The Practice Tournament Begins Part Two

Night One Hundred And Twenty Seven

Age 1991

"So..." Master Storm asked softly. "How has your time been."

He stood away from everyone else behind a small stone building where no one was around. His beard twitched slightly as the small drone poked its head out of his beard its small wings popping out as it flew out of its gray home. It flew a few feet in front of him as it seemed to slowly crack open and a small white marble could be seen. The Equation that mankind fought with...

The drone glowed for a moment and morphed becoming a young woman in her early twenties. She seemed to only be twenty years old, and had long blonde hair that hung down her back, and a pair of bright yellow eyes. Her mouth was filled with rows of sharp, shark like teeth, and she wasn't wearing that much clothing holding a large gun at her side. It didn't look like a Cursed Power type of gun though. Just something anyone would use. She stretched her body out popping all the muscles that were in her body.

"It's been kind of boring." She yawned. "Still... He's kind of cute so I don't mind following him." She giggled. "That Hero Law. I'm gonna be sad when I have to blow his brains out."

"We don't know if we'll have to get to that point..." Master Storm frowned. "Perhaps young Hero will find his own way around it..." The old man hummed.

The woman shook her head her shark toothed grin only growing. "Nah... I've seen it enough to know his type. He's strong. Or so he likes to say. Going on and on about his dreams, and his hopes, but when it does come down to it, he will be far to weak, to actually fight it off. It's a shame though. I'm glad I will be the one who gets to do it."

"That's enough Hope." Master Storm said cutting the woman off.

"Yeah, yeah..." Hope said rolling her eyes. "It's better I be the one to do it than my brother." She sighed.

"Yes... Your brother... Is he-"

"He doesn't want to talk to you." Hope said rolling her eyes. She threw her arms behind her head as she leaned back. "You and all your 'rules' to your silly little game. He calls it 'dumb and 'boring' and I have to agree slightly."

Master Storm let out another sigh and shook his head. "Fine, fine..." He hummed. "I will talk to him later in his own time. He should still be over with the others."

"Whatever." Hope said rolling her eyes and leaning back. "So can I go now? I'm totally bored and your beard smells. That boy uses the best kind of shampoo. And that other girl that's with him. Ken. She steals his shampoo so her hair is also amazing. And then there is that other one. Irene. Not as good as Ken or Hero, but far better than Light, and Kitsune..."

"Yes, yes..." Master Storm waved it all off as he nodded his head. "You may go... Just don't let yourself be seen."

"Sweet."

***

Back up in the tower Hero crashed down into a large stone room that was nearly pitch black. As he landed he looked around a large frown on his face. "What the hell?" He asked the only lightning being from the hole in the roof which allowed the artificial light to cast down its warm glows into the mostly empty room. "There's no flag in here!" Hero yelled with wide eyes. "I was cheated out of an awesome victory! Not fair-"

"Actually..." A voice said letting out a small hiss. Hero turned just in time to see a bit of lightning reflecting off of metal as a figured landed down in front of him. "There is a flag." The person said ramming the metal pole of the flag they held down into the foot of Hero making him scream out in pain when it stabbed through his foot and came out the other end. Hero fell back from the shock and pain but was stopped when the figures other hand came out and wrapped around his face squeezing it tightly. "I wanted to talk." The figure said.

He was in a simple black business suit, and wore a simple black helmet that had green mist seeping out of it as his hand squeezed down around Hero's face harder and harder his black glove digging into the boys face.

"Hello. You can call me... The Mystery. And Hero Law... I came to have a bit of a talk with Row."

'Hero...' The voice of Row said echoing through the teens mind as Hero stared at this new man in fear and shock. 'We need to run.'

"Ow! You mother f##ker!" Hero yelled. His fist came out slamming into the metal mask of the man which it didn't even harm. The man did let go of the flag though and jumped back. Hero collapsed breathing heavily as he slowly pulled the flag up. "Oh... Oh God... What the f##k!"

