//------------------------------// // Ken Vs. Ahuizotl // Story: The Heart of Battle // by Eagle //------------------------------// As the clouds continued to cloak the sky, a tall, muscular man charged his way through the darkness quickly, his feet trampling the grass of the plain. The wind from the coming storm was pushing in the opposite direction, though he refused to allow it to hinder his progress. Other than the occasional lightning, it was nearly pitch black, but that would not stop him either. He knew that his friend was somewhere around here, and regretted not arriving sooner. Every minute that passed could be another minute closer to Ryu’s defeat, and possible death; he could not let something like that happen. He was not horribly worried, as Ryu could defeat Bison, and most others he fought. Still, the odds were against him; he wanted to help his friend, he had to. However, when he arrived at the site, Ryu was gone, and Bison was nowhere to be seen either. In their place, there was an unconscious Rose and a barely-standing Guy; and along with that, an odd, circular contraption glowing in the back. Guy wearily went over what he could remember in a grim manner, properly matching the nature of the scenario. The summary of it was simple: Ryu was lost in another place, possibly another world, in an unknown condition. So too was Bison, which made things worse rather than better. Regardless of the odds, he would be going through as well. Someone had too; there was no one else around, at least none that were not already thoroughly crippled by the fighting. But regardless of where it went, or what was there, he was planning on following anyways. His friend was in danger, and Ken was not going to leave him to die. “Alright,” Ken pondered, looking over an abandoned stone structure of what looked like some kind of winged animal, unrecognizable from the decay and overgrowth of foliage. “A jungle, some ruins… Mexico?” That was his best guess, based around the area he was in. Since he had fallen into wherever he was, he had been wandering about trying to find any sign of civilization, or life in general. Other than some odd animal noises, those ruins were the closest thing he had seen to it. They looked a good deal like the abandoned ruins in pictures of southern Mexico, and the jungle area around was similar to such jungles; thick, but not too thick. But Bison’s machine was supposed to be a transporter to another world, not other countries. But the key to that was that it was supposed to; there was never a guarantee that it would. Perhaps there was some kind of malfunction, or maybe it was just not built correctly; though that seemed unlikely with Bison. Either way, nothing could be done about that now. The main objective for him was to find Ryu, or something that could lead him to Ryu in turn. “Well, no point in sight-seeing,” he thought. “I’m only going to find answers if I keep moving.” Despite being totally lost, he was not without some kind of guidance. He had made his way here after walking about in the jungle for a few hours, and to his luck there was a small, but noticeable, dirt path that led from the somewhat cleared area the statue stood at. In fact, there were several paths, but Ken chose to follow the most obvious choice, and picked the most obvious path. The one that was largest and clearest, stretching and turning back into the forest like a snake. He took a moment to ponder what could happen here, if this really was a new world. What would its population be like? And what would they do to Ryu if they found him? And if it turned out to be something bad, what would fighting them be like? Would he be able to beat them? “Course I will!” he mentally reminded himself. “I have to try. Whatever this place has, I’ll find a way to beat it like anything else.” Not much else was going on in his head as he traveled. The only thing on his mind was the task at hand. It had control over much of his focus, and time seemed to slip by much faster thanks to that. Despite this he was still on alert for being in an unknown land; not totally on edge for every movement, but he was paying some attention to detail at the least. But there were not many details worth looking into as he continued along his journey. Not until he reached another small, circular clearing similar to many others he had passed. He had just moved across to the other end and was going to continue when a loud noise caught his attention. There was a loud snap from the direction of where he had come from, as if a tree had just been cracked in two. And it did not end with that; sounds of rustling and trampling could be heard, getting louder and closer, quickly approaching his position. “Guess the welcoming party’s here,” he said to himself, keeping