Chapter 1

The cries from the dark reached up from the belly of the great arena. Many cried in pain or despair, whips cracking and the chains clinking resounded through the thick air. Men and women, all slaves, were begging for their release from their confinements. The screams of the pain and the frightened and the feeling of total horror ripped into Shi's mind. He watched as he was shoved and hauled down long corridors with hands reaching out for release from their confinements. As they went past the outstretched limbs, the guard turned and hit the arms that reached for help and Shi heard the sound of bones cracking. He winced and turned to look at the terror in some of the slaves' faces. Either he found fear or an empty person who saw nothing, accepting their fate. He turned his eyes back to the path in front of him.

He wore only a loincloth that was provided for the slaves. His thin frame deceived the eye, not showing the strength behind his frail exterior. His dark black hair was tangled as it hung around his shoulders and a scar running down his cheek and ending right under his ear. He heard one of the guards talking to another. He said he was to be part of the group that would fight in the arena, only to be slaughtered by the warriors that came in to fight for the title,' Patron.' He and the others that were to be sent in were only to be used as warm up for the warriors that competed. Not many would survive and they knew it. Shi watched as he was halted in front of a cell where it was filled with men and women. The women were all wearing loincloths and ripped tops that cut off over the stomach. Their hands chained all of them together and they stood staring off into a nothing that existed only to them. Shi would be one of them now. He was dragged in by his hair and was clubbed when he showed some resistance. His nose was bleeding now as his hands were roughly confined into the too small cuffs. The sounds of chains rang out and imprinted into his mind. Soon… very soon they would take them out. She carried an aura around her that made him tense as well as everyone else in the cell. Everyone avoided her and dared not to touch her. Her eyes held death. Her long blond hair was dirty and in thick strings and her blue eyes were hard and cold as she found him staring over at her. She gave him a cold smile that was not meant to comfort him. She knew she was as good as dead, but by the gods, she was going to fight. Shi looked away at the bars that held him in, the torch light flickered as the guards continued to bring in more slaves for the slaughter. The people would love to watch. They were only seeing a game before them, no more, only their fellow humans being killed.

Shi's head turned as he heard the shuffling of a large amount of feet. He watched as about 20 women, old and young, were brought in and chained as well. The young woman from earlier seemed to wear a look of recognition as did the others. They nodded to each other and there was no further sign of connections. Something was strange with this whole situation. Unlike the other prisoners, these women all looked anxious and ready to go out, just like that young woman. Shi shrugged it off and began to pray to the gods that his soul should be lifted up to a better place and that he should be worthy to enter their realm of safe haven.

Suddenly, and too soon, they were all being pulled out from their cell and being taken down a long corridor, all inked by their hands. The hands that were once hanging out from the cells pulled back into their confinements, recognizing the sign that these were walking dead slaves. All eyes were attached on the sacrifices for the game.

As the line approached the entrance, Shi resisted the urge to shield his eyes from the bright light of the sun. Others would have wanted the sunlight, but to him, it meant death. Darkness was his sanctuary. The guards pulled the line into the middle of the arena and began to unchain all the slaves. All of the men were left with only their cuffs dangling on their wrists, leaving them free to move their hands around as they pleased. The women, on the other hand, were left with their wrists chained together. Some of the women turned to beg the guards to take the chains from them so that they would have a better chance of survival. They were merely slapped and told to be silent. The young woman and the others that had come in later did not beg for their release, they all stood next to each other. A young woman in that group stepped out and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. She nodded her head in a farewell and good tidings to the next life. Her hair was so black that it almost showed purple and her eyes were dark violet. The two had met before. Shi remembered hearing that the slaves more likely to survive are the men. He knew it was unjust, but no slaves would dare argue.

The announcer stepped forward and stood next to his king and asked for permission to proceed with the games. The king nodded.

"People of Monio! Today, we present the strongest warriors of our time to compete for the grand title, 'Patron'! I shall give the call for the glory of the games to begin with the warriors to come forth and begin a simple warm up." At that times, the gates were opened and over 100 warriors, men and women, stepped out with their weapons, armor, and some with nothing but their hands and fists. The 100's of slaves panicked at the sight of these warriors. More than half of the warriors would only warm up by stretching or mock battle between each other until the real competition starts, but the other half would slaughter the slaves as their cruel way of preparing for a glorious battle. The announcer raised his arm.

"In the name of King Phriot, I declare all the glory of these games to begin." At the end of this statement, the warriors flew forward, bearing their weapons and giving cries of rage. The slaves scattered, but the women from earlier stood firm. Shi watched as he dodged a knife and evaded a blow. The warriors came closer to the women, but they did not move. Several of the fighters had looks of cruelty on their faces.

The young woman narrowed her eyes as the warriors approached.

"Weak woman," grumbled one of the warriors as he brought his sword down. Suddenly, she was not there. "What?" He looked up and found that she was above him, high in the air. She looked down with her chained fists raised. She landed on his back and wrapped the chain around his neck. The man was huge, but her blows from her feet seemed to send him into shock. Finally, her foot seemed to go straight through to the man's vital organs, crushing them. The warrior went down with a gagged sound. The other young women were fighting as well. They dodged with miraculous speed, spinning out of the way, using swords as springboards to fly back at their enemy. Shi saw that rarely, their hands were used. He saw that it would have been futile if they did use their hands the warriors overpowered them. One of the women knocked down a man with one blow to the stomach with her knee. His eyes ran back to the young woman, she was using a technique he had heard of! Something that was being rumored, that the escaped women slaves were perfecting a deadly technique. It was said that they centered the strength of their fighting sprit into every move and blow, rarely using physical strength and hands. Suddenly, his eyes widened in recognition.

