They Rely On Hope. What Do I Rely On? - Tommyinnit Adoption AU

Chapter 107

Tommy didn't mention the reason for the bandages coating his arms when he found Freddie in the cafeteria. No one asked. They all knew. Half of them were clearly recovering from various of there own injuries. It seemed to be a regular thing in this hell hole.

"Have you been told when your first fight is? Usually it's on a weekend," Freddie asked instead, "There are about 10 fights in a day on weekends, and sometimes 2 or 3 on weeknights, although that varies. Fridays often get at least 3 fights in."

"They said about a week," Tommy replied and Freddie seemed somehow annoyed at the answer. Was it something Tommy had done? Was he not actually supposed to answer? Fuck! He didn't know what he was allowed to do here. He didn't know the fucking rules and maybe he just broke one and they all knew how to fight and this would not be good and-

"Bastards, they only gave you a week? I got a few months, no one gets less then a month training before their first fight, do they want you dead!?"

There were furious mutters of agreement around the group, and glares cast in the direction of the Masked Ones guarding them.

"Shit, ok, look I can't find out who you're fighting, we don't get to know that, but no matter what, you have to be careful. There are two options of what style fight you can have. Open Fight, or a Duel. In an Open Fight there can be anywhere between 2 and 10 people. There will be different weapons scattered around the arena and you have to find them. If it's an Open Fight, there will be things to hide behind and generic items you can use to protect yourself as well, like rocks or climbing trees. Don't climb a tree if you don't have a range weapon. The Masked Ones are not willing to wait that long. You have to fight."

Tommy nodded, taking it in, before Freddie continued.

"If it's a duel there will only be you and one opponent, it'll be an empty field, nothing to use other than the weapon you either select or are given depending on your trainer's choice. You get that before the fight starts," Freddie explained, quickly listing the things Tommy would need to take advantage of to get his best shot at survival.

"He won't get a blood fight will he?" Finley whimpered, terror filling her, "He's new, they won't... they wouldn't... would they?"

"No. No he won't be in a blood fight for his first fight," Freddie replied, his voice soft and soothing.

"What's a blood fight?" Tommy asked, he hated  asking questions, but he could sense he'd need every bit of knowledge if he wanted to survive this place.

"A blood fight is a fight to the death, or at least a fight until you are close enough to dead that the opponent and the crowd think you are, and the Blood Masks declare the fight over. I've only ever been in two, both times they decided it would be a blood fight halfway through. When a blood fight is declared, the arena goes red. Everyone changes. They go for the kill, no matter what. Once I killed, and the other time I was so close to death they didn't realise I was alive until after they pulled my body out of the arena."

"People still die in normal fights. Especially if you are fighting any of the DemiBloodGods or the Maniacs. Still, even some Loners will kill in a second. You must be careful," Someone else added. While Freddie was clearly the leader of this group, it was still huge, and plenty of them had things to say. This information came from someone who's name Tommy couldn't remember, although that was most of them to be fair.

"I will be," Tommy agreed, and somehow the whole group seemed to relax back at that. Tommy wondered why they cared. After all, if Tommy was careful, he could survive long enough to kill one of them. Surely that must make them nervous about each other. It certainly made Tommy weary of them, but they all seemed comfortable together, almost as though they were friends.

Tommy wouldn't mind being a part of this group, having someone to comfort him, but he knew better than that. It was simply not safe. He was here to gain knowledge. That was it. He was a loner. He didn't trust them. He couldn't trust them, no matter how friendly they seemed.

It didn't matter that Tommy knew Freddie. They were different people now. Hell, Freddie had killed someone. Yeah, it was to keep himself alive, but Tommy knew he would do it again, and maybe it would be Tommy beneath the blade. This place was not one for friends. They lived, survived and died. That was how it went.

The Blood God may have escaped, but that was with inside help. Drista was locked up now. She wasn't going to be any help. It didn't matter that she had said she'd get Tommy out. She couldn't. She simply could not.

For now, Tommy would stay with this group. They seemed safer then the other options, and he needed their knowledge. Once he knew all there was to know, he'd find someplace empty to eat.

"Theseus!" 17's voice snapped, quickly drawing Tommy's attention. Instantly Tommy was standing, attentive and appearing ready. He couldn't be much less ready but he didn't mention the way his legs shook under his weight and his arms felt like lead. He simply followed Mask 17 to the training room and accepted the hours of training that were to come. He knew it would be shit, but he was painfully surprised when it only took half an hour before he crumpled to the floor from a hard attack. He pushed his body up, knowing he could take more hits, but it was too late.

Words: 1000

A/N: I'm attempting to transfer this to ao3 and have it on both platforms, but the process of copying and pasting 107 chapters is... hard-