Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

[Notorious]

"Better people than me?" Psy asked before Sarkter entered the room. "You clearly don't know who I am, Cas... One day you'll see, and prove to everyone why you're the best out of the rest of us. You don't see it now my friend and you might not agree with me, but you will." Soon they sat side by side, still interfaced but not exactly communicating. They liked the silence but they also liked the fact that their friend was but a thought away, able to have private conversations and thoughts along with shared feelings via the mental link. Casar's mind calmed Psy's while Psy's raging and turbulent one gave Casar confidence, strength and maybe a little bit of crazy. He had to take the good with the bad there unfortunately.


"Wow..." Nyx said, still floating in full view of the Vekht. She had frozen up when he had entered and it was as if she wasn't even there. "First Jagar struggles to call us pretty, then this asshole sees me tits out on display and in all my glory and he doesn't even bat an eye? Are Vekht really that fucked up? I've seen their women and I know for a fact I could become queen of this planet if they were into Calivari. I've actually... never had this happen to me before. I should feel embarrassed but... all I feel is anger." She said, actually giggling. "We may have found the one race of men who prefer their vaginas with teeth! Incredible." Nyx then flipped around to look at Imille, seeing only her face emerging from the water after Sark had left. "Wanna wash my back?" She purred, eyeing down Imille trying to get her mind off of the sudden intrusion. She then giggled and added, "Just kidding of course. Or am I?" They bathed for a little while longer, just long enough for Nyx to recover from being dehydrated and for Imille to bathe as she needed to go to the ship with Sarkter. Nyx stood up from the bath with all modesty aside and instead of drying off she put her clothes back on, the skin tight clothing snapping to her body and concealing her once more.


"Soap dries my skin out too much but I LOVE the smell of it. Even this icky Vekht cleanser is better smelling than most fish people I know." She babbled on as her and Imille exited the bathroom. She took one look at Sark who seemed to not pay the Calivarian any mind. "Pervert, the least you could have done was avert your eyes." When she got no response other than a shrug she glared at him, ironically being angry for all the wrong reasons about being intruded upon saying a lot about her character. Nyx waved to Imille as she walked over to join the others, seeing Jagar cook to her surprise. "What... in the fuck is that thing and what are you doing to it?"


"Called Star Stag in galactic standard. Horns barbed and form into circle. Look like star, big as house." He said, smirking as he cooked the meat. For as strange as it looked it began to fill the room with a pleasant smell that got everyone hungry. The gladiators across the room even eye balled them but had been making meals of their own, Jagar was just better at cooking than they were which was an even bigger shock. "One stag feed whole clan: two weeks. Roam in pack, normal first kill for young Vekht. If cook proper, it look less like... shit and more like this." He said, shredding the fat away and revealing a beautiful looking mound of steak that was usually hidden by the Star Stag's fat and organs. It was impressive to see a Vekht who could hunt and cook, there were only a few who had the patience to. "Be done soon. All you eat, eat through respirator difficult but... You learn." Jagar said grunting while he seared the meat. "How Jagar always eat. Be... strange eating without."


"Lucky for me I don't got one of those dinky things on my face." Nyx said, looking at the meal and totally ready for it full heartedly even after seeing what it had originally been. "I didn't know you could cook, Jagar. You look like you're pretty good at it."


"Father teach. Brother Jajin too arrogant to learn. I spend many day with father after long hunt, roasting our kills while cleaning carcasses. Many bones Jagar wear on armor from same hunts. Like you Neex... How you wear trinket on neck and fingers. Lost father too, things only thing that left." He said, sorrow in his voice. "Don't get easier, eh?"


"No it doesn't..." Nyx replied, sharing in Jagar's pain but finding solidarity in it. She was surprised to see him open up so easily now, she chalked it up to him being home and getting a breath of that air without the respirator that put him in a good mood. It was incredible to see him actually happy especially after that rough council meeting. "Imille is headed up to the Interceptor to get medical supplies for Casar and our equipment. I want to see the look on her face when you dish out a big meal like this. The fact that you can cook is gonna make her love you even more."

 

[C.DEX]

As soon as Nyx had finally made her way out, the apparently humble doctor found herself getting out and finally getting dressed as well. The doctor wasn't adjusting quite as well as Nyx was - or seemed to be. In reality, Imille wasn't sure if Nyx had been pretending to be alright, or if the pain had simply subsided.


"Hurry up." Sark said, looking down to Imille, who seemed rather hesitant to leave as soon as the cooking had begun. Wide-eyed, she was pushed through the doorway and back out into the back of the raised Vekht city.


"Oh, come ooon. I haven't eaten in solong and by the time I get back these little fatasses will have eaten it all!" She complained. "Don't you touch that steak, Cas! If you take my portion like last time I'm gonna kick your ass!" She yelled, as she disappeared finally through the doorway.


Casar remained quiet for a while, taking Psy's words in. However, he remained irritated; either due to the issues still weighing on him, or due to the link itself. There was a certain bravery that inched its way in, however, making the mage feel as if everything wasn't so hopeless after all. Imille's shout barely took him out of it, as his eyes grew unfocused. Then, he realized he was staring across the room toward Jagar and Nyx. Particularly, at the meat. It had actually been quite a while since the Interceptor crew had a proper meal, and never did they truly have it together. His body responded in kind, reverberating a Vekht-sized grumble from his stomach.


He stood up, forcing Psy to come with him if he had wanted to maintain their link. Casar walked over, sitting at the table and propping his head up to watch the preparation. He unfastened his respirator temporarily - much like Jagar had in order to have his drink on Nisela - and grabbed one of the cuts. Then, he reached out to grab Psy's arm. Not as a gesture of affection, of course, as he activated his friend's flamethrower to roast the portion of meat. The same one that had roasted Vitor's hands; a memory long out of his mind.


"Sorry." He said, in reference to utilizing Psy. "I didn't realize how hungry I was." He said, non-expertly finishing the meal he had stolen and then digging in. The mage ate much like a teenager and someone with an augment that converted his intake into power; that was to say, like a caloric Vekht.


"So you're the runt." Casar said, looking up to Jagar. "Me too."

 

[Notorious]

"No one else get any ideas..." Psy said to the others after Cas was done using him like a utensil. "I may be a machine, but I'm not here to be your own fucking grill. Eat what Jagar makes you, pigs." Psy looked away as they were eating, the chomping of their mouths making it feel like his metal bones were tingling. Nyx took a bite after Jagar cut her a portion and she was actually surprised with how good the stag tasted, going back for more immediately after. She luckily didn't have to fight with a respirator, otherwise this would have been a lot more difficult.


"Why you think we got along quickly?" Jagar asked, taking a bite of the stag. "After Jagar almost kill you, I... Seen the way Cazzer act. Not as big as other human, but have heart. That what matters." He stated, looking at the boy. "Us runts struggle more in the beginning... but become strongest. Jagar guarantee every gladiator here not as strong as me. Positive I could destroy Sark if needed if healthy. No Vekht alive see how Jagar fight, all who have opposed me have fallen. They all assume Jagar weak, that I back stab and sneak... It our advantage they think we all weak." He stated. "Trials tough, runts need to surprise to win. Fix arm, rest few days. Hunt. Train. Jagar teach Neex how to fight Vekht style, you too Cazzer. Em-lee... may not want fight but she must learn."


"She'll follow me. I got Fishbait wrapped around my little finger." Nyx replied inbetween mouthfuls of the delicious steak. "Seriously though, she cares about all of you a lot more than she lets on. She'll do anything to help any of us. Even you Psy."


"Don't talk right now to me Squid, especially with a mouthful of that... gunk." He said, averting his eyes. "Your teeth chomping up and down on that mess is making me feel like I'm gonna puke up bolts."


"Good!" She said with a smirk, "It's okay to be uncomfortable sometimes, Psy. Makes you stronger, like Jagar just said." She said laughing at him. As they continued to eat Jagar and Nyx both made sure to save a portion big enough for Imille. She was having a less fun time walking to the ship alone with Sark than she had thought.


"Move faster, Sarkter busy warrior." The green Vekht stated, towering over the woman as he led her back to the ship. "Almost there. Remember what Sark say, make it quick, do not try to escape. If you do... Ship will be destroyed with you in it, then I got over to camps and kill your team one by one. Starting with the Calivarian you like so much." He grunted, "You first human to step foot on Vetka. Get good look human... These are the last things you will ever see."

 

[C.DEX]

"Stop bitchin'. Maybe you needed some humans. Lay the verbal smackdown and show you how it's done. You should really take notes; you know how much we been through and we don't have a healing factor? Fighting Saurs, Krakens... Vekht. Exodlites. Renegades. Without the easy way out. And your stride is longer than mine, so you should probably deal with it. You volunteered for babysitting duty, not me." Imille snarked back, measuring just how much she could say without aggravating the massive man. "I mean, you feed us, you get us supplies, you walk us around... you sure you can kill us after this?" She asked, grinning, attempting to avoid the gazes of those who had detested her presence there completely.


Casar looked to Psy for a moment, sensing his discomfort. What was a joke to most everyone was actually affecting the robot, and the cold uncomfortableness easily transferred over through the maintained link. "One of us probably should have gone with her, but it's too late now." He said, mind drifting to Imille between shoveling down his food. It was actually a wonder he was so thin, having ate like he did. Then, he looked to Jagar. "If they want to categorize you as that, there's no shame in living up to expectations. Also, you should probably consider that if they expect us to fight the Vekht one-on-one, we might die, Jagar. No one here doubts that you can kill anyone you want to, especially me. But... it wouldn't really be honorable to put an entire team against one Vekht, would it? Especially if they see what we're capable of."


Casar lowered his voice, serious, despite the food in his mouth. "We need to come up with a plan." He said. "I'm not going to die on this planet because of 'honor'."

 

[Notorious]

"Easily." He replied. "You're like yapping animal. Yap too loudly and Sark make exception and finish you off now." He stated, not having the patience or stoic nature of Jagar. He didn't understand every word that Imille had said, to her benefit, otherwise he would have done some bodily harm with literally no remorse. "So, woman walk faster or be punished." He stopped and roughly pushed her along to walk faster. "Vekht do not accept foul mouth from prisoner. No defiance... Defiance is death." He stated, pushing her again and no doubt hurting the poor doctor. "Where do you think you are? Acting the way you do... You are on my planet. You behave by my people's rules." He growled, getting aggravated already. "Human outsider. We kill outsiders... If it wasn't for that runt exile and the chieftain's order you would all be dead already... That said, we have no patience for people who push our limits. To stay alive, you compete as gladiator. Outside of that you are prisoner... So.." He leaned down to her level, his disgusting breath and menacing teeth inches away from her face. "Know. Your. Place."


With a hard shove, Sark got Imille moving much faster and much quieter. If it had been anyone else in the Interceptor crew they may have challenged him further but the doctor had some sense to her, poking at an angry beast too much at once was always a bad idea. The Interceptor and the docking bays were in sight, so Sark finished with, "Will wait outside. Be quick."


"You already fight Jagar... You know what it like." Jagar replied to Cas' surprise. "And what happened? You defeated me. Have confidence Cas..." The Vekht said, taking a rather large bite of steak and chomping on it freely. It was liberating not to have to wear that respirator as he ate, relishing his time back home. "You just play to strengths. Si is metal... Feel no pain. He charge in and do damage. If he go down, Em-lee there to reactivate. She not known for fight, so she support us. Neex is fast, she distracts and hits with precision." Jagar then looked to Casar. "You Cas... Are wildcard. You have abilities that surprise me even now. Taking me down... Helping take down Warden with RCN... You need give more credit to self..." He paused, trying to find the right word. "Fuck... honor." The Vekht said, spitting out a bone. "This survival now. Honor comes when you free to do as pleased. Survival... is something else."


"Wow big guy... Never heard you curse before. I like it." Nyx commented. "Makes you sound scarier. As if you needed that though." She said with a smirk, causing Jagar to give one back. Psy chuckled himself realizing that Jagar had been thinking about this a lot already, looking at the ground now as he waited for them to finish. Nyx continued, "Will we be split up in any of these trials?"


"No... clan tested as one." Jagar replied.


"Good... Then we simply work together. There isn't much we can plan until something actually happens... And we gotta wait to hear what Imille thinks. She'll probably know of a way to amp us all up, then from there we learn how to fight as one instead of several pieces. Like how we did against the kraken."

 

[C.DEX]

"Geh." was about as much as Imille had said to Sark, through it all, finding it wiser to keep quiet than to egg him on any further. Unlike Casar, the doctor wasn't used to being treated so poorly, so to be shoved forward, nearly toppling her, was an issue. She quickened her pace, partly because she hadn't wanted to be there as much as he didn't want to escort her. "You're right, you probably have better things to do... How did Sarkter get to work with someone so honorable? The chieftans?" She questioned, doe eyes looking upwards at him. If honesty didn't work, maybe the Vekht would have liked talking about himself. It was a question that couldn't have inspired anger in him, and a much more docile one at that.


Of course, the doctor was plotting. They waded through the humid town, and it did in fact feel like ages as they walked in relative silence. When they had finally reached the docking bay, she looked to Sark.


"I might actually need help carrying what we need back." She said, in admittance. "But the more I can get, the more of a challenge I can make my friends. How does that sound?" She asked, intending on taking him to the workshop if he would have obliged.


"Eh." Casar said. "We can make a plan as we practice. Psy and I are able to interface. We can use that to our advantage. If he goes down, I can take over his body. It's stronger than mine. As far as actual, physical fighting? They let us use our weapons, so it'd be smart to keep them as far away from us as possible. From me, at least. Power... is going to be an issue, though. This place could be run on a windmill, given the right conditions. Which means if I spend what I have, I could be in trouble."


He brought a hand to his mouth. "Imille needs to stay away from the combat, if possible. Oh -" he stopped, to activate his telecomms. "Imille, bring RU-RU. Can you work on him here? Oh, are you okay?"

 

[Notorious]

"The bigger the challenge the better the entertainment. Sarkter help you, little human." He said, bending his head down as he stepped inside the Interceptor. It was strange, seeing a stranger in their commons room looking at everything with disgust. Then he seen something that interested him. "Big dumb jellyfish..." He said, poking the glass only for Zap to shock him. As tensions grew in the ship and Sark looked as if he was about to explode, he began to laugh heartily. "Good jellyfish..." He commented, captivated by its colors as he starred at the creature. All Vekht had a fascination with creatures, whether that be to hunt them or care for them. Usually both. "Take care of jelly? Feed it. Do not neglect pets." He commanded. "What is big orb in water? Eye ball?"


