World Champion

"No such thing as 'other worlds', you raving hag." said the bald man, looking at how uncomfortable the group had become. "And no such thing as your 'Son of the Devil' or any of the bullshit. Now beat it!"

Alex looked around at his group; Liana, Eve, and Felicia looked...affected. "Three maidens from a different world, huh?" he thought, wondering. "No! This was just religious bullshit!" He turned to the old woman. "He's right. I've tolerated enough of your shit. Get lost before I change my mind and take my coins back."

The mention of having her earnings taken away seemed to have a magical effect on the beggar. Without another word she turned around and quickly hobbled away. Something about her struck Alex. Something was..off...about her. But what? That's right! She was...walking quite normally. Isn't she blind? How can she see where she's going? He mused for a second. Must have a lot of practice going up and down this road...conning simpletons like us.

The fat man came up the group and saluted cheerfully. "Don't let that old hag's stories bother you; this town's full of folk ready to exaggerate even a leaf falling off a tree." Alex turned to look at their new companion. "You're right. Thanks for getting us out of that though." he grinned.

The man waved a hand. "Ah, it's nothing. Just helping folk stuck in a pinch." Alex smiled. "Alex. Alex Wright. I'm the new blacksmith."

"Ah, I'd heard about you!" said the fat man. "Was planning to drop by your shop sometime. I'm Venna. Venna Avringer. I'm a fellow merchant like you; I run the general store in Barfoss, 'Avringer's Supplies'. I'm sure you've heard of it." he smiled.

Something about this man didn't sit right with neither Alex nor Robin. He was...charming. And he looked trustworthy too. And that was what bothered them; he'd gotten real friendly, real soon. But...there wasn't anything suspicious about him either. What was this feeling then?

"Nice to meet you Master Avringer." said Alex. "This is Felicia, Liana, Robin, Eve, and Katherine." Venna smiled at each of them and his eyes paused at Katherine. "A demi-human?" he inquired.

"You got a problem with that?" demanded Robin, slightly stepping in front of Katherine as if to shield her.

"Heavens, no!" said Venna, shaking his head. "I'm actually quite glad. Her kind are never treated fairly in Barfoss...always bullied. I hate that. I'm just glad newcomers like you have a more...open minded approach."

"Well, she was taking us to lunch." grinned Felicia.

"To lunch?" asked Venna in disbelief. Then he boomed in his laughter. "You people really do have good hearts. Who knows, maybe you three ladies are the 'Pure Maidens' from another world."

The three girls shifted a bit uncomfortably in their spots; what was these people's problem? Venna stopped his cheerful laugh and smiled at the three. "Not that you ladies look like you're from another world." he said. "Except maybe from the Heavens, sent down as angles for us mere humans to gaze upon your beauty."

The girls giggled a bit and Alex laughed. "You're good at flattery, Master Avringer."

"Please, call me Venna." said the bald man. "What's with formalities between friends, eh?"

Yeah, something about this man was...wrong. He was too good at socializing. "Very well." said Alex. "But we must be on our way now, Venna. I've gotta get back on the forge...wasted enough time today."

"Ah, of course. Business calls." said Venna, bowing his head like a noble. "Farewell for now, folks. But please do drop by my shop when you come into Barfoss again; it'll give me great pleasure. And I'll give you all a massive discount!"

They smiled and waved as the bald man started walking away. "Nice guy." said Liana.

"Yeah, too nice." said Robin. "Keep your distance."

"You don't trust him?" asked Katherine.

"I don't trust anyone."

"Not even me?" she asked, her voice as emotionless as ever.

"Er...er...well...urm..." stammered Robin. "I don't know you well enough, that's the problem."

"That's a problem?"

"Yes." said Robin. "So we should fix that."

"We should fix that?"

"Yes...by...er...seeing each other again." said Robin, rubbing the back of his head. Katherine just looked at him unblinkingly. "Don't...you...er...want that?" he asked a bit deflated at her blank stare.

"I do. A problem like that shouldn't exist between us." she said, monotonously.

Robin recoiled a bit at her words, going slightly red. "Er...you're right." he said. "So...where can I find you?"

"This tavern. Tomorrow afternoon. I'll give you lunch."

Robin grinned. "It's a date then."

"What's a date?"

"I'll...tell you about it tomorrow." he said, waving. The other four had already started walking away and he ran a bit to catch up to them.

"See you later, Katherine!" called Eve, waving to her.

"Don't be a stranger!" called Liana.

"Come visit us sometime!" shouted Felicia, also waving.

Katherine found her hand going up...and waving. She'd never done that before; there had never been anyone who'd waved at her or anyone she wanted to wave at...but she'd always seen humans do it. She grinned a little. This felt good. Her waving got more vigorous as the five got farther and farther away until they finally disappeared from view.

* * *

Night fell. The sky was slightly cloudy, but some stars still shone through. The massive constellations twinkled slightly at Decimandria. The two moons shined brightly, their rays illuminating an otherwise dark and quiet road on the outskirts of Barfoss. Two soldiers patrolled along this road, one humming a low tune.

"You're in a good mood, Rab." said the other soldier.

Rab winked. "Yes, Jirn. Yes I am."he said proudly.

Jirn grinned. "Guess no point in asking if you're gonna come out for drinks tomorrow night, eh?"

"Actually, Besh wants me to stop drinking all together." said Rab, laughing.

"Ah, come on!" said Jirn. "You can't let her do that!"

