Jackson took a deep breath and watched carefully as Bakuto ran circles around him. 'Great, another speetster.' he thought to himself. And this opponent was on a whole other level.

He widened his stance and prepared himself for the attack that could come at any second. He didn't have to waste his energy. He could let his opponent come to him, and counter attack at the right time. Plus, there was no reason to try and compete with such speed. Years of training for close combat in an arena, there was never any need to focus on his speed.

-Serious Counter Attack
Remaining Health: 90
Available Power: 90
--- Attack: 50 x2 = 100
- Speed: 16
-- Defense: 24


When Bakuto decided to attack, Jackson was nearly overwhelmed. He could only block and dodge about half of Bakuto's attacks. The rest landed right on the mark. On the upside, he was able to land a number of attacks of his own.

Finally, Jackson jumped backward for a moment of rest. He was definitely worse for wear. The crowd was no longer shouting his name. They were having trouble processing everything they just saw.

Jackson stood his ground as Bakuto started creating his after images. He knew he was outclassed when it came to speed. So he readied himself. When Bakuto got close enough, he would land one decisive blow. At least, that was the plan.

-Serious Defensive Stance
-Secret Technique Decisive Blow
Remaining Health: 28
Available Power: 59
--- Attack: 40 x2.5 = 100
- Speed: 0
-- Defense: 19 x2 = 38


Jackson's kept his eye peeled on what he thought was Bakuto. When all the afterimages came in for the attack, he swung with all his might at the one he thought was real. Unfortunately, it was just that, an afterimage. The real attack came from behind, countless blows, all landing in critical zones.

Jackson was sent flying and tumbling. He landed outside the arena, bloodied and bruised. Luckily, he was near the building where the contestants were being held. The medical team arrived at his side in seconds and injected him with a syringe. His eyes immediately opened, then closed slowly as he fell to sleep. Then, they took him away. His life was saved, but he would need more than a senzu bean to get him back to 100% health.

The crowd remained silent long after Jackson was taken away. It wasn't until the referee held up Bakuto's hand that anyone clapped. Even then, there wasn't very much cheering. It was as if the entire audience was intimidated by Bakuto's power.

The next match began less than fifteen minutes later, exactly on the three o'clock hour. The sun was bearing down at an uncomfortable yet manageable 85°F. The two competitors this time were the champion himself, Micheal Miocic, and his mysterious opponent known only as Lee.

As soon as the gong rang, they charged straight at each other. It was clear by the look in both their eyes, neither one of them was taking this battle lightly. Again, Micheal switched between fighting styles, trying to find the one that would unlock his opponent. But that wouldn't be enough this round. Lee stepped in time with Micheal. Their furious fists clashed over and over again, neither landing a decisive blow.

Then, it happened, Micheal took a fighting stance that was only seen twice in the last ten years. In the past two tournaments, he had taken this stance just before defeating his opponent in the final match. Yet here he was, pulling out his secret technique in the quarter finals...

A familiar wind swept the stadium, circling Micheal. This was his twister technique. The longer his opponent waits, the stronger the swirling winds become. Attacking early, before the winds get too strong, that has been the consensus of analysts for many years.

Apparently Lee didn't agree. He charged into Micheal's storm, right away. The crowd tried their best to see what was happening, but it was hardly possible. Lee was moving too fast. Micheal's winds were starting to pick up dust. This was it. The end.

CRASH!!!

The wind storm died off as quickly as it started. In the center of the ring, Lee stood tall, although he looked like he had been hit by a train. Micheal on the other hand lied outside the arena, and he looked like he was hit and ran over by ten trains. His limbs were twisted in ways that limbs shouldn't be twisted. He looked dead...

The medical team rushed to his side and injected him with the same syringe they had to use in the previous match. At first nothing happened. Then his eyes opened, if only a little, and he smiled, a peaceful smile. He seemed happy to taste defeat for the first time.

When the referee held Lee's hand into the air, the crowd erupted with excitement. It was as if they had already accepted this newcomer as their new champion. Of course, the tournament was far from over...

Senzu Bean? Alright, Senzu Bean. I guess if you want to deal with things on the down-low and- Whoa! Niko bit down on his and it felt like he was chewing on chocolate-covered espresso beans (without the chocolate). The buzz was palpable, and he suddenly wanted to jog a mile.

I guess that's why they still grow these things. God damn...

