Havok Bringer

I looked on in shock, feeling like the breath had been ripped from my lungs. The fire continued burning in the second ring of the arena as smoke drifted up into the night sky. I stared for what seemed like an eternity at the lifeless body of my friend. Thick white fluid pooled on the ground near his body and head; his axe lay on the ground a few feet away.
Another life stolen, another fire extinguished, for what? Petty vengeance?
"I am afraid this could have been avoided," Karis said as he walked back into my suite. "The path you have chosen will be littered with the corpses of your friends and family, Andrew. There is no need to continue in vain. Simply give me what I ask for, and you can go in peace."
I stared down at Elvis's body, trembling. "Peace? You rip me from my home, force me to become a weapon, break me over and over, then you offer peace? If peace was truly on the table, I wouldn't be standing here right now, my crew wouldn't have been taken prisoner, my planet wouldn't have been invaded, and my friend… well, he wouldn't be lying out there in two pieces now, would he?"
"I am not asking you to forgive Jax. I am merely asking you to forestall a similar fate for the rest of your friends. I can assure you that Jax is beyond your capabilities right now. You will not defeat him without the benefit of your full abilities, and last time I checked, you still don't have access to your armor. So, your choices are few, and the consequences are many. Willingly submit to integration with the Seed of Power, allowing me to free my people from the banishment we have endured for millennia, or face Jax and die."
I turned to look into his emotionless eyes. "I have died before, I don't fear it now."
"I am aware of your ability to jump back in time, Andrew. Watching a duplicate version of yourself sacrifice himself isn't the same as dying. You persisted, you overcame the challenge, and saved your friends. You didn't die."
"Maybe you're right," I said with a sad grin. "But one thing I know for sure is that I would have done the same thing. That version of me thought exactly the same way I do. If I have to die trying to save the things I care about most, then that's what I will do," I stepped closer to Karis. "The thing is, I don't trust you. I don't trust Jax, and I don't trust the Council. I trust myself and I trust my friends. So I am gonna bet on those variables and leave your 'offer' on the table. One more thing, though."
Karis sighed frustratedly. "What is it?"
"When this is done, when the fires have stopped burning and Jax is dead on that ground out there, it doesn't mean this is over. I will not stop until the Council is gone, along with everyone who has been pulling their strings. The Monarch, you, everyone. So you better go ahead and strap up your workboots, you soulless fuck, cause it's gonna be a long shift at the ass kicking factory."
Karis turned without a word and walked toward two security guards standing near the elevator. "Escort Mr. Dawes to the arena. It is time to begin the main event." He stopped and threw a glance my way before continuing. "And refrain from interacting with him; he has a tendency to overreact." The two guards glanced in my direction.
"Oh, yeah," I said with a shrug. "I killed the last guy that popped off in that elevator. Hope you guys opted into the accidental death and dismemberment policy." The guards separated without a word, making space for me to enter the lift. Once inside, the lift began its descent toward the bowels of the arena, where I was led through a few dimly lit, damp hallways before coming to a tunnel that led up into the center ring of the arena. I stopped for a minute and knelt to tighten my boots and check the straps on my body armor. I went through the motions as the guards watched on in silence. In reality, I was trying to clear my head and get focused on the fight. It was no use; I couldn't stop the image of Elvis looking up at me in his final moments from replaying in my head.

"Captain," Sherlock's voice spoke into my comm. "I know that I am not usually good at this sort of thing, but I need you to listen to me. For all intents and purposes, Elvis was my father. He created me, programmed me, and set my parameters. He meticulously created me to be a support system for you in your times of need."
I faked a chuckle. "I think he missed the mark on some of those lines of code."
"Fair enough, but you need to understand that he didn't. Elvis saw you, he understood the internal conflict that you have been dealing with, and he programmed me accordingly. He was afraid that, left unchecked, you would become something that you yourself despise. He knew that you hated being seen as a weapon. He also knew that you were being seduced by the immense power that you now have at your fingertips. Elvis loved humanity, its people, its art, and its music. He saw something in you and your people that made him hopeful for the future of all peoples in this galaxy. That is why he programmed me not to be a sycophantic yes man, but to be the voice of challenge and reason. Elvis created me to be the thing that challenges you so that he could focus on merely being your friend."
"He was my friend, Sherlock. He was my friend, and I let him down, just like I let Claire down back on that Alcaran moon."
"He died doing the thing he loved most, for the person he loved most, Captain. Don't take that sacrifice from him."
"What am I supposed to do then?"
"Take that anger, pain, and regret and use it to be the man that your friend saw. Use it to be more than a mindless, purposeless weapon. Use it, Captain."
I stood and exhaled a long, slow breath. I looked down to see that my arms were fluctuating in calm, rhythmic waves. A slight pain pressed against my temples as Ses spoke.
"Use it."
I summoned my Blood Blades and walked forward into the tunnel, the flood of light stinging my eyes. As I got closer to the arena floor, I heard the deafening roar of the crowd as the announcer's voice exploded into my ears.
"AND NOW FOR THE MAIN EVENT!!! The undercard was so exciting that Elvis literally lost his head! Will the main event be able to match its energy? We are about to see. You have all heard his name; you have all felt the effects of his rampage in the Reaping Pocket Dimension three and a half years ago. The Void ghoul of Alcara, the Crimson Captain of death, the most wanted man in our galaxy, and the most hated man on Boutelerien. I…GIVE…YOU…CAPTAIN ANDREW DAWES!!!"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The roar from the crowd was deafening, filled with boos and jeers as I slowly walked into the arena. I turned in a slow circle to see the endless rows of aliens losing their absolute fucking minds at the possibility of watching me die.

