April 29, 1992 1:58 AM
Los Angeles, California
The crowd was still in shock from the previous fight. Silence resonated loudly throughout the room.
The two new combatants were rivals from way back. MacNeil blamed Ramirez for losing San Diego to the Camarilla, and Ramirez blamed MacNeil for selling him out and not coming to his aid. There was no love lost here.
Carlos Ramirez limped into the ring, hoping that some miracle would happen. His face was a bloody, pulped mess and his knee was still more concave than convex. His foot moved loosely, when at all communicating with the brain above. His head was clearly aching, and blood dripped steadily from his unfoused left eye.
The other corner was filled by local favorite, Jeremy MacNeil. As his name echoed throughout the room, there was a murmur of voices and polite applause. Clearly, the Jamaican's shocking defeat of Grendel had turned this crowd on its ear. MacNeil would not be fighing longtime rival Grendel in the final. And nobody really liked Chandra...
MacNeil looked relatively healthy. He had several scratches where Voshkov had struck him, and was developing what looked like a severe bruise on his right cheek.
Not sure how the crowd would react to insults right now, there were none given, despite the instense hatred between the two.
The annoucer struck the bell and both fighters squared off. MacNeil, having seen what an apparently crippled Jamaican had just done to the powerful Grendel, was taking no chances. He circled Ramirez, judging just how fast the Chicagoite could turn. Eventually, MacNeil came in for a strike to the side of his opponet's head, drawing back just before contact was made. Ramirez made a move to defend, but overcommitted and got out of position.
MacNeil took advantage and jabbed a shot into Ramirez' undefended ribs. The Chicagoite winced and tried to grab MacNeil's wrist, his blood-covered hand losing its grip. MacNeil brought his elbow back up into Ramirez' face, knocking him backwards off his feet. MacNeil knew now that Ramirez was not faking his injuries as the Jamaican had.
From this point, the battle was quick and ugly. MacNeil knew no mercy, and showed no restraint. A quick bodyblow and a headbutt onto Ramirez' prone form knocked the Brujah senseless, but MacNeil was not letting up. He began to pummell the unconscious Ramirez.
The room was deadly silent other than the sound of Ramirez' ribs cracking, one by one.
"The winner: Jeremy MacNeil" shouted the referee.
But it wasn't over yet. MacNeil wasn't finished crushing every one of Ramirez' bones. The referee repeated himself and put a hand on MacNeil's shoulder, but the Brujah pushed him away.
Ramirez' pet, Dawn, threw herself at MacNeil, attempting to pull the elder Brujah off of her elder. MacNeil threw her halfway across the room, her head making a peculiarly liquid sound when it struck the hood ornament of a BMW.
The security staff, supplied by host MacNeil, wasn't sure what to do. The head of security, Arturo, was stunned silent by the turn of events. MacNeil had been aware of what might happen during this event, and had apparently briefed the security staff, instructed into inactivity. MacNeil was clearly on the verge of frenzy, with Ramirez unable to defend himself. Grendel had walked off, Chandra found this amusing, nobody else would dare to stand up and protest.
Or would they? A hand was finally lain on MacNeil's shoulder. MacNeil threw a fist at the posessor of the hand, who caught the errant fist with his other hand.
MacNeil turned to the other in disbelief. "Who the fuck?"
The Jamaican was peering at him. "The right of one to kill on one's turf, on one's terms, at one's own will, in a crowded court of your followers, is that posessed by a Prince. Are you Prince, Jeremy MacNeil?"
MacNeil glared at the Jamaican with the hatred of a thousands suns. "If you must fight me, let it be in the final. Then, should you win, hopefully one of this lot will have to protect you from the same lack of self-restraint you show here."
MacNeil pointed a furious, shaking finger at the Jamaican, who smiled a knowing smile. MacNeil pulled himself off of the prone Ramirez and tore off in a fit of rage.
The Jamaican picked up Ramirez and carried him off.
The referee, notably shaken: The winner "Jeremy MacNeil!"