HoloPirates: A Tale of Adventure

Slaughter

Although Botan looked insanely injured, she seemed to push it out of her mind as she trudged forward, gripping her spear so hard that her knuckles nearly turned as white as her hair. She picked up speed as she raced towards the monument, causing my heart to pound as she got closer and closer. I gripped the chair as she quickly closed the distance to the monument, and finally, she got up to it, still wincing from pain, but the problem was, the other two groups, the Ants and the scrappy warriors, were already there, and they were now vying for supremacy of the monument. Immediately, I thought that Botan would just charge in and crush all of them, but instead, she just stood there, staring at them as they fought, slowly tiring themselves out. She nursed her wound, tying to clean anything and everything out of it, and as I looked, it was quite the nasty cut. It went from her side, stretching all the way to the very middle of her stomach, letting the blood flow freely as it stained her special ops outfit. She winced yet again as she held her side, but she wouldn't have to worry much longer, since the Ants and the Scraps were starting to dwindle down and tire themselves out.
"Jeez." Gura said. "Your friend there, she's really tough, huh?"
"Aye, nothing is gonna stop her here."
Gura sat back in the seat, and I watched, tensely, as Botan grabbed her spear and hefted it as the last of the Ants fell, leaving only one of the Scraps standing, holding a crossbow in his hands. Botan stood there, holding her spear, and she gave the very same lions growl to him that she gave to me, so very long ago on the Isle of Animals, but right as she did that, the Scrap drew a large crossbow and shot it right at her before she could react. The arrow pierced right into her shoulder, and she cried out before falling down on the ground, clutching the arrow in her shoulder.
"NOO!!" I screamed, my heart nearly falling right into my stomach.
I stood right at the edge of the balcony, silently praying that she was okay, but as I watched, she was barely moving. She slowly picked her head up, her face screwed up with pain, and she locked eyes with me before mouthing two words:
I'm sorry.
The last of the Scraps approached the monument, then, he grasped the base of the trident, and he lifted it straight into the air, and at the very bottom of the trident, there was the set of golden Laurel Wreaths, and the moment he grabbed them, the Arena exploded with a thunderous cheer as massive, hidden confetti cannons exploded everywhere, showering the floor of the Arena in the colorful paper. Overhead, there was a lot of screeching as fireworks, which I never thought I would see again, were flying high in the cavern, exploding with thunderous booms into bright, vibrant colors. One of the fireworks, possibly the biggest one of the bunch, screamed high into the air, and it exploded into a thousand bright blue lights, and in the center of the explosion, there were a ton of shining golden lights, shaped into an image of the golden laurel wreaths. And even thought I knew that Botan was still laying, half dead, on the floor of the Arena, I had to admit that the fireworks were absolutely gorgeous.
As the champion was hauled away for a celebration by a troupe of Atlantean women, my eyes rested on another set of doors that opened up, letting a large team of medics to spill out onto the floor of the Arena and begin tending to the wounded, including Botan. However, as I was watching, one of the medics caught up to Botan, but she swatted them away, forcing herself to stand on her own two legs. She reached up, grasped the shaft of the arrow, and, with a scream of pain, she ripped the arrow straight out of her shoulder, letting more blood flow freely down her arm and chest, the blood soaking the outfit that she was wearing. She hobbled forward, attempting to clutch both of the wounds, still refusing treatment from the medics that were closest to her as she attempted to make her way over to the door that she came out of.
"We gotta go check on her." I said solemnly. "She can't be doing good."
"What, can she not handle herself?"
Right as she said that, my head felt foggy yet again, and I looked right at Gura, and although I couldn't be too sure about it, it almost looked like she was smiling.
"I-I mean, I guess she can handle herself." I said. "But it would be better if I went to go see her. If you want, you can wait outside while I-"
Again, before I could finish my sentence, my head began to feel foggy yet again, almost feeling lightheaded this time, and I turned straight to Gura.
"Wh-what's going on with me?" I asked rubbing my head. "Whats happening?"
"Is your head feeling foggy?"
"Aye."
"Well, you might just not be acclimated to the lower oxygen down here." She said with a concerned look on her face. "And our city is pretty, oh what's the word, charming, so you might not be used to its beauty, you know?"
I took in a deep breath to try and relieve the lightheadedness, which thankfully, with the big breath that I took, it began to fade away, until I could almost think clearly yet again.
"But like I was saying, Micheal." Gura said, drawing my attention back to her. "She'll be okay. The medics are gonna help her, and we can go and make back the money that you lost."
The moment she said that, it suddenly hit me that I had betted on Botan winning the entire game. So much talk, so much confidence, all being destroyed in a slice and a shot from a crossbow. Honestly, I felt horrible that I was worrying about the bet that I had made, but, despite that, I couldn't help but feel so angry at the fact that she had lost to something so simple. With the anger welling up inside of me, now, I had absolutely no desire to go and see Botan. I wanted her to know how disappointed and angry I was. So, with that in mind, I turned to Gura.
"Alright, where to next?"
She gave me a large smile, and she reached out, taking my hand before I could react and holding it in her own.
"Let's hit the slots!!"