4th CARD › “Into The Arena!”
Heading deeper into the slums of District Thirteen meant traveling underground. Above ground the slums weren’t as horrible as the name would suggest. The only part of the district that was obviously uninhabitable was ground zero of Giotto’s fall, where buildings were reduced to rubble and in some cases dust in the wind. Elsewhere, buildings were run down and abandoned for the most part. Streets were littered with obstructions here and there, but overall it felt more like a ghost town than an actual slum.
It was once you ventured into the underground that everything began to change.
Homeless littered the vast number of tunnels that swept through the area underneath Thirteen. Makeshift homes made of cardboard, dry wall, and sheet metal littered the walls. Dried crud and filth were scattered throughout the so-called ‘streets’ without a care. The smell, the stench, was all intoxicating – a single whiff made your head spin. A second made you lose your lunch.
What was once a vast sewer system was now home to a few thousand citizens abandoned and forgotten by their city of New Eden.
It wasn’t as if they wanted to live there, though. They did so out of necessity.
Most of them were ‘Normals,’ or rather non-Espers. Due to this fact, most of them were behind the eight ball to begin with. As a Normal it was hard to find suitable work in such a competitive market and that difficulty only seemed to increase in recent years. A city of twenty million can do that.
Living in old sewers was the only way some could survive. Above ground the threat of Chaotic attacks was high and no House dared to venture to the Thirteenth District to protect the citizens. Not in four years, at least.
The city that seemed so perfect on the outside, this paradise, was divided and it was getting worse.
On one side stood those with abilities, Espers. On the other side sat those without, Normals. It was an unfair system that for some reason continued to become more skewed as time went on.
Gio had fought tooth and nail, together with Leon, to change that.
When the two became Kings they used their newfound influence to attempt and bridge the gap. They wanted to make a world where both Espers and Normals alike had the same opportunities. To find a way where New Eden could truly become the greatest city in the world in more than just name alone.
They made progress up until Gio’s fall from grace.
After that, well… it was as if all involved gave up hope of a truly unified city. The Houses abandoned the District and an agreement was reached that no House would attempt to claim the detached area as their own. Leon objected, along with the King of Clubs, both wanting to carry on the project, but the Houses had reached their verdict. Even with the request from two of the three Kings still active, the plea failed. Such was the influence of The Aces – those who stood above even Kings and remained faceless at Central.
For some reason they wanted to forget the district ever existed.
In the four years since, all the previous progress had been totally lost. If anything the District was even worse off now than it was before.
The underground fight club that now drew the attention of Leon, the arena where teens were pitted against Chaotics for sport, was evident of just how bad things had become.
Leon could only hope now was the time for Gio and Sera to get back some of that lost progress.
“Let me get this right, cheese head. You’re going to… no, no, no. This is completely moronic even by your standards!” Sera shouted, her fist flying at a ducking Gio.
“Trust me it will be fine. All you have to do is act like you know what you’re doing.” Gio paused for a moment, smirking. “.. Oh, right, you’d have to act like you knew what you were doing. Right. Impossi—” This time Sera’s fist connected and sent Gio back into the stone wall beside him.
“Idiot. If you screw this up I’m going to give you more than a bloody nose, you got that?” Sera glared at the recovering Gio, whom could only shrug in response.
The two had made their way deep into the underground tunnels that ran underneath the Thirteenth District in just a few hours’ time. They were both wearing black cloaks, hoping to mask their identity and escape the ooze that seemed to drip from every surface of the slums.
Gio had even come up with a plan, mostly thanks to Sera’s somewhat small frame that could pass as a young teen. She was only nineteen, but even so, she needed to pull off looking a bit younger. Perfect for playing right into the greedy hands of those controlling the operation they were here to stop.
The plan itself was a simple one; enter Sera into the arena while Gio used his power to make her appear as an Esper. This would give them the opening they needed to get close, allowing them to hopefully snuff out whomever was the ringleader. Once they were found out, all Gio had to do was take out the boss and the job would be complete. Seemingly quick and painless.
They had originally wanted to simply enter the arena as patrons, betting on the event to get close, but their funds were shockingly nonexistent. Gio didn’t have enough kidneys he could sell to try and make the kind of money they would have needed.
