/It's been 5 months since the destruction of Griffon and peace had
returned, for now. The Great Sage Crest told Princess Monica of a dark
force that was heading towards Palm Brinks of their time. The dark force
was a young teenager with powerful energy attacks. Back at Max's time, he
had to go into the Zelmite Mine to find some Zelmite ore to complete the
rebuilding of the Blackstone Railroad. After finding some, he was attacked
by swarms of monsters and was about to be killed. Thanks to Monica, he was
saved. And now they are heading to her time to stop the dark energy that
stands just outside the city./
Chapter 2
The Tournament
Of Power!
The bright morning sun couldn't light up the dark gloomy town of future Palm Brinks. Thousands of monsters surrounded the walls. They were all there for the same thing. The Annual Tournament of Power held every year. They entered into the city and went straight to the Coliseum. They all got their tickets and swarmed into the arena and took their seats. There was loud banter between them.
"There's nuthin' more entertaining than humans killin' humans!" One monster said.
"Unless it's Garr killin' humans!" Another one said.
There were posters of the champion, Garr, all over the place. The giant red dragon stood atop his two feet in a ferocious pose. He had his large dark blue wings spread open and a long spear in his right hand. He wore dark black armor and had deep red eyes to match his body. He was the champion of the tournament 6 years running. He planned to make it 7 today.
Outside the arena, the competitors, humans and monsters entered into the arena though another door. Their names were taken and they were recorded into the fighter's list.
"Name." The monster sitting at the desk wrote down every fighter's name and let him or her in. "Name." "Name." He kept this up until a human teen was up. He looked up. "You lost, kid?"
"No." The teen replied. It was the same teen that had the powerful energy attacks. "I'm here to fight! And win!"
"You're what? 14? 15?"
"16. The legal fighting age for this tournament."
"Fine. Your funeral. Name?"
"Cain." The teen replied. "Cain Leohart."
"Well, Cain Leohart. Be careful in there."
Cain walked into the door and stopped for a minute, "This should be fun!"
Just feet away from the stadium was the Zelmite mine. Inside, a bright flash of light illuminated a dark corridor. When it faded, Monica fell from the ceiling and on her back. Max then fell right on top of her, their faces only an inch away. They stared in each other's eyes for a second then realized what happened. They both blushed a deep red and quickly got up and looked away from each other.
"S-sorry..." Max said sheepishly, his face a bright red.
"I-it's okay..." Monica said while still blushing. "I forgot that the mine floor is lowered in the future."
"So uh..." Max regained his composure and asked Monica. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Well, you see," Monica started to explain. "Lately a dark power has been looming around the world. And I believe the power might be here."
"Why do you need me for this?"
"It's no ordinary power... it might be..."
"The dark force Griffon had?!" Max was shocked.
"Yes..." Monica nodded. "And I was afraid he'd try to go back in time and... try to... erase you from history..."
"If it is Griffon's energy... But how can we fight it? We don't have any way to fight it, and regular weapons won't..."
"But..." Monica interrupted. "If we fight it when it has yet to grow more powerful, we could probably stop it. With some effort, of course."
Max nodded. "Let's go then!" He started to head towards the way out of the cave, when Monica grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Huh?"
"Max..." Monica started to say softly. "I have to warn you... You may not like what you're about to see..."
Max and Monica made their way out of the mine and into the city. Max eyes were snapped open and his mouth gaped. He saw the horror that was Palm Brinks.
This was not the peaceful Brinks of the past. Houses were in ruins, the grass was dead, and the sky was a ghastly black over the town. The roads were cracked and crumpled, the trees were cut down or dead. Skulls and bones layered the ground. Not a single human was in sight. The town was infested with nothing but monsters. There were few humans, but they looked crooked and wicked. This town, a once happy town, was now a place of death and ruin.
Max couldn't even speak. He was couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He felt Monica's hand touch his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Max..." She said, trying to comfort him. "But this town was overtaken by monsters and every human killed."
"Monica..." Max finally spoke. "When did this happen?"
She looked down... "40 years ago... A massive attack destroyed everything. Killed everyone. I know that it isn't fair..."
Max looked down. "It... can't be helped..." Max said sadly. "It's just really hard to see the placed you lived in all your life in shambles."
Monica also looked down. "It is..." She remembered how she felt when she saw her castle destroyed. But it was rebuilt and repaired. Nothing could bring Palm Brinks back its happy, healthy state.
After a brief pause, Max spoke up. "Where is the energy?"
Monica looked up and saw Max had a determined look on his face. She smiled. "Crest said that the energy was in the arena."
"Arena?" Max looked across from where he was and saw the coliseum. He noticed it was standing right where the Church once stood. "So what do we do?"
"The energy's new form will be entered in the tournament. I'll bet the winner is the energy we're after. We just need to sit though a few fights."
"Let's go." Max and Monica both walked towards the coliseum. They were about to enter it, when a green arm stopped them.
"Holdssssssssssss it!" A slithering voice spoke to them. It was a lizard monster. "You needssssssssss ticketssssssss to enter."
"Tickets?" Max questioned. "Where can we get them?"
"You can buyssssssssssssssssssss them from me! We gotssssssssssssss 2 left."
"Really?" Monica said. "What luck!"
"It'll costsssssssssss you 100,000 gildassssssssssssss!"
"100,000!!!" Max shouted.
"Itssssssssss this best seatssssssss of the arena. Right nearsssssssss the ring."
"We don't care about..." Max started to say until Monica handed the lizard a big bag of gilda.
"Here you go. 200,000 for two tickets." She said.
The lizard took the bags. "And heressssssssssss the ticketssssssss."
"Thank you." Monica said casually and took the tickets.
They then walked into the door.
