Whenever two or more of the 12 Zodiacs entered a tournament in mewni, it was bound to be a big event. People loved watching a good battle, and no matter the result, they knew they were more than likely going to get one if they were involved.
Especially when Lacerta the Visceral was involved.
The Leo of the Zodiacs was usually busy traveling throughout mewni to resolve whatever rebel or raider uprising was going on. But whenever he got a chance, he relished entering tournaments and showing everyone just how powerful the future King of Monster and Mewni was.
In his entire tournament run, he had only lost three times. Twice to his father at the Butterfly Brawl, which surprised no one. And once to his brother, who had skillfully maneuvered him out of the ring. The only two who had ever even come close to toppling him were Turquoise and Ravana.
But today another of the Zodiacs would have a shot. And, however small of a shot it was, people were expecting another great show.
Sandor was widely considered the weakest among the 12 Zodiacs. Most people who saw him in action could admit he was impressive. He was the son of one of the famed Calamities, Breeze the Red Fist. So many figured he was bound to have some talent for combat.
But compared to the feats and abilities of his mother, or even the other Zodiacs, he just seemed… lacking. He could hold his own, but nobody really expected him to do anything amazing, or to even hold on to his spot for very long. There were some who didn't think he deserved the spot at all. If you had told people that he would be in the finals against Lacerta The Visceral, most wouldn't consider it a dream match. Just a one-sided victory for Lacerta.
After what had happened today though, people were starting to wonder if maybe they'd get a better fight than assumed.
In the first round he had gone up against Delphine, who had made it no secret that she wanted to defeat him and take his spot among the 12. And a lot of people thought she could and would do it. But to everyone's considerable surprise, he had managed to both outmaneuver and overpower the princess, somehow avoiding her magical ability and knocking her out of the ring.
Later on he'd ended up going against Dagon, another contender for his spot. Everyone really had thought it would be over for the Aries of the Zodiac this time. Dagon was the son of two of the Titanic Ten, and the younger sister of Ravana. It seemed like there was no chance Sandor would be able to hold his own against him. But somehow, someway, he had bested the titan, once again knocking him out of the ring.
He'd then proceeded to breeze through the rest of the tournament, and with each win under his belt, people grew more and more excited to see his next fight. Now he was face to face with one of the Twin Titans, and while few thought he had any real shot at victory, their expectations had grown quite a bit.
They wanted to see a fight for the ages.
Even Lacerta was getting a bit pumped up. He had never known what his father saw in the kid. Personally he'd always pegged him as a big fish in a small pond. He was strong when put among the average lot, but he didn't belong among the Zodiacs. Seeing him deal with Delphine and Dagon, without struggling too much at that, he was starting to think he might get a decent warm up from this.
"Go Lacerta!" Vander cheered loudly from up above. He, along with a few other members of the royal families, were watching from the balcony above.
"Don't root for that deviant Vander…" Hody said, scowling.
It was very clear he was still bitter about his princess losing to Sandor. She hadn't even come up with them to watch the rest of the tournament. She had been training extra hard to prepare herself to take on not just him, but Lacerta as well. To lose in the first round had clearly stung her pride. It really didn't help that the tournament was being held in Waterfolk territory, so many people here had been rooting for her. She probably felt like she had let them down.
That being said, he didn't want to root for Lacerta either. He didn't like that boy, or how much Vander seemed to like hanging around with him and his group of thugs.
Vander turned towards his father. "But I want him to win," he said simply.
Topaz rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to your father. You roof for whoever you want to baby," she said patting him on the head. "Besides, I want him to win too." She didn't have anything personal against Sandor, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to see him get his shit rocked after what happened to Delphine.
"Shit, of course he's gonna win," Phyrus said pushing his glasses up. He was far from the best fighter, but even he could tell Lacerta was way stronger than Sandor was.
Sagitta, who was sitting a few seats away, frowned. "Hey, don't underestimate Sandor. He's way stronger than you guys think," she said. She knew Sandor didn't exactly leave much of an impression. Mostly because he didn't want the attention. But she still didn't like them badmouthing him.
