Chapter 18: Fire and Lightning

Both 'The Dragon' and Snoozenheimer faced one another just outside the ring. The tournament official charged with checking for weapons was relieved to be away from the smelly Bavarian's beer breath. The giant fat man looked down at his opponent with something between amusement and distain. As if to taunt the shorter master, the German cocked his bloated pudgy lips into an infuriating smirk.

"For your information you pathetic, little yellow-skinned fool, I can understand your language!" drawled the rotund yodeler, his East European accent accentuating his sarcasm. "Now I want you to understand! If you don't turn around and walk away, I'm going to turn you into instant flambé!"

"As I said before, I didn't come here to lose…."

"Will 'The Dragon' and Snoozenheimer please enter the ring?"

The two men broke their brief standoff and stepped onto the platform. The tension was so thick one could harvest it with a hay bailer. Neither contestant knew much about the other except for what they had seen during the prelims.

"Now it's on to the second match of the quarter finals!" blared Mr. Firecracker. "No one could have predicted this unlikely match-up! It's Master vs slob in a punch-drunk slobber knocker!"

Mr. Akira nodded towards his colleague with a follow-up. "That's right Jody, though I wouldn't write off Snoozenheimer so easily. The man proved during the preliminaries that his physical strength and resistance to pain more than made him a match for his smaller and significantly more spry opponents!"

Outside the ring, Yeung sat with Mercenary Toa and the others.

"Whoever comes out of this fight will wind up facing you in the next ranking so I think it's safe to assume that it's gonna be a cakewalk," said Fein matter-a-factly.

"Hmm…, that's what you said about the last couple of guys I fought," quipped Yeung.

"And your point is?!" replied Fein irritably.

"His point is what Tien's point was earlier!" Master Roshi explained. "If I had known that the 'mind's eye' would become your crutch, I would of withheld that knowledge until you had developed more."

"Nonetheless, I don't really see either of these contestants making it past the next round," said Tien.

Back in the ring, Snoozenheimer and 'The Dragon' fell into another standoff….

"Fighters!" blared Mr. Akira, "You may begin!"

"Hmph! I guess I'll lead off!" offered the bulbous yodeler. Reaching up, the large man yanked his hat from atop his head and tossed it aside. He then approached his opponent with a look that betrayed distaste.

'The Dragon' for his part, assumed a defensive stance. He saw no need for going at his opponent full force.

"BLOOD AND SOIL MOTHERFUCKER!!!!" bellowed the massive Bavarian breaking into a forward lunge. Closing in on Dragon, he raised his right hand for a nasty chop.

As his opponent was rushing toward him, 'The Dragon' stepped to the side and let the wide swing sail past him. Just as the momentum of Snoozenheimer's attack dissipated, he grabbed the German's outstretched arm and hoisted himself upon the big man's shoulders. Wrapping his legs firmly around the Bavarian's neck, the Asian fighter let into the back of Snoozenheimer's head with a punishing series of cross-strikes.

Snoozenheimer was bearing the assault moderately well. Reaching up, he grabbed Dragon by the scruff of the neck and physically wrenched the smaller man off him. While this was going on, Dragon took hold of the fat Bavarian's suspenders and ripped his top off.

With his suspenders torn, Snoozenheimer's pants fell off in the middle of the ring, exposing a steel rod-enforced girdle for all to see. In the stands, the spectators broke into spontaneous fits of laughter as the ritually humiliated German struggled to preserve what little dignity he still had.

"That's a good look for you," remarked Dragon.

"HOW DARE YOU!?!" screamed the large man. "NO MORE GAMES! I VOW REVENGE!!"

Pulling his pudgy lips back, the German revealed a pair of rough teeth fillings. Biting down, a spark was brought forth. This spark in turn ignited a brilliant bluish-white flame. Alarmed but not frightened, 'The Dragon' backed away.

"Oh Lordy! Snoozenheimer's mouth has burst into a blaze!" said Mr. Firecracker. "One can only wonder how this will affect the fight!"

"How indeed…"mussed Master Roshi.

"Master?" prodded Fein turning to his charge.

"It's his opponent, Dragon!" revealed the aged hermit, "He doesn't seem to be one bit dismayed by this turn of events."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out soon enough," said Roshi.

