t care. Just...STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!” As he screamed the last part, he bent over, torrents of energy erupting from his entire body, cutting through the air. The ultimate irony, one of the only moves that Rock simply knew- Raging Storm.
Geese rolled to his feet just in time to watch as Rock focuses his power for a technique the elder Howard knew well... a technique that he had himself created. But his look of shock swiftly changed to one of anger as he saw just how different Rock's Raging Storm is; he plants his feet and sets his guard... just as Rock slams his hands down.
A whirling typhoon of azure power erupts... but it isn't enough for Geese, it's never enough for Geese unless it's one hundred percent, and this attack... is most definitely not. As it fades, Geese sneers, his face full of cold fury. “Is that it? Is that what you think the Raging Storm is about? You've got it wrong boy... as usual, you fucked it up!” he roars, raising his own hands. “RAGING STORM!” he cries, and slams his hands to the ground.
He didn’t have enough time to defend himself, no time to raise his hands to protect himself from the attack that was being flung at him. Rock’s eyes widened before he cried out, waves of energy crashing against his body. He tried to stand his ground, tried to dig his feet in and at least try to counter, but to no avail. His breaths were staggered, eyes closed as he focused on getting up. It hurt all over, hurt to move, hurt to even breathe. He wiped his lip, sure that he could taste blood.
His blood...
I’m done running. I have to fight. I CAN’T LOSE.
“I don’t care what you think. I wish...you’d just fucking die,” he growled, surprised he could find the strength to even talk at this point.
There is a moment of silence... then Geese starts to laugh, long and loud and cold. “Die? You want me to die? I did die, boy. But you remember that, don't you?” he says, as he begins to walk forward, his footsteps eerily silent. “You should remember, boy; it's not every day a son sees his father die...” he says, and for an instant there's something pensive in his tone. Nothing human like compassion or pity or mercy, just... pensiveness.
It passes quickly, though. “Oh yes, boy... I saw you there. Come to daddy to beg for help for your mother, perhaps? No matter the reason... you were there. You saw Bogard throw me through that window... saw Bogard catch me. And as I hung there, I saw you,” he says... and for a brief instant he smiles, that same smile he wore on the day he died. A smile of... triumph.
It lasts only a second, though, before being replaced by an expression of cold anger. “Bogard... his mastery of hakkyokuseiken was better than mine, more complete; that fool, Tung Fu Rue, had seen fit to give the son of Bogard the power he would not give me: full mastery. That was a power barred to me so long as I lived. But not to you, boy... I saw the future as I hung there, my son... I saw it in Bogard's eyes and in your face, and I knew then that all I that I had planned and dreamed and built would come to pass.”
“All that it required was my life's blood on the foundation... and so I let go. I died as I had lived, by my own hand...” he says, but the expression on his face doesn't match the words. He smiled, but it was the smile of some ancient predator, lurking in the darkness and waiting for its prey to make a single misstep.
Rock shook his head violently. “SHUT UP!” Unwanted memories were flashing behind his eyelids, and questions that he had never wanted to know the answers to started forming in the back of his mind. Whether it was rage, adrenaline, or some mixture of the two, Rock rushed forward, employing the Rage Run -Shift- to get on the other side of his father and try to catch him off-guard, channeling ki into his arm again.
He charged his right arm and aimed right toward his father’s smug face. “I’LL NEVER BE YOU! YOU’RE THE LAST PERSON I WANT TO BE COMPARED TO!!!” He then slid forward with his elbow again, driving it into Geese’s solar plexus before moving his body to drill-kick the older man into the air. “SHINE KNUCKLE!”
The elder Howard grunted as Rock's sudden strike slammed into his chest, then Rock's rising kick catches him, tossing him into the air like a rag doll and throwing him back. He arcs up, then falls towards the ground, but manages to twist himself around and make a controlled landing--he throws his arms up, turns a flat fall into a circular roll, turning a bone-breaking impact with the ground into a merely bruising one.
He rose to his feet more slowly this time, but it's hard to tell if he does that because he's hurt, or just for dramatic effect, or even merely as a feint to draw Rock into an overconfident attack, or even all of those things; he is, after all, Geese Howard.
“I haven't seen that before, that shift... that's good, boy. Very good,” he says, speaking what may be the only words of praise he’s ever had for Rock in his entire life... though again, his tone does not match the words. There is nothing of praise in his voice, only a sort of cold, hungry appraisal, like a buyer eyeing a new piece of merchandise.
