A loud thunder echoed, groaned, and shook in the distance, muted but never ending. Ben's eyes rocked around under closed eyelids as he was finally forced to consciousness. The darkness spun and eventually settled, light and blurred lines forming as he gained composure. He could slowly make out blurry figures in the distance both far and near. A strained cough left Ben's lips as he breathed in the dry, arid dirt his face was buried in. Slow to his feet, he stood from the hard, dirt-covered brick floor he'd woken upon. There was a scraping like chalk on metal as his feet found their balance. Dizziness overcame him, but soon the figures around him began to clear as if from looking at them through droplets of water. Shaking his head amidst nausea and confusion, Ben felt a firm hand grab his shoulder.
He turned to see an armor-clad warrior standing beside him. The man's teeth growled from behind a grizzly face and a body that was Olympian in stature. His large muscles showed through the cloth of his sleeves, and his stance was very tall and even more firm. A metal breastplate with little scrapes or cuts revealed how little he'd been hit in battle.
Ben moved to get away from him, dragging his feet, but the man held his shoulder firm.
"Hey," his deep, gritty voice said. "Wait your turn. I haven't waited this long for this match to have my glory taken by a scrawny kid like you."
"What?" Ben murmured in confusion.
A violent clatter of metal soon drew Ben's attention away from the brute before him to the rest of the arena he found himself in. The thousands of blurs and colors had formed and figured, and Ben found himself at the edge of circling stands and a loud crowd.
What passed for a building was brick, rubble, and dirt, arranged to encircle a fighting pit, drenched in dirt, sweat, and blood. At a glance, one could close eyes and replace the rubble with an image of a once grand and glorious arena. It'd be easy to see away hundreds of years of decay to witness the arena in its once mighty stature, but with open eyes, this would soon melt away to the remains and rubble that now stood. Hundreds huddled around, either seated upon these relics of brickwork or standing, too excited to rest weary feet. All of this could clearly be made out in the blackness of the night, as many torches lined the outer perimeter of the circle, casting a bright glow on the entire arena.
Ben could see that past the crowd, beyond the arena, was a forest of trees with bright-red leaves. Hidden in the forest, this forgotten arena of the Magma Kingdom radiated in the dark like a forgotten home that'd been found again. There was a warrior's energy that came from it, not only from the cheering spectators, but from the history and legacy of the brickwork itself.
Ben again noticed the red of the trees and assumed correctly that it must be the patch of red they saw from a distance when he and Wade were about to leave Burnstown.
At the center of this spectacle were two Magma Kingdom citizens. The first, with a broadsword, was an average sized man with battle armor, heavy on his feet but quick in the swing of his sword. The other... the girl named Fred.
Unlike her opponent, Fred did not wear heavy or even what might be considered medium weight armor. Her red civilian's clothes were protected by the same hide-skin armor, covered in reddish animal fur, that he'd seen her wearing before. Under this, she wore plain pants and black, leather boots that held her body firm to the ground as she assumed a fighting stance. To Ben, all of this seemed to offer almost no protection from the man's broadsword she now faced. He soon realized how unnecessary real armor would be for her, though. With two small blades in both hands, she quickly and effortlessly dodged each of the man's attacks, with no weight of armor to slow her down.
"What's going on...?" Ben heard a voice murmur from his feet.
Looking down, he finally noticed Wade lying on the ground close to where he had just awoken himself.
"Wade!" he exclaimed, helping him to his feet.
"Whoa--" Wade muttered, holding his hands out to find support before falling from dizziness. "I feel like I was hit by a stampede of screaming-buffalo."
"Just relax."
Ben's eyes drifted from Wade back to the arena where Fred was still methodically dodging the soldier's attacks, returning her own parries swiftly. His eyes stayed on her as he continued.
"The dizziness will pass soon."
"Where are we?"
"I wish I knew for sure. But wherever we are doesn't really matter right now. We've got trouble."
