"You're absolutely sure that I have to fight?"

Looking about nervously, like someone who has been lent money recently and is afraid that it will be demanded back shortly, Jorus coughed politely into his fist as they stood in front of the Battle Registration desk.

"Yes, Jorus. I have to see an actual regulated match before I can send the report back."

Asmen had dressed up for this one. It had been awhile since she had been to a match, especially one as posh as this one. Some of the top breeders tested their new monsters out in the public simply to see how they performed. Maybe she could catch one of those fine men...

"Bloody hell, you'd think that they'd have cleared out by now! Why is the line moving so... so slow!"

Sighing, Asmen replied, "Well, it's nice to see you're so happy."

"It's because of their bragging, isn't it?"

Asmen politely rolled her eyes and turned to look at the desk. Sure enough, the man two people in front of them was talking to great lengths about his prize Golem. It seemed discontented, a bit down. Asmen didn't blame it; it had been waiting for ten minutes as the registration man had been gossiping with the Golem's owner.

Asmen cocked her head at Jorus and sighed. "I'm sure they're only discussing technicalities, Jorus."

"Must be some bloody entertaining ones."

A tug on Jorus's coat caused him to look down. There, on his right, was a monster Asmen had only just seen today. It was, as far as Asmen could tell, one of the strangest monsters she had ever seen.

Standing about two feet tall, it was a Hare. Or at least mostly Hare. The basic body looked like a hare; at least, if you viewed it from the right side. A two-dimensional outline of a Hare was what had given Asmen for pause. It was also attracting a lot of stares from other people. A lot of the rich people. None of them had spoken a word.

Jorus didn't seem bothered.

"Perhaps we should have taken the short line?"

Jorus replied, all-knowing and polite, "That's not the registration line. That leads to the restroom."

"Looks more fun than this."

The man with the Golem walked off and the line gratefully moved forward a few feet. When the Golem finally woke up, the line got to go a few more. As the man in front of them was signing up, Asmen whispered into Jorus’s ear.

“What’s your monster’s name?”

He quietly replied, more or less to himself, “Duality.”

She drew herself back and said, “Is THIS the joint occupation?”

“No,” Jorus said. “Just a fluke. I moved a Doodle into the Hare body just when the Hare’s soul ran out of time. The Hare’s name was Dutan; since the way the energy flowed gave me thought of Duality, I named the combine of Hare and Doodle Duality.”

Nodding silently, the man in front finished with his Suezo and both Asmen and Jorus moved up.

“Names?”

“Asmen and Jorus Konath.”

“Oh, another husband and wife team?”

Asmen blushed and turned away as Jorus nealt down to the desk and tapped it, saying, “No, no, NO. I am Jorus Konath. Her, there; she’s my assistant, Asmen Ran’Shadda.”

“Oh, terribly sorry, sir. Just… I guess I shouldn’t jump to such conclusions.”

“And you’ve been the registration guide for HOW long?”

The man coughed and turned back to Asmen. “Terribly sorry, dear. But trainers hardly issue with their assistants nowadays. Just one match and their counterpart’s at the ranch, slaving away.” He shuffled the papers on his desk. “But… Asmen Ran’Shadda? THE Asmen Ran’Shadda?”

Jorus closed his eyes, sensing what was about to happen. He suspected Asmen could, too.

“WOW! NEVER in my LIFE would I have expected to see ASMEN!” He went, to use a term Asmen had heard used as “stunned,” practically “wonkers.” “WOW! And YOU’RE an ASSISTANT to THIS GUY?” He gulped excitedly and began to bounce about. “WOW! I bet YOU’RE embarrassed, huh?”

He then turned to Jorus—eyes closed, he could feel the forceful breath on him. “WOW! YOU should be HONORED! Togara is the BEST GOLEM in the ENTIRE CONTINENT! SHE beats EVERYONE! I’D be HUMBLED if I were to even be TRAINED by ASMEN! W…”

Hand over the man’s mouth, Jorus said unto him, “Please don’t say “wow” again. It’s positively ridiculous. The least you could do is continue the entry forms.”

Eyes wide, he was still a bit ecstatic. “N-n-n-names? P-please?”

“Jorus Konath, and Assistant Asmen Ran’Shadda.”

Writing down furiously, he asked another. “M-m-monster name and t-type?”

“Its name is Duality. It’s mainly Hare with a Doodle sub-breed.”

He stopped dead in his little inked-up tracks.

“Is… that even… possible..?”

“I should think so. Duality? Do you exist?”

“I think… so, I must be here. Otherwise nothing would matter.”

“See? He admits it. Write him down.”

When the desk master fell out of his chair, Jorus filled out the rest of the form for him. “My, that was embarrassing,” he said. “I can’t think of much worse.”

Continuing down the hallway, Asmen caught a few more stares before they made their way to the giant arena. Packed with people waiting to see some nice, clean, monster action, the stadium was practically a life form of its own.

The pointed lightning said, “Are you ready?”

The rolling thunder said, “For all eternity.”


A stage; a stage! It’s all a stage! Everything you’ve ever seen is a play; a circus; an opera. Or comparatively so. The wild, cheering crowd at its high points, and at times an echo of sadness. It swings with you and you swing with it, much to everyone’s surprise. Those that don’t move with the times are often dragged along; on the stage, if you don’t follow the emotion, no-one takes the time to help you; you’ll be lost forever, kept from an experience you would have forever relished. Life moves on with those who choose to stand by it.

