The Arena

[Azula Tindara]

10 years ago

[SIZE=14.6667px]It started as a wave of applause that rolled around the arena, starting from those who first saw his shadow behind the gates. As he stepped out into the arena it had already become a thunderous raw. It was infectious. He played up the the ground, veins popping out of his thick neck as he roared back at them. Thrukk versus Four[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] was always a popular event. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The four humans arrived through the brick tunnel on the opposite side of the arena. Flecks of paint still marked that passage where once the opposing entrances had been painted red and blue. During the dark times of the gulag plague this had been the premier arena in the region. Nowadays whilst the crowds still came in droves, finding desperate souls for the entertainment had become increasingly expensive. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]However, Thrukk versus Four [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]was one of the biggest draws and little expense was spared on the event. All kinds of creatures, always in fours, were brought from all corners of the Galaxy to fight him. The four humans today were stripped to the waste to reveal their bulging muscles. Each carried a wicked pike with a head that crackled with energy. It was a thin facade for the crowd. They were strong, but only for humans; his arms were as thick as their torsos. Their staves would give a painful shock, it was true, but they would do no serious damage to his thick skin. [/SIZE]

 

[Azula Tindara]

There was a rolling series of pops and cracks as he turned his huge head from side to side. It was the time of the human's to play for the crowd now. They strutted back and forth around the edges of the oval arena. As he limbered up, Thrukk watched the book keepers out of the corner of his eyes. They slipped through the crowd like leaves caught on the wind, meandering back and forth as they plied their trade. Tickets were handed out to those who did not handle their transactions digitally: purple for him, red for the four challengers. The odds were in his favour, but he saw a good number of red tickets handed to souls with a healthy appetite for risk.

Then the posturing was over. The four gathered tightly on the opposite side of the arena. There was little ceremony to start the fight. The music dropped to nothing, and after a few seconds a horn blasted over the speakers. One of the humans charged straight for him, a blood curdling cry echoing around the arena. Thrukk held his ground, locking his gaze on those mad eyes. His bionic hand shot out with perfect timing, the magnetic grip latching onto the tip of the spear.

No one could overcome the laws of physics. Thrukk hadn't moved forward quickly, but he weighed four times the human. As the spear came to an abrupt halt, the other pit fighter carried on moving. He bounced off Thrukk's torso in a comical fashion. It would have been all too easy to bring this foolish challenger down already. A bakchand to take him from his feet. A single stamp to crush his chest. However, that would do his owners no favours. Patrons were still buying tickets afterall; the more red sold, the better the take. The houk delivered a swift kick to the human's rear end, sending him sprawling. His eyes turned to the other three. These approached far more cautiously.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Thrukk raised his arms high and shouted a challenge at the trio. He was all rage as he screamed at them, flecks of spittle landed down his chest as he unleashed a salvo of insults that would make an escort blush. But as this dramatic show was put on for the crowd, he still watched the fourth challenger out of the corner of his eye.

The three came on, fanning out and jabbing at him with their staves. They tried to box him in, to herd him back towards the arena walls. A clever move. Thrukk shifted his weight to the left, but the gladiator on that side stepped out wide to cut off his escape. He reversed his momentum, but the human on the right gave him a painful jab to the ribs. He backpedalled a few steps as they advanced and almost stumbled.

The crowd sighed and gasped as each strike hit home. His arms were charred from the strikes, and blood seeped from several wounds on his chest. But out of the corner of his eye, Thrukk saw the red tickets start to flow.

 

[Azula Tindara]

The Houk’s mind was much like his body. A lumbering thing that took on each challenge one at a time. However, much like his body, once it had been running for a while it picked up quite a bit of speed. No one would describe him as a shrewd creature, but he was not stupid. One of the greatest gifts in the Galaxy was being underestimated.

When Thrukk planted his left foot and then exploded into motion to the right, his opponents struggled to reconcile this burst of speed with the sluggish creature they’d been attacking before. A spear came out, trying to stop him escaping their trap, but it was swung round in an arc, rather than a sudden jab. Thrukk caught it with his mechanical hand.

He pivoted on his right foot and twisted his body about. The hapless human clung to his weapon for dear life. His grip slipped in the apex of the spin and the gladiator when flying into the crowd. The rapturous applause from the crowd was deafening.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Now the two still wielding spears looked uncertain of themselves. They could no longer effectively box the hulking killer in towards the wall. Instead they backed off as Thrukk advanced, hoping to bolster their numbers with the other two gladiators, who were still alive.

But Thrukk had had enough of this bout. He had another the next morning against far more dangerous creatures. Each step forwards came with a cloud of dust beneath his massive feet. With every step the humans skittered back three to match him. On one step, one lagged behind the other and Thrukk struck.

Once again he leapt out with an unexpected agility. An experienced put fighter, despite his size, Thrukk knew that there was always a bigger fish. He’d have been food for one of the exotic creatures they brought to these arenas long ago if he couldn’t shift.

