Dragon vs Dragon Rider! Komodo vs Merik! (Beta vs m139)

[Salroka]

The following contest will be a single elimination event. Victory conditions are upon surrender, incapacitation, or character death.

The Combatants

Anna Jacobson, the Komodo (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=47159&p=1595889&viewfull=1#post1595889)
versus
Merik Case, the Dragon Rider (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=55007&p=2799413&viewfull=1#post2799413)



The Arena
Each combatant will begin on the top floor of a long-abandoned apartment building. They know they were brought there to fight, but were given no knowledge of their opponent. The floors and walls of the building are crumbling in places, and have outright fallen apart in a few spots. Most rooms have at least one piece of damaged and decrepit furniture in them, but there are no utilities such as power or running water. The weather is overcast with a light rain, which will quickly turn into a heavy downpour.
https://abandonedkansai.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/an-overgrown-apartment-building.jpg

[Salroka]

Siren Song of the Komodo (https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=1ZcYyxaQ9s8)
In stark contrast to the crumbling room around it, a cold metal pod sat alone in the corner. A loud metallic clanging sound shattered the otherwise peaceful sound of rainfall as the hydraulic locks opened and snapped against the outside of the pod. Anna, or Komodo as she was known in the G-Block of the Las Vegas Deadman Wonderland facility, kicked open the door and sent it slamming into the wall beside her. Dust erupted into the air as the brick and drywall were pulverized by the force of the impact, and the unmistakable sound of metal crashing against a hard surface reverberated throughout the Crestmont Apartments.

Stepping out into the fresh air for the first time in over four years, Komodo paused to take in the new sights and smells of her temporary freedom. The quiet pitter-patter of the rain on the roof above her, the smell of the dust in the air, the sight of the green grass that was visible outside of the building... it was a lot for the young woman to take in all at once. Her girlish wonder quickly changed to frustration as the anklet on her leg beeped twice. Right... she'd been brought here to fight in a special edition of the Corpse Carnival. Well, that made her next course of action clear: Seek and Destroy.

Komodo figured her opponent would adopt the same course of action, so she looked around for something she could use to cut herself and draw the blood needed to fuel her special abilities. As it were, the pod she had been held in had nice sharps corners on the locking mechanisms. After dragging both of her arms along the metal edge of the lock, Komodo's blood flowed freely out of the wounds and over her pale skin. Seconds after it began pouring out of the self-inflicted wounds, the blood began to spread over her entire body and coat her skin with a thin sheen of protection... but that was not where Komodo earned her name from.

Over her hands formed wickedly serrated claws formed from the same blood that now coated her body. They were truly intimidating by most accounts, and every bit as sharp as they looked. "If you fucknuggets are watching, I'm going to cut off this asshole's arms and then ride their fingers like a-" the sound of more crumbling behind the pod suddenly drew Komodo's attention away from her vulgar declaration. However, it was only another chunk of drywall from where the door had slammed into the wall. "Fuck. Well, better get on with looking for my new toy, then." thought the young woman as she left the room and slashed her claws against the doorway.

She went from room to room for about a minute before deciding to sit down on a half-ruined couch. Her opponent would find her eventually. In the meantime, the pitter-patter of the rain steadily grew in intensity and volume. It seemed like a thunderstorm was on its way. The last time Komodo had witnessed a thunderstorm was the week before she committed those five murders and ended up in prison. "Fuck!" she yelled as she leaned her head back and lamented her imprisonment. Then once more: "Fuck!" ... she'd likely just given her position away and was now frustrated with herself.

With that in her head, Komodo left her little relaxation spot and began running down the main hallway...

[m139]

Merik found himself in a small little room, which, at one point, might have been a closet. How he came to find himself there, he did not know. Nor did he really care to know. All he knew was that he was here, and that, while here, he was to fight.

It was almost instinctual, the feeling- the need to always be cautiously alert. The enemy, whoever he was, would likely be around. And usually, they were those slinking kind, the ones who really could not fight but yet felt a need to try to kill him. This time, however, Merik had a feeling that something would be different about this one. After all, something was already different: he was certain that never in his life had he been in a place like this before.

Cautiously, he began to push on the closet door, and the crack of light, which before had been a simple line, began to grow. And then, he was out in what must ave once been a living room.

The window panes were long gone, and a little bit of the rain was coming in through the fragments of glass that remained. There was a small puddle that had collected on the floor, and a couple of solitary leaves were stuck in it, seperated from their breathern that still floated across the bare floor.

In an almost absentminded manner, Merik began to draw some more of the water in through the window, as he concentrated instead on not making the floorboards creek and interpreting the pictures still on the wall.

Most of the frames had no glass, and whatever pictures they contained were either ripped, or damaged beyond recognition. But there was one picture still left. There were two children, smiling in the foreground. Behind them within the tree line, and probably not even supposed to be in the picture, was a woman, running. If Merik had any guess, he would say that her expression was terrified, based on the way she appeared to be fleeing. From what, though-

Well, that was a question he would have to speculate on some other time. For at that exact moment, he heard a loud yell.

"Fuck!" a woman's voice cried. and then, "Fuck!" again.

This was followed by a series of footfalls, which came up to the closed door of the apartment room he was in and then passed it. He counted to three as he approached the doorway and quietly opened it, drawing an arrow as he did so. The water cloud remained just within the doorway of the room.

And there, out in the hall, was the woman, still running away from him, covered in blood. He aimed the arrow at her, but did not fire immediately. Instead, he called out.

"Hey!" he shouted, "You need help? Or are you the one here to fight me?"

[Salroka]

The Game Begins (https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=2pZ-UpjtlXY)

Only a few seconds after she'd began running, Komodo was confronted by the person she assumed to be her opponent. Turning around to face the source of the voice which asked if she needed help, Komodo glared in a manner that could only be describes as disdainful. Not a minute into the fight and someone was already threatening to shoot her in the back? Typical man. All talk, but nothing but cowardice when push came to shove. But then the man did something silly... he ASKED if she was his opponent. That gave the murderess all the opening she needed.

Her eyes opened wider and her angry expression quickly shifted to one of false fear. "It's coming!" cried Komodo as she pointed one of her blood claws in the direction she had come from. If it worked, the distraction would only buy her a second or two... but men were always looking for some way to watch out for or protect a pretty girl, even if they only did so subconsciously. Whether or not the man turned to look at the imaginary monster, Komodo would abandon all defensive actions and charge him a second after making the declaration. If she didn't catch him off-guard with the distraction, perhaps the sheer tenacity and ferocity of her charge would give the man pause and grant her a brief advantage over him.

