an. whelp, what else is new? lol I've taken a while again to update. I'm sorry, con season was happening and work is murder especially with holiday season coming up but luckily con season has wrapped up for this year until summer so I won't be busy focusing on my cosplay's like I have been these last couple months. I feel like I usually power through these stories and update regularly around spring time anyways lol.
Any who enough of that, thank you to everyone who took the time to leave review, which reviews are more than welcome, it makes me want to update and write more if i know people are actually liking this. and also thanks to everyone who either favorited/followed AND everyone who is reading this at all lol.
Now back with the story, i'm excited to see how you'll react to this one ;p I also might do what I usually do after not updating for a while and post two chapters in a row, maybe three cause I pretty have all this written out besides like the last 5 or 6 chapters and I'm ready to move onto Infinity War now...
Chapter 15: You're Too Tired to Play the Game
Over the years, there'd been many lessons Dara Ko Eke had learnt; but, there had only been one lesson that she had to relearn twice in order for it to apparently stick. This wasn't the first time following her people into war brought her into a situation like this. She spent how many years in the Kyln before she managed to escape with her old team? She spent too many years to count and now she found herself in the same position again.
Dara was raised to be a proud Badoon, to fight for her people and their cause. She never once questioned the gender-war against the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood, she had always just fought for what the Sisterhood told her to fight for. She never thought twice about how other people of the galaxy perceived them. They were considered disgusting, amongst other worse things. But they didn't understand how evil the Brotherhood truly was. They didn't see the torture and enslavement the Brotherhood put on its people. Even some of the man of their race sided with the Sisterhood when it formed.
For the majority of her life she would say that the people who couldn't see that were idiots. She'd swat down anyone who dared to insult her people. She only saw her side and her side was her people's side. It wasn't until rejoining her home world after the nonsense with the Guardian's, did Dara begin to question. She didn't start questioning the ways of her people right away, of course. At first she was just elated to finally be back home, reuniting with old friends, old family. Dara was just happy to be back after nearly a decade of being locked up.
No, it wasn't until a few years into being back with the Sisterhood did Dara start to question every move her generals and even her mother made. Her mother had been one of the higher ranking generals in the Sisterhood's army, so there had been certain expectation's placed upon Dara, that she more or less didn't agree with. Why were they bringing their war to other planets; other peaceful planets that had nothing to do with the gender-war? Why were her people, who she once perceived as honorable, okay with letting innocence be caught in the middle and killed? She understood the stakes were high, the Brotherhood gaining the support from the Kree Purists, but it was no excuse to sink down to their level.
Whenever she'd voice these concerns, her mother would shoot her down. It was because she'd spent the time she spent out with the Guardian's, she said. Their worldly views tainted her Badoon beliefs and the years spent in a Xandarian prison must've poisoned her mind. Her mother played it off as Dara just needing time to readjust to life with the Sisterhood again. But Dara didn't 'readjust', cursing her old team for making her actually care about people she didn't know instead of just blindly following orders. Her contrasting personality with the Guardian's turned her into one to question everything, a trait she never dared to have as a child and young warrior. Her questioning nature was now what lead her to where she found herself today, once again paying the price with her life for a cause she now was sure she even supported anymore.
The first time she'd ever been capture by the Nova Core all those years ago was different. She felt like it was unjust. Her people were raiding a Xandarian colony, knowing that higher members of the Brotherhood court where staying there for a few days alongside leaders of other races who were interested in siding with the Brotherhood. They ransacked the town, setting it ablaze. By then, Dara had been known decently throughout the galaxy for her skills and brutality. She was no Gamora, but her name still got around. After the job was complete, Dara and a few other members of her unit took to a bar a few towns over. She was cockier back then, if that was even possible, and didn't think that she'd be caught when the Nova Core came running to answer the town's distress call.
Back then, Dara felt pride at being taken captive, the cause was just and good. She'd personally taken out three of the Brotherhood's top commanders, the innocents who died were just unavoidable sacrifices. She'd be a hero to her people whereas the Xandarian's just made another enemy. Looking back, Dara couldn't believe how naïve her thought process was. She'd killed so many innocent people that day and she thought she was a hero for it for so many years.
Dara was still, in no means a saint. She still liked a good fight but thanks to the Guardian's she enjoyed a good fight with someone who deserved it. She realized how much of a bitch she was during her time with them, knowing that yeah, that's partially who she is but now realizing that she acted the way she did because she was fighting to keep her old self while being with Guardians was making her change into someone else entirely.
