Chapter 41 - Skilled Foes

"Well, this was harder than I thought it was going to be," Ronnie admits.

As Ronnie, Elizabeth, & Alex all look toward Graham, Marcus looks toward the door that's passed him.

"Since Blanko & Graham are here, that must mean Vanessa's behind that door," Marcus says.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Blanko asks as he walks over, also getting ready to fight the group.

"Because you just told them," Graham tells Blanko.

"DAMN IT!" Blanko says.

Ronnie looks over to Marcus and says, "You go to the door, we'll hold these people off."

"You sure?" Marcus asks.

"Of course bub!" Alex remarks as he gets in a boxing stance, "We can take care of these nobodies!"

"Yeah, don't worry about us and get going!" Elizabeth remarks.

Alex and Blanko rush toward one another and exchange blows while Elizabeth & Ronnie begin their attack on Graham. Now with the opportunity, Marcus rushes through toward the long hallway. However when he is about to reach the hallway he feels his legs get lifted off the ground.

"Huh?" Marcus remarks as he realizes Graham is holding him up by the shirt.

"Sorry but you aren't going any further!" Graham remarks as he holds Marcus in place.

"Hey let go of him!" Ronnie reacts as he goes to punch Graham only for his meaty hand to catch Ronnie's fist, "Whu-"

Graham effortlessly tosses Ronnie away. However with him distracted Elizabeth manages to sneak in and deliver a kick straight into Graham's right calf. 

"Didn't see that coming did ya!" Elizabeth remarks.

With his grip on Marcus loosened, the scrawny teen manages to break free and run down the hall. Graham tries to go after him however when he does so he feels a punch land on his face from Ronnie.

"Did you forget about us!" Ronnie yells as he goes for another punch.

Graham sighs as he turns to face the two teens.

"Have it your way then," Graham remarks.

As Marcus rushes down the hall, he manages to finally reach the door only to see it has a keypad lock on it which requires a three digit combination.

"Oh come on!" Marcus groans as he tries every possible combination.

Meanwhile, over at the main downstairs area, Alex is throwing jab after jab toward Blanko, however the freckled teen manages to bob and weave through each attack, avoiding them with ease.

"So you know a thing or two about boxing, aye?" Alex asks as he attempts a left hook.

"A little but it isn't exactly my specialty," Blanko begins to say as he avoids the left hook.

Alex gets ready for another hook however just as he's about to do so, his vision is obscured by Blanko's leg as the freckled teen performs a hook kick, sending the leg careening into Alex's face.

"That'll have to go to kickboxing!"

Blanko goes to move his leg back however it won't budge.

"Is that so?" Alex asks as after taking the hit he grabbed onto the teen's leg with one of his arms, "Since you wanna talk so much, how about I let you in on something a friend of mine taught me!"

Blanko tries to have his leg escape Alex's grip, but it can't until Alex delivers a punch to his gut.

"You don't always have to aim for the face!" Alex yells as he goes for another gut punch.

The second hit lands, causing Blanko to stumble back. The teen having the wind knocked out of him takes a second to catch his breath before he rushes toward Alex.

"Fine then! Have it your way!"

Blanko begins to go for a kick to Alex's right calf, Alex steps out of the range of the attack however that kick was just a feint for Blanko's uppercut, which lands clean on Alex's chin, sending him stumbling back.

"What are you an idiot or something?" Blanko asks as he combos with an overhead hook, "Why would I tell you what my next move is!"

Alex takes a step back as he regains his footing.

"What? Have enough already, chump?" Blanko asks with a coy smirk.

"Not at all," Alex yells as he sends a left hook toward Blanko's face, "I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"

"Oh really?" Blanko sighs in relief as he counters by sending a right hook toward Alex's face, "CAUSE NEITHER HAVE I!"

The two blows land at the same time. However that doesn't slow either down as they continue to exchange blow after blow. While that's happening, Elizabeth & Ronnie keep on wailing on Graham Dirt who towers above them unphased.

"I don't get it, does he take no damage?" Elizabeth gasps.

