Settling Scores

[Strazio Rockwell]

Another prime entered the fray and with each passing moment Strazio grew anxious. He didn’t trust a single one of his “companions” each of them looked shadier than the last. As much as he hate it, Ganondorf had quickly become his most likely ally. The smooth-talking Gerudo spoke well and managed to avoid sparking an outright brawl in the middle of town. Ganondorf patted Strazio on the back in an attempt to comfort him and it sent a shiver down the Defender’s spine. Strazio knew he was in a pack of silver-tongues and egotists and it rubbed him wrong.

The trio of primes followed Sinestro to their destination. Strazio kept his wits about him and pulled his cloak tight, hoping to hide the Necromonicon from prying eyes. Perhaps it was the mage’s paranoia getting the best of him, but he felt an almost imperceptible sense of danger in the air. A small spark danced through his fingers and he clenched his fist in an attempt to quiet his power. Everything about this meeting seemed fishy and the Defender of Darkshire found himself wishing he had never come to meet Ganondorf.

Still even if he was walking into a trap he felt strong enough to fight his way out. With the power of the Necromonicon and his newly found strength the Defender felt damn near invincible. Strazio took a deep breath and relaxed, he would play along with their game. His back straightened and he picked up the pace, walking stride-in-stride with the much larger Gerudo. Ganondorf glanced at Strazio from the corner of his eye and the Defender met his gaze.

“So Ganondorf, you never did tell me why you invited me out to the desert. Surely it wasn’t to meet your... Acquaintances” Strazio asked quietly, hoping to avoid interruptions from Enel or the newcomer.

“Simple. You impressed me with your performance in Dante’s Abyss, you were a finalist no?”

Strazio instinctively pulled his cloak over his prize and responded “yes I was.”

Ganondorf threw his hands up in deference, adding a casual atmosphere to their conversation “I could use someone powerful like yourself, and from what I’ve heard you’ve been looking for allies. Afterall you are hoping to free Darkshire are you not?”

Strazio’s eyes narrowed and he asked cautiously “who told you that?”

“No one had to, you said so upon your entry to the Abyss and again so during the prize ceremony.”

Strazio thought back to his little “display” for the Dante’s Abyss attendant. He hoped that more people than Ganondorf had heard his request for aid against Dracula. The metal crest of Darkshire still dangled from his neck. The dark metal glinted in the bright desert sun it was Strazio’s commitment to free the Pale Moors from the burden of Dracula. The Defender began to speak again, but was interrupted by Enel.

“How much longer must we walk?” the God was getting impatient.

“Not much further I assure you, I know a quaint little place nearby. It should give us a quiet place to catch up” Sinestro responded.

Despite having just met Strazio felt at ease with the red-skinned man. He seemed to be a peacekeeper of sorts and managed to diffuse their standoff with a few well-spoken words. This Sinestro must have the patience of a saint to ahve been able to put up with Enel’s braggadocio Strazio thought then again, maybe I just have low tolerance for stupid bullshit. Strazio broke away from Ganondorf and moved towards Sinestro, hoping to become better acquainted with the would-be deputy.

“So what’s your deal?” Strazio asked bluntly.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Sinestro’s eyebrow raised and his itself in the shadow of his hat.

“Well, are you some kind of lawman and how do you know Ganondorf?”

Sinestro glanced over at Strazio and offered a short smile before responding “Ganon and I were summoned to the Omniverse around the same time and we decided to work together. As far as being a lawman, yes to some degree I suppose I am. For the past two weeks I’ve taking care of bandits in the area.” Strazio laughed and Sinestro raised his eyebrow “I seem to have missed the joke.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem to have missed some. I was jumped by a pack of those thugs on the way into town, killed one of them and sent the others running.”

Sinestro’s voice soured “Yes, well as I’m sure you can tell this isn’t exactly and Empire settlement, crime has a funny way of congregating here. That’s why I’ve been helping out around here, someone needs to keep the peace.” He paused for a moment and continued a different line of conversation “Ganon said you two met in Dante’s Abyss, now where would that be exactly?”

Before Strazio could answer Ganondorf spoke “How have you not heard about Dante’s Abyss? Even those living under rocks have heard of it.”

“I’m not sure, but this is the first time I’ve heard of it, care to enlighten me?”

Strazio spoke for the Gerudo “Dante’s Abyss is blood sport pure and simple. Fourty or Fifty primes pitted against each other in a fight to the death on a deserted island, kill or be killed. All around a very unpleasant time, but the winners get an obscene amount of omnilium and a powerful artifact.” He absentmindedly rubbed the arm that Ganon had broke in their first encounter. All that was left was the sour memory of the three days he spent in agony from Ganondorf’s attack.

“I see, so you two competed?” Sinestro asked, looking over his shoulder at Ganondorf.

“Indeed, we even fought against each other on the first day. I managed to break Strazio’s arm, but he still managed to place in the top eight.”

At this Enel chuckled and Strazio turned to look back at the God of Lightening. Just glancing at the arrogant bastard made his blood boil, but he did his best to keep it under control. Strazio remembered another arrogant bastard who lived in the dunes, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Perhaps it was his encounter with Gilgamesh that made him despise arrogance so greatly, or perhaps it was simply in his nature either way Strazio did not care for Enel.

“What’s so funny Enel?” Ganondorf asked.

“Oh, just thinking about you two fighting” Enel smirked “a battle of weaklings.”

This pissed Strazio off. To be called a weakling after having come so far and accomplished so much stoked a furious anger in his chest. A thick arc of energy crackled across his clenched fist. He went to rage against Enel, but Sinestro spoke before the insult could boil over into an all-out war.

“Now now, we can save that for later. We’re here, let us fill our bellies and worry about killing each other later.”

Once again the red-skinned peacekeepr kept the peace. Strazio clenched the crest of Darkshire in his palm, until the edges cut into his flesh. He had to stay calm and collected, if not for his sake then for the sake of the innocent who would no doubt be killed by a clash of primes. Strazio gritted his teeth and followed Sinestro into the establishment. He hoped that some food and drink would take his mind off Enel, but he had a sinking feeling that this was only the beginning.