Chapter 3 – Jakkin vs. Torden
Soon after the intermission was over, everyone who had gone to the waiting returned to the stadium, anxious for the finals to begin. A short while later, the announcer stepped onto the ring and tapped his microphone to grab everyone's attention.
"Attention, everyone!" he said. "We have sorted the sixteen competitors into eight matches for the first round! Let us see who will be facing whom!"
With that, the board shone, displaying the names of the competitors. Cynder, Draco and Lily eyed the board, and noticed that the third match has the Mystic Flame pitted against a large bear with a helmet called Gustav. The sixth has Jakkin facing a handsome yet strong-looking kremling called Kyanite, and on seventh showed Torden's name where he is to be matched against a Conkeldurr called Chuck.
"Hmmmm, looks like Jakkin and Torden will eventually fight among themselves," said Draco.
"Yeah, if both of them manage to make it to the third round," pointed out Percival.
"Keep the volume low, guys," whispered Cynder. "Let's just sit back and watch the tournament."
The first two matches went by quickly for the dragons since they were waiting for the matches where the Mystic Flame, Jakkin and Torden will be on. When the third match started, Tails crossed his fingers excitedly.
"You seem really invested on the Mystic Flame's match, aren't you?" asked Cynder.
"I'm just hoping he will win this match," said Tails.
The Mystic Flame and Gustav assumed their positions in the ring and the match began. Despite being big and intimidating, the Mystic Flame did not flinch, and he charged at Gustav delivering damaging blows in sequence. Gustav tried to catch the Mystic Flame, but the masked fighter proved to be too quick for him. The Mystic Flame grabbed Gustav by the arm and with no effort swung him round and round before finally sending him hurling across the arena. Gustav crashed on the ground outside the ring and was knocked unconscious.
"Gustav is down!" declared the announcer. "The victory goes to the Mystic Flame!"
As the audience applauded, Tails jumped up and down with joy at the result. Draco and Cynder looked on with curiosity. They never imagined he would be that supportive with someone he doesn't even know before.
Eventually after the next few matches, Jakkin's match was scheduled to start. The crowd was roaring excitedly as Jakkin and Kyanite made their way up to the ring. Jakkin was able to take down the kremling in no time as soon as the match started. Draco and Cynder were amazed at how strong the Surian dragon is. The next match was Torden against Chuck the Conkeldurr, but even the match went by quickly with Torden as the victor.
The tournament progressed with the eight fighters making their way up to the second round. Jakkin, Torden, and the Mystic Flame were nailing the competition with ease. At last, the semifinals were underway. Only four fighters were left, with the first match pitting the Mystic Flame against a very strong Tyranitar called Ty, and inevitably enough, the second match being Jakkin against Torden.
Inside the resting room, Jakkin and Torden watched as the Mystic Flame and Ty the Tyranitar made their out into the arena.
"Well, it looks like we're up next after those two," said Jakkin. "I could only wonder who is going to win."
"I couldn't care less, Jakkin," said Torden, feeling very confident with himself. "As you have seen already, I have creamed a Conkeldurr and a rhino, so I think I can beat you with no problem."
Jakkin grinned. "I wouldn't count on it, dude," he retorted. "You may have missed it, but I've managed to beat some pretty tough opponents myself."
"Oh, please!" laughed Torden. "Those guys look like mere amateurs, and I'm notches above them!"
"Your strength is commendable, I'll give you that," said Jakkin. "All I'm trying to say is that may the best dragon win."
"I plan to do so!" taunted Torden.
In a few minutes, the audience was applauding again, and coming back into the resting room was the Mystic Flame. Jakkin and Torden noticed that he had quite a bit of workout, but from the look in the eyes, they could tell that he has won.
"Heh, it seems that either one of us is going to up against that guy," chuckled Jakkin. "This should quite interesting since he managed to get this far in the tournament."
"You mean I will be the one facing him once I beat you!" said Torden loftily. "I will beat him and become the Champion of this tournament!"
