Bionicle: Legacy- Chapter 11- Arena

    Teluca looked around the New Colosseum stadium as it slowly filled up, with multiple Agoran taking their seats. Teluca himself could not get the thought of the upcoming fight out of his head and had arrived at the Colosseum three hours before anyone else. At the very least, he could find the best seat. It was boring to wait for so long, but he didn’t have anything better to do. That, and the fact that I put his actions into writing, so he had to. Besides, he only had about half an hour left before the action started.

    As the time grew closer and closer and more and more Agoran entered the stadium, the place was nearly packed. Almost every seat was taken. Teluca noticed that there were barely any Agoran in his row. In fact, some even shot him dirty looks before taking to the rows nearby. Teluca tried to get these thoughts out of his head, but that didn’t make them go away completely.

    Then he noticed a familiar blue figure from the corner of his eye. He looked up to see Shina walking down the central staircase, looking for a place to sit in the crowded stadium. She noticed Teluca’s grey hand waving at her. Next to him were multiple empty seats. There wasn’t anywhere else to go, so with a shrug, she walked over to the Ta-Agoran.

    “I honestly didn’t know if you would show up,” Teluca nodded, happy to have some sort of companionship.

    “I needed some sort of excitement,” Shina shrugged, taking her seat next to Teluca.

    “Was yesterday not enough for you?”

    “Since when did you become the judge of when I get to enjoy myself?”

    “You found yesterday enjoyable?”

    “Perhaps as a guilty pleasure. You almost dying to a Storm Dragon was not enjoyable. Seeing some action was.”

    Teluca wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. He just faced towards the arena down below, where Kratos and Lucarian would be fighting soon enough.

    “I suppose…” Teluca sighed, “I should thank you for going after me.”

    Shina turned towards the Ta-Agoran. “You didn’t even want anyone to go after you.”

    “Well if I knew that I’d almost get eaten by a scaly battery, I would have,” Teluca shrugged. He then felt something. He looked down to see that his hand had moved over Shina’s. Both looked embarrassed. “S-Sorry,” Teluca stammered as he retracted his hand.

    “I-It’s fine,” Shina stuttered, trying to regain her composure. The two of them were silent for a moment, with the other Agorans’ chatter filling the void. Shina finally sighed. “Listen. We’re just friends. I have no interest…no interest in it going any further.” She then turned to face the arena, not saying anything else.

    Teluca stared at her for a moment before looking down at the arena too. Neither one of them spoke after that.

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    High above the arena, Twilis sat in a furnished wooden chair, looking down at the arena and Agoran below. Around him were five other seats, four for the other Toa, and one for the Turaga. Being the protectors and the leader of the city respectively allowed them the best seats in the stadium.

    “I see you are here as well.”

    Twilis turned his head to see Kantis slowly approaching him.

    “Only to see that demon be humiliated,” Twilis smirked, turning back around.

    Kantis sighed as he walked towards his seat. “Twilis, I understand why you don’t trust this Toa, but the other Toa do seem to trust him.”

    Twilis looked at the Turaga, almost hurt. “Are you saying you do not trust me?”

    “Oh, not at all. But based on this ‘Lucarian’s’ behavior, he doesn’t seem like one to destroy our city. You just seem to be acting a bit irrational right now.”

    “It is better to be safe than sorry, Turaga,” Twilis growled. “You were a Toa yourself at one point. You should know.”

    “Yes. I do,” Kantis nodded. “I also know that being so negative all the time will not help matters. If anything, it will make your mood worse. Listen,” he sighed, “you are a Toa of Light. A shining beacon for the Agoran. Perhaps you should look more on the bright side of things.”

    Twilis groaned. “You had to use a pun.”

    “Does that refute my point though?” Kantis shrugged, turning his head towards the arena.

    Twilis sighed as he faced the same direction, counting down the minutes until the battle began.

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    Lucarian stared at the massive metal door in front of him. In about a minute, it would open, leading him into the arena for combat. As he moved his arms around to stretch his joints, he heard footsteps clanging on the metal floor, becoming louder and louder. He turned his head to see Tamina walking towards him, with a worried look on her face.

    “I’m surprised you haven’t found a seat yet,” Lucarian noted.

    “I just wanted to wish you luck before the fight started,” Tamina replied. “Kratos, while cocky, has the power to back it up.”

