Gods of Arena

His feet felt numb, as they returned to the hall. He just came to the realization he would still lose everyone..... or probably lose himself to someone. He reluctantly took short glances at Romeo who was fuming beside him and moving at a slow pace. He could almost swear he felt heat emitting from Romeo. He stopped, as he watched Romeo turn and enter his room. "What's up, Kang?", Jae greeted and winked, as he entered his room.

He faked a smile back at Jae and entered his room too. Immediately he closed the door behind him, he stood still, staring at the bottle of water he had kept beside the nightstand. Right there, he could feel his childishness seeping out of his head and it was almost out completely.... Probably true.... Or he wanted to believe that. He walked over to the nightstand and picked up the bottle of water. His long desired rest had just escaped his mind. He was going to work out till he knocked himself out.

He headed out of the room, immediately. "I won!", Dave's voice slammed into him, immediately he stepped out. He stared blankly at Dave, as Dave approached him slowly with hate. "You didn't want this, did you? You probably gave him something that would have totally knocked me out but it didn't happen. Am I right? It makes me feel a lot prouder of myself if I'm right"

"Get out of my way, Dave", Kang said, looking pale. "As you can see, I'm on my way out"

"What are you going to do if I don't leave? Eh?", Dave asked, threateningly.

"I'm not in the mood for this. Get out of my way"

Romeo's door opened and he stepped out, looking directly at Frank. Dave stared back, wearing an awfully annoying smile. He was sure he saw Romeo hurting beneath all the anger he put on his face. "How are you dealing with grief, bro?", Dave asked, stepping closer to him confidently. "I told that guy If I got time with the both of you in the ring- and it's just me- I would still best you."

"How about you best me now?", Romeo asked, as his angry face slowly shaped into a smile. Kang glanced at Romeo's hands. He had clenched his fist, probably ready to throw a punch. "What do you think, Dave?" "You want to bring it on? Bring it-"

Romeo threw a punch at his mouth, shutting him up. Kang looked forward and walked away, heading straight to the gym, with his bottled water in hand.

Dave shook his head, transforming into his huge reptilian face, and bit on Romeo's hand. Romeo lifted him and slammed him against the wall. Breathing heavily, his eyes turned black completely and his arms were covered in his sharp thorns. He just stood there, glaring at Dave with peerless ferocity and trying to control his anger. Dave's tail shot him up and he kicked Romeo back. He moved forward and his huge tail skittered ahead of him, driving it's way into Romeo's shoulder. Romeo was about to grab the tail when Dave zoomed at him and kicked him down again.

'Fighting outside the arena will no longer be tolerated', a voice made the announcement, from the speakers in the hall. 'Every fighter found in the act will be punished. Keep in mind that your moves are being watched and every unwarranted violent act against one another will be severely punished........'

"Fuck that!", Romeo muttered, as his eyes got darker. Dave kicked his leg at him. He pushed the leg down and sprung up, quickly. He threw a punch at Dave but Dave caught it in his thick palm. His tail slithered at Romeo, who held it quickly, making the thorns in his hand stab the tail. Dave threw a punch at him and Romeo bit on it with his extra teeth.

Dave's tail writhed and he shook, howling in pain. Romeo put an hand in his mouth and Dave bit hard on it, as expected. Romeo made the thorns come out, getting stuck in Dave's mouth. The thorns rolled around on his fist, speedily like a grinder, tearing around Dave's mouth.

Blood gushed out all over Romeo's arm and he tugged it out, quickly, tearing out Dave's mouth. Dave dropped on the ground, with blood gushing out of his grotesque face, as he died there.

Soldiers rushed out of the passage with their golden guns pointed at Romeo. "Put your hands behind your head now".

Romeo smiled and did as he was told. He glanced at Dave's body on the ground again. The revolting appearance of his bloodied face was awfully satisfying. "That's for Frank", he muttered and spat on Dave's body. The soldiers put golden cuffs on his hand and pulled him with them, as they walked back out through the passage.

****

He pulled the gloves and fit his hands in. He was pretty angry and he really didn't care about anything. He pictured Jin in front of him, building up anger against him for not informing him before leaving the arena. He shouted, as he punched the bag in front of him.

Jae walked in on him. Everyone else had entered the room or was probably hanging out silently somewhere. All he could hear was Kang's noise. "Hey! Keep it down, will you?"

Kang turned around slowly. He was pretty angry. The last person he would want to see at the moment was the first person who made him angry and tried to kill him. "What if I don't?"

