2.15

“Set the stage.” Puppet Master called out. The person on Puppet Master’s right made some movements and the dark shadows in the room disappeared. The torches on the walls grew brighter and the walls slid open to give way to stands filled with spectators.

“That circle of slate there in the middle of the room is the arena,” explained Puppet Master. The floor opened up and a large circular platform rose up from the floor. “The fights will be one on one, best of three.” The audience cheered.

“Who are they?” Rampage asked.

“Wealthy people that get their kicks on betting on fights,” Silver Fang explained. “This is why I needed you, Puppet Master always determines his negotiations with a fight.”

“You could’ve told me that upfront,” Rampage and the others followed Puppet Master to the arena. Nin and Umbra followed behind them.

Silver Fang, Rampage and Grand Hotpot circled round the arena and stood at the base of the stairs, waiting for the start. Nin and Umbra waited on the other side. Nin wore black robes and Umbra wore a cloak that wrapped around his entire body.

“Are you the third fighter?” Rampage asked Puppet Master.

“No, my third fighter will be a surprise. If I need them,” Puppet Master laughed. “You should first worry about beating these fine two.” The audience roared again.

“What are the rules?” Silver Fang asked.

“Fight until your opponent is down, death is allowed. If you are outside of the ring for more than ten seconds you lose. Any weapons and powers are allowed. That’s about it.” Puppet Master raised his arms and looked around at the spectators. They roared louder still. Rampage felt uneasy.

“Who will be your first fighter?” Puppet Master asked.

“I will be,” said Silver Fang. Silver Fang stepped onto the arena and awaited his opponent.

“Fine, my first fighter will be Nin.” Nin launched herself into the air, doing a somersault, and landed with perfect grace onto the arena. Silver Fang bowed, acknowledging his opponent. Nin did nothing.

“Place your bets now people. Bets will be taken until fifteen seconds into the fight. May you enjoy the violence and make a fortune.” The cheers continued and Silver Fang lowered his stance and brought his arms up.

“Silver Fang, are you ready?” Puppet Master asked.

“Yes.”

“Nin, are you ready?” Nin gave an imperceptible nod.

“Begin now!” Puppet Master screamed. The audience went wild. The two fighters stood in silence, neither moving.

Rampage made fists, his nails gouging into the palms of his hands. He knew Silver Fang was one of the best fighters, but he knew nothing about Nin. At least it couldn’t rain inside.

Nin made the first move. She dashed at Silver Fang, who lowered himself a little more. His feet were wide, and he narrowed his eyes. Rampage was bewildered at Nin’s speed and as she reached Silver Fang, the fighters exchanged blows, but Rampage had no idea who came out on top.

Silver Fang brought through a powerful punch and Nin did a large backflip and landed back on the opposite side of the ring.

“You got in a good cut there,” Silver Fang remarked. He slid his right hand down his left arm and flicked away the blood. Rampage couldn’t believe his eyes; he hadn’t even noticed Nin unsheathe her sword.

“Looks like I got you good too,” Silver Fang chuckled. Nin brought her hand up to her stomach and peeled it away, it was covered in blood.

“First blood has been drawn on both sides, and the bets are now off!” Puppet Master commanded. The cheer of the audience roared in cacophonous splendor.

“Silver, you alright?” Rampage asked.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. This will be tough, I can tell,” the wolf laughed.

“I’ll make it quick,” said Nin. She pointed her sword upward. A small, dark cloud formed a meter above her head. It started to rain.

“Now we can see what she can do,” said Rampage.

“All right, I’ll get serious too.” Silver Fang held his left wrist with his right hand and Rampage watched as his friend formed one of his main techniques. A glowing blue and yellow sphere formed in Silver Fang’s left hand.

The two fighters rushed each other simultaneously. Nin with her sword out and Silver Fang with his left hand out, the orb glowing brighter still in his hand.

Nin flicked her sword, sending out droplets of water toward Silver Fang. The raindrops sunk into his flesh, piercing cold bullets. It didn’t slow him down. He brought his right fist in, which Nin blocked. Silver Fang pushed with his left hand, which Nin blocked as well.

“Explosive Fist!” Silver Fang roared. The sphere in his left hand became blinding and suddenly exploded out. The force sent Nin flying out of the arena. Rampage cheered and the crowd whooped, but Silver Fang knew it wasn’t the end.

Nin came flying back to the arena, having kicked off one of the pillars she landed against.

“Seriously?” Rampage asked.

“I told ya it would be tough.” Silver Fang smiled and watched his opponent adjust her robes. The rain from the cloud grew heavier.

“Finish it Silver,” said Rampage. He looked over at Grand Hotpot, floating there in silence. He could see the eye darting around, taking everything in. He noticed there was a lid on the pot and racked his brains on what this person could do. If Silver had brought this one in, then they had to be powerful.

The two fighters ran parallel to each other, Nin flicking out more drops of rain, Silver Fang taking most of the hits. Silver Fang suddenly pivoted on his foot and rushed at Nin. The two exploded in a flurry of attacks, Rampage could barely keep up.

The two fighters flipped away from each other. Silver Fang was covered in blood and Nin’s rain cloud washed away the copious amounts she had lost. Silver Fang wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm.

“Time to end it,” said Nin. She pointed her sword to the rain cloud and the rain poured heavier still. The water hung around her blade, like a watery sheath.

“Okay, I’ll play.” Silver Fang chuckled. He watched his opponent, readying his next attack. He appeared to be doing nothing, but Rampage knew what it was. He had used this technique on Rampage multiple times.

Nin’s blade wobbled in the water. She spun around and flicked with her blade. An immense watery blade burst forth and rushed toward Silver Fang.

“Explosive Quake.” Silver Fang punched the ground. The arena rumbled and explosions erupted underneath, sending chunks of arena flying. The explosions grew more violent as they rushed toward Nin. The watery blade punched into Silver Fang’s torso and exploded out the other side.

Rampage looked on in horror as his friend exploded backward. The explosions underneath the arena took Nin off guard as she focused on the collapse of her opponent. With one last gigantic explosion, Nin was caught in the middle. She was blasted up into the ceiling of the room and fell back down, landing flat on her back.

Silver Fang was out of the ring and a count to ten started against him. Rampage ran over to him, but his friend was being tended to by Grand Hotpot. The cauldron had opened its lid and was pouring the liquid into Silver Fang’s mouth. Rampage watched as the wounds on Silver Fang’s body slowly closed up.

The count of ten had reached its end and Rampage stood up, looking at the destroyed arena. Nin was crouched on a small chunk of arena, barely big enough to hold her. She was barely holding on, and when Puppet Master reached ten for Silver Fang, she collapsed onto the ground.

“And that ends the explosive first round, and what a round it was. Silver Fang lost but barely. What a show people, what a show. I hope you enjoyed it and made plenty of money. Teams, pick your next fighters.”

Rampage went to approach the arena, but Silver Fang grabbed his wrist.

“I want Hotpot to take this one.”

“What, why?” Rampage pulled his arm away from his friend.

“Please.”

“First, lets replace the arena.” Puppet Master called. The audience cheered. The floor opened up and the destroyed arena fell into a dark abyss. Another fighting ring rose up and the hole closed back over.

Umbra approached the stage and Rampage noticed how nobody checked to see if Nin was okay. Grand Hotpot finished with Silver Fang and floated up onto the arena.

“Place your bets people. Grand Hotpot versus Umbra.”