Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! I kept getting distracted while writing. Glad there was a positive response to the last chapter. I was worried it might've been too much, you know since it was so gruesome. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Ooh and I hear new episodes will return in September! That's exciting isn't it? :) I'm veeery happy now. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.
Chapter Sixteen: The Tournament
Remy returned to her quarters after bidding Artemis a rushed farewell after the first test, promising that they would talk in private later that night. With all of the members of the League of Shadows lurking, Remy knew it would be stupid to try and talk to Artemis out there in the open.
Cheshire was seated at her table, chopsticks in hand as she dug into some sizzling beef.
"You have takeout here?" Remy raised her eyebrows.
"Authentic," Cheshire corrected, reaching behind her to grab another plate of food. She slid it onto the table and gestured for Remy to sit down.
Remy held up her right hand, blood still slowly trickling down onto her arm. "Got anything to patch this up?"
Cheshire laughed blackly, standing up. "That's going to hinder you for the next test, I hope you realize that."
"Yeah well, good luck to Artemis," Remy sneered, "she's not going to be eating for a while."
"True," Cheshire agreed, opening a cabinet. She pulled out a black bag and tossed it to Remy before returning to her seat.
Remy unzipped the bag and took out the rolls of gauze and medical tape, sitting down across from Cheshire as she bandaged her fingers.
Cheshire stared at her as she did so, thoroughly annoying Remy. "Don't you want to know what the next test is?"
Remy glanced up, taping off her bandaged fingers. "Isn't that cheating?"
"Let's just call it leveling the playing field," Cheshire said, "but you can bet that Sportsmaster will be doing the exact same thing."
Remy sighed irritably, digging into her plate of food. "Fine, what is it?"
"I'm surprised you haven't overheard anything about it yet," Cheshire said. "The Tournament usually gets everyone all riled up." Cheshire paused to sip something out of her glass. "The Tournament is the second test. It serves two purposes. If you succeed in winning your seven rounds of fighting, then it proves you're combat skills are up to snuff."
"It also ferrets out weaker members of the Shadows," Cheshire explained. "It is possible for any member to be put up for evaluation, even myself if I perform poorly on my missions."
"Does everyone fight?" Remy asked, curious as to whether she would have to fight Sportsmaster or maybe even Cheshire.
"No, just the members that are up for… evaluation," Cheshire explained. "You fight to the death, and the weaker members will fall." She paused to look down her nose at Remy. "Just so we're clear, you cannot fail."
Remy nodded, taking a sip out of her own cup. Wheatgrass juice? She wondered at Cheshire's choice. She had expected whiskey… or bleach or something.
"Alright," Remy said. "So I kill everyone in a ten foot radius. Piece of cake."
"You will be allowed to choose a single weapon," Cheshire added. "Have you trained with katanas or a bow and arrow like Artemis? Anything at all?"
"I've used a bow-staff," Remy shrugged, not too concerned with this fact. "I can handle it."
Cheshire narrowed her eyes. "Fine, then let's begin training."
Remy almost spit out her wheatgrass juice mid-sip. "Training?"
Cheshire stood, her arms folded. "Yes, training. I told you that I would teach you."
"Shouldn't we wait until after the test tomorrow?"
"Not unless you want to die," Cheshire smirked, putting her plate up onto the countertop. "Now, come. We'll begin with some tai chi to focus your mind." Remy stared at her, her lips pursed. "You have done tai chi before haven't you?"
"Don't insult me."
The cold mountain air did nothing to phase Remy as she made her way to the outdoor arena the next morning. She was sore in all the wrong places, thanks to Cheshire's 'training' session. Remy had only two words to describe Cheshire after said training: Complete. Hell.
Remy had always prided herself on the fact that she was a hard-worker. She trained hard today, so that tomorrow when it really counted she would have the stamina and the skills to be able to execute.
But, man, Cheshire had ripped her a new one.
"Hey. Remy!" The sound of Artemis' voice greeted her from behind and soon the blonde archer was beside her.
"Sportsmaster Junior," Remy nodded in acknowledgement.
Artemis face went carefully blank. "Is that why you wanted to meet last night? And why you wouldn't look at me yesterday?" Remy shrugged. "You never even showed up to last night's meeting."
"Cheshire wanted to train," Remy explained. "There was no time."
"I told you not to trust her," Artemis snapped. "She probably just—"
"So you're denying that Sportsmaster is your father, then?" Remy interrupted.