With only a half an hour between now and the next matches, the only thing Niko could really do is maybe get something to eat, except that a Senzu Bean also fills you up for a while. It must be protein for days or something. Either way, he took the time to calm himself and focus with his eyes shut until the next match, leaning against a wall. He thought about his last training session with Athena, the thing that gave him the confidence to come here like this. He wasn't going to rely on it, and she was confident other people had talents like it, but it was something, in case of trouble.

The half hour passed, and soon it was time for Bakuto to fight. The gong sounded and Bakuto, while eager to have a good fight with his opponent, immediately started blitzing him. People couldn't really hold back anymore, and they had no reason to, really. Niko, personally, felt he'd started off too strong, because he'd been seriously hurting people. That was as good a reason as any not to ggo crazy. However, with stronger opponents came greater fortitude, which was handy. Besides, if he ever fought Bakuto himself...well...Bakuto seemed to favor speed like he did. What Niko didn't expect that someone's special technique would be something like that, moving so fast that you're leaving images of yourself from where you were. That was...how do you DO that? The speed must've created a false image, yeah, but was it like the heat of the desert creating a mirage or what? Only other way that Niko could think of was breaking light speed, and that wasn't even possible for the top human beings in the world, nevermind advanced machinery!

Whatever it is, it shows just how fast he can really be. Can't rely on your eyes to watch an opponent like that.

He was stunned by that suudden display of speed technique, but it wouldn't be the last thing to shock him OR everybody else. The mext match...was Lee versus the champion, Michael. A furious battle began, the two men immediately striking at and blocking each other, again and again. It was pure unadulterated skill, and the enigmatic Lee was keeping up with the Champion. They were hurting each other, but nothing solid connected, at least not at first. Finally, it came down to this: The two of them were both resorting to their own special techniques. Michael had a special whirlwind move-

Wait, what? Ohhh...shit.

-which was suddenly defeated by an attack by Lee. Niko couldn't even see what happened. Everyone heard an impact after he charged right at Michael, and then they were both clear of it and...he was standing, but the Champ was not. Like we said, Niko was shocked...but then his brow furrowed. What did he do? Was it simply so-invested a technique in one hit that he allowed himself to be hurt to get it through, making sure it would pay off? That was a difficult thing to even imagine, but if Lee had trained his body for it...maybe he did it that way? Well...if this was how it was turning out before even the final battle, someone was gonna find out. That all depends on who forces what hand and how long Lee or anybody else lasts. Speaking of which...



...it was Niko's turn to fight, and...a renewed concern fell over him as he took to the fighting area. Rica was someone known to Lee. They might've been opponents, rivals, or even friends. That meant that she could know what the hell just happened, and even be familiar with his style of fighting. So, as much as he wanted to figure out how Lee did it, Rica would not be a good person to try it ON while in a tournament. She might've known how to counter someone trying that very same move. And most importantly, he had to remember that Rica was very good at closing off pain. Niko now awaited the-

GONG!!

And there it was. Niko immediately acted, this time, because he thought of something: Rica was good at shutting off pain...but what about disorientation? He knew she would be expecting all kinds of attacks, but did that include this one? Niko swept on over and closed the distance suddenly to...clap both hands at the ears of his opponent, a move made to cause them to ring like hell and the equilibrium of a human being to go haywire. In short...

Discombobulate...

Discombobulate with Serious Speed involved.
Power Level: 110
Health: 110
--Attack: 30
---Speed: 50 x 2 = 100
-Defense: 30

Rica watched carefully as her opponent took his first step. Years of being raised as an assassin, paired with the rigorous training she had received from her mentor Lee over the last three years, prepared her for this moment. She held her ground, anticipating her opponent's movements. This boy (no older than herself) was perhaps even faster than Lee. She would have to time her counter attack just right. Luckily, speed was the one attribute she had on her mentor.

-Seriously Quick Counter Measures
Remaining Health: 90
Available Power: 90
-- Attack: 40
--- Speed: 50 x2 = 100
- Defense: 0


Eclipse's attempt to discombobulate Rica almost worked, but she moved forward at an alarming speed at the last second. His clap to her ears landed an inch to far back on her head, behind her ears. She definitely still felt the attack, but her balance was still in tact, and so were her wits.

In close range, with her opponent's neck at eye level, she struck like a viper attacking its prey. This would mean the end for most opponent's, but not Niko, not the man known as Eclipse.

