Little Nightmares : Maw Arena AU

Eyes that cry bloody tears

*looks up, eyes squinted.* God, that is such an edgy title. Who could've wrote that? 

apologies for the wait, I've just been incredibly unmotivated to write this book lately + been getting sick multiple times in a row- my health has been flip-flopping and its getting annoying. not discontinuing this book tho as I know some ppl are worried about that. We're so close to the finale, (and even if we weren't it'd be a crime to do so too) so do not worry!  

BUT VERY IMPORTANT THING BEFORE WE DARE MOVE ON:

https://www.wattpad.com/1223251145-a-whisper-of-fury-ln2-remixed-fanfiction-prologue

Fanfic Creator BluePerish has made a fanfiction for Arena AU (with my permission ofc). Yes. a Fanfic of a Fanfic. And I just wanna say, if you got the time PLEASE read this book. Perhaps even reading it before reading this chapter. Because this book is so good, and despite there only being the prologue right now at the time of writing this the prologue GOES HARD. I haven't physically gasped and dropped my jaw at words on a screen, nevertheless the prologue of all chapters, until I read blue's work. 

first chapter in and already better than my book's beginning, great god. seriously, go look at it. if not now, later. (the book has a TW for cursing and gore so be careful tho) 

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Eight tugged on his chains, rather weakly as he was losing the strength to do so, however. It was hard to put a lot of strength into really anything when you were starving. This was supposedly day 3 without even a scrap of food he believes and Eight wasn't feeling too good. He wondered if he was ever going to be fed anything or if he was just left to die here.

Though if the latter was the case, why would they give him water? To draw out his death? Or was it that they were taking pity on him in his initial days?- Or did that 'Kai' person sneak in to give him something just as a one-time thing in order to motivate him to talk? Whatever it was, Eight certainly wouldn't figure out the answer at this point in time.

Tired, Eight just flopped onto the ground- Quickly regretting that as he had just fallen against the hard metal floor, proving to be a quite painful hit. The boy scrambled up, holding his chin in pain as his jaw got the bulk of the hit. Mumbling something inaudible, Eight looked over to the side; Searching for the rat that was always in the room with him.

Eight hadn't been able to properly befriend the rat like he wanted to yesterday. The rodent was just too afraid of him to interact. But he would talk to it like it could understand him. Like it was his buddy. So an improper befriend, he guesses.

Though he wishes he could legitimately tame the critter. It'd be nice to have a pet rat, he always wanted a pet. Though there was nothing to actually tame it with, there was no food to offer and even if there was food he'd eat it himself. He was starving...

...He was starving, his stomach gave him reminders he was starving every other minute with its pleading growls. Stop it, body. He knows he's starving, it's not like he can do something about it.

It's okay, he's tolerant, back in the Pale City he got used to starving. Eight knows he can survive a good while without food. And he's sure he'll either get food or escape far before he faces deadly starvation.

Eight stretched once the pain of falling against the floor faded, he took some deep breaths before going back to trying to tug on the chain. Pulling with as much strength as he could manage.

~-~-~-~-~-~

Mono rested on the wooden ledge, comfortably lying down on his side whilst listening in to the conversation going on beneath him.

Ghost had been incredibly boastful all morning, bragging that he won the race back to the vent in The Depths last night. Mono hadn't told him that he had purposely slowed down once he began overtaking him in their race just so Ghost could have the feeling of winning, and Mono would never admit it to him- He wants him to have his moment.

Mono grimaced at himself, what was going on? Even he is realizing this is very out of character for himself. Why is he acting like this?- Usually, he'd stomp over and just tell Ghost the truth- Nevermind that, he'd never let him win in the first place. Surely he didn't care about Ghost that much, he only met him like what? A day or two ago?

Was he losing his charm? Was he getting soft and weak? Was Six's influence finally spreading to him? Or, was he simply just finally moving on from her?

Mono somehow startled himself with that thought, no that wasn't right. He'd never just forget Cassandra, he loved her. As a friend, of course, he must clarify. Mono could never just up and forget her, he'd never just move on from her. She was the most influential part of his life!

She taught him to be him. She taught him the rules of the arena, she sewed the rules of the arena into his heart and brain- And mistakenly or not, herself as well. Cassandra taught him everything she knew, and Mono simply took the words to heart.

Cassandra taught him how to be strong, and to stop being strong is to just forget her.

Anger flared up in his chest and Mono got up. Leaping off the ledge. He needed to get his act together again. Ghost was in the center of the cell, bragging to Shadow Six about how Mono was left behind in the dust in his race. Mono stomped over, looming over the smaller figure of Ghost.

Ghost turned around, despite not seeing any facial features by his hyper movements he could tell he was probably smiling- Maybe even giving him a look of prideful accomplishment over winning against him.

Mono spoke, "Ghost, I let you win just so you can have the feeling of winning. But I regret doing so, it's clearly gotten into your head- It was a false win. I should've let you lose, you need to taste defeat in order to taste achievement."

Ghost stiffened, "So- so I didn't win?" He asked, his voice heartbroken.

"Ghost, you were terribly slow- no, abhorrently slow, which in case you don't know; that's worse than terrible. You need to learn to be faster, more agile. You dodged most things you could have more quickly jumped over." He said, "You're very far from decent, you need so much more training before you can even half-ly consider flexing like that."

Ghost slumped, visibly disappointed. The young boy had been so incredibly proud of the win. "Okay..." He replied, his voice just above a mumble.

There. That was better. So much better. See? He was tough, and he'll also make Ghost tough. Just like how Cassandra made him tough. He wasn't losing Cassandra, Cassandra worked hard on him. He'd never want to waste Cassandra's efforts.

Pridefulness in his steps, he returned to his ledge. Peering over the edge to watch his cellmates. Ghost seemed to be very disappointed about the reveal, but who cares. The Maw was full of disappointment. It's only natural to get a mouthful of the bitter, soul-crippling, fresh disappointment you get force-fed here in The Maw. Expose it to them early so they'll be numb to it later when it counts.

"It's okay buddy, you can't win them all." Shadow Six comforted Ghost, Mono took action on this; "Don't comfort him. Let him get over it himself, he doesn't need your comfort." He told, leaning over the edge of the ledge to clearly stare down at them.

"Well you're in a sour mood today," Shadow Six commented, rolling her eyes before she stared up at Mono properly, "-didn't get enough sleep last night?"

Mono frowned, "Of course I've gotten enough sleep, I'm just being truthful. He shouldn't be comforted, he needs to get used to disappointment. No one will be there to cheer him up forever."

"Yeah, don't worry Ghost. Mono is just grumpy today for some reason," Shadow Six assured, giving the boy a light pat on the head. That simple gesture seemed to make the boy feel better, his bubbly self returning already. "Okay!" Ghost said with a hum.

Mono let out a quiet sigh, inching away from the edge of the ledge. That kid was going to need to learn.

Six approached Shadow Six, "Heya, Shadowy." She greeted. Earning Shadow Six's attention, "Oh, hey." She replied with a smile.

"Was wondering if you'd like to go searching for Eight later? Like, tonight." Six asked, "...- If not, I'll go by myself. I really feel like Eight is out there somewhere in The Depths, he has to be. I'm positive. I mean, if not, where else could he be?"

Shadow Six hiddenly frowned from Six, if her guesses were correct The Pretender had something to do with this. And that made her spiral into her guilt again, she had to of been the reason Eight was taken! If she just didn't get nosy with Mono's personal business, all could've been well! She-

"Shadow Six?" Six said, a face of concern present. Shadow Six was snapped out of her thoughts. She blinked, "Oh, yeah! I- uh, of course I'll accompany you tonight."

"Thanks," Six said, though she still kept her visible concern. "...Are you okay?" She asked, "You froze up."

She did? "-Oh, yeah I'm fine. Sorry, I'm just... really worried about Eight." Shadow Six responded, "I should've decided to stay with him when we went out, or maybe just really convince him to come with us. I... feel guilty." She said, trying to express her guilt without actually dropping what she did.

Six softened her expression, seeming to empathize with her lie. "Don't be, no one could've expected what happened. I... really believe he was taken, Eight was so set upon staying inside his cell. I mean, yeah he could've simply changed his mind and tried to come after us but... I don't know, just... Something is telling me he didn't willingly just leave." She admitted.

Shadow Six shifted her weight, nervousness filling her chest. "Yeah..." Shadow Six responded. The guilty feeling grew, though she tried her best to fight it off in order to not look suspicious. Six looked like she was going to say something else, but was cut off by the sound of wheels squeaking down the corridor of cells.

The Janitor approached their cell, opening the door and delivering their food via tossing it in as usual. And common with these deliveries, they nearly hit one of them; narrowly avoiding slamming into One who was being energetically spoken to by Ghost, as the young child had begun to finally warm up to him. It was actually going to hit Ghost, but One swiftly pulled him out of harm's way.

Once The Janitor closed the door and left, One sighed and let go of Ghost. "Can he just not throw it at us for once?" He muttered. "-That's all I want."

Six got up and approached the bag, she gave a clean rip to it before looking through its contents. It was filled with cold unfinished meals and half-empty expired food boxes. She didn't bother saying what was inside the bag in an attempt to copy Seven's tactics, instead just grabbing something- a cold pork piece- and eating it silently.

Mono scooted to the end of the ledge, peering over the edge to stare into the bag. Trying to see what was inside from afar, but he couldn't get a very good look so he just hopped down from his ledge. Slowly going over to sit beside Six.

Being next to Six, the paranoid feeling settled into him. Trying to alleviate the rising uneasiness, he scooted to the side a bit. After that didn't work much, he scooted further. Six noticed, and she knew instantly why he was scooting away. Her mind became engulfed with mental visuals of the dreaded hunger attack, feeling so guilty that she had almost killed Mono in The Depths.

Six got up and backed away from Mono, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, and sat somewhere else to finish her food.

Mono watched her leave, wondering why she backed up. Did he...- Was she picking up on his anxiousness around her? He was confident she didn't notice, but...

Mono hoped Six wasn't upset at the fact he was nervous around her.

—

Roxanne scratched and punched at the ventilation cover, her hands beginning to turn red from the abuse. Roxanne had been going at this for about 20 minutes, attempting to pry off the vent grille with her own bare hands. It was impossible, obviously, the vent was far too secure for that to even slightly work, but it didn't stop Roxanne from trying.

Twenty-One approached from the opposite side of the cell, "Roxanne, you're gonna hurt your hands doing that." She told. Roxanne let out a frustrated sigh, "One way or another I'm getting out of here, and if I break my hands doing it so be it."

