The First Journey

The last lesson where Fang is forced to kill in order to survive.

Mac pits Fang against a fire demon and forces her to finish the job. Gaining her first major scar as well as prompting her to end her life as Mac's student.

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"Where are we going?"

"Someplace. Somewhere. Don't worry about it."

"Kinda worryin' about it more with you actin' weird about it..." Fang mumbled as she followed behind Macaque.

"Relax, save it for later."

Later?

Fang had been following Mac ever since he'd dragged her from their little camp into the city. Wondering what he'd been up to. It had been nearly an hour and she was starting to get bored of all the noise and people.

"Are we there yet?" Fang groaned.

"Not yet. Keep your hood on."

Turning into an alleyway they pressed on. Passing through several corridors that had seen better days and could definitely use a pressure wash and some perfume spilled all over it.

It wasn't until he paused in front of one particular wall covered in graffiti did he extend his hand and press against it. Causing a small doorway to open up and allow them entry into someplace else.

"How about now?"

"You ask me again I'm going to throw you in the ocean."

"Uuuuggghhh..."

Moving along down the stairs, they were given no lights but the occasional florescent bulb hanging from the ceiling as they turned into a small hallway with a door at the end. Approaching it Mac didn't bother to knock as he used his magic to unlock it, and suddenly the silent hall was filled with noise.

The sounds of yelling and screaming could be heard, and it made Fang's fur prickle a little at the drastic change in the air. Only when Mac moved to hold the door open for her was she able to see then where they were.

A fighting ring.

"Woah..."

Hearing the door shut behind her Fang turned to Mac as he spoke up over the crowd. "Come on, you're next."

"Wh- really?!" Suddenly her excitement was back, she hadn't fought in a ring since well...she last saw her dad, and that had been a big mess.

"Really." Mac walked through the crowd, pushing aside those that were blocking them. "Figured it was about time for you to show the world your true potential. So I set something up for you."

"In a fighting ring? No offense Uncle but I've fought in a ring before, these guys can't take a gal like me." Fang turned her attention to the fight going on down in the pit, watching as two demons fought it out. Her brow scrunched up a little however at the sight of a person laying still against the wall with a spear embedded into them.

"Good, then you shouldn't have any trouble with your final lesson." Her head snapped to him again, her final lesson??? She had only been training with him for a few years and already he was testing her?

"This place seems a bit...rough around the edges for a final lesson. You sure you don't wanna just take this outside? Maybe just hash it out one on one?" Fang froze when he stopped to turn and look at her. His eyes glowered back and made her feel like that wasn't a fight she was ever gonna win. "O-or not...this place seems cool..."

"Fang, I wouldn't of brought you here if I didn't think you were ready for it. I've taught you long enough to know your limits." Mac stated as he ignored the cheers of the surrounding crowd that watched the fight finish itself down below. "You remember what I taught you for your first lesson?"

"Of course, how could I forget..." Fang pouted at the memory of him taking her down in one fail swoop. "Let your first strike be your last."

"Because if you let them live, they'll hunt you for the rest of your life." Mac raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder, prompting her to look at him. "This fight will either be your last, or the beginning of your victory streak. I will not interfere no matter what happens. I'm telling you this because you need to learn this lesson on your own."

Looking back at him she felt her core shudder a little. His gaze wasn't so cold anymore, it held something more, pride? Was he...proud to of brought her this far? That was something she hadn't thought she'd ever feel, let alone from him. All the times he'd pushed her, she'd resented him for it, but now here he was, welcoming her to join the fight. To become a true warrior.

She swallowed that pride, and bowed to him, "I won't fail you Uncle."

"I know."

The shadows swallowed up the world around her as the announcer called the next fight. And for a brief moment there was nothing but silence. Fang sucked in a breath, and only when the noise returned did she release it.

"It's time for a new challenger everyone! I hope you're ready to place your bets against them because they'll be going up against Lan Shu of the Flaming Mountains!" The announcer's voice echoed around the room. Plenty of demon's booed off the get go, but Fang tuned them out, she had a fight to win after all.

Looking up she watched as the demon in question swung down from the cage keeping the outsiders at bay, landing on their feet and standing proudly. They were tall, pretty muscular with dark red skin and jet black hair. Their eyes burned like black coals and their horns sat adorned with golden rings. She probably would've checked him out if her master hadn't been watching her.

"This new opponent is a last minute entry brought in by the feared 'Puppeteer' a classic masked assailant that has haunted these grounds for nearly a century!"

