[6] The Rules of the Game

[Friend or Foe]

(This is only the opening to the round)


Even though he was slowly cooking alive inside this burning building, Oliver Nash knew he wasn't going to die. It had gotten to the point that after so many near-death experiences, he just knew there was no way his life would end already, just laying there, slowly dying of breathing in harmful fumes. So he was confident, or however much you could be in that situation, that he would be okay.

Turns out, he was right. He recognized the feel of the slithery tongue of Champ. Nash's ribs hurt him most of all, but he was able to move just slightly at the urging of the dog. It was funny how innocent the animal looked despite the wreckage around him. Even so, Nash climbed to his feet to find the hulking white giant known as Jackson Pride.

"Hey," Jackson said.

"Hi," Nash returned.

After a few moments, smiled cracked. Laughs escaped. Oliver limped his way past Champ, who followed dutifully, towards his new comrade. They walked towards the door of the building, stopping only to see a weapon laying on the ground.

"That cannon," Wizard responded, "It took out one of the pink-haired girls."

"It just teleported her outta the game," Jackson explained. "But they're only good once, so...this one is useless."

Nash nodded, thinking in his head exactly what this meant. "How do they got?"

"Enough."

-----------------------

He was as good as dead. Useless. Again. But he kept getting up.

"Stay the fuck down!" Zena shouted as she lept upwards off of a pile of burnt wood, smashing one of her super saiyan fists down upon Balrog's forehead, sending him sliding on the sand, head colliding with a nearby mailbox and forcing it to topple. "That's right, you arrogant bastard!"

It was just like that night. ECB, Earth Championship Boxing. Main Event. Balrog had lost the title, but he was the most loved man in the league because of how he fought. He wasn't smart enough to know that forcing himself through that much pain would end his career, nor would that information have stopped him from trying so hard. He lost the match, but walked away happy with himself.

Balrog stood up again. He was standing at a limp, putting his pressure on one leg, holding himself up by keeping a hand on his knee. Zena, still glowing angelically with the sheer power of a super saiyan, watched in shock as he got up again.

"I was the champ," he told her, "I was champion of this planet. But I fought so hard, so long without even thinking of my body...that I was paralyzed for the rest of my life. Do you know what that's like, saiyan princess? Do you know what it's like to put your entire body into one single fight and lose, then find out...it was your last. Ever."

Zena let him speak, but his words obviously didn't cure her rage. Balrog could see the soldiers listening around him, as well as his own opponents, all gathered around. Kaden, Piper, Juno and Sophia were all huddled together. Sage and Ashe were near them, laying back and clearly injured. Wizard and Jackson were just walking back to the scene to watch.

"I was in a wheelchair," Balrog said, "For two years." He grinded his teeth, squeezing his own palm as he balled his hands into fists. "My wife left me. My daughter...she stuck by me as long as she could, but she, too...had a life to lead. I was a has-been. Once a warrior of the ring, now a washed-up boxer who had his day. Then he showed up."

"Kai Demolic," Zena uttered the name like it was poisonous, spatting it out quickly and letting it melt away in the hot arid temperature.

Balrog nodded. "He had access to an experimental drug. It gave me the ability to walk again, and soon...I could be fighting again. It had no side effects, and I was good as new. I could have went back to boxing, got my family back. My life in order. But instead I followed him. He put me to use...he gave me purpose in a life that had forgotten me."

"Now you're going to die for him," someone said. All eyes turned to the right. Jackson was standing next to a kneeling Wizard, who was resting on one knee. "When you took that drug, Balrog, and you agreed to be his bodyguard...you signed your life away. And now you have to pay up."

"You can beat me down all you want," Balrog started to raise his voice, not speaking to anyone in particular. "You can all beat me down, you can torture me, you can break every bone in my body! But I will not stop fighting! I will not sit down for you!"

Zena usually would have had something witty to say, but in all honesty, her saiyan blood was boiling. Listening to Balrog talk had gotten her eager to finish him. She set her feet, prepared to launch and then lept off.

"Do it!" Balrog was shouting. "Finish me! But let it be known to the world that Balrog Tast never, ever laid down for anybody!"

The small fist of the princess smashed into his belly, but it didn't stop, it went into his body, past the organs that formed his stomach, and out the other side, breaking pieces of his spine. Balrog's eyes were bulged and blood was spurting from his mouth, but it did appear he was smirking. Zena withdraw her fist and pushed the man back, where he collapsed.

She turned, feeling absolutely no remorse for the man who had abused his sister. She smiled as she saw the blue-haired girl watching, half-happy for her sister's win, and half-scared for the murder she had witnessed.

"Aaaaagh!" Zena shouted as she stumbled forward in mid-walk. Something had stabbed into her neck, causing electricity to shoot from around her head. She slid into the sand, still conscience but her super saiyan form now gone.

"Zena!" Sage said, panicked. Immediately she got up, run-limping towards the girl. None of the soldiers stopped her.

Shadows became evident on the ground. The nine warriors all looked up to what used to be the Olde Town Hotel, now a pile of burnt wood. Five figures stood on the pile, almost all recognizable immediately.

There was Ares to the far left, and the scarf-draped woman known as Rosemary to the far right. Between them was a tall lanky man, Sebastian, and the buxom blonde Trisha. In the very center...

"Kai Demolic," Jackson said aloud.







(One more)

[Friend or Foe]

In between the players of the game and the manipulators of it was a wall of machine-gun wielding soldiers, all survivors of the battle that had just ensued and claimed the life of Balrog Tast.

The nine warriors all standing together were looking up. Some were in shock, some in awe, and most in anger. Sage and Zena were in the middle of the group, with Jackson, Wizard and the dog Champ behind them. Ashe was near Sage, and on the other side was Kaden and Piper, along with Juno and Sophia.

Kai Demolic was standing between Trisha and Ares, and Sebastian and Rosemary. He was clapping.

"Bravo," he said with a grin. "Seriously, truly...bravo, my friends. I couldn't have asked for a better show."

"Balrog is dead and all you can do is congratulate us on a good job?!" Jackson shouted out loud. "What happened to you, Kai?!"

The tanned man in the middle of the posse ignored the cries of his former best friend. He had more important things at hand, and being around this many angry, powerful people made him nervous. The risk, however, was necessary. The public had to see him, the villain, in the flesh. Put a face to the name.

"I'm here to explain the rules for the next portion of the show," he said aloud. "Before we get to that, I just want to remind all of you that in addition to the fighters on either side of me, and then gunmen in front of me, there are dozens more around you, most that you probably can't see.

Kaden could see them though. Kai wasn't lying. There was a lot of them.

"What makes you think we'll play?" Somebody asked. It was Juno.

"You'll play," Kai promised, "You don't have to win, of course. But everybody plays." There was a moment of pause and Kai continued up. "My three remaining Demons up here will all be given an Emblem. This Emblem opens up Ruins to the north of this island, where I will be. If you want to fight me, fair and square, no strings attached, you'll gather the three Emblems from my lieutenants. You'll split up into groups of three...one will have four, since I doubt Jackson is leaving anytime soon. After successfully getting the Emblems, by any means necessary, you will meet at the Ruins and proceed to challenge me. If you survive that far."

There was no response. Or if there was, it wasn't heard by Kai.

"My wife, Trisha," he pointed to the side, "Will have the Eagle Emblem. Sebastian, to my left here, will have the Snake Emblem. Finally, Rosemary will hold the Raptor Emblem. Their locations will be listed in this bag, along with further supplies for the three groups."

One of the soldiers at the front of the group caught a bag that was thrown from Sebastian, and then threw it to the group. Wizard caught it and set it down.

"That's all I have for you," he told the players. "Bye bye now."

He turned around, preparing to leave.

"Why?" Somebody asked. "Why are you doing this."

Kai turned again. He looked at the watery eyes of the cute blue-haired girl. She looked like a child, even if she was officially an adult. She was still kneeling, holding her sister who was listening to the whole speech, but still paralyzed from the electric shock she had endured.

The man could have told her because it was for profits. Or because he was under contract for a network. Or the truth, which was that he wanted to psychologically test the social barriers of the average, common man or woman in a real, life or death situation. He had a whole list of lies in his head ready in case this question was asked. But for the sake of cameras, and his role on this show as the villain, he answered true to his station.

"Because I can."

Then he truly did turn and walk away. Slowly by surely, so did the soldiers. Nobody reacted. Nobody fought.

Olde Town had enough bodies to bury under it's sand.