"The Experiment"
Chapter 2
I stepped into the ring. It wasn't an Arena, really. It was the same size, but a wooden, circular wall marked the edges of the area, and the floor was a grassy field. For a training ground, however, it was pretty well built. I was used to sparring out back of my Master's stable, in a ring marked out with ropes.
My opponent entered from an opening on the other side of the ring. He was a Dragon, or at least, that's what I assumed he was. He looked like no Dragon I'd ever seen before, more stocky and muscular, like a bear or an ape, only with ruddy scales. And he didn't have the long neck and triangular head I expected to see, only a flat, wide reptilian head filled with sharp teeth.
I had heard than IMa Dragons didn't look like FIMBA Dragons, though. From the looks of it, this type was even stronger and more powerful that the ones I was used to fighting. So... my new owner intended to put me to the test, then.
"Steppenwolf, meet Inferno," Brom said. "Inferno, this is the new kid, here." He gave me a wicked smile, not at all kind. "Show him the ropes, won't you?"
"Count on it," the dragon rumbled.
I showed him no reaction, but inside, I chuckled to myself. Inferno? This Ranch certainly had no imagination when it came to naming. Brom patted the dragon on the foreleg as he passed, leaving the ring. It was obvious he intended for the monster to thrash me, probably to teach me my "place". Brom was one of the stable hands. He was never very friendly to me, but he had his favorites, his "pets". This dragon was probably one of them.
Well, I didn't expect to do well my first time out. I would size this opponent up, and try and just make a good showing of it.
Mr. Curtis, sitting in a box to one side of the training ring, sounded a horn. Apparently that was the signal to begin, as the Dragon immediately took to the air. Seeing a Flame Attack coming, I quickly leaped to the side, and sure enough, he breathed a gout of fire where I had been. I quickly raced closer to him.
The secret to fighting Dragons is to stay close to them. Don't give them room to take to the air, or they'll fry you. Of course, being close to a dragon isn't very safe either. Even where I had come from, dragons were muscular, and had sharp claws, and knew how to use them. I knew from experience that a fight with a Dragon rarely lasted long.
As I charged, Inferno lumbered forwards, slashing at me with his claws. I leaped aside, however, dodging his swing with ease. I let him take a few more swipes at me, testing his speed. He was a bit slower than I expected, but I realized that he might also be testing me, as well. I leaped at him, to try my One-Two attack, but he managed to dodge it.
So... he WAS faster than he was letting on. I leaped in with a Slash, while he was recovering from the dodge. I caught him across the rib cage, but didn't think I did much damage. I jumped back, putting a little more distance between us.
Inferno reared up, flapping his wings. The gust bowled me over, throwing me to the ground. I was caught off guard; I hadn't been expecting him to be able to use the attack at that range. As I leaped back to my feet, he charged in, and caught me with a Tail Whip. I was thrown into the wall of the Arena with a crash.
I blacked out momentarily, and when I came to, Brom was counting me out. I decided to lay still. As he finished counting me out, I stood, shaking my head.
"Good fight..." I said, still a little dazed. "He is a strong fighter."
Brom laughed. "You'll find out just how strong in a minute."
"What do you mean?" I asked, as he started to walk away. Inferno had already taken up his initial position on the other side of the ring again. "Oh... is this more than one round?"
"Three rounds. Or until you can't stand up any more." He laughed again.
I smiled. Okay. Mr. Brom is in for a surprise... as is his pet Dragon.
Curtis sounded his horn again, and this time I leaped straight up in the air, coming down on Inferno's head. He roared as I sank my teeth into the membrane of his ear, and then I danced down his back. He tried to bring his tail around to hit me, but I dodged it effortlessly.
As he turned his bulk to face me, I let the power build inside me. Concentrating, I felt the sparks begin to play across my horns, saw the blue lightning in front of my field of vision. I fired the Lightning, hitting him square in the face, as he tried to snap at me. Then I danced aside again.
Inferno blinked, momentarily blinded by the flash. I built the charge up again, and let him have it, right in the chest. He reeled back, the shock of the electricity making him lose control of his muscles. When he struck at me, his blow was so weak that I didn't even bother to dodge, but instead sank my fangs into his wrist.
Inferno roared in pain. I was making him mad, but he was dazed, too. I leaped around behind him, and he flailed about, looking for me. I kept just out of his reach, zapping him with Lightning, or snapping with my jaws as he came at me, but he never laid a claw on me. When the horn sounded again, I was winded, but I had done what I intended to do.
"An excellent fight, Steppenwolf," Curtis said from his vantage point above the ring. "I must say, you surprised me."
