Chapter 36: I Wanna Be The Gaia

Salt. Lin could taste salt on the wind. Faint. But it was there. The breeze was getting cooler as well. Not enough to overpower the hot Vacuo sun. Enough to give a small amount of relief.

"We should be coming up to Saltmouth soon," Mud said, looking up the road. The two girls had managed to get another ride up to the city. Another armed escort job. Those were common. People had to travel. Goods had to travel. Both needed protection. That left the two of them in the back of a truck, watching for bandits and Grimm as they made their way up to the coast.

"How much longer?" Lin asked, tasting salt in her mouth once again. Huh. Saltmouth. That made sense.

"I dunno. Soon. You'll see it when - " Mud started to say as the truck crested over a hill. As it did so, the scenery changed drastically from dry, sandy desert to water as far as the eye could see; at least, on the side she was facing. The salty taste in the air grew stronger, and Lin could see why. Rows upon rows of shallow ponds lined the shore just before the edge of the water, with each holding either a layer of salt or a pool of water evaporating in the sun. Workers made their way from pond to pond, scooping up salt and hauling it back to a series of storage sheds in the distance. "What'd I tell ya."

"That's a lot of salt," Lin muttered. She hadn't ever seen this much salt. Or workers. Or water. She hadn't seen much of anything in the deserts of Vacuo besides sand and Grimm.

"Yup. Saltmouth's big cause it's the main port for pretty much everyone coming into Vacuo by sea, but besides all the water trade, they also harvest and export a shit-ton of salt," Mud explained, turning towards the front of the truck and pointing off in the distance. "Speaking of Saltmouth, the actual city's over there."

Lin looked off where Mud was pointing. Where the salt ponds ended, the city seemed to start, with buildings jutting out of the shore and the desert further in. The buildings extended far both inland and along the coast; Lin could hardly see the end in either direction. A great wall surrounded the entire city, protecting it from both raiders and the Grimm. Though Lin couldn't see the city's harbor past said wall, she knew it was there due to the vast amount of ships out in the ocean sailing to and from the city.

"Welcome to Saltmouth, the largest port city in Vacuo. Second largest on Sanus, actually; I think Vale's the only one that's bigger," Mud said, turning towards Lin. "If that woman wasn't lying, one of your targets should be here."

"The city is large," Lin said. Too large. Much larger than Saguaro. In fact, it could probably fit a thousand Saguaros with room to spare. "I'm looking for one person. There's probably thousands there."

"Thousands? Try a hundred times that," Mud said with a smile on her face. "But don't worry. I know where to go."

"You mean the underground fighting ring? Do you know where it is?"

"Nope. I know who might, though."

Silky Stylings.

Lin read the sign. Read it again. Turned to Mud.

"What is this place?"

"It's a beauty salon."

"A what?"

"Place where people go if they wanna look good."

"Then why are we here? I don't need to look good. I thought you knew someone who knew where we needed to go."

"I do. Come on."

Mud pushed open the door and went in. Lin followed reluctantly. The place wasn't very large. Smaller than the pub back in Saguaro. Larger than her shack, though. One of the walls was a full mirror. There were chairs lined up in front of it. Some had people sitting in them. Other people were doing things to their hair. There were a lot of colorful bottles and gadgets. Lin didn't know what they were for. Didn't much care either.

A tall, lanky man in the back noticed the two girls. Strided up to them.

"Well, hello! Two new arrivals to our fair city, and they happen to come to my humble salon!" the man exclaimed, taking Mud's hand and shaking it. "Oh, and here's a face that I've heard about. Ms. Stone, was it? Inkwell and Junior have told me much about you!"

"Hopefully not too much. I'm guessing that means you're Anansi?" Mud said, looking up and down the man's body. "Taller than I thought you'd be. So, we doing business in the back, or..."

"Oh, I prefer to do my business on the floor. It lets me attend to my customers' needs whenever necessary," the man said. He turned to Lin. "And oh my... you would certainly benefit from similar treatment."

"What do you mean?" Lin asked.