"What did you just say?", Jae said, approaching him slowly, with the weird threatening look he always wore on his face.

Kang stepped closer. He definitely wasn't seeing Jae in front of him. Rather, it was just a punching bag he wanted to hit till the insides fly out. "I said it three seconds ago. What happened to your memory?"

"Oh. You never learn, do you?", Jae said and clenched his fist into hard stone. He punched Kang in the face.

Kang raised his head, quickly. The rage kept building up in him so much that he could barely feel anything else.... Not even the pain of having a rock slammed against his head. Rather, he felt refreshed and awakened by the hit. Jae threw another punch at him but he caught it in his hand. He definitely wasn't thinking of winning, neither was he thinking of losing. In fact, he wasn't actually thinking.

Jae threw the second arm at him and he caught it. He felt the strength of Jae pushing against his hands and he pushed back. He kicked Jae in the stomach, throwing him backward. Jae sprung up and pulled a stone out of his side, flinging it at Kang immediately. Kang bent backwards and tried to catch the stone. The weight of the stone almost pushed him back. Kang managed to pull it back and threw it back at Jae. The stone weakly bounced off Jae. He looked at Kang, glanced at the stone on the ground, and laughed loudly. "It's impressive that you're able to do that, at least", he said and stepped closer. "Whatever Shin Zhu you have, I'm sure it'll remain low-tier forever"

Kang ran at him and flipped, kicking him in the head. Jae swung his Stony arm at him but he blocked the hit with his arm and threw back at punch at Jae's head. Jae pushed his body towards Kang, bouncing him off with his body weight. 'Fighting outside the arena will no longer be tolerated', a voice made the announcement, from the speakers in the gym. 'Every fighter found in the act will be punished. Keep in mind that your moves are being watched and every unwarranted violent act against one another will be severely punished........'

Kang got up furiously, running at Jae. Jae pulled a stone out of his side and swung it at Kang's head. Kang saw that coming. He placed a hand on the stone and leaped into the air, kicking Jae in the chest. He held the stone firmly and swung it at Jae with all of his strength, throwing Jae backwards.

Soldiers rushed into the gym, in time, and found Jae on the ground. "Turn around and put your hands behind your head", one of the soldiers said, as they approached him.

They cuffed his hands and pulled him, roughly, as they rushed into the hall, heading for the passage. He stared at the golden cuffs. They were just like the bracelet in his bag.

****

"Aargh!", Romeo screamed, as he felt electricity crawling up his entire body. He could feel his brain dangling in his head, with his hands chained to a chair. Not only was he unable to break out but the electricity made him a lot weaker. He could barely feel his hands, not to talk of clenching his fist. They put a silver bracelet on his hand, which stuck firmly to his wrist. That could be the explanation for his inability to use his abilities since then.

"Fred? Who's that?", Dea asked and stopped torturing Romeo. She walked to the man and looked into the computer screen.

"It's, uh, one of the fighters", Fred replied.

"Yea. He was making contact with someone on the other side. What's his name?"

"Dan"

Romeo raised his head slowly. He could barely see anything but he heard them clearly. His head dropped on his chest weakly. Having a complete minute without electricity in his veins was pretty satisfying. "I will have to see him... also, there can only be a larger figure on the other side", Dea said. "I need you to find out who is there"

"I'm sorry. Unless this person steps into the camera, I can't", Fred replied and faced her. "You might have to get whatever information you want from the fighter"

"We have an impending war on us. We can't have secret hideous plans blowing them up for us", she said and walked back to Romeo.

"Please, stop", Romeo muttered, weakly.

"But you are creating huge problems for us. You are not only breaking our rules. You just wasted a valuable fighter in which we invested resources. King will have your head if he finds out about this" "Dea!", a voice called loudly, from the outside. "Dea!"

Dea got up and walked towards the door. The door opened suddenly and King walked in. "King? What's the matter?", she asked him.

"Jin's the matter. Where is Jin?", King asked, wearing an angry investigative look.

"Jin? Why?", she stuttered, walking towards him. "What do you need him for?"

"See me in my office now", King said and turned, walking away furiously. Dea followed him, closely.

The room was silent now and Romeo was slowly regaining his strength. He couldn't use his powers but he could now feel his hands. He raised his head and looked at the man in the lab.

Fred sat in front of the computer, watching a footage again and again. Romeo stared into it but he could only see shadows of people. He couldn't recognize anyone in it but he knew it was the same footage they were talking about a few minutes earlier. "Uh... Mr. Fred?", he called.

