Chương 46: MAGE AND SWORD.

DRAC OUTSKIRTS OF OSBERG CITY Job: Find the Duchess. Eliminate threats to her safety. 19: 00 hours. Orange cloaked the horizon. Miles away from the city, we found their transport. It had been dismantled. Off the side of the road, a hidden entrance was found in the bush. Seals were expelled easily. Shoddy, quick work. We entered, walking on a dark, musty floor worn down by many thousands of footsteps. Blood dispersed here and there. They were rough with their 'goods'. Tarion was right.

What was I thinking to consider accepting a request from such a corrupt man? Being desperate doesn't mean anything when the blood which painted these tunnel walls was from people who had loved ones as well.

"Zhi, stop being stubborn." I turned on my Seeing Glass, "Carry Bieye. We need to move fast.

"Tsk, you lot forgive too easily. But not me. My shop! Gone because of this bitch. Why can't you do it, lazy?" I tapped my glass as an explanation. Bieye stayed silent behind her, obviously still dealing with guilt.

"Still, you must get over it. Because of the 'bitch', we know this entrance exists. So lighten up, 'master' Zhi, or is it because she is too heavy?"

"Oh, you little prick." Zhi bent down and scooped up the stunned lady of the night.

"You know how to piss me off. And you there." Zhi turned back to Bieye.

"I understand… I am just frustrated. At the whole situation. At my cowardice. I didn't want to rock the boat. We liuens are in a precarious position in an unfamiliar land. But it was a noble and not just any noble, the noble of Osberg, who went straight to you to save you despite being caught. … I am just angry at myself…" Zhi stopped as she was hugged by Bieye. Their silent embrace said all that needed to be said. I looked for enemies ahead. Two ahead of us. Both are 6 circles. Gold.

Traces of the mage were everywhere. He has to be running out of mana. Excellent, I may have a chance to live.

"Beiye, directions." VANESSA Underground The priest reached up to heal. A gold light warmed my neck; purple skin returned to normal. The amber light of the gods. So invigorating. Like a warm hug. I wished to be in the light's embrace forever.

"Priest", I turned to the other captured women.

"Please heal them. They need it more than I." I heard a short laugh and found the priest trying to hide his smirk.

"Why?" An explosion rocked the building to its foundation. TARION! Elation made my heart beat like a bee's wings. He is here!

"Priest", the horn sat up.

"Feast. I may need your services later." The priest bowed.

"As the Horn allows." The Mouve priest scanned the cage. Desire filled his beady eyes. I stood between them and the pervert. Even without circles, I can knock a fool down. A girl held my arm. Fresher complexion than most of the girls. Her expression pleaded for me to stop. Fjord called for someone at the door of the jail, and after he squeezed through, two powerful men walked over to me briskly.

"The bait isn't needed anymore." The shorter, porcupine-haired man smiled at his taller, bowl-cut friend. Tugging me with unyielding strength, they dragged me out of the room, leaving the girls to their fate.

"You're coming with us." Walking into the pitch-black tunnel, I felt something at the edge of my skin. A short lady walked forward in the darkness. The air shook around her figure.

"Ayo, young men. Better leave her and tail it before you lose your lives." The two men who spoke with a Southern Friedman accent pulled out their weapons, unaware of the strength the tiny lady held.

"Move aside, ma'am. We are not here to play games."

"Fools! Get her away!" A mage I hated popped into existence. With a face full of sweat and heavy breath, he grabbed me harder than those men did.

"Zhi…! She isn't one to mess with. Let's skip the long journey, okay, dear!" Veil clicked his fingers. Nought happened but a mage's shocked face. I pulled my arm from him, whipping with chains he put me in. However, the chains moved as if they were alive and dragged me to the floor.

"WHERE IS HE? THE BASTARD THAT KEEPS MESSING UP EVERYTHING?!" A sword glinted in the shadow, striking up at the mage, and a shield shattered. Veil spun, and a fireball grew in his palm.

"There you are!" He shot it. But only the scorching stone was left. Another shield broke, and an arm was cut with a quick slice.

"LUX! OSTENDO!" Everything was laid bare by a powerfully white light. Drac covered his eyes as mysterious snake-like magic moved towards Tarion's assassin.

"Drac on the ground!" I shout. Drac listened well, leaping up away from purple ropes.

