Highlanding in the Coliseum

[Gin Yatreg]

Continued from Harmony of Dissonance

Gin was jolted awake, he felt the floor beneath him move slightly. Wait, floor? He sat up, his vision was pitch black. "Wasn't I at the bottom of a river?"

"Ah, finally awake eh? About time, I thought I'd 'ave to drag around dead weight for the entire match. Though considerin' the look of ye before they put us here, I might 'ave to do that anyway." said a voice from the darkness.

"Who's there?!" Gin called out.

"Don't be alarmed boyo, yeh needn't worry about me. I ain't the type that'd stab an ally in the back." the voice said.

"Alright, I'm confused. Just where the heck are we?" Gin asked.

"Don't ye know laddie? Yer at the coliseum. I thought ye'd know that considerin' ye had yer bird bring yeh here." the voice said.

"My bird...? Oh! Tonic must have fished me out of the river and brought me here. Though, I don't remember seeing a coliseum near Darkshire." Gin said.

"Darkshire?! Ye mean ye got here from the ol' moors? Well, ye might not be as much of a Jessie as I though ye were. Though ye might be a wee bit aff yer heid. Either way ye 'ave my respect. What's yer name laddie?" the voice asked.

"Thanks...I guess. Uh...the name's Gin." he said.

"Gin, eh? I'm more of a rum man meself, but that's fine. Anyway, my name is Baltair, and we're gonna be working together for the time bein." Baltair said.

"Eh? What do you mean by that? Are we gonna have to do a team event or something?" Gin asked.

Baltair sighed, "Ye really 'ave no idea what goes on in this coliseum do yeh?"

"Huh?" Gin said, confused.

It was at that moment that the floor began to move again. It felt like it was rising up to the ceiling. Gin looked up and saw that an entrance was opening up. Light shined in, illuminating the once dark room. Gin shielded his eyes and waited for them to readjust to the light. He looked behind him and saw Baltair for the first time. He was an older man, late 30's perhaps. Baltair had brown hair, an eyepatch on his left eye, and seemed to be well dressed. Gin saw a long sword strapped to Baltair's back as well.

"Well, you'll be finding out soon enough, lad." Baltair said.

The rising floor they were on finally reached the top of the tunnel. Gin and Baltair were soon bombarded with cheers from the stands. Gin looked around, the place was huge, and filled to the brim with people. He looked back down at ground level, and saw more people were rising out of holes similar to the one he and Baltair just came out of. Gin then heard a voice that seemed to cut through the cheers of the coliseum.

"Our fighters are on the grounds, so let's not delay any further shall we? Today's game is a special one, but the rules are simple! Our fighters are all paired in teams of two, and will attempt to be the last team standing by the end of the match. To disqualify another team, both members of said team must be either unconscious or dead. If one member can still fight, that team is still in the game. After a certain amount of time, hazards will be added into the mix. What will these hazards be? We'll leave that as a surprise. Now let's begin this BATTLE ROYALE!"

[Gin Yatreg]

"Wait, die?!" Gin said.

"Don't worry lad, as long as you dodge, you'll be fine." Baltair said assuringly.

"....That's...That's not very reassuring." said Gin.

"Details, details." Baltair then drew his claymore from its sheath on his back. "Now's not the time for chatting Gin, if ye wish to get out of this place, yer gonna to have to fight. So try and win fer me yah?" Baltair said. A loud bang signaled the start of the match. Baltair charged towards the nearest opponent, screaming at the top of his lungs. Baltair swung his sword and was blocked by his opponent, using two short blades to catch Baltair's claymore. "OH YE THINK YER LITTLE TOOTHPICKS WILL STOP ME EH? TASTE PURE SCOTTISH STEEL YE WEE JESSE" he yelled.

Gin stood there watching this from afar, "Wow, from nice to crazy in two seconds. That's a new one." he thought.

Gin saw movement in the corner of his vision, he turned to see a man with scythe running towards him. He ducked under the scythe as the man took a swing at him, and followed with an uppercut to the man's jaw. The man staggered backwards, surprised by the strength of the punch. He shakes it off and charges once again.

Meanwhile with the other fighters, Axe wielder Clark Rylan faces the Spear user Radisa Vranjovie;

"You know I always thought elves were smart, but seeing you challenge me with a spear is giving me second thoughts." Clark says.