If it were up to her, Komodo would be all too happy to simply squat in this abandoned building and keep to herself. She was a danger to others and she knew it. Was it her choice that the people who ran the Vegas DMWL facility chose to send her there to murder someone new simply to entertain a bunch of sick-minded rich people? No. But if she didn't do it, then the anklet she wore would slowly poison her to death over the course of the next three days. And so, she would do what she could to make the spectacle as bloody and brutal as possible. First on the list? Ram the claws of her left hand into the guts of this unfortunate man. A punctured spleen and liver would not mean IMMEDIATE death, and would give those sick assholes the bloody show they so desperately sought.

"Just run away, you idiot..." thought Komodo as she closed in. "Get the fuck out of here and away from me. They can't punish you for running." These would be the last vaguely-compassionate thoughts she had for the man, as a wicked smile quickly crept onto her face. Nearly within range, Komodo spread apart the clawed fingers of her left hand in order to shred as much of her opponent's tissues as possible when she tore into his body. Gone was the California Girl who just wanted to go home. She was now fully consumed by her Komodo persona, and would not rest until she had eviscerated her opponent and made some vulgar gesture with a part of his body to shock and impress the folks she was beholden to.

These apartments, once home to many families... a place of happy memories and good times... would soon have its walls and corridors on the receiving end of the gory results of violent conflict. Blood would soon spatter the walls and floors. Cuts and tears would score the various rooms the fighters inevitably found themselves in. Just another nail in the coffin for this condemned structure. Never again would the building play host to the love and joy of those who once called it home... it was now nothing more than a battleground for murderers and mercenaries.

All the while, rain poured down harder and harder. The sound of thunder tore through the afternoon silence and shook the walls of the long-derelict Crestmont Apartments. To the casual observer, it might have seemed like nature itself was weeping for the unfortunate fate of the building... and perhaps they were correct. However, nothing could stop the conflict unfolding inside. By the end of the day, one of the two combatants would lay defeated. Would it be through surrender? Incapacitation? ... or death? Only time would tell.

[m139]

The woman turned to face him, her face definitely showing anger. But then, it switched instantly. "It's coming!" she shouted.

Merik pivoted on one foot, turning his body and weapon towards whatever might be behind him. But there was nothing but a dark empty hallway, broken here and there by rectangles of light coming in from either open doors or empty doorframes. And, from the direction he had just faced, there were fast falling footsteps coming towards him.

Merik sighed. This was definitely not the first time he fell for that trick. And it probably would not be the last. Still, at least she had had the courtesy to answer his question. Even if she had done it in a roundabout way.

Without turning around towards her, he sidestepped back into the still open apartment door he had just exited, and turned around, seeing the woman in the exact space he had been in just a moment earlier. Quickly, he slammed the door shut, and used the water he had gathered behind the door, a full three cubic feet of it, to form a makeshift doorjam. Part of the water lined up against the bottom of the frame. The other part, about two thirds of it, lined up about halfway up the door, making it a bit harder for brute force to punch through in that area.

There, that should work... for a little.

Indeed, this might have been an excellent plan, perhaps, if the door was a lot newer, or perhaps if it was not one of those cheaply flimsy doors composed of two sheets of metal with a bunch of styrofoam balls in between, or if she had been a normal human. Still, as he positioned himself a bit to the left of the door, and took out his sword, he hoped to have some advantage, but whether it would allow him an attack, or simply the opportunity to move into the hallway, he did not know.

All he knew was that those claws- he had seen those claws when she had turned the first time- were not normal. And he also knew that they would likely be quite painful when met. And although he had fought barehanded before, he had never fought claws without his dragon. Although he could hold his own decently sword to sword, or even barehanded against a pitchfork, it would be a little bit harder to get at someone who was trying to get into even closer range than a sword. And for some reason, he knew his dragon, Lapis would not be able to help him at all. He would have to fight the clawed woman.

All the same, he did feel a little bad about this particular plan of action. He had seen the woman's whole figure. She carried no weapons at all. And yet, here she was, trying to fight him, for what reason, he knew not. Yet, she was definitely his opponent: charging anyone is as good a way as any to signify your intent. Especially if you do it after a cheap trick.

Internally, he sighed and grimaced. People who liked trick seldom ever settle for surrender. If he could just smack her unconscious as she passed through the door, that would be preferable. But as to what he would be able to do, well, first she would have to get through the door.

And though the door gave Merik an advantage, as she could not see his position, it also gave the woman the same advantage, as he could not see her. All he could do was wait- and listen.

[Salroka]

Tears of a Girl, Fury of a Dragon (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a_nSoBsN2Qg)

The guy was quick... Komodo would have to give him that much. As she charged and attempted to rend the stranger asunder, he had slipped back into the room from which he came. As a result of her all-out rush, Komodo was unable to halt her momentum in time to follow her foe through the door before it was shut in her face. Giving it a hefty kick, Komodo found it was held shut somehow. The metal gave way a bit and bent under the force of her attack, but did not fly off its hinges as intended. How the hell? This place was falling apart... why was this door so sturdy? It made no sense.

Still, Komodo was as crafty as she was violent. The metal had given way slightly when she kicked it, so the door wasn't particularly durable. More likely, it was stuck somehow. She could get through that, no problem. Clasping her arms together so her wrists touched, Komodo curled her fingers outward as if the were grasping a softball-sized object in both hands. Blood oozed over her skin as she drew it away from her thin protective coating, moving to her clawed hands and enlarging the already dangerous weapons that she was so well known for. "Let's see how this fucker likes my Dragon's Breath." thought Komodo as her claws lengthened.

Dragon's Breath was certainly a powerful technique. It had won Komodo a few Corpse Carnival events in the past. However, it had also lost her one. Why? Well, the technique required a lot of blood. Rather than draw more from her veins and lose a fight due to anemia, she drew it from the thin sheen of hardened blood that covered and protected her body from harm. This left her no more durable than a normal person... but the drawback was outweighed by the power of the attack. She could also return the blood back to the defensive coating after she finished the technique, but that took a couple of seconds that an opponent could use against her.

Risky, but she HAD to take risks. In the Deadman Wonderland Facility where she normally resided, if you didn't win in the Corpse Carnival... you'd die. Well, maybe not die; but the Penalty Game was not something that anyone liked. Spin the wheel, yell stop to halt it, and remove the body part it landed on. Komodo had bought her way out of her penalty game through her winnings and... favors... for one of the Undertakers who were employed to keep inmates in check. It was not something she was proud of. In fact, the indignities the Undertaker inflicted upon her were just part of why Komodo was such a rage-fueled ball of hatred when she was in a fight.

