She is nailed up there. Her entire body is wrapped to a bright red cloth. Legs, torso, everywhere except her head. Her eyes are closed but I can still hear her breath. She must be unconscious. Hang on Dawn! I say as I try to reach the cloth until I see an inauspicious shadow moving closer to mine. I quickly turn around and a demented Scrafty is standing there, wearing a creepy smile showing its sharp, pointy, reddish teeth that still oozes blood. He then chuckles, whilst whispering –

"You're next!"

He then tackles me hard, landing on a firm wooden shelf and proceeds to bite my arm. The radio that hangs on the other side of my shoulder breaks, rendering back-up call useless. I quickly draw out my elbow blades and I'm shaking my arms like there's no tomorrow, for him to release. I quickly hoist myself up and deliver a hard-knocking close combat. Left hook!Right hook! I'm on a roll! I didn't let him have a chance to counter because of my fast fists. And for the final finish, I give him a strong kick that sends him to the other side of the basement. I think it's over, but suddenly a dark purple beam pushes me to the wall. It was his Dark Pulse!

He gets up, and proceeds to tackle me again but only this time, faster and more rigid. As he is running towards me, I immediately stand up. And by the time he's inches from me, I swiftly slide sideways, aim my elbow joint unto his head then I instantly release my beloved steel-like sword. The blade pierces through his skull and blood is spraying everywhere. I then raise my elbow up rapidly, cutting his head in half. Parts of his brain still stick to my trusty old weapon. I suppose I could wash them later on. I check the bite wound. Nothing serious. Just a puncture but it is severely bleeding. I don't have any towel or cloth with me so I block the damage using my hand. I proceed to Dawn's point. I can hear her crying.

"There, there. Everything's going to be all right."I say in a melancholy voice. Using my other arm, I slowly rip apart the cloth until she's free. Even though my arm's still in pain from the bite – and from the shoulder laceration – I carry her outside for treatment. The police are in awe of my actions. An officer named Ken, a Blaziken, starts to clap and then everyone in the vicinity claps while I'm heading towards the ambulance for Dawn to rest. After I place her on the bed, I take a courteous bow and smile at the people whose visions are already clocking at me. I've never felt so happy before, that the people are applauding and raising a salute to honor me a job well done. Usually when I return from a mission, there's nobody there to witness the amazing things I've done to rescue the people who are in desperate needs. Rescuing and killing at the same time without dying is already a part of my living. I've rescued many damsels in distress and slaughtered many psychos before. And coming out alive and breathing wasn't easy. I've felt worse. Like the pirate raid at Kayward Ocean, rescuing 20 innocent Staryus while battling a bunch of Crawdaunts. When I accomplished that, I came out empty-handed, literally. Those evil lobsters pinched all of my palms out. It took like two days for the Blissies to stitch my hand back together, and 3 months for healing. Thanks to the wonderful health technology at Regal, the scars suddenly disappeared without a trace. And patching myself up again wouldn't be a bother because I could come out as the same old "Eight" I was before. No transformations, no deformations, just normal me. That's one of the reasons why I'm not afraid of getting wounded, impaled – as long as it's not near the heart and brain, of course – or heavily beat up whenever I'm on a dangerous task and at home. Xeva is the only one who knows and gives me missions. That's why fellow officers at the station always wonder why I always get deep wounds and cuts.

I head back to the precinct. Everyone there is talking about what I've done earlier – if only they knew my past operations – and congratulate me.

"Nice job hotshot." Says Xeva; this time, with a delighted tone. "999 down, 1 more to go."

"Thank you ma'am!" I say.

"Go to the hospital and patch yourself up. It's on me." * wink * she says.

That's odd. I usually pay for all the medical bills whenever I get heavily wounded. Maybe it's because that many people saw what I've done earlier.

I go to the hospital. Bunches of Blissies at the hallway are waiting for me to enter.

"Good evening, Eight. We've been expecting you." says the head Blissey.

I nod, and proceed to follow them into the washroom to clean the wounds… and blood, and then to the operating room for another healing session by Blissies, under the command of Dr. Leaf. Dr. Leaf's a Leavanny. We're friends since college. He always offers me a 20% discount whenever I need to fix myself up. It's not that much but at least it's better than no savings at all. I lay down on the operating bed. And here comes the sleeping gas, so that I won't feel pain while they do their magic. And afterwards, it's another consultation with Leaf.

I exquisitely enter the world of dreams. I find myself running through the clouds, playing with the soft, cottony wool in the skies. I then see Xeva, dancing in an elegant silver gown. She offers me a dance, and suddenly my clothes change into a black tuxedo. We dance and we dance, happily and lively. We both smile. Her eyes are a wonderful green. Her smile is as lustrous as the stars above me. And her lips are as bright red as blood, gently heading towards mine. I close my eyes, to feel the warmth of her kiss. But then, a sound of thunder suddenly interrupts. * Clash! *

I wake up, feeling dizzy again. The dream I had was the most wonderful ever. I rub my eyes, and see a faint, slender figure, wearing a white coat. It's Leaf. I think. He looks like a little taller.

"Hey there Doc! How are you?" I say.

He then turns around saying, "Pretty good. How about you?"

I flinch for a second out of surprise. It's not Leaf! It's a freaking Bisharp! I extend my elbow swords and charge directly at him.

"What did you do to Leaf? And are you here because of Dawn?" I say brusquely while aiming the blade at his throat.

"Calm down Eight. Calm down." He says, having a relaxed tone. "Dr. Leaf went on leave for the whole month. He told me everything about you and asked if I could be your temporary doctor until he returns. And as for Dawn, don't worry. She'll be fine, feeling better already."

I retract my weapon. "Why does it have to be you? A Bisharp? You creatures have been causing a lot of trouble." I reply.

"Just because I'm a Bisharp and a Dark-type doesn't mean I kill people." He says angrily. "Don't be a typist Eight."

I apologize to him. Seeing a lot of Bisharp killers made me hate the species.

* Sigh * "I feel what you feel Eight." He says. "My parents got killed by Bisharps. We tried to resist their demon plans but we failed miserably. Even Bisharps kill their own kind." And he begins to drop a tear from his eyes.

I feel bad. Considering of what I've said earlier that not all Dark-types are evil. I wish I didn't judge him this early.

"Anyways, I forgot to introduce myself." saying while rubbing the saltwater off his face. "My name's Acutus, Dr. Acutus Silex. You can call me whatever you want. Just don't call me maybe."

I shake his hand and even though he already knows my name, I introduce myself again.

"Check yourself in the mirror. You're all good to go!" He says happily. "Xeva already paid the bill, don't worry. Just go home, take a rest. And tomorrow is another beautiful day for you."

I thank him and say goodbye. I check myself in the mirror and I look original again. No wounds, no marks, no bloodstains. My vision's already good. And my skin is looking as radiant as ever. I then suit up, place my trusty hat, and leave the hospital. I'll try to visit Dawn sometime but now, it's time to go home. And hopefully, as Dr. Acutus said – "Tomorrow is another beautiful day."