"One shouldn't make judgments based on appearances." Radisa retorts.

"I'm just using common sense. The fact of the matter is, axe beats stick!" Clark shouted as he swung at Radisa. Radisa raises his spear, intending to stop the blade of the axe with the handle of the spear. Clark's axe hits the spear and bounces off, nearly hitting him in the face."What the bloody hell was that?!"

Radisa smirked, "My spear is enchanted to withstand sharp objects. Meaning no matter how hard you hit it with your axe, it will never break!"

"And you elves wonder why we like the dwarves better." Clark said.

Giant broadsword wielder Bradley Enfield faces the Sword user Dayton Soames;

Dayton is thrown off his feet, landing on his back five feet away.

"That shield of yours won't protect you for long!" Bradley yells as he swings his huge sword downward.

Dayton rolls out of the way and stands up, rushing towards Bradley before he can pick his sword back up. Dayton rams Bradley with his shield, knocking him over and forcing Bradley to let go of his broadsword. Dayton stood over Bradley, sword in position to impale. "Submit, and I'll knock you out without causing you any serious injury." Dayton offers.

"Mate, I've got too much riding on winning this thing to quit now." Bradley said. He kicks the sword out of Dayton's hands, jumping up and catching it in the air. "Plus, where's the fun in a short match?"

"Hmph, very well then. Have at thee!" Dayton shouts, readying his shield.

And the archer Flora Russell faces the monk Morris X. Leake;

"Oh for gods sake." Morris sighed.

Morris catches an arrow that was about to hit him in the face. He then drops it onto an already large pile of arrows.

"HOW MANY ARROWS DO YOU HAVE?" He yelled.

[Gin Yatreg]

Clark continued to swing his axe, attempting to break Radisa's spear in half. Radisa blocks each blow, the spear showing no signs of wear. Radisa then sidesteps out of the way of the next attack, and thrusts his spear into Clark's body. Clark yells in pain, swinging his axe back up towards Radisa to ward him off. Radisa pulls back and dodges the axe, he then quickly stabs Clark multiple times in the back. Clark stumbles forward in pain, dropping to one knee. "God...Dammit..." he coughs. Clark grips his axe and quickly stands back up, swinging his axe once more. Radisa's spear seems to glow as Clark's axe makes contact. The blade touching the spear shatters to pieces, shards flying in every direction. Clark stumbles back in shock, his axe, which had survived through generations of battles, had just been broken by a wooden stick. Before he can react, Radisa shoves his spear into Clark once more. Radisa withdraws his spear and Clark falls to the ground, defeated. Radisa then turns his attention towards the other fighters, looking for his next opponent.

As Clark lay defeated and dying, he saw his life flash before his eyes. Memories of the past filled his mind, and words of loved ones entered his ears.

****

--17 Years Ago--

"Admiring my axe again, son?"

A young Clark looked up at his father and nodded.

Clark's father knelt down and placed a hand on Clark's shoulder, "Have I ever told you the story attached this old axe of mine, Clark?" he said.

"Story?"

"Yep, it's a story that's been passed through our family for four generations now. My father told me this story when I was your age, and the same with his father. Would you like to hear it Clark?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Clark said

His father chuckled, "Alright then, it begins like this; Long ago, there was a great war that savaged our land. Lots of nations were on both sides of this war. Sev Rylan, your ancestor, was apart of the Etsvan army. Now, the country of Etsva was on the losing side of the war for quite a while. We eventually turned the tables on the enemy, but that happened thanks to the intervention of the Veron nation at the final major battle of the war. There were more battles afterwards of course, but this was the big one that would really decide how the rest of the war went. Sev was apart of this battle, and was one of the few Estvan survivors of it. Now believe it or not, this axe right here is the very same one Sev wielded during that battle."

"The axe is that old?!" Clark interrupted

"Well, the metal parts are. The handle has been replaced over the years, but the actual blade has been carefully taken care of this whole time. Anyway, it was during that battle that Sev fought a wizard. One of the wizards spells backfired, causing the effects of it to be revered. Of course, Sev had no idea what the spell would do, so he decided to let his axe take the hit instead."