Hody scoffed at his niece. "He's a slacker. If it wasn't for his mother pushing him I can't imagine he would be even half as good as he is," Hody said bluntly.
"If he's a slacker, then what does that make Delphine?" Aqua asked casually, looking bored as she took a bite from her chocolate skull.
Vander winced, Phyrus bit back a chuckle, and Hody and Topaz both narrowed their eyes at the girl. "Little brat…" Topaz muttered.
"I have to admit, I'm a little… concerned. I know Sandor is capable, but you know how Lacerta can be. I don't want the poor boy getting hurt," Amber said worriedly. She loved her son, but he had a real problem when it came to holding back. And she didn't want Sagitta to get upset if he took things too far.
Astro sat and looked down at the arena intensely. Only he and a handful of people knew how strong Sandor really was. The boy kept his power and magical ability a secret. And honestly he could see why. He wasn't the type to go after fame and glory, and he was pretty sure the only reason he'd gone this far in the tournament is because Sagitta had said something to him beforehand.
Probably asking him to do his best or something like that.
Lacerta was strong. His losses to Dorado aside, out of everyone in his generation, he was arguably the strongest, with Scent being the only other option. But with Sandor's abilities and mind for battle… he honestly wasn't sure how this would play out. If it played out at all anyway. "We'll just have to wait and see."
Hody raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you actually saying you think Sandor has a chance against the little monster of yours? Don't tell me you're hoping Sandor will somehow pull off a miracle and humble him." Not that Lacerta didn't need humbling. If he was the boy's father he would have put an end to his attitude ages ago.
Somewhere in the crowd, Turq sneezed…
"I'm only saying anything could happen," Astro answered. They looked at him curiously, but then turned their attention to the arena when the horns began to sound.
The announcer stood in the middle of the ring and pointed up into the air. "Alright everyone, I hope you're ready to see a fight for the ages today! In our finals, we have not one, but two warriors from the famed 12 Zodiacs! And they're sure to give us something to remember!" he said before pointing over towards one of the entrances.
"On one side, we have the one of the biggest baddest titans in mewni! The unyielding and undying flame that burns more brightly than anyone else! He's the Leo of the 12 Zodiacs, and known by his enemies as the Visceral! Lacerta Butterfly!"
Lacerta walked out, raising his fists as he let out a shout and soaked in the cheers from the crowd. Vander let out a shout and jumped up and down, while Hody scowled. It sickened him to see his own people cheering for this brute. Amber and Maria both cheered for their son, and Sagitta bit her lip nervously.
Astro just hummed. He knew while Lars' attitude may not have been the most charming, his constant work suppressing the evildoers of mewni was recognized by all. He had become recognized as one of it's most dedicated heroes.
"Yeah! He's totally gonna own this!" Dagon yelled from where he and the rest of the King's Crew sat in the crowd. "Show that loser how real monsters fight!"
"Hoping for him to avenge your loss?" Pavo asked, smirking.
"Shut up!" Dagon yelled angrily. "That guy just got lucky! I don't know how he pulled off getting a hold to my tail, but the next time we fight I'm gonna make sure to-"
The announcer yelled out again, cutting him off. "And on the other side, we have the boy who managed to take down the wavedancing elegant swordswoman Delphine, and the monstrous Dagon the Chimera-!"
"It was fucking luck!"
"The son of the Red Fist Breeze, and the Serpent's Sword Wyot, the personal guard of the septarian princess herself, who shocked everyone by making it this far! Sandor Slayton!" The announcer shouted as the boy made his way out.
His reaction from the crowd was a bit more mixed than Lacerta's was. With him not having as big a reputation, and him taking out the crowd favorite, there were some who clearly just wanted to see his streak come to an end. But others wanted to be completely upset. Him winning, however slight a chance it was, would be made of the things underdog stories were made of.
"So Sandor! You gotta do this!" Sagitta shouted from her seat.
