Dark Reign: A Dangerous Misunderstanding

Markus seemed undaunted by Raul’s new weapon. How could he be? Raul was hardly a challenge thanks to his now discarded goons. Wounded, beaten like a dog, Raul appeared to be little more than a trapped animal, pressed against the corner of its cage, desperately lashing out while feeling for any kind of exit. He may as well be the mouse that would soon feed the hungry snake that slowly crept in on him. Markus’s red eyes watched the bottle carefully. With Raul’s arm out stretched like that, the bottle could cut and maybe be plunged into a victim, but unless he got Markus’s neck or face, it wouldn’t be much more than a slight, searing pain. That was something Markus was sure he could handle.

“Find any scraps in the dirt, Raul?” Markus asked, just as calm as his opponent, “Running out of space. Think I won’t kill you just cause they want you?”

He was using his words, worming his way into Raul’s head. He gestured with the blade and smiled, his free hand moving across his thigh, quickly snagging ahold of the syringe that rested in his pocket. Both hands were armed, but Markus was trying to hide it. In one hand rested subjugation, and in the other, death. A fitting selection, and the only way Raul would earn his freedom was by complete victory.

If only Markus believed in fate…

“Y’know, there’s a part of me that hates-!”

Suddenly, Markus struck! His blade shot forward towards the glass bottle that stood in his way, looking to make Raul panic and try to either retract or use the weapon and center his opponent. All the while, the hand with the needle popped out to the side, like a surprising snake waiting in the bushes to snag it prey! The hellfire pits that resided in Markus's eyes opened wide, his smile a wide grin, not because of the pain he planned to inflict, but simply his confidence overflowing and pouring through him. So sure of himself, he was already counting his wins!

"Well... The way I see it..." Raul muttered softly, eyeing up his opponent. He was confident, but not overly so. Whatever was coursing through his veins, beit drugs or blood, it didn't affect his head. He wasn't dumb enough to lunge right into Raul's bottle (he didn't think) nor was he cowardly and hung back. His pressure was slow and steady, confident and eager... as if he had been waiting for this for a long time. If the Mexican didn't know better, he might've thought he'd shaken him down for protection money once or twice before. Raul's cutting yellow eyes flashed between the dagger and Markus' legs, specifically his kneecaps... Those would have to go first, he thought... Dropping him permanently was an easy way to shave off any threat this man might present. Afterwords... maybe he'd gut him with the bottle... maybe. Loose ends weren't easy things to live with... especially when the come packing knives and drugs... possibly even a gun, though Markus hasn't elected to show that one yet.

"There are two possibilities... Either you're so off your rocker, you think they won't axe you for something so grievous to their plans... Or you think they won't find out. One way or another, though... you've made another mistake. You're racking these up rapidly, aren't you, el niño?"

Markus started to speak, appearing ready to enlighten Raul as to the nature of his hatreds before suddenly LUNGING at the man, KNIFE shooting out into the broken body of the bottle, aiming to stick it RIGHT up through the neck that the former gangster held! Markus might've tried to scare him... But Raul was a man of hardened nerves... He had seen what rival gangs do to people who defy them, to children of all genders and classes... He had seen what drugs do to people over time and how families will gut each other for their next fix... A man with a knife? Even one smiling like some kind of feo payaso? He was just another threat that needed eliminating!

The INSTANT Markus' blade scraped against the bottle's narrow interior, Raul would release his grip, LUNGING in LOW and to the side of Markus, the man's stabbing arm passing right over his shoulder! Raul would swing his arm around in a VICIOUS but tactile arc, his fist aiming to SLAM into HARD into the man's ribs before suddenly shooting up, his fingers curling into a sharpened chop, SLICING into his throat in an effort to stun him and block his breathing!

It was a blur of motion, an exchange of blows! Faster than most could spot, the fighters began their deadly dance with explosive results!  

Markus’s blade found it’s mark, sliding into his opponents’ weapon, giving the capped man what he thought was control over his foe’s trusting arm. He was willing to take a shot from his heavy-set opponent, as that would open him up for the shot of his deadly drug. After that, the fight would be decided, and his mission accomplished. Markus was sure that he was two steps ahead of Raul, his crimson eyes never shying away from the determined glare the Spanish speaking snake sent his way.

But Raul was much crazier then Markus had thought! The second his blade entered the shattered bottle, Raul released it! The damned thing gave no resistance, Markus’s arm sailing over the now tucked down Raul, the bottle perched on the blade like a bird on a branch.

“Tsk!!!!”

Markus’s eyes widened, now totally exposed as he tried to curve his body from the sudden explosion of power that was rocketing from the ground! Markus could hear the fist before it crunched into his ribs! He blow nearly threw him upwards, his cap falling from his head! He coughed, the hand with the needle swinging downwards, looking to jab it into any part he could while his opponent was close!

