A Touch of Red
By evolution-500
Genres: Horror/Friendship/Romance
Feedback: Always welcome
WARNING: This story contains violence, coarse language, mature themes and disturbing imagery. Reader discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: KILLER INSTINCT is a property belonging to Rare and Microsoft while RESIDENT EVIL is a property belonging to Capcom. I do not own any of these characters.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Rumble
He was getting nowhere.
Scouring through the various files and documents, Konrad Von Sabrewulf tiredly massaged his eyes, the Baron letting out an exhausted groan as he reclined back in his office chair.
Someone within the company was fucking with him - that much was certain.
While he had a vague suspicion as to who was involved, right now, he needed proof to confirm it.
The sources of his problems were here, somewhere, but finding the parties responsible was proving an incredibly difficult task.
Though the Orchid woman was still thankfully restrained and unconscious, that still left him at square one, and whoever was responsible for this chain of events was very careful in hiding their tracks.
Still, Konrad was determined to get to the bottom of this mess and nail the bastards, even if it meant taking the rest of Ultratech down with him.
As he continued to inspect the various financial figures and other documents, Konrad's ears perked up as he felt his cellphone vibrate in his cloak.
"Hm?" Pulling out his cellphone, he then placed it up to his ear. "Baron Konrad Von Sabrewulf speaking." As he thumbed the next page, he froze, lifting up his head with a sudden jolt. "What?!"
She shouldn't have come down here.
From the sidelines, Claire looked between T.J. and his opponent, the latter sticking out its forked tongue and flicking it, tasting the air, its predatory green eyes meeting T.J.'s.
Swallowing, Claire placed her hands over her mouth, part of her wanting to feel like she was going to throw up. "T.J.?! T.J. PLEASE! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!"
But T.J. refused to listen - instead, his eyes were focused on his opponent's, their forms completely and unnervingly still.
'This is bad,' she worriedly thought, staring at R.I.P.T.O.R.'s immense form.
Christ, she knew the creature was packed, but she had no idea that it was this big in real life!
Height-wise, the creature was seven-feet-tall, but length-wise, it seemed approximately fourteen-feet, if not longer, but because the tail constantly hovered over its back like a scorpion, it was hard to get a proper approximation.
Regardless of its exact size, though, its form easily dwarfed T.J.'s, making her feel worried for the latter.
From the inside of the cage, she heard Jago call from the inside of the cage, drawing her attention toward the latter as he spoke.
"T.J., YOU NEED TO LEAVE!" Jago cried. "T.J.?! T.J., RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!"
Moving toward the cage, Claire nervously glanced over her shoulder at the combatants as she approached the fighters locked behind the cage.
Turning to face her, Jago nodded. "Good to see you, Claire."
"Likewise, Jago," Claire nodded, glancing back to T.J. "We have to stop this somehow - T.J. is going to get killed!"
Cinder huffed, drawing her attention. "Yeah, good luck with that. Unless you have a way to unlock this cage, there's no way anyone's gonna be of any help to you. Not that it would matter."
Looking over to the fire effigy, Jago gestured to the bars. "Would it be possible for you to melt these, me tru ba? If not burn through them somehow?"
Cinder shook his head. "Afraid not. The cages are specifically designed to keep things like me from burning through them. Of course, I have other ways of gettin' around 'em, but to be honest, I'd rather watch." He shrugged his shoulders, adding, "What can I say? I like a good fight."
Claire frowned. "Ben, please! We need your help! If you know a way out of this, we can-"
"No," Cinder interrupted, taking her aback.
"W-What?" Claire murmured.
"I ain't goin' out there," Cinder interrupted, crossing his arms, his eyes focused on the boxer. "From the looks of your friend, he wants to fight on his own terms, and nothing's gonna make him budge. I think the dude's a dink myself, but I gotta hand it to him - he has guts, and I respect that. I think the best thing for us to do would be to sit back and let him fight. Who knows? Maybe he'll get lucky."
The girl stared at him for a long time, giving him a pleading look. "There's no guarantee that he will win, Ben."
"There's no guarantee that any of us will win," Cinder bitterly retorted. "Not when the deck is clearly stacked against us. And yet, like lemmings, we all stupidly move forward regardless, in the hope that we do, even in spite of the inevitable." Stroking his burning chin, the fire effigy thoughtfully pondered aloud, "It never ceases to amaze me how no matter things turn to shit people will still cling to the notion that there will be a light at the end of all this.
'Of course, who's to say that the light at the end of the tunnel is an escape from the pain and misery? For all you know, it is merely the muzzle-flash from an eight millimeter with your name on it. Or worse."
Letting out a cold snort, Cinder harrumphed. "Hope. Ain't that a bitch. Mark my words, kid - there are no heroes nor winners in this story. Once all is said and done, only Ultratech will be left standing. The world will just keep on turning, and those of us that remain, if any, will either be left to pick up the pieces, or end up in pieces."
"Such is the price of survival," Jago commented, drawing surprised looks from both Claire and Cinder.
Blinking in surprise, the fire effigy let out a laugh. "Cold, man. Real cold."
A hushed silence fell over Claire and Jago as Cinder moved to a different section of cage, the latter leaning against the bars, watching the fighters with outside.
Sharing concerned looks with Jago, Claire watched as the latter lowered his eyes, his shoulders sagging as he let out a breath, before turning away from the cage, her heart filled with regret and helplessness, the girl shifting in discomfort.
Looking wordlessly over to Cinder, Jago stared at him for a long while, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment.
As he looked back to the fight, his right hand tightened and clenched into a hard fist.
Unnoticed by all, his eyes glowed with an ominous green flash, his fist pulsating with green flames, threatening to erupt.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
T.J. was still as the sound of his heartbeat rhythmically and prominently pounded in his ears and head like an ominous war drum, his skin damp with sweat, feeling every palpitation through his whole being.
From every direction, his senses were assaulted all at once, causing T.J.'s head to ache and the room to spin, and for a long moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl as he felt all eyes on him, his blood pumping.
Nearby, he heard Claire screaming something while the various cages shook, rattled and clanged like bells all around him, occasionally punctuated by various inhuman shrieks and roars, but the sounds came out muffled to T.J.
Swallowing back bile, the boxer's nose wrinkled as smelled the loathsome combination of sweat, something musty and the awful stink of his opponent's body, making the former wince.
Before him, the creature stood staring at him with green slitted eyes, watching him carefully as it seemed to size him up.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Shifting his jaw, his knuckles cracked as he tightened his fists, his fingers slippery.
Finally, T.J. let out a roar of fury that shattered the silence, the boxer bounding off the floor as he darted toward his opponent, who matched his roar with one of its own and bounded forward toward him.
Man and beast collided into each other in an epic confrontation, the former slamming his trademark "Powerline" punch into his opponent, causing it to the falter ever so slightly.
Emboldened, T.J.'s mouth split into a grin as he followed up with devastating combination after devastating combination, his fists a wild flurry of motion that mercilessly and repeatedly struck at his reptilian foe, the boxer wincing slightly each time his fists made impact.
The creature's body was packed with muscle, but some sections felt much harder to T.J.'s surprise, as if they were heavily reinforced with stronger bones or extra layers of muscle, perhaps even both.
Punching R.I.P.T.O.R. felt like punching a steel wall, and though T.J.'s fists were reinforced with cybernetic implants, even his hands were hurting from hitting this thing.
Twisting around on his heel to deliver a backhand punch, T.J. jabbed at the beast's muscled yellow stomach, following it up with a light jab to the snout.
Shaking its head with a snort, the creature responded in kind with a slashing claw uppercut, the force such that it propelled T.J. up into the air, the boxer crying out as a hot searing pain flared up from his upper stomach to his pectoral.
He heard men cheering and clapping in the background, but one person's voice caught his attention.
"T.J.!" He heard Claire shriek in alarm and worry.
Crashing indelicately to the floor, the world seemed to spin for a moment as he struggled to collect his bearings.
Wincing, T.J. rolled onto his side and shakily sat upright, looking down at his chest.
His shirt and vest were slashed to ribbons, but it was the damage done to his skin that caught his attention - three horrible and gruesome-looking slashes that bled freely.
"T.J., get up!" Claire cried. "T.J. get out of there!"
Reaching up to his shirt, T.J. flinched ever so slightly as he pressed a finger against one of the injuries, making a face before inspecting his red-stained fingers.
"Blood?" he said, almost disbelievingly. "My blood?"
T.J. had fought plenty of fights throughout the years; likewise, he had been hurt plenty of times, but there had never been a time when blood had been drawn from the Main Man himself.
Part of T.J. couldn't help feeling a slight trickle of fear well up within him at the sight of his own blood, but another part of him couldn't help having a begrudging respect for this R.I.P.T.O.R. thing.
It took a certain level of balls to hurt the Main Man, and by God, blood was going to be paid back in kind tonight.
Perhaps this is gonna be an interesting fight after all.
The fight wasn't going well for him.
Staggering from another blow, T.J. studied his shaking bloodied hand, the boxer struggling to keep his balance.
"Shit," he muttered. "This isn't good."
As T.J. stared at his blood-soaked fingers, he suddenly became aware of something heavy charging.
Looking up, the boxer barely had time to react as he let out a yell and grabbed his attacker by its thick head, neck and forearms, straining beneath his opponent's heavy weight and immense strength.
Scaled, orange and yellow serpentine jaws hungrily snapped directly in front of his face, its teeth mere inches from his skin, its hot breath bearing down on him.
Claws raked at his forearms, biceps and shoulders and spittle flew in every direction as T.J. wrestled, twisted and punched, trying to avoid his opponent's bites.
Once or twice one of his opponent's smaller teeth would nick him, but he avoided its fangs as much as he was able.
"Get off me!" He cried,. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"
R.I.P.T.O.R.'s viper-like fangs flared as the creature roared in his ear, its acid spit dripping all over his shirt and vest.
As the acid made contact with his clothing, T.J. heard a distinct hiss, then felt something burning.
Letting out a loud yell, T.J. wriggled and panicked, squirming everywhere before rearing back his head before slamming it hard into his attacker hard in the eye, causing it to stumble.
Groaning, T.J. frantically crawled and backed away, rolling around on the floor as he clawed at his shirt before finally ripping a portion of it off.
Tossing it away, the boxer got up onto his feet, wrinkling his nose, his mouth twisting in disgust as it steamed up. "Mother. Fucker! That was my favorite shirt!"
"T.J. LOOK OUT!" Jago shouted.
"Huh?" Turning around, T.J.'s body jerked back as something wet struck him directly in the deltoid, the boxer stumbling backward.
At first, T.J. thought someone had hit him with a water balloon, but then he let out an agonized scream as he felt his arm burning.
"FUCK! FUCK!" He swore, waving his arm.
"HE'S BEEN BURNED! SOMEONE HELP HIM!" Claire pleaded. "PLEASE!"
Hearing a whistle, T.J. looked up to see Dieter toss a plastic bottle of water over to him.
Catching it one-handed, the former frantically opened the cap and poured its contents onto his arm, sighing in relief as the burning ceased.
Wiping his deltoid with the collar of his shirt, T.J. looked up to see the creature bounding after him again with a startling burst of speed, the boxer rolling out of the way to the side as he narrowly avoided his opponent's snapping jaws.
Recovering quickly, T.J. turned to face his adversary, his eyes narrowed.
"Anybody tell ya that it's fuckin' rude to spit at people?!" He snapped.
Turning around to face him with a hiss, R.I.P.T.O.R.'s tail rattled behind it menacingly like a rattlesnake, its fangs bared.
Snorting loudly, T.J. spout out a huge wad of phlegm, the loogie hitting the creature's snout, causing it to threateningly rear back its head.
Raising his hands again, T.J. waved it on. "Bring it on, bitch!"
Letting out a loud a shriek, the creature charged again toward him, the boxer bracing himself for the impact when his opponent suddenly reared up on its tail like a kangaroo and lashed out with its black-taloned feet, its claws cutting and slicing into T.J.'s forearms.
Raising his arms defensively, T.J. backed away as R.I.P.T.O.R. slithered on its tail like a snake, its claws a frenzied whirlwind of black blades that tore at him, causing pain to flare up his arms as he attempted to block the onslaught and protect his face and his eyes.
Flesh, muscle, blood, and strands of skin were ripped clean and flaking everywhere, staining the floor and T.J.'s clothes, some of it dangling off of his arms, exposing the cybernetic augments underneath, the boxer wincing with each strike, the pain excruciating and unbearable.
Grabbing the clawed feet, T.J. flinched as the creature let out a deafening roar, hurting his ears as he shoved the creature back, the fighter groaning in a mixture of fury and agony as he looked down at his badly bloodied and cut-up forearms.
Seeing the glistening steel, automated servos and pistons pumping as he flexed his automated fingers, the boxer panted, his heart pumping faster and harder.
"God...damn it!" He swore.
"MIGHTY ONE!" He heard Jago cry. "YOU NEED TO RUN! GET OUT OF THERE! NOW!"
Looking to Jago, T.J. shook his head. "The Main Man is goin' nowhere!" He declared. "It's either this thing or me, and I ain't done!"
Whipping around with renewed fury, T.J. charged like a madman possessed, his adrenaline kicking into overtime as he reared back his fist.
Opening its jaws, a great wad of acid hurtled through the air, prompting T.J. to duck and leap forward into a roll, the ball hitting a crate, causing the wood to burn.
Various creatures rattled in their cages in a frenzy as T.J. used his signature Rollercoaster punch, his fist connecting with the beast's abdomen, the creature crying out as it doubled over slightly, allowing the boxer to unleash devastating combination after combination.
One blow cut R.I.P.T.O.R.'s lip, spilling purple blood.
Another blow caught it in the snout, spilling more.
Emboldened, T.J. continued to apply pressure, his face a twisted snarl of desperation and anger, his limbs a blur of motion, his mind filled with nothing but pure determination, hatred and pain.
Just as R.I.P.T.O.R. started to open its jaws, T.J. suddenly grabbed it by the snout, holding its mouth closed with both hands.
"Oh no you don't, fucker!" He said with grit teeth. "Yer not spitting that acid shit on me again!"
Wrenching on tightly onto his opponent's jaws, the boxer wrestled with the animal as the latter started to wildly shake its head around, its clawed fingers raking into T.J.'s arms, sides, and shoulders.
Tears hotly poured out from T.J.'s eyes, his arms feeling like they were on fire, straining against his bestial adversary with everything that he had as it pushed him backward.
Behind the creature, its tail flailed wildly in different directions, whipping around as if it had a mind of its own, until from out of the blue, it suddenly lashed out.
"UGH!" T.J.'s head jerked back with a grunt as he felt the sharp tip of the beast's scorpion-like tail lodged itself into his eye, the force such that it made his teeth rattle and to let go of his hold, his sunglasses cracking.
"T.J.!" Claire shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Blood seeped down down his cheek and stung his skin, the boxer hanging limply on its tail as the creature lifted him up into the air, its forked tongue flickering.
Gritting his teeth, T.J. grabbed the tip of the creature's tail and slowly pulled it out from his socket before finally ripping out the rest with a yell.
Tearing off his sunglasses and clutching his bleeding eye, T.J. groaned as he pulled out pieces of black glass from his face, the boxer unprepared as R.I.P.T.O.R. tackled into him.
An upward slashing claw uppercut cut through his chest, swiftly followed up with downward slashes with both claws, the talons digging and tearing into both of T.J.'s shoulders.
Rearing up onto its tail, the creature's feet repeatedly slashed and kicked at him like one riding on an invisible bicycle, keeping itself suspended on its powerful tail beneath it as it slithered forward, its kicks strong and fast as they pummeled mercilessly into its opponent.
Bones cracked and pain flared throughout T.J.'s body, the boxer staggering backward from the unrelenting assault as R.I.P.T.O.R. delivered ten swift kicks and slashes before delivering two vicious downward slashes again, slashing his chest.
Letting out a scream, T.J. was powerless as the beast slammed its mighty tail down onto him in a frontal tail flip before suddenly flying up from off of the ground as if it were a kangaroo on a set of powerful springs, its kicks launching T.J. off into the air.
As R.I.P.T.O.R. effortlessly landed on its clawed haunches, T.J. felt time slowing to a crawl as he found his body ascending through the air, his mind a maelstrom of pain.
Every part of him ached and hurt, but nothing hurt him more than the bitter realization that he might not even make it, that all of the shit that he went through was going to ultimately be all for nothing.
It was a sobering thought to be confronted with one's own mortality; after all, he was T.J. fuckin' Combo, Doctor Jab, the Main Man!
He was supposed to have been the undefeated champion of the ring!
And yet...here he was.
Through his one good eye, T.J. watched as his own blood coated everything around him, staining the floor, crates and cages.
Was this how the Main Man was going to die?
Not in the bed of a hot fashion model with a beer and a burger, but penniless, alone, and in the belly of some damned dinosaur?
As T.J.'s battered body spun in endless bloody circles, one bitter thought occurred to him before he finally crashed to the floor.
'...I should never have joined this fuckin' tournament. I was better off doing porn.'
Claire watched in horror as T.J. fell to the floor, the girl shrieking, "T.J.!"
Nearby, the cages were all pounding and shaking in a monstrous frenzy, the chamber filled with the coldly riotous and uncaring laughs of the human spectators.
Dieter whooped loudly. "Whoooooo-hoooooo! Now THAT was what I call a fight!"
Tearing up, Claire angrily looked in his direction, ready to cuss him out, when a groan-filled voice called.
"It's not over!"
Turning to the voice, Claire watched in amazement and worry as T.J. weakly crawled onto his hands and knees, pushing himself up onto one knee, the boxer coughing up blood.
He looked horrible, a bloodied, cut-up and bruised wreck of man, and yet, through his one, swollen remaining eye, it burned with a grim determination, like one who knew that he was close to his end.
"Did you hear me, motherfuckas?!" He said through clenched teeth, coughing out blood, lifting up his chin in open defiance. "I am not done yet!"
Blinking in surprise, Dieter grinned. "Weeeeeeell, would you look. At. THAT! Looks like Ol' T.J. still has some fight in him! Look at him take it like a champ!"
Looking back, Claire rapidly and frantically waved her arms. "STOP THE FIGHT! SOMEBODY STOP THE FIGHT, HE'S HURT!"
No one responded - instead, all attention was fixed on the two fighters, not a single soul making a single effort to intervene.
Looking around, Claire started to shout, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP HIM! ANYONE! HELP HIM, PLEASE! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP HIM! HE NEEDS A DOCTOR!"
Taking out a cigarette, Dieter lit it up with a match and started to smoke. "Sorry, kid. Looks like you're on your own." Waving the match, he grinned, breathing out fumes. "And now, for the final encore-"
A loud crash cut him off, drawing everyone's attention to the chamber's entrance as various armed guards poured in.
"HOSTILE SIGHTED!" One gas-masked soldier called out, his voice distorted by the filter as he raised his weapon.
Lifting its head, R.I.P.T.O.R. bellowed out a roar, turning away from T.J. as it charged toward the new arrivals, ignoring everyone.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Claire made her way over to the injured boxer, grabbing onto him as he slumped forward.
"Someone please help!" She cried. "My friend's hurt! Somebody please-"
Claire heard something muffled, the girl whipping around as she felt something jab her in the shoulder.
Looking down, she saw a dart protruding from her arm, causing her to look up to see dozens of similar-looking darts protruding from R.I.P.T.O.R.'s head, neck and torso.
At first, nothing happened as it continued to draw nearer.
Moments later, the animal faltered, its movements becoming sluggish before falling to the ground.
Looking back to the dart on her shoulder, Claire stood in shock, the girl stumbling slightly as she wrenched it out.
Everything around her became muffled and blurred, the lines in her vision becoming less clear as she felt her consciousness slowly slipping away.
As she fell, the last things she saw and heard were Jago and T.J.'s cries, while from the ledge, she made out the familiar silhouetted form of Baron Von Sabrewulf quietly staring down at her in silence like a gargoyle in his wheelchair.
Author's Note: Huge shout-out to Egyptianmaus and Stuff3 for their help - thank you so much, you two! I very much appreciate it!
Stay safe and healthy, everyone! :D