"Your hair... it's wild. Dirty. Unkempt. Left to grow, like an ivy snaking its way through the thicket," the man said, stepping around Lin as he observed her closely. Lin wasn't sure what was going on. She wasn't in any danger, she could tell that much. But the situation was still odd. "And yet... it can also be a canvas. A slate for something new. Yes, I think I would enjoy working on you..."

"Look, I dunno if there's been a misunderstanding, but we don't need a makeover. All we need is info," Mud said. "You can sell us that, right?"

"Information? Ah, yes..." the man said, stepping back. He muttered to himself for a moment. "What is it that you'd like?"

"Looking for an underground fighting ring. Supposed to be really popular. Was told it'd be in Saltmouth," Mud explained. "You know how we can get to it?"

"Ah. So that's what you're looking for. I see, I see," the man said, rubbing his hand on his chin. "Not quite an expensive item. In fact, perhaps you'd be interested in a special offer?"

"Depends."

"I'll give you the information. Free of charge, in fact. Quite the offer, no?"

"What's the catch?"

"Just a little of your time," the man said, turning towards Lin. "Your time, specifically. You see, I'm curious to see what I can do with an unrefined canvas such as yourself. Think of it as a challenge to my skills as a hairdresser. Besides, the thought of someone seeing such an unkempt head of hair come out from my fair salon? Surely not."

"What?"

"Deal," Mud said, tugging at Lin's arm. "Lin, get in the chair. We're giving you a makeover."

"No. I'm fine. My hair is fine."

"Do you wanna find this place or not? Get your revenge or whatever?"

"Alright. Fine."

Lin sat down. the man came up behind her. In the mirror, he saw his arms seem to split. No, they didn't split; two transparent arms sprouted out from below his normal arms. A semblance, Lin guessed. Each of the four hands held something. A comb. Scissors. A brush. Some gadget Lin didn't recognize.

He got to work. Lin closed her eyes. Closed her mouth.

"So, while you're working on her, how about we talk about that info?" Mud asked. "I wanna know about that arena."

"Absolutely. Just let me get this on and... there we go," the man said as Lin felt him rubbing something cold and wet into her hair. "The place you're looking for is called the Seventh Circle. It's quite the scene. Fighters from every walk of life, from world-class tournament fighters looking to prove their glory on the toughest stage in the world to hardened bandits looking for the ultimate paycheck."

"Seems pretty popular."

Lin felt something pull against her hair.

"And with every fighter comes a hundred, a thousand spectators. The Seventh Circle draws in men and women from all over Remnant, both the rich and the poor. After all, where else can you watch someone fight his fellow man to the death? Certainly not at the Vytal Festival."

"So this place does deathmatches?"

Lin heard cutting. Her hair felt lighter.

"Oh, no, not usually. After all, it wouldn't do to kill off your main revenue source. But that doesn't mean there won't be blood. Battles that don't stop until one man is bleeding on the floor, showmatches against captured Grimm, bloody free-for-alls that leave a single man standing... nothing you can find at any officially-sanctioned tournament," the man explained. Lin heard more cutting. This time, from some sort of electric razor. "Of course, while killing isn't explicitly forbidden, it is quite discouraged. Except..."

"Except what?"

"The Seventh Ring has its boss. The champion of the ring. They have the highest authority; they decide who fights who, when the fights happen, who gets in, and who gets out. And there's only one way to become the new boss."

"Let me guess. Fight the current boss."

"To the death," the man added. Lin felt pulling at her hair. "The Seventh Circle runs tournaments quite regularly. And the winner? They get quite the prize. A sizable sum, enough to keep you worry-free for quite a while... or, you can trade it in for an opportunity to challenge the boss. Two enter the ring. Only the boss leaves alive, whoever it may be."

"The current boss. Who is it?"

"Her name is Gaia. Gaia Veevil. Quite a ruthless woman, if I've ever seen one. She arrived in town, oh... eight years ago? Then, she headed straight to the Seventh Circle. She took down everyone in her path, including the boss at the time. Nobody's unseated her since... and many have tried."

