Wir kämpften an allen Fronten,

wir schlugen die feindlichen Reih'n.

- der Legion Condor

CHANGE OF VENUE

//Announcer 1 - Greetings from the Lightening Dome, located in glorious Houston, Texas! This is the first time here at AFC – Houston where two contestants are battling for control of the same guild.

Announcer 2 - No one is wagering anything? Why are we even covering this?

Announcer 1 - That’s a good question, let’s see, hmm, according to this note I just received, it says “F minor Key”.

Announcer 2 - Oh, so what you are saying is because the Gun Bunny Guild is the top ranked guild in Houston, and the number two in the US. It’s news worthy and we should broadcast the fight.

Announcer 1 - Right you are Ken, I was just handed another note, and this one says “B Flat”. (

Announcer 2 - Oh! That means the fight is about to start! //

Queen Bitch and Ladybug were standing across from each other at the Judges table. The old oak table with its unfinished treated top, rested quietly with the three judges patiently waiting for the two combatants to submit their weapons, defensive items and optional items.

“Before, we begin item submission, I would to point out because of the special nature of this duel, and we have allowed contestants to submit up to 5 items,” said the old white-bearded Judge sitting in the center position.

Queen Bitch nodded as if expecting the new rule, but Ladybug threw her hands up to this change. Queen Bitch submitted her items: a yellow 3 by 5 note card, dagger with SS stamped across it, German Volks Maschinengewehr Mg-27 with snail drum, magically enhanced ammo, and Vis 35 Radom pistol. The dark haired woman sitting to the right of the old male Judge hissed when she saw the items, and even refusing to touch them as they passed by her.

When Queen Bitch presented her battle avatar, a 10-year-old blond hair blue eyes girl wearing traditional German dirndl, the female Judge got up and walked out. Heidi gave the Judge the finger, and went back to adjusting the flowers in her hair.

Ladybug turned to make a nasty comment about Queen Bitch to her friend, but no one was there. This was to be a solo fight. When it came time for her to present her items to the judges Ladybug dropped her items.

She presented: .50 caliber water elemental cooled machine gun, black fingerless gloves and shadow rounds. Before the judges could ask about additional magical items, Dragonfly came running in with a doggie backpack. Ladybug smiled as her friend ran up to greet her. She gave her a hug and then stepped back.

As Ladybug opened up the bag, Queen Bitch protested, but the two remaining Judges told her to calm down. She presented them with the fluffy backpack (designed to hold almost unlimited ammo, plus additional shadow rounds) and a Glock 9mm with subsonic rounds and with an air elemental blessing on it to cancel out any noise it could create. The old Judge carefully examining the items, then gave her battle avatar a quick once over with his bifocals, then gave a thumbs up.

The Judge pulled out his key, and inserted it into the air. The scene changed to a forest covered in snow. Queen Bitch shook head and exclaimed how she hated the cold weather, and pulled out a note card. The Judge took it and she muttered something quietly to him. He sighed and pulled his key back out and held it into the air again to open up the portal to another arena.

//Announcer 1 - Oh it looks like big momma has pulled the Race Card out, changing the field to her own choice, and locking it in. Poor little Asian school girl, won’t be able to change the arena to something else.

Announcer 2 - What do you supposed she changed it too?

Announcer 1 - I don’t know, but where ever it is, will be to her advantage. (Background still faded) Shouldn’t something be happening?

Announcer 2 - This is unusual; is this a closed fight? (Background fading away) Looks we are having some kind of technical difficulties, so in the mean time, we will talk about nothing.//

Ladybug found herself in another forest. The leaves still on the trees and lush green she figured it was either spring or summer time. Her eyes quickly darted back and forth sizing up her situation. Something wasn’t right with this place. Through the tree line she saw some kind of fence with barbed wire, but couldn’t make it out much more. She took her heavy machine gun and strapped it to her back, and pulled out her Glock 23 with sound eliminator. The tightly packed tress would make it difficult for her to maneuver with such a large weapon. She gave a mental command for her avatar to fly into the tree line to scout out the area, but it was gone.

She tried to whistle it up, which was how she normally summoned her avatar, and nothing but the silence of the forest was present. Something was not right, and every fiber of her body told her she was in a bad situation. How did that bitch get rid of her avatar?

She carefully, maneuvered herself towards the tree line. The specter inched closer to the edge of the forest. Pungent smells assaulted her nose as she neared the fence.

Ladybug recalled that her hr father, a retired American Marine Recon, taught her to move carefully, silently and always upwind hen she consulted him for combat advice. She wanted to run, as fear nipped at her feet. Something deep down inside kept her fear in check as she waited by edge of the tree line.

Directly in front of her was a 15-foot high double barb wired fence with writing she couldn’t make out written on it. Through the fence were wooden barracks or housing of some sort. Ladybug waited as she watched for movement, there was none. She then noticed the guard towers in the distance, but saw no towers near position.

Ladybug took a few stones near her, and tossed them in the air, waiting for a reaction. None came.

Standing up, she bolted towards fence line, and she jumped over it and landed on the other side. Ladybug tucked and rolled then she stood up. Spotting a nearby building she moved and positioned herself against the wall. She quickly fished out a laser range finger, a scope attachment, and laser targeting system.

Forcing her life force into her senses, she activated full combat mode. Her ear strained to try to pick up the slightest sound, nose looking for any tell-tale signs of Queen Bitch’s over powering perfume, and eyes sharpened and she continue to observe her surroundings. All around her she could feel eyes on her, but none of her equipment or senses could pick up on anything. The whole place smelled of death and a nagging feeling she was somehow connected to this place.

