3. Chapter 3(2)

Then in sudden move no saw coming, Cassidy delivered quick and unexpected head-butt that Lincoln didn't see coming!

SMACK!

The sheer force of the head-butt sent Lincoln down to one knee. Lincoln was almost thrown out of a loop after that, it was lucky Cassidy hit his forehead dead on and not his nose. Pretty sure it would be broken after a hit like that. Shaking off that hit Lincoln suddenly saw an open palm strike heading straight at him, just like before he couldn't move or block in time. The palm strike hit him right on the left side of his face and sent him straight to ground!

"You aren't on your back but the night is still young, you gonna get back up?"

Now this was feeling Lincoln hadn't felt in awhile, the taste of blood in his mouth, trying to get himself off the dirt. It sort of brought a bit of nostalgia to Lincoln, reminding him of the old days.

"Don't tell me you're going to give up. Not after that little show of bravado you showed me days ago, come on show me what you got kid—"

Before Cassidy could finish, he felt a tremendous amount of force and pain coming from under his chin. Then before he knew it he was sent flying by a quick and powerful right uppercut Lincoln performed right before he quickly jumped back on his feet.

Cassidy hit the ground and landed on his back!

Everyone grew quiet after that, everyone was shocked by what they saw.

"Funny, thought you said I was going to be the one on my back?"

Lincoln cracked his knuckles as he looked down at a very shocked Cassidy. Who began to slowly realize where he was. He was on the ground and on his back, if this had been a sumo match he would have lost. Never in his life had this happened to him before.

"You surprised me at first when my first round of attacks didn't phase you, then I remembered something. Long ago, bareknuckle fighters used to do an old trick that toughened up their skin with salt, where they would rub it on themselves constantly. Either you did something similar or you picked up that little trick from them. Never really expected a sumo guy like you to do that but considering our line of work I gotta give you props for you ingenuity."

There was no words for amount of shock that kept coming from Cassidy.

Suddenly a scowl found itself on Cassidy's face, then with newfound vigor he did something very shocking. He performed a kip up, a acrobatic move where a person who's on their back draws both their legs up to their chest and launch themselves back up and land on their feet! It was shocking to say the least given his size. Next thing he did was launch another palm strike at Lincoln, who this time managed to block with a cover up. However while he protected himself he did not anticipate the force behind the strike and didn't fully brace himself for what happened next.

The force of Cassidy's strike sent Lincoln skidding a few feet away from him! It lucky he kept his center of gravity and didn't topple over.

Both of Lincoln's arms ached heavily as he felt the aftermath of Cassidy's strike. It was a good thing he blocked that attack, if he had not Lincoln would have been hurt badly. Not wanting to remain on the defensive for too long, Lincoln went on the offensive and began to deliver a few quick flicker jabs!

Many in attendance have seen plenty of fights and knew a thing or two. They knew what a flicker jab was, in boxing there was only one attack that was considered the fastest. It wasn't a straight punch, uppercut nor a hook.

It was a jab.

However there was a different variation of the jab and it was called the flicker jab. Unlike a regular jab which is snapping out a straight punch with great speed. A flicker jab is used from a lower angle and is what the name implies, a flicker with an almost jerking motion. This move was created by the famous professional boxer named Thomas Hearns aka "The Hitman". The man who invented the Hitman style in boxing. Lot of famous boxers today use this style like Gaolang Wongsawat, Ryo Mashiba and a few notable others.

Back on topic, many in the crowd were in shock and awe as they saw Lincoln throw a fury of flicker have that they couldn't see. It was almost like Thomas Hearns himself was controlling Lincoln. Each jab hit their target and were doing their job, keeping Cassidy at bay. For you see the flicker jab was meant to keep an opponent at bay and give the user an advantage to plan or tire them out. It was possible to have enough strength the jab to cause more damage or even knock out a person. Sadly for Lincoln he didn't have the right opponent for that.

Cassidy was sure enough feeling the jabs but was still taking them like nothing. Given his size and how tough his skin was it made perfect sense.

'Shit… looks like I'm going have to get more serious.'

When Lincoln stopped using his flicker jabs everyone was surprised, Cassidy however saw an opening and attacked with another palm strike. Narrowing his eyes a bit Lincoln used his foot work and dodged the strike. Cassidy went for another strike but Lincoln kept on moving away last second, which was beginning to irritate Cassidy a little. Finally after going for one more palm strike, Cassidy was caught off guard to see Lincoln go for a heavy right hook that sent Cassidy back a little.

That right hook really hurt which surprised Cassidy but what surprised him more was the fact he felt a welt where Lincoln had last hit. Which shouldn't have been possible, that's when Cassidy realized something. Why that last punch hurt a whole lot worse than Lincoln's earlier attacks.

"You cheeky son of a bitch, you were pulling your punches."

Lincoln kept up his stance but smiled at Cassidy.

"What can I say, up until now I never had a reason to go all out."

Maybe Cassidy should have felt pissed off but he wasn't. In fact Cassidy also had a smile on his face.

"Are you really going all out though?"

Lincoln didn't say a thing at first, he only smirked and chuckled.

"How about you come here and find out."