But to be a player on this stage, you must possess the three tiers of power. First, you must have power to use it. One cannot use what is not there; much in the same way that what cannot be is not able to be used. One must first have the strength to put one foot forward to take the next step.

Next, one must possess the courage to use power. What does not want to be used cannot be coerced by secondary means; it must be forced or brought forth willingly. That which can be used is useless if it won’t be controlled. One must first have the will to put one foot forward to take the next step.

Finally, one must possess the knowledge to use power. It must be used in moderation and regulated as not to be viewed as tyrannical OR evil OR ruthless. One should not crush an insect with a house; that which is used must be used with intelligence; with wisdom. One must first put the foot on solid purchase, or everything is nothing.

And yet it is all worthless were it not for opportunity. Opportunity to use power, to will it forth, and to use it wisely. Opportunity to fail. Opportunity to succeed.

But to trade this coaster of wild emotion for a chance at eternal bliss is foolhardy. Eternal conformity; no change. Nothing to live for. Bliss in, bliss out. Happiness and happiness and happiness. If only we were so easily amused. We live for that coin; on one side, happiness. On one side, sadness. One side calm whilst the other rages. Good, evil. Light, dark. Pleasure, pain.

And time and time again, Jorus asks himself why he keeps on living. How long will it prolong? What happens at the end? How many monsters has he seen die before him? How many people? How many years; decades; centuries… He has seen so much but remembered so little. Locked it all away, in a little room inside his head. Sometimes they come out, late at night. That’s why the house is so empty; so barren.

Not to keep others out, but to keep Jorus in.

And then, in the madness he recognizes as life, he looks about, and wonders what it’s all worth. He wonders what he’s waiting for.

And time again, he ends up with the same answer. Blinded by the light, he once again embraces the truth.

He lives for the off-chance that the coin will finally land on its side.


And now…

The ringmaster.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do we have a circuit tonight! New monsters pitted against old rivals as their trainers learn what they can of their monster’s nature! It’s a free-for-all with four participants; the great Bastan MacDonaugh, the fluent Ghostan Mickaehl, the stern Valdar Smithe, and, introducing for the first time, the dark Jorus Konath!”

Cheering for their respective names, the crowds were wild for the action soon to be presented. But were they prepared?

“And introducing their monsters, respectively, the Golem, Barkuu, the Ducken, Cwakan, the Suezo, Dorkan, and the Hare, Duality!”

Another cheer for the monsters, soon to be thrown to the wolves.

“The first and fourth entries will now meet for their first match. Good luck!”

As Jorus and Asmen walked into the arena, greeted by cheers, Asmen managed to get in, “I just now recognized that man with the Golem! His name’s Bastan MacDonaugh; I knew him at the FIMBA academy! I wonder if he remembers me?”

Bastan arrived with his Golem in tow, waving at the audience. Seeing Asmen, he yelled, “Hey, Asmen! Why not come and assist a real breeder? I’m sure my house is much larger!”

Jorus looked at him quizzically, then at Asmen, and then crouched down to Duality. Asmen was blushing, but a bit miffed at the fact that Jorus wasn’t defending any of his honor. But then, she could hear him over the roar of the crowd.

“Now, Duality; I want you to know that you don’t have to pull any punches. Just one smoking-six-gun; that’s all. But, just lead the Golem into thinking it can win. Its trainer, too. He doesn’t surprise me as the bright kind, no?”

Duality nodded and then grinned. Stepping into the circle, it looked directly at Barkuu, stuck its hands on its hips, and stuck its tongue out. The Golem immediately charged in after the offender, much to Bastan’s dismay. Then, almost casually, Duality sidestepped and stuck a foot out.

Tripping over, the Golem rolled about ten yards and slowly got back to its feet, fuming. A swing over Duality’s head, and another back across, the Golem was aiming poorly. Just then, Bastan yelled, “No, Barkuu! Kick! Kick!” Confused, the Golem turned its head. Just then, Duality pushed it off balance.

Staggering to stand straight, Barkuu behaved quite haggardly in retaining its position. Moving back about three feet, the Golem suddenly had a bright thought, and swung its left leg right at Duality. Much to its delight, Duality didn’t move.

Much to Bastan’s dismay, the Hare had stopped the foot with one finger.

Completely taken by surprise, the Golem was at a loss for anything. It only stood with its eyes wide open. The entire crowd had fallen under the spell too. Just then, someone yelled.

He cried thunder.

“Fire!” yelled Jorus, the clock ticking down from 10.

The hare then unloaded all six bullets of its smoking-six-gun straight into Barkuu. One huge hook that left the audience devastated as they watched the ton of rock crash straight into the side of the wall. One huge hook that, Asmen suspected, would have been nothing more then a hook if used against Jorus’s monsters. But this was a hook used against a young Golem. This was a smoking-six-gun.

“Bang,” Asmen heard Jorus whisper.

Rock plates fell across the Golem’s unmoving form as the Hare, Duality, blew its fist like a fresh bowl of soup that went down better cooled. Asmen had no doubt that no monster could cool Duality’s firearm.

This was going to be interesting…

And the look on Bastan’s face was just electrifying…

(Next is: Dead Reckoning)

I liked the parts where you got into Jorus's head and used the coin to symbolize life. The battle was a nice addition as well.

Great stories, The first three were allready here when i joined MRM and the others have been added since. I love these stories so please add the next. It sounds great.