Author's note: I don't own any of the characters! They belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 10: Get Serious or Get Lost!
Outside the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ, Smileydai
When all the combatants wandered through the secret corridor, they were in for a big surprise. The corridor led them out of the building, but there was more. Once they arrived, they were filled with wonder by what they could see.
It was a park, a park which contained stadiums and buildings. It was filled with roads and grass, almost as if it was an amusement park and a city park combined. However, the entire park was surrounded by highly-technological walls.
Handsome Jack smirked as he got out seeing the combatants getting stunned by what they were seeing. He stood in front of the crowd of fighters and tapped his microphone. All attentions was focused on him.
"Surprised by seeing this, huh? Well I don't blame you for doing so" Jack said while chuckling at their reaction. "This is where the games will be held. It might look similar to an Olympic Park, but in this case, we call it…..a Tournament Park" he explained while showing them what this place was. "The Mishima Zaibatsu had to negotiate with the city's authorities before building this. Hell, they actually bought the entire area and now owns it as part of their property" he added, making the combatants before him very surprised.
Crash and his friends were filled with surprises as they got a view of the Tournament Park. It was fascinating. Even Hwoarang and Steve, who lived in Smileydai, never knew that such place existed beside the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ.
"Stadiums, apartments, gyms and even a hospital….just how rich is the Mishima Zaibatsu!?" Hwoarang asked in disbelief. "Did they actually buy this property from the city authorities!?" he added while never getting the point.
Steve whistled while seeing this. "Whoa…they sure know how to accommodate their visitors" the young boxer remarked.
Handsome Jack moved on and showed the combatants the apartments. They were high-rise buildings, built in a very unique architecture. Every room had their own balconies. "These buildings will be where you folks stay while in the tournament. And let me tell you, these are 100% luxury apartments. Booking a room in these is usually expensive as hell, but lucky for you fighters, everything, including the food is free!" he explained while giving everyone a very satisfied answer.
Crash smiled to himself after hearing this. "Well that sounds legit. It's great to know that we won't need to pay anything. As far as I know, I'm kinda broke right now" he thought while thinking about this. "I better find a way to earn some money while I'm here" he added to his thoughts.
"Okay everyone! Now that you've been introduced to your "playground", you will each be given a room to live in. And don't go off partying or whatever stuff you usually do! You will each be given an opponent to fight against later" Jack declared while all the combatants widened at this. "However, for those of you who wish to fight with a partner, you may come to my office later. I'm about to finish my plans for those two vs two matches" he added.
Steve and Hwoarag snapped once they heard this. They were allowed to fight as partners? This was just great. They both eyed each other and smirked. However, this meant only that Crash would need to fight alone. But the young bandicoot showed understanding to what they were planning.
"It's alright. You can do whatever you wish, I won't pressure you. We will still be friends" Crash said to his newfound friends. "Besides, I kinda wish to fight alone. I just wanna test my skills in comba.t" he added.
The two men smiled at what he was saying. "That's good to hear, Crash. However, if we ever make it to the semi-finals, we three can join together to form a team" Steve suggested.
Hwoarang nodded in agreement this, and so did Crash. "Sounds like a good idea to me. However, I'm telling you: Jin is mine! I'm the one who's gonna beat him in a challenge!" the auburn-haired man said determined, causing his friends to sigh in annoyance by this.
"Whatever you say" Crash said lowly, starting to get tired of Hwoarang's brash attitude.
Later, inside the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ
Jin was eyeing the Tournament Park from his office. From his point of view, the park almost seemed like a LEGO-town. But that was because of the HQ's height, which towered the luxury apartments and even the stadiums. By looking at this, he mused to himself.
"Those fools, the apartments are only for decoration" he jokingly said while staring down. It was obvious that he referred it to fighters, who only entered the tournament to get to live in the luxury apartments without paying.
The sun was going down and it was almost time for the first matches to begin. But Jin was currently waiting for something. It had something to do with all the fighters.
"Mr Kazama, you have Nina Williams and Eddy Gordo visiting you" the office's monitor suddenly stated. Jin still stood there, eyeing the Tournament Park.
"Let them in" Jin replied, never taking off his gaze.
