Night 57: The Coliseum

[el_aguila]

Touching the sandy grounds of the coliseum was a catalyst, and the progression of day did not mean the end of the process. By fortune or otherwise, this group's efforts were not allowed to halt simply due to the rising sun. Therefore, when nighttime was pronounced, those who had undergone the beginnings of an incomplete trial were pulled from their

Comments

Re: SOUTH SEATS

[its_the_mileage]

[from here]

“‘A blood sacrifice?’” he repeated. “And what’s that?”

The gist was once again obvious enough, but Indy was ready to get the details over with. He shot a quick glance at Peter. One or both of them had to contribute to this “sacrifice”--the word held bad associations of Pankot and the Thuggees yanking out people’s hearts and lowering them down to the fiery pit of Kali Ma. At least Aguilar’s version involved less chanting.

Pretty cold comfort, though. His own (admittedly selfish) motivations for wanting to be the one to go through the door aside (come to think of it, hadn’t that already been a blood sacrifice, of a kind?), he’d thought it’d mean the others would be safe. Now it seemed he’d just set them up as hostages. Any minute now Aguilar was probably going to shoot one of them and order Indy to run and fetch the Grail.

In a mental hospital basement, no less. How the hell did these things keep happening to him?

SOUTH SEATS

[vsyourface]

Scott didn't know why the older men were pussyfooting around the issue. From where he was sitting (leaning; whatever), Aguilar was being pretty clear about what he meant by "blood sacrifice". Two of their number were on the arena floor, one with superpowers and one freshly outfitted with weapons. The rest sat up in the stands, split into what could only be two opposite cheering sections. Scott wasn't sure about anyone else, but even he could add two and two together every now and then

[el_aguila]

One would assume the seniors of the group would catch onto the truth faster than their younger, more naive counterparts. In contrast, it was the latter who reached the conclusion first. Perhaps the fact was a testament to children and their usually quicker minds. They seemed ready to jump on their perceptions without a need to examine the possibilities, and here, their haste was rewarded. It was fascinating to witness.

Still, Aguilar kept to his matter-of-fact persona. There existed no need for dramatics; he was only a supervisor to their mission, after all. Better to answer queries directly and keep explanations clean. He wasn't here to make a sport out of death.

"You and Pilgrim will die, Mr. Dent," he stated simply, eyeing the west seats with an unamused expression. Yes, he saw the attempted thrown food particle. "That is, unless your comrades in the arena gain enough sense to fight each other. And this fight--as you and your friend have suspected, Parker--is one to the death." The man sniffed. This explanation was wasting

[unheroed]

It wasn’t shocking that the younger members of their group wanted reasons for what was going on. Harvey himself would rather focus on the actual rules before he fell into that kind of train of thought, since in the end he knew he’d never get a satisfactory answer to the question why. He wanted to know exactly where he stood and so he remained quiet, a slow fire seeming to burn in his one functional eye as he waited.

Aguilar was quick to explain, if nothing else. The man almost seemed impatient, which annoyed Harvey more than it should have. Was he that eager to watch Jones and the costumed kid kill each other? Was he planning to enjoy this like they were back in Roman times

[its_the_mileage]

He’d already had a feeling that was it. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it

[vsyourface]

It was one thing to suspect Aguilar's meaning, and another to be flat-out told "You and Pilgrim will die". Not lose a life - not get turned into coins - die.

As dangerous as the Institute had always seemed, and as often as people disappeared from it, death had never seemed like an immediate danger to Scott. Maybe it was all the time he had spent behind a protagonist shield in his life, but the most he ever feared in the Institute was getting hurt really, really badly. Or his friends getting hurt really, really badly. Or maybe having to face his inner demons. Scott was twenty-four years old. You didn't even mention the "D" word when you were that young, at least not seriously. You were still basically immortal at that age, at least in your own mind. To Scott, getting the wake-up call that "Yes, you, Scott Pilgrim, could die - like, right now" was like suddenly getting the 16-Ton Weight of Existence dropped squarely on his chest

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]“You think you’re going to get away with this?” Probably, but he wasn’t going to be the one to admit it. “You think everyone up there is just going to smile and eat pink shit? Some of us don’t look good holding a shovel

[el_aguila]

A threat without substance was mere words, and even if the crude man could backup his statements with actions later on, he might find himself coming up with nothing more than a choking tongue. Of course, Aguilar himself found no danger in a sullied name as much as he regarded a young man attempting to force through an unbreakable barrier as remotely concerning. He had been called worse in a legitimate setting, for one. For another, they were wasting their valuable strength.

Emotions had made them idiots. If they continued to hold to their sentimental morality, they had only themselves to blame for the outcome.

"Spare me your denunciations," the General remarked, almost casual in the deliverance. Dark eyes trailed to each patient, disapproval and slight exasperation set in place. "I will only warn you once. I am a non-factor in this decision. Keep your strength for your 'test'."