The day of the fight quickly approached. It wasn’t long before Jonas found himself standing before the lobby doors that led to the arena. His blood was pumping, and his mind was focused on the sounds of a screaming crowd that he could hear on the other side. He barely registered that Brow was speaking to him, he didn't need the petty threats or unsolicited advice.
“Pay attention,” he said with a loud irritated tone that brought Jonas back to the conversation, “Don’t let your guard down and don’t be too boring. You need to find a balance between fighting carefully, and giving the crowd what they want.”
“Got it,’ Jonas mumbled, he didn't have the extra mental faculties to argue with Brow. All of his focus was dedicated to causing as much mayhem as possible, and experiencing that feeling of emotions when the crowd cheered for him like he was a gladiator in a Colosseum.
John the fussy doorman was working again, and he was checking Jonas over when the familiar voice of the announcer was heard. He had just begun announcing the names and sizes of the next fighters.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the last fight before the main card will now begin!” Jonas heard a familiar sound as the crowd began a bout of impatient booing. It was a universal sign that they hated the last match before the good stuff started.
“Fighting for the Southside Hell Ryders, standing at six-foot-two, weighing in at two-hundred and twenty pounds, with a professional record of five wins, zero losses…” the announcer trailed off as he built up anticipation to name-drop, “Jake Davidson!” and Jonas noticed that the boos from the crowd had temporarily subsided as the loyal fans of Jake had begun their cheering, which was loud enough to be noticeable.
‘He must be quite popular,’ Jonas felt a wave of anticipation as he prepared to hear his name called.
“And his opponent, fighting for the Hurts Gang; standing at exactly six feet tall, weighing in at one-hundred and ninety pounds, with a professional record of one win, and zero losses…” Jonas felt his entire body vibrate with excitement, "Jonas Ariel!” and he was disappointed to hear extremely loud booing. It seemed that he hadn't made enough of an impression. However, Jonas thought he might have heard some cheering, it was just too hard to tell.
John nodded his head, pulled open the lobby doors, and both Brow and Jonas were swept with a wave of excitement, cheers, booing, bloodlust, and an assortment of other stimuli.
He was stone-faced as he walked toward the arena, and it added to his mystique as he pulled off his prison shirt and tossed it into the crowd. Brow nearly choked at the display of stardom, and the person who inadvertently caught the shirt looked at it like they were offended.
The back of Jonas’ hands glowed as the red crosses came to life, the referee opened the locked door, and Jonas felt the temporary nervousness that accompanied being led into a cage with a wild animal. However, as soon he jumped into the ring his nervousness died away, and he lifted a single fist into the air. This gesture was his promise to deliver a good show.
Jake Davidson was extremely handsome, to the point where Jonas couldn’t help but wonder if Brow had purposefully matched them against each other, some kind of battle of the boy bands. However, Jonas was much less preoccupied with his handsome face when he noticed the back of his opponents' fair-skinned hands, as they had diamond-shaped Sin Scars glowing on them.
‘Greed,’ thought Jonas, as he contemplated the handsome Thief. Jake also looked towards Jonas’ hands, and they bulged in shock as soon as he noticed the cross-shaped Sin Scars.
The announcer stood still in the middle of the stage with the spotlight on himself. He brought the microphone to his lips and said the same words he had repeated a million times in his career.
“The fight won’t end until one opponent taps by submission or is knocked unconscious. There are no judges, only carnage. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!” He was quickly ushered out of the stage, and the referee presiding the match took his place.
“Are you ready?” he pointed at Jonas, and before he could reply the referee had already turned his head to Jake, “Are you ready?” and both fighters clenched their fists in anticipation as the referee yelled, “Fight!”
Jake didn’t hesitate to make the first move, and Jonas watched as his defined physique moved with grace and vigor. The young Thief charged toward Jonas, each of his steps were silky smooth, and Jonas felt surprised at how quick his opponent was. Jonas was sure that Jake Davidson might’ve been the fastest person that he ever had to deal with.
Jonas dodged two quick strikes but was unable to react to a third that crushed his face and sent him flying against the cage wall. The Crusader didn’t bother with the pain as he quickly slid away from the wall, not allowing his opponent to pin him against it.
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Jake anticipated his movement and began a merciless assault that Jonas could only describe as trying to fight a machine gun. It was like he packed unrealistic speed and power, all into one body. However, Jonas found that the attacks that hit him were no stronger than the ones he had faced from Ahmed, which helped him mentally prepare for the rest of the fight. It was the raw speed that made Jake stand apart from the old desert warrior, and it was a speed that Jonas also took pride in.
