Chapter 25

I don’t know how long it was before I woke up, but I knew I wasn’t rested. In fact I felt pretty awful. I was hanging in the air. It took me a minute to realize I had a chain around my chest and under my arms and I was hanging in the air as my feet waved a bit below me.

All Foods? I wondered as I looked around.

No, I noticed as I looked around. It didn’t look like a food place. Or the All Foods Factory. This was more…

Warehouse.

“Oh finally awake huh? Good.” An unfamiliar voice called out and I looked around.

Suddenly I was jerked to the side and my eyes met the glowing red spider optics of a fully borged out Maelstrom.

“We already called the Oni out. Let him know we have his little sister. Hopefully he comes soon, I really want to rip him into pieces. Think I’ll even chip in his arms. They belonged to a choom I knew. Good chrome. It’ll be nice to wear it.” He spoke smiling with an awful smile. I could smell chemicals and death on his breath.

That’s right Maelstrom liked their drugs and chrome.

“The fuckhs an’ Onhi?” I asked, my face was puffed up and it felt like my lips were numb. Yeah I had gotten hit pretty hard there.

“The Oni! Oni! The fuck are you trying to pull!” He suddenly screamed at me as he shook me around. “Hey Ratchet, chill out big guy. Chill here, have a hit from this, it’s good shit.” A new voice called out as a still borged out strom walked in, but at least he wasn’t an imminent Cyberpsycho like this other guy.

I hoped.

He tossed the borg an inhaler who dropped me letting me swing a bit from the chain as he took a hit.

“Heh. Bad luck girl. Oni has been chopping our choombas up for the last month, so we are solving that today. If your brother doesn’t show up in an hour we are throwing you to the scavenging pit. You got some preem peepers. I know lots of chooms that will happily carve them out of your skull.”

“Chathming.” I muttered, earring a chuckle from the man who walked up and steadied me.

“Sorry about the hands. But eh, they were meat anyways. Who knows if you kill someone in the pit we will let you take theirs, how about it. Sounds like a nice deal right?” He chuckled at me as I glared back at him. “Don’t be like that, I mean, it’s a chance for you to survive, better than nothing eh?” He asked then chuckled darkly.

Yeah real funny, how was I supposed to kill someone without hands?

“Weapthons?” I asked finally as he was just waiting around watching me with a sinister smile on his lips.

If he thought I would cry or beg, or something he was in for a surprise.

“Heh! Feisty! No weapons, at least no guns. It’s about chrome on chrome… But tell you what girl.” He said as he walked away towards a table.

Ah. My stuff.

He grinned as he pulled out my knife. Still coated in white borg blood he waved it around before pointing it at me. “I’ll let you take this into the ring, what do you say? Yes… Or no?”

I didn’t hesitate. He was definitely trying to play me, but without that knife I was dead.

“Yes.” he smiled and then he stabbed me. I grunted as he plowed the knife into my right forearm. I couldn’t see it as my arms were stuck back behind me, but I felt it.

I hung there for a moment letting cool completely coat my mind not a sound escaped me.

“‘M gonna kill ya’ fer dat.” I rasped after a minute and the man burst into a happy smile.

“I love when they say yes.” He whispered into my ear before walking out of the room.

Leaving me hanging there.

Ow.

—–

A long period of time passed where I was forced to just hang there under the watchful eyes of the Cyberpsycho who would take a hit from his inhaler every couple of minutes. I had time to think. To consider. I had tried to call, but I wasn’t able to get anything to go through. Texts bounced back as well. Probably some kind of jammer up.
I opened my stat menu. I had a skill and stat point. Time to use it. Because I won’t get another chance if I die. I had wanted to level ninjutsu again. But they weren’t leaving me unsupervised. The psycho was staring at me. It was creepy.

So I only had one real option, something to give me the highest chance in the fight to come.

Reflex 6. Blades 6.

I let the knowledge flow through me. I don’t know if it would be enough, but I could only hope it was.

The door opened again. A long painful time later.

“Well it’s past our deadline! Time to face the Scavenging pit! Shame the Oni didn’t come. But eh, we’ll get him next time!” The bastard said as he jerked his head, and the psycho stood up and easily lifted me off the hook that I had been hanging from. I winced as he wasn’t gentle, and he definitely hit the knife, jostling it on purpose.

