The 950th Battle

     Mako's fighting prowess is not marked by typical brute strength, but rather his versatility in different fighting styles. Mako is a quick thinker and capable of adapting to his opponents and figuring out their weaknesses. Throughout his fighting career in many Battledome tournaments, Mako easily dispatched most foes, and conquered even the toughest opponents such as the Qasalan Mummy and the Giant Hungry Malevolent Chomby.

     Since a young age, Mako studied at both the Swashbuckling Academy and the Mystery Island Training School. Captain Threelegs always fancied Mako's intuition and eagerly taught him as many fundamentals as possible. Master Ryshu at the ninja school also praised Mako for his agility and dedication to honing combat mechanics. It is this strong foundation of Mako's youth that paved the way for Mako's successes in the Battledome, winning a whopping ninety-five percent of all his bouts.

     Despite his fame and accolades, Mako is still very grounded and always looking to improve. He never underestimates an opponent and fully focuses on every battle. After all, he has a long win streak to uphold, having not lost in the last nine hundred forty-nine battles in a row. Mako's next showdown is scheduled for the Ugga Dome, against a rather mysterious opponent known as Corvin the Darigan Pteri.

     Corvin is not the most visible identity in the Battledome scene, preferring to remain in the shadows. He is also known for pulling strings behind the scenes, often bending the rules with underhanded tactics to gain the advantage in fights. Most contenders would have long been disqualified, but Corvin possesses a degree of leverage in the bureaucratic side of tournaments with his immense wealth of dubious origins.

     Corvin also does not personally fight often. Instead, he hires an assortment of mercenaries and professional combatants to fight on his behalf. This kind of arrangement resulted in many successes in numerous tournaments for Corvin, except one pet always stood in the way of the pinnacle: Mako.

     Despite the smooth sailing for Corvin's entourage throughout the early rounds of matches, his hired hands always fell short in the championship battle in any tournament containing Mako. This happened over and over, greatly displeasing Corvin. Not wanting to continue the status quo, Corvin decided to face Mako himself, and challenged Mako to a duel in the unrelenting and scorching hot battle arena of Tyrannia.

     Mako initially hesitated accepting Corvin's challenge, but he relished the opportunity to battle such an elusive opponent, as Corvin rarely makes personal appearances on stage. Corvin also sweetened the deal of this clash with a one million Neopoint grand prize. It is not about the money for Mako however, he just wanted to test his skills against what he thought was a respectable and formidable opponent, but Corvin had other plans.

     The Ugga Dome is the oldest Battledome arena in all of Neopia, the sight of countless clashes amid towering stone pillars. The unwavering rock slabs and the foundation of the arena withstood centuries of blazing heat, smoothed out in parts by the restless storms that frequent Tyrannia. Warriors and amateur fighters alike once traded blows in this prehistoric dome with primarily physical combat, but in recent years, battles trended towards more use of elemental attacks and powerful magical weapons.

     Word about the Mako vs Corvin battle spread quickly among the denizens of the land, and many flocked from long distances to partake in the spectacle. The stakes were high, and many wanted to see if the Grarrl remained undefeated or if the enigmatic Pteri would take home the million NP prize in a changing of the tides.

     On the day of the clash, the sun shone brightly above a clear, cloudless sky, and despite the high temperatures, a packed crowd filled the stadium. Fans eagerly awaited the show and not a seat was empty in the hundreds of rows lining the stadium. With the open-air nature of the Ugga Dome, some of the crowd who didn't find any room sat on the ground surrounding the arena and extending out far past the periphery.

     As Mako walked in a corridor leading to the arena, he could feel the excitement in the air as the noise of the stadium drew nearer. The tension was palpable, but Mako emanated confidence as he stepped out onto the stone stage to the thunderous cheers of the crowd, many of whom are his fans. Chants of "Mako, Mako" rang in waves among the audience members, and the electrifying atmosphere was comparable to the clamorous conditions of the Altador Cup.

     Corvin soured at the evident crowd popularity Mako enjoyed, but not to be outdone by his rival, the Pteri soared into the skies in an attempt at his own grand entrance. Also entering the arena with Corvin were thirty strong fighter pets, all decked out in full armour and each holding a weapon, forming a circle around the two main contestants. Unbeknowst to Mako, these fighters were Corvin's specially hired henchmen, ready to aid or disrupt in an effort to give Corvin an edge in battle at a moment's notice.

     "What are all these other pets doing here?" asked Mako, as he looked around at the ring of armour-clad pets surrounding them.

     "Oh, they are my bodyguards," Corvin replied wryly. "For someone of my wealth and status, I cannot afford any risks with a rowdy crowd threatening my safety in case something goes wrong."

     Still sensing something felt unusual, Mako reminded Corvin their agreed-upon battle terms beforehand was melee and physical weapons only.

     "Of course, of course, don't you worry," Corvin tried to sound convincing.

     A stately Scorchio announcer walked over and asked if they were ready. Mako and Corvin both nodded and the Scorchio shouted in a loud, booming voice, "Let the battle commence!"