No. She would not suffer those indignities again. She would win this fight. She'd tear this stranger a new asshole and paint the inside of her transport pod with his blood. Komodo's memories of her own sufferring flooded through her mind and caused her eyes to well up momentarily. She was just a scared girl at heart, trying to survive in the cruel world she had landed after committing a triple-double homicide. Sure, she was a criminal... but not even criminals deserved to be in the Vegas Deadman Wonderland Facility. A single tear ran down each cheek as Komodo's attack fired off.

Suddenly, the door and door frame would be punctured in approximately four dozen spots, as the claw tips and serrations were flooded with blood and expanded out from Komodo's hands. Just as quickly as the crimson spikes punctured through, they receeded and began to return blood to Komodo's defenses. But in the seconds before she was back to her usual defensive power, the cocky woman used her claws to tear a hand-sized hole from one of the higher puncture points. Time to taunt her foe, of course. "I'm going to slice your head off and use your spine as a sex toy!!" she said as she leaned in close to the larger hole in the door.

Hopefully her cocky action wouldn't bite her in the ass, but it was too late to change things now.

[m139]

Merik waited, listening, still in the same spot to the left of the door. At first there was nothing. And then...

There was a kick to the door, which, as Merik expected, did not do much but put a dent in the door. He smiled. His plan was working. Surely, now the girl would kick again, this time with extra force, and Merik would drop the water barricade, sending her flying into the room. It was a brilliant plan. And it would make the rest of this fight so much easier- knock her out, and then leave. Somewhere. And hopefully, there-

Wait. Why hadn't she kicked again yet?

Suddenly, some forty or so red tips punctured through the wall, significantly denting the door, and sending what had been there just a moment before- small shreds of metal and bits of half-decomposed styrofoam- across the room. From his position to the left of the door, Merik watched as some of those bits even flew out the broken window. What- no, how. How in the world was his opponent doing that?

Quickly, he turned his attention back to the door. The once mostly straight structure now looked as if it were covered with many anthills, complete with little holes where the red things had come through at the top. At this point, it was clear to Merik that his original plan would not work. In fact, stuck in this small room, with an opponent doing who knows what outside, he was at an apparent disadvantage.

But there was still one thing he might do, one thing he could do that might turn the tables- or, in this case, open a door- in his favor. A quick glance at this heavily damaged door showed clearly that the outer part of this door could bend. Perhaps, with a wider surface area instead of such a minute point...

The water next to the door began to pull back, and then began to rush forward, approaching a speed of a high powered water hose, gathering itself so that it formed nine blunt points, each of them with a two and a half square inch block at the end. These came at the door, three about head height, another three about chest height, and the last three, about where the knee would be. Each of these were on one of three vertical axis, the middle one being in the center and the left and right one being about four inches away in either direction.

These blocks of water hit the door just as the girl began to tear a hole in the bowing door. If all went well, the force of the water, plus the unexpected added force of the girl ripping towards her, would cause the heavily damaged door to bend outwards, or even better, fly off its hinges and into the girl, who was screaming at this moment.

What was that she was screaming right now? Oh...

He had not recognized it at first- it definitely was not the usual cry of his opponents. Still, poking whatever twenty some pronged object through the door was not a usual still his opponents had. But an opponent- an opponent angry at him simply for existing, was not something he was unused to.

Inwardly, Merik sighed. Just another insult. One to add to the many he had heard before, and, if he lived, would hear afterwards.

[Salroka]

Burn It Down, Beautiful Psycho (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sap8zy_PUPc)

Just as Komodo finished screaming her less than tasteful insult/intimidation attempt, the door she had damaged practically exploded off of its hinges and slammed full force into her. A normal person would have been knocked unconscious or have a few broken bones... and Komodo was barely more durable than an average person with her armor not fully formed. She was sent careening across the hallway and through the drywall of the apartment behind her, sending dust and tiny bits of debris everywhere. Painful, to say the least. What's worse, was that the double-impact had dislocated her left shoulder. The stranger had done it now... he'd injured the strongest fighter in the Vegas Deadman Wonderland facility.

Outside, the rain hammered the damaged room of the Crestmont Apartments. The noise inside the building was incredible. Between the rain, the thunder, and the combat; it was like a wicked symphony that encouraged the two warriors to inflict as much bodily harm as possible. One might question just how it could get more intense. Almost as if on cue, A huge crash of lightning tore into the building itself. Years of decay and neglect rendered the lightning rod too damaged to be effective, and the bolt gutted a room below the rod's mounting point. The thunder from such a nearby crack of lightning was nearly deafening, and accompanied by the telltale scent of wood and cloth burning. This fight just became far more deadly.

While unaware of the fire, Komodo was keenly aware that lightning had struck very close to her position. Mainly due to one of her eardrums bursting from the incredible noise created by the thunderclap. That was now two things working against her. Well, that is until she slammed her left side against the floor on which she lay. A sickening pop, and her shoulder was back in the socket. She was not immune to pain, however... and cried out sharply as the bone slid back into place. Throughout it all, she could not shake the intense ringing sound in her left ear. It wasn't the one with the damaged eardrum, but the noise was still loud enough to be compared to a flashbang grenade. It seemed as though fate wanted to deal her a tough hand today.

"Ok, dude. That was good. I'll give you that one. I guess I deserved that." grumbled Komodo as she lifted herself off of the dirty floor. The familiar warmth of blood all over her body gave Komodo all the information she needed: her armor was back at full strength. However, then a tiny pain on top of her head. Scratching her scalp and looking up, she noticed what had happened. Oh shit! The ceiling above her began to give way as a result of the wall she'd torn through being unable to fully support it. Drywall, stone, bits of piping and wiring... all of it fell to the floor a split second after Komodo dove to the side. For an instant, she thought to curse the dilapidated building. But then she silently walked under the gaping hole in the roof. Rain poured down on her skin for the first time in years.

Overcome with emotion, Komodo reached toward the sky and raised herself up on the tips of her toes. Unable to reach the broken ceiling above her, she then fell to her knees and let out a cry of pure anguish that would tug at the heart of even the coldest man alive. Nearly five years without natural light, without the cool kiss of summer rain, without air that wasn't recirculated and stank slightly of blood and death, and without seeing anything but the inside of the Deadman Wonderland facility... and after this was over she'd just go back to it all. the thought of going back after being outside was nearly too much to bear. Maybe if... if she killed this guy and got the investors on her side... maybe the Warden would let her go outside sometimes. Yes, that could work. Then he gets to keep his pet Komodo, and Komodo gets to go outside! That was all it took to steel her resolve and bring her back to her feet. She'd kill this stranger and earn the Warden's favor, or die trying.

