Chapter 5

Equals in Combat

As the two combatants met in the center of the battlefield, Sobek raised his stave again, this time in an upwards arc, his weapon meeting Lenin's. Who had leapt in the air, hammer held above his head before bringing it down heavily, the resounding "CLANG!" shook the entire audience to their cores.

After holding their ground, trying to break through each other's guard, both Lenin and Sobek took a step back before engaging in combat again. Sobek arched his body back, his stave held behind above his head, and then brought it down in a sweeping arc towards Lenin.

"CASCADING SMASHER!"

Lenin barely had time to raise his hammer and defend himself when the full weight of Sobek's stave slammed down onto it, breaking his guard. And in one fluent move, Sobek thrust his weapon upwards, catching Lenin straight in the jaw. Sending him flying across the arena and landing with a "SPLASH!" in the water. His eyes fluttered shut, seemingly knocked out for the count.

The gods cheered, much to Sobek's delight, as he turned around basking in their applause and soaking up their praise.

"YEAH! LET'S GO Sobek! Show them the power of a savage monster!"

"Ain't NO WAY we're losing this round with such beastly strength!"

Unbeknownst to Sobek, the supposedly unconscious Lenin's right hand was slowly moving towards his hammer

Turning back to his downed enemy, Sobek rushed over to the fallen warrior, raising his stave over his right shoulder like a baseball bat once again and brought it down upon Lenin.

"SAVAGE MAW!"

Humanity gasped, was this the end of Lenin?

Suddenly Lenin's eyes shot open, his right palm curled around the very base part of the hammer's pole, and with lighting speed, he rose, thrusting the hammer's head straight into Sobek's stomach.

"REBELLIOUS THRUSTER!"

Sobek's eyes widened in shock, as he was sent flying backwards, spitting out blood and crashing into the floor like Lenin had not just a minute ago. Humanity cheered at their fighter's turnabout. While the gods groaned,

"Dammit, I knew that beast was all just brute strength."

"Even with that shield he still was sent flying backwards like a ragdoll by that politician, talk about humiliating."

Amongst the celebrating human's was a Russian man in the front rows, who was cheering louder than the other humans alongside other Soviet members. He had curly black hair, a mustache and goatee, and wore round glasses with no arms called a Pensne on his nose. He was Leon Trotsky, Lenin's de facto second in command when he was in power.

"HAHA! You showed those haughty gods what FOR Comrade Lenin! With you as our representative, we are BOUND to win the first round for mankind!"

A few seats down Trotsky however, came a loud scoff. Coming from a Man dressed in a tunic with various military awards and badges adoring his chest, his hair was in a flat side swept style, and he wore a mustache like Trotsky except without the goatee. This was Joseph Stalin, the brutal dictator who had risen to power in the Soviet party after Lenin's death; his cruel rule was one of fear and oppression. And had left a stain on the country's history as his rule had led to the deaths of about 6 million individuals through the years he was in power.

Trotsky glared coldly at Stalin, not only for his disrespect, but also for the fact that Stalin had exiled Trotsky from the party after beating him to the seat of power, and then later having him assassinated. "Pray tell, what do you find so amusing, Stalin? Are you blindly doubting Comrade Lenin's prowess even after he has successfully turned the tables on a god? I knew you were faithless to his inclusion in Ragnarok, but I didn't expect you to be SO open to it."

Stalin smirked at Trotsky, "You are the one blindly watching this match Comrade Trotsky, you underestimate the power of both combatants. Sobek and Lenin have not shown the true extent of their abilities, and yet you are so quick to assume that victory is assured? I'm afraid with your mindset, you may be SORELY disappointed with the round's results."

Trotsky became outraged at Stalin's comment, and rose from his seat, with Stalin following suit. The two seemingly about to engage in their own brawl on the sidelines. However they were interrupted by the appearance of a German man with bramble-like facial hair, the famous philosopher Karl Marx, the very same man whose works had influenced and inspired Socialist like Lenin and many others.

"Sit down the BOTH of you" he said in a commanding voice, "I do not care for your differing views or opinions, in times like these. Humanity must stand united and support our fighters to ensure our survival. Squabbling like petty children will do us no good."

