Three's a Pair

by Fro Ninja

Young orphan Huey Jones has lived a life of servitude for as long as he can remember, often feeling cursed by his powers. But when he is freed, he is finds himself at the center of a supernatural war that has been ongoing for more than thousands of years. Joined by two unlikely allies with similar gifts,he vows to protect the world from this ancient threat, and most of all, end it.

27. Chapter 24-The Longest Night:Part 2

Fro Ninja; Hey guys! Guess who's back for good eh? At least until my time is up.

Jester; Damn Fro! (walks out of kitchen in rich embroidered bathrobe eating a tub of gummi bears) When the hell did you get back?!

Fro Ninja; Just now? Why?

Jester; You can't use the door?!

Fro Ninja; Seriously? What's in my name if you haven't been paying attention? Anyway, I can't even lie guys, I have been gone for a long while. A lot of personal stuff has been happening, and that's honestly left me in a state where I just haven't had the stomach for writing during those times. I can't say with certainty that it will still be like this, but I will attempt to make these breaks shorter so that I can keep making these stories, not just for you guys, but for me as well!

Jester; Well that's sweet on you Fro. Looks like you finally matured in the time you've been gone.

Fro Ninja; That remains to be seen my friend. Let's get into the comments real quick before we get into things.

The Book;Thank you for your feedback, and I hope you're still reading up to this point! Nicosia talking to Huey was not only to build upon his interest in Kote, but to establish his connection to Huey as well, since his presence will be something that appears as curious to him given his impression of him thus far, and his relationship with Kote. I'm attempting to build Huey as something of an emotional center in series, and that requires most of the characters to take notice of him and his presence. And Karina's transformation will definitely be shown in this chapter,its benefits and side effects included,as well as some insight to her origin. But the rest, I'm more than positive you'll figure out!

NeonPartyDude;Hey man. I'm so glad you commented, and I hope you will keep checking this series out. Yes, the fight between Huey and Nicosia was definitely excited, but the night is still young as I'm sure you've noticed last chapter and with this latest one. As for Karina's transformation, some details will be dropped about it as you will see it in action. Hope you keep up with us!

"C'mon! Turn it up you two! I know you can drive better than what you're showing me right now!" Anthony shouted over the long distance, his voice echoing throughout the acoustics of the cavern. The rushing sounds of the waterfall behind him complemented the reverberation. Along with the constant clashing of the metal blades that met with blinding speed. The two sisters that were doing battle with each other, trading blow for blow and sweating each others own effort. But both of their movements were different to a fault. Karina moved with the intensity agile and grace, yet Tessera moved with the stylings of a tiger that tried matched the movements of its prey, and performed its outlet with more ferocity and more impact than its original owner. The syncing of their attacks almost seemed like absolute mirrors of each other, and despite only being training blades, the slightest nudge in the trajectory of their hits could mean slight to somewhat great pain either of them.

Karina attempted to get past her sisters guard several times, often attackting from her right flank with quick slashes in an midward to upward direction, but Tessera foresaw all of the strikes, riposting with ever failed move. Seeing that how that didn't, she then went for rapid staps faster than the eye could see, yet all of them were blocked, but then went for a feint on the twelth or thirteenth stike that she gave out to engage in a backstrike. She saw through that as well, turning quickly and hard on her heel to counter over on Karina's head. Thankfully for her, she was able to dodge by her hairs, with several pieces of it falling on the cool rocks.

Being the height she was definitely had its advantages for her it seems, although standing at 4'11 at eight was quite unusual for most children, at least when compared to her sister standing about 5'9 for her twenty.

Even though she missed, Tessera still fell through with a continous attack that went from a low sweep , to a vaulting vertical slash, which Karina was only able to block the first instance of but came short to the second, where it came to hit her upon the base part of her skull, giving off a loud and cracking sound upon impact. She grunted in slight pain, but continued with her process by trying to find another open spot.

"Nice shot Tess! That's the way you do it!" Anthony shouted out. Karina went for the offensive by lashing out a flurry of slashes coming in from left and right, all of them ended up hitting air. She then tried altering angle around each slash. With every turn that was dodged by her sister, she started to grow more frustrated in her swings, judging by the increased speeds they were coming in at. "Karrie! If you just swing aimlessly without a clear thought in mind, you're not gonna be able to hit anything that way!Focus on your opponents movements like I told you! Find the blind spot, and then execute the strike!" Even though she heard the words, she clearly wasn't listening however.

Karina went for a forward stab, which Tessera parried slightly to her left, and opened back with a five quick strikes. Two hit her ribs to hasten her fatigue, two for her legs to alter her footwork, and one to her face, blowing her back in her steps several feet until her body crashed against the formation of rocks, shaking the whole foundation around her. Collapsing from the strength of the hit, the after effects of the blows came through, as she slowly began to cough up blood, and the bruises she suffered became more apparent.

Anthony shook his head in disappointment as the young bunny struggled to get up.

"Karina! We've been out for nearly six hours, and you're still nowhere near close to the level I want you to get at! What's the point of all of those books on combat that you read, and those nights of hitting the woodpost by yourself, if you can even handle one sparring session?" Anthony said, as if he was lecturing her.

"I-I'm trying..." Karina muttered weakly.

" 'Trying' isn't going to help you in the real world kid. If you 'try' against a person try to kill you in the field, you can count your prayers then."

" Are you saying, I'll die?"

" At the rate you're going. You're answering your own question." Tessera placed her training blade over her shouler, watching the whole scene unfold between the two."Just look at your sister. She hasn't even broken a sweat yet." She picked up her to observe her sister, who had barely taken time to catch her breath, even with the duration they have been sparring. Outclassed, would be an understatement in her mind. That's the way real people fight out there Karrie. More effort means less time to end up at a conclusion during the fight. It will help you during practice yes, because you have time. Time to see what you need to improve on, but to put it short, when it comes to the real thing, you gotta bring it Karrie."

"Bring it?"

"During a fight. The only thing that should be on your mind is this. It will either be them, or you who's gonna make it home alive. That single thought will push you. Drive you to unleash everything that you have. Survive at any means neccessary, even if it means you're on your last breath." After hearing those words, the struggling Karina stood right back on her feet using the blade as a balance, and stood back in her fighting stance."Tess. Don't let up on her. She needs to be ready for a real fight, not a practice bout. You get me?" Tessera nodded and proceeded back into her stance as well.

Without needing to say any words, both sisters sprang into action once more after a few seconds of staring each other down, repeatedly exchanging clashes with each other at great speeds. They both continously sprang and vaulted off the formation of the rocks around the waterfall to gain speed and power in their strikes. The speed of their movements almost looked like blurs contantly clashing against one another.

At the fifteenth clash, they came into a deadlock, holding each others sword against one another in midair. For a short while they broke apart from the struggle, Tessera carted around on her axis, giving a spinning kick to Karina previously afflicted ribs. She blocked the attack by the leg of the kick, pitting herself against it.

Tessera then switched the grip of her blade from a forward grip to a reverse grip to give a reverse slash aiming for her sisters head. She quickly dodged it, holding her breath in order lean backwards, seeing the blade float above her, and then began to prepare for her next strike, thinking that the strike is going to come full cirlce. In an instant, the blade stopped moving, and quickly aimed downward to strike at her face. Karina's eyes widely shot open as the blade drew near to her face, practically almost touching her very skin as she quickly sidestepped and attempted to open up with a counter. It was quickly denied with quick elbow jab to her face, causing injury to her nose, and then followed through with a throw ranging from her arm that flew her over Tessera's shoulder into a nearby rock formation, creating a vibrating sensation that sent shockwaves thoughout her whole body upon making contact with the stone.

Karina dug herself out of the sixth or seventh hole that she found herself in on all of the formations surrounding the training field. Anthony sighed in frustration once again.

"Karina! How are you supposed to fight a proper fight if you can't even see a basic feint such as that? You were wide open for that elbow! The face is supposed to be one of the most tightly guarded spots of the body in combat!"

Karina stood back up and shook her head as blood began to leak from her bruised nose.