What followed was a series of blinding fast attacks, perhaps even faster than anything seen thus far...

Holy shit, she fought exactly like him! I mean, not exact exact, but he noticed immediately that she favored speed and sacrificed defense in her reaction to his attack. He'd been a bit off on his opening move and she'd countered almost immediately, forcing herself through the pain as she had done previously to strike at his neck. Niko juked right and he got hit in the shoulder-meets-the-neck region, instead, and in no time registered 'Holy shit, she's a killer!' as he worked to deflect or dodge further blows. He had little time to think, mostly to react, because just as he thought, Rica's brutal!

The two of them were pulling some serious speed, and Niko knew already that neither one of them could keep that up forever. At the first chance - at the first sign of slowing down while she was attacking, he was going to grab the offending limbs and pull her into a hard body-blowing kick, going for torso because it was an easy enough target, but specifically diaphragm especially to try and knock the wind out of her. Wasn't much on defense in a move like that. He needed to be fast to make it work, or at least to get out of the way if it didn't. It left Niko with barely enough time to clench.

Grab and Disabling Torso Kick
Power Level: 86
Health: 63
--Attack: 30
---Speed: 50
-Defense: 6

Rica could see Niko's intent in his eyes and based of his past matches, she could anticipate his next move as well. She knew he would be looking to get in close and grapple her in some way. She was running low on energy. There was only one way out of this. She would have to use her ultimate move.

She jumped backward to get just a little bit of distance. She then clapped her hands together in front of her and caused a shock wave fueled and focused by her ki. The result was an invisible horizontal slicing wave that would normally slice a person in half, the top half and the bottom half. But in the case of this particular opponent, she was just hoping it would make contact and maybe damage him enough to end this battle...

-Serious Retreating Counter
-Secret Technique: Slicing Wave

Remaining Health: 36
Available Power: 63
-- Attack: 30 x2.5 = 75
--- Speed: 30 x2 = 60
- Defense: 3



Niko was able to avoid a hit to any vital points from Rica's attack but did suffer a deep gashing wound. Regardless, he continued his assault, got in close, and followed through with this plan. Rica managed a few struggling blows while at close range, but there wasn't much power left in them after her secret technique had already drained her.

She fell to the ground, and the referee sprinted forward (with speed not unlike their own at the beginning of the match) and separated them. He had seen something in Rica's eyes. Even as she tried to regain her footing, he could tell she wasn't all there anymore. Unable to remain conscious any longer, she went to fall back down. The referee caught her and called an end to the match.

After the referee handed Rica off to the medical team, he held up Niko's tired arm, officially declaring his victory. The stadium rocked with approval. This tournament was not disappointing so far, not in the least...

He was careless, foolish and careless. He should not have held back. In the end, he still won out, but there was a certain sense of having only lucked out there. Rica was as tough as tough can be, a dangerous opponent for anyone...and that is why he should have pushed the envelope, used his technique, but he didn't want to. Niko didn't want to use the last thing that Athena taught him, the technique that he had not even mastered perfectly at the time, and it had almost cost him. It was not only that Rica was dangerous, but because he'd also left himself open. Yes, she too had been low on strength, but he'd been debating on whether to let her wear herself out by defending or immediately attack, and after the fact...he was pretty sure she would've drained herself almost dry...EXCEPT that she'd unleashed her technique.

She had a special move, and if not for his having felt it, he might've missed the execution. As it stood, he knew what happened, and it was what he was being escorted off of the battleground for now. It'd been quick...and so precisely thin that only the evidence after - the bloody slice upon his body - allowed him to put together what he was seeing there. Oh, she was good, very good. And if she had fought or studied by Lee's side, then there was no question in Niko's mind that Lee could very well be the new Champion Martial Artist of the World. Others had hope. They who had emerged victorious thus far would prove to be - no question - his rival, but who would truly win it in the end?

These rounds were just flying by. He was sure that the previous rounds were only a few seconds long, with moves that some in the audience will not be prepared to see. Because of that, Niko stopped once they were off of the fighters' ring. The man helping him along urged him on.

"Sir, we need to stop the bleeding. You took a nasty hit. You're barely on your feet."

"Can you just patch me up and let me watch the next round? I don't think it'll be long."

