OoO( 22 )OoO

Lyle and Whisper had returned to the warriors chamber at the request of the announcer. They both lie in beds of straw, resting their weary limbs from the numbness of battle. The other warriors did the same, for in only an hours time, they would all be fighting each other. The large man Anaconda was nowhere to be found, as was the Headmaster.

After their hour was up, all the heros and warriors alike were called to the doorway of the Arena. They all stood for a moment before the Headmaster arrived and began to speak to them. "Okay, here's the deal. You all start in opposite sides of the battleground, and when the battle starts you will proceed to attack. There are no rules, except make it a good show. If, for any reason you feel you cannot continue your battle, then return to this chamber. But, if you step foot inside here before the match is over, you will immediately be disqualified. You may not re-enter the battle afterwards and will win no prize money. As for the winner of the battle, they will recieve one hundred thousand gold and also the seal of the Arena Champion." he said.

Their were murmers of approval at the size of the reward. The headmaster looked at them all and said, "Any questions?"

Lyle stepped forward. "What is the killing policy? Is everybody fair game?" he asked. The headmaster nodded.

"Yes, anyone who steps onto that battle ground will be a potential target. As I said, there are no rules, so you can kill anybody you want any way you want." he said. Lyle nodded, then looked at the bandits that had made it thus far. He smiled.

All the bandits backed up nervously at the venomous smile. "See you on the field." Little did he know that he was being watched from the crowd.

OoOoO

The sun had reached its peak long ago and now started to sink towards the western horizon, leaving a pink sky behind to give what little light it could. The crowd, often called the mob for their lack of pity and love of brutality, quietened down as each of the warriors took their places in the Arena.

One warrior stared across the Arena grounds, scanning his opponents; until his eyes lay upon the tall white haired warrior directly across from him. Smiling, he pushed his sweaty bangs back with one hand, not taking his eyes off the warrior. "I have finally found you Sabre." he said quietly to himself. He took his two weapons and watched as the fading sunlight reflected off their surface.

Meanwhile, Lyle had his bow out and already had two arrows pierced through his wristband for easy access, and one on its string. He flexed the taut line to make sure it was sturdy for the start of the battle. It would have been nearly impossible to pull back for any normal warrior, but he pulled until the arrows head touched the flexible wood.

Whisper had prepared for the battle before coming out to the Arena. She didn't take any chances when it came to a death match. She looked around the battleground, mentally marking all the locations of the traps so that she didn't make the mistake of backing into one. Then, she noticed the woman from before. She had changed out of her light forest colored armor and now wore black loose pants and a black top that showed her stomach. To Whisper, she resembled a gypsy. But, she had no protective armor aside from the breastplate that covered her top; and from the looks of it, no weapon either.

Suddenly, the announcer began to shout over the crowd again, making the loud cheering stop. "This is what we've all been waiting for! Now, we have the best twenty fighters in all of Albion facing each other in a match to the death!" he shouted. He started naming off the different fighters slowly, allowing the crowd to cheer loudly for their favorites. The loudest cheers came for Lyle, Whisper, and another warrior called Halbinger. But, when the next warriors name was called, Lyle looked up. "And our next hero is the final participant rooting from the Phoenix Guild! We introduce the famous, Merik Bladewing!" The man was about three years older than Lyle and had short black hair. Across the bridge of his nose was a slash from a battle long forgotten. But his finest attribute were his two swords. Both had hilts of golden color with an odd shaped pommel at the bottom. Their blades, though shorter than a longsword, glittered as if they had never been used before.

Lyle looked up and noticed the hero staring back at him with a menacing smile. Lyle frowned. "Oh great, another hero wanting to kill me." he said to himself.

"The match will began at the third ring of the bell!" shouted the announcer. High up on a tower placed between Lyle's and the gypsy-like womans gates; stood a lone man holding a war sized hammer. Raising the instrument, he slammed its hardwood head against the metal surface of the giant bell, making a loud gong across the grounds.

Dong!

The mob held their breath as the bell was struck a second time.

Dong!

All the fighters now had their primary weapons handy for the battle. Time seemed to slow down as the hammer glided towards the bell a third time and struck its bronze-like surface.

Dong!

