The beating sun baked the arena, it's heat glowing off of the coarse grains of sand as droves after droves of people lined the elevated seating arrangements of the colosseum. Built to resemble the great monoliths of old, this particular arena was a site of grandeur and hardships, a gritty scene that held the crowd's attention indefinitely with it's romanticization of honorable battle. The spectators were especially engrossed in uncleaned bloodstains kept at the bottom of the pit, women and their children pointing at the caked-on mess and laughing. Electronic fans were positioned throughout the stadium to give relief to the heated attendants, for many people had come to see this interesting fight. It was rumored that the fight was to be a larger free-for-all, and that four houses had agreed to supply their gladiators. Truly, it was rare to see that many houses grouping up with that many brawlers. Surely this would be a long and intriguing deathmatch, a main event that could easily sate the most bloodthirsty of Merkadia's citizens. And speaking of the main event, here it came!

The houses, flying their respective colors proud and high, marched around the bottom of the colliseum to a grand fanfare. Confetti was flown and drums were beat as a parade of Merkadian nationalism pleased the now cheering crowd. Trumpets were blared ever louder as each autocratic group had it's turn to visually boast to the above crowd. The gladiators were shown off most prominently, though, each one getting to glimpse one-another as they stood silently in lines facing the masses, allowing the excited citizens time to mentally graded each synthetic slave's physique for themselves. Magnus, one of these standing behemoths in the Scalpaleon line-up, heard the slight shouting of his stage name 'Steel demon', but brushed such praise off. The crowd also yelled names like "Skitter", "Tooth-Taker", etc., very foreign names that seemed to indicate a more diverse crowd than usual. Yet, the diversity did not stop there, as creatures that were only fragments of a past humanoid started to file in. For once, he was thankful for a house that merely indulged in metal-grafted armor. Bloated monstrosities that seemed to be made from composted flesh, followed by a house that provided only one, ragged gladiator with skin that slipped, it was all especially strange. Magnus definently was not in the least excited to fight with these changed... beasts. Luckily, to the metal man's surprise, a lone human, un-modified, presented himself for the barbaric pit fighting in the stead of a rather militaristic house. The man certainly seemed a brave fellow, many men would have offed themselves before entering this hell hole. As the celebrations wiled down, and the gladiators were put into their waiting cages (large, bared boxes hanging from the sides of the arena), the house officials started their ascension to their seats of honor in the spectator seats above. A large, fat-man clothed in robes entered the ring to specify the rules of pit-fighting and the kind of free-for-all situation that the slaves would be combating in. None of this was new to the steel veteran, and thus, he simply looked around to take a second gander of the types he was to battle.

Low-and-behold, there sat the human, looking pathetic as he diddled about with the bars of his enclosure. Surrounded by only this man, a large insect menace, and the strange-skinned man from before, Magnus decided that perhaps the unmodified male was the only lingual one out of the bunch. As the large man in the center of the pit continued his speech on necessary regulations, those of which were painfully drawn-out and would not be followed anyways, Magnus proposed his spare-time to converse with this only somewhat distressed man.

The rebel looked around for any kind of a weapon when he was engaged by the deadly colossus. It was quite surprising that such a creature was so articulate with his words.

"Heh.. Yeah about that. I kind of broke his nose when he bought me. Uppity bastard deserved it." Crispin looked at the other gladiators. The bug troubled him the most because at least tall, broad scissor-hands here was talking and even considering mercy. "You can call me Xander. So uh.. Do they have weapons or traps for this? If not I'm going to have to get really creative."

This was only their third bout and those 2 had been much smaller, only for advent crowds. Tryouts the master had called them, this was the real thing. Still they knew what to expect. carnage. blood. death. But also a freedom from the confines of the lab, the tests, the cramped quarters, and that awful stagnant synthetic smelling air. Out here the air only smelled of blood, sweat and fear which was a slight improvement and there would be space to run about.

They where both scared and eager to get out of this cage, fidgeting, constantly re-positioning their spike feet to try and get the best possible starting position. They eyed up their opponents, a large metal plated man, a skeletal thin man with a mutilated face and a man with no obvious changes. Humans they had never fought before, only advents post human horrors like the dancing Viper King or the centipedel Pain Train.

the metal man and the normal human spoke of mercy, traps and weapons.

"I offer no guarantees of your survival Xander, if you poison yourself on my spines as we fight it will be your own undoing. Metal-man may do well to not judge by appearance, who knows what the two man-things may be hiding, it could be a trap. It must be a trap. They will wait for us to fight and then spit acid or grow knives out their knuckles or..."

they devolve into unintelligible paranoid chittering.

The restless creature turned around in it's container as it spat back at the two's conversation, surprisingly able to construct coherent sentences, if only for a time. This legitimately spooked the large bionic. Bringing himself closer to Xander so he could continue the conversation in whispers, Magnus hoped the giant bug didn't have advanced hearing as well.

