"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME ALL AS TWO OF OUR FIGHTERS WILL BE STEPPING INTO THE PIT ON THIS DAY!
Today, we've got a newcomer from a far-off world. But this may be his debut and his finale if he isn't careful! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... Jonathan Siegner!"
Josh made sure that the mask was on tight as he would undo his braid, letting his golden blonde hair fall down past his shoulders. It was a bit chilly without his shirt, but a light flick of his wrist and his body temperature would heat right back up thanks to his mastery over pyrokinesis. Maaaaan... Maybe "Jegnorr Scaleblade" would have been cooler, he thought. But it was about being practical, not sounding cool. He could hear screaming in the audience, and he was once again made aware of the fact he had no shirt. "Shmi would lose her poodoo laughing about this..." The Jedi would mutter under his breath as he would step forward. A much larger man would step forward, a blue-skinned Chiss with a hulking build, who was even bigger than him. And Josh was no small boy.
"AND HIS OPPONENT, YOU KNOW HIM, YOU LOVE HIM, THE BLOODTHIRSTY CHISS SAVAGE, GIVE IT UP FOR ZEVRAN!"
Well, so much for something family friendly. But it seems every family friendly carnival had it's dark secrets. No wonder they were recruiting... They had run out of fighters who were willing to fight someone who forgot that this was meant to be for fun. This Chiss, as they stepped forward, would come face to face with the Jedi who was a handful of inches below them. Probably not where it counted but when it came to height, the difference was clear.
"So, they finally found someone to entertain me?" The Chiss would taunt as the anticipation would begin to build in the air.
"I'm pretty sure this is a family friendly carnival. Is this really about you?" The Jedi would taunt, a small smirk crossing his lips. The Chiss didn't seem to be happy about that, as he would scoff.
"This is about me, boy. The people love me, they love me especially with what I do to smug punks like you..."
"They won't remember you when they go home."
That seemed to hit a nerve, and the Chiss would snarl at him. This was a very different experience from past experiences with this man's race, he thought. They were usually calm and calculating... This one almost seemed like he had been raised in the woods.
"Remember folks, keep it clean! No killing, no weapons, and no magic of any kind!" The announcer called out in a way that almost seemed like it was a reminder to the Chiss not to do what he'd done... Last time. That probably should have been intimidating to the Jedi, but he remained calm nonetheless.
"BEGIN!"
The Chiss would move quickly, faster than Josh was expecting. The Jedi Master would narrowly dodge a punch, and I really do mean narrowly.
The Jedi could feel liquid in his hair, and he was about to wipe it off when he realized he had no sleeve. Josh would quickly back up from a second blow as he would pinch the drip of liquid that hung from his bang, coming dangerously close to his face. The liquid burned to the touch and the Jedi would growl lightly as he would wipe it on his pantleg. Using his senses, he was able to gauge quickly what he was dealing with. A poison of some kind? Wasn't that illegal? And where did it come from?
Dodging the next attack with a move to the side, he saw it. A needle that was cybernetically attached to his wrist. No weapons huh... He supposed that what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. But it was clear that he needed to finish this quickly. He had been considering giving them a show, but... No. This had become much more dangerous than he had originally envisioned. He had planned to come in, have a little fun, put in a good show for the crowd and come out having made some credits and freed some slaves. But this had become far more serious than that. He was legitimately in danger here if he didn't get in a good shot here and now. Having poison injected into him could prove to be incredibly dangerous, if not fatal. And it was clear the judges didn't know... Or just didn't care. He'd apparently been let off for something once, after all.
"Come on, is that all you've got for me? Are you scared?" Zevran would taunt as he would lunge for another blow. This time, Josh would focus, allow himself to wait for an opening... If he timed it just right...
He would move just a bit to the right to avoid the blow, noting the movement of his wrist with each punch that was meant to try to inject the poison. With that, he would slam his fist straight into the gut of the shirtless Chiss. The crowd was in silence as Zevran would double over in surprise from the especially hard shot, spitting out saliva in excess as it was knocked out of him. The Jedi would stare for a moment before taking action to end this quickly, throwing their head down and slamming his knee into their skull with a hard knee strike. The attack would send them sprawling to the ground as Josh would step forward. The Chiss would growl, and spit at him before attempting another shot.