This time it was Cassidy's turn to chuckle, he happily obliged his opponent.

Letting out a yell Cassidy charged at Lincoln who brought up his guard, he was expecting Cassidy to go for another strike but he was wrong as Cassidy opened up his arms and hands going for a grapple!

Thankfully for Lincoln he sidestepped to the left side in time, he then went for a couple of quick jabs at Cassidy's body. The tall sumo wrestler ignored the pain and went for another palm strike. Lincoln dodged the strike and began to Bob and Weave each strike that followed.

Lincoln was hoping to wear down Cassidy and go for a well placed strike to end the match but sadly that didn't seem to be the case. He expected Cassidy to begin to tire out so far from the fight. After all Cassidy was a sumo wrestler and it was proven that a normal sumo wrestler's body dedicated for a quick and deceive match. This however wasn't a regular sumo match and Cassidy wasn't regular sumo wrestler.

Unlike most sumo wrestlers, Cassidy wasn't as fat like most sumo wrestlers. He was tall and pretty fit given he was a sumo wrestler. Another thing we that Cassidy probably had a whole different type of training regiment than a regular sumo wrestler. Most likely endurance and stamina training along with strength training given how much his strikes hurt. Him being tall helped him out a lot in the striking department, reach was very important in fighting especially if you were a striker.

It was safe to say Cassidy was an abnormality.

Which meant this fight was going to take a little bit longer and Lincoln didn't have a problem with that. This fight was getting interesting, however there was one thing that was bothering Lincoln. And that was the fact Cassidy wasn't really going all out, the same could be said to Lincoln but he only let loose depending on how strong his opponent is.

Cassidy could do a lot more, the only problem is that he was holding back on purpose.

"Tell me how long you're gonna keep yourself from going all out?"

"What was that?" Cassidy asked stopping his attack on Lincoln.

"Like I said a few days ago, you will never beat me the way you are now. You have so much potential do more but you keep yourself from reaching it. I can see what your plan is. You expect me to waste all my energy boxing with you, given your size and whatever training you've been doing. Safe to say that's how you usually deal with fighters like me. It's smart, only problem is that unlike you I know when to go all out."

Cassidy raised an eyebrow at Lincoln, what was he planning.

Soon Cassidy got his answer when he saw Lincoln rushing at him at speeds he could barely keep up with. Lincoln pulled back his left arm and got ready to throw a punch, Cassidy expected Lincoln to go for a heavy overhead punch or an uppercut. What he didn't expect was for Lincoln to throw a heavy left body hook that collided with his liver!

All Cassidy could feel was a surge of pain shoot through out his body and how he lost all strength in his legs, next thing he knew he was laying on the ground holding onto his sides.

Everything grew silent again, this time there were shocked faces on everyone. Including both fighters bosses. Clyde and Penelope were not expecting that to happen, neither was Tim Courtney who had completely lost that smug smirk. Lincoln on the other hand smirked as he looked down at his down opponent.

"What happened?" Penelope asked. "Cassidy was taking all of Lincoln's blows just fine until now. How could one punch send him toppling to the ground like that?"

"A liver punch."

"What?"

"A liver punch Penelope, the liver is the largest and heaviest internal organ in the human body." Clyde began to explain pushing up his glasses a little. "The liver is very flexible and if one side of the liver gets compressed by a hit, the other side will get stretched. Doesn't help that the liver has a lot of nerve fibers around it which is linked to the autonomic nervous system which controls involuntary actions like breathing, heartbeats and other important things. The body can't handle getting hit in the liver so it effectively shuts down. No matter how big you are or how much willpower you have, a body shot will always bring anyone down. I wouldn't be surprise if Cassidy has a ruptured liver."

From what Penelope was seeing, she had to agree with her boss.

Cassidy was desperately trying to get up but his body would not listen. Never in his life had Cassidy been in so much pain than right now, it took everything in him just not to scream. He got careless, he should known that his opponent was going to go for something different. After all he did say he knew when to go all out. Only thing that was bothering Cassidy right now more than the pain was what Lincoln said.

Was he really holding himself back?

There was no question about, Cassidy knew that he was holding back. Why you may ask? For a lot of reasons, because he didn't want to accidently kill anyone like last time. Though that was just what he told himself to feel better. The truth was that he was afraid.

Deep down he was afraid of losing, in that fight with those punks Cassidy was afraid of losing. Afraid of losing and shaming everyone close to him. Not just his fans, fellow Rikishi but his friends and family. He wasn't afraid of killing but afraid of letting down those close to him. Those thoughts lingered with him until his final match as a Rikishi, those thoughts made him quit sumo and become a recluse.

Was it stupid, perhaps?

But nothing meant more to Cassidy than his friends and family, truth be told the only reason he got into sumo and wrestling was because both his fathers did it. His first father Lucas Sullivan was an All American wrestler, and Haranami Tsuyoishi who was a Professional Rikishi. Somehow Cassidy always felt like he owed it to them to keep that tradition going. He loved his family greatly, guess that's why he left because he was so afraid of letting them down.

What a coward he was, Cassidy knew that now.

