A Second Chance

Part 20 - Dream State?

We stared at each other.

"This is gonna be the end of The Elite Fighters," I said. 

Ripper pulled out this massive hammer from behind him, charging it up with some sort of reddish energy.

"This is more of a 'goodbye' for you, not me," he shot back. "You don't stand a chance based on what I've seen, loser."

"The real losers are you and the whole Viper gang,"

"Really hitting me with that, huh?" Ripper chuckled. "I thought Shockwave would have taken care of you. Looks like the elite fighters got too far in comfort, such weaklings,"

"She's with us now. She could be changed, but I doubt you can be too."

"So, she's a traitor, huh?" Ripper mused. "That's a major setback. The executives won't be happy about this,"

"Watch yourself," Mark warned. "This guy's known for how strong and unpredictable is based on what I'm seeing. Still gotta find his other files though,"

Ripper slammed his hammer down, sending out a massive shockwave filled with whatever red energy he was using. Luckily, I threw up my lightning shield just in time.

SLAM!

...

Yikes!

That was a very strong shockwave. 

He instantly charged at me with an insane amount of speed, and I readied myself for what was to come. 

He leaped and lifted his hammer.

I sidestepped just in time, and his swing hit the ground, creating a crater.

"That's one wild hammer you got there," I muttered. "Shouldn't you be called Smasher instead of Ripper,"

He swung the hammer sideways, and I dodged, only to realize I was cornered. Talk about being caught off guard!

Corners was usually something I used to my advantage, that hammer makes it annoying. Also, I wouldn't want to be cornered by this guy because of his massive hammer and unique fighting style... pulling the same move wouldn't cut it.

Left with no other option, I threw my arms up, blocking an extremely devastating hit from his hammer.

"AARGH!" I screamed.

It hurt so much... so much that I lowered my arms instantly. I swear that I heard some loud crack when the hammer connected. 

He swung the hammer again and hit my face.

I hit the ground hard on the verge of unconsciousness.

"I'm about to show you why they call me The Ripper," the guy chuckled. "I shred my enemies' minds slowly and rip them away from the fabric of reality!"

So, he's not just a brute force kind of player; he has mental tactics too. Probably worse than Abyss... doesn't really matter, because I'd only be able to take him down if he didn't finish me off right here and now.

He conjured some dark energy from his hand and touched my face with it.

Everything went black.

...

...

"Jay! Wake up, bro!"

Huh... I looked to the source of the voice and it was... Kai?!

Kai leaped on to the bed and he looked right at me. "You're lucky Sensei Wu let us crash on the dockyard for the sleepover, or you'd be stuck in detention, dude!"