Ria vs. Beck: Firestar Results!

[DoF Archive]

Date: 8/6/2000 5:34 PM Central Daylight Time
From: HOST DFC Brash


On the evening of the Fourth of August, I was called upon to witness the best-of-three bout between Alexandria "Ria" Wells and Beck "Beck" Weller for the right to wield possibly the most infamous opal in the Fists' collection, Firestar. All three matches took place amidst the park's sparse trees, by the light of a lone lantern hanging from a branch. But enough with the set up, let us look at what occured --

Beck defeats Ria, five to four. The first match set up the unusual tone for the evening, and saw Beck steal two quick points. It wasn't until Ria had it tied at two apiece that Beck rallied for another pair, the score then four to two in his favor. Ria would prove her endurance however, turning back two of Beck's chops: the first with a solid stop-and-shove, the second with a common backhand technique. With Sudden Death at hand, the next round
showed a flashy armblock from Beck and similarly a legblock from Ria. But Ria's desperate jab sealed her fate as Beck capably dodged, allowing the injury with which Ria began the duel to inflict its own blow and earning him the night's first win.

Ria defeats Beck, five to two. After a five-minute intermission, the combatants began a slower-paced second match. In a fight which Ria would come to dominate, she began by pulling back a spinkick that would have connected, following up by snapping a kick into Beck's cranium as he dropped to sweep. An interesting tidbit for this match -- Beck attacked only three times, each a sweep, a move he avoided using in the first match. Beck's only clean
point would come from countering Ria's second snapkick. Two of Ria's points came from sweeping Beck as he attempted to shift aside and feigning an uppercut to catch him ducking; the remaining three she earned from Beck's sweeps, with final points being earned by both as they traded low blows. The exchange was all Ria needed to take the win.

After another brief intermission, the two met for a tie breaker. The pace picked up dramatically, with Ria scoring two quick points with a successful jab-sweep combo. Beck tied it up in no time, dropping low to counter a Ria flip then hitting with, of all things, a sweep. Ria answered by popping Beck out of the air as he leapt, but he then took to the air again to catch Ria chopping. At three all, the two collided with jabs to enter Sudden Death,
at which point our lantern anticlimactically went out. I hurried over to relight it, during which I heard scuffling which I could only assume was defensive posturing. Just as it ignited, I beheld the final blow: Beck bowling atop what was a possible sweep attempt from Ria.

The results: Beck earns the right to possess Firestar. Following a malevolent victory ritual, Ria was in critical condition with third-degree burns and is still receiving medical attention. A circle of charred earth approximately ten feet in diameter within the park marks the event.

Submitted by,
Brash Nillis, Esq.