GFD 11: Born of Fire - 8. Chapter 8

I started my determined I started my determined march forward once again, and it began to feel as though time and space itself began to bend to my will. You can't imagine the power! You can't imagine the insatiable RAGE! It was burning so hot that I thought my skin would burn with all of the hate in my heart! Every step brought me closer to the one shining light I had left in this world, and God HELP the poor soul who stood in my way!

It was then that I heard a sound coming from the side, and a holographic screen appeared on the bricks next to me. It seemed so clear, so crisp, and it began to follow me as I walked. I did not break my stride.

Soren's face appeared in the projected box, and he spoke to me. "Justin...so pleased to see you in such good shape. I take it that you're finally here to fill your part of the bargain and fight for me?"

I didn't even look at his smug face, for fear that I'd explode with a fury that I wouldn't be able to control. I told him, "I know you're in here, Soren. And when I find you...I'm gonna show you what 'fighting' is all about."

"Come on, now, 'Renegade'. Do you really want to hurt yourself over this? I assure you, the distance between you and me is a lot longer than you think. My boys will make sure of that."

I still didn't turn my head, I just kept moving, and the screen moved with me. "Tell your boys...that they'd better stay out of my way if they don't wanna get hurt!" My footsteps stomped down hard against the concrete, and I got faster as I approached the first door.

"I really do admire your passion, but Let's not kid ourselves here. Alright? You can't possibly hope to win this. We made a deal in the IceZone, and I want to talk it over. I'd much rather have you with me than against me. That would be SUCH a waste of good talent, and I need you in good fighting condition for the arenas I have lined up for you. Business is booming, afterall." He grinned.

"I told you not to touch him." I hissed through gritted teeth.

"If it's any consellation, I gave the orders for him not to be harmed....yet."

"For your sake, he'd better not have a scratch on him when I see you."

He chuckled at my persistance. "I suppose, then, that it would be futile to get you to reconsider this pointless attempt to save him without fulfilling your part of the bargain, isn't it?" He was actually enjoying this! "Because I'd certainly HATE for your precious boyfriend to accidently get 'hurt' in the process of you being so irrational."

It was then that I stopped walking, and I looked directly at the screen, right into the bastard's eyes! Did he really take me as just some little boy who got lucky in the ring? An average vampire halflife to be used and manipulated for money? I couldn't WAIT to show him exactly what I am! "You should have left him out of this, Soren. You REALLY should have just left us alone. But you just HAD to keep fucking pushing me! Didn't you??? That...was a mistake! You have NO idea how badly you just fucked up!!! And it's too late for you to WEASEL out of it now! So enjoy what time you have left, asshole. Because I'm coming for you. Hard, and fast, and with a level of pain that you can't even IMAGINE! Tell your 'armies' to be ready!" And somehow, some kind of electric impulse rushed forward and into the screen, somehow transporting itself directly to Soren at his so-called 'remote' location. He was knocked backwards a few steps as the shock of it burned the front of his suit. All the time that I had known him, Soren had been the calm one. He always had a sinister plan, a diabolical grin, and an arrogance that let everyone around him know that he couldn't be touched. But at that moment, the surprise of the sudden attack from an intangible position caused him to lose some of that confidence. I saw a split second look of surprise in his eyes, soon to be obscurred with an anger of his own. The chess game had begun.

"Have it your way...BOY!!!" He sneered. "I'll be waiting!"

"Don't worry. I won't be long." I told him as I began to continue forward. "Prepare for the reckoning!" And with another strong impulse, I violently shortcircuted his little holographic system, causing it to explode and shut down right in front of his face! And I stormed my way to the front door!

I wasn't sure how I was going to force my way through a thick metal door once I got there, but my extras began to activate all on their own before the dilemma even settled into my mind. The very air around me began to vibrate hard enough for it to hurt my arms and legs, and without missing a step, it shot forward and the vibrations cracked and destroyed the wall surrounding the door itself. I saw the metal crack and split, the wall peeling away from the metal, the concrete ground rumbling and shattering into pieces! I kept walking, and by the time I reached the door, it was a useless hunk of metal that fell over in front of me, allowing me to step over it as though it were nothing.

