On Planet Scargo, the Scarlet people rule with iron authority, serving their neighboring overlords from the planet Lilac. Beneath them, the Indigo people live in chains, forced to labor in fields, factories, and blood-soaked arenas for the pleasure of their masters and overlords.
In the golden farmlands of Scargo, rows of Indigo slaves work tirelessly under the blistering sun, cutting endless stalks of wheat. Near a farmhouse stands a sixteen-year-old Indigo boy, tall, muscular, and hardened by years of labor. His name is Buzz, and he spends his days splitting wood for his Scarlet master.
Master Fay approaches, a smug grin across his pale red face.
"Buzz," he calls out, "you're coming with the others to the colosseum. Brad's unfit to fight tonight, you'll take his place. Make me some money."
Buzz lowers his head respectfully. "Yes, Master."
Within the hour, Buzz and several other slaves are herded onto a creaking wagon, chains rattling as their master Fay snaps the reins. The horses gallop through the dusty plains, pulling them toward the distant stone colosseum.
When they arrive, Buzz looks around in awe and dread. Hundreds of Lilac soldiers stand guard alongside Scarlet enforcers, their armor gleaming under the floodlights. The air smells of sweat, fear, and iron.
The slaves are led through the massive gates into the underground arena cells. Their master Fay locks Buzz and the others inside a narrow cage. Buzz's eyes dart across the bars, his breath shallow.
An older slave name Leo beside him whispers, "Buzz. I know it's your first time, but just survive the first round for the master's sake. After that… we'll handle the rest of the rounds."
Buzz nods silently and tilts his head upwards, as he can see Planet Lilac nearby, glowing faintly in the sky.
Moments later, a formation of Lilac warships pierces through the clouds, descending near the colosseum with a thunderous roar. The entire crowd of Scarlet citizens in the colosseum seats erupts in excitement.
The Scarlet announcer's voice booms across the arena:
"Today marks the Holy Cause War, six hours before the celestial war begins! We welcome our special guests from Lilac, here to lead this grand event! Please honor the arrival of the great Lord Parkay of Lilac and his noble entourage!"
The Scarlet spectators cheer wildly as Parkay steps onto a raised platform, ten other Lilac leaders following behind him. Draped in radiant robes, Parkay takes his seat on a gilded throne and addresses the crowd.
"I want today to be as memorable as the Holy Cause itself," he declares, his voice echoing through the arena. "We Lilacs here will not partake in the war above. Instead, we have come here, to your planet, to find refuge. Should Lilac fall, Planet Scargo will serve as the new cradle for our surviving leaders. Then soon this planet will be renamed New Lilac."
He moves closer to the edge of the stage, gazing down at the bar gates filled with slaves.
"This," he says, raising a hand, "is our welcoming celebration. Thanks to our loyal Scarlet masters, we will witness the worth of your Indigo slaves. Impress us well, and perhaps one of us might even buy you."
A low hum fills the air. The crowd grows restless, confused by the strange sound.
As Master Fay quickly steps forward and bows. "My apologies, Lord Parkay. That buzzing sound, it's one of my slaves. He hums when he's nervous. That's why we call him Buzz."
Buzz's face flushes as he covers his mouth, trying to suppress the sound.
Parkay chuckles lightly. "It's fine. Let's just hope it doesn't get louder than this." He turns to the officials. "Begin preparations for the first round."
The command ripples through the arena. Masters descend into the slave pits, checking their fighters. Master Fay storms up to the cage, glaring at him.
"I should've left you back at the farm," he snarls. "You're embarrassing me. Go out there, keep that buzzing low, and earn me some money!"
Buzz swallows hard and nods. All of the Scarlet masters unlocks their gates and retreats to the stands.
The sound of iron groaning fills the colosseum as the cage doors swing open. One by one, the 100 slaves step out into the arena, their chains clinking with each trembling step.
Without warning, four massive digital beacons rise from the outer walls, pulsing with electric light. A dome of shimmering data expands across the entire arena, pixelating the air itself. The crowd gasps in confusion.
From the royal balcony, Lord Parkay raises a hand and smiles.
"For the very first time," he declares proudly, "we've brought Lilac technology to your world. Enjoy the show!"
He claps, and a beacon behind him flares to life. Streams of digital code swirl around each Lilac leader, forming holographic mugs of golden ale in their hands. Laughter erupts as they toast together, their cheers echoing over the arena.
The energy field flickers again, launching digital fireworks into the evening sky. Bursts of neon light explode above, dazzling the Scarlet spectators, who rise to their feet cheering wildly.
Meanwhile, Buzz crouches low, his hands clamped over his mouth as his anxious humming grows louder and louder. His body trembles, his nerves unraveling under the roar of the crowd.
Then the ground splits open at the center of the arena. A massive platform ascends, carrying a steel cage and within it, a giant tiger, muscles rippling beneath its striped hide.
The cage dissolves into streams of glowing data, leaving the beast free. It lets out a thunderous roar.
Parkay leans forward, amused. "Ah, your typical Scarlet round… but since we're here—" he smirks, snapping his fingers, "—let's amp it up a bit."
