Black. Cold. Darkness.

Was this death? It seemed plausible, but what did she know. It's true, she would be lying if she said she had never thought about death. That it hadn't been a constant companion prickling at the edges of her consciousness with sweet promises of the fruit to be devoured in the Underworld. It was a temptation so delicious. Something that promised to be tasty and appeared beautiful and inviting until that first bite. Then it would snap shut the gates, leaving one with just the reaper as a friend. Thoughts of ending it were like the skitters of a dream she couldn't remember upon waking up.

It...that so forbidden word of taboo. It as though not saying the word made it go away. People had to label everything. It made them think they had some semblance of control over this thing they gave a word to. Yet they shied away from their precious words when it was awkward for them. It's not polite to use that word.  It made people uncomfortable. It was worth far more society's swear jar than an actual swear. All things considering, it was a miracle mental illness had progressed at all when some of the very words associate with it were bad. It was hard to communicate without words. So that word, that scream for help, remained unheard because it was never allowed to be said.

Suicide.

It wasn't like Rene had ever actually wanted to die. But it was always that hidden backdoor out the game. It offered a quick cheat to end the pain. Cheaters never prosper though...it wasn't a win. It was a loss against a world that never let up. When the world beats someone for a long enough, it's hard to pry back off the pavement. It's hard to see another way to cross that finish line. There are no short-cuts in life. There are no easy ways out. An unfinished game leaves a resounding mark on the world, so many cards un-turned and pieces just tipped over on the board. It wasn't even quitting, it was true and utter loss to the game. It's the disappearance of a player...an ally...a rival...a friend. Death and its embrace was always waiting with wide open arms. Perhaps, it would be someone always waiting by her side. Cheering from the sidelines with its promises, but never fulfilling. Death was a loss for everyone.

The vast darkness blanketed her in its smothering embrace. It was like building a fort as a kid, blanket, sand, snow and suddenly having it all come crashing down on her. It was the ultimate buried alive by something of her own creation. She had played her hand in this only to have it all come tumbling down. She shouldn't have been surprised, people fell often enough in nursery-rhymes. Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, even the baby in the cradle...speaking of who in their right mind decided that was a good song to sing to little children...still everyone fell into darkness. Rene had just finally caught up to the song to slip into hers.

She wasn't afraid of death. She probably should be, someone like her certainly wasn't going to be in good graces with the man upstairs. No she wasn't afraid of death. She was terrified of disappearing. She was scared of oblivion, of shutting off with a flip into black. Nothing more of Rene.

Did she do it? Had she succeeded in remaining alive long enough for Kai to burn the place to the ground? The questions left unanswered bound her tightly, cocooning her in the unknown. So this was the end...darkness.

"Rene."

The word...her name found its way into the black. It held hope and promise within the oblivion. She wasn't nothing, wasn't no one.

"Rene, come on you got to wake up."

"Please, please wake up."

"If you don't wake up this moment, I'll start crying and you'll make my makeup run and you know how much of a monster I look like then." A chocking sob found her in the black, pulling at some deep part of her heart. "Then you'll really have a reason to keep your eyes closed."

Those voices, she recognized them. The cocoon unfurled, releasing wings into the dark. A feeling of escape and freedom, pattered anxiously in her chest.

"Let's go Sparky. Come on girl."

"She's not a dog."

"What don't like dogs Stick? That's a bit ironic, though I suppose playing fetch isn't for everyone."

"What?"

"Hey I'm not judging or anything, in fact I think it's great."

"What? What does that even mean?"

"I don't know I was actually hoping you'd tell me." The voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "I may not have ever gotten the birds and the bees talk."

Idiots. The thought though was brushed with a happiness of pleasure in hearing them, these voices, even arguing. A sense of warmth radiated through her as the wings fully emerged. They danced her in the darkness, spending big beats of delicate wings towards the voices. Tendrils unwrapped from within the black. They gripped her tight, a butterfly in a cage, dragging her deeper into the murk.

Open your eyes Fledgling.

Suffocating black. The Underworld had come to claim its prize. The girl who had never really lived in the first place. The survivor of a cruel world. The insane girl. The bearer of ink.

Now is not your time to die Fledgling. We still have much left to burn.

