A/N: Thanks a lot to Child of Dreams and .witch for the Reviews!


Chapter 2 – I Remember There Was…


As soon as Nathan sees the caller's ID on his display, he excuses himself and exits the room, receiving a small questioning glance from the other teachers in it. Nathan answers before the door is fully closed,

'' Hey, everything alright? ''

''…Are you busy…? '' He abruptly hears the tears in her voice even though she's trying to sound normal. His brows furrow in worry while his fingers ruffle through his short hair almost automatically. The past 3 months he's been worried about Kat. Of course he didn't exactly feel great as he knew that she was in France on her own while sharing her bed with that psychopath either, but ever since she's back, she just got worse and worse. He thought she couldn't get any worse as he first saw her two weeks after she got back but he was proven otherwise as the month carried on. Kat had phases in which her substance abuse increased many times before but it never has been as bad as it was during the first month. In that time her flat reminded him a lot of one of these rundown houses that inhabit junkies and alcoholics. Kat is a chaotic person that likes to scatter her cloths everywhere so Nathan was once or twice greeted by a bra that Kat tossed into the bowl for her keys or a slip hanging around the knob of a cabin in the kitchen. Sometimes walking through her flat means he's either ready to step into a dozen of cloths or signing up for a parkour. Then there were times where Kat was too lazy to bring her glass to the container and just had several spots where she would keep small piles of mostly alcohol bottles. At some point she's annoyed by the mess and walks to the container but not before it's enough to fill at least 3 of these huge bags from Ikea. Or she ignores the ashtray on her balcony until there's a second pile of stumps forming around the tray. But beside that Kat always made sure she has her windows open twice a day for at least 10 minutes, she vacuums and mops once a week and Nathan never once saw her windows being dirty or spotted dust anywhere.

The first time he went to see her he almost had a stroke as he saw what a mess she made of the usually really nice flat. The floor had several spots from where she spilled her drinks and or dropped food- which she did not pick up. The bottles weren't piled up neatly anymore, they were just standing or rolling around wherever she finished them. The couch, the left corner of the balcony and her bed were surrounded by a sea of empty bottles and delivery food. Nathan found cigarette stumps in her bed and on the couch which confirmed the scent that was burning his lungs since he opened the door. She obviously hasn't opened a window since she returned and two weeks were more than enough to have the furniture suck in that stench.

There were bits of blood on the wall, her knuckles not swollen anymore but still blue and green. There were a couple spots of blood on the floor as well where she stepped into the shards of the bottle she threw against the wall.

Kat was in bad shape and part of him wanted to get her into hospital. Her circulation was collapsing every now and then from the lack of actual nourishment and the bad air. She flushed down ibuprofen with whiskey against the headache that became a constant thing over the days and the stomach problems from the alcohol were numbed with Iberogast.

Kat hid away in her flat and only left it to buy her substances, or to kick the living crap out of someone for money. And the reason nobody was checking up on her, was because she made sure everyone thinks she's not back in England. As Nathan saw her just turning into her street one day he was naturally confused and decided to go ask why she didn't send him a quick message about being back. After all she said she'd have to take a break from everything for a while because that son of a bitch left her. Realizing she was lying and slowly killing herself in her very own flat for two weeks was a kick to the stomach.

At first he wanted to get her back into the psyche-ward so she can sober up and make sure her body gets better. He took Kat to Doctor Bloomfield the same day and the three of them agreed to leave her out of the ward if she agrees to several conditions.

He helped her clean the place up and took her to Doctor Bloomfield for each of her appointments. It took her two months to get a grip of herself and reduce her substances. No one else knows that she was home the whole time.

'' Kat what happened, what's wrong? ''

'' Can you please come over…? '' She sounds bad again. Kat couldn't say for sure if she had an episode while she was shooting herself up with about everything she could get her hands on but Doctor Bloomfield explained that entering an episode while her body is still on such a low is extremely dangerous. They can't give her more meds in her current state but without them the episode will only take longer which might have her brain receive the damage.

'' Are you home? ''

'' Yeah…''

'' Okay just stay where you are, I'm on my way. '' Nathan hurries back into the room, grabs his stuff, says that something important came up and runs to his car.

No 10 minutes later he's pulling up in front of Kat's house. He took her spare keys the day he found out she's back so he doesn't even have to ring the doorbell. He finds her standing in the living room as he comes in. Her face is wet with tears and her arms are wrapped around herself. As soon as she spots him Kat tears up even more. Nathan pulls her into his arms gently, his hand coming to her head. Kat's shaking but she needs a while before she's calm enough to speak,

'' Erik was here…'' He pulls back, checks the state her eyes are in in the attempt to weigh out whether or not she was hallucinating. Wouldn't be the first time she sees people no one else can see and there's an empty pack next to an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and a halfway emptied Jägermeister so chances are high. Then again, chances that the psychopath actually came here and found out where she lives are just as high.

'' Kat, don't get this the wrong way… but how much have you had? '' She seems confused for a moment before quickly switching to furious,

'' I wasn't hallucinating! '' He nods to the table. Doesn't take her long to realize what he's hinting on and this time she pushes him,

'' Half of the Jack Daniels was gone yesterday already! And the last of it I drank hours ago! And the Jägermeister isn't even mine! '' He forces himself to not look at her like he thinks she's lying right away because he knows she might lash out at him but he has to make sure he's not making an elephant out of a fly.

