A creature, standing roughly 6 and a half feet tall stood and watched a monitor, as the fight ensued between the vixen and the panther. Spiked quills covered its back, and it tensed its muscle-bound fur-covered arms. This creature was a product of Australian Advanced Technologies (AAT), and was designated to be product number 17, also known as Spike. A spiked metal collar adorned his neck.

Keep watching, a voice behind him had said.

He turned his head, looking through the bars which was his cage, where a group of humans stood there, all of them wearing white cloaks, some holding boards. Why? He had muttered, before turning back to the screen.

You know why, the same one answered back, his voice cold and cruel.

Hmph, the creature grunted, as it continued to watch the match. It very knew well why. Because of the fighting. Because of the WACF. He also knew he wasnt the only subject within the possession of these men, as he had seen down the hall other cages, marked with numbers above them.

He let out another grunt, as he wiped his mind clean of thought, and focused only on watching the fight, studying the moves of the two opponents.

At the far end of the parking lot to the Arena where the current fight was being held, Jock stood next to his truck. He had just finished checking the engine, and now that he was satisfied with it, he closed the hood and headed for the back of the truck. He passed right beneath a large logo emblazened on the side of the truck, that of the legendary Chimera, with the letters F-R-E-E beneath that.

Jock was a human, a private researcher of sorts, and he had put everything into the contents of his truck. He entered his passcode on the lock, and the back door slid open. He entered into the dim light, and, as the door closed behind him, he looked at what he had invested so much into: A Rabbit, whom he had named Retro. "...It's time."

Retro turned to the human, and his eyes glazed over as he nodded. "The fight...there's blood." He began to cry.

Jock sighed, as he saw that Retro had turned on the monitor, and was watching the fight. Turning it off, he helped Retro to his feet. Retro looked frail in his very baggy pants and coat, and his ears were drooping. "Retro..."

Turning off the screen, Jock helped Retro into a cage. The cage was on the back of a small transport, and covered by a cloth. Security for the Arena knocked on the door, and Retro hid his head in his hands, as Jock closed the cloth. Jock opened the door, and security took the vehicle, and started transporting it to the Arena holding area. One security guard turned to Jock and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay out here?"

Jock nodded. "Yeah. I'll just watch the match out here, on my paid TV connection. Too expensive to buy a ticket in there, and I've seen enough holding pens to not need to see another."

The guard shrugged and jumped on the vehicle. "Your choice."

Jock waved. "If there are any problems, let me know!"

(OOC: Welcome guys^^ Still room for more )

IC:

Deamon lunged forward with a fist, trying to catch Chorona unawares, but the vixen swiftly dodged. The panther swung his other fist, but his blow was parried and returned with a sharp right foot to the jaw! Chorona may have lacked strength compared to other entrants, but she definitely had speed!

Deamon staggered backwards a moment, puffs of sand rising from his feet, before he pulled himself together and began to circle the arena again. Both the fighters were taking their time, analysing the other's strengths.

In a small booth just above the arena opposite the doors, several figures sat, observing the fight closely. Most of them were from the large Shao-Tan Reaserch company, but two of the figures were sat apart from the others. Both wore long white lab coats emblazened with the blue Evans Biology logo on the front.

One of them, a tall thin man with slightly greying hair and thick glasses, smiled as he saw Chorona parry the panther's blow, and pointed out the window at the battle. "See I told you speed was the most important, not strength!" he grinned.

The other figure looked decidedly less impressed. He was young, in his twenties, and wore wavy black hair and a thin face. "I still can't believe the old man went along with this James..." he muttered quietly.

The man with glasses looked across at him, sighing slightly. "Your father has a vision for Evans Biology, Leon." he said. "He wants to leave you a good, strong company when he retires, and entry to these tournaments will give us a new lease of life."

Leon met the older man's gaze. "I'm still not comfortable with it." he protested. "I'm not going to go protesting with all those people outside the gates, if people want to do this then that's up to them, but I personally am not happy with it."

James Carter nodded slowly. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my own reservations, Leon, but it's for the good of the company. Think of all the publicity we're getting just being here!"

"But we're forcing them to fight each other." muttered Leon, staring out into the arena. "How can that be right? I don't like it..."

"They know nothing but fighting, Leon." replied James. "It's not like they're missing anything. If it wasn't for us they wouldn't even be intelligent."

Leon Evans sighed, then stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going for a walk." he said quietly. "Send me a text when the fight finishes."

The crowd cheered in excitement as Deamon dived forward, grabbing the smaller vixen by the throat, with a roar he lifted her clean off the floor, throwing her across the arena and into the concrete wall around the side!

Chorona hit the wall and crashed to the floor with a yelp. Blood dribbled from her mouth and the arena spun for a few seconds. Bleary eyed, she looked up...

...and jumped backwards quickly as Deamon's massive fist impacted on the wall where her head had been! Shaking her head to regain her sences, she rolled backward and jumped up, landing on her feet facing the panther. Deamon span round and began another headlong charge, but this time Chorona was prepared.

As the panther reached her she grabbed his outstreached fist with het left hand, spinning round to the left to avoid the blow. As she span, she jumped, throwing both her legs into the air and using Deamon's own arm for leverage.

Her heels slammed into his temple, and he dropped like a stone.The crowd was on their feet in uproar, cheering the spectacular move! Chorona, aching and winded, simply crouched down in the center of the arena, breathing deeply.

"ROUND ONE TO CHORONA OF EVANS BIOLOGY!!!"

"Slight concussion...nothing major." muttered Carter, more to himself than anyone else. "Minor fracture of the left shoulder blade, now repaired with the skeletal regenerator..." He stood back and grinned. "You are in fantastic shape!"

Chorona took another deep breath, and winced slightly. She certainly didn't feel it! "What about Deamon?" she asked quietly.

