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Both fighters both wounded and drained of stamina, allowed the other to stand there and take a breathing; just a few seconds would do, they both silently decided giving themselves time to recover was worth giving the other time to recover. Then, soon, they would go back to punching each other. At least Eli looked like he was having fun again. It was doubtful, however, that he could take any more damage. Even with his opponent still having a few more hits left in him. But, at the same time, it wasn't always a good idea to treat these fights as if a health bar existed.

"Come on," Eli said, "Just a bit longer, Darnell! I'm not gonna take a forfeit for an answer." Best of all, no one would be interrupting this fight this time! He still held a grudge against that sheep lady from before!

Silence followed. Everyone waiting. Then...

"Go!" Darnell and Eli both shouted, running at each other.

Darnell quickly threw a punch, aiming to end the fight quickly and cleanly, but Eli wasn't going to allow that. Sidestepping the attack, it narrowly grazing his bicep. The boy's long tail wrapped around Darnell's front foot, nice and tight. Something that the tiger only noticed when he tried to backstep away, and found himself unable to.

"Got you!" Eli said as he punched his opponent in the ribs, The punch was so fast and able to catch Darnell off guard, just enough that he couldn't trigger his defensive technique. His natural physical durability was still commendable, with or without said technique.

However, the kid was still strong, really strong, enough so to piece those defenses. Darnell winced as he dashed forward, towards Eli, slamming into him with a shoulder tackle. He too was smiling widely. "You're doing good, kid, but don't get over confident."

The attack hurt a lot, but wasn't too damaging, only functioning to shove Eli away. It was strong enough to cause him to loosen his tail around Darnell's leg and let go. Still moving forward, Darnell followed the tackle up with a punch, aimed for Eli's chest. Eli side stepped, the punch grazing him yet again, taking a few strands of fur and droplets of blood off. He winced in pain. His mind was trying to catch up to his body. While it felt like time slowed down in an intense fight, he still had a limited window to think on what to do next and what his opponent was going to do next.

"Come on, Eli!" Brook said through clenched teeth and intoxicated breath, having been drinking a bit more than usual this whole time, fully focused on the fight, leaning over the railing, ass almost up in the air.

"Eli isn't looking so hot." Cutter said, focused both on the nice view of the hyena in front of him and the nice view of the fight out on the field. "So much for that whole 'ending a fight in one blow' thing from earlier... Makes me think they wanted to have something dramatic to say but forgot about it." He said, coughing.

"Still too early to call it." Wes said, looking through his binoculars. "Still too early..." The bear looked over to Ravi, sitting to his right. "What about you? You've been silent for a while."

"Just watching..." Ravi said, nodding.

"Something on your mind, dude?" Cutter said, looking over.

"Yeah, but it's not important right now." Ravi laughed, "Got something to ask that kid later. Actually... Maybe I'll ask that bat he was with instead."

Both Wes and Cutter could only feel a bit uneasy when Ravi got in one of these moods. They called it his "Mysterious Mode."

Back on the field, Eli put his hand to his chest, rubbing the spot where he was grazed.

There was no time to rest. Darnell again swung at him, with a strong haymaker.

"Dodge!" Ethan shouted from the dugout, jumping from his seat, no longer able to contain the excitement welling in his heart.

No one likes a backseat fighter, Ethan.

Eli didn't have to take orders to know what to do. By the time Eli had shouted to him, he had already dodged and ducked over the attack, before swinging a kick to Darnell's ribs, the same spot where he stuck him earlier. This blow actually managed to hurt the tiger more considerably than any prior attacks. The larger man staggered away, pained.

At this moment, Darnell had one thing on his mind: "Impressive."

"I get it now..." Eli said, punching Darnell in the opposite side of his body. "You're unable to move your body when you use that skill of yours. So right after an attack, you're most vulnerable." Easier said than done, it would have to be right after an attack. Even a few seconds of standby were enough to let Darnell go back on the offensive.

