The mission was underway as everyone was ready to do their part at their stations. Marc and his team were stationed in a van that Chop had restored within driving distance from the warehouse. Billy was wearing a business suit and holding a briefcase, waiting for Marian so they could enter. Jimmy was waiting by the docks with the rest of the fighters dressed in a black and red hoodie with a black ninja mask covering his mouth, while Kami was still at base running mission control.

"Okay, can everyone hear me; teams call in? Asked Kami.

"team 1 on standby." Said Marc into his earpiece.

"team 2 on standby." Said Billy.

"team 3 on standby," whispered Jimmy.

"Okay, is everyone clear on the plan, team 1?" asked Kami.

"We wait for team 2 to infiltrate the warehouse and load the flash drive worm into their systems. So that we can view and record all of what's going down at the tournament. If things go south, we move into help team 2.," Said chop.

"I still can't believe you restored this van," said Blaster;

"I've been working on it for at least a year, figured it was time to surprise everyone and put it to use." Chop commented.

"Okay, team 2, what's your part?" Said Kami.

"Marian and I go in as guests; find the control room and load the worm into the control system. It should cause a backdoor to open into the broadcast system. Allowing Kami to take control and feed data to team 1; then get out, then I go to assist team 3.," Said Billy.

"did Marian get there yet?' asked Kami.

"no... wait, here she comes, and wow!" said Billy.

Marian appeared wearing a strapless little black dress and a black wig to hide her identity but not her cleavage, much to Billy's surprise, making Marian blush from his reaction.

"so, you like it?"

"You look great. Like you're going to an award show and know you're going to win." Complimented Billy.

"thank you, you look great in that suit. Like you're... damn I can't think of something witty right now."

"Hey, if you two are done flirting, I have an update. The heads told us to get ready to line up on four separate piers in rows of ten, so we got forty fighters, including me. Listen, it's not safe to keep talking when I get updates. I'll send it through morse code." Said Jimmy;

"Okay, I can read it. Just press the button on your earpiece; it will let out beeps; Billy and Marian, you guys are up." Said Kami.

"roger." Replied team 2

Billy and Marian headed to the door, saying they were a couple and rich; the act was so believable that the bouncer didn't even bother checking them, allowing them in. Once inside, the two were shocked at what they found all around them. So much that Marian had to say something.

"holy crap."

"what's wrong, Marian?" asked Kami.

"yeah, we can barely hear you over all that noise; what's happening?" asked Marc.

"Guys, this place isn't just some viewing place for the tournament. It's a casino," Said Marian.

"what? Wait, guys, tell us everything you see." Said Kona.

"There are slot machines, blackjack and poker tables, even roulette tables." Informed Billy.

"anything else?" asked Kami.

"yeah, we see the Jumbotron; it has 4 screens facing different directions; it's hanging in the center, right above the big circle bar." Informed Marian.

"Okay, this might mean the control room is on the next level above the bar." Reasoned Kami.

"I think one of the screens is on already; we'll check it out." Said Billy.

Billy and Marian headed to the bar to check out what was on the screen. Sitting down, they saw a list of the fighters and the probability of them winning.

"Okay, I see, so this predicts who has the best chance of winning tonight?" Said Billy asking the bartender

"You got it; I'm putting my money on Fireball; he's a favorite to win."

"Really? How so?" asked Marian,

"they say he can shoot fire from his eyes."

"Really? He's done that?" Marian asked.

"I think it's just a trick, but it's neat to see when he does it." The bartender answered.

"Say, what about this red shadow guy? Why is he at 0?" asked Billy.

"Him? He's just some last-minute scrub who signed up. No one knows anything about him so no one's likely to bet on him. I bet he won't make it through the preliminary rounds." Joked the bartender.

"I don't know, for some reason I've got a good feeling on that guy." Said Billy knowing that Red Shadow was Jimmy.

"well, if you want to waste money, the wagering window is over there. But you won't actually win anything if he does, you'll just break even. So why bother?"

"Like I said, good feeling." Billy replied before getting up and walking to the window to place a bet, leaving Marian alone for a second. "I want to put a $100,000 bet on Red Shadow making it to the final round on behalf of a client."

"Are you sure?" The bookie asked.

"Yeah, I've got a good feeling."