Ow.

So Jun’s Nickname was the Oni? That’s pretty cool. Good job Jun, you became famous.

Fuck my everything hurt. I think the fuckers broke my nose too.

They dragged me out of the back room they kept me in which had probably been the warehouse’s office, into a riot of activity.

A party was going on. Or something like it. I was carried through the crowd and more than a few Maelstrom laughed or even reached out to give me a punch as they carried me through the crowd.

Ow.

But it wasn’t all Maelstrom. Plenty of normals were hanging around, getting drunk or taking drugs. The room wasn’t packed exactly, but it was definitely a party.

Then I was dropped into a pit. Cat-like saving me once again as I landed well enough not to splatter my skull across the concrete. I was in a charnel house. Old dried blood was everywhere, and I could see body parts still littering the ground.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. If you are going to have a fighting pit at least have some fucking class.

“Haha! Welcome everyone! We have a surprise for tonight! The Sister of the Oni!” he called out and the crowd went wild as I slowly rose up to my knees. They had pulled off the chain from around my chest when they threw me in. So I was finally able to bring my arms forward.

To look at my stumps.

At least they had actually put something over the ends, the white bandages were stained red as I looked them over.

Oh man I was so glad I felt cold as ice right now. I know I would be wanting to puke if not for that. The fact my arms didn’t shake was probably solely thanks to Cool Veins. It would be enough.

It would have to be enough.

“Tonight the Scavenging pit is open to all! This little demoness has a set of Kiroshi! So who wants to dig in!” He laughed menacingly as the crowd erupted in eagerness.

I rested, getting blood back into my shoulders as I waited for what was going to come.

Finally though the borg that was running this, the bastard called for quiet. The crowd went silent, and I looked around realizing that all of the Maelstrom I could see were armed.

Right. This was a trap for Jun.

“A chance for good chrome. A chance to get revenge on our brothers and sisters. Who will face the little demoness? You?” He asked throwing a finger and the kid he pointed too flexed his artificial muscles.

“You!?” He shifted pointing to another kid who cheered at the offer showing a toothy smile as he turned to me and flipped me off.

I did the same back but I didn’t have hands… The realization shocked me. That instinct…

Phantom limb. I shivered I could feel my hand flipping him off back. I could FEEL it. I swallowed back bile.

No. Keep it Cool. I breathed in and out. The pain was there but distant. I would not break.

*100 Cool XP Gained*

I almost chuckled at the alert. Yeah. I got this.

“Yes! Our hunter of the chrome has been chosen!” The man roared and the kid that flipped me off leapt into the pit.

I looked him over and winced.

The kid looked like a chop shop went to town on his body, his arms were too big, heavily muscled Gorilla Arms. The sort that were probably designed for someone a lot larger. But the rest of him was chromed as well.

The kid was probably more metal than meat.

I scoffed at myself. I said kid, but he was probably late teens early twenties. Easily twice my size before he borged out on Maelstrom chrome.

“The rules of the pit for our newest competitor. There aren’t any! Kill or be killed! Begin!” The Bastard called out and instantly the crowd started cheering and taunting me.

Good thing I really didn’t care. I wasn’t going to die here.

The kid though didn’t care. He was showboating for the crowd.

I guess that was fair. To him and the crowd this wasn’t a cage match. It was an execution.

It gave me time to prepare. I couldn’t do shit without my weapon. So I turned towards my right arm. Where a knife was sticking out of my bicep. As the kid showboated I took a deep breath and let it out then I bent down and gripped the knife in my teeth.

Biting down as hard as I could enough to practically feel my teeth crack I yanked.

The knife came free. I was armed… I was no longer weaponless.

“Haha! Oh man, look at you! What are you going to do? Gnaw at me to death?” The kid laughed practically crying at the sight of my only method of attack.

I charged. Ignoring everything else. If I waited I was dead. He jerked at my sudden approach, but he calmed instantly a cocky smile on his face. I juked, making it look like I was coming in to try and stab his face, but instead dropping sliding under the punch he threw at me.