Look where that fear got him. Wallowing on the ground in for some stupid fight he arrogantly thought would be easy, looking up he saw Lincoln staring down at him with pity. Cassidy should have got up and make him regret looking down at him like that, the one look a Rikishi never wants to see thrown their way. Sadly Cassidy knew that Lincoln was on a whole other level now, best to give up now and take the loss.

"Is this really all you have Cassidy?" Lincoln asked shaking his head at the man in disgust. "When are you going to stop holding yourself back and fight?!"

Silence was all Cassidy head, other than that he hung his head low in shame.

Lincoln could only sigh before something caught his attention on the sidelines.

"If you won't give it your all for yourself or this fight, the least you could do is do it for them."

Confused by what Lincoln was saying, Cassidy turned to where Lincoln was looking. What he saw caused him to lose his breath for a second.

There in the crowd was his brother and Byamba with a few of his senior students but what really got his attention was that they weren't the only ones there. He saw that his father and mother were with him, Haranami and Sakuhana Tsuyoishi. His father was an opposing man with a large size and presence, he had his shoulder length black greying hair down and he wore a traditional blue and white kimono. His mother was just as beautiful and radiant just like the last time he saw her, her long brown hair was tied into a ponytail which was over her left shoulder. She had gotten a few grey hair and wrinkles but she looked beautiful than ever, she was wearing traditional pink kimono with a flower petal design.

First thing going through Cassidy's mind was why? Why were they here of all places?

"I had talk with your brother 2 day ago, we had a lot to talk about but I convinced him to call your parents and told him to bring them here. Looks like he brought a few of your students too."

"Why! You had no right!" Cassidy yelled trying to get up but couldn't since she was still trying to recover from that liver punch. "Do you hope to embarrass me in front of my loved ones, Ace!"

"I want you to fight with everything you got!" Lincoln yelled back. "Be the fighter I know you are than a stubborn fool afraid of letting go! Show me what you're made of, Cassidy Tsuyoishi! Show me the man your loved ones know you to be!"

None of this going the way Cassidy wanted. He had no idea what to do, having his loved ones here wasn't helping.

"Get up Cassidy!"

That seemed to have brought Cassidy back to reality as he looked over and saw his little brother shouting out him.

"You are stronger than this guy, brother! You can beat him!"

Cassidy didn't know what to say as his students joined in.

"You can do it teacher!"

"Show this bozo what it means to mess with a Rikishi!"

"We all believe it you teacher!"

Looking at them cheer him on made Cassidy feel at ease for some reason. When he looked at his parents he saw that his mother holding onto his father with a worried expression. His father? The stoic expression he always had soften, his eyes were filled with a feeling quite different than the lost time he saw them. Long ago on that night they were filled with disappointment, that's when Cassidy told them he was retiring and leaving. Now those eyes were filled with something he always wanted to see his father look at him.

Filled with pride.

Whatever fear Cassidy still had was there but it was being suppressed by another emotion. One he hasn't felt in a long time, a burning desire to give it his all!

"You were right Ace… if I won't give you my all for myself, than I will do it for them!"

Completely fired up and filled with the desire to win, Cassidy shot up from the ground and went straight for Lincoln. Getting him to smirk in anticipation, Lincoln got ready to throw a heavy right hook but was caught off guard when Cassidy did the unexpected.

He performed a heavy right hook that caused Lincoln to fall to ground!

The cheers stopped as everyone couldn't believe what they saw. A sumo wrestler using a punch? Could such a thing be okay? Well, the thing is that Cassidy Tsuyoishi wasn't technically a sumo wrestler anymore. While it could be said he still believed in it and uses it's style, Cassidy was not restricted to sumo. No, after all this was a real street fight!

That uppercut caught Lincoln by surprise but he wasn't pissed off, not yet anyways. This is what he wanted. Even though he could taste a bit of blood in his mouth, he was smiling under his mask. He quickly got up and went straight for Cassidy with a heavy left hook. That missed when Cassidy parried it with a slap from his hand, he then rushed up to Lincoln and did a move he hasn't done in a long time.

A snatch single takedown, a wrestling move he learned quite a long time ago.

It involves the user pushing their hand right up against their opponent's head and trying to force them down and block their view as the user uses their other hand and arm to lift one of the opponent's legs off the ground and perform a takedown.

This is what happened to Lincoln, slamming hard onto the ground hurt like hell and almost knocked the wind out of him. Unfortunately for him, Cassidy didn't stop there because Cassidy went for a full nelson on him! Which was a wrestling hold in which both arms of the user is passed under the opponent's arms from behind and the hands are applied to the neck! Cassidy used this and pushed Lincoln face first to the ground!

Out of a lot of wrestling holds this was perhaps one the most dangerous because it is close to a neck crank, which is a spinal lock applied to the cervical spine which can cause hyperextension, hyperflexion or a lot of other bad stuff you don't want to happen. Neck cranks are usually banned from sports competitions but this was a legally sanctioned match.

Anything goes!

'Shit! This is not a good place to be!' Lincoln thought bitterly as he felt Cassidy tightened his grip! ' Damn it! He could suffocate me or break my neck if he wanted! I gotta break free somehow!'