    “I have no concern for luck,” Lucarian sighed. “My view on all this is the sooner I teach him a lesson, the sooner I can get back to my mission.”

    Tamina cocked her head to the side. “Just what exactly is your mission?”

    Lucarian lowered his head and was silent for a moment. He then slowly raised his head, with a look on his face that would intimidate even a Muaka. “Let’s just say that your peace is about to be shattered.”

    As soon as he finished his statement, the metal door slid open, revealing the arena and a cheering crowd. Kratos was already exiting from his side of the area, taking in the cries of the Agoran with pride. Lucarian frowned at the sight. With a deep breath, he entered the arena, slowly walking towards the Toa of Fire.

    Kratos smirked as his opponent got closer. “I do love a good show.” He pointed his blade at Lucarian, ready for combat. “And taking you down will make it even better.”

    Lucarian slid his own blade from the sheath on his back, and aimed it at Kratos. “Enough of your talk. You wanted a fight. Here I am. Let us end this.”

    “You asked for it!” Kratos yelled, charging towards the Toa of Shadow with his blade raised. Lucarian narrowed his eyes and rushed towards his opponent. Soon, their blades clashed against one another; sparks flew at every angle as they pushed against one another. With a mighty roar, Lucarian pushed Kratos’s blade out of the way, causing the Toa of Fire to stumble back. With a growl, Kratos charged again, but Lucarian blocked it. Over and over, the two Toa clashed their swords and they moved around the arena, almost like a ballet of combat.

    With a grunt, Kratos raised his left fist and punched the side of Lucarian’s face, causing him to fall onto the ground. With a smug grin on his face, Kratos swung his blade down, but Lucarian rolled out of the way before he was struck. As the Toa of Shadow rose back up, he raised his left fist and fired a blast of black fire at Kratos, striking him square in the chest, knocking him on his back. With a growl, Kratos jumped back on his feet and swung his sword, sending a wave of fire at Lucarian. The Toa of Shadow simply jumped over the wave and landed behind Kratos. As both Toa turned around, their blades clashed once more.

    “Tamina was right,” Lucarian huffed. “At least you can live up to some of that hot air of yours.”

    “Does that mean you’re giving up already?” Kratos smirked.

    Lucarian frowned. “Hardly.” With that, he swung his blade at Kratos once more.

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    “WHOOOO, Nellie!” Vancus cheered. He turned towards the other Toa to be greeted by a series of glares. “What?” he shrugged. “Can’t a Toa have a good time?”

    “Perhaps not so loud, Vancus?” Twilis groaned. “Please?”

    Vancus sighed as he slumped into his seat. “Well since you said, ‘please’…”

    “We’re not really supposed to support violence like this anyway,” Poldren noted. “This is a time of peace.”

    “Both you and I missed out on fighting a Storm Dragon yesterday,” Vancus replied. “Kratos and Tamina had all the fun. Don’t we deserve to have our own?”

    “Toa!”

    “What now?” Twilis muttered. The Toa turned around to see an exhausted Fe-Agoran guard, wearing grey and orange armor, run up to them and fall on his knees, panting as sweat dripped from his mask.

    “I-Is something the matter, Rellaz?” Tamina asked, a worried look spreading across her face.

    Rellaz panted as he slowly rose back up. “There’s-There’s something at the gate!”

    Twilis looked concerned at the Agoran’s frightened mannerisms. He turned towards Poldren and Vancus. “Follow the Agoran. If it’s that bad, sound the alarm.”

    “But we’ll miss the fight!” Vancus whined.

    “Just come on!” Poldren huffed, roughly grabbing Vancus by the arm as he and Rellaz exited through the door.

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    As the two Toas’ blades clashed against one another time and time again, the battle almost became like a blur. The audience’s eyes moved back and forth as every blow was struck, every sword was swung, every swipe was parried, and every dodge was executed. These thoughts were in the minds of the two combatants, and nothing else, all with a look of sheer determination and fury.

    As Lucarian swung his sword upward, Kratos sidestepped. He swung his own blade horizontally, but Lucarian flipped backwards before he was cut. Kratos panted as he looked at the Toa of Shadow, his eyes filled with fiery rage. With a mighty roar, he fired several fireballs from his left hand.

    Lucarian’s mask began to glow, creating a shadowy force field that protected him from the incoming projectiles.

