Chapter 34: UNDERGROUND TOURNAMENT

A few days later...

The distant hum of a raging crowd as well as the sound of clashing metal did nothing to calm their nerves. If anything, it only served to increase their nervousness. The four, Thia, Shiru, Kim and Mwas, sat in the special dugout looking on quietly, each lost in thought.

They had been given new clothes with the House of AL logo sewn on them. The boys wore similar outfits, black boots, off gray pants and sweatshirts. The only difference were Kim's clothes which had light green stripes along the edges. Shiru's clothes were slightly different. She wore a jump suit that was a bit loose allowing easy movement. 

They sat there, in the dark awaiting their turn when Albert appeared. "Make sure you win all rounds and please don't get stage fright while you're there ", he said coldly standing at the door. From behind him, a woman's voice announces," Well well well! I never thought I would see this day! ....", she trailed off as Albert said to them," Don't let me down," he smiled and stepped aside. Kim seethed inside, ' I will make you pay one day', he thought. The woman's voice hit them loudly, "Welcome back HOUSE OF AAAAAAAALLLLLLLL"! she shouted.

On cue, they stepped out squinting their eyes in the process. Mwas let out a low whistle, this was something they'd never seen. 

The ring was square in shape with large crowds seated a bit further away from it. Bright lights as well as neon lights lit every inch of it making it easier for the weirdly shaped camera devices set up on the other edge to record. They stood there in awe. However, they admiration was cut short by the sounds from the crowds. They were being booed and mocked. This irked Mwas. " Why don't you come down and say it to my face morons", he shouted. Thia looked at him and said," Do you think you can beat ALL at once"? Shiru smiled, 'boys' she thought as she looked around for a seat.

 A robot appeared from one corner and made its way to the middle of the ring. Everyone fell silent. " The following is a qualification match for the title King of the Unda. Presenting the challengers," it lifted a hand and pointed to them," House of AL". The crowd booed. Mwas gave them the finger while Kim glared at them. " Presenting their opponents, the new favorites, the Ītha Bots...." the crowd went wild. They screamed loudly with some even fainting. This surprised the four. Just what were they?

Striking awkward and cringe worthy poses, the Ītha Bots slowly came to view. They were five of them, two feminine looking bots and three masculine bots. Each bot had a mismatch of colors but one color remained across all of them, brown. 

" Alright get ready everyone for the first match between them," the announcer robot shouted. " This will be between the ladies. A match we rarely see here,"

The crowd cheered even more loudly. " On one side we have female bot Tru while on the other is Shiru. Let the match begin," the robot concluded and walked out of the ring. The female bot, Tru walked into the ring. Shiru stood frozen. When was the last time she acually had a real fight? she wondered as a robot came close to her. It was pushing a rickety old cart containing an assortment of weapons," Choose ", it said in a heavy metallic tone. Shiru looked at the weapons absently. She wasn't ready for this. Still, she took two short swords and held them tightly. For a moment, she felt a sense of security and safety only for it to be crushed by Tru's appearance. She looked at the bot smiling down on her. It scared her.

She was terrified.

 Mwas, seeing pure terror written on his sister's face, stepped forward and said," How about I fight you" he volunteered. He found himself being surrounded by leza weapons. They belonged to the Ītha bots as well as security bots. "That's impossible", said one of the security bots, " No one can fight another's matches no matter what". It concluded as the leza weapons were withdrawn. Shiru looked at the whole situation and sighed, she had to fight a bot.

She stepped into the ring. Leza beams shot up from the ground surrounding the ring. There was no way out. Shiru looked behind her in fear, ' help me' she said mentally as she locked eyes with Kim. He turned away. Shiru looked down then turned and looked at the bot Tru. The siren went off. The fight had begun.

 At first, no one moved. Then suddenly Tru went low and appeared in front of Shiru and punched her stomach. Shiru, caught off guard took the blow fully. She was sent flying a few meters away. She held onto her stomach as pain coursed through her body The crowd cheered. She stood up and looked at Tru. The bot tiltedits head and ran up to her. A back kick onto her left temple sent Shiru near the leza beams. Not wasting time, Tru went to her, grabbed he hair and burnt the ends with the beams. Then threw Shiru into the air. She screamed as she was falling. A strong kick in her abdomen sent her landing in the ring. She cried and puked blood. The crowd booed her. The bot landed hard and shouted," You're wasting my time. Why don't you show me what you're capable of, " it said as it grabbed Shiru's arm and pulled her up. 

A single punch from the bot rent her unconscious. The bot laughed and dropped her to the ground. Mwas stared at her sister in anger. He had always tried to teach her how to fight but, she never did. "SHIRU"! he shouted only for his voice to be drowned up by the cheering crowd. 

* * * 

Shiru woke up inside what seemed to be the medical wing. She had no idea of how she got there. The last thing she remembers was her fight with the bot. " Oh look, the princess awakes" Albert's cold voice made her look up." Strangle Shiru only" he continued his voice flat, devoid of emotion. Shiru's hands flew up to her neck choking her. " Let her go", Kim shouted. " No", was the reply. " I clearly said to win only. So why should I let her live"? he asked nonchalantly. "You bastard", Mwas said glaring at him. He also found himself choking himself. Kim looked at him and said," Let them go."

"I really do hate repeating myself," Albert said as he punched Kim's stomach. The boy bent forward holding his stomach. Albert grabbed his hair and made him look up," I want a win, anything short of that will lead to death," he told Kim. He walked to the door then stopped and turned. " You belong to me only and as such I expect nothing but the best from you let's not repeat today's humiliation again, release". He walked out leaving them too stunned to move.