NOVEL NEXT Episode LXXXI: Checks and Freaks
The Four Clovers of Nightmare retreated to their resting area, sharing the chilling news that people were vanishing following a team's defeat. "How is this possible?" questioned Yenny Wolf from the Spirit Mark team. Hoon abruptly stood up and walked away from his group. Akira rose to follow but was stopped by Yoemi's reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it; he is likely just doing some introspective thinking," Yoemi advised. Akira grumbled as he sat back down, muttering under his breath, "He better not compromise us." Lionel noticed Hoon's absence from one side of the room after Yenny's statement, and Tokido also registered Hoon's departure from his group on the other side.
"What is he up to?" Tokido asked Strix suspiciously.
"Something fishy!" Strix responded cryptically.
Undeterred by Strix’s vague response, Tokido left the room to investigate Hoon’s whereabouts. The intercom crackled to life before he could get far, “Team Checkmate and FrostBurn, please come forth to the arena.”
“Finally! I've been waiting so long to fight,” FJ announced impatiently. Team Checkmate and Frostburn moved towards the platform in unison; all eight members standing shoulder-to-shoulder before splitting off into their respective teams on opposite sides of the platform.
“So, who's going first?” FJ asked casually.
“I will,” replied Yosuke with determination as he leaped onto the platform.
A fighter named Alum Perry took his place opposite Yosuke for Team Frostburn. Alum had kind blue eyes and sported a light green mohawk atop an average height frame with defined muscles visible beneath his burgundy gi adorned with a silver belt and a skeleton logo on its back.
“Are you ready to give it your all?” Alum challenged.
“I hope you are prepared for my power,” Yosuke retorted confidently.
“Be careful, Yosuke!” Rin-Rin shouted from the sidelines, causing FJ to quip, “Why don't you ever cheer me on or tell me to be careful when I fight?”
“Because no one will care if you die or get hurt,” Rin-Rin retorted dismissively, flipping her hair and turning away. FJ's anger flared at her words and he threatened to reveal her most embarrassing secret to the team. The threat escalated into a comedic exchange between FJ, Rin-Rin and Juro that ended with Rin-Rin forcefully silencing FJ with a face-full of sand. The crowd erupted in laughter at the spectacle.
“What an incredible display of strength from Rin-Rin! She isn���t even fighting and she has the crowd in stitches!” Hiroko commented wryly.
Ignoring the sideshow, Yosuke focused his attention on Alum. They bowed respectfully before launching into their match. Their punches were fast and furious but it was clear that Yosuke was dealing more damage than Alum. His final blow sent Alum crashing off the stage in defeat as Team Checkmate celebrated their first victory.
“What a predictable finish for this round,” Hiroko remarked, wiping sweat from his brow as FJ jumped onto the stage for the next fight against Itan Firth from FrostBurn who bore a striking resemblance to his brother Lucas. Ready to prove his worth, FJ pointed a challenging fist at Itan who responded by knocking it aside disrespectfully.
“A blatant display of disrespect from Itan,” Hiroko noted.
FJ crossed his arms, a smile playing on his lips. "I demand your full strength and no childish deference," Itan shouted. FJ remained silent following Itan's harsh rejection of the fist bump. A collective gasp echoed from the crowd, shocked by Itan's dismissal of FJ's friendly gesture.
"The competition seems to be heating up early," Hiroko observed.
"Why would he do that?" Gwynn inquired.
"He is just a showoff, like his brother," Twedwr replied dismissively.
With a burst of speed, Itan lunged at FJ, throwing a punch. Unfazed, FJ caught the punch mid-air and powered up into his green aura. "You're too slow to display such disrespect," he taunted as Itan recoiled from the powerful aura radiating from him.
"Crap!" was all that escaped from Itan's lips before FJ pushed him back. Regaining balance, Itan rolled back upright.
"Finally," Oga declared with satisfaction, "this boy is demonstrating our true power."
Itan begins to hurl small orbs of wind power at FJ, who effortlessly dodges them by simply walking towards him. Seeing his opponent's approach, Itan swallows nervously and continues to throw his gusts of power until FJ is mere inches away. Then, in a desperate maneuver, Itan attempts a high kick aimed at FJ's head.
"What an audacious kick from Itan!" Hiroko exclaims. However, FJ doesn't even flinch; he grabs the attacking leg and leaps into the air before releasing it, allowing gravity to pull Itan back down to earth. But with the little aura he has left compared to FJ’s, Itan powers up into a half-human, half-Pegasus form.
"I am Silver the Storm Pegasus!" he declares as he takes flight towards FJ at full speed. He tries to land storm-speed punches on his opponent but only manages to hit him once in the gut after several attempts. The blow knocks the wind out of FJ momentarily but Itan seizes this opportunity and starts throwing more punches at him.
