Picking up her drink, she turned to watch the fight unfold anew.
Down on the Arena floor, Akashita was enraged. The little smart-alecky bitch was beaten! He had splattered her body all over the wall. Not only that, but she was at death’s door, just waiting to be pushed the rest of the way through. Now, because of the bleating of the assembled sheep, his victory had been snatched from his hands like food plucked from a starving man. Well, one way or another he was going to EAT! And this time, not even Athena was going to stop him.
Several yards away, Lil’ Doro put on a good show for the crowds by smiling and waving, thanking them for their support, while slowly and steadily circling around her opponent. No one could see that in her heart she was deeply shaken. She had never been so close to death in a match before. Sure, she had suffered injuries in contests and Athena would heal and even augment her each time, but this time was different...much different. Doro had previously witnessed the Arena mistress deny Buffs to other fighters; even popular ones, and it was common knowledge among the people of Nedara of just how fickle her patron could be. Even though the Arena always paid her well, and she lived a lavish lifestyle, Doro couldn’t help but wonder what would happen, if Athena grew weary of her next time?
And she had inadvertently signed on for five more years of this!
Akashita was well aware that Lil’ Doro had circled behind him, probably to put as much distance between herself and the metal wall. But it would do her no good. As soon as she came close enough, he planned to grab her once more, hold her by her ankles and swing her head against the wall, finishing her in one bold stroke. He smiled as she ran toward him just as before, and when she came close he reached out to grab her. This time, however, Doro ducked under his reaching arms, and stepped to her left. With strength born not only from her newfound energy but of fear as well, she issued a spinning heel kick to his head with such force that she broke Akashita’s cheekbone with an audible crack! and ripped a large piece of his nose from his face. The big wad of flesh flew twenty meters away to land wetly in the sand.
“Aaaaaah!” screamed the giant in pain as he grabbed at his ruined face, while blood erupted from it like a fountain. The spectators cheered as Lil’ Doro followed her kick with a series of blows in such rapid succession that the assemblage could hardly follow the action. She pummeled her larger opponent’s body with hard punches and kicks to his chest, stomach, and liver faster than the man could block them. It was soon evident that the big warrior was in bad shape.
Akashita held his right hand over his ravaged face, while the other hand held onto his side. The pain was so severe he was sure that the little upstart had broken some of his ribs. He was taking heavy damage to his body, and backed away after each blow, trying his best to grab her and protect himself at the same time. But try as he might, he could no longer defend himself against her assault. Before long, the big man found himself backed up against the steel wall with no place left to go. For the first time in his life, Akashita felt fear.
Lil’Doro saw her opponent’s strength wane and aimed a vicious kick to his groin. As Akashita bent over to grab his genitals, she took two steps back then ran forward. Leaping into the air, she performed a mid-air backward somersault, and at the same time drove her foot into the behemoth’s neck. The force of the blow not only crushed the man’s windpipe but snapped his head back so fast that it slammed into the steel wall with a sharp thud. The crowd gasped at the sudden violence of the blow and fell silent. Akashita gurgled wetly, unable to breathe, while a spray of blood and white matter smeared itself from his head onto the unyielding metal. His eyes suddenly went wide as if in recognition of what had just happened to him, before his body slumped down to his knees like a penitent.
Resembling a huge oak felled by a logger, the mighty Akashita pitched slowly forward, before collapsing completely onto the Arena floor. His body spasmed several times until finally, the behemoth lay unmoving, face down in the sand. A man dressed in white emerged from a nearby portal in the steel wall and made his way over to the fallen warrior. After a quick examination, he spoke into his microphone as he waved his arms under each other back and forth.
“Fatality!”
A resounding cheer echoed through every part of the Arena as Lil’Doro slowly walked to the center of the floor breathing heavily. Once again like a good trooper, she raised her arms in victory, smiled and gave the men a little tease of her buttocks as she bowed to each side of the oval. The spectators cheered all the more when the Arena monitors broadcasted several replays of Doro’s final blow, shown from every angle and in slow motion. Of course, this was followed by an extreme rear view close up of her bowing to the crowd. Amidst all of the excitement and hoopla, no one could tell that Doro was still reflecting on her own narrow escape from death.
