Chapter Eighteen: The Red and the Black

Commentator 2: Everyone, it’s time for the first match of round two to commence. Betting has halted at this time!

“I don’t have time to explain. I’ve got to get to my match. Just promise me you won’t leave the island yet. I’ll find you before the finals, okay?”

She nodded in agreement, and I turned to run back to the dugout. As soon as I got back, I saw Li already approaching the ring and the officials looking for me. They were about to disqualify me, but Cinema pointed out that I was on my way at the moment.

Commentator 1: This is going to be a special match ladies and gentleman. Both fighters wowed us in round one and to ice the cake, this is a Master versus Student matchup.

I stared across the arena at Li as the announcers finished up our introductions. I had figured we wouldn’t make small talk and would simply go right at one another, but Li surprised me.

“Quit the match Guy. I don’t wanna hurt you,” he threatened.

“What makes you think you can?” I responded.

“I have more reason to win this tournament than you Guy,” he said emotionlessly, “I’ve got honor to uphold and a restaurant chain to launch with the prize money. You’re just some guy. Directionless and egotistical.”

This struck a nerve. I’d always gotten along with Li, but his behavior changed the moment we got into the ring and the stakes were up. I gritted my teeth and prepared to strike but before I did, he came at me with an elbow strike. It connected but I started to defend against his follow ups.

“You don’t have what it takes to defeat Volmar in the finals,” he asserted.

“Maybe not, but I can beat you now.”

We exchanged more blows, giving the crowd a show.

“Always crossing the next bridge when you get to it, aren't you Guy?” He continued to mock, “No clear path, just wherever the wind takes you. You think you’ve got it all figured out and can rely on cunning to get you through anything, don’t you?”

“That’s right. I’ve won more than one fight through strategy rather than strength,” I stated.

“About that,” he continued as he blocked my attacks, “I bet you haven’t even fully mastered your technique, have you?”

What did he mean?

“A little lightning here, a little lighting there. You should be able to power a city by now,

Guy.”

“Li,” I chuckled, “you’ve never fully mastered your technique either.” “Johnny Appleseed!” he shouted, as he struck me.

I wobbled and grasped at my stomach. The bowel pains set in. I had felt it many times before by sparring with Li, but this time was different. This time, I actually shit my pants! He did it, never before had Li reached his full potential. But somewhere along the way, he had finally done it. He had taken his Chi beyond merely giving his opponent the sensation of shitting themselves and crossed over fully into actually shitting themselves.

I hit the ground with one hand still on my stomach and the other hand checking the back of my pants. Yep, full diaper of diarrhea. Goddammit! Then, another surprise happened. Instead of Li continuing his assault on me, he simply turned, looked at the crowd and stepped out of the ring voluntarily. A huge gasp washed over the entire stadium.

Li turned back towards me and said, “I quit. All we’re doing is wearing each other out. Go ahead Guy. Go to the finals and do what you have to do to win it this time. I can’t beat Volmar, and neither can you. Not by conventional means. But I expect you to do better next time.”

I couldn’t believe it. Was Li still training me all the way into this tournament? Was he showing me that I couldn’t beat Volmar if I couldn’t beat him because he couldn’t win either?

Yes, yes, he was. I knew now I had no other choice. But first, I needed new underwear! Goddammit!

The tournament staff was kind enough to get me a change of clothes. I made it back just in time for the second fight of round two to start. It was Volmar, the Antarctic purebred Aryan versus FreeDazzle, an American holdover from the disco era. He dressed in a white suit with a sparkling purple undershirt and a pair of shiny silver shades. Li emerged back from outside the arena. He stood next to me without saying a word as we watched the fight begin.

“How did he win his last fight?” I asked Cinema.

“I’m not sure what happened,” she said, “his opponent stayed on the offensive but seemed to keep losing his footing. FreeDazzle just kept doing a weird dance move and dodged out of the way. After a while, the other fighter seemed winded and FreeDazzle just finished him off with a karate chop.”

The announcers finished the introductions and the officials called for the fight to begin. A moment of crowd noise passed as both fighters just stood looking at each other. The whole arena went silent. Another few moments passed, then finally Volmar made a move. He swung forward with his intense punching attack. But after a few steps he began to lose his balance and stumbled. FreeDazzle did a little jig and just moved out of the way. The audience gasped. We were all shocked after the previous awesome display of Volmar’s might evaporated.

