Six-Way Discipline Duel
It was a crazy day in the Training Grounds today on the Dkarthad Homeworld as the highly anticipated six-way discipline duel got under way. Six of the hardest-hitting 4VP gladiators, each representing a different discipline, squared off. In the end, only one would be left standing.
In honor of the event, the Ophidians presented each fighter with a special device specific to their discipline to help them during the match.
After the ceremony, the match started slow as the six gladiators circled each other, none willing to make the first move, but without being noticed, the Queen began using mind tricks against her competitors. As the effects of her Psi powers began taking hold, the anger level in the arena rose, and as a sign of what was to come, the bio filters came down as Lothar’s diseases starting spreading through the arena, sending a blanket of death over the field.
Freakshow, Lothar, and Ironsides rushed each other while Lillith and Prince of Gates began to square off. As the feverish insanity continued, the Queen stayed away, letting the other five beat each other down.
It didn’t take long for the arena to start to fill with minions as the Prince brought out swarms of worpalites. Even Freakshow brought minions as millions of tiny nano-mites crawled towards Lothar and Ironsides, who had both ganged up against him and were attacking furiously, Lothar with contact diseases and Ironsides with a frontal assault.
A point of quiet was then reached as the feverish gladiators became aware of Queen Alexandra and the tide began to switch as the gladiators rushed the suddenly vulnerable Queen. She did her best to use Psi bolts and trickery to fend off the assault taking out some worpalites in the process.
With the combined force of all five gladiators against the desperate Alexandra, she soon fell as a portal minion crept up from under the arena floor and took her to the ground screaming.
The first Gladiator, Queen Alexandra had gone down and was left lying on the floor, food for the horrors, until the Ophidian keepers portalled her out of the arena and to safety.
With the Queen gone, the five remaining Gladiators began to split off again with Lothar running in to help Lillith and Freakshow facing off against Ironsides. As Freakshow and Ironsides sparred in an incredible show of athleticism, Freakshow doing his best to avoid getting in close to Ironsides and using a number of Nukatal Boom-rangs, Prince of Gates did his best to contend with Lillith and Lothar.
Prince of Gates’ retinue of royal guards began to arrive, but with Lothar concentrating his diseases on the Prince, and Lillith healing herself and distracting the minions, he was soon out of protection. With his minion army destroyed, Lillith and Lothar attacked as one and the Prince was taken down by a viscous contact disease that left his eyes and pores bleeding black blood and spitting puss.
With the Prince down, Lothar tried to create a continuing pact with Lillith, but she only looked at him with disgust and began attacking him. Unknown to either of them, the Prince with a last gurgling laugh had a parting gift in the form of an Unborn that grabbed Lillith from behind and made the crowd hush with silence as it began to eat her like a light snack. With the Prince now unconscious and out of the match, the unborn became a rogue and it, the prince and Lillith were quickly removed from the match.
With only three gladiators left; Freakshow, Ironsides, and Lothar; the crowd noise level began to rise as the tension reached an all time high. Just as Lothar was recovering his strength, Freakshow got the upper hand on Ironsides with a big sacrifice as thousands of bombers exploded. The explosions left Ironsides unconscious, Freakshow badly wounded, and even Lothar felt the impact as he was rushing towards the pair.
With Ironsides out of the picture, Freakshow and Lothar turned towards one another and the crowd went silent. In a sign of respect, Lothar let Freakshow recover from the blast and then the two squared off in a one-on-one, Justich style duel. With the last battle between Lothar and Freakshow still in the crowds’ and their minds, the epic battle began.
Lothar’s plagues had reached epic proportions and without Freakshow’s protective auras he had to rely on cybernetics only, however Freakshow was fairing better than last time, as the effects had yet to take a serious toll. Freakshow was keeping on the move and his nanites had found their way to Lothar, causing only a minor irritation to the serious fighter. As the two slowly wore each other down, there had yet to be a major play by either until Freakshow noticed a black ooze escaping from his eyes and skin, a sure sign that he was close to the end and the viruses had taken their toll.
