Raise Hell Kid

The lights flickered and for a moment Amir wondered if it had been the proto’s doing. It wasn’t the first time that he had seen one, with the amount of proto’s walking around the city it was impossible not to. However it was the first time he was fighting them and he was getting surprisingly nervous. Especially due to the fact that the proto that he was about to fight was self-conscious and without a kill switch. A rarity in itself.

When he had agreed to it, he wasn’t thinking too much. In all his innocence he had thought they’d just rough house for a bit and be done with it. There was no way they’d put a human actually fighting a proto without a kill switch, it’d be like a lamb fighting a lion. And yet there he was, holding his breath, watching as his synthetic opponent walked into the ring, heavy sound of footsteps making him realize too late that he had made a mistake. 

Amir is completely still while his opponent wasn’t even phased. In fact he could feel that the other had absolutely no interest in him, as if they knew they would win so they shouldn’t waste their time. Normally this would give Amir even more of an urge to punch the arrogance out of them but the strong cold grip he felt during their handshake gave him shivers at the thought. It’d be like hitting a concrete wall, he was sure of it. 

Sweat drips down his brow as he positions himself for battle. He’s no longer sure if he can make it, his common sense tells him to back down before it’s too late but the promise of some good cash keeps him grounded. It was just a fight, he could handle a few rounds for the sake of the money. All he had to do was to stay up and keep the proto down long enough for him to win or disable him in some sort. It shouldn’t be too hard. 

The announcer raises his arm and the small crowd erupts. All eyes are on them, everyone wants to see the Styx take down a proto or even worse, watch the Styx take his mighty fall. Amir knew a lot of them were eager to get even with him, he had no illusions of his fame. The people he had fought over the years were mostly sore losers who couldn’t accept being beaten by a street rat and he had no problem reminding them of that. But right now it would have been good to have someone notice the stupidity of this fight and to try to stop it. 

Of course that would never happen. 

The Underdome was a pent up place of immorality. The people who came to it didn’t come to think about anything other than releasing their anger. No matter how merciless it might be. 

As soon as the arm goes down the proto is already charging at him. Amir barely has time to react, getting the air knocked out of him as a punch lands on his stomach. It was like he was getting hit by a dumbbell and for the first time in many years, he raises a hand and takes his distance. The proto concedes, still as uninterested as before and the crowd laughs at Amir’s expense. The fight had barely started and he was already asking for a time out, pathetic. 

But Amir could careless. Holding his stomach, he tried his best to catch his breath hoping it’d help ease the pain. He vaguely looks to where his siblings are, worried faces etched, looking ready to step in. He shakes his head hoping they’d take the hint. He was fine, he could take worse, but he really needed to think of a plan before he got back there. 

His thoughts were cut short with a shout from the crowd. It was the man who was sponsoring the fight yelling that the’d triple the pay to whoever killed the other first. The crowd immediately took the bait and a feeling of dread hits him. He was doomed to die there.

“Tell you what-” The proto finally regarded him, throwing his hands up.

“I’ll give you the first hit. Do your worst.” 

It had been humiliating enough asking for a timeout but having your opponent take pity on you was just too much. Amir straightens himself, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders to warm up, a new rage slowly building up. His stomach still hurt but at that moment he needed to take his chance. If the machine gave him the opportunity, he better make it regret it. 

He takes a full swing at the jaw, gritting his teeth to contain the pain. There’s a slight creak from the neck ligaments and he tries to go for a second, but the proto is faster and blocks his fist.

“You shouldn’t get cocky after landing a little peck.”

From then on it was only pain. Even though Amir had tried to his best to dodge, it had been only a matter of time before he was taken in a headlock. The grip on his wrist had been like a handcuff, keeping him close despite his struggles. He had tried anything from slamming the knees, elbowing the stern, anything that in a human would have caused damage. 

But he was fighting a proto and whether they had a similar structure and some body functions as them, they were not human. The more he struggled the more he hurt himself.

The fight ended up lasting less than a minute. Once Amir was trapped, the proto took no mercy, continuously pounding head and chest. It was a wonder how his neck hadn’t snapped but he guessed he could thank the tight lock he was in for that. For a brief moment he thought to himself that this was it. He was really dying in the Underdome, of all places. By the hands of a piece of talking metal that has probably been walking this world for only a few weeks.

Whether it had been a miracle or the proto simply took pity on him, Amir managed to get himself out of the tight grip, unceremoniously falling on his hands before getting sent rolling on the pavement with a kick. He could barely curl in on himself, everything hurt. Only a thin trickle of blood dribbled into the ground as he heaved.

His head was pounding and he could barely distinguish his thoughts from the shouts by the crowd. 

He had to get up. He had to fight. He had to survive, his family needs him. He had to finish that fucking proto. They’re the enemy. It was his enemy. They’re a mistake. They’re a mistake. They’re taking our lives from us. They’re taking our lives from us. Finish it!

Finish it. 

“Finish him!”

Finish it!

“Finish him!”

Finish it!

“Fish him!”

At that moment Amir feels a sharp tug at his nape, bringing him to look up to the proto with slowly swelling eyes. 

“Don’t worry, i’ll make it as painless as possible.”

He watches as the proto takes his arm back, ready to aim for his head.

He’s smiling... The motherfucker is actually smiling...

Something snapped inside of him with that. There was no way. No way he would give a fucking android the satisfaction of taking him down. He is the Styx, the way to the underworld. And it was about time he found out if proto’s went to hell. 

A pile of garbage, should not talk down on humans.

Ignoring his body screaming, Amir launches himself at the proto like a lion at the prey.  The two bodies fall and he immediately goes for the eyes, making sure to press into the sockets as hard as he can. He ignores the hands clawing at his back and does his most to bash the metal face into the ground. 

In comparison, humans are far more weak than a proto. Proto’s have sturdy exoskeletons, they don’t register pain the same way humans do. Proto’s can do all the heavy jobs humans can’t. Proto’s also absorb information faster than a human, they only need to upgrade. Proto’s can replace humans, in fact some can even develop their own consciousness. They can live the human live without ever fearing falling ill, not being loved or dying. They can survive without nourishment and they don’t face dehydration. They’re superior than humans. In every way. Humans don’t need to exist anymore.

That’s probably what you’re thinking, you fucking piece of trash.

Amir gives one last bash to the head and stops. His hands a mix of blood and oil from tearing at the proto’s face. The android is now what it shows, a glitching machine with it’s central completely torn. Small pieces are scattered around the floor and it’s limbs are jerking in uncontrolled patterns. Raising his fist, Amir pulls a croocked smirk.

“Don’t worry, i’ll make it as painless as possible.”

lived most of his life in the streets with his older siblings 

taught to steal, flee and fight since young

his siblings dared him jokingly to try his luck at the underdome and the idiot went for it 

fighting career since 16 woohoo, won enough fights to get himself an alias (Styx)

trained and patched up by his siblings 

fought a proto to death once and miraculously won ( his nose, jaw, eyes and arms took quite a blow, still aches from left elbow from time to time)

the fight got him enough hype for him to be pulled from the ring and onto hosting for the underdome (in short he’s not the underdome’s owner/boss, he’s more like that one idol that boasts up the crowd and calls people into the ring / He’s also the one responsible to help organize the proto fights with the bullet kids) 

joined the bullet kids (if he had that much trouble ending a machine maybe it was a sign they should end them all before they kill/enslave all humans no?)

the type to punch things out and hope it works instead of thinking it through

confidence level through the roof, thinks he’s the last cracker from the packet lmao 

has a lot of pent up anger ok he’s revolted with just about anything but is a big ass softie for his dear ones