"Yes!—I mean no! No, I'm not." Artemis sighed. "It's true; I just didn't want you to find out."
Remy laughed blackly. "So it's alright for you to know all of my dirty little secrets, but if I know one of yours—"
"It's not like that," Artemis stepped in front of Remy and put her hands up. "I swear. It's just… I've got family issues."
Remy studied her face for a moment. Artemis looked desperate, somewhat scared. This was an odd look for the normally cocky blonde. "I don't like to be kept in the dark."
"And I told you that I would tell you everything once we completed the membership rites," Artemis snapped. "Can we please just stick to that? You finding out about my father is…unexpected. We need to stay focused for today."
Remy nodded as the girls arrived at the outdoor arena where the tournament would take place, deciding she could let this go. Artemis was right after all, they needed to be focused for today. "A tournament fought to the death. How cliché."
"Tell me about it," Artemis muttered, holding open the gate, allowing Remy to walk through first.
The arena was already crowded with many of the operatives Remy had seen around the camp in the short time she'd been there. Cheshire was standing on the far side, conversing with the assassin known as Black Widow. She glanced over but did not acknowledge Remy with anything other than a curt nod.
"They're not allowed to speak to us before the tournament," Artemis explained. "Not until after we choose our weapons and successfully complete the first round. Sensei and Ra's are the only ones allowed to speak with us."
Remy nodded, studying the crowd closely for people who looked as if they were going to fight. She didn't like the fact that she was going into this blind, with no idea how the members of the Shadows were going to fight.
Sportsmaster was nowhere to be seen as far as Remy could tell, and he did not approach them. She did, however, see Ra's al Ghul conversing with the Sensei not twenty feet in front of them. Sensei saw Artemis and Remy simply standing around and waved them over.
"Artemis, Roulette," Ra's greeted them. "Are you ready to fight for your lives? No matter what?"
Remy's nail-less hand throbbed at his choice of words. She was starting to see a pattern here. And not in a good way.
"Of course," Artemis said and Remy nodded.
"Good," Sensei said, putting a hand onto each one of their shoulders. He turned them to face a tall skinny hut made of bamboo, probably no bigger than Remy's kitchen and lifted his hand off of Remy's shoulder to point at it. "You will find an array of weapons in that room. Choose one and then return. We will settle the crowd and then begin the tournament.
The two girls shared a glance and started walking, listening as Ra's calmed the crowd and herded them into some sort of seating arrangement.
Remy was first through the door, followed closely by Artemis. She couldn't help the appreciative whistle that left her mouth as she took in the array of weaponry. There were no modern weapons such as guns; however there were swords, axes, nun chucks, and maces, anything imaginable.
Impressive, Remy allowed, picking up a bow staff. She twirled it in her hands, getting a feel for it as Artemis picked up a long sword. She placed it back, before settling on a pair of katanas.
"What? No bow and arrow?" Remy asked condescension in her tone.
"Useless in close quarters." Artemis paused for a moment, before turning to Remy.
"Yes?" Remy raised her eyebrows.
Artemis swallowed. "Listen I—Uh I know that we don't really get along, but I don't want you to die or anything. So, uh, be careful."
Remy's right eye twitched, and she looked around the room feeling oddly uncomfortable. Artemis' words were very strained, but definitely genuine—her body language was proof of that.
"Right," Remy said slowly, unsure of how to proceed in such a sentimental conversation. She wasn't good at touchy-feely things like this and obviously, neither was Artemis. "Uh, same to you."
She abruptly turned on her heel and led the way back to the arena, Artemis in step beside her. When they reached the arena they could see that all of the people who had been littering the grounds nearby were congregated on one side of the arena.
Ra's stood in front of the crowd, gesturing for Remy and Artemis to join him. They took their places next to him and waited for him to address the crowd.
"Today we begin the Tournament," Ra's announced to a few cheers. "It is a time honored tradition and membership rite that ferrets out the weakest of us." He glanced at Remy and Artemis. "You will fight through seven deadly rounds to complete the trial successfully."
He faced the crowd once more. "The Tournament will showcase the physical and mental strength of these pledges. We shall see if they can withstand round after round of fighting against some of the greatest warriors in the world."
Ra's paused to clear his throat. "A weapon has been chosen by each. By Artemis, a pair of katanas. Silent and deadly. And by Roulette, a wooden bow staff. A defensive, yet useful choice."
