Gamor laid in his resting spot, close to a corner near Jewel as she slept. All of the cages where the fighters housed themselves were too cramped for his liking, so he made his "housing" on the outside of it, watching the night sky.
"Mom... Dad... Are you two ok?" He thought to himself before his thoughts were interrupted.
"Hey, Gamor?"
A voice lightly said to him, as he looked up to meet Moss's gaze as he sat next to him. Gamor sat up "Oh, you're Moss right? Thanks again for stopping that big oaf Stone the other day."
Moss chuckles lightly "I promise, he's really not that bad once he respects you. He's actually a nice and thoughtful guy but because of his size, he has a rep. I'm sure an old soul like you understands." Gamor responded with a puzzled face "An old soul like me?"
Moss scoffs with a slight smirk "Yeah. To me, you seem older than your appearance lets on but do you remember when I told you I'd have a present for you and your friend over there if you came back in once piece? You even exceeded the expectations I had for you, so take these." He held out his fist, as Gamor extended his hand.
Moss dropped two pieces of rainbow colored rocks onto his palm. "These are called 'awakening candies'. Extremely rare to come by and only given by The God to outstanding warriors, who've achieved not only numerous wins but has also contributed to this islands growth. Eating one of these will help you reach your max potential, makes it easier if you have multiple elements to control. Before you ask, no, it doesn't have addictive properties."
Gamor stared at the candies mesmerizing glow, colors that tranced his very being.
"I'd recommend you eat it now honestly. It takes a few days for it to actually show in your abilities. Give it to your lady friend in the morning and by the finals, you two should be ready to fight at max power plus. Assuming you two make it there that is. By the way, keep this a secret, only two people know about this, including myself. How you choose to tell her, is up to you, if you do." Moss continued, getting to his feet and returning to his "lavish" cage. "Good luck!" He said, giving Gamor a wave without looking back. "I wish I could talk to moms grimoire about this candy.." He decided to eat his present and head to bed.
"Magma manipulation acquired. Fire manipulation acquired. Since 'Receptive' is present, 'Awakening Candy' has been changed to 'Hyper Learning 48H'."
Gamor woke up to a misty day and stretched. He looked around the room, Jewel was up attacking the air, Moss was awake in his cell, bouncing a ball against the wall. Stone sat in his usual spot at the table and Locus was in a corner, eyes glued on Jewel. Gamor walked up, loosening up his body. "Hey good morning! I have a gift for you." He said, as Jewel threw a kick that went right pass his face, never flinching, still advancing towards her. He took one of her hands and placed the candy in her palm as he proceeded to whisper "That guy Moss gave me this last night, one for each of us. It helps you learn skills faster and so far, no side effects." Jewel lowered her leg and looked at the rock candy, then back at Gamor. "You ate yours already?" Gamor nodded "A bit rough going down but it does work. I was going to ask Locus to spar with me."
Jewel squinted "And why not ask me?" She sharply asked, as Gamor chuckled it off "Don't worry, we'll most likely be fighting today anyway, we'll have our match but for now? Other than Moss, Locus is the most interesting person. Would be nice to test this candy." He said, as he started walking past Jewel, towards the corner where Locus leaned. She locked eyes with the smirking Gamor and returned the look. "Hahaha, such confidence oozing from such a young being." Gamor stopped a few feet away from her. "Why so far? Don't you want to ask me something?" She taunted but Gamor didn't move. "If I moved any closer, you wouldn't have let me ask." He lightheartedly said. "Want to spar?"
