Defeat! (June)

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Defeat

How do you deal with defeat?

Format:

Single

Reward:

4 EXP, Item, $1,000, or (NEW) Special Request.

Scenario:

You got defeated. Not a dream, not a come-back story, actually got your ass kicked and then left alive out of pity.

Requirements:

1,500 word minimum

You must lose the fight. No "I trained for a few months got back in the ring and kicked some ass." No none of that crap. You lose the end, you may do anything within your characters realm of powers and abilities but the end result is you lying broken and beat laying in the dirt.

At the end of the encounter add in how your character deals with this loss. Are they enlightened? Pissed? Scared and broken? Let us know what happened inside that head of theirs. Some of the biggest improvements come from the most brutal of failures.

Post reward request via PM for soonest response!

Special Request rewards must A. Be relevant to your story, B. MUST BE REASONABLE, and C. Must pass staff approval.

Post will no longer be accepted after July 3rd! Have fun!!!

[Hone]

It was a sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky, and was so hot it felt like the Earth had moved closer to the sun by a few miles. George was doing his meditation thingy, and Juya was taking a stroll through the forest.
Zax had nothing to do. He couldn’t help but to feel like he needed to do something. Then, out of nowhere, Zax heard cheering and saw a crowd of people pumping their fist and yelling things like, “Yeah! Good swing! Keep it going! Come on!” “Finally! Something I can pound!” Zax jogged closer to see a white ring made by flour or something like that on dirt ground about 20 feet wide, and two men punching and wrestling. One of them had a bleeding nose, a busted lip, black eyes, and dozens of bruises and scrapes. He had a blonde mustache and beard, both stained by blood. His jeans were also ripped, his knees bleeding, probably from carpet burn from sliding on the ruff ground. In fact, there was blood on the dirt. He was pretty buff, too. It was quite amazing that a man like that was losing to the other one, who was about the same size. The other had a couple of bruises here and there, but nothing compared to the first one. Then Zax noticed they were calling the one who was barely hurt “Brute”.
Then all of a sudden the one they called “Brute” punched the weaker one right smack in the chin with an uppercut, and he was out. Some replied with an “ooh!” and a ‘that looked horribly painful’ look on their face. Others replied with cheers of joy and clapping. The now defeated man tried to get up, but he just fell back down on the ground.
The man that posed as a referee walked up to Brute and raised the man’s fist. Brute smiled with triumph nodding his head as if he was proclaiming ‘I DID just win.’ “Another defeat from the Brute!” More cheers roared up. “Does anyone else dare to challenge Brute?” A couple guys stepped forward and said, “I’ll take em!” “No, I’ve got this guy!” But Zax just stepped forward and said “Yeah, I haven’t kicked butt in awhile. So sure, I guess I’ll change things up a little bit and show you all Brute’s defeat.
The whole crowded became one giant whispering fest. Zax could hear things like “He’s dead meat now.”, and “Yeah, he’s toast.”, and “He should not have done that.” Even the referee looked amazed.
“Oh really?” Brute ripped his hand out of the ref’s hand. The referee ran out of the way out to the side of the ring. “What’s your name?”
Zax smiled full of pride as he said “I am Volin. Zax Volin. You have all probably heard of me.” The crowd stayed silent except for a cough.
“Alright, then, Mr. Zax Volin, let’s fight. Show them how amazingly strong and kick-ass you are.”
“I was planning on it.”
Zax got up there with a smile, pulled up his shirt sleeves, and got in a square stance. Brute rolled his eyes. Referee walked up to Zax and spoke in a voice only he could hear. “Good luck kid. Just, don’t do anything stupid. Well, stupider.” He then walked back to the middle of the ring. “Anyway, rules are no groan shots or death holds. If you go outside the ring the fight is over and the one left in the middle wins. You are not aloud to throw sand in each other’s face or do any damage to the eyes. Round 1, start!” A beautiful girl wearing nothing but a bikini walked out with a cardboard box slab with ‘Round 1’ written on it. Zax watched her go by with a smile, staying in his stance though. Then shaking out of it, he got focused back into the game. Brute ran towards Zax with a punch. Zax tried to catch the punch, but as he was distracted with one another one came back around from the other side and caught him right in the cheek, knocking Zax forward into the dirt. “Rule number 1: Don’t let your guard down on one side just because you have it on the other.” Brute said as he kicked Zax over to where Zax was looking toward the sky.
At this point Zax was still seeing stars from that last hit. But now Brute kicked him, and picked him up by his shirt collar. That alerted Zax, and he tried to struggle, but it was too late. Brute punched him in the face, throwing him out of the ring.
“Ugh, thank goodness. I don’t think I could take much more.”
The man that was being the referee walked towards Brute to grab his hand and raise it up, declaring him the winner, but Brute just pushed him down to the ground. “This one needs to be taught a listen.”
“Wait wait wait, you’re not going to kill the guy are you? I mean the fight’s over and he didn’t know what he was talking about when he said”- THWACK! Brute slapped the ref aside, throwing him back about five feet, making it look like it was nothing, still walking towards Zax.
“Oh come on! The crowd was right, I am so toast.” Zax got up and wobbled around a little bit, but he got his sense together and decided to just keep going. “Oh, is that all you got?” Zax went towards Brute with a punch, but he just caught it. “Rule number 2: Don’t. Get. Cocky.” Blam! Brute head butted Zax. Zax stumbled back, but just got angrier. He growled, trying to sound fierce, having no idea he just looked like an idiot. “That’s it!” He spat to the side, and it was red. Zax took out some bone sticks and started to swing them, yelling at the top of his lungs. Brute caught both of them, did a back flip, his feet hitting them and breaking them off. Now Brute was armed with his opponent’s own weapons. Zax looked bewildered. He couldn’t believe that- WAM!! Brute had just whacked Zax with his own sticks hard enough to the side of the face that he spun off of the ground and landed on his back. Then Brute walked up to Zax, stepped on each of his arms, and started beating Zax’s face, going and going until Zax was just about to pass out. Then he stopped, threw the sticks away, and picked Zax up by the collar again. “Rule number 3: If you ever want to intimidate someone in battle, you don’t say a word, or show a single emotion.” Brute dropped Zax, making his stomach land on Brute’s knee. When Zax landed on the ground, the words were still ringing in his ear. “Don’t say a word or a single emotion.” Brute picked him up again. “And lastly, if you want to even think about showing someone that you can fight, you need to lose this mocho man of yours. When you fight you need to shut up, stay focused, and stay serious. Otherwise, it isn’t even going to be a fight, such as right now. Once that first hit lands because of your immature mistake, the rest is like punching a bag.” Brute threw Zax to the side, walked over to the broken sticks and picked it up. He checked the end of it, then walked over to Zax. He got the sharp end and cut into Zax a broken bone. “There. To remember the day you cracked.” Brute threw the stick away and walked back toward the crowd, which was now, form all the punching and throwing, another 20 feet away.

