Gods of Arena

He walked through the passage with the soldiers and they took the golden cuffs off his hand. He rubbed and shook his numb wrist. He dragged his feet on the ground, as he walked towards his room. He was so weak he just wanted to fall on a bed and sleep off. Dea didn't come back to him after King called her so he had remained in the lab, chained to the chair. He spent the night on the chair, unable to fall into a deep sleep.

He was about to pull the door when the door opened. "Uh?", Romeo muttered. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Where did you go?", the man asked, stepping out and staring at him. "Oh. You were the guy that killed his roommate"

"He wasn't my roommate, dummy. Get out of my room"

"We've been shuffled into different rooms now. It's no longer your room", the man said and pointed to the projection on the wall. "There is a list of our names and our new rooms. Go and check yours"

Romeo stepped back. "Alright... Thank you", he said and headed down the hall to the projected list.

The window had been closed so there was no Larger Figure to put him through if he had a challenge. He looked up at the list and found his name. His room was just by the side, on the opposite side of the gym. He walked back to his room and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?", a voice asked and opened the door. "Oh.. You're Romeo"

"Yea. I want to get my stuff out", Romeo replied. It was a different fighter; probably the roommate of the first one he saw.

"Alright", the man replied and let him in.

Romeo took a quick look around. There was no change yet. He picked up his bag and headed out immediately, walking straight to his new room.

He pulled the door open. "Hey! Knock before you enter. Who's the idiot?!", a voice howled, immediately.

Romeo walked in and went straight to one of the beds. His new roommate was Dan. "You didn't know you were going to have a roommate?" "Well... you could have knocked before stepping in"

"Were you masturbating?"

"No", Dan replied and laid back. "I'll tell you what I always tell my roommates. I don't like fights and I don't get in fights-"

"Funny", Romeo scoffed and laid back too. "Go on"

"If you get me angry, I won't take it lightly with you", Dan said, proudly. "If you get into a fight with me, you're going to wish you were never born"

Romeo smiled. Threats was one of the things he loved, especially when it came from someone he considered weaker. "Crazy thing is I never wish", he replied. "And if you bring hell, I will give you hell"

****

Just like it worked the first time, the drug had made him overconfident again. He woke up to the gym and started punching the bag.... He wasn't planning to stop. The overdose had probably taken his anger to another level too. "Helloooooo!?", a voice interrupted his session.

He turned sharply, breathing heavily and staring like he was expecting a fight. "Oh, um.... New guy", he said and calmed down. "What's up? What's your name?"

"I was wondering when you would ask me", the boy replied and sat on the bench.

Kang took a closer look at him. The boy was almost as lean as he used to be. "You never asked for my name either", Kang replied and walked to the bench. He stared into a mirror on the wall. He was already growing significantly. He sat beside the boy. "So what's your name?"

"Crane... time flies", he said. "How about you?"

"What do you mean by Time Flies?"

"I, uh... I have no idea. It just comes up in my mind whenever I have to say my name", Crane replied, innocently. "How about you?"

"It's just Kang", Kang said and grabbed a bottle of water. "So what's your Shin Zhu?"

"What's a Shin Zhu?"

"What do you mean by 'what's a Shin Zhu'? It's programmed in every fighter, along with the name and knowledge of everything here" "Uh... I still don't know what a Shin Zhu means", Crane said, staring blankly.

Kang stared into his eyes. He didn't know how it felt to have a Shin Zhu but he was pretty sure of how they should feel after he met Finn and Frank. "Uh...", he stuttered. "The Shin Zhu is an ability that we are created with. We are meant to fight on the Arena with it... and without it, you can barely survive a week in here"

"So if I don't know my Shin Zhu, then I don't have it?", Crane asked.

"If I had a Shin Zhu, I would say I have no idea", Kang said and drank from the bottle. "But I've been here for a long while. The only difference is I've grown"

"You don't have a Shin Zhu too?"

"I'm supposed to cheer you up and lie about us being special but maybe we are not", Kang replied and stood up, walking back to the punching bag. "Maybe we are just weak"

Crane stared blankly at him. He definitely didn't look sure of how to feel... or he didn't understand what Kang was saying yet. He stood up and walked up to Kang. "But you said you've been here for a while.... And you survived. Teach me how to be like you"

Kang took short glances at him. He laughed in his mind at how confident he looked while he was still pretty scared. He wasn't ready to mentor a kid while he was just as weak. "Ok", he said. "But you should know I still have death dangling over my head"

"Then let death dangle over OUR heads", Crane said, confidently.... Rather, childishly.

Kang stared at him for a second. The unusual excitement was definitely due to his ignorance. "Alright", he said and faced the boy. "The spin is coming up soon so we should-" "Well, well, well!", Jae said, loudly, as he stepped into the gym. "If it's not Kang and another low-tier idiot I definitely don't know, then it's nobody."

"Look! We don't want trouble, ok?", Kang said. "Just do what you want and let us focus on our business"

"Well, I'm a troublemaker. I don't have the power to let you focus on your business. I just do what I do", Jae said, stepping closer. "You said you would be ready, didn't you?"

Kang swallowed and clenched his fist. He bent his head and closed his eyes. He curtailed the anger in him and the hyped confidence from the pills he took. He was totally full of energy and he was ready to throw some punches. He wasn't afraid... but he wanted to be able to control it and direct the energy in the way he wanted it. The dream or feeling he had in his meditation had to mean something and he was going to figure it out. "Alright. What do you want now, Jae?", he asked.

