Welcome to the Dark Side (Part III)

Critical · Feb 1, 2015

Jacob was relying almost solely on his instinctual reactions to the woman's attacks. He made no effort to go on the offensive, and simply let his body's reflexes keep him as safe as possible. It was a sloppy affair. Without his actual concentration, without his heart in the actual fight, he was only barely avoiding her attacks and any parrying he did cracked almost immediately. Beneath her onslaught, he was being pushed and shoved all over the pit while getting torn up and beaten without so much as a scratch on the woman.

Words had failed and it felt he was only delaying the inevitable. But he also not about to lay down and die. He needed to find Lenn and end the whole ordeal once and for all. There was a moment's breather inbetween her attacks where Jacob reluctantly reached for the injector pen. He was just about ready to stab it into his thigh, and accept the monster he would become, when the woman yelled at him and he froze.

"... Lenn?"

Bits of concrete bounced off his face as his mind processed the voice. He knew that thick accent anywhere, yet he was not entirely sure. His eyes widened and he breathed a second wind as he put away the pen and ducked away from her, sheathe raised in a more prepared stance.

"LENN! Is that you?!"

Jacob felt re-energized. If the woman behind the mask was Lenn, then he had a reason to fight for real. He knew in his heart of hearts that Lenn would never partake in an illegal blood match, even if she was still in her old life. She was assassin, not a gladiator. Something was going on.

JioJio · Feb 1, 2015

The crowd began to boo seeing Jacob's refusal to fight. This was getting one-sided; boring and she grew frustrated since she had not smeared him across the floor yet. Then he was shouting her name, but it was useless. Why. Was. He. Not. Fighting?

Donovan's expression soured at the scene. He was told that PX-3 was the very drug used in her experimentation. The intel was correct and she had shown little to no resistance while she was forced into training. So...Why was she resisting? It was impressive and also irritating at the same time. He wanted her to feel the pain of murdering the only person she ever considered so close. He wanted to break that stubborn will. She belonged to him and one way or another, she was going to serve him, Goddammit. One way or another, Donovan was going to get his way and this asshole wasn't going to stop him. He turned on the mic. "Fight or die, Cunningham! What will you choose?!"

That's right. Fight or die. If he wasn't going to fight, then fine! With the drug putting her back on track, she roared, knuckles cracked and she charged for Jacob, leaping into the air at the last second to tackle him down.

Critical · Feb 1, 2015

He imagined what it would have been like to be a gladiator in the ancient Roman Colosseum. Beyond the trappings of the modern world, Jacob imagined that it would have very similar, if not identical, to his current situation in the pit. The single key difference seemed to be legality of it all. Where the pit was a wholly illegal operation, hidden from the world and indulged in the shadows, the Colosseum was as public as it could get and even encouraged by the government.

Even the crowd felt like they were from ancient times. They disliked the sluggish, one-sided nature of the fight, chanting for blood and spectacle. Jacob only hoped there were no lions to release to spice up the fight.

Then the emperor raised his voice over the crowd, commanding the ears of all. His words were angry and fervent, letting everyone know that not only was he enthralled with the spectacle, but he was also using it to demonstrate his power. He thought that he could command the lives of the gladiators, reducing their choices to two. Though Jacob felt that the woman had even less than that.

Her attack would only land her on the ground where he once was. Jacob had found his will again, and his speed. He had dodged out of the way and twirled his sheathe in his hand as a gentle breeze blew through the pit, from behind him to the woman.

"Can you hear me, Lenn?! Say something! What's going on?!"

JioJio · Feb 1, 2015

Her fist stopped inches from the ground when she landed. What did he mean what was going on? This was supposed to be a fight...Right? A fight to the death. If only her body didn't feel sore and tight, he would have been dealt with a long time ago. She really hated that he was running from her...and...at the same time, relieved. No, she was definitely relieved. No, he had to die! She started towards him again, head dipped down and her strides filled with hostility.

He was smiling when he handed the phone like a man who wanted a second chance. That morning was awkward for the both of them after all. "Hello there, L--Miss Lenn. It's good to see you again." If it weren't for her forgetting that phone...

She hesitated and that only made her head hurt. She shook her head hard, her grunt distorted from the mask. No, she had enough of this bullshit! Hands went straight for the mask instead and she ripped it free from her face. The porcelain smashed into bits when she threw it aside. There was hiss as once again she was hit with another dose. Lenn clawed at her chest and screamed out. Strong hands tore a part of the battle suit, revealing an odd red case with wires directly plugged into her chest. It was the best way to keep the drug circulated after all and right now it was working. The voices-- His voice from past memories began to fade and that rage was returning with a vengeance.

