Blood on Your Hands (Complete)

Blood on Your Hands

Easy Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 1,000 zeni

So, you want to become a Gladiator? Like I haven’t heard that one before. It takes hard work, dedication, and guts. Do you have these? Fine. Go to the Colosseum and sign up. You’ll be outfitted in some basic armor and weapons. Welcome to hell, new blood. You may be ranked with us as a Gladiator, but you’re the lowest of the low. The hosts would like to see how you fare against your first matches. Luckily for you, your opponents will only be peons. Get out there and show them what you’ve got!
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Torbie, who has somewhat healed from his daze, was now contemplating about what could have happened to the other world for so many people to be cast out for an unknown reason. At first he thought it was the Kai's doing, but then he wondered what would be their gain for casting them all out, and he couldn't think of anything.

He sighed. He'd been sighing a lot in the past half an hour or so he'd been cast out. He got another theory about it, though. It might have been Hell and their Demonic magic that sent us all out. But, if it wasn't, then this situation could possibly be worse. The Demons from hell could have been cast out.

He got tired of being disappointed with his thoughts, so he decided to just look around this planet. He didn't see anything, yet, so he tried to find a living being to tell him something about this world. He walked, only for a few moments, and then he sightly felt the ground beat with footsteps. He looked around, and saw that the "water" around him was vibrating. This could only mean somebody was headed towards him.

He had a very brief moment of great excitement. He was finally going to meet somebody. But then, pessimistic thoughts started to corrupt his optimism. He thought that there was a possibility that what was coming was just a rampaging wild animal. He also deducted that it could have been an earthquake, but that didn't make sense.

After a while of pessimism, he found out what was making those vibrations. It turned out to be some sort of wild insect. Anger swelled up in side of him. He wanted to destroy it for getting his hopes up. When it got close, he winded back his right arm, ready to strike it in the skull. But then, a surge of sense seemed to wash over his body. This animal hadn't done anything to him intentionally, so he wasn't going to kill it. Instead he grinned, and outstretched his right hand slowly. He opened his palm, and stopped the animal. It looked frantic.

When he looked closer, he saw that it had many scars and injuries. It was breathing heavily, and looked like it was frightened beyond measure. Torbie had some trouble holding it back, so he looked it in the eye.

Ever since he was born, he had the ability to subdue animals. He hadn't had the time to hone that ability in other world, but he managed to maintain it to the extent of the strength that it had before he died. He observed this being, which was now extremely calm. His ability surprised him a little, because he hadn't used it for a few hundred years. He would have to get used to it if he was going to use it often.

He examined the creature, and it didn't look like any of the creatures that he had seen in other world before. It had wings, but they weren't like his own. He examined it closer while the creature was still subdued, and saw that it was made out of a very hard substance.

It was strange, because, the substance that was incredibly hard was dripping like a liquid. Torbie had just noticed that he was standing in a puddle of the dripping liquid. He stepped back, but the substance was stuck on the outside of his foot. He tried to tear it away, but he couldn't. Then, a strange thing happened. It started to move on it's own. It seemed to crawl up his leg, and latch on. It was a very thin layer, but it stopped advancing just below his Knee.

Torbie felt it with his hand, and noticed it was harder than the other parts of his body. Then, suddenly, the creature became frantic again. It immediately got up, and prepared to trample Torbie.

Torbie subdued it again, by placing his hand on it's forehead. He sent his Ki inside of the creature. His Ki had a calming sensation to it, which spread throughout the creatures body, calming everything. The calmer the user of this technique, the longer the effect lasts.

He was about to examine it again, but he was stopped by the sound of battle cries getting closer. The vibration came back, and even the puddle of that substance was shaking. Torbie could feel the creature next to him getting increasingly frantic. He wasn't too calm himself, but he knew that whatever it was he would be able to keep the creature subdued until he dealt with whatever was coming.

