June 4, 2621
Jennifer's Diary
You can already tell what was running through my mind when I watched Jon confront the elders after they deliberately tried to kill me. Now at first I completely expected him to act protective of me and his mother's honor. But when he took things a step further by challenging the elders to a death match, which they agreed to without any hesitation, I was worried. He was deliberately giving them the upper hand in this fight. Needless to say I was worried for him. Sure he'd done this before when he fought against Zell-oah's Predaliens, but now he was fighting elder Yautja, who kill Abominations like them. They were older, more experienced, and now they were more heavily prepared for the fight. Not to mention he'd decided to take on three of them, the one I'd fought, the one Jon had challenged, and the elder that helped out the one I'd fought right as I was about to win. Yeah, you'd better believe I was worried for him.
I was safely taken out of the arena and locked behind the same barred door that Jon had broken in through. This time the guards made sure to keep me restrained as I watched the fight. They didn't want any unwanted interference like what Jon had done when he came to save me. There I waited in anxious anticipation for the four Yautja to commence their brawl. Jon waited patiently inside the arena pit, as a few other Predators began laying a protective translucent covering over the arena, that would protect the crowds from any projectiles that were fired inside the arena, while also giving every one a perfect view of the arena. After some time passed the other three combatants entered the arena.
As Jon had told them, they could take as much armor and as many weapons as they wanted for the fight, and they did so. Their bodies bodies were almost covered head to toe in armor, with the only exposed areas being around the joints, and certain areas of the chest and thighs. They each wore their own uniquely designed bio-mask, that had some symbols, and letters of their language written onto them. The female elder had a glaive that was affixed to her wrist gauntlet which also sported a pair of wristblades on them. The female also had a dagger strapped to her leg, along with a smart disc that sat in it's pouch beside it. The one elder who'd helped the one I'd fought sported a two wristblade gauntlets, a maul, and a smart disc. The one that I'd fought was easily the most outrageously equipped out of the three of them, with a combi-stick, plasma caster, spear gun, dagger, two wristblade gauntlets, and a net launcher. My heart sank as I saw the three of them step out to face their opponent. The crowds of spectating Yautja that watched from above cheered as they beheld their champions step out and display themselves and all of their firepower.
The clan leader did give Jon a sporting chance by having him outfitted with a pair of wristblade gauntlets, a combi-stick, and a smart disc. But even with his new weapons and armor, he was still at a heavy disadvantage.
Before the fight began, the clan leader rose from his throne above the arena, and spoke. "Are you ready for this fight ,Schaefer?" The clan leader asked Jon in cautioning tone, "You understand you will be fighting for your very life, against three of our best, and most well equipped elders?"
"It's not like they were going to give me a fighting chance any way." He replied as he stripped himself of all of his weapons and armor, just like he had before when he faced off against Zell-oah's Predaliens. I could also remember Jon looking at the combi-stick in his hands with disgusted look as his forked tongue stuck out at it, before the dropped it to the ground. The Yautja began to gasp in amazement, before many of them burst into laughter as he did that. I'd seen this happen before, and although I still wasn't comfortable with it, I could see the purpose in it, and I still had faith that our Heavenly Father could help him make it through this fight. I was also saying a hopeful prayer to Him at the time as well.
"What are you doing, Abomination?!" One of the elders asked as he struggled to hold his laughter.
"I'm proving you wrong, that's what I'm doing, and I'm not going to use any my weapons to do it." My boyfriend answered as he took off the last piece of armor strapped to him. The only thing he had left on was a loin cloth that covered his privates, and a leather clothing item that covered his most of his torso that was held up by a strap that hung behind his back.
"You really have gone mad ,Abomination!" The Yautja I'd fought chuckled.
"Are you ready ,Schaefer?" The clan leader asked again. He also understood why Jon disarmed himself. The clan leader's eyes had widened in amazement as he saw him do that, and although I could tell by the look on his face that he shared my concern, I could also sense that he was very impressed with this course of action that Jon had taken.
"No, not yet." Jon answered his clan leader before he bent a knee to pray. This further sparked amusing laughter from the crowd of onlookers, including the three elders. It also sparked more interest in the clan leader's eye. After a few short minutes later, Jon rose. "Now I'm ready." He told the clan leader with a confident look in his eye which he gave to me with an affectionate smile before he faced his opponents.
"Very well then. Schaefer, Va-drmi'c, G'rqu-al, R'asa-mas. You may begin." He told the four Yautja, before the same bell that had rung to signal the commencement of my fight to begin tolled.
The four Yautja wasted no time an commenced with the brawl. The one that I'd fought ,who was also leading the other in their charge, flexed both of his wrists causing his gauntlets to release their blades. Right as he and Jon were about to clash, the elder swung one of his wrists in a back handed motion, before throwing his other fist down on Jon. Jon was to quick for the elder who was weighed down with so much equipment. Jon managed to sneak beside the elder as he threw his fists at him, which gave Jon the opportunity to kick the female elder away who had followed closely behind. The other elder who'd also followed beside the female had his maul ready to drive it through Jon, but he was able to grab the Yautja by the arm, before he attempted to ram his fist into the Predator's gut. His fist hit the armor just above his lower torso however, which caused Jon to grunt painfully as his fist collided with the strong metal. The elder that I'd fought, who the clan leader called Va-drmi'c, was able to recover from being weighed down by his equipment and grabbed Jon by the back of his head and back before slamming him down on the ground. Va-drmi'c went to drive his wristblades through him again, but Jon reacted quickly enough to avoid getting stabbed. The elders metallic claws got stuck in the ground, and because of tall of the weight he had to carry, he was having difficulty removing the blades from the ground. Jon took that opportunity to side kick the elder's stuck wrist. Va-drmi'c's gauntlet protected him from any harm the blow may have caused, but it did allow Jon to break the two blades that had been stuck in the ground. The elder's then used his freed fist to back hand Jon into the female elder ,R'asa-mas.