The instant the bell bellowed out a third time, it was drowned out by the roars of the mob. All the fighters charged at an opponent that they had their eye on before the battle started. Now, a bloody war waged in the battlegrounds of the Arena.

Lyle had instantly gone for the bandits he had seen earlier. Some of them hadn't shown up, obviously terrified at what Lyle had in mind for them. He ran with amazing speed, but was quickly intercepted by the warrior known as Merik.

The dark haired warrior stopped in front of Lyle with the same smile as before. Lyle glared at him. "What do you want? I have buisiness with those bandits." he said angrily. The man snorted.

He spoke in an amused tone, his voice making him sound as young as Lyle. "That was all I need to know who you are." he said, then looked Lyle in the eyes with his own piercing silver gaze. "You are Lyle the Sabre...are you not?" he asked curiously.

"Who are you?" asked Lyle.

The man now grinned, as if satisfied with not being answered. "It seems I have the upper hand here. I know all about you, but you seem to know nothing about me." he said. Lyle looked at him darkly.

"If you are not going to tell me who you are, then get out of my way!"

"Or what? You'll force me out of the way?" he asked. This made Lyle snap and the warrior ran forward to grab the stranger. But all he grabbed was air, for the man had vanished. Lyle heard a 'tsk tsk' from behind him and turned to see the man standing there. "Such a temper. It's amazing you managed to beat my father." he said. Lyle's eyes widened.

"Y-You're Twinblade's son?" he asked surprisedly. Merik nodded. "Why are you looking for me then?" he asked.

"You defeated my father and ruined his reputation. And right when I was finished with my training too. Now we will never be able to finish our ultimate plan." he said, his smile melting into a look of disgust. "You will pay for ruining our plans of dominating Albion!" he shouted and launched an attack at the warrior. Lyle dropped his bow and pulled his sword out just in time to block the vertical slash of one of the blades. But the other came horizontally and slashed Lyle across his stomach. If it had not been for his thick armor, the warrior would have been gutted there. It cut through the stomach plate and barely cut the skin.

Lyle quickly pulled out his katana and flourished it as Merik had just done, making the blade swinger jump back at the unexpected attack. Smiling, the warrior stared a moment before commenting his opponent. "Well Sabre, it seems you have learned something from my father." he said.

Lyle smiled back. "Yeah, never to trust a bandit, and that like father like son, you can't win." he said. This must have stung Merik hard, for the warrior attacked visciously with both weapons. Lyle was quick, but blocking the attacks was quickly taking its toll on him because of the speed he was moving.

Merik's baldes were almost invisible as he struck harder and harder with each attack. But, he was so furious that he wasn't watching his feet. Without realizing it, Lyle had stepped over his bow and Merik had caught his foot in the weapon. Looking down, he kicked the bow out of his way, then looked up to see a sword aiming strait for his throat. He ducked backwards and barely dodged the blade. He flipped onto his hands and shoved off the ground, flipping him back onto his feet. But, when he stood, he was weaponless with an arrogant smile.

Lyle stared for a second before noticing the missing swords. "Where did they go?" he asked himself as he looked around. Suddenly, an unusual sound came to his ears. It sounded like whirling metal. His eyes widened and he ducked just in time to keep himself from being beheaded. Both swords, connected at the pommels spun through the air like a whirlwind of death. Merik held out his hand and caught the double bladed sword, still smiling.

"So close. It seems I have underestimated you." he said as he spun the blade in his hand. Spinning it faster, he hurled it again strait at Lyle. It flew like a razor disc towards the warrior and almost severed him in half, but Lyle's reflexes saved him and he bent backwards just out of the blades path. Lyle stood again and ran forward in an attempt to take out Merik before his weapon got back. But, Merik pulled out another sword similar to the others, but longer. He held it up and blocked a swing from Lyle's katana. But, without a second sword, he was prone to the attack by the long sword. It slashed diagonally across his chest, cutting the cloak he was wearing and severing the clasps to his chest armor. It fell to the ground with a loud clang and left the warrior armorless.

Lyle raised his sword again, but banished the thought as his ears were filled with the whirling sound again. Quickly he jumped out of the way and rolled to his feet, watching as the double blade was caught by its owner. Lyle smiled slightly. "You can't keep this up forever Bladewing. The next time your hand leaves that weapon, you are mine!" he shouted.

