Not exactly the best ending, but I'm bored with writing fan fiction. I really like making my own stories with my own backgrounds and settings. I hope I don't disappoint with this. Hopefully, I can respark my interest when I get into writing my other stories in the series.

Partners

With a determination in mind, Katja stared down the path burned for her. Her family fought on either side of her, and her brother was at her right hand—the place where he'd grown up. Even though she knew what had to be done, even though she wanted to do what she had to do, she found herself whimpering, "I can't fight Trevet."

"It's okay. I'll take care of him. Lucian?" Sven asked, letting his sister take her self-acceptance one step at a time.

"I can deal with Lucian."

Her hazel eyes locked with his silver ones. As soon as the path was set, Katja dashed off. She could feel her blood moving, but she ignored the control Lucian had over her body. When her blood threatened to burst from her veins, she was within arm's reach.

"Viper's Fangs!" she called out before slashing her arm down. Lucian barely dodged back from her attack. He spun off to the side before letting his leg connect with her side. Controlling the blood there, he forced the vessels to swell and burst on contact.

The blow threw her to one knee, but she forced her body to rise. Charging from a crouch, Katja blew her shoulder into Lucian's abdomen. A gust of air and saliva spewed from his lips, and she kept running him backwards before slamming him into a wall.

Once she had him pinned, she laid blow after blow to his face. Blood flung off her gauntlets as she brawled. "Threaten! My! Brother! Ever! Again!" she cried out, landing blow after blow. His face was purpling beneath her blows until ocean water threw her across the deck.

Water writhed against him. It encircled him like a miniature tornado. "Water Wall," he explained after catching her bewildered look. His hand played in circular motions to keep the water under his control. When he shot it towards her, more shafts of liquid speared her direction.

She threw her knee against the wood before dodging one, but that only threw her into another. Boiling hot water threatened to sear off her skin as her mouth wailed.

"Get the fuck off my kitty cat!" Catori's voice proclaimed.

Gaping in the direction of the wild Polterom sister, Katja saw Catori make eye contact with Lucian. His eyes glowed in a ring of crimson as her magic possessed him. As Katja wobbled to her hands and knees, she read Catori's shirt.

"Beware Poison Pussy?" she coughed, and water spilled out of her mouth. "Is that my face?" Sure enough, a cartoon version of Katja's face was blown up and stretched across the fabric covering Catori's breasts.

Shaking her head, Katja turned to where Catori was making Lucian punch himself in the face. "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" she chanted through Lucian's vocal chords.

"Tori! Get out of my fight!"

Lucian's head whipped Katja's direction. He put his hands on his hips and leaned forward. "Well, excuuuuuse the hell out of me. I thought you needed help," Catori teased with Lucian's lips. She unzipped Lucian's pants and threw them around his ankles before reanimating her own body.

Katja watched in awe as Lucian tripped over his pulled down jeans. The man went flat on his face, and Katja stared anew at polka dotted boxers. Shaking her head, Katja scrambled to her feet. Lucian was so flabbergasted that she was able to throw her foot beneath his gut. She kicked his body up and into the air before requiping out of her gauntlets. With her bare hand, Katja grabbed Lucian by the face.

"Belladonna!" she proclaimed. Her grip on his face tightened when he writhed, but Katja forced him to the deck. Against her hand, his saliva foamed and bubbled.

"Fucking biztch," he groaned out before falling into a stupor. When his eyes rolled back into his head, Katja released him. He wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be up any time soon. Katja owed Catori. Big time.

When a poison dart hit the deck beside her, Katja hissed before rolling away. Sven?

Her eyes searched for him, but when another dart came her way, Katja pushed herself out of the way. He was aiming for…

"Kill her. She's done nothing for you these years, only turned you into a weapon. You could have left her. You didn't need her, but she made you stay."

Trevet!

Leaping away from another dart, she scanned the area for the mage. When she noticed him behind a wall of men, she hissed. He was a coward, as bad as her master had been.

Now, where was… Sven!

His feet hit the deck in front of her before he bared his fangs. A foamy glaze had coated over his eyes. Trevet's spell had been woven deep inside of him.