As R'asa-mas held Jon in place, G'rqu-al ,the Yautja that'd helped Va-drmi'c against me, moved in to cut Jon open with his maul. The elder acted quickly and made a diagonal slash to his abs with the weapon. Jon gave G'rqu-al a nasty look before bashing his head into the elder's masked face, forcing him back long enough, for him to ram the back of his head into R'asa-mas' protected face, stunning her long enough to stomp his foot down on hers. The female elder gave a pained grunt that echoed out of her mask, before Jon caught her by one of her arms and swung her into G'rqu-al. Va-drmi'c returned a second later and swung his other gauntlet at Jon. He managed to scrape Jon's torso a few times with the blades, but the cuts were minor. The elder tried to make a forward thrust with the blades, but Jon was able to catch him, and throw him forward. R'asa-mas and G'rqu-al had managed to recover as that happened, and the female elder went to drive her glaive through Jon. The weapon spun in her gauntlet before she made the strike however, which gave Jon just enough time to react before being stabbed by it. Jon managed to catch the female elder, and they grappled for a brief moment. Jon was overpowered by the taller female, after she rammed her other fist into his gut and threw him.
She threw him over to G'rqu-al who caught him and slammed him to the ground. Before Jon could have any time to recover, the elder Predator began violently stomping down on his chest. Jon was able to catch his foot on one of his stomps, and twisted the elder's foot causing him to hiss in pain before falling backward. R'asa-mas grabbed Jon by the throat as he recovered and pinned him against the edge of the arena. She was about to drive her wristblades and glaive through him, and was able to do so, but Jon caught her wrist just in time before the blow could be crippling or fatal.
"Be lucky that you chose me to fight you ,Abomination. Unlike G'rqu-al and Va-drmi'c, I shall be merciful, and grant you and your ugly Ooman honorable deaths." R'asa-mas said as she continued to struggle with him, pushing the three of her blades deeper into his torso.
"Shut up!" He roared in her face before kicking her in the unprotected knee, followed by a quick punch to the face. This stunned R'asa-mas long enough for him to push her off of him.
G'rqu-al quickly went to help his fellow elder, and tried to make a downward strike with the maul. Jon ran towards the approaching elder, and pushed his wrist up against his throat, forcing him back as he continued to charge forward. Jon quickly followed by swatting the maul out of his opponent's hand, before finishing his push with a punch to the gut, this time managing to hit the elder's stomach and not his armor. G'rqu-al was then picked up by the younger Yautja and thrown away.
"R'asa-mas is right ,Abomination. She is more merciful than I." Va-drmi'c told Jon after trapping him in a net launcher projectile. "I can also assure you that once we are finished with you, your Ooman will be next. But we shall be merciful and make her end swift." The sadistic elder Predator told Jon as he struggled viscously against the contracting net. Jon's skin began to break as the net began to grow smaller and smaller. "Fortunately for yourself. You won't live to see it happen either." The elder continued to mock him as he took out his combi-stick and prepared to finish him off with it.
"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!" Jon screamed as he used every bit of his strength to break free from the metal net. Va-drmi'c went to finish him with the combi-stick but Jon managed to avoid the strike and tackle his opponent to the ground. Jon stood over the elder Yautja and began beating him with all of the rage filled energy that his body could exert; one of his powerful blows even managed to knock the elders mask off. In his vengeful rage, Jon couldn't see that R'asa-mas and G'rqu-al had recovered, and they both managed to pull him off of Va-drmi'c. Jon struggled ferociously against the two elders for a short moment, providing Va-drmi'c the time he needed to recover and attack. The elder smacked Jon with his clawed hand, before following with a kick to the torso shortly before punching him in the head sending Jon to the ground.
"That was pathetic ,Abomination. And you are supposed to be a honorable member of the mighty Schaefer Oomans." The elder told Jon before smacking him again as he tried to recover. "If they are the ones who really did teach you, I weep for them." Va-drmi'c said as he threw the teenage Yautja over to the other two elders. "On second thought, I do not bother to pity them either. What strength do they have? What honor do those pathetic Oomans possess?" Va-drmi'c continued to spit at Jon. This insult to his adopted lineage served to enrage Jon even further, but it still wasn't enough to help him break free from the other two elder Yautja's grasp. "Tell me ,Abomination! How are they so mighty?! How when can they be when even you cannot defeat us?! Your very existence not only brings shame on us, but on them as well! And I curse them for allowing your existence to be prolonged!" The elder continued to insult Jon as he punched, clawed, and smacked him viscously.