He waited, and also comforted the creature. He'd wanted a companion for his journey to find out about other world, and this creature would make a sufficient one. He was going to protect it from anything that had the intention of harming it. After a while, a group of people riding on what seemed like bipedal lizards appeared in the distance. They were advancing fast, and the closer they got the more frantic his companion got.

He didn't want them to get too close, or he'd lose his calmness. A conflicted expression appeared on Torbie's face. He didn't want his companion to run away while he was confronting the group, but at the same time he didn't want the group to get too close or else his companion would lose it's cool completely.

Torbie concluded that he had no choice other than to go up to the group by himself to stop them from advancing. He didn't want a bad reputation, so he tried to do this with as little violence as possible.

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He quickly flew up to the group using his wings. He got there in seconds, and stood in front of the advancing lizards. They stopped, but not because of their own will. They stopped from their riders pulling on ropes. One of them got down, and Torbie saw what the inhabitants of this planet looked like. They were insectoids, like him, but they were a different family of insectoids.

They were all carrying weapons, such as swords and spears. One was even carrying a spiked flail. He knew that these people weren't going to be too friendly. Especially if they were chasing after his new companion. He asked, "Is there a problem here?"

The insectoid with a sword cautiously stepped forward. It's sword was outstretched, but a comfortable distance away from Torbie. He said, "We can see the escapee you're hiding behind you." The tip of his sword moved slightly, until it was pointing next to Torbie's head. He assumed it was at his companion. "The army of Arlia will take back possession."

Torbie kept his expressionless expression, while saying "If it escaped, then it must have been under some unsatisfactory conditions." He noticed that the bipedal lizards were getting increasingly restless. He'd decided that he would calm them down sooner than later. He couldn't have those things going after is companion. He'd have to hurt it. "It can't talk, so it probably ran away as a message. A message saying, 'I'm not going to deal with this anymore!'" He said it with a little bit of disrespect and humor. Mostly disrespect.

Another one stepped out, holding another sword. He had a threatening stance, like he was ready to attack at any second. He said, "Look, we will not take any more of your stalling, but we will take back what is ours! Now hand it over!"

"First, that's not happening," Torbie said. He was talking slower than before, because while he was talking, he was secretly sending his calming Ki in to the lizards to calm them down. "Second, I'm pretty sure something that's yours wouldn't run away, so I assume you stole it." Torbie stopped calming the lizards, and prepared himself to battle. He wasn't going to kill, or try to give mortal wounds. At the most he had to incapacitate them.

"That's crossing the line, scum!" One with a spear burst out between the other two, and then charged Torbie. "We will not take your shit any longer! Now die!" It's spear was outstretched towards Torbie, ready to be driven in to one of his organs.

Torbie sighed. He didn't really want to resort to violence, but it was his own fault for insulting them. Although, the insults were actually telling the truth, just in an insulting way. Torbie moved his left foot back, and stepped to the side. He grabbed the spear that was being thrusted towards him, and forced his hands in such a way that moved the base of it. He made it push against the original holder, and then lifted the spear and the Arlian, who was holding it, up. Then, slammed the Arlian down. he threw the spear away, and stepped back to his normal position.

The Arlian's didn't have mouths, but he could tell that they were angry. Two with swords charged at him. He looked behind them, and saw that there were 3 more with swords, 1 more with a spear, and another with a flail. He sighed, but it was a quick sigh. Not a drawn out one, because there were two warriors with swords charging towards him.

They both reached him at the same time, and they both struck him in the same way, a slash down. This made it easier for Torbie to dodge, and then counter the attack. He ducked and rolled to the side. When he regained his footing somewhat, he launched himself towards both of them.

He caught one by the head, and knocked the other one over. He picked up the one he caught by the head, and slammed him down on the one on the ground. He made a motion with his hands that resembled dusting off his hands. He knew more were coming, so with his foot he, in a way, tossed the two out of the way. And, just as he thought, more came.

All of them except the one with the Flail came. Torbie knew he was going to have his hands full if he didn't do something, then he saw his savior in the corner of his eye.

