Jack stared at his opponent, and he couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt. Snake had briefed him before the match, and his description had been right on. To be blunt, the man looked like a shaved ape in a leotard. He was about seven feet of pure muscle. As he flexed, Jack could've sworn the man had biceps on his biceps.
Still, Jack could tell that the least-used muscle in the man's body was between his ears. Snake had told him that his opponent was a highly skilled professional wrestler, who had a record of even taking on fighting-type Pokémon. Jack hadn't been told whether the man had won any of those fights, but looking at him now it wasn't hard to believe. One thing Jack was completely sure of, he wouldn't have any trouble making the fight look good.
"The rules of the fight are very simple," Snake had told him before the match. "If you're knocked out, or the refs deem you unable to continue fighting, you lose. You can tap out at any time. Also, I don't know if I need to tell you this, but keep it nonlethal."
"'Nonlethal', he tells me…" Jack muttered under his breath. "That guy could probably snap my spine with his bare hands, and he looks just about mean enough to do it..."
Jack once again examined the arena around him. The walls were solid rock, with plenty of ominous cracks, dents, and burn marks. The floor was hard, packed sawdust. It was solid to walk on, but wouldn't be as unforgiving as rock or concrete to land on. The arena was completely empty besides him, and his opponent. Above him to his left was the window for spectators, through which he could see Nova and Razgriz watching him.
They stared each other down for a moment before the match started. Jack could see confidence in the other man's eyes, but it was the sort of confidence people had right before they did something really stupid. He wasn't particularly worried about winning, he could win easily. The trick would be holding back enough to make it look good, without letting his opponent snap him like a twig.
He sighed. No point whining about it now that he was in the ring. He'd just have to test the waters a bit first to see exactly what he was up against. The bell would ring any second now.
Then it rang, and any thought of testing the waters went right out the window. The wrestler broke into a flat out sprint, looking as though he'd been fired from a cannon as he thundered towards Jack with a speed that seemed impossible for such a large object. Jack barely had enough time to fling himself to the right in the mere seconds it took for the larger man to close the distance between them.
Jack rolled quickly to his feet, and was just in time to leap backwards as the wrestler's arm shot out like a striking snake to grab him. Jack was quick to put a little more distance between them once again, and he then watched his opponent carefully; wary of another thundering charge like the first.
The man turned to face him, and Jack furrowed his brow as he saw the expression on the man's face. Gone was the facade of dumb overconfidence, as the man now regarded him with a look of respect. Not only was the wrestler more intelligent than he looked, he knew exactly what kind of reflexes and speed it had taken for Jack to avoid his first two attacks. In two moves he had assessed Jack's speed, and forced him on the defensive. Jack gritted his teeth as he realized that he'd severely underestimated the wrestler's skill.
The man barely gave Jack time to catch his breath, charging right after him again. Jack was ready for it this time however, and quickly darted to the left; ducking low to keep the wrestler from grabbing him. He then quickly turned on his heel, planning to swing his other leg around and knock the larger man off his feet while he was off-balance. He pivoted just in time to see the wrestler swing his arm in a vicious backhand which slammed into Jack's chest like a battering ram.
Jack was flung backwards like a ragdoll, and crashed into the unforgiving rock of the arena wall before falling to the ground. He lay there for a moment, his ribs aching and head pounding, but he knew he couldn't afford to stay down for long. He didn't want the refs to decide he was unable to continue fighting.
He got slowly to his feet, each breath making his torso feel like it was on fire, and regarded his opponent. The larger man seemed slightly surprised to see him standing, and Jack didn't blame him. If not for his aura reinforcing his body, that blow definitely would've broken bones at the very least. Still, Jack was in no way incapacitated and he figured it was high time he started fighting back.
Gathering his aura, Jack decided to take a page from his opponent's handbook and charged headlong at the larger man. The wrestler blinked in mild surprise, and then widened his stance slightly for more stability.
Jack closed the distance between them in seconds, and Jack saw the wrestler shift his weight forward; obviously preparing to intercept him. Jack knew a counter-attack was coming, and he ducked to his right at the last moment to avoid it. He felt a surge of satisfaction as he felt the wrestler's right arm pass mere inches above him.
