The Three Dark Angels

"So, who's this Angelus guy you're about to fight? And why do they call him Hothead?" Scorpia's younger sister, the almost scarily spitting image of her seventeen year old self, Rachel asked her.

Like her sister, Rachel, though beautiful, very rarely smiled or showed any real outward signs of emotions to those she did not trust, and thus her face was almost always wearing a blank and serious expression. The only real difference between the two was the eyes. Scorpia had green eyes, while Rachel's were blue.

They were also accompanied by their younger sister, Crystal, who turned out to look nothing like her sisters. Her hair was brown rather than blonde, and possessed a much more cheerful face and voice which almost never seemed down. She did, however, have Scorpia's green eyes, which they joked were supposed to go to Rachel and Rachel should have gotten Crystal's eyes.

Scorpia's lips curved slightly into a smile. "Well, he is a jackass for sure. But, he's also someone who doesn't take crap from anyone, no matter who it is."

"Is he cute?"

Scorpia raised an eyebrow, to which Rachel shrugged. "Just wondering. I still haven't given up on my mission to find someone for you."

It was a long standing promise and joke between the two of them that started shortly after their older brother, Christopher, died two years ago. With that, Scorpia reluctantly took on the role as the head of the family due to their mentally ailing mother caused by their father walking out.

The burden, however, was too heavy for Scorpia to bare alone, and it quickly took it's tool on her within weeks. Scorpia hardly slept during that time, spending most of her nights crying either from family problems or the loss her brother, her one true parent and guidance in her life.

The first night Rachel had found Scorpia crying over bills, Rachel vowed to help her sister, and the first thing she would do is find someone for Scorpia. That never came to fruition, but Rachel did begin helping Scorpia as much as she could, and Crystal, the youngest, though not old enough understand everything that was happening, understood that she needed to contribute as well, and did so. And because of that, the family was able to stay afloat.

Scorpia shook her head. "I don't think so. He's too...immature. He's the kind of guy that will just say what's on his mind, not really caring about who might be listening, and get in trouble in the way that he constantly did."

"Maybe, but that also is the kind of guy who will keep it straight and not bullshit you. Simple and straightforward, that sounds like a good guy for you."

"In theory, but, you don't know Angelus."

Scorpia had already pondered this some time ago in the same way Rachel was doing right now. Yes, he was cute, and yes, if there was someone Scorpia wanted to get involved with, it was a no bullshit guy. But Angelus...he's just a ticking bomb that constantly goes off. That made him way too high maintenance and getting involved with him would most likely lead to a disaster.

"If you meet him for real, you'll understand. He'll show that he has zero potential in a relationship like that."

"Is he even good enough for a fuck buddy?" Rachel asked next.

Scorpia cracked up at that and shook her head. "I don't think so, but I know for sure it's something I don't want to try."

Rachel sighed. "I think you're just being difficult. Out of all of the class aside from the ones you told me about, which I'm sure you're exaggerating a little bit somewhere, there isn't a single guy to go after?"

Scorpia shrugged. "Nope. No one really."

Rachel stared at her sister suspiciously, but said nothing.

"Is he any good at fighting?" Crystal chimed in.

At this, Scorpia nodded. "If there is one thing he deserves credit for, he is one tough and stubborn son of a bitch. He could be beaten into the ground repeatedly and still get up to fight until the other guy tires himself out. That's one thing he proved constantly. He would get his ass kicked by the Instructors on a regular basis, and still come out and perform really well when he needed to. I hated sparring against him because he matched me blow for blow, but no matter how many good hits I got on him, he could still keep going without slowing down one bit. At this point, he's still probably at full stamina even after fighting Zaeco while I just had that tough match against Kreiger that wore me down."

"So, can you beat him?" Crystal asked.

"Well, if I can surprise him with something quickly, and not let the fight drag on, I might be able to get him. But, he's also really good, and I probably won't be able to get the jump on him. So my second option is going to have to be that I wait and conserve as much as possible, and wait for him to make a mistake. He isn't known as Hothead for nothing after all." Scorpia concluded, then smiled to her sisters.