"Fck you!" Jon roared at the elder in defiance as he was mercilessly beaten. At this point Jon's face was a bloody mess with green blood oozing from the wounds on his face. Still, Jon continued to fight. Despite how badly beaten up he was.
"JON!" I cried for him over and over again as I watched him being beaten by the three elders.
"You hear that ,Abomination. It is the sound of your Ooman calling for you, yet you are powerless to do anything to help her." Va-drmi'c told him as he held Jon by the throat. "Look at how she weeps for you. Imagine how disappointed she is to see her champion fall before her." The elder continued to make a mockery of Jon before the crowds who cheered and laughed as they watched. "Imagine the shame all of the Schaefer's that have come before you feel now as they watch you die like the pathetic and dishonorable animal you are." Va-drmi'c said before swatting him out of the hands of R'asa-mas and G'rqu-al, who joined their fellow elder and formed a triangle around Jon. Jon threw his fist angrily into the ground, roaring as he did so before foolishly trying to charge at Va-drmi'c. The elder flexed his wrist causing his remaining gauntlet's blades to eject out, which he used to slash the teenage Predator with, sending him back. G'rqu-al grabbed Jon by the dreadlocks and shoved him towards R'asa-mas who slashed him with her glaive. She then buried her armored knee into his crotch, before punching in the face, pushing him back towards G'rqu-al. G'rqu-al then broke out his smart disc and did the same, slicing at his back as the two continue to push him into each other, before they pushed him back over to Va-drmi'c. Jon tried in vain to take a swat at the elder, but Va-drmi'c caught his fist and twisted it forward, causing Jon to kneel down and scream in pain as he did that. Va-drmi'c then swatted the young-blood away with his combi-stick which he'd retrieved as R'asa-mas and G'rqu-al viscously cut into him earlier.
"Weak, Pathetic, and Dishonorable. It makes me want to weep, yet at the same time I laugh and spit. You are supposed to be a great warrior, yet all I see is a adolescent blight that struggles helplessly as his pet calls for him. You disgust me ,Abomination." The elder said as Jon weakly tried to recover, before getting kicked in the face by G'rqu-al.
"You are nothing more than a disappointment ,blight. A failure. A wasted effort, yet still you believe there is something your pathetic existence is worth fighting for!" R'asa-mas said as she grabbed and threw him over to G'rqu-al.
"I would wish to make you suffer for you dishonor, but like the others who curse your name just as I do I wish you dead beyond anything else." G'rqu-al hissed as he smacked him a few times before shoving him away.
The fight continued like this with the elders beating and cutting him as they tossed him into each other, all while throwing insults of his loved ones ,including myself, in his face. They continued to call him a disappointment, and a dishonorable stain to their honor as they smote him in front of the cheering crowds, who also booed his name, while I continued to watch helplessly from the side as I saw my boyfriend getting beaten and humiliated mercilessly. Despite all of this, Jon continued to do what he could to fight back, trying to use his anger as a weapon of strength against his opponents. But all it did was help him get hit even faster.
Finally they stopped beating Jon long enough to let the despondency of his frustration and defeat sink in. He was on his hands and knees huffing and puffing with exhaustion as the elders stood around him and continued to poke and prod at him. The clan leader was disheartened to watch as an honorable member of his clan being shamed in such an embarrassing and mortifying way. I could tell he wanted to make it stop, and simply let Jon go, but he could not interfere. This was the law of their society. They had to prove themselves worthy of the right to be looked upon as members of the clan, and despite everything Jon had done for them all they saw was a dishonorable Abomination, who had now devolved into a humiliating disappointment before their very eyes. This was how they did things, to reward and uphold those who succeeded against the challenges faced before them, or face the consequences of defeat. All they could hope from the latter was that it would be swift, painless, or at least honorable. Jon and I would receive no such treatment. All I could do was watch and cry.
Jon turned his head to look at me and saw the helplessness written on my face, before looking up at his oppressors, who were still making fun at his expense as they continued to torture him with their words. He bowed his head in submission before I watched him say a weak and desperate prayer.
"Humble me ,Lord. Please. Humble me." He chanted.
"What is this?! Are you calling upon your god to deliver you?!" Va-drmi'c said sputtering a laugh.
"Temper my anger Dear Heavenly Father. Deliver me and Jenny out of the hands of our enemies. Please." He continued to beg hopefully, doing his best to ignore the elders and focus all of his faith into his prayer.
"He is! Ha! What good can your god do you now?! He has abandoned you! Whatever favor you may have had with this deity of yours is gone now that you have humiliated him with your disgraceful thingness!" G'rqu-al spat.
"Strengthen me ,Dear Lord. Please. Let them see thy power ,Oh God." Jon finished.
"Enough with this. It is time we put the helpless animal out of it's misery." R'asa-mas told the other two elder before spinning her glaive in a circular motion before bringing it down on Jon.
In a miraculous twist of fate however, Jon managed to catch her fist in his hand before the blade could dig itself into him. The female elder saw the look of fury in Jon's eyes as he was suddenly filled with energy again. She shrieked an agonizing roar as he dug his claws into her hand. The crowds cheering turned to gasps of astonishment and horror, as they saw Jon make this amazing recovery. The clan leader and I began to hold a hopeful breath as we continued to watch the fight play out. Jon then tore the leather cloth that covered his torso off, revealing his muscles and all of the gruesome scars that covered them, before bellowing a powerful roar at his enemies and the crowds that booed him.
