Chapter 29 : Flames vs Clouds

The clouds turned even more dark grey, and hundreds of Fighters around were looking up, saying:

"What in the hell is that?"

"The sky is changing.."

"This doesn't look good.."

"Look! Something's coming out of the clouds!"

"It's golden!"

Sho and Red walked forward while looking up as well, and they saw giant 90 foot tall golden monkey statues that looked just like Rukon.

There were hundreds of statues scattered through the sky.

Fighters exclaimed:

"Statues?"

"There's power emitting off of them!"

"They're familiars!!"

"I'm sensing hostility, let's take 'em' down! We'll attack before they attack us!"

Sho asked them, "Are you guys dumb or something?! That's not a good idea!"

"Oh yeah?! What do YOU know, class C Fighter? Stay here and let the higher class Fighters deal with this!"

"Dumbasses!"

Red said to Sho, "We can't stop them, unless we kill them."

"That's not a bad option, but I don't wanna do that shit. I may come off as somewhat angry all the time, but you'll never catch me killing random people. What..is actually going on?"

"That statue.."

"What? Spit it out?"

Suddenly, some of the Fighters all around started to blast their powers at the statues, shouting out skill names and such.

The Fighters exclaimed loudly:

"Diamond Lotus!"

"Rapid fire!"

"Cover me I'm going up! Knight's Blade!"

"My guild, with me! We'll create a spiral wind!"

"Hit the statues with all you got!"

"It's reaching!"

"I'm going up!"

"On my way!"

"Don't underestimate these things!"

"We won't let them make the first move!"

More powers and skills were being used on the golden monkey statues that were descending down from the sky.

But as soon as the powers hit the statue, it did nothing to it.

The Fighters said:

"Our skills don't work on them?!"

"Impossible! What kind of familiars don't take damage?"

"It means..the one who controls these familiars must be a very high ranking Fighter.."

"No way.."

"Shit!"

Red said to Sho, "The being on the statues is Rukong."

Sho responded, "Who the hell is Rukong?"

"A former king of the Rune world. Everyone in his world was killed off besides him, which was reasonable since he was the strongest in his world."

"So what does he want? Revenge on all beings because of it?"

"I doubt it. That would be a half assed excuse for doing what he's doing now. It's gotta be something more complex."

"Oh yeah? Who the hell killed the people in his world?"

"Your family did."

"Huh? My family?"

"The Takahashi's. I remember that as much."

"If that's the case, weren't you there?"

"Yeah, but I didn't kill anyone."

"Bullshit, I know one of those Takahashi bastards gave you a command or something."

"No it was nothing like that at all!"

Out of nowhere, the statues turned their attention to all the Fighters, including Sho and Red.

And they started to have gold outlines around their bodies, and all of the Fighters had gravity descend upon them heavily, and they hit the ground, unable to get up, struggling to get up.

Sho was also pinned to the ground by gravity, along with the hundreds of other Fighters.

The Fighters were grunting loudly, yelling:

"I can't get up!"

"What the hell?!!!!"

"This force is holding us down!!!"

"Don't give up! Use all your strength! Use the strength you trained for!"

"I'm trying! I can't!!"

"Keep pushing!!"

"Use your powers!"

Sho and Red were grunting as well, being weighed down by the gravity.

Sho exclaimed, "Dammit! I can't move either! Makes me look like I'm bowing! I bow to no fucking one!"

Red replied, "That..may be it!"

"Huh??"

"We're bowing..like those who bow before their own king!"

"You're looking too deep into this!"

"You always have to if you wanna survive, brat!"

[Division guild headquarters]

[Meeting room]

Kell, Kaiju, Telli, Carter, Emma, Grey, and Macch were still sitting in the room, until a man in a suit ran inside, yelling, "Carter!"

Carter turned around, "What's happened?"

"In the sky..you..you gotta come outside! It's bad! I think! It looks bad!"

Everyone in the room ran outside, and they looked up at the dark grey clouds, and saw the giant golden monkey statues.

Kell said, "The hell.."

Kaiju says, "Those statues resemble him! It is the legend Rukong.."

"You gotta be kidding me.."

Emma says, "Where's Court?!"

Grey answers, "We gotta find him. Call him."

Macch says, "Holy.."

Telli comments, "All these other Fighters out here.."

The statues turned their attention to the group, and gravity hit them as well, pinning them all to the ground.

Like the others, they struggled to get up, gritting their teeth as they tried to force themselves up.