Back in the ring, 'The Dragon' stood fast. He cocked a cheeky smile his opponent's way.

"What the hell are you grinning at?!" demanded Snoozenheimer.

"They don't call me 'The Dragon' for nothing," answered the Asian master. Drawing in a deep breath, the little man's rib cage expanded grotesquely. Just below the diaphragm, an eerie orange glow coalesced in his gut. Finally, when his body couldn't hold any more, the flood gates opened and a gush of orange flame flowed out onto the arena. Gradually, this flare was directed at its' creator's target.

Snoozenheimer had little time to duck and roll as a flamethrower jet whizzed past him. Rolling to his feet, the rotund German let fly with his own return fire. A blue flare rushed towards Dragon with astonishing speed. 'The Dragon' avoided this attack with considerably less trouble than his opposition. Jumping high into the air, he let Snoozenheimer's attack pass harmlessly underneath him.

'Hmm…,' thought the spry warrior, 'Fatass has got some good lung capacity. To fire a spurt of flame that far…Bravo!'

"Hmph! Get a load of this!" Curling into a ball, the young Kung-Fu master began to spew flames from his mouth as if they were water coming from a fire hose. The force behind these flames gave the smaller man enough thrust to lunch himself high into the air.

"Unbelieveable!" shouted Mr. Akira. The seasoned announcer took a moment to clean his sunglasses before continuing, "I don't know what to make of this ladies and gents! Dragon has just used his own fire techniques to propel himself into the sky like a rocket! Yes! A Rocket!!"

Dumbfounded, Snoozenheimer stood in the center of the ring. Save for his pants, all clothing had been burned off by his own fire-breathing. In the sky, his opponent continued to gain speed before finally doing a u-turn in mid flight. It was then that it dawned on the rotund German.

"HOLY SHIT!! He's headed right for me!!!!" The large Bavarian took to his heels as quickly as his chunky legs would carry him. Just as 'The Dragon' were about to score a come from behind knockdown, Snoozenheimer hit the deck screaming!

'Damned! I missed!! Lucky bastard!' cursed Dragon mentally. The adept fire-breather landed just short of the ring's edge.

A little dizzy, the younger warrior stumbled back towards the center of the ring. His opponent, Snoozenheimer, continued to lay face-down on the tiling with his hands covering the back of his head.

"Now this is how I like seeing all my opponents," Dragon remarked, "Cowering at my feet!"

"You…..," quivered the bloated German, his voice dripping with venom. "This humiliation will not stand!!"

"Oh, it will stand," asserted 'The Dragon,' "It will stand because you can't hit me!"

"I…., 'hiss' will….DESTROY YOU!!!" Drawing in breath for one last strike, Snoozenheimer's chest cavity began to glow like the heart of the sun. A forlorn wind whipped up at his feet as if to signify that this was his final strike.

"Let's see whose fire-breath is stronger!" 'The Dragon' in turn drew breath in preparation for his own counterstrike. When both combatants reached their respectable limits, the two let fly with a powerful stream of flame, one blue, the other a deep orange. The two flames came together like a pair of colliding weather fronts. The resulting heat was so intense that the two combatants had to back away from the center of the ring. Chemical reactions at the epicenter of the merger sent lightning bolts to and fro across the ring platform.

"Holy Shit!" hollered Mr. Firecracker. "Folks! The flames are so extreme that I can't even see the match! Are our contestants fighting or burning to death?! We may have to call the fire department…"

Under the cover of this firestorm, 'The Dragon' tried his best to slip up on his fat opponent. Not that it mattered, really. His opponent may as well have had a blind spot the size of a parish.

"W-where are you?!" Paranoid, the massive bar-fighter swung hap hazardously, trying to hit anything within reach. Unbeknownst to Snoozenheimer, 'The Dragon' had gotten around him, hiding in plain sight.

"Look out behind you!" As Snoozenheimer turned to face his adversary, the smaller Dragon thrust his thumb into the larger man's hyoid bone, performing a lethal throat lock.

The smaller, Asian warrior chuckled grotesquely at his handy work. "My own sefu would disapprove of these actions! However, those who insult my style through imitation deserve to die! Rest in hell!!"