“...I’m not you.” These words were becoming something of a mantra for Rock at this point. It was his grip on sanity, his way of reminding himself that he was still himself, that he just needed to keep it up-
He spat at the ground, ignoring the fact that it was more blood than saliva before getting back into his neutral stance. “And didn’t you hear me before? I don’t care. Your opinion never mattered to me, even growing up. I somehow knew even then...that you were never coming back, you’d already turned your back on us to watch over your precious empire,” he spat, by contrast, his voice was filled with emotion- anger, frustration, and even a hint of pity.
“Never coming back?” Geese says, surprised... and then he starts to laugh, long and loud. It takes a moment before he can speak again. “You just... don't get it, do you boy,” he says at last, and now there's something in Geese's voice, as well, a mix of weariness and pity. It is, no doubt, the most human Rock has ever heard Geese sound... and it is terrifying.
“Do you think... this is just some empty dream, boy? Do you think that the reason that I'm always waiting for you when you close your eyes is just because you had an angsty childhood?” he sneers, his voice gone cold again. “I can come out into the light in this place, but even in Southtown... I'm always there, as close as your shadow, as near as your breath. I'm the dream of the dark half of your soul, boy... I'm the dream of your cursed blood, blood that by right of the Yellow Dragon of Jin belongs to me; with every breath you draw, I gain strength. You say you don't want to become me... but what you want doesn't matter. Since the day I died, your life hasn't been your own... you're nothing but a fleeting dream,” he says, smiling that awful triumphant smile again.
“One day you'll go to sleep... and I'll wake up.”
Those words chilled Rock’s blood, his veins felt like ice. He never wanted to admit to the fact that what Geese said would be true, that he was just a vessel-
No. Isn’t that why Terry took me in? To help me break free from these bonds? Those little words...they weren’t much, but they were enough to keep him from falling completely into despair.
“But I’m still in control. If your influence is as strong as you’re trying to make it sound, Dad,” he spat the name like it was an obscenity- “then why haven’t I attacked Terry yet? Or took back your empire from Kain?”As he said this, he felt like he was getting stronger, like each word was fueling his determination. Indigo energy swirled around him, blowing away the debris that had accumulated from the earlier attacks.
Geese smiled, shaking his head. “Why would I strike at Terry, boy? I told you, and you saw it with your own eyes--I died by my own hand. I let go. Then, after my body hit the pavement, he turned... and he saw you. Do you remember that, boy? The expression on his face? The guilt, the horror, at having let your father die in front of your eyes? I remember it well; I've seen it through your eyes, boy...” The elder Howard began to walk, his silent footsteps describing a large circle around Rock, always staying just beyond the light of the boy's aura, always in the shadows, his words commanding Rock's attention... a metaphor, perhaps.
“You told him how terrible I was at being a father... but still, he felt guilt. The fool felt responsible, felt that he had killed me even though I was the one who decided to end my life... in some idiotic corner of his mind, he likened what he had done to you to what I had done to him; he thought that, by taking your father from you in front of your own eyes, he had allowed himself to become like me,” Geese explained, laughing richly at the irony.
“So he thought to make recompense to you, with the only thing he had--his art. His mastery of hakkyokuseiken... the power denied to me. He took you in and taught you... just as I knew he would,” the elder Howard laughs. “When I return, when I claim dominance, I will have that strength in addition to my own mastery. I will combine the arts he has taught you with my own mastery in a way that will make your pathetic attempt at synthesis into nothing but a weak joke!” Geese sneered, but then the smile returns to his face.
“Until then... why should I rush? Why should I strike at Terry? He may have more he can teach you... and even if he doesn't, he has done a fine role as my pawn, carrying my great plan ever close to fruition.” The elder Howard eyes Rock, cold blue eyes assessing his son, sees that the boy is on the edge, but is still being held back... and as he studies Rock's red eyes--the eyes he inherited from his mother's side--he knows what is needed.
“The only time there was ever any danger, boy... the only time there was ever any hope for you... was when your mother found out what I was up to. I was a bit careless, there; I chose her for her breeding, won her heart, and sired you on her... but she never knew when to leave well enough alone. She got a whiff of my real colors, of what I really did for a living, of what you would be heir to (haha, she had NO idea on that one!) and ran... she thought in her foolish heart that she could keep you safe if she kept you away from me. She might have been right, actually,” Geese mused, looking pensive again for a moment.
“But when she fell in with me, the Heinleins disowned her... and then she fell ill, and you, boy, came home to the Tower. And because of that, everything she gave up--her health, her wealth, her family, her life--all came to nothing. Nothing but a little more blood for the foundation of my empire... an empire that will extend through the ages, handed down from son to son for eternity... from my hand to my hand, for eternity!” he roars, laughing, laughing, laughing.
