THE ARENA…
"WINNER: TUCKER THE SCRAPPER!"
The arena exploded.
Prisoners erupted into screams, cheers, and chants. Their voices crashed against the walls, echoing through every corner of the prison.
Tucker remained in the center of the ruined ring.
His arms were still raised, his chest rose and fell with every strained breath.
Blood covered his body. His knuckles were torn, his clothes were barely holding together.
But he had won. The crowd didn't care what he had done. They didn't care about the referee, they didn't care about the blood.
To them, Tucker had survived, and that was enough.
Mengu leaned over the railing of his presidential box, laughing as he watched the prisoners celebrate. "HAHAHAHA!"
He slammed both hands against the railing. "What a fight!"
The announcer continued shouting over the deafening crowd, but his voice was almost completely swallowed by the noise.
Tucker slowly lowered his arms, his eyes wandered across the arena.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
He couldn't even hear himself think.
The cheering was overwhelming. The entire structure seemed to vibrate beneath his feet.
The floor shook, the walls trembled. Even the damaged canvas beneath him seemed to groan from the sheer force of thousands of voices.
Tucker blinked.
His vision blurred, he took a slow breath. His legs nearly buckled, but he stayed standing.
Across the arena, Shirley stared at him. A smile slowly appeared across his exhausted face. "He did it…"
TR241 looked toward Tucker, "He actually did it."
EBS exhaled heavily against the wall.
Michonne remained silent. Her eyes stayed fixed on the ring. Something about the scene didn't feel right.
Not yet.
She couldn't explain why, but something was changing.
Behind them, another gray ring appeared.
D1's eyes widened. She had been concentrating for what felt like hours.
Her hands trembled.
The ring flickered. Once, twice.
Then stabilized. A group of prisoners stepped through.
D1 exhaled. "Okay…"
She wiped sweat from her forehead. "One more…"
Diamond looked toward her. "You good?"
D1 nodded. "I think so..?"
She raised her hands.
The gray rings began rotating, another portal opened, then another. But D1's concentration suddenly faltered. Her eyes widened.
The arena shook beneath her. The cheering had become deafening.
Prisoners were jumping, screaming, pushing against one another. The sound reverberated through the walls.
D1 winced. "Ngh…"
Diamond looked at her. "What?"
D1 stared at the rings, they were moving, not how she wanted them to. The circular shapes began rotating unevenly.
One tilted sideways, another flickered.
D1's breathing quickened. "That's…not supposed to happen."
Diamond's expression changed.
D1 reached forward. The nearest ring suddenly expanded, then shrank.
Then expanded again. "I can't—" The ring disappeared, D1 froze.
A second later…it reappeared twenty feet away.
Diamond stared.
D1's hands trembled. "I didn't move it."
Another ring appeared.
Then another, then another. All across the arena.
Diamond's eyes widened. "D1…"
D1 looked around.
The gray rings were beginning to appear in places she hadn't chosen.
One opened beside a group of prisoners. Another appeared near the arena entrance. Another opened directly above the stands.
Prisoners began screaming.
"What the hell?!"
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
"WHAT ARE THOSE?!"
A prisoner stumbled backward.
The ring swallowed him, he disappeared. Another prisoner saw it happen.
He ran toward the portal.
"WAIT!"
He jumped through.
Gone.
D1 stared in horror. "No…not again…"
Her voice barely escaped her throat. The rings continued appearing.
She hadn't stopped them. She couldn't.
Diamond grabbed her shoulders. "D1!"
D1 looked at her. "I can't control them..!"
D1 stared at the rings.
Another one opened. They appeared across the arena like tears being ripped into reality.
Prisoners stumbled away from them, others ran toward them.
Some disappeared the moment they touched the gray light. Others emerged from rings somewhere completely different.
D1's breathing became heavier. "I can't stop them…"
Diamond tightened her grip on D1's shoulders, "Then don't try to stop them."
D1 looked at her.
"Guide them," Diamond said.
D1 swallowed. She closed her eyes.
She tried to focus.The noise made it almost impossible, the prisoners were screaming.
The announcer was still shouting.
Footsteps pounded against the floor. The arena itself continued trembling.
D1's hands began shaking. "Come on…"
She forced herself to breathe. "One at a time…"
A ring opened, a prisoner stepped through. Another opened.
Three prisoners disappeared. Another opened, five.
D1's eyes widened. She couldn't control where every ring appeared. But she could still influence them.
"Diamond…" D1 muttered.
"What?" Diamond asked.
"I think I can still move them." D1 said.
Diamond nodded, "Then keep going."
D1 raised her hands. The gray rings accelerated.
One after another, prisoners began disappearing.
People who had been trapped for months.
