All right, this was it. Apesaels heart was beating franticly as he slowly jogged towards the Dojo. He had been sent the time that morning, at five in the morning to be precise. It was now 7:58 and he was standing outside the doors of the Dojo. He a deep breath and hit the open button.
"Enter", said a deep, smooth voice from inside the dark room. The shihan stepped into the pool of light from the door, smiling slightly. "Are you ready?" he asked, as Apesael moved inside, slapping the door's control panel so that it close quickly behind the trainee and leaving white scars across his vision for a moment, as his eyes adapted to the deep blue ambient lighting of the room.
Apesael bowed deeply. "I am ready Shiham." He would never admit to anyone how unready he really felt. He glanced around the room slowly.
"Then let it begin" said the small man, backing into the darkness. Almost immediately, a challenge rang out across the large space, and the lights brightened, illuminating a red-garbed novice as he adopted a combat stance, facing Apesael warily.
Apeseal dropped into a low fighting stance, hand in the free-style position. He began to study his opponent's stance and breathing, looking for a weakness to exploit. He really wished he had been allowed to bring his Tetsujo, but the message had been clear, come unarmed.
Suddenly, the novice broke into a sprint across the room, leaping into a perfectly executed flying kick at head height just a few meters from his opponent with a loud shout.
Responding with instinct Apesael moved out of the way instantly, before bringing his leg up in such a way to intercept the novice.
The man's foot slammed into Apesael's leg, knocking them both to the padded floor in an undignified heap. Rolling back quickly and wincing, the novice slowly stood, watching Apesael closely.
Flipping up, Apesael took the offensive with a palm strike to the face, accompanied by a sweep of the legs. His heart was singing, there was no fear or tension here, only relsease.
The novice dropped backward, clutching at his face. With one hand, he signalled surrender, blood leaking through the fingers of the other in little rivulets as he clamped it over his nose and crawled a little way off to slump against the wall. "Excellent" murmured the Shihan, appearing from the shadows in one corner, and signalling another fighter forth. This man was clad in blue robes, and carried a Jo which he arrogantly twirled around one wrist and then the other, forming a whirling figure of eight in front of him.
A man of his own heart, a wielder of Jo. Apesael knew how dangerous he could be. He kept his arms wide and began to slowly advance on the fighter, keeping solid eye contact.
The man looked questioningly toward the Shihan for a moment, but the smaller man had melted back into invisibility. Frowning, he advanced as well and slowly flicked his weapon from one hand to the other.
Apesael flung himself into motion with a double swing kick, landing after the first and using the momentum to launch his foot straight at the man's head.
Grinning at the attack, the Jo-wielder swung his weapon in a simple arc and slammed Apeseal's foot off course, unbalancing him
Apesael landed with his two hands in front of him, in a Poisson, not unlike as if he was doing press-ups. He quickly levelled a sweep at the man's leg's.
Almost laughing now, the man slammed his Jo into the ground, blocking Apesael's sweep. It did, however, knock him off balance and force him to stumble backward as the Jo bucked in his hands.
Apesael righted himself and lunged forward with a reverse punch to the head, followed by two to the stomach and one to the groin.
The man thumped down hard onto the floor, head bowed and winded. The Jo hung loose in his hand for a moment, before he swung it end first upward to impact hard on Apesael's jaw, almost lifting him off his feet.
Apesael winced, the pain threatening to overwhelm him. He reached down and switched of that part of his brain through telepathy. He was really mad, killing mad. In quick succession he axe kicked the man in the solar plexus three times, letting out a kiai with every kick.
Sighing gently, and with a confused look in his eyes, the blue-robed man slowly sank onto his back, eyes closed. "Very well done!" roared the Shihan from his hidden watching place, and another man stepped through the arch at the back of the room. He didn't appear to have any weapons at first, but suddenly he flicked out a knife from his belt and flicked it into the air, the blade glinting and flashing as it turned.
