Brawl of Titans

[Nikolas Faselli]

- Nar Shaddaa -​

An Underground Club​

[member="Alric Kuhn"]​

"Twenty credits and no more!" one shouted from the other side of the club. The room was noisy that day -- it was a Taungsday which meant a bare knuckle fight would be going on. People typically came an hour or two before the event would actually start to get the best positions to see the fight and also to bet on their favourite fighters. And even though more fighters weren't registered before the match, people still put their money into pots. It was a combination of a gamble and a boxing match.

"Fifty!" a shout came from right next to the man organising all the betting. So much noise filled the room that it was difficult to hear anything at all. And that was also the reason why the man didn't hear a young underage girl placing a bet of a hundred credits.

Ellya had been to many different places on her travels, but that club was completely different from everything else. It was dangerous, it was illogical. And that's why the girl decided to challenger herself with that. She wouldn't be fighting that day, but seeing a nice fight was something she missed in her life. The adrenaline rush she would be getting there was not something she had had in a long time.

Seeyeh told the girl where to go and what was going on around her. She would also get quite a good view of the matches even though she didn't see anything with her own eyes. Didn't even have to worry about having the best place to see anything.

"Do you know who will be fighting today?" she asked from the astromech droid but didn't get an answer.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

Alric already stood on one edge of the ring.

His hands were bruised and bloody, his face was much the same, and his torso carried a heavy sheen of sweat marked with blood that was a mix of his own and some that belonged to someone else. His hair was a wet mess, and his beard seemed somewhat tangled, even short and trimmed as it was. Heavy dark circles ran beneath his eyes, and lines of stress cut into his face.

Neither the Dark Circles nor the lines were because of the fight.

No, they were for something else entirely. Alric was after all the CEO of Titan Industries, and over the past few weeks he had seen more work and less sleep than he had in his entire lifetime. Alric had not slept in nearly a week now, catching only an hour here or an hour there, each time forced on by his loving fiance.

She would often not allow him to leave their home without getting some sort of rest.

He smiled at that, though the small gap in his lips caused him to drool just a little more, spittle mixed with blood. Even with those short few hours he was still tired however, still drifting in sleepless consciousness. At this point he was not truly sure how long he had been awake.

It didn't matter.

What mattered was the fight. It was his way of relieving stress, his way of having fun. Down here he was not Alric Kuhn. He was not the CEO of Titan Industries.

Down here he was another kind of Titan.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Do you at least know when the fight will begin?"

The droid beeped something as an answer, telling the woman of his lack of knowledge again. He was quite useless there, all that he could really do was telling the woman what was going on. He felt some kind of unsure about his own experience and that was what disturbed him. And due to that, his owner felt disturbed.

"Don't worry about it too much. Let's just wait a bit and see what happens."

She took a deep breath and took a few steps closer to the ring. She knew something was going on there already -- somebody moving there at least. She clashed into people on her way closer to the ring, but that didn't matter too much at that moment; because it hardly mattered to the people who she bumped into.

"Seeyeh, tell me what's going on there."

And so the droid told the girl about the man. The one [member="Alric Kuhn"]. It was a good thing neither of the two knew who he was or anything. But the fact that the man looked tired caught Ellya's attention. She was starting to feel irritated. What was he doing there, then? Wasn't he supposed to be sleeping?

Time would tell whether the woman's worries were justified or not.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

Alric let out a heavy sigh, his body straining slightly as he lifted himself from the edge of the arena. The crowd cheered, quite loudly in fact. They knew him here. Though he came under a different pseudonym every time someone in the crowd inevitably recognized him. None as Alric Kuhn of course, but instead as a fighter that made frequent appearances, and always won.

“Are you sure you're up for this? You look t deaths door.”

The referee, though it was difficult to call him that since there weren't really many rules here, looked at Alric with serious concern.

The Titan smiled at the man and gave him a simple nod.

He was tired, worn out, bruised, but not yet broken. He had another few miles in him before this all ended, before he returned to Silara and she asked him what the hell he had been doing. The smile crept across his face again, and his feet shifted within the sands.

“Alright.”

The announcer began to call out names, calling for bets and readying the crowd for the next match.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ellya was getting enthusiastic about the night. Seeing - or well, not quite seeing - a tired man fight was something she didn't see every day. He had to be really lucky to win these fights. Or really good at fighting.