"No. Of course not. I'm just humoring her for now. The Sisters say a woman gets moody when she's carrying a baby in her and I shouldn't upset her." said Rab.

"How much time left now?" asked Jirn.

"A couple weeks at most, I'm told." said Rab.

Jirn was silent for a few minutes as the soldiers walked along the lightly illuminated road. "A few weeks, huh? You'll be a father by next month."

Rab puffed his chest out proudly. "Yes. A father of a beautiful daughter."

"How do you even know it's gonna be a daughter?" laughed Jirn.

"I just do. You'll see." said Rab. "And when you come over for the celebration, don't let Besh sweet talk you into stopping me from teasing her about it."

Jirn grinned. "No promises." he said. "She's still holding out hope for a son."

"It's gonna be a daughter though."

"Hehehe, guess we'll see." chuckled Jirn.

Both of them relapsed into silence again. They had gone far enough from Barfoss now; far enough for a patrol. Should turn back soon. Rab turned to look at Jirn: slightly shorter than him with a goatee on his kind face, he was usually a cheerful man. Right now though, he was looked rather somber. "What's the matter?" asked Rab.

"No, it's nothing."

"What? You're worried you'll lose your friend after he becomes a father?" He slapped Jirn's back. "Don't worry. A single child isn't gonna be enough for you to be rid of me." he laughed.

Jirn broke into a smile. "No, it's not that. It's just..."

"What?"

"You know what kind of childhood I had because of that...man...I called my father." said Jirn.

Rab raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew only too well. "Yes...?" he answered tentatively.

"Just promise me you won't become him. Promise me you'll be a good father to your child." said Jirn, stopping and turning to look at his companion.

Rab faced him. There was no way he'd ever turn into that...monster. He knew though, Jirn was scarred. All this being around his pregnant wife and her family had reawakened his childhood trauma. "Don't worry." said Rab, in a low voice. "I'd rather die than do that to my child." He paused. "Plus, if I ever do anything to annoy her, her godfather would be right there to kick my ass." he said with a small grin.

Jirn laughed. "That's true."

The two friends stood laughing for a few seconds and then turned around to head back home. Suddenly, they froze. Fear.

"What's that?" whispered Jirn.

"No idea." said Rab.

Both of them drew their weapons. Suddenly, the moons seemed to have gone out. The dreamy moonlit road was dark and menacing now. "What's going on?" asked Jirn. Nothing was visible, not a sound could be heard. But they felt it...fear.

"I-" began Rab when all of a sudden smoke started engulfing him. He panicked and tried to attack it with his sword but it just swirled around him. Suddenly, he felt excruciating pain...pain as if a thousand knives were being stabbed into him all at once. He screamed...louder than he ever had in his life as he was lifted up into the air by some invisible force.

"Rab!" scramed Jirn, rushing at the smoke with his sword in the air. As soon as he got closer, the smoke seem to take shape. A face? The face turned around to look at the running figure and Jirn froze in terror. Two red eyes stared back at him.

Suddenly the silent night rung out with the screams of two men.

* * *

The ax hit the shield with a loud clang...the sound echoing in the morning surroundings. Captain Zorran, who hadn't expected the blow to be quite this hard was knocked down to his knees. "Holy shit, you're good with that!" he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have underestimated you." Alex grinned and stretched his hand out to the Captain, which he took, and Alex pulled him back up on his feet.

It had been almost a month since Liana, Alex, Robin, Felicia, and Eve had come to Barfoss. Life had started settling back down again for the five. Sinking into their everyday routine, they had found their rhythm, so to speak. It was amazing how flexible humans were...how quickly they could adapt to their changed environment, Liana always wondered these days. The three girls didn't have much to do this time around; Alex and Robin did the weapons and other blacksmith contracts that came their way and the income was adequate. Enough to keep the five's heads fairly above the water. No work coupled with living almost out of Barfoss meant the girls were cooped up in the house everyday with nothing to do. That, in turn, meant Alex had three grumbly girls on his hands. Girls who begged him to take them into town almost on a daily basis and would get annoyed when he said he was too tired. He knew he had to do something about them...find them something to occupy their minds and time with.

Alex himself, on the other hand, had plenty to occupy his time with. He was spending almost half his days in the forge now. Reading was out of the question; once, on a trip into town to find some books for the girls to read, he found out soon enough that books were expensive...too expensive to waste his hard earned money on. There was a library he could go to, but living this far out meant he couldn't be bothered to go all the way over to Barfoss just to read some tomes. So, he had decided to focus on his weapons skills. Graduating from swords, Alex had started to learn how to use any other weapon he could get his hands on. Captain Zorran, quite glad seeing his enthusiasm, had obliged by lending him some weapons from the Lord of Barfoss's armory and training him in them. Robin, although halfheartedly, had agreed to participated in the program too. In the morning, before Zorran had to attend to his duties and Alex to his forge, they'd meet up in the bullpen outside Alex's house and spend it sparring with each other.

And today was no different. Zorran, bearing a shield, was Alex's sparring partner for today. "I'm starting to quite like battle axes, actually." said Alex, spinning the one in his hand like it was an extension of his arm. "They're great."

"Yeah, but you have to be brutal when fighting with them though. No finesse in them like with swords or knives." said Zorran.

"Yeah, he's a brute, alright." said Robin, sitting on the fence and massaging his arm.

"It'll go away by tomorrow, don't worry." winked Alex.

"Yeah, you didn't have to hit the shield that hard when he was holding it." said Zorran, getting back in stance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Robin, indignantly.

"Nothing." grinned Zorran.