"I'm off, wish me luck." Scorpia waved to her sisters as she walked to her ring.

"Good luck Scorpia, kick his ass!"

"Just be careful."



Fortuna saw that Aegis was already in the ring waiting for her as she approached the ring, and had a feeling that her night as a competitor was about to end right here. She wasn't a pessimist, but she was being realistic. Aegis was as strong and capable in combat as he was handsome, both of which were dragonlike. Graceful, elegant, yet very dangerous and fierce when necessary.

As Fortuna stepped into the ring, she saw that this was one of those times. He gazed at her with a grim look on his face, and if Fortuna didn't know any better, she would think that Aegis had every intention of killing her, and the thought did not phase him at all.

Even still, Fortuna stood her ground. It didn't matter how high the odds were stacked against her, or how good her opponent was, Fortuna also knew that every fight was not over or decided until it was actually fought.

She met Aegis' gaze with her own look of determination. If she lost here, that would be fine. Aegis had outperformed her along with many others during their times as Candidates. But, if she could win...that possibility was worth going for.

Fortuna brushed her pink bangs aside, which had fallen close to her eyes. "No matter what happens Aegis, don't hold out on me. I won't accept a win or a loss unless I know you gave it your all."

"You're too good to take lightly." Aegis answered.

Fortuna smiled. "Good to hear."



One of the most annoying thing about Azreal is that he never seemed to take any situation seriously. Even as Beasley stared down her opponent in the finals of the Element of Chaos division, Azreal, on the other hand, seemed more bored than anything else as he stifled a yawn, eyeing the gathered crowd.

It's not that Azreal was a bad guy, he's a high spirit, good natured character (for the most part), and stands by his friends. But...there just seemed to be no driving force for him, and he is simply on board the train of life, not really trying to drive it.

What made it worse was that he was obviously full of talent of various kinds, and it was, in a way, frustrating for Beasley to watch as Azreal wasted that talent. And now, that very aspect of him was the strongest weapon against Beasley.

Beasley wasn't sure whether or not he would take this fight seriously, and if he did, just how good was he? It was hard to tell whether some of Azreal's finer moments during their times as Candidates was either skill, or just plain dumb luck.

Beasley caught the flares from the fireworks as they launched into the night sky with the corner of her eye, and saw that Azreal actually turned serious as he faced her.

Shit, he's going to take it seriously.

One of Azreal's greatest strengths lies in giving him time to come up with a plan. He is somewhat of a trickster by nature, thinks quickly on his feet, and that seems to apply in his fighting style from what he has shown as a Candidate. If she kept him on the defensive, he won't have time to think, only time to react, and that will give her the best chance to win.

At the crack of the first firework, Beasley ran at Azreal, and threw the first punch.

To her surprise, however, it connected, and she got a good clean hit on the left side of Azreal's face, then got completely blindsided by Azreal's left fist, which she had lost track of in her surprise.

Azreal followed up with several low body hits until Beasley caught both of his hands and head butted him in the nose, causing Azreal to cry out, grasp his nose with both of his hands, and take several steps back while Beasley rubbed her throbbing forehead.

She looked up and saw that even though Azreal was holding his nose and his eyes were squinted in pain, his eyes were clearly focused on her, and still on guard. Beasley straightened herself up, ignoring the pain on her head now.

"Damn woman! You play rough." Azreal remarked as he released his bleeding nose, revealing two very clear trails of blood that started at his nose and traveled to his chin where it was slowly dripping to the ring.

Azreal, not knowing what else to do, wiped the blood from his hands and on to the sleeves of his green robe, then proceed to blow out the blood in his nose on to the ring, though he still did not take his eyes off of Beasley as he did this.

Azreal then smiled. "Well, one of us has to make the first move eventually. Gorgeous as you are, and handsome as I am, we can't spend all night staring at each other, can we?"

"Can't you take anything seriously!?" Beasley asked with annoyance in her voice.

"Woah there, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little. You look so tense over there that you look like you'll snap yourself in half. Just relax a little."

In response, Beasley ran at Azreal.

"Or not." Azreal quickly responded as he defended himself from Beasley's assault.