"You can't get that vent open with your hands. If you wanna waste your time, at least waste your time with something that could possibly work. Like using a can." Slinky suggested. Slinky was still lying on the ground as he was still injured from the gladiator fight with Ghost, but he had moved to rest by the side of the bars with the assistance of Twenty-one.

"Not a can, last time she used one she almost got us caught attempting to pry open the vent." Twenty-one shot the idea down promptly.

"Ow-" Roxanne said, having cut herself on the vent grille accidentally. She deeply frowned, stopping her attempts and just resting her forehead on the vent cover. "-I hate this place." She murmured.

"Doesn't everyone?" Slinky replied, "Honestly, we're probably not getting out of here."

Twenty-one frowned, "Hey, no... Guys, don't worry, we'll escape. If not soon, eventually."

"If not soon, never." Slinky huffed.

She didn't like that response, "D-Don't lose hope, guys! Never lose hope," Twenty-One said with a cheerful tone, but you could tell she felt not as happy as she was trying to be. She did believe in her own words, of course she did, but she hated seeing her friends like this. And how downcast, negative, and hopeless everyone was being almost made her feel a bit hopeless too. But don't misinterpret, she wasn't giving up nor losing all her hope! She was confident, she was sure- no, she knew she was getting out of here!

Slinky flinched, hearing footsteps approach. "Someone's coming." He said, pausing for a split second, "Food?" 

Twenty-one moved over, peering through the bars from a certain angle to see up ahead. "Yeah, food." She confirmed.

Slinky slowly sat up, pain ached in his torso- enough to make him wince- but he could manage it. Twenty-one noticed, "You can lie down and eat, don't strain your muscles. You're still recovering," She said.

"Yeah, but I'm tired of lying down and eating. I wanna sit up." Slinky replied, "It's sorta hard eating lying down."

"Hm, okay. If you have trouble moving your arms I can assist you." She said, then turned towards Roxanne. "Food's about to arrive," She informed. Roxanne looked over at them with a certain unhappy expression, "Y'know I'm right across the cell. I can hear you." She replied somewhat irritatedly.

She paused for a moment, "I'm sorry," Twenty-one just apologized.

—

The time for the first gladiator battle of the day steadily rolled around, the children being brought to their designated holding rooms for today before the battle could properly commence. As usual, the guests were bursting with enthusiasm. Excited to see engaging battles go on beneath them in the circular pit.

Mono was one of the last kids to get into their holding room, thus having been dropped into an already bustling holding room. He noticed he wasn't set in the same holding room as his friends, so he was alone here. This didn't bother Mono much, however. Maybe he did need to be left separated for a moment after what happened earlier.- No, he shouldn't say that. It was warranted. 

Thoughts coming and going through Mono's head, he moved through the unfamiliar crowd of kids and towards the barred window of the holding room. The boy peered through the bars, taking a look at the arena.

The gladiator had changed its format for the morning battle. Instead of being the usual sand, it had been swapped out in favor of their nifty water arena set-up. For reminders; Sand in the middle, deep water on the left side, and calf-high shallow water on the right side.

This, this terrified Mono. Not because he was scared for himself, but because he was scared for Ghost. Ghost was not ready for this, he was not in any shape or form prepared for this. Mono grew anxious, unsure what to do about the situation at hand. Could he do anything? 

The boy took a few steps away from the window and turned away, deciding to see if by any sort of chance Ghost was in the holding room too and he had just missed him. If that turned out to be the case, he hoped he could mentally prepare the boy to fight in the water. 

He looked everywhere for the small boy, mentally praying that he was here with him. Though, having searched every corner of the holding room, he was forced to come to the undesirable conclusion that Ghost wasn't in the same room as him. Possibly opposite.

The thought that he just wasn't brought to the holding room yet had crossed him briefly, but that idea was immediately shot down by the remembrance of seeing Ghost also be picked out of their cell by The Maw's staff alongside him.

Mono clenched his teeth, going back over and anxiously pacing by the barred window. He just hoped Ghost wasn't freaking out and panicking and just remembered what he was taught.

~

Ghost hadn't realized what was going on in the arena, just gleefully chatting with Shadow Six towards the back of the holding cage. They were both sitting down next to each other. Shadow Six didn't realize the arena changed either.

"Okay, so uh, when I was like, free. I had a nice pet rat and his name was Timmy." Ghost explained, making random gestures with his arm. This wasn't the start of the conversation, as the boy had been going on longer. Shadow Six nodded with an 'mhm!' as he spoke, showing interest in what he had to say; "And,- and I trained him to get food for me. He was really smart."

"That's really nice," Shadow Six grinned, "I never had any pets before, so I find it really cool you were able to tame a rat."

"Yeah, I was sleeping with my pet rat in a location I had thought was safe when the mean Maw staff found me and got me." Ghost said, seeming a bit sad. "I miss them, I hope they're okay. They're a really smart rat, they should be ok."

"Aw," Shadow Six said, a small frown on her face. Feeling bad for the boy, "-I'd hope so, too."

Six suddenly came towards them, seeming urgent. Being still wary, Ghost somewhat hid behind Shadow Six's back. That small expression of fear sent a feeling of disrelish towards herself, but it didn't deter her from asking what needed to be asked; "Ghost, how are your swimming lessons going?" She asked quickly. The urgency didn't seem to rub off on Ghost, but it did confuse him. "Uh," He gave a short pause, having to think, "-I can swim in place for 20 seconds!" He said proudly. A wide grin underneath his white blanket. "I can't swim forward or backward yet, though." 

Six seemed concerned, "Oh boy," she murmured. Shadow Six looked between the two, a bit confused. She got up, Ghost letting out a small "eep" as he was not expecting his cover to move upwards. To follow suit, Ghost stood up too. "What's wrong?" Shadow Six asked.

"The arena- it's a water level and I don't know if Ghost is actually ready for this, he's only just begun swimming lessons. I-" Ghost stopped listening, his heart picking up speed as he peered past Six and in the direction where the barred windows would be. The boy got up and sprinted towards the window, unstopped by Six and her sister.

Ghost maneuvered through the crowd and got to the barred window, grabbing one of the bars of the window and peering through it. Seeing the arena in its altered glory; a sense of dread settled in his chest as he saw how deep the water on the deep end went. Noises of distress escaped his lips as he began tearing up. He viewed this as his dying point, having no confidence to survive this situation. He knew he was unprepared, he knew he could barely swim.

Six approached Ghost, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Ghost-"

Ghost slipped out of her grasp, stumbling back. Six clenched her teeth in sheepish realization, "Oh, right, sorry. Uh, Shadow Six." She called for her sister, the half-shadow kid emerging from the crowd of kids.

"Ghost, it's okay." Shadow Six said, "-While this situation is very... undesirable, I think if you try to stay on the shallow end of the Arena, you might be okay. I've fought in there before, you should be able to stand on the shallow side. For your height, maybe a bit uncomfortable to stand in there but you wouldn't drown in shallow water by yourself."

"By myself?" Ghost said, his voice sounding terrified. Shadow Six frowned, "-Yes, by yourself. Look, this is still the arena. Your opponent is still your enemy. They're going to try to harm you regardless of the arena change. While you're disadvantaged in this fight thanks to your lack of swimming abilities, you can still do this. I mean, look at Slinky!"

"Doesn't Slinky always lose?" Six asked, questioning her uplifting tactics.

"Well, yeah, but he's still alive so it counts for something." Shadow Six replied, only to earn an unsure look from Six. Shadow Six turned back towards Ghost, "Look, most kids' intentions are to not kill you. So you're most likely going to be okay, alright?"

Ghost had a long pause, "Alright." He said.

Fitting the timing, the taikos had begun drumming. Its familiar beats rang through the arena.

"Hello everyone!" The Lady said, standing on the balcony overlooking the gladiator. "I know our scheduling has been a bit wonky in these times, so I applaud your patience!... definitely doesn't reflect you at the dinner table-" She said the last bit in a mumble. "But I must give an announcement! Due to the restaurant event going on in a few hours, the afternoon battles will be canceled in order to give more time for the event. However, night battles will go on as usual."

"Anyways, that being said, the first fighters of this morning's matches are Dust Devil and Corruption. Two fearsome fighters... To bring back a rarity, no weapons will be dropped. It's all hands-on."

Ghost was relieved he wasn't picked to be first. Maybe he could see this battle play out and make a judgment on how to go about his round based on what he sees.

"May the battles commence." The Lady said.

After a few moments of building anticipation from The Guest's side, soon two kids were set into their selected battle-enter cages. The beats of the taiko grew stronger with each hit as the gates two both entry stations began to rise.

On the left side, the crowd cheered "Corruption" as Ten entered the arena rather pridefully. She was feeling confident entering this fight.

On the other side out came One. The crowd chanted "Dust Devil" in celebration of his arrival. Although not showing the same confidence as Corruption, he was by no means afraid; his eyes swiftly scanned the surroundings to calculate the best course of action to proceed with this battle.

Once the two kids distanced themselves far enough away from their battle enter cages, the gates swiftly dropped. Specks of sand were sent airborne and flew across the arena due to the impact force; some landing on One's traveling raincoat.

Since there were no weapons this time around, each other's plans were exactly the same; since neither intended to kill, they would try to tire each other out enough for it to pass as a victory.

A few seconds after the gates dropped, One had leaped to make the first move. Swiftly sprinting across the arena with sand being kicked up underneath his hurried footsteps. Reacting quickly, as One neared Ten, Ten performed a brisk dodge to One's right side. Her feet nimbly twisted as she skidded to the side, pushing herself to lunge forward at One's side afterward and attempted to pin him down.

Unfortunately, Ten landed against One awkwardly. And instead of gaining a solid grip on One that took him to the ground, they both ended up tumbling to the sandy floor next to each other together. The two regained their footing just as fast as each other and both ended up scurrying away from one another in order to distance themselves and regain composure.

One ended up running towards Ten's now closed-off entry cage, while Ten got onto the shallow side of the arena.

Not too long after One distanced himself did he swiftly circle back to attack her, rushing straight towards Ten. Though once he reached the shoreline of the water he ended up coming to a sudden halt, realizing that whatever maneuver he was about to pull he didn't have enough energy for; foolishly not taking a stop to breathe before swiftly circling back. He had somehow misjudged how much stamina he had.

