The room echoed with hundreds of voices speaking in hushed whispers. The noise covered the heavy footfalls of the deathclaws pacing below, but only just.
When they had been let into the arena moments before, the pair of creatures had immediately overturned the multitude of flaming barrels the sunken area contained, casting their surroundings in darkness. Now, embers glowed across the ground, with the deathclaw's monstrous frames creating pools of empty black above the faint luminescence. The only light beyond these embers was reflected from above in two pairs of eyes, turned up towards the lone figure kneeling on the walkway over them.
This is slightly more grandiose than I expected.
'They wanted a show.'
One of the deathclaws grew tired of waiting and pounced, its monstrous hands reaching up towards the figure.
"Let's not disappoint," the Courier whispered, activating the two stun batons in his hands and dropping off the walkway, the arching electricity of his weapons casting interlinking shadows across his two adversaries below.
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"That light is really, really bright."
"Veronica, can you hear me?"
"Yes, now turn that light off dammit. I'm trying to sleep."
"Ok, it's turning off. We're glad to have you back."
"Back later... sleep now..."
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The Courier rotated as he fell and slipped right through the deathclaw's grasping arms. As soon as his boots touched the ground, Denn shadowed the creature's movement through the air and slapped the two stun batons simultaneously against its leg right before it landed, causing tens of thousands of volts to explode into the flesh beneath. The deathclaw roared as its muscles clenched painfully, turning its nimble descent into a crashing fall as its leg failed to support its weight.
The backhand of the second deathclaw slammed against Denn's side, sending the Courier flying through the air to crash face-first against the wall at the far end of the arena. The creature followed after the unintentional, living projectile, its posture low and to the ground as it methodically stalked its off balance opponent. Rolling back, the Courier reclaimed his footing and as soon as he had done so, charged right at the approaching deathclaw.
The creature swung first, deadly claws spread wide in an attempt to clip its smaller adversary and steal his footing once again, but the Courier turned his charge into a slide and slipped just under the wild blow. Swinging his arm out wide, Denn attempted to hit the deathclaw as he passed, but his strike met only air. As soon as its blow had failed to land, the deathclaw leapt slightly into the air and turned out of the Courier's reach. The movement was awkward, given the creature's bulk, and it landed badly - forced to use both claws to halt its momentum.
Before Denn could pursue the monstrosity, the first deathclaw rejoined the fray, slamming its fist into the prone courier and driving him into the ground. Roaring angrily, the deathclaw grabbed the Courier and brought him towards its gaping maw, allowing the man to jam one of his stun batons past the creature's vicious teeth and into its mouth. The teeth ripped through Denn's flesh, but his weapon set against the deathclaw's lower jaw, forcing it open and pumping its electrical current directly into the creature's skull. Almost instantaneously, the deathclaw's roar turned into a furious yelp, and it dropped to Courier to slap uselessly at its mouth, trying to dislodge the piece of metal and put a stop to the blazing agony lancing through its head.
The Courier rolled as he hit the ground, yanking off a strip of material from the the armor on his forearm, causing the fabric beneath to tighten in a ring around his arm.
Instinctively, Denn dove forward once again, saving his life as the second deathclaw raked through the armor on his back and into the flesh beneath. The blow disrupted the Courier's intended trajectory and sent him tumbling to the ground, his adversary not far behind.
Pulling a small disk from his belt, Denn threw it into the air between him and the deathclaw. The disk exploded with a blinding flash of light and a furious roar of sound. The deathclaw grunted in pain, but continued with its attack, stabbing its claws into the Courier... or where the Courier should have been.
Denn grimaced as he put his back to one of the pillars of the arena - the impact with the concrete sending reminders muffled by the medex pumping through his system of the cuts running up his spine. He glanced around the side of the pillar and watched the second deathclaw swing wildly at the air around it. The creature was likely blinded and deafened by his flashbang grenade - as was most of the crowd above, Denn realized humorlessly.
The deathclaw interrupted Denn's musing as it stopped attacking the air wildly, turned in his direction, and began to sniff the air intently.