Rock couldn’t believe it. He had deceived his mother...only to use her as a breeding tool?! He lowered his head, his entire body shaking, aura strengthening. “You...never even cared about her? And Terry...you manipulated them for your own little scheme.... Only so you can continue your damn empire?!” Rock clenched his fists, tightening his grip as he spoke. “You’ve gone off the deep end, old man. I’m not going to let you do this. I won’t.”
But even as he said this, it was like whatever strength he had before when he was fighting had been sapped from him and replaced with a searing fire in his very blood that caused him to cry out, clenching one hand around his opposite wrist. “No, not now-”
Geese smiled, and even now, as he walked forward to stand directly before Rock, he is still in the shadows. “You can't escape, son... you never could. The blood will tell,” he says, his voice quiet, maybe even almost pitying.
“Shut up...just shut UP!” And with that, Rock suddenly found the strength to swing at Geese, a hard right hook that sent him flying-
-through the window of the Tower, glass shattering and raining to the ground like diamonds as Geese went through it, only to drop out of sight.The last thing Rock heard was that damn laugh, piercing through the night sky.
(I'm too damn lazy to switch it out to actionspam mode, so have TL;DR- the old-fashioned way. This is actually a collab post by me and a friend of mine for the writing tournament I'm in now, nightmare round. Used with permission, as I cannot write Rock's real dad worth a crap. :| Rock will respond in-dream, after Geese disappears.)
Geese’s leg snapped up, catching Rock by the thighs before he was hit in the solar plexus. The younger man coughed, the wind knocked out of him before he took a couple steps back. He was just...smiling. And that made Rock’s blood boil all the more. It was like he knew something Rock didn’t. “C'mon, boy... is this what Bogard's been teaching you?”
“SHUT UP!” Rock screamed, finding air again before swinging an arm upward, a torrent of energy speeding toward his father- a Reppuken. “Don’t you dare insult Terry! He’s more of a father to me than you ever were!”
Geese laughed, a single harsh bark He then stepped forward, leaping towards his son, neatly evading the oncoming blast. As he flies towards Rock, he twists, drawing his left hand back... then, as he approaches Rock, he strikes at the younger Howard's chest with a slashing chop, his hand radiating sizzling blue energy--Hishio Nichirin Zan, the Flying Sun Slash.
Rock immediately brought both arms up, eyes narrowed as he backed off. Time it... He knew that Geese had to come down, all that mattered was avoiding the energy that was coming at him. Once he came down, Rock smacked his arm away, spinning his entire body around, his right leg crashing down on Geese’s head- a well-timed Crack Counter.
Geese took the blow in stride, only to give that same damn knowing grin that pissed him off- “Heh... Yes... he took you in. As I knew he would, boy...”
Rock’s jaw clenched. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean...” But he shook his head, no, he wasn’t going to let him get to him-
-but he already had. Rock’s entire body shuddered before he raised his hands, engulfed in energy. “Never mind, I don’t care. Just...STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!” As he screamed the last part, he bent over, torrents of energy erupting from his entire body, cutting through the air. The ultimate irony, one of the only moves that Rock simply knew- Raging Storm.
Geese rolled to his feet just in time to watch as Rock focuses his power for a technique the elder Howard knew well... a technique that he had himself created. But his look of shock swiftly changed to one of anger as he saw just how different Rock's Raging Storm is; he plants his feet and sets his guard... just as Rock slams his hands down.
A whirling typhoon of azure power erupts... but it isn't enough for Geese, it's never enough for Geese unless it's one hundred percent, and this attack... is most definitely not. As it fades, Geese sneers, his face full of cold fury. “Is that it? Is that what you think the Raging Storm is about? You've got it wrong boy... as usual, you fucked it up!” he roars, raising his own hands. “RAGING STORM!” he cries, and slams his hands to the ground.
He didn’t have enough time to defend himself, no time to raise his hands to protect himself from the attack that was being flung at him. Rock’s eyes widened before he cried out, waves of energy crashing against his body. He tried to stand his ground, tried to dig his feet in and at least try to counter, but to no avail. His breaths were staggered, eyes closed as he focused on getting up. It hurt all over, hurt to move, hurt to even breathe. He wiped his lip, sure that he could taste blood.
His blood...
I’m done running. I have to fight. I CAN’T LOSE.
“I don’t care what you think. I wish...you’d just fucking die,” he growled, surprised he could find the strength to even talk at this point.
