[05] Mountain Sector FIGHT

[Tamsin]

Like the fights that were occuring within Dante`s Abyss, the mountain tops were merciless to those who dared to spend any time there. With no obstacles such as trees to dissipate it, the wind remorselessly cut through anything in it`s way and chilled the few beings located there to their very core. The rest of the weather conditions were not favourable either, grey clouds dominating the sky and looming over the landscape. But like the air currents, the contestants were unabated by the conditions and combat on the towering landmass proceeded with full intensity.

At least some of it did. On the other hand, the fight between Tamsin and Sage was going nowhere, having never commenced at all. With neither of them holding a particularly great desire for hostility, the two females merely observed one another with bated breaths, the resulting vapors lightly vanishing into air.

As the prodigy maid observed the hybrid doctor, her mind felt incredibly weary. Although she desired nothing more then to have some time to gather her thoughts, it seemed like the idea did not sit well with the organisers of the bloodsport. Ever since she and Maleficus got seperated, she had been thrown into fights with little respite. Even as she barely arrived at the Mountain Sector bunker to recover from her encounter with the stuntman Hollywood, her collar began it`s usual combat song and she was thrown into yet another random location. The irony this time, however, was that her opponent was the blue-haired woman she had shared a bench with mere moments before the fight began.

The adolescent closed her eyes, attempting to concentrate on her present situation. The worry over her master, her unknown potential, the fights she had endured....all of it left her incredibly distressed. Yet, although she desperatly just wanted to just sit down and get her thoughts together, she knew that it was neither the time nor the place for it. Although her opponent did not attack her, she could not be certain if that would remain the case. If nothing else, the dome surrounding their location forced them into the encounter. Suzaku opened her eyes.....or did she?

Although her eyelids definitely did raise, the darkness around her remained. The cold wind, the stone beneath her feet, the half-saiyan girl....all of them had disappeared. Although she turned her head around, her gaze caught nothing but pitch black. But no sooner that the shock began to set in that a figure appeared right in front of her quite literally out of nowhere. It was a young man....a type of man she had never seen before. Although he looked similar to a human, his almost greyish skin tone, unusual ears and mane of deep white were like nothing she had ever seen before. His clothing of lose crimson and the two curved sabres on his back only served to add to his threatening appearance. As his fiery-red eyes gazed upon the girl, a light smile crept onto his sharp visage:"Tamsin Suzaku...we meet at last...."

Taken aback by the fact that this stranger somehow knew her identity, she fearfully asked:"Who are you? I have never seen you before."

"I would be suprised if you did," replied the Elf, who was used to looking alien to the majority of people he had encountered. "My name is Myroto Enroshia. I suppose you can consider me an..."associate" of the grim reaper Retane. I am sure Maleficus Nova had mentioned him to you at least once."

Although she was not certain at first, the silver-haired girl suddenly remember the mercenary`s confession in the Mountain Sector bunker. The irony of the fact that she was now "fighting" in the same sector Nova had revealed his past was lost to her as she recalled how Retane called his only offspring...Respawn. Focusing on the Elvish warrior once again, she inquired: "Where...where are we?"

"Oh, this? This is nothing more then a immaterial plane of existance. Since you attempted to relax your thoughts, I was able to enter your mind and get in touch with you," explained Enroshia, a devilish smirk still playing on his face. "But should you really be worrying about that right now? Correct me if I am mistaken, but you have a...very real fight on your hands."

The warrior`s reminder was well placed, her encounter with the medical doctor completely escaping her mind for a few moments. However, the elf`s knowledge of Mal restrained her from thinking about it. Hesitating for a few seconds, the adolescent could not help herself but to ask: "Where is Maleficus?"

A piercing laugh resonated through the darkness, having originated from Myroto:"Do I even need to respond to that? I am sure you have had suspicions by now. Afterall, you looked for him and he was nowhere to be found....does that not give you at least an inkling of what might have occured to him?"

The blue-eyed human pondered on his words. She had indeed look for the Namekian in various sectors and their respective bunkers and she had yet to discover his location. But it was impossible that the rogue had just disappeared. He was determined to win the competition, so she was certain he would not have willingly left Dante. Anything that was on the planet had to be somewhere...unless.......Her eyes widened in terror and she took a step backwards. The truth in the words of the crimson-clad warrior became increasingly apparent, the possibility she had long pushed aside becoming the only true explanation. In one final act of desperate denial, the girl muttered under her breath:"Noooo...."

"Yes," Enroshia spoke once more, his visage becoming grievous and solemn. "Maleficus Nova is dead."

Tamsin began to tremble as her eyes became watery and tears trickled down her gentle cheeks. As the revelation began to fully set in, her face grimaced in sorrow. She could not bear the shock of the warrior`s words, yet could no longer deny the truth. As despair took hold of her, her spirit was finally broken as she fell onto her knees, weeping hopelessly in the process.

