Well hello and welcome to the second ever instalment of Monster Colosseum! As usual...I own all the OCs that appear in this story, yay me! Just so you're aware, the prequel to this story, Eternal Torment, has been posted, also in the misc. Mythology section because of references to Baal. It details the main characters here, but it's very different as it's a serious horror story with a lot of gore. Anyway, with that stuff out of the way, we hope you enjoy the following, please remember to leave a review and finally...thanks for reading!
The sound of steel striking steel rang out in the Colosseum as all watched, totally entranced by the fight. The two combatants, Kumo the Tsuchigumo and Leo the Chimera were engaged in a fast paced battle, Kumo's tachi being swung repeatedly, only to be blocked by Leo's spatha at every turn.
"Wow, are all Colosseum battles like this?" Dwier asked Faye, Rob's partner.
"Yep." Was all the Goth said in response.
"This is so awesome!" Nestor exclaimed as Kumo jumped to avoid a low sweep from Leo's blade.
"Leo! Manoeuvre number forty-two!" Rob yelled.
"Right!" Leo replied, making a leaping strike at Kumo, who blocked, only for Leo's serpentine tail to nip at Kumo's leg.
"Insolent vermin!" Kumo hissed, raising one of his extra appendages to pin the snake to the ground.
The snake however, began to writhe around furiously, before managing to sink its fang's into Kumo's unprotected foot. Kumo made an exclamation of shock before Leo managed to get behind him and slashed at his back.
"Ha! Excellent Leo!" Rob shouted encouragement.
"What do I do?" Zatch asked Kumo, beginning to grow worried.
"You are my master so control me!" Kumo snapped as he struggled to regain his balance.
"Um...can you shoot webs or something?" Zatch asked uncertainly.
"Observe!" And at that, Kumo sprayed a thick web from his mouth, using it to trap Leo's tail.
"Break it out, quickly!" Rob shouted in alarm.
Leo attempted to make a shallow slash with his spatha, only for it to bounce off harmlessly.
Kumo laughed in response "Ha, fool! My webs are ten times stronger than steel! You cannot simply cut through it!"
Leo growled before he rushed at Kumo, sword poised to strike. Kumo however leapt to the side and prepared to make a retaliatory blow. Before the tachi could connect however, Kumo found that it had been parried by a double sided axe.
"Wha-?" Kumo gasped in shock.
Clutching the axe was what appeared to be the upper half of goat which seemed to be growing out of Leo's spine. Aside from having human like hands with black fingernails, it didn't seem to be as anthromorhpic as Leo. It chuckled as it held of Kumo's attack, before swiping the blade aside.
"Haha! Not so fast bug boy!" The goat taunted.
"What trickery is this?-!" Kumo questioned.
Leo turned and grinned maliciously "This is my other half, Pan. I would not be complete without him, as he prevents attackers from flanking me!"
"Damn straight I do! You'd be nowhere without me and don't you forget it!" Pan reminded his "brother".
Leo scowled "Of course, his ego does remains something of a problem!"
"You're one to talk, mister "King of the Beasts"! You are so full of yourself!" Pan said with a frown.
"Why you little-Yipe!" Leo squealed as he twisted back to avoid a slash from Kumo's tachi.
"I grow tired of your bickering worms!" Kumo snarled as he raised his tachi in a threatening gesture.
Leo growled at Pan "Now look what you did! You distracted me!"
Pan rolled his eyes in response "Oh well, excuuuuse me! Next time someone creeps up behind you, don't come crawling to me!"
"I am waiting!" Kumo snapped.
Leo sighed "Oh, very well! En guarde!"
And at that, the two resumed their fighting. Now however, Pan was there and at every opportunity, he made sure to take a swipe at Kumo. It was clear that the fight was in Leo's favour and it appeared that Kumo was tiring merely from his efforts to dodge and block his opponents blows.
"Damn it! What am I supposed to do?" Zatch whispered to herself.
Rob, noticing Zatch's distress, smirked "Now Leo! Finish him off!"
Leo nodded "May I demonstrate my Attribute Forme first?"
Rob balked "I would have thought that you wouldn't need it to defeat this weakling!"
"Well, I don't, I just want to show off!" Leo replied as he effortlessly parried one of Kumo's blows.
Rob rolled his eyes "Oh, very well! Just don't let it get to your head!"
Leo grinned as Rob twisted his ear stud again. This time however, Leo was enveloped in a bright gold light and the temperature in the Colosseum seemed to increase.
"What's going on?" A stunned Zatch asked.
"What is going on?" Temar questioned.
Faye turned to her "Leo is entering his Attribute Forme, where he gains enhanced strength by becoming one with his natural element."
