The battle was heated, the tension tense. Blow followed by blow, the fight stretched on. They fought with a type of confidence that one may not have in their entire lives.
Their vigilance was immeasurable. Their ability incalculable. Lautaro and Macell were two warriors made for eternal combat. Neither willing to stop, they kept pushing the limits of human capability in their brawl across the unexplored.
It seemed like Macell was gaining the upper hand. His punches were always hitting and he kept using the dempsey roll to maximum efficiency. Lautaro was slow and sluggish, his movements were less coordinated, less creative. Lautaro was running out of stamina but Macell was not.
Macell was a nonstop force. He was a machine. He had his cogs always oiled and his gears fast enough to spin the entire world. Macell was known as the most mechanical boxer in his gym. Sure he lacked creativity, but he made up for it in talent and in skill.
The boxers at his gym quite literally said that he was too good. He knew the basics, he knew past the basics. That was why he was winning. Because he was too good at what he did. He was too good at boxing.
Macell kept swinging. His resolve was stuffed into his bloodied fists as each blow to Lautaro was brilliantly placed. Fist after fist he hurt and he hurt more. He was going to win he had to.
Salvey watched as his captain was being beat. He wanted to interfere but Lautaro refused to accept his help. Salvey did not know what Lautaro was thinking but whatever ploy he had in mind was not coming to fruition.
But Salvey kept watching, analysing every movement that Lautaro and Macell made. He wanted to improve, he had always wanted to improve. To make his brother proud. After all his brother had given too much for him to go to school, he could not let his brother down.
Lautaro was getting used as a punching bag. He was getting slow, his body was failing him. In his old body he probably would have destroyed all his opponents in a single day but he had to accept the fact that he was not in his original body. So now Lautaro faced a detriment, if the fight kept going he was going to lose.
Macell simply was in a better condition than he was. Maybe if he had more energy then he could win but the surge of energy every main character gets simply did not arrive.
"Break."
Lautaro said panting.
"What?"
"In boxing isn't there usually a break?"
"Yes, but this isn't an official match."
"You're still a boxer aren't you? Just give me a 1 minute break."
Macell looked at Lautaro intently. He then nodded almost disappointed.
Lautaro walked to Salvey.
"I think I might lose."
"What do you mean you think you might lose."
"I mean I might lose this fight."
"Then how will you unite all the schools? If you can't beat him here then you stand no chance against the others."
"I'll find that out later, but do you have any candy?"
Salvey checked his back pocket and brought a piece of gum and before he could speak Lautaro snatched it and devoured it.
He then cackled as if he was perfectly fine. He blew a bubble and went back into the ring.
"Now I feel better. Let's run it back Macell."
"You were getting demolished when we were fighting before. Do you really want to try me again?"
Lautaro smirked before saying.
"I guess we'll just have to find out."
He charged back in with a surprising burst of power. His Capoeria was in full effect but Macell still had stamina.
Lautaro went for a fast kick to the head, Macell attempted to catch his leg but was caught off guard by the trickery of Lautaro. Lautaro switched his direction and went for a driving kick to his neck. Macell winced at this then tried to kick Lautaro but Lautaro countered by going head to head with Macell's fist.
As knee and fist collided in array of violence. Blood was shed and battle went on its catastrophic course. Macell did what he did best which was throw hands. Lautaro was sent peddling back as he evaded and nimbly dodged the onslaught of hooks.
Lautaro used his Capoeria to move around and past his opponent avoiding every blow thrown. Lautaro acted as he normally would and started to taunt Macell. Lautaro kept dodging backwards and was successful at it.
It wasn't until Lautaro could not move back longer did he realize what Macell was doing. He had cornered him into a wall. Macell went for a heavy swing at him but it was almost just a dream.
Macell was upside down in the air again. He saw the stone tiles of the school floor and the beige wall. Then it came.
BANG
BANG
BANG
Lautaro performed three well placed kicks. One to his thighs. The other on the opposite side of his solar plexus. The final cosmos destroying kick went straight to his head. Macell was humbly place into the wall as if he lived in there. Macell was sat down.
Blood dripped from the walls as Macell's broken figure was on full display. His mafia winced at the sight and Salvey was star struck.
'How?'
That was the only thought Macell thought. How did he lose. He was winning just mere minutes ago. How did Lautaro gain the energy and strength to come back. Macell was angry, he had just been put through an actual wall. He could not let that happen to him. He was to good for it to happen to him.
Lautaro looked around to speak to Macell's mafia.
"When he wakes up tell him he's on my crew."
Lautaro panted heavily. It was more than a good fight, it was the definition of exhilaration. Lautaro smiled, with his same wide grin. He was about to walk over to Salvey until his both his eyes turned black.
