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| The One; Qualify [Earth] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 6 2011, 02:48 PM (91 Views) | |
| Deleted User | May 6 2011, 02:48 PM Post #1 |
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Deleted User
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Name: Qualify Difficulty: Any Available: Always Requirement: --- Reward: +1 free item, any non-rare up to 5000z [Epic Only] Description: It is that time again, time for the world martial arts tournament to begin. Papaya Islands will be hosting the fiftieth world martial arts tournament in exactly one month, but first you must pass the preliminaries. What will they do for preliminaries this year, and are you up to the test? Can you qualify for the world martial arts tournament? ___ Note: This quest happen roughly 3 years prior to the current Erthe. It will be followed up by Tag team and championship as well, during the same time frame, to be finished off by a PS that covers 3 years to explain the back story of Erthe. So, here we go. |
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| Deleted User | May 6 2011, 02:49 PM Post #2 |
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Chapter 1: Erthe’s entrance It was almost the time. This time of year only showed up twice a decade or so. It was a time in their lives that all young warriors dreamed of seeing. The young warriors dreamed of the glory and prestige it would bring. They dreamed of the honor and the wealth they could obtain. These young warriors dreamed of the challenge, the heat of battle that they all would face. Each warrior had their own reasons. Each reason was as good; in their minds at least, as the next. Everyone wanted to glory of winning this prestigious event. No one wanted the shame of defeat that all but one would face. The honor, glory and riches could only be claimed by one, and to be that one, you had to be the best. Each warrior had dreams of being that one, but only one could be that one. This is the story of that one, and how that one came to become the one to win…… ……win the world martial arts tournament! * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * The sound of crickets filled the evening air. It was a peaceful night in late spring. The temperature was finally beginning to hold steady, where there was no more frost in the early mornings. The sky was cloudless, and its inky blackness was only interrupted by the thousands of dazzling stars. Each start lit up the night sky, and each appeared as if they were brilliant diamonds scattered about the heavens. The largest object in the sky this night, though, was the full moon. The blazing silver orb filled the night with platinum rays, and made the darkness to be almost transparent. You should see several yards away this night, and most would find it quite pleasant for an evening stroll. Resting far below the sky and stars was a vast forest. This deciduous forest was homes to many types of trees; from the Maples, to the Elms, Aspens, and the Birches. Pines and Oaks were also present. From the mightiest of oaks down to the smallest mosses, this forest featured it all. Many types of animals called this forest home as well, and if you were to wish to find some of these animals the best place to start would be the massive river that ran through the forest. This deciduous forest was home to the mighty river Niar. Niar snaked through the forest, following the path of least resistance. Instead of climbing over the hills and bluffs, it snaked around them, or sometimes through them. If you follow the River Niar long enough, you would come to find that it emptied into a waterfall. This waterfall was known as Niar’rei. At the base of this majestic waterfall was the lake known as Lanke. This waterfall fed lake was quite large, and was popular to all the locals as a fishing hole and swimming spot. It was not uncommon to find upwards of a thousand people visiting this massive lake each day during the summer. This night, though, was different because Lake Lanke was empty of tourists. The waters were still far too cool to swim in, and the fishing season for this particular lake was still a few weeks away. Enough about the environment around this area, though, for this particular lake was far more important then as a tourist attraction. It is here at this lake, in a cave nestled half way up, and behind, the waterfall that the home of our hero is located. The house was in no way extraordinary. It was just a common capsule corp. house that was sold and traditionally used for overnight stays and camping trips. The house was rather small, with a small kitchenette, a compact bathroom and a living room/bed room combination. For most people this would be roughing it, it hardly had enough space to store all the necessary things for the long term survival of an average Earthling. The occupant was not an average Earthling, though, he was actually an antisocial android with a short temper. For this particular inhabitant, the small confine was quite pleasing. Along one of the walls near the entrance to the rest room was a large television. This particular television was state of the art, and the best you could buy at the time. The quality of the picture and size of the screen was what made this device so desirable. Sitting below the television was all the current gaming devices that were popular with the current earthling population. Stacked next to each system was a pile of games for the respective device, covering all of the most popular genres. In the center of the room was a large chair, in which the android known as Erthe spent most of his time. The chair was much larger then was necessary for the petite frame of the android, and it was overly stuffed with soft material for the ‘maximum’ comfort. To one side of the chair was a table on which rested a small lamp and all the other things Erthe would find convent to have readily at hand. Place a short distance in front of the chair, in between the chair and the television was a small coffee table. This table was obviously used mainly as a foot rest to increase the comfort of the occupant of this home, but also served as additional space to leave things sit on. Behind this chair were all the required appliances for the common Earthling to store and prepare their meals. Some of, but not all of, the appliances were: a refrigerator, a microwave, a stove/oven combination, a sink, and counter tops with drawers and cupboards. Opposite of the entrance of this abode, was the bedroom portion of the main room. Running along the center of the wall was the bed; At the head of the bed was a small night stand table. At the foot of the bed was a dresser and above it was a place to hang additional clothing. In the center of all this, was the android himself, sitting on his lone chair. Like normal his feet were placed haphazardly on the coffee table in front of him. In his hands was a controller for one of the gaming consoles that was situated below the television. A thin cord ran from the controller itself to a head set the android was wearing. It was quite obvious that that head set was used for communicating with others, because Erthe was trash talking into the adjoined microphone. After several long minutes of jumping around in his chair, spurting random nonsense