Killian trudged through the flames and smoke as it littered the ground and sky with death and the screams and yelps of dying monsters. He spotted a Linyol crash to the ground as a burning piece of ash grazed its arms and began its destructive path towards its inevitable demise. It screamed for mercy, but mother nature didn’t bat an eye as fire engulfed its face. Fire was her daughter as well, and she refused to take favorites.

Helona followed closely behind, unable to concentrate. She called out Linux’s name and searched around for him, all the while carrying her gun and the freeze organ in her hands. It was originally Killian’s job, but as soon as they began their search, he handed it to her. His reasoning was that the person who would be farther from the fights should be the one to hold their stuff. She wanted to rebuke him, but she knew his reasoning was sound. She hated it when he randomly turned smart during moments that weren’t beneficial to her.

Something cracked beneath her feet, and she froze. She removed her foot from whatever it was she stepped on and looked down at what it was. She expected to find a dead monster beneath her considering what was happening around her, but she was surprised to find something else. Her foot stomped on a finger that was as black as burnt bread that had been sitting in fire for over an hour. The bone was exposed as well, and the cracking sound was her breaking it. There shouldn’t have been anyone out here, so she couldn’t come up with an answer of why there was a random finger out here.

“Helona.” Killian said, tapping her shoulder.

She turned toward him and saw him pointing at something. He had a finger over his lips, signaling her to be quiet. When she looked at what he was pointing at, she saw three guards fighting a Tetson. Fighting was a bit of an overstatement, however. It was more akin to a full on slaughter. The Tetson ripped them to shreds left and right, taking their intestines and exposing them in front of their eyes. Seeing their intestines sent them into a paralyzing shock, but it wouldn’t last for long as a single swipe with one of its legs completely beheaded him. The body stood on its legs for around two seconds, then dropped to its knees before toppling to the ground beneath it. The fire would soon engulf him and add their bits into the ashes around.

She already knew what he was thinking the moment he began showing her this. She didn’t want a single part of it as she was already thinking about too much stuff as of the moment. Where was Linux? How is Kauss doing? When in the fuck are they going to leave this shithole? Those were few of the hundreds of thoughts on her mind and if anything else, no matter how trivial, was added, then her head will explode.

“Why do you want to fight it so bad?” Helona asked.

“You know why.”

Helona sighed, the realization finally dawning on her. Because of his emotionless gaze, it was always difficult to know what was going on inside his head. Because of that, moments like this could spring up out of nowhere. It was especially common whenever he felt like he was being backed against a wall, or when he became extraordinarily angry. In those moments, stress would build and he’d begin to lose himself, literally.

“Go and let it out then.” Helona said. “I’d wait until they’re all dead though.”

Killian pointed back at the scene. “I don’t think we got to wait for long.”

Helona looked back and saw a single guard being backed against a fallen and burning tree. He was young, looking like he was barely past his mid-twenties. There was a whole life that he had in front of him, a life that he grabbed onto the right to have the moment he was born. He just didn’t realize he grabbed onto so little. In a single breath, the Tetson unleashed a wave of fire on the poor soul. Blood curling screams filled the air, drowned out only by the fire raging around them. The fact that they could still hear that scream over the fire was a testament to how loud he was.

“Get your rocks off.” Helona cheered Killian on as he walked to the beast.

The Tetson relinquished its flame as soon as the human stopped screaming. It was in full survival mode now. Its plan was to get as much food as possible, then make its way back home under all the dirt. It was already planning on making its leave with its trophies until it heard footsteps approach. It turned and saw a new challenger approaching, their face full of anger and determination.

Killian was still in control for the moment, but with every second that passed, he could feel himself slipping. It was unnatural for his unconsciousness to take so long to surface and begin creating havoc. However, it seemed to want Killian’s actual self to take a turn. It wasn’t like he was going to kill it quickly enough before it surfaced, but it still let him have a gander. He’ll take up the offer at least to satisfy the guest living in his brain.

The combatants got in their positions. Killian raised his fists and squatted his legs partially, putting his left foot in front. The Tetson raised its legs and hugged its body to the ground. It bared its fangs and snarled, letting Killian know the moment he takes a step forward, there would be no going back. He wasn’t planning on backing out, however. If it was a fight to the death they both wanted, they were going to get it. And both of them have never lost before.

A silent bell rang, starting the fight. The Tetson was the first to approach its prey, fangs ready to bite down on supple flesh. Killian stood his ground and dug his feet into the dirt. He swerved out of the way of the first bite, repositioning himself to the side of its head. He snapped his fist forward, colliding his knuckles against the Tetsons cheeks. He made sure to keep the lightning off this time, since he didn’t want this one running on him like before, although that sacrificed a lot of his damage.

It flew to the ground and rolled back over on its legs. As soon as it stood back up, it quickly charged again, the smell of mint wafting to Killian’s nose. He dug his feet into the ground again, waiting for his prey. He was going to grapple onto its face and pummel it with his knee. It was a specialty he reserved for moments when he wanted to end a fight as slowly and brutally as possible.

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However, the Tetson stopped immediately and stuck its head out. He had no clue what it was doing until he remembered a crucial detail. He’s never seen it happen before, but from what Linux and Kauss told him, it would stand still before spitting fire. As soon as that realization came across, he attempted to dodge out of the way. As he turned and ran, the Tetson’s fire unleashed out of its mouth and burned his back. Killian could feel the flames lick him as he moved out of the way. It seared him and tore away the entire back of his shirt. It broke into fragments and the wind carried them into more blazes where they would either settle to the dirt, or be burnt to nothing.