When they got close enough, he backed up, and then ducked to dodge a stab from the spear. He rolled to the side, dodging the sword that was being thrusted down towards him. He also rolled in order to grab the spear that he slammed one of the attacks down with. He grabbed it, stood up, and was ready to fight.

He didn't want to seriously injure the Arlian warriors, so he held the spear in the opposite way. The base was out, and the tip was behind him. He saw that their guard was down from wondering why he was holding the spear like this. They knew that he'd seen them hold it the right way, so in their opinion, he had no excuse.

Torbie took this as a great opportunity. He increased his speed by using his wings to fly, and rushed in front of one of them with the sword. He, in a way, tackled him. The Arlian swordsman was knocked a ways back, and to the ground. Torbie regained his footing, and brought the base of the spear to the face of the second swordsman, and finished with a knee to the back of his head. The swordsman collapsed, and Torbie jumped back. Once again, he flew towards a warrior.

This time, it was the one with the spear. He brought his right foot forward, and it connected with the middle of the spear, breaking it in half. His foot continued towards the Arlian's midsection. It was sent back a few inches, and then it bawled over. Torbie rushed towards it again, and dropped his leg on it's back. It collapsed. It's hand reached for it's back, but it went limp before he reached it.

While Torbie's back was turned, the swordsman had attacked. It jumped up, and brought it's sword down on Torbie's back. It connected, and made a clinging sound. Torbie didn't have to turn around to tell that it was in complete shock. Torbie, staying in the same lower position, told it, "All of the dark red parts of my body are hard as steel. A mere sword will hardly make a dent." He then spread open his wings, and the shell launched the swords man in the air.

Torbie waited, and the outstretched his leg. The swordsman fell on to the leg, and was noticeably passed out. Torbie moved him aside. There was one left, and a flail could be dangerous. he walked over to an open space, and assumed his battle position.

"This one might be the leader," Torbie thought to himself, "Considering the fact that he hadn't charged recklessly, and that he had different equipment from the others." Torbie smirked. He had a feeling this bout of skill was going to be harder than the others. The opposing Arlian warrior stuck it's free hand out, and a orange light started to form in the shape of a sphere.

Torbie was skeptical at first. He was surprised that the Arlians could freely control their Ki. Though, the South Kai taught him never to underestimate your opponent. And right now, the Arlians where his opponent.

Just as he expected, the orange light was a Ki attack. Specifically, it was a Ki Wave. Torbie easily dodged it by moving to the side. But, he was off guard. The Arlian, with great speed, rushed towards Torbie and pushed him to the ground. His hand was firmly placed on Torbie's neck, and the rest of his body was on Torbie's in such a way that there wouldn't be a chance for him to move his limbs very much.

"You, are an impressive fighter," the Arlian said, "And we could use a new face in the Colosseum. Come with me and become a gladiator. You'll be a new one, but eventually your reputation will expand far and wide. Maybe even the king will hear about you." Torbie wondered what he was talking about, and was about to question him. But, he felt a part of his leg that the Arlian was holding down lose some pressure, so he took advantage of that moment. He forced his leg up, and pushed the Arlian over. He was about to get up, but was hit in one of his unprotected areas. The attack hurt, but it wasn't a Ki attack. It was the physical strength of this soldier. He was then pinned to the ground, again.

"A fault on my part," the Arlian said while holding Torbie down, "but, you can either accept my offer, or, I can just kill you right now, and take back Arlia's property. Personally, I wouldn't suggest the latter."

Torbie was angry that it let the control of the situation transfer to his opponent. He struggled to get free, but this time he could tell that it wasn't going to happen. "Fine," Torbie grumbled angrily, "I'll become a Gladiator, but only under the conditions that my companion over there be untouched."

"Don't worry," the Arlian said, "They'll be more impressed with you than with that." And so, the Arlian threw Torbie on to a Bipedal Lizard, and hopped on the same one. Then, they headed to the Colosseum.