"What did the spell do, dad?" Clark asked

"I'm getting to that son. You see, the spell the wizard had cast was meant to weaken Sev and make him easier to defeat. But the backfire caused his axe to grow stronger than steel, meaning the blades on the axe will never break through conventional means. With that axe, Sev and the rest of the remaining troops went on to win the battle and every other one after. However, the spell also did something that wasn't immediately obvious to Sev. In fact it was his grandson Krad, your great-grandfather's grandfather, that was the first to even realize it. The user of that axe would always survive the battles they were apart of, even with the most serious injury. And as that axe got passed down through our family, this has always been true."

"Whoaaaa" Clark said in amazement.

His father smiled, "And one day soon, I will pass this axe onto you son."

"It'll be mine?! I can't wait!" Clark said ecstatic.

Tears formed in Clark eyes remembering the story the father told him. The axe that was stronger than steel itself was broken, and here he lay dying. Was that story all a lie? A tall tale? He couldn't stop himself from thinking about this, and suddenly more memories filled his mind.

--9 Years Ago--

"This haul will feed our village for weeks! Amazing work Ven!" A now 20 year old Clark said to his friend.

"What can I say? When it comes to hunting, there's nobody better than me!" Ven said.

Clark and Ven finish loading the barrels of fresh meat onto their cart and begin to pull it down the road.

"Once we get back, let's treat ourselves to a drink. How about it Clark?" Ven asked.

"Sounds good, Hey I'll even buy it since you got so much today." Calrk said.

"Good, I was counting on that. " Ven laughed.

Clark rolled his eyes and look on the horizon, he saw a large cloud of smoke coming from the direction of their village. "It's a bit early for them to start the bonfire isn't it?"

"Maybe they decided to get started early so they could get the logs burning for longer." Ven suggested.

"Perhaps, but I've got the strangest feeling..." Clark trailed off.

"You're such a worry wart Clark, they just started early is all. Come on we have to get this stuff back home before dark." Ven said.

"I guess you're right." Clark began pulling the cart once again.

As they continued down the road, Clark began to hear the faint sound of screaming coming from up ahead. A woman suddenly ran out of the woods screaming at the top of her lungs. She then abruptly went silent and fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of her head. Clark and Ven dropped the cart and readied their weapons. "Well, everyone's wrong once in a while." Ven said.

A shadow moved along the treeline, readying its bow to shoot the two on the road. Before it could however, an arrow hit it in the neck. "Got him." Ven said as he drew another arrow. They moved closer to where the shadow was, and find a dead Orc laying on the ground.

"Orcs." Ven said.

"The village is in trouble, let's move." Clark said.

****

Clark and Ven run past the village gate, but find they are too late. The village is in shambles, and the orcs had already gone. "Let's split up and search for survivors." Clark said. Ven nodded and ran off towards the eastern side of town. Clark walked through the streets, axe at the ready. He soon arrived at his home, it looked relatively undamaged. Orc bodies layed strewn about, no doubt killed by his father. He opened the door and stepped inside, calling for his family. A quiet whimper was coming from upstairs. Clark quickly ran up the stairs and found his mother sitting over his father.

"What happened?!" Clark yelled.

His mother looked up, "They came out of nowhere, your father defended us, but...he was wounded. You sister went to get a doctor, but I fear he'll die before they get back."

"No..." was all Clark could say. He dropped his axe and moved over to his father. Clark dropped to his knees beside him and raised him up. His father opened his eyes and stared at Clark, he smiled. "Good, you're safe son."

"Dad, don't try to speak, you need to save your strength until the doctor gets here."

"No...It's too late for me Clark. Now listen to me, you need to be strong for your mother and sister. Never let them go, alright? Protect them and everyone else you care for understand? Sev's axe will make sure you win every battle you fight. But most of all Clark, I want you to live. Even without the axe, I want you to survive even without its magic. Live on."

"Dad please...don't leave us." Clark said, fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry Clark...I love you...son..." he then fell limp.

Clark screamed at the top of his lungs, his eyes filled with tears.

Clark forced himself to stand up, gripping Sev's axe with all of his remaining strength. *"Whether he was telling the truth or not, I won't let his parting words mean nothing."* he thought. Clark yelled at the top of his lungs and charged forward. The elf quickly turned around in shock that Clark was still moving. Calrk raised his axe high into the air for one final attack, with Radisa moving his spear to block. However, something the elf did not expect, instead of attacking with the remaining blade on his axe, Clark instead attacked with the blunt end. The blunt side of the axe collided with the spear, snapping it in half. The axe then collided with Radisa's head, knocking him unconscious. Clark dropped his axe, breathing heavily. "Your spear may be immune to sharp weapons, but you failed to make it immune to blunt ones." he said. Clark then fell backwards, unconscious with a smile on his face. He had won his battle, now it was up to his teammate Dayton from here on out.

