Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen, and boy am I happy that whatever was wrong with the email alert system has been fixed! Of course, I got a backlog of, like, a few dozens alerts when it did, but oh well. Now, if only they could figure out what's wrong with the system that lets us see how many views our stories are getting...
But enough about that. Let's answer some reviews!
Blackmetalzane22: I think both Blake and Pyrrha will need some hugs-assuming they can get out of there in one piece.
RXWriter: I can tell you right now that I have no plans involving Krakoa at this time. Personally, I haven't really read much of the Krakoa stuff going on with the X-Men right now. It's been mostly meh in my eyes.
superjoeyf721: Not at all! I picture it as your typical gladitorial arena-like what you would see in Gladiator-or, to keep the Marvel theme, Thor: Ragnarok.
SuperSaiyanFever: Yeah, the Badoon are really nasty guys. I'm pretty sure they're partly responsible for wiping out Gamora's home planet, though I'm not 100% sure on that.
GothmogOnslat: For sure. It's an entire planet focused on Death Battles. Wiz and Boomstick fit right in there.
Martiz S.G: Hercules is definitely a powerhouse in Marvel. And yeah, both Blake and Pyrrha are going to have some mental trauma after all this-Blake especially. Then again, all of RWBY and JNPR probably have some level of trauma watching their home burning at the hands of Ultron.
DocThok: Glad you're liking the story so far! And thanks for your constructive criticism! No story is without its flaws, and pointing then out certainly helps me get better at writing! To respond to your complaints, the Marvel characters do seem to baby the RWBY ones a bit-but only because they don't really know them all that well. They don't really know how powerful they really are, and they know that the RWBY characters don't have a clue about what life is like on Earth-including how strong certain supervillains really are. And it is unfortunate that Jaune and Weiss couldn't do much on Asgard-but that's only because they are wildly outmatched by Asgardians. Luckily, I do intend to give them a bigger chance to shine once we get back to them (which will be in the next arc). And, now that a month has gone by, the Marvel characters certainly know more about the RWBY ones, which will earn them a great deal more trust.
Ironchef13: I do have plans for the RWBY villains, including Adam, but it'll be a while before those come into fruition.
Red Scorpion: Yeah, Blake certainly got off the worst out of all of the others combined. The Badoon are no joke-they are some of the worst of the worst, and she's going to have a lot of mental trauma to overcome going forward. As for the song, I'll certainly look into this song you suggested as well as any others you (or anyone else) suggest that look like they may fit.
KarmaSpidr: A Wiz and Boomstick cameo (along with the Ringmaster, of course) works here because Sakaar is a planet filled with Death Battles for them to analyize. They certainly can't work everywhere-but it would be nice to see more of them.
Now that I've answered all these reviews, I just wanted to thank all of you once again. Seeing all these positive reviews, achieving more milestones, and getting accomplishments like a TV Tropes page for this story-would not be possible without all of your support. So thank you. Now, without further ado, lets get back to the story.
Sakaar—October 25th (Earth Time)
The Abilisk swung its tentacles at the trio, forcing them to run for cover. Pyrrha grabbed Blake's limp hand and led her behind a small metal wall, one of the many that often rose during the arena fights.
"Blake, listen to me," Pyrrha told her calmly. "Are you strong enough for a fight?"
Blake nodded weakly. "I…I think so."
"Good." Pyrrha poked her head out as the Abilisk focused on Chris, who had taken to the air to avoid it. "Because we're going to need all three of us to work together in order to beat that thing."
"What's even going on here?" Blake asked. "Why are you here? Are the others—"
"The others aren't here, Blake," Pyrrha interrupted. "We'll have time to talk later. Right now, we need to focus."
Above them, Chris fired a concussive beam from his visor, which struck the Abilisk in the face—or what Pyrrha assumed was the face. It let out a screech of fury, swinging its tentacles up at him, which he weaved his way through while trying to slice into them with his winged arms—which didn't seem to go too well.
The creature then turned its attention back to Pyrrha and Blake. "Look out!" Pyrrha yelled as it raised a tentacle and smashed it down on top of them. Luckily, both girls managed to roll out of the way just in time.
