Being in the so-called waiting room, which more closely resembled a neglected utility closet of Don Corneo's underground Arena, Alex leisurely smoked, listening to the sounds coming from outside. Thanks to his heightened hearing, he clearly distinguished everything that was happening in the ring and instantly understood that the next fight had only just begun.
Stopping fixating on the noise of the stands, Alex slightly rocked on the chair and again brought the cigarette to the lips of his plush Bear mask. At the moment he was interested in only one simple task: quickly raise a solid stake and immediately head out to the Slums of the Seventh Sector. Rocking on the chair, Alex shifted his gaze to Dean, who had loungingly thrown his legs onto the table and was patiently waiting for the call.
Meeting his gaze, Dean questioningly raised his chin under the Panda mask, as if to say, "What do you want?" Alex only vaguely waved it off, making it clear that everything was going strictly according to plan and they just needed to wait. Carelessly shrugging his shoulders, Dean returned to a relaxed state, listening to the unobtrusive melody that Aerith was humming under her breath.
The girl herself was actively exploring the cramped room in hopes of finding at least something interesting. Watching her movements, Alex suddenly wondered: had she warned Elmyra before running away from home and tagging along with them to a place like this.
"Aerith…" Alex called out to her, attracting the girl's attention, who was just then enthusiastically trying to pick at a locked metal cabinet.
"What?" Aerith responded instantly, immediately abandoning her occupation and quickly hiding her hands behind her back with the most innocent expression.
"Did you warn your mom that you left? What if she wakes up in the morning and you're not there, and she starts worrying?" Alex asked, magnanimously ignoring her short career as a hamster burglar.
"Yes! I left her a note," Aerith replied with absolute pride, skipping cheerfully to the table and sitting down next to Alex.
"I hope it didn't say something like: 'I went out for a walk, if I'm lucky — I'll come back someday'?" Dean inquired, lazily shifting his gaze to her.
"Well, almost… I wrote that we went to raise a little money, and after that we're going to become terrorists!" Aerith laid out with the same imperturbable cheer, nodding vivaciously and raising both thumbs up.
Hearing such an answer, Alex and Dean exchanged glances and stared at Aerith again. They didn't even need to ask her to take off the mask to clearly imagine how proud and pleased with herself her face looked right now. Alex already vividly imagined Elmyra's face when she woke up and discovered this masterpiece of the epistolary genre on the table.
What Alex doubted was which would happen to the poor woman first — a heart attack or a nervous breakdown from the news that her daughter had gone off to become a terrorist. But both Alex and Dean were absolutely sure: when Aerith finally deigned to return home, a couple of maternal slaps for such a stunt were definitely guaranteed to her.
Receiving only deathly silence in response, Aerith puzzledly tilted her head to the side. It seemed to her that writing something like that was incredibly witty and funny. Not waiting for a verbal reaction, Aerith decided to resort to the already proven method: she raised her hand and began persistently poking Alex with her finger first in the forearm, then walked like that all the way to the shoulder, moved to the neck, and finally pressed right into the cheek.
Feeling these rhythmic pokes, Alex slowly turned his head in the Bear mask toward her. The moment he paid attention to her, Aerith immediately stopped her finger attack and instantly propped her cheeks with her palms, sincerely trying to look as cute and harmless as possible.
And even though a round plush Hamster mask still sat on her head, Alex was ready to swear that right now under it a victorious sly smile had spread. Narrowing his eyes, Alex was already about to answer her with a similar trick when a loud, crackling voice sounded from the speaker under the ceiling.
"Team 'Mascots'… Your match begins in two minutes. Proceed to the arena exit," a dry female voice announced.
Hearing how their team was announced, Alex and Dean synchronously and irritably clicked their tongues — the name sounded maximally stupid. And only Aerith remained relatively satisfied, although she still wrinkled her nose, remembering how the registrar had openly called her a "mascot." Reminding himself that he deeply didn't care about stupid labels and the main thing here was the solid cash prize, Alex rose from the chair and headed for the exit. Dean continued quietly grumbling under his breath, cursing the fantasy of the local staff.
Coming out into the corridor where the screams of the crowd from the stands could be heard, Alex, Dean, and Aerith stepped right up to the heavy gates leading to the Arena, where another employee was already waiting for them, asking them to wait a little. Listening to how Scotch and Kotch on the Arena itself once again pretentiously inflated the show for the public, Alex felt for a cigarette in his pocket and habitually inserted it into the mouth of his plush mask.
