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This is a a story slightly based off of Droida, as well as Real Steel. So expect similarities.
Kainis breathed again. It echoed softly in his metal helmet, but the small whirr of the filters greeted him. The air wasn't stuffy, rather, it was like that of a summer day. Or what used to be a summer day. Since the pollution of earth, the human race had fled, leaving a barren 'dirt ball', as many called it. He flexed his limbs, making sure his suits systems were functioning. He was on one of the more desert-y planets, Delsra, which was something of an outpost. He looked up, and was pleased to see his in-suit computer was functioning in top form. He ran a quick diagnostics check, and was pleased to see that all systems were normal, and the temperature was cool enough to improve performance, but not dangerous. His weapons were online, as well were his boosters. He looked ahead, and the metal door opened. The bright, natural light, in stark contrast to the weak incandescent lights of the 'dressing room', grimy with teal paint. Just like earth. Kainis took another breath, and stepped out.
He blinked and covered his eyes. He couldn't afford the fancy transitioning visors. He looked at the old sandore structure. Color of sand, but strong as iron. He looked at the many people cheering in the stands. They came here to see violence. He hoped he wouldn't have too aggressive an opponent, as he was still a rookie in this arena. He looked across the arena, and his heart sunk. All he had was a rifle, a laser blade and a flak launcher. He couldn't even afford paint, his armor still the dull, dirty silver it came as. This guy was toting at least one bazooka and an over-the-shoulder chaingun. He had a large shield as well, pitch-black armor with red scratches across the chest. Kainis was screwed.
Too soon did the voice sentencing him to his death boom over the speakers. "You wanted a match, well you got one! We've got the rookie, Kainis in one corner, and the champion, the Ripper, in the other. We've been seeing lots of bets on the champion... so donations to Kainis's funeral are welcome! Let it begin!" Kainis was uneasy, taking a battle position. The 'Ripper' rushed at him, obviously having auxiallary booster attached to his already beast of a suit. Kainis shot to the side as he whizzed past, his blade vibrating. He growled, then rushed at him again. Kainis jumped over him, flipping and letting loose a few bullets from his rifle, hitting the power cell on his back perfectly. At least he was accurate.
A whoop went through the crowd, and the Ripper turned, his mask almost reflecting the anger he must be feeling. He dropped his bazooka and rushed Kainis, throwing him into the air and rushing up to greet him. He was grabbed again and thrown into the electro-field sphere around the arena. He felt a painful shock, and his computer display fizzled and threatened to black out. Then he felt himself falling, slamming into the ground and generating a cloud of dust. The crowd went silent. His computer display fizzled, displaying warnings about lost connections. Suddenly, they were restored. He turned to look up and saw the Ripper above him, his blade poised above his neck. Kainis rolled to the side, and activated his own. The blade was stuck in the ground, and Kainis whirled around, bringing it down across the ripper's elbow. There was a scream through his speaker as he stumbled back, the melted-off stub glowing and sparking.
Kainis dropped his rifle, realizing his chance, and grabbed the left-over blade, shaking off the limp forearm. It was heavier, but his right arm was his good arm. Still in shock from pain, the Ripper couldn't react as Kainis ran at him, slicing his way through, leaving several glowing streaks in his armor. He had covered pretty much everything, so he decided he might as well do a showy finish for the now screaming crowd.
He stabbed the Ripper with one blade, vaulting him over his shoulder and throwing him onto the ground. He twirled both blades in his hands, and then thrusted them downwards into his chest. There was a quick exhale and all the lights on his body went dark, and he went limp. Kainis realized he had also impaled his power core. He took out his own, and raised it above his head. The crowd sounded like they were dying now, the screams deafening him. He saw three workers come out, and hoist his body, taking it out along with his severed forearm. He noticed they had left the bazooka, then remembered. You kept your opponent's weapon as a trophy. He almost laughed to himself. He had finally won a match in the arena, and it had been against the champion. He sighed, and walked out to the 'dressing room', carrying both weapons.