Sniffling loudly, Komodo turned back toward the room that now had no door. "Time for round two, asshole. You won't keep me... from going outside any longer!" Komodo clashed her claws together and charged once more, launching herself from the hole in the wall and back toward her opponent. Some might say she was being too reckless, but at this point she'd convinced herself that she had literally nothing to lose. After all, her life belonged to the Warden now. She was his property and he was the one who lost if she died. And really, would it be so bad to die outside under a heavy rain when you hadn't even SEEN rain in so long? Komodo didn't think so.

[m139]

As hoped for, the door had burst off its hinges, carried forward by the water for the full ten feet before splashing to the floor below. At this point, Merik began to draw a new pool of water from the puddle by the window, having it creep across the floor towards him as he collected it. Externally, he was listening- that was- he was listening until the lightning struck.

His ears were ringing. Both of them. And the smell of the air was highly metallic. For an instant, Merik's thoughts went back to a memory from his childhood: one where similar stimulai had played on his senses, although the situation was much different then...

His thoughts drifted back. It was on a hillside behind the school- he and another student, one of air, were playing together, and somehow, accidentally, they had managed to have lightning strike almost before then. They had been scared then, and even more scared when one of the teacher's had told them they needed to talk, but, after time had passed, and the inital punishment had been dealt and served, it had become a source of pride. A "look what we can do" kind of thing, complete with the "aren't we amazing." sort of feel. He remembered telling all his other friends about the tale. Even some of the older students were impressed, especially when he and the girl were allowed to present it- with teacher supervision this time, of course.

For a second, it looked almost as if a smile was forming on Merik's face. His mind had taken him back to those childhood days of simplicity. Those days- before the beautiful world became as cruel as it was now, before childish jokes became practically criminal- Ah, for those days he longed, if only it was possible to go back to those days-

And, just then, from outside of the high pitched ringing, buried under this storm of these current times, Merik heard a voice crying out, with the agony of one who longs deeply for something lost completely to them. And when he heard it, Merik's own heart cried out in pain as well. He had not an open wound on his body, and yet, deep inside, there were bleeding wounds that could never heal.

Oh, for times past away, never to return!


Then, that moment, too, past. A second scream, this one filled with base words, followed. And it came, and with it the ringing of his ears, and the present environment, once again imposed themselves upon Merik.

Even with the constant cacophony in his ears, Merik was able to make out her main point. Was she blaming him for keeping her inside? He sighed. Why did they all think the weather was his fault? Granted, he had made a storm before- but this one was not of his doing.

He could not see her from his position, still to the left of the empty doorframe, and he definitely could not hear her with that ringing noise, as she began her journey to the room. But when she came in through the doorway, passing him as she rushed into the room, well, he saw her then. Quickly, he dropped control of the water he had been collecting, making the centerish area of that room, which she was running into, a giant, slippery, puddle. From behind, he shouted, hoping to be heard over both the ringing that was doubtless in her own ears and the whether outside out, "Is that all you want? A nice day? That can be arranged without death!"

And before she could respond, or try rushing at him again, he slipped through the empty door frame and into the hallway.

At random, he chose to go left. There was no time to test the smell of the air to see if he was fast walking (there was too much water here from the door explosion to run) towards the blazing room or away from it. But within a few more breaths and paces, he would know.

[Salroka]

Relentless Assault (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMkmz4YilPg)
Tearing through the open doorway like a woman possessed, Komodo caught a glance of her opponent just to the left of the metal frame as she sped past. Swiping wildly with her vicious claws, she wasn't sure if she inflicted damage or not. What she did know was that she was now skidding across the floor and her opponent was running away. What a fucking coward this guy was! If he was in her situation, that guy would have died years ago. Only the strong could survive being poisoned daily and forced to fight to secure antidotes. Only the strong could endure the torment of watching everyone die around them week after week. Only the strong could endure the Deadman Wonderland.

Still, her strength of will and her sheer ferocity did nothing to stop her from slipping on the floor and careening across the room into a kitchen counter as her foe exited the room. She'd seen which way he went, though... and she'd be hot on his heels as soon as she climbed to her feet. A splinter of wood about four inches long jutted from her back, just above her right kidney. Apparently crashing into such a disheveled structure was not the best thing that could have happened. Still, it was shallow enough to not be life-threatening. In fact, Komodo chose to leave it in as a sort of intimidation. A way to say how tough she was without speaking a single word. That said, her head was throbbing and now she had another new wound to contend with.

Her masters back at the Vegas facility would be pleased, though. Everyone loved seeing her get beat up on. She'd only ever lost the one fight, so the chance of her losing again drove the betters wild.All the better, really. If the warden was happy, he would favor Komodo and let her go outside, right? Not likely, honestly... but currently that was the farthest thought from Komodo's mind. She had lost it and was dead-set on making sure the warden was happy with her. "Please come back! I'm not done eviscerating you!" yelled the angry young woman as she rushed out of the room and down the hallway after her quarry. Her voice seemed almost sad and desperate... almost like she was genuinely pleading for her enemy to let her disembowel him.

Meanwhile, the fire was quickly spreading through the building. All the old and dry wood inside the walls was feeding the flames at an astounding rate. Where one room had been damaged seconds ago, now three rooms were playing host to the deadly blaze. Worse yet, the two combatants were headed right for it. Lightning cracked nearby once more, shattering a tree in the field outside and causing another boom of thunder. Nowhere near as severe as the prior thunderclap, but still quite intense. Similarly, the rain continued to pour down heavily. It was as if the storm was building to a crescendo along with the fight inside the Crestmont Apartments.

Komodo was the one who seemed to be taking the most damage so far. Burst eardrum, dislocated (and relocated) shoulder, and now a puncture wound to the back side of her ribcage. She was feeling the pressure, but refused to submit. After all, she had nothing to lose even if her opponent tore her apart. If she was the victor, she would live to fight again. If not, she might end up dead anyway. With that in mind, there was no reason for her to pull her punches or play it safe. This fight was for all the marbles, so to speak... and Komodo was not about to cash out so easily. And so she continued to chase her foe, keeping her eyes sharp for any more dirty or cowardly tricks.

[m139]

The worst thing about not knowing where your opponent was happened to be not knowing what your opponent would do. And although Merik had been unable to capitalize on this when the woman rushed into the room, she had managed to swipe at the still Merik.

As he ran down the hall, the effects of this swipe became felt. She had not got much of him, but with no armor, even a little could be a lot. Most of the damage was simply cosmetic- there was no doubt that his vest was ripped, and instead of neatly fitting to his body the lower left end now dangled in the wind. But that was not Merik's concern. This animal skin could be replaced by another's- his skin, on the other hand (or rather, on his chest)...