"Finish quickly or have a little fun?" Alex asked with a slight excitement, turning to Dean and lighting the cigarette.
"Let's do it quickly. The faster we scatter these idiots, the faster we get out of here," Dean replied, adjusting the strap of the sports bag on his shoulder.
"I'll help too!" Aerith declared, firmly grabbing Alex by the arm and narrowing her eyes warlike under her Hamster mask.
The Arena gatekeeper watched the trio in ridiculous plush masks with an open smirk on his face. During his time working in this place he had already seen hundreds of such overconfident fools who came for easy money and in the end left either on stretchers or straight in black plastic bags. Not trying to hide his contempt, he had already mentally written these three off as another batch of corpses that would be quietly dumped into the crematorium at night.
Noticing this oily smirk, Alex brought the cigarette to the lips of his Bear mask, leaned forward a little, and exhaled a thick stream of smoke right into the gatekeeper's face. Coughing, the man began frantically waving his palm in front of his nose. Barely coughing it out, the gatekeeper already opened his mouth to snap back furiously, but the words instantly stuck in his throat the moment he met Alex's gaze.
Despite the fact that Alex's eyes were hidden behind the plush muzzle, the gatekeeper suddenly clearly felt everything inside go cold. Not understanding what was happening, he felt his legs become like cotton, and his heart began beating a tattoo from the surging animal terror.
This paralyzing fear retreated as abruptly as it had appeared when with a heavy rumble the Arena gates began slowly sliding apart. Stopping paying attention to the numb gatekeeper, Alex stepped forward, on the way barely perceptibly brushing his shoulder.
Dean, passing on the other side, "accidentally" pushed the gatekeeper with his shoulder a little harder, forcing him to plop down on his backside with a dull sound. Aerith only briefly threw a puzzled glance at him and ran after the guys, more tightly squeezing her magical staff in her hands.
"What the… what the hell was that just now?" the gatekeeper muttered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand and still feeling that prolonged sense of fear from the gaze of the guy in the Bear mask.
The moment Alex, Dean, and Aerith stepped onto the sand of the arena, they were immediately met by a deafening roar, mockery, and disapproving shouts of the heated crowd. Dean and Aerith, finding themselves in a place like this for the first time, looked around with interest, and out of habit listening to the cacophony of shouts coming from the stands.
Alex, on the other hand, calmly finished his cigarette, completely ignoring the frenzied spectators. He deeply didn't care about someone else's whistling — he was thinking only about how to quickly take the main prize and get out, and everything else didn't concern him. Standing to the left of Alex, Dean patted him on the shoulder and couldn't help but ask whether they always arranged such a "warm" welcome at underground arenas.
Alex only nodded, explaining that it was exactly like that, and this was a kind of local greeting for newcomers. But Aerith was sincerely angered by such rudeness and immediately jumped up to Alex, tugging at his sleeve.
"Alright! Now I'm really pissed off. Let's show these screamers who's the strongest here!" Aerith declared, decisively clenching her little fists and demonstrating full combat readiness.
Alex chuckled slightly at her ardor and nodded, fully sharing this mood. Since Aerith said they needed to show class — he and Dean would do it in the best possible way. Throwing the extinguished butt under his feet and stomping it out, Alex shifted his gaze to Scotch and Kotch, who were rocking the stands with another cringeworthy show.
Looking at their antics, Alex for a second remembered Heimdall, who turned out to be Zelretch in disguise, deciding to arrange a cosplay show during Ragnarok in Valhalla. Thinking about that time, Alex even chuckled slightly, remembering how much Valhalla had changed after his departure.
"And now their opponents take the arena! One of the best beast tamers at the Wall Market! Will his pets feast on fresh meat right before your eyes?!" Scotch roared into the microphone, inflating the intrigue before the upcoming fight.
"Or will the team of newcomers show us something truly amazing?! Although who knows — maybe they really will just become a light snack!" Kotch picked up, expressively pointing his hand at Alex, Dean, and Aerith.
"Meet them! Hellhounds! Stalkers of Sanguine!" Scotch and Kotch roared in one voice, effectively waving their hands toward the slowly rising opposite gates.
