Lets get some things out of the way. Yes, this chapter is two days late and yes it is by far much shorter than most chapters I've posted. I'm sorry, I've had a less than stable and easy going week which stood in the way of my writing. I hope I'll make it on time next week.
"Contestants! Please make your way to the fighting arena for our second match up!" As Kassonna dropped down from her perch atop the stadium walls she could see the Announcer curiously poking at the stage, the whole and completely spick an' span stage. "I would have called a recess to repair the damages cause by our previous cataclysmic fight, but… Uh… It seems our resident Genie, Mr Popo, was kind enough to… Whatever he did"
She tapped her index finger against her forehead in-rhythm with her own footsteps, contemplating on her general demeanour on the way in to the ring. Should 'Kassy' strive confidently, but with a good-natured wave? Maybe she should tuck her arms around her back, regal, but with the illusion of contemplation and humbleness; like how Dashade usually walked. Nah, not my style. Torne had a nice walk. Confident, long strides with the speed of an old lady; bobbing her empty head back and forth like the air was playing ping pong. Though that egotistical smirk of hers does always remind me of a horse passing gas.
As she reached the first step she wrote of Dr. Sludge, the man was a sweetheart, but the waddling footsteps Christmas-esc mirth did not fit. Trebel! Trebel's would be perf- Ah… I don't know any of his dance moves. I always forget to steal his moves! By the time she realised that the announcer was staring at her, waiting for an answer, her hand had found itself locked over her jaw. Inquisitive? Hmm… I think I can do this right. Work the mystery angel. Much better than my last role.
Her left shoe trembled slightly in response to the movement of her big toe, a voice coming out muffled through the material "Screaming 'The Nameks are coming! The Nameks are coming!' didn't make that stupid outfit any bet-" Before swiftly being silenced by the right foot kicking the mouthy toe.
"Hey, no mind reading!" Came the more 'feminine' response "Don't make me come over there and paint your nails red and purple!"
Of course, the muffled cries of warring, sentient feet were quiet enough that the Announcer and Kassy's opponent could only understand that someone's feet were a bit itchy. "Are you okay, Miss?"
"Oh, they're fine. Just a bad case of the grumpy guts" Kassonna clasped her hands together with a jaunty laugh. "If you think they're mischievous, you should hear the other voices in my head" At her straining smile, the Announcer and Schnitzel could only look to each other in confusion, a moment of silence passing between them. Eventually the Announcer nodded to him, let out a chuckle and turned to face the audience.
"Well, you can't say we don't deliver personality here, folks!" The audience joined in with his laughter, obviously taking her words as a joke. After a few seconds, the Announcer raised his hand with a good-natured grin "Settle down, settle down; otherwise we'll never have time to start this match"
"Quite right" Kassy glanced down at the watch that wasn't on her wrist, tutting out loud. "A bit of time crunch. You people don't have much longer left" The scandalous giggle that followed was promptly ignored. "Let's hurry to the showdown!"
"Sure, sure, sure" By this point in his life The Announcer, of all people, had no place to be surprised about strange contestants. At least they were as enthusiastic about the fight as he was. Sure, at first he had his doubts with Kassy's opponent being less than stellar in the warrior looks department. But… "Contestants, get into position! When I say 'Begin' I hope to be unleashing one of the most exciting matches yet to come"
"Exc-c-citing?" Schnitzel finally spoke, his voice coming out like chattering teeth due to his constant fearful shakes.
Th Announcer stopped himself to add "And explosive, of course. Just… Try not to blow up the arena. I don't want to think about the legalities of Genie magic"
Schnitzel's expression only grew more wide and fearful, sweat leaving a damp trail down his fur. "Explosive!? Oh no…"
The microphone was given a stylish twirl, the Announcer pushing his free hand in between the two competitors, his voice only getting louder. "Now; READY!" The crowd cheered. Schnitzel began to feel itchy. "SET!" Kassy stood with relaxed posture, slowly swaying side-to-side like an impatient child. Schnitzel let out a whine, his sharp nails digging into his arm as he tried to scratch at the itch. "And…" His shaking had increased to violent vibrations, his comforting scratched only growing more savage, pulling against whatever flesh he could find. It was like there was something under his skin that was tearing at him from the inside. "BEGIN!
Kassy stood up straight, looking down with a poisonous smirk.
The Crowd held their breath, waiting in anticipation for the fight to begin.
The Announcer jumped back until he could find anything that would be considered cover. He'd learned his lesson by now.
Kassy gave Schnitzel the first move.
And so Schnitzel cried.
"W-WAIT! WAIT A MOMENT!" Tears were flicked off the ends of his fur as his head swayed with dismay. "I n-n-need you to wait! I don't wanna die!"