"It's done" Josh spoke calmly as he would move to the side, and drive an elbow into the back of their neck. It was a mercy shot, intended to get the KO quickly now that the prior shots had opened the opportunity for him. With that, he fell flat, and it didn't seem like he was getting up. The crowd was silent for several moments, before beginning to cheer.
"WOW! THIS NEWCOMER JUST FLATTENED ZEVRAN! WHAT A MATCH! YOUR WINNER IS JONATHAN SIEGNER!" The announcer would call as Josh would stare down at Zevran for a moment and shake his head. It was a shame, he had a good spark, good charisma. This was meant to be a good, fun sort of thing to entertain people, not an underground pit fight. This guy could have done this well if he'd just abided by the rules.
Perhaps he could make that clear...
He would lean down, and pull Zevran up. The Chiss was just beginning to regain consciousness, when the Jedi would grab him by the collar, surprising him.
"You have a way with these folks. Fight right" Josh would growl. He wasn't angry, but he did know how to make it seem as though he was. Zevran was clearly surprised, and now a bit afraid by the looks of him.
"No more of this" He warned, pointing toward the poison needle.
"You don't need this. You're plenty tough on your own, I saw how you took those blows. Remember what this carnival is about... And realize you don't need this chit. Until then... You're just a pathetic sham who can't even win when he cheats."
With that, he would shove the Chiss back after that hard reality check. Harsh, perhaps. But Josh was an instructor himself... He knew when a bit of tough love was necessary. This was one of those times. As he would walk to the back, the guy from before was quick to meet him.
"Hey, hey! That was great, kid! You've got a bright-"
Josh would hand the mask to him.
"My assortments, if you may."
"Yes, yes, of course! But we haven't had someone come to these with that level of strength, and that level of calmness in some time! And you've got this aura to you, with that mask, that the people like! Why don't you-"
"I'm not interested. I have a family to take care of. Thank you for the offer."
"I see. We'll return your assortments in a moment. While there's no pay for winning, as this was all in good fun, I do want to say thanks for the show."
Josh simply shrugged, and waited for his things to be returned to him. Once he was back in his gear, he would make his leave, but not without paying a visit to a certain few folks...
The slave trader and his friend hadn't left, thank the Force. They stood there, mouth agape. It seemed that this turn of events had caught them both off-guard as he would approach them.
"I won our bet. My credits... And the slave controllers, if you may."
The two would stare at him for a moment... Before one of them would begin to scowl.
"Wh-no! Hahaha, this was just a pretend bet! We were just fooling around, y'know, and besides! Ya cheated! Ya knew you could take Zevran, you can't just walk in here and-"
The Jedi stared a hole through him in that moment. His expression was still just as stoic and without emotion as before, but the way he stared at him unsettled him in some way, and he would begrudgedly hand over the credits. The other man, the slaver, didn't seem to want to make the same mistake, and would hand him the controllers.
"Thanks for betting. Maybe we can do this again sometime" Josh would joke lightly as he would then turn to the slaves, as their master and his accomplice would get out of there, muttering something about getting away from these weirdos and this crazy place. The mother and her child would bow their heads as the mother spoke.
"We are pleased to serve you, my Master-"
"No."
This stunned them, as they stopped, staring at him wide-eyed. Josh would hold out the controllers, before hitting buttons on them both. The mother and child's eyes widened as though they were preparing to be zapped and fried in that moment. But instead, the implants would come undone, being visible in that moment as Josh would remove them once they were sticking out. With that, he would drop the implants, and the controllers, to the floor. They both stared at them for a moment before Josh would stomp on them, crushing them under his armoured boot.
"You're free now."
"Wh-"
"Go. And take this."
Josh had considered using the money to better feed his family, but... They would manage. It was a hefty haul Josh had made, and it would have been nice to be able to have some extra money, but... They could live without it. They lived comfortably enough, and Shmi and Jason were happy. So he was happy. These people needed the credits more.
"But sir, this is several million-"
"And it's yours. Get a ship off-planet and start a new life somewhere. Or your old lives, whichever you want."
The woman seemed awestruck, but eventually would bow her head.
"Bless you, sir. We won't forget this!"
As the woman and child would rush out, Josh would stare down at the destroyed implants and remotes with a look of disgust for a moment before walking out. He'd bet a mountain and come out with just what he'd bet, and nothing to show for it. But he'd done something he could be proud of. He'd call that a success.
For now, he was content to enjoy the carnival. Perhaps next time, he'd take Shmi and Jason here... Was it too late for Jason to get dropped off here perhaps?