As soon as Scotch and Kotch's final click sounded, the stands exploded with a loud howl and whistling, greeting the new participant of the contests. Alex thoughtfully stroked the chin of his mask, sincerely wondering why exactly this contender was being put against them. And the moment he thought about it, he noticed a barely discernible gray silhouette hovering right above the gates from which the Beast Tamer was about to emerge.
Alex instantly figured it out when he understood that the Gray Whispers simply couldn't miss the chance to return the damn Canon to its usual course. This time, instead of direct aggressive intervention, they decided to act more sophisticatedly — carefully pulling the plot rails in the direction they needed. Nudging Dean with his elbow in the shoulder, Alex briefly nodded his head toward the gates, pointing at the semi-transparent gray creature.
Seeing this Gray Ghost again, Dean only grimaced under the mask and couldn't help but ask what the hell this abomination had crawled out for right now? But he didn't have time to ask his question out loud when the massive grilles on the opposite side of the arena creaked upward, and from there giant, muscular creatures of coal-black color jumped out onto the sand, more resembling a wild mix of dog and cat.
"And this crap of theirs is called Hellhounds, or am I missing something?" Dean inquired, examining the jumping Bloodhounds.
"Nah, this is just local laboratory crap on hard steroids. Have you already forgotten what Juliette Crowley looked like?" Alex smirked, turning to him and reminding the guy what real hellhounds look like.
"How could I forget her… That bitch that Crowley trained was the size of a steroid pony," Dean grimaced under the Panda mask, shuddering as he remembered the infernal bitch of the King of Hell.
Seeing that even wild beasts were allowed to fight in the Arena, Aerith already wanted to protest such unfairness, but her attention immediately switched to the strange conversation of Alex and Dean about some unknown "Hellhounds." And while the pretentious show raged around, Alex and Dean completely immersed themselves in discussing the past, completely ignoring the Beast Tamer strutting opposite.
Listening to them, even Aerith for a second forgot where she was. Meanwhile, Scotch and Kotch finished their fiery speech and briskly left the ring, giving the contenders the opportunity to literally tear each other's throats out. The Beast Tamer, clenching a whistle for controlling the beasts in his teeth, contemptuously examined the trio in masks.
Noticing that he and his pets were being openly ignored, he got angry and sharply blew into the whistle. The moment the ultrasonic signal sounded, both of his Bloodhounds lunged toward Alex and Dean. Aerith was the first to notice the rushing threat and immediately tugged at Alex's sleeve to attract his attention.
"Watch out!" she shouted when the two Bloodhounds jumped toward Alex and Dean.
"Damn it… You're interfering!" Alex roared, together with Dean brushing off the carcasses flying at their throats as if from annoying flies.
Both Bloodhounds, not even managing to snap their teeth, whistled back past their dumbfounded master and slammed into the stone wall of the arena at full speed. The Tamer froze with the whistle in his mouth. Slowly turning his head, he stared at his pets, deeply stuck in the stone masonry.
From such shock the whistle fell out of his mouth by itself, clinked against the cowboy boot, and rolled into the sand. The stands instantly died out. The spectators, who a second ago had been savoring the picture of how the newcomers would become feed, in complete stupor tried to comprehend what had happened.
Even the authoritative trio of the Wall Market — Sam, Madam M, and Andrea — simultaneously raised their eyebrows, quite impressed by this instantaneous retribution. Only after a couple of seconds did the first shocked exclamations cut through the silence, gradually bringing the crowd out of stupor. Only the Tamer continued to stand like a statue, understanding absolutely nothing.
Slowly shifting his gaze back, he fixed his eye on Alex in the Bear mask, who casually aimed his index finger at him, folded in the shape of a pistol. Behind his back stood Aerith with a magical staff, which she held in front of her, and crackling electric discharges were already cheerfully running across its knob.
"Pew… Discharge!" Alex said, imitating a shot from a pistol.
The moment Alex dropped the imaginary trigger, Aerith decisively swung her staff. In that same second a lightning bolt crashed down right from the ceiling onto the Tamer, deafeningly cracking him on the head. His clothes instantly charred, and thick white smoke billowed in all directions.
However, taking a full discharge to the chest, the Tamer somehow managed to stay on his feet by a miracle, although his eyes were already spinning from the excess of electricity in his body. Seeing that the opponent was still smoking but not falling, Alex doubtfully examined his "pistol" from fingers, and then shifted his gaze to Aerith. Glancing at Aerith, Alex expressively shook his improvised pistol, making it clear that one "shot" was clearly not enough for resuscitation.