There is a moment of silence... then Geese starts to laugh, long and loud and cold. “Die? You want me to die? I did die, boy. But you remember that, don't you?” he says, as he begins to walk forward, his footsteps eerily silent. “You should remember, boy; it's not every day a son sees his father die...” he says, and for an instant there's something pensive in his tone. Nothing human like compassion or pity or mercy, just... pensiveness.
It passes quickly, though. “Oh yes, boy... I saw you there. Come to daddy to beg for help for your mother, perhaps? No matter the reason... you were there. You saw Bogard throw me through that window... saw Bogard catch me. And as I hung there, I saw you,” he says... and for a brief instant he smiles, that same smile he wore on the day he died. A smile of... triumph.
It lasts only a second, though, before being replaced by an expression of cold anger. “Bogard... his mastery of hakkyokuseiken was better than mine, more complete; that fool, Tung Fu Rue, had seen fit to give the son of Bogard the power he would not give me: full mastery. That was a power barred to me so long as I lived. But not to you, boy... I saw the future as I hung there, my son... I saw it in Bogard's eyes and in your face, and I knew then that all I that I had planned and dreamed and built would come to pass.”
“All that it required was my life's blood on the foundation... and so I let go. I died as I had lived, by my own hand...” he says, but the expression on his face doesn't match the words. He smiled, but it was the smile of some ancient predator, lurking in the darkness and waiting for its prey to make a single misstep.
Rock shook his head violently. “SHUT UP!” Unwanted memories were flashing behind his eyelids, and questions that he had never wanted to know the answers to started forming in the back of his mind. Whether it was rage, adrenaline, or some mixture of the two, Rock rushed forward, employing the Rage Run -Shift- to get on the other side of his father and try to catch him off-guard, channeling ki into his arm again.
He charged his right arm and aimed right toward his father’s smug face. “I’LL NEVER BE YOU! YOU’RE THE LAST PERSON I WANT TO BE COMPARED TO!!!” He then slid forward with his elbow again, driving it into Geese’s solar plexus before moving his body to drill-kick the older man into the air. “SHINE KNUCKLE!”
The elder Howard grunted as Rock's sudden strike slammed into his chest, then Rock's rising kick catches him, tossing him into the air like a rag doll and throwing him back. He arcs up, then falls towards the ground, but manages to twist himself around and make a controlled landing--he throws his arms up, turns a flat fall into a circular roll, turning a bone-breaking impact with the ground into a merely bruising one.
He rose to his feet more slowly this time, but it's hard to tell if he does that because he's hurt, or just for dramatic effect, or even merely as a feint to draw Rock into an overconfident attack, or even all of those things; he is, after all, Geese Howard.
“I haven't seen that before, that shift... that's good, boy. Very good,” he says, speaking what may be the only words of praise he’s ever had for Rock in his entire life... though again, his tone does not match the words. There is nothing of praise in his voice, only a sort of cold, hungry appraisal, like a buyer eyeing a new piece of merchandise.
“...I’m not you.” These words were becoming something of a mantra for Rock at this point. It was his grip on sanity, his way of reminding himself that he was still himself, that he just needed to keep it up-
He spat at the ground, ignoring the fact that it was more blood than saliva before getting back into his neutral stance. “And didn’t you hear me before? I don’t care. Your opinion never mattered to me, even growing up. I somehow knew even then...that you were never coming back, you’d already turned your back on us to watch over your precious empire,” he spat, by contrast, his voice was filled with emotion- anger, frustration, and even a hint of pity.
“Never coming back?” Geese says, surprised... and then he starts to laugh, long and loud. It takes a moment before he can speak again. “You just... don't get it, do you boy,” he says at last, and now there's something in Geese's voice, as well, a mix of weariness and pity. It is, no doubt, the most human Rock has ever heard Geese sound... and it is terrifying.
“Do you think... this is just some empty dream, boy? Do you think that the reason that I'm always waiting for you when you close your eyes is just because you had an angsty childhood?” he sneers, his voice gone cold again. “I can come out into the light in this place, but even in Southtown... I'm always there, as close as your shadow, as near as your breath. I'm the dream of the dark half of your soul, boy... I'm the dream of your cursed blood, blood that by right of the Yellow Dragon of Jin belongs to me; with every breath you draw, I gain strength. You say you don't want to become me... but what you want doesn't matter. Since the day I died, your life hasn't been your own... you're nothing but a fleeting dream,” he says, smiling that awful triumphant smile again.
“One day you'll go to sleep... and I'll wake up.”
