Chapter 3: Only the Strong Survive

As soon as it started, people were already getting sent flying out of the ring. Xander, knocking a few weak ones out, noticed the girl with the single long braid and the guy with the white dreads. "She looks like she uses Taekwondo too", he said to himself, "and I think that's Muay Thai that that guy is using". A bunch of guys surrounded the guy with the cards. "Oh, look, I'm surrounded", he said nonchalantly, "or am I?". He threw a deck of cards up into the air and they shot down at the surrounding guys, exploding on contact. "Cards in my favor today", he said. The Braided girl, kicking away a few small fries, looked over at Xander. She stared at him before deciding to confront him. But she was immediately cut off by a large guy. "Pretty lady fight Al, Al win", he said. She looked him with uncaring look and jumped up, spun around, and put the back of her foot to the back of his neck. "Well, Al, I'm flattered but busy so MOVE IT!!", she said, slamming his face into the ground with the back of her foot. Then she continued towards Xander, who by this point, racked up a big score.

"That's 25 now, I'm on a roll", he said to himself. "Man, this is wild and kinda hectic", he thought to himself. Just then, a guy came up behind Xander to try to push him off, since Xander was close to the Ring's edge. He noticed him and turned to attack, only to find the guy face planted into the stadium wall. The braided girl kicked him away before Xander could attack the guy. "She's fast", he thought. "Nice save, thanks", he said to her. "Just don't lose in the first half of the prelims like an idiot", she said to him. Then they both got surrounded. They pushed their backs together and started to fight them off. "So, pretty lady, what's your name?", Xander asked. "Geez, you're straight-forward", she responded. "Hey, gotta start somewhere, right? The name's Xander, Xander Storm", he said. She grew quiet as she finished take out the ones she had to deal with. "So, much for small talk", Xander said. She walked off towards the middle of the ring, but before she left, she said, "Rai-lyn Agwuegbo, that's my name and make sure you don't stand so close to the Ring's edge, you'll be easy pickings for someone". Xander smiled and said to himself, "got it, Rai-lyn".

After only a matter of minutes, the massive conglomerate of participants shrunk to a group of people. "10 minutes left to go, fighters", the announcer said. Xander stopped fighting for a minute, "man, time flew, beating heads does help time pass I guess", he said to himself. Then the guy with the white dreads appeared and tried to kick Xander. Xander countered the kick with his own kick. "This is a game where only the strong survive, so there's no time for you to rest and think", he said. "Gee thanks for the tip", Xander said sarcastically as he pushed him away. "I'm Jackson Agu, the guy who will become the King of the martial arts world", he proclaimed. "The king of martial arts, huh, isn't it a little early to claim that title?", Xander mocked. "Xander Storm's the name and kicking ass is my game", Xander said, noticing how cheesey it sounded. Jackson looked Xander up and down. "See anything you like?", Xander joked. "Just a worthy enough prey", Jackson said, licking his lips. "Oh, prey huh, then let's turn the hunter into the hunted", Xander said smiling.