With Death Comes Crisis

[Grimmjow Jaggerjack]

'Haven. Last city of humankind. Streets, shops, houses, people, children, clowns, pubs, restaurants...pain, death, murder, and a little bit of hate. Why was it that I returned here?'

Gabriel sat on the edge of a rooftop, staring into the city with nostalgic eyes. The city he spared, the city where he was born. So many years ago...

Humans are not meant to live as long as he has, so much he knew already. Over the years and ages, things just seem to loose the sharp edge. Everything is so useless if you are unable to die, reason for doing things are hard to find if you know that a couple of ages further...all those things are already without influence. He tried to change the world before, engulfing it in a down-ward spiral of death. And yes, he did change the world. But it was just the sight of it. The people who still populated the world where exactly the same as the ones before.

Despicable.

A wise man once told him: 'Time stands still, and we pass by it as a short winter storm. The world is ever changing, but at the same time always stays the same.' Changing unchanged, the man had called it. Gabriel understood those words, as he had seen that the change he brought upon this world in fact hardly accomplished anything.

'Time stands still...yes. But time is not the only thing anymore, for I am unable to move.'

The cloaked figure stood up slowly, unwiling to leave the sight of the setting sun behind the city, giving light to the dome still half covering the city.

Change was again raging through this place on earth, now called Aiden. Evolution. His curse, that he couldn't pass on to others before, had now infected those others without his help. What are the Gods up to, he wondered. Those faint memories and names of the past world, hiding behind time. Evolution. Why has it awakened again? Is the change he created before still not enough? Thinking of his minute-ago-thoughts, he knew, off course, that it really wasn't enough.

This world didn't need change, the people did. Death, in his former life, had given the setting of that change: A lone city in a world destroyed, with just a certain amount of people. The perfect setting, as an entire world of humans can never be changed. A small ammount whom will bear the responsibility to continue the race, and whom will give their ideas to there offspring. That was the perfect setting. That was needed to place the fruit of change in the souls and hearts of people.

If it is even possible.

Times shifted, moments passed, the sun had set. The figure had stood there as a statue all the time.

Eventually he left the scene.

[snowdog]

The sun was setting now, its rays disappearing one by one behind the geometric forms of the skyline. Only Haven provided a view like this one. The poignant sight of the final city at sunset was a sombre thing to behold, bathed in ethereal orange light, standing proud, yet somewhat decrepit against the blackening skies. It almost harked back to the time when it was not the lone city, or perhaps looked forward to the time, where, even Haven would not exist.

Of course, Talsyn was too tired for philosophical thought. Perched, hawk-like upon a crumbling stone pillar of what was once part an iron gate, she sat quietly outside of the headquarters, her increasingly grey eyes focused keenly upon the horizon. Lights began to flicker within the city, an attempt at filling the gap that the absence of the sun had caused. The slight breeze lifted her hair from her shoulders, imitating the sigh that left her lips.

It had been a long day, and the night would be longer still. She looked forward to the next morning, when all of the work would be someone elses' job, and she'd be left with nought to do but simply sleep back in her room.

The day after, however, the cycle would begin again - but that was a thought for another moment.

Carefully moving her position, before jumping to the ground, she dusted her clothing down before leisurely striding away, into the quickening night.

<3

[Shattered Redemption]

It was a cool night outside compared to other days, and Embrace had to admit that he was very pleased with this. He was not at all in the mood for too much heat, and just enjoyed the cool breeze as he stared down at the streets below, looking at how different areas of Haven were compared to others. The day up until just a few minutes before then had been extremely busy, and even though there was no real reason to be worrying, it just felt like something was wrong.

Something literally was always wrong in Haven however, but as the leader of Soldiers of Life, embrace felt more than responsible for making things better. “Where is she?? I know she should be…” He looked down to spot Talsyn, his wings flapping a bit less fluidly than before. The substance that made up the wings dimmed, and cut out, leaving Embrace on his feet as he strode up next to Talsyn, his head knight, but also someone whom he was in love with.