“Yes, yes, whatever you say, mosquito.” Gio glanced further down the darkened tunnel at the subtle orange glow near the end. That was the light of their destination. “Don’tcha worry. I’ve got your back.”
He gave a little smirk as he passed her, which seemed to quell that anger of hers ever so slightly. It seemed even a fool like Gio could attempt to comfort someone else in a time of uncertainty. At least a little.
She nodded and followed swiftly behind him, paying careful attention to avoid the various vomit and feces piles along the way.
As they continued down the tunnel the light grew brighter. Eventually the thunderous roars of the crowds and growls of the Chaotics began to echo around them, practically drowning out their own thoughts. It was like walking into a stadium of a country’s favorite sports team right before the championship game.
Lights skewed their vision as the tunnel opened up, blinding them like a burst of sunlight. Sera raised her hand to block the sudden surge of light, while the shades-cladded Gio simply looked on at the sight before them.
Their destination, as if suddenly popping in to place out of thin air, had been reached.
Hundreds of well-dressed men and women surrounded a thirty-foot-high steel fence, each cheering and screaming their heads off at the current fight on the other side of that barrier. Each and every member of the audience seemed to be wealthy, made obvious by their expensive clothes and overpriced bottles of wine or brandy. They were all ages from surely all corners of New Eden, but they stood here of all places for an illegal night of gambling over battles, blood, and bodies.
Interestingly enough the arena and surrounding structure was incredibly well kept. So much so it didn’t seem real. It felt like you were entering into a totally different section of New Eden or traveling through a star gate to some far off world.
The look of the material switched from a leaky poo brown to a faded white marble from the ceiling down to the walls and across the floor to the edge of the battle arena. Numerous bars made from fancy looking lumber and metal, filled with expensive liquor, lined the coliseum style viewing area. Each row was then filled with expensive looking fiberglass tables and chairs.
It just didn’t seem possible that this was the same slum.
In the middle of the otherworldly coliseum, where the white marble ended, the steel fence began. The structure was clearly well put together with bars being as large in diameter as an average person, crisscrossing over each other. In addition, massive steel barbs covered the interior of the fence, and each one had a nasty yellow spark to it. These electrified spikes made sure that none could hope to escape.
The ring itself was at least a couple hundred feet wide, filled with a layer of sand much like coliseums of the past.
A last defining feature were the competitors themselves.
One was a young boy, bandaged in various places from head to toe in nothing but street rat clothing stained with blood. The other was a far more terrifying sight that would make most feel uneasy – a Jurassic looking creature, a high level Chaotic, nearly four times the height of the boy and twice as long.
This beast was covered in a copper-colored scaly skin, much like armor, lined with red tribal-like markings and spatters of blood. Cleary this towering monstrosity had been fighting in this arena for some time. The blood that stained his body was no doubt days, even weeks old.
The boy appeared barely fifteen or sixteen and had obviously seen better days physically – but regardless, he leapt around the ring with superhuman ability. He was an Esper, after all, and his movement was a literal blur.
This Chaotic, shaped much like a long extinct tyrannosaurus, didn’t even bother trying to follow his speed. It had other ideas.
The boy was stopping occasionally from his dashes and showed his fatigue. Who knew how tired, hungry, or hurt he may have been. He wasn’t well enough to go up against the rex or to use his ability consistently.
So the beast waited, watching, and finally took a single solitary lunge forward.
Its jaw flew open and snapped shut before most onlookers even realized what had happened.
At the same time there was no longer a young boy whizzing around at dazzling speeds.
All that remained was the crimson ooze which spewed across the sandy arena floor.
Gio was seemingly unfazed by what he witnessed. He was prepared for this, he expected it. Unfortunately, he was use to such sights.
Sera was a different story.
As the patrons cheered the death of the Esper, Sera began to dash ahead of Gio to give them all a piece of her mind – but Gio was quick to grab her by her cloak and spin her around to face him. She gave him a look of pure aggression, livid at the sight of these suits celebrating the death of another. Sera was so angry that she didn’t even bother to hide the tears slowly beginning to stream down her face.
“Get your damn hands off me! I’m goin—” She was shouting and Gio used his other hand to cover her mouth.
“You want to blow the operation? Charge in? Give the mastermind time to run and get away? Be smart about this, Sera. We stick to the plan.” Gio’s voice was calm, commanding. Different from the typical Gio experience.
