The time was sunset, and the place was an old Tunnel-Train Station. As the name implied, Tunnel-Trains were trains that ran through underground networks to provide a form of mass transit. Republic City was not the first place to utilize such a form of transportation, it having originated in Ba Sing Se as a form of train that, in the time of Aang, were powered by Earthbenders. Trains in Republic City, however, ran on their own power. That power was originally steam, but in more recent years that changed to electricity. As the Tunnel-Train Network expanded, some of its lines were shut down and the stations no longer in service. These stations often made for ideal hideouts, usually for street gangs or the like. All except one. One of the largest stations, one that used to be the Grand Central Station until a new one was built elsewhere in the city. This particular station had recently been given new life as the home of Battle Club.
As much as celebrities like Bolin had revitalized Probending, there were those who felt like it wasn't providing them enough action. They craved something different, something more... bloody and bone-crunching. Thus, the Battle Club was started. Anyone from any background were allowed to participate as often as they liked. They would be pit against each other in violent cage matches where the only rule was no outside weapons or assistance was allowed. Benders and Non-Benders alike clashed in the Cage, with wealthy viewers taking a liking to betting on the matches and hopefully coming away richer thanks to the tenacity of whatever fighter they bet on. Fights were held almost every night, from sundown until sunrise, in this old station that was now lit by torches and other such non-electric sources. This night was absolutely no different. The spectators were filling the seats as the Club Manager counted the bets.
Meanwhile, in another part of the station, there was a locker room of sorts. Through here was where fighters entered the Club from. This room was for them change out of street clothes and into whatever fighting outfit they had devised for themselves. There was a narrow corridor, at the end of which was a heavy door leading out on the walkway that fighters would take to enter the Cage. The walls of this pathway were smeared red, almost certainly by blood. Victorious fighters made a tradition out of smearing the blood they drew from their opponents on the walls to "decorate" it. This eventually led to the this area being affectionately named "The Red Room". Within this Red Room, various men and women were adjusting their clothes. Some stretched, some did some warm up training. One sat on a bench having already changed and was simply awaiting their turn. They appeared deep in thought, their eyes staring forward in an intense glare.
"Yang!" someone's voice barked in a raised tone that could be heard throughout the Red Room. At this, the silent fighter stood from his bench and walked his way over to where the Red Room's master waited. He didn't have a name, or least didn't share his real name anyway. Instead he insisted on only ever being addressed as Master, because he managed the Red Room and was the "master" of everyone and everything within it, "You're the opening match, so get the hell out there and spill some blood!"
Shu Yang, the fighter, didn't offer much of a response. He just made a quick a nod and then made his way down the bloodied corridor that would take him to the Cage. When he opened the door, he could hear the sheer noise of the crowds that had built up in the audience seats. But he also heard something else. An enthusiastic and familiar voice that spoke up on a loudspeaker. He was the Battle Club announcer and chief commentator, "Good evening, Republic City! Welcome to tonight's... BATTLE CLUB! As always, I am Zhou!" he called himself Zhou, no one knew if that was actually his name or not. Most likely it was just a handle of some kind in order to protect his identity. That was common in Battle Club. Fights like this were very illegal, and so basically everyone including the spectators used assumed names while here, "Your first fight of the night is a real treat, folks. We've got the Battle Club's newest rising star, the Beast of the Cage himself... Xun!" that was Shu's assumed name for the Battle Club. Here he was known as Xun, the Beast of the Cage. Zhou continued, "And from parts unknown, we have the Masked Tengu! So who will it be? The Beast or the Tengu?"
As Zhou talked, Shu made his way into the Cage. His opponent was waiting for him, a cloaked person wearing a wooden Tengu mask. It seemed like they not only wanted to hide their name, but their face as well. The cloak they wore also made it impossible to tell if they were a Bender of some kind or something else entirely. Even the Tengu's gender was impossible to tell due to the loose cloak hiding their figure and the mask hiding their facial features. Well, Shu wasn't afraid to let himself be seen. He reached up and practically tore off his own cloak as he tossed it aside. He revealed his lithe form, dressed only in a pair of tight black shorts, his hands and bare feet wrapped tightly in bandages. Shu glared coldly at his opponent, and they did the same. Sometimes fighters would trash talk each other before the fight actually started to really put on a show. But not these two it seemed.
"Ouch, you just feel the edge and tension in the air between these two! Like two chained dogs just waiting for the order to kill! Let's give them that order, shall we?" From somewhere in the Club, a large gong was rung to signal the start of the fight. Immediately the two combatants lunged for each other, each one intending to be the only one walking out of the Cage as the victor.
They traded blows, the Tengu either unable or unwilling to do any bending, while Shu did the same. Why go straight for the big finishers when it was usually more sensible for opponents to size each other up first? Shu swung with strength and force, while the Tengu seemed to move with a bit more agility. One could almost swear it was like watching an Airbender in action, but there was no bending in the Cage right now. Just two fighters who were both very good at what they did. After a few more moments of trading blows, Shu decided to escalate things a bit. He stomped the ground in order to kick-launch a spike of earth at his opponent. The Tengu pivoted aside to dodge the attack and seemed to decide to fight more earnestly as well.
With speed and precision that they hadn't yet displayed, the Tengu managed a few quick and seemingly weak strikes against Shu's right arm. There was deception in the strikes though, as the Earthbender found it more difficult to move his arm and, more importantly, Earthbend with it. Chi-Blocker! Shu clutched his arm and barely managed to avoid having his other arm suffer the same fate. Shu pressed his back against the Cage, even kneeling a bit as if he were cornered. When the Tengu lunged for a finishing blow, an unexpected smirk appeared on Shu's face as he sprung his trap. Whilst kneeling, he had subtly dipped his left hand into the Earth below him. When his opponent lunged Shu dodged out of the way and Earthbent a clump of earth in his left hand around his fist to slam it into the back of the Tengu's head.
The Tengu, surprised by this, was dazed by the blow to the head. Shu acted quickly, using that same clump of earth and using it to bind the Tengu's wrists and neck against the bars of the Cage. Then he did something even more unexpected. Shu used his free hand to strike himself, specifically some of the points the Tengu had hit earlier before making his once-paralyzed arm move again, "I'm sorry, did you were the first Chi-Blocker to ever step into this cage?" asked Shu when the Tengu even from behind their mask, showed obvious shock and surprise at Shu's apparent ability to fix his own arm. Shu was no Chi-Blocker by any means, but he had fought a few of them and had since learned at least a handful of tricks for getting around their shenanigans. Shu acted again, this time quickly and ruthlessly. He began striking the Tengu's back with his fists, even going for repeated kidney shots against his otherwise helpless opponent as if they were little more than a human punching back. After a bit, he showed some mercy and slammed his elbow into the side of their head, undoing his Earthbent shackles and letting their unconscious form hit the floor of the Cage.
The crowd roared, and Zhou's voice could be heard once again, "Not even a Chi-Blocker can stop the Beast once he's on a rampage! The victor is Xun!"
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