Hey kids
got chapter 37 done, whoot whoot!

I'm pretty happy about this chapter. It has a lot of Varia and Varia doings in it. Hope you guys like it.

Now for some Protocol:
word count: 3,511
[I do not own any KHR characters]
I do claim ownership of the OC Mizuno Teru/Orabella Manicci

Thank you Ausumist for being my beta.

Don't be a stranger~

.Captain.

In the encompassing darkness, fear sets in to weightlessness and limited visibility. I can only see myself. I shut my eyes in hopes of acclimating to the surroundings, but start falling and clamp them tight. The descent is quick, hard and scarier than hell. I scream and feel something hot wash over me as I hit the ground or whatever this is. I scream and refuse to open my eyes.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

I gasp and open my eyes to the familiar voice. "Xan—agh!" Water is shooting right in my face. Though I have never been sure what comes after death, I would have never guessed it was a hot shower and hearing voices. I take a deep breath in the steamy, glass encased-room and exit.

"Where the fuck am I," I mutter to myself inside the large bathroom I'm standing inside. Marble floors that look like dirty sand, stone covered walls in various shades of brown, giant bathtub and a glass-encased shower the size of a efficiency apartment. This bathroom is ridiculous, ridiculously huge. I look around for a towel, finding some women's jewelry sitting on the marble vanity. Rings and matching decorated boxes about the size of my palm. My eyes inspect them as I rub the towel all over me. All of the boxes have the 'Varia' insignia on them, one ring does too; one ring looks to have a beautiful ruby on it, and the other has a horn. Though my jealousy tempts me to grab them, my eyes look away from them.

I turn the doorknob slowly and open it slower. A small burst of cold air rushes inside the warm bathroom and I step out. There is plush white carpet under me and a massive four-post bed of dark wood to my left. In front of me is a wall of stained glass, in front of it a large desk matching the bed and in the corner a giant TV playing some court television show. I take another step and get the feeling I'm not alone.

My eyes shift left to the man lazily sprawled on the bed. He has the TV remote lying on his chest, unkept black hair that looks soft to the touch, and a half buttoned up dress shirt. It is Xanxus, the scent radiating in this room unmistakable. My mouth gapes.

"Your hair has grown," I say. God, do I want to smack myself really hard. What a stupid 'first thing' to say.

His red eyes look over to me. "You are from the past."

My head tilts. "The p—"

The double doors in the corner boom open, Levi charging in and screaming, "BOSS! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

I flinch back to the entrance but see Squalo entering the room a bit more calmly, asking if 'the weed' is finally dead. I wonder who the hell they are talking about (this weed they referring to) until both Varia leaders look over to me with looks of surprise. Squalo's brow furrows deeper and he yells, "Why the fuck are you here?"

I point to myself. "Me?"

"Y—"

Squalo is interrupted by a flying remote smacking him upside the head. The man lying on the bed speaks in a calm but stern tone. "All of you noisy morons get out of here."

None of us had to hear him twice.

Once outside of the room, I'm not sure what is going on or what I should even do, so I figure following Squalo and asking him is probably best. Just like the last time I saw him, his long silvery white hair sways to his gruff yet fluid gait, and that same Varia uniform with the golden rope draped over his right shoulder is his what he is clad in. Everything feels so different but Squalo seems to have remained the same. Levi got more ugly; what the hell was with that mustache and goatee he has grown?

Halfway down the main hallway, the Varia Commander whips around, glaring at me, and asks why the fuck I'm following him around. For a change I am choking on my words, avoiding his eyes with the crimson red carpet under my feet, but manage to tell him that I'm not sure what is going on. "I figure you are the best person to ask for help." He proceeds to tell me that I'm a weak piece of shit that needs to wash their neck and get in line. I don't even know what any of that means, except the weak piece of shit part.

"Oh, it looks like the weed's ugly, younger self has come," remarks a certain man in their wannabe cutesy tone. Lussuria struts around a corner wearing different glasses than the ones he wore last time I saw him and holding a half full martini glass. His hairstyle has changed a little too; a red mow hawk stands up super straight on his head. His statement pisses me off, but I hold my anger in. He seems to know more about what has happened than I.