Apesael bent down and picked up the Jo. He felt much more comfortable now he had his favoured weapon with him, he span it, quickly compensating for the lighter Jo than he usually used. He lunged forward with a flurry of blows faster than the eye could follow, his expertise with this weapon evident.
Flopping to the ground bonelessly, the knife-wielding man slipped under Apesael's assault, kicking up with one foot to slam the Jo into the air as he rolled backward, nimbly standing again and hop-dancing from left to right.
Apesael can forward with a side snap kick to the groin, punching out at head height to slam into the man's temple
Grunting with pain, the man retreated slowly, raising his knife and slicing at Apesael's fist as he withdrew, opening a thin slice across his knuckles and splashing blood to the floor
Apasael looked at his fist with some interest, before launching forward in a high-speed assault of a punch with his uninjured fist to the head followed by a low thrust kick to the solar plexus.
Shaking his head to clear it and stumbling backward again, the man dropped his knife, sticking into the floor and vibrating for a moment. Staring down at his hand, the man snarled and kicked out with fury, slamming square into Apesael's groin.
Apasael winced as the pain rocketed through his body, but had the presence of mind to clench his upper legs. The man's leg now stuck, Apesael brought his uninjured fist down on the man's knee, snapping it.
The pain in the man's leg was so intense that he didnt actually feel it for a moment, staring in confusion at his leg that now bent backward, hanging strangely as it extended from him to his opponent. As the pain slammed into his brain, he screamed horribly and fainted, dropping to the ground and wrenching his leg further, twisting the lower leg backward in relation to the upper as the shattered knee ground around 180 degrees.
"Very good", the Shihan roared again, apparently enjoying the violence greatly. He motioned for the next fighter.
The next fighter entered the ring slowly, two nunchuku clearly tucked into his belt.
Apesael was feeling very weary, the last three fights had not been easy on him. His groin, jaw and fist still hurt, and he couldn't fully shut down his pain receptors without loosing his ability to fight properly. He had a nasty feeling that some of the tendons on his right fist where damaged, and that would mean he couldn't hit with the knuckles. He tried his best to telepathically convince his body it felt better, and adopted a defensive stance.
The new fighter, looking first to the three slumped against the wall and then to the wounded Apeseal, smiled grimly. Spinning the nunchuku around in blurred circles, he advanced on Apesael at a slow walk, half-crouched, and forced him to back slowly away.
Apesael did not think he had the strength to continue a offensive style of combat, so stayed defensive, moving slowly, and watching for any sign of weakness. He would have to play on his opponents confidence if he was to win this one.
Halting suddenly as he saw Apesael's weariness, the man stopped spinning his nunchuku and caught the ends, holding one pair in each hand. Looking quizically at his opponent for a moment, he suddenly gave him a friendly smile and kicked the Jo across the floor toward Apesael, before beginning to spin his own weapons again.
Apesael was surprised at this. This was the first fighter which appeared to have honour. He picked up the Jo and adopted a defensive position with it, horse stance.
Still not appearing satisfied, the strange fighter let one of his nunchuku spin off into the darkness to thud against the wall. With the other, he began a complicated figure of eight that arced around his body, humming and swishing as the free tip moved through the air at immense speed
Apesael was not going to make the first move this time, whenever that had happened earlier he had ended up getting pounded. It was as the Shihan said "The defender must always win." He wished this applied to life outside sparing. The nunchuku where very impressive, their wielder clearly competent, and Apesael had serious doubt's about besting him. He tried to get rid of those thoughts. Doubt yourself and you will loos. "Good luck" He sent telepathically to his opponent.
The man smiled slightly, and an answering voice echoed around Apesael's mind "And to you too, young one...". Ending his display, he dropped into a low crouch, his weapon held in both hands outstretched, on above and behind his head, the other pointed directly at his opponent. "Your move..." his mind echoed, as outwardly he stayed focused on Apeseal, appearing to be about to attack.