On the sidelines, both fighters sides knew the flow of the match had change drastically. On Cassidy's side Tim Courtney knew that the match was no going in their favor. He knew that that Cassidy had Lincoln right where he wanted him. It was only matter of time now.

For Lincoln's side, Penelope was freaking out a little. Just minutes ago she saw Lincoln dominating this match until something changed in Cassidy. Now here was Lincoln on the verge of defeat. She looked over to Clyde with worry in her eyes, Clyde was just as worried if not more.

'C'mon buddy, you can get out of this.'

Back with the fighters, Cassidy was applying pressure to Lincoln's neck!

"Give up Ace, you've fought harder than anyone I've ever faced." Cassidy stated honestly. "No one will argue that. You've earned my respect and I thank you for helping show my true strength. Submit and I'll stop."

Lot of people would have listened to Cassidy, but not Lincoln. He's been in a lot of tougher spots like this and has come out of it somehow.

"Don't… count… me… out!"

In a sudden move that no one saw coming, Lincoln thrust his elbows down to his sides and broke Cassidy's grip! Next he used his elbows to pin Cassidy's arms in place then he used his right leg to shift all his weight towards his left side. Now he was on top of Cassidy, next Lincoln threw his head forward and threw it back hitting Cassidy square in the face!

Cassidy didn't expect this to happen, once he got Lincoln in a full nelson and brought him to the ground he expected Lincoln to give up. Since he was a boxer Lincoln should have known the danger he was in. Once a boxer is locked in a hold or grapple from a fighter trained in wresting and grappling, it's pretty much over. Unless that boxer isn't just trained in boxing.

The sudden head-butt made Cassidy let go of Lincoln who quickly got up and made some space between him and Cassidy, who slowly got with a bad nose bleed.

'I hit it hard enough to draw blood but it doesn't seem broken, shit.'

"Hey Ace, you aren't just a boxer are you?"

"Huh?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Cassidy stated firmly as he wiped the blood off his face with his arm. "For a regular boxer to break out of a hold like this unheard of. Not unless you were trained in wresting and grappling yourself. You have more that just boxing under your belt."

This fight sure was something because Lincoln wasn't expecting Cassidy to pick up on that.

After a moment of staring at Cassidy, Lincoln slowly chuckled.

"Well shit, nothing gets past you does it eh Cassidy?"

For a brief moment Lincoln looked down at his fists contemplating something.

"Yeah… I'm not just a boxer."

Soon as he finished saying that Lincoln rushed towards Cassidy with a right hook ready. Cassidy saw this and slapped Lincoln's right hook away like it was nothing and gave him a left hook that sent Lincoln rocking back bit. But that didn't Lincoln as he went for a straight jab that Cassidy slapped away just like the last punch, then Cassidy gave Lincoln a jab, another jab and finally a cross that hit Lincoln right in the face. That combo made Lincoln fall to one knee, Cassidy shot his left knee up hitting Lincoln in the face!

That last caused Lincoln to fall down to both knees as he held himself with his hands. Blood was dropping to the ground coming from his nose and nasty cut on his forehead. He could also feel blood forming in his mouth which tasted nasty.

'Shit… I remember this feeling. Having my ass handed to me… it was just like that very night I met him.'

Flashback, 12 Years Ago

Lincoln was in some trouble.

It had been a few months since Lincoln ran away from the facility he was staying at these past few years and his life had gotten a bit more shittier. Being homeless and having no money sucked but he was able to get by from taking jobs like a dishwasher or some shit. If he was desperate he would steal but only if he was out of options. As for shelter he had a sleeping bag and would stay at a hotel or something if he had the money which wasn't very often. Still he was scrapping by just fine.

Only problem he was having right now was these assholes not liking him sleeping on their turf. Which was some back shit alley in Long Island, New York. He tried leaving New York but with the authorities looking out for him he thought it would be best to lay low and get some cash before skipping town.

Anyways, here was Lincoln all bloody and on his last leg.

There were originally 16 of these thugs but 5 of them were knocked out or too hurt to do anything, Lincoln managed to take them down but the rest of them jumped him and now had him surrounded armed with pieces of 2×4 wood, pipes and baseball bats. That's why he was bleeding, with a few broken ribs and god knows what else.

'Don't tell me I'm gonna die here in some shitty alleyway.' Lincoln thought bitterly as he tried to get up but was too hurt to do anything. 'Makes a guy wonder if I am bad luck? Screw it, if I'm going down I'm going to take a few of these guys with me!'

Using the last of his strength, Lincoln got up slowly and spat out the blood in his mouth and got into a basic boxing stance. A few of the thugs laughed as they moved in closer towards Lincoln with their weapons raised. A thug closer to the opening of the alleyway which led to the streets suddenly had two large arms wrapped around his neck putting him in sleeper hold. The thug was out in a matter of seconds.

Whoever had the thug in the sleeper hold dropped him causing a bit of noise for all to hear. Lincoln and the thugs looked over to where the noise came from and saw a large burley man with long shaggy brown hair with a large beard. He was wearing red plaid flannel jackets and some grey loose sweat pants. He gave the thugs a cheeky smile, which showed his two missing top front teeth.

