VERSUS
Welp, that was it for him he guessed... great timing which failed to kill off any, if not all of his suspicion in regards to piece of equipment. Jonas was legitimately
thrilled to hear the minx pursue his question as he cracked a slightly larger smile for that singular moment... though, he did ponder on what that lady meant about how "Horizon Frontier" sounded amazing since she had legitimately never heard of it before.
These things ran through his head, replaying as the droves of competitors began their mad rush to the arena, all while Jonas was completely taking his time. Did she mean the name, or something more? Was the tin man with a spiky as hell tail really to be trusted?...
Yeah, that was obvious already.
A woman bumped past him, Jonas was brought out of his train of thoughts as the torrent began rushing and dragging him closer towards the battleground. Other thoughts began to invade as he pulled out some string from his bag and began wrapping it in a certain way around the handle of his knife...
...
...
And before he knew it, the whole stadium came into view... huh, this was a bit different he guessed. The stages about had different cosmetics, sure, but he was fairly certain there was more to them all. An ice stage? A stage that seemed to invoke characterizations of Rio's urbanization?
Seriously, how much money did this take to set up? There was like, a lo- why did that one stage have spikes at the bottom with a net to catch people on?
Yeah, that's a horrible fucking design already!
Ugh, please, pleeeeeaaaase don't let him fight on that stage.
Looking around, he saw the names of the contenders on the screen... and wow. He was plenty certain that there were more challengers than he expected. Yeah, this was gonna be a while, so mitigation of damage and skills, ho!
Along with that, there was the stage name they would brawl on... what was this, some fighting game or something? Eh, whatevs, he just knew he was on a stage with water (good, great).
Walking past others, he tried to spot the weirdo, the minx, and Otsana, but everyone was so spread out and blocked in for him that it would be nigh impossible to spot any of em'... so much for that.
As he stepped onto the stage, he found himself face to face with a similar black woman with a very taut body, moreso than him - that girl who wrecked that other punk before he could even land himself in the arena. Blinking, he tilted his head to the side, stifling a yawn as the woman... tried to trash talk him?
He wasn't exactly sure.
"Hey, how do you think we get so many patients," he cracked back with an affable smile, pointing directly at her as he chuckled. She seemed a bit on edge - did something happen? Eh, not important right now, focus on the subject of the water below...
...
... and with that short exchange, everything was seemingly set to go as the man gave one thunderous go.
In an instant... hm, the woman didn't waste any time did she? Rushing forward like a bull... was he wearing red? No? Green, the usual, right.
Throwing down two knives from his coat behind him, they both punctured the ground as he took a defensive stance and threw four knives at once at the lady, half of them doomed to possibly make contact with the rock solid arm, the other two others maybe impaling her left thigh and left leg.
The ki powered knifes pierced Brenda as expected... but much like a raging bull, it barely even phased her. Probably made her even angrier. Her grit her teeth as she ignored the pain. Deciding not to make the same mistake that she made in the earlier confrontation. She punched the ground hard as she could, and a cascading wave of stone spikes came out rushing towards Jonas. While she used the opportunity to close the distance on Jonas as a zoning technique.
So, some adjustments were to be made; expected, but he could guess the fight wouldn't be that easy now... that was a relief. As that wave of spikes shot forward, Jonas dove away to the side, a tinge closer to the edge than before. He took a quick survey as he threw two more knives behind him with his left, not minding that the two other knives had popped out of the ground already.
Huh, regardless she was coming in fast... and by fast, it was like a cheetah sprinting to pounce on a gazelle! Yeesh!... maybe he could charge her when stitching those wounds up? As he slowly stood up, he nonchalantly gazed to the side with her coming in hot. Briskly, he fumbled around in his bag, displaying a terrified visage as he rushed to find something to utilize against her.
Pfft... so many idiots relying on tricks rather than some good old fisticuffs. Just like she said... everyone has a gimmick, but it seems no one knows how to use 'em. If he had just decided to fight her straight up, he could have stopped her by now. Well, seems to be an easy fight for Brenda.
