A warm and bright light has awoken me. I sit up and gather my surroundings. Did I really go to another world or was I transported back in time to change history? I'm somewhere in the Roman Empire, judging by all these marble pillars and various citizens wearing togas and a few laurels. I looked at myself again and I was surprised to see I was still wearing my modern day clothing. Orobas and I need to have a talk just in case this is the Roman Empire era.
Speaking of which... I shuffled my pocket and found my pair of scissors that I casually spun around during most of the time I was alive.
"Huh?" I muttered to myself.
On the circle thingy in the middle of my scissors, some strange magic circle was suddenly etched on there. I wonder if that's some sort of seal that holds Orobas inside. I stood up and sunk my scissors back into my pocket. While I really want to complain to Orobas about transporting me here, I really don't want to garner unnecessary attention via shouting at a pair of scissors.
Instead, I decided to look around the area. Being a zombie, I could barely feel the binding of my clothing, so I walked rather casually yet felt smooth. Despite the sunny weather, I barely felt the heat of the sun. Speaking of barely feeling, I might not be a full zombie. I'm assuming that a full zombie would be completely mindless and have no senses (rational and five senses wise). To test out my zombie physiology, I decided to dislocate my ankle to test if I could feel the dislocation. I bent it inward toward my other foot and it surprisingly worked. No pain, but no way to recover it to its normal position as it hung lifelessly. Before I manually moved my lagging foot, I could feel it move again and I returned it to its former position as it locked in place. So my zombie body also has regeneration too.
The crowds of people were to busy with their own business, so I could walk freely without worrying about a possible time distortion. If I'm really in the Roman Empire, I mustn't show my modern day garments or else the latter would happen. I wasn't so sure what to do here because I'm basically a nobody right now in this era or possible world, so I need some money. My discovery of this flexibility popped an idea in my head. I walked to a local citizen.
"Hey mister, do you know where the Gladiators fight?" I asked.
He scanned my body before laughing as if I was brain dead. You could say my brain is dead because I'm a zombie, but I still think my brain might have retained its full function.
"Are you a slave or are you not from here?"
Rude. I sighed and spoke back.
"Can you please answer my question first?" I asked politely with a hint of gruffness. Another laugh but not before telling me the directions.
"There," he pointed at what appears to be the Colosseum, "They have a match tomorrow and I heard that they're hiring corpses, slaves or not," he laughed with some eerie glee.
Judging by his laugh, I'm guessing that the gladiator matches are pretty damn deadly and gory. But good thing I have a zombie physiology and most likely Orobas. Actually, I shouldn't use Orobas or I might change history, literally. I'm guessing I should just fight with pure instinct due to my lack of fighting discipline with the help of my zombie body.
"Can I join the fight?"
"No," the female guard said.
Sigh. Maybe my physical looks gave away the answer.
"How am I suppose to enter?"
"You need an approval from a famed warrior who trained you or..."
She brandished her blade. It was as tall as her upper torso and judging by her stance, years have chiseled her technique to make her a powerful warrior. If slaves were forced to fight, then contenders who wish to enter must prove their strength. I took out my scissors, the only thing I have that's close to a weapon. I was both scared, yet confident. I had no true fighting discipline and copying moves from the random media I watched or played may seem ineffective. Either way, I have a flexible body that I partially adapted to and my instinct. The lady raised a brow, yet still smiled confidently as she made the first move. True to her looks and posture, she was quite agile as she already got close to me before my eyes could blink. My instinct to defend myself quickly woke up as I clashed her blade with my scissors. The scissors were surprisingly strong enough to endure the strike, but her strength pushed me back a bit. I was surprised that I could hold on.
"Good reaction," she complimented before quickly reeling back her blade and lunging it toward me.
A quick sidestep dodged the attack and I found an opening. I grabbed my scissors to go in for the kill, yet the female warrior swung to her right with extreme speed. I quickly bent my back to avoid the blade as if I was in the Matrix. I bent it too far that I heard my spine snap. The guard was surprised by the sound of my back breaking as she froze in surprise. While she was shocked, I threw my foot into her chin, knocking her slightly upward before she landed back on her feet and smiled as if she didn't feel anything. My back recovered quickly and I stood right back up to my normal position. The lady got into her fighting pose again.
