In the Hands of Young Chôjin

By Son Rhandi

Chapter 10: "No More Games"

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They allowed Blocken as much time as needed to clean Jade's body and dig for him a temporary grave in the backyard. The old man wiped the sweat from his brow and the tears from his eyes. "It's just for now," he assured himself and those around him. "My boy will have a proper burial when I return."

"So, then, you'll come with us to Hercules?" Mantaro inquired.

"Ja. I can't be here right now. I have to go."

Checkmate nodded, tearing open the familiar expanse. "Then let's be off." I swear to ye, to both of thee, no more friends will die. This is where it ends.

The group that started with four ended with two plus one as they flowed into the black space, Mantaro holding the body of Gazelle Man tenderly. Bloody Arms had stolen away not just two of their fellow Muscle Leaguers, but two dear friends. Such a travesty was inexcusable. "Mantaro, take over the lead," Checkmate commanded. "I shall go to retrieve Kid."

The muscle prince nodded and Check was off, veering to the right where his concentration created a fork in the vortex: fallen Hercules Factory to the left, Terry Ranch to the right. Keeping to their own course, Mantaro and Blocken, Jr. got off at the Factory archway, dumped significantly closer than last time, the prince noted. Upon their arrival, they found scores of the royal Kinnikuman Guard all over the place, some clearing away rubble and debris, most just hauling away the bodies of the dead. He could spy up ahead, that Mantaro, the captain of the guards, and so approached with Blocken behind. "Captain!"

"Oh! Prince…" He saluted the wrestling royalty.

Mantaro set Gazelle's corpse down gently. "I want his body cleaned and delivered to the coroner. He was a dear friend, so make sure he doesn't get sent to the morgue."

"Yes, of course, prince."

"Oh, and one more thing: Have you seen a big walrus guy anywhere?"

"Yes, prince. Straight ahead. You'll find your father there with him, as well."

"Okay. Thanks a lot." The two made their path straight, meeting with his father and the Irish pinniped at the former hand of Hercules. "Dad!"

"Ah, son! And Blocken, Jr.!" He shook the German's hand and patted his son on the back. "Glad you're safe. There are lots of things going on, it seems..." The muscle monarch noticed blotches of blood on his son's shirt. "Are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. This isn't mine. It's from Ga--" He buttoned his lip, remembering Seiuchin was among them.

"Bro, where's Checkmate and Gazelle Man?" The pinniped inquired. "And wasn't Jade with you all?"

"Um…" Mantaro cast a glance to Blocken, who merely pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. The prince took a deep breath and broke the dreaded news. "Checkmate went to get Terry. Gazelle and Jade… They… They were killed……"

Seiuchin looked back at him in disbelief. "You're joking, right..?" The walrus clutched the muscle prince's shoulders. "Gazelle's dead..? Our Gazelle is dead..?"

Mantaro turned his head away from Seiuchin's shocked gaze. The walrus relinquished his grips from the prince and backed away, his mouth slightly agape. "This… isn't happening…"

"I know, Seiuchin, I know… None of this seems real…" The wrestling royalty rested an easy hand on his friend's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "But… now's not the time for tears. I want to go back to Earth and have fun like we used to, even if we'll be short one person. I'm sure Gazelle wants that for us, too. And Mister Blocken," he turned to the old Legend. "Don't you be sad, either. Jade's gone, but you're not alone. There are still lots of people here who can learn from you. I'm sure the other Gen-EXers would appreciate getting to know you. That is, when they get better. So, everyone, cheer up, okay..?"

Mantaro gave them all a warm, little smile before divorcing himself from the group, walking back towards the cliffs. The young Kinniku gave a little sigh and kicked at the dirt, turning back in his head to the times when they could just idle about town without a care, all four of them. Harabote calls us the Fool Four. Suddenly, we're the Fool Three… It doesn't even sound right…

"It took a lot of heart to say all that."

Mantaro looked over his shoulder. "Oh. Hey, dad."

The old king joined his son at his side. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah… It's just kinda hard right now. "

"I know. I lost friends and allies, too, thanks to those people. But, if they aren't stopped, there will be a lot more tears in the near future. You've got to bury your sadness and fight on. That's what Justice Chôjin do."

He knew that. It didn't make things any easier for him, though. "Is Ramen Man okay? We found him in the building during the attack."

"Mm-hmm." Suguru crossed his arms. "He's over at Muscle General. Oh, and Robin Mask is there, too. But what really surprised me is that his son went along with him. Robin was worried about him for a while, but I guess with all that's going on, even his estranged son would have to sit up and take notice."

"You're probably the next on their list, you know. You gonna be all right?"

"Are you kidding? I'm Kinnikuman!" The elderly man puffed out his chest. "And besides, I've got the Guard and the elite Flex Soldiers to back me, remember? So don't worry about it."