Shoulder check! Darnell tackled into Eli, knocking him back and away.

If there was a time to end the fight, it was now... Their boasts from before, about ending the fight in one hit, were truer now than ever.

"Just one opening. Just one opening is all I need," Eli panted. "Just one opening. Got to find that opening." He smiled, possibly delirious from the adrenaline, blood loss, and beatings he was taking. "I got it."

"Eli!" Ethan shouted, his voice almost cracking, "Just end it already! I don't want to see you die! Win or call the fight!" He could tell just by looking at either of them. How hurt Eli was. This fight would only end one way at this rate. "There is something I need to tell you after this, but I can't do that if you're dead!"

Eli was quiet, the binturong giving his friend a smile. All he had to say to his friend was a simple, "Ethan? Don't tell me what to do. I go this." As he looked at Ethan, Darnell went for a punch while Eli's guard was down, striking him in the chest. There was no room for easily distracted people here.

"No!" Ethan shouted, watching Eli take the punch straight to the chest, certain that was the finishing blow. But, things were off, Eli didn't stumble nor fall over, only skidding away, his feet were still on the ground, even when he was in motion.

"What?" Brook, Cutter, Wes, and Ravi all said at the same time. "How?"

Eli, with no cybernetics on his record, had mimicked Darnell's Bulwark. Tensing his body, to the point where his muscles were a strong shield. The blow did no lasting damage. With a wide grin, Eli swung an uppercut at Darnell's chin. No time to defend and struck right in an unprotected spot, the tiger was sent toppling over, like a massive orange and black tree, he fell to the ground with a resounding thud. "I win." Eli said, his still held high in the air.

Fight

Eli "Lost Boy" Callow vs Darnell "Arcade Action Man" Johnston

Winner: Eli "Lost Boy" Callow

---

The fight was concluded and audience were heading off, to return to their day jobs, whatever those might be. But, thankfully, the majority opinion was a positive one: Impressed.

A newbie's first fight against a seasoned veteran had a lot of room for disappointment, but also a lot of potential. This fight was, of course, the latter.

Now, in the locker room of the baseball stadium, was those who stayed behind: Ethan, Eli, and, leaning against a wall in the corn, the Redliner Oleg. Brook must've been hanging out with her new group of friends.

Eli, bloody and panting, his exhaustion finally catching up to him in full force, was too tired to even stand; he simply slumped in his seat, a smile on his face; didn't matter how nasty he was looking, he won.

Ethan looked over to him, proud and concerned. "Eli? You good?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah..." Eli nodded slowly, "Hurts to talk. But I did it." With a pause, he gathered the strength to sit up straight, Ethan with his sensitive ears, could've sworn he heard his back pop. "Phew, that's better... Sorry about earlier, about the whole 'don't tell me what to do thing.' I was annoyed at you in the moment."

"Well, I'm just concerned about you," Ethan smiled, "I really did think you were gonna die there. There's no rules against killing-"

"I know, I already said the whole thing back there. I do things on my own terms." He said as he slowly started to stand up. A sound similar to velcro could be heard as he sat up; some blood must've pooled under him and coagulated, the sound was him peeling himself off the seat. Self made black pudding. "Do what you do and I do what I do, alright? I'll tell you when things are too much for me. Like that will ever happen."

"I know but-" Ethan said, before stopping himself, as he noticed Eli looked annoyed, "I mean... Yeah, I'll do that." He was officially Eli's handler now. Indeed, he would have to 'handle' things his own way, just like Eli. "But if you die, Brook and I will be upset, know that."

"I won't be upset because I'll be dead," Eli smiled back, holding his hand out to Ethan. "Despite everything, no matter what happens, I'm still and will always be your friend."

"Definitely," Ethan said, hesitantly taking the boy's hand, only because it still had blood on it, not for any opinionated reasons. He shook, feeling like his handshake felt stronger than normal. "By the way..." He asked, changing subjects, "What smells like popcorn?"

