A new age of Divinity: Theomachy

Beth Vs. Estevan

Beth woke up on her knees on the floor with shackles around her wrists. She looked down at her hands and around at her surroundings. She got back up onto her feet and looked at the four people around her, each standing at the corners of the basement. Roman was also sitting on a bench next to the door and said door opened, revealing Estevan.
"Your friend made the mistake of thinking that just because I could not get to you earlier, that I would be deterred for quite a while." He took Beth's knife out of his pocket and tossed it to Roman. "But even with his ability of foresight, he is still too stupid to figure out when he has been lied to."
"He is much smarter than you think," Beth retorted calmly, this being her third and most tame kidnapping, she wasn't even phased by it anymore, and hearing this, Estevan nodded sarcastically, then swung a jab into her jaw "Tickles."
"You see this girl?" He asked his friends "Survived two years of captivity. Whole camp thinks of her as a hero." He punched her in the solar plexus, which made her collapse slowly down to her knees "What a joke."
She groaned from the pain, then looked up at him with a smug smile, and asked "Come on, you can do better than that, right?"
He smiled down at her and hook punched her across the face, which finally caused Roman to get up, and say "Stop it, this is pointless." He walked toward Estevan, who in turn looked back at him "You said you had some kind of plan for her, and you said you needed her alive for a while, right?" Estevan was barely listening to his compatriot as he walked around Beth and glared down at her "In Organizatsiya, we have ways of dealing with conflict like yours. We fight each other fairly, we don't lock our enemy down and beat them while they're helpless." Estevan walked back to him and Beth looked up at... her ally?
Estevan stood next to Roman and asked him "So, you want me to fight her fairly?" He looked over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Well, she needs to learn that life will never be fair."
"Then every time she bleeds in here shows weakness... but not her's."
Estevan turned his head toward him again and gripped his shoulder tightly while snarling softly "Never call me soft."
"Prove that I shouldn't."
"Goddammit, fine. Get her up." Estevan walked behind her and Roman knelt down to her to unshackle her.
"Thanks," She told Roman while rubbing her wrists.
"This was not for you," He replied as he got back up, then the door opened behind them "Nate?"
"Yeah, and the rest of us. I wasn't stupid enough to think something like this wouldn't have happened, Beth was." She glared at him, more than a little irritated as she got back up "Follow me. I've got a way to make it so Roman'll be satisfied." Beth got up and Estevan decided to follow just out of his own curiosity "You got a kink or something?" Nate asked while they walked toward the stage that Orpheus had introduced Beth to the whole camp on.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm just saying, three kidnappings? You sure you're not into it?"
"I am going to slap you upside the head. Where are we even going?"
"Well, once I figured out what was going on and then decided to actually get off my ass, I went and told Orpheus. Naturally, he was pissed because you two morons are fighting again, but we came to a compromise. You two would have one last all out brawl, no weapons, no dirty moves, just skill and strength. He figured this would be a good way to get it all out of both of your systems."
"Well, I do agree, this is the better option than what Estevan had in mind," Roman agreed "But... how many of us are gonna get in trouble?"
"Everyone but you. I told them what you told me, and Orpheus figured you deserved some less harsh punishment... let's hope Estevan doesn't do something stupid to get you in even worse trouble."
They got closer to the stage and finally heard the roars and cheers of the crowd. Over half of the camp was there and most were clearly incredibly excited. A match like this was very rare in the camp and it was always incredibly exciting. The last time something like this had happened it was between two of the Valkyries. Beth looked around and even Hayden was in the crowd, but the others weren't. The stage had been updated since last she noticed as it was much higher now. Instead of simply climbing up onto it, there was a long flight of stairs to get to the top. Beth was glad she was still fully dressed as being in her underwear around her friends and boyfriend was one thing, even Nate, but in front of the whole camp? She would rather not have everyone see that much of her. They walked up the torch lit stairs and Estevan's friends came up with them. Eir and Freya stood at the top, each at one of Orpheus's sides. Beth's steps slowed as she got further up the stairs and when she got to the top, Estevan pushed past her, annoyed at her lack of urgency. She looked over the edge and for a moment, she thought the entire camp was ablaze. When she actually focused in, she realized that it was just torches so everyone could actually see the fight.
"Alright, Beth, you ready?" Nate asked while Mikayla, Hayden, Kenneth, and Eden walked up with ceremonial spears.
