Chapter Text
“A new Challenger! The Beta Revenger—Raaaaaainyyy!”
The arena erupts in cheers.
“No! Stop it!” Rainy shouts, furious. “I’m not your spectacle, dammit!”
Noura glances around, her chest tight, the weight of thousands of eyes pressing on her.
Gramms saunters closer to the ropes, right by Noura’s corner.
“Remember our deal …three full rounds.”
“This isn’t what we agreed to!” Noura fires back.
Gramms smirks. “Fine. I’ll call it off. But Flower stays right here.”
Noura stiffens, jaw tight. A flicker of pain crosses her face. She exhales shakily, then turns toward Rainy, sliding into a fighting stance.
“What?! You’re really going to play into this, Noura?” Rainy shouts, eyes blazing.
Noura exhales and shifts into a guarded stance.
“I guess I don’t have a choice… if I have to destroy you.”
“Wooooaaaah!!!” The audience explodes, the roar deafening. Around them, the other mobsters have either been dragged out or fled the arena.
Rainy charges, fists flying.
Noura slips aside, blocks a few, but some still land.
Ugh! They actually hurt!...
“Rainy, what have you done to yourself?” Noura gasps between blows.
“Ah… I just molded myself to survive in this sick society!”
“It’s awful you feel that way, awful you think you have to change to be accepted,” Noura says, her voice pained.
“Don’t fucking therapize me!” Rainy snaps, lunging again.
Noura breaks away, dodging, running to create distance.
The crowd erupts in boos.
“Fight back, Noura!”
“Punch her in the face!”
Their chants pound the air, the whole arena demanding blood.
I don´t want to hurt her… All I have to do is last three rounds… after those three rounds I’ll have to knock her out…
Rainy suddenly reaches her and punches her right in the jaw.
“Ughhh!” Noura spins as she falls, flat on the mat. Her head dizzy, her sight blurry.
Oh my bot… she’s strong… I might not be able to knock her out but at least I’ll try to last those three rounds!
Noura pushes herself up, blood spilling from her lips onto the mat. She spits it out and steadies her stance.
Rainy charges, throwing another punch—but this time Noura slips aside and counters with a hook to Rainy’s stomach.
“Ugh!” Rainy staggers back, clutching her abdomen, gasping for breath.
Noura presses forward, another strike—but Rainy evades and swings back. Noura ducks, pivots, and catches her in a chokehold.
“Yeeaah! Alpha supremacy!” a voice cries from the stands.
“Booooohhh! Shut up!” The majority of the audience drowns it out with jeers.
Rainy twists, struggling. “Ha… is this what you want?! Alpha supremacy?!”
“No!” Noura grits out. “I just want to free the omega who was probably trafficked and brought in here…”
“What?!” Rainy snaps. “How the hell is this supposed to do that?!”
“Work with me, Rainy. I just have to last three rounds…then she’s free.”
“This is monstrous! Why don’t you just go to the authorities?!”
“Rainy! You know damn well that won’t do anything!”
With a violent jerk, Rainy breaks free and throws Noura aside. She backs off, panting, glaring.
Gramms’ voice cuts through the mic:
“That would be the end of round one, but it doesn’t look like our girl Rainy here gives a damn about rules, does she?”
Rainy snatches her own mic, her voice sharp and defiant.
“Rules are meant to be broken when they’re written to favor some and crush the rest.”
“Uuuuuhhh!” The crowd boos, but the noise is fractured, whispers ripple, salarywomen lean into each other, debating. The Moonbeams sit silent, watchful, their faces unreadable.
Rainy raises her voice:
“Alphas are a minority, yet they run this city! They hoard leadership, power, and wealth. Ever wonder why?!”
Murmurs surge. One of the Taylor engineers rises to her feet, hand outstretched for the mic. Gramms hurries, passing it to her.
“This is a common subject among academics,” the engineer says, steady, her words carrying over the arena. “There are many hypotheses. The biological argument is still the most popular—but it’s been disproven. The truth is societal. During the era of adaptation, alphas were the majority, and they positioned themselves as protectors. Myths and religious stories painted them as humanity’s saviors, as the ones who prevented extinction simply by existing. And that cultural weight,it still shapes us, even now.”
The crowd falls into an uneasy hush. Rainy listens, her chest heaving. Noura, too, stands still, caught between fight and reflection.