Kassy squinted, trying to find something to combat the tinge of disappointment in her stomach. "Huh?"
The Announcer's yelling into the microphone was heard from the safety of out of bounds area "Hey, I said 'Begin'. Hit each other!"
"I can't!" The small fox sniffled, his ears flopping downwards.
"What do you mean?" There was certainly more aggression in the man's voice now. "Come on, we can't have victory by pre-fight mercy calls in the second fight!"
"I am n-n-not calling for m-mercy" Quickly his beady eyes looked back over to Kassy, who was apparently quite intimidating, judging by the panicked manner in which he jumped back. "I need moment. I'm not ready. T-turn around"
"You want me to turn my back on you?" Even Kassy found this proposal strange.
"A-all of you. Please, just a moment. All I need. Then we can fight" He shuffled his feet, his posture in a nervous hunch. "We can g-get this show on the road. Be fair"
Where the audience and Announcer shook their heads in frustration, Kassy simply offered a casual shrug. "…Sounds legitimate. But I really need to speed this up a little, and this better be fun!" To the confusion of the audience, Kassy complied with the offer and turned her back upon Schnitzel. "I must say, you should keep it in mind how rude it is to inconvenient everyone in a spectator event. Next time, you should-" A split-second was all Kassy had to feel the quaking in the air, before dropping down into a crouch as as a crackling force of crimson energy shot right past her. "-make preparations before entering the ring. And I know people like to think they're so sure, but creating a list to remind yourself you have everything is crucial. Otherwise, you just look like a poopooer"
"Stupid little Kitty…" Schnitzel's voice had shifted to a deeper pitch, his tone completely devoid of that fear and doubt that had been so prevalent before. "Damn it all, I miss-fired. Didn't mean to scare you"
The tone did nothing but set her face on permanent grin mode, her energy and anticipation returning to her bones as she stood back up. "I get it, all this build up to a dramatic entrance, ey? I can respect that" She span back around to face Schnitzel with her own little flourish, striking a delicate pose with a flic of her hip. "I do respect that" Now, she was able to take the opportunity to look over this new Schnitzel.
This fox must have been a wizard or one hell of a quick-change artist, as his entire appearance had been switched. His orange fur had seemingly been frozen over, replaced by white strands. His business suit now ripped and cast aside in favour of a full white spandex costume, with a glowing green 'X' running across the torso. "Hope I didn't startle you too much, Lady" His once fragile grimace had now been replaced by a teeth-filled snarl, drool and all. He'd even grown a few inches.
"I almost forgot you make it past the preliminaries"
He picked at the crevice between his sharp teeth, giving Kassy all the time to take it all in. "Yeah, yeah. All those tough-tough brawlers had the same expression when they found out that Little Schnitzel wasn't coming out to play"
"I approve, most definitely! Now, the million-dollar question on my mind; was that down trodden loser just an act? Or have you just completed the extreme cycle of fear?"
"That loser?" The emphasize the disgust in his tone, Schnitzel spat on the ground in front of him. "He's no act. He's just squatting here. I'm the main event, I handle the deprived and dirty; the little fox is my receptionist you could say"
"So, you're the bull-goose loony"
"Undisputed"
Kassy nodded, closing the distance between the two with mischievous glance "I'll take it" He would be a fine addition to her fingers, her thumb had been needing a pillow.
Schnitzel's look never faltered, he seemed mildly entertained by the strange woman, sticking out his hand with a wink. "Just shake my hand and we'll get this show on the road" A suspicious eyebrow was raised. "We're fighters, we should uphold courtesies. A display of sportsmanship. Loser leaves the stage a bloody stump" With no hesitation Kassy reached forward and clasped Schnitzel's hand, the audience yelling obscenities surrounding the topic of 'Getting on with it' in the background. Immediately upon contact, Schnitzel's grin grew, and a choking chuckle rattled through his throat. "I can't believe you actually did it" No further explanations were needed as a very prominent humming noise could be heard emanating from Schnitzel's palm, followed by the buzzing of electricity as his shock gloves lit Kassy up like a Christmas tree.
The sting of electrical currents felt like a wave of fire and rashes were moving up the skin in waves, her flesh instinctively moving upwards as the current moved over, as if dragged upwards by the electricity. Each sting inviting a world of burning pain, insects burrowing into her flesh and injecting fire into her bones, before coming back in forceful wave that threatened to tear her skin apart. A thousand needles piercing her at the same time.
Worst of all was that by the end of it Kassy's skin had began bloating up, close to turning into paste and falling right off, much like how it had looked before when Kassonna had turned back into his true form. The electricity had tarnished her skin. Kassonna had to admit, as little as he thought of this body, he was a tad annoyed. "That hertz" His prompt response was followed by a quick hand reach up and pushing his identity back into place.