"At least I wasn't knocked down after getting hit with that blow though." sneered Robin.

Zorran let out a laugh. "No. No, you weren't. You're strong, kid."

Robin's resentment abated and he grinned. "I've still got a long way to go though before I'm the strongest of us three." This time both Alex and Zorran laughed out loud.

"Speaking of strongest, did you hear that Arrdem Moof is in town?" asked the Captain.

"Moof?"

"The Skullcrusher?" offered Zorran. "World Fighting Champion."

"Oh, World Champion is in Barfoss right now!?" asked Robin, jumping off the fence.

"Yeah, Lord Druss is quite delighted about it." said Zorran, dropping the shield on the ground and picking up a water tankard.

"Wait, he's rubbing shoulders with His Lordship?" asked Alex, amazed.

"Of course." answered Zorran, taking a swig of water. "He's World Champion; that'd be enough in itself. But the Lord's being extra nice because Moof was endorsed by The World's Most Powerful Man, and you know the history Barfoss has with him."

"Wha-" began Robin but stopped as they heard footsteps rushing toward them. They turned around to see a soldier hurrying up the road.

"Captain! Captain Zorran!" called the soldier running up.

"What is it, soldier?" asked Zorran.

"You're needed back in Barfoss, urgently. There's been another murder." said the soldier, gasping for air.

"God fucking dammit!" cursed Zorran, quickly picking up his sword and jumping over the fence. "I'll see you later!" he called as he ran to his horse.

"Another murder?" asked Robin.

"Yeah, apparently there's a serial killer loose in Barfoss." said Alex.

"Shit! Really?"

"Yep." said Alex, starting to pick up the weapons and tankards of water lying around.

"We better doubly bolt the doors shut at nights then." said Robin.

"I know, I've been stressing about that too. But, the thing is, all the murders up to now have been in the city, as far as I know. Not a single one even in the outskirts, let alone this far out."

"Still better not take chances." said Robin.

"You're right." said Alex. "Keep your sword close to you when you go to bed these days and don't dismiss any noises you may hear in the night."

"You got it." said Robin, helping Alex pick up the shield. "Let's get to work quickly, shall we? I have to go see Kat later on today."

* * *

"Well, see you later then!" said Venna with a cheerful wave.

"Farewell!" said Liana flicking her brunette hair as she walked out of the door.

"Come over to dinner sometime!" he called after the group.

Alex, Liana, Eve, and Felicia had gone to Barfoss to run some errands that evening. Robin was busy somewhere with Katherine and the four, rather than being bored, had decided to take a trip out.

As they stood there in the road thinking about their next move, Alex turned around to look at the shop behind them: 'Avringer's Supplies.' A huge wooden front door, a big sign with the name painted on it, and enticing offers postered on the facade; it was one of the biggest shops in Barfoss which sold pretty much everything under the sun. Venna also bought anything you were willing to sell.

"What? You're dreaming of owning a shop as big as his?" Felicia asked Alex, playfully. Her partner grinned. "But maybe not so...what's the word?"

"Dodgy?"

"It's not like he does anything illegal, though." said Liana, joining in.

"No, he just sweet talks the money out of you and gives you considerably less money for something you're selling him than you'd normally get." said Alex.

"And all the while, you keep smiling not even realizing anything." laughed Liana.

Alex looked at her with amazement. "I didn't know you could see through him like that. I thought for sure he had charmed the hell out of you. You're always smiling at him."

"You don't know women well enough." winked Liana, her green eyes glinting.

"Tell me about it." murmured Felicia.

"What?"

"Nothing." said Felicia, grinning. "Liana here, is a smoothie. A master manipulator. A vixen of a woman. He thinks he's charmed her, when in reality, the more she smiles at him, the more he's being charmed by her. Just look at us right now; he gave us a discount. Venna does not give discounts for no reason, does he?"

Alex burst out laughing. He always thought of the girls as these fragile things that need protection in the harshness of Decimandria, but they always surprised him with how razor sharp they were. " Fair enough. Now come on, let's get walking shall we?"

Barfoss always seemed prettier at night. Alex attributed it to the fact that with darkness falling over everything, it covered all the sewers overflowing, hid the beggars in alleys, and the half starved dogs roaming the streets went to sleep. The girls took a more romantic view, adoring the street lamps lighting up. Their playful fire making the stone flagged pathways shine merrily, the houses turning a lot more welcoming. All the people returning home from work were in a good mood too, greeting each other genially, looking forward to a good night's sleep.

"Where we headed?" asked Eve.

"There's this tavern, The Broken Mug." answered Alex. "I've been there a few times; really friendly innkeep, good people, good music, and always cheerful."

"Good." said Felicia, grabbing hold of Alex's arm. "It'll be nice to have a gay place to go to."

"Wait, what?" laughed Alex.

"She's talking in old English." said Liana.

"Well, we are in medieval times." winked Felicia.

Alex turned to look at the girl on his arm. Her smooth brownish, red hair shone in the street lamp's light with a shine neither of the other two girls' had. Or was it just his bias? Didn't matter. He ran a gentle hand through it, feeling the softness flowing over it. But...for some reason, he didn't get the same amount of feeling as he remembered from before. Why? He looked at his hands; they'd gotten bigger and rougher from all the hammering he'd been doing these past months. Despite himself, Alex grinned. Ah, life...how strange you are.

