Champions Six Episode 1: Solo Act

Note: A solid opening with a heartfelt tribute to one of the greats. Well done, bro

Anthony laughed. "I know, right? Works all the time in Anime. But hey, lucky you right? You get to take a nap."

"By that logic you'd be able to do the same you know."

"I'd love to but I have my own studying to do man. So just stay awake long enough for the bus to get here and then you can nap."

"Sounds good. Studying binges really take it out of me."

"I know." Anthony chuckled.



Anthony and Keiji had been friends since at least Middle School. He was a funny little guy with wavy brown hair, a smaller figure and the cool glasses, you might mistake him for a nerd but he honestly had way too much personality for that. He was just fun to be around and, while Keiji regretted not being able to tell him his secret, hanging out with his friend always managed to lighten up his day even after a rough fight.

Anthony was currently wearing blue jeans with white stripes on the sides, a Wolf Crest T-Shirt, and a turquoise jacket with some stripes on the sides. His kevlar backpack was strapped up on his back. Back in the day Keiji used to question that but considering how weird his own life had become he honestly couldn't blame him for it anymore. If anything it was the sensible thing to do. It might not help against a freaking laser beam but honestly some protection was still better than none right? Yes, yes it was.

"Here's my question though and it's the same one I've been questioning since this guy showed up. How in the heck does his super suit work?"

"Futuristic alien sci-fi tech?" Keiji guessed.

"Probably but I'm just curious about the specifics of it is all and how the heck does the Giant Robot stay upright without collapsing under its own weight?"

"I'm spitballing here but maybe it has some kind of internal gravity or density manipulation device to keep it stable." Keiji joked.

"Potentially. But then how does that explain the giant robot's fighting skills? Seriously, it move sand fights like a person!"

"Oh that one's easy." Keiji laughed. "Obviously he's using a Video Game Controller."

They shared a laugh over that and continued joking around and chatting until the bus finally arrived and they climbed right on. Keiji found a nice spot in the back and set his bag down and closed his eyes to take a nap before they arrived at school.

"I must say though, it takes something, doesn't it? To just go out there every night and fight a small army of aliens? It's definitely brave but crazy at the same time." Leimoni mused.

"It's a thin line between crazy and courageous." Anton joked. "Besides, somebody has to do it or those things would've overrun the city by now."

"I would suggest a SWAT Team but...yeah we have...we have nothing to do deal with the giant monsters as far as I know." she hugged her arms. "It's scary isn't it? I mean, you watch those Kaiju Movies and it's all boom bang crash bash fun, yeah? It's just such a different story when you're seeing one for real."

"Do you...I mean, are you okay?"

"Yeah, kinda, sorta. I'll feel better when we get to school." She switched topics and looked over at Keiji. "And how can he sleep so soundly?"

"Big bro's always been the sort to just take it easy. He's always telling me, Anton, you just have to take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it. I think he got it from Yann Martel."

"Heh, well isn't that a laid back way to look at life?"

"Like I said, bro's always been an easy going guy. But pick a fight with him and he'll lay the smackdown."

"Now that's something I can relate to."


The bus slowed to a stop and more students climbed on. Rising up behind all of them and needing to duck down to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling as she tried to get past the rows of seats was a 6'9, 205.74 cm, tall giantess named Jasmine King.



Jasmine was a very tall young lady who towered over the majority of the student body with a beautiful, toned, athletic physique. As usual she was wearing the Dark Gold Volleyball Team Uniform of their Sugar and Spike Team. She had shoulder length green hair, died as a sort of pseudo-punkish minor rebellion and to give herself something cool and distinctive looking besides just her height. Her clothing was usually custom made and ordered because of how big she was. She made her way down the rows of students awkwardly apologizing and waving to them until she reached Leimoni and sat down next to her. Jasmine made sure to sit sideways a bit so she wouldn't have to worry about getting pushed against the seat in front of her. "Uhm...hey. Good Morning everyone."

"Morning, Jazzy!" Lei high-fived her.

"Good Morning, Jasmine!" Anton greeted her.

Keiji was finally awoken via Anthony gently shaking him awake. "Hmmmm? Huh? Hey man. What's up?"

"Good news. We're finally here."

"Huh? Oh sweet. Thanks Anthony." He grabbed his bag and stood up to be greeted by the girls. "Oh. Hey. Good morning Leimomi. Good morning Jasmine."

"Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you enjoy your sweet dreams about me?" Leimomi teased.

"I'm sure a dream about you would be a beautiful one but unfortunately I was dreaming about ninjas. Ninjas VS Xenomorphs. Weirdest dream ever."

"Who was winning?" Jasmine asked.

"The ninjas. They didn't fight fair and kept setting traps for the Xenos. I've probably been watching too many kung-fu movies. Anyway. Nice to see you girls this morning." He waved and walked out followed by his friends.

They exited the bus just in time as Samuel Vidal De Santiago rode up to school and parked his motorcycle. Then he locked it down. Then he chained it. Then he threw a tarp over it that had his name on it. Then he wrapped that down and secured locks around that! Satisfied he took off his helmet and rubbed his gloved hand through his beautiful dark brown hair and his swarthy skin shined in the morning light. He had a beautiful face which provided a funny clash with his black leather jacket with its gold lining and his blue and red t-shirt with its pirate skeleton on it. He had dark jeans with a fancy belt and shoes. He was wearing biker gloves on his hands. 



"Heeey Sammy! Locking down your bike again?"

"Morning, Spikes. You can't blame me can you? There's all kinds of insanity going down in the city these days so I decided to ensure that at least nobody could steal my Comet Cycle. I'm insured against damage and theft of course and I've got GPS tracking in case somebody does manage to swipe it but I like to be prepared as best I can." Samuel was one of the heartthrobs of school not just for his looks but also for his athleticism and intelligence. His attention to detail was nearly on the same level as Athony and his athletic ability used to be a match for Keiji before he underwent certain changes. 

"That's all you really can do." Keiji admitted. "Still, it's more effort than our esteemed teachers are putting into their own vehicular protection. So A++ for effort man."

"Thank you. It's always nice for your hard work to be appreciated." They high-fived and walked into school. "By the way are you feeling alright? You look a little tired."

"Nah man I was just up late and it's early. I'm fine. I took a nap on the bus."

Samuel couldn't help but laugh at him. "Napped on the bus? How old are you?"

"Still a kid at heart." Keiji admitted.

The other three were waiting for them inside. 

"Good morning, Samuel. I hope this morning finds you well." Jasmine greeted him.

"I noticed you're using some new ropes for your bike. A modified nylon based rope with palomar knots I assume?" Anthony asked him.

"Sup, pretty boys?" Leimomi greeted and stepped in between them with a cheeky smile. Keiji chuckled and ruffled her hair a little. 

"Greetings your highness. As always your very presence makes any day better." Samuel complimented her. "Good eyes Anthony. It's Double-knit Nylon Polyester to be precise. Everybody's using it these days  and it's an honest to goodness genius invention. It's the best of both worlds with their respective flaws ironed out and then improved even further. The best rope for securing my ride. Sup yourself, Lemony?" He greeted everyone.

"You're so sweet."

"Oh that's brilliant man. I'd love to hear more about your other ideas." 

"Alright then! Who's ready to tackle another school day? Lets get to our classes, hit the books, smackdown our assignments and try to forget the looming threat of monster attacks." Leimomi cheered her friends on. "Oh and Keiji?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to fall asleep in class."

"No promises." 

They laughed and walked the hallways together en route to their morning classes.

Keiji stretched. "Ahhh man I have got to tell you. A simple nap on the bus ride to school can do wonders for recharging your batteries."

"Dollar store batteries maybe but they're no match for a good night's sleep." Samuel reminded him. "I know something's wrong man. I won't ask you to explain it in public in the hallway but you really should tell us what it is."

"I appreciate your concern Samuel but I'm fine. Really."

"It isn't the Shòuxìng again is it?"

"No. No trust me they're gone. We ran the Animality Dojo out of town after the Tournament after all."

"The 53rd Euphoria City Martial Arts Tournament. Good times." Samuel chuckled. "Can you believe Kaiden really thought that trying to sucker punch me like that would work? He was telegraphing his movements a mile away."

"That's because nothing escapes your eyes. You can read people like a book. You're better at it than I am and that's saying something."

"Which is why I can tell you're hurting. You're sore. It's obvious from how you're moving." Samuel lowered his voice. "You're hurt. It's obvious. You were in a fight. A bad one. You won obviously which is why you're here but it took a lot out of you." He stopped outside of their class and blocked him from going on. "Come on bro, talk to me. Whatever it is, I can help. You know I can."

