Gods of Arena
Origin

He had given the orders and the soldiers had been dismissed already. He stood there for a few seconds more, confident, angry and thirsting for a fight. Faint images of his origin appeared before him, carving his face into a wry smile. He had

forgotten his wife's death... or he had just gotten over it. He turned, walking back into the chambers, and closed the door behind him.

He could see a figure behind the curtains from where he stood. It wasn't an intruder. He approached the figure slowly and pulled the curtain aside quickly.

Leila jerked back suddenly. She had been lost in thought since King walked out. "Looks like you had a plan against me, Leila. Didn't you?", King asked. "Spill it. What was the plan?"

"It was nothing", she said, staring blankly at him for a few seconds. "What are you going to do to him- the Blank?"

"Oh. You are concerned about him now?", he asked, scanning her body with his eyes. "Have you won his heart already? With those hips of yours?"

Leila could sense the lust in his eyes, as he approached her slowly. She took slow steps backwards, keeping the safe distance between them. "I- I was just asking... if he was the one plotting against you"

"No, Leila. He is my worthy soldier. He is going to stand by me and bring down the revolution", King said, still approaching her slowly. "For now, let's deal with what is before us- this beautiful hips"

She stumbled, as she tried to run into her room. King dashed at her, grabbing her swiftly and holding her. "Please, don't do this. Bane won't be happy with it", she pleaded.

"No, Leila. This is going to please Bane. He always wanted me to dare him", King said, pulling her up roughly. "I'm going to go slowly and smoothly."

He carried her into the room and slammed her on the bed, holding her down. "Please", she cried, trying to escape his strong hold.

"I didn't see these perky boobs of yours", King said, pulling up her skirt. "It's my fault. You could have gotten used to this"

King stopped suddenly and rushed out of the room, as if sensing a strange presence in the chambers. Leila got up and closed the door, quickly, curling up in her bed and hoping he doesn't force his way back in.

King remained in a position, staring into the mirror and fuming. He could feel the plot against him; he had had the same ominous feeling before the explosions and intrusions began. Queen was there to keep him sane. He was made to ignore the premonition. He wasn't going to do the same thing now, not after the Addax arena had succeeded with their infiltration.

** {Back to the Origin} **

King, a smaller and younger version, stood in the middle of a field before another boy with extremely long legs, three times taller than King but just as young. King charged at him, throwing his full body weight at the boy's leg. The boy held him, quickly, throwing him back. "I'll kill you, Rocco", King said, getting back up.

"Run home, boy. Even Bane wouldn't dare come at me", Rocco replied. "He would regret it"

"You say that against my brother. I will tell him and he will make you pay for it"

"Go ahead, King. Run home"

King ran at him again and slid down, trying to get Rocco's feet off the ground. Rocco remained still and unmoved, sniggering. He kicked King by the side and walked away. "Tell Bane", he said. "I handed your ass to you on a platter of sand!"

Defeated, the little King ran into the castle with tears and anger.

"Hey, watch where you're going, little one", Bane said, as King walked into him. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"An ordinary plebeian insults you and all you do is walk around the castle?"

"Be careful how you speak to me, King.... Now, tell me what happened"

"It's Rocco", King said. "He beat me and rubbed my face in the mud. He kicked me by the side"

"Who picked the fight?"

"How does that matter?"

"Who picked the fight, King?", Bane repeated. "You don't pick fights you can't win... you are a disgrace to me" "He cheated"

"I don't care. You should be prepared for every fight", Bane said. "You haven't even learned your shin-zhu, have you?" King shook his head.

"I bet he didn't use a shin-zhu against you because he believed you don't worth the stress", Bane added. "Even in a fight you picked"

"Are you just going to stand there and scold me?!", King retorted. "He insulted you and said you can't do anything. He said he would have your ass handed to you and rub your face in the mud. You're not going to do anything?"

"I have already done a lot of things and... the Rocco you speak of is not going to say that to me", Bane sighed and smiled. "Not after I beat him three times on the field"

"I went for the leg, like you said", King said. "He didn't fall. He's just too strong"

Bane sighed and shook his head again in disappointment. He turned his back. "He's not too strong. You are just thinking too weak"

"How am I supposed to go against him? He is three times taller than I am. He has more durability and I don't even have a shin-zhu"

"You think, King", Bane replied. "When you face a bigger opponent, you think just as big. When you face a smaller opponent, you think just as small... if you can't do that, then, even your shin-zhu might not help you win a fight" Bane walked away, leaving King in his still position. Before walking out of the castle, he added. "If I go back to Rocco now, he's just going to keep running... Build yourself, King"

** Present **

A knock on the door jerked him back to reality. "Who's there?"

"It's uh... it's nothing", a soldier said, stuttering. "I thought we were having a meeting. I'm sorry for disturbing you, sir"

"Wait!", King said and walked to the door, opening it. "Where were you?"

"I was handling an intruder. It's an Addax beast. It's dead"

"They came to retrieve their kind", King said. "Make an announcement. I want Fred and Ana captured. The Blank should report to me, immediately. There is a revolution building up against the arena. We are going to fish them out and have them executed"

"Taken, sir", the soldier saluted and walked away.

** {Back to the Origin} **

"Where are the kids?"

The king was seated on his elevated throne, with his four wives beside him. His children only saw his face once in a while. There was an undisputed myth surrounding the fierce king and his extraterrestrial throne. Whenever he sat on his throne, he always put a veil over his face, for whoever dared to behold the face of the king while he sat on the throne would become stone.

The guards brought his children before him. Bane and King stood prepared, as if already sure of what his father had to say.

"I choose the arena in Skull-and-Crossbones", King blurted.

"Silence", The King cut in. "You were not asked to speak, King"

"Sorry, sir"

The King looked at Bane, who stayed calm. "You're the older one, Bane", The King said. "Do you agree with him?"

"I can't let him have it, Father", Bane replied. "He can have the one in Home of Arenas. I'll have crossbones"

"But you already have a lot of things", King said, quickly. "Why don't you just let me have this one?"

"Because I am older and you don't actually deserve what you desire", Bane retorted. "The crossbones will scare you to death"

"Why do you want the one at crossbones?", The King asked. "I'll hear you first, King"

"It is a lot bigger than the one in the Home of Arenas. It also holds more power, like you said"

"Let's solve this in a fight, Father", Bane suggested. "I have taught King how to use his Shin-zhu and how to win a fight. If he is able to beat me with this skills, I will let him have Crossbones. If he can't win, then he will have Home of Arenas"

King raised his head to stare in his brother's eyes. His brother was taller but he was confident. He had been able to defeat Rocco after taking his brother's advice. "I'm going to put you down, Bane"

"You can't beat me, King. You are weak", Bane replied, smiling mischievously.

"I have shin-zhu now... and you taught me how to take down bigger people, remember?"

"Well, I wonder how big you think I am", Bane said, slowly expanding in size.

King stepped backwards, staring in disbelief. He had never seen Bane do that before. He clenched his fist and rolled up a ball of energy. Bane blew air at him, quenching King's shin-zhu in a second. He bent closer to King and held his head. "You lose", Bane whispered.