from his mouth, and many grunts and groans, Erthe tossed the controller from his hands onto the table and picked up the remote control that was resting on the table next to his chair. Switching the television from the gamming mode to normal television, the young android warrior slowly scrolled through the channels. Most of the channels had nonsensical Earthling rubbish on it, but after what seemed like a short life time to Erthe, he finally came to something that roused his interest. Standing in the foreground was a young Earthling woman with a large microphone. In the back ground was a large crowd, and what Erthe instantly recognized as a martial arts ring. The woman was talking about how the World Martial Arts Tournament was soon beginning, and that the sign ups would be open one week from today. Picking up the remote and clicking off the television, Erthe gave a snide smirk to himself. He had heard all he needed to hear from the woman, and did not care to hear anymore of the woman’s droning prepared speech. ”It seems I have found what I will be doing for the rest of this week. It is time to show this world what I am made of!” Erthe said in a cocky tone, as he stood up and walked from his home, out into the wilderness beyond. Chapter 2: Training begins [2,545/1250] The river Nair was home to many different spices of fish. To add on to that vast array of spices, the Nair river was also large enough for fish to reach record breaking sizes. These were two of the main reasons that the Nair river was popular with fishermen. Many of the world records for fish sizes had came from the Nair river and the a joining Lanke lake. Fishing was not the only thing that the Nair river offered, though. From its origins high up in a distant mountain range to where the river’s journey ended as it drained into the ocean, the river Nair provided nearly every sort of entertainment that you could imagine. Lake Lanke was deep enough to allow for scuba diving and large enough to allow many sorts of boating activities. Water skiing was king on lake Lanke, and parasailing was quite popular for those who desired to get the bird’s eye view of the lake Lanke. White water rapids brought in the few who could not help but seek out thrills. These thrill seekers were never disappointed by the rapids on river Nair, as there was rapids of all classifications, from beginners all the way up to rapids that only those who were seeking to perish young could find a stretch of the rapids to suit their skill level. Down on the east side of lake Lanke was a small camping resort. Some wealthy man from the city saw the opportunity of opening. He knew that with the natural beauty of the surrounding land that with a few ‘improvements’ he could make his fortune grow exponentially. This resort had everything you could think of. Small lots for tents for weekend camping, larger lots with electricity hook ups for who found the thought of sleeping on the ground appalling and could afford to own their own recreational vehicle. For those who can’t afford the luxury of a recreational vehicle, or prefer not to own one, the resort even has cabins for which you can rent. These ‘cabins’ come in three different models. There is the basic; a single bedroom trailer, with a small kitchenette, and a half bath. (public showers are provided elsewhere). The next model up is the deluxe. This deluxe model is what you would normally consider a cabin. Mainly constructed out of logs, it has three bedrooms, a full kitchen and a full bath. These are the preferred models for families on vacation. The third and final model is villas. These villas are the crème de la crème of this resort’s models. It has four bedrooms, and a loft bedroom. With two baths and a large kitchen, this is what groups or several families choose. The resort also featured several indoor attractions such as a rock wall, laser tag and movie theater just to name a few. The resort was also home to many restaurants’ and gift shops. Above and beyond all other attractions though, was the beach and water based rides. The resort had a large beach on lake Lanke, and was a short distance from the waterfall Niar’rei. Weekly tours were taken out to sit in the spray at the base of Niar’rei, and canoeing around Lake Lanke was also quite popular. With all the different attractions the river Nair provided, it was still not what the one the hero of our story chose to use the river for. To Erthe, river Nair was just a training ground. Erthe was training for the world martial arts tournament that was announced a hand full of days ago. Erthe was confident in his abilities, but the rumors that other who could control ki were going to enter had the young android a bit on the edge. The tournament could go several different ways depending on what type of warriors did show up, and who actually made it into the tournament itself, but that mattered only after Erthe was able to get into the tournament. He knew he still has to qualify first and that in and of itself could be a challenge all alone. A challenge Erthe may never make it to, if he doesn’t start preparing for soon, too. ”Where could that dope of an idiot be at?”[/b] Erthe growled to himself as he sat impatiently on a rock. ”He was supposed to be here over an hour ago! How can I train if all I have to hit is these stupid trees?” * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Ah, yes, I remember you! How could I forget a face like yours?” a charming voice cooed, a sickly sweet smile plastered on his face. The owner of this voice was a young earthling. His hair was short, ruffled an blonde, just the style that beach flies think was cool. His attire was fitting for being on the beach. Sun glasses protected his eyes from the rather bright sun this day. Shorts were a tag shorter then most people would consider comfortable, and were not swim trunks like most would wear to the beach, but normal shorts. It was obvious this man did not plan on getting in the water any time soon. He was wearing a gaudy button up shirt, that had randomly placed flowers and swirling red and white patterns. To round out the whole entire, foam flip flops were haphazardly hanging off of his feet. This Earthling was lying on a fold up beach chair, with a young bubble headed girl sitting in the sand next to him and hanging onto his arm with her left arm. Meanwhile she was slowly stroking her right hand up and down his washboard abs, and it was clear that she was fully taken in by the young earthling. All around the couple was people enjoying their time on the beach. There was several other such couples spread randomly across the white sand beach, but the vast majority of the people on the beach this day were families enjoy an early summer vacation. Continuing to stroke the earthling’s chest, the young woman leaned in and whispered quietly to the young man. ”So what are you doing for the rest of today? If you are not busy, I have a cabin all to myself. I could take you there if you wanted.” She purred quietly, and then her voice got deeper and more breathy. ”I went grocery shopping last night. I picked up some whip cream, and chocolate sauce, some cherries and other such goodies. I was thinking about making a pie, but I am sure I could adapt to some different plans.” ”Ah baby, yeah that sounds real good. We can head up there just as soon as