'The puppeteer? Geeze, he's a walking cliche'.' Fang thought with a snort, her eyes catching her opponents as he cracked his neck.

"Lets hope they give as good of a show as he does folks, because all bets are now closed, and man are the stakes high tonight with Lan Shu's eighth streak of the night!"

Letting out a huff of fire Lan Shu lowered themselves into a fighting stance, "Lets make this quick runt, I've got bigger game to hunt than you."

"Sure thing." Fang rolled her shoulders as she pushed her arms into an angled stance. Watching how the other moved. She was pondering if they were a fire demon, she could feel the heat from here. She'd have to end the fight quickly if she didn't want them to overheat and win by roasting her alive.

As soon as she heard the bell, she shot herself off forwards. And instantly had to roll to the side as a flurry of fireballs came flying her way.

Oh yeah, definitely a fire demon.

Throwing herself to the wall she used it to gain some ground as she ran along it, dodging fire all the while until she felt close enough to jump at him. Clanging her cuffs together, she used the weight to grant her more momentum and slammed into the ground where he'd leapt to avoid her. Pulling herself up out of the small crater she pushed on, running at him to give him little room to retaliate with his fire. She tried to keep at his sides, jabbing and punching where she could get an angle in, all the while he threw fistfuls of fire at her. Eventually catching her in the shoulder with one and causing her to back off briefly.

"I'll admit, you're a fast lil thing..." Lan Shu blew some steam from his nose as he circled his side of the ring.

"Back atcha..." Was Fang's only response as she mimicked him, trying to get an idea of what his next move would be.

She could feel his gaze from across the field, he was eyeing her up, "Not much for talking like your supporter is."

"Not much to chat about." Fang took a breath, before using her chi to summon a brief whirlwind at the guy. Trying to use what she could to temporarily blind the guy and get a hit in. Although as she began to move forward she felt the heat rising as a spark of fire ignited the air where she was heading, prompting her to suddenly leap into the air. Just barely missing a huge mess of fire that was thrown off her attack.

"Don't you know that old saying of fanning the flames?" The demon called up to her, watching as she hung from the cage above them. "How the hell are you gonna fight me all the way up there??"

Ignoring their words, Fang began to concentrate. It was clear she was going to need extra protection to take this guy down, and what better to use then but her Knuckle Buster technique? Taking a steady breath she began to draw out her chi and solidify it into her palms, concentrating on solidifying it as much as she possibly could to keep it altogether.

Watching her make a move caused her opponent to make one of his own in an effort to get to her. As she summoned her chi to protect her, he summoned a large fireball, only condensing it somewhat before chucking it up at her.

Just when it looked like she might not move, the ball exploded where she was, and for a split second there was nothing but smoke and embers. But a second later she came falling like a hail mary, both hands clasped together as she struck below her.

Lan Shu barely dodged it, the impact throwing him back against the walls and the crowd forced to look away as dirt and debris scattered.

A spark of gold was all Lan Shu could see before he felt something solid connect with his jaw, forcing him back up against the wall again as several quick jabs hit him.

Only when a more concentrated hit was sent into his gut was the dust pushed away and the crowd could see the absolute mess Fang was making with her opponent.

There was definitely blood being coughed up from him, as she barely gave him a moment of reprieve in her onslaught of attacks. But when she went in for a low kick he blocked her with his own, granting him a second to pull his arms up and block any more of her punches. This only pushed her to hit harder as the Chi was quickly draining her stamina. But as her hits slowed Lan Shu took it as a moment to strike, and blew hot flames from his mouth at her. Prompting her to bring her own arms up to block most of the hit as she finally backed off.

From there he began to push her back, throwing fire her way while making an attempt to slide in a few punches. She couldn’t find an opening to retaliate, and it eventually caused her to fall away altogether when he hit her with a rather nasty kick to the gut.

Stumbling back, Fang held her ground before realizing she was now the one getting backed into a corner, and looked around for anything to help seize her way to freedom. Catching the glint of a spear that was lodged in the chest of a previously fallen opponent, she took that as her brief distraction needed to get in close again. And performed a similar feat of rolling out of the way before running along the wall to grab it.

Lan Shu tried to follow her with his flames, and she could certainly feel the heat licking at her from beneath her jacket, some holes still singed. But upon nabbing the weapon and launching it his way with a burst of chi, he was forced to cease his fire momentarily if not to jump out of the way. Giving Fang the leverage she needed to rush him once more.