Letting Go

6 0 0
                                    

Instead of waiting for the two squads to resurface from the bowels of the ship, the Night Cat deviated from this original plan. He wished the bright sky well, then dived into a hatch, through another one, turned a corner, and slipped through yet another hatch. The Feline directed him via whispers, or rather, shrugs as loud as whispers. He was not caught, despite the well-lightedness of the ship's interior. It wasn't that the Overwatch guards were useless; the Feline Within Felix was just that powerful.

Felix moved as gracefully and quietly as a light breeze. He didn't even need to be the Night Cat to infiltrate the ship, for he flowed like a sleeping baby's exhalation. Felix got there before he knew it. The gothic double-doors dwarfed him. Felix sighed then diligently pushed them inwards. The doors were soundless, as shocked at his audacity. They were heavy, as if fearful for him. You musn't come in, they seemed to whisper, Turn back, while you still can!

But Felix dared.

A strange, bald man stood in this first arena, his back turned.

"Where is your lord," Felix said. From his tone, it was less of a question and more of an implied command. The man said nothing but turned to face Felix. It was then Felix had wished the man hadn't turned around. The man was hideous. Absolutely atrocious. The man was the kind of ugly that can barely be called objective: he had his mouth stitched up, no hand at the end of his right arm, no eyebrows, no nose, and scratches on his face and chest.

The Night Cat stepped in and unleashed his claws, but a friendly's hand touched his shoulder. "This one's mine, kid," patronized Seven as he pulled out two glimmering swords.

Seven and Carolyn had abandoned their squads to follow Felix into the gauntlet. Felix scoffed at their sacrifice. He had no control over them and thus let them do as they wished.

Seven stared Snowflake down. The Overlord had punished Snowflake again. Seven wondered if there was any humanity left in either the Overlord or Snowflake. The latter was no doubt a dedicated killing machine, compacted to focus  on bringing death, and only death, to its targets.

Carolyn could feel the intensity in the arena; she stood wide-eyed. She knew both Seven and Snowflake wanted to win against their opponent. This fight could establish the greatest Overwatch agent of all time. If Felix hadn't pulled her away, Carolyn would've watched the inglorious showdown play out.

The doorway to the next arena was being sealed off. With a couple of harsh tugs, Felix was able to force Carolyn through the doorway. Carolyn just saw Seven and Snowflake slowly circling each other before the doorway was sealed completely. She could not help him now. Carolyn worriedly looked at Felix, who avoided her gaze. Carolyn understood.

The enormous black Beast lay asleep and leashed in the center of the second arena. The Night Cat approached, Carolyn followed extremely closely. The Beast's collar suddenly sizzled angrily, causing its wearer much distress. This monster pounded the ground with his fists, shaking the entire ship. The collar unlatched itself from the Beast's neck and fell to the ground as if it had done nothing wrong.

At the same time this all happened, the doorway to the next arena was fast closing. "Go!" cried Carolyn, pushing the Night Cat toward the door.

"But you can't -"

"It doesn't matter now! Just finish it!"

The Night Cat sprinted on all fours at the doorway. He dived and slid on his chest, just making the cut. The seal behind him locked shut, muffling the Beast's roars. The Cat's ears drooped.

"Prophecies suck."

---------

The Overlord didn't even land on his paws; he crash-landed on his side then slid to a stop. Felix didn't advance on him. The Overlord struck the ground with both his fists and charged Felix again. Felix dove over the toothpaste-colored animal, albeit not unscathed. Felix's chest received most of the scratches. The Overlord wasn't wholly pleased.

Felix clutched at his damaged flank then said, "Come on, big boy. Fight me like a man, if you're so great."

"Why do you keep fighting? You're destined to die."

"This is fun," Felix said as his blood dripped.

The Overlord put his claws and fur away as his flagship vaulted a wave. His human skin was smooth and white, making Felix feel old. Felix felt ancient. Like it was time for his evening nap.

It was all very strange. The two looked just over twenty years young, showing off heavenly bodies with glistening skin in luxurious backdrop of Armageddon. Felix felt older, despite not looking so. He wondered if the Overlord felt younger than he. He knew the Overlord possessed an elderly, experienced mind, but Felix didn't know whether the man felt truly reborn.

A violent red dominated the Overlord's soft, blue irises. On his face lay a dangerous smirk, one of those a person could find on a politician running for re-election.

Felix's cuts were not deep at all, but he did bleed just enough to excite the Overlord. "Give up," said the deceivingly-old man.

"You're going to have to work for what you want, mister."

"Pussy! I have worked for thirty years for this body. Don't tell me to earn what I rightfully deserve."

Felix rushed at him and swung his fist. The Overlord parried and gripped Felix's neck harshly, lifting the young adult off the ground. He began to choke and wheeze and whine and shake. The man kicked and struck and bit the Overlord but this winning warrior would not let go.

In the end, it was Felix who would let go first. It wasn't Felix who let go, rather it was his delicate human body that did. The Overlord did not laugh as his rival went limp in his grasp. The Overlord yelled then tossed the sleeping Felix to one side. Felix didn't have the strength to soften his own landing. Felix landed on his back, and his arm slapped the marble. His other arm landed on him, bloodying itself on his chest. Felix forgot who he was, where he was, and what he was doing. All he could think about was how heavy his body parts were. His eyelids felt spectacularly heavy and all he wanted then was to sleep, whatever that meant. But this feeling in his gut yelled at him, forcing him awake every other second.

Felix's head fell sideways, and then left was space and marble was time. Someone was looking at him. A beige face showing him beige teeth. Only the head was looking at him, not the body. The body was somewhere else. It made Felix sad. The lion didn't do anything. Why did the bad guy break the beige head off?

Overwatch (editing)Where stories live. Discover now