"Runes?" Veil laughed as fire twisted like a viper. I noticed runes placed all around the tunnel. They lost their power while they burned.

"You think it can stop me, Novice?"

"Yes." Drac calmly stomped on the ground, leaving a crack as he sped with amazing speed. Runes on his sword glow. Sword to chin, he gave a blurring lunge that was met by a shield. Veil focused, keeping the shield's form.

"REPELLO!" A wave of mana pushed the man from Sika.

"Not so easy to face a real mage, is it—OUGGGH!!" A rune slipped by the shield and exploded Veil backwards.

"Yeah, you're right." Drac crawled back up, rubbing sore muscles.

"It's bloody hard."

"You need more training," Zhi called to Drac from her side of the battle. If you could call it one. Anyone who saw it would think it was an exhibition match with a master and her novice students. Her palm redirected blades, batting them away with effortlessness. Bones were crushed as she sent a six-circle flying to the tunnel's ceiling. The porcupine dropped down, and a spinning kick blew him apart.

"NOOOOO!!" The bowl cut flared his sword, imbued with a rune. Wind flew at Zhi with murderous intent.

"Interesting." Zhi stepped in close, examining his blade like a normal doctor's appointment.

"Duchess." She held the sword edge, touching the inscription.

"Do Mana users normally resonate with runes after reaching the fifth circle?"

"Huh..." I almost forgot to talk.

"Typically. But it depends on the individual. I think…"

"Talent… Mm. Youngster, you won't need this anymore." Her fist vanished, and a bowl-cut head burst into a red mess on the tunnel walls.

"So many tests I can do," Zhi grinned.

"Bieye, find another way out." Drac placed himself between us and the mad mage that was boiling with rage. I flinched as Bieye held my shoulders.

"Hello, Duchess."

"You're the woman I saw early this morning."

"I am… the reason you are here."

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, BLACK BASTARD. YOU'RE NOT TAKING HER FROM ME." The tunnel quaked from his rage. I heard an assassin laugh. Sliding his blade back into his sheath, Drac bent back, breathing as much mana as possible. He sprang back, skulking low. A seeing glass was placed on his right eye.

"You made this personal."

"WHO CARES!" Veil pulled back his arms; flames condensed to a single point on his palms, and a big push blasted two enormous beams of fire.

"Murus." Shaped like a ship's bow, Drac's shield cut through the blaze. Haze formed above"Ad tempus posterius transilire." Drac flickered past lightning strikes.

"Pallium fulguris coacti." Dodging lightning, he became it, blitzing the fearful mage's shield.

"Stop staring, ladies." Drac hammered down on a shield, making it crack while evading a column of stone from above.

"And take her away." Zhi laid her new blade on her shoulder.

"You heard the man; let's move it." With the battle, I remember what was almost forgotten.

"There are girls that need help more than me?" A small tear dropped from Bieye's beautifully almond eyes.

"My girls?" I found that I could move the chain. But the aged Liuen broke it with a simple squeeze of her small hands. Circles ran in my chest freely.

"Come, Duchess." Zhi pushed me forward from my back.

"Show us where." TARION. OUTSIDE THE VACANT GUARF HOUSE As I struck my enemy with all my might. I asked myself why. Why do I fight so hard? Why do I fight at all? I have been a fighter all my life. Pads in the ring, watched by a booing crowd. Alone under the cloudy Ukrainian drone-filled skies. Under the canopy of my sick bed. Burning. Always a struggle. For a parent's approval. To seek a purpose. Finding my true calling in the midst of bullets as sand filled my boots.

Throughout all my paths, there is something I sought. In this duel, I had found it. I was swept across Black shade by FJord's strength, but I clawed the ground to stop myself from flying into a building. Two circles ran hot in my chest while QI was calm in my basin. Calm… Think… Examine… Senses: 40 points All four gold rings on The Horns' meaty fingers emit a strange energy similar to Drac's jacket. They were Runes. Fire runes to exact. Protective runes run along his simple leather armour.

It must have cost a pretty penny. I looked at my sword. It was runeless; however, it is more hardy than any sword that exists. A ninth circle could swing it as hard as they could against stone, and it wouldn't make a dent. I made an Alber stance with my weapon, waving it low to tease the Shaved.

"You're different… Healthier! Did you have some spare vials of holy water hidden away? Nobles do tend to hoard." I smirked.