Blake weakly got back on her feet, holding her side as her face winced in pain. Pyrrha quickly realized that, wherever Blake had been before now, it had not been a pleasant place. She was clearly only at half strength at best, and there was no sign of her weapon, Gambol Shroud, anywhere. All she seemed to have with her was a knife, which she had probably taken from the array of weapons offered to the gladiators at the start. But that wasn't going to do much to this behemoth of a monster.
"Chris!" Pyrrha yelled up at him. "How do we stop this thing!"
Chris dodged another few tentacles. "Just keep fighting it and I'll let you know when I come up with something!" he yelled back.
"You mean you don't know?!"
"These things are as tough as they come! Best thing I can think of is keep hacking at it and hope that it'll be enough! Just watch out for—"
The Abilisk opened its mouth wide and a beam of something shot it, striking Chris in the chest and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Oooo, that looked like it hurt!" the Ringmaster exclaimed as the crowd groaned.
Pyrrha ran at the Abilisk, dodging its tentacles and throwing her javelin directly at its face. The weapon bounced off without doing any damage and would've landed far out of reach had she not used her Semblance to bring it back to her.
"It's skin is too tough to pierce," Pyrrha realized. "There's got to be another way of taking it out."
The Abilisk zeroed in on her and swung more tentacles at her, followed by another blast from its mouth. She raised her shield, but was blown back by the force of the tentacle and the blast. She hit the arena wall hard, and the creature scampered towards her, trying to finish the job with more attacks. Luckily, Chris had recovered from before and flew at her, blocking another energy beam with his wings and forcing the tentacles back.
"Stand back, Pyrrha!" he ordered. "I'm going full war-mode!" Multiple ports on his armor began to open, forming more guns and missile launchers. He took off for the sky again, aiming all his weapons at the monster and firing everything at once. The Abilisk screeched as it was bombarded with weapons fire, but even these didn't look like they were having any sort of effect on it.
Pyrrha quickly glanced around the arena to find Blake pressed up against the wall on the other side of the arena, trying to keep herself as inconspicuous as possible. For a moment, Pyrrha thought that she was hiding. But then she realized that she was looking for just the right opening.
Blake suddenly sprinted forward, timing her jumps so that she landed on one of the Abilisk's tentacles. As the monster turned its attention to her, she kept running before taking a flying leap at it, aiming her knife to pierce the center of all the tentacles.
The blade struck, but once again, it did no damage. The monster, now realizing that one of its victims was on it, began to thrash about. Blake stumbled back, falling down onto a tentacle and holding onto it for dear life. Pyrrha moved in quickly, throwing both Miló and Akoúo̱ at the Abilisk to try to distract it. As she did, Blake took the chance to leap off, using her own Semblance, Shadow, to quickly make a clone for herself and propel her further away, landing next to Pyrrha as she brought her weapons back to her.
"This thing is tougher than any Grimm we've ever faced," she rasped.
"Apparently, there are a lot more dangerous things off Remnant than Grimm," Pyrrha responded, briefly using Akoúo̱ to block a blast from the Abilisk's mouth.
The Abilisk then swung its tentacles in, trying to crush them into the arena floor. Luckily, Chris flew in, grabbing both girls and pulling them into the air.
"Any suggestions?" Pyrrha asked him as he rolled to avoid getting hit by a blast from the creature's mouth.
"Just one!" Chris pointed down at the beast. "I think there's some sort of cut on its neck—possibly caused by someone else's weapon. If we can get to it and expand that cut, then I think we can kill it!"
"I'll draw it's attention," Blake decided.
"Blake, you're too injured—" Pyrrha stared.
"I'm fine. Just don't miss."
Pyrrha nodded, trusting the Faunus girl's judgement. "Set us down, Chris—opposite sides of the Abilisk."
"You got it." Chris quickly flew around the arena, dropping Blake down at one end and Pyrrha down at the other. The Abilisk tracked his movement before swinging another tentacle at him, barely missing him as he swerved to avoid getting hit.
It then seemed to focus directly on Pyrrha. Screeching, it swung its massive tentacles at her, slamming them down on all sides. She rolled to the side several times to avoid getting hit by them. As she did, she quickly noticed the cut on the thing's neck that Chris had mentioned. It looked small and hard to hit, but at least it was something.
