The Iron Guard ~3/3, CLOSED~

"Oh! Covert takes a hit! And he's down! It's another win for the Blazers!" The announcer yelled. The crowd roared.

Taran rolled her eyes. "I don't think that that team realizes that blazer is a type of jacket for men." She stood waiting, ready for the next fight, when his team was called.

It was a nice day, sunny and relatively warm, with a breeze that could be hot one moment and cool the next. The sun shone down on the arena, where the Constance fighters were at it again. People from all over the world came to watch the fights, as it was entertaining and already very famous. The other acts were cool, but the real reason why the people came was for the special event that came next.

"Next, the Nightwalkers verses the Iron Guard! Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for our teams!"

The crowd screamed. Signs were held up, cheering on Constance City's favorite team, the team with a winning streak a mile wide. They had never lost, ever, to anyone. Peregrine, Kali, and Viper were all the favorites. And although no one knew who they were, they were still the favorites. Fanfictions were written about them, drawings made of them, articles written about them.

Little did they know that the three of them were ordinary college-age kids.

Well, not quite ordinary.

Taran glanced at her teammates. "You guys ready?" She asked them, voice muffled by the mask she wore at all times in the arena. "Remember, we haven't lost yet, and we can't let this be the time when we lose. The Nightwalkers are good, but we're better."

"Yep," Cress replied, and from her voice alone it was clear that she was smiling under her mask. She had daggers everywhere: on her waist, strapped to her wrists, strapped to her calves, strapped to her thighs. It was helpful having hidden weapons to make her seem defenseless if one was taken off her. She also had her bow and a quiver full of arrows attached to her back. "Completely ready."

Jax snorted, smirking under his mask as he looked out at the scene before him. "Please, Kali. These guys won't know what hit 'em." He assured, cracking his knuckles. He made sure to do some arm streatches, getting nimble for the fight. He turned to the two girls, running his fingers through his hair. "Do I look good?" He asked humorously, shooting finger guns at the two.

Cress fake gags, hair tied in a neat bun. People like Viper made her regret liking guys. "Please, Viper. You know for a fact that we can't see you under your mask."

Jax laughed. "Aw, come on! It was a joke!" He nudged her with his elbow, trying to get her to cheer up.

(bump)

"Are you sure it was a joke?" Taran asked, looking at them and rolling her eyes. "Because I'm pretty sure it wasn't. You'll take any opportunity you can to make people fawn over you. Do you ever give it a break and let other people be hot for once?" She put her hands on her hips, trying to look like a scolding mother, but only succeeded in bursting out laughing.

Jaxxon rolled his eyes, but was still smiling nonetheless. "Only when I sleep." He joked, giving her a sarcastic wink.

"Wait, you sleep? I was sure you were a vampire!" Taran shook her head. "Come on, you idiots. Let's win another match." She motioned to them to follow, and moved into the arena.

Jax followed, head held high as he walked into the arena with the girls.

(bump for good grades and clear skin)

(sorry i was busy yesterday and completely forgot to reply)

Cress pulled out two of her daggers with a grin under the mask, dual-wielding the weapons. She loved fighting: it gave her an exhilarating rush she couldn't find anywhere else. "Let's do this thing."

(bump)

(Sorry!)

Taran straightened her shoulders. Fighting was one thing that she absolutely loved, and it helped that her team won every single time. She smirked, cracking her knuckles, and stared at her opponents through narrowed silver eyes. The Nightwalkers, while a fearsome team, were no match for the Iron Guard. They could beat them with their eyes closed.

"In the Nightwalkers, we have the Bandit, the Monster, and the Valet, and in the Iron Guard, we have Peregrine, Kali, and Viper!" The spokesperson seemed to have forgotten that everyone already knew their names. "Don't forget to bid, ladies and gentlemen," he continued. "Who do you think will be the first down? Who do you think will win? Who will be the last standing?"

Taran rolled her eyes. It was always like this. She rolled her shoulders and smirked at the opposing team. "You take Bandit, Peregrine," she said. "Viper, you okay with Monster?"

Jax eyed the one called Monster by the announcer and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's cool." He shrugged nonchalantly. "The guy looks like he needs a challenge." He joked. He hoped his friends knew that when he said these things, he usually didn't actually mean them. It was always just to hype himself up for whatever scenario.

"Probably does. So, I shouldn't give him to you?" Taran asked, looking amused. "Because I'm pretty sure you're not a challenge."

Jax let out a laugh and winked at Taran. "If that's what you think, Kali?" He pointed out, "That's what he'll think too. A guy like him would definitely underestimate someone like me." He said seriously. Jax was used to being underestimated, but at school, he never did anything about it. Here, he could prove them wrong.