"Okay. It seems there has to be a legitimate reason to pick up a fight so...", Jae said. "I want to use the gym and I want the both of you to get out but you won't so I -"

"It's alright. We will take our leave now", Kang said and gestured to Crane. "Let's go, Crane"

"Whoa! Wait up! I'm here to give you a beating", Jae said, threateningly, standing in their way. He looked at the new boy. "You. What's your name?"

"Crane... Time Flies", Crane replied.

"Time flies to where?", Jae asked. "Is that part of your name?"noveldrama

"Yes, I think"

"Crane Time Flies", Jae said, confusedly. "That's too long and meaningless... it sounds like a reason to pick a fight, right now. Ain't it?... You want to run, Kang. After the threats you made, you are afraid to fight me?" "Let's go, Crane", Kang said and pulled Crane with him. Jae pulled Kang back.

"I'm still talking, you fool"

Kang stopped. "Go to the room, Crane. I will meet you there"

"Yea, he should go. It's just me and you anyway"

"Let me go. I am not in the mood for a fight so let go of my cloth", Kang said, without turning back.

"I'm not letting you leave here without a scar", Jae said. "in fact, I want to know that Shin Zhu of yours"

Kang turned to look at him but Jae punched his face with his stone fist, immediately. Kang looked up, slowly. His eyes glowed angrily. Crane was still standing at the door, staring at the both of them. "Go to the room, Crane. Now" Kang sprung up and caught the second punch in his hand. It was a lot easier, this time. He didn't need to put much effort like he had to the other time. He raised his knee, hitting Jae in the stomach, then he threw a punch at Jae's stone hard face, throwing him backwards... The more he made moves, the stronger and more relieved he became.

Jae sprung up, quickly, and pulled a huge stone out of his side, throwing it at Kang immediately. Kang dashed forward and grabbed the stone, throwing it back at Jae. Jae dodged the stone and stood there, staring at Kang and wondering how he was able to control the stone easily. He threw his hand at Kang, sprinkling tiny stones at him.

Kang stood still, pushed his hands forward and pulled them back, as if trying to pull the wind. The tiny stones gathered around his hands and he turned around, swinging the stones back at Jae. Immediately he turned to face Jae, a huge stone hit his head, throwing him backwards.

Jae walked to Kang, shapeshifting into his stone-body self and getting bigger in size. He put his enlarged stone arms together to smash Kang into the ground. Immediately he dropped the arm towards Kang's head, Kang sprung up and blocked the his with his bare arms. He grunted as he pushed back against the enlarged Jae. He rushed towards him and flipped, giving him a kick in the stomach. He dashed at Jae again, pulled a stone out of Jae's side easily, and slammed the stone against Jae's head. Jae pushed his body at Kang, throwing him back on the ground. He ran at Kang but some sort of rope pulled his leg back and he fell on his belly on the ground, shapeshifting back to his human self.

He looked towards the door, where the rope or whatever it was definitely came from. Romeo and Dan were standing there. Romeo looked back at Dan, like he didn't know Dan was there. "He didn't need your help. He could have taken care of the situation himself"

"That sure didn't look like it", Dan replied and scoffed. "I'm sure he will be grateful"

Kang stood up and walked towards them. "Get back here. We are not done yet", Jae howled at him, springing up quickly.

"I'm not wasting another second with", Kang walked up to Romeo and nodded. "Thank you"

"That wasn't me. Dan did it", Romeo said.

"You are welcome", Dan added.

Kang stared at the both of them. "Thank you. I could have taken care of him all by myself though", he said. "So you guys are here together; as friends or what?"

"We are roommates now... and we are becoming friends too"

"No one wants to be your friend, Dan", Romeo said. "I am here to use the gym❞

"Well, I'll just go check up on my new roommate", Kang said. "Good luck making friends with him"

****

"That's how you've been surviving? By hiding?", Crane asked, walking hastily, as he tried to keep up with Kang's quick paces.

"For a while, yes", Kang replied, as they headed towards the staircase. It was time for the spin and everyone was moving up already. "But I got a game fixed against me by one of the Larger Figures; a cute one... she probably wanted me dead. Jin gave me a pill and it worked for me. I won the fight"

"Alright", Crane said. "Are we going to join the spin?"

"I think she has been watching me and they are probably fixing a fight for me again"

"ok. So we have to join the spin now❞

"No, you won't join the spin", Kang said. "It's just me. You should probably get some training so you don't look small and weak. It'll give your opponents the confidence they need"

They walked up the stairs, along with the others. "Alright. She won't know if I hide, will she?"

"She shouldn't. I think she's watching just me so you can go back down and stay on the staircase", Kang said and they waited for the last fighter to walk up the stairs. Kang prodded him, gently. "Go now and watch from there" Crane ran back to the staircase and hid himself, watching the fighters and the screen. He hadn't seen the Arena or an actual fight so he wasn't enthusiastic about it. All that mattered was he couldn't die from where he was standing. He watched as the faces appeared on the screen. He watched the beeping light move over the faces quickly and repeatedly till it stopped on one face. He didn't know who it was. One the other side of the screen, the beeping light was still moving.

He felt something touch his shoulder. He just rubbed it and kept looking. He felt a touch on his second shoulder. The beeping light seemed to be slowing down and Kang's face was right down the line. He scratched his shoulder and kept his eyes on the screen. Then he felt something hard pressing on the back of his head. He couldn't tell what it was but he was sure it wasn't an itch. He turned his head. "Slowly.... Just turn slowly", a voice said to him.

He turned and saw a girl pointing a gun at his face. "You are the girl that watches him, aren't you?"

"I'm the girl that watches everything. You're coming with me"