Killian’s shirt fell off of him, exposing his chest and stomach to the fiery air and eyes of a hungry predator. Helona was merely spectating the entire event from a safe distance, minding the flames that surrounded her. She saw as his shirt burnt away, revealing the eight pack he kept hidden underneath. She remembered the first time she saw that and how scared she felt as he approached her with a murderous glare. It was a heat of the moment event when she accidentally got on his bad side. If Kauss wasn’t around then, there would be no mystery to if she would’ve died or not. Them becoming friends protected her in that regard, considering that she’ll never be on the other end of that nightmare again.

She saw something else interesting as well. She’s never seen where Killian placed his Gaxtex in Linux’s lab and didn’t bother to ask before. She could only remember him being covered in blue and green electricity from head to toe. Now, with his shirt burned away, she could see it clearly. It was placed on his right side of his chest, right above where his lung would be. Not only was it in a dangerous spot, but it wasn’t even close to being hidden at all. Someone could easily get a lucky shot on him and break it, rendering him useless in combat.

However, at this moment, he was far from useless. In fact, he was only just getting started and Helona backed away as she saw that murderous gleam shine in his eyes. The air grew colder and tighter, as if she’d been thrown into a kidnapper’s basement and left to rot. An irrational claustrophobia worked its way in her and clawed at her heart and mind. It was all an illusion, but it felt so real as Killian lost all sanity. Even the Tetson could feel the change as it stared at its opponent’s new confident stance.

Killian crouched and raised his fists, taking a running position. This time he didn’t care if it would scare it away or not. He activated the lightning in his gauntlets as it spiraled down from his knuckles to his wrist in a crimson glow of fury. As soon as the Tetson spotted the lightning, its flight senses kicked in, telling it to run as fast as possible. It began digging in the ground with all it had, piling dirt to the sides. Its body was submerged in dirt and rock, making it think it was home free. It could leave with little worry of its life being vanquished in an instant. It would just return for the food later, it thought.

However, a tight squeeze on its tail told it otherwise. It wasn’t leaving, at least not alive. It tried digging faster and faster, gripping onto anything that could submerge it any deeper, but the dirt was loose from the explosions. Without its consent, it got dragged out of the ground and swung overhead. It slowed as it reached the climax of the swing, then rocketed back down to the ground at blinding speed. Its weight cracked the ground beneath and sent dirt and rocks flying into the air. It tried standing up, but one of its legs refused to move.

It looked at the disobedient leg and was horrified to see that there was no leg there. Instead, blood spilled out of a ruined stump sticking out of its body. Beside the ruined leg, the human that it was fighting looked at it with its leg in hand. The stare terrified him, only amplified by the fact it was looking at its own leg separated from its body. It roared and shouted, but no help arrived.

The human walked over, their demonic glare looking at it with disgust and hate. It was a glare that it knew all too well as it had looked at its prey the same way. Now that the roles were reversed, it couldn’t help but scream for mercy in a language it knew the human could never understand. They would never understand the language of monsters since they saw themselves as above the savagery and brutality that monsters commonly indulged in. However, at the end of the day, they were monsters as well. Just a different kind of monster, refusing to fit in their place in the natural order, then rose above it, crafting their version of order around their stubby little fingers that the Tetson could swallow in one gulp.

Killian raised the Tetsons leg above his head, with the feet pointed directly at the Tetson’s temples. The ends were serrated in order to tear apart prey and dig through the ground. It would suffice for what was about to happen. With one powerful thrust, he brought down the leg, aiming for its brains.

However, before it could connect, the Tetson roared the mother of all roars. It was so loud, Killian had to momentarily stop what he was doing and cover his ears. His eardrums were set to burst any second the more he stood near it. When it started waving fire around with little care, he had to back away before he got caught in the crossfire. As he backed up, he got a good look at something out of the corner of his eyes.

He looked and his eyes widened as they feasted upon a sight previously unseen. The Tetson’s tail was no longer there. As a last ditch effort, it released a torrent of pheromones from its tail. Where its tail once lay, now stood himself. It was like he was looking into a mirror. Every single part of him was perfectly replicated and let loose for all to see. The replica looked at him sadly, as if he was disappointed by what he had become. Those eyes told a thousand words, and none of them could come close to how hurt it made Killian feel. Or Killian’s other self, at least.

Suddenly, Killian, the real Killian, resurfaced in his own body. As soon as he did, he was surprised to be looking at himself. It was like staring in a mirror, perfectly replicating every tiny detail. The replica looked at him sadly, and he couldn’t help but return the stare. Then the mirage disappeared as the Tetson’s tail lurched. Killian blinked several times in rapid succession. He searched for why it did that and saw a hole in the Tetson’s head as Helona approached him with her gun out.

“You were taking way too long.” Helona said.

“I don’t know.” Killian stammered over his words, not knowing what to say.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just go.” Helona turned around, but Killian noticed something interesting before she spun completely.

“Have you been crying?”

She shook her head. “No, what would make you think that?”

“I was sure your eyes were red.”

“Some ash blew in my eyes. They're itchy as hell.” She rubbed her eyes, “itching” them, as she would call it. “Lets just go.” Helona could barely stay there any longer. She had seen too much, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore.

From what Linux said, she and Killian should have seen the same thing because they were both exposed to the pheromone. However, what she saw was something she hoped to never see again. Walking away from the corpse, she desperately held herself together as she split a thin line evenly between herself now and her past. She knew it could be easily broken, but hoped it would stay strong so she would never have to look back.