Hey, and welcome to yet another chapter of Monster Colosseum. Sorry for the delay, just so much has been going on, final essay to complete, and exams coming up, so…yeah…I own all my OCs, but Calida's monologues are from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", which is brilliant by the way. We hope you enjoy, please remember to enjoy and finally…thanks for reading!
The thousand injuries of Edan and Nestor I had borne as best I could, but when that little emo creep ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.
At Bundt's Ice Cream Parlour, Zatch, her friends and the Gladiators she had recently met-Rob, Faye, Dora, Anteros, Red and Luna-were sitting and talking about recent developments.
"So, do these attacks occur often?" Zatch asked the Gladiators.
Red shrugged in response "More often than you'd think."
"Yeah, it's enough to make you wonder if the stupid Colosseum Security Force is really doing anything." Rob muttered.
"Colosseum Security Force?" Dwier questioned.
"Yes, the CSF. They're like the Gladiator version of police, I would think that to be obvious from the name." Dora replied.
Temar was about to shoot back in Dwier's defence, when Nestor spoke up.
"Hey, has this ever had waitresses?" Nestor asked, a confused look on his face.
"What? No." Damon replied.
"Well, it looks like it does now." Nestor pointed out.
They all turned to see a young redheaded woman clearing tables. She seemed familiar somehow, but none of them were sure how they knew her.
"She's new." Glare stated.
"Well, obviously, but who is she?" Damon asked.
"Uh, getting a little off topic here guys." Zatch spoke up.
"Oh, garçon?" Nestor called out.
The woman bristled, before walking over to them.
"First off, garçon means boy, second, make a Pulp Fiction joke and I will kill you," The woman threatened, noticing Nestor open his mouth to speak "And third, you idiots have been sitting there for half an hour without ordering anything!"
The table flinched at her aggression.
"So…who are you?" Nestor asked.
The woman sighed "I'm Calida, Bundt's…daughter."
The others now realised why she seemed so familiar.
"Wait, Bundt has a daughter?" A surprised Dwier asked.
"Two actually." Calida muttered.
"Well, ok then. Now garçon, how about you bring us thirteen sodas?" Nestor asked.
Luna rolled her eyes, Dora brought her hand to her forehead and Temar just sighed. Calida meanwhile, twitched.
"Call me that again and I will end you." Calida whispered in a threatening tone.
Nestor chuckled "Oh please, you can't kill me!"
Calida's grabbed Nestor by the collar with one hand, while the other went to her belt and grabbed a metal cylinder. She raised it to Nestor's throat and pressed a button. Instantly, green fire in the shape of a blade shot out from the cylinder and came dangerously close to Nestor's unprotected neck and his skin began to turn red as the heat from the swords pulsed outwards.
"Watch me." Calida hissed.
"Calida! Put that worm down!" Bundt called out from over the counter.
Calida glanced at her father, then at Nestor, before sighing and releasing him.
"And turn your Candlestick off, you want to burn this place down?-!"
Calida grumbled as she deactivated her weapon and walked off.
Nestor gasped as he collapsed back onto his seat "That was close."
"So…don't provoke the waitress?" Anteros asked after a pause.
"Agreed." Damon, Red and Rob said at once.
"Idiots." Faye muttered.
"Hey, where's Edan?" Dwier asked, looking around.
"Oh, he said something about buying a deck of cards." Zatch replied.
"Ah, Cody stuff then?" Dwier questioned.
"Cody stuff." Glare stated grimly.
At that point, Edan burst into the shop and ran over to the group.
"Hey guys, sorry we took so long, Cody couldn't decide what kind of deck he wanted, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck or the Crowley-Harris Thoth deck." Edan explained as he pulled out a card containing Cody's terrified visage "Right Cody?"
"…I have no idea what any of that was." Luna muttered.
"Hey, who's that?" Edan asked, noticing Calida.
"The new waitress, she's Bundt's daughter." Temar replied.
