//------------------------------// // The End // Story: Back in the Pit // by The Real Darkness //------------------------------// The gate filtered out the sun, and so did the stone above me. I knew this arena well, but they kept putting me up against weird creatures. And I found out dragons were real. Who were they? They were all fat disgusting creatures that only wanted entertainment. They didn't worship battle like me, but I loved fighting and that's why I chose to stay. As for the weird opponents, I was sent out to fight normal things, wolves, lions, cheetahs, but then there were odd things. Wolf-like creatures made from wood, a dragon, and the next thing had to be something else. I could tell be the way they were cheering. I didn't understand their language, it wasn't Latin, but tone spanned across languages. They wanted to watch my die again and disproving their predictions was the best feeling from this. The gate lifted and I picked up my trident and hooked my net to my right hip. I grabbed my buckler in my hand and walked out wearing my metal mannicas, my sea-themed helmet, and my long loincloth. I chose to fight in the arena, I did in my world and I did here. They just never thought I had the ability to escape them. I lived for the fight. I stepped heavy with my sandals and I felt invigorated by the crowds cheering. My blood began to really pump. My muscles clenched. My spirit roared. I am alive! Some of them were cheering in a positive tone while some were in negative voices. I had made some fans among the crowds here. I smelt the hot sand under my sandals. "Rome is a distant dream, but this is my new list of achievements," I said to myself and walked into the center of the arena. I was named Pictor Rubrum after I smeared the blood of my enemy onto my buckler and sometimes my helmet, I forgot my real name, I didn't need it anymore. I raised my arms up and nodded my head. "Ahhhhh!" I yelled to the heavens and the crowd yelled back. Expressions jumped language barriers well. The other gate began to raise up and I stopped my pose, rolled my shoulders and flexed my arms. I bounced on the balls of my feet. I flipped my Trident around in my hand to where I used the three-pointed tip for a stab down. I stared at the gate and saw two eyes staring back. Once it lifted to the top, an orange furred beast jumped out. Bat wings were connected to it's lion body, a huge scorpion tail connected to its rear. It was at leas three times larger than a normal lion. Like mythical creatures in our lore lived here. "Fortune favors the brave," I whispered to myself, taking in a deep breath before letting it out. "Die!" I rushed at the beast and saw that it lifted its paw to strike me down. The best way to handle beasts it to counter their attack before it misses. I held my trident upon it when it fell upon me. The beast, roared in pain when it impaled itself. I ripped my trident out and blood poured from the wound onto the sand. Metal, Iron, Copper. The smell is intoxicating to me. It came for another attack and I instinctively blocked with my buckler and backed it up with my other hand, bracing. I was thrown onto my back from the hit, not wounded, but my back stung from the hot sand. "Mars guide me!" I shrieked at the beast came down to pounce me. I thrust my trusty trident up and impaled the beast onto my weapon. I rolled it to my left with all my strength and retracted away. I scrambled onto all my fours before I stood again, ready to jump around. The crowd cheered loudly, loving the show we were putting on for them. I heard a voice yell something in an odd language above me. I flicked my head up quickly to see a pegasus...a pegasus, that's the word...a yellow-furred pegasus with a pink mane. This world just got a lot weirder. I focused back on the chimeric beast before me, its eyes looked at the pegasi. I saw a purple flash on my right and a pegasi unicorn mix appeared. This wasn't much of a surprise for me. It was colored purple all over, a pink stripe in the mane and tail of it. Was this part of the show? Did they want some kind of mythical bloodbath? It was the arena, of course it was. I charged right at the pegasi-unicorn, unhooking my net and throwing it onto them, entangling them quickly. The beast ran after me, I could hear its paws pounding behind me. I stopped and stood my ground, whipping around and punching the beast right in its nose when it barely expected it. It was immediately dazed and stumbled back. My hand throbbed in pain from all the force I just stopped in its sprint, but the fight goes on. I grabbed my trident with both hands and whipped the back end of it right into its face, stunning it again. I slammed the points of it into the paw of the beast before retreating, injuring it greatly and impairing its mobility. I saw a light blue pegasus come in from the sky above, hearing its wings flap. This one's mane was a rainbow. I heard more weird words shouted, it seemed the pegasus wanted this to stop and the purple pegasus-unicorn wanted the rainbow one to stop charging me. It was here I caught on. They were breaking up our fight, something must have gone wrong. I relaxed somewhat, ready to react if the beast came upon me. I looked to the purple one who stared at me and I approached it calmly, putting my trident into the steel clip on my back that snapped it into place. In Rome, I had to use other weapons at times to win a fight, that's why I had it added to my leather strap that secured my metal shoulder plates on. I stopped at it and helped it out of the net, hooking my net back onto my right hip. I solidly hit my right hand to my chest in a fist. I saw the rainbow one in the air stop flying. It spoke some odd language. "Do you need help leaving the arena?" I asked in my language, pointing to the gate and then to the ground