Chapter Text
Sollux awoke from his restless sleep, as if he could sleep at all in these quarters. The area he was given was only about a 6x7 maximum, and he shared it with his dad, Mituna. Which was awful for two main reasons, a. it was cramped and sweaty, and b. Mituna was interesting, to say the least. He was only twenty-eight, but lifespan was drawing to a close, street fighters like us generally only live to thirty, if they're lucky. The strange things about Mituna become very obvious once you begin speaking to him. His body tends to jitter often, like tremors are shaking through it, and he thrashes his head violently before recomposing himself to the best of his ability. His speech is either mumbled or yelled, with words mispronounced and random letters and sounds shoehorned in. It happened a long while back, back when he was supposed to begin Sollux's training. He took a few awful blows to the head, and one popped a circuit or something because he returned different. It didn't help that Cronus was his owner; Cronus beat the living shit out of Mituna for causing him the loss of so much money. Cronus was seen as a disappointment in the rest of the Ampora ancestry for not upholding the family name out on the streets. This occurrence also led to the Ampora-Captor teams to be thrown back to the bottom of the chain, leaving the newest duo to have to work their way back to the original, respected seat.
Throughout all stems of street and underground fighting, the Amporas and the Captors were well known. To fuck with them was considered like fucking with royalty, and it was something you did not do. If you could prove you had a connection with an Ampora, you were golden, untouchable. Before Cronus' generation, even the Captors, the lowly yellow bloods, were allowed to walk the streets. The families claimed to be locked in a feud, but the relationship between them has very much been mutualistic. Amporas get the dough, Captors get royal treatment. That was how it worked, that is until Cronus fucked it all up.
He was brought up too harshly, it really wasn't his fault. He would wail on Mituna too much, even after winning a fight Mituna would get hit for not executing a move properly. The effects of Cronus' beatings showed through in his combat, and Mituna's value wore down far too quickly. When the accident happened, it left Cronus partnerless and Mituna permanently out of the ring, which meant no more money. Which meant Sollux was to be brought up in a shitty cell and trained harder than ever to bring them to the top.
He rubbed at his eyes; today was his first fight. He had been training for all fourteen years of his life, basically brought out of the womb throwing punches. Getting up from the straw bed, he abandoned Mituna in the dismal "bedroom" to go to the even worse "kitchen." The kitchen was basically a barbeque pit, with a single, brick lined cylinder going half a foot out of the ground and filled with logs and materials for burning. Above it was a spit strung between the two spyders, a single black pot to cook all of their food in. If they didn't eat it raw anyway. A bench was on either side of the pit. If they needed supplies or anything other than the "food" they were given, they'd have to venture into the owner's mansion and ask permission. Which hardly ever happened, and when it did the answer was hardly ever a yes.
But this morning, it shocked Sollux to see his master standing by one of the rotting wood walls. He immediately bowed his head and stopped his movement. "Sir Ampora, I had no idea you were to be in our quarters. Excuse the state of our quarters, I would've-"
"Can it, Sol, I'm here alone." Sollux raised his head and took a seat at one of the benches, yawning.
"Alright." Eridan eyed his slave before debating whether or not to take a seat at the other bench. Deciding it was too filthy for his highblood clothes, he straightened up and squatted in front of Sollux.
"I need you to win out there, got it? You've been training this whole time. I need you to win. You need to win. I don't have any power over Cronus, so nothing is stopping him from treating you like Mituna, and that will tarnish my reputation. You need to bring me to the top, you hear?" He held the slave's chin tightly between his thumb and forefinger, staring directly into his eyes.
"I got it, okay? I'll do fine." Sollux released a shaky breath and blinked hazily, not bothering to return the ferocity in Eridan's gaze. "It's going to be fine."
Telling Eridan it was going to be fine was the only thing calming his nerves. It's fine. I said it was going to be fine, I wouldn't lie to my master, it's going to be fine.
Eridan stood back up, not without giving Sollux a sharp slap. "Don't forget your place, slave. We're not friends."
Sollux winced at the slap but dared not make a sound. He just forced a nod. "Yes, sir."