"Uh... yeah. What are the others doing?"
"Oh, it's just kinda a thing. Basically, they'll make a circle with some other people, probably Estevan's boys, and you two won't be allowed out."
"Oh... okay."
"Elizabeth, Estevan, to the center," Orpheus commanded, to which they both compiled "Face the valkyries and bow." They complied with this as well "Face one another, bow." They looked at one another and bowed, both giving hateful glares to the other "Now, remove all weapons or armor you may have on you." Beth just took the jacket, which just left her in sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and socks.
"Alright, how about we make this interesting," Estevan suggested while removing his coat and throwing all his weapons away "If you submit first, you will leave this camp forever... and of course, vice versa." He looked over at Roman and asked "This sounds fair enough for you, justice boy?"
He nodded and Freya commanded "Spear circle, form up!" Estevan and Beth's friends took their spears and circled around the two, but Nate walked up in front of the circle.
"Welcome to... the Snake Pit!" He yelled, which caused the entire camp to cheer "You remember the rules, there's only one! No weapons! Other than that, whatever they do goes." He turned back to the two and pulled his sword out of its sheath, then charged up the blade with Bifrost "Let the battle... begin." He stabbed the blade into the floor and the Bifrost explosion signaled the fight to begin.
"You know, there will be no rivalry between us when this is through," Estevan told Beth before he sucker punched her in the jaw "My ideal world is one without you. What is the matter with you? Are you afraid to get your hands dirty?" Beth glared at him as he walked around her "See, this is your problem. This is what has always been your pro-"
"Shut the fuck up!" She yelled as she swung a punch into the side of his head.
She pulled her arm back and swung at his head again, but he ducked under the attack. He got back up and grabbed her by the collar, then punched her twice in the nose. The first stunned her, which was really the only reason he managed to land the second. Beth palmed his shoulder to make him let go, then ducked underneath another hook punch. The moment she was as low as she could get, he swung his knee up into her forehead. She stumbled backwards and he used the same leg to heel kick her in the shoulder. She fell down on her back and he grabbed her by the neck, then lifted her up into the air.
"Augh, this again?" She exclaimed, then she swung a punch, elbow, and palm strike combination into his face.
He dropped her to the floor and when she landed on her feet, he swung a punch into her eye. She stumbled backwards and Estevan rushed her once again. He swung a punch at her head, but she grabbed his wrist, and swung him around. She let him go, then uppercut him in the chin, which made him step back. He shook his head to get his bearings back, then swung a hook punch at Beth's temple. The younger warriors jumped and used his arm as a gripping point as she did a backflip behind him. She swung her knee into the back of his head and they both collapsed to the floor. Beth rolled off of Estevan and rolled underneath a Taido kick. They both got back up to their feet and swung roundhouse kicks at each other's head. Both of their legs collided and their shins hit each other instead of their feet hitting the other's head. Estevan grunted and Beth put her foot down, then shook it out. While Estevan was still distracted, Beth jumped, and side kicked him in the chest. Estevan fell on his back and Beth's friend group cheered while still in the circle.
The circle closed in a little bit and Estevan got up, then yelled "Come on!"
Beth swung a punch at his nose, but he pushed her arm away, punched her in the floating rib, then palmed her in the nose. She staggered back and Estevan punched her in the ribs again. She stumbled backwards and Estevan grabbed her by the collar. He pulled her down and trapped her in a headlock, trying to make her tap out. Beth grabbed at his arm and tried to pull it away from her throat, but his strength was just a bit greater than hers. She looked down at his knee and swung a hook punch into the side of his knee. He winced and buckled from the attack, giving her an opening to roll out of his grip.
"Now, how about we start getting serious?" Beth asked to taunt him.
She swung a punch at his head, but he grabbed her wrist, and swung his elbow into hers. She groaned in pain and he pushed her arm down, then swung a punch at her head. She pulled her arm out of his grip and ducked under the attack, then spun, and swung a hook punch into Estevan's jaw. His head was jerked to the side and blood flew out of his mouth.
"Yeah, how do you like that?" Beth asked as she backed up while he got his bearings.
He shook his head and glared at her again, then swung a punch at her nose. She leaned away from the attack, then did a cartwheel, which let her swing two kicks across Estevan's face. She landed on her feet and stood behind him, then uppercut him in the kidney. Esteban grunted in pain and Beth jumped in front of him before hook punching him across the jaw. He staggered backwards and she swung her other fist into his nose.