It constantly hurt Embrace because it seemed everything with her was all business, and that her emotions were just locked away somewhere. He casually stepped into line with her, and spoke, choosing his words carefully. “Umm, heyy there Talsyn.” He paused, already completely feeling stupefied ion her presence. “I uh, well didn’t you get the notice that I gave you the night off?? You never relax, so I had some of the others fill for you.” Embrace was hoping that he didn’t anger her. It was just that he felt so mixed up around this woman that it was a bit sad.

-----

Meta was looking up at the ceiling. It was about time for his sparring match with Druga to take place. It was something that he was looking forward to more than some of his usual fights out in the city because they always ended the same. Those who faced him either died, didn’t get a hit and died, or got completely annihilated didn’t get a hit AND died. It was pathetic really. “I wonder. What is, taking him so long.” Meta’s voice was clam and drone like, not at the present time hinting on how he was feeling about anything. This was not abnormal for him, but it was even more so than usual.

The enigma of a being ran his finger tips along the ridge of his chest, staring down the hall that exited the Pandora Segment of the base, and led to the other facilities. It looked like Drug was coming down the corridor. It still would take a few minutes though. If it was Druga, he looked to be taking his sweet time, and the corridor wasn’t short by any means. “I am going to rip off a piece of his face for his, I swear. I don’t like to be kept waiting,” and he seriously didn’t. Patience was no longer one of Meta’s good virtues………

[Ningacom]

"Ah! The flute in this piece is exquisite! And a harp, haven't heard one of those in quite some time. Is that a cello!? What a pleasing surprise."

Kiego "Wolf" Tigris was lying on the floor of his office, deep within the JTD head quarters, keeping in the beat of his favorite music with his own conductor's baton. He had come here to calm himself, Wolf's rehabilitation had been going terribly. A headache had developed early in the day, and Wolf had vomited twice before noon. This had done terrible things to his temper, and those who valued their lives were constantly tense, wondering if they had done anything to displease their master. "The things I do for enlightenment" Wolf sighed.

This project had started a month ago, when Wolf had caught 3 of his lower ranked guards drinking during a late shift. Now, Wolf was a reasonable man. He asked them all the same question. "Why did you do this?" The first responded that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, and was depressed. That man had been killed, such talk of love was not tolerated by Wolf. The 2nd said nothing at all, for he was too drunk to comprehend any of this. Wolf had slammed this man against the wall, and then ordered that he was to be left near the SOL headquarters. He reasoned that if such men had the gall to offend him so, they should be sent to SOL and be dealt with there, not worth his own attention. Finally, he turned to the last guard, and asked him once again why he did what he did. The man was silent for a time, and eventually responded.

"I don't know, my lord."

The final man's answer had intrigued Wolf, so two days later he called that man into his office and discussed this material obsession. The man, whom had been named Tom, explained that he had started drinking in his early teens, and was obsessed with the drink. He would gladly stop, for it had been ruining his life, but the alcohol was in his blood now. If he were to quit, his body would fail and he would die. This man's story brought Wolf to tears, and he let the man go on the promise that he would never bring such things into JTD again, and such affairs would be dealt with elsewhere.

Wolf pondered afterwards if the man had been speaking the truth, that this drink was so difficult to get over. So he had decided he would become an alcoholic, and stop soon afterwards. He did so he could understand the souls of the weak-willed, and so he could further his understanding of justice. The drinking part was difficult, Wolf was constantly needed for work and putting himself in a weakened state of mind was not wise. He did this during the early mornings, where he would drink as much as he could without dieing. The hangovers were brutal, but nothing could prepare him for what cold turkey entailed. Wolf's body was constantly convulsing, and his body rejected any sort of food he gave it.

