Ahhh...

The roar of the crowd. The comforting glow of the spotlight in the night... The lovely smell of death on the wind. If he could live a life a thousand years long it would have to be here... Nestled above the pit.

The bodies from the last fight were being dragged out, the trails they left, painted with blood and tears. The two humans had managed to kill each other! Lovely indeed! It was a great way to start the night... But was it main event material? No.

He had main event material. The roaring of the crowd hushed in an instant; why? Because he stood. He stood and he offered words; words that the crowd would lap up like a hungry kitten. A scuffed up top hat was removed from his head, allowing antennae to flop out, and an arm was presented, pointed toward the bloody floor of the pit.

"What a fight! Can we hear it for our late contestant!" They cried out screams of joy and excitement, but hushed with the wave of the hand. "And to think... That wasn't even the main event." He silenced for a moment, and scanned the crowd... Yes, there they were... Staring, hanging on his every word. He would tell them what he wanted to hear.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Friends, foes, scum, and heroes! Do I have a treat for you tonight!" He placed his hat upon his head once more, and patted it down neatly. "For on this fair evening, I bring you not one, but two of your favorite fighters, pitted against each other for the first time in Pit history!"

There they were again, cheering away... He hushed them quickly this time.

"Now, now... You haven't even heard their names yet!" Drum roll. "In the Blue corner, he's dark, he's deadly, and frankly I think he might be a little insane. You know him! You fear him! Ladies an gentlemen, I GIVE YOU... The DIVINE BLAZE"The cheering kicked in as they realized who it was"....KADE!"

He waited for him to make his entrance; some of the gladiators liked to be flashy, after all.

He would hush the audience again, and clack his mandibles deviously. "And... In the red corner... Soaked in blood, smelling of death, and just as likely to eviscerate a member of the audience as she is her opponent! She makes me pee a little bit when I feel her eyes on me, I give you.... THE INCREDIBLY DEADLY, THE HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL, BLOODY AURA~~!"

The excitement was at an all time high... People had been asking for this fight ever since they'd seen the both of them fight. They were in love with the fervor with which Soot toyed with his opponent's and the sheer brutality Aura brought to the playing field. This would be a great fight.

And all he had to do was sit back and relax.

Soot heard the roar of the crowd and grinned, the old glint of madness in his eyes had turned into a full on shine in the aftermath of The Great Destruction. The harsh world of the Age of Sebastian had turned him into a hardened survivalist, and as his resolve grew in this apocalyptic wasteland, so did his insanity. After wandering the ruins of NYC and discerning Scora's plan for this desecrated world, Soot arrived at the Pit. Here, he continued to feed his god souls in preparation for the creation that was soon to come.

Soot fought as a gladiator in this forsaken fortress of stone and steel. He was easily the oldest one that the Lord of this realm had allowed into the ring. Yet Kade the Divine Blaze still conquered his opponents, beating them mercilessly until they were ready for the pyre. With each win, Roach arranged for Soot's broken victim to be burned and sent to Scora. This added one more soul to an ever growing list that he didn't even try to count anymore.

Though the spotlight above flooded most of the pit floor, flickering bits of torch light in the stands and high above the ground gave the whole scene a slightly eerie, primeval look. Dark black smoke poured from each torch, their smell leaking into every crevice of the arena. As the crowd cheered, the smoke from every torch in the room seemingly decided to work together and defy physics as it descended towards the door in the blue corner of the pit.

The smoke coalesced to cover the entire doorframe, obscuring the passage beyond. The tension was palpable in the air, as the crowd waited for the entrance of the first combatant in tonight's main event. Soot let that tension and suspense grow until the spectators could barely stand it until, with an explosion of movement, the dense cloud burst outward where it hovered near center stage.

In the middle of that pitch dark smog, a body began to form, and as it did, the excess smoke drifted to the ground, covering the bloody field in a dark grey mist. Kade stood, in all his scorched glory, feet shoulder width apart, with smoke wisping around his open hands. He gazed up at the crowd with a look of mixed determination and joy on his face, until his eyes rested upon the insect in the fancy clothing.

"Thank you, Pitmaster, for your glorious introduction and the privilege of fighting such a worthy opponent. Scora looks down upon your domain with much delight."
His gaze fell down to the the red entrance across from him.

"And I know that he looks over me today as well, for in every battle I have ever been in, the will of a god has kept me alive."

Aura smiled as she looked down on the Pit. She understood the restrictions for the fight, it had to be interesting for the crowd. Aura frequented the Arena like a Bar drunk did a pub. For Aura fighting had always been what she did best, she understood a battlefield the way a cook did a kitchen. It felt natural to be risking her safety simply for the thrill of the fight. SOme came for fame and fortune, for Aura these both had no meaning, so long as she could provide food for herself and Allsion, and with the Amzons that was not hard.

