In the Hands of Young Chôjin

By Son Rhandi

Chapter 08: "The Stag and the Stallion"

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He was the first of them to come to, that young king, Checkmate. One minute, he was leaping through that Hoffman's portal after Jade and the rest, the next he found himself in some forest. Tumbling through the portal, the G-force had been too much and he blacked out. The others had, as well, as far as he could see. Gazelle had landed closest to him. He lay there, face down in the dirt, his upper extremities flopped beneath him. The chess set wrestler nudged his deer companion to awaken. "Arise, Gazelle Man," he called, gently shaking his shoulders.

The old gazelle awoke with a grumble, his eyes opening out of sync to meet Checkmate's gaze. "What is thy status?"

"Urg..." Gazelle planted his weight on all fours and rose to stand erect. "I'm fine. Where are we?"

"Of that, I am unsure." Check looked at the surroundings, nothing but unfamiliar trees and vegetation. "The sun is low, but whether it be day or night that approacheth, that I cannot say."

Gazelle shrugged. "We'll find out in an hour or two, in any case." The blood-red buck surveyed the area. The others were there, too. He was happy they all made it together. "Hey, Mantaro. Get up." Gazelle tapped the muscle prince on the face.

"Urm... Not now, mommy..." Mantaro muttered, turning away from his teammate. The buck squared his hands on his hips, ears quirking to the side in annoyance. Gazelle cleared his throat and in his best Meat impression, yelled: "Cow and rice! Come and get it!"

That did it. That Kinniku kid shot up like a rocket, ready to break into song and dance. He discovered there was neither a slice of beef nor a grain of rice to be found (of course), only Gazelle Man's grinning face. Check, meanwhile, had proceeded to rouse Jade back to the conscious state. The young man came to, the last of them, and approached the New Gens.

"Jade." Mantaro raised his hand in a welcoming gesture. "You okay?"

"Ja. Where are we?"

Mantaro shrugged. "We were hoping you might know."

The young man surveyed the area. "Nein, I don't recognize anything here."

The rest became a bit downhearted at that. The wrestling royalty quivered in his boots. Oh, great..! The prince lamented. Stuck in a creepy forest in the middle of nowhere, bloodthirsty psychos ten times worse than the guys in the dMp… Is this how it ends?!

(HOO-HOOO…….)

"KYAAAAAAAAAH!!" Mantaro shot up high in the air, urine spraying from his pants. "What was that?!!"

"Calm down, Mantaro!" Gazelle hollered. "It's just an owl..! Honestly…"

"Hm. Night is falling, after all…" Checkmate stroked his regal chin. "We should make haste and gather wood for campfire."

"I agree. No sense in trying to go anywhere right now, anyway. Checkmate," began the buck. "If you would, lay your cape down so we'll know we're at the right place when we return. And Mantaro, you come with me. I don't trust you'll be able to find your way back on your own. We'll gather as much wood as we can find and meet back in ten minutes."

Jade and Checkmate went off on their lonesome while Gazelle Man took it upon himself to baby-sit Mantaro. There were a lot of twigs and broken branches on the forest floor, easy to gather and good for kindling. Night galloping toward them, they hurried to collect as many as they could in the least amount of time possible.

"It's getting scary now, huh..?"

"The forest or our predicament with these Bloody Arms guys?"

"Bloody Arms."

"Maybe. There's not much we can do but keep a brave front and see this thing through till the end." Gazelle stuffed another branch under his arm. "I'm not scared, though. This is the sort of thing we've been trained for: keeping the peace and protecting mankind."

"Protecting mankind is one thing…" Mantaro began in his usual whiny tone. "But planet-hopping is an entirely different story..! Is it just me, or does it seem like we're constantly being picked on? And it's not just the Akugyô Chôjin, either..! Harabote's been plotting against us since the dMp base was destroyed! I tell ya, Gazelle, we just can't win!"

The buck chuckled dryly. "No, I don't suppose we can. Are you worried..? About your father, I mean."