Keiji sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I want to but I can't. It's...uhmmm...it's....look. You remember the first rule of fight club, right?"

"You don't talk about fight club."

"Second rule of fight club?"

"You don't talk about fight club. So what have you been fight clubbing?"

"Well yes but actually no. I'm sorry man I can't tell you but that's as close as I can tell you."

A smile returned to his face as if pieces were now all falling into place. "Alright, alright, I get it. Come on. Lets get to class." He opened the door. "You know, speaking of the Tournament? Your fight with Reynaldo Chang was one for the history books."

"Oh yeah that was a good one. He was a great fighter." Keiji responded fondly. "Good times all around."

It really was one of the best fights of his life. The Shòuxìng might've been pricks but they were good fighters and Reynaldo was the best of them. A relentless bruiser and brawler who overwhelmed his opponents with furious flurries of attacks mimicking different animals all mixed into one whirlwind martial arts style. It was an even match that really came down to the wire. Hell, if Reynaldo's grappling had been better he might've actually beaten Keiji. Not that it really mattered. The poor guy was doomed no matter what. Even if he had beaten won, and that was a big if already, he wouldn't have done so and come out uninjured, and he still would've had to face Samuel and, perhaps even worse, Jasmine, who, even if she wasn't normally part of the The Champion Zone Dojo, she had signed up with the Dojo to help them deal with the Animality problem, and had proven an invaluable asset in beasting over everyone in the tournament.

"What happened to him, anyway?"

"I can't speak for the others but Reynaldo at least turned to religion since then. I've seen him around the Victory of the River Restoration Church and he finally got his head on straight. Nice guy."

"Oh. Well that's good to know. Maybe I'll go visit him later. See how he's doing."

They took their seats. Just as he was getting comfortable a beautiful young woman placed her hand on his desk and leaned in close to look at him. She has fair skin, short dark-brown hair, and dark-brown eyes. She has wavy locks on one side of her face, dyed with a gradient that starts as dark brown and transitions to caramel. Her clothes consist of cocoa-colored shirts, tight black leather trousers with golden lining around the pockets and ribbons attached to the backs of golden zipper seams around her knees. A black golden studded belt is normally hidden by a large cocoa-colored belt with gun cartridges on the left side and a large golden crosshair buckle. A large piece of black fabric is attached to her belt hanging down on her right side. She wears a pair of dark black, high-heeled leather calf-high boots with golden buckles.

Keiji smiled. "Good morning, Cecilia."

Cecilia Knight lowered her sunglasses and looked him up and down. She narrowed her eyes and stood back up. "Good morning, Keiji. We need to talk later."



"Uh, sure, whenever you like."

She put her shades in her shirt pocket and walked around the room to her seat.

Alexandra O'donnell had a good laugh at his expense. "Ohhhh man you are in for it today." Alexandra, Cecilia's best friend, is well known for her long wild reddish-orange hair, which gives her something of a rockstar look, which is complimented by her usually cocky smile. She is one of the taller girls, about as tall as some of the boys, though obviously not as tall as Jasmine, with an athletic and busty physique.



"Yes, Alexandra, thank you."

"Oh man this is going to be so good." She danced away humming to herself as she crossed the classroom and took her seat as they prepared for class.

Keiji sighed and put his head down.

Thank you man! Glad you're enjoying meeting the characters!

Yeah, I needed a palate cleanser after how uberdark the MMPR Audio Drama got and between this and PR Dino Fury I found my spark again.

"Probably both. That's what I would do if I was a space alien super villain. Just repeatedly throw armies at the superhero until he cracks." Grififn reasoned.

"That is a sound strategy. Poor guy. I'm not sure how long he's going to be able to keep doing this."


Keiji kept his head down until he heard rapping on his desk and he sat up to see Mr. Albert Chapman staring him down. "Good Morning Mr. Tenorio."

Albert Chapman was an older man with graying hair and a fancy blue suit, watch and shoes with his graying white hair slicked back. The type of old man who tried to look younger and more important than he really was.

"Good morning Keiji. It's time for class. If you want to slack off and sleep through the hour I suggest Study Hall. When you're in my class? You sit up straight and pay attention. Do not waste my time. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir. I don't mean to offend of course but the bell hasn't even-"

*BRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGG!*

"Oh there it is."

"Falling asleep in class and back talking me, eh?" He sneered. "Alright then. Just for that today's class is getting a surprise test! Rest assured everyone this will be for a grade!"