Sera shouted through the hand which covered her mouth, expletives being thrown out in the form of hushed mumbles. She was enraged and rightfully so, but Gio had to calm her down. Everything was riding on them infiltrating the arena.
Hidden by his shades, Gio’s eyes wandered to a pair of what appeared to be officials for the arena. An older gentleman and a young woman whom were dressed in matching formal garb. A white suit with red trim for the man, a white pantsuit for the woman with similar design choices and splashes of red here and there.
Both were eyeing up Gio and Sera. They had caught the eye of the staff already. Gio had to act.
“No time now, mosquito.”
Sera was suddenly spun back around to face the arena.
“—cking bastard!” She continued shouting despite the situation, catching a wicked smirk from the female staffer not far ahead of them.
The woman made her way towards Gio and Sera somewhat seductively, as if enjoying the sight of them just a bit too much. The wicked smile of hers and her tied back black hair was enough to compare her to the wicked witch.
“My, my, I see you have a rather unruly pet with you today. I’m assuming you’re here to make a deposit?” She spoke like a snake, slithering her words into their ears and constricting their very souls.
“Who the hell do yo—” Sera was cut off by Gio once again covering her mouth. He gripped tight around the collar of her cloak, too, practically causing her to choke.
“You can say that again, miss.” Gio gave a comforting smile to the female staffer now standing just a few feet in front of them. “It’s my first time here, but when I heard the going rate for some young Espers… well, just too good to pass up. Figured I’d give the slums a once over and see what I could find.”
Sera could barely believe what she was hearing. Without even flinching, Gio was able to converse with the devil in Prada like it was a normal thing. Heck, it almost sounded like Gio enjoyed the thought of selling off an orphaned Esper.
How could he so easily hide his emotion and act like that?
“Oh? Well, I’m happy to have a first timer with us. She certainly seems pretty scrappy as well, yes, yes.” The woman’s wicked smile grew three sizes too big. “So, what might her ability be?”
Gio violently pushed Sera forward, practically causing her to trip over her own two feet.
“Go on, show her.”
Sera wanted to turn around and slam her fist so far down Gio’s throat that she’d come out the other end, but now wasn’t the time for that. It was the time for restraint. She calmly held out her hand, which Gio took advantage of – and a flame suddenly burst forth, nearly burning the hairs off Sera’s eyebrows.
“Oh! She’s an elemental user and a fire one at that! My, my, we haven’t had a fire user before. This could get quite interesting…” As the flame vanished the woman looked back to Gio. “Well then, the going rate is…” The woman held up her hand with two fingers extended.
Gio nearly burst into laughter.
“.. That little, huh?” Gio then held up his own hand, showing four fingers. “After all, you yourself said it; you’ve never had a fire user before.”
The woman couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her lips. Both she and Gio were locked in a game to decide just who would be getting the best deal.
“First time and already driving the price up, hm? My, I think I like you, Mr. Shades.” The woman then held up three fingers. “.. Though I don’t like you that much.”
Gio sighed and began to reach out to Sera to pull her back, which the woman noticed, and she instead reached out to grab Sera by the front of her cloak.
“Fine, fine. You win, Mr. Shades.” She then pulled Sera along with Gio trailing behind. “See my associate over there for your money and grab a drink at the bar courtesy of us. After all, I think you’ll like to see what this little firecracker is capable of… she’s up next, after all.”
Gio smiled and nodded, watching Sera get pulled towards the large arena like a dog. He knew it was all Sera could do not to let loose and rampage without a single care in the world… but he also knew that this was their one shot. Sera may have been hot-headed but Gio trusted her enough to remain calm in a situation like this.
He wasted little time in collecting his payment. It was his role to play the happy slave trader – meaning money and booze were two things he’d be able to enjoy here.
“Woo! Let’s see what you’re capable of, mosquito.” He was cheering from in front of the bar before turning around to face the bartender. “Your lady boss will be picking up my tab, good sir. I’ll take a whiskey and coke, hold the coke.” He smirked and turned back to the arena, finally removing his sunglasses and slipping them under his cloak.
Sera was fuming. With the amount of rage coursing through her veins it was likely she’d start producing flames on her own. She was red hot.
