Disclaimer: Yes, I know I don't own Star Wars. But most of the characters in this chapter are mine anyway. So if you're gonna get all upset and say "You're stealing other people's characters!" or "I'm telling George Lucas." Well, you can just go suck a lemon!
They came out of starburst a few seconds later. The planet where the tournament was being held was right in front of them. Starships came and went freely, as the ground control had long since given up trying to keep track of what was going on.
Even from orbit, Cryos could tell that this planet wasn't a very friendly place. It was a smuggler's paradise. Full of dark streets, shady bars and illegal activities of every kind. It was the kind of place where you could kill someone quietly and no one would care, but if you made a mess you might have to pay a few credits to get it cleaned up.
It wasn't hard to find the battle arena, it was marked with several landing beacons. But Cryos didn't even need them to find it. There was someone down there. Someone very powerful, with an energy unlike anything Cryos had ever felt before. He was sure that he could handle whoever it was, but it was still best to be careful.
Cryos kept his power level low as they dropped down through the atmosphere. When the air was thick enough for Kentra to breathe, they got out of Draco and had him revert back to his lizard form so he wouldn't attract attention.
They were able to get to the ground without anyone seeing them. It was dark and they landed at the edge of the spaceport. "Stick close." Cryos told Kentra as they headed into the more crowded city. She needed no encouragement and was literally hanging to his shoulder. The city was filled with a variety of rather grotesque aliens. Not even Elfour could keep track of them all, and she lost count after three hundred different species.
When they finally reached the open domed arena, Cryos signed up. He wanted to fight whoever that power was. Whoever they were, they were still here.
It was a surprisingly short sign up list. Less than a hundred beings had signed up. And it wasn't long before Cryos found out why.
The returning champion was HUGE! A gigantic fish-faced creature with huge claws, teeth and spines. His name was Doonmoch, and he had won the last championship over thirty years ago, before the Empire took power. The Empire had of course shut the tournament down when it took over.
Cryos couldn't even figure out how they had gotten Doonmach into the planet. The guy had to be fifty feet tall. But for all his size and impressiveness, he was a weakling. Pound for pound, an average human was more powerful. Pound for pound didn't count for much when the thing weighed several tons, but Cryos could easily beat him.
Cryos was more worried about the power he had sensed before. Whoever it was, he was close, very close. But Cryos couldn't quite pinpoint him in the crowd.
But he had run out of time to search. All champions were being called to the registration desk. When Cryos showed up, a short, frog-like alien by the gate pointed up at Kentra, who was riding on Cryos's back again, and said in a croaky voice, "Only contestants are allowed in. Everyone else must wait outside." Kentra didn't want to be left outside. This place was a bit too rough-and–tumble for someone as frightened and sheltered as her. Cryos had to leave her up on a high ledge of the arena where there weren't even any steps or ladders for anyone to get there. He left her with Draco, (Who luckily was still sleepy after eating ever piece of food in the Imperial Palace) and a small communication device that Elfour could pick up the signals from and tell Cryos if there was any trouble. Besides, she still had her blaster pistol, and could shoot better than anyone down in the stands.
When Cryos got back to the registration desk, they were already beginning to separate the contestants into the leagues. There were four leagues in total. Humanoids: Anyone with two arms, two legs, and was less than twelve feet tall went into that category. Special-Humanoids: Anyone built on a human body plan, but had extra appendages or implants. Giants: Anyone over twelve feet tall. And Other: Anything else. After every league was down to one remaining contestant, there would be a free-for-all battle between the four of them to determine the winner.
Cryos was placed into the Special-Humanoids league. Other than a reptilian Barbel, everyone in the Special-Humanoids league had some modifications done to themselves. Some had robotic limbs, or weapons attached to themselves, one Human even had some poor creature's wings grafted to his back.