Her red gaze returned to Jacob with combat fully initiated once again. "Jacob..." her strides picked up and she rushed him, her strong kick aiming to disarm the swordsman.

Critical · Feb 1, 2015

His hands came back up when the woman started roaring and shaking, ready to receive an attack from the enraged female. She was a strange mix of chaotic and predictable. All of her mannerisms were like that of a rabid animal, but at least a rabid animal could be counted-on to continuously attack.

Then she tore her mask off and Jacob's hands came down, and his expression sank.

"LENN! I knew it!"

The corners of mouth tugged upward, wanting to smile now that he knew that she was alive, somehow. However the reality of the situation was too much, and it became all too real. They were fighting, and something was controlling Lenn, compelling her to be the blood thirsty animal that Jacob knew she wasn't. He knew that because there was no other way to explain why she revealed the device on her chest too. Something inside her was trying to show him what was going on, and he had to believe that there was some way to save her.

Jacob was so taken with Lenn's face that he let his guard down. He was too late to react and her kick sent his sword flying out of his hand, twirling through the air before it landed on the ground behind him.

His sword might have left his hand, but Jacob had a renewed sense of purpose: Lenn. He felt the Zone in his mind and he harnessed his speed. Dust kicked up as he slid around behind Lenn in a dark step and tried to restrain one of her arms behind her back, and put his arm around her neck. It was a rough hold, but he had to get her to stop. She was a tough woman too, who could take it, and he would give her everything to apologize later.

"Fight it, Lenn! It's me! Jacob! Fight it!"

JioJio · Feb 1, 2015

The crowd gasped, not too fully aware of the situation below, but at least something was happening! Satisfied that she had disarmed him, she swung a fist aimed for his face, but only swiped at air as Jacob ducked around it. Lenn's mixed emotions caused her to waiver just for a moment, but it was enough for Jacob to restrain her. His hold was tight and incredibly frustrating to deal with. She struggled in his grasp, crying out furiously as Jacob commanded her to fight it! Lenn ground her teeth and suddenly threw her head back to clock him under the chin to release his grip. Once she did, she'd swing behind her in hope of backhanding Jacob back into the ninteenth century.

She was fighting tooth and nail with the drug. She didn't want to kill Jacob, but her body moved on it's own. The drug made her want to fight and kill, but in her mind, all she could do was watch. It was so hard to stop it. She went for him again, fingers stiffening before she shot her hand out to impale him through the chest--

But fingertips stopped just inches from Jacob's body, her own trembling violently as she struggled to compose herself. "O..Off..." her other hand grabbed at the chest piece. She pulled at the piece as the crowd began to shout!

Donovan who sat uncomfortably in the announcer room grit his teeth and pressed the button to release another large dose. One of his men shouted that overdosing could kill her, but Donovan screamed at them to basically shut the hell up! If he couldn't have Lenn, then nobody could!

The device hissed once more and instead of feeling the rush, she grew sluggish and dropped to her knees. She continued to pull at the chest piece, feeling it giving out just a little. Pull it off, smash it to bits, cut it off, she didn't care! "GET IT OFF!" she cried out as the mic screeched from the announcer's booth. "THIS MATCH IS CANCELED!" the crowd went nuts, rioting over their bets! "KILL THAT ASSHOLE!" four men emerged from the hallways rushed to take down Jacob. Luckily for him, the rest of Donovan's men were trying to take crowd-control.

Critical · Feb 1, 2015

Even from behind her, Jacob could feel Lenn's strength. He may have been larger her, and had muscles of his own, but Lenn was something else. If her apparent invulnerability to bullets was not enough, it seemed that she was hiding some serious strength beneath her smaller form. As tight as he held her, he knew that she was going to win in the long run. He only hoped that he could hold her long enough for some of her senses to return. Jacob got a bloody nose from the back of Lenn's head for his troubles, and it was enough to get him to release.

Still, a bloody nose was hardly a serious injury compared to what he had already been through and he quickly wiped away what he could on his sleeve. Lenn's backhand was easily ducked under and he jumped back out of the way of her stab, which stopped before it got close.

"Off...?"

His eyes followed her hand. The device!

"Hold on! I'll get it!"

Jacob was just about to duck down to his knees and help her with it when the speakers rang out with a command for his head. Looking up, he saw the four men rushing him down.

"Hang in there, honey."