I had a thought of what Bryson had told me back at the lot. And he was right. My extras were feeding so hungrily off of my emotions that I was hardly in control anymore. I didn't even know if I'd be able to contain myself once things heated up in here. But I couldn't worry about that now. Even though Bryson had warned me about losing control. Even with the other mimics being driven mad by their own abilities. Even with Comicality warning me about control, and the Beast tricking me into giving him all the rage he needed to conquer me...even with my battles with Jazz and Dizz turning into rages of blind fury....this was no time to hold back. I couldn't allow myself to suppress anything if I was going to get through this. Not now. If I'm going to save Taryn, I'm going to need everything that I've got. I'll set up barriers of control afterwards. For now...I need that fire. I need that unpredicatble anger. It's the only thing that's gonna keep me alive.

I found myself in a large warehouse room, with another door approximately the same distance away. The room was dimly lit from the ceiling, but I could see just fine. And as I marched ahead, I didn't worry about anything around me. I didn't have a care in the world. All I could see was Soren's disgusting smile, and Taryn...in need of my help. Nothing else existed outside of that. Nothing.

But after my first few steps...I heard two or three doors open from the metal steps above me. I looked up to see guards run in from every door. Ten, then fifteen, then twenty. This is it. I hope these instincts are ready to work for me, because I don't have time to figure them out now. On first thought, I felt my body suddenly come to life, and my energy levels went to their MAX. It was lmost enough to lift me off of my feet. And as that unrestricted fury darkened my eyes even further, I prepared to dish out the kind of ass whipping they deserved. It's time to burn this bitch down!

I watched them run down the stairs quickly, and a part of me felt my adrenaline kick it up a notch as their numbers intimidated me. A short moment of fear. Insecurities brought on by the unpredictability of my own extras. But as the staircase brought them down to my level, and then stood between me and the doorway....between me and my boyfriend...that fear melted away. And only the 'mission' remained. The first two vampires to charge me caught it bad. I dodged the first punch easily, and my hands struck out at light speed, lightning strikes to them both faster than their brains could even register the pain. I felt my fists crack ribs, bruise flesh, break jaws, and by the time they hit the ground...they were broken down to the point of barely being able to even move. This time...even with them outnumbering me by 30 men...it was their turn to experience a moment of fear. I don't think Soren properly prepared them for a 14 year old halflife who could kick ass with the best of them. But once the initial shock wore off, they all charged at me at once. And I walked towards the rushing mob, a sneer on my lips the whole way.

As they attacked, my body jumped into action, dodging and blocking as many as four punches and kicks at once. Not only was I faster than they were, stronger than they were, but Trevor's extra mixed with my mind reading ability allowed me to read their brain impulses a half second before they even made their move. I knew what they were going to do even before they did, and I analyzed their patterns in an instant, with calculated defenses and counters for each. I had never felt my body move in such a frenzy, bending, moving, flipping, and spinning itself into a whirlwind that I was surprised allowed me to keep my balance! I know that Comicality taught me to keep some level of control, but this time, I let my instincts go wild and they worked themselves into overdrive! Bodies fell to the ground two or three at a time! They surrounded me on all sides, and my punches and kicks knew where to find every single one of them without even looking. I could have taken them with my eyes closed. As fast as they could get back up, I knocked them down again! But there were so many of them that I wasn't moving forward anymore. They kept me in the center of their circle, fighting as many as I could reach, and that's NOT why I'm here!

So I stepped it up! My punches got harder, my kicks almost fast enough to decapitate the first person who took one full force. Two men struck out from two different sides of me, and I grabbed both of their wrists, crossing their arms up and breaking them both. I spun out of the way of a kick and swept his balancing leg from under him, stomping down on his chest to crush his ribcage like a soda can. They were everywhere, but as I struck harder, I felt legs breaking, heads being split open, sprinkles of warm blood splashing onto my arms, face, and neck! The sounds of screams were echoing off of the walls, and despite the fact that I was on my own, I began to push the whole fucking CROWD back towards the door!

I had crippled at least half of them, and was quickly working on dispatching the rest, when the doors above opened again, and even more guards began to run down the steps to join in. They never learn. As they jumped into the fray, Chad's speed began to kick in and I was fighting even faster than before. Now I was moving back and forth between five different people at once, my body becoming a complete blur that they couldn't focus on long enough to hit. And the ones that did, I tossed their focus off of me with Dizz's extra faster than they could react, knocking them clear across the room by the time they recovered. My body continued to work itself to the point where it should have been exhausted, but somehow...that exhaustion was transferred to the enemies around me, and I began to draw even more energy from them all. It was endless. And as my anger began to grow, the air around me began to burn even hotter, almost causing wisps of smoke to rise from their clothes as they approached me. Max's extra made me stronger as the rage grew inside of me, and Jenna's extra intensified it tenfold. Soon, my strikes were enough to floor my opponents with just one punch, and bodies weren't just falling to the floor, they were being tossed across the warehouse, slammed into walls, being trampled beneath my feet, and practically cartwheeling to the cement on their FACES! And still I pressed forward! I will NOT e deterred!

I clutchd my fists tightly, and mentally scanned the building to see if I could find a trace of Taryn somewhere inside. I didn't know how I was doing it, but my mind could almost draw its own blueprint of the whole structure, just by standing there. And somewhere, on the third floor of the next building, was a light. Taryn's light. It was unmistakeable. I had been wrapped inside of its glory for so long, that I could never forget what it felt like. Don't worry, baby...I'm coming!

The doors upstairs opened once again, and just as more guards came bursting out of them, I got tired of this game! Jazz's elecric energy surged up inside of me, and suddenly EXPLODED in all directions, knocking the whole damn floor squad back as a giant protective bubble shocked everything within five feet of me! Then, with a thought, I mentally reached out to crush and twist the metal steps up from the floor before the guards could even get down to the ground level. Much like the crushed cars in the lot, but much easier his time. They saw the structure being warped, and some tried to hurry back up the stairs before the metal monstrosity crushed them....but all of them didn't make it. The clank and crunch of metal rolled their helpless bodies up with it, and many of them were badly broken and bleeding from the impact! And I just didn't care! After all of my guilt from the people I've hurt, and the lives I've taken...this was a fury that would not be controlled! They want to see what an insane mimic can do??? KEEP PUSHING ME!!! I've got MORE!!!

As the electric shock wore off, some of the others attempted to attack again. But the first one to run up to me got a face full of flames as I felt my very breath turn to fire and shoot forth without even burning my lips. The remaining guards, seven of them, took caution before running in as fast. But as I looked at the door and started walking towards it again, they knew that they had to stop me. I'm guessing that Soren must have threatened them with something worse than what I was going to do to them if they stood their ground. Why else would they foolishly keep trying. Number one, I broke both of his legs at the knee, broke his arm in three places, and then elbowed him in the back hard enough to shatter his vertebrae and nearly bend him in half! Number two suffered a broken collar bone, and I broke his neck with a twist that nearly put his head on backwards. Number three, got a face full of acid webs that began to dissolve his flesh while my punches worked over his chest and stomach until he collapsed into a heap at my feet. Numbers four and five had their heads bashed together until they burst, and I let them spin to the floor, their bodies still twitching in agony. Number six attempted to fight as hard as he could, but when I caught his arm and flipped him over onto his back, I broke it in half over my knee, and let a burst of electric current run through his spasming body until the painful volts caused his flesh to smoke and burn, turning black as his nervous system went wild. Leaving only number seven to face me. He stood in front of the door, and nervously looked over my shoulder at the piled up bodies behind me. Nearly a hundred well trained men, badly beaten, some un-fixable even with a vampire's sleep cycle. And I stared him down, giving him one last chance to stand aside before I stacked him up next to his buddies.

He was the only smart one of the bunch. And with his body trembling with fear....he slowly stepped aside, and put his hands up as he got down on his knees, praying that I'd spare him. I gave him an ice cold look, and walked forward in silence, the powerful vibrations crashing through another door before I even reached out to touch it. But this time, the vibes were stronger...and I could recognize their signature. I was suddenly aware of where it came from, and whispered a silent thanks in his memory. "Thank you, Jarrod." Hold on, Taryn. I'm almost there, sweetheart.

I found myself in another narrow alley, leading up to the main building. And there was an alarm that had been set off in the background, alerting the rest to my presence. The double door at the other end of the alley slid open to allow a small flood of soldiers to run through it. The moment I saw them, I felt my anger twist itself into an even tighter knot, and I hurried my pace to greet them! Do they REALLY think that they can keep me from him??? Do these lackluster, featherweight, FUCKERS think that they're in ANY position to stand between me and my love? If they think they are, then they DESERVE to be hurt! I'LL BURY THEM ALL!!!! I'm going to tear this whole fucking place down from its foundation and watch it CRUMBLE before me!!! Jesus...I don't think my temper has ever been so electrified! I've never allowed my hatred to fly off the handle like this before! And my whole body was itching to feel them break, wither, and DIE, at my feet! My teeth were clenched hard enough to crack, and as thoughts of Taryn in any kind of pain flooded my senses, I prepared to rip them in HALF if I had to! If Soren thought his first wave had gotten it bad...he hadn't seen anything yet!

The alley was overrun with Soren's goons, and when they reached me, I fought harder than ever before. I believe that I crushed a man's face back into his collapsed skull with the very first punch! Dion's extra shut down my compassion completely, and Jun's gave me focus! And I cut through them like a human bulldozer, hurting them as much as possible in the process! Elbows, knees, fists, kicks! Shadow boxing, Muay Thai, Wu Shu, Tae Kwon Do! High, low, right, left! Block, dodge, move, duck! As furious as their attacks were, they were no match! No match at all! I could feel limbs breaking in multiple places, and found a certain satisfaction in the sensation. I was a demon! A beast! An irresistable force that blasted through them until they couldn't take anymore!

MORE rushed out of the door! Trained fighters, arena champions, hoping to get their shot. I hope Soren was offering them more than MONEY for this!

Their skill level was evidently much better than that of the guards I was fighting earlier, and believe it or not, in my lust filled rampage of torn flesh and broken bones...they actually were lucky enough to break through some of my defenses. I felt some of their strikes connect...and after a few minutes of battle...they actually knocked me off of my feet. I fell backwards, and slid across the concrete. I held on to my chest, and took a moment to catch my breath. My lip was bleeding, my stomach had taken a pretty hard kick, and I had finally broken a sweat. But to be laying there on the ground, hurt, as they approached me...my grudge led me to a level of arrogance that forced me back to my feet. They were NOT on my level! They weren't worthy to stare this lion in the face! I took a deep breath...and stared at the crowd with the most disgusted look ever created in my eyes. Ok....they want more? They get MORE!

With a scream, I ran at them top speed and jumped into the center of the crowd, and began hitting them so hard that boiling hot tears began to stream from my eyes! Never had they faced a force so powerful! The very Earth beneath our feet began to tremble in the wake of my utter hatred for them! Someone grabbed me from behind, and held my arms down at my sides. But still, my feet kicked forward, and I was able to kick three more of them to the floor before both me and the man holding me got a rather nasty surprise. Suddenly, large bone shards spiked up and shot out of my skin behind me, piercing him in 12 places at once, and forcing him to release me before retracting back into my body! He fell to the floor, and the spikes disappeared, the wounds in my skin healing instantly. I mentally 'crushed' six enemies at once, and watched them cry out in horror as their bodies twisted up and fell over in agonizing pain! And as I spun around, my legs kicking in every direction, practically destroying everything they touched, I felt my vision go white! My vampire instincts for survival had found their own nirvana, and there was nothing that could penetrate. Nothing! I shot out acid webs at every angle, bolts of electricty struck out like lightning, and my screams found a new purpose as Maria's extra seeped in, allowing my vocal patterns to attack their nervous systems in unison! So many extras came to my rescue that they didn't know what to expect next! Everything was split second, and I felt as though I could do ANYTHING! I rolled forward, tripping up everyone around me, and jumped to the side wall of the alley to fight even harder where some of the others couldn't reach me! I jumped from wall to wall, back to the ground, flipping backwards and forwards, feeling the shatter of bones under my every blow! Behind me, Jenna's extra forced itself outward, and three of them began to laugh, cry, and laugh again, uncontrollably, until they got weak and fell to the ground. My mind pushed people off of their feet, and slammed them into the walls, the dumpsters, and into each other, without mercy! I felt someone approaching from the side, and Jun's focus allowed me to instantly zone in on his fist, and I punched out towards it. When our knuckles collided, the shockwave not only broke his hand, but his wrist, his forearm, his elbow, and it kept going up his arm until his shoulder blade was shattered from the impact! I concentrated on the movements, and the focus went deeper, allowing me to keep fighting on autopilot while my mind went searching for Taryn again. I was closer, but the tension of the people in the room with him was getting stronger. Wherever Soren was, he was watching. And he was getting a bit anxious about seeing how this was going to turn out. I dont think that he was expecting me to even make it this far. He got more than he bargained for this time. And I was going to be sure to bring this war right to his doorstep as soon as possible!

I was thrown out of my focus by a punch to the jaw! I woke up instantly, and saw the man responsible. He tried to hit me again, but I blocked his attack, and viciously pushed my bare hand forward to puncture his chest! I grabbed two of his ribs and cracked them loose, pulling them out of his side, and slashing his throat with them! With a rib in each hand, I began to stab and puncture the flesh of anyone who dared to get close enough to fucking TOUCH me! The sprays of blood bathed me as screams of pain flooded the air! I stabbed men in the FACE, the ARM, the THROAT, the STOMACH! And while the ribs were slippery in my grip from their blood soked surface, I managed to hold on!

I heard the double doors open again, and with a bright FLASH, the raider's blinding light shot out of my eyes and struck a majority of my enemies blind for the moment! Their retinas burned, their tear ducts boiled, and they shouted in terror as their eyes rolled back into their heads from the agony! As more men tried to run out of the doors, I mentally reached out to slam the doors shut, crushing them in between! Very few got through, and it only took a little bit of concentration to hold the doors closed tightly on the people caught in the crush of it!

While they struggled to re-open the door, I continued to face my opponents with a fury. I was doing things that I didn't even think were possible up until now. Both offensive and defensive extras rushed to the surface. The defensive ones swiftly creating strategies based on whatever weaknesses the could detect in my enemies. And the offensive ones reaching out to strike at those targets with a vengence! I saw flashes of light begin to trail behind my movements, creating a dizzying display of light and confusing the fighters around me. They couldn't tell what I was doing, and in their hesitation, I was able to begin breaking them down one by one. Another guard shouted out in pain as my punch connected to his side, and a powerful toxin was instantly injected into his bloodstream, burning him from the inside out. And another fell to the ground when I grabbed a hold of his nuts and literally FROZE them into a block of ice! He cried out even louder when I kicked the ice block hard enough to make it shatter!

One or two men made it through the half open door at the end of the alley, and I had to divert a little more attention to holding it closed. But before they could even get to me, I stomped my foot down on the ground, and saw a long stream of light travel through the ground and the speed of light, exploding under their feet like a landmine! They were thrust back against the wall, and more attempted to take a shot at me from behind. Their eyes had switched over to hunt mode, their fangs long and dripping with long ropes of saliva. As one fighter tried to lodge his teeth into my throat, I grabbed him by neck to hold him back. And with a hard punch, mixed with Jarrod's vibrational energy, I cracked him one in the mouth, sending his vampire fangs right out of his mouth to land on the ground behind him.

The vibrations remained strong around my fists, and I continued to use the extra power to add intensity to every blow! Pow! Another set of fangs flew into the air! Crack! Two more! When I got to the third vampire, he quickly covered his mouth with both hands! But when my knee connected to the center of his stomach, he dropped his arms to hold onto the painful knot I left in it...and I jumped up to bring my knee into direct contact with his mouth....knocking his fangs out as well!

Shit! Fighting and keeping that door closed was getting harder to do. More began to creep through the small opening left in between the doors where a few crushed bodies kept a space vulnerable. But I held strong! As the other men charged at me, I jumped to stand on the wall sideways and concentrate on closing the doors' gap a little more! It was only a moment before the others were jumping up and trying to get me down, causing me to roll further up the wall and move to dodge them. They began helping each other out with a boost, but as they kept climbing up to my level, I kept knocking them right back down to the ground.

It was then that I felt it. It was just as strong as it was that night in the shower at the old church. It was a powerful blast inside of my senses, and another trickle of blood ran out of my nose. It was TARYN!!! He was sending me a message! The panic inside of me triggered something, and after our close contact, Michael's minor possession allowed me to see through Taryn's eyes. It was quick, and I could hardly focus while inside of him...but Soren was hurting him! Torturing him to make him force me to stop! They had a stun gun up to the side of his neck, shouting at him to send me a message to STOP! They're causing him pain!!!! PAIN!!!

I was ripped out of my possession by someone actually jumping high enough to pull me off of the wall. He slammed me to the ground, but I rolled to my feet so fast that he didn't have time to react. And with a wrath like no other, I felt my body begin to absorb his mind into me completely. It was like an irresistable vaccuum that sucked his every thought and memory right out of his head, and discarded it into the trash behind me. His eyes went blank, and I left him standing there. Helpless. Others backed up as a huge burst of FLAMES surrounded me, and my energies got a second wind. They are hurting him! There will be no mercy given for him when I arrive! As of right now, I am an instrument of raw anger, of JUSTICE...and I WILL see him home safe tonight!!!

I kicked fighters leg on top of a nearby dumpster, and brought my leg down at the junction where his kneecap was. It bent back the other way, and I grabbed him by the ankle before he could fall. I spun him around in a circle, his broken leg almost coming apart in my grip, and I flung him forward at two others who were beginning to realize that this was a losing battle. And then...from the darkness of the alley itself, I felt the shadows coming to me. The pain, the anguish, it provided me a strong mask of shadows indeed. It was even darker than Comicality's, and much more turbulent! The screams were endless, the pain was infinitely cold against my skin. But it gave me an unbelievable level of strength that rivaled the rage in my heart. The cape dropped down from my shoulders, and much like the hunter in the IceZone, its edges became razor sharp. As I moved forward, the remaining fighters attacked more out of fear than duty, and fear was something that the shadows surrounding me could 'feed' on. They wrapped tightly around my face, leaving only my glowing eyes visible, and I started to spin back and forth, allowing the fibers of my dark cape to cut them to ribbons! They screamed as the slices shredded their skin, and left sparks of electic shocks and a flare up of fire behind...corderizing the wound closed as soon as it struck! All of the extras came together all on their own, and not even the bricks on either side of the alley were safe. But....I lost my hold on the door at the end of the alley.

It burst open, and what looked like fifty more men ran into the battle...but my mind was no longer going to tolerate this distraction. There was nothing left of the boy that I once knew. He was dead to me for the time being. There was only anger. There was only hate. There was only darkness. And nothing could stop it. These vampires look PATHETIC even trying to. I telekinetically forced a harsh blast forward, and divided the entire army of attackers in two, twenty five on the left, twenty five on the right. I slammed their backs HARD up against the walls on both sides of me, leaving me a safe passage right down the middle. I held them there, the force almost crushing them...and felt the halo of a extremely powerful brain geyser building up inside! I marched forward, my long black cape of shadows stretched out behind me, and focused the geyser directly at the minds of everyone before me. FULL BLAST! The screams of the shadows made it even stronger than it ever had been before, and all of my life's frustrations shot out of me at once! All fifty men shrieked with such horror that their cries rattled the buildings around us! I only held them still for another second, and then released them. They bled from their noses some from their ears, and as I continued to storm my way towards the door! They held the sides of their head, and as the brain geyser wreaked havoc in their thoughts, they all dropped to their knees, two by two! Lining both sides of the alley, I kept the pain coming, and watched as they all dropped down and BOWED at my fucking feet! I'm a *GOD* to you worthless pieces of shit!!! Don't you 'ever' fucking FORGET it!!!

I walked down the path created by my 'servants', and literally blew the double door off of its hinges, taking half of the wall with it! I'm NOT stopping until I have my boyfriend in my arms again!

I was in a basement of some sort, and walked towards the steps. They led me upstairs to nother set of doors, and when I kicked them open, they led into a large casino full of vampires and safeguarded humans alike. Hundreds of them. There were poker tables, roulette wheels, slot machines...it was an entire hidden business, here on the outskirts of town. And just above the casino floor, in skybox surrounded with black tinted glass...was Soren! I could see him right through the window, even if it was obscured from everyone else. And when his eyes met mine...he knew that I was coming for him!

The entire party came to a stop once I entered the room. But what I hadn't counted on was that all of the dealers at all of the tables, were psychics. No doubt, a plan for Soren to improve his odds of making a lot of extra cash and decreasing the odds that anyone in this joint would take him for more money than he wanted them to. The problem with that was...the second they laid eyes on me...they all gasped in horror! It was disbelief, mixed with sudden shock, mixed with absolute terror! The highly exhaulted Vampire Mimic, as prophecized in every sacred vampire scripture since the beginning of their culture's existence....was HERE! And he...was...PISSED!!!

Upon my first step into the room, the games shut down, and everyone jumped up screaming, running for the first exit that they could find to get out of the way of the carnage that was about to take place! The others, who didn't know what was going on, were simply sucked into the hysteria by the actions of the people around them. Soon, the pandemonium had swept over the whole room, and hundreds of people were sent scrambling for the door! And yet, I walked forward unhindered. No one crossed my path, no one stood in my way, and I continued to press on without saying a word. The felt on the card tables began to burn from the heated anger emanating from my every pour. I had been fighting so hard and so fast, that my body had accumulated a great deal of static electricity, that popped and crackled in the air with my every step. I was breathing hard, some part of my true self trying to calm down enough to regain some control, but as a few men charged towards me from different directions, that request was denied.

I grabbed the first man by his wrist, and slammed his chin down on the blackjack table. THEN raised my foot, bringing it down on the top of his head, breaking his jaw and the table at the same time. But I neer took my eyes off of Soren. I was glaring at him hard, and kept moving towards him. Another vampire found himself wrapped up in the dark clutches of my cape, and it practically squeezed the life out of him, before tossing him back to the floor. But my eyes stayed focused on Soren. Another guard rushed at me, but remebering Kieran's extra from the club, I mentally attacked his nervous system until his every move against me was so painful that he fell over all on his own before he even reached me. And yet.....my eyes stayed focused on Soren. More of his bodyguards came to test me, but not a single one of them could push me back. I nearly tore them apart with my bare hands, and broke as many bones as I could possibly manage before moving on to the next contestant. But the whole time, I kept moving forward, and I kept my eyes on Soren!

I had almost reached the stairs, and I saw the steps suddenly begin to disconnect from Soren's special skybox, sinking back into the floor to keep me from reaching him. And it was then that I felt Taryn's aura being moved to a higher level. It's too late to move him now. I'm already here, asshole. And I am going to enjoy wrapping my hands around your fucking throat!

The men around me were becoming an annoyance, and I was wasting time, so I made quick work of them, and I made sure that they felt the pain. I WANTED them to feel it! And I didn't feel any remorse whatsoever, not even when I dug my fingers into the skin of one man's arm, and ripped the flesh clear off of his arm in one wet piece! I wrapped the skin around his neck and strangled him with it before flipping him over my shoulder, and went back to fighting the others. I gave them all the rage I had and then some! And as the anger and the desperation to save Taryn reached its boiling point....the shadows around me started to change! Comicality's cloak of darkness began to grow and warp its image...and a long sharp tail snaked out behind me. The cape morphed into a powerful set of wings. And my jaw and fangs become monsterous. It was the Beast reborn...hatred incarnate! The true face of uncontrolled fury! And with an ear splitting roar, Maria's extra lacing the vocal thunder with its most destructive energies, every glass object within 100 feet of me shattered into a million pieces! The roar lasted longer than I had breath, and I watched as Soren's precious skybox was shattered to pieces, leaving him exposed. Leaving him vulnerable. And I was ready! I was SO ready!

But the Beast's image was quickly taking over. My mind was going blank, making way for its horrible wrath, I could feel it. It was too much. My logic was beginning to suffer, my instincts were becoming more deadly by the second, and I was already covered in the blood of my enemies. I knew that I had to pull it back. If I didn't do it now, I'd go over the edge, and never find my way back to who I am. Pull it back, Justin! Don't lose yourself to the madness....control it! CONTROL it! With some effort, the Beast's horrifying image began to fade, as did Comicality's shadows. It took a moment to regain my composure, and with a thought, I commanded the steps to reverse and rise back up to the destroyed skybox before me. Soren attempted to stop it electronically, but I made sure to short circuit the machine before he could interfere. And that is when I started to walk upstairs. It was time for us to settle this, once and for all.

The door to the room bent and twisted up to the side as I approached, and I stepped inside, seeing Soren standing in the room by himself...waiting for me. Our eyes locked on to one another. Two determined spirits driven to their limit, facing off for the first time. He grunted at me, and said, "You arrogant CHILD! Do you have any IDEA what your little 'tantrum' down there just cost me in labor and damages?"

"I'm only going to ask you this one time...and then, I'm going to rip you limb from limb." I said through gritted teeth. "Where is Taryn?"

"Taryn? Oh...he's around. Could be here, could be there...this place is bigger than it looks, you know?"

"Cut the bullshit!"

"Awww, now, you've got yourself on hell of a nasty temper. But that doesn't necessarily constitute wisdom, now does it?" He smirked. Soren shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk...you know, all you had to do was play ball with us. All you had to do was participate in a couple of registered fights, make yourself some money, and help my arena get back on track. And this could have all worked out great for the both of us. But now, you fucked it all up, and cost me more damage than you're worth. So...I'm afraid the deal is off."

"What are you talking about?" I growled as I heard my knuckles crack.

"I'm talking about you not being of any use to me any more, Justin. Not at all. And if you're not of any use to me...then neither is Taryn. Too bad, so sad, get over it. You had your shot, kid....and you blew it."

I took a few steps closer to him, and saw shards of glass rise up off of the floor and hover around me in a slow circle as I tried to maintain my anger while still struggling with my restraint. "I told you what would happen if you touched him. I WARNED you about what I would do..."

"Psh! Please, boy! Did you honestly think that I'd just let you walk into my establishment, wreck my business, and then just leave here alive? You've GOT to be kidding me! I didn't get to be who I am by being stupid." At that moment, I saw a curtain open up from the back of the room, leading to another wide staircase going up to the next floor. And it was then, that I noticed a pair of feet, slowly walking down those steps to greet us. "I thought you knew, kid. I DON'T lose! Not now, not ever! I wish we could have done business, but I believe it's time for me to depart your company. Don't worry about the mess. I'll have things up and running again in a week. As for you and your boyfriend...I hope you got a chance to say goodbye to each other the last time you were together." The footsteps came down further, and I recognized the face the second that I saw it emerge from the darkness. Soren looked over at me with a cocky smile, and headed towards the door. "I told you, Justin...you're already dead." It was his main bodyguard. His right hand man, Natpea. Soren gave him the order. "Finish him...then bleed the boy." And then he made his departure out of a side door to the skybox. "You two have fun."

Natpea stood silently, brushing some of his jet black hair out of his eyes, and cracking his neck as he prepared to move in on me. His thin and sleek frame was smooth with long rippling muscles, and he maintained a cold stare in his eye that let me know that despite all the he had seen tonight...he was not afraid. He was never afraid. This was an inevitable showdown that had finally come to pass. And if he is the last thing standing between me and my love...then he had better be ready for the fight of his life. You wanted a piece of me? Here's your chance, hot shot.