Before they could see the tavern, they heard it. Cheerful music playing, loud noises, obnoxious laughter, and the sound of mugs smashing together. They turned around a corner and the large stone and wood building came into view. It was an extremely welcoming sight. Bright yellow lights filtered through the windows, illuminating the ground in front. Everyone from dwarves, to humans, to elves were walking in cheerfully, the music seeming to enchant all its surroundings and people.

"That looks...wonderful!" exclaimed Eve, her violet eyes shining. "Let's go!"

The four merrily pushed open the main doors and walked through. Inside, everything was just as they'd imagined. People laughing as they drank and ate. A band playing a cheerful tune while three girls danced to the music. Some people joined in with the singing, some were thumping the tables in tune.

Alex looked around with a satisfied grin. Just another night in Barfoss.

Eve, Liana, and Felicia were awestruck. Being stuck so far away from the city for so long and then seeing this was truly a mesmerizing sight for them. As they stared around looking at the people, suddenly they froze in shock. Alex followed their line of sight and his jaw dropped in amazement too.

There was Robin, standing on a table and telling some story while a large group of rough looking people sat around guffawing. And there was Katherine among them, looking up at Robin...and actually laughing. It wasn't that big of a laugh. Indeed, it could even pass off as a wide smile, but there was no getting around the fact that she was showing emotion.

"And then," Robin was saying, tearing up laughing. "She says: 'I don't know, but do you want to come along?" Half the inn burst into a renewed roar of laughter and some people even stood up and patted Robin on the back.

"Is that...Katherine?" asked Liana in disbelief. "Our Katherine...laughing?"

Alex grinned. "Rob does have that effect on people."

"Whether that's a good thing or bad is completely open to perception." laughed Eve. "Come on, let's join those two."

The four of them walked through the dense crowd and up to their youngest group member who was overjoyed when he saw them. "Al! My brother!" he exclaimed, jumping off the table. "And Lee, Eve, and Felicia too! Damn, it's a good night."

"You took Katherine here on your date?" asked Felicia.

"It worked didn't it?" defended Alex. "Plus, look at this place. It's great for a date."

"I didn't say it was a bad decision." grinned Felicia.

"You see? I'm not totally tone-deaf when it comes to these sorts of things." said Robin, taking a hearty swing from his wooden mug.

"Wait, is that ale?" said Alex. "I thought I said no alco-"

"Don't worry, Master Wright. Nothing but the weakest of wheat beers." said a voice behind them. They turned around to find the innkeep glowing at them. He was big, genial man with a walrus mustache and a balding head which was already bare at the top. He wore a big leather apron over his yellow shirt and black pants.

"Walfred!" said Alex, jovially. "How are you? How's the family?"

"Busy, busy, busy." he said, looking around the inn. "This many hungry and thirsty people means only one thing for us: work."

"Well, at least the business is booming." said Alex, with a grin.

"That it is, Master Wright. That it is." laughed Walfred. "Anyway, as per your orders I have not served young Robin here anything with any real alcohol in it."

"Spoilsport." muttered Robin. "I thought we had a connection too."

"Who did you have a connection to?" asked Katherine from behind.

"Oh, er-"

Walfred laughed. "You folk grab a table. I'll send Nevu along to get your order. I've stood here too long; my wife's gonna kill me."

"Have you two eaten?" asked Alex.

"No." said Katherine. She liked Alex. He was always sweet to her and he was the reason she met Robin.

"Well, come on then! I'm so glad we bumped into you two though. We were just thinking about how it'd be nice to complete the group." said Alex, slapping Robin's back.

Katherine felt a certain warmness in her chest at being addressed as part of the group, but she said nothing. She had started to drop by their home with more and more frequency these past few weeks and she had started to get attached to these people.

The six of them luckily found a table as another group was getting off. They recognized Alex and shook his hand, thanking him for giving them a discount on that horseshoe job they couldn't afford then. Alex smiled and offered them to come back to his shop as they sat down.

"You've become quite popular." said Liana. Alex grinned. "Small town with two swordsmiths, you know." he said.

"Yeah, now they even know Kat as part of our group." said Robin, squeezing her hand under the table.

"Yes. Mom's quite pleased." said Katherine, in her usual flat voice, clutching Robin's hand in return.

"Well, there were worst groups of people you could've befriended." said Alex. "These are good-"

"Aww, I didn't know you had it in you to praise me." interrupted Robin.

"-girls." completed Alex. "These three are good girls."

They burst out laughing and even Robin couldn't help but join.

* * *

They six had just started on their puddings as desert, when the doors burst open and a big crowd walked in. Everybody in the inn turned around to look at the newcomers. A tall man stood there in the middle, with the rest of the crowd making up his entourage Almost reaching eight feet, he stood staring above everybody's heads. He was clean shaven with a very pronounced and sharp chin, his light brown hair done in a ponytail. He wore a light blue shirt that was too tight for him and it just accentuated his huge, bulky build. He stood genially looking around with his hands on his brown leather pants, waiting to be greeted.

Walfred rushed forward, almost tripping and came to a stop in front of the tall man. "Arrdem Moof!?" he exclaimed. "The Arrdem Moof in my establishment?" The tall man winked at the innkeep.

"Please, please, come this way!" said Walfred, almost squealing. "We'll find a table for the World Champion!"

A few murmurs went through the inn at the last words and people started cheering the newcomer. Immediately, everyone started offering him a seat at their table, some girls even trying to drag him. He walked with purpose though. He chose a table almost in the center of the inn and sat down with his closest associates joining him, and somehow, the rest of his entourage also managed to find places somewhere in the inn.