She didn't know if he was trying to form a plan or just bullshit, either way, it was time she did not want to waste. And more importantly, Azreal was also eating away at her patience, which she could not afford to lose. A mistake around Azreal will cost her the fight.

Beasley, after several unsuccessful attacks against Azreal with both her fists and legs, she backed away, with Azreal choosing not to pursue.

Fighting him head on was useless, and now Beasley's need for a plan was greater than her need to stop Azreal from trying to form his own plan. She needed to force a decisive moment rather than let this match drag on. The question is, how?

Azreal is fighting with the least amount of risk in mind, pure defense and waiting for open moments. He had only gone aggressive at first to catch her by surprise. And as of right now, that would be enough for him to win if the judges were to decide at this point.

Beasley's eyes widened as Azreal suddenly made a move toward her, and just as quickly, he came to a stop just a few feet short of her. Beasley's eyes narrowed in response.

"Stop fucking with me!" Beasley growled through her teeth as she threw her clenched fist at Azreal's face, only for her to miss and for Azreal to get another low body shot on her, followed by Azreal kicking her out of the ring before she could recover.

The crowd gathered around this fight gasped in surprise as Beasley had fallen out of the ring. To many, their worst fears had been realized, and many bets had been ruined by the wild card Azreal, while a much smaller percentage who had taken the gamble cheered for the underdog's victory and their own.

As Beasley rose to her feet, she realized her mistake. She had let Azreal get in her head, forcing her aggression to make her make a mistake. She looked up to see Azreal joined her, who had just been declared victor by a judge.

"No hard feelings?" Azreal asked, offering Beasley a hand.

"On one condition, how much of this fight did you plan out? Are you that crafty, or just lucky?" Beasley asked.

"Well, I knew I couldn't fight you completely unprepared. And it was when you snapped at me when I made that remark about us staring at each other all night that I knew your nerves were shot, making it easy for me to get to you. Sorry about that, but, I kind of wanted the win too."

Beasley contemplated Azreal's words as he continued to hold out his hand. After a few moments, Beasley sighed, shook her head, and took Azreal's hand.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. I had a weakness that you were able to exploit, therefore, the loss is on me. You were just smart enough to notice and use my weakness to your advantage. Congratulations on your victory, and good luck tonight." Beasley replied as she released Azreal's hands and turned to become a spectator for the remainder of the night.

Azreal turned to Aegis' ring, and saw that the ring was empty, with Azreal assuming that Aegis had won. Azreal next turned to Angelus' fight, and saw that was still going on, and moved in for a closer view while finding Aegis along the way. (Even in the current mass of other humans, Aegis still managed to stick out like a sore thumb.)

"Congratulations." Aegis greeted Azreal as he arrived, with both of them glued to the fight.

Azreal saw that both Angelus and Scorpia had blood coming out of both their noses and lips, and it was obvious both were exhausted even as they continued to throw punches at one another.

"Damn, what's been happening here?" Azreal asked.

"From what I understand, both of them simply dropped the idea of defense early on for an aggressive and quick victory. Although some good hits got in on both sides, neither of them have been able to force a victory yet. Angelus, however, currently holds the advantage since Scorpia is showing a much stronger sign of exhaustion than Angelus. But, that can change if Angelus allows it."

As Aegis finished, Scorpia connected with a straight shot to Angelus' face, one that Azreal slightly winced at. Scorpia tried to follow up with a second hit, but Angelus caught her hand and elbowed her in the gut, forcing her back. Scorpia fell to her knees as Angelus wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"Why did he stop? He had her." Azreal asked.

"She pulled a similar move a little while ago, but it turned out to be bait, and she almost knocked him out of the ring. It was pretty impressive, she fooled me as well." Aegis answered.

"Really? That's pretty smart actually, I'll have to remember that for possible future use." Azreal noted as he watched Scorpia try to rise. "But, this looks pretty real to me."

She was wincing in pain, and her legs were shaking as she slowly stood, but there was an unmistakable aura of determination, which was also dead set in her eyes. She would continue until she could not do so anymore.