"fine, it's your money; how do you intend to pay? We take cash, credit, or gold."

"Do you take first born sons?" Billy joked, but the bookie just looked annoyed. "I'll pay in cash."

Raising his case and opening it, Billy revealed multiple stacks of bills inside and gave them to the bookie. "This should cover it; my client wants her winnings transferred to her account directly. There's a bank account and routing number."

"This client of yours seems pretty confident, but this is not a problem. Do you mind giving me a moment to count this up?"

"go right ahead."

Leaving to count the money, Billy leaned against the wall waiting for the bookie to return; suddenly, he and everyone else started to hear a series of beeps. Everyone knew it was Jimmy sending a message;. However, Billy and Marian had trouble hearing it. Suddenly, the beeping stopped.

"Okay, guys, Jimmy just said that the ferries are arriving, and everyone is lining up now; Billy, you gotta find the control room." warned Kami.

"on it."

"Okay, I'm back now listening. If the fighter you chose makes it to the finals, your original bet doubles to $200,000; if he wins, it doubles again, got it."

"got it." He said, walking away.

Arriving at the bar, Billy gave Marian the receipt for her to hold onto while Billy scanned the area looking for a way to get upstairs.

"Billy, how did you get the money to make this bet?" asked Marian

"let's just say Jimmy and I know someone willing to loan us the cash as long as we pay her back with interest."

"how do you plan on doing that?"

"by winning the tournament." Billy grinned.

"You two are going to try and win?"

"Trust me, we're not happy about this, but it was the only way she'd loan us the money; she said it's a win-win situation."

"How so? Asked Marian.

"Jimmy shuts down the tournament by winning, and she gets her money back plus interest; besides, we gave her our word."

"I'd like to meet this mystery lady."

"You already did meet her once before." Informed Billy.

"I have?" Questioned Marian.

"later, but now we should warn Jimmy about the favorite to win."

At the docks, everyone was lining up, including Jimmy, who was trying to keep a low profile. As Jimmy moved to one of the lines, he was bumped by another fighter along the way.

"watch it, asshole." Said the fighter.

"You watch it, dipshit!" said Jimmy

"Maybe you'd see better if I chop that stupid hood off over your head."

"I'd like to see you try, jackass!"

As Jimmy and the fighter were about to trade blows, another fighter approached, having the same build as Jimmy and sporting sunglasses, stepping in between the two to stop the fight.

"hey, amigos, save it for the paying customers."

"what if I don't want to?" Said the fighter as he brought out two large sickles.

The second fighter became annoyed as he looked at the sickle-wielding warrior, lowering his shades a little revealing his eyes were glowing. Surprisingly, Jimmy and the fighter put away his weapons and walked off.

"by the way, hoodie, the name is Sickle; better hope we don't see each other in the tournament because if we do, I'm going to chop you up."

"How creative." Jimmy rolled his eyes as he looked back at the other fighter, whose eyes returned normal before returning to his line as they boarded.

"Jimmy, this is Billy. Listen to be on the lookout for a guy named Fireball; they say he's a favorite to win."

Jimmy sent a message back through code which Kami quickly translated for Billy.

"Jimmy said that he thinks he just met him and that Jimmy needs you to look up information on a guy name Sickle also that he's in line 3 and the boats are leaving soon." Informed Kami.

Both Billy and Marian rechecked the screen, seeing that Sickle was a second favorite.

"Marian, listen, I'm going to make my move now. I need you to find out about Sickle while I'm gone."

"got it." Assured Marian.

"hey, they got a bathroom in this place?" Billy asked the bartender.

"it's on the next floor, but you can't go up without a security escort."

"Security escort for a bathroom? Why?" asked Marian

"the control room is upstairs by the bathrooms; the whole thing is automated. They thought it was better than having people run the show to make sure no one messes with the system to help them win; you can only go up by having security escort you."

"fine, I'll be right back." Said Billy leaving.

With Billy gone for the moment, Marian thought now was a good time to ask about the guy named Sickle.

"So what's the story on this Sickle guy," Marian asked the bartender.

"he's another favorite to win; he's infamous in the underground fighting tournaments; he always leaves a bloody mess."