"Scared that you're finally fighting a healthy man instead of a pleading woman." His massive axe chopped for the kill. Heightened senses slowed everything. Basics. Reading a person's movement. When it comes to throwing a punch, slicing with a sword or aiming with a pistol. People have tells. I watch them. Learn from them. And counter. A crater detonated from the axe's edge. Anticipating a thrust to his head, Fjord leaned to the left. Mana repelled off my boot with a kick, knocking spit from the Horn's mouth.

I followed as he fell back, my sword slicing down a blocking axe. A large hand, cloaked in mana, blocked another powerful kick. My right leg was grabbed, and I was about to be slammed to the ground. Quick thinking saved me when I stabbed backwards into the soil. Using the sword as leverage, I spun the horn's arm. A left kick hit his armoured ribs, and he let me go. Basics. My skills allowed me to survive last time. I don't aim to survive based on luck anymore. In everything physical prowess, I am his better.

"Amazing! You didn't fight like this before!" An axe sliced six mana slashes; each time, I escaped with a side-to-side dash. Footwork brought me closer and closer.

"AHAHAHAH!" Heightened senses saw his rune rings glow. 40 points to Agility. I sped past fireballs and twisting flares to meet an astonished northerner. Great instinct the big man had as he defended well against my upswinging sword. I leapt, imbuing mana onto my sword of Osberg. 40 points to strength. I hit the horn's weapon from above, and the ground below expanded into a hole. He could still handle that much strength. What a monster. But he glances at my feet for another kick.

And I gave him a left kick that he blocked with his left hand. Hooking my blade on the axe, I land, twisting its weapon away. With incredible strength, his arm snapped. Unwilling to let my blade go, I gripped tight as Fjord threw me into a fence. Rolling off the wooden planks, I ran to the right while fireballs exploded on the grass behind me. A fireball was aimed well, following my trajectory. I remembered my footwork drills and made a speed cut to the left. He doesn't want me close.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. 40 to agility. I sped forward to apply what I had learned. Despite his large smile, I observed him retreat a small step. I sliced the air and shot a great tower of mana. The Horn's gold axe ground against the energy slash. It was too late to notice my blade cutting his back. A desperate swing of his axe blew a breeze, missing me entirely as I skipped back.

"Fuck this shit!" Fjord checked his injury; shallow as it may be, it was enough to slow him down. Nevertheless, I saw him reach for a vial inside his leather armour. He took a sip, and his paleness disappeared. He sighed with relief.

"Phew. It hits the spot." He grinned.

"See. Futile." Putting the vial back, he flared his six-circle hues metre wide. His hue sparked and sparkled like his blade. On the edge, a luminous white aura appeared. I saw his status.

"Platinum…" I felt it again: fear. Although in a different form. This fear doesn't make me take a step back, fearing my body was too weak. That I hadn't trained enough. No, this new fear stemmed from the realisation that I may never feel this excited again. Thrill. I sought the thrill of war, of competition. With death on the tip of our sword. A single mistake and your life is on the line. The champion gains glory and honour. And with a willing partner crazy enough to join in the stupid contest of murder.

Like that old merc who died for a few marks, this world is full of crazies who accepted the same game as I. A perfect fit for me.

"Shaved! Show me all you've got! Leave it all on the table!" At the tip of my nose, I smelt the curse again. But not from Fjord. Black mist emerged from the bandits, consuming them and turning them into screeching monsters. Believing in my men, I ignored it all, and I paid my attention to my only problem.

"It's time to end it all!" And take back my honour. JOSHUA CITY WALL. Without a priest, I am useless for now. I limped next to a great man. Wearing obsidian-dyed salamander armour, tightly tailored to his still-impressive figure. Although poisoned only two days ago, he watches over his nephew's battle like a proud father, knowing he could end their childish fight. With an eye on the battle, Uncle read my mind accurately.

"Why do I not help? Because he did not ask." He turned to me.

"He did not ask me for help in his sickbed, nor on that fateful night."

"Yet you are here." Loran nodded.

"We aid when we are needed. And it is not now. We stand by his order as Osberg Knights should. ISN'T THAT RIGHT, BOYS!"

"YES, SIR!"

"He is old enough to solve his own problems." My uncle turned back.