Apesael slowly slid forward, his Jo held in such away so it would block downward attacks and could be quickly moved to block side ones. He locked eyes with his opponent, waiting for the slightest twitch that would give him an early warning of an attack.
After a good three minutes of neither opponent doing anything, Apesael thrust his Jo forward, without warning, aimed straight at the man's solar plexus.
With lightning speed the nunchuk arced up out of the man's hands, the central chain wrapping around the end of the Jo and pulling its point down into the ground, instead of to the man. He calmly reached out with one other hand, taking hold of the Jo and wrenching it out of Apesael's grip. "Hmm... You will have to do better than that..." he murmured, handing the weapon back and taking a step backward.
"Fine." Apesael attacked again, using both ends to lay a flurry of attack to the man's head.
Wincing slightly at a few of the blows, the man raised his arms and calmly blocked the attacks, although the strain showed on his face. "not bad..." he sent, kicking out against Apesael's chest once, then flicking around in a circle to land another kick that lifted his opponent off his feet, hurling him a little back backward.
Apesael swore mentally. Now both sides of his jaw hurt. He was going to have to replace several teeth after this. He dummied an attack to the face, before using the other end to hit the man's floating rib.
The man grunted, tensing his muscles a millisecond too late to prevent the attack from doing damage. Silently, he brought his foot around in another kick, aiming for Apesael's temple
Apesael was in the worst possible position to block this, so went with the kick, bending his body to minimilse the force. It didn't work very well and Apesael was sent sprawling to the floor, head rining. He fought hard to get his vision to stop blurring.
"Hmmm... I don't think you can finish this..." echoed the man's sending. He turned on his heel and marched away a few steps, before turning to bow. "I give you my strength..." came his voice, and then he was gone, fading into the shadowy edge of the arena.
Apesael picked himself up, telepathy quickly organising his mind and clearing it. He felt strength wash through him, and all his pain seemed to diminish. He felt amazing, like he could do anything. He quickly held that in check, overconfidence was what defeated most people. He marvelled at his last opponent, a superior fighter had surrendered, and somehow helped him. He couldn't quite understand. In any case he prepared for the next challenge, in a forward stance, the jo wide in on hand the other straight to the side.
A final warrior stepped through the arch at the back of the room. Dressed in black, vast and all of seven foot tall, he was the image of an ancient executioner, right down to the black hood. He didn't appear to wield any weapons at first glance, but as he moved into the light, metal studs glinted maliciously in the dim light. "Ahh... that one..." came the previous fighter's voice, still in contact with Apesael's mind. "He appears strong, and yes.. he is... VERY strong... but not unbeatable. You may notice that he limps slightly - his right leg is devoid of sensation. He will feel no pain, but will be weak defending that side..."
Thank you for your assistance. Apesael stared at the behemoth. This was not going to be fun. Waiting for him to attack first was not an option. Apesael began thinking liquid thoughts, a technique he'd been taught, think like water, and move like water. He dove forward, ready to dodge any blow levelled his way, and slammed his Jo into the Goliath's right knee.
Stumbling backward, just barely, the hug man slammed his fist through the air with a roar, aiming directly for Apesael's exposed head.
Apesael dodged out the way, moved around to the man's back, and thrust the Jo into his floating rib, in one fluid move.
Grunting through his mask, his behemoth opponent swung his other fist around in an arc that connected with Apesael's shoulder, hurling him to the ground.
Apesaels shoulder screamed at him. He told it to shut up. It ignored him. He roled as he hit the floor, coming up in a crouching position, and rushing forward to deliver another blow to the right knee.
The man sagged onto one knee with a thump as Apesael's Jo pushed his right knee forward. Noticing the knife on the floor, still embedded in the padding, he reaching down and closed his fist around it and wrenched it out, hurling it with surprising dexterity toward Apesael's injured shoulder as he spun and stood again.
