The Arena Part 1 (TAK)

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Octavian's gaze lies drawn to the bloodied sands where he defeated his opponent. A look of sorrow fell upon his face. A strong feeling of remorse is overwhelming his weak heart. He stands at the top, among the seats in the arena; it is completely empty. The seats are dirtied with foul remains of their occupants. Grasping the cage within his flesh and metal hands, his head falls into the rings, sending the harsh scraping of the cage's rings rubbing one another throughout the room. He's sobbing. Crying.

He knew nothing of the acts that he had committed within the sands of the arena. All he could remember was the chanting of the crowd, being face to face with another monster, like he.

Behind him, a man wearing tattered and dirty rags descends towards the sobbing monster. He is missing a leg, his right leg to be precise. Only a metal bar was left in it's place to support the man. With a frail and ginger arm, he reaches out for Octavian's shoulder to comfort him.

Octavian wasn't the least startled by this. He was still drowning within the emotional wave that had overcame him.

The man stood and gazed into the pit as Octavian wept. For long he wept.

"Octavian." The man blurted out. "It's not your fault. It's they're fault. It always has been." Octavian's head pivots to the figure behind him. A further observation reveals a large, bushy beard and his face bears an ugly scar, stretching from the reaches of his forehead, across his eye and, into the depths of his chin.

It's his father.

Wiping the tears from Octavian's face, he continues in a hushed tone. "They made you what you are. I know. They almost did it to me too." Octavian seated himself onto a bench while his father spoke on. "You're what they called... A defender. When the cities were to fall, you were to have been one of the beasts to defend against the rogue and alien forces on earth. It is a horrible fate, but you have powers like no other breathing being. You have your own strengths that no man or beast can counter."

With a smile he said: "You have the heart of a beast and the mind of a man." Octavian grinned at this too. Shouting further up in the stands alarmed Octavian and his father. "I have to go now. I'll tell you all I can later, if I'm able to reach you."

"Thank you..." Octavian paused trying to find the word- "Father."

"Good luck to you in the sands, my son." His father said as he climbed the steps of the arena.

Octavian was alone again, in the arena.

Octavian II

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With a sudden crack, our hero awakens. From a strange chamber of some design, he collapses into blood stained sands. He quickly realizes that he is surrounded by a horde of people, seated high above him. He stood in awe of the crowd's enormity, empowered by their cries, though, he is greatly confused. Little does he know, he is in grave danger. A quick and effortless scan reveals that he is not alone in the arena of sorts.

Another chamber, almost of the exact same design is inside the arena. Octavian feels different. The look of pure blood lust and savagery fills his eyes. Octavian was much different. His body has been heavily augmented and tested upon. Small incisions rivet his skin. Carbon steel spikes line his back in an asymmetric pattern. It appears all too painful. His posture has been affected as well. The weight of a robotic arm causes him to be slightly hunched over. The most disturbing of all his augmentations would be his eye. One of his eyes were completely removed and was replaced by a small ball. He can still use it to see, somehow, but by unknown means. He doesn't notice any of this though. It's almost as if he is in a trance of some sort.

Adopting a new and natural stance, the beast within Octavian releases itself.

The pod across the arena bursts open. The crowd roars, gasps and shakes the cage that is encasing the two monsters. The audience wants blood, it is all too obvious.

A long and vicious howl blasts from the pod. silencing the crowd, they looked on with great interest. Peering into the cage with their greedy eyes. The pod shudders and the beast within erupts. A creature on all fours, two headed and with a nasty looking stinger on the end of it's tail.

The two-headed monstrosity dashes towards Octavian with an unrivaled speed. 

Octavian reacts swiftly, connecting a blow to the beast's left head with a snap. The crowd once again, roars on.

The beast raises itself to its feet and once again strategizes the next move. Octavian blinks and loses sight of the beast. Another blink and the beast's right head is tearing into his back. He tries to toss off the beast but has no luck. The two then reach a bloody stalemate as the beast claws away, ripping into the panel on Octavian's back, revealing wires and veins alike. Sensing a near death event, dubious instincts of Octavian's new self, kick in.

Beast on back, he flexes his powerful leg muscles and lunges into the air to a considerable height, reaches the ceiling and clings onto it with his mighty arms. In complete shock, the two-headed beast knows not what to do. The crowd is again, silent with anxiety and anticipation.

Octavian releases his grip on the cage and falls to the ground below, quashing the beast between the sands and his spined back.

He then peels off the beast, takes it by its two heads and rips it in half. Uncontrollable rage, happiness and excitement fills the air. Octavian emerges victorious in his first fight. He looks around again though and reaches consciousness from his rampage.

He isn't in space anymore. He's very much far from human now, too.

He is what he saw in the lab. An animal. A beast. 

But why?