"Good. As soon as you finish eating, come wait outside the rear door. You need more preparation." his master paused at the door, then strode back across the yard to the mansion. Sollux rubbed his eyes again and started to make something edible for breakfast, before deciding there was no way he could eat. Mituna stumbled in, pushing his mop of hair out of his face.
"Slolux you gotta eat," he mumbled, watching him consider breakfast. "Its yur firts match."
"I'm not hungry." Mituna took a seat next to him on the bench, doing his best to be fatherly. He was never good at being fatherly, mostly because he never wanted to have a kid, especially not at the age fourteen. Especially without knowing the mom and being forced to.
"Look, you gotta ear somethin, or yull be straving when you go to fght. You need to be at the tops of your game, no weaknecessities," he stuttered, combining words. But his son understood and nodded.
"I guess. I just can't eat."
"You're certaintly gonna fail if you donut eat. Come on." He made breakfast for the both of them, delicious bowls of tasteless, watery oatmeal.
They ate in silence, Sollux working on calming down before whatever preparation Eridan had in mind for the fight ahead. He finished first, rinsing out his bowl with the hose and placing it on the shaky table. "Thanks for breakfast, MT. I'll catch you later."
Mituna gave him a wave and he left, fiddling with the top of his pants as he went across the yard. The rear entrance was put in for the sole purpose of getting to the slave quarters, split into two halves so the master didn't even have to open the lower half to get their attention or to call them to retrieve their food. It was the beginning of fall, the slightest chill nipping at his exposed grey chest. As if he noticed; Sollux was far too nervous. If anything he trembled with anxiety. How was Eridan to know when I am out here? Should I... should I knock? He hesitantly raised a fist, about to bring it against the door when it swung open. He immediately dropped his hand and folded it with the other behind his back, lowering his head. "Sir."
"Sollux. Let's go." Eridan grabbed a larger horn on the bowing troll's head and yanked him in. He led a path through a maze of rooms til he found the one he was looking for and threw the troll from his grasp. Sollux stumbled a bit, catching his balance and waiting for any further instruction. The room was ten by ten, give or take a bit, and bare save for a table in the middle. Shutting the door, Eridan fixed his glasses and folded his arms. "What do you need to prepare for the fight?"
"What do you mean?"
"I said, what do you need to prepare for the fight? A shower? Real food? Sex? More practice? Sleep? Name it." Sollux was taken aback. I am the slave here, right?
"Oh," he thought about the offer. Hell, he could use all of those things. "Food. I want a proper meal, for Mituna too. Meat. A drink besides water."
"Really? That's what you go with?" Eridan shrugged. "I figured you'd be more interested in other options, but it is your wish. I'll go get him. Wait here."
He left, leaving Sollux alone in the room. He leaned against the table, skeptical of Eridan's sudden pleasantness. Their relationship was a hell of a lot better than the prior generation's, but by no stretch of the imagination were they friends. Eridan didn't make Sollux treat him like he was a god all the time and didn't hit him, and in return Sollux followed orders and complied to the best of his ability. Eridan still got the better end of the exchange, because he wouldn't hit Sollux anyway, but the unspoken deal worked well either way. But this was something new. Never had this happened. It was probably because this was the inaugural fight, that was the only thing Sollux could figure.
Mituna was shoved into the room, catching himself on the table. Eridan followed, then a butler with two chairs. He sat them on the opposite sides of the table, bowed to Eridan, and scuttled away. Eridan gestured to the chairs. "Go on, take a seat."
The two did, Mituna cautiously eying Eridan. He leaned over the table and whispered to Sollux, "Do you have any idea what this is about?"
Sollux kind of shrugged. "Sorta. I think it's cause today's my first fight."
The other considered this and sat back. The room was painfully silent with no one daring to make a sound. Finally, there was a knock at the door, causing Mituna to jump slightly in his chair. Eridan pushed himself off the wall and opened it, allowing in a stream of butlers pushing silver tables. The two slaves' jaws dropped at the sight. The food was laid out, a whole turkey, warm bread and butter, corn, a platter of meats and cheeses he couldn't even name, and a large bowl of soup. Two empty plates, two bowls, and silverware were pulled out and placed in front of them. Sollux's mouth watered. This was a lot better than oatmeal.
