(It's rather short and doesn't have anything to do with metalners. I'll write something about them if I get the time...)


A Warriors End...

How he loved that sound...the cheering of the crowds, the excited children calling his name into the arena. He adored it, relished it...that sound that kept him fighting through so many long, hard years of training. Through so many painful injuries, the beatings his body had endured, the anguish...and yet that sound made it all worthwhile. He felt it flow through his very being, lifting him, giving the gladiator the strength to surmount any foe. No matter how powerful, or intelligent...how quick or willful. No matter how durable or skillful....one by one they fell before him. For this was the very reason he was born...the fight...the arena was his life.

He was a Trident...a deadly combination of Naga and Golem, known for their incredible striking power and durability. An imposing figure to say the least, many trainers would rather throw in the towel then send their monsters against this brute. However, he was also very intelligent, far more so then his heritage would suggest. This made him even more dangerous in combat...

As his trainer watched from the sidelines the Trident cast a cold glare upon it's opponent, a huge Tyrant named Gron who dwarfed the naga type easily. The crowd booed and jeered as it lumbered onto the field of battle. Many thought this would at last be the end of the Tridents winning streak. The Trident only grinned slightly, not intimidated in the least...Finally the match began...

It was a strange battle, if only because the outcome seemed so assured...as if these two warriors were merely playing out something written long ago.
The Trident attacks with a fury of slashes...Gron guards himself and counters with a devastating punch to the naga's torso. The Trident lands hard upon the ground, the crowds urging him on. He gets up, leveling his piercing gaze with the Tyrant and lets loose a low hiss and charges again. His talons tear at his opponent, cruel and relentless as the Tyrant rains blows in self-defense. It hurts so much, the taste of blood invading the Tridents mouth, and yet still he fights. He couldn't lose now, if he did he'd lose everything...his fame, his respect...these few things made his existence worthwhile. At last Gron fell...collapsing to the ground, his body raked with claw marks. The Trident raised his fists to the sky and bellowed his trademark battle cry and the crowds cheered. Once again, he reigned supreme...

"Ladies and Gentlemen!"The announcer cried."Your winner...StoneClaw!"

****************************************************************************

Darkness had fallen upon the land by the time they returned home, the cool breath of night descending onto the ranch. The stars seemed unusually brilliant this evening...or perhaps it just seemed so as this was a particularly happy occasion. StoneClaw had just won the first of the 'Big 4 tournaments' as they were sometimes called...His trainer Cid was happy as well, since he was well on his way to becoming a Master thanks to his latest monster...

"You did great Claw."He said,"Only three more to go...maybe you'll even make the hall of fame!"

"Of course..."Stoneclaw hissed."How long before the next?"

"About three months...Get some sleep, we've got alot of training to do tomorrow."With that Cid went off to his house and StoneClaw slid towards the stable. Upon entering he was greeted with the sight of numerous trophies along the wall along with posters and magazines with his picture. A mountain of fan-mail was in the corner, all of which he read. For a moment the Trident wondered what would become of him when he was simply too old to fight...all these people loved him because of his fighting ability... The only monsters who didn't fade from memory were those few who made it into the hall of fame. With that thought still fresh in his mind Claw curled up in his favorite sleeping spot and fell quickly into silent slumber...


Time passed...and soon enough those three months had gone by, leaving StoneClaw and his trainer far from the ranch they called home, preparing for another victory. The Trident could almost taste it...a win here would bring him so much closer to his dream...the Hall of Fame...were great monsters live forever, never to be forgotten. If indeed he feared anything it was to be forgotten. All monsters secretly feared this more then death itself...to spend ones life in constant training, enduring injury after injury only to be forgotten in the end...as if they had not existed at all...

That night, on the eve of the great tournament StoneClaw slipped out of his cage in secret and made his way to the arena. He did this often, coming to the arena which he felt so at ease in...like a second home. No, this was his true home, not that ranch...but here, within those stone walls. He looked upon the coliseum with a sense of awe, he was alone, the streets we're deserted. Then he saw someone approach, a Kato. He was clearly a fighter, but a rather old monster, perhaps in his last months. StoneClaw watched as the Kato walked up beside him...