I finish with my training for today. I have to go meet this windbag of a guy for some friendly sparing yet today. I have to be there by two.” The earthly said with a shrug, it was more then obvious he was not very interested in the sparring session, but more worried about what would happen if he did not show up. ”But Mather, that can not be. It is three now. So you do not have to be there by two, else you would have already left.” the young girl reasoned in utter confusion. ”Wait, it is three? No, it can not be! I just check the clock an hour ago; it is just two o clock now.” Mather said with a smile. ”That means I have like another twenty minutes before I need to leave. He can wait some.” Mather said with a cocky smile on his face. ”No, Mather dear, you must have forgotten about daylight savings time the clocks all got set forward an hour last night.” ”You must be mistaken; I could have sworn that was not until next week!” Mather said, panic slowly filling his voice. To confirm that the unthinkable had happen, a clock up in the near by snack shack began to chime. After three long chimes, the clock fell silent. ”Oh no! I am late. I have to run babe, I will see you around!” Mather leaned forward hastily and gave the young woman a small peck on the cheek before practically flying out of the chair and racing on foot up the beach, rushing to make the rendezvous with Erthe. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”You are late” Erthe intoned, not even bothering to turn and face the young man as he approached. Erthe’s voice was low and emotionless, which was the last thing that Mather wanted to hear. To Mather that tone was a thousand times worse then if Erthe exploding in fits of utter rage. Erthe was sitting on a tree stump, and was hunched forward, both elbows on his knees and his chin planted firmly in his cupped hands. Aside from that lone tree stump, there were no other obstacles in the large clearing that Erthe was standing in. Several trees formed a natural circular barrier around the clearing, and not more then a dozen strides from where Erthe was sitting was the banks of the river Nair. ”I know, I know. You do not have to remind me. I am sorry, I lost track of time.” Mather said, left hand twisting up to run through his bangs, before coming to rest on the back of his head. He patted his left hand against the back of his head a few times, before shoving his right hand into his shorts pocket. This was a nervous habit of the earthlings that he knew irritated Erthe beyond belief. ”Would you quit that!” Erthe snarled, and then suddenly stood to his feet. He did not turn to face Mather, but instead took several paces forward. Once the desired distance from the stump, Erthe started to pace back and forth. Ten paces to the right, before turning the direction that took him away from Mather. Twenty paces to the left completed the circuit, and then Erthe once again turned away from Mather and started back the other way once again. Back and forth this went repetitively, and never once did Erthe glance in Mather’s direction. ”Really! I lost track of time!” Mather pleaded. When no reply came from the pacing Erthe, Mather made an attempt to close the distance between the two. A sudden raised hand, palm towards Mather, stopped the Earthling in his tracks. ”You did not lose track of time.” Ether said quickly. His words were short and choppy, as if the android warrior was trying his hardest not to lose his temper. ”You forgot to change your clocks. You forgot that day light savings time was this morning, even after I told you that it was coming up just two days before hand.” Erthe spoke firmly, trying to tell the young earthling that he knew what was happening, that he had see this all coming long in advance. ”And do not tell me that you thought it was next week! I told you when day light savings time was by the numerical date and not by the forth coming day of the week because I knew you would get it confused, and knew that you had lost tracked of what day it was this month. You need to learn to keep better track of time, as it passes. You have a lot of potential locked inside that puny brain of yours, and if only you tried harder you could reach the limits your late father dreamed of! Now, if you are finished with your half thought out excuses, and ready to begin, then we can commence when ever you are ready to begin. Erthe said abruptly ending his pacing and turning to face Mather. ”Oh, and if you don’t perform up to my satisfaction, then I will not allow you to return to Taylor tonight. I am sure she would dislike that as much as you would, so do not let me down, or her.”[/color] Erthe said with a sadistic smile on his face. Mather nodded his head slowly, not sure exactly how to begin this sparring session. He knew that Erthe’s expectations for him were high, and that Erthe expected to see improvements every time that they faced off. Mather had just learned to control his ki abilities the last encounter, and still he don’t consider the small spurt of energy he gave off to be real control. The most advanced thing Mather had accomplished as of yet is to hover slightly off the ground for a few minutes before crashing back to the earth. Braking away from his musings, Mather looked up at Erthe to see that his android mentor was starting to get impatient even though he had said ‘we may commence when ever you are ready to begin’. With a slight grown and hapless shrug, Mather took a fighting stance. He had hoped that Erthe would take the initiative to start the battle, for Mather always liked reacting to his opponents actions that taking the first attack himself. Mather quickly realized that his delaying tactic would have to come to an end and charged Erthe. His headstrong charge went straight at his opponent, and featured a front kick towards Erthe’s gut. Erthe quickly twisted his left arm in a clockwise motion, knifing his wrist against Mather’s ankle mere inches before the attack landed; deflecting the attack out wide to Erthe’s left. While Mather was still off balance from the awkward attack, Erthe launched a short right jab into Mather’s chin. Reeling backwards from the sudden stabbing pain in his chin, Mather gave ground from Erthe in an attempt to think of a new line of attacks. Mather was sure if he continued to come with straight on attacks like the one he just made, Erthe would never let him land an attack. So Mather decided to make a feint and try and land his first hit of the sparring session that way. Mather continued his pause, looking at his mentor, trying to pick out his weakest point. Erthe kept a balanced defense, each limb ready to cover a quarter of his body. His arms always seemed to protect his top half, each arm ready to defend its respective side. His legs also were always ready to defend or even dodge any attacks that came in low. Worst of all was attacking Erthe’s center mass, or at least it seemed to Mather, as then Erthe could use any of four limbs do block the in coming attack. With that in mind, Mather finally had an idea. With a slight smirk to himself, Mather slowly started to pace around Erthe, making final plans on his upcoming attack. Finally launching into another charge, Mather launched a flurry of right handed jabs, trying to isolate and freeze Erthe’s left arm. After about the fifth punch, Mather snuck in a left handed jab. As expected, Erthe’s right hand came up to successfully block that jab as well. Sneaking in behind the left jab, though, was Mather’s head. The young earthling’s forehead connected solidly with Erthe’s nose, causing the android’s head to snap backwards. ”Oh, you will pay for that one.” Erthe promised. W/C: 3894 Total W/C: 3894 |