Va-drmi'c attempted to pull out his spear gun and shoot Jon with it, but he pulled R'asa-mas in front of her before the elder could get off the first shot. The elder unloaded all of his spear bolts he had, which hit R'asa-mas in the back. Luckily for her, her armor was strong enough to protect her from the projectiles. R'asa-mas attempted to drive Jon back by using her wristblades, which scratched both of their wrists and dug into his arm. This only served to further enrage Jon. He roared angrily in her face before slamming his head into her face before punching her, causing her mask to fall of revealing her face. Jon then shoved her towards Va-drmi'c before turning his sights to G'rqu-al who he anticipated would attack. The elder Predator readied himself to drive his wristblades through the young-blood Yautja, but he was to slow to do so. Jon elbowed him in his masked face before grabbing the Yautja by his ornamented dreadlocks and slammed the older Predator's face into his knee. Jon threw G'rqu-al aside as R'asa-mas recovered and attacked. She tried to throw her fists at Jon, but he swiftly dodged the strikes right. The female elder then tried to bring her leg up to kick him, but Jon caught it and gave her a angry smile right before he twisted it sharply, breaking it. R'asa-mas fell to the ground roaring and grunting painfully as she held her disfigured appendage.
Va-drmi'c recovered and tried to throw his combi-stick at the young-blood Yautja, but Jon saw this and reacted with inhuman speed, dodging the spear right at it was about to impale him and caught it. G'rqu-al had also recovered at that point and had retrieved his maul weapon, which he was about to bring down of Jon, but he blocked the attack with the combi-stick. Jon used it to shove him back and hit him in the face with it before twirling the weapon around swiftly and swung it at the elder's hip. Jon then made a vertical strike with the weapon slamming his opponent to the ground. Va-drmi'c had used that time to link his wristbracer's energy to his plasma caster. Jon saw this and reacted in time to avoid a blast from the elder's shoulder cannon.
Va-drmi'c sent another blast his way, which was quickly followed by another blast and then another, until suddenly the plasma cannon, began firing a continuous stream of plasma charges. I was a little amazed by that to be honest. Jon leapt away from the first couple of blasts, before he took off running on all fours like I could. I'll be honest I was also a little surprised by that as well. I didn't even know he could do that. Jon continued to race around the arena like this for a few moments allowing the elder to waste his energy on the weapon, before ducking under the stream. This confused Va-drmi'c long enough for Jon to charge at the elder and tackle him to the ground. Jon began laying his fists into the elder Predator's fanged face, grunting a little as he did so. G'rqu-al tried to help Va-drmi'c by stabbing Jon, but Jon had heard the metallic slice of his wristblades as he prepared to run him through with them. Jon moved aside and kicked G'rqu-al in the throat sending him back and causing him to gasp for air, but in doing so that allowed Va-drmi'c to recover and grab Jon by his unbraided dreadlocks, and pin him down. The elder tried to drive his wristblades into the young-blood Yautja's skull, but Jon smacked him with the palm of his hand, allowing him to buckle his feet under his opponent before kicking him in the face.
R'asa-mas was still severely injured, but she wasn't completely out of the fight yet. Although she couldn't attack Jon, she tried to help her fellow elders, by taking out her smart disc and throwing it at Jon. Jon rolled away as he saw her throw the deadly weapon at him. It bounced around the arena a few times, hitting the protective ceiling cover as it did so, before it spun back to it's sender. Before it could reach R'asa-mas though, Jon caught it. G'rgu-al had recovered from his short ordeal, and tried to cut Jon with his wristblades. After Jon caught the disc, G'rqu-al leapt to drive one of his bladed gauntlets down on him, but Jon was able to use the disc, and cut the blades off of the gauntlet. Before the elder could realize what had just happened, Jon brought the disc back down on his opponents hand severing it from the rest of the arm. G'rqu-al screamed in pain and horror as he held his stumped hand. Jon tossed the smart disc aside before grabbing his opponent, and tore his mask off. The elder looked up to see the young-blood, before Jon smacked him in the face a couple of times with the mask before throwing it aside as well, and slammed the Yautja's exposed face down on his knee, knocking him unconscious.
Jon dropped his opponent's body before turning his sights towards his last target ,Va-drmi'c. He saw his fellow hunters lay defeated under the feet of this Abomination, and gave the young-blood an enraged look of disbelief. Jon smirked at the pissed off elder which caused him to roar in outrage before charging at him with his dagger. Jon moved to the side as Va-drmi'c dove towards him, and clasped his fists together before bringing them down on his opponents back, while also bringing his knee up on the elder's stomach, effectively crushing him. Jon gave the elder time to gasp and recover, allowing the elder to make his move first. Jon held his hands behind his back as he dodged a few punches the elder threw at him angrily, before blocking of of them with his arm. He threw the elders arm away, before smacking him with his other hand and did a backflip, kicking Va-drmi'c in the face as he did so. The elder wasn't fazed for to long and went to throw a punch at Jon, but he ducked before the elder's fist could reach it's target. Jon then grabbed Va-drmi'c by his breastplate and his belt before lifting him over his head and threw him over to the edge of the arena. The elder hit the wall hard, knocking the wind out of the Yautja. This gave Jon the time he needed to stomp over to his opponent, pick him up and punch him in the face repeatedly. The skin on Va-drmi'c's face split open causing bioluminescent green blood to run. After dealing a couple more powerful blows to the exhausted elder, Jon stopped and let his opponent fall to the ground, shortly before roaring aggressively down at his foe. Jon then turned his gaze over to R'asa-mas who tried to crawl over towards her smart disc. Jon walked over to her and stepped on her hand right as she was about to grab the weapon before picking it up himself. He inspected the weapons unique shuriken design and gave an interested look before smashing against the wall shattering it in pieces.