"They do not supply weapons, yet, there are many ways to get one. Tearing off a person's arm is a popular strategy", continued the Steel Demon. He felt compelled to help the defenseless human, most likely put in here only to die because of his master's sick sense of revenge. Unfairness was one of the only things that this terrible slave truly abhorred.

"And do remember, this insect right here only has chitin, so he's most likely the easiest target", he continued. "But be careful...", the metal behemoth continued to advise, "He just told you about poison". This fact would also prove a problem for Magnus, his whole body essentially an extended circulatory system. The large, robed man in the center started to wind down his useless chattering, and to the gladiator's dismay, the traditional trumpet anthem of Merkadian pit-fighting started. At most, they had 30 seconds until death reined.

The arena was present in spirit but Reginus was not. His house had walked in with men covered in robes and with their eyes closed, walking serenely while holding his hands in leather bindings. His wrists had long since started to bruise from the constant wear of them on his delicate surface. His back was straight but his face lacked the strength to stand fully at attention, if his eyes were open they may of looked at the floor but his chin would have to do instead. His once fellow worshipers stripped him of any bondage, standing in nothing but white, under wear. The once pure skin had been covered in dried blood that now looked like soiled tissues on him.

The filth was lazily was splashed away by the flicking of fingers sprayed in water from a ceremonial clay bowel. Most of it was flung at his face violently while the monks kept their eyes sealed shut or merely looked away from him, uttering solemnly "To peace, Coward" his voice vacant of warmth, a tiny spill of obligation and exhaustion boiling out of his heart. The flag of a the holy symbol was blue, glowing with electronics over head behind him while he stood there with the tiny part of dignity he had left.

Sitting in it with his legs crossed over and his hands gripping his knees. Peering to the left and to the right as the others talk before looking directly at the chattering of the bug in rapid monologue of his worries "You know..." he started, stopping as if processing that he trying to converse with a monster out of a sci fi block buster, then starting again "The human body is more capable than some spikes and daggers....." he started with an intake of a breath as he raised his hand as if to offer a larger point but slowly dropped it and looked away as he said simply "Sometimes, the most dangerous things are those that present no danger at all..." he settled, looking forward as the mass of manic organs slowed down into a rhythmic beat.

Whether that signaled relaxation or anticipation is anyone's guess.

Everything seemed to be not what Magnus assumed. Not only did the bug chime in, but so did the disgusting sack of skin. It's breathing became very... strange, stranger than what it had said in response to the metal man's, Xander's, and the insect's conversation. Magnus was to be sure to be careful with this plethora of unpredictable, strange abominations. It really wasn't the first time that he had to make this decision, Merkadia most definitely loved it's unimaginably terrible biological designs. The trumpeting ended, and thus, the arena-fight was heralded. The electronic locks on all the cages were deactivated, and hell with it's gladiators were released. Advents horrific beasts flooded onto the shining bodies of the Scalpaleon elite, the lone human went on to this own accord and the sleek-skinned man was no where to be seen.

Magnus took his first offensive approaching the only moderately protected mantis creature that he had converse with earlier, an easy target if he could get his hands on it. Yet, his legs seemed to betray him, standing completely still and preventing him movement. A tail, green, slimy, and scaled, wrapped itself around the Steel Demon's mode of transportation, keeping him in place and almost wrapping around him like a boa. An Advent beast grinned as it slowly killed it's valiant prey.

Almost as slowly came the pain, and then the burst of anger in Magnus's mind. A release of chemicals propelling his body into a frenzy he never willed to happen, an unnatural shift in power and emotion that the terrible creature never saw coming. The tail became strips of meat as Magnus tightened his muscles and brought his gigantic claws into the inside of the creature's fleshy extension. Viscera sprayed, coating the angered giant in a metallic-like red. An irony taste came to his lips as he brought the limping body of the snake-humanoid upwards, and started his own constriction. His large metal palms compressed the reptile's puny head, a horrible and crowd-pleasing death that his master's willed him to do. After he had destroyed this beast, he knew many awaited. "So much for being careful..."

"Thanks Magnus. Don't you go dying on me now, if you do there's no way I'm getting out of this. Maybe some day we'll be able to fix this world. It's a far fetch but I'd like to hope we can." Captivity and failure hadn't slowed this man down. Xander would never readily give in to this gruesome fate. Come what may he was going to fight it.

Xander followed Magnus out of the cage. He kept a good deal of distance from the colossus but if he were to survive this encounter it would be by avoiding an unarmed fight with these monsters. Magnus struggled only briefly with his first victim and after a moment of savagery crushed its head with seemingly little effort. Xander couldn't help but think of himself being squished in similar fashion like an insect in the hands of a child curious to know what its guts looked like.