Locus laughed "I'm more interested in your friend but sure, you can entertain me some." Gamors eyes glistened from excitement, his smile big but slightly menacing. Moss caught his toy and turned his attention to the fight that was about to commence. "ATTENTION ALL FIGHTERS! THE ROSTER HAS BEEN MADE FOR THE DAY, FIRST TO THE ARENA IS GAMOR AND ZANE! FIGHTERS REPORT IN ONE MINUTE!" The loudspeaker blared out. "Heh, so we have a 60 second bout, no time to toy with you then." Locus said, wasting no time lunging at Gamor and attacking with a swift roundhouse, which Gamor prepared for, responding with what would have been an excellent block but, a moment before impact, Locus was somehow able to switch momentum and brought her other leg instead from above, crashing down onto his shoulder. It would've been his head but he barely had enough time to reposition himself. Gamors smirk never left his face, as he backstepped, creating a bit of space to re-examine his opponent. Gamor took a deep breath and spit a sharp gust of wind at Locus, which she easily avoided, shifting her body sideways but Gamors assault wasn't done. As Locus' body moved, her backfoot sunk into a softened spot of ground, becoming immobilized, as Gamor used an advanced Feather Step, "Boreas' Stride" he muttered, closing the distance within a millisecond, faking a punch to the midsection and instead, answering with an icy axe kick, propelled by wind. As his foot approached her head, the sharp ice suddenly turned into water, crashing onto her forearm that easily blocked his kick. "Your ice isn't as refined as it looks." As the water that was currently being used by Gamor, conformed to Locus' arm, becoming hers. Gamor jumped back but Locus quickly gave chase, turning the water into a ball in her palm and having the pressure explode out onto Gamors midsection, which he quickly reinforced with earth, making a sand armor. As it hit, his makeshift armor cracked and crumbled back down to the ground.
Gamor stood there, panting a bit, thinking but before too much longer, he felt a heavy force pushing at his back and suddenly, he started flying towards Locus, who moved out of the flying Gamors way, responding with a sharp kick to his back, which enhanced his flight. Through the multiple people in The Pit, down the hallway to the arena gate, as he finally had the chance for his feet to touch the ground, tumbling and sliding, one hand on the ground, through the gate, into the arena, just to watch his exit close.
That sent Gamor into a calm fury as the crowd roared at his arrival.
"OUR FIRST CHALLENGER WAS EAGER TO ENTER! GIVE IT UP FOR GAMOR!!" The announcer yelled, as Gamor held his head low, his face covered by his black hair. "OUR NEXT CHALLENGER TO ARRIVE, IS A NEWCOMER AS WELL; AN UNDERDOG FROM YESTERDAYS TEAM MATCHES. CAN WE GET A LOUD CHEER FOOOOOOR ZAAAAANE!" As the challenger named Zane came walking in, opposite from Gamor, to the center of the arena. Gamor was still near his gate. "DOES OUR YOUNG CHALLENGER GAMOR NOT FEEL LIKE FIGHTING TODAY? I HOPE HE SNAPS OUT OF IT OR THIS FIGHT WILL BE VERY SHORT!" The announcer said, sitting next to The God, who's mask was pointed directed toward Gamor.
"Boy. You should really focus on what's in front of you." Zane said to the unresponsive Gamor. A few moments of inactivity passed, as Zanes face twitched a bit from frustration. "I'll make this clear sign of disrespect YOUR WORSE NIGHTMARE!" Zane yelled, blasting towards his challenger, a fist filled with scorching fire, ready to incinerate his target but as he got close, Gamor shot a deadly glance, unlike anything before, making Zane quickly halt his assault with his feet, kicking the crimson sand into a wall in the air towards Gamor and instantly backtracked. Yet as he did, the sand looked like it came to life, infused with the animosity of Zanes young opponent; as if a dark crimson sand body formed but in his bewilderment, Zane would notice his movement getting sharply cut by a dense sand box around one of his ankles.
"What the!?" He barely managed to utter, as he looked down for a split second, then, his whole world started to spin; looking at the ground, to the crowd, which had become eerily silent, to the sky that was barely awake, lastly, at his own body, which stood without a head, lifeless and someone behind it, which mimicked where his head should have been.
"Thump."
It dropped and rolled on the floor, a couple of seconds later, blood sputtered out, becoming one with the element that assisted his demise, Gamor softened his sand trap, still having a wind scythe surround his hand, letting it slowly dissipate into nothing.
The announcer was first to break the silence "W-who would've expected that! Clearly, this is not the same challenger we met yesterday! GIVE IT UP FOR THE OVERWHELMING VICTORY BY GAMOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRR!" She finished, the crowd with their jarring screams of excitement. Gamor took a deep breath, relaxing himself "Locus really got to me there.." He thought to himself, as he slowly took his leave back to where he now lived.
"HAHAHAHAHAH! That was so satisfying to watch! Was that my doing?" Locus clapped pleasantly, wearing the widest grin ever.