"I don't believe it! World Champion in my shop!" said Walfred. "Please, sir, tell me what you'd like. I'll have it out here to you in a jiffy!"

Alex was amazed. He'd never seen Walfred take people's orders before; he'd always be too busy at the inn trying to be in two places at once with his wife shouting at him to be at a third. The times Alex had seen him slow down, he was still too busy to talk properly and was always running off in the middle of the conversation then coming back five minutes later to continue as if nothing had happened.

Right now though, Walfred had all the time in the world. He stood doting over their new guest. Alex knew that Barfoss didn't get much entertainment, and fist fights were a big thing here. If the World Champion of said fights were to suddenly show up, he figured any shopkeeper would lose it.

Alex grinned as he took a spoonful of vanilla pudding. "We got superstars even in Barfoss."

"Who is he?" asked Eve, her eyes not moving from Arrdem's hulking body.

"World Fighting Champion." answered Robin, matter-of-factly. "He's more good looking than I thought, to be honest. What with these guys almost killing each other in these fights, I somehow thought he'd have his teeth missing, scars across his face, broken jaw and all that."

"Oh, he's definitely good looking." whispered Felicia, unable to take her eyes off him.

"What was that?" asked Alex, perking up.

"Oh, nothing!" said Felicia turning to face Alex. "Nothing. I was just...saying he...yeah, he looks good for a World Champion."

Alex narrowed his eyes sarcastically. "Would you like to talk to him?" he asked in mock sweetness.

"Ooh, can we?" Felicia blurted out. Alex gave her a stern look under which she blushed.

"No." he said, turning back to his pudding.

"I want to talk to him." said Liana, with a look in her eyes only the three other girls caught.

"I don't." said Katherine. "He looks pretty...but...he's mean."

"How can you tell?" asked Liana, turning to her, half-defensively.

"I can tell." said Katherine, turning back to her pudding, completely having lost interest in Arrdemn now. Robin beamed at her. "See? This is a smart girl. All of those muscles don't charm her. She can see through all of that guy's bullshit. I'm lucky to have her."

Katherine smiled a little at the last sentence and reached out to hold Robin's hand but missed it as Robin attacked his pudding.

"Yeah...he has muscles alright." said Felicia, barely listening.

Alex threw her a disappointed look. "Yeah...Katherine's the smartest girl here. And the prettiest."

"What?" asked Felicia, snapping back at the tone of Alex's last sentence; half hurt.

"Huh." scoffed Alex and turned back to his pudding.

Something about the only group of people not coming over to dote on him made Arrdem look up. Two boys, four...no, three girls and a demi-human; not that he minded. Two redheads and two brunettes? Someone's lucky...

Then he looked more closely at one of the girls; the sight of those dark, smooth, red hair and hazel eyes suddenly stirred something in him. She's...beautiful.

"Stay here." he said to his group and got off the table.

"Hey." said Felicia softly, leaning closer to Alex and putting an arm around his neck. "I'm sorry. You're the onl-"

"Hey."

The three girls almost dropped their puddings at the sound. Turning around, they found Arrdem standing there with a dazzling smile on his face. "H-hey." said Liana, a bit awkwardly. He ignored her. "You're beautiful." he said to Felicia, who still had her arm around Alex's neck. She wanted to blush a little, but having Alex so close was like a dose of reality; she knew the guy she'd rather be with any day of the week.

"Thank you." said Felicia, slightly squeezing Alex's hands. She could tell anger in him was boiling, but Alex being Alex, he didn't want things to uselessly go out of hand. Alex didn't trust himself to speak at this moment either.

"How about we get away from the crowd here. Go someplace quiet. Like the room upstairs?" asked Arrdem, in a tone that was more like a command than a question.

It took Felicia a few seconds to process what he'd just said. "Wh-what?" she stammered.

"How about we go upstairs and fuck?" said Arrdem, his smile disappearing from his eyes.

Wood scraped against the stone floor and Alex stood up in a sudden motion to face the tall World Champion, his face full of cold rage. Before even Robin had got to his feet to back Alex up, Felicia jumped up and got in between the two, trying to pull Alex back down. Arrdem grinned at Alex, and ignoring him, turned back to Felicia. "Well, how about it? I know you were looking at me."

"Please, leave us alone. Apparently, the only thing I was looking at was an asshole." said Felicia, still maintaining the grip on Alex's arm.

"Ooh, you're a fier-" began Arrdem.

"That's enough." said Alex, in a cold voice, shocking even himself he could mask his anger that well. "Get the fuck out of my sight before this gets ugly."

Arrdem laughed, the sound echoing above the cheerful sounds of the inn. People turned around to look and suddenly a hush fell over the crowd; people knew something was going to go down.

"What're you gonna do?" challenged Arrdem, almost in a whisper.

"I'm gonna smash your face into this table right here." said Alex, signalling Robin to get his hands off his sword, shaking off Felicia's arm and closing the distance between him and the World Champion.

"Is that so?" asked Arrdem. "I'd quite like to see that." Saying so, he stretched his hand backward and threw a punch right at Alex's face. As soon as Alex had seen Arrdem charge his punch, instincts had kicked in. He saw the huge fist heading towards his face, and he side-stepped, easily avoiding it. Before Arrdem realized his punch had missed, Alex grabbed his wrist with one hand and the back of his neck with the other. With a sudden burst of energy, he pushed the out-of-balance World Champion's face right into the table they were just eating it, smashing his nose hard against the hard wood.