He took off his helmet, breathing slowly. He heard the door open and close, and turned to see his 'manager' in, counting his money. He was by no means a healthy man, with a potbelly that he didn't seem to notice. He was wearing a tight, purple silk shirt with only about half the buttons done up, exposing more hair then there was on his obviously fake pompadour 'hair'. He wore a white suit and pants over top of that, with shiny purple shoes. He spoke in a gritty voice. "There ya go Kainis. 50% even. You really beat the odds. It's my best battle in years!"
He walked out then, and Kainis turned to look at the money. He wondered why he had signed up with that guy. He didn't even know his name, just that he managed them and bought them a ticket into the arena. He wasn't the best person, keeping half the profits even when someone had barely lived. He had to steady himself when he counted his money to $20000, which meant he had made $40000 off that one fight. That was a record! It must've been 60-to-1 odds or something! He couldn't stop smiling, and he was almost laughing. That'd pay his rent for a year, plus it'd net him a much needed upgrade for his suit. He couldn't stop smiling, even when he thought about his parents.
See guys? I knew I'd make it! Even if you weren't there for me, I got off alright!
He sank onto the bench and gazed at it for a few minutes before getting his suit off and pushing the money into his wallet. He knew what his first order of business would be. He opened the door to the contestant's only parking lot, and hauled the semi-neat large suitcase that carried his suit into his beat up car, and threw in the weapons too. He got into the car and fired up the engine, feeling the familiar hum of the hovering 'wheels' underneath the thin, worn-away floor. He set out, combating the post-match traffic as he made his way to his apartment.
The ending certainly didn't lend itself to a cliffhanger, so i just ended it. Hope it's alright.
OK, if you read this, leave some sort of feedback in a reply please.
---------- Post added 04-17-2012 at 08:20 PM ---------- Previous post was 04-16-2012 at 08:23 PM ----------
OK, I'm putting it at the top this time. Please respond with feedback to the story in this topic, as that's why I write these things.
Kainis sighed as he waited for the traffic to move yet again. The arena, as big as it was, was located on the outskirts of town, only about a quarter of a mile away from a morgue. Kainis only now realized that was no coincidence. Kainis took the chance to brush some of his brown hair out of his eyes. He thankfully turned onto the air-way, a levitating high way, and managed to get a good speed going. He was in the poorer part of town, but everyone here was pretty well off. The sun had set, and off in the distance, through the concrete buildings, he could see the towering, shimmering glass buildings of downtown, and the bright lights as well. A ship was coming in for a landing, but he lost sight of it as he entered one of the tunnels going through a building.
He slowed and pulled off to the right, sliding into a lot with four doors large enough to fit a car into and one pedestrian door. Pressing a button on his driver's console, a door opened into his 2000 square foot loft. The only one with two doors, it had concrete walls, so the furniture and posters were about all there was. He turned off the engines, his car slamming to the ground. He grimaced. At least $500 of that money would go towards parts to fix those descent boosters. He stepped out and reached into the back seat, pulling out the weapons and the suit. He walked over to the corner dedicated to mechanical stuff, and placed them on the table. He'd go over any mechanics later. He had dropped out of college in his second year, majoring to become a mechanic. Luckily, he had the skills, having been taking apart stuff since he was 10.
The other door opened, and a semi-old truck drove in, obviously belonging to his roommate Delson. The bright blonde, slightly spiky hair spoke for itself. The truck descended much more gracefully than his car, and Delson jumped out, looking tired from a day on the job. Kainis looked at him. "Long day?" Delson looked back, not looking very alive. "Yeah, our shift manager was brutal. We're working on clearing the 'ruins' of an old parts factory. Luckily, he said that any metal we find is ours." Delson, who was part of a restoration crew, jerked his thumb towards the bed of his truck. It was almost full with small pieces of scrap, but Kainis could see more than a few good parts. "I know I'm not all mechanical like you, but I thought those might be put to good use." Kainis smiled. That was like Delson. "Thanks, man. Some of that might not exactly be useful, but half looks like it could pay for some repairs."