'' It really isn't! I took it from Clara after she called me to come aid her and her passed out friend! ''

'' Clara was drinking that? Holly's sister Clara? ''

'' I'm telling you Erik was in this very bloody room only a couple o' minutes ago and you are shocked about a 15 year old drinking!? ''

'' I'm sorry but I had to make sure you weren't making him up… Where is he now? What did he want? Did he hurt you? '' Kat rubs her face,

'' He wanted to apologize but I wouldn't let him… A-and I wanted him to go but he refused to leave and as I pushed him he… he had one of his psycho-pushes and suddenly he grabbed me and- ''

'' Kat if your next words are anything close to 'he tried to rape me' I am going to- '' She shakes her head,

'' No! He wouldn't- No… He just… -If my anxiety was a fire and my mind a forest…? ''

'' Yes? ''

'' Then he just poured gasoline over the whole goddamn place and lightened it up…'' Her voice breaks at the end and new tears come to her eyes despite her attempt to offer a smile. She uses humor as a coping mechanism sometimes. She jokes about her illness or her injuries but while she actually finds them funny most of the time, others tend to feel a bit awkward about it.

'' What did he do? ''

'' He started yelling... He told me he's dying without me and that I still owe an eternity to him. He said that, if I won't come with him, he's going to kill everyone I ever loved. '' The tears fall and roll down her cheeks and the shaking returns to her body. Nathan curses,

'' Motherfucker…'' Out of all the things he could have done, that psychopath's going for Kat's anxiety. Of course he had to punch her where she's the most vulnerable. If he'd shown up a month ago she would have blindly followed him and he wishes he could say she only would have to protect her family. But as soon as it's about Erik, Kat's riding dangerously close to being the typical victim of an abusive relationship. No matter what the guy does, she forgives him. Whenever Erik is mentioned she rather looks to the ground like a stubborn child than to face the fact that he is not as much of a victim as she makes him out to be. His past and his sickness might explain why he messed it up so bad but that doesn't mean Kat should just forgive him anything and ignore it ever happened. She is angry at him and she was insulting him once or twice but Nathan is convinced that she would've tagged along if Erik had shown up sooner. It took a lot of work before she was ready to admit she might be better off moving on.

'' Nathan you know what he's like, what if he actually tries to hurt someone? '' Nathan rubs his head as he takes a deep breathe. It wouldn't surprise him if that guy actually tries to kill the people Kat loves to make sure she'll have nowhere else to go, no one else left.

'' He doesn't know where your parents live, does he? ''

'' No. But he found me, he might find my mom and my grandparents. ''

'' You're not that hard to find if he has just a general idea where to look. -What was he like as he left? ''

'' Sad? Kind of broken… I told him to go and he just… left. ''

'' I think in that case chances are higher he'll kill himself rather than someone else. '' That thoughts leaves an awfully sweet taste on his tongue. He was ready to accept him because of Kat but that was over after he broke her heart. And it might be sick, but he enjoys the fantasy of that bastard killing himself. He doesn't deserve her, especially not after his latest fuck-up.

But Kat's obviously not as happy about that possibility as Nathan is. Her eyes suddenly widen in fear and Nathan barely manages to stop her attempt at running to the door. She struggles in his grip,

'' I have to find him- ''

'' Kat! Stop it! You're not going anywhere the way you are right now. It's not your responsibility! '' Slowly she tears up again but this time the frustration and the anger in her seem to get the upper hand. With much more strength than expected, Kat rips herself out of his grasp and starts pacing through the room,

'' Why does he always have to do that?! I would have gotten him back in here before he could have made it down just half the way! I wouldn't have let him go! Neither back then! Even as I had my stuff packed, one small apology and I would have stayed! '' He feels a painful sting in his chest as he looks at her. This man, this psychopathic bastard could hit her, scream at her, push her, grab her and hurt her over and over again and she's still willing to take him back. Suddenly Nathan feels the urge to slap her because of how stupid she is being once again. But then Kat steps into his arms and starts crying her heart out.

'' I still want him back Nathan…! '' Kat's clinging to him, sobbing into his shoulder,

'' I know…''

'' I still love him…! ''

'' I know, it's okay… It's okay Kat… You're gonna be okay…''


Nathan made her swallow a Valium and got her into bed. He made sure she's tucked in and rests comfortably with a glass of water next to her bed for when she wakes up. Nathan's not leaving her flat though. He sits on the couch, a glass of bourbon in front of him and Kat's gun unlocked in his hand. If that shithead comes in here again, Nathan puts a bullet right through his eye. He might have lost that sword fight back then but he's a damn good shot so he's gonna put an end to this once and for all. With him dead Kat's probably in need of a trip to the psyche-ward but in the end she's much better off this way.

Despite his eagerness to stay up the whole night, Nathan falls asleep around 4am. Each time he thinks there's something moving, he wakes up, only to find the apartment still empty. He looks at Kat every so often but she's barely moving. The Valium makes her a calm sleeper, opposite to her usual routine of tossing and turning every 4th second. The psychopath isn't showing up during the night and Nathan would be lying if he says that he's not a tad disappointed by that.


Erik found another ladder he could climb right across the street so that the large windows of Kathrine's apartment allow him a perfect sight on her. But watching her sobbing and being unable to do anything to stop it, feels like torture. Then again, he probably is the last person who can comfort her right now. Perhaps that pain in his heart is the punishment he deserves. How could he ever do this to her? How could he feed her fears like that? Threatening her family, threatening to kill them should she disobey him, is unforgivable. After this he no longer deserves her forgiveness. No matter how honest his love is, there is always this monster in the back of his head. It's the same monster that made sure the Opera would always be under his command. Erik knew that allowing Kathrine in his life also means she would encounter this monster whenever it takes control of him.