No dice.

Raul came back up, his hand like a sword as it came up in a chop aimed for Markus’s neck! Whether it was dumb luck or Markus stumbling. The chop caught his chest, forcing him back a few feet. The look in Markus’s eyes spoke volumes about Raul’s near suicidal tactic.

What the hell?! He knew I was going for his weapon?! He threw away his weapon AGAIN just to get another shot at me?!

Suddenly, Markus began to cough, a small, coppery taste coming up his throat! His ribs felt like they had been smashed by an aluminum bat! Every breath hurt, and he was sure at least a few of his ribs were bruised!

Still, he pushed on. Moving in on Raul, Markus threw a knee meant for his foe’s stomach. His aim was to knock Raul’s center of gravity off, if only for a second. Even if Raul blocked the kick, Markus’s artificial claws would be free to drive themselves into his shoulders! No more fancy planning, just rushing Raul and overpowering him while he still could!

Raul did not blame Markus for this particular mistake... a mistake in believing that Raul, a refined and handsome rogue wouldn't fight like a caged animal when a powerful and superior foe encroached upon him. The Mexican's moves seemed wild, illogical, their mere presence throwing Markus, with all his superior stamina and load-out, off just enough for the former gangster to take advantage. Raul's attack CRASHED into Markus's ribs, cracking 1 or 2 of them and shattering perhaps another pair, his fist sinking in to the now-compromised rib-cage like a semi-squishy bean-bag, the sounds of organs being stressed squishing out from under the skin.

Ah, satisfaction at last. Raul mused, savoring the feeling of Markus' body breaking against his blows. He did not perversely enjoy this victory, rather the fact that he had one to his name in this battle, what with his foe having almost every advantage at the start. The Mexican was exhausted... but Markus seemed to be the most cheap of glass cannons, able to dish out more power than he could ever concievably take. The drug must have not been coursing through his veins, the monster, judging by the look on his face. Alarm, utter agony, frustration Raul recognized... noted until a steel needle SHOT down towards his face! It was a truly WILD and feral stroke of the steel-pointed syringe, it coming down in a desperate arch towards Raul's cheek, not caring WHERE it was stuck so long as it went IN!

Alarm flashing across Raul's own eyes, he CRANED his neck to the side at such speeds it strained his own muscle, the needle SCRAPING along his skin enough to leave a tiny scratch along the cheek-bone... but not enough for the needle to truly gain a foot-hold! Frustrated, fearful that his blood had been compromised by a POWERFUL delusional psychotic steroid, the former gangster lashed back with a chop at the man's throat, the force he put into it being sufficient to OBLITERATE a man's windpipe, Adrenaline from fear, anger and outrage fueling him to end it all now!

...Regrettably, Markus was just as fast on the retreat as he was on the advance, recoiling so fast, Raul only managed to graze the front of his chest, sending him stumbling back even more!

"Curses..." Raul muttered rhaspily, bringing a hand up to his freshest cut, pulling it back only to see the stain of sanguine upon his palm. Damn it... it was worse than he thought... Even now, he could feel the warm, coppery fluid running down his chin and dripping onto his shirt, indicating the needle had gone deeper than he had thought... The sting of the needle's bite cut deeper too... and seemed only to spread inside with each passing second, growing more intense.

Markus, however, didn't seem better off. His coughs were wet, his stance, staggered, pain and weakness clear in his face. Raul had hurt him... bitten into his flesh but even so, he would not retreat... fore that option was never on the table.

Like a rabid dog, Markus lunged in again, his knee SHOOTING up to SLAM into the Raul's stomach, likely to pay him back for his compromised ribcage! Exhausted, blood draining rapidly from a fresh wound, Raul was not fast enough to retreat in time, instead his own knee shooting up in defense, SLAMMING into Markus', stopping it dead! The impact could've been heard through the walls that boxed them in, a visible shock-wave emanating out from between the two opposing legs... but Markus wouldn't be stopped so easily! Raul's yellow eyes shot WIDE as his foe's claws BIT into his shoulders, the metal tips rending into his flesh and muscle, blood SPURTING from the wounds like the bites of dogs!

"GAAAA...... Gh...GGGH!" Raul HOWLED, throwing his head back in utter agony... before BITING his tongue and silencing himself, his jaw CLENCHING in a tight and UGLY snarl as he threw his head forward in an utterly BRUTAL headbutt into Markus' skull! Forehead-to-Forehead Raul would aim to crash himself, aiming to stun his foe... before his foe ripped him apart shred-by-shred!

Markus might have tried to take the time to be impressed with how much power Raul’s kick still had, even after all of the forced trauma he had to endure. The animalistic fighter’s knee shot forward long with Markus’s, both of them crashing into each other as the force of their own blows seemed to be sent right back to them. Whatever pain they endured, if any, was ignored as the next move drew wet, warm streams of blood from Raul’s shoulders, and a fresh scream from his lips.

