Mecha Crisis' latest self-improvement project involved the creation of Dragon Slayer Lacrima. He dared not to damage his own power core by attempting to take a piece of the Dragon Slayer Lacrima that powered him. It would seem information on its creation was quite scarce, a closely-guarded secret of whatever organizations manufactured them. What he did know, however, was it involved collecting the residual energy left behind by Dragon Slayer magic. Hypothetically, this was no different from collecting the magic that went into creating more common lacrima types as Dragon Slayer magic was harder to come by. Mere conjecture, of course, but being a Dragon Slayer himself Mecha Crisis had access to Dragon Slayer magic in abundance. Granted he was a "Second Generation" Dragon Slayer, whose powers came from Dragon Slayer lacrima, and there was no telling if magic from lacrima was compatible with the process. Nonetheless, he had built and installed a prototype "Magic recycler" of sorts within his own body for this purpose, and he just needed a chance to test it. If recycling his own wouldn't work, he could always hunt down other Dragon Slayers and fight them, which would be admittedly risky.
He decided to "Field test" the device with a simple, combat-related job. An unusual missing-persons case fit the bill sufficiently. A teenaged boy by the name of Daniel Hunkipillar had disappeared, and his parents had issued an award for his recovery. Evidence and simple investigation suggested he had run away and entered an underground tournament known as, of all things, "Punch-A-Bunch Arena." Quite the misnomer, considering the prevalence of magic use during the event. Infiltration of the tournament would be simple enough, and it gave him a chance to test out one of his more... creative... disguises.
In an disused alleyway behind what could charitably called an abandoned slaughterhouse, a man by the name of Dudd stood with a clipboard in one hand and a crutch under the other. He had taken quite a beating in an earlier tournament, as various bandages around his body could testify, but he liked to think he was still pretty sharp. Something he was reconsidering as he eyed the figure before him. "And your name again is...?"
"El Machino Loco," Mecha Crisis replied. In lieu of his normal hat and poncho, he had opted for a full-body, brightly-colored leotard and an equally flamboyant luchadore mask that covered his entire face. Even his mouth and eyes were covered, the latter by colored lenses. The overall design, however, was more reminiscent of an Asian lung-dragon than an actual machine, however. "For my fists are like pistons, and I punch like crazy."
"You're not a guild wizard, are you?" Dudd inquired. "Because you have to tell me if you are."
Mecha Crisis was fairly certain no such rule existed, and being from a Dark Guild he was under no obligation to follow it even if it did. "Of course not."
Dudd gave him an incredulous look, then apprehensively opened the door and let him in. He led "El Machno Loco" down some stairs and through a couple short hallways. Before long, he was in a room filled with thugs, bruisers, brawlers, and other assorted ne'er-do-wells. Among them, Mecha Crisis could identify several registered mages, about half of which were members of known guilds. Ol' Dudd clearly wasn't applying himself.
He also easily discover Daniel shadow-boxing in a corner as he psyched himself up for the tournament. With his lanky build, dark clothes, and unkempt, brown hair, he looked more at home at an emo concert than a fighting arena. However, judging by how his shadow seemed to be losing, there was clearly more to this boy than met the eye. Despite his intention to test his new equipment, Mecha Crisis decided this was a good opportunity to attempt completing the mission by non-violent means and approached the boy.
"Daniel Hunkiplier?" Mecha Crisis inquired, although it was more of a statement than a question. "I have been hired by..."
"My parents to take me home, yeah," Daniel said dismissively. He gestured to the assorted contenders in the room with his head, or perhaps simply flung some hair from his face. "I suggest you take a number. About half the guys in this room also want that reward. Starting to feel like I'm the grand prize."
Mecha Crisis scanned the room again. Daniel had a point. Even if he managed to neutralize Daniel right now and dragged him off, the resistance met by assembled guild mages and bounty hunters would be significantly greater than the one-on-one fights of the tournament itself. Better to have them take each other out and deal with whoever defeated Daniel or, preferably, facing Daniel in the finals and defeating him there. Wordlessly, he stepped away from Daniel and waited for the tournament to begin.