Erik sighs and buries his face in his hands. Who is he trying to fool here? There is no monster hiding away in his mind that takes control of him like a dark spirit. Because he is that monster. A stubborn child would never accept a 'No' and throw a tantrum whenever it is confronted with that word. Erik is the same. Just that he is no child anymore, he is a man in his mid-30s who becomes violent whenever someone disobeys him. He hurt and killed people if they wouldn't follow his command and until recently he never even considered the possibility that it might have been wrong to react that way. It is embarrassing that it took someone telling him that this isn't right before he considered it. Then again, Antoinette often told him that his way of handling these situations is wrong but he never gave it a thought before Kathrine.

Erik's eyes shift back to Kathrine, she is speaking to someone over the phone, at least that's what it looks like. Perhaps she is calling the police or one of her friends. If only he could comfort her, assure her that he would never dare touch her family. But Kathrine's order to stay out of her life was clear and she deserves at least that much. He hurt her where she was the most vulnerable and he never felt more ashamed of himself. It was a dirty, cowardly move that is unforgivable.


A little while after Erik left Kathrine's apartment, another Taxi pulled up. Despite his first wave of relieve that Kathrine obviously called for help after all, he soon had very mixed feelings as he recognized the person who was quickly making his way to the door. His feelings soon turned into broiling rage as Kathrine threw herself into the Scholar's arms but this time Erik quickly contained himself. Because even though Erik still despises that man touching his dear angel, he also realized that the Scholar is the only one who can offer Kathrine the comfort she might need at that point. Erik still did not leave them out of his eyes for one moment.

The Scholar is calm, collected, comforting and gentle. He made Kathrine swallow a pill before helping her to bed. Erik could not see everything that was happening, but what he saw was enough to have him relax at least a little. Because Kathrine is safe and that is the only thing that matters.


The scholar slept on her couch and the brief view on Kathrine's gun in his hand is enough to tell Erik that the Scholar waits for him to return to the apartment. Erik is only glad that Kathrine is not actually in need of that idiot's protection because the wannabe-guardian fell asleep in the early morning and woke up only a few minutes before drugged Kathrine did and made breakfast for the both of them. Erik watched the Scholar encouraging Kathrine to eat something, another thing Erik was grateful for.

The Scholar obviously wants to stay longer, maybe to fall asleep yet another time while pretending to guard her. But Kathrine is not allowing that, what Erik is even more grateful for. To say he wasn't grinning as he watched his angel shove the man out would be a lie. Moments later the Scholar exits the building and leaves in his Taxi. As his eyes move back to Kathrine though, his grin drops. While Erik was watching that Scholar leave, his angel moved to the balcony. Only one glance across the street and Kathrine will detect him. Erik is not sure what to expect should that happen. While she certainly has a lovely nature, she is definitely not the type of woman one shall underestimate either. And now that Erik knows about that gun, he feels extremely nervous about the possibility to be seen and shot. The distance is not that far and Kathrine's balcony is on the same level as his place on the ladder. Part of Erik wants to crawl backwards slowly and hide behind the stairs until she is back inside but if he moves now, she's more likely to see him. Erik feels his heart beating faster and his palms begin to sweat. All the times he hurt her and not once has he considered the fact that she was able to shoot a gun out of another man's hand without taking more than half a second to aim.

Kathrine's focus is on the cigarette and as soon as she finished, she goes back inside and Erik relaxes. Until she steps out once again with a bottle in her hand.

It takes Erik around 10 more cigarettes in which he did not dare to move a muscle while sweating nervously until he realizes that Kathrine is far too wrapped up in her own world to care about what happens across from her. As soon as he grants his body to relax, he feels that most of his muscles are sore. He deserves that soreness. He wouldn't have to fear for his life like that if he hadn't given her the perfect excuse to shoot him. Out of all the things he could have said, Erik chose to threaten Kathrine's family. He did not mean to, the words were out of his mouth before he could think about them. But of course that is no excuse. He knows that after this he really does not deserve her forgiveness again, even if she would offer it. Not again. But now that he knows what life can be like if she is with him, how can he live without her?


Kathrine left her home on the same night after talking to someone over her phone. He saw her dressing in the same clothing in which she exercised not too long ago and covered herself in a warm jacket. Even though Erik wasn't sure where she was heading to, he already had an unwell feeling about knowing her destination.

It started to snow by the time they arrive at a shabby warehouse that only differs from the many others because of the two lamps lightening the entrance and the noises that are heard each time the doors open. The whole area has been deserted for a while now, a perfect location for doing illegal things without being noticed.

Kathrine enters the building through a smaller door on the left side. The door is guarded by a tall, brawny man with a tattoo on the right side of his neck, a snake if Erik sees it correctly. For a moment Erik considers killing the man to get past him but Kathrine would most likely hear of the murder and then she would know that he is following her. Besides, the only promise to Kathrine Erik has not yet broken is the vow to not kill anyone again. So instead, Erik uses the front door together with a few more people. To be honest, he is quite grateful that he can leave the cold for a little while. His clothing is not thick enough for these freezing temperatures.

The moment he enters though, he scrunches his nose in disgust and almost feels the need to go back into the cold. The dominating stenches in the building are blood and sweat but they are not the only things he can abruplty name even though he would prefer not to. The inside is one large hall with a few lamps dangling from the ceiling and a boxing ring in the middle. A look at the ceiling abruptly has Erik notice the cage dangling above the ring, possibly to keep the fighters from fleeing. Or if he thinks about Kathrine's technique, from falling into the crowd,. The idea that they have the cage because Kathrine was tossing people around and into the crowd all the time has him smiling for a moment. Until the lights around him suddenly go out and only the ring is flooded in light. Loud music comes from large black boxes in each corner of the warehouse. He remembers the night Kathrine showed him the music on her phone as he recognizes the song but Erik forces his mind to not wander anywhere else right now. The crowd seems to be focusing on something on the right side but Erik can't see with so many people in the way. There are outlines on the wall that might hint on a door.

