It was time for the sixth match to begin. One out of the two fighters were in the ring; currently, the mighty man Heracles stood proudly in the ring before his name could even be called. But his opponent hadn’t even taken a single step to entering the ring.
“Jake, Jake,” Zack said as he tried to shake the zoned-out young man, but Jake never responded. He was frozen, his mind not only working overtime but his thoughts, his fears kept him cemented where he was.
“Is he okay?” asked Biscuit, he and the little girl Gabby with a look of soft worry on their faces.
Zack felt concerned but he pushed past it as he shook Jake more and yelled loud into his ear, “HEY JAKE!” But still no response.
Back in the viewing room, the announcer Moon D was throwing a fit. “Damn that T.K! Why the hell would he get in the way? Why would he interfere in that last match when it was getting so good? Damn it, that bastard!” he called. “He called the damn match way too soon. Now we’re stuck with this little wimp that’s too scared to even enter the damn ring!”
The beastman Angus crossed his arms as he watched the ring down below. He inhaled and exhaled calmly before he spoke, “I can’t blame the poor human. The guy he’s up against seems supernatural, otherworldly. It’s understandable that he’s filled with fear. He probably understands that he stands no chance of winning this match, even though he’s come so far in the exam. That boy knows it’s over.”
Angus’s words didn’t fill Moon D with sympathy; it just made him madder. “That’s no excuse!” he shot back as he grabbed his mic with fury he hit a button, in the auditorium the sound of the speaker coming on could be heard. Then a loud shout came through them, “HEY WUSS! GET YOUR ASS IN THAT RING NOW!” Moon D shouted with burning fury.
His antics made all the assistants and Angus shake their heads in annoyance. “NOW! YOU EITHER GET IN THAT RING AND FIGHT OR CRAWL IN A HOLE AND DIE! HURRY UP, PUNK!”
Even with the loud voice of Moon D screaming right at him, Jake never stirred. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed that Moon D was speaking to him in the first place. All he heard was static, and Jake’s inaction only pushed the announcer to scream even more.
The assistant most annoyed was the bald assistant. T.K rubbed his head as he pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Hey, cut the line,” he said as he took steps towards the edge of the ring. For a few more seconds, everyone could hear Moon D screaming at Jake to get up. Then his voice disappeared.
In the viewing room, Moon D was still screaming at the top of his lungs until he noticed his mic was off. “HEY! WHICH ONE OF YOU ASSHOLES CUT OFF MY MIC?” The assistants that were in the viewing room never answered him; just typed away on the computers. “HEY! I KNOW YOU HEAR ME!” Moon D yelled, back in the auditorium.
Now standing on the edge of the ring, the referee T.K spoke softly but firmly at Jake. “Applicant 1267, Jake,” the calling of his name and number caught the frightened young man’s attention. “If you do not enter the ring in the next 20 seconds, then your refusal will be taken as a forfeit.”
These words sank deep into Jake’s soul as he sat there. “So, if I don’t move, then I don’t have to fight,” Jake thought. The idea made him smirk just a bit. “What’s so wrong about that? If I forfeit, then I don’t have to fight. Hell, I don’t want to fight. I don’t even want to be here in the first place.”
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His smirk grew more and more as he thought of a way to escape this nightmare. That was all until a new thought crossed his mind. “As a matter of fact, why am I here anyway?” The moment Jake thought this, the smirk on his face vanished as an image of his mother in her hospital bed popped into his head. Then he felt the sword in his hands; he hadn’t noticed how hard and tight he was clutching it.
Looking at the katana flashed an image of the Sullivans in his mind, and at that moment, everything that he had so easily forgotten bubbled to the surface. Jake finally stood up, but the look of despair was still on his face. He seemed as if it took a thousand years for him to take his first step, but eventually, he did.