The man turned the chair towards Romeo and turned off the computer. "It's just Fred. You can call me Fred"

"What happened to Jin?"

"He is a fighter. I work in a totally different department so if anything happens, I'm not entitled to know.... But I'm sure he's alright"

"When am I going to get back to my room?"

"Sorry about that but I am not the one deciding that", Fred replied. "The good news is you definitely won't be leaving here today.... But no more electricity. I promise"

"Ok.... Thank you, Fred"

"Yea.... Also, they are planning to do a kind of shuffle with the rooms and fighters"

"How do you mean?"

"You'll understand when you get back there. Just know you won't be getting a new roommate. It's going to be any of the fighters already in the hall"

"What's this for?", Kang asked, as she put another silver bracelet on his hand immediately she removed the golden handcuffs. He was enjoying her soft hands caress his arm for the short second.

"That will dampen your abilities so you can't use your abilities", Ana replied and held up a kind of remote, as the soldiers chained Kang to a chair. "Now, it's time to use the electricity" "Before you begin the torture, the dampeners are pretty useless. I can't use my Shin Zhu"

"Uh?", she muttered, staring confusedly. "You can't use your Shin Zhu?"

"Actually, I don't even know if I have a Shin Zhu", Kang added, smiling. "That's why they call me blank. What kind of idiot has a power and refuses to use it in the face of danger?" She stared at him for a second and sat in front of him. "How are you able to survive in the house then?"

"Jin has been there for me and, now that he's gone, I have to fight for myself", Kang replied. "That's what I was trying to do before you arrested me"

"Uh...", she muttered, staring confusedly. "Jin?-"

"Ana!", a voice called and a man walked in swiftly. "Ana. We have to talk"

"Fred? Is something wrong?", she asked and walked up to the man.

"Something might be wrong", he said, refusing his voice. Kang bent his head and tried to listen. "You mentioned Jin, one time"

"Yes, what about him?"

"I just checked the list of active fighters, Ana. What happened?"

"I have never had a physical contact with him. I'm not the one you should be asking"

"Well, the one I should probably be asking is asking another person"

"I'll find out and I'll get back to you, Fred", she whispered.noveldrama

Fred nodded and glanced at Kang. He couldn't recognize him from behind. He just turned and walked out. She walked back to Kang. "I have bad news for you" "What is it? Is it about Jin?"

"No. Jin is definitely alright. It's about your ability"

Kang smiled. "There's a fight coming for me on the Arena?"

"Yes... The Gamblers are demanding it and King wants to give them what they want", Ana said. "And he's not going to make it an easy one"

****

A soldier walked through the passage, ahead of him, and he followed, with the golden cuffs in his hands. "You can find your way to your room, right?"

"Why won't I be able to find the way to my room?", Kang asked, rhetorically.

"Right", the soldier nodded and removed the cuffs.

"Thank you", he muttered and watched the soldier walk back out through the passage.

He was feeling tired and sleepy but he had questions in his mind. The lights had been put out already but it wasn't as dark as it always seemed. He could move easily around. Everyone had gone to sleep so he moved sneakily. He walked to Romeo's door and knocked. "Hello? Romeo?", he called, quietly. "Are you in?"

There was no response. He pressed down the handle and pushed back the door. He opened the door slowly and peeked in. The beds were empty. There was no one in the room. Romeo wasn't back yet. He walked to his room, which was also empty, and he dropped on his bed and laid back for a few minutes. He controlled himself from falling asleep...... but it would be inevitable if he kept his back laid so comfortably.

He sprung up and searched through his bag. He brought out the nylon in which he had the pills and put it on the nightstand. He searched further and brought out the golden bracelet. He was going to perform the experiment he had imagined. He wore the bracelet on his wrist and walked to the door, quickly but quietly. He gently pulled the door open, walked out, and pulled the door back, careful not to make any noise. He walked over to the passage, breathing heavily, as he imagined someone stepping out of one of the rooms. He raised the hand on which he wore the bracelet and slowly moved it forward, pushing against the invisible barrier...... or there was no barrier anymore.

Kang snorted in a short chuckle, as his hand successfully passed through without getting pushed back. He put his second hand and it passed through, just the same. He could probably walk through and get to the other side... but he wasn't even sure of how to find his way out. He pulled his hand and turned back, quickly, as he heard a gentle door slam.... It was his door. He didn't close it well. "Fuck!", he muttered and exhaled with relief. He already got what he wanted. He headed back to his room.

A door opened suddenly and Dan walked out. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Dan turned and headed towards the bathroom.