Now in the perfect striking position, Jack planted his right foot on the ground and pushed off; straightening his body like a spring. With the full mass of his body behind the blow, he slammed his left shoulder up into the larger man's midriff with enough force to raise his feet off the ground and send him flying back several feet.
Jack grinned and worked his arm in a circle, as the impact had been a little hard on his shoulder. He initially hoped the wrestler would stay down for the count, and he was a little disappointed when his opponent got up almost immediately. Even more disappointingly, the larger man barely seemed fazed by the hit he'd taken.
Jack frowned slightly, but knew he had to press his advantage. His opponent was a wrestler, not a martial artist, so Jack figured the larger man would probably keep trying to grapple with him and get him into a lock. If that happened, Jack knew he'd have a hard time getting out.
"This would be way easier if I could use lightning…" he thought ruefully, but he knew he couldn't afford to show his hand just yet. He'd just have to be careful.
He closed in on the larger man once more, this time maintaining a fighter's crouch and opening with a vicious right hook. The wrestler knocked it aside and tried to grab him, but Jack danced backwards a couple paces just in time. Then, while the larger man was slightly off-balance, he darted in again and landed a left jab to the stomach and another right hook to the jaw.
The wrestler stumbled a little but recovered quickly. He made another quick grab for Jack, but the boy had already darted back out of range again. Jack repeated the process again, this time feinting another left jab before delivering a solid right cross with an aura-charged palm to the chest; throwing his opponent back a few feet.
Jack grinned in satisfaction as he saw that the larger man was a little slower getting up this time. Obviously there was a limit to the wrestler's endurance, and Jack felt no small amount of relief to know they were approaching it. He continued to take advantage of his momentum, keeping up an almost constant barrage of attacks as he tried to wear down his opponent quickly.
Eventually however, Jack made a mistake. Going in for a more substantial attack, hoping to finish the match there and then, Jack left himself open for a split second too long. He suddenly felt the larger man's fist connect with the side of his head, setting his ears ringing and causing his eyes to unfocus for a moment.
When Jack's sight and hearing had returned to normal, he realized that his opponent had him pinned to the ground in a headlock. He struggled, but the larger man was putting all his weight down onto Jack's chest and keeping him pinned down. Jack could feel his ribs groaning in protest already, and he knew he had to get out of the hold quickly or the match would be over.
"Just give up," the wrestler grunted quietly at him to Jack's surprise, sounding almost apologetic. "It's over. You're good, but you'll never get out of this. I'd rather not injure someone as skilled as you."
Jack gritted his teeth in frustration. "It's not… over yet!"
He suddenly strained against the wrestler with all his strength, confident that he'd be able to overpower his opponent. To his shock however, he found himself unable to so much as budge the wrestler's steel-like limbs; even with force that would've snapped most people's arms like twigs. He was starting to get short on breath, but he couldn't afford to lose! He needed to get enough money to go after his friends, and he wasn't going to let some shaved ape stop him!
Without thinking, Jack discharged a spark directly into his opponent. The larger man's muscles spasmed slightly, giving Jack the opportunity he needed to plant his elbow into his opponent's midriff; knocking the breath right out of the man's lungs. Jack felt the grip around his head loosen and he took advantage of it, practically flipping himself head-over-heels as he made one last, desperate struggle for freedom. Stunned and winded, the wrestler couldn't hold on tight enough and Jack quickly rolled to safety before getting quickly to his feet.
Jack took a few seconds to catch his breath, and the wrestler did the same. They then regarded each other with a newfound wariness of the other's abilities. That last engagement had taken a lot out of both of them. Jack for one knew he had to wrap this up quickly, and he was guessing that his opponent was thinking along the same lines. This next clash would decide the match.
Before Jack could move, the wrestler took the initiative and rushed forward in another thundering charge. To Jack's shock, the larger man moved even faster than the first time; accelerating far more quickly than Jack would've thought possible for such a large object, and closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.
Finding himself with only a split second to react, and with the enormous wrestler bearing down on him, Jack did the only thing he could think of that might catch his opponent by surprise. He charged straight ahead.