"M-Monica?" Max said was amazement in his voice. "How did you?"
"It's just some left over from our first adventure. I sold all the extra swords I had."
"Guess that explains it. But do you carry it all with you at all times?"
"That's all of it. But it's no big deal. C'mon!" Monica raced down the arena hall. Max followed her.
The arena was loud. That was the only word for it. They crowd was in an excited frenzy for the fights. The arena seats all had a monster or human in it. The crowds of over 25,000 were seated 10 feet of the ground and about 30 feet away from the circled battle platform. The platform was grey stone and was 25 feet in circumference. Large enough for about 50 fighters at once. In the middle, stood a demon rat in a black announcer's suit.
"Welcome to the 30th annual Tournament of Power!!!" The announcer shouted into a microphone. The crowd cheered and whistled. "First off! Some ground rules! The tournament committee will not be responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items, will not be responsible for any nausea or sickness caused by the brutality of the fights, or any deaths caused from badly aimed blasts from the competitors!" The crowd cheered again. Max and Monica were both seated next to each other in the front row and had the best view of the ring. The fighter's entrance was right below them.
"Did he say, 'deaths caused from badly aimed blasts?'" Max asked Monica.
"These might not have been the best seats..." Monica told him.
"We gotta a great tournament for you, but first... bring out the brave fighters!!!" The crowd roared in excitement as a group of demons and human competitors walk from the entrance and down to the ring. The teen, Cain came out last and looked around.
He heard some jeers and insults from the crowd. "GO HOME, HUMAN!!!" "YOU WITH THE TAN HAIR!!! YOU BETTER RUN TO YOUR MOMMY!"
Cain then turned towards the monster that said that. "GO SHOVE IT WHERE IT HURTS!!!" He shouted back. He then made his way towards the ring. All the competitors surrounded the ring. There were 105 different fighters.
"Now as you all know..." The announcer started to say. "There are only 8 brackets for this tournament. That's means only 8 of you will be in the actual tournament. But since the champ is automatically in the fights, that leaves only 7. So the only way to figure out the advancing 7 is with a 15 man Battle Royale!" The crowd cheered even louder. "Please go back to the locker room and look for your name on the charts waiting for you. That will tell you which fight you'll be in." With that, the fighter headed back into the locker room.
"Any one of these guys could be who I'm looking for..." Cain thought to himself. "But going though them will be easy..." He was the last to step though the door.
Meanwhile, in a private locker room, the champion, Garr, was looking at himself in a full size mirror.
"Everyone loves you, champ." He said to himself. He pulled out a large spear. "They have to..." The dragon laughed evilly and looked towards the door. A member of the committee was there.
"The tournament preliminaries are about to start." He said meekly.
Garr laughed again. "Every year, another army of wannabes trying to take what's mine. But I kill every one of them if I had the chance. Sadly, I gotta settle with only 7."
"It's a tough crowd this year. Some of these fighters are world known killers."
Garr looked at the man angrily. "It doesn't matter if they're killed millions of victims!" He shouted. "They aren't worthy of this belt!" He gestured towards the gold champion belt around his waist. "Or the title! You just send them to me, and I'll send them back in little pieces!"
"R-r-r-r-right sir!" The committee member said nervously and closed the door.
Garr turned to walk back towards his mirror, but stopped when he saw Cain sitting in his chair, reading a magazine with Garr's picture on it.
"You're full of yourself, are ya!" He said without lifting his head.
"Who the hell are you?!" Garr roared back. "This is MY private locker room!"
"Calm down... I'll be out in a minute." Cain dropped the magazine. "I'm just thinking how good that belt would look around my waist after I win this tournament!"
Garr laughed. "You're one of those pathetic human fighters, aren't ya! I won't lose this belt to a human, especially a human punk like you!"
"You should stop talking... It makes you sound stupid."
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr... You little brat!!!" He drew his spear.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you. You know that if you harm a fighter outside of battle, you'll be stripped of your title. And it's no fun not to beat up the champ in front of his stupid fans."
"Ha! You won't even get past the preliminaries!"
"Is that so..." Cain got up and walked towards the door. "Instead of looking at your ugly face, why don't you watch the first preliminary round. I'm in that one, so you can see how 'pathetic' I really am. Seeya in the tournament!" He walked out the door and slammed it shut. Garr just looked with an angry and terrifying face.
It was now time for the first preliminary match of the tournament. The 15 fighters all stood in the ring. Cain was among them. The announcer was standing outside it.
"Now here are the rules!" He started to say. "The only ways to be eliminated from the fight is to be either thrown out of the ring or killed. We don't care which. The last man standing will win a bracket in the tournament."
Max and Monica were watching very closely. "That doesn't look good..." Max told Monica.
The other 14 fighters were all monsters and they were standing all bunched up in one side while Cain stood alone in the other.
"So it's agreed..." One of the monsters told the other. "We tear the human apart and eat him."
Cain just stood there with narrowed eyes towards the monsters.
"Ready..." The announcer raised his hand. He then brought it down. "FIGHT!!!"
The first monster, a winged green imp flew straight towards Cain with its clawed extended and mouth wide open. Slobber poured from his teeth as he licked his upper lip. "TIME TO EAT!!!" He shouted in a shrill tone.
Cain ran towards the monster, shouting a battle cry. He jumped into the air and kicked the imp in the back. This caused him to crash to the ground. Cain stood over him and grabbed his wings. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The imp cried in pain as Cain tore his wings off and kicked him out of the ring.
