Mwas got out of the ring and walked towards Kim. " Beat that you bastard," he said in a low menacing voice. Kim looked at him and said," I will." Mwas clicked his tongue and sat down on the bench. He was too exhausted to argue. He had better things to think about. He looked at his hands. He had gone all out once again. It felt even better than before. He smiled happily, after all its not everyday you let loose...
Kim looked at him in disdain then quietly clicked his mouth and looked at the ring. Indeed, Mwas had not changed. Inside the ring, the Ītha bots were collecting the remaining pieces of their teammate. The crowd had been quiet ever since Mwas took out the core and crushed it. The bots took turns looking at them, their expressionless faces showed nothing but intent on cleaning up the ring. " I think pulling the core out is not a crowd favorite", Thia whispered to Kim startling him. He looked at him and grinned. Thia always tried to find the light side of things. " Yeah ", he answered whispering.
Thia nodded and stood up ready for the next fight but a robot stepped into the partly cleaned ring and announced, " That will be the end of today's matches. We will resume tomorrow with the rest of the matches", it said meekly then turned and left. Disappointed, Thia slumped back onto the bench and pouted. Kim looked at him and thought, 'Sometimes he behaves like a small child' he thought as he patted his shoulder in encouragement.
"It seems you took my words pretty well, " said an all too familiar cold voice. The three stood up. It was Albert. "Those are the results that I want to see," he continued and smiled. It was a cold smile, a smile that hinted at dangerous consequences should they fail to produce the same results. Kim watched as he stepped closer to Mwas, patted his greasy head and continued," Have them take the rooms above the prison," he turned and was about to leave when Thia spoke. " Can the old man move in with us"? he asked. Albert nodded and left. He didn't care what they wanted as long as they kept winning.
* * *
Alvin sat in his office seething. His father had recognized his efforts and he also had a say in how the cold water was going to be used, but, what is this he's hearing about Albert and the *Unda? ' Dîd he just take advantage of me again'? he thought angrily. He stood up and went out. He had to talk to him.
Albert entered his house and threw himself on his vintage sofa. For the first time in a long while, he was happy and satisfied. Things were finally going his way and with those kids, he just might win the title of being the king of Unda. Alvin barged inand stared at him. 'Great I was wondering when he'd come to ruin it' he thought as he looked at Alvin. " There's a thin called courtesy. Knock on the door first before you barge in", he said looking at his younger brother in disgust. 'Ah this fool' he thought.
"Why did you take them to there? I wanted to use and experiment-", he said almost shouting but stopped himself from revealing anything else. Too late, Albert had caught on. " So you mean to use your newfound power to experiment on them, you truly are from House AL", he said as he smirked widely. Flustered, Alvin said," No, that's not it ... I mean that I was going to let them see the sights of the city then.. then.." his words fell over themselves. "... then bring them back to exploit and experiment on them right, " Albert finished for him, his eyes darkening. " You really are my little brother," he stood up and headed for the stairs. " I don't care about you or your experiments but I will give you one of them as compensation if I don't become ruler of Unda. Now make sure you close the door on your way out " he concluded and climbed upstairs.
Alvin was furious. How were they so similar?