Scent, who was watching from her own spot in the crowd, looked on with interest. Like many of the others, she hadn't expected much from her younger cousin. But seeing how well he had done piqued her interest, and she had a strange feeling he wasn't done surprising them yet.
Dorado leaned over the railing from his own sector and looked closely. Sandor was a lot stronger than people liked to give him credit for. He wasn't even sure he'd ever seen him go all out. But if he was going to stand a chance against Lacerta, he likely wouldn't have a choice but to.
Lacerta smirked at Sandor, who just stared back with a blank expression. He was feeling fired up for this, and judging by the fact he'd actually put in the work to get here, he assumed Sandor was too. He was itching to get started.
"Alright everyone, you know the rules! It's a-!"
Sandor suddenly reached out and grabbed the sound crystal from the announcer. "Sorry about that. But I have something I wanted to say," he said casually. Everyone looked confused at the sudden action, Lacerta included. "I know this is like a big thing and everything, but before everyone gets too excited, I just wanted to say I give up…"
For about half a minute, there was a long empty silence.
Then the words suddenly seemed to sink in, and everyone reacted at once. "
"Huh?!"
"What did he say?!"
"He can't do that!"
"What the hell?!"
The entire crowd went into an uproar. To make it all the way to the finals just to give up was just… unheard of! They couldn't remember somebody had ever given up before a match even started. Not unless they had been seriously injured from the previous fight.
Hody grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on his chair. "That little…" Was he trying to make a mockery of this tournament? If he was going to just give up, then why did he bother entering in the first place?
Vander frowned. "So they're not gonna fight?" He wanted Lars to win, but… he didn't think it would be so boring. He at least wanted to see a brawl.
Amber let out a nervous laugh, and Sagitta palmed her face. She was afraid he would do something like this. She had encouraged him to try and win this thing, but… asking him to go all out against Lacerta might have been too much.
"Saw that coming…" Aqua muttered.
Dorado sighed. "I suppose that's about right."
Dagon looked furious. "Are you serious?! He beats me and then just quits! No way, he can't do that!" he yelled angrily. If he was just gonna give up he should have done it sooner and let him go on in the tournament! Damn it!
The crowd all began booing towards Sandor, who seemed completely unphased. Lars stepped forward, snatching the crystal from his hand and speaking into it. "What the hell man? You can't get everyone all fired up for a fight and then just quit on us?" the redheaded titan said annoyed. He was rearing for a fight, and he wasn't planning on letting him back out of it. "Man up and fight me!"
Sandor clicked his tongue, then held his hand out. Lars reluctantly handed the crystal back to him. "You see, the thing is… there's almost no way I'm gonna beat you. And I don't see why I should put myself through the ringer just to lose. That's a hard pass," he said waving his hand.
Even louder boos erupted from the crowd. "Wow, punk ass bitch," Phyrus said smirking. Not that he blamed him. If he had to go toe to toe with Lars he'd probably give up too.
Lars gestured towards the crowd. "What about them?!"
Sandor glanced towards the crowd, and then back to Lacerta. "What about them? I fought all the way to the finals. That should be more than enough. Honestly half of them just want to see me get beat up by you, so why should I care?" he asked bluntly. If the booing could've gotten any louder, it would have shaken the entire stadium.
Topaz turned towards Astro. "Hey monster king, what the hell are you going to do about this?" she asked. Astro raised an eyebrow, as if asking why he should bother doing anything at all. "Everyone came here for a fight. They're gonna get pissed if they don't get one. Some people paid good money to be here."
"Who the hell paid money to... ugh, nevermind," he said getting up. He walked towards the front of the balcony and then cleared his throat. Everyone stopped and then turned towards him as he shouted out. "Sandor! Listen up!"
The boy looked up towards the king. Great, was he going to try and order him to fight? He didn't seem like the type to force him to battle, but with how much of a grudge he held over him and Sagitta being… close, he wouldn't put it past him. "If you can manage to win the fight, I'll give you one royal favor. Anything you ask," Astro said.