"And what is his natural element?" Glare asked, leaning forward.
Faye allowed herself the slightest of smirks "Fire."
The light in the arena dimmed and now Leo's appearance had changed. His mane had become roaring flames which flicked about around his head. His fur had become a shining golden and his spatha was wreathed in flames. His tail had burned away the webbing and the snake now appeared to be made of coals. Finally, Pan was now jet black, his horns were aflame and all three heads were exhaling fire.
"So much power!" Kumo gasped.
"And it shall spell...your defeat!" Leo exclaimed, before leaping forward and slashing at Kumo.
Kumo shouted in shock and raised his tachi in an attempt at defence. He was quickly overpowered however and Leo slashed into his torso.
"I...lose?" Kumo asked weakly as he collapsed onto his knees, before he fell onto his side.
"No!" Zatch cried out in horror, running over to her fallen monster's side.
"Oh relax, he's not dead! He'll recover fine as long as you put him back in his amulet!" Rob reassured Zatch.
"How...how do I do that?" Zatch asked, unsure.
"Just twist the ruby counter clockwise and he'll return." Rob answered as he demonstrated with his ear stud, recalling Chimera Leo to his amulet.
"Right..." Zatch muttered as she did as instructed.
With a flash of bright crimson light, Kumo returned to his amulet with a quiet exhale. The battle now over, the Colosseum disappeared in another flash of bright light and they all found themselves back on the street.
"That was so intense!" Zatch exclaimed.
Rob chuckled "Yeah, but that's just the start of it. Come on Blondie, we gotta get you registered!"
Zatch stared at him blankly "Registered?"
Rob turned to his partner "Faye?"
"It's nothing too complicated, all new Gladiators just need to be taken to the Hub where they get their get their amulet and name registered. In short, you'll be an official Gladiator." Faye explained with a bored look on her face.
"But who says I want to be a Gladiator?" Zatch questioned.
"Yeah, that looked pretty scary." Edan pointed out "Right Cody?"
...
"Cody agrees."
Rob gave Edan a questioning look, before turning back to Zatch "Admit it Blondie, you felt a rush when you were fighting, didn't you? Adrenaline pumping through your veins as our monsters fought?"
Zatch paused, replaying the battle over in her mind "Well...yeah, I guess."
Rob smiled at her "Then it's settled! Come on, let's get to the Hub so we can get you registered!"
"Where's the Hub exactly?" Dwier asked.
"Oh, not far, in fact there are several entrances. I'm sure there's one not too far from here." Rob replied as he looked around.
Faye cleared her throat and pointed towards a nearby park which contained a fountain of the Greek Gods. Rob brightened as he saw it and strode over to it. Shrugging, Zatch and her friends followed him.
"Ah, thank you Faye! Now, let's see...ah, Poseidon's trident, of course." And with that, Rob pulled the central prong of Poseidon's trident and the fountain seemed to sink into the ground. Edan let out a shriek of fright.
"It's an elevator you idiot." Faye assured him in an exasperated tone of voice.
"Oh...I totally knew that! It was...uh, Cody! Yeah, Cody got scared is all!" Edan replied defensively.
Zatch, Nestor and Glare laughed quietly. Edan glared at them, but before he could berate them the elevator came to a stop and the group found themselves in what was almost a sprawling metropolis underground.
"And here we are! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Hub!" Rob exclaimed, raising his arms in a grand gesture.
"Show off." Temar muttered.
"You have no idea." Faye whispered back, surprising Temar.
"Come on, I'll take you to be registered," Rob to0ld Zatch, grabbing her by the arm and leading her off "Faye, why don't you take the...guests on a tour or something?"
Faye opened her mouth to protest, but Rob and Zatch had already run off into the crowd of Gladiators and out of sight.
"So...any souvenir shops around here?" Edan asked.
Faye groaned and massaged her temples.
As it turned out, registering was indeed simple, all Zatch had to do was get her photo taken and fill out a single form.
"I didn't really expect it to be so easy." Zatch told Rob once it was over.
"Well, it used to be much longer, with Gladiators having to fill out two dozen piles of paperwork, but then someone eventually just said "Fuck it", burned down the old registration office and installed the new system." Rob explained.
"Ah...ok then." Zatch replied, mildly confused but doubting that she would receive an answer that she would understand.
"Well, now that that's out of the way we might as well meet some of out fellow Gladiators. Follow me." At that, Rob began weaving through the crowds with Zatch close behind him until they reached a circular building with numerous seats, a buffet and a large TV in the back. Within it were at least a dozen other Gladiators, either sitting or chatting with another.