As the Abilisk continued his assault on her, Chris flew by its head, firing another volley of concussive blasts that forced it to turn its attention to him. "That's right, ugly!" he yelled, flying around so that it would face him. "Stay focused on me!"
Blake got into the act as well. She leaped onto another flailing tentacle and tried to stab her knife into it. The blade didn't pierce the skin at all, but at least it was enough to get the thing's attention and keep it away from Pyrrha.
Pyrrha herself waited for just the right moment, when the Abilisk's attention was directed fully at the others. Then she ran forward, aiming Miló at the cut and throwing it with all her might, using her Semblance to push it even faster.
The javelin struck him, embedding itself deep into the cut in the Abilisk's skin. The creature roared with pain and tried to swing around to face her. But Pyrrha was already jumping, grabbing onto the handle of Miló and starting to force it down, widening the cut on the skin even further.
The Abilisk roared in pain as Pyrrha continued to widen to cut, swinging its tentacles even faster to try to stop her. But Chris took his chance to fly in, grabbing one of the tentacles, picking it up, and throwing it as hard as he could at the monster's face. It hit it squarely in the mouth, causing it to roar in pain again.
"Come on," Pyrrha thought. "Fall already."
The Abilisk surged forward a few more feet, but then tipped over as the pain began to overtake it. To finish it off, Pyrrha yanked Miló free from the cut and rammed it in again several times. The creature let out one last screech before laying down, finally dying.
The crowd was on their feet with approval, cheering and hollering. "And that's the match, ladies and gentlemen!" the Ringmaster announced. "Against all odds, this trio of fighters has claimed victory over the fearsome Abilisk! Once again, Pyrrha Nikos stands victorious! Is there nothing she can't face?!"
Pyrrha yanked Miló free one final time before running over to Blake, who seemed to be swaying on her feet. She managed to reach her and catch her right before she collapsed. "It's okay," Pyrrha told her. "It's dead. It's over…for today at least."
Chris landed on the ground in front of them. "Is she okay?" he asked.
"Don't know," Pyrrha answered. "Let's get her back to the pits so she can rest. When she's ready…she can tell us what happened to her."
"Here." Pyrrha handed Blake a small cup of water. It wasn't much—the Gladiators weren't given a whole lot to begin with—but it was more important that she got it than her.
Blake took the cup with shaking hands, gradually taking a sip. "Thanks," she rasped.
"Are you read to talk about what happened to you?" Chris asked.
Blake shuddered slightly. "It's all right," Blake," Pyrrha assured her. "Start from the beginning. What happened after Ruby broke that gem?"
She took a deep breath. "I—I woke up in chains. Then this…green lizard…thing appeared. He told me…I was now a prisoner of the…Brotherhood of the Badoon."
Chris' eyes widened. Bug let out a small squeak of terror. Nebula's eyes narrowed in anger. Even Hercules looked concerned before his face melted into one of pure rage. "Those monsters," he growled.
"Who are the Badoon?" Pyrrha asked.
"The worst of the worst," Chris explained gravely. "There are few races in the galaxy as bad as them. Your friend is lucky to be alive."
"What did they do to you, young one?" Hercules asked.
"They—tortured me," Blake admitted, shaking slightly. "Asked me my name. Where I came from. Who I was. I—I tried to resist as best I could. But some days…" She broke off into a coughing fit. "Some days it was just too much."
Pyrrha clenched her fists in a rare moment of anger. Her Semblance swelled up slightly, bending a few of the metal weapons and pipes that were around her as she thought about what Blake had been through in the past month.
"Do you know where the others are?" Pyrrha asked. "Did you see them?"
Blake shook her head. "No. I—I didn't see anyone else. I hope they weren't there at all."
"I agree," Chris said. "The Badoon are pure savages. Anyone who becomes their prisoner is in for a rough time. Let's hope your friends are nowhere near Badoon controlled space."
"Why did they give you up?" Pyrrha gently asked Blake. "Why bring you here?"
Blake shrugged. "I…don't know, really. Maybe they got tired of me and wanted to give me up."