his arms close to him and ready to strike or block whatever came out. “Better make a good first impression.” He quickly prepared himself for whatever was coming, stretching for a second and getting into his fighting stance. He was not sure if the strangers would be friendly or not, but he was not going to take a chance with it. And the chaotic noise seemed to indicate that things were not calm. Even if they were hostile, he was confident in his skill; he would fight, and beat, whatever was about to charge out at him. And judging from the noise, it would not be long before the locals that he had been pondering over arrived. Finally, the culprit burst into the area from a part of the jungle wall in a flurry of leaves. To his surprise, it was not human, not even close. But, at the same time, it was not threatening enough to be called a monster or beast. As it stood up quickly, it gave off the impression of a small horse, though it was certainly more than that. Its coat coloring was a light brown, not unusual in itself; but the hair was a dark black and styled in a fashion that looked almost human. To add to that, it was fully dressed in a jacket and hat, much like a person would. It did not seem at all threatening; in fact, it looked to be running from something, and it continued to do so until it spotted Ken and quickly screeched to a halt just in front of him. Ken was too bewildered to strike at the animal, but it did not seem to hold anything against attacking him. It quickly drove one of its hooves forward, only for it to be caught by one of the fighter’s hands. Ken pushed it back, with enough force to send the horse tumbling to the ground. But when it did not recover, he refrained from following it up. It did not look like it wanted to fight, and he was right in that assumption. But he did not anticipate the animal to talk in response. “Get out of the way!” it yelled in a half-demand, half warning. It fluttered its wings, the first time Ken noticed these, and flew ahead, looking to get by; the man stopped it with ease and held it in place. “Whoa whoa, hold up!” he warned, guessing that this would be the first, maybe only, chance at help he would get. “How can you-” “Are you one of Ahuizotl’s minions?” the pegasus demanded. “Did he hire some new creature from a faraway land to catch me or something? Cause it’s not going to work!” “Hey, back off! I’m no servant!” Ken responded immediately. He was unsure of exactly who or what the pegasus was referring to, but he knew he was no one’s servant. “Yea? How do I know you’re not lying?” she asked quickly, obviously in a hurry. “Cause I haven’t pummeled you yet.” “Then get out of the way! Don’t you know he’s coming after me!?” she rhetorically asked, trying to move around him. “No, I don’t know what’s coming after you,” Ken replied, side-stepping to block her path. “But I would like some help, cause I’m kind of lost-” “I can tell, but you’re going to end up way worse if we don’t keep moving; at least I will.” She tried once more to get around Ken, succeeding this time and almost taking off before something he said caught her attention. “I doubt that,” he predicted. “In fact, I think I can help you with your little problem.” “What? How is some weird… thing going to help me? Why even?” “Like I said, this isn’t my neck of the woods,” he joked, not being caught by the pegasus. “So I’ll ‘persuade’ whatever’s coming after to back off, and you help me find out where I need to go. Deal?” “Fight Ahuizotl!? Do you even know who he is?” “No, but I do know that I’ve beaten guys with a lot scarier names than that,” he said, not giving much assurance to her. “Ugh, fine!” she relented, knowing the pursuer in question was close. “But if you can’t handle things, I’m out of here; I’m not sticking around and getting captured again because of some hot head.” “I won’t expect you to,” he replied, turning back to face the rustling noise. “And I won’t be needing it, either.” Despite what he said, Ken was still not sure of just what he would be fighting against; not after that short encounter. Perhaps it was another horse, or something else entirely. Regardless of what it was, he was sure he could beat it; just how difficult that fight would be was not as clear. But he would win all the same, he had to. He did not want to think about what would happen otherwise. The foliage began to shudder again, much heavier this time, until large beast jumped clear through it and into the clearing. It was far stranger, and more threatening, than the small horse, and seemed more like a giant, bluish dog with hands in the place of its forelegs. Landing on all fours, it let out a growl, during which Ken noticed that its eyes seemed to be lowered down to almost above the mouth. Despite it being an