After Taylor got dressed in her training outfit, she waited outside for Stephanie. A few minutes later she walked up, leading Taylor to the initiation area. Joe, Colby, Jon, April, and even Randy were already there along with a few other students she didn't recognize.
"I have to fight more people?" Taylor deadpanned. "How is this fair!?"
"It's still just Joe," Stephanie corrected. "Everyone else, along with the rest of the school, will be watching this initiation."
"...THE ENTIRE SCHOOL!? THE STUDENTS, AND EVEN THE EMPLOYEES?" Cue freaking out...right about now. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS, IS THIS INITIATION OR A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!?"
"It's still an initiation, but a lot of people like to watch. This is just to show the school your power, and Joe's one of the strongest monsters aside from Hunter and I."
Taylor rolled her eyes and folded her arms, staring down Joe. He just merely stared at her, his face absent of all emotion. Jon was still gawking at her, but Colby stopped that with another pluck of his fingers. A few short minutes later and Stephanie led them into the area where they would be fighting. It looked like a simulation ground.
"Geez...and all of this is under the school?"Taylor mused quietly. "Talk about a well kept secret."
"Indeed." She glanced at Joe, who merely nodded after a few seconds and went to the opposite side. He was wearing cargo pants and boots. Apparently he said 'screw shirts' before he came down here. Stephanie walked up another flight of stairs, joining her husband, Hunter, in what looked like a skybox.
"Alright, listen up you two." Hunter began speaking into the microphone and everyone in the area instantly became silent. "This match is set to last for ten minutes. Taylor, your objective is to survive or defeat Joe within the time limit. Joe, you just...do what you normally do. When you are knocked down, you have until the count of ten to return to a vertical base. If you cannot do so, the match is over. Understood?"
"Sounds fair enough." Joe cracked his knuckles, a smirk gracing his features. "Ready whenever you are, babygirl."
"...Just start the clock, please." Taylor got into a Tae Kwon Do stance and waited for the clock to countdown. She sounded annoyed already.
"Ready...START!"
Joe immediately rushed towards her, clearing the distance rather swiftly. He didn't change into his monster form, but his claws were lengthened. He swiped at Taylor, but he missed. In fact, she wasn't in the same spot at all.
"What the fu-" Next thing he knew, he was getting kicked rather hard in his torso and flying through the air. He recovered quickly, landing on his feet. "Holy hell, you move quick. But you're gonna slip up eventually."
"...We'll see." Taylor wanted this to be over quick, as she didn't want to fight. She hasn't really fought since one year ago, and she wanted to keep it that way. "Look, can't we just settle this over some tea? I really don't wanna fight."
"Tough luck." He ran towards her again, not swinging, but instead tackling her down. Taylor brought her knees up to her chest and kicked him off.
"GOOOOOO HORSEDIIIIICK!" Randy yelled out from up above. Everyone was watching and yelling, mostly torn between who was going to win this fight. Joe glared up at Randy, and he ended up moving back. Probably the flashbacks of being in Joe's mouth while he was in were form made him rethink his decision.
"GO GO GO, TAYLOR!" AJ was banging on the railing, being the loudest one yelling for Taylor to begin with. "YOU CAN DO IIITTTTT-!"
"You're a traitor, April."
"Hush, Randal."
"Eight minutes left," Hunter called out.
Taylor entered a flamingo stance once Joe charged again at her and kicked him in his lower stomach. He yelled out and lurched forward, coughing, She then picked him up, glaring into his eyes before tossing him through a pillar. The countdown soon began.
"She's stronger than I thought and she's not even using her powers," Stephanie said. She was observing their fight meticulously while Hunter just raised an eyebrow. "This child is severely holding back still."
"I don't even get why we did this. She said she didn't wanna fight."
"We do this to assess the abilities of all of our students, Hunter. We don't do this to incite violence. And the coffee you brought this morning was terrible."
"...You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"
"No."
