The Battle of the Warriors

Chapter 1

Colhendo

Third Person POV:

Sungmin woke up, forehead sweaty and his body trembled like a leaf. The Crocell propped himself up on one elbow, taking in the gloomy aura he had awoken to. His black, messy hair was covering his eyes. His room was dark, with little streams of sunlight coming in from the windows. The atmosphere had a heavy, choking feeling to it; like a fire was arising. Of course it would be.

It was Colhendo day.

The boy sighed and took in the rest of his surroundings. He was currently living in a log cabin with two rooms, a living room, one bathroom and a kitchen, in the middle of a forest. It was all the Crocells need, though. They, unlike some people, can live in devastating conditions, and still fight through it. Without complaining.

There was a soft snore coming from the other side of his room. Hongki was curled up, sleeping like there was no tomorrow. And, who knows? There might not be any tomorrow for them anymore. The next minute, you’ll be alive, and once you blink, you’re minced meat, ready to be fed to hungry Lynxes. Yeah, life was always harsher on them.

It was times like this when Sungmin needed warmth the most. The cute Crocell rolled out of his bed sheet and tip-toed to his best and only friend’s bed without making a sound. Without any warning for the sleeping boy, Sungmin crawled into his bed, hugging his waistline and making himself comfortable on Hongki’s chest; listening to the soothing heartbeat of his best friend.

He giggled abit when Hongki, who was semi-conscious, started patting his head and hugging him closer to his body. Well, might as well let him sleep in. While he can.

They met each other on the streets a thousand years ago, when they were only a hundred years old. They looked exactly as they did now, but that’s another story. They met each other in the streets on a winter night, and clung to each other ever since.

The two boys built the long cabin they were living in, and hunted with each other. When times were good, they’d go out to the city and buy some human necessities. But most of the time they’d hunt in the forest, because it’s what they are best at. Hongki was an expert on traps, and Sungmin was rather good with arrows and bows, and martial arts. And not to mention shape shifting into animals.

Yes, that was Sungmin’s special ability. A power he was proud with.

Most of the Crocells have an ability. The ones who do have a symbol -or a mark as they call it-, on their hips. They train themselves since birth, with a little guidance from their birthparents. All Crocells are abandoned to fend for themselves when they are just mere children, about a few hundred years old. Sungmin’s parents were quiet awed when they realized that their son was a beast shifter. But, like all parents, they must leave their child for the Base to take care of.

But, once they are exactly 1,000 years old, they are given a home, and some money to survive. But Sungmin and Hongki were exceptions. They ran away from the building when they were 600 years of age together. Not that the Base didn’t find out. Oh, of course they knew. But it was up to them to decide for their lives.

“Mmphm… Let me sleep, bunny…,” Hongki mumbled as he rested his chin on Sungmin’s head, nuzzling his nose into the sweet smell of his friend’s hair. Sungmin didn’t really like the nickname, but since he did sort of resemble a bunny, he went along with it. Besides, he was just as lovable as one.

Sungmin sighed for the umpteenth time that morning and pulled himself off of the warm, sluggish body.

It’s now or never.

“It’s Colhendo day.”

Saying the name gave him the creeps. He never liked it, but as a Crocell, they had to live with it. Smiling at Hongki when the latter opened his eyes in a mixture of confusion and shock, he pulled the sheets off of both of them. Hongki sat up on his bed, with his messy red hair falling down his face and gave Sungmin a sad look before questioning him.

“Does this mean we get to stuff ourselves silly before the reaping starts again?”

Hongki pouted when Sungmin laughed at his question, but attempted to smile when he got a ‘Yes’ as an answer.

“Yes. Let’s go hunt before the morning ends.”

::::::

They got up and changed into their hunting equipment. Sungmin took a slice of bread from their small fridge and divided it into half. He threw the other half to Hongki, who was busy cleaning up his pocket knife on the other side of the room. Without needing to look up, the red head snatched the bread at an inhuman speed, and shoved the bread into his mouth.

Sungmin glared at him.

“I was so close to getting you that time.”

Hongki gave Sungmin a light snort before glaring playfully at the other.

“You’ll never get me, bunny. Not now, not ever.”

Sungmin smirked a little and hooked his knife onto his waist belt. He then hung his sheath of arrows over his head, and placed his favorite bow in it. He smiled at Hongki with a twisted, sickeningly sweet smile and the Crocell who was cleaning his tools understood what it meant. The elder cleaned up the things sixty times faster than before, and caught up with Sungmin.

