Gods of Arena

Kang stared down into the arena from where he sat. The confidence he had in Crane had just gone with the wind. The Gamblers definitely had no idea what either of them was capable of. They were just staring down and hoping they had staked their bets on the right one. "What is it, Kang? I can hear you breathe", Romeo said, tapping him roughly on the thigh.

"I, uh", he muttered, breathing heavily. "It's, uh, nothing"

The fight had begun. Todd and Crane were moving around in circles, maintaining the eye contact. Crane took one quick long step towards Todd and took a quick low swing at Todd, withdrawing from his movement immediately after. Todd sprung backwards, as the sword cut across his stomach. He held the wound for a few seconds, keeping his sword in position. There was the same confidence Crane had on Todd's face.

Todd swiped his hand across, throwing a kind of wave. Crane bent his head backwards, quickly. Todd jumped at him, kicking him down. Falling backwards, he rolled back on his feet and ran at Todd, kicking him in the chest. He twirled his sword for a second and drove it into the ground, almost pinning Todd down. Todd had rolled away, quickly.

Todd held out his hand and his dagger flew to his hand. He flung it quickly and Crane blocked the hit with his sword. Todd, still down on a knee, swiped his hand across, throwing another wave at Crane. Crane stabbed his sword into the ground and flipped off the ground. For a second, his legs flailed in the air with one hand down, almost resting on the sword. Todd's wave hit the sword, slicing it in two.

Crane flipped back on his feet and kicked Todd's face immediately. Todd sprung back up with the dagger back in his hand. Crane ran at him, swiftly, with his broken sword, and cut him by the side. He turned swiftly and raised the sword, going for the neck. He jerked back, as though he had been hit by something. Todd raised his elbow, hitting Crane in the jaw. Crane brought his face back down, still disoriented by the sudden hit. A short glance at Todd's face and he could see a mischievous smile of victory. Todd swiped his dagger across Crane's stomach, tearing his guts open.

Kang gasped. Crane was down on his knees. That wasn't what happened in the dream. The blade didn't tear out his guts and there wasn't so much blood. Todd stepped back and raised his dagger, smacking his chest as the Gamblers howled and praised him. Crane fell on his face. That was pretty similar. That was part of his dream. Todd was going to turn, boast to the gamblers like a champion. Then, when the gates opened for him to leave the Arena, he would place his left foot on Crane's back, twirl his small dagger and try to stab Crane in the back again. Then Crane would hit Todd's leg while raising his back swiftly, sliding Todd off the ground. He would disarm Todd and stab him in the neck with the dagger.

The gate opened and Crane was still on his face, bleeding profusely and seemingly lifeless. Todd walked back to Crane's body and placed his left foot on his back. He twirled his dagger in his right hand and stabbed Crane in the back, driving it up to his neck like he was going to pull something out. Crane didn't stand up... or move at all. With his back turned, Todd moved towards the gate, smiling at the fighters' stand.

Kang glanced at Dan. Dan was smiling back. "What have you done, Dan?", he muttered, silently. He had suspected a mischievous plot between the two but he never took it serious. "What have you done, Dan?!" Dan looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Kang's vision blurred slowly. He felt his strength draining out of every of his holes. "What are you talking about?"

He felt a sudden tap on his thigh, forcing his eyes back open. "Fuck! What?", Kang snapped, as he raised his back quickly. "Damn! Why hit me?"

"Were you dreaming? You were saying some words", Crane replied, as he punched the air. "And it's almost time for the fight"

"Yea, I had a dream", Kang said and stood up. He couldn't discourage Crane now. At least, not before the fight. Besides, the dream he had before his fight didn't come true.

"It was a good one, I bet", Crane replied. "I had one too"

"Uh, how did your dream go?"

The alarm blared through the speakers in the hall. "I think I should prepare for the fight", Crane said, confidently. "I'm super-hyped, right now. I feel like I've had this since forever" Kang stared blankly, as Crane walked out of the room. "Alright", he muttered.

As confident as he was in the pills, the dream gave him doubts. He cleaned his face with his shirt, as he looked into the mirror. "Well, we are not losing this fight"noveldrama

His eyes fell on Dan, immediately he stepped out of the room. Dan's eyes were fixed on Todd who was staring back. That didn't seem good, though it didn't look bad. Crane bounced boldly and joined one of the two queues. Todd walked to the other queue and stood right behind Dan. Kang kept his eyes on their lips and he could swear they were plotting. All he had in his head was chaos, as he glanced at Crane who seemed to have zero worries. He turned and headed quickly to the bathroom. He almost bashed into Romeo.