Delson smiled. "Well, that's good. Any money saved is our next meal." Kainis considered briefly. He and Delson had been friends for years, since grade school, and it wouldn't seem fair to keep his profits to themselves. Delson opened their fridge, took out a Dr Pepper, which was one of the few things still from earth, and sat on the couch. Kainis, also tired, sat on the other end. He fished the cash out of his pocket, and handed Delson $2000. "Here man. Think of it as thanks for those parts."
Delson, upon seeing the money, spit out his Dr Pepper. "$2000? Where'd you get that kind of money?"
"Won it in the arena."
"Nah man, I can't take your profits. Especially with your greedy manager. Keep it."
"No, you keep it. I still have $18000 left." Upon hearing this, Delson once again spit out his Dr Pepper. "$18000? What'd you do, rob a bank on the way home?"
"No. I beat crazy odds."
"Well, who did they put you in with?" Kainis rubbed his eyes. He was more tired than he realized. He paused for a second to stifle a yawn, then turned to Delson. "The Ripper. Why do you ask?" Yet again, Delson spit out his Dr Pepper. Before responding, he turned to Kainis in mock anger. "Dude, if you're going to keep coming up with this, gimme a warning so I don't waste this stuff! Now... The Ripper? In the monthly case that I treat myself to a few arena matches, he's usually the main attraction. They usually throw in the useless ones with him... but you won? Dude, that's amazing!" Kainis smiled. "I know man. Got enough money to fix my car, pay our rent, and get a few upgrades for my suit." He got up and scanned the fridge for food. He was starving, since he had missed lunch for his match. Finding nothing, he turned back to Delson. "I'm starving, so I'm going out to get some food. You want anything?"
"Well, I'm not one for the fast food burgers. Sure, if you're somewhere cheapish."
Kainis got back onto the mainroad. The bag of Rolthion food next to him smelled amazing. Rolthia was a watery planet, known not only for it's extremely fresh fish, but also it's herbs. It wasn't the cheapest, but he felt a little celebration was in store. He felt his iPhone 4000 vibrate in his pocket, but not wanting to plummet to his death, he let it be. He pulled back into the lot and opened the door, then pulling into his loft. He got out, toting the food, and set it on the counter next to the fridge and the small oven that sat next to their couch. Delson was watching an old episode of My Little Pony. There had been something of a cult following the show in the ten years it ran. Delson was one of the few people that still considered themselves a 'Brony' but Kainis was impartial. He fished out the two plastic containers, fished out his own Dr Pepper and sat on the couch. "It's Rolthian. You good with that?"
"Heck yeah! That''s like, my favorite man." He got up and got his own. Kainis knew it was his favorite, but he went along with it. The fish, still hot from the grill, and the small salad it was served with tasted great. After he'd finished, feeling satisfied, he put his container with it's fork into the recycling chute that every apartment had. That was a good thing about this apartment.
He rubbed his eyes again and looked at his iPhone 4000. It was already 9:15, but he saw the notification. It was a message from the Arena's executive office.He had risen in the ranks. Basically, each branch of arena; Planetside, meaning on each planet, Systemside, and Galaxyside, all had six tiers. Competitors started in the Planetside F Tier. By winning matches, they rose from position 6 to position 1, then moved to the next tier. Upon reaching the first position of the Planetside A tier(A-1), they moved to the Systemside tier, which took place between an entire system, and so on. The notification told him he had risen from F-6 to F-4. Two positions in one battle wasn't common, but Ripper had been at... D-6? He was quite the fighter.
He yawned again, and turned to Delson. "I'm turning in for the night. Don't make too much noise." He opened the door to one of two bedrooms, then changed into sleeping clothes. He gratefully crawled into bed, and was out like a light.