Begrudgingly, the two men sat back down, still casting a scornful look at one another. At the same time, Sobek stirred and groggily stood up, wincing as he held his bruised underbelly and stared daggers at Lenin. "Your tricks are getting irritating humans, Were it not for that armor you would have already been dead. I promise you that this time," he said whilst spinning his stave and slamming it down on the floor. "I will have you dead at my feet."

Lenin let out a short laugh, before wincing as massaging his wounded jaw, blood trickling from his mouth. "Please, how many times have you said that Comrade Sobek? And how many times have I countered your attacks and forced you into a stalemate? Perhaps it has nothing to do with my armor protecting me, and more to do with the fact that you are easily distracted by the ROAR OF THE CROWD!"

Sobek let out a furious roar, "BULLSHIT! You DARE insult me with such a notion human?! For that I will make sure you die slowly AND painfully!" With that, the Crocodile God charged full speed once more at Lenin, but this time not with his stave raised, but rather with his claws outstretched, and his gigantic maw wide open. He now truly looked like the dreaded Beast god of the Duat so many fearful people had named him as.

And what was Lenin's reaction? Was he fearfully gazing at this hulking giant stomping through the waters straight towards him? No, rather the Father of Communism simply smirked, and dropped his hammer, holding both of his fists upwards, as if accepting Sobek's challenge.

"Sobek is charging STRAIGHT towards Lenin at full speed intent on RIPPING him to shreds! But hold on! Lenin isn't making ANY attempt to dodge his attack, rather he seems to be planning to meet Sobek head on!" Heimdall shouted while the audience held their breath, what was Lenin planning? Was he really going to take Sobek's attack head on without his weapons? Surely that was suicide!

As the raging Crocodile God loomed above him, claws sweeping downwards to rake straight through his body. Lenin simply grinned and shot forward his right fist, slamming it straight into Sobek's open palm.

And then, Lenin did the unthinkable, he stopped the raging god dead in his tracks. Try as Sobek might, he could not force his claws down to rip Lenin apart, in fact his whole body didn't seem to be able to move at all. The crowds of gods and humans gasped, how could this be? Even with a suit of divine armor, most gods, much less a human could never dream of stopping the deadly claws of Sobek, yet here Lenin stood doing just that, without even breaking a sweat as it seemed.

Sobek was flabbergasted, no being besides Lord Ra had ever been able to perfectly counter him head on without the aid of weapons. Yet how did this one infuriating human do it? How was it that a lowly mortal Politician in a suit of armor was his equal. Then Sobek noticed something else, Lenin's right fist was glowing, and that light was slowly making its way past his right arms, shoulders and finally to his left arm and curled up fist.

Lenin looked Sobek dead in the eyes, before pulling back his fist and uttering, "CHECKMATE my dear Comrade."

"RADICAL OVERTHROW, EQUALIZER'S FIST!"

Lenin's fist slammed straight into Sobek's chest, and to everyone's shock, Sobek included, the Crocodile god was sent flying straight into the arena's wall, slamming into it with a sickening "CRUNCH!" Before he fell back on the very edge of the perimeter, his legs were just hanging off the side of the moat.

"U-UNBELIEVABLE!" Heimdall yelped "Lenin has just done the unthinkable! He not only stopped Sobek dead in his tracks, but has somehow also been able to retaliate with a punch of so much force that it has sent the Beast God of the Duat STRAIGHT into the side of the arena! Who would have predicted such a shocking outcome!"

Humanity erupted into cheers, their victory was assured! Their fighter had just performed a feat that could only be described as superhuman! He had left a god facedown on the ground with only a single punch!

Meanwhile, the gods were beside themselves with shock and fury.

"What the HELL was that?! How was that Politician able to send Sobek of all gods flying?"

"No way that suit of armor is just for protection, whatever those Valkyries did to it is just out of this WORLD!"

"SOBEK! YOU MINDLESS SAVAGE! Get back up on your feet! Aren't you supposed to be the Dreaded Beast God of the Duat? You're embarrassing us all!"

Up in their viewing platform, Ra's attendants were staring at the scene below dumbfounded. "W-WHAT THE HELL? How is that human so powerful! He sent Sobek flying as if he was as heavy as a bag of flour with just ONE punch? WHAT IS THAT GUY MADE OF?" Huitzilopochtli yelled in shock

"Don't be stupid!" Amaterasu growled, "It's not the HUMAN who performed that incredible feat, it was that suit of ARMOR he is wearing! Somehow it allowed him to absorb the force of Sobek's attack and redirect it BACK at him!"