A few moments later, microphone in hand, the chubby announcer stepped onto the combat floor once more.
“Here is your winner!” he proclaimed, holding Doro’s arm skyward. “The fighting pride of the Doromanbay Cluster, Li-l-l-l’ Door-roh!”
The applauding fans began to chant her name as she walked toward the Victor’s Exit.
“Dor-ro! Dor-ro! Dor-ro!”
The chanting continued as she stopped in front of Athena’s luxury box and bowed. Athena raised her glass in acknowledgment of the winner, and even the mysterious black-robed man nodded to her with approval. Finally, the people’s champion was escorted to the other side of the Arena by Athena’s guards, to exit through one of the panels that slid aside, buoyed by the raucous chanting that continued long after the popular warrior was out of sight. All at once, the bright lights came up and loud pulsating music began to play, which signaled an intermission. Seizing the cue, the spectators rose from their seats as one and headed to the concession area to purchase merchandise and food. Others went to buy mugs of beer, or to get rid of some, before placing their bets on the next combatants.
Chapter 2
The door to Laurina’s cell opened with the sound of grating metal, and five guards appeared, one of them holding a gun. The shortest of the group stepped forward and spoke in a commanding voice.
“It’s your turn now Juggs!” As he spoke he jabbed the gun barrel into her side.
“I keep telling you blighters that I’m not a Juggs!” the young Brit exploded, slapping away the gun barrel. This only prompted the guard to jab her even more.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Juggs. Get moving!”
She reluctantly walked out of the gladiator’s staging area and down the gritty hallway, with two of the black-robed guards on either side. The one with the gun was several steps behind them. She could feel the floor begin to descend underneath her feet and she knew they were headed down toward the Arena’s battleground. The heavy percussion of Neo-Rock music thumped from the loudspeakers as if played by giant tribal drummers, while the urgent sound of bass guitar reverberated through the dank hallway loud enough to feel. The closer they came to their destination, the higher Laurina’s sense of dread became. It didn’t help matters that the dark corridor reeked terribly of urine and something worse.
Finally, the guards stopped in front of a large doorway; this time with the burnished relief of a large skull with a dagger thrust through it. One of them draped a thick blue robe around her shoulders. Considering the way she was dressed, Laurina was grateful for it, since it provided her body with a bit of warmth in the cool hallway. She wrapped the garment around herself tightly, trying as much to hold her fragile nerves together as to stay warm.
Bollocks! Why in the hell do they expect me to fight against these creatures like it’s the bloody Roman Coliseum? Somehow, you’ve got to find a way out of this spot old girl, or we are dead!
Laurina was jerked from her reverie when one of the guards in a ritualistic gesture, produced a dagger and rapped soundly three times on the doorway’s metal frame. The sound of a heavy locking mechanism clanked to life, and the large double doors yawned open. Bright light poured into the hallway
from the widening opening, blinding the young Brit, while inside, the spectators, who were still buzzing from Lil’ Doro’s performance, fell quiet. After a moment’s pause, the three guards strode out onto the Arena floor with the reluctant redhead in tow. As the pounding music faded, the silence within the Arena became almost palpable. The procession halted at the very center of the battle floor where the captive Brit was turned to face Athena’s Luxury Box. A lone bright spotlight shined upon them, and in one swift motion, the guards on either side of her ripped the robe from Laurina’s body and immediately retreated. As expected, the sight of near-naked woman flesh drove the audience wild.
As the crowd roared, Laurina spun around, taking in the size of the place. She spotted the area where her former cell was located by the peephole slit in the wall, and anchored right above it was a giant monitor with her image in the center. And that wasn’t the only one. Every monitor in the Arena displayed her figure from various angles, including high definition close-ups of her breasts and buttocks.