He side eyed her, continuing his path but being cut-off by Jewel. "What the heck was that?" She questioned, stopping him with her hand on his chest.
"Annoyance mostly, repressed pain and anger probably."
"That's dumb and you're easily manipulated. This is why you ended up here and not with your dad." Gamors head hung low, his aura darkened, thickening the room. "I don't care if you're upset, you won't last here if you let people get under your skin like that!"
Gamor suddenly lifted his head, wearing a smile "Harsh way to put it but thanks Jewel.. I know you're right and I shouldn't let something so small get to me. I need to wise up, so I hope you stick around to keep me leveled." He finished, giving her a hug. Jewels face turned red, gently pushing him off of her and looking away, her hair covering a portion of her cherry face. "Y-yeah.. don't mention it. I'm only saying that because you promised to let me see that book you came with, not because I care or anything, so don't get the wrong idea!"
"CAN WE GET OUR NEXT CHALLENGERS; JEWEL AND SO-JUN TO THE ARENA IN ONE MINUTE!" The announcer declared.
Gamor chuckled, peering through her hair. "I understand. Good luck in your match out there!" He said with a big smile, as Jewel brushed past him. His smile never left but as he watched his friend enter the arena, Moss approached. "hahaha, is that you twos love language?"
"hahaha-" laughed Gamor, waving off his statement "-Nothing like that. We're good friends."
"And I can tell you care for her right?" Moss inquired, changing Gamors face to one a bit more serious. "Of course, is there a reason you ask that?" Gamor said locking eyes with him.
A few minutes later, the announcer blares out "THE LANDSLIDE WINNER; JEEEEWWWWWEEEEELLLLLLLL!" As she walks triumphantly back into The Pit. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, noticing Gamor sitting in a corner. Standing there, she lightly kicked his leg "What's wrong with you? Say congratulations."
He got up and brushed himself off and with a hushed tone said, "Moss is planning a breakout and needs our help." Jewel nodded, lowering her voice as well. "Do you trust him?" Gamor shot his gaze to Moss, who silently sat there, bouncing his ball against the wall of his cell room as usual. "I don't know if trust is the right word to use but his plan sounded good enough to escape. If we made it, we'd be stuck with Stone and Locus as well."
"Ughh-" Jewel scoffed at the thought "Being around that insect is the last thing I'd ever want." Gamor nodded "Same but this would also give you and I the time needed to view that book."
Jewels eyes glistened with curiosity and excitement "So.. what is it that we have to do then?" She asked, already accepting of the idea. "Well, he told me that he has knowledge that if we keep winning our matches, we'll be going against each other in the finals. Once that happens, all we have to do is put on a show; a long lasting show."
"Did he say how long?"
"15 minutes. After that, we need to find a way to break the wall closest to the sunset. Since you're really good with lightning, I thought I'd leave that up to you."
They both took a seat next to each other "And what if he's not there?" Jewel questioned. "Reasonable but it sounded like he knows this place inside and out. He told me his plan and everything came out to about 15 minutes. He showed me a sample of what he can do.. I don't doubt his 15 minute claim, we just have to keep time because he won't signal us."
A few seconds of silence went by before Jewel gestured. "Well?? What's his ability?"
Gamor got close to her ear "He can refract light to make himself invisible."
Puzzled, Jewel asked "That's a thing?"
Gamor nodded "I have no idea how though. So if you accept, all we have to do is play the day out." They nodded to each other as the day commenced.
Fight after fight, the day was filled with slaughter. Gamor and Jewel decimating their competition and during their down times, striking a few glances at Moss, confirming the operation was still active until finally, the moment had arrived.
"CAN WE GET GAMOR SENTIENT AND JEWEL LEVIN TO THE ARENA IN ONE MINUTE PLEASE!" The announcer yelled, filled with excitement and anticipation. Jewel, being led down the straight path to the normal gate they've always entered through, before being stopped for a quick second by Moss, while Gamor was being lead around opposite.
A few moments later, the gates opened.