There was a loud crash, and Arrdem sprung up trying to retaliate, his nose bleeding. But half the inn suddenly stepped in, breaking apart the two men. There was a lot of shouting as both of them struggled to get at each other's throats again, but five or six men held each of them back.

"What the fuck are you doing, Moof?" asked a voice. A sixty-ish old man with a goatee and a monocle came up from the crowd. He was dressed in satin black fine clothes pinstriped with red and was staring angrily at Arrdem.

"Just dealing with some punk." answered Arrdem, his tone slightly lower and respectful now.

"No, I saw everything that went down. You insulted this young man's wife." said the old man, crossly. Nobody bothered to correct him.

"Listen, I just asked if she wanted to have a good time." said Arrdem.

"That's enough." said the old man. "After the shit you pulled at Lord Druss' place, you still have enough gall left to start shit here? The only reason Druss didn't hang you right then and there was because of your patron. You do any more stupid shit and he'll have you thrown in the mines!"

"I didn-"

"We're going back to our rooms." said the old man. "You've had enough to drink and eat for tonight."

With a sudden motion, Arrdem jerked himself away from the men who were holding him. But he made no move toward Alex. "I will not take this insult lying down, old man." he said, his voice calm and angry. "He suckered me and now it's time for his ass to go six feet underground."

"Listen, we can't afford to stir shit up! Don't you get it?" asked the old man, frustrated. "The guards will have you for beating up folk!"

"Not unless it's a bout." said Arrdemn, a sneering smile spreading across his face.

"Don't be so stupid, Arrdem." said the old man. "You're World Champion. You can't hold a bout without betting your title. And for some common sap like this?"

"I don't care. I just wanna be able to punch that fucker's face into a fine pulp." said Arrdem, his smile widening. "And then walk away like nothing happened."

"And he has to agree to it too." said the old man.

"Oh, he agrees alright." said Arrdem. "Don't you, you sorry son of a sack of shit?" he asked Alex.

Alex who had been staring at Arrdem with pure loathing while all this unfolded, suddenly felt himself smiling too. "You're right. I do agree."

The old man reeled. "You agree to the bout?" he asked, incredulously.

"Alex, just lea-" protested Felicia, but Alex waved her off.

"Yes. I agree to the bout." said Alex, staring the hulking man in front of him dead in the eye.

"You do realize even if he kills you in that ring, he'll walk away, right?" asked the old man.

"I know."

"And without you, I'll be the one looking after her tonight." said Arrdem, throwing Felicia a hungry look.

"We all know the only thing you'll be 'looking after' tonight is your your father's little stick, shortcake." said Alex.

"What was that?" asked Arrdem, suddenly flaring up. But the old man raised a hand to calm him.

"I'm not his father. I'm his bookie. Ruuver Spniff of Algon, at your service." he said with a curt bow.

"Whatever." said Alex.

"You wanted this bout, right?" said Ruuver, a little irritated. "Clear away the tables, boys, someone's got a killing to do."

Suddenly, the inn shifted back to life again. With a buzz of excitement, people started quickly clearing away the food from the tables and moving the chairs.

"What did you do?" asked Felicia, desperately, watching all the customers cleaning the tables off with deadly efficiency.

"What needed to be done." said Robin. "That asshole's had it now."

"Do you see him?" asked Liana, half hysterically. "He's fucking huge! Just...back out, Alex...please."

Alex grinned at her. He felt totally calm and relaxed; this wasn't his first time.

"He's gonna kill you." said Katherine, simply. "He's stronger than you."

"A fight's not always about being the strongest." winked Alex.

"What do you mean?" asked Eve, panicking. "Do you not see the seriousness of the situation?"

"Why are all of you freaking out so much?" asked Robin. "It's not like this is the first time Alex has fought. He was the undefeated boxing champion in school and in uni. He's a fucking karate black belt, for fuck's sake."

"But-" began Eve.

"I've seen him wake up every morning in Decimandria, take his shirt off and then practice with those wooden stumps. If anything, he gotten tougher since being in this world."

"When Herm found out that I knew martial arts, he ordered me to not go out of practice. There's no such thing as our traditional martial arts here. Their martial arts is using magic to enhance your body. And this was my advantage." said Alex.

At the mention of Herm's name, the three girls quieted down. Katherine didn't know who Herm was or what karate was and she knew this wasn't the time to ask that; but she made a mental note to ask Robin later on.

"What if he uses magic then?" asked Liana.

"If magic was allowed, it'd be some frail mage as the World Champion." answered Robin.

"But-" started Felicia

Alex turned to Felicia and put both his hands on her shoulders. "I know what I'm doing, Sha. Don't worry."

Felicia stared into those good-natured, keen, shining eyes. Whenever she looked into them, suddenly the world became less scary. "Okay." she whispered. "Okay."

Eve and Liana flashed back to all his boxing matches they'd witnessed and how they'd cheer for him back then, feeling an electricity of excitement. Liana laughed out loud; funny how quickly the memories from home had faded.

"Go kick his ass then." said Eve, grinning.

The tables had been cleared away and a corner portion of the inn was completely bare now. Arrdem stood there in the middle, shirtless, and striking poses to a crowd of cheering girls.

Ruuver came up to Alex. "Shirt off so we can see you're not using padding to protect yourself and no gloves so that we can see you're not hitting your opponents with stones." he said in a business-like way. Alex nodded.

"What's your name again?" Ruuver asked.

"Alex Wright?" said Alex with a raised eyebrow.