The coils burst into crackling flames. A sparkler being burned down to its base, they retreated leaving Rene free. She swirled to look into the darkness. Its promise of numb and finality, no more fighting or pain. It would all be over. The world waiting for her would not be a pleasant one. She was so tired of everything. Life continued to throw the worse of the worst at her. The author of her story was no friend to her. The heroine was supposed to get their happily ever after as a reward for saving the day and completing the quest. Yet, her fairy tale just seemed to get worse and worse. There was no end in sight...except this one.

Hooks lashed out, sinking deep into her flesh and trapping her. This time she didn't fight it. She felt the wings be literally ripped from her body with nothing but numbness. There was nothing left to be written in her story. Here would be her fin.

"Rene, no! Please come back!"

"Rene you need to keep fighting! What happened to the girl to stubborn to die?"

"Fight back Rene, you've seen worse than this."

"Don't you dare die on me Firecracker."

Rene fell, deep down into the rabbit hole, at the bottom awaited her resigned fate. The reaper was waiting with open arms to catch and steal her away.

"Rene!"

Her hand reached out, flailing until it found a grip in the darkness. She jerked to an halt, her tendons screaming to pop her shoulder out of its socket. It was probably good she was a phantom-thing or it would have. She looked down into the pit. A tiny speck of light flickered at the bottom. Human eye could see a candle mile away in complete darkness.

"I'm not ready to die yet. The only way to lose is to quit."

She swung her face into the side, reaching up to cling with her other hand. A inhuman shriek of anger echoed up from the pit. The force of sound waves leaving her pressed flat into the side. Her muscles shook and ached, wanting to give up. Once the sound stopped though, Rene pulled herself up. One hand and foot in front of the other, on the world's most weird and supernatural climbing wall. A change shifted through the darkness as a presence shifted. Rene looked back down to see the light growing quickly towards her. Well then, this took "don't go into the light" to a whole new level.

The light rose. It was a high tide coming to drown her. Rene scrambled, her feet and hands a mess of appendages. Rene barely managed to haul herself up and roll over the edge before the light erupted out a geyser of glowing death. Her breathing was labored as she laid staring up into the dark. A small red ruby appeared glowing like a star in the night. It bobbed closer and closer in the abyss.

Karo landed before her, his hulk blending into the surroundings.

"Are we done playing now Fledgling?"

"Me?" She grinned, an edge sharpened by the ordeal. "Never."

Blood slugged through her veins and a heart thumped its off time rhythm in her chest. One heartbeat, two heartbeats. She sucked in a painful breath, burning its way down her throat into her lungs. Call it a miracle, call it stupidity, but either way she was alive.

"Rene!" Cassie blubbered over her. Mascara and everything else washing down her face, as she descended upon Rene for a crushing hug.

"Ow...careful Cass." Rene patted the small pink head awkwardly, listening to her spurt apologies and prayers of thanks and everything else in-between in her delirium.

"You had us scared there for a bit." Danny laughed in relief.

Declan stepped forward, gently prying Cassie off Rene. "You never cease to impress me Rene."

She smiled limply, all she could manage.

"I never had any doubts. Sparkles here is a fighter."

Rene coughed, balking at him and his smirk. "Sparkles?"

Michael back away from her swinging range. "Heard it as soon as I said it, it will never happen again. Don't hit me." He rubbed his arm, giving her big puppy dog eyes. "You got a mean left hook for such a skinny girl."

A smack still caught him, up backside the head from Lora, who entered the room. "Yeah and until she is well enough for that, I will be helping out keep you in line."

A sheepish smile crept across Michael's face while he rubbed his head. Lora came forward watching her with those steely eyes that saw everything.

"How are you doing?"

"I've had better days." She started to shrug before feeling a pinch in her shoulder. Rene twisted her head to see stitches, binding together the bullet hole.

"Don't worry, it got pulled out first."

"Souvenir?" Michael held it up with a grin.

"What kinda souvenir is a bullet?"

"The best kind. Some day when you are old and gray, you can pull out this bullet to show your great grandchildren and tell them the same story they've heard a million times about your battle scars."

The eye roll was practically muscle straining in its exaggeration. Rene pushed herself up more to take in her surroundings. Sitting next to her was the metal table, her blood still dripping off the edges occasionally onto the floor. Rene bit her lip, retaining the bile burning her throat. Raising her arm, she inspected the tube and needle inserted into her body.