"Huh. Sounds pretty tough," Mud said. "Hey, Lin, you think you're up for that?"

"I can beat her."

"Quite the confidence you've got there, young lady," the man said. Lin felt him pulling up at her hair. "And... that should do it! It's difficult to bring such an unrefined canvas up to the standard of beauty in such little time, but I think I have stepped up to the challenge in this instance. Now, when you'll be entering the Seventh Circle, you'll do so in style!"

Lin opened her eyes. Her jet-black hair had been cut shorter. No longer was it in a messy mane drooping down behind her head; instead, it had been tied up in two short twintails sticking out the side of her head. Everything was smoother. Shinier. Different from before.

Lin didn't mind it too much. It meant she didn't have to worry about her hair getting in the way of her eyes.

"It's okay."

"The pleasure was all mine," the man said, taking a bow. He took out a slip of paper and wrote something down before handing it to Mud. "Now, before you go, I believe it would do you well to actually know how to get to the Seventh Circle. Follow the instructions written there; they should guide you down to the arena."

"Got it. Thanks for the info," Mud said, reading over the paper for a moment before pocketing it and turning to Lin. "Come on, let's go."

Lin followed Mud, and they made their way out of the salon.

"Let's see... make a right, then..."

Lin heard Mud talking to herself as the two of them went from street to street, making their way up north into the harbor district of the city. The normal bustle of cars, pedestrians, and street vendors gave way to trucks carrying cargo, sailors running from place to place, and fishmongers showing off the latest catch of the day. Though the docks weren't yet in sight, Lin could see the tops of the largest ships poking out from behind the buildings and warehouses that made up the harbor district.

"This should be the place," Mud muttered as she approached one of the many warehouses lining the street. Lin looked over it. It looked just like any of the other warehouses. There was a pair of tough-looking thugs by the door.

"Are you sure?" Lin asked.

"Well, if it ain't the place, then I'm going back and complaining," Mud said, approaching the thugs by the door. "Hey. Someone told me this place goes down to the Seventh Circle. That correct?"

"Who's asking?" One of the thugs asked with a menacing scowl.

"Look, I don't wanna play any games with you. All I want is to get in," Mud said, sticking her thumb back towards Lin. "Got some fresh meat for the ring. Your boss'll probably appreciate some new blood."

"Hm." The other thug pulled out some sort of radio. Said something into it. Listened for a few moments. Nodded. "Alright, you two can go on in."

The thugs stepped to the side. Lin followed Mud through the door. Instead of a warehouse interior on the other side, she found herself at the top of a stone staircase leading down into the earth.

"Fresh meat?" Lin asked as she followed Mud down the steps. The air was starting to cool slightly.

"You wanna take down this Gaia woman, right? Best chance you've got is in the ring. Win their games, and you'll get yourself a personal appointment. No interference, no running. That's what you want, right?"

"I guess it is."

"Thought so. We just gotta figure out how to get you into one of those tournaments that the man mentioned," Mud said, looking back at Lin. "You think you can win your way through one of those?"

"Yes."

"There's that confidence. Now, let's see what you'll be up against," Mud said. Lin saw the end of the staircase up ahead. It led into what looked like an open area. Someplace much brighter. She heard cheers ringing out from below. As she stepped off the staircase, she closed her eyes for a moment, adjusting to the sudden light.

"Hot damn! It looks like Skullbreaker has this in the bag... but Fang's not out of this yet!"

Lin heard someone shouting about what was probably a fight going on. She heard the shouts of hundreds of people. Thousands. Probably spectators. Cracking her eyes open, Lin found herself in a large open cavern, larger than the one she had fought against the Rachnaea Queen in. The cavern was shaped like a bowl, with rows upon rows of spectators surrounding a large lowered arena in the center. Many of the spectators cheered and jeered, pumping their fists and waving around betting cards. In the arena were two men; a large man with similarly large gauntlets over his hands, and a smaller man in a cloak with some sort of curved blade. The former was practically a giant, probably at least eight feet tall. Despite his size, the large man was surprisingly quick, keeping up with the smaller man as he attempted to punch and grab at him. However, the smaller man was able to just barely keep out of his reach, avoiding each strike and grab while slashing away with his blade. Not that such slashes seemed to be doing any damage; they just bounced off the larger man's aura.