One regained his breath and energy, staying near the water and keeping his eyes locked on Ten. Watching every inch of movement she had closely. Ten would do the same. The sight was akin to watching two cats staring each other down; hostility in their eyes yet neither would make a move- waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

One sprinted into the shallow water, trudging through the liquid towards Ten. Ten, instead of running, decided to brace it and also rush towards One. They both lunged at each other, their arms wildly flailing around in an attempt to grab ahold of each other. Water violently splashed everywhere; the two kids were halfway drenched before either of them even hit the ground.

Putting all his leg strength into his efforts, he managed to overwhelm Ten with his weight enough to make her stagger and fall; the girl fell on her backside into the water which allowed One to go for a successful pin.

Face under-water, Ten struggled frantically although couldn't get free. One held her down and stared. Waiting. Once her movements slowed, that's when One let go and ran off to the side; creating distance.

Ten scrambled onto her feet and rose to the surface, taking in gulps of air and heavily panting. Her eyes trailed over to where One ran off to as she recollected herself. One was distancedly pacing around her- she would say circling around her, but he wouldn't do a full circle.

Having fully regained her breath, Ten moved out of the water and headed to the sand. One followed her movement from a distance cautiously. 

The girl stopped, standing in the middle of the arena staring at them. One began slowly approaching her as Ten stood prepared. Once only separated by about four feet, One lunged towards Ten; only for Ten to dodge to the side. Landing right in front of the deep end of the arena.

However, One was expecting a dodge so to counter One swiftly did a planned quick turn. Rotating himself back towards Ten and performing a second charge. This one landed.

Due to their proximity to the deep end of the arena, they ended up both tumbling into the waters in One's charge. Air bubbles escaped their mouth as their momentum slowed in the water, needing a few seconds to take in what just happened before they took action; both of the children swimming to the surface to breathe.

Her wet hair sticking to her forehead, Ten once more took in gulps of air. One reemerged near her, breathing heavily. Getting an idea, Ten took a deep breath and submerged herself underwater. One, noticing, got anxious as to what was about to happen. He attempted to swim back to shore, but noticing a familiar blurry figure underneath the water, he stopped his efforts and just took a deep breath in preparation.

Like some kind of a sea monster, Ten wrapped her arms around One's torso and put all her effort into swimming backwards; Trying to pull One under. The move was successful, despite One's flailing struggles he was effortlessly pulled underwater. Ten didn't swim anymore, just held tightly onto One. Allowing them to just slowly sink toward the bottom, One helpless to do anything.

One awkwardly bent his arms in an attempt to hit Ten. Though thanks to already being in an awkward position, and that underwater your movements are naturally slowed, it didn't help him much. The most he could try was kick Ten's legs, which seemed to not be doing much good either.

Ten was trying to drown One, yes. But not to death, if it the situation went extreme she would try to save him; but her idea was to try to tire One out of battling from lack of oxygen to secure her victory. All she had to do was just hope her own lungs lasted; she was starting to gain an urge to breathe right about now but she could survive a bit longer under. Hopefully longer than One.

Air escaped One's mouth as he struggled, the surface growing more distance as the seconds passed. One was still as a frantic as ever, going back to trying to hit Ten even if he knew it wasn't working. And not very good for his case, his heart rating was speeding up. He was panicking. For those who don't know, the more you're stressed underwater the more you need to breathe. And One was needing to breathe right about now.

Ten decided to give it a few more seconds before she let go, letting One frantically swim back to the surface. Ten swam back up as well.

One returned to the surface with incredibly heavy pants, tiredly swimming back to the shore. He coughed and hacked once on the sandy ground, tired but not giving up yet. Ten returned to the land soon after One. Without taking a moment to have a quick break as she was confident in her energy levels, she rushed towards One and rammed herself into him with all her might. Her sudden blow left him winded as she clashed against his chest.

Ten landed roughly after charging One, flipping upside down and landing back into the deep water. The girl scrambled back onto the shore as fast as she landed in there and looked to where One was;

One had barely moved from where he previously was, but One was down. Tiredly lying on the ground, completely worn out from the fight.

The Lady allowed a minute or two to go by before she claimed the winner to make sure it was actually over, "Well, it seems like Dust Devil no longer has the energy to keep up the fight. Although no bloodshed, this one had a fair slice of action in my opinion." She said, "Corruption is the winner!"

Ten stared up at the Guests cheering her gladiator name, tossing down flowers of different kinds in celebration of her victory. As victors usually do. Ten, as she waited to eventually be tranquilized by The Maw's staff, decided to go and look at the flowers.

~

Ghost watched as Ten was tranquilized and taken away along with One. He couldn't help but be scared and anxious watching how fast-paced and quick the battle was. Nevermind his inability to swim- he couldn't even fight that fast!

Shadow Six patted Ghost's head gently, "Hey, don't worry." She said, "You'll do great. Plus you gotta remember that most of everyone's intention is not to kill you. Just get you out of shape to keep on fighting."

Six approached, "Hey, Ghost, I know you're... Afraid of me, but please listen. This'll help you." She told. Ghost seemed a bit wary, slowly side-stepping to cower behind Shadow Six. Six frowned, letting out a small sigh before she began speaking;

Before Six could get her words out, Ghost ended up suddenly stepping out from behind Shadow Six and faced Six. This admittedly took Six a bit off guard but clearly made her happy. She spoke with a smile; "Ghost, I got a little trick. If you wanna exit a battle sooner than you're allowed; fake being unable to fight. Get a few wounds, or pretend to get too tired when really you're not and just drop. They won't be able to tell if you're acting good enough." She said quietly, "Don't abuse it, use it sparingly. Otherwise, they might pick up on your tricks."

Ghost only stared for a few minutes before giving quick nods. "Ok!" He said. 

Suddenly, the door to the holding room flung open. With a snare tightly grasped in their hand, The Hanging Man entered. Children were sent skittishly scurrying to the sides of the room to avoid the staff's pathway, not wanting to willingly partake next in the battle.

Yet there seemed to be no random pick, as The Hanging Man had his eyes set on one specific kid; Ghost.

The moment the snare immobilized Ghost's arms entirely was when he began wildly panicking. Tears pricked his eyes and his heart beat wildly as he struggled, small wails escaping his lips in his frantic efforts.

"Just remember my advice! I'll be rooting for you!" Six quickly called out to Ghost as he was whisked away. Once Ghost was pulled out of the room, the door swiftly slammed shut. Blocking off Six's view of the situation. Instinctively, she turned and headed to the barred window.

~

"Today our newest fighter, Wisteria Spirit, will go up against Qiqirn! One of the older champions of this arena."

In his battle enter cage, Ghost was shaking with fear. Tears welled and rolled down his cheek as he cowered in the corner of his cage. His increasing fear was shared with Mono, who although was not breaking down or crying like the younger child, was anxiously watching this battle.

The gates to the opposite battle enter cage lifted, and emerging from the shadows was Scarf. "Qiqirn, Qiqirn, Qirirn!" The guests chanted.

Ghost's gates rose as well, allowing the boy to get out. But Ghost couldn't find the will to move. His legs were just stuck in place as his heart hammered in his chest. He tried to recall Six and Shadow Six's encouraging words to try and alleviate his distress but his mind went blank. Unable to think clearly.

A mechanical humming noise sounding throughout the cage startled and made Ghost shriek, nearly falling over as he spun around too quickly. His legs were wobbling from how much he was shaking, making it hard to properly move. Ghost tried to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm his nerves, but it did little to help.

He noticed how the back wall of the entry cage was moving forward, the door-outline of the metal wall being closed off with a secondary metal wall piece hidden from view prior. Trying to forcefully push him out after noticing how he wasn't moving.

Ghost could only take a few steps back at a time, quivering as he was steadily forced out of his enclosure. After his entire space was blocked off, he stepped into the Arena. He felt his heart drop after watching the gates to his entry cage fall, a sense of dread flooding into him. Slowly, his head panned towards Scarf as the back wall retracted into normal behind the barrier.

Scarf had reached roughly the center of the arena and had just been standing there. Watching Ghost. If he were to guess, he was there for the past seconds waiting for him to come out. 

Remembering Shadow Six's words, he figured he should linger on the shallow part of the Arena. His movements were cautious, and he stepped into the water slowly. He gave a slight flinch once his skin hit the water, the ends of his blanket soaking up the water and floating near his legs which offered some movement difficulties for him. Though he refused to dare take his precious blanket off.

Scarf watched Ghost and soon went into the shallow water with him, his red scarf trailing behind him. Floating atop the water once he entered. He wouldn't let Ghost leave his line of sight, moving with precision. Scarf's attentiveness didn't go noticed and Ghost quickly picked up on it which resulted in him panicking. Getting frantic, Ghost ended up cornering himself against the curving wall of the arena in an attempt to get away from Scarf.

Suddenly, a metallic object shot through the sky and landed in the shallow water with a plop between them. Whatever it was, it sent Scarf sprinting towards it and Ghost just stood there and stared. Watching. 

Scarf's hands plunged into the water, lifting out a dagger. Ghost had entirely forgotten that this was a weapon's round, that vital information slipping his mind during his panicked state.

Now armed, Scarf approached Ghost. The terrified boy couldn't move, tears rolling down his face as he went rigid.

Scarf's face wasn't of aggression, but concern and some confusion. He had the intent to harm of course, as he had to, but he was feeling a bit bad now. Seeing Ghost so terribly shaken, fearing for his life as he helplessly cowered did not feel good. Scarf bit his tongue, "I sorry..." He murmured before lunging at Ghost. Suddenly, Ghost at this moment by the power of pure adrenaline had regained the will to move once again, dashing off to the side and just barely dodging Scarf's attack.

Having no clue where to go, he just ran in loose zig-zags across the shallow side of the arena.

With his blanket ends trailing very slowly by his legs, it was inevitable he'd get caught on it eventually. During his sprint, Ghost's foot stepped on his blanket's dampened end. Causing him to suddenly trip and crash down into the water awkwardly. Ending up getting stuck in his blanket as he roughly hit the base. He flailed around in the water, getting trapped underwater entangled inside his own blanket.

Scarf approached, watching Ghost splash about. He, at first, waited for Ghost to free himself and resubmerge at a distance. Though as the seconds ticked on, he figured Ghost was genuinely stuck and let go of his dagger before rushing forward, grabbing and trying to take the blanket off Ghost.

Ghost panicked, realizing what was happening and seeing it as a threat and attack. Ghost found the floor and got his footing back; rising out of the water and punching Scarf in the nose. "AH-" Scarf exclaimed, stumbling back. He retreated to where he dropped the dagger and picked it back up. He then went back over to circle around Ghost, soon charging at him.