"Seeyeh, could you please take a look at the bets? And also, add some credits to the one I made before. I think I've found myself a new favourite."

The droid rolled away to see who seemed to be the most famous of those who were supposed to fight that day and he could see the one at the ring that moment was a favourite of most people in the club, tired or not.

When he got back to his owner, Ellya was already cheering and going along with the rest of the mass. She was one of the closest ones to the arena, even though she didn't know that, and was easily one of the most noticeable ones from the crowd.

The match was about to begin and it was time to see if the ones who bet for the man had made a good decision. Or if the fighter himself had used any logic when coming to the club that night.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

The man who he was facing, his opponent, was a large burly barrel chested man. He dwarfed Alric in both size and muscular stature. The Titan simply looked up at him, his smile not yet disappeared. He was thinking happy thoughts, thoughts of his future wife. Thoughts of [member="Silara"].

For some strange reason they woke him, though only slightly. The dark circles still ran beneath his eyes and the lines stuck in face face, veins popping out on his neck. Yet he found himself slightly more alert, more awake. The people around him no longer seemed sluggish, and his muscles seemed more loose. Perhaps he was trying to impress her, though she wasn't even here.

“Little man.”

The giant spoke to him, his tone gruff, as though it had been ground through gravel.

“You stand at the edge of a cliff. Allow me to push you over it.”

Alric simply smiled, that mad grin of a man about to do something stupid. Instead of answering the man, instead of saying anything at all. Alric simply waited for the bell. His eyes closed for only a split second, inviting that warm dark abyss.

It was shattered a moment later by a loud DING.

The Titan swept forward. He didn't wait for the giant to make a move or for the crowd to cheer him on. He simply pulsed, like a flame that had just been started. His leg shot out in a wide sweep, kicking the giant off his feet and sending him falling to the ground.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

A bang that was released after the other man fell was so strong that Ellya felt it with her body quite well. Being extra sensitive to the sense of touch made it even more powerful.

"Way to go, Tired Man!"

She used the loudest voice she had ever used to yell that -- she wanted to make sure the man would hear it. Seeyeh on her right, however, didn't quite support her decision of doing that and thought things were getting a bit embarrassing.

But was it truly [member="Alric Kuhn"] who had pushed the other fighter over? Maybe it was the other way around?

That was getting embarrassing, indeed.

"Seeyeh, who fell on the ground?" she whispered to the droid. A short whistle was all the girl needed to understand she had been right. The so-called Tired Man wouldn't have made such a noise when falling to the floor.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

It went fast from there.

Alric was slow, sluggish, but he had a certain energy to him. That didn't matter when the giant kicked for his own legs. A wild flurry, a slight flail, and Alric went sailing to the ground like a child. He flopped for a second, landing hard on his back. The air rushed out of his lungs, escaping him for a brief moment.

The giant swept this own legs around, pulling them up and then sending them crashing down onto Alrics sternum. Blood spewed from his mouth as more air was thrust out of his lungs, but before the giant could strike again Alric rolled.

He moved to the side, dodging the mans other legs.

With one quick fluid motion he stood, faster than the giant could observe. He swept his knee upwards, locking it into the half raised giant. A loud crack resounded as several ribs broke and the other man collapsed back onto the floor.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Many falls happened and Ellya was starting to feel a bit ill. All the hits on the ground varied, being only a light hit, then a loud bang, probably a light hit coming next. To a blind girl, it was a lot more than what she felt daily. Every movement on the floor of the club was already a pain. Now that the ring's floor was also put on a torture, it was clearly enough.

She wondered what condition the two were in, hoping the fight would end soon.

"Seeyeh, give me an overview of the battle."

While listening to the droid, she tried to focus on the noises the two fighters made as well, to see if she could feel anything certain. Some crackling sounds and cracks definitely had to stand for broken bones.

Then there were loud sighs. That had to be releasing air from their lungs after falling down. Interesting.

That way, she could get some understanding of the fighters' skills, too. Awesome.

"You can do it, Tired Man!"

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

A blink.

That was all it took. A long blink of the eyes. An image flashed across his vision, a woman, held close to his chest. Auburn hair tangled in fingers, skin pressed against him, lips planted on forehead. It was only a flash. A microsecond film that played within his head, but it was enough to send a surge of energy rising through him.

