[17:17, 04/12/2040]
Captain Jacks- "What can I do for you Miss Vince? Wouldn't imagine you ever coming to a police station."
Nami- "I'm here for good reason, Captain."
Jacks- "Well then, I have the time."
Nami- "The night of the Vicino explosion, you met the Vicino saviour, correct?"
Jacks- "Affirmative."
He's caught off guard, expressing through the widening of his eyes. He wasn't expecting that question out of her, expecting another.
Nami- "Do you remember his name? I'm interested in interviewing him and possibly putting his story out there, if he approves."
Jacks- "If I remember, his name was either Denny or Denner. It was definitely a weird name."
Nami- 'Like you're the one to talk.'
Jacks- "I don't remember who he was, but the kid went with umm… Royce girl."
Nami- "Royce girl, as in Brooklyn Royce?"
Jacks- "I wouldn't say that so loud here at the station but yeah. It sounds a bit weird out of context while considering the context of it all. If you know what I mean."
Nami- "I hear you. So he's staying at The Holladay Hostel, that's an apartment complex ain't it, not an actual hotel? And what's their relation to each other?"
Jacks- "Hostel, but yes it's an apartment building. And I don't remember or know what their relation to each other was. They seemed to be acquainted well though."
Nami- "Interesting, thanks."
She is about to leave, but Captain has a few more questions he just can't keep inside anymore.
Jacks- "Is that it? You're not interested in the Hate story today."
Nami- "Today, what happened today?"
Jacks- "The piece you wrote about a week ago, your suspicions came true."
Nami- "Huh?"
Captain's face is riddled with surprise and confusion at the fact Nami does not know yet.
Jacks- "Hate is in the city, been confirmed hours ago. Boarded the fifty rail, live footage was wiped from the system, two were killed in the line of duty, and one man missing. You don't know about this?"
Nami's face looks as if she has seen a ghost. She is not only scared but absolutely unprepared to accept such information. Today, she decided to just not focus on the news and instead work, turning off all her notifications for everything new. The business of news runs every second of the year, every year, and it is not uncommon for even journalists themselves to shut themselves from that world and focus on their own stories in the making. However, today would be one of the worst days. This story is the equivalent of a foreign superpower declaring war. It might not seem like it but it truly impacts every single living inhabitant in this world. To be unaware of such breaking news is dangerous. Of course, Nami realized this and mentally took a step back.
Nami- "I don't know what to say. I did not know about this. Since the piece I had five days ago, my journalistic freedom has been restricted. I was suspended, but now I've been put on this stupid manhunt. I don't know what-"
Jacks- "Why were you suspended?"
She quickly scans the area around them and can tell no one is actively eavesdropping on them.
Nami- "The reason why my piece wasn't on the front page at the time is because the story wasn't supposed to go out. Authorities suspected Hate was in the city days before I found out. Not just days, almost a month since the rooftop' vigilante incident in March. As the probability of Hate was going to do somethin, they told my chief editor and a couple others from other news organizations so they could be prepared for when the story would hit. My edi broke water and told me also, wanting me to keep it a secret. I couldn't keep something like that a secret. He's probably the reason why there is a kidnapping crisis right now. Too many people are going missing without an answer. I can't keep up. It's-"
Jacks- "You don't have to tell me. It’s my fault for even bringin this up. I think we should separate now. I don't exactly feel comfortable…."
His face is pale, he looks earnestly disturbed, and his body is shivering. Like most people, discussing Hate is a gossip thing. You don't gossip near the person who's the target of gossip; you gossip far away. Because Hate has mostly been a problem overseas, Amerigans have been free to talk and gossip however they like far away. Now that Hate is amongst them in hiding, talking about him comes with a new profound sensual awareness of fear. It's not that talking bad about him will suddenly pull him out of the shadows. It's the fact that now any topic relating to him is heavy. It is no longer a joke or of light conversation when it could be stalking you, or it could even kill you sooner or later. Analogous to a cancer patient trying to handle the possibility of death.
As Nami continued to talk about Hate, Captain had a feeling of a gun aimed at him from somewhere somehow. Yet no weapon or intention of harm is currently pointed at him. Simply talking about Hate is no longer a 'normal' conversation. Nami noticed this fear radiating from him and accepted it as a relatable response.