“Race you to the tree-house, slow Polk,” insulted Sungmin, who then ran out of their cabin into the wide, open woods surrounding their invisible house.

“No flying, cheater!”

And the two were off.

Sungmin ran a good 100 meters before jumping in the air and transforming into a cheetah. It’s the only animal who can match up to Hongki’s mind-blowing speed. When his feet turned into paws and claws, the younger Crocell was on all four, with his tail straight out for balancing. Sungmin, now a cheetah larger than most, raced off into the woods, with Hongki hot on his trails. His feline agility gave Sungmin a better start, since there are so many trees. He dodged them in an elegant pace, and jumped over every tree and log that was in his way. Using his cat senses, he could see his predator, namely Hongki, running neck and neck with him, and gave off a low snarl as he did.

Both of them were clearly enjoying the freedom, the adrenaline the other competition gave. Hongki was just as agile as the cheetah was, bouncingoff every tree and gliding off the road blocks. That was his special power. He has speed. He can move, run, react, think, and sense at speeds much faster than a normal Crocell. Those with this ability also have accelerated brain activity which allows them to process sensory information so fast that everything seems to be moving in slow motion while the user moves at normal speed.

Hongki was indeed enjoying his time with Sungmin.

Animal morphing was one of the few extinct powers. There were only a few left, and Sungmin was one of the few. Not many know about it, and the few left with that power can’t really control it. They’ve hurt people, killed people before. That’s why they were pretty much hunted to extinction.

Sungmin was well aware of this fact, that’s one of the reasons why he kept himself check. He never ate raw flesh when he was a beast, and never liked hunting other prey as an animal himself. That would be rather… ironic.

From what he knows, he could change into any carnivore he wished. He had tried to turn into… friendlier animals. And it worked just the same. But who needed to be cute and cuddly when you can hunt down prey as a tiger? Sometimes when he willed his body to turn into a snake, he turned into a fish, on dry land. After that, he swore he’d never will himself to turn into any other sea creature, ever again. Because it felt horrible.

Although Hongki did tell Sungmin that was just a part of his powers, the bunny lover really tried to shape himself into other animals, other than beasts. The practice turned out well, and now he had total control over that special power. Although it did take a lot out of him, and he always felt really beat up each time.

So, back to the two racers. They were still at it, running five miles deep in the forest where the sun was at the brightest peek. The two were almost there, reaching the big, really tall, hollow pine tree. Their tree house, as they call it. It was where they rest, and when they climbed up the tree, they got the best view of their land, Sapphire. The two Crocells can often use it as a hide-out, too.

“You… win again, Hongki. You win…again.”

Hongki put on a smug face when he saw Sungmin’s out-of-breath look. They finally reached their tree house, and Hongki was the final winner, beating the cheetah by a quarter of a second. Which was undeniably fast.

“Let this me a lesson learned, Minnie. You can never, ever, beat Lee Hongki.”

Sungmin huffed another breath before straightening himself up. Turning into a beast can take a lot out of him. But the funny thing is, every time he transforms and turns into an animal without clothes on, the clothes will still be intact after he changes back, bow and every arrow included. ‘That’s one of the awesome things you can do, I guess.’

The two marched off into the forest, careful not to make a sound. Sungmin flew off as a sparrow and deeper into the forest, where a berry patch was planted. He changed into a human again and once he did, he wondered again at how his arrows and bows stuck with him.

“Ah, the berries are finally ripe. Oh, we’ll have a feast today, hyung!”

“Yes, we will. Now, put your powers into good use and hunt down some animals for me, would you, Sungmin?”

::::::

Once they dragged a rabbit and a deer which Hongki had caught (much to Sungmin’s pleasure), they headed back to their tree house and lighted a fire. While Hongki gutted the animals in a nearby river, Sungmin excused himself to go pick the berries, like he always did.

Hongki understood that Sungmin gets uncomfortable when he guts animals, but hey, that’s a way of life for them.

When Sungmin got a whole bag of berries, enough to be eaten and sold, he carried them to where Hongki was lighting a fire, prepared to cook the sliced meat.

“Here are the berries, hyung. But we gotta sell most of them,” Sungmin said when he reached the clearing.

“Alright. I’ll have to hunt down another deer or two for selling purposes as well. Meat is sacred nowadays.”

