[color=ed1c24][center][h1]Jiang Zhao, the Angry Dragon[/h1][/center][/color] [color=ed1c24][center][h1]憤怒龍[/h1][/center][/color] [center][h2]P  A  R  T     T  W  O[/h2][/center] [b][center][h2]Karlov Věž Hotel, 5th floor, Prague, Czech Republic[/h2][/center][/b] [b][center][h3]March 24th, 2018[/h3][/center][/b] An old, angry-looking man of clearly Asian origins, just about the same height as Monkeyboy, with at least 3-4 centimeters added on top, revealed himself as the dust settled. [color=ed1c24]Mr. Zhao[/color] was currently clad in just a white tank-top and a pair of striped boxers. His hair was wavy and neatly brushed to the side. Most of it was either black or a very dark-grey, but there was a clear white stroke right in the middle, and another one on the side, following a line just behind the ear, meaning his age must've been just on the cusp of "adult" and "elderly". His wrinkles, caused by stress throughout the years, made him look even older than he really was. His slanted eyes did not blink - in fact, they did not move at all. And they were looking straight at Jaro. She felt her soul being burned ablaze. She didn't notice Jiang had yanked her to himself and not a moment too soon she was suplexed. He then threateningly twisted her arm, making the tomboy cry out in pain. She felt so intimidated and frightened that she didn't even notice when Jiang's fist made a small crater in the wooden floor, right near her head. In her panic, she blurted out: [color=fff79a]"Mr. Zhao! Please! Please! Calm down! I-I guarantee it'll be worth it if you would j-just let us sp-"[/color] [color=ed1c24]"NO! GET OUT OR ELSE YOUR ARM DISLOCATES!..."[/color] She screamed as another fist crashed into the same spot, this time even closer to her head. [color=ed1c24]"...STUPID LAOWAI!"[/color] [color=fff79a]"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, WE'LL LEAVE! JUST DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!"[/color] Jaro felt her arm being released, then thrown to the side in anger. With a pained grin on her face, she rubbed her wrist and twisted it around in an attempt to numb the pain, then slowly got up and turned around, beginning to stagger towards the staircase. [color=fff79a]"Bashi-bozouk, he packs an ungodly punch. Ugh...[/color], she muttered to herself on the way. ... Realizing she was leaving Noseless behind with that man, she stopped. Her eyes widened and then she turned back to look at the two men. They were seemingly locked in a Mexican Standoff. They were staring straight into each other's eyes. Jiang's expression was still furious. Pieter, on the other hand, remained calm and held the Lantern close to his face, in order to try and calm him down slightly. His plan soon started to work - the forty seconds it took for the Asian's gaze to slowly turn and fixate onto the warm, welcoming glow of the Lantern felt like several minutes, but it worked exactly as intended. He decided this was the perfect moment to signal Jaro to come closer and do something. Without moving any other muscle, Noseless turned his eyes to Monkeyboy, raised his eyebrows, then looked at Jiang, frowned, and finally looked back at the girl expectantly. This, according to him, was her chance. She nodded and slowly tip-toed her way closer to the Dragon, not realizing she had stuck out her tongue in determination. On her way towards him, she noticed the funk music from before had changed into a faint sound of a symphonic orchestra tuning their instruments just before the start of a concert. It became louder as she got closer to the old man. [color=fff79a][i]This must be his music power thing. I'm beginning to think stealing that glorified antenna from there was the worst possible idea the College ever considered.[/i][/color], she immediately thought. Once she was close enough, Jaro slowly pulled out a tiny flashlight from her jacket's pocket. Noseless knew exactly what that was. He closed his eyes, shielding them from what was about to come. She pointed it specifically towards Jiang's face and tried to get his attention. [color=fff79a]"Hey."[/color] The gentle mess of sound stopped. Jiang turned around and was met by a small bang, similar to a firecracker, and a blinding light. He grunted and grimaced in pain, began rubbing his eyes and dizzily stumbled backwards before sitting down on his knees and hiding his face. Noseless opened his eyes, keeping the exact same blank expression as he always had. He lowered the Lantern and scanned the current scene. On his left, Jaro had put her hands on her waist, sighing in relief and proudly observing the work she had just done - she had defeated a black belt in Kung Fu with just her flash, which was still smoking. She then brushed her fingers backwards through her hair and stopped in the middle, leaving her hand on her head in disbelief. Pieter slowly averted his gaze towards the defeated black-belt. Jiang seemed to be still trying to recover from the throbbing headache in his forehead, as evidenced by his hands still covering his face. He let out a groan, and spoke through his teeth in Chinese. [color=ed1c24]"Ughhhhhhhhhhpfffff...绝对令人恶心... "[/color] Jaro, still looking at Jiang, picked the mysterious briefcase up from the floor and moved herself near him. Pieter, meanwhile, strategically moved himself in front of the two. She squatted down, laid the briefcase on the floor with the handle faced towards her, looked at Jiang, and began: [color=fff79a]"So...Mr. Zhao..."[/color] Mr. Zhao made a simple sound that could only be described by a single "?". [color=fff79a]"We heard your greatest wish was to become the best of the best."[/color] Jiang threw his head back and replied with a mocking laugh. He looked at Monkeyboy with an equally mocking smile. [color=ed1c24]"Everyone wants to be the best of the best, laowai. Especially artists like me, heheh..."[/color], he vaguely gestured towards himself. [color=ed1c24]"Where are you going with this?"[/color], he asked as his face turned a little bit more stern. [color=fff79a]"We're offering you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to achieve that dream in just the snap of a finger."[/color] He let out a wheezing chuckle and grimaced in mockery. [color=ed1c24]"What are you even going on about?"