While Sark observed the jellyfish, Jagar watched from his wrist computer keeping an eye on Imille. Nyx noticed and scooted closer to him and watched, making sure that nothing was happening. Psy seen them looking at something so he disconnected from Casar and walked over to Jagar and seen Sark tapping on the glass.


"I WILL KILL YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" He blurted out, struggling to lean forward and to see the image better. "IF YOU TOUCH ZAP I WILL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT THROUGH YOUR ASS AND FUCKING PLAY JUMP-ROPE WITH YOUR ESOPHAGUS!"


"One... Nice." Nyx said, giggling to herself. "Two... Imille is in there. She'll take care of things, and Zap. Don't you worry. Jellies are some of the toughest sons-a-bitches alive. Chances are he'll outlive all of us."


"BRING RU-RU!" Psy added to Casar's request. "DON'T LET HIM TOUCH RU-RU TOO OR I'LL RUIN THIS ENTIRE PLANET!"

 

[C.DEX]

Psy's screeching request caused Imille to jump, and then relax slightly. She gave a brief chuckle, cutting the tension. "That's a Kraken eyeball. I don't blame you for not knowing, though." She said. The doctor paced to the side of the tank, towards the massive bag of jellyfish food. Near the side lied a gigantic scoop, which she used, comically, to dip into the bag and then dump a large portion of food into the tank. The kibbly bits floated down into the water, before disappearing and dissolving. When she was done, she scooped up the fairly huge eye, bringing it out to show Sark.


"No touching. It's a trophy. Honor and all. But you can look. Took all of us - our clan - to kill it. Then we took the treasure it was guarding and got Zap, here. Well, the android, Psy, got him as a gift." She said, hovering it in front of him. Then, she took it back and dropped it into the tank.


Casar scooted his plate across the table, taking another portion of the meat to eat while he observed with the others. Jagar's tiny wrist computer didn't have the width needed for everyone to watch, but they managed anyway by piling together. "Hey, can you grab my gaming system too?" He asked, over the comms. From the other side, Imille let out an audible groan. "Okay. You don't have to get that, but RU-RU is important because Psy might get hurt. If you can fix him here, it'd be good." He corrected.


"The workshop is over here. I can roll out some stuff if you wanna keep playing with Zap? Just don't climb in the tank. That's not an order, just a recommendation." Imille said, as she watched the Vekht play.

 

[Notorious]

Sark instead of replying audibly gave Imille a firm nod while he continued to admire Zap and the eye. "Whole clan to take down one beast?..." At first it sounded as if he was about to taunt her. "Must have been good kill." He added to her surprise as she walked back to the workshop and began gathering things they needed. "Most Vekht hunt alone... But... Known to gather clans to fight beasts such as this. You all will make fine entertainment when you perish to Vekht creatures." He said, a smirk on his face as he finished. There were other trophies in the room that Jagar had placed all about the place, making it look like a lived in Vekht ship over one that had humans, a Calivari and an android on board.


"Too curious about ship." Jagar grumbled. "Imille should not have let in. Sark seem... nosy. Trying to get tactical advantage."


"Lighten up!" Psy said, standing behind all of them now so everyone had room to watch. It was as if they were all gathering together for their favorite tv show while they ate, only for it to be them making sure their friend was alright and that the Vekht didn't mess with their stuff. "Not like he's going to take anything... I'm not freaking out now since Zap can take care of himself from the looks of things. That beautiful... electric bastard." His opinion on Sark trying to touch Zap drastically changing over the course of seconds in typical Psy fashion. "He'll be out of the ship before we know it and we'll have all our shit!"


"Imagine... If Sarkter was going through Si's trinkets. All of them. Without able to stop. Would you say... 'lighten up' then?"


"That motherfucker I'll kill him..."


Back on the ship while Imille was in the midst of gathering everything, Sark looked at the cockpit and seen many Vekht artifacts and trophies on the dashboard. It was bittersweet for him, knowing they were the belongings of an Exile but it was still nice to see that someone actually cared about their planet. "How... Did Exile Jagar meet you all?" He questioned Imille as she was passing through. "Unheard of for Vekht to have non-Vekht slaves. That only reason right? Exile enslave you?"

 

[C.DEX]

Imille stopped, filament in her hands, looking to Sark. She thought on his question for a moment, thinking it unwise to admit that they had defeated Jagar in battle. After all, he was already the runt in their eyes, and fastening that definition would have surely made a negative impact. "Jagar was hunting down ... a set of dangerous, escaped criminals that tore off the legs of a Captain, esteemed throughout the galaxy. We met during that. The criminals were harder even than the Kraken to take down. They'd killed Saurs, battled giant worms, took out caverns of sand pirates ... But in the end, we all won out. As a clan." she said. While most of what she said wasn't a lie, the doctor knew very well that exposing too much information could harm her own people.


The doctor pushed along her workshop tools, most of which could simply be detached from the ship and carried elsewhere. They were in a large metal chest, that of which was nudged to Sark as he'd turned to observe one of Jagar's trophies. Before he could nose through the rest of the Interceptor's trinkets, she began giving him more and more items until both of their hands had been full and the only option was leaving the ship.


"It's all workshop stuff." she said, before he could bring up that she had been grabbing too much. "The tools required to build augments are ... complicated. And a lot. Don't worry; I'm not grabbing anything extra." The doctor fibbed again, having tucked Casar's gaming system into her pocket while Sark had been distracted, and RU-RU in the chest. "Okay! Lets get back to the sweaty gladiator dorms. And, humor me, by the way, since you're totally going to be slaughtering us... is there anything that the Vekht can't do? Honestly. It seems like you got the good roll of the genetic dice. Superhealing spiky werewolves."


Casar looked away from the feed, to Jagar. "Then it'll be even more satisfying when we kill him." he said, grimly. "It looks like she can handle herself, anyways."

 

[Notorious]

"Vekht can do anything." Sark replied arrogantly. "Other than breath your air." He said with a smirk, "But even then without our respirators we become stronger. More powerful. More so than any race." He boasted as he carried all the things Imille had handed him. He didn't even mind carrying such things as he boasted his way back to the gladiator arena. It was borderline obnoxious how much Sark was speaking his people up, Imille had seen what they were like first hand but Sark seemed to blatantly ignore everything bad about his people. Arrogance was the silent killer of both the Vekht and the Saur, thinking they were the top of the food chain painted them out to be a target.


While they were walking everyone watching the security feed stopped and returned to their seats, getting close to being finished with their food. Nyx had sat some aside for Imille while nibbling at her own, terribly hungry but she didn't want her friend to eat alone.


"Sark seems unhinged. Like... a small push could send him over the edge."


"That... most Vekht." Jagar replied to Nyx. "I learn in travels that there always someone bigger. Someone better. These people know nothing of that, only the hunt." He rubbed his chin as he spoke, thinking of what to say that wouldn't exactly insult his people but trying to be completely unbiased. "Challenging Vekht terrible idea. Everything is challenge. Push too far and-"


A loud commotion was happening near the entrance to the gladiator area as soon as Sarkter and Imille arrived. A few of the gladiators came rushing over when Sark arrived with a ridiculous amount of equipment in his hands.