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| Deleted User | May 7 2011, 10:22 PM Post #3 |
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Deleted User
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Chapter 3: Qualify announcement ”Late again, I see” Erthe mumbles as Mather walks into Erthe’s hidden home behind the Niar’rei. ”It is okay, though. I told you to be here an hour early, so when you finally arrived, you would be just on time. Now let’s get going. We have to get to Central City, as they will be starting the sign up for the tournament soon.” ”Well, lead the way old wise one!” Mather mumbled quietly to himself as he walked out of the door a few paces behind Erthe. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Good morning Central City” The voice on the radio on the desk sang. ”Today is the big day! It is finally time for the sign ups for the World Martial Arts Tournament! If you do not know already, you can sign up right here in Central City, and sign ups will be open for the today and tomorrow only! If you are listening else where in our broadcast area, there are also sign up centers in the following locations; West City, East City, South City, North City, Satan City, and finally on the Papaya Islands at the tournament grounds. So if you have the desire to test your skills against the best martial arts fighters in the world, then make your way down to the sign up station today! Now, in other news…” : : Click : : The man sitting behind the desk in turned off the radio, as the door to his shop opened up with the tinkling of bells. As the man slowly turned around to face the customer that had entered his face suddenly twisted into that of sheer terror. His mouth just had a chance to fall open in a silent scream before a single bullet entered his forehead. Blood splattered on the wall behind him, and a large shadow drifted on top of the dead body on the floor. A heartless laugh filled the shop. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”My word! I can not believe I am in Central City!” Mather said with a child like awe to his voice. It was obvious that Mather was taking in the sights, and enjoying the views that he could get near enough to see. Erthe was trudging in front of Mather, trying desperately to ignore the earthling behind him. So many important things happen here! They also have such cool sights! Man, I wish I had the time to see it all.” Mather continued to rant. In all honesty, Mather did not care THAT much about Central City, he just knew that it irritated Erthe, and he found that to be rather humorous. Central City did indeed have many important events, though, as well as some of the most sought after tourist attractions. Central City was the capital of planet Earth, and home to the king of the world, King Furry. In the center of Central City, was the castle home of King Furry. The castle had a large wall surrounding it, in an attempt to keep undesirable people out. Aside from that one feature, Central City was a modern city, and on the cutting edge of technology. Central City is the second leading city for technological advances, behind West City (which holds Capsule Corp) alone. Aside from that, Central City held one of the largest populations in the world, and an industry leader in most if not all of the major categories for the world. All of this, though, paled in comparison to the world martial arts tournament registration center or at least for today, it did! A great exodus of people could be seen in route to the registration office, and many people wished to loiter around, not wanting to miss the big announcement that was scheduled to be given this day. The crowd itself was massive. A vast majority of the crowd was earthlings of all shapes and sizes. From young to old, large to small; it seemed anyone who could throw a fist and could walk, showed up. Earthlings were not the only ones to show up, though. Animal people made up a large part of the crowd as well. Really the list could go on and on about the different types of people that showed up, but it was vast. It was nearest to the sign up booths that the excitement was the greatest. All around in the crowd there were people talking excitedly, or boasting proudly about their abilities and past achievements. Most of the people in the crowd boasted about achievements of strength or speed that they thought to be nearly impossible, each shouted boast becoming wilder then the one before it. The one thing that was completely clear about these boasts, were those who were doing the boasting, where the ones who’s skills were not able to perform the feats of skill in which they claimed to be able to perform. To Erthe, most of the wild boasts were things he could do in his first weeks of martial arts training, ever.’ Mather could not help but laugh at some of the imaginative boasts that were being flung around the crowd, and how the chests of those where were flinging them puffed up in the air with pride. When ever Mather chuckled at a man’s claim to glory, many glares or even threats were soon to follow. Many times Mather turned to reply, but Erthe was always quick to pull the young earthling along, or at the very least, cuff him upside the head. Finally as the dynamic duo neared the registration booths, a old and wise looking wolf man climbed onto the stage and made grunting noises into the microphone that was placed on the center of the stage. ”Ah yes, welcome everyone to the Central City registration booth for the forty fifth world martial arts tournament. We are so very glad to see that so many people have shown up and have taken interested in our world martial arts tournament in Central City alone! Due to this fact though, we have decided to make a change in the way sign ups will commence from now on! We are proud to announce that the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament have now begun! Behind me is the north building. You all will be required to head in their. Once inside there will be several rows of punching machines set up. You will step up to the machine, stand on the small platform provide in front of the machine, and give it your very best punch. You are only allowed to throw a single punch, and if you do decide to throw a second punch, you will be immediately disqualified from the forty fifth world martial arts tournament. Once your punch has been thrown, the machine will calculate your punching strength. Any person who can score a five hundred or above on the punching strength test will be allowed into the next round of this year’s preliminaries; So try your hardest and good luck to everyone!” With his prepared speech finished, the wolf man quickly makes his way off of the stage and disappears into the crowd. With the new location of the registration announced, the crowds quickly begin to flow towards the north building located behind the stage. With minimal pushing and shoving, the massive crowd that was outside begins to disappear as the flood into the