Page 70 of Xeda

Sal.

"You look a lot better," he said, popping something into his mouth. "I'm glad. Despite the circumstances. It's too bad it cost you so much."

Xeda tried to sense Ophilia somewhere close but didn't catch her scent anywhere. He bared his teeth at him. "Where is she?" he hissed.

"Ophilia? Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about her. You won't be needing her guidance anymore. She didn't have what it took to push you to your limit. She babied you too much, and now you’ve gone and fucked yourself up twice because she made you think you could best the others as you are. It was partly my fault, I'll admit. I had too much confidence in the both of you." Sal leaned in closer to him. "And you lost because of it. Live and learn, I guess."

Xeda growled low. "She's the only one who could have convinced me to be a part of your pathetic games."

"Maybe. But then also maybe you just never had enough pain put in you to be convinced any other way. That's why we’re gonna have to train you better. I messed up trusting Hendrik and Ophilia, but now I see what needs to be done. As a businessman, I learn from my mistakes. I sold weapons to anyone who would buy them, members of Kingsway, groups in the alliance, Grayhart even. I made sure whenever there was a fault that it was fixed, that if there could be improvement, it was made. You're just another weapon at my disposal. And I'll bend you until you break. Then I'll put you back together. The way I want you."

Xeda shifted, and the gun on him pressed harder. He didn't know how long he had been out, but it couldn't have been more than a day. “The games aren’t finished,” he said through clenched teeth.

Sal laughed. “Buddy, you are in no position to fight. You nearly lost your arm, and your back was broken. You're lucky if you can even move. The machines might have fixed you up to keep you alive, but you are disabled, maybe for a long while."

"I'm not like you," Xeda said. "I recover far quicker."

Sal snorted. "That's true, you're not. But I doubt even you can be in any sort of position to fight a day, maybe two, from now. Can you? Shit, I'd be impressed if you did. But either way, there's no way you're going to get past Kaxek at this point. Or even Tazyn now. I'm usually an optimist, don't get me wrong, but not in this case. I'm moving forward. You should too. When the games are done, you'll be transported back to my house, and we'll work from there. Got it? A new trainer and a new you."

Xeda clamped his hands around the edge of the table. His tail had been tied down, otherwise he'd be using it to swipe away the gun on his head before he leaped for Sal to take him down. "I'm not going anywhere without Ophilia," he snarled.

Sal put his hand up, stopping his man from shooting. "Damn, you two really had something going, didn't you? Shit, don't tell me. I don't want to know the details."

"I don't care what you think," Xeda said. "I'm not leaving."

"You will. Because even if she was coming back, you'd be on the first ship home, and she wouldn't be near you. But she's gone now, and there's no one here for you. She's not here, do you understand?"

No, he didn't. "She isn't gone."

"She is. You can argue that all you like. I don't really give a shit. Get yourself together and be ready to go. I'll be ready to cage your ass all over again, start from square one, if you refuse." He got up and left without another word. His man, however, stayed awhile to make sure Sal got out just fine. Then he too left. Xeda realized he could do nothing even if he wanted. The collar around him would make sure of that.

He pushed himself up with such force he ripped off the last of the straps around him.

Then he threw his head back and roared.

* * *

He couldn't leave. He found that out when he tried to walk out of the medical bay and heard his collar begin to make noise and saw a light flashing. There were guards at the doors too, with guns. The healers tried to keep him in his room, but he refused. He stalked the halls, pacing, trying to think of what he could do. How he was going to get out. How he was going to find Ophilia.

His body wasn't in great shape, he could admit that. The arm that had been nearly severed and put back together with the machine was stiff and slow to move. He could only raise it a certain amount before it locked. His back was sore and stiff as well, and he could only turn his torso a little ways around before the muscles in his back tightened so much he couldn't move any more.

The healers had mended his other injuries, but he knew one of his organs had been damaged, and even through surgery, it would not be like it was after fully healed. Which only further weakened him.

Still, he wasn't willing to call it quits. Not now. Not yet. Ophilia was out there, who knew where, and he was willing to bet it wasn't somewhere pleasant. Not if Sal had any say. Xeda expected Sal would punish her for his failure. He had to think of something. Had to find a way out.

He strode past several occupied rooms and noticed he was not alone in this place. Dozens of other fighters were being treated and recovering from injuries they had been dealt days before, some by him. They saw him as he walked by, but they only looked back at him curiously or dropped their eyes altogether.

As he came to one darkened room, he peered in and grew still. A pair of large orange eyes stared back at him.

Aeriz was standing by the tiny skra female who sat on a raised bed. She looked over at him with wide eyes, her green skin paler than others he had seen. Her invisibility suit hung on the edge of a seat by the bed. Now she only wore dark pants and wrappings around her torso where Tazyn had clearly damaged her.

They glared at each other until Xeda walked inside. The fyrien didn't go for his blades, which indicated to Xeda that he didn't currently see him as a threat.

"I thought Kaxek would have killed you," Xeda remarked.

Aeriz's eyes narrowed. "I thought the same for you," he mumbled.

"He certainly tried." Xeda glanced at the skra, then back at Aeriz. "Might have succeeded if not for you."

---