Chapter 12: The Reluctant Fighter

I was still in disbelief as we got to some goth looking nightclub located in Paris, which happens to be Effie's favorite city. I couldn't believe it... my own brother was working for Gill... and now he's plotting to put me back in that prison... It was no wonder why I had that foolish emotional breakdown in the first place. But now I had an even bigger reason to keep fighting my way through this damn tournament. The thought was raining down in my mind as I stood and waited for the next opponent to arrive.

"I still can't believe this..." I said, pacing back and forth, "How could my own brother decide to work for those bastards? Does he have any idea much he has hurt me by doing this?"

"I know he has hurt you, Illia... but I don't think he meant to." Effie reassured me.

"I hope you're right Effie..." I said, "But I'm still kinda worried about him..."

"Oh I'm sure he'll be fine." Yang said, "Besides, he could've done it out of desperation."

"I guess you could say that... since that makes sense." I began to immediately charge up my electricity, as a shadow appeared out of nowhere revealing my next opponent.

It was a goth looking man, with turquiose hair and eyes, similar to Effie's sister. He wore red pants, and a black leather jacket with an omega on the front. From the look on his face, he seemed like a very moody person.

"Good. Another fighter to rip apart." he said, zipping up his sleeve.

"Oh really? Maybe you'll like it if I tear YOU limb from limb!" I said, in a wisecracking tone.

"We shall see about that, but I won't like the fact that I have to fight you."

"Oh sweet desu..." I put my hand on my forehead and shook my head. I knew this guy would probably be nothing but a waste of my time...

"Round 1: Fight!"

The round began kind of slow, as the goth guy kept walking backward, when I was trying to execute my attacks. I had no idea what he was trying to do, but I was getting irritated.

"Blast!" I finally approached him and gave him a huge blast of electricity that sent him flying backward.

"What the-" he controlled himself, although he still seemed to harbor some deep hostility. At least he still kept his composure intact.

"Light of Virtue!" he threw a beam of light towards my legs, and I jumped on instinct.

"Snake Fang!" I countered him with a grab of the ankle, and threw him backwards. I stood there and yawned, prompting the others to laugh.

"This dude is just too easy. He should just..." I was soon struck with a kick to the jaw. "Damn it! I didn't even see that coming!"

"I never said I was going to be too easy on you... did I?" he glared at me, with that same moody face.

"You asshole... You're going to regret those words!" I shouted back, my eyes slowly turning red from anger.

"No... you will."

"Oh that's it! Electric Snake!" I zapped the ground with my electricity, but he gracefully jumped over the attack.

"You are starting to piss me off..." I said through clenched teeth, while shaking my own fists in rage. By now, my eyes were fully red.

"Am I? Well you should've thought twice before becoming a fighter." he said in that same calm, but moody attitude. I was once again about to lash out at him.

"Calm down Illia, don't let that punk get to you." Yun said from the sidelines. "Just think about getting back your freedom... and mostly how pissed he'll get once you kick his ass."

"Hmmm... Maybe I'll try that." I said, mellowing down a bit. I faced my opponent, and was ready to strike again.

"Magnostorm!" I shocked the opponent hard enough to knock him out cold, before he could strike me again.

"How... could I lose... to you..." the goth guy said bitterly. "You're just a..."

"Don't give me that punk ass attitude!" I said, "I know you're not capable of defeating me, and you know that as well." I looked down at him disdainfully, as he got up.

"I'll tear you apart the next round. Just like the previous fighters I faced."

"Round 2: Fight!"

It became even more intense this time, as the goth guy and I exchanged some heated attacks. But this time, I wasn't so lucky.

"Rising Rage Flash!" he struck me in the face with a lightning fast kick, knocking me backwards. But suprisingly I was able to get back up without a mark on my face.

"Ha! You call that an attack!?" I said, with my signature smart mouthed tone. "That was more like a pathetic attempt to knock my brains out!" I laughed mockingly at him.

"Do reconsider what you just said to me." he said coldly. "Maybe you've forgotten that your own judgement is at hand."

I stepped back, confused and scared at the same time. These sounded like the same exact words Gill had said to me after my experimentation was completed...

"What do you mean?" I asked, with a cold feeling inside of me. "Just how... is my judgement at hand?"