[Gin Yatreg]

Morris stood in place with a bored look on his face. His fight was going nowhere while it seemed that others have already moved onto other opponents. As he looked around he spotted another fighter who fought with his fists, albeit with glowing energy surrounding them. He wished so much that he was fighting someone of a similar fighting style than someone who attacked from long range. *"Ah, to fight another man with only our fists. If only I could be so lucky right now."* he though to himself.

An arrow zooms past his head, which snaps Morris out of it. "Ah, right. The one trick elf." he says. "Are you out of arrows yet woman?!" he yelled over to her.

"Shut up and die already!" she yelled back, firing another arrow afterwards.

Morris catches the arrow inches from his head, "I'll take that as a no then!" he yelled. Audible screaming is heard in the distance as Morris turns in the direction of the red-haired boy fighting a man with a scythe. "Oi! Ginger man! Once I'm done with she-elf over here I'm coming for you!"

Gin looked at Morris with a confused expression, and then barely dodged another swing of the scythe.

Morris turned back and looked at Flora, "Right, as much as I appreciate the gift of all of these arrows, I'm going to have to insist you take these back!" he yelled.

Morris then picked up a bunch of arrows and threw them at a surprising speed, nearly hitting Flora as they flew past her. Morris continued the onslaught, picking up all of Flora's arrows he had caught and dropped on the ground up until this point. Flora did her best to avoid the arrows which used to belong to her, unfortunately luck was not on the elf's side that day. An arrow manages to hit he in the leg, knocking her to the ground. Morris stops his volley and uses this chance to close the distance between him and Flora. Before she is able to ready her bow, Morris is already upon her and punches her square in the face. Flora falls unconscious, unable to react fast enough once Morris had gotten within range to fight. With her down, Morris turns his attention towards the red-haired boy and begins his walk over to where he is currently fighting.

Morris walks up behind the scythe wielder and picks him up by the collar. "Excuse me, may I cut in?" he asks rhetorically. Morris proceeds to then throw the man towards the loud Scotsman, who is currently verbally abusing the rogue he is locking swords with. Audible obscenities are heard in the distance as Morris gets into a fighting stance. He gestures for Gin to make the first move. "Come on boyo, I've been wanting a good fisticuffs for a while now. And you seem to be the type that'll be able to give it to me."

Gin looked at the man and began to wonder if everyone at the coliseum was crazy or if he just got stuck with the weird bunch.

"What's the look for? Come on and fight already! This shall be a fight between men!" Morris said.

Gin shrugged and got into a fighting stance as well. The two charge at each other with punches extended. Their fists connect each other, stopping both fighters in their tracks. They both jump backwards, and prepare to attack one another once more. Morris smiled to himself, the force of Gin's punch confirmed what he was hoping for. This would be a fight worthy of his time.

[Gin Yatreg]

Gin threw a multitude of punches at Morris, however the large man seemed unaffected by Gin's onslaught. Deciding to take it up a notch, Gin activates his shield fist and throws one more punch square in Morris' chest. Morris is pushed back in surprise, and a smile forms on his face,

"YES! YES, THAT'S THE TICKET! HIT ME WITH MORE PUNCHES LIKE THAT!" Morris shouts.

Gin's expression changes to one of I don't know what. It is then that three words escape Gin's mouth, "What the fu-"

****


Baltair was blind with rage. Not because of the fact that his opponent refuses to fall, not because he now has to fight two on one, no, it's because some PUGGLED SCROTE DECIDED TO THROW ANOTHER MAN AT HIM. Baltair let out a deafening roar of anger as he grabs both of his opponents and swings them back towards Morris. He then charges after them screaming at the top of his lungs, "OUTTA THA WAY GIN, THAT FUR-FACED GIT IS GONNA MEET THE END O' ME SWORD! IN THA NAME O' ME FOREFATHA'S, PREPARE TA BE SKEWERED YA SNIFFLING UNWEENED LIL-LIVERED DIRT GRUBBLING STENTCH KOW! RACH THU AGUS A' SGAOIL AM LEATHAR DE BHUR PAITHAR YE DRUISIRE!"