Telli exclaimed, "It's no use!"

Kaiju went, "What is this pressure?!"

Kell was the only one who laid there calmly, thinking, 'Those statues..inside of them…Stats.'

Kell got stats off one of the familiar statues, and he saw there was a Fighter inside of the statue against their will.

That statue was named "Cocoon".

Kell then thought, 'Hold on May, I'm coming for you. I just need to find out which statue you're being held in.'

Kell says to the others, "There's a Fighter inside one of the statues.."

Carter replied, "Is that even possible?"

"Check for yourself, old man. I just checked the stats on one of the familiars."

"I believe you. And if that's the case, then the other statues have Fighters inside of them as well."

Grey said, "Our brother has to be in one of them."

Emma nodded, "I hope Court isn't in one of them."

Kaiju thought, 'The man who defeated my father in a duel...is here. I have to be the one to beat him. It has to be me! But this pressure won't let me stand up!'

[FLASHBACK]

[15 YEARS AGO]

[Rune world]

Kaiju was standing at the arena with a bunch of other attendees, and they were cheering as Kaiju's father was fighting young Rukong.

It was a tournament going on, in which a Rukong invited other worldly warriors to fight him in his world for rewards.

Kaiju exclaimed happily, "Beat him, dad!"

Other people cheered:

"Go Rukong!"

"Keep the streak alive!"

"Don't let that elf win!"

Kaiju said to them, "Hey! Don't think my father is weak! He's pretty strong!"

"Aww you gonna cry?! Your father is getting his ass whooped!"

"But he'll win! And I'm gonna be an undefeated warrior just like him!"

"Yeah keep dreaming, elf kid!"

Minutes later, Rukong slammed his staff on Kaiju's fathers stomach, jumped and spun, and hit his father in the face with an elbow, smashing him down to the floor, beating him.

The winner was Rukong, and the crowd cheered, and some of the elf people weren't so happy.

Kaiju's father sat up after losing, and he stood up all the way, looking at Kaiju.

His father grinned, turned to Rukong, and stuck his hand out, saying, "Good fight, Sun Rukong!"

Rukong looked at Kaiju's father, and shook his hand, replying, "You are a formidable opponent. I shall consider you a friend."

Kaiju jumped over the gate, and yelled, "Dad!"

His father turned around kneeling, and replied, "Kaiju, son!"

Kaiju hugged his father, whining, "You lost..why did you lose? I thought warriors always win?"

His father chuckled, "Haha, son. Being a warrior does not always mean winning. Being a warrior means fighting for what you believe in, surpassing your limits, and fighting to beat your old self. In which I am ashamed of my old self."

His father patted Kaiju on the head, and continued, "One day, you will come to realize those things matter in being a true warrior. For you my son, will be a true warrior one day."

"Thank you..dad!"

As Kaiju hugged his father, he looked up at Rukong, and Rukong was giving him a menacing but emotionless glare, which made Kaiju give a menacing look back, but was still shook to the fore on the inside.

[FLASHBACK END]

[PRESENT DAY]

[TOWER OF VALHALLA]

…

At a nearby store, Stacen was walking out of it, holding bags of food.

She was outside, and saw hundreds of Fighters looking up at the sky, watching the golden monkey statues descend down from the clouds.

The Fighters basically commented the same thing the other Fighters said, confused as to what was going on, and some even thought a Fighter was trying to use his powers to wipe everyone out for a quick power up.

Stacen walked beside a Fighter, saying to him, "Thy Fighter, does doth hath any idea of what is becoming of now?"

"No clue, no one apparently does."

"Interesting.."

The statues turned their attention to them, and gravity weighed them down to the ground, pinning them all down.

Stacen dropped down, with her bag of food falling over the ground.

Stacen gritted her teeth, in a push-up position, struggling to get up.

Stacen thinks, 'Great heavens! I'm bound to the foundation that I walk on. As a member of the northern tribe of my world, I have a duty to be released from these strains!'

In the sky, Rukong was floating there, with golden statues surrounding him.

The statues were singing a song, with Rukong holding his staff, feeling like a real king.

Rukong said, "Yes, look at them all bow to me. This is the beginning of a new era. The beginning of the end of the old saga of hooligans without a leader to lead them, a leader with true experience, a leader on par with a god."

Inside of the statues around Rukong, sat Bebop, Gideon, May, and some other random Fighters.

Inside of Rukong's cloud house, still stood Rudy, Court, and Darthen. And they were able to see in the sky since the roof had been destroyed.