Under the Hamster mask Aerith's face stretched from sincere bewilderment. Carefully peeking out from behind Alex's broad shoulder, she stared at the charred Beast Tamer, who contrary to the laws of physics continued to stand like a statue.
Sighing heavily, Aerith nodded understandingly, ready to add a second round of "therapy." Grinning widely under the mask, Alex again aimed the finger barrel at the half-dead target. Dean, not missing the moment, quickly pulled a phone from his jacket pocket to take a couple of juicy shots of this circus for memory.
"Damn, we're losing him! Discharge! Pew-pew!" Alex roared in the panicky voice of an ambulance doctor, imitating the work of a defibrillator.
Barely holding back laughter after Alex's words, Aerith swung her staff again. Right from the ceiling with a crack the second lightning crashed down, striking exactly into the charred Beast Tamer. Taking the repeated charge of "therapy," the poor guy could no longer keep his balance and fell flat on his face into the sand. The spectators in the stands froze in shock for a moment, after which the Arena literally exploded with deafening applause and wild laughter.
None of those present could even think that the trio of newcomers would turn a brutal fight into a real comedy show. Sitting in the VIP box, Sam Chocobo barely noticeably smirked, habitually rolling a gold coin between his fingers. Making sure that his business sense once again hadn't let him down, he quietly chuckled and tossed the coin into the air.
Meanwhile, Alex, Dean, and Aerith were already leaving the ring under the ovations of the heated crowd. Completely ignoring the stunned gatekeeper, they returned to their utility room. The moment the door closed behind them, Alex and Dean collapsed into their seats and, exchanging glances, simultaneously burst into desperate laughter, clutching their stomachs. Aerith buried her forehead in Alex's shoulder and also quietly shook with laughter. She herself hadn't expected that their first fight would turn into such an absurd farce — especially her amusement was Alex with his panicky "medical" pistol.
"Damn, dude. That was really funny… And you did great too, flower girl. I didn't even suspect that you could throw lightning at people. That was cool," Dean said, barely restraining another fit of laughter, shoving his hand under the Panda mask to wipe the tears from the long laughter.
"Hmph! I did say I was strong… But was it necessary to hit that guy with lightning a second time?" Aerith hummed, folding her arms across her chest and then looking at Alex with doubt.
"He was still standing. And better this way, otherwise they would have just written him off. This way he'll walk around for a couple of weeks twitchy from your charge of positive energy," Alex replied, poking his finger into the nose of the Hamster mask on Aerith's head.
"So… they could have just killed him if it had ended so simply?" Aerith asked again, frowning under the mask and wanting to confirm her thoughts.
"Yeah. Now he'll be twitchy, but alive," Dean confirmed, nodding his head and perfectly understanding the rules of a place like this.
"This isn't a coliseum where everything is by the rules. There are no rules here. That's why we arranged a show. To avoid problems when we take the prize," Alex said, tapping on the table and explaining the rules of a place like this.
Hearing Alex and Dean's explanation of why all this had been done, Aerith clenched her little fists and decisively nodded. Catching fire with the idea, she firmly decided in the next fight to play along with the guys to the fullest and arrange an even brighter and more spectacular show for the stands. Seeing how Aerith was literally puffing with enthusiasm and clenching her fists, Alex and Dean quietly chuckled, shaking their heads.
In fact, right now they were only worried about one thing: when the next fight would be announced and whether they would have time to laze around at least a little. And the moment Alex thought about going to find out the schedule, a short knock sounded on the door of the utility room. Rising from the chair, Alex approached the door and pulled it toward himself.
On the threshold stood another Arena employee, who reported that their next exit would take place in half an hour, right after the end of the current match. Nodding, Alex closed the door, returned to his place, and voiced the news about the next fight.
Learning that they had a whole half hour of idleness, Dean immediately loungingly threw his legs onto the table. Aerith, from the necessity of waiting for something again, only groaned with annoyance and again buried her forehead in Alex's shoulder. Fortunately for the entire trio, thirty minutes flew by unnoticed, and from the speakers under the ceiling a female voice finally sounded, inviting them to proceed to the arena.
"Finally… A little more, and I would have passed out right here from boredom," Dean said, slightly yawning, removing his legs from the table and rising from the chair.