But Merik mearly smiled. "Lyle Lyle Lyle, when will you learn? There are some people you can beat, and then there are those you can't. My father was a weakling with only his reputation keeping him on top. But me, I studied at the very same place you did. Which means that you can't surprise me with anything." he said.

The corner of Lyle's mouth curled into a smile. "We'll see about that." he said. He thrust the tip of his sword into the earth, making it stand up strait. Then, he began to undo the buckles and clasps on his heavy armor.

Merik eyed him curiously. "And what is this? Trying to make the fight easier for me?" he asked. Lyle said nothing, but continued the process until he was only wearing his undershirt. But, he quickly grabbed the bottom of the cloth and lifted it over his head. Everybody that watched Lyle from the audience noticed the strange tattoo on his chest. It was a black dragon that soared into the sky, its massive expanse hurtling away from the earth. He even got a few cat calls from the women, all of them trying to get him to take more off. But, he mearly held both fists out horizontally at his sides.

Lyle smiled. "Guess what? You can't always rely on others to teach you everything!" he said. "Surprise!" he shouted. His body jerked backward as a giant claw made of the same shadow essense as the summon spell, shot from his chest and raked the ground. Then, it gripped the ground tightly and began to pull the rest of itself out of the warriors body. It pulled out its head and its other arm, revealing a giant shadow dragon. Merik stepped backwards, almost unnerved by the size of the beast.

OoOoO

Whisper was battling several assassins at once. They all came from the same horde that she had annhialated back at Headsmans Hill and wanted nothing less that her head. She spun her spear in the air and slashed at the thin armored attackers, injuring several. One attempted to attack her from behind, but she quickly desposed of him by thrusting her spear butt into his chest, cracking several ribs in the process. Spinning around, she thrust her spear again and it went through an assassin that tried to rush her. She was about to spin around and take out another, but the assassin she had just impaled grabbed it, keeping her from using the weapon temporarily.

Another assassin smiled and ran at the female warrior, but he didn't make it far before he was caught by something. A dozen black snake-like creatures wrapped around his arms and legs, lifting him off the ground and pulling him apart piece by piece.

After kicking the dying assassin from her weapon, Whisper turned and saw the gruesome sight. The man screamed in pain as the tentacles ripped his arms from his body and hurled them into the audience. Though disgusted, she was greatful for the backup. The gypsy woman smiled back at Whisper, holding the handle of a whip in her left hand. "Thought you could use a hand or two." she said. The whip had seven long tails coming from the handle, all made of highly durable cloth. All of the heads waved through the air like snakes coming from their dens.

"How can you do that?" asked Whisper, astonished to see such a weapon.

"You can do anything with will power my friend." she said. Suddenly, the whips reacted and grabbed another assassin by his arm, then hurled him into a spiked wall surrounding the battleground. Whisper nodded.

"I guess so...Look out!" she yelled. Whisper clenched her hand tightly around her spear, then lifted it and hurled it with all her strength. It flew and struck a bandit in the throat, burying the weapon to mid-shaft before it stopped. The bandit dropped and clutched the spear handle, attempting to gasp for air as it escaped her wind pipe. But, she fell over dead in a matter of seconds. One of the gypsy womans whips grabbed the spear and tore it from the body, then tossed it back to the dark skinned girl. Whisper caught it easily and smiled. "By the way, my name is..."

"Whisper. I heard Lyle say your name inside. And the announcer made it pretty clear who you are as well." she said smiling. "My name is Athenatara, you can call me Athena. Lets make aquaintences later, for now lets take care of these...minor threats." she said. Whisper nodded and together, they stood covering each others backs as the bandit group attacked them.

Suddenly, a loud roar got everybodies attention. The crowd, the announcer, and all the warriors were now focused on the giant shadow dragon coming from Lyle. He yelled in pain as it clawed its way from his chest like a hatchling from an egg. Finally, it stood before them all, towering twenty-five feet over everybodies heads. They all stood in shock as Lyle finally spoke again.

