Night 57: The Coliseum

[el_aguila]

Touching the sandy grounds of the coliseum was a catalyst, and the progression of day did not mean the end of the process. By fortune or otherwise, this group's efforts were not allowed to halt simply due to the rising sun. Therefore, when nighttime was pronounced, those who had undergone the beginnings of an incomplete trial were pulled from their

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SOUTH SEATS

[el_aguila]

Another set of hopeful achievers added figures to results, and Aguilar should have been pleased. Tonight was the first in history for two groups to pass the threshold into the coliseum in a single night. A part felt satisfied, in fact, to witness an increased rate in patient activity. Their involvement had finally yielded the fruit they had long since desired; anyone would call this good.

The rest, on the other end, remained a little more than nothing. To anyone's eyes, the General was a mere figure among the southern stands, something unnoticeable to the untrained eye. This would last until the instant he addressed his new audience.

"I hope you enjoy them, Dr. Jones. You have quite the arsenal," said Aguilar as he leaned into the back of his seat. One nod went to the teenage combatant. "You will need your all to pass this particular test."

SOUTH SEATS

[unheroed]

[From here.]

"So," Harvey started, leaning his hands down onto the stone edge of the stands as he sent a glare right up at the general. He realized how surreal this was, but he didn't care; he needed to take advantage of this opportunity while he had it.

"You have us right where you want us and you've decided to grace us with your presence." It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that he was being sarcastic. "So what the hell do you want?"

What was this whole basement thing all about? It was Landel's creation, but Aguilar had to know a thing or two if he was here. And Harvey was sick of not knowing a thing.

Re: SOUTH SEATS

[vsyourface]

[From here]

Scott didn't speak to Aguilar yet. He just gave the man an intense, angry stare. In combination with the stunt Scott had just tried, that said all that was needed for him. Besides, Harvey had just asked the main thing he would have asked, and he doubted the secondary thing ("Why are you such a dickface?") would be answered seriously.

Re: SOUTH SEATS

[el_aguila]

Such words. A lesser man would have felt the sting of offense, but the General hovered close to amusement. He skipped over the intense eyes and the nonsensical comment and addressed the one question that held sufficient sense. "Oh, I believe I've made my expectations clear," he replied, "and you have it backwards. Your presence here called for our involvement. You see--"

Here, he gestured to the figures on the sand.

"--you've taken on the final task of the Basement. The Coliseum requires a blood sacrifice, and until Dr. Jones and Parker fulfill that requirement, you and Pilgrim will experience some...unpleasant sensations." To say the least.

SOUTH SEATS

[unheroed]

It was odd, being the one to make first contact (so-to-speak) with General Aguilar himself, and yet Harvey didn’t even flinch. He’d stared down people who had murdered in cold blood countless times before this; he could handle a military man with a God complex just as easily. It was true that he didn’t have the law on his side at this point, but he wasn’t about to cower just because they were finally face-to-face.

In fact, it was probably easier for him to look at Aguilar than vice versa, considering the fact that he didn’t have his bandages on at the moment. Harvey took a small amount of satisfaction out of knowing that.

However, the answer he got only confirmed what he’d already been suspecting, and his jaw clenched just slightly. A blood sacrifice. For some reason, he doubted that Jones and Peter just had to draw out some voodoo symbol in the sand with their blood. The final words that Aguilar said actually concerned him, though, and he was unable to keep up his stony silence for any longer

Re: SOUTH SEATS

[its_the_mileage]

[from here]

“‘A blood sacrifice?’” he repeated. “And what’s that?”

The gist was once again obvious enough, but Indy was ready to get the details over with. He shot a quick glance at Peter. One or both of them had to contribute to this “sacrifice”--the word held bad associations of Pankot and the Thuggees yanking out people’s hearts and lowering them down to the fiery pit of Kali Ma. At least Aguilar’s version involved less chanting.