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Torbie was taken on the back of this weird creature. It was against his will, so there were no words exchanged between the two. After a possible thirty or so minutes, Torbie saw a large structure in the distance. He also noticed that the road they were following had changed. At first it was a rubble road, but now there were neatly placed tiles. Wherever they were going, it seemed to be an important place.

On the way, Torbie looked at the surroundings as they were passing. There didn't seem to be many bipedal animals in the forest at all. He saw many minuscule animals fleeing or cowering in sight of him, the Arlian, and the Lizard. He also saw, over the trees, many large creatures. There was one that had horns spewing out from all over it's body. But, it was crushed by an even larger animal before Torbie's very eyes.

The larger animal had snow white fur cover it's entire body. The only place where you didn't see fur was it's eyes, which were black as the void of space. Torbie wondered how the Arlians could contain these beasts. But, that explains why he didn't see any evidence of housing where he was traveling.

After he spotted the Colosseum, everything became more civilized the more they progressed. At first, there were just a few houses on the edges of the road. Then, there were even more buildings, but in a neater fashion. But, even further, he saw organized street systems, restaurants, and bigger buildings. Some were for housing purposes, and some weren't. That seemed to be the extent of the civilization, because all that was after that was the same thing, but different buildings. And the common civilian or two walking the streets.

One person asked if Torbie was a new recruit, and the warrior turned towards the person and nodded. The people on the street started eyeing Torbie and quietly chatting among themselves. Torbie glanced at them, and then ignored them. What had his attention was the structure ahead, which he could only assume was the Colosseum.

It grew larger every moment that passed as they went towards it. It towered over all of the buildings. It's size even rivaled the white furry monster that Torbie saw on the way here. After a few more minutes, they reached what looked like the entrance. Torbie was forced to stay on the lizard. The Arlian warrior that took him here was now conversing with guards that were standing in front of the assumed entrance. After a few moments, the Arlian Warrior nodded, and the guards stood aside. He then gestured for his bipedal lizard to follow him. The entrance was fairly tall. The lizard could easily walk through it. The guards eyed Torbie as he rode the lizard inside.

Inside, everything was darker. The walls were made out of a smooth stone, and it didn't seem to have many cracks or imperfections about it. When he looked a little closer, he saw tiny cameras in the wall. Torbie assumed it was the security measures taken by the Arlians. The walls seemed to have openings, which led to a wider, but shorter area that led to stairs. By the time Torbie made it to the end of the hall, he counted 12 of them. He wondered what they were for. Since he was inside a Colosseum, he assumed it led to the seats, where people would watch the events inside the bigger arena.

At the end of the hall, there was a place that read, "Gladiators' Chamber." That door was a tad bigger than the size of a regular door. Probably for those extra tall gladiators.

"Get off, and follow me," the Arlian said. Torbie hopped off the lizard, and followed the Arlian through the door. This area was rugged, and the walls had many more cracks. This sort of made sense. This area wasn't meant for the eyes of the audience, so it wasn't kept in suitable condition at all.

They walked quite a distance, until they got to another door. "What was the purpose of the previous room?" Torbie thought to himself. There was virtually nothing useful, and just a time waster. When the Arlian put in some codes on a pad, the door beeped, and opened. It opened to a hallway lined with jail cells.

"This," the Arlian began to say, "Is the room where Gladiators were held, until ready for battle." Torbie looked ahead, and could see that the cages stretched on for a while, but did in fact stop. Torbie noticed that in each cage, there were about 2 or 3 fighters. There was a depressing atmosphere as Torbie was being led towards his cage. Surprisingly, they didn't go the entire way. The cages seemed to stop holding Gladiators halfway. Torbie assumed it was because they were holding spaces for extra gladiators.

The cage that was the last one to hold gladiators, had two rather large Arlians inside. Torbie was forced to sit in his own cage, across from them. He ducked in to the cage, and sat down on a poorly built bench. He didn't want anything to do with the other competitors, so he tried his best to ignore they were there.

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"Well boys," the Arlian that took Torbie to his cage started to announce, "here's some new red meat for you. Be sure to get along." He purposely said the last part with a sarcastic tone. He walked out, and there was an immediate sound of chatter.