A roar of applause radiated among the trees as Fred swept her legs under the man's and he crashed to the ground. As he scrambled for his sword, she thrusted her boot onto his chest, pinning him to the dirt. Pointing the blade in her right hand at him, she raised the other to garner more applause. The crowd, meanwhile, went crazy, and the smile on her face showed just how much she enjoyed the acclaim.
"Alright, pay up!" a voice from the crowd yelled to the accompaniment of groans.
Among grubby, disgruntled hands in the crowd there are several exchanges of coins and bets, anyone foolish enough to bet against her feeling just that. Ben thought to himself that those who lost their money must not have been from around these parts, or they'd have thought twice about betting against her.
Despite how easily she'd defeated her opponent, the large man next to Ben raised his weapon in the air, with a grin that showed he was ready to fight. The weapon, like the man, was large and intimidating. A large hammer was held by his muscular right arm, and by the looks of it, Ben wouldn't be able to hold the hammer with both arms, let alone just one.
"Aren't you worried she'll beat you?" Wade asked the man as he went to enter the circle. "Pummel you like that last guy?"
"I can only wish," the man laughed heartily. "I've been looking for years for someone good enough to beat me."
"I see..."
"Quit chit-chatting," Fred yelled at them from the center of the arena.
A chant began to echo among the crowd for another fight, as two large men grabbed and pulled the shoulders of her first opponent, his legs leaving a trail in the dirt as he was dragged. He could be heard muttering incoherently as he was brought to the end of the arena opposite Ben and Wade.
Looking at her opponent being dragged away, and then at the man whose turn was next, Fred smiled her then-familiar, deep smile and twirled both small blades in her hands simultaneously.
"I'll teach you to make fun of my name," she yelled. "A name to be feared by all who know it."
Ben realized immediately that this was not some pre-scheduled sport, but rather just people that'd offended Fred that day. It became apparent that, in the course of twenty-four hours, she had apparently challenged at least three people to a fight.
The crowd cheered as the large brute with the mallet hammer entered the arena and the two began to circle each other. While the man appeared as stiff as the last. Fred could not have appeared more relaxed. She slowly circled the arena in a leisurely trot, barely even watching him, but rather admiring the crowd.
"Who knows," Wade yelled in Ben's ear over the sound of the crowd. "Maybe this guy will beat her... Then you're free to go."
Screaming with fury, the man launched his hammer through the air, bringing it down at Fred. With ease she quickly moved away from the blow. Dust exploded as the heavy hammer smashed into the dirt. With fury in his cries, the man tried again with another powerful swing, but with the same results.
"When are you going to really fight and actually attack me?" Fred taunted the man as she stopped in place to pick at her nails. "Or are you too scared?"
"Scared!" the man bellowed loudly, surprised at her audacity. "I'm scared of no man. Especially some helpless little girl."
Fred's cocky smile dropped instantly. The man instantly saw that his words had affected her. He remembered in that moment what had angered her and brought him to this fight in the first place.
"What kind of a name is Fred anyway?" the man laughed. "That's a man's name, you know. It's not for some measly little girl."
"My name..." Fred said, squeezing hers fists around the blades she held tightly. "...is Winifred. Fred is short for Winifred."
"Winifred? That's no better. What a horrible name. Your parents must've laughed hard when they came up with that. One hilarious joke."
As her eyes narrowed, Fred let her hands fall to her sides, blades held firmly in them. Her entire body tensed in a way Ben had not seen yet--like a cat about to pounce at its prey. For some, anger might have impaired their focus, but she obviously relished it.
Pulling back his hammer, the brute went for another slow, bone-crushing swing. Fred rolled towards him to dodge it, and as the hammer hit behind her, she extended her right leg, hitting him in the shin as hard as possible. Stumbling, he managed to keep his footing, but only barely. As the man attempted to raise his hammer again, Fred used the time to strike. Running, falling, and then sliding across the dirt-covered ground, she used the tip of her dagger to plant into the ground and spin her around him.