With his throat closed off, Snoozenheimer's fiery gut no longer had a release valve. The massive German clawed fitfully at his neck. His abdominal cavity continued to expand until his rib cage and diaphragm buckled. Eventually, his gastrointestinal tract gave way, culminating in a fiery explosion that rained human body parts all over the surrounding field.

Quickly, under cover of smoke and flame, the smaller warrior darted back to his side of the ring. When the smokescreen cleared, only he was standing, his cloths and hair burned away by the intense fire.

"Wh-where is Snoozenheimer?!" asked Mr. Akira dumbfoundedly. In the center of the ring, lay a black, charred smear that sizzled and smoked. It didn't take long for it to dawn on everyone.

"Oh my Lord!!" screamed one of the two announcers, the other at a loss for words, "Everyone, please stay calm! One of our contestants is missing!!"

'The Dragon' smiled inwardly at his recent doing. Leaving the ring, the smaller man turned to one of the arena workers.

"Hey," said Dragon, "I leave you to clean up the mess!"

The worker in question shuffled onto the platform. All around, the floor was blackened with soot and ash. Many of the surface tiles were still hot to the touch. The pungent odor of human flesh was heavy in the air. By this time, Mr. Akira and Mr. Firecracker had joined him in the middle of the ring.

"Where is contestant Snoozenheimer?" asked Mr. Satan's longtime cohort.

With a barely audible 'gulp' his colleague answered, "I-I t-think we're s-s-standing on him!!" Knowing that what they stood on were in fact barbecued bits of Snoozenheimer's innards sent the three MAS(Martial Arts Society) employees scrambling out of the ring in a heated panic.

"Forget the stretcher! Grab a body bag!!" shrieked Mr. Firecracker.

His colleague on the other hand maintained a cooler head. "Ladies and Gents! For anyone who is faint of heart, leave now!!"

"No one else may have seen what happened, but I got a good look at what went down in there!" said Tien.

"As did I." Mercenary Toa came up beside his former student.

"What that young man did was cold-blooded murder!" growled Master Roshi.

"I didn't see anything," mouthed Yeung.

"It's nothing you boys would want to see!" Roshi remarked.

Taking a moment to calm his nerves, Mr. Firecracker addressed the audience which for the most part was disturbingly unnerved by the recent spectacle. "Umm…Everyone! For those who can stomach today's tragic events, I can only say that you are some twisted individuals…"

Mr. Satan's longtime friend staggered back a bit before landing on his rump. "As for me…, I think I need to catch my breath! Mr. Akira, this next bout is all yours."

"Uhhh…, thanks I guess." said Akira offhandedly. "Ladies and gentlemen. If anyone is offended by the violence that has been brought to the ring this year, we apologize. This is the first time in this tournament's history in which 2 contestants have died within the span of two concurring matches. Again, we at the Martial Arts Society are deeply appalled. The rest of the fights will be put on hiatus until the central ring is sanitary enough for use."

Outside of the ring the remaining contestants shuffled into the mess hall. Some of the remaining uninjured participants from the prelims were covered in bits and pieces of contestant Snoozenheimer. It's safe to say they wanted to shower.

"Fein!"

The older teen turned to his teacher. "Yes, Master Roshi!"

"I want to tell you that your next match will be your first real fight at this tournament! You were only lucky that you got stuck with weaker opponents in the prelims."

"Oh Master! Stop it!" said Fein in mock plea, "I can't feel anything special from big, tall, and rocky!"

"You had better heed my warnings," Roshi cautioned, "I've heard that name 'Megaton' somewhere before! This battle isn't going to be a cakewalk by any means!"

"Hah!" jested the young Fein, "The day some piece of gravel can grind me will be the day Krillain grows an inch!"

"Sigh…., There's just no teaching that which can't be taught," muttered the old turtle hermit.

In the mess hall many of the other contestants from the prelims settled at the tables. With their moment in the spotlight over, the scores of uninjured contestants resided themselves to taking advantage of the few remaining benefits being a 'loser' at the Nationals provided. Some ate while others colluded into groups to discuss next years' competition.

In the distant corner of the room, a gaggle of journalists and paparazzi banded around Mr. Satan and his close student Piroski.