This made the others nervous for Jimmy, fearing he might be in over his head if he had to fight him. He was tough but not invulnerable. After finding an escort, Billy was led upstairs to the next floor and shown the bathrooms. Billy saw another door, most likely the control room's entrance.

"Okay, buddy, here's the deal. You get 10 minutes to do your thing. If you go over I'm coming in."

"fine by me, all the time I need; by the way, is that bathroom soundproof, and does it have a window? I don't think you wanna hear or smell what I gotta do."

"yes on both, now hurry the hell up. I don't have all night."

Entering the bathroom, he saw that it was a small one. The only point of interest was the window sitting above the toilet.

"that's my ticket."

Removing his shoes and blazer, Billy began focusing his energy on his feet and nails; he slipped out the window, climbing along the walls.

"damn, Spider-man makes this look easy." He thought.

Moving along the walls, he passed the second bathroom before making it to another window. Inside was a large computer console; on both sides were data banks sitting on platforms suspended from the floor.

"guys, I see the control room and…shit, small problem." Said Billy.

"what's wrong?" asked Kami.

"The floor is electrified." Informed Billy.

"You call that a small problem?" Asked Vortex.

"Yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but I'll just have to continue climbing the walls." He said as he made his way inside

"You can climb the walls? that's pretty cool. Why don't you just keep doing it?" Said Marc.

"I told you, it's a pain in the ass. I'm not a gecko." Billy retorted. "Aside from the floor, there's actually not much security in here."

"Abobo probably thought he didn't need it." Said Marc.

"Billy, do you see any USB ports?"

"there's one on the terminal; I think I can reach it; give me a minute."

Leaping, Billy jumped from the ceiling onto the platform holding the computer terminal, nearly falling onto the electrified floor. He managed to balance long enough to place the flash drive into the USB port before jumping back onto the ceiling.

"Okay, it's in. what now?"

"get back to Marian. I need a little time"

With that, Billy rushed back to the bathroom with only a few seconds to spare; just as he was done putting his blazer back on, the guard came in to check.

"Hey, buddy, are you done yet?"

"I think so. Though I wonder what the heck didn't agree with my stomach."

"Now move. I need to get back downstairs."

Billy soon returned to Marian, who was waiting for him at the bar. Sitting back down next to her, the two began talking about their next move.

Back at base, Kami was working on the main computer; true to its word, the USB injected the cyber worms into the system. The worms began to eat their way through the broadcasting system's security measures allowing Kami to access the system without being detected. Once the worms finished their job, they erased themselves, leaving a hole in the security system for her to hack into. Within moments, Kami split the signal, keeping it going where it was supposed to go and sending it to her, turning her screen into 4 separate smaller screens. With 1 showing the probability charts, once she was set, she forwarded them to team 1. At the van, the others began receiving the signal through the USB receivers as one laptop turned on. In contrast, the other 3 remained in standby mode.

"This is team 1; we're online. What's the next move?" asked Marc

"it's too early for any of us to make a move; for now, we stay put and let Jimmy do his part." Informed Kami

Suddenly everyone heard beeping again. This signaled that Jimmy was sending a message again.

"Okay, guys, Jimmy said that the ferries are leaving now, and the tournament will start in one hour." Alerted Kami

With that, everyone remained at their stations. Watching and waiting for the tournament to start and for Jimmy to take action.

Later,

40 minutes had passed since the ferries left; as the other fighters on the ferry jumped with anticipation for the tournament, Jimmy kept to himself, staying quiet until the boat made it to the carrier.

'Finally!' thought Jimmy

The boats were lined up, letting off their passengers boat by boat until everyone was led inside before leaving to return to the docks. The fighters were led to the deck with five separate platforms. The fighters were broken up into the same groups they were in on the boat and told to wait for further instructions.

At the casino, Billy and Marian saw the other screens were about to go on standby mode. While the other guest began gathering around the bar, the screen with probability charts announced that time was running out to place bets.

"it's almost showtime." Said Kami.

"Guys, we can't leave yet; we're stuck here. for now, listen up when the tournament starts. I want you to focus on Sickle and Fireball. We need as much info on how they fight, and I doubt Jimmy will have time to watch the other fighters, so we need help to ensure there are no surprises." Informed Marian

"right," said team 1.