"Bundt has a daughter?" A surprised Edan asked.
"Two apparently." Dwier said with a shrug.
"Hey, let's make her get us stuff! Hey, garçon!" Edan called out as his friends could only look on in horror.
You, who know so well the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat…especially not when defenestration works so much better.
Calida looked up at Edan, rage burning bright in her eyes.
"Get me a-"was all Edan had time to say before he was sent flying across the room and through the shop's window.
"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!" Calida shouted as she ignited not one, but two of her Candlesticks.
"Leaving!" Zatch called out as she and the others ran out of the building as fast as possible.
At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settled, but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk…when did my thoughts become so eloquent?
"So, what now?" Zatch asked as Edan picked himself up off of the ground.
"Well, we could always go back to my house and plan for our Colosseum matches there." Faye suggested.
Zatch shrugged "Might as well, we have nothing better to do…thanks to Edan."
As the group walked off, Calida glowered at them, before turning to retrieve something hidden in the storage room.
I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make herself felt as such to they who have done the wrong…alright, that's it, no more Edgar Allen Poe for me.
"And here we are." Faye announced as the door to her house swung over.
"…Wow." Zatch breathed in astonishment as she and the others saw what was within.
Repo! The Genetic Opera stuff, just…so much Repo! stuff. Posters, props, even a Repo Man costume suspended in a glass case in the corner.
"Good God!" Red gasped as he and Luna stared in shock.
Beside them, Anteros whistled in appreciation as Dora stood in the doorway, stunned.
"What the hell…?" Dwier breathed.
"Like it?" Faye asked, turning to face the group. To their great surprise, she was smiling, something she rarely did.
"Well, it's certainly…different…" Zatch replied after a pause.
"I like it!" Edan exclaimed.
"Yeah well, you don't get an opinion! You're aroused by buttons and talk to a card, opinions for you have long been revoked!" Temar snapped.
Edan whimpered and raised Cody, as if to block his face.
"So, I thought we could plan ahead for any future matches by studying the Manual. We can study and memorise the Monsters and take notes on their strengths and weaknesses." At that Faye pulled out a large black book and laid it on a table cluttered with surgical instruments.
Rob shared a glance with Zatch, who nodded "Well, that sounds…fun, but we could always try something else."
Faye stared up at him "Like what?"
Rob faltered "Well, maybe…Uh-"
He was cut off when a figure leapt through the window, performed a somersault on the ground, before kneeling and pulling out two familiar weapons. The figure herself was clad entirely in what looked like a superhero outfit, red with an orange stripe running down it, a visor covering her face and having a belt with two empty holsters.
"Prepare to face the wrath of-!" The woman snarled.
"Hey, aren't you that girl from the ice cream parlour?" Dwier asked, confused.
"No! I am-!" Calida started, only to be cut off again.
"Yeah you are, I recognise your scent." Luna interjected, causing the others to stare at her "…I'm a werewolf! We have very sensitive senses of smell!"
"Wrong peons! I am Buccellato the Deceptive! You shall taste my wrath!" Calida shouted.
The others stared at her in silence before Nestor spoke up "The hell kind of name is "Buccellato"?"
Calida snarled "It's a kind of cake Sicilian's give to their godchildren! Ok?"
"…That's a stupid name." Edan muttered.
"Enough! For your insults, you must die!" And at that, Calida activated her Candlesticks and charged towards Nestor and Edan.
Luna and Red suddenly leapt in front of the pair, using their respective blades to block each Candlestick. Red used his bladed gauntlet to block the left, while Luna used her bone knife to keep the right bay.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Red yelped as he struggled to hold off Calida.
"What are you complaining about? The flame's aren't even touching you!" Edan questioned in a highly annoying tone of voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you not aware that fire is HOT?-!" Luna snapped as sweat ran down her brow "Why don't you try to hold off a God damn psychopath wielding flaming pieces of metal?-!"