Once behind, Fred gave the back of his legs a vicious kick.
"Argh!" he yelled in pain as his knees threatened to buckle.
Falling forward, he dropped his hammer, freeing his hands to hit the ground and stop the fall. As he did, Fred planted her boots into his back, flipping herself forward, over him. Landing elegantly, like a ballerina of death, she extended her two blades, stabbing them into his feet and through the brick of the ground.
"Oooh," Wade winced, along with the rest of the crowd.
Ben, however, was far too concerned to react. The knowledge that he'd be facing her next gave him a feeling of his throat closing from fear.
The brutish man, who'd been so cocky before, screamed a large, deep bellow of pain. His large hands grabbed at the small blades that were keeping his feet nailed to the ground. As he did, he looked up to see Fred towering over him, her hands on her hips.
"I'm not some helpless little girl now, am I?"
"Why you little—"
Before he could finish, Fred ran at him with all her might. Jumping and thrusting her legs out, her feet hit him directly in the chest. With his feet still anchored down by the blades, he couldn't find his balance. Like a giant statue, he finally crashed to the ground with a loud, vibrating smash.
Dust billowed from underneath him and as it cleared the entire crowd went berserk with cheers. Fred, who stood above him, a champion of the arena still, raised both arms in the air to garner even more praise from the onlookers.
"Yeah..." Wade said softly to Ben. "That's not good."
"You think?" Ben snapped at him.
"Maybe we could run?"
Wade looked to the red trees of the forest outside the arena.
"They may not be thick," Wade continued. "Or provide much cover, but with enough of a head-start we might be able to get away."
Ben considered this, but soon Fred's eyes turned and met with him from across the arena. There was a fire and resilience in them, but at the same time, Ben could see something deeper. Beneath those ash-gray eyes was... honor. Running away might have been the wisest option, thought Ben, but there would be no honor in it.
He could feel his Sky Kingdom instincts telling him what would be wise, but at the same time he felt another voice in his being, one he had not felt until he had become the Elementalist. There was a fire in his stomach that raged, and the Magma Kingdom in him beat and beat in his heart, there along with the other three elements he now held as his own.
To run would be cowardly, and there was a stubborn side of Ben now that would rather be beaten to a pummel than be a coward--would rather lose honorably than flee.
"No." Ben told Wade, his eyes still locked with Fred's as she pulled her blades from her opponent's feet and he too was carried away, screaming in pain.
"No, what?" Wade asked.
"I'm not running. There's no honor in it."
"No honor?" Wade said, throwing his hands to his head in disbelief. "What are you talking about? That's insane."
"I'm staying."
"Man, I think you're letting the Magma Kingdom get to your head."
"Maybe..."
Kicking up dust as she began to circle the arena once more at the same trot, Fred yelled out to Ben.
"You're turn, sky boy."
Still incredulous, Wade reached out to grab Ben as he stepped forward.
"What do you plan on doing?"
"Winning," was all Ben replied.
Shaking away the arm of his confused friend, Ben confidently strolled to the middle of the arena. Cheers echoed around him like thunder.
Fred stopped in place upon seeing his confidence. Her smile was replaced with an even bigger one, filled with surprise.
"Now, I did not expect this," she said to him and to the listening crowd. "Is sky boy here actually a fighter after all?"
Gulping, Ben tried to muster all the confidence he could to appear strong and tough.
"I'm allowed a weapon, am I not?"
"But of course..."
Fred nodded to a spectator standing only a few feet from her. The man held out Ben's gold-trimmed sword for the crowd to see before tossing it to her. She effortlessly caught it by the handle, twirling it around as she tested it herself. Holding it up, she soon found herself admiring the craftsmanship.
"This--" Fred said. "This is an interesting blade. It's from the Sky Kingdom; there's no doubt about that. But the gold trim, and the metal of the blade... It's quite expensive for some Sky Kingdom kid like you to have."
