THE MISSING EMPEROR ~ The Elemental Seven Book I

CHAPTER XIX: CRAY DUNN VERSUS MYOKU REIKO

Cray looked frantically around the metropolis environment. "Um... um!" Her eyes suddenly turn white as she dashed towards Myoku. "Oro...?" Myoku saw Cray's attack. She then intentionally fell to a lying position then rolled on the floor to avoid Cray. Myoku stood, faced Cray with a smile. She used the Shukuchi method to make a backward jump then vanished from Cray's sight. "That was skillfully done." LeGrande said, watching in the Viewing room. Emerald, River and the lords nodded in agreement. "Very skillful." Raiza Sandabado said. "I hate it when people go poof." Cray said. A pair of dust trails appeared on the floor moving away from her. Suddenly, River jumped in front of the trails. Myoku stopped. "What the..?" River glared at her. "How could you! I TRUSTED you!" he said. "River?" Cray was just as surprised as Myoku. River blasted Myoku with water and she got soaked. "What the hell was that for!?" she said. "You knew all this time!" River said then shot sharp icicles at her. Myoku disappeared to hide just before the icicles hit her. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked angrily. "Shut up!" River snapped. "River! Calm down! What is it?!" Cray said as she ran toward Myoku's voice. River vanished and Myoku's wet clothes suddenly dried up. In the Viewing room, the real River was shocked himself. "Looks like it chose you as her weakness, River. But I wonder why?" LeGrande said. River paled. "I totally have no idea." he said. Myoku got furious. "RI-VER-WOL-FERT!!!" Myoku's voice resonated in the battle chamber, almost sounding like a dragon. Emerald looked very unhappy about the thought. Cray on the other hand was so confused. She started looking for Myoku. She tried to sense Myoku's presence in the battlefield. Cray stopped for a second, "OH. I SEE NOW! It's one of those..." Suddenly, Myoku materialized behind Cray spear pointing at the back of her neck. "One move... and you know what happens." Myoku said, her voice shaking with anger. She wasn't angry at Cray at all, though. Cray sensed Myoku and sighed. "Ohhhhh!" she slowly puts her hands up. LeGrande chuckled. "Looks like it made things worse for Cray than Myoku." he said. "Myoku's tough. She can handle the computer." River said. "Don't count Cray out yet." Emerald said. "That Cray girl has more than what the eyes behold, you know." Alveo said with a smile remembering his duel against Cray. River, Emerald and LeGrande look at Alveo all at the same time. "Just saying." Alveo said, his hands up.

Myoku took the advantage of Cray's confusion to attack but when she saw Cray's hands up, she let her guard down. Instead, she threw her spear at the window of the viewing room, doesn't seem to care who will be hit. The protective metal screens that of the viewing room activated, shielding the viewers. The spear fell on the floor near the stairs. "I KNOW NO ONE WILL BE HIT! SO RIVER WOLFERT, GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT! AND I MEAN RIGHT NOW!" she screamed with fury. Cray turned her head around smiling. A long staff suddenly materialized in her hand, pointing in Myoku's direction. LeGrande chuckled "Myoku, you slipped. Cray's got you now." Myoku looked at Cray and saw her staff. "OOPS. Uh-oh" It is now Myoku's turn to puts her hands up. Cray moved forward quickly spinning her staff at Myoku. Myoku was stunned but she reflexively blocked Cray's staff with her arm. "Argh!" Myoku winced. "Darn! That hurts! Is she mad at me or something?" she thought to herself. "Sorry, Myoku! No offense!" Cray thought to herself. "We'll have no hard feelings with each other after this match, right Myoku?" Myoku remembered Cray had said.

Myoku stepped back a bit, assumes an attack position to face Cray but Cray stopped when she sensed something off. Just then, they heard a whirring sound. "Laser Cannon: Intruders in city. Termination defense activated. Laser Cannon: Intruders in city. Termination defense activated." A computer generated robotic voice echoed in the arena. Cray jumped up on top of a lamp post and cautiously looked around. "In three... Two... One." Suddenly, a laser fired at Cray out of nowhere. "Phew. I thought I'm dead!" Myoku said and with the Shukuchi method, she moved a step forward then vanished. Her spear that dropped by the stairs going to the viewing room also vanished. "Myoku may be too fragile for this journey, Lord River." Emerald said. "That's true." Victor Kharzaan said. "She seems a bit emotionally unstable. What do you think Lord Sandabado?" "I told you she's tough." River answered for Raiza Sandabado. "But maybe a little too kind and soft-hearted, though. That would be a fatal weakness in battle." he thought. Vladimir Van Buren, on the other hand, calmly watched the duel. 