Parents in the audience then cover the ears of their children, for fear of corrupting their young innocent minds. The two men Baltair threw at Morris collide with him, causing Morris to stagger. Gin, now terrified of the now high on adrenaline and raging Scotsman, backs the hell away as Baltair makes a jump slash straight through the scythe user, and cutting Morris horizontally down his chest leaving a huge gash from his shoulder down to his waist. Morris falls to the ground, down for the count. The scythe-users team mate screams in anger and rushes towards Baltair intending to cut him down. Gin steps in his path and knocks him out with a shield fist to the face. "Noicly done chiefy! Now all that's left is the two over there!" Baltair said, now surprisingly calm. "Alright, Let's-" Gin started to say before a loud ringing filled the air. Gin looked around in confusion, wondering just what was going on. He looked to Baltair for an explanation, and found a look of worry on his face. "Oh boy, I was hopin' we'd be done before they brought somethin' out." Baltair said. "Something out?" Gin asked. "Aye lad, remember what the announcer said before the match started?" Baltair said. "Hmmm...Oh yeah! They said they would add hazards in after a certain amount of time. But what's so bad about a few pitfalls?" Gin asked. "Nothin' o' course, those would be easy to deal with. But each match has a rating for how difficult its hazards are. " Baltair explained. "So what's the difficulty for this match?" Gin asked, a little worried. "Oh...'bout five outta five stars." Baltair said bluntly. "So what hazards do they use for five star difficulties?" Gin asked. "Well, It varies from time to time. But most are monsters they grab from tha Moors. Ta keep tha crowd guessing ya see? Course, seein' as ye came from tha Moors, this outta be no problem for ye!" Baltair explained. Just then, the announcer began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's time to start the hazard rounds! Our first hazard was donated to us by a very wealthy fan! And it's quite the rare monster indeed! Please turn your attention to the main entrance as we send in our very own Displacer Beast!"

The doors of the entrance open, and a creature begins to walk out of the shadows. It's appearance seemed close to a Puma, but with an extra pair of legs in its midsection and two tentacles with spikes on the end protruding from its front shoulder blades.

"Eh? Thas' it? A big kitty cat? And ta' think I was worried!" Baltair exclaimed. "A big cat with spiky tentacles..." corrected Gin. "Tentacles of not, this kitty will be easy pickin's. Stand aside Gin, I can take care o' this on my own!" Baltair bragged. He then charged the beast, swing his sword clean through the thing. However, the beast's form did not change at all. Baltair was then thrown backwards by an invisible force, landing on his back next to Gin. Gin looked down at Baltair in surprise, "What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed. Gin then noticed a strange wound on Baltairs chest, it seemed to be a group of puncture wounds in a diamond shape. He looked back at the Displacer Beast, it hadn't moved at all since it entered the arena. Not to mention Baltairs sword did nothing to it, not a single scrath or wound made from his sword. Gin looked back at the other two remaining fighters, they were still locked in combat and not even focused on the new arrival. Gin looked back to the beast and did a double take. The beast was closer than it was earlier, its distance to Gin and Baltair closed by half, yet its pose remained the same.

"The hell? When did it move?" Gin said aloud. Baltair coughed and sat up. "Bloody 'ell, I didn't see that one comin'." He said. "Good to see you're alive." Gin said. "Aye, looks like that things tentacles are more powerful than they look." Baltair said. "Wait, that's what hit you? But I didn't even see it move!" Gin said. "How else do ya explain the shape o' me wound? It's the same shape as the end o' that beasties tentacles." Baltair said. "Good point....But that doesn't explain how he hit you without moving." Gin replied. "Well there's only one way ta' find out eh?" Baltair said as he stood up. He charged the beast once more, this time attacking from the side. Once again he was hit by an invisible force and sent flying back from whence he came. He coughed and stood up once more. "So did ya notice anything odd this time around Gin?" Baltair asked. "Yeah, you were still attacked from the same direction even though you attacked from a different side. Which means..." Gin trailed off. "Aye, it's projecting an illusion." Baltair finished. "I think we might need some help for this one." Gin said, looking back at the other two fighters. "It's gonna be hard getting everyone to cooperate. We are supposed to be beating each other up ya know." Baltair said. "Yeah, but would you rather get killed by a six-legged cat with tantacles, or get beaten in a match with another human?" Gin asked. Baltair thought for a second and said "Fair point lad. Alright, I'll distract the thing while you go try and reason with those two."