Ben had also been curious about the blade. Even being a blacksmith's son, he'd never seen the metal that was used to forge it. He figured it was a foreign metal from the Sky Kingdom, perhaps one even he, a blacksmith's son, would not know about. The only thing he could not explain was how Fred was indeed right on it being quite expensive.
How could his father—a simple blacksmith—have something like that, Ben wondered.
Without warning, Fred tossed the blade towards him. As it traveled the few yards between them, he worried he might not catch it, that he'd look foolish to everyone in that moment. But as he extended his hand, the handle glided to his palm, and he closed his fingers to grip it tightly as though that was where it was meant to be all along.
Bending his knees slightly, Ben tried his best to learn from the others he'd seen fight Fred, taking what he assumed was the best stance for fighting.
"I don't want to hurt you," he declared.
A chuckle escaped Fred's lips as the entire arena burst into laughter. Even Wade, waiting off to the side, shook his head.
"I'll be sure and watch myself then."
Still treading several yards apart, Fred thrusted her right arm forward, launching her small blade through the air at Ben's lower body. Time stood still as he turned his body as fast as possible in the nanoseconds that the blade was in the air. Pain shot up his leg as he felt the edge barely slice his thigh.
"Woah!" Wade yelped as the blade continued past Ben, missing Wade by inches and impaling the tree behind him.
Ben grabbed his cut leg instinctively and looked up at a pale-faced Wade.
"You okay?"
"Um, not really... But I'll live," Wade's voice shakily declared as he pulled the knife from the tree. "Watch out!" he quickly yelled at Ben.
Turning, Ben saw nothing but the foot of Fred as she spun her body, kicking him square in the chest as she'd done the others. Flying through the air, Ben crashed to the ground at Wade's feet. His breath gasped from his lungs and his sword clattered across the dirt as he landed.
"Come on," Wade said as he picked his friend up. "Use your strengths. Pay attention! And don't fight like her."
"What are you even talking about?"
"You know..."
"Wade, I can't fly," Ben whispered. "We can't have people seeing that."
"No, I know that. I meant your brain." Wade poked Ben in the forehead. "You've always been the smart one. Use that."
Ben looked back at Fred who was waiting with a smirk on her face. He knew she could have easily ended him then, but that she would want to toy with him as she had done with the others. To most it might scare, but to Ben all it did was make him want to prove her wrong that much more.
Sucking in his chest, Ben quickly scooped his sword up and marched toward her, ignoring the pain in his chest and leg.
"You could've stayed down," Fred declared. "But you didn't... I admire your resilience, sky boy."
"My name's Ben," he declared strongly, raising his sword high.
"Okay, Ben—"
Fred swung her remaining knife at him, and he quickly dodged her swing. This time though, he thought about what he had seen from the previous fights. Every time she had attacked someone, and they'd dodged it, there had been a follow-up kick. With that in mind, Ben took on extra measures. As he dodged right of her swing, he dropped low to the ground. Turning, he saw her leg miss above him. Taking advantage of it, Ben swung his blade around to hit her with the end of the handle as she landed.
Eyes wide with surprise, Fred barely had time to block his next attack with her small blade. The power and surprise of it, however, sent her off balance, and with an eye-opening gasp from the crowd, she landed on the ground with a soft thud.
Confidence overflowing in him, Ben assumed his fighting position again. He listened, his senses blazing, as the onlookers all around whispered intensely to each other. Hands began to exchange money rapidly as some decided to bet on this newcomer.
"Yeah!" Wade yelled from the sideline, throwing his fist in the air.
Looking to his left and right, Wade saw two bystanders with money in their hands, a lot riding on the fight, shaking their heads at him with scornful faces. Raising his hands in peace, Wade gulped as he quietly continued to watch his best friend.
Nodding her head as she stood, Fred wiped the dust from her pants and began to clap her hands. She grinned a grin so wide that it showed the white teeth behind her lips.
