With a firm, deliberate motion, the old man gave a sharp tug on his fishing pole, pulling the child from the water and exposing the soaked length of Tavor's tail, making him pause as his sunglasses slid down his long nose.
"What in the world?" the old man exclaimed as he pulled with all his strength, lifting the unconscious young child from the water. Releasing his fishing rod without hesitation, he lunged forward, arms outstretched, to catch the child before he could strike the ground.
THUD!
The sopping-wet child landed with a dull thud, his wild, spiky hair matted over his face and a faint fishy, wet-dog smell clinging to his skin, causing the old man's nose to wrinkle as he walked closer.
"Hrmmm, why do I get the feeling this is going to cause trouble for me?" the old man muttered as he slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose. He reached out with a weathered hand to gently sweep aside the tangled strands of hair covering Tavor's face, exposing the dark bruises beneath.
The old man let out a deep, weathered sigh before he began performing a series of stretches; his bones creaked, and his tendons popped, the sound akin to distant thunder.
He bent over, reaching out with his weathered hands to lift the young child off the ground.
"Surprisingly heavy for someone of your stature," the old man remarked, his knees bending slightly as he carefully lifted Tavor onto his right shoulder before turning deliberately to face the opposite direction and began walking until he saw a small, rounded house.
"Welcome to Casa Del Roshi! I know, I know, it's a bit messy, but I'm sure you won't mind, kid. Hahahaha!" The old man's laugh devolved into a slow chuckle and settled into a warm, lonely smile.
His head turned towards the door to his home as he heard the sound of the door being pushed open, followed by the sound of something flat sliding against the ground.
A massive sea turtle emerged from within the domicile, a lazy expression on its face as it gazed towards his oldest friend.
"Surely, you didn't kidnap him, did you?" Turtle inquired, prompting a faint flush to rise on the elderly man's face before he exhaled sharply and proceeded to enter the house.
The old man entered the house, followed closely by the large sea turtle, and placed Tavor's still-unconscious body on a large couch.
"What has that old, bald witch been doing, allowing any child to simply wander into this cursed place?" The elderly man pressed his fingers firmly against his throbbing temples, his mind drifting back to the days before his confinement in Limbo, when he traversed the world as its most formidable Martial Artist.
Nearly a day passed before Tavor's eyes began to slowly open.
"HISS!"
Tavor let out a sharp hiss as he began to feel the pain from the fight that he had been in before losing consciousness, and his eyes snapped open fully, only for him to see a strange green creature looking down at him.
"WAAAHHHHHH?!?"
"Is it a monster?" Tavor thought as he panicked.
He abruptly began pushing himself backwards until he fell off of the couch and onto the floor before rolling to his feet and taking a defensive fighting stance, his eyes scanning the creature.
"It looks like some kind of lizard. I recall a few mutants at the academy with lizard-like traits, but none of them ever had a shell."
The shell was immense, measuring nearly four times the size of Tavor himself; its surface was composed of thick hexagonal plates, each comparable in scale to a dinner platter but undoubtedly much more resilient.
Tavor's eyes remained fixed upon the strange green creature.
He kept his stance low, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, ready to spring forward at the slightest indication of danger.
Yet...
Something about the creature's expression bothered him.
It wasn't snarling; it wasn't baring its teeth, and it wasn't even glaring at him.
Instead, the massive turtle simply stared back with a strangely kind, almost thoughtless expression, its large eyes carrying none of the predatory intent Tavor had come to associate with the demons of Limbo.
Tavor's brow furrowed.
"...He's not attacking."
His shoulders relaxed by the smallest degree.
"And he looks... nice?"
His tail slowly curled behind him.
For a moment, Tavor's fighting stance almost disappeared entirely.
Then...
CREAAAAK!
The wooden door behind Turtle swung open, and Tavor's head snapped toward the sound.
An elderly man stepped into the room.
He was completely bald, save for a thick, Fu Manchu-style mustache that extended down either side of his mouth and merged into a full, bushy white beard covering much of his chin and jaw.
A pair of large, reflective sunglasses rested crookedly upon his face, the frames having slipped slightly down his long, thin nose.
The old man's wrinkled features immediately twisted into amusement as he had apparently witnessed the entire exchange.
His eyes moved from Tavor's clenched fists, then to his oldest companion, and then back to Tavor.
A warm chuckle escaped his throat.
"Hehehehe..."