"LETS GIVE IT UP FOR OUR PROMISING YOUNG FIGHTERS!!! THEY'VE GIVEN US A SPECTACULAR TWO DAYS, JAW DROPPING BOUTS AND AN OVERALL BREATHTAKING PERFORMANCE!" As the crowd started chanting and stomping on the floor, shaking the very stadium, vibrating the sands.
The two challengers walked until face to face, smirking, excited to test their skills and finally be able to witness each others true strength. The God stood up "FIGHTERS! HEAR ME AND LISTEN! Do you want this bout to be hand to hand or shall I allow you the use of your weapons? Seeing as this is the Championship Match, I feel as if we should have special rules no? What say you onlookers!?"
She gestured, opening her arms, welcoming the screams and applauds of everyone. The two fighters turned simultaneously and bowed, Gamor spoke first, "I would like my sword going into this fight!"
"Please toss my spear down to battle!" Jewel added.
The God let out a light chuckle. "I don't think I have to remind you two to put on an excellent show for us." As she snapped her fingers, which almost instantly bought two of her servants running to both of her sides one with Gamors sword, crafted by Rosalia. The other, Jewels family spear. The God grabbed both weapons and threw them down, Jewels spear a few feet behind Gamor, Gamors sword landing behind Jewel, both penetrating the arena floor. "Make sure to entertain us champions. With that being said, LETS HAVE A GLORIOUS FINAL MATCH! BEING!!" The God exclaimed. Gamor stuck his hand out "Lets have a wonderful battle Jewel." As she met his handshake, wearing a battle ready smile "Just make sure you keep up Gamor."
And as they shook hands, Jewel pulled him close, trying to connect a devastating knee to his midsection, which Gamor quickly blocked with his elbow, grabbed the bottom of her thigh and flipped her body backwards but as he did, a sturdy pillar of sand rose up behind Jewel, which enabled her to push off of it with her foot, quickly returning with an electrifying axe kick. Gamor moved his body sideways, both never letting go of the others hand.
"Earth too huh? So that's what you were hiding." Gamor said, responding with a kick from his right leg, accelerated by wind to the side of Jewels face, which she effortlessly ducked and sweeped his leg, as his leg went over their arms. He hopped slightly in the air to avoid the sweep but as he did, she pulled his arm again, making him flip, exposing his back to her but he was able to land on his feet, body bent backwards. As he landed, he seen Jewel coming down with a forceful punch directly to his face. He used wind to propel his body to the side as he hopped to dodge, Jewel matching the spin with lightning, in the opposite direction. As they spun, they let go of each others hand, quickly being tossed towards their respective weapons. Sliding on the ground, obtaining said weapons of choice and then, within the blink of an eye, Jewel rushed in with a mighty thrust, Gamor charging in with blinding speed, her spear colliding with his blade that he used to halt her attack.
"TING!"
And from the ground shaking clash, came a force of deep magnitude, so much so that the floor made a slight dent, sending the crimson sand flying into the air and stands.
Jewel and Gamor simultaneously took a small step back, spinning and launched a powerful thrusting kick as their soles collided with each other, sending them both sliding backwards from the sheer force alone. Jewel wasted no time energizing her spear with electricity and quickly tossing it into the air, creating a thunderous sound; "BOOM!!" as it went soaring through the sky, parting the clouds. She darted towards Gamor who watched her spear for a quick second, then refocused on his approaching friend and opponent. As she got within striking distance, he came with a horizontal slash again but Jewel did a twisting jump over the blade, never stopping eye contact, as it narrowly missed her, landing on all fours, and creating a jagged spike of sand from beside her that shot forth and hit the hilt of Gamors blade right out of his hand, making it fly far towards the wall where he had first entered. It took Gamor by surprise but he was quickly snapped out of it by Jewels assault. She went into a handstand/split, her feet electrified, and twirled, just missing Gamors face as he backed up from the dangerous tornado. As he was stepping back, he made the sand shift from beneath her hands, sending them in opposite directions and came with a heavy upward kick to her midsection as she fell.
"I seen this coming already!" She yelled as she blocked it with her shin, still flying far into the sky anyway. As she was there, her spear approached from the heavens, "Zeus' Smite!" She said, as she kicked it down, redirecting the once purple, now blue covered spear towards the crowd.