A wave of muttering suddenly spread through the crowd. A royal favor from the king himself? That… that was worth taking on almost any fight. Even against Lacerta.
Sandor kept staring up at him. "Anything I want?" he asked.
"Within reason, yes…"
Sandor looked down at the ground, and everyone waited to hear the boy's response. If he accepted the conditions, they had no doubt he really would do his best to try and win this thing. He hummed and then looked back up, pointing at the balcony. "Okay, then how about this. If I win, I want your blessing to court Princess Sagitta…"
There was another moment of silence, and everyone's eyes went wide.
Then, a wave of boisterous cheers and screamed echoed through the stadium.
"Did he really just ask for that?!"
"I take back what I said! This guy is amazing!"
"The balls on this guy!"
Dagon let out a breath from his seat, and then looked down with a serious expression. "I take back what I said. This guy is a man among men," he said simply.
Pavo nodded next to him, the same expression. "Never was there a more bold move in the history of mewni. This man has truly earned everyone's respect…"
"Dumbasses…" Ravana said, rolling her eyes.
Though she had to admit… it was pretty ballsy of the kid. Nevermind asking in front of the crowd, but asking that right to Astro's face? Everyone knew how protective he was of his eldest daughter. No guy had ever been stupid enough to try anything like this.
Topaz whistled. "Damn… I respect it," she said before turning towards her niece. "Your boy really is trying to show off for you."
Sagitta's face was bright red, and her flame was flickering wildly. Was he being serious right now? It wasn't like she didn't want to make what they had official. She was just as tired of hiding it as he was. But this was just… crazy!
Maria said that Astro hadn't moved, and called out towards him. "Asterossa…?"
They heard a cracking down, and then saw Astro had crushed the part of the balcony his hands were on. A dark aura flared up around him, and his eyes had turned black. "You little shit…" he said, glaring down at the boy.
Sandor didn't even flinch. "Is that cool? Or are you changing your mind on the whole royal favor deal? Because I'm fine either way," he said shrugging her shoulders. He was pretty sure sneaking around with Sagitta would be a lot more tricky now, but they'd figure it out.
Astro kept glaring down at him, and then turned towards his son. "Lacerta…" The redhead looked up at his father who raised his hand, making a neck slicing motion, and then giving a thumbs down.
The message was sent loud and clear.
Lacerta smirked and turned towards the announcer. "The old man is down! The fight on!" he said balling his fist up excitedly. The announcer turned back towards Astro who was already sitting back down.
"L-ladies and gentleman! It appears the fight is going on after all! With more than just bragging rites and titles on the line!" he yelled, backing up and giving the two warrior room to start their brawl. "I don't know about you, but I think we've all waited long enough! Let's get this thing started!"
The crowd once again yelled out as Lacerta and Sandor faced off against one another, the former a wide smile on his face. "I gotta admit, that was a pretty ballsy kid. I got a brand new respect for you," he said as he crouched down. Sandor could feel the heat coming off of him. "That being said, I hope you don't think I'm gonna hold back!"
Sandor looked up towards Astro, who was scowling down at him. The king had wanted to turn him down, but… he knew it would have come off badly. The crowd would have been angry for not getting their fight, and… he felt like he could have lost to Sandor in some twisted way.
"Hey, you're done talking to the old man! You're fighting me now!" Lacerta yelled, charging forward. His spread his wings, shooting flames from his feet to boost himself as he rocketed towards Sandor, who just kept staring at Astro. Lacerta brought his fist back and swung, aiming his fist right at the boy's face.
"Primordial Eyes…"
CRACK!
Of everyone in the stadium, only four people had even an inkling of an idea of what had happened next. The first was Astro, who had known what he was up to the moment he'd started staring at him. The second was Sagitta, who while a bit confused knew it had something to do with his magical ability. And the third and fourth were Ravana and Dagon, who had actually been able to outright see what happened.
To everyone else, the scene unfolding made no sense.
One moment, Lacerta's fist was mere inches from colliding with Sandor's face.