    “Just…stay…DOWN!!!” Kratos cried. With a powerful thrust, he threw his blade at the dark shield with all his might. It bounced off the force field, but the strength of the blow was enough to cause the Toa of Shadow to stumble. His mask stopped glowing and the aura dissipated into thin air. With a cruel smile, Kratos rushed forward and slammed his right fist into Lucarian’s face.

    With a cry of pain, Lucarian was sent backwards, hurtling towards the wall. Without hesitation, Kratos fired a stream of flames from his hands towards the stunned Lucarian. The Toa of Shadow looked up to be greeted by the flames. Lucarian put his sword forward, blocking the blast just in time. As the smoke and flames cleared, Lucarian slowly rose back upon his feet, tired from the combat. As he raised his head and his eyes matched Kratos’s, it was clear he wasn’t finished just yet.

    Kratos frowned at the sight. Crying out, he lit both of his hands on fire before placing them on the ground, which began to emit a reddish-orange glow. It wasn’t long before Lucarian let out a sharp yelp, the ground now being too hot for him to stand on. With another cry, he jumped up into the air, but to Kratos’s surprise, shadowy tendrils erupted from the Toa of Shadow’s back. Before Lucarian had reached the ground, these tendrils morphed in a pair of black wisp-like wings, keeping the Toa of Shadow afloat as they slowly flapped in the air.

    Kratos stared in shock, surprised that his adversary could even do such a thing. “N-No fair!”

    “You should have learned by now that life is never fair,” Lucarian answered, giving a small grin, as if he knew he had the upper hand. Raising his left hand, he fired a blast of dark fire at Kratos, but the Toa of Fire dived out of the way. He ran towards his blade, and swung it around, just in time to block another fiery blast.

    With a stern look in his eyes, Lucarian dove towards Kratos, blade first. Kratos sidestepped away from the Toa of Shadow, but Lucarian’s armored body still brushed against him, causing him to stumble backwards.  After he regained his footing, he looked up to see Lucarian charging towards him, blade raised. Kratos swung his sword with both hands, blocking the attack, pushing with all his might to keep his adversary away. With a powerful grunt, he pushed Lucarian’s weapon out of his hands, causing it to fly to the side of the arena.

    Kratos smirked, knowing he now had the advantage. He swung his sword in a full circle, but Lucarian stepped backwards. Kratos then raised it upwards and swung it towards the ground. Just in time, Lucarian jumped backwards. The Toa of Shadow raised both of his hands, causing a shadowy whip to appear from each one. He swung these as Kratos, which wrapped around his chest.

    “Hey!” Kratos shouted angrily, trying to wriggle out of his rope-like prison. Lucarian, narrowing his eyes, swung the whips, throwing the trapped Toa of Fire into the air before slamming into the ground. Lucarian did this over and over, swinging his arms back and forth and Kratos crashed onto the ground from one side of the arena before hurtling towards the other. With one mighty heave, Lucarian thrust his arms as high as he could, lifting the battered Toa of Fire into the air before giving one final swing downwards, sending his opponent towards the floor. The slam was so powerful, a large dust cloud from the ground covered the arena.

    When the dust cleared, Kratos laid where he landed, broken and beaten, giving long, weak breaths as he tried to recover. As Lucarian walked towards his fallen foe, he could see the surprise, despair, and defeat in his eyes. Lucarian growled. Pitiful. He pointed his blade at Kratos’s chest, his eyes full of anger and hatred. After a moment, he turned around to see the other Toa watching him, fearful of what he was about to do. Tamina especially look on in horror, both her hands covering her face. Lucarian just stared at them, his furious expression slowly falling from his face. Finally, he sighed and lowered his sword. He was better than this. He heard a few weak grunts coming from Kratos. He turned around to see the Toa of Fire trying to sit back up, still weak from the battle.

    “Have you learned something?” Lucarian asked, looking down at his foe with a cold, hard expression. Kratos didn’t answer, and just stared at his victorious opponent as he breathed weakly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

    “Turaga!” Everyone, from the Toa, to the Agoran in the audience, turned their heads towards Poldren, Vancus, and Rellaz, who had re-entered the arena. “We have a problem,” Poldren panted, a stressed look covering his face. “Remember that trader who came into the city a few days ago?”

    “Dharen? Yes,” the Turaga responded, confused at the question, but worried at the same time.

    “His shadow mantis is at the gate without his master. And the guards recall Dongru leaving with him. They’re gone.”