"Mr. Satan! What comments do you have for your opposition?" asked one. "Hard Copper's manager, Mr. Siks, has promised that your battle with the local champion will be your last! What do you say to that?"

"Piroski! Any insight regarding your future career?" prodded another. "Megaton seems to be the real deal! In light of your recent defeat at the hands of this basalt freak, what tips can you give to contestant Fein ?"

"What do you have to say about the controversy surrounding Yeung's excessive force during his fight with Rat?"

Shrugging at the Satan crew's usual antics, Yeung, Mercenary Toa, Master Roshi, Tien, and Fein found a table off away from the others. Collectively, with the exception of probably Fein, they hoped the press would leave them be. Sadly, this was not to be the case.

Yeung felt a light 'tap' on his shoulder and turned around to have the microphones of three journalists jabbed in his face. Startled, the boy fell onto his rump.

"Contestant Yeung! What prompted you to kill your opponent in your last match?"

"How can your teacher attest for your vast increase in size in recent months?" asked the second. "Are the allegations of you cheating on your urinary drug test before this tournament true?"

"You do realize that your master Mercenary Toa is still wanted by Interpol on charges of extortion, conspiracy to commit fraud, murder, collusion, and working with terrorists?" asserted still a third. "Considering your past behavior, you might also be tried as an adult."

"YOU GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!!" Mercenary Toa bellowed. Like dust bunnies in the wind, the pack of paparazzi scattered.

"They are right you know," said Roshi. "You might want a fresh start in life but convincing the state of that will be a battle in itself."

"Hmm…," nodded Toa. The cyborg assassin withdrew to his meal, fried eggs.

"They'll either accept him or they won't!" mouthed Yeung. "What choice do they have? It's not like they can arrest him!"

"Four out of five men at this table have some sort of criminal record," spoke Fein.

"What's really sad about that is that some martial arts fans idolize you guys!" Roshi stated. The old master thumbed away at his favorite, dirty magazine.

"Speak for yourself!" Toa snapped.

"Will all contestants please return to the arena?"

"Well, I guess it's time to rock n' roll!" jibbed Fein.

Stepping onto the platform, the great beast that is Megaton nearly capsizes the concrete steps with his colossal weight and frame. One of it's arms was but a mass of iron ore decorated by crystalline spikes. The other was like that of most humanoid specie that inhabited the world, only larger.

"A walking miracle of nature, Megaton possesses a body of solid basal, and if the prelims were any indicator, he has yet to display a fraction of his true strength!"

Once in the ring, the rocky behemoth lifted his arms, each as big around as a grown man's torso, high into the sky and roared with a thunderous sound reminiscent of an elephant's bellow.

"And his opponent…" Mr. Akira gestured to the lanky Fein who was performing a brief stretch before entering the ring. "Standing at 6 foot 7 inches, a newcomer at this years' National Budokai! Please welcome Fein Okonkwo!"

"For those of you who don't know, Fein was trained by none other than the 'God of Martial Arts' himself, Master Roshi. That being said, those who are familiar with the Turtle style can expect a good fight!"

In the ring, Megaton regarded his smaller opponent with some indifference. His voice was like sand blowing through a rocky crevice. "I ssssaw your power in the preliminariessss! Ssstrong you are, for a human! But that is all it is…Concsseivable ssstrength! When the bell gongss, I'll crusssh you!"

"Well…, I guess I had to get paired with a freak sooner or later," the dark-skinned teen mused grimly.

"The two contestants may begin!"

From the sound of the gong, Fein sprang forward. Ducking a poorly placed palm strike, the young warrior let into his far larger opponent with a series of punishing hard lefts and rights. The shots were good, each one following through.

In between intervals of body blows Megaton would swing punches, cloths lines, back-hands, and ax handles. Every now and then the monster would add in a stomp just to mix things up. However, none of these strikes were fast enough to hit pay-dirt.

In the stands, the effects of Megaton's stomping were felt by everyone. Small tremors shook the arena accompanied by resounding 'booms' that carried through the ground into the substructure of the facility.

"Ah Damn It! I dropped my hot dog!" screeched Vegeta. Fuming in a rage, the Saiyan prince jumped from his seat and set out for the snack bar.