The knife entered his shoulder with a horrible *thunk*. The screaming became a 100 part choir of pain, and Apesael let out primal scream. His arm hang limp, clearly the knife had damaged some muscles, but not much blood was coming out. Through some random good luck it had avoided all major veins and arteries. He cut off all sensations from that arm. Apesael tried to make the best of the situation and began to circle the giant man, bombarding his head with one handed blow's from his Jo.
The huge man grinned through his mask, mouth twisting into a horrible parody of a smile. As he swung his fist around in a lethal arc, he suddenly stopping, looking confused, and stared at Apesael for a moment. "Finish him..." came the voice of the fourth. "He won't be like that for long... and if you don't he will surely finish YOU." Indeed, as the words whispered through Apesael's mind, his opponent was already beginning to move more coherently, his eyes focusing evilly on Apesael through the narrow slits in his mask.
Apesael drew the knife out of his shoulder. Desperate situations called for desperate responses. He drew it out, and plunged it as hard as he could into the man's collarbone.
Roaring in pain, the man flailed at Apesael, sheer luck directing his blows. Wrenching the knife out of his chest, the man coughed horribly, blood seeping over his lips.
Apesael blocked the man's blows quite easily. Flailing never realy works anyway he thought, before landing a thrust kick towards the mans right leg.
Collapsing awkwardly, the black garbed man put his hand down to prevent himself from falling further. Unfortunately, it was the hand he held the knife in, and the high velocity plus his own weight drove the blade clean through his palm to stick up into the air, red sheen glinting. Grunting in surprise at the cold feeling in his hand, the man coughed again, spilling more blood across his lips. As he saw the blade his eyes widened in surprise, and he held his hand up to look at it dazedly. "wha...?" he gurgled, and collapsed into a fit of coughing, blood rolling freely across his chin to splatter against the padded floor. "You win, I think..." came the voice of the fourth, actually speaking rather than sending.
Stepping into the light, with his white cloak shimmering, he took Apesael by the shoulder and lead him through the archway into the next room, gesturing the Shihan who had, suddenly, appeared to sort out the mess.
Apesael was apprehensive about this new room, his whole body felt as if it had been pulversied (as indeed it had), and he was not in a fit state for any more fighting. Pleased was he when it was a quiet garden. He was surprised by this, what with it being a garden with plenty of smaal trees, and small stream and a mahogany desk in the centre.
"Welcome, Apesael, to my office" said the man, dusting off his clothes. "If you would find somewhere to sit while I find your papers? The carp are particularly relaxing to watch, I find."
Apesael knelt by the stream obediantly, and stared intensely at a carp, which apeared to notice him and hid beneath an ornamental bridge.
"Ah. here we are." Murmured the man behind him, soft voice carrying strangely across the bubbling of the stream. "Your papers," he handed a small portfolio to the tired fighter, "And your congratulations-on-winning weapon. Ceremonial, but quite functional." As he spoke, he drew out a short katana, blade gleaming in the softly lit room. The hilt was engraved with intricate patterns, etched black onto the silvery metal. Studying it for a moment, the man resheathed the weapon, handing it to Apesael with a small flourish. "May it serve you well, warrior."
Apesael bowed deeply and accepted the lovely looking sword. He was pleased with his success "Thank you sir."
"Sir ... who are you?" Apesael didn't mean to be rude, but his curiosity demanded that he asked.
"Me?" the man paused, smiling at some inner joke. "I ... I am the power behind many things, yet none know of me. I am ... the one who knows all and sees all ... the one who plays with the lives of Novacorp's Sixth, manipulating them, using them ..." He grinned, and patted the tired and bewildered Apesael on the shoulder. "My friends call me Zeke! ... oh, and forget I mentioned "the Sixth". they don't exist!" He winked, gently shepherding Apesael back through the archway. "Get some rest..." he sent to Apesael, motioning the Shihan over to him as he watched the young man walk toward the door.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Zeke, sir." Apesael was very enthusiastic about rest, sleep he could handle. His mind reeled though. The Sixth? He'd never heard of the Sixth. He bowed and walked backwards towards the door before walking out, it closing silently behind him. Sleep. Now.