He looked at the wound, which was down his chest, but close to the side so that it mainly harmed ribcage and reached no organs. It was now VERY painful, but he wanted to see how Angela did. Niko felt that, apart from Bakuto, she and him were the ones who would see this tournament to the end. And more than just wanting to study how she fought, he felt like he wanted to see her succeed. In any case, the attendant nodded, and worked on bandaging him through his torn shirt, saying that "If you start to pass out, you're going, no questions asked.". Niko agreed to that, at least.

Ace watched the Niko vs Rica fight with a sly smile. Even to the most expert eye, she looked calm and collected. On the inside however, she was slightly intimidated by all the fights she had seen up to this point. Sure, she wasn't a pushover. She deserved to be here as much as anybody else. Still, for once in her life, she wasn't confident that she would win. Her unnatural level of talent might not be enough for once.

Ten minutes later, she was walking out onto the tournament arena. She wore her customary smile and showed no signs of fear. In reality, she was more nervous than ever, which of course, would make this her strongest performance to date...

Angela could feel herself just cringing. Nico's fight was extremely brutal on both sides. Luckily, he was able to walk away as the victor, though he was worse for wear. Hopefully he would be ready for the next fight, those were injuries that could harm his chances if they weren't treated properly. But now wasn't the time to worry about that, Angela had her own fight to worry about.

After a few minutes passed, she walked up to the arena to face her next opponent. Ace... From what she's seen, Angela could tell that she was going to be a tough opponent. But to her, she was just an even higher wall to climb to get to the top. She took a deep breath and bowed to her opponent.

The gong sounded, and Ace began to advance cautiously. Her face went emotionless as she fought to contain the energy within her. She was counting on this secret energy, a force within her that she didn't fully understand. It had gotten her this far in life without any formal training, after all.

And so she attacked, on full alert, but without any sort of plan, like always. She would let her body decide what to do. And its first move would be a standard punch once she was in range. What would follow, even she didn't know.

-Serious but Cautious Opening Move

Remaining Health: 90
Available Power: 90
- Attack: 10
--- Speed: 70 x2 = 140
-- Defense: 10

At the sound of the gong, Angela had taken her rough stance and started eyeing her opponent. Ace seemed to be playing just as cautiously as her, and that was worrying. Up until now, her opponents were straight to the point, but Ace was approaching this much like her. Watching and waiting to strike. That was until Ace decided to make the first move, rushing towards Angela to close the distance. She moved just as fast as Bonizo did, maybe even faster. Angela knew that she had to play smart now, this was a very serious opponent.

She braced herself for the oncoming attack, crossing her arms to block her face. Then once Ace came close enough, Angela would charge out in a tackle to try and knock her off balance.

Health: 110
Power: 110

Brace then Tackle.

Attack: 40
Defense: 30
Speed: 40×2 (80)

Angela blocked Ace's simple punch with her crossed arms, but there wasn't much energy in that punch to begin with. The attack was never meant to be a finisher, but rather, an opening jab. When Angela went for her tackle, Ace was ready.

Ace had never been one to go to ground, to grapple, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do. So she absorbed the tackle, allowing herself to fall backward while holding onto Angela. Their fight lasted for only a few short seconds on the ground, before they were able to return to their feet. In that short time, both combatants had to use their knees and elbows just as much as their fists and feet.



During a split second of rest, Ace spit out blood and wiped a great deal of sweat off her forehead. A deep look in her eyes revealed a blank stare, as if her mind had gone blank, and they were locked onto Angela, like a shark.

She then charged forward, muscles tensing up, readying themselves for anything. It was as if her muscles turned to steel.

- Serious blacked out assult
- Secret Technique: Iron Defense

Remaining Health: 44
Available Power: 67
- Attack: 10
--- Speed: 30 x2 = 60
-- Defense: 27 x2.5 = 67

Angela was surprised by the sudden tumble to the ground but quickly recovered back to her feet. Ace was a very skilled fighter, that fake out completely caught Angela off guard and she paid for it. She wiped some sweat off her face and got back into her stance, but at that moment, Ace was already on the offensive again. But something was different this time, Ace was giving off a strange feeling that made Angela tense up a bit. Without much time to think about it, she put her guard up completely this time, focusing on dodging and blocking Ace's strikes this time.

Complete Defense

Health: 76
Power: 93

Attack: 33
Speed: 30
Defense: 30x2(60)

It was a beautiful dance, but with very little contact. The two woman went from one side of the ring to the other, ducking, dodging, and weaving through each other's attacks. It was hard to follow every movement, but spectacular nonetheless. It was like watching a mirror match, where the two sides of the reflection may not look the same, but their movements were identical.



