"Are you sure this is place, Matt?" Asked Sara as Matthew parked his car near an abandonned dock on the Mississippi River.
"I'm sure, at least by what the scroll says. Now to get my weapons and wait." He opened his door and stepped out into the moonlight. He walked back to the trunk and opened. Out were pulled three bags, one Matthew's, one Sara's and one for Matthew's weapons.
"Well, I hope we don't have to sit here long, this place is giving me the creeps." Sara said with a shudder.
"Don't worry, nothing can hurt you when I have this..." Matthew then pulled a Bo Staff out of his trunk. But it wasn't just any staff. It was the Spirit Staff, a weapon that had been passed down through his family over the centuries. It gave off a red glow as he touched it. "Now come here. You don't have to worry." He held her close, and sa he did, a thick fog encircled them. "Sara! Where are you! I can't see a..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the fog dissapated. "...Thing?" Both looked around, and they were now standing on a beach, the docks gone. The only thing they had brought with them were the bags, and the Spirit Staff.
"Something's not right here. I'm gonna see if there's anything around here." Matthew placed his left hand on his belt buckle, and his right hand vertically in front of his stomach. It was a simple technique using Ki energy. It was used to see if there were any beings nearby.
After just a second, he opened his eyes with a worried look. "Sara! Get back!" Just as he yelled to her, fighters who seemed to be made of wires leaped out of the bushes at the edge of the nearby forest. Matthew hesitated for a moment, analyzing the situation. 'Sand, so I won't be using any spin kicks, too easy to lose control. They also don't look too strong, a good strike could snap them in two.' He thought.
Suddenly, one of the fighters rushed forward. Matthew cracked the wire fighter in the shin with the Staff and then in the face, knocking bits of wire everywhere. Another fighter came for him, but Matthew slammed his fist into its face, and kicked it in the chest as it fell to it's knees.
He began figure-eights with the staff and spun it around, bringing it to a halt withint the rib cage of another fighter. On came up from behind him and pinned his arms and the Staff behind his back, as another walked towards Sara.
"Get... away... FROM HER!!!" Matthew yelled. With a wild yell, he pulled his arms forward and slammed his elbow into the fighter behind him. He charged the last remaining fighter and leaped into the air. Using the staff as a balance, he spun around and kicked the wire fighter's head with his heel, shatering it.
The bushes rustled again, and Matthew stepped in front of Sara, the light from the Spirit Staff now glowing brightly.
Out from the forest strode a robed firgure. His cowl concealed his face. Matthew's grip on the Spirit Staff tightened.
"Very well done, Hapkido Master." The bent figure said, not lifting his cowl.
"Who are you and how do you know me?" Matthew asked.
"My name is Reaper, and I know much about you. How you traveled to a distant land to save the girl next to you and acquired that Staff, how you fought in the name of Heaven to fight demons from Hell, and how you have never been defeated. That is why you have been invited to this competition. Come, the others are waiting. You are the last to arrive."