Tri-Force

Tri-Force (plus two) - Fighting 101

6. Fighting 101

‘I think it’s only fair if we fight Maddi and Emma first, since you two don’t know what we…uh, do.’ Kim stood in the middle of the group, but she spoke to Dani and Nicole. ‘Yeah, that sounds fair,’ said Nicole, cutting off Dani before she could object. They both walked back toward the entrance of the arena, where they sat down on a couch used for wounded soldiers and front-line observers. 

‘Aight - rules.’ Piped up Maddi, clapping once to get the others’ attention. They all leaned in excitedly. She was silent for a few moments before whispering, ‘Just try not to kill each other.’ Kim smiled broadly and grabbed Tobi by the shirt, dragging him to the left side of the arena. Maddi and Emma went the other way.

Kim leant against the wall and drew her batons, spinning them in her hands. ‘Aim?’ she said, tilting her chin up.

‘Two bones each. No major breaks. Small fractures are allowed. Multiple breaks on one bone are also permitted.’ Replied Tobi, fiddling with a small red gadget.

‘Drawing blood?’

‘Permitted.’

‘Bruising?’

‘Necessary.’

‘Tactics?’

‘Never.’ 

‘Ready?’

‘Always.’

Kim knew Maddi’s move before she made it. Activating her field-shield, she yanked Tobi behind it as icicles flew in their direction. They bounced off and onto the floor with a little tinkering sound. Tobi nodded thanks at Kim before rushing out in front of her. A fireball flew at him and he spun left, dodging it by a millimetre. He landed in a defensive crouch, right hand on the ground, one leg bent and one straight out. His left hand shot out sideways and Kim saw a gleam of red metal before the gadget transformed. In his hand he now held a circular blade the size of a garbage can lid. Standing up, he grabbed the underside of the blade with his right hand and suddenly held one in both hands. Kim caught the look on Dani and Nicole’s faces – We have to fight them? They looked nice and worried. Kim winked at Dani, who returned it with a nod. Then Kim got into the action.

Tobi’s blades were now spinning at a lethal speed, and heading toward Maddi. Kim left him and turned her attention to Emma. But she wasn’t anywhere to be seen… Kim activated her shield and spun around just in time to deflect a flock of flying rocks. Emma giggled and grabbed onto a vine sprouting from the ground. It lifted her 10 metres into the air, spinning and winding. Rock pillars proceeded to rise up from the ground in a line, creating steps for Emma to hop back and forth on. She stood on the middle pillar now, balancing on one foot in the yoga tree pose. ‘Come on! This isn’t meditation time!’ Kim was getting agitated – Emma wasn’t giving her anything to punch. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room…

Maddi gasped, ducking under a flying blade – Matrix style. She fell back onto her hands and flipped up into a handstand, tilting backwards and into a standing position. Tobi’s right foot flew toward her stomach in a roundhouse kick, but Maddi caught it with a frozen hand. She pulled his leg to her side and then spun to the right, flinging Tobi onto the floor. He rolled over and jumped up within a second. With a grin, Tobi retracted his spinning blades – and they turned into brass knuckles. Before Maddi could react, Tobi’s right fist connected with her jaw. A horrible crack echoed through the arena. But it wasn’t Maddi’s jaw breaking – it was Tobi’s hand. ‘AAHH!’ he screamed, hugging his bleeding fist to his chest. Maddi looked triumphant. ‘It’s common knowledge that you don’t punch a block of ice with brass knuckles on.’ She pointed to the right side of her face, which she had frozen over in the split second before Tobi’s fist had hit her. Tobi swore at her, standing tall, his jaw set in anger. Maddi smug look turned scared and she dodged a hit from an even bigger red blade. 

Kim almost fell off the pillar, but she regained her balance and threw another fist at Emma’s ribs. She jumped back onto the pillar behind, forcing Kim to occupy the one she had just vacated. Kim surprised Emma by jumping onto her pillar, smacking her chin with rotating batons. Emma fell backwards, but a woven net of vines suddenly appeared, catching her before she hit the floor. Kim rolled her eyes, turning the face the north wall. Bending her knees, Kim vaulted herself off the pillar in a backwards somersault. She duplicated onto the ground and retracted into the clone mid-air. To a bystander it would’ve just looked like Kim had fallen at light speed. In three strides, Kim reached Emma standing in between two pillars.