"I don't care how you could bend your back that far, but your lack of technique with that strange weapon will mean your downfall," she said.
Hey miss, I'm trying out for a gladiator match, not a fencing class, I thought.
She stayed in her fighting pose. I think she wants me to take the first move. I remembered I was always the person to recklessly rush in and get easily punished in terms of fighting games. I had to charge in cautiously. I ran toward her and I lunged my scissors to her, only to be clashed by her sword. She pushed her sword forward, knocking me back and kicking my stomach. I felt the force of her kick and that same force knocked me back further. I barely felt the pain of that strong kick due to my failing nervous system, yet I still got up albeit ruggedly. She'll pay for that.
When I fully stood up, she was already charging at me like a jousting knight. Her face was calm yet serious. She had her sword over her head, meaning she was planning to do an overhead strike on me. With quick thinking, I held the scissor like how it's suppose to be held with and split the blades apart from each other. As she dropped down her blade toward my head, I quickly gripped her blade with my scissors and out of my surprise, I was holding her blade with moderate effort. Perhaps Orobas blessed me with great strength. I was spineless back at my hometown. I felt my arm getting pushed down as she grit her teeth. Her sword was getting closer to my head, so I had to do something quick. I moved forward with my scissors grinding her blade and tackled her chest with my shoulder as hard as I could. The sturdiness of the chest plate didn't harm my shoulder, yet the force of my tackle was strong enough to push her away. She rooted her feet and sword to the ground to brake the knock back. As she stood up, an elderly and slightly fat man with a mustache and white hair came from behind.
"Hey Toto, who's this fella?" he asked in a fatherly accent.
Toto stood strong and looked behind him.
"Master Shambal, this extremely flexible man wishes to join our training grounds and he has to prove his worth," she replied to the old man.
Gah. So this isn't the gladiator sign up or do I have to train? There were slaves who fought, so wouldn't training be kind of unnecessary? I stood back into a normal standing pose and looked at Shambal.
"Hey mister, if this is the entrance to your training grounds, where is the gladiator sign up?" I asked him.
A jolly laugh was his reply, much to my confusion. He approached me and put an arm around my back.
"Just go to the Colosseum over there and tell em that you're a slave," he pointed to a much bigger entrance with two guards standing by the ends of the portcullis gate. I was actually standing in front of a square building.
"Judging by your clothing, you may be taken in as a slave,"
Look at yourself old man
I can't judge their fashion sense because of my otherworldly attire. He's wearing a similar robe to Toto, though compared to her, he was rather chubby. I think I have bad coordination due to the majority of my time back home involves staying inside. Also, I'm really forgetful and sometimes I forget where I put my Controller after 2 seconds passed.
A few moments later.
After a series of talking, I was finally able to get in the Colosseum. The guards were surprisingly gullible and rather apathetic, as I said I was a slave. Even as I saw most of the slaves wearing the same thing (chains, ragged robes etc.). Sadly, my scissor was taken away because a muscly man with pink hair examined it and took it away because it was a "Metal Vessel". I was about to ask what those were, but I didn't really want to hear a lecture.
Here I am, shadowed by the gates of the entrance to the ring. The doors slowly opened as bright light began to seep through the darkness. Mu, the pink haired muscle man gave me two swords after examining my pair of scissors. You know to be honest, I'm kind of scared and regretful because I think I made a stupid choice. The warrior I might face may have trained his whole life to survive here and I have absolutely no fighting discipline. Now the only weapons I believe will give me an edge is probably my undead body, my instincts, and quick thinking.
I stepped outside as the gates were fully opened, welcomed by the extremely loud cheers of the citizens of these adrenaline-filled Romans. I faced the larger gate in front of me, holding my two blades. I was shaking with fear at first, but as the door was about to open, I gripped the handles of my blade tightly. A giant gorilla 2x larger than me leaped out and landed in front of me. A powerful quake shook the earth and the force of the quake caused me to stumble. My irises shrunk from the fangs of the giant ape. It stared at me menacingly as I stood up.
"Franklin Steinherz, a slave from a distant land will either survive or die to Marxus, the great ape brother of Garda!"