"T-this would be a lot easier...if you let me...use my powers!" She yelled in a hoarse and exhausted fashion.

"This training is supposed to help accumulate your skills in combat so you won't have to use your powers." Anthony then grabbed a handful of leaves from a nearby tree branch and threw them all in the air, swinging at all of them with one hand with one focused strike at a great speed. The force alone caused them all to scatter a great distance from his position."Everything that is done during combat leaves behinds a certain residue of force, or rather to be more precise, a momentum that can be easily traced by the most seasoned fighter, it's just like those leaves."

"When you punched those leaves, the force behind your punch created a special flow of momentum that the leaves were able to ride in order to escape your range." Tessera spoke out.

"Exactly. Nice answer Tess." He said giving a thumbs up at his daughter. "Your powers are no different. As you disappear, you leave behind a presence that any focused combatant can track down at the seems, even being able to tell where you vanished, to where you'll be going." Anthony then walked over to the labored Karina and then gave a quick palm strike to her chest which he pulled back at the last minute as she tried to defend herself by throwing her hands in front of her as if she were trying to swat a fly. Her sister started to snicker in the background, which Anthony caught whiff of. She quickly quieted her laughing as soon as the piercing gaze met hers." Now then, I'm sure you noticed it, but every attack that Tessera executes, and that you dodge, there is a tiny stream of momentum that you can build upon in order to launch a counter attack, however, it's only open for a brief moment, and only for a brief moment. In order to capture that opportunity, you must improve your reaction time and have it down to a T. Find the flow, and execute, until the last dying breath. Remember those words." Giving his advice, he then walked over back to his spot as he watched the two resume their sparring. Karina stood, possibly ingesting the words so that she would know well and good to act upon them when the time came around.

Two minutes in, it looked like a repeat of the situation not that long ago, with Karina's movements falling severely behind that of her sisters'.The exchanges between the two started to become secure, but it was still apparent who was dominating who. Attempting to take her offside, Karina struck from her sisters flank, only to find a strong guard that prevented her from advancing. She was punished a strict three hit combo that struck vital points on her body, ribs, sternum, and limbs included.

She felt the pain numbed as her sword hand tried to to open up another opportunity from wherver she seemed a flank was open, but failed each time, with every counter giving more severe and painful strikes to the structure of her body. Karina gritted her teeth as she jumped up a few feet in the air for a surprise strike originating from over her head, summoning all the power she needed for it. Tessera put her guard up, only to realize it was a feint from one side of her attack, and instead went for a side strike coming from a vertical slice, making a huge impact judging from the sound. Her face formed a brief smile before it transformed into one of shock when her eyes locked on the sight of her blade being held in the hand of her sister, as it barely touched her the halt, the force alone still caused some damage, with blood dragging down from her neck.

"YOU LITTLE!" Tessera burst out in frustration, not from her little sister scoring just one hit, but it was just that. Her scoring a SINGLE hit, a feat thought to be unattainable until now. Her grip tightened on Karina's sword, so much so that she couldn't even pull it away from her hands. She let loose with a strong and blinding swipe of her sword that scored across the cheek of Karina's face, crashing so far that it shifted the very bone, launching her away once more, this time several feet up in the air.

She chased after her by kicking off from the ground with great force, singling into an air rave that circled around Karina, striking her from several more spots on her body, including her more vital limbs such as arms, legs, and even head with swift strikes from the sharpest part of her edge. Reaching the end of her combo, her hands covered the entirety of Karina's face grabbing it with a fierce grip, swinging her around in a circular motion until she brought her down onto the solid ground in a heavy grandslam fashion, causing a pretty considerable rupture within the earth that spread around for several miles.

As the smoke cleared from the newly formed pit, Tessera quickly took her hand off of Karina and scuttled away, realizing what she had done. Her sister laid there motionless.

"Karrie! Damn! Sorry, didn't mean to go that hard on ya little sister! Guess I don't know my own strength!" She playfully chuckled. She looked over at Anthony, meeting her gaze with a disappointed face.

"Haven't I taught you, a true warrior doesn't find strength in how much power they exert, but how much of it they can control?"

"You...might have mentioned it yeah."

"What about any of that just now displays your prowess as a warrior exactly?" Anthony said pointing at her sister.

"My bad alright! I'm still learing okay? Cut a girl some slack...I bruise easily...gotta keep my skin flawless somehow..." She said giving a big smile.

"*sigh* I can only pray that Karina grows up to at least something of what you are..."

"Well, I don't mean to toot my horn, but I am pretty damn impres...Hang on, why do I feel there's a hidden insult in their somewhere?"

"How about instead worrying about your own skin, you worry about your sister's? It's already been a minute and she isn't moving? Honestly, show some more concern" She waved her hands to calm him down and made her way over to Karina who was still lying there.

"Yooooo, Karrie! Wake up already!" She said as she stomped the ground around her, attempting to snap her out of being unconcious. After a few seconds, Karina suddenly and strangely stood up straight on her feet. Instead of saying anything to show she was alright, she simply went back into her stance, which seemed to be more focused than before.

"See Anthony! What did I tell you?! The old girl's already itching and raring to go again!"

"Hmm, indeed she is..." Confirming the observation, Anthony couldn't help but feel something about her current behavior was wrong. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, he gave the cue for the two to spar once more. The two began to exchange blows once more, with Karina attempting the same tactics as before, continously getting picked off by her sister in retaliation. Before long, she was down on her knees once more. She quickly got back up and engaged Tessera yet again with less restraint to her control as she began to lose her speed.

"Karina! What did I tell you?! Find the-" He then stopped on his words to notice a strange pattern occuring in her movements. They weren't slowing down as he thought they were, but instead were becoming more ferocious in their execution, as every hit that Karina gave out seemed to drag out more power and strength then was required, but was hardly losing any stamina. Checking her in a deadlock, Tessera attempted to turn it around with a pincer attack from her flank, but except it was blocked with a guard from her sisters sword that was anything but easy to break through, with barely any weak points in the structure.

The two struggled against eachother, with Karina straining heself so hard that the blood sustained from her earlier injuries were beginning to leak once more. Though they didn't seem like much, they were done in the fashion to kill, which had been impeding her performance considerably. Tessera realized she was losing her hold in the deadlock, as Karina began to apply more pressure in the hold, pushing her back in her stance.

"Karrie?" She said in a soft voice. Karina offered no response as her sister called out to her, and simply stood there with a blank expression on her face that was void of all emotion, with the only thing apparent was her ruffled fur that was becoming more peculiar by the second. And even her hair color was beginning to change color from her usual pink to a brief white."What the-?" She said as she tried to examine the change.

"TESS GET OUT OF THERE!" The yelling of Anthony made her realize she broke her concentration and it didn't take long until the struggle was broken, and Karina lead through with a quick back kick that hit directly in Tessera's midsection, blowing her halfway across the training field, into the waterfall and into several boulders, shaking the foundation yet again, with her back slamming into the hard material, causing her to cry out in pain as bone made contact.

Eager to follow up, she continued on with her attack, jumping a great distance through the same trajectory she sent her flying, landing directly on her stomach, and unleashing a flurry of strikes against her body, with her face making contact with the front of the wooden sword every time. Blood splattered everywhere along the rocks.

"Tess, get out of there!" She tried to escape the barrage of strikes, but Karina continued with her onslaught. Her guard went up to endure as best as it could hold. The front of the blade broke through it in a matter of seconds, as well as damaging the bones holding it up against it. Tessera screamed out in pain even as the pressure being brought onto her body while it slammed repeatedly against the walls of the foundation escalated.

It didn't take long for Anthony to intervene between the two before another blow was stricken by holding back Karina's sword arm."Karina! That's enough! The spar is over! Put your sword down!" She responded with silence. He then attempted to pull the sword out of her hand only to meet a mysteriously tight grip, so much so that it didn't even budge."What the hell?!" Anthony exclaimed as he tried to piece it all together. In that moment, Karina then put up resistance by knocking him off of her body with an elbow to the stomach, blowing him back several feet through the water, though he quickly recovered upon touching the sediments. Tessera desperately tried to escape the her sister's grip, blocking and closely dodging her strikes whenever possible but to no avail.