Sungmin nodded. They would hunt twice or three times a week for both food for themselves and for the market. They would sell the meat they hunted or berries or even herbs. The money would be kept, and wouldn’t be touched until desperate times call.

After eating most of the deer, and now they are practically stuffed. The sun was still high up in the sky, signaling that they still had half the day before they had to go for Colhendo. The day seemed gloomier once they remembered the occasion it held. Right now, they hated the Kimaris more than ever.

Breaking the silence, Hongki poked Sungmin’s leg to get the other’s attention.

“You know… we could run away. We don’t have to go for the Colhendo.”

Sungmin widened his eyes at his friend before looking down to his feet, the atmosphere somewhat tensed a little. It would be the same thing Hongki tries to tell him, to run away together.

“But, seriously, we can't run forever, hyung. They will find us, no matter what. The authorities have tracking devices in us, remember?”

“Oh, right…” Hongki whispered pouting, but then gave an embarrassed grin. “Plan foiled.”

Sungmin chuckled sweetly before turning his attention to the problem at hand.

“But, if, I’m only saying if! If I get picked, please, don’t you dare cry for me. Hyung, if I do get picked, let me go. You know, I had many dreams about getting picked recently. Maybe that’s a sign, maybe it might happen. I don’t know. And if I did get picked, I hope you won’t be picked, too. Or else I’ll be forced to kick your .”

Hongki could only nod sadly and keep to that promise. He also had dreams about the Colhendo, about Sungmin getting picked. But, as much as he didn’t want to get picked himself, he loved Sungmin. He can’t really let him go, just like that. He wasn’t the best at physical attacks, and all he could do was run. Sungmin would definitely kick his if they were both chosen for the games. He would definitely play the game for Sungmin, if the beast-shifter ever got chosen. But they made a promise, that no matter what, they will never, ever trade with each other.

“Sungmin, if anything happens; I want you to know I’ll be right by your side. No matter what.” Hongki pulled the bunny into his arms and allowed the younger to cuddle up to him.

“I love you, best friend of mine.”

Hongki hummed to a familiar tune, catching Sungmin’s attention immediately. It was a song they’ve written themselves, out of sheer boredom. But it was absolutely the best song they’ve ever heard.

When Sungmin wiggled out of the elder’s hold, they started to sing to the lyrics of their song, together, for who knows might be the last time.

“I know I can’t take one more step towards you,
Cause all that waiting is regret.
And don’t you know?
I’m not you’re ghost anymore.
You lost the love I loved the most.

I learned to live half alive,
And now you want me one more time.

And who do you think you are?
Running round’ leaving scars.
Collecting your jar of hearts,
and tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold
from the ice inside your soul.
So don’t come back for me…
Who do you think you are?”

Letting their song fade around them, the two decided to leave before the afternoon was over, letting the fire continue to burn.

::::::

“I can’t believe I’m the one who has to drag two big deer’s back! Do you know how heavy these weigh?!” Sungmin yelled at Hongki, who was grinning at the younger’s pain.

The bunny’s black hair was in a mess, and sweat rolled down his adorable cheeks, making him look cute without even trying. It was true when they say Sungmin was drop-dead adorable. He had no flaws or whatsoever, and his puppy-doe eyes could melt any Crocell’s heart. He was rather petite, but that doesn’t mean he can’t kick. And believe Hongki when he says that the bunny can kick. Right now, even though he was angry and glaring, nobody could ever take him seriously.

“That’s because you said you were stronger than me! And apparently it was you who wanted to show off your manliness,” Hongki said, chuckling and continued their way to the market.

Sungmin gave a grunt of displeasure before picking up the two bucks again.

“Fine, fine! Let’s just get these furry butts to Hankyung.”

Soon they were in the much busier city of Sapphire. You could see more people around, walking nervously and panicky. Some were just training with other Crocells, and Hongki had to dodge a fire-ball that was accidentally aimed at him. They were all doing what both Hongki and Sungmin were doing. Preparing for the Colhendo, that is. Nobody wants to die of hunger before the ceremony started, right?

They brought the two hunks of meat to an alley further down the streets. People were wielding their abilities like it was nobody’s business. Some guy had offered lifting the two bodies with clones he can produce, much to Sungmin’s pleasure. Soon, the young boy cloned 6 of himself, and all of him helped drag along the two deers.

