Swathed in the cheers of the audience, Molly and Marina stood at the center of the ring.
"I've been looking forward to this," Marina admitted, practically beaming.
Before her loomed a vibrant mass of red energy that pulsed with Molly's breathing. Marina had observed most people to be erratic globs that reacted to the slightest stimuli or thought. But Molly's ki was laser-focused: it maintained a fixed shape--the shape of Molly MacDonald, perfectly honed and controlled. It might have frightened her if she didn't find it so beautiful.
"That right?"
"Yes. I think we both know you're the strongest fighter here. I couldn't ask for a better opponent to test myself against."
"Strongest, huh?" Molly smirked.
"Am I wrong?"
"READYYY?" the announcer revved.
"Guess we'll have to find out, won't we?"
"FIGHT!"
Wasting no time at all, Marina hopped towards Molly with her leg cocked back, bursting her foot into Molly's core with enough force to blast her straight up into the air.
"Like a SOCCER ball," Prunella yelped, quite involuntarily.
Molly whistled higher and higher until she splayed her limbs out, booming to a sudden stop, some forty feet above the lei tai.
She was suspended in the air.
Marina looked up, grinning ear to ear.
"I-I," the announcer squeaked. "M-Molly MacDonald is flying?"
Marina laughed in disbelief as she looked up. She saw Molly as a vast, thrumming red supernova against an endless sea of black.
"Incredible," she awed to herself.
The scarlet nebula warped into an arrowhead figure before bearing down on her.
Molly dive-bombed with a meteoric punch primed behind her.
Oh, dear--
As Molly plummeted down, Marina backflipped out of harm's way with near-imperceptible speed.
"Fast, huh?" Molly noted, wrenching her fist out of the lei tai with a loud crunch.
"Only when I need t--"
"Let's see just how fast," Molly thought aloud as she soared towards Marina at mach speed.
Molly blitzed with a hail of near-supersonic fists and kicks that Marina was forced to block, dodge, and deflect faster than she ever thought she was capable of. The constant barrage of explosive contact began to kick up a winding halo of dust and debris around them as the audience swelled.
The jaws of both Prunella and Slink widened as their gaze rose further and further above the ring: as they traded blows, Marina and Molly were drifting ever higher off the ground.
They battled so high that it became difficult to spectate the action with the sun in everyone's eyes. Eventually, Marina managed to break away, landing back on the ring. She was utterly winded, panting as she resumed stance. Molly followed suit, though her breathing, Marina noticed, was not nearly as frantic.
Such discipline, Marina mused, breathing heavily. Her chi--it's remarkable...
She finally pulled her eyes away, glancing at Prunella out in the stands.
"What? What is it?" Prunella wondered, worry clear on her face. She knew Marina was trying to tell her something, but...what?
Marina then turned towards Jenna who stood in the entrance to the field, knees bent and hands out as if to beg, 'what's wrong?' After a few seconds of thought, Jenna knew.
Marina lowered her head with a smile before relaxing her posture.
She bowed before Molly.
The crowd's murmuring grew into a clamour.
The move had caught Molly off guard, but she soon understood. She returned the gesture.
"Well, ladies and gents," the announcer began, clearly exhausted. "After an amazing bout I don't think anyone here will soon forget, it would appear that Marina Datillo...yields. Molly MacDonald advances to the finals."
As she stood, ignoring the audience's discontent while admiring Molly's ki, Marina thought she noticed something else--just off the corner of her eye, out in the audience. But it was gone as soon as she attempted to focus on it.
Must be more tired than I thought, she resolved as victory music blared over the speakers.
"Shall we?" she asked Molly with a weary smile.
They exited the field together.
YOU ARE READING
Elwood Tenkaichi: An Arthur Story
FanficWhen Elwood City holds its very first junior martial arts tournament, kids from all over town enter to win. Their reasons are many: some to prove themselves, some to settle old scores, and some just for the prize money. In the case of Fern Walters...
