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“How do you feel about killing people?”
That’s what Cleo opened her pitch with. ‘Would you like to murder others?’ is essentially what she’d asked of her. Of course, there was a ‘but’ involved. Or rather, an ‘and’.
See, Cleo wasn’t just going to let Stress loose in the arena unprepared. She had a plan. And that plan involved a little bit of... magic, so to say. Tango was on board too, she said. So were Bdubs and Ren. They were loving their new powers. And who was Stress to say no to such an offer? The arachnid-like hermit had clearly done her research; she knew how much Stress loved flowers.
Before Cleo could even finish her pitch Stress had said ‘yes’ a million times over. She wasn’t the best at PVP, she knew. But with the help of what Cleo offered... oh, this was going to be delightful.
So they shook hands to seal the deal. Cleo handed her a piece of paper with some coordinates written on it, and a potion which was pitch black in colour.
“Try and kill them, but not too much.” And with a smile and a wink, Cleo was off.
Stress stood there, a little dumbfounded, for a while. Should she drink the potion immediately? Should she get to the right place first? Not wanting to take any risks, she loaded up the coords into her communicator, packed some supplies for the road, and she was off.
The coordinates led her to a great arena, located just beyond Cleo’s zoo build. It stood mighty in the midst of nothing but sand surrounding it. Stress took a deep breath, and entered the building.
Inside she found the other three ‘bosses’, as Cleo called them. And it occurred to Stress then that she probably should have taken her potion beforehand. Tango was bathing in a pool of lava, a large grin on his face, clearly enjoying himself.
Bdubs was seemingly taking a nap in a cobweb shaped like a hammock. He twisted and turned, not bothered by its usual sticky characteristic.
And on the other side of the arena she could see Ren, sparring barehandedly with two skeletons. Their arrows seemed to bounce off his skin.
“Oh, hey Stress!” Tango called, waving at her. Tango quickly got up, stepping out of the makeshift hot tub. Bdubs shifted in his hammock to look at the commotion, and Stress could see that he had... changed... in more ways than one. He got up and climbed down the wall, walking over. Ren made quick work of the mobs, and came to join them near the entrance.
“Stress! It’s so good to see you!” Tango said, brushing off some lava from his shoulders. Stress could see his eyes were now completely red, and he was sporting some razor sharp teeth, and he had a pair of horns now poking out from between his blond hair.
“Did Cleo ask you to become a gladiator too?” Bdubs asked excitedly. From this close Stress could clearly see that he had become something similar to what Cleo was. He had way too many eyes, and huge pincers complimenting his spider-like appearance.
“I see you haven’t taken it yet.” Ren gestured towards the potion in her hands. Out of all of them, he appeared to have remained the most human. That was until Stress let her eyes wander up to his head, seeing the fangs, bright golden eyes, and wolf ears on display. He was a beast.
“Er... yeah, I just-” She stammers. “It just occurred to me now that I maybe should have-”
“It’s okay,” Bdubs said. “it’s a little getting used to, after all.” He pulled his face into what Stress assumed was a smile, she couldn’t really tell with the pincers.
This calmed Stress’ nerves quite a bit. They might look intimidating, but they were still her friends, after all. There was nothing to be afraid of. This potion, whatever it contained, would do her good.
“Well... bottoms up.” Stress uncorked the potion and chucked it all down in one go. Its bitter taste and thick consistency almost made her retch, but she managed to keep it all down. The other three looked at her expectantly, and for a second she was afraid that nothing was going to happen.
Then Stress felt a tingling in her fingertips. She held up her hands, and saw that they had begun to turn pitch black. It travelled up her arms, stopping about halfway up, whilst her hands seemed to be morphing into claws.
Her heartbeat picked up rapidly, it almost seemed to be bursting out of her chest. And for a minute she was afraid it actually might.
But in the blink of an eye it completely stopped. The beating in her chest now replaced with some sort of energy, radiating from inside. Stress couldn’t help but laugh as the feeling spread throughout her body, a seemingly limitless supply of power, coursing through her veins.
She could feel that same tingling in her head. Her eyes, and her ears. And then it died down.
Stress didn’t dare open her eyes yet. When did she even close them? She could hear, feel the others holding their breaths as they waited for anybody else to speak up.
“...Sick.” Tango finally said, breaking the silence. Ren and Bdubs nodded agreeingly.
They led her to one of the backstage rooms, where they’d conveniently placed a mirror for Stress to see. She could feel the changes, the power that they brought her. She could see it in the wither roses sprouting from wherever she stood, she could see the smoky particles emanating from her which would not bode well for the others, were they not given powers by Cleo as well.
Stress looked into her blank, white eyes. Black, withered skin like her arms accentuating them beautifully.
The flowers in her hair had withered as well, only complimenting her new look. Her ears had come to a point, and Stress just smiled. Sharp fangs have replaced her canines, and it only made her smile more genuine, somehow.
Stress turned towards the other three, and they were smiling back at her. She could tell that the upcoming battle was going to be amazing. The hermits didn’t stand a chance.