The Humanoids were the most numerous. And most of them were complete weaklings. From the tall Wookee to the tiny Noghri, (The Noghri was a little surprising. Noghri were surprisingly powerful warriors who used their speed and agility to beat opponents larger than themselves, but they were honorable warriors who didn't fight for profit, only honor) only one really caught Cryos's eye. He wore the body armor of the ancient Mandaloran warriors, and everyone gave him plenty of space. Cryos pulled aside the Barbel, whose name was completely unpronounceable for anyone without a foot long jaw, and asked him about this strange contestant. "Don't you know?" The Barbel hissed back at him. "That's Boba Fett! The greatest bounty hunter of all time. I don't know why he's here, but with him in the contest, the only one who even has a chance is Doonmach! I'd quit now if I still could!" The Barbel had obviously never seen Cryos fight.
Doonmach ended up in the Giant league of course. There was only one other contestant in that league, but everyone knew that Doonmach would crush him easily.
And then the Others. There were only ten of them, but they looked mean. Between the octopus like thing and that one that looked like a big praying mantis- Cryos suddenly froze. The mantis had looked at him, and in a flash of understanding, he knew that this was the power he had been sensing since he arrived. As he looked into the mantis's eyes, he knew that the mantis had been sensing him as well. Both of them knew that they would be the final two contestants, but neither knew who would win.
Cryos was suddenly snapped out of his starring contest with the bug as the announcer began to talk. "For those of you who are new here," He began. "We'll begin by going over the rules. First, Weapons. Cutting weapons of all kinds are allowed, so long as they are attached to the body of the contestant using them, Projectile weapons are not allowed unless the launcher for them is attached to the body and cannot be removed without surgery. Explosives: no one can carry more than five explosives per battle. Also, explosives cannot be equipped with a fuel source, such as a missile. Laser weapons of all kinds are illegal! As for natural weapons, all kinds of them are allowed. Everything, from blades to acids. But if they were implanted and not natural, they are subject to the other rules. And lastly, if a weapon is dropped and leaves the ring, it is out of play. But if it stays in the ring, any contestant can use it until the end of the fight when it is returned to it's original owner. And now: reasons for disqualification."
He droned on for a bit before he got to battle rules. "The rules for battle are as follows. Once begun, the fight will not end until either: one contestant is knocked unconscious, leaves the ring, gives up, or dies. And remember, if you kill your opponent-" You are disqualified yourself. Thought Cryos, thinking of the Earth competitions. He was surprised by the next thing the announcer said, "If you kill them, you must pay a compensation fee to their next of kin. If they have none, it is given to the top surviving runner up."
Wow! This is really going to be a cutthroat fight. Thought Cryos as he looked at the verity of weapons all around him.
While the announcer had spoken, a barrel shaped droid had been compiling a battle order of who would fight who and in what order they would be in. It printed out the list and gave it to the announcer. "The fights will be by league, with each league taking turns. First will be the Giants. With Doonmach vs. Kabbobop!" Kabbobop, a twenty foot tall scarecrow like creature, looked like he was going to pass out. Cryos didn't listen to the Humanoid league assignments, but looked up when the announcer said his name. "Cryos vs. Hoysheba- um… Haeshowbo, uh… The Barbel! You will be the ninth fight. Cryos glanced at the Barbel, who smiled darkly, showing about seven hundred razor sharp teeth.
"The first fight will be in ten standard minutes. Some of you have loved ones you may want to say goodbye to now." He glanced around the room. "But most of you probably don't. Either way, don't miss the first fight, three of you will have to fight Doonmach."
"Wow." Commented Elfour. "That's a real vote of confidence for poor Kabbobop."
After the announcements, Cryos went to sit on the ledge with Kentra. Ten minutes later, the first fight began.
As soon as the whistle blew, Doonmach launched his entire bulk at poor Kabbobop. The scarecrow alien tried to get out of the way, but he was just too slow, and was smashed under Doonmach's fat gut. He was still alive, barely, and was rushed off to the infirmary.
The next fight was Boba Fett against a fanged Devorian. The Devorians were rather good fighters. Not only because they were almost all muscle, but because they were carnivores. After they beat someone, they would sometimes kill and eat them. Cryos secretly had to admit that Devorians creeped him out, so he was not overly upset when Boba Fett killed him with a sharp jab to the neck.
