Dead or Alive – Code Grim Eagle

Welcome to the Party


14:19 hrs. Inside the DOA cruise ship, Freedom Survivor

Grim Eagle was now on board the cruise ship after being brought in by helicopter from Paris International Airport. The cruise ship was privately owned by DOATEC which was run by its CEO Victor Donovan.

With his backpack slung over his shoulders he made his way deeper in the ship looking for the guest quarters to put his stuff down before exploring the rest of it. He decided to check the map to see where those rooms were. As he was looking, he heard someone lightly cough behind to get his attention and so he looked over his shoulder to see a man in all black and white.

"You are participating in the tournament, right?" The man asked.

"Yeah." Grim replied, "Just looking for my room."

"I could escort you to your quarters if you don't mind." The man offered.

Grim nodded, "Sure. Lead the way."

The escort led him to his room which was quite extravagant. It was spacious with a living room and a dining room with amenities, a bedroom with a king size bed, and adequately equipped bathroom. After thanking his escort, Grim entered the bedroom, dropped his stuff on the bed and fell on it. It was the first time he lied on a soft, comfortable bed in his life as he'd been used to the hard beds back at the UNWOP base.

"As comfortable as this bed is I'm not in the mood to sleep yet." Grim said as he handsprung off the bed to his feet. "I need to scope out the competition."

16:18 hrs., Freedom Survivor Gym.

Grim had gone through different parts of the ship. The pool where he spotted some people getting a tan and swimming, the bar where some people were drinking away, and now he was back in the gym after spotting it the first time. He's wearing a white t-shirt with an eagle design on the back, orange Vale Tudo trunks and his hands and feet in wrappings.

And it looks like there were other people here already.

There was a guy who was shadow boxing, an African-American to be exact. He was bald, wearing black shades over his eyes, Muay Thai trunks, his hands, and feet in wrappings too, meaning he's a Muay Thai fighter.

'Though it's clear he's more of a party animal than a fighter.' Grim thought.

Next, he saw a guy who was in his early 20s with spiky brown hair and brown eyes, only wearing a pair of black pants with a golden dragon on the sides punching and kicking the air. 'What do you know... a Jeet Kune Do practitioner? No doubt inspired by the great Bruce Lee. This is getting interesting.'

Then he saw a guy on the weights, tanned muscular skin, white hair, wearing black vest and red trousers. He looked Middle Eastern and had a rugged demeanor. 'Someone's taking things seriously.'

The last person Grim spotted was a female teen with a slender athletic build, blue eyes, shoulder length brunette hair, had a Western look to her though there's also a bit of Eastern too and she's wearing a black crop top with pink hems and yellow eagle motif, stonewash jeans, brown boots, and red-and-black protective gloves and elbow guards. She seemed to be practicing some katas and from the looks of it Grim could tell she was a karate practitioner.

'From the looks of it I'd say that they're all fellow contestants of this tournament.' Grim thought as he moved to a corner of the room, 'Might as well get some practice of my own in.' He then began his own set of katas and shadow boxing drills of his own.

By now the other four people in the room had noticed the new arrival and saw him practicing his own drills. The Black and Middle Eastern guys only looked briefly before minding their own business. The Jeet Kune Do fighter and brunette however checked out whom they guessed would be a potential opponent in this tournament.

Grim knew he was being watched but didn't care as he was just practicing katas which didn't show fully what kind of fighter he is. As far as they're concerned, he could be any kind of fighter and making a wrong guess would spell trouble for them. After five minutes Grim ended his katas and would have left the gym if not for someone approaching him.

It was the Jeet Kune Do practitioner and he had a blank expression on his face.

"You want something?" Grim asked keeping on guard, which was good as the Jeet Kune Do practitioner suddenly threw a punch at him which he easily caught with a fist. Another one followed immediately with Grim catching that one with his other hand.

"Looks like someone's eager to fight me." Grim said, "Wait your turn. You'll get your piece just like everyone else." He then released the hands.

The Jeet Kune Do practitioner looked at Grim from head to toe with a smirk on his face before leaving the gym.

"What an interesting fellow." Grim deadpanned.

"His name's Jann Lee and it looks like you've gotten his attention." The brunette said walking up to Grim, "He's one of the top fighters in the DOA tournament. He must see you as a worthy opponent if he's approaching you like that."

"Is that so? Then I'll be sure to meet his expectations if not exceed it." Grim stated before facing her, "And who would you be?"

"My name is Hitomi. You're fighting in the tournament?" The named Hitomi replied holding her hand out for a shake. Grim looked on at the hand for a moment before grabbing it.

"Just call me Grim. Don't ask why." Grim replied returning the handshake, "And yes I am."