She hadn't come to this realization until about a little over a year ago when her mother was sending her and a group of Badoon to raid another innocent city. Dara had flashbacks of the raid that gotten her sent to the Kyln, urging her mother to rethink. No more innocent people had to be dragged into their war, the Kree had been doing that enough and the Sisterhood was better than sinking to their level, even thought they'd actually been at the same level for years. Her mother didn't see it that way and ordered the attack to go on as planned.
The Badoon knew the plan would fail from the moment it began. Her unit wasn't prepared to fight the Kree. The Kree had better training, better resources, and they didn't stand a chance against them. Dara did all she could to save her team and any civilian that got in the way to no avail. Dara sat, surrounded by the destruction their battle caused, hearing the Kree killing off any last survivors they found. She'd been defeated, another inhibitor collar resting around her neck as her team lay dead around her.
She'd been sold by the Kree that day. Not only was she the daughter to one of the highest ranking commanders in the Sisterhood, she was also an ex-Guardian of the Galaxy; she had played a big part in killing their praised and celebrated former leader, Ronin the Accuser. She was surprised they hadn't killed her on the spot or at least tortured her in unnamable ways. Later on though, she figured that her fate was worse than death. She'd been imprisoned once again and with this time she saw no escape.
Sakaar was nothing but a trash planet where every unwanted and unneeded thing in the galaxy eventually found its way. The wormholes that surrounded the planet constantly deposited space waste, littering the surrounding fields near the capital city. Even the city itself had littered streets, the buildings beat up and clustered together from the overpopulation. Dara had thought she'd seen true savagery, but nothing compared to Sakaar; this thought wasn't even just from the natural conditions of the planet.
The people who lived in the cluttered city were a whole different kind of people that Dara had never seen before. They were either beggars, thieves, slavers, or slaves. The chain of life here was simple, either be a fighter or be food. The ruler of this planet, the Grandmaster, kept his citizens in constant fear. If you dared to displease him or didn't pay off your debts, you'd have two options depending on his mood. He'd either kill you or force you to fight for the rest of your life in his fighting pits.
Dara had found herself in the pits, shortly after being sold off to some Kree slavers who owed the Grandmaster a debt. She gave them a pretty penny, as the Grandmaster had never had a Badoon warrior before, especially one like her. He put her in the pit right away, eager to see what she could do. At first he was displeased, seeing how the girl refused to fight, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. It took some persuading and a lot of pain on Dara's part but she soon found out that her time would be better spent just doing what the Grandmaster commanded.
She'd take being stuck in the Kyln any day over being stuck in the pits, fighting one fight after another, eventually until she was pit against the Grandmaster's Champion. She hadn't beat him, but she was the first to come close to it and she was also the only one who'd ever fought him without dying. She impressed the Grandmaster with this, earning a little bit of better treatment, seeing that crowds began to cheer for her more and more with every match.
She wasn't free, but this had been the freest she's felt since leaving the Guardians. Dara was able to walk freely around the Grandmasters giant compound and no longer had to sleep down in the dingy and dirty cells that his fighters did. She now had her own quarters, or well, at least semi-own quarters. There'd only been one champion's communal area in the compound, and since she technically wasn't the only champion, she had to share with the undefeated green rage monster who called himself the Hulk.
She'd been on a team with a talking, loud mouthed raccoon and a small talking tree and yet she wouldn't say that they weren't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. She'd grown fond of the big bulking creature but he was basically just an overgrown, super strong toddler. He reminded her a Groot, throwing tantrums when he didn't get his way or being the most adorable thing you'd ever seen when he felt like it. She would like to think that they were friends, having been sharing a living space together for at least a year now but it was hard to tell with him.
Dara had thought about escaping too. Of course she had but it was impossible the compound was constantly being watched by the Grandmaster's security. She couldn't even try to use her powers if she wanted to because of the little round disk impeded on her neck that his guards could use to electrocute her if she tried. She rather be stuck here, living it up compared to being stuck down in the cells and being pitted against Hulk again.
At least now, even if she was still technically a prisoner she could try and have some semblance of a normal life as she was trying to do right now; she was attending one of the Grandmaster's various parties. He threw many parties throughout the time of her being here, at least four to five a week, especially on weekends when his tournaments went on. Dara was glad she wouldn't be fighting tonight and could actually not care about getting wasted at the moment. She needed the alcohol to numb her growing headache, as she tried to tune out the boring story some newbie was talking about next to her.
This had marked six months since she'd been inside the arena, the Grandmaster seemly growing fond of her and putting her in his favor. He'd allow her to watch the fights up in his private booth ever since, along with showering her with random gifts like fancy clothes and other things that'd wash up on their planet. She wasn't one for such gifts but who was she to refuse and anger the Grandmaster?
