Rafiq’s challenged energized the small crowd standing around Tony Nine — “Ooh’s” and “ah’s” rippled through the edge of the bowl. Rafiq smiled, clenching his fists, looking up at his opponent. It didn't matter if he didn’t have a specific target in mind, like Daniel or Carmen, He’d still reach above one million, all on his own.
He could do this.
Yet, above, as the menu appears showing Rafiq’s stats, Tony Nine chuckled. Anger flared in Rafiq’s heart. “What? Afraid I’m gonna knock that helmet off the top of your head?!”
Tony sneered. “Come on, man. Not cool.”
Rafiq drew in a sharp breath. He didn’t have to be like that anymore. Heat flushed through his cheeks in embarrassment, and he cleared his throat. “Yeah, you’re right. My bad. But I still challenge you to a ranked fight!”
“You didn’t really think this through, did you?”
“I thought this through enough. I know what I’m here for.”
“But you’re barely in the numbered classes,” Tony chuckled. “Are you that confident in throwing dodgeballs at me to knock me off my board. Is that it?”
Rafiq gasped. “How did you—”
“I watched the videos of you that are publicly available on your Fighter Network profile. You know, the one that showed up as soon as you matched against me?”
Silent laughs and muted chuckles came from the onlookers surrounding Tony.
Rafiq scoffed, cheeks burning. “I…I forgot about that, okay?!”
“You really are as new as you look. This is gonna be quick. Start the clock, Louis.”
Shaking his head, Rafiq glanced at the menu beside him displaying Tony NIne’s stats.
[https://i.imgur.com/m2t2b7W.png]
The only thing they matched in was their Speed. Tony was another Rushdown just like him, but he had a higher Damage and a higher Health stat. Rafiq knew he had higher Close-Range, Long-Range, and higher Combo-Potential, but Tony hadn’t stepped off of his board yet, and that worried him.
Was he gonna fight on top of it?
As Tony accepted the battle, the referee appeared floating in the air between them, with Rafiq at the bottom of the bowl and Tony at the lip. Blue light traced the bowl itself as their arena, and the small crowd of bystanders spread out to catch every angle.
“Rex VS. Tony Nine. Best to three! Fighters, enter your starting positions!”
Both of them were already perfectly spaced out. Tony popped his neck; Rafiq lifted his heels from the ground, loosening the tension in his muscles. Not only did his opponent already know his main strategy, but the rank difference was a problem.
Tony was a Golden Class.
The classes started at letters — D Class for the real trash, all the way up to S Class. But, above that, the Classes went to metals, and Golden was the threshold before Platinum and Diamond.
“Round one! Ready?”
But it didn’t matter. Winning would boost him up to S Class, let alone accomplishing their mission in Paris. He could wipe the smirk right off of Daniel’s face if he came back to the hotel in the top one million, and Carmen wouldn’t believe him, either. Rafiq grinned — he could do this. If he could push Daniel to go ask Carmen out, the least he could do was face his own fear, too.
Winning. On his own.
“Fight!”
Tony Nine leaned forward on his board and shot down the side of the bowl, speeding directly towards him. Rafiq retreated into a high guard as Tony sped closer and swung high, too. He blocked — he knew he did — but a powerful force still launched him from his feet, hard enough to tumble into the entire other side of the bowl.
But Tony hadn’t stopped. He swerved to the side, cresting around the bowl’s graffiti-stained, baby blue walls. Rafiq tried to scramble to his feet, but the curvy concrete made it difficult.
He raised his arms as Tony rammed into him, throwing him into a hard roll. Rafiq let out a yelp before Tony’s fist met his jaw a moment later, sending him into the ground. The side of his face throbbed. Quickly, Rafiq rolled to his feet — where did all that force come from?!
Ahead, Tony ollied from the side of the bowl and launched into the air, kickflipping high in the sky before coming back down with even more speed. Rafiq flinched into a high block, but Tony’s elbow plunged into his stomach, sending him into a frontflip from sheer speed.
Rafiq shielded his face with his arms as he hit the concrete. Laughter erupted from the spectators, but they faded into echoes — he couldn’t focus on them. Tony launched into the air and backflipped, pointing the bottom of his board towards him. Emerald light shimmered from his wheels; each shot through the air like a bullet, shrieking back to back to back.
Down. Forward!
Rafiq lunged forward and grasped at the air, summoning a dodgeball. He aimed for where Tony would land; alarm shot through the man’s face. On contact, his board bounced from the cherry-red rubber, and his helmet clattered against the concrete, health plunging.