Don’t punch the bitch in the face, don’t punch the bitch in the face, don’t punch the bitch in the face… Her inner voice was working hard to keep her from snapping.
“Now then, my dear little firecracker… Do put on a good show.” The woman’s wicked grin grew wider still as she pushed open a steel door, leading to a small cage about the size of a portable toilet.
Sera was viciously thrown in without hesitation and this time she couldn’t stop herself from falling face first into sand. Before she could turn around and retaliate, however, the door had swiftly shut behind her.
She pushed up off the ground and dusted herself off. Luckily her clothes had escaped the sand for the most part, thanks to the cloak. Facing forward she realized that this small cage was meant to hold the combatants until the fight was to begin. The second steel door in front of her was controlled from the outside, meaning that any moment the cage would spring open and she would be face to face with the same beast that just killed an Esper minutes prior.
“.. I’m counting on you, Gio…” She had calmed down a bit, knowing full well that at this point she needed to rid herself of blind rage.
It was also evident of, despite their quarrels, just how much she had come to trust Giotto.
“Laaaadies and Gentlemen!” The woman’s voice from before suddenly screeched throughout the arena’s loudspeakers. “After that rather lackluster performance before, I’m happy to announce that we have a brand new Champion ready to take on the seemingly unstoppable Draco Rex!”
The crowds erupted with bloodthirsty cheers once again. Despite the fancy suits and designer dresses the audience members were more like barbarians than members of high class society.
“We’re about to get going here, so now’s the time to place your bets! Before you do, though, you should know that this new Champion is a master of an equally unbeaten and forever blazing elemental magic! These flames of hers are unmatched in their explosive power, ready to send our dreaded Draco Rex back into extinction!”
More cheers consumed the audience. This woman was doing her job well – sell the audience on the Esper, make them bet, and more times than not the Chaotic will make quick work of even the toughest Champions.
It was working more than she could have hoped for.
Each member of the audience was given an electronic tablet in which they could place their bets instantaneously. A large screen near the back of the area showed the betting odds and was updated in real time as bets were made.
Unlike a typical arena fight, where money placed might favor the Chaotic, this time saw increased betting on the Champion; Sera. As the woman went on about Sera and her ability the odds shifted in her favor, making the Chaotic and thus the arena itself the underdog.
The woman stopped herself from breaking out into a wicked laugh.
“Now then – all bets are officially closed!”
The large screen at the back then showed the live feed of the arena itself, where Rex the Chaotic lie in wait. A smaller, secondary screen, showed the inside of Sera’s small cage.
“Let’s get this party started! Countdown starting – .. Ten! .. Nine! .. Eight!”
The crowds then took over the count, from seven to six and beyond.
Sera took the chance to stare through the fencing of her cage, catching sight of Gio, and their eyes became drawn to each other. Gio gave a reassuring nod and that was all Sera needed.
“.. One! ZERO!”
Sera’s cage swiftly opened and the young girl dashed out of it. The thunderous roars of the crowd were nauseating, but there was no time to focus on that. The massive dinosaur wannabe, affectionately labeled Draco Rex, was already rushing towards Sera.
You could say he was still hungry.
“D-Damn, you’re fast for a—” Sera’s potential insult was lost as she was forced to sprint with everything she had. Dodging Draco Rex would be anything but easy, even in the rather spacious arena.
The crowd once again cheered as Draco Rex’s massive jaw came slamming into the ground where Sera had just stood. His razor sharp teeth snapped at the air as Sera ran, hoping to catch his prey much like his previous. As Sera ducked around him, though, she suddenly remembered that the beast had a massive tail – once which was heading right for her.
“Shit, shit!—” She instinctively held up her arms in defense and that was the perfect chance for Gio to act.
A small ember appeared in the path of the tail and with a loud crack erupted into a pillar of red flames that consumed the entirety of the tail. In that instant the tail was completely vaporized without a trace. Not even ashes remained.
Members of the audience practically fell out of their chairs when the flames appeared. None of them were ready for such a daunting display of power so quickly. They could even feel the heat of the flames all the way in the back row.
Once they recovered, they showed their enjoyment by chanting ‘Champ! Champ!‘ in support of the pink haired champion.
“Oh? Not bad, Gio!” Sera’s surprise kicked in and she continued to sprint away from the beast.