He turned to face Remy and Artemis. "Are you ready to begin?" The girls nodded. "Then from this point on, the Tournament is in session. There will be no outside interference." To them only he said. "Artemis will begin. You may take a few moments to prepare yourself, Roulette."
That being said both he and Artemis walked towards the center of the arena, leaving Remy by herself. Sensei took Ra's spot on the field and the older man took a seat with the rest of the congregation. She walked over to her designated seat, away from the crowd and reached down into her bag, pulling out some gauze and her hand wraps.
As she pulled off the bandages from the night before and started the task of putting new ones on, she watched a young woman almost a full foot shorter than Artemis approach her, wielding a pair of nun chucks.
"The first round will be fought between Artemis and Midnight," Sensei called out. "Fighters, prepare." Artemis crouched back into her fighting stance and so did the girl called midnight. "Begin."
Sensei moved out of the way and Artemis immediately lunged for the smaller woman, swinging her katanas in a quick succession. Remy watched as the woman dodged Artemis' attacks over and over, never attacking. Midnight attempted to swing her nun chucks at Artemis once she saw an opening, but it was to no avail.
Artemis proceeded to slice the nun chuks in half before lunging forward and kicking the woman's feet out from under her. Before Midnight could react, Artemis lopped off her head, her katanas slicing through skin and bone almost inaudibly.
Remy stifled the urge to gag as she tightened her hand wraps. She noticed Artemis had a strange look on her face, almost as if she was surprised at how easy it had been to decapitate the other woman.
"Artemis is the clear winner," Sensei announced to the cheering crowd. "You may take your seat and prepare for the next round."
Remy moved from the bench, allowing Artemis and the now approaching Sportsmaster to take her spot. Remy joined Sensei in the middle of the arena as her opponent strode out from the crowd.
Holy shit. Remy let out a low whistle, gripping her bow staff tighter.
Remy blanched as she watched the man—no, not a man, a beast practically—join them. The man had to be at least six and half feet tall if not seven feet tall. He gripped a large axe in his hand and grunted as he took in her Remy's comparatively small appearance. The man was so muscular that Remy was afraid they were going to burst out of his skin at any moment.
Remy sent a glare heavenward, silently asking what she did to deserve this.
"Roulette will face Tank first round," Sensei called.
Of course his name is Tank. He is a tank.
"Fighters prepare."
Remy fell back into a defensive posture, holding her bow staff firmly in both of her hands. Tank swung his axe in his hand, grunting.
"Begin."
As soon as Sensei had removed himself from the arena, Tank charged at Remy, swinging his axe violently, already trying to chop her in half.
Remy ducked to avoid the axe kicked at Tank's feet, attempting to get him off balance. It did little to faze him, and Remy's foot hurt slightly after the attempt. He swung the axe at her once more and Remy put her bow staff up to block the attack.
There was a resounding snap as her staff was broken into two sharp ended pieces. Growling she dropped them and started to formulate a plan. She jumped up into the air as Tank attempted to slice her completely in half and she used the opportunity to grab the axe.
Remy gripped the handle above Tank and twisted her body backwards, intending to lock his arms out.
"Stupid girl," Tank chuckled, throwing Remy and the axe to the ground with little effort. He raised his foot and stomped it down in the vicinity or Remy's ribs. She rolled to avoid the impact and attempted to lift the axe.
She groaned, unable to lift it more than six inches off the ground. Remy dropped it and instead charged straight at Tank. She fired off numerous jabs at his neck and arms, trying to find his pressure points.
It made no difference on Tank, who was covered with blistering amounts of muscle. He easily caught Remy mid punch and wrapped his hand around her neck. Remy choked as her air supply was cut off and her feet dangled from the ground.
She started to see black around the edges when she swung her legs out, her foot making impact with Tank's face. He dropped Remy to the ground, grabbing at his bleeding mouth in pain. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Remy charged at him, leaping up onto his back.
Quickly, she used two fingers to poke his eyes and used her other hand to break his nose. She hopped off, and managed to correctly sweep his legs out from under him, before jumping full force down onto his ribs.
The sickening sound of his ribs cracking was drowned out by his howl of pain.
For good measure, Remy kicked his face in, rendering him basically useless. A cocky smile graced her features as she sauntered over to grab one of her sharp ended bow staff pieces. Twirling it on her wrist she plunged it straight down on top of Tank, piercing his heart and effectively ending him.