"Knights, what do you think?" he asked of his men who observed the battle like us. So engrossed I barely noticed the presence of such large lads in pristine steel-plated armour. Fives, sixes and a few sevens assessed the disorder below like a chef judging a cooked meal.

"Skill: greatest in a generation. Situational awareness is superb. No one here would lose. But we certainly won't win easily." A middle-aged warrior complimented Tarion, and many in the retinue agreed.

"His hue, I've never seen the like before," one knight remarked.

"I've only seen it one time. A crazy recluse of one circle started meditating in the middle of nowhere and came back with such a hue. He called it platinum. True Forging."

"How the hell did he do that?" A rough-mouthed warrior scoffed.

"He'd been lazing about in his bed for the past few years!" I wanted to shout, but the knight's savage face quieted any harsh reply I could give. An elder knight slapped the six on the head.

"Don't you dare disrespect his grace." The rough knight stood face to face with his elder.

"But it's true. And if he thinks there's a problem, he can come and tell me!"

"Even if it's true." I limped over to them, circles spinning, pushing away the fear.

"What is more true is that HE IS YOUR DUKE!" I point my crutches at the man with the granite face.

"Say anything untoward about my brother, and I swear on my family's honour, you will beg for forgiveness! Understood, knight!?" A moment passed, and the rough knight saluted.

"Understood, Milord." I saw a wink sent to my uncle.

"HAHAHA!" Loran hugged me around the shoulder.

"So men, what do you REALLY think?" The rough knight's accent became softer, his expression kinder.

"The future is bright for Osberg." That smell… I turn to the black shade below.

"Uncle… Something is…"

"MEN, TO YOUR WEAPONS. WE ARE NEEDED." The black flat of Uncle Loran's sword glowed with a soft light.

"TO BLACK SHADE. ELIMINATE ALL CURSED."

"YES, SIRE!!" TARION BLACK SHADE"Mm… You were telling the truth that night in the red light district. You really are a mad bastard… Alright! I will aid you in your suicide!" From his horn tattoo, black ink grew over his skin, making intricate, runic-like patterns on his head, torso, and arms. Grey eyes became animalistic, his posture beastly. His size grew an extra two feet. His mighty howl caused the earth to sway. I check his status again. A 10-point bonus on all his attributes.

"You see now the tattoo wasn't for show!" Fjord's voice was now like gravel to my ear.

"I am truly A SHAVED ONE, unlike that fake Rokkr." His ponytail moved behind like a bull's tail.

"Having gone through the trials, I am a true warrior among warriors!" Who sells women. He had to shave his head daily to show the world the product of his struggle. Strangely, he is still very proud of his culture despite them chucking him away.

"You look at my visage and don't feel dread. I am one of the shaved! A true enemy of the Greystones!" Like a final touch, the tattoo ink formed bull horns.

"The people who took your father away from you!" So he merged with a Minotaur. Not bad, but not the strongest.

"Why fear? I am a worldly man. I despise you, though, not because of your weird barbarian accent, but because you are a dickhead of the highest order." Holding my great sword, I jumped back and forth in a boxer's rhythm. I moved my sword into the Zornhut stance, but with an improvised left hand hung low.

"I will hold my end and give it all as well, you prick." I opened the dam. KURT BLACK SHADE Weird accent?

"PAY ATTENTION!" Slipped by exploding knives and sliced the air. Threads were cut, and daggers fell to the ground.

"UGH! HOW ARE YOU GETTING BETTER!?"

"You are predictable." A shield of mana stopped a dagger from stabbing my back.

"I will show you 'predictable'!!" Pulling apart his multicoloured dress, tiny knives the size of a thumb scatter.

"You're the first to see it in years! SILVER RAIN." And I leapt from such rain, but like a school of fish in the sea, they flowed away from the ground and pursued me. I conjured a shield around me. Tiny blades chipped and cracked it.

"Predictable, you say!?" I heard the clown close as a devastating knife gnawed at my back. A thick mass of mana armour saved my life. I cut from the floor to his face, and the clown flipped backwards, allowing his rain of blades to attack me.

"Tidious." My head grew hot. Power spread down my skull past my hair and to my back, shoulders, and arms.

"Bloody hell…! ANOTHER ONE! HEHE. WERE YOU BANISHED AS WELL?" A sabre's aura erupted with blue flames. Muscles grew. My prey showed hesitation. I snarled at the insinuation.