He needed to make a move quick.
At that time, Freakshow revealed his hidden strategy. A berserk bot, Chronic Chainsaw, rushed forward from the smog-filled air at Lothar, and as it approached, Lothar became entangled in webs as a tiny web bot had sneaked up behind him. Freakshow had prepared the minions for the occasion and it seemed Lothar and the gasping Freakshow were heading for another close finish, when a blast came out of nowhere and everything changed.
Ironsides lie on the floor with a smirk on his face and a smoking rocket launcher on his shoulder. It seemed that Ironsides had been down but not out, playing possum and waiting for the right time to strike. The majority of the blast aimed at Freakshow, and he was blown back and eliminated from the match, leaving the nearly unconscious Ironsides and Lothar to square off.
As Ironsides began to move and went in to a charge, it seemed as if he would finish off Lothar, but he fell in mid stride in a pool of black blood. It seemed the Cyborg Ironsides wasn’t immune enough in his weakened condition to counter the effects of the death and disease surrounding him.
In the end only Lothar remained standing, and the crowd broke out in low tones of Lothar! Lothar! Lothar! Not always a crowd favorite, he earned a great deal of respect and a solemn salute from all as the 6-way event came to a close.
We managed to get an interview with Lothar after the match.
Interviewer: Congratulations, Lothar, on winning the 6-way battle! How do you feel?
Lothar: It was a good match with a lot of interesting twists. Like Ironsides, Freakshow, and I fighting a 3-way during some parts of the match.
Interviewer: We saw you tried to form an alliance with Lillith. Why her and not another?
Lothar: I felt that her abilities combined with mine, we would gain a major edge over the others.
Interviewer: It seemed that she didn't want to partner up. Was this disappointing?
Lothar: I'm used to people not trusting me and I understand her choice.
Interviewer: What was going through your mind when it was down to you and the other two?
Lothar: I felt confident in my abilities and rushed in to attack them, but Freakshow hit us both, Ironsides taking the brunt of the attack. I thought Ironsides was out so I was ready to duel it out with Freakshow.
Interviewer: We noticed you let Freakshow get ready to face you. Why did you give up your advantage?
Lothar: In our last match, I felt he wasn't at his best, even though he won. In this match, I wanted him to be ready so he can give me his best.
Interviewer: But Ironsides took Freakshow out in the middle of your duel.
Lothar: Yes. Leaving me unsatisfied once again. Ironsides denied me my revenge, but I defeated him with the rest of my diseases.
Interviewer: Well, congratulations again and hopefully next time you face Freakshow, there'll be no interruptions.
Lothar: (nods and leaves)
We also managed to get an interview with Freakshow after the match.
Interviewer: Freakshow, you lost to Lothar in the 6-way battle. How do you feel?
Freakshow: What! Get out of here! I was ganged-up on by everybody, including those two! I lasted longer than any other fighter under those conditions.
Interviewer: In your last battle a few weeks before you beat Lothar, but word has it you were not at your best. This match, your duel was interrupted by Ironsides. Will you rematch Lothar in the future?
Freakshow: Rematch? Come on shorty. I beat him already. If he wants another loss under his belt, I'd be glad to give it to him.
Interviewer: A lot of gladiators including Version 9 wants to face you in the arena. What have you to say to that?
Freakshow: Who?! Anyway, when you're the best like me, everybody wants a shot. What have I to say to that? GET ON THE LINE!
Interviewer: Is Little Jinx really related to you?
Freakshow: (his tone changes) You better guard your mouth. That's none of your business.
Interviewer: What other matches will you be competing in?
Freakshow: Be patient and you will see. (Freakshow's groupies begin to surround their star.)
Interviewer: One last question--
Freakshow: No more questions, it's time to...
(The groupies all shout: FREAK OUT!)
(They all leave with Freakshow.)