She tightened her fists, and then let out a sharp huff as she threw a series of four punches at Jonas. Her fists coated in stone, this was her rock breaker move. With each strike so strong that not even stone could stand up against it.
Ok,
that wasn't what he was expecting as he retrieved his hand from his bag... and FUCK, THIS ACTUALLY HURT LIKE A BITCH! Jonas could only bare his teeth as he tried to hold back the pain, wincing as he looked for an opening... opening... and there it was! With her wasting that little amount of time gave leeway for Jonas to recover a bit...
... and use his superior speed to grab onto her as she began to lead in with her rocky fists. Jonas shifted her weight forward even more, all while stepping to the side. With her momentum increased she would definitely trip over his trap and fall off the stage... but just to be sure, as he "helped" her, he gave a strong shove with his right hand in the midst of it all to keep Brenda going.
However, Brenda wasn't going over that easily. In her momentum, she pounded her fist against the ground, and summoned stone around it to stop her from falling over the edge. She grit her teeth as she looked at Jonas.
"Have to try better than that, pretty boy." She taunted.
She hopped up to her feet, and her fist was coated in a burning magma as she charged Jonas with her fist extended.
Despite the fact it didn't work, Jonas couldn't help but crack somewhat of a smile as she lunged forward. This strong gal wasn't going to make it easy, her own move told him that much... Drawing some knives, he rolled... directly toward her.
Going right by her side that did not have the magma fist, he positioned himself onto the... very unstable rock. Standing straight up he stamped on the earthen ground before throwing a knife at her right leg... sadly enough, it would most likely miss, considering the trajectory he threw it at.
"Come on..."Because of the angle he threw it at, it was easy for Brenda to reach over and catch it. She held the knife for a moment, saying, "Nice knife." Before she bit down on it, and snapped it in half. She threw the remains to the ground, before she hopped up into the air. Coming down on Jonas like a meteor. Surrounded in red hot flames, it was a sight to behold.
Ok, he was a little pissed. Not by the fact that she decided to show off, but SHE BROKE ONE OF HIS FUCKING KNIVES! Those things costed money and resources to buy! They don't come cheeeaaa- oh, right, his move... that wasn't going to work as she jumped into the air and began her descent.
So, only a few opti- yeah the first one is frickin' stupid. She's in the air, coming down on a weakened piece of stone that would probably break the moment she smashed it. So he took this opportunity to just... wait, why wasn't he running forward? Why is he stabbing the slab? WAIT, WHY IS HE QUICKLY JUMPING OFF?!
As he launched himself off the unstable slab, he took one look back as a glint of steel pierced the side of the stage as he began his own descent as well.
Brenda hit the ground, and her fist hit the ground so hard that it left a miniature crater in the platform. Jonas' plan wasn't as successful as he hoped, as it was still in one piece, and Brenda was still standing on the platform. She just shook her head... just like she said... these losers have no talent. They don't belong here in the world of Nomads. So, she was just going to make this a clarion call he won't ever forget.
He needs to go home.
Brenda looked at the slab, and grabbed onto it. She threw a piece it up into the air, and punched it hard as she could. It turned into a hail of stone rocks that went flying towards Jonas.
Well, looks like she wasn't the type to gloat... but at least his knife was still wedged there and she was within his trap!... again... probably, as her foot was right behind the knife. Even as he saw the rocks, he wasn't at all worried as Jonas started traveling in an brisk arc upwards, narrowly avoiding the projectiles. As he stopped extending both strings once he began his ascent, he was certain this could be it... possibly.
Letting go of the string from his previous knife, Jonas quickly pulled his other string as he shot up a few feet higher than the platform. In those same moments, the multiple layered circle he left snared Brenda's leg, tightening as he began to fall once more. As he was nearing the platform, he jammed another knife into the side as he tugged the line to try and drag the woman overboard.