Tavor's ears twitched.
The old man walked farther into the room, his hands resting casually behind his back.
"I wouldn't do that, young man."
Tavor's eyes narrowed.
The old man nodded toward Turtle.
"He may look friendly, and he is, but do you really think just any creature could survive in a place crawling with demons?"
Tavor's gaze shifted toward Turtle.
The enormous sea turtle merely blinked.
Tavor slowly lowered his fists and the old man's smile widened.
"That's better."
Tavor remained cautious; however, the old man had something strange about him.
There was no obvious aura of hostility, no killing intent, and no demonic presence.
Yet there was something beneath that relaxed exterior, something Tavor couldn't quite identify.
His instincts whispered that this old man was not ordinary.
The elderly man took another step forward.
"Speaking of this place..."
His smile faded slightly.
"How did you get here, young man?"
Tavor hesitated, his eyes darting between the old man and Turtle.
Neither appeared hostile, and finally, after a moment of thought, he lowered his guard completely and smiled.
"My name's Tavor."
The old man's eyebrows rose.
"Tavor?"
Tavor nodded.
"Yeah."
The old man gave a small smile.
"Well then, Tavor. How did you end up in Limbo?"
Tavor's expression immediately became more serious.
"A friend and I were out shopping in a market when these creatures showed up."
The old man's smile disappeared as he began to listen intently, but Tavor continued, having not noticed the shift.
"I tried fighting them off, but I wasn't strong enough."
His small fists tightened.
"They managed to take Illyana despite my best efforts."
Turtle's expression remained calm, but the old man's posture changed slightly.
His shoulders straightened, and his head tilted.
"What did you say?"
Tavor didn't notice the subtle shift.
"I tried to stop them."
His voice became quieter.
"But they were too strong."
Images flashed through his mind.
Claws.
Fangs.
Illyana being dragged away.
The helplessness of being unable to protect her.
Tavor swallowed.
"They beat me pretty badly."
The old man's eyes narrowed behind his reflective lenses.
"And your friend?"
"Taken, but thankfully before they could finish me off, Mr. Piotr showed up."
Tavor's expression brightened slightly.
"He pushed back the last creature."
The old man exchanged a quick glance with Turtle.
"Piotr..."
Turtle's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Illyana and Piotr," he murmured.
Tavor nodded.
"Yeah."
He scratched the side of his head.
"The last thing I remember before waking up in this place was crawling toward a strange light."
A profound silence enveloped the room, erasing any trace of its previous warmth.
The old man's once jovial expression had dissolved entirely, replaced by an unreadable stillness. With deliberate care, he reached up and removed his sunglasses.
For the first time, Tavor found himself staring directly into the man's eyes, eyes that were piercing in their intensity, far keener than his weathered, timeworn features had ever implied.
The contrast between the sharpness of that gaze and the rest of his aged appearance was both startling and undeniable.
"You crawled toward a light?"
"Yeah."
Tavor nodded.
The old man fixed his gaze on him for a long moment.
"And it brought you here."
Tavor glanced around the peculiar, compact dwelling.
"Yes," he replied, absently scratching his cheek.
"It wasn't quite what I expected."
Turtle responded with a deep, resonant chuckle that seemed to linger in the air.
The old man studied Tavor for several more seconds before methodically sliding his sunglasses back into place.
"Interesting…" he murmured.
Tavor tilted his head slightly.
"What?"
The old man's expression shifted into a faint smile.
"Nothing at all."
Turning toward Turtle, he remarked, "It appears we have another visitor."
Turtle inclined his head in slow acknowledgment.
"So it seems."
Tavor's tail flicked behind him.
"Wait."
He looked around the room.
"Where exactly is here?"
The old man paused, then he smiled playfully.
"You're in Limbo."
Tavor's expression fell.
"I know that."
His eyes scanned the world outside the window.
"I mean... where in Limbo?"
The old man stared at him.
Then glanced toward Turtle, and Turtle glanced back.
Neither spoke, causing Tavor to frown.
"...What?"
The old man suddenly laughed.
"Hahahahaha!"
Tavor's eyes narrowed.
"What?!"
The old man wiped at the corner of one eye.
"Nothing, kid. It's just..."
His laughter faded into a warm smile.
"You've got a lot to learn."
Tavor crossed his arms.
"I already know how to fight."
"Oh?"
The old man's smile became noticeably more interested.
"You do, do you?"