Zax lay there, beaten, broken, and as he said, cracked. He thought about what Brute said, pain surging through his body. He could easily heal. There was a tree within arm’s reach, and grass all around him. But he didn’t want to. He had finally learned his lesson. Things would be different from now on. Never again would he be the old Zax. And just like a bone, he would grow back stronger. Tougher. He was more durable than he ever had been. He wouldn’t break as easily anymore.





He went back to the mansion, after sleeping on the ground last night and healing just enough to be able to walk. He limped up the stairs and into his room, and ripped his bandanna apart, and gathered a few other clothes to make a new look for himself. (New Look) As he wrapped the cloth around his arm, he looked at his shoulder in a mirror, looking at the broken bone. He would never let that heal. He would keep that scar. He would remember what it meant for the rest of his life. Change. Change from the arrogant Zax. Change from the cocky Zax. He was now improved. He had just become a man. He was a better fighter. A better person. A better Zax.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai would be on his way home frustrated... no reason really in particular he just felt anxious. Whats worse is he had no clue why he felt this way just something bothering him... He was taking stroll outside the mansion, needing some fresh air. After all, fresh air never hurt anyone. But upon the fresh air not alleviating his anxiety he was now on the return trip home.

On his way home Rai would hear something going on off in the distance at first it sounded like cheering but by the time Rai go closer to the sound the cheering had stopped and he just heard the sound of people beating the ever living daylights out of eachother. Or so Rai had thought, when he was close enough to see what was going what he saw was a large man punching and beating a smaller guy bout 20 feet away, Rai looked down seeing the edge of the circle. He knew whatever was happening over there wasn't part of this fighting ring. Just as Rai was about to go and stop the large man from killing the other one he seemed to stop and say something before turning around and walking back to the ring. When he got back the crowd would be silent the man would look around and shout.