Torbie had advanced hearing, and could tell what some of them were saying, "Check out this red freak. Seems strong enough, but the fans wont like how different he is. Can't wait for him to be boo'd in to execution" This caught Torbie's interest, but he kept his decision about ignoring the fighters. He was, in fact going to fight them eventually. He leaned forward and contemplated what he could do to get out of this place.

Maybe there was a way to get out if you beat a certain number of challenges, he thought at first. Then he thought maybe you accumulate money every fight, and you can buy your freedom. Then the thought of what was he going to be fed crossed his mind. He hoped it wasn't gross, or disgusting. Torbie was an omnivore, so he was fine with eating most things, just not most things that tasted horrible. Then another thought crossed his mind. What if the more opponents you defeat...the better the food will be? He had a lot of questions on his mind, but tried his best to avoid the thought of the otherworld.

Then, the door opened again. Torbie couldn't see who it was from all the way at the end, but he heard a familiar voice. "You three on the end, come with me." Torbie was on the end, so he assumed he was being talked to. He heard a beep on the cage, and he pushed. The door swung open, and he exited. The ones who were called with him, where the two large Arlians across from him. He eyed them, then walked ahead. They had to take turns walking out of their cage, because they were so big. Torbie walked to the end without eyeing the others he passed by.

He followed the Arlian, the other two right behind him. They entered that long passageway, which didn't see to have any use. Then, the Arlian pulled out an odd looking device. It was shaped like a crescent moon, and had 5 circular buttons on it. The Arlian pressed the one in the middle, and the wall to the left started to slowly rise. Torbie now saw the reason that this room was here. It led to the Colosseum battle ground. Torbie didn't move, but the two Arlians did. He followed them, not knowing where he was supposed to go.

When they got near the middle, there were 3 circles. They seemed to be artificial LED circles. Torbie stood in the open circle, after the other two stood in circles. He looked around, but not wildly. He didn't want to give the impression that he was frantic. After a few moments, an announcer's voice bellowed throughout the Arena.

"Arlians! Welcome to the 30856th Gladiator Games!" the announcer said. The crowed erupted in cheers, and chants, and yells. Torbie was annoyed. His hearing was adept, but that also meant that louder sounds become louder to him. He didn't dare cover his ears, and show weakness. He would just have to cope with the fact. The announcer continued, "Today, we have a new Gladiator, as many of you have probably noticed. He's weirdly red, unlike the rest of us. And so, we have a little something special for him! Since he isn't a regular citizen on Arlia, he probably won't have the same abilities, so we have a little something special for you fans!" The crowd once again bellowed in excitement. But, this sparked a little curiosity in Torbie. He wondered what the word "special" meant in that context. A bad vibe surged through him. He didn't have a good feeling about his situation at all. The only thing he could do right now was wait, until the announcer elaborated.

"And for you select individuals who were clever enough to guess," the announcer continued, "Yes, the something special IS a tag team battle! It will be the Red Menace, versus the Twin Terrors!" Torbie guessed as much. The anxiousness within him faded, and he was calm again. But, the announcer just had to continue, and put worrisome in Torbie's mind again.

"And still, there's more!" the announcer had said, "sometime during the fight, if it lasts long enough that is, there will be an even greater surprise, that none of you will be able to guess!" this ignited a bad omen in Torbie. He mentally sighed. He didn't want any surprises that none of the Arlians could guess. That just means that it's something spontaneous and unexpected. He wondered if his opponents were as worried as him.

He doubted it, for two reasons. One, they didn't have much of an expression on their faces, even after all that news. And second, they were probably veterans at this Gladiator thing. The announcer began to speak again, "And now, what you've all been waiting for. Lobilee, go and hit the gong to start the fight!" then, a few moments later, a loud gong was rang, and his opponents assumed their battle positions.