Both of them turned to Ra, who unlike them, seemed only slightly intrigued by Lenin's display of power. "Lord Ra, aren't you even the TINIEST bit worried? That Politician may very well BEAT Sobek and win the first round of Ragnarok!" Huitzilopochtli yelled

Ra turned to the Aztec god with a dark look, "I would advise against yelling at me Huitzilopochtli, you are not to question me at all whilst in my service, do you understand?"

Huitzilopochtli swallowed nervously at the Egyptian god's piercing look, "Apologies, Lord Ra, I got too carried away, I didn't mean to question your authority."

Ra turned his head back to observe the match, "Relax Huitzilopochtli, Sobek is much more powerful than you think, this match is far from decided. THIS I promise you."

Meanwhile, Pandora and Göll were clasping each other's hands, jumping up and down in elation. "AMAZING! That move was INCREDIBLE, I had no idea the armor my jar made was capable of THIS much power! Lenin was able to throw Sobek across the arena like he was a sack of potatoes!" Pandora squealed happily.

Göll turned to a smiling Prometheus, "Was this what you meant by Lenin's hammer and sickle not being his only way of attacking, Prometheus?"

Prometheus chuckled slightly, "Well, Lenin is regarded as the Father of Communism, so I had a strong hunch that Pandora's jar would give him a weapon that would embody that ideology, and not just some run of the mill weapons."

Pandora raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by embodying the ideology of communism Prometheus? I thought that the armor just gave Lenin incomprehensible levels of strength?"

Prometheus smiled gently at Pandora, "You think too little of your jar's own creations Pandora, I suspect that Lenin's armor doesn't just simply grant him superhuman strength. But rather, it absorbed Sobek's own strength, and allowed Lenin to counter with equal power to the Crocodile god's. Similar to how Communist ideology believes that power should be shared amongst everybody, so that every man is equal."

At this the two girls gasped and turned back to the arena, where Sobek was now stirring, letting out strangled gasps as he slowly got back to his feet, cradling his chest, which now had a fist shaped wound on the place where Lenin's attack had struck him. As his breath slowly steadied, Sobek glanced up at the jeering gods in the audience and then back to Lenin with a dark look in his eyes.

"What... What was that move? How... how did you match me in strength, how did you manage to throw me so far across the arena as if i were just a ragdoll? HOW IS IT THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF HUMILIATING ME?!" Sobek's last few words came out in a loud bellow, his voice filled with pain and shame as he stared daggers at Lenin.

Lenin, whose face was no longer smiling, crossed his arms before speaking, "I will gladly answer your questions. But first, you must agree to a temporary truce, for I also wish to ask a few questions of you. Can you do that, Comrade Sobek?"

Sobek thought for a moment, as the rising water level now reached the middle of their ankles, before slowly nodding. It seemed that the first round of Ragnarok would be put on hold to allow its two combatants to exchange a few words between one another.

"Well folks, it seems that Mankind's representative Lenin has called for a timeout between him and Sobek! And Sobek has obliged to his request!" Heimdall commented, relaying the information to the audience who looked around confused. A timeout? In the middle of a death battle? Was Lenin joking? In the first Ragnarok something like this had never happened before.

Sobek winced, massaging the fist shaped wound imprinted on his chest from Lenin's powerful attack as he sat. "Alright, you have your truce, now tell me, just what WAS that attack? How the hell does it work?" Sobek growled, looking up at Lenin. who had also sat down cross legged in the water.

Lenin chuckled, "You really want to know that badly, Comrade Sobek?" Sobek glared at him.

"It is not everyday I meet a mortal who is capable of not only stopping me dead in my tracks with JUST one fist. But also knocking me flat on my back with strength equal to my own."

"Hmmm, I suppose so, very well then.'' Lenin replied, "To be completely honest with you, I myself do not fully understand how this suit of armor functions. I only recently discovered that it was capable of such a mighty attack yesterday while training."

Sobek snarled, "Are you telling me, that even though you had NO idea that this function existed on your armor, NOR have much EXPERIENCE with it. You were still ABLE to send me flying into the arena wall?"

