literature

RIFT Arena - R1 P1

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Rock and Roll
or
Kicking Up Dust


Carbo was not happy. Sitting in the middle of what the giant-bouldered Carbo had told him was a cafeteria, wearing his janitor's uniform, he reflected on what he'd gotten into. After being informed that he'd passed the auditions, apparently making hippos choke was a crowd pleaser, he's also been informed what his price had been. Not Armory property and not anything in the hollow. It was his heart. His clear diamond, enchanted, only thing keeping him moving, heart.

He'd intended to go through with this tournament anyway to reclaim property so he wouldn't be dismantled, but now he had a much more personal reason to be the victor. And by the end of it he would deliver a thumping to Fred one way or another.

The cafeteria was fairly lively, though by Carbo's standards it may as well have been a mob considering how often he'd met other people in the Armory. There was a giant green monster, humans of all shapes and sizes (including a stuttering kid), and a cat. Carbo wasn't entirely sure if the cat was a contestant or not, but he'd steered clear of it anyway. He'd thumped a scarecrow-looking man in the head already for tripping over him and ARi had taken his arm for it. She'd only given it back if Carbo promised to stop. Now Carbo had to sit still and eat while waiting for the limb to reattach.

The fare wasn't too bad. No pink diamonds, just regular ones. He'd had more than a few looks at his plate but couldn't fathom why. Did they really think diamonds were a rare gem? Carbo could feast on them every day for five years and not put a dent in one Earth's supply. He'd tried it before, on a brief vacation to chase down a thief. The Curator hadn't been too happy when it pulled Carbo back and his cheeks had been stuffed with gems like a high-class chipmunk.

Any covetous looks quickly turned to wariness though when Carbo put a diamond in his mouth and crunched down on it fiercely. Diamonds were really durable, but hit one hard enough and it shattered just fine. Though this meant that Carbo eating was like a nutcracker at high speed. With accompanying sound effects.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH

Dust was not happy. First he'd been yanked into God-knows where to fight the last of a series of triplets, then all his accumulated souls had been taken to depower him (though he did admit the quiet was kind of nice, and now his eternal headache was flaring up again with each clash of the dwarf's molars.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH

He'd had the misfortune of making its acquaintance down the hall when it stepped out from a corner Dust was beginning to turn. Dust went down, Carbo had not. That didn't stop the dwarf from whacking Dust on the head, further irritating his headache. ARi had intervened then, but the damage had been done and Dust was in a foul mood, getting worse with each diamond disappearing down Carbo's gullet.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH

"ENOUGH," yelled Dust as loud as his whisper could go, slamming his hand down on the table and rising partially from his seat. Everyone in the room halted at the rage in his voice, muted though it was. Even Carbo stopped with a diamond halfway to his mouth. He looked at Dust, shrugged, and resumed chewing.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH

That was it. ARi be damned he was going to make that infernal racket stop. Dust got up and charged at Carbo, intending to body slam him right off the chair.

At least that was his intent. ARi appeared between him and the dwarf and seized his arms. He tried struggling, but it was like being trapped in solid rock.

"That won't do, Dust," said the AI. "Fighting in the Catacombs is forbidden, you know that. Do I have to take an arm from you also? The medics would be able to reattach it of course, but it would hurt."

Dust stopped struggling. ARi smiled and let him go. "Well," she said, "In the Arena is another story. And I actually came here to retrieve you and your opponent for the next match. You can work off your anger more productively there."

Dust glared at ARi. As far as he was concerned, this thing was magical. He didn't know how, but having to bow to its whims was humiliating. Still, he knew enough to realize that fighting it would be useless.

CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH

Dust shot a look of pure hatred at Carbo, whose plate was now clear of diamonds. The dwarf made a sound of contentment and looked at Dust. "What? I need my vittles like any of you fleshies."

Dust seethed, but checked himself. At least the sound would stop now. Just in time to take out his aggression on his opponent, like ARi wanted.

The AI bounced happily. "Oh good, you two are already raring to go. Well, let's get going then."

Wait, the dwarf was his opponent? Oh happy, lucky, going to break him into shards until he stops moving day.

Carbo got up from his seat and looked at Dust. "So we're fighting then? Good, I can give you the thumping you deserve."

ARi smiled. "Well let's get going then so you two can work out your personal problems for the entertainment of our audience. This way!" She floated out of the cafeteria. Dust and Carbo followed her, not breaking their staring contest until ARi chirped out again, "We're here!"

The transporter room, but it was slightly different this time around. A table had been set up next to the teleporter with four items. Dust examined them. Simple enough, a sword and shield, pair of gauntlets, and a whip.

ARi moved next to the table. "Okay then, let's decide the order of choice using Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Dust and Carbo stared at her blankly.

ARi smiled and said, "It's easy. You two face each other, slap your fists into your hands three times, and then make a shape. Flat hand is paper, two fingers extended is scissors, and a fist is rock. Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper."

Dust and Carbo weren't too sure about this method, but they did what the AI told them, smacking their fists into their open palms in what would probably be interpreted as a threatening gesture by any veteran Rock, Paper, Scissor player. Immediately after the third smack they threw their shapes.

"And Dust wins with paper!" said ARi excitedly, as Carbo muttered something about thumping paper with a rock. "Please come pick your weapon for the round. Fred has taken care to select a good variety from three different types. Medieval, Magic, and Science. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Dust stepped up to the table and examined the items more closely. The sword and shield looked normal enough, but he could definitely tell the gauntlets were magical. They glowed a dull cherry red, like he'd be burned if he touched them. He pointed and said, "What do these do?"

ARi picked up the gauntlets and said, "These are Firehand Gauntlets. They'll turn your fists into solid flame. You can punch as hard as you can and it won't hurt because you know, fire doesn't have nerves."

Dust was sold. Much as he disliked magic, he couldn't see the sword or whip making so much as a chip in the gemstone dwarf. Besides, he already had an idea of how to make use of them. Their ability was similar to one he'd already owned. All that really changed was that this wasn't his gauntlet, but it was a minor detail. "I'll take these," he said.

"Hey!" said Carbo. "Thumping is my thing, put those back!"

Dust cracked a dry smile behind his mask. "In that case I'll definitely take these." He stepped off to the side and Carbo walked up to the table.

ARi gestured to the remaining weapons. "Here we have--"

"Don't bother," said Carbo, snatching up the whip. "I already know what this does."

ARi nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. Well then, shall we be off? Both of you step on the teleporter and you'll be beamed in. First Dust, then Carbo. As a final reminder, you are required to use your weapons as the primary means of battle. Now, let the games begin!"
Part 1 of the fight between Dust and Carbo. First part's all the character interaction, I'll probably slip some more in here before the deadline along with more cameos, and second part is the actual combat. I liked how Dust and Carbo interact with each other. Namely by one being an unapologetic ass and the other with trigger temper. Mix together for good times.

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Legendaryhero64's avatar
I hate when people crunch their food. Excellent work.