Lately, Wolf had been getting better. He could eat small amounts of food without seeing it again soon after, and he had periods where his body was calm and still. He was like this as he sat on the floor of his office, listening to the calming melody of an orchestra. When the music ended, Wolf sighed and climbed to his feet. "Enough of this, I have matters I need to attend." he said to himself, reaching for his intercom. This was an impressive piece of technology, it was linked to every floor of the JTD headquarters. All Wolf had to do is press one of the twenty buttons on the machine, and he would be connected instantly to one of the secretaries on that floor. As he reached to press his desired floor, another suddenly turned into a crimson red, emitting a loud buzzer-like sound. This had shocked Wolf, who was clenching his fists in an attempt not to crush the accursed machine. He lightly pressed the glowing button. "Yes?" he said, trying to hide his anger.

"My Lord, Assistant Captain Contact's fight is to begin soon." the voice said calmly from the machine. Wolf smiled, playfully smacking himself on the head. "Of course, how could I have forgotten? Tonight are the finals, am I wrong?" he asked the intercom. "Yes my Lord, tonight decides the champion of Haven's west district."

"Thank you, please have a great day." Wolf replied, turning off the connection. Tonight was a big day for the young man, he should be respectful and watch. It was pointless, of course, for Wolf knew Rayden could never lose in close combat. He turned on the television set in his office, turning it to the channel that was broadcasting the fight. At the same time, he pressed the button he had originally planned to press, the Reaper floor. "Excuse me, could you send up two of my Reapers?" he asked. "Of course my Lord." it responded. Wolf gathered three chairs and set them in front of the TV, it didn't hurt to enjoy oneself and conduct business at the same time.

[snowdog]

Talsyn's irritated stride drew to a halt as the familiar male stuttered to the ground before her upon unsteady wings, his feet planting on the floor, allowing him to address her. The grey gaze of her eyes followed his movements as he aligned himself with her, bridging the gap as he did so. She helped in this by taking a few steps forward, but not too close for comfort. The two got on well, however, they had to remember that they were superior and inferior - Talsyn being the latter.

The chill of the night pricked her skin, but Talsyn did not shudder, simply focusing upon what he had to say. Acknowledging him with a slight smile, and a quick nod of the head as he spoke, she remained silent and respectful, hearing each of his words in turn.

“Umm, heyy there Talsyn.”

"Embrace," she filled his pause, keeping things short and sweet. Though she seemed kindly, the prospect of the night ahead was looming, and knowing her somewhat snappy nature, she didn't want to risk her position by barking at the man. Besides, he already seemed quite awkward in his mannerisms, and terse in his speech. It was unusual, but she knew better than to question him directly.

“I uh, well didn’t you get the notice that I gave you the night off?? You never relax, so I had some of the others fill for you.”

Talsyn's face softened at the prospect of a night off, but then her brow furrowed upon further thought.

"Who is covering?" she questioned, her voice sharp, though trailing off towards the final syllables; now that she mused upon it, he had noticed how hard she had been working... not to mention, he had done something about it for her rather than just leaving her to it. She smiled, shaking her head slightly, hair swathing with the movement, before retracting her words. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't think just then. Thank you, I appreciate it." It was true - she did appreciate it - but the prospect of someone inexperienced going out there angered her. Not only would it be bad for the city, but they just might get themselves hurt, too. "As long as you're sure whoever replaces me is suitable, then I suppose I have no choice but to accept your offer."

There was a short pause, one that gave her a chance to try to smooth things out, as well as attempt to relax the man in his seemingly anxious state. Was it stress? General overworking? Tiredness? Whatever it was, the white-haired man appeared flustered.

"So, sir..." she began, "how are you doing, anyway?" Perhaps asking him about his state rather than talking about work might calm him down. She hated to deviate from the job in such a manner, but she had to remember that her job depended on him, and frosty relations stemming from her own often sour demeanour weren't good for anyone.

