I do not own Dragon Quest 11 or any of the characters.
Revenge
Kai narrowed his eyes. He was fat. He was short. And he was old. But despite the cruelty of time, there could be no mistake. Kai's blood boiled at the sight of him. His blood roated in his ears and his irises shone. He was alive. He couldn't be alive. Dundrasil had been wiped from the face of the planet. And yet, it was him. His nose was still flattened, swollen, and red from having been crush in that final duel. He still had his mustach, though grey now, and just the sight of him infuriated Kai beyond all reason. And so, he would die.
He had a mask, a gold and white mask over the upper half of his face with a piece reaching down over his nose, signifying he was one of the fighters in the Masked Martial Arts tournament that had made Octagonia so famous. His companion wore a black and purple butterfly mask, a tall, well-endowed femal with long, black hair in a ponytail. She wore black short shorts, a grey tank top, a mint green, leather top that attached in the back below her shoulder blades, then reached up in the front to a metal ring where it connected to her green choker, a green belt with a matching cloth hanging down on the sides and back to her ankles, green, leather vambraces, fingerless, black gloves with openings in the backs, and green, knee-high, high-heeled boots. Her bangs hung down on the right side of her face, and slung across her back was a glaive. Kai stared at it, fury boiling up in him more and more. He knew that glaive. Because it was her glaive. That bastard had taken it. He'd stolen the only keepsake he had of her. Of his dearest friend. His fiancée.
Kai narrowed his eyes and pushed off the wall. He walked into the arena, walked up to the spectators' stands, and took a seat at the back. And then, he waited. David was first, paired up at random with Octagonia's champion. Well, actually, he'd been paired with that bastard's female companion first. That bitch who had the gall to have her glaive. But that little bastard had intervened and made special arrangements so that he could be paired with her, so David had gotten the champ.
David's match was against a pair of muscle-bound fools, and didn't seem too difficult. Blunted weapons were provided, if the fighter wanted, so they'd beaten them within minutes with David using a sword and the champ, Vince, using Iron Claws. The second match, however, was what he'd been waiting for. It was Erik and someone whose name Kai didn't care to listen to against the little bastard and his companion. But he'd changed his name. Lord Robert of Dundrasil was now calling himself Old Man Rab and his companion was Jade.
Erik put up a hell of a fight, but he was handicapped by his partner being a poor fighter. Robert didn't fight at all, he simply stood there with his black and silver cane, allowing Jade to fight. And she was good, at it. She used almost exclusively kicks, having left the Glaive behind. For a few minutes, she absolutely demolished Erik's partner while fending Erik off. Then, Erik, confused about why Robert wasn't fighting, allowed himself to get distracted and payed for it with a brutal flip kick under the jaw.
Kai narrowed his eyes as the announcer called the match to thunderous cheers from the crowd. He reached into his burlap sack, pulling out a mask. His mask. The one he used to wear during his time among Dundrasil's special forces unit. He had been young then. But even now, as he pulled the dragon face mask over his head, it was a perfect fit. Its scales were red, its mouth was open to bare his face melos his nose, his eyes gleamed from within the eyes of the mask. He stood slowly, snarling as he slipped his hands into his coat pockets.
"You call that a fight!?" Kai roared over the crowd, silence falling around the stadium. Kai leapt into the air, flipping and landing on his feet, remaining crowched for a moment before standing calmly, his glowing eyes boring into Robert. "You!"
"Challenges may be accepted, but you don't have a partner," the announcer said.
"I don't need a partner," Kai snarled.
"Och, let him fight," Robert shrugged.
"Alright, but real weapons are forbidden," the announcer said.
"Fuck off, or I'm fighting you," Kai growled.
The announcers eyes widened.
"It's alright, Laddie," Rab reassured him. "We'll be fine."
The announcer nodded. "The gauntlet has been thrown! Old Man Rab and Jade have agreed to fight..."
"Kai," Kai snarled.
"To fight Kai!" the announcer finished.
Kai narrowed his eyes as he glared at Robert, who watched him cautiously, staring at his eyes. Around the pupil, the eyes were glowing, flickering, like flames, while the outer half of the iris were a dark, smoky grey. Robert's eyes widened slightly as he realized that's exactly what it was, watching miniscule embers fall inward into his pupils and vanish inside.
"Who are..." Robert began.
"FIGHT! ! !" the announcer called out.