"Heaven's no! "Lenin laughed, "Of course I had practice. I trained with my weapon enough to know how it worked of course, it has nothing to do with your strength or lack thereof."

The gods in the audience gasped at Lenin's bold words. Whether he meant it or not, the Father of Communism has just insulted Sobek's strength. And only the bravest or stupidest gods in Valhalla dared to try that with the Beast God of the Duat.

Shockingly though, Sobek did not seem to notice or care, "I see, but you still have not explained how your attack works. That was the only reason I agreed to this truce."

Lenin smiled, "Patience is a virtue, my friend. But since you're so eager, then very well. "He paused before continuing. "From what I have seen or done so far. My attack works by absorbing the force of my opponent's attack with one of my fists, and that same force is then transferred to my other fist, allowing me to essentially redirect my opponent's own attack back at them. Please don't ask me how the armor makes that happen, I also don't really have a clue to be honest, I'm a politician after all, not a physicist."

Sobek processed this information for a while. Before asking, "What about weapons? Would you attack produce the same results if I were to attack you with my stave instead?"

Lenin considered this for a moment or two, "Well, it would probably be harder for me, since your weapon is off a smaller surface area as compared to your claws. But yes, I believe it should produce similar results."

Sobek nods slowly, thinking how he will be able to use this information to his advantage. In the stands, the audience were listening in on the two fighter's conversation via big screens set up to allow people to have a closer look at the battle. Suddenly Stalin leapt out of his seat in a fury, heading to the edge of the stand and screamed at Lenin, "LENIN! YOU ABSOLUTE MORON! Why the HELL would you tell your opponent how your strategy works and give him the opportunity to COUNTER it? Are you TRYING to make us lose the first round, YOU REVOLTING PIECE OF SHIT!"

Other members of the human audience also began voicing their concerns with Lenin so blatantly revealing how his attack worked to the enemy. Göll and Pandora looked at Prometheus worriedly, "Prometheus, what is Lenin doing? Why would he just simply TELL Sobek how his attack works and give his opponent an advantage?" Göll said

Prometheus sighed, "That's simply just how Lenin likes his battles, I'm afraid, for BOTH sides to be equally informed of each other's abilities, weapons and skills. So that the battle between both fighters, at least to him, is fair and EQUAL. I can't help it if that's the way he chooses to fight, we can only put our faith into him and hope that he knows what he is doing."

Pandora grimaced, "No wonder dad never let me anywhere near any Valhalla council meetings, politicians are indeed a strange bunch of people, whether they be gods or humans."

Back in the battlefield, the disapproving roar of the crowd was getting louder and louder, especially Stalin, who was still hurling every possible profanity in existence at Lenin. Sobek growled, at the angry mob, as if he was bothered by it. Then looking at Lenin, who still sat with a neutral expression. Then, the father of communism slowly stood up, the single action was enough to silence the rowdy crowd.

Lenin then fixed a steely gaze directly at Stalin, who began nervously sweating under Lenin's intense stare. "Out of ALL the people gathered here in the audience, Comrade Stalin, I feel that you are ONE of the many individuals who are unqualified to give OTHERS survival tips. After all, the only reason YOU died so humiliatingly of a stroke was because your doctors could not attend to you in time, due to their fear of entering your study and risking ARREST. So forgive me if I take your advice and THROW it on the pee stained carpet of your study that you soiled whilst immobile on the floor."

Lenin's retort was met with uproarious laughter from both the gods and humans in the audience, who now began jeering at Stalin, the aforementioned dictator now embarrassedly sitting back down on his seat.

Sobek gave Lenin an envious look, before picking up his stave and standing up, "Well, I suppose we should resume our battle now then."

"AH! Hold on Comrade Sobek, i did say that i was also allowed to ask you a question myself if I answered yours did i not?" Lenin replied, holding out his index finger. Sobek grunted, remembering that he did indeed agree to that demand, and so he planted his stave firmly in the ground and nodded his head, indicating for Lenin to ask his question.

"My question is quite simple, Comrade Sobek, and I believe I have asked it before. But I shall still say it for the benefit of those who still aren't up to speed, that question being. WHY have you been so DISTRACTED in the WHOLE of our battle up until this moment?"

