Chapter One

Xavier and Melissa walked into the building  through the glass door at the bottom of the stairs.  Their gaze turned upwards together to the wooden steps to the single door at the top of the landing.  From beyond, the sounding of rhythmic yelling in unison echoed down the walls flanking them, many voices in one collective.  Each outburst of unified shouting caused Xavier to flinch.  If he did not want to look like a complete bitch and a coward, he would have ran back out the door.  It sounded as if a whole Roman legion of bathrobe wearing fanatics were marching towards him.

Melissa urged him on, giving him a slight nudge and walked up the stairs behind him, making sure he did not try to run away.  "I don't know why you couldn't play along with it and wear this like I am," said Melissa when they reached the top.  Xavier shook his head, "I'm not wearing that thing.  You look like you're going to a costume party/sleepover," he remarked, giving her a once over before opening the door.  He tried to look chivalrous, holding the door open and letting her go first.  She, however, did not trust him and gave him a poke in his ribs to make him jump forward over the threshold.

In the main area of the large room, stood row upon row of people wearing the same type thing Melissa was and tried to get him to as well.  Young and old, kids as young as probably eight or nine in the front to the older ones that looked about read for the grave mixed in with the rest of the adults.  At the same time, their arms extended out with a punch, yelling at the same time.  "Holy shit, it's a fucking ninja turtle cult," he giving her a weird look.  She did not bother responding, only pushed him forward more into the room.

Xavier stood at the corner of the rows, looking out of the mass of people doing the same thing at the same time.  It must have been a very complicated task to punch air and yell.  Lost in himself, looking on in wondering how or why someone would actually pay for this, he took a few more absent minded steps in front of the front row of kids.  Too close for comfort he would learn when the one directly in front of my punched out as he walked, the closed fist hitting him squarely in the groin.  He grabbed at his crotch with both hands, screaming, "Ah!  No way!," before dropping down to knees and falling down on his side.

"Oh my God," said Melissa as she dropped down beside him, arms slightly around him and checking on him, "Xavier, honey, are you ok?"  "I'm fine," said Xavier with a high pitched whine and a nod of the head, his hands still between his legs, "I planned that you know.  Prove I can take another shot to the balls like a champ."  "Come on, let's get you up and if you want to go home we can," she said hugging him and struggling when trying to get him up to his feet.  Back up now, but still desperately needing Melissa for support to keep himself up, Xavier stood hunched over slightly.  "Hold on," he told her, "Got to take a count.  One, two, three.  Yeah I'm good."

"Look, it's the guy I talked to about setting us up for this.  He's supposed to be a karate master," Melissa said pointing to someone who could not have been an inch over five feet tall.  "Mel, what've I told you about believing strange things people tell you?," he asked her, "That's not a master, that's a midget in some pajamas."

Rather than approach the newly arrived that they were, the man stood at the middle of the room to address the others assembled.  "OK everyone," he said with a slight clap of his hands, "We have a guest here who wants to learn something of our training to prepare for a fight he has.  Usually I wouldn't indulge someone with a purpose like this, but I did make an exception in this case.  Now keep in mind, he's new to all this, so I think he'll start off with one of our own beginners.  Edith, can you come up please?"

A small, elderly woman bobbed her way through the small crowd to emerge from the front line of children to stand at attention before the master.  With a bow to him, she turned to Xavier and repeated the same step before readying herself into a fighting stance.  "You got to be fucking kidding me," he said to both Melissa and the master, "I'm not fighting a little old lady."  With that, she lifted her leg in a sharp kick against his left side into his arm.  The action causing Melissa to back away as not to get accidentally hit in the fight.

"Ow," Xavier say rubbing his arm and gesturing how to the woman with his hand, "Hey, that was pretty good.  How'd you do that?"  The woman grabbed his hand, twisting and angling it to sending him flipping over onto his back.  Xavier grunted and holding his back as he got up.  "OK, old lady or not, now I'm going to beat your ass."  Without out any kind of warning nor tell of what to expect from her, the woman leapt up and landed a straight kick to his face with her heel against his forehead.  "Oh shit," mumbled Xavier as he fell back down.

The master had now gotten between them, holding the old woman's hand up to declare her the winner of the sparring match.  Melissa, kneeling down to make sure Xavier he was not hurt too bad, helped him back up to his feet.  For a second, it felt like his nose had been broken, holding his hand to it to make sure it was not bleeding.  Melissa pulled him backwards towards the door, silently telling him they could go now, but Xavier would have none of it.  Not yet anyway.

The master having dropped her hand, she still stood in front of the class when Xavier walked up to her.  She had never saw him coming, nor the right fist he connected to her jaw to send her down to the matted floor.  "Damn those false teeth are hard," he said with a shake of his fist and walking back towards Melissa.

It was hard to decipher at first, but the lesson had been learned.  If he was going to beat Carla, he was going to have to take her out of her element.  Fighting her way would be suicide.  No martial art expert like her, he would have to come out with something she would not expect to take her off her game.