Jade struck instantly, roundhouse kicking low, high, low, low, high. Without removing his hands from his pockets, Kai matched her kick-for-kick, his leg meeting hers. They both switched feet,and threw a side kick, only for the soles of their feet to meet, throing both away. Kai flipped, landing on his feet in a crouch and skidding backward, his pendant swinging out of his shirt. Jade bounced off of her upper back before flipping to her feet and right hand, skidding backward for a moment. However, just as she shoved herself up, Robert's left arm snapped out, golding his cane between them, stopping her.
"I'll fight him," Robert said seriously, staring at his pendant as he straightened up. "Ya cannae beat him, Lassie. And it's me he's after."
"What?" Jade asked. "But-"
Robert tossed his cane back to her, then reached back into his pack, pulling out a pair of Iron Claws. He readied himself, and Kai snarled, the flames in his irises brightening dangerously. Robert may be old, but Kai could tell he was no less dangerous than he had been when last they'd met. After another moment of waiting, Robert shot forward, slashing rapidly. Kai sidestepped one strike. Two. He ducked under one. Blocked a kick qith his shin. Then, he caught Robert's next slash by the gauntlet, then the other. Black scales peacked out of his sleeves around his forearms, then continued along his palm and the insides of his fingers. He began to swueeze, the metal of Robert's gauntlets creaking, then groaning as it began to deform. Robert swore, leaping backward and leaving the claws behind.
"Did you really think you could beat me with these toys?" Kai asked, accenting the last word by crushing the Iron Claws, then tossed them away as the spectators gasped and a couple screamed, everyone sensing that this was no ordinary match. "Where are your precious Golden Claws, murderer? Where are you beloved weapons with which gou slaughtered my kin?"
"What?" Jade asked, confused.
Kai reached into his sack again, withdrawing the last thing it contained. Red, splinted gauntlet with gold highlights and spikes, and silver claws. He cast them to the ground at Robert's feet, Robert staring at them in revognition, then at Kai.
"Recognize them?" Kai asked, tearing the burlap sack from its strap and tossing it aside, leaving the strap for his sword.
"The Dragovian Prince's..." Robert breathed, eyes falling to the claws, and then rising once more to Kai.
"My brother," Kai snarled.
"Your..." Robert shook his head slowly in realization. "So, then, you were..."
"You thought I was dead," Kai growled. "Arrogant butcher. You left me for dead, led the force that slaughtered my kin, and took my fiancée's glaive as a prize after you'd beaten me. Did he tell you he got it by killing a child?" He looked to Jade, who looked equal parts mortified and sick. "I was young then, even to a human's eyes. And I was the sole survivor of the slaughter of my entire race. I spent years plotting revenge. Training. And then...Dundrasil fell. I couldn't believe it. I was so...disappointed. One of the two kingdoms that slaughtered my people, gone. And I wasn't able to do it myself. But that still left Heliodor. And so I travelled. And I trained. And I nearly forgot about Dundrasil. Until I met the Luminary. Miracle child of Dundrasil, born the day my revenge was stolen. I wanted to kill him. To rip him to shred. Burn him to ash! But i understood. It wasn't his fault. His partlents were still yound when my people were slaughtered. He was as innocent as my people had been. So I left him. I returned to plotting my revenge against Heliodor. Surely, if Dundrasil was destroyed, they should be the sole focus of my wrath. And now, I find out, despite your kingdom's destruction, despite the loss of thousands of people, you, of all people...FUCKING YOU, SURVIVE!"
"Laddie...your people-"
Kai exploded forward, his own clawed gauntlets, which had been in his pockets, adourning his arms now and making a savage swipe at Robert, only to miss by inches as Robert flipped backward, landing in a combat stance with the claws Kai had given him on his arms.
"Fine, then," Robert nodded. "Come and let the auld man teach you a lesson!"
Then, both shot forward. Kai slashed at Robert and he ducked under it, slashing back. Kai sucked his gut in, avoiding the claws, and slashed downward, but Robert spun aside, throwing his pack off. He jumped, planding his foot on the inside of Kai's forearm to block a slash, but Kai caught his foot. He whipped Robert into the ground, back first, and slashed, but the claws sparked off of Roberts own borrowed ones before Robert lashed out. Kai released his foot and bent backward, the claws grading the front of his mask. Robbert flipped up onto the tips of his claws as he spun, kicking the outside of a gauntlet to redirect a slash, then flipped into the air, slamming a kick into Kai's mask, hurling him.