Edan promptly whimpered and shrunk behind Zatch.
"Oh you freaks are dead too! I was going to leave you alone, but now-Eep!" Calida raged, until Anteros pulled out his bow, drew the string back and created an arrow made of solid light.
"Yeah, check out the dude with the bow!" Anteros bragged as he struggled to hold the arrow steady.
"Huh, I guess you're not totally useless after all." Luna muttered.
Anteros shrugged "Well, I try."
"Hands up psycho." Luna snapped to Calida, who hesitantly dropped her weapons.
"So, what do we do with her?" Zatch asked.
"Tie her up and call the police I guess." Red replied.
"Uh, I can't let the police see me, I have some...shall we say, issues with them?" Anteros said hesitantly.
Dora groaned in frustration "What did you do?" Anteros leaned over and whispered in her ear, causing Dora's eyes to widen "You-! Urgh! Why do I work with you?-!"
"Because I'm cute?" Anteros teased.
In response, Dora gave him a withering glare.
"Well, we can always go to my house." Rob suggested.
Zatch shrugged "Might as well."
Faye glanced at Calida "You're gonna pay for my window."
And so, after tying up Calida, they headed off to Rob's house.
Once they were gone however, Calida chuckled "Idiots, ropes can't hold me!...Wow, that was a lame thing to say...and why am I talking to myself? Nevermind." And at that, she seemed to contort, her skin partially melting until she was able to effortlessly slip out of the ropes "And now for more revenge!"
"...So, you guys are werewolves, huh?" Edan asked Red and Luna conversationally.
"Yep."
"Mmmm hmmm."
"So...do you really do that whole imprinti-?" Edan began, but was promptly cut off when Luna held a blade to his throat.
"Ask me if we imprint or whatever sick shit Meyer said werewolves do and I will cut you! I swear to God!" Luna spat, glaring at Edan with such intensity that it was a wonder he didn't spontaneously combust.
"Y-y-yes m-ma'am..." Edan stammered.
"Good!" Luna scowled, her voice seeming to drip venom.
"...Wow." Zatch muttered after the outburst.
Red shrugged "Yeah, well being portrayed as somewhat poorly characterised, abusive, paedophiles by some pathetic hack of a writer hasn't really made Luna any nicer."
"Clearly." Temar said flatly.
"Ah, home sweet home!" Rob announced, hoping to diffuse the situation.
"...That's your house?" Dora asked incredulously.
"Yep!" Rob confirmed.
"Bullshit." Glare said simply.
"No, really, it's my house!" Rob protested.
"It's the God damned Disney Castle!" Luna exclaimed.
"Yep, and it's where I live! Neat, huh?" Rob asked.
"I give up, there is no logic in the world." Dora murmured, throwing her arms up into the air.
"Says the girl whose mother is a cyborg." Anteros pointed out cheerfully.
While they were all quite confused by that, they decided that it would just be better to not go into it.
"So, wanna see it from the inside?" Rob asked.
"Are we going to regret it?" Temar asked.
"Probably! But come on!" Rob called out as he entered his...house.
"Is anyone else seriously going to enter that...thing?" Dwier questioned.
"Sure, it could be cool. I mean, it's a castle, how many of you have ever actually been in a castle?" Zatch asked.
Dora, Anteros, Red, Temar, Nestor and Luna all raised their hands.
"Huh. Well, let's go in anyway!" Zatch exclaimed, before running into the castle.
"...Oh, God damn it." Dwier muttered as he reluctantly followed her.
"I want a raise for this." Dora told Anteros as they too followed Rob.
"Good Satan..." Damon gasped as he walked into the house...castle...whatever.
"Wow!" Zatch exclaimed.
As if the outside wasn't Disney enough, the interior seemed even more like a Walt Disney's imagination. Posters, models, toys, mannequins, all sorts of Disney related paraphernalia.
"This is pretty freaky..." Nestor muttered.
"I've been here about fifty times and this still weirds me out." Faye added.