The older German in Volmar’s corner shouted something towards the ring and Volmar looked over at him in fear and embarrassment. Volmar struck again, and missed again, losing his footing as FreeDazzle dodged. Volmar’s attacks became more aggressive, but he stumbled every time. Increasingly angry commands came from the elder on the sidelines.

“Amazing,” Li murmured.

“What? What is it?!” I asked incessantly.

Li waited a moment before replying, “FreeDazzle…he can employ his Chi without connecting kinetically.”

“Really?” I questioned, “What’s his power?”

“He seems to be able to project his aura outward and anyone standing within it loses their balance. I’m willing to bet that his vice has something to do with dancing and he’s transferring it through the aura to his opponent, messing up their rhythm.”

“Well, his vice must be the ability to dance well, because disco died when I was in junior high,” I noted sarcastically.

“Mach Schnell!” the old Nazi yelled from the sideline.

Volmar raised his attention after his most recent fumble, turned his arm outward and swiped at FreeDazzle while shouting, “Impurity!” The back of his hand smacked across FreeDazzles face, knocking his glasses off and sending him out of the ring.

The crowd came to their feet in praise as Volmar collected himself and returned to his entourage. As FreeDazzle put his glasses back on his face, he started doing dance moves in front of Volmar as he walked past. To his surprise, they didn’t work. When FreeDazzle returned to the dugout, he watched Volmar from afar confused.

“What happened?” Li asked him.

“I’m…I’m not sure,” FreeDazzle replied, “his attack cut right through my aura, and I lost touch with my Chi. Only now am I slightly feeling it coming back.”

That’s it! Volmar’s attack voids his opponent's Chi temporarily. That was the missing component of what I already knew about him. Which reminded me, I had to find Annika before the final match started. I looked around, she wasn’t in the dugout. Without explaining myself, I took off running out of the stadium to try and find her. Hopefully she hadn’t grown a conscience and went back to the mansion. I needed her to be at her shadiest, because I was gonna be at mine.

As I came out of the dugout behind the stadium, I heard a voice shout out to me.

“I’m still err bru,” Annika said, “Now, ya gun tell meh what ya got in mind?”

“Yeah,” I said, “we’re gonna take that big bastard down and you’re gonna get paid.”

Back inside the dugout, the two Nazi’s were coaching Volmar and giving him water. Making sure he was fully prepared to beat me in the finals. The older Nazi noticed Cinema looking over at them and decided to approach her and Li.

“Volmar has been generous in the tournament so far,” he poked, “but he will stop at nothing to win against your boyfriend mongrel.”

“He can’t kill him,” she pointed out, “he’ll lose the tournament.”

“True, but in order to ensure victory, Volmar will use aggressive tactics not yet seen in his previous matches. I suggest you convince him to forfeit.”

“Relax Cinema,” Li interjected, “he’s just trying to get you to get inside Guy’s head.” The elder Nazi smirked and walked back to Volmar’s corner.

Commentator 1: It’s been a grand day of fighting hasn’t it folks. Betting will be closing in five minutes for the finals so you’d better get them in now.

Commentator 2: That’s right. We’ve seen an awesome display of skill here today. Who do you think will take home the grand prize? Will it be Volmar the Pure Blooded Aryan or Guy, that has been an enigma in this whole tournament?

Commentator 1: My money is on Volmar. He’s been able to one shot almost everyone he’s gone against today. We all love a good underdog story, but I’m just not seeing the same level of power coming out of the other guy.

As I came back into the dugout, Cinema greeted me and gave me a kiss for good luck. I looked over at Li, who simply gave me an expressionless nod. On my way out to the ring, I glanced back at Annika who was displaying a look of resolve. The crowd exploded once again at the sight of myself and Volmar emerging from the dugout and climbing up onto the battle stage. I knew that my timing had to be one hundred percent perfect or I had no chance of winning this match. Even worse, what I was about to do could certainly get me killed, now, or later…

The officials signaled the match to begin but before either of us attacked, I said, “Hey

Volmar. What do you say you really show off your power and let me get a free hit in?”

He looked confused but didn’t lose any confidence.

I reiterated, “Wouldn’t it be better to give these people a show and have them see you defeat me after I get a full power hit on you?”