"Sounds like a plan." Gin replied. He looked back at the beast, its illusion was now walking towards them. "Looks like it's tired of waiting. Keep it busy I won't be long!" Gin said as he ran towards the two people he hoped would provide some back up.

[Gin Yatreg]

Bradley was starting to get tired, his opponent had proven himself to be an agile one. But agile or not, Bradley wasn't going to lose this match. He charged his opponent, Dayton, and swung his gigantic sword. Dayton dodged and retaliated with a bump from his shield, sending Bradley stumbling backwards.

"That was much easier than last time. Getting tired Bradley?" Dayton asked. Bradley scoffed in response, "You wish mate. I'm only getting started!" he yelled back. The both of them ran forward with their blades ready to strike. As they got in range, they swung with all their might. Their swords made contact but, not with each other, instead making contact with a green shield. The two stood back in surprise as the shield dissipated, revealing Gin as the man behind the solid green curtain. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but we have a small problem over here in the rest of the Coliseum that I think you should be concerned with." said Gin. "Don't interrupt our battle, boy. At least not until I've won." Bradley told Gin. "Win? From where I was standing you were losing horribly." Gin said with a straight face. Dayton couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Gin's words. "I don't care how it looked to ya, now get outta the way before I slice through ya to get to the guy behind you!" Bradley yelled as he took a step forward. Gin raised his hands up as if to say 'hold it' before speaking, "Would you hear what I have to say for a second?! If you two keep going while that genetically altered abomination over there takes out the rest of us, the winner of your fight will have to kill it on their own!" he exclaimed.

"So? I can handle a big cat by myself no problem. If anything, I should just let it take out the competition for me!" Bradley said. Dayton crossed his arms, "For once I agree with you, one feline isn't a problem for either of us." Dayton said. Gin sighed, "Wonderful! So how do you plan to HIT THE THING." he points to Baltair getting thrown about left and right by an invisible force. Before either Bradley or Dayton could respond, Gin continued, "Now unless you plan to just swing your sword at the air for a hour, I'd say it's a fair idea to work together so we don't all die to an evil puma." he finished. Bradley and Dayton looked at each other, then to the Displacer Beast, and back to Gin. "Okay we'll help." they said together.

The three of them run back to Baltair, who was just getting up from another attack by the beast. He looks back at the new arrivals and gives them a faint grin before turning back to the beast. "So what's the plan boys?" he asked.

***

Baltair charged the illusion head on, running through it before being thrown off his feet from an invisible force coming from his left side. "LEFT SIDE!" he shouted. Gin sprung into action, jumping high into the air and landing with a punch going straight down, creating a cloud of dust. With the cloud now covering the area, everything within it faded from sight. Bradley and Dayton moved in with their eyes closed, listening for the growls of the beast they were now up against. Once they found it, they enacted their parts of the plan, with Dayton ramming the beast with his shield, stunning it and knocking it over. Bradley then follows suit with a swing from his sword, chopping off the beast tentacles. The beast howled in pain, and tackled Bradley before fleeing out of the cloud.

Gin and Baltair cornered the beast as it exited the cloud, ready to put an end to this little distraction. Realizing the jig was up, the beast let out a howl before starting to twitch. Its form began to shift, the mid-section legs retracted into its body, the front paws turning into hands, fur falling off, its face turned into that of a persons, its form turning more and more human. Gin could only mouth the words 'what the fuck' at this sight. "Bloody hell, that ain't no Displacer Beast, IT'S A DAMN MIMIC!" Baltair exclaimed.

Soon the beast finished transforming, and where once stood a displacer beast stood a blonde human male. It gave an eerie smile and began to speak, "You thought you were fighting a Displacer Beast. BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY I, A SPIRIT MIMIC THAT HAS NOW TAKEN THE FORM OF ONE KNOWN AS DIO!" it then let out a chilling laugh.

Meanwhile, the dust cloud began to clear, with Bradley and Dayton finally getting a clear view of what's going on. Bradley was the first to speak, "Ah shit, what the hell did we miss."