'' Are you ready? '' A man's voice is coming from the black boxes now too and Erik realizes that these must be something like the loudspeakers on Kathrine's laptop, just much bigger. He looks back to the ring and sees a man standing in the middle. The crowd cheers louder. For something that Kathrine described as illegal, these people certainly do not care for trying to keep this whole thing much of a secret. No one within the crowd looks in any way worried they might be discovered and arrested, nor do they care for keeping their voices down. The screaming must be clearly audible for whoever is in this area so how on earth is this place not already closed down? On the other hand, the walls might be built to isolate the sound. That and the abandoned location of this building would guarantee invisibility from the authorities.

'' Well then releeeaaase the Tigress! '' The man screams into something that transfers his voice to the loud-speakers quite dramatically and points to the spot that the crowd was looking at before. After scanning the wall quickly for anything he could step on to have a better view, he finds a bucket. The doors open and someone comes into the hall but to see who these people are cheering for is not as much of a victory as he thought. The light is directly focused on Kathrine and it follows her as she jumps around to the music. In a mix of dancing and jumping she makes her way to the ring and slaps into a couple of hands that are reaching out for her.

I live for the applause, applause, applause! I live for the applause-plause! Live for the applause-plause!

Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me! The applause, applause, applause!

'' Welcome our unbeaten Champion! 15 wins in a row, each fight more entertaining than the last one! '' Erik's eyes narrow as he notices the way Kathrine acts in the spotlight. None of the previously displayed anxiety is visible in her behavior. Kathrine told him how being in the spotlight has her panicking and each time she was on the stage Erik could clearly see that panic. But here she is completely enjoying herself. Her eyes close in between while her hips use their full potential to swing. Everything about this place seems odd to Erik. Is this really the arena where Kathrine participates in the brutal battles that left several scars on her body already? Or is it much more a show to entertain people and Kathrine was well taught about what to say if she is asked about the origin of her scars. It might be possible that, while the scars actually were created in this arena, a real fight was not the reason for them. Mistakes while faking a fight happen all the time. Erik can remember the man that lost his eye two years ago while rehearsing a faked fight very well. It is one of the risks you are aware of if you choose to perform something that is supposed to look as real as possible.

Then there is the chance that there are two kinds of fights she is engaging in. The dangerous one and this show that merely serves to entertain. Erik's hands curl to fists as he watches Kathrine easily climbing into the ring. She grins at the man close to her and motions for the crowd to cheer louder, which they abruptly do. She is bathing in this attention. Erik can hear them screaming her name.

Kat! Kat! Kat! Kat!

His stomach clenches in anticipation, surely this has to be the fake, legal version. Kathrine would never say her real name in an illegal fight. He needs a sign, anything that tells him this is not the kind of fight that will most definitively hurt her or cause yet another scar on her perfect body.

Erik silently curses his mind as he suddenly remembers that Kathrine told him about the time someone injured her with a knife. He remembers the scar, every detail of it. It was large, it looked like the cut was deep. It must have bled a lot, maybe so much that she lost a dangerous amount. Kathrine told him she lost that fight and won twelve stitches. Blame the way Kathrine acted and reacted as she was threatened with a gun but Erik has the idea that there might have been more to that fight than she led on. The scar tissue was different on both ends. It is very much possible that Kathrine just kept fighting and the stretch that was on the scar thereof caused her skin to rip open even more. That is why the scar has another tissue at each end. Of course Erik can only guess and put together what clues he has but the way Kathrine reacts if someone threatens her life is alarmingly indifferent. Kathrine did not seem like the kind of person to be suicidal but if Erik had to give her behavior a description he'd say that she is not suicidal but she is not afraid of death either which has her caring very little for something that could be life threatening as long as there is something else she thinks is more important in that moment. Now that Erik is really allowing himself to think about all this, it actually fills a few gaps that were always in his mind whenever he thought of Kathrine's character.

Which means that the nervousness Erik felt changes into pure fear for Kathrine's life. Because if this whole thing here is, despite it's rather odd structure, a real fight in which almost everything is allowed, Kathrine is willing to pay whatever price is necessary to win. And perhaps that is the reason no one manages to beat her. Because this risky behavior is extremely unusual. Even the strongest, most stubborn person will stop fighting at some point if they think their life is in danger.

Erik's palms begin to sweat. Right now Kathrine is emotionally even more unstable than she normally is and the substance abuse Kathrine once told him about might be worse than what he saw. Who knows what is currently inside her body. What drugs did she flush down with the whiskey he saw her drinking on the way. Her reflexes might not function like they usually do. If her opponent is strong, he might beat her. And Kathrine will not back down in case she is hurt. Which means, Kathrine is in acute danger.

Erik's hands ball into tight fists until his knuckles begin to ache. It is very much possible that he is making this whole situation worse than it is because he interprets more into it than he should. He is probably just exaggerating things here. But even if he is right about this, if Kathrine really happens to encounter a situation where her life is in acute danger, Erik will step in and protect her. She will be furious at him, she will hate him even more than she already does, too. But at least she will be alive. He is willing to have her be mad at him as long as she is alive.

Suddenly another man steps into the ring. Erik was so deep in thought that he completely missed the man's announcement. Her opponent bears a scar right across the left half of his face starting on his eyebrow and stopping on his lips. Scratches. Kathrine's trademark. His angel looks at the marks with a cheeky smirk,

'' Really love the scratches. Are you a fan or did I beat you already? One way or the way, rawrrr. '' She makes a cat-like movement with her hand while winking at him playfully. The man glares at her, his voice is rough but part of Erik believes the man is making it sound like that to be more threatening. He's muscular but he's not very thick which might make him more flexible than other men with his strength.

