Jo-Po- Bo's Battle

As he turns the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Jo-Po Bo's eyes meet his rival's. The fire in his rival's eyes burns the memory of this moment into Jo-Po Bo's mind. Years from now as he lays at night trying to drift off to sleep this is what he will see. These eyes will be with him until he goes to his grave. Which for Jo-Po Bo will be a very long time.

He tries to see though the fire to see his rivals soul. He has always had a natural talent for soul seeing. But on this night as the rain strikes Jo-Po Bo's face he is blind. The fire in the eyes burns to bright. It burns Jo-Po Bo's retina leaving a white image of it's self in front of where ever Jo-Po Bo looked.

The white image hanging in front of Jo-Po Bo's eyes is the reason he didn't see the first punch coming. As Jo-Po Bo stumbles back he tries to suck air in to he's lungs, but the right hook to his gut put a quick stop to that. Jo-Po Bo, now curled in on himself, knows he has to end this fast. He pulls him self together and stands straight. He almost didn’t see the left hand of his rival before it connected hard with his jaw. Jo-Po Bo tastes the blood in his mouth. The metallic taste reminds him of his childhood and how much he misses it. His head is swimming in a silver haze.

- Jo-Po Bo is now standing ready for his first day of school -

“NO!”

Jo-Po Bo’s voice echos off the silver. He almost got lost again. That would be the third time in as many weeks. Struggling to get a grip on reality Jo-Po Bo’s hands fly open as the third punch (that he remembers) connects. Then he is gone again.

“I almost forgot how good strawberries were,” the Doctor said to, “Mr. Mann,” in the dry solemn tone that has hiding behind it the excitement of a school boy.

“Indeed, they are quite the treat. You did good old boy.” Replies Jo-Po Bo

“Doctor… do you remember the run in with my rival on the out skirts of Big City?” Not waiting for the answer Jo-Po Bo goes on. “How did we best them again?”

“Best them?” The Doctor’s head cocks slightly. “You’re lost aren’t you?”

“How…” Jo-Po Bo’s question is stopped dead by the sorrow that slides on to the Doctor’s face.

“You got lost after the seventh punch.” (The third that Jo-Po Bo remembered) “And you took awhile to find your way back…” The Doctors voice cracks. A whisper slide past the Doctors lips, “I so sorry.”

Jo-Bo Po takes a step back and falls. Jo-Bo Po now knows why he fell. He sees that where his right foot use to be is now, what can only be referred to as, a peg paw.

“Oh for fucks sake.” And with that Jo-Po Bo tries to make he way back.

“You never told me that this is where you came the day you lost your foot,” the Doctor says to Mr. Mann.

“You were to young then and to sensitive now,” the Monkey Mann replies in a stone cold voice. “Maybe he’ll get it right this ‘time’.”

Jo-Bo is back in the silver haze. A white flash then black for hours. When Jo-Bo Po finally wakes up he sees the Human Boy huddled over a dead rat gnawing the good meat off the bones.

“Human Boy what happened?” Jo-Po Bo asks knowing he won’t like the answer.

“You lost your foot boss Don’t worry I made a fire and burned it shut Used the cook pan to do it,” the Human Boy’s word are fast and his restlessness to keep moving overly apparent.

Jo-Po Bo looks his right foot over, “Not bad kid. If I can ever teach you to use punctuation when you speak you might make a decent ‘Doctor’ some day. All and all not bad for a six year old; who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, where your average adult male thinks when there is a thunder storm ‘God’ is mad. But I guess that’s what you get when your mother dress you like a girl for the first four years of your life. Now come help me hobble my ass to the tree line so I can show you how to whittle a proper wood paw.