{color=red]"What?! That boy needed a lesson in manners and I taught it to him! Maybe one day that boy will actually grow up to be a tough man. If nothing else I might have saved that boy's life today!"[/color]

The crowd still remained silent... almost scared to say anything at all. Rai would just sigh and shake his head.

"Ya know, you're right. Sometimes the best way to teach a lesson is to beat them senseless I get that."

The large man smiled at Rai nodding.

"Good I'm glad someone here is man enough to admit that. My name is Brute, and yours?"

"Name's Raikotsu Sudeki."

He would look about and make a hand motion to the ring.

"So this a fight club or something? If so I'm kinda itching for a few good rounds. You wanna go big guy?"

The smile on Brute's face widened, he though after that last guy everyone here would be too scared to fight him. But now this stranger appeared. This should be fun.

"A fight does sound good, little man, but are you sure you're up to it? I'm undefeated here!"

Brute would say opening his arms and motioning at the whole ring. This would make Rai smile as he started stripping to just his pants to match the attire of Brute.

"Then I guess I've picked the best opponent to start off with haven't I?"

Rai said with a smile walking into the ring. The referie came over and started listing off the rules he seemed scared to be in the ring, and the look he was giving Rai was one of pure disbelief. Brute was probably twice Rai's size and weight but this only made Rai even more happy. He realized the anxious feeling was being replaced. Maybe this was all he needed was a good fight? Rai smiled agian, this was going to be fun.

Rai himself was in no formal stance as a girl in a bikini came out with a sign. Rai didn't even bother glancing at her the feeling inside him wanted to fight and the answer to that was across the circle from him were Brute was standing appearing almost as anxious as Rai...

*DING*

The fight was on! Brute charged at Rai just as Rai charged at Brute. Brute came in with a left hook to Rai's face, while bringing in his Right fist to take advantage of Rai's missing eye. Unfortuanetly for Brute Rai had had plenty of training to over come that small weakness. Rai would dodge the left fist and duck under the right fist. Doing a sweep with his left leg to try and take Brute to the ground, but Brute wasn't new to fighting either and quickly jumped up making Rai miss completely with his sweep. Brute came back down with both hands clenched in an attempt to hammer Rai into the ground but Rai quickly rolled out of the way just as the man landed making a large hole in the dirt where Rai was at only moments ago. Rai quickly got back to his feet as Brute pulled his hand out of the hole he made. Rai made a charge at Brute this time seemyingly throwing Brute off. He would flinch and then throw out a right hook but it was too late Rai was already to close. The fist went right behind his head as Rai slamed his left palm full force into Brutes diapraghm knocking the wind out of him Rai would spin to Brute's left and kick behind his knee bringing him to the ground Brute would turn to look at Rai just as he swung his right fist right to the side of Brute's face knocking him unconscious.

Rai stood up breathing hard that was a good fight. The Ref came over and raised Rai's arm and the crowd started cheering... but for Rai it wasn't enough. He could feel his anxiety come back this fight wasn't enough he need more but what what could it possibly be? A picture of Leon popped into his head and he suddenly knew. He thought he stopped caring bout that a long time ago. Fuck Leon's approval. He didn't need it, not one bit. Rai was a strong warrior! He didn't need the approval of man to make it true. Then he heard Leon's voice in his head, recounting a story that he loved to tell all the time while Rai was growing up, about how he had faught 100 men at the same time and won. Rai always loved to hear that story but right now it just made him angry.

"GO TO HELL LEON!"

Rai would shout at the top of his lungs forgetting where he was. The crowd went silent and everyone stared at him intently, curious as to what was happening. Thats when the thought hit him. If Leon could fight 100 men by himself the surely I can, NO! I'll fight 200 men! That will show Leon! Rai returned his attention back to the crowd.

"I have a message for all of you, 'so called' fighters. Tomorrow at sunset I want 200 hundred REAL MEN, unlike you group of sorry sons a' bitches!"

A few men in the group were started to get angry, Rai could tell by the look in their eyes, good.

