5

The sewer was a lowly shade of green that day. It was almost pretty. The water shone in bright light from the storm drains, viridian with hints of forest in the shadows. There was an almost velvety feel to everything, like a carpet of moss had been picked up and dragged down here by some giant. Reflections from the water painted the wall with splashes of turquoise, mint, and pale yellow. It was a kaleidoscope. My lungs filled with damp, moldy air, made stronger by the harsh heat the outside world was enduring, and I let it out in a satisfied huff.

The occasional rat skittered past (actually, just two), but for once I let them go. They were smart little buggers, and had learned the hard way to stay clear of my pad. I couldn't breathe fire, but my claws were always looking for a new target. I grinned to myself, enjoying the day already. It might have been dingy and damp under here, but after my eyes adjusted to the full range of color, things were much more beautiful.

My thoughts turned to the uplifting topic of my recent nightmares. They'd always been bad, but in the day since Tau had broken in, they'd been significantly more persistent. My past was coming back to haunt me, I suppose. Maybe I was just shaken from having my lair be broken into. I'm pretty sure everyone gets a little surprised when they find a stranger in their home.

Tau wasn't a bad person, just a little cocky. He took a risk, and it payed off. And though I doubted I'd ever tell him, it had been kind of nice to eat pizza with another human being. That certainly didn't mean I trusted him. I was just glad there wasn't anything really damaging hidden in my lair. All he could find out about me was my coffee obsession and training regimen, and I doubted that would help much in the arena. If that was where he planned to take this.

I hadn't meant for it to, but my wandering carried me to the storm drain I'd used yesterday, right below Fifth Street. The one that had been bugged. I peered out at the street, suddenly very aware of how trapped I was down here. The pattern of the drain even looked like bars. I moved so my face was crosshatched with shade and shadow. That's more like it. Proper prison cell.

Caged, huh? Me, the great and fierce dragon. I doubted anyone who'd seen me in the arena would think that, but it wasn't untrue. All of us were tied into the system, stuck in some way. Several refused to kill, noble as that is, but most of us needed the money from it, and as such, were forced to. Some, like me, never seemed to get opponents willing not to die. Maybe they went into the fight with a mentality of 'win or die', or maybe they simply had nothing left anyway. Perhaps it was a mark of honor. Really, though, what does honor mean if you're dead?

In the distance, above my watery keep, a robin sang. It was innocent and unmolested. I hoped it would fly far, far away and never come back. The city was diseased, dying. Everyone in it was trapped, in their own way, unable to leave. If it left now, perhaps that would be one creature I saved. One bird, compared to the masses of humans I'd killed. Eating hearts and ruining futures. That was me.

I sighed, continuing on. This was only making things more complicated. I should just stop thinking about it. So what if I killed people for a living? It's not like that's illegal. In fact, rather the opposite. I stretched, arms over my head, reaching up for the ceiling. It may have been low, but I couldn't reach. There was a lot in life being taller wouldn't help me reach.

As I plodded on, my mind circled back around to the dreams I'd been having. They were based on memories from a life so far removed from my current one I sometimes doubted I'd ever lived it. Before I became Dragon, I'd been weak. Defeat able. Human. I got tinkered with, made better- well, sort of- and then I'd escaped. It hadn't been easy. Some days I felt like I was still running in their race, a rat on a wheel doing just what they wanted me to, but I knew that was impossible. They hadn't found me yet, though something told me the camera at my front door (so to speak) was no accident.

I stopped just short of a bricked-up segment of wall. Dead end. I remembered this place. It was in my dream too, I thought. Maybe not. It felt rough, and though algae and moss had started spreading from the rest of the tunnel onto it, I could still tell its construction was new. I turned back, leaving for home. This was getting me nowhere. I needed to steal the file, ensure Tau wouldn't talk (through whatever means necessary), and continue winning in the Arena. That was all I needed. I didn't need random people showing up in my home, cameras being planted just to watch me, or people stalking me.

All of which I currently had. At least I still had a mostly-secret lair, a super powerful shifted form, and loads of dough. All of that could easily change, but for now, my secrets were safe. I wouldn't mind too much if it got out that I lived in the sewers, but the exact location was something I needed to keep safe. The City would brick it up and evict me otherwise, and living on the surface wasn't exactly something a hated killer should do.

When I got back to the lair, Tau was gone. The computer still had its guts splayed out across the desk, but it did seem more complete than before. Maybe that was just me. I took stock of the groceries, noted the almost obscene quantities of cereal, and got myself a bowl. Who else would eat all that?

Tau returned shortly, a little out of breath and certainly much damper. "You take walks down here. . . for fun?"

"I mean, no, I just climb out of the sewer to take a casual stroll around the hood and then slide back down here in time for dinner." My sarcasm was strong today. What did he expect?

"Alright, fair. Hey speaking of, why do you work out? Does your other form get stronger with you, or is it just for bodily control?" He seemed genuinely curious, and I couldn't think of how the information would hurt me.