"More likely they wanted to see you die a slow and painful death, fighting for your life in this arena," Hercules guessed. "Those animals! They had better not be sticking around Sakaar, or I, Hercules, will tear them apart!"
Blake gave Hercules a strange look. "It's what he does," Pyrrha admitted. "You'll get used to it…supposedly."
Blake nodded weakly, coughing again. "You should get some sleep," Pyrrha told her. "You need it."
She nodded again, curling up against the wall and closing her eyes. Exhaustion seemed to finally be taking its toll on her, for in moments, she was fast asleep.
Mantis reached a small hand out and placed it against her forehead. "Poor girl," she said, "She has seen many horrible things in the past month, and many horrible things have been done to her. It's a miracle that she is even still alive at this point."
"She's a tough one," Pyrrha told her. "We all were on Remnant."
"It's probably why the Badoon went so hard on her," Chris guessed. "She wouldn't give up easier than most of their other victims, so they had to torture her further to get exactly what they wanted."
"Lucky she's still alive," Nebula rumbled. "But she won't be for long in her state."
"Ha! You underestimate her abilities!" Hercules declared. "If she is anything like Pyrrha here, then she will—"
"Even if she is, that won't help her," Nebula interrupted. "She barely was able to survive the last fight against that Abilisk. She would've died if those two weren't there to save her ass." She pointed at Pyrrha and Chris. "When her next battle comes, it will be her last. She will die, no matter what kind of abilities or special powers she has."
Pyrrha knew that Nebula was right. Blake was barely in any sort of fighting shape after suffering a month of torture at the hands of the Badoon. Even with a full day's rest to replenish her aura, it wouldn't be enough to carry her through the day. She was going to die unless she could think of something.
"There has to be a way to make sure that she doesn't fight for a while," Pyrrha said.
"There's nothing we can do about that," Chris told her. "The Grandmaster is the one that decides who fights and when, and he's not one to care about how weak someone is. If he thinks it'll be a show, then he'll put whoever the hell he wants out."
"But if Blake gets sent out again, she's not going to make it."
Nebula shrugged. "Tough break, kid."
"Perhaps there is another way," Mantis spoke up. "And perhaps this may help us all escape this place."
"What do you mean, Mantis?" Chris asked.
"If we were to, perhaps, force the Grandmaster's hand, we might be able to make a deal with him."
"The Grandmaster—tik—won't make any deals with—tik—us," Bug warned.
Chris seemed to brighten slightly. "What if that deal is a game? We all know that the Grandmaster can't resist a challenge in a game. What if we were to challenge him to one?"
"Impossible," Nebula told him. "The Grandmaster has spent millennia honing his skills. He knows every game in existence, and knows the best ways to win each one. It would be impossible to win."
"What if…the game was something that we're more suited for?" Pyrrha questioned.
Bug crossed his arms. "You're talking about—tik—challenging the Champion that the Grandmaster has."
"If it comes down to it, yes," Pyrrha answered. "We make a deal with him. One final battle in the arena. All the gladiators that want out against whatever he can throw at us. Winner take all. We win, we go free. We lose…"
"Then we die." Nebula snorted. "It's a foolish plan. It would never work."
"We have to try." Pyrrha looked around at the others. "This is our only chance to get off Sakaar and get back home. It's worth the risk. And this way, we'll be there to help Blake when she needs it."
"An impossible plan," Hercules warned. "An impossible plan with only the slightest chance of success." He suddenly grinned. "What are we waiting for? I say we do it!"
"I'd rather go down fighting for a chance to get off this rock than spend the rest of my life here," Chris agreed. "I'm in too."
"And you can count me in—tik—as well," Bug agreed.
"It is a risky move to challenge the Grandmaster so openly," Mantis noted. "But I accept the risk."
Everyone slowly turned to look at Nebula. She let out an exasperated sigh. "You're all crazy," she told them. "But at least this beats dying a slow death."
"Then it's settled," Pyrrha said. "I'll see about talking to the Grandmaster about getting this deal set. You guys see if any of the other Gladiators want in on the deal." She picked up Miló and Akoúo̱ and walked over to one of the guards. "Tell the Grandmaster I want to have a word with him."