"Thank-you ,Dear Lord. Thank-you." Jon breathed a gracious thank you to God, before giving me a bright smile. I returned it with a soft cheerful smile of my own.
After that Jon stepped to the center of them arena. He saw the faces of all of the unhappy looking spectators as they sneered and snarled angrily at him. It reminded me of that one scene in Gladiator where the main character ,Maximus, finishes off a his opponents and looks at the crowd of onlookers and bellows, "Are you not entertained?!" Judging by the looks Jon was being given, they were anything but entertained. Jon returned their angry looks with a wicked pissed off gaze of his own before bellowing a loud victorious roar at them, causing them to roar in outrage.
"Yeah, that's right! Get pissy all you want assholes! It's not gonna do any of you any good! I still fcking won!" He bellowed back.
Amidst all of the roaring and heckling he was receiving in spite of his victory, there was one who gave applause. All the other Yautja watching noticed this and turned to look over at the clan leader, who was the one clapping for Jon. Ph-rills had a soft pleasant smile on his face as he continued to give Jon his approval. This silenced the rest of the spectating clan members watching, who all looked at him with astonishment. I guess they were astonished because their clan leader was favoring this young-blood Yautja who they saw as an Abomination, and they couldn't understand why, despite the evidence that was shown before them.
"Well done ,Schaefer. Well done Indeed." The clan leader said with a smile.
"So did I pass?" Jon asked with an exhausted look of hope on his face.
"Yes. Yes, you have." The clan leader responded.
The other Yautja immediately exploded into a complaining mess after they heard their clan leader pardon Jon.
"Oh, Boo Hoo Hoo to you too!" Jon loudly told them as he gave them all the middle finger.
The clan leader had had enough of the clans complaining and gave a loud awesome roar, that silenced all of them. The roar echoed on for a few seconds before fading out. That even caused Jon to look sheepish.
"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH OF YOUR ARGUMENTS AND YOUR OBJECTIONS AGAINST THIS YOUNG-BLOOD, AND I SHALL HEAR NO MORE OF IT!" Ph-rills bellowed angrily at his clan.
"But ,Ph-rills. he is an ,Abomination! He did not even deserve to be tested!" Va-drmi'c protested.
"Cry baby, next time don't hurt my Ooman and I don'thurt your pride asswipe." Jon called the elder, which made me snicker a little.
"How short sighted you all are! Did you not see what he has done?! Did you not hear what I said he has done for us and the rest of our society?! THIS YOUNG-BLOOD HAS DISPLAYED HIMSELF, SHOWN US HIS HONORABLE INTENTIONS, AND WORKED WELL BEYOND WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE TO BE AN HONORABLE MEMBER OF THIS CLAN, YET YOU ALL STILL DENY HIM OF HIS REWARD! YOU DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO THANK HIM! SHAME UPON YOU ALL! SHAME UPON THIS CLAN!" The clan leader bellowed stomping his staff down in anger.
"Clan leader! The Abomination said he would not use any weapons to defeat us, yet look what he has done!" G'rqu-al said as he held up his severed hand.
"I said I wouldn't use any of MY weapons against you. I never said anything about using any of YOUR weapons against you. Besides I barely used them at all so what are you complaining for?!" Jon said as he gave the elder a smart assed smirk.
"Curse you ,Abomination!" G'rqu-al spat angrily.
"The young-blood is correct. All three of you have failed, and he is the victor. He is now an accepted member of our clan as he rightfully should be." The clan leader pronounced.
"I SHALL NOT ALLOW THIS BLASPHEMY!" Va-drmi'c declared as he charged towards Jon with his dagger. Jon quickly managed to catch the elder by the arm and twist it causing the elder to scream in pain as he dropped the weapon. Jon then smacked him in the face with it and shoved him away. Va-drmi'c then tried to plunge his wristblades into Jon, but the clan leader materialized beside the fallen elder and stepped down on Va-drmi'c's hand before he could lift it to take a swing at Jon. "What are you doing ,Ph-rills?"
"For your oppression against this young-blood, who has now been considered an honorable member of the clan, and is rightfully under our society's protection you have just tried to slay another Yautja for no good reason and for that you will be punished ,BAD BLOOD!" The clan leader addressed his elder, before ripping the dagger out of the Yautja's hands. "Here young-blood. You've fought well, you may finish him." The clan leader said tossing him the dagger.
Jon looked down at it and then at the fallen Yautja before looking at the clan leader and spoke, "I made a promise to God that I would not kill any Ooman or Yatja, even if they are a bad blood. Besides he doesn't deserve the honor." Jon said before breaking the blade in two over his knee and threw the pieces to the ground.