Next up was the winged human vs. one with robotic arms. The winged human won.
Then that octopus thing vs. a crocodile-like creature. The octopus won.
The Giant league was finished, so it went back to the Humanoids. The Wookee was fighting the Noghri. From his perch in the rafters of the arena, Cryos watched, amused as the bets ran severely against the tiny Noghri. And wasn't surprised when the Noghri won.
The Special-Humanoids were up next. Another pair of cybernetically enhanced humans duked it out until one got his robotic arm ripped off and he gave up.
Then the Others. A plant creature brutalized a centuriform creature.
Then the Humanoids, with a pair of odd frog-like things who were both disqualified when they tumbled from the ring.
And finally, it was Cryos's turn. Always being someone who thought you should make an entrance, he zipped down to the ring so quickly that it looked like he had simply appeared there. The audience loved it.
A few seconds later, the Barbel ran through the doorway to the contestants waiting aria and did a triple summersault into the ring. The crowd love it too. But Cryos noticed that the crowd seemed to love everything even more as they became more and more drunk.
The ring was just a square of duracrete forty feet wide that was raised up a few feet from the ground. So Cryos and the Barbel went to their respective corners, and when the whistle blew, the Barbel launched himself at Cryos.
Cryos, on the other hand, just stood there, waiting. When the Barbel reached him, he grabbed the lizard by its vest and flung him over his shoulder.
But at the last second, Cryos had a moment of pity. He grabbed the Barbel's tail and pulled him back into the ring. "Go on, try again."
The Barbel roared in rage. "I'll tear you apart!" He screamed.
"You have to catch me first." The Barbel slashed at Cryos over and over, but Cryos easily moved around the claws. After about a minute, the Barbel began to tire, until he could barely move. So Cryos grabbed him by the back of his neck and his tail, swung him in a circle a few times, and launched him into the stands.
Cryos suddenly felt someone watching him. He spun around to see the mantis in the doorway to the contestant's lounge. When he glanced away for a second, it was gone. Something tapped him on the back, it was the mantis! Behind him!
"Can't you wait your turn?" Cryos asked him.
"It is my turn." It said in a voice that sounded like snapping twigs. "Clear the ring, I'm the tenth fight." Cryos turned to leave the ring. "Oh, Cryos?" Cryos stopped. "I'll be waiting for you in the finals."
Cryos's rage was building up to a slow boil. This thing was mocking him, and he didn't even know who or what it was! With another burst of speed, Cryos vanished from the ring.
He appeared on the rafter with Kentra. "Who's that?" She asked.
"That," He told her. "Is the only person here who has any chance of beating me."
"He can beat YOU!" Asked Kentra in disbelief.
"Maybe." Cryos admitted. "I don't really know yet. We'll find out in a minute."
"The next fight, will be between Fostasos, and Zon!" Fostasos was another big crocodile like thing. And Zon was the mantis.
"So that's your name." Muttered Cryos.
Now that Cryos could look at Zon without getting into a starring contest, he saw what he really looked like. Zon moved on four thin legs. Each tipped with several claws. A short insect-like thorax stuck out behind him like a short tail. He had four arms, two large ones that looked just like an Earth praying mantis's. But these had razor sharp edges instead of spines, and they were about a million times larger. The two smaller arms were each tipped with a sort of three pronged pincher. Zon's head was shaped just like a mantis's, but the eyes weren't as oversized.
From his four claw-tipped feet to his twin antennae, Zon stood just slightly taller than Cryos.
But now the fight was beginning. Fostasos ran at Zon as fast as his short legs could carry him, but Zon simply leapt over him. With one kick, Zon flipped his opponent and hooked the chain that hung from Fostasos's neck with one of his large mantis arms. Then, pressing one of his pincher hands against the croc's belly scales, he launched a tiny energy blast. Fostasos wasn't hurt, but he was launched into the audience.
Zon looked up at where Cryos and Kentra were sitting, and he gave them an evil grin.
"Do you know who's stronger?" Asked Kentra as Zon left the ring.
"No," Admitted Cryos, "I really don't."