Hitomi nodded. "Alright, there's going to be a prelim to get through first though."

Grim shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I'll get through it."

"Confident, are you?" Hitomi stated.

"That depends on your point of view." Grim replied, "See you later." With that he left the gym leaving a smiling Hitomi behind.

18:00 hrs., The Main Hall

Grim was walking down the hallway in a black and red sleeveless bodysuit, with fish-net shirt underneath and black finger-less gloves. He had heard the announcement for all the fighters competing in the prelim to show up at the main hall and he was wondering what the rest of the competition was like before he reached his destination.

The main hall was the largest part of the ship. There was a large ring in the middle while the rest of the room was full of people all waiting for the preliminaries. Many of the people were itching and excited to see who were going to make it to the next round of the tournament.

Grim was not surprised at the large crowd that was in the hall and he wasn't surprised at the number of competitors around him. However, he was not impressed by the competition around him.

'Most of these guys aren't worth my time, except very few of them. It's time to weed out the weaklings from the competition.'

Finally, the captain of the ship entered the room. He walked to the center of the ring with a microphone in his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the preliminaries of the 3rd Dead or Alive tournament. We have a lot of competitors for this year's event, and we have randomly selected the opponents already with our high-tech computers. Now without further delay let's do this!"

The crowd went wild, cheering loudly as the computer displayed the match ups for the prelim. Grim blocked out the noise as he looked on with a blank face.

'Let's get this show on the road.'

For the next three hours the ring was a war zone filled with only unhindered rage, savagery, and pure determination to win and advance to the next round. One by one fighters dropped, man and woman, unconscious and bloody messes, left and right. The most jaw dropping sight for the crowd was the white-haired, brown-skinned man, with green and red eyes, medium athletic frame who was blitzing through his opponents with terrifying ferocity and savage precision. All his fights ended by brutally and violently. His unfortunate victims had to be taken out on stretchers and given immediate medical attention.

Some of the more well-known DOA fighters were just as surprised as the crowd while the others weren't fazed by the displays.

Jann Lee had focused his attention on Grim after seeing his one-sided beat downs, he was impressed by his fighting ability. The other veterans had their own reactions which were awe, disinterest, or none.

The fighting was finally over with some of the crowd cheering tremendously for the winners while some were cursing and moaning because they lost their bets. Out of forty fighters that were in the preliminaries only four stood in the middle of the ring. One of them obviously Grim with the others being Hitomi and Christie whom Grim briefly remembered meeting back in England and a guy with white hair that looked like he'd drunk too much.

The crowds cheered loudly again as the captain went on to introduce the contestants that would move on to the next round of the tournament. When the microphone got to him Grim made his introduction brief, only saying his 'name'. The white-haired guy called himself Brad Wong.

'So, he decided to reveal little about himself, smart move.' Christie thought.

'Grim Eagle huh? I look forward to taking you on.' Jann Lee thought.

"Okay then... Well, there you have it these four fighters are moving on to the next round let's give them a big round of applause again!"

The crowd cheered once again.

Up on the roof of the ship were three shadowy figures that had watched everything through the crystal ceiling of the room.

"That man is a monster." A female voice said.

"Indeed, he is ruthless but very skilled. What do you think of him Hayate?" A male voice said.

"He is an enigma and someone we should keep an eye on." Hayate answered, "Don't you think so Ryu?"

"True he revealed little of himself. We don't know whether he's a friend or foe." Ryu replied, "Ayane, can you keep an eye on him?"

"Yes, I can Master Ryu. I'll see what I can dig up about him and let you know." Ayane answered, 'And kill Kasumi when I find her.'

"Let's go." Hayate said.

The three ninjas nodded and vanished. Unknown to them Grim Eagle had sensed their presence back at the main hall.

It looks like this tournament has gotten a lot more…interesting.'

...

With the prelims over a party soon followed with the fighters and other guests there to unwind and cool off after the intense prelims. Many of them were talking about said prelims especially the fighter that brutally and savagely punched his ticket into the tournament.

Grim, wearing a black trench coat, a red open collared shirt underneath, black pants and black shoes was standing at the far side of the room, away from the crowd as a precaution since he didn't want to be snuck up on by anyone and to have a good view of the room. He didn't care about what the crowd was saying as it was not his problem.

Also, he stayed here because he knew he was being watched and he wanted to know who it was/were. One of them he knew was Christie who screamed femme fatale assassin allover as she watched him from the bar in a short black cocktail dress with matching shoes and a pendent around her neck. The other ones were a petite light skinned, lavender haired woman in a light lavender dress with matching gloves and high heels who was a good distance away and being cautious, a petite light skinned woman with orange ponytail hair wearing a blue dress and the last was a tall Russian male with short hair wearing a black tuxedo suit. There were two others, but they were doing a good job of staying hidden from Grim's sight but not his other sense. He then briefly saw a blond woman and a larger blond male arguing with each other before ignoring them. Not his business.