Ph-rills looked at Jon and gave a thoughtful growl. The clan leader was astonished by the amount of character this young-blood displayed. His gaze turned to the now bad blood elder Yautja before speaking. "Very well ,Schaefer. Guards! Take this dishonorable to confinement his punishment will be administered in time." Ph-rills ordered. Va-drmi'c roared and cursed Jon furiously as some of the guards took him out of the arena. "Send for someone to clean this mess, and send for the healers as well. G'rqu-al, R'asa-mas, and our guest will need them." The clan leader ordered his remaining guards.
"So, that's it?" Jon asked hopefully look on his face.
"Yes, however..." Ph-rills spoke thoughtfully stroking his lower mandibles.
"What do you mean however?" Jon questioned with a perplexed and mildly concerned look on his face.
"I wish to see a display of your strength myself." Ph-rills answered.
"What does that mean?" Jon asked curiously.
"I wish to contend against you myself," The clan leader began explaining, "I would like to fight you in unarmed combat. I was very intrigued with the display you've just demonstrated, and I still consider you to be an honorable warrior, so this fight will not effect the outcome of my sentence for you. Still I wish to see a presentation for myself." Ph-rills said as he unbuckled the straps that affixed his cape to his back armor. The spectating clan members that watched in astonishment as their clan leader did this and began to whisper to each other as the events continued to unfold.
"Are you serious?" Jon asked with an exhausted and mildly irritated look on his face, as the weapons, and the elders were quickly removed from the scene.
"Yes. May you give me the honor and the sport of demonstrating this strength of yours ,young-blood Schaefer?" Ph-rills requested with a soft smile creasing his mandibles, as he discarded his armor just as Jon had. "I shall make this brawl fair for the both of us unlike my elders." He continued until the clan leader had nothing on but a loin cloth of his own.
Jon huffed an exhausted sigh, looked over at me for a few seconds before facing the clan leader with a straight face. "After this, am I finished?" Jon asked.
"Certainly." The clan leader answered.
Jon huffed a growl in mild irritation before taking a ready stance. I'll be honest I was also a little tired of this too. Jon had won, and their was no point for this to continue to drag on. He was tired, he was weak, he was injured, and he just needed some rest. Yet the clan leader wanted to see a demonstration of Jon's capabilities for himself. At least he would give Jon a fair fight, and he wouldn't renounce his verdict if Jon did lose, so there was that. That and the guards did give me the freedom to watch without being restrained.
After waiting for a few moments Jon spoke. "Well are we gonna do this or whistle Dixie?" He said impatiently. The arena's bell gonged immediately after he said that.
Jon and Ph-rills began to charge, towards each other; I could feel their combined weight slam down on the ground with each stomp they took. Ph-rills engaged first, throwing his foot in a kick. The blow managed to connect, hitting Jon in the face knocking him back a few feet. The clan leader then smacked the younger Predator in the face. The clan leader sent another punch at Jon, but he was able to catch it. Before Jon could do anything to retaliate though, Ph-rills kicked him in the stomach sending flying back wards. Jon landed on the ground a couple of feet away, and held his stomach painfully huffing and puffing as he did so. I saw Jon give an irate look on his face before quickly recovering to take a swing at the clan leader. The clan leader caught the teenagers arm however, and Judo slammed him to the ground. Ph-rills then picked him up and threw him away, causing Jon to hit his face on the wall smearing it with his blood. Jon angrily took another swing groaning as he did so. The clan leader effortlessly dodged the attack. Jon then tried to kick at his clan leader, but the older, more experienced warrior caught his foot and threw him away again.
Jon's fight with the elders had taken away most of his energy and strength, not to mention the injuries he sustained in the fight as well. Although he managed to just beat three heavily armed elder Predators, without using any weapons himself except to defend himself, he was now going up against a clan leader. Clan leaders from what I was told were stronger and just a little more experienced than the elders themselves, therefor they are given leader status over them and the rest of the clan. Jon, while experienced himself, was still young and brash. He was also weak, but because of his youth and impulsive nature he was trying to use his anger as a weapon. That weapon was failing him. One of the reasons why he was able to win against the elders was because of their arrogance and their pride, a flaw that he himself dared not display, but his anger was unkempt. Ph-rills however did not display either of those weaknesses, and was using Jon's audacious attitude against him.
Jon recovered from his collision and waited for the clan leader to get close enough for him to swat at him. Jon tried and failed to backhand the Yautja, who ducked bellow him, before standing back up almost immediately afterward, and threw an uppercut. The blow connected with Jon's chin sending him a few inches of the ground. The clan leader then threw his fist in a hook, but Jon was able to catch it and successfully retaliate with a powerful punch of his own sending the older Yautja back. Jon foolishly tried going on the offensive, but that proved unsuccessful as Ph-rills kicked Jon in the leg. Jon bellowed a painful grunt as he fell to his knees. Jon was then smacked in the face, as Ph-rills recovered. The clan leader then kicked the young-blood sending Jon flying forward several feet. Jon's body rolled around before stopping at the edge of the arena. Ph-rills approached him at a calm pace which disorientated Jon with fear for a brief moment causing him to act defensively. Jon threw his fist at the clan leader groaning as he did so. Ph-rills caught it though and he punched Jon in the face twice before Judo slamming him to the ground again.