((I'll complete this another time. Alternately, another player could come in as an additional challenger. One of us could take on Sue Liz, the other Rusty Tygart, then we fight each other to see who gets Daniel))
"In the red corner," a voice boomed across the arena. "Hailing from Parts Unknown, a newcomer to the Arena... EL MACHINO LOCO!"
Mecha Crisis climbed into the ring and wordlessly scanned the crowd. The arena was larger than he had anticipated, with an audience to suit. He estimated that whoever ran this event modified the old slaughterhouse, possibly even expanded it into nearby abandoned buildings. However, his objective was Daniel Hunkipillar. The profitability of underground sports was little more than a curiosity, and held no bearing on his mission.
"And his opponent," the voice continued. "Dude not look like a lady, 'A Boy Named SUUUUUE' LIZ!"
A pudgy man with a slouch and a red goatee climbed into the ring. He scowled at the audience that both cheered and jeered him. He swung a fist in their general direction in a sign of defiance before turning towards his opponent. "Dammit. I told them not to call me Sue!"
"To be frank, 'Liz' is not much more masculine," Mecha Crisis remarked.
"You tryin' to be smart with me, wise guy?" Sue Liz growled, his eyes narrowing at the robot disguised as a luchadore.
"Merely making an observation," Mecha Crisis replied flatly. He wasn't above using banter to irritate his way to a psychological edge. However, he did so carefully and strategically, as his research suggested making them too angry could work to his disadvantage. "Would you prefer I call you 'Stacy?' I've know a male actor that goes by that name, and he seems quite respected in his field." He paused for a moment, just in case Sue thought he was serious. "Plus, it's cute."
Sue Liz cracked his knuckles. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy beating you, new guy."
As soon as the bell rang, Sue closed the gap between them with surprising speed for a man his girth. His fist slammed into Mecha Crisis' chest with a resounding clang. The man recoiled, clutching his fist in agony as the robot's internal instruments reported a marked drop in energy levels despite his opponent dealing very little damage physically. It was clear this "Boy Named Sue" wasn't to be underestimated.
"Zoamelgustar's Horns!" Sue Liz swore. "Are you wearing armor under there!?"
"Something like that," Mecha Crisis replied. He tilted his head to the side quizzically. "Is that illegal?"
"Illegal?" Sue Liz chuckled and spread his arms as he took a step back. "Look where you are! There are no rules in this Arena!" He shook his finger at his opponent. "Besides, no amount of armor's gonna save you from my magic!"
"Fair enough," Mecha Crisis responded. "However, your magic will not be a significant factor if it fails to make contact."
"We'll see about that!" Sue Liz declared as he charged forward.
This time, Mecha Crisis made his move. Specifically, a step to the right, causing Sue Liz to sail past him. Or would have, if Mecha Crisis didn't follow up by clotheslining him with his left arm across the man's chest and shoving him back. From there, the robot channeled energy into his right palm and thrust it at Sue Liz.
"Robot Dragon's Claw!" Light burst out from Mecha Crisis' palm and washed over the hapless Sue Liz. A seal formed over the man's chest, causing his movements to slow considerably. Before he could question what had just happened, Mecha Crisis began dealing repeated blows in rapid succession. Faster and faster the blows came as Sue Liz slowly fell over backwards until Mecha Crisis grabbed him by his collar. He pulled back his other fist, which began to glow again. "Robot Dragon's Iron Fist!"
One last blow cross Sue Liz's face as the seal was released sent the man sprawling to the floor. After a while of laying there, a bell sounded to signal the end of the match. Mecha Crisis promptly turned and climbed out of the ring, heading backstage as officials dragged Sue Liz away.
"The winner is... El Machino Loco!" the announcer declared.
((That's one. If anyone wants to join in, they can take on Rusty Tygart next, then fight me in the round after that before tackling Daniel. Meanwhile, I'm taking another break.))