There were now three lines, each differing in length and depth, on Merik's chest. The one on top was only about an inch or two long, and the blood had barely shown itself before it dried. The bottom one, too, was barely anything more than a slightly deep paper cut, although its length was a bit longer than the first. The middle line, however, had made the deepest impression. It measured at four inches, and the top layer of skin had all been completely scraped off. A pool of blood had welled up from the deeper layers, and now it filled and strangulated in this open sore. Nothing too drastic yet, but still not at all comfortable to run with. Especially when there were already discomforts of another kind.

And of this discomforts- first, there was heat. Even now, Merik could feel it, the hot flames which sent the water scurrying away into the air. And even now, he could hear the flames- the crackling of burning wood gradually overpowered the dimming ringing in his ears. Louder, louder, it grew, reminding him of its coming destruction. Yes, there was fire- terrible fire- and the fire was close. But closer still was the smoke. The smoke- which even now was creeping down the hallway and beginning to obscure his vision. It would be too smoky to see at eye level soon- soon, but not yet.

While there was yet light enough, while yet the air was still saturated with only clear water, he ducked into an open door frame. There was not time to do much- the woman was coming up behind him- but there was just enough time to mostly avoid the large frame of a what once must have been a couch that still stood against the wall. With a stubbed toe for a casualty, Merik made his way in a not very graceful manner to the far side of the room, where there was another door attached to the wall with just a single hinge. This time, he stood in front of it, although facing towards the hallway, and placed his hand on the single hinge, muttering words as he waited for his opponent to enter.

He would not have to wait long, not for the woman, nor for his natural opponent. Even now, the smoke was beginning to obscure sight at his eye level, and its source, the fire, was not far behind.

[Salroka]

Party Crasher (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugusH4Pcxr4)

Smoke was quickly filling the halls and obscuring Komodo's vision. So much so that she was barely able to find her opponent through all of it. She had seen a somewhat obscured figure go into a room and determined that to be who she was after. Who else would be running from room to room in a burning building, right? Well, that and the blood trail led in that direction. It was tiny at first, but grew to noticeable drops on the wet floor the closer she got to him. Seems her wild swipe earlier had indeed caught him. Not very deeply, it seemed... but at least he was injured. Given that she was a bit worse for wear already, that was incredibly good news for Komodo.

Turning into the room where her opponent was, Komodo smiled wickedly. "I'mma disembowel you now, dude. No hard feelings. It's just business, you know?" Immediately after her statement, she went to charge. A bad move. Between the age of the building, the lack of maintenance, the rain, and the fire... the floor could take no more. It gave way under the strain and sent her tumbling into the apartment below where she slammed to the ground and was peppered with debris and tiny cinders. Still contained to the top floor, the fire and smoke were less of a danger on this floor... but that would not be true for long. Soon the fire would spread to the lower floors and there would be no escaping it.

That was the least of Komodo's worries, though. She was barely conscious after the jarring impact, and unsure of if her foe had also fallen or if he was still above. Either way kind of put her at a disadvantage, though. He'd had time to see the collapse start and thus ready himself for a fall. So if he was on the same floor, he could likely get his bearings more quickly and attack or flee once more. If he hadn't fallen, he could take a free shot on her before the fire fully engulfed the room he was in and he had to JUMP down. Neither made her very happy, and neither left her with much choice as to her next action. Drawing blood away from her claws, she reinforced the thin sheen of barely-visible blood that coated her body. This gave her defense at the expense of her killing power. However, much like when she drew it AWAY from her armor, she could not move the blood back immediately. This left her unable to do anything more than punch or kick normally for a brief period.

All in all, it was not the best time for Komodo. Injured. Deaf in one ear. Covered in dirt and debris. Open to attack. Pissed off. She was on the losing side, it seemed. Another loud crack of thunder seemed to mock her. At least it sounded like thunder to her damaged ears. It was actually a beam crashing out of the ceiling in the room above. Just like the floor she had fallen through, the fire and storm were too much for the roof to bear. It had given way in much the same fashion, opening a hole in the roof that was a few meters across. This ALSO allowed the heavy rain to flood in, temporarily quenching the fire and soaking the two combatants in cold rainwater.

It was a much needed turn of events, really. No one would be happy if the victor was a fiery inferno, after all. ESPECIALLY the wealthy investors who were making bets on the fight.

[m139]

There was no real sight, not here in this room, not here where Merik stood. Smoke had crept down the hallway and through the cracks and crevasses from the adjoining room. It gathered at the ceiling, then, finding the ceiling too crowded for its tastes, had gradually began to hang lower, then lower still, and the once slightly polluted air became a grey mass of opaque construction.

Still, there was movement within it, as the smoke collided with itself, carrying from one end of the room to the other a singular voice,

"I'mma disembowel you now, dude. No hard feelings. It's just business, you know?"

This, in turn was followed by another sound- a roar- actually- that came neither from that opponent across the room, nor from the fire a few doors down. Instead, it came from below, and the floor, its mouth, was opened wide. In fell the source of the voice. In fell the couch frame and kitchen counter. In fell various debris.

Those things that remained above were those that found themselves on protruding teeth. Here a couple of leaves teetered on a pointed edge. Here an ancient twig waited for its turn to be ignited. And here stood Merik, once more whispering to the door behind him, which, in turn, promptly vanished replaced by a small pool of water that made its way through the teeth and into the room below.

If there had been any sunlight, perhaps it would have flooded into the room, dispelled the smoke, and somehow brought the shaded building a memory of its faded glory. But as it was, what little light had managed to creep through the clouds only barely made it past the door. Still, there was enough light that one could just make out the slightly darker silhouette of Merik step out into the "light".

He was now on what once had been a beautiful balcony. Once, a resident had filled this concrete slab with many flowerpots, and colors had twisted around the rails and fallen over the edge. Now, however, all that was gone. Only a few scattered skeletons of pots remained. In the light, perhaps, one might have seen the green of the vines that crept all around this place, but, if one did, the observer was more likely to describe the color using adjectives such as "sickly ", or "troubled" rather than "lively" or "life-filled".

Nevertheless, it was here, on this little balcony, that Merik stood. What had become of his opponent, he did not know. All he knew was that he had no intentions of letting her disembowel him, yet he had no intentions of letting the fire kill her, if he could prevent it. If she was dead already, so be it. She had already destroyed herself so much, she may very well have now done it to the extreme. On the other hand, she had not really hurt him at all. True, she attempted, rushing headlong into this or that, but besides the three little lines on him, the rest had been done to herself. He would kill her though, if absolutely necessary for his own preservation. The ideal, however, fell in the middle. Merik would leave, the girl would leave, and she could do whatever she did while he could live the rest of his life in solitary peace. Or try to. As if Merik would ever get that peace in this life- only in death to people get left alone.

