It seemed to come out of the blue, but for those close to the situation, it was an eventuality many expected. With Tournament 5 completed and a result rendered, Shoe resumed a zealous campaign to improve his standing within the fighting ranks. This pursuit, often founded in short cuts, earned repeat glances with powerhouse overlord, Lord Mislukking, who has been a looming presence in the wake of controversy sparked by Toryn and a similar exploitative rampage through the dark lord's minion ranks way back in January, during Tournament 1.
In a surprise act of goodwill, recently crowned champion and Tournament 5 Semi Final opponent, Cr0w, attempted to sway Shoe from his course. The gesture fell on deaf ears, but did allow Shoe to turn his efforts toward others in the fighting ranks. Two extensive battles to the death were the result, Mimik and The_Purple_Bunny the shocking victims!
Mimik had been one of the rising stars of The Great Arena and a rival, somewhat, to Shoe, who was the T4 victor in the shadow of Mimik's more acclaimed Tournament 3 victory. After dominating the ranks in a twelve-person Battle Royal at Supercard 6, Mimik was seemingly on the fast track to a future Undisputed Championship match, until he hit a stumbling block in Tournament 5 against power house player, Kron, in a blockbuster Second Round clash of titans. It was likely this, and other marathon successes [such as a stellar performance in The Tower of Power], that contributed to Mimik's death in combat.
The_Purple_Bunny was another promising rising name in the ranks, enjoying the success of reaching the Quarter Final stages of Tournament 5! TPB is no stranger to death, succumbing to similar extra-arena action in a shock twist prior to Supercard 3, in March. He made his triumphant return to the living at Supercard 4 in a mass resurrection, continuing on to The Tower of Power, where he first formed bitter ties with Shoe.
It is unknown if Shoe was motivated by malice toward these fighters in particular, with whom he shared a history, or if it was an extention of simple exploitative malice. This isn't the first time we've seen fighters go down this track. Genku rather infamously threw himself on the whims of Lord Mislukking after a string of extra-arena attacks, leading to his return as a Revenant minion at Supercard 3.
It was only by the intervention of representatives of The Union of The Human League that Shoe's attacks were stopped. At the time, they were still being actively directed toward fan-favourite stalwart of competition, Hokey! Despite the heinous assault and pattern of unsporting conduct, some feel Shoe's actions were not sufficiently criminal to eliminate from competition all together. What ever the out come, his career in The Great Arena, which only began with a debut at Pre-Show 4 with that debut win of Tournament 4, is likely over.
Heading in to Supercard 7, May 22, everyone no doubt prays for a resurrection for Mimik and The_Purple_Bunny. They were fighters taken before their time.
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