Carter sat back in the chair and looked around the medical bay, one of many in the backstage area of the complex. 2I don't know, but that was some blow you gave him!" he replied. "He was out cold! If he doesn't wake up soon they may have to forfeit the entire match!" He grinned again. "Congratulations!"

Chorona didn't look quite so excited. Slowly she eased herself off the bed she was sat on and stood up.

"Where's Leon?"

"I don't know. I sent him a message but he hasn't replied yet. I'll go look for him. You wait here, we have this room for the duration of our match." Carter stood up and left the room, being careful to lock the heavy security doors behind him. He didn't expect Chorona to escape, but rules were rules, and their team could be punished for not following them.

Chorona sighed and glanced around the room again. Over in one corner was a wall of specially toughend glass, looking out over one of the so-called "Holding Rooms", rooms set aside for holding the fighters when they were not fighting or in the medical bays. There were a number of Humans in the room, but at the moment they were lost in their own conversations. Closer to the large window was a cage, similar to the one she had come in herself. She eyed the figure inside it curiously.

She stepped up to the screen, and, quietly so the Humans wouldn't hear her, called a hesitant "Hello?" through the glass.

(OOC: This can be anyone^^ Whoever wants to pick up on it feel free to do so.)

Product number 17's attention had been caught by the voice, and he had turned himself away from the monitor. He knew he didn't have to watch, since they were on break. He had easily recognised the small figure which stood on the opposite side of the cage.

"Chorona, right?" The spiked mammal grunted, but kept himself quiet. He didn't want to draw the attention of those damned white-coats.

The small vixen nodded in reply.

"What're you doing back here?" He asked, his tone stern. He was slightly weary, as he knew that the controls for his cell were on the outside. If the humans had seen her near his cage, who knows what could've happened to either of them.

OOC: There you go, Wraith, because I wasn't too sure what you wanted to do with Chorona. Even though it's small, it's still a bit.

(OOC: Just a bit of character development and interaction GoD I'm instigating the main plot of the story now.)

"Getting patched up for the next fight." replied Chorona. "Although I don't particularly want to go back out there." she added, sighing.

Spike glanced across at the Humans again, but their attention was still drawn away. He turned back to Chorona as she smiled at him. "What's your name?" she asked.

============================================================

Leon was buisy. He had recieved James' text telling him the match had ended, but he wasn't able to come to the medical bay at the moment.

His walk had taken him near the administration section of the complex, a number of large offices with computers and filing cabinates, and while he was there he had been recognised (being the son of a famous scientist, he was used to being recognised often).

"You're from Evans Biology right?" asked one of the secretaries as she stepped past him with a pile of paper. He nodded in reply, and she continued: "You realise you haven't finished filling out your paperwork for entry into the championship? There's a few sheets missing."

"I finished everything I was given." replied Leon, puzzled.

"Maybe there was a mixup and you didn't get them all. Are you okay to fill them out now?"

He had agreed, and was now sat at one of the desks, writing away with a pen. That was the trouble with events like this...so much paperwork!

Suddenly one of the questions caught his eye.

At the end of the tournament all fighters will become the property of the WACF and must be handed over for destruction. Faliure to comply will result in refusal of entry to the games. Do you understand and accept these terms?

Destruction??? "Excuse me." Leon called to the secretary, who came wondering over. "What does this question mean?"

She smiled. "Just that when you go home after the event, you leave your fighter here. We gather them all together and put them in the incinnerator."

"Incinnerator???" echoed Leon, his eyes wide.

"Sure." replied the secretary conversationaly. "I mean, we can't keep them all year till next tournament. It'd cost too much. And we can't release them into the wild...imagine what one of them could do if it was loose."

Leon was staring down at the paper on the desk, completely numb. He wasn't keen on making the animals fight each other...to then just kill them in such a horribly painful way??? They were intelligent creatures!!! They had a right to life!

This was too far. He couldn't ignore it any longer...he had to do something. He couldn't let this carry on.

Quickly he finished the questionare and handed it back to the secretary, then left the room almost at a run! He had to find James!

(OOC: Anyone else feel free to encounter my characters or arrainge fights for your characters while Deamon and Chorona recover^^)

Just before the fight had ended, the guards had delivered Retro's cage into the room. Now, he sat on a small chair, ears drooping and looking very sad. The cage he was in was smaller than the others, but he didn't seem to be inclined to move. His ears perked up as he heard two of the others begin a quiet conversation. His hearing was very sensitive, so he quickly realized that the humans couldn't hear them, at least not yet. The grey-furred rabbit almost said something, but he was too far away; there was no way he could speak without alerting the humans to what was going on. So, he stayed where he was, not being able to be a part of the conversation, but at least being able to hear them. Every word seemed to brighten his mood, just a little.

He walked out of the cage with an eerie sense of calm about him, flanked by scientists all giving him last minute fighting tips. He was up next. Zubari allowed the head scientist, Dr. Brinkley, lead him down the aisle between the many cages and such, heading toward the left side of the arena. There he would make his entrance.

Zubari nodded respectfully at Chorona as he passed her cage, indicating that he had seen the match. Dr. Brinkley's assistants didn't notice this gesture, as they were too busy lecturing him. Just as well...He thought.

---Stadium---

"Llllllladies aaaaaaaaand gentlemen! Welcome to round TWO of the WACF!!! I hope you enjoyed round one, 'cause there's more where that came from!" The announcer boomed, ending the intermission.

The crowd cheered, some of them throwing their fists up in the air. The announcer continued, "Now, I give you Englestad Inc.'s FIRST ever competitor, in his FIRST season..." The lights dimmed, and the spotlights trained themselves on the entrance. Everyone held their breath...

"...ZUBAAAAARIIIIIII!!!!"

The audience was thrown into a fit of cheering and booing as the lemur stepped into the light, squinting in an agitated manner.

(OOC: If anyone wants their character to battle Zubari, they can. I'll allow someone to jump in, and if no one wants to, I'll just continue. ^^; )

OOC: This is GoD, just in my main account. I use that other one while I'm at school. Long story behind why.

