Round 2: Fight!
The cold immediately hits me as we step into Anarchyworld. Something tells me that Cut-Zero isn’t bothered as much by it though. It’s strange to walk these lands. This place matches Hell with how barren and desolate it is, yet it lacks the power that Hell provides me with. I don’t understand why people are so eager to control this place, but my mission doesn’t involve me trying to understand anything. I’m not here to think. I’m here to fight.
“How far to where we meet them?” I ask, as we near the Living Forest. I’ve heard haunting things about this forest, but what’s the most haunting about this place is that the trees here are the only ones I’ve ever seen.
“They’re right there,” he points to a rocky outcrop. That’s almost redundant. Everything here looks like a rocky outcrop. As we near it though, I begin to hear voices and I see a large group of people. Turning the corner, the full armies of the people of Anarchyworld are revealed to me. I see the soldiers of many towns, and many people who aren’t soldiers but just want to help out. Through the crowd of people, a few Shokan warriors stand out, representatives of the fallen Shokan Prince, Famino. But in the centre of it all, I see the man we’re looking for: Bo’Rab Cho.
The crowd of people parts as we walk through. They whisper to each other when they see me, walking side by side with Cut-Zero. This moment will be told in the legends of the future. Bo’Rab Cho and Vic Mei turn to face us, and they greet Cut-Zero with open arms. Turning to me, they are a bit more hesitant.
“What brings you here?” the master asks me curiously, as Cut-Zero steps to the side. Great, leave me alone. I work better alone anyway.
“Let’s just say we have a common goal.” I don’t feel that further explanation is needed. Surely he will understand.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” he says, as if he’s trying to persuade me to his cause.
“I’m not interested in being your friend,” I respond, dismissing his eagerness to form an alliance. “I’m willing to help though.”
“That’s enough for me. We head to face Arsaka’s armies head on very soon. Having a warrior of your caliber will be very beneficial to us.” I notice that he’s very pleased with himself. Either he’s drunk now, or is going to be drunk soon enough.
“That is your battle, not mine. My fate lies against The Dynamite King. Thus, you can focus your efforts on defeating Arsaka’s hordes. The Dynamite King will be no match for me.” And I truly believe that. After this mess is over, I will endeavor to find out what happened to me. Why do I feel so strong? But for now I will simply accept it as truth.
“So be it. We’ll keep them busy for you to strike.”
“That’s all I wish, but are you sure you will be able to do it? You have a motley crew of fighters here. Where is the likes of the blind ninja Blakeshi? Where is the reprogrammed cyborg Blokax? You are lacking serious firepower.” The number of people in this army is indeed impressive, but every member of Arsaka’s forces are extremely experienced fighters. They’re born to fight. I would feel more comfortable if Bo’Rab Cho’s army featured more fighters of this nature.
“This is all we could gather together. We can’t afford to wait for more numbers. We must strike now.” As much as I don’t like to do so, I agree with this. Time is running out.
“Then this shall have to do. Make sure you succeed.”I don’t wish to wait any longer. I turn my back and depart. I need a clear path to The Dynamite King. The future rests upon how well this plan works. The last thing I need is to be ambushed by foot soldiers. I leave the vicinity of the Living Forest, and again I close my eyes. Forcing my will into the world around me, I see the direction I must head in. But… “Woah!”
“I almost had you that time. But that would’ve ruined my fun.” I narrowly escaped a flying fist. The fist belonged to a warrior I saw while trapped in my void. Her name is Startaru, servant to the Dynamite King. “The Dynamite King demands you bow before him.”
“Well tell The Dynamite King that he can blow me.” I’ve just about had enough of these sidetracks. Something sets my instincts off however, and without realizing it I see two arms shoved directly into the chest of Startaru. The man responsible for the arms is unknown to me. He violently withdraws his arms, and they appear to be holding two rib bones. Stabbing them into Startaru’s eyes, her body falls limp on the ground.
“Fatality…” the warrior mutters. When he sees me, he prepares to fight once again.
“Who are you?” I demand, further becoming angered at my quest being delayed. I don’t need this.
“My name is Muddrou, and you are?” I brush past him as he blocks my path.
“You don’t need to know.” I mutter.
“I think I’ll be the one to decide that,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder to turn me around. I swat the hand away and stand, mere inches from his face.
“My name is Scorplee,” I hiss out at him from behind my mask. “And you will state your business before you deter me finishing this war before it even begins.”
“I’m no part of this war. I do what I get paid to do. I was told to defeat Startaru, and I did so.” He glances down at the bloodied body by our feet and smiles. I relax. He’s no threat.
“A mercenary huh? I think I might have a job for you. If you find a servant to The Dynamite King, kill them. You will be paid per head you sever. Now go.” I turn to leave but he calls out once more.
“I usually get paid beforehand.” He’s still no threat, but now he’s just annoying me.
“This time you don’t.” And in a puff of flame, ashes and smoke, I disappear. My body aches as I teleport myself further along the path. I try to use that trick I learnt in Hell as little as possible as it makes me weak, but if I had to converse with that assassin much further, I feel that I would be much weaker.