Then. the larger man managed to grab the smaller man's arm. He squeezed. There was a sickening crunch of bone. One that Lin could hear even from the edge of the arena.

The smaller man fell.

"Oh, and is this it for Fang?" the shouter from before shouted. "He's collapsed and... yes, this is it! He's down and out! And with that, Skullbreaker is today's tournament champion!"

Everyone in the stands cheered. It was deafening.

"And as the tournament champion, you can choose to take your winnings... or, you can have a shot at the boss! You wanna play it safe? Or are you willing to test your luck?!"

Lin watched as the large man pondered for a moment. But only a moment.

"Bring me the boss!" he shouted into the air. "Bring me Gaia!"

"You heard it, folks! Skullbreaker wants to challenge the Queen of the Ring! The Lord of the Underground! The boss herself, Gaia Veevil!"

More cheers. Somehow louder than before. Anticipation in the air. Tension. Everyone was looking forward to what would happen next. So was Lin. She wanted to see Gaia. To see how she fought. To see how she could beat her.

If Lin wanted to kill her, she had to win first.

A woman stepped out into the arena. Probably in her thirties. Short, dark brown hair. Taller than Lin. Maybe about a head taller. Still dwarfed by the giant man in front of her. Her lips were curled into a smile. Her eyes were eager.

"Skullbreaker, huh? You're really fucking big," Gaia said, looking up at the much larger man in front of her as she crossed her arms. "Tell me, why's a guy like you wanna become the boss? I wanna know what y'all wanna take me down for."

"Money. Big revenue," the large man replied, raising his giant hands. "Much better than the standard tournament prize. Once you're gone, I'll have the Seventh Ring's profits to myself."

"Tch. Another one after the cash, huh? It's always the same," Gaia muttered. She spit on the ground in front of the large man. "Such a shame. Your ambitions almost aren't worth crushing. Now, how about we get this over with? Give me a good fight before you go!"

The large man reached out. Tried to grab Gaia like he had grabbed the man before. She ducked out of his reach. Stomped the ground. A chunk of earth erupted from the floor of the arena in front of her, about twice the size of her head. She punched it, and it flew like a bullet, smashing straight into the large man's face.

"And the boss gets the first hit in!" the shouting man from before said as the crowd cheered. The large man reeled back from the hit. Recovered quickly. Not quickly enough. Gaia dashed in close, slamming her fist into his stomach. He stumbled back. His aura shimmered. Gaia stomped the ground again. A pillar of earth erupted from underneath the large man, knocking him into the air.

"Guess that's her semblance," Mud muttered. Lin nodded as the fight continued. Gaia slammed her fist into the large man's chin as he came down. Knocked him to the ground. One more stomp propped him up with a wall of earth. Then, a relentless flurry of fists, too fast for the large man to retaliate. Whenever he tried to block, Gaia slipped past and struck where he was vulnerable. Whenever he tried to retaliate, Gaia weaved around his attacks. Eventually, his aura shattered. He collapsed.

"Tch. Too fast. At least get a hit in, would you?" Gaia asked. She sounded annoyed. Punched the ground next to the large man. The earth seemed to gather around her fist. It creeped up her arm as she pulled out a large chunk of rock, nearly as large as herself. A column of earth extending from her fist, ending in a bulbous shape that loosely resembled a hammer. She raised it into the air, over the large man's head.

Then, she brought it down.

The large man's blood splattered against the arena. The crowd cheered. The battle ended. The boss maintained her throne.

"So that's what you're up against," Mud said as she and Lin found a side hallway to talk in, away from the crowd of spectators. "Good news is, we know her semblance and how she fights. Bad news is, she looks tough. Really tough."

"I can beat her."