Still, the question remained, how alone was he now? He squatted to move his line of sight below the slowly thinning out smoke line, but he really did not have to, for at that moment, it all flooded out into the high heavens as a supporting beam crashed down to some unseen floor nearby, and the roof followed, opening up like a floodgate and letting the waters rush inside.

As Merik stood in the doorway on the balcony, covered by the separate slab of concrete, the wind stormed down through the hole and turned to bashing him in the face. Yet it did not move anything but his hair: he stayed in his position, watching as this stream, illuminated softly by the struggling sunlight, and then violently revealed from time to time by the flashing lightning, fell and splattered on the ground below. Internally, he felt the water move as well. He knew where the drops of rain rested on the roof. He knew them as they fell through the hole, and down two stories, where they landed on the floor, or on this surface or that, or on the form of- the girl.

He could not distinguish her now. But she must be somewhere below. She was not by the opposite wall, so she must either be against this one, or somewhere in the debris. There- was that her hand? He could not tell exactly. And since he could not tell even if it was a part of her, he could not judge whether it was moving or not.

He pondered. Was it her? Was she alive? Did she need help? For a moment, he thought of jumping down and helping. The next moment, he thought of how she had tricked him in the beginning, and thought of jumping away and running again. Then, a third thought occurred to him: he could just do nothing. After all, the fire had been pushed back- he could stay here a bit longer.

And so he stayed crouched, the cautious side of him slowly bringing his bow to the front, waiting, and the idealist in him hoping he would not have to fire.

[Salroka]

We All Fall Down (https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=W_Ae_TcZSUo)

A minute or so had passed with neither side making any moves. The strange man on the floor above Komodo seemed content to wait out the blaze now that nature was dousing it for him, and Komodo could do little while he remained on the floor above. No point in stalling any longer, it seemed. She had a plan to minimize the risk to herself, but it was far from perfect. Honestly, it was outright childish in its simplicity. Still, it was better than rushing out like a drunken berserker.

Clenching a piece of debris in one hand, she pushed upward with all her might and burst forth from the rubble. "You think this is funny?!" she said as the crocodile tears welled up in her eyes. With her free hand, she grabbed the wooden spike that was embedded in her side and quickly yanked it loose. A sharp cry of pain accompanied this, followed by more tears and yelling. "You don't know what it's like, you smug prick! Fighting for your life every day, watching your friends have their bodies mutilated for the sick pleasure of some rich cocksucker, being told if you don't hurt or kill people that you'll be killed and replaced with someone who WILL... you don't know, ok?!"

Komodo dropped to her knees and punched the floor as hard as she could, screaming loudly as she did so. This was not to vent frustration, however... it was to grab up a fistful of the dust that the shattered tiles were reduced to. Now everything was in place. Time to act. "I don't have any god damn choice but to fight you. If I don't, then I'm fucking dead, you see? I can't do anything else!" With that statement, she jumped into the air toward Merik and hurled the larger chunk of debris in her left hand. She was confident in her armor's ability to defend her from any retaliation, despite being annoyed at her reduced offensive capability. That aside, this was the hand fate had dealt her. She'll was going to win even if it killed her in the process.

Her head was pounding, her blood flowed freely from the wound at her side, she couldn't hear out of one ear, her body was bruised and battered from being tossed around, and many of the investors had begun to write her off... but Komodo's will refused to falter. This man was in her way, and likewise refused to give in. As a result, she was being forced to kill him. It wasn't HER fault. It was HIS fault. At least that was how she rationalized it at this point. Sure, she'd probably still try to kill him even if he surrendered... but she would be stopped like always. A large dose of sedatives injected from her prison anklet would see to that.

However, none of that mattered right now. As both Komodo AND the chunk of concrete she threw hurtled toward Merik, Komodo began to return blood back to her claws and drew back her right hand as if to punch her foe when he dodged the large stone. What would come next would likely decide the fate of this fight, and all of the investors watched on in anticipation of the potentially brutal climax.

[m139]

As she began to speak, Merik began to understand. So this was why she fought. This is why she felt that she needed to kill him. This was why she was so reckless. She fought for much the same reason he did: simply to stay alive. But was what she was doing living? He knew his choice was live or die. But hers... Could one be said to live if all one did was act against their own free will? Then again, what other option did she have?

She had the same option as he did: to not fight. True, she might very well die, but if she did fight, was she not already dead already? Here in front of him was one trapped in a similar circumstance as his own: the world was against her, her friends kept on being killed, and it seemed that if she wanted to live, she would have to do what she wished not to. Her choice seemed to be die or die.

But there was another choice. There was always another choice.

"Child," he began, as the girl below bent over to pick up a piece of stone.

"You can't win this game unless you don't play!"

His words clashed with hers, and as she began to rise, he rose too, at least for a brief moment of time as he leapt up from the balcony slab, using his hands to propel him over the balcony railing. Then, his upward ascent stopped, and it reversed directions. He began to fall. There were four stories on this old building, and. like the rain which slid off of the roof above, he began to plummet to the hardened ground below. But unlike the rain, which had no human attributes, this man had a mouth: a mouth that was moving, forming words, and whispering in protest to the clashing wind.

And as his mouth moved, some of the rain began to collect under him, forming a thin sheet that was at the same time prodding him and supporting his falling form. He was beginning to maneuver himself into a prone position, arms outstretched, back facing down, and body parallel to the ground. Supported by the buoyant force this sheet was providing, the speed of his fall gradually began to lessen.

By this time, he had about one story left to fall. Above him, if he had opened his eyes to see it, a piece of concrete was flying overhead, a piece of concrete which would have hit him had he not jumped off the balcony. But he did not see it: as it were, his eyes were shut tight, avoiding the rain that was pelting all over his unconcealed face. Below him, he knew, was the ground. It was still coming at him, and when he landed, it doubtless would cause some impact. Still, if he could straighten up in time- it might be less than what it would have been had he let himself just fall, or if he had just let her kill him.

But there was another pain, another pain that would be there no matter what had happened. There was a pain for her, the girl. She was so lost, trapped within the cycle of kill, kill, kill. Unable to live. And to break free of it- to live- would be her death.

[Salroka]

The Crescendo at Crestmont (https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=JL6nthdt53s)

This son of a bitch was just asking to die now. Calling her a child? Acting like he was so much better than her? What a pompous piece of shit. But then he did something that only someone completely off their rocker would do... the bastard jumped out of a fourth-story window. Ok... THAT, Komodo couldn't help but respect. That said, she had little choice but to follow suit. This would be it. This was the finale. Either she'd kill this guy or she would die trying. Without breaking stride, she burst forth out of the window in pursuit of her quarry. Oddly enough, the guy was still in the air. How? Fucked if she knew. But that made targeting him all the easier. ESPECIALLY since the guy was floating there completely wide-open. The slightest smirk began to creep its way onto Komodo's face as she convinced herself of her victory.

