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The Face: Tournament of Death, Chapter Nine
It was nightfall, and all tournament participants had retired into their quarters. The festivities had concluded for the day, and each fighter was to get plenty of rest for the tasks that lie on the road ahead. Joseph Bell lied upon the bed in his bright red, opulent room full of sophisticated import furniture and the cultural art that had surrounded the gold-stained walls. “Ah, this is the life…Bell,” he said to himself. “Back on top once again…back on top soon enough,” he envisioned, arms under his resting head.
D was also in his room, resting his tired soul as well, three doors down. He sat, with headphones on, listening to his latest smash-hit album. “After this, I’ll be goin’ platinum,” he said, jabbing his fist in the air.
Suddenly, a knock came upon his door. D slowly removed his headphones and listened to make sure of the oncoming noise. The knock came again, and D approached the door. On the other side was an exotic woman with fiery red hair, escorting a line of beautiful young ladies of different ethnicities into the room. “Hello,” the leading fiery-haired woman greeted. “Good…evening…” D replied, unsure of the occasion. “Master Shran has beckoned us to serve our male guests,” she explained. D’s face was marked with question. “We are here to serve you,” she said to him, in a magnanimous tone. D slyly smiled with enchantment. “Ah, alright then…can’t disappoint you ladies…or this Shran character,” he said mischievously. He then proceeded to make his decision of who he was to pick. “I’ll take you…and you, and you…and you…” He pointed to four various women, all of whom stayed behind in the room after the rest left. The door was shut behind them.
I had laid my clothes upon my comfortingly soft, customizable bed, when I opened a small suitcase to reveal my old suit from the days of old. “Ah,” I reminisced, “We meet again at last, Face,” I said to the featureless mask, and dark gray trenchcoat that had been purchased from so very long ago. “I never thought I’d be seeing you in action again…” I said to myself. I picked up the outfit and hid in the closet to the right of the room. As I was putting the clothes away, I heard a knock on the door. ‘Hmm,’ I thought to myself, wondering whom it was that wanted to see me. I let the inquirers in, surprised at the many guests that had flocked into the room. A flock of young women stood in line before me, and a woman with fiery red hair greeted me. “We are here to serve you,” she said. Misunderstanding, I answered back, “Hmm, I am feeling a bit parched in the throat…how bout a little refreshment…” The fiery-red haired woman interrupted. “Perhaps you did not understand…We are here to serve you,” she said, in a more promiscuous tone, waving her hand to the variety of beautiful ladies set before me. I stroked my chin in puzzlement. “Eh?” I wondered
“Just pick one, one to serve you!” The fiery-haired woman demanded, slightly annoyed. I finally began to understand, my eyes widened in realization. “Oh!” I said, rubbing my chin once again. “No wonder they call this pleasure island,” I said to myself. But then, an idea sparked into my head like the heated filament of a light bulb. I proceeded to move to one of the small desks in the room, with women watching. Upon the desktop was the same needle that had protruded against the defenseless pear that had been pierced during the procession.
I showed the dart to the leading woman. “The owner of this dart,” I said assuredly. The fiery-haired woman understood. “Ah, yes, of course…that can be arranged.” She and her questionably legal legion of women then filed out the door in an orderly, single-filed line.