"No, we need some sort of title. Alex The Hammer? Alex The Pounder? Hmm...." said Ruuver, lost in thought.

"Well, back home they used to call him 'Lights Out' before he became cham-." Robin stopped himself. Not gonna let this fucker know Alex was a fighting champion.

"Lights Out? Heh, cute." said Ruuver. He paused, musing. "But it does have a nice ring to it. Fine, it's settled then. Let's go."

Alex took off his shirt and handed it to Felicia, who clutched it to her chest. He then took of his sword and belt from his hip and handed those to Robin. "Just in case, Rob." he whispered. "Remember what you promised."

"I'll slice his neck before I let him touch any of the girls." said Robin, with a grin. "You just worry about how to make his face as ugly as possible with your fists."

Alex grinned, and walked up to the 'ring' followed by the remaining five of his group. Ruuver stood beside Arrdem with a small book open in his hands. "Alright, folk, listen up! It's Arrdem 'Skullcrusher' Moof, the World Champion, against Alex 'Lights Out' Wright!" There were a few sneers at Alex's nickname from the crowd. "Betting is now open! I'm coming over to collect."

"I hope you don't mind me beating up your favorite fighter, Walfred." said Alex, as he did a few warm-up jumps just outside the ring as the bookie went around collecting money. The innkeeper had crept up beside the six as inconspicuously as he could.

He recoiled a bit at being addressed; Alex hadn't turned to look at him, so he didn't know he'd been noticed. "After seeing his behavior, Master Wright, and how he talked to your lady, I hope you color my floor red with his blood." said Walfred. "I can only apologize that you're having to do this because I let him into my establishment." he added guiltily.

"It's fine. He's a celebrity who brushes shoulders with Lords. Anyone would've been happy to have him." said Alex, smiling.

"You...you don't seem worried about fighting the World Champion." said Walfred, nervously.

"I'll be fine, Walfred." grinned Alex. "But you owe me a round of beers after I win."

Walfred laughed a little. "You win this and I'll give you free beers for a month."

"Come here!" called Ruuver to Alex, beckoning him inside the ring.

"Good luck!" called Liana after him, as Alex stepped forth.

"Rules are simple. No magic, no weapons. I'll throw this coin after moving away. As soon as it hits the ground, you're to fight. Keep fighting till the other one gives up or can't get up anymore. Got it?"

"Just get out of the damn ring already, old man." said Arrdem, turning to face Alex.

Alex gauged his opponent in front of him. He was bigger and stronger...but that meant Alex was faster and sharper. There were two ways he could do this: either keep dodging and gas Arrdem out and then finish him or go in fast, hard and brutal. A vicious smile spread across Alex's face as he selected his option and brought up both his hands in the ready position, his eyes fixed on Arrdem and his ears waiting for the coin drop. He took a deep breath, emptying his mind of the spectators, of his opponent's insults, his friends, his problems, everything. All that remained was the man in front of him; his opponent and his obstacle that he had to destroy.

For a moment, time had slowed down and the entire inn gazed at the two shirtless, well-built fighters ready to tear each other apart. Nobody breathed, every eye fixed on the two. Ruuver did a flourishing move, and tossed the coin. It rose high in the air and dropped.

Alex heard the faint chink and rushed forward. He was faster than Arrdem, who was not expecting a charge in the first place, and reached him before he could react. One, two, three straight punches to the face. Before Alex could land a fourth, he saw Arrdem's giant fist coming toward him. He dodged it and before even Arrdem could realize his attacked had not connected, Alex was at his side, in his blind spot, and again he unleashed a fury of left-right-left combo.

This time he got greedy and thought he could land a fourth when, out of nowhere, Arrdem's fist connected right on Alex's temple. Bam! The entire world seemed to swim and Alex staggered back, unable to keep his balance. This was the hardest he'd ever been hit in his entire life and it felt like he'd suddenly gotten drunk.

Suddenly, Arrdem was on him. Grabbing him across his hips, he pushed Alex to the ground. His head already spinning, hitting the hard wooden floor did nothing to help. Arrdem's fist came crashing down twice. Alex's face fell sideways and he saw Felicia's face looking down at him, terrified. Suddenly, his mind cleared and refocused. He saw Arrdem's punch coming down for the third time, and this time, just before it hit, Alex moved to the side. Arrdem hit the wooden floor with loud crash, cracking the wood. Pain shot up through Arrdem's wrist, but he ignored it. As he charged his punch for the fourth time, he saw Alex punching upwards. He couldn't react...Alex was too fast...and the punch hit him right across his chin. Groaning, he tried to get up, but two more of Alex's punches connected and Arrdem barely managed to slop off Alex, staggering up again to face him.

Alex jumped to his feet; time to get brutal. Arrdem swung wildly, and Alex sidestepped. Again in his blindspot, this time Alex decided to go for the torso. A precise punch perfectly to Arrdem's side cracked two of his ribs. Shouting in pain, Arrdem swung with this other arm. Alex was expecting this; he ducked from the fist and as he came up again, he curled his hands into a fist, carrying the same momentum and punched him just below his chin.

Again, howling with an anger, Arrdem reached to punch Alex. He saw Alex was also thinking the same thing. Alex's fist almost crossed Arrdem's midair. But Alex's hit was faster; it connected knocking the tall man back. Arrdem's punch wildly missed, and Alex was not letting him get away with that. But Arrdem was smarter. He knew Alex would move in for the takedown and just as Alex rushed forward a huge foot came into his view and Arrdem kicked him square in the chest. Breath knocked out of him, he stumbled backwards. Arrdem jumped into action. Just as Alex's lungs filled with air again, he saw the giant man pounce on him. Punches started raining down on his face as he desperately tried to keep his balance while Arrdem slammed him against the wall.

