Team Ghoul vs Strike Team Pummel-Prelude.

    Once upon a time, on a bright and shiny day, a tall, muscular man by the name of Ghoul was going out to meet a friend of his named Black Rose.  Ghoul was wearing what he always wore, a large grey body suit that had some black patterns, and a baby blue cape, as well as a mask that had a shark fin like protrusion.  Ghoul normally lived in a large complex surrounded by gates and his own guards, and he was always doing paperwork and being in charge, so he often enjoyed little outings such as the one he was going on, just little moments to relax and take his mind off things such as work,and goof off a bit.  Ghoul was especially excited for this outing because the place his friend Black Rose and him were going to was a new burger shop that Ghoul had wanted to try for awhile, it was called "Buns and Fries".  When Ghoul met up with Black Rose, he was happy to see that his friend had not changed since last they met up, which was a few years ago. Black Rose and Ghoul looked similar when it came to how they dressed, since Black Rose, despite his name, wore a grey body suit with black gloves and boots, and a long black cape.  A strange feature of Black Rose's was that he wore two masks, one covering the top of his head where two large blades jutted out which he referred to as his "crown" much like a rooster's. The other mask had a snake tooth design covering the bottom half of his face. This similar fashion sense, coupled with how close they seemed had, at times, gotten them mistaken as brothers, the biggest difference they had was their height, with Ghoul being 6'11, and Black Rose barely being taller than the average woman.  
    "Hey, Ghoul," Black Rose said in a cheery voice, "I got us a spot, if your ready."
    "Absolutely!" Ghoul said as he followed Black Rose into Buns and Fries. 
    "So what's been going with you?" Ghoul asked after a white haired waitress took their order.
    "Oh, well I got some new recruits to train, and some old recruits to deal with, I'm sure you know the drill"
    The waitress arrived quickly with Ghoul's burger, and Ghoul excitedly began to eat.
    "Not really," Ghoul said through a mouthful of burger," My A.I Yuko and Lieutenant Yon usually handle that sorta stuff." Just then Ghoul noticed that the waitress was still there, and sitting next to Black Rose no less.
    "Hey, did you remember my burger?"
    "Oh, Black Rose, you know you shouldn't eat greasy burgers like the ones here, it will ruin your figure! I'm sure you could eat something back at the organization."
    Ghoul felt out of place.
   "Do you two know each other?" Ghoul said, more to open up introductions.
    "Yes indeed." Black Rose said, " This is Alice, one of my newest recruits!"
    The waitress named Alice simply smiled at Ghoul, but made no other gesture to become acquainted with Ghoul.
    "Pleased to meet you," Ghoul said, extending a hand " I'm Ghoul, Black Rose's friend. How's working for Black Rose?"
    Alice looked at Ghouls hand and hesitated, but accepted his hand shake,
    "It definitely has its moments." she said with a smile.
    "So what is it you do for Black Rose?" Ghoul asked trying to shake the negative vibe he was getting from Alice.
    "I'm his body guard." Alice said flatly.
    Black Rose chimed in at that point, saying "She looks much more like a regular person than Lizzie and Pummel, if it weren't for the horns, she could blend in quite well!"
And just as Black Rose said that, Ghoul noticed some horns protruding from Alice's forehead, and he could swear they were not there previously. Alice seemed to pep up with the mention of Pummel, who Ghoul only knew by name.
"So who is Pummel?" Ghoul quizzed.
    Black Rose and Alice glanced at each other, Alice looked offended, while Black Rose looked surprised.
"Pummel is a childhood friend, and he works at the organization." Ghoul blinked at Black Rose's simple explanation
"That can't be it." Alice flashed a quick glare that was covered with a smile, "He's also a sweet, caring, independent powerhouse! He can lift anything he wants, and beat anyone he wants!" Alice finished with a blush.
Black Rose smiled at Ghoul and said "Pummel is Alice's husbando."
    Ghoul was impressed by the description, and being a bit  of a brawler himself, was interested in meeting Pummel,
"Does he do fights? Like, private fights?" to which Alice gave Ghoul a patronizing smile.
"Sweetie, you do look strong, but Pummel is on a whole other level."
  "You're awfully quick to dismiss me, Alice. Could it be you're nervous I could beat Pummel?" Ghoul said in a calm voice.
    Before Alice could object, Black Rose stepped in, saying " If you really want to, Ghoul, I'm sure I could set something up between you and Pummel. He can be busy but I'm sure we can compare schedules."
Alice quickly shouted " I want in to!" to the shock of Black Rose.
"I wanna make sure nothing dirty happens...make sure he doesn't pull any tricks." Alice quickly looked at Black Rose
"If that's okay with you Black Rose!" she said with a smile.
  Ghoul could tell Alice didn't like him, for some reason, and he didn't like that she would be there possibly interfering with the fight. Ghoul looked at Black Rose and their eyes met, and the friend knew what Ghoul was thinking. Suddenly Black Rose looked excited, exclaiming
"I have an idea! Alice, why don't you join the fight?Ghoul can have a partner, and that way you can make sure Ghoul doesn't cheat, while Ghoul makes sure that we don't cheat!"
  Alice was silent for a moment, but smiled and said "What a lovely idea," she then turned towards Ghoul, " wouldn't you agree, Mr. Ghoul?" 
    Ghoul smiled, "Sure, fine by me." Black Rose got up from his chair and stretched his legs
"Then it's settled!" he said, "It was fun seeing you again Ghoul! I'll be sure to send you the details later."
As Alice rose from her seat, she smiled once again towards Ghoul,
" I am looking forward to seeing your battle prowess, and I hope that, if the time should come, you will treat me as you would a male opponent if at all possible." For the first time, Ghoul met eyes with Alice and he felt an oddness about her ruby red eyes, but he shrugged it off, smiled, and said
" Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to see you and Pummel."
   With the party going there separate ways, each one was thinking of the battle to come and how to prepare for the day. Ghoul went home energized and excited, and with one major question on his mind, who was going to be his partner?