Chapter 9

I Can Handle The Truth!

"What are you doing here on this island?! Are you stalking Karen's Dad? Or the gypsy woman? Or do you also have a score or something with Gotz?" Mitchel demanded.

The flaming-haired man before him shook his head, and simply pointed a finger.

"No, my friend! It would be YOU that I seek!" he revealed.

"Really?" Mitchel asked curiously.

"Of COURSE, YOU!!!" the intruder shouted. "After the crap you pulled at the World Warrior Tournament, I believe I owe you a proper beating! Besides, I think it's about time someone knocks you off your high horse and prove my macho superiority to the world once and for all!"

"Ohhh…" Mitchel uttered in realization. "Who are you again?"

The intruding flame-head smacked his head in frustration.

"I'M KURT! KURT, DAMN IT! REMEMBER?! THE GUY WHO YOU FOUGHT AT THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE WORLD WARRIOR TOURNAMENT? THE MUAY THAI WARRIOR?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, Mitchel recalled the fateful fight with him.

"Right, right! Now I remember! You were the amateur I crushed by simply throwing around a few hadouken while you jumped and kicked all over the place! That was a pretty entertaining match, but I don't think it did the school of Muay Thai all that proud, to be honest." He said aloud.

Unfortunately for Kurt, he was forced to relieve the disgraceful memory in his head.

"Bah, forget that! Ever since then, I've been training myself into a well oiled machine! I'm stronger! MUCH Faster! And therefore, 1,000 times better than my slow-as-molasses ex-Master Bob!" Kurt bragged while conveniently leaving out his planned challenge to Bob that he put on hold after witnessing the man's power.

Mitchel nodded.

"Right. So… then you came to fight me, right?" Mitchel asked.

"No, I came to this island to work out a fashionable new hairstyle---OF COURSE I'M CHALLENGING YOU!!! I'm not going to waste all of my training just to have the next thing in my fighting career that I'll kick is the bucket!" Kurt gripped. "Now c'mon! Take me on! Unless you're Chicken!"

Mitchel shrugged.

"Well, first of all, if you're referring to that one author with the black angel wings, I really don't have a strong impression of him since I just think all his works are "alright" in my spare time. Second of all, I don't find the barnyard fowl variety all that cowardly. Actually, I think they're pretty damn cool… so you know what? You suck at goading me into a fight with insults." He explained.

The wordy lecture the reigning "World Warrior" deliver caused Kurt to twitch.

"But… a fight's a fight. Since my buddy Karen's been hogging most of the fights we had in Japan, I've been eager for some action!" Mitchel smirked.

" Perfect! Ever since I rowed all the way here from the mainland, I've craved this battle!" Kurt confessed.

"W-wait…. The mainland?!" Mitchel exclaimed. "But it would take a LOT of rowing to get here! Aren't your arms tired, man? Maybe we can give you a minute to rest… I'd prefer we settle this with both of us at full strength."

"Ha! I don't need my arms to crush you! It'll be my mighty Jaguar Knees that will be delivering all the beating here!" Kurt bragged.

"But… Muay Thai's a Thailand Martial Art, right? Jaguars don't come from Thailand. " Mitchel informed his opponent.

"Nuts to that! Let's just fight!" Kurt insisted.

"…Alright. If you say so." Mitchel said reluctantly as he got into his fighting stance.

Back at the cave, everybody else was sitting around holding hands in meditative positions, except for a very eager Ann.

"Concentrate. Feel the flow of your aura through you… sense the identity within and deny your false believes… open your mind and soul." Eve instructed.

Those participating in the mystical mantra slowly breathed in an out as they focused their mind.

The sensual blonde gypsy then gazed at her fellow mediators and observed their concentration.

"Impressive. Despite his overwhelming destructive desires, Gotz has developed a level of deep conscious beyond most bloodthirsty warriors. This must be part of his secret in mastering the Dark Hadou and bending it to his will to become the "Master of the Fist". He may have sacrificed his general humanity, but his senses and mentality stay intact." Eve noted to herself.

She then saw the other two.

"Mr. Masters appears to be an innate worry-wort, and thus his mind is clouded with stress and concern. Ironically, his effort in finding his inner peace cause his psyche to worsen instead. It would do him a lot of good to simply accept the world around him and wait for that sense of peace to come to him, instead of avoiding his troubles and seeking said peace." Eve thought. "Karen, on the other hand… there is a certain, decisive drive within her. It feels as if her heart constantly burns with a journeyman's passion. Most interesting indeed. Unfortunately, her mind remains undisciplined and restless, especially for a Martial artist of her caliber. She has the potential of great strength, but lacks the solemn heart to grasp the greatest depths of a hardened warrior."

With this part of the assessment done, she then gave a quick glance at Gotz, and another at Karen.

"While it is this same burning spirit of battle that strongly resembles that of Gotz, their desires seem to stem from different origins. Deep within Karen lies the fire of life and inspiration, while within Gotz is the flame of greed and destruction. Their auras hold numerous similarities and contradictions; unfortunately, this is not the criteria I can use in discerning blood relations. Still, these similar qualities with Gotz may explain why Woody had accepted Karen as a pupil. Too bad all of this is irrelevant to what I was hired to do. It's all still very intriguing, though."

After taking in a deep breath, Eve spoke aloud once more.

"Open your mind to truth… free your honest selves… your pure selves. Doubt thyself of nothing and reveal all." She instructed.