"Too easy!" He shouted. Only 14 remained. He turned and saw 3 monsters, a skeleton, dark troll, and axe wielding demon knight run towards him. Cain quickly ran towards the giant black armored knight and punched it in the stomach. It fell back and hit the ground hard. Cain then sweep kicked the incoming troll. He picked him up and threw him at the skeleton,. The monster was hit with the other and fell to the ground. Cain jumped into the air and gathered a yellow ball of energy in his hand. "TAKE THIS!!!" He threw it at the monster and in one huge, fiery explosion, the monsters were killed instantly.
6 monsters surrounded Cain when he landed on the ground. They each tried to hold him down as an ogre with a war hammer marched towards him. "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Cain shouted as he spin kicked and knocked down all the monsters. He set his sight on the hammer and ran towards it. He grabbed it and jumped right on top of it. "HEEEEEEEEEEEYAH!!!" In a volley of lighting fast punches, he rapidly hit the ogre's face. Blow after blow, the ogre face started to bleed. "AND HERES THE KILL!!!" With one last, powerful punch, he jabbed the ogre and made its face turn to the left. Blood and saliva escaped its broken mouth as it fell face to the ground... dead.
The other 6 monsters didn't fare well. "BLADES OF LIGHT!!!" He threw 3 energy blades at the 6 and sliced them to pieces. One blade even got through to the imp outside the ring and sliced its head off, killing it.
"MY!!!" The announcer shouted. "Such violence!!! Such gore!!! I don't believe it!"
Max and Monica were watching in nervous amazement.
Only 3 were left, Cain and two other monsters. The last two monsters turned and ran towards the edge of the ring.
"YOU WIN!" One of them screamed in fear. Cain ran towards them at with great speed. He stood in front of them and they ran the other way. Cain clenched both his fists and ran towards them again. He stopped in front of them again and began to jab and hook them with punch after punch. After 12 punches for each, the monster's faces were battered and bruised. They both tried to run again, but Cain grabbed them by their necks.
"GOOD BYE!" He shouted as he threw them towards the wall. With the great speed and the distance they were thrown, their bone shattered when they crashed into the arena wall. They both died from the impact. And then there was only one in the ring... Cain.
"The match is over!!!" The announcer shouted. "The winner of the first round preliminary, and winner of the first tournament bracket is fighter, Cain Leohart!!!"
The crowd was silent for a minute, until slowly they started to show their disrespect. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! GO HOME!!!" The crowd got extremely hateful of Cain. They saw the killing of 14 of their fellow monsters. And it wasn't done by another monster, it was done by... a human. "BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Cain then looked up at the crowd and shouted, "YOUR CHAMP IS NEXT!!!". This statement drew in more jeers and boos from the crowd. "NOW THAT I'M IN THIS TOURNAMENT TIME TO KICK SOME ASSES!!!" Cain walked over to the locker room entrance and walked in, not paying attention to the hateful comments.
"Monica..." Max was in shock. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah..." She too was in shock. "That was a lot of power he used... nothing less a energy force like Griffon's could do..."
After a while, the preliminaries ended. And the battle orders were being set. It was almost time for the first match:
The Ninja, Shiro
Vs.
Cain Leohart
The two fighters walked towards the ring from the locker rooms.
"You know, kid..." The ninja started to talk to Cain. "In my profession, I've killed many, both monster and human, so don't blame me when I hack you to bits."
"Sorry old man." Cain replied. "But this is one fighter you ain't gonna beat!"
"You're too cocky for a first time fighter."
Cain then stopped for a minute and closed his eyes. Shiro looked at him. "Have you decided to give up?"
Cain opened his eyes. "Sorry. I was just praying for your mortal soul. After I kill you, I hope Hell isn't to hard on you."
The crowd started to boo at Cain and throw garbage at him. "Rip out his eyes, Shiro!" ":And shove em' down his throat."
"Damn..." Cain cursed. "Least the crowd is getting creative..."
They both walked into the ring and stood at opposite sides of it. The announcer was in the middle of the ring.
"Our first match is about to begin!" He shouted. "Our first fighter, winner of the 4th preliminary match, the 79 year-old famous Invisible Assassin, Ninja Shiro!!!" The crowd started to cheer and whistle for the ninja. He wore pitch-black ninja clothes and a black mask that covered his mouth and nose. The only things visible are his grey eyes. "And the winner of the first preliminary match, Cain Leohart!!!" The second he said his name, the crowd booed and said more insults and hateful words.
"They all hate you." Shiro told Cain.
"Let em'."
"The rules are simple, anything goes! Weapons, magic, and other forms of attacks are allowed. You can win only if you're opponent is dead, or is knocked out of the ring for more than 10 counts." The announcer explained. "Ready..." The announcer raised his hand. He brought it down. "FIGHT!!!"
Shiro ran full speed towards Cain. His speed was so fast, it even shocked Cain. The ninja punched him right in the jaw and knocked him down.
"Ha..." Shiro snorted.
"What speed!!!" The announcer commented. "Better not blink or you'll must some of Shiro's action." The crowd started to cheer and chant "Shiro!"
"Lucky shot, old man!" Cain shouted.
"Luck?" Shiro watched as Cain jumped to his feet. "It's all skill my friend..."
Cain ran towards Shiro faster than Shiro did him. This took the ninja by surprise. "Try this one!!!" Cain started to rapidly punch Shiro in the chest. Shiro grunted with each blow landed. Cain then ended the attack with elbow that sent Shiro skidding to the edge of the ring.
Shiro pulled out a small knife and ran towards Cain again. This time, however, Cain was able to dodge every swipe of the knife and counter by kneeing Shiro in the stomach. This knocked the wind out of him and made him drop the knife. Cain took the chance to grab it and throw it into the crowd, out of Shiro's reach. "Old men shouldn't play with sharp toys."
Shiro shook off the pain and looked at Cain. "You're more skilled than I thought... But can you handle this?" The ninja started to glow white.