However, even with Jonas's attempts to pull her off, Brenda still embodied the stone. And stones are
hard to move. She quickly punched the ground full force, and the stone embedded her deep into the ground. It would be hard for Jonas to pull her off, not without trying very hard. Nonetheless, Brenda's objective for now was to get free of this shit. Which she raised her fist, she surrounded her arm in stone, forming it into a blade of sorts. She swung her arm around wildly trying to get free of the strings - while also keeping an eye on Jonas. Just in case he got cocky.
Trying to find where you're caught eh? She wasn't stupid, he could tell it in her eyes... but frantically waving around to try and cut some string around her leg... hmm... that knife was wedged in there pretty good...
Swinging himself up from his former position, he didn't bother with displaying any acrobatic skills as he just shot up at the required amount to land on his two feet. Since she was watching intensely, why not give her something else to look at?
Drawing five knives from his sleeve, Jonas didn't waste any time tossing them at the lady. While largely inaccurate, he made certain that two of them would fly directly at her torso. Now all he needed to do was wait as he stood there, completely immobilized. He didn't bother smiling or giving any display of emotion, being just as this woman's powers - stone.
Brenda wondered if he had any tricks up his sleeve other than knives. Good thing she kept her eye on her opponent rather than focusing entirely on getting out of his snare. Or else this would have ended badly for her. She used her stone bladed arm to parry one of the blades - but she missed the other, and felt the ki infused blade impale her in the chest. She let out a groan, as she was quick to rip out the knife, and leave it on the ground. Before turning her attention to Jonas, she quickly punched the ground and sent out a wave of stone spikes
behind his feet so he'll trip over it. Or at least distract him for a moment.
Wait, she just punched the ground in front of her... and there was nothing in front of him that actually appeared... Was she planning her own traps? Was it an attack from behind? There was only one way to be certain as Jonas glimpsed behind him... to find an almost similar wave of ground rumbling towards him. This... it didn't matter, he just needed to do one thing.
Jump and stick the landing on the broken up parts of the stage.
Leaping upwards, he nearly averted getting launched up like his knives. In the grand scheme of things, she wasted time trying to throw him off as he yanked his left hand back just a little. Those knives that completely missed? They almost seemed to stop as they began arcing around the rough and tumble woman, wrapping her and a part of her stone arm up.
As he slowly balanced himself on the crumbling infrastructure, he gave one final yank to tighten it all together; it didn't matter whether or not the knives impaled her as The Doctor left nothing unchecked, save for that one arm that was plunged into the ground.
Well, looked like that didn't work... damn it. Brenda was running out of options here. She was getting wrapped up in whatever the hell this bastard was doing. The platform was falling apart, and all Brenda could think of was something. The stone arm she had turned into molten hot magma as the strings were burned. She detached it from the group, as she covered her body in more magma. Burning the strings. She whipped around towards Jonas, and grit her teeth
Hmph, that blew his scheme to smithereens, but he could adapt; it wasn't the end just yet... if he could keep her on that platform whilst doing enough damage to it... yes, yes that was it. While she was distracted flailing around and consuming the string with that fiery passion known as her arm, Jonas decided to close the distance, taking to the offensive as he ran straight at her, fist clenched as he readied to strike her. He struck her with a cocky smile as he neared her, almost as if this was the final decisive strike.
Brenda knew that Jonas was crafty... if he was running directly at her like this, he might had cooked up a plan in that brain of his. She wasn't going to fool around anymore.
"I'm going to finish this!" Brenda shouted as she pumped her fist in the air. In a brief moment, it flashed with red hot heat - a heat like no other. Before she swung her fist directly at him, charging forward. But, this time, it was different. Her whole body was hot (without burning any of her clothes!), she was like a meteor. She had the sheer intensity and rage of one, rushing directly at him.
"
EARTHQUAKE!" Brenda shouted.
