Hayden stops upon seeing Unagami's symbol appear in front of him, followed by his avatar. "No turning back, Hayden." He said to himself, summoning his whip and grips it tight. "To be a ninja, you gotta run like a ninja, fight like a ninja and think like a ninja."

"Mantis, don't do this!" Gewuji yelled, kicking the forcefield. "You aren't even a ninja!"

"Forfeit!" Nya yelled. "You must forfeit!"

"Come on, Mantis!" Jay yelled, punching the forcefield. "Don't be so reckless!"

Hayden couldn't hear their shouting and protests as he was facing the board. "Unagami will now choose your opponent." The announcer said as images of Back-Chain, Oni, Wipedovith and Iron Baron appear, but one was soon picked. "Fighter 2 will be..." Once his opponent was selected, Hayden looked on, taking in deep breaths and exhaling as he did so, waiting to see who it was. Pretty soon, his opponent appears in front of him.

The sight of his opponent caused Hayden to look on with immediate instantaneous shock. His opponent was a replica of a middle aged woman with brown hair like his own, done up in pigtails. The replica was wearing a silver tightsuit and had a replica of the Dragon Blade in her hand. "Mom." He said.

"Hello, son." Kelly replied.

"Is it really you?"

"It is me, Hayden. You've grown."

"I really missed you so much. All my life."

"Then, you're gonna miss me even more. This is not the time to be maudlin. And now, we battle."

"Mom. I don't want to fight you."

"Then..." She holds up her right hand as the Dragon Blade disappears and a blaster appears in its place. "...this will be easy. Prepare to meet your doom, Hayden. Or wait, do you prefer to be called something else instead? Trudogolik, Mantis, or Cloaked Character?"

She aims her blaster at Hayden and fires. Hayden gets hit and falls down, losing some of his health as a result, shocking the others. Kelly then fired again, only for him to barrel roll away and spun to get up before he dispersed his whip, summoned his NCPD service pistol, and started firing laser shots at her before they start moving around the arena to dodge them. They waste each shot trying to hit each other, some hitting the forcefield, until Hayden hits Kelly in her left leg as she hits Hayden in his right shoulder, making them both fall to the ground, both losing some of their health from the laser shots. They quickly turn to aim their weapons at each other but do nothing. "You're empty."

"So are you." Curious about what she said, Hayden opens his display to find out his gun is out of ammo. He quickly placed his left elbow on the ground to push himself up and rolls backwards to stand up while Kelly sits up before getting up to stand. Both fighters look at their empty weapons before throwing them aside and they disappear. Kelly soon held her hand out again and the Dragon Blade reappears in it before charging towards Hayden. He quickly held his hand out to summon his whip again before holding it out to block the sword strike and spun around to swing the whip at Kelly, who somersaults over him, and tries to strike him, but he quickly turned his whip to block and spun to try and hit her at her back, but she raised her sword over her head and lowered her sword to block it before Hayden spins around again and strikes her in her chest, sending her flying, but she rolls back to get up. Her health bar reduces due to the strike.

Kelly quickly turned to swing her sword at Hayden, who moved back to avoid the strike, then to the left to avoid another and tries to strike her, but she managed to kneel down to avoid it before spinning and slashed Hayden at his right hip, resulting in him losing some health before she spun and kicked him, sending him flying to the forcefield, resulting in him losing some health. He soon got up to look at her. "You know, I am very disappointed in you, Hayden. Iron Baron gave you a chance to live, when you revealed the powers you stole from me."

"I did not steal them. I inherited them."

"Then what about Wipedovith? Nevezeniye? Jet Jack? Muzzle? Daddy No Legs? Or even Faith? They all raised you to be one of them, gave you a name, and you turned your back on them. Didn't you, Trudogolik?" Hayden looks away a little, wondering if what she said is true, and hearing his old given name that he had not heard for months.

"Mantis, don't listen to her!" Gewuji yelled, but he couldn't hear it. "That's not your mother!"

"It may look like her, but it isn't!" Jay said, hitting the forcefield, but he couldn't hear it either.

Hayden kept thinking, until he remembered the sound of a whip before growling. "They may have given me a name, but they didn't look after me..." He said, spinning his whip. "...they enslaved me!" He charges at Kelly, who raised her sword and charges at him, spinning as she did so. Hayden spun the whip before immediately swinging it to block the strike, grabs the other end and raised it out wide as Kelly moved to strike him, but it ends up blocked before he wraps the chain around the blade, and pulls the whip back, causing her to lose the sword, which slides behind him before he spun to strike her, causing her to fly back, but lands and skids to a halt, the strike resulting in her losing some health. "The Ninja rescued me. And took me in. Gave me a proper name." She then went to charge at Hayden, who swings his whip to strike her, but Kelly manages to jump and spins backwards as she soon lands with a roll, reclaiming her sword before both opponents turn around to face each other, but Kelly was faster and struck him, sending him rolling to the ground, losing some health in the process. "Which I used, until I found my real one." Kelly charges at Hayden while moving her sword to the left as he quickly placed his hands on the ground and rolls backwards, managing to avoid the strike by landing on his stomach and slides back before she turned around to try again, turns her sword around to raise it and stab him, but Hayden rolls to the right, then to the left as she tries again before he quickly raises his whip while moving to the right again to avoid another stab, and struck her, making her fly back, while he got up. The strike also resulted in Kelly losing some health. "And they became family to me. Something the hunters never were during my first 19 years!"