"A little of both. I want to be able to defend myself in both forms, also I can't just go around shifting forms on the street, and it's not like I'm going to get any better in either form without training. Honing my moves and developing good control in a weaker state means that when I'm strong now, I'm unstoppable once I've shifted." What I didn't add was that it was simply something to do. Life gets boring underground, so picking up new techniques made my free time a little more exciting. Although hauling a box of parts for the treadmill down here unnoticed had been hell.

What I really needed was leverage. I needed blackmail against Tau, and something to ensure he wasn't sending me into a trap. Naturally, he'd want the file, but I had no idea what was on that. The main unspoken threat between us was that he had the ability to find me. If he discovered my lair, he could trace me anywhere I went, given enough time. Either I would need absolute assurance he wouldn't divulge that for money, or I needed to get rid of him. Since I knew next to nothing about him, the second option seemed a wiser course of action. I didn't like the thought of killing someone I knew personally, but there really wasn't much leeway here.

I rolled up my right sleeve, shifting just the scales on my forearm, and grabbed some polish and a buffing cloth from beside the sofa. The scratches from Chainsaw were still there, and though I could just shift them away, it would take a massive amount of energy, and put a strain on me every time I used this form. The form I chose was what I usually summoned. I'd fine-tuned it to respond perfectly to my movements, so even changing something as small as a few scratched scales would result in an entirely new setup. I'd have to deliberately focus on that one aspect of the armor whenever I took that form, meaning that either I let the scales go, and probably end up with numerous damaged and broken ones. That would essentially result in my having to shift to a completely new form, even if it took on the same appearance, and making the smallest movements and shifts across the whole set of scales more difficult.

In other words, I decided that taking time to buff the smallest scratches now would mean less hassle later, when seconds could mean life or death. Chainsaw hadn't been hard, as far as enemies went, and though I had defeated much worse easily, I figured it was in large part due to my attention to detail, like this. So, I buffed my scales.

All told, it took about two hours to completely remove the scratches. I decided to oil both arms, taking particular care with the bony protrusions protecting my joints. It was another time-consuming chore that only really made sense when it had been neglected. Bits of dried skin stuck between the scales didn't tend to build up much, but it was another annoyance that I liked to nip in the bud. Scale dandruff was an unpleasant itch. Wouldn't do to be seen as anything less than omnipotent in the ring with someone.

I spent the next couple days doing pretty much nothing. I'd wake up (I'd gotten much more comfortable with the thought that Tau could potentially kill me in my sleep), work out, and eat. I determined that bathing could wait until Tau was gone and I had a little more privacy. On the plus side, with all the free time, my scales wound up getting plenty of grooming.

My manager contacted me twice about prospective matches. I made it a habit to never look into my enemies ahead of time, so after accepting both (one for the day after the heist, the other for mid next week), I settled back into the regular monotony of life. It was interesting how quickly I adapted to another person being in my life after all those years. Almost scary, in a way. Tau showed up out of the blue, and the next thing I knew, he was an ordinary, established point in life. Surprisingly enough, his company was actually tolerable, if not welcome at times.

The morning of the main event, I woke up as normal, pored myself some cereal to go with my mostly-brown avocado, and was abruptly confronted by Tau's judgement.

"You need to shower. People who work in offices like this don't tend to smell like the sewer."

"It's just a storm sewer, there's nothing nasty down here."

"Other than you, that is," Tau muttered, shooting me a look to ensure I heard it. He handed me a bag with the disguise, and vacated the area so I could freshen up. I made him promise to take at least an hour.

With Tau finally gone, I filled a metal bucket with water and took a cold sponge bath, complete with hand soap, as the normal stuff had run out. Overcoming challenge was a bit of a habit of mine.

When I'd toweled off, I investigated the new items. A navy-blue pantsuit, made from some tacky material that would probably snag and rip at some crucial moment, a keycard with a face that vaguely resembled my own, and a pair of wire-rimmed, rectangular glasses. I twisted my hair into a bun on top of my head, hoping it looked better than it felt, and proceeded to prepare for crime. At least I'd be doing something, instead of sitting around bored.

Tau returned far before his hour was up, looking a bit stressed. "We need to get moving. My source says the office is opening soon, and if you miss the early rush, you'll be a lot more conspicuous." He seemed to take in my appearance for the first time, glance hovering on my hair for a second too long.

"It's bad," I surmised, glancing upward to indicate the failed attempt.

"Terrible. Come here." I grudgingly obliged, turning around so he could fix it. I could feel his fingers carding through it, untangling snarls. Maybe I should have put some conditioner in it when I got clean. "God, what did you do to your hair?"

"It's what I didn't do," I stated, turning partially over my shoulder.

"Hold still, this is hard enough already," Tau said. He seemed to be braiding my rat's nest of oily black hair. I sat still, trying not to react. I didn't just let people get this close to me. Oh, well. I could still kill him if I started feeling threatened. "Hair tie," he stated, holding out his hand. I obliged. "Alright, see how this looks."

Tau handed me a pocket-sized mirror. I had to admit the braid hid how unkempt my hair was. "Why does my hair even matter?"

"You need to blend in completely. Now come on, we have to leave. It's fifteen minutes to nine." I didn't object, though this was far too much to be happening before coffee.