Art by Mike McCain
Warning: Mentions of brutal imagery.
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(Y/N)'s eyes darted over to every person that passed as she stuck very close to Blythe like a lifeline.
Each individual looked like they've been through a rough life and back. But not only were the people shady looking, the buildings around them were cluttered together with posters and signs on every wall, loose wires swinging from building to building, (Y/N) could've sworn she saw a small shop tilting to its side, and the smell of drugs wafted into the musty air from apartments above.
A week had passed and the day is currently Saturday. As a break from their hectics jobs, both ladies decided to go out and find something fun to do. When Blythe suggested that they should go to a show, (Y/N) didn't expect the show to be in the most lowly area of Zone 12. She's never been so on guard in her life.
Despite the younger Keeper's distress, Blythe walked the streets like she was at work and had no care in the world. Whenever a funny looking guy gave his attention to them, Blythe would shove her hand in his face and push him away. She almost punched a pervert for wolf whistling at them and made (Y/N) flip a woman off for yelling slurs at them.
This was a setting that the younger Keeper was definitely not used to.
The two arrived at a small building with a rusted metal door and aged flyers taped on. The flyers advertised things like scammy ads, services of all kinds, and events that happened years ago. (Y/N) looked worriedly at Blythe, the older woman checking her phone for the address then placed it back into her pocket. "We're here."
"Where is here!?"
Blythe snorted at (Y/N)'s scared tone. "Stop being afraid. This is where Axel and his friend told us to meet."
(Y/N) stared at the door unsurely. "They told us to meet them in an abandoned building?"
"It's not abandoned." Blythe knocked on the door in a strange pattern that (Y/N) memorized. The door creaked open and a large man with tattoos covering his whole body stepped back for them to enter. Blythe moved and (Y/N) held onto her arm as they entered a dark room with illuminated stairs being the only thing seen. They walked down the steps and were met with a rough and patchy curtain and the sounds of people on the other side could be heard.
The Keeper hoped she wasn't gonna regret this night.
Passing the curtain, she was shocked to find a small normal lobby with a bouncer and a worker behind a desk. The room was a little worn down but she was glad it wasn't anything dangerous. Blythe started heading over to a sitting area and (Y/N) noticed Axel waving at them with a big grin. Next to him was...
"Angel?!"
Said man looked up from his phone and had an equally shocked look as the Keeper. "(Y/N)?! What are you doing here?" Seeing her in something else other than her uniform was strangely strange. He thought she looked really cute in more casual wear, a light rosy flush appearing on his cheeks.
"I-" She quickly turned to Blythe then Axel and saw the man smiling like an evil kid. He's up to something...
Axel swung an arm around Angel as he smiled at his female friends. "Greetings ladies! You gals don't mind my friend tagging along do you?"
Blythe shrugged but she knew the man's true plan and shook her head disappointedly. "The more the merrier. Did you get the tickets for tonight?"
"Yep!" He pulled out four green tickets from his pocket and then waved in the air excitedly. "Y'all ready for the night of your lives?!"
"I'm concerned..." (Y/N) spoke up in a small voice.
Axel waved her off. "There's nothing to be scared about! They ain't fighting us."
"What?!"
(Y/N) felt Blythe move again and clung onto her as they walked over to another metal door. Axel handed the worker the tickets and Angel stuck close to (Y/N). Just like her, he's never been to this part of town in his life.
The door opened and the younger Keeper's jaw dropped.
The room was large and circular, stairs going down took them in between concrete bleachers filled with people and in the very center was a caged fighting ring that looked like it was about to fall apart. The chain link fencing was rusty and sharp at various points, the floor was stained with what (Y/N) hoped wasn't blood, and a bright beaming light was hung above that could probably blind whoever steps in the ring. On the other side of the room was a concession stand that had lines of customers buying snacks and placing bets and even a hooded man sliding people small packages of something while they handed him money.
Axel led the group up the bleachers and found their spots at the top. Blythe sat down and so did (Y/N), questioning her choice in friends right now.
"You ladies wait here while we get some snacks. The fight starts in... ten minutes." Axel told them, looking at his watch then pulling Angel over to where the concession stand was. Blythe pulled out a small mirror from her purse and checked her makeup. She turned it towards her friend and saw the most serious look she can muster. (Y/N) stared at her then extended her arm towards the huge dangerous ring ahead of them. "You said we were going to a show!"
"This is a show."
"You didn't say we were going to see people beat each other to a pulp! Is this even legal?"
Blythe put her mirror away and held her purse close to her lap. "This place is in a basement. Of course it's not legal. Just relax, have fun."
(Y/N) huffed and leaned back on the uncomfortable concrete bleachers. She peered over to the guys in line for nachos. Axel held Angel like he was giving him a pep talk but Angel seemed confused on what Axel was saying. She squinted her eyes at them in suspicion. "Why did Axel bring Angel?"