"Just like you could beat the Rachnaea Queen? If you get caught off guard down there, I ain't swooping in to save you like I did back then. And this isn't just some Grimm you're fighting; this is someone who's kept her place at the top of probably the most brutal arena in Vacuo. For eight years, I should probably add."

Lin thought for a moment. Stayed silent.

"Look, I'm not kidding when I say you're gonna have a tough fight ahead of you. I've seen a lotta fights. A lotta fighters. And that woman that was out there in the ring? She's not the best I've seen, but she's up there. If you're not careful, that'll be your head being crushed to a paste next time."

Lin nodded. "Where do we start?"

"There's gotta be a place around here somewhere to register for one of those tournaments. All we gotta do is find it."

Lin nodded again. Followed Mud through the underground facility, past the crowds of people milling about. Despite the tournament seeming to be the climax of the day's fights, nobody was leaving; instead, they seemed to be waiting around for something. Anticipation still hung in the air. And the two girls couldn't find any sort of registration or tournament authority to talk to, no matter how they searched.

"Huh. You'd think they'd have some established place to sign up, considering how big this operation is," Mud muttered, scanning around the arena. "If they don't got a place like that, I wonder how people are supposed to get in - "

"Aaaand we're back! Sorry for the wait, folks, but we've got one more thing after today's competitions! That's right, it's time to set the stage for tomorrow's tournament!" the shouting announcer from before shouted again, interrupting Mud. Lin saw a large number of people filing into the arena. They were guys and girls. Big and small and thin and well-built, with weapons from guns to swords to hybrid mechanical weapons to bare fists.

All of them looked eager to fight.

"Huh, so that's what's going on," Mud muttered.

"That's right, folks! It's time for the preliminaries for tomorrow's tournament! Many will enter, but only the eight standing at the end will be able to participate in the tournament tomorrow for a chance at the grand prize!" the announcer shouted. "It's a no-holds-barred, free-for-all brawl! Who's tough enough to make it to the final eight? Let's find out! On your marks, get set..."

A buzzer rang out. The arena immediately devolved into chaos as everyone attacked everyone else. The crowd cheered. Sure, it was hard to catch any individual displays of skill or feats of strength, but the spectators had come to watch fighters beat each other up, and that's what they were getting in spades.

"Guess that's how you get in, huh," Mud said, turning towards Lin. "Maybe we can - "

Lin didn't hear the rest of what Mud had to say. She was already running down the spectator's stands, towards the arena. She leaped into the air towards the open pit where dozens of people were fighting. She aimed. Outstretched her leg.

Lin's foot smashed straight into the face of an unsuspecting fighter, toppling him over and smashing the back of his skull against the ground. He lay still as Lin stood over him.

"What's this? It looks like one of the spectators has jumped into the fight!" the announcer shouted. He proceeded to shout about more things that Lin ignored. She didn't care about what he had to say. All she needed to do was stand as one of the last eight remaining. That would give her an opportunity to participate in the tournament tomorrow.

An opportunity to kill Gaia.

The first to target Lin was a girl near the edge of the arena. Lin saw her look in her direction. Saw her pull out a knife with a jagged edge. Saw her dash towards Lin with a sudden burst of speed, almost too fast for Lin to track.

Almost.

Lin leaned back. The knife carved through the air where her neck was a moment ago. The girl's eyes widened. Lin drove her fist forward into the girl's stomach. Felt her aura shatter. Watched as she collapsed to the ground. One down. Several dozen more to go.

A flash from Lin's peripheral vision. She ducked. Something flew overhead. A bullet. By the time it struck the far wall, Lin was already dashing towards the shooter. A man with some sort of knife-pistol. He fired again. Lin veered to the side. Let the bullet pass by. Drew back her fist as she closed in on the shooter. Punched forward.

Something looped around the man's neck. Pulled him back. Threw him hard against the ground. Lin's fist hit nothing.

