ArenaOCT-Round 1

“AS YOU KNOW, THIS TOURNEMENT SHALL BE THE GREATEST IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PROUD ARENA AND SHALL BECOME ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED DAYS IN ALL THE KINDGOM AND AS SUCH I THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING FROM YOUR HOMES TO EXPERIENCE IT WITH ME! NOW AS OUR GLADIATORS JOIN WITHIN THE RING FOR THIS MONUMENTOUS OCCASION, ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU OF THE REASON THIS TOURNEMENT IS OF SUCH IMPORTIANCE…”
Of course, all that Glub heard was…
“BLAH, BLAH, BLAH! YADDA, YADDA, YADDA! JIBBERJABBER LA LA LA I’M GUNNA YAMMER LIKE THIS FOR A REALLY LONG TIME CAUSE I LIKE HEARING MYSELF TALK HA HA HA SUCKS FOR YOU!”
 So he was understandably impatient as he stood in the arena, tapping his foot and melting beneath the boiling hot sun. He couldn’t even yell at whoever was blabbering because of how thirsty he was. He reached for the plastic water bottle in his pocket and let the few remaining drops slip down his dry throat.
“This thing better start soon or I’m gunna dry out.” He muttered, throwing the empty bottle aside. Why was it whenever something good happened today, it had to be followed with something stupid? This was an arena! He wanted to fight, dang it!
“NOW LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!”
The crowd suddenly burst into cheers.
Finally! Glub gripped the metal club tighter in his hand. Now the fun could start!
Wait, where was his opponent? He looked around for whoever he was supposed to give a beating too but the arena still looked as empty as before. Again and again he turned in circles only to see more emptiness.
From somewhere above him, he heard the crowd break into hysterical laughter.
“What’s so funny?” He growled.
“Beats me. Must be good though!” Came a giggle.
Glub jumped and spun around, holding his club out in front of him.
“Don’t sneak up like that you jerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…”
The person in front of him, his opponent, the person he had been dragged here to beat up, was a girl.
She stood with her hands on her hips and a snarky-sweet smile. True, she was half a head taller than him and it looked like she was dragged here on route to a kitten cosplay but she had glittering silver hair, sparkling green eyes and…well.
 Glub quickly lowered his club.
“Heya. Name’s Glub.” He smirked, giving her wink. “What’s a hot chick like you doing in a place like this?”
“Hiya yourself!” She beamed. “I’m Mafdet and you are soooooo adorable!”
She accentuated this by giving him a pat on the head.
“What!? No! I’m…I’m not!” He sputtered, shoving her away.
This was not going how he’d hoped.
“Of course you are!” The girl reached forward and squished his cheeks with both hand. “Look at you and your funny little fishy face! It’s the adorablest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“You’re!....Covering!......My!.....Gills!” he choked, struggling to get free from her iron-like grip.
“EXCUSE ME!” Came a booming voice from above them. “I SAID IT WAS TIME TO FIGHT!”
“Oh right!” She released Glub, leaving him gasping for breath. “I almost forgot! The creepy guy back there said that all I gotta do is beat whoever’s in here and I get all the pudding I want! Well, I guess I better start then. Sooner I’m done the sooner I get pudding!”
“Wh-what?” Glub was still dazed from his near suffocation and tried to climb to his feet. “Wait I-AGH!”
In a flash, Mafdet had rushed forward and slashed at his face with a pair of claw-like knifes. Glub stepped back and held his newly-torn cheek, cringing from the unexpected pain. This left Mafdet an opening for another strike, which she cheerfully took.
Again and again and again.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Wait! Agh!” The knife ripped open his tender skin in every place, driving him back with each strike. Her claws moved so quickly, it was impossible for him to regain balance. Then Mafdet stabbed her claws straight at his chest, knocking him backwards into the dirt. The audience ‘ooed’ from above. The girl grinned.
“Yay! Pudding time!” She jabbed her knife once more, aiming straight for his neck.
Suddenly Glub’s hand shot up and clamped onto her arm.
“Hey” Mafdet pulled against his grip. “Let go of-“
In a quick motion, Glub released her hand and kicked her in the gut.
“AAAHH!” She stumbled backwards but managed to turn her fall into a backwards flip, landing her nimbly on the ground.
Glub dragged himself up and wiped the blood from his face. He grinned at the sight of his crimson injuries, then shifted his smile towards his opponent.
“You know, you’re really cute when you’re fighting.” He spat onto the ground, its color tinted with scarlet. “Let’s see if you look any better once I’m finished with you!”
He dashed forward and swung his club. Mafdet sprang back, leaving the club to hit only empty air.