I clenched my jaw in anger before returning my attention to the arena in front of me. This was the third ring of the arena, and, although much bigger, its layout was much like what you would expect to see in a fighting arena. Instead of sand, the floor was covered with lush green grass, and the field of battle stretched a few hundred yards from end to end. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the smoke from the inferno that still blazed over the entirety of the second ring. It was time to end this, one way or the other.
"AND HIS OPPONENT," the announcer continued. "A relative newcomer to Boutelerien, but already cementing his place in the arena as one of Boutelerien's cherished sons of reapings past. A Chaff with nothing but a desire to be seen as a loyal citizen, a faithful servant of the Council, and a weapon to vanquish those who stand in defiance of peace and order. One of the few humans to accept the guidance and wisdom of our great Galactic Council, and in return, he has received power beyond his wildest dreams."
Jax slowly walked back out of the blazing treeline and into the grass-covered arena, opposite my position and still dragging his cat-o'-nine tails.
"I GIVE YOU JAX THE LASHER!!!"
This time, the crowd went wild, showing their support for what they viewed as one of their own. Jax threw a fist into the air before whipping his cat-o'-nine tails forward and back, causing red arcs to branch off in all directions. We both approached the center of the arena with purpose. Stopping a few feet from each other, we both stood, weapons in hand.
"Boss told me to give you one last chance to do this the easy way," Jax smiled wryly. "I hope you don't decide to go pussy on me now, though. After all, I would hate to think I got Elvis's blood all over my clothes for nothing." Jax wiped at his chest, mimicking cleaning his hands.
"I didn't realize you were such a talker, Jax. Guess that's another failure of mine as your Captain." I said calmly.
"You were never my Captain. Just a guy in over his head. A guy destined to get everyone around him killed. I'm gonna put a stop to the bullshit, right here, right now." Jax dropped his hands to his sides and looked up into the sky as two slits opened under his ribs, venting superheated air. Small armor plates emerged from the segments on each limb, and when he looked back at me, his eyes were glowing the same electric red as his cat-o'-nine tails.
"I'm not gonna let my brother throw his life away for some punk with too much power. If I gotta end the life of every single person you love, I'll do it to save the person I love most." Dust began to fly in the air in a cloud around him as he slowly began to hover a foot off the ground. "Andrew Dawes dies today!" He shot toward me as the announcer commenced the fight.
"HERE WE GO, LET'S DANCE!"
Jax shot toward me, howling, his whip trailing an extended arc of red electricity in his wake. I tried to take a defensive stance, but the sheer velocity with which he accelerated caught me off guard. As Jax shot into me with his left fist, all I had time to do was throw my arms up in an X pattern in front of me, hoping that Ses could absorb the blow. The contact of his fist on my arms rattled my teeth, and the resulting explosion of force sent shockwaves blasting out into the arena. I didn't have time to make a move before he whipped his cat-o'-nine tails forward from his right side. I felt the weapon wrap around my torso from left to right, coming to a stop and digging into my stomach. I panicked as Jax kicked my legs out from under me, then ripped the cat-o'-nine tails free, ripping chunks of flesh from my abdomen and sending me into an airborne spin.
"Captain, I suggest you take defensive measures. You cannot take many more attacks like that one." Sherlock warned as I landed with a thud.
I quickly scrambled to one knee and looked down to see that my body armor had been shredded along with most of my stomach. Blood was pouring from the wound, and I could see the white of one of my rib bones. "Oh, shit," I grumbled as I pressed my left forearm to the wound, ensuring I didn't lose the grip on my sword. I mentally selected a health stim on my interface, feeling the familiar sting of the needles digging into my neck.
"Looks like you ain't shit without that fancy armor, now are you? Nothing but a pathetic little bitch. Don't worry, I'll make it faster than you deserve," Jax said before lunging in my direction once again.
I tried to get to both feet, but he was too fast, sliding to a stop in front of me, throwing grass and dirt into my face before catching me in the jaw with a well-placed side kick from his right. Blood and spit shot from my mouth as I half spun before gathering myself and getting to a standing position. Jax threw his hands up triumphantly as the crowd went absolutely ape shit at the spectacle.
"OH MY, LOOKS LIKE THE DREAD OF THE GALACTIC VOID IS HAVING SOME TROUBLE OUT THERE! WILL JAX HAVE ANOTHER EARLY VICTORY? OR IS CAPTAIN DAWES GOING TO MAKE A FIGHT OF IT?" The announcer asked excitedly.
Jax looked at me inquisitively. "What say we give the folks a little show, Dawes. I'd hate for them to go home unsatisfied." He dropped his whip and clenched his fists before bringing them up in a boxing stance. "Don't worry, you can keep your little swords." He closed the distance in a breath before unleashing an assault of precision punches to my midsection and face.
After several landed blows, I managed to backstep and put some distance between us. "Sherlock," I coughed, and blood shot out from my mouth. "What can I do?"