THE FIRST THREE fights in the arena flew past without a single hitch in the plan. Three agents from three separate fights got knocked out by their opponent, leaving their unconscious — but thankfully not dead — body to be dragged away from the ring and towards the infirmary.

Travis was excited. He had gone a long way since his arrival to this company and for months he trained with one of the most skilled in the entire organization. Dallas taught Travis everything he knew, hoping that one day it would protect him from any possible danger. However, Travis was planning to use his skills beyond self-preservation.

He was prepared to use his skills to kill. Unlike Leah, Travis didn't care if there was a crowd or not.

"Who even chooses the people for the matches?" At his side, Leah was going on and on about her own match for today. "Do they really expect me to fight Candice? We're best friends. And even if we aren't, I wouldn't be able to knock her out even if I wanted to. There wouldn't be much of a show to watch. Besides, we're supposed to be working right now. How does Julius Cain expect us to protect him and perform a show for him to watch at the same time?"

"You won your previous match by a large margin and everyone saw it," Travis reminded her. "They expect you to be good at what you do by now."

Their movements were quick, brother and sister shoving their way past the crowd and towards the ring.

"Candice taught me everything I know. She'll drop me to the ground in seconds. All the tricks I used in the previous match are hers!"

"Like you said, they want a show. So, just give them one," Travis replied nonchalantly. Truthfully, he wasn't even properly listening to Leah's complaints. He was too fixated on his own match up instead. "But it's still Candice you're fighting out there. You may be best friends but be careful not to let your guard down. She can pack a solid punch. Your cheeks will be bruising for days to come."

Nerves weren't the ones starting to fray in Travis's body. Rather, it was pure adrenaline. Leon Gray had killed his little sister and hell had offered a method of revenge in the form of this match. It was time to take revenge.

"Gee, thanks, Travis. I sure can't take care of myself despite how I was the one that rescued you when you got beaten up in various different alleys all those months ago," Leah sarcastically replied. She folded her arms across her chest, one eyebrow arched higher than the other as she sneered.

It was as if the air immediately softened after their playful exchange. Finally, a smile started to show on Travis's lips.

"Hey there, don't get cocky, alright? Besides, I would like to see those goons come at me now."

Tightening the laces of his boots, he rose back up and gave Leah a little supportive pat on the shoulder before the roaring crowd ushered him back to their current surroundings. His name flashed brilliantly across the jumbotron, signaling that it was the start of his match.

Weapons weren't allowed in the fight but Travis knew better than to miss the chance. Losing wasn't an option since he was a part of a bigger plan than just a simple fighting match for mere entertainment. His knuckles were bandaged up nicely with some gauze, just enough to hide the fact that he was wearing brass knuckles underneath. It was much sleeker than the usual ones, thin and yet pointed enough to break the skin if enough force was applied to it.

Just as planned, Julius Cain was up in the viewing box with little Markus safely out of sight with Devora and Nathan. Candice and Dallas were both with their superior, hidden behind the glass. Although if it were a usual day, Travis would've rushed to find Dallas to give him a reassuring smile, his eyes found Candice's directly this time.

Something was off about the girl. Travis had felt that way since days ago when Nathan and Devora had come forward to mention their assignment of protecting Julius Cain from imminent danger. Candice grew quieter after that and now, her posture was much more tense than usual. She was standing stiffly, not at all the usual agile fighting stance Candice took by habit.

There was definitely something up with her but Travis didn't have the time to think it through. There was a fight on his hands and it wasn't going to be a scuffle between kids in some forgotten alley in his hometown.

Leon Gray was every bit as menacing as he looked back in the forest all those months ago. Muscles bulged around his biceps and torso, multiplying his figure size into something much bigger and brawnier than mere skin and bones. From the last time Travis had seen him, Gray had gotten a few more scars on his body to add to his collection. A single line ran down his entire left arm, a near-perfect straight line as if it were from a surgical operation. His lips were split even though there was no blood, just as though the skin of his body was mended that way.