"Well? Eat," Eridan commanded, resting back against the wall. The two needed no further prodding, instantly filling their plates with the delicacies. It all looked so good. They both abandoned their manners, as if they had good ones in the first place. They only knew how to behave within the mansion, but even that was gone. It was chaos.
After over an hour, Sollux decided he could not eat anything else. It was by far the best meal he'd ever had. He could've passed out right there at the table. Mituna was still shoveling it in, an expression on his face that exceeded the definition of happy. That made Sol smile, to see his dad that delighted, but he had to go practice. After eating that much he felt he had gained 1,000 pounds. He stood from the table and walked to Eridan. "Sir, if it's all right, I think I should go practice."
"Yeah, come on, I'll walk you to the shed," he replied. They left MT to the rest of the meal and left, Eridan guiding Sollux through the rooms. It was an endless trip until they reached the yard, then the shed. The shed was a tin shack distanced from the rest of the property, reserved solely for fighting. It had mud floors, three punching bags hanging from the ceiling, full water bottles scattered around the floor and bandages hanging on hooks lining the walls. The shack basically was Sollux's childhood; he recalled it in his earliest memory. This was where he grew up. When Eridan and he entered, he went directly to the wall and began to wrap his knuckles. First rule of fighting: always wrap your fists. Not only does it create a more abrasive punch, it helps keep the bones in your fist in line and grants overall more protection to the attacker.
Sollux finished his handiwork and paused before stretching out; Eridan was still there. "Sir, is there something I could aid you with?"
"Nope. Go on." the seadweller held his place by the door, watching expectantly. what was up with him today? Sollux wondered as he continued his stretching, turned around but keeping his master in his periphery. He moved to one of the punching bags, working off the lethargic sensation eating had given him. He went through the basic routine a few times, going over his kicks and training his psionics accuracy. Panting, he took a break and a swig of water. Second rule of fighting: water is your best friend.
"Lookin' good," Eridan commented from his spot against the door. Sollux looked up, having somewhat forgotten about his presence.
"Oh, um, yeah, thanks," he said breathlessly, taking another drink of water. "Do you know how long we have til the fight?"
"Two hours. You should probably not tire yourself out and rest for a bit." he walked over and joined Sollux. "You need to win. And I mean dominate. Make my name known."
Sollux just nodded. "I'll do my best, sir."
Eridan gave him a rough shoulder pat, and left him to his practice. Sollux took a seat on the floor, catching his breath. His nerves were still flaring in regards to the fight. He returned to his quarters and tried to busy himself by hosing off and tightening his fist wraps, but it was no use. The fight occupied his whole mind constantly. Eridan's strange behavior, his own concern for his dad, everything fled save for the upcoming combat. He had to win. He had to dominate. Eridan was in charge, and that's what he said. And that's what Sollux would do.
The next few hours went by quickly, then halted and stretched out. Sollux spent them training here and there, mainly stretching and talking to Mituna, who was still happy from the meal. Mituna would explain whatever he remembered about fighting, like how to stay in the ring. Out of area was an automatic disqualification, so a lot fighters hoped to take advantage of that and attempt to push an opponent who is too strong for hand-to-hand contact out of the ring instead. Mituna also explained how to get someone out of the ring, which was just as helpful.
The thing that scared Sollux the most was that there was no "fighting dirty." You could pull hair, ears, use nails, jam your fingers in their mouth, shots to the nards, everything was fair game. Which benefited him greatly, because he could use psionics in the ring, that definitely would surprise some people. After all, they were just fighting dogs. Who cared what they did to each other, as long as the master gets the money? There were even matches where one player will try to humiliate the other, by pantsing him or teasing him. Those don't go over so well with the judges, they prefer action. Another tip from Mituna: keep the fighting constant. Never hesitate. It will lose you points and ground.
Mituna explained all this to him in their quarters, sitting on the muddy bench. They were interrupted by yelling from the rear door.
"HEY! You scum out there! Time to go!" it was Cronus' voice. Sollux could tell immediately by the way Mituna perked up, like a frightened dog, the cowered, as if Cronus were in the room instead of across the yard. Sollux patted him on the shoulder, offering the kindest smile he could. Given, it wasn't a very strong smile at all, but he had more pressing matters on his mind. He started across to the mansion, Mituna tagging along directly behind him. Cronus waited at the door, arms folded and cigarette lit. "'Bout time you showed up. I called you like twventy minutes ago."