Again, this did not lend itself to a cliffhanger ending.
Kainis breathed again. It echoed softly in his metal helmet, but the small whirr of the filters greeted him. The air wasn't stuffy, rather, it was like that of a summer day. Or what used to be a summer day. Since the pollution of earth, the human race had fled, leaving a barren 'dirt ball', as many called it. He flexed his limbs, making sure his suits systems were functioning. He was on one of the more desert-y planets, Delsra, which was something of an outpost. He looked up, and was pleased to see his in-suit computer was functioning in top form. He ran a quick diagnostics check, and was pleased to see that all systems were normal, and the temperature was cool enough to improve performance, but not dangerous. His weapons were online, as well were his boosters. He looked ahead, and the metal door opened. The bright, natural light, in stark contrast to the weak incandescent lights of the 'dressing room', grimy with teal paint. Just like earth. Kainis took another breath, and stepped out.
He blinked and covered his eyes. He couldn't afford the fancy transitioning visors. He looked at the old sandore structure. Color of sand, but strong as iron. He looked at the many people cheering in the stands. They came here to see violence. He hoped he wouldn't have too aggressive an opponent, as he was still a rookie in this arena. He looked across the arena, and his heart sunk. All he had was a rifle, a laser blade and a flak launcher. He couldn't even afford paint, his armor still the dull, dirty silver it came as. This guy was toting at least one bazooka and an over-the-shoulder chaingun. He had a large shield as well, pitch-black armor with red scratches across the chest. Kainis was screwed.
Too soon did the voice sentencing him to his death boom over the speakers. "You wanted a match, well you got one! We've got the rookie, Kainis in one corner, and the champion, the Ripper, in the other. We've been seeing lots of bets on the champion... so donations to Kainis's funeral are welcome! Let it begin!" Kainis was uneasy, taking a battle position. The 'Ripper' rushed at him, obviously having auxiallary booster attached to his already beast of a suit. Kainis shot to the side as he whizzed past, his blade vibrating. He growled, then rushed at him again. Kainis jumped over him, flipping and letting loose a few bullets from his rifle, hitting the power cell on his back perfectly. At least he was accurate.
A whoop went through the crowd, and the Ripper turned, his mask almost reflecting the anger he must be feeling. He dropped his bazooka and rushed Kainis, throwing him into the air and rushing up to greet him. He was grabbed again and thrown into the electro-field sphere around the arena. He felt a painful shock, and his computer display fizzled and threatened to black out. Then he felt himself falling, slamming into the ground and generating a cloud of dust. The crowd went silent. His computer display fizzled, displaying warnings about lost connections. Suddenly, they were restored. He turned to look up and saw the Ripper above him, his blade poised above his neck. Kainis rolled to the side, and activated his own. The blade was stuck in the ground, and Kainis whirled around, bringing it down across the ripper's elbow. There was a scream through his speaker as he stumbled back, the melted-off stub glowing and sparking.
Kainis dropped his rifle, realizing his chance, and grabbed the left-over blade, shaking off the limp forearm. It was heavier, but his right arm was his good arm. Still in shock from pain, the Ripper couldn't react as Kainis ran at him, slicing his way through, leaving several glowing streaks in his armor. He had covered pretty much everything, so he decided he might as well do a showy finish for the now screaming crowd.
He stabbed the Ripper with one blade, vaulting him over his shoulder and throwing him onto the ground. He twirled both blades in his hands, and then thrusted them downwards into his chest. There was a quick exhale and all the lights on his body went dark, and he went limp. Kainis realized he had also impaled his power core. He took out his own, and raised it above his head. The crowd sounded like they were dying now, the screams deafening him. He saw three workers come out, and hoist his body, taking it out along with his severed forearm. He noticed they had left the bazooka, then remembered. You kept your opponent's weapon as a trophy. He almost laughed to himself. He had finally won a match in the arena, and it had been against the champion. He sighed, and walked out to the 'dressing room', carrying both weapons.