IC:
"What's your name?" She asked him.

Spike took a moment to think about this. Product Number 17 was what he was usually called, aside from a few humans who had nicknamed him 'Spike' because of his appearance.

"If Product Number Seventeen is what you would call a name, then that's what I'm known as," he paused before adding, "although, 'Spike' would do just fine." A grin had formed on his lips.

The vixen had smiled at his light humour. It was always good to relieve tension. "Well, good to meet you, Spike," she had said.

The echidna's head nodded somewhat. "Same," he'd say, and was about to add something else before he could hear round two beginning on the monitor. "You better head off. If the humans see us conversing, instead of me paying attention to the new match, we'd be in over our heads."

Chorona nodded in understanding. "All right."

"Hopefully, I wont have to face you in the ring," Spike had said, before turning back around to place his focus on the monitor, although he wouldn't truly place attention until he heard Chorona's footsteps leave.

"James!"

Carter spun round in suprise, looking for the owner of the voice. He spotted Leon racing down the corridor towards him, almost knocking people over in his haste! "Leon you idiot, slow down! And where have to been? I've been looking..."

"Not now." interrupted Evans as he reached the older man. "We need to talk...follow me."

Evans set off down the corridor back the way he had come, still at pace, and Carter had trouble keeping up with him! "Look," he muttered, "why can't we just talk here? And what the hey is the rush all about???"

Evans didn't reply. He just turned off into one of the more deserted corridors and slowed his pace to a casual walk. As they approached a small room on the left that read "CLEANING EQUIPMENT" he glanced round casually. The moment he saw there was no one else in the corridor he quickly opened the door and pulled Carter in.

There wasn't much room inbetween the buckets and mops in the cupboard, but there was enough for the two men to stand reasonably confortably.

"James, we have a problem." he muttered quietly, turning to face Carter with a worried expression. "I've made a descovery."

"What?" asked Carter, confused.

"After the championship is over all the animals are going to be destroyed, killed. They stick them all in an incinnerator for crying out loud!"

Carter was speechless for a moment. "You sure...?" he muttered quietly.

"It's in the joining rules." replied Evans, nodding. "We missed it because there was a mixup and we didn't get all the paperwork we were supposed to."

Carter folded his arms, thinking. "I don't like that..." he said quietly.

"We gave them life." continued Leon. "What right have we to take that away so cruelly? What right have we to give them it in the first place if we're just going to kill them again???"

"I agree," replied Carter, "but much as I hate to say it, there's nothing we can do."

"For starters I'm gonna get in touch with my father, get him to pull Evans Biology out of the contest." said Leon, his face angry. "I don't want any part of this, and he won't either."

Carter shook his head slowly. "No, your father reaserched this tournament fully before he signed up. There's no way he couldn't have known about this."

Leon's eyes widened. "You think he went along with it anyway???"

"He must have."

There was a moment's pause, then Leon sighed and leaned back against the wall. "If that's the sort of company I'll be inheriting, I don't want it!"

James stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Leon, listen. I know it's not nice, but your father only wanted what's best for you and for the company. He was doing it because it was what he thought was the best option." The older man nodded slowly. "I know it's wrong...if it were up to me I'd pull out too, but there's nothing we can do. Even if we pulled out Chorona would still have to be destroyed by law. I say we just grit our teeth and wait it out, then next year we won't need to enter again...we'll have the extra publicity we need..."

Leon was staring at him incredulously. "How can you say that???" he asked. "You've spoken to Chorona! She's a living person! They all are!"

"But there's nothing we can do!"

"Yes there is. We can get them out of here!"

Now it was James' turn to look shocked. "Leon, you can't be serious! This event has public and Government backing! There's nothing you can say to make people change their minds, and if you try you may put yourself on thin ice!"

"I'm not talking about saying anything!" retorted Evans, fixing Carter with a stare. "I'm talking about doing something! Helping them to escape! Getting them out of here!"

Carter shook his head. "Leon, you can't! The security is way too tight, and even if you managed to get any of them out, where would you go, what would you do? You'd be hunted by the Government! They'd be after your head!"

"I know the risks! We'd find somewhere safe to hole up and hide, then set about changing people's viewpoints on just how they view these fighters!"

"You must be completely insane! It'd never work, and you'd be making millions of powerful enemies in the process! Leon, just think about what you're saying!"

"I have thought!!!" shouted Leon angrily. "James they are living creatures! They deserve as much right to life as we do! Surely a cause like that is worth risking everything for!!!"

James stared at the younger man for a moment, before letting out a long sigh. "You're insane..." he muttered, "but you're right. Something needs to be done."

Leon nodded slowly. "You want to help me?" he asked quietly. "I could use all the help I could get."

"I have a wife and children Leon." replied James. "If I do anything something could happen to them. Your father has enough influence to defend himself, but my family doesn't."

"I understand. Can I trust you not to say anything though?"

James nodded slowly. "I'll claim ignorance, say I didn't know anything about it." he replied. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Leon nodded again. "Thanks man." he murmured quietly. "I'll do it tonight. Wish me luck."

OOC:
Seems interesting. I'll join in and see how it goes.

IC:
Silently, he paced around inside the cage where he'd been placed. "Damned humans..." he muttered. He'd watched Chorona's match, and knew he was up against many powerful opponents. He was unsure of whether he would win any rounds at all, despite knowing his ability. He possessed a mixed set of skills, namely the martial arts Taekwondo and Aikido. Everything else he knew had been formulated by himself, or taught to him by several different people.

"Hey, stop pacing around! You're giving me a headache!" shouted the whitecoat outside. It was Professor Malmsteen, the Swedish scientist who'd personally overseen Victor's training and physical development. "You're next, you know that?! Come on out!"

Victor complied, standing at the opening as the cage was unlocked. He walked past the line of the company's staff and martial arts exponents, ignoring their words. He knew what to do; he was not entirely new to fighting.

