Battle Bebop

[Kali]

"Send a bolt of lightning... very, very frightening to me..." Kali didn't know when she started to sing. Maybe sometime in the night, after she tried to escape from the window slits of the store room. She missed them in the dark, not that it mattered. They were wide enough to allow in light and nothing more.

After that, she tried to force the door open once guards finally ended their watch, but it would not yield to her. Even after she threw herself at it until her shoulder was sore.

"I see a small s-silhouette of a bat,  Scare-a-mooch, Scare-a-mooch, will you do a f-fandango..."

Sleep never came to Kali, not with the sounds of Trent being subjected to the owls grizzly feast filling the store house. Not while Kali knew she would be joining the rat as dessert once she was caught. The thought made Kali wrap her wings even tighter around her body as she hung weakly from the ceiling.

"Nire has a place for me, Nire has a place for meeeeeeeeeee..." Kali did a mock lute solo with her wing tips, "So you think you can stop me and spit in my eyeeeee, so you think you can leave me to dIIIIeeEEee. I just got to get right out of heeereeee..."

The bat sighed, "It will never catch on."

Her ears picked up at the sound of the lock being opened. She gasped, falling from her perch and onto her head. A moment of wing flailing and frantic flapping passed until Kali flung herself behind a rack of rolled up tapestries.

"Did you catch the fight between the rat and the lizard?"

"You mean Blackwhiskers? Nah, I was hauling cargo. Pity, I heard the reptile got a good ol' thrashin. He always looked at us funny, like he was hungry or something, ya know?"

Kali watched from between rolls of fabric as a pair of mice entered the room. Slave beasts. She bit her lower lip as they grabbed the offending banner she had so meticulously defaced. She tried to keep the message near the middle, so that it would not be easily spotted until someone unrolled it.

However, the banner was the least of her concerns. The presence of the slaves meant that her chance for escape had finally come. If she flew fast enough she might be able to clear Northvale before Thunder was unleased upon her.

Assuming that he wasn't already out there, looking for her now. Nire had to have known she was gone...

Kali jumped when she heard the felines voice drift up to the top of the arena.

"Friends, neighbors, visitors to our humble Crater. Are you not entertained?!"

The audience replied with a tremendous shout.

Kali tensed, watching the slaves struggle to carry the heavy banner out the door. Never had overcast skies looked so good to her. She would have to be quick, she would have to be quiet.

"I'm happy to hear that, but while we set up for the next match I would like to talk about something serious."

The bat counted silently as the beasts left the door. They were walking directly away from the door, setting the banner up to be unfurled. She waited until the beasts had their backs turned before dashing for the door. One step, two step, three steps and a hop to gain altitude and Kali was almost free...

Right when the guard came around the corner.

Kali's vision filled with blue as she collided with the pine marten, nearly bowling him over and sending the bat flailing backward. The pine marten, however, wasted no time in raising the alarm.

"Go get help!" the marten hissed to the stunned looking slaves. He hissed the order again to move them into action. "Alarm!"

Kali screamed as the guard rounded on her with his halberd. The pole arm swung faster than she thought a weapon so heavy should. She ducked under the swing, dropping to the floor.

"For seasons, our humble Crater has served at the pleasure of Northvale. It is a partnership that has brought wealth and prosperity to many, many beasts..." the cat continued, unaware about the fight happening above his head.

"Please! Stop!" Kali shouted, but the marten did not listen. He only pressed the attack stabbing forward towards Kali's fat belly.

"But, in recent weeks, a rebel faction of our beloved city has struck out against our arena, against the values we hold dear. They would tear down all that we have built! But, are we afraid?"

She caught the halberd with her wings, directing it to the side and away from her vitals. The blade of the weapon however caught her in the wing, forcing her backwards and pinning her against the tapestries rolled up behind her.

Kali's screams were lost in the shouts of the arena crowd.

"We are not afraid! We will not be intimidated, bullied by the few who seek to oppress the many! Not even the
weather can close our doors!"

The marten drew closer, paw reaching out to grab the bat by the neck. With her free wing, Kali reached for her knife.

The marten let out a yell, stumbling backward and bleeding from his arm. Kali used the distraction to try and free herself, slamming the knife between the axe head and the tapestry, she used the leverage to pry the weapon out.

Kali fell, panting, her wing a flurry of pain.

The sound of a sword being freed from the marten's scabbard made her ears twitch.

"To commemorate our solidarity with Northvale I have commissioned a new tapestry for this tournament."

The sound of metal on metal was familiar to Kali's ears, from training, from watching fights, but never from having to defend herself. The fight was upon Kali even before she knew it. The broad sword seemed to be everywhere with impossible speed. Where it hit caused destruction, chopping tapestries and tools in half as Kali did her best to dodge.

Training came back to her, as meager as it was. The guard raised his sword over his shoulder and she positioned her flimsy dagger to deflect it. The was a spark as the blades connected, the force of the blow throwing Kali to the ground.

"Now, our brave gladiators will not only fight for personal honor, but the honor of Northvale itself!"