<3

[EnigmaticAngel]

In a dark gloomy room, the door to a capsule opened slowly as white mist rose from the opening. When the door finally opened, a dark figure calmly walked out of the capsule, fully charged. He checked himself to make sure there weren't any flaws and his cybernetic body was working perfectly. After seeing everything was working smoothly, he walked to the window and saw the sunset dimming as it sunk into the earth.

Lance walked into his other room and quickly noticed a red dot blinking on his house phone. He pressed a button and answered, "Hello"? he asked.

"Sir, its the secretary, you are to be at Master Wolf's office soon" said the secretary.

"Is that all?" he asked

"Yes..."

Lance wondered what he was being called for, then remembered today was the competition finals. He quickly got his equipment and headed out to Wolf's office...

[Kissui Tensai]

The dwarf had entered.

Smallest of the small, a mere toddler it would appear had walked into the fray. Rubbing his eyes and releasing a faint yawn, he'd only awoken a few minutes before and had been about roaming headquarters. Apparently in his own state as he was, now he was the youngest walking about the building, practically eight years old by appearance alone. His eyes open, they were wistful teal which would be the mortal eyes untainted by his mutations. The half-pint made his way into the lobby and stood at the counter actually having to jump every second to hold a conversation.

"So as I was saying.........we're here five.......years later and....gotten this far....in our efforts....yeah I'm gonna....stop jumping....and come around....to that side...." Svether said with a pant. 'Geez, already so much exercise this early in.'

After finishing his conversation, the young one slid over the counter and headed to the elevator. He stopped, realizing he couldn't reach the elevator button. A frizzle in his expression as he began to jump again attempting to reach the down button on the damned panel but he couldn't. Bracing the wall, he steadily climbed up, and pressed it as though he were some savage hooligan and waited for the elevator to come down from the upper levels to the lobby. To his surprise, it was empty except for the attendant, but he didn't really care as he was irritated he couldn't reach the button.

He went all the way to the top.

As the doors opened up, there was an attendant taking his leave onto the elevator and the child simply looked back in confusion. It was in recent times, the commander appeared to be in more bitter ailments, yet he was recovering remarkably. The stroll Svether took, placed him in the room, practically an ant comparable to the size and he took a seat in one of three chairs giving sign of his presence in the room and addressing his commander and man of whom he owed great gratitude.

"Good morning Commander Wolf, how are you feeling?" The child spoke in such a warm tone.

It wasn't much surprise, within a matter of seconds one of the seats that happened to be filled by another whom entered upon request. A reaper.

[Shattered Redemption]

Embrace still was feeling off about the situation. He couldn’t even speak right, and he knew that this probably made Talsyn think so much less of him. After he told her that he had others covering for her, the features on her face softened, but only stayed like that for a few seconds. She spit out the question that would be covering for her, and embrace was taken aback. He didn’t understand why she had to be so cold all the time. It was really like Talsyn was hiding something. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't think just then. Thank you, I appreciate it."

This made Embrace feel a lot better, and with her reaction, he got his wits about himself quickly. After her next response, the feeling almost returned. It was like she was only accepting the night off because he was telling her to. This made Embrace think about things more than he usually did when trying to connect with Talsyn. She didn’t seem to notice how he showed that he care about her. Then again, maybe she did realize it, and did not feel the same way?? Embrace had spaced out thinking about this, because he almost didn’t catch Talsyn speaking.

Her words were spaced out. “So sir……how are you doing anyway??” Embrace looked at her for a moment, merely trying to see if she was being formal, or really wanted to know what he was up to. He hoped it was the latter, and simply smiled at her, sighing as he looked up at the sky.