"ZUUUUUBARRIIIII!" he heard the commentator shout as he stepped into the ring.

"And who do we have here? It's the Bezarin Corporation's contestant this year! Prepare for a great match, folks! He may not look strong, but he's no pushover! All the way from the cold, harsh Russian tundras, we have Victor!"

A single spotlight turned and shone right into his face, and he simply ignored it, stepping forward.

"And it's Zubari against Victor! Who will win? Will it be Zubari the newbie, or the light-footed yet strong Victor? We'll find out real soon!"

Zubari blinked, observing his opponent. The lemur felt compelled to run back into his cage, safe from the fighting and the world beyond it. But there were a few problems with that...one being the fact that it would count as forfeiting, and he knew the consequences for doing so were more painful than having your opponent breaking your arm. Second, his exit was literally blocked. Bars had been erected in front of the entrance, and beyond them was a reinforced steel wall.

Yep...definitely a few problems there.

"Alriiiiiight...on the count of 3, the sirens will sound...." The crowd fell silent as the announcer began the countdown. "One...two....THREE!!"

Once again, the sirens went off, gradually rising in pitch until only Zubari and Victor could hear the high frequencies. An alarm went off in Zubari's head, and a struggle began between his savage instincts and his reasonable side. And, as they usually did in tests, his instincts won over. The lemur crouched low and let out a low growl, brandishing his long, hooked claws. His tail flicked back and forth, a sure sign of the change in his behavior....

OOC: Hmmm. Nice... Let's see what Victor can do, then... Remember, he's pretty agile, and though not too strong, he's not stupid enough to remain where he stands when under attack. XD Do note that everything I will use is possible, in theory, at least. I've yet to try some of them in my Taekwondo class. >_> YES. VIXXOR R RABBIT. =D

IC:

The siren's piercing sound served only to annoy Victor, but he knew that it wasn't neccesarily a bad thing. As he watched the lemur crouch low, he remained standing, his right leg pulled back and his arms up, demonstrating that he was ready. The hand (or paw, but I prefer using 'hand'.) in front was usually used for deflecting or blocking attacks, whereas the hand behind would be for blocking any incoming kicks that bypassed his left hand's guard, or countering.

Seems like this lemur can't control himself now... We'll see who emerges the victor, then. All I have to do is... Never mind. Victor thought as he prepared for Zubari's attack.

Knowing that making the first move was fatal, he remained standing where he was, his legs rapidly tensing and relaxing so that at the first sign of hostility, he would be able to respond quickly.

As expected, Zubari charged and leapt up, claws slashing away as he came towards Victor, who dived forward, just barely avoiding the savage blows. As Zubari landed, he lifted himself off the ground slightly and thrust his leg into the lemur's back, then immediately pulled himself to his feet, in his defence-offence stance. The crowd cheered and also booed as he got up, the jeering ones evidently not liking what they were seeing.

Yes, the lemur was one to contend with, but he was no pushover himself. As the angry creature came at him again, he prepared himself for what he was going to do next. As the lemur's arm accelerated forward, he stepped aside quickly, at the same time grabbing the arm. As the arm ceased accelerating, he spun to his right, pulling the lemur's arm along, following the motion and utilising the lemur's own momentum. After half a second of going like a merry-go-round, he outstretched his right arm and stopped turning, the lemur slamming face-first into it and landing flat on the floor.

Victor took a few steps back, not noticing the blood on his right forearm - the lemur's teeth had cut him, but he failed to notice in the heat of battle. Now, what was the lemur going to do next? He remained in his usual defence-offence stance, ready to move at a moment's notice.

(OOC: Looking good all^^ Victor, possibly a little more mental control than I would have expected ie. Seems like this lemur can't control himself now... We'll see who emerges the victor, then. All I have to do is... Never mind. Victor thought as he prepared for Zubari's attack. Bear in mind that whilst the animals are more intelligent than normal, the companies don't want to engineer out ALL of their natural savegry, to make the fights more interesting. They would still have some sence though, so so long as it's done carefully it should be ok.

Keep it up all^^

PS: Oh and one more thing, Victor, is your character actually a rabbit, as your name suggests? I think I missed the part where you mentioned, sorry >< )

IC:

WHACK!

His back was stinging.

WHACK!

He gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to cry out with pain.

WHACK!

The whip slashed at his back, drawing blood which dribbled down his skin, matting his silky black fur into clumps. Deamon closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing as the lashings continued. This was his punishment for faliure. If he failed again it would be ten times worse.

Finally the lashings ceased, and the metal clamps around his arms were releaced. He stood up, wincing at the agony shooting up through his spine. For a brief second he wanted to grab his handlers and tear them limb from limb for putting him through such torture, but he knew it was pointless.

He had recovered just in time...just before the forfeit time limit elapsed. Now it was alomst time for round two against Chorona...

============================================================

The vixen herself was sat on the bed in the medical bay. A monitor on the wall showed another fight that was currently taking place in another arena...both the fighters looked quick and agile. She shivvered slightly as she watched. She wouldn't like to be pitted against either of them.

She glanced through the window at Spike again. He was sat staring blankly at the screen, the Humans sat behind him eyeing him from time to time, making sure he was watching. She felt sorry for him. It seemed very few of the other teams treated their fighters the way James and Leon treated her.

At this point the doors opened and the two humans entered. Leon stepped up to the bed, smiling. "Hi Choro. I'm sorry I wasn't here when the fight ended. James told me about it though! You feeling better now?"

Chorona nodded. "Yes, thanks."

"We have some news." said James, stepping up behind Leon. "Deamon recovered before the forfeit cutoff. I'm afraid you're going to have to go another round with him."

Chorona nodded thoughfully, sighing slightly. She was afraid that would happen. She didn't want to face the panther again...he was very tough, and next time she may not be so lucky.