"No so confident now, are you?" he asked as Merik started to back up slowly. The warrior didn't have control of his body, but he was now able to control the dragon. It slowly stomped towards Bladewing looking at him with its hollow eyes.

"I-Impossible..." he said.

Suddenly, the dragon attacked. It lunged its head forward and snapped at the warrior. Merik only dodged by a hair, throwing himself bodily out of the way of its attack. Quickly, he grabbed the twin swords and pulled them apart. Facing the dragon again, he prepared to dodge another attack. But this time, the shadow beast shot out a cone of black fire. Merik barely dodged again by jumping to the side, but didn't get away unscathed. His back blistered as the heat nearly melted the skin from his body.

Whisper and Athen both stared in amazement. Then, something caught Whisper's eye. A bandit was sneaking up behind Lyle and was preparing to attack him. She ran forward as fast as her armor would allow, making it to her friend in record time. Stabbing the spear into the ground, she used her momentum and spun on the shaft like a ball and chain, then smashed her armored foot across the bandits face. His jaw, nose, and cheek bones shattered when her foot came in contact with him. He flew ten feet across the grounds and landed directly on a spike trap, impaling him and instantly killing him.

The dragon turned and looked at Whisper, then back at the bandits from which the first had come from. The dark creature glared at them all and spit another jet of fire at them. They were not as trained as Merik was, so they didn't have his amazing reflexes. They all took the hit and instantly discentegrated without even a scream.

Merik took his chance and slammed the pommels of his swords back together, locking them as one again. He rose to his feet and hurled the weapon at the vulnerable form of Lyle. The dragon turned again as the steel whirlwind flew like lightning towards his physical form. A fire jet now could easily take out the weakened Merik, but it would leave him no time to dodge. He had no choice. Quickly, the dragon exploded in a cloud of black dust and Lyle threw himself to the ground just in time for the blades to fly right over him.

"Damn!" shouted Merik as he steadied his sword. The use of the dragon had severely drained Lyle's strength, and he wasn't able to get up to his feet. He knew that if he stayed prone for long, he would not only lose the Arena challenge, but he would also lose his life. He tried, but could barely move his arm. Merik saw this and smiled. "Hehe, it seems that you have used all your battle fuel." said the warrior as he began to approach Lyle. Suddenly, a small object flew through the air like it was in slow motion. Merik watched it until it was five feet in front of him, then realized what it was. It detonated and sent him flying backwards and rolling across the ground.

Lyle looked at his adversary and watched as the man hit the ground like a ballistic fired from a cannon. Then, he gasped as something wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground. Turning him over, Athena smiled as he hung upside down staring at her. Smiling slightly, he said, "Well, good to see you again."

"Indeed. I see you are in a bit of a fix at the moment." she said as the tails of her whip turned Lyle right and cradeled him. She reached out and grabbed one of the potions from his side, the opened the flask it was in. Smiling, she held it up. "Want a drink?" she asked teasingly.

Lyle looked at her curiously. "Yeah, whats it gonna cost?"

"We'll talk about that later." she said, then poured the liquid down his throat. It felt as if he was swallowing ice, as it ran down his throat and into his entire system. Instantly, he felt his energy swell and overflow from his body. Roaring loudly, he fell to the ground clutching his chest where it felt there was a giant ice crystal. Athena's whips let go of him and he stood again. Turning to her, he smiled.

"Thanks, I owe you one." he said. "Now, I have buisiness to take care of." he said and turned back to Merik. The warrior lay on the ground, helpless and breathing heavily. Lyle stopped in front of him and smiled. "So, look at the great son of Twinblade now." he said.

"Hurry up and kill me!" shouted the bandit prince.

Lyle stared at the warrior, then did something that made everybody watching gasp. Grabbing the one potion he had left, he tossed it to Merik. "This one won't end like that." he said.

"I don't want your pity." he said, coughing blood onto the floor.

"Don't think I pity you bandit. I just want you at full power when I kill you." said Lyle coldly. Merik stared at Lyle for a moment before grabbing the potion and guzzling it. He too felt the freezing grip of the healing potion. Then, he was back on his feet again. They stared at each other with smirks, both with swords drawn and ready to kill. They stared for a moment before both fighters ran forward, ready to take the others heart.