“If you want to change that, Rainy, then become a woman of science,” the engineer urges, her voice ringing clear. “It’s not too late to enter the fields that truly shape the world. You don’t have to fight.”
“Boooh!” jeers a lavishly dressed woman from the stands. She leans forward with a wicked grin.
“It’s fun to watch her fight—let her fight!”
The Queen of Raspberries smiles as her jeweled entourage bursts into applause, delighting in the chaos.
Then a Moonbeam rises, her presence serene but commanding.
“There is a place for betas in the world,” she declares. “But women have strayed from the Goddesses, from nature, from the Mother. The covenant welcomes you, Rainy. We would honor you as a beta.”
The engineer snaps, fury breaking through her composure.
“You pounce on every vulnerable soul to recruit them! You parasites!”
The Moonbeam tilts her head, calm and superior.
“You’re projecting,” she says smoothly, her tone dripping with condescension.
“We all know the Covenant treats betas like trash!” the engineer shouts.
The crowd explodes into heated arguments, voices clashing across the arena. Gramms scans the chaos, wringing her hands, searching for a way to calm things down.
Meanwhile, Lyra finishes piling the unconscious bodies in a corner. She nods to the other fighters in thanks, then turns, her sharp eyes sweeping the ring.
“Gramms,” she murmurs. “If you’ll allow me…”
Gramms stiffens, uneasy—but then exhales, surrendering. She presses the mic into Lyra’s hand.
Lyra raises it to her lips.
“Ladies. Hey. All of your points are very interesting…”
The noise dips. Arguments continue in murmurs, but most of the crowd goes silent, drawn to her voice.
“...but I know Rainy. I know what’s really happening here.”
Rainy’s eyes widen. “What?”
“I worked with Rainy for a while at Morph C.O. She’s brilliant. But she was in love with Nova Seligman. And when she realized Nova only seemed to care for alphas, Rainy’s frustration boiled over… and she started lashing out against them.”
The crowd gasps. A ripple of shock, whispers, and a few sympathetic awws pass through the stands. Rainy’s face flushes crimson.
“What?! NO! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!” she screams.
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Back at Lyra’s, Ari stares at the broadcast in disbelief.
“Lyra… really?” She sighs.
Beside her, Gina chuckles. “Ahh, I knew it…”
“But Rainy’s making valid points!” Ari protests, gesturing at the screen. “How can Lyra just out her like that?”
“I think it’s smart,” Gina replies, eyes narrowing. “She’s defusing the whole thing. If the crowd frames this as a personal issue—a crush, jealousy—then it feels lighter. Less dangerous. People won’t stay riled up over it.”
Ari blinks, considering. It makes sense.
“Well… I see what you mean.” She frowns. “Still feels harsh.”
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“But Lyra! Isn’t Nova your omega’s pet?” a salarywoman shouts from the stands.
The arena erupts into laughter, the sound rolling like thunder. The Moonbeams stiffen, glancing around as if they themselves had been insulted.
Lyra only smiles, slow and satisfied, letting the noise wash over her.
Rainy glares, trembling with fury. Beside her, Noura covers her mouth, trying to hide the sudden heat in her cheeks.
“Yes,” Lyra says evenly, her tone cutting through the laughter. “Apparently Nova has a thing for alphas in general—and for my omega in particular.”
The crowd howls with laughter again. Lyra’s smile widens, steady and deliberate, a powerful woman holding ground.
“And when Rainy found out… she radicalized.”
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Back at the Covenant, the Moonbeams watching the broadcast shift uneasily.
“This is bad. They keep calling Nova a sinner—we have to act!”
“Where are Mary and the others? Weren’t they supposed to bring Nova?”
“I’ll go find them.”
An omega jumps down from her bunk, her face set with worry. She strides through the hall and pushes open the next door without suspicion.
“Hey girls, I was wondering if—”
Her words die in her throat.
Mary lies sprawled beneath Nova, her face twisted in pure ecstasy. Nova straddles her, hands pressed against Mary’s chest, her own breath ragged, eyes half-lidded, glowing with something unearthly.
Around them, several Moonbeams sit in a circle, watching in reverent awe. Slowly, they turn toward the intruder, their stares heavy and silent.
A few seconds stretch unbearably.
Then Nova’s voice cuts the air, low and commanding.
“Get her.”
The Moonbeams surge forward.