After the first step came the second, but before he could take his third, Jake felt his arm being grabbed from behind him. Jake turned and looked at what or who was trying to hold him down. When he turned, he saw Zack holding him back. At this moment, knowing Jake was heading towards the ring, Zack couldn’t help the look of worry on his face. Zack understood that Jake wasn’t like him; he wasn’t trained like him; he didn’t enjoy battle the way he did. Zack didn’t want to see Jake throw his life away for some Exam. It took him awhile to find the words, but when he did, he spoke, “Jake… You… you can’t beat that guy. You and I both know it, so just give up, just forfeit, man.”
Jake looked at the spiky-haired young man holding his arm. He registered what he was saying, and without words, he agreed. Jake didn’t believe he could win, but he had to get into that ring or else.
Jake turned away from Zack as he tried to walk forward, but Zack’s grip tightened as he screamed at Jake, “IF YOU GET INTO THAT RING, JAKE, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!”
With his back still facing Zack, Jake finally opened his mouth, “I know… But I have to. I have no other choice.”
Jake then snatched his hand out of Zack’s grasp as he walked to the ring. Zack’s look of concern grew, then his eyes focused on the katana in Jake’s hand, and a light bulb went off in his head. Zack saw Jake’s only way for victory.
“JAKE,” he screamed again, “YOU HAVE TO SPEAK TO IT, JAKE! YOU HAVE TO BE SEEN AS WORTHY OR YOU CAN’T WIN!”
Jake heard the words that Zack was saying, but he didn’t understand them one bit. His mind was so full of thoughts that he simply couldn’t get a grasp on what Zack was saying. Soon, Jake was in the ring, standing across from the mighty man, Heracles. He was huge. Standing in front of him as he was right now, Jake could confirm that he was taller and bigger than the man he fought that night, the mountain of a man Judas. Compared to Heracles, Judas seemed to be a pebble. Just staring at the man was throwing off Jake’s breathing. The more he stared at him, the more staggered it became. He wanted to run. He desired to run, but he knew he couldn’t. His duty, his goal to save his mother, kept him tethered to his spot.
After looking at both applicants now standing across from each other, T.K. was ready to get it started. “Alright,” he announced, “the sixth and final match will now begin between applicant 1267, Jake, vs. applicant 1114, Heracles. This match will now begin.”
Like before, T.K. jumped back to give the fighters room, but he made the decision to jump back a little more, mainly because of Heracles.
In the viewing room, the announcer, Moon D., was settling in his chair after his little rant. Finally, he said under his breath, “The little wuss decided to grow some balls.”
While in the viewing room, the double-sided axe Angus had named Rickenbacker that the beast-men had placed against a wall when he entered the room, the mystic blade started to stir. “That presence” it thought “that familiar presence. Could it be…”
Back in the auditorium after T.K. announced the sixth match, both Jake and Heracles stood across from each other, neither making a move. Jake was terrified looking up at the man, but he was trying to find his resolve so he could fight. The young man’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sheathed blade, and when it did, that is when Heracles made his first move. But he didn’t make it with an attack, but with words.
The mighty man spoke with his deep voice, with a familiar accent, to the giant woman, Nebula, “You know, your friend was correct,” he said, looking down at Jake. Jake wanted to say something in response, but he couldn’t figure out how to make his mouth move, so the muscular man continued on, “Your friend was right. There is no shame in just forfeiting this match. You can do so, and no one would look down on you for doing it.”
Jake held his head down for a moment. He contemplated what Heracles had just said. Then, he lifted his head up and looked at the man. “I… cannot, because I have someone that I need to save.”
Heracles stared at the young man for quite a while, then nodded his head. The words Jake spoke resonated with him, but not only with him, but with another, “a man with a goal to protect a loved one.” Heracles said, “I see. Such a thing would make a man journey into hell itself.”
Heracles unsheathed his rental blade as he prepared for battle. “I respect your goal, Jake, but I will not lose this battle. Now get ready.” And with those words, the sixth match was about to begin, the final battle of the entrance exam.