They still weren’t even, but this was his chance. Rafiq rushed in closer.
Down, Jump, Kick!
A burst of speed coursed through his limbs as Rafiq went for a Kodeup Chagi. BUt, Tony’s sharp reflexes blocked the first low kick and the second high kick. He raised a fist — it had to be a high attack! Rafiq dropped and circled around with a Spinning Hook Kick, but his heel only met Tony’s guard.
The high was a feint.
Tony recovered from blockstun in time to plant a fist into Rafiq’s rib. Hitstun froze him as pain flared through his body on contact with his steel-like knuckles, and Tony continued his combo a few more times, uppercutting Rafiq into the air and knocking him back down.
Rafiq rolled into the wall of the bowl, leaning a hand against it to clumsily bring himself to his feet. Orange flashed through the health bar at his wrist; the combo had brought him below half-health, while Tony had hardly taken any damage, aside from the time he faceplanted.
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But Tony didn’t advance, despite the advantage. Rafiq chuckled, steadying his breath against the pain as he raised shaky fists. “What’s wrong? Out of tricks without your board?!”
Down. Forward.
Rafiq lobbed another dodgeball, but Tony rolled to the side. Carried by his momentum, he sprang from the ground, and his skateboard returned in a flash of emerald light. His wheels met concrete, and he curved around the bowl for more speed.
This one’s gotta be high!
This time, Tony ollied right into his guard. A powerful force still shoved Rafiq backwards, but he managed to keep his balance; it was weaker this time.
Because his damage scaled based on momentum.
The dots connected in his brain as Tony bounced in the opposite direction, rolling away. He always rode around the bowl before attacking, every attack held way more knockback than it should’ve, and he fought using hit-and-runs — his damage had to scale based on speed!
A knowing smile spread through Tony’s face. “Finally figuring it out, huh? Smart, kid. It takes most people longer than the first round.”
He ollied off the lip of the bowl, but rolled right past, this time. Rafiq jumped aside; Tony actually swerved right past him, speeding towards the other side.
Shoot, he’s building up speed!
He shot even higher into the air and grabbed his board, lifting it into the sky. Underneath his helmet, emerald light erupted from his eyes and consumed his board as blocks of transparent machinery faded into existence over his board’s trucks.
“Time to get electric!” Tony Nine shouted, extending his arm, holding a black remote.
The moment he hit the ground and pressed a button, his skateboard zoomed towards Rafiq, accelerating even faster. Rafiq froze like a deer in headlights. Too fast. No time. One second — high, or low?!
It didn’t matter. Tony leaped off of his board, stealing Rafiq attention. The board didn’t stop; it rammed into Rafiq’s ankles, knocking him off of his feet, right into Tony’s speed-enhanced punch square in his nose. Stars cracked through his vision, leaving darkness in their wake.
As the referee revived him from the realm of unconsciousness, the rowdy spectators laughed and jeered about his loss. Tony grinded the edge of the bowl before dropping and rolling past, keeping his speed going.
“Sorry, kid!” he said. “You must’ve worked really hard to get here. It takes courage to challenge someone so much higher than you, but I worked hard for my spot, too. I’m not losing to a guy who can’t even bother researching his opponent before a fight.”
Venomous words coiled on Rafiq’s tongue. It would’ve been so easy to spit an insult — skateboarding wouldn’t make him any younger, with all those wrinkles around his eyes. He looked dumb fighting with a skateboard, anyway. It was a stupid concept. He was stupid. But, Rafiq knew he was better than that; he wasn’t Coach’s student anymore.
The idea of Mr. Stone watching the match right now flashed through his mind. It became even easier to hold in the insults and enter his fighting stance.
“Round two! Ready?”
He narrowed his eyes, glaring as Tony kept his speed going, tricking around the bowl. Throwing a dodgeball would knock him off of his board, but with that much speed, he’d likely start the round charging at him. The last round replayed in his mind; did he go high more, or low?
But, then a lightbulb went off in his mind.
Why guess at all?
“Fight!”
Down. Forward.
“Hold this! Dodgeball!” Light gathered in his palm, swirling into a golden dodgeball as Tony swerved towards him. He threw the EX Dodgeball with all the strength he could. Golden light trailed behind the ball; Tony ducked underneath the high throw, but it struck the curve of the bowl and bounced straight into the air.
And as Tony sped towards him, instead of guessing high or low, Rafiq leaped high over his opponent, meeting the dodgeball in the air. Tony continued on his speedy path, boosting from the side of the bowl.