The marten chopped downward with the sword, meeting stone where Kali's head was only moments before she rolled out of the way. She gasped as the blade came close enough to her waist to cut her sash as the Marten quickly brought it around.

"We will show those who threaten us that we will not cower against them. It is our turn to strike back!"

With a growl Kali leapt forward, slashing her dagger across the marten's chain mail. She ducked under the counter swing, throwing her shoulder into the marten and forcing him backwards, towards the door. But only succeeded in forcing the beast out of her reach.

He recovered, reading his blade defensively. Hissing, the guard charged once more.

"We will not go quietly! We will not roll over to the will of those who inspire terror and fear upon our people! We will remain strong and united against all enemies of hope and freedom!"

It would be terrible to die here, thought Kali, with the hypocritical speech of Nire being the last thing she had heard. But the pine marten was proving himself just as deadly as Thunder, and her friends were not here to bail her out.

Time seemed to slow down for Kali as the guard charged. Her mind raced for what to do, and in her desperation a single sentence came to mind. It felt like so long ago, that day on the training field.

"If you could put some force behind it, that would definitely take your opponent by surprise.?

Kali's eyes went wide.

Leaping into the air, Kali threw the dagger upward. Wounded wing or not, she turned her flight into a mid-air somersault. She caught the blade with her foot paw, thrusting it forward where the marten was unprepared to defend.

With her full weight behind it, the blade pierced even his chainmail, sinking up to the hilt into his chest.

Shock filled the guards face. He staggered backward, struggling to keep his balance on the slick stone until his ankle caught the banner behind him.

And over the side he went with the banner as it unrolled.

A terrible scream filled the arena until it came to a sudden, horrible stop.

Everything came to a screeching halt for Kali. Her ears fell flat, unneeded in the unearthly silence that followed. Her mouth opened in horror, unable to comprehend the death of the marten.

Without thinking she came to the edge of the arena, peering over to see the beasts body laying broken upon the podium. Another two feet to the right and she would have slain Nire himself.

All eyes turned to the bat and the banner that unrolled below her. It was a truly marvelous creation upon a blue backdrop with white silk thread depicting the town of Northvale itself. The market places, the docks, the sites beasts see when visiting the city, all blended together in a collage leading up to the Arena at the top.

All destroyed by the deep gouges in the banner from top to middle that spelled out the words, 'HOPE LIVES'.

Although tempting to draw a picture Nire being thrown off the Arena walls, Kali's artistic skills were limited to song and dance. At the same time it felt wrong to destroy a creation such as this with vicious words aimed at Nire.

Irony was cruel, she thought, unable to take her eyes off of the slain marten. She was woken up by the shrill screams of a beast in anguish. Not from the audience, but from Nire.

Regarding the scene with horror, Kali had to force herself to move, to back away towards the far edge of the arena. Guards could be seen coming up the stairs in droves from the left and the right, seeking to cut her off.

She looked one way, then another, and finally down to her wing and the great big hole carved out of it. Kali wasn't going to be flying anytime soon.

"Ah... well..."

"... crap."


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The guards couldn't decide how to best shackle a bat, given that manacles were simply useless on a beast lacking paws. In the end they attached a chain to her slave's collar and called it good.

Kali kept her head low as they led her through the offices, leaving a small trail of blood from her still open wound where ever she stepped. She offered no resistance, not even a peep as they brought her into the office level.

A small part of Kali expected to see Kentrith, or even Inkpaw. But no such friendly faces appeared, not even the rat posing as a guard.

Of the Blue Backs who entered the room, only two of them stayed after the doors were shut behind Kali. She found herself in a familiar dining room. It was right on this very spot where Kali, for the first time, preformed for Nire. Where she stopped Silas from murdering the feline.

If only she had not gotten in his way.

Kali did not condone the crimes of Thrayjen, but she couldn't bring herself to judge him for them either. He regretted his actions. But Nire?

What excuse could he give?

"Kali."

The bat's eyes finally picked up enough off the floor to examine the room fully. Another fox stood somewhat awkwardly off to the side of the room. A fox Kali thought she would never see again.

With guards behind her, keeping ahold of the chain attached to her collar, Kali raised an eyebrow. In other circumstances Kali would have joked about Baxter being rather short to be an interrogator.

Tired, wounded and dreadfully hungry, the two bards simply stared at each other in silence.

Baxter spoke first.

"Did the guards do that to you?" Baxter's comment caused Kali to glance at her wing. The gaping hole was a startling sight, and she was trying very, very hard not to contemplate the consequences of such a wound. Would it heal? Would she be able to fly again? Kali simply didn't know.

"BY all that is holy, Kali, what have you gotten yourself into?" the fox sighed, "Look. We don't have much time. Nire only let me in here to talk with you because he's too busy being livid elsewhere. I had to beg even then."

The bat glanced to the floor, ears flat.

"Kali, I told Nire that this had to be a mistake. There is no way you could have killed a guard. You're... YOU for Martin's sake. Please tell me you had nothing to do with this." Baxter laughed. His laughter died off after Kali didn't reply. "Bloody... Kali, how did it come to this? You're a bard. You're not a murder. What ever you are involved in please, just tell Nire a-and maybe he will go easy on you."