Enough! Alex felt anger; sudden and unbridled. He'd never felt anything like that. It was savage and it just wanted to hurt Arrdem. Alex saw another punch coming towards him, and he snapped. A punch to the two broken ribs on Arrdem's sides made him recoil with pain. An elbow to the temple disoriented him. One-two straight punches to his face knocked him further back and into the center of the ring. Arrdem made another one of his wild swings to keep Alex at bay, but that's just what Alex wanted. He sidestepped it easily. In Arrdem's blindspot for the third time, Alex's mind went into brutal mode. Before even Alex himself realized it, his hands were pummeling Arrdem. He saw the big man stumble a bit backwards, unable to stand straight under the endless flurry of punches. Arrdem's legs gave out form underneath him and he collapsed on the ground. But Alex wasn't letting him go; he was on top of the unconscious man within milieseconds.

Arrdem lay on the ground now; Alex felt the power to kill him. Punches came down naturally. He saw Arrdem's face slowly fading away from view to give way to red but still, he couldn't help himself.

"Alex, stop!" shouted Felicia, desperately. "Stop!"

He heard it. Felicia? Her voice cut through the deep mental rage he'd built up. Suddenly, he realized that the crowd was no longer cheering. That they had fallen silent in horror as he continued to punch Arrdem's face. He raised his hand one more time to bring it down but, for a split second, he stopped and actually looked at his target; all red with blood and unconscious it was the face of a beaten man. As if hit by a bucket of ice cold water, Alex suddenly realized what he was doing. How he'd wanted to kill this guy. Maybe already had...

He dropped his raised hand; no point in hitting him anymore. Slowly, he got off Arrdem and stood on his feet. The crowd was still silent in captivation. Alex stood there for a moment, a bit confused and worried as to Arrdem's fate. Out of nowhere, Ruuver came rushing into the ring. He dropped on his knees by Arrdem and placed his fingers on his neck. After a second, he let out a deep sigh. "He's alive!" he said in a low, relieved voice. Ruuver got up, gave Alex a look, and turned to the crowd. He took another deep sigh. "The new World Champion!" he shouted, suddenly.

It was like a bomb had gone off. The crowd exploded in a roar of cheer and mug smashing, shouting praises at Alex. They rushed down into the makeshift ring and started slapping his back, pressing glasses of drinks on him. Alex still felt a bit confused, but more than that he felt relief. Relief he hadn't killed another man...and there was only one person who had saved him. "Felicia!" he shouted. "Felicia, where are you?"

"Alex!" shouted Felicia from behind the wall of people. "Alex!"

The crowd realized what was going on, and with wide grins on their faces, they respectfully gave way to the two, turning to talk amongst themselves. Felicia saw Alex come into view; bruised and bleeding a bit, he stood there looking at her with his usual smile. The smile that filled her world with sunshine. All of a sudden, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She ran at Alex and jumped into his open arms.

"You idiot!" she said, letting a few tears fall as she continued to hold him tight. "You almost killed yourself."

"It's fine now, Fel. Everything's alright. I'm here." he said, soothingly.

Even after all this, he was the one looking after her? Felicia felt guilty and she hugged him tighter. "Always looking after me no matter what your world's going through, huh?" she whispered.

"You are my world." he whispered back, putting his head on her shoulder. "And thank you...for stopping me when you did."

Felicia broke the hug and lightly touched Alex's cheek. "I lo-"

"Yeah, okay, are you two done?" interrupted Robin from behind.

Alex looked up and saw Robin standing there, grinning. Liana, Eve, and even Katherine stood beside him, all smiling with relief. This was victory.

"I had no idea you were so...fierce...Master Wright." said a voice. All of the them turned to look and there stood Venna with a wide smile on his face. "That was quite some fight." he said. Alex grinned and then winced from the bruises. "Yes." he said. "Yes, it was."

"Congratulations on your victory, Lights Out." said Ruuver dryly, coming up to the group.

"Er...thanks...I guess." said Alex, putting a hand around Felicia's shoulders to slightly support himself.

Ruuver looked at him, scrutinizing. "You're quite the fighter." he said. Alex didn't respond. A thin smile spread across Ruuver's face. "Well, now that you've won, I suppose it is my duty to make it official. Today, I will send word to the four corners of Decimandria that a new World Champion now reigns."

"You do that." said Robin.

Ruuver's smile widened slightly. "Well, good day, sirs. Ladies." said Ruuver, cheerfully. He bowed and left to attend to Arrdem.

"He seemed rather peppy for someone whose fighter just lost his title because he couldn't keep his mouth shut." said Robin, wonderingly.

"That might be because..." said Venna.

"Because what?" asked Robin.

"On the evening of the last championship bout, do you know who endorsed Arrdem? It was the World's Most Dangerous Man. That bookie's hoping that Alex incurs his wrath." said Venna, musingly.

"Who is The Worl-"

"Yeah, we'll deal with whoever that is when we have to." said Felicia. "Right now, Alex needs to rest."

"Yeah, you're right. It's about time we bring this night out to an end." said Liana. "Farewell, Master Avringer."

Venna watched Alex slowly walk out the tavern, leaning on Robin, and followed by the four girls. What strange people, he thought. Strange and tight-knit. Something about them doesn't quite add up...maybe he should find out where they're really from....