As individual drops of salty water fell into nothingness that surrounded her, she called out for her master....the way he wanted to be known:"Mal... It was her fault...she had promised to protect the Namekian, to help him achieve his goals....to help him become great. It was for that reason that she joined the bloodsport with him, that she determiningly attempted to pass every obstacle in their way. But Maleficus Nova was gone....and she was left, lost and alone, in the middle of the Abyss.

As the teenager sobbed, Myroto quietly observed her grief and malevolently smirked. Suddenly, he disturbed the adolescent: "And do you know who is responsible for his death? That blue-haired girl, the one that calls herself Sage. That is right...the very woman standing right in front of you killed Maleficus Nova, sealing his fate in a sheet of ice."

Raising her head, tears still streaming down her visage, Suzaku looked at the warrior: "What am I supposed to do now?! Where am I supposed to go?!"

"The way I see it, you have two options. You can give up and press that little button on your collar once you enter a bunker...or you can kill the woman responsible and avenge your master`s death," the elf told her. He could not help but grin at the word "master". The amount of obedience the human girl showed towards Respawn never ceased to amuse him. "Now I must depart as I can no longer maintain this link. What choice you make....I leave up to you."

With that, the elvish warrior`s figure vanished the same way it had appeared. The darkness that had enveloped the girl also began to lift. One by one, the features of her previous einvironment began to appear. The rock beneath her, the brutal current of air, Sage...everything had returned to how it was before Mykoto entered her mind. The only difference were the tears on her face, the strong wind cooling them in quick succession.

The maid looked at her foe. The doctor continued to quietly observed, with the suprise on her face the only difference from before. To the half-Saiyan`s understanding, the girl started to cry out of the blue and she attempted to comprehend why it was so. But before she could think of a suitable reasoning, the prodigy stepped forward. She raised her fists, her body increasingly trembling....but not from the bitter wind. Gathering herself, she asked: "Did you kill him? Did you kill....Maleficus Nova?"

"W...who?" the black-dressed woman asked sincerily, unaware of who she was refering to by that name.

"A tall Namek in a orange uniform...Did you kill him?" the human asked vigorously, her hard gaze observing her opponent unabatedly. After some more contemplation, Sage realised whom she meant and a gasp escaped her lips. She covered her mouth as horror filled her rose-tinted eyes.

"TELL ME!" Suzaku refused to yield, making a demanding step forward. Sadness and compassion drew on the visage of the young woman, not immediatelly responding to the maid`s inquiry. Hesitatingly, she stuttered:"...Yes.....I am sorry...:"

The human girl found herself shaking uncontrollably once more, sorrow and hatred brewing in her very being. A fresh batch of tears appeared on her face once more, her navy blue eyes staring accusingly at the person in front of her. In her own defence, the half-Saiyan spoke out: "But...but do not worry! None of this is r-". Before she could continue, a strong gurgle in her throat interrupted her. The extremely long-haired female tried speaking again, but the guggling persisted. It was only then that she realised what was going on...someone was intentionally interrupting her, to keep her opponent in a killer mood.

Tamsin`s emotional rampage was disturbed by this bizzare occurance and she looked at her foe curiously for a moment. The same thing happened to Pierre when he attempted to tell her something....But before she could ponder on the issue, an abrupt ray of light hurt her eyes and she shielded herself from it. The sun randomly peaked through the clouds, illuminating the mountain top the two were located. As her burning eyes slightly adjusted, the maid looked at the sun rays. Suddenly, she was reminded of her stepmother Amaya, who had met her fate in the hands of assassins. Back then, she learned that the assassins held no personal grievance towards the guildmaster and that her stepmother was merely a coincidental victim of it all...that just like Amaya, they were only doing their duty. In light of this, could she really loath Sage? Afterall, she did not kill the Namekian by choice....she was forced to in order to survive.

The rays also reminded the maid of something else.... the golden locks of the priestess Sophia. Her elder peer was once in a prime position to take Suzaku`s life, to fill her body with venom and end her fight in her victory. But Sophia did not do so. She spared the maid, giving her a chance to live. Knowing that the only reason she was standing was beacuse of someone else`s mercy, could she really be merciless to the half-Saiyan?

Turning once more to her opponent, the prodigy maid quietly watcher her with watery eyes. Then she adressed her:"I...I want to resent you for what you have done, I really do....But I can`t. Beacuse....I know you only did it to defend yourself. But...you have to understand that I have to win this fight. That I have to move on no matter what."

With suprise drawn over her face, Sage merely nodded, not sure if she could speak again. Meanwhile, Tamsin began to draw her knives and placed herself in a defencive stance. All of a sudden, Enroshia`s play of words came to mind: "...sealed his fate in a sheet of ice." That most likely meant that the half-Saiyan had a hidden power of her own. If the maid was to survive, she needed to unlock her own hidden potential...her own hidden weapon.

As the doctor prepared herself for the fight, Tamsin felt more determined then ever. She remembered Maleficus`s determination when they arrived at Dante. Her master was gone...now it was her turn to pick up where he left off and complete what he seeked to accomplish. She was going to do it.

She was going to win Dante`s Abyss in his place.