Huffing water out of his nostrils, Ghost noticed Scarf's charge and tried to dodge. It went unsuccessful as Scarf was able to swipe the elbow of Ghost's arm. Letting out a squeal of pain, Ghost stumbled. Nearly falling down again.

Scarf lunged at Ghost again. Aiming to pin him down upon impact, which went successful. Ghost, with a cut-off cry, got submerged underwater. With Scarf's weight pinned on him, he was unable to get back up.

Scarf swiftly struck Ghost's upper stomach with the tip of the dagger's blade. Pain flared up in Ghost's stomach and he screamed in anguish. Air bubbles distorting his vision. He inhaled water, the water burning his lungs as he began to choke and suffocate. Scarf eased, hopping off of Ghost and letting him rise to the surface.

He coughed and hacked as his head broke the surface, his legs wobbly as the terrible feeling of water in his lungs provided a large discomfort and chest pain. Ghost clambered over to the shoreline, dragging himself onto the sandy ground and collapsing there. Throwing up water whilst wheezing and huffing.

Scarf looked over, watching Ghost. He didn't near, holding his caution and keeping his distance.

Ghost didn't try to recover himself, allowing himself to just lie there with heavy breaths. He felt pain in his elbow, the stinging from the recent wound disallowing it to fade to the back of his mind. He winced, droplets of water dripping from his drenched hair and trickling down his forehead.

The Lady waited, allowing them a few moments to get up before she wrote them off as the loser; "It seems like Qiqirn is victorious! Give a round of applause for our little fighter!" The Lady announced, and the guests erupted in cheers. Flowers were thrown down from the overshadowing seatings of the guests and landed in the waters and atop the sand of the arena.

Scarf just stood where he was, listening into the cheers and chants of his gladiator name echoing through the Arena. He watched the flowers fall downwards, the glorified plants either lightly landing in the water creating just the smallest splash or softly landing in the sand. Scarf's eyes trailed over to the holding room bars, catching the sight of Mono staring directly at Ghost. His body was entirely rigid, horrified even. Scarf found that strange, were they friends? Maybe, but he wouldn't approach him about it later. They weren't that close.

Scarf heard the door to Ghost's enter-cage open along with seeing the gates smoothly rise. He shuffled his feet, slightly inching backward at the sight of the tall figure of The Hanging Man. Yes, he sees him pretty much every day of his life but it doesn't mean he still doesn't get a bit nervous seeing him with his large- at least in comparison to Scarf- tranquilizer gun.

~

Mono watched as Scarf and Ghost were taken away. Anxiousness slowly left his body, acknowledging the fight was over. He lightly shook his head, why was he worrying so much?

Mono took a few steps away from the barred window, moving towards the back of the holding room. He was going to go harder on Ghost's training. They needed to make him swim successfully. Especially with a prominent problem of water matches.

.

.

.

.

Hours passed and the morning battles concluded. Mono had been one of the last ones to fight, fighting against some stranger he didn't know and turning out victorious. Right now, The Janitor was taking him back to his cell. Being brought through the halls in the transportation cart whilst encaged inside a crate stacked against some other kids' imprisonments.

After a few drop-offs for other kids, soon Mono was brought to his cell. The Janitor lifted his crate out of the cart and was set into his cell. The Janitor closed the cell door and locked it behind him once Mono left the crate.

Everyone else was already in the cell when Mono arrived, including Ghost. The boy felt relief wash over him once he saw Ghost. Sure, Mono had known that Ghost was going to be fine, but to actually see them...

Ghost was in the process of annoying One when Mono came in, the boy lit up with joy once he saw Mono. "Mono!" He exclaimed excitedly, "Hi Mono!"

"Hey," Mono greeted calmly. The older boy watching as Ghost approached, "Um, that... That battle...-" Ghost trailed off, but Mono finished it for him. "Was terrible."

"Yeah." Ghost said a bit discontent, staring up at Mono. Mono spoke; "We're going to need to harshen your training, you're going to need to learn how to at least decently swim and fast."

"I'm gonna try my best!" Ghost confidently exclaimed.

Six approached Shadow Six, tapping her sister's shoulder in order to catch her attention; "Hey," She spoke in a quiet tone. "I think we should search The Depths now. The Lady said there isn't going to be an evening battle."

Shadow Six stared at her, "What about the food delivery?" She replied back in a concerned whisper.

"The Janitor always delivers the food and he's blind. He won't notice us gone," Six replied, clearly restless to go into The Depths. "We won't be gone too long, either. Might be back before they feed us too. I just want a very quick look around... Just,- just to settle my mind." She tried to convince.

Shadow Six let out a sigh, perhaps she deserved her sister this one. It is her fault Eight is gone most likely- no, not most likely. It's undeniably. "Alright, fine." She said and her Six gained a satisfied smile.

"Hey, me and Shadow Six are going out for a quick look-around to see if we can find Eight." Six said, slipping her metal piece out of her pocket. "We won't be gone long, promise."

"What about The Janitor?" One asked as Six approached the heating vent, "Nothing about the Janitor," Six replied, twisting the screws of the grille off, "He's blind, he won't notice that we're gone." She caught the vent cover and lightly set it on the ground.

"Come on Shadow Six, let's go." Six said and crawled into the vent. Shadow Six took a quick glance at her friends before following Six in.

:=: 

Shadow Six was right behind Six in the ventilation system, her sister was taking the lead in things. Knowing exactly where to go at this rate as she had searched without her or Mono's lead before "You're pretty restless, huh?" Shadow Six commented, having a nervous smile. Six looked over at her, "I'm just... worried. But I really feel like this time we can find Eight."

Shadow Six waited a bit before responding, thinking to herself. "Yeah..." She said slowly, "I think so too."

The vents fell into silence with the exception of the whirring wind traversing through the ventilation. Leaving Shadow Six in her own thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she spoke up; "Six? Can I... Tell you something?" She began, her heart hammering in her chest.

Six looked over, "Sure?"

Shadow Six froze up, opening up her mouth only for nothing to come out. Will her sister hate her if she told the truth? The guilt was terrible to bear, but would their relationship be ruined if she said anything? She nervously shuffled on her feet, regretting her decision to try to tell her what was going on; "Nevermind," She said.

Six looked at her properly, twisting around the small metal walls in order to face Shadow Six. "You know you can tell me anything, right Shadow Six?" She said, "I won't be mad, I'm your sister."

"Um," Shadow Six began, sweat working its way down her forehead. She pulled her raincoat's hoodie over her head further despite it being securely on as a nervous reaction, "I...- I just forgot what I was going to say."

Six looked at her with suspicion, "Okay," She sounded unconvinced, but she didn't push forward. "I'll trust that you'll say it when you're ready." She said then turned back around and continued on her way. "-I promise, it was nothing anyways." Shadow Six tried to convince, which didn't earn a response.

They arrived at The Depths, starting their search in a hallway. "This is new," Shadow Six said as she slowly stepped out of the vent, looking around the hallway. It was a long, dark yet wide hallway. A thin wired line was going across the ceiling of the hallway with thin-wired clothes hangers strung atop it. An odd hall, she must say. "-I don't recall me or Mono showing you this?- or even me entering this room."

"I found it when we split up to look for Eight a bit ago," Six explained, "Now which way do you think we should go?"

Shadow Six gave some thinking to this, "Left?" She suggested. Six nodded and began heading down in that direction, Shadow Six following her closely behind.

~

Kai moved through the vents at the fastest pace he could muster. Having a set destination in his mind. He was risking himself by leaving rather early in the day, yes, he cannot deny it. But he needed to do something he deems as important and he felt he was running out of time.

He slowed once he neared the snake pit, his eyes locking onto the noticeably large hole that was the one-way entry to the snake room. His steps were slow and careful as he neared the edge, one wrong move could send him into the death trap with no way to get out.

Slowly, he moved across the thin pathway overhanging the edges of the hole. The bit of floor left allowed Kai to pass through to the other side of the vent. After crossing he proceeded to keep going straight, his destination not reached.

He got to a collapsed vent section, a large portion of the vent forward had snapped off its hinges and plummeted below. Leaving a giant gap between him and the continuation of the vent across from him. Kai inched towards the edge of the vent, leaning forward to see the water below. There were empty boxes and wooden scraps floating in the dirt-tainted water. He recalled this as the place Mono fell as he'd been told, able to see the old dried bloodstain from where Mono fell and hit his head. It was a miracle the boy had even survived the fall with that head injury.

Getting his footing correct, Kai aimed and leaped down into the water. Landing with a splash before swimming to the edge of the pool of water.

~

Six and Shadow Six trudged through the damp, misty corners of The Depths. They hadn't brought a light source with them, but their natural night-vision was good enough. The hallways were silent, only the noise of subtle drips of water and their footsteps breaking the silence.

"I have a feeling we'll find something this time," Six said, breathing in the damp air as she hopped over and peaked behind an approaching corner. Shadow Six rounded the corner after she turned it, seeing nothing but a bleak metallic hall with dirt and grime building up on the sides. "...yeah," she murmured. Following Six down the hallway.

Another silence grew on them, neither of them speaking as they walked down the hallway. It only took a minute to pass through the hall, entering a room with damaged turned-over furniture and rusted appliances. But finally, there was somewhat of a source of light; suspended over them was a hanging light. Its bulb was visibly about to die, dimly flicking off and on. The dying light sent a buzzing sound through the room whenever the light returned to it, it was a bit annoying but easy to tune out once you get your mind off it.

"Eight, are you in here?" Six called out, stepping over some dampened trash on the floor. "Eight?"

Shadow Six felt the arising guilt in her worsening, she nervously fidgeted with her hands. Wondering if she should gently put an end to this. Taking a breath, she spoke; "Six, I...- I don't think Eight is here. Not anywhere we can find him for that matter actually."

Six stopped, her back turned away from her sister. "I know." That answer from Six surprised her. "You do?" Shadow Six said, a shocked tone escaping her lips.

"You think he's dead," Six turned her head, looking over her shoulder at Shadow Six. "Don't you?"

Shadow Six didn't know what to say. She didn't, she figured Eight was still alive just imprisoned somewhere. But she didn't know if she should just go with it or say what she actually thought. But she didn't have enough time to make a choice as Six went on without her; "-I... I'm losing hope. I don't want to lose hope so I'm going to keep searching regardless of what I think." Six turned around fully, "I just... I'm just so scared, Shadow Six."