He took off his helmet, breathing slowly. He heard the door open and close, and turned to see his 'manager' in, counting his money. He was by no means a healthy man, with a potbelly that he didn't seem to notice. He was wearing a tight, purple silk shirt with only about half the buttons done up, exposing more hair then there was on his obviously fake pompadour 'hair'. He wore a white suit and pants over top of that, with shiny purple shoes. He spoke in a gritty voice. "There ya go Kainis. 50% even. You really beat the odds. It's my best battle in years!"
He walked out then, and Kainis turned to look at the money. He wondered why he had signed up with that guy. He didn't even know his name, just that he managed them and bought them a ticket into the arena. He wasn't the best person, keeping half the profits even when someone had barely lived. He had to steady himself when he counted his money to $20000, which meant he had made $40000 off that one fight. That was a record! It must've been 60-to-1 odds or something! He couldn't stop smiling, and he was almost laughing. That'd pay his rent for a year, plus it'd net him a much needed upgrade for his suit. He couldn't stop smiling, even when he thought about his parents.
See guys? I knew I'd make it! Even if you weren't there for me, I got off alright!
He sank onto the bench and gazed at it for a few minutes before getting his suit off and pushing the money into his wallet. He knew what his first order of business would be. He opened the door to the contestant's only parking lot, and hauled the semi-neat large suitcase that carried his suit into his beat up car, and threw in the weapons too. He got into the car and fired up the engine, feeling the familiar hum of the hovering 'wheels' underneath the thin, worn-away floor. He set out, combating the post-match traffic as he made his way to his apartment.
The ending certainly didn't lend itself to a cliffhanger, so i just ended it. Hope it's alright.
OK, if you read this, leave some sort of feedback in a reply please.
---------- Post added 04-17-2012 at 08:20 PM ---------- Previous post was 04-16-2012 at 08:23 PM ----------
OK, I'm putting it at the top this time. Please respond with feedback to the story in this topic, as that's why I write these things.
Kainis sighed as he waited for the traffic to move yet again. The arena, as big as it was, was located on the outskirts of town, only about a quarter of a mile away from a morgue. Kainis only now realized that was no coincidence. Kainis took the chance to brush some of his brown hair out of his eyes. He thankfully turned onto the air-way, a levitating high way, and managed to get a good speed going. He was in the poorer part of town, but everyone here was pretty well off. The sun had set, and off in the distance, through the concrete buildings, he could see the towering, shimmering glass buildings of downtown, and the bright lights as well. A ship was coming in for a landing, but he lost sight of it as he entered one of the tunnels going through a building.
He slowed and pulled off to the right, sliding into a lot with four doors large enough to fit a car into and one pedestrian door. Pressing a button on his driver's console, a door opened into his 2000 square foot loft. The only one with two doors, it had concrete walls, so the furniture and posters were about all there was. He turned off the engines, his car slamming to the ground. He grimaced. At least $500 of that money would go towards parts to fix those descent boosters. He stepped out and reached into the back seat, pulling out the weapons and the suit. He walked over to the corner dedicated to mechanical stuff, and placed them on the table. He'd go over any mechanics later. He had dropped out of college in his second year, majoring to become a mechanic. Luckily, he had the skills, having been taking apart stuff since he was 10.
The other door opened, and a semi-old truck drove in, obviously belonging to his roommate Delson. The bright blonde, slightly spiky hair spoke for itself. The truck descended much more gracefully than his car, and Delson jumped out, looking tired from a day on the job. Kainis looked at him. "Long day?" Delson looked back, not looking very alive. "Yeah, our shift manager was brutal. We're working on clearing the 'ruins' of an old parts factory. Luckily, he said that any metal we find is ours." Delson, who was part of a restoration crew, jerked his thumb towards the bed of his truck. It was almost full with small pieces of scrap, but Kainis could see more than a few good parts. "I know I'm not all mechanical like you, but I thought those might be put to good use." Kainis smiled. That was like Delson. "Thanks, man. Some of that might not exactly be useful, but half looks like it could pay for some repairs."
