Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Kickboxer nor any of its characters. I only own my original character Cali and anything else that seems out of place.
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Jack is standing by the ring when the upper doors to the Civic center open, David, Cali and Xian come walking through them. They make their way down the stairs till they reach Jack.
"You didn't think I'd miss one of your fights, did ya? Brian's mom told me what happened. Here's your gear, champ."
"Yeah, thanks man."
David stands in the ring with Xian, Cali and Jack stand on the arena floor staring at the pools of Brian's blood that stain the canvas.
Xian tapes up David's hands, "You know what may happen? If your leg is hurt…"
"David!"
Cali climbs up on the apron, David walks over to her. He sees the unshed tears in her eyes threatening to fall. This means a lot to him, because Cali never cries. He meets her eyes and holds her gaze.
"David."
She barely whispers his name, but he can hear the emotion in her voice. He knows what she is trying to say, in answer he leans down kissing her lips gently, she returns the kiss. He pulls away leaning his forehead against hers.
"Ditto Cal."
They share a small grim smile before David walks over to two silver buckets in the middle of the ring. One filled with glue and another with broken glass, it is the traditional Muay Thai fighting that is done in Thailand. A fighter dips his hand wraps into the glue then the broken glass, it's brutal and Cali is scared to death for David.
"David, you don't have to fight Muay Thai. It's not just using glass. It's fighting with no rules. You could be killed. Hundreds of years ago… this was how we fought."
The side doors open as Sangha, the bodyguard, two trainers and Tong Po make their way in. They stop next to the ring where one of the men sets up a video camera.
"The video is for our people back home, to prove that we have regained our honor."
"It ain't over-"
"Until the fat lady sings. Yes I'm familiar with that expression. You'll fight Muay Thai until one of you can no longer continue. Understood?"
David nods, Sangha walks away back to Tong Po who gives him a curt nod.
They come out of their corners, circling each other like prey. David takes the first shot kicking Tong Po in the stomach, then three punches to the face.
Cali watches as they trade blow after blow, David is the first to draw first blood. Tong Po unleashes his deadly elbows to David's head, dazing him. He takes blow after blow from Tong Po until he cannot see straight. He falls to the canvas right at Cali's feet.
"David!"
"You're the weakest… of all the Sloans." Tong Po tells him.
David is a bloody mess, his left eye swollen shut, cuts all over his face, as Xian and Cali try to coach him.
Xian says, "David. I see no fat lady. I hear no singing. So, it's not over yet. Concentrate. The most fierce weapon is the human mind. Now go kick his ass and let's go home!"
"Remember Davi, sometimes when you're blind, and times seem darkest, you can often see more clearly." He turns giving Cali a small smile as she repeats his words to him.
He looks up at Tong Po, bending over at the waist he tells him, "I tell you what.. you take your best shot."
Tong Po responds with a right jab, then a left both which David dodges. He then hits Tong Po with a flat palm to the sternum 5 times. Again hit after hit Tong Po swings and David blocks, David then unleashes a torrent of kicks and punches till finally Tong Po is knocked over the ropes and onto the ground. Sangha then jumps in the ring pulling out a gun and pointing it at David. The bodyguard pulls one as well aiming it at Jack's back.
"Is this what you call honor?" David asks Sangha.
"I have no honor! When a man loses his honor, he has nothing."
Cali then attacks the bodyguard knocking him out, it distracts Sangha enough for David to kick the gun out of his hand then knock him out as well. The four of them stand together and give a sigh as they realize it's over.
A couple of months later Cali and David are holding on for dear life as they try to teach Xian how to drive a car. They screech to a stop hitting a bunch of trash cans, and almost running into the wall of the gym.
David and Cali get out as Xian exclaims, "You are not as good a teacher, as you are a student. You must have patience. Did I block the sidewalk?"
From around the corner comes Joe again dragging a boy by his shirt and a group of more boys following.
"Mr. Sloan! This here's Carl. He's the new punk in the neighborhood. He doesn't take anything on faith."
"Aw how you doing Carl?"
David reaches his hand out to shake but Carl fakes him out telling Joe, "He doesn't look like a champion to me."
Joe smirks along with David, Cali and Xian as she hands David the bandana from her pocket.
David ties it around his eyes, then leaning down he tells Carl, "Okay, kid. You take your best shot."
Carl swings a right that David blocks, a left that he ducks and a right that David catches right in his hand. The look on Carl's face is pure terror. They hear music and see an ice cream truck.
"Time out. My Treat!"
All the kids run to the truck as Xian starts another of his stories.
"Did I ever tell you the story about the water buffalo and the caterpillar?"
"I don't think so."
"Or was it… the tiger and the dragon?"
David and Cali laugh as Xian walks away to the truck, David grabs her around the waist kissing her gently and taking her hand, he leads her to the truck.