Eventually, all three managed to reach a deep concentration, and their bodies overflowed with striking auras. Eve held out a palm, and traces of these auras came to her like streams. She then clasped her hand and opened it again, which caused the traces of aura to reform into marble-like shapes. After that, the blonde psychic gazed deeply at these aura spheres.

"Hm…. Interesting…" she uttered deeply.

Suddenly, Ann leapt up in excitement.

"Yes?! Did you finally get the skinny? Do I finally have my scoop?!" she squealed.

"Well… after careful deliberation, I have come down to certain conclusions." Eve answered.

The meditating three caught word of Eve's ears and immediately got up.

"So… is that murdering psycho my birth dad, or what?" Karen asked.

"If it's true, I suppose there might be some complications… but I guess the man will be welcome to see Karen when he pleases." Jeff added.

Gotz merely stood silently and gave a serious glare at the psychic.

"Well then?!" Ann shouted.

Eve nodded.

"The cosmos has revealed to me the truth: Karen's birth father is indeed Jeff Masters, born from the womb of his wife, Sassha." She finished.

"WHAT?!" Ann shouted.

Father and Daughter looked eye to eye with smiles on their faces.

"You hear that, Dad? Looks like I'm still your daughter in all aspects!" Karen cheered when giving her father another hug.

"Like you weren't my daughter any time." Jeff grinned.

Gotz nodded.

"Indeed… the path of the warrior is a lonely one. For me to have any child is ridiculous, for I have never committed that act." He explained.

"Wait… so that means Gotz is like some 50-something virgin or whatnot?" Karen thought to herself.

Ann fell to her knees and look like she was on the verge of tearing.

"But… but… my scoop! My research! How could it have failed me?!" Ann cried.

"You said it was all just rumor and speculation anyway, right?" Karen said with a shrug.

"And those kinds of things are started to give bad publicity to the Masters name all the time. It's a common practice, really." Jeff added.

"…I don't even know a woman that resembles this student of my brother's…" Gotz contributed.

After huddling herself up into a ball, the floodgates to Ann's eyes finally gave way.

"Eh, hey! Look on the bright side! You can still get that scoop on that legendary bastard! People are thinking Gotz is a myth, right? Well then, prove them wrong and get some pictures already! And while you're at it, get some pictures of me kicking his ass when we finally duke it out!" Karen said in good cheer.

"Oh… right… I almost forgot about those facts. Guess I still have that great scoop I wanted, after all, huh?" Ann said in a quivering voice while wiping away his tears.

Meanwhile, Jeff made his way towards Gotz and tried to get familiar with him like a buddy.

"Well, Mr. Murdering Warrior Guy, it looks like you didn't violate my wife, after all! But it's a bit of a shame to see a man like you with a son or daughter to call his own and take over your lineage, right? Then again, seeing how busy you are with your hobby, maybe that's a good thing. We don't need anymore neglected children in this world…" Jeff said in a well-mannered tone.

"…A true warrior lives only for the thrill of the fight." Gotz uttered solemnly.

Suddenly, the demonic fighter found himself face to face with Eve.

"And you people should be very thankful that this man isn't her daughter." She huffed. "I've seen an alternate life where he spends his days running a vineyard as a terrible husband and father! And do you know what I saw? This man's alternate life actually locked his child in a wine cellar for "misbehavior!""

Eve then gave a brutal slap to Gotz' face and continued to eye him with ill contempt.

"Be glad you are not this other self, demon. Otherwise, I'd have left you with more than a red mark on your face." She growled before marching off.

"And now this guy sounds like even more of a bastard than I first thought… then again, that was in another life. I don't know if that act counts toward this jerk's." Karen thought to herself.

She then turned towards the departing psychic.

"Hey, Eve! Why are you so off in a hurry? Dad and I are more than happy to provide for your stay here until I'm finally done with that guy! Go ahead and take a load off and consider it a vacation!" Karen cried.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Masters. However, I have business to attend to in the wilds of South America. An ambitious power runs amok, and I feel it is my duty to stop it." Eve said with a curtsey.

Karen shrugged.

"Alright, if you say so. Since you already did your job here, I guess you can go. Good luck with your business in South America, then." Karen answered.

Eve waved farewell to the other islanders and was about to leave until a mental image of Mitchel popped into her head.

"Hold on… there is one more thing I should attend to here. Your friend in the white garbs… I must speak with him about something urgent." Eve mentioned.

"I'm sure he's still outside where we left him, holding off that intruder you mentioned earlier. I doubt my good buddy will have his ass taken so easily, so he should be in pretty good shape when you reach him." Karen replied.

"Right. Then seek him I will. Good day to you all." Eve said before leaving the cave for real.

With the psychic's departure, Karen and Gotz faced each other with violent intent.

The younger fighter grinned eagerly as she clenched her fists, while the elder one stared down his foe with a glint in his beady eyes.

"Alright! This time, there's nothing to hold me back! You're about to get a whole lot of Karen's fury shoved up your behind, got it?!" she threatened while pointing a finger at Gotz.

The demonic warrior cracked his knuckles and appeared unfazed.

"We shall soon see…" Gotz uttered ominously.

In the background, a starry-eyed Ann took photo after photo of Karen and Gotz, while Jeff cheered on his daughter.

"You can do it, Karen! Show this man the Masters way! Handwork! Determination! Capitalism!" Jeff cried.

"Oh, hot dog! I'm going to get more than green once I break this story to the press!" Ann squealed.

After a few moments of suspenseful pause, both fighters charged at each other to finally innate the fight of their lives…