Court said, "Look at him up there.."

Rudy responds, "Darthen!"

Darthen looked at Rudy, nodding.

Rudy said, "I need you to create your mist so we can reach him! Going on that dodo bird Court has is reckless."

Court sighed, "It's a dove. Not a dodo bird. But isn't Darthen the only one who can through his own skill?"

Darthen wrote in the air: "No. I can carry up to seven people with me through the mist. But you all have to be touching me."

"Hell no."

Rudy exclaimed, "We have no choice! Just-fucking touch his shoulder or something I don't know!"

Darthen wrote in the air: "You have to grab my ass in order for us to travel together."

Rudy and Court backed up, saying together, "The hell?!!!"

Darthen wrote: "Kidding. No time for jokes during a crisis."

Rudy and Court grabbed onto Darthen's shoulder, and a gold mist came out of Darthen's body, and they were sucked into it, ascending up to where Rukong was.

The mist flowed up there softly, and they could see the pressure being weighed on the Fighters on the ground.

Court said, "He's doing that?"

Rudy replied, "More like his familiars."

Rukong turned around, and he saw the mist coming towards him.

"Impudent fools. You must doubt me to be able to try and revolt against me."

Rukong twisted his staff and hit the mist, but the mist just dispersed, and did nothing else.

Rukong thought, 'The mist didn't go away. It only happens if I hit a surface with my staff.'

Rukong made a hard cloud form under him, and he stood on it.

Rukong slammed the bottom of his staff on the cloud, which made the mist go away.

Rudy, Court, and Darthen were falling on Rukong, and Rukong smacked them all away with his tail, sending them flying through the sky, making them fall on a rooftop.

Court coughed, "That hurt!"

Rudy replied, "Obviously!"

Rukong said to them, "Do not disturb me while I am taking this all in. I was gonna let you all live so I could lead you all to paradise, but I will not any longer. I do not wish to kill anyone, but here I shall do so for your rebellion."

Court exclaimed, "But you tried to kill me earlier, weirdo!"

"You think I was actually trying? I attacked only to try and get you to learn who your king is. Even threatening you might have been enough, but your rebellion has corrupted your heart. There is no more hope for you. During our battle, I even had thoughts of killing you all, wanting to figure out loopholes to your abilities; but a worthy king should not find satisfaction in killing his people. Once all these Fighters are finished bowing long enough, they'll know that their lives are in my hands. I am…Sun Rukong."

Coming from Rukong's staff, large clouds began to come out, and those clouds formed into large monkeys with staffs that looked just like Rukong.

The cloud monkeys smashed their staff on them, destroying tall buildings in the process.

Rudy, Court, and Darthen jumped from rooftop to rooftop as they were being chased by the cloud monkeys.

The cloud monkeys destroyed more buildings as they jumped on a path of clouds with their staff trying to kill them.

Rudy jumped off a building, and turned, throwing large glowing blue rings at the clouds. The rings ripped the cloud monkeys apart, but more large cloud monkeys formed from leftover cloud, destroying more buildings with their staff.

Court yelled, "Shit! They're endless!"

Rudy yelled to Darthen, "Darthen! Create the mist again!"

Darthen nodded.

Back in City 6, Sho, Red, and the other couple of hundred Fighters were still being held to the ground.

Sho said to Red, "I've checked the stats on the statues, there's people inside. The familiars are called cocoons, with the skill to use gravity."

"Good observation. Any plans, brat?"

"What about your powers? Can't you do anything, smart ass?"

"I have three skills. I have a powerful bark, I eat things to get bigger, and I can set myself on fire with red and black flames."

"Cute.."

"You thinkin' of something?"

"It might not work, don't bug me."

"Hit me with it."

"..I could try and use my blade to point the tip to the floor, and use it to shoot myself upward into the sky.."

"I'm listening.."

"You'll use your super bark or whatever and use it on me as hard as you can, and at the same time I'll use my Extendo ability."

"What are you gonna do once you get up high?"

"I don't know, dammit. I don't know. Wait..you said you can eat things to get bigger…"

"Yeah.."

"That mean's anything?"

"Yes. But that's only if I allow the skill to work. I can eat a buffet of raw meat and not grow if I don't allow my skill to allow me to grow. That's why I didn't grow earlier."

"Eat the rocks and dust under you."

"Okay."

Red started to lick up and eat the pebbles and rocks and dust from under him, and he began eating it.

Red whined, "This is so fucking gross!"