Shadow Six neared her sister, putting her right hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. A very minor attempt, she knew, but she wanted to let Six speak, "I don't want to lose Eight, but I'm starting to feel like he's gone. I don't want him to be gone, I'm losing everyone. First Two, then Seven, now Eight. I-I" Six let herself fall forward, holding onto Shadow Six for support. Shadow Six embraced Six, wrapping her arms around her. They both sat down on the floor together.

Six allowed her emotions to flood over her, tears pricking her eyes and seeping down her cheeks. "It's okay," Shadow Six said softly, patting her sister's back soothingly. "I'm sad too."

"I don't wanna lose anyone else," Six said, gripping her sister's coat tightly. "What if... What if you're next, I-"

"I'm not gonna be next," Shadow Six assured, "I'm not going to die, don't worry."

"I don't want anyone to be next," Six said, sniffling and shaking. She heaved in air, trying to take a deep breath, only for it to hitch- her muscles tensing as a yearning feeling coursed through Six's body, her stomach letting out a rumble. "I don't want anyone to be next, I don't want anyone to be next." She gripped her sister tighter. Shadow Six was very concerned, trying to get out of her sister's grasp but she found herself stuck, "U-uh, Six? Are you..." She stammered. The initial shock of the situation momentarily stunned her, but she shook her head lightly. Realizing what was going on.

"Six you need to calm down, you're getting hungry. You can't get riled up now. Please, I want you to take deep breaths and breathe. Calm yourself of negative thoughts, keep ahold of yourself." Shadow Six instructed, "I want you to try to fight against whatever urges you're having. Just take a deep breath, in and out."

Six didn't follow the instructions well, just panting instead of taking deep breaths. "No, no that's not taking a deep breath. You're panting... I-... Are you even acknowledging me right now?- Can you hear me? Hello?" Shadow Six said, just now noticing the dazed look in her sister's eyes. Six was just staring off into nothingness.

Slowly, her sister's head turned towards her. Her pupils were shrunken and her mouth was open by only a slit, her tongue caressing her sharp canine teeth as Six's eyes locked onto Shadow Six. She'd hate to say it, but Shadow Six was getting afraid. Her heart thumped faster and faster in her chest as she tried to back out of her sister's tight grasp, yet Six didn't let her go.

The moment Six made a movement for Shadow Six's throat, with all her strength Shadow Six shoved Six away; the girl landing on her backside. Shadow Six got to her feet and scrambled back, her sister rising up from the push as she moved away.

"Please Six, don't let your hunger get the best of you." Shadow Six said, unsure if her sister was still in a state of mind to listen to her. She seemed too far gone, but she was trying anyways. Six began walking towards her, stuck in a hunched-over walk as the hunger pain limited her movements, "I don't want to do anything I'm going to regret." Shadow Six said.

Six suddenly lunged at Shadow Six, the quick movement unexpected. Six gripped Shadow Six's right shoulder, lifted up their sleeve, and sunk their teeth into her arm. Shadow Six let out a shriek, charging a shadow paralyze in her left hand and planting her palm onto Six's back, the energy paralyzing her sister and she flopped onto the ground. Twitching erratically and mumbling out complete gibberish.

Shadow Six gritted her teeth, looking at her bite mark. It hurt a lot and she didn't know if it was just the swelling blood and redness but it looked rather deep as well, "I'm sorry, Six." She murmured the apology, looking down at her sister.

Well, while she's unable to move she should use the time she has to fix up something for her sister to eat. She had a few minutes until the paralyze wore off, she figured she could find a rat or something for her to gulp down in that timespan. When her sister goes cannibalistic, she's not very picky with what she eats.

She slid down her sleeve and firmly held her wound from over her sleeve. Wincing at the pain from applying the pressure. She wanted to stop or at least slow her bleeding by holding her wound. Taking one last glance at her sister, she proceeded forward; leaving the room to enter some dark corridor.

Her eyes examined the corridor as she walked through, picking out the shapes in the darkness; there were boxes of altering sizes shoved against the walls of the corridor. Most doors she walked past were thick metallic doors with small rectangular windows on the upper part of the door, having wires installed on the inners of the glass panes on the window. Dim light would pass through the glass and weakly touched the floor, building an eerily atmosphere in this dark corridor.

From the corner of her eyes, Shadow Six caught black fur moving through one of the light sources by the doors. Her eyes darted over to the entity, noticing a black rat with crimson-colored eyes craning its neck to cleanse its back fur peacefully. The rodent was blissfully unaware of Shadow Six's presence.

Shadow Six slowly and quietly approached the rat, moving into a crouch as if that'd somehow make her less noticeable in this rather exposed room. At this moment she wished she shared her sister's power of invisibility. That'd make her job much easier.

Though her luck today seemed to like her, as somehow the rat didn't notice the ever-closering child until it was too late. At the last moment, the rat tried to scamper away but Shadow Six had already gotten too close; the girl snatched up the rat. Gripping it tightly as it squirmed in her grasp, squealing and biting the air in an attempt to bite at Shadow Six.

Shadow Six held the rat away from her as she walked back to the location Six was at, she felt her right arm growing weak and painful holding this squirming rat so she tried to be quick before she accidentally drops it from tiredness.

–

Misery shuffled her feet, waiting for Kai to arrive. She was standing among the junk in a discarded janitor's closet, the closet was rather small and tightly packed; chrome-wired shelving packed with old, expired detergent and spray bottles stood pressed against the walls. Sitting alongside mops and brooms resting against the stained, somewhat damaged walls of the janitor closet. She was informed they were going to meet here, not sure why specifically a janitor's closet but she digresses.

She has to note that The Depths was an interesting place. This place was clearly planned to be in use seeing how furnished a lot of rooms are. They were far into their progress of building it, but for some reason they just dropped everything. She wonders why. Maybe it flooded over during the building? A pipe burst and it ruined everything? Though only a handful of pipes in a few rooms had burst from what she had seen, everything else seems intact or at least still standing currently. So if that did happen they could've fixed it before it escalated. So perhaps the pipes bursting happened after they dropped the project of creating The Depths. But that brings her right back to square one; why did they do it in the first place?

Misery slightly jolted once she heard footsteps approaching, assuming it was Kai. Under that assumption, she was reasonably startled and confused once she heard a rat squealing coming from the other side of the door.

Her steps slow and cautious, she peered through the crack of the currently partly closed door. A sense of tension grew over her as her eyes at first didn't see the figure in the darkness, though she ended up easing once she saw it was Shadow Six... holding a mouse?- No, a rat. It was a rat. She didn't step out of the closet, only watching the girl walk off.

A feeling of curiosity washed over her. She wanted to follow, be nosy and see what she was up to. But Misery wasn't too sure, Kai could show up while she was gone and be angry at her for leaving their planned destination area. But Kai seemed to be running late, so perhaps leaving the closet wouldn't be too terrible of an idea. Just for a moment.

Coming to a conclusion in her own thoughts, she carefully left the closet room once Shadow Six moved out of view. Following where she went and making sure to keep just enough distance to be too far to be noticed but close enough to not entirely lose sight of her.

~

Shadow Six reentered the room she left Six, a moment of dread hitting her once she realized Six wasn't in the same spot she left her. Though she eased, noticing that her sister had only moved off to the shadow-covered sides of the room. She was hungrily and weakly crawling around in an attempt to find something edible in the room. "Hey, Six," Shadow Six called, grabbing her sister's attention. Six whipped her head around, her eyes locking onto the rat in Shadow Six's hands.

Shadow Six carried the rat over and tossed it over to Six, accidentally hitting her head with the rat. The rodent smacked against the ground with a frail squeak, it stood up and tried to limp off but before it could get far Six lunged forward. Shadow Six watched as she tore apart and devoured the rat. She felt uncomfortable, blocking the gruesome sight by putting her hands in front of her eyes. Dropping her arms slowly once her sister finished, "Well... It's better than you eating a person." She said out loud to herself.

Six started to return to her senses, her eyes going back to normal. Readjusting, she dizzily took in the sight of her sister. As the dizziness faded, she blinked once. Then twice. "What happened?" She said, her tongue grazing her lips. Alarm sunk into her as she tasted the blood on her lips, her eyes instinctively looking down to see the freshly killed and bitten-into rat beneath her. "I-I" She stammered, her breath quickening. "It happened again?" She said, horrified at herself.

"Don't worry, Six. There was a rat nearby, no one got hurt." Shadow Six said, "Or well, I didn't get hurt. Neither did you get yourself hurt."

Six unhappily nudged the deceased rat, a regretful feeling flooding into her as the feel of the rat's fur sent disgust into her. Not for the rat, but for herself. Tears began to swell up in her eyes, and she instinctively ran to her sister and hugged her tightly for comfort. But what she didn't expect was the sudden cry of pain her Sister let out once she wrapped her arms around her.

Six backed away, just staring at her with concern before speaking; "What's wrong? Are you okay? Did- Did I?" Shadow Six went to put her left hand on Six's shoulder. A calm, reassuring smile on her face. "No you didn't, you just hugged me too tightly. That's all," Shadow Six said.

Six smiled for a moment, then looked at her arm. Her smile disappeared, Six grabbed her left arm and took it off of her. "Shadow Six," She began sadly, "You're right-handed."

"I can use my left if I want," Shadow Six said, "My right is fine. I don't know why using my left would be your tipping point, I'm okay."

"You're sorta defensive..." Six muttered softly, extending her arm and grabbing Shadow Six's right arm softly. Gently rolling up her sleeve, and promptly let out a small shriek seeing Shadow Six's bite mark. Her palm over her mouth, Six staggered back. Horrified.

"I- Six, you didn't do that!" Shadow Six tried to insist. "Then who? Who?!" Six retorted, "Oh my god, Shadow Six. I hurt you- I, I'm... No... I-" She stammered, unable to put together words. Six felt terrible- like a monster for hurting her own sister. Shadow Six tried to approach Six, but she kept her distance from her. "No, go away." Six said, beginning to shake.

"Six, it's okay. It's not a bad bite." Shadow Six said, "I promise."

Six didn't reply. Just averted her eyes from Shadow Six, feeling too ashamed to look at her. Shadow Six wasn't quite sure how to comfort her sister, she knew she'd get like this which is why she tried to hide her bite in the first place. Shadow Six looked down at her arm, watching blood trail out of her wound and trickle down her arm. She thought she stopped the blood flow, but she supposes just holding a wound like this tightly doesn't stop it... She should've figured.