When the two fighters finally broke from their scrimmage, Ace found herself with a hand in the air. Her mouth was moving, and she didn't even know what she was saying. Then the sound of the gong hit hard.

"And there we have it!" The announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium. "In a surprising turn of events, Ace has conceded the match!" He then ran over to Angela's side and made a grand gesture with both hands. "And here is our winner!"

Ace walked out of the stadium, dumbfounded at her own actions. Still, she had to trust herself. This was best. It just had to be...

Angela stepped past Ace's attacks, but her own failed to make contact for the majority of the skirmish. This was turning out to be a hard fight, one that was getting Angela's blood pumping, she was actually sweating. She jumped back from Ace to gain some distance for a counterattack, until Ace did something she wasn't expecting. She threw her hand in the air and called it, she surrendered.

"And there we have it!" The announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium. "In a surprising turn of events, Ace has conceded the match!" He then ran over to Angela's side and made a grand gesture with both hands. "And here is our winner!"

Angela was dumbfounded, Ace was putting up so much more of a fight than her last opponent, but she surrendered the fight. This didn't feel like a victory, it felt as if she had just been given the win, like she didn't earn it. "... Hey! That match was just starting to get good! Why did you quit? Hey!" Unable to contain herself any longer, Angela called out to Ace. But when it seemed like she wouldn't get a response, she huffed and left the ring. She was tired of being given these victories, at least she finished her match with Bonizo, but everything else has just been off. This isn't at all what she imagined how her fights would turn out.

The match did not last long, as he'd expected, but not for the reasons he'd suspected. Given the way their opponents fought, it seemed a long conflict was for naught. And yet, the way it ended would make it seem the rules were bended.

Or, to put it in a less-rhyming sort of way, something felt VERY wrong about this.

As he watched alongside the tournament attendant, it all started normally enough. The two female fighters began by testing the waters on each other a bit, working out how best to attack one another, Ace pulled some kind of move that made her seem more durable, and then as they both began fighting in earnest...it stopped! Why? Even the crowd found this a little confusing, but Niko...

Wait, something's not right.

As opposed to the fluid motions that Ace had been displaying prior, Ace raising her hand looked more stiff, in comparison. It was weird and out of place. Once the winner was announced, Ace left the arena and Angela tried to call out to her. Then, she left, as well. Niko raised his hand to call her over, but the roar of the crowd was too much, and as he tried to move, the attendant took him by the arm.

"I'm sorry, but the fight is over and you're going to the infirmary."

"But..."

"But nothing. We agreed, and you're still wounded. You'll have plenty of chances to talk with her later. After all, she's your next opponent."

That's true. Regardless of whatever the hell happened there, they would fight each other next. The question was...what DID happen? Niko had always heard talk of things like hypnotic suggestion, supposed mental powers, but did something like that really just happen? Or was he just fooling himself with this? Well, if it was, he couldn't allow it to happen again. Angela seemed like a nice girl, and she liked to fight. Would you want to disappoint someone like that? Once they reached the infirmary, he asked the attendant what would happen if someone interfered with a tournament.

"Unthinkable! It would disrespect the entire tournament organization, to say nothing of the fighters, themselves! Such a person would be ejected from this place and barred from ever returning, if not jailed!"

Well, that answered that... If there HAD been something like that going on, whoever would've done it would have to be daring...

Watch your back, Angela. Just in case.

The once full room, where the contestants all fought in the preliminaries, was now nearly empty. There were only the four remaining fighters, and a couple employees watching over them. They were given an hour to rest and more senzu beans.

It was now late evening. The sun was halfway down. In a few more hours, it would be setting behind the classic architecture of the building where the fighters patiently waited. Outside however, the crowd was growing restless. So when the announcer came running out, sporting his trademark smile, nearly everyone stood up.

"Alright! Alright!" He proclaimed with arms wide open, the microphone hidden well on his face. "We have four fighters left, and I believe I speak for everyone when I say, this is going to be a night to remember! With any outcome, we will be looking at a new World Martial Arts champion, to reign supreme for the next five years! Now, without further adieu, let's get this party started, shall we!?" The crowd cheered. "I can't hear you!" They cheered louder. "Now let the fighters here you!" The stadium erupted, not a soul was sitting anymore...