It couldn't cope with this. This would have worked with a pack of powerless humans or against just one gladiator, but it felt pain come from all directions and it just wanted to feed. Its giant appendages rooted all around it were attacked by missiles, their explosions of fire and light made the trees shudder and wither down.

Then lasers pelted at and through the creature's black leather-like flesh, which weakened it just enough so that the bolt of plasma broke through.The siren-like scream was cut short and the beast's limbs fell limp. Trees started to descend back into the earth and vaporise into black mist and dissolve into the air.

Its head was half-missing, though fingers sprouted from its neck and started to intertwine into another large round fist, eyes and teeth along with it. It rested, hunched over on its feet as its knuckles in the ground kept it upright.

As the trees slowly decayed, it tried to decide which thing it would go for now.


## It will take another turn for the trees to fully disappear. Two, if needed.

I am not as lowly as to be restrained by the likes of you...!

Thirteen screamed from within his mind, struggling against the incorporeal bindings that dragged him deeper into the ground. He could feel the earth closing in, a sickening feeling as if it were melding with his body.

But if there was anything that struck him more, was that the knowledge that he was fighting against the very thing his colleagues had been attempting to control for so long, and all the more because of that he refused to give in.

Even so, as the dark trees wilted into nothing, he felt his own vision subside, and whence he once fell, there was no more indication that he was there at all.

The dark trees wilted, but in their wake the skies seemed to bleed a dark crimson hue, and the ground before the gladiators shirted and churned as if it were alive.

The intermission was coming to a close.

Bl.An.C. noticed the change, the sky turned a blood red and the ground shifted like moving flesh. The pseudo android watched as the creature was in tatters, its head open for the taking but something else bothered him. It could be the beast but it could be Thirteen.

He decides to ask the one that can actually answer.

Bl.An.C. landed just a few feet away from the numbered host. One of the drones keep a steady eye on the creature's head.

"Query: What is happening?" Cooper demanded to know.

Venox stayed where he was, as still as stone. His Darkwing was hovering a safe distance away from the downed finger beast, keeping a close eye on it. Its master wasn't giving the kill command yet, and the environmental changes were slightly distracting.

Venox's fur bristled as a wave of shifting earth rolled by his position, but he still stayed in one spot. His eyes remained locked on the android and Thirteen. The bat cocked his head. Thirteen wasn't meant to be a part of this competition. Did that mean that the host might just be eliminated before the next stage? Or was the finger beast going to magically survive somehow and kill them all later in the competition? There were three gladiators before. Would Thirteen replace the finger beast?

The bat shook his head. Too many questions. No answers. Useless. Venox thought back to what he'd said about Thirteen being expendable and almost smiled. The irony was near laughable. His spy life was repeating itself. Trust here, betrayal there, emotions in between...

It is almost time.

Venox flinched. Who had said that? Time for what? Venox's wings uncurled, tense. Despite his discomfort, he couldn't help thinking the strange voice was probably right. Whatever was next...he hoped he'd be ready for it.

The creature's feet slowly sunk into the ground, until they were gripped tight and stuck fast. It was confused about what was going on. Prey sunk through ground, voices spoke in its head though it was too dazed to recognise any meaning in them. Right now, it only cared for Thirteen.

It tried to take a step forward, though it fell onto its knuckles as its feet were immobilised. Hunger leading to anger and frustration, it simply tore its leg off, grew a new one and took a new step, the ground engulfing that foot too. It did not care for the hinderences, and aimed solely to get towards the human prey squirming through the ground. It tore its legs off with every step and did not care, it just carried on as it travelled with dismemberment and regeneration, though every step brought its body closer and closer to the ground.

The ground didn't just grip it, it wanted to drag its down too.

By the time it was only a few meters short of Thirteen, its body was already on its way to being pulled under. With a free arm, the pathetic, desperate creature attempted to reach towards the Host.

Venox burst into the air, fur on end. A single hiss, woven from his innermost fears, cast itself wildly into the air...as if it thought sound alone could protect him. The ground made him nervous. The sky made him nervous. Everything here set him on edge. He wanted to get away, but knew it wasn't that simple.

The only way out is death, his mind whispered. The only way to win is death.

Venox's eyes narrowed. His Darkwing surged towards him, flames pouring from its throat. Its target was no longer the finger beast, but the environment itself.

The ground shifted at the burn, as if in pain. Suddenly, earthen tentacles burst from beneath Venox, and he was dragged down deep. The scream of his dying Darkwing ignited rage within his spirit, but his body was too weak to react. Venox struggled, but only sank deeper into the earth. The ground was no longer solid to him, but liquid.

Buried alive, by the ground. How embarrassing.

#Reviving Thread :D