"Let me double check that fracture in your shoulder is completely bonded." said Leon, pulling a large X-ray pannel down from the wall on a telescopic arm. Chorona obediently turned around so that her back was towards him. He moved the machine close, leaning forward to examine the display.

"Choro, listen carefully."

Chorona blinked. Leon's voice was barely more than a whisper...it was only her sensitive fox hearing that allowed her to hear!

"Don't look round, the room may be bugged with microphones or cameras. Just listen. I've found out that after these tournaments you and all the other fighters will be killed, exterminated. I don't want that to happen."

He turned and looked over his shoulder. "Say James, could you go let them know we're ready to go whenever?"

James, who had retreated to a desk on the other side of the room, nodded and left the med bay. Leon turned back to the scanner.

"I'm going to get you out of here, you and all the others I can. I'll do it during your next match, but you'll have to be ready. I'm going to de-activate the high-frequency field, then unlock all the arena doors. We'll have maybe ten minutes of mass panic in which we'll have to free as many as possible and get out."

He leaned forward more, making a show of examining some detail on the readout in front of him.

"You'll have to let Deamon know what is going on, but not make it obvious! You'll both have to pretend that the siren is still running as normal. Make sure he understands!"

He stepped back, allowing the telescopic arm to retract slowly upward. "Well everything looks okay there. You think you're ready to go? Can you do it?"

Chorona turned and looked at him, her large blue eyes burning into him like diamonds. She was speechless...the information had come as such a shock!

She nodded slowly. "Yes...yes I think I can."

Retro became very despondent when Chorona was taken away to the medical bay. He had the appearance of having totally given up.

One of the guards that had brought him in here came by his cage. "Hey, Retro, that's your name, right?" Retro nodded slowly. "Your first match is after Chorona's second. I was told to let you know." Retro nodded again, saying nothing.

The guard shook his head as he wandered off. He commented to another guard, "I don't think they're supposed to be like that...I'm going to go check with his owner, make sure he's not dying or something."

The other guard chuckled, and said sarcastically, "Sure, Jock plans to win this by sending in a plagued rabbit. It's just some strategy, these people come up with the craziest ideas!"

The first guard shrugged. "Still...it can't hurt to check, right?"

A man wearing sunglasses, a black skull cap, and a black jacket sat in the bleachers. what he watched sickened him. It may have been backed by the goverment but many higher ups in the military werent buying it. Right now all He could do was his job. Gather as much intel as possible. Companies involved, Financial backing, Head honchos Nothing more nothing less. Though the anger he felt was urging him to grab the silenced Beretta M9 and start taking people out. Josh aka spyder got up and lit up a cigarette and with a camera hidden in the sunglasses he looked into the heads up display view finder on the inner spectacle and started taking pictures of a few of the scientists and suits on the sidelines.

He pressed his finger to his ear and started speaking in code. A voice picked up on the receiving end. Roger that a sweeper team will meet you at the rondeview point in t minus ten minutes.

With that Josh moved to another location closer to the sidelines and security...

-In the cages-

A female meerkat with blue eyes and blonde hair sat in her pen unlike the rest of the fighters she wasnt created in a lab. She was born. In fact she was born on another planet in a palace.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU WILL BE IN IF MY DADDY FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS.", she screamed at the top of her lungs. She collapsed in the back of the cage and cupped her face to her hands a small tear streamed down the side of her cheek.

One of the scientists wandered over with a taunting smirk on his face. "Well the way you look says something else. and if your daddy cared so much about you why are you here. I think he donated you to the university for a quick buck just like the rest of the poor parents that have came to us."

"You dont understand", she cried...

"Ive heard your intergalactic princess sob story so many times. You really expect me to believe that. Your a toy of science and the goverment. I feel sorry for the company you escaped from. Finding you snooping around our buildings was a birlliant stroke of luck. Besides I have one more thing to tell you.", He leaned closer to the cage and whispered into her ear what would become of her after the tournament"You will die."

He walked away watching her break down and started laughing "Tatiana your astound me."

ooc: Told you id get more to it.

As he recovered from the blow, Zubari was mentally trying to get a grip on his mind. Once he finally thought he had it, the lemur relaxed his stance a little, but only enough to flash the rabbit (correct me if I'me wrong, Vic) a grin that only a lemur could have. Zubari was remembering some of the training he had recieved, and one thing Dr. Brinkley had said popped up boldly in his thoughts...

"...remember Madagascar, Zubari. Remember your brothers and sisters and how you often sparred together."

At first, Zubari thought the scientist had been trying to make him feel miserable. Not that he hadn't been miserable enough already. But now, he was beginning to realize just why Brinkley had deliberately reminded him of his life before the WACF. In truth, Zubari had had many play-fights with his brothers and sisters and friends, leaping nimbly from tree to tree and kicking playfully. It was all coming back to him now, and he understood what the doctor had been getting at.

Maybe he's good for something after all, Zubari thought, carefully examining his opponent. Victor seemed to be the kind to be quick on his feet as well, and the lemur could tell that this would be one very interesting match.

And with all that in mind, Zubari began to do a few back-flips here and there, immersing himself in his childhood memories. He moved around the ring and around Victor as if he were just a clown in a circus, hoping the rabbit would get the message that he wasn't playing anymore, even though it looked like it. This was his way of saying: "Alright, tough-guy, you've had your fun...what I did was stupid. But now I'm serious."

And he was.

Remaining at the centre of the arena, he kept turning to face Zubari, who was leaping all over the place. As long as he could see Zubari, he would have nothing to fear even if he were injured.

Just stay calm... As long as you can see him coming, he can't hurt you that badly... thought Victor as he watched the lemur leap almost tauntingly around him. He's good...

Anticipating moves was one of Victor's abilities - he could read his opponents' moves, and tell what they were going to do just as they did it, but that was also one of his disadvantages. Anticipation gave him too much to think about, and he was once beaten up when he blocked in the wrong direction.

