83 Caged Arena Match (1/2)
Maya picked out a few dresses and other various clothing by the time they were done at the clothing store. She had tried each on and showed will, her smile lit the room brighter than the crystals ever could with each piece of clothing she tried.
At the end, Maya changed back into her leather armor and carried out the clothes in a few bags. Will looked questioningly at her.
”I'm not going to wear anything else besides my black dress until you make good on your promise.” She gave him a half smile.
Will thought back to what he had told her a year ago. The promise of showing her the world he grew up in rang clearly in his mind. Looking at her now, he could see just how patient she was being with him. It was almost as if she was saying 'life doesn't start until you show me what yours was like.'
”We will go set up our new home,” Will said as he grabbed the bags from her hand. He then took the now empty hand in his own. ”Then we will go explore where I was raised.”
They walked silently down the road and looked at the various other shops.
Will looked through a window of a shop and noticed it was a grocery store. He saw the fresh produce lining the walls just like he would see in his own world. Though on earth, the produce would have a machine that would spray a fine mist on the vegetables every hour like clockwork to keep them fresh. The produce in the shop however, had a blue Crystal over each stall which would spray a mist when needed. ”These Crystals take away any use oil or gas back home ever had. Everything here is so clean.” He said to Maya as they passed the shop.
”Oil?” Maya had never heard Will bring up oil before.
”People in my world have to drill in the ground for oil. The oil is what makes out cars, lights and anything like the lights in the shop we just came from work.”
”What if you run out of this oil?” Maya had unknowingly voiced an age old problem.
Will smiled and shook his head. ”We have been asking ourselves that for years.”
For a few minutes the two of them walked in silence, observing the every day life of the city. Will saw children running freely in the streets and smiled to himself. 'This is why I'm here.' He thought as he watched them play.
'Clang, clang!' Will heard the sounds of metal clashing against metal coming from a crowded street in front of them. ”What could this be?” Will looked at Maya who just shrugged.
Captivated by the sounds of battle, Will turned the corner to see a large cage in the center of a massive square. Within the cage were two men in a heated battle. Will could see from a distance that the two had an affinity.
A man that was large in stature held a battle axe in a defensive position. Will could see the man's muscles bulging with effort to fend off the attacks of the other opponent. Cuts were shown all over his body from where the other man must have landed hits.
Will looked at his opponent and was surprised to see a young man, a few years younger than him by the look. Will saw his hands were covered in rings, one per finger. One of the hands held a pure silver sword with no affinity gem or embroidery. On his bare chest he held three pendants which jingled together every time he sidestepped the axe which slashed towards him in powerful blows. His red hair was held in a ponytail which flew crazily with every move he made. If Will didn't know it was a battle, he would have mistakened the young man's movements for dancing.
It seemed like every movement the young man made was calculated. Almost as if he had already seen through the larger man's fighting style.
”You're dead, little man!” The large axe wielder bellowed as he swung the axe at the young man's legs. ”You can't jump around if I chop off your legs!”
Before the axe hit him, Will saw the young man's hand glow slightly as an explosion thrust him upward and he held onto a bar on the ceiling. He swung his leg up for support as he hung there.
”Fire affinity?” Will's eyebrow twitched as he leaned over to Maya. ”Have you ever seen him before?” But she only shook her head. She was just as confused.
If they were confused before, the young man's next move made Will speechless. He released control of the sword, returning it to a pendant around his neck. Will noticed a faint glow around the man's hand as another pendant sprung into action. Shocked, Will observed wide eyed as the young man produced a bow and arrow, the familiar gust of the wind aura surrounding it.
The young man hung from the bar by both of his feet and stragtened himself out, taking a shot with his new weapon. The arrow struck true as it hit the man between the toes on his left foot. ”I think it's time for you to call it quits.” He said as he notched another arrow. ”The next one will not be a warning shot.”
”Damn aura wielder.” The larger man spat as he dropped the axe. ”Fine, I give up.” He said as he headed for the door to the cage.
The silent square gave way to cheering as the man left the cage. ”There you have it folks! The jack of all trades has done it again!” An old announced as he pointed to the cage. ”The Crimson Dawn has taken another victim!”
The courtyard roared in applause as the young man dropped from the ceiling and bowed.
”Is there anyone brave enough to step into the ring with this nightmare?” He dared anyone in the crowd to step forth.
”I'll be right back.” Will whispered into Maya's ear and gave her a wink. Maya only shook her head and watched him walk off.
Will jumped past the crowd and landed at a platform which led to the cage entrance.
”It looks like we have another challenger! A brave one too, by the looks of it. He is only wearing a white shirt and blue pants, he doesn't even have any shoes!” The announcer declared as he inspected Will. ”Does this brave soul have a name?”
”I prefer to remain anonymous.” Will simply said.
Nods of understanding spread amongst the crowd. ”He probably doesn't want to share his name so that after he loses, he will not suffer embarrassment.” Maya heard an onlooker say to the person next to him. She could only smile and shake her head as she saw will place her bags on the platform before heading in the cage.
”Hello.” Will waved at The Crimson Dawn. ”Let's have a good match.” He said awkwardly as he smiled and scratched the back of his head.