"Oh? That's me." Ethan said, sniffing himself. When you smell it all your life, you tend to not notice it. "I'm a binturong, our sweat smells like popcorn. You didn't know that?"

"Don't really pay attention to the sweat of other species. That is a handy trait to have for someone in a spectator sport." Ethan laughed, snorting as well.

"You laughed!" Eli exclaimed, with a wide smile, "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. You're always frowning so much."

"Really?" Ethan said, blushing, embarrassed, especially at the fact that he snorted.

"Yeah," Eli simply nodded, "I promise to be more careful in the future, if you do me a favor: Smile more. I hate to see you sad all the time."

Ethan nodded, smiling, but still averting eye contact. He had no more to say, a simple smile would suffice.

That was when Oleg walked over, going over to pair. "Anyways, that's enough lover's talk." He gave Ethan a pat on the back, "You made a fool of yourself by shouting to him back there, but I understand your concern... Everyone has their own diverse reaction to the fights." He flashed a toothy grin at the bat, "Just don't do it again." The lizard then turned his attention to Eli, "Anyways, come with me. Let's get you healed up all nice and quick like."

"Alright!" Eli said, following Oleg out. Ethan soon followed.

Walking down the hall, through a corridor or two, nothing of interest happened on the walk there, the three arrived to the parking lot outside, completely empty other than the cars of those who still remained; it looked so empty and desolate without a packed parking lot. Sitting there were a pair of large, white, rectangular white boxes. Each of them about the size of an RV, they had very little detail to them, other than a window on the front where a door was and a square shaped window on one side. One of them was on, making a low humming noise, and emitting a green light. On the side was the letters VAV in a blocky font.

"So what're these?" Ethan asked, looking at them, his eyes mainly focused on the one that was on. "They look like walk in freezers."

"These, my friend, are the greatest thing to come out of VAV Corp." Oleg said, leading Ethan over to the one that wasn't on. "The official name is really long, but here at Primal, we just call them Regenerators. Just sit inside of them and it'll accelerate your body's natural healing functions. Wounds that'll take days to recover from can be covered up in a matter of hours or even minutes! Trust me when I say this, I'm not just playing them up because I'm being paid to sponsor them." He pointed to the one that was currently running, looking over to Eli and Ethan. "Darnell is in that one. He'll be out soon. How soon, you ask? The answer is soon."

"That's incredible," Ethan said, while Eli inspected the machine, looking inside. He could see Darnell lying on his back, his hands on his chest, rising and falling as he breathed. The inside was just a simple bench, with some objects resembling florescent lights on the ceiling. "Why haven't these been put in hospitals."

"A few reasons. But the main one being that Primal wants to have exclusive access." Oleg shrugged. "But also they can't regenerate things the body can't regenerate naturally. So if you go in there with a severed limb or an organ ripped out, don't expect it to grow back." He looked back, his tail swaying. "But for reptiles like me? It can regenerate those just fine!" He was, after all, a monitor.

"Alright, throw me in, chief!" Eli cheered. He said, looking at the side of the machine, his yellow eyes focused on the logo. He paused his excited hopping for a second, to state, "It looks so familiar."

"Alright, someone's excited. Seen one before" Oleg said, as he handed Eli two objects. One of them was a pouch, looking like a pocket sized IV drip full of a dark blue liquid. The other was a small ball, wrapped in foil. "Sip on the pouch while you're in there, don't have to down the whole thing, just drink it periodically. It's a nutrient package. Your body is gonna consume a lot of nutrients due to the accelerated healing, so you'll need it."

"Cool." Eli nodded, looking at the pouch. "What about this?"

"That? It's hard candy. Strawberry. The nutrient package tastes horrible." He said with a laugh, before walking off. His job was done here, all that was left to do was wait for the other Primal staff to be done so he could go home; he had a wife at home to come home to.

