OOOOO3OOOOO
Macau was a vibrant, exciting city, pulsing with energy.
Amongst it all though, Xialing's address was a tall, dark building alit only by the vibrance of the other buildings surrounding it.
"You sure this is the right place?" Katy asked, eyeing the tall, looming shadow of a building that was clearly under some sort of construction.
"This is the address on the postcard," Shaun replied, checking the card for confirmation.
With that they headed on inside, where they quickly found themselves heading up the elevator along with a very stern-looking man who offered Shaun a tablet to sign but that was all the interacting with them he did. Shaun pressed the man with questions, asking about his sister, but the man said nothing, turning away from them.
"Seems like a nice fella. And this elevator really seems definitely up to code - absolutely no chance of it just falling off the side of the building," Katy chatted, trying to ease some of the tension.
As if on cue, the elevator gave a lurch, but only because they had reached their destination, as they momentarily discovered.
"Bus Boy!" They were immediately greeted by a grinning guy wearing a very colourful jacket that perfectly matched his bright pink hair.
"Uh-" The guy showed them his phone where the video - now viral - of Shaun's takedown of the assassins on the bus played. "Oh no..."
The guy chatted rapidly to Shaun, before turning to Katy with equal excitement.
"Oh, my Chinese sucks," Katy told him.
"Oh, all good," he said, switching to English. "I speak A-B-C. I'm Jon Jon."
"Jon Jon."
"So Bus Boy, the Driver, and-" he turned to Dryaa. "Who are you?"
"She's with us."
"I'm with them. I'm a friend. Just tagging along for the ride."
"Fun! Cool, cool! These two seem like pretty awesome pals!"
"They are."
"Very nice." He swept his arms around the trio and led them forward into the bustling room. "Welcome to the Golden Daggers Club." He sighed contentedly and turned his focus back to Shaun. "Okay, let's get you ready to fight!"
"Wait what-"
"We're a multi-platform global operation," Jon Jon explained. "Every fight livestreamed on the dark web. Thousands of viewers placing bets as we speak. This is gonna take your brand to a whole new level."
"Uh, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding," Dryaa broke in.
"Yeah, I'm not here to fight," Shaun agreed.
But Jon Jon just kept talking. "Usually, you gotta fight your way to the centre ring, but a viral star like you? Front of the line, baby!"
"Hey I like your spike face," Katy called to a viewer as they passed by.
"Look, I'm not here to fight anyone, okay? I'm here to find my sister, Xu Xialing."
"Never heard of her," Jon Jon was quick to say. "We just lost a fighter at the last minute, so you get the next slot, lucky you!"
They were now walking - well, Jon Jon was leading them - down a long hall filled with small glass-covered rooms where a duel was taking place behind each with various different styles and fighters. The nearby surrounding crowd gasped as one fighter slammed his opponent into the glass.
"Is he going to be fighting one of these?" Katy asked.
"Oh, no no no. These are like low level fights. You're going to be fighting up there-"
A giant rounded enclosed cage sat in the very centre of the space up ahead. A huge, hulking green reptile-like creature fought in there, facing an opponent who was casting swirling lights into the air.
"Is that-"
"Yeah. GO WONG!" cheered Jon Jon. "I always bet on Asian."
"Oh my God!" cried Katy.
"Yeah, I'm not going up there, okay," Shaun quickly decided. "I'm just trying to-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jon Jon cut in, cutting him off. "It's too late to back out now. You already committed, bro."
"What?"
"You signed the contract, remember. Your name's on the roster."
Dryaa gave a sigh - the tablet in the elevator. "Did you not read the thing before you signed it?"
"No, not really"
Oh, Shaun.
"The bet's are piling in!"
"Really? What's our cut?" Katy asked, suddenly very interested in all this.
"Oh, it's huge," Jon Jon assured her.
"It doesn't matter!" cried Shaun.
"It matters!" Katy countered.
"Dude, I saw you fight five assassins and a giant Romanian with a razor for an arm on a moving bus. This is just one guy! Just do it - then we all get paid and then I'll help you find whoever you're looking for."
"Come on," Katy urged him. "You got this!"
"Thank you," he retorted sarcastically.
"I think..."
"Katy!"
Jon Jon led Shaun away to get ready for the fight while Katy headed up to the bar, calling that she'd save Dryaa a seat. But before she could follow her friend, Spike-face came up to her.
"Come with me."
"What - whoa!" Suddenly, she was being pushed forward by someone else. "Hey, what's going on?!"
That was how, in a blur of a few minutes, she found herself at the centre of the cheering crowd.
Yup, she was next up in the ring. Next up and against-
"Shaun!"
"Dryaa?"
The two friends faced each other in the ring.
"Why'd you take your shirt off?"
"I don't know, Jon Jon told me to. I don't want to fight you!"
"I don't want to fight you! But it's a little late now-" If the wild cheering crowd surrounding them was anything to go by.
A blaring alarm sounded then, and they took that as it was time to fight.
Dryaa lunged first, kicking Shaun right between the legs. He buckled over.
"Sorry!" And she swung again.
Their duel began. She flipped him over.
He paused the fight to eye her. "Where did you learn that?"
She didn't answer, just punched and kicked at him again and again and again.
Suddenly, in a great burst, the lights flew on, making them both jump.
Jon Jon, now with his shirt off too, was announcing to the cheering, roaring crowd. "Alright everyone, the warm up is over!"
"Warm up?"
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the fight we've all been waiting for: the incredible viral sensation all the way from San Francisco U.S.A. - it's Bus Boy!"
The crowd went wild!
"And his opponent for tonight, it's Macau's own fearsome killer - XU XIALING!"
Whew, that took me a lot longer than I would have liked, but here it is! Thank you for being so patient with me!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed as always! :)