“Volmar! Don’t listen to him! Annihilate him!” the younger Nazi that accompanied them yelled from the side.

Volmar looked over at him but his expression changed from confused to angry. He clearly didn’t like being told how or when to display his power unless it was from the elder Nazi.

“Come on, Volmar. It’s my only request. One free hit, you can brace yourself, then pulverize me afterwards.”

He stood looking for a moment then loosened his stance and said, “Alright, one free hit.”

I walked up about a foot and a half away from him, charged my Chi, and delivered a full frontal right hand ‘White Lightning’ punch to his chest. His heels dug in and he moved backwards but didn’t fall over. Well, it was worth a shot. I figured I’d exhaust any chance of me winning this thing legitimately.

Wasting no time, he violently swung at me. I barely dodged. He followed up by swinging his leg in my direction which I also dodged. At least I got him to use something other than a single punch. Round and round we played cat and mouse around the ring. He swung at me screaming, “Impurity!” like he had never done before. I pointed both fists down and projected a ‘White Lightning’ charge out of them, sending me flying up in the air and over Volmar as his attack missed me.

“Alright!” Li shouted from the dugout, “That's the way to use your power, Guy!”

In the back of my mind, I knew the timing of my strategy had to be precise. At some point Volmar was going to hit me. I had to just hope that my plan would work long enough for me to regain my Chi afterwards.

Then it happened. After dodging a right handed punch, I caught a left hand fist from Volmar that sent me onto my back. I felt the Chi leave my body. Never had I felt weaker than those few moments. It was like the will to fight just left my body. But I knew that the time had come for me to expose Volmar’s secret. He walked over to my drained body and was about to kick me off the stage, when I noticed phase two of my plan was in its place.

“Hey! Volmar!” shouted Annika, standing about ten feet from the stage adjacent from us,

Volmar looked up from my depleted body and saw her standing there, still clad in her ultra revealing battle garments. She took a full bucket of water above her head and dumped it all over her. Her drenched caramel colored body glistened in the sun. Volmar’s mouth opened agape and his eyes seemed to pop out of his head. That’s when phase three kicked in…

I slowly started to feel my Chi kick in as the effects of Volmar’s ‘Impurity Punch’ wore off. I charged it in my hand as I lay there before him. Time moved in slow motion as he stood there, not breaking his tunnel vision of her. Water streamed down from her hair and each bead sparkled back in the reflection of Volmar’s eyes.

You see, I have a confession to make. This would not be my proudest victory, because I couldn’t defeat Volmar head to head. I’m going to tell you how I learned his secret, and until now, only Li, Annika, and Cinema knew the truth. After my run in with the Nazi’s in Antarctica, curiosity got the best of me. I narrowly escaped them after using Nefratara’s ring and dared not have a repeat encounter. But later on, it ate at me. I wanted to know who these guys were and how they got there. So, I traveled back in time using the Sequencer. I went back to when the colony was first established at the end of World War Two. I saw the old man and his peers establish the place, but Volmar hadn’t been born yet. So I traveled forward to the 70s. That’s when I saw the young Volmar.

He was taught from an early age that he was special. A pureblood warrior that would someday march the armies of the Fourth Reich against the ‘Zog Machine’. Volmar never had a chance to develop a natural sense of self. It was always what his superiors wanted. In fact, he had no idea that he even wanted anything that differed from their expectancy of him. I jumped time a few more years and watched as young Volmar developed into adolescence. It was in the mid-80s that it happened. A cargo ship bound for New Zealand lost some of its load. Volmar was sent to retrieve its contents on a scavenger mission. That’s when he found something that would change him from within. A crate full of interracial porno mags.

Volmar, who was to be the purest of the pure, had a weakness. He developed an affinity for the so called ‘subraces’. Black, Nubian, mulatto, he loved them all. And lucky for us, Annika was a top shelf Cape Coloured. I knew from my curiosity that this secret had to be the source of his power, but it wasn’t until his fight with FreeDazzle that I realized he was channeling his inner impure desires and releasing it through Chi, causing his opponent to feel impurity and temporarily lose their own Chi.