"I'm only going to say this once, you punks better leave the kid alone or I'm going to get old school on all of you."

The thugs looked among themselves for second before a they decided to rush both Lincoln and the burley man. Lincoln gave a heavy right hook to rushing at him and a 1-2-3 combo at the next guy. Both thugs were out after that, the rest of the thugs were rushing at the big man. Lincoln got ready to jump in and help but stopped when he saw what was happening.

The big guy ducked under a swipe from a thug's baseball bat and kicked him in the balls. The thug dropped to the ground holding onto his privates and dropped his bat which the big man picked up and quickly went to work against the rest of the thugs. One thug with a 2×4 smacked it hard across the big guy's back but shockingly it did nothing and broke into two. The big man was smacking that bat around anyone that got close to him. Finally after taking out the last of them, the big man dropped bat and slowly walked over towards Lincoln. However the big man missed one thug as he got up from behind him and charged towards the big man with a switchblade in his hands. Lincoln was about to call out to warn the big man but he quickly turned around and performed a hard clothesline that sent the thug hard to the concrete. The poor thug was knocked out when his head slammed against the concrete.

"Wow, either I've still got it or guys these days aren't as tough as they used to be."

Lincoln was still trying to comprehend what he just saw.

This random guy from the street just swooped in and saved him from a brutal beating or worse. Just some random guy who didn't have to. Why though? Well, Lincoln was about to get some answers as his savior walked over to help him up.

"Alright kid, lets get you some help."

The big guy helped Lincoln up by pulling his arm over his shoulder and started to help limp out of the alleyway.

"Why did you help?" Lincoln asked as he started to feel real tired now. "You didn't have to help me, you could have gotten killed old man."

Soon as he heard this the big man chuckled.

"Ah what can I say, it was just the right thing to do. Besides I saw you take down a few of those gutter punks. Pretty good moves for a kid, you also took a heck of a beating and you're still up. Not many would be up after that but here you are. Brought back some memories, anyways what's your name kid?"

"Uh… Lincoln Loud."

"Nice to meet you Lincoln, my name is Michael but a lot of folks just call me Mick Foley."

And that was the day Lincoln met the man who would be his second teacher and introduce him to a whole other combat style he would come to love. And that style was called Pro Wrestling.

End of Flashback

Everyone saw Lincoln there on the ground on his knees and hands, blood dripping down to the ground from his face. It was safe to assume Lincoln was done and that's what everyone else though including Clyde and Penelope. Both of whom were shocked and sicken by what they were seeing. It took every ounce of Clyde willpower not to rush out there and help out his best friend but he remained on the sidelines because of what Lincoln said.

'I'll always have your back… that's what you said Lincoln.' Clyde thought as he tightened his fists. 'I have complete faith in you buddy, now show these guys what you're made of!'

Cassidy looked down at Lincoln's weakened form and frowned sadly.

"Hell of a fight kid…"

After saying that Cassidy began to walk away assuming Lincoln was done.

"Fight… isn't over yet!"

Stopping in his tracks Cassidy slowly turned his head back to see Lincoln getting up slowly. His head still hung low as he stood up, the blood coming from his face was dripping down all over his chest. Then all of a sudden Lincoln began to chuckle which turned into full blown laughter.

"Hehe… haha…hahaha!"

What happened next not only shocked everyone but unnerved them. No longer giving a damn Lincoln ripped off his mask and spat out a huge glob of blood from his mouth, he then threw his mask away and whipped his head up to look directly at Cassidy. Lincoln's face was all bloody from the cut on his forehead, his nose and blood coming from his mouth. Bits of blood found itself on his white hair which gave it a dirty and unnerving appearance but what really freaked everyone out was the wicked slasher smile he was giving Cassidy showing the blood that covered his teeth.

"Time to show you I'm not a one trick pony, it's time to get hardcore!"

Not wasting any time Lincoln rushed at Cassidy who was still unnerved by what he just saw, thankfully he snapped out of it and got ready to meet Lincoln with a right hook that Lincoln countered with a shocking arm drag! A wresting and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu takedown that uses the opponent's momentum to the opponent's disadvantage, the user hooks the attacker's arm and flips him over the head of the user. This is what happened to Cassidy as he was slammed hard onto the ground with a massive thud!

THUD!

After landing Cassidy quickly found himself getting stuck in a cross armbar, a classic wresting submission hold that has roots to Kodokan Judo that is widely used in other grappling martial arts and sports. Anyways, to perform this move the user secures an arm at the wrist of the opponent. Trapping it by squeezing the knees together, to begin the submission one of the user's legs will be across the chest of the opponent and the second legs calf will cross face the opponent. The user can use this move to extend the opponent's arm and hyperextend the elbows too. Cassidy knew this move well since he also learned back in high school. The fallen sumo tried desperately to break free but Lincoln kept his grip and did something that shocked everyone again.

He kept his word when he said he was make things hardcore!

SNAP!

"AHHH!"

Everything grew silent as the only thing could be heard was Cassidy's screams. Lincoln let go of Cassidy and quickly got up to look down at Cassidy who was struggling to contain his screams as he held his left arm which was just in the armbar, the arm which was now broken!