"The message is simple I want to fight 200 men at the same time me vs everyone who shows up tomorrow. Of course I doubt there are even 200 MEN left in california, hell if thats the case bring the strongest women you have! They might prove to be more of a challenge!'

Rai chuckled as he saw numerous mens hands clench and almost the entire crowd was glaring at him now.

"Go now! Tell them I'll be here tomorrow at sunset and I will announce the what the reward will be for beating me! I promise you this! It will be a great reward!"

With that Rai would walk away. He knew for sure most if not all the faces he saw today would be there, hopefully they would convince a few others to come out as well.

It was dark now. Rai had been fighting for what seemed like hours he had already defeated 76 of his oppenents but there were still so many more it almost appeared as though there were no end to them. Rai was taking just as many hits he was dishing out, and he wasn't doing to well. Normally if he could use his Qi these men might not be so difficult but he had to beat Leon, and Leon bragged about how he never once had to use his Qi against the 100 men. If Rai won now with Qi he would only be berated for it later. No he had to keep fighting without.

A punch to the stomach, a kick to the side, an elbow jab in the ribs. The hits just kept coming in and there was nothing he could do to stope them.

"95. Oof 96. Urgh 97."

Rai conitnued fighting but he was losing...

"98..."

SLAM!

A knee into Rai's stomach, leaving Rai doubled over and defensless, the hits literally came pouring in like the pelting of hard rain. Rai was going down and he wasn't going to be getting back up. But with one final surge of strength he took the man the knee'd him down as well. But then Rai lost consciousness.

Rai would awake stairing up at the night sky he had no idea what time it was but it was probably early morning at this point. Rai had been defeated.

"99."

Rai coughed up more blood and spit it out of his mouth. Just because the fight was over didn't mean Rai was allowed to use his qi now. He would have to deal with these wounds or else the fight was pointless and irrelevent.

"99."

Rai would say agian. He would start crying now. He had lost, not just to the men but to Leon. He couldn't even beat a full 100 men. No matter what he did he lost. Was that his fate? Was he just going to live in his uncles shadow for the rest of his life and lose to him?! Rai was getting pissed now his tears no longer sad but angry.

"99!"

Rai shouted angrily. Rai slamed his fist on the ground and yelled out. No words just a yell, a scream, of a wounded predator. He had been broken. Rai would coninue crying out until his voice cracked and he ran out of air. Breathing deeply again Rai would shake his head.

"No."

Rai would say quietly to himself.

"No!"

A little louder now.

"NO!"

Rai would shout hoarsly. As he started to stand. It was a struggle but he would eventually get to his feet. No. Rai thought to himself. I will not live my life under his shadow. Rai would start hobbling off back to his mansion. From this day forward, I will never. NEVER. Lose to Leon again...

"Next time. I'll win."

[Arianna Barrial]

Arianna woke to the sweltering heat of the Brazilian rainforest. She frowned a little at the sweat trickling through her scalp, down her back. The blonde was not a prissy woman; she was used to working long hours with her hands bloody and inside people more often than not. But she did appreciate cleanliness. As the old saying went, it was next to godliness.

And it was extremely important for her profession, besides.

Her night had been rather restless, filled with small starts from the unfamiliar sounds. She supposed it was to be expected; after all, they had just spent weeks sleeping to the silence of the ship. Still, she carefully stretched against the warmth of the man that would be her husband in just a few short days before letting out a sigh, flopping temporarily into relaxed repose. Pale golden eyes closed for a few moments so she could listen to the thrum of his heart beneath her ear. The blonde smiled and slowly slunk her way up to press a kiss to his jaw, then his lips. It was light as she had no intent on waking him. She smiled and eased herself up with a whisper.

"Sleep a little longer, love. I really just want a bath~"

Bride, doctor, and young woman all tread lightly away in one body, back towards the entrance of the caves and the pods, first. She questioned whether they had anything that would suffice for a towel and was handed a length of material that was highly absorbent. She smiled and thanked Lilith before turning towards the entrance to Hyperion's cave, marking him for a man that - even if he didn't care if he bathed in the river - would care that he had something hot like underground springs. A spear was held in her path and she looked up, rather annoyed, but...smiling.

"Sorry, but, I was wondering if you have any bathing springs in these caves..? I'd be extremely grateful if I could use them."

