i.i. Lionheart, Alone

Wake up.

Dakota, please wake up.

She was pinned hard against the ground, breathing in rapid breathes. Each punch directed towards her head or face- whichever her opponent saw fit that could disable her. Her legs held tight against her opponents hips to try and gain control before having to be forced to tap out. Dakota used every muscle in her thighs to gain back the control she needed in order to win. Each punch broke skin and blood was blinding her; stinging her eyes. The crowd was going wild around them as the woman- who was much bigger than Dakota- was winning.

"Looks like Dakota cannot get a steady hold on Marie. If she could go down like that, well, it might just be an end to Dakota's winning streak." The announcer said to the excited crowd. The adrenaline and the smell of bodies riddles with alcohol, was not something pleasant to the senses. The ring was small, but it was enough to move around. The onlookers of the male gaze was horrific with drunk grins.

This is what they came for.

Might as well give them a show.

Dakota was not at all a small woman by definition of what many would think of her. She was a 5'7 gladiator and full of anger towards her opponent gaining the upper hand on her. Dakota had many powerful punches that had toned muscles that defined her arms, but many saw her 'assets' in her long legs. Dakota's only saving grace right now before she loses. Failure was not an option to the woman. She was undefeated. She had to keep that record for potential sponsors.

They wanted; no, they needed the best.

"This isn't looking to good for Dakota. Marie might take the title away from her. Can't say that we didn't see it coming. Not many fighters last long here. Sorry Dakota, but even a pretty face cant save you now." The announcer was mocking her. A nobody who one night showed up unannounced. Getting into the ring, while being ridiculed and laughed at. She showed them that night. She showed herself that she still a lot of fight left.

All that anger.

Dakota moved her arm from a defensive stance and saw a chance to move her opponents arm before she could get in another blow. Maybe that blow would have ended the fight, but something within Dakota had urged her to rely on her opponent's lack of stability. Everyone had a weakness when it came to their techniques.

Dakota had her weakness like every fighter. Unfortunately, that weakness was unseen by the human eye and she seemed to be the only one to see it.

Taking her opponent by surprise, Dakota lunged her hips into a hard trust and managed to get the upper hand. Her mentor was yelling in the background to finish the fight. Get the woman to tap out now. Dakota was not going to let this fight slide. She was in it to win. With every last ounce of strength left, she threw the last punch into her opponents' side.

The hit had caused massive pain within Dakota's fist, but she had won.

"Holy shit! Dakota was mere seconds away from losing, and, like the true underdog she is, the Gladiator still claims her title!"

Dakota clenched her jaw. Her breathing had slowed down, but the adrenaline was too strong. Her senses were on overdrive. Her opponent lay motionless underneath her. Dakota stood on shaking legs to hear the crowd cheer. A room for celebration was in order, for Dakota had kept her title. Her status was growing each fight. Even if there were others who wanted to see her fall. Through the blurriness of the sweat dripping in her eyes, she saw someone standing in the darkness of the shadows. The only being who was not moving or chatting.

They continue to follow.


She faced many obstacles in life. Losing her parents at only thirteen years old, with nowhere to go. What was there for a young girl to do? No living relatives came to get her. To give her a stable home to grow up in without having to go into the system. There were already too many children being passed around from foster home to foster home. Some never being adopted out. Others living their existence with parents trying to fight for them or using them for their own greed.

Dakota lived the rest of her teenage years in an orphanage of children just starting their life a couple of months old to reckless teenage behavior until the system no longer saw the need to care for her once she turned eighteen. She was a legal adult who had to go out and get a job. The world already decided what she needed to do and fall into order of the free world.

There were so few who believed in Dakota to succeed in the real world. She had her high school education. She was smart enough to get into college. She could reach for many things any young adult could have, but she did not have that stability. There are grants for orphan children. There is help, just that Dakota did not take advantage of the resources given.

She had asked for freedom once.