The guard stared down at her. "The Grandmaster doesn't see anyone unless he wants to," he told her.
"Then tell him that his favorite gladiator has an offer for him. One that he can't refuse."
When the elevator doors opened once more, Pyrrha walked into the Grandmaster's viewing box. He was already there, facing her from his desk. "You have my attention, Miss Nikos," he told her. "Please—tell me what it is you want."
Pyrrha stood her ground. "We want out," she told him. "We want out of your arena, and we want to go home."
The Grandmaster smiled slightly. "So I see. But tell me, why should I be inclined to let you go? After all, you are quite the hit in the arena. Your fame is growing by the day. People everywhere want to see the power of the mysterious warrior from Remnant."
"This isn't what I wanted," Pyrrha told him. "I have friends out there waiting for me. I can't stay here any longer."
"You'll stay here as long as I want you to," the Grandmaster snapped. "You have no say in the matter."
Pyrrha crossed the room and put her hands down on his desk. "Then how about a little wager?" she asked.
The Grandmaster raised an eyebrow. "A wager?"
"One last fight," Pyrrha explained. "Me, Blake, and whatever other gladiators in the pits want their freedom against whatever you can throw at us. Your monsters, your nightmares, your Champion—all of them. If we win and defeat everything you've got, then you let us go. You'll never have to see us again."
"And…if you lose?" the Grandmaster asked.
"If we lose, then we're already dead," Pyrrha answered. "You should know that better than anyone."
The Grandmaster rubbed his chin slightly. "Yes…this could work. A final battle featuring my greatest warriors. I could bring in quite the crowd and the profits from this. And, if any of my prize possessions should perish in the fight, that could be even more of a profit. Yes…"
He finally turned his attention back to her. "Very well, Miss Nikos," he decided. "You will have your game. But remember—I always play to win. I hope you and your friends realize that when you lead them to their doom tomorrow."
"We'll see about that," Pyrrha responded. "Just make sure you hold up your end of the bargain. Make sure your audience knows about it too."
The Grandmaster smiled. "Of course. I look forward to seeing you fall tomorrow."
As Pyrrha nodded and turned around to be escorted back down to the pits, she hoped that she was doing the right thing. It was an awful risk that she was taking, challenging the Grandmaster like that. But it was the only play that she had left.
One way or another, she was getting off Sakaar.
Later that night, everything had been set. To Pyrrha's surprise, most of the other gladiators didn't seem interested in what they were about to do. Many of them seemed afraid and had simply refused when Hercules and the others had asked for their help in the coming battle.
Pyrrha didn't blame them though. Some had been trapped there for years, beaten down by what the Grandmaster had done to them. This was the only life that they knew, and they didn't want to risk almost certain death just for a chance to escape.
She also knew that their chances to win in the coming battle were slim. The Grandmaster was surely going to throw everything he had at them just to make sure he would win. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that would also include trying to cheat. He would do anything to win.
Sleep eventually came to her, thankfully. She needed as much sleep as possible so that she would be as strong as she could for the fight. It would be up to her to make sure that Blake made it out alive. In her current state, she was certainly going to be one of the weaker fighters out in the arena. She would have to make sure that Blake lived alongside her. She was the only one of her friends that she had with her right now. She had to keep her alive.
Mornings were always difficult to determine for the gladiators, but Pyrrha could generally tell when they came by looking out into the arena from the pit windows for when the sun came out. However, when she did wake up, she saw that it was still night. As she was about to close her eyes and go back to sleep, she saw someone standing in front of the pit windows.
It was Blake. She had her arms resting on the wall that covered most of the window, and her chin nestled among them, staring out into the arena.
Pyrrha slowly stood up and crossed the room to her. "You should be sleeping," she spoke quietly. "You need your strength for tomorrow."
"It's hard to," Blake admitted. "Every time I close my eyes…I see them standing over me. Torturing me over and over again." Her hands shook slightly.
Pyrrha moved to stand by her friend. "It's going to be okay, Blake," she told her.
