"I am not disagreeing with your point," Lucky said. "I am just making sure you do not overlook the obvious pitfalls in your exuberance." Jason just made a face at him, but decided not to respond. He needed to keep up the appearance that he was only here for the bloodshed. There was also the fact that he was the only one in the room actually speaking to his "bodyguard."
They sat through eleven brutal, bloody fights before the stands began to get crowded and there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Jason, having been trying to ignore the barbarism on display in the cage in front of him, straightened up and watched as two struggling aliens were dragged into the cage. Both were restrained and both were still putting up a hell of a fight against the handlers.
"We have a special fight for you this evening to start the upper tier pyramid tournament," the announcer said, deftly avoiding the snarling aliens as they were secured to the far side of the cage. "Remember that this isn't part of the pyramid. If you wish to bet on this fight you must place a separate wager. Tonight you will see a spectacle not witnessed by many."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jason said as he looked at the two saurian aliens still trying to get at their handlers.
"As do I," Lucky agreed.
"Fighting as a tandem this evening are two brothers," the announcer went on, "Nyphen twins born from the same clutch. These two killed more than eighteen people during a weeklong reign of terror deep in the Concordian Cluster."
"What are nyphens?" Jason asked Lucky.
"Closely related to Korkarans," Lucky answered. "Stronger and far less intelligent; however, they are fearless and vicious."
"And to go head to head with these two beasts we have found a being rarely seen away from their home planet," the announcer said as a hulking biped was led into the cage with a bag over his head and shoulders. It didn't stop Jason from recognizing him instantly. "Banished from his homeworld for a long list of violent crimes, one of the legendary Galvetic warriors!" The bag was ripped off and Crusher stood there, arms bound behind his back, muzzled, and eyes blazing with an insane rage.
"This can't be happening," Jason whispered. Crusher looked like he'd lost a considerable amount of weight, and his body bore many fresh scars. The feral, nearly berserk look he wore told Jason all he needed to about how his friend had fared in Duat. "Can he win?"
"It will take all his skill and strength," Lucky said, considering the odds. "But I believe he has a chance of winning."
"It looks like they've starved him and beat the living shit out of him," Jason muttered. "He doesn't have all his strength."
"Then let us hope his skill will be enough," Lucky said, his eyes never leaving his friend. "It is possible for me to move to the other side of the cage and intervene if necessary. They would be well within my weapons range."
"And you'd be blasted by those cannons up above us," Jason said. "Even you would have a hard time walking away from that. I'd lose you both ... it's not worth the risk."
The pair looked on in horror as the announcer and all the handlers rushed out of the cage and the door swung shut and locked with a resounding clang. The crowd waited in near silence as one of the handlers pressed a button on a remote he carried and Crusher's restraints popped off and dropped. The warrior instantly reached up and ripped the muzzle from his face before leaning back and letting out a bellowing roar that echoed off the walls. The hairs on Jason's neck and arms stood at attention as the primordial part of his brain recoiled in fear from the sound. Crusher was enraged beyond reason and Jason could only imagine what his life had been like the last couple of months.
Another button was pressed and the restraints holding the nyphens to the cage wall popped off. One of the pair charged Crusher in a mindless rush, clawed hands out in front of him. Crusher balanced on the balls of his feet and waited, timing his strike perfectly. He knocked the nyphen's arms down with an overhand sweep with his left forearm while simultaneously bringing his right fist down in a savage strike on the alien's face.
The nyphen hissed loudly in pain and Jason could see that Crusher had smashed its left orbital socket, obliterating the eye in the process. As the crowd jumped on their feet and cheered, Crusher delivered a kick to the writhing alien's midsection that sent him tumbling backwards onto the floor before he squared off with the more cautious of the pair.
"This is a promising start," Jason said. "Maybe it'll be over quick."
"I do not think the Watchers will allow that," Lucky said and pointed to a pair of guards holding a variety of melee-style weapons. "If it looks like Crusher will win too easily I am sure their job is to handicap him somehow." Jason looked around quickly for the vendors that had been there during the previous fights where spectators could purchase weapons for the combatants. Apparently they had been removed from the floor for this special match.