“I am doing fine actually. But what I want to know is how are you feeling?? Sometimes you worry me Talsyn. Yes you are my head knight and all, but I don’t view you as a mere soldier that works under me.” Embrace was hoping that his words weren’t pushing it, maybe he would stop before he said the wrong thing. “Umm, what I am trying to say is.” He laughed, amused with how pitiful he was acting. “Would you like to do something tonight, or do you have plans already??” He said this slowly; making the implication that she should say no, but also because since she just found out that she had the night off, Talsyn shouldn’t have had any plans………

[Wasilis]

A young looking man was walking down the corridor. He wasn't hasty; in contrast he was walking slowly. After a few minutes of walking he ended up in a room; a big room, lavishly decorated, where battles could easily take place. On the other side of the room was standing a man. His face had an overall calm expression. He was Meta. The man was tall unlike him. In addition he was older.

Druga's green eyes, the boy's name, came in contact with Meta's eyes. Druga studied his carefully. Everytime he did this. Always before a battle he was trying to find out his opponent behavior, as he did with animals. "Maybe he is not so calm..." he thought, but he wasn't afraid of the huge man.

"Sorry, my friend!" he started saying after he had studied his opponent. "I completely forgot about our sparring match!" he bursted into laugher. "But it doesn't matter after all. Right? I just let you live a little longer!" he added. He was always so optimist that he was always thinking that everything will go well!

[snowdog]

Embrace's response was a mere smile, followed by simple words spoken to the sky.

“I am doing fine actually. But what I want to know is how are you feeling?? Sometimes you worry me Talsyn. Yes you are my head knight and all, but I don’t view you as a mere soldier that works under me.”

Drawing her arms into a folded position, she couldn't stifle her slight grin at his words. She could not understand just why he was being so kind, and obliging to her, almost to the point of flattery, but she was not about to complain. Embrace was a kind man, when it came down to it, and she and the others were lucky to have someone like him as their leader.

"You shouldn't worry," she assured him, fingers straying within the tips of her hair. "I think it's good of you to think that way. This world would be a better place if all leaders were so amiable with their men. And women." There was an odd feeling within her intuition, but she ignored it, for Embrace was about to speak again. He seemed quite awkward all of a sudden, his words tensing up as they had done a little earlier.

“Umm, what I am trying to say is. Would you like to do something tonight, or do you have plans already??”

Talsyn's eyes widened, suddenly unable to blink, or remove their gaze from the white-haired man before her. For a moment, she realised her intuition had merit behind its inkling, however, she had to pull her wandering mind back into the ambiguous context he had given. For all she knew, this might simply have been to bridge the gap between them, seeing as neither had - as yet - dedicated time to build their strength as a team. It could be strictly work-related. Though, judging from his nervous laughter - not to mention the steady uncharacteristic blush upon her face - there was the slight feeling that this was not to do with the Soldiers of Life.

A moment's deliberation was all she needed. This was intriguing to say the least - and would most likely be fun.

"Okay," she nodded, letting her arms drop to her sides. "What did you have in mind, sir?"

"No," she told herself, "stop thinking like you're at work. He is Embrace now, not 'sir'."

"I mean, Embrace..."

<3

[Shattered Redemption]

Embrace’s face probably went blank as well, but he didn’t notice this himself. As soon as Talsyn heard his question, her expression went from that of a cold one as per the norm with her, to a wide eyed confused expression. Embrace couldn’t tell if she was shocked or shocked and disgusted at the thought. He didn’t say anything, and just waited for a response from her. It seemed that she calmed herself, or settled from whatever she had been feeling, because no longer tensed as she was as the Head Knight, Talsyn lowered her arms to her sides.

She agreed, calling him sir, but then she thought about it and called him Embrace. “Donteli….it’s Donteli.”

He was grinning now, and without warning stepped over to Talsyn. “I have this in mind.” She probably knew what was coming right as he took the first step, because his reddish pink wings had spread out forming from energy as he came closer. He swept her up off the ground and took to the skies, his wings beating softly as they ascended……..

[snowdog]

“Donteli….it’s Donteli.”

"Of course," Talsyn smirked, folding her arms again. The man before her beamed, stepping closer, his wings sprouting from his back all of a sudden.

“I have this in mind.”