'' Neither. '' Kathrine purses her lips, her hands now in her hips,

'' S&M lover? ''

'' Laugh as much as you want… You won't be able to do so much longer. You won't win this fight. I spent many months analyzing your techniques and I know every trick of yours by heart. '' She raises an eyebrow,

'' So more a stalker than a fan. Not that flattering. '' She shrugs, either completely oblivious or absolutely not impressed by the man's words. Erik feels suddenly much more tensed. Kathrine's technique was what allowed her to do things beyond her actual strength and Erik can very well imagine that her rather unique way to fight always were the advantage allowing her to be so reckless. She might not realize how much of a problem this could become to her. Just in case Erik has to step in, he makes sure to move a little further but he barely manages to push through and soon he has to give up. He will push through with more force if Kathrine really faces any danger. Right now Erik is confident that she will win. He saw her fighting, saw her training, that man might have watched her a few times but it won't be enough to recognize each attack soon enough to stop them.

'' I'm gonna pull your claws pussy-cat. '' He seems confident. She only winks at him in response. The grin on her face is almost dripping with arrogance but her body is tensed. So there is a little caution in her after all.

The man introducing the two fighters leaves the ring and suddenly the cage is lowered, locking the two fighters into it. Erik swallows. There's still a chance that this really is nothing more but a well rehearsed show.

The Ding of a bell that announces the beginning of the first round abruptly wipes that small glimmer of hope on Erik's horizon away. The two fighters run towards each other and Kathrine uses her speed to jump off the ground just before she reaches him, her leg aiming to kick hard against her opponent's head but the man grabs her on her ankle just before she can touch him and uses her jump against her to hurl her into the cage behind him. Kat manages to turn in the last second and push herself off the cage through what she lands on all four, earning an extra round of cheering from the crowd.

Kathrine's eyes bear an expression that makes Erik a little nervous. It is similar to the way she was glaring the Inspector down, without any kind of mercy and a sick satisfaction. For the first time Erik wonders if he ever looked like that as he killed someone before. He felt a satisfied smirk coming to his lips one or two times but that's all he can really say for certain. He enjoys being stronger, he enjoys winning. It probably makes him much more like one of these people than he thought.

'' Not bad. '' Kathrine actually looks impressed, as if she's enjoying the threat this man is.

'' I have a photographic memory. I can still see every single one of your attacks right in front of my eye. ''

'' Interesting. Let's test that, shall we? '' Kathrine dashes forwards and starts a series of attacks. Punches, high and low kicks, attempted techniques to either hurt him or rip him off his feet. He blocks or counters every single one of them. Those who have more force than he expected got him out of balance a few times but each attack Kathrine chose next to completely get him off his feet was one of those he was more prepared for so he could block her while regaining his stance. The crowd is unsure who to cheer for, some are confident 'the Tigress' will beat the guy, others say that without her pretty techniques she is not strong enough to actually have a chance against this copy-cat. Erik can hear that most of the voices are still rooting for his angel of music though. Kathrine really is very popular in this business, if one can call it that.

As another attack of hers is blocked, Kathrine makes a rather far backflip to get some distance between her and the man that is obviously pushing her into a corner she has not been in before. She's trying to hide it but Erik can see the sweat running down her forehead, the way her eyes are no longer only narrowed in a mix of strict focus and threat to intimidate the man across her. Erik isn't sure if everyone else sees it too but to him she looks as if he's actually frustrating her to a level where she feels hopeless that her technique will be of any use to her right now. After a second she offers a smirk,

'' Not bad Rick, I'm impressed. '' Kat's knees are bend are little, her back bend forwards and her arms hanging at her sides. Her shoulders are moving up and down with each heavy but controlled breath, she's clearly thinking up a new strategy. But her opponent is not granting her that break she is in need of. Suddenly he's storming towards her and her attempt to move aside is stopped by his arm grasping hers. A hard kick to her stomach pushes her backwards, her torso bending forwards while she coughs up saliva. She keeps stumbling backwards until her back collides with the grid. Erik flinched while everyone around him was giving their own comment to Kathrine's current situation. For a few seconds Kathrine remains bend over with her arms in front of her stomach and her eyes closed.

Rick is disgustingly confident and the crowd is waiting for the next move. The silence that fell over the room allows everyone to hear the growl coming from Kathrine. Her teeth are grit as her eyes drop to her sides and her head snaps up at the opponent. Kathrine's eyes are narrowed dangerously, she looks like a wild animal, captured in a sudden blood-rush. She wants to hurt Rick, maybe even kill him.

She dashes forwards again and makes a move for a throw that usually would have her opponent crash into the grid with enough force to leave bruises but just as she sees him getting ready to block that attack, she suddenly drops to her knees and uses the tunnel his widely spread legs form to get behind him. Before Rick can react, Kathrine is already pouncing at him from behind and wraps her legs around his neck. With the force and speed of her jump she brings up enough power to easily knock them both over. The man crashes face-first into the ground with a loud crash and a crack that announces the broken state his nose is in. But Kathrine is not done. The moment Rick crashed down, Kathrine is jumping up once more and angles her legs so that she slams knees-first into his back. The following cracks are louder than the one before and Erik is sure that she broke at least two of his ribs. Rick howls in agony and Kathrine quickly rolls off him to the side.