Forcing every drop of blood from her body armor back into her claws, she smiled wickedly as she plummeted toward her target. "Nowhere to run, dickhead!" mused Komodo as she fell toward her foe. The claws on her hands extended rapidly as she fell toward the stranger, adding their speed to the speed of her fall and further reducing the man's chances for survival. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Komodo as she closed in for the kill. It was always like this when she took a life... every detail flooded her senses simultaneously. The smell of the rain, the feeling of the water on her skin, the searing pain that wracked her body, the surprised gaze of her foe... it was exquisite.

How many times had she felt this before? She'd stopped counting after about twenty, but it had to be at least three or four dozen by this point. From the time she killed her mother and those police officers to the many times in the Deadman Wonderland facility... she reveled in it. Despite what she might claim, there was a part of her that was addicted to that rush of adrenaline that occurred right before a kill. God, it was better than sex! All the power that came from snuffing out someone's life... knowing she controled their fate at the end... there was no way to describe it aside from sublime. Even now, her pupils dialated and her loins grew hot as the instant where her foe expired rapidly approached. Truly, she BELONGED in a place like Deadman Wonderland.

In the moment of time just before the two fighters clashed for the final time, there was but one thought in Komodo's head... "Checkmate."

And checkmate it was. Either she would skewer the man repeatedly with her wicked claws, rupturing organs and piercing arteries... or she would fall four stories to her death. Either way, she would consider it a win. If he died or was incapacitated, she would go home to the Vegas Deadman Wonderland facility and all that was familiar there. If SHE died, she would perish under an open sky and free of the confines of her cell. It all came down to this one... final... moment...

[m139]

The concreted sailed away into the distance. Still, it was not even out of sight when a new shadow replaced it. And this shadow... it was different. It was bigger and falling directly towards him.

Before Merik's conscious mind had even made up what exactly the source of the shadow was, his subconscious had identified it as a threat. The waters, which before had been pushing him in a slightly upward direction so as to slow his downward speed for the last couple of meters, suddenly shot out from under him, coming back around to push him to the right. Had Merik, in those somethings of a moment had to time to think, he would have thanked Professor Ortiz, one of his former teachers, who had made him practice falling drills again.. and again... and again.

But enough. In this time, now, there is no repetition, and barely time enough to react. For, even as the waters rushed to save him from the falling threat from above, they were already too late. Down, down, faster than the rain, faster than the concrete, fast then Merik, came the ten prickpoints. And, although some of them, given their spread, missed, some did hit their mark. Not only that, but, because of Merik's own added movement, they did more than just pierce...

The action was within a second. Swiftly, little needles of blood poked through cloth, and through the skin below. And not quite as swiftly was Merik pushed by his own powers to his left. And even as he moved left and downward, the needles moved down and seemed, in reference to him, to move rightward, causing large gashes to appear.

But there was no time for Merik to recognize this damage. Indeed, the sting had just now become felt, when a new pain began rising.

Thump, thump, thump. Merik's body hit the ground, and began to roll a few times before stopping. When he finally did, though, he found himself on his stomach. And, finally with time to think instead of just react, those last few moments he lived replayed themselves. His fall. The other jumper. Her claws coming out and- her claws?!? Her?

Had she?

He turned on his side to see if she was still alive. His left arm reached for his bow, only to discover that it must have become detached during that terrible tumble that left him in this spot almost twenty feet away from where he had been headed for only a moment before. And while he looked, the pain rose in his bones- or rather, it seeped out from his wounds- in addition to the couple of claw marks from earlier, there were now three others- one ran from just below his left eye to the side- this one probably my position of her hands, was not quite as deep as the others. One marked his left thigh, and, although it would not kill him while he lay, running would be pretty painful, if not deadly. The third joined the clawmarks- it was deeper than those there, but, luckily, had still missed any vital organs.

Still, it was only by sheer willpower that he managed to put these pains, along with the general pain of having been thrown sideways onto the ground, that he managed to grab one of his remaining weapons- his hunting knife- and prepare himself in case there was to be another movement in the rain.

[Salroka]

I... Failed You? (https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=THHW46G3igk)

She'd done it! She'd skewered that rat bastard! And what's better than that? He'd attempted to dodge far too late, ripping what claws had punctured his flesh out... sideways! This had to be the best day that Komodo'd had in years. For a split second, she was on top of the world. She'd killed her target, the first non-Deadman she had been pitted against, and done the warden proud. He would definitely reward her for doing so well and making him so much money from the wagers that had no doubt been placed. He wouldn't hit her this time or threaten to take her body parts. No, no, no. She had been a good girl this time. Surely there would only be good things waiting for Komodo once she got home. Maybe even more time outside!

Suddenly, Komodo's daydream was shattered to pieces as her body slammed into the ground from her four-story freefall. Time once again seemed to slow down. First thing to hit was her outstretched arm. The wrist was instantly broken, along with her radius and ulna. She opened her mouth to scream, but her chin was the next thing to hit. While her arm had slowed the fall significantly, her teeth smashed together upon impact... three of the pearly whites were instantly broken, and one more seemed to reject the whole thing and fly out of her jaw as if it were launched by a spring. Next up was the torso. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Collarbone in two places, plus two ribs. Neither pierced her lungs, but breathing would still be a chore. Lastly, hip and legs. Already slowed drastically, the only injury Komodo ssustained here was a bruised hip and sprained ankle. All in all, she was a complete mess.

"I... got the... bastard..." thought Komodo as she struggled in vain to move either arm. A dislocated shoulder in one and a shattered forearm for the other meant the nerves were pretty well overloaded with pain and unable to properly signal the muscles to move. Combine that with her rapidly declining levels of adrenaline, and the relentless fighter was suddenly as weak as a malnourished child. She groaned in discomfort as she inhaled, then coughed as some of the blood in her mouth rushed into her lungs. That should prove to Mast-" No. NO! The fucking asshole wasn't just alive, but brandishing a knife?! What the fuck did she have to do to kill this son of a bitch?

Flashing before her eyes like the lightning in the distance, was the face of her beloved Warden. With her target still alive, she knew she had not pleased him. He loved it when she would eviscerate and decapitate. He loved it when she would lick her fingers clean after disemboweling her targets. He loved HER. But he would not let something like this slide, either. He was nice, but only if you were strong! Komodo hadn't proved she was strong. In fact, she'd shown her weakness. Her last attack should have ended the stranger's life, but instead she had failed.