The wrestler's arms, outstretched to catch him if he dodged to the left or right, whistled past Jack's head a fraction of a second too late. Bracing himself against the ground with one leg, Jack slammed his shoulder up into wrestler's chest from below. While Jack might've lost in a contest of pure strength, he had the advantage of traction since he was being pushed down into the ground allowing him to use the full strength of his body; but his opponent, unable to apply any more force than the sheer momentum of his charge and the weight of his body, was flung up and backwards like a ragdoll.
Jack could've sworn the ground shook as the wrestler landed flat on his back and rolled several meters before coming to a stop. Jack felt genuine fear as the man slowly started to get up, but the effort proved too much and the wrestler fell back to the ground; out cold. Jack stood numbly as the referee counted to ten.
"The match is over!" the announcer said over the PA system after the count finished. "Storm wins by TKO!"
Jack breathed a sigh of relief as a team of medics rushed down into the arena to provide first-aid to both him and the wrestler. After assuring them that he was fine, Jack asked them whether his opponent would be alright.
"He'll be fine," the head doctor told him after they'd finished their examination of the unconscious man. "You cracked a couple of his ribs, and he'll have a mild concussion, but nothing that a little rest won't fix."
Jack nodded, relieved. "Good… thanks."
As Jack walked out of the arena, still somewhat drained from coming down off the massive adrenaline rush, he went over the fight again in his head. He was still stunned at how strong and fast his opponent had been. He was tempted to call it superhuman, although he knew that some martial artists could build up their auras to incredible levels without knowing it; giving them seemingly superhuman physical abilities. He supposed that, seeing as this tournament was for the best of the best, he should probably count on facing combatants with auras rivalling his own.
He made his way to the dressing room on his side of the arena. The room had a shower on one side, and he took a moment to wash himself off. He then quickly ran his robes under the water, and true to form the dirt and sweat simply beaded up and fell off leaving the robes as clean as the day he'd first worn them. By this point it didn't even surprise him any more, although he took a moment to reminisce about simpler times when it was just him and Jason wandering around looking for adventure.
He chuckled ruefully. If someone back then had told him everything that would happen to him and Jason on their journey, he'd have called them crazy…
He felt something warm trickle down his cheek, and he wiped it away. He had to stop thinking like those days were over. After he rescued his friends, things could go back to normal. He had to believe that.
He sighed, quickly putting his robes back on and heading out of the dressing room. Nova and Razgriz were waiting for him as he exited. Nova was leaning up against Razgriz's shoulder with her eyes closed happily humming a song as the two of them waited for Jack to exit.
"All things considered, that could have gone better," Razgriz said as Jack walked up to them.
Jack nodded. "Yeah… I'll be honest, he took me by surprise. Every time I thought I had him figured out, he stepped it up another notch; and he was insanely strong… I think he was holding back at first too."
"I haven't seen any of the other fighters here, but I have a theory based on what I saw during your fight," Razgriz started as Nova stopped leaning on his shoulder and started paying attention to the conversation. "Nova agrees with me on this as well."
Jack furrowed his brow, suddenly interested as well. "Go on."
"This fight ring… It is most likely full of people like you and the guy you fought against. Didn't you find it a bit strange that 'Snake' singled you out so fast?" Razgriz asked as he crossed his arms under his chest spike.
Jack blinked. "You're saying… the competitors here are like me? Do you think that finding out more about them might help me find out who… or what I am?"
Razgriz let out a sigh and dropped his arms to his side and shook his head. "Honestly Jack, I don't know too much about you or humans in general. I do know that Snake is not telling us everything about this place though."
Jack thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah… I get that feeling too. I'll ask him about it. Who knows… maybe I actually will find out something about myself after all."
Jack started to head back to his room, but winced as his bruised ribs protested. His adrenaline rush had worn off completely by now, and he was completely exhausted; not to mention sore.
"But first," he continued, "I think I saw a hot tub over there… you two wanna come?"
The two Pokémon looked at each other. Being wild Pokémon they didn't interact with human inventions all too often. Jack saw their confusion, and quickly explained.
"It's like a hot-spring," he said. "It's really relaxing, and it's supposed to be good for your health or something."
"Sure…" Razgriz started before looking over at Nova.
"I think that actually sounds rather nice," the Zoroark replied.
