Earlier in the day, Jamal was ecstatic. Even though he wouldn't be fighting today, he was hyped up for Fonda's and Brat's match. And they had decent food here too, as he had noted yesterday, so it couldn't be any better. Jamal was already ready to leave the breakfast area, if Ula didn't tell him to wait.
"Calm down. The match doesn't even start in a few more hours." she told him.
"Yeah, like, shouldn't you give us advice or something?" Brat asked him.
"The only advice you both need is to make it interesting for me to watch. No wonder people enjoy this stuff!" he squealed.
"But no fighting has even started yet. Unless you count what happened yesterday as one." Fonda joined in the conversation.
"That's the point. Who knows what challenges we'll have to take on."
"But I'm just going to be dodging and hitting when I can. That's not fun." Fonda sighed.
"Don't worry. I rather the fight be boring and you make it, then have it exciting but you lose. We all need to show the Supers our training has paid off."
"Has anyone seen Hops still though? I've been a bit worried about him." Ula questioned.
Jamal gloomed at the question. He didn't want to discuss about him at all, especially with Ula and what he did to her.
"Wherever he is, I hope he still watches our fights. I'll like as much support as possible." Brat wanted.
It was only several hours later, when Jamal heard a knock on his door, as he went back in his room after, chilling with Ula. Opening it, Brat was there, already in his training outfit, prepared to go.
"The fights are beginning now?" he asked.
"Yeah, in about twenty minutes. I wanted to make sure you guys would get some of the best seats, but Ula didn't answer her door."
"Oh, she's in my room. We'll be out shortly." he replied to Brat, closing the door.
"Who was that?" she had asked, comfortable sitting on the bed.
"Eh, just Brat. Just told me the fighting happening soon. It's going to be action packed, at least I hope so."
"Yeah, it's definitely going to be dull, at a fighting tournament out of all places." she laughed, "I really hope you're being sarcastic."
"I am. Come on, I don't want him to wait any longer too."
Within minutes, they left the room, Brat waiting on the bottom of the stairs impatiently.
"Jeez, you had me waiting for what felt like hours. I don't even want to know what ya'll were doing in there, so don't even tell me." he said, not looking back, waving down a carriage pulling up.
Jamal was going to object, but he decided otherwise. He just followed behind him, and into the carriage with Ula. The journey was only a few minutes, as it stopped in front of the entrance of the stadium, towering over them. He was impressed as he opened the door for Ula to leave first, before following behind her.
"I got to go wait in the fighting lobby inside, as you'll see tomorrow. Wish me luck." Brat nodded, walking past them.
They waved them goodbye, and followed the large crowd into the stands. Jamal couldn't even see the other trainers or Boom himself.
"Where's the other trainers?" he asked Ula.
"Usually, they're in the top boxes, with all the other mentors and trainers from around the world, like up there." she replied, pointing at a box filled with people on the roof of the stadium.
He could barely see the people inside, as they filed into the stands. They sat down near the front, as they could get a better view of the fights that would occur. Jamal continued to chat with Ula, until cheering returned his focus. Multiple people ran carrying flags of their nations with them, running around the entire stadium. When the Saputa flag passed by, Jamal and Ula cheered with it's citizens.
"Wow, this thing will be lit!" he told her once it finished.
"The fighting's going to be better!" she told him, as a female announcer came into the middle of the space.
They were explained about how this year's tournament would be great, with new and old challengers coming together to pay off all our their hard work. They also described for the preliminary rounds, the fight would go one until the other opponent got knocked out. Before they were going to announce the first battles, they offered all participants good luck.
"And now, with that out of the way, our first fight shall go to the fighters of the youth division, Brat and Shuai. Take your places!" the announcer roared.
The stands erupted in cheers as Jamal and Ula stood up for Brat. They watched eagerly, as Brat walked onto one side of the stadium, looking straight ahead at his opponent, a girl who Jamal noticed was a bit serious at well.
"Fighters, take your stance and we'll begin in 5,4,3-" she began to shout.
Jamal eyed Brat, glaring towards Shuai, taking one deep breath, and continued to look dead ahead.
"2,1, let's go!" the announcer shouted.
The stands whooped in excitement as Brat rushed towards Shuai. The girl was still in stance, and watched him move closer, tightening her position. Brat quickly turned into a furious rhino and charged straight into her. Shuai jumped above, as her fingernails extended into a claw-like form, and dug deep into his back. Brat screeched in pain, and began rolling around, attempting to get her off.
"Oh, that's not good." Ula told Jamal, "He's going to get hurt pretty badly at this rate."
Jamal just nodded at her, in a bit of shock. He couldn't fail like this, not after everything they've been through.