"Hm?" Blythe turned to look at the guys then at (Y/N)'s skeptical face. "Oh. Axel wanted another guy friend to come along."
"Stop lying. You know something."
Blythe faked a shock expression that made (Y/N) roll her eyes. "Me? Lying to you? Never!"
"Blythe!"
"Axel's trying to set you up with Angel."
"WHAT?!"
People around began looking at the ladies and Blythe waved them off with a chuckle. "He somehow found out about you and Angel so Axel being Axel created a plan to get you two together in hopes you'll start dating. I just didn't think he would pick a fight night of all places but you never know with him."
"How'd he find out?! I mean-" (Y/N) began stuttering and blushing hard. "We're just friends! Axel has the wrong idea!"
(Y/N) was panicking on the inside while Blythe knowingly chuckled at her friend.
'Is it that obvious???' The girl groaned. She's been slowly liking Angel as more than just a new friend as the days went by. It's been a while since she's had a crush or a boyfriend. Her last relationship back in college... didn't end so well... so she's just been focusing on herself since then. For now, she would like to just stay friends with Angel since she's already completely occupied with work.
But Axel just has to play cupid.
Blythe patted her on the shoulder. "I know you weren't expecting this to be a date that you had completely no clue about but think about tonight as time with friends and not one of Axel's dumbass schemes."
"Hmm..." Speaking of the word date, (Y/N) looked to Blythe then to her mischievous friend Axel, then back to Blythe. "If me and Angel are supposed to be on a date, what does that make you and Axel?"
Blythe swung her head in the woman's direction. Clearly offended. "What?!"
The two guys arrived with the snacks and drinks and Axel made sure to push Angel into the seat next to (Y/N) with the poor guard looking to the Capturer shocked. The two awkwardly smiled at each other and Angel held out a box of nachos which (Y/N) took a chip from. Axel sat down next to Blythe and observed a bet card he held in his hand with a smug grin. Blythe snatched it and saw that he had betted $100. Her eye twitched at the large amount of money... gone.
"What did you do?"
Axel scoffed and took the card back. "Something smart. The Raging Bull is fighting tonight and there's a high chance he'll be put up against some amateur like the last fights. This is an easy $1,000 dollars, Blythe!"
She went to smack him in the back of his head for the stupidity but then the realization of something important dawned on her. "Did you bet our money for a ride home too?!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Axel watched his three friends stare at him in silence. He slowly popped a nacho chip into his mouth. "Maybe."
"I'M GONNA KILL Y-"
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Welcome to the most gruesome night of your liveeeeesss!!!" The announcer came out and interrupted the fuming redhead. The announcer held a mic connected to the ceiling that amplified his voice throughout the room. Standing next to him was a woman in very provocative attire waving around a sign with the names of the fighters on it. "Tonight! We see a long time crowd favorite finally meet his match in the ring and we'll see who has the muscles, the strength, the bloodlust, and the balls to earn the title 'KING OF THE RINGGGGG'!!!"
The crowd cheered loudly as the announcer was hyping them up. (Y/N) inched back in her seat at the whole setting. Angel noticed her discomfort and held her hand, giving her a reassuring smile too. "If it makes you feel any better, this is my first time here too!" He had to get close to her and yell over the noise for her to hear him.
"Did you know about this?" She responded in the same way. Gesturing towards the whole room.
Angel shook his head no. "Axel told me we were going to see some action! I thought he meant like an action movie or something. Not this! I was surprised when you showed up, I didn't think you liked this kind of stuff."
"I don't!" So Angel doesn't know about Axel's plan either?
"In the red corner, the most ruthless, the most bloodiest, the beast with the body count of five victims, Zone 12's very own, THE RAGING BULLLLLLLLLLL!!!" Much of the crowd rose from their seats and applauded the big burly man wearing a scarlet bull mask and tattered red pants who came walking out with an entourage of men hyping him up. The fighter had muscles for days and seemed like he lived at the gym but also didn't know what a shower looked like. He came out sweaty and filthy, the bull mask needed a real good washing.
When he got to the ring, he banged his fists on the rusty chain linked fencing like a wild animal before he went to his respective corner.
"In the blue corner, a fighter who was born and raised in the lost Zone 1, went up against a demon itself, survived the streets on his own, single handily fought off 10 guys at once, and worked his way up the ranks to be the absolute unit that he is, it's THE CHUPACABRAAAAAA!!!"
Axel dropped his bet card in shock. Blyth could see that $100 flying away into the distance.