"Shiro entire body is starting to glow!" The announcer shouted. "What is he gonna do next."
"He's gonna get his ass kicked!!!" Cain got ready to throw another punch towards Shiro's face.
"Invisible Battle Style!!!" Shiro yelled out the attack and to everyone surprise, he vanished into thin air.
"WHAT!?" Cain couldn't believe what happened. He looked around for the ninja. "The hell did you go?" He then looked behind him and got a strong punch to the face. This sent him flying out the ring. Cain quickly jumped back into the ring. "Where'd that come from?!"
"Why do you think they call me, 'Invisible Assassin?'" Shiro's voice rang from nowhere.
"Yeah... I didn't think it was just a stupid title!"
"A joker to the end, huh?" Shiro laughed. "Too bad your end is near."
"C'mon..." Cain said to himself... "C'mon..."
After a while, Cain is hit with an uppercut and then punched left and right in the face. The crowd was still cheering and chanting "Shiro!" Cain somehow escapes the attacks.
"Dammit... I can't even hear him walk cause of the noise these idiots are making!"
"Thanks to Shiro's invisibility trick," The announcer started to say, "Cain has nowhere to run or hide!"
"Give up, boy..." Shiro's voice was heard again. "You cannot win this one. You're just a cocky little punk who got lucky."
Cain then looked towards the direction the voice was coming from. "I may be cocky..." He knew Shiro was getting closer. "And a punk." He clenched his fist. "But I don't win... by..." He then threw a straight punch." LUCK!!!" He heard Shiro's grunt of pain. He thought he had hit him. But a kick to the stomach and punch in the nose told him otherwise. He was then uppercut again and sent back a few steps. He did the only thing he could think of... guard himself.
"You can't fight what you can't see, my friend."
"I heard that!!!" With a powerful left jab, he punched the air and amazingly, hit Shiro. His grunt of pain made it clear. Shiro was knocked back to the edge of the ring.
"How did he..." Shiro growled in anger.
"That one was a lucky blow, if I could just..." Cain's eyes opened up wide. "That's it!" His right arm started to glow yellow. The 3 blades appeared on his arms. "BLADES OF LIGHT!!!"
"It seems Cain is about to just his blade move! But he doesn't even know where Shiro is!" The announcer cried out excitedly.
"HAA!" Cain threw the blades straight up in the air.
"What bad aim!" Shiro mocked him. "You really think I'm up there."
"Something else is!" Suddenly, it started to rain multicolor confetti.
"What?" The announcer looked up. Suddenly, a large yellow ball fell to the sky and landed outside the ring. "HE HIT THE CONFETTI BALL!!!"
"Is that your big plan?" Shiro still mocked. "Destroying the champion celebration ball?" He laughed even louder.
Cain eyes narrowed. "I see you!" He shouted.
"Huh?" Shiro looked at himself.
Cain saw a big patch of floating confetti in the air. That patch of confetti was his opponent. "YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" He ran towards it and started punching all the confetti. Loud blows can be heard as his fists of fury flew.
"Suddenly, Cain is fighting again!" The announcer shouted. "But why can't we see any of it?! IT ISN'T FAIR!!!"
Cain quick punching after the 20th blow and then dropped kicked the patch of confetti. It then flew to the ground. A loud crash is heard like someone had hit the arena wall.
"Huh?" The announcer looked around. "What happened to Shiro?" Suddenly, a figure slowly flickered outside the ring,. After a few seconds, it became fully visible. It was Shiro. His mask has been tore, his face bloody, and eyes swollen shut. "There he is! And he's out of the ring! 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9..."
Shiro opened his eyes. "Good move, kid..." He then shut them again.
"10!!! The winner of the first match, Cain Leohart!!!" The crowd instantly booed him.
Cain walked over to Shiro and looked over him. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." Shiro said weakly. "Go ahead... finish me..."
Cain looked at him and smiled. "Nah... You put up a tough fight, old man. I'd say you deserve to live. Until our next fight!"
Shiro opened his eyes. "I think I'll retire this business. I could use a break."
"Right." He gave him thumbs up. "You're a tough fighter, Shiro. Sorry you're quitting."
"It's been on list of things to do for a while." Shiro got up on his feet and started to walk towards the exit of the arena. He turned and looked at Cain. "Thanks for giving an old man a good fight. Good luck in the tournament." He turned and walked away.
Cain yawned loudly. He walked over to the nearest wall and leaned against. He slid down and was now sitting up. He lowered his head.
"Excuse me, Cain," The announcer ran over to him. "But you can't just sit and watch here, you can watch from the locker ro... huh?" Some loud roaring interrupted him. "Cain?"
"..................." Cain was motionless, until... "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." His thunderous snore roared though the arena. The announcer did an anime face fall.
"HE'S ASLEEP?!?!" The crowd then started to anime style fall. "Well, this have never happened before..."
Max and Monica both recovered from their face fall.
"He defeated an invisible ninja!!!" Monica shouted. "And the next thing is does is take a nap?!"
"Did you also see when he refused to end Shiro's life?" Max asked her. "Are you sure this guy is that dark force."
"I don't know... I mean..." Monica looked towards the entrance to the locker room. "We still have 6 more people who could be it..."
"Yeah...but still... there's something weird about that fighter Cain..." Max looked at Monica. "He could still be it."
"Yeah..."
/As Cain peacefully rests just feet away from the ring, they are 6 more fighters who are ready to fight. Can he survive the rest of the tournament? And if he does, could he be the dark energy Max and Monica are really worried about?/
START TEASER:
Monica: {voice-over) It drawing to the end of the tournament! And Cain's next fight will be against the champion, Garr. Fire and energy will fly when these two fierce competitors step up to the ring. And it won't be an easy fight for either of them. These two equally powered fighters will give it there all for only one thing... the championship! Even I might get to fight in this tournament! You gotta read to find out though! Next Chapter...