It was all the way up to a five count before Joe came out from the rubble the pillar created. Taylor could hear him growling, and he was getting more and more pissed by the second. She still didn't let her guard down, but at least he was being more smart about approaching her now.
"Oh, so you finally realized that going at me straightforward wasn't gonna cut it?" She asked. "Finally."
"Don't start gloatin' before this match is over. You still got eight minutes...if you make it that far." He went towards Taylor again, but with a more strategic approach. Taylor went towards Joe this time, but got grabbed and was dropped harshly on her back as he performed a samoan drop in mid air. The air was knocked out of her and she laid there for a moment.
"Ow...you asshole!"
"Seven minutes," Hunter reminded.
Joe picked her up by her shirt and drove his knee into her torso about three times before uppercutting her. Taylor stumbled back, crying out in pain a little and clutching her ribs. "...Son of a bitch, that hurt!"
"And I'm not finished yet!"
As Joe tried to grab her again, Taylor parried his hand and delivered a very strong palm strike by using the heel of her palm first. Joe flew a ways back from her, literally crashing through a wall. The count to ten began again.
And this allowed Taylor some breathing room, even if it were just for a moment.
"Whoa...she's fucking strong," Randy said under his breath. "Stronger than I thought."
"The new girl's doing some damage to Joe, huh?"
Both AJ and Randy turned around and saw two women; one dressed in dark brown and one dressed in dark blue. They both waved, and AJ and Randy returned their greeting.
"Nicole and Brianna," AJ said, still waving. "Couldn't miss this, huh?"
"Hardly," Nicole said. "I heard there was a new girl at the school, but I didn't think she would be this strong. Anyone who bet with Joe better be ready to lose their money."
"Oh god, does that mean I'm gonna have to pay up thirty bucks!?" Randy began freaking out. "I'm gonna go broke here!"
"Well then stop betting against things and you wouldn't have this problem!"
"Seven! ...Eight! Nine..." The count stopped once Hunter spotted Joe emerging from the debris. "He's up!"
Joe kicked some of the rubble out of his way and growled. This time he sounded more feral than he should have. Taylor got back up, sighing. She knew what was coming next, and she was going to hate this so much.
He got down on all fours, shedding his human skin and his clothing as he slowly began transforming. Large, sharp claws dug into the ground and his body grew, fur sprouting all over his body and even covering his tribal tattoo. A lour raw escaped from his maw, shaking the glass. He stood up on his legs, his claws lengthy and sharp enough to cut through the hardest rock. Taylor's eyes widened, now realizing how large Joe really was in his werewolf form. He was an alpha, and it definitely showed here.
"Uh oh...Joe's really taking this seriously, huh?" AJ mused quietly. "He's not gonna hurt her too bad, is he?"
"I doubt it," Brianna answered. "Joe knows his limits. If it goes too far, Steph and Hunter will step in. However, I think the new girl has this under control."
"I barely lasted against him," Randy yelled. "She's doomed!"
"That's because you called him 'horsedick'. You really expected him to go easy after that?"
"I-It was funny, okay? And wishful thinking..."
Joe charged for Taylor again, this time prepared when she jumped out of the way to avoid him. He grabbed her ankle, stopping her in her tracks in mid air and slams her down to the ground. Blood pearled at her mouth, but she quickly wiped it away. She kicked his hand away and began to run, just to get some separation between them.
At least, that's what she was going for. He tackled her down, which sent her across the floor. The countdown began again.
"One! ...Two! ...Three!"
"Five minutes left," Hunter reminded.
Taylor slowly made her way back to her feet at the count of five. Some people in the crowd were amazed that she even lasted this long and still had more than enough energy to continue. She did have healing properties, so she heals a lot faster than a normal monster.
"Uh...doe anyone have any steaks they could toss? I think he's getting hungry."
Joe didn't take well to that joke and he roared again, charging towards her. Taylor screamed and ran in the opposite direction, zigzagging to avoid getting mowed down and getting grabbed.
"OH COME ON, TAKE A JOKE!" Even though the initiation was halfway over, she still had a ways to go.