The door opened and in came Nina and Eddy. The blonde-haired woman carried some files with her. Finally Jin went back to his seat and waited for his associates to come with the files. Nina dropped them at his table.
"This is the file over those who will fight as duos during the tournament. We just had them copied by Jack" Nina explained to her boss.
Eddy crossed his arms at this. "I honestly can't stand Jack. He doesn't seem that trustworthy to work with" he said while expressing doubts over the charming man.
Jin only smirked in return. "Have no fear. At this rate, we are the ones running the show here, not him" he assured Eddy. "We will let him do as he pleases, for now. But when the time comes, we'll strike him down" he added, this satisfying his bodyguard.
"I understand, boss" he said while bowing his head in respect.
Jin then proceeded to check on the files. It contained all the combatants' names, as well as their place of origin. He read through them carefully.
Tina Armstrong and Lisa Hamilton
Hayate and Kasumi
Steve Fox and Hwoarang
Craig Marduk and King
Lili Rochefort and Asuka Kazama
Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch
Ling Xiaoyu and Lei Wulong
Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law
Ryu and Ken Masters
Zangief and Rufus
Poison and Hugo
Chun-Li and Cammy White
Sakura Kusagano and Blanka
Guile and Abel
Liu Kang and Kung Lao
Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage
Scorpion and Reptile
Sub-Zero and Smoke
Goro and Kintaro
Kitana and Jade
Akira Yuki and Jacky Bryant
Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan
"Well, what do you know, there are many duos here then what I even expected" he said while reading the list. "Xiaoyu…..why are you even in this tournament?" he suddenly asked in his head while thinking about his friend from high school. "And who's this…Asuka Kazama? Is she related to my mother?" he then wondered.
Nina and Eddy walked over to his table to read the list. Nina mused to herself when she saw her son being partnered up with Hwoarang. Truth is: she kind of looked forward to see him fighting. But there was something else that caught her attention.
"Lars Alexandersson…it seems your half-uncle has entered as well" she remarked when reading up his name.
Jin only closed his eyes. "You don't say. But he's not the one who I really want to fight" he said in return. "But still, that man is never to be underestimated" he added while thinking about Lars.
Eddy had read some of the combatants' names and he became confused when he read some of them. "Get real! What kind of names are those? Sub-Zero, Smoke, Scorpion and Reptile, those wouldn't be their real names, unless I'm mistaking" he remarked to his colleagues while reading this.
"The two members of the Lin Kuei are just entering with their codenames. From what I gather, their real names are Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada, respectively. This Scorpion is from the Shirai Ryu. His real name is Hanzo Hasashi. Reptile on the other hand…..I'm not sure of. Hell, he's not even human based upon our scanners" Nina explained to him.
Eddy raised an eyebrow in wonder at her explanation. "You sure know how to collect data. I gave you credit for that" he remarked, making Nina muse to herself in return.
"Well that's enough for now" Jin interrupted them. "Remember, we also have those who wish to fight as individuals" he reminded them.
"Oh yeah, I don't see that bandicoot guy on this list. That means he's probably fighting alone in the tournament" Eddy realised.
"You might wanna have a list over those combatants fighting one-on-one in the tournament" Nina suggested to her boss. "I will make sure Jack gets notified as soon as possible" she added, thus satisfying Jin.
"Glad to hear it. We better keep our eyes peeled for anyone suspicious. Whether they work for the G Corporation or the Sony Organization, it doesn't matter. I wanna know which one of them is a spy" he explained to his bodyguards who saluted with formality at his request.
Inside one of the tournament stadiums: Glass of Fate
In this stadium the fighters fought each other on a platform made of glass. It was raised in a high level that people had to use elevators to go up and down. But right now, as the audience was screaming for a match, Jack stood on a floating platform, smiling at the audience.
"ARE YOU READY, FOLKS!?" he asked out loud and the audience shouted with cheers in return. "WELCOME TO THE FIRST MATCH OF THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT ON THE SPECTACULAR GLASS OF FATE!" he called out while showing everyone the platform of glass.
Suddenly, the large screen in the stadium activated and it showed them which fighter was supposed to fight tonight. It showed them both duos and individual fighters. Among those who were shown were Crash and his friends.
