Three Rounds

[Outfoxd]

((And this thread, while me writing an actual fight, I thought would be cool if other handlers bring in characters who might have been interested in seeing their classmate fight to interact and talk with the fight as a framing device. You guys post, and every so often I'll write another part or round of the fight until the end. If you're interested, let me know via PM.

Note: This isn't UFC, but a fictional Minnesota professional MMA promotion, so we can hammer out details as we go.))



"Gimme a straight two, slip right, two again, then jab out."

Breathe, exhale. Short, sharp.

Ray pounded out his left jab, the impact audible as he made contact with his trainer's (Frank's focus mitt, then turned his hip sharply to the right as he threw the right cross to the opposite mitt. His trainer fed him back a jab and Ray slipped it, throwing his right hand again. His pushed off his right foot and circled to his left, pushing his jab out to cover his movement.

"Good. One, one, three, four, go."

Breathe. Short breaths.

He pounded out two jabs, pumped his left hook, then fired his right hand into the opposite focus mitt. He circled.

"Three to the shot."

Ray tapped out a left, right, left combination, changed levels, and shot for a double leg. He drove Frank's weight up and off of him, circling out as he kept up his guard.

The door to the backstage area opened up, and one of the tech guys for the fight card leaned in.

"Dawson. Ten minute warning."

Ray looked to Frank, who let the mits drop. "Take it easy. We're done till showtime."

Ray took another breath, relaxed. He went to take a seat where they had provided a bench with some rather lumpy padding to sit on. Some of the nerves that were bothering him must have shown on his face, because Frank spoke again.

"You'll do fine, kid. Just do like we practiced. Take him down and keep him down. Make it ugly."

Ray raised one gloved hand and waved him off. "It's not that. Just...hoping some people come out, you know?"

Frank nodded, understanding. He always seemed to understand. Part of why Ray had stayed with his gym this long.

Ten years later, and some of the baggage still seemed to be there. SOTF had, in some small part, stayed with Ray. Even as he managed to make it to college on a wrestling scholarship. Even as Alicia grew, got smarter, didn't need him anymore. Even as he took up MMA as a hobby and eventually, a profession.

It was his professional MMA debut, and all he could think about was hoping he'd see people from the past out supporting him.

Just breathe.

[BetaKnight]

Marie Hansen fidgeted in her seat, wondering for the millionth time what she was doing here. This type of thing wasn't something she really approved of, let alone enjoyed watching. She could barely tolerate boxing which was much less brutal than any MMA fight Edgar and Aric had ever subjected her to. This was something they would enjoy. They were the two who should have been here for this, not her. But with one of them sick and the other out of town, it had fallen to her to come and support Ray.

She tried to act as if she belonged here, nodding as people around her discussed foreign terms like ‘side control', ‘guillotines', ‘rear mounts', ‘ground game', and something to do with triangles. It was strange, she mused as she scanned the area, how similar and dissimilar all this was to Ray's college wrestling meets. The wrestling mat had been exchanged for a cage, the singlet swapped for what looked like swimming trunks. Or in some cases, hot pants. Maybe that had something to do with the ‘rear naked choke' she had heard about earlier.

Craning her neck, Marie wondered where Alicia and the rest of Ray's family were. They never missed any of his matches and she was sure they wouldn't miss this. The fact that she hadn't spotted them yet was making her anxious. However, a stray comment from the row in front of her soon replaced her anxiety with anger.

"Excuse me, sir," she ground out as she leaned forward, so irritated that she did not care she was breaking social protocol. "I hate to intrude, but you are quite mistaken. ‘That Dawson guy' will definitely NOT be ‘getting his shit rocked'," she made air quotes at the astonished man, "as you so crudely put it, in the first round. Raymond Dawson is an excellent wrestler and has a heart and mental toughness that is practically unmatched by anyone anywhere. If anything, Ray will be busy choking the shit out of your friend, who will undoubtedly tap out."