Eli, shrugging walked inside of the Regenerator, as a pair of alpacas in suits pressed a few buttons on a console next to the door. They wore suits similar to the rest of the Primal staff. The big difference being that they were plain white, as opposed to the black of the normal Primal suits.

Once the door closed, all Ethan could do was to just sit around and wait for his friend to be done in there. Sitting down on a nearby curb, his ears caught wind of his excitable friend running over, accompanied by three others.

"Ethy!" Brook stumbled over, leaning against Cutter, her newest best friend. Wes and Ravi were following behind them. "Where is the winner! I want to hug him!" She was clearly very drunk, her volume control was completely lost, as was her motor functions. You could call her a Babbling Brook in this state.

"He's in there." Ethan said, pointing to the Regenerator. "It's suppose to heal him super fast. That's what the Redliner said."

"They brought in the Regenerators for this? Nice." Ravi said, looking at the machine. "Darnell's probably been in there for a good bit. In that case, he should be done soon, you guys good to call it a night?" The jackal said, looking to his friends.

"Think I'm spent." Wes said, nodding, patting his large stomach. "I watched a fight and ate some good food. I call that time well spent."

"Same." Cutter laughed, "I'd love to talk to Eli sometime though. Tell him to hit me up sometime." Cutter looked over to Ravi, who was off in his own world, looking inside the Regenerator containing Eli. "Think my friend really wants to talk wit him for some reason."

"Why don't I come over your place? I'd totally love to get to know you in all sorta ways." Brook said, flirtatious, leaning into Cutter, looking up at him with a coy expression. Her advanced were, however, denied immediately.

"Uh... Let's see..." He said, quickly smelling the alcohol on her breath, "Yeah, uh, sorry, you're too drunk." He said, gentling guiding the hyena over to Ethan, who knew how to handle her in these situations, he'd have this from here. "You good from here, dude?"

"Yeah, I'll be good," Now holding Brook, Ethan nodded in response to everything Cutter said. He did look over to Ravi though. "So... Was there something specific you wanted to talk to Eli about?"

"Yes." Ravi said, looking over to Ethan, taking some candy out of his pocket, the same type that was given to Eli, popping it in his mouth. Ravi started to walk away from the group, flagging for Ethan to follow him with a quick hand motion. They didn't walk too far away, only moving a few meters, just enough so they couldn't be heard if they spoke in whispers. Ravi grinned, the piece of hard candy visible between his teeth. "I'll get right to it. Simply put: There was no possible way Eli should've been able to replicate Darnell's abilities back there. The ability to copy his defensive skills."

"I was told that every fighter is modified in some way yeah... I don't know if Eli has any modifiers though." The bat said, still holding Brook.

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm a sponsor for one of the biggest biotic groups in the world. I know my stuff. So here's the kicker: I want you to look into this if you can. If you can't, at least keep it in mind. Either your buddy Eli is super modified..." Ravi said, looking over his shoulder, as he watched Darnell walk out of the Regenerator, looking completely healed, as if he wasn't just involved in a brutal fight. He quickly looked back to Ethan. "...Or, in the event he has no cybernetics, there is something entirely different going on with his body."

"Entirely different?" Ethan said, leaning in, feeling cold suddenly. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I'm just a sponsor with a ton of knowledge in the field, doesn't mean I have insider information." He chuckled, giving Ethan a strong handshake. "Name's Ravi by the way. The goofball elk over there is Cutter and the bear is Wes. They like Ethan, but I'm more curious than anything, why not send him our way for a chat?" He said, as his hand left Ethan's. "Consider it homework for the weekend?"

In Ethan's hand was a business card with Second Chance's logo on the back. Ravi's phone number was on the front. Ethan furrowed his brow and slowly nodded, putting the card in his back pocket. "Right. Thank you."

"You're a handler, right? I suggest taking this chance." Ravi said as he left Ethan and Brook to their devices, heading over to his friends.

A long night coming to an end, all Ethan could think now was "I need a shower."