FJ is unable to dodge any of them and gets knocked down onto the platform below. Seizing this momentary advantage, Itan powers up further and unleashes a super move on his adversary.
"Super Move: Storm Razor Wings!" He shouts as his wings light up with grey energy which he then releases towards FJ causing a huge explosion that sends shockwaves throughout the platform area.
"What an impressive super move from Itan!" Hiroko praises while Kiyoshi comments on how incredible someone fighting for their life can be. Lionel dismisses it as unimpressive while Jax notes that despite everything, their fighter is putting everything on line.
As the dust clears from the explosion site revealing a bruised and battered FJ lying near its center with torn clothes Rin-Rin's heart drops until she sees that FJ is still alive. "I thought he was done for," she says with a blush on her face, while Juro and Yosuke comment on FJ's resilience.
"You've got power," FJ admits as he slowly rises to his feet, "but it's not enough to defeat me." Itan's anger flares upon hearing this; he'd been sure his super move had landed a direct hit.
"How did you dodge that?" He demands angrily.
"Because I knew exactly where you were aiming," replies FJ calmly. "Why won't you just die?" Itan retorts, launching an energy ball at FJ.
FJ responds by powering up with his green aura and begins to transform into Oga, the Toxic Dragon. As half-human, half-dragon with a spiked tail, he meets Itan mid-air and lands a toxic punch on Itan’s face followed by a knee to his gut and then smacks him in the head with his tail. Then, FJ powers up again and unleashes another super move: the Toxic Twin Flame which hits Itan directly causing him to fall out of his spirit guardian mode.
The crowd is awestruck by FJ’s power including those resting nearby. Hiroko comments on Flint's mysterious power while Itan admits defeat as he begins to fade away along with the rest of Team FrostBurn.
Lucas protests from the crowd but is ignored by Hiroko who continues his job until Lucas charges at him only to be stopped by security who put him to sleep and carry him away.
Kiyoshi expresses shock at the sight of a dragon in battle while Lionel reminds him that there's only one dragon fighter out there – FJ. Hiroko brushes off Lucas' outburst as passion getting the better of him before advising Team Checkmate to rest up for their next match.
Back in their rest area, Team Checkmate looks shaken by the day's events. Alecto asks what happened and Juro explains that Team FrostBurn just disappeared into thin air. Jared and Wiley express their fear of making a mistake in this deadly tournament but resolve to do better.
As the announcer calls for Ghost Freaks and Spirit Mark to approach the platform for their match, Alecto realizes that Tokido is missing. Jared can't believe he would be absent at such a critical time while Alecto decides to ask Jax if he knows where his brother might be. “I tried to search for him, and he is nowhere to be found.” Said Alecto.
Tokido trailed behind Hoon, heading towards Chancellor Tom and Sensei Yuriko. Hoon began to smile as he noticed Tokido following him. "You're about to have a family reunion," he said. Along the way, Tokido felt another presence around him. Suddenly, a kick came out of nowhere. Tokido blocked it and recognized the face that followed.
"I knew I sensed a weak family member," Tokido declared.
"That's quite a statement coming from you," retorted Yoji.
"What are you doing here, Yoji Kori?" asked Tokido.
"We just wanted to pay our cousins a friendly visit," replied Yoji.
"We?" questioned Tokido, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. From the surrounding trees, three more members of the Kori clan emerged and surrounded him. He looked around, realizing he was outnumbered.
"What an underhanded move; do you think you can corner me with your family members?" Taunted Tokido as he shifted into his spirit guardian mode. He transformed into Strix, the ghost lightning hippogriff. "Come at me!" He roared.
Meanwhile, Jax sensed that Tokido was in trouble and Tethyus could feel Strix's power waning. "This isn't good, Tethyus!" exclaimed Jax.
"Do we know where they are?" Tethyus asked anxiously.
"Guys, we need to find Tokido," Jax told his team urgently.
"But where should we look?" Felix queried.
"We have two matches left before we can go find him," said Jax determinedly.
"Alright then, let's go find him!" Lionel agreed enthusiastically. The Mystical Force left their rest area in search for Tokido.
"What an easy win for Ghost Freaks! And without even needing Tokido! But nobody knows where he is!" Hiroko shouted triumphantly.
"Tokido would be proud of us for defeating our opponents without losing a round," Alecto stated confidently. "But it's a shame no one knows where he went," Jared added thoughtfully.
"Maybe he's back at the rest area," suggested Wiley. Without further ado, they all rushed back, oblivious to the other team's absence.