ManBeast - Book 1: A Kingdom of Predators

Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

"FRANKIE LEADS OFF WITH A HUGE STRAIGHT PUNCH BUT MANNY REMAINS UNFAZED, AS HE BLOCKS FRANKIE'S ASSAULT!" Harry cried as the audience cheered to the start of the fight. Frankie took the initiative early on but failed to land home on his initial attack; Manny had absorbed the majority of the blow with his right palm. Without hesitation, Frankie continued his attack, throwing a bevy of quick but accurate punching combos, interspersed with low kicks and front kicks. This also bore no fruit, as Manny either blocked or parried most of the attacks coming his way. "MANIAC MANNY CONTINUES TO PLAY DEFENSE AS MONSTER MACK REFUSES TO TAKE HIS FOOT OF THE GAS PEDAL!!"; Harry's commentary gave perfect recitation of the events at play.

"What da fuck is he doin' ?? That's not the plan!" Doug whispered loudly as Frankie frantically attacked Manny. While Frankie's foundation was sound and his footwork indicated he was pressing Manny into a frenetic tempo, his attacks to the discerning eye lacked the methodical practice Frankie was known for, regardless of underlying intention behind each blow; Manny had only "bent" under this pressure, and had yet to break.

Suddenly, Manny returned an attack in kind, launching a upward palm thrust at Frankie's chin after the latter attempted a left hook. The thrust seemingly connected with Frankie's chin, forcing the Beast-Man into a mid-air backspin. Upon re-stabilizing mid-air and touching his feet to the ground, Frankie now bore the weight of Manny's advance; this time, Manny managed to grab the back of Frankie's head and launched several knee thrusts into his face.

One, two, three; Frankie broke the hold and locked his grip onto Manny's wrist in the process. Instantaneously, Frankie foot swept Manny's stance from under him, causing The Maniac to tumble sideways in mid-air, still trapped to Frankie by the wrist hold. As Frankie shifted his stance forward and launched his left hand out to connect with Manny's head, Manny simultaneously launched a sideways scissor kick, causing Frankie to abandon his attack and parry the kick instead.

Using the momentum of the turn, Manny broke free from Frankie's hold and landed on his feet. Both fighters jumped back, re-assuming their initial fighting stances as flashes of lighting flared brilliantly in the background. For a moment, the audience was stunned, speechless at the level of combat they were beholden to, and just within the opening seconds of the match.

"THIS IS WHAT WE CAME FOR FOLKS, THIS IS A FANG FIGHT!!! MANNY'S PALM THRUST TO THE CHIN OF FRANKIE AND THE KNEES TO HIS FACE; TELL US, FELIX, JUST HOW WAS FRANKIE ABLE TO STAND AFTER ALL OF THAT!?" Harry asked. "Frankie Mack is known as a technician in the Brotherhood Harry, this was a simple task to such a professional fighter. By relaxing his neck, chin and back at the point and moment of contact, Frankie dispersed the force from Manny's palm thrust by turning into a backflip. The knee strikes were actually blocked as well; at each moment of contact there, Frankie met the oppositional force of the strikes with his palm, similar to how Manny did at the beginning of the fight. Essentially, none of the knee blows connected with Frankie at all!" Felix responded over the intercom.

Doug nodded in approval and tapped Jules after Felix gave his explanation: "Listen good, kid, Felix is a wash-up like me but knows his stuff!" Jules was too zoned into the fight to fully heed Doug's advice; he already knew that something of great worth would be learned from the fight. His only fear in the moment was "at what cost" to his mentor; the entrance, the gaze in Frankie's eyes, the sheer energy of the moment, this was not the Frankie he had come to know. Someone, or something, far more hellish in reality took his place...Returning his gaze back to the action of screen, both fighters continued to circle each other, feinting punches or strikes to keep the other at bay.

"FELIX, TELL OUR AWESOME AUDIENCE TONIGHT A LITTLE ABOUT MANNY'S FIGHTING STYLE!" Harry called out during the lull in the match. "Well Harry, Manny is one of the few Fangs in recent history of this Brotherhood to achieve Fang-hood without claiming a distinct fighting style or structural denomination. Rather, Manny has made his bones, literally and figuratively, from being a savage pit-fighter with a close quarters combat foundation who isn't above the use of dangerous and potentially lethal techniques. Coupled with his wiles and strategic mind honed in military service, I have a suspicion you'll see his bag of tricks in full force as the fight wears on!" Felix responded.