"To what time?" I ask curiously. Xanxus made it clear enough that this is the future (though wrapping my head around it is a bit strange).

His lips curl in a devious smile. "Has no one told you anything?"

I look at him blankly. "Tell me what?"

Lussuria chuckles and looks over to Squalo, who looks more put off than ever. The Commander rolls his eyes and says, "You have come ten years into the future. We are currently at war with another family and will be attacking their main force in four days."

"And since you probably don't even know how to use your rings or a box weapon, you are absolutely useless~" adds Lussuria before taking a sip of his pink drink.

War? Rings? Box Weapon? "What is a box weapon?"

Squalo face palms himself before roaring, "You're fucking useless!"

Levis voice appears. "More useless than grass." I look and see the man standing beside me, towering. "I still vote that we kill her."

Lussuria titters again. Squalo just puts a hand on his hip, disinterested. I, on the other hand, am somewhat appalled by the remark. "Hey, this is not fair. You aren't even giving me a chance. Four days? I can do it!"

"Shi shi shi. You can die," hisses Bel. I look around quickly for the crooked prince until I feel a pang of pain in my arm and a sting on my cheek. After I hear a thudding sound behind me, I notice the knives in my shoulder. I give an incredulous look to the men around me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you guys? Stabbing me in the arm, Belphagor? Where do you get off?" My foot wants to stamp the ground, but I know how childish that would look.

I hear that guy's infamous snickers behind me. I turn to see him with a handful more of knives. "I get off because I'm a prince." He grins that godly evil grin of his, and I step away from him instantly. His hair has grown longer. It now feathers away dreamily while still concealing his eyes completely. But his crown is still in place.

My arm pangs to the knives stuck in place. I grit my teeth and pull them out, not making a sound. I don't want to look that weak, but I know that is probably impossible. Dropping the thin metal cutters on the floor, I plead again. "Give me chance. I can be ready to fight in four days."

Levi, Bel, and Lussuria alike all start to laugh at me and call me a weak piece of crap in their own ways. Squalo turns and starts walking away. I somehow have come to the future for this? I let my eyes drift up to the ceiling so high above me, the dome-shape of it, and the grand light fixture glowing a beautiful golden shade.

"Put her in The Pit."

"The Pit?" Bel repeats. Then he grins. "…Fuck yeah."

"Boss, what are you doing here?" Levi almost yells. I turn to the tall, dark skinned man standing behind us. Xanxus is looking as disheveled as he was in his bedroom, his expression seems almost bored.

"What I want. All of you get the fuck out of my way."

All of us move out of the center of the hallway for Xanxus to walk past us no longer caring about what has happened. Though I'm not sure what this pit he is talking about is, it's my chance. I'll take whatever I can get. "Thank you," I say clearly. He doesn't look back or even acknowledge the statement, but I am starting to see that is just how he is. I look up to the Varia leaders standing around me and say, "Okay, where is this pit."

Bel laughs more before walking away and Levi smirks, calling forth some of his personal subordinates and giving them some instructions. Lussuria tips his glass heavily, finishing off the last of his martini. "Poor girl, I didn't you were too stupid to know what a deathwish is too…"

"What?"

"The Pit is where the subordinates go to earn their ranking in Varia."

"Well that sounds like the perfect place to train."

Levi speaks, "In Varia, we do not train, you are always ready or you die."

"What?"

Lussuria pats his comrade on the shoulder before saying, "Levi, she isn't smart enough to understand that." Then his face shifts in my direction. "In The Pit you don't train, you survive."

"Oh." I reply, now a little worried. "Then where can I get a weapon?"

Lussuria laughs. "Hah~. We are Varia, we give nothing."

I look at Lussuria for a few moments, remembering him say something about using rings and box weapons. It makes me ask, "You said something about rings and box weapons… are these things some new kind of way to fight?"

The flamboyant man raises his pinky up. "Oh, it seems someone is not entirely stupid. Too bad that itsy bit of common sense won't keep you alive."

