Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch12: The Colosseum of Fools

Seven opened his eyes, feeling dazed, and tired. What happened? He thought. Looking around, he realized he and the Grimmchild were trapped in a cage! Seven instantly jumped up, and gripped the bars as tightly as he could. How did they get here? Who captured them? What was going to happen next? Seven sat back down. There had to be something he was forgetting. Ok Seven, think! What happened after the meeting with Oro? He thought. Trying his best, he managed to remember a few snippets of what happened.

Right after they left Oro's hut, they fought their way through the tunnel against the hostile creatures of the region. Once out, they both began to climb up to the Colosseum, to try and get Geo. There were a few bugs that spit some kind of orange substance at them, but luckily, they were able to prevail. But they weren't in perfect condition. Both Seven and the Grimmchild were badly beaten from the climb, and it wasn't done yet.

Looking at his companion, Seven decided it was time for a rest. "Ok, how about we find a place to recover before we continue?" He suggested. The Grimmchild nodded, and they started looking for a hospitable place to rest. They avoided as many enemies as possible, not wanting to damage their conditions any further. Eventually, they found a large area with a glowing blue cocoon above them.

"I think this is a good spot, what about you?" Seven asked. His friend chirped, and they both settled down to rest. Seven drifted off to sleep, feeling safe. But a while after, he was woken up by the cries of the Grimmchild. Seven quickly drew his nail, and fought back to save his friend. Two humanoid bugs were attacking them, each with their own weapons and bags. One of them caught Seven off guard, and shoved a bag over his head. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in his head, the Grimmchild screaming out for him, and everything going dark.

Now, they were here. Seven looked at himself, figuring he was greatly injured, but surprisingly, he was fine! He had no bruises or pains around him, and even his head which he figured to be the most damaged, was perfectly normal. Why? Did the two bugs maybe heal them? But, why would they do that? Seven stood back up, and once again assessed his surroundings.

He and the Grimmchild were in a dungeon of some kind, and all around them were bugs dressed in armor. He could hear one if them whispering in his head. "Are we all fools?" He heard the bug say. Suddenly it hit him. They weren't in a dungeon, they were in a gladiator pit. The gladiator pit in the Colosseum of Fools. Well, at least we're where we needed to be, Seven thought to himself, trying to lighten his stress.

As he was thinking, two bugs walked right up to the cage containing him. One of the bugs he recognized as one of the two that captured him. The other one was unknown. It was wearing an elegant cloak, and was standing tall and proud.

"These two? Are you joking with me?" The unknown bug said to the other.

"Trust me, those two got fight," the opposite bug said. "The little one threw us off for a good while,  and when it couldn't win, it woke up the sleepy head. That guy has some serious skills with a nail. My partner had to throw his bag over them to throw him off because he would've crushed us!"

"Did they now?" The cloaked bug said, thoughtfully looking down at Seven and the Grimmchild.

Although Seven liked to be complemented, he didn't like where this was going. They were in a gladiator pit, with what seemed to be the lord of this Colosseum admiring their fighting skill. That usually never ends well.

After inspecting both of them carefully, the cloaked bug spoke. "Send them into the trial of the fool," it said. "I doubt that the lord fool will be pleased with them. But if they prevail, you shall be rewarded," it finished looking at the other bug.

Seven gulped. That wasn't the lord of the Colosseum? Whoever this lord fool was, Seven knew that if he and the Grimmchild failed, death would be the best option. His attention was drawn to the Grimmchild, who was flying around, panicked and afraid.
Seven went over to console the child, but as he was about too, he felt the cage being lifted up from the ground, and onto the floor above.

The cage sealed up, making it more of a dark container rather than cage. As it moved up, Seven heard several voices chanting and cheering. The cage suddenly stopped moving, and Seven felt it land on a solid surface. "Ladybugs, and Gentlebeetles!" A voice rang out from the outside. For this trials competitors, I give you, the sleeping menaces!" It yelled, and the cage dropped down exposing both Seven and the Grimmchild to the Colosseum.

Sleeping menaces? Seven thought. If they were going to make fun of them, they could at least come up with something more creative. Whatever, Seven thought, drawing his nail. If it was a fight that this Colosseum wanted, then it was a fight it was gonna get! More cages were lifted up into the arena, and battle broke out. While Seven attacked, the Grimmchild found an opening to throw the opponent off. Seven encountered a bug wielding a shield, that was blocking his attacks. Seven looked at his friend, and almost immediately, the Grimmchild started flying around, shooting fire at the enemy's head.

With it now focused on blocking the fire, Seven dove in, and finished it off. More foes came up, and the battle continued. The cages were smaller, and small rolly poly bug came out. Seven was about to attack, but the Grimmchild stopped him. One look into its eyes, and Seven understood. It tried to protect him earlier and be strong, but they got captured. It wanted to redeem itself, and fight for itself. Seven let his little friend fend off the rolly bugs, and it smiled with delight, feeling strong.

"Ok fools!" Seven yelled. "You brought us into your mess, now you're going to pay the price!" He shouted at the crowd.

The crowd booed, and laughed. More cages came up, and Seven let a confident smile spread across his face. "BRING IT ON!"

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Ok! I finally got this chapter done! Be aware that there will be extended breaks between chapters for other things I want to do, and school.

Yay.

See you next chapter! ; )