People who had been captured during the Ascension Gala.
Members of the Diamond Fleet.
People who had spent years believing they would never see the outside world again.
They were finally leaving.
But something was wrong. The portals were becoming faster.
More erratic, louder
A deep metallic hum began spreading throughout the arena.
Mengu stopped laughing. He slowly lowered his hands from the railing. "What…"
His eyes moved across the arena.
Another prisoner vanished.
Then another.
Mengu frowned. He looked toward the entrance.
A gray ring appeared.
Three prisoners stepped through.
Gone.
Mengu's expression hardened. "Where are they going?"
One of the guards beside him looked confused. "I…don't know, sir."
Mengu turned toward him. "You don't know?"
The guard shook his head. "No, sir."
Mengu stared back toward the arena. Another ring appeared.
This time, directly beside the presidential box.
A prisoner stumbled through.
Mengu watched him disappear through another ring almost immediately.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he saw it, the gray rings.
Mengu's expression slowly changed, his eyes moved across the arena.
Then toward the tunnels, then back toward D1.
Diamond stood beside her.
Mengu's jaw tightened. "…No."
He stepped away from the railing. "That's impossible."
Another ring opened. A dozen prisoners disappeared.
Mengu's hands slowly curled into fists. "They're escaping."
The guard beside him looked toward the arena. "Sir?"
Mengu's voice became colder. "They're escaping."
His eyes locked onto D1, and suddenly, all excitement was over.
Mengu turned around. "Seal the exits."
The guards hesitated.
Mengu looked back at them. "I said…"
His voice rose. "SEAL THE EXITS!"
The command echoed throughout the presidential box.
Guards immediately scattered. Metal doors began slamming shut.
Across the arena, prisoners began noticing.
The enormous exits that had remained open throughout Fight Night were closing.
Heavy steel barriers descended from the ceiling. The sound echoed through the prison.
The cheering slowly died.
Confusion spread through the crowd.
"What are they doing?"
"Why are the doors closing?"
"LET US OUT!"
A guard raised his weapon.
Then another.
Diamond's eyes widened. She looked toward D1. "D1…"
D1 was still concentrating. Her face had gone pale.
"What?" D1 asked.
Diamond looked toward the armed guards.
"We've been spotted."
D1's eyes widened.
Mengu stepped toward the railing. His expression was no longer happy or amused.
He looked furious. "Anyone near those rings…"
He paused. The guards turned toward him.
Mengu raised one hand. Then pointed toward the arena. "…shoot them."
Silence.
Even some of the guards hesitated.
Mengu's eyes narrowed. "Did I stutter?"
The first rifle was raised.
D1 looked up.
Her eyes widened. "Diamond—"
The first shot rang out.
Blood sprayed across the wall.
A prisoner had been struck directly in the head.
He collapsed before he even understood what had happened.
The announcer screamed into the microphone, his voice cracking with terror. He dropped it.
The microphone hit the floor with a sharp clang.
Then—another shot, another, then another.
The arena erupted into chaos.
Prisoners dropped one after another. Some were hit directly. Others were caught in the crossfire simply because they happened to be standing too close.
People screamed and shoved their way through the crowd.
"GET DOWN!"
"THEY'RE SHOOTING!"
"RUN!"
OUTSIDE THE SURVIVOR TUNNEL
Michonne immediately grabbed Tongue and pulled her down, shielding her body with her own.
"You guys good?!" she shouted.
Shirley and TR241 dove beneath an overturned table.
"Yeah!" Shirley shouted back. "EBS, what about you?!"
EBS covered her head and scrambled beneath a nearby chair, "I'm—!" Her voice trembled. "I'm good!"
Another volley of gunfire ripped through the arena.
Michonne looked toward the ring, toward Tucker. He was still there.
Still standing. Still surrounded by the destruction of Fight Night.
Her expression hardened. "We have to get out of here…"
She looked toward Shirley. Then, something warm struck her cheek.
Michonne froze. Slowly, she touched her face.
Blood.
Her eyes shifted toward the source. A prisoner had been shot through the knee.
He collapsed, screaming, clutching the wound.
"HELP ME!"
The guard raised his rifle again. The prisoner looked up.
Something changed in his expression, he grabbed the floor beneath him and forced himself upright.
Then he threw his entire body toward the guard.
The guard's eyes widened. "What the—?!"
He opened fire. The prisoner twisted his body at the last second, grabbing the rifle and forcing the barrel upward.
The bullets tore harmlessly into the ceiling.
The guard struggled. "GET OFF ME!"
The prisoner slammed his elbow into the guard's face.
The rifle fell.
Another prisoner saw what happened, then another, then another.
The fear in the arena began transforming into something else.
Rage.