She watched Estevan fall on his back again and asked "Is this going the way you expected?"
"Shut up!" He yelled as he scrambled back to his feet and hook punched at her head.
"If you want me to, then make me," She told him while ducking underneath his attack.
He grabbed her when she got back up, then threw her to the edge of the circle, which caused her head to slam into the polearm of one of the spears. He ran after her as she got back up and Beth spun around, then swung a hook kick at his head. He ducked under the attack and wrapped her arms around her waist while pulling her up off of her feet. He kneed her between the legs and swung her around, letting her head swing into a few more spear poles.
"Hah!" He yelled after kneeing her between the legs again "No weapon?" He slammed his forehead into her nose "No power!" He slammed his forehead into her eye "You are nothing special, just some girl! You are unfit to lead anyone."
'Beth... just fuck him up,' Nate thought into her mind.
She nodded and swung back up and elbowed him in the top of the head. Estevan seemed momentarily stunned so she punched him in the jaw. He let her go and she grabbed him by the back of the head, then slammed his nose into her knee. He staggered backwards and Beth fell down to her knees, the fight taking a toll on both of them. He got back up and swung a roundhouse kick at her head, but she ducked out of the way. Beth grabbed his leg and pulled him down to the ground and trapped him in a tight headlock.
"Yield!" She yelled at him while they struggled on the ground "Yield or I will break your neck, I swear to the fucking Gods!" She dragged him out of the circle by kicking Estevan's friends away and took him over to the edge "Yield man! Do not make me kill you!" She told him while turning his head so he could see the fifty foot drop that was awaiting him.
"I would... rather die!" He told her while struggling against her chokehold.
"You do not have to leave, just tap out, and this entire rivalry can be over," She told him while keeping a sturdy hold around his neck "Yield already!"
After another few seconds, Estevan finally stopped struggling and tapped out. Beth let him go and laid on her back while the entire crowd cheered. Beth panted for breath as she pushed herself away from Estevan. He was also panting on his back and he looked all but defeated. Nate walked up to Beth and held his hand out to her to get her back onto her feet. She looked down at it for a moment, then grabbed his hand, and let him pull her up. They looked at each other and Nate wiped some blood off of her face before taking her wrist in his hand and holding it up into the air. The crowd roared again and Nate let her go so she could take in her victory. Hayden got up from his seat and clapped as hard as he could while her friends in the spear circle dropped the weapons. Marc ran up and hugged her tightly, hoisting her up off of the floor as they all crowded around her. Estevan finally rolled over and got up, then walked solemnly down the stairs.
Nate broke away from the group hug and watched his old foe leave... almost feeling sorry for him. Nate knew what it was like to lose a home and be left with nothing. Estevan was a backstabbing bully, but what he wasn't was someone who breaks his own word. He slowly crept away from the celebration, but only Eir seemed to notice his departure. She had learned ages ago not to question what he was doing as he always had some type of reason, so she just let it slide. Nate stabbed his sword into the side of the stage so he could slide down the side. When he was low enough, he pulled his sword out of the side, and dropped down to the ground. He watched as Estevan gathered some things from his cabin and trudged toward the edge of the camp. Nate ran after him and stopped him just before he managed to leave the grounds.
"Hey... can we talk?" Nate asked.
"Why? So you can rub my final defeat in my face?"
"No... I'm just curious about something."
"And I do not care."
"Well, I'm not letting you leave until you decide to answer."
"Oh, and what makes you think you can stop me? You may be practically untouchable, but we both know that you can not beat me blow for blow."
"Oh, I know," Nate told him "But he can." Gulltoppr jumped in front of Estevan and blocked his way out of the camp.
"Oh, really? You would sick your animal on me?"
"If you make me," Nate sighed "Ready to answer my question?"
"Fine, whatever. Just make it fast, what is it?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"What would I be asking about at this moment?"
"How am I meant to know?"
"Fine, then how about why do you hate Beth?"
"Well... on the first day she came to this mistake of a place, she humiliated me... me! The son of the God of War was defeated by a little girl who had never been trained in combat like you or I."
"Wow... only a sociopath would respond to something that small with that level of hatred. You may as well be Zelus's kid. Get the Hel out of here." Nate waved Gulltoppr off and Estevan snarled at him before leaving.