On scene, Manny stepped within an inch of Frankie within a flash, attempting to kick Frankie's groin in the process. Frankie launched a downward block with his palm, successfully avoiding critical damage from the attack. Manny wasted no time in lining up his next move as he pivoted on the spot and threw a spinning back elbow towards the left-side temple of Frankie. Frankie ducked underneath the oncoming elbow, and grabbed Manny around the waist, leaning forward and slamming him into the ground. The crowd erupted in cheers as Frankie positioned himself on the ground and wrapped his free arm around the wrist, neck and shoulder of Manny, ensnaring him in a hold.

"MONSTER MACK IS THE FIRST TO INITIATE THE GROUND GAME AS HE TRAPS MANIAC DREGO IN AN EPIC ARM-TRIANGLE CHOKEHOLD!" Harry shouted as the referee on scene ran over to the grappled Beast-Men check on the status of Manny. As soon as the referee reached the spot where both fighters lay, Frankie suddenly released his hold on Manny, causing the two to scramble off of the floor and take stance quickly. "FRANKIE'S HOLD WAS BROKEN AND MANNY IS BACK ON HIS FEET! WHY WOULD FRANKIE GIVE UP A CHANCE AT VICTORY SO EASILY?" Harry asked in commentary. "Simple Harry, look at Frankie's arm," Felix's voice boomed over the speakers. Sure enough, not a soul present missed the vicious injury Frankie sustained in trying to seal his win; a large imprint of teeth marks tore into the flesh on Frankie's forearm, the very one used to secure the grapple. Manny stood triumphantly as he wiped his mouth clean, allowing the spatters of dark blood drops to decorate the camo print of his tank-top. Manny had bit Frankie; first blood had been drawn.

"ABSOLUTELY SINSTER, FOLKS! MANNY BIT FRANKIE TO BREAK OUT OF THE CHOKEHOLD. MANNY HAS NO RESERVATIONS ABOUT USING THOSE OH SO DEADLY DENTURES OF HIS!!!" Frankie seemed to be unaware of the injury after releasing the hold, as he stood at the ready for combat. Franked lowered his center of gravity at the hips slightly, and extended his uninjured arm away from his body, halfway turning his palm towards Manny. Bent at the elbow, bent at the knees with one leg leading, Frankie shuffled around Manny in a circular motion.

In response, Manny snapped his jaw shut several times in rapid succession, producing an audible sound akin to bear traps clamping shut before launching himself at Frankie at full speed. For a moment on screen, it appeared as though Manny's lunge caused him to blur, making his subsequent attack indiscernible to the untrained eye. However, Harry's commentary allowed the unversed onlookers an understanding of Manny's next move: "HERE IT IS FOLKS! WITH BLOOD IN HIS MOUTH AND HIS EYES DILATED BACK, MANIAC MANNY UNLEASHES HIS BONITO BITE BLITZ ON A WOUNDED FRANKIE!"

Jetting to and fro in a haphazard but lightning-quick procession, Manny snipped at various areas of Frankie's body, drawing blood with each bite. Although most laypersons in the audience could not make out the actual moment of penetration on screen, it was evident that each time the grey agile blur would streak past Frankie, more blood seemed to stream from every part of Frankie's body.

"POSITIONING, MACK! POSITIONING!" Doug screamed as Frankie barely evaded the onslaught of Manny, turning his body as the last moment to avoid a seemingly fatal strike. Jules saw it all: the circular motions of Frankie, in conjunction to Frankie's extended hand parrying Manny's body at the last moment kept Frankie from serious injury. Despite this, Jules also came to understand something else as well, further illuminated by Felix's color commentary: "The Bonito Bite Blitz is a filthy technique, Harry! It's not designed to knock out, knock down or even critically injure an adversary in one attack. Instead, Manny goes for delivering a series of rapid, shallow bites all over an exposed body to draw blood slowly and drain the stamina from the fighter! Truly brutal stuff!"

True to stated form, Frankie had begun to look like hell worn over, while Manny was still in full on attack mode. Right after Manny made another pass at Frankie, Frankie turned and ran to the edge of the unfinished platform, jumping down to the next level and disappearing from immediate view. "WHATS THIS FOLKS??? IS THE MONSTER GIVING UP??? THERE ARE NO RULES ABOUT HOW TO UTILIZE THE ENVIRONMENT IN THIS FIGHT, SO SURELY FRANKIE MUST BE UP TO SOMETHING?" Manny stopped his technique and followed suit, also disappearing from view. "Something major is about to happen, Harry; Frankie's going for a venue change and with it, maybe turn the tides of the fight. Let's see what the camera crew finds" Felix concluded as the audience edged closer off of their seats in anticipation.