She looked back up at Six whose eyes were now locked onto her wound. "Hey," Shadow Six began, "Uhm, let's try to find bandaging before we go back to our cell. Wouldn't want the Maw Staff to punish you for biting me." 

Six gave a pause before replying, "...I deserve to be punished. I'm a monster." She said, which hurt Shadow Six. "No, you aren't!" She exclaimed, seeming to scare Six with her raised voice. "Sorry-" She lowered her voice, "But you're not a monster. You'll never be. So don't call yourself one." She paused, wincing at the pain from her arm, "But I need bandaging. And I want you to follow me and help me find some bandaging. If it's not to get you in trouble, it's so I won't be at risk of infection or blood-loss side effects. If we leave now, could be hours before Maw Staff helps me. So can you do that for me?"

Six sighed, "Okay," She said. Shadow Six smiled, "Good." She said, "Now let's go." Shadow Six turned towards the hallway they had originally entered from and began to head down it. Six followed her at a distance.

Misery watched as Six and Shadow Six left the room from her hiding spot behind a turned-over circular wooden table. All she had was one question; What the hell? What did she just witness? Six is a cannibal?! And she attacked Shadow Six? Why? But this seemed like a tender moment, like it was uncontrolled and needed comfort- Is Six secretly a compulsive cannibal?! She didn't know what to do with this new information...

...And should she tell someone about this? She doesn't know, but this seems like a strictly-kept secret. Now, she'll admit, she was assigned to look over Shadow Six by The Pretender just to keep an eye on her for The Pretender. But she can't help but feel like they're her friend, at least she thinks so. Misery isn't sure Shadow Six considers her a friend, but she likes to think so even if the feeling is more than likely unrequited. This was admittedly a product of her being lonely on this ship, but she didn't care. 

Would telling anyone this make Shadow Six angry? She... she thinks so. She'll... She'll keep it. At least for now. Until it's important to say she feels.

Peeking out of her hiding spot and seeing that the coast was clear, Misery scampered out of her hiding spot and back to the corridor. Taking a quick glance around before slowly slipping through the slightly open door of the closet. Returning back to her previous position.

~

"There has to be something around here somewhere..." Shadow Six said, foraging through piles of discarded items with her left arm. They were currently in a room with hordes of piled-up thrown-away clothing, trash, and other miscellaneous junk. "If we can't find actual bandages down here, then I guess I could go for some clothes to rip and wrap around my wound. Though it'd have to be beige and not a suspicious texture- something to fool The Maw's staff into thinking it's just normal bandaging and not anything to indicate a break-out. Got that, Six?" She said, turning to look over at her sister. Six didn't seem like she was paying attention, just absent-mindedly nudging a torn piece of damp curled cardboard whilst lost in her own thoughts.

"Six?" Shadow Six called out, a worried expression crossing her face. Six didn't respond, still just kicking the cardboard on the floor again. "Six." Shadow Six called out once more, but a bit louder this time. This snapped Six back into reality, "Huh- Oh, uh, yeah I understand." Six said.

"Do you even know what I said?" Shadow Six narrowed her eyes with suspicion, Six opened her mouth; searching for words, "... something about The Maw's Staff." She said. Shadow Six let out a sigh, "Six, please try to focus and not beat yourself up over this incident. Trust me, I don't like you any less and you're not at fault for this."

"You should like me less," Six said begrudgingly, finally going to make a real effort to search for something for her sister. Scoping out the perimeters and rummaging through nearby trash piles for something to use as bandaging. Shadow Six decided not to reply to Six's remark, "We need to find something beige with a texture that isn't suspicious. Something to fool The Maw's staff into thinking it's just a bandage and not anything to indicate something like a breakout. Got it?" She re-explained.

Six nodded silently. Shadow Six watched her rummage before she kept on searching herself.

"Found something." Six said eventually, Shadow Six turned to see her hold an old, dirty small box of what seemed to be containing a bandage wrap. "The outside is dirty, but the inside is clean... An unused wrap in there," She told, grabbing the bandage roll out of the box and holding it out. "Give...- Give me your arm." She said, sounding somewhat reluctant.

"I can do it myself," Shadow Six said, "Give it." Six didn't, "I'm not confident you can wrap yourself well with one hand, it'll be a better bandaging if you let me do it." She insisted, Shadow Six gave in and held her arm out. Six guided Shadow Six into a sitting position, setting the bandage box beside her as she went into a crouch.

Shadow Six allowed Six to do a clean, secure wrap around her arm. The box with the wrap thankfully came with small scissors and a bandage clip, which is what Six used to cut the wrap and keep it together. "Done." She said, getting up and backing away. Allowing Shadow Six to stand up.

Shadow Six looked over her wound, "You did a great job," She complimented, "You were always good at applying bandages back when we were out in the Pale City." She smiled, but Six didn't seem to give much care to her statement. "Can we go back to our cell now?" Six asked.

There was a short silence before Shadow Six replied, "Sure, Six." She said.

.

.

.

Shadow Six and Six re-entered their cell to an impressive sight; Their food had been delivered to them while they were gone, but the trash bag was entirely empty. All the contents of it were used to build lines, circles, and boxed-in stacks around the cell. Neither of the two kids had any idea what was going on upon entry.

"-Ah, yes, the nightingale sends their regards to Mr. King Ghost Dragon. Though we would love it if you accepted the offer." Mono voiced his imaginative character, doing a fancy bow towards Ghost.

Ghost giggled, "What do you think, Werewolf One? Should we kick this knight off the mountain or accept their trade?" He turned to look at One, who was stepping over a circle of dirty wrappers. "Well, King," One began, holding up a dirty wrapper they got from the trash, "Looking at the map of our kingdoms, it seems like it'll be the best for us to accept the offer of sharing our land with Sir Mono."

"What's going on?" Six asked, confusion present on her face.

"Shhh, we're roleplaying." Ghost shushed. Mono looked over, "uhh, it was Ghost's idea. He wanted to play pretend and we were bored so y'know... I,- why not?..." Mono shrugged, seeming a tad bit embarrassed over Shadow Six and Six just walking in on this.

"Ok." Six just said, going to try to entirely avoid this play session by hopping onto Mono's ledge but Shadow Six had grabbed her by the hood and pulled her back; "Sounds fun, I think me and Six could use a fun play. Right?"

Six just stared at Shadow Six. Shadow Six looked back at her with a hopeful grin, Six averted her eyes for a moment, thinking, before looking back. "Fine." Six said.

Ghost seemed happy to have new playmates, "Okay, so that wrapper circle is the werewolf land! One owns it, and uh- that square circle of bottles is the dragon cave- my cave! I'ma Ghost Dragon! And that curved line in the corner is Mono's kingdom. But now Mono's kingdom and werewolf land is partnered so they share the wrappers and the corner area!" Ghost explained, "I'm a Ghost Dragon, Mono is a king that acts as a knight, and One is king of all werewolves."

"I'm a dark wizard then who lives in Mono's kingdom." Shadow Six said, Mono looked over at her; "Um, actually dark magic is banned in my kingdom. Sooo..." He said.

"Okay, then I'm a person practicing dark magic there secretly." Shadow Six opted, Mono seemed to have something to say about that too but he mentally dismissed it and didn't say anything else. Shadow Six looked over at Six, "What are you gonna be?" She asked.

"A monster." Six said disquietingly, "A monster who eats people."

Shadow Six just stared, "Uhhh, maybe not that," She said. "What about a nice wizard like me?"

"Ok." Six just said. Mono found this odd, though this exchange went over One and Ghost's heads;

"Two wizards! Yay!" Ghost celebrated, clapping.

Mono maneuvered over the cups and lined-up trash to get over to Shadow Six's side, "Is she okay?" Mono asked, going to put up the vent cover for them as he waited for a reply. "Yeah, she just... Had a moment of sadness over Eight." Shadow Six told, "...Don't talk to her about it, though. Okay?"

Mono nodded, although he was having other suspicions. "Okay." He said, finishing up re-attaching the vent and backing away. Getting back to his proper place, he cleared his throat; "Now where was I?- Oh right, the trade. Ahem! Ghost Dragon!-"

~~

A few hours passed since the occurrence in the vents, evening trekking into nightfall. Down in one of the cells held a young girl with pig-tails restlessly pacing around their cell.

Roxanne was pacing by the front of their cell, Twenty-One watching her with worry from across the enclosure. She was sitting down against the wall in the back, resting right beside Slinky who was laying slumping against the wall.

However, despite her worry, she didn't step up to do anything. Knowing full well Roxanne wouldn't stop no matter what she tried to do. She was frustrated and antsy. Plus, she already tried to make her stop earlier, but she ended up being completely ignored by her.

Slinky on the other hand didn't share the same worry. Just agitated. The sound of her pacing footsteps became an annoyance to him.

Suddenly, having rounded another pace, Roxanne suddenly bolted towards the vent grille. Ramming her side into it as if she was some kind of bull in a desperate attempt to smash open the grille. As you'd expect, it did absolutely nothing; the young girl flopped onto the floor with a burst of pain in her side from the impact. "Ow..." Roxanne grumbled. She was fine though, the pain would fade momentarily.

"Did she just throw herself into the grille?" Slinky asked, narrowing his eyes. Twenty-One stared, "Yeah," She told Slinky before getting up and approaching Roxanne. "Roxanne, are you okay?" She asked, concern lacing her tone.

Roxanne's mouth curled into an annoyed frown, "Yeah," She huffed, sitting up.

"I know you're desperate to escape, but don't go hurting yourself in order to do it," Twenty-One said. Slinky piped in; "Besides, you didn't think that'd actually work, did you?"

Roxanne glared at Slinky for that remark, her eyes drifting off to the side as her mouth hung open by a sliver; searching for words to say. Her expression softened, "A-... A small part of me was hoping so," Roxanne sighed, getting up and moving to the other side of the bars. Lying down in the corner between the wall and the bars and sitting there disheartened.

Twenty-One hated seeing Roxanne like this, "Don't give up hope, giving up any hope for an escape is what they want us to do." She told as she began to walk over. Trying to comfort the young girl, "We're better than this. We all shou-"

"Is a motivational speech all you can say?" Roxanne cut her off, shifting so her back was turned to Twenty-One. "It's getting tiring. Try to come up with something original, or are you just saying all this junk so you can believe it."

That caught Twenty-One off guard. "I-I" She stammered, "No, what I'm saying is what I truly believe. We can't get all dejected like this, even if it's seeming grim. Positivity and optimism are what get people through tough times."