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“That’s a lie!” Rainy screams, her voice cracking under the weight of fury.
The engineers remain silent. The Moonbeams, too. Only the Raspberry Queen breaks the hush, laughing, clapping her hands like it’s all a performance for her amusement.
Rainy trembles, teeth gritted, shaking with frustration.
“Rainy…” Noura murmurs gently, stepping closer. “I can explain everything later. But please, there’s a way out of this. Just let me last three rounds. After that… you can knock me down if you want.”
Rainy forces a breath in, then out. Her chest heaves. For a moment, she looks almost steady.
“Ah… I wish I could…”
Then, with a guttural cry, she launches at Noura.
Punch after punch, furious and relentless. Noura ducks, sidesteps, pivots—evading again and again.
“Well, this would be the end of the second round,” Gramms calls into the mic, her voice high with theatrical glee. “But Rainy just won’t stop! Don’t you want to rest for a bit, huh?”
The crowd erupts, stamping and cheering, feeding on the spectacle. The moonbeams keep quiet, the engineers sigh.
Lyra suddenly rips the mic from Gramms’ hand. Her voice cuts clean through the noise:
“Rainy! So—you knock out Noura. What next?”
“Next is you!” Rainy shouts without thinking.
“Uuuuuuhhh!” the audience howls, gasps and laughter mixing in a single roar.
“Me?” Lyra presses, smiling like she already knows the answer. “So, once you finish with her, I get to step up and fight you? Is that what you’re suggesting?”
Rainy gulps, her confidence faltering.
In the ring, Noura slips behind Rainy, locking her arms around her neck in another chokehold. She leans close, whispering through the roar of the crowd.
“Rainy… I’m offering you a way out. Please.”
They struggle, bodies straining as the audience cheers louder.
“Come to think of it, Noura…” Rainy grits out, twisting in the hold. “I have done something here. I’ve amplified the message. I’ve got people talking. Whether I beat you or not doesn’t matter, what matters is that I get the truth out there.”
With a sharp drive of her elbow, she slams into Noura’s stomach.
“Ughh!” Noura gasps, the air ripped from her lungs as she stumbles back, releasing Rainy.
Freed, Rainy straightens, chest heaving, her voice rising to fill the arena.
“You can say whatever you want about me, Lyra Veran. But the truth is the truth. Betas are treated like less in this society. So much so that Aira is conducting experiments—EXPERIMENTS TO ERASE BETAS, TO TURN EVERYONE INTO EITHER ALPHAS OR OMEGAS!”
The crowd explodes in chaos. Gasps, shouts, furious arguments overlap into a deafening storm.
“What?! How do you know that?!” one of Aira’s business allies shouts, pale-faced.
“Don’t go throwing around accusations without proof!” another businesswoman snaps, her voice shaking.
From her seat, the Raspberry Queen claps gleefully, laughing like it’s the best theater she’s ever seen.
“I love this!”
Noura’s eyes go wide, her voice breaking.
“Is that true?!”
Rainy turns to her, gaze burning.
“Yes, Noura. The organization I work with uncovered it.”
Lyra lifts her mic, her voice calm and cutting through the uproar.
“That’s a grave accusation. And if it’s true, it’s horrific. But Rainy …you’ll need proof.”
“Soon…” Rainy says, a dangerous smile spreading across her face.
Noura launches at her but Rainy evades and punches her in the face.
Noura falls on the mat.
The crowd calls for her to stand up.
Rainy walks to her and kicks her while she’s laying.
Lyra frowns furious “Hey! That’s too much, Rainy!”
Rainy looks at her, puts one foot over Noura and keeps talking into the mic “We have some of the meds Aira is using!” She then turns to the engineers “I can assure you, among you women of science, there’s many who already know… and they do nothing about it.”
Then she turns to the moonbeams “And you… IT’S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT THIS HAPPENED! YOUR WHOLE RELIGION PUTS BETAS BELOW ALPHAS AND OMEGAS!”
The moonbeams flinch.
“Betas have to rise, we’re the majority. RISE BETAS! EVERY BETA WATCHING THIS, RISE!”
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Across Aira’s territory, Materia, and New Asia, women watch the livestream with bated breath. Betas everywhere feel something stirring inside them.
Blue, a beta who has long passed as an alpha, grips her chest, unsettled by a feeling she can’t name.