He almost raised a hand to Mituna but instead used it to open the bottom half of the door. "Vwell, get in you sevwer rats, it's time to go."
They entered and followed him to the front of the manor, Where Eridan was standing, frowning at his pocket watch. Next to him stood a man Sollux had only seen one other time: Orphaner Dualscar. He was easily a foot taller than both his son and grandson, with tall hair, a swooping cape, and giant horns. Sollux felt miniscule and terrified of him; he looked like the kind of man to strike a killing blow with a single hit. Which made Sollux think he really ought to be bowing right now.
So he did, not just his head but bending fully from the waist, mainly to avoid any even possible eye contact. Nope, the ground was fine.
"Are you the youngest?" he barked. Sollux kept his composure and muttered an affirmative reply. "Look up when I talk to ya, and speak clearly!"
Dualscar jerked his head up with his hand, bending down to stare Sollux in the eyes. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes, yes sir!" Sollux squeaked, forcing his gaze to be steady. Mr. Ampora cracked a grin.
"Hah, thatta boy." he released Sollux and straightened out, telling something to Eridan. Finally safe, Sollux scrambled for balance and took a step back. Thank god he was starting at the beginner's level, instead of where Mituna and his ancestors began, the highest. Thank you, Cronus. The three Amporas turned and had a hushed conversation about something or other, leaving him with Mituna, nerves still ablaze. Mituna was trembling, but for different reasons. After what seemed like hours to Sollux, the men turned around and Dualscar announced it was time to get going.
Cronus walked in the back, making sure neither of the slaves pulled anything, Eridan walked beside Sollux, whispering strategies to remember and what he considered to be words of motivation, and Dualscar led the way, glaring at anyone who gave them questionable looks. The large radius of his lavish purple cape was enough to conceal the rest of the entourage, and it was definitely eye-catching. Those who were familiar with the street fighting top dogs bowed their heads and stood very far away, those who were unfamiliar did their best not to get in their path, because it was evident the group was not on the right side of the law. Again years went by, and again Dualscar announced they had arrived. The place the group stood out front of was quite literally a hole in the ground; it was composed of a frame of shaky wooden beams around rotten stairs leading down, down, down, so far down it turned into darkness. In they went, following the stairs deep into the ground.
When they reached the bottom, it certainly was very different. It matched the entrance, but it was not what Sollux expected. The cavern was completely made of earth and easily a mile in diameter, the ceiling curving to give at least ten feet above even Dualscar's head. It was lit by lines of blazing torches wrapping around the sides. Stacks of bleachers lined the walls, filled with trolls of all different kinds. In the very center was a square of 5 foot chain-link fencing, the inside what could only be where they were to fight. Dualscar was immediately greeted by some babbling man with a thick beard and long stringy hair. He spoke rapidly and used a lot of hand motions.
"Ah, Sir Dualscar, what an absolute pleasure to have you back in my humble arena!" Sollux overheard him saying. "Come back to work your way to the top? Very well, very well! New fighter! Of course! Another Captor, I presume!" he cackled. "This way, this way, please! The fight will begin so soon! I'll take you to the locker rooms. We've done a bit of remodeling, a bit hard underground! Ha ha! As I was saying, right this way! I assume you still know the rules of the arena? Ah, I'll say em again! Everyone should always know..."
Sollux drowned him out. God, his voice was annoying. He led them along the wall to a door frame Sollux hadn't noticed before, and through it were two actual doors. He led them into the one on the left. Inside that one was a room lit by a single torch, bare save for a cabinet and a wood bench. The non-stop talking man bowed again and bid them farewell, scurrying off like he had other matters to attend to. Dualscar looked at Sollux and gestured to the bench. Sollux took a seat and waited, nervously toying the hem of his pants. Eridan sat beside him, no longer saying anything "motivational" anymore, just sitting in silence. The weight of the silence could have crushed them all, honestly. It was only broken as Dualscar rustled around the cabinet and produced a roll of medical tape and tossed it to Sollux, barking to rewrap his knuckles. He was happy to have something to keep him busy and automatically began removing the strings of bandages from earlier. It felt like all eyes were on him, since there was basically nowhere else to look in the dim room. He tried to stay concentrated on wrapping them to the best extent, tightening each strap and double knotting each knot. Dualscar bent in front of him, glaring what felt like right into his soul.