Jack grinned. "Great. I'll just go get my swimsuit. Be right back."
With that he hobbled off towards the elevator. After changing into his swim trunks, an action which his ribs protested quite vehemently, he went back downstairs to the pool/hot tub area. Nova and Razgriz waited for Jack to return before following him to the large room. Upon entering, both Pokémon scrunched up their noses.
"What is the horrible smell?" Razgriz asked as he recoiled slightly.
Jack blinked, then winced apologetically. "Ah… that'd be chlorine. It's to keep the pools clean."
"How does something that smells so bad keep anything clean?" Nova inquired, though the initial shock of the smell hadn't worn off completely.
Jack considered explaining it to them, but felt it would be best not to mention that they'd be swimming in something that literally ripped organic material to shreds. Instead he just shrugged.
"Long story short, it kills things that make people sick," he told them. He then added as an afterthought, "And probably any bugs or parasites in your fur."
"Hey!" Both Nova and Razgriz said in unison as they glared at Jack.
"We groom our fur quite regularly, thank you," Nova finished.
Jack blinked, then smirked wryly. "Oh, of course. Sorry. I guess it helps having someone to get your back."
"Humans…." Razgriz muttered under his breath as the three of them made their way to the hot tub.
Jack slipped into the tub slowly, letting out a sigh of relief as he sank into the hot water up to his neck. "Ahh… that feels good…"
Nova and Razgriz slowly got in after Jack did. Each of them starting off with a hind paw before pulling it back out as the water was a bit warmer than they had expected. Eventually the two of them were up to their shoulders in the water with Nova leaning against Razgriz.
Jack grinned. "So, how is it?"
"It is... Interesting," Razgriz replied though Nova looked like she was enjoying herself far more than her mate was.
"I think it feels amazing," the Zoroark replied.
Jack nodded. "Yep… I agree with you on that one."
"Though, if you really want, I could just use my aura to heal you?" Nova offered as she glanced over at Jack.
"She is uncannily good at that if I might add," Razgriz added in.
Jack shook his head. "No thanks. Not that I doubt your abilities, but my injuries aren't really worth it. They're mostly just painful, but the hot tub is already helping with that and I've always been a fast healer. I'll be good as new in no time."
"Suit yourself, it really is my specialty though," Nova said with a shrug.
Jack chuckled. "Trust me. If I ever get anything more serious than bruised ribs, I'll be sure and tell you."
Nova just nodded her head before closing her eyes and going back to leaning against Razgriz and quietly humming a song. Razgriz joined her in the melody of the song after a bit. After a while, they got out and went back to their room. Jack eagerly curled up on the bed, planning on getting plenty of rest while he could.
Jack wasn't sure how long he dozed off for, but he awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. He got up, figuring it was probably Snake. He was proven correct as he opened the door, and the recruiter waved.
"Evening," Snake said. "That looked like one hell of a match."
Jack nodded. "It certainly was at that… how did I do?"
Snake grinned. "It was a thing of beauty; as close a match as they come, at least from what I could see. I for one was on the edge of my seat until the very end; a couple of times there it looked like you were done for. Good job."
Jack felt somewhat relieved. "Thanks. Honestly though, I wasn't holding back nearly as much as you seem to think… that guy was insanely strong."
Snake nodded. "Yeah, looked like it. I mean, he was a professional wrestler."
Jack hesitated a moment, then sighed; looking Snake in the eyes. "Is that all that made him so strong…? Because it seemed to me that he was stronger than almost anyone I've ever fought; stronger than any human should be…"
Snake chuckled. "Well, you should get used to it. He is just a human though, that much I can tell you. From what I heard, he's trained his whole life against Pokémon to become stronger. Still, you'd better get used to facing strong opponents. While there aren't many people in the tournament right now who could match his raw physical strength, overall he's not even close to being the strongest competitor."
Jack furrowed his brow. "I see… can you tell me anything more?"
Snake shrugged. "Nothing you don't already know, or that you won't find out soon enough."
Jack snorted. "A lot of help you are…"
"Well, I can't make things too easy for you now can I?" Snake replied with a wry smirk. "Anyway, get some rest. I'd say you've earned it."