A few of the kids groaned and grumbled but Cecilia's only response was an icy glare at him picking on her boyfriend. Albert just chuckled and snapped his fingers. "Alright then class is in session! You know the drill. Hand in your homework to the desk in front of you and I'll collect them and then the test will begin."

The students took their homework pages out and passed them upward until they were all gathered together on the front desk of each row and then they were gathered up and he traded them in piles of tests which were handed back down the rows of desks. "Alright class you know the drill. You've got three pages of Trig problems and one hour to get them done. Be sure to show your work and no cheating. When your work is complete turn the paper over and wait for everyone else to finish before you hand it in. When time's up I will collect your tests and assign your homework." He informed the class. "And you all have Keiji to thank for this fantastic opportunity to improve your grades."

Keiji just shrugged it off and got to work on his Trigonometry Test. (Dick.)

The test was a real brain buster this time around and Keiji had to really buckle down and focus on the test which was not easy with his douchebag teacher and the exhaustion stemming from all of his fights lately. Even with the short nap he took on the bus and his enhanced abilities he was having trouble even keeping his eyes open. His eyes felt like lead but there was no way in hell he was going to let Professor Douchebag win. Keiji performed a quiet breathing exercise until he was able to focus and get back to work. Slowly agonizing he made his way through the test as class dragged on. Time passed as he worked through his test slowly cautiously and purposefully to make sure he got it all done exactly right. Keiji eventually managed to finish the test and made sure his name was on it before he turned it over. He was done.

(I win again, Professor Douchebag, sorry not sorry.)

The girls class thankfully was more pleasant than Keiji's. Professor Adelyn Culliver sauntered into the room in her bright pink pantsuit outfit with her tightly wound blonde ponytail bobbing while the Professor whistled to herself as she got set up for class and then turned back around to face them all. "Hello class! I'm glad you're all here safe and sound! Is everybody having a good day?"



"WHOOO!" The class replied.

"Ha! That's awesome. That's awesome! I'm always happy to see you kids here. If you would please send up your homework to the front desk then we'll be able to get started."

The class did as they were asked and passed their homework up to the front desk of each row and then they were collected by their Professor. "Alright thank you class." She collected their papers, set them aside and took out their worksheets from the previous day and handed each set to its proper row and the students took them and passed them down. Jasmine was elated to see that she'd gotten an A+ on hers as did Leimo. Jasmine and her only had to exchange glances and nod to confirm it. Smiling they returned their attention to the front of the class. Jasmine had taken a seat in the back as she did with most of her classes so she didn't block anyone's view of the board and Leimo sat close by.

"Okay class! You're doing great so far but I have a few quick questions just to make sure you're all awake! Jasmine! Name where Aristotle was born, the time period, the ideas he invented, his first philosophy and the idea he developed through it!"

"Yes ma'am! Stagira in Northern Greece in B.C. 384, where he invented the idea of separate sciences and his first philosophy was known as Metaphysics, in which he develops the doctrine that he refers to sometimes as Wisdom, sometimes as First Philosophy, and sometimes as Theology. He also developed the idea of First Cause, in which he suggests that nature is caused and that these causes in nature exist in a chain, stretching backward. The cause of the cat you see today, for example, was its parent cats, and the cause of those parents were the grandparent cats, and so on. The same for the oak tree you see; it was caused by an acorn from a previous oak tree, which in turn was caused by an acorn tree from a previous oak tree, and so on, stretching back to whenever. The central question about such causal chains, raised by Aristotle and others, is whether they must have a starting point. Aristotle, and others following him, claim that the answer is yes, i.e., that there must be a First Cause because such causal chains cannot be infinite in length."

Professor Culliver laughed and applauded. "Excellent work, Jasmine! Excellent work! I'm so happy you kids pay so much attention in class! Gold star for the day! Leimomi! Describe the unmoved and prime movers!"

"Easy." She smirked. "The unmoved mover, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, 'that which moves without being moved' or prime mover primum movens, is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary or first uncaused cause or "mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the unmoved mover moves other things, but is not itself moved by any prior action. In Book 12 of his Metaphysics, Aristotle describes the unmoved mover as being perfectly beautiful, indivisible, and contemplating only the perfect contemplation: self-contemplation. He equates this concept also with the active intellect. This Aristotelian concept had its roots in cosmological speculations of the earliest Greek pre-Socratic philosophers and became highly influential and widely drawn upon in medieval philosophy and theology."