Garr vs. Cain
Fire vs. Darkness
Monica: Don't miss it!
Chapter 2
The Tournament
Of Power!
The bright morning sun couldn't light up the dark gloomy town of future Palm Brinks. Thousands of monsters surrounded the walls. They were all there for the same thing. The Annual Tournament of Power held every year. They entered into the city and went straight to the Coliseum. They all got their tickets and swarmed into the arena and took their seats. There was loud banter between them.
"There's nuthin' more entertaining than humans killin' humans!" One monster said.
"Unless it's Garr killin' humans!" Another one said.
There were posters of the champion, Garr, all over the place. The giant red dragon stood atop his two feet in a ferocious pose. He had his large dark blue wings spread open and a long spear in his right hand. He wore dark black armor and had deep red eyes to match his body. He was the champion of the tournament 6 years running. He planned to make it 7 today.
Outside the arena, the competitors, humans and monsters entered into the arena though another door. Their names were taken and they were recorded into the fighter's list.
"Name." The monster sitting at the desk wrote down every fighter's name and let him or her in. "Name." "Name." He kept this up until a human teen was up. He looked up. "You lost, kid?"
"No." The teen replied. It was the same teen that had the powerful energy attacks. "I'm here to fight! And win!"
"You're what? 14? 15?"
"16. The legal fighting age for this tournament."
"Fine. Your funeral. Name?"
"Cain." The teen replied. "Cain Leohart."
"Well, Cain Leohart. Be careful in there."
Cain walked into the door and stopped for a minute, "This should be fun!"
Just feet away from the stadium was the Zelmite mine. Inside, a bright flash of light illuminated a dark corridor. When it faded, Monica fell from the ceiling and on her back. Max then fell right on top of her, their faces only an inch away. They stared in each other's eyes for a second then realized what happened. They both blushed a deep red and quickly got up and looked away from each other.
"S-sorry..." Max said sheepishly, his face a bright red.
"I-it's okay..." Monica said while still blushing. "I forgot that the mine floor is lowered in the future."
"So uh..." Max regained his composure and asked Monica. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Well, you see," Monica started to explain. "Lately a dark power has been looming around the world. And I believe the power might be here."
"Why do you need me for this?"
"It's no ordinary power... it might be..."
"The dark force Griffon had?!" Max was shocked.
"Yes..." Monica nodded. "And I was afraid he'd try to go back in time and... try to... erase you from history..."
"If it is Griffon's energy... But how can we fight it? We don't have any way to fight it, and regular weapons won't..."
"But..." Monica interrupted. "If we fight it when it has yet to grow more powerful, we could probably stop it. With some effort, of course."
Max nodded. "Let's go then!" He started to head towards the way out of the cave, when Monica grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Huh?"
"Max..." Monica started to say softly. "I have to warn you... You may not like what you're about to see..."
Max and Monica made their way out of the mine and into the city. Max eyes were snapped open and his mouth gaped. He saw the horror that was Palm Brinks.
This was not the peaceful Brinks of the past. Houses were in ruins, the grass was dead, and the sky was a ghastly black over the town. The roads were cracked and crumpled, the trees were cut down or dead. Skulls and bones layered the ground. Not a single human was in sight. The town was infested with nothing but monsters. There were few humans, but they looked crooked and wicked. This town, a once happy town, was now a place of death and ruin.
Max couldn't even speak. He was couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He felt Monica's hand touch his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Max..." She said, trying to comfort him. "But this town was overtaken by monsters and every human killed."
"Monica..." Max finally spoke. "When did this happen?"
She looked down... "40 years ago... A massive attack destroyed everything. Killed everyone. I know that it isn't fair..."
Max looked down. "It... can't be helped..." Max said sadly. "It's just really hard to see the placed you lived in all your life in shambles."
Monica also looked down. "It is..." She remembered how she felt when she saw her castle destroyed. But it was rebuilt and repaired. Nothing could bring Palm Brinks back its happy, healthy state.
After a brief pause, Max spoke up. "Where is the energy?"
Monica looked up and saw Max had a determined look on his face. She smiled. "Crest said that the energy was in the arena."
"Arena?" Max looked across from where he was and saw the coliseum. He noticed it was standing right where the Church once stood. "So what do we do?"
"The energy's new form will be entered in the tournament. I'll bet the winner is the energy we're after. We just need to sit though a few fights."
"Let's go." Max and Monica both walked towards the coliseum. They were about to enter it, when a green arm stopped them.
"Holdssssssssssss it!" A slithering voice spoke to them. It was a lizard monster. "You needssssssssss ticketssssssss to enter."
"Tickets?" Max questioned. "Where can we get them?"
"You can buyssssssssssssssssssss them from me! We gotssssssssssssss 2 left."
"Really?" Monica said. "What luck!"
"It'll costsssssssssss you 100,000 gildassssssssssssss!"
"100,000!!!" Max shouted.
"Itssssssssss this best seatssssssss of the arena. Right nearsssssssss the ring."
"We don't care about..." Max started to say until Monica handed the lizard a big bag of gilda.
"Here you go. 200,000 for two tickets." She said.
The lizard took the bags. "And heressssssssssss the ticketssssssss."
"Thank you." Monica said casually and took the tickets.
They then walked into the door.
"M-Monica?" Max said was amazement in his voice. "How did you?"
"It's just some left over from our first adventure. I sold all the extra swords I had."
"Guess that explains it. But do you carry it all with you at all times?"
"That's all of it. But it's no big deal. C'mon!" Monica raced down the arena hall. Max followed her.