Something was wrong. Something was so very wrong. He felt an ominous presence behind him. He heard the crumbling of stone. His ears twitched at the sound of heavy breaking, then there was silence.
Lautaro turned his head around slowly and saw a monster. Macell was bloodied and beat yet he still stood. Macell looked at Lautaro with a forlorn expression. He was not happy.
His arms were hanging low and his stance was that of a treacherous beast.
Lautaro was sent back to the White Room.
He was facing a monster. No, a machine. A machine that never stopped working. It did not matter whether its gears were oiled or it was put in the most unfavourable predicament. It kept going.
Macell managed to balance himself and his uncanny aura was pulsating. Wave after wave it drowned Lautaro so much so he started to reach for his throat.
Lautaro was tired and hurt and yet he was supposed to win? There was simply no way.
"You used that move again. I don't like it when someone uses that move."
Macell said in a low guttural voice.
Then the charge came. The Machine of Perefection lunged at Lautaro, closing the distance in mere moments. Lautaro tried to block the overhead but was met with the destruction of an uppercut.
Lautaro was sent flying back. He tried to initiate his Capoeria once again but the machine just stood there and watched. Its expression was blank and void, as if to tell Lautaro he was not worth any emotion.
Lautaro attacked over and over again. The kicks landed but they didn't. Each kick was energy wasted, each dance move was utterly futile. No matter how hard he had struck the Machine of Perfection he never hurt him.
He was going to lose. He knew it. But he could not let it happen, he had to keep fighting. He had an entire new universe to discover. He had intricately awesome friends to advance with. He had a lost brother to find. He could not lose he had to give it his all.
He kicked and punched harder, harder than ever before. He saw cracks. Fractures in the machine's perfect formation. His stance shifted. He was pushed back. Macell was on the defense and Lautaro never stopped.
Because he had the world to fight for. A world he would explore and adventure. So Lautaro kept fighting and pushing. He pushed his limits. He pushed the limits of the perfect machine. He saw a glimpse of victory.
Macell was done with the waiting. He was back to boxing. He caught one of Lautaro's heavy kicks and slammed him to the floor like he was a ragdoll. Macell held him up high and punched him face over and over again. Even though it was hopeless Lautaro kept fighting.
He kicked and punched. No matter the cost he had to win, right? Macell sent Lautaro to the floor. He looked at Lautaro and he looked at himself.
He started to laugh. The difference between him and Lautaro was massive. In the intermission of school Lautaro had no person to bandage him up. He had to go outside for a lame gym class. Macell was at a massive advantage and Lautaro was heavily disadvantaged.
He kept laughing over and over again until he finally stopped, he was beating and opponent less advantaged than him. That went against his morals.
He then spoke.
"Go home and rest up. We finish this fight in 3 days."
"What you think you couldn't beat me?"
Lautaro said with two black eyes and a swollen face.
"But I'll take the deal."
Lautaro backed his bag and said his goodbye's to Salvey and he went home.
Lautaro trotted back home with some of his usual radiance left behind. He had lost. Technically they had both lost but it still couldn't happen again, he had to make sure it did not. He had three days to train and become better.
Lautaro looked at his options and decided he was going to spend his three days learning Taekwondo. He chose this option because Taekwondo was a style that primarily used strong and fast leg strikes. Capoeria was a style that was extremely similar to Taekwondo, it would be extremely easy to pick it up in three days. But in this body who knew?
Lautaro was met at the door by his mother. She instantly saw his two black eyes and activated her motherly instinct. She teleported to the cabinet and brought out medical supplies. She wrapped him up and spoke to him.
"Did you get in another fight again?"
"Yea."
"Did you atleast win?"
"It was a dr-"
Lautaro's mother cut him off and facepalmed.
"Mijo if you get into a fight and it looks to be getting to dangerous please just run away."
"Sorry ma."
Lautaro said while looking at the floor.
He walked through the house and saw his food still in the microwave. He looked at his mother's skinny figure and advised her.
"Mom you have to eat."
"It's fine I'm not hungry."
"Ma you have to."
Her tone raised.
"Lautaro I said I wasn't hungry."
"Ma I won't say it again, eat, please."
She took a deep breath before saying.
"I'm fine."
The response came sudden and sharp.
"No you're not! Mom... you're dying. Look at yourself. You haven't eaten in days. You've drank nothing but alcohol. Mom you're going to die doing this."
Lautaro's mom tried to speak but she couldn't mutter any words. Lautaro silently walked into his room.
He cared for his mother but he had to fight to see his friends again. Lautaro went on with his day practicing Taekwondo. Once it was late in the evening he saw his mother sobbing. He saw reach for a bottle of alcohol. But she refused to let it destroy her. She thre her bottles away and sat solemnly in the living room.