Chapter 21: Clash of the Speedsters
After waiting a few minutes for a clean up crew to reset the ring, the announcer returned to it. "Alright! Now we’re on to the second match of the quarterfinals! Marmalade Brightrun versus Mallowa Cloudstep!"
As Marmalade passed by Sam’s seat in the bleachers, they gave each other a quick fist bump.
"Good luck, dude!" Sam said.
"Thanks, man!" the cat replied.
Once the two fighters stepped into the ring, the announcer continued. "Same rules as before! Alright... Ready! Set! FIGHT!"
They both launched at each other, exchanging punches and kicks as they dashed and flipped around. Sam snapped his head quickly back and forth, trying to keep up with the rapid flashes of yellow and blue electricity bouncing all over the ring.
Marmalade dropped down for a low sweep with his foot towards Mallowa’s ankles, but she read his movements and jumped up just in time, countering with a spinning kick towards his ribs. He twisted out of range, then lurched forward with an elbow strike aimed at her jaw. She caught his forearm an inch from her face and held it firmly in her hand.
For one frozen instant they were locked together, muscle straining against muscle. Then Marmalade pushed off her and backflipped across the ring a few times to put some distance between them.
"You’re still too slow!" Mallowa taunted as she rushed after him, throwing a jab at his jaw. Marmalade just barely managed to sidestep the strike, her knuckles mere centimeters away from grazing his cheek. But it provided an opening for him to connect with a solid punch to her chest.
"Ha! Take that!" he cried out victoriously.
She stumbled back a few steps, and he pressed the advantage, closing the distance before she could regain her footing. He followed that up with another punch to her chest, a knee strike to her stomach, and an elbow jab to her face, all in rapid-fire succession.
Mallowa rode the last hit instead of blocking it, letting the impact spin her a full rotation, and came out of the spin with a high kick arcing toward his temple. He raised his forearm up just in time to block, then grabbed her leg and swung her around, trying to throw her out of the ring. She used the opportunity to bring her other leg forward to knee him in the face, then pushed off him and flipped away a few feet.
Marmalade recovered quickly and sped around the ring as Mallowa was flipping backwards, and then came up behind her with a rising knee aimed for the back of her head. On her final flip, she twisted around mid-air and drove her elbow into his sternum before his knee could make contact, and she followed that with a kick to the same spot.
The strike sent Marmalade skidding backwards across the stone tiles. He stopped himself mere inches from the ring’s edge, chest heaving. His orange fur was beginning to show signs of sweating.
"Careful, now" Mallowa said with a cocky smirk, stretching her arms as if she was still warming up. "It would be humiliating for you if you got knocked out of the ring by a girl! Hahaha!"
"Good thing I don’t plan on losing!" he said as he ran back towards her with an arm cocked and ready to punch. She met him head-on rather than side-stepping, catching his fist. She let herself fall onto her back and kicked her legs up, using Marmalade’s own momentum to toss him across the ring.
He twisted mid-air, pushing back off the stone the instant his feet touched it. He lunged at her and tried to land a punch while she was still getting back up. His fist caught her shoulder instead of her jaw - she’d slipped enough to save her face and sacrifice the hit.
Another series of back and forth strikes and dodges exploded across the ring. Sam was still trying his best to follow the high-speed movements, which looked like two blurs fighting amidst rapid-fire flashes of yellow and blue lightning.
A moment later, the two speedsters were standing chest to chest in the center of the ring, Mallowa’s forearm pressed against Marmalade’s throat, her off hand gripping his fist mid-punch.
"You’re getting faster in this fight," Mallowa admitted. Then she smirked. "But not fast enough to win!"
Marmalade just grinned in response, then dropped his weight suddenly, breaking her grip and sweeping her legs out from under her with this foot. She fell to her side, and for one perilous second, it seemed he had her. She was on the ground and off balance, a clean opening for a finishing move.
He swung his foot towards her with a hard kick, but she recovered fast enough to grab his leg and fling him again. He rolled towards the edge of the ring, and just barely managed to stop himself from falling out of bounds. He jumped to his feet, but was not quick enough to counter Mallowa’s incoming hurricane kick.
Blue electricity was spiralling around her as she spun through the air towards him at superspeed, her foot extended. An instant later, it connected with Marmalade’s jaw, sending him spinning out of the ring.
"Woohoo!" Mallowa cheered with her arms above her head. Marmalade just groaned and placed a hand on his jaw as he stood up.
"Ow..." he said, then sighed and gave her a thumbs up. "Good fight! Congratulations on the win!"
She beamed, happy that he was being a good sport about it.
The announcer joined her in the ring. "Marmalade Brightrun is out of bounds! Mallowa Cloudstep emerges victorious! Great job, contestants!"
The crowd cheered. Mallowa hopped off the stage, and then she and Marmalade gave each other a fist bump.
When the orange cat passed by Sam again, he reached out a hand and placed it on Marmalade’s shoulder. "You did good, dude! That fight was awesome! I could hardly keep up with your movements!"
He grinned. "Thanks, man! It was fun! It sucks that I lost, but every defeat is just another step on the road to long-term victory!"
"That’s a great way to look at it!" Sam replied.