"So you could have just gone to sleep, Aerith and I would have handled everything fine just the two of us," Alex said with a chuckle, adjusting the Bear mask on his head.
"Yeah! We would have handled it fine without you!" Aerith said in a cheerful tone, narrowing her eyes playfully under her Hamster mask and looking at Dean.
"Yeah, screw you both…" Dean snapped, being the first to leave the waiting room with his hands in his pockets.
Chuckling, Alex and Aerith followed Dean into the corridor. When they approached the gates, the gatekeeper was no longer smiling looking at the trio, but simply quietly stood aside, preferring to keep his opinion to himself. Waiting while the next farce with the pretentious presentation of the fighters ended, Alex inserted a smoldering cigarette into the mouth of his Bear mask and habitually exhaled smoke through his nose. Slightly swaying from side to side, he pondered who would become their new opponent.
Remembering the Gray Whisper during the previous fight, Alex already foresaw in advance whom exactly they would put against them. When the massive gates began to slide apart, Alex, Dean, and Aerith synchronously stepped onto the sand. Coming out under the enthusiastic shouts and ovations of the crowd, Alex and Dean still calmly ignored the stands. Aerith, on the contrary, cheerfully waved her hand, with pleasure accepting the ovations of the spectators.
"In the second match of our exciting semifinal, our incredibly lucky trio will again take part, who arranged an unforgettable show for us last time!" Scotch roared enthusiastically into the microphone, beginning to present Alex, Dean, and Aerith.
"Or rather unrealistically unlucky and shameful for all the other participants!" Kotch shouted, clowning around and inserting another jab for the amusement of the public.
"Meet them again — Team 'Mascots'!" Scotch and Kotch roared in one voice, effectively pointing their palms at Alex, Dean, and Aerith.
From Scotch's words the spectators in the stands began to applaud and whistle even louder. Aerith slightly hopped in place, cheerfully waving her hand and with pleasure accepting the support of the public. And while some spectators sincerely rejoiced at their exit, others were angry and shouted curses because of the money lost on previous bets. Hearing these unpleasant shouts, Aerith wrinkled her nose for a second, but quickly returned to the image of the cheerful Mascot, firmly intending to arrange a real show.
While Aerith was busy communicating with the stands, Alex and Dean carefully watched the gates on the opposite side of the Arena. And already for the second time they noticed the Gray Whisper, which flew out of the opening and rose under the very roof. Barely restraining the desire to pinch the bridge of his nose under the mask, Alex immediately understood where everything was heading.
When Scotch and Kotch pretentiously began announcing the next contenders and the gates creaked as they began to slide apart, Alex's face under the Bear mask became absolutely stone. Onto the arena loungingly strutted the Trio of Idiots — the Beck's Badasses, perhaps the most ridiculous association of bandits on the entire planet Gaia. At the sight of this trio in revealing leather outfits even Dean doubted the adequacy of what was happening.
"Listen… Maybe this trio of idiots got the door wrong? Because they look like regular clients of some strange sado-maso clubs," Dean said, pointing his chin at the walking Beck's Badasses.
"No idea. But they look really creepy. And we've seen a lot of shit with you," Alex said without hiding his disgust, slightly shuddering from the ridiculous appearance of the Trio of Beck's Badasses.
"Hey, it's you! I recognized you! So we meet again! The time for Retribution has come!" Burke suddenly shouted, dramatically pointing his finger right at Aerith.
Hearing Burke's shout, Aerith puzzledly tilted her head to the side and surprisingly pointed her finger at herself. At that moment she sincerely couldn't understand what retribution was even being talked about and why exactly she had become its target. Alex and Dean with the same bewilderment shifted their gazes from the Trio of Idiots to Aerith, who only confusedly shrugged her shoulders.
Even the spectators in the stands leaned forward a little so as not to miss the details of this strange scene. Burke pointed at Aerith not just like that. They had already crossed paths last time, and he clearly remembered her magical staff and bright red jacket — especially after the girl had slammed lightning at him and his accomplices several times when she caught them trying to take money from children.
Beck and Butch blinked in bewilderment, shifting their gazes from Burke to the girl in the Hamster mask. Noticing the doubts of his friends, Burke poked her with his finger even more insistently, making it clear that it was definitely her. Beck and Butch narrowed their eyes, peered more carefully, and in that same second also recognized that very lightning lover.