The Chupacabra walked out with heaving stomps and a horrifying presence that made the people around him back up. The man didn't have muscles to show off his strength, his weight did that for him. Tattooed across his massive belly was the face of the devil itself and satanic images were forever inked into his long arms with scars and blisters decorating his hands and lower arms. His long black hair, drenched in sweat, clung to his face and body and the veins in his arms and hands almost looked like they were about to burst as he aggressively held a steel chain that he pulled at while grunting. This man could be passed off as a demon at first glance.
The Chupacabra entered the ring and sauntered his way over to the Bull, staring him down like he was fresh meat. The Bull didn't fall back from the intense glaring as he stared his opponent down too with equal hatred. A referee entered and immediately separated the two while shaking to his core.
The announcer slapped the two on the shoulders proudly and grabbed the mic roughly. "I hope you all are comfy in your seats BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT TO GET BLOODY!!!"
"Oh god..." (Y/N) watched the announcer exit the ring and hurry to a seat of his own. The referee called the fighters up to bump fists then he quickly ran out for his own life.
The bell dinged and the fight was on.
The fight, unfortunately, lasted two hours and the announcer was right, it was bloody. The Bull had the upper hand at first but to Axel's disappointment, the Chupacabra bounced back and literally almost killed the guy. He held the Bull up against the rusty fence and repeatedly banged his head nonstop against it, leaving him was scrapes and bruises all over his face that would likely need dozens of tetanus shots. Then he dragged the poor guy to the center of the ring and started pounding his face in, blood and mucus covered the Chupacabra's fists and the Bull became unresponsive. Several guys had to run in and try to stop the monster before they lose yet another fighter but the Chupacabra started fighting them, taking them all at once just like in his introduction.
It got so bad that both Angel and (Y/N) decided to leave out early. Everything was just too brutal.
They entered the lobby with wide eyes and scarred memories. The worker at the desk was gone, probably off watching the fight, so they were alone.
"We are never letting Axel pick places ever again."
"Agreed."
They both sat down at the sitting area and finished the rest of the nachos as they waited for Blythe and Axel. As they ate and talked about anything other than the fight, the worker came in through a different door and sat down at her desk. She wasn't in shock like they were but rather had an unconvinced face. When she entered, they all noticed each other. "You guys couldn't handle the fight, huh?"
They both responded with a 'no' which made the woman smirk. "You must be new to this kinda scene then or you have a queasy stomach."
"It's both for me..." muttered (Y/N).
The worker laughed. "I was just like you when I started working here four years ago. I guess the more time had passed, the more desensitized I got to seeing all the blood."
The sounds of the crowd screaming were muffled through the metal door, something must've happened to get such a big reaction. "Where did you even find that Chupacabra guy? He's insane!" Questioned Angel. That was something (Y/N) was also curious about.
"We didn't. He came to us wanting a fight. Asked for our toughest fighter so we put him up with the Bull and in all honesty, we knew he was gonna win when he had to squeeze through the doors to get in." She chuckled. "But seriously, do you guys believe his whole backstory? 'He went up against a demon' 'He fought it off with his bare hands' pfft please... Him surviving the lost Zone 1 is true since records show but what are the chances that he could've killed a demon by himself? It was 21 years ago, he was probably 18 at the time."
The Zone that she is mentioning is the first Zone to be overrun by demons, Zone 1. Because it was the first Zone created and was pretty underdeveloped, demons from above ground managed to make their way inside and wreak havoc on the residents. A little below half of the population were sadly killed but the rest were able to evacuate safely to Zone 2 and Zone 1 was officially declared 'lost' after days of surveillance. (Y/N) was very young at the time, so she doesn't remember the time of this event. But her mother did tell her about it when she was a kid and the sound of a deep boom that nearby Zones heard of the many nukes underneath Zone 1 going off. Effectively killing off the rampant demons but also losing the first Zone ever created.
"There are rumors about the Chupacabra and the demon he supposedly 'took on'. Some say, that the reason why he is so monstrous is because that demon is possessing him and using him to kill humans who dare challenge it. It makes sense but at the same time is unlikely." The worker rambled on.
(Y/N) found this rumor to be untrue. "If he is possessed, he would've been detected already. There is technology that can detect the presence of demons and they put them everywhere that demons shouldn't be."
The worker thought about it. "That does make sense but there's no way a human can get that evil like that man for no reason. There has to be something..."
The muffled voice of the announcer was heard again and the screams of the crowd were stronger than before. The worker quickly ran back inside the moment she heard, leaving (Y/N) and Angel alone again. They couldn't exactly make out what he was saying but they guessed that he was announcing a winner, most likely it's the Chupacabra.
(Y/N) hoped the fight was over so they can leave as soon as possible. She would rather deal with a ticked off Akai than spend another second in this place. She sighed and rubbed her temples from all the intense energy the place radiated. "This isn't how I expected my night to go, at all..."