The cold rush of air was all Talsyn could feel as he scooped her up, almost launching up into the night skies. The headquarters grew smaller with every beat of his wings, the air swirling around them as they went. Talsyn's fingertips dug into his skin, sweat forming upon her brow, almost inspired by the jittering of her nerves. Donteli was used to flight, but she was not. In all fairness, she had never flown in her life.

Her mind bounced from one thing to another. For a while, it was upon their allies, and all of their fellow Soldiers of Life. She thought of them, and all their hard work. She felt a bit guilty for letting them do all of the work tonight. Though that was a thought for a little later, for now seemed the time for fun, and laughter.

Though keeping her eyes closed for some time, the girl eventually opened them, only to see the form of the city below, bathed in the pleasant milky moonlight. The sight of Haven beneath the stars was a beautiful sight, beaten only by the ethereal, heavenly entities themselves, swirling in ebony. Her grip upon him slackened ever so slightly - her grip had been so hard she was afraid to have hurt him - but she remained with her hands clasped to him, her body entirely hunched up within his arms. This was an odd feeling, an odd feeling indeed; the two sailed through the skies, somewhere between the boundless, wide-open freedom of the night sky, and the close comfort of a tight embrace, held to the chest of a loved one.

Something told her he was not just out to terrify her, or carry her into the skies on a whim. There was no doubt within her now, there was method behind his madness. In all honesty, she was not sure of what to do, or say. She was hardly sure what she thought, or how she felt. Though, she knew that this wasn't a bad thing, and that had to be a start.

Things seemed quiet. She had spent far too long with her eyes closed, clutching him for dear life, before opening her eyes, and smiling all the while.

"It's so quiet up here," she said. "Other than your wings. You can't hear the city, or the wind."

It seemed inane.

"... so where are we going, Donteli?"

<3

[Shattered Redemption]

Meta was not yet becoming impatient. As Druga came down the hall, Meta had started stretching; bending his body backwards from slightly above the waist until his hands were on the cold floor. This was one of Meta’s normal exercises, but usually it was more precise and he was either using gravity to make the work harder, or in anther position when he began. It wasn’t long before Druga leisurely strolled into the room, and at this point Meta returned to a standing position.

Right at that time, Druga stared into Meta’s eyes. It was a bit annoying, as if he was trying to find something in the gaze. Meta just stared back, amused at the idea of reading him. The younger male; chipper in nature piped out and apology, and then mentioned that he’d forgotten all about the sparring match they were to have.

“Is that so Druga?? I don’t even know why Gabriel deals with you all half the time. Probably because he leaves it to me.” Meta rolled his eyes, glaring at Druga at the same time. “Today’s sparing will most likely entail you having to up your defense against abnormal situations, so I would think carefully as we now begin………”

Gravity was already being affected, and Meta floated off the floor, and about a second later he began to increase the amount of pressure inside the room, not being affected by it himself. Due to this, Druga would find it harder to move, as if their was more weight bearing down on him as he tried to move. Along with this issue, Meta redirected the spectrum, and fired a sporadic wave of electrical energy at Druga from left to right, curving it into a spiral as it moved towards the younger man.

[Anzai Koyanagi]

As the elevator opened, a man with piercing eyes walked into the command center. Each step was centered and calm, as he made a slow gait to the center of the room. His trench billowed lightly and with every movement, the blade like protrusions of his coat tails flapped about. Kurai Hiten sat in the chair next to the second in command, and wasn't truly aware of or cared that anyone might wish to sit there instead. He only listened to two people in this room.

Kurai looked from reaper, to reaper, to wolf, and finally to Svether. While Wolf was technically one of the ones he'd listen to, it was only on the leader basis, and only when spoken through by Svether, the second. Kurai had been under Svether's leadership before Wolf's and even before that, they had been friends before that. Kurai cupped his hands closely together, without a word, looking from one man to the other, listening intently.

