"Gentlemen, today is the big day for the new head of security try outs so..."
"BORING!" Charles was cut off by Murderface's voice and the slamming of a knife down into the meeting table.
"Yeah whens you learn wes don't cares about dis...business crap," Skwisgaar joined in on the interruption.
Charles narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath, another normal Dethklok meeting day. Silence. Charles continued.
"As I was sayi-"
"Oh cools looks at dats!" Toki was apparently very exited about something. Charles looked up towards the ceiling and found the current object of amusement. One of those stick things with the blades that when you rub them in your hands and let it go it flies, kind of like a helicopter. This particular one that twirled over Charles' head had spikes on the blade.
"Dude those things are so awesome," Nathan grumbled as he released his own flying stick helicopter. Charles watched, not amused, as little tiny helicopters of death floated around the room. Toki released his just as the door to the meeting room opened and Charles' assistant stepped in.
"Sire, the are-" he never finished that sentence, but instead let out an agonizing scream as Toki's helicopter blade went straight into his eye and blood spewed everywhere.
"Whoops..." Toki proclaimed. Charles sighed and used this distraction to get their attention back.
"As I was saying you are expected to attend the head of security try outs, I think its something you would be interested in."
"Can we drink?" Pickles asked
"No."
"Then we pass." Nathan spoke for the rest of the band.
"But there will be a gladiator style battle between the 10 candidates, and the last one left standing wins the spot." Charles said.
"Well in that case...dude we're in." Pickles replied.
"Battle starts in 30 minutes, I suggest you make your way over to the arena we built." With that, Charles turned and walked out the door.
Lyra finished attaching the last of her weapons onto Blade's heavy armored saddle. She turned around, contemplating things. She had lived this way for years, every since the accident so long ago. She missed her former normal life; missed it terribly. Yes, she was grateful to be alive, but there were times when she wished she had been left to die. She wasn't free, she eternally belonged to this evil...entity.
Flashback
"Lyra! Come on!" Steph's voice carried through the aisle of the barn.
Steph ran back, abruptly stepping into Lyra's big Friesian stallion's stall. Blade started slightly, then settled instantly when he recognized Steph. Lyra was bent down at his back legs, wrapping them with white polo wraps. Steph clicked to Blade and offered a peppermint. Blade immediately stepped forward and stretched out his neck to grab the mint.
"Hey!" Lyra exclaimed; Steph laughed as she watched Lyra hop, trying to hold onto the end of the wrap. "That's mean," Lyra said, but she was smiling at her best friend. They met here at the barn 3 years ago, and had been inseparable ever since.
"I'm trying to get Blade to make you hurry, we're gonna run out of daylight!"
"Oh go hold your horse...I'll be ready in like, 2 minutes. And its only 3 o'clock!"
"Ha ok, let me go get her. We'll wait for you outside," with that, Steph exited the stall and went over to own horse's stall. Her and Lyra planned on going on a nice long trail ride. Lyra chuckled as she turned back to the polo wrap. She fastened the velcro and was about to stand when she noticed something. There was something on Blade's hock, it looked like he got nicked by something. Lyra was so immersed in investigating the small cut that she didn't notice what was going on, and that Blade was fidgeting nervously. Suddenly, she heard Steph scream for her, and she snapped her head up to see a horrifying sight. Something in the loft had caught fire, and it was right above the stall Steph's horse, Crystal, was in. A flaming piece of something had fallen, causing Crystal to panic. Lyra rushed from Blade's stall, leaving it wide open and allowing him to run out and escape. Crystal's stall was shut, and she was kicked violently. Lyra felt her own panic beginning to rise as the flames seemed to multiply at an alarming rate, and Steph was down, unmoving. All Lyra could think about was getting into the stall. She flung the door open, not thinking, and Crystal charged out, hooves flying. She caught Lyra in the stomach, and she was slammed up against the stall across the aisle. She was terrified. She couldn't move, the smoke was suffocating. She tried to call for Steph, but couldn't find her voice. All she could see was the smoke, covering her with blackness...
She was snapped out of her thoughts by Blade pushing her with his muzzle. He danced around, he knew it was time to do something. She gathered his reins, stepped into the stirrup of the saddle and swung lightly onto his back.
"You guys watch my back," she told the dogs, who were sitting watching her patiently. They continued to watch as she rode off towards the newly built Mordhaus.
The gladiator arena specially built for this one occasion was very impressive. Modeled right after the great collesium in Rome, all the Klokateers, who had been given a special day off, filled the stands, eagerly awaiting the bloody massacre that was about to commence. And of course Dethklok, along with Charles, were in attendance. Charles, as always, was acting as the announcer. Lyra waited patiently, calmly, looking out of the bars of the gates of her holding area. She heard the voice of the man she was to kill boom over the loudspeaker.