It was quite apparent that Laurina’s captors had given her an outfit that would capture the crowd’s attention enough so that they would stick around for the fight. She stood in the center of the Arena clad in a thick, long red leather belt with a skirt attached that wrapped twice around her waist and hips, with two shorter straps across her chest secured at the neck, like a strange medieval one-piece bathing suit.
The upper straps barely fit over her breasts, and each time she moved, her flesh would spill over to one side or the other, leaving only her nipples covered. This arrangement gave the viewer the appearance that the garment would fall apart or go slack at any moment. Laurina silently prayed that it wouldn’t, since she didn’t fancy exposing her breasts to the crowd, and the only underwear they saw fit to give her was a shiny white thong. She shook her head in disgust when she saw herself on the main monitor wearing this costume.
I look like a cheesy barbarian princess from a B movie!
As she scanned the area, she saw that most of the secondary monitors continued to focus in on her breasts and buttocks. Exasperated, she turned back to the guards intending to snatch back the robe, but they had already retreated from the center of the battle floor, exiting through a steel panel which promptly closed shut behind them.
The rotund announcer once again entered the Arena floor from his own private box and walked towards her, careful not to get too close. He wolf whistled into his microphone, causing the crowd to cheer with delight.
“Wow!” he exclaimed. “You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful warrior to grace our Arena. Do we not bring you the best?”
Another resounding cheer shook the entire building.
“Lad-eeeeeees and gentlemen! For your amusement, newly secured from parts unknown, I present to you a new warrior representing the Juggs, Laur-eeeeee-nah!” He stretched out an arm toward the hapless woman with a flourish. She cringed inwardly as several men in the audience hurled whistles and catcalls her way.
“Hey, sweet cheeks! C’mere and lemme stab you with MY sword,” one of them shouted as he stood up and grabbed his crotch.
“If you win Red, I got yer prize right here,” another called, pointing to the bulge in his pants amidst raucous laughter.
A tall blonde woman wearing a pink chemise hung over the railing in front of her seat, exposing her breasts as she smacked her lips.
“How’s about a kiss for good luck, baby!”
The air reverberated from these comments and more, with each man or woman begging for something different. A growing anger smoldered within her heart at every word, and it took everything in Laurina’s power to shut them out and focus on the task at hand.
The plump announcer opened his mouth to present her opponent when the mistress of the Arena rose from her dais. Knowing her manner, he immediately bowed in her direction, and quietly made his way back to his own suite, leaving the red hared Brit alone on the battle floor.
The mistress of the Arena spoke to an attendant, who barked terse commands into his comm-link. Another attendant standing on the sands between bouts received the call and hastily ducked into a nearby portal. The crowd buzzed a bit due to this new development before falling silent as Athena approached the railing of her box.
“Good people, we do not know much about this beautiful specimen before us,” she spoke in a regal tone while pointing a finger toward the young redhead. “But she does have spirit, which is why I selected her to fight for your amusement. She carries no Cluster affiliation and therefore is a Juggs! As such, no preliminaries are needed. I call for this bout to be a death match!”
With a sinister smile playing on her lips, Athena raised her hands as if she were pronouncing a benediction.
“Bring out my champion! Bring out the Praetor!” she commanded.
Hearing her pronouncement, the crowd erupted in massive cheers. The Praetor was the Arena’s greatest Champion; the best of the best, and the number one crowd favorite. The masses loved to watch him dispatch his opponents because he would do so in many creative ways. Whether it was by impaling, gutting or decapitation, the Praetor always gave the audience a good show. Even when facing multiple opponents, and seemingly facing impossible odds, the outcome was always the same; with Praetor’s arms raised in triumph after leaving his adversaries oozing their last drop of life onto the sand.