"You look like melting buter" Schnitzel made no move while his opponent repaired the damage to their skin, more curious than angry at the fact that the person was still standing after being electrocuted. "Usually, people just start smoking and smoking 'till they collapse. What are you made out of, silly putty?"
"I'm made up of pure, lazy, drunk inconsistencies" Still holding on the electrifying glove, Kassy increased her grip, outing enough force behind her fingers to easily crush through the mechanism producing the electrifying attack. "This body, however, is built upon desire. And currently, someone is very hungry"
"What are-" There was no time given to be concerned or confused from the audience's perspective, all they saw was Schnitzel interrupting himself to yell out in pain and lurch backwards. At first, it was assumed that Kassy had absolutely crushed the man's hand with her grip, but immediately after his scream he followed up with "Y-you bit me! Somehow, you bit me!"
"No, that was just Little Timmy. He likes Fox Meat, the little scamp" She let out a sigh, a wistful one at that as her fingers crossed over one another in an attempt to cover a violent response. "Personally, I prefer my meat roasted and shivering in a whirl of warm colors"
"That a threat, lady?"
"I don't hand out threats, just preferences" As Kassonna smiled sweetly, she noted that the large X symbol on Schnitzel's chest was beginning to light up. That couldn't mean anything good.
"And people call me rude"
"Nonsense, you're plenty rude. I'll even use you for rude gestures next time I feel immaturity beckoning me" For emphasis, she pushed down upon the knuckle of her index finger until she heard the peasant crack of bone. "Now, Mr Schnitzel-"
"X"
"Excuse me?"
"I already told ya, Schnitzel's just the receptionist. I'm the real deal" The fox, who was now more beginning to resemble a wolf, jump into his next position. He flung his arms out around him, stretching each limb in a diagonal direction until his pose resembled the X on his clothes, said X now pulsating crimson. "When the tempting smell of profit and plunder crosses his mighty nose, the mild mannered banker, Schnitzel, falls into a downward spiral of crime and depravity. He sits atop the throne of the dark underbelly of civilisation, a grip of iron on very criminal operation the police can't crack. He becomes… CAPTAIN X!"
"…So, you're a Super Hero?"
"Wha- No! Didn't you hear me!? I rule the criminal underworld. Super Villain, VILLAIN" He continued with his poses, sweeping his legs to come together and keel over into a new position, hoping this would give him more credibility. "Do you not recognise the deranged power of pure, unadulterated evil in my eye?"
"I'm still not sure who you are"
"What!?" He stomped his feet, steam shooting out of his pointed ears. "I've robbed banks, taken government officials as hostages, stolen candy from babies!"
Through the silence of the dumbfounded audience, the Announcer peaked out from his cover. "I don't know who you are either" Somewhere in the world, for a reason he'd never know, Pilaf felt a strange wave of understanding and sympathy for someone.
From the entrance archway back near the main building, Pan piped up. "Am I the only one that finds the fact that he's a convicted criminal… I don't know, alarming?" She had just managed to get back in time to witness the match, and was extremely surprised to find that it hadn't started yet. "Like, shouldn't someone be calling the police"
"Look, we were lax with the rules and qualifications. We were REALLY desperate for any marketing appeal…" The Announcer grumbled into his mic, looking to his two attendants who held up the rule book, shaking their heads. "Besides, we don't really have any police here and the police from other towns don't have any jurisdiction. The island technically counts as its own country… Don't ask me how that works"
"Shut up!" Schnitzel howled into the sky. He was almost to the point of seething with anger at this obvious mockery, and the match had yet to actually begin. "You don't know ME? Well, then I'll just have to engrave my name into your corpses!"
"That'd be in direct violation of the rules" The Announcer quickly added.
"Oh... Well, then I'll mark it into the ground"
"No, no. Graffiti is strictly prohibited after the Janitor kept on nagging us about it"
"I am a crime lord!" As if reflecting his anger, the X glowed brighter, flashing its displease with the conversation. Raring to go.
"Listen, you win the tournament, we'll be putting you on T-Shirts anyway. You can put your name on those"
Schnitzel narrowed his eyes at the man cowering off stage before finally relenting with a nod. "Done. Now, to the match…" He went back to smiling at Kassy, who had just got done with using her pinkie to pick her her nose. "Perfect." With her focused elsewhere, he threw his arms out wide, completely opened as the flashing of the X picked up in speed. Within a few seconds the flashing came to a stop, crimson electricity sparking around the letter; before an energy blast in the shape of a giant red X was unleashed from the suit. "EXTREME BEAM!"
All Kassy could do was clap while the attack came towards her. "Awwww, you even have a theme. I'm delighted!"