[/color], he said, and continued chuckling. [color=fff79a]"It's a sort of fighting tournament. You'll be fighting against thirty-one other people-" [/color] [color=a2d39c]"Sentient things."[/color], Noseless corrected. [color=fff79a]"...Thirty-one other [i]sentient things[/i] in order to collect their souls and, presumably, bring them to this device which will grant you your greatest wish."[/color], Jaro explained and then looked at Noseless with an exasperated expression. [color=ed1c24]"Fah, this is already beginning to sound like a fraud!...[/color] Jiang's gaze was drawn by the Lantern in Noseless' hand for a few long seconds. He looked back at Jaro and continued. [color=ed1c24]"...Erh, go on...I want to hear what other nonsense you laowai will think up."[/color] [color=fff79a]"Hey now, don't get us wrong, friend. We know how mad this sounds, but you may have to trust us on this. We seriously do NOT know how this thing works. It's big, it's shaped like a freight container, it glows non-stop and it speaks."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"Eh?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"We also found a ledger that writes names onto itself. One of the names on there is yours."[/color] Jiang frowned and slightly opened his mouth in confusion. [color=fff79a]"There's also these pendants we found with which you collect the souls."[/color] Jiang, keeping the same confused look on his face, looked at Jaro, then at Noseless, then back at Jaro again. [color=ed1c24]"Right. Sounds simple enough. What's the catch?"[/color] [color=fff79a]"You might die. In a pretty gruesome way, if you're unlucky enough."[/color] Jiang stared at Jaro in stern disappointment. He nodded. [color=ed1c24]"No thanks. Not worth it."[/color] Jaro sighed. [color=fff79a]"...Right, looks like I'll have to persuade you."[/color] She took the briefcase, cradled it in her arm, faced it towards Jiang and opened it. ... Jiang gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes. A blue flickering glow shone upon his face of disbelief. His Baton was inside! [color=ed1c24]"How did...How did you..."[/color] He looked back and forth between the two colleagues and the Baton. His wide-eyed gaze finally stopped at Monkeyboy as he pointed at his secret weapon. [color=ed1c24]"How on Earth did you acquire this?! This is one of the Chinese Government's most well-kept secrets!"[/color] [color=a2d39c]"We just...stole it. I don't know. Don't ask me how."[/color] Jiang looked at Pieter. Pieter shrugged. [color=a2d39c]"I said don't ask me! We probably killed one or two guards in the process, but that's all I know."[/color] [color=fff79a]"Are you convinced now?"[/color] Jiang gazed into the Lantern. Although he didn't realize it, its welcoming light convinced him even further that this tournament of theirs was 100% absolutely real. So many questions flooded his head: How exactly did they steal the Baton? What was this device of theirs, anyway? Was it even theirs? Did the device really grant wishes? Who the hell were these two colorful people? That "we" did not sound like they were talking about just themselves, so, given that they were just two strange-looking laowai - one of them a two meter tall noseless giant who doesn't talk much and the other one a girl dressing and acting like a boy - and just these two couldn't possibly organize an event like this, let alone sneak into one of the most heavily-guarded government-owned facilities in the world...just who in the hell were these people and what did they plan for him? Were they sent by the Chinese Government or something? He cleared his head and started brushing his chin in thought. Only one question remained in his mind: [color=ed1c24][i]Am I in or out?[/i][/color] [color=fff79a]"Well?"[/color] Jiang averted his gaze towards Jaro with a determined look on his face... [hr] [center][h2]Jirásek Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic[/h2][/center] Pieter, Jiang and Jaro were all bunched up in the back seat, in this order. It was the same car and the exact same driver - his name was revealed to be L'n'thyg'labth, also known as Lyuben Gliganov, and the beard was fake. It hid the tentacles that were all over his face. He always wore sunglasses to hide his strange, intimidating, purple-colored octopus eyes. He was otherwise quite a cheerful man - he was especially happy with his job as a College associate. Jiang, although quite reluctantly, somehow got along quite well with the tentacle man. "Good pay.", he would simply note. "And a diverse work environment - just the way I like it!" It was a mostly silent ride along the east side of the Vltava. It rained harder and harder as they decreased their distance with the Jirásek Bridge. Jiang sat there wearing his inhumanly clean tuxedo and with the Baton neatly placed upon his lap. He wondered what the noseless giant meant when he mentioned "sentient things". [i][color=ed1c24]What wonders or monstrosities has this College of theirs even seen? I can't believe I accepted...But alas, I'm at the point of no return...[/color][/i] Jiang sighed. As they were crossing the Jirásek Bridge, the fog turned into a shifting cloud and swirled around the car. It looked as if they were flying through a cloud. There was so much rain pattering onto the windshield that Jiang half-expected it to break under the pressure. Lightning struck nearby and slightly startled him. Jaro giggled. [color=fff79a]"He jumped."[/color] Pieter simply let out a [color=a2d39c]"Heh."[/color] Jiang groaned at Jaro. [hr] [center][h3]As the fog began to clear out, a beautiful, shining castle revealed itself. Jiang gazed upon it with wishful eyes. It was all real, after all.[/h3][/center] [center]He was reminded of Disney. "When You Wish Upon a Star" started playing a little loudly. This confused Lyuben, as he attempted to lower the volume on his car's radio. Jaro patted the tentacle man on the shoulder and gestured at Jiang. "Oh.", muttered Lyuben.[/center] [center][h3]Location:[/h3][/center] [center][h2][color=a187be][b][u]The Inquisitional College[/u][/b][/color][/h2][/center] [center][color=662d91]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/color][/center]