"OKAY! NOW LET'S TAKE A LOOK ON WHO'S FIGHTING WHO!" he said when while eyeing the fighters. "THOSE WHO FIGHT AS INDUVIDUALS TONIGHT WILL BE….."
Crash Bandicoot vs Bryan Fury
Cole MacGrath vs Mileena
Raiden vs Baraka
The Prince of Persia vs Vega
Kano vs Balrog
"AND FOR THE THOSE WHO FIGHT AS DUOS TONIGHT…." Jack said and turned to the screen again.
Steve Fox and Hwoarang vs Lili Rochefort and Asuka Kazama
Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law vs Sub-Zero and Smoke
Goro and Kintaro vs Craig Marduk and King
Scorpion and Reptile vs Hayate and Kasumi
Sakura Kusagano and Blanka vs Guile and Abel
"WELL! NOW THAT WE HAVE THE PICTURE HERE, WHY DON'T WE GET THIS SHOW STARTED!?" Jack asked loudly and everyone cheered in return.
The different groups of fighters stood by the elevators on each side of the platform. The individual fighters stood on the eastern side, while the duo fighters stood on the western side. They were a bit below the main platform, where the fight would take place. They had all listened to Jack, as well as read the screen.
Crash was standing on row along with his other fighters. He could notice that some of these fighters were very different from one another. Cole was seemed very cool, while people like Raiden, Vega and the Prince seemed very…..mystical to him. However, fighters like Bryan, Kano, and Baraka made him feel uncomfortable. But he managed to keep his cool.
Suddenly, the announcer called out to the combatants, thus catching everyone's attention. Jack had been reading his papers. "ALRIGHTY THEN! THE FIRST ONE WILL BE A MATCH BETWEEN A CYBORG AND A BANDICOOT! SO LET US ALL WELCOME THE MATCH BETWEEN CRASH BANDICOOT OF SONY AND BRYAN FURY OF NAMCO!" Jack declared and the audience cheered loudly as usual.
Before he could enter the elevator, he was wished the best of luck by Steve and Hwoarang. "Good luck with your match, Crash! We're counting on you!" Hwoarang said.
"Just take caution to this Bryan Fury. From what I hear, that guy is one, tough bastard" Steve advised him while sounding cautious.
Crash smiled in return and gave them a thumb-up. "Thanks for the advice and encouragement, guys! I will do my best" he said, and both of his friends were satisfied by this answer. They then took off to join the rest of their group.
Crash entered the elevator and waited for his opponent to come in. The pale-skinned and white-haired man dressed in pants filled with ammunition and military boots. He also wore a green jacket and black gloves. The expression on his face was not friendly and Crash could tell that he was a serious killer.
As the elevator took off, Crash could only notice Bryan giving him a psychotic grin on his face. This made the young bandicoot feel uncomfortable. So he tried to kindly make him stop doing that.
"Can you please stop staring at me like that? It gives me the creeps" Crash politely asked him. But Bryan wouldn't stop and continued staring. However, he began stretching out his neck, thus making cracking sounds, much to Crash's disgust.
"Once we start fighting, you're gonna wish you never came to this tournament" he suddenly spoke up, but for Crash, it was not pleasant to hear.
The elevator reached the main platform and both Crash and Bryan exited it. The two combatants then walked towards the middle of the platform, making sure Jack and the entire audience could see the fight.
Crash made his preparation stance and focused solely on his opponent. Bryan on the other hand, cracked his knuckles while grinning. It was apparent that he looked forward to tear Crash apart. The young bandicoot got cautious.
Jack smirked and knew that this was going to be a nice match. He then raised his left hand to the air. "OKAY, YOU TWO MAY BEGIN FIGHTING…..NOW!" Jack shouted and swung his left hand downwards.
While Crash was getting a bit distracted by the loud voice, he failed to notice Bryan making the first move by charging at him. The pale-skinned man relentlessly kicked the young bandicoot by surprise, thus sending him rolling. Crash groaned in pain while struggling to get up on his feet, while Bryan continued grinning.
"OUCH! CRASH JUST GOT KICKED BY BRYAN'S MILITARY BOOTS! DAMN, THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!" Jack commented to the audience as they both cheered and booed at this. Most of the booing was directed towards Crash.