Those words chilled Rock’s blood, his veins felt like ice. He never wanted to admit to the fact that what Geese said would be true, that he was just a vessel-
No. Isn’t that why Terry took me in? To help me break free from these bonds? Those little words...they weren’t much, but they were enough to keep him from falling completely into despair.
“But I’m still in control. If your influence is as strong as you’re trying to make it sound, Dad,” he spat the name like it was an obscenity- “then why haven’t I attacked Terry yet? Or took back your empire from Kain?”As he said this, he felt like he was getting stronger, like each word was fueling his determination. Indigo energy swirled around him, blowing away the debris that had accumulated from the earlier attacks.
Geese smiled, shaking his head. “Why would I strike at Terry, boy? I told you, and you saw it with your own eyes--I died by my own hand. I let go. Then, after my body hit the pavement, he turned... and he saw you. Do you remember that, boy? The expression on his face? The guilt, the horror, at having let your father die in front of your eyes? I remember it well; I've seen it through your eyes, boy...” The elder Howard began to walk, his silent footsteps describing a large circle around Rock, always staying just beyond the light of the boy's aura, always in the shadows, his words commanding Rock's attention... a metaphor, perhaps.
“You told him how terrible I was at being a father... but still, he felt guilt. The fool felt responsible, felt that he had killed me even though I was the one who decided to end my life... in some idiotic corner of his mind, he likened what he had done to you to what I had done to him; he thought that, by taking your father from you in front of your own eyes, he had allowed himself to become like me,” Geese explained, laughing richly at the irony.
“So he thought to make recompense to you, with the only thing he had--his art. His mastery of hakkyokuseiken... the power denied to me. He took you in and taught you... just as I knew he would,” the elder Howard laughs. “When I return, when I claim dominance, I will have that strength in addition to my own mastery. I will combine the arts he has taught you with my own mastery in a way that will make your pathetic attempt at synthesis into nothing but a weak joke!” Geese sneered, but then the smile returns to his face.
“Until then... why should I rush? Why should I strike at Terry? He may have more he can teach you... and even if he doesn't, he has done a fine role as my pawn, carrying my great plan ever close to fruition.” The elder Howard eyes Rock, cold blue eyes assessing his son, sees that the boy is on the edge, but is still being held back... and as he studies Rock's red eyes--the eyes he inherited from his mother's side--he knows what is needed.
“The only time there was ever any danger, boy... the only time there was ever any hope for you... was when your mother found out what I was up to. I was a bit careless, there; I chose her for her breeding, won her heart, and sired you on her... but she never knew when to leave well enough alone. She got a whiff of my real colors, of what I really did for a living, of what you would be heir to (haha, she had NO idea on that one!) and ran... she thought in her foolish heart that she could keep you safe if she kept you away from me. She might have been right, actually,” Geese mused, looking pensive again for a moment.
“But when she fell in with me, the Heinleins disowned her... and then she fell ill, and you, boy, came home to the Tower. And because of that, everything she gave up--her health, her wealth, her family, her life--all came to nothing. Nothing but a little more blood for the foundation of my empire... an empire that will extend through the ages, handed down from son to son for eternity... from my hand to my hand, for eternity!” he roars, laughing, laughing, laughing.
Rock couldn’t believe it. He had deceived his mother...only to use her as a breeding tool?! He lowered his head, his entire body shaking, aura strengthening. “You...never even cared about her? And Terry...you manipulated them for your own little scheme.... Only so you can continue your damn empire?!” Rock clenched his fists, tightening his grip as he spoke. “You’ve gone off the deep end, old man. I’m not going to let you do this. I won’t.”
But even as he said this, it was like whatever strength he had before when he was fighting had been sapped from him and replaced with a searing fire in his very blood that caused him to cry out, clenching one hand around his opposite wrist. “No, not now-”
Geese smiled, and even now, as he walked forward to stand directly before Rock, he is still in the shadows. “You can't escape, son... you never could. The blood will tell,” he says, his voice quiet, maybe even almost pitying.
“Shut up...just shut UP!” And with that, Rock suddenly found the strength to swing at Geese, a hard right hook that sent him flying-
-through the window of the Tower, glass shattering and raining to the ground like diamonds as Geese went through it, only to drop out of sight.The last thing Rock heard was that damn laugh, piercing through the night sky.
(I'm too damn lazy to switch it out to actionspam mode, so have TL;DR- the old-fashioned way. This is actually a collab post by me and a friend of mine for the writing tournament I'm in now, nightmare round. Used with permission, as I cannot write Rock's real dad worth a crap. :| Rock will respond in-dream, after Geese disappears.)