Marxus reeled back his gargantuan fist and threw dropping fist into the ground. I managed to dodge it quickly. He punched a bit too hard, so hard it managed to pierce the earth. I rushed toward the arm he used to dig the earth, only to get walloped by the same arm with a ground breaking uppercut. It would feel like a truck running at me at full speed, but my half-zombie body effectively reduced the pain, so I was able to survive, though I was launched high up into the air.
"That fist has destroyed many challengers in this Colosseum. This looks like the end of our new challenger!" the announcer hounded.
Damn Marxus. Now in the air, I saw the gorilla reel in his fist again, readying a devastating finisher. I hatched an idea while airborne. Utilizing my zombie flexibility and two swords, I used my right hand to turn my sword so I could wield it reverse-hand style. I remembered watching a show about tops battling and saw the directions their blades were facing, so I decided to assimilate their position and see if I can assume their form. As I started to drop, I slowly rotated my body, spinning madly with the blades slicing the air and soon his skin. I'm not a big physics geek, but as I start to spin faster while dropping, it can probably slice off his head when I reach him.
"How is he still alive?!" I heard a citizen call out.
As I got closer to him, I think I may haven't put his intelligence into account as he simply backed away, practically dodging my attack. I landed on my back, harshly, yet I didn't feel my back break as it broke from the poor landing. I tried to get up, but my back hasn't recovered yet. The beast's shadow overcame the light shone around me as I felt his heavy breathing. His eyes, both menacing and bloodthirsty glared at my doomed body. He loomed over me for a few seconds, giving me time to recover my back. Out of fear, I swung my blade at his chest, gashing a moderate cut on his muscly pectorals. His large and dexterous hands swiped at me with horrifying force, pushing me to the wall.
"Ooh! That attack would have shattered all of his bones!" a member of the audience said.
That resulting attack broke all my bones, leaving me immobile for a while. As the ape ran toward me on all fours I struggled to swing my right arm, but to limited effort. It seemed that trying to move certain limbs more helps it recover a bit faster, though just focusing on recovering one limb would mean I should slow all the others. I squinted my eyes to pinpoint a precise shot. I held my sword by its blade and squeezed tight, not feeling it cut my palm as I strengthened my throw. What's strange was I started to calculate some physics formulas in my head when in reality, my older brother in University was a math and physics wiz. If I threw it with enough strength forward, then I'm going to have to wait for him to get closer so that he could feel the full force. Closer. Closer. Now!
I hurled my blade and I was surprised that it flew extremely fast. Shortly, the blade lodged in to his left shoulder and dug in deep. Marxus's left arm was temporarily immobilized. I think I managed to lodge his muscle. He fell down as he lost momentum, but got up shortly with his two legs. My whole body could move again and I left the crater in the wall. The crowd screamed from my display of strength and I heard some people chanting my name. Their cheers invigorated me to keep on fighting. What was strange was that I never really felt fear during the fight. I recalled my times playing Beast Hunting, a game where humans with large weapons hunted larger monsters. I remembered fighting a giant white monkey and I favored a small sword while fighting him to do quick and adept hit-and-runs. Marxus is somewhat similar in terms of weaknesses, but I must commend Marxus's intelligence, for he's not an AI that I simply exploited.
He pulled out the sword from his shoulder, yet his left arm's functionality was lower than his right arm, yet he can still run on all fours. He charged at me once again on all fours and I decided to charge in at him. I've always wanted to try that cool rolling flip. I was too lazy to attend extra curricular gymnastics classes, but I've gotta admit that acrobatics are awesome. I was only a few meters close from Marxus and that was my cue. I sprung high into the air, once again much to my surprise. My body felt weightless as I flipped forward while I rotated my body. The crowd gasped at my display of acrobatics. I was rather sloppy at first, but I managed to land on his back. Marxus felt my landing on his back and he quickly leaned backward, attempting to crush me. I grabbed on to his fur with my left hand and used it as a rope swing. I managed to get my head and the rest of my body out as he slammed his back onto the ground.
"Heh. I'm all right."
I realized I was on my back too and my left arm was crushed underneath his weight. I heard some laughter in the crowd and some gasps, mostly from me not feeling the pain of a crushed arm. I swore I saw that Shambal guy on a balcony with Toto. I think he stared at me with the look of an analyst. Is he wondering how I'm unable to feel pain?
