Tag Archives: Jaquan Zu

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #9

Close to early evening, they were all packed and ready to go.  The sky began its cycle of twilight shades as the sun prepared to set.  Before long the blue sky would fade to indigo.

Bome City’s defensive turrets scanned grass and the skies just as they always have looking for the slightest hint of danger.  A grid of massive turrets throughout the city perched on the tallest buildings and also set on towering pillars.  Not all of the pillars held the powerful cannons.  As large as the wildlife was, many times a simple bright light or loud noise could scare them off back into the wild.

The Bome’s Prime Minister insisted they be placed all around his kingdom evenly to protect all the people from any wild life that would approach as well as any raiders that would try their luck.  The turrets were everywhere, threatening to tarnish the city’s beautiful skyline.  A tower was even present at the shuttle station where Justice met with Jaquan’s team.

They all looked different now, dressed in traveling gear.  Liana was in her metal mech suit complete with a mask that covered her face.  Jaquan and Neely repeatedly told her it was a horrible idea for her to wear the helmet, but Liana insisted on being able to protect them and herself from whatever may come.

Neely had a heavy looking bag slung over his shoulder.  He stood apart from them with Catlin who wore normal clothing and brass knuckles.  They all had various Hanja on their clothing to enhance certain aspects of their strengths.

Justice was telling Jaquan and Liana about the city they were going to stay and the further steps they would have to take to get to the town that held the tournament.  It seemed like it could become a dangerous trek, only one suitable for someone used to fighting wild beasts.  Liana was quite unhappy about the trek.  Jaquan seemed only a little more welcoming to the thought.

“Getting there is half the fun,” Justice reassured them.

This did not gain any reassurance points with Liana, but a decision was a decision.  They were going.  Neely’s drunken rage set them all strait.  He reminded them why they started in the fight game in the first place.

Neely was the only one still foggy on the details of how they got to this point.  He had asked Liana but she insisted that Catlin knew best about what happened.  As he spoke to Catlin, she enjoyed giving tiny bits of information.

“Why would I ask for poison?”

“The drink I think is designed to have it.”

“So I asked for the drink,” he said riddling out the situation.  “And I knew the poison was added to the drink?”

“Yes it is quite popular with ladies.  The fruit juice usually…” Catlin’s eyes suddenly changed to an unfriendly gaze.  Her mannerisms changed along with her gaze.  No longer was she a silly child teasing her brother about the secret he may never know.  She was the alert warrior that knew something was misplaced, invisible but certain.  Having seen this gaze many times, Neely picked up on the change and translated it correctly.

“Empowerment aura and light please,” she whispered.  Her eyes quickly faded black her irises turning a brilliant red.  She pointed with them to the pillar about a meter behind her.

Neely activated his empowerment aura signified by a dim silver sphere extending about four and a half centimeters from him in all directions.  Along with it, a bright outline of gold closely surrounded his body.  Standing close to him, Catlin was completely engulfed by the aura.

Neely took a simple looking handle from his pocket and held it inside the pack he was carrying.  Gears and machines whirled and within four seconds he was holding a fully functional and strung compound bow, small but really strong.

He pulled an arrow from the pack.  It caught fire as he shot it at the pillar.  Just as it would have hit the pillar, Catlin motioned with her hand for it to go around the pillar.  The arrow obeyed perfectly and landed on the other side of the pillar with a flash bright enough to be visible in the daylight.  Along with the flash: The shadow of a very surprised person with a handheld.

With anger in her mind and hands encircled with dark red flames, she performed a gripping motion in the spy’s direction and performed a pulling motion in the air towards her chest.  In that split second motion, the spy was delivered from behind the pillar directly in front of them.

By now they had the attention of the whole team as well as a few onlookers.  Her cover blown, hanging in the air at Catlin’s thinning mercy, the spy had only one thing to say.

“Um… Hello,” she started nervously, “I’m Brisa Gan with the Champion’s Chronicle.”

#1 – Opportunity #8 – Opportunity #10

 

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #7

After the after party, The BigBad Crew went to a cafe in another corner of the hotel to relax and recover.  Of all of them, Neely was the one that needed to recover the most.  He loved fruit drinks especially the sweet ones.  He had no idea what the clear liquid was they added, but it gave the drink an extra kick.  After more kicks than he remembered, he was quite finished.