Once they were done trading with the kind butcher, Onew, they got a real big load which they can last the month, if they are careful enough. They sold all the left-over berries to the ‘wife’ of a baker, who had gladly accepted them.

“Good luck, boys! I hope you don’t get chosen!”

This line had been repeated to them so many times they lost count. No sane Crocell wanted to sacrifice their own people for the sake of entertainment for the Kimaris. It was all sick to begin with. All the boys ranging from 1,000 years to 2,000 years got encouragements, saying that they don’t need to worry, they’ll get lucky again and not get chosen.

But it was never their own choice to begin with.

The two raced back home, like they always do. But this time, Sungmin went air-borne, changing into an eagle which gained him more time. In the end, it was the bunny who won.

“See, hyung? Even I can win you,” said smug bunny.

Hongki scoffed and ruffled the younger’s hair. “You cheated, brat.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh, you did.”

Sungmin rolled his eyes at their childishness before realizing the time. It was almost time to go.

Every 100 years, they, the ones aging between 1,000 and 2,000, are placed into the Capitol’s grand hall. At midnight, The Goddess will come to Sapphire in a spiritual way, something like a pink, glowing star. She is the one who chooses the ten players to play the game.

The Battle of the Warriors, some call it.

And here comes the funny part. The Crocells who don’t get picked get to celebrate, living in peace until their 100 years were up. The Kimaris would be on their side, eating and partying.

Even the unlucky ten were forced to celebrate.

It was a way of peace between the Sapphire and Ruby’s god and goddess. It was a few hundred thousand years ago when Mercury, the God of the Crocells, destroyed the Moon, the life source of the Kimaris. The Goddess, Minerva, landed a curse on the men of Sapphire, forcing them to play the game which Mercury had been reluctant to go along with.

But that’s just a story. Who knows what the Gods are up to.

It’s a very, very horrible thing to watch. When Sungmin was with Hongki, they’d watch as the people they might’ve known kill each other off, doing what it takes to survive. The monsters the Witches are able to make are worse than the witches themselves. Horrifying hell hounds, sea creatures, monsters. You name it. And each year, they’d be in a different place than the others. From Atlantis, to a forest, to an island. There’s no stopping their ways. They have to give it to them; the Kimaris are quite creative when it comes to killing Crocells. Sungmin had been to a Colhendo day once, when he just turned 1,000. It was the most painful thing he’d witnessed. The light that chooses swirled above each and every one of the young Crocells, making Sungmin panic, with Hongki right beside him, too worried for the both of them to say a word. The ten boys that might be his friends were picked to play, and that year, there was no victor. All of them got killed off in one way or another.

He was so familiarized with how the game went it was almost like lyrics to a song for him.

The ten are picked.

The ten warriors are then celebrated for a day, getting well-fed and treated like kings. Going on cuisines, eating their heart out.

They are trained for a week after the day of the Celebrations and Ceremony.

Then they are put into a arena in Pluto, designed by Kimaris.

They kill, until the last one gets sent home.

The sole survivor of the game are granted one wish. Any wish that their little heart desires.

But since that Ruby was a world of witches, you’ll never know what they’ll do to you, winner or not.

If you’re lucky enough, you get to go home as the hero, the Warrior. You get fame, fortune, and the one wish you’ve wished.  But so far, Minerva has not broken her promise, so it was alright to with for love.

Sungmin felt uneasy and rater scared for the both of them when time was up. Hongki felt the same way as Sungmin did. Both of them were worried sick, and they had nothing they can do about it.

It was finally midnight.

“Hyung, it’s time to go.”

“I know.”

::::::

All the Crocells that were of age to play were flying, gliding, teleporting themselves to the Capitol of Sapphire, one of the most beautiful places you can find there. They all the same worried expressions were plastered onto both Sungmin and Hongki’s faces. Some of them had no one to go to, so why would they bother saying their last goodbyes? It’s not like anybody would miss them.

For those who have friends whom they can call family, are either crying, saying their last goodbyes, or giving them great encouragements, saying it’s not their time. But they might be lying. They wouldn’t know, unless you’re a Psychic, that is. And they were also rare, usually living in rather distant places.

For Hongki and Sungmin, they don’t have anybody else but themselves.

Their hearts were pumping fast, and it hurts each time they thought about what just might happen to them.

‘What if I’m chosen?’

‘What if he’s chosen?’

‘What if both of us are chosen?’