"What meaning of this? They get advantage? Why so many machine?" A group of gladiators asked, furious that the newcomers were already getting special treatment. Sark didn't even answer them, he simply clutched on to what Imille had handed him tighter and performed the perfect teep kick. His leg went flying forward and struck the closest gladiator directly in the face, crushing teeth and breaking bones in one quick motion while not dropping a single thing. The gladiator went flying back to the ground, landing hard as he looked up bloodied, dazed and confused. Sark then stepped over him and began walking Imille back to her group.


"You target now." Sark said, a smile creeping on his face. "Gladiators like even playing field. They see medical supply as threat. Sarkter suggest you hurry, otherwise you not make it to challenge."

 

[C.DEX]

"You guys have the advantage in the first place. Humans can't heal on our own, and if you honestly feel like fighting someone with a floppy arm is fair, you're insane." Imille said, dissatisfied. "Not that they'd understand that." The doctor carted her tools over to her clan's section, finally unloading the last of them. She looked to Sarkter, and then the confused, bleeding Vekht, feeling almost slightly sorry for him. Knowing that any help she might have offered would be taken offensively, she settled back down into her chair without a word on the matter. "Thanks, Sark. Will see you on the battlefield."


Her eyes shifted to the rest of her crew, and she hushed her voice low enough toward where the now-peeved Vekht gladiators couldn't hear. "I cannot stand that motherfucker." She said, demeanor suddenly switching. "Ooh, it's gonna be so nice to put a bullet in his face. So. Nice. Gonna pull it out of his head and make it one of MY trophies." She said, fuming from the encounter.


"You do a very good job of pretending, then." Casar commented, to Imille's frustration.


"Well, either or, these savages don't know how much goes into making an augment. And neither do you. But I brought your system, and RU-RU is in the chest - because I'm nice. But if any of these guys touch my stuff, then ..." She grunted, out of frustration. "I can't do anything, because we're trapped in this hellhole. With the one group of Vekht on this planet who might actually play dirty. This sucks." She said, stabbing at her food. "Your food is good, though, Jagar. Thank you."

 

[Notorious]

Jagar grunted in response but stood up suddenly, standing in front of his clan as the gladiators approached him. Instead of solving their differences with words, one of the gladiators lashed out at Jagar for the scene Imille inadvertently caused. Jagar leaned back, even in his injured state, then rushed his full weight forward and headbutted the gladiator to the ground much like his friend. Now two bleeding Vekht stood dumbfounded liking at Jagar who snarled at them, although much smaller in stature he seemed to have more force behind his attacks that intimidated them all.


"Not have problem with you..." He stated to the gladiators. "Bring supplies to heal clan. Then, we being put to hardest trial elders can provide." The gladiators seemed to ease up for just a moment to listen to him, just giving him enough time before a fight were to break out. "Even injured we strongest universe has to offer. We not look like much... but Jagar promise... You strike my family or even look at them wrong, you will not die in gladiator ring. You die by my hand." One Vekht began to laugh at Jagar who promptly got a swift jab to the throat, another lunged at Jagar but he brought his knee up and caught the charging gladiator right on the chin. He looked at the final one who looked as if he wanted to fight but began to back down.


"Be here long time..." The Gladiator spoke. "Hungry. Thirsty... Broken. We all do crimes and paying for it. We not bother your clan again. Will we?" He asked the others who promptly submitted, seeing how ferocious Jagar actually was. "You fight strong, Exile. I only wish we carried as much power." Soon the gladiators dispersed and Jagar sat down like nothing happened. There was a very brief silence before Psy started babbling.


"YOUJUSTFUCKEDUPTHREEOFTHEMNASTYCREATURESANDTHENTHEYAPOLOGIZED?! Is anyone else seeing this shit? Jagar... Buddy... I know we've had our differences but you TOTALLY just fucked those guy's world up. They were going to come over here and try and fuck us up. No... they WERE going to fuck us up if it wasn't for you being a total BADASS and pulling some ninja shit off. Oh man... seeing that has my confidence back... I nearly could take on a Jagar so if Vekht are that weak I'm gonna string a bunch together and make one of them grass skirts people wear at resorts. You know the kind... Just with Vekht bodies instead of that green bullshit."


"You have quite the imagination Psy..." Nyx said, laughing as she began to eat finally with Imille. "You know Jagar... Not trying to undermine your kickass moves there but... Tell me those are the weak ones right? Cause if not we have nothing to worry about."


"They hungry, tired and over worked in the arena. They the weak ones."


"Well, shit..."

 

[C.DEX]

Imille looked to where the injured Vekht had left, frowning. "Well... I feel kind of bad." She said. "I wish we could help them in some way, but... if we do, we'd just be making the people we might have to fight stronger." She said, sighing.


"It's not worth expending our resources." Casar said, weighing in. He remained cool throughout the ordeal, staring hard at the Vekht as they slinked away in shame after being bested. "Also, they tried to attack us. Kindness, apologies or not... They're not our friends."


"To be fair, we all got here by attacking each other. Except Nyx. She's the odd one out." Imille said. Before Casar could speak out again, she raised her hands in defense. "I know, I know. It's just that I've only been here for like... an hour, and I'm already going crazy. I can't imagine staying here for so long."


"Just calm down." The mage replied, annoyed. "We'll be out of here soon. At least, judging by how the chieftan and Sarkter were looking at us. The deal and terms were clear, though. We prove that Jagar was more than capable of killing his brother by killing Sark, and whatever other trials they want to put us through. Then we get fuel and repairs, and we'll get out of here. If something happens, and we need to leave early... we can do that too, but... I'd rather not, of course." He said, the possibility grim but still there.


"Alright, well- I'm ready." Imille said, shoveling down the last of her steak. She pushed her plate away from herself and stood up, looking to Casar. He quirked a brow, looking back. "Your arm?"


"Oh." He said. "Yeah, we should probably get that done. Not really going to heal on its own."

 

[Notorious]

"Probably hurts like a motherfucker too." Psy said, looking at Casar's gimped arm. "That's why you should just take the whole thing off, go more synthetic. Nooot because I hate organics by any means, but because it would look sleeker and you'd be tougher!" He smirked, "I can even help with the process Doc. You see... I'm REALLY good at limb removal. Like... hilariously good I-"


"You sound like you're talking from experience..." Nyx murmured, looking at the android who was practically smiling at them all. "I feel like you all aren't telling me a lot of things for my benefit. What... How did you meet Casar exactly Psy? And you... Jagar... how did you meet them? I figure Imille was patching you up against her will and she's too nice to get away." She teased, but not exactly lying either. "You're right, I kind of am the odd one out. You all got here by attacking eachother?"


Psy was giddy with excitement while Jagar simply looked on, his expression blank. "How... else you get strangers together except by fighting?" He asked, genuinely confused. "Family there from beginning, only exception. Every one Jagar friend with Jagar fought first."


"Nyx you have missed so much..." Psy said joyfully, getting excited to retell the tale. "It all started after Casar met me on a desert planet, killing literally dozens of people and then me ripping off his old Captain's legs..."

End Scene 8: A Warm Welcome
​

Several standard days had passed since the Interceptor crew arrived on Vetka, though with the planet being tidally locked by the massive gas giant it was as if it was sunset (or sunrise) the entire time. It was eerie, making them lose track of time and causing their sleep schedules to be erratic as if they were still traveling in space. It almost made the planet feel claustrophobic in a way, especially among the thick jungle where it was only lit by primitive lighting.


