Gods of Arena
Who Killed Todd?

"I swear I didn't do this"

Kang's eyes bored into him. He didn't believe that. "This happened after he revealed my secret"

Romeo walked up to them. He had his usual dull look, staring directly at Dan. "This doesn't look good at all" "Kang thinks I did this. That's crazy"

"You didn't do it?", Romeo asked. He definitely didn't believe that, either. He glanced back at the body on the ground. "Your ability is a unique one. I can guess what happened in this scene... The dent on the wall shows he fought back. Your wires wrapped around his neck, pulled him around, slamming his head on the wall and the ground till the whole place gets painted in his blood... and till his head falls apart."

"Whatever happened to him? I swear I know nothing about it", Dan repeated. "You have to believe me. I will never deny it if I did and, besides, I have no reason to kill him"

"You do have a reason. You could have been scared that he would reveal your secret just like he revealed mine", Kang replied. "It's okay if you did this. I would have just loved a warning" "If I did this, I wouldn't be denying it"

"What's the secret, anyway?", Kang asked. "Come on. I need to know how much it needs to stay hidden?"

Dan stared into his eyes. His lips sealed tightly. He glanced at Romeo. "I know the secret", Romeo said. ".... And it doesn't warrant this.... So I believe you. He didn't do this"

The white lights turned red, as though the Larger Figures just discovered what was happening. Soldiers rushed in, through the back entrance.

"Go to your rooms immediately", the soldiers ordered.

Romeo turned immediately. "Come on, Kang", he called.

Kang stood still, staring towards the entrance. Ana was covered in the shade, staring back into his eyes. "Don't worry about me"

Dan and Romeo left for their rooms. "Go to your room, immediately", a soldier said, walking up to Kang. "Are you deaf?"

"Leave him alone", Ana said and walked in. "I will handle him. Hopefully, we will get to the root of this through him"

"Hi, Ana", Kang greeted, keeping his face straight and expressionless.

"Hi, Kang", she said in a low voice. "Who did this?"

"Crane is dead"

She sighed. She should have shown up, long before now, but she had no choice. She had had eyes on herself after the incident with the mad Grimm dog. "We can talk about this, sometimes later, Kang. I need to know who did this" "Crane is dead and it's your fault", Kang repeated.

"Stop being so difficult, Kang. All of the fighters are created to fight and many or all will die on the field, eventually. I couldn't have prevented that."

"They are all created to die, including me, right?"

Ana's eyes twitched, as she stared into his eyes. She could feel her hear beating rapidly. "That's not what I meant, Kang", she muttered, fiddling with a pen. "That's not what you wanted to say but it's the truth.... Isn't it?"

She went numb immediately. He could feel it but he cared less. She was an enemy, after all. "Stop it, Kang", she muttered, slowly, and glanced down, as if hiding her face. "You don't have to make this hard. I wanted to be a frie-" "I thought so too... I am a fighting machine, created to fight till death. You are the Larger Figure. You will always be up there and I will be down here. Eventually, I will die and you will watch me till I let out my last breath", Kang said and smiled blankly. "Goodbye Ana.... Forget about me"

****

King stood up and opened his hands. One of the soldiers pulled out a napkin and handed it to him. "Thank you, Lewis", King said, as he cleaned the blood off his hand with the napkin.

There was perfect silence in the lab. Everyone stood still, staring directly at the ground. King paced in front of them like he was about to issue a punishment. "Who did this?", he asked..... "Who murdered a fellow fighter, as brutally as this? You have no idea?"

"We will find out who it is, sir, and we will get back to you, as soon as possible", Montero said, keeping his face down.

"Why can't you give an answer now? Did the cameras stop working?"

"No, sir", Ana said, stepping closer. "We had a problem with the spin, some weeks ago, and we figured one of the fighters has the ability to control technology"

"So he ruined the cameras?", King asked. "I don't care, alright. Get me the fighter who did this and you only have a few days"

"Yes, sir", they chorused, and King walked out with his guards.

"I don't understand. Why can't we produce a footage?", Dennis asked, walking closer to her.

They stared into the computer, watching the recording. A picture of the empty room stuck on the face on the screen for a few minutes and Todd's bloodied body appeared on the ground. "It's either Thomas switched off the camera for a few minutes or something else happened", Ana said.