Breathing heavily, she pried her hands from the now bloody stick and stared at the steady stream of blood flowing from Tank's chest.
"Roulette is the clear winner," Sensei announced, suddenly beside Remy, startling her. "You may take your seat."
Three rounds in, Remy was seriously starting to regret her participation in these fights. As Artemis breezed through Midnight, a comparatively scrawny man called Slink, and another woman called Bones, Remy was matched with increasingly more difficult fights. Tank had been the first, followed swiftly by a woman named Shadow—whom had managed to dislocate Remy's shoulder—and she had just finished off the man known as Rock—yet another completely appropriate alias for the man.
As she made her way back to the bench, Remy noted Cheshire heatedly arguing with Sportsmaster and Sensei. Artemis stood to the side her arms folded and a scowl on her face.
"—completely ridiculous," Cheshire was saying as Remy sidled up next to the woman. "Tank and Shadow were not up for evaluation. Their names should not have been in the running for the Tournament."
"Calm yourself Jade," Sensei warned.
"Yes, do calm yourself Jade," Sportsmaster sneered.
Cheshire sighed, folding her arms. "Lawrence, don't make me kill you in front of all these people. It's not the way I want things to end."
Sportsmaster threw his head back and laughed loudly. "As if you could."
As Jade took a step forward, Sensei stepped in between them. "Jade, the opponents are picked randomly each year from the members up for elimin—excuse me, evaluation—and you know that."
"Randomly picked by Sportsmaster," Jade said irritably. Remy looked up at this statement, wondering if this was true and if Sportsmaster had tried to set her up. "Artemis has breezed through the weakest of us with little or no effort. Roulette has—"
"I cannot help it if your pupil is incompetent," Sportsmaster grumbled.
"Incompetent!" Remy growled, deciding that she would take his insults no longer. "You stupid son of a bitch—"
"Watch it Remy," Artemis warned stepping forward. "That's my father you're talking about."
"And that's the point!" Remy ground out in frustration, looking to Sensei for help.
Sportsmaster seemed unfazed by Remy's display and turned to his daughter and Sensei. "Bring out the next opponent. I shall return to my seat to observe a real warrior." Sensei and Artemis obliged, heading back to the arena.
Looking pointedly at Remy, Sportsmaster stalked off. Remy fixed the back of his head with a glare before taking a seat on the bench.
Cheshire groaned out loud in frustration, coming to stand in front of Remy.
"This sucks," Remy complained succumbing to her own self-pity. A rare occurrence, indeed.
"Truthfully, you're doing extremely well," Cheshire admitted. "Sportsmaster has obviously rigged the competition against you, but there's no way to fix that. What's done is done."
"My opponents did seem slightly more skilled than Artemis'," Remy rolled her eyes. "There's nothing I can do though, right? Except fight."
"Yes," Cheshire sighed. "You've defeated some fairly good fighters already. If you keep up your form I have confidence that you'll win. Watch your foot work though, it's getting sloppy."
"Right," Remy nodded, watching as Artemis began her fight. "But I refuse to let this go."
"You're my kind of girl, Remy," Cheshire smirked. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve yet."
"The clear winner is Roulette," Sensei announced after the seventh and final round of fighting.
Remy was breathing hard and struggled to right herself after being forced to gouge out her final opponent's eyes in order to get close enough to snap the woman's neck.
I picked the wrong occupation, Remy thought as Sensei dismissed the crowd, announcing that the Tournament had concluded.
She watched as Sensei beckoned Ra's to him and was soon joined by both Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Artemis strode up to Remy, the two of them watching the argument between their 'mentors' unfold.
"That was really something wasn't it?" Artemis commented.
"For me, yes. For you? No."
"Please, I won fair and square," Artemis argued.
"Oh I'm not denying you won the fights," Remy shrugged. "Just that Daddy Sportsmaster, who chooses the opponents for both of us, rigged it in your favor."
"You're so full of yourself," Artemis groaned, starting to walk off.
"With good reason," Remy sneered. "I had to fight twice as hard as you did today, there's no denying that. Too bad we all don't have our big bad daddies to bail us out of death matches. All the members I demolished today could've used one."
Artemis raised her eyebrows at Remy and shook her head, disgusted, before stalking off.
Alone, Remy thought blackly, just the way I like it.