"Cheater!" Inferno called out, as Brom tried to pull him back to his starting spot in the ring. "You sneaky little... I would have expected that from a cowardly TIGER!" He was obviously trying to goad me, but I just laughed and returned to my place.
"Power is no good if you can't lay a blow, Inferno," Curtis said. "I've warned you about that before."
"He'll do better this time, Boss," Brom said. He glared at me. "Count on it."
I sighed. Well, obviously Brom isn't going to be a friend after this.
The horn sounded again, and again I leaped the length of the Arena, giving Inferno no time to use his flame. This time he was ready, though, and slapped me to one side with his clawed hand. I bit my lip as I jumped back to my feet, darting to the side just in time to dodge his tail. Inferno was mad. Okay. Time to use that to my advantage.
I ran right at him, closing to point blank range. Again, he slapped me aside. Again I closed, staying as close to him as possible. He kicked at me with his feet, knocking me sprawling across the grass.
I gritted my teeth against the pain and ran in again. As he pulled back, I suddenly jumped to the side, and this time his fist sailed past me. Gathering my power, I used his arm as a springboard and flipped myself up to his face. I kicked him with all four feet, channeling my Lightning through my claws as I did, and he roared, reeling back in pain.
I darted back, but he recovered quickly. I made sure not to give him enough room to move, but let him keep batting me around the ring. The pain, as he continued to beat on me, made my anger grow, and I held onto it, held it in check. His powerful blows were painful, but at least they were not deadly.
Even so, I knew I didn't have much time. I couldn't take this kind of punishment for very long. But the rage was growing within me. And as I became angrier, he grew angrier, too. He began to taunt me. "Enjoying this, puppy?" he said. "Well, enjoy THIS!"
He grabbed me in a massive fist. I cried out as his claws cut into me, and then he flung me at the wall. As the wooden fence came at me, and the red rage built to the breaking point, I knew this was the time. I twisted myself in the air, and hit the wall feet first.
With a massive leap, I shot back at the Dragon, slamming into him full force with my head, my horns absorbing the impact. I then rolled back off of him, leaping as my feet gained purchase on his scaled body. I shot back the length of the Arena, again striking the wall, and again used its leverage to catapult myself back at the Dragon. I performed this circle three times, and Inferno roared in pain each time I struck him.
As I completed the final loop, and rolled across the grass to stop in front of the wall, I came back up on my feet. I let it all build up in me, the rage, the pain, the anger, the fury. I let it all swell up inside me, until I could no longer contain it. And then I let it out.
The growl built in my throat, low, quiet, menacing, beyond control. It grew, of its own power, from my chest, up my throat, out through my mouth as I threw back my head and Roared. The blast of wind, rushing air and sound energy, swept over Inferno, flinging him like a rag doll into the wall. The wood splintered, collapsed on top of him, but then was swept up and away. Inferno continued to roll, driven by the force of the blast, until he finally stopped and lay still.
I closed my eyes, trying to get my racing heart back under control. I could hear Brom shouting, trying to pull his monster out from under the wreckage. I could also hear Mr. Curtis, obviously impressed by my victory, shouting something back to him. But at the moment, all I could hear was the roaring of the blood in my ears.
I had managed to calm down, however, by the time Mr. Curtis joined me at the wall. "That was excellent!" he said. "I wasn't sure you were as good a deal as I was told, but NOW I'm convinced."
"Thank you, sir," I said, still struggling to catch my breath.
"I heard talk about that jumping technique of yours. It's a lot more impressive in person."
"My Master called it 'The Circle', sir."
Mr. Curtis suddenly frowned, glaring at me. I was a bit taken aback by the intensity of his expression, until he spoke.
"I am your master now, Steppenwolf."
I blanched. "I am sorry, sir. I should have said 'former Master'. I apologize." I lowered my head. "I meant no offense, Mr. Curtis."
"Why don't you call me Master?"
I looked up at him. It took a few moments before I could answer, but then I took a deep breath, and forced myself to speak.
"I cannot call you by that name, sir. Again, I mean no offense, and I am truly sorry. But that name is for one man, and one man only."
"I will call you Mr. Curtis, or Trainer, or Boss, as these men call you, or..."
Curtis waved a hand at me, dismissively. "As long as you fight like that in the Arena, I could care less what you call me."
"I will do my best, sir. You have my word."
"Tigers," Curtis muttered. He turned and walked away.
After the battle with Inferno, I was let out into the field with the other monsters. I was looking forward to getting a chance to look around the stables, and meet the other monsters. There was a small group of us in the building that I had a stall in. I wanted to get to know some of them. They didn't seem to want to talk to me, though, and in fact rarely even spoke to each other.