"Is it?" Blake questioned. "We're a long way from home, we have no idea where our friends are, and we're being forced to fight in battles to the death for the entertainment of these strange beings. Even if we could get out of here, where would we go? Where's home from here? Do we even have a home still?"
"Blake," Pyrrha tried to interrupt.
"We don't know what Ultron's done to it in the past few weeks," Blake went on. "He could've killed everyone we care about. For all we know, our friends never made it off Remnant, and he killed them too."
"Blake…" Pyrrha put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know you're hurting right now. I know it seems like there's no hope. But hope is something that we just have to keep going right now. Without hope, we won't have anything left. I know our friends made it off Remnant. If we both did, then they did. Once we get out of here, we'll be able to start looking for them."
"How do we even get out of here?" Blake asked. She tapped the control disk on her chest. "These things are keeping us contained."
"I made a deal," Pyrrha told her, explaining to her the deal she had made with the Grandmaster.
"Are you sure it's going to work?" Blake asked. "This…Grandmaster doesn't sound like the kind of guy that would keep his word."
"I don't know," Pyrrha admitted. "But it was the only way to make sure that you stayed alive. Any sort of fight that you would've gone into next you had a good chance of losing in your condition. This way, we only need to fight in the arena one more time. Together, with the friends I've made in here, we can succeed."
Blake shuddered slightly. "I hope you're right, Pyrrha," she said. "About all of it."
Pyrrha nodded. "You really should try to get some sleep," she suggested. "Your aura needs more time to fully replenish, and we may not have much time left before our battle tomorrow."
Blake seemed uncomfortable about this prospect of sleeping and having to deal with nightmares from the trauma she experienced, but nodded, turning back around and walking back to where she had been sleeping. Pyrrha slowly did the same once she was sure that Blake really was going to take her advice.
She knew that Blake was hurting. She hadn't met the Badoon personally, but from what had been said about them earlier and from the condition Blake was in when she first saw her in the arena, she knew that they were pure evil. It would be a while before she would be able to recover from the trauma that she had experienced from them. For that matter, it would probably be a while before all of them recovered from it.
All of them had been beaten badly by Ultron back on Remnant. None of them had gotten away without some sort of mental scarring. It would have to be something that they all would have to deal with one way or another—hopefully before they encountered Ultron again.
But the first thing that she had to do was survive the battle that was coming her way in the morning. After that…well, she hadn't really thought about what was going to happen after that. One thing at a time.
She would get through the battle and get off Sakaar with Blake. And then she would worry about what was going to happen next.
The Grandmaster stood in his observation box. "You understand the position I'm in," he said to a shadowy figure behind him.
"I do," the figure answered. "Though the idea of you making me fight people so unworthy—"
"You will do what I say," the Grandmaster interrupted. "I know you have not made an appearance in some time, but this is where you need to prove why you are the Champion. You enter that arena, and you do what you do best. Leave no survivors."
The shadowy figure nodded. "Fine. But I expect compensation for making me fight people that are far from worthy enough to fight me."
"You will have it," the Grandmaster confirmed.
The shadowy figure grinned. "I will make sure that they will regret ever thinking about challenging me." He turned around and left.
The Grandmaster turned around and faced his window, watching as the first signs of daylight began to peak out on the horizon. Pyrrha Nikos and her friends were about to learn the true meaning of pain. It would be a shame to lose some of his most prized gladiators, but he would replace them in time. Winning was far more important—the only thing that mattered.
And he had no doubt in his mind that, once again, he would be on top.
The gauntlet has been thrown. The stage is set. Next chapter, it's do or die for Pyrrha, Blake, and our favorite warriors of Sakaar. Can they overcome this last great battle and finally achieve freedom? Or will the Grandmaster have one final trick up his sleeve to end them all?
Not a whole lot to say about this chapter. We got a pretty nice big monster fight, which ended much easier than it did for the Guardians when they fought an Abilisk in V2-probably because Darkhawk alone overpowers MCU Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and yes, even Baby Groot. And, of course, we get a shadowy glimpse at this mysterious champion. Who could it be? I'll say right now that there were multiple candidates for this role, and I had a very specific reason why I chose who I did-which I'll get into next chapter.
But anywho, that's all from me. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.