"Karrie! Wake up! I get it! You won!" Tessera yelled out at her sister while facing her assault, but she did not respond. Suddenly, Anthony came back into the fray, taking out one of his nunchaku out of his jacket pocket and wrapping it around the Karina's neck, pulling her with all of his strength.

"GET OFF OF HER!" He separated the two with the steel part of the nunchaku and flung Karina by her neck into the water. Tessera drooped to the ground in a bloody exhaustion as she watched her younger sister rise up from the water, with her appearance changed completely from the one that she knew her by. Her fur was ruffled almost like a beast, and her usual pink hair turned a completely white, and her eyes flushed in a deep red, matching the color of the aura emanating from her body. The only thing she could point out that still belonged to her were the injuries she sustained during their training that were still fresh and drizzling with blood.

"Sis..." She muttered in a concerned tone. Anthony pointed toward a spot in the bushes as he stood with his weapon in hand.

"Head over there! Now!" Giving his directions to Tessera, he readied into his stance as the berserk Karina stood silently, sizing him up. Tessera then stood up strongly on her feet and stood beside Anthony with her sword in a unique one handed grip."Tess, I said get out of here now!"

"And just leave you alone with Karrie to have all of the fun?"

"This isn't a joke! The power that Karina is showing...it's definitely not normal...and it's definitely out of your league."

"All the more reason to put to work what you've been teaching us right?!"

"I know what I said! But this situation is-" Within seconds Karina started to draw in a few steps closer, instinctively putting the two on their guard. Tessera gripped her sword with a secure force, the intensity of her stance seeping out.

"Screw the situation! Whatever's happened to my sister, I'm not gonna leave it to her alone! You may think I'm joking, but I'm dead serious! I'm gonna get her back to normal!" Tessera declared with a hard tone. Her mentor slumped his shoulders at her reselience.

"Fine then. But just promise me you won't fall behind me! Keep your eye on my back alright!"

"You got it!"

The two formed against one another's back as Karina came charging toward them like a wild animal, brandishing their weapons at the ready.

---

And so it went on...

Karina slumped down to her knees as blood flowed out of her mouth continously, and her hand gripped her sides with almost no intention of letting go. Tears flowed from her eyes and blood from her nose, along with her beyond bruised body that showed everywhere no matter where one would look. She groaned and moaned in pain, screaming at the top of her lungs from just the shock alone, scaring several of the birds away resting in the trees.

Anthony had walked over towards her, his right arm in a fresh cast, smoking a cigar with his left. He blew out a puff before speaking.

"It's been a year since that day, you still haven't controlled it I see."

Karina grunted as she tried to crawl to the nearby rock to lean her back on.

"I...feel...like I'm being split apart...ARGHH!" She cried out once more.

"Yeah...I can see that..." He said with a worried expression. He then put out his cigar to take out a stopwatch from his pocket. He clicked his teeth upon viewing the the results."Two minutes...same as last week, and the week before that huh?" Anthony crouched over to her."Seems like two minutes is your deadline..."

"I...can go more than that!"

"Don't be stupid."

"Who are you calling?"

"You can feel what this thing is doing to you every time. Your body can't handle it for long. If it weren't for the fact that you heal your injuries 95% faster than the average person, you would be dead. That obviously means that 5% part of yourself is your limit, a limit that you really shouldn't push. Me and Tess were lucky to just knock you out that day."

"If you did it once...you can do it again..." She said weakly

"Something wrong with your hearing Karina? I said we were lucky to stop last time. Hell, that 'luck' is starting to catch up with me as it is." He said while flicking his arm cast. In fact the entirety of his body was still sore from intervening for the past few weeks now."Remember when I told after that day? The powers of the Wargods are legendary, they grant the user amazing strength and power, even more so than certain Cryptic-types, but as far as anything about them, there's barely anything even I can figure out about them."

"There's nothing...?"

"As far as the...my knowledge goes, there's really nothing else I could tell you. They disappeared eons ago, leaving behind almost absolutely nothing of their origin behind. But as far as I can tell, even if you are a descendant, your bloods probably so diluted, you can access it by normal means, meaning you have to have some sort of failsafe to turn it on, which in your case, is being beaten nearly to death."

"Hence...why we've been coming out her every...week..."

"Yeah, well as of now, it stops now."

"Anthony...please...one more time! I can control it!" Her breath was then cut short as Anthony's fist struck the rock she was leaning on, almost touching her face. His face was dark, serious, and everything that Karina had grown to fear about Anthony.

"I mean it...anything more than two minutes, it WILL kill you..."

Words from elsewhere reverberated throughout Karina's mind over and over. A place she deemed as familiar started to fade away before she could make sense of it all. Soon, it brought her back to where she was before.

Her eyes as pure red as the very aura she was bathed in, her body bolted towards both of her targets as they tried to make their way away from her, which ended up being futile to the very end.

"Dammit! I can't shake her!" Kaos tried to vault away from the transformed Karina, going as far as several feet away from her supposed range. As she came to a safe spot, Karina has reappeared directly behind her. Before she could even turn her head, her body had already been sent flying in the air via a lunging kick, flipping her off onto a trajectory into several cars in the lot through each and everyone of the door's windows until coming out into the heavy set wall, crashing into the hard concrete so hard she could hear her own back snap as she felt a sharp breath leave her body.

While Kaos tried to recover, Zana attempted to match her opponents speed, meeting her for exchange after exchange from the very steels of their weapons. It wasn't long until Zana was beginning to lose in that department, as her only aspect that granted her rank above all others was failing her in the fight. Seeing herself that very factor was winding down, Karina increased the aspect of her own speed, to completely shake her down. She then charged her front in the middle of the exchange, delivering a horizontal slice that cut her down to her midsection, reaching her stomach, causing a massive amount of blood to spew out, and then following up with a diagonal strike that slanted a few degrees to her flank, as Zana moved to block the strike, the blade disappeared from her line of sight, and had curved in an eclipse form that stabbed her from the back, with the point of the blade latching onto a disk of her spine. Karina spun her body in a counter clockwise motion, using the momentum of her spin to toss Zana back onto the ground, causing such a massive impact from the fall her body lunged back up. She quickly created a portal, warping her to Zana's side as she floated in the air for a small duration.

The blade of her scythe gave way to another crescent sweep that found hold into Zana's right arm, the steel penetrating the very bone and muscle, spinning around to launch her into the wall several feet away from their fighting position. The impact came, as so did Karina once more with the the bottom of her handle pinning her down through her stomach, penetrating her straight through Zana's body, and even the concrete itself.

Zana wheezed and coughed up blood from her injuries. Karina violently began to throw punch after punch in her opponents face, eventually hearing the crunching sound of what appeared to either have been her knuckles or Zana's skull, some odd fifty or sixty punches in less than five seconds. Her clumped up face dripping with blood and swelling flesh, her head began to dose off into unconsciousness, to which Karina punched her once more to keep her awake.

"No. You don't get to have that luxury..." She grabbed her fiercely by the throat and threw her behind her into one of the armored vans, denting the very metal as if it were made of paper. As Kaos finally got herself free of the wall, she attempted to strike Karina from her right flank with a charged up black flame that she let flying towards her as she was occupied with her sister. She simply grabbed the dark ball of flame and crushed it without even batting an eye at it.

"I-impossible..." As she stood there shocked, within the blink of an eye, Karina was already within her personal space, practically nose to nose. Out of reflex, Kaos attempted to strike at her with her right hand as fast as she could, but Karina was faster, grabbing the hand before it could even come close to touching her. Scared, she tried again with her left, which once again had failed, leaving her incapable of striking back with her hands, and too afraid to try with her legs. Before she knew it, a headbutt had struck her a few times at blinding speed on her nose, fracturing it several times with blood leaking from the holes.

