We arrived downtown by taking a taxi, getting dropped off at an industrial warehouse. There was a guard at the front gate that greeted us. Samuel whispered something to the guard and he opened the gate, closing it behind us and then leading us inside. We walked to an elevator that was meant to take supplies up to the second floor, the guard did something on the controls that brought us down instead. We went down for a while, Samuel and the guard making small talk about some kind of game. The elevator stopped at the bottom of this shaft and we stepped off.

  “I'll be here when you need to go back up.” The guard said as he brought out a folding chair and a handheld device of some kind. Samuel thanked him and led us further in until we came upon a door. The door was and the wall it was within weren’t much different than the concrete walls and metal doors we had gone through already, the one difference was a large symbol on either side of the door. It was a white ring, cracked in places but still whole, and stabbing through the ring was a black fang dripping one drop of crimson blood from its tip.

  “That's the symbol of the Black Fang. They are the group that controls the lowest tiers of The Arenas. Nasty bunch, ruthless, but they play fair when it comes to The Arenas.” Samuel said, showing his knowledge of these things again. I wondered what his past was like, where he had gone and what he'd been. He stepped forward and opened the door. The light on the other end of the door was brighter than the incandescent bulbs in this concrete tunnel. We walked through into the light, I saw a large, square room painted white. In the center of the room was a depression, smooth sides with sand at the bottom. A retractable ladder on each side was the only way in and out.

  “This is the lowest tier for fights?” I was surprised, I expected more of a rusty mess of a place, but this place was mostly clean. I did notice as I got closer to the pit there were red stains scattered all around the walls inside. I looked around the room again and saw several small, flying drones. Samuel had mentioned they would record the fight, those must be for that. In Lathea we never had technology like they do here. Their computers, machines, everything was more advanced here. I wasn't sure how to feel about it all, the tech made people's lives better in a lot of ways, but it also brought them further from nature it seemed. There were some beginnings of that before the Void attacked on Lathea, groups of people abandoning nature in favor of a more technological life. I sighed and refocused, the door on the other side of the room had opened and a man and woman walked out. He was shorter than me by a bit, but heavily muscled. The woman said something and walked away to stand near the far wall. He wore a pair of red fighting shorts with flames on them, and his hair had matching flames across a mohawk. When he made it all the way across the room to the pit he smiled.

  “Well now! Damn if you ain't downright massive, lady! Don't think size alone will win this for you though.” The look he gave me was one of excitement, I assumed he was as ready for the fight as I was. He spoke in an accent different than anyone else I had heard speak here so far. It made me think of languages, and how everyone here spoke a language that I could understand so far, my first tongue I grew up with. I wondered, if I was somehow no longer on Lathea, wouldn't there be different languages here? Wasn't that a clue to me being at home in Lathea? These thoughts kept me up some nights, not knowing whether Lathea was real or this place was. I shook the thoughts away, I had to be ready for the fight.

  “I'm normal sized, you’re just small.” I grinned at The Rude Roundhouse and he narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Ain't nothin’ small ‘bout me miss.” He said in an irritated voice. I didn't mean it offensively, but I could understand why he had taken it that way. I missed the people of my world, they were so different to the people here, but they were also so similar in many ways. Pride still held many if not most of these people in its tight grip. He looked like he was about to say something else when a loud sound, like a ringing bell, echoed through the room. A voice began speaking out, reverberating from speakers on the drones.

  “Hello and welcome, friends of the show! Today we have a treat for you! An up and comer, having won the last three fights by knockout with just one kick! Weighing in at 250 lbs at a height of six foot four, get ready for The Rude Roundhouse!” The sound of a cheering crowd echoed out from the same speakers and The Rude Roundhouse grinned up at the drones. He waved at the cameras and did a few kicks for the audience. The kicks were fast, much faster than the two thugs in the restaurant. I began to think he may actually be worth fighting.

  “And next is a brand new, green as green gets, newcomer to The Arenas! Standing at a staggering seven foot three and weighing in at 310 lbs, give it up for The Steel Amazon!” Another impact of a crowd cheering, while the room was empty of all but him, me, my three friends. The ladders dropped into the ring, and I took that as my que to head down. When me and him got to the sandy floor below the ladders began lifting up into the air, all the way above the top of the wall. The wall was around ten feet high, I could make it out if it came to it but I doubted I would need to. The sand was clean and clear, no stains or teeth from previous fights. I looked at the man again and he got into some kind of fighting stance.

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  “I won't go easy just cause you're a woman, alright?” He said and I smiled at him and nodded.

  “Don't know what that has to do with anything, but sure, I'd appreciate it.” He gave me a weird look and then refocused. I got ready too, instinctively getting into a stance I used with my spear before realizing I didn't have it. Still, it was the best thing I had to a fighting style so I would just use my long arms as if they were a spear.

  “Aaaaaaand, ready friends? The fighters sure look ready! Steel Amazons stance is interesting! I wonder if any of the fight analyzers in the audience can tell what kind of fight she will put up just by that?” The announcer called out again, the tension rising. Rude Roundhouse put a mouthguard in and I did the same with the one Jim had gotten me.