Kai rolled backward to his feet, snarling, then stood just as magic energy erupted off of him, raging around him like an ethereal, violet flame, the arena tower trembling. Around them, people screamed many fleeing toward an exit. David and the rest of his group sprinted out into the arena, but Robert sent a Zam into the floor in front of them.
"This is my fight," Robert intoned seriously. A teal-colored aura began to form around him. "Tension. A long-forbidden technique in which a fighter uses their rage to amplify their power. Your kin always were naturally gifted at it."
He and Kai charged, and when Robert slashed, Kai ducjed aside, slashing back at him Robert blocked it, but the sheer force behind the blow sent him bouncing backward. Kai stalked forward, snarling, but Jade leapt into the way, glaive in hand.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Jade snapped.
"Jade, no!" Robert yelled, but she ignored him, charging.
She leapt forward, jabbing the glaive at Kai, but he caught the shaft and whipped her around, throwing her away and keeping the glaive, though he didn't hurt her.
"Thank you for returning this," Kai said, then spun, the rear end of the glaive whipping around and exploding into one of Robert's gauntlets mid-charge, hurling him after Jade.
Robert rolled to his feet and the aura around him intensified. As he charged again, he was faster. Kai stabbed the glaive into the ground and used his claws to deflect a slash and strike back, but this time, Robert kicked his arm away before slamming a devastating roundhouse kick into his jaw, hurling him. Kai contorted and flipped, landing on his face and dodging aside from a slash, only for Robert to spin, slamming a foot into his chest and hurling him yet again.
Kai flipped off of the arena, bouncing once on the floor four feet lower than the arena then into the stadium wall directly below the stands. Instantly, the magic energy raging off of him intensified, only for Robert to slam a dropkick into his chest. He landed on his feet only long enough to leap into the air again and drilled dozens of punches into Kai's face and torso, the clawed gsuntlets spinning into the air, before finally grabbing Kai by the shirt and hurling him back into the arena on his back. Kai snarled in rage, opening his eyes just in time to roll aside from a falling kick from Robert. However, as he lunged back at Robert, Robert spun, his foot flashing around and exploding into the side of Kai's head. Kai's magic energy vanished before he hit the ground, and when he rolled onto his back again, his brother's claws landed at his feet.
"Laddie, I'm truly sorry for what I did to you and your kin," Robert said, kneeling down and prostrating himself. "Before the assault, a dragon attacked the city. It wasnae a Dragovian, but it could talk. It claimed to have been sent to pave the way for Dragovian tule. We didnae know the truth, so we set out to ask the Dragovians directly. But along the way, we were attacked by warriors in Dragovian armor. We believed the trick, and went to war with your people, and we didnae know that it was a trick until after it was too late. A cult worshiping the Dark One attacked us, wearing Dragovian armor and wielding Dragovian weapons. At once, we realized our mistake, but there was nothing we could do. We thought they were all dead. I didnae take that glaive as a trophie. I went back after the truth was revealed and took it as a reminder of what we had done. Our sin. But, Laddie, how is it you survived?"
"A travelling monk found me, wounded, and treated my wounds," Kai said, standing, fists clenched. "That's about as true as your story."
Robert sighed, pushing himself up slowly before looking into Kai's eyes directly. "I swear to you, Laddie. Every word is true. We didnae know."
Kai glared at him, but slowly, the lights in his eyes faded. "I will never forgive you." He ripped his glaive from the ground. "Today, you'll live. Bit I will kill you. Until then, you're not allowed to die."
Robert nodded. "Once this journey is over and the Dark One has been defeated, I'll meet you to settle things."
Kai nodded. "If you don't I'll start with the things you love. Your precious Luminary will be the first."
Robert nodded seriously, and Kai turned, walking out of the arena. He headed for the gate. He wasn't ready to settle things with Robert. He still wasn't strong enough. So he would train first. And for the kind of training he required, he'd have to go home.
He stopped as something shattered at his feet, thick purple smoke billowing out. He rolled his eyes.
"Sleeping gas doesn't work on me," Kai informed his would-be attacker.
"It's not sleeping gas," the fool said. "Sorry, but I figured I couldn't beat someone like you in a fair fight."
Kai frowned just as his next inhale sent fire shooting through his body. His eyes buldged from his head and he clutched at his throat, dark veins beginning to creep up his neck. Poison. Strong poison. Bloodbonnet saliva. Kai staggered to his feet, forcing himself toward the edge of the poison cloud, only for a foot to greet him.
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