Intermission 1: Complications

"Well, we got through round one anyway." Henry stepped through the door to their hotel room. Limping, Jeane followed. In the doorway, a beam katana ignited behind her. Heat on the back of her neck.

Stupid stupid stupid...I heard him say it! Why didn't I...no, we'd best get this out of the way now.

She closed her eyes. "Going to send me back to hell, Travis?" Inside, Henry ignited his katana, but Jeane was standing between the twins. Whatever doubts Jeane had had about her brother's potential threat evaporated...he'd chosen his position perfectly. Even she wasn't quick enough to dodge a katana strike from behind at this range...In a doorway, she had no room to dodge to one side, either. She took a breath.

Travis Touchdown's own exhalation hissed through his teeth. "I should...I know I should."

"Hang on now, kill her, what do you think Hell is going to do, Travis?"

"Shut up Henry! He's not the kind of person you can threaten!"

"Tell me...why I shouldn't..." The katana was wavering.

There's no hope of a more pleasant dream this time. "I can't." She made a point of not moving. If I'm dead, I'm dead. There's nothing I can do.

"..."

...He should've done something by now. Then...The blade sank into the doorframe and deactivated . Jeane resisted the urge to turn.

"Shit...It was hard enough the first time. I don't think I can do this again." He was gone, beam katana in hand.

Jeane took a step forward into the room and collapsed on a cushion. "He never changes, does he? Still so cute."

Henry looked at her. He'd heard a lot of descriptions of his brother, from 'goldmine' to 'idiot' to 'maniac', but this was a new one. "What?"

"Cute. He couldn't finish it, because he knew what was waiting for me. So...innocent. I remember his reaction when I noticed the porn collection."

"Hey now, I don't need those kind of detailsāˆ’"

"You're not getting them. But his face...he was expecting me to...I don't know, start crying or throw something at him. Basic stuff ...no brutality, no kids, barely any props. So anyway, we sat down and watched a few...they were pretty boring to tell the truth. But...God, I hate to admit this...he was such a kid, you know? But it was...fun, back then. Everything else I did was either exploiting or a ...transaction. And then..."

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Travis Touchdown stared into his drink. "She was... so...nice, you know? In a weird way. When she found the porn, it was like she was...I don't know, relieved? I still don't know why. She didn't react to them at all...Now and again, she'd say something like 'Spines don't twist like that', but how could I know how she knew? I knew she hated Miyuki for some reason, but there was no way to tell that...Fuck. Fuck!"

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"I was glad he had something. I don't think I could have trusted any guy who was completely fetishless. I mean, Dad was pretty respected. Sure, Travis wasn't the kind of guy you trusted to turn away while you changed your shirt, but...I don't know, even when I knew I was going to end up hurting both of us... I can't deny that...through it all, I genuinely liked him. Do you have any idea how rare that is for me? I don't regret what I did to Dad, but I could wish we didn't have the same one. How fucked up is that?"

Henry shrugged "Genetic, I think. Fucked up romances run in the family."

He almost stepped back at her smile. "It wasn't all bad. Although he nearly killed me playing DuelMonsters on the Schpeltiger once. Why?" She shrugged. "Such a kid...So, what am I going to do when he comes back?"

Silence.

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"She used to get scars, but she said they were from fights...she was a small time MMA fighter. Enough to explain the scars, and justify the training, I guess. ...I was so stupid. Went to a few of her bouts. Even then, I could tell she wasn't taking them seriously, the only time I saw her go all out was when one of the opponents drew a knife in the ring. Probably a rival assassin. That, and this one day we were mugged walking home. I was shot four times, she brought me home. And then...so fucking stupid, I could've sworn she was upset I got hurt, but...Aw fuck. Fuck this, I've got places to be." Throwing back his chair, he left the bar.

Metropolis was ordinarily a quite safe city. The hellgate had changed that, but even a pissed Travis was capable of dealing damage. Three cultists and two unwary winged demons lay in his wake by the time chocolate claws closed on his neck from behind.

"Why are you killing my worshippers?"

"They got in my way."

The demon's grip tightened. "Don't play with me! I brought you back to life, and I can take it away just as easily." Yellow tinged eyes flicked skyward. "Am I understood?"

Travis's slightly unfocused stare met the demon's. "Sure. I've been to hell once. Sooner or later, I'll go back. You can't do any more to me than I've got coming already." Beam katana ignited, severing the demons hand...which grew back instantly, with blades. Travis Touchdown took a stance.

"You can probably take me...but can you do it quickly? People will notice by the time we're done. And I think you've been hiding from BORED for a reason."

Death by Chocolate snarled, brown teeth lengthening. "You're still working for me, mortal. Remember that."

"Oh, sure." Travis kept walking as the Chocolate demon slithered through a grating into Metropolis sewers.

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Jeane was waiting for him when he got back to the hotel. She had to notice the claw marks on his neck, but didn't comment. He paused on the threshold, met her glance.

"Thanks for not killing me." She looked down at the coffee table in front of her chair. "Um...listen. During this tournament, we're going to have to be working together. So, for the purposes of staying out of hell for as long as possible...Can we not be enemies, just for now? I know this sounds weird, coming from me."

Long silence. He took her extended hand. "Not enemies."

For now. Just until I figure things out.

Written because I can't brush the history between these two under the carpet. Multiple murders tend to stick in the memory. I don't think I've adequately dealt with it, but it'll do to keep both of them alive for now. Also serves as a setup for potential treachery, which as yet, I have no plans for. Please review, compliments not compulsory. I think I can get away with this, I think there was some affection between these two: I mean, Travis named his cat Jeane. She didn't kill him even though he witnessed the massacre, and both of them hesitate on their initial chance to kill each other.