Backing up, Katja took in her brother's predatory steps. Sven's body was on the prowl, and those dark eyes had locked on her as prey. With hands raised, Kat soothed, "Come on, Sven. This isn't you. Chill out, and find yourself. I know that you're in there."

The blowpipe was at his mouth on Trevet's command. He pushed air through his lips, and Katja had to dip under another dart. Since the darts were his venom made into a concentrated form, he could shoot them with the ferocity of a flurry of bullets.

Just a glance in Trevet's direction said enough. He was enjoying the way Katja dipped and rolled from her brother's attacks. In his zombified state, there was no reaching Sven. Katja would have to fight him.

Using a combat roll, Katja moved away from an attack and met her brother face to face. A quick swiping of her gauntlets flung his bamboo blowpipe over the bow, but her brother was being commanded to fight against her. As Trevet's mental spell was flowing through Sven's head, he grabbed Katja by the forearm.

Pain from former injuries shot through her arm, and she let out a gasp when her face was forced to the floor. "He's making me do it," Sven snarled through his teeth. He wanted to fight this possession. He was trying to fight it, but Trevet's control was too strong.

A shadowy force knocked Sven away from Katja's body, and Rogue was at her side in an instant. Dropping to one knee, he asked, "Gonna accept a hand this time?"

Frowning at him, Katja accepted the hand he offered. Rogue flung her on two feet before they stood back to back. They were like old warriors facing a seafaring army. As pirates came on his side, Katja faced her brother down.

Sven was like a snake. Spitting venom from a blowpipe only extended his reach. It didn't mean he couldn't continue to send the needle shaped spears her way. In this animilistic state of mind, Katja kept her gauntlet up to dodge Sven's attacks.

She dipped. She dived. She writhed. When his venom slid past her sight and stabbed into her chest, she hissed at the contact. What kind of venom? She could cancel his venom out in other people, but had no clue if it worked the same with herself.

Neurotoxin? Her brain would be out of commission in seconds. No. Trevet wouldn't want that. He wanted her to suffer. It would be something different.

When she felt her lungs taking more time than usual to expand, she understood. Paralysis. Trevet wanted her just as immobile as she had made him.

More needles stabbed the air around her, but a blessing in the form of darkness swathed her body. When she turned Rogue's way in shock, he tossed her a wink. "Just because you can't trust anyone doesn't mean that you shouldn't let someone change that way of thinking," he explained before sending his shadowy claws through the wave of pirates and slavers heading for them.

Three walls had formed. A wall surrounded Trevet. A wall surrounded her family. Her family surrounded her. They were a three piece fatality as Katja used Rogue's shadow wall to get close to her brother.

She threw a high kick at her brother's arm. Using her pulled back leg like a counterweight, she tossed her other leg up. A reverse cartwheel threw two stilettoes into her brother's face. Even as she winced at his pain, she thought, He'll be alright.

Obviously.

Shaking her hits off thanks to his possession, Sven came clawing and thrashing her way. She avoided a punch by catching his right hand, but his left hand slammed into her abdomen. As soon as her body was forced to double over, Sven's knee sent her head flying backwards.

His tormented voice hissed, "I gotta do it, Kitten. He's making me do it."

When she spit blood out of her mouth, Katja barked, "It's not your fault, Sven." It's that bastard's fault.

Pulling her lip up in a snarl, Katja caught sight of Trevet. His wall of men was backing him towards a small wooden dinghy. No way in hell. She was not letting him get away from her that easily. Not after what he'd done to Sven.

When she saw her brother lunging for her, Katja threw a foot up. She caught Sven in his abdomen then lifted him overhead. Before he could hit head first, Katja snagged him around the wrist. She pulled him close like a lead dancer. As soon as she saw his tongue folding to release another needle of venom, she turned him towards Trevet.

At the last second, her head dipped down. Sven's venom coated needle shot through the air. It passed through Trevet's men and into Katja's target with a silent stab. When Trevet slapped his throat on reflex, Katja watched the man's eyes widen. He knew he'd been hit.