"Blood transfusion, you had lost far too much. However," Lora went over and opened a refrigerator to reveal bags of blood hanging. "The doctor apparently was in not going to let you die anytime soon from that reason."

"You're lucky Lora had done some time serving. She was an assistant to the battlefield doctor when she first got of school." Declan voiced giving her a serious scolding tone.

The room cracked and quaked, obviously unstable.

"I believe that's our cue to skedaddle."

"Driving!" Danny shouted running towards a massive vehicle in the wall.

Rene blinked uneasily, she had been sure she had been dreaming that part, but no her friends had seriously driven a tank type vehicle through a wall.

Michael took off after Danny, his long legs easily catching up. "Hey, no fair I called it first."

"Both of you get in the back right now." Declan growled at the shoving pair.

"Gez someone doesn't understand the sanctity of dibs."

Cassie and Lora helped her into a standing position. An un-voiced question reflecting in both their eyes.

"I'm fine."

That lie that came so naturally tumbled out, "I'm fine". Another crash followed by a rush of the stench of charred debris. For the embodiment of order, Kai was certainly dealing his fair share of destruction.

Sometimes things need to be broken down for order to be reestablished.

Coming from you, that's a bit ironic.

Unlike you Fledgling, I understand the need for balance within this world.

You're just jealous your not the one doing it.

A snort bounced around in her head, she could help cracking a tiny smile at it. The word still whispered its promising in the back of her mind. Caresses and temptations of nothingness, she feared it would never leave her...but as she watched her friends shove each other by the vehicle. She knew the pain would not be the reason she quit, if only to not cause more to them.

"Out of the way boys. Shotgun is all me."

"My, my. Girl pulls a Snow White on us and thinks she's the new Queen of the jeep."

"Wait didn't Snow White get poisoned by an apple? Shouldn't she be more like Sleeping Beauty?" Danny paused in his shoving contest with Michael to contemplate.

Cassie hummed, jumping and swinging into the back like a child. "Sleeping Beauty got pricked by a spindle though. Besides, I always thought of Rene more of Nala."

"The lion?"

"Yeah, cause she's fierce and wild. Plus she always beats guys." Cassie winked with a laugh.

"Oh dear God." Rene muttered, getting into the front seat.

Declan rolled his eyes beside her before switching into reverse.

"Seat belts everyone, if we die today let us not say it was by something pathetic like lack of safety." Michael smirked.

The vehicle's wheels spun and bit deep into the rubble. Rene jerked about, wincing in pain as the dislodged from their parking in the wall. Declan backed up and idled a moment, he face passive as he turned to Rene. The question was evident in the air. Now what? The building crumbled and cracked with each battering by Kai as he did his own personal running of the dragons within, suppose it wouldn't be any fun if he did it alone. Rene reached down, tracing her exposed leg. At some point she had been changed into just a black tank top and shorts. It left her feeling very exposed and chills spread across her skin at the thought of what hands had touched her to do so. A shuffling could be heard briefly and then a rough cloth was shoved rather unceremoniously in her face to get her attention. Rene's eyes traveled up the hand to see Declan watching her. She grasped it, giving him a curt nod of thanks. Slipping the button-up on, she rolled down the sleeves to where they hung over her hands. Gez Declan was tall, but despite the awkward length she felt good, safer. Her skin was less on display. Her semblance of armor could be faked a bit better. Pale white hands clinched underneath the cuffs, inching for a fight.

Michael grinned, leaning forward between the front seats. "Tally-ho."

"Tally-ho." Rene nodded.

The jump back through the wall was much easier that time, at least she assumed. The vehicle attacked it, plowing through the rock and mess to drive deeper into the asylum. Declan took through the next wall with ease, bursting out the door and into the hall. Yanking the wheel sharply, they headed towards the sound of destruction.

"Why do they even have these off-road tanks?" Rene griped through gritted teeth. The vehicle, bounced and flew through the building of ruin, jousling her about, a rag doll just tagging along for the ride. Too bad she wasn't actually a rag doll, then maybe her body wouldn't feel like it was coming unstitched with every bump.

"We were told it was a precaution in case anyone ran." Lora was calm despite the ride. She had climbed into the trunk of the vehicle and had braced herself to limit movement. "However, it seems obvious now that was not the reason...well, at least not in case just anyone ran." Her steel eyes bore into her, not accusing just resonating the seriousness of the price on Rene's head, as if she didn't already know.