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The one to the left, charged at the same time as the one from the right did. They crossed over one another's path, and headed towards Torbie. This orientation sort of proved that they were a part of a team. Torbie's left eye cover raised from being intrigued. When the two fighters made it to him, they released a barrage of attacks. They probably seemed fast to the audience, but they were very easy to dodge, and block. Torbie knocked away, and ducked at fists. "They aren't too skilled when it comes to speed." Torbie thought while dodging. This was going nowhere for him, so he jumped back after he deflected some of their punches.

He thought of how to deal with these two, while he had time to think. They seemed to be well oriented as a team, so that meant they would need to be separated. Torbie wished he'd gotten one strong opponent that he could test his skills against. He refocused on his, undesirable opponents, and they seemed to be doing some sort of symmetrical pose. Their left arms were to the side opposite of their partner, and their knees were crouched. Then they announced at the same time, "Ultra Double Team Barrage!" they both then moved their hands out in front of them, and yellow orbs of Ki formed.

They then launched them. Not at Torbie, but in his general direction. He didn't even have to move in order not to get hit. Then he realized something horrible. The audience could be hurt by those Ki balls going astray. It was too late to react, though, the Ki was too far away for him to do anything about it. When they got to the audience, the Ki balls were engulfed by an invisible force field on some sort. It left a mark. The mark wasn't in any particular shape, just a mark. Then, the mark faded away. "You shouldn't let your guard down!" Torbie heard the team say behind him.

He turned around, and they were in the same position. Except this time, their hands were pressed together, and aimed at Torbie. Then, a gigantic orb of Ki started to form in the space. Torbie was, for the first time, worried. He'd have to use his Ki technique in order to repel it. Immediately, he raised his hands above his head, gathering Ki in the space above him. The team then said, "Ultra Double Team Death Wave!" The beam was fired, and was rocketing towards Torbie. He finished charging in the nick of time. He let down his hands, and when the large beam was right in front of him, he yelled, "MAXIMUM BUSTER!" and a beam of Ki launched from his hands, stopping the deadly wave dead in it's tracks.

Torbie had thought that he put enough in the attack to make it at least a struggle between attacks. But, the opponent's beam was very weak. Without even trying, Torbie dispersed of the wave, and his Maximum Buster hit the duo head on. There was an explosion, and Torbie rushed through the smoke. He saw that the duo had been launched quite a ways back Torbie didn't want to waste a second waiting for this "surprise," so he flexed his wings, and rushed towards the one on the left with great speed. He grabbed his neck, and threw him in the air. But, his foot was in the place where he'd thrown him, and he brought his leg down on the Arlian's stomach. Hard. The Arlian spat out blood, and Torbie rushed for the second one. It was already up, so this should be hard. He flexed his wings again, when he heard a screeching sound. Then, he felt heavy vibrations.

He looked around, and saw that an enormous circular hole was opening on the other side of the Arena. Torbie did not like the looks of this situation at all. This might have been that unpredictable surprise that the Announcer was talking about. A few moments later, Torbie could not believe his eyes. He was awestruck by what had come out of that enormous hole. He would have to ignore the team he was fighting, and take care of that behemoth first. For what came out of that hole was, a giant white gorilla.

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The gorilla was so large, that he stood over the arena's stands. It had a black spiked collar-looking object around it's neck, hands, and feet. It looked around, and saw all the parts of the arena. When it's view came to Torbie, and the two partners, it screamed out in a monkey rage. It then charged at Torbie and the partners. Torbie had started to fly away, when he realized that one was unable to move. A grimace formed itself on Torbie's face. The gorilla looked like it was headed for the unconscious one. Torbie immediately turned around and stopped. The unconscious Arlian's partner was already hauling ass, so he didn't have to worry about him. Then, the gorilla stopped in front of the unconscious one.

