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[h1]Little Sicily, Lost Haven[/h1]

Boisterous laughter and cheering echoed throughout the halls of Ares' shrine. Dozens of long tables held a hundred men, each feasting on more meat and fruits than they had ever seen in their short lives. At the head of the master's table, which was situated at the top of the room right under the statue of Ares, sat a great throne. The God of War sat upon the golden monument to his glory. His cape, as crimson as a man's blood, lay strewn across the seat. Ares stuffed his pale face with a leg of pork the size of a human thigh, smiling as he devoured the meat. Seated on his right hand was Chike, who was taking a conservative sip of red wine out of a brass chalice. To Ares' left sat Ceri, who seemed intent on matching Ares gluttony with lamb's meat. Dr. Eric sat across from her, looking quite out of place in his street clothes. The rest of the room seemed to be straight out of a Renaissance picture of a Greek celebration. At the end of Ares table, two muscular warriors looked at each other from across the great table."Stronger than me, Philip? Ha!" One of them boasted."Put your money where your mouth is, Dan." Philip returned, setting his elbow on the table and sticking out his hand."Hmph. Alright. Carol, tell us when to go." Dan agreed to the challenge crossing his arm with Philip's."Go!" Carol, the woman next to them, announced in a groggy voice. After a brief struggle, Philip achieved victory. The man cheered. Dan puffed out his chest in self defense."Y-Yeah? Well I'd school you in a fight!"

It was at this that Ares' eyes lit up. He turned to watch Dan and Philip, the two drunks on their feet now."Wanna prove it, ya little punk?" Philip shot back. It was then that Philip reeled his fist backwards and launched it at Dan. A second before fist met jaw, Ares jolted up and crossed the distance between him and the pair, grabbing Philip by the forearm. Philip froze, his face filled with fear as he realized who had stopped him."Sir, I- I di- Bu- Uh-" Philip stammered as Ares effortlessly lifted the man into the air and brought him up to his face. The giant then turned and looked over the rest of the hall."That is it!" He bellowed over the noise, and everyone became silent."A brawl! To prove who is the mightiest among you!"

A roar rose up from across the hall. Men and women alike began to stand, raising their chalices and cheering their glee. Chike remained seated, only giving Ares a passing glance as he finished his drink.

"You there!" Ares yelled, pointing at one of the tables."Prepare for us a boxing ring! We shall have it in that cavernous room in the back of the shrine. You'll find the necessary materials behind that door to the left. Everyone else! Finish this food, and meet in the ring in an hour!" Ares put Philip back onto the ground before taking a seat on his golden throne. The table he had ordered to move began to do so, as the rest of the room began to feast once more in earnest.

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The door to the new arena opened, a woman coming outside and setting a stool down in front of the great wooden door to prop it open. “We are finished, your majesty!” She announced from across the hall. “Perfect! Let us go!” Ares motioned towards the entry way, standing to his feet.”Polemos, bring my chair.” Ares ordered before taking off towards the newly finished ring. “Yes, sir.” Chike mumbled under his breath. Throne on his shoulder, Chike was quick to follow his liege into the arena. The rest of the general population stood from the benches they had been eating from and made their way into the stadium. 

The room quickly filled with excited chatter as people shuffled past the woman holding the door open and moved to find somewhere to stand. Ceri and Eric pushed through the crowd to meet up with Chike as he tried to force the throne through the small doorway. “Would it have killed him to not be eight feet tall?” Chike complained. It only took an eternity, but he eventually found an angle at which he could force the seat through the opening. “Finally!” The room filled with excited patrons, and the last of the people exited the hall and made their way inside the considerably smaller room.

The arena itself was rather simple, yet effective. The room was tall enough to contain a three story building, and wide enough to contain hundreds of people with room to spare. In the center stood a stone platform. The top of the platform was covered in old gymnastic mattresses, and metal pools stood at each corner, connected by sets of rope. The ring was high up enough that anyone in the arena could get a decent view of the fight, and large enough to allow for thirty men to fight inside. A small ladder sat at each corner to allow access to the platform, which was too tall for most humans to climb up without assistance.

Polemos sat Ares throne on the ground near the stage and looked around the room. Two of Hephaestus' automatons were standing off in a corner alongside some humans. It would seem they were gathering the unused materials and preparing to take them back to the supply room. Ceri and Eric moved past the crowd and met Chike near the throne. "Well, this is certainly something." Ceri was the first to break the silence. [color=aba000]"Mmm."[/color] Chike grumbled, obviously distracted. "What is it?" Ceri sounded genuinely concerned, so Chike decided to share his thoughts with her. [color=aba000]"There's death in the air. I fear our lives are in danger."[/color] Eric adjusted his glasses with shaky hands. Ceri shifted on her feet, just as uncomfortable. "What? Is your Spider-Sense tingling?" Ares mocked as he seemingly appeared out of thin air. The trio all seemed to jump at once; how does he do that at his size? [color=aba000]"Hilarious. When are we going to get this thing started?"[/color] Perhaps a change of subject was necessary. Maybe that sense of dread was nothing. It could just be the cold February air that was making his spine tingle.

"Philip! Dan!" Ares shouted, and a pair of heads turned in earnest. "Are you prepared for combat?" He asked. The two shared a glance before Dan gave a nod of his head. Ares motioned towards the arena then. "Get up there, then!"

The crowd began to shout as the two fighters took to the ring. Each man wore traditional Greek battle dress, although they were unarmed. Another man, a bit older than the fighters, climbed up the ladder and stood between them. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" He yelled out, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. A cheer arose from the crowd. "Warriors, remove your armor and shoes and go to your corners." Philip and Dan removed their Bronze breastplates and shin guards, along with their sandals. They threw their belongings onto the ground and took their places. "Alright. I want a clean fight. No biting, ball shots, or mutilation. Try not to break each other's bones. Winner will be determined by KO or surrender. Ready? Fight!" The two men ran at each other, and fists began to fly. There was no skill or finesse, merely an all out punchfest.

"Hmph. They call themselves warriors." Ares whispered to himself, seated in his throne while everyone else stood around him. [color=aba000]"They need training. We all do."[/color] Ares and Polemos locked eyes, and Chike was reminded of the last time they spoke on the subject. Perhaps another time. "I will begin training in the morning." Philip grabbed Dan by the throat, slamming him into the mat. The crowd erupted into screams and shouts as they rolled around on the ground, beating each other senseless. "We can't conquer the world with soldiers who fight like this." Ares gestured towards the battle, in which Dan had Philips head in his hands, and was slamming it against the mat repeatedly. 

"Speaking of which, my lord." Ceri said, looking toward Eric as if to allow him to continue. "I believe Ceri and I have found a means to create the serum for your soldiers." Ares seemed intrigued as he gave Eric his full attention. "Uhm, yes. There is an Expo this weekend being held at SuperIOR. They claim to be showing off the next super soldier. There will be significant media presence there, as well as representatives from the United States military." Ares chuckled, turning back towards the fight in time to see Philip toss Dan into the corner. "Perfect. Polemos will go with you to retrieve what you need. Make sure to be theatrical about it, Chike. We want the world to know we mean business."

Philip lifted the unconscious and bleeding body of Dan over his head, roaring like a monster. The crowd cheered as he tossed his friend into the center of the ring and stepped on his chest and threw his hands into the air. "Victory!" The older man took center stage as Philip carried Dan off. The sounds from the crowd began to die down. "Who will fight next?" He called out. [color=aba000]"I will."[/color] Polemos answered. He leaped into the air, landing with a crash next to the announcer. "But who could fight you?" Little did the man know, that a challenger drew ever near.