As the days had passed on Sarkter and the elders had been growing impatient with the crew's preparation. Imille with the help of Nurse Psy was able to mend Casar's arm and made it more sound before. The boy didn't care much for becoming more and more synthetic but it wasn't like he had a choice in the matter anyways, just like his other augmentations he had been forced to get. After Casar had healed up, enhanced by Imille's secret concoction that sped up how quick his body accepted the augments and made his remaining flesh heal over it all. It was as if Jagar had donated his healing factor to his clanmate briefly how quick Imille had worked, showing just how incredible her skills were.


In the mean time while everyone was healing Jagar was training them. He knew what the Vekht were going to throw at them. Other Vekht, creatures, tests of endurance, strength and grit. Fighting gladiators weren't going to be the only thing in their way, the trials were going to easily be the toughest challenge the crew had overcome thus far. The Kraken had been a war up, Vetka was going to do everything in its colossal power to destroy them and leave nothing left. They had used their surroundings to their advantage, using the equipment the Gladiators were allowed while also sparring with one another. They could only improve so much over a few days but it was some much needed physical training, refreshing their bodies after being cramped on a ship for so long and then before that being stuck swimming only.


"Check this shit out." Nyx said, walking up to Imille after a lifting session with Jagar. She flexed her biceps and giggled as she had recovered her strength she had lost from being stagnant after the destruction of Nisela. "This doing anything for you?" She asked, lifting the bottom half of her shirt and slapping her abs with a laugh. "I haven't been able to get this lean in months. Jagar there is a good coach. You jealous Psy?"


"Not at all. I don't have to lift heavy things unless I need to. I'm just naturally fucking awesome."

 

[C.DEX]

"Aw, you got a cute little scar!" Imille cheered, poking Nyx in the belly where she had been shot. "Well, 'little' being figurative. But it's a sexy scar, so don't worry. Kinda shaped like a boob, if you look at it sideways." She said, with a giggle. "Look at mine!" The doctor lifted up her own shirt, patting her stomach. It was relatively unremarkable, with a layer of fat covering what could only be described as remarkably average muscle definition. "Okay, well, mine's not great, but... I've been working. See?" she said, grabbing Casar's arm and wiggling it.


It was definitely synthetic in nature, with metallic muscles showing where a chunk of his arm had been previous. He yanked it back, standing up from his seat and bringing himself back to his gaming system. It had been fixed that morning, and since then, the rigorous training exercises that Jagar had been putting them through had worked him into a gross sweat. He'd spent the few minutes he'd got of respite trying to take his mind off of the current situation, delving into a particularly good Oldworld archived game that consisted of driving into pedestrians. "The Atlas ship we were on is called an 'airplane', by the way. It's what the old Terrans used to fly in the sky when they couldn't break through the atmosphere. The only difference was that airplanes can't go in the sea or do anything in space. I tried and all of my passengers died. But I bought waterbreathing as a perk, so I was fine."


"That's great, Cas." Imille said, flatly. "Thanks for your appreciation."


He ignored her, the sound of his fingers hitting angrily against the screen filling the air. Then, the doctor ripped the system out of his hands, throwing it under the table. It wasn't out of anger, however, as when the mage angrily went to catch her eye, he landed on someone else instead. In the doorway of the open hall stood Sarkter, who had entered the room with arms crossed against his chest, and a wicked, evil smile on his face. A smile that had hinted to his intentions. Imille grimaced, disarmed at his presence, causing him to cock his head.


"Small doctor lady not happy to see Sarkter now?" he asked, approaching them all and towering over them. "It time for hunt. Take off toy weapons. You fight on level playing field with other gladiators." he demanded. "You be provided real Vekht weapons. Might not fit tiny human hands, though. Too bad."


Imille went to her side, pulling her arms off of herself and placing them on the table. She looked at them with longing, worrying that her stuff may be messed with when she had gone. Really, all of their things. The gladiators wouldn't know how to use them, of course, but that didn't mean they wouldn't want to level the playing field, so to speak. Casar rose from his seat, retreating to their bedroom area momentarily and then coming back unarmed. For a moment, they spent their time attempting to place their belongings with and underneath their places in the communal sleeping hall, but there wasn't much in the way of personal lockers other than the undersides of their beds.


"Time up." Sark said, shoving the doctor forward as he'd done walking with her previous. As he went to retrieve Casar, who'd slyly brought his game system back to the dorm halls, the boy avoided the same fate with a bit of deftness.


"Touch me and I'll bite your fucking fingers off." he said, lowly.

 

[Notorious]

"Break teeth, runt." Sark replied coolly, before he could shove Casar like he had done to Imille however Psy got in the way. The android stood inbetween the two before anything could break out, his unmoving face and glowing eyes boring into Sark's. "You I'd rip apart..." The Vekht said, his attitude changing from being a joyful menace to one who was really considering dismantling a robot. "Metal bit by bit. Til your clan no longer recognized you... Use you for parts." Sark was having a grand time thinking of ways to use Psy's parts, only for the android to laugh.


"Rip me apart and I'd activate my self destruct mechanism. Might take out a few of my clan and myself but you know what tough guy? You'd go with me." He started to laugh, "You like pushing around women, injured men... Push me fuckface. Let's go." Psy challenged, his patience running thin throughout the time they had been there. He had waited patiently for everyone to be healed up and ready to go only to see Sarkter push everyone around and bully anyone he came in contact with. Even the gladiators were being threatened by him, it seemed he liked bullying so Psy was going to bully back no matter the consequences. "My killcount is in the thousands, I've mercilessly slaughtered villages, people who were just asking for help or those who were at my mercy because I fucking felt like it. On my best days I'm unhinged and on my worst days I'd kill my own family. I can barely contain myself sometimes Sark, this is one of those times. Fucking hit me." Psy said, his voice glitching out as he spoke. "Fucking test me one more time meat sack. Let's go. Fuck all this gladiator bullshit and let's fight, I'll even let you throw the first punch."


Sarkter was moments away from striking Psy, it took all of his will power to stop himself. His explicit orders were not to harm the competing warriors today, they were well rested and they wouldn't get another shot at being fresh for the competition again. He was shaking with rage, a prisoner had never spoken to him like that before and although he was an android he felt such a deep hatred for the droid that rivaled any other emotion in his body. He had a short fuse and Psy burnt it all up, just testing their captor's patience. Psy tilted his head, waiting for the strike only for Sarkter to let out a slow breath of air trying to calm himself.


"If it was different day robot... You have one final chance. Elders exile Sarkter if don't give you warning. Now... Any threats or hostile act is considered attack. You will be dismantled, as will your team. You kill own family huh?" The Vekht grinned at him, "Maybe you will if you act that way again." With that Sarkter moved to the front of the room and shouted, "This way runts! Arena in desert lands... Boarding transport ships and leaving now. All weapons and belongings here... Armor and weaponry will be there." And with that Sarkter stood by the door awaiting everyone in the ward to leave. It was strange, him making everyone file out. That meant this event for today was going to be rather special.


Jagar stood up from where he was sitting and watched as Nyx hulled up next to Imille, standing near her protectively just incase she were to get shoved again. Casar and Psy stood next to one another as well so Jagar took up the front, leading the others past Sarkter without breaking eye contact. Several thrown together, almost derelict-like, ships awaited them. Jagar boarded the closest one with the others trailing behind then they took their seats.