That last attack obviously caused some damage to her knees as well because Kathrine winces as she comes to a halt on all four and rises to her feet. She keeps her knees bend, slightly moving up and down as if they need to be put back into place. Erik wonders how long it's been since Kathrine last received such a nasty blow to have her react in such a feral way. Almost all of Kathrine's special techniques are aiming to knock the opponent out quickly. That means Kathrine is not always interested in actually brutalizing them, she only wants to enjoy herself and win. But this attack wasn't aiming to knock Rick out, she wanted him to be conscious and feel the damage she caused. So she really must have taken that kick to heart.

As worried as he is about her, he can't help feeling proud of his little hurricane finding such a clever way to still cause such damage even though her opponent knows her moves by heart. Pain briefly flashes in her eyes as her hands rub the painful spots of her knees while Rick actually gets back to his feet- much to the surprise of most people in the crowd. His nose isn't just broken, it's shattered. The different directions the broken pieces are pointing to make it oddly crooked. Most parts of his face that are below his nose are quickly covered in blood until it drips onto the ground. Even with the adrenaline rushing through him he should be in too much pain to stand. Erik can say out of first hand how hard it is to just breathe with broken ribs. Moving around with them is impossible. How can that man still stand up with the intention to let the fight continue?

Realization has Erik's eyes widen in a heart beat. Just like Kathrine, Rick is not interested in his injuries. To him the only thing that matters is winning the battle. That leaves them both mentally on the exact same level. They will keep fighting until either their opponent breaks down or they do. Giving up is not even an option. Erik feels more worried than proud once again but he also realizes that the broken ribs are a huge disadvantage which in turn gives Kathrine the advantage to be faster. While she got to feel a rather nasty kick, she's still more agile than her opponent and the broken ribs should make Rick even slower.

'' This is exciting! I wasn't facing a real challenge in years now! '' Kathrine suddenly yells at Rick with an almost insane grin that reaches her widened eyes. Rick's eyes narrow,

'' Don- fuck…! Don't t-think this is ove-over yet…! '' He forces out through grit teeth, he's sweating from the immense pain but forces himself to stand up straight then. Kathrine quits this with a slight title of her head,

'' Don't be so grumpy Rickster. Did ya actually think you'd beat me just 'cause you take my advantages from me? If the only reason I've won this many fights was 'cause of my technique I'd be a pretty shitty Champion, don't ya think? '' She opens her arms in mock, her hip now pushed out in that to Erik familiar gesture of confidence. With a sudden scream of anger, Rick rushes towards her. Kathrine waits until he is almost close enough to hurt her before she she uses the cage behind her to push herself high enough in the air to be able to jump over his head without Rick having the chance to grab her out of the air. Just as Rick turns to block her attack, Kat drops to the floor, her back pressed on the ground to make sure her legs have enough of a support to kick Rick's legs apart and once more have him crash to the ground. That move was more serving the purpose of playing with him rather than actually putting an end to this. Kathrine is using bluffs and double techniques to reach the same goal but the photographic memory of Rick is still making Erik a bit uneasy.

His gut feeling turns out to be right as Rick once more gets to his feet and Kathrine's attempt to crash her fist into the point where his broken ribs must be is quickly fooled by the older male. Erik's eyes widen in horror as Rick not only blocks her attack but also quickly responds with an attack as well. Rick's not brawny but Erik's original guess about how strong he actually is also turns out to be about right as Rick's fist slams into the same spot that his foot did not long ago and Kathrine's whole body actually is lifted off the ground a few centimeters. Kathrine's eyes roll into the back of her head somewhat, her mouth wide open but no sound getting past her lips. Kathrine's hands cling to the arm connected to the fist, her fingers digging into his skin slightly. The crowd screams in everything from shock to amazement as Rick suddenly withdraws his fist, only to have his foot once more slamming into that same spot and Kathrine is tossed into the grids, impacting with the steel hard enough to shake the whole cage. Erik didn't hear any bones breaking, which he takes as a good sign, but the way Kathrine's body just collapses without any signs of life has his heart dropping to his knees in fear. That spot Rick was repeatedly brutalizing is a very dangerous thing to pick. Erik wants to move to the cage and check if Kathrine is breathing but he can't move. The force that was used should be more than enough to kill her. The crowd fell completely silent the same moment her body collapsed and now there's barely anyone daring to move and break the tension that covers the whole room.

Rick breathes heavily, each time he inhales with a clearly audible wheezing, he flinches a little. His eyes are narrowed as he glares down at Kathrine, waits for her to make a move. As she remains completely motionless he allows his body to relax,

'' So much for 'unbeatable Champion'… Told you I'd pull your claws. '' Erik's staring at Kathrine's lifeless body with wide open eyes. He forgets how to breathe suddenly, how to move, all he can do is stare at the way her body lies on the ground. As if there's not a single muscle functioning. Like a puppet.

Kathrine…

'' Looks like there's a new Champion in this house! '' Rick announces with his arms open. The crowd is still mute and frozen before slowly the first few begin to cheer but a large part remains silent. Erik feels like someone just ripped something out of his body. Kathrine might be tougher than most women but the structure of her bones should not be capable to handle a repeated attack like this without something breaking. Maybe the noise of the cage rustling as she impacted covered the noise of a breaking bone but Erik could swear he didn't hear anything like that. The way the crowd reacts to Kathrine's loss is another reason for Erik to not believe that she would lose this easily. Her body was a lot faster as she took out the policemen back at the Opera what proves another theory of Erik. She must be heavily influenced by whatever she consumed. Probably more than just one thing, too. Erik was right many times tonight and most of them he would rather have been wrong about.

Stand up Kathrine...