[Gin Yatreg]

The mimic looked back at Dayton and Bradley, "Ah, so nice of you to join us! I was just testing out one of my newest bodies!" it said. The mimic then seemed to turn into a blur as it moved to their position at blinding speed. It then quickly grabbed Bradley by the neck, picking him up with one hand and holding him up in the air. "My my, the power of this form is something else entirely! Let's see what else it can do!" it said in an excited tone. The mimic's arm froze solid, its movement seeming to have been stopped in time. Bradley then began to scream in pain, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. Ice started to appear on Bradley's body, starting from where the mimic's hand was touching him and spread out over his entire body. Bradley's screams filled the air of the coliseum, and then were suddenly silenced as the ice finished enveloping him whole. The mimic released its grip on Bradley, his frozen body fell to the ground and shattered to pieces on contact. Suddenly a sword pierces the mimic's chest from behind, but the creature seems unphased by this. It starts cackling, and grabs the sword by the blade, pulling it out of Dayton's hands and through its chest out the other side. The mimic turns around and stares Dayton down, the wound closing up son after. "THE WORLD! TIME IS FROZEN!" it shouts.

Time comes to a halt, the mimic smiles as a figure appears out of thin air and delivers multiple blows to Dayton. Afterwards, the figure disappears and the flow of time returns to normal. Dayton is then hit with the force of each punch that was given to him during the timestop, and is flung straight through a wall. People flee in terror as the lack of support from the now ruined wall causes the stands behind it to fall, the announcer attempts to calm the spectators, but it is all for naught. The mimic begins to speak once again, this time in a more different tone of voice. "Do you see how amazing my power is?! It is no surprise at all that I, DIO, have control over it!" he shouts.

[DRAMATIC FUCKING CLOSE-UP]

The man blinks in surprise, a look of terror run across his face. "Wait, I'm not Dio." it says.

"OF COURSE NOT! BUT I AM!" he shouts, the look of terror turning into an evil grin. The mimic clenches its head in pain, as if trying to fight off a telepathic attack on its brain. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! YOUR SPIRIT SHOULD HAVE NO CONTROL OVER ME!" it shouts.

Meanwhile Gin, unsure of what's happening, decides to take advantage of this and charges the mimic with a shield fist at the ready. He then delivers a direct hit to its face, sending him flying. The mimic hits the ground, creating a dust cloud as it lands. "That got tha bastard, Gin! He's finished!" Baltair shouts. Gin squints his eyes, looking for any sign of movement within the cloud as it begins to clear.

***

The cloud dissipates, and the space the form of Dio once occupied, was now taken up by something new. The mimic stood up and lit a cigar, taking a puff of smoke and blowing it away soon after. "Thanks for that son, if you hadn't interrupted I wouldn't have been able to shift out of that form. Now what was the name of this one? Ah yes, Armstrong. Senator Steven Armstrong." it said. The mimic takes another puff of the cigar and throws it away. "Now then, Let's go." it said.

"The hell are you thinking?!" Gin said.

The mimic charges forward and slams Gin with an uppercut, sending him up into the air. As Gin falls back down, the mimic kicks him out of the air. Baltair jumps into the fray, swinging his sword like a madman, however the sword doesn't even leave a scratch on the mimic. "Why won't you die?!" Baltair screamed. The mimic smiled and and held up its arm, its color transitioned from white to black and back to white again. "Nanomachines, son. They harden in response to physical trauma! You can't hurt me, Scotsman!" the mimic exclaimed. Baltair tried stabbing the creature, but the sword wouldn't even pierce the skin. The mimic then grabbed Baltair's sword and broke it clean in two, shocking the Scotsman. Baltair then received a punch to the gut, which sent him flying backwards. "Now what did I just say?" the mimic said in a mocking tone.

"EAT THIS YOU POLITICAL FUCK" rang a voice.

The mimic turned around in time to receive five in the eyes from Gin, causing him to go reeling backwards. It recovers and stares at Gin with a look of shock on its face. "Nobody should be able to hurt me while I'm like this, so how the hell is a scrawny kid like you able to?" he asked. "Ain't it obvious?" Gin asked back, "I'm a prime of course." he said.