"Listen, boy, if you blow this match, you're gettin' the same treatment as your old man. Not from Cronus, either. From me. Don't hesitate to use your grandpop's red-blue trickster shit. It's not against the rules, so use it until they consider making a rule against it. I want your opponent reduced to a half-conscious mess who can't remember his own name, ya hear?" he gripped Sollux's shoulders, holding his focus. Sollux just nodded slowly, ears ringing. Cheering and jeering alike could be heard from outside, and the booming of someone talking into a microphone. The crowd's volume increased and there was loud music playing. A short troll came bursting in, saying two words that made Sollux's heart jump into his throat and his stomach do backflips: "You're on."
From then on it was a blur, the crowd hooting and hollering and even throwing things. Eridan was the one to walk him in, striding in front of him in Dualscar's huge cape and demanding Sollux keep an intimidating face in hushed tones. The torches seemed impossibly bright when he was standing beneath them in the ring. The person Sollux could only guess was his combat partner was standing in the opposite corner. He was fairly tall, a black mohawk cutting down his scalp. His mouth was bent into a creepy smile, a brown tongue, matching the bronze grubscars on his torso, snaking out to wet his lips. His horns stuck a foot in either direction, curling at the ends like a bull's. Eridan tore Sollux from his rundown of his opponent with a shake to his shoulder.
"Sol, you've got this. I don't hope for much, but I'm hoping for this. Don't fuckin' let me down." he gave a hint of a smile and continued. "You'll get something after, if you win."
I'll get something after? Sollux nodded. "It's not a problem. I'll introduce this asshole's face to the ground." he gave Eridan a real smile.
"Watch your language around your superior, but yeah, that's the idea. Win, Captor, fuckin' win." he left the ring, followed by his opponent's owner, even more interesting than his slave. He was tall, gangly, and wore a faceful of clown makeup. His hair was a wild mess with two, wavy horns peeking out. Sollux thanked his lucky stars he didn't have to go against him; that guy was creepy as hell. He caught Sollux's stare and winked, emitting an onomatopoeia, "Honk."
This dude just honked at Sollux. Seriously. He forced his concentration back to the fight instead of that weird owner. The announcer, the stringy hair man, was saying how this was the first fight and blah blah, we have the Ampora's from the top and the Makara's from the bottom, blah. Sollux's blood pounded in his ears, body alive and thrumming with adrenaline. The man gave a look to Sollux and his competitor, nodding, and stepped out of the ring. A sharp air horn blast signaled that it was time to fight.
His opponent, known as Tavros, circled first, keeping his smirk up. Sollux followed suit and the two made a slow procession about the ring, waiting for the other to strike first. Tavros shot out a fist, Sollux barely dodging and using the advantage to get in a blow to his side. His opponent staggered back slightly, but came back with all force and no strategy, winding up obviously and going for Sollux's gut. In return, the yellow blood grabbed his outstretched arm and flipped him over. Concentrating, he managed to control the flickering red and blue from his eyes and pin Tavros' wrists and ankles to mud floor. Tavros' eyes widened to the size of platters, his smirk falling from his lips, and he arched his back and tried to yank himself free of the glimmering restraints repeatedly, but he was hopelessly stuck to the dirt. The crowd roared, some cheering and some screaming foul play. Sollux crouched, resting a knee on Tavros' chest.
"If you admit defeat, I won't have to beat your ass anymore than I have," he demanded, putting pressure beneath his knee.
"Admit defeat? To, um, Ampora scum like you? I wouldn't," Tavros spat back, forcing against the psionics.
"Tavros. Look at the position you're in. Do you want to keep insulting my master, or do you want to leave this match with your life?" Sollux replied, harshly digging his knee in deeper. Tavros let out a squeak and took a shaky breath.
"No, I c-can't, face me in a, um, fair fight, see how cocky you are then, huh."
"I trust you'll find I'm just as cocky against a worthless, weak bastard like you." He stood up and flicked a hand, the light around Tavros' wrists gone. He leaped to his feet as soon as possible, barreling after Sollux like a bull with, again, all brawn and no brains. Sollux easily sidestepped him and smirked. This was going to be easier than I thought.