"Care for some too?" Karina asked in a sarcastic yet harsh sounding tone, which had shaken Kaos down to her core. With her hands still gripped tight by her, her fingers began to apply force on her knuckles, soon cracking them with brute force. Though she tried to scream out in pain, Karina had quickly kneed her in the stomach, knocking her several feet above her head, and then following up with a high kick that sent her soaring towards the ceiling, then in an instant, Karina quickly grabbed her in the middle of her trajectory and slammed her down onto the roof of a car, completely destroying the exterior. As she stood up from letting her go,she looked over toward Zana, who was gone from the spot where she had left her impaled from her scythe.

She scanned around the battlefield for her target in question, but couldn't see her anywhere, yet she still detected her presence,albeit on a very low resonance of energy. As her head turned around slowly, with her eyes darting around the lot at a speed much faster than the average person could visually process, she still remained ontop of Kaos, with her foot digging into her stomach, continously applying pressure from her heel.

"Your freak of a sister is good hiding with her tail in between in her legs huh? At least you trained her right yeah? Bitches always did make the right dogs am I right?!" Karina smirked as her foot sunk deeper into Kaos's stomach, reeling in joy as her cries of pain yelped out of her mouth. Attempting to lift her foot up to at least breathe.

"I...*gasp*...will kill you...you low class upstart!" Kaos slipped out.

"Haha. Defiant until the end huh? You Pure-types certainly do give the Curs a run for their money in the persistance department, but let's see how much longer that haugty attitude holds you out for huh?" Karina lifted up her foot of her opponents stomach, hovering it over her face, with the intention of crushing."At least without a mouth to back up all the smack talk, princess."

"Do...you..honestly think...you have what it takes...to kill me?! I am perfection! Everything that your putrid cesspool of a bloodline forbid you from being! You don't have the alacrity for such a feat!"

"Well...as much as I would very much like to prove you wrong their sister, you aren't the one I'm gonna end tonight, but don't think I will extend my mercy any more than it needs to be. But if you keep giving me reasons to do so, I will fuck you up. Rest assured on that."

Kaos grinned. "What is all...of this for?! Vengeance?! Against Zana? For killing some weak and tired old reptile that tried to stand against his betters?! Hahaha...I thought you would have more clout than that..."

"Okay...now see." Karina took a deep breath. "I'm about to fucking kill you, just for referencing him, in your mouth..." Her hand focused with energy, with a tiny rift forming, although surrounded by a swirl of red lightning. As she went in for the strike, suddenly Karina found her body being tackled by Zana out of nowhere from the waist down, having the two of them being tossed onto the ground, burrowing through the pavement. Mounting her, Zana let loose with a barrage of punches to her face.

"Don't you dare, touch my sister!" Zana screamed out as her fists rained down on Karina, hard punches coming from left to right, each one creating a loud sound of impact as they made their contact, with almost no end in sight. Her faced teeming with rage, a rare expression to have ever crept on her face as ones who would know her usual demeanor, surprising even Kaos, her own flesh and blood.

Despite the force of hits, none of them seemed to even cause so much a blemish on her face, even smiling throughout the whole process. Then a hard right that came from a charged socket flew onto Karina's face, creating almost a shattering sound with how much force it caused, yet she still gave no reaction. She then quickly grabbed one of her knives, impaling directly within the right hand side of her chest, then another implaing her right arm, another in her left, then one more that attempted to strike directly through her skull. At the last second, the knives momentum was halted by making contact with Karina's right hand, with the blade piercing cleanly through the hand itself.

Grabbing the steel, she lifted up Zana as if she were paper weights in the process of standing up. Taking a moment of pause, a hard left straight punch impacted straight through Zana's body, with a bloody fist surfacing on the other end, leaving her gasping for air and cringing in pain.

"Hahaha! No need to talk!" Karina said she covered Zana's open gaped mouth with the same piercing hand smothered in her own gore."I know that fucking hurt bitch, and there's a lot more that came from!"

Kaos quickly intervened between the two, rushing up to them with her katana in hand, bathed in the dark flames. Seeing her coming, Karina tossed Zana directly into the oncoming pure-type like a rag-doll. Instead of catching her as a partner would do, let alone their sister, Kaos simply pushed her body out of the way without hesitation, as to not mess up her momentum, allowing her sister to fall on the ground.

"I will succeed where you failed reject!" She yelled out as her response for her previous action, leaving Zana on the ground at a loss of her current position.

"Sister...why..." Zana quietly muttered under her breath, appearing almost on the verge of tears. Noticing the switch in the opponents, Karina boldly beckoned her forward.

She came hard and fast with her sword, delivering a horizontal to a vertical upper slash to her opponent, which had all hit nothing but air. Kaos turning her side went for a riposte to the midsection from her back with her left hand alone, a risky move from the seems. Going to offer up a counteroffensive move, Karina shifted her position the left in order to capitalize on the momentum of her strike.

The riposte ended up being a feint, as Kaos quickly and elegantly twirled around one the ball of her foot to guard her flank,coming back with a dark flame strike, her right fist bathed in her own black aura. Without stopping her path, Karina caught the fist, countering back with a quick elbow that struck clean in Karina's jaw, knocking her head back some. Refusing to back down after that failure, she quickly came back by shifting her stance to release her captive hand, with her moving leg leading forward in the attempt.

Seeing the opportunity she was trying to create for herself, using the flow of shifting position with her rear leg to substitute for her previously leading leg in order to catch her off guard by trapping er own leg that would be used to step back, Karina instead moved her hip forward transforming her idea into her own grab that still held up from her hand, which had shocked Kaos her moves was read through so effectively in so little time.

In order to prevent her from turning the grab into a throw, Kaos stuck her sword into the ground, using its force to lift herself off the ground, compltely avoiding the hip placement, and came back with a right high kick aiming toward Karina, which was thoroughly dodged. She then used the momentum of the kick to swing herself around the top of the grip of her sword, with her body twisting around in a continuous motion, releasing an abrupt left kick though blocked, and then continuously twirling in the same motion coming back around with using both legs. Karina leaned slightly backward dodging the strike, and then bolting forward into a clothesline, wringing Kaos by her neck and knocking her off of her sword and into the ground, dragging her throughout the pavement, creating a burrow within the ground. A portal then appeared on her path that lead directly into one of the metal pillars, with Kaos going straight through its material.

Pinning her on the ground, Kaos set her body ablaze, loosening Karina's grip. She then unleashed an flurry of punches, all of which were deftly blocked. A counter soon came through from the attacks, ranging from her face to her stomach that rocked her body clean, then kicking Kaos into one of the nearby cars through the windshield, landing in the backseat.

"Now why don't you just chill there for a bit, while I go deal with your..." Karina then turned around, only to find once more that Zana was missing in action."Are you seriously going to keep playing cat and mouse forever freak?! I have to have broken at least ten bones by now! I wanna see how many more I can break before you start healing again!" She started to knock and throw around cars and vans around the lot into the walls, storming around the lot."And if you think I'm going to give you a JUST a slow death, well bitch you got another thing coming to that ugly ass of yours!" As she continued on, Kaos began to slip away from the backseat and cut through the solid roof of the lot with her blazing sword opening up a skylight. She looked down at the beserker that was Karina, who noticed her trying to make an exit. She then yelled out at her from the ground.

"Where do you think you're going harlot?! I've got it out for your crazy ass too!"

"As clear as you vividly put it, obviously I am not the target of your vengeance. I had no hand in the death of this precious 'Anthony' you've been speaking, why should you spare anymore expense to me?"

"Ummm...maybe because I want to kill both of you? Have I not made that clear over the past minute I've been kicking your asses?! Hell, it wasn't that long I had you pissing yourself princess!"

"Shut your mouth you insolent little-! Wait..." Kaos then paused and put her finger to her lips pondering the fight thus far, and the odd pace that her opponent was proceeding at. Her face then formed a cunning smirk."A minute...so that's your trick..."

Karina gestured and pointed at her."What the hell are you mumbling about?!"

"Regardless of previous circumstances, I believe that my time here is done, and I shall make my exit here. I don't doubt we will see each other again soon."