But how much freedom does an eighteen-year-old have when the only life she had grown up to know was pushing her into this adult life? She had no direction or ambitions to strive for. People have tried to push her and steer her into this complacent life, but all Dakota did was fight back. This was not how she envisioned her life. She didn't even know what she wanted. There was no picket fence in her dream. The American dream was a lie. Dakota was always a fighter and so she turned her back to the system that raised her and enlisted to a system that would use and abuse her. Her life changed drastically and before she knew it, boot camp had become a reality.

It all seemed like the past, but it was all so recent. Once she got of the military, what more could she do? She knew the disciplined side of life, which cost her that freedom she had asked for. Her parents raised her as such, but once they were murdered, it all disappeared.

Maybe that is why she wrote on the dotted line and raised her right hand. To defend a country that had lost children. Those in need of guidance in the land of opportunity. Unfortunately, she had learned to late that it was a lie from the beginning. It cost her everything.

So, she found her strength in fighting. To fight was to bury the burdens that have plagued her since her return from a place she would never want to revisit. Dakota had to keep her emotions tightly locked behind a barrier of fists and determination. There was no room for emotions when the dam had strong walls. There was only room to keep going in a system that rejected her. Saying: good luck out there. Where did it all leave her?

It led her to being thrown in the water.

Drowning.

Unable to save herself. Such a pathetic death because of lies.

She slowly opened her eyes to see that the world around her was blurry. Colors blended together, with each pigment becoming clearer. It took her a moment to gather her strength before she sat herself up. The swirling colors would stop as would the pounding headache that had began to bother her brain. Each nerve was sending signals to the rest of her body to let it know that she still lived. Every deep breath brought in a strange smell. The air was thick in heat, making her sweat from the head down. She could not hear the nose of the city or the sound of airplanes in the sky.

Something isn't right. Her mind cautioned her senses.

In unfamiliar territory, her instincts held strong when she moved herself up in a straight position. Blood had rushed to her head quickly, making her groan in pain. Her muscles were very sore as she looked to her shoulder and found that it was covered in bloody bandages. She raised a brow in question. She moved her fingers to make sure that she still had function in her arm. If she could move every joint, then it would mean that she could still use her arm. There was no telling the damage in her body from the gun shot.

Good.I can move my fingers.Feeling brave, she raised her arm, but there was a sharp sting that shot up fast through her body. Clenching her teeth, Dakota had to hold in a scream By biting down at her lip. The pain was bad. The pain had to stop quickly or else she would cause a scene.

Fuck! Whoever saved me and dressed my wound should have at least giving me medicine for this pain! She thought as she placed her good arm to her should to put some pressure above the wound. It may not be the smartest thing to do for in injury, but Dakota wanted to lesson the pain. Pressure should give the pain nerves from causing her muscles to contract. She needed to relax for a moment to collect her thoughts.

Dakota, breathe. In. Out. Slowly. The pain will go away. She could feel some tears on her cheeks as she took in a gasp. Her lip felt sore from biting down too hard. Once the pain subsided temporarily, she composed her thoughts.

I can't use my arm. It has to heal.She was angry at herself for putting herself through something like this. Who did she piss off this time around? Who would try to kill her? The headache only worsened when she tried to think of the situation. Whoever wanted her dead almost succeeded. They would have let her drown if it wasn't for that fighting spirit within her.

Must find who saved me.

She found her way to the door and opened it to the blinding light of the sun. She seethed with pain as she covered her eyes from the sunlight. The heat of the day had hit her skin, causing sweat to trickle down her body. The hunger within had yet to be satisfied and thirst was growing strong. Dakota was not sure when the last time she ate or drank something was. It could have been days ago or possibly hours.

She leaned against the frame. Her legs shaking, head hurting, but Dakota tried to find her balance. Her unsteady body wanted to rest for a while more. Just a few more hours of sleep. Just a few more hours to recover. At this point, she wasn't sure if she was even going to survive these next few hours.