"Correct, correct correct! You kids are great! Just great! I'm proud of you all! Yes! The concept of an “un-moved mover” has been discussed at least since the time of early Greek philosophers. Aristotle is most famously credited with establishing this idea, though he may not have been the very first to frame the concept this way. This line of reasoning and Aristotle’s argument in favor of it were later used in the context of Christian theology by Thomas Aquinas, who pointed to God as the Un-Moved Mover. This was part of Aquinas’ cosmological argument, one of his five ways. However, there are crucial differences between the way Aristotle viewed his un-moved mover and the way later theologians such as Aquinas used it as a reference to the God of the Bible."

"Aristotle was a student of Plato, who taught that the ultimate reality was composed of ideal Forms, and that one primary “good” entity—the Demiurge—had created reality. Aristotle took a less personal and more abstract approach. He developed the idea of an un-moved mover from an earlier concept of un-moved movers (plural). Aristotle’s writings follow a chain of logic and observation to the idea that, in order for there to be “motion,” there had to be something to cause it: a “mover.” For Aristotle, however, this idea was applied individually to the various spheres of the heavens, which astronomers either numbered at 47 or 55. To Aristotle, these were not personal, relatable beings. They were pure intellectuality. You see?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Great! Lets have some more fun here! Haruko! What are Aristotle's two kinds of virtue?"

She looked back from the window, blinked, looked at the teacher and smiled. "Aristotle distinguishes between two kinds of virtue: moral virtue and intellectual virtue Aristotle says that moral virtues are not innate, but that they are acquired by developing the habit of exercising them. An individual becomes truthful by acting truthfully, or becomes unselfish by acting unselfishly. Aristotle notes that it may be difficult for an individual to become virtuous if he or she has not acquired the habit of acting virtuously. For example, it may be difficult for an individual to become tactful, if he or she has not acquired the habit of acting tactfully. It may also be difficult for an individual to become unselfish, if he or she has acquired the habit of acting selfishly."

"Correct! You see, Class, A morally virtuous action requires an individual to be able to choose how to respond to his or her own thoughts and feelings. Thus, the concept of moral responsibility implies that an individual has some freedom to choose his or her own actions. Moral responsibility for an action may be partly determined by whether the action is voluntary or involuntary. An individual may not be morally responsible for having performed an action, if the individual was forced to perform the action against his or her own will. An individual may also not be morally responsible for having performed an action, if the individual has no control over the action. Moral responsibility may be partly determined by whether an individual, prior to performing an action, was aware of the possible consequences of the action. Moral responsibility may also be partly determined by whether an individual, prior to performing an action, should have known the possible consequences of the action. Moral responsibility may also be partly determined by whether an action is impulsive or deliberate. Impulsive actions may be voluntary but may not be as purposeful and planned as deliberate actions. An individual may have a responsibility to control his or her impulses, but the individual who acts impulsively may not be as aware of the possible consequences of his or her actions as the individual who acts deliberately. Just as an individual may be responsible for his or her actions in a situation, an individual may be responsible for his or her inaction in a situation. A lack of action by an individual in a situation may imply his or her responsibility for not having acted in that situation. An action by an individual in a given situation may be judged according to the way in which the individual could have acted in that situation. According to Aristotle, the moral virtues include: courage, temperance, self-discipline, moderation, modesty, humility, generosity, friendliness, truthfulness, honesty, justice. The moral vices include: cowardice, self-indulgence, recklessness, wastefulness, greed, vanity, untruthfulness, dishonesty, injustice. Acts of virtue bring honor to an individual, acts of vice bring dishonor to an individual." She paused to breathe before continuing.


"Justice as a moral virtue includes lawfulness (universal justice) and fairness (particular justice). Injustice as a moral vice includes unlawfulness and unfairness. Fairness requires that the privileges and responsibilities of persons in a given situation be distributed proportionally and equally (distributive justice). Fairness also requires that an unfair inequality or disproportion in the privileges and responsibilities of persons in a given situation be rectified (rectificatory justice). Rectificatory justice may restore equality, or may reallocate privileges and responsibilities to persons in a given situation, or may prescribe some form of penalty for persons who have been unjust, or may award some form of compensation to those persons who have been treated unfairly."

She continued to go around the classroom asking various 'Warm Up Questions' and explaining the answers in detail to her class before finally getting down to business for her real lecture.