Welcome to The Pit

Jazz wanted to step right back out of the warehouse called The Pit; the moment they entered. He felt Amanda falter with the same idea but Chris kept her moving. He placed a hand on her lower back leading her in. Jazz didn't like the place. As they entered the shouts of bets could be heard near the board. He didn't need her eyes to see it. Names were written and paired across the boards; all of which seemed to be all call names. He did not like this. He had worked undercover for the Enforcers before the war and this whole thing smelt like a con.

Amanda tugged her duffle bag closer as Chris lead her through the crowd. She kept her head up with an annoyed look across her face and people stepped out of their way. She was fighting back a roll of nausea at she caught sight of the ring. The image of the woman from her last fight ripped through her mind. Blond hair matted red with her own blood, the wheezing of her wet cough and the sick sound of something in her spine fracturing.

Shaking her head she stepped a bit closer to Chris as they entered a room that was guarded on either side by a very tall broad shouldered man in a tailored suit. Amanda observed her surroundings with a nervous look. Something was wrong. This clearly wasn't a locker room or even a wait room but it looked like an office. The walls were done in a dark hard wood with images of people that looked happy. There was a few chairs in front of a large desk they all sunk into the white carpet and another man matching the other two near the wall of windows. She assumed those window overlooked the ring. It was an office but also a VIP box.

"Mr. LeDoux?" Chris said somewhat carefully. "This is the fighter I was telling you about."

Amanda twisted her head to look at Chris. He seemed nervous and skittish but what bothered her was he had been talking about her. She went to voice her question when a man spoke up.

"The one you called Pit Viper?" His voice was deep and even as he turned around in the black leather desk chair to look at them.

Amanda resisted the urge she got from Jazz to back out of the room. The man was very handsome and well put together. He was graying in the hair and beard but still had a youthful look to his sharp green eyes. The man leaned forward and put on a pair of glasses before standing. She felt Chris straighten next to her as Mr. LeDoux came around the desk.

"Don't do anything stupid." Chris hissed low as he stepped back and Amanda gave him a confused look.

Mr. LeDoux took ahold of Amanda's and pulled it up feeling the muscle before mumbling something about her. He paced around her touching her on different muscles having her twist one way than another. Amanda was fighting her instinct to punch the man for touching her like that. When he finally stepped back towards his seat she grumbled low. "I feel like I'm being sold." The man shot her a look as if he had heard her.

:Careful kid.: Jazz warned low but he had to agree with her it felt like the man was looking to buy her.

"We'll see how she does before I decide." Mr. LeDoux said sitting back down to turn the chair back around so he was looking out the window again. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you Mr. LeDoux." Chris answered and took a hold of Amanda's wrist leading her out of the room. They only made it half way down the steps when she jerked her hand away.

"What the hell was that?" She barked and Chris looked up at her with a grin. He had lost the nervous almost scared twitching he had been doing in the office.

"Sorry, babe. I didn't think he would actually handle you but that was Mr. James LeDoux. He runs the operation."

"Oh." Amanda said as they started back down.

:Amanda this doesn't feel right. Maybe we should call it a night an just go home.:

"So you magically have the money to go to Tranquility and to pay off my debts?" She snarled pulling her bag higher on her shoulder. Glancing around at the crowd she was suddenly glad she left Glyph at home. If he had gotten out here it would have been trouble. That is when she took notice of the man in jeans and a green t-shirt clearing watching her from behind his dark sunglasses.

:Ya called Sam and left a message. So we don't need to go and ya can find another way to make money. Somethin is wrong here.:

"You think I don't know that!" She was trying to remember if she had seen the man before but nothing was coming to mind. This was all too much on her mind before a fight. "We'll talk about this later. I have to focus."

"You can change in here." Chris said interrupting the next thing Jazz was going to argue about.

"Thanks. Who am I fighting tonight?" Amanda asked stepping around him.

"Her name is Bloody Mary." He turned to leave and paused. "Oh and don't wear your gloves. Either go bare knuckles or wrap them. And good luck."

She stared at the closed door and sighed. "Yeah I think I'm going to need it." Amanda grumbled turning to go down the hall.