"Are you alright? You look dazed", Romeo said, as Kang walked past.

"Uh, I'm fine", Kang replied. "I, uh... gotta use the bathroom"

He stormed in and slammed the door behind him, leaning back as he inhaled and exhaled slowly.

**** (Crane's Dream}

"You don't look like one of us", the old woman said, sniffing the air from the distance like he could smell nativity from every person. "Who are you? And where are you from?"

"I am Crane... Time Flies", Crane replied and looked around. The people were definitely different. They were humans too but they didn't look like the Larger Figures, neither did they look like fighters or gamblers. "I am from Dergon" The people raised weapons in the air, as though they were ready to fight to death to keep him away. "We are very sorry", the old woman said, calmly. "No one from any of the Arenas is allowed on the Cradlands. You might have to return to where you belong"

"No one belongs on the Arena", Crane replied. "The Dergon Fighters will find their way out and they will come seek refuge in the Cradlands. If you resist, you will be forced to bow"

"Millions of years will pass and no dark-blood stranger will be allowed in our land", the old woman gritted. "You can go back to your masters now or you will be forced out"

"No, ma'am", Crane said and took a step forward. "Time flies. Millions of years can go by in seconds. Don't dwell on it.... 'cause in a matter of weeks, they will walk freely on the Cradlands and it'll be up to you to remain free or become captives in your own land"

The men rushed at him with weapons. A wry smile shaped across Crane's face, as he pointed a finger. One of the men stood stiffly, in front of him, with a dagger pointed at Crane's chest. Crane slowly put his arm around his neck and placed the dagger, staring at the others.

"What did you do to him?", one of the men asked, as they watched their mate remain stiffly in one position.

Crane walked closer to the old woman. She didn't flinch. She just stared back at him with stone cold defiance in her eyes. "As I said earlier, Time Flies", Crane said.

The men dashed at him, swiftly. He raised a finger and everything was stiff and silent again. They remained in their attack position, unable to move or blink. A gun fired at Crane from afar. He moved his head, slightly, as though he had seen that coming.

He actually saw it coming. He snapped his finger and the gun was unable to shoot. "It's your choice, Mera"

"How did you know my name?"

"A slight touch of the hem of your cloth and I am on a journey into your past", Crane replied. "A million years can fly past you in seconds"

"What did you do to my people?"

Crane turned. "Time may fly but every second has it's moment", he replied. "They can't move. They can't breathe. They can't blink. They can't think. They are trapped in a time cocoon" "How did you stop the gun from shooting?"

"It's technology", Crane said. "I can disrupt it with a thought... the people you plan to stand against can do similar things. Your force of mortal men won't be enough... besides, when the Grimms come to war against you, you have nothing to fight back. This is a chance for you to have us on your side"

Mera exhaled, blowing a white strand of hair away from her face, and smiled. "Set my people freew from your time cocoon", she said and turned. "We should have a talk"

****

Kang sat on the toilet seat, staring at the door and thinking of every possibility. While he was on the Arena against the Night Hound, he was totally out of his mind. He definitely couldn't do the same things again, unless the pills would take full control of him again. He was so confident and fearless during the fight, he didn't even think about a possible defeat.... Even after the Night Hound stood on two legs and cloned itself into multiple versions. He was able to triumph with the help of Jin's stunners. 'Stunners!', the word rang in Kang's head and his eyes brightened. It was too late to make it possible. The fight had started long ago and he definitely couldn't walk to the fighters' stand now. He would get caught. "I could have done it without the stunners", Kang said to himself. Crane wouldn't need the stunners to win the fight.

He had been sitting in the toilet for over an hour. The fight should be almost over, if not already over. He stood up and pressed down the flush lever, even though the toilet was empty. He opened the door and walked to the hall. It was still silent and empty. The fight must still be going on. His eyes fell on the clock on the wall. Two hours had gone past already and....

The fighters stormed in, murmuring so noisily that he could barely hear his own thoughts. He walked up to Romeo, quickly. "Where's he? Where's Crane? Who won the fight?"

"Crane... was overconfident", Romeo said, blankly. "He didn't use his Shin Zhu. He probably tried to do the same thing you did❞

"He didn't have a Shin Zhu", Kang muttered, taking a step back, and almost falling. "He had no defense"

"I'm so sorry, Kang", Romeo said and held him. "He put up a good fight. He was strong. Respect him for it and move on"

Kang let Romeo hold him and he just stayed there, letting the words flow in his head. Crane had died on the Arena. There was no second chance.