"My, my did I cause you harm-"

"There's a hole in my foot!" Hero screamed. "What the hell do you think!" Hero stared down at the hole. It wasn't that thick, and Life Gel could likely heal it, but boy did it freaking hurt to stand on that foot. "Ow... Okay... You're an asshole."

'Hero we need to run-'

"Oh shut the hell up Row!"

"Ah Row's in there?" Mystery asked cocking his head to the side. "I see... So can he here me? If so I would like you to let him out. You see I wanted to test him out and see how strong he is..."

"W... What?" Hero asked letting out a pained hissed as he managed to slowly stand back up to his feet and he stumbled slightly.

"Master Storm is afraid of you, you know. Or at least he is scared of Row..." He waved his hand up gripping it tightly. "So I want to play a little game. Test my metal against him... I want to know where I stand against the man who made Hero terrified. One look at Row, and she was terrified. I need to know just how strong someone with the Crest is... Someone with that man's DNA... The child of Orion..."

'I like this guy... Let me out!'

Hero ignored the voice rolling his eyes as he stared ahead at scary man. "What the hell is going on..." Hero hummed.

"I see... You're not gonna let him out are you..." The man let out a small sigh as he shook his head. He reached into his pocket pulling out a simple white knife. "You know... When a Bestia Macht dies its body breaks apart to dust. The same goes for those who are Seraphins." The man nodded. "This however..." He gestured to the large knife he was holding. "This is a blade formed by the rib cage of Mr. Hyde. He's a Seraphin you know. Well he's more than that. The point is these blades are formed from him his body, and added with the Blood based power of William Bathory."

"William Bathory?" For a second Hero's mind went to the Noble he had met so long ago.

The man let out another loud hum as he pulled out a second large blade. He twirled them both around gripping them both tightly. He pressed the blades together as he ran them along each other letting out loud sparks which came off of the two blades. "You're not gonna let Row out. I see that, that is not an option with you right? However from what Hero has told me each time you use your powers he gets closer, and closer. I'm sure that if I bring you close to near death you'll have to use that power, and let him out."

"Not happening." Hero said shaking his head. He shifted his arm back to his clawed hand. 'Shit!' He thought in a panicked tone. 'I can't use my gun form more than once a day... I'm stuck without that form. I was going to use it to blast the roof for help but that's not an option... Alright here and now I'll-'

'Oh my God will you just fight.'

'Shut the hell up Row!'

'Give me my body back!'

Hero once again knocked the voice back down deeper into his mind as he fired forward towards the man at a high speed. Hero slammed his arm forward as fast as he could but the man leaned back, Hero's claws missing the man. The Mystery spun his body around and slammed his leg into Hero's side as hard as he could sending Hero flying back. Hero slammed into the large metal wall sliding down and dropping down to his knees as he let out a loud hiss.

Mystery fired forward jumping into the air and spinning his body around as he slammed both of his legs into the roof and he fired towards the teen who was stuck in the wall. He slashed both blades down as hard as he could. Hero barley had time to raise his large clawed arm up blocking both bone blades which heavily dented his arm and pressed down into it. Each one digging deeper and deeper.

Hero threw out a powerful punch as his arm shifted towards its massive drill arm as he stabbed it forward as hard as he could. The man ducked back just in time as Hero's drill stabbed into the ground behind him. He spun around throwing the blades out. Mystery launched himself back at Hero slamming his palms into Hero's face, and chest Hero's head slamming back into the metal wall and leaving a heavy dent.

Hero managed to throw the man off of him as his arm reformed into his clawed mode. He opened his jaws as wide as he could and slammed his teeth into the stone wall around him as he began to swallow. His arm shattered breaking apart and leaving a large metal stump but seconds later his clawed arm reformed now made out of the stone he had bit into. The flames poured off of his stone claws as stone feathers formed.

"Interesting? I didn't know you could reform the arm out of other materials." The Mystery hummed.