"Wooooah!!" hollered Krillain, "If this continues, the field is gonna cave in!"

"Fein needs to stop showing off and Kamehamaha that guy into next Tuesday!" Yamucha harped. "Seriously, all this shaking is messing up my I-Pod!"

Back in the ring, Fein continued to dart in and around his opponent's heavy attacks.

"Contestant Fein is dancing around his opponent like a butterfly!" Announcer Akira commented, "However, contestant Megaton is handling it in stride!"

"We can do this all day big guy!" jested the young man. Fein ducked just under Megaton's attempt at catching him in a bear hug. From below, the dark-skinned teen rocketed upwards with an uppercut that hobbled his stony opponent.

This however, didn't faze the large beast for long. With a brief shake, the rocky monster was hurling him/itself back into the skrid! Due to the rocky aberration's reach, he was able to force Fein to step in and out. It was during one of these intervals that Megaton made his move.

Using the heavier side of his torso as a counterweight, the monster stomped his toes straight though the ring floor. This done, Megaton then led off with his other foot and used his grounded toehold as a pivot.

This seemed to work out beautifully as Fein yet again rushed in. As the adolescent came forward, Megaton spun all 1500 pounds of his right flank out of Fein's path. Fein continued to blindly run forward, jetting past his target. From behind, Megaton caught the back of the teen's head with a crippling backhand that sent Fein taxiing across the tiles.

Not giving his smaller opposition time to recover, Megaton doubled back on the downed teen. Reaching down, he snared Fein by the dreadlocks and began to fling him around like a rag doll.

"Contestant Okonkwo is in trouble!" bellowed Mr. Akira, "Could this be a turning point in the fight?"

Fein screamed as his kinky locks were ripped from his scalp by the centripetal force of being turned into a human ball and chain. With every collision his face and body suffered against the concrete, the damage piled on. Finally in a desperate attempt to get away, Fein reached up and used his fingernails to slash at his scalp. With a barely audible 'snap,' the young turtle student went flying across the ring before face-planting through the floor.

"Youu cannot essscapppe!" Megaton hissed. The titanic rock golem slowly lurched after his quarry. The thundering footfalls of the three ton beast carried into the substructure of the whole coliseum, shattering windows in the distant skybox section.

Digging deep, the African teen pushed himself to a crouching position. Dislodged teeth fell from his mouth and his cheek had a hole puncture where his lower-left cusped had cut through. "Why couldn't Yeung have gotten all the freaks?"

Coming forward, Megaton delivered a powerful uppercut to the body. Fein couldn't comprehend the tectonic forces this one body shot possessed. The strike busted through his guard as if it were non-existent and caught the lanky teen in the midsection. Fein's torso folded like paper around the massive stone fist and blood was drawn like toothpaste from a tube. Still, the shot continued on and jettisoned it's target clear out of the ring.

"Holy Shit! Megaton has sent contestant Fein into the stratosphere!"

Fein continued on his trajectory, flying right over town and into the wide blue yonder. "Not good!" said the panicked adolescent. Righting himself in midair, the young warrior cupped his hands to his right side. "KA…" Tendrils of whitish-blue light coalesced between his calloused palms. "MEA…" Ultimately, these tendrils imploded on themselves and attained a surface tension like that of water. HAAAMEAA…" Thrusting his hands towards the approaching horizon, Fein had only one thing to say….

"HAAAAA!!!" A title wave of latent energy burst forth from his hands as Fein fired the signature move of the Turtle School, sending him recoiling back towards North City and most importantly, the ring.

Back in the ring, Megaton stood seemingly triumphant. Massive stone fists raised high, the creature worked the crowd. He/it was confident in his victory.

"Due to a err…ringout, and assuming contestant Fein is still alive this victory will go to Megaton by default!"

As if on cue, there came a cry from the sky….

"WAIT!!!" Riding in on the legendary Kamehameaha Wave was Fein.

To say the spectators were absolutely flabbergasted was an understatement. Shouts of "Look at that!" and "Incredible!!" erupted from the stands. Some of the older spectators cheered, their memories of past Turtle School fights being cherished memories.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Contestant Fein has just used the illustrious Kamehamaeha Wave to avert a ringout!"