"Huh?" The prince's face faulted. "Well, a little…"

"I wouldn't be, not about a guy like him, the Legend of Legends, the old Kinnikuman. I remember," a nostalgic smile crept upon the stag's face. "My dad used to tell me stories about him and all the other Legends when I was a kid. Someone as great as him won't die. Not ever…"

Mantaro smiled, his face beaming with pride for his father. "How is your dad?"

"As good as anyone could expect, considering he's dead."

The smile disappeared from his face and was replaced with a look of shock. He hadn't expected an answer like that. "Oh…. I'm sorry, Gazelle…"

The crimson stag shrugged. "That's the way it goes. People live, people die. I can't change it. At least I can make sure that people will have peaceful lives to live. That's one of the joys of being a Justice Chôjin. Got all your wood for kindling?"

"Yeah. Let's head back."

Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bushes. The two young men dropped into defensive positions and the branches and brush they'd collected along with it. Dusk had settled in, but there was just enough light for Gazelle to make out what made the noise.

The creature stared right at him, light reflecting off its eyes like a cat's would. Its ears shifted and twitched about, seeming to mimic his own. Then, sensing there was no danger, the animal walked off as if it had seen nothing, and Gazelle Man gave a sigh of relief. "It was just a deer…"

"A deer?"

"A fallow deer, to be specific. That means we're somewhere in Europe. Come on." The blood-red buck hurriedly re-gathered the firewood. "Let's get back to the others."

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"So you're sure we're in Europe?"

"Well, I have a feeling we are, but the fallow deer's range extends as far as China, so…"

They all took in Gazelle's postulate, wearing heavy brows and gazing directly into their little campfire, bad on the eyes but it couldn't be helped. "Methinks the man-dog would not have sent us so far." Checkmate was next to speak. "We are in Europe and for a reason. I sense it to be true."

Gazelle Man nodded. "Then, how about you, Mantaro?" He opened the forum to the muscle prince.

"Um, well…We've only traveled to the places they wanted us to be, right? So, then, if we really are in Europe, why would they want us here?"

"Based on what we know, these guys are targeting Legends, and they're playing a game with us to see if those old men will live or die…" The buck turned his head to spit. "So, let's think. Who is here on this continent that they would be after?"

The young men gave it all their thought. Then, almost simultaneously, three pairs of eyes cast their sights on Jade. Bastards… Gazelle thought bitterly. This is too much. This is really too much…

"What's wrong?" Jade inquired, noticing the others' stares.

"Jade," Mantaro began in a gravely serious tone unbefitting of him. "The people who attacked Hercules are members of an organization called Bloody Arms. We don't know a lot about them, but they're going around and killing off all the old Legends, and despite our efforts, they've been pretty successful."

"What does this mean?"

Gazelle Man breathed a heavy sigh. "I think it's safe to say that we've landed in Germany. I'm sorry, Jade, but it looks like Blocken, Jr. is next on their hit list."

The green-clad lad looked back at them blankly. Then, in an instant, he up and darted for the forest. Check and Gazelle dove on him, tackling the young man to the ground. "Let go!! Let me up!!" Jade shouted and kicked, struggling to break free of their grips.

"Calm thyself!"

"Calm down, Jade!"

"Get off!!" He managed to catch Checkmate in the face with one of his flailing feet. The chess set wrestler instinctively brought his hands to the point of impact-- though no pain was felt-- and Jade's right arm found itself free. The German immediately turned to try to push Gazelle away, but Mantaro came in to lend a hand by pinning his legs down while Check returned to restrict his arm.

"Jade, calm down," said Gazelle Man flatly. "You've got to calm down."

"I must get to Herr Blocken!"

"You don't know the way, Jade. If you take off in the middle of the night, you'll only get lost. And how much of a help will you be to him then?"

Jade breathed heavily, seeing sense in Gazelle's words. He stopped his struggling and lay still, awaiting the stag to speak again. "Can we let you up now?" The horned one asked. "Are you going to stay put?"

The young man nodded and the other three slowly took their weight from him. Jade sat up, keeping his eyes to the ground and feeling rather sheepish. Gazelle stood over him. "You have a good friend back at Hercules who's counting on us to take care of you. We promised him we'd keep you safe, so don't make us out to be liars."