"Yeah.. that is all you can do," Roxanne grumbled.

Twenty-One was about to reply, but Slinky stepped up; "Be grateful you're not me," Slinky said, his voice quavering. "-You at least stand a chance in this arena, I'm the butt of the joke. The arena sees me as a joke, they go 'ooo, look at them! they're blind, they can't do anything! oh, hahaha, dumb lil' stupid kid!'- and they're right! I can't do anything!" Slinky said, tears beginning to work their way down his cheeks. "-I'm useless, at this rate I'm just wound fodder! The only purpose I serve is to be seen getting beat up and that's their kick out of it. There's a reason they're still keeping me alive, I'm still entertaining even in my failing state. If no one found me likable and everyone thought I was boring, they'd just kill me off."

Twenty-One was shocked by his words, immediately rushing over in an attempt to comfort Slinky but she was pushed away by him. "No, go away," Slinky exclaimed with anger, his hostile tone startling Twenty-One. "I don't want your comfort." He said.

Twenty-One backed up, giving him his space. She watched as Slinky curled up and just sobbed into himself. She frowned, hating seeing both of her cellmates despairing. Twenty-One slowly backed herself into the corner opposite to Roxanne, her back softly planting against the bars. She slowly slid down the side of the bars, slipping into a sitting position.

Twenty-One blinked slowly, getting sucked into her own thoughts. Having these opposing viewpoints were conflicting... how it challenged her own thought process.

...Is she a little too hopeful?

The moment that thought crossed her mind it had left as quickly as it entered, she got diverted from it, the sound of a door slamming gripping her attention instead. It caught all of the kids' attention.

Twenty-One practically jumped away from the bars once they saw The Hanging Man approach their cell. Roxanne too, although slower and more cautious with their steps. Moving as if she needed stealth. Slinky barely reacted except for a small jolt.

It was time for another battle.

—

Roxanne along with Twenty-One were dropped into a holding room. Slinky, not quite fully healed yet, was left behind to rest. Twenty-One was hoping he was getting the space he needed with both of them being taken out of the cell.

The moment they both got their bearings, Roxanne separated from Twenty-One instantly. Leaving her side to go over to the bars. Twenty-One felt a bit hurt by that action, she knew she shouldn't- they're just upset, feeling discouraged and hopeless. She understood their emotions, yet that gesture hurt her for some reason. She was a bit unsure why.

Twenty-One was going to follow her but she decided against it. If she needed to be alone- or well, be away from her, so be it. They'll speak to her again once they're ready.

.

.

.

Roxanne went to the barred window, practically throwing herself against the barrier to grip the bars; holding it as if it'll somehow whisk her away from this place. Easing up, she let out a huff of air as she loosened her grip on the bars and just tiredly rested her forehead against them.

She was tired, both physically and mentally. She just wanted to get out of here and go back to living her life- her normal life. Before The Maw and before living in The Hospital. Her life, although not ideal, was just fine before all this crap happened. She didn't want this. She never wanted this. This world isn't fair, why do bad things that you never even wished for happen! She wished everything was better, she wished she lived in a world where children weren't seen as cattle and dehumanized, and she wished she had a safe home to live in. One with toys and fresh food available, nice parental figures weren't required just... A home.

Suddenly Roxanne's grip on the metal bars tightened again. Trying to grip and pull them as if she was somehow strong enough to break them. Of course, she wasn't, Roxanne once more loosening her grip as she got her arms tired from attempting that action. Roxanne wanted to scream but she didn't. Not wanting to draw the other kids' attention toward her.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen!" An all-too-familiar voice beamed through the arena, it was The Lady. Anger seeped into her as Roxanne listened in to the woman's voice, a clear visual of the woman presenting in her mind.

"I thank you for your attendance and hope the party went according to expectations for each and every one of you! Now we'll be getting back onto the schedule with our fights." She said, "To start this off, let's begin with a kick! The first fight will be Chupacabra..." The Lady paused, trying to fill a dramatic atmosphere.

Roxanne sighed, of course she was going first. Great. Maybe even awesome. Why wouldn't she be th-

"And Ragdoll." The Lady finished, cutting off her thoughts. Ragdoll? Oh, she's heard some things about her. Seen her fight in battle plenty of times before from the side-lines of the barred windows. She was, as far as she knew, one of the toughest fighters here. Cruelest too apparently, but that's just from word of mouth. She never witnessed anything 'cruel' from her battles yet, sure sometimes she goes a bit overboard with her attacks she has noticed, but things like unnecessary murder and attacking while she had already won wasn't something Roxanne saw of her yet but others insist they have done prior to Roxanne's arrival. 

Roxanne had never properly met Ragdoll before either, nor knew her real name. She heard the name 'The Pretender' thrown about, but she doubts that's her actual name. It can't be.

Roxanne was startled, having heard her name being called out by Twenty-One suddenly. She whipped her head around, seeing the girl approach her; pushing through the crowd of kids acting as a wall between them in order to reach her.

Roxanne was disgruntled seeing Twenty-One approach, "Leave me alone," She said, her unhappiness clear from her tone of voice but it didn't deter Twenty-One, worriedness was plastered all over her face as she spoke; "Roxanne, you need to be careful and hold nothing back when fighting against The Pretender."

"Why?" Roxanne asked, narrowing her eyes at Twenty-One. "I'm getting there," Twenty-One continued, "The Pretender is overly cruel, and has no care for what she does morally-wise. She gets a kick out of seeing children miserable. I-I've seen her in action, during a gladiator fight she beat and injured my brother when he was already down and she had already long won. She shoved her hand inside of his thigh-wound and scratched inside of him, I remember it vividly! He was screaming so loudly and- and there was so much blood, he was bleeding so much, she was drenched in his blood! I-"

"Does everyone hate her?" Roxanne asked, her anger seeming to slip away. Twenty-One nodded, "All I know seem to dislike her, no one likes her ways." She answered, "I surely don't."

"Then why don't you guys just, y'know, lay the girl to sleep if you're catching my drift." Roxanne suggested, Twenty-One seemed a bit shocked at her words; "You don't mean... kill her?" She said slowly.

"Yeah. I mean, you guys hate her. Why keep her alive?" Roxanne asked, "It's not like she's giving you anything, so no losses from killing her. Just gotta..." She ran a finger over her throat, "-To get rid of the problem. Y'know?"

"I...I don't know. I mean..." Twenty-One paused, unsure how to bring her thoughts into sentence. "I don't like the idea of killing her, I don't like the idea of killing anyone. Honest. I..."

"If you guys are too much of a wuss to go for a fatal blow on this 'The Pretender' person, I'll do it. If someone's been tormenting you guys, I'll take care of it." Roxanne said, sounding rather confident and oddly carefree about murdering someone. 

"How can you just say that so lightly?- You're going to kill somebody." Twenty-One said. And going unnoticed by the two kids, their conversation was catching the attention of others; the kids around them quieted down and locked their attention onto their conversation. Soon, a half-perfect circle was forming around them.

"Look, from what I understand The Pretender has been tormenting you guys, has been really murderous and chaotic, plus everyone hates them. I see no wrong-doing in just killing them." Roxanne said, "I'm doing you all a favor, okay? No more suffering."

"Are you really going to do that?" A singular voice came from a crowd of kids. "Whose that?" Roxanne asked, looking to where she heard the voice. This is when Roxanne and Twenty-One noticed the crowd they've accumulated, nervousness flooding into Twenty-One's chest seeing that she was surrounded by kids.

A yellow knitted sweater-wearing child emerged from the crowd, calmly stepping towards Roxanne. "Kai's the name," Kai said, "You saying you're wanting to murder The Pretender?"

Twenty-One seemed a bit intimidated by Kai, "I-... Well, murder isn't really what we're actually doing. It's- It's just that, y'know, thinking what-if. We're-" She stumbled over her words, but Roxanne spoke up confidently; "Yeah, buddy, I'm going to put the nail in the coffin for The Pretender in the most literal definition. You should thank me."

"Roxanne, no-" Twenty-One hissed, "-What are you doing?"

Kai's eyes shifted around, looking to briefly inspect every kid's surrounding them expression. "Okay. Good luck." Kai just said, stepping back. "You'll really need it."

Roxanne stared, "Thanks." She said.

And perfectly on cue, the door to the holding room swung open. The shadow of The Janitor looming over them. It was time to bring the end to a legacy of torture.

At least, that's what Roxanne believed. And soon-to-be reality she thoroughly thought.

~+~

Roxanne was set inside of the battle entry cage as the music produced by taikos flowed through the arena. The familiar sand shifted beneath her feet as she walked forward towards the gate, the door that she was brought through shutting behind her.

The arena was normal once again, the water had been removed and both sides filled back in with sand. This would call for a bit of a harder battle as she couldn't just try her best to drown her opponent. But not that much of a problem, she thought she was good on land.

Roxanne was feeling like a hero right now, a certain confidence and hyperness coursing through her. Roxanne was forgetting all about her despair, right now she was absorbed in the thought of being a hero.

The bars lifted and Roxanne stepped out. The crowd was cheering "Chupacabra" over and over again, it felt like they were specifically cheering for her in this moment as she moved towards the center of the arena.

Not too long after she exited, The Pretender's gate rose too. Not wasting a second, The Pretender rushed out. The crowd seemed to go crazier over her; chanting "Ragdoll" to a much louder volume than her. But Roxanne didn't seem to notice the evince bias over her competitor. Nor would she care if she did.

The Pretender gaze locked onto Roxanne, and Roxanne shared the same attentiveness. Both of them circled each other as they waited for the weapon to drop, or at least they assumed it was a weapons round. But if no weapon was evident, they'd eventually just charge.

The tension grew on Roxanne as the seconds ticked by, unsure if she was even being given a weapon to fight with. Though her worried thoughts were put to rest as the shine of a reflective metal surface soared through the air and landed just to the side of the circle they were making.

They both froze briefly, and in a few passing heartbeats they both lunged towards the dagger. Roxanne's heart drummed, a sudden feeling of pressure to succeed piling up on her as she raced towards the weapon.

She overtook The Pretender, skidding to a halt as she was nearly moving too fast to stop herself in time, and reached over to grab the dagger's handle.

Suddenly, she felt a strong force slam into her side; knocking her off to the side and sending her face-planting to the sand. Roxanne recovered quickly, lifting herself up with pants and small coughs as she looked over; rubbing sand off her face.

