ManBeast - Book 1: A Kingdom of Predators

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

"I got you, Frankie. Now I'm going to destroy you," Manny spoke through a mouthful of flesh. The security of the bite and the taste of blood meant an assured victory for Manny; no one had ever beaten his Overbite technique before. The force of his Beast-Man jaws slamming shut on his prey had broken bone; the sharpness of his teeth tore flesh. The vibrations in the bite sawed the wound deeper, while the strength behind his jaws kept the attack locked into place. A submission-hold of his own design, meant to not only fatally wound, but to also serve as a warning to all who opposed him, or dared to oppose him: none escape the jaws of the Abyss. Manny smiled to himself at the thought of Frankie's agony; "beg me to release you, Mack! Beg me for death!" his mind gleefully desired. This was it: the moment in which Manny would prove to everyone, and himself, that he was indeed the stronger predator. Nothing could undo his joy, not even the deafening silence of his enemy...?

"I must thank you, Manny..." Frankie spoke softly, as Manny's bite dug deeper into his arm: "This was a technique I feared greatly; it stymied my mind in thinking critically about strategies towards you. Now that I have endured it, the fear of your bite far exceeds the bite itself, so I must thank you." Manny stopped chomping into Frankie's arm; he was still latched on, but now was in quizzical contemplation of Frankie's serenity and words.

"I heard your words earlier, when you were looking for me...or rather, I listened to them. I regret that a fellow Brother was made to endure such pain, such hardship during his time in service; that was not fair. But, neither is you assuming that I would willingly throw away the very thing at the core of my soul: my pride in my species. I will always be who I am, and could never abandon it. Many people in my past tried to convince me I was indeed "the Monster", the trouble one, the person who was not worthy of genuine emotional consideration, and treated me as such. But one person did, and saw in me what I always knew existed in some fashion: a heart. Stephan saw that in me," Frankie whispered while lowering his stance slightly.

Frankie palmed the front of Manny's face and curled his fingers under the upper lip of Manny with his free hand, slowly opening his jaws forcefully. "You might very well possess a heart also, Manny, but you erred greatly in discovering it, fearful of further harm; Stephan knew that as well," he continued to whisper. Frankie slowly bent Manny's head backward, craning his neck as he gagged and sputtered under Frankie's titanic strength. "Even your techniques are meant to manifest fear. You wish to become that which scared you. But fear is simply just that, and anyone who willingly cloaks themselves within it are far weaker than they realize. Thank you, Manny: for once, I don't have to worry about being who I truly am, or what I'm willing to sacrifice to achieve my goal," Frankie spoke softly with finality, pressing further into Manny.

"MY GOD!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE, FELIX!!?" Harry screamed as Frankie began to reverse Manny's hold. "That is the culmination of the Mack Mixed Martial Arts right there, Harry. Frankie is a thinker, through and through; his style is a variant jujitsu base, mixed with aikido, boxing, and grappling techniques that play directly in his ability to manipulate his target! Every move is calculated and planned out! When you add that to his already monstrous physical prowess, this is the end result: a top-class fighter that will lure you to your own destruction!" Felix responded.

The audience was besides themselves, hollering and cheering as Frankie reversed the Overbite attack of Manny. Doug, Al, and Betty were at the forefront of the adoration, screaming and hollering for Frankie to press onwards. Much like before when Al had executed his finishing move against Mitch, Jules saw the climax of the moment unfold before his eyes: "An opening!" Just as quickly as it was spotted, Frankie shifted direction suddenly; he removed his forearm from Manny's mouth, palmed the back of his head, and rolled Manny with momentous speed over his hip, smashing Manny face-first into the metal platform. The force of the slam shook the steel rafters which held up the platform, and produced a loud, sickening "THUD".

Harry completely lost it: "THE FRANKENSTEIN FACE SLAM!!! THE FRANKENSTEIN FACE SLAM!!!" A torrid surge of cheer from the audience only served to heighten the magnitude of the moment, but Frankie was not yet done. "NO WAY FOLKS, IS HE GOING TO...?" Harry started as Frankie instantly picked Manny up of the ground into an overarm throwing position. Securing a hand on Manny's belt and the back of his head, Frankie took a huge planted step forward and completely flipped Manny, tossing him into the outer-edge barricades of the platform: "BOOM!"

The barricades shattered from the force of Manny slamming into them back first, scattering off of the platform as Manny tumbled limp into the darkness below. The echo of impact from the ground further shook the steel girders, only adding punctuation to Frankie's finishing move: "ITS OVER, FOLKS!! ITS OVER!!! FRANKIE FINISHES MANNY WITH THE MONSTER MACK TOSS, RIGHT OFF OF THE CONSTRUCTION PLATFORM!!! TKO BY RINGOUT!!!! THAT'S IT!!! LADIES AND GENTS, WE HAVE A NEW FANG!!!!!