"And then, I just let go." The man said, laughing and earning giggles from the few girls that surrounded him.
Dara rolled her eyes, chugging the rest of her drink before heading off to get another. Her eyes trailed off around the room as she waited for the bartender to finish making her drink. She could see the party still in full swing as the Grandmaster's band kept up with a solid cyberpunk tune. The Grandmaster was near them, alongside Topaz, his assistant, who was nauseatingly loyal to him. He was playing along with the band, moving away from what appeared to be another victim of his games.
Looking the man up and down, she noted that he looked stronger than most that were forced into the pits. His muscles looked huge, bigger than Drax's, she noted. His blue eyes quickly glanced over to her, feeling her staring. She raised an eyebrow not caring to look away as she grabbed her drink from the bartender, taking a huge swig.
She noticed that he possibly hadn't been even looking at her to begin with, instead looking at the Grandmaster's new guest and appeared to be calling him over. Dara watched as the black haired man quickly, and sheepishly walked over, shushing the man aggressively. The Badoon couldn't make out exactly what they were whispering to each other and didn't have much time to think or care because she could hear her own name being called by the Grandmaster.
Without lagging, she walked over to him, ignoring the two men looking at her. "Yes, Grandmaster?"
"Ah, this is her! This is my girl!" The Grandmaster exclaimed, pointing a finger at her, eying the two men as he introduced her. "This is one of my champions, Dara Ko Eke, she's the only one whose ever faced my beloved champion and survived, look at her, look."
The Grandmaster spoke as if he was talking about a mere object. Dara had to bit her tongue, like she always had to whenever he showed her off. But objects where what his fighters were to him, they weren't real people who could get hurt or had feelings. They were just there for his entertainment. The Grandmaster placed a hand on the top of the chair the blonde sat in, looking to the black haired man now.
"My new dear friend- Low-ke?" he paused, looking to remember his name but decided to move on, not really caring "Well he has yet to seen my Contest of Champions, and I would like him to join us tonight." The white haired man informed them, not leaving any room to question. He turned back to the two men, motioning between them. "But in any case, do you two know each other, you seem like you know each other?"
"I've never met this man before in my life." Low-ke shook his head, clearly lying as the man in the chair shot him daggers with his eyes.
"He's my brother!" the man shouted at the Grandmaster.
"Adopted," Low-ke shook his head, nervously.
"Is he any kind of fighter? That's all I care about." Grandmaster laughed, amused by the two already.
Dara rolled her eyes as the three conversed, only partially paying attention. She sipped her drink, ignoring Topaz as she glared at the woman. Topaz was insanely jealous of any other woman who had creeped into the Grandmaster's attention. Dara teased her about it silently, always wanting to gag whenever the woman would try and gain her master's attention. She wasn't that bad towards Dara, she was way worse with one of the Grandmaster's worker's, scrapper 142.
Dara's attention was brought back in front of her as the Grandmaster sent off the man in the chair to go get ready for his first fight tonight. Dara couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, he stood no chance against Hulk, especially with the mood she found him in today. For whatever reason he woke up incredibly grumpy, stomping around their room and not caring if he knocked things over. She didn't appreciate the attitude, calling him out on it only for him to bark down her throat and start screaming insults with his toddler vocabulary.
"Now, you two, Dara, dear, I'd like you to help get him ready for tonight; show him around tonight, you know where I keep my contenders and such. I'm trusting you to help me honor our guest, it's not very often we get them." He told her, giving her a slight pat on the cheek.
She wanted nothing more than to sink her claws into his arm and pry his hand off of her but resisted. Instead she gave him a smile, feeling herself cringe as she hated herself for so easily bowing to whatever he asked of her. Nodding and saying that she would, the Grandmaster was pleased and went off to enjoy the rest of his party before having to get ready for tonight.
"Right this way Low-ke," She hissed, her tone reverting to her normal sarcastic and monotone self once the Grandmaster was out of ear shoot.
"It's Loki," He corrected, as he followed her, she began to lead them out of the room.
She was glad her back was too him or else he would've seen her eyes widening at his name. She quickly coughed, chugging the rest of her drink before tossing it to the ground. She heard that name once before.
Skadi, her old team member, the one who'd she enjoyed getting a rouse out of spoke of that name once. It was right after the whole Ego thing and she got her memories back. Loki was the name of her brother, and now that she thought back about it, the man in the chair did share similarities with Skadi. They both had the same blonde hair, Skadi's just being a few shades lighter due to her powers and they shared the same eye color, and similar facial features. If this Loki was that same Loki, then that means that that had to be Thor. Wiping her mouth with her fury arms, she kept her questions in the back of her mind, deciding to question them both later.