Leaning back in her seat, Marie folded her arms across her chest and practically dared the young man to disagree with her. She snorted. Ray losing this? What a preposterous thought.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"C'mon, Ray, kick his ass!" a boisterous girl from just a few seats down called. "Make him bleed! Knock him silly! Cut his lights! Most of all, look pimpin'!"

When she received the invitation to come watch this fight, Felicia laid off all other engagements so she could go. It was a good thing she was given ample time beforehand too; work could be a major pain to get out of at times, so letting them know in advance lessened the amount of bitching her boss would do. Maybe only slightly, but every little bit helped. School was something a little trickier to deal with, but the date and time fell on one of those few sweetspots where Felicia wasn't overloaded with coursework (namely, a weekend). So, she upheld that promise she made forever and a day ago, and was here to watch Ray wipe the floor with some poor sap.

She couldn't remember just how long it had been, even. Ray had asked her about this when they were still in the hospital, and she had remembered saying yes. Time made no difference to matters like this, so of course she was here, and would cheer him on. On that note, there seemed to be a lot of people cheering for Ray. Lots of people were cheering for the opponent too, but Felicia effortlessly ignored that. As much as she wasn't really big on sports to the point of obsession or anything, she had been to her fair share of events in legitimate enjoyment. She knew enough to understand people were going to cheer for whoever, and that was just the way things were.

Somebody else didn't seem to see things that way, though. Actually, they were making one hell of an argument to the contrary. A little... formal and out of place for a sweaty place that smelled like ass and featured half-dressed, grown men cuddling each other roughly, but extensive nonetheless. Felicia turned around and... saw absolutely nobody she recognized. Turning back to the ring, she let out another large shout of "Let's go Raaaaaaaaay!"

She was so going to get laryngitis from this.

Match hasn't even started yet, dweeb.

[Ruggahissy]

Isabel walked into the arena, hips switching and swaying to the sound of the music and cheers from the crowd. She tossed back her mass of curly hair and her eyes scanned the space, sharp and critical as always. There was some aspect of her that could never be cured of her mistrustful, feral look. She tugged down on the collar of her long cream sweater, decorated with patterns of dark blue near her neck and at the bottom.

Isabel was somewhat fascinated by the crowd. The thought of watching Ray fight someone was always a little cringe worthy, no one liked seeing their friend take one to the face, but she was there to show support. A moment before she'd been holding onto the hand of Jennifer but it seemed she'd wandered off somewhere. Even though it was nerve wracking to watch Ray fight, there was also some excitement there that was only amplified by the crowd.

Isabel's hair fell over one of her eyes and she walked towards the seats on her own.

"Good evening, Mrs. Hansen," she said, only just loud enough to be heard over the noise.

[BetaKnight]

((I have no idea if I'm supposed to post or not. So of course, I'm going to.))

Marie turned towards the young woman addressing her. "Oh hello, Isabel dear," she said, giving the young woman a warm smile. She patted the seat next to her, offering it to the new arrival. "I'm glad you made it. It's so nice to see a familiar face around here, especially since I haven't spotted Alicia or Ray's parents yet."

Canting her head to one side, she perused Isabel's outfit before looking at her own outfit with a sigh. "You look lovely. That sweater does wonders with your skin tone. Having never been to one of these before, I really wasn't sure what to wear."

In a move reminiscent of her daughter, she abruptly changed the topic. "By the way, you haven't seen Raymond tonight, have you? I was wondering how he was doing but I don't think he'd want me dropping by and fussing at him. Edgar and Aric wanted to wish him well since they couldn't be here tonight. Aric had mentioned something about me filming it for them but I'm so bad with technology…." She allowed the sentence to trail off as she scanned the crowd. "Also, I'm not sure if that sort of thing is allowed."