Levi holds his ear for a second and then tells us that everything is ready for me to head down there. My bloods rushes, knowing I have no weapons on me or enough skill to kill anyone down in that pit or whatever. Then I remember Xanxus' bathroom, and the jewelry I saw inside. I don't know if it is still there, but I need something. "Can I go to the bathroom first?"

Both look at me weirdly.

Lie. Lie. Make it a good one. "I'd rather not pee my pants when I die."

Outside is getting darker by the second, the sun slowly falling behind the trees surrounding Varia's castle headquarters. I look up to the pink sky and notice dark gray nimbus clouds rolling in quickly from the East. A storm is coming. Levi is leading the way to this pit with two subordinates flanking him. Neither sidekick spares me a glance and, like Levi, neither makes a sound on the grassy path into the woods ahead. Anticipation is starting to burn in my chest. It takes clenching onto the small boxes in my pocket to calm me slightly. Each one fits my hand pretty good. The rings I stole fit my fingers particularly well, too.

Down the winding trail in the shadowed forest we all stay quiet. Twig snaps, gravel cracks, and limb whacks all occur on the obscure path until camouflage tents appear in front of us. I can only tell they are there from the bright spot lights shining down on what looks like a common area between six very large tents and maybe twenty or so smaller ones. It is a ghetto of sorts; its walls are the eerie woods around it. I wonder what all goes on out here besides this pit thing?

Silently I follow Levi and his subordinates as they weave through the tent city, where you can hear men yelling, fighting, making toasts and even praying. It is strange not hearing any women in the clamor, but it could be that they are not as rambunctious. We venture closer and closer to the bright lights through the wigwams until our only obstacles are men in that famous black Varia uniform. Levi stops. "Tonight The Pit welcomes you," he declares to the crowd watching him. The men roar like beasts and beat their fists into their chests in a heart-pumping tempo. My blood starts racing and my breathing becomes light. The some of them growl, some shout but they all let out a soldier's roar. These men are not assassins: they are warriors.

Over the their roars the leader yells, "WHO ARE WE?"

"WE ARE VARIA!"

"WHO ARE WE?"

"WE ARE VARIA!"

"AND IN THIS PIT?" Levi yells proudly.

"ONLY THE STRONGEST SURVIVE!"

The camp uproars to Levi's proclamation, and it is hitting me now that I really don't stand a chance between these guys, even with these rings and boxes. These people kill for the thrill. I look all around the crowd of hooligans for something to defend myself with (since I don't know how to work these rings or boxes). Along a row of crates I see a machete wedged into one that some Varia underlings are standing and cheering on. I slink over to the free weapon and yank it out of its resting place, tiptoeing back behind Levi again. Everyone is still pumping themselves up for the main event.

Levi raises his hands up to silence the men. "Tonight we will have five rounds, tomorrow five more. Those who last these two nights, along with a final round on the night before our attack will be allowed to join the leaders in our raid on Merlone's main force. New and low ranking members must start from round one and last all eleven." After a moments pause, he says, "Round one fighters move."

Clearly I am in round one considering that I'm not even part of Varia, but I don't know where to 'move' to. My eyes watch Varia members, some young and some old, move towards the center of this common area and follow suit. I quickly maneuver through the crowd and jolt in hesitation. 'The Pit' is a literal pit.

Carcasses and bones are strewn across this circular, man-made crater that looks to be at least 12 meters in the ground. The stench makes me gag slightly. The mud walls have rusty metal pipes, spikes, and chicken wire embedded into it; there is a dead guy whose head was plunged into a spike, now to hang like a Christmas ornament. This is fucking brutal. It's scary.

This is the island all over again.

Two more Varia cronies walk to the edge and calmly jump into the pit, a girl appears out of the masses and confidently jumps in too. I take one last breath and let myself slip over the edge, landing into a crouch on my feet that are still wet from shower water. The audible crowd noises fade to static above me, the voices of my opponents now my discord. Then the thunderclaps boom. All of us fighters, thirty or so I suppose, look up to our audience. I feel a tiny drop of rain kiss my lip.

"You will fight until there are only eight of you left," Levi declares.