 

[C.DEX]

Sarkter boarded along with everyone, taking the very back of the transport ship to himself, electing to stand and grab hold of the bar to the side of him. His method wasn't fueled because of comfort or worriedness of falling, however, and that became evident as his knuckles turned stark white and the metal beneath his fingers creaked and bent. He stared hard at Psy and Casar as they began to take off and the transport ship lifted into the air, most likely fantasizing about the various ways that he would get to kill them. Casar, on the other hand, placed a hand onto Psy's shoulder and interfaced with him, all the while staring hard back at Sarkter. The tension was highly, highly uncomfortable, and if they hadn't been on bad terms then, they would be soon. They rode like this for a while, with the mage attempting to soothe the seething android whilst keeping an eye on Sarkter.


Imille leaned her head on Nyx's for most of the way, with her arm wrapped around hers at the elbow, and Jagars at the other side. Her gaze was somewhat vacant. If the Vekht guarding them hadn't been present, they most certainly would have been speaking to each other, but unwanting to cause more strife while they had been in such vulnerable positions, they remained silent. The hostility in the air was thick.


Through a tiny slat that allowed them to see through the front and out the window, they could see that they were high in the air. Beneath them, the jungle was slowly disappearing, thinning its brush until it had finally gave way into sandy, heated deserts. The vehicle they road in quickly became a hot death trap, as the particularly susceptible humans and incredibly susceptible Calivarian began to sweat immensely. Imille's hands went to the back of her head, tying her hair into a braid while they waited to arrive. Casar regretted briefly not bringing up the haircut, as his head had become a mottled mop.


Then, the van came to a halt. Sarkter stood up, looking to them with a small smirk. After all, he wasn't the one who had to survive. As he went to pass Psy, he stopped, leaning down to pass hot breath into the android's face. Luckily, he couldn't smell, but Casar could, and it caused the mage to recoil. "Survive this. You not, Sarkter turn you into weapon and kill robot's friends with you. Sarkter want to see what robot do when Sarkter tear them apart, limb from limb." He growled, passing a glance sideways to Casar. The mage responded in kind, looking around and then pointing a sarcastic finger at himself, as if to say, 'Me?'.


Then, he led them off of the van. They all got up, with Imille trailing behind and staying close to both Jagar and Nyx. She frowned under her mask, feeling particularly helpless at the situation. They stepped out into horribly hot desert. Then, they looked up.


The arena that they had been brought to was massive; a true work of art. It was flanked with sculpture guardians of fearsome creatures that none of them except Jagar had seen before. Even then, not in person, as the multi-winged, duo-mawed beasts were animals of Vekht legend. Beyond that, the stadium had been humongous in height, making way for massive events to occur within its walls. It was a stark contrast to the primitive buildings inside of the Vekht city; it seemed that areas that glorified fighting were painfully crafted, as opposed to the regular quarters of the Vekht people themselves.


"I'm actually impressed. Who did you get to make this for you?" Casar asked, tempting fate and challenging Sark's intelligence. The comment passed by uneventfully, as the Vekht guardian hustled the crew along to the inside.


They were brought to the sun-lit halls of the grand stadium, where they found themselves in an open-ceiling room lined with primitive weapons; double-bladed axes, spears, shields, bolas, and all sorts of other weaponry lined the walls. All Vekht sized. Casar reached out, grabbing a glaive from the wall that had dwarfed him with his newly-augmented arm.


"Pick weapons. Walk through door here." Sarkter said, eyes still glued to the android.

 

[Notorious]

Psy didn't break eye contact, even to a Vekht it had to be unnerving how the android never blinked nor faltered. Finally, he broke away when a gladiator went over to get Sarkter's attention for a moment. He looked at the weapon choices and was giggling to himself, "I love primitive weapons." He said, looking at them. "They're so... barbaric. Means you get up close and personal with your kill. Unless you're a pussy and use a bow or something like that." He scanned the selection then let out an "Oooooo." As he walked over and grabbed a massive double bladed axe. Then, he grabbed another. With his synthetic strength he was capable of wielding both at once as if they were dual blades, only having that much more power behind them. "Are we allowed multiple weapons? I don't know why I'm asking as I'm going to do it anyways but..."


Jagar nodded firmly. He was all too well aware of what happened in this stadium, the fighting arena was Vetka's crown jewel. It was in the dead center of all of the clan's territories, converging on the location was equal distance away in every direction being the main meeting point for all Vekht.


"Vekht fighting mean multiple weapon, multiple scenario. One weapon may bad choice for certain fight, so allowed as many as can physically carry. Looks like me and you can hold more for others if need be. Grab what you can and place it on yourself, in case their's breaks." Psy nodded and began to stock up on various weapons, placing them on his back and inside his armor just in case the others needed a resupply or a change of weapon. This also meant that he was now a walking arsenal, something the other gladiators didn't have the advantage of.


Jagar himself grabbed a pair of gladiator gloves, wrapping the cestus around his clawed hands. The gloves themselves had pointed knuckle tips, perfect for attacking hand to hand. He then grabbed a buckler he strapped to his left arm then armed himself with a long scimitar, the blade polished but worn down from use. Jagar took a seat and began to sharpen it with a whetstone, wordlessly getting ready as the others did too. Nyx opted for something a little on the nose and grabbed a trident along with a net. She then turned and threw the net onto Imille who helplessly got caught up in it as she was browsing the weapons herself.


"Gotcha Fishbait!" She teased, who then began to untangle Imille from the net. Given the primitive nature of the weapons it would take some adjusting to, such as the net which they both fumbled about with for over a minute while the others got ready. Sarkter just shook his head watching, seeing that those two were the weakest links. "Just imagine if I was a predator, there'd be nothing you could do..." She said with a sly smirk on her face, trying to ease the doctor's tension by being a goof. "When we get in there I'll stay close by, we'll wrap whoever comes near us in my net and we'll poke em with this." Nyx added, raising her trident. "What are you going to pick?"

 

[C.DEX]

"Bah! Now I know what being tuna feels like." Imille said, fumbling with the net and finally taking it off of herself. "Alright, well, that's more effective than I thought it would be, at least! I mean, you see fish swimming around in those little nets and you're like, 'just take it off, bro!'. But no. Not that easy." Her eyes settled on the weapons which lied on the sides of the walls and in the middle of the room, deliberating. Most were too heavy or unwieldy for her to use, and some seemed so foreign in nature that she wasn't sure that they had any use at all. She passed a glance toward Psy, narrowing her eyes, and then took a bow off of the wall, stifling her embarrassment. It was large, but not so large that she couldn't pull the bowstring back. With it came a bunch of sharpened metal arrows, some bearing notches in the back with strong cord tied to them. "Say one word and RU-RU gets it."


The doctor took a deep, labored breath in, halting her nerves. It didn't help that she had the respirator on, but that was a point that she couldn't shove away. Inside of the arena, a unisoned roar filled the air, entangled with so many voices that it almost sounded like angry static. The crowd was getting restless. Sarkter looked to them for one last moment, before roaring, "GO!"