'Goddamn it! I should have broken out sooner or at least saw that arm drag and armbar combo coming, stupid!'

Worried and horrified faces were plastered on all those who saw this but none more than Cassidy's loved ones. His brother, friend and students yelled out to him while his father held onto his mother who was screaming for her fallen child. Tim Courtney eyes were filled with pure panic.

This match was over.

At least that's what everyone else thought but not the fighters.

"I thought you said we're going all out old man!" Lincoln yelled out still smiling wickedly which was very unlike him. "We're far from done aren't we!"

Surprisingly Cassidy responded by getting up with great difficulty, once up he let his broken arm hang loose while he raised his fist from his right arm. No could believe it.

Cassidy was still in this despite being very injured.

"Yeah… we aren't done yet… not by a long shot!"

With those final words Cassidy launched himself at Lincoln with his fist raised and Lincoln did the same still smiling. Both fighters met and started to throw punches at each other, both of their hits and strikes landed as both men gave it their all. There was no technique behind these punches and strikes, just pure power and instinct. Cassidy was at a sheet disadvantage but was still keeping up by using his uninjured arm alone.

Both men kept there word and were not holding back!

The crowd didn't know how to react at first given Cassidy's injury but we're now quickly cheering as both men didn't stop their fight. Cassidy's family and friends were cheering him on with everything they had, even Tim Courtney was cheering. Clyde and Penelope couldn't believe what they were seeing as they were witnessing a whole different side to Lincoln which they both found unsettling and awe inspiring at the same time.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

Both Lincoln and Cassidy were bloody and bruised, just by the strikes alone maybe both had internal damage. Lincoln gave Cassidy right hook and responded back with a straight jab, he then went for a swift elbow to the face which Lincoln took and gave a mighty overhead punch. This went on for a solid few minutes until both men stopped to take a good look at one another. Both were very injured and bloody, oddly enough both fighter chuckled at the sight.

"Shit… you are one tough son of a bitch, Cassidy Tsuyoishi." Lincoln stated honestly as his smile became a genuine one. "You really are."

"Heh… you aren't so bad yourself Ace." Cassidy smiled back as he spat out a little bit blood from his mouth. "Think I'm on my last leg here, how about we finish this."

"Yeah, let's do it." Lincoln nodded before giving Cassidy a look filled with respect, one that Cassidy equally shared. "By the way, my real name is Lincoln… from one competitor to another."

Hearing that got another smile from Cassidy as he pulled back his fist back and got ready to deliver his final attack. Lincoln didn't waste any time and went straight for Cassidy who charged straight back at Lincoln.

This was it, and both fighters knew it.

Going for the heaviest right hook he could do, Cassidy aimed right for Lincoln's face. Lincoln barely had enough time to move his head ever so slightly which resulted in the right hook to miss it's target only by a few inches, that's when Lincoln went for his final attack which was powerful cross that hit Cassidy directly in the face! The force from the hit sent Cassidy's head whipping back, everything slowed down for Cassidy at that moment as he started to fall forward.

'Well shit… guess that's it… hell of a punch… Lincoln.'

Funny thing, Cassidy was so scared of losing. About shaming and disappointing his family and friends, to show that all those years of blood, sweat and tears didn't matter. But now that it was happening… never had Cassidy been so much at peace. He gave it his all against a strong opponent that he's come to respect, his family, friends and students showed up to cheer him on. Even after all the terrible mistakes he's made from accidently killing that punk to leaving sumo and his family. Even after he pushed them away they were here for him.

Man, how lucky can a guy be?

As Cassidy kept falling forward his eyes caught his loved ones crying out to him. His parents, brother, friends and students yelling out to him. It was hard to make out there voices as Cassidy felt so tired, he couldn't help himself from closing his eyes. When he was closing them he saw something strange, he saw his both birth parents Lucas and Lillian Sullivan standing behind his adopted parents. What was more strange was that they were smiling at him and he could see that their eyes were filled with pride and love.

Suddenly Cassidy could only think of one thing.

'Did… I make you proud?'

That was the last thing Cassidy thought before he closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness. However instead of hitting the ground, Lincoln had caught him and kept him up which was difficult considering his size and how injured they both were. Still Lincoln would make sure that Cassidy wouldn't touch the ground, he deserved as much after a fight like that. Turns out he was right, Cassidy was one tough bastard.

"I got you…" Lincoln huffed out as he was all tuckered out.

Using whatever strength he had left, Lincoln lifted his fist in the air. Cheetah the referee yelled out as loud as he could.

"WINNER! ACE!"

The crowd broke into a loud cheer that rocked the junkyard, it was appropriate after such a match like that. Lot of people didn't expect the outcome to end up like that but they didn't care. Not after seeing two fighters gave it their all and laid it all on the line.

Clyde let out a loud cheer seeing that his best bud had not only won but was okay, Penelope sighed in relief as she was completely spent after seeing that fight. She was also glad Lincoln not only won but was okay, well okay as can be considering. Tim Courtney had a devastated. look on his face as he fell down the ground on his knees. As for Cassidy's loved ones they all rushed out to check in on Cassidy.

"Brother!"