He sat in the booth with them.  However, the way that he stared passed Liana on the other side of the booth, they were uncertain he was with them at the moment.  He had a large black coffee in one hand and an empty plastic bag in the other, just in case.

They each had a coffee of their own.  Most of them were infused with chocolate.  Liana and Catlin, wealthier from their casino exploit, happily paid for the drinks.  As they sit Jaquan tells them about the visit from Justice.  Justice had offered him a chance to fight better warriors.  In turn, Jaquan could become better than he ever was.  It was very tempting, but he had time to think since then.

After an hour, the thought of throwing away everything for a chance at a possibility sat very wrong with him.  This was a life changing decision.  Something like this required the honest opinion of the people he trusted the most.  “So, what do you think?”

After a brief period of silence Catlin was the first to speak up.  “The fans won’t like it,” she said seriously, “They’ll think you’re running from Chuan and forget about you,” she said looking at him knowingly.  “They’ll be hard to win back,” she sung pointing at him knowing she was right.  Though he ignored most of the public and treated news crews like garbage, he did enjoy being famous.  “Chuan will use this as a platform to claim you’re scared to fight him too.”

“Orien Chuan,” Jaquan almost spit out his name with venom.  “Gettin’ tired of him.  Oh and five and still claims he’s better.  Need to shut him up for good.”  Jaquan was stared into his coffee, elbow on the table holding his head in his hand.  How could anyone get through to a fighter so full of himself?

Liana decided to use the pause to step in.  “This… Justice, what do we really know about him?” she said deciding to change the subject, “He just pops in out of nowhere and tells you all this stuff.  How’d he get into the party anyway?”

“He’s always been a tricky,” Jaquan chuckled to himself.

“What if he changed while he was gone?  He could be trying to trick you now,” Liana continued.  “Are you sure we can trust him?”

“If you’re going to shut Orien up for good,” Catlin entered, “we’ll have to train harder than ever.  You’ll have to humiliate him repeatedly for the whole match.”

“We tried that once,” Jaquan said pointing at her to accent his point.  “He stuck me with that lucky shot.”

“What about a quick fight,” Liana suggested, “make everyone think he wasted his time talking to himself.”

Jaquan lifted his head looked at Liana and smiled.  Now there was a good idea.  Shut up his hype by sending him home early.  Everyone would laugh at him the next time he opens his mouth.

“BAMP!” There was a sudden slam against the table.  The sound of the silverware and empty cups bouncing off the table got the attention of everyone in the cafe.  They looked and saw that Neely, though still intoxicated, had heard and understood everything.  “I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” everything about him rung of someone insulted by pure witlessness, “Your friend uses the Holy Talents.  The Holy Talents!”  He paused between the words making sure they understood him.  “How could you doubt him?  Do you doubt me?”  It took a little while for him to continue but they all waited.  “If he says this will help, it will help.”

They listened on knowing that arguing with him was useless at this point.  “You can be the greatest!  The very best!  What you trained for!” Neely was reeling but his argument made real sense.  “Those promoters don’t give two Silicon coins ’bout you.  The crowds would just as well see you broken.  They’ll find someone else.  They always have another fight.

“This is about You.  You can be the greatest, the very Best!  Why you care ‘bout what Orien says?”  He said the name with disdain.  Orien Quan had proven to be a nuisance, but that was all he was.  “Let him talk.  He’s a publicity hog.  He wants to be the champ.  Let’s see how long he can keep it.”  Neely leaned forward holding himself as steady as he could.  With no small amount of concentration he lifted his hand.  Pointing at Jaquan staring at him he said, “You want to be the best, in the world?  You have to travel the world and become the best.”  He leaned back into his seat lowering his hand.  “It sure ain’t coming here.  Now if you excuse me,” Neely said turning to his right, still reeling, “I have to go to the toilet.”

Catlin got up from the booth to let Neely out.  He rose slowly and shambled his way to the toilet; bag in hand, just in case.