Delson smiled. "Well, that's good. Any money saved is our next meal." Kainis considered briefly. He and Delson had been friends for years, since grade school, and it wouldn't seem fair to keep his profits to themselves. Delson opened their fridge, took out a Dr Pepper, which was one of the few things still from earth, and sat on the couch. Kainis, also tired, sat on the other end. He fished the cash out of his pocket, and handed Delson $2000. "Here man. Think of it as thanks for those parts."
Delson, upon seeing the money, spit out his Dr Pepper. "$2000? Where'd you get that kind of money?"
"Won it in the arena."
"Nah man, I can't take your profits. Especially with your greedy manager. Keep it."
"No, you keep it. I still have $18000 left." Upon hearing this, Delson once again spit out his Dr Pepper. "$18000? What'd you do, rob a bank on the way home?"
"No. I beat crazy odds."
"Well, who did they put you in with?" Kainis rubbed his eyes. He was more tired than he realized. He paused for a second to stifle a yawn, then turned to Delson. "The Ripper. Why do you ask?" Yet again, Delson spit out his Dr Pepper. Before responding, he turned to Kainis in mock anger. "Dude, if you're going to keep coming up with this, gimme a warning so I don't waste this stuff! Now... The Ripper? In the monthly case that I treat myself to a few arena matches, he's usually the main attraction. They usually throw in the useless ones with him... but you won? Dude, that's amazing!" Kainis smiled. "I know man. Got enough money to fix my car, pay our rent, and get a few upgrades for my suit." He got up and scanned the fridge for food. He was starving, since he had missed lunch for his match. Finding nothing, he turned back to Delson. "I'm starving, so I'm going out to get some food. You want anything?"
"Well, I'm not one for the fast food burgers. Sure, if you're somewhere cheapish."
Kainis got back onto the mainroad. The bag of Rolthion food next to him smelled amazing. Rolthia was a watery planet, known not only for it's extremely fresh fish, but also it's herbs. It wasn't the cheapest, but he felt a little celebration was in store. He felt his iPhone 4000 vibrate in his pocket, but not wanting to plummet to his death, he let it be. He pulled back into the lot and opened the door, then pulling into his loft. He got out, toting the food, and set it on the counter next to the fridge and the small oven that sat next to their couch. Delson was watching an old episode of My Little Pony. There had been something of a cult following the show in the ten years it ran. Delson was one of the few people that still considered themselves a 'Brony' but Kainis was impartial. He fished out the two plastic containers, fished out his own Dr Pepper and sat on the couch. "It's Rolthian. You good with that?"
"Heck yeah! That''s like, my favorite man." He got up and got his own. Kainis knew it was his favorite, but he went along with it. The fish, still hot from the grill, and the small salad it was served with tasted great. After he'd finished, feeling satisfied, he put his container with it's fork into the recycling chute that every apartment had. That was a good thing about this apartment.
He rubbed his eyes again and looked at his iPhone 4000. It was already 9:15, but he saw the notification. It was a message from the Arena's executive office.He had risen in the ranks. Basically, each branch of arena; Planetside, meaning on each planet, Systemside, and Galaxyside, all had six tiers. Competitors started in the Planetside F Tier. By winning matches, they rose from position 6 to position 1, then moved to the next tier. Upon reaching the first position of the Planetside A tier(A-1), they moved to the Systemside tier, which took place between an entire system, and so on. The notification told him he had risen from F-6 to F-4. Two positions in one battle wasn't common, but Ripper had been at... D-6? He was quite the fighter.
He yawned again, and turned to Delson. "I'm turning in for the night. Don't make too much noise." He opened the door to one of two bedrooms, then changed into sleeping clothes. He gratefully crawled into bed, and was out like a light.
Again, this did not lend itself to a cliffhanger ending.
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