When Aura's name was announced a simple bovine wondered into the Arena, prodded by Pit staff members. They Eagerly backed away and Aura let the show begin. A Full size cow was expensive, these day's and Aura had procured this one for the crowd's amusement as well as for her own fun.

Aura fell back from steel beam she was on and fell, Her Aura envelloped her and she smiled as she heard the crowd shout and point. Aura Ignored this, and around her Legs formed a drill. The Cow exploded on impact and Aura still sent up a cloud of dirt from her impact. She felt her Aura take the impact as she landed, striking ground, the Drill formed around her feet bit deep into the earth slowing her impact a bit. Still her Aura absorbed the impact with some complaint tossing dirt into the air.. As it Settled Aura appeared crouched and slowly rising to her feet, her Aura faded Mostly retracting until it faded entirely. Stepping away from the Hamburger she had just made, Aura smiled.she knew soot's powers and knew he had a good idea what she could do.

She said Nothing to the crowd, but glanced back at Roach. Leaning don she picked up a leg of the cow and threw it, useing her AUra to propel it so it landed just in front of Roach."Can't enjoy a fight without proper food right?" she said with a laugh. Looking to soot she cracked the bones in her hand's. "This will be fun, and your god will feed this day, I assure you" She said in a soft unconcerned voice. It was a ruse of course, she knew Soot's powers and knew he would be formidable.

"Thank you, Pitmaster, for your glorious introduction and the privilege of fighting such a worthy opponent. Scora looks down upon your domain with much delight."

Ahh, Soot was ever the devoted type; even if his god was one that demanded the souls of the burnt in order to quell his appetite. Honestly, Roach cared very little why Soot always came back to fight, only that he did. The big bug bowed his head in response to the man's show of respect.

It was then that his men prodded the cow into the arena... Aura had really shelled out some scrap to get the cow, and in hindsight, it should have been clear that she wasn't looking for milk. What a shame. Still, he was sure what ever the cow's fate would be, the crowd would love it.

This thought was proved when the cow pretty much exploded on impact with the falling Aura. He couldn't help but chuckle fondly as he clapped. The crowd, of course, went wild, and many scrambled for any chunk of meat that managed to find its way out of the cage... He would have to open it to them after this, as a gift. The cow leg was tossed up to him... now that he thought of it, he was a bit peckish. He stood once more, and picked up his meal, eyeing the two combatants before throwing the leg over his shoulder, the hoof clasped in his hand.

"Now, you are both aware of the unique rules in this particular match, and you know the consequence of breaking them." He pointed at a ring of armed men, equipped with everything from crowd killing uzi's to tank breaking RPGs. "Those rules considered. You will fight until one of you gives up, dies, or is knocked unconscious... May the best cold blooded killer win! BEGIN!"

He sat and started casually chewing on his meal whilst watching the battle's opening moments.

Aura's entrance was, to Soot, ferocious, overblown, and a complete waste of good beef. After mutilating a perfectly healthy cow with a deathstrike from above, and showering him with bits of dirt and animal blood, she greeted the pitmaster in her own sadistic fashion. Kade had seen the woman fight many times upon this dirt floor. Her abillty made her resourceful during battle, and she had a confidence that exuded from every pore. This was no doubt one of the more ingenious molds that Scora had laid down upon the forge, a haunting combination of beauty and brutality. This is what excited Kade more than anything about this upcoming competition of skill and will, Scora had given him a test worthy of his prowess.

It would almost be a pity for him to ruin such a construct of Creation. Yet Kade had little say in the matter, he was in a situation that he could not escape. This lack of choice had little to due with the group of men pointing various firearms at him. They were insignificant and posed little threat to his smoky self. It was divine intervention that held him in place.

"BEGIN!" The insect yelled over the arena, its bloodlust adding a distinct canter to its voice.

Kade reacted immediately to the cockroach's command, but instead of rushing his enemy, he calmly turned his back to her and strode over to the opposite wall. He perused the weapons secured to the walls of the pit as if he was deciding what type of poptart to get at the grcoery store. His voice carried over the din of the crowd as he took down a baseball bat, gave it a steady swing, and replaced it.

"Hmmmmmmm What shall I break you with today Aura? There are so many choices." Finally Soot picked up a pair of police tonfas and gave them an experimental twirl. The solid grips felt good beneath his destroyed skin. "Ahhh these will do." Satisfied, he threaded the two weapons into his belt, where they would remain secure until he needed them. With his back still turned to her, Soot gave a brief sigh.......then blurred across the room in a smoky trail.

He reformed to the left of her and five or so feet of the ground, his right leg swinging in a savage kick aimed right for her waiting cranium.