"Well, I definitely didn't switch off the camera", Thomas replied, quickly. "I slumbered for a few minutes and I had to go the bathroom for a short while but, for the rest of the night, I was here"

"I believe you, Thomas", Ana said and continued. "Alexa almost believed a fighter was disrupting the computer systems which was why she-"

"Why she did nothing?", Dennis cut In, smiling at Ana for a second. "She told me of her suspicions and wanted me to watch certain fighters.... I think we need to connect the two situations. We'll probably find a fighter in both places. Then we can begin the investigation from there."

"That's a great idea", Matthias said, sitting in front of a computer. "The good news is I found one... and I don't think he's innocent"

****

Kang could feel sweat streaming from his pores, as he punched the hanging bag. Each day he came back to the gym, the training seemed a lot easier and he wanted more.... Once, in his room, he had hoped to be as strong as Jin. Not only did his powerless body kill the dream but Jin's status as a god-tier seemed impossible to meet, even if he had a Shin Zhu. 'He defeated two fighters at once, for crying out loud!', he shouted in his head. He was literally having a conversation with his new invisible roommate who was yet to exist. He drifted backwards and relaxed, as some cool breeze blew against him for a second.

"If you had a Shin Zhu, you would be standing up to Jae in no time", Dan said, as he walked in, closing the door quietly. "That's more work than any other person does"

Kang walked to the bench, breathing heavily. "Crane worked just as much", he grabbed a bottle of water and gulped down.

"I'm sorry about Crane", Dan said and sat beside him. "I really never helped Todd win that fight. To be honest, I really was hoping he would lose... having someone like him know my secret and use it at any time; that wasn't good in any way... so maybe I could have killed him.... But I swear I didn't do it"

"I believe you, Dan", Kang said and leaned back comfortably, yawning. "I'm still confused what the secret can be. If it's not big enough, he won't want to use it against you"

"I can't tell you, Kang. I'm trying to protect myself here. It's what we are all trying to do", Dan said and looked at him. "The Larger Figures will always be enemies and they will always have control"

"I wish Jin was still here", Kang replied. "But he's out now. Hopefully, we'll meet again"

Dan looked at him. "Where do you think he is?"

"I have no idea. He's out of the Arena and I'm sure it's a better place"

Dan sighed and shook his head. "The Cradlands should be a better place but not for us.... I'm sorry I kept this from you but Jin didn't leave the Arena"

Kang looked at him. "That's what Dea told me. How do you know that?"

"Jin didn't leave the Arena, Kang", he repeated. ".... He's dead"

The door burst open, pulling their attention immediately. Soldiers rushed in with guns pointed at Dan.

The soldiers walked, one after the other, till Ana was left alone with Dan. He had his hands tied behind the chair he sat on. "What's this about, Ana?", he asked, tugging. "Don't call me by my name", Ana replied. "One of your fellow fighters was brutally murdered and we think you did it."

"Why would I do that? You know me, Ana"

"I know you which is why I have no doubts, at the moment", Ana replied. She grabbed a seat and sat in front of him, pulling a laptop closer to herself.

"I have changed. I didn't kill him. You have cameras everywhere. Did they stop working or something?"

"That brings me to my question", Ana said, glaring at him. "You can manipulate technology, can't you?"

"Really? Is that a thing?"

"The spin was supposed to be Jae pitched against you. Somehow, the results changed"

"I promise you. I didn't do that", Dan said and lowered his voice. "Come on, Ana. What are you doing? You know I can't do this. If I could, you'd probably be the first to know" "I don't know anything about you, Dan. You are a fighter. I am a Larger Figure"

"Yea, I know that", Dan muttered and smiled. "You will always be an enemy, I know that.... So what now? You have a way to check a fighter's Shin Zhu so just check mine"

"Yes, we do... but if it could detect this kind of ability, we wouldn't have wasted so much time. Let me save you the stress of answering questions", Ana said and faced the computer.

Dan looked down and smiled. The Larger Figures would always be an enemy. He had noted that, early, but he didn't think Ana would ever be in that position. He looked up at the computer screen. There was a recording of him and Todd, standing in the hall. The camera had caught him while he was watching a fighter scrub Todd's painting off the wall.

Ana zoomed in and Dan's face was boldly on the screen, as he whispered to Todd. She clicked a button and their voices played out loudly and clearly.

*"You can go ahead, Todd. I will keep my eyes on you and if you make any suspicious move-..... if I just THINK it's suspicious, trust me Todd, I will kill you like a coward❞*