It pained him to leave Lenn in that moment, but the men were bearing down on them and they needed to be taken care of. Jacob dove for his sword, picking it up mid roll, and standing up with it in his hand. His vision could not have been clearer and his mind was focused. As the four men descended on him, Jacob felt the world slow down and he took action. The men were right on top of him, and in that second he countered. The butt of the handle hit one square in the chest, the end of his sheathe hit another in the head, another got a smack across the face from his sheathe, and the last one was slammed to the ground with that same movement.

The world returned to normal speed and all four men fell down limp on the ground, knocked out by all the hits at once. Jacob was right by Lenn's side in an instant, and his hand was on the device.

"I'm sorry if this hurts!"

With one good pull, he tried to remove the device from her chest.

JioJio · Feb 1, 2015

There was just too much. Donovan was an idiot. Overdosing only crippled her movement. She couldn't stop those men. Everything around her turned to chaos within a matter of seconds. People were screaming, but it was all background noise. She watched as the men rushed in for Jacob and how quickly he dispatched them. Wow, he really was good. That sword was definitely not for show. Before she knew it, she fell face first into his chest. Oh, he was warm...

And he was saying something too. What was he saying-- GASP! She tensed in his grasp, grabbing up his shirt as the sharp pain cut through her chest. Th-that's right, he was supposed to get rid of the device! She cried out, the pain shockingly almost too much to bear. She cried out and clenched her teeth as she felt the tubes inside her chest beginning to rip. The device began to spark around Jacob's fingers. It was awful hearing her own flesh tear. Her cry grew louder as the device finally gave way and she felt the tubes slide out from her chest. White liquid and blood oozed from the holes in her chest and dribbled out from the device now in Jacob's hands.

Jacob... There were many things she could say to him. She could have been the romantic damsel in distress and kiss him. Instead, she took a moment for her vision to focus in on Jacob's tired-looking face and there was only one thing that came to mind; "Oh...You look loike shit..." thoughts were the first thing to go when one was as zoned out as she was. Stupid drugs.

Critical · Feb 1, 2015

Jacob felt so guilty pulling that horrid device out of her chest, bare-handed and with zero preparation. Never in his life would have wanted to hear Lenn, or anyone else really, cry out in such pain and anguish. And he was the one causing it too, which made it all the more worse. But it had to be done, it needed to be done. So not once did he let up pulling or hesitate. The device had to come out in one go or not at all. All the while he kept quietly apologizing to Lenn.

The moment he felt the slightest bit of slack signaling that it was free, he slammed it to the ground and used both of his hands to hold Lenn close. For a few seconds, the roar of the pit was pushed out of his mind as he held the woman he loved again.

"... I haven't had you around to keep me in shape..."

He hugged her gently, careful not to put pressure on her new chest wound.

"Now lets get out of here. There's probably more guys coming for us right now."

JioJio · Feb 1, 2015

God, it felt good to be back in his embrace. She returned the hug, relieved that he had come back for her. What a crazy guy. Maybe he wasn't as normal as she thought he was and she really appreciated that. She hugged him tight and if it weren't for the chaos, she wouldn't have let him go. Sadly, he did have a point and their little reunion had to be put on hold for now. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea..."

With some much needed help, she rose to her feet and man did her legs feel like wet noodles. "C'mon...Oy' know where the back exit is..." she pointed at the hallway she had come from and pulled Jacob along to follow. Surprisingly, the chaos was so bad that the halls were empty, giving the two a chance to breathe for once. Eventually the two to actually breathe. After what felt like years since the last time she saw Jacob, she couldn't figure out what to really say to him. All she was focused on now was the two of them getting out in one piece. As they were getting closer to the exit, she picked up a sound she never thought she'd hear; Sirens. Cops. They were here? "Nngh...Hurry...Can't get caught..." she muttered and picked up the pace just a little.

The two had made it out just in time as the police flooded into the underground pit. How they had managed to find Donovan's fighting round was beyond her. Did someone rat them out? Oh hell, she wasn't going to bother finding out. Seeing a brief glimpse of Donovan screaming obscenities as he was shoved into a police car was fine enough for her. They were safe. It was finally over. She watched the cops round up the people involved from a distance while she leaned heavily upon Jacob. "Well..it's ova'...oy' think. One hell of a vacation...eh?" Then everything went black when she passed out.

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Welcome to the Dark Side (Part III)

Critical

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JioJio

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Critical

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JioJio

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Critical

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JioJio

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Critical

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JioJio

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Critical

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JioJio

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