As the venom ran through his blood, Sven's potency showed. Foamy spittle ran from the side of Trevet's mouth, and he hit the deck like a harpooned whale. As soon as his eyes rolled back in his head, his men dropped their weapons. Kat and Sven had killed their boss. Without money to move them, it was time to let go of their arms.

Katja and Sven both fell to their knees as weapons clanged against the deck. They let their chests heave for air. "Kitten, I'm—"

"Safe," Katja filled in with her finger over her brother's lips. "You're safe, Sven."

"And I think that I just boosted me notoriety," Captain Kenwae snickered as he approached.

Opening her mouth to comment, Katja's voice was abruptly halted. Inside her body, her lungs were closing up. Her throat began to shut off airflow from her mouth and nostrils. With her eyes wide, Katja began to tumble.

She wasn't immune to her brother's venom.

One Day Later…

Rogue sat at Katja's bedside. His red eyes were a silent sentry over her healing body, and he hadn't left her except to make himself known during the games.

Now, it was past curfew. In the main hospital of Capital Lance, Katja's chest rose and fell smoothly. It was a wonder compared to the stillness and jerkiness of her sinewy body when she'd been admitted. It was even more a wonder when one of the pirates who'd snuck in for the games had placed a rune just beneath her chin. The rune was one to nullify her poisonous skin.

The same as Rogue, Sinbard had stayed with Katja since she'd been taken in. He and Sven had spoken silently in the shadows, and Rogue had no clue what the male's connection to the assassins was. From the similarity of their features and the way of dress, though, Rogue had guessed at a relation.

Only someone who knew Katja intimately would spend so much time as she slept. It wasn't like watching over a healing body was all that invigorating, so… Why was Rogue here?

To be honest, he didn't have much of a clue. The only answer he could come up with was a sense of chivalry. Rogue had promised to be a bodyguard, so here he was. Guarding her body.

Sitting at the end of her bed, Rogue analyzed the bandages on Katja's body. Like her brother, Katja had taken a beating. Burns were wrapped in gauze, and her gut had taken multiple repetitive hits. Then, there'd been internal damage. Katja had a hairline fracture within her arm. It had nearly been missed until someone went to move her body. She may have been paralyzed, but she wasn't numb. Sven had sensed her pain, been able to locate it from some Sibling Language.

As for her place in the games? Prince Urian of Lancet had taken her spot. The Royal Guard was holding firm as the battles and events went on.

Watching Katja closely, Rogue's brows rose when she parted her purple lips. "Shiiiiiiiiit," was her elegant entry back to the world of the living. "Did I get run over by a boat?"

Eagerly, all the watchers in the room came to their feet. Sven and Sinbard let their chairs fall behind them, but while Sven charged to stand beside his sister's head, the silent pirate lingered in his spot. Awkwardly.

"What hurts? Should I try a numbing venom?" Sven barked like a mother hen.

Shaking her head, Katja threw on a tough smile. "Na. I can deal with it." She looked around the room—raised her brows at Sinbard—then caught sight of Rogue. "I guess you're right."

"Right about what?" He took a step closer.

"Me. I ought to let people help me more often. Guess it works when you really do have friends."

Rogue shrugged off her compliment. "I just know what I'm talking about. So, how are you feeling?" He moved until he was at the other side of the bed.

"Aside from horribly shitty, I guess I'm doing alright." She addressed Sinbard, "Your name's not Ichiro. Is it?"

The cloaked male looked bewildered from what little skin Rogue could see on him. With little more than a nod, he explained, "It is not. How did you figure it out?"

"The runes. The reason you can touch me. If your blood wasn't my blood, you could have never grabbed my chin on the ship." Her voice was calm, but there was hope in her eyes. She wanted this man to be someone. "You're my dad. You're Sinbard."

Rogue would have sworn there was a smile beneath the robes covering Sinbard's mouth. The crinkling around his eyes said more than words ever could. "You can be touched now," he explained simply.

"H-How? Did the doctors… Did they take out my sweat glands."