[Ningacom]

"Svether, good to see you!" Wolf said, smiling as his 2nd in command took a seat without invitation. Wolf ignored this disrespectful behavior, firstly because Svether was one of the few he held no formalities with, the second reason being that Wolf was used to such acts from Svether. For all his terrible experiences in life, Svether tended to be a tad immature, if not just ignorent to formal behavior. "I'm actually quite glad you're here, Reapers tend to be dreadfully boring company." Wolf sighed. It was true, they never laughed at any of his jokes. Wolf noticed that the young man's face was flushed slightly. "Problems with the elevator?" he chuckled, sitting himself on the desk behind him. The desk was actually a preferred place for Wolf to sit, as he had apprehension with chairs. They had a tendency to break under him due to his immense figure and his Evolution. Even though these chairs were made of Schontitite, as were most if not all things in JTD, and would be able to contain his natural frequency. It was more a habit then actual concern.

Soon after, another entered Wolf's office. This was one of his expected guests, although he personally would've chosen another. This particular Reaper had a look of... superiority in his eyes. Such looks should be discarded in the presence of Wolf. "Ah, thank you for joining us Mr..... Hiten is it?" Wolf asked, laying a hand on the other man's shoulder and smiling. "Please, take a seat next to Svether here. We shall conduct business as soon our third guest arrives." Wolf commented, sitting back on his desk. "In the mean time, please enjoy the final seed of the West Haven Adult Fighting Competition. Our representative, Mr. Rayden Contact, is up against the champion for the last three years. Mr. Contact is in for quite a fight, don't you agree?" Wolf asked, suppressing a chuckle. This was an important fight, almost half of JTD's money was on Rayden's side. Wolf would normally never bet this much money on one person, not unless it was a sure deal. In truth, he would have bet all of JTD's stock and income had that not seemed suspicious. Rayden was special though, there was no doubt in his mind that Rayden wouldn't emerge victorious.

Rayden Contact never loses in close combat, ever. Wolf thought confidently.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If Rayden Contact actually felt any sort of apprehension, it didn't show. He sat now on the roof of "Holly's Own Haven", where the finals were to take place, without a single apprehensive thought in his head. Rayden was cross legged, eyes' closed, nose facing the sky. Any passing observer, who knew about tonight's event, might think the boy was praying to his respective gods. Or that he was mulling over a strategy for tonight’s bout. In actuality, he'd completly forgotten about the fight. His mind was engrossed in the buffet of emotions that surrounded him. It was a heavenly thing to experience, the masses of emotions rising from the streets, melding with one another. From the left, excitement and love lofted up. There was a park not too far from the bar, and the feelings of lovers and young children at play came to him like a cloud. On the right, Rayden felt the opposite. There, an underground gang hideout lay. Anger, worry, self pity, and malicious thoughts crashed onto Rayden. And this was all a bittersweet topping for the steaming stew of thoughts below him. More worry, with spices of confidence and it was all layered with the unmistakable feeling of pride.

Rayden smiled, thoughts back on the reason he was here. He'd dealt with the before mentioned pride that wafted from this place for far too long. The emotion made him gag, and he would enjoy the sensation of destroying it. All of the fights up until now had been either thrown, or done pitifully. That was part of Wolf's plan, he wanted to make sure that everyone bet against Rayden. And that was indeed what had happened, only JTD's money was on Rayden's side. But tonight, Rayden would destroy all the pride and confidence that his opponent held, and show them all a preview of what JTD would do to this world.

"Mr. Contact, are you here?" a voice asked behind Rayden. It was a simple attendant, nothing more. Rayden turned to face him, eyes still closed. The man reeked of fear, mellowed down by confusion and criticism. He was obviously unaware of the nature of the fight, thinking anything but triumph. "Yes, yes, is the fight starting?" Rayden asked, opening his eyes. "Yes sir, 10 more minuets." the attendant said, standing at attention. "Okay, suppose it's time to finish all this." Rayden answered, walking past the attendant.