"Beautiful ain't it?"He asked and the Trident nodded in agreement. The kato took a swig of his bottle and smacked his lips, turning his gaze back to the Coliseum. After a few minutes he spoke again..."I looked at the roster...looks like I'm fighting you tomorrow."

Stoneclaw fought the urge to grin, knowing this Kato stood not a chance, not against him. "Yeah, I know..."

"Listen..."The kato began and Claw could detect a strange tone in his voice... "I don't want you to hold back ya here?"

Claw laughed at this, surely this old kato was loosing his marbles. "If I did that, I'd probably kill you." He chuckled darkly. The Kato said nothing, merely taking another sip of his drink. Thats when a strange realization hit Stoneclaw and his laughter promptly ceased..."Unless...you want to die?"

"Win or lose...my masters planin to have me frozen after this fight. I heard him talking to another human about it..."

"Thats not unusual..."Claw said after a moment."Humans usually combine monsters too old to battle so the next will be stronger. They say it's-"

"To hell with what they say..."The kato spat, cutting off the Tridents words. But then looked up at Stoneclaw with pleading eyes...eyes that longed to rest..."I spent my entire life following orders, and now, in the sunset of my life I wish to die on the battlefield...as a warrior. Why do they seek to deny me this? To deny all of us this? Why am I not allowed to keep this one shred of dignity...to chose my own end..."

StoneClaw simply listened, silent as he absorbed the old kato's words, growing more furious each moment. The human's had no right to do this...it was wrong, it was injust...The Trident thought about his own future and what the kato must have felt. First being taken away from the arena which had become his home. Stripped of his former glory and then frozen so that another monster could take his place. But he would fade from memory...having not even a tombstone to be remembered by. No grave for people to pray at and leave flowers...No funeral for people to morn his passing....nothing. He looked down at the Kato then and gave his answer, a slight nod. The older monster nodded in response and left a few minutes later.


Night faded into day as the crowds packed the coliseum once more, cheering wildly as StoneClaw, their hero, made his way into the arena. The Kato stood ready, his claws unsheathed. A thus the battle began, the Kato fighting with everything it had, unleashing a barrage of strikes. Most of them struck Stoneclaws torso but were largely ineffective on his thick skin. The Kate backflipped, taking a gulp from his bottle before breathing a devastating wave of fire. Claw avoided it barely, feeling the intense heat on his cold skin before countering with several energy shots. The blasts of energy were dodged by the nimble kato, leaving craters in the arena floor as they exploded. Then, in a flash the kato lunged forward with claws extended, raking them across the tridents face before he knew what hit him. StoneClaw hissed loudly as he staggered back, waiting for the opponents next move. The kato, seeing the effectiveness of the shadowclaw used the attack once again...but this was what Stoneclaw expected. The Trident sped forward, rolling into a devastating spin attack. The kato was caught off-guard and went down hard, the fight knocked out of him...Stoneclaw was declared the winner...

As the crowd cheered Claw waited for the Kato to stand up, they both knew what was coming next.....The kato, raised a single hand to the sky, screaming final battle cry as the Trident rushed forward...The crowd, the announcer, Cid, everyone gasped in horror as Stoneclaw's talons sunk deep into the old kato's chest........

And thus...StoneClaw kept his word, but paid dearly. The IMA board viewed the act harshly and ordered the Trident to be put down. Cid spent many long weeks in court pleading for the life of his monster. Being a well respected trainer Cid's voice was heard and StoneClaw was allowed to keep his life...but alas, he lost much more...He was stripped of his title, branded 'untrainable' and it was decreed that he could not be frozen and combined lest his 'Overly violent nature' be passed to his offspring. StoneClaw, the mighty Trident who once reigned supreme was reduced to nothing...condemned to life in a cage as punishment, never to be released, forever to be denied his own warriors end...

You seem to like your monster, and I'm
guessing your fave mon was a Trident named
StoneClaw? (Just a wild guess).

BTW, great story. I just accidentaly deleted my
disk that held mine and I have to start from
scratch if I'm even gonna do anything.

Thank you. I'm thinking about doing another story like this on Beatdown. You know, the fairyhare from my epic. I never really told anything about her past. She just appeared out of nowhere....

But if there's another character you or anyone else would like to see more depth on...tell me.

P.S: Sorry about your disk...I hope you can still write something before the end of the month...