The rebel moved quickly, doing his best to avoid attention as chaos and combat prevailed all around. He rushed up to the smashed snake and examined what was left of its head. Though its skull was effectively crushed most of the teeth still remained intact. Xander certainly didn't have the overpowering strength of Magnus, who casually spoke of ripping arms off to use as a weapon. Pfft! That wasn't ideal, this rebel wasn't a monster. Putting two and two together, Xander daringly put his hands along the fangs and ripped them loose. He was careful not to cut himself along them. Knowing this crazed arena it was likely to be designed to kill quickly or perhaps in more sinister fashion cause intense and debilitating pain to entertain the crowd. Either way it would be useful.

A snake hybrid like that many others scattered around the ring caught interest in him, likely hoping for an easy kill. That had to be Xander's greatest strength. No one in here feared him, they would all underestimate him. The snake drifted quickly, using the genetics it was given with efficiency. It was intimidating to look at as it slithered closer. In place of seeking cover or trying to hide Xander sprinted straight at it. The snake's jaws opened, a hiss escaping as its tongue slipped out. It was prepared to bite. If he tried to hit the head directly he tempted being bitten, even a graze would prove deadly. Instead he jumped at it sideways, slamming it in the chest and tackling it to the ground. It squirmed and writhed to right itself. Xander drove a fang into its eye. Whether or not it was immune to poison didn't matter, he'd just keep pushing until it stopped moving. Once the fang was buried and it quit squirming he looked up to see a more humanoid opponent moving his way.

This next adversary was more cautious. Blood already littered his bony claws. Unlike Magnus this combatant was of average human height but it looked to be built for quickness over massive power. Almost as if it were meant to bleed out larger opponents while evading them. It wore cargo shorts but its skin was thin, showing rippling reddish muscle beneath. Bone spurs protruded from its elbows, knees and finger tips. It even had two horns coming out of its bald head. It frowned tiredly. "Just another execution match I see. I suppose to thin out the rabble before the pros fight." It paused, looking at its victim as a cook would look at a recipe. Taking in every detail as its eagle-like eyes darted back and forth. "I'm sorry they sent you here to die. It's nothing personal. This is just the ring after all." It started advancing toward Xander, steady and watching for quick movements, fully aware of what the rebel did to the snake.

"Yeah. And I'm sorry for whoever has to look at you every morning. You look like the road kill a plastic surgeon tried to save." Xander taunted.

The adversary grinned. It wasn't in the least bit offended. "Fair enough. I wasn't made to be beautiful." Its grin widened. Every tooth in its mouth was a fang. A smile out of nightmares. "I was made to kill you. That is all the joy I can get out of this existence." It started charging at him.

They were brought out of there muttering paranoia by the cryptic words of the skeletal oddity.

coward/tooth taker/target

They had little time to wrap their thoughts in circles around what the coward meant before the cages opened and the carnage began.

In the time it took them to run around at the outskirts of the melee to get their bearings and scope out the situation, two of Advents viper guards had been destroyed by the other combatants, most notably the human who retrieved a fang from the first killed to take out the second.

unfortunate losses/cease wasting time/fulfill mission

They looked around and located the coward some way of in the distance, they would need to scramble through the melee to reach them, fortunately they had no help while he had advent monstrosities to make the initial push for them. Their task was simple, make sure the flow’s martyr neither won nor died, their toxic body was relatively perfect for this, they could incapacitate them and then simply keep fighting around the area to make sure they weren't finished off in the meantime.

They took of from the edge through the advent hordes, dodging the fights going on between them and the armored Scalpaleon elite, taking a few moments to claw or stab with their legs at some exposed flesh, applying the neurotoxin and hopefully helping the others come out on top. Dodging past a fight between a great lion-esque man and a blind two headed horror they were finally confronted with a gladiator that had recently finished of its opponent and was looking for fresh meat. A human whose forearms and lower legs had been replaced with metal talons, their body covered in light armor, a belt with odd vials around their waist and wearing a plague doctor's mask leaped from the clawed and partially dissolved corpse of a gladiator.

defeat quickly/bypassed/hurry

There is a brief moment of stillness as the two of them squared off before the two clawed monsters engage in a battle, circling one another and occasionally darting in to try to slash at the softer areas of their opponent while the other quickly dodged out of the way. Then, having recognized that the battle would not be ended quickly the two engaged in a brutal hacking and stabbing, blows being parried, dodged or absorbed by their armor as struggled to end the others life for the delight of the crowd.

Finally the doctor tried to use one of their vials on Skitter, the jar cracking against one of their spines and showering their carapace with acid when she attempted to duck. However the lobbing action left the doctor exposed and as the acid ate at Skitter’s neck they get hold of the wrists of the doctor and came in to bite them in the throat,l ousting them into the air by their neck as she pumped them full of toxins.

The wound would not be completely fatal, the toxin paralyzing but also reduced the severity of wounds. Their master was rather pleased with the toxins ability to allow graphic finishers to the opponent and then to either charge ludicrous amounts for their revival or purchase them for a reasonable price.

a good acquisition/a waste of time/the mission 274

Skitter steps over the dying and paralyzed foe, trying to ignore the acid still burning at their neck, and headed off deeper into the carnage towards the coward.