Slowly over the next year the three of them rebuild the gym, even make some improvements. Cali convinced David to let her help him with the bills and money. Between the money she won from fighting, her modeling and her trust fund, she had more than enough. Cali never spent any of it, only saved, and she wanted it to go to a good cause.
After the gym was rebuilt they added Brian's face to the wall, it was only right to them. Most of the pictures and David's personal stuff had been saved from the fire. Even though he spent much of his time at Cali's house, 30 minutes from the gym he still kept his stuff at the gym the same.
A year after the Tong Po incident, things between David and Cali went bad. She had gotten an amazing offer to travel to Brazil for some exhibition matches, she would be gone for only a few months. Instead of understanding and supporting her, David did the opposite which was to yell and be pissed off.
One night at the gym, a week before Cali was scheduled to leave, she tried reasoning with David again.
"David please. Try to understand what this means to me. What it could mean for us."
"Us? What does it have to do with us? It's you they want."
"Yes but you, me and Xian are a team, they'll see that. They'll hear about the gym and it might help us out with money and sponsors."
"I don't need it, I don't fight anymore."
"I know that. But just because you don't, why can't I?"
"So you're choosing your career over us?"
His words hit her like a freight train. "No. I thought you'd support me on this. I'll only be gone a few months."
"Yeah, well I don't. So make a decision, Brazil or me?"
Again the wind is knocked right out of her lungs, she gasps as tears run down her face. "David that's not fair. How can you ask me to choose?"
"Then it's clear you've already made your decision. Hope you have a great time. Maybe someday we'll bump into each other again."
The coldness in his voice sent a chilled dagger through Cali's heart. Never had she expected David to react this way. She went to touch him but he turned his back on her. So she gathered up her things, kissed Xian goodbye and walked to the door. Just before she left she said something David will never forget.
"I hope someday I can earn your forgiveness. I love you, Davi."
That was the first and last time David heard those words from her, it cut him like a knife but his pride would not let him go after her.
Two months passed and David waited for her return, but it never came. No call, letter or surprise visit. She had forgotten him, and who could blame her. He wished he could go back and redo that night, the night that haunts his dreams.
Meanwhile in Brazil, Cali's dreams are filled with dead girls, electrocution and the life of a slave.
After her last exhibition bout, she was kidnapped from her hotel room that night as she slept by a man named Frank Lane. She found out that he ran a slave trade of young girls in Brazil, and he had originally wanted to sell her to the highest bidder. That was till he realized how much more she could make him by simply renting her out.
None of the men ever touched her inappropriately, she would simply be their escort to dinners and parties, a trophy for them to show off.
Cali was strong and would never allow herself to be caged or broken though, she had a fire inside that Lane liked. She fought with the guards and tried to run away multiple times, but every time she was caught before she could escape the property.
Lane didn't want to mark her face or her body, so instead to punish her he designed a collar that resembled a thick silver necklace. A one inch chain that wrapped around her neck once then hung down between her breasts, with a teardrop charm. To anyone else it looked like a beautiful silver and diamond necklace, but it sent out an electric shock that could down a horse. So whenever Cali acted up or ran, Lane simply pushed a button and brought her to her knees.
Still Cali would never let him see her cry so she gritted and bared the excruciating pain the necklace emitted. Most of the time Cali sat quite and motionless, thinking about David. Was he worried when she didn't come back? Did he even care? Was he looking for her? No, after a year David would have moved on, he had forgotten all about her.
Little did she know that David was on a flight to Brazil at that moment.
However back inside Lane's beachside villa, Lane is greeting his gentlemen customers and checking on his girls when one of his men comes in.
"Boss we have a problem- a big problem."
One of the girls had escaped and was trying to make it off the property to safety. Lane's house is set on top of a hill and has acres of property plus beach access with a boat dock.
She is suddenly caught by Lane and one of the men.
"I don't get it. I feed them. I give them a home. I'm like a father to them, Pete. Why would she embarrass me like that? Huh?"
The rest of the girls are sitting in their common room when Lane and Pete bust through the door with the girl, throwing her down on the couch right next to Cali, he then shuts off the TV.
"Now, girls… What happens when we're bad? Who can tell me? This is very disappointing. This is very disappointing!"
Lane pulls one of Pete's guns out and shoots the girl in the chest as the others scream in terror.
"Lesson is over."
Lane walks out as Pete locks eyes with Cali, he almost looks sad, but Cali knows better.
"Cali get out here!"
Cali stands up and walks out to the living room where Lane is sitting on the couch waiting for her. Before she can prepare a violent shock races through her neck, she drops to the floor clawing at the collar.
"You are in charge of the girls! You were supposed to take care of them! It's your fault that girl is dead Cali!"
After what seems like an hour, Lane shuts off the button. Cali lays on the carpet at his feet trying to catch her breath. He shoves her with his foot and orders her back to the room. She gets up shakily and retreats to the room, inside she glowers thinking of all the ways she wants to kill him.