"No." In the jester's frightened eye, I vanished. My sword appeared in his shoulder.

"AARRHH!!" My strength brought the clown to his knees.

"I sought newer pastures."

"Get away, BARBARIAN!" The clown's large dagger lifted my blade as his 'silver rain' soared to my back. I pressed my sabre down with more strength, ripping through the screaming fool. Ink-formed claws cut the tethers of the silver rain, and the blades clattered on the street like dead fish.

"That night… You stopped me from helping my master… take your punishment with stride." A left hand pushed the sabre deeper until I could not hear his pleas any longer. Weird accent… Casting the body aside, I kept the tattoo hot on my skin, knowing the consequences that lay ahead. The raging wolf was pleased. TARION BLACK SHADE"What is this…!" The Horn said, watching my Qi flow to the sky as I shuffled. My hair bounced to and fro while I gathered my simmering qi.

Qi cloaked my sword and braced against the enormous attack from above. As if a meteor had struck, only I was left in the valley made by a single attack. A scratch from Fjord's left hand could have scooped out my stomach if I hadn't fled. An axe hacked. Raining attacks appeared like dozens, but my greatsword narrowly repelled them all. My bones rattled each time I guarded. Fire missed me due to my enhanced senses, and a mana shield blocked other fireballs I couldn't avoid.

A heavy strike knocked my feet from the ground, and I kept flying. A hand grabbed my leg, bashing me against a stone street.

"FUUAAAH!!" Cobblestone broke out its concrete adhesive, and I was slammed again and again, making the street into rubble. Qi was the one reason my organs didn't burst, and my back wasn't broken. Strength 40 points.

"Get off ya fat bastard!" I kicked away his hand, returning with a slash, but he sidestepped, making my assault in vain.

"Tsk!"

"New power!" From my left, I guard a bone-rattling strike. I wince from the wound on my stomach.

"Same result!" Fjord roared once more, making my ears ache. Hundreds who gazed upon our battle were lifted to the air by a step of titanic strength. I kept to the ground, remembering my rhythm. through, shoving me away "Why did you waste your time coming here?! I have all the cards. YOU SHOULD BE GROVELLING, KISSING MY FEET!" His eyes change colour to a peculiar brown-red. His tattoos cover more of his body, and his horns lengthen. My locket buzzed. Relief washed over me like a wave. They found her!!!

In my joy, a beastly pimp grabbed his greataxe with two hands and attacked with all his fury. Our weapons produced fireworks. I let go. KURT BLACK SHADE Attuned eyes searched for new prey, but the Osberg Guard were holding their own with Captain James at the head. Usually a bubbly jokester, here in the chaos of battle is where you see why he leads. Crisp, clear orders that his Gamma men obey immediately.

With a mana-imbued shield and spears interlocked, they can withstand the barrage of an army three times their numbers.

"Hedgehog 2!" James shouted in the middle of a dome of shields. Sections of the dome separated, and mana-burning arrows killed all cursed humans within a five-metre radius. I smell the battlefield with a newly sharp nose, looking for a different game. Something meatier. An umbra fell to the ground. Small gashes on her mana-cloaked muscular arms. A desperate lash of her claws was rebuffed with a single sword. The enemy used his other blade to fire a mana blast. I rushed over.

"Need help, Lady Beatrice?" My sabre smashed the mana back into its raw essence.

"For now…" She stumbled, trying hard to gather energy to keep her arms burning with mana.

"How did you and His Grace defeat… YOU…!" She finally noticed. Baring her teeth, she pointed her claws at me.

"SHAVED! Hiding amongst us!" I sighed. It was humbling to see a true reaction to a Shaved. I had to prepare for when His Grace acted the same.

"Keep your mana consumption low. Focus on defence." I watched this, Rokkr. His mana was murky like polluted water.

"As for your question, we didn't defeat him. I reckon he was told to retreat."

"Aye.

'Tis true." The shaven man appeared beside us with both blades swinging to kill. My claws grabbed on as my sabre blocked the second sword from slicing Beatrice's neck.