Honey, an omega who should not feel anything, is transfixed. She’s made no commentary, no publicity, just silent, entranced by the events unfolding.
Among the salarywomen, it’s visible too: a fire in their eyes, lit by the spectacle.
Back in the ring, Noura jolts awake. With a sudden surge she grabs Rainy’s leg, yanking her to the mat. She straddles her, fists raining down.
“I’m sorry, Rainy. I have to free this omega! Please… let’s talk later!” she cries between punches.
Rainy shields herself, absorbing blow after blow, then cuts through, her hand snaring Noura’s neck. She drives her fist into Noura’s face once, twice.
“Noura! Give up. Let me handle this,” Lyra commands through the mic.
“NO!” Noura screams back. “Not before the third round…” she murmurs
Rainy stares at her, pity flickering in her bruised eyes.
“Have you thought… you could fight for equality another way? In this case, you could have just gone to the authorities.”
“I’ve already told you… You don’t understand what that would do,” Noura gasps, blood streaking her lips, sorrow in her eyes. “After this fight… Come see me…”
Rainy scoffs.
Noura slams her forehead forward.
“Agh!” Rainy reels.
Another headbutt, this one crunches against Rainy’s teeth.
Gramms watches, satisfied. She got her spectacle. She exhales, almost giddy.
“I guess Flower is free…” she mutters.
Snatching the mic, she calls out,
“So, this would be the end of the third round…”
At those words, Noura forces one last desperate headbutt before collapsing over Rainy. Both women crash onto the mat, bloodied and breathless. Noura lies unconscious, Rainy wheezing beneath her.
Then Rainy begins to laugh. She claws for her mic, voice raw and hoarse as she shouts:
“I beat an alpha… I’M A BETA AND I BEAT AN ALPHA! This is a symbol—kof, kof—this is a symbol! We can be as strong as alphas, as valuable as omegas! WE MAKE THIS SOCIETY WORK!”
The crowd roars, divided and shaken.
Lyra climbs the ropes, pushes open the metal gate, and steps into the ring.
“Hahahaha!” Rainy laughs raggedly, blood on her lips. “What—are you going to beat me up now?”
Lyra kneels, lifting Noura gently. She studies her bruised face, brushing strands of hair back behind her ear. A weary sigh escapes her.
“Ah… Rainy. You shouldn’t have done this…”
She lays Noura carefully back onto the mat, almost reverent, before rising and stepping toward Rainy.
Without a word, Lyra slips behind her, locking her arms around Rainy’s throat—not crushing, but steady, precise, designed to cut off air.
“What are you—?! Lyra!” Rainy thrashes, clawing, jerking against the hold.
Lyra’s grip doesn’t falter. She keeps it firm, her expression calm and unyielding. Rainy struggles and struggles, but she can’t break free. Her movements weaken, falter… until at last her body slackens, collapsing into unconsciousness.
Gramms should have stopped it.
Lyra’s eyes snap toward her, dark and burning. The old woman flinches, her lips pulling into a small, nervous smile, pretending nothing is wrong.
“You saw it, girls. Rainy, the beta revenger actually defeated an alpha…” Blue says, with aw “I don´t agree with how she barged in here but… some of her points are valid…”
“Poll time!” Honey sings into her mic, “Do you agree with the Revenger? Yes? No? Maybe? Vote, my bees! We’ll coin the votes at the end.”
Gramms speaks into her mic “I guess a break is in order…”
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Back in the locker room, Lyra enters with Noura limp in her arms.
“Fuck! She’s destroyed!” Hazel blurts at the sight.
“It’s good you didn’t come out,” Lyra mutters, laying Noura down gently. “Some rioters broke in and… well…”
Hazel gasps, panic flashing in her eyes. “Oh no… we need to get out of here!”
Lyra shakes her head firmly. “It’s taken care of. But… this counts as a loss. Which means you have to win, Hazel.”
Hazel swallows hard.
“We’ve got a few minutes to rest,” Lyra adds.
Hazel fidgets, then digs into her tote bag. “Hey, Lyra… I brought something. Some… help.”
She pulls out small injectors, enhancement shots. “One for strength, one for stamina. Maybe I could, you know… use them.”
Lyra exhales through her nose, reaching out. “Let me see those.”
She turns the vials in her hands, her eyes narrowing. “Wow. Morph C.O.’s latest.”
Hazel nods quickly.