Hayden swings his whip around before thrusted his arm out, swinging it over to Kelly, who raised her sword to block it, only for the chain to wrap around the blade before Hayden pulls his arm back, pulling the sword forward, and Kelly, since she was still holding it, over to him. Smirking at her opportunity, Kelly lets go of the weapon while still flying in the air to Hayden, who quickly moved to the side for the sword to pass by and land behind him before preparing to swing his whip again, but Kelly raises her leg to kick it out of his hand, places her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down while vaulting over him, lands on her feet, next to the sword, and picks it up as Hayden turns to face Kelly before she raised her sword high while turning around, striking him, sending him flying back, resulting in some health lost. He turns to his whip which was on the ground, picks it up, turns back to her, and throws it at her, but Kelly raised her sword to deflect it, and it lands by her feet before she quickly kicked it to the side. She then charged at Hayden again, moving her sword back, until she reach him before lowering her sword and struck him again, resulting in him losing some health again, and spun to strike him again, sending him flying to the ground and losing some more health. Jay, Nya and Gewuji look on in shock. Hayden's health bar was extremely low, and if he was struck one more time, he would ultimately lose the battle and his last life. "It seems that even with all that mighty hard earned training, and personal feelings for me, you cannot beat me. Even dressed as a Ninja, when you lack the experience to even be one. And now, you shall fall before me." She spins the sword and moves it back. "Goodbye... Hayden." She charges at Hayden and prepares to stab him.

"NNNOOOOOO!" Jay, Nya and Gewuji yell.

But, to their surprise, his health bar didn't empty out, and they discover the reason. "What the shit?" Gewuji asked in surprise. Hayden had caught hold of the blade at the last minute, and was holding it between his open hands, the blade just half an inch from his chest.

Hayden moved his head up to glare at the copy of his mother while wrapping his hands around the blade. "Ninja..." He muttered, wrapping his left leg around the blade to secure it as best as he could. "...never quit!" He immediately pushed his right leg to spin on his buttocks, dragging Kelly along, until she lets go of the sword and flies back to the ground, rolling in the process while her pigtails come undone before stopping to look up and see Hayden toss the sword in the air, roll back onto his feet and held up his hand to catch it. He then charged at Kelly while she got up, only to see him come at her, moving the sword to the left before he strikes her, resulting in her losing some health. He then raised it high before putting both hands together and lowered it to strike her again, resulting in her losing some health again before he soon spun and struck her again, sending her flying and losing some health in the process.

Kelly lands on her chest before getting up and exhales while glaring at Hayden. Both opponents look at each other as Hayden tightened the grip on the sword. "You've been taught well, son." Kelly said. "But you still have much to learn. It seems you really have turned your back on those who looked after you."

"I have new people to look after me." Hayden soon stood up before looking at Jay, Nya and Gewuji, and then turned back to Kelly. "How's about a little game, mom?" He throws the sword into the centre of the arena, next to his whip. "First to reach their weapon and strike their opponent, wins."

"Mantis, no!" Gewuji yelled, banging at the forcefield, but he couldn't hear it. "No more delays!"

"I like the way you think, son." Kelly said before she screamed with determination as Hayden did the same with yowling before they charge for their weapons. As they inch for their weapons, Hayden falls down to do a roll, quickly grabbing his whip while Kelly also rolled and grabbed her sword. They both stand up to make their strike while passing by each other, holding their weapons out wide.

Jay, Nya and Gewuji were shocked at what just happened. "Is it over?" Jay asked, but the girls were too shocked to answer.

Both of the fighters' weapons soon disappear before Kelly did so as well, having missed her strike. Hayden soon got to his knees, frowning. "I'm sorry, mom." He said to himself, almost feeling guilty, since it felt like he killed his mother for real. "I truly am."

The forcefield soon disappeared, and Jay, Nya and Gewuji rush toward him. "Mantis!" Gewuji said before wrapping her arms around him.

"You did it!" Jay said, patting him on his back.

"That was incredible." Nya said, patting him on his shoulder.

"But still, you could've died." Gewuji said, referring to the fight. "You really scared us."

"Hey, come on, Gewuji, he won. Your boyfriend won."

"Oh, I'll let him off."

"Was it worth it, though?" Hayden asked as something soon appeared in front of him. It was an orange Key-Tana.

"Mantis, that wasn't your mother." Jay replied. "It may have looked like her, but it's not."

"She was still beautiful. I do have her hair colour." He smiled as he gets back on his feet and grabbed hold of the Key-Tana. "But right now, we have something more important to do."

"You're right." Jay takes the Key-Tana from Hayden. "We get our friends back..." He holds the Key-Tana high. "...and we stop Unagami." They all nod to each other before turning to the door opposite the entrance, just as it opens and look at each other before they head for it.


(A/N: When I first wrote this, the line after Hayden stopped the sword was 'My name... is Mantis!' before I asked you people which name you preferred. Anyway, this'll be on hold for a bit while I continue work on Confidential)