As if to show off his array of scars and tattoos, Leon Gray was dressed in a simple olive green tank top that looked ready to rip at the seams. It hugged his body so tightly that it displayed all of his muscles, perspiration darkening the color of the tank top in every crevice.

Such a privilege it would be for Travis to rid the world of this monstrosity.

"Look at you," Gray taunted, his crooked smile showing. "It had been some time since I last saw you and your little friends."

"I would say it's nice to see you again but my mother always taught me to never lie," Travis snarkily replied.

"Your mother... Yes..." Taking a few steps to encircle Travis, Gray smirked. The bell rang behind them, signaling the start of the fight. "I wonder how she would feel about her youngest lying on the forest bed. Her eyes glossed over and her body rotting for the animals to feed on."

At his words, Travis lost it.

He made the first move, jumping through the air as he tried to tackle Gray with a punch. However, Leon Gray was an experienced fighter that had seen years of trials. Compared to Travis, a young sprout that was starting to grow with the aid of the nourishing sun, Leon Gray was a tall tree that had withstood many storms and hailing rain. He saw Travis's attack coming. In fact, he was inciting it on purpose.

"You honestly think you can beat me?" Gray laughed, lunging forward at the same time to kick Travis. His knee hit Travis right in the gut and the teenager landed against the floor with a grunt of pain. "I was here years before you. All your tricks and skills practically descended from me. I have everything you have. I know everything you know." He leaned down, pressing one foot onto Travis's back to lock him on the floor as he mocked him right by his ear. "There's nothing you can one-up me with."

"You're wrong."

Reaching forward, Travis clenched his fist and punched Gray on the shin, causing the older man to stumble back with a surprised yelp. The metal beneath the cloth indented Gray's bones as a loud crack pierced through the air. As Leon Gray stumbled back, Travis took the chance to get back on his feet. He aimed a kick at Gray's chest, sending the stunned man back a few steps but not enough to knock him off balance completely.

"I have drive," Travis bit out, scowling. What he had was also a weapon to aid him in this fight but that was something Leon Gray would've to find out for himself through the hard way.

Lunging forward, Travis tackled Leon Gray to the ground successfully, pinning him down with his own body weight. He was hunched over Gray's figure, continuously pummeling the older man's scarred face as the latter raised his arms in a weak attempt to deflect the blows. Every three to four hits, Travis could hear the satisfying crunch of bones cracking under the force.

The skin on Gray's forearm, which he used to block Travis's hits from directly contacting his face, was starting to turn blue and black with the amount of blood running under. The bones had long broken, crippling most of Gray's energy as his arms fell limp to his side.

"You can't kill me," Gray spat out, blood dribbling from his lips right after Travis landed a blow on his cheekbone, significantly bruising the area. "This isn't a battle to the death."

"Too bad for you, Julius Cain promised me and my sister revenge for Tammy's death," Travis replied evenly. "I'm no longer one for the rules."

The audience went silent, all their breaths caught in their throats as they watched a teen that hadn't fully reached adulthood landing blow after blow on a bulky, fully-grown adult that was more than twice the former's size. Their eyes were wide when they realized that Leon Gray, a veteran in the company, had already gone limp. He laid there, his dead body taking each hit without a single movement other than his body's natural reaction due to physics whenever Travis landed another punch.

Travis Lane didn't stop his attack until he was sure he had split open Gray's skull. Blood was oozing out everywhere, dripping all over the floor and covering most of Travis's clothes when he had finally slowed down to a stop. Splatters of crimson red tainted his cheeks and he wiped it away from his thumb, lips slightly parted as he panted.

Gray's eyes were glossed over, just like Tammy's were back in the forest.

He had done it. He had killed an unbeatable. He had killed a killer.

Finally, Tammy can rest in peace knowing that her death had been avenged.

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