"Yish." Imille replied, confirming her selection and walking out toward the entry-way. She let Casar go first, trailing behind him with Nyx in tow. He blocked a quarter of the doorway itself, forcing the Interceptor team to squeeze by him happen they wanted to pass, staring down at them hard as they had done so with a scowl that decieved his true intentions. The mage walked by, not acknowledging his presence, leading the way for the rest to follow. Far down the hall, he saw that a separate set of gladiators were taking their place at their very own barred gate, waiting in anticipation. Their eyes fell on the Interceptor crew, and slight toothy grins appeared on their faces. It seemed that they were the odd set out, making themselves a target by sheer means of appearence. After all, the gladiators that took down the Exile and the homeland invaders would be esteemed, even if it was an easy task in itself. It made it all the more appealing.


Rumbling filled the air as the gates began to open, sliding down into the earth beneath them. Sarkter bent over from behind them, crooking his disgusting face down to their level. "Good luck. Gladiators hungry today." he growled. "Remember what Sarkter said, robot." Then, he pushed the backmost crew forward, forcing Nyx and Imille out of the inside and out into the massive auditorium. The other gladiators followed in kind, finding their places amongst the maze of rubble, strategically placed hiding spaces, and torn down buildings in the middle. It seemed the crowd wanted entertainment, and so they would get it.


Looking up, the crew noticed that the stands were absolutely engorged by Vekht of every color and creed, from slick blackened Vekht with lithe bodies from the ashlands, to deep jungle green Vekht with horns that jutted backwards from their heads. They all had one thing in common; they wanted to see bloodshed, cheering in unison, and the Interceptor crew wasn't exactly the crowd favorite. Their screams were mind-numbing, tunnel-vision-causing, and frightening all at once, shaking a gladiator that hadn't been used to it to the core. Then, seated in their own special boxes all the way across the stadium and lowest to the ground were the elders from beforehand.


Violence broke out in waves, first and foremost erupting via a spear that ricocheted through the air straight toward Psy. The doctor ran to tuck herself under a ramp, while the mage's weapon began to jolt and glow, just as well as his eyes.

 

[Notorious]

"Do not let them break our lines..." Jagar said right before the gate sank into the ground. "Si... We take front. Let others fire over us. Charge hard to stop attack." He said being strategic, knowing the way Gladiators work better than any of them there. It was a bit surreal, being on the other end of what had once been one of his favorite pass times. He looked up into the crowd, literally everyone there wanting nothing more than for him to die this day. It felt almost too barbaric even for him, being on this end. It was then he knew how those gladiators must felt, there was no submitting here it was simply kill or be killed all for these people's entertainment. A sense of bitterness welled up in him, he wasn't sure why he was feeling this way as for years now he'd kill without blinking an eye but something about how this was glorified, this needless killing, sickened him.


Perhaps it was the group he had been traveling with for some time now softening him, giving him a dose of humanity he desperately needed. He looked back to his team one last time before the gates began to fall, Jagar was going to do everything in his power to keep all of them alive. As soon as the gate hit the ground and the other gladiators opposite of them began to storm out Jagar charged forward with Psy in tow. The spear that cut through the air towards Psy was caught by Jagar as he jumped up and landed onto a roof of a broken building. Psy was dumbfounded at first but began to laugh at Jagar, the much taller, 'stronger' gladiators were in for the fight of their lives when Jagar got ahold of them.


Nyx followed up behind Imille, taking cover next to her leaving Casar to move up on his own or get singled out by the gladiators. A Vekht had came charging around their flank straight towards the three of them in which Nyx flung the net right at him. The Gladiator was totally blind sided by it and fell to the ground in which Nyx began to jab him with the trident. She was dealing an already impressive amount of damage to the fallen gladiator, though he was a Vekht so his hardened skin and healing factor played a role as he fumbled to get up from where he was pinned down.


Jagar roared as he jumped down from the ruined building and landing on one of the lead gladiators that was charging right as Psy. The Vekht hit the ground incredibly hard as Jagar landed on top of him, only for the former mercenary to lift his leg up and stomp on the back of the gladiator's helmet. Over and over he stomped the dazed Vekht until his head was crushed, healing factor be damned as Jagar already secured the first kill. He raised his arms up to the crowd who immediately booed him, his impressive strength a non-factor to them being an Exile. He smiled in their faces, killing a well armored gladiator like he was nothing.


Psy on the other hand wasn't having as swell of a time. "QUIT SHOW BOATING AND HELP!" He screamed as he was surrounded by three gladiators after charging in. He was swinging his axes but he was still calculating how much strength he needed to use due to the weight of the weapons, trading blows with all three of the Vekht while taking a few hits. It didn't matter much when he got hit but if he was pushed to the ground and stomped or hit with a serious weapon the droid ran a serious risk of dying. "CAS! BACK UP!" He shouted out, regretting that he was the one to charge forward practically alone.

 

[C.DEX]

Casar looked around himself to find that he was alone, with Psy and Jagar taking the front lines as well as Nyx and Imille immediately retreating back toward the ramp of a collapsed ancient building. His eyes were emblazoned by orange; a telltale sign that he had intended to do something drastic. The end of the glaive in his hand began sparking and glowing white, heated by electricity but saved by its craftsmanship. Knowing that he wouldn't match up against the strength of the Vekht that he had to fight, he kept his hand down the length of the pole, gripping it tight and grabbing as much range from it as possible.


Imille stood from her place in the back, drawing back the bowstring of a weapon she had never used beforehand. Thankfully, her target was in a net, fumbling in an attempt to get out. An arrow nocked between middle and pointer, the combat medic released her arrow into the neck of the struggling gladiator, causing him to sputter out, spitting purple blood. In a last-effort rage, the gladiator shot up from his position, tackling the Calivarian woman despite the net around him. She fell hard to the ground, entrapped by the outer layer of the net. Then, as his claws extruded from his knuckles in an attempt to end her, the hot end of Casar's glaive pierced through the back of his head. He fell limp.


Imille ran to pull her friend out from underneath the massive, twitching corpse. "Holyfuckholyfuck are you okay?! CAS YOU'RE SCARY!" She shouted out, as he retreated from them to rush toward the three clanmates, all ashen in color, that had been gaining on Psy. One had sharp tusks jutting out of his lower lip and haphazard metal armor with trophies lining his neck and belt. He must have been the leader, as he reached for the back of the neck of Psy. However, Casar wasn't having it.


He thrust his glaive into the back of the Vekht warrior, using his own weapon as a conduit. Massive arcs of electricity whitened the area as as soon as the leader had gone to throttle Psy, Casar poured energy through him and into his android friend, giving him a much needed power-up. Realizing their leader had been stunlocked, one of the other two broke from Psy to deal with the problem.

 

[Notorious]

"NO YOU DON'T!" Psy called out as he swung both of his axes wide, striking the two gladiators that were headed towards Casar in the side. This left the leader compromised and right in front of Psy, the last place the Vekht wanted to be. Psy then opened his mouth as the leader stood there stunned and let out a torrent of flames that engulfed the stunned leader's face. Psy kept the heat up for much longer than necessary, only closing his mouth and stopping the flow of flames when he knew he had gotten the job done. When the flames and smoke cleared the stun-locked leader had his feet glued to the ground and the entire front of his face melted off, his charred skull proudly presented to the world his eyes and other features simply had melted away. "Toasty!" Psy called out, cackling to himself as he killed his first Vekht. When the leader fell the crowd gasped and the elders began to deliberate among themselves.