[Grand Moff Hissa]

((Jennifer Perez continued from the past))

Jennifer wasn't at the fight because she had any particular interest in boxing or karate or whatever it exactly was that was going to happen here. The whole thing, in fact, made her rather squeamish. The years had done her some good when it came to asserting herself, but her distaste for conflict was as strong as ever, and seeing some people pound each other senseless sounded just the littlest bit appalling. She wasn't here to show pride in a fellow survivor or anything like that. There were endless opportunities for the limelight, for cashing in on what she'd been through or associating herself with it in a direct manner, and Jennifer found herself quite content passing all of them by. No, she was here for Isabel, and she was here for Ray, and she was here because she hoped she'd have a good time trying something new.

She'd been very nervous entering the place, actually hanging tightly to Isabel's hand, trying not to get lost in the noise and the bustle. She'd realized very quickly, though, that she was in over her head with this. The atmosphere was tense, expectant. It made her a little bit jittery. She'd separated from Isabel briefly to go and track down a vending machine, where she'd gotten a can of Coke. Jennifer loathed Coke, thought it was the worst fucking soda ever created, but that made it the perfect thing to take a really long time drinking. The current plan was to concentrate really hard on taking tiny sips if things got too intense for her tastes. That, or maybe chat with Isabel, if that was allowed. Jennifer had no clue what the protocols were for this sort of thing. It felt different from all the high school sports stuff she'd gone to, and even that had been pretty incomprehensible.

Soda in hand, she searched through the seats, trying to find Isabel. She felt a bit like a beacon, like maybe she'd dressed completely wrong for this. She had a sleeveless, knee-length red dress with a purple sash and a nice black jacket for if it got cold, and she was wearing pretty earrings, and she'd dug out some flats that were a little bit fancier than her favorite pair of sneakers. Her hair was not spiked tonight, in fact, she'd put a token effort into combing it into an approximation of a respectable style. She felt all ready for a cocktail party. This was, it turned out, not the norm. She should have guessed just from Isabel's outfit. Fuck. This was going to be one of those nights, then.

But at least Isabel wasn't too tough to locate. She was sitting near an older woman Jennifer thought she might have recognized from somewhere but couldn't really place. A few seats away was another girl from high school, Felicia. Felicia, whose yearbook Melissa had carried. Once, that thought might have hurt. Now, it just brought back memories, bittersweet maybe, good and bad mixed up into a mess Jennifer felt no pressing need to untangle. She'd made her peace.

"Um, sorry I fell behind," she said to Isabel. "I got a bit thirsty. Oh, and hello. I'm Jennifer. I'm, um, Isabel's friend," she added to the older woman. She really, really hoped she'd been correct in her assessment that they were part of the same viewing party or whatever it was people watched fights in. She took a seat next to Isabel and didn't say anything else for a moment, waiting to see if she'd have to extricate herself from a faux pas.

Yes, it was definitely one of those nights.

[Casey the Undead*]

Alicia rolled her wheelchair towards the front of the arena. Excitement bubbled in her stomach. She loved watching Ray fight. Her brother was good at what he did, fluid and graceful one minute, terrifyingly powerful the next. Sure, Alicia wasn't a fan of violence, but it was hard to ignore talent when she saw it, and it was exhilarating to watch. She couldn't even find it in her to be nervous. Sure, it was Ray's first time at the pros, but she knew he'd make an impact, win or lose.

Next to her, her mother and Mike seemed to be having different reactions. Diane Dawson was ringing her hands nervously, glancing up at the ring repeatedly. Mike, on the other hand, looked more subdued, schooling his emotions well. Alicia had a feeling that her step-father was more nervous than he looked, but shared her excitement as well.

As she approached their seats, she a familiar face. The Hansen's had become family friends over the years, and Mrs. Hansen looked so hilariously out of place here that Alicia couldn't help but giggle. She pushed herself forward, smiling widely.

"Hey Mrs. Hansen," she stuttered out, waving. As she got closer, she noticed some girls talking to Mrs. Hansen. She regarded them, recognizing them almost immediately. Over the years, she'd met a few of the other people Ray had been rescued with. Isabel was a nice enough girl, considering Alicia's first impression of her had been, well Ray! There's a zombie in our yard!

