I bound out of the Armory after Karly's goodbye. There's already maybe half the Gladiators surrounding a few guards. Tremor pads out of the Chambers and sidles up to me. I shoot him an icy glare which he returns with a curl of his lip. "ATTENTION! Us at the Wasteland have decided to modify the rules to the Wasteland battles. It's come to our attention that Arrow is getting almost four times the points than all of you combined. Now, Arrow will get a fixed amount of points regardless of his kills and leaderboard status. If one of you Gladiators kills Arrow, you will get a point bonus. Every time that Arrow comes in first, the bonus will increase until he is killed. After that, the point bonus will reset to zero and grow from there." It's a little weird that they are discussing someone killing me with me sitting before them. As they go over a few new rules, I realise something; all they want is a show. People outside the Wasteland watch us and bet on who will come after me as according to Hawk, people are no longer allowed to bet on me.

"Excuse me?" Rhys says politely, a sparkle in her purple eyes and a sugary smile on her face.

"Yes, Gladiator?" Eesh, that's a bit offensive. We're all Gladiators to them, nothing more.

"How many points would I get if I killed Arrow during the next Wasteland battle?" Everyone sits a little higher.

"Approximately 14,000."

"Oh, yeah! You hear that, Arrow? I'm coming for you!" Bear stands up and turns to me, a wild grin on his face and his teeth bared.

"I figured, Bear." I say flatly. Wow, could they have put a bigger target on my back? Perhaps they're trying to isolate me for a better show. Many other Gladiators turn towards me with murder in their eyes.

I smile briefly and look at the guards. "That is all, you are dismissed. For those of you who would like to train, Clicks will be out shortly." The head guard waves his hand and we scatter. A green dragon walks up to me. I raise my head and look at them. "Congrats." They say with no emotion in their voice.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Do you realise the target on your back, Arrow?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about it. I don't believe I've met you before. What's your name?"

"I'm Sage. I'm surprised you didn't recognise me." Sage stretches her short wings which have three fingers at the wrist. She sits down and wraps her tail around her taloned feet. Her tail ends in a white, furred paddle with nine spikes on either side. Vines hang from her thin, three pronged horns. "So, Sage. Did you come to me to let me know of the 14,000 bonus point target on my back or is there something else? If not, I think I'm going to train with a Click."

"Other Gladiators are going to be watching you like a hawk now. They'll watch your every move, trying to find a weakness."

"May I ask your point?"

"I'm simply stating the truth. Look around, Arrow. Nothing is as it seems."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm working with what I know."

"What is that?"

"I cannot tell you here."

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Why do you trust what AlexRaye Johnson says?" Sage returns my question with another one. How frustrating.

"He's my friend."

"Is he?"

"Yeah, he is. I think I'll be going."

"Really?"

"Yes! AlexRaye Johnson is my friend! Why are you being like this, Sage?"

"I'm asking questions. It's how you learn." Sage gazes at me through unreadable, orange eyes.

"I think I'm done here. I'll see you around, Sage."

"Be careful, Arrow." I know she's saying something other than be careful of the 14,000 point target on my back.

I stalk off and I can almost smell the bitter smoke curling from my ears as I exit the Pit. Paw steps bound up to me. "Hey, Arrow!"

"What's up, Arrow?" I turn around and see Jay and Hawk.

"How are you?" I ask.

"I'm doing alright, thanks!" Jay is excited and bouncing lightly on his paws.

"My day's going pretty well. How's yours?" Hawk's spiked hair has fallen over his eyes, concealing the worn red cloth tied around his head.

"It was going quite well until the meeting."

"What meeti- oh, yeah. 14,000 point bonus?"

"Yeah."

"That doesn't sound too good..." Jay's voice trails off and he ducks his head.

"Anyways. The next Wasteland battle is in a day or two. I believe tomorrow. They're usually every other day. Ready?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm ready!" Hawk's orange-brown eyes gleam.

"I guess?" Jay says.

"Have you trained in the Pit yet?" I ask.

"No."

"Follow me, I'll show you how it works." I nod my head in the direction of the Pit. Sage better not be there. I think with a partial pout that disappears as fast as it came.

"Wait, so how do you summon a Click?" Jay asks as he trots beside me.

"Just step on the fighting square and it'll be there in a minute or so." I stop at a few squares towards the back of the Pit.

"Can I give it a go?" Hawk asks.