She... had failed.

Even with her body wracked by pain, she had not shed a tear. In fact, she had started screaming angrily upon realizing her opponent was alive. But when the realization of her failure hit Komodo, she paused that spine-tingling yell. A few seconds later, she started to go back and forth between heart-wrenching tears and momentary fits of laughter. "JUST DIE ALREADY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" she cried out through her tears. "Warden has to punish Komodo if she fails! He loves her, but he will because he HAS to!" then came the laughter. "But maybe... maybe he'll take her heart as punishment. Then Komodo can live with him forever in death." ... and back to tears.

She'd managed to get her uninjured leg in position to get to her feet, and stood slowly. It became all too clear that she was no longer able to fight. Wheezing heavily from the pain of her broken ribs, she continued to cry and laugh. She even tried to form her bloody claws once more. They were there, but shadows of what they had been at the start of the conflict. Her injuries were just too severe, and her body could not spare much blood to form them. Why? Blood had been slowly oozing from the wound on her side, from several small lacerations caused by the debris she'd had fall on her, and now from both her mouth AND the compound fracture of her ulna. Even an untrained eye could see she was no longer in any shape to fight. ... even Komodo herself knew it.

"God dammit! I can't fail h-" she shrieked, cut off by a large dose of sedatives administered by her prison ankle bracelet.

The world swam around her now. She felt... comfort. Was the warden here for her? Had she actually done a good job? She must have. She wouldn't feel so warm and comfortable if she had displeased him No, no, no. If he was mad at her, she would feel only pain. This was different... soothing... calm. No more pain. Only dreams. And when she woke up, she would be in a warm place with the warden. Well... at least that was what Komodo thought as she quickly fell unconscious from the sedative.

With Komodo taken out of the fight, two men emerged from each side of the building and rushed to the injured woman's side. Three of them pointed assault rifles at the similarly-injured Merik, but did not fire. The fourth seemed to be examining Komodo. A few seconds later, that was confirmed when the man sad "She's pretty banged up, but stable. She'll make it for the time being. Get her into containment and back to the facility." Two of the armed men began to help the one who had examined the injured woman, and started to carry her back behind the Crestmont Apartments. The fourth soldier followed them, keeping his weapon trained on the stranger for a few tentative steps.

The doctor remained, apparently calm despite the injured man before him still possessing a large knife. Either he could handle himself, or he figured the man too injured to pose much of a threat. "You had best do what you can to patch yourself up. You will bleed out soon otherwise. Komodo is good at making that happen, after all. Neither of you are in any shape to continue, so there was no point in letting Komodo succumb to her wounds. Surely you understand, yes?" Well, that made it clear which of the two things that the doctor thought. It wasn't that he was entirely incorrect, but how was he to know this guy didn't have some trick up his sleeve?

"The Vegas DMWL Facility thanks you for your participation, sir." said the doctor as he reached into his coat. "Here is half of the standard monetary equivalent of the prize intended for Komodo had she beaten you. It was a draw, so the prize is split. Again, I am sure you understand." the man tossed a small attaché case in Merik's direction. "Perhaps it will be enough to pay a surgeon to properly treat those wounds once you get to town. About three and a half miles south of here, by the way." said the doctor before turning to follow the three other men. He did not even seem concerned about potential retaliation. Confidence bordering on stupidity, some might say.

Watching from his office thanks to one of the dozens of cameras that had been placed in and around the Crestmont Apartments, the warden sported a devilish smirk.

"Oh well... at least it will be a fun penalty game."

[m139]

The rain was still pouring, but even through the translucent sheet Merik could see her, hear her.

He saw her stand, somehow, even though her pain must have been enormous. He heard her laugh, cry, even in the face of the fate that was hers. And then...

He saw her fall again.

The knife was still in Merik's hand as the men came out and pointed their weapons at him. He did not move- for really, how could he?- when they surrounded the girl. He did not move when that person came and dropped the case that held the money. Nor did he move when they carried the girl away.

For a while, his eyes rested on the spot where she had fallen. Komodo- that is what they had called her. His mind dwelt on this for a while. A strange name for a girl. He wondered if it was really hers, or if it was simply one they had given her when they chose for her that life she found herself living.

Merik's adrenaline level was dropping. His grip on the knife, which he still held upright, was gradually loosening. But his attention was no longer on it, and as it fell to a somewhat sideways position, his eyes, weary as well, shifted to the small attaché case.

The man, whoever he was, had said there was money inside. "Go fix yourself at the hospital" he had said. As if. Merik thought to himself. Even if the hospital would accept the money, the likelihood of them accepting his kind was rather slim. He was almost certain they would let a dragonrider die. Maybe they would not have some years ago but now...

Now, the world had changed. Situations had changed. What once had been a life of spring days changed to one of darkening skies.

And slowly, slowly, the horizon of Merik's own life began to darken. Slowly, slowly, the world around him began to fade, and the knife fell out of his grip onto the soggy ground.

Then, he heard a voice.

"Merik"

The voice was small at first, but then, it repeated itself, a little bit louder,

"Merik"

And then again,

"Merik."

This time, there was a response.

Lapis? Merik's mind asked questioningly.

In his mind, the image of a long, snake-like dragon began to form. "I've come to take you home." Lapis said.

Merik mentally whispered back, "To the academy?"

"They can help you recover."

"To do what, fight again?"

"To live another day."

"Hardly seems like a home, if the goal is simply to merely to stay alive."

"You know that is not what live means."

Merik was silent. He knew that this definition of living was not true, although sometimes that was the way life made it seem to be. He knew that to live- to truly live, to be- required a whole lot more. It required a will, and an ability to be oneself despite the environment- an ability to be intrinsically free- even if bound to a harsh, cruel reality.

But this, this was hard. And at times like this, when he could easily let reality and all its pains slip away...

"Merik?" Lapis had called again, questioningly. The light blue form swirled in the blackness, his metalic scales reflecting light from an unseen force.

Merik spoke, "All right. Take me...home."

The last word broke out through his mind, and into that world that contained Crestmont Apartments. Where Merik's body lay in the rain, still with some warmth despite the cold of the rain, there was a swirl of blue. Around and around it went, obscuring the broken form of Merik beneath. And then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

There remained in the crushed grass only a small pool of blood, a hunting knife, and an unopened attaché case. Within minutes, though, the blood had disappeared into the ground. And as the days passed, and then the months, and the years, the knife and case, too, became buried under layers of dirt, lost to time.

No one would remember them. Just as no one remembered the lives, hopes, and dreams of those people who once lived in that place known as Crestmont Apartments.


End.