"So you're just gonna leave your sister for me tear apart huh? You're just oozing with sisterly love aren't you?"

"Oh please, we may share the same father, but to me she is nothing more than a plaything, a slave that I can utilize for my gains. She is expendable. A special mutt of dog that I can toss and kick aside as I please. Even if you kill her, there are dozens more like her at our disposal. She already knows her place as well."Kaos then yelled out."Zana, my dear sister! I'm happy to inform you that you are no longer of use to me at this point! From this point on, we shall both go our seperate paths! Should father ask of your status, I will simply tell him you gave your life to accomplish our vision! You will be hailed as hero! Just like your whore of a mother! Isn't that grand?! You've always wanted to be just like her, and now's your chance! Hahahaha!"

She then turned her back not only on Karina, but Zana, who could do nothing but sit and listen to her speech.

"Farewell Zana! Do try not to die a pathetic death darling!" As she finished, she then disappeared off into the nightlight.

Karina turned around and shook her head at the sudden outcome of events.

"Man, some family you got there eh? Abandon you after it's getting hot, even AFTER you fought to protect her, that's how she repays you? Goddamn sister, I don't envy your position a bit! I always thought as family as someone who stuck by you through it all even after it all goes to shit and beyond. You know, the usual stuff. But her? Man...she better hope she doesn't run into me again. Vengeance or not, the world will definitely not miss her." Silence filled the air as Karina scanned the area once more for Zana. Who was silently contemplating everything that was said about her so far.

"Not that you might give a shit, but I'll let you know something real about family. For instance, let me tell you something about the old and tired guy that you killed! He was a lot of things! He gambled! He smoked! He drank around me and my sister when we were kids! Taught us how to defend ourselves! Put us through life or death scenarios every single day! But you know one thing, there's one thing that he didn't do! Be a bad father! HE WAS GOOD TO US! HE WAS GOOD TO ME! And you know what?! I'll never be able to even say those words to him again!" Karina created a rift, pulling her scythe out in her right hand and her left hand occupied by several knives."So do me a favor, I want to see the face of Anthony's killer one more time...before I gouge their fucking heart out with my own bare hands!"

Silence filled the air. A few seconds later, slow footsteps could be heard echoing through the lot. Soon Zana had shown herself from her hiding spot, with her eyes devoid of all life and response. Karina couldn't help but smile at this turn of character for her.

"Oh what now?! Dear sister finally let you know that she thinks your a worthless piece of scumbag shit, that you're so loss for words?!"

Zana didn't offer up a response, until she said

"No...I was...aware of my position...ever since the day I was born. But now...I've come to peace with it. And now that I have..." She points her knife directly at her opponent."There's nothing stopping me from helping you with your vengeance..."

"Help me huh? You really want to do that for me? Then allow me to stick this knife in your skull a couple hundred times and then your services will be welcomed!" Saying that she charged forward with her weapons, as did Zana at top speed. Both of them exchanged sword strikes, blows from punches and kicks that were being dodged to near perfection on both ends. Everytime one of them struck high, the other struck low, strike from the left, the next one came from the right, almost in perfect sync of movements. Soon they were trapped in their own void, their combos building on top of each other, their own breathing and heat feeding off one another. Everything had matched up at this point, right down to power, speed.

"Matched up my speed huh?! You're full of surprises!" Karina twirled her scythe around in a full circular motion that aimed for her opponents head. Zana dodged it full circle by matching its pattern on the fly and spinning out its course, setting up her own counter with her knife that aimed for Karina's head.

"As are you! I've never fought anyone that could keep up with me before!" Her counter ended up being blocked by the blade of her scythe.

"So glad you approve!" The fight continued on as both of their assaults continued to rain down on eachother, with no signs of stopping. Hits being exchanged at such unimaginable speeds, it seemed like nothing more than a blur, two shadows or specks of light chasing after the time Karina realized this, her deadline was approaching, keeping the time memorized in her head even while fighting.

I don't know...how much longer I can keep this up for...if I want to beat her...I'm gonna have to go farther than two minutes...sis...I'm sorry.

---

Meanwhile, a few miles out of the city.

Furball and Tessera zoomed through tree after tree in their pathway, vaulting and flipping off of the various branches at break neck speed, seeming almost like shifting shadows to the untrained eye.

"We're almost there! I can see the town in sight!" Furball yelled out.

"We have to get there sooner! How the hell were all of the humvees out on deployment at the same time?! It's bullshit! Can't you use your time magic or whatever?!"

"I'm afraid it's not so simple!"

"What's not simple about it?! You just flick on switch on your thingamajig and shit just goes all trippy!"

"If I were to explain it, it would take some time, something of which we don't have much of right now! No pun intented of course!"

Tessera clicked her teeth."Dammit! Fuck those meetings! We should have known that those freaks would back this time around! Types always attract one another, that's when things always turn sour!"

"It couldn't be helped! It was meant to call to attention the recent events that have been happening all over the world! Russia especially seems to have it's hands filled with the recent kidnappings and assaults!"

"That's not exactly news there! That's been a hornets nest for years now! It just so happens they brought in bumble bees now! The only thing is that the First seems to have some idea about, but she sure keeping tight lipped about it all! I think even that Boss lady knows what's going on!"

"Do you think that this might be related to whatever the Forsaken are planning?!"

"It doesn't take a genius Furball! Timing is almost too perfect! A massive city alert happens to go off while we're off base?! C'mon, I know your whole situation, but we're a little smarter here!"

"Indeed, that is true! Although I am worried about the young ones!"

"Huey can handle himself! The First seems to have faith in him, so I might as well too! He's not the type to slip up protecting his friend! He'll fight with all he's got! Karina on the other hand..." Tessera remained silent for a breif second, which Furball caught onto.

"Are you worried about her?" He asked a deep in thought Tessera.

"Well I'm her sister dammit, and the only family she's got left! Of course I'm worried! It's just...not so much worried about her as to what she's going to do. What she might do to herself..."

"What do you mean? She is your sister, plus you were both trained by the Seventh. You always speak of her with such pride! What is there to worry about?"

"It's just those two Pure-types are on the base there with her, especially the one that killed Anthony."

"Do you fear she might take revenge?"

"That's pretty much a certainty. Karrie was always the closest to Anthony, so when it comes to him, she becomes...emotional, and that can sometimes affect her power."

"Her power? You mean she has other abilities?" Furball asked with a growing scorn.

"When we were kids, this thing happened to her when we training, and I pushed her to hard, and she got angry. Like really angry! It took me and Anthony nearly an hour to just knock her out, but when it was over...she was..."

"She was what...?"

"Hell if I know! It's just her appearance changed and everything, and then she got these weird tattoos over her body and everything. Plus she got crazy strong for some reason!"

"I see..." Furball said, pondering."Do you think she'll use this power again?"

"If she runs into those two, I don't doubt it. But she still can't control it properly! It can hurt her if she does! I just hope we can get there in time before she does!"

"Yes, that would be bad indeed..."

"You don't seem surprised. Is it a time thing again?"

"Possibly. But I fear there may be something more to what you're telling me here..."

"Something more huh? Is it the good more to it or bad more to it?"

"The latter most likely."

"Shit! Now we definitely have to pick up the pace! And don't you dare drop any spoilers!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

The two then increased their pace, traveling faster on their path, with along with a deeply concerned Tessera.

Karrie...please be safe! Whatever you do, don't use that! Don't do it!

Karina's POV

I can feel everything breaking, cracking, shattering from beneath my very chest. My breathing feels heavy, my head is feeling squished like a grape, and my skin is telling me its burning and wants me to rip it right off.

Despite all of this, my body kept moving the way brain was telling it to move. Screw that actually, my brain gave out thirty seconds ago, reaching the one and half minute mark was probably when it started to get more apparent. My arms felt like paperweights, my legs felt like month old jello. The cuts and bruises that I took from those knife and sword strikes were holding together, yet I could still feel the pain in knots, knocking on my muscles over and over.

