Grakkan's Union • Chapter Four - The Detrius Pits

The noise began as a low rumble. Slowly but surely it grew in strength; reverberating off the metal barricades, thundering around the dark clay walls of the gladiatorial pit. The multi-tiered, circular grandstand was packed to capacity and the fans were chanting and cheering. Still nowhere near the grand scale of even an average arena on the Ophidian Circuit, the Detrius Pits was still a sight to behold. Dug some fifty feet down into the earth itself, with the man-made grandstand jutting up another hundred feet above ground level, the Detrius Pits were known as one of the fiercest small arenas in the system; it was because of this ferocity that the Ophidian's first took notice of the Grakkan Games.

Though it was held in the offseason, the Grakkan Games, since becoming part of the Ophidian Circuit was broadcasted on OGLN as part of the League's schedule. The voice of the Grakkan Games was Damias Harter…

"And welcome back. We've just received word that Boomer Strongarm did indeed survive his injuries and should be back in action for the opening of the season. That's good news for Tannor Stimplants, who, as you recall, was against Boomer participating in the Grakkan Games, to begin with. What a blow that would have been to lose your number one spokesdemon.

"And now we get ready for our seventh match of the evening. This is one that many locals have been looking forward to for some time. Already in the pits, you can see the team of Arcturas, Hellfont, Many-fingered Freen, and last year's Offworlder Quartlerly's most handsome alien, Damask.

"And yes, their opponents are now entering the Pits. If we can just pick up… yes, there is team owner, Dreena Diamond, daughter of the late, great Dasher Diamond. Isn't she looking resplendent in her silver gown? As we come back to the pits, we can see the new Team Diamond as they prepare for the match. There's Captain Impressive, a man who needs no introduction. The veteran leads a team of newcomers including half-Distari Galeforce, the youngster known as the Kid, and… now wait a minute. I don't see the fourth member of the team, a… Doombringer, the call sheet says here. Hmm, this is interesting. It is possible Team Diamond is going with three gladiators which is not unheard of, but not very common either, especially with the two newcomers on the team. Perhaps I can get some official word from my producers as the match has begun!"

* * * * *

"Stay focussed Kid," the Captain said to the Kid as the team prepared for the match. "Don't let your emotions take hold of you. Strike quickly and move on. Stick with the game plan, right?"

The Kid looked up at the Captain. He smiled even though his stomach was turning summersaults. "No problem."

The Captain patted the Kid's shoulder and then turned to Gail and nodded. Gail nodded back as she tightened the buckles around her leather armor. The lights over the clay pits changed from red to white and the klaxon sounded, signifying the start of the match.

Arcturas acted quickly. His entire team took action, moving off in different directions. Captain Impressive had studied Arcturas' tactics heavily however and was prepared for his fanning movement. The three members of Team Diamond turned so that their backs were to one another. Their opponents came in for the attack; as expected, two gladiators focussed on Impressive himself; Arcturas and Damask, while Hellfont confronted the Kid and Many-fingered Freen stalked Gail. Team Diamond moved out to join their opponents.

Arcturas struck fast and hard. Orange light flared in his palms as an energy staff appeared in his hands. The bardiche ended with a curved blade of light. He swung the energy weapon above his head, cutting down towards Captain Impressive. Damask acted in concert with his leader. He fell to one knee and spewed a webby mist from his mouth which caught the Captain's boots and held him fast to the ground. The Captain ignored the web for the time being, knowing that Damask would need a few seconds to recover from his tactic. He concentrated on Arcturas' attack. As the energy staff swooped towards him, he flicked his gauntleted hands and two thick blades shot forth from their metal sheaths along his arms. The Captain crossed his arm blades and held them aloft catching the energy blade between them. Using Arcturas' momentum against him, he tossed the leader of the opposition to one side. He now had time to free himself from Damask's web and sliced through it easily with his blades, freeing himself.

The Kid found himself up against the largest member of their opponents. Hellfont stood nearly seven feet tall and was all red hair and ugliness. Though the Kid's insides were churning rather seriously, he fed upon the excitement and kept his nonchalant attitude. Hellfont stomped around in front of the Kid, playing to the crowd as the Kid just stood there, smirking at the giant.

"I'm gonna squash you, boy!" Hellfont rumbled. The nearby crowd roared their approval. The Kid remained motionless. He just stared hard at his opponent. Hellfont growled and roared some more, but the Kid just stood there.

"Great, I get the village idiot!" Hellfont screamed and charged the Kid. He dove at the young human, fangs, and claws slashing and tearing. But he fell upon thin air and crashed to the ground. Hellfont stood and spun around, kicking up clouds of dust. "Wha…?"