With a booming 'thud,' Fein landed in the ring. His legs were weakened from the draining effects of the Turtle School's signature move. Ribs were broken, cloths were torn, and his lumbar region had a ruptured disk.

"Youu ssshould have ssstayed gone!" hissed Megaton, "Your body isss broken. You can no longer flint about! My unbreakable body sstandsss ssstrong!"

"It does seem hopeless, doesn't it!?" admitted the youth, "However, I have a few cards left to play!"

Because of the shape of his face, one wouldn't have noticed the crooked smirk that Megaton wore. The gargantuan monster spread his arms wide, beckoning his human adversary to attack. "Come!"

"What is this? Contestant Megaton is taunting his opponent!"

"No matter how hard I lay into him, I can't hurt him!" muttered the dark-skinned teen. "It's like fighting a tank! The shape of his body just redirects physical strikes, and his uneven dimensions prevent me from knocking him too far!"

"Fein is getting flustered," said Roshi. "He has already forgotten the fundamentals of my teachings."

"Huh?!" Yeung cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean old man?"

"He put too much power into that wave," explained the Turtle Hermit, "Getting bent in half by that shot to the body didn't help matters either."

"It's true," Tien stated. "His style was geared completely towards dancing around his opponent's. Not towards head-on fighting! His strength is only a quarter of what it was."

"Fein!" shouted Yeung. "Throw the fight!"

Fein turned to face his former fellow student from inside the ring. Though it didn't register on his face, Yeung's lack of confidence cut deep into the young man's psyche. Swallowing hard, Fein dug his heels in.

"What are you talking about?!" asked Fein, putting up a façade of strength. "You must be joking!"

"Sssoo, what will it beee child?" chided Megaton.

"I guess I don't have a choice," Fein spouted angrily. "I'll have to use it!" Cupping his hands to his right side, Fein concentrated his remaining ki onto a fine point. "KAAMEAAHAAMEAAHAA!!!"

The wave hurtled towards it's rocky target like a SCUD missile. Megaton for his part hunkered down and brought up a formidable cross guard. The Kamehameaha wave slammed into the stony combatant with the force of a train wreck. Slowly, the wave pushed him back. Concrete flooring buckled under the force. Just as it seemed that Fein was going to get his first down, Megaton dropped to his knees and got under the head of the wave. With a mighty shrug, the great beast batted the ki blast away, sending it right into the stands. The blast catapulted dozens of spectators in every direction sending many running for the exits.

"That'sss sstrike one!" taunted the stone goliath, "I'll give you two more ssstrrikess!"

Fein once again cupped his hands to the side and began to concentrate ki. This time however, he had an idea.

"HAAA!!!" With a hoarse shout, Fein redirected his blast to his 6'oclock. The thrust propelled him at the rocky aberration like a comet. Just as he was about to reach his opponent, he thrust his elbow forward and slammed it into Megaton's granite face. With a muffled 'OOF!,' Megaton was knocked onto his back.

"Contestant Fein has finally scored a 'down'!" the announcer stated. "This marks the second turnover in this fight, but can young Fein keep the ball in his corner? I'll start the count…"

"One..."

Megaton struggled to make the count. Though Fein's elbow to the face found it's mark, the basalt monstrosity escaped unharmed. The main issue was his torso's asymmetrical shape. Combined with his squat legs, this trait made knocking him down next to impossible. However, when Megaton did go down, it was these very traits coupled with his colossal weight that made it just as hard for the large golem to get back up.

"Two!"

"NOOO!!!" screeched the rocky anomaly, "I can't lossse like thisss!"

"Three!"

In a frothing rage, the creature swung violently with it's massive stone fists, knocking potholes into the ring floor on either side of it. Off to the side, Fein prayed silently for the fight to be over…

"Four!"

The great beast cried out to the heavens almost like prehistoric animals must have at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

"Five!"

"Please," Fein begged silently, "Just stay down…."

"Six!"

"It's gonna be close!" stated the Turtle Hermit.

"Seven!"

By this point, Megaton's rage had become so great a blood vessel burst in the basalt cretin's eye. Unable to do anything, he wailed and pitched earthquake inducing fits that carried right into the stands.

"Eight!"

