“Good morning, Lord Tromos, you wanted to talk to me about something?”
Psiksi was a little annoyed. For reasons he wasn’t aware of, the only solo matches he’d been given beast-slaying matches as of late. Ever since the Sudden Darkness, Psiksi had been working as a substitute to the Ξ-Class Skyan teams of four, mostly because a large chunk of the local shadow-jumping population had either quit, were still out of action or were, well, dead.
“I do, yes. Please, come and sit down.”
Tromos used to be the head house fighter for the Great Arenas, but after the Ancient Warlord had disappeared, he was now in charge. He wasn’t as terrifying as the Raptor was, but newer gladiators did fear him a little, and Tromos was, surprisingly, a little more strict than the Raptor was. Psiksi never did though, mostly because Psiksi and Tromos had fought each other twice in the arenas, and Psiksi had won both times.
Psiksi did as he was told and sat down. “So, what’s going on?”
There was a slight smile on Tromos’s face. Immediately, Psiksi realized something was definitely going on.
“I heard that you want to form a team. You, Abius, Timik and Levik.”
Psiksi shrugged. “Well, it was more Timik’s idea, but I’m the smart one, somehow, so I would be team leader. I’m well aware that we would have to fight as a house fighter team, same way Retvik and his team did, and same with the Banikan teams. Also, it’s kinda a shame that we yet again don’t have mixed species teams.”
“Are you looking to replace Xeno Dessaron One?”
“Oh, no, not at all. We all agreed, we want to do this in their memory. I don’t think we’ll ever have a flawless win streak like they did, but I like to think that Retvik and Nyssi in particular would have enjoyed having a fellow house fighter team. I’m not sure about Tenuk, but Kayel probably would have appreciated it too.”
“I see…” Tromos thought for a moment, then smiled. “Would you have been willing to fight Xeno Dessaron One if they were still around?”
Psiksi blinked, then tutted. “Of course I bloody would! It would have been awesome to fight them! My team would probably lose, but I’m actually somewhat annoyed that Timik and I didn’t come up with this idea earlier.”
“Very well.”
“Can I ask a question before you continue?” Psiksi suddenly asked. He felt like something weird was going on, that Tromos inviting Psiksi to his office was fishy. “Has this got something to do with the lack of solo matches you’ve given me? Because I’m getting scarily close to the Big Three Hundred, and you just keep on giving me beast fights, or making me sub for the Skyan teams.”
Tromos nodded. “You are correct. I was planning on ditching mixed race teams, because I don’t think anyone can do what Xeno Dessaron One did, and your team would be using their fame to boost yourselves. At the same time, I don’t want what happened to Retvik happening to you. After Retvik earned the Triumphant Crown, no one wanted to fight Retvik any more, and his last five matches, people didn’t seem to care any more.”
“That… that’s a load of piss!” Psiksi was feeling insulted now. “People did care about Retvik’s fights, even if they were just wondering who would end his streak! Is this because Retvik beat the piss out of you before he disappeared?”
“No, this has-“
“That’s the reason, isn’t it?” Psiksi sneered.
Tromos sighed. “That is a very small reason. What is more important to me is that we get a good, strong run up to your 300 win streak. Retvik’s 300th win was political and a show of sheer strength, but also somewhat dangerous. After all, he did have a little… issue at the end of the fight.”
Psiksi crossed his arms. “You mean that the Torr bastard wanted a free-for-all match and it didn’t go down as you expected. Our matches aren’t scripted, it is legitimate combat, but, dude, that was an amazing fight. And you DON’T want that again?”
“Retvik went Defensive Stance during that match.”
“He didn’t, actually. At best, it was a half-stance, because Retvik was still talking coherently, and he passed out and fell asleep quickly.”
Tromos paused. “How do you know so much-“
“I’ve fought a lot of Rethans. I was the last person to beat Retvik, and I’ve been on both sides of his Defensive Stance. What happened in that match was all down to Telumeus completely fucking up and not doing his homework…” Psiksi also paused. “Hang on, none of this piss applies to me anyway! I’m not doing Settlement battles OR Extreme rules!”
“And you don’t be doing those for your next few matches either. However, I want to do… something special. A strong lead up to your 300th win. And this involves your new, potential team.”
Psiksi suddenly worked everything out. “You want to pit me against Abius and Timik. With Timik being my opponent for my 300th win.”
“Assuming you get there, yes. Those two are the best house fighters of their respective races. You, Psiksi, have been the best Skyan gladiator in recent history. You need a worthy challenge. Assuming you get there, as you are on 296 wins currently.”
Psiksi didn’t immediately respond. He took a moment to think to himself. “Are you doing this because Timik and I want to make a team?”
“No.”
“Feels like it…” Psiksi sighed. “I ain’t got much choice in this, but I am fine with fighting Timik, it’ll be a good 300th win. Plus, Timik and I can be friends again afterwards. I’m not even bothered with fighting Abius, I know they’ll put on a great fight. But you seem to have a problem with me.”
“Not just me. The crowds too. You aren’t popular.”
Psiksi growled as he stood up. “I don’t care. I’m going to get that damn crown, no matter what you throw at me. Is there anything else you need from me?”
Tromos shook his head. “We are done for now. Feel free to go back to your training.”
“Oh, I will!” Psiksi hissed as he stormed off. “Screw you though. Phovos would have handled this better, and she was mentally a damn teenager.”