The German youth looked up at the crimson stag, a little bit of surprise washing over his face. "…Was it Crione Man..?" Gazelle Man nodded in response. Jade turned away from them, thinking sadly on him and Signal. Did they survive? Were they all right? It rested easily in his mind knowing that Crione was still alive, at least. The green-clad lad gave a deep sigh. "…It's late," said Jade. "We have a lot of walking to do tomorrow, so let's get some rest."

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Closer… We're getting closer and closer to the final steps of the plan, it's exciting. I'm looking forward to these next few days, you wrestlers of the New Generation…

"Sir!"

"Hoffman, what news?"

"Operation Hades was a monstrous success! The school is nothing more than a pile of smoking concrete! Wunderbar!"

"And the Legends?"

"Only Ramen Man remains, as far as I know, and in less than good shape, I might add."

"Not good enough for me, but if he's injured, there's not much he can do on his own. What of Generation-EX? Did you follow through as ordered?"

"Ja. Jade was kept alive and set to Germany, three of those other dunkoffs following."

"Superb… Blocken, Jr. is in Berlin, right? Send someone down to make sure our friends find their way to him. I want them to arrive in the city in three days."

"Ja, mein Führer. Sieg hail!"

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"Quack, quack… Quack… Quack…"

"Rrrmm… Huh…?"

"Quack, quack..?"

"Woah..!" Mantaro jumped, causing the duck to flutter away in doing so. The sound of roaring water filled his ears. He turned his body around, laying eyes on a river flowing with strong current a few feet away and all its waterfowl carrying out the order of the day. The prince stood up, confused. "But… we were just in a forest… How did we get here?"

The others looked relatively undisturbed despite them having been moved to this location. "Hey, guys! Wake up!" He moved from one to the other, shaking their shoulders and rousing them from their slumber. Gazelle Man's eyes fluttered open and he rolled to his back, giving a loud yawn. "…What is it..?" He asked in partial slur.

"Look. We're out of the forest."

"Muh..?" The stag's ears twitched, shifting toward the sound of rolling water. "…River..?"

"Yeah. Look up and here we are…"

"Man… Phew…" Gazelle went back toward the surrounding shrubs and stood with his back to the others. Curious, the muscle prince approached. "Gazelle..?"

"Don't. I can't go if you're watching."

"Oh. Sorry." The Kinniku turned away, noting the others had yet to get up. He proceeded to awaken Checkmate, the Jade. Upon coming to the young Deutsch, he noticed his right hand was clutching a slip of paper. "What's this?" The prince plucked it from his hand. "Gazelle..!"

"I'm not done!"

Mantaro groaned inwardly. Whatever this note was, it was all in German, obviously meant for Jade. "Come on, man, get up! It's important!" The wrestling royalty shook the green-clad lad violently. The young man woke with a start, so much so that he thought he was being attacked and took a swing at Mantaro, missing, but that was a good thing.

"What are you doing?!" Jade rose to two feet, looking cross. He then realized that they were out in the open instead of surrounded by trees. "What is this place? How did we get here?"

"I don't know, but you had this in your hand." He handed the young German the paper. Check and Gazelle (having finished his business) gathered around him. He ran his blue eyes over the note. "What's it say?"

"…'Follow the river upstream. You have 3 days to reach Berlin. If you don't show up by 10 p.m. on the third night, we'll send the old man to Hell. Don't dawdle, now.' Signed, your friends at B*A'…."

"So… they're just toying with us now…" gazelle Man stomped his foot in frustration. Jade crumpled the note and threw it to the ground. "Let's go."

The allies in red nodded, and the three of them trekked up the path. "Hey, guys..!" Mantaro called after them. "What about breakfast?"

They just pressed on, ignoring him. It dawned on the muscle prince that things were too serious now to be whining about food. He hurriedly trotted to join the others, leaving his stomach to do all the complaining for the duration of their march.

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Day 1 and 2 went by quickly. Though their feet ached, they only stopped to fulfill the needs of the body: food, drink, and expulsion. As Day 2 grew to meet its night, it was decided they'd once again gather the fixings for a campfire and leave the rest for a rest.