The bull charged directly into a web completely composed of psionics, which was basically a solid. He bounced to the ground, confused as to what he hit. Sollux wasted no time swinging his foot directly into Tavros' head, knocking him right back down. He waited for him to get up; kicking a man when he was down was no way to win a fight. Tavros stood, seething and ready to strike. But Sollux made the first hit, colliding his fist first into the soft beneath Tavros' shoulder blade then the the side of his stomach, right into the grubscars. The other teetered, groaning. Those were definitely a sensitive spot. He retaliated with an attempted fist to Sollux's gut, but while Sollux was focused on his opponent's bad strategy and easy-to-dodge moves, Tavros landed a hard punch across his face.
It was a damn good punch, Sollux could feel the welling up of yellow blood on his cheekbone. Asshole. He pulled a similar stunt on Tavros, feigning a right hit but delivering two to the left, one to his nose and the other to his stomach. Doubling over, he sputtered with one hand cupping his nose and the other gripping his gut. Sollux quite literally took the bull by his horns, grabbing the base on either side and holding Tavros' head steady when he rammed his knee into it. When he let go of the horns, Tavros toppled over, stifling a worse nosebleed. He climbed to his unsteady feet again, a look of pure, blind anger consuming his face. Letting go of his nose, he made a grab for Sollux's neck with bloodied hands. It was far too predictable. Sollux moved to the side and let him run into nothingness, loose balance and stagger to the side. Idiot.
He growled and came for Sollux again, this time met with a roundhouse kick to his gut. Tavros spat out brown blood, coughing.
"Oh, come on, these are my only pair of pants, you could be a bit," he interjected his sentence with another high kick, this time striking Tavros' face, "cleaner."
Tavros grunted and stumbled backwards, wiping at his bleeding mouth and nose with the back of his hand. He blinked hazily, almost on the brink of unconsciousness. Just a few more strong hits would do the trick. Sollux came again quickly, using a sideways fist to press his thumb into the other's temple, which really threw Tavros for a spin. The pain blurred the edges of his vision, even caused streaks of black to zigzag through it. The only image he could make out was this Captor coming at him again, his one red eye and one blue glowing. He closed his eyes and let the next hit strike, this time in the neck. Sleep pulled at Tavros' mind, calling his name. It wouldn't be that bad if he gave in, right?
Sollux saw his eyes close before he delivered the punch, but couldn't stop til after. That was it. Tavros' body slumped over, dribbling bronze blood. The fight was won. "K.O.!" The announcer hollered to the delight of the crowd. He entered the ring, hoisting Sollux's hand up. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!"
Sollux caught his breath and a smile came to him, watching the crowd cheer for him. He won. He didn't let Eridan down. As if he heard his name in Sollux's thoughts, Eridan swung open the door to the cage and joined them, roughing up Sollux's hair a bit more. "You did good, Sol. You did good."
Loud rock music filled the cavern and the weird clown owner came to the ring, shaking Eridan's hand and just shooting Sollux a glare. He scooped up Tavros and left, two awfully large men waiting outside the ring for him. Again, Sollux thanked his stars he wasn't facing one of the Makaras. Eridan pulled him from the announcer to the awaiting Dualscar, Cronus, and Mituna. Dualscar gave him a gruff smile. "You won, kid." he said, and Sollux knew that was probably the best he was going to get.
"Greta job outta there," Mituna stuttered, grinning like a proud six year old, which really was all he was. Cronus just kind of nodded.
On the walk home, Sollux's adrenaline finally ran out and he felt overwhelmingly tired but satisfied. He won. He did it. Yeah, it was only the first of many fights, but he won it. It was past dark, the wind dropping the temperature a few degrees. It was cloudless and beautiful, an overall great night. Hell fucking yes. Hell fucking yes.
They got back to the Ampora household, Mituna and Sollux instinctively heading around the back to their quarters. Sollux was interrupted by Eridan pulling him by his shoulder back onto the path into the house. "Sir?"
"I said you'd get somethin' if you won, did I not?" Eridan replied, pushing Sollux in in front of him.
Should I be concerned?