"Oh, probably," she agreed. "He's big enough to contain your ego. You might be able to manage."

Cress put a thumbs up as she ran to fight Bandit. She loved fighting Bandit: the person who thought he could beat Peregrine but never could.
Cress' short stature always gave her an edge over Bandit, a man who was at least a foot taller than her.
"Hiya buddy. Ready to die?"

(bump)

The Monster was muscular, with a heavy chin and broad shoulders. He wore the kind of mask that one would usually wear in a masquerade ball, shaped like a monster, complete with the mini horns rising from his head. He snarled down at Jax, yellow teeth bared.

Bandit was tall to Monster's wide. The muscle he had was coiled tightly into his arms and legs, so that he looked like a tree sprout more than anything else. He wore a simple bandana over his face, and dressed in camouflage. While his mouth was hidden, his eyes were full of malice as he stared at Cress in anger. He knew that she had beat him before, but he was convinced that he would win this time. He had some cards up his sleeve.

Taran shook her head and stared defiantly at the Valet. Short and skinny, the guy seemed like he would be blown away at the slightest breeze, let alone fight anyone. He wore a simple valet's uniform, with a black white mask that covered his face. He didn't seem intimidating.

But he was fast, and very, very talented, the best fighter in the Nightwalkers. He was the true mastermind of the group, and Taran was eager to fight him. And she wouldn't lose to him.

Jax laughed joyously at the sound of the snarl. "Oh, you're a tough guy, huh?" He jeered sassily. Jax stood in front of Monster, not bothering to get in a fighting stance. He always waited for his opponent to act first, and then he'd get to have his own fun. His face was held in a smirk and he almost scoffed when he saw the little horns on the guy's mask.

"Start!" The horns blew.

The Monster charged at Jax, swinging his fists and giving a roar. He didn't seem too bright, attacking right at the beginning, making sure the world knew that he was annoyed.

Jax saw the attack coming, and lucky enough for him, he was fast and flexible enough to dodge most of the punches, except for one that grazed his shoulder and another that got him on the right side of his chest. He didn't fight back just yet, choosing to try to tire out the guy before he did anything. He'd stay on defense for now, but he had a knife in each of his pockets in case he needed a quick-draw.

Almost immediately, Bandit reached to grab Cress. She knew it was coming before it happened and countered it with a kick up, her feet hitting Bandit straight in the jaw. With him in pain, she took the opportunity to slash his calf in a safe spot. She was a fighter, but she didn't want death. She'd doen extensive research and knew all the places that would result in the least blood loss.

(question. do they know who each other are? like does cress know taran is kali? does jax know cress is peregrine?)

The Monster was panting heavily, but he clenched his fists and roared, as if he was the Hulk or something, completely disregarding the fact that this was just a simple fight between… friends… His roar seemed to tell the world that he was going to win, at all costs. He charged at Jax, arms open, as if to give a hug, but there was no room to escape.

(Um, I was thinking that they did, but it would be an interesting plot twist if they didn't know their own teammates!)

Bandit smiled under his mask, his eyes cold, and, seeming not to feel the pain in his leg, swung out a few attacks, to protect himself. He was more the person to tire out the other before he revealed his trump cards and won the match. He may have been slower than Peregrine, but he was certainly more patient.

Taran, meanwhile, was weaving around Valet, her silver eyes wary. He hadn't attacked yet, so she knew that he was formulating some sort of strategy. He had watched the Iron Guard fight, and probably thought he knew their strengths and weaknesses completely.

But he was wrong.

The three of them, Kali, Viper, and Peregrine, had made it a goal to hide their true strength, and when they were in a pinch, to only use some of their talents. They never showed their true fighting ability all at once, and rarely used the same move more than once.

(I think that'd be a cool twist, especially considering that some of our characters act differently in their real lives. I'm going to write in a sec, my mom is watching me like a hawk so I do homework)

Cress smiled under her mask. She knew that Bandit was trying to tire her out, but it wasn't going to work. She could fight for hours and not tire. She'd done it before. He was waiting for nothing.

Jax smirked and mumbled to himself. "Looks like my luck has run out… let's see if this works." He waited until the Monster got close, and jumped up to vault off any vantage point he could reach. He ended up hitting the man's knee, which was at a lunge when he prepared to go after Jax. He jumped over Monster and kicked him in the back on the way down. He laughed incredulously as he turned back around to watch Monster recover. "Or maybe it hasn't run out! Thank you, gymnastics classes!" Unlike the start of the fight, Jax moved into a fighting position, adjusting his stance.