Myoku hid behind a building near Cray, unseen, trailing her. "Evil City! Evil City!" Cray said not noticing Myoku. She was busy jumping from one building to another. She hid behind a metal wall for protection then quickly jumped to another building to avoid the lasers. "Where is it?!" she whispered as she jumped to yet another building. Just then, all the lasers stopped firing. "Intruder no longer found." The robotic voice said. The metal doors of the viewing room opened revealing its glass doors. "I guess it's okay now." Cray said. She held her staff in a ready stance, looking around for Myoku. Myoku, hiding behind a wall post, closed her eyes. 

"I'm afraid I will need this." she said to herself. "So, Mr. Dragon, if you are still on my side, this will be a good time to start our friendship." Myoku talked to the dragon within her. "Is that what you really wish?" she heard the dragon's voice in her mind. "Yeah. Just be nice to me from now on, alright?" she answered. "You know I can control you again, don't you?" said the dragon. "Maybe. But I have a feeling you won't." Myoku smiled. She activated her Ryuugan and whispered sweetly, "Found you, Cray." She silently approached Cray from behind. "Boo!" Cray jumped in surprise and kicked to the direction where she heard the voice. Myoku did a back flip to avoid the kick, then lunged to her with the hilt of the spear. But before she connected, she realized that she will be at a disadvantage. "Shoot! I forgot. Cray needs to touch her opponent to use her mind control skills. I must not be touched or..." she tried to back away but can't control her step.

"Alveo, what do you think of Cray?" LeGrande asked Alveo who's looking at a paper cut on his pinky. "Seems like your type." LeGrande said smiling innocently. "Huh?" Alveo said with his head leaning on his right hand. "Well, truth is, she would crumble under the slightest bit of emotional pressure." he pressed his thumb a little too much on his pinky. "Ouch."

Cray grabbed the hilt of the spear and tugged Myoku towards her. Myoku slipped. She fell off twisting her ankle. "Aargh." When Myoku tried the Shukuchi, it was no good. "My last resort. hand to hand combat. I have no other choice." she thought to herself. Cray swung her staff at Myoku's injured ankle. Myoku grunted. "HAHA!" Cray grinned. Myoku jumped to a lunge at Cray using her uninjured foot, each hand gripping an arm. She pivoted the uninjured foot, twisted both arms. She knelt then pulled Cray overhead to a throw. Cray dropped her staff and fell against a wall. Myoku sat on the floor, panting. "I'm so sorry for that," she winced then laid on her side, holding her right sprained ankle. Cray's staff disappeared. "It's okay Myoku!" she stood then ran to Myoku for a hug, still aching. "I'm so sorry for hurting you earlier!" "You were great!" Myoku said. 

"Thank you, Myoku!" Cray said. "You were awesome, too!"  

"Thanks, Cray!" Myoku said.

"Match Over. Winner: Myoku Reiko!" River announced.

"I'm Impressed." LeGrande said with a sadistic smile. "I'm not." Alveo said licking the blood on his finger. "When were you ever impressed, Avivo." LeGrande said calling Alveo his nick name to annoy him. Emerald ran out of the viewing room to the battle chamber. "You girls were great! Now let me take care of you." Cray hobbled over to Emerald. "I feel like an old lady!" Cray said. Emerald tended to the two fighters' injuries. She willed the water in their bodies to move, healing any broken bones. "Myoku," Emerald said. "Rest for today and your ankle should be okay." she said smiling. Myoku looked at Emerald. "Wow, Emerald! Your words rhyme! Today, okay." she chuckled. "Yeah. I just noticed." Emerald laughed. "You guys were amazing!" Emerald said as she binds Myoku's ankle with a therapeutic bandage. "Thank you Emerald!" Cray said. Myoku slowly stood. "So, can I rest in the viewing room so that I can watch the next match?" she asked Emerald. "Yeah, me too!" Cray said, excited. "Alright. Let's have them get ready for the next match." Emerald said. Cray, Emerald and Myoku, who was limping, walked to the viewing room. When Myoku saw River, she walked to him and said "Later, young man." her eyes narrowed. "La-ter." River just stared at Myoku a little bit scared to be on her bad side. "I hope we're next, Avivo. I'd enjoy watching you suffer." LeGrande said. "Aw!" Alveo bickered. "Don't be that way Lego!" he said smiling venomously.