and taking a fist fighting stance, trying to get through. "You...speak...ancient Equin?" It asked in my language, the last word sounding unfamiliar. I smiled under my helmet. I may have loved the fight, but I liked to talk and help others with simple things if possible. "We call it Latin where I hail from. I am Pictor Rubrum. You stand in an arena, my rightly earned one. I am champion here. Do you need help leaving the arena?" The crowd began to boo at the loss of the fight and the judges sent out other combatants. "No, but I need to take the manticore, the thing you were fighting, out of here. It is a friend," it said in a feminine voice. That astonished me. That beast called a manticore, a friend? No way in Hades. "Even if that feral thing is your friend, we need to defeat all these combatants. The rules here are simple, fight until one of you die. feel free to run, but come back and speak to me if you do," I informed and took my trident back into my hand. "Weaklings!" I shouted out and ran toward one of the groups of combatants. I heard a loud thunder behind me and glanced back to see that the manticore and the pegasus-unicorn and other pegasi were gone. I silently wished for them to return. I heard a flash above me and saw they were high in the air, hovering with their wings. I was upon the group of four and nailed my trident into the head of one of the purple skinned goblin-like creatures. I uppercut the one to the left with my buckler and sent him onto his back. I pulled my trident out of the slain one's head. The crowd roared in favor of the slaughter. "You're all blind!" I yelled and let the third one's blade land in between the points of my trident. I twisted my weapon and ripped the sword out of his hand and into the grips of the air. I zipped to the left and out of the reach of the fourth's incoming swing. I stabbed into the side of the now weaponless combatant, following up and skewering him onto my trident. "It's over now!" I shouted and manipulated him into the fourth one, causing the fourth one to stumble backwards. I zoomed over and stabbed him deep in both of his eyes, pulling my trident out of his head. I knew I hit brain and he fell over, trying to get back up before failing and deciding to die. They were all combatants with little experience. I looked at the one I skewered and saw him bleeding out. I stabbed the end of my trident into his skull, ending him with some mercy. My attention turned to the first one who was still a little dazed from my punch, but was on his feet. I ran to him and engaged, stopping and holding up my trident and buckler. he took initiative and swung down. I put my metal shield up and blocked, he didn't return his weapon to his front in one second and I saw an easy way to punish that. He returned his weapon and swung onto my left. I put out my buckled and stopped his attack, sending my trident into his left shoulder where it got stuck. He screamed in pain. Now to give the watchers a show. I pushed him off and onto the ground where he dropped his shield and sword. He attempted to push himself away with his feet and I went for his neck at n angle, my trident was stopped by his hands. I wasn't applying my full power. I put my foot on his chest. "Haaa!" I yelled and pushed hard, sending the points into his neck. I pulled my trident out and saw the other group of four had made their way over. They were shaking in fear from my display. I unhooked my weighted net, my boleadoras as it was named, and threw it, capturing three of them in it, the fourth had dodged out of the way, a taller and more muscled one. He must have trained some, he also wore a chainmail shirt and pauldrons. I ran to them and sunk my trident into the first one's head as he was still trapped and entangled. I swung my bloodied weapon to my left and cut into the neck of the second and brought the end back and into the eye of the third, ending him. I untangled them myself, quickly, watching the fourth and with my hands on my buckler and trident. The crowd was going nuts. I finished and hooked my boleadoras back. "Good luck," I said to the fourth and approached him in a combat stance. The smell of blood was thick in the air now. I was drunk in battle fervor. I zipped to him and brought my trident to his face, he blocked with his shield and I bounced off like I was nothing. He had the combat prowess of the ones I fought in war. I grabbed my trident with both of my hands and tried a heavy strike. He blocked, but I made him stumble back from my hard hit. I spun around and tried to slash him on the other side, he blocked and stumbled again. His sword didn't budge. He was playing defensive until he learned all that I could do, a smart move, but not a good one against me, he wasn't an expert, but he knew what he was doing. "Fall to the slaughter!" I yelled and stabbed him in the foot. He didn't fall, but backed up significantly when I released. I sent my trident into his chest and smiled. I got him and he gave me some resemblance of fun. I pulled my trident out and he came to fall onto me with life-fading body. I impaled him again in the middle of his chest and heaved his body over mine, making him do a flip and land heavy on his back. "Raaaaahhhh!" I yelled and put my arms into the air in victory, the crowd cheering my name. "Pictor Rubrum! Pictor Rubrum!" That was all they understood, my name because it was easy to communicate. I felt such a rush in each chant. Food began to come flying out of the stands. I lifted my helmet off and put my trident onto my back, holding my helmet in my hand with my buckler. My somewhat long brown hair let loose. I quickly picked up the fruits and vegetables they were throwing, catching two slabs of cooked steak in my helmet as they came out. I bit into one and was quickly enveloped in a purple flash.