She goes for a left, I tell my body to go right. The motions of my scythe and knives as they attempt to hit their target, only to miss contort with the signals my body keeps sending me, that I keep ignoring altogether. It wasn't running on brainpower, but instinct, lust for revenge, bloodshed, gore, bones clashing against bones, you name it. I craved it. The pangs for it were more apparent since the hole in my heart formed, but not on its on. I tried to count numbers again, but did very little.

She tries to hit me again with a straight stab to my ribs, I parry, using its momentum to shift about 5% faster than she tried to hit me with her attack, it missed. I feel her breathing during it all. It's not even slowing down. No signs of labor. Exhaustion, let alone fatigue. Her eyes show no distraction as they scan my body, searching for weaknesses to pick apart. Pressure points, blood clots, anything that could be used, and her hands and feet moved in succession for those exact targets. Where has this girl been? I think I have some kind of idea.

The form that I'm in right now, I hadn't used it in two years, and even then, I knew less about it then than I do know. From the studies me and Anthony did together, a normal person should be able to acheive this state as an extent of their normal physical potential, which will range somewhere around 115% percent if they feel their body can go that far depending on the situation. The difference is that my body can go more than 120% of expected output I feel I could go even further, but at the risk of my body completely destroying itself.

We continued to exchange with eachother, with her reaction speed and rate of attack increasing with each passing second, almost catching up to my own current speed. I can tell from the rate of fire that's emanating from her muscles and how she's using them in her attacks. She's sparing no further strain towards them in power, but loosens them instead in terms of speed to match mine, or even surpass it. It's crazy. Give it another minute or so, she'll be even faster than me. Something tells me she's been hiding this all along, as if the speed that I was knocking her around with not that long ago was just childs play to her, and that she could move towards that kind of speed, but chose not to. I didn't know her reasons for doing so, nor did I care, but the results was astonishing on how it was turning out to be.

Everything in my body was starting to break apart as I came upon the two minute mark, which is supposed to be a minute pass the prime of my form, slowly reaching upon the peak. As I threw a right straight towards her, the muscle in the arm started to rip away gradually, even the skin tissue was beginning to tear away slowly even though it didn't land at an impact. The ligaments in my leg started deteriorate, and several fractures in my left ankle and fourth and fifth rib cage started to show up. The signals in my brain alerting of the pain in body was blaring so loud I could sing along to it, but I chose to turn down the volume. Despite the self destruction, the form does well to sustain my injuries until I can actually get them treated. It's not healing per se, but mainly something that meshes and holds my body together, kind of like taping together a broken glass vase with duct tape. The damage isn't obvious anymore, but the process has still taken its toll.

Keep going. Make it faster. Stronger. I tried to bring these instructions to my body.

I kept recycling the same image of Anthony and me training from sun up to sun down by that waterfall near that shed outside of Blackwater, something that reminded me of better days. I started to drown myself in that feeling, that momentary happiness to try and drive me throughout the fight. Another slice from one of her knifes came for me in a curved trajectory. I leaned just a slight seven degrees backward, clearing its path and observing the shining steel as it cut through the air, nearly dodging my nose. It still looked like it was moving in slow motion, but with slightly more frames added to it. She was getting faster, that much was clear already. I went ahead with my assault, adding to the exchange. I brought my scythe upwards in a vertical path, continuously twirling on its axis. She barely spun out of the way. Like me, she did so by relying on her the ball points of her toes rather than her heels , which I normally see people do to sidestep out of an attack which is considered basic in most martial arts. I take a strip of that method from how ballet dancers perform their lutz spins and pirouettes turns, and integrated into my style. Hers was more style based by the looks of it, while she barely spared any expense to how often her turns moved through my series of attacks.

Dammit, I truly hated this bitch. Not just for taking away the only person that was like a father to me, but showing up the very foundation I built my style of fighting on. Yeah. She was good. I would never say that out loud of course. As I finished my attack, I twirled around to bring the blade down on her. It was a risky move, but one that I was willing to go for. She saw through that risk, as she lightly stepped to the side into my blind spot. Little by little, I could no longer say that she was going in slow motion, but instead she nominally beginning to pick up speed, coming up to my perception as something that was moving at the same speed that I was. I quickly tilted my head toward the perceived spot where I predicted she landed at.

She wasn't there?! No she was there...I could still feel her breathing regardless of what she wanted me to think. My eyes bolted around my surroundings, until they scanned the very area that I completely left unattended. My bottom view. She was ducked right down below my waist. Waiting. Hoping that I would notice her. I held my breath, and pulled as hard as I could on the grip of my scythe to pull it back from its previous trajectory and aim it on a new course towards her which had set the bones and muscle fiber in both of my arms on fire. I brought down the blade toward her, holding nothing back but my breath to gain extra mileage with the speed of its delivery.

The first strike came down almost like a lightning strike with how fast it went. She saw through it immediately, stepping to the left and dodging it cleanly. The second strike came back up in a reverse vertical scoop, almost cutting through the air in a V-like shape, which she had dodged by quickly stepping to the right in the middle of its path. As the blade came back up, and she had finished her scanning of me, the clock for both shows had reached their peak. Before I knew it, I took the first breath I had taken in a fraction of a minute.

"*GASP*!" My mouth opened completely as the air entered my lungs, and the next thing I knew, my body had exploded. Everything that held together, collapsed in on itself, like dominoes falling after a great run of setting them. Blood forcefully excreted out of almost every spot on my body. My bones continously snapped and cracked, my hands could no longer even hold themselves up with how much the muscles begin to tear through, and soon my legs in several areas broke in several divsions. And the clock than struck its desired hour. My three minutes were up it seems.

"Five minutes..." I heard her whisper under her breath as her face emerged in my bluring vision. "You...went beyond your limits two minutes ago didn't you?" Ah. Was it five minutes already? I forgot how slow my perception of time goes by that form, not that I could even tell for a while though."I've been trained to constantly track the changes of my opponent through the process of battle, and match them up on it, by exceeding them in that department. That is also helped by my ability to regenerate. Whatever my opponents potential, I can exceed them by 5%. As the battle goes on, the percentage goes up another 5%. That's how my body was modified, to always and constantly surpass whoever I was fighting, if I deem them worthy of it." That's...how it was huh? How she had been getting faster..."If you wish to blame anyone...blame the man...I once called father." Father huh? Who woulda thought...Her fist then drew closer to my face in an instant.

Damn, this is gonna hurt...

My face flew back on my neck as her knuckles made direct contact with the center of my face, and my skull started to break though feeling like a condiment that just came with the package. Blood spewed out of my nose, and an indescribable pain struck through my body in a sudden surge. I had never felt this kind of before, to have everything that made me who I am, my whole fighting style, the way I carry myself, the things that he taught me, even this form whatever it was, equate to nothing in the end. This is how my so called quest for vengeance ends huh? I guess making peace wasn't enough for me huh? Such a selfish greedy little girl I turned out to be huh Anthony? I wonder whose fault is that, can't be mine right? Right?! RIGHT?! Answer me dammit...I know you're there...You've always been...why aren't you now...you bastard...

My body slammed rock hard on the concrete floor. I couldn't move a damn thing. Not that I should. She walked over slowly towards me and looked me directly in the eye. It was an expression that was totally different from her usual droll and uninterested expression. It had a sadistic smirk, on that ranged from cheek to cheek. My whole body shivered.

"Now then...I believe it is my turn."

Hahaha...so this...is what fear feels like...it's not bad at all...

Zana slowly lifted Karina up by her hair, and inspected the critical state that she was in. Her fur and hair had all returned to the previous state. Her body was completely desecrated from top to bottom, with blood pouring and leaking out from every single angle of her body, through forced holes that were created due the pressure of how the fluids came out. Zana shook her head, and threw Karina into the windshield of a nearby van. As soon as her body made contact, Zana zoomed to her position, appearing on top of her and unleashing a flurry of punches upon her, splattering blood all over the glass.

As she kept landing her punches, Zana yelled out"You seek vengeance? You seek vengeance for the one that was forcefully taken away from you?! What do you know of such things girl?! What makes you think your vengeance is even strong enough to rival mine?! What gives you that right?!"She then took her by her once more and slammed her headfirst into the concrete and dragged her across the floor for several feet before launching her into the air.