"And why the hell does he not fight back?" Ronnie gasps.

Elizabeth performs a side kick into the side of Graham's torso while Ronnie does a gut punch at the same time. The two proceed to send several more attacks into Graham's body, yet no matter how powerful they are, he still stands unphased. Eventually Graham uses both of his hands to lift the two teens into the air.

The two wait for him to attack them. 

And they wait.

And wait.

And wait.

But nothing occurs, instead he just holds them off the ground with his outstretched arms as you would a shopping bag.

"What gives? Not gonna hit back?" Elizabeth asks.

"Well duh, you guys are children, I don't hit kids," Graham states matter of factly.

"How old are you again?" Ronnie questions.

"That doesn't matter," Graham remarks, "It's rude to beat up the weak anyways."

"So you think we're weak?" Ronnie remarks.

"Yes that's what I just-" Graham tries to explain however as he does so Ronnie spits into the man's eye. 

Instinctively, Graham lets go of the two teens and rubs his eyes, which gives the two the chance they were looking for. Ronnie slams his left elbow into the side of Graham's head while simultaneously Elizabeth delivers a second calf kick into the exact same spot she did before.

"How's that for weak!" Ronnie yells.

As Graham takes a step back, he realizes he's feeling something no person in the north save for a few has been able to make him feel recently.

It may not be much, but he's feeling pain.

"How did you-" Graham grunts.

"I admit it's a bit disgusting," Ronnie remarks, "But so is what you did to Amnestor!"

"Marcus is probably already talking to their boss!" Elizabeth says to Ronnie, "We just need to last a little while longer until that's finished!"

Hearing those words Graham can't help but laugh a little.

Ronnie & Elizabeth look confused.

"You're talking about Vanessa, right?" Graham questions, "Sorry but she's not our boss. She's just a standard member like us."

"She's not?" Ronnie questions, "Then who is?"

"You'll get to meet one of them soon," Graham tells them, "The second-in-command of Dirty Fang."

Just as he says that, they all begin to hear footsteps make their way down the staircase causing all of them to stop fighting and see who is coming down. Elizabeth & Ronnie prepare for the worst as they get ready to face whoever this second-in-command is.

However, the person who walks down the stairs is Hunter Huntingson, followed by Mesto & Andy Nibble.

"Hunter?!" Ronnie yells.

"So looks like you guys started without me?" Hunter remarks as he cracks his knuckles, "No big deal, there's still some heads I can crack open!"

"You again!" Blanko says shocked to see Hunter.

"That's right, and I'm here to wipe you guys off the face of this planet!" Hunter says as he gets ready to fight them, "you made me lose my baby!"

"YOUR BABY?!" Alex, Ronnie, & Elizabeth shout confused, not knowing he means his metal baseball bat.

"You guys took something from me, I'm going to need it back," Mesto tells them.

"You can find it as soon as I beat their teeth in!" Hunter snarls.

However before Hunter can do anything, he feels something press against his body.

It's two arms, wrapped around him leaving Hunter at the mercy of a rear naked choke.

"I was wondering why you showed up with them, Boss," Graham remarks.

Hunter tries to escape from the rear naked choke, but he can't and he eventually passes out from lack of oxygen. The person who grabbed him lets go of Hunter causing him to fall to the ground.

"Sorry, I didn't want my hands to get dirty but he didn't leave me with much of a choice," The Second-In-Command of Dirty Fang, the man in the bucket hat, Andy Nibble states, "Now then, I'm sure we can resolve all of your personal little grievances peacefully. Am I wrong?"

_______________

Down at the very end of the long hallway, an exhausted Marcus finally tries the combination '1-1-1' and the door finally unlocks.

"Why didn't I try that beforehand?" Marcus wonders out loud.

As Marcus pushes the door open, he can see that in the room is none other than Vanessa Deli, the person he's been trying to reach all this time.

The person who's left him with a question.

A question that brought him all the way here.

A question that he's ready to have answered.

See You Next Chapter!~