A prisoner charged one of the guards. Another tackled a second. A third grabbed a fallen rifle and threw it across the floor.
The guards fired again.
The prisoners rushed them anyway.
Within seconds, the arena had become a battlefield once again.
TR241 stared in disbelief. "They're fighting back…"
Shirley crawled out from beneath the table. "Michonne!"
She looked toward him.
"We need to move!" Shirley said.
"I know!" Michonne said.
Another gunshot rang out.
TR241 suddenly jerked backward. "AH!"
Shirley froze. "NO!"
She grabbed her arm. Blood seeped through her fingers. "It just grazed me…no worries…"
Michonne's eyes widened. That was enough. "Everyone!"
Her voice cut through the chaos. "We're leaving!"
Shirley immediately understood.
EBS looked toward the arena. "Through where?!"
Michonne's eyes scanned the battlefield.
The exits were sealed, guards were everywhere. Prisoners were fighting in every direction.
And then, a gray ring appeared.
Only for a moment.
It opened near the opposite side of the arena, then vanished.
Michonne's eyes followed it. "Those."
Shirley looked at her. "The rings?"
"They're our way out." Michonne replied.
Another gray ring appeared. This time, closer. Then disappeared.
Then another appeared several meters away.
Michonne pointed. "We find one."
Shirley nodded. "Everyone stay together!"
EBS climbed out from behind the chair. Tongue stayed close to Michonne. TR241 kept pressure on her wound.
Shirley looked toward Tucker, his body was still motionless in the ring.
Michonne followed his gaze. "We're not leaving him."
Shirley nodded. "I know."
Michonne sprinted toward the ring. Shirley and the others followed.
Another portal appeared, then vanished. Another opened near the arena wall.
Michonne changed direction. "THERE!" She ran.
The prisoners around them were still fighting. Guards fired into the crowd. Bodies fell, blood covered the floor. And above all of it, Mengu watched.
His face twisted with fury.
The prisoners had stopped running. They were attacking his guards, one of them fought his way through the chaos.
A group began pushing toward the presidential box.
Mengu stared at them, his expression went completely blank.
One prisoner climbed over the railing.
Another grabbed the edge and pulled himself upward.
"GET HIM!"
Mengu's eyes narrowed.
The first prisoner lunged. Mengu stepped backward.
The prisoner reached for him. Mengu immediately drew his pistol.
The prisoner's body snapped backward, blood sprayed across the floor.
Mengu didn't even flinch.
Another prisoner charged him. Another fell.
Mengu fired again, and again.
The presidential box became splattered with blood.
Mengu's breathing grew heavier. "YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE MY PRISON?!"
He raised the pistol toward the remaining prisoners. "YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE EVERYTHING FROM ME?!"
He opened fire. The prisoners scattered.
Mengu screamed over the gunfire. "NO ONE LEAVES!"
Below him, Diamond looked up, her eyes widened.
Mengu had completely lost control.
"D1!" she shouted.
D1 turned. "What?!"
"NOW!" Diamond said.
D1's gray rings began spinning violently.
She struggled to keep them stable. "I'm trying!"
Diamond grabbed her arm. "Don't stop!"
Across the arena, Michonne finally reached Tucker.
Tucker was still standing in the ruined ring, his body was completely static.
Michonne climbed over the broken ropes. "Tucker!"
No response. She grabbed him.
His body immediately collapsed against her. "He's out cold!"
Shirley reached the ring. "Can you carry him?"
Michonne looked down at Tucker.
Then back toward the chaos. She tightened her grip. "I have to."
She threw one of Tucker's arms over her shoulder and lifted him. "Find the ring!"
Shirley looked around frantically. "There!"
A gray ring appeared, then vanished.
"DAMN IT!" TR241 said.
Another opened, closer.
Michonne immediately ran. "THAT ONE!"
The portal flickered violently. Michonne sprinted toward it with Tucker's limp body hanging against her.
Shirley, TR241, EBS, and Tongue followed.
Behind them, the arena continued collapsing into madness.
Diamond pulled D1 toward another gray ring.
"Go!"
D1 stumbled forward.
Diamond followed.
The ring expanded. For one brief moment, the world beyond it became visible. Or…was it simply a void of nothingness?
Then, Michonne reached theirs. She didn't hesitate, she jumped.
Shirley followed.
TR241.
EBS.
Tongue.
One after another, they disappeared into the gray light.
Across the arena, Diamond grabbed D1's hand. "NOW!"
D1 looked back.
Mengu was still firing. Guards were still shooting. Prisoners were still fighting.
The arena had become a slaughterhouse.
D1 swallowed.
Then she jumped.
Diamond followed her.
The gray ring swallowed them both.
And then, it vanished.