Tavor nodded confidently.
"Yep."
The old man looked him up and down; his gaze lingered on Tavor's stance.
His feet, his shoulders, and, much to his shock, his tail.
The subtle distribution of weight across his legs.
The old man's expression changed.
Just for a moment.
The goofy old fisherman disappeared; in his place was the gaze of someone who had spent a lifetime studying combat.
Tavor didn't notice, but Turtle did.
The turtle slowly turned his head toward his oldest friend, but the old man's eyes remained fixed on the boy.
There was something unusual about Tavor's stance.
It was crude.
Undisciplined.
Almost completely devoid of formal martial arts technique.
And yet...
There was balance.
Instinct.
Readiness.
The boy's body seemed to understand combat in a way his mind couldn't possibly comprehend.
The old man's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Interesting indeed."
Tavor blinked.
"What's interesting?"
The old man chuckled.
"I think you and I are going to have a lot to talk about. By the way, call me Roshi."
BANG.
A muted, resonant thud reverberated from an unseen source beyond the walls of the modest dwelling, prompting a subtle twitch in Tavor's ears.
BANG.
He turned his head toward the source of the noise just as another impact echoed through the structure, sending subtle vibrations along its frame.
The easy smile that had rested on Roshi's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a tense stillness.
With deliberate slowness, the Turtle raised his head, his movements measured, as if there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
"What was that?" Tavor asked.
Roshi adjusted his sunglasses.
"Trouble."
He turned toward the door.
"Come on."
Tavor followed at once, with Turtle lumbering in his wake, the latter's immense frame scraping against the doorway as he squeezed through and exited the house.
Together, the three traversed the narrow expanse of land encircling Roshi's home until they reached its boundary.
There, Tavor came to an abrupt halt, his eyes widening in astonishment.
Several dozen yards away loomed a massive creature, its form towering and formidable.
Its body was sheathed in thick, coarse hide stretched taut over bulging masses of muscle, while short, blunt horns jutted from its head.
Its broad, brutish face bore a pig-like snout that flared sharply with each enraged breath.
Yet it was not the beast itself that commanded Tavor's full attention, but the anomaly standing between them, a strange, translucent blue barrier that shimmered along the property's edge.
With a bellow of frustration, the creature drove both fists against the translucent barrier.
BANG!
The barrier rippled.
BANG!
Another impact shook the air.
Yet the strange blue wall refused to yield.
Tavor stared.
"What is that?"
"Something that keeps the unwanted guests out," Roshi replied casually.
The creature slammed its fists against the barrier again.
BOOM!
Tavor's tail stiffened.
The creature suddenly stopped.
Its head slowly turned.
Its bloodshot eyes locked onto Roshi, then Turtle, then Tavor.
Its nostrils flared.
Saliva began dripping from its mouth.
Tavor took an involuntary step backward as he felt the hunger and desire to kill lock onto him and Roshi.
"Uh..."
Roshi's lips curled upward.
"Hey, little Tavor."
He casually gestured toward the creature.
"You ever have demon pork before?"
Tavor blinked in confusion.
"...What?"
Roshi chuckled.
"Never mind."
The old martial artist raised one hand.
The strange blue barrier shimmered, and a relatively small opening appeared within it, barely large enough for the demon to squeeze through.
The creature stared at the opening.
Then at Roshi.
Its expression changed.
A savage grin spread across its face.
With an enraged roar, it forced its massive body through the opening.
Its shoulder scraped against the barrier.
One foot stumbled.
For a brief moment, it appeared as though the creature might trip and collapse face-first into the ground.
Instead, it twisted its enormous body, its awkward stumble transformed into a sprint.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath its first step.
BOOM!
Its second step sent dirt flying.
Tavor's eyes widened.
"It's fast!"
Despite its enormous size, the demon accelerated with terrifying speed.
Its massive arms swung wildly as it charged directly toward them.
Tavor's instincts immediately took over.
His knees bent.
His fists clenched.
His tail whipped behind him.
"Fight!"
He shifted his weight forward, but before he could even raise his guard.
FWIP!
Something blurred past him.
Tavor's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Roshi was gone, he looked back towards the demon, and in the next instant, he was standing directly above the charging demon.
One foot rested firmly on top of its head, causing the creature's eyes to widen.
Roshi looked down at it as the final light of life left its eyes and it went limp, blood leaking from the footprint in its skull.
"You made an awful lot of noise."