Bryan was sitting in the cargo bay of the
train from Metro City to South City having a severe fit of insomnia. He
thought to pass the time, he would count each bump the train hit on the
tracks.
4,397...4,398...4,399...4,400! Ok enough
of this, why can't I sleep!
He slammed his fist into a crate next to him, causing everything on top to tumble down onto him. "Wow...that sucked. Sorta like I was in a cartoon. But then wouldn't something else have to ..." At that moment, something large, square and heavy landed on his head. The last thing he thought before slipping into darkness was A-ha! Box fight back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan spent the next several hours in
la-la land as the time went from evening to night and back to morning.
He was awakened by a quick tap from a nightstick. "Hey buddy! Get up ya
bum." Bryan stirred then rubbed the top of his head. Great, I'm busted.
Think, stupid, think! He stood up and looked down at a man that sickly
reminded him of Klyde's first girlfriend. He shook the thought from his
mind by rapidly palming his forehead and made his way towards the door.
"Excuse me! Where do you think you're
going? I'm taking you to the police! Don't you know it's illegal to blah
blah blah bla..." Bryan stopped with his back turned to him. This is weird,
he even bitches like she does. I wonder if this will work. "Sir, I know
what I did was wrong but don't you think tha...HOLY CRAP!" Bryan pointed
behind the man. "I didn't think Richard Simmons had the gall to run around
with no shirt on!" The man didn't budge. "Oh come on, I'm not gay. Besides
only an idiot would fall for that." Bryan hung his head. "Well I can't
say I didn't try. Seichuu Nidan Tsuki!" Bryan's fist slid horizontally
into the man's abdomen, flinging him into a stunned crowd of people. He
didn't get up.
Oh crap. Time to run. He took off sprinting
through the thick crowd with ease. Being a mall-rat has its advantages
in life. No one bothered to give chase.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan jogged all over town until he finally
realized how lost he was. Why can't I find these strong fighters that Ryu
was talking about? Klyde had no problem on his little adventure. Maybe
I can sense them... Bryan closed his eyes and concentrated for a brief
moment before he felt someone's eyes burning holes in his back. He whipped
around to see two guys and a scantily clad girl standing there. The blonde
one spoke first.
"Hey buddy, this is private property. Unless you want to get your ass kicked, I suggest you leave!"
Bryan attempted to listen but too much of his testosterone was focused on something else.
The girl giggled. "Oh Andy, you act so tough. He's just a nobody. Just let him go." Her hands movements resulted in Bryan's eyes shifting up and down to left and right.
Andy's face turned red. "Hey punk! That's my girl you're staring at. You're on thin ice pal." He turned, physically and emotionally. "And Mai, please don't embarrass me like that in front of strangers."
Mai just laughed deeply and the drool strand from Bryan's mouth just got longer. The other guy smiled and cracked open a beer. "Wow Andy, you sound really dangerous. You have to be the strongest bitch in the world." Andy was now steamed. "Shut up Terry! And YOU! What did I just tell you?! I'm totally going to thrash your face! HISHOKEN!!!"
Bryan snapped out of his trance in time to avoid a small blue energy ball. "You call that an attack?! That guy over there was right, you are a bitch!" Terry coughed as beer shot out his nose and Mai covered her face with a fan to hide her amusement.
"You think this is funny?! That's it, no more playing around!"
Andy rushed at Bryan as he readied his fighting stance. Andy did a short hop and launched his body sideways, feetfirst. Bryan's eyes went wide and he brought his arms up to block. He saw ki emanating from Andy's feet before impact. Bryan skidded back from the collision but did not fall. "Not bad...Andy right? But you'll have to do better than that!" Andy recovered from the attack and hopped back.
"Nice block kid. But now I'm warmed up.
Try and stop another." He took another moving hop and launched himself
again at Bryan. "Choreppadan!" This time the ki aura was larger and more
visible. Bryan's mind quickly flashback to a similar situation when him
and Klyde were younger...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wheee!!!" Klyde squealed. "Teeter-toters
are fun! When one side goes up, the other goes down!" Bryan sighed, "Klyde,
you're 15. Stop acting like a kid!" Bryan jumped off his side and Klyde
fell, smashing into the ground. "Ouchies! Now my butt hurts..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this works. Bryan ducked slightly
and waited for the attack to come closer. "Shoryuken!" Bryan's fist connected
perfectly with Andy's feet, flipping his head right into the ground. He
skidded to a stop behind Bryan.