Joseph Bell lay half-asleep, day-dreaming of the aspirations that were to come, when a tapping on his door startled him. “Wha?! Who’s there?” He wondered. A feminine voice answered from behind it, “Room Service,” it said. Joseph Bell sat up in bed and replied, “Come on in.” The fiery, red-haired woman displayed her vast array of beautiful young women once again, magnifying the embellishing qualities of each. “We are here to serve you,” she said, yet again. “You can have any one of these beautiful young ladies for the night. Please, make your choice.” Catching on to the duplicity, Joseph Bell hesitated, then eyed each woman carefully. He walked across the long line of young ladies and finally came to a halt at the very last one. “I’ve already made my decision,” he said to the red-haired woman. “Oh,” she said, somewhat surprised, and smiled. “Excellent choice,” she said, winking at him. After the display, the remaining women then filed out, leaving the two to be…
The young woman I had initially sent for had come thrusting through the room, as if she was in a haze to get somewhere quickly. “What do you want?” she said harshly, in her demanding voice, and leopard-skin outfit. I defended my case sternly, rising myself forward, determined not to be taken aback by her stubborn authority. “Hey, you got it all wrong,” I insisted. “This isn’t what you think.” I tried to tone my voice in an urbane, interrogative manner, like those of the wily detectives on television. “Fact is, lady, I don’t think you’re from around here…you know, I think I even recognize you from somewhere. But that’s beside the point…I’m just a bit suspicious of this whole island fiasco, and I thought maybe you possessed a little inside info…” I said to her. She tapped her foot upon the ground. “Oh really?” Her voice eased over, and she released her tension, but seemed to patronize me. “First of all, don’t speak to me like I’m some sort of spurious, suspicious witch,” She threatened, pushing me backward. “Ok, ok, sorry, miss,” I rapidly apologized. She took a step forward once again, and waved a hand out. “Secondly, why do you care about this island so much?” She tossed the strands of her hair backward, flowing into the air. Watching, I clarified my situation. “I’ve heard…things, read bad things about this place…” I said to her. She folded her arms, throwing a solemn glance my way. “Things huh?” she began. She took a moment before she spoke once again, “These ‘things’ you say…would they perhaps be somehow related to illegal activities…like say…drug operations and prostitution scandals?” She finished, seeming to half-read my mind. I surprisingly nodded. “The first part, yes…I didn’t actually know anything about those…er…scandals,” I conveyed. “That is, of course, er… until today…” I continued. She looked at me suspiciously, whipping a few strands of her hair backward, while swaying her head. “Well, I haven’t delved deeply enough to figure out what’s really going on with this setup. I initially came here to keep an eye on my boyfriend, to make sure he didn’t get into trouble,” she said. “Ah…boyfriend,” I repeated. She looked back toward me. “Are you some sort of private investigator or something?” she wondered.
I explained my situation to her. “No, not exactly. I’m a journalist from the Daily Times, here to report the outcome of the tournament and local washed-up, bankrupt entrepreneur, Joseph Bell.” She seemed a bit offended at the remark. “Hey, that’s my boyfriend you’re talking about!” She ranted. But then, she herself had a perplexed look on her face. “Wait a minute….the…the Daily Times? The newspaper that exposed fatal faults in a the experimentation of a local health-induction serum, and the questionable activities of Bell Corporation!?” She bellowed furiously. Then it hit me, I recognized who this woman was. “Oh hey, you’re that scientist I wrote that article on a year back…I thought I remembered your picture somewhere…” That was an all too fatal mistake on my part…
The woman’s eyes raged with fury, “You…” she angrily echoed, in a lower, more frightening tone. Her eyes were red with fury, almost blazing as much as the woman with the bright hair. “Now, hold on…maybe you’ve been around your serum too long…you know, the one that contains chemicals that can cause you to go temporarily insane…?” I tried to calm her. She slowly crept towards me with a hunched back, like a lion ready to kill. I stepped backwards. “Hold on, now this is just a misunderstanding…” I tried to quell the anger, my hands motioning the calming sequence. But she did not falter.
Quickly she leaped at me like a leaping leopard. Her hands reached me by the collar and she proceeded to lift me up and push my back roughly up against the wall. “Ouch! Hey, hey!” I yelled. She was quite strong for a female scientist.
An interruption occurred as a weak knock came from the brown door across the room. On the other side a voice faintly echoed, “Cleaning Service,” which sounded to be that of an old Chinese man. Natalie looked backward with angry eyes. “Go away!” She roared. “We’re busy!” she shot, as the old man had peeked through a crack in the door. “Oh, I’m sorry miss, I completely understand! I’ll come back later…” he said, shutting the door. “No!” I cried. “Don’t leave! I need a witness! Agh!” I yelled toward him, being shaken savagely by the furious hands of the female beast. “Witness, hah, I’m sure you’ll remember this ravishing time of your youth for years to come…” the old man whispered back.