He moved forward in his assault on the giant.

His leg shot forward, his heel catching the Giants jaw. Blood spattered across the sands and moments later Alric found himself diving atop his opponent. His hands curled into fists, and one strike after another he followed up on his vicious kick. Solid strike after solid strike pushed against the larger man, until his face was naught but a bloody pulp.

A loud DING resounded once again, and with a single last punch Alric brought down Goliath.

The crowd began to roar.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

That was it. A loud ding and the fight was over? Fantastic. Now Ellya wouldn't have to struggle with keeping herself from throwing up.

She tried to look at the direction where the man was, at least judging by the noises he made, and smile. The Tired Man just had to be the winner of the match. She could feel it. Seeyeh also confirmed that.

And so the blind girl roared along with the rest of the crowd, but stopped for a moment. What would she do next? Was there any point of her remaining there? Was the man going to fight another match?

"Seeyeh, who's the next fighter?"

Blood pumped in her ears when she figured out what to do before the droid could even answer. She knew she couldn't fight in the ring and the adrenaline rush couldn't make her forget that fact. She could double her bet on the man, perhaps?

"Hey, go and multiply my bet on the Tired Man by two."

The droid rolled away again.

At the same time, Ellya thought if she could make the fights of the man more of a challenge some way. She knew having one enemy was a piece of cake for the man, but... two enemies? A little bit too much?

"Hey Tired Man, if you're really good you should be able to handle twp dudes easily, right?"

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

As the other fight was slowly dragged out of the pit, Alric found that there was a ringing in his ears.

It seemed to block out all noise. The crowd went silent, the air conditioners quieted down, and everything became a blur. He stood slowly, the Titan rising from the earth in deliberately sluggish movements. Blood poured from his mouth, his hands equally dripping with crimsons. His body swooned, swaying from side to side.

He stumbled for a moment, catching himself as his eyes once again faded closed.

That was when he saw her again. The bright star that illuminated him, the woman that gave him that extra push.

His eyes slowly opened again, lids rising at such a sluggish pace that one would have thought he had been sleeping for the past three days. As soon as he saw light once more he heard a voice call out to him, a shouting. Alrics head swiveled, the voice of a woman calling, asking if he could take on two opponents at once.

Could he?

His eyes shut once more and a flash of auburn occurred, a hand grasping him to gain his attention. A coy smile and a slight nod, confirmation from her that he could do it.

Alrics eyes snapped open again. “Send them in.”

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

That was it. The man seemed to be confident; the whole crowd could see it. They cheered even louder after the fighter decided to let to people fight him, a few changed their bets due to not believing the 'Tired Man' as Ellya called him could handle two opponents.

And so two fighters stepped into the arena. Both of them were humans, one of them a bit shorter, about the same body type as the fighter himself, and the other one about as large as the giant he had defeated before.

"You can do it!" Ellya shouted to the man. Without realising anything, the girl continued, "Do it for your special someone."

Seeyeh came back and would he have had a hand, he would have facepalmed. Why was his owner so dumb, he thought.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

Alric didn't hear the girl, not this time. His focus was razor sharp, a needle. Silara pushed him, without ever being here, without ever saying a word. He could not have said how she did or even if she was really doing anything, but the thought of her, the image of that subtle smile, that nod. It pushed him to new heights.

His adrenaline soared, every muscle and fiber of his body screaming at him to push.

Alric didn't wait for the bell this time, he simply moved.

The crowd didn't seem to mind. They roared loudly as the Titan surged forward, his feet propelling him for one step, then two, then launching him into the air. There was a savagery to how he moved. A primal urge to fight, to kill. He landed upon the second Giant, ramming into him and knocking him down in one solid blow.

His fist curled once again, and he struck the giant in the face, once, twice, then a third time.

Blood splattered in the arena once more.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Blood splattered in the arena, but also over the edge so that the ones closest to the giant got some of that on their faces. One of them was Ellya, but she didn't mind. Neither did anybody else. The man in the ring was making them go wild and even if he didn't do history, he was surely miraculous. Even the idea of taking on two opponents at the same time was admirable.

The crowd cheered, the bet table was so busy that the man working at it couldn't keep up with the workload. Some decided the brave fighter couldn't handle the two, some former avid believers of his failure thought it would be better to move their money to his name. It got confusing.