She recovered to the scary sight of seeing The Pretender stand up after just picking up the dagger, a murderous look in her eyes as she stared down at Roxanne. Being kicked into fight or flight, Roxanne scrambled to her feet but she was stopped; The Pretender had dashed forward and gripped Roxanne by the neck as she attempted to stand, lifting her knife up as she tried to stabilize Roxanne for a good blow.

Roxanne heaved, trying desperately to suck in air as her wind-pipe was tightened from The Pretender's grip. As she began to still, she re-took in her surroundings. 

Over her was her opponent's dagger glistening in the lights of the arena, the weapon being held over her paired with the view of The Pretender holding her by the throat with her other hand. Keeping Roxanne in a half-crouch by leaning forward and letting her weight build on her.

Roxanne's heart thumped wildly in her chest, letting out a shriek as she saw the dagger suddenly shoot down- instinctively, she quickly put her arms out and grabbed The Pretender's other arms. Fighting against it and trying to redirect it or somehow slip out of her grasp.

Her legs wobbled, tired of supporting all this weight. Letting out a huff, Roxanne strained to turn the dagger; knocking her arm off to the side and then immediately pulling herself backward; The Pretender let out a scream of either frustration or surprise- she didn't know.

The Pretender's grip loosened on Roxanne as she pulled back, about to get free, but before The Pretender lost complete grip of her she swung her dagger towards Roxanne's face with all the power she could muster in this fast, brief moment. Though the effort was provided useless, seeing that it missed and Roxanne got free unharmed. 

Roxanne stumbled backward, needing a moment to regain her balance. Though The Pretender would not grant her that moment and immediately charged toward her almost the second she got free.

Roxanne threw herself to the side in a dodge, nearly tripping up on her own feet as she sprinted away. The Pretender chased for a moment but then stopped. Letting her make the distance.

Roxanne slowed, casting a glance over at The Pretender from across the arena. Heaving in breaths, she regained her energy. Beginning to loosely circle the girl. The Pretender followed her movement, yet didn't keep the blade of the dagger on her. Holding it down and wouldn't dare to raise it, actually. Only following her with her eyes.

Roxanne wondered why she wasn't holding her weapon up, was she standing down? Probably not. Though she was admittedly confused by this action, unsure how to read it. Though she kept circling, soon transitioning into a tighter circle. As Roxanne gained closer, The Pretender wouldn't raise her weapon still.

Roxanne became close enough to lunge forward to try to perform an attempt to steal her dagger. Still unsure why she wasn't really reacting still as she only faced her with her weapon down. Though she wouldn't let her confusion halt her from taking action, this was a great moment to just go for it.

Roxanne lunged forward, sand kicked up from underneath her soles as she outstretched her hands for the dagger in The Pretender's arm. Yet, in that same moment, The Pretender had prepped for this- twisting the dagger upwards and swinging it towards Roxanne's neck. Roxanne saw and reacted accordingly, her feet twisting as she frenetically tried to throw herself backward in an attempt to dodge their throw. Roxanne feeling her heart surge as the blade cut through the air towards her.

She thought she had dodged successfully at first, but then a terrible burning sensation swiped past her eyes and over her nose bridge. The world plunged her into deep darkness, leaving her only with the swirling sounds around her and the irritating stinging coming from her face.

Panic rose in her chest, her heart hammering as she felt a liquid gush down her face accompanied by the taste of iron slipping into her mouth- blood, its blood. She coughed and spat, her legs wobbling as she stumbled back- feeling herself beginning to cry. The tears mixed into her wound, doubling the pain she felt.

Roxanne felt something slam into her guts suddenly, letting out a cry as she staggered and fell back. Her back hitting against the sand. Drawing in huffs as she drew her hands towards her face, she lightly touched her face wound. She winced, feeling the injury and the blood coating it.

The overly loud cheers of the guests were disorienting as a feeling of nausea washed over her, pained cries escaping her lips as she tried to fully get a grip on her situation, but before she could get started on that she felt a hand tightly grip her throat. So tight it was restricting her breathing.

Letting out struggled breaths, Roxanne fought against what she could only assume to be The Pretender, blindly throwing punches and scratches in front of her as that was the only thing she could do.

~

From Twenty-One's eyes, it was a horrifying sight that was unraveling in front of her. The Pretender was gripping Roxanne with a strong murderous intent, her dagger held back and aimed at Roxanne's stomach- charging a stab. Roxanne didn't seem to be in good condition; clearly disoriented, and she had a nasty gash going across her eyes and nose bridge. The wound was clean and deep, blooding seeping out of her at a rather concerning rate.

And Twenty-One could do nothing but watch. Really, she didn't even want to do that. She just wanted to look away. But it was like watching a train wreck, you're horrified yet you can't help but keep looking.

But perhaps a graze of mercy crossed The Pretender's mind, or maybe just a want to let one suffer, as instead of taking the blow through the girl's gut she just let go. Letting Roxanne breathe free of her grasp.

The crowd abrupted into cheers, cheers louder than the ones before. Throwing down white lilies and hyacinth flowers in celebration of her victory. The Pretender seemed to soak in the adoration, but Twenty-One couldn't help but keep her eyes locked on the injured girl.

"Shame. Was hoping they'd win. It would've made my job easier." She heard Kai mumble from behind her, but his remark didn't hold in her mind. Too focused on her friend to give care to whatever comments she heard about Roxanne.

After the battle officially ended, it didn't take too long for The Hanging Man to do their usual job of tranquilizing and transporting the kids back to their cells. 

—-

Slinky absent-mindedly tapped his fingers against the metal floor whilst a train of thoughts traversed his mind. The cell corridor was rather silent as most of the kids have gone off to battle. It gave him time to think, to calm down a bit.

Slinky paused his tapping, hearing the sound of a door far down the corridor open. Someone's being returned, he supposes. He wouldn't think further on the matter until he heard footsteps come closer and closer until they suddenly stopped outside his cell. Sitting up once he heard the door to his shared cell open. He frowned, mild annoyance flaring up in his mind. He was liking his alone time, it felt too short.

Though what Slinky didn't expect was the sound of crying as a child was put into the cell. Whoever delivered them shortly left after. The sound of crying wasn't something he was expecting, nor was he sure how to deal with it.

Slinky took a gamble on who it was since he couldn't recognize them just by crying alone, it's a 50-50 chance seeing he just had two cellmates. "Twenty-One?" He guessed.

"Roxanne." The child replied. Well, crap. But why was Roxanne crying?- Actually, probably because of the fact their escape is failing. "You still bent on the escape thing?" Slinky asked, "Look, I know it's tough, but you're advantaged. You have a chance here, you have the gift of sight. Cherish it while you have it."

Roxanne took a pause before she sadly spoke, "I don't have that gift anymore." That reply surprised Slinky, "-What? What do you mean?" He asked.

"I,- The- The Pretender- she,- she slashed my eyes and now I can't see anything." She stammered, "I'm doomed, aren't I?- I don't wanna be doomed, this isn't fair. I didn't ask for this. I just... I just wanted to... I..." She trailed off, not finishing her sentence.

This predicament had Slinky conflicted. While yes, Slinky fully believes being blind just makes you wholly doomed, he didn't want to just say that. He opposed the idea to disparage someone. While yes, he says the exact same things to himself with full belief in it, self-pity and self-loathing were so much easier to do when it's you saying those things to yourself. Suddenly those words become so unappealing when referring to someone who wasn't himself.

Slinky subconsciously bit his tongue. Was this how Twenty-One felt when he have those self-hating episodes?... Probably not, she doesn't seem to be the type to be conflicted over this to him.

Feeling around the floor beneath him, Slinky maneuvered his way over to Roxanne's side. Once his finger bumped into Roxanne, he backed up a few steps. Not wanting to really sit by Roxanne's side exactly, but just wanted to get a bit closer. Keeping a comfortable distance is all. He didn't want to close in on her space.

The girl sniffled, "What are you doing?" Roxanne asked, confused by the noises she was hearing. To her, it sounded like Slinky was going in a circle of some kind. "Learning where you are and sitting accordingly," Slinky replied. Finally getting comfortable.

"Ok?" Roxanne said. Then they both fell silent, Slinky didn't know how to comfort people. Especially on... this matter. Should he just not? But he figured he should at least say something, "Hey, don't worry about being blind, maybe it's temporary. Might just heal over," He said, "And if not, you'd probably still fight better than me."

"How?" Roxanne asked, "And I mean the latter. How? We're both in the same situation, there's no one doing better than the other."

"Well, you're better than me. You're more determined, determination is good in these situations-" Slinky said, trying to go based on something Twenty-One would say. "- you'll get through it, you'll somehow find a way to beat your opponents."

Slinky heard Roxanne's position shift, "That's some crappy consoling if I ever heard one." She remarked unhappily. "-You sound like Twenty-One."

"I was trying to copy," Slinky huffed, "-Since I didn't really know how to comfort someone myself..."

"Well the first wrong step was copying someone who's terrible at their job," Roxanne said. Slinky immediately replied; "Hey, she's not bad at her job per se. Just... I don't know, saying the wrong things?" He tried to defend. "I- I know that she's doing her best to comfort me, it's just... She just makes me feel worse sometimes with what she says. I get what she's trying to go for, but it just makes me irritated. But I don't know what'll be better to say, either."

"Still bad consoling," Roxanne said, "Though, if Twenty-One's comforting words on your blindness doesn't work- sometimes makes you feel worse- then why try it on me?" She questioned.

"I-, ugh, I don't know." Slinky sighed, "I just wanted to do something."

"Just, just leave me alone." Roxanne said, "Being left alone makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

Slinky thought for a moment, "Yeah. Okay." He backed away. 

-------

17093 words

again, I am so sorry for how long this took. anyways, something I wanna say here;

guys, it's been an amazing journey. I never thought Arena AU would ever get this popular, I honestly thought people would hate this fanfiction for how dark and kinda unusual it is compared to the other AUs I've seen. Seems silly now, but I was an insecure person new to the fanfic community back then. Never would I thought this fanfiction would've gotten so many supporters. Commenters, Fan-Artists, Arena AU OC-Makers, Fanfic-Of-Fanfic creators, and the people who don't comment but still read, you're all amazing!

Why am I saying this? Well...

There are only 8 chapters left until we reach the finale of Arena AU. One or two may be added if we got a spacing problem but assuming there are no troubles, 8 should be the final number.

I'm so excited to truly transition into the final phase. Shit gonna hit the fan soon and I'm excited to write about it. finally that damn crafted boat in the vents is gonna be more important.