'The Desperation Technique,' he whispered. The warrior, who was about to deliver a blow, froze at his whispered word and turned to stare at what Shi was staring at. His eyes widened at what he saw. He, along with several other warriors, ran over to fight the young women as well. Several of the warriors were dead already.

Shi's hesitance with his enthrallment with the other fights for survival cost him. He turned and found that a fist was flying towards his face. Suddenly, his world was gone as was his spirit and he was accepted into the world of the gods.

(HA! Thought I'd throw you guys off with that added character… sorry he's not the main one… ok… on to the rest of the story)

Relena, the young woman with he cold stare, glanced at the young man that was suddenly killed with one blow. She growled at the warrior attacking her at the moment and saw that several others were on their way. Their plan was working. They were going to bring attention to the situation of the women slaves. It was to be mastered by the people who are oppressed and she knew that this display would cost her life, but she didn't care. Letting out a cry, her battle aura flared in her and practically rammed into the warrior before her. Her outraged cry flew over the arena, as did the other slaves who were fighting for their lives. Relena watched as one of the women went down.

Relena's rage grew as she knocked down the warrior in front of her. Fear was evident in every feature of his face. Relena stood over him, her eyes cold and merciless. She tensed and readied herself to kill him, but she felt a huge mass of weight slam into her and as she fell, she cursed herself for letting her guard down. The two went down hard, Relena let out a grunt. She looked up to find a woman warrior staring down at her. Her hair was wrapped up tightly into a braided horsetail in the back, and was almost white. Her eyes were an ice blue that could freeze anyone in their tracks; anyone but Relena. The warrior held a dagger in her hand, ready to kill, but the resistant slave flipped the warrior up over her head and grabbed for a spear and caught herself. She didn't need a weapon to beat this woman. Looking around, she saw several of the slaves had fallen to using weapons, all but a few. Lucrezia was fighting still with her legs and limbs, but she was tiring. The cry from behind her brought her attention back to the warrior behind her. She could sense the other rushing towards her. Suddenly, just as she turned to bring down her opponent, the gates opened and the Guard rushed into the arena, breaking up the fight. Warriors were yanked and pulled away from fights, but several would not give up until the slave fell.

Finally, the remaining slaves were herded into one side of the arena to face the king. His eyes were filed with fury. He stood and walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned over to examine the slaves. Each looked straight at him and he was enraged by such disrespect.

"Take them to the cells and kill them!" A roar of disapproval rang out from the crowds. They had actually been enjoying the fighting and had been immediately interested in the battle down below.

Relena was amazed. The crowd she had hated so long ago was trying to save her life. If not for the situation she would had laughed at the iron of the whole thing. She watched as a young man stepped forward to whisper into the king's ear. He was around Lucrezia's age, with almost white hair with a cold blue shaded gaze. Relena recognized him at once. Two years earlier, the he was called "Patron." It was said that he was incredible. His strength and speed were amazing. It was said he became an advisor for the king. Relena turned and saw Lucrezia's eyes attached to the ex-Patron. She knew him, but he didn't seem to recognize her; they were too far away from each other. The king was nodding now as the young man continued to whisper. Finally, the king stepped up again. His face was no longer painted red. He was composed instead.

"The games and tournaments will begin. Take the slaves away." The roar came once again. The king raised his arms fro silence. When the crowd settled he spoke again. "These slaves will return to the arena in due time." Once again the crowd turned into Relena's enemy as they cheered at the prospect of another glorious fight. As the soldiers came closer to round up the rebellious slaves, one of the slaves, Hilde, ran back into the mass of fallen bodies. Relena let out a low growl and made to go after her, but Lucrezia stepped in front of her and shook her head, her face grim. The soldiers ran in after Hilde, who had picked up a body and slowly made her way back to the slaves. The soldiers rushed forward but were stopped by an out held scythe. All eyes turned to a dark clod warrior. His eyes were shadowed and a long braid ran down his back. He raised his head and everyone found his eyes were a shock of violet. He stared at the soldiers and silently let Hilde and her survivor through. When they rejoined the group, Relena made her way towards Hilde, and waited for the slaves to be hustled back out of the arena.

"You were to leave all survivors to die, Hilde," growled Relena through her lips. Hilde frowned under the other's weight, but then a small grin began to form.

"We're all going to die anyway, so might as well get a friend." Relena rolled her eyes.

"Drop it…" Hilde gave Relena a startled glance, her back stiffening.

"No."

"Drop it…" she said louder, more demanding.

"Stop it, Relena. It's a human being. It's Cathy." Relena finally looked at the body, something she had avoided doing. It was Cathy. Relena had met her only a few times, but Cathy always made her feel that what she was doing would make a difference. She felt her resolve wearing down. Sighting, she sped up, grumbling, "It's your responsibility." Hilde stared at Relena's back as they continued towards the pits of hell. The dry dust of the arena floor rose up as over 50 slaves were hustled out of the sun and into the safety of the looming darkness. The familiarity was so strong. Relena felt a sigh of pure exhaustion rise up. She knew from past experience to keep it down. Without a sound, the remaining slaves were pushed and shoved into a prison cell. It was then that Relena looked around at the survivors.