Somebody away from the arena threw their belongings into the ring, a pair of underwear amongst that. Ellya couldn't see any of that, but if she could have, she would have laughed loudly.

Whether it distracted the Tired Man or not, he was doing great by so far and it looked like his former shattered look had only been an illusion.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

Alric was too busy to notice the panties being flung at him, it seemed the Giants friend didn't fancy Alrics current actions. Before the Titan could do anything else Alric found himself with a fist to the face. The blow struck him hard, his jaw nearly being broken as flesh hit flesh.

He was flung off the giant, hitting the sand with a heard thud.

His entire body seemed to seize slightly, his hands clenching into fists, the ringing in his ears returning.

It was like his entire body was a bell that had been rung. Alric struggled for a few moments, shifting slightly in the sands. The skinnier man helped the giant up, and Alric heard a grunt as the other man rose from the sands. He struggled for a moment more, another flash of auburn, of that smile. His eyes snapped open, and Alric rolled to his feet just in time to dodge a heavy heel.

With a quick flurry of legs Alric kicked towards the two men.

He struck them, both tumbling down atop one another. Like a mad beast Alric jumped forward, he grasped the giant man again, taking him by the head and smashing it against the ground over and over again. Blood splattered again, and the man gurgled loudly, then faded from life.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Seeyeh made noises which told Ellya he was disgusted. Thank Force the girl couldn't see any of that. Blood was everywhere around the two, they were covered with it.

But the match continued. The girl understood she would have to get the man's autograph right after he would finish fighting for the night. However, at that moment she would just admire the strength he had. As well as his agility. She didn't know he had just killed a person. Would she have known that, she would have stopped admiring him.

The girl heard some people behind her back speaking of how they'd go for the next fight with the Tired Man. The blind girl doubt they would do that. Or if the man would. He may have been really tired by now.

"Show 'em what kind of a fighter you really are!"

That sentence was probably blended into the noises the crowd made.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

A kick to his side.

Another solid blow that cracked ribs threw him off of the giant and sent him scrambling into the dirt. Blood rushed from his mouth, his head began to spin, and he felt himself loosing just a touch of control.

For a split second, Alric lost himself in the abyss.

He saw nothing. Heard nothing. Darkness came to him. There was no picture of his love this time, no image of auburn, no little smile. There was only deep darkness. He floated in a vat of nothingness, hanging within the air. It seemed like he was there for an eternity, and then he breathed.

Alric sucked air into his lungs with a loud gasp, regaining consciousness just as the smaller man punched him in the face. He reeled, his eye bruising almost immediately, his head knocking back into the soft sands of the arena. Before another punch could land Alric flailed wildly, catching the other man by the throat and striking him hard.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

It was enough for Ellya. All the noise, vibrations, smell, even the taste of air around her was too much for her to handle. So with a swift movement, the girl turned around, leaving the shocked droid near the arena to gather as much details of the match as possible so that he could tell the girl everything after the fight.

She, a blind girl, made her way to the front door of the building and stepped out of the club.

All of that took place in a hurry - people fell over thanks to her, some managed to bump into others, others dropped their drinks. It was so chaotic, but not many people noticed that happening. The fight in the ring was clearly more important than anything going on in the crowd.

And that was good.

Seeyeh remained watching the match and as time passed, he was able to understand what was so cool about it. Having to watch over his owner had taken away the fun of the fight. Now he could truly focus on that.

The droid began to beep, buzz, whistle, squeak. All the noises he made were to support the fighter.

The Tired Man, of course.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Ellya"]

He was tired, so very tired.

Alrics body felt like it was made of duracrete. His arms felt heavy. His legs felt immovable, and his body wanted to simply lay there on the ground. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to have grown larger, and the look on his face told that he was on his last leg.

The man whom was assaulting him, his opponent, reeled for only a second more. He recovered, looking down at Alric with a fearsome glare.

He jumped. His entire body committed to one action that would see Alric ended. A loud hiss past the Titans teeth, a last desperate act. His legs shot up, and before the other man could reach him wrapped around his neck. In a powerful embrace Alric used his legs to smash the man onto the sandy ground, following up the blow with a single heavy punch to the face.

The cracking of bone could be head as the mans jaw broke.

And then the fight was over.