"You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and of sound, but of mind. A journey into the whimsical fantasy land of one Disney fan boy, limited only by Walt Disney's creativeness. That's the signpost up ahead, you're next stop: The Disney Zone!" Red narrated in his best attempt at Rod Serling.
"Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do." Anteros chimed in.
Zatch glared at them "I like it, it's kinda cute."
"And by cute, you mean sickening, right?" Luna asked.
"You people have no inner children." Zatch chided.
Everyone else aside from Rob proceeded to roll their eyes.
Suddenly, the front...gate slammed open. They all swung around to see what had caused it and were shocked to see Calida standing there, her weapons raised...some more.
"Oh, you freaks are so dead!" Calida snarled.
"What the hell?-! I thought we tied her up!" Dwier cried in shock.
"We did! I'm sure we did!" Zatch exclaimed.
Calida smirked "Oh, you did, but I had a way of getting out. You see, I'm...different from most people. I have these, shall we say, gifts. Allow me to demonstrate."
And at that, Calida closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The others stared at her, confused as to what she meant, until her skin seemed to partially melt, sliding down her face, contorting her features.
"What's going on?" A nauseated Glare asked.
Finally, Calida's skin settled, but now she was unrecognisable. Her face had completely changed, she now appeared to be several years older.
"What the hell...?" Zatch questioned, stunned.
"You see, I don't have skin, no, no. Instead, I was born with a cake batter covering! It not only allows me to change my form, but giver me superhuman stretchiness!" Calida explained as she went back to her normal form.
There was silence.
"Uh, this sounds kinda weird, even for us." Zatch said.
"Yeah, even I find this strange..." Edan added.
"I mean, Jeez, "super stretchiness"? That's just asking for a bunch of perverted jokes." Red muttered, somewhat uncomfortable.
Anteros meanwhile was rolling around on the floor undergoing fits of hysterical laughter.
Calida frowned "Shut up! Don't mock me!"
"Uh, well, it's kinda hard not to, I mean, "cake batter in place of skin"...yeah..." Dwier trailed off "It's kinda...yeah."
"I will burn you all for your insolence!" Calida raged, setting her candlesticks to dangerously high levels.
Zatch shrugged "Do whatever, it's not gonna make us take you anymore seriously, or give you any actual dignity."
Calida screamed "Oh God damn it! You've taken all of the fun out of this! I had respect where I was from! People feared me!"
"Sure they did." Nestor told her in a condescending tone.
"Oh screw you all! I'm going home!" Calida snapped, before turning around and storming off.
"That girl has some serious issues." Glare said, shaking his head.
"Well, that was close, good thing we only had to visit two houses." Dwier muttered.
"Ha, yeah, I bet we would have gone to Red's house next!" Anteros joked.
"And I bet it would have had a really lame theme, like ponies!" Nestor joined in.
"Or Care Bears!" Anteros added.
"Or dolls!"
Red chuckled nervously as he slowly tucked a Care Bear charm bracelet into his sleeve.
Calida slammed the doors of her father's shop open, grumbling to herself. They would pay, she assured herself, of how they would pay! Their pain would last until-! Calida stopped mid rant, having noticed a card on one of the tables. Curious, she picked it up and noticed that it was a Tarot card.
"Number sixteen, the Tower..." Calida read aloud "What the-?"
She frowned, before turning the card over. Her brow furrowed when she noticed writing on it.
I can sense your pain, your aggression, and I understand it.
If you want to join others who share your feelings, come to the Boyce Thompson Institute, Yonkers, at 1:45 AM on...
And below was the date of the meeting.
Calida was puzzled, yet intrigued. She grinned as she realised that revenge might not be out of her reach just yet.
T'end. So, yeah, that was Chapter four. Next chapter will focus more on Gladiator matches, I promise, I'm so sorry that this one didn't. So, until next time, we hope you enjoyed, please remember to review, and finally...thanks for reading!