As Crash got up on his feet, he could see Bryan only laughing sadistically at him feeling pain. What kind of man was he? Crash sucked it up and stood his ground.
"Steve was right. That guy sure is a tough bastard" Crash noted and dried the blood running from his mouth.
Bryan stopped laughing after seeing this. "So you wanna feel more pain? If so then allow me to help you!" he said with sadism and once again, ran for the young bandicoot.
Crash snapped when seeing this. Obviously he was planning on delivering another kick. As the pale-skinned man swung his right foot, the young bandicoot surprisingly avoided it by jumping. Crash then readied his right fist, aiming it for Bryan's face. Unfortunately, the cyborg blocked it with his hands, thus stopping Crash's attack.
"Damn it!" the young bandicoot cursed when seeing Bryan blocking his attack. But the young bandicoot suddenly got kneed by Bryan, thus sending him flying in the air. "I should've seen this coming" Crash thought while floating in the air.
The pale-skinned man smirked when seeing this. "DOES IT FEEL GOOD!?" he asked Crash. He then readied his right fist to deliver a hard punch at him. "HERE IT COMES!" he shouted maniacally and delivered his punch at Crash's face.
This felt painful for Crash and he was sent rolling, blood covering his face. The entire audience started to boo at him, while he was still lying on the glassed floor.
"OH MY GOD, THIS LOOKS BAD, FOLKS! CRASH IS JUST GETTING HIS FURRY ASS BEATEN!" Jack commented while watching this. "HE BETTER START TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY!" he added.
However, the young bandicoot slowly got up on his feet, spitting out blood from his mouth. He then focused his gaze on Bryan, who was still grinning with pleasure. The pale-skinned man could see how Crash struggled in composing himself.
"Try avoiding my attacks all you want, kid! But it won't make a difference! My kickboxing easily prevails over your weak punches!" Bryan taunted him and laughed afterwards.
This suddenly hit Crash in the head. He then thought about how he managed to stop that tsunami from swallowing Sandover Village. Perhaps some of that mysterious energy was still left in him. There was something he also came to realize after hearing Bryan's words.
"I think this creep somehow speaks the truth. So does that weird presenter. That punch I delivered didn't inflect much damage. It's probably because I was too focused on knowing his fighting style" Crash thought in his head. He then readied his position, firming his fists. "Alright, enough with acting all confused! It's time I started getting serious for once!" he thought and to his opponent's surprise ran towards him in fast speed.
Bryan laughed at this in return and readied his fist. "Hah! You're only running bravely into your death!" he said in return and stretched his fist to hit Crash. Surprisingly, the young bandicoot dodged it and launched at Bryan by grabbing his hips.
He then made Bryan fall to the ground. Once he was on the ground, Crash sat on his stomach and proceeded to punch Bryan's face. Although the pale-skinned man tried to block it, he noticed that Crash's punches were getting stronger and soon got Crash off him by head-butting him.
Bryan grinned after doing this and hoped to see more blood streaming from Crash. "How did that feel, you little…..WHAT!?" Bryan stopped speaking once he could see his opponent standing.
Surprisingly, the young bandicoot remained unfazed and jumped before Bryan could kick him. The young bandicoot swung his left feet in the air and landed a kick on Bryan's face. This sent him flying.
"Now that was for making me look like a punching bag!" Crash said as he kicked Bryan.
The audience expressed shock at this, while Jack whistled in amazement. "WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW? BRYAN JUST GOT INTRODUCED TO CRASH'S FOOT!" he commented.
But Bryan got back on his feet quickly and to Crash's disgust, licked the blood on around his mouth. He was still keen on more violence. "That was pretty impressive! I better tread lightly next time" he complimented Crash, who was dumbfounded by this. But still, Crash accepted it.
"Thanks, but I prefer not to receive praise from strangers like you" Crash jokingly replied, much to Bryan's confusion. "However, I better get used to it, especially since we are now in the middle of a fight" Crash added.
The pale-skinned man was getting annoyed by Crash's words, so he charged at him in fast speed. "QUIT YAPPING AND JUST FIGHT, YOU BRAT!" he shouted and was about to kick Crash. To his shock, the young bandicoot managed to simply grab his foot with his hands. Crash smirked while doing so.
