A/N: Ariel is a perfectly reasonable name for a boy!
This is the name I gave to the British cheetah briefly seen in the Dreamlands episode and the Monster Battle Club episode.
(How come there are so many unnamed characters in the series?!)
Ariel
1.) He hates Nova. She's too rebellious. Has no control over her emotions and absolutely no respect for martial arts. Though only there for one day, she has already proved herself unworthy of the Masters' attention. So he defeats her with ease...and may have killed if Master Offay hadn't stepped in.
2.) He was Master Offay's top pupil before Nova arrived, and since he's vowed to do whatever it takes to earn back the father-son affection.
3.) He's focused on the details. The exact execution of a move is what he's more interested in, not the result. The creator's attentiveness to this are absolutely incredible. He remembers where every attack should go, how his hand should be positioned, and that is how he becomes a grand master in record time.
4.) He cheated in a tournament. Nova was his competitor, so of course he wasn't going to let that arrogant little monkey win! Yet afterwards, Master Offay glared at him. He believes it's even worse that he never said the word "disappointed."
5.) He never met his parents, never will, and never wants to. To Ariel, Master Offay is his own and only guardian, and that's enough family for him.
6.) He's not a chronic liar. Nothing about these ten facts are true. NOPE. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Believe everything he says, because whatever it is, he didn't do it!
7.) There was nothing but relief when Nova left. Like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He celebrated with a bottle of whiskey that night.
8.) Yet something was always missing after that. He felt bored, wandering around the dojo, studying as always, socializing, yet something wasn't there. A good chat with Master Offay helped him realize what it was. Never shall he admit that Nova is the cause of his new, unexplainable apathy towards life.
9.) Some sixty years later, when the planet is corrupted, he was one of only a small group of Master Offay's students to survive. He prides this knowledge, but grieves heavily. Many died. And he doesn't care in the least.
10.) He meets Nova only one last time. She and her team – the Hyperforce, they call themselves – have come to enlist Master Offay's help. Ariel pays little attention to the others. He pulls her aside, and they stare at each other for a long time. No words are exchanged. Merely the tense atmosphere that defines rivals. This is not unlike other encounters when the dojo was still in operation, except that one difference.
They've grown up.