The arena field flares purple. A bolt of violet lightning crashes down onto the tiger, flooding its body with energy.
"Behold," Parkay announces, his voice booming through the amplifiers. "A tech evolution! I call it—the Lilac Tiger!"
Gasps ripple through the crowd as the creature's body contorts and grows. Its fur darkens, its orange stripes shimmer into glowing violet, and its tail splits into two serpentine whips crackling with lightning. Sparks dance between them as the beast growls, electricity arcing across its body.
Terror sweeps through the arena. The Indigo slaves stare, wide-eyed and trembling. None of them have ever faced anything like this.
Buzz's humming grows uncontrollably loud, until it catches the tiger's attention. The mutated beast's glowing eyes lock onto him.
Parkay laughs. "Prepare yourselves for a battle like no other! Begin!"
The Lilac Tiger roars and charges straight at Buzz. He freezes in panic, his feet refusing to move.
"Buzz!" a voice shouts beside him.
An older slave—broad-shouldered and scarred—steps forward, planting himself between Buzz and the oncoming beast, as it is Leo.
The tiger lunges, Leo's fist shoots upward in a perfectly timed uppercut. The blow smashes into the creature's jaw, lifting its massive frame off the ground. The beast flips backward, crashing into the cage wall with a bone-shaking thud.
Leo glances over his shoulder, shouting, "Buzz! Focus!"
Before Buzz can respond, the tiger springs up again with a deafening roar. It charges once more, lightning sparking violently around its twin tails.
Leo meets it head-on, launching himself into the air and slamming a powerful upward kick under its stomach. The strike sends the mutated tiger skidding across the arena, crashing through stone debris.
Buzz watches in awe, his fear momentarily replaced by admiration. He never knew Leo possessed such strength.
But the tiger rises again, faster, hungrier. It turns its rage on the other slaves, tearing through them mercilessly. Screams fill the air as chaos erupts.
Up in the stands, the Lilac leaders watch with amusement. They sip their digital ale and cheer with every kill. Among the Scarlet master, Master Fay leans forward, eyes gleaming with excitement, proud of his slaves as the other Masters are worried.
With every kill, the tiger grows stronger. Lightning bursts from its twin tails, arcing through the air and electrocuting countless slaves where they stand. The crowd erupts in savage cheers at the sight of such power.
Parkay, watching from his throne and growing drunker by the minute, laughs.
"Clearly, they're outmatched," he slurs, swirling his drink. "They'll need weapons to even stand a chance."
With a lazy snap of his fingers, dozens of digital weapons materialize around the arena. The surviving slaves scramble toward them, desperate for any means of defense.
Buzz looks around, struggling to move as the paralysis of fear grips him. Most of the weapons are already gone, until Leo steps up beside him, handing him an axe. It's simple, heavy, and familiar. Buzz remembers the feel of it from the farm, as he is a woodcutter.
He grips it tightly, feeling confidence surge through his trembling hands. Leo stands tall next to him, brass knuckles glowing across his fists.
"Get up and fight!" Leo shouts.
Buzz notices a deep wound across Leo's chest, a brutal mark left by the tiger's claws. Guilt burns inside him.
"I'm sorry, Leo… I'll fight!" he says.
A thunderous crack splits the air as a lightning bolt scorches the ground beside them. Both men dive aside just in time. Leo lets out a roar and charges forward, weaving through the barrage of lightning as he lands a solid punch across the tiger's face.
The beast retaliates with sweeping claws and deafening growls. Leo ducks, dodges, and counters with every ounce of strength he has. His bravery sparks the others, one by one, Buzz and the others slaves join the charge. But the lightning shows no mercy. Dozens fall, convulsing and burning where they stand.
Buzz watches in horror as he's thrown back by a shockwave that hits him, as he crashes onto the ground as blue blood pools beneath him. His vision blurs, yet he can still see Leo fighting. Each movement of the tiger sends sparks flying; each strike slows Leo down. Then, with a vicious swing of its paw, the tiger sends Leo crashing into the dirt. Lightning pours down upon him like rain.
Parkay laughs, raising his glass.
"Is this all you've got? Pathetic! How disappointing your slaves turned out to be!"
The Scarlet masters bow their heads in shame. Then, from the storm of smoke and light, Leo roars once more, charging the tiger again.
Parkay leans forward, intrigued.
"Now that one… that one might actually be worth watching."
Buzz forces himself to focus through the pain. To see blood streams from Leo's wounds, yet he keeps fighting, refusing to fall. Buzz begins to move and grips his axe, muttering to himself,
"Get up… Leo needs me!"
He rises and tries to move with his trembling legs. "Move… come on, move!"
But fear roots him in place. His whole body hums with frustration, his teeth clenched, his humming voice echoing through the arena. The Scarlet masters and Lilac nobles look at him with disgust and pity.
Something inside him snaps as this ongoing looks of disgust causes him to rage.
"Stop looking at me like I'm useless!" he roars.