I look at all the people around me, but keep them faceless in my mind. We are all looking at each other. I feel like the only one who is not excited. I know I am.

"Go."

Battle cries ensue. My adrenaline bursts as I see someone at my right. He's got an axe, a dirty one rusting at the edges. He swings high. I dodge, kicking his hands and taking a swing too. I miss. The pale guy is quick on his feet. Before I can attack him again I sense something behind me and duck. A longsword swings over my head and watch it bounce off the wire mesh. Dirt crumbles and falls on my face. I take the moment to hack my attacker from behind's leg off, seeing the blade once covered in dirt now painted red. As the amputee falls I side roll; the axe man hacks him in two. Blood splatter everywhere, a little gets in my eye. I'm blind—I have to get away.

A quick leap puts me three meters away to another bloodbath. Two average sized guys are both toying around and stabbing a girl, a burly redhead, in front of them like a pin cushion. I swing hard at the black haired guy on the left and chop into his side. He lets out a pained grunt as his arm falls, he gasps for air seeing the machete is stuck in his side. The other guy, a platinum blonde, next to him notices me prying the blade out of his partner's ribcage. His blue eyes look past me, and then my instinct feels it. I shift to left, but don't make it. A curved black blade slices me from lip to ear. I scream, turning and splitting the attackers skull in half. His stunning blue eyes are focused into mine whilst his body slumps over.

My face itches and burns as I rip the thin, heavy blade out of his face and snatch the curved blade from his loose grip. It is now that I take a breath and witness the massacre. At least twelve people are lying on the ground dead; all of us are covered in blood. But we are blood Dalmatians, none of us having splatters of the same kind. Ahead of me it looks as if this old man is about to be killed, but he surprises me, rocketing himself forward and killing a giant of a man with one lethal, quick draw of his sword. The towering fellow drops like a rock as the instantly slash reveals itself in gore, from stomach to shoulder. The old man reveals a pleased smirk.

"A little stunned are we, Signorina?"

A man to my right is wearing deathly grin as he swings baseball bat at me as if I his pitch. I lurch myself backwards to the floor and barely dodge it, hitting the ground and springing myself right back up to counter. His eyes blaze in surprise to my swing, but he easily swats the thrust away with a quick flit of his hands. His menacing voice hisses, "It figures since you aren't one of us." I grit my teeth, knowing I'm doomed. But as his bat swings for the kill, a spiked mace comes from behind and hits him right where the head and neck meet. His death is instant: his bat, dropped.

I look over to my savior. The burly redhead girl from earlier. I—

"Consider that repayment." She gives me a tough glower and dashes to another opponent.

I seize her payment for whatever she is talking about and move. Not even a second passes and my right hand is hit. I didn't even see it, I barely felt it, but I'm looking now to see three fingers are gone. The Arakh blade slips from my grip. Now comes the pain, but I don't show it. I focus on finding the predator before he kills me. I go to evasion mode like I remember Lal teaching me for if I ever came upon a grave situation, my movement twisty yet calculated. It is the second time around when she appears. Small eyes and short stature, the Asian girl finally appears to me holding a long katana. I dash towards her with my machete ready to strike.

"The round is over."

My small opponent instantly stops and sheaths her sword. Her long hair slung into a ponytail whips forward and conceals her face. I take a deep sigh and kneel to the ground. If I have any time to take of my sliced up face that is itching really bad and my missing fingers that are throbbing, it is now. I unzip the filthy black jacket I'm wearing and grab the bottom of my spotless white tank top with the thumb and pointer finger I still have on the right hand. Extremely uncoordinated, I hold the blood stained machete with my left and slice off the bottom half of my shirt to wrap my fingers in. In the meantime new opponents pour into the arena and some of the dead bodies are tossed out.

I take a deep breath, looking at all the fresh faces. I stand myself up, thanking god I put the rings on my left hand. I ready myself, knowing the night is not over. Overhead another thunderclap roars a battle cry. My eyes peer to the lightning sky and feel a bigger raindrop this time. I look at my opponents now standing in a hard rain.

I cannot die. I have to survive.

"Round Two. Go."