As he continued down the hallway path away from the door, he heard a loud crash and crackling of wood and glass, and a bellowing snarl as well. “I always knew that blond was a feisty one,” he said to himself and continued to another room.
It was late at night, and Taoyu had just left her room for a small stroll around the gigantic palace. She entered what seemed to be the lobby of the hotel area, which sat between the two halves of the numerous rooms that were built into the wealthy complex. With small torches lit, exuberating faint flashes of red light about the dark area, Kristy Collumbo could be seen sitting on the floor, smoking a cigarette. Innocently, Taoyu, with hands behind her back, approached the deadly assassin.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully. “My name’s Seung Taoyu, but my friends call me Taoyu. I’m so glad to see another female fighter in this tournament…I was beginning to feel a little out of place.” Kristy did not respond immediately, instead she took a breath of dark smoke and exhaled it into the surrounding atmosphere. “You know what, kid? Female fighters outrank male fighters in all aspects of martial arts…soon, we’ll be running the show in a matter of no time…” Taoyu, feeling welcomed, sat next to her with knees bent to her body. “That’s good to hear…I’m hoping to become the best…the best Xiaolin fighter there is to this date…” Kristy flipped her dirty blonde hair back and stared at the young aspirer. “Aren’t you the big dreamer?” she said in a casual tone. “Yep, no one’s gonna be able to stop me and my Panda,” she promised. Kristy raised her brow in puzzlement. “Panda?” she wondered. “Right…” she dismissed the unreal notion.
They both sat in silence for a while, seeming to get to know each other by that quietness alone, a peaceful quiet that serenely calmed both their nerves. Fire trickled, and the silent sound of soaring sparks crackled through the air. They gazed around the dark room at the shadowed art that was painted upon the wall. One of the women, dressed in her fabulous dress robe, entered and exited through a screen doorway that led to the outside, hurriedly. “Ooh, pretty dress,” Taoyu exclaimed. Kristy frowned at the distastefulness. “Listen, er…Taoyu. Don’t be fooled by those fancy women around here. Be your own woman, those girls are treated like they’re possessions, passed around from man-to-man each night like some meaningless award.” Young Taoyu looked at the resolute young woman who seemed to have her own ethics established for herself, and she drank in the wisdom of the older woman with a seemingly avid interest. They toiled the night, resting in their places, enjoying the peaceful resonance that flowed through the island.
Just outside the palace, within the gates of the large dojo beneath the star-filled sky, lay a happily dozing Panda in the midst of a lush, green bamboo forest. A few students of the dojo were posted on duty when they came across the large bear. “Hey look guys, a panda,” one said. “Hey, what’s that thing doing here?” Another replied. “It’s sleeping…Let’s go guys,” a third wisely suggested. But the other two did not comply. “I know! Let’s poke it with some bamboo!” The first one said. “Good idea!” The second willfully agreed.
Foolishly completing the task, the three ignorant bafoons did just that. The first student picked up a long, thick piece of bamboo and began poking at the sleeping panda. Panda slightly shifted in discomfort at the light taps, but kept in her sleeping trance. “Ah, stupid Panda…it’s not doing anything…” He conceded. The second student took hold of the large bamboo. “No, no! You got to do it harder!” He cried, idiotically ramming the large bamboo into the side of a wrathful bear.
Panda awoke with a startle, in another trance of floundering rage. Seeing her targets, she roared angrily and dove for all of them. Each cried in harrowing fear, running chaotically in different directions, almost in circles. She dove upon the first student and began pounding him with a flurry of fist-flinging jabs. After much damage was dealt, she ran after the fleeing second aggressor, jumped up high into the air, and landed with a rather crushing, bombastic blow from her hind paw that knocked him unconscious. The third managed to escape…but not without having the consequential side effect of unrelenting traumatic dysfunction. Finally letting the rage vent, Panda lay herself down into the soft patch of grass that she loved, and dozed off to sleep once again.