His voice booms across the arena. He raises the axe and hurls it with every bit of strength in his soul.
The weapon spins through the air, whistling like a storm.
In a flash, the axe cleaves clean through the tiger's neck.
At the same time Leo punches the tiger's head, as this makes it look like Leo was the one who took off the tiger's head.
The massive beast collapses with a thunderous thud, its body still crackling with electricity. Silence falls over the arena.
Leo stares in disbelief. The surviving slaves freeze, bloodied and breathless as he turns to the nearby bloody axe. Even Parkay lowers his glass, stunned as they all thinks that Leo was the one who slain the tiger.
Silence sweeps across the colosseum. The crowd, frozen between awe and disbelief, can only stare at the headless tiger lying still on the dirt.
Then deliberately, Parkay descends from his platform, landing in the arena. He begins to clap.
"Congratulations," he says mockingly.
The audience erupts into applause and cheers, their excitement reigniting. Buzz stands trembling, still stunned by what he's done. A shaky smile spreads across his face, he's proud, even if only for a moment.
"What a shame that was cut short," Parkay says, grinning. "Round two begins now!"
The tiger's corpse dissolves into a storm of glowing data. The digital fragments swirl toward Parkay, merging into a metallic gauntlet that covers his right arm. Shaped like a tiger's head, it hums with energy. Lightning crackles from the armor, blasting through the crowd of slaves—dozens fall lifeless.
A stray bolt slams into Buzz, hurling him across the arena. He crashes hard into the stone wall, coughing blood.
"I won't allow any Indigo slaves to disgrace my creations!" Parkay roars.
Before he can strike again, Leo charges in with a furious roar, his fist slamming into Parkay's chest. The impact sends the noble sliding backward through the dust.
Parkay only laughs, his voice echoing with drunken rage. "You're nothing but a fluke!"
He raises his arm and unleashes a barrage of lightning. Bolts crash down onto Leo, pinning him to the ground. Electricity dances across his skin, burning deep red marks into his body. Leo screams, the sound raw and desperate.
Parkay steps closer, grinning down at him. "Impressive. Your master must have tortured you well enough to endure this level of current. I want you."
He presses his boot onto Leo's chest, laughing. "Who else wants this slave?!"
From the stands, Master Fay rises immediately, eyes gleaming with greed. The seated Lilac leader, hands raises, eager to bid. Parkay grins wider.
"Then come, slaves!" he shouts, spreading his arms. "Prove your worth! Fight me!"
The remaining slaves charge but Parkay sweeps through them effortlessly, lightning flashing with every motion. One by one, their bodies fall smoking to the dirt.
"So sad," he says coldly. "There could only be one that's worth my time."
Then, amid the smoke and corpses, a low humming echoes. It grows louder, resonating through the arena walls.
Parkay's grin fades. "You're still alive?" His eyes narrow. "Annoying… shut up!"
He unleashes hundreds of lightning bolts toward the arena wall where Buzz is at. Explosions bloom across the stone, smoke filling the air.
Buzz takes the full force of the assault, his body convulsing as lightning tears through him. But the more pain he feels, the louder his humming grows, until it becomes a roar of willpower.
Through the agony, flashes of memory pierce his mind.
He sees himself as a frail ten-year-old boy—skinny, trembling, drenched in sweat. His master, Fay, stands over him, whipping and shocking him for being weak.
"You're useless!" Fay shouts, striking again and again.
Buzz hums through the pain, a pitiful sound that only enrages Fay further. The beatings grow worse. But still he hums. He refuses to stop as he then moves.
He remembers carrying heavy buckets of water with his fragile arms, trying to prove he's not worthless. Trying to earn one shred of respect.
The memory fades.
Now, in the present, the humming becomes deafening, so loud it feels as if the entire city can hear it.
Lightning continues to pour down on him, his body, blackened and charred, begins to move through the haze. The air trembles around him as dust and sparks obscure his form.
His blood drips into his eyes, turning them crimson. Rage burns through his pain.
Then, in a flash—he's gone.
He reappears in front of Parkay, fist already flying.
One punch. That's all it takes.
The impact is so fierce it twists Parkay's head hundreds of times before it detaches completely, spinning into the air and landing with a dull thud. His body collapses like a puppet with its strings cut.
The entire arena goes silent again.
Then, chaos.
From every digital beacon, Scarlet soldiers begin to attack, destroying them. The main beacon on the royal stage shatters as the Scarlet announcer tears it apart, shouting into the crowd:
"This is our chance! The Holy Rebel War begins now!"
Explosions erupt across the colosseum as Scarlet soldiers clash with the Lilac guards. Even the Scarlet spectators leap from their seats, joining the uprising.
"This is our planet!" the announcer bellows. "We outnumber them! No longer will we serve! We are our own masters!"
The battlefield ignites in blood and thunder.
Down in the arena, Leo staggers to his feet, dazed and covered in burns. He looks toward Buzz—what's left of him—and runs.
Buzz lies still, his body charred but his face peaceful. Leo drops to his knees, cradling him in his arms. Tears stream down his face as he whispers through the chaos,