Everyone gasped, screamed and shielded themselves from the speeding weapon as a sudden crash was heard, the next second *CRACKLE... BOOM!!*. One by one as the onlookers started looking around, questioning the impact, the announcer gave everyone their reassurance. "WHAT A SCARY TACTIC!!! I WAS TOO BUSY COWERING IN FEAR TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED BUT THAT ATTACK OBVIOUSLY WASN'T MEANT FOR US! JUST LOOK AT HOW SHOCKED GAMOR IS! I'M GLAD SUDDEN ATTACKS WON'T PHASE OUR YOUNG PRODIGY!"
Gamor stood there, hand almost at his blade, a bead of sweat slowly trickling down his face, as his eyes looking to the right corner, glued onto Jewel, as her spear penetrated the ground to Gamors left.
"Tsk-" Jewel sucked her teeth in annoyance "-I haven't had much time to practice that new move. Saw it in a dream of mine! You like? Did you know that in ancient times, there were multiple Deities, of multiple elements. One being Zeus; the God of Lightning. It was said, his lightning bolt could bounce off of air itself and strike it's target true. At least, that's the story my mother used to read to me."
Gamor stood there, still paralyzed, awestruck at what he had just witnessed, glaring into her purple/blueish eyes. "If you keep getting lost, you won't make it Gamor." As the last syllable finished, she darted towards him with a devastating punch, which he narrowly dodged but instead of hitting wall or floor, she grabbed hold of her spear and quickly whipped herself around, spinning back and kicking him in the back, which made him slam face-first into the wall, next to his sword.
Within that split second of impact, he thought to himself "She's really not messing around... She's right... at this rate? She really will kill me. This is survival and I can't fake this, not here.. We have to convince them this is real or else no one's leaving."
And in that second of thought, he snapped out of it. Jewel, already holding her spear and swinging it like a bat to not pierce, but club Gamor in the back. Right before the spear hit him, Gamor used wind to lift his body slightly above the spear, as it slammed against the wall, creating a deeper crater and wedging itself within it. Gamor, with his hands still on the wall, quickly pushed himself towards Jewel, his feet flying towards her face as she braced and prepared a block but Gamor used wind to redirect himself and struck her with a kick from the side instead, sending her flying. He grabbed her spear, singeing his hand with the lightning residuals, and boosted himself to where she was flying, amassing all of the strength he could muster, to throw the spear at her with wind acceleration.
Jewel flew back, gradually being able to slide on the ground with her hands and feet, then started backflipping, regaining composure before her spear arrived in her face ready to pierce. She kicked it upwards during her backflip and got into fighting position just as Gamor ran up to start his assault.
"Boreas' Body!"
"Teshubs Reflex!"
They both used their respective skills; Gamor throwing blinding fists and kicks, Jewel narrowly dodging, parrying and countering with her own lightning fast strikes, which Gamor dodged or parried as well. Every strike of Gamors, creating a strong gust of wind, lifting the sand up, every strike of Jewels that made even the smallest of contact, creating a large boom. As they both threw a punch, they collided with each other which created a thin tornado, mixed with lightning on their position. It only lasted a second. They wore a large smile on their faces as their fists struggled against each other.
"This reminds me of fighting with Rosan.. I hope you're ok.." Gamor thought to himself. "I'll treat it as such." He finished his thought as he used wind to shift his hand slightly above hers and redirected her lightning punch towards the ground, creating a large shockwave. He took the opportunity to send a right kick towards her midsection, infusing it with the lifted sand, making a brutal contact. "GAH!" Jewel let out, spit flying from her mouth, flying off. She regained her composure, holding her side, she wore an aggravated smile through her clenched teeth. She stood up and, ironically, her spear came twirling down right to her. Gamor walked a short distance to his sword and picked it up. Jewel still infused with lightning, Gamor with traces of wind circling him. They stared each other down. The whole arena quiet except for the crashing waves from the fierce battle.
They rushed at each other. "Ting ting ting ting ting ting!" They violently clashed weapons, no one giving leeway. Jewel started twirling her spear like a windmill or wheel; left to front, front to right, right to front, front to left, making Gamor go on mostly defense to block. As she was pushing Gamor back, she kicked up some sand and hardened it, striking the unaware Gamor in the stomach making him fly back a short distance but all of a sudden? Gamor sunk into the sand, unable to move any part of his body.