Natalie was about to strike the final blow to my ailing head, when she finally came to her senses. With hand high in air she stopped herself. “Wha…what am I doing? I’ve got to take control of myself…this shouldn’t have happened…I thought I took care of that flaw…” she whispered to herself, walking away from her beaten victim.
I picked my bruised self up from off the ground and rubbed my aching back, hunched. “Yeah…ya could’ve toned it down a bit…” I said, with an exhausted voice. Though she wasn’t listening. She took a vial full of light yellow substance from a pocket out of her leopard-skin cloth, and looked at it thoroughly. “What’s wrong…?” I wondered, still in complete pain. “I thought you only used the vial for healing wounds…” She shook her head, still scrutinizing the object in hand. “Yes, but I’ve extracted the two chemicals in the compound to become separate. With the diverging of the two, I was able to reduce the effects of the chemical that induced increased muscular activity, so that it would not overwhelm the body and its organs.” She avidly spread the chemical upon a tray on the desk and rushed out of the room. “Yeah, okay, leave the ailing person behind, I’ll just go get a drink of water…” I said.
As I walked out of the room, groaning in after-agony, the old janitor came up to me once again. “She really did a number on you, eh?” He wondered. “Yeah…” I said, trying to control the pain. I slowly skulked to the nearest soda machine, and bought me a bottle of Dasani. I twisted the cap, opened it, and drank heavily. After feeling the cool glow of rushing water down my parched throat, I felt somewhat refreshed. I saw Natalie rush back into the room with an object in hand.
It was a microscope, as I had found out when I went back into the room. She was examining the solution before her and she took a syringe, removing a sample, and put it away. She turned to me. “Okay, it looks like with this unexpected turn, I won’t be able to carry out this operation alone. You have to help me,” she said. I raised a brow. She not only tried to kill me…she tried to massacre me as well, but now she wants my help? “Uh…I don’t follow…” She sighed in annoyance, and continued. “We should work together to find out what’s really going down in this place. Tomorrow night, we’ll investigate, but tonight, I have to do some work,” She gathered her belongings and fled out the door, without giving a second thought to me. “Uhh…okay, I said to her…”
I limped myself to the closet door and unclosed it. Staring at my old uniform, I said to myself, “Looks like you’ll be outta here sooner than I thought, my friend,” then I realized…I was talking to a suit…
On the other side of the island, where the contestants first docked, a loud, fluttering, choppy noise could be heard from above as a helicopter slowly touched down upon the now dimly-lit sandy beach below. Dustbowls of sand whirled around in cyclonic motion as the flying machine without wings had come to a halt. Out came the great Jaguar, and his trusty butler Sheck, who had arrived to the islands fashionably late…which was for them, perfectly normal.
Back within the innards of the combative compound, down at the end of the hall of the sleeping quarters, the old Janitor made his way to the very last room, which overlooked the vast, soothing sea. Before he entered, he could hear strange, mystical noises from beyond the doorway, not knowing what to make of them. It almost sounded like a piece of wire short-circuiting. There was blue light, as if from a television, eminating through the cracks as well. But he knew better, there was no electricity on the island, so he casually entered…
A horrifyingly strange sight beheld the old man’s vision as he dropped his cleaning utensils to the floor. Before him stood Shizuya, electric sparks raging from his body, while a dark, purple aura exuberated from it as well. His black, spiked hair was raised, and the large window across from him was wide open, as if he were trying to call upon something. Slowly, his head turned around to the trembling old man. His piercing, cobra-like eyes glowed red like fire as the emotionless lips on his face suddenly turned downward. The unnatural phenomena soon died down, as the dark man’s state returned to normal, and he put sunglasses on, even in the dark, to conceal those bright, harrowing eyes that cut through the old man’s heart.
He lay dead upon the ground, seemingly from an unprepared fatal heart attack…or by an unexplainable cause. Shizuya proceeded to the doorway, reaching down for the lifeless body. He took it upon himself to give an adequate burial at sea, by tossing him, without looking backward, out the window to his watery grave in the distance below…
The door was shut once again, and the strange blue light could be seen flashing through the cracks of the doorway once again…
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