Markus glared at the howling man, using the blade of his knife and needle to help push Raul against a wall, limiting his pathways and leaving him open for further strikes.  The blade tore and ripped at Raul’s flesh, but couldn’t do much more damage then what was already done. It was only after Raul’s howl had stopped that Markus had even noticed that a majority of the drug was still in the needle!

Quickly, he put his thumb on the medical needle’s plunger-!

WHACK!

Markus’s skull was suddenly forced backwards, his brain a total blank as pain shot through his forehead! Blood erupted from his nose like a high school volcano! He didn’t even hear the sharp *tink* as the needle broke off into Raul’s shoulder, the knife cleanly falling out as Markus grabbed hi nose and struggled to keep calm in any manner of the word. He couldn’t see! It was so damn dark, and everything so fuzzy! Blood was washing his hands, both Raul’s and his own! His hands were covered in crimson, and even when he lowered them, it only served to reveal a horrific amount of blood on his face. All of it was smeared, like a bear eating a carcass. Markus used his tongue to lap up what he could before spitting a crimson wad on the floor, his fingers brushing around his nostrils, making sure his nose had stopped bleeding as he panted and recovered from the head trauma.

Raul's head would CRASH into Markus' face, appearing to pop it like a ripe tomato. His red, coppery blood would not only spill across his own face but the Mexcian's as well, appearing as if someone had blown out his brains with a musket-ball rather than the bullets of today's age. Even though only the smallest of the drug had entered Raul's blood before he had managed to stop it, the former gangster could IMMEDIATELY feel a difference inside... a difference of power as if the fluid had unlocked a tiny piece of his inner potential... a taste of what could be if he wanted it enough. One might think it was copious amounts of the drug that made it so tantalizing... and maybe that was true on a physical level... But that small little sip played on the most primal feelings of man, drawing out the desires for more of the power that only it could bring, a psychological addiction that Raul already found himself struggling with!

With trace-droplets of smile spreading through his system, Raul was already advancing upon Markus as he stumbled away, his face coated in so much red with a face so pale, it was like a sickening clown stumbled into the alley. QUICK as a flash, Raul whirled around, his foot SLICING through the air in a reverse-arch, aiming to CRASH his heel across his foe's jaw in an utterly vengeful reverse-roundhouse kick, his movements, for at least a moment or two, regaining their vitality and movement as if nothing had been drained from these damages! It was the strongest adrenaline rush he had ever felt... where pain did not exist! He could feel the knotting of his muscle around the wounds but even so... It was more of a minor acknowledgement of it's presence rather than the alarm of a threat!

Raul's eyes were both focused and unfocused at the same time, tunneling in on his one goal, aiming to finish the man before that one little drop of smile fled his blood. his entire world shrinking only to accommodate them.

The burning in his sinuses and the sharp pain ran through his entire face. The nerves fired off from behind his eyes, Markus’s tear ducts involuntarily starting to water as his nose began to fill with mucus and blood. He hissed, imagining the pathetic sight he looked like as he quickly wiped away the fluids on his face. His red-hot glare catching Raul just as he was making his move. Had it been a punch, Markus might have been done for, but Raul opted for a kick. Something that needed a split second to wind up. Markus was simply lucky, backing up just in time to avoid having his head lobbed off. Raul was fast! Faster than he was at the start of this fight! The drug must have gotten into his system, but it hadn’t taken him over yet! Markus could see it in Rauls eyes: The lack of pain, the power, the hostility!

Markus slipped on one of his mush turned goons, tripping and landing flat on the alleyway floor. He cursed, sending an ill-tempered kick to the goon on the floor before tossing his blade at Raul, trying to buy himself some time! The drug had to either be running on fumes, or close to taking him over! It was a battle of time, one that could easily cost f them their life!

Markus was scooting back when he noticed the broken syringe. A majority of its contents were safe, still kept neatly inside. That was a problem. One way or another, that had to be dealt with, or he was dead either way.

Markus made to reach behind him, looking to grab something tucked into the back of his pants, something his baggy shirt seemed to cover.

The scarlet eyes glance at the rapidly approaching Raul, Markus having a deadly calm in his eyes as he began to pull the weapon out from his back…

And aim it right at him.

By sheer luck, Markus stumbled back JUST out of the range of Raul's boot, the heel of which barely clipping the very tip of his nose! Exhaustion was starting to burn in his blood once again as the Mexican swiveled around upon the soles of his shoes, gaining control of his momentum once more as his foe stumbled over one of his own downed goons... movement of their own having long-since halted... either dead or unconscious from their own wounds. This was the perfect opportunity to finish this... especially because he wouldn't have many more after! The microscopic amount of Smile that had infect his blood was slowly being filtered out, the constant adrenaline-rush it provided receding at a faster and faster rate! Awareness of the blood he had lost, the damage he had sustained, the bruises that marred his muscle and the cuts that sliced his skin...