Swinging the stave with all his might, there was a satisfying crack as it swept the legs from the closest gladiator. He screamed as he rolled around in the sand, clutching his shattered knee. Should have tried to crawl away, thought Thrukk. He raised the stave with both hands and the crowd went silent, the muscles across his chest bulging out as he slammed it home. The stave pinned the human to the ground like an insect on a display board, remaining firmly in place like a flag pole. The crowd swung from silence to a thunderous roar in a heartbeat. The gladiator died in that same breath.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Seeing him without a weapon, the gladiator’s partner thought to strike quickly. The lunge was quick and powerful, but it had the strength of desperation behind it. The pike slammed home under Thrukk’s arm, and the Houk shouted out in pain. He stumbled away from the human, raising his arms to try and ward off the next strike.

The human sensed his opportunity and followed in. He should have learned his lesson by now, but was once again fooled. Thrukk stepped to the side, as the pike lanced through the air where he had just been, its tip crackling with energy, and ferociously spitting out sparks. Suddenly the human found nearly nine foot of muscle standing over him.

A massive mechanical claw wrapped itself around the human’s head with ease, lifting him from the ground. The crowd applauded as the human’s legs dangled in the air. Thrukk held him there for a few more moments, savouring the appreciation of the crowd. Then his left fist slammed home, one, twice, three times.

 

[Azula Tindara]

He tossed the human aside, who immediately expelled the contents of his stomach across the floor of the arena. Thrukk slammed one foot down on the human’s ankle as he tried to scrabble away and it have easily beneath his weight. The human gladiator rolled onto his back, trying to escape, but Thrukk dropped onto him. His knee pinned the human. His colossal weight coming down onto a rib cage that he had already cracked with several blows. The human clawed at his chest, his finger nails digging into his purple hide. Gulpdar raised his metal claw, curling it into a fist. There was no time for pity or compassion in the arena. There was victory, or there was death. Thrukk versus four was always to the death. However, Thrukk made the conscious decision not the draw this out any longer than necessary. The metal claw descended just once, the human’s head snapping back and then lolling unnaturally.

Picking himself back off the ground, he grabbed the cadaver by the arm and flung it high into the air. Just in case there was any doubt about what had happened in those who occupied the cheap seats at the back.

 

[Azula Tindara]

Just two left now. One who had already shown himself a fool in battle. The other was being unceremoniously helped back to the arena by the guards. He resisted them fiercely as they shoved onto the floor and slammed the gates closed.

Always watching the crowd, he saw a number already vacating their seats. A number more already calling over the bookies to pay up. Thrukk saw one of the slavers catch his attention. The gran slaver made a motion with his hands. The message was clear. Give the crowd a show.

Bellowing at the top of his lungs, Thrukk lowered his body and coiled his muscles. He launched himself forwards and started to gather speed. His target grabbed a spare pike rather than attempt to flee, bracing it against the ground and hoping to shield himself from the wild charge. Instead, Thrukk’s metal claw came forwards as he thundered across the arena floor. The tip of the pike slammed into the palm of his bionic hand, braced against the ground, but hit by the houk’s inexorable charge, the stave buckled. His momentum barely dented, Thrukk slammed his shoulder into the human who went flying into the arena wall.

There was a crack as Thrukk slammed his fist into the wall, shattering rock and missing the human by inches. The crowd picked up again, those on the opposite side of the arena cheering, those above trying to lean over the walls to watch the show. There was a blood curdling scream and an arm went spinning through the air, following by a bright spray of arterial blood. He picked up the gladiator by his neck, the metal claw crushing muscle and windpipe beneath its grip. The human danced a jig with his legs as the life was squeezed from him.

 

[Azula Tindara]

He turned on his last foe, chest heaving from the exertion. Later, he would be appalled at how he had been forced to draw out someone’s death to entertain the crowd. He preferred a quick, clean fight. He didn’t lust for a fair fight of course. The pit was almost all he knew, but that didn’t mean he wanted to die here.

His last opponent was pleading with the guards at the gate. He tried to climb them and get up into the crowd. There was a pop as a sonic rifle was fired, sending him back to the sand.

Thrukk advanced slowly. His stomach for this has gone now. Turning to the guards, he beckoned with his organic hand. It took two men to carry out his mace. The massive chunk of durasteel with the star-headed spike was nearly six feet in length. Thrukk took it off them with one and hefted it high. The crowd knew that weapon well, “Thrukk! Thrukk! Thrukk!” they started to chant.

Deciding there was only once course of action to take the human gladiator actually pulled the pike out of the corpse of his colleague. He actually needed to place a boot on his dead colleague’s chest to yank it free, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Trukk advanced with grim determination, now set on ending this. “Raah!” he cried as he brought the mace around in an overhead swing, far faster than his opponent expected. One swing was all it took. Spattered in blood, and now gore and brain matter, Thrukk turned to the crowd. He bowed low to a standing ovation, before exiting stage left.