Aura watched as her opponent casually turned and walked toward the wall with the weapons, she knew from experience, their was one behind her as well. However nature had designed her to be a weapon, their seemed little other explanation for her power. She to knew god's a pantheon on Nine, however she had been the last practitioner of it, even before the apocalypse. She waited calmly however and watched her opponent select a weapon. She watched the baseball bat, in her opinion a wrong choice and smiled as he put it back and picked up a weapon she did not know, but the design was simple.

He faded from view and Aura silently swore for allowing herself to be overconfident. She lost track of him and instead expanded the aura around her body, she was half way through her attempt when the leg struck her head. SHe felt the impact remove her from her feet and send her to the floor. Landing on all Four's she smiled at her opponent. "Been awhile since somone tried a kick" she said rubbing the side of her head a moment as she spoke.

Even as she spoke, her Aura thinned and fromed an Axe roughly 8 inches from her finger tips. Her swing rose, but Aura never brought it down, Instead a hammer shape formed in her other hand and she went for a quick job to his stomach, if it hit she would drop the axe. Either way she fully suspected this would be a fight of endurance. He was skilled however and Aura knew she would need to give him her complete attention.

The kick connected , but seemed to have done less damage than he had hoped. Kade had seen the young woman fight before, and he knew she had as much capacity for deflection as he had for evasion. Aura's abilities made her a versatile fighter, a living, breathing, armory. This fight would surely keep him on his toes. Aura could constantly change her weapon, and thus her fighting style, in mere seconds. Whereas he would be stuck with what he had chosen unless he zoomed back to the wall.

Kade had no intentions of doing so. It would not be wise to turn his back to this brutal huntress.

"Been awhile since someone tried a kick" She said from the pit floor. Soot chuckled to himself. After enough time in the pit, one got used to the witty banter, and casual insults that were really half the battle for him. He saw them as psychological strikes into the confidence of the opponent, while he boosted his own. It was a silent battle that played out behind the scenes of each slash and jab that the opponents exchanged.

As he stalked closer to his victim, Soot saw the pink light around the woman shift. He went back to his martial arts training, and instead of watching her arms move, he kept focused on her torso and shoulders. He knew that when her center of mass moved, so would her hands. In a flash she raised, one hand above her head, the curve of some type of blade materializing above her hands. At the same time, her opposite shoulder twitched, and with a flick of his vision, Soot saw a separate attack coming in low.

She was dual wielding.

The lower hit connected with his abdomen, and Kade moved with it, robbing the blow of most of its power while avoiding the blade at the same time. The wind was knocked from his lungs as his feet skidded backwards through the dirt. He ended up in a squatted position, his hands resting on the ground in front of him. He spat with contempt onto the floor as a fierce competitive smile broke out across his face.

"Guess I'm just old fashioned that way. But I'm still spry enough to wreck a youngin like you."

Tendrils of smoke curled up from the floor to form around Kade's hands in anticipation of his next attack. With a thrust, he threw the cloud towards her face, and moved in for another strike.

He stayed in physical form as he rushed her. His right hand went down to his belt and he pulled the first of his tonfas out. Soot settled the length of the weapon down his forearm, leaving a bit of blunt instrument extending past his hand. With a twist of his body, he slid sideways, giving her less of an area to aim at. With this done he made a jab towards her torso extending his right arm fully, and leaving his left flank open to attack.

She watched, as her blow struck, it was easy to see the man had avoided being cut at all by her attack, he was good. Aura smiled in the sheer joy the rush of combat brought. The world narrowed and focused, the crowd ceased it's noise and seemed to vanish. This was why she came here, because every so often, someone worth fighting showed up. Aura had fought her entire life simply for this feeling of clarity combat brought to her.

She heard his words pierce what other wise seemed silence. "Your god will feed upon whats left of you" she said, recalling what she understood of the man's god. She knew only what he wanted done with the bodies. Though she never paid it much mind.

Smoke covered her, blinding her, she was just stepping defensively to her left when the Tonfa struck her hard in the chest, she felt pain from the struck rib. The blow had however forced her back, she lost the opportunity for a counter attack, but managed to step out of the way of the blinding cloud. She had underestimated his choice of weapon. SHe watched it and with a smile, the formed a tonfa with her Aura. It was a taunt, Aura quickly let it fade, even if she could form the weapon, she ahd never fought with it.

Her Aura covered her in light armor as she moved past the cloud, forming a drill around her hand, she threw a punch at soot aimed directly his right shoulder, as she did her Aura extended a dagger from her foot without so much as a glance, she aimed the dagger for his knee. The attack was bold but Aura knew it was costly if he evaded the attack entirely. She ignored the complaint from her rib, she was pretty sure it was not broke, likely bruised or vractured but she had no way to be sure.

