1.14 – Tomorrow’s Joe
Kai and I try to keep straight faces as Daamin chews us out about being late. Kay takes the opportunity to accuse me of stealing her debug remote. The entire time Kai keeps giving me funny looks and ruining my concentration. I feel like a kid in class when the teachers says to stop talking but your friends keep trying to make you laugh.
“You’re not even taking this seriously,” Daamin gives up.
“No, I’m really serious about this,” Kai responds.
“We’re so serious. We’ve never been this serious before,” I assure Daamin.
“They’re assholes,” Kay reminds us of her favorite word.
“Whatever, I’m going to win this whole tournament,” Daamin seems upset.
“Alright, we weren’t serious,” Kai consoles him. “But, we are now and we fully support you.”
“Yeah, I’m just a little giddy about surviving a near death experience, but I believe in you. Go bring us that first piece of code.”
“That’s better,” Daamin walks away and puts his fist in the air.
When he’s far enough I ask Kai, “is that from an anime or something.”
“I’m almost entirely sure it is.”
We take our seats alongside the NPCs, an entirely different atmosphere than being in the ring. The crowd is full of energy and there’s a large holographic display above showing clips from previous fights. Kai and I have pretty good seats but Kay chose to stand ringside for some reason. Daamin makes his entrance to the ring wearing just his swords, black cargo pants and boots. He’s obviously in better shape than I am. It’s not just his head but his entire torso covered in reptile skin.
“Relax, some people aren’t fans of the super buff, dehydrated no carbs look,” Kai says.
“What are you talking about?”
“You think I can’t tell you’re self-conscious about your body? You were up there trying to cover your chest and trying to hold in your gut, and now you’re looking annoyed seeing Daamin up there.”
“I was not doing any of that.”
“Oh yes you were, but it’s cool. You looked fine.”
“Sure, whatever you say.”
“Yeah, exactly what I said,” Kai laughs.
We don’t get a chance to continue the conversation before Daamin’s opponent shows up. The two of us laugh because even we can tell this is a fusion of Sub Zero and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. The fighter is dressed in ninja gear with half yellow and half blue.
“We’re so old,” I laugh.
“Why are you saying that?”
“Because we’re over 30. Mortal Kombat came out the same year we did. I can still remember playing this on Sega with older cousins when Reptile was always a secret character.”
“Damn, when you say it like that, we are old.”
“Come over here,” the Two Colored Ninja shouts at Daamin and throws a spear. Daamin rolls forward dodging the spear with expert skill I guess bringing a sword to a gun fight let him gain some skills I didn’t. He comes out of the roll and lands a punch directly to the ninja’s gut. The ninja responds by bringing an elbow down into Daamin’s back repeatedly. Daamin pulls the ninja’s legs, dropping the ninja to his back before laying into him with punches over and over again. The gong sounds signifying his quick win.
“He’s way more impressive than I was up there.”
“I’m not even going to argue with that. He’s a better fighter than either of us,” Kai nods.
“Then why did you let me go up there?”
“I don’t know, I just tend to believe you can do anything.”
“Kai, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You’ve been really nice to me since we got stuck in the game.”
“Then I’ll stop being nice to you,” Kai is clearly bothered by what I said.
I watch as Daamin celebrates his win and Kay cheers him on. She seems to still hate us, but in the time we were gone those two have gotten close. She’s supporting him like a long time friend and he’s accepting it. Maybe I should just accept Kai being nice to me, but I’m not used to that. Kai has been my friend for a long time. We’re good to each other but we tend to roast each other as well. He doesn’t even make fun of me any more and that was kind of our thing. Watching Kay and Daamin makes me think I should just stop complaining and accept it, return the favor. I’m just not used to people being nice to me when I have nothing to offer them. I probably fell into the trap of thinking Kai was one of those people as well but he’s never asked me for anything. I glance over at him watching the matches aimlessly. The bracelet on his wrist catches my eye and suddenly my own bracelet feels like it’s burning. Am I a bad friend?
“Well this is interesting,” Kai says.
Daamin’s next opponent enters the ring, and he’s more lizard than Kai. A tall lizard like man complete with three toes and scales across his body. His steel armor is decorated with ancient Greek style artwork that matches the shield he’s carrying. The lizard man holds his sword in the air and stares at Daamin who looks at him in just as much confusion. I don’t know what game the lizard man is from but Daamin seems to know.
The lizard spins forward using his sword as an edge. Pieces of concrete fly into the air as he moves closer to Daamin. At the last moment Daamin jumps into the air to avoid the blade. The lizard stops in an instant and spits a fireball into the air. Daamin uses his arms to shield his face from the blast, but slams to the ground. The lizard rushes forward swinging his sword but Daamin manages to roll out of the way and draw the sword on his waist. The two begin an intense sword fight. Kay shouts and cheers for Daamin as they pick up speed. The lizard man’s shield makes it impossible for Daamin to land a blow but he manages to make room with a wild swing. With a moment to spare he draws his second sword.
“72 Caliber Phoenix,” Daamin shouts the words before rushing forward. It’s just like him to shout out the names of his moves as if he were a Power Rangers character. The lizard man rushes forward as Daamin holds his two swords above his shoulders and launches into a spin and stops. Two blasts of bright green energy move forward from his swords only picking up speed and growing wider until they can’t be dodged. They slam into the lizard who tries to block them with his shield. Light flashes from the clash blinding us temporarily. When we can see again the lizard man is still standing. Daamin puts his swords away and holds his fist in the sky. Kay’s clapping is the only sound heard until the lizard man drops to the ground and the crowd cheers. The gong sounds, Daamin has wrapped up his second win.
It’s round three that brought me the issues. I got cheated, the power levels didn’t get progressively tougher. You can’t go from a lawyer to a man made of fire. I wonder who Daamin will be facing in round three. A thin and dirty man steps forward in boxing boots with duct tape, a pair of blue shorts with just the letter ‘J’ and boxing gloves that have been through some battles. I don’t recognize this guy from any game I’ve ever played. He extends his arm to Daamin who gives him a fist bump.
The two stand still without moving for a long time, an eerie scene for sure but both stand in a boxing position. I don’t think Daamin even knows how to box. A slight wind blows through the amphitheater, when it stops both rush forward at full speed. There’s a crunching sound as both make contact with the other’s face. They remain locked in that position without moving, or blinking. A still image, a portrait of violence depicting two very different fighters locked in what seems to be an eternal struggle. A giant half man half lizard with a scale covered fist jammed into the face of small man who has an old boxing glove launching one of the most vicious uppercuts I’ve ever seen. Daamin falls backward from the uppercut, while the nameless boxer drops to a knee. The two remain still but the gong doesn’t ring. Daamin rises to his feet, but the other boxer doesn’t. The gong sounds and Daamin holds his hand up high in victory.
“What the heck was that,” I mumble under my breath.
“A true test of fighting spirit between men,” an NPC responds.
A yellow light shines down on Daamin as a he claims the first piece of code. A data chip floating into his hand. The light vanishes and Daamin lets out a victory shout.
Author Note: His name is Lizardman, he used to be in Soul Calibur games. Don't know if he still is. I'm trash at fighting games. Don't play them anymore. The last guy is Gearless Joe.
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