So, as he stood there, time standing still, gazing at Annika, I raised my leg between his and gave him a surprise low blow. Not unlike my fight with Omni-Tet. This caused him to lean down in excruciating pain. I then took my fist, with a fully charged ‘White Lightning’ and met his face halfway with an uppercut. The combination of my power returning to me and the loss of his power through his own impure thoughts sent him flying out of the ring. The crowd went wild as I sat up on the ring floor and looked around me. Cinema and Li ran out to the stage. The Nazi’s rushed over to Volmar to berate him for his loss.

As I stood up to meet Cinema and Li, I caught a glimpse of Annika drying off near the dugout. She made eye contact with me, and we both gave each other a thumbs up.

“You did it!” shouted Cinema as she clasped her arms around me.

“I don’t condone an underhanded victory in most situations, but that was genius,” Li congratulated.

As we made our way out back to celebrate at the mansion, I saw Volmar in the dugout being berated by his superior. I decided to intervene.

“Hey, Volmar,” I said, “good match. I hope there’s no hard feelings. Maybe next time we can fight without distractions.”

Volmar gave a half smile. The old Nazi slapped him across his face and stepped between us. “You!” he scolded, “you won’t get away with this. Volmar! I order you to kill them all! I’m calling in an airstrike on the island at once. We’ll force Stargazer to give us that secret…”

Li and Slim Jim got themselves into a battle stance behind me. But before another action could be taken, Volmar hurled a punch at the old man. The second Nazi jumped in, but Volmar grabbed him by the neck and tossed him against a wall. Just then, Stargazer’s security came in to apprehend the three of them.

“Wait,” I interrupted, “arrest those two. Volmar did nothing wrong.”

The guards hauled off the two Nazi’s and I shook Volmar’s hand. He congratulated me and made his way back to the mansion alone.

That evening, we celebrated. The following morning, the various fighters boarded their charter flights to leave the island. I made sure to instruct Stargazer’s people to give the funds from my winnings to Annika before she left. I only kept $50k of the hundred million. On the runway, she thanked me for cutting the deal with her.

“It’s nothing really,” I disclaimed, “I just wanted the recognition as Champion.”

“Modesty is one thing Guy hasn’t adapted yet,” Cinema commented.

“Well, just the same, I appreciate your consideration. Goodbye to you both.”

As we said our goodbyes and watched Annika walk to her plane, we saw Volmar walking to his. He wasn’t wearing his uniform. He had on black dress pants and a white button up dress shirt whilst carrying a duffle bag. Annika looked over towards him and walked over.

“Where will you go now?” she asked him.

Volmar made a nervous gulp and replied, “I’m not sure. They said they’d drop me off anywhere, but I know I can’t go back to New Teuton.”

“Maybe you could come back with me?” she offered.

Volmar looked stunned, “To…to Afrika?” he asked in his peculiar dialect.

“Sure, why not?” she replied while smiling.

The two boarded the same plane and we haven’t seen either since.

Later that afternoon, after all the fighters left the island, including Li, I was summoned to Mr. Stargazer's office. Cinema waited downstairs as I was instructed that the secret would be revealed to me and me alone.

“Well, congratulations, Guy. I knew you had some serious potential the moment I discovered you,” Stargazer said as he came from behind his desk.

His staff members that escorted me to the office closed the door behind me on their way out. Only Stargazer and his guests from the other day remained in the room.

“So just exactly how did you…’discover’ me?” I asked.

“You’ll have your answer soon enough,” he stated, “I just have one question for you before I reveal the secret. How’s your journey been so far? Was it worth leaving everything you once knew behind? Are you happy with the experiences and friends you’ve gained along the way?”

“That’s three questions. Pick one and I’ll answer it.”

“Hahahahaha,” he laughed, “Fair enough. That’s good. I expected that kinda response. You take no shit from anyone, exactly as you were always meant to.Okay, one question then. Are you glad things have turned out the way they have?”

I paused for a moment and then gave him his answer, “Yes. My life is an order of magnitude better than it was when I left my old life. Now, are you gonna tell me the stupid secret, or not.”

“Fine. I’ve busted your balls enough. Hand me the box, will ya,” he signaled to one of his cohorts that was holding a thin rectangular wooden box. Stargazer took it from him, opened it and handed it to me. I took the box from him and looked inside. It was a stack of white paper stapled together.

“Go ahead, take it out, give it a read,” Stargazer instructed.

I took the paper out and started flipping through it as the others in the room looked on at me with smiles on their faces. It didn’t take long for it to dawn on me what the secret was. “Oh my god…”