Mantaro nodded. "Gazelle Man was saying all that, too…"

"See? Even he knew the deal! You just go on and do what you need to, and your papa and your mama will have a big bowl of cow and rice waiting for you back home."

The prince gave him a little half-smile. The old king blinked, thinking that the promise of a beef bowl would have done it for sure. Sighing, Suguru wrapped an arm around his son's shoulder. "It's okay to grieve for your friends. Just don't lose yourself in despair. …You're a good, kind boy, Mantaro."

"Thank you…" He sniffled and wiped his overflowing eyes.

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"This is it. Even though things didn't go according to plan in Berlin, we got two heads for the price of one. At this point, we have nothing left to worry about. Hoffman!"

"Sir?"

"All the necessary preparations have been made. Go and bring us our friends."

"Yes, sir! Immediately!"

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Check returned with Terry at his side. The bad news was broken to the young Texan, and, as expected, he did not take well to it. "Damn them all to hell!" The Kid swung his fists in a violent rage. "I swear, I'll tear each an' every one o' them Bloody Arms bastards limb from limb!! I won't let 'em get away with this!"

"That's right," Seiuchin concurred. "We can't allow for this sort of thing to happen again. We need to get these guys at the source."

"That all sounds well and good, but we need to figure out where the Bloody Arms base is, first."

"Gazelle Man's a whiz when it comes to makin' plans in a hurry. I'll bet he--" Terry bit his tongue. "That's right. I can't talk like that anymore. Sorry…"

"Forgiven." Checkmate stood up. "Methinks there may be a chance that not all the Bloody Arms wrestlers escaped in the attack on Hercules. We should check with the guards if any were taken in. If that be the case, we can question the fiend."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about..! Alrighty, let's go chitchat with the guards."

As soon as they put their bodies in motion, the trill of a whistle sounded the start of a commotion. Soon, guards, guards, and more guards were whizzing by them, each one clutching a spear. Not ones to stand by idly, the young wrestlers followed suit, wondering what all the fuss was about.

They had him brought to the king, ol' dog face, cuffed in heavy chains, spears pointed at his neck.

Had that hound, Hoffman, returned for more? "You again?!" Terry growled. "Come sniffin' 'round these parts fer some more trouble, ya big, ugly mutt?"

Hoffman spat in his face. Enraged, Terry came at him, the others quick to hold him back. "King Suguru, we found this guy skulking around the back of the building," one of the guards addressed him. "What are your orders?"

Before he could reply, Mantaro raised a hand to his arm. "Dad? Can I take this one?"

"Hm? You know him?"

"This guy, he was here during the attack. I think we can get some information out of him on where his base is."

"There's no need," Hoffman chortled. "I've come to take you there."

The young men were taken aback. Really? Just like that? "What do you mean, you've come to take us there?"

"It means just what it sounds like. Mein Führer is ready to meet with you all, so let's go. He's waiting."

The Kid shook his head. "No way. Not with you."

"Come on, Terry," the young Kinniku chided. "What if he's telling the truth?"

"What if it's just a trap?"

"How many chances are we going to get? This is the guy who can open up portals, I've seen him do it..!"

Terry snorted. "Yeah, an' if you recall, it'll be up to him as t' where we end up..! For all we know, he could drop us smack in the middle of the Bloody Arms trainin' yard!"

There was no use trying to convince Kid. Mantaro turned to the guards. "…Put down your weapons. Release him."

The guards seemed confused by the order. "Are you sure, Prince?"

"Do it!"

They lowered their spears and let the dog out of the manacles. "Grarrr…" Hoffman rubbed his wrists. "You should invest in some comfortable handcuffs…"

"Stop joking. Take us to Bloody Arms."

Hoffman grinned, then with a wave of his claw, a black space opened up in front of them. "Right this way…" The hound mock-bowed and presented his hand to Mantaro. "Prince…"

The wrestling royalty slapped his hand away and put his own on the villain's fur-bearing shoulder. "If you're coming," Mantaro began, speaking to Terry and the others. "Now's the time."

"I shall follow, without a doubt." Checkmate stepped up to attach to the prince. 'What of you, walrus..?"

"…I want to see just who's behind all this. Great whites couldn't keep me away." Seiuchin joined them, too.

All that remained was Terry now. The others looked back at him, all wearing expressions that seemed to say, 'well?'. "……Argh, this is fuckin' stupid, man…" The Kid begrudgingly opted to come along, taking his potty mouth with him.

Mantaro turned to Hoffman. "We're set. No funny stuff."

"Trust me. There's nothing funny about the hell you're about to go through. Well, maybe not to you…"

And so, they entered, entrusting their lives to the bad dog, himself. The trip through Hoffman's space tunnel was tolerable this time, a notable change. Perhaps it was because in this instance they were relying on the hound to pull them through. Whatever the case, they kept their eyes wide open the whole way through, crossing black space to the desired destination: Bloody Arms HQ.