'' Oi oi… not so fast Ricky-baby…'' The raspy, slightly muffled but definitely familiar voice abruptly shuts the few cheering up and has every eye abruptly moving to the body on the ground. Like a broken doll Kathrine rolls her shoulders and pops every bone back into its original place while getting back to her feet. She spits some blood on the ground next to her and wipes her mouth while starring at Rick who still has his back to her. The man claiming his victory just a moment ago almost looks as if he's turned to stone if it wasn't for the way his shoulders would slowly begin to shake before the rest of his body slowly follows that example. Kathrine stares at his back with her head cocked to the side and an almost apologetic frown on her face,

'' Y'know… I really like that title and it was a bit of a piece of work to get this far. 'm sorry but you can't have it. '' Slowly Rick turns and for a moment he just stares at Kathrine in silence as if she was a ghost. There's a certain look in his eyes that Erik has seen in many eyes many times before: Perplexed, stunned terror. The kind of fear one only feels if something is beyond their understanding.

'' H-how… how are you still conscious? '' His voice is barely loud enough for Erik to understand from where he stands but Kathrine seems amused by that fear. She taps her finger against her temple,

'' All a matter of control. '' Rick looks her up and down,

'' How aren't your bones broken...'' She shrugs with an adorable expression of complete innocence on her face,

'' Uh… I dunno, enough calcium as a kid? Lots of luck? Maybe I'm a Witch. '' At the last part there's that cheeky smirk returning to her lips while her eyes narrow only a little but it's enough to have Rick slowly taking a step backwards,

'' I hit the nerve bundle in your stomach… you shouldn't be capable to stand… you shouldn't even be able to breathe...''

'' Yeah, tough shit. Told ya it takes more to beat me, didn't I? '' Erik feels a wide grin coming to his lips and he is honestly not sure if he ever was as proud of someone as he is of Kathrine right in this moment. Whatever trick this is Kathrine is using, she somehow manages to either ignore the pain that should be controlling every fiber of her body or stop it from reaching her brain in the first place. He tries to think about something that could have an effect like this but nothing that Erik can think of would actually work as well as Kathrine's method does. His finger itch with curiosity and he feels the sudden very persistent urge to ask her about this. Of course he can't do that, not now at least. Perhaps he will have another chance to talk to her in hopefully near future without her throwing him out right away. Hopefully he will be able to control himself properly then as well.

'' I-I don't… H-how…'' She takes a step closer and Rick takes a step back. As he feels the cage in his back he moves along the wall of it to make sure there's as much distance between them as possible.

'' C'mon Rick! You really wanna quit now? I was having so much fun! '' She keeps her voice monotone beside a small bit of faked innocence, fully aware that it is right now frightening her opponent to the bone. If Erik was in Rick's position, he'd probably feel similar about this. But knowing her means Erik knows there is some secret behind this trick. A special training or some kind of barrier in her mind. Something she originally learned to make sure the blackouts she hates with such passion have as little control over her as possible. Perhaps it was something that was supposed to help her regain control while a blackout was already starting. Whatever it is, right now it proves to be extremely helpful and the little extra that whatever Kathrine is using appears to be impossible to most people gives Kathrine both the opportunity to play with her opponent a little, as well as give her reputation a new kick.

'' You're cheating! You can't possibly still walk around like that after I- ''

'' This is a fight, Rick. Finish it and stop being a pussy. '' There's a glimpse of annoyance in her eyes but Rick is oblivious to that.

'' I'm being the pussy?! That's rich comin' from someone who rather cheats than to fuckin' lose! ''

'' Cheats? Aw, d'ya feel hurt in your male honor just because I have better control over my body than you do? Try Yoga. '' A few people, Erik included, laugh briefly.

'' Fuck control man! Nobody can just shut that off! ''

'' Actually there are about 2.000 people that can, it's just a bit of a risk to actually do that. It's training, not cheatin', smart-arse. So fucking finish your fight you fuckin' piece o' pussy-shit. '' Rick stares at her another moment, clearly trying to decide what to do next. Then suddenly he charges at her, he makes a motion that hints on something Erik saw Kathrine doing as a start for the technique that allows her to haul a man twice her size and weight across the room. Obviously Kathrine notices that as well because she grabs both his wrists and jumps up through what she can easily kick her feet with a little extra force into his chest. He falls back into the cage again while Kathrine comes down on all four. She stands up and moves swiftly up to him. With her eyes narrowed dangerously she grabs him on his collar to slam him into the bars in warning,

'' You fuckin' use my technique again and I'll bitch-slap you into the next generation you bloody copy-cat! First you callin' me a cheater and then you bloody copy me!? '' Rick opens his mouth to yell back at her but Kathrine obviously has more than enough of this now because she slams her fist into his throat and as soon as he bends down to gag, Kathrine rams her foot into his face, slamming his head hard enough into the bars to knock him out cold. She hisses down at him before turning,

'' Can someone remove that pathetic worm from my cage? '' Kathrine asks the two security guards Erik did not notice before in a bored tone and suddenly the whole warehouse begins to cheer and applaud. The security guards step onto the stage to carry the unconscious man out of the same door Kathrine came in through. As much as Erik is still disapproving of this whole issue about the illegal fights, he has to admit that it was very entertaining and most of the time he was positively impressed by how much he was cheering along, if not as loudly as the rest of the people around him. Kathrine is an incredibly skilled fighter. Of course he was impressed by her unique technique back in the Opera already but to watch her fight a real opponent was, most of the time, a thrilling experience he is glad to have been part of. Obviously Kathrine made herself a real name here and the reaction that went through the crowd as she was hit the first time let on that this is not happening often, which of course releases him a lot more than he thought it would. She already told him that he has no right to forbid her this and in all honesty, most of him doesn't want to any longer after what he saw today. But the part that felt like a part of his own soul died as he was forced to stand there and watch Kathrine getting hurt this badly wants to try and talk her out of it. In the end though, it is a way for Kathrine to feel in control, to earn money and to stay strong. She is enjoying this and he would never try to take something from her that she enjoys this much.