My right hand still held the other sword. As much as I wanted to cut of my left arm, I didn't want them to see me as something even more scary when I recover a cut off limb. Can I do that? Not gonna take a risk.
Marxus got up and I did too. My left arm was hanging lifelessly and I started to try to flex it to recover it quicker. I saw my other blade on the other side of the ring, so I ran for it. The gorilla chased me also. Back at my home planet or time, I was a fast sprinter. Like gymnastics, I took no classes to improve my running. I was proud of my current running. My zombie body's enhanced strength has also strengthened my current speed, allowing me to run faster. I caught up to my sword and picked it up while running. Some crowds were booing at my running and some were surprised I was about to run into a wall. I already knew I was going toward a wall, but I'm no Wile E. Coyote running into a painted tunnel. I quickly turned to the left. Marxus skidded into the wall, briefly delaying him. I skidded on the back of my feet and propelled forward to the tripped gorilla and cut his left arm. His skin was as hard as rocks, shown from the shallow cut on his arm. Maybe my sword was short or I wasn't strong enough. It didn't matter about strength for me, it was about speed and endurance in my fight, but I also wanted to end this quickly.
Like most giant gorillas I've seen in many fictional works, this guy has spent a majority of his time building his upper body. His legs were strong too, but his legs weren't as toned and big as his arms. Maybe I could cripple him. It's time I started Operation: Gorilla Grinder.
Step 1: Finding the way to punish him.
I waited for him to either turn or do a turning sweep, so to make this a bit faster, I taunted that ugly beast.
"Hey ugly, you can break the ground but you can't break me?! You must have shamed your sister you weakling!"
Step 2: Punish with the ape's legs with rooted feet.
He started seeing red and threw a massive sweep with his left arm. I leapt over his head and landed on his back and ran toward his legs. I landed on the ground and his feet were in front of me. I reeled my arms back and with a mighty battle cry, stabbed both of his legs with such force that it managed to pierce through both heel and feet. A mighty roar that caused the crowd to cover their ears was Marxus's reaction to the pain. I too must cover my ears, because I doubt that my ears would also heal.
Step 3: Beat the pulp out of the ape with zombie strength
After the roar, the crowd began to chant my name again. Good thing zombies don't rest or tire. Wait. My brow felt moist. Sweat. Perhaps I have enhanced stamina due to my half-zombieness. Judging by how I was able to pierce his feet, I think my fists might be strong enough to beat him. Because his feet are injured, his mobility is limited and his attacks won't be as quick as they were.
The big ape stood on his two feet while screaming painfully and fell backwards. Bad move punk. This was his last resort. I think he may have been able to analyze my regeneration and plans to suffocate me. Do zombies really need oxygen? Either way, I ran out of his way quickly and managed to run away far enough to avoid the quake from his body striking the ground. He couldn't stand up as his legs gave out. I saw his open right arm, so I jumped into the air and dropped on his arm with my elbow. My zombie strength was strong enough to injure his right arm, leaving his feeble left arm the only defense he has. I quickly ran to his head. Due to his crippled state, he seemed to have a look that begged for mercy.
"Kill!Kill!Kill!" the crowd chanted.
I'm a zombie you know, but I still have my humanity. Marxus had enough so instead, I put a foot on his chin and crossed my arms. The crowd went silent.
"He put up a good match! He is worthy to live another day!" I bumped my fist high.
No response. A small clap was heard shortly and it came from a little girl. The clap spread to to her neighbors and soon the whole crowd screamed with praise.
"Franklin! Franklin! Franklin!"
The adoration. The glory. I've felt something like this, but it wasn't true glory because it was a video game. I'm usually such a lazy person who's hopelessly dense, but in battle, I'm something different; the foil to my laid-back side.
A/N: First chapter of my Magi FF.
Spoiler Alert for Anime fans.
This fight was inspired by Alibaba's fight with Garda. I really loved that fight and maybe in like five months, that episode will come. Franklin being a zombie was inspired by another great manga, Sankarea. It's a manga about a sane zombie girl and I wondered what would happen if I took elements of this manga and put it with the Magi universe.
I hope you enjoyed the Fic. Please R&R. Magi and it's characters belong to the awesome author, Shinobu Ohtaka.