"Over here," the Kid said, waving slightly at the beast. The crowd laughed and started to chant the Kid's name as they decided they liked the deception he had caused. Even they had seen the image of the Kid standing where he was not.

Hellfont screamed in outrage. "That won't work again, boy. I'm gonna tear you a new one..."

"And you must be Galeforce?" Many-fingered Freen said as he circled the arena with Gail. His multiple arms were making initial test-grasps towards Gail as she kept her distance. "It's a pleasure to meet you, pretty-pretty."

Gail winced. "Please."

Gail opened her arms and held them towards Freen. A slight breeze ruffled Freen's hair as he tried to determine the best course of action. When he finally decided, it was much too late. The breeze became a gust, which became a wind. It was all Freen could do to stay afoot. He tried desperately to reach Gail but could not get close enough. Gail raised her hands slowly, and the whirlwind began to lift Freen off his feet.

Arcturas regained his balance and noticed that Freen was in trouble. He ordered Damask to help Freen out, deciding to take Impressive on by himself. There was a moment of calm as the teams regrouped; all but Freen who was still being held aloft by Galeforce.

Damask spat a gob of web towards Galeforce. She was concentrating on Freen and didn't notice until it was too late. The web struck her on the face. She clawed at the sticky substance, pulling it away enough so that she could breathe, but losing her hold on Freen in the process. The mutated human fell to the ground with a thud, rising quickly to run at Gail before she could regain the advantage. Damask approached her slowly from behind.

The Kid had watched all this transpire, and while his attention was on his team-mate, Hellfont moved in for the kill. He struck the Kid hard across the side of the head, knocking the youngster hard into the dirt wall.

Captain Impressive and Arcturas were locked in a deadly embrace, neither giving way; a stalemate of energy weapons, arm blades, and sheer brawn. The Captain was vaguely aware of his team-mate's current problems, but he was in no position to help them at the moment.

The Kid sat up, with his back to the wet earthen wall. He shook the stars out of his vision and tried to clear his head. He could see that Gail was being stalked by Freen and Damask. The Captain was fighting with Arcturas. Hellfont was grinning evilly as he slowly moved towards his position. The Kid took the crystal at his neck into his hand. The dark mist within was a whirlwind of activity. He looked up at Hellfont and smiled.

"I think it's time we introduced the fourth member of our team," he grinned. The Kid held out his hand so that the crystal lay in his open palm. The mist stopped swirling suddenly. Hellfont stopped, unsure what was happening.

Suddenly, the mist sprung free of the crystal. It grew and quickly took a slightly humanoid form. The black, misty shape floated in the air. Two red slits for eyes and the rest was upper torso and arms of the blackest pitch.

"I am the Doombringer," the thing said as it floated effortlessly towards Hellfont. "The destroyer of life. Where I tread I leave only dust and darkness. Life is anathema to me."

Hellfont spewed forth a blaze of fire, but it did not impede the Doombringer. The demon swung its black talons, tearing Hellfont asunder. Where there should have been a bloody gash, a shadow appeared. It grew, enveloping Hellfont who screamed and fell to the ground, his bottom half suddenly not there anymore.

Doombringer turned his gaze to Freen who had heard the commotion and decided to let Damask take Galeforce.

The crowd had gone silent. They didn't quite know how to respond to this sudden and strange tactic; this new demon the likes of which they had not seen before.

"My hunger for death is voracious and cannot be sated," the demon said, swooping in on Freen. Freen tried to grasp Doombringer with his multiple arms but could not take hold of anything. Doombringer floated straight through him. Freen's face froze in a tableau of terror. He fell to the ground, gibbering to himself.

Galeforce acted in this moment of confusion and blasted Damask with a wave of sheer energy. The alien flew to the other side of the arena, smashing hard into the wall. He lay motionless.

Captain Impressive meanwhile had regained the advantage. Pumping his body full of adrenalox-16, he heaved Arcturas into the air. Arcturas landed heavily on his back. He moved to get up, but he had lost a lot of energy, and Impressive stopped him with a simple kick to the head.

It was over.

Gail was helping the Kid to his feet, and the crowd was now cheering wildly. They had witnessed a unique fight, and if this was how the new Team Diamond fought, they wanted to see more!

The Doombringer looked up at the hundreds gathered to watch the match as they began to cheer and chant. He began to rise high into the air, holding his arms out before him.

"I will take every soul. Witness and tremble."

"Kid!" Impressive shouted.

The Kid raised the crystal, and with a loud clap of thunder, Doombringer swirled back down into the amulet. The Kid hung the crystal around his neck again and the team soaked up the adulation.

* * * * *

"That went well," Johnny said.

Dreena smiled. "It did. But they still made many mistakes. Still, listen, Johnny… listen to the roar of the crowd."

It was deafening.