"A prime? Oh this is just fantastic!" the mimic said. "Looks like I'll be able to take over the moors much sooner than I expected after I'm done here!" it said. "The hell are you talking about? You want to take over the Moors?" Gin asked, surprised. "What? Did you think I was here for the hell of it? Think about it son! Why would a spirit mimic hang around a coliseum where people fight to the death?" it asked. Gin thought for a second, and then the realization struck him, "You're...harvesting the spirits of the dead so you can have an arsenal of transformations to take on Dracula?!" he said. "Exactly! That old fool Dracula is still loyal to Diablo of all people, and he's stuck in the Underverse with no way back! It's time some new blood took over, someone with vision, someone who's willing to follow his own path instead of one laid out by a master who has no chance of returning!" it said.

"That is the most batshit insane plan I've ever heard! And I was gonna bust down the guy's front door!" Gin exclaimed. "Hmph, I don't expect you to understand. JUST DIE!" the mimic shouted as it charged towards Gin once more. Gin, now ready this time, charged towards the mimic as well. The two fighters threw a right hook at the other, with Gin landing a direct hit on the Mimic while dodging the other's punch. The mimic flew backwards, hitting the coliseum wall with enough force to make an indent in it. Gin breathed a sigh of relief, the fight was over. "Bastard should've known he wouldn't be as powerful as a prime. No wonder he thought getting powerful forms would help him against Dracula." he said to himself.

Gin then walked over to Baltair and stretch out a hand to help him up, to which Baltair thankfully took. This happy moment was short lived however, as Baltair began to shout "GIN WATCH OUT!". Gin turned around in time to see the mimic, now taking the form of a Liger, leaping at him with claws out ready to dig in. Without enough time to react, Gin prepared for the worst. And then...the claws never came. Gin looked up and saw the body of a now headless Liger laying on the ground, with a man covered in stab wounds standing next to it. "One day we may all die, but today, IS NOT THE DAY CLARK RYLAN DIES!" Clark yelled at the top of his lungs. He was then hit on the head with the butt of a sword, knocking him unconscious. "Bloody drama queens. Always on about not dyin' or losin'." Baltair huffed.

**~Later~**

"Whaaa, Ye leavin' already Gin?" Baltair asked.

"Yeah, I wanna get back to adventuring, plus I heard over at the stables that there's something cool happening back at the nexus." Gin said.

"Alright then, take care o' yerself Gin! And come back ta visit, we'll take the coliseum on together again!" Baltair said.

"Yeah, okay. You're on Baltair!" Gin said as he hopped onto Tonic's back. "Don't spend all that prize money in one place okay?"

"Ha! Don' worry, I'll be sure to spread it out evenly between every tavern in camelot!" Baltair joked.

Gin laughed and stared off into the distance, the gate was far to the west, but on his faithful steed Tonic it wouldn't take him very long to get there. He bid farewell to Baltair and set off, to his next adventure!

To be continued in: DANTE'S ABYSS

[Gin Yatreg]

Meanwhile, back at the coliseum.

"Hurry up with that mimic corpse, we have to get this place cleaned up before the match next week." The foreman said to one of his workers.

"Yeah yeah, we're getting it." a worker said.

The foreman then turned back to supervise the repairs for the stands that had been destroyed in the previous match. "Say Jake, you think anybody will turn out for the coliseum what with that Abyss thing going on?" A worker said.

"Nah, didn't you see all the buzz surrounding that? No way someone's gonna come out for this. Now help me with this damn thing, mimics weigh a ton." Jake said.

The other worker grabbed a claw and the two of them began to drag the mimic's body towards the exit. As they passed the threshold, the body began to twitch. It was a small twitch, something the two didn't even notice. Another one came.

And another.

And another.

The twitching gradually increased, each one harder than the last. Jake finally felt the monster twitch in his hand. He looked down, and saw it convulsing on the ground behind them in an unnatural manner. The other worker finally noticed as well, and the two men let go of the body and began to back away. The stump of the neck was beginning to reform, and what as once a dead body was writhing back to life. The body clumsily began to stand up, each limb moving and shaking in opposite directions as it gained its bearings. The neck closed in on itself, sealing the open wound. A growth appears on the tip of the neck, and expanded until it was the size of a large head. The round ball of flesh then began to take shape, facial features of a wild beast appearing where there was none. The two workers turned to run, tripping over something as they did so. Looking down at their feet, they saw long fleshy tentacles wrapped around their feet. They began to yell for help, but they were too far in the tunnel for anyone to hear their cries.

A few seconds later, the only sound was the crunching of bone.

To Be Continued?