  “Fighters! Begin!” He yelled out and Rude flew into action like a coiled spring let loose. He was fast for his size, his bulk not slowing him down in the least. His right leg exploded out aiming for my head immediately. I leaned back just enough for him to miss, bending like a reed in the wind. I shot my right fist towards his jaw as his missed kick took him around showing an opening, but he was ready for it. He dropped down under my hook and continued his kick as if he expected to miss, trying to sweep my feet out from under me. I jumped up and his kick passed underneath, leaving me unharmed. He shot up as quick as a snake and struck out with a heel jab with his left leg. I brought my arms up to cover my solar plexus and took the heavy kick. I was sent backwards, barely landing on my feet, and he kept the momentum he had gained. He charged forwards and sent a side kick at my left knee. I turned and took the strike on my shin bone, it hurt but I was still up and moving. I side stepped toward him and jabbed him in the nose, feeling bone crack and seeing blood spray. I kept going, bringing a right hook around against the side of his head and rattling his skull. He stumbled and almost fell as I brought my fist up under his chin in an uppercut that knocked him off his feet and down onto the sand. He lay motionless and I stood, triumphant. I waited for a few moments, something in my memory was rushing through my mind, something deadly from Lathea telling me to kill to live. I had to kill to survive before, but I didn't have to do that here, not anymore. I unclenched my fists and let out the breath I was holding.

  “The count starts now! One!” The announcer began counting. Samuel had told me the knockout rule worked this way, giving someone a chance to get back up and keep fighting.

  “Two!” I waited patiently, I had wondered if I had killed him and looked for breathing. He was alive, his chest rising and falling, but I knew he wouldn't be getting up, not with how hard I hit him.

  “Three! Four! Five!” Halfway through the count I saw him stir and move. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him put his hands underneath himself and start to get up.

  “Six!” He got to one knee and then lifted himself to his feet. He took out his mouth guard and spit some blood onto the sand, and then blew blood from his nose out as well. He looked over at me and took a deep breath before he grinned, bloody teeth showing.

  “And he's back up! The Rude Roundhouse has recovered and is ready to keep going! Look at the grin, he seems to be having some fun doesn't he, friends?” The invisible crowd erupted into a roar of cheers again and Rude put his guard back in before bringing his fists up.

  “You’re as hard as steel, no wonder you're the Steel Amazon.” He yelled over to me, barely audible enough for me to hear. I could feel he had more respect for me now, than before.

  “You are strong too, but I don't really know what a roundhouse is.” I said and he barked out a laugh.

  “It's a type of kick! I've shown it to you a couple times now.” He spit out blood again and the announcer spoke one more.

  “Well, let's get the fighting going once again! Ready? Fight!” This time I sprung forward first, but he was ready for me. I expected a strike from his legs but he used a right hook instead, catching me off guard. He hit me in the ribs hard, but I had felt worse before, his punches were definitely lighter than his kicks. I countered by grabbing his arm and attempting to bring him closer into my crushing grip. He tried to move away but I was stronger than he ever would have expected and held him like a vice. He brought one of his knees up to strike me in the stomach but I let go of his arm at the last second and managed not to get hit. He recovered quickly and did some kind of spinning kick, bringing his foot down towards my right knee. I couldn’t move fast enough this time and he landed the strike. Pain shot through my knee and up and down my leg, but I didn't let it slow me down much as I brought my own leg around and struck him in the side. He flew to the ground and rolled in the sand, and then shot up quickly, his right arm hanging limply to his side. He gritted his teeth and charged me again, doing a series of fast and heavy kicks that I had trouble blocking. I focused on stopping the ones aimed for my head, but that left my knee vulnerable. He hit it two more times and I felt it keenly, I could still put weight on it but it was clearly damaged. I didn't just take the hits, I struck out as well. My fists collided with his stomach and face several times as he let go of defense for pure offense and he was barely on his feet. He teetered to one side and fell, gravity becoming too much to stay standing. This time the announcer went through one through ten without stopping and the fight was over.

  “And that's it! The Steel Amazon has won her debut match against the up and coming Rude Roundhouse! What an upset folks! There were definitely rooters for the underdog tonight, but Rude Roundhouse has been a fan favorite with his one kick matches! What a match!” The crowd cheered again and the ladders came back down into the pit. Several people rushed into the pit from a door in the side I hadn't noticed before and put Rude on a stretcher, carrying him back through the door. I climbed out of the pit and my friends came over to me. Samuel and Herald were grinning and starting congratulating me. I met Jim's eyes and he nodded and gave a small smile.

  “Good job in the fight.” He said and I nodded to him in thanks. The woman on the other side of the building looked up and saw me exiting but not Rude and she rushed out the door near her. As I walked towards the door we came in from all of the drones slowly moved with me, watching as we left The Arenas to head back to the outside world again. As the guard brought us back up the elevator the blue square appeared before me again.

  “Convalescence: 100%.”