"Your body hasn't been altered. I did things in a more traditional way." He pulled a mirror from his pocket. Walking towards her, he pressed a small button to let the compact open. He held it at an angle for her to check out a small rune beneath her chin. It was the size of a thumb. It was the exact shape as the pad of Sinbard's thumb. "Just press your thumb to the mark, and you'll activate your Poison Body. Right now, it's deactivated." He turned towards Rogue. "Touch the boy."

Nervousness flashed through Katja's body faster than her brother's venom had. She wanted to raise her hand toward Rogue, but she couldn't get herself to do it.

So, Rogue did it for her.

Reaching across the space between them, Rogue grabbed the hand against the blankets. His pale skin stood out against the cocoa color of Katja. When he locked red eyes to hazel, the colorful irises were slim. Her dilated pupils had engulfed the flecks of gold and left only a shocked ring the color of tree trunks.

"I'm… I can be…" Her words choked.

"You always were," Sven responded with a teasing grin. "Now, then. If we're done with this sentimentality, I want to get back to the stands. All this lovey dovey bullshit has my skin crawling. Rogue, are you coming?" He asked when he made it to the doorway.

"I-er—" Rogue glanced to Katja. She was still holding his hand. That warm touch sent a strange sensation through his body. He was falling into like with this mysterious assassin. "I'm going in a second."

Sven looked offended. "Why? My sister not good enough to stay with?"

Leaving flabbergasted Rogue, Sven snickered his way into the hospital halls.

"Is he always like that?"

"Asking questions only to make a smart ass comeback? Pretty much. You get used to it after a while." Katja tossed her big eyes towards Sinbard. He was headed out after Sven. "Y-You're going, too! But I haven't even been able to ask you anything! About Mom. About you."

With one hand on the doorway, Sinbard turned back to Katja. "You have the rest of my life to ask me questions. Enjoy your friend." He closed the door and walked away.

Rogue could see Katja swallow a lump in her throat, but it wasn't until she realized she was still holding his hand that she jerked back. "Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. So what's it like to be able to touch people?"

She laid back against her various pillows and blankets. She had more than were necessary thanks to her brother. Rogue could still hear Sven barking orders to the nurses. "One pillow! You expect my sister to sleep with only one pillow! She sleeps with five in her bed. Five! That's on a normal day. I want double since she's sick!" Sven had driven the nurses crazy as he collected various items from her bedroom to decorate her hospital room. The long braid that ran to the base of his spine had flopped this way and that way as he'd made sure her room was almost identical to the colorful bedroom she slept in.

Taking in the decorations with curiosity, Katja absently stated, "Freeing. I feel like I can wear what I want now."

"Someone told Catori. Those micro minis are a get well present from her." Rogue pointed his thumb to a corner of the room. Boxes were stacked on boxes. Gift wrapped items, get well bears, and balloons had been stationed at random near the window. The mini skirts had been hung on the window with a leather thong.

Katja turned crimson.

"I shouldn't be surprised but…" She cleared her throat and turned towards Rogue. "Thanks for putting up with me. You really shouldn't have. I was awful."

"You were scared. Your brother told me alot. Trevet. Lucian. Your old master. You never had time for friends, so when I showed up, it made sense for you to run." Rogue rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her. She looked a little scared, even a little nervous. Did she find him as interesting as he found her?

Rogue wanted to know more about her. He wanted to see what made her smile and what hobbies she liked to do. She was dark. He was darkness. Maybe, that was the draw.

Oddly enough, a shadow crossed Katja's face. She faced the ceiling and stated, "Rogue, I want to figure out what it's like to be normal. Now that I know I'm more than a weapon—more than my past—I want to see what life's like for a human being instead of a murderer." She paused. "Do you think Sabertooth would let me tag on while I found myself? It'd be temporary. My job is with the kingdom of Lancet, but Isaac gives us time off. I haven't taken any, so I've got a year built up."

Flashing his teeth, Rogue stated, "I don't see why not." He looked down where Frosch had been sleeping in a chair beside him. "Frosch likes you. She'd vote you in."

With vibrantly white teeth beaming, Katja tossed her hand out to him. "Then, it's a deal. You're going to be my partner from here on out?"

"Aye, ma'am."