Snake then walked back down the hallway, and Jack sighed. "Oh well… he'll have to tell me eventually."
Jack turned around, closing the door behind himself as he went back over to his bed and flopped down on it intending to go back to sleep. After a moment however, he heard the sound of a Pokéball releasing its occupant. He was not in the least bit surprised when, a few seconds later, Katia hopped up onto his bed and looked down at him.
"You're back?" the Vulpix asked.
Jack smirked slightly. "Nope, and I certainly didn't get back quite a while ago…"
"Okay, okay," she replied, rolling her eyes.
"Were you taking a nap or something?" Jack asked.
Katia shook her head. "No, I was just exploring. It's huge in there!"
Jack chuckled ruefully. "You've been exploring the Pack ever since I showed it to you. Haven't you seen everything yet?"
She shook her head. "Nope, there's so much I don't think I'm even halfway done! And besides," she got close to him and whispered in his ear conspiratorially. "I'm looking for secrets…"
Jack barely managed to hold back a snort of laughter. "Secrets…? What kind of secrets do you think you're gonna find?"
Katia assumed a look of injured dignity. "Well, there could be all sorts of things. It's a virtual world after all, so people could've programmed in all sorts of stuff. There could be secret rooms, or floating islands, or trapdoors to hidden tunnels… no?"
Jack shrugged. "Well, I suppose there might be. I don't know. I only ever went in there a few times, but I can't think of what anyone would've wanted to hide…"
Katia snickered. "But that means there could be something, right?"
Jack considered it for a moment, then made a gesture of resignation. "Yeah, I guess there could be."
"Ha, I knew it!" the Vulpix exclaimed eagerly. "And if there is, I'm gonna find it!" Suddenly, she yawned and blinked thoughtfully. "But maybe… after a nap."
Jack chuckled. "That's probably a good idea."
The little fox Pokémon walked around the bed looking for the perfect spot to curl up, before eventually deciding that Jack's chest was the blatantly obvious choice. Jack winced and groaned quietly as Katia stepped on him, her paws digging painfully into his midriff for a moment before she curled up and distributed her weight more evenly. The Vulpix then yawned, curling her fluffy tails around herself as she settled down.
Jack snorted quietly. "Best seat in the house…?"
Katia snickered, but didn't answer. Jack eventually brought one hand up to gently pet her head, which she encouraged with a quiet 'murring' noise. Jack chuckled, figuring it'd be mean of him to make her move now. He might as well let her have a nap.
For some reason, he found himself thinking that Lucy couldn't have tried to do this without squishing him. His smile faded as he realized how much the Vulpix reminded him of Lucy. He mentally reprimanded himself, knowing that thought was unworthy of either of them. Katia wasn't a replacement for Lucy; they were each their own person, and someday he would introduce them to each other.
He sighed. "I'm getting closer to finding them," he told himself, but it was hard to really convince himself of that. Still, there wasn't really anything else he could do.
"I might be able to make the return trip though," he muttered ruefully to himself. "I'll have to test that…"
Katia yawned, glancing at him questioningly. He shook his head. "Never mind, go back to sleep," he told her.
She shrugged and did as he said. Jack sighed, closing his eyes and resolving to get some rest himself. He'd need to recover as quickly as he could if he wanted to have another match tomorrow.
Me: Well… we got it out faster than the last one.
Jack: That's not hard.
Osean: count your blessing as you are made up of nothing but 1s and 0s.
Jack: …
Jack: I know where you live.
Osean: No, you do not.
Me: Careful Osean. At this rate you're going to incur the wrath of the Canadians. Snowstorms for days.
Osean: we already had our snow storm of the year, too late for that.
Me: Anyway, this is the part of the program where we thank all you readers for putting up with our hit-and-miss upload schedule.
Jack: ...and grovel and beg for reviews and favs to inflate our egos.
Me: …
Me: I'm trying to come up with a withering retort, but nothing's coming… little help Osean?
Osean: Sorry, no can do. You are a scheming Canadian, who cannot be trusted.
Me: Et tu Brute...
Osean: all you have to do is tell me what you are planning.
Me: …
Jack: Well?
Me: NEVER!
Osean: I hate your guts.