"C'mon ,Schaefer you can do better than that. I know you can." Ph-rills said in a partially insulting, partially encouraging manner. Jon stood there gasping for a moment before angrily trying to swat at the clan leader's feet. Ph-rills saw this and stomped down on his foot. Jon gave a pained groan before being picked up and thrown. The crowds cheered as they saw Jon getting beat. Although they couldn't see him punished they at least could see him get smacked around a little more, which brought them some cathartic joy.
As Jon weakly tried to recover, his body was pressed down by his opponent's foot. Jon fought as hard as he could to get back up, but because of how exhausted he was, his clan leader effortlessly held his struggling body down under the weight of his foot. Jon's face was drenched in sweat and blood. His face had bruises and cuts on it that hurt just to look at. He was to tired for this, he needed to stop. I wasn't worried about the clan leader killing him, but I knew Jon would not let up until the fight was finished, so I was more worried he'd kill himself. I could see Jon's mandibles move as if he was saying something. I correctly assumed it was a prayer, which he told me what it was after the fight ended.
"Dear Lord. Please restore my patience. Temper me merciful Heavenly Father. Temper me." He prayed quietly as he forced his arms to fight back against the weight of the clan leader's foot.
"I apologize for this humiliation young Schaefer. You are too weak and wounded to fight, and your anger is disarranged. If you wish to cease this fight I shall allow it. There is no dishonor in it." Ph-rills told him as he mercifully lightened the weight he put on Jon's back and extended his hand down to him. Jon could see his clan leader was showing compassion on him, but he made no move to take it and continued trying with all of his effort to recover. "Do you wish to stop ,Schaefer?" Ph-rills asked after Jon did not respond.
"Sir... Thank-you... but... no thank-you... Sir!" Jon replied graciously to his clan leader before he forcefully pushed back against him, causing Ph-rills to fall over. "Thank-you God... Thank-you." Jon gasped as he recovered as he held his rasping chest.
"You're a brash one, but you are a persistent and a respectful soul ,Schaefer. Very well we may continue." Ph-rills said, before attacking.
I was surprised to see Jon not even attempt to react as Ph-rills began to kick and smack him in the face several times. He didn't move, he didn't do anything but let the clan leader beat him. Normally he'd briefly do something like this to allow his anger to build up, which allowed him to fight more effectively and with more force, but such was not the case this time. He was using this beating to help quell his rage. He needed focus, not strength. I didn't realize that as I saw him get absolutely curb stomped by his leader. After managing to pin Jon up against the wall of the arena, Ph-rills spoke again.
"This is enough ,young-blood. You've demonstrated you're unwilling resolve to quit, and that is enough, you need not continue this any longer." He told Jon as he held him by the throat and pinned him up against the wall.
Jon then gave a soft smile to Ph-rills before kicking him away with both of his feet before he began gasping for air. "No offense... but... you talk to much... Sir." Jon said with that same confident smile on his face. "This fight... ain't over... till it's over..." Jon continued, as he rasped for air.
The clan leader looked at Jon with an understanding, and mildly disgruntled look. He didn't want to continue harming him. This was only meant to be a test, but Jon wasn't backing down either way. The world around me as I continued to watch the fight in awe.
Jon allowed his clan leader to attack again, but this time he did something unexpected. Jon threw himself to the ground just as Ph-rills swung his fist at him. The elder Yautja's hand connected with the stone wall of the arena instead. The clan leader gave a pained grunt as he felt his knuckle shatter upon impact. This provided Jon with a distraction he needed to make his move. Jon got back up and swung his fists at his clan leader, managing to hit him in the face a few time. Ph-rills quickly recover from this assault and retaliated by blocking one of his punches and punched him in the face as well, sending Jon staggering backward a few feet, before he fell on one of his knees. Ph-rills went to take another swing, but Jon managed to catch the clan leader's arm and twist it around his back.
"Sorry." Jon apologized respectfully to his clan leader with that same confident smile, as he continued to twist.
Ph-rills then retaliated by slamming the back of his head into Jon's face, before sweeping Jon's feet with his leg causing Jon to leg go and fall. The elder Yautja continued by kicking Jon in the stomach which sent the smaller Yautja flying back. Jon gasped a few times, as he struggled to get back to his feet.
"I do not wish to kill you ,Schaefer. You are to weak right now, let us call this off until you are stronger. Please ,young Schaefer." Ph-rills told Jon, as he continued his push.
"You wanted to test me. I'm just trying not to disappoint you, Sir." Jon said with that smile still wrapped around his face, which continued to stay on him throughout the rest of the fight. "Besides I just wanna get this sht over with. I don't wanna do this again." Jon told his clan leader.
"Then we may stop if you wish. This does not need to continue." Ph-rills told him.
"I'm Sorry ,Ph-rills, but you know just as well as I do that that's not how it works. I'm not gonna stop." Jon told him.
Ph-rills made an irate growl before he he continued. "Very well Schaefer. I shall not hesitate for your sake anymore. If this is what you desire I shall not stop until it is over."
