Chapter 146: The Bracket Burns
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[Third Person Point of View]
The tournament brackets moved fast after the ruling.
The second match was Iron Fist versus Dog Brother Number One, and it lasted less than two minutes.
Danny Rand walked onto the arena floor without ceremony. His fist wasn't glowing, barely leaking chi. Was it his way of saying he didn't need it to use more than that? Dog Brother was a competent fighter with good instincts and a low center of gravity, and he lasted longer than most people would have because he fought smart and stayed defensive. Iron Fist dismantled him anyway.
His strikes landed exactly where he wanted them, never rushed, and Dog Brother couldn't finish a combination before Danny was already past it. A fist strike to the sternum folded Dog Brother in half, and a gentle push sent him sliding across the stone. He tried to stand, thought better of it, and tapped the ground twice.
Danny walked off without celebrating or looking at anyone in the gallery. His right fist pulsed gold once, then went dark.
Storm Tiger of Tiger Island was to fight Fat Cobra of Peng Lai for the third match, and the crowd barely had time to settle before the two champions were on the arena floor. Fat Cobra came in grinning with his belly leading the way.
The man was built like a truck and his chi radiated heat that people could feel from across the arena. But Storm Tiger was younger and more ruthless.
He fought like he was trying to hurt the arena itself, driving elbows and knees into Fat Cobra's guard, getting faster with every exchange. Three minutes in, Fat Cobra caught a spinning elbow to the temple that dropped him to one knee, and a follow-up knee strike put him flat. He stayed down.
"Winner, Storm Tiger!" The announcer called it. Tiger Island's section erupted. The elder's thin smile returned.
The first stage of the tournament was done just like that. The Bride of Nine Spiders didn't have to fight this time, she had a "bye" ticket that she'd won by lottery which let her pass to the second stage.
The bracket updated above the arena in glowing script. The semifinal was set.
Tetra-Man, Champion of K'un-Zi | versus | Storm Tiger, Champion of Tiger Island.Bride of Nine Spiders, Champion of the Spider Kingdom | versus | Iron Fist, Champion of K'un-Lun.
In Tiger Island's section, the elder leaned forward with his hands on his knees and his eyes bright. Li Hua's wired jaw didn't stop her from smiling.
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[First Person Point of View]
There wasn't much waiting for this tournament. Everyone was excited and wanted to see the fight as soon as possible. So the Heavenly Cities were holding them all today.
I stopped at the edge of the fighter's tunnel and watched the bracket glow through the archway. I was against Storm Tiger. The guy who'd just put Fat Cobra down in three minutes. Earlier, I'd watched the fight from the area Charmcaster was sitting on, not willing to enter that bothersome upper ring full of City Lords and that strange person.
Now, I was back to fighting again.
Storm Tiger is strong. That much was true. But I wasn't worried. The Prince had been a strange opponent for Four Arms, but this brawler? Four Arms would eat this guy alive.
After the Prince of Orphans and his pressure point nonsense, a straight-up power fight sounded like a vacation. I cracked my neck and reached for the Omnitrix.
The announcer's voice rolled through the tunnel. "Semifinal! Tetra-Man of K'un-Zi versus Storm Tiger of Tiger Island! Please enter the arena!"
I clicked the dial.
Green light flashed. My skeleton started shifting, and for a second, I felt the familiar stretch of Four Arms taking shape, bones thickening almost as if extra limbs were pushing out. Then something hitched. The transformation went in a whole different direction. My body stretched instead of expanding, if that made sense.
My spine curved forward and my legs popped into something that bent weirdly, then thick grey-white fur started pushing through my skin. A muzzle shoved out of my face. My ears crawled up to the top of my skull and a tail whipped out behind me before I could process any of it.
"…Oh man."
The green light faded. I looked down at clawed hands covered in dark fur.
"You've got to be kidding me."
It was Blitzwolfer! I grumbled and stared at my claws, then at the watch dial, which was green and calm, as if it hadn't just ignored my input. The thing had been working fine all tournament. Four Arms for the prelims, XLR8 when I needed speed, and now when I asked for Four Arms again it gave me a werewolf.
The watch picks NOW to glitch?
"Err… Tetra-Man, please enter the arena!"
The announcer called for me again. I considered reverting to human and trying Four Arms again, but who could guarantee it'd work? Hmm…
At least the secret was already out after the XLR8 stunt. One more surprise wouldn't make things worse. Plus, I was curious what Blitzwolfer could do now.
At least wolves looked cool. If the watch had given me Grey Matter for this, I'd have forfeited on principle.
I flexed my claws and felt the chi in my Dantian respond. The energy moved a lot differently in this body. It settled into my chest and throat instead of flooding my muscles, pooling behind my ribs like something waiting to go off. My ears twitched and suddenly I could hear the announcer breathing between sentences, the crowd shifting, and Storm Tiger's heartbeat across the arena, steady and confident.
I walked out into the light.