"That was impressive."
"I'm glad you think so."
Ben noticed a weird change in Fred at that moment. It was as though she had forgotten about the crowd she had been pampering to. Before she couldn't go a few seconds without egging them on, but now her eyes were completely on Ben, unblinking.
She was impressed.
It was obvious to her from the beginning that he had never fought before, yet he had somehow managed to knock her down. She knew too well that some people were simply naturals.
"Your form's not bad," Fred commented as she began to circle him again. "Perhaps try a little lower like this."
Like a cat on the prowl, Fred bent her knees low. It was a weird feeling having her offer him advice, but Ben chose to listen and mimic her movements.
"You become a smaller target this way, and that's always a good thing. Unless you're a master of fighting, you want to wait for your opponent to attack you. This way, you have the advantage."
Charging him, Fred twirled her single blade in her right hand in a flourish. As Ben focused on it, Fred's other hand hit him from the other side. As he stumbled, she planted her right leg between his, causing him to trip and fall.
"Never let the enemy distract you," Fred told him as she spun the dagger with a flourish again, demonstrating how it had been used as a distraction. The blade stopped twirling and she pointed it at him.
"And always maintain your balance. If you lose that... then you lose."
With her free hand, Fred extended her arm to help Ben off the ground. He hesitated at first, but then grasped her hand with his. Her palm was rough and hard to the touch as she lifted him up with ease.
Once standing, Ben and Fred stood inches from one another. Her face looked into his judgingly, trying to sum him up. With a nod, she quickly slid her small dagger onto the belt she was wearing. Ben flinched from the movement, but slowly lowered his sword.
"A fine duel," Fred declared as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
Looking out to the quiet crowd she raised her arm. Looking at Ben, she indicated for him to do the same.
"We're both winners today," Fred yelled to the crowd.
Wade sighed with relief from the side. His sigh faded as he saw Fred point at him, and he quickly realized why. With her other dagger still in his hand, he ran to the center of the Arena and handed it to her.
"That's it?" Wade asked her.
"That it is," she replied, shaking Ben with her arm in a friendly way. "We could go on forever, but Ben here was actually able to knock me off my feet—that's not something many have ever done. We've both fulfilled our honor-bound duties today."
Ben and Wade expected the crowd to be disappointed at the lack of a clear victor, but instead they were ecstatic. The idea of two opponents declaring no winner was something full of honor.
Soon, however, they did want more, and other fighters began to get ready on the sideline.
"Are you fighting again?" Ben asked Fred.
"Nah, as much as I'd love to, I'm done for the night," she pointed to the opponents getting ready. "Those two had a verbal dispute they need to handle, so we best be getting out of their way."
Ben, Fred, and Wade all began to walk off the dirt circle of the arena. Ben felt a weird but strangely connecting feeling. Walking side by side with Fred, having fought honorably, he felt connected to her the same way a warrior feels connected to their fellow comrades. He figured that battle must have a way of doing this to those who fight the honorable, Magma Kingdom way.
"What's the deal with you two anyway?" Fred asked the two of them as they approached the patchy grass that marked the edge of the arena. "How'd you get all the way—?"
Loud yells stopped them in their tracks. These weren't the familiar yells of blood-hungry onlookers, but rather orders. Looking across the arena, Ben, Wade, and Fred saw Imperial soldiers storming the arena, emerging from the trees across the circle.
"Everyone freeze!" the leader of the soldiers yelled as dozens more emerged from the red trees to surround the arena. "You're all under arrest for illegal fighting."
More and more soldiers piled in from the darkness of the forest to the torch-lit arena. The Magma kingdom citizens don't run though. To do so would be cowardly. Each and every one pulled a weapon from under their clothes to fight the soldiers. There's not a man, woman, or child without a weapon on them.
"What now?" Wade asked, his back pressed then to Ben.
Fred chuckled aloud as she pulled her blades from her belt.
"Now this... This is a fight."