The bat gave him an 'oh really?' glare with her eyes. Did the fox forget who he was talking about?

Baxter turned away, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm sorry I never came to visit. I was... scared, you know. And I... I didn't want to see you get hurt.  And I don't want to see you get hurt now. Please Kali, just cooperate with Nire and he might spare you. Please..."

The fox gave the bat a pleading look.

"I don't want to see you die."

Kali widened her eyes for a moment before finally settling on Baxter's own. There was so much to say, and yet, so little time.

It was then that the door opened.

"N-nire," the fox began.

Nire swept into the room like a typhoon. His usual smile was plastered on his face, but frayed slightly at the edges. "Baxter! Thank you for helping your winged cousin settle in, but I can take it from here." The cat wrapped his arm around Kali, guiding her towards a chair before sitting across the table himself.

"Kaliiiiiii, my cheeky little bat. You have had an... exciting day. Come! Sit! Have an apple."

The fox gave Kali one last worried glance, then walked out the door and leaving Kali to her fate.

The bat did as she was instructed, tenderly sitting down and eyeing the cat warily as he slid a basket of fruit towards her. Her gaze lingered, mouth watering. Part of her knew that she had not eaten since last night, the other part of her knew that this could very well be her last meal.

She shrugged, deciding if it was her last meal then she might as well enjoy it. Grabbing a bushel of grapes with her good wing Kali began to munch away as Nire continued.

"Now, Kali, sweetie, we be both know that you lack the smarts to orchestrate such a fiasco."

Cheeks full of grapes, Kali looked up at Nire's wide Cheshire grin.

"I want to know who helped you out of the arena. I'm going to need their names."

Kali swallowed her grapes. She paused, glancing about the room, and then grabbed an apple.

Nire narrowed his eyes slightly. "Kali. I know you. You do not have a violent bone in your body. You couldn't even kill The Tiger in the arena, and I'm sure you didn't really want to kill that poor marten. Just think about his family! Those poor marten babies watching their papa fall and splatter at my feet. How horrible!" Nire gasped, "Are these terrorists really the kind of beasts you want to be associating with? Putting a humble bard like yourself to such vile acts. If you don't help me put a stop to this, they will only force me to hurt other beasts... is that what you really want?"

The lynx's eyes fell upon the bat, who only gave him an intense stare as she munched away at the apple.

"Right," drumming his claws on the desk, Nire's smile began to falter, "I always liked you, Kali. You always had heart. Reminded me of myself at that age. It's why I spared you from the games." The feline laughed, "What? Did you really think you were in danger? You haven't seen danger. I could have put you up to real warriors, or the owls."

Again the cat received only a silent stare of judgement as Kali worked on her apple.

Drawing a deep breath, Nire calmed himself, "But I am, if nothing else, a forgiving beast. And I will make it worth your while. I can give you back your lute. Restore you to your original job here. Just think, you can live the life you always wanted! Playing your tunes, eating... fruit and... what ever it is bats consider a luxury. The point is, you will never want for anything ever again. Food, clothes, gold. All yours. A beast complains about your singing? Just say the word and I'll have them flayed."

The cat gave Kali time to answer. She let the length of the pause drag out long enough to finish her apple. She held the core off to the side, letting it drop to the floor before reaching for a pear, completely ignoring the cat.

Nire's tail began to twitch and his smile turned feral. "This is kindness, you must realize this, yes?" He stood up, looming over the bat, "I can have you tortured. You won't believe the kinds of things I can get away down in the dungeons, next to the monsters. How long do you think it will take, hmmm? An hour? A day? How long do you think you will hold up after I pluck the wings from your body and feed what's left to Thunder?"

When the bat still refused to respond, the cat screamed, slamming his fist against the table and sending fruit flying in all directions. "I just threatened to kill you, you flying rodent! Do you not care? Answer me!"

"But you wouldn't kill me yourself, would you?"

The cat was taken aback as Kali's eyes met his own. There was something different now, a sharpness behind her gaze that bored through him, "You have beasts to do that for you. Beasts to torture for you, maim for you, even kill for you when you get bored, but you never got your paws dirty, have you? In fact, I wonder if I have killed more beasts than you."

Kali leaned back in her chair, "You are too much of a coward to do anything but hide in the shadows, Nire. You always have been, you always will be. The only thing that makes you dangerous is the control you wield over this town." Her face continued to not display the anger and bitterness that was reflected by Nire. No, Kali looked at him with something much worse.

Pity.

"It must be a horrible feeling, knowing that you are losing control. I wonder, after everyone finds out just how powerless you really are, who will turn on you first? The town, your friends... how long you will last in your own arena after they throw you into it..."

Nire twitched an eye. His face steaming with rage, "Throw this... creature into the dungeons." The guards came, lifting the bat up and escorting her to the door. "You're right, Kali. I CAN have you killed! We will see how brave you are after I throw you to the birds!"

Something crashed against the wall after Kali was lead out of the room.

"Inkpaw..." she said inwardly, "This better be worth it..."