At Athena’s command, two panels slid apart. Stately martial music erupted from the loudspeakers as a monstrous armor-clad warrior slowly entered the battle floor. Laurina’s jaw dropped when she eyed saw the size of her opponent. Akashita was a child compared to this behemoth. He was easily ten feet tall, and broad of limb and bone, judging by the size of his protective covering. The armor he wore encased every part of his body, save for a narrow slit that creased his faceplate. The metal was a highly polished silver with white highlights. Where the light struck him, his armor shimmered like a slab of beryllium. Metal spikes rose from strategic points on his shoulders, elbows, and knees, while sharpened vent plates lined his midsection, outer arms and thighs giving him an even more fearsome appearance. A sinister silver and black battle ax, Praetor’s weapon of choice, lay strapped to his massive back.
As the gigantic warrior strode forward, each step he took sent a high pitched screeching of grinding metal into the ears of the crowd. Most of the seasoned spectators were prepared for it, having brought earplugs with them on the off chance that he was a suddenly announced as a featured combatant. Those who were not, suffered through the din as best they could. Everyone watched the video monitors with rapt attention as scene after scene of carnage from the Praetor’s past battles played on the screens, including the wicked decapitation of one unlucky opponent, compliments of his large black battle ax. As the armored behemoth made his way to the center of the battle floor, a loud shout reverberated through the entire Arena, repeating itself over and over again.
“Praetor! Praetor! Praetor! Praetor…!”
Laurina was overwhelmed and terrified. The enormity of her dire predicament almost caused her to faint on the spot.
Bugger me! Athena wants me to fight THAT? The bitch is out of her bloody mind!
She looked around the Arena, but there was no place to hide, nor any place to escape to. She was trapped on the battle floor with an experienced killer.
What the hell am I supposed to do? Open him up with a can opener?
Praetor arrived at the center of the battle floor and looked down at Laurina who withered under his steely gaze. Shaking his head, he looked over at Athena. He pointed at the terrified woman in front of him, and when he spoke, a bass voice deeper than any human could possibly make, resonated throughout the Arena.
“What is this?” he roared at the Arena’s mistress with disdain. “Why do you dishonor me? Do I not deserve a more worthy opponent than this feeble woman? I am a gladiator! Like those who came before me, I am part of a proud warrior tradition dating back to antiquity. I am not an executioner. Do not disgrace us all for the sake of an instant of grat
ification. Do not debase me by putting me in the position of a child poking a flea with a stick. For the sake of all that is noble, at least provide her with a weapon so that she might die an honorable death!”
His words pleased the crowd, who applauded the mighty man’s gladiator creed. Athena seemed to be pleased as well. She smiled warmly at the silver-clad warrior. Though there were times that he seemed to be impudent, she always tolerated Praetor’s occasional outbursts with good humor. After all, she did design him to be the consummate warrior.
“Well spoken, Praetor. We value your sense of fairness. The woman shall have a weapon as you request.” Two finger taps of the air suddenly produced a flash of brilliance in the space directly in front of her. The glowing energy coalesced into a bright yellow ball which slowly drifted down toward the young Brit. As it hovered a few feet away from her, it disappeared suddenly and a golden katana fell from the air, landing point first in the sand. Satisfied, Athena nodded to Praetor and walked back to her seat.
As Laurina bent down to pick the weapon up, cheers immediately erupted from the stands. With a sigh, she realized that she had shown them a lot more than her buttocks while in that position. This was confirmed when the monitors above began replaying her bending over for the crowd, with the largest of them resorting to “super slow motion.” Rolling her eyes, the redhead quickly snapped back up with the katana in her hand. She hefted it and switched it from her right to left hand and back again. It was a little heavy for her, but it also seemed sturdy enough to withstand more than a few blows from that ax.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK! This can’t be happening to me. And I do NOT want to be cleaved in half by that ax. Think, Laurina. Think! Maybe I can stall for time and keep away from this creature until I can figure a way out of this fix. Remember those Kendo lessons you took from Master Ko Myong? Well, old girl, this is the time to put them into play.
Hawks Effect_Dangerous Reunion Page 2