Kade let out a shout of pride and battle-born determination as his tonfa connected with Aura's torso. The force of his blow rocked her back, beyond his thrown cloud. Lesser opponents would have been down briefly, open for another attack while they reeled from pain. But this was no ordinary fighter. Soot knew that Aura would come at him again and again, a whirling maelstrom of weaponry and malice. When she next spoke, he detected not a hint of fear or anguish in here voice. Instead he heard only confidence, spite, and a random bit of joy.

This woman was a warrior, hardened over many fights. Driven by the love of the battlefield. Soot had seen her blood soaked form in battle, a crazed smile on her face. Over time he had come to think that smile as a love for war. A need to test ones hand against others. to strive for the top of the dog-pile no matter what monsters got in your way.

Standing across from her, Kade knew his speculations were true. That was why so many people had only terror in their eyes when they faced Aura on this dirt floor. She was not fighting for food or power, not even for survival. She fought to win and little more.

He gave a nod of acknowledgment at her insight into his religion. Though slightly flawed, it did show one valuable fact: She knew his reasons for battle as well. It was one more piece to the psychological battle that played out along the physical. Another mental attack.

A physical one soon followed, as Aura charged through the smoke. Her right arm extended and aimed for his right side. The counterattack came quicker than Kade thought it would, and though he began to move away from whatever device she had chosen for this strike, it was not quick enough. Sharp pain and warm blood came from his shoulder, a cut of some type registering in his mind. Soot bit through the pain and brought his arm up to grab her around her now extended forearm. With a twist of his hips, he used the momentum of her attack to his advantage and proceeded to fling her towards the nearest wall.

"Well that stings," He said with disdain as he ripped a bit of his wardrobe and began to tie a tourniquet just above his new wound. The cut was a little deeper than he would have liked, and may give him trouble without the help of his makeshift first aid. "But no matter Aura. For you were only partially right. Scora will not have bits and pieces of me, but all of me. Every speck of energy i have left will go to him! Beat me, bruise me, cut me, break me into little pieces, or even burn me alive, it does nothing. You can destroy this body until it is unrecognizable but you cannot truly harm me. What you see is only a vessel. I reside inside, a brightly burning soul. This is what my lord will collect, after yours of course."

He grabbed onto her arm and threw her, Aura was almost to shocked to react. SHe hit the ground shoulder first and rolled a few times finding her way after the third roll into a crouch.SHe barely remembered they had an audience at all, blocked out was the noise the crowd made. Her focus lay solely on her opponent and the fight she was having. It was a state of euphoria she found less and less these days, it had been for a long time the reason she fought.

She was enjoying the fight and she watched the man bandage his wound's she did not press the attack, instead she waited patiently. As she watched the Aura on her right hand collapsed back into her fist only to form a fly swatter, then an ice cream scoop. "Perhaps but the physical you is the only part that matters to me" she said with a shrug of her shoulder "I do disagree on the order however of our death's" she said casually.

Aura formed a hammer around one fist and smashed it into the concrete pit wall, letting chunks before a number of startled fight fans, tumble to the ground before her. With a smile, she picked one baseball sized chunk up and playfully tossed it into the air. Forming her Aur ainto a bat, she struck the concrete chunk aiming it at her opponent. The new world had demanded she learn to work from a distance and she had answered that call. SHe considered it a way of of reopening a fight.

Aura had taken his throw with an expert flair. After a brief series of rolls. she had ended upon her feet, crouching like some crazed cougar about to strike. The subtle light that gave away her power ebbed and flowed over her arms, almost as if it were an entity all its own. Aura's simple reply to his psychotic banter contrasted with the cascade of rubble caused by a mere punch of hers.

From this pile of what she apparently considered munitions, Aura selected a large chunk of cement and proceeded to hit it like a line drive down center field.

Sylus stared at the whole scene nonchalantly, watching the incoming projectile like it was a rather boring edition of the six o' clock news. At the last possible moment before impact, a smile broke out on his face and he disappeared, reforming a second later. The stone collided with the wall several feet behind him.

"Strike one Aura, you should know better than to try a single shot like that. You're gonna have to come at me faster, stronger, and smarter than you ever have before. Amp your game up, or you'll strike out without a point on the board."

Sylus sneered as his adrenaline raced. The shot had actually come much closer than he liked. He may be able to become untouchable in the blink of an eye, but he still had to recognize the threat before he could react.

His damaged confidence showed nowhere on his face. No reason to give his newest victim a boost in her morale.

Soot took a tonfa from his belt and flipped it end over end, catching it each time on the main handle as he walked casually towards his opponent. In a sudden movement he stopped on his next catch and hurled his weapon toward her. At the same time he flanked her, reforming at her back and throwing a punch towards her exposed kidneys.