"Whoops! Looks like I stole your mark there," the person who had taken down the gunman said. It was a boy. About her age. He had some sort of rope with handles on each end. That's what had brought down the gunman. "Gotta say, didn't expect to see someone else my age here. That was pretty neat, how you just jumped in like - "

Lin leaped forward. Drove her fist towards the boy's face. Suddenly, he was gone. She felt something wrap around her ankle and pull her off her feet. She fell forward. Her face smacked into the ground.

"Hold on, don't just interrupt me like that!" the boy said. Lin felt the pull on her ankle again. Looked back. That rope was wrapped around it. She shook it loose. Pushed herself back onto her feet. Turned towards the boy with the rope. He wasn't attacking for some reason. "I was even about to compliment - "

A glint of steel. Not from the boy. From behind him. An older woman with a sword. The boy turned. Somehow blocked a sword slash with the rope. One of the handles swung out. Struck the woman in the side of the head. She went down like a ton of bricks.

"Anyways, as I was saying, you seem pretty strong, yeah? Maybe I'll see you in - "

Lin turned away. The boy wasn't an easy target. Didn't seem interested in attacking her, either. There would be easier targets elsewhere. Enough to bring the total left standing to eight, with her among them.

An explosion to Lin's left. She turned. Saw a man stumble back from a smoldering spot on the ground. He was dazed from whatever had happened. Unfocused. Didn't notice Lin coming up behind him. Not until her leg struck his back. The force of the strike sent him smashing into the arena wall, where he lay still.

Lin heard a deep roar. Turned. Saw the largest man she had ever seen smashing a giant mace into three unfortunate fighters. He looked strong. Lin wanted to fight him. But she needed a chance to fight Gaia. It would be best to avoid him. For now.

"Yeah, looks like the competition's pretty tough," Lin heard the boy say. She turned around. Saw the boy next to her. He was looking at the same large man that Lin had been looking at. "I feel like we still got a chance to get through the preliminaries, though. What do you think?"

Lin punched towards his face. He ducked away.

"Who are you?" Lin asked. "Why are you being so friendly?"

"Just someone trying to take down Gaia. Same as you," the boy said. Lin's eyes widened. "What, you think I couldn't guess? I know that look in your eyes. You didn't jump into this arena for the money, and that means there's only one other thing you're going for."

"I'm killing her. Not you."

"Hey, as long as someone brings her down, I'm fine. But if we end up taking each other on, don't expect me to hold back," the boy said, looking around the arena. "Anyways, doesn't seem like we gotta worry for now. Looks like everyone else is cleaning themselves up."

Lin scanned over the arena. There were less than a dozen fighters left. Most were engaged in duels and brawls around the arena. Her and the boy were the only ones not fighting. That was fine by Lin. As long as she got into the tournament.

Three more fighters hit the ground. A buzzer rang out.

"And that's it, folks! We have your final eight fighters!" the announcer shouted as Lin made her way to the ring's exit. "Come back tomorrow to see them duke it out for a chance at the grand prize!"

Lin made her way back to the stands. Most of the spectators were on their way out. Mud was waiting for her.

"Well, looks like that all worked out. You're in tomorrow's tournament, and you got a chance at Gaia," Mud said, thumbing through her scroll. She slipped it away and looked up at Lin. "Who was that guy? The one with the jump rope?"

"Jump rope?"

"You know, the rope that guy had? You've never heard of a jump rope?"

"No."

"Huh."

"I don't know him. All I know is that he's after Gaia."

"Looks like the two of you have something in common. Well, as long as he doesn't get in your way, we should be good," Mud said, turning towards the exit. "Come one, let's get out of here. Ain't much to do until tomorrow's tournament except find a place to stay for the night. It'll also do us some good to prepare for tomorrow, make sure you're in top shape before you take on Gaia and whoever else you'll have in your way."

Lin nodded. Followed Mud out of the underground arena. Back to the surface. She was excited. Eager for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Gaia would be dead. One of three off the list.

A/N: And that's chapter 36! The two make their way to Saltmouth, and Lin literally jumps into a tournament. How will she fare in the coming fights? Stay tuned!

Anyways, if you've got anything to say (question, comment, feedback, etc), please leave a review! I'd love to hear what you've got to say about the story. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!