The next, Lacerta was falling, his head snapped back and blood from his mouth spraying into the air. It had taken a moment for the sight to register to them, but when it did, the reaction could be heard throughout the kingdom.
"What the hell?! What happened?!"
"Holy shit! He hit Lacerta!"
"He's bleeding!"
"I didn't see anything!"
Lacerta stumbled back, catching himself and reaching up to rub his jaw. He glared towards Sandor, who was standing with his fist raised. "Damn, I wanted to end it in one hit…" he muttered. He'd been hoping to knock him out of the ring, but it was clear this wasn't going to be that easy.
The redhead titan tried to figure out what had happened. He didn't see him raise his guard. He didn't even see him move to dodge. It was like he was just suddenly hit all of a sudden. What the hell happened?
"I don't get it. What just happened?" Pavo asked.
"He… he punched him," Dagon said stunned.
"I can see that, but how did he-?"
Ravana cut him off. "He punched him at super speed. He just… he moved too fast. Or actually it was more like…" Like he slowed down time. But there was no way he could do that, could he? The only person who could use time magic on that scale were King Astro and his sister Titania.
Lacerta spit a bit of blood from his mouth and got ready to charge again. He didn't know what happened, and he didn't care. Honestly he was just glad the kid didn't seem to be half-assing this. If he had some kind of freaky counter punch, he'd just have to power through it and start trading blows with him.
He rocketed forward once more, yelling out as he spun around and kicked at him. Everyone watched close, desperate to see if the last hit was some fluke, or if this really was going to be a fight worthy of two Zodiacs.
They were not disappointed.
It was like time seemed to skip. Lacerta had been about to land a hit kick and send his opponents flying, but the next thing they knew he was on the ground. Not only that, but Sandor was standing over him, both fist raised and ready to strike. "Sorry, but you did say you didn't want me to hold back…"
Lacerta was once again confused. He had been struck in the chest and knocked back, that much was clear. But he hadn't been able to actually see what happened. He didn't have time to figure out either, as Sandor began swinging down at him. The speed his punches came at could only be described as godlike. His arms were a blur, and it looked as if hundreds and hundreds of attacks were hitting Lacerta at the same time.
"I-I don't believe this! I'm not sure what I'm seeing here!" the announcer yelled, genuinely shocked by what was going on. "I assumed that Sandor might be able to hold his own, but it's far more than that! H-he's completely dominating Lacerta right now!"
"This is bullshit! There's no way he was that fast!" Dagon yelled. Even if he was holding back in their match, Dagon would have noticed if he could move like this. Something was wrong, very wrong.
Hody was wide eyed. "Shit, was he really this strong the whole time?" He had never seen anybody, his son included, ever be able to beat down Lacerta like this.
Astro narrowed his eyes, while Sagitta looked worried. They both knew exactly what was going on at this point.
Sandor's ability, the 'Primordial Eyes' would let him copy the abilities of anyone he looked at when they were active. Their techniques, their magical abilities, even their strength and durability, were all at his disposal. He could even copy multiple people at once if he wanted. It was a terrifying dangerous ability that almost guaranteed victory in most situations.
But it also came with a huge backlash.
The more powerful the person or people he was copying were, the bigger the backlash would be when he deactivated them. And Sandor had chosen to copy the most powerful person present to try and take down Lacerta.
Astro.
To anyone else his staring would be seen as challenging or rude, but Astro and Sagitta both knew what he was going for. Not only had he copied the king's strength, but he was using one of his most dangerou abilities to boot. Chrono Frostover. He'd slowed down time to be able to dodge and land a clean hit on Lacerta, and he was doing it again to rain down countless blows on him now.
It was a smart strategy for sure. Out speeding and overpowering Lacerta to try and knock him out as quickly as possible. But the backlash he would suffer from boys the Eyes and Chrono Frostover were bound to take their toll when this was over. He had to have known that. He really did want to win this thing.