Brandishing her knives, she gave yet another flurry in the form of slashes that ranged to practically all of her limbs, all with clean and deep cuts. A staight stab came through Karina's stomach, deeply enough to have the steel peak on the other side of her body. Refusing to quit her onslaught, Zana delivered two more punches from each direction and then an uppercut leading into an elbow that struck a precise spot in her nose. "My vengeance, has been there ever since the day I was conceived! Finding out the main purpose of it...my entire existence and what it equates to...it is nothing but an experiment...And the only thing, the only person that disregarded that purpose with just being there for me, was taken away...by the one that created my existence for his own gains!" She then took her head and brought it into her knees, repeatedly hitting that same spot with both in succession. After she had landed several knee strikes, Zana grabbed her by her ankles and twirled her around before letting her fly hard into the concrete, burrowing her into the ground by several feet.

Sprawled out on the floor, Zana landed on top of Karina once more and stomped down on her right arm, with a loud crunching sound reverberating throughout the whole lot, accompanied by Karina's blood curdling screams, creating a unique cacophony of sound. Not being done with her yet, Zana forced Karina to stand up on her broken legs, and began to unleash a combo string on her, consisting of punches and kicks, hitting vital spots and pressure points all over her body. The sounds of each of the impacts were rapid in succession. Each time she started to wobble down to her knees, Zana stood her up and began to start her series of attacks all over again. She then unleashed a side kick, hitting the knife that made contact earlier and not only burrowed it deeper, but blew her back several feet out of the lot.

As she slowly walked toward her, she noticed Karina's body, and the horrible shape it was in as it twitched uncontrollably as she tried to gasp for air like a fish out on land too long.

"Even now, what do I have to show for that same existence? To be shamefully put on display, abused, and pushed around like some sort of plaything! For the amusement for a spoiled and ungrateful bitch who sees me as nothing but some sort of thing that she could toss aside just as she did! But she is nothing but a symptom! A simple speck to the real cancer! Because of that man...Because of him...because of him! Everything was stolen from me! And my chance at revenge for her...my mother...I can't do it...I can't accomplish it! Why?!" Zana then took out one of her knives, repeatedly stabbing her body."Because of this accursed body! I can't harm him! No matter how hard I try, I'm incapable of harming him! WHY?! Why is my only chance?! The only thing that I can use for my vengeance is preventing from doing so! Dammit! Goddammit!" She then stopped her outburst, and looked down at the state of Karina, who was barely hanging on. It didn't take long for Zana's stab wounds to heal.

She then took the same knife and pointed closely toward Karina's eye.

"Your vengeance...the very thing that drives you to kill me...is insignificant compared to what drives me...You...are not like me...I thought you were...Someone who was willing to sacrifice all else, your friends, your family, your sanity, your body, your 'gifts', to take what you desire...But you're not. You still hold onto all of these things...and that is what holds you back from taking it."She drags the knife closer to the eye until it rapidly starts to blink."As long as you have those things, you will...never kill me..." The knife stayed aimed at her for a while, with a thousand thoughts rushing through Zana's head as to what to do now with the current situation, and where to take it to.

For the longest time, to kill was the only way that she numb the feeling that she still carries with her to this day. Not just with the loss of the only person that saw her as something more than what she appeared to be, but the pain that she endured after it. The experimentation, the public shaming by her sister and so called peers, and the reason for her existence was nothing but a means to an end to the man that was supposed to be her father. What could she do to make it all go away, she constantly thought to herself as a child, but to this she found no real answer, no real way to ascertain how she could cope with the absence of one. So chose vengeance to fill the void.

Seeing Karina, and how she pushes herself to gain vengeance for a loved one, without the means that she had to earn for herself, enraged her terribly. She could kill her at ouf of spite. For trying to be someone she could never in her life be. But instead...

"I can see it you know...who you are...where you have been, and the people that mean so much to you. You're afraid to let them go aren't you? You've already lost people close to you haven't you" Karina struggled to mutter out a word, but the air ended up getting stuck in her throat, leading her to keep gasping."I see...you don't want to lose anyone else. Not because you're afraid...but because you blame yourself for all of those losses, don't you?" Zana said with a smile." You don't have to try and convince me otherwise, if taking the blame on yourself is the only way of persuading yourself that you weren't strong enough to save them, then so be it. Others would feel the same way as you. They don't realize what they've lost until they lost it, and then wallow in self pity as a coping mechanism as if they could have done anything themselves. *sigh* We as people do a great job at fooling ourselves don't we?"

Karina then spit up blood as Zana drove another knife into her stomach.

"I'll be honest with you...I want to kill you. Not because I hate you or anything. I could give a shit less about your hypocritical existence. But I believe that killing you will give me the answer that I need. The answer to the question I've been searching for nearly all of my life on how to deal with this pain. This cancer that I hold onto to keep me fed. Not to give me hope, but to give me guidance on what would happen next. Whether the vengeance I seek will give me satisfaction, or some despair that I had overlooked doing what I do. It will be an exciting thing to discover, don't you agree...what was your name...Zaldwick?" Her eyes lit up a little."Interesting...you share the same surname as the founder of Ashgate Facility...That would explain a lot in fact. The way you are, and that power of yours...Hmm I wonder..." Zana then pondered for a moment, deciding on what action to take, and then arrived at a conclusion. She drew the knife away from Karina's eye and dislodged all of the knifes that pierced her body, forcing her to let out a scream that reached out to the heavens with how much pain coarsed through her.

"I'll tell you what. Since this is the first time that this has ever happened to me, let's make a game out of this shall we? Let's who can gain our vengeance first? Me or you? Will you kill me before I kill my father, or will I kill him before you get your chance to even take revenge on me once more? Not a bad deal isn't it? But still, I wonder if you will even be able to kill me when you get to that point, since you've done such a good job of trying now, haven't you? You should know...I can't even kill myself. I've tried on several occasions. So it will be very interesting how to try to gain vengeance from someone who can't die...don't you?" She drew her face closer to the blood covered bunny almost in a taunting manner. Karina then suddenly spat out blood that landed clean on Zana's face, struggling to speak once more, hoarsing and gasping out words. Finally as her mouth began to move again, she uttered out.

"I...will...kill...you...bitch..."

Zana crept on a smirk and wiped the blood off her cheek with her thumb and licked it.

"Good to know..." Her head then turned off into the distance, sensing the presence of others. "It seems your friends are arriving to help you. Time to make my exit I suppose." As she slowly stepped off of Karina's body, she started to walk away. Suddenly she turned around while looking out at the moon."What a beautiful night sky this world has. I can't believe I haven't noticed until now. Looks you were right about that one 'sister'. And just like that, Zana vanished into thin air, almost seeming like she teleported.

Karina laid there on the ground. Completely immobile. Not that she wouldn't try to change change that circumstance. She grunted as she attempted to roll over off of her back, to which was unsuccessful. Nothing in her body was even responding. Even though she didn't know it her healing factor was beginning to take effect, albeit very slowly. Not that she would feel any immediate changes. The form had left her in a broken state to say the least.

Damn...I see...my luck hasn't run out yet. She thought to herself. Breathing in and out slowly, she tried to resist the pain from her various injuries for as long as she could. After a while a minute, then two, and then three rolled by. She felt herself getting tired, attempting to sleep it off, but the pain kept her up. While this kind of a state was a first for her, she knew exactly how to handle herself when it came to vital injuries. Steady breathing techniques, and focused body flexes were a norm in her training from Anthony, but for some reason they weren't working as effectively as she thought they would.

Damn! I forgot...the poison! The knives that Zana carried were admitted with a deadly poison that stayed lodged in Karina's body for quite a while, and have most definitely made it's way to several parts of her bloodstream. Not only was it slowing down her healing factor, but her heart felt several lapses as she laid there. She then felt her eyes become heavy and several nerves in her body became even more unresponsive, and started to feel cold in some areas. Soon she started to spit out more blood as she choked on the air she was trying to breathe in. She held up some resistantance against certain poisons, but it seems this one was a unique brand. Clearly she didn't have much time left against it.