intimidating image overall, he found that particular detail to be outright ridiculous, easing his anxiety to the point of near hilarity. “Is this the thing that’s chasing you?” Ken asked, despite the answer being rather obvious. “Heh, alright; I’ll take care of the big bad wolf for you.” Despite the desire to run down the pegasus, the creature held back. The strange biped, standing between him and his target, was a development that could not have been predicted. Ken, on the other hand, was ready to get the battle started and finished, or preferably avoid it and save some time. “You’re the one she’s talking about, right?” he asked, motioning to the pegasus behind him. “Ahu… something… what was it?” “Ahuizotl,” the answer came, with a noticeable hint of pride. “And I would suggest you move aside at once; I have business to attend to with Daring Do.” “Who? My new friend?” Ken guessed, keeping his place as the pegasus shimmied away to the other end of the arena. “Sorry, can’t do that; I need her help. Can’t let you kill my only guide.” “I don’t think you understand the consequences of what you’re-” “Look, I’m kind of in a hurry, so just run back home before I have to hurt you, alright?” Ken asked, somewhat hoping he would listen, but knowing better. “Go on, maybe I’ll toss you a bone if you do!” Ahuizotl, who had very little patience from the beginning, lost what little he had after this, flaring with anger at the insult. He was close to capturing his rival, and did not intend to fail this time. And the only thing in his way was an odd brute with a big mouth. “Do you think you can stop me!? I will tear you to shreds!” “You’ve got a temper, don’t you? Guess I’ll have to teach you how to behave,” Ken taunted with a smug grin, pointing at him. “And it’s going to be more than a slap on the nose!” Ahuizotl gave off another growl, far less impressive than the initial one, as the human had heard it already. “You’ve wasted enough time already! I will not let you off all things stand in the way!” he stated in a fearsome voice. “But if you’re so intent, fine! I’ll defeat you and you can share a brutal end with that annoying pegasus, and we’ll see how smug you are in agonizing pain!” “Just try pal! There’s only one guy who can beat me, and it isn’t you,” he replied, returning to his fighting stance. “So, bring it on!” Ahuizotl pushed off with his hind legs and lunged at Ken, intent on grabbing and tearing him apart at once. Ken reacted quicker, and countered immediately. He turned, aimed, and shot his right leg out in a stiff kick that, as it reached its peak force, collided with his opponent, ramming into him like a thrusting spear. Ahuizotl was driven backwards, and fell onto the ground on his back before slowly recovering. “You gotta try harder than that!” Ken called out, motioning with his hand for the dog to try again. “Come on, at least let me warm up!” Ahuizotl did not bother replied, but jumped once again; though this time it was only to close the distance, rather than a direct attack. He was close enough to the human to strike again, and as soon as he was within range, he brought his hand up to swipe down at him. Ken raised his own arm to deflect this, and sent it back just as another one from the beast’s other limb was coming at his center. This, too, was halted by his own block. Ahuizotl jabbed a few more times which, though quick, made no progress in breaking his defense. Ken kept his focus and control the entire time, reacting to each movement and moving to stop it. He was ready to counter-attack when something caught him by surprise. Ahuizotl, failing to hit him yet again, dropped to his fours as his tail shot over his back, with a hand of its own forming into a fist, aimed directly at Ken’s head. Ken quickly threw up his own hand and intercepted the surprise assault, throwing the tail back. Though it quickly shot back down to strike again, like a lunging viper. Ken elected to avoid this one and just barely ducked out of the way. Closer to the ground, he took the opportunity to go on the offense and swung his leg in a circular kick towards his foe. To his credit, Ahuizotl’s reactions were getting sharper, and he yanked his forelegs up quickly, forcing himself onto his hind legs and allowing the kick to hit nothing more than the air in front of him. Ken too noticed this, and was surprised that he could avoid it, but also saw his follow-up move before the first strike was even done. As the leg went around, completing its seemingly futile circle, Ken quickly pushed up from the ground and brought his fist forward, aiming up and out. The reflex stalemate ended as Ken’s uppercut pushed forward, hitting the standing adversary in the chest, and running all the way up to strike his chin. Ken pushed up from the