Sandor yelled out before delivering one final punch, which shook the entire stadium. Everyone could feel the force of it in the stands, and when the dust cleared they could see Lacerta laying motionless in a large crater.
"No way…" Raza said wide eyed.
Sandor stood up, trying to catch his breath as he looked down at Lacerta. He looked back up towards Astro, who was scowling. Sagitta stepped forward and leaned over the railing, her face beaming. He had actually pulled it off. The backlash later on was definitely going to put him out of commission at least a day or two, but-
"Not bad…"
Sandor's eyes went wide, and he quickly jumped back before flames shot up around Lacerta's body. He slid back as Lacerta pushed himself back up to his feet, blood dripping from his nose. "Seriously? What the hell are you…?" Sandor muttered. He was pretty sure if he beat anyone else down like that it would have been game over.
Lacerta cracked his neck. "My whole body is aching right now. For a second I really thought I might pass out. Only my old man and gramps usually hit that hard, and definitely not as fast," he said before narrowing his eyes. "I don't know how you pulled this off, but now I see why my old man made you a Zodiac."
Vander looked amazed. "Whoa! Lars is still gonna fight! He really is the toughest!"
Pavo and Raza both looked relieved, while Dagon smiled. "Hell yeah! That's how things should be!" he said pounding his fists into his palms. Lacerta never stayed down. No matter how many times he fell, he always got back up again.
Lacerta brought his hands together and formed fire between them. "From the looks of it, whatever little trick you used left you spent. I don't know if you got another one of those in you, but it doesn't matter. You're gonna tire out eventually," he said before firing a blast at him. "Time to turn up the heat!"
Everyone in the audience could feel the intense head from the flames. Sandor raised his arms. He couldn't use Chrono Frostover again. His body couldn't handle it. But he was pretty sure he couldn't tank this attack either.
Unless…
The flames hit him dead on, and Sagitta gasped. "Sandor!" Did her brother seriously not know the meaning of holding back? Astro frowned. If there had been a time to give up that would have been it. Both his son and Sandor were too stubborn for their one good. Lacerta kept the blast up, and Astro looked like he was about to step in, but suddenly Sandor came leaping out of the flames.
He brought his fist back up and punched Lacerta in the face, sending him stumbling back. Both the young titan and the audience looked confused. "What the-?! How?!" Vander asked confused. He should have been totally fried.
Astro was confused for a moment, but then mentally cursed. That reckless idiot. Had he used the eye to copy Lacerta so he didn't get burned by the flames? Copying him was already a burden, but copying Lacerta too? Lacerta quickly balanced himself, and then charged back at Sandor. He didn't know why his flames didn't work, and he didn't care. He'd just keep on attacking until the guy fell.
He punched Sandor, and the boy's head snapped back. He knew everyone went on about how strong Lacerta was, but no description could have prepared him for much it actually hurt. "Damn it…" he muttered, stomping his foot down to stop himself from stumbling back. "I shouldn't have to be trying this damn hard!"
He balled his fist up and swung again, and Lacerta threw one right back. The two began trading blow after blow, and the audience yelled in applause as they watched the slugfest. "God damn, can't believe that kid as strong as Lacerta," Topaz said.
"He's not," Astro said, crossing his arms. "I know it's hard to believe, but right now he's definitely stronger. In terms of raw power he's the most powerful one in the Zodiacs."
"Seriously?!" Phyrus asked.
That being said, Astro knew Lacerta's punches weren't gonna magically stop hurting either. As tough as he was, even he felt it when his son landed a good hit, so Sandor had to be too. Then they both had their healing abilities… this was going to come down to who wanted it more.
Everyone kept cheering as the two boys stood in the middle of the area. Every body blow, punch to the face, and clashing of their fists seemed like it was shaking the stadium itself. Lacerta was smiling. He had been hoping for a warm up fight, but this was even better than he hoped. This was something worth a tournament fight, and a battle worthy between two Zodiacs.