"All of you are here for one reason...to win the coveted spot of head of security. You are all at the top of your fields, but only one of you will survive this, the rest of you will perish. So um...let's open the gates."
Lyra snapped down the visor to her helmet, now with her long hair tucked down into her armor, nobody could tell she was a girl. She didn't care, but thought she would be more of a target if the others knew she was female. She shifted her grip on her battle axe. Blade chomped at the bit and stamped impatiently. The gates rose, and without any signal from her, Blade charged forward. As one, they zeroed in on the first attacker. Blade spun on his haunches as he came at them from the side. He had a giant spear, and he had it aimed straight at Blade, but Blade was too quick for him and his spear stabbed empty air. Lyra readied the axe, and with one swipe, blood spewed from the stump of his neck. Without missing a beat, they went after the next opponent. By now the battle was in full swing, Lyra watched as one man ran a sword through another's chest. The crowd erupted in cheers as another went down. Lyra was going for the sword-man, but was deterred by a man jumping up with daggers aimed at her. She knew Blade couldn't move in time, and braced herself for the impact. He hit her hard, and she let herself slip out of the saddle. Prepared, she hit the ground and rolled over, still entangled in the other fighter. There was a slight burning sensation as his dagger caught her arm, but it gave her a sense of where he was. She brought her elbow back and sharply hit him with it with enough force to send him off of her. She flipped through the air, and landed cat-like in a crouch. She quickly pulled her sword out, and lunged at the man, effectively putting him out of commission. She looked for Blade, unaware of an attacker coming from behind. She noticed all too late, he was upon her. His attack was stopped short, however, Miho came in from the side, along with Akira, and they savagely attacked him. She let out a sharp whistle, and Blade immediately came for her. She wasn't worried about the dogs, Akitas could take down a full grown bear, and by the sound of it, they were almost finished with the guy. In one fluid motion, she jumped up into Blade's saddle and immediately went for the closest gladiator. He locked onto her too, swinging his mace wildly. She spurred Blade faster, and right at the last moment he leaped into the air, and kicked out viciously with his back legs. The spiked studs in his shoes connected with the man's head, and he was down. She pulled Blade up, he slid to a stop and whirled around, she found her last opponent. The man with the sword had just finished off someone. He lay on the ground, twitching and not quite dead. He left him and turned to her. For a moment they faced off, then ran full speed at each other. When she asked Blade to become airborne, the other gladiator tucked and rolled. So, a smart one, Lyra thought to herself. She smirked behind her battle mask. She'll play along for a little while, might as well make it a good show. She flipped off of Blade, and he came at her full force. She met his sword with hers, blocking every attempt at a hit, and not fully using herself to her ability. They sparred, she realized she was about to be trapped against the wall. The crowd leaned forward in anticipation of her demise. She backed quickly, and launched herself up the wall and she flipped over her attacker just as his sword met the cement. Out of the corner of her eye, Miho and Akira were moving for him.
"Stay!" she commanded, they obeyed. He was all hers. And she had had enough of the game. It was time to end it. She lowered her sword so the tip rested in the dirt. He ran at her. As he was about to connect, in a split second she dropped to the ground, sliced, and he was without a leg. He stumbled to the ground, the crowd cheered wildly. She whistled, Blade came to her, she galloped towards the downed man, who was trying to crawl away. She leaned forward, put her sword to the ground, and caught him right between the shoulder blades. He fell with a heavy thud about 10 yards away. The Klokateers jumped from their seats, pleased with the performance. She directed her gaze to where Dethklok had been sitting, but they were no longer there. She turned at the sound of the dogs barking, and saw 6 men approaching. Ah, so there they are. She trotted Blade over and stopped a few feet away, facing them. She jumped to the ground, and took off her helmet, shaking her hair so that the wind caught it and it flowed out behind her. She smiled smugly as she noticed the shocked expression on the band members' faces. Even the hard, no-nonsense expression of Offdensen faltered slightly. Her crystal blue eyes locked on his intense green ones for a brief moment. Then he regained is composure.
"Congratulations, you are the new head of Dethklok security. Report to the meeting hall in 30 minutes for your swearing in and branding," with that, Charles turned and made his way back out of the arena. The boys stayed, still staring. She mounted blade and started him forward. She whistled to the dogs, and they followed.
"What's wrong boys? Never seen a girl that could fight?" she asked as she rode past them. They just stared dumbfounded. Lyra smiled, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