#1 – Opportunity #6 – Opportunity #8

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #6

As the night continued, the festive energy waned and the crown thinned.  The BigBad Crew already had their fun.  Seeing as how the party seemed to be over, they decided to separate for a while.

Neely felt it best to stay by the bar though he rarely drank anything intoxicating.  Jaquan chose not to say anything about it.  Neely started using the Holy Talent Set a year or so ago.  Since then, he listened to his ‘odd’ intuitions more and more.  Often enough they turned out quite well for them in the long run.

Catlin and Liana on the other hand, decided to alternate between the buffet and the slot machines in the casino just outside the club.  Despite their small athletic figures, they liked to eat and try their luck.  And with Liana’s tinkering skills, they did not have to try that hard.

Jaquan was left to relax and talk to the remaining fans.  These fans were a different sort.  They actually talked with him as though he was more than a source of entertainment.  As he was talking, he saw the face that eluded him before.  This time he recognized it.  Justice He, an old friend from years ago was lounging at a couch.  Jaquan had to go meet him.

When the Berserker training school opened, Justice joined along with Jaquan.  Justice quickly became a lead fighter.  The Berserker talents were an incredible combination with his Affliction and Caster Talents.  No one could escape his onslaught of debilitation from a long rage.  Everyone was shocked when he left the Berserker school for the Holy school as soon as that school opened.

He disappeared for several years.  Jaquan thought he was dead, but here he sat.  He looked a little worse for wear.  A lot more experienced though.  “Justice, what’s going on?  How did you get here?”

Justice was surprisingly calm in his answers.  The berserker rage he remembered was completely gone, replaced by a strange peace.  “I have learned ways to get around,” Justice said without skipping a beat, “I was just in the neighborhood.  I heard my little brother was in a championship fight.  Congratulations on your win, by the way.”  He seemed truly genuine and equally unimpressed.  “So, I decided to help.”

Jaquan was taken aback, almost insulted.  “I don’t need any help.  I’ve held the World Championship Title for three years.”

“You’ve done,” Justice paused choosing his words carefully, “well enough but you’re too comfortable here.”  Justice spoke slowly and clearly watching the change in Jaquan’s face.  “What if I told you about a bigger tournament, a tournament where only the greatest fighters are invited and compete to see who is truly the greatest in the world?  Would you be interested?”

“If you told me about a tournament like that, I’d wonder why I haven’t got an invite, Justice.”  Jaquan’s tone was of pure skepticism.  If there was a counting of the greatest fighters he had to be among them.

“I use the Holy Talents, Jaquan.  I can’t lie or misdirect, it would be, unpleasant.”  The way Justice emphasized the ending of that sentence said a lot.  It was no joking matter.  “You need World Tournament Points to get an invite.  Believe it or not, even the World Championship Stage is small compared to this one.  These fighters are much more challenging.”

Jaquan had to admit; the fights were becoming formulaic.  He had fought more and more young fighters trying to get recognized.  Fighters with potential fell off of his radar.  Only Orien was a persistent challenger, and that fight was a year ago.  It could be time to take another step up.  “How do I get these Tournament Points?”

“You need to compete in underground tournaments all around the world,” Justice suddenly looked as though he remembered something, “A new season just started.  You may be able to get to the next World Tournament if you do well enough.”

“I have a fight lined up.  I can’t just pick up and leave.”

“With who, Chuan?  You would have beaten him easily anyway,” Justice said then corrected himself.  “Well, relatively easily.  Learned a little and gained a little.  If you want to be the best you have to take more than baby steps.”

Jaquan thought about this dilemma.  He wanted to be the best, but was it worth leaving everything he knew?  What if he left everything, lost the title by forfeit, and did nothing but lose fights?  He would have to fight his way up the rankings again for a small fraction of the pay.

Justice saw the conflict in his old friend’s face.  “I am leaving in a few days so there’s no pressure, alright?”  He was typing something on his handheld as he spoke then pointed it at Jaquan and pressed a button.  Immediately, Jaquan’s handheld buzzed.  “I just gave you my contact information.  If you want to go with me, let me know before I go alright?”

#1 – Opportunity #5 – Opportunity #7