ground, driving all the force upwards and sending Ahuizotl flying backwards. He also went airborne, but in a far more controlled, stylish fashion, returning the extended arm to his side as his body completed the spin before returning to the ground. “Now that’s a move!” he exclaimed, obviously satisfied. “A little less predictable and you might even make average.” “Enough of this!” He attacked with both hands stretched out again, which Ken stopped with his own. But Ahuizotl held them there as his tail reached out again, grabbing the man’s head before he could react, and flinging him full over to the other side of the clearing. Ken landed hard in a roll, but recovered quick enough to see the tail reaching out to him again. Only this time, he caught it. “What!?” Ahuizotl shouted, outwardly showing a sense of sheer surprise for the first time. Ken yanked forward, grabbing another part of the tail with his other hand, and pulled hard. Ahuizotl was yanked from the ground violently, and flew in his direction. Ken pulled with all his strength and tugged the tail, and the thing attached to it, full on in his direction, a bit to the side so he would not be in the way. The momentum was enough to send Ahuizotl flying directly into a nearby tree-trunk, back first, and hitting the ground with an audible groan. “Heh… nice try, but not nice enough,” Ken panted out before recovering. “So are we done now? I got a friend to find.” To his surprise, Ahuizotl not only regained his footing but, after a few seconds charged him again in a rough, blind rage. But it was plain to see he was using up whatever energy was left in him for one last attack. And Ken was planning on using that to his advantage so his enemy would not make this mistake again. He waited until Ahuizotl was in the final lunge jumping directly at him with regard for caution. Ken pointed at him with a smug grin, twisted himself back, and prepared his own attack. “This’ll hurt!” he warned, though not nearly with enough time for the attacker to react. Ken spun the other direction of his twist like a top and launched into an angled hurricane kick, with his foot not only ramming into Ahuizotl, but becoming enflamed in the process, along with the target. Ten flaming kicks were landed in one continuous roundhouse pushing back a fair distance in the opposite direction, with the last one catching onto Ahuizotl and launching him upwards. With the end in sight, Ken twisted backwards and delivered a final, flaming reverse roundhouse at the falling victim, hitting him hard in the neck and sending him flying back almost to the starting point of the move. Ken was winded at this point, but not hurt. Ahuizotl, on the other hand, was clearly disabled, and would not be getting up to challenge the man again. All the same, Ken made the effort to head over and check him, to ensure no further surprises; the vanquished foe was badly beaten, but still breathing. He would live, but he was too hurt to continue, and that was perfect for Ken. “You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that,” Ken commented, looking over Ahuizotl. “Any last words before I get back on the road?” “Curse… you,” the beast mumbled in a groan. “You can curse me with the seven plagues; I’ll always be the better fighter,” Ken stated before turning back around and looking for his new companion. Daring had been watching from a safe distance, not wanting to interfere with the brutal battle. But even as he returned, Ken could tell she was surprised from outcome, shocked even. Of course, he always did like to pull off a victory with some style to make the match a show, but he guessed that was not the only reason. “Alright, a deal’s a deal,” he reminded her, walking back up to the pegasus. “You think you can help me?” Daring had watched the entire battle, and still did not believe the outcome. She could never beat Ahuizotl in a one-on-one brawl, and yet this warrior had made it look so simple, as if he had no real power to begin with. She was at a loss of words, so she chose to simply reply and move along. “A-alright… how did… how did you beat him?” she asked. “I just did,” Ken replied simply, as if it were common sense. “I trained harder, and I fought better… and I guess he didn’t.” “Oh… ok,” she agreed, thinking it was best not to dwell too much on it. “I guess we should-” Daring stopped herself, realizing something important she had forgotten. “Sorry, but I didn’t get your name; and I guess I should know that if we’re going to be travelling together,” she said. “I mean, you know mine, cause… well Ahuizotl kept yelling it.” “Ken Masters,” he said, happy to have finally found someone, or something, he could work with. “Hope you don’t mind if we chat a little on the way; I’ve got a few questions I’d like answered.”