"Damn it, it's you! How long I've waited for this moment to take revenge on you!" Beck dramatically shouted, pointing his finger at Aerith.
"Um… Do we know each other?!" Aerith carefully asked again, sincerely not understanding who these three in front of her were.
"We know each other very well! You… You… What's your name… And what's her name anyway?" Burke shouted, continuing to poke his finger at Aerith, and then turned to Beck in search of a hint.
"Doesn't matter! The main thing is retribution! And we'll serve it to you hot on a platter. So open your mouth wider, girl, we'll feed you!" Beck shouted even more pretentiously, continuing to spin the drama, pretentiously pointing his finger at Aerith.
"Yes, we'll feed you with retribution!… Wait, is it tasty?" Butch shouted and immediately turned to Beck with the dumbest question.
When Butch's dumbest question sounded, Alex and Dean could no longer restrain themselves and synchronously slapped their palms against their foreheads from the complete absurdity of what was happening. Even among the spectators in the stands facepalm slaps and suppressed laughter sounded. Aerith still sincerely didn't understand who these three were and for what they were going to take revenge on her.
Tugging at Alex's coat sleeve, she quietly asked if they could have confused her with someone because of the Hamster mask. Feeling her deep confusion, Alex only calmly replied that this trio in leather sado-maso costumes were the most ordinary idiots. Hearing such an explanation, Aerith seriously nodded, finally writing the Beck's Badasses into the section of idiots.
While the bandits argued among themselves about the taste qualities of retribution, Alex reached for the sports bag on Dean's shoulder and slowly unzipped it. Pretending to rummage inside, he unnoticed pulled two children's rubber hammers from his inventory that made an annoying squeak with every hit.
Slightly waving one to check, Alex held out the second to Dean. Staring at the bright toy in Alex's hand, Dean felt sincere excitement. Since the fight had already turned into an absolute farce, it was worth bringing this absurdity to perfection.
"Alright, enough talking! The time for Retribution and Reckoning has come!" Beck pretentiously shouted, once again dramatically pointing his finger at Aerith.
Right after Beck's shout the gates behind the trio swung open again, and onto the sand came a whole crowd of thugs who decided to join the Beck's Badasses. Watching how the number of opponents increased by a dozen, Alex and Dean only silently tapped the rubber hammers on their shoulders. Aerith was sincerely outraged by such unfairness, but Scotch and Kotch had a different opinion on this matter: after all, in the Arena the rules are set by the one who holds it.
Getting even more angry, Aerith swung her staff, intending to immediately hit Beck with lightning and leave him twitching in convulsions on the floor. But before she could apply magic, Alex raised his hand, making it clear that he and Dean would handle it themselves. Taking a step forward, Alex and Dean smoothly went to close the distance with the bandits, lazily waving the children's hammers as they went.
The moment they got close enough, one of Corneo's bruisers with a wild cry lunged toward them. Waiting until the thug ran up close, Alex made a short swing and precisely slammed him with the hammer right in the temple.
Following the hit, a loud and stupid squeak swept across the noisy Arena, after which the healthy bandit crashed face down with a roar, literally embedding his head into the sand and leaving a crater under himself. Seeing their comrade sticking out of the ground, the bandits running after him instantly froze in place and backed away in horror.
"Well, why did you freeze, kids? We gathered here to play! Let's play! We're going to play!" Alex sang in a deliberately cheerful, clownish tone, slightly dancing in place and waving the toy.
"Yes, let's play! Look, it's a toy, it won't hurt you at all. Probably," Dean added with a chuckle, rhythmically tapping the hammer on his palm and filling the Arena with continuous squeaking.
Watching Alex and Dean, the thugs backed away again. Every time a squeak of the toy hammers sounded in the silence, the bandits involuntarily tensed. Seeing that the opponents had frozen, Alex and Dean decided not to wait and attack first. Lunging forward, they instantly closed the distance.
The thugs didn't even have time to figure out what was happening when Alex and Dean were already right next to them. In the next moment the Arena was again deafened by a serial squeaking sound, followed by a heavy crash, and two more bandits slammed their faces into the sand with full force. Not giving the others even a chance to come to their senses, Alex and Dean in a matter of seconds carefully and technically packed the entire group of thugs headfirst into the ground.