Rex himself was in bad shape after such an attack. That massive tail of his was for more than just show, as it seemed to be used to balance his massive frame. Rex tried to pursue Sera but instead he fell over sideways, crashing into the floor with a quake inducing thud.
The audience couldn’t help but be overrun by laughter.
“.. He’s immobile now, huh? This won’t be as bad as I thought.” Sera gave a sigh of relief. She had confidence in Gio to get her out of this, but she felt better knowing that it was easier than expected… or so it had appeared.
One by one the crowd’s laughter began to subside into silence, and even Gio had to take a second look at what he was seeing – Rex was rising up from the ground with his tail rapidly growing back. Within less than four seconds it had grown nearly thirty feet.
The Chaotic was back on his feet and thirsty for blood. Its regeneration ability was insanely fast, even moreso than high level Chaotics. Rex himself had to be just about the power of a Jack if not even higher.
“.. Damnit!” Sera held out her hand, hoping Gio would agree that finishing this now was best – but as Rex began to charge, no flames appeared. “.. Uh, fire? Go-Go flames?!” Sera began to grow worried as Rex’s charge intensified!
Gio’s own face had suddenly grown contorted. He was summoning his ability, trying to use his flames to cause an explosion, but nothing was happening.
Instead his body was beginning to tremble. Sweat began to drip down his face. Without warning, something was going horribly wrong.
“The hell is this?!” For the first time he sounded genuinely worried and he wasn’t sticking around to find out what was going on. There was no time for that now.
He began pushing himself through the crowd, dropping his whiskey drink, rushing towards the arena’s fence – but he suddenly found himself falling to his knees. Time began to slow for him.
An intense pain began to shoot up his left arm from his hand, spreading throughout his entire body as if needles were coursing through his veins. He was in such total disarray that he couldn’t even scream out in pain. His voice was silenced. His entire body was overcome with lethal doses of torment.
He looked on with eyes that refused to shed tears, even with the practically unfathomable torture bringing him to his knees. He knew that this was bad. He couldn’t bear to witness such a sight again, someone close to him losing their life because of him. Sera was on her own and it was his fault.
History was about to repeat itself.
.. Or so it appeared.
As Draco Rex closed in on Sera, massive green vines covered in thorns exploded from beneath the arena. They were each nearly the size of the Chaotic and their sudden coming caused the stone structure holding the fence in place to begin to crumble.
The Chaotic froze, unsure of what was happening, and before it could react the thorn covered vines latched onto its legs and tail, shredding the limbs like paper.
The crowds that had been so barbaric moments ago were now fleeing in terror. The cage was beginning to give way, the Chaotic would soon be free, and this attack was obviously not part of the show. They flooded towards the exit tunnels like rats attempting to flee a hurricane.
Unfortunately for them, more green vines soon caused the tunnels around the arena to collapse in furious explosions of dirt, stone, and sewage. Someone wasn’t letting the guilty patrons escape their fate.
This type of power on this scale was rare. It was a massive attack, using large amounts of energy that even Normals in the audience could feel. There was a pressure in the air being forced upon them by a single individual – someone with the power of a King.
“By the decree of the Houses, these illegal activities will no longer be tolerated!” A female voice, young and energetic, cried out among the chaos, causing patrons and staff alike to look upwards at the source.
Houses?! But Leon said— Gio’s thoughts continued to race, but his pain was becoming too much. He looked up to see whom the woman was and he couldn’t quite believe it.
Long scarlet hair flowed freely, matching the red eyes of the dark skinned woman. She was a beauty with some well-rounded curves, though they were somewhat hidden under her white uniform. A formal uniform reserved for the Houses. This one in particular, with the red markings of a heart on the front of it, was reserved for high ranking Espers from the House of Hearts.
Even as the pain left Gio in a submissive state he could tell who this woman was. A fact made obvious by the decorative mark on her left hand radiating with a familiar red glow. A mark with a large ‘K’ in the middle of it intertwined with a heart.
“In the name of the House of Hearts, I, Rose Jalice, shall dispense the called upon punishment –”
Her voice carried through the arena with ease, but there was only one part that Gio cared to pay attention to.
Words long since forgotten.
“Such is the duty of the King of Hearts!”
~ END 4TH CARD ~