“Heya, big guy, congrats on your first few wins!”
Abius grunted, then glanced up to see who was talking to them. Well, not up, more to the side. Abius was a gigantic Rethan and a formidable gladiator, but they had only recently started fighting people instead of animals.
“Hello, Timik. Hello, Psiksi.”
Psiksi and Timik, the top Skyan and Temthan house fighters, both inspected Abius. They were clearly somewhat unhappy. And they both knew why. Abius seemed like a bit of a loner compared to other Rethans before the recent catastrophes, and now things were even worse. There had been four Rethan house fighters, gladiators that worked for the Arenas directly, after a fire from a year ago killed the other four. But out of those left, Sehon had given up and retired, Kallis was permanently out due to severe injuries and Retvik had disappeared. Abius was now the only one left, and it seemed no other Rethans wanted to take up the mantle of being house fighters. Abius knew why as well. House fighters did get paid a lot more, yes, but they also didn’t get the benefits of the 798th Legion. Abius was technically part of the 800th Legion, the Legion of the Jobless, despite having a job.
“How you doing, Abius? You’ve been quiet.”
“I am alive, Kyr Psiksi. But I have little to say and no one to talk to.”
Timik plonked himself down next to Abius. “That’s alright. We want to talk to you. You’ve been proving how awesome you are lately, and we’ve got a wonderful idea.”
“You mean you have a wonderful idea…” Psiksi grunted as he sat down too, sipping an energy drink. “I still think it’s stupid. And insulting. And we don’t have the chemistry to pull it off. And we have a vital missing ingredient anyway!”
Abius grunted some more. They didn’t always get along with other gladiators in general, mostly because Abius always used to just fight beasts. Also, Abius’s gimmick was that they fought almost nude all the time. Fighting people was new to Abius. But it turned out Abius was really good at fighting people. And they’d become popular as a Big Bad.
“Is something wrong?” Abius asked. “You both seem… off.”
Psiksi sighed. “Timik has this stupid idea. Really stupid idea. Also, we’re all depressed and upset about what happened and we’re trying to continue on as normal. It’s fricking hard when all my friends are depressed and ill or, worse, dead.”
“I understand how that feels. Poor Kallis probably will never fight again. And I regret not spending as much time with Retvik as I should have.”
“Yeah…” Psiksi took a deep breath. “I’m gonna miss all of them. Even Talok. Sure, she was a weird Vohra, but the crazy thing saved my life. Can’t ever repay her.”
“Which is why I think we should go with my idea!” Timik brought the conversation back. “And Abius here is perfect for the team!”
“What… team… Hang on, Kyr Timik, you want to form a new four-vok team?” Abius blinked. “And you want me on it? You do realize my time spent doing combat against vok our size is low and limited, yes?”
“Doesn’t matter!” Timik remained chirpy. “No one will expect us to be as good as Xeno Dessaron One, but I think it’s a shame to yet again abandon mixed race teams! Sure, we’ll need some training, we’ll need a LOT of training, since no one really knows you, Abius and you haven’t done team battles before, but I think it’s doable!”
Psiksi tutted. “It’s insane. Retvik and his team had chemistry. They were… I think Lanex have a term for it, they call it spirit-bound. They perfectly complemented each other and covered each others’ weaknesses, but also had a desire to literally die for each other. We don’t have that.”
“We don’t, but we can build those connections!” Timik protested. “Psiksi, you and I are literally the best house fighters. You in particular. You’re the best Skyan gladiator in modern history. I’m pretty good as well. Abius… has a lot to live up to, unfortunately, doubly since Retvik… disappeared with an unbroken 306 win streak and an unbroken 30 win streak in Dessaron matches… but we can step forward and… represent them, I guess. Fight on in their memories. Embrace the chaos they created!”
Psiksi still wasn’t convinced. He sipped some more of his drink. “It’s not just that. We don’t have the same connections or skill sets. And, like… if Kayel wanted to, he could have easily beaten me. He was the real deal, a proper Phantasma. I… I kinda feel like a phoney, doubly since he’s gone and… ugh…”
Timik’s optimism faded slightly. “Yeah… it sucks. We all lost friends. I just want to do something in memory of them. I think… I think Nyssi would have found it hilarious. And Kayel and Tenuk probably would find a new team amusing too. Retvik would just be happy to have someone to fight against.”
Abius thought for a moment, then shrugged. They wanted companionship, they weren’t getting it from their fellow Rethans, so they might as well accept the companionship from Timik and Psiksi. And team matches would be good for Abius, since Psiksi’s speed and Timik’s tactics would work great to counter Abius’s slowness. Sure, Abius was strong, but they were 3.1m tall and weren’t the fastest on their feet.
“It might be fun. We would need lots of training though.”
Psiksi blinked and stared at Abius. “You… want in?”
“Yes.”
“Fucking really?”
“Yes.”
Psiksi tutted, then turned to Timik. “They’re insane, you’re insane. And, either way, we still need a fourth person. Like, who the fuck do we know who can do the insane shit that Tenuk did? He was the Wildcard of Xeno Dessaron One for a reason. Guy was super talented and super fast at learning. If he could have gotten over the prey-species mentality, to do proper solo matches, Tenuk probably would have had a stupidly impressive solo career.”
Timik shrugged. “Maybe we could as Ora? Or one of the other Lanex gladiators? I’d ask Tanok, but he’s got his new gig…”
“I’m still amazed at how calm Tanok’s been despite his gladiator career being over and him literally losing an arm…” Psiksi muttered, before abruptly lowering his voice and glancing around. He had noticed that someone had entered the House Fighters’ canteen. Someone Psiksi didn’t recognize. Timik and Abius both turned around to see who Psiksi was looking at. Admittedly, the canteen was empty apart from those three, everyone else was busy training or doing matches.
The stranger spotted the three house fighters, smiled, then skipped over.
“Hello! I’m kinda lost, think I took a wrong turn, but I was told to meet House Master Tanok here at the canteen, which was near his office? Lord Tromos said that his office was down the hall from the house fighter canteen but I think I missed it.”
Psiksi nudged Timik, who was clearly staring. Timik snapped to attention but didn’t speak.
“Hello!” Abius smiled back. “Tanok is in a meeting with the Thraki house fighters right now. Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Blimey, you’re huge…” the being muttered, before bowing and introducing themselves. “My name is Levik, I’m going to be the new Spast house fighter around here! It’s a pleasure to meet you all, especially you, mister Psiksi!”
Psiksi eyed Levik somewhat. “You’re Tenuk’s brother. One of them.”
“Yeah, I am. Middle brother.”
“Aren’t you… royalty?” Timik asked.
“Was. Dad disowned me because I decided to be a hero. Decided to follow my big brother’s example and be a gladiator. If Tanos could do it, then I can!”
Timik turned to Psiksi, grinning.
“No.”
“No what?”
“He needs a ton of training. He’s brand new.”
“Yeah, well, all new gladiators need training. But Levik here is perfect for my idea!”
“Uh, what idea?” Levik interrupted. “I literally just got here, supposed to be speaking to the House Master to go through basic training, assess my skill levels and get some armour fitted.”
Abius shrugged. “Timik here wants to make a new Dessaron team. A Xeno Dessaron Two.”
Levik hesitated, then grinned. “That sounds awesome. Let me, like… sort myself out, but I’m totally in if you all are.”
Psiksi and Abius both glanced at Timik, then shrugged some more.
“Screw it…” Psiksi gave in. “Let’s do this. Might be fun…”