Sandor on the other hand was scowling. This whole situation sucked. His whole body hurt, he was tired, and he was putting way too much effort into this. Not to mention how much he was going to hurt later when he turned off the Eyes. "This is bullshit," he said, flexing his arm before he swung again. "I shouldn't have to go through all this!"
The blow connected with Lacerta's chin, and sent him sliding back. Lacerta quickly gathered his footing, only for Sandor to land yet another blow to the side of his head. "I just want to hold hands with my girlfriend in public damn it!" he shouted, rushing in again. He started chaining punch after punch against Lacerta, each one sending him further and further back.
Even Astro looked surprised at the onslaught of attacks Sandor was letting loose. The septarian half-breed looked like a man possessed. A good fight? A tournament victory? Who the hell cared about any of that? He just wanted to stop having to hide in that cramped ass closest every time Astro came wondering by. And if beating Lacerta was the way to do it, then screw it. "Fall damn it!" He threw another punch, ready to knock Lacerta's head off and finish this.
Right before he could though, Lacerta let out a roar and then threw a headbutt, crashing his forehead into Sandor's. The crowd gasped, and a few people winced as both of their heads began bleeding. Sandor grit his teeth. It didn't just hurt, but it burned like hell too. He'd been too focused on taking Lacerta down to notice just how much he'd heated up.
Sandor tried to gather himself and start swinging again, but that one moment of hesitation was all Lacerta needed to capitalize. He started his own barrage of punches, pummeling Sandor and knocking him back in the opposite direction. Lars growled angrily as he used his flames to boost his punching speed.
He'd admit right now Sandor was punching way harder than him. Even harder than his old man even. But he didn't have to overpower him. He just had to last long enough to deal enough damage to bring him down. He didn't care who it was or how strong they were. In a battle of endurance, he was too determined and stubborn to lose to anyone.
Lacerta punched him in the gut, sending him sliding back across the arena. It looked like he was going to go flying out, but at the last second Sandor shot flames from the back of his heels, managing to just barely keep himself in.
He desperately tried to reclaim the air Lars had knocked out of his lungs. His legs were shaky, and the moment he tried to walk forward he fell down to one knee. His vision was getting pretty blurry too. "Damn it, you freak of nature," he said looking up at Lars, who was wiping blood from his mouth.
"You're one to talk…" Lacerta said as he started walking towards him. His body had taken a truck load of damage, and his healing was barely keeping up. "You look like you're on your last legs there though. Sure you can keep going?" he asked smugly.
Sandor looked up towards the balcony. Sagitta was looking down with a worried expression. It was pretty clear she was worried for him. Honestly she didn't care about him winning anymore. She was fine with him calling it quits. She knew he really didn't want to do this anyway.
He sighed. "Not gonna happen." He pushed himself back up to his feet.
Lacerta stared at him blankly for a bit, but then smirked. He was definitely running on empty. It looked like a gust of wind would knock him over. But he could still see some fight in his eyes. So he had a real monster's attitude after all. "Man, you really got it bad for my sister huh?" he said getting ready to rush him. "Not many guys would be willing to take an asskicking from me for her."
Sandor braced himself as Lars suddenly rocketed forward, and Sagitta squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what happened.
But then something odd happened.
Lacerta rushed right past Sandor, landing on the ground outside of the ring. "Well, would you look at that. Looks like I overshot it," Lars said casually. He looked over his shoulder, a wicked smirk on his face. "Guess I'm out. But hey, that's fine. I was getting bored anyway. Not like I didn't have it locked in the back."
The redhead began walking off, leaving both Sandor, the announcer, and everyone watching looking confused. "Don't let me catch you doing anything weird with my sister, or else you're dead," Lacerta said waving back as he left.
For the third time today, there was a long empty silence. Then the announcer suddenly snapped out of his daze and spoke up. "Uh… folks, I… I'm not really sure what just happened, but… Lacerta has left the ring. Meaning that the winner is, Sandor Slayton!"
Everyone erupted in applause, and Sandor kept looking off to where Lacerta had left confused. He had known the guy for a long time, and for him to just throw the match like that was… it was weird. He didn't know how else to describe it.