The arena was loud. That was the only word for it. They crowd was in an excited frenzy for the fights. The arena seats all had a monster or human in it. The crowds of over 25,000 were seated 10 feet of the ground and about 30 feet away from the circled battle platform. The platform was grey stone and was 25 feet in circumference. Large enough for about 50 fighters at once. In the middle, stood a demon rat in a black announcer's suit.
"Welcome to the 30th annual Tournament of Power!!!" The announcer shouted into a microphone. The crowd cheered and whistled. "First off! Some ground rules! The tournament committee will not be responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items, will not be responsible for any nausea or sickness caused by the brutality of the fights, or any deaths caused from badly aimed blasts from the competitors!" The crowd cheered again. Max and Monica were both seated next to each other in the front row and had the best view of the ring. The fighter's entrance was right below them.
"Did he say, 'deaths caused from badly aimed blasts?'" Max asked Monica.
"These might not have been the best seats..." Monica told him.
"We gotta a great tournament for you, but first... bring out the brave fighters!!!" The crowd roared in excitement as a group of demons and human competitors walk from the entrance and down to the ring. The teen, Cain came out last and looked around.
He heard some jeers and insults from the crowd. "GO HOME, HUMAN!!!" "YOU WITH THE TAN HAIR!!! YOU BETTER RUN TO YOUR MOMMY!"
Cain then turned towards the monster that said that. "GO SHOVE IT WHERE IT HURTS!!!" He shouted back. He then made his way towards the ring. All the competitors surrounded the ring. There were 105 different fighters.
"Now as you all know..." The announcer started to say. "There are only 8 brackets for this tournament. That's means only 8 of you will be in the actual tournament. But since the champ is automatically in the fights, that leaves only 7. So the only way to figure out the advancing 7 is with a 15 man Battle Royale!" The crowd cheered even louder. "Please go back to the locker room and look for your name on the charts waiting for you. That will tell you which fight you'll be in." With that, the fighter headed back into the locker room.
"Any one of these guys could be who I'm looking for..." Cain thought to himself. "But going though them will be easy..." He was the last to step though the door.
Meanwhile, in a private locker room, the champion, Garr, was looking at himself in a full size mirror.
"Everyone loves you, champ." He said to himself. He pulled out a large spear. "They have to..." The dragon laughed evilly and looked towards the door. A member of the committee was there.
"The tournament preliminaries are about to start." He said meekly.
Garr laughed again. "Every year, another army of wannabes trying to take what's mine. But I kill every one of them if I had the chance. Sadly, I gotta settle with only 7."
"It's a tough crowd this year. Some of these fighters are world known killers."
Garr looked at the man angrily. "It doesn't matter if they're killed millions of victims!" He shouted. "They aren't worthy of this belt!" He gestured towards the gold champion belt around his waist. "Or the title! You just send them to me, and I'll send them back in little pieces!"
"R-r-r-r-right sir!" The committee member said nervously and closed the door.
Garr turned to walk back towards his mirror, but stopped when he saw Cain sitting in his chair, reading a magazine with Garr's picture on it.
"You're full of yourself, are ya!" He said without lifting his head.
"Who the hell are you?!" Garr roared back. "This is MY private locker room!"
"Calm down... I'll be out in a minute." Cain dropped the magazine. "I'm just thinking how good that belt would look around my waist after I win this tournament!"
Garr laughed. "You're one of those pathetic human fighters, aren't ya! I won't lose this belt to a human, especially a human punk like you!"
"You should stop talking... It makes you sound stupid."
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr... You little brat!!!" He drew his spear.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you. You know that if you harm a fighter outside of battle, you'll be stripped of your title. And it's no fun not to beat up the champ in front of his stupid fans."
"Ha! You won't even get past the preliminaries!"
"Is that so..." Cain got up and walked towards the door. "Instead of looking at your ugly face, why don't you watch the first preliminary round. I'm in that one, so you can see how 'pathetic' I really am. Seeya in the tournament!" He walked out the door and slammed it shut. Garr just looked with an angry and terrifying face.
It was now time for the first preliminary match of the tournament. The 15 fighters all stood in the ring. Cain was among them. The announcer was standing outside it.
"Now here are the rules!" He started to say. "The only ways to be eliminated from the fight is to be either thrown out of the ring or killed. We don't care which. The last man standing will win a bracket in the tournament."
Max and Monica were watching very closely. "That doesn't look good..." Max told Monica.
The other 14 fighters were all monsters and they were standing all bunched up in one side while Cain stood alone in the other.
"So it's agreed..." One of the monsters told the other. "We tear the human apart and eat him."
Cain just stood there with narrowed eyes towards the monsters.
"Ready..." The announcer raised his hand. He then brought it down. "FIGHT!!!"
The first monster, a winged green imp flew straight towards Cain with its clawed extended and mouth wide open. Slobber poured from his teeth as he licked his upper lip. "TIME TO EAT!!!" He shouted in a shrill tone.
Cain ran towards the monster, shouting a battle cry. He jumped into the air and kicked the imp in the back. This caused him to crash to the ground. Cain stood over him and grabbed his wings. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The imp cried in pain as Cain tore his wings off and kicked him out of the ring.
"Too easy!" He shouted. Only 14 remained. He turned and saw 3 monsters, a skeleton, dark troll, and axe wielding demon knight run towards him. Cain quickly ran towards the giant black armored knight and punched it in the stomach. It fell back and hit the ground hard. Cain then sweep kicked the incoming troll. He picked him up and threw him at the skeleton,. The monster was hit with the other and fell to the ground. Cain jumped into the air and gathered a yellow ball of energy in his hand. "TAKE THIS!!!" He threw it at the monster and in one huge, fiery explosion, the monsters were killed instantly.