"What I mean is... whatever your future holds, your life is also defined by that future... just like mine." he coldly said.

"I don't care what my future holds... All I want is my freedom!" I shouted, and began to charge my electricity to almost critical levels.

"Blast!" I stepped forward and shocked him, knocking him over. I clearly wasn't going to let anyone stand in my way this time.

"Light of Virtue!" he threw out a circling beam of light toward me, but I somehow managed to parry the attack.

"You parried?! How did you..." he was shocked at how quick I countered it.

"I'm not telling you any of my secret fighting abilities!" I said defiantly, "Besides, I thought you hated street fighting."

"I do... I HATE STREET FIGHTING... AND I HATE ALL STREET FIGHTERS!" he shouted angrily. I looked at him sternly, with both of my eyes slanted at him.

"If you hate street fighters and street fighting so much... then why are you even in this tournament in the first place?" I asked him logically.

"Why I'm in this tournament is none of your business!" he shouted at me. "Now disappear! Cold Blue Kick!"

I jumped behind him, in a desperate attempt to avoid the attack. He flew farther to the other side, exposing his back side for my counterattack.

"Tornado Hook!" I struck him three times, as I spun around twice. The opponent looked an emo mess, as he was now weak.

"What a poor soul..." I said, "It's a shame that I have to... Oh screw it! Slam Dance!" I slammed him on the ground three times in succession, immediately finishing him off. From my angle, he looked like he was out cold when he was still conscious.

"Pathetic... to lose to you... this is not what I wanted..."

"Oh shut up." I said, "You should've known better than to face a tough opponent such as myself."

"Don't you get it?! Fighting victimizes people, destroys love, and creates hatred!" he shouted in my face, but I still kept my composure.

"That's where you're wrong. Fighting is what gives you new possiblities, and the strength to forge your own path..."

"Then answer me this, why do you fight?" he bitterly said to me.

"Why do I fight? Well... I'm fighting because not only do I want my freedom, but I'm trying to rescue my brother as well." It was about the only straight answer I could give him.

"I see... I find your cause interesting, but I can never relate to it..." he got up slowly.

"I don't care if you relate it or not, all I know is that I'm not giving up on my goals." I was pretty confident in myself now. The goth guy got up slowly and began walking away, but then he turned around.

"If you want to find the answers that you seek, then perhaps you'll..." Suddenly an explosion of electricity and distant screams began to sound, as if a storm was about to occur. Yun and Yang began to jump in horror, and Effie began to shiver in fear. The goth guy solemly looked on at the figure that had just appeared.

"It seems that he has found us... the one they call Magnectric." I began to shudder, as I knew that it was Mikhail that he was speaking of. I looked on, and saw what had became of him.

"Sweet desu... he's... a mutant... like me." I solemnly said, as the figure of Mikhail appeared. He was identical to me, but his skin was blue, and eyes and markings were green with yellow accents. He had a creepy smile spread across his face.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! At last I found you... Necro." he said in a sinister voice, but still high pitched like his normal voice used to be. "Now... it's time to return you to your rightful place."

"I... I won't. I won't go back to that awful place!" I defiantly stood my ground, but I clearly knew he was brainwshed.

"You don't have much of a choice... for my soldier and I will be your next opponents!" he turned to the 12th experiment, "Twelve, seize him! I'll grab the girl!" I tried to run away, but he grabbed a hold of me before I could...

"No! Let go of me! Illia, help me!" Effie screamed as my brother snatched her. Yang grew worried, and Yun was furious.

"I don't know what the hell you want, but we're not gonna let you get away with this!" he yelled in fury at my brother, who only laughed back at him. Yang turned towards me, as I was still struggling to escape.

"Don't worry Illia, we'll find a way to get you out of this mess..."

"Yeah, and we'll use our awesome Kung Fu to kick their butts too!" Yun added, making Kung Fu like movements.

"Good, but you better... hurry..." I felt a tranquilizer needle pierce my skin, and I slowly began falling asleep. I could hear Effie crying out, as she had watched my brother inject me with the shot. Yang and Yun began calling out for me to stay awake, but their voices became faint... I had fallen into a warm dream and they knew that I wasn't able to wake up anytime soon.