“Hold still you coward!” Glub growled. He began swinging his club wildly, trying to make any contact but Mafdet was too fast. Each time he swung, the girl would merely jump to the side. It was like she was a real cat! Worse, the sun was beating down harshly and the effect was clear. His head was beginning to spin and his arms shook faintly.
“You look like you’re getting tired.” Mafdet frowned, delicately stepping away from another weak blow. “Do you wanna take a break? It’d be a lot easier to get my pudding if you-“
“Would you just…shut up!?” Glub gulped. Then he suddenly to pointed behind her. “Oh my gosh! Is that a giant pudding!?”
“What!?” Mafdet squealed and spun around. “Where? Where!? I don’t see any-“
BANG!
Glub slammed the club against her head.
“AAAAAOOOWWWW! Hey! That hurt!” She whined, rubbing her head.
Rather than waste his breath responding, Glub rushed forward and swung his club again before she could jump away.
BANG! The metal collided with her side, knocking her to the left.
“OOOOWWWW!” Mafdet stumbled back, rubbing her hip. “I wasn’t ready!”
Glub tried for a third hit, but this time Mafdet disappeared before he could get close enough. He blinked, trying to figure out what had happened but the heat was making him dizzy. Once again Glub heard the sound of laughter coming from above.
“Grrrrrr.” He growled. What was this? A fight or a comedy act?
Suddenly a blur of black swooped past him, sending a breeze into him face. The suddenly coolness took him by surprise and he glanced up for the cause.
Mafdet was suspended in midair, just above his head by a pair of black bat wings, her arms loaded with large rocks.
Glub slapped him hand to his forehead.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Bombs away! Peeew! Peew Peew!” Mafdet imitated a laser gun and giggled as she pummeled him with rocks.
Glub yelped as they bashed against his head and raced off across the arena. He strived to keep ahead of the winged cat freak, but she clearly had the advantage. Every time he stumbled or slowed he was punished with bruises on his back. Worse than that was how it pained him having to run from a fight. How could he let this cat-bat-thing push him around like this!?
All too quickly Glub found himself out of breath, his gills wanting to tear from the effort of breathing without water for so long. Up ahead, he could see a pile of massive barrels stacked near the stone wall. If nothing else, maybe he could get some cover. With the last of his strength he dashed ahead and half-rolled, half-fell behind them.
“Wait up!” He heard Mafdet holler from behind him. “You’re not dead yet!”
He growled and rubbed his burning gills, the pain of touching their dry edges somehow feeling more like knife wounds then the ones scattered over his face.
“How the heck did anyone think this match was fair!?” He whispered, his dry throat scratching painfully. If Mafdet didn’t kill him, the heat would.
“Errrrr! I can’t die like this!” He slammed his fist into one of the nearby barrels. “I won’t let it-“
Something cold, wet and refreshing dripped onto his head. He blinked in shock.
“No way.” Glub jumped to his feet and peered into the barrels. A wave of relief washed over him and his grin once again returned, now twice as large as before.
The barrel was filled to the brim with water. Dirty, slimy, parasite-encrusted water but still water!
“No stinking way!” He shouted, unable to contain himself. He quickly swung his leg up and pulled himself onto the brim.
“EEEEWWWWW! You’re not going to drink that, are you?”
Glub yelped.
“Agh! Stop doing thaaaaaaa-“
SPLASH!
Glub toppled into the water, sending the murky liquid splattering out the sides.
“Blech!” Mafdet cringed as the water splashed onto her clothes. “Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!”
She quickly wiped the grime from her dress.
“Shesh Fishy! You’d don’t have to be so mean! I mean, yuck!.............Um, Fishy?”
There was no reply. She stepped over to the barrel.
“Fiiiiishy?”
A few small bubbles floated to the surface, then nothing. Mafdet peered further in and gave the barrel a shake..
“Fishy? Are you dead? That’s kinda weird for a fish person to drown….Hellooo? Helloo-”
Suddenly, the barrel erupted. Water splashed out the rim as Glub leaped from the water.
“Shut! Up!” He shouted. As he fell to earth, he brought his club down as hard as his strength would allow.
CRRRAACK!
The noise resounded through the arena as the metal club slammed against Mafdet’s skull. She teetered precariously, her legs weakly shaking and her eyes dazed.
“Ugugugugguhhhhh.: She mumbled, her body unable to keep itself straight.
“Here, lemme help you out there.” Glub fired his fist directly into her chest.
“UGH!”
Mafdet dropped backward in a limp heap.
The crowd exploded with cheers and applause, all praising the miraculous victory and they weren’t the only ones.