Grim sighed. He was not a fan of parties, heck he wasn't the most social person on the planet. He only interacted with other UNWOP operatives and whoever he was working with, and even then, it was mostly just small talk. It's another reason why he stayed far from the crowd. Not to mention, exposure to being backstabbed.

Unfortunately, someone just had to find him. It was Hitomi and she was in a light blue dress reaching her ankles with a matching pair of high heels and full of energy.

"Hi, Grim! Why are you standing there?" She asked.

"Not a party person, well not this kind of party person and it's too crowded in here." Grim replied.

"So, what kind of parties do you like?" Hitomi asked.

"The 'explosive' kind, if you get my drift."

Silence and then, awkwardness.

"Hehehe. I see." Hitomi said nervously.

Grim resumed looking at the crowd keeping track of those watching him and any other hidden threats. Soon he noticed Hitomi standing beside him and watching the crowd.

"What are you doing?"

"Doing what you're doing. Watching the crowd too."

Grim sighed and told her, "Do whatever you want."

So, the two just stayed there staring at the crowd, more like one did and the other just mimicked him. Soon Grim got tired of that and moved away.

"I need some fresh air. Please don't follow me." Grim said he exited the main hall leaving a pouting Hitomi.

"Sheesh. Emo much?"

The cool air outside on the upper deck was doing its job of helping Grim relax and enjoy some solitude away from the crowd. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as he sensed someone's presence behind him.

"I know you're there." He stated, "You can come out or I can meet you myself. Your call."

Silence only greeted Grim making him sigh. 'Time to say hello.'

A pair of red eyes widened when Grim disappeared from the railing he was leaning on and began looking frantically for him.

"The smell of lavender…How nice." A familiar voice said from beside them causing a female gasp to come out as those eyes looks to the right and spot Grim hanging upside down like she was, resulting in her lashing out with a knife hand chop which Grim easily blocked and both leaped down from the ceiling and landed on their feet.

"Next time you want to spy on someone, make sure they are not aware of your presence in any shape or form kunoichi-san." Grim advised, finger wagging at the female ninja. "Now who are you kunoichi-san?"

"That's none of your business." The kunoichi replied, "Better yet how are you able to do that?"

"Oh? You mean vanish like that and hang upside down beside you, not to mention sneak up on you?" Grim asked, "Well that…is a secret."

The kunoichi gave him a deadpanned expression which he shrugged at.

"No matter, watch all you like." Grim stated, "Just tell your leader that it'll be in his best interest to not mess with me."

"Is that a threat?" The kunoichi asked.

"I don't make threats especially when I know I can back up what I say." Grim whispered from behind her, causing her to lash out at him only to hit air as he reappeared a few feet in front of her.

"What are you?!" The kunoichi demanded, unnerved at the man in front of her.

Grim shrugged and said, "A man, a fighter, your potential opponent, maybe future friend or foe. There are so many things I can think of from the top of my head, but they won't be the straight answer you want."

The kunoichi sweat dropped at that response. "Huh?!"

Grim turned around and waved at her. "No matter, I've talked too much. Anyways see you in the tournament." He said as he went back inside the main hall, leaving the kunoichi behind, who soon made herself scarce.

The next day 12:15 hrs. Tokyo, Japan.

In the DOA dome the competitors were present at the center. Those newcomers who made it through the prelim: Grim Eagle, Hitomi and Brad Wong. The returning fighters: Tina Armstrong, Zack, Bass Armstrong, Bayman, Lei Fang, Jann Lee, Christie, Leon, and Helena Douglas. And the ninjas: Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate and Ryu Hayabusa.

Grim had a blank face on but internally he was excited for the first time in his life as far as he could remember. The missions he performed for UNWOP did not give him the excitement he was feeling now. The chance to fight other capable fighters in single combat. Sure, he'd fought other people in single combat during his missions, but they were no match for him and didn't pose a threat.

Here however, he felt that these fighters could give him that rush, that combat high that he'd been seeking.

Looks like entering this tournament will be worth it after all.

He had blocked out the noise in the arena from the fans and only waited to see who his first opponent was going to be in anticipation. He already knew the rules of the tournament, so he didn't bother to listen to the announcer when he was mentioning the rules. Then the main screen above them finally came on and showed the match-ups.

To be continued…


Next chapter will reveal who will be the Grim Eagle's first opponent/victim. Brace yourselves.