Perhaps the most ideal candidate for the destruction of Sjin; Panda, having skillfully scaled the side of one of the tallest buildings in the arena, piercing the clouds, was now descending back down the side, clinging to the cool stone bricks as the wind howled in his eyes, making platforms of leaves disappear and reappear below his feet. It was all very off-putting, but Panda was a fairly skilled climber, and his metal claws allowed him to get a decent grip on the side of the building, wherever grooves and chinks in the bricks appeared. Dealing with plants was a little more tricky, as most of the building had been overgrown with slippery moss, and while sharpened claws proved useful in holding onto solid stone, they tore vines and leaves apart so easily it was as though they were intangible.
Panda was driven to focus on getting down safely by his vendetta against Sjin, as well as the fact that he had acquired perhaps the only means of stopping him by – he knew Sjin had a wooden sword, because Nilesy had been slain with it right in front of him – but now Panda had a gleaming iron sword slung over his back, strapped tightly in its holster.
Ridge heard little clanks of metal scraping stone from his vantage point a little way from the central spawn area, a huge stone structure in the centre of the starting area. Even from so far away, his superior eyesight could see Panda clambering down from the tower, and caught the glint of his weapon in the sunlight. Curious, the demigod flew over there, making himself invisible as he did so, though that only increased the suspicion of those who saw him fly overhead and then evaporate into thin air.
Ridgedog landed on an outcrop of the building, watching the panda-machine hybrid climbing down from the building, the glint of his iron sword instantly attracting his attention, like how a magpie is drawn to all things silver and shiny.
Ridge fluttered down so he was on the same level as the oblivious Panda, still climbing down the bricks. For once, Ridge was wary of the tribute – the demigod knew what a lust for revenge could drive people to; it was what he had been counting on Sjin doing. But Ridge now realized that, at the rate Panda was going, there was a very real chance of Panda slaughtering Sjin before the fun even got started.
"Hybridpanda45 hit the ground too hard."
Panda stopped his descent by quickly finding a decent place for his feet to rest and his hands to grip. He peered into the sky, confused at the announcement.
"Hey, I'm not dead! I'm right here!" he called up the side of the building, though he didn't expect anyone to hear him – he was hundreds of feet in the air and the wind whipped most of his words away anyway.
He was most surprised, then, when he received a response.
"So you are. Better fix that, then." A smooth voice said.
Panda looked around, frightened, tempted to draw his sword – but at what? The voice had come from nowhere in particular, and there was no one around him – he was halfway up a skyscraper. Who could have possibly…?
Ridge materialized mere feet away from him, hovering in midair, tutting disapprovingly but still with that same stupid smile on his face, same hungry glint in his eyes. Panda made to draw his sword, but Ridge suddenly had hold of his wrists, clasping with unmatchable strength, cutting off Panda's circulation in one wrist and nearly crushing the structure of the other. Panda's feet scrabbled and scraped as they struggled to regain a hold on the building, but Ridge yanked him off the side with a terrifyingly brutal force, now holding Panda's neck and his mechanical wrist in his uncaring grasp. The mechanical panda choked and coughed, struggling against the demigod's unbeatable strength. Panda gazed up, his vision blurring as he struggled to draw breath. Ridge sneered at him, his eyes heartless and shiny, his grin growing wider and more wolfish.
Panda's last thought was of sorrow – how he was sorry that he could not avenge Nilesy's slaughter, how he followed him into the afterlife so soon after swearing that justice would be served, and the one who had murdered his friend still walked free, triumphant, no doubt preparing to take the lives of more innocents, with a demonic demigod watching over him.
Panda then realized that that wasn't a game he wanted to play anymore. Death was like a well earned rest, rather than something to be feared. He would be with his poolboy friend soon. And how could that ever be worse than the Games?
Ridge watched, content, as the cyborg panda smacked into the stone floor, his metal appendages and his once valiant iron sword clanging loudly against the mossy stone bricks, accompanied by the cracking of bones and the splitting of scaffolds. He saw the light fade from the panda's eyes as he joined his fallen friends on the Edgeworld. As Ridge clicked his fingers and headed back to the centre spawn area, he muttered to himself.
"No pawn can stand in the way of a king."