After twenty sub-units of navigating the busy afternoon streets of Union City, Grodge and Kreelin finally stood apart from one another in a small dimly lit sparring arena in the Ucor Arenath. Rays from a sunlight burned down from the ancient openings in the stone ceilings and cut through the heavy air, casting them both in sharp relief against the otherwise dark chamber. Both wore work out kilts and boots; Grodge in deep rust, Kreelin a deep midnight blue and in one hand each of them held an inactive plasnar. Kreelin stood on the other end of the arena, holding his still inactivated plasnar, staring at the shadows on the wall nearest him. It was plain to anyone watching that Kreelin was lost in thought, which was most unwise.
Grodge finally spoke, his lite voice filling the arena. “Kreelin, are you okay? Kree, are you listening to me? Kree?” Grodge shifted his hefty body slightly as he stood waiting. “Kreelin, by the Nine Hells, what’s wrong? You’re the one who wanted to do this, the least you could do was give it your undivided attention,” Grodge’s words seemed to have no effect so finally he cleared his throat. “Kree?”
Kreelin gave a slight start and a look of profound embarrassment raced across his face. “I’m sorry Grodge. I have a lot more on my mind than I thought. I meant no offense. Please, let us begin.”
Grodge smiled ever so slightly as he activated his plasnar. From the gray baton in his left hand, a shaft of electrified chrome seemed to pour forth and quickly solidify, all the while crackling with soft purple arcs of energy. “Well, it seems I’m going to have to bring you back to the here and now.”
As Grodge suddenly lunged for him, Kreelin activated his plasnar, a bladeless ornate hilt of delicate platinum filigree, which grew a similar chrome blade, set it for stun and swiftly blocked the oncoming attack. When the two weapons met more bolts of energy flashed out, ionizing the air around them.
Kreelin’s concentration wavered momentarily under Grodge’s fierce opening moves but he quickly regained his mental focus and soon they were circling the arena, sweat dripping off them both.
“You’ve gotten a lot better since the last time we did this Kree,” Grodge said around his slightly labored breathing.
“Thank you. I’ve been practicing while you’ve been on your business trips,” Kreelin parried and lunged but Grodge was still a step ahead of him. “How’s the project going by the way?”
Grodge blocked and turned to his left and struck at Kreelin with an amazingly strong blow that caused Kreelin to take several steps back. “Didn’t Neela tell you? Not only has the project finally moved forward, but we are having an unveiling tonight at Genvitan for the Neurographic Entertainer proto-type. Anyone who’s anyone in the business will be there. We are going to make a fortune. Did you get your invitation? You are coming?”
“Yes, I got the invitation and no, I’m not going,” Kreelin had circled Grodge while he talked, looking for an opening but Grodge had kept his focus and when Kreelin attacked it was a simple matter for him to parry and duck out of harms way. Grodge’s words struck at the center of the uneasiness he had felt since his meeting with Toli. After all these years the universe was suddenly tapping Kreelin on the back, reminding him of old frustrations and tightly controlled, primal rage that he had thought forgotten. For close to half a unit Kreelin pressed the attack, his stamina fueled by the days built up of frustration. But deep down, just beyond the walls of his everyday needs and wants, beyond his troubles with Toli, a pain festered that would now not let go of his mind; a pain that ached in his joints, a pain that chewed at his stomach and attempted to darken his heart and soul.
Kreelin yelped as Grodge, realizing his opponent’s loss of focus, turned the tables and now pressed the attack and nearly stunned Kreelin’s left leg. But Kreelin recovered quickly and leaped out of the way.
“You are very distracted Kree,” Grodge said over his labored breathing. “Have you and Toli had a fight again?”
“Toli is being like he always is…reckless and self-assured,” Kreelin ducked and rolled out of the way of Grodge’s weapon which made a crackling hiss as it bounced off the mat.
“No, this distraction goes far deeper Kree. What did the boy do?”
“Toli apparently still blames me for leaving the investigation,” Kreelin said quickly. “He thinks I just gave up.”