"Yep. My best advice is to just fight. I'm not going to go through all the moves I know. Adjust to best combat the style of the Click or any foe will be your best bet." I've not clue how to teach these two brothers how to fight. I hope I'm doing a good job of hiding that bit. Hawk bounds to a fighting square and it lights up around the edges when his weight is registered. Jay follows suit and lightly bounces on his paws. He's nervous. I think to myself.

A moment later two Clicks step onto the opposite side of the square. They hunch over limply then start twitching, the clicking noise filling the air. "What the hell is that thing doing, Arrow?" Hawk asks, staring at the Click while wrinkling his nose.

"It's preparing to fight. Keep an eye on it though. Once it's eyes glow red, it'll attack within moments." I reply calmly.

"Hey! Go away!" Jay squeals as he dodges an attack from his Click. His movements are like water as he nimbly ducks under the swinging arm of the Click and claws at the metal back of his opponent before bouncing away. Hawk's Click hasn't moved. "Hey, Arrow? What's this thing doing? It's not moving."
"I can see that. Perhaps you need to attack it for it to fight." I smile. I don't say it, but I'm guessing this Click has a similar fighting style to me. I won't attack someone who hasn't attacked me or who surrenders. I fight solely in defense. Hawk shrugs and lunges, his claws tearing at the chest of his Click. As soon as the ragged gashes appear on its chest, the Click sinks its fingernails into Hawk's shoulders and the dog howls. I watch Hawk and the Click battle. Their movements are almost too fast to see. Blood and oil splatter onto the fighting square and Hawk's paw slips out from underneath him. Curses spill from his mouth as his body slams into the ground and the Click pins him to the ground, a metal hand on his flank and the other on his throat. Hawk bats the Click across the face and he gets to his feet. "Stupid Click." He mutters and spits out a clump of saliva and blood onto the ground.

A scream breaks my gaze from the fight. I turn and see Jay laying on the fighting square. He's struggling to fight back against a Click who's holding him to the ground and carving deep gashes across the dog's shoulders and back. I pause for a moment before I realise that Jay really is stuck and can't get free. The Click should've let him go by now. "Do you need a bit of help, Jay?" I ask.

"That would be apprec- aagh!" Jay yowls in pain. Hawk whirls around, his eyes wide with fear. "Jay! Hey! Get off my you stupid robot!" He snarls at the Click as it leaps and shoves him to the ground. The dark brown dog turns in the humanoid's grasp and digs his claws into its throat. Hawk strains to break free of the Click's grasp as he tries to get to his brother but cannot. Desperation is written across every part of his body from his straining muscles to his widened eyes. He tears at the metal in a vain attempt. "Go away..." Jay whimpers at the Click as he stares at me with huge dark blue eyes rimmed with pure fear. I harden my gaze at Jay's Click. My nose wrinkles and I bare my teeth in a snarl. "Hey, you!" The Click lifts its head and looks at my quizzically through glowing red eyes. It cocks its head to one side and a whirring sound travels from its mouth. "Yeah, you. Come get me if you can. I'm challenging you." I don't know if they'll attack someone other than who summoned them but Jay's about to get defeated and he can't fight back. It's worth a shot. I watch in satisfaction as the Click slowly slinks off of Jay's whimpering body and walks towards me. Before it can react, I leap and pin it to the ground. I don't need a fight. "Pick on someone who'll fight back." I murmur in the Click's ear as I sink my teeth into the back of its neck.

There's the clicking noise then the Click stands up robotically and walks away. Hawk is already by Jay's side. "Are you alright? Jay! Answer me!' Hawk's orange-brown eyes are wide.

"What was that Click doing? I swear it was about to break my neck!" Jay rolls to his side, smearing red on the fighting square.

"Really? They shouldn't be doing any damage other than gashes. The Clicks are only supposed to do surface damage, nothing internal." Why would the Click have nearly broken Jay's neck? All they're programmed to do is fight and hold someone in a position where they'd be dead in a Wasteland battle for a few seconds before walking off after their clicking noise.

"That's odd. The fingernails went pretty deep..." Jay's voice trails off and his eyelids flutter. Blood bubbles from his throat.

"JAY!" Hawk screeches and bolts for his brother, the whites of his eyes showing. Jay doesn't respond, his flank shudders and his eyelids droop.

"I'll get the medical personnel! Hold on, Jay!" I sprint for the medical wing like a racehorse lunging from the starting gate.

Thank you for reading this! If you think this chapter is worthy, please consider a vote! Also, feel free to comment! 

What was Sage all about? 

Is Jay going to make it? 

Why was the Click about to kill Jay when all they are supposed to do is hold the Gladiator in a position where they would be dead for a few seconds? 

Hopefully you're all having a great day!

-Werewolf14-