Haresa

Everything was metallic.

The walls, the ceiling, and even the floor was lined with metal tiles with metal bolts around the perimeter. It wasn't a blindingly shiny surface but it was a dull sheen of metal that looked like they were reused scraps from a junkyard.

I attempted to kick my leg against it and it left no dent which told me that it was power proof. Stilyte.

I wonder what Sheldon would've thought of this.

I continued to travel along the narrow hallway and my neck began to get tired from scanning every place to find a camera.

Just as I spotted an odd bump on the wall, the next step I took felt odd. Like the floor was sinking beneath me and I immediately jumped backwards.

A metal rod shot out from the side of the wall and connected to the other side and I noticed that there were now openings along the wall. The openings looked like oddly shaped ovals and the curves just perfectly fit the rod that was inside it.

The bar began to move side to side slowly and it began to glow a dim red. Before I could properly process it, another bar shot out, and then another.

They began to clack from side to side and the heat of the metal radiated off of them and sweat began to trickle down my neck. The rods seemed to be grouped in twos as they periodically clanked together before hopping apart. The rhythm of the spectacle was almost hypnotizing and my nose twitched.

This was familiar. What did this remind me of?

Was this similar to any other plots I foiled? I couldn't think of any other villain I faced off having this kind of setup.

The loud cough of someone's throat being cleared snapped me out of my thoughts and I saw Carabao suspended over the arrangement with a single hand gripping a chain. I must've stood there deep in thought for a while since I didn't even notice Carabao had made his grand entrance. He must've come in through the ceiling via a secret compartment as there was now a gap in the ceiling that he was suspending from that wasn't there earlier.

"Not even a stunned look of awe? I worked hard on this." Carabao muttered and I could see the beads of sweat forming on his face. Whether it was from the struggle of hanging from a chain for so long or the heat that was being created from the metal rods. Maybe it was both.

I stood there awkwardly for a second before I clapped my hands in a pity round of applause.

Carabao didn't seem pleased with my reaction but seemed to have accepted it as he leapt to the unblocked area to tower over me.

The rods were now glowing redder than before and waves of heat hit my face.

"What even is this?" I asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Carabao's eyes crinkled in what I assumed was a smile since I couldn't see the bottom half of his face because of the bandana. "I'm sure you can tell that I'm a proud Pinoy and you don't see many Southeast Asian heroes and villains running around."

I crossed my arms and nodded in agreement which prompted him to continue.

"Since Asian heritage month is coming up, I wanted to pay homage to the Philippines."

On cue, music began to play and I instantly recognized it.

"Tinikling?" I said it more in surprise than a question and Carabao tilted his head to the side.

"You know of it?"

"My ex-girlfriend made me a last-minute dancer one time." I shivered at the memory of the wood snapping on my ankles.

"Oh, good. Then you're familiar."

He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and tossed it towards the bars. It burst into flames the moment it touched a bar and he gave a single nod.

"These bars are meant to mimic the movement of tinikling. You'll have to fight me while dancing in between the bars and if you're not careful enough," he paused. "Well, I'm sure you understand."

He waved a hand toward the bars and bowed his head slightly.

"Heroes first."