…into the air, where he couldn’t dodge.
Rafiq summoned his will with a shout and kicked the golden dodgeball, launching it right into Tony’s face. It knocked him from his board; the wood hit the edge with a crack as Tony tumbled into the bowl, losing a chunk of his health.
This is my chance.
Once he landed, Rafiq sprinted into his board-less opponent. Tony flinched into a high block, and Rafiq planted his feet, drawing back for a kick as he shouted the final words.
“Burst!”
Crimson light coiled around his foot as his leg shot forward. But, Tony leaned back. The edge of his shoe passed an inch over Tony’s face; close enough to ruffle his facial air with the wind, but far enough for the entire kick to miss.
Tony retaliated with back-to-back fists to the ribs, earning an entire combo of damage that sent Rafiq away with the final midair hit. Rafiq landed on his feet, though his head spun, and a ragged cough hid behind every breath. The punish negated his health advantage, and his only Burst was gone.
Why the hell did I go for it?
But, Tony didn’t press the advantage, though. He backed away, obviously buying time for his skateboard to recharge.
Down. Backward.
Rafiq summoned a dodgeball in his offhand, and then executed the inputs to throw a second one from his main hand. Tony ducked to dodge. The ball hit the curve of the bowl, bouncing upwards. Rafiq threw the second one even faster; as Tony rolled aside, he jumped to meet the first dodgeball in the air and kick it downwards.
And yet, Tony blocked his entire elaborate onslaught. Rafiq landed and lunged in with a low and a high, but his opponent easily saw the entire blockstring coming, and tested his own guard with a jab. They exchanged light blows, testing each other’s range, locked in the worst part of any fight — neutral.
Acting on impulse, Rafiq lunged into a grab. But, Tony bobbed underneath his lanky arms and planted a fist into the pit between his stomach and ribs. The blow rocked his skeleton, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could even cough in pain, Tony continued his combo, finishing it all with a final dropkick.
Rafiq rolled along the concrete and punched the ground in anger once he could finally move. He couldn't lose this badly.
Ahead, Tony’s skateboard returned, and he pushed forward. Rafiq tensed up to roll out of the way, but Tony entirely ollie’d over his head, rolling past. He shot to his feet and spun on a dime. Tony rolled up the wall of the bowl and flipped, firing the wheels from the bottom of his board midair. Rafiq blocked the first three high shots, but the final wheel stomped on his foot, freezing him in hitstun.
How the hell am I still missing lows?! No!
The moment he landed, Tony took advantage, pushing in and sweeping Rafiq from his feet with a speedy low kick. “You’ve done well to catch up with me so far,” he said, balancing on his board as he rolled past. “But it’s time to end this!”
Tony set his jaw and grinned with confidence before flying high into the air from the wall of the bowl. He grabbed his board and spun once, twice, no three times before landing. An aura of green blazed around his body as he sped towards Rafiq.
Rafiq tried to dodge and jump to the side, but Tony sprang off of his board, spinning midair as he flew. Rafiq raised his guard.
“1080 Roundhouse Kick: Burst Enhanced!”
Tony’s foot passed right through his guard, through his arms, and shattered Rafiq’s entire jaw. The shockwave exploded through his brain, filling his vision with a storm of white and green.
But, the crushing darkness of defeat followed. The referee brought him back to the land of the living, sprawled out in the center of the bowl. Tony Nine took his victorious position balancing on the lip of the bowl. The referee left Rafiq and teleported next to him, raising his arm into the air.
“Tony Nine wins!” she shouted before fading away. Tony’s friends surrounded him, patting him on the back, pointing and laughing at Rafiq. Rafiq clutched a pebble in his fist; he was back where he started, in the bottom of the bowl, looking up at his enemy.
Tony shrugged against his scowl. “I told you, kid. You’re not on my level yet. Do your research next time.”
Rafiq’s heart pounded in his chest. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, twisting his scowl into an ugly snarl. “Do my research? How about you do your fuckin’ hair before you walk around looking like a damn shag carpet! You already look stupid as hell fighting on a skateboard — that cut ain’t doing you no favors!”
“Excuse me?!”
“You heard what I said. I didn’t stutter! Got wax stuck in your hairy ears or something? You ain’t getting away with shit!” Rafiq spat, heat surging through his chest, clenching the pebble in his fist hard enough to make his knuckles ache. “Get your homeless-looking ass back down here. I challenge you to a rematch!”