"Use outside weapons..." The green elder said to the others, displeased with this turn of events. "Sarkter explain rules... That boy also using tech. Do we kill them?"


"It not cheating." Jagar's grandfather said, grumbling in his seat as he too was displeased with what was happening. "Vekht have healing ability, these... outsiders have their own. Our gladiators prove might... And if these don't, the next ones will."


Back down in the arena, Nyx was shaking off the feeling of being nearly squished by that gladiator and immediately hugged Imille. "Stick together." She added without another word as she got to her feet after her friend had helped her up. She picked up her trident then dragged the net off the fallen Vekht then quickly took a defensive position with Imille. They were both the easiest targets unfortunately, even with Nyx's speed the Vekht were power houses. Jagar was on the other side of the arena charging to assist Casar but a group of Gladiators sprung a trap. They jumped out of the sand in front of him and began slicing at Jagar with their weapons, choosing to use the element of surprise to their advantage. Jagar was caught off guard but quickly regained control as he used his buckler to bash them away from him. They were horrifically outnumbered so even the condition of the gladiators didn't matter, they had sheer numbers and it was going to be a miracle if the Interceptor crew got out of this alive.


The people in the stands grew restless, roaring out to the gladiators to start fighting. The cries from the crowd amped up the remaining losing gladiators greatly, two charged towards Nyx and Imille, an additional one had joined the two hunting Casar and now Jagar was completely surrounded. Psy looked towards Nyx and Imille seeing that they needed the most help with Casar getting close to Jagar. He made a tough decision by leaving Casar to get assistance from Jagar and began racing towards Nyx and Imille, prioritizing them as he knew they needed him the most.

 

[C.DEX]

Imille brought her bow up, the mechanism of it putting more power behind her draw. A nocked arrow aimed out at the encroaching Vekht, whose stature was much larger than the others. It pierced the air, cutting it and lodging firmly into the massive beast's eye. The pain seemed to drive him into a further rage, as he roared out and charged bodily at the doctor, claws extended. She would have been killed there, instantly flattened as the warrior ran her down with tooth and claw, but Psy had rushed in at just the right time.


The android, meeting the Vekht directly in front of the doctor, skidded along the sand but ultimately maintained his footing as the massive beast brought his claws in to close on the robot. Inch by inch they had drawn closer to his face, threatening with sharpened, fearsome metal to slice through his metallic cheeks. His strength was overwhelming, and if the borg hadn't moved soon, it would leave the rest of his team in a particularly vulnerable position. Imille reached down, grabbing for the heavy net.


Casar, on the other hand, had been left alone once again. He peered through an orange visage, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of further gladiators, or terrain he could use to his advantage. Being encroached on by three, he backed up, knuckles turning white around his glaive. The mage reached it out suddenly, thrusting the tip of the blade toward the Vekht in front of him. Electricity arced off of it, looking for a new host, and shocked the Vekht. It caused his rage to burst as he leapt forward, but the small mage was quick and augmented, side-stepping the Vekht and causing him to crash into his clanmate behind him. With them temporarily disoriented, the mage raised his weapon to thrust it into the enraged Vekht's back.


Before he could, a chain had wrapped around his ankle, nearly crushing it and slamming him to the ground. Before he could fathom what was happening, he had been yanked across the sand, flaying his skin with a burn and bringing him to the feet of a warrior that had intended on doing a particularly dramatic finishing blow on him. The mage wasn't having it, his drive to survive far surpassing anything they had seen in the arena as of thus. By all means, he was supposed to die there, but as the warrior thrust his claws down, the mage raised an augmented arm, stopping the descent with synthetic muscle. His other hand wrapped around his own ankle chain while the Vekht drew his claws back to try again.


The mage rolled out of the way just in time, forcing the Vekht to embed his claws into the dense sand. In the second that it took him to attempt to release himself, Casar sprung up, climbing into the kneeling warrior's back and bracing his own weapon's chain against his throat, using magnetism to tighten it to the point of choking, while he mounted the massive beast like an unruly steed.

 

[Notorious]

Nyx seen what Imille was doing and she too grabbed the heavy net, giving the doctor a firm nod as both the women ran right past Psy and the Gladiator's clinch getting around them. Nyx jumped over the two, bringing the net over the both Psy and the Gladiator bringing the net down on the both of them.


"PSY MOVE BACK!" She called as she was in the air, the android only had a few milliseconds to comprehend what they were doing but he used his thrusters to burn the gladiator he was clinched up with then boosted back. The net went over the confused gladiator while both Nyx and Imille used their full weight to keep the beast pinned for a moment. This gave Psy the perfect opening as he grabbed both the axes off his back and slammed them down hard into the gladiator. Over and over again he did this, purple blood spewing out of the mess of net. Psy was making a mess of the net and the gladiator, ruining their weapon while also trying to take out the Vekht. He was struggling to stand, the axes being a terrible choice in reality as they were too slow and Psy was too worried about having flashy kills. The gladiator began to stand up, even when getting slammed in the back with two axes along with an eye missing. Yelling, Nyx reared her arms back and thrust her trident into the Vekht's neck and out the front of his face, his face going limp as he was finally finished off.


"Teammmmwork!" Psy said, holding up both of his hands and giving both Nyx and Imille high-fives. "That's girl power right there people, this is DEFINITELY going to be something we gossip about at the slumber party." He half mocked as he joked with the both of them, even in the middle of a battle his words were frantic and absolutely random. Both the girls played along with it, Nyx was pleased to see someone was having fun in this brutal business and Psy somehow made everything seem way less serious.


On the otherside of the arena Jagar was doing battle with multiple gladiators at once. Swinging his buckler like a blade and blocking with his sword and vice versa, using both tools both offensively and defensively as he displayed such expertise over the use of such primitive weapons. These were the types of tools he had originally trained with, only learning energy weapons and advanced guns after he was Exiled. Each time he struck a gladiator the stadium booed, absolutely no one cheering for the exile. What was ironic was that several of the gladiators were to be exiled if they didn't choose to become a gladiator, making their boos that more close minded. That's when Jagar caught a glimpse of what was happening to Casar.


The boy was strangling a Vekht with his own chain, mounting him like a steed whilst standing on his shoulders and yanking upwards. Jagar at first was impressed, then in the moment of observation took the blunt side of a shield to his head causing him to snap back to reality. He swung with all his might at one of his attackers and embedded his sword into their neck. With a roar the Exile ripped the blade out only to swing it upwards, completely sinking his blade into the bottom of the Vekht's neck and out the top of his skull. It would have been too difficult to pry the blade loose so Jagar charged out of the group that was attacking him and went to assist Casar.


As Cas held the beast in place whilst strangling him, Jagar went right up to the defenseless Vekht's front. He began digging his claws into the beast's chest after bashing the gladiator in the face with his buckler, causing him to be further stunned. In a moment of pure brutality, Casar tightening the chain tighter and tighter while Jagar disemboweled the gladiator the Vekht actually roared out in pain as he was painfully killed on two fronts. Then, Jagar pulled back and punched the chain itself, causing Casar to tighten it further. What resulted was a geyser of blood as the Vekht's head popped off his shoulders and neck like a zit, his insides pressurized and shooting out of the hole in his neck making it rain blood around them. Jagar held out his arms and bathed in it as it rained down to the audience's horror, his eyes closing as he heard the thud of the body falling to the ground after Casar got away.