As Kathrine agrees to yet another fight though, Erik realizes that she is in desperate need of a clear set of rules though. See her limits and accept them, know when to stop. Then again, with the situation being as it is right now, there's nothing he can do. Except standing here in the crowd and applauding her, ready to step in if her little trick to shut the pain out should suddenly fail her.


The fight Kathrine agreed to is childsplay to her. She was challenged by a much weaker opponent and only made sure the fight is entertaining the crowd for a few minutes before knocking him out with yet another impressive technique of hers. It was rather quick but there was not much she could have done to somehow prolong this. Her opponent tried his luck because he thought she'd be easy to beat after the beating she already took. Of course that was a big mistake. That man was not even getting close to landing a hit. Kathrine was bored and that she openly displayed for everyone to see and humiliate the man.


Kathrine leaves soon after the second fight ended and Erik knows that this is his cue to leave the building as well. The way to the exit is much easier than the way to the ring was before and he has to wait a little while for his beloved to leave through that same small door on the side of the building. As he sees her stepping outside into the cold, her bruised body is cleverly hidden underneath her black jacket, the hood covering most of her face. He is everything but pleased as he notices how she holds herself. The barricade must have lost its effect then. She is stumbling into the wall after taking the first few steps towards the street. Erik takes a step towards her in reflex but abruptly retreats. It would probably only make things worse for Kathrine if he exposes himself like this to this time. He can always carry her home if she collapses somewhere on the way home, for now he will have to be her secret guardian. Kathrine takes a few more deep breathes while grabbing three white pills out of her pocket. She swallows them and lights then a cigarette. A few puffs and she pushes herself off the wall to make her way to the street once more. It pains Erik to see her like this. As she suddenly stops just as she reaches the street, Erik shifts to another position to find out what causes her to make such an abrupt halt. Erik is both annoyed and released to see the Scholar waiting in front of the building. On one hand Erik still cannot bring himself to like that man- he was ready to accept him for Kathrine's sake but he will never really like him. On the other hand he can help her right now. As soon as the Scholar notices Kathrine, he takes a step away from his taxi towards her. The street is empty otherwise, the crowd inside probably enjoys more battles.

'' Kat. '' The Scholar looks at her in anger first but as he sees her face he takes a step closer and his frown changes into worry,

'' How the hell did you know where I am? '' Kat asks while stomping the halfway finished cigarette out on the ground. In that moment Holly exits the metal coffin and Erik almost smirks at the angry glare on her face. Kathrine already told him that this expression is actually only really used on her for whenever she does something extremely stupid and Holly is mad. Instead of backing down though, Kathrine snorts. Despite how tiny of a sign it is though, Erik notices her body swaying to the sight a bit. A sign for her circulation being damaged, her vision must be unclear too. She is hurt a lot worse than she admits to herself and for the first time in his life he is truly grateful that the scholar is with her. Perhaps she will listen to him, or at least to Holly. Perhaps together they can keep her safe, make sure her injuries will be taken care of.

'' I won. '' Her voice cracks. Holly's jaw clenches,

'' And you think that's gonna change anything? '' Kathrine shrugs,

'' Maybe not. But that's none of your business. ''

'' Get in the car. '' The Scholar points at the Taxi- the car -behind him but Kathrine's smirk only turns more arrogant,

'' I rather walk, thank you. ''

'' How long do you want to keep this up! '' Holly suddenly yells, taking a step closer. Kathrine shrugs carelessly,

'' The fighting? Well I guess until I don't have to pay bills anymore. So that might take some time. ''

'' Get another job! ''

'' I thought about becoming an Escort again. I might call Teresa tomorrow- '' Erik almost flinches as he feels vomit creeping up his throat. Kathrine swore to him she won't take that kind of employment again. Of course that was as he promised her to be with her. But to hear her considering it again feels like a punch to the gut.

'' You think this is any form of revenge?!- ''

'' I am not attempting any revenge. I'm living my life. And I do it as I please so leave me alone. I don't owe you anything. I don't owe anyone anything…'' Suddenly Holly is in front of her and before Kathrine or the scholar can react, she slaps Kathrine hard enough for her already weakened body to ruck to the side.

'' You bloody arrogant spoiled bitch! This isn't just about you! You're hurting others more than you hurt yourself with this! So pull yourself together and get in the bloody car! '' Kathrine barely reacts to the hit. She cups her reddening cheek gently but fails to look at her friend. And suddenly Kathrine lashes out. Quickly she grabs Holly, kicks her legs aside to make her loose her balance and lowers her to the ground. With that, before Holly or the Scholar can stop her, Kathrine leaves. The scholar grits his teeth as he watches her leave but helps Holly to her feet first.

Why is he not following her?

With the help of the Scholar, Holly quickly gets to her feet but she only takes few steps into Kathrine's direction,

'' Kat! '' Kathrine's fast steps change to a crooked running . The scholar just stands there and watches her leave with an expression that Erik cannot name. Holly grits her teeth as Kathrine is about to round a corner,

'' Kat! '' Kathrine does not stop and Erik is quick to follow her. If his life ever taught him something, it was running.

Kathrine comes to a halt as soon as she is sure that her friends will not find her. She is breathing heavily, as if she never exercised in her life. Erik blames her condition for that. Her body was strained much worse than she expected. Now it is his duty to make sure she is reaching her home safely.