As his mind went wild with thoughts about possible attacks, the lemur came straight at him, both arms outstretched as if to impale Victor right in the face and chest with his claws. He swiftly grabbed both wrists and turned right, his left foot planted where it was while his right moved with the rest of his body. He let go of the lemur as he turned 180 degrees, and stopped to face Zubari, who had rolled on the ground a bit and jumped to his feet, ready to launch an attack.

Jeers came from the crowd, who were screaming, "Hey! We want to see some real fighting, not this rubbish! We want our money's worth!"

Zubari shook himself as he got up once again and began his circling. He now knew he couldn't be that easy to read. He could see Victor calculating the lemur's next move, and Zubari withdrew momentarily into his mind. He was trying to recall a certain fight he had had with his cousin Luvarin. Luvarin had been much bigger than Zubari at the time, and everyone was thinking that he would win. Luvarin had known every move his cousing was going to make, until Zubari had stopped thinking of a strategy and had just come at him. In the end, Zubari had won.

Zubari once again immersed himself in that memory, and his flipping and jumping anc back-flipping increased in speed as he circled Victor. The lemur cleared his head of any complicated strategies he'd been taught, only leaving room for Dr. Brinkley.

"...remember Madagascar, Zubari."

Zubari nudged himself on, kicking his speed up another notch. He could just make out his opponent's blank face, trying to figure out his next move. Zubari allowed himself one final grin before his face also went blank.

It seemed like at least five minutes before he stopped his dizzying acrobatics. Zubari purposely pushed himself until he was going so fast he tripped, rolling toward Victor with a cry of surprise. Before he knew what he was doing, the lemur had outstretched his long arms, slashing at the rabbit's legs before he could get out of reach. In one fluid movement Zubari raked his claws against Victor's legs and rolled out of the way, barely missing a blow from the rabbit.

When Zubari stood up, he heard some of the people in the crowd cheering, and others booing. He saw that the slash marks he had inflicted upon his opponent were not deep at all, but they were long.

It's a start, he thought, grinning.

Back in arena number two the music was again playing and the crowd were again on their feet.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR...DEAMON VERSUS CHORONA...ROUND TWO!!!"

The spotlights once again focused on the arena entrances and the doors slid open. Chorona stepped out into the chaos, her sences instantly assaulted by the blinding lights and blaring noise.

Deamon was already in the arena; he had dived out the moment the door opened. He was now stood over by the concrete wall, throwing punches and kicks at it with vicious ferocity.

Chorona glanced up to the cieling of the arena, many meters up in the air. Up there was "Arena Control", a small room that controlled all the lights, cameras, music, and most importantly, the high frequency field amplifier for arena number two. Her head was still spinning slightly from what Leon Evans had told her earlier...they were to be destroyed??? Could they really manage to escape?

"This time I won't lose."

Chorona's eyes flicked back down to the arena, to see Deamon stood staring at her menacingly. He had turned from the wall and was now stood with his fists on his hips, glaring down at her from his immense height. "This time I'm not holding back." he growled. "It's to the death!"

Chorona took a deep breath. "Deamon listen to me, The scientists of my team have found something desturbing...we're going to be killed right after this tournament."

"Yeah, and so will I if I lose again." snarled the panther. "That's why I'm not going to." His fists were clenched tight, and his breathing was deep and strong. He was fuming!

"No I mean we're geting out of here!" retorted the vixen. "The head scientist on my team is trying to help us escape, but we need to keep everyone occupied while he puts his plans into opperation!"

"Escape is impossible, and besides, why would I want to? I'm here to win this championship and that's what I'm going to do!"

Up above the arena, in the control room, there was a knock at the door. One of the guards stood next to it answered.

"I'm sorry sir, scientists aren't supposed to be here. This is a restricted..."

There was a sharp POP sound, and the guard fell back into the room with a crash.

Everyone in the room jumped up in shock, standing from their control desks. There, stood in the doorway, was a young man in a long white lab coat, with a blue logo emblazened on the front. In his hand was one of the high-power tranquilizer guns used to control the fighters if they got out of hand.

Leon shook his head slowly. "Sorry everyone. Sweet dreams."

A moment later everyone in the room was fast asleep on the floor. Leon strode over to the many control desks and began scanning across the banks of buttons. "Now..." he muttered, "...where's that high-frequency control?"

(OOC: Quick note, each arena has a seperate control room, so switching off the field in one arena wouldn't effect the others.)

My legs... Grrr.... Victor thought as his sole impacted the floor. The feeling of pain surged through his entire being as he felt the powerful claws rip away at his fur and flesh mercilessly. He felt his heartrate skyrocket as the familiar yet foreign feeling of the sting of several gashes on his legs cut through him like knives.

He felt himself losing his cool, and he knew it was both a good and a bad thing. The sheer ferocity of the attack had caught him slightly off guard, but he wasn't one to repeat a mistake. Just stay cool... Stay calm...

The lemur came forth again, this time plunging his claws into Victor's side. Unable to avoid the strike completely, a single claw impaled him, barely missing his vital organs. He let out a yell of pain as the lemur pushed his claw further in, inflicting as much damage as possible. However, in that space of time, Victor lost it.

One powerful knee was sent to Zubari's abdomen, followed by a brutal reversed roundhouse kick to the head (using the instep instead of the sole), immediately after which he thrust his foot into Zubari's face. Every single blow hit, but the pain in his side was nearly unbearable as he retaliated.

That hurt, you creature... I'm gonna kill you! he thought as he charged forward at unprecedented speed, elbowing Zubari, who nimbly backflipped out of the way. Victor's head began to spin; he was angry beyond words. His natural savagery had returned. One thing ran through his mind now... Kill... kill.... kill... KILL!

Zubari had the distinct feeling the Victor was losing control...if the sudden unexpected attacks had been anything to go by. The audience was going wild; they had finally gotten their money's worth.

