Trixi was ambling around the eerie quiet scene until the calm was disrupted by a deep, rumbling sound in the background. The noise became deafening, breaking out across the skies and seemed to roar around her. Gradually billows of thick, white smoke started to float off the top of the mountain area she was currently traveling in as she looked to the source. The only thing on her mind was pretty simple: time to get the hell out of here. Running down hill was easy as she navigated through the various tropical greenery, each anchored in place within the dark loam soil enriched, and made a beeline for the most likely safe haven.

At the bottom she had reached a huge, metal door. Grinding to a complete stop by pushing down her back heel and barely winded, Trixi stopped to study it closely. Compared to herself, she was suddenly aware of how small she was. It was more rattling then she expect it might be. It was undeniably another arena when she noticed the metal doors shudder and start to pry themselves open during her presence.

Fear, always deeply rooted in human nature, filled Trixi at seeing them come to life and likely holding death beyond. She wondered in a mixture of dread and curiosity who it could be within it. Who had managed to survive this long within the mountain’s trials? Pushing aside the phantom memories from her last fight, the shrine's monks almost perfect at their repairing the wounds gained during the match, she held her thick jacket close like a flimsy shield. She knew she had little to worry about due to the rune on her body but death, even temporary, wasn’t something any living creature would enjoy the pleasure of experiencing.

Not if they were sane.

While the steel doors gradually revealed the barren landscape and its heated breath washing down her figure, Trixi mentally took stock of her equipment while she walked inside. Her weapons included: fifteen total kunai, each she personally arranged to a style she could memorize with four knives in front, five connected to a metal ring like a keychain-attached by magnets- with about fifty yards of wiring divided among them, six blades in back, and the extra surplus wiring bundled up on the side and finally her batons at her hip sides.

First thing she realized was that it was hot as hell when she entered the sauna like environment. Her feet stopping just six steps from the door as it locked her inside. Her hand immediately started to open the jacket’s zipper while her eyes sought her opponent, immediately regretting it when she found him.

“Has anyone ever told you, stuff like that could blind people? Put at least a loin cloth or something to cover that thing for Christ’s sake!” Trixi snapped in a loud, grossed out tone. In pure instinct, her hand jerked up to shield her eyes from the butt naked man squatting before her. Of course she would get the barbarian next...he possibly could’ve grossed his opponent into defeat. With the competition dwindling, her choices for opponents would’ve had them cross paths at some point during the tourney.

Still trying to avoid the image burning in her head-there was only one man she ever wanted to see naked and he was back in her own dimension- she noted the lacking equipment and clothing piled up nearby. It confused her for a moment. Then Salem’s voice edged into her attention, his voice sweet as poisoned honey and coaxing her into attacking with the guy’s pant literally down. Or in this case, off.

She shook the thoughts away, her other hand finishing zipping down the jacket the rest of the way to cool her off. Part of her was considering stripping down to her sports bra and cutting her pants into shorts, but quickly dismissed the idea. As easy it might’ve to attack him right now, her last opponent making her more cautious this time, Trixi’s heart coiled in distaste at the idea of playing dirty. Life and death was one thing when she knew her adversary wouldn’t, but competition, despite the result, should be at least fair for both.

“So, I got you then?” She asked loud enough for him to hear without straining her voice, pausing to sigh then added more. She kept her eyes averted to give him some modesty, even if he didn’t care for it or it risked him attacking her with he guard down. With that notion, her right hand drifted to her side where she could easily snag a throwing Kunai or her baton for a quick defense. “Name’s Trixi and how do you want to do this fight? Bare hands, weapons or what?”

Trixi, inwardly, hated her sense of fair play some times.

It took Trixi a moment to translate, at least crudely, what the man had stated. Her head tilted in confusion for a moment while she ticked through what she assumed was gibberish and realized he was answering her last question, instead of considering her request earlier. She sighed quietly at the display but concluded he wasn’t going to make this easy. This meant she wasn’t required to hold back either as she pulled down her jacket further off her shoulders, discarding the dropped item with her right foot into the nearest wall.

She didn’t want the jacket overheating her during the match, her skin feeling the heat brushing against her skin while the magma pools casted them both in an orangish light. The lacking of it also increased her mobility in her arms. Trixi was hoping, deep in her mind, she wasn’t going to regret removing her jacket later if this large guy pulled a blade from somewhere unexpected like the last one. Through being naked made that very, very hard.

Inhaling slowly, Jake’s, her martial arts instructor, voice rang in her mind for the first time since this competition started. "The second you hesitate is the second you die. You must never hesitate." he said in a serious tone, reminding her that just because this man was unarmed didn’t mean he was helpless.

Besides, her last fight against the ‘werewolf’ in a man’s skin proved not everyone was as they seemed in this tournament.

Caution on her mind, her right hand reached for one of her batons. She slipped it through the straps, and grasped the handle before she pulled it out of the holder and snapped it out to its full length. She left her other hand open however. “Alright, let’s get this over with then.”

She saw little point in talking anymore causing her to move instead. Her right foot pulled forward as she started to cut the distance down in a steady walk toward Gonad, decreasing the 5 ½ yards between them at her own pace. Her body trying to keep a far distance between the pit's wall and the magma pool bubbling nearby. Trixi’s hands began to charge with her electrical energy, her eyes pulsed with excitement and promise of pain caused her to smirk. She let the faint, pleasant tingling start down her arm, focused into her palms, and then her fingers where if it was allowed to continue would create a charge in her left hand and the baton for later use.