Hinogoto was worried along with everyone else as Lincoln limped over to meet them while carrying a still unconscious Cassidy, once he reached them Lincoln handed Cassidy over to his family and friends. As he did so Cassidy slowly woke up, he grunted in pain as all the damage done to him finally caught up to him. Looking around he saw his brother and friend Byamba holding up, as everyone else looked at him with worry.

Didn't take long to realize he had lost.

"I'm… sorry I lost you guys." Cassidy managed to mutter out. "I gave it my all and I still came up short."

Cassidy didn't know what to expect after saying that, what he didn't expect was for his father to approach him and place a firm hand on his shoulder. Looking up at his father, Cassidy saw that he had proud smile on his face.

"It does not matter if you lost my son, what matters is that you did your best. After so long you finally stopped holding yourself back and did what I always knew you could do. Win or lose, I want you to know you made us proud and kept your honor not only as a Rikishi but also as a man of the Tsuyoishi household."

Nothing could describe what Cassidy was feeling right now, all this time he thought he would failed them. But all that turned about to be wrong. Even though he had lost, having all those close to him here and now looking at him with pride, love and bit of worry. Though that was mostly his mother who was still crying. It was odd but he didn't feel like he lost, though he could certainly feel all that damage Lincoln dealt to him.

"Thank you, all of you."

With that Cassidy let out the biggest smile he could. While his loved ones went on to ask if he was alright, Lincoln watched on with a smile as well. Soon as he was done he began to leave but was stopped by Cassidy.

"Hey, Lincoln!"

Turning around Lincoln saw Cassidy giving him a firm look which quickly turned into a smile.

"Thanks for helping get my head out off my ass, also for a good fight."

Lincoln was surprised at first by this unexpected response, he then smiled back.

"Yeah, no problem. Hope we get to fight again sometime." Lincoln said still smiling. "Something tells me you aren't going to let that broken arm go so easily."

"Ha! You got that right! Just wait until I'm all healed up and done some training, I promise the aftermath will be far different."

Both fighters shared a laugh as they looked at one another fill with respect.

"I'm counting on it." Lincoln then turned around and started to leave but not before giving Cassidy a few words. "See ya around Cass."

Cassidy didn't say a word as he watched Lincoln leave, though he had only one thing in mind now. And that was to meet Lincoln in battle once more and give it his all again. On this day though Cassidy had suffered his first official loss in the underground fighting scene, he had also gained not only a friend but a rival.

Lincoln made his way towards where Clyde and Penelope were. His thoughts were filled about that fight, been a long time since he had to resort to his grappling and wrestling skills. The guys he's been recently facing never brought out the need for it really but Cassidy was different. It was a shame that he didn't really go all out on Cassidy though he was thankful for the match he had with him. However there was only one thing bothering Lincoln and that was the sight of Cassidy with his family and friends.

It was nice to see how they were all there for Cassidy and how they fretted about him after the fight. Hearing his father say how proud he was of him, how his mother went on asking about if he was really okay and his brother, friends and students supporting him up and looking at him with admiration. Lincoln wouldn't be lying if he did feel a little bit jealous.

'Hmm, Cassidy is really a lucky guy.'

To have not only family and friends by your side but to be surround all that love and support, to have some worry about you after a tough match like that. Lincoln often wondered why he couldn't have that. Until he bitterly remembered why. Either way, it was a fun and crazy fight.

What more could a guy ask for right?

"Lincoln! Are you okay!"

Looking ahead Lincoln saw Clyde and Penelope running to check on him.

"Hey guys, I won." Lincoln chuckled before coughing up a little bit of blood. "So, you guys wanna get some grub or a drink or something celebrate?"

"Are you insane! You are going to a hospital, you are seriously hurt!" Penelope exclaimed as she examined Lincoln a little and had worry plastered all over her face. "How reckless can you get!"

"Wow Penelope, I didn't know you cared." Lincoln chuckled as he smiled. "See Clyde, I told you I'd win."

Clyde was close to crying as he gave his best friend a surprise hug causing Lincoln to yelp in pain.

"OWW! Clyde! Dude I love you too man but chill out, I'm hurt here."

"Shit! Sorry buddy!"

"It's fine… now can we go get some grub or something, wait. Maybe getting patched up would be a good idea. Don't wanna have blood dripping into my food."

"YOU THINK!" Penelope exclaimed.

Though Lincoln was hurt he somehow still smiled, while he didn't really have a family anymore he at least had friends. Two that were no doubt going to be by his side for the fights still to come. Yeah, somehow Lincoln had a feeling that this one fight was going to send shockwaves though out the underworld and business world. Which meant his fighting days were far from over.

In the now dispersing crowd of spectators, many of those who were in attendance were calling friends, colleagues, business partners and of course employers about the match they just saw. While it seemed that this match was just a simple off the books type of deal that was made between two large corporations that meant nothing more business between the two parties. Other companies had taken interest in this strange event, and many of them had sent observers to see how it went. It was safe to say many of these corporations were now interested in what had just happened. Who knows? Perhaps they too would take part in such illegal activities to settle such deals and business.

To think it was all thanks to one man who walked over to a still devastated Tim Courtney.