Zubari gritted his teeth, knowing that he needed to be more serious. He'd made good headway so far but he wasn't about to let up now. His face hurt and he was still slightly winded from when Victor had tried to dislodge him. Blood stained the claw on his pointer finger from the wound he'd inflicted, and that set his brain on fire. Zubari's animal savagery was pushing at the wall of what little sanity he was retaining. He had to constantly remind himself that failure was not an option. At least...it was an option he wasn't willing to be given.

Zubari bent backward, dodging a punch sent from his opponent. While Victor was in the process of bringing his arm back in, Zubari's long furry tail lashed out and wrapped itself around the rabbit's wrist. With a grunt, Zubari yanked back his tail. Hard. Victor was sent sprawling in the dirt while the lemur flipped away, out of reach.

The very instant he realised he had fallen chin-first to the ground, he pushed back up to see Zubari leap out of his range. The fellow was quick, yet strong; and opponent to contend with.

Failure was not in his vocabulary. He absolutely refused to give in. Just as the commentator was wondering aloud whether Victor was down for the count, Victor sprang to his feet, in his offence-defence stance. He was surprised but unhurt by the attack; he'd been taught how to break falls, and especially how to reduce or prevent pain when falling.

You can win this... The Russian tundras were far worse! Victor remembered his time spent in the harsh Russian tundras, when he was thrown out into the wild for weeks on end to see the results of the Bezarin Corporation's training and hard work. Mister Malmsteen himself had flown around in one of the old Soviet helicopters to locate him while he had been fighting for his survival.

Victor was a survivor, and the silent voices of the Russian tundras had taught him that determination and strength were eseential for survival. Voices of the tundra... Guide me to victory.

The calm, cool Russian tundra. Peaceful yet merciless, one false move would mean that you'd freeze to death. Oh, how Victor would give anything to be back there now. But now, he was determined to take his opponent out. A single blow to the solar plexus would do it, but he'd missed his chance earlier. His muscles tensed as Zubari lunged at him, flying like an arrow. Immediately, he stepped to his side, outstretching his right arm and bending his forearm to form an L-shape. As Zubari came to the ground, Victor moved forward while bending his upper body down, his arm still out to his right. Despite having gotten his arm slashed at, he had downed Zubari, and now transformed the momentum of the counter, twisting to his left and sweeping backwards against the ground with his left leg.

Zubari instinctively jumped forward, above Victor, who had missed and stepped away into his offence-defence stance. If this stalemate were to continue, they would get nowhere even if they fought to the end of their days. It would have to stop, somehow...

"How can you say that???" asked Chorona, shocked. "They're going to kill us!"

"REEEEEAAAAADDDYYYYY...FIGHT!!!"

Deamon growled and ducked down, adopting his fighting stance, waiting for the cold rage to take over...

...but it didn't!

He looked around, confused. "What's...?"

"Play along!!!" hissed Chorona as she ducked down, baring her teeth. "We mustn't let anyone know!"

Deamon's mind was spinning. This was wierd! The high-frequency field had shut off?

Maybe...could Chorona have been telling the truth?

He threw his head back, letting out a loud roar, then charged towards the vixen, who ducked down and quickly rolled out of the way. He spun round, fixing her with a glare. "You'd better be right about this!"

Leon was hard at work with the computer systems. He knew that in order to make this escape plan work he'd have to let as many animals out as possible all at once, and one of the best ways to do that would be to open all the arenas at once, but the high-frequency fields were still working in the other arenas. He was trying to hack into their control systems from where he was.

"Right..." he muttered to himself. "There's the door controls, and over here...eureka!"

He jabbed at a button on the control pannel and watched the screen display as the amplifiers in the other arenas powered down. Any animals in them would now be back to normal. Now for part two of his plan.

grabbing a switch, he pulled it down. "Okay Chorona, go get them! I'm coming!" He stood up and dived from the room at a dash..."

In the observation room belowJames sat alone watching the battle. The room was on the oppisite side of the arena to the two doors that made the entrance, and suddenly he sat up in apparent shock, as the doors slowly slid open!

He knew what was happening...he knew Leon had planned the escape for tonight, but he had to act supprised.

The personell from Shao-Tan Reaserch all began to shout at once in Japaneese, pointing and staring at the doors! Quickly they set off running out of the room, James hard on their tail...

Someone screamed in the audience.

Chorona and Deamon looked round simultaniously, staring at the open doors.

"This is it!" called Chorona. "This is our chance!"

Deamon looked across at her, his face looking confused.

The scream in the crowd was echoed by others, and slowly the whole stadium began to shout in shock and fear. The announcer's voice came over the speakers: "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE HAVE A SECURITY BREACH! PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE EXITS IN AN ORDERLY MANNER...I REPEAT..."

"We have to rescue as many fighters as we can, tell them what's happening and get them to follow us!" exclaimed Chorona over the growing bedlam. "Come on, let's go!"

She turned and ran through the doorway at top speed. Deamon paused a second, looking up at the panicking crowd. Many of them were on their feet, pushing and shoving their way towards the exits.

He turned and dived after Chorona...

"@#%$!" Josh grabbed his radio. "We need the sweeper team at the stadium NOW" He withdrew the silenced beretta 92Fs and made a rush towards the front. The security guards were busy trying to operate their tasers. One pointed his taser at the escaping fighters. Josh squeezed a three shot burst out of the pistol dropping the guard.

ooc: writers block.

All of a sudden, Zubari was left windless. He stumbled backward, ears swiveling back and forth trying to capture the high frequencies that had turned him into a savage animal. They were gone. No matter how hard he listened for them, he could hear them no more. Of course, some people in the crowd had noticed the change in Zubari's stance and had begun to murmur uneasily to their neighbors.