large, arena like building. ”Well, It seems that you have been screwed out of a chance to compete this year Erthe, because we all know you punch like a sissy.” Mather mocks as they make a change of direction towards the buildings. ”I may punch like a sissy, but then that would mean you get your ass kicked every day by a sissy. So who is the real loser now?” Erthe teases back, his spirits quickly soaring as the preliminaries begin. Erthe can’t help to chuckle as all Mather can come up with for a reply is a angry grunt, and Erthe can not help but hope he doesn’t destroy his punching machine when his turn comes around. Chapter 4: The competition; Rufus the Rat ”Well, it is that time once again, boys and girls! The preliminaries have been set for Central City, and the contestants have been paired. This years preliminaries will be a three round tournament, where only one may enter the World Martial Arts Tournament! The eight contestants for this year’s preliminaries will be; Kanlin, Joros, Oolos, Marcan, Saran, Mather, Rufus the Rat, and Erthe! The first match of the day will be Kanlin verses Rufus the Rat. The match is set to begin in one hour! So everyone get your snacks and drinks now, and prepare for the official beginning of the forty fifth world martial arts tournament!” With that the scrawny blonde haired announcer set the microphone that he was holding down on the corner of the arena platform and walked away. It was apparent that this man did not get the job as announcer for his knowledge of martial arts, or even for his desire to be the announcer at the world martial arts tournament. The reason why he did get the job was not very apparent, but some how the scrawny man had landed the job, and now he would be announcing the preliminaries of the Central City division of the world martial arts tournament. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * The lights flicker on when the switch is flipped. The dull yellow glow from the single hanging light in the room slowly begins to fill the small area in this back dressing room. Along the back wall was a small desk, with a large three sided mirror placed onto of it. At the base the three sided mirror was several supplies. Medical tape, bandages, ointments, fingerless gloves; the list goes on. Each and every common supply a warrior might need between matches. The desk also had a long thin drawer in the middle just below the desktop, and two drawers down each side of the desk. Askew just in front of the desk was a small bench in which to sit on. The top of the bench had an upholstered green cushion sitting on it. The upholstery of the cushion was ripped in several spots, and starting to fray around the edges, but over all it was still in a usable (yet not pretty) condition. To the left side of the room was a doorway which led to a small bathroom, which was just large enough to perform the purpose that it was intended for. On the right side of the room was a small refrigerator filled with water and other sports drinks, with a small coat rack above it. Standing in the center of the room, was a tall and lanky man. He was wearing a gray gi that was dirty and torn. In the small spots where some sweat or water dripped on the gi, you could tell that the gi was originally white. The gi was lashed off around his waist with a cloth belt, and he was wearing hiking boots, with a large hole in the tip of the right boot. Sticking out of the hole in the boot was the man’s big toe, which he wiggled every few seconds trying to find a comfortable position. The man had short shaggy brown hair, also dirty just like his clothing, and was slicked forward and greasy. The body oils in his hair caused it to be slightly stiff, and hang in sheets framing his dirty face. The man also had a shaggy and dirty beard, which was really just long stubble around the edges of his face. All this added with his lop sided eyes and large square front teeth caused the man to have an overall general appearance of a rat. After the yellow glow of the light reached its final intensity, the man; known as Rufus the Rat, stepped forward and took a seat on the bench in front of him. Once seated, the man reached into the pocket of his pants, and removed two slightly curved plates of metal. The metal plates had four holes forced into them, to roughly fit his knuckles on his fist. The plates were obviously customized to fit over the top of the man’s knuckles, while allowing normal dexterity and flexibility in the man’s hand. After setting the plate on one had, the man grabbed a roll of medical tape, and slowly began to tape the plate in place. He was careful to wrap his hand so that the plate was completely unnoticeable. Once he was satisfied with the job he did with his one fist, he began his work on his other fist. When he was finally satisfied with both fists, he stood up and walked from the room. The time for his match was quickly approaching, and his little insurance policy would make sure that he made it into the next round. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Well, boys and girls, it is now officially that time! The beginning of the Central City division of the preliminaries for the world martial arts tournament will now begin! It is now time for Kanlin to make his way to the fighting ring. Kanlin has one minute to make his appearance or he will be disqualified from this years preliminaries.” The announcer boomed as the clock struck the top of the hour. As the announcer was talking, the crowd continued to converse between each other. When it was announced that Kanlin may very well be disqualified, the crowd fell to a hush, and began to wait. It did not take that long for Kanlin to make his appearance. Ten seconds into the sixty second wait time, the warrior rounded the corner that led to the back stage area, and made his long walk towards the fighting ring. The man climbed onto the ring without any fan fair, and walked to the far corner, and stoically waited for his opponent. Kanlin was the prototypically fighter you would expect to enter the tournament. He was young and muscular. He had short cropped hair that came to a peak that stuck out over the front of his face casting a shadow down the center of his face. His hair was black with red highlights dyed in, and was well groomed. His clean shaven face sat silent and still, like a face carved out of the side of a granite boulder. His chest was bare, along with his fists and feet. His pants were made of a tight nylon rubber like material. He wore a cloth belt at the top of his pants, though it held no practical use. The pants themselves were the exact opposite of his hair, being a dark red base color with black designs over the top of the base red. ”Everyone give Kanlin a hardy welcome as he makes his way to the ring. Kanlin is twenty years old, and was born in Parsley City! His martial arts background is kung fu, and he has yet have any career victories on the martial arts pro league. His opponent today will be Rufus the Rat. Now, will Rufus the Rat please make his way to the fighting ring? Rufus the Rat has one minute to make his appearance or he will be disqualified from this years preliminaries.” Once again the crowd fell into an expectant hush, waiting for the next fighter to make his appearance. This time the wait was much longer then it was for Kanlin, and after forty five seconds, the crowd began to get unease. ”Rufus the Rat now has fifteen more seconds to make an appearance. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…” the announcer began to intone as the seconds drew closer and closer to the time of Rufus the Rat’s disqualification. Then when the announcer spoke the last number, Rufus stepped from around the corner. He tried to not make it apparent that he was milking the clock, but the smirk on the face caused that to be a lost cause. Slowly Rufus the Rat made his way towards the fighting ring, zig zagging his way from one side of the crowd to the other, trying give the fans high fives and hand shakes as he went. Each time, though, all the near by fans moved away from the dirty and smelly competitor, not wanting to be touched by him. Rufus the Rat continued to make his way toward the fighting ring as if nothing had happen, seeming not to notice the crowd’s reaction in the least. Once at the fighting ring, Rufus made several laps around the ring, just show boating to the crowd in general. After about his third lap, Rufus the Rat finally settled in the corner opposite of Kanlin. ”Okay than. Now, with the contestants finally set, let the first match of the Central City division of the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament finally begin!” The announcer shouted with a dramatic flare to his voice. With the announcer’s proclamation ringing in the air, Kanlin shot out of his corner like a arrow shot from a bow. Before Rufus was even ready for the fight to begin, Kanlin was on top of the poor man. Kanlin had begun his assault with a three punch combo, his fists alternating from left to right and back left, each landing on a separate spot on Rufus the Rat’s chest. Each blow rocked Rufus the Rat, causing the man to slowly slide backwards towards the edge of the fighting platform. As Kanlin cocked his fist for a fourth punch, Rufus the Rat made his way to dodging behind Kanlin and out into the free area of the fighting platform. Turning around to face Rufus the Rat, Kanlin gave a small smirk. ”You are not so cocky anymore, are you, rat face?” Kanlin said with a laugh, before charging back at Rufus the Rat. This time Kanlin led with a right elbow into Rufus the Rat’s face, causing the man’s head to snap backwards. With the momentum of the attack forcing him backwards, Rufus began to stumble away from Kanlin, but Kanlin was there to meet Rufus the Rat, and he met him with a vicious left knee into Rufus the Rat’s face/ This sent the rat man sprawling onto the tiled fighting platform, his arms and legs spread out wide. ”Ah, our fist knock down. When a knock down occurs, the contestant will have ten seconds to regain his feet, or be deemed unable to continue the fight. So with out further delay I will begin. One, two, three, four, five, six.” The announcer begun to count in a monotone voice, but when he finally reached six, Rufus slowly began to stir, and then climbed to his feet. ”Oh, you are ready to continue. That is unfortunate for you.” Kanlin mumbled to Rufus the Rat as he stood. With the cob webs cleared out of Rufus the Rat’s head, he turned to face Kanlin with a sinister grin on his face. The grin did not do anything to slow down Kanlin, though, and for the third consecutive time, Kanlin took the offensive actions, and charged in on Rufus the Rat. This time it was not a punch or a knee or a elbow that landed on Rufus the Rat, but a head butt. Slamming his head forward, Kanlin pounded his head onto Rufus the Rat’s head with a mind numbing force. As Rufus the Rat once again began to fall backwards, Kanlin caught the lithe man in each hand by the shoulders. Showing an amazing feat of strength, Kanlin lifted Rufus the Rat up and over his head before twisting and slamming Rufus the Rat down on the hard fighting platform surface. With an audible exhale of breath, Rufus the Rat once again remained still. ”Well folks, you all know the routine. With Rufus the Rat once again lying down on the job, I will again have to commence to counting him out. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Oh, he is finally standing once again!” The announcer exclaimed as Rufus the Rat once again started to stir, this time after a count of eight. With the wind knocked from his thin frame, Rufus the Rat took almost all the time had available to him to catch his lost breath. This time, though, Rufus the Rat looked to be more then finished with taking the beating he has seen. ”Well this has been fun, boy.” Rufus the Rat said with a hissing like voice. ”But it is time for me to finish this once and for all. My boss would not be very pleased if I was to lose in the first round of the preliminaries, and I have toyed with you enough for one day. I figured I would be gracious to you and let you think you had a chance in hell. I let you punch me around a few times, and I will admit a few of those hits actually hurt. If you would have gone to a different preliminary, you probably would have advanced into the tournament proper. Its rather sad for you, though, that you chose the Central City division of the preliminaries to compete in, because this is mine to win, and I won’t let a little punk kid like you stop me from doing as my boss asked me to do!” Rufus said his rat like voice dripping with pride at the fact of what we was about to do. With his boastful gloating over, Rufus the Rat dropped down into a fighting stance. ”Oh, you do have some fight in you, eh, rat face? Well I hate to break it to you, but boss or no boss, I don’t plan on letting you defeat me! I have trained way to hard, and come way to far to lose in the first round of the preliminaries. I chose Central City because I would gain the most prestige if I fought in this division, so that is what I did. I will make it to the tournament proper and there is nothing you, or anyone else, can do to stop me!” Kanlin roared in anger, and for a fourth time he charged forward at Rufus the Rat. This time, though, his attacks were met by skipping dodges. Each time Kanlin launched an attack, Rufus the Rat skipped to his left dodging the attack. This continued on for several seconds, which each subsequent attack growing more desperate and wilder. After a particularly sloppy right handed jab, Rufus saw just the opening he wanted. Knifing his left hand out, Rufus the Rat grasped Kanlin just above the elbow on the outside of his right arm. Rufus the Rat then snapped his right hand across and gripped Kanlin’s right wrist, and giving countering force with each of his hands, Rufus the Rat buckled and then snapped Kanlin’s arm in two at the elbow. Kanlin let out a howl of pure agony as his arm was twisted and mangled, but he was not giving much time to process the pain that rushed through his body. As Kanlin recoiled away from Rufus the Rat, the lithe assassin shot around Kanlin and fell to the ground. Wrapping his left leg around the back of Kanlin’s leg, Rufus the Rat took his right heel and shoved it again Kanlin’s knee cap. Forcing the knee to hyper extended itself; quickly the ligaments in the knee tore, rending that appendage useless as well. With two opposite limbs of Kanlin’s rendered useless, Rufus the Rat slowly began to pace around the prone Kanlin. ”Well boy, the announcer will soon begin his count. This match is over, and so is your fighting career. Those two injuries will cause your limbs to never regain the strength and dexterity that they once had. If you would not have been so cock sure with me, I would have just ended this match without maiming your body, but it really irritates me when weaklings have mouths that for exceed their power. Take this as a lesson boy, and don’t forget that speaking in such a way to Rufus the Rat results in horrible things.” Just as Rufus the Rat spoke his last word, the announcer picked up without a second delay. ”It appears as if in an amazing turn of events Rufus the Rat has gained the upper hand and caused Kanlin to be taking a break on the ground. Like the two times that Rufus the Rat was down, I will count to see if Kanlin is able to continue. Now lets begin! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! That is all folks, Kanlin is unable to continue this match! Rufus the Rat is the winner, and advances into the next round of the preliminaries.” Chapter 5: Mather’s first chance ”Well that was an exciting first battle to the Central City division of the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament. The battle started out all one sided, with Kanlin mopping the ring with Rufus the Rat, only for Rufus the Rat to take the momentum and gain a surprising victory. Our next match will feature Mather verses Joros. That match will start in an hour form now, so everyone enjoy this intermission and prepare for another action packed round in one hour!” The announcer said, before setting the microphone down once again with a flourish. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Wow, I can’t believe that Rufus the Rat come back from that! That was just amazing! Kanlin seemed like he had the upper hand the whole time, but then out of no where Rufus the Rat took control and ended the match! I was so surprised.” Mather ranted, his enthusiasm getting the best of him as he sat in the small back stage dressing room with Erthe. ”He was faking the whole time. He had his power suppressed the entire time, up until the very end of the match. He was making Kanlin think that he had the upper hand, as to do exactly what he is doing to you; to the crowd and Kanlin himself. He was manipulating the opinions of you, Kanlin, and the crowd to gain the results he desired. This must mean he is hiding something, or making up for some weakness. If you make it past Joros, and face him next round, then do not underestimate his abilities, else he will do the same thing to you as well. As it is, Kanlin will never be an effective fighter again, even if he was to get both those limbs replaced.” Erthe said calmly, not buying into the hype that Rufus the Rat had garnered. Erthe was trying to keep Mather’s emotions level. For Mather, if he was to lose control of his emotions, he would lose focus in his up coming match, and surly lose. ”Well, either way, if I could choose, that is how I would like my match to go! It was so awesome, how he was able to just flip the script like that and come out on top. You should hear how the fans…” Mather continued to rant, but a sudden glare from Erthe cut Mather of in mid sentence, causing the young earthling to change the subject. ”So, did you hear about that convince shop owner that was killed? I hear that he was just shot in the head, but nothing was found missing. I find it a bit odd that someone would kill that man and not take anything. What on earth could they have wanted? It just does not make sense to just randomly murder someone.” ”Be it as it may that it does not make sense to randomly kill someone, I do know a few things about that man. That man was going to be competing in these preliminaries. He was the fan favorite to win this preliminary, and was suppose to also be a favorite to win the entire tournament. So who ever killed him probably did not want him to win the tournament. The prestige and cash prize of wining this tournament is more then enough reason to kill someone. With that said, I bet it was either someone who tried to enter the tournament, is in the tournament still, or has someone who did enter the tournament working for them. So keep that in mind as well as you compete. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious.” Erthe said, as he stood up and turned to face the door. ”Your match begins in about ten minutes; don’t be late to this. They will not be a patient as I am.” With that, Erthe walks out of the room. When the door slammed behind Erthe, Mather took a deep sigh and turned to face the mirror on his desk. Slowly he reached out and open the top right hand drawer, and pulled out a small photo. Reaching up to the mirror, Mather slid the picture into the frame of the mirror. In the picture was Mather when he was young. Holding Mather tight to his side with one arm was a man much older then Mather. Similar features would lead people to think that this man was either a much older brother, or Mather’s father. The man could have easily been someone who would have competed in world martial arts tournaments. The man looked much similar to what Mather does now, with the same body build. For a long while Mather continued to stare at the picture in the mirror frame, a gambit of emotions showing on the young warriors face. After several more long moments, Mather spun around on the bench he sat on, and heaved a heavy sigh. Reaching down and untying his boots, Mather begins the process of wrapping his ankles and wrists, in anticipation of his forth coming match. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Well folks, it is just about that time for the second match of the Central City division of the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament to begin! Just to recap, about an hour ago, our first match of the preliminaries wrapped up with Rufus the Rat stealing the victory away from Kanlin in a last second thriller. How will this match turn out? We will have to wait and see!” the announcer roared, and the crowd all joined in on the announcers cheer with cheers of their own, the anticipation of the exciting event growing to an all time high. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * Standing near the entrance to the fighting arena, in the back stage area was a talk man. The man was not young, but he was also far from old. His medium length purple hair made him stand out much more then he normally would with a more natural shade of hair color. Around his right bicep he wore a black ban with white symbols around it. There was also a white line that cut between each symbol diagonally to create a half diamond pattern above and below each alternating symbol. His wrists and ankles both were tightly tapped, to a point where it looked like his fingers and toes should be matching his hair in hue, but for one reason or another, they did not. Across his face was several scars, one going from below his left eye to the left corner of his mouth, one between his eyes going from above his right eye to below his left eye, and one from his right temple wrapping around to behind his right ear. His trunks were tight, and also bore the same coloring and design as the band around his right bicep except that it was grander in scale. As the man stood next to the entrance, Mather walked up behind the man coming to a stop right next to him. ”You must be Joros” Mather asked, his voice passive and calm. ”That I would be. That would make you Mather.” ”You got that right. Good luck out there.” Mather said, offering his hand to Joros. ”No, good luck to you. You will need it with what I have in store for you today.” Joros replied coolly, and then walked away ignoring Mather’s attempt to shake his hand. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”It is officially that time again! The second match in the first round of the Central City division of the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament. This match will feature the veteran, Joros, and a young up and coming start; Mather! The first man to make his way to the ring will be Joros! Joros is a local from here in central city and is well know for making it all the way to the quarter-finals in the forty fourth world martial arts tournament out on the Papaya Islands! Joros is a master of the Zui Quan, or better know as the Drunken Fist! It’s a pretty ironic name for this martial art, because Joros does not look very drunken when fighting, but it is said that his opponents feel like they have a hang over after fighting him, so go figure! So everyone now give a warm welcome for Joros!” the announcer roared, and like wise the crowds began to wildly cheer and holler for the fan favorite in the preliminaries. With the crowd roaring loudly, the announcer whispers into the microphone. ”Joros has one minute to make it to the ring or be disqualified. There, I said it.” * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Jerk!” Mather called out after the man, but he was drowned out as the crowd noise suddenly increased a second before he was able to scream his ‘insult’. Not wanting to miss a second, though, Mather stuck his head out to watch Joros walk towards the ring. The crowd was absolutely out of their mind with frenzy or Joros. Each of the screaming fans in the front row were reaching their arms out over the barrier trying to touch Joros, but the man walked center of the isle and remained much to far away from any of the fans. When Joros reached the fighting platform, he jumped up onto the platform with hardly an effort and then turned to stand in the center of the platform, waiting for Mather’s entrance. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Yes, is he not incredible? That is the amazing Joros! Now, if everyone would calm down for just a brief moment, it is time to announce the next contestant in this match of the preliminaries. All the way from a remote town on the Niar river, is Mather! Mather has no previous experience in any profession martial arts competitions, but his father, Allan, won the thirty seventh world martial arts tournament, so the blood of champions runs in this man. He also is trained by another competitor, by the name of Erthe, in the Central City division of the preliminaries of the world martial arts tournament, who you will see in the next match of the first round of the preliminaries. Much like his master, Mather specializes in the Jeet Kun Do form of martial arts, which uses ones speed and agility to overcome the opponents’ size and strength advantage and overwhelm the foe with flurry of attacks! So everyone give it up for Mather! Mather has one minute to make it to the ring or be disqualified.” * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ”Well here goes! It is finally time for my first match. Now I just remember to focus like Erthe taught me to!” Mather coached to himself as the tiny roar of the crowd told him that it was his turn to enter the battle platform. Mather bounced in place a couple of times before whirling around to face the entrance. Mather then took off down the isle at a full sprint, and once halfway down the long isle, leapt into the air. Soaring through the air, and slightly using bukujutsu to assist him along his way, Mather flew the second half of the isle to land on the fighting platform in mid stride. Not missing a beat, Mather launched himself forward into a flurry of punches and kicks. His pace was matched stride for stride by Joros, as the pair quickly bounced back and forth across the ring in an attempt to gain the upper hand on the other. As the two bodies shot from one side of the fighting platform, back to the other and again repeating the actions, each clash met with the same result of clashing punches and kicks that never made it past his opponents defense. Then just as suddenly as the flurry of offense started, it stopped, with each man standing in an opposite corner and breathing hard. ”My word! It seems that the two contestants did not want to wait for the official start of the match, and got the match going with a explosion of action. It was a bit hard for me to tell who exactly had the advantage in that exchange, but the both of them seemed to be breathing much harder then they were entering the match. What will they ever do next?” The announcer asked rhetorically when he saw that the two fighters were preparing to start the action all over again. ”Impressive, young Mather. Your skills are far greater then I expected from someone so young. It seems that I will have to pick up my intensity another notch.” Joros warned. ”Well, I was a bit disappointed, honestly.” Mather goaded, while taking a few steps backwards to stand about two steps from the edge of the ring. ”The way you talked backstage, and your arrogant actions led me to believe that maybe you had a bit more strength then a sixty year old woman, but for some reason, I no longer think you do.” Mather said, hopping to enrage his opponent. Joros seemed to be taking the bait, as his face flushed red and vanes in his temples popped out. ”A sixty year old woman, you say? Well I will have to show you what I can really do, you cocky ass little punk. Have you ever faced a warrior of my caliber? I highly doubt it. You have forced my to crush you like a insignificant little bug. Now prepare yourself, boy, because I am going to end this match quickly. Ready or not, here I come!” Joros roared before charging forward at Mather. Mather smirked to himself, as this is exactly what he wanted Joros to do. Joros did not charge directly towards Mather like most would, but swayed and stumbled towards Mather in the matter that made Zui Quan known as drunken fist. Each time Joros changed direction, his body was off balance and unstable for a split second. Mather intended to take advantage of this obvious flaw. As Joros finally neared Mather, he launched a left hand punch by suddenly striking his fist outwards as he stumbled to the left. The attack was executed expertly, but the fist found no jaw to land on only open air. This sudden dodge by Mather caused Joros to over compensate his balance and Joros stumbled further to the left than he first intended to. This, paired with the gentle push to Joros’ hind end by the tip of Mather’s foot caused Joros to tumble off of the fighting platform and to the ground below. When Joros crashed to the ground, the crowd gasped at the sudden end to the match before widely cheering Mather’s name. ”There we have it folks! In an embarrassing turn of events, Joros stumbles out of the ring after a slight shove by Mather. Mather advances to the second round of the preliminaries! Your Winner of this match by ring out; Mather!” W/C:6758 Tota W/C: 10,652 |
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