The Titan's expression edged to amusement as he let out a chortle, then full-on grinned. "You'll have to use the river."

Arianna's expression turned incredulous and even indignant before she sighed. "Okay, fine. River it is. Do you at least have soap?"

His grin edged wider and she threw up her hands, turning to walk away with a huff of exasperation and frustration, but not truly anger. She turned when the voice called out a "Catch." behind her and scrambled to catch the sliver of packaged soap. Well. At least it was a fresh one. Her expression brightened and she nodded her thanks before turning. On the way out of the ring of torches, she grabbed one up to light her way...and to ward off any animals within the jungle. She skipped along, excitement and joy bubbling up.

'I'm going to have a bath~ Clean~ Even if it's a river, I don't care, it's going to feel so good~!'

It wasn't long before she figured she was far enough that, while still in shouting distance, she wouldn't have to worry about any peeping-Tom-Titans...and it seemed that it was a place they had used, as there was another path. The main 'road' seemed to follow the river, somewhat, so she had to wade through a swath of trees on the little footpath before she emerged on the bank. Biting her lip, she fanned the torch out over and down across the water, searching for anything lurking in the pool. Satisfied there was nothing, Arianna plunged the torch down into the soft earth, having it leaning out over the water. She let her hair loose from its bun and spent a few minutes combing her fingers through it before she was satisfied enough to strip and fold her clothes. While she might have been grumpy about having to go to the river to bathe...the water felt heavenly when she slipped inside. and she had to hand it to the Titans, because it seemed they dug this area out. There were steps of wood and a barrier that - while it allowed water to flow freely - kept out any unwanted creatures in the water itself.

And cleaning up and cooling off was sheer bliss.

It helped to wash away the terror from what should have been a fatal and fiery crash from Damien overriding the pod Liliel...and helped to wash away the sweat from the humid heat that made her want to crawl into a cool place and just collapse. She didn't do extremely well with hot temperatures, though dry heat was better. This humidity? It just exhausted her.

As she was finishing up, she sent her hand skimming over the surface to spray water before wading out to dry off. And it was then she heard voices.

It was then she heard the chanting.

It was low, by one voice only, not many like she thought. Arianna dressed in a rush, growing a bit curious and more than a little wary. And then concerned when she heard gasping. The blonde had the torch in her hand and picked up the towel - the soap wrapped inside - and moved back from the secluded little dig-out in the river back onto the road, stepping quickly. When she heard the dull thud of a body hitting the ground, however, she dropped the towel on the road and darted into trees on the opposite side of the Titan thoroughfare. Though she had the torch, she wasn't exactly sure where the sound's origin had come from. Despite the light from the torch, she nearly didn't see the body until she nearly tripped over it. The only visible thing on the body was the vivid white paint in a rather intricate design. Arianna cried out in surprise and alarm. But there was no movement. With a grunt, she staked the torch and immediately crouched and shook the man's shoulders, shouting at him and asking if he was okay. It was then she noticed she was essentially trying to move deadweight. Her nose wrinkled. And the smell... Urine and feces.

She moved quickly, tugging on his form so he would be laying flat on his back. He was completely naked, and she was thankful for the top half being bare. She placed the heel of her hand against the centre of his chest, not bothering to check his pulse because it was more likely she would only feel her own surging in her fingers, and it would waste precious time for the bone-limp man. Rising up, she straightened and locked her arms, then began compressions. Down two and a half to three inches, back up with the beginning of a count: "One, and..."

Counting let her keep track, with the additional words allowing time for his chest to rise so his heart chamber could fill with blood. She had to get through the first minute before she screamed out for help. Right now the most important thing in her mind was continuing to circulate the blood in this man's body. Whatever oxygen he had remaining in his veins would be used, then she could deal with artificial respiration.

She would have liked to have the comfort of the tools she might have before the bombs were dropped, but even out here...she had to do it the old-fashioned way. CPR was a brutal process, and already she felt a rib crack and give beneath the force she was exerting on his rib cage. This man wouldn't feel like walking or talking after she was through, and she needed to call for reinforcements, as the compressions took a lot out of the person performing them. The man seemed to gasp, but Arianna wasn't fooled. It was just air being forced from his lungs with the downward pumps, so she didn't stop.