The crowd's reaction was a confused murmur that rolled around the stands. Another new form. A wolf this time. What did my hunched form, with a muzzle full of teeth, look like from the stands? Probably terrifying.
I was smaller than Four Arms a little, seven feet standing upright, and I looked more like a monster from a horror movie than a tournament champion.
Storm Tiger stood across the arena. His confusion faded and his grin widened. He stood with his arms folded, his scarred body radiating chi heat that I could feel from forty feet away. He saw a smaller opponent which made him happy.
"The demon queen sends a dog this time?" His voice carried across the stone.
"Wolf, actually." I rolled my shoulders and dropped into a crouch that felt natural in this body. "Big difference."
"We'll see what the difference is, dog!!"
Before I could reply, the announcer's arm fell. "Begin!"
Storm Tiger charged, fast for his size, and the opening right hand came in backed by enough chi to crack a support beam. The way he moved so boldly, he assumed that I'd meet it head-on or dodge sideways.
He's judging me by typical werewolf standards, it seems. I realized that as someone with Tiger Qi, he probably saw himself as the greater predator or something.
Fool.
I pulled Chi from my dantian. Then I went forward, ducking under his arm, and my claws raked across his ribs as I passed like a trail of wind.
Chi coated my claws, creating a dazzling sight, as the strike cut deeper than it should have. Storm Tiger grunted and spun, throwing a backhand that would've taken my head off if I'd still been there.
I wasn't. Blitzwolfer's body moved like it was built for this kind of fighting. Low to the ground and always circling, never staying in one spot long enough to get pinned. My legs had a spring to them that Four Arms didn't, and my balance was centered in my hips instead of my shoulders. Every movement cost less energy than I expected.
Storm Tiger came at me again, two-hit combo aimed at my chest and head. I slipped both and tagged his forearm, which opened a line of red. He snarled and threw a kick that I caught on my crossed forearms, and it drove me back three feet but nothing broke.
"Know your place, mutt!"
Not bad, he could actually hit.
Time to test something. I planted my feet, opened my jaws, and howled.
Sonic Boom blasted out of my throat. But it wasn't the typical way that Blitzwolfer released it. The chi surged and the vibration I'd been feeling since the transformation turned into something lethal.
The howl carried a shockwave that hit Storm Tiger like a wall. The stone between us cracked in a spreading web and the air itself rippled visibly. Storm Tiger staggered back two steps with his hands over his ears and blood already running from his left one.
Holy shit.
I'd used Blitzwolfer's sonic howl before, back in Arizona against the Yenaldooshi. Our howls had matched, and it had been loud and disorienting. But this was way beyond that. The chi had turned sound into actual force.
If I used this howl against that Yenaldooshi, he'd probably turn his tail and flee immediately.
The arena floor looked like someone had hit it with a wrecking ball.
Chi-powered Sonic Howl, hell yeah!
"Don't think that can put me down…!" Storm Tiger shook his head and came back in, angrier now. He was tough and stubborn, and the blood on his ears just made him more ferocious. His chi flared hot around his fists and he threw a straight punch at my chest with everything he had.
Instead of replying like a beast, I decided to poke him a little. "He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. You've already lost, kitty."
"Bastard!!"
I met him halfway. Chi illuminated my claws again, brighter this time, humming with a howl-like frequency. I drove my claws forward in a raking strike that first sent arcs of energy flying, cutting his flesh, and then connected with his incoming fist.
His chi shattered. The glow around his hand broke apart like glass, and my claws kept going, tearing through his guard and opening three deep lines across his chest. The hit lifted him off his feet and sent him tumbling across the broken stone.
Storm Tiger hit the ground hard.
"No, this isn't the end… I…" He tried to push himself up but his arms were shaking and the claw marks were bleeding freely. He got one knee under him, hate still burning in his eyes, but his body quit on him and he went back down.
The announcer didn't hesitate. "Winner, Tetra-Man! The Champion of K'un-Zi advances to the final!"
I straightened up from my crouch and looked at my claws. The Dantian was still buzzing, and honestly this form somehow fit the chi better than Four Arms. It was almost automatic, the way Chi integrated with the howls and claws. Although I'm certain that once I learn to control Chi, Four Arms would be the strongest.
Imagine Iron Fist, but 9 feet tall, and four fists instead of two. And even without Chi, Four Arms was already as strong as Hulk. I couldn't wait!
The crowd was making noise again. Some cheered, others looked scared. The wolf thing was clearly freaking people out more than Four Arms ever did.
Up in the gallery, the Tiger elder was on his feet. Li Hua's bright eyes had gone flat, and when our eyes met she flinched and looked away. My wolfish grin widened
I walked toward the tunnel. The Omnitrix beeped and green light washed over me, dumping me back into my human body.
The bracket above the arena updated once more.
Semi-Finals, Last Round. Bride of Nine Spiders, Champion of the Spider Kingdom | versus | Iron Fist, Champion of K'un-Lun.
Whoever would win between those two, probably Iron Fist, would be my final opponent.
Almost there.
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