“So, you guys got kidnapped again.”
Retvik grunted as he sipped awkwardly from a small can. Like most Rethavok, Retvik very rarely drank caffeine, because it gave him headaches. But he was still recovering from some sort of amnesia-inducing sedation, while at the same time trying to catch up with his training schedule. His team had a match coming up against probably one of the toughest Dessaron teams yet, the terrifying Vahrgan Jaw, and Retvik was desperate to get some weapons practice in as soon as possible.
Currently with him was Tenuk, who had shapeshifted himself into a Skyavok. The same Skyavok that had just approached them.
“Hi, Psiksi.”
“Hiya, Ret!” Psiksi smiled, eyeing his doppelgänger. “You must be our little Spast friend. Don’t think we’ve been introduced!”
Not-Psiksi swallowed nervously, before holding out his hand. “The Raptor said not to tell anyone my name, but, uh hi, I’m Tenuk. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too!” Psiksi took Tenuk’s hand. “You do voice impressions too? That’s not a bad impression of me.”
“I’ve not really heard you speak enough to do a proper impression yet!” Tenuk definitely seemed more confident now. Psiksi let go of Tenuk’s hand, then sat down next to him. To make things less obvious, Tenuk changed his shape again, this time shifting into the form of Kayel, his yellow-armoured friend. “I appreciate the kind words. Just doing my best as the first Spast to ever compete here!”
Retvik turned to Tenuk, frowning. “Why WERE you shapeshifted as Psiksi anyway?”
“Practice, I guess…” Tenuk shrugged. “I mean, that’s kinda the plan when we fight those Vahrga, right?”
“What Vahrga?” Psiksi blinked. “Wait, you guys are fighting the Vahrgan Menace?”
“Worse, the Vahrgan Jaw…” Retvik trailed off, before downing the rest of his drink. He quickly regretted it, and could already feel a twinge in the back of his head. “I thought the Raptor was bad with her planning, when her council decide things, we get my inexperienced team fighting against rampaging beasts. The third scariest thing one can fight after a Banikan or an enraged Thraki.”
Psiksi thought for a moment. “I dunno, I think a defensive-stance Rethan is scarier than an enraged Thraki. You can shoot a Thraki out of the air and they’re somewhat helpless, ain’t nothing stopping an angry Rethan that believes you’re getting in the way of whatever they’re supposed to be protecting. I’ve seen it in action plenty of times, on both sides. But yeah, you guys are getting all the worst fights.”
Retvik sighed, but Tenuk seemed somewhat optimistic.
“We beat Retha Squad Three, we beat the Tainted Fangs, I think we got this!” Tenuk beamed. “Like, sure, they’re Vahrga, but they’re not the smartest creatures around and they’re mostly melee-focused. We just need to stay out of their way! Plus, we have pistols and gunstaffs.”
“Still, there is the major problem that they can get around Tenuk’s shapeshifting. They can see straight through Spast disguises.”
“Wait, they can?” Tenuk exclaimed, while somehow still remaining in character. Psiksi shifted awkwardly, not quite liking how accurately Tenuk was acting a little too much like a Skyavok. “Oh yeah. Of course they can. They’re all telepaths. So what IS our plan?”
Retvik didn’t answer at first. He crushed the can of drink in his massive claws, before losing himself in thought.
“You don’t have a plan?” Psiksi asked.
“I am… still working on that…” Retvik eventually admitted. “While keeping our distance is the general idea, I do not really know. The Vahrga do not have a central hub to take down like a Rethan team does, and it only takes one Vahrga to get too close to take one of us out.”
“We’re fast though!” Tenuk smiled.
“Vahrga are faster than they look…” Retvik warned. “I have not fought many Vahrga but the few I have faced, all of them have been able to outrun me.”
Psiksi thought to himself briefly, before shrugging. “I dunno, Ret, I think you may be overthinking things, actually. I mean, you’ve wrestled Banikans and won. Recently as well. And Banikans are bigger and stronger than Vahrga, smarter too. There’s a reason why the Banikans are not allowed to have a ranked team, and their Dessaron team fights as house fighters the same way you four do.”
“There is also a reason why the Raptor never lets any of the smaller members of the Twelve fight Vahrga!” Retvik tutted. “You can call off a Banikan. You cannot-”
“You can barely call off an enraged Rethan!” Psiksi countered. “I know that, I’ve fought alongside you. By the Darkness, I’ve accidentally triggered your defensive state, Retvik, and it was NOT pretty. You nearly killed me.”
Retvik took a deep breath, not liking the memory Psiksi had just dug up. “I have… reeled myself in since then. That was a long time ago.”
“Heh…” Psiksi laughed awkwardly. “I watched your match against the Tainted Fangs. You nearly smashed Dilitir to bits. The whole telepathic link wasn’t the only thing holding you back from doing Dessaron matches in the past. You like to think you’re different from most Rethans, but, genetically, you’re the best there is, and you still have a chance of going berserk if you think you’re protecting something. Even if you ARE a Darkness-damned Rethianos.”
The Lightbearer didn’t respond. Psiksi knew he’d stepped over the line, but didn’t particularly care. After all, he’d known Retvik for a long time, and the Retvik he was looking at right now wasn’t the same Retvik he knew.
“Is something wrong, Ret?”
Retvik grunted. “Yes. I have a headache and am currently somewhat sedated. And that sedation is currently interfering with what I have recently witnessed and am still struggling to comprehend.”
Psiksi blinked in confusion, somewhat surprised by Retvik’s statement. “I didn’t know you took sedatives. Or, like, anything.”
“I do not. The damn Allbirther sedated me. I am unable to think straight and am more concerned whether I will even be able to fight tomorrow, let alone come up with a plan…”
“We just need to get more caffeine into you!” Tenuk smiled. He rushed off briefly, then reappeared, holding four cans of energy drink. However, before he could hand them to Retvik, he abruptly paused, as he was hit by a sudden thought. “Actually, I think I have a solution to our Vahrga problem. But I kinda need to see if I can pull it off first.”
“What’s your plan?” Psiksi took one of the cans for himself.
“Oh, I can’t say. I need to test a few things before I do anything else…” Tenuk turned to Retvik. “Do you know where Kayel is? Actually, I need to ask Nyssi too, might work with her.”
Retvik glanced at his wristband, then twisted it around so he could see the clock embedded into it. “Hm. It is afternoon, they should be sparring in our little private training area.”
“Perfect!” Tenuk continued to smile as he shapeshifted into a weird version of Retvik in silver armour and rushed off. “You work on sobering yourself up, I’ll work on the plan!”
The two veteran gladiators sat in silence for a moment, watching as the Spast disappeared.
“Now I’ve seen it up close, shapeshifting is fucking creepy…” Psiksi eventually muttered. “He seems to nail the voices as well, which was something I didn’t know Spasts could do. How do you put up with it?”
“You get used to it…” was Retvik’s blunt reply as he opened up one of the cans of energy drink. “But Tenuk is… special. He now seems to be able to shapeshift quickly and cleanly with far fewer downsides compared to other Spasts. With enough training, he could be unstoppable…”