Nami- "I understand. Ever since I exposed him, or it, I feel like I'm treading water in an ocean. In reality nothing has changed in front of me, my routine is the same and everything, but in my mind, space and time is measured differently now. I don't know how to explain it but for the past five days, whether in my house or public, everytime I move, I feel like I could die and not even know. And I've accepted my death too many times already. But again, thanks Captain. Good luck."
[20:10]
Ace had been meditating in the locker room for hours, unaware of the passing time. He only knows when to stop when the locker room speaker announces his title. Until then, he sits on the edge of a bench quietly and still, his legs perfectly crossed, hands relaxing on his knees, and eyes shut closed. Other fighters in the locker room are either waiting or getting dressed. While meditating, he thinks about his fight and how this would play out. Though he doesn't know what Paradise ability his opponent is going to have, he knows the fight itself is going to be a tricky one.
Paradise abilities or powers are acquired through the consumption of a Paradise Fruit or through being the first generational offspring of Paradisian parents. Paradise Fruits are not actually fruits but edible items that are physically similar to fruits. After one consumes and digests a Paradise Fruit, they attain one of the nineteen powers the fruits harness. The abilities vary from super speed, elemental control, and magic. The level of one's Paradise ability varies between different Grades. When one eats a Paradise Fruit, their new ability begins at Grade-1st.
Around eighty percent of the ten billion people, simply eight billion people, on the planet have one or more Paradise powers. Two powers being the max with a certain exception. Of the eighty percent, seventy-six percent are Grade-1sts. Their powers are considered to be equivalent to party tricks. Any conventional knife (sometimes even a butter knife) or single small firearm is more effective than a Grade-1st ability. Hence why, just about eight-tenths of the world that have superpowers are not threats to civil stability. Only four percent of humanity is actually a threat. Many in this small percentage are in the world's militaries or are in Paradise-friendly cities such as Midcity. Most fighters in the Netherly Arena are Grade-2nds. To scale their power, a Grade-1st Ignial, one who manipulates fire, has enough power to replicate a lighter. A Grade-2nd Ignial has enough power to replicate a scorching forest fire.
The thing about the nineteen Paradise Fruit abilities is that most of them are destructive when they reach Grade-2nd. Being able to summon flames, boulders, and attacks of equivalence will be challenging for Ace to deal with. However, there's an ace in his sleeve, Sin.
Denarrow- "I've only ever sparred with family, fighting other individuals may come to a surprise. I'll beat their ass regardless, but only one hit and I could be gone. If only I had my blade, things would be much simpler."
Speaker- "Untitled, report to Ƶ-Room Zero-Two. Repeat, Untitled, report to Ƶ-Room Zero-Two."
Ace had to quickly question and remind himself he inputted that title for himself when he was with the robot from earlier. Ace gets up and heads out of the locker room. Down the hall, there is a sign that says Ƶ. On both sides, there are doors numbered from zero-one to zero-four. When Ace went through the door, he was expecting to see an entrance into the arena, not a closed hallway with four doors. One of the doors opens, and a man sticks his head out.
Ƶ-Operator- "Untitled, right?"
Ace nods.
Ƶ-Operator- "Come inside. Don't be afraid."
Ace walks into the room and sees a giant glass capsule.
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Denarrow- 'What did I get myself into?'
Ƶ-Operator- "This is the Ƶ-Simulator, you're about to get on in a bit, but I'm required to brief you on it because it's quite common for fighters to skip their Netherly Mech introductions. So do you want the long or short explanation?"
Denarrow- "Keep it short."
Ƶ-Operator- "Thought so. It's eazy, you go into the glass jar, go to a virtual world, fight da guy, or gal, till he's unconscious or to da death, you don't really die, so go all out."
Denarrow- 'Now I think about it, fighting with Paradise powers would get messy, and stuff would get broken. The virtual world probably solves that issue. Then…' "Then does that mean whatever I do in the virtual world will be replicated-"
Ƶ-Operator- "It will be shown in the arena upstairs like an actual match. I thought ya wanted the short version. Do you want more info, or ya coo?"
Denarrow- "I'm coo."
The operator's face conveys the feeling of cringe. Ace's accent doesn't fit too well with the Midcity vocabulary. The glass capsule opens, prompting Ace to get in. He gets in, and the capsule door shuts. Through the glass, he watches the operator move to a large monitor implanted on the wall displaying an array of data. He interacts with it by pressing his fingers against it. In Ace's view, it looks as if he's pressing a random assortment of buttons like a little kid.