Jimmy again lost his patience back on the ship as he looked over, watching Sickle intimidate the other fighters in his group with his blades.

"First chance I get, I'm shoving one of those things down that son of a bitch's throat and the other up his as…."

Attention Fighters

Suddenly, a deep and gruff voice began speaking through the loudspeakers on the carrier and in the casino. Everyone silenced and straightened up while this confused Billy and jimmy as he looked over at Marian. She had an intense look on her face.

"it's him," she said

I am Abobo; you are here because you believe yourselves to be mighty enough

To be a shadow warrior and have come to prove it, though you will never be as powerful as me.

'man, how much shit is this guy full of?.' Thought Jimmy

Initiate Phase 1

Suddenly the deck shook a little as four walls appeared surrounding four of the five platforms, each closing them off except for the entrances to get in and out. Leaving the center one unchanged.

Each group's fighters will step inside those walls and fight until one steps out. The winner will move on to the next round, while the loser inside will be dropped into the holding bay on my carrier until the end of the tournament. This process will naturally be repeated until the end of the preliminaries. The semi-finals and the finals will be held on the center platform. Also, the walls ensure that no one can gain a strategic advantage, be it from your group or the others. A true warrior can win with or without any kind of advantage. The only ones who should be entertained are the customers and me. Finally, I demand that you reframe from killing. That honor is reserved only for the winner. It will be your final test to prove yourself as good enough to be in my gang; the strong live and the weak die. That's our motto.

Everyone was horrified by the revelation, realizing now they had to save the fighters too.

"shit, what are we going to do now about this?" thought Marian.

"Marian, listen, I've got a plan for this." Said Marc through the coms

"what is it?"

"Listen, we already know the ferries that took the fighters are on their way back to the docks, so we'll sneak on them and take them over when they get back. That way, when Billy goes to help Jimmy, we can get him there faster plus save the defeated before a winner gets declared." Explain Marc

"that's crazy. none of us know how to drive a boat." Whispered Marian,

"true, but what other choice do we have? If we don't do something, that asshole will kill the losers." Informed Marc,

"okay, fine, move to a closer location unseen, Chop, Blaster, Kona, and Vortex. When the ferries arrive, take all the captains out as quick as possible and wait for us to arrive. Once we're there; the five of you go help, Jimmy. Marc and I will move to a meeting place where we can meet once you drop off the losers."

"Sounds like a plan." Said, Chop

Back at the casino, the screen showed each group of fighters; luckily, Billy and Marian watched the right screen as they saw Jimmy was up first. Suddenly the screen announced that the time to place bets had officially ended before each screen began showing the inside of the platforms. All the fighters had finished taking their numbers back on the ship, with Jimmy being placed as number 2, meaning he was the first up.

Fighters step into the ring

With that announcement, Jimmy walked onto the platform, followed by his opponent once the starting fighters were in the door sealed behind them. Jimmy goes into a fighting stance, as did his opponent waiting to begin.

BEGIN!

Jimmy's opponent instantly attacked first, delivering a round-house kick to him. However, Jimmy quickly blocked it with his arm and was ready to strike back. In that split moment, Jimmy realized he could limit himself in this fight and probably the next few ones. Thus he faked a wince from the kick and stumbled back a little. Marian noticed that as she watched the fight and became confused,

"Why did that hurt him?" asked Marian

"it didn't; he's stalling."

"what?"

"Jimmy and I are human-dragon hybrids. Remember, we're a lot more durable than regular humans."

"I see."

"he's buying time for us, while avoiding drawing too much attention to himself at the same time."

Back on the coms, Marc alerts Marian that they were at a closer location and could see the boats from a distance. Meaning they were faster than they originally appeared. However, there was another problem as 4 armed guards were waiting on the docks where the ferries were docking.

"Okay, Marian, we got to help them."

"How are we supposed to do that? We can't leave yet."

"sure, we can; I have a plan."

The two got up and left the bar again, putting on the couple act as they headed to the door blocked by one of the guards.

"where are you two going? The tournament just started, don't you want to see who wins?"

"This is a waste of my time; my boy Fireball will wipe the floor with these scrubs." Billy replied, acting bored.

"oh really."