"Neither did I." Hero said cooly slamming his massive arm back at the man as he threw out a powerful flaming stone fist. His arm began to spin rapidly as the wind twisted around the clawed hand. The flames twisted around the tornado forming his strongest attack. "Hellish Cyclone!" He screamed as loud as he could throwing out his strongest attack towards the man in black.

Hellish Cyclone spun at a speeds that reached nearly Mach ten, and the flames around it were nearly as hot as lightning or nearly 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That was why Hero stared with wide eyes when the strange man raised his arm up a green mist covering his limb as he caught the massive fist.

"No." Was all he said slamming his fist back into Hero's nose and causing the teen to stumble back. He grabbed one of his bone blades which rested on the ground and rammed it into Hero's gut as hard as he could twisting the blade. Hero screamed out in pain as more mist seeped out of his helmet. The smoke seemed to form various letters and numbers as he let out a loud hiss. "I wonder do you recognize me?" The man asked.

"What..."

"I'm not surprised. After all we've never met. I only talked to Row a few times. Of course things were different then. I was on the great and mighty Okami Otoko's Squad ya know... I remember that little brat running around. I thought you might have remembered me is all..." He twisted the blade making Hero scream out even louder. "Now... Bring out Row..."

"F... F##k you..."

***

Meanwhile...

Katrina watched the tower with a large frown. "How long does it take him to get a stupid flag..." She muttered. "He's already at the top... Where the hell is he?"

Down below in the court yard Lucy, and Emma could be see the two of them looking around. "I don't suppose you have a way to let us in right?" Emma asked.

Lucy let out a small hum as she clicked the case open and a large tentacle monster began to climb out. "This is sir Fluffualton the tenth..." She said speaking in her robotic tone.

Sir Fluffualton the tenth was around the size of a small car, and had a circle like body covered in black fur. He had ten tentacles and large squid eyes all along his body. He let out several weird noises and Lucy set on him and grabbed a handful of fur. Emma looked at her weirdly but let out a small sigh as she placed her chain saw back on her hip and got onto the beast next to Lucy grabbing on.

"So what happens now-"

The beast rocketed forward its tentacles coming out and stabbing into the wall as it began to crawl up the tower at a fast speed making Emma let out a terrified yell, while Lucy, stared with a robotic emotionless expression.

Meanwhile inside of the tower Ken was running down the halls at full speed still on all fours like a kitty cat. "Gotta get to the top... I can't let Hero show me up-" As she flew up a set of steps she barely had time to register the fact Shelly was at the top as both girls accidently head butted one another and collapsed back.

Both girls let out loud yelps before glaring at one another.

"Watch it!" Shelly hissed.

"You watch it."

"You're the one that ran into me?" She hissed back.

Both girls glared at each other as a black light seeped off of Ken and the area around her began to freeze slightly. Shelly meanwhile was lit up with pink flames which danced around her arms forming various letters, and symbols, as they waited for each other to act. Pink eyes met Silver eyes as neither one blinked or looked away just glaring at one another.

"Uh what are you two doing..."

Ken and Shelly both jumped letting out loud yelps as they turned to the noise. They saw a deadpanned Max who was standing on a large slab of cooled down rock which had been using to surf on lava.

"Two on one!" Ken said with wide eyes. "Squad One would play dirty-"

"I'm not fighting you." Max said flatly. "I'm only interested in Hero."

"That sounds..." Ken and Shelly both muttered light blushes forming on their faces.

"I don't want to hear it from either of you two! I can't tell if you two hate, or love each other."

"Hate."

"Love."

"What?" Both girls turned to look back at one another unsure which one said what. "Oh right..."

"Love?"

"Hate?"

"Damn it make up your mind!" They both yelled pointing at each other.

Max sighed shaking his head. "God damn it Hero where are you..."

Before Ken and Shelly could break out into their fighting loud screaming could be heard coming from up ahead.

"Hero?"