Brat switched into a large bird and flew up into the sky, Shuai still hanging onto his back. One could noticed the grimace in Brat's eyes, but he was still focused and once high enough, he spun right back down. The crowd was cheering at an unbelievable level, and one could only imagine what would happen next. Shuai dug deeper into him, causing Brat to swerve over the crowds, with everyone ducking down. He turned back into the fighting space, and lost his animal form in an instant, collapsing. Shuai hopped back and raised her hands in victory, the crowd cheering her on. Jamal was mad. How could he lose like this, working so hard, and still come short. He shook his head and didn't want to watch anymore, until Ula pointed at him. The crowd noticed too and looked back at Brat. His hand was still itching and one of his eyes had opened up. It almost looked fierce in a way, as his skins turned into bloody red fur. His teeth had sharpened as he slowly crawled back up, hands turning to claws. He looked as if he was some type of wolf, but he was standing on his two own feet. Shuai looked back, and turned around, maintaining her stance.
"You won't be anything, I've taken out worse." she replied to him.
He growled at her, steam coming from his nose. Jamal was confused. When was Brat able to do this? Brat stood back, watching Shuai closely, continuing to growl.
"I'll take you out of misery, you dog!" she shouted, rushing him.
Brat rushed too, and began clawing at her. She used her own fingernails, but was being pushed back while deflecting the attacks. She had accidentally slipped, and Brat used the opportunity to pummel her with pounces and getting clawed upon. She attempted to get back up, but couldn't. The crowd roared with approval, but Jamal slowly wasn't enjoying it. It seemed as if this was a blood sport and people were watching this for entertainment, and not for what he thought it was.
"Is something wrong?" Ula asked him, with worry.
"I don't know, this doesn't seem righ-" he began to tell her, until the cheers covered his words.
"We have a winner! Brat from the Grand Academy of Saputa!" the female announcer congratulated.
Brat stood there, looking down at the fallen opponent, bits of her fingernails laying around. He howled into the air, causing for more celebration, before returning back to his normal form. He looked around, before being lead to another exit, blood still on his back, limping slightly. The next few rounds were just as brutal, and Jamal couldn't bother to watch, but still did so just to know what type of competition he would face tomorrow.
"And our final match for the youth division, Fonda and Teloi. This one should be a thrilling conclusion!"
The crowds cheered them on as the fighters took there places. Jamal noticed the fighter Teloi twitching, eating some thing in his pockets. Was that even allowed? He also noticed Fonda smiling, as if she knew what he would do, which she probably did already. The countdown occurred and when it finished no one moved. The crowd's cheering began to die down, as they all became confused. They were still in their stances, watching each other waiting for the other to make their move. Fonda step forward, and soon Teloi rushed ahead. The crowd roared with approval as Fonda stood her place, Teloi's body jerking around even more. Once he was within range, he began rapidly throwing punches in her direction, but Fonda dodged them effortlessly.
"Wow, that's actually impressive!" Jamal had to admit.
She tripped and punched him into the ground, causing the opponent to groan. The crowd was into it all, standing to see more. But then, Teloi still smiled, as if nothing had ever happened. He backflipped himself up, and ate more of what was in pockets, twitching rapidly.
"He's like an addict, that's crazy." Ula muttered.
Fonda didn't let her ground down, and moved around him, weaving pass any attack he tried on her. Frustrated, he burst open his pocket, spilling his substance everywhere. It was red and powdery and the crowd looked in awe, as he ate it off the ground.
Fonda backed up a bit, smiling. Teloi definitely wasn't, looking around rapidly and wildly.
"This is sick." was all Jamal could say.
Teloi lunged at Fonda, but unlike before at a rapid speed. Fonda, a bit surprised, stepped out the way, but he switched directions in an instant and tackled her. She attempted to kick him, but it was no use. She was pinned to the ground, and Jamal closed his eyes as the crowd was enjoying the scene. He felt Ula's hand on his shoulder as he felt sorry for his friend. When the cheering died down, Jamal looked at Fonda. She was struggling to get back up. but Teloi unpredictably kicked her into the wall, causing one to hear a soft crunch. Fonda coughed out blood, and fell back on the floor. Jamal almost stood up, when Ula stopped him.
"Are you crazy! You'll be disqualified if you try to help her. It can be only up to her." Ula calmly attempted to say, "You can get revenge if you move on."
Teloi looked at Fonda, and spat at her.
"Hehehe, what a fun toy to play with today!" he said with a sick voice.
She didn't say a word to him. She slowly pulled herself back up, a small grin on her face, one eye closed.
"I didn't say I was done." she simply told him, "I can still fight."
Teloi made a ravage noise, and ran wildly towards her. Fonda took a deep breath and pulled her hand back, waiting for the final opportunity. They hit each other, and both were flung back. Teloi rolled across the ground, and hit his head on the floor, groaning in pain. Fonda slid back, her arm still extended, but didn't move from that position. She looked up in the sky, still smiling, before collapsing on the ground. Doctors rushed up to her, taking her to a exit, while Teloi stood up, and laughed crazily. Jamal was sad, even though he knew this might happen to her. She didn't deserve this, and Jamal hoped she would recover. Don't worry Fonda, tomorrow, I'll avenge you.