Chapter 212
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As Gabrielle and the other heroes explored this new Rome, it became obvious that they were on the lookout for enemies. Wanted posters and promises of rewards for the arrest of allies of John Brown and Lenin. Given this society's use of slave labor and rigid class system, it made sense that Lenin or John Brown might want to see that system destroyed. Whether those two were actively fighting Rome was unknown. Caesar's former friend Brutus was also being accussed of conspiring to destroy this state. Caesar had always been somewhat paranoid about potential betrayel and enemies. When Brutus betrayed Caesar and led the senators in murdering him, Caesar just became more paranoid in Hell. And these five strangers did make people suspicious, or at least hopeful for a financial reward. Within an hour roman soldiers did come to arrest these six. Suprisingly the soldiers were led by a young woman. She was Gladiator's sister, and she also noticeable refused to give her real name. She thus became, in the minds of the heroes, Gladiator 2. Gladiator was too shocked to speak, she offered no resistance as the soldiers arrested her. The other five heroes had no intention of going down so quietly, they fought back and were able to escape, at least temporarily. Gladiator was taken to a prison near the Colliseum. Her sister came to see her this night.
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Gladiator 2: If you can give us any indication as to the whereabouts of your friends, they are willing to show you leniency.
Gladiator: We are all new to town, they probably don't know where they're going any more than I do.
Gladiator 2: I beleive you, you would never be so willing to sacrifice your own life for anyone.
Gladiator: I'm sorry for what I did to you.
Gladiator 2: You're no more guilty than I am. We both knew there was little time left, yet we were both willing to kill to survive a bit longer. You just came out on top. As you can see, I've done fairly well here in Hell. I live in luxury, and have some power over the soldiers.
Gladiator: And are you once again forced to have sex with wealthy men and women?
Gladiator 2: Yes. And some of the plebians are forced to have sex with me.
Gladiator: And how long can that last before you are killed?
Gladiator 2: Perhaps only a few more hours. Tomorrow you and I will have a rematch.
Gladiator: They want us to fight to the death?
Gladiator 2: Yes. And be warned that I have gotten better since our last encounter.
Gladiator: I won't kill you.
Gladiator 2: You said that before. And now that we both know what fate awaits you if you die, I have no reason to believe that you will act any differently tomorrow. So my advice would be to get some rest, you will need it.
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The next morning Gabrielle and the other heroes snuck into the Colliseum to try and rescue their new friend. They had heard rumors of an upcoming gladiator game, in which their local celebrity would have to fight her own sister. Andrew, Phoebe, Mel and Maggie looked for Gladiator, hopefully they could find where she was being held before the fight and rescue her. Gabrielle had another plan. Caesar and Hope were rumored to be attending these games personally. Technically, the winning gladiator was suppossed to see their emperor's signal. Thumbs up meant that they let their opponent live, thumbs down meant they could kill their opponent. But quite often, in the heat of the fight, one gladiator just killed the other without looking for Caesar's approval. They were never punished for this. Even when they did look towards their emperor, Caesar always gave thumbs down. Gabrielle knew it was a longshot at best, but maybe she could somehow convince Hope to spare their lives. Freeing Gladiator was still plan A, but if that failed it was their only chance.
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The heroes failed to find or rescue Gladiator before the fight began. They knew that they couldn't rescue her now, they couldn't survive if a mob this large attacked them all at once. And this crowd, every one of whom had their own anger, their own fear, they wanted to relieve these frustrations by seeing blood. Gladiator was brought into the arena, her sister was brought in. Both were given weapons, but Gladiator simply threw hers to the ground. The crowd was suprised. Some were angry, others thought it was some kind of trick. Gladiator 2 was also unsure what to do.
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Gladiator 2: What kind of trick is this?
Gladiator: No trick. I murdered my sister once and I won't do it again.
Gladiator 2: I will kill you to preserve my own life.
Gladiator: Do what you have to do. But just know that I will never hurt you again. I can only hope that you can someday forgive me for what I did to you.
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Gladiator 2 held her sword over her sister's head. Despite what she had said, about her sister being no more guilty than herself, the truth was that she was still angry over what had happenend. But in the end, she couldn't bring herself to kill her own sister. The penalty for refusing to fight was death for both gladiators. But these two preferred to die as sisters, rather than fight as enemies. Gladiator 2 two threw away her sword and hugged her sister. These two sisters hugged, and cried together. They might not leave this arena alive, but they were true sisters once again.
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The crowd was very angry at this turn of events, they had come here for blood, this was too anti-climactic. They were all yelling "Kill them both!" The soldiers were ready to fire their weapons on both gladiators, but they looked towards Caesar and Hope for approval. But Hope saw her mother in the crowd. The look on Gabrielle's face seemed to be pleading with Hope, begging her to spare their lives. To the suprise of all, Hope gave a thumbs up. Caesar was also suprised, although he tried to keep up a good poker face. Still, he knew he needed Hope as an ally, he would not endanger that over this unexpected bit of mercy. Caesar also gave the soldiers a thumbs up. The soldiers were suprised, but they followed the emperor's orders. The crowd was angry, but they did not wish to openly defy Hope or their emperor. So it seemed that, for the moment at least, the lives of these two gladiators were spared.