Ƶ-Operator- "Cause I went through the short introduction, you'll be early in the arsenal, and your opponent will be fresh too, meaning they ain't fought yet today. Good luck."
Suddenly Ace finds himself in a completely different place. He's in a white room with no light source, but everything is perfectly lightened with zero shadows. In the room is Ace and an assortment of items in the form of weapons and apparel accessories. On all four of the spotless white walls, there is a digital timer with red numbers counting down. He then looks at himself and realizes he's wearing a completely different outfit. He wears an all-black bodysuit covering him from toe to neck, leaving only his head and hands uncovered. The suit hugs close to the skin, defining most of his body outline.
Ace begins looking around the digital armory as he only has eight minutes left before the match begins. He finds a sword that is a ruler and a half long, he touches it and it then slowly disappears, breaking apart at the atomic level. Then it reappears, building and holstering itself on Ace's waist. After a couple of seconds of realization, Ace grabs the blade and swings it around.
Denarrow- "It feels real."
He puts it back on his waist, and it magnetically sticks to his waistline.
Denarrow- “Cool.”
He then moves it to his back, and it's still magically stuck in place on him as if he was carrying a holster with him. He then takes a second look at himself, looking down.
Denarrow- "My junk."
While looking down, he could notice a clear definition of a bump right between his legs. He doesn't feel embarrassed, but he doesn't like that there is such a great hillof definition on his crotch, just open for everyone to see. He looks at the time on the wall seeing only four minutes left. He then looks around quickly for some pants he glanced by earlier. He finds them and equips them, now wearing white baggy cargo pants.
Denarrow- 'Perfect.'
Ace was never a fashionist of sorts, but he felt a comfortable familiarity in loose wearing black and white colored outfits. Then next to him, he notices a rack of a cloth headbands colored black. He looks back with only two minutes left.
Denarrow- 'I also need these.'
He touches the headband, and it disappears and reappears around the top of his head.
Denarrow- "That's not what I wanted. But…"
He adjusts the headband, so it covers his eyes.
Denarrow- 'I can't see in these. It's not that I can't fight but fighting Paradisians without Grade-2nd or above without sight is risky.'
He takes it off and puts it back on the rack, it then disappears and reappears in the same place, but it changes to look like it's never been touched. Ace looks back at the wall seeing only a minute left. He then looks around some more and finds a blank white mask. It looks to cover the wearer's entire face from chin to hairline. Knowing there isn't enough time, he races over to touch it.
The armory and his surroundings then break apart, rapidly disappearing. His surroundings are replaced with that of a small arena with no audience. At this point, this is where the fight is displayed in Netherly Arenas, with the fight presented to the audience via a digital hologram, but ironically there is no audience present in the Ƶ-Simulation and in real life.
It takes Ace a second to understand what happened to the mask he wanted to get in the armory. He touched it, yet it appears as if it had disappeared and never been equipped on his face, but it was. He touches his face and removes the mask, and flips it over. The mask can only be seen through one-way. From the wearer's view, it is entirely see-through, like the mask isn't there. From an outside view, the mask completely covers his face.
Denarrow- 'Cool.'
MacDon- "U done yet my man?"
Ace turns his head and sees a man with very short black hair, brown skin, and has a literal perfect square goatee for facial hair. Unlike Ace, he wears no accessories or overlaying clothes, thus wearing only the full-body suit.
Denarrow- 'Does he know I can see his...'
The man also stands on the opposite side of the ring. Ace then sees a screen appear in front of him.
Title: The MacDon
Paradise: Grade-2nd Celeria — N/A
Record: 11 - 3
Current Streak: 3
Longest Streak: 5
Match Starts in: 4s
Want to end?
MacDon- "A ‘double zero'?"
From his side, he reacts to seeing Ace's Netherly Summary.
Title: Untitled
Paradise: N/A — N/A
Record: 0 - 0
Current Streak: 0
Longest Streak: 0
Match Starts in: 2s
Want to end?
MacDon- 'First time seein a zero for real. Also first time in da ring seein a dude wit no Paradise. And is that his actual title or is it really ‘Untitled’. Wherever da scenario, I gotta to make dis quick, ion wanna miss da fight happenin upstairs.'
Suddenly the screens before them disappear, and the match begins.
Denarrow- 'I wasn't done reading that, there were too many words on the screen for like two seconds.'