"This is different." Zatch mused.
Rob shrugged "Yeah, this is a lounge, Gladiators mostly hang out here between Colosseum battles, talk, eat, read, whatever."
"I guess I'll see what they have to eat then." Zatch said as she looked over at the buffet, where seven other Gladiators where standing around talking.
"If you want, I'll be over there, I think I see someone know." Rob replied before he wandered off.
"Hi." Zatch greeted as she walked over the buffet table.
The group turned quiet and Zatch suddenly became very self conscious. Five of the seven were dressed in matching dark blue combat suits, whereas the other two were dressed somewhat more casually, at least compared to the others. They seemed to regard her coldly until...
"Hey there, I'm Red." The tallest among them greeted with a warm smile.
He was one of the five in the combat suits. He had steel blue hair, four red claw mark tattoos, two under each eye paw like gloves. Over one of them however was a strip of metal with two claws and a lapis lazuli set into it.
"I'm Zatch." Zatch replied.
"I don't think I've seen you before, are you new?" Red asked.
Zatch nodded in response.
"I thought so. Here, let me introduce you to everyone. There's Luna, Romulus, Selene and Matt over there." Red pointed out.
"Why do you all wear those outfits?" Zatch asked, before quickly adding "If that's not a rude question."
"See, we're all part of a Squad of Gladiators, we stick together. They call us the Wolf Pack." Red answered, motioning to his fellows.
"Well, not us, we just like to hang out with them." A blond young man with an elaborately designed bow strapped to his back piped up, walking over to Red and Zatch "Bonjour, I'm Anteros." At that he made a flourishing gesture and kissed Zatch's hand.
"Hi." Zatch greeted, a bemused expression on her face.
"And this is Dora." Anteros added, pointing to a young, bespectacled brunette woman who was standing beside him.
"Mmm." Dora replied, nodding slightly.
"Nice to meet you all." Zatch said warmly.
The other members of the Wolf Pack and Dora seemed to study Zatch closely, before returning to their business.
"Don't mind them, Dora's always a little shy and those furries over there are a little mistrustful of strangers." Anteros assured her.
"I am not shy!" Dora exclaimed.
"And we are not furries!" Matt scowled, glaring at Anteros.
"Yeesh, touchy!" Anteros muttered, but winked at Zatch.
"He's always trying to get under their skin, he's a jokester you see." Red explained.
"Well I try." Anteros said with a smile.
"Ha, I wish my friends were here, they'd love to meet you guys." Zatch replied.
"And I'm sure we'd love to meet them." Red said, grinning at Zatch.
"So, how long you been here newbie?" Anteros asked.
"Well, I just got here, I only had my first Colosseum battle this morning." Zatch answered.
"She is new then." Red muttered to Anteros.
"Practically a baby!" Anteros teased.
"Hey! I am not!" Zatch exclaimed, lightly punching Anteros on the arm.
"Haha! I like her already!" Anteros joked.
Dora rolled her eyes behind her glasses.
"Uh oh, here comes trouble." Selene muttered, her eyes settling on a figure who had just strode into the building.
He was wearing a shirt with some obscure anime figure on it, was decked out in all sorts of conspicuous jewellery and had a katana strapped to his back.
"Why? Who is he?" Zatch asked.
"That," Luna replied, not taking her cold blue eyes off the new person "Is George. He's a total fucking weeaboo."
"Weeaboo?" Zatch asked uncertainly.
"One of those geeks who obsess over anime and the Japanese culture without actually doing any real research." Dora clarified with a frown of disapproval.
"He's also a complete idiot, he challenges everyone, even veterans to fights, and he always loses." Matt added.
"Well, he did until recently, now he's started targeting newbies." Anteros murmured.
They all turned to stare at Zatch.
"Oh no." Red groaned, covering his eyes.
George's eyes darted about the room, before settling on Zatch.
"You! Newb! I hereby challenge you to Colosseum! Should you refuse, then you shall forfeit your honour and be rendered shamed!" George announced, pointing at Zatch.
"Um...what do I do?" Zatch asked Red.
Red shrugged "Well, the best course of action would probably be to just walk away...but then he'd never leave you alone. If you beat him now then he should run off and stay away...of course, it's up to you. Do whatever you think is right."
Zatch paused to consider it, weighing the pros and cons in her head. Finally, she turned to George.
"I accept."
Yeah, yeah, another cliff hanger, I know, I am so lazy! Next chapter deals with, as should be obvious, Zatch's fight with George, so there's that to look forward to. Hopefully it'll be up soon. Anyway, with that out of the way, once again, I hope you enjoyed, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading!