Ringer

They say ya can't earn nothing without blood, sweat and tears. A lesson Sanguine has come to appreciate in his short life.

Luckily for him, all three of those things are in abundant supply here. He can smell distant traces, pain, effort, emotion… and anticipation starts to build within him. He is well acquainted with them. One more than the other two-

Whoosh!

but now is not the time to be thinking about that. He's got company. He takes a moment to size up his opposition that just materialized before him as if out of thin air… he sure is fast… also older, taller, and sporting got a nasty glare… the door to the massive wrought iron cage closes behind the new arrival with a final metallic bang and the two teenage wizards are sealed inside the dome. There's a dull roar of general excitement as the crowds around the cage shift to get a better view of the fighters. The lights are low, and the air is charged with a lust for violence. Bright neon lights pierce through the smoke laden space, a slowly ticking countdown to the one of a kind entertainment that can only be found in this underground den. Hidden away, far out of reach of the law. The spectators watch with bated breath for the neon numbers to reach their final tick...

"Gather round, gather round ladies and gentlemen, tonight's first brawl is about to start!" 

70, 69, 68… 

The sound of the assemblage lessens as an announcer in a magically levitating box drifts over top of the cage, "Place your final bets now, they close in one minute for this highly anticipated fight! 1 to 1 odds for the new wildcard!!"

The spotlights blink out, then suddenly refocus on the newcomer. He's a stranger to Sanguine, a drifter probably, and he won't be here long… this line of work isn't kind to greenhorns, "In this corner, we have the newest competitor in The Ring. Don't let his lightweight build fool you, he's here to run circles around his opponents with breakneck speeds." So he is a speed wizard… "Weighing in at 120 lbs, 5' 11" and 17 years old… we have Liiiiightning Levi!!!"

He listens closely to the information the announcer offers. In that brief thirty second intro, he learned all the worthwhile qualities he ever could about a person. Nothing else really matters but how to take em down. Levi's expression is intense but controlled as he stares him down.

Once again the crowd starts mumbling to themselves, Sanguine overhears the less experienced ones thinking his opponent's size and maturity make this a no contest… but the regulars know better. The sound of fool's gems changing hands on the other side of the cage makes him smirk… so that's why I'm his first fight… he's set to clean house at this rate, good business for the boss. The world's got no shortage of gullible folks with money to spare. And no shortage of people willing to write him off as worthless...

The spotlights rapidly flick across the floor to highlight him, "And in this corner, we've got a veteran of The Ring, no one can take a beating like this kid! It takes a special kinda grit to last this long in our neck of the woods, but plenty of people have learned the hard way, you knock him down, he only comes back stronger! At 132 lbs, 5' even and 14 years old, give it up for the Sinister Sanguine Slayer!!"

The crowd cheers for him and he feeds off it in an instant, "RAaaah!! Hell yeah, bring it on!" He shouts at his foe and slams his fist on his chest.

Despite his outburst, Levi seems to refuse to give into the crowd's excitement, and simply narrows his eyes. … what a boring mother-

3, 2, 1… FIGHT!

Before he can even finish that thought, he's suddenly blindsided by a blow from behind that sends him flying forward. He grunts in pain as the kick overlays a collage of week and month old bruises that never quite heal. The crowd gasps and he snarls aggressively. He barely reacts fast enough to roll backwards out of the way of another dangerously placed kick. He can't even get to his feet as Levi pursues him with a flurry of near imperceptible limbs, "You can't run forever…" he grumbles his first comment between sucker punches.

Sanguine scrambles up but falters in his attempt to shoot a reply, and receives a fist directly to his nose as punishment. He staggers back clutching the newly broken appendage, and Levi seems rather pleased with himself. A hushed silence falls over the spectators in the wake of his bones cracking. But then he feels a single trail of hot liquid drip down onto his lip and in the blink of an eye, his heart rate spikes. A boiling beneath his skin as his magic responds to the first bit of drawn blood. The heat rises, scent of iron overwhelms all else, he sees nothing but red… and he launches himself at his unsuspecting enemy.

His flesh mutates midair, fingers sharpening to vile crimson points that he slashes across Levi's upper arm. What was a normal hand mere moments ago has been distorted into knives of pulsating magic. More blood in the air, his power swells even further and his veins pulse.

Levi staggers back with a wavering gaze locked on his monstrous appendages, "Wh-what… what the hell are you?!"

The time for banter has passed, and he extends his other arm in a two pronged crimson vice that latches around his throat and slowly lifts him off the ground. He clamps the serrated edges to raze the fragile skin, drawing strength from his opponents wound. Then he tosses him with a whip like spin against the far wall of the cage and he scrapes painfully back to the dirt while the crowd winces at the display.

When the announcer said there's no one who can take a hit like Sanguine, he wasn't lying. For every drop of his blood his enemies spill, he only gets stronger… and Levi's about to learn that the hard way.

He's dazed, but a few of the spectators demand he rise,

"GET THE HELL UP!"

"THE MONEY I BET ON YOU IS WORTH MORE THAN YOUR LIFE, YOU BASTARD! GET BACK IN THERE!"

He manages to at least clamber to his feet. Sanguine starts to stalk towards him and he vanishes once more in a blur of motion. He starts to circle in a wide berth around the cage, "WHO'S RUNNING NOW?!" Sanguine demands viciously. The crowd starts to boo as Levi delays the inevitable. But the boss won't put up with this for long… he's not a very patient man.

Suddenly the floor around the rim of the cage splits open and Levi trips inwards with a gasp. Sanguine capitalizes to run over and subdue him by his hair and pins him with a knee between his shoulder blades, "Lemme ask you this pal… you ever wonder why this place is called, 'The Ring'...?" He muses with a playful lilt.

Then, in emphasis of his words, a row of lethal spinning saw blades rise from the floor and start slowly creeping inwards towards them. The boss's insurance… to make sure the combatants don't break the rules and the crowd doesn't get bored. He can feel Levi quivering in his hands as he positions his face towards the spinning blades, "Well bud… since you're new here, how about I explain the rules for ya?" He grins wickedly down at him as the saws get close enough to blow wind in their faces, "At this point, you've got two options. One, you can tap out here. You lose your stake and your ranking goes down…"

"N-no!! I can't lose!! I paid my last jewels to compete!!!" He protests with palpable fear.

Sanguine tsks unsympathetically, "Well… then you can pick door number 2… and… 'go down' fighting…" he allows the implied threat to hang ominously in the air amidst the hum of the saws.

It wouldn't be his first… and probably not my last…  he doesn't feel anything about death anymore, that's just how things are done around here. Every great fighter's career comes to an end eventually… but the real Ringers will do anything to make it last just a little bit longer…

But Levi doesn't belong here, doesn't have what it takes. And his resolve cracks with at least 3 inches to spare from the deadly blades. He slams his open palm on the dirt in rapid succession, "You win! I yield! I yield!!!"

Sanguine drops his hair and let's his face fall to the dirt. The saws retract, and immediately the crowd erupts. Anger, elation, a flood of emotion from both ends of the spectrum. One in particular sticks out,

A middle aged man celebrating with a "YES!! THAT'S MY RINGER, MARK MY WORDS, THAT KID IS GONNA MAKE ME RICH!!!" He cheers.

Sanguine feels pride welling deep within him and he clenches his fist, "Damn right… DAMN RIGHT! NOBODY CAN TAKE ME DOWN, I OWN THIS RING!!" He runs over to the metal siding and violently shakes it with a roar from the pit of his chest. His mane like hair billows around him as his breathing intensifies.

Everyone on that side of the cage staggers back in shock, and he hears some snooty rich lady mutter under her breath, "Good lord, the child is rabid…" in spite of her words, she snaps her fingers to summon an attendant, "Place 50,000 jewels on his next bought."

Then a voice he recognizes cuts through the din, "Aaaalright slayer, save some for the next fight." His head snaps to focus on the sound of his only friend in the whole world… Nat pushes her way through the throng of onlookers to face him on the other side of the cage. She produces her pouch and starts fiddling with the pull string, "Stay focused. You win this next one, then we eat good for a week."

Inside he can see her plentiful bounty of jewels, sparkling in the low light, at least 100. She won her fight earlier today. At this rate, if he wins again, they won't have to steal for a while, "Put it all on me. I feel good, Nat. I've got this."

She smirks back at him, "Yeah I trust you, oaf. Just don't let all that noise go to your head..." she starts to push her way back through the crowd. He shoves back from the cage and starts throwing mock punches at the air to keep his energy up.

Then another person reaches out to him, "Hey kid, can I talk to you?" He spins once more, but cocks his head in confusion as he notices the speaker. She's probably about 20, with short raven black hair and an impressive collection of piercings. They're cool, but he definitely doesn't recognize her. Probably just a fan.

He brushes her off with a wave of his hand, "Not now, lady. I'm working." And he returns to his exercises.

A few minutes later, the announcer floats back over The Ring, "The next fight is starting soon and let me tell you folks, you are in for a treat! This is a first time match up in The Ring for crowd favorite Sanguine. Get your bets ready everyone, Sanguine's next opponent is…" the spotlights spin around the floor to build suspense, until finally stalling and locking on his opponent on the other side of the cage…

And Sanguine feels a chill that sinks all the way to his heart, "The brawler Nat!" and he's struggling to make sense of the sudden torrent of reactions. She stares deadpanned back at him, equally stunned by the unexpected reveal. They've never had to fight before, I thought boss knew we were friends…? But the five minute countdown mercilessly begins on the suspended neon light, and the spectators clamber to place bids, completely oblivious to the turmoil taking place in the young gladiators.

He's ashamed to realize his first thought is, Can I beat Nat…? Instinct. A knee jerk response. That's always the first place his mind goes when faced with a new opponent. And now he finds himself searching for a strategy to kill his best friend.

Though it's immediately followed by a feeling of profound despair. Odds are, in a matter of minutes, only one of them will be walking out of this cage. And if they refuse to cooperate, neither of them will. 60 seconds have already passed, what usually builds thrill and suspense in him is now filling him with unbearable dread. what am I gonna do…?!

The only person in the world on his side... He hasn't felt this hopeless since before he joined The Ring… this was supposed to be his way to fight back. Sanguine will fight tooth and nail to survive if someone gives him a chance… that's what this was supposed to be… so why-

A sudden blaring noise halts his mental panic as well as the neon countdown. It pauses with 2 minutes and 48 seconds remaining and Sanguine's head shoots upwards in confusion, what…?

The announcer is quick to explain the delay, "Hold your jewels everyone, we have an unexpected buy in participant!" The door to the cage opens, and Sanguine's eyes widen as the woman with the piercings steps in to stand across from him. Though now she's sporting a nasty looking naginata, and gives it a dextrous twirl for good measure.

At this point, it's a relief to be staring down anyone but Nat. She could have an exploding spear, and he'd happily take her on at this point. Anything to distract him from what's coming after. The bell rings for the start of a new round, and he instantly launches himself at her, happy for an outlet for his feelings.

But then, before he can make contact, he's stopped mid air as if by an invisible force. His breath hitches as she suspends him mid air with an outstretched hand, "I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to talk." She explains, and he feels himself drop back down to the ground.

He glares at her suspiciously, "... that's not how things work around here! I'll teach you." His feet touch solid dirt, and he lunges once more. The force returns again, though more intense this time, and straight down, "L-lemme go!!!"

He faceplants onto the floor of the arena and her lip curls with annoyance, "Fine. Then I talk, you listen. Nice to meet you, my name is Aika." She says with mock politeness, "Have you finally realized how big of a mess you're in Sanguine?"

At this point, the crowd starts to get restless,

"Hey lady, what's the big idea?!"

"Enough with the hold up, fight already!"

Sanguine's eyes start to drift anxiously to the onlookers, and the woman slams the base of her staff downwards, and he's pressed further into the dirt, "I'm the one talking to you kid, no one else! The rest of those idiots don't matter. You listen to me, got it?" Her voice resounds with equal parts command and charisma, and she has his full attention. The continued annoyance of the spectators is reduced to white noise in his ears, "You're in over your head, aren't you?"

He merely blinks at her in confusion, "Huh…?"

She sucks her teeth poignantly, "Sure seems that way. Once you and I are done here, it's gonna be you and your little friend, right? That is how things work around here, right Ringer?"

His teeth grit nervously, "Y-yeah…"

She crosses her arms thoughtfully, "Alright, you're the expert here, so let me make sure I understand this right. You and Nat are gonna fight, and from where I'm standing, neither of you seem like the type to tap out… since doing that means a figurative death to your reputation anyway. So I'm thinking odds are pretty good that one of you is gonna die tonight. Not to mention, if the eyes in the sky get even the slightest inkling that you're not giving it your all, then you both die, that about sum it up? Too bad you don't have a way out."

Against himself, Sanguine feels his emotions flowing over. Tears prick in the corners of his eyes, and he stares down at the ground, "... That's just the way things are…"

She growls low in her throat, and suddenly kicks him back to a seated position. In a flash her naginata is jabbed against his throat, just barely brushing his skin, "Oh yeah?! That right?! Then I suppose I should just end this right here! This is the only option, right?! You lose, I win, and you die for it…" she narrows her eyes with deathly intent.

He squirms desperately to at least put up a fight, but her magical power is insane. He can't move an inch, "W-what do you want from me?!"

She takes another step closer, "... I want you to get mad. I want you to realize how fucked up it is that you were forced to fight for your life here just to survive. I want you to hate this place, and everything it's done to you. I want you to understand that this-" she presses the tip of the weapon harder, "isn't your only option, there are others…" in articulation of her point, she retracts the spear, and instead extends a hand to help him up. Her sleeve slides up as she does, revealing a tattoo of a strange monster. The head of a lion, wings and a scorpion's tail… what is that…? It's got mismatched body parts like my magic…

Is what she said true? When she words it like that, it does sound pretty messed up. Boss always said the people he was fighting were his enemies… but really, they were just trying to make it too, and Nat is definitely not his enemy… He's suddenly blindsided by a wave of guilt for playing his part in The Ring for so long. Just moments ago he was showboating, celebrating the near death of another person... now all he can see is the fear in the eyes of people he's beaten over the years. All the other kids he hurt, or worse…

It must show on his face, because she comments, "Hey, don't go all doe eyed on me now. You were a victim of this place. Just like everyone else. And whatever you may have done, we're gonna start making up for it together, ok? Bit by bit, if you just… take my hand." Her voice has gone strangely sympathetic now… a tone he's very unaccustomed to hearing.

His impulsive nature doesn't wait much longer, he doesn't care much about where they're going, just so long as he gets out of here right now. He has a single condition, "Nat can come too?"

She nods simply, "Of course."

He clasps their hands together with a resounding clap, "Deal. I'm done playing by their rules."

She pulls him up with an energetic grin, "That's the spirit!" He's suddenly overcome with relief, and latches his arms around her waist as his tears finally burst. She flinches and rolls her eyes dismissively, "Hey, I thought I said get mad, not sad!" Though her eyes soften the longer she looks at him, and she ruffles his messy hair, "... You've got a new home with Chimera Fang, kid. A roof over your head and full belly every night. I promise."

Chimera Fang… sounds like an amazing place...

As they part, she takes her spear and uses it to forcibly destroy the lock keeping them in the cage. She points her finger into the masses to where Nat is huddled and beckons her over, "Come on, you're with us." And she quickly hurries over to Aika's other side.

They're just about at the exit, when out of nowhere the boss arrives to block the tunnel. He rests his hands on his hips and eyes them coolly, "Where do you think you're going? Those brats are under contract." He holds up the documents with their messy and incomprehensible signatures scribbled on the bottom. They look terribly out of place amidst all that neat fine print.

Without missing a beat, Aika tosses the naginata directly towards the papers. It lands dead on, and they go flying to sink into the far wall. She reverses the flow of her magic to pull the spear back to her hand and the destroyed papers fall worthlessly to the floor, "Not anymore." She quips. She grabs a hand of each of the kids and shoves her way past the guards, daring them to try and stop her with her eyes. Once they're clear, she throws some parting words over her shoulder,  "By the way, I'd start that countdown again if I was you. The Guardians of the Peace will be here in about three minutes."

And with the mysterious boss scurrying to find an escape, she leads her new charges out of the dark underground and into the light of a new dawn. In the coming years, she'd fulfill every promise she made and then some. No matter how much time passes, Chimera Fang remains a family to those with none.