"He did it! He actually did!" Sagitta shouted.
Astro looked towards her, but before he could say or do anything she leapt off the front of the balcony and down towards the ring. She made a beeline right for the boy, practically tackling him as she wrapped her arms around him. One again he had the air knocked out of him, but steadied himself, wrapping his arm around around her.
"Did your brother just… did he just quit?" he asked not really sure.
"He did! He quit! You won!" she said happily. She never would have guessed them not having to hide they were dating would rely on Lars not being a dick for once. "Oh my god! I can't believe you did all that! I can't believe you! You just…"
Sagitta was at a loss for words, but not actions. She leaned up and then kissed him, surprising both Sandor and everyone watching. The audience cheered even louder, and Sandor closed his eyes and returned the gesture. This definitely wasn't how he imagined their first real kiss, but it wasn't half bad.
Hody let out a laugh. "Well, looks like you have a new son-in-law!" he mocked looking towards Astro, whose eyes were twitching.
"He's right horn boy. You gotta keep your word," Topaz said, clearly amused.
Astro looked down towards Sandor. Both he and Sagitta had broken their kiss and were looking up towards him, like they were waiting for him to say something. A number of thoughts rushed through his mind. He could have brought up that it wasn't a real win. That Lacerta had quit and it shouldn't have counted. But he knew that was a half-assed excuse. One that he might have ran with anyway if he hadn't made it in front of a stadium full of people.
He took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Sandor… congratulations on your victory, and you and Sagitta have my approval." If the barely hidden rage in his voice wasn't a sign he was forcing this out of himself, then the trail of blood coming from the corner of his mouth certainly was.
Aqua tilted her head. It looked like simply saying these words was literally hurting her father. Sandor let out a sigh, and Sagitta beamed. She reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "Sagitta… as soon as we get back stage, I'm gonna undo the eyes. And I'm warning you right now, I'm gonna pass out and probably sleep for like two days," he warned. "Your dad is gonna try to kill me at that time…'
"Yeah," she said, shrugging her shoulders before she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "But don't worry! I won't let him!"
Astro grunted. "I'm gonna kill that kid…" he muttered. And Lacerta too for that matter. He didn't know if he did it for his sister, or just to piss him off. Either way, he was going to make him regret it.
As if reading his mind, Maria patted Astro on the shoulder. "No, no you're not. You're going to leave those two alone, and you're not going to pester Lacerta about it either. You made a deal, and not you have to honor it," she said. She was smiling, but the threat in her tone did not go unnoticed by him.
Maria useless was worried about Lacerta because of how headstrong and reckless he always was, but right now she was filled with pride for him. And happiness for Sagitta too. She was tired of having to convince Astro that there was nothing going on between the two. This would be less work for her.
"Yea but-!"
"Asterossa, he fought Lacerta for her. I don't think there's many other guys in mewni who'd be willing to do that," Amber pointed out. "Just let them have this."
Astro frowned. He knew she had a point. Of all the people who Sagitta could have been dating, she hadn't picked the worst… but that was still his little girl. He liked to think he wasn't as foolish as Hody when it came to doting on his daughter, but it was hard for him to imagine her being grown up enough to date.
But she was, and he was going to have to get used to it he supposed.
"Yes Asterossa, let them have this. Be nice to your daughter and her new boyfriend. You need to focus less on hating him and more on planning the wedding after all," Hody said. He was planning on milking every second out of this before they left.
"Shut the fuck up Hody…"
A/N: This one's been a long time coming! Wanted to do a fic of Sandor using the Primordial Eyes for a while now but kept putting it off for one reason or another (laziness). I thought him fighting Lacerta would be a good way to showcase how powerful his ability is and can be. He's gonna be out of commission for a few days though...
I also though this would be a nice little romantic fic for Sandor and Sagitta. Astro is heated now, but I'm sure he'll cool off around them eventually. After all, even though nobody is good enough for Sagitta, he'll figure Sandor at least is in the ballpark. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Peace!