6 monsters surrounded Cain when he landed on the ground. They each tried to hold him down as an ogre with a war hammer marched towards him. "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Cain shouted as he spin kicked and knocked down all the monsters. He set his sight on the hammer and ran towards it. He grabbed it and jumped right on top of it. "HEEEEEEEEEEEYAH!!!" In a volley of lighting fast punches, he rapidly hit the ogre's face. Blow after blow, the ogre face started to bleed. "AND HERES THE KILL!!!" With one last, powerful punch, he jabbed the ogre and made its face turn to the left. Blood and saliva escaped its broken mouth as it fell face to the ground... dead.
The other 6 monsters didn't fare well. "BLADES OF LIGHT!!!" He threw 3 energy blades at the 6 and sliced them to pieces. One blade even got through to the imp outside the ring and sliced its head off, killing it.
"MY!!!" The announcer shouted. "Such violence!!! Such gore!!! I don't believe it!"
Max and Monica were watching in nervous amazement.
Only 3 were left, Cain and two other monsters. The last two monsters turned and ran towards the edge of the ring.
"YOU WIN!" One of them screamed in fear. Cain ran towards them at with great speed. He stood in front of them and they ran the other way. Cain clenched both his fists and ran towards them again. He stopped in front of them again and began to jab and hook them with punch after punch. After 12 punches for each, the monster's faces were battered and bruised. They both tried to run again, but Cain grabbed them by their necks.
"GOOD BYE!" He shouted as he threw them towards the wall. With the great speed and the distance they were thrown, their bone shattered when they crashed into the arena wall. They both died from the impact. And then there was only one in the ring... Cain.
"The match is over!!!" The announcer shouted. "The winner of the first round preliminary, and winner of the first tournament bracket is fighter, Cain Leohart!!!"
The crowd was silent for a minute, until slowly they started to show their disrespect. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! GO HOME!!!" The crowd got extremely hateful of Cain. They saw the killing of 14 of their fellow monsters. And it wasn't done by another monster, it was done by... a human. "BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Cain then looked up at the crowd and shouted, "YOUR CHAMP IS NEXT!!!". This statement drew in more jeers and boos from the crowd. "NOW THAT I'M IN THIS TOURNAMENT TIME TO KICK SOME ASSES!!!" Cain walked over to the locker room entrance and walked in, not paying attention to the hateful comments.
"Monica..." Max was in shock. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah..." She too was in shock. "That was a lot of power he used... nothing less a energy force like Griffon's could do..."
After a while, the preliminaries ended. And the battle orders were being set. It was almost time for the first match:
The Ninja, Shiro
Vs.
Cain Leohart
The two fighters walked towards the ring from the locker rooms.
"You know, kid..." The ninja started to talk to Cain. "In my profession, I've killed many, both monster and human, so don't blame me when I hack you to bits."
"Sorry old man." Cain replied. "But this is one fighter you ain't gonna beat!"
"You're too cocky for a first time fighter."
Cain then stopped for a minute and closed his eyes. Shiro looked at him. "Have you decided to give up?"
Cain opened his eyes. "Sorry. I was just praying for your mortal soul. After I kill you, I hope Hell isn't to hard on you."
The crowd started to boo at Cain and throw garbage at him. "Rip out his eyes, Shiro!" ":And shove em' down his throat."
"Damn..." Cain cursed. "Least the crowd is getting creative..."
They both walked into the ring and stood at opposite sides of it. The announcer was in the middle of the ring.
"Our first match is about to begin!" He shouted. "Our first fighter, winner of the 4th preliminary match, the 79 year-old famous Invisible Assassin, Ninja Shiro!!!" The crowd started to cheer and whistle for the ninja. He wore pitch-black ninja clothes and a black mask that covered his mouth and nose. The only things visible are his grey eyes. "And the winner of the first preliminary match, Cain Leohart!!!" The second he said his name, the crowd booed and said more insults and hateful words.
"They all hate you." Shiro told Cain.
"Let em'."
"The rules are simple, anything goes! Weapons, magic, and other forms of attacks are allowed. You can win only if you're opponent is dead, or is knocked out of the ring for more than 10 counts." The announcer explained. "Ready..." The announcer raised his hand. He brought it down. "FIGHT!!!"
Shiro ran full speed towards Cain. His speed was so fast, it even shocked Cain. The ninja punched him right in the jaw and knocked him down.
"Ha..." Shiro snorted.
"What speed!!!" The announcer commented. "Better not blink or you'll must some of Shiro's action." The crowd started to cheer and chant "Shiro!"
"Lucky shot, old man!" Cain shouted.
"Luck?" Shiro watched as Cain jumped to his feet. "It's all skill my friend..."
Cain ran towards Shiro faster than Shiro did him. This took the ninja by surprise. "Try this one!!!" Cain started to rapidly punch Shiro in the chest. Shiro grunted with each blow landed. Cain then ended the attack with elbow that sent Shiro skidding to the edge of the ring.
Shiro pulled out a small knife and ran towards Cain again. This time, however, Cain was able to dodge every swipe of the knife and counter by kneeing Shiro in the stomach. This knocked the wind out of him and made him drop the knife. Cain took the chance to grab it and throw it into the crowd, out of Shiro's reach. "Old men shouldn't play with sharp toys."
Shiro shook off the pain and looked at Cain. "You're more skilled than I thought... But can you handle this?" The ninja started to glow white.
"Shiro entire body is starting to glow!" The announcer shouted. "What is he gonna do next."
"He's gonna get his ass kicked!!!" Cain got ready to throw another punch towards Shiro's face.
"Invisible Battle Style!!!" Shiro yelled out the attack and to everyone surprise, he vanished into thin air.