When she reached what she assumed to be the changing room Amanda started to change but paused to look at the other fighters warming up. She recognized some boxing but the other moves they were practicing were several different forms of martial arts. A buzz of anger went through her. She wasn't stepping into a boxing ring but a mixed martial arts cage.

After the initial shock Amanda changed and went out to find Chris. She exited the door and moment slater ran in to someone. It was like a low electric surge was sent through her system and she clenched the spot over her heart. Her skin pricked from the electricity and when the pain subsided she looked up to see the man in the green shirt and sunglasses. He was looking down at her. Getting her feet under her she felt Jazz suddenly buzz with curiosity. The man just stood there.

"Excuse me." She said and went to step around him but he stepped in her path. Amanda grunted and tried again only to have the man do the same thing. She tried this two more times and just before she yelled at him he smiled.

"Have you seen my brother?" He asked. Amanda blinked at the strange brunette. "He's about this high." The man bent at the knees and held his hand at the height of a little over a foot tall. "With pale blue optics."

"Look buddy I'm busy and you shouldn't bring a kid here." She barked pushing by him. Amanda was about two strides away when she realized what the man said. "Jazz?"

:He said optics: Jazz said surprised as much as she was.

Amanda whirled around to find the man gone. She scanned the crowd. Her thoughts on the little bot back at her home. "Have you seen him before?"

There as a long pause before he answered. :Yeah, yesterday outside the library.:

"He wants Glyph. I have to get home." She said forgetting her anger and heading to get her duffle. She shot into the changing room and the other fighters looked up at her almost surprised. Grabbing her duffle she turned only to come face to face with two of the guards from the office or at least guards that looked like them.

"Pit Viper."

"What?" She asked looking between the too.

"You are the first fight tonight." One declared and grabbed her arm tightly.

"Hey." She shouted dropping her duffle trying to twist away. She went to throw a punch with her free arm but the other one took a hold of it and they lifted her from the ground.

"Let go of me!" She snapped. "I have to go!" Her legs kicked back and forth. She was tall but these two were even bigger than her leaving her with no way to put up a fight. She started cursing as they carried her to the ring. Depositing her just outside of it Chris was running up to her.

"Where the hell were you? You almost missed your match." He snapped almost trying to push her into the ring.

"I can't stay I have to go. Glyph is in danger." She barked back pushing against him in a jumbled mess.

"Who's Glyph?"

Amanda stopped and looked at Chris wide eyed. "No one." She mumbled.

"Then no one is in danger but me now get in there." There was as shift in his tone that bothered Jazz.

"What?" She growled and snagged his arm stopping the struggle dead. "How are you in danger?"

"Look Mr. LeDoux made a very sizeable donation to get you in here and if you don't perform to standard it's my neck on the line." He looked at her; eyes frightened. She could feel the trembling under her fingers. Amanda stared at him and she could only see her old friend scared for his life.

"Alright." She nodded. "Alright, alright, alright I'll do it." She let him go and got into the ring. "Go get my duffle so I can leave right after."

:What about Glyph?:

"He didn't seem to know where Glyph was or his name." She said rotating her shoulders. "I think he was testing to see how I reacted and if I ran straight home he would have followed me. The match won't take too long." She scanned the crowd looking for the man. A feeling of dread filled her as the spectators started to get louder. Amanda turned to see a woman in the opposite corner. The woman was a scary sort of pale. Her eyes were hollow and rimmed red. Thin dry lips curled up cracking. Blood seeped from the cracks and she licked her lips grinning showing off her bloody teeth.

:I hope ya are right.:

Amanda swallowed and sighed hoping to clear her head. "You and me both, Jazz. You and me both."

A/N: Crap! Sorry guys I was hoping to keep with the schedule but I had such problems writing this that Amanda has gone through a ton of everyday problem; like Amanda and the Adventure of the Missing Sock! Spoiler alert Glyph took it. I was trying to figure out how to write this and my nieces wanted a story. Killed two birds with one stone. Hum wonder if that is actually possible? Any ways Thanks guys for reading and reviewing! Oh forgot to mention it last time but HOLY CRAP! We broke 100 reviews!

Thanks to the following reviewers:

ShiftFrame

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