"Don't fret too much Mr. Courtney, one loss doesn't necessary mean it was total one at that. You and Nasbro may have lost but now you know how this works. My superiors overseas wondered what would happen if we introduce this effective concept to the west, and I must say the results are outstanding. My superiors will be most pleased, you and your company don't have to worry too much now. We'll cover whatever damages you and your company had suffered through this loss. We thank you and promise to be in touch."

The mysterious man began to leave but was stopped by Tim Courtney who was now thrown through a loop by what just happened.

"W-wait! Just who are you? Why did you set this all up in the first place!"

The man stopped and turned around to give the man a sly smile.

"Don't worry Tim Courtney, you and everyone else will soon find out. Myself and The Kengan Association will be in touch."

With all that said the man left along with the rest of those once in the crowd, one person lingered however. This person was a young woman in shady clothes and had a smartphone out which showed a video of the entire match between Lincoln and Cassidy, this woman then uploaded the video to YouTube and smiled. She then went to her contacts and selected one. Pulling her phone up to her ear she soon began to talk to her contact.

"It's done, everything is now in place Ms. Loud. We of the Kure Clan will stay in contact with you if you have further need of our services."

The woman now began to leave, her eyes were now in clear view under the lights of the junkyard. Her eyes seemed inhuman as the sclera were a near dark black with whitened irises and pupils. Like they belonged to a demon of some kind. Not only that but the aura around seemed like they belong to a demon as well.

It looks Lincoln was correct after all.

His fighting days were far from over, it wouldn't be long now until fighters and those in the underworld see Lincoln and Cassidy's match. Whether he liked it or not Lincoln's life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Hours Later, Lincoln's Hotel Room

It was just around midnight and Lincoln was all bandaged up laying on his bed trying to fall asleep but couldn't. Not that the pain was bothering him, a few broken ribs, cuts and bruises were nothing. Sure he could have accidently punctured one of his lungs with his broken ribs but he didn't, he had no idea Clyde and Penelope were so worried. Still thought the doctor they brought over patched him up, gave him some kick ass meds and told him to rest. Which he was really having trouble do.

Suddenly he could hear someone knocking as his door, which surprised him since Clyde and Penelope were no doubt asleep. So who was at his door this late in the night? Slowly getting up with a painful grunt he walked over to his door and looked through the peep hole, what he saw caused him to freeze in shock. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing things, next he slowly opened the door and saw someone he never thought he ever see again.

His baby sister Lily Loud.

"Uh… hi?"

To Be Continued

Important AN: Man I am just a stinker aren't I? What do you think? Hoped you liked the chapter and fight, if not tell me what you would change? I love reading your reviews. Lots of stuff happening and I couldn't shake off wanting to finish this chapter, I know I should focus on my other stories but I just feel like writing this more right now. Don't worry about my other stuff if you also read them too, I am going to update them soon. It's just been crazy lately which I know you can all understand. Also I hope you are all doing good and are safe along with your loved ones. If not I'm sorry to hear that and hope all will be well soon. Anyways, what's important about this author's note is that I have decided to get all of you involved in this story if you would like to. As you can see so far I am going to need Lincoln to have strong opponents to fight. Now I did plan to make some OCs like Cassidy and Ezekiel but I am not really feeling up making a bunch for what I have planned. I also plan to have some special guest characters come in and fight or even some real life fighters which I still plan to do along with having some more Loud House characters show up and fight too. Sadly I think that is a lot for one guy like me to do, so that's why I'm asking for your help. I love getting my readers involve and having fun. Before you start sending me your OCs and ideas there are going to be rules.

1. They can be whatever you want as long as they are 15 years old or older. Go crazy and be creative as possible. They can come from all walks of life.

2. They must be believable and have their own special strengths and weaknesses, for example Ezekiel was a powerful striker but was weak to dirty tactics and grappling among other things. Now that doesn't mean you don't have to be creative, I'm sure a lot of you have some fun and crazy ideas for fighters.

3. They can be trained in martial arts, combat sports or simply be a brawler or use just brute force. Hell they can just be good at killing too if you want. If they are trained please tell me the martial arts or sport and please detail it.

4. Give me some good backstory on them and why they fight, you can also tell me what kind of companies you want them to fight for too. Like I did for Cassidy and Nasbro which is very much Hasbro the toy company.

5. I will only accept OCs by PM on here or you can message me on Amino, I'm mostly around the Loud House one and go by ChubbySnorlax.

6. Don't worry if your OC isn't picked right off the bat because I have something very special planned down the line for everyone.

7. I will stop accepting OCs on a later date when I feel like things are getting out of hand.

Now you can start sending them whenever but take your time, I want you all to really think about these fighters. Now if OCs aren't your cup of tea then just leave me some ideas for fighters in a review or message ,e, they don't have to be OCs but can be characters from the Loud House or whatever. They can be guest characters like from games, cartoons, movies, TV, anime and real life if you want. As you can already see so far I have already placed a few of them on here, tell me who you guys have already spotted. Don't be afraid to tell me what you want to see for fighters. For right now that's all folks, I hope you all leave a review and tell me what's up. Also stay safe out there. Expect the next chapter soon if not later. See ya!