"WHAT!?" Cain couldn't believe what happened. He looked around for the ninja. "The hell did you go?" He then looked behind him and got a strong punch to the face. This sent him flying out the ring. Cain quickly jumped back into the ring. "Where'd that come from?!"
"Why do you think they call me, 'Invisible Assassin?'" Shiro's voice rang from nowhere.
"Yeah... I didn't think it was just a stupid title!"
"A joker to the end, huh?" Shiro laughed. "Too bad your end is near."
"C'mon..." Cain said to himself... "C'mon..."
After a while, Cain is hit with an uppercut and then punched left and right in the face. The crowd was still cheering and chanting "Shiro!" Cain somehow escapes the attacks.
"Dammit... I can't even hear him walk cause of the noise these idiots are making!"
"Thanks to Shiro's invisibility trick," The announcer started to say, "Cain has nowhere to run or hide!"
"Give up, boy..." Shiro's voice was heard again. "You cannot win this one. You're just a cocky little punk who got lucky."
Cain then looked towards the direction the voice was coming from. "I may be cocky..." He knew Shiro was getting closer. "And a punk." He clenched his fist. "But I don't win... by..." He then threw a straight punch." LUCK!!!" He heard Shiro's grunt of pain. He thought he had hit him. But a kick to the stomach and punch in the nose told him otherwise. He was then uppercut again and sent back a few steps. He did the only thing he could think of... guard himself.
"You can't fight what you can't see, my friend."
"I heard that!!!" With a powerful left jab, he punched the air and amazingly, hit Shiro. His grunt of pain made it clear. Shiro was knocked back to the edge of the ring.
"How did he..." Shiro growled in anger.
"That one was a lucky blow, if I could just..." Cain's eyes opened up wide. "That's it!" His right arm started to glow yellow. The 3 blades appeared on his arms. "BLADES OF LIGHT!!!"
"It seems Cain is about to just his blade move! But he doesn't even know where Shiro is!" The announcer cried out excitedly.
"HAA!" Cain threw the blades straight up in the air.
"What bad aim!" Shiro mocked him. "You really think I'm up there."
"Something else is!" Suddenly, it started to rain multicolor confetti.
"What?" The announcer looked up. Suddenly, a large yellow ball fell to the sky and landed outside the ring. "HE HIT THE CONFETTI BALL!!!"
"Is that your big plan?" Shiro still mocked. "Destroying the champion celebration ball?" He laughed even louder.
Cain eyes narrowed. "I see you!" He shouted.
"Huh?" Shiro looked at himself.
Cain saw a big patch of floating confetti in the air. That patch of confetti was his opponent. "YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" He ran towards it and started punching all the confetti. Loud blows can be heard as his fists of fury flew.
"Suddenly, Cain is fighting again!" The announcer shouted. "But why can't we see any of it?! IT ISN'T FAIR!!!"
Cain quick punching after the 20th blow and then dropped kicked the patch of confetti. It then flew to the ground. A loud crash is heard like someone had hit the arena wall.
"Huh?" The announcer looked around. "What happened to Shiro?" Suddenly, a figure slowly flickered outside the ring,. After a few seconds, it became fully visible. It was Shiro. His mask has been tore, his face bloody, and eyes swollen shut. "There he is! And he's out of the ring! 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9..."
Shiro opened his eyes. "Good move, kid..." He then shut them again.
"10!!! The winner of the first match, Cain Leohart!!!" The crowd instantly booed him.
Cain walked over to Shiro and looked over him. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." Shiro said weakly. "Go ahead... finish me..."
Cain looked at him and smiled. "Nah... You put up a tough fight, old man. I'd say you deserve to live. Until our next fight!"
Shiro opened his eyes. "I think I'll retire this business. I could use a break."
"Right." He gave him thumbs up. "You're a tough fighter, Shiro. Sorry you're quitting."
"It's been on list of things to do for a while." Shiro got up on his feet and started to walk towards the exit of the arena. He turned and looked at Cain. "Thanks for giving an old man a good fight. Good luck in the tournament." He turned and walked away.
Cain yawned loudly. He walked over to the nearest wall and leaned against. He slid down and was now sitting up. He lowered his head.
"Excuse me, Cain," The announcer ran over to him. "But you can't just sit and watch here, you can watch from the locker ro... huh?" Some loud roaring interrupted him. "Cain?"
"..................." Cain was motionless, until... "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." His thunderous snore roared though the arena. The announcer did an anime face fall.
"HE'S ASLEEP?!?!" The crowd then started to anime style fall. "Well, this have never happened before..."
Max and Monica both recovered from their face fall.
"He defeated an invisible ninja!!!" Monica shouted. "And the next thing is does is take a nap?!"
"Did you also see when he refused to end Shiro's life?" Max asked her. "Are you sure this guy is that dark force."
"I don't know... I mean..." Monica looked towards the entrance to the locker room. "We still have 6 more people who could be it..."
"Yeah...but still... there's something weird about that fighter Cain..." Max looked at Monica. "He could still be it."
"Yeah..."
/As Cain peacefully rests just feet away from the ring, they are 6 more fighters who are ready to fight. Can he survive the rest of the tournament? And if he does, could he be the dark energy Max and Monica are really worried about?/
START TEASER:
Monica: {voice-over) It drawing to the end of the tournament! And Cain's next fight will be against the champion, Garr. Fire and energy will fly when these two fierce competitors step up to the ring. And it won't be an easy fight for either of them. These two equally powered fighters will give it there all for only one thing... the championship! Even I might get to fight in this tournament! You gotta read to find out though! Next Chapter...
Garr vs. Cain
Fire vs. Darkness
Monica: Don't miss it!