"What?? What is this weight!?" Gamor grimaced, kneeling on the ground as Jewel threw her electrified spear directly at the immobilized Gamors face, dashing closely behind it. "She's unaffected?? Is this... a gravity skill!? Come on... move.... MOVE!!!" Gamor thought to himself, still shocked at the new ability he's caught in. "Rosan told me... I can control others abilities if I infuse the same amounts within it right? Locus did it to me as well.. Either this, or I fail.." Finishing his thought, he decided to start with his weakest element; lightning. For Gamor, time slowed down. Struggling to keep his head up, he watched Jewel and her spear, fly toward him. He clenched his teeth, trying to force the element he knew he had, to mix within his area. Nothing. She slowly approached; death, slowly approached. He closed his eyes, trying to get a feel for the gravity, Jewel and her elements, his own infused elements.
As he opened his eyes, he felt something connect within himself, easing his tensed body, Jewels spear was a few inches from his face as he stared at the weapon, feeling her lightning within the gravity, feeling his own lightning creating rifts not visible. He tried concentrating one of those rifts to his face, where the spear was almost at and all of a sudden? He sees not the spear anymore, not Jewel rushing behind it but instead, the wall that was behind her, across the arena as if he was there himself. Jewels eyes widened because within a split second, she went from observing her opponent to looking at a wall but without any time to react, she seen her spear go through the enigma, crashing into the wall that created debris and smoke, herself joining the smoke cloud and then the feeling of herself getting lifted. It was Gamor, who had rushed into his portal rift, grabbing Jewel and pulling her close, so that her legs were around his waist and grabbed her spear, rushing out of the whole in the arena wall, straight to a boat that was slowly departing. "Just in time!" He said to the confused and flustered Jewel, who was blushing but still wondering what just happened. He threw both weapons far up, so they could hit the ships deck but Locus and Moss was onboard to catch the weapons. He quickly wrapped both arms around her tightly, yelling out "Hold on to me tight! I'm not the best with water yet!" Jewel hugged his neck and locked her legs around him as they approached the end of the beach, being met by waves. One of the waves coming towards them, reversed, as he splashed through it, standing and almost "surfing" on the backwards moving wave that rushed towards the boat. When they got close to the boat, it spit them both out onto the deck. As they landed, Gamor still holding Jewel, collapsed softly on top of her. "Are you ok?" Gamor asked, visibly exhausted at this point. Still in-between her legs, a hand on her cheek and a worried, yet serious expression. She turned away from him, her hair covering her face once more, lowering her legs from around him and pushing him to the side. "I'm fine, now get off of me pervert." Gamor smiled "Thank goodness.." As they finished, they were being met by not only their two respective weapons but by Locus, Stone and Moss, who wore a giant smile. "Impressive but this is no time to celebrate just yet. Looks like we'll have company.."
A second later, a loud alarm blared "BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMP!!!!" "BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMP!!!!"
A fleet of boats giving chase a mile back. Although the escapee boat was being propelled by wind and water, thanks to Locus and Moss, they knew the chase would be over quickly if they didn't stop them here and now. "Leave it to me." Gamor said, forcing himself to stand up." He extended his hand to Jewel, helping her to her feet as well. "Can you still use any abilities?" He questioned, still holding her hand. Jewel nodded "I'm not completely out yet but you're not looking too good, are you positive you can go through with this?" Gamor looked at the palm of his free hand. "Lets find out!" He said with a big cheese on his face, interlocking hands, which made Jewel tense slightly. "You ok?" he inquired, feeling the tension, looking down at her hand. "I'm fine! Just tell me what we're doing and why you have to hold my hand?" She said, flustered. "We'll be making some tornados together. You infuse it with lightning, I got the wind. I'm hoping us being interlocked will make this easier on the both of us." They both held their hands out and before long, a dozen tornados quickly dropped from the sky, lightning crashed and danced between them, until they fused within the tornados, creating devastating tornados of lightning, still surrounded by the bolts raining down. Making fast work of all the boats. "Alright... the next part, I have to leave to you... all.... 'thump'" Gamor said, before passing out and falling to the ground.