"We should be coming up on Berlin soon," stated the stag, pacing around the fire. "We can't stop for anything tomorrow, so make sure to get some good stretching in before we start up again. We've got to get there that night, at the very latest. There's too much on the line."

"Well, duh, Gazelle..!" Came Mantaro's commentary. "You saying all that doesn't make us feel any better..!" The crimson stag just let it slide and took an empty spot between Jade and Checkmate to retire. "Anyway," the Kinniku kid continued, turning to Jade. "I'm sure everything'll be fine. Blocken, Jr.'s one of the best around, right? He can handle his own if he needs to."

"He won't have to handle his own because we're going to be there in time," Gazelle growled, glaring daggers at Mantaro. "That's enough chatter. We need to be well rested for tomorrow." The buck flopped on his side. "Good night," he snorted.

"Yeah, yeah…" Mantaro lay on his stomach and nestled his chin on crossed arms. Checkmate wrapped his checkered cloak around his body and rested his head on his knight shoulder piece, removed for his personal comfort. "Man…" the prince whispered to the king. "He's starting to be a real pain about this…"

"Methinks he is just becoming a bit nervous," the chess set wrestler replied. "Can thou blame him?"

"No, I guess not…" He gave a little yawn. "It is getting scary now… Well, good night, Check. G'night, Jade."

"Till it be morrow…"

"Guten nacht."

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"See that, boy? That's the Paro Special, Warsman's technique. He's great."

"Can I be great like him?"

"My boy, you don't have to be like Warsman to be great. You don't even have to be a Chôjin. Men with good, brave hearts are great on their own. I'm the luckiest dad on Earth to have a son like you. You're going to grow up to be a good Chôjin , aren't you?"

"No, I'm going to be the greatest!"

"Ha ha ha! That's the spirit, little man! You're going to be the best of the best Show the whole world just how great a Chôjin you really are!"

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Gazelle awoke to the sparkling night sky, sweating a bit. He sat up and placed a hand on his head, wondering what it was that prompted a dream about his childhood. Then he recalled the conversation he'd had with Mantaro two nights prior and scoffed.

"'Tis a bit early to begin again, is it not?"

Gazelle turned to find Checkmate sitting by the fire, looking as if he hadn't gotten a bit of sleep yet. "Couldn't sleep?" The stag inquired,

"Nay. 'Tis a fleeting bird, this sleep." He repositioned himself, deciding that sitting cross-legged would be more comfortable. "Thou seemest a bit different."

Gazelle cocked his head. "How so?"

"Thou art more serious than usual. Even the muscle waif hath taken notice of thee. I can understand thy feelings though…" Check cast his gaze to the fire, still burning steadily. "More than any of ye will ever know. It is my wish for none of ye to feel what I felt that day. For that reason… and for Master Sunshine……" He trailed off.

The buck kicked at the dirt. "He was all you had, huh..?"

The king released a heavy sigh. "'Tis true."

"I know how that is. My dad, er… Well, he died when I was still young. He wanted for me to grow up to be a good, righteous Chôjin. Instead, I just became arrogant. I wasn't always like that, though." He drew his knees up to his chest. "I think… children who grow up all on their own tend to be boastful. They want the whole world to hear how great they are because they don't have anyone in their lives to tell…"

Checkmate just continued to give the blood-red buck his full attention, too enthralled by his sudden insightfulness to add to the conversation. "I fight with all my heart," Gazelle continued. "I always fight with all my heart. I'm working hard to win gracefully--to win, period--and to not be so arrogant. I'm trying my best, and you should, too, Checkmate."

"What?"

"…Don't be hateful, don't be angry…" He gave the king a genuine smile. "I think you'll do better as a good and righteous Chôjin ."

And that was that. He lay back in the dirt, that Gazelle, the calming roar of the river lulling him back to sleep. Checkmate lay on his back, mind totally blown, wondering why Gazelle Man had suddenly become so open with him. In any case, tomorrow was the final day to make it to Berlin and he needed rest. The young men would need all their strength and energy to save Blocken.