There was one other Tiger in the group, a scaled Dino cross, just a little bit older than me. The FIMBA word for his breed was Dento, but I later learned that in the IMa area he was called a Datonaire. There were also a couple of Hare crosses, and one large canine creature of a type I had never seen before. There were at least twelve stalls in each stable, but only five in my group, so I guessed that the ranch wasn't currently filled to capacity.
I wandered the field looking for the monsters I had met before. The Hares had met up with some other Hares from another stable. The Dento and the dog-creature had joined a bunch of dinosaurs -- not Dinos, but obviously similar. I assumed that the Dento had managed to get into the group because of his Dino blood.
The rest of the monsters were pretty much divided by type. There was a group of Pixies gossiping over by one building. I thought of Sandy, but I didn't see her with them. There were some Nagas, some Golems, and a whole lot more monsters I didn't even recognize. None of them seemed interested in talking to me, though, so I decided to explore.
The ranch turned out to be huge. It went on forever, it seemed. The field seemed to be fenced in, and as I neared the fence I saw humans walking around. Some of them seemed to get concerned as I walked towards them, so I guessed that the human section was off limits to monsters. That was fine with me, I wanted to explore the back parts of the ranch, anyway.
Following the fence line over some hills I came to a forest. I walked into the trees, finding their shade comfortable, but I could tell from the scent in the breeze that there was little to find there. I could smell water, though, off to the right, and so I headed off in that direction.
I made my way through the underbrush, finally coming across a small lake. A stream led out of it, and over on the other side, the forest sort of thinned out. I circled around, to the other side of the little lake, and followed the stream as it skirted around the outside of the forest.
It was there that I spotted Sandy, sitting on a rock beside the stream. I walked over to her, intending to say hello, but as I approached, I heard her sobbing. She was crying! I slowed my steps, but walked quietly closer to her.
"Sandy?" I called out to her, just before I came near. She looked up at me, startled. Then she wiped her face.
"What are you doing here?" She glared at me, as if it was my fault that she was crying.
"I was exploring. What are you doing here?"
"None of your business."
"Okay." I thought for a moment. "Tell you what. Let me see if I can guess why you're here, and if I'm right, you tell me."
I looked around "Let's see... you're obviously here alone. And probably that stream runs all the way across the ranch, so it isn't possible to be on this side of it unless you fly across it. You're over here behind the forest, so it's not likely anybody knows about this place. So this is your secret place, where you go to be alone. Am I right?"
"What if it is?"
"Nothing." I shrugged. "I won't tell anybody if you won't. Maybe I want a secret place, too."
"You can't have this one. It's mine."
"Oh, so it IS your secret place." I grinned. "Gotcha."
She turned pink. "You tricked me."
"I didn't mean any harm by it. Why would you want to be alone, though? Why aren't you with the other Pixies?"
She sat down on the rock, turning away from me. "They don't like me. Nobody likes me."
"I like you."
"You're just saying that. Go away."
"No." I shook my head. "There isn't any reason why those other Pixies shouldn't like you. So if they don't like you, it's their fault, not yours."
"It is my fault... I'm different."
"So. I'm different."
She looked up at me. Her green eyes were glittering, and she was trembling. She suddenly turned to look away from me, and put her arm over her face.
"I'm going to die!"
"What...? Who told you that?"
"They did. The Pixies."
I frowned. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Especially that..."
"But I am!" She looked up at me, tears running down her cheeks. "Don't you know what happens to Pixie/Hengers?"
I shook my head. "I'd never even seen a Pixie/Henger before you. I didn't know they existed."
"They DON'T!" She choked. "I'm... I won't... I'll..."
She broke down, unable to continue talking. She just sobbed, her face cradled in her hands.
I walked closer to her. "What are you trying to say? You look fine, to me. You look like you'll live a good, long life."
She shook her head. "No. I'll die... in about a month or two, I'll die. It happens... it happens every time..."
I nudged her with my muzzle. "Look... whatever happens... to other monsters... that doesn't have to happen to you. Those other Pixies..." I shook my head. "They have their own reasons for wanting you to give up. But you CAN'T give up. You have to fight."
She looked up at me. She was still crying, but... was that hope in her eyes? "If you fight back... if you BELIEVE in yourself... you can beat anything. I KNOW. And you're not alone. We can fight this together..."
Sandy threw her arms around my neck. "I'll talk to Frank," I told her. "I know he'll be able to tell you the truth. You just stop listening to those Pixies. Okay?"
She sniffled. "Okay."
