Every Villain Is A Hero In His Own Story

Reyna was off on an adventure with Carter again. Thus, Rick had the whole day to himself. Though not able to drag his twin sister on his adventures, which are always interesting, he had time to develop his inventions.

It so happened that he came to the Coliseum the other day, with a prototype weapon capable of self-aim and uses rocket propulsion. It was unbelievably powerful, and took lots of fuel.

He saw the target dummies. Good. His finger flicked the switch, and an arrow flew from the barrel repeatedly at the targets' bullseyes, while ripping through them. More arrows followed, and the gun overheated as it helped him mow down all the dummies in the arena.

Unbearable towards the heat, the weapon suddenly flew out of his hand and flew uncontrollably. People ducked, with Rick rushing behind it, until it hit a girl in the head, before bouncing against a wall and blew up.

"Damn it! Couldn't you have tried to duck from that? Now my invention's ruined."

Holly had been working on a combo against a dummy, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, keeping the moderate strands out of her face as she jabbed and kicked the target, soon knocking it over. Sighing, the child of letus bent over to retrieve the bag, to set it back up in order to strike and practice once more when all of a suddenly something slammed into the back of her head, sending her sprawling into the sandy ground of the large and majestic fighting ring in the center of the city.

She propped herself up onto her elbows, rubbing her head before coming back to her senses and flipped over, standing up onto her thick legs and staring at the boy who was shouting at her. First she analyzed him, noticing how he ran, how he moved, and then how he stopped to yell at her. She took a deep breathe, exhaling calmly before she spoke. “That hurt, maybe you should try your devices in a more….proper setting” She spoke, her words perfectly chosen as her hand went to her sheathe behind her back, pulling the blade out of its container and holding it by her side. “I suppose I should give you back the injury you sustained to my head”

Holly moved her empty fist and swung it upward towards his chin, then followed up with her blade, using the curved blunt side to move towards his gut, in an attempt that the two quick moves would strike his chin and therefore knocking him back, and the move with her blade to knock the wind from the lungs.

Rick was taken by surprise, the punch throwing him backwards on the ground. He'd just accidentally hit her, and now she wants to hit him purposely? Well, if that's what she wanted, he thought.

He leapt backwards to avoid the blow, before using his strength to hold back her sword as she tried to strike his gut. He shoved her back and drew the sword he strapped on his belt, quickly swinging it and scratched her cheek. She was okay, though.

"I don't need those injuries back, thank you very much."

The resistance was futile, but nonetheless there. Holly growled under her breath, but then remembered to keep it evenly paced. She moved her sword now to the sharper edge and knew what to do. SHe utilized her kukri as it was designed to, moving and slicing to make contact with his blade, the sharp sound of metal on metal ringing around the arena. Her next strike moved to capture her opponents blade in the curve of her own, using his momentum against him.

The scratch on her cheek stung, yet she worked past the sting to fight tactically, aiming to get the weapon away from not only her body but away from the boy. Her strikes were precise and perfect, each making contact to the metal blade. After a few moments of fighting, she went for the strike that she hoped would disarm him, leading to the second part of her plan in this skirmish.

The two swords made contact, and he kept it that way to go for the disarming move. Of course, it'd take a while. But he was okay with it. All around them, demigods were swarming up for the fight, jeering at the two of them. Rick couldn't bother with it.

He saw her leave an opening. No, it was a trap. He'd seen it lots of times to know so. Instead, he gave a powerful swing at her sword, doing so repeatedly, to loosen its grip and end the foolish duel.

Holly felt the vibrations in her arm with each connection, each powerful swing. She knew his tactic, but brute strength she would turn to her advantage as she played her defense, allowing him to step closer to her and closing the gap between the two fighters. Holly allowed this then struck, her empty hand now full with her stiletto, slicing at the wrist. Only a little nick would be needed, as the pain would loosen the grip. Once the grip was loosened, she struck like a cobra.

First, Holly struck the blade to dislodge it, following the move with something unexpected. She lunged, wrapping her arms around his waist and tackling him to the ground, attacking with her fists instead of blades as she attempted to offer him some pain, possibly even a mild concussions.

He let himself be thrown to the ground. Just as planned. Rick grabbed her ankle and twisted it as he was lying down, which he'd hoped would be enough to tackle her down. He then quickly broke free, and grabbed both her arms, using his force to shove her to the ground and try to pin her down.

Holly grunted as she hit the ground, but now it was in her domain. They were both unarmed, and on the ground. Her MMA training kicked in as she broke through the hold and secured him into one, twisting his arm enough to cause pain, but not to entirely snap the bone from the socket. She didnt hant to kill him after al, but just to give him a little pain as she shoved his face into the sand.

She grunted as she held him for a few seconds, then released him, stepping back and standing, declaring the fight won, but not relaxing in case he went for her once more. She would be ready then, her hazel eyes staring at his form in the sand, demigods around them.

He gasped for breath, then pulled himself up, coughing at the sand that had gotten in his lungs. He was defeated, but in all honesty, he couldn't care less. The audience cheered for the girl, before they shuffled away now that the fight is over.

"Well, one thing's clear: you still haven't managed to return me the pain I dealt, so now we know the real winner."

He picked up her weapon, along with his, then strolled over to her. He tossed it, landing at her feet.

"Maybe I havent caused pain yet, maybe i will in the future, but for now, perhaps you can show me what exactly you hit me with" Happily said as she accepted her kukri and slid it back up into her sheath, securing itwith its strap. She looked him over once more and smiled. "Maybe i could teach you some moves to actually be a challenge"

He faked a casual British accent.

"Mate, I've had more training that most of you probably did. You got the better luck this time. The name's Rick, but don't call me that. Mostly because I don't enjoy the company of others, and I aimed for maiming/killing in that fight we just had."

He kicked the remnants of his invention in the sand.

"As for this, it's an automated rocket-propelled crossbow. Still, thanks. You wrecked it. You could've dodged."

"Well, Ricky, I dont think youre right about that training, or the fact that i couldve dodged" Holly knelt in the sand and examined the device, her hand tinkering with the parts for a moment. "You couldve made this part smaller and added a spring here to counterbalance the firing mechanism...it would have helped with not only accuracy but allowing a cooldown for it not to overheat"

"Well, that's a stupid idea, whatever your name is. The whole thing'd be compressed so hard it'd blow up in my hands."


He shook his head at her lack of scientific knowledge. She tried to show it, but it was rather pathetic.

Holly rolled her eyes "No, because a vent would relieve some of the pressure, therefore being able to control the power of the weapon." Holly wouldnt stand for this much more, and would have to just walk off if this Rick did nothing but shot down an honest, helpful idea.

"Whatever. Next time you could've just thrown it at me instead of engaging me in a fistfight, which, if I'm honest, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. I'll end up exiled, or imprisoned, of course, but I have done more atrocities in the past and got away with it."

He shoved the remains of his weapon into his backpack.

"I like your ferocity and understanding, but everybody else's opinions mean very little to me. I am, however, willing to spend some time listening to you talking about whatever science you may think you know, just because I'm bored. Tea? Or coffee?"

Holly had thoughts in her mind, lots of them as she thought for a moment on what to say before nodding curtly. "Tea sounds delightful. Do you know a place? If you dont, i know one not far from here" She offered, attempting to at least be nice-despite her inner thoughts on how to handle this situation.

"And of course no weapons in the precense of tea"

He sheathed his weapon, shrugging. "Well, you lead the way. It was a suggestion, but they aren't my cup of tea. Still, I'm ready for a drink if that's what you want."