Before me I now see my target: the palace of The Dynamite King. But before I reach there I must pass through the Beetle Lair which is now directly in front of me. I step inside, and slink into the shadows. I feel a lot of power in this room. More lies further up the road, but the strength here cannot be ignored. I creep up the side of the room, and see the source of the power. In the middle of the room, beside a beetle monument, devoted to an old God, I see two of The Dynamite King’s minions: Arsaka and Sabreena. I prepare to strike, but then I catch a glimpse of something in the corner of my eye. Another warrior stands behind a giant stone pillar. I recognize him as Crimsonko. I learnt about him from the creators. I feel the need to attack him, but will watch and wait to see how this plays out.
Arsaka and Sabreena appear to be arguing. Crimsonko uses this to sneak up behind them. He slices Arsaka’s head straight off with two swords. The word Muddrou used to describe the way he finished off Startaru comes to mind once again… fatality. Sabreena sees this however, and sprints out of the Beetle Lair. She’s heading in the direction I came from, and Crimsonko decides not to chase her. I only hope Muddrou finds her. Turning my attention back to Crimsonko, I step out of the shadows and shout the three words I have become notorious for… “GET OVER HERE!” My voice echoes throughout the Beetle Lair as a searing pain shoots through my hand. I keep it steady though, and pointed at Crimsonko as my spear shoots into his shoulder. With it lodged it place, I yank him towards me, and he comes limp before me. With him still conscious, I stare him right in the eye. I repeat to him everything I learnt from the creators. “I hold you personally responsible for the current state of the realms. Your inability to show the slightest brain function has allowed The Dynamite King to return to the power he once had. You must pay for your sins.” And I then pass judgment on him. Driving my fist with incredible power right into his torso, I search inside his body for something. And then I grab hold of it and pull. Ripping his spinal cord straight from his body, he doesn’t even have time to scream before he falls before my feet. “Now that’s a fatality…”
I drop his spine and leave the Beetle Lair, emerging on the other side. I’m finally there now. The Dynamite King’s palace. Kicking the doors down in dramatic fashion, every hair on my body stands on end. I’m simply in awe of the power flooded in this place. Every ruler that has ever spent time in here is extremely powerful in their own right, and many powerful prisoners have been held here as well. I close my eyes and focus in on the source of the greatest power. Kicking in two more doors, I soon stand one door away from the source. Teleporting once again, I appear in a dark corner and am shocked by what I see. There before me isn’t The Dynamite King. Instead I see faces that I’m very familiar with. At the centre of the action is the tormented warrior named Cyrmac. I have seen him walking in Hell and know enough of him to be surprised at who he is fighting. His goal is the destruction of any individual who suppresses souls, fighting for all the suppressed souls that haunt his past. But those he now fights are notorious defenders of peace: Aidan Cage, JAX Boy, Jen Blade and Scottana. Something seems different about them, though it’s not my place to ask. I don’t care. I’m not here to care.
Leaving Cyrmac to fight his own battle, I leave this room and find the throne room. There is definitely power in here as well. Sneaking into the room, I’m again surprised by what I see. I recognize the fighter Riggal in the middle of the room, with other men surrounding him, Two of them share the same insignia as Riggal. The Black Dragon Clan appears to be alive again. The other is a mystery to me, further proving how many people this quest effects.
“What da fuck is goin’ on here Cagik?” Riggal demands of the strange man. Cagik… the name is vaguely familiar. “Where da fuck did that big ogre go? Me, The Kobra and MC Kirrable were supposed to defeat him.”
“I wish I knew,” Cagik replies. “We all saw him here, but then he just disappeared. The only time I’ve seen that happen before resulted in that person finding themselves in the darkest pits of Hell.”
“You mean we have to fuckin’ go to Hell to find him?” I don’t wait for an answer. I’m already sprinting out of the palace before Riggal finishes that sentence. Hell. My eyes opened wide at that statement. I know Hell like the back of my hand. And I feel it. Oh yes I feel it. He’s there. I’m going to meet The Dynamite King in Hell. I race to the portal between the realms. The blood pumps through my veins. I get to fight him on my terms. I near the site of the portal, but find it closed off. There standing in front of what used to be the portal, is Jonden. At least, it looks like Jonden. His aura is different though. Still recognizable as the creator that he is, but not the same Jonden I have seen before.
“Why is the portal closed?” I snap at him, eager to complete my mission. He looks at me with strange eyes. Is that… makeup I see?
“People are like, sooo stupid these days. All those silly people have let the big meanie Dynamite King be the best again, but I’m smarter than that whore Paris.” What the… who the fuck is Paris? “I came up with a plan. That bad man can’t kill everybody else if he’s trapped here. So now he’s trapped here until he’s beaten. It’s too bad I couldn’t shut this pretty thing before those two weirdoes dragged that cute guy through there. He was really blue though, that was weird but I just absolutely loooove the color blue.”
“Uhh… right. Look Jonden…” I begin, trying to reason with him, despite him not making any sense. He interrupts me though.
“My name is Nicole Raiden!” He screams. “Why the hell does everybody keep calling me Jonden?” Okay, now I’m just confused, but I don’t want to waste another moment. For now I’ll play along with whatever game Jonden has going on.
“Okay, Nicole,” I reluctantly say. “The Dynamite King is no longer in Anarchyworld. He’s been transported to Hell. I’m going there to defeat him but need you to open the portal so I can get to him.”
“Sure, anything for a cutie like yourself. You’re hot.” He clicks his fingers and somehow the portal bursts to life. He then places a kiss on my cheek. I think that’s something I’m going to push to the back of my mind for the rest of my life. However short it may be, as I step through the portal and prepare to face my destiny…