"You son of a bitch! I'm going to kill you!" Andy stood up, clearly pissed now. Bryan just shrugged. "I don't think you will. In order to do that, you have to be STRONGER than me." He flashed a toothy grin. "Let me show you something, this is how you use ki." Bryan moved his hands to his waist to prepare for his favorite move. A blue ball appeared in his hands.
"Try and stop this, HADOKEN." Andy couldn't
react fast enough to dodge, so he through his hands up in a crude block.
The energy exploded on contact and sent Andy airborne. He collided with
Terry's hand hard enough to spray beer all over the teenager's face and
clothes. Andy sat up and a strange look came across his face.
"Bro, you alright?" Mai looked shocked,
but not at Andy's performance. Terry removed his hat and just stared at
it
"You stained my favorite hat..."
Andy got up and looked at Bryan. "Hey dude, you have two choices: 1. You call an ambulance right now or 2. You run as fast as you can ... ... ... to the nearest ambulance." Bryan laughed heartily. "If you can't beat me, I don't think your little brother can either." Terry put his hat on and glared at Bryan. "I'm the older brother dipshit!" Bryan just shrugged. "Whatever Goldielocks, the fact remains. You can't beat me."
Terry's ki aura surged slightly at that
comment. Bryan suddenly felt charged. I think this was who Ryu was talking
about. He retook his fighting stance. Terry pulled his fist back and slammed
it into the ground. An energy spark ripped through the ground at Bryan.
He immediately went airborne.
"Tatsumaki sempuu kyaku!" Terry answered
the move with an overhead flip ending with a kick. Bryan took the his in
the chest and was almost slammed down into the wave but his legs were just
long enough for the attack to go between his legs.
"Whew! Nice move Barbie but that was a
pretty weak attack. Maybe there are no strong fighters in South City."
Terry was not amused. "This has gone on
enough. I don't like your cocky attitude kid. You shamed me and my bro.
It's time to end this." He rear back his fist again and slammed it into
the ground.
"Power Geyser!"
These people just will not learn. Bryan prepared to jump when suddenly the ground erupted below him. "Holy sh..." Bryan was launched 20 feet into the air. As he was rotating in mid-air he felt a spike in ki coming from below. This is going to hurt.
"Good night kid...BUSTER..." Terry launched forward and caught Bryan in his stomach with a ki coated fist. His vision blurred as the wind left his lungs. Ki started to gather between the two fighters. "...WOLF!" Terry released a massive explosion, flinging Bryan like an arrow a good 50 feet. He was already losing consciousness before he hit a lamp post. The post felt as soft as a pillow and it seemed to caress his body. He could see three figures slowly making their way up him just before his world faded away to nothing. I didn't realize I was this tired. I think I'll take a nap before finishing up kicking his ass...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan awoke to an uncomfortable feeling
coming from his lower regions. He jumped up in response, and he felt like
he had been sitting on a hotplate. He looked down and saw that was not
too far from the truth. The ground was glowing red, and smoke was rising
from it. He hopped from one foot to the other in hopes of minimizing the
heat. What the hell is going on?
A man in a dark purplish gi appeared behind
him. "You."
Bryan looked at him incredulously. This guy's aura is overwhelming! "Ummm... yea. Me. Correct. Uh, I can't help noticing you aren't really very affected by this heat."
The fighter nodded. "This is nothing. A true warrior can endure anything."
Bryan's face became angry. "Are you saying I'm not a true warrior?"
The strange man flashed a toothy grin. "A true warrior would have been able to overcome the man in the hat, would he not?"
Bryan's eyes flashed as he screamed back, "The guy was a lot stronger than me! What was I supposed to do?"
"You get stronger."
Bryan's retort faded away and his mouth hung open. "Get... stronger?" The simplicity of the man's answer stirred something in Bryan's soul. "How?"
"You want to become the strongest?"
Bryan didn't even bother answering. Does he even need to ask? His face got the point across alone.
"Then allow yourself to give in to your power!"
The floor grew even redder, but Bryan realized he no longer felt the heat. All around him, flames shot up, lighting the entire cavern in an orangey red. The strange warrior let out a booming laugh.
"Another is born!" he shouted, almost to himself. The voice made Bryan shudder. What have I gotten myself into?
On the floor of an alley in South City,
Bryan's unconscious body lay where Terry had left him, the idle form giving
away nothing of the events taking place in his inner soul, save for the
light smoke seeping out of his closed eyelids...