Jakkin smiled while keeping his cool. "We shall see about that, Torden," he responded.
"Jakkin and Torden?" called one of the attendants. "You're up now, right this way."
Torden stretched his arms, very eager to get started. "Alright, let's do this!" he shouted, and dashed out into the arena while Jakkin followed him calmly yet confidently. Unbeknownst to them, the Mystic Flame watched them silently, deep in thought about the final match with either of the two.
The crowd went wild as Jakkin and Torden made their way up to the ring. Cynder, Draco, and Percival were very anxious about the match while Lily was cheering loudly for Torden.
"Come on, Torden!" she cheered. "Give it all you got!"
"Lily, calm down!" groaned Cynder. "I know Torden's your friend, but we should be supportive of Jakkin too."
Lily took her seat feeling very embarrassed after she noticed the spectators glaring at her yet again. "Sorry again," she chuckled quietly. "I get carried away when it comes to rooting for Torden."
Cynder focused on the tournament, but heard what Lily said. "Well, try to keep it under control," she whispered with seriousness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are the second match of the semifinals!" the announcer shouted with enthusiasm. "Jakkin and Torden have managed to reach this far, but only one can be the winner! Let's hear it for them!"
With the crowd cheered even louder. Jakkin and Torden assumed their positions, both feeling that boost of confidence and determination to become the winner of the match. At the same time, they both glared at each other as they were willing to prove their strength to each other.
As soon as the match began, Jakkin and Torden lunged at each other, delivering blow after blow as the fought around the ring. The intensity of the match was unlike anything anyone has seen before. Many of the spectators had their jaws dropped in astonishment while Cynder and her friends watched the fight with interest.
"Boy, oh, boy, these two seem evenly matched," commented Tails.
"Yeah, no doubt about that," replied Draco.
"Only one of them will have the chance to fight with the Mystic Flame," said Tails. "I can hardly wait to see who it will be."
"What makes you wonder about that?" asked Draco.
"Well, the Mystic Flame wanted to test their skills," replied Tails.
"Testing their skills? How could this be possible?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," smiled Tails.
The match raged on, and it lasted longer than the other ones before it. Soon, Jakkin and Torden were starting to sweat as they eyed each other.
"I must say, you're a lot tougher than I thought!" exclaimed Jakkin.
"So are you," panted Torden. "But I'm not giving up just yet!"
"Very gutsy of you," smiled Jakkin. "Maybe we oughta make the match more interesting."
"You mean with this?" asked Torden as he opened his mouth and let out a strong breath of electricity. Jakkin managed to get out of the way, but he felt the sting of the electric breath.
"Not too bad," he chuckled. "But if you think that's hot stuff, well, get a load of this!"
Jakkin opened his mouth as a stream of flames formed inside. He then proceeded to aim them right at Torden. The blue dragon responded with his electric breath, which it clashed with Jakkin's fire breath. Both dragons struggled with their breaths as it moved back and forth, not knowing that they were created a ball mixed with electricity and fire that grew bigger in the centre of the ring. Opening their eyes and realising what was about to happen, they took off just time before the ball exploded. The crowd was stunned at the sight, and when the smoke cleared, they could see the dragons floating in the air.
"Impressive, buddy," said Jakkin. "But maybe we shouldn't do that here."
"You're right," said Torden. "I shall fight you in the air instead!"
The two dragons resumed fighting with Torden trying to ram Jakkin, which he avoided and in response charged at Torden, delivering punches and kicks while floating in the air. Both of them showed no signs of relenting until they finally went for a head-on collision at each other. Their final attack was so strong that the two dragons ended up falling. They have been fighting up so high in the air that they didn't notice they were going to land outside the ring. Jakkin opened his eyes and quickly gathered his remaining strength to float back onto the ring. Torden, on the other hand, crashed on the ground just a few metres away.
Author's Note: I was a huge fan of Dragon Ball Z that I thought of making references and homages here in this story. See if you can spot them!