Ladybug next thoughts knew without further knowledge of the area she needed a command point, someplace safe, before she could hunt down the Bitch Queen. Avoiding the rocks on the ground, she moved around to the front of the building. The old wooden structured reeked from numerous odors she didn’t recognize except that it was from humans. Opening the door she aimed her weapon then moved inside.

Once inside, her eyes took a few seconds to focus, her brain tried desperately to process what she was seeing. The room was crammed with stacks of bunk beds, 4 high and stretching to the back of the wooden hut. There were women and children in the room, many of them looked under nourished stripped clothing.

“What in the hell is this place?” she muttered. “This isn’t an arena I’ve heard about. Is it new?”

Her mind struggled to remember where she could be, then to the question of how Queen Bitch managed to pick this place.

Ladybug’s stomach twisted and knotted as the hollowed eyed women watched her. She lowered her weapon, but refused to put it away. A little boy in stripped clothes walked up to her, his head shaven, face gaunt from starvation and lips trembling looking at her. He tried to put his arm around her, but she backed away from the skeleton of a child.

His thin lips moved but, but she couldn’t understand it. His face looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds, than brightened up as if he discovered a lost treasure chest of food, hidden away for such emergencies.

“How…are…you?” he asked in broken English.

“Who the heck are you?” she asked.

“I’m a distant relative!” he exclaimed, his English slightly improving.

“And this damned place?” she asked.

“Hell,” he replied. “We are in Dachau, 1944. I’m a distant relative.”

“You don’t look Vietnamese!” she snapped back.

“I’m on your father’s side, do you know anything about your father’s side of the family?” he asked.

She shook her head no.

“Well, in 1938 my family was rounded up and sent to this death camp for being communist (she snickered at the communist comment) and all our family were slowly killed in the gas chambers, starvation and escape attempts. I was the only one who managed to live through it. After we were liberated in 1945 I was adopted by an American soldier. Apparently, he was unable to have children (mutters something about a war wound in a private place) and I continued the family line. Your father was my son, who later joined the Marines. You are the first person I ever talked to about my experiences here.”

“Wait, if you are my grandfather, how are you talking to me like this?” she asked.

“Well you see, all of your ancestors talk to you in one way or the other. If you want to get scientific about it, we talk to you through your DNA. All of the skills I learned, I have passed down to your father, and him to you. You will do this for your children (she wrinkled her nose at the prospect of having children). Everything from stalking a wooly mammoth to getting out of this hell pit alive, we have passed on.”

“So why are you here now? This is supposed to be an AFC arena, not some shithole death camp place.”

“As I said before, I’m just a projection of who I was. At this point in history, I was 16-years-old and in a different section of the camp, but your mind has turned me into what I looked like when I first got here. (She nodded as if slowly starting to understand) Also, from what I can tell, your friend Queen Bitch is a racist, and a bad one. She sees herself as part of the master race, and in charge of everyone and everything. Her very core has corrupted her and warped her mind into conjuring up this place. She now thinks she is one of those black booted SS thugs running this place.”

“How do you know all of this?” she asked.

He shrugged as he checked the window, “She’s been here for years, repeating the same thing over and over.”

Ladybug nodded, her mind slowly turning over what her grandfather just said. One of the women ran up to her and quickly covered her up with a hole-filled blanket, muttering something to her.

“The guards are coming for a head count, you need to hide!” he said as he checked the window again.

Ladybug hid in the back corner of the room hiding her heavy machine gun in her backpack. How this was happening she had no idea, but it would take all her wits and courage to get through this. Three black uniformed soldiers stormed in, their highly polished black boots stomping against the wood floor.

An inner storm began to brew deep down inside. She never paid attention in history class, or even listened to family for advice, but the scene unfolding before her, stirred up something primal. One of the soldiers would stop at every fifth woman, and hit them on the head with a leather riding crop. When he stopped at her grandfather, he has hit hard enough to knock him down to the ground.

Ladybug’s saw stars as her eyes began to tear up. The three soldiers began saying something in the funny language, as they kicked her grandfather over and over as they laughed. Ladybug couldn’t handle it. She got up from cover and pointed her pistol at the first soldier. The subsonic shadow round ripped into the heart of the guard with the riding crop, sending him to the ground. Before the other two guards could react, she sent two more silent rounds into their hearts. She walked up on them and put a round to the back of their heads.

She leaned over helping her young grandfather up, blood pouring from his nose, but grateful she stopped them. The women and children watched her with disbelief.

“I wish I could tell you how many times I wished I could have done that to those swine back then,” he said spitting out blood.

“I still couldn’t understand what they said,” she replied as she reloaded her weapon.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so! Just relax.” He exclaimed.

Grandfather took his hands and placed them on her temples muttering, her head felt a rush of blood go to hit as she started to realize what he meant about information for survival was locked away in your genes. She was suddenly flooded with the ability to speak German, Romanian (language he picked up while at the death camp), Gypsy magic (he learned from a Gypsy his same age) and the general layout of the camp.

“How did you…” she started to ask.

“I simply unlocked your DNA. We all have the ability to access the information from our past, but in the astral plane, it’s a hell of a lot easier. I’m glad my granddaughter turned out as beautiful as you,” he said with a half smile.

For some reason she couldn’t suppress a blush.

“That took too much out of me. I have to go, but don’t worry, I’m always with you, even when you forget me. My only regret was that you had to experience this hell of earth like I did, but at least you have the power to do something about it,” he said growing pale. “My only wish was that none of my descendents would have to experience this place. I guess that’s why I never talked about it…”

Before she could hug him back, he faded away into memory. The women were already trying to hide the dead bodies as she moved out of the room. Her mind sharp with clarity and a new focus, maybe she could help bring her friend’s sanity back from the edge of corruption. If not, she needed a way out of this hell.