Kreelin hastily ducked and rolled again as Grodge recovered his footing then and rapidly through a succession of strong blows at Kreelin. “Averaus Dorrn is as ruthless and cunning as they come and no one-not even you-could have known! Toli is just being stupid...”
Kreelin, spurned on by Grodge’s words, charged Grodge and, like a battering ram, unleashed a borage of strikes that thundered throughout the great hall. “Don’t say that in my presence ever again. I did see it coming and I couldn’t stop her,” Kreelin managed to growl through his feral, quivering lips. “And Toli is not stupid, he is still hurting.”
The two friends finally separated and started to circle around their workout mats, the fading afternoon light sparkling off the large droplets and beads of sweat that clung to their bodies and clothes.
“Fine. I say you did your best, which is all anyone could ask. And Toli? What does Toli know? It sounds like he is going on as if he is the only one who lost someone close to them in that whole affair. She was his mother yes. However, she was my co-worker and friend and your wife. We all lost her!” Grodge’s own anger finally got the best of him and for long moments he and Kreelin could do nothing but counter each other’s attacks. The attacks did not last long though as Grodge, blinded by his own emotions gave Kreelin the slightest of openings and Kreelin launched a counter move that put some distance between them.
They faced each other, their eyes unreadable. Muscles twitched and flexed, trying to get the other to reveal their next move. In the stillness of the arena, neither of them realized that the hall had grown quiet, as their display had attracted everyone’s attention. “Kreelin, you are one of my closest friends. Do you want to know why? You are one of the very few beings I know that do the right things for the right reasons. How dare Toli imply otherwise, I just don’t understand. Someone needs to talk some sense into him…”
Suddenly, in a quick and abruptly fluid motion, Grodge leaped at Kreelin as if to strike him yet again. Kreelin quickly braced himself to withstand another round of Grodge’s attacks when suddenly Grodge wasn’t there. Before he knew it Kreelin’s hand momentarily flared with pain and then went numb. A soft thud told him his plasnar was on the floor, deactivated. Grodge’s soft laughter came from the floor to Kreelin’s right as Grodge had quickly ducked and rolled behind him in a flash.
Kreelin, in shock at the sudden end of the fight, could only stand there in disbelief.
Grodge laid there and smiled, offering his hand to Kreelin. “See, you’re not the only one who has been practicing.”
Kreelin took Grodge’s hand after several awkward moments and pulled his friend back to his feet. “Such a simple move, I never would have expected that from you.”
“Sometimes the simplest moves are the best; no one ever thinks you’ll use them,” Grodge deactivated his plasnar. “Kree, this pain Toli is holding on to is getting in the way of more than just his judgment. You have allowed it to fester far too long. Have you considered having him go to Sanctuary?”
Kreelin stood for a few more sub-units in the center of the arena, working some feeling back into his arm. Finally, he picked up his plasnar and looked at his friend. “He doesn’t have the time to waste in Sanctuary and I really don't want to talk about this anymore.”
Grodge shook his head and looked back at Kreelin. “Kreelin, why don’t you come to the party tonight? I know that Neela would love to see you.”
“No, thank you. I’ve too much to get done and not enough time to do it.”
Grodge crossed his arms and said in a flat and frustrated tone, “You owe it to Jesseen. She was the vision behind the Neurographic Entertainer and she was someone we both cared about. Jesseen deserves to be remembered for more than just her death.”
Kreelin stopped at those words, words that shot like hot daggers straight at the place Toli had tried to hit earlier, his heart. For a moment, he stared off into space, the color of his eye mass a jumble as he tried to remain composed. Grodge’s words had struck squarely at a now open wound that hurt just as deeply as it did the day it was given and left him filled with nothing but a cold fire at its core.
Kreelin turned and looked to the crowded arena, noticing all the watching faces for the first time since they had started sparring, and took a deep breath and straightened his back. “Goodbye Grodge, it was good seeing you again. Enjoy your night and give Neela a hug for me,” Kreelin turned away from the arena and disappeared into the still quiet crowd and finally the bowels of the Arenath leaving Grodge to his own thoughts.
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