"That's it," Rufus said, lowering his shield, "No more Mr. Nice Guy."
Rufus flung two Ummagine Bombs at once at the ferocious Lupe. KA-BOOM! Two
enormous explosions, one after another, wowed the crowd and made them wonder
if they were special effects or not. When the dust cleared, a very pooped out
Sabre-X stood in the middle of it all, his tongue hanging out slightly and a
few scars on his body. Of course, the Battledome was never meant to be lethal.
The strong Lupe merely put a paw on the air, signaling he could take no more.
The crowd erupted.
Rufus nonchalantly lifted his fins in the air, a wide smile upon his face.
People came for miles to watch him battle or see his handsome face. When he
finally left the arena, the crowd booed. Tex smiled merrily. "What fun!" He
skipped out of the stadium and wound his way towards the lockers, where he found
his friend finishing up.
"You were great out there! It looks like so much fun." Tex said, a wide smile
on his face. Rufus smiled back and patted him on the back. The two left the
lockers and went to the front desk, where Rufus collected his winnings, then
proceeded outside.
"I'm glad you liked it, kid," Rufus said. "Perhaps you'd like trying it someday?"
"Oooh, yeah! Where do I sign up?" Tex said, beaming.
"You can't just sign up. You need training, Battledome weapons, abilities,
skills..." A thought struck Rufus like a boulder. Slaves couldn't battle! Tex
was legally his slave until set free. That could be taken care of easily, but
another burden plagued his mind. After being set free, he couldn't just send
the kid out into the world, thinking he'll do fine. He'd be eaten alive! It
would take months to find a good owner that didn't want him just for his strength
and his being a Jetsam. "How'd you like it if I took care of you?" Bad choice!
You don't have the money! his thoughts said.
"Yay!" Tex said, hugging his caretaker.
But how could you refuse that face?
"C'mon. I'll show you my place. There we can start your training." Rufus said,
trying to hide his fear of bankruptcy.
"Training for the Battledome? Whoohoo!! I've finally found something I'm GOOD
at!!" Tex widened his smile.
***
"You stay here," Rufus said, pointing to the guest room. It had white, plush
carpeting wall-to-wall and was painted a very, very light blue. There was one
off-white colored bed in one corner and a large, wooden wardrobe in another.
Beside the bed was a slightly-darker-blue nightstand with a model sailboat in
a bottle. There was an antique wooden lamp as well with two mermaids carved
into it. The room was also lightly decorated with other various seaside decorations:
seashells, a painting of a lighthouse, a wooden angel flotsam. The window had
a beautiful view of the sea, where, at the moment, it was night. It seemed so
tranquil and calm. Tex loved it.
"If you need me, you know where my room is. I suggest you get a good night's
sleep. We wake early in the morning to start your training." Rufus said, halfway
down the hall already.
The guest room was much more peaceful than the rest of the house. Much of
the rest of the house was decorated with criss-crossed attack forks, black leather
sofas, the heads of slain beasts looming over you like the great demons they
formerly were.
Tex gazed out of the window. What a strange day it had been! He was finally
away from that insane Cybunny, was adopted by a mighty warrior, found a much
better home, wasn't a slave anymore (to his knowledge), discovered the Battledome...
it seemed like too much for a little guy like himself. He didn't mind at all,
though. In fact, he liked it. He liked it a lot.
Morning came easily with the ringing voice of Rufus shouting that breakfast
was ready. He dashed downstairs, expecting something wonderful like bacon and
eggs, or biscuits and pancakes, or cereal and orange juice. Instead, he found
a large, juicy, brown steak in the center of the ceramic plate. A glass of water
stood to the side in a tall, nice glass.
"What's this?" Tex asked.
"Steak. Good for a young warrior such as yourself!" Rufus replied with a wide
smile. Tex raised a lip and stared at it long and hard. "Surely you've had steak
before, haven't you?"
Tex looked at him and blinked. "What's it from?"
"The flank of a steer." Rufus said, then sitting himself down at the opposite
end of the table with the same setting.
Oooh, how gross. Yay. Tex wasn't picky, however, and sat himself down and
began to miserably eat the steak, wincing at every swallow and trying his hardest
to be polite. At the halfway point, when he finally decided that he simply couldn't
take any more, he glugged down the water and pushed the plate away from him.
"I'm full."
"Seriously?" Rufus looked down at his plate. He'd finished eating a long time
ago, taking down two full steaks. "Well... if you insist." He looked at Tex
and led him outside to the garden.
"I'll be teaching you how to work with no weapons today. We'll start on swords
later, then bombs, nunchucks, charms, potions... you get the idea."
"Cool!" Tex said, smiling. "Sounds fun."
He smiled. "It's very fun."
The duo spent the rest of the day working on martial arts. Tex was a quick
learner, and they worked long into the night. The next day, they repeated the
practice—leaving only to go to the bathroom and for lunch and dinner. They
repeated the practice day in and day out, breaking only on Saturdays and Sundays
when Tex would watch Rufus in the Battledome. Later on, he was given abilities
and weaponry. Months passed. Finally, the time was right to bring the young
warrior to the Battledome for the first time. Rufus came upon the conclusion
when he defeated him in a sparring match.
Tex wore a black collar now, with metallic spikes lining it. He wore matching
bracelets and a brown leather belt, which held his weaponry. Suddenly, words
like "yay," "meanie," and "best buddy" slipped
away from his vocabulary, and he began decorating his room with chains, weapons
and the heads of terrible slain beasts. Suddenly, he began to hate tranquil
colors, and painted the entire room blood-red. He liked it like that.
The two approached the Battledome desk and signed him up for the next available
opponent. Tex was officially dubbed a freed slave after filling out some papers
earlier that day. Rufus patted his squire's back, who was now much taller. "If
they like me," he said, "they'll adore you." Tex smiled. No leaping up and shouting
'yay' or 'whoohoo', just a light smirk to show his joy.
He was lead through the lockers and into the weaponry hall. He fitted on his
favorites: Jetsam sword, Jetsam helmet, dual expert bow, legendary fire scepter,
a few dark novas and a superior shield of lightning. He grinned and stepped
out into the arena, weapons fit. This time, it would be him in the arena, and
Rufus up in the stands, watching him, cheering him on. Finally....
To be continued... | 