     In a flash, Mako drew his trusty ruby-encrusted sword and brandished it towards Corvin. Reacting just as quickly, Corvin pulled out his bow and a sturdy metal shield.

     Mako expertly took a few steps towards Corvin and slashed his sword in a flurry of agile motion, but Corvin managed to deflect most of the blows with the shield.

     "Not bad," Mako thought as he looked for an opening. "Corvin is quick on his feet, but his endurance is already shaky."

     As Mako finished another round of sweeping sword attacks, Corvin leapt backwards to create some distance and then aimed his bow straight for Mako and fired off three rapid shots.

     The first shot whizzed past the right side of his head as Mako expertly sidestepped to the left, but the second shot required a quick deflection of the sword, knocking the arrow with a clang as it hit the blade and bounced onto the ground.

     The third shot, however, flew lower and made a direct trajectory towards Mako's leg. With just milliseconds to spare, Mako summoned his strength and in a burst of energy, backwards somersaulted in the air just as the arrow flew underneath his arcing motion.

     "Mako, Mako!" the crowd chanted and roared in the electrifying atmosphere after witnessing the intensity of the battle.

     Mako and Corvin continued to unload a barrage of attacks from each end, and despite deft manoeuvring and strong offensives, both managed to repeatedly evade each other's moves.

     Dismayed at the lack of progress in landing hits on his opponent, Corvin decided to pull out a hidden gadget. As Mako rushed towards Corvin in another wave of attacks, Corvin threw a sphere-looking object on the ground and it exploded, instantly covering the arena with a thick cloud of grey smoke and fog.

     Unprepared for the sudden chaos and drop in visibility, Mako paused and tried to gather his bearings. The smoke was so thick, he could not see more than a few steps in any direction.

     "This is quite unexpected," Mako muttered to himself as he contemplated whether a smoke bomb diversion was allowed in the rules, but before he had more time to think, Corvin had already equipped himself with special vision goggles and flew into the air above the dust cloud.

     Easily scouting out the Grarrl's location in the smoke with the goggles, the Pteri made a nosedive towards Mako, and in an instant, slammed into the Grarrl's side and knocked him off balance.

     "Arghhh," Mako let out a yell as he crashed onto the ground, feeling some pain surge up in his shoulder from the direct hit. He realized at this moment that the Pteri never intended to play fair, and wanted far more than to defeat him. Corvin's intentions of putting Mako out of contention in future fights for the long-term were now abundantly clear.

     "Now's not the time to lose," Mako steadied himself and stayed calm. He thought about the lessons Ryshu taught him about integrity and staying the course even if negative influences tried to distract him. He understood the world was not always fair, and Corvin's actions are no surprise.

     As the smoke cloud dissipated, Mako peered through the fog and listened intently for any changes in sounds around him as he battled past the throbbing pain of his injured shoulder. Before long, he heard the flapping wings of the Pteri hovering nearby.

     Summoning his remaining energy reserves, Mako repositioned himself off the ground and just as Corvin was feeling smug about his successful ploy, the Grarrl lunged forward and grabbed the Pteri's claws and pulled him towards the ground in one swift motion.

     "Ouch!" Corvin let out a gasp at this sudden momentum shift and in the process, lost hold of his shield and bow. As he fell on the ground, his goggles also came off and the Pteri could no longer see clearly as before.

     Panicked, Corvin tried desperately to reach around for anything he could grab ahold of as he felt the confusion and dizziness of being lost in his own smoke trap. By this point, the crowd had already turned on him even more, disgusted at the poor sportsmanship and underhanded tactics used in the fight.

     "Help me! Give me your weapon, any of you!" Corvin yelled out to his henchmen, but they did not budge, for Corvin broke the honour code of fair fight and no amount in bribes would actually sway their proud warrior traditions.

     "I paid you to work for me!" Corvin cried in anguish as the walls of defeat closed in with the crushing weight of despair.

     "Today is not yours to capitalize with your corrupt ways," Mako said to Corvin firmly as he calmly walked over to the weakened Pteri. "We agreed to a fair fight and you broke that promise."

     "I will not lose!" gasped Corvin as he used the last bit of strength to reach for a dagger he had hidden in a secret pocket under his wings.

     But Mako reacted quickly and pounced on Corvin before he had time to strike, knocking the Pteri sideways once again, the dagger falling out of Corvin's reach.

     "You... why do you always win..." mumbled Corvin as he slowly fainted.

     "It's not about winning," the Grarrl replied. "It's about figuring out myself, why I fight and learning more about the world around me. The more I battle, the more I gain a sense of my identity. Nothing is straightforward or a binary of good and evil, but when I come across actions dissonant from what I was taught or what I experienced throughout my journey, those are the vital moments of reflection and growth I value more than the simple result of a battle."

     As the dust settled in the arena and the crowd cheered with raucous applause, the Scorchio walked over to Mako, held up his arm and announced, "Congratulations to Mako for his nine hundred and fiftieth consecutive victory!"

      The End.