Sobek snarled defensively, "I already told you, that's a load of BULLSHIT, I was NEVER distracted at any point of our battle. My aim was true and my attacks powerful as proven from the injuries you now sustain."

Lenin scoffed, "Please Comrade Sobek, do not insult my intelligence, we both know FULL well that half the time, your attention was focused on The AUDIENCE and how they were reacting to our battle, or should I say, reacting to how YOU performed in this battle. Had you been TRULY focused on our bout, you would have surely inflicted MUCH heavier injuries on me. Dare i say, you might have even WON at this point had you been fully committed to this match."

Sobek spluttered and struggled to find an answer to his opponent's accusation, but Lenin's words had already raised the audience's interest.

"Yeah, to be honest, half the time that guy WAS looking upwards at us rather than focusing on his opponent's next moves." One god said

"You're right! And when we cheered for him, he looked like he was over the MOON. And when we jeered at him for getting his ass whooped, the expression on his face was nothing SHORT of furious!" Another god added

Sobek growled defensively as other members of the audience began to agree with Lenin's statement. He tried defending himself, insisting that he was not at all distracted, but his retorts came out in splutters and fragmented sentences.

"WHAT THE HELL SOBEK! YOU VAIN MOTHERFUCKER! Had you been paying MORE attention to your surroundings and your opponent, rather than our fucking reaction to your brawl. We could have taken the victory for this round already you DUMB FUCKING BRUTE!" A god savagely yelled at the disgraced Crocodile God.

More and more voices began chiming in to scold Sobek, who became seemingly overwhelmed by the onslaught of insults and jeers by his fellow gods. Covering the holes on the side of his head that were his ears with his hands and shaking his head. Trying to drown out the jeers of the crowd. But it didn't work, he could still hear their biting remarks, which caused veins to pop up on his scaly hide and his iris to narrow. Until finally the enraged Crocodile God let out a loud resounding …

"SHUT UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! "

Sobek's scream slowly morphed into a beastly roar, silencing the vicious mob, who sat back down in their seats, stunned and frightened by the god's sudden outburst. Sobek's booming roar continued on for a solid minute, before slowly fading away, leaving the audience scared and shocked, fearful of what the beast god may do next. Lenin on the other hand quietly observed the Crocodile god's tantrum by the side with his arms crossed, awaiting the god to finally settle down before speaking once more.

"Have you managed to flush out all the pent up frustration in your system Comrade Sobek? Or do you still need more time to vent?" He addressed a Sobek who had his head hung low, whilst trying to catch his breath after his outburst. Sobek lifted his head looking at Lenin, this time not with a visage of hatred or anger, but one of a beaten and tired individual.

"FINE! YES! I ADMIT IT! My attention was on how my fellow gods were reacting to our battle half the time we were fighting. Are you happy NOW human? You have successfully proven that the 'Dreaded Beast God of the Duat' is in reality, a pathetic attention sponge. CONGRATULATIONS! You were right all along, here's a gold medal for your BRILLIANT observation skills." Sobek now spoke with a somber, lethargic and sarcastic voice. With a huff, he sat back down in the water with his knees close to his chest, with his arms resting on top of his knees whilst crossed. No longer looking like a feared Crocodile God, but rather someone who looked so defeated and pathetic, that you would have wanted to go over and give him a hug.

"If I may ask Comrade Sobek, where did this desire for admiration from your peers stem from? I may not be a therapist or psychiatrist, but I find that it is always best to talk about what troubles you to possibly locate the root of your problems." Lenin pressed on.

Sobek scoffed, "You wish to know why I so desperately seek to be accepted by my fellow gods? Is it not OBVIOUS? They FEAR me, they SHUN me, they whisper and jeer behind my back. When all I ever wished for was to be INCLUDED, respected or at the very least treated as an EQUAL ….. Yet ALL my life." He paused, before looking up with a single tear rolling from his right eye, "I have only ever known scorn and fear."

Quick side note, I would like to also clarify that I am in no way trying to show support for the Communist ideology as I continue writing this fight. I am not trying to push any political beliefs onto others who are reading this. I just thought that it would be cool for Lenin's ultimate attack to be something that made his power levels equal to his opponents' cause of Communist ideology and whatnot.