In an instant, The MacDon rushes Ace, closing the space between them in just a second using his super speed. In reaction, Ace sides step to the right avoiding the fast blow MacDon was attempting to deliver. With the enemy now at arm's length, Ace's left hand comes out, aiming to punch MacDon in the jaw. Luckily, the speedster recognizes the instant counterattack and quickly jumps away in a retreat. In just two seconds, the two are distanced once more.
Denarrow- 'Fast. Not that fast, but it caught me off guard for a moment.'
MacDon- 'He's da hand-to-hand type I'm guessin. That sword probably just for fun. But, thanks to either his reaction speed or just pure luck, he dodged and countered. I can't tell what he thinkin behind that mask but he must be smiling knowin he dodged a quick end to his career.'
Denarrow- 'Celerials enjoy having greater speed than their opponent, so moving towards them without matching their speed is pointless, and they know that. Which is why….'
Ace begins to run, and once he does, MacDon suddenly leaves his field of vision.
Denarrow- '... when I move I am limited in my defensive capabilities and especially moving at a slower speed than them, they see it as an opportunity to strike.'
MacDon runs around Ace and then comes at him from the left side.
Denarrow- 'Most people consider this the hard part, which it can be. But what most people don't do is predict movement, use instinct, and move, all before it actually happens.'
As MacDon is just a second away from closing the distance, Ace turns to match him and raises his hand. MacDon throws the punch, and it lands perfectly in Ace's hand.
Denarrow- 'Like a baseball I didn't even see thrown.'
MacDon quickly retreats back before Ace has a chance to grip onto his hand. The speedster is absolutely stunned as he creates distance.
MacDon- 'That had to be luck. Ain't no way that just happened.'
Denarrow- 'He could've tried to attack me while still close to me, though I would've had his hand so he couldn't go anywhere. But he must be confused, unaware, or just stupid if he created this must distance. Celerials have to accelerate to go fast; in seconds they can go thirty to forty miles per, in his case probably sixty. But I can see and react to a moving car, especially in its acceleration, a distance away. Only harder when it gets closer.’
MacDon- 'Okay, c'mon Mac, I just gotta pull a move outta my bag. That's right, try a bit harder.'
For the first time, Ace gets into a proper stance. MacDon accelerates his speed and comes at Ace in a zig-zag shape, running side-to-side to keep his eyes busy. Ace then drops to the floor, does a sweeping kick, and is able to get MacDon off his feet, floating surprisingly slowly in the air. Ace grins under the mask and makes another move. In an instant, Ace jumps from his grounded position and acrobatically kicks MacDon in the air three times over, the first hitting the stomach, the second hitting chest, and the final kick to the head turns and breaks MacDon's neck. Ace then lands on two feet as the winner of the match as MacDon, falls lifeless to the floor.
Denarrow- 'Coming at someone shifting side-to-side may throw anyone else off into hesitation but not me. And he slowed down every time he wasn't going straight, it was easy to see him coming.That last part when I kicked him off his feet must have been his natural reaction. Celerials can also slow themselves down, he must've done that because he needed time to think for the next attack or counter before hitting the ground. Or he was unable to comprehend what just happened and needed to slow his fall to grasp everything. Either way, he probably didn't know or was thinking that I would move fast to attack a second time shortly after.'
Ace gets a closer look at his defeated opponent.
Denarrow- "Did I kill him?"
MacDon's corpse disappears atom by digital atom, similar to how things in the armory disappeared.
Denarrow- 'Oh yeah, digital world stuff. Hopefully he only died digitally, it'd be tough for him if he actually died. Tough for him at least.'
A screen from earlier appears in front of Ace, the same floating blue screen from earlier.
Title: Untitled
Paradise: N/A — N/A
Record: 1 - 0
Current Streak: 1
Longest Streak: 1
Match Starts in: 129s
Want to end?
Another screen appears, confetti displays, and then it says, 'Congratulations On Your First Win Untitled'. After that, the screen changes and displays his next opponent's stats.
Denarrow- 'I keep on playing? Probably until I lose or quit. That's why it says streak on screen so I can probably keep going as long as I want.'
He puts his finger out to the screen, not knowing whether or not he can touch it. However, when he touches it, it reminds him of a touch-screen glass due to its smooth texture and being able to slightly see through it.
Denarrow- "I'll keep on going."