Alicia smiled and waved to the other girls. She would have said something, but Alicia suddenly felt self-conscious in front of strangers. Slowly, she waited for her family to come up, and for the fight to start. She needed a distraction.

[BetaKnight]

"Well hello, Jennifer. It's so nice to meet Isabel's other friends," Marie said as scooted over to make room for the newest arrival. "I have to confess that I absolutely adore your outfit. You young ladies look much nicer than what some of these people are wearing." She made an moue of distaste at the balding man in stained sweatpants and a t-shirt advertising a beer brand who had the audacity to leer at her companions in what he obviously thought was a subtle manner. ‘You are doing this for Ray' she silently reminded herself as she glared at the man. ‘It is his big night. You can live with this.'

Marie stood up as Alicia greeted and waved at her. Murmuring apologies to Isabel and Jennifer, she quickly exited the row and bent to hug the girl. "Hello sweetie," she said softly, grinning widely at the girl. Without thinking, she reached out and fixed Alicia's hair before patting her on the shoulder. "I was starting to get worried when I didn't see you, your mom, and Mike. Did you get a chance to see your brother?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned towards Isabel and Jennifer. "Although I did manage to find Isabel. Or rather, Isabel found me. And this is Jennifer, Isabel's friend. Jennifer, may I present Alicia Dawson, sister to tonight's future champion. Why don't I leave you girls to talk while I go visit with Dianne and Mike?" Breezing off, she headed towards the older couple.

[Outfoxd]

He was waiting in the wings for his name to be called. Frank was to Ray's right, rubbing his shoulder and going back over the gameplan as his opponent's entrance music (something with screaming and wailing guitars) played.

"Don't stand with the kid more than half a minute. We've watched the tape, he's got that right headkick he likes so much." Frank said. "Get him down, pass the guard, beat him up. I want you fighting an ugly fight. Don't give him a chance to sub you."

The ring announcer spoke, the angry metal music subsiding with his voice.

"And making his professional debut. He stands at 5'11" and weighed in at 156 pounds..."

Frank patted Ray's shoulder. "That's you, bro."

"Raymond "The Survivor", Dawson!" The announcer drew out Ray's surname so long, he was halfway to the cage by the time he was done saying it. The nickname still made Ray uncomfortable; the implications were something he really would have left behind.

He got to cageside and started pulling off the black "Bayview Fighting Academy" T-shirt he had been wearing, revealing muscles rippling from months of intense training. He tried to slow his breathing as the cutman applied the vaseline to his face.

Jesus. I'm here.

[MK Kilmarnock]

'Survivor' Dawson, huh?

As much as it was in bad taste for a nickname, Felicia was not going to let something little like that keep her from having fun and enjoying the fight. Well, except maybe Ray losing, that would kind of suck... but the guy had put up with so much that the very idea of Ray losing the upcoming fight was about as far from Felicia's mind as the downright terrible endings to any M. Night Shamaylan movie (and that was very, very far away).

When Ray finally made his appearance when his name was called, Felicia leaped out of her seat and clapped both of her hands together above her head. If somebody near her was cheering, she had to cheer louder so that they might reach her friend who was stepping into the cage. How long this had been a dream for Ray, Felicia wasn't quite sure. But as he took off his shirt and readied himself, she understood that Ray wasn't just fighting for himself so much as he was fighting in memory of those who quite like her - those who knew Ray, but didn't get to watch him realize his dream.

They lost a lot of people that day, but they hadn't quite lost Ray. There he was, still alive and kicking. Ray 'The Survivor' Dawson.

Felicia continued clapping and hollering up a storm until she realized that everybody around her had sat back down again. A flash of embarassment dared to well up for a second before she quelled it, pressing herself into the seat. Now that things had quieted down, she began to soak in the atmosphere of the place. It was lively, and that was something she appreciated. There were guys somewhere selling snacks, people still cheering, the coaches talking down at the ring, somebody talking behind her...