As he ran directly at her, Jonas had a hand inside the confines of his satchel. Whether or not she could ki sense, he wasn't going to take the chance right now. Besides, at this point, most people were too engrossed in their fights at this point, so it wouldn't hurt to give one last display...
Also, shouting that you're going to finish this and your next move is a pretty stupid idea... not the most strategically sound plan, but it made things a little easier for the doctor.
"Time to get Rib Caged," he shouted back as he ran, extending his punching hand out... only to up and throw dust directly into her eyes, blinding the woman... and in his other hand, he left behind a nice little present - a ki-infused recorder which taunted the young woman the woman as it was tossed right by the edge of the platform.
"Ugh, you've made this so easy that I think I'm getting worse."With that all said and done, Jonas made sure to just roll to the side and stood straight up as he gave a half-hearted frown to his opponent.
"D-Damn it!" Brenda hissed as she flew over the edge, cursing her rashness. She fell into the water, which loudly hissed with steam as her heat was counteracted. Ugh, she hated water. She floated to the top, loudly groaning as she looked at Jonas standing all high and mighty over her.
Standing over the edge, Jonas knelt down to retrieve one of his knives that were deeply embedded into the damaged infrastructure. He was mumbling with irritation as he cursed over the corpse of one of his broken knives. Ugh, people had no respect for property, did they? Drawing the knife out, he took notice over the woman below and how she just... lay there.
"Say Brenda, when you were on fire, did yo-""K-O!" Not a second too late, Jonas shivered a little from the screech emanating from that announcer. "After that amazing diagnosis, looks like the enigmatic Doctor will be moving onto the main event!" Jonas rolled his eyes as some of the crowd gave a variety of claps, ranging in enthusiasm to just plain forced... honestly wouldn't surprise him if most of em' were disappointed to watch this strapping young lady lose to him...
... especially since he played edge games; Jonas rapped his lips as he glanced over at the glimmering water, wondering how many fans or people putting bets would try to get him d/q'd for that? But still, there were more important matters to deal with as he continued to retrieve the intact knives on the platform.
Brenda swam out the water and chose to sit on a bench, thinking on her actions. Shaking her head because she failed to win the
first round. If she was going to find her brother, she needed to fight better than that shameful display. Ugh. She had to find another way to raise money for her world spanning journey. Some odd jobs, perhaps?
Oh yeah, he still had to ask how her injuries were fairing.
As he yanked out the knife that was impaled in the rock, Jonas yawned and stretched before descending to the ground floor. Breaking into a light jog, he went over to see how Miss Brawnz was acting up right now... hmm...
Jonas digressed; maybe if he acted benign towards her, he could form a reasonable prognosis over whether or not he should attempt recruiting her... he did need able-bodied nomads after all.
"Oy, Brenda, how are your wounds?"The man approached her, and she looked up at him. He asked her about her wounds. She shook her head. She had no ill will against the man for
winning. When it was her fault for losing. She just shrugged. Brenda slapped a hand on her chest.
"Me? I'm hard as stone," Brenda said as she looked at him. "You won't have to worry about me anytime soon, Doctor."
She nodded her head.
"Besides... I don't have the money, or the time for a checkup...."
Oh? She lacked funds? Was that a blessing or a curse to Jonas, well, he would have to prod her even further now to understand this situation fully. Would he really want a person who couldn't pay for themselves completely weighing him and possibly Otsana down? Or could this be used as leverage for him in his quest. Jonas crossed his arms as he cocked his head back and forth.
"Hmm, sounds like you were placing all your chips on getting past this first part of the tourney," Jonas rapped the side of his uniform as he hummed, staring directly at the black lady.
"... why d'you need the mo-"Jonas winked and winced a little as Andre gave another announcement over the next fighter who bit the dust, with the roars of the crowds pervading both their ears. Yeah, not the best place to be to take advantage of a possibly sound circumstance.
"Ugh, screw this noisy place! Ey', mind walking and talking?! I want to ask you a couple of things!"