Zubari was brought back to the arena as Victor's fist connected with his jaw. The lemur tumbled backward, landing on his bottom in the dirt. Blood had begun to trickle from his split lip, and his nose was beginning to bleed as well. Victor charged up to him, ready to deal Zubari a few more blows. Zubari rolled out of the way just in time, dodging the rabbit, all the while trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

If I can't hear it...why is he still acting like a savage? He wondered silently. As Victor brought both his fists down toward Zubari's face, Zubari grabbed them with his own fists, and the two opponent's began a struggle.

"Listen...listen for the.....sirens......" The lemur grunted, flicking his tail toward the Control Room.

Victor gave him a questioning look, before flicking his own rabbit ears back and forth. With a start, he realized that Zubari was right. The sirens were no longer going. As Victor started to relax the force he was using to push Zubari, the announcer's voice rang from the Control Room, loud and clear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we're having some technical difficulties. If you would calmly make your way toward the exit..."

The audience looked to their neighbors in disbelieving gazes, until a woman caught their attention.

"Look at the animals!!!" She shouted, pointing her finger. The audience began to panic a little, noticing the Zubari and Victor were no longer fighting. Zubari himself was glaring directly at the woman, tail waving back and forth.

Retro snapped out of his deep depression, and stood up suddenly. His ears were picking up a lot of what was going on. Confusion, people yelling, crowds running...and no more fighting in the rings! He glanced at the other fighters in the room, in their own cells or cages. Not many had noticed, except for those who had been forced to watch the matches that were going on. The humans were about to take drastic measures.

Retro began to stretch, preparing himself for action. If any of the humans saw him doing this, they would probably assume that he was preparing for his fight. But he knew something was about to happen, and if no one came down to the cells to get them out, he would have to take matters into his own hands. He glanced around the cell, looking for the most vulnerable spots. Whatever fate had in store, he would be ready.

Jock was watching the current matches on his TV, using a screen-in-screen feature. He began to laugh as confusion filled the arena. "That's hilarious! It must have taken a lot of planning to get such a stunt going, but their ratings will go through the roof!"

Leon raced down to the holding rooms, pushing his way through the crowds. No one knew of his involvement in the situation yet, so nobody stopped him.

The room was empty, fortunately. Everyone else had run off to deal with the arena problems. Why guard animals in cages?

Quickly he reached beneath his coat and pulled a long crowbar from his belt, running over to the cages as he did so.

"Everyone listen up!" he called, looking at all the animals inside. "I'm going to help you escape these fights and your own death, but you must do as I say and follow me, you understand?" There were various affirmative replies from the animals, most of them so confused that they were justplaying along!

Leon knelt down and slid the drowbar through the lock on one of the cages, preparing to break it...

============================================================

The room outside the arena was empty, as was the corridor beond. Nobody expected a security breach like this, so there were no guards around.

Deamon and Chorona set off running down the corridor, Deamon looking a little bemused at the happenings. "You call this a rescue?" he muttered quietly.

Chorona's answer was drowned out by a loud CRACK behind them. Both of them spun round to see a security man slump to the floor, the tranq in his hand landing with a clatter.

"What the...?"

"He must have been sneaking up behind us...someone took him out..." muttered Chorona. This wasn't what she'd been expecting either! But there was no time to stand there thinking. "Come on." she said, turning down the corridor again. "We've got to get to those other arenas before anyone in them runs out and gets caught!"

Once Leon had gotten to his cage, Retro immediately pounced out of the cage! Leon covered his head protectively, but Retro bounded right by him. Leon watched for a moment as Retro found the nearest object that could be used as a decent lever, and began to help Leon break open the locks of the other cages!

It wasn't long before all the locks broke and every cage swung open.

Leon looked round at the assemblance of fighters of all shapes and sizes. This was much more chaotic than he'd planned! Still, he couldn't really expect everything to run quietly in a situation like this.

"There'll be time to get to know each other later." he said, looking round at all the figures. "Right now we have to meet up with a few others and get out of this building, find somewhere safe to hide. Follow me."

He turned and ran out of the room, glancing back to make sure they were doing as he said. All of them were following, but most looked confused. They hadn't expected something like this, and despite his quick explanation earlier it was quite possible that most of them had no idea what was going on!

There was no time to explain now. They had to meet Chorona at the entrance to Arena 1. He turned a corner in the corridor, running at full tilt...

...and stopped suddenly!

Two security guards were running down the corridor towards them! The guards stopped too, blinking in supprise at the sight of Leon with all the fighters. They were as supprised as he was!

"What the hey...FREEZE!" exclaimed one of them, and both raised their tranquilizer guns at the group...

============================================================

"Okay, that's the door secured." said one of the guards outside Arena One. "Now we have to find out why it opened!" he turned to the other two guards stood behind him. "You're sure both of them are still in there?"

The other two guards nodded and the first turned to leave. "Okay, you two stay here. I'll go see if I can..."

His sentance was cut short as a massive fist impacted on his temple, knocking him against the wall with a THUD! The other two guards brought their weapons to bear, but before they could fire both of them were slammed against the door with massive force, KOing them both immeadeately!

Deamon looked round, making sure he hadn't missed anyone. "Okay, let's do this." he called, looking down the corridor.

Chorona came running up to him, looking round at the guard's bodies with a hint of apprehension on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Deamon interrupted. "They'll live. I know how bad it would look if we killed anyone."

Chorona nodded slowly. "As far as the public is concerned we're already killers. We don't want to agrivate that image." She looked back down the corridor, half expecting to see another hundred security guards racing towards them at top speed. "Okay Leon will meet us here. You stand guard while I let the two in the arena know what's happening."

Deamon nodded and stepped forward, placing himself in the middle of the dorridor, his massive frame almost filling it completely! Chorona stepped over to the door and, taking a deep breath, she dragged it open...

Retro's ears began to droop again. Immediately, he leaped over Leon's head, and rushed the guards! They both fired one shot, and Retro moved in the way to take them both. Right before falling unconscious, he kicked one in the head, and threw the other against the wall, effectively disabling both of them.

Retro sighed, then collapsed. He looked somehow peaceful, being able to rest.