"Besides, I got something else that needs my attention more, isn't that right, babe." Said Billy grabbing Marian's left butt cheek, making her blush

"that's right, handsome." She said, keeping herself from reacting as her instincts were telling her to.

The guard smiled, letting them out of the door before telling them to have fun. Once they were in the clear, they moved to a safer location. As Billy was about to say something to Marian, he received a straight punch to the groin, dropping him to his knees.

"Next time, warn me when you're going to pull a stunt like that!"

"sorry." He said in a high-pitched squeak.

As Billy recovered from his nut punch, Marian started to walk off; unknown to Billy, a smile had formed on her face that he couldn't see.

'I bet he liked that a lot more than he would have admitted. Then again, for some reason so did I. Had it been anyone but him, I'd have kicked their ass until they peed black and blue blood. Wait, is it because it was him that I didn't mind too much?'

Not wanting to dwell on that, Marian made Billy and her get to the beach where they found team 1 waiting.

"Hey, guys, listen, I just checked the distance of the boats, and we got at least 15 minutes before they dock. "said Marc

"Okay, you guys make for the pier. I'm going to come around another way and take them by surprise; once the boats dock, you guys rush the boats and capture the captains."

"got it."

"Kami, let Jimmy know he doesn't have to stall; we should be there soon." Said, Marc

"Okay."

With that said, Billy sprang into action as he touched his belt buckle, causing his family symbol to appear on it.

"Requip." He called out.

Suddenly a blue flash blinded everyone for a second when it was gone, Billy was no longer in his suit but in the costume Marian made for him.

"Okay, now I'm ready." He said as his sword appeared on his back.

With that, Billy ran to the water leaping into the air before diving into it, disappearing under the water.

"Well, guys, get going."

Heading off Vortex, Kona, Blaster and Chop made their way to the pier; back on the dock, the men were pacing, waiting for the boats to come in. Suddenly, a light started shining from under the water near one of them, alerting the other men. As the men looked over, trying to figure out what they were seeing, Billy's fiery tendrils suddenly shot up from behind them, grabbing their legs.

"what the hell?!"

Before anyone could react, they were dragged off the docks into the water. As a struggle started under the water due to the bubbles coming up, suddenly the bubbles stopped, and the glow disappeared, leaving the docks silent as the boats approached. Once it was confirmed that no one was around, the 4 rushed the ferries, each taking one to commandeer. Moments later, Billy returned after disposing of the guards, finding the area quiet; Billy radioed in.

"Guys, what's going on? Did you take out the captains?"

"there was one captain he's out cold…he's on my boat," Said Vortex

Billy boarded Vortex's boat making his way to the captain's deck. He found the captain out cold with Vortex waiting for him upon arriving.

"Nice work, dude."

"Thanks."

Upon looking over the ferry's onboard computer, both concluded that this was some costly and very sophisticated tech, the same went for Chop, Blaster, and Kona.

"This is some high-end tech. What's a meathead like Abobo doing with it." Said Chop.

"I don't know, but this stuff is beyond what you might find in Metro City." Continued Blaster.

"not to mention well hidden." Said Kona.

"if that's the case, this stuff was shipped into the city; it seems there's a player outside the city." Said Billy.

"Kami, I see a USB port; I'm linking you in." informed Vortex

"Okay, link me up."

Plugging the USB in, a link was established between the two computers, and Kami went to work hacking into it. After a few minutes of trying to break through, she finally broke in.

"Guys, I'm in the system; this ferry is the main ship. The other 3 are programmed to follow its lead."

"Okay, what can we do with that?" Radioed Marian from the van

"I think I can reprogram this one to return to its last coordinates. The others should follow…give me a second." Offered Kami.

Everyone waited when suddenly the ferry started moving to pull out. The others slowly began following, too, until they followed in a straight line.

"Okay, I programmed them to move in close, the signal will get weaker the farther it goes, but I think I can still work with it. To be safe I'm going to keep the ferries far enough to avoid getting spotted." Informed Kami

"Okay, Marian and I will continue to watch the tournament, so we'll know when it's over." Said Marc,

"Billy, when we get in close, I want you to sneak on and find where the defeated are being held. Once you do and the tournament ends, the guys will move in to save them while you help Jimmy." Instructed Marian

"got it…for now; it's up to Jimmy on his end." Said Billy

End of Ch. 6