Having dealt with the extras, Alex and Dean simultaneously turned to Beck and Butch. Forgetting about the pretentious speeches, the two bandits instantly backed down and took off at full speed. Seeing this picture, Alex and Dean burst out laughing and at full speed chased after them, waving the squeaking hammers as they went.
"Stop, don't run away! We just want to play!" Alex shouted, excitedly pursuing Beck, waving the toy hammer over his head.
"No! I don't want to play with you!" Beck squealed in complete panic, dodging the raised toy over his head at the last moment.
"Yes! We don't want to play! Get away from us!" Butch panicked in echo, tripping over his own feet and stretching out on the sand with a swing, barely dodging Dean's swing.
"Don't be scared, it'll be fun… and painful," Dean said with a smirk under the Panda mask, hovering over the fallen Butch and raising the squeaking hammer high.
Butch didn't even have time to shout anything when he received a light hit with the rubber hammer right on the nose. Feeling a strange, almost meditative pleasure from every squeak, Dean finally got into the spirit and began hammering with the toy even faster. Butch's loud howls echoed throughout the entire Arena.
Running away from Alex, Beck heard the cry of his buddy and immediately turned around. Seeing how Butch was being mercilessly rhythmically pounded with the rubber hammer, Beck already wanted to rush to his aid, but in that same second the second hammer flashed in front of his face. A loud squeak sounded, and the toy slammed into Beck exactly on the bridge of his nose.
Crashing onto the sand, Beck saw dancing stars in front of his eyes. Quickly blinking and shaking his head, he discovered above himself the eerie Bear mask and the same squeaking hammer. Beck didn't even have time to open his mouth when Alex joined Dean, arranging a paired toy "shelling" for the bandits. The spectators in the stands froze in complete shock. None of them could understand what kind of madness was happening in the ring, but the spectacle seemed incredibly funny to them.
Aerith, standing aside, relaxed leaned on the staff and with a smile watched this fun. However, everyone completely forgot that the group of Beck's Badasses consisted of three. Burke, who until then had been pretending to be unconscious, quietly crept up to Aerith from behind and suddenly grabbed her with a strong grip. Aerith only managed to gasp in surprise when she was grabbed.
"Stop, or your Mascot will suffer!" Burke shouted at the top of his lungs, firmly holding Aerith and trying to dictate his conditions.
Hearing this shout, Alex and Dean instantly stopped beating Beck and Butch and shifted their gazes to Burke holding Aerith. Alex already raised his hand, intending to throw the rubber hammer at him, but immediately lowered it. Captured Aerith instantly flew into a rage when she once again heard the word "Mascot," which finally drove her out of herself.
Without thinking long, she raised her magical staff and with full force slammed it into the very tip of Burke's toes. Feeling wild pain, Burke immediately squealed like a girl, immediately released Aerith, and then curled up in the fetal position, grabbing his injured foot. Overcoming the pain, Burke raised his head and met Aerith's gaze. Forcing out an awkward, ingratiating smile, he nervously swallowed.
"Peace?" Burke carefully asked, hoping to avoid retribution.
"I am not a Mascot!" Aerith roared and with a swing slammed the staff on Burke's head.
Receiving a deafening blow, Burke immediately sprawled on the sand. But this seemed not enough for Aerith: seized by righteous anger, she began to thoroughly beat the poor guy with the staff. Watching this stern spectacle, Alex prayerfully folded his palms in front of his chest, and Dean mentally sympathized with the poor idiot.
The spectators in the stands with bated breath watched how Aerith, delivering blow after blow to Burke curled into a ball, loudly proved that she was no mascot. Burke himself could only desperately scream and beg for help from his comrades lying nearby.
Having let off all the steam, Aerith sighed heavily, wearily ran her palm over the forehead of her Hamster mask, and then turned to Alex and Dean and cheerfully showed them a thumbs-up. In that same second the Arena erupted with deafening applause and whistling, congratulating the trio on another bright victory.
To be continued...
(Here's another chapter. Knowing how absurd things can happen in the FF7 world, I decided to make the arena battle a little fun, just for fun. After all, why turn it into another bloodbath when Alex and Dean can have fun beating people up in the arena, and even get paid for it? As for Aerith's behavior, he's a cute, mean hamster who might beat you up if he gets upset. Hehehe. Aerith is still a sweet little thing. Yeah. Okay, time to eat. Peace, love, and fear the mean hamsters.)
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