“Is that Lightbearer?” Kama whispered to Matu as the four Lanex entered the arena. The Imperatorai Hordikai were the second highest ranked Lanex team fighting in the Great Arena, and considered one of the best when it came to Capture the Flag matches, beaten only by those with rather… unholy powers. Today though, they were facing Xeno Dessaron One, a rather unorthodox team, and the first to be comprised of four distinct races. And, already, Xeno Dessaron One had proven themselves to be a threat, having beaten a previous team in under ten seconds, thanks to their shadow-jumping team member.
Compared to most of the Twelve, the Lanex hardly seemed to fit in. The Lanex, or Explorers, as they often called themselves, were tall, tail-less and claw-less, with completely upright bodies and flattened faces. One would consider them almost human, had they also not been rather mechanical, their organic parts sealed away behind light metal plating. Their heads were no better, as every Lanex wore a distinct mask that hide most of their facial features, aside from their eyes and, occasionally, their mouths. Because of their unique biomechanical makeup, the Lanex were capable of surviving the depths of space, as long as they had oxygen to keep them breathing.
And because they were also two-meter tall and heavily armoured, that made Lanex ideal candidates for arena battles.
“Looks like it…” Awel answered in Matu’s place. “They cover him in that default green armour, but his natural red plating still sticks out. Wonder what they promised the Guardian in order to make him fight?”
“And with… two Archivists and a Hunter too!” Auno, by far the largest and most muscular of the team, exclaimed, fiddling with the switch on his chain blades. Lanex rarely used standard species names, outside of themselves, instead they referred to each race by a specific title, based on what each race was best known for. “What a team and a half!”
Auno’s smile though faded as Kama whacked him on the shoulder. “One of them isn’t an Archivist, it’s a Trickster. The question is, which one?”
“Doesn’t change our tactics in any way, brothers!” Matu finally spoke. “Take out the Archivist and the Trickster, then focus on the Guardian. The Guardian is too slow and bumbling to be able to take our flag without us noticing. Auno, you will keep the Guardian occupied, while I keep an eye on our flag. Kama’s flames will stop them from using their shadow abilities, while Awel will work out which one actually IS the Archivist, so we can take her down. ”
“And the Hunter?”
“No more than a distraction…” Kama raised his blade, a sword with rippling red flames running up it. “To battle, brothers!”
A horn echoed across the long, thin arena. Matu stepped backwards, letting his fellow Lanex lead the way. He noticed that the opposing team were doing the same. The Guardian was holding back, protecting their flag, while Auno charged towards him, weapons at the ready. Kama and Ewal immediately targeted the two Archivists, even if one of them was a disguised Trickster, while the opposing Hunter seemed to dart around, trying to get in the way of the rest of the Lanex. Interestingly, none of Xeno Dessaron One had made a direct attempt for the Imperatorai Hordikai’s flag yet.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Auno’s charge failed. While Auno was strong, the Guardian had half a meter height advantage, as well as an armoured skull, which the Guardian used to headbutt Auno and send him spiralling into the ground. To Matu though, that didn’t matter, he was more focused on the two Archivists. One of them was much less nimble than the other. Clearly that one was the Trickster, disguising itself to fool them.
“Kama, light your flare.”
Kama smiled underneath his mask, then raised his sword. The flames running up it began to glow brightly, flooding the arena with light. This rendered the Archivist completely unable to use their shadow abilities.
With the enemy distracted, Matu made his move, leaping over the entire battlefield in a single jump, subtly manipulating gravity as he did so. The Lanex always used their chosen element well, and this was no exception. Unfortunately, it turned out that Kama’s distraction hadn’t worked out as well as intended, because the almighty Guardian was standing by Xeno Dessaron One’s flag, doing what Guardians did best. There was a reason why the Lanex named them as such.
Before Matu can do anything, he finds himself on the ground, with the Guardian standing over him. While Matu did manage to roll out of the way of an angry gunblade being stabbed down towards him, he did now have a massive problem.
“Kama, more distractions needed!”
To Matu’s dismay, the pyrotechnic display Kama was supposed to have been producing failed to materialize. One of the Archivists had tackled Kama to the ground and disarmed them, while the other was leading Awel in circles. On the plus side, Auno was back on his feet and had returned to defend Imperatorai Hordikai’s flag, even if the Hunter was constantly pestering him.
Flicking his wrists, Matu rolled back onto his feet and hovered in the air, putting himself level with the Guardian, but far enough away that the Guardian couldn’t grab him.
“Can’t defend what you can’t see, Guardian.”
Matu smiled to himself, twirling his fingers around. As he did so, the dust that coated the floor began to swirl around, kicked up into a dust storm. The Guardian lost its aggressive stance, staggering backwards and bringing its shield to its face.
Suddenly, something dragged Matu backwards. Something in green armour with yellow plating underneath. The Archivist had attacked Matu for some strange reason, pulling him away from both the Guardian and the flag. Thankfully, Kama and Awel were on hand, and both of them attempted to take on the Guardian, keeping it distracted wile Matu dealt with the Archivist.
It didn’t take much to dislodge the Archivist from Matu’s back. In an elegant spin, Matu threw the unholy demon to the ground, before placing his armoured foot against the creature’s throat.
“You made a big mistake, Archivist.”
“I’m honestly surprised you fell for this!” the Archivist smiled back, its eyes briefly flashing blue then red, before returning to a dull yellow.
Before Matu could respond, he found himself stumbling. The Archivist wasn’t an Archivist at all. The Trickster had gotten to him, and had swiftly turned itself into a perfect copy of Matu’s team mate Auno. A punch to the face sent Matu falling to the ground. As Matu hit the deck, he was unable to maintain the sand storm that had kept everyone else blinded.
“Need some help here!”
Matu heard Auno shout as everything began to clear up. Awel and Kama had both been taken out of the fight by the now rampaging Guardian, and Auno was unable to take on both the Hunter and the Archivist at once. In under a second, the Archivist had managed to slip through Auno’s legs, grab Imperatorai Hordikai’s flag and shadowjump its way back to Xeno Dessaron One’s side of the arena.
Before Matu could right himself, the Trickster-turned-Explorer picked him up by his neck, then awkwardly stood him up on his feet. The battle was over, Xeno Dessaron One were in possession of both Imperatorai Hordikai’s flag and their own flag, and both were lodged into the pillars in their end of the arena.
“Good game!” the disguised Trickster beamed, holding out its hand.
Matu hesitated, then shook it. As he did so, the Trickster returned to its normal form, that of a tiny, blue, furry, four-eyed beast. “Yes, good game. Well done.”