So intent on keeping the jungle inhabitant alive by pumping his heart for him, the Doctor tunnel-visioned. She didn't see that someone was drawn back by the noise and was watching her with dark eyes that flickered in the torchlight. At first with curiosity, but then with anger. This one was no Giant, but she was doing wrong!

The woman flew from the trees with a yell and used the spear she clutched like a club to knock Arianna away. And Arianna...Arianna only noticed after the blow caught her full on her jaw. A shroud of light flared, then dispersed, the force of the blow shattering both it...and breaking her jaw. She started to cry out in pain as her vision went white and then she nearly blacked out. When she didn't lose consciousness - a blessing and a curse - her eyes jerked to the prone form of the man that would die if he didn't get air and the person - woman - that attacked her. What was she..?

She had a piece of tubing and a noise--?

She didn't understand until the sting of the dart sank into her arm, brief in comparison to the painful broken jaw she couldn't even move. She panted. She didn't know what it was. At best? Maybe the same that the male had been afflicted with. At worst?

The doctor didn't want to know.

Arianna tried to steady herself though her heart was racing, adrenaline pumping.

She would get up, still able to move despite the lances of pain that made her eyes blur. Her eyes went down to the man and she stepped forward, hands raised in a placating, peaceful gesture. She smothered a whimper...and found out that the step forward was a mistake. The woman gave a holler and advanced, using the spear as intended, now, aiming to stab and slice. Considering she was more familiar with the concept of reach and extensions - thanks to Damien's diligent care in training her - Arianna threw herself back a couple feet, unsteady on her own limbs and in pain. But she was starting to lose her head and panic. How long did he have before brain damage? Had she even been in time to stop it, before? Her inattentiveness had the woman scoring hits, the swipe causing blood to fly and splatter on the vegetation. Arianna backed off with a cry that was both pained and dismayed. Not loud enough to reach the camp. Not with her jaw a mess.

Maybe just loud enough to be heard on the edge of one's hearing, but she wasn't even thinking enough to scream. She could feel blood seeping from wounds she didn't want to look at. The man, though. She had to help him..! Why was she stopping her from helping!?

Arianna darted forward in an attempt to grab near the top of the spear.

Had she not been so strung out about the patient she was trying to save, it might have worked. But with a deft movement, the woman curved the spear down before cracking it against her elbow. The joint snapped, and this time, Arianna shrieked. The sound proved to be extremely short-lived as the side of the spear knocked into her head. She hit the ground, breathing hard and disoriented. Unable to orient herself - vision blurry for the pain and tears, both - she couldn't crawl to the man lying, still as death. Maybe he was dead, but she needed to know before she could give up. She wasn't going to lose him when she knew she could keep him alive! A hysterical sob bubbled in her throat, more for the pain and panic even as her eyes turned back to the woman that was advancing.

Arianna didn't understand why. And chances were likely she never would. The woman snapped at her, pointing to the man, then her, as she tried to push herself further away with her legs. Each time she shoved drew her broken bones to sharp and writhing agony, but she wasn't sure which was greater. The physical pain of the breaks or the mental anguish of having a life slip through her fingers when she was perfectly capable of helping him. Her body, though...was slowing. Sluggish. And she was gasping for what breath she could. It was harder to move. Her eyes, large, wide, and frightened, jerked to the woman as she moved closer, but when she raised the butt of her spear, Arianna's body no longer responded to her own will and she flopped, unable to move. Her last few breaths before that was lost to her, too, were floundering, panicked gasps. She couldn't move her eyes, couldn't blink, cry out, breathe--which meant her heart wasn't beating, either.

But pain?

That she could feel, all too well. The butt of the spear slammed into her kneecap, breaking it. Her vision wavered and she felt a hand close around her other ankle. From the edge of her vision she could see the woman look from the body to her, and something wet landed on her cheek before she felt the ground slide beneath her and agony shriek through her body. And the vision of foliage passing in and out of view was her other clue that she was being moved. She was despairing that she couldn't save him. She couldn't even fight well enough to save herself. But she had never fought Damien in such a way before, either. She should have been more aware, should have called out for help as she started the chest compressions...

She was aware that her leg hit the ground - a raised root - as it was dropped, and the world faded as the blonde lost consciousness with her eyes wide open and fear and pain and despair holding her.