"Tell me about it. The moment Axel gave the cab driver this place's address, I should've jumped out the car."
(Y/N) laughed. "I should've knew Axel was coming along tonight. Every time he tags along with me and Blythe, he always drags us into something hectic like this."
The thought of the whole date plan Axel created resurfaced in her mind and made her look at Angel curiously. He seemed like he doesn't know about it, but maybe he does. "You know... Blythe told me that tonight was all a plan of Axel's to get us together."
Angel was taking a sip from his soda and choked. He coughed and turned to the woman in shock. "What?!"
"Yea... somehow he found out. So Axel wanted to play matchmaker and try to... get us together. I was wondering if you knew because I didn't."
"No! No! He never even told me that you or Blythe were even coming along."
He didn't know! She sighed in relief. "Thank God! I was so worried."
"About what?" Why would she be worried if he was aware about Axel's scheme?
(Y/N) paused. Maybe she shouldn't have said that aloud. "Uh-" She sucked in a breath and turned in her seat to face him. He raised an eyebrow at this and gave his full attention.
"I.. know that you're interested in me and believe me, I like you too!"
Angel blushed immediately and used his hand to cover his cheeks. She liked him back?! He shouldn't get his hopes up though, he didn't want to jump to the conclusions.
"It's just... I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship yet. I'm so busy with work and trying to deal with my demons that I don't think I'll have time to spend with someone else like that. I think we are better off as friends." She cringed at herself and hoped he wasn't hurt by this. It took him a second to show a reaction and when he did, her worry went away but was replaced with confusion.
"I understand... I'm fine with being just friends."
She searched his face for any emotion that could show that he was lying but he seemed genuine. "You aren't upset?"
"No. I can see how busy your life is and I don't want to add any more to it. But..." He leaned in close to her and wandered his eyes deep into hers. Loving the (e/c) color that seemed to get brighter the more he looked. Their faces were so close that they can almost touch noses and (Y/N) blushed at the close proximity. She would've moved away but it's like she couldn't, staring back into his light amber eyes kept her too focused. "I can always be just your guard too if you'd like?" He put emphasis on the word 'your' and spoke in a lower voice.
(Y/N) sat back and tried to hold in a laugh at how cringey that line was. "I don't know about that one."
"Too corny?" He smiled, also holding back a laugh.
She pushed him away playfully and he leaned back chuckling. "Extremely corny! You should use something better than that."
A loud deep gasp interrupted them. "Did you two kiss?!"
The two turned around to find an excited Axel holding a plastic bag filled with something and Blythe facepalming at her idiot friend. "They know about your scheme Axel. Just give up."
"Aww so you didn't kiss?" Axel sadly asked, but it was more dramatic than sincere. (Y/N) glared at him and Angel shook his head. "We didn't. Just talked."
"About what?" He wiggled his eyebrows at them which made the blush on (Y/N) worsen.
"Axel!" (Y/N) yelled at the laughing man. He really found amusement in her embarrassment. "I'm just playing! Anyways, you guys missed the most amazing thing ever! History was made tonight!" Axel came over to them with the bag in his hands that he held with a death grip. Angel observed the bag in his hands, he didn't remember Axel having it when they came in. "Uh... what's that?"
Axel grinned like a kid and Blythe covered his mouth before he can blurt anything out around the many strangers in the lobby. She kept her voice low just in case. "The Bull won the fight. So he got $3,000."
"THREE THOUS-?!"
"Shush! Keep your voice down! We'll talk about it when we're not at risk of getting robbed." Blythe scolded.
The four quickly left the building with the money and made sure to avoid any person on the street until they got in a cab. From what Axel and Blythe told them, the time the Chupacabra took to fight off the guys that came to stop him, the Bull managed to take what little energy he had, grabbed his bull mask that was knocked off his head earlier and used the horns on it to stab the Chupacabra in his back. Then he proceeded to repeatedly jab the horns into the Chupacabra until those guys who came out to help him had to now stop him from murdering the brute. The Chupacabra was left unresponsive and bleeding out everywhere that the announcer decided to end the fight and crown the Bull as still the 'King of the Ring'.
Since majority of the audience betted on the Chupacabra to win, Axel's prize money, along with a few others, was tripled.
Axel relished the money in his hands and thought about all the things he can buy with it that weren't realistic at all. A new car. Expensive food. Designer clothes. Women. The possibilities were endless.
Even though the night didn't turn out to be a disaster and Axel managed to win $3,000, they were never letting him pick a place a go out ever again.
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Author's note
So this is the last chapter I'll be posting for tonight but I was wondering how you guys are liking the revamp so far?
It's going by faster than I expected but I still got like 60 something chapters to rework before I can get to the sequel but I'm excited to reach that point lol. I have so many ideas for it