Rene bit her lip, turning back forward. Silence crept in to suffocate them. Nothing like reality to make tension.

"I have an idea! How about some tunes?" Without waiting for an answer, Michael scrambled forward. His body straining against the seat belt, to turn on the radio.

A crackling speaker flooded to life screeching out. "Who's that sexy thing I see over there? That's me standing in the mirror."

"No." Rene flicked it off.

"Aww, but that was my theme song...well of the week anyway. I'm way too good for just one."
Michael winked, before singing. "If I was you, I'd want to be me too."

A grunt escaped his lips as he flailed over backwards. Rene had shoved him back with her good arm. Because she was too distracted by his nonsense, when Declan slammed on the brakes, her face kissed the dash. More battle scars for Rene. She groaned, giving him a glare. Declan just stared though wide eye in front of them. A heat and flicker of light brought her gaze to the front. A jet of blue flames was skimming the grill of the vehicle. She supposed she could forgive Declan this once.

Scraping the door against the cement walls, Rene flopped out. She leaned into the wall and used it to propel herself forward.

"Now no one forget where we parked." Michael announced crawling out of the vehicle.

As the flame diminished, Rene pushed herself off, stumbling towards where she assumed Kai was. "Keep going without me. Make sure everyone is out of the building."

"Yeah cause that's going to happen Firecracker." Michael came up at her side, he tapped the hood of the vehicle as he went around it. No one else had gotten out though, at least someone knew how to listen.

Cassie blew them a kiss as they backed up and away, to head down another hall.

"Why'd it have to be you?" Rene sighed.

"Come on Sparky, who does want hot stuff like me on their side?" When she didn't respond, his face fell. "Look if this is about..."

She cut him off. "Yes, yes it is Michael." He grimaced at the use of his name instead of a nickname. "But fortunately for you," Rene reached down, calming her mind. "I don't have time to deal with it. I don't trust you Michael, but doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to turn away help." She played a tune across her skin, feeling deep into her mind for how she had done it last time. Karo's eager and twitching urge for a fight guided the way.

A large two sided, two-headed axe was peeled from her skin. It stood 6 feet tall and was imposing in all its glory. The razor black edges, gleamed in what was left of the lights. The axe was ready for war, but instead she leaned against it as a crutch.

"Really think you can use that thing in your condition?" Michael prodded. His voice was strained though and quiet, so unlike him.

"Well enough." She whispered. 

Hobbling along, they walked closer to the chaos. Kai came into view, a dazzling white river of power. He was swiping his tail through guards and firing flames through the building. Taking notice, a couple guards changed tactics running towards them instead guns raised. Micheal flicked his wrists, a wave a fire rushed forward to greet them. Kai's golden eyes meet hers, catching in the light of Michael's flames they shone brighter than an precious metal.

Rene breathed in unevenly. She wondered if she'd ever get over the see of seeing a dragon in the flesh instead of on her flesh. Michael shouted as she got slammed down. The axe pinwheeled across the floor. Small sparks could be seen dancing around it like a sparkler.

She had been kissing this stupid cement floor so often lately it was practically her boyfriend. Rene rolled over throwing an elbow into the pressure on her back. Heaving herself off the ground, Rene found herself standing face to face with Dr. Laurel. Damn, how had he not been barbecued by now? Not that he wasn't worse for wear, large gashes covered his body and gloppy rivers of inky-substance ran over him from his faux-veins. He kinda looked like a swamp monster.

"You." He hissed.

Electricity crackled in the air. A current alive with the anger of a mad man. Blue flickered in and out of the air, a light show on display. Rene dove, the pavement once again welcoming her with open arms. Lightning singed her hair, sparking it to life. The unpleasant incense of burnt hair aroma wafted through the air. Her pale hand, scrambled across the floor, swiping desperately to grab the axe. A shock streamed through her. Rene bucked and snapped against the watts. Her body curling in on itself, rolling back towards her attacker. Dr. Laurel's eyes flashed their unnatural blue casting neon lights.

"I will have your ink, even if I have to flay you for it."

"And I thought Jeffery Dahmer was creepy."

He smiled, his teeth even reflecting the bouncing dancing blue sparks. "Miss Sparks, don't insult me. I am a scientist not some murdering psychopath. Now, where were we?"