Fuck...She thought as she felt herself slipping,'I really...messed up this time...huh? Sorry...sis...I used it again...I thought...I could control it...this time. Guess, I was wrong...this time...'

Her eyes slowly began to close. Various pictures started to flash before her in her mind. They seemed familiar to her and unfamaliar to her at the same time.

'Damn...thinking about that day...at a time like this...'

She saw herself as a child again.

Nervous and blush faced in a brand new blue one piece dress and clean dress shoes, she stood behind her older sister, constantly clutching her side as she stood in front of her new guardian. A house that seemed bigger than the one she knew originally, or what she had little memory of. He was a strange looking creature to her eyes. Scales as far as the eyes could see,which gave him an unapproachable aura around him, one that was quickly relinquished as he slowly walked up to the two sisters. Tessera gave him a cautious stare at him, but he returned it with a smile. She was caught off guard, and looked down at the ground in embarrasment.

"Say something!" She nudged her sister off of her shoulder, causing her to pitter over to the scaly gentleman, falling into his arms. Her head slowly raised to her look him in his eyes, not really knowing what to notice in them, but could definitely see signs of sadness within them, the eyes of one who has known loss all to well. He gently smiled at her.

"Hey there cutie. My name is Anthony. From this day forward, I'll be taking care of you and your big sister. From now on, this house will be your new home. You'll be safe here." Karina's eyes grew big as the words reached her eyes. Not because she had finally found a true place to call her own, but this is the first time anyone had offered her such things. Tears welled her around her eyes as her face scrunched up. Tessera flinched and was about to walk over to her, until Anthony held out his hand to her. He then gently put his hands on her crying face by her cheeks, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"Does that sound good, Karina?"

Words hadn't left Karina's mouth in some time, out of rememberance of her previous state. But for the first time in such a duration, her moves began to move, uttering

"Yes...that sounds...great..."

"Well now! That's awesome. You girls will be very welcome here. I can promise you that."

"T...t...oh...um..." Karina muttered under her breath.

"Karina? What are you trying to say sweetie?" She shook her head, and stared down at the ground once more, blushing at the sight at him. He then placed his hand on her head."Is that right? Well don't worry. I'm sure whatever you're trying to say, you'll be able to say it someday..." He smiled at the both of them. Soon the image became filled with white that spread all around

The image of Anthony stuck in her head. She felt a wet sensation coming out of her eyes, with a smile forming on her mouth.

"Anthony...I'm...sorry...I...never got...to..say..."

'damn...after all these years...I still couldn't...say it...'

With nothing left to give, everything faded slowly to black.

"KARINA! DON"T YOU FUCKING DO THIS TO ME!" Suddenly Tessera's voice had gone off in the near distance. She had jumped off the nearby rooftop adjacent from the parking lot, clumsily landing on the ground through causing quite the impact. She ran to her little sister's body, holding her tightly in her arms. "Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT! You stupid little fucking...GODDAMMIT! I told you not to...I told you not to fucking use it! Why...Why don't you ever fucking listen to me?! Shit! Anthony told you what it does to you! He told me! But you went ahead and...and..."Tessera continously cursed and yelled at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her eyes..."Did you do this to spite me you bitch?! Is that it?! Is this because I left you?! Because I thought you could find your...own..."She started to choke on her words.

Furball slowly walked up to the somber scene, looking at the result.

"It's...just as I feared. This...is how it happened..."He stated.

Tessera looked at him with a face drowned in sadness.

"Furball! Please...you have to save her!"

"I'm afraid...there's not much I could do. As it stands, this turn of events...was fated to happen."

"What?"

"The poison, combined with her severe injuries. It will be too much for her body to handle and fight off. She will die here."

"What...what about the ICU?! There's one on base! If we can get her there...we can!"

"That would take too long. The poison is fast acting, and it seems she's had it in several doses, and residing in her bloodstream for considerable amount of time."

"Then I'll...!"

"There's nothing we can do Tessera."

Tessera then grabbed Furball by the collar, lifting him up off the ground.

"Dont't you tell me that! I won't let my only sister die! You hear me?! I won't fucking do it!" She slowly placed him back on his feet, placing her head on his chest."She's...my reason...for everything that I've done...I've always had her in my thoughts...She's guided all of my steps since I our parents were killed...She always kept me going!"

"Tessera...I may not be apart of them anymore, but there are still rules I must abide by. For the sake of the timeline..."

"Fuck the timeline! Fuck fate! Fuck the world and all of those bullshit rules! I just want my sister!" Her trembling hands balled up into fists that curled up Furball's jacket. Her tears fell down on the ground like raindrops that she just couldn't stop. All Furball could do was look down at his friend, unsure of what his decision could impact. His face in pure contemplation. No words were exchanged for minute, until he took a deep breath and slowly pulled Tessera away from him.

"Okay..."he silently said. "What I'm about to do will jepoardize my mission severely. Everything that happens must remain unchanged,despite my being here...But, I came back to change things...to prevent the future that I come to know..."

"Does..that mean?" Tessera's eyes begin to glimmer with hope.

"I will do...what I feel is right. Regardless of the consequences...Saving your sister, a minor action as it may be, it will send ripples throughout the the events what will happen this night. But..." He then looked deeply into her eyes, and lightly smiled."You saved my life, and for that I intend to repay that deed."

"Furball...thank you..." She said in heartfelt voice.

He then walked over to Karina's body and examined her motionless state.

"The poison has not done its job completely it seems." He crouched down on one knee and stuck his hand out over her body."This...will save her...albeit temporarily, until eventually she'll..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there...do it please."

He nodded."Very well."

He took a deep breath, and began to focus energy into the palm of his right hand that stretched over Karina's body. A few seconds in, the air around him began to stir, and tiny sparks of electric looking energy streamed around his arm, and created a mid-size ball in his hand. Suddenly it disappeared, and then in an instant, a purple stream of energy flowed out of his hand and covered every inch of Karina's body. Within seconds, all of her injuries, bruises, blood, broken bones and all, mysteriously began to shrink and heal as if returning back to their original state before sustaining them.

"Oh my god..." Tessera said in awe at what she was witness before her eyes.

"Arghh!" Furball grunted in pain.

"Are you alright?!" She yelped out.

"Don't...break my concentration!" His face started to strain and he began to growl from the process even supporting his arm with the other. The injuries started to all fade away, as if her healing factor had kicked in after all this time. Soon, the purple energy stopped flowing, and all of Karina's injuries were gone, as if they were never there. After the process, Furball fell on his arms out of exhaustion. Tessera rushed over to Karina to check on her. She held her head close to her chest to hear her heartbeat.

*ba-dump, ba-dump,ba-dump* Several beats could be heard from her heart, all in succession of each other. She gave her sister a deep hug and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank you...thank you God...thank you..." Instead of tears of despair that came down her face, it was of happieness.

Furball breathed slowly and hoarsely.

"She is alive? That's...wonderful news..."

"She is yeah. But what about you?" She asked concerned."Will you be alright?"

"Well..."He chuckled a little."I do know one thing...things are going to be a lot different now..."

They then looked at her body, and Tessera noticed one odd detail.

"She's smiling?" Furball stated. "How odd."

"It's not odd at all." She responded, and holding her little sister in her arms, she said "She was having a good dream. For the first time in her life."

Chapter 24 END

Fro Ninja; Well guys. I hope you enjoyed this latest addition. Even I have to admit, it was a bit hard writing this without catching a bit of feelings, but the show must go on. Come back next chapter for the conclusion to the Hospital Battle! Also as a side note, expect the second chapter to Good Boys sometime by the end of this week! One Love!

Jester;Hey! What about my send off fool?! You've been missing this whole time, and you don't even give me my chance to shine?

Fro Ninja;Fine then, I'll give you the podium, say what you wanna say before time runs out.

Jester; Thank you...(clears throat) First off all, you-(mic cuts off)