"I ain't leaving in shame again." TARION BLACK SHADE Basics A giant man's eyes widened as his axe scraped my greatsword. My hands balled up in a fist of condensed pure QI. A right hand redirected the massive fist away with Gan sao. My fist dug deep into the horn's side. The air rattled from the beastly scream of the Shavedman. A left-handed Tan Sau repelled his axe with Qi repulsion and bounced back his axe, and my right palm struck his chest. Qi pulsed, and I heard ribs and glasses shatter.

A giant rolled on the streets, crashing and bouncing into walls before smashing into a carriage.

"What is this!?" He threw broken wood away.

"My mana armour, my protection runes… How!?" I shook my arm loose, finding my bounce.

"Even the hardest stone erodes from the calm waters. That is the power of QI."

"QI?!!? That's your new power!?" Amidst a chuckle, blood spurted out of his cough.

"Eastern nonsense!!" The tumbler giant rolled back up, a confident smile as he reached for a broken vial that leaked in his pocket.

"No…NOOO! DAMN IT!!" Runes gleamed as he conjured fire.

"I am not done." A white tether whipped. A sword of Osberg fell down upon the horned beast, cutting deep into his shoulder.

"ARGGH!" Fjord pulled my weapon out of his new wound. Attempting to throw it away, a tether snatched it from their hands. In my total control, my greatsword hovered, rising above me like a scorpion's tail. The horn knelt to rest, his face grimaced as if his new wound burnt him.

"Hahaha, it's fine. JUST FINE. It was only one vial. After I kill you, I will get another, and it will be nary a scar." Can't let him even think of going back to his hideout.

"Banished," I said. A frown appeared on his face.

"You were quite talented, I heard," from Drac. Good researcher.

"Manage to tame a powerful spirit at a young age. But all that progress just stopped." Fjord's frown grew into a ferocious scowl.

"A girl. You touched a girl you shouldn't. You know the way of things, Fjord. You also have your own version of nobles. She was special. And you, weren't." An axe to the ground engulfed the entire battlefield with its thunder.

"Quit while you're ahead, Duke. I am warning ya."

"Eir was truly in love with you. But none would believe a brute from Deep Ice could hold a thought. It was impossible for such a man to have Eir's love. He must have coerced her. Blackmailed her. What other excuse could a father use to banish his daughter's secret lover?" His anger made him ignore his wound, and he stood with a flared axe. Conjured Fireballs grew and doubled. I couldn't have the patience to count anymore.

"Speak more, I dare ya. I DARE YA!"

"Honestly, Fjord. The way you've gone about 'business', I ought to believe Eir's father." Senses: 20 points. Intelligence: 20 points. A small step to the right evaded a slash that destroyed three buildings. I leaned backwards as a slice demolished five more. Mana surged out of my feet as I pulsed away from five flame bullets. A hand grabbed the street, and I flipped and weaved my way around ten more. Good, waste mana away.

"No matter the jewels." My greatsword hovered to my feet for a kick to the pommel. The greatsword missile rocked away the Horn's axe.

"No matter the gold." I jetted forward, heaping blows upon his large body with my qi-imbued fist. Rune spells vanished as my fist cracked bone, ripped skin, and ruptured insides. I kicked his axe away, giving Fjord a teasing smirk. Rhythm moved me side to side. 35 to Senses. 5 points to Intelligence.

"DAMN YOU!!" The horn's body contorted as he rewound, turning his arms into severe whips. Earth and stone blew away, and streets were ripped and torn apart. Black Shade will be almost unlivable when it's all done.

"I WILL TEAR YOU APART!" I saw it all. He was running low on mana and stamina, and he left too many tells. Out of the dozens of strikes he unloaded, I just had to wait for the right moment. Wait in the storm until… I weaved to the left, and a hammer fist slammed the ground. There. As Fjord's arm rose, I grabbed it. A qi-focused palm strike snapped a forearm.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" With ease, I walked away from the grasping left hand of the Shaved.

"No matter how much power you have. You are still just an abuser." A kick burst a kneecap.

"An exploiter."

"FUCK YOOOOUUUU!" Fjord bent his head, ramming with his black-ink horns. Two hands held a horn, and a knee caved in the pimp's nose. I focused qi on my left straight punch, splattering blood from his face. I stand over a heaving man with little mana.

"Just a rapist."

"CLOWN!!!! ROKKR!!!! HEL—" I knelt over him and socked him in the face, making a face that was hard to look at look worse.

"ANYBODY!!!" Another fist shut him up.

"This is nostalgic."