"Shut up and keep eating! Don't whine! It's annoying! My fucking bad for not having food on me! I'll get some for you later, pet!"

"Seems like you have a soft spot in there somewhere."

"I don't, mutt. Tell me..when you grow bigger, does your bark get more powerful?"

"Yeah it does. But it makes me shrink every time I use my bark in a large form. The stronger we get, the more I'll be able to maintain my size while barking."

As Red kept eating, he started to grow bigger, but was still being weighed down. Red grew to be at least 20 feet tall, and Fighters around him looked.

The Fighter's said:

"Look!"

"The class C Fighter has a plan?"

"A red and black panda!"

Sho responded, "He's not a fucking panda!"

Sho made his blade form in his hand, and he struggled to make the tip of his blade point to the ground, but he eventually got it there.

Sho explained to Red, "We have to time it right! Don't fuck it up, mutt!"

"I should be telling you that, brat!"

"..The one behind this is the link to all of these statues and their power. Sever the link with him, and the familiars are done for."

"You mean..kill him

"That's exactly what the hell I mean. But for him to do something like this, he must be strong, so I wanna avoid fighting him. Let's focus on getting away from here, and connect to one of the statues once we're in the sky, since their gravity skills don't work on each other. And if we see the Rukong guy, we'll use his statue as a collateral hostage since he must think these things are precious to him. Now you're getting it. Ready?!"

"Ready when you are."

Sho took a deep breath, thinking, 'This plan could all go to shit, but it's worth a try. I just need to attach myself to one of the statues, and if I see Rukong, I'll use the statue as a hostage. It should definitely work! I hope.'

Sho yelled, "Extendo: 500 feet!"

Red barked as hard as he could towards Sho, and Sho shot upwards into the air.

He was going up forward pretty fast, but since the gravity skill from the familiars were heavy, he began to slow down and almost fell.

Sho thought, 'Shit! Shit! No! Keep going!'

Sho's blade kept extending, but was tilting downward because of the gravity skill. Sho was still going through the sky, and he yelled, "Red! You with me?!"

From inside of Sho, Red yelled back, "Always! We're connected now! And since I found you, I can move myself back into your body!"

"What's it look like in there?"

"Huh? What kinda question is that?"

"Answer it, dammit!"

"It's dark, and your soul is red and black."

"The hell..why?! Do all souls look like that?"

"Not at all. Even the past Takahashi's souls weren't like this! You're indeed different!"

Sho ended up shooting straight past the statues, and he didn't feel any more pressure.

Sho said, "I don't feel anymore of that gravity shit! And we missed the statues! My plan was to grab onto one and come up with another plan!"

"The gravity skill the familiars performed..it must've worn off as soon as we went past their head,, because I stopped feeling the pressure as soon as we went past their heads."

"What do you think will happen if we cut the heads off?!"

"Won't it risk the lives of the Fighters inside?"

"The way the Fighters are sitting inside of the statues, it's like they are cuddling up with themselves, they won't be hurt! But we missed the statue, now what? I had a perfectly laid out plan!"

"Relax, kid! This is a good time to learn that all plans are not always perfected, and not all plans will be successful! But we still got away from the gravity!"

"S-Shit I don't know what the hell to do now!"

"Stop panicking!"

"You stop panicking!"

As they fell downward through a cloud, they saw Rukong.

Rukong sniffed one time, and he looked upward, saying, "That blood..that scent..it's a Takahashi. Conqueror's blood..the same as that woman's…"

Rukong dashed up towards Sho, and he was followed by over 13 large monkey clouds holding staffs's

Rukong exclaimed, "You bastards! You'll pay for what you've done!"

Sho gritted his teeth, thinking, 'He's a class S Fighter! I can't fight him! Dammit! If only the damn plan worked!'

Sho yelled to Red, "Oi! Come out and use all your powers!"

Red answered, "Understood!"

Red came out of Sho, and Red was covered in large red and black flames, and Sho was using his Breathless ability, with his chest and arms covered in black and red flames.

Sho and Red's red and black flames were large like a cumulonimbus cloud, it looked like they were being swallowed by it.

Sho, Red, and Rukong got close to each other, since Sho felt like he had no choice but to at least try and fight instead of letting himself get killed. He had no choice either way.

Down below on the ground, Fighters saw this, seeing the large flames and clouds.

Even Kell, Kaiju, Emma, Grey, Stacen, Telli, Macch, and Carter.

They knew it was Sho.