"Fein may just squeak by!" Yeung said enthusiastically.

"Nine!"

Desperation reaching a high point, the stony megalith tried one last ploy. "If you throw the fight, I'll share the prize money after the tournament!!"

"Ten!"

"NOOOOO!!!!" Still, unable to get up, the mighty beast roared it's frustrations skyward.

"And Fein of the Turtle School wins by way of countdown!"

"NOOOOO!!!!!!" To say that the colossus Megaton flipped out upon hearing those words would be an understatement. What the basalt creature did went well beyond unsportsmanlike conduct.

The injured Fein staggered over to his beaten opponent. "Uhmm…., Megaton! Hello! Earth to Megaton! Come in!!" He was soon joined in the ring by Yeung and announcer Akira.

"Wow…., he sure is trippin out," muttered Yeung.

"Yeah…, help me roll him over," ordered Fein. The two teens grabbed an arm and a leg and hefted the beast onto his front. As they did this, Megaton swung wildly, taking Fein's legs right out from under him. With a soft 'splat!,' Fein face-planted unceremoniously.

"Hyahhhh!!! NOOO!!!" Megaton swung it's fists wildly at the floor, powdering concrete. In its fit of madness, the creature drooled profusely.

"Jesus Fein! What did you do?" Yeung asked.

"I dunno! I just beat him by knockdown," answered the dark-skinned youth.

"I'm afraid it's more than that." The two boys whipped around to see Mercenary Toa standing in the ring.

"What's that supposed to mean, Master?" inquired Yeung.

"The turtle student didn't just beat him. He broke him!" Toa continued. "This monster came very close to winning a decisive victory. He really did believe deep in his soul that it was going to be him who fought Hard Copper in the next round. He wanted it more! His mind was just unable to handle such a humiliating defeat. Why this otherwise gentle mountain creature chose to enter this tournament is a mystery."

Just then, all those standing in the ring were whipped around by a dull 'boom.' Behind them stood Hard Copper, the object of many of the contestant's frustrations. "I can answer that question."

"You!" spat Yeung.

The gargantuan Korin Indian laughed horrifically. "One year ago, I went to this thing's mountain sanctuary and threatened to butcher his people if he didn't enter! His ritualistic humiliation is the source of my adulation as will yours be after my next match!" Hard Copper leveled a finger at Fein before trudging off the platform.

"I'll be facing him in the quarterfinals," said Fein. The dark-skinned teen visibly paled a few shades. From behind, Yeung placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Fein," spoke Yeung softly, "I wouldn't ask you this unless it was important but…."

"What is it man?" asked Fein.

"Fein! Please! Forfeit your next match!"

"Huh?" Fein was taken back by his former junior's request.

"Listen! Your pride is important I know, but this guy's way outta your league!" asserted and exasperated Yeung. "You're just not strong enough!"

"You're outta your fucking mind!!" shouted the older teen, roughly batting Yeung away. "This tournament is my only chance to make a name for myself, and no one and nothing is gonna take that away from me!"

"Damn it dude! That monster is different from us all!" screamed Yeung. It was then that Yeung felt a rigid hand fall on his own shoulder. He turned to see his teacher Toa Pai-Pai standing behind him.

"Let it go boy," said Toa. "He wants to learn things the hard way. He has his demons and you have yours!"

With a shrug, Yeung's shoulders dropped a good two inches. Both he and Toa turned to leave the ring.

Just outside the ring, Hard Copper and Siafu were being frisked for weapons by MAS officials. The referee in question eyed Siafu's menacing claws and fangs with trepidation.

"Couldn't you have ground those things down before entering?" questioned the official.

"Grrr…, Yes but then it wouldn't be much fun!" answered the jungle cat.

"Oookay….'psycho'!"

Across from him, Hard Copper chuckled sardonically. Sick fantasies of what he wanted to do to his opponent play back and forth in his hateful mind.

Siafu, for his part was unnerved by the look the Korrin Indian was giving him. Despite standing at a massive 7ft 2in and weighing in at over 400Ibs, the fierce predator had to look up just to see the current champion's scarred face.

Power Levels:

The Dragon: 75

Snoozenheimer: 35

Fein Okonkwo: 175

Megaton: 90