Lyra slips them into her pocket. “I’ll hold on to them.”
“What?! No! I need those!” Hazel protests.
Lyra shakes her head. “No, you don’t.”
“Lyra, c’mon …look at Noura!” Hazel’s voice cracks.
“That was an accident,” Lyra counters, calm but firm. “And you’re not her. You train. She doesn’t. Remember?”
Hazel slumps, sighing. “I’m scared, Lyra…”
Lyra studies her quietly, then speaks with measured weight.
“You know… I wanted this to be a positive experience for you. I wanted you to win fair and square. Your aunt—she’s a bitch. You’re her heiress, and she doesn’t think you’re enough. We both know that. But if you win here, tonight, without cheating—this place, this ring—it’s yours. She could never do that. Never win here, in the lowest of the low, without tricks or power plays. You’d always have that over her.”
Hazel exhales, the weight of Lyra’s words pressing on her.
“I… is it bad that I feel like I can’t win without tricks?” she admits softly.
On Lyra’s arms, Noura stirs with a groan. “Ugh…”
“Noura!” Hazel rushes to her side.
Through ragged breaths, Noura murmurs, “Hazel… you’re better than Aira. You can win without tricks…”
Lyra leans closer, her voice gentle for once. “Noura, don’t overexert yourself.”
Hazel glances between them, uncertainty in her eyes. “Do you really think that?”
“Yes. Absolutely…” Noura wheezes, then coughs hard, blood flecking her lips.
“Hazel, hand me the shots,” Lyra orders.
Hazel fumbles three vials into her palm. Lyra selects one, steady as she drives it into Noura’s arm.
“Ahh—!” Noura gasps as the bots flood her bloodstream, stinging sharply. Her body shudders, breath coming fast, but already some color returns to her face.
“She’s right, Hazel,” Lyra says firmly. “You’re better than Aira. The world already sees it—they love you. So go out there and give it everything.”
Hazel’s voice trembles. “They love me because they think I have something to say about the poor or whatever… but I don’t! I’m… dumb…”
Noura coughs hard, then forces words out between breaths. “No, Hazel… that’s your aunt talking in your head. You’re not dumb. You’re sensitive. You’re passionate.”
Lyra leans in, steady and unyielding. “Even if you don’t have a grand opinion about the poor or politics, people already like you more than they like Aira. And you do have something to offer. Just show them who you are.”
Noura nods weakly, voice rasping but resolute. “I’m cheering for you, Hazel…”
Lyra slips an arm under Noura, lifting her gently. She carries her to the massage bed and lays her down with care, brushing hair from her damp forehead before stepping back.
“And Hazel, if you lose, I’ll be keeping Nova for another week, we made a deal. That doesn’t mean I want you to lose. I’m rooting for you too.”
Hazel nods, swallowing hard. “Thank you…”
She walks out of the locker room.
Lyra sighs.
Noura smiles at her “You’re like a mother figure to her, did you know that?”
Lyra flinches “What?! D-don't say that…”
Noura chuckles.
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Out in the arena, the lights cut to black.
“In the riiiiight corneeeeeeeerrrr!!!” the announcer’s voice booms.
The crowd erupts—cheers, screams, signs waving high above the sea of heads.
“The Light of Hope in the Darkness of the Astorè Dynasty!”
Spotlights flare, dancing across the arena.
Backstage, Hazel winces. “Oh my bot…” she mutters under her breath.
“The powerful heiress… the woman with something to say!”
Hazel exhales shakily and begins her walk down the aisle. Every step feels too slow, too heavy. She tries to keep her pace steady, hiding the tremor in her hands.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaazeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel—”
Hazel grimaces. “Oh my bot… when is she going to finish…” she whispers.
“—Astorè!!!”
The arena explodes. “Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!”
The roar rattles the floor as flowers are hurled toward the ring, signs waving so high they blot the upper tiers. The lights narrow, focusing to a sharp, blinding column around Hazel as she climbs up the steps, pushing the metal door open to step inside the ring.
Hazel looks around, reads some of the signs, sees their faces.
“Oh my bot…” she breathes in.
Ok Hazel, you got this… you trained and shit…
Gramms sighs.
Ah… it’s been a good run…
“In the left cooorneeeerrr—--!!!!”
Hazel stiffens
Who is it… who is it dammit!!!
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Author's notes:
Awawi...