“WOO-HOO!” Glub leapt into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs. “YES! YES! IN YOUR FACE YOU PUSSY! WOOOOOOOO!”
He was so busy flaunting his victory, he didn’t notice two guards rushing in and hauling away Mafdet’s unconscious body. Nor did he notice the third figure arrive until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“What?” He snapped. “Can’t you see I’m celebrating here?”
“My apologizes Master Bloater.”
Glub wrinkled his nose. The fragile man spoke in a soft timid tone and his overgrown hair fell in front of his pale face like a black waterfall as he bowed respectfully. Add that to the long green robe he was wearing and he could easily be mistaken for a girl.
It was weird.
“I hate having to disrupt your victory, but I am to escort you out of the arena.” The man held out his gloved hand. “If you’ll just come with me.”
Glub stared at the man’s hand, then back at the weirdo with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, I beg your pardon.” The man bowed once again. “My name is Sagittarius, the King’s steward. It’s my job to provide you with anything you need during your stay and currently you need to get out of the arena before the next fight begins.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” Glub immediately shot back.
Above them, the voice rang out.
“NOW MY SUBJECTS LET ME PRESENT YOUR NEXT CHALLENGER!”
“Oh dear, his majesty’s starting already. You really must come with me.” Sagittarius reached for his arm, but Glub quickly stepped back.
“Listen Weirdo, I ain’t leaving right now so you can just muck off.” He crossed his arms and marched right past the wimp. If there was gunna be another fight here, then he wanted in.
Sagittarius watched him go. He smiled softly and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well if you say so Master Bloater.” He slowly began walking towards the exit, but added in a loud whisper, “It saves me the trouble of having to feed you to the lions later.”
“What was that!?” Glub turned back around.
“Oh it was nothing I’m sure.” Sagittarius chuckled faintly.
“Oh no it wasn’t! You tell what it was right now or I’ll beat your skull in.”
“But I didn’t say anything.”
“Yes you did! Now come back here!”
Sagittarius didn’t seem to hear him so, with as much growling and swearing as possible, Glub reluctantly rushed after him.

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“And this is where you’re staying, Master Bloater.”
Glub shoved the wimp aside as he gazed around the room. It took all his concentration not to look awestruck at the massive four post bed with its elegantly woven covers, the beautifully carved wooden furniture and the crystal chandler that almost blinded with its brilliance.
“It…..looks okay.” He finally managed before dropping his club and throwing himself onto the bed. It was so soft!
“I’m glad it’s to your liking.” Sagittarius murmured. “One of my finest illusions yet I believe.”
“What was that?” Glub hollered. He’d begun jumping on the bed, knocking its satin pillows onto the floor.
“Just happy you like it Master Bloater. Call if you need anything. I’ll return for you when the next match is ready to start.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Glub attempted a flip, which ended in him landing head first on the floor. “OW!”
Sagittarius chuckled and slowly closed the door.

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“Ugh…..Ow…..My head….”
“The chloroform’s wearing off. We need to start the project now.”
“….Mom?.....Mom, what’s going on?....Mom?....Where are you going?.....Mom!”
“Morning sleepyhead! Feelin better now?”
“What? No! What’s going on!? Who are you? Why…why can’t I move!?”
“Ya’ll gots yerself strapped down to a table.. Don’t worry, them docs do it ta everyone.”
“What?”
“It’s nuthing to worry too much about. I had it dun and I’m still gud. In fact, check this out!”
“What? Sh-shouldn’t you not be using a knife like tha-OH MY GOSH! YOU! JUST! Y-Y-YOUR FINGER!”
“Yeah, always freaks ya new kids out. Just wait…..aaaaand boom! New finger!”
“………”
“Shut yer jaw darling, you’ll get flies flying in.”
“H-h-how did you do that?”
“All comes from being in this dump. The food sucks, ya live in a cage, yer experimented on every five minutes and when ya die they cut ya up fer organs….but at least ya getta cool stuff, am I right?”
“What!?!?!?”
“That’s why I’m ditching this place pretty soon. Don’t tell them that though. Maybe I’ll bring you too? Won’t that be nice Squirt?”
“But…what’s going to happen now?”
“Ya bite the bullet. It hurts worse the first time, but ya seem like a dang tough kid.”
“Miss Groach, you need to return to your chamber.”
“Mom! What’s going to happen? Mom!”
“Good luck Squirt! I’l be rooting fer ya!”
“Wait! No! Mom! Can you hear me? Mom!”
“Begin the procedure.”
“Mom! Wait! Who are these people? Mom! Please! Come back! Mom!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!”