Asylum

The Dragon VS. the Reaper

Leo Hernandez

There are many things I don't know. Please excuse me as I go on a rant about all of them. First, how am I going to get out of this place with a dead arm? Every time I basically breathe this thing sends shards of knife-twisting pain through my body. If I move too much, the pain is so intense I think I might pass out. Second, exactly how the hell does Ren think he's going to defeat our ruthless killer? He's been off the chain (in a band way, not in a "man, this party is off the chain" kind of way) since we leaned Kya was kidnapped, but fighting the Reaper is on the verge of asking for a death wish. Nevertheless, I appreciate what he did. If not for him, I would continue to be beaten to a pulp, or worse, Sarah would take my place. He's changed a lot since we broke out of Asylum. We all have.

The last thing I don't know at the moment, is how I'm overpowering the cuffs, and what power allows me to do so? When the Reaper cuffed me after the GHC injection, then decided to chauffer me down memory lane, I felt myself fighting against the cuff's restrictions. To me, the cuffs were cutting off the strings in my mind – holding me back from feeling the world in the present. But when I was reminded of my past, I felt it so strongly it was as if I was still living in it.

With every burning memory I had, I still felt the icy metal of the handcuff, which were excavating too deeply into my skin. I already felt oppressed in my past, and the Reaper-issued cuffs weren't helping me. All I wanted was to get those suckers off. It was as if, when trapped in my past, I reached into the present, to the locking mechanism on the cuffs, and used my mind to open them.

Though when I was selected to be Cerberus's punching bag, I didn't do anything because I didn't want Sarah to take my place. But I saw an opening to get a punch in and I took it, but it might as well have never happened. I should have been more patient.

Then Ren decides to step up and challenge the Reaper to a fight and I see another chance for me to help out behind the scenes. While Cerberus helps Kya to her feet and moves her to our wall and in a chair, I focus on Sarah's cuffs. It's easier to reach out to them now that my cuffs aren't on and repressing my power, but I can't read minds in the anti-human-connection bunker. Still, slowly being able to ease the cuffs loose is all I need to do.

While I work on that, I notice the tension between Kya and Alistair, as they sit side-by-side, now. He mumbles to her, probably trying to justify betraying her trust. Kya doesn't look at him. She looks over at Ren, who paces at the other end of the room, taking deep breaths while Reaper creepily stands idle, eyes following his every move. There's a tension gripping us all by our throats, nobody sure of what the next minutes of our lives hold.

"I'm tired of waiting," Reaper growls, impatiently flexing her fingers. "Let's get this show on the road." She reaches behind her and into her waistband and brandishes two daggers, which shine in the bright bunker lights. We've all seen what she can do with knives. I'd hate to be a sucky friend and say that Ren doesn't stand a chance against her, so I won't, because the Sage we received after his encounter with Reaper showed signs of being tied. At least Ren has both hands and a power on his side. But then again, Elektra battled the Reaper just a couple years ago, and she lost.

Ren lights up his hands, the fire sweltering from his fireproof gloves. The tenacity he's so known for show in the fury of his flame. From the other side of the room, I still feel the heat washing over my already-clammy skin. The light in his hands match his golden irises, which glow bright enough to be flashlights. "Then let's do this."

Making the first move is Ren, rushing at her and launching three fireballs, all headed straight for her. Reaper doesn't hesitate for a beat, her mouth forming a tight line in focus as she dodges all of them; twisting her body like an acrobat and leaping through the air like she's made of fog. She barely even touches the ground before she's advancing on Ren, daggers firmly in her hand. "Lightning-quick" cannot possibly describe the pace at which this girl moves. My eyes can barely keep up with her movements as she comes at Ren from all different angles; jumping and swooping down on him from above, bouncing off the walls to charge his sides like a gymnast, ducking and sweeping his feet out from under him to knock him off balance. All the while, she's lunging at him with her blades, arms forming great arcs that blur in the air.