"You're the one yapping here, zombieman!" he said with sarcasm in his voice. Afterwards, Crash made a frog-like jump while holding Bryan's foot. He was sent to the floor, but while being so, Bryan nearly broke his leg. He groaned in pain at this.
The audience was cheering for Crash now. Even Jack had begun showing interest in Crash. "WOW! CRASH JUST PINNED BRYAN TO THE FLOOR! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!?" he asked the audience while observing the fight.
Crash got away from Bryan and began stretching his arms and legs. He really felt like doing it, as it made him feel comfortable. While he did that, Bryan was giving him a face of anger and frustration. Crash noticed this and became concerned.
"You don't look so good, Bryan! If you don't feel like fighting, you can just give up" Crash surprisingly suggested to his opponent. By hearing this, Bryan was filled with outrage. He gritted his teeth at this.
As the pale-skinned man got back on his feet, he loosened his jacket, thus exposing his muscular chest. Crash got cautious again, when noticing Bryan getting all angry all of a sudden. This was really disturbing to see.
"Oh crap! I think I made him pissed!" Crash thought in his head while seeing Bryan acting like this. "From what I can tell, he really likes fighting" the young bandicoot added to his thoughts.
"Give up….give up the fight? LIKE HELL I WILL!" Bryan shouted in anger and flexed his muscles. Crash stood his ground and faced his opponent. Bryan was suddenly grinning. This was most likely due to the bloodlust taking control over him. The young bandicoot knew this meant trouble. "I WON'T STOP FIGHTING…UNTIL I'VE TORN YOU TO PIECES!" he shouted and ran straight towards him.
Crash knew that Bryan would try to land a punch on him. So as the pale-skinned man neared him, Crash ducked. However, he could see that Bryan was also preparing his right foot to kick him. He had to act fast.
"Step 1: Send him flying!" Crash thought in his head and punched Bryan in the stomach. This sent him flying up in the air. The audience cheered, but there was more to come.
While Bryan was up in the air, he was filled with surprise, once he saw Crash jumping to give him a barrage. This took him off-guard.
"FUCK!" Bryan shouted in anger. Crash raised his right foot in the air and eyed his opponent with remorse. "YOU ORANGE-FURRED SON OF A…" Bryan shouted until Crash spoke up.
"And Step 2: Send him back again!" Crash said and then landed his feet on Bryan's back. It was a hard slam. Bryan screamed in pain.
The pale-skinned man fell down towards the floor of glass and the results were painful. The glass had begun cracking, but it didn't break. The floor of glass was made to withstand such, but Crash had surprisingly managed to crack the floor. The audience cheered in return and Jack mused at this.
"That was amazing" Jack thought while seeing this. "Maybe I was a bit judgemental on him" he added while studying Crash.
As Crash landed on the floor and flipped his opponent's body, he could see that his face and body was filled with bruises and ugly marks. Crash chuckled nervously to himself after seeing this.
"Eheheheheh…..maybe I overdid it" he said while hoping he didn't "kill" Bryan.
Jack tapped his microphone before speaking. "WELL, FOLKS! FROM THE LOOKS OF IT, BRYAN SEEMS UNABLE TO CONTINUE FIGHTING! CRASH HAS REMARKABLY K.O-ED HIM!" Jack said while studying Bryan's body. "WINNER BY KNOCKOUT: CRASH BANDICOOT!" he then declared and the audience cheered in return.
Crash stopped poking Bryan and watched the spectators cheering him. It was strange, how so many people watched this show. But still, he accepted the praise and naively waved his hands towards everyone, even the cameramen.
However, Crash realised that he needed to understand more of his strength. Using it randomly wouldn't do any good. He thought about training, knowing that his opponents could perhaps be stronger than Bryan. But on another note, the young bandicoot looked forward to it. But first, he had to see how Hwoarang and Steve would fare in their fight.
To be continued…
Author's note: That was chapter 10. In this tournament, I will mostly focus on Crash, Steve and Hwoarang's fights. However, I might write about someone else whenever I feel like it (perhaps on Cole, Raiden and the Prince). I wanted A Game's Legend to have a different next arc than Trouble in the East, as both beginnings were similar. However, hope you guys enjoyed it.