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My blade cut across the inside of his thigh at the same time that he kicked out, hammering me away. The crowd roared at the sight of blood as I came to a stop on the floor coughing out the knife in my mouth as I groaned. He had kicked me in the stomach. I felt like my stomach was now inside my lungs.

But I couldn’t stay defenseless. I reached down with my stupid stumps and stumbled the knife between them getting it back in my teeth just in time to roll away as he stomped down where my head had been.

“Bitch! I’m gonna squeeze your head until those eyes pop right out!” He screamed as he charged right after, chasing me down as I rolled and scrambled to get to my feet.

Ow.

Finally he caught up and I turned around. Going in again. This time he wasn’t going for a punch.

No, the kid was serious about squeezing the life out of me. He was desperately trying to grab me as I just managed to stay outside of the range of his grasping fingers.

He was getting closer. I realized in that moment all of my instincts, all of the experience I had gained in actual combat, and from leveling told me this was the only moment I had.

If I didn’t do anything now. I was dead.

So instead of running like he expected I charged in. His hands grasping just behind my head as I jerked my whole body ending with my head to stab the knife right into the side of his neck.

It went in.

I almost thought I had done it. It went in. But then a pair of hands wrapped around my skull. The pressure was so intense my jaw clicked open despite myself and I was pulled away from his neck.

“B-Bitch!” He rasped once again as I had definitely pierced through something fleshy in his throat just not deep enough.

Then he began squeezing. I stopped hearing the crowd because all I could hear was my own skull creaking.

So I did the only thing I could. I lifted my legs up to my chest and kicked with everything I had.

Right onto the hilt of my knife still hanging in his throat. It went deeper and then tore. Ripping itself free of his synth flesh.

The white blood flowed. A torrent that immediately eased up the pressure on my skull as I was dropped to the ground. Gasping as my head spun. I breathed for a moment just regaining my awareness as I slowly stopped feeling like my brain was leaking out my ears.

I looked over as the kid flopped to the ground.

Yeah. Blades 6 had actually taught me something interesting. The best way to slit a throat wasn’t a cut.

It was a stab, and then a punch. Don’t cut the throat.

Rip it out.

*1000 XP Gained.*

I rose. The crowd was cheering and booing in equal measure but I wasn’t done. I knew that. Whatever this bastard had planned I was just a toy to him. So I took a few steps over to the kid and with a bit of difficulty I managed to get the knife in between my stumps.

Then I brought it up to my teeth.

I wouldn’t die here. Not tonight. Not like this.

I would just rip and tear until it was done.

“Bravo!” He called out then. The glare on his face instantly shifting to something more showy and fake. “Give a round of applause to our newest winner of the scavenging pit! You all know the rules don’t you!?” He called and the crowd roared back in response.

“YOU KEEP WHAT YOU KILL!”

He let the crowd roar for a moment before regaining control. “That’s right! We are borgs of our word. Bring her up here. It’s time for her to get chipped!” He called out and I noticed that same Cyberpscyho that had dragged me out here jumped into the pit.

Fuck.

I tried to struggle but the guy was too fast, and too strong. The moment his hands touched me it was over and I was pinned and struggled desperately as he hauled me out of the pit.

The kids body dragged along as well. I was pushed into a ripper doc chair. And strapped down legs hips and neck and locked down my arms though…

They didn’t seem to care much about that.

“What do you think Cyberweb? Think you can do something for this poor girl made of meat?” The Bastard said to the open air.

If I didn’t have cool on at full blast I absolutely would have been freaking out as lights lit up in the dark ceiling and a cyber spider crawled down the wall over my head.

“Oh I think we can do something for this pathetic meat. Bring the chrome….” And the way the spider trailed off as it looked over the crowd…

The whole crowd screamed along with him a moment later.

“LET’S GET CHIPPIN!”

“When I get out of this. I’m going to murder all of you.” I tell him as the spider chuckles. One of its legs lifted up showing a circular saw. That instantly began revving up.

“If you survive maybe.” It chuckled at me as it began cutting.

The fact I didn’t scream seemed to make the crowd lose a lot of interest.

But every sadistic cut, and eager grin hardened my resolve.