The crowd in the old temple was very energetic, their drinks remaining topped off by the servers and their various attempts at networking among the underground filling the ruins with a dull roar. The local military police maintained the perimeter, preventing any unwanted guests or disgruntled customers from disrupting Heais’ event. From drug lord to smuggler, assassin and embezzler, they were all here for his free booze and entertainment. Gram sat in full armor in a reserved skybox specifically for VIPs like himself, Phoenix preventing anyone approaching the royal personage. Meanwhile, Lady Unicorn sat across his lap laughing and running her finger across his helmet. “Oh, you will love it here, my lord. Capable warriors desperate for validation and money. I can’t wait for one of these amoral thugs to gut Zora and her friends.” He nodded knowingly, hoping it would keep her content. She didn’t seem to notice too much.
Shi quietly scanned the crowd from their “team table” that had been assigned to them, hoping to confirm their intended targets. Hepta was enjoying her beer while Shi sipped on her water. Zwei tapped her foot and grumbled, “I heard they were very flashy and were making a scene. Here we are surrounded by a bunch of criminals and the hero of justice hasn’t weighed in yet.”
“Relax, Zwei. I have faith in the intel.” Shi continued to maintain her calm.
Hepta nodded, “Besides, this will be good combat training. So let’s just-“ the lights were cut and the noise died down quickly. After a few moments, a single light came on and their host stepped forward. His hair was wild and disheveled, his face unshaven and his eyes hidden behind shades as black as night. His eyes and mouth formed a permanent glower. The old crimelord spoke in a tone full of gravel and weight. “Greetings to all our competitors today. As to our gamblers and observers, behave yourself and I won’t have to snap your neck.” His expression and tone didn’t change but a laugh spread across the room anyway. “We have a special grand prize for the day. A precious jewel and the neck it is on.” A female Najaran came out, a violet gem mounted in the middle of her pendant. Despite her reptilian face, her disgust and disinterest in being here showed. “The woman is as cold as her blood and likely to dissolve you if you give her a clean chance to bite. But she’s otherwise worth it.”
There were hoots and cat calls, but above them all one man jumped on the table and bowed like a gentleman, his long flowing coat and top hat making him stand out among the rabble. Zwei checked his table and saw the girl she had fought on the Ziegfried. She tapped Shi who glanced over and nodded. Their targets had been found.
Their host motioned everyone to settle down and eventually they did. “Four rounds. Rules for each fight will depend on what I feel like, but there will be a grace period to change your bets if I do.” He motioned everyone away, his guards taking the Najaran woman back to her cell.
Their host sat back, expressionless, either he had been doing this too long or just had his mind elsewhere. Zwei felt her communication device trying to alert her and when she checked it, she was surprised at what she read. “Vittivici’s Bane. Find out why they want it.”
Was he talking about the jewel? There was no way it was that relic. Shi seemed to become quieter from the message and Hepta was shaking her head. Whatever his opinion, they could feel there was something else going on here. They would just have to find out themselves, regardless of his orders.
The girls watched the table from afar, so far only seeing the girl and the man with the hat. As they continued to stare, they were approached by an emerald colored robot. It was clearly a combat boy, but it spoke like a normal person, “Howdy, noticed you guys sizing up the competition. Are all of you looking for Zora?”
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Zwei jolted in embarrassed surprise but Shi jumped in, “Ever since the Light of Dawn-“
The robot chimed in forcefully, “We are not calling it that.”
Shi snarked, “The rest of the cosmos does.” Continuing as if he didn’t interrupt, “Since that incident, everyone has had their eyes on her. So when we heard she was fighting here, we got a bit excited to see the face of the revolution.”
Hepta nodded, “We weren’t the only ones, apparently. Even the Prince looks like he showed up to see what his competition is like.” She jerked her thumb towards the VIP box. She shook her head, “I’m not surprised he is consorting with the under world.”
The robot seemed to adjust its eyes a little before nodding, “He is only here because of the rumors. And why wouldn’t he be? We did make sure to let everyone know she was here.” He sat at their table and spoke in a fittingly cold tone, “Pretty much everyone in here would jump her as a mob if she was just sitting in the open. Mr. Tun likes giving her unfair fights. Just to qualify she was put into a five on one with combat models a little newer than I am. Helps to draw a crowd.”
Zwei nodded and sighed, “That’s so rude. But what do you expect of a kingpin.”
“What brings you three here?”
Hepta chuckled, “We have been trying to become better fighters. Our mentor told us the best way is to sharpen your spirit against the spirit of others.”
Shi nodded, “He said that and sent us away, but I’m just here to see the Madam Scorpion in a fight. Rumor has it, she hasn’t been seen in battle since she left the planet.”
The bot nodded, “Indeed. She needed to catch her breath before letting the Falos know she was still out here fighting.” The bot sat at the table with them. “Not used to a bunch of Tak’Nasi showing up for this, but I’m sure even the great experiment will benefit from the data.”
Zwei nodded, “Yeah. But you guys have Tak’Nasi on your crew too, right?” Trying to remember the tense and pronunciation of her people was becoming harder without the conditioning. Still, the bot didn’t seem to notice.
Their host leaned forward in his chair and spoke, “Round one fight one, that green eyesore will be first up. Three vs. three elimination match. Team Dawn vs. The Kneebreakers.” He muttered under his breath, “Stupid ass name, not worth my time.”
The bot stood up and motioned to them, “I’ll be back to finish this conversation. And if he didn’t send you in against us, that means he doesn’t think you are the absolute worst.” The robot jumped from his seat into the ancient arena. Shortly after, his opponent showed up. A massive heavily modified combat bot.
One of the members of the Kneebreakers shouted from the side, “You outmoded crap don’t matter! Wrecker is gonna wreck you!”
The green bot bounced a little from toe to toe for a moment, his eyes shining faintly in a way it wasn’t a moment ago. The massive bot tried to charge him, the thrusters on the back making it seem impossible to dodge. The emerald bot couldn’t escape and it’s armor couldn’t possibly withstand the impact. Yet in a moment Zwei saw something she didn’t think possible. The emerald bot did a flip backwards within a fraction of a second, it’s thrusters quickly changing direction. He flew faster towards the machine with a flying kick that seemed to pierce right through and knocked out the engine completely. The emerald bot motioned the rest of the team to come fight him. His green paint didn’t seem to have a scuff on it.
Mr. Tun wasn’t even bothering to look, speaking with one of the servers instead. Zwei wondered how much of this was a formality for Mr. Tun at this point. When the other two fighters got into the ring with the bot, stun batons in hand, the crowd started to boo but Mr. Tun didn’t even bother looking up. The bot seemed to be maneuvering precisely and quickly. Sudden starts and stops, kicking each baton out of the hand of one and into contact with the other. How did he have such complex programmed maneuvers in him? Something was wrong with that machine.
Looking for reassurance she glanced at her mentor and saw him staring with rapt attention. It was good to know she isn’t the only one who found this combat machine unusual. Still, the round ended once Mr. Tun noticed the machine holding the stun batons to the men’s chests. Once he was done, the bot climbed out of the ring and motioned the girls to follow him as he went to the bar. Hepta stood and followed him, Shi and Zwei deciding to stay at the table in case their match was next.