Pretty cold comfort, though. His own (admittedly selfish) motivations for wanting to be the one to go through the door aside (come to think of it, hadn’t that already been a blood sacrifice, of a kind?), he’d thought it’d mean the others would be safe. Now it seemed he’d just set them up as hostages. Any minute now Aguilar was probably going to shoot one of them and order Indy to run and fetch the Grail.

In a mental hospital basement, no less. How the hell did these things keep happening to him?

SOUTH SEATS

[vsyourface]

Scott didn't know why the older men were pussyfooting around the issue. From where he was sitting (leaning; whatever), Aguilar was being pretty clear about what he meant by "blood sacrifice". Two of their number were on the arena floor, one with superpowers and one freshly outfitted with weapons. The rest sat up in the stands, split into what could only be two opposite cheering sections. Scott wasn't sure about anyone else, but even he could add two and two together every now and then

[el_aguila]

One would assume the seniors of the group would catch onto the truth faster than their younger, more naive counterparts. In contrast, it was the latter who reached the conclusion first. Perhaps the fact was a testament to children and their usually quicker minds. They seemed ready to jump on their perceptions without a need to examine the possibilities, and here, their haste was rewarded. It was fascinating to witness.

Still, Aguilar kept to his matter-of-fact persona. There existed no need for dramatics; he was only a supervisor to their mission, after all. Better to answer queries directly and keep explanations clean. He wasn't here to make a sport out of death.

"You and Pilgrim will die, Mr. Dent," he stated simply, eyeing the west seats with an unamused expression. Yes, he saw the attempted thrown food particle. "That is, unless your comrades in the arena gain enough sense to fight each other. And this fight--as you and your friend have suspected, Parker--is one to the death." The man sniffed. This explanation was wasting

[unheroed]

It wasn’t shocking that the younger members of their group wanted reasons for what was going on. Harvey himself would rather focus on the actual rules before he fell into that kind of train of thought, since in the end he knew he’d never get a satisfactory answer to the question why. He wanted to know exactly where he stood and so he remained quiet, a slow fire seeming to burn in his one functional eye as he waited.

Aguilar was quick to explain, if nothing else. The man almost seemed impatient, which annoyed Harvey more than it should have. Was he that eager to watch Jones and the costumed kid kill each other? Was he planning to enjoy this like they were back in Roman times

[its_the_mileage]

He’d already had a feeling that was it. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it

[vsyourface]

It was one thing to suspect Aguilar's meaning, and another to be flat-out told "You and Pilgrim will die". Not lose a life - not get turned into coins - die.

As dangerous as the Institute had always seemed, and as often as people disappeared from it, death had never seemed like an immediate danger to Scott. Maybe it was all the time he had spent behind a protagonist shield in his life, but the most he ever feared in the Institute was getting hurt really, really badly. Or his friends getting hurt really, really badly. Or maybe having to face his inner demons. Scott was twenty-four years old. You didn't even mention the "D" word when you were that young, at least not seriously. You were still basically immortal at that age, at least in your own mind. To Scott, getting the wake-up call that "Yes, you, Scott Pilgrim, could die - like, right now" was like suddenly getting the 16-Ton Weight of Existence dropped squarely on his chest

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]“You think you’re going to get away with this?” Probably, but he wasn’t going to be the one to admit it. “You think everyone up there is just going to smile and eat pink shit? Some of us don’t look good holding a shovel

[el_aguila]

A threat without substance was mere words, and even if the crude man could backup his statements with actions later on, he might find himself coming up with nothing more than a choking tongue. Of course, Aguilar himself found no danger in a sullied name as much as he regarded a young man attempting to force through an unbreakable barrier as remotely concerning. He had been called worse in a legitimate setting, for one. For another, they were wasting their valuable strength.

Emotions had made them idiots. If they continued to hold to their sentimental morality, they had only themselves to blame for the outcome.

"Spare me your denunciations," the General remarked, almost casual in the deliverance. Dark eyes trailed to each patient, disapproval and slight exasperation set in place. "I will only warn you once. I am a non-factor in this decision. Keep your strength for your 'test'."