Pain was returning and with it, bodily hesitation and weakness.

Raul LIFTED his leg high off the ground, bringing it up above his head like an axe above the neck of a gallows victim, preparing to sever the spine... BEFORE Markus suddenly HURLED his weapon up at the former gangster, the knife FLYING right up at his chest! Whether by luck of his own or by the weariness of his foe, the blade clipped only one of his ribs, slicing open his skin and grazing the bone... harming the warrior just enough to send him recoiling back... nearly tripping over himself in the process!

"GAH!" She growled in surprise, a hand shooting down to his freshest wound, instinctively trying to keep more blood from spilling... His attention shot down to his side before even the sensation of the sticky-life-juices reached his fingers, Raul's cheeks growing more pale by the second... It was a cut... but not a bad one... Mixed with the rest of this, though... he needed a doctor... and fast! Before infection set in-

Raul looked up, his heavy breath HALTING as he spotted Markus pointing something at him... A pistol... aimed right at his head... His Yellow eyes shot wide, his jaw dropping slightly in disbelief... All this fighting... only to go out to a gun-shot...?

"Dios, perdóname por mis errores..." He quickly muttered under his breath. "Traté de vivir mi vida lo mejor que pude..."

Blood poured around the hard concreate that surrounded the former gangster. His death was coming nice and slow…the thousand cuts he had endured thanks to Markus and his goons was slowly draining his life blood away. The final cut on his ribs was all Markus needed to drop the dying man to his knees. At first Markus drew his secret weapon out of caution. Now, as his enemy fell to his knees in a split second of weakness, Markus learned  that this would simply be the  end. Raul seemed to understand this as well. His face made a stupid expression as he stared down the barrel of Markus’s gun.

It had taken him years to smuggle all of the parts he needed to assemmble this damned thing. So much time and money simply to have a trump card in case this situation ever came to pass.So much money had went into getting the gun parts past Japans security…funny that in the end, he was finally going to get to use it. It had always just been something to ensure is own safety.

But now it was time to wipe Raul off the face of this earth.

“I hope that was some sort of prayer Raul…you’re going to need it where your going.”

There was no smile on Markus’s face. He wasn’t that kind of sadist…but neither was their any hesitation as he pulled the trigger, ready to experience the hot flash of death, and the small regret of not getting paid for all of this bullshit.

“Goodbye, Raul.”

click

…..
………
…………..

“Huh?”

Nothing. Happened.

No shot. Bo loud bang, just the click of the gun. Markus’s confusion was plain to see in his face as he tried to cock the pistol again. A bullet came out, the gun was full and loaded.

click

He thumbed for the safety, which was already off.

click click

“What the hell!?!”

Why wasn’t it working? Raul should be dead! He should be—he should be--!?!?

Markus fumbled around with his pistol, smacking it and trying to get it to work as he silently cured the damned object. The clip was loaded, the safety was off, he took care of the fuking thing! Was it missing a part this whole time? Did someone scam him? What the hell was this?!?!

"It was, actually." Raul responded, a small hint of sarcastic surprise sprinkled into his voice. He smiled mockingly at Markus as he leveled the gun at his chest, finger clenching at the trigger. Oh, could he see the satisfaction on Markus' face, the way it rolled off his tongue when he spoke those fateful words. "You learn fast." With that, he took a heavy breath, doing his best to center himself... and wait for the projectile to pierce his heart. He closed his eyes, his anxiety fleeing him, an eerie calm of acceptance filling the space it had left. His gut no longer cramped in anticipation, his eyes no longer trembled with fear... He was at peace, knowing he was about to die... and it was likely just as well. He always knew it would end like this, shot and left for dead in an alley, just like some of his more... unlucky compatriots.

...

...

...

Raul peeked out from between his closed lids to see Markus struggling with his gun, cursing and JERKING it around as if he wee a super-villain with his comically untested and improperly constructed super-weapon! It was a dangerous thing to wave a weapon around, the Mexican himself flinching away as the man BEAT on it furiously! It very well could've misfired! ...But from the looks of things, it already had. An odd smile crept across Raul's face as he watched his foe struggle with the tool of his own design, a SURGE of power flooding through him! God had given him a second chance, he could see that now... He knew not what he had done to deserve a divine favor such as this... but let it be said that Raul wouldn't question it!

RUSHING down Markus, Raul brought his fist back... and WHIPPED it down across Markus' jaw, aiming to CRACK it and send his head CRASHING down into the rough pavement below! All that new energy would be stored in this one final attack, the resolute and defiant blow in the face of a being as demented and perverse as Markus!