"I think it's safe to say that this fight is over at this point. Even if she tries to attack, one must question just how much strength she has left in her attacks."



Angelus braced himself for what just might be the final clash of this fight. And about fucking time. Scorpia would just not fucking quit.

Before that happened, however, the fireworks launched in the sky, completely snapping the tension in both the ring and in the audience. The fight was over, to the disappointment of many, and now the decision was left to the judges.

Both Angelus and Scorpia turned to the judges, curious to see what they would decide. Currently, the judges were two Conscripts and two Dragoons who will make the initial decision. If it's a tie, then it would go to the Master Dragoon who was overseeing the match, which Angelus currently saw was Master Phoenix. Angelus winced slightly at Master Phoenix.

'If it's up to him, I'm fucked.'

Angelus sighed as the nightmare came true, and the judges came to a draw at two and two, causing the eyes to float to Master Phoenix, who stepped into the ring and approached the weary Graduates.

"Before I tell you my decision, I would like to tell both of you that you have fought an excellent match tonight, and the progress you have made to get here is something to be proud of. Now, I'll start with Scorpia." Master Phoenix then turned to Scorpia.

"Scorpia, you have fought valiantly, and that cannot be denied. In the face of adversity, you stood your ground and fought back without pause, seeking victory against strong odds. However, your mistake also lies there. There is no one in existence without limits. Try as we all do in raising our limits, they can never be broken no matter how strong you might become."

"If you were on the battlefield tonight, trying to fight past you limits as you had against Angelus, not only will you unnecessarily endanger yourself, but you will also threaten and burden the Dragoons around you who will most assuredly come to your aid in such a situation. Even I have limits and must withdraw from a battle once they are reached and I become little more than a burden to my own comrades. You must learn to do this as well Scorpia, which can start here, even in a friendly competition. The truly strong survive defeat and live to win the battle another day, as disgraceful as that might sound to you."

Scorpia's eyes lowered as Master Phoenix turned to Angelus.

"Congratulations Angelus, this victory goes to you." Master Phoenix declared as he took Angelus' arm and held it up, to the cheers and boos of the crowd.

Angelus stared at Master Phoenix somewhat dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Master Phoenix to take his side. Angelus then grinned as he dwelled over the fact that he had made it to the semifinals. Ultimate victory was just around the corner, and all that was left was one or two more fights, depending on the Element of Chaos victor and what they choose.

And even more importantly, he had a full hour before the next fight. Plenty of time for him to eat about three meals. His stomach had started rumbling just before his fight against Scorpia, and though he had ignored it most of the fight, his stomach was now striking back with a vengeance.

When Master Phoenix began walking away, Angelus excitedly left the ring and began pushing his way through the now slightly dispersed crowds as he made his way to the outside of the rings where the food stands were. It just couldn't wait any longer, he had to eat otherwise he'll never make it the rest of the night.

As always, the lines were fanatically long, and Angelus sighed as he lined himself up, not knowing whether or not he would survive this wait in line.

"Hey, you're one of the Graduates fighting tonight right? Graduate Angelus, the Hothead?"

Angelus winced at the nickname that he heard behind him, and he snapped at the direction of the one who spoke the very hated nickname. It turned out to be some random and rather normal looking guy with a girl next to him, both of them slightly backing up from Angelus' reaction.

"...sorry. It's just that I hate that nickname, but hey, how are you guys supposed to know that? Anyway, yeah, I'm Angelus, and please just call me that. This whole 'Graduate' thing makes me sound more official than I want to."

"Oh...well, anyway, I watched your fight against Graduate Zaeco, and you were awesome. You guys really want all out too, and I think that it was the best fight of that round, but, more importantly, I have a question. Did you beat Graduate Scorpia? Sorry, but I didn't get a chance to see the end of your fight. I hope you did because I bet that you would be one of the ones to make it to the semifinals, along with Aegis. You see, when I read the more detailed file about you, I felt that they had misjudged your abilities as well as your knack for coming out on top in uncanny situations. I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself, it's just, I'm really excited that you're here right now. If there was only one person in your class that I would want to meet the most, it would be you. Anyway-"