The two best friends were hand in hand, walking at an extremely slow place, even for Hongki, with Super Human speed. They were shufflin’ along the tiled roads, into the biggest building in Capitol, decorated with red flags. Just plain, crimson, blood red flags.

A symbol of their mercy under Minerva’s powers.

And all too soon, they were seated in the beautiful halls on chairs, with only the moon supporting light for them. When they entered the building, air-conditioning blasted their faces, sending shiver down their spines. All 3,000 of them, waiting to be set free and returned to their friends without needed to play the game while watching the others suffer in their place.

Hongki held on to Minnie’s trembling hand a little harder, giving it a little squeeze as reassurance. Sungmin looked at Hongki with a reassuring smile, but he had a really bad feeling in his guts.

A really, really, uneasy sort of animal instinct feeling.

The huge hall was void of any voice, and Sungmin noticed how everybody was as scared as he was. It wasn’t his first time here. No, he had been here once, a hundred years ago, just like this, with Hongki. But the feeling wasn’t as intense as he was feeling now. As much as he tried to shake the feeling off, he couldn’t.

The few thousand of them were awestruck when the hall’s transparent ceiling opened, letting nothing but the moonlight shine its way in.

“Gentlemen, and dear Crocells. I, Mir, invite all of you to the two hundred and fiftieth Battle of the Warriors!” A sweet, rather enthusiastic voice boomed over their heads. ‘Déjavu, much?’

The host continued with the speech Sungmin could remember by heart. Every year it would be the same. The same introductions, the announcement of rules of the games, then the picking of the chosen ones.

 “Now, as you all know, the main reason to play the game is because our God, Mercury, destroyed the moon, which was a part of Minerva’s life. As …… (insert a long introduction here)…… Now, I bet most of you already know the rules to this game. But as the announcer, I have to go with the rules. As you know, there are no rules. You fight, you may die, or you may win the game. And remember, for the winners…”

Sharp inhales of breath were heard. Suddenly everyone stopped breathing for a minute, giving full attention to Mir.

“… you get one wish granted. And Minerva, the Goddess herself already wrote the exceptions for some wishes. First things first. You may not wish for peace amongst the two planets. That is a strict no-no. The rest of it will be explained further to the winner after the games.”

A cold shiver ran down all of their spines as they watch a pink glow descending slowly down into the hall. The pink ball of light illuminated the Crocells face, letting themselves gaze with awe, especially the fist timers. Some of them even tried to run, use their powers they have, but it was no use. They were tied to the chairs, unable to neither move nor use their abilities.

Sungmin found the pink glow rather pretty, but growled at it when he remembered it was the Goddess herself. The of all es.

He turned to Hongki who was glaring at the pink thing and tried to calm his best friend down when the voice spoke again.

“Now, you will remain seated, and you will remain silent. Minerva, milady, you may now commence choosing.”

It was the same old, same old ritual. The Hall is now pitch black, with nothing but Minerva’s spirits’ radiating pink glow. The little ball of light multiplied by ten, and they were floating right above the young, teenage Crocell’s heads, waiting to settle on the Chosen ones. Most of them were whimpering out of fear, or had their eyes clenched shut, not wanting to know who’s the unlucky one.

‘Please, not me. Don’t be me. Not me. Get the hell away from me, you pretty pink light!’ Sungmin chanted in his mind, eyes clenched like the way most of them did. He really did not feel alright, and he was sweating, even though it was rather cold out.

He felt horrified when he could feel the familiar heat radiating from the Goddess when she floated above them. He willed he heat to go away, but it didn’t. It seemed to be someone sitting close to Sungmin, that poor guy. The bunny could only whimper in shock when he thought the light had gone away, finding someone else much more entertaining than he was.

Sungmin could hear Hongki gasped out loudly and he decided to open his eyes to see what had happened.

The ten pink lights are now situated above an unlucky chosen one.

Hongki was illuminated by a pink light somewhere near him.  And suddenly Sungmin could feel his best friend’s anger, pain and agony. The elder looked like he was about to cry, too.

And the shape-shifter understood.

One of the lights was above Lee Sungmin.

Once you’re finished with this, read this. The Base is where they take the Crocell off the birth parents hands, and train them, giving them what our school gives us. Education and all. Mostly training.

And when you’re done with THAT, comment and subscribe! I know it’s a ty story, but this is the only way I can ever improve myself, right? Love ya’ll! Promise to update ASAP. -Lulu, over and out.