He beat his chest and yelled like a monkey would, but he pulled only one arm back. Torbie would think it wouldn't "punch" like humans would, that it would just smash everything. It's fist came down, and made contact. Not with the unconscious body, but Torbie's arms, struggling to prevent it from crushing his opponent. Instead of endless screams and chants, a gasp went through the crowd, and then silence. Everybody was shocked and surprised at Torbie's actions. The bewildered gorilla, pulled it's fist back, and paused for a few moments. It thought that it had punched the regular Arlian. Not the red man. It roared in monkey rage again, and started to beat it's chest.

When the gorilla pulled it's fist back, Torbie was revealed, sweating and breathing heavily. The gorilla had exceptional strength. That was to be expected from a gorilla of that size. Torbie took a deep breath in, as the gorilla was hitting it's chest. He was ready to fight the gorilla, and protect the unconscious Arlian. Now, seeing this gorilla's strength firsthand, Torbie was positive that a strike from it would kill the Arlian. And for Torbie, no preventable deaths will happen today.

The gorilla stopped yelling, and brought it's fist back again. Torbie got ready for the worst. The fist came down, and Torbie's hands went up. Smoke blew around his position from the impact, but he was still standing. He was going to have to move the body eventually, but he wasn't going to turn his back towards this kind of opponent. Then, the gorilla let back his other fist, and brought it down, while bringing the fist he punched with already, back up. He repeated the motion, and unleashed a flurry of punches right at Torbie. Dust started forming all around the area, getting larger with each blow.

The gorilla continued this for a rather long time. Then, when it stopped, even the behemoth was tired and out of breath. A huge cloud of dust had formed by then, covering most of the gorilla,but leaving most of it's upper body visible. The crowd, the gorilla, and even the conscious partner were watching. Waiting for the dust to settle. The moment was so intense that there was hardly a sound in the Arena, or from the audience. Then, in the dust, an orb of light could be seen. Everybody squinted to see what it was. Then, Torbie's voice echoed throughout the Arena. "Maximum...." he started to say. Then, a gasp filled the Arena, and the monkey screamed in rage. "BUSTER!!!!" Torbie bellowed.

The light in the dust had moved down, and then a beam could be seen by the audience, coming from the dust. It stretched quickly towards the Gorilla. Before he had time to hit his chest with even one of his fists, he was sent flying by the beam. It seemed as if he was going to fly out of the Arena, but, it disappeared. It went through the barrier just like that Ki ball, and left an large, and oddly shaped mark. The mark faded, and the dust cleared. What remained was a battered and tired Torbie, breathing heavily. Next to him, he heard the Arlian partner. He looked Torbie in the eyes, and then moved next to him. He grabbed his hand, and raised it up high. The crowd cheered louder than Torbie had heard them before. He was exhausted, and was gracious that this Arlian didn't finish him off.

"Thank you, friend." the Arlian next to him began to say. "You saved my brother, and your enemy's life, in this Arena. I am in your debt." Torbie grinned, and nodded. That's all that needed to be done for them to understand each other.

"Well, look at this!" the announcer began to say. "Our unexpected winner, is Torbie the Red!" the crowd's cheers echoed throughout the entire Arena. Then, seven soldiers entered the Arena and walked up to Torbie, and the two Arlian. Two took Torbie, two took the conscious Arlian, and the 4 took the unconscious one in a stretcher.

They were led out of the Arena, and in to the Gladiator's Chamber. The one on the stretcher split off in to another direction. Torbie and the Arlian entered the room with many outstretched hands from their cells. Torbie was apparently supposed to high five them, so he did. He high fived their hands, and shook them until he got to his cage. When the Arlians who brought him here left, he was bombarded with "good job man,"'s, "Way to look out for the little man"'s, "You're alright"'s, and last but not least, "Thank you"'s. He was glad that he wasn't going to be hated around this place. He looked at the ceiling after everybody had stopped bothering him.

Then the doors opened once again. An Arlian guard walked through, and said, "You two on the end, get out. You've put up a good enough show to be freed for a while. Torbie was bustling with joy at this news. Apparently, if you put on a good enough show, you get freedom! The gate opened, and both him and the Arlian exited. Behind him, the arlian whispered, "Follow me when you get out..."
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End


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