Ph-rills went to grab Jon, but right as he was about to reach for him, Jon threw his hand at Ph-rills face. While they'd talked Jon had grabbed some sand from the arena's floor and had thrown it in the clan leader's eyes. This caused Ph-rills to roar, and recoil backwards as the sand blinded him. This disorientated Ph-rills long enough for Jon to barrage the clan leader with a series of punches and smacks. Once Ph-rills was able to get his sight back, he tried to retaliate by smacking the Yautja, but Jon was able to catch his arm and twist it around again. Jon then kicked the back of his leg causing him to fall to his knees. The crowds roared in protest as they saw Jon's genius retaliation.
"I didn't want this clan leader," Jon began, respectfully addressing Ph-rills as his clan leader, "This is what you wanted. I'm just giving you fair sport. Remember?" Jon asked Ph-rills.
Ph-rills then raised one of his knees and pushed back with it slamming his body into Jon's, which allowed him to escape the younger Predator's grip. "Thank-you for your sportsmanship ,young Schaefer." Ph-rills said to Jon with a short smile as he got back up.
"Same." Jon replied as he got back up rubbing some blood that was dripping off of his chin with his arm. The two wasted no time continuing their scuffle, which consisted of them punching, smacking, and occasionally throwing each other. Their fight carried on like this until it's end. By that point the both of them were to exhausted to do anything except throw a few weak punches. Finally the both of them managed to punch each other in the face, causing both of their worn out bodies to collapse to the ground. This part arrested the clan's, attention most ,which it also did for me, as we saw these two mighty warriors struggle just to get up.
Finally after a few exhausting moments of watching their sweaty spent bodies lying on the ground to rest after their ordeal, Ph-rills spoke. "Are you conceding... young Schaefer?" Ph-rills heaved.
"No... No... I'm not throwing in the towel." Jon replied. "What about you... You crying uncle?" Jon panted a weak laugh.
"No." Ph-rills responded.
Jon then pushed himself back up before slouch on the near by wall. "Why don't we just... stop it right here...?" Jon said to Ph-rills.
"Do you finally agree to stop... Schaefer?" The clan leader asked him.
"Look at us... does it really look like we can... continue?" Jon asked.
"I can not disagree with you... Schaefer." Ph-rills responded.
"Yeah... Here." Jon said offering his hand to his clan leader to help him up, which Ph-rills took graciously. "Call this one... a draw?" Jon asked, as he pulled his clan leader to his feet.
"Yes... I can agree to that... Schaefer."
"Thanks... By the way thanks for the fight... It's been a while... since I've had one like that." Jon told Ph-rills.
"Thank-you for you gracious sport... young Schaefer... It has been a long time... since I've had a challenge... as worthy and persistent as you are."
"Like I said... I try not to disappoint..." Jon chuckled. Ph-rills gave a hearty chuckle himself, as the two continued to make small talk. "Mind if I see my girlfriend?" Jon requested.
"Let the Ooman out." Ph-rills granted before the barred obstacle that separated us finally lifted. I came out from under the barrier as it lifted, and ecstatically embrace my Fire Angel in a warm hug. I gave a relieved sigh as I did so before telling Jon, "Please don't ever scare me like that again. Please."
"I can't make any promises, but I'll try... I love you ,Pyode Tareihsan." Jon said to me as he tightened his hold on my body.
"I love you too, my Fire Angel." I replied affectionately.
"Your Ooman has a special attraction to you, young Schaefer. I can see why you adore her as you do." Ph-rills said.
"Yeah... So are we finally done yet, can we stop being harassed?" Jon asked, pointing up at the ground of disappointed spectators.
"Certainly." Ph-rills said as he moved to the center of the arena. Before he could get a word out though, we all felt a violent vibration rock the arena. Jon held me tightly in his arms as the shaking continued, before abruptly stopping shortly after. At first I thought it was an earth quake, but judging by how sudden and violent it was, and how fearfully the Yautja above us reacted, it was something else.
"What's going on?" I asked as Jon and I approached the clan leader who was just as baffled as we were.
"I do not know." Ph-rills replied. We received our answer shortly afterwards when one of Ph-rills' soldiers came in. Even with his mask on, you could tell he was scared. "What has happened?!" Ph-rills asked the soldier.
"They've returned ,Ph-rills! They've destroyed our harvest, and have begun invading! We do not know how they... they just came out of nowhere!" The soldier sputtered fearfully.
"Who?! Who are they?!" Ph-rills asked with concern and authority in his voice.
"It is the Drukathi! They have returned and have begun invading!" The soldier spoke, I could see Ph-rills' eyes and mandibles flare wide with fear as he heard the soldier speak, and immediately left with him to address the catastrophic emergency.
"Drukathi?" I exhaled after I heard the soldier say. "What are they?" I asked Jon, Jon had the exact same expression on his face, and it was haunting to see.
"Not good! We need to go!" He replied to my question, as he grabbed me by the hand and ran in the same direction Ph-rills had gone.
"What do you mean not good?! What's going on?! What are Drukathi?!" I asked him as we continued running.
"Not what are they, who are they, and they are very very bad news!" Jon explained to worried to give a proper explanation. "We need to leave now!" He told me. His fearful gaze frightened me enough to see just how serious he was, and I complied with a worried nod, before jumping on his back to ride him. Little did we know however, that it was to late to do that.