Somebody familiar.

Felicia turned around to see just who it was...

"Jenny! Izzy!" She excitedly shouted their names, running for the aisle so she could move back with them.

[Ruggahissy]

Isabel looked down at her sweater, smiling and was about to respond when Jennifer reappeared.

"Oh no problem. We're still in time and mmm, hu. I didn't know you liked coke. Oh! This is Mrs. Hansen.

The crowd around them was quickly growing with Alicia and Felicia coming up fast. At the same time the lights began to change and an electric current seemed to run through the crowd.


"Hello Alicia," she said, bending down a bit to be more at eye level with the girl. Are you excited for the fight?"

Isabel beamed a bit. She wouldn't say it, but she was proud of Ray, even if fighting wasn't always to her tastes.

The sound boomed through the room and Isabel scrunched her nose up. She wasn't a big fan of Ray's nick name. But that was for another time. Mrs. Hansen had gone to sit with Ray's family leaving Isabel and Jennifer on their own. She shrugged and slid into a row with a few empty seats.

[Grand Moff Hissa]

Things weren't quite as awful as they could have been. Isabel commented on the Coke, but that was a little misunderstanding Jennifer could live with. More than that, she had picked right. The woman was part of Isabel's group. Her name was Mrs. Hansen. The name sounded familiar to Jennifer, though she couldn't quite say from where. Then a girl in a wheelchair turned up, Ray's sister. Mrs. Hansen introduced her as Alicia, then moved off towards some other people.

Isabel said hello to the girl. It seemed like they'd probably met before.

"Um, hi, Alicia," Jennifer said, smiling. Oh fuck this was awkward. Jennifer always became very nervous about her mannerisms when dealing with disabled people, because she didn't want to cause offense. She tried to talk normally, but then came out sounding forced casual, which was probably worse. Inevitably, she ended up feeling like she had fucked up the interaction and offended everyone involved.

She was spared further discomfort by the announcer. The music was loud, and the whole thing seemed very theatrical. Ray had a nickname that alluded to his time on the show. Fucking good for him. Jennifer had grown to intensely dislike how everyone pretended like nothing had happened, how they acted like there was nothing to be proud about in moving on. Sure, she'd had more than her share of breakdowns. She'd finally realized that running just wasn't the right thing to do. What mattered was acceptance, making her peace with what had happened and living a good life, taking the sadness and the bad days along with the good. It sounded like Ray had found his way to the same path.

Ray got into the ring and took off his shirt. Someone started doing something to his face. Jennifer lost track as another familiar voice called out. Felicia, moving around so she could sit with them.

"Uh, hi, Felicia," Jennifer said. "Have a seat?"

She gestured to an empty seat nearby, then looked back at the ring. The proceedings there made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever.

"Um," she said. "What are they doing? How do they know who wins?"

[Casey the Undead*]

Alicia could only blink as Mrs. Hansen disappeared. Awkward.

Slowly, she turned to smile at the other girls. "H-hey," she managed.

Jennifer looked a bit uncomfortable, but Isabel, as always, was pretty cool. Alicia couldn't help her grin widening at the mention of the fight. "Yeah, I'm psyched! Ray's t-totally gonna win."

The lights in the arena changed, and Alicia quickly swung her chair around to face the ring. This was going to be amazing. Not only was it Ray's first pro fight, but there were a ton of his friends and family there to see it. She was so unbelievably proud of her brother. Even if "The Survivor" Dawson was a bit ridiculous, she appreciated the sentiment behind it. She knew, deep down, that Ray would never get over what happened to him, but being able to stand up in spite of it made her realize just how strong he was, and how strong he could be.

As Ray entered, Alicia cheered wildly. It didn't matter if he won or lost, because Ray would always be the toughest son of a bitch he knew.

Of course, she also knew he'd win. He was her brother, after all.