Jonas' eyes widened as he mustered all the ability he could, and his Sin Scars glowed as he welcomed the challenge. He was going to fight fire with fire, he wanted to see who was faster. Fists shot out, so quickly they looked nothing more than a blur, and both fighters dodged each other's attacks with unbelievable reaction timing. Jake seemed surprised that Jonas could pack so much speed, but it wasn't enough to intimidate him. Jonas managed to get a few unclean hits in as he tried to take his attacks to the next level. Although members of the crowd couldn't keep up with the blurry attacks, they still cheered.
However, it wasn't long before Jonas began losing the battle of speed. No matter which direction he turned, or no matter how many hits he blocked, his opponent, Jake, was already prepared with another attack, and just as Jonas thought of countering with an attack of his own, Jake’s tremendous speed advantage ensured that he was always one step ahead of his opponent.
Jonas slowly received a brutal beating, like death by a thousand quick cuts, and moments later first blood was drawn as his forehead was split open and blood splattered across the arena, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Jonas wasn’t panicking, but he knew that things were not going his way and he needed to somehow knock Jake out of his rhythm.
He let the blood drip from his head to mouth, and he could taste the iron. It gave him feelings of excitement as he focused on the blood escaping his body. There was numb hotness that spread throughout his limbs, and it was power, not nervousness, that filled Jonas. His pupils dilated, he had invited himself to the bloodlust.
He knew it was time to change his strategy, and it was going to be a bloody one. It was time to take a hit, to give a hit, and something told Jonas that Jake Davidson wasn't as keen to have his pretty face busted up and bleeding.
Jonas stepped into the next punch thrown at him, and as the fist went crashing against his face, he managed to release an uppercut that was sent right for his opponent's chin. Unfortunately for Jonas, Jake was no amateur, and he managed to quickly throw his head back, completely avoiding the bone-crunching attack, and leaving Jonas feeling a bit dizzy.
Jonas had timed his next attack perfectly, and just as his opponent tried to punch him, Jonas’s forearm had already been ready to block it. He parried the attack away, and it left Jake open. Jonas then attacked with a vicious punch to the upper ribs that hit cleanly.
Even though he didn’t have many fans, Jonas felt pumped when he heard extra loud cheers from those few spectators that had taken a liking to him early on in his career. Not wanting to let them down, Jonas quickly transitioned from his attack on Jake's ribs to a spinning head kick that collided with Jake’s bicep that had been used to block the kick.
Jonas used all the force he could muster to send his next punch, and he paid extra attention to his opponent's body language. It seemed that Jake’s vital flaw in his combat technique was the fact that he was so eager to transition to the next move, he wasn’t properly finishing the attacks he had already sent, completely reducing the amount of impact that they could have had. It was a strange criticism, but Jake was so obsessed with being the faster fighter, he was rushing. Jonas knew this to be true, his experience as a fighter would not let him down.
Jonas made sure to do the opposite, and even though his attacks were slower than Jake's, his follow-through was perfect, and he made sure his punches had finished before trying to transition to the next move. The young fighter put his full force behind each attack, it didn't matter how badly he was hit in return.
It seemed that Jake was a very talented Sinner, and it wasn't long before he noticed his error. His experience as a fighter guided him as he changed his methodology mid-fight, and Jonas felt the next attack he blocked had much more force added to it, but he also noticed that his opponent had sacrificed a bit of speed to make sure his attacks had more impact. Jonas capitalized on the mistake and threw a few quick jabs that hit his opponent's torso.
“Good job attacking inside!” Brow shouted happily as he watched his fighter take control of the fight. Jonas didn’t register the voice, he was focused on his attempt at stealing the momentum of the fight, and he couldn’t help but feel excited as he watched his opponent struggle. Sometimes Jake's attacks had so much impact that they were too slow, sometimes they were so quick that Jonas could barely feel them hit him. Jonas could feel that his opponent had lost his composure.
For a moment, Jonas had the upper hand as he gave a few big hits that made Jake hurt. However, he slipped up and made a mistake. Just as he was eager to land a finishing blow, he left his feet too lax, and Jake suddenly spun on the spot, swept Jonas’ legs out from underneath him, and sent the Crusader falling on his ass.
Jonas barely had time to register what had happened as Jake leaped on top of him and began throwing quick punches at his bleeding head, and Jonas was forced to cover himself up, as he tried to feel out where each attack was going to be.
It was a hard task to do, as his ears were ringing, and his vision was covered in red as he tried to stay calm and allow Jake to waste his time punching the sides of his arms which were being used to block attacks. Every few punches, however, Jake would manage to get a good one, but Jonas could tell they lacked a certain impact as his opponent tired out, and his muscle began to scream in protest. The fight had transitioned into a battle of perseverance and stamina. The loser would be whoever gave up first.
“Get up, you little pussy!” Jonas heard a raspy shout that came from the screaming crowd. “I bet half my savings on you, don’t you dare let your old master down!” Old Louie was screaming as he jumped up and down among the crowd members.