"Never lucky," the Courier lamented, taking aim with his remaining baton and sending it flying through the air. The weapon spun as it flew, struck the creature between the eyes handle first, and only served to surprise and annoy the focused creature. The next projectile, a weighted throwing knife slicing through the air before embedding itself into the monstrosity's nose, was not as ineffective.
Another knife followed the first, but the deathclaw lifted its hands before its face defensively and began to stalk towards the source of the spinning weapons. Denn threw one more blade at the creature before charging towards it. The deathclaw - either regaining some of the functions lost to the flashbang or aided by another predatory insight - sensed the Courier's approach and prepared to strike out, but its perception of the world was still too clouded to intercept the adversary flying towards it feetfirst. Denn slammed into the blade protruding from the deathclaw's nose and his momentum combined with the displacement emitters in the soles of his boots embedded the weapon deep into the creature's flesh, the knife cutting through its nasal cavity before erupting out the top of its mouth.
As the Courier rebounded from his attack, the deathclaw turned and sent its tail cutting through the air. The blow landed at the center of Denn's chest and sent him once more flying through the air to crash against the arena wall. The impact caused Denn to cough blood into his re-breather and he tore the apparatus from his face before it became more of a liability.
The second deathclaw was approaching, its strides lengthening as it began to regain its confidence - as well as its senses. The first deathclaw remained incapacitated, but for how much longer, Denn couldn't be sure. He had to even the odds as much as possible. He had to take the first deathclaw out of the fight completely, while he still could.
The second deathclaw growled angrily and charged at the Courier, further reducing his window of opportunity. If he made it past the charging monstrosity, he could kill its kin... or he could run.
He could turn and climb out of the arena - escape this vicious creature that could very well end his life in the next few seconds.
He could just leave.
A knife rushed through the air towards the charging deathclaw, followed by another, and then the Courier himself.
His only path was forward.
The pain was dull as the creature drove two of its claws through his shoulder. The impact of his knife slicing upwards, cleaving the deathclaw's fingers from its body, was slight - the impossibly reflective metal cutting through bone and flesh. The monstrosity's roar was muffled as he cut its thigh open from hip to knee, driving his blade's point deep and ripping it to the side when upper and lower leg met. The deathclaw's teeth sunk into his side, his knife sunk into its jaw, and then he was free.
The Courier charged towards the first deathclaw, leaping atop its prone form and bracing his foot against the top of creature's mouth, preparing to drive the still sparking stun baton deep into its skull.
A desperate cry stopped him cold.
His eyes wide, Denn turned towards the second deathclaw behind him. The creature knelt on the ground, its body propped up by its uninjured arm. It cried out again, its desperate keen piercing through the otherwise silent arena.
Its eyes met the Courier's.
Recordings of the deathclaws native to the Mojave played out in the Courier's mind. Intelligent, dangerous. Hunted as packs. Hunted - killed - indiscriminately.
The deathclaw's cry interrupted Denn's train of thought.
The Courier stared at the kneeling monstrosity and made a choice.
He stepped off the creature below him.
In complete silence, Denn walked towards the kneeling deathclaw. Bleeding, one arm immobile from the claws embedded in his joint, the Courier moved within the creature's reach. He stopped just before its face, his eyes even with the deathclaw's.
The creature snorted. The Courier didn't respond.
The creature shifted its weight. The Courier grabbed one of its horns and yanked its head down, exposing its neck.
The creature froze. The Courier leaned towards it, his face a breath away from the creature's vicious teeth.
The two figures stayed locked as the moments passed. Finally, the deathclaw tore its eyes away from the Courier. Turning its head farther to the side, it bared its neck towards him - submitting.
The Courier released the deathclaw, turned his back to it, and began to walk towards the other creature at the center of the arena. He could almost feel the deathclaw behind him tense, but it made no attempt to follow. Reaching the prone monstrosity, Denn carefully lifted open it's mouth and reached inside, deactivating the stun baton. The deathclaw groaned, and the Courier pulled the weapon from its mouth.
Not bothering to look behind him, Denn made his way towards the metal gates of the bloodstained battlefield.
The audience on the walkways above watched in stunned silence as the Courier exited the arena, leaving two deathclaws defeated - but alive - behind him.
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