Dakota waited a few moments to lower her hand. She needed a moment to open her eyes. The heat from the sun felt reassuring and comforting. Like someone was holding her in a tight embrace. Something that she hasn't felt in a long time. She could smell the salt from the waters upon her tanned skin. Breathing in the fresh air and sunlight was good for recovery.

She took a step forward to clear her troubled thoughts, but found that the ground was hot and full of sharp rocks that poked her skin.Damn. She could not leave or move freely as she would have liked. Like a caged animal, Dakota was bound to this hell. Maybe it was a warning sign for her to not strain herself. She was reckless when it came to recovery and health. There were scars and memories to prove her destructive behavior. Many of which involved alcohol and war scars.

"Poseidon has favored you, strange woman. Washing ashore after a storm that sunk many ships." Dakota heard the voice of a very young girl that she has never heard before. What's even stranger, the girl had an accent. She wasn't even speaking English. Dakota turned her head quickly to the child, who had a smile upon her face and eyes that spoke of a life longing for adventure.

But it wasn't the child's features or the fact that she could understand the language, that struck Dakota as being odd, but her clothing. It looked so simple without any extravagant layers that was very popular with fashion trends. Compared to the young girl, Dakota was wearing nothing more than a black sports bra and spandex. She did not even look at herself before walking it in the sun in nothing more then underwear. Dakota trained in these clothes, because there was limited restriction when she moved. To the untrained eye, she would very much be a not so modest woman.

Right now, the girl was looking at her as if a cat got her tongue. A playful smirk on her face as the girl was curious; if not trying to hide her curiosity.

"What's wrong? Cannot speak or can you not understand me? Are you a goddess that has come to our need?" Dakota could not help but nervously smile. This was too awkward and so many questions have already popped into her mind. Where was she? How did she here? And why was it that it sounded as if she could understand whatever language this was?

Am I going crazy?Dakota thought. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The headache was growing worse with each question. Dakota was sure her head was going to explode any moment now.

The child was now in front of her. Talking of nonsense that made little to no sense to Dakota. The child was like a wildfire with spewing questions after questions. She spoke of gods- not God- but gods. Okay, that narrows it down just a bit. As far as Dakota was concerned, people worshipped a particular God and hearing these ancient gods made sense in a way. The girl even spoke on her appearance and how it was strange that some people would perceive Dakota as some prostitute.

At least she is blunt about it.She thought.I am nowhere close to a prostitute.

"Alexios had bandaged your arm. How did you receive such a battle scar? It is much different than the ones I have seen." Dakota never noticed how her jaw was slacked and how hot her skin was becoming. The girl could see how pale Dakota looked and urged the woman to sit. What had become of her? Was she lethargic from lack of food?

"You are pale. Do not worry, Alexios is on the hunt. He is a good hunter and with some deer about, there is to be food for you." The child had a very energetic and caring soul to her. Dakota lightly smiled at her at first, but grew the question of who this Alexios was?

"You are very tall and not very woman-like." Dakota could not help but chuckle in awkwardness. This young girl was not the first to comment on her appearance. Dakota was by all mean not so muscular, but she was not fat either. She had good structure from her training and had a few scars that were not visible- unless one looked closely.

"Are you some goddess? You must be if you came from the sea and look like no other woman! Has Athena or Artemis send you to these lands to fight the war?" At this point, the girl kept changing subject confusing Dakota even more-so then she was.

Maybe being in the water was making her hallucinate. Maybe she had some undiagnosed concussion from being hit in the head. Dakota tried finding something logical in this funny world. But who was laughing? Dakota remembered bits and pieces of what had happened and then the feeling of drowning.

This is not funny.

"I am going crazy." Dakota murmured to herself. She placed her hand on her head and flinched. The pain was definitely real. "How? WHY?! Is this a joke because, God or whatever is out there, this is so not funny!"