Trixi’s face held a determination, her mind continually adjusting the proportion difference between them, as she kept walking. Her heart thumping excitedly, her breath quick and quiet, and her fingers tingling more fiercely with each step. Boots felt little resistance against the smooth arena causing her to note the lacking pebbles that would normally be found in a landscape like this. On drawing closer several details from the distance were made very clear to her.

First off, his size. Large and tall would’ve been hard pressed to carry Gonad’s size. His hips coming to just somewhere below her chest but still high on her torso. It was pretty obvious he was way out of her normal weight class. Trixi was feeling more and more like the biblical figure David. The brave, little shepherd boy taking on the giant, Goliath, at Sokoh. Gonad was over 6 foot for sure but until she got within his range, she wouldn’t be able to make accurate estimates unlike ‘wolfie’ in her earlier match. There was no doubt in her mind that the man was huge, even by human standards, making her suspect he might’ve had some giant within his lineage somewhere. Not a surprised, she realized now, considering his behavior since the shrine and they weren’t known for their hygiene or manners.

Next were the scars lining his body. This altered the image and made him more of an old lion who had won many fights, causing her paranoia to kick up another notch and definitely not to underestimate him. Even a dumb creature can be a challenge to beat when they were an unbeaten victor because something had to help them win in the end. If she was sloppy, this was assuming he depended a great deal more on strength than speed, that little talk wasn’t likely to happen. Win or lose, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

Trixi smirked briefly at a phrase fitting to this situation fluttering in her mind, her walking slowed even more when he came into strike range. It might've seemed like she was hesitating due to his size but she wasn't. This gave her briefly enough time to brace herself for what seemed liked an incoming left hook at her face. Her eyes watched his left hand cock back and seemed ready to strike, a simple but effective move should it hit. If the punch extended past Gonad's shoulder a few inches and appeared to be dedicated to the motion, the woman reacted on instinct and muscle memory to counter it.

Trixi would’ve moved to the right of the man’s extending arm, ended up on its outside, with her right foot leading which would've allowed her head to avoid his fist by a few inches. Her left foot-in the same well practiced movement- would've followed in behind at an angle, her dodge making one side of a V if seen above with the bottom being her start point. Her feet darted across the smooth surface and didn’t leave the ground far when she took a step deeper into his range. At the same time should his arm carry out his attack fully then his arm would be extended to her far shoulder's left. It would the moment just before when her weapon aimed to come up and then smack at the radius and ulna bones within the forearm. She wouldn’t be able to reach his head and doing so would’ve been too risky. It was best to damage what was closest rather than open herself up for an attack by overextending her reach. Despite her base strength being lower than Gonad (she assumed), the combination of the baton being solid, its weight and her force put behind it might been enough to heavily damage, or more likely break, the bones should it make impact.

However, this early she could easily adapt her moves if needed at any point during her counter. Though it would only happen when he extended his fist far enough. He still had his other arm after all and she wasn’t about to let her guard down, her unarmed ‘guardian’ hand rested defensive around her chest level should/when his attack had been set into motion.

Why was it always hard to use a stealth attack against someone who fought Demons?

The answer was pretty much simple: Demons never played fair in a fight. There was never one instance Trixi ever recalled she had met a fair and honorable demon, one that was bent on playing by the rules and never took a cheap shot any chance they got. Never lowered their own strength or speed to play around their prey’s level, never played with the same number of limbs, and never revealed all their tricks or not use them. These experiences were enough to force her to make sure she capitalized on speed. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been here. If a hunter wasn’t careful, they were going to end up split from groin to chest or punched by an extra limb materializing from nowhere. This experience increased her awareness about her target’s movements, extra limbs or not, and her mind processed it faster then she should’ve been able. Though she hoped he couldn’t materialize a limb somewhere from space then again… it shouldn’t surprise her if he did.

If Trixi had time to shudder and recall her past, she would’ve when it came to the Djinn hunt.

Pain was the best teacher of all to be cautious and something Trixi experienced well during that time, enough near death experiences and broken bones to never make the same mistake twice. She didn’t know all the tricks but it wasn’t hard to tell when one was coming or an attack was off, then guess at the nature of why. This made calling bluffs worth it. She was a squishy human after all so speed and endurance became her bread and butter. So as long so as she had space to move, she would use it.

At the start, they had been facing each other and almost lined up perfectly before the match progressed. Now their positions had changed based on their actions. When Gonad’s punch came out, edging past the shoulder, Trixi’s right leg stepped to the punch’s outside and brought herself to her foe’s left side, lining on the side of his planted feet. Her torso was angled at / with her left foot back and her right forward. This gave her enough space between his arm and her body to lash out with her baton without being too deep into his range. It also allowed for a quick retreat. Her eyes hadn’t moved from their forward position which was raised to look in his eyes, taking in account his body and see movements without ever moving her head. Unlike Gonad, her vision wasn’t a tunnel.

One problem happened. His arm wasn’t where it was suppose to be.

Her baton had already risen to strike only to have nothing to hit when he veered his punch the other opposite way, his voice giving a sound huff in his effort to speed along. Exposing his back… One thing Trixi learned, no matter how subtle you made your moves, there was always a tell in the body and it helped Trixi was usually on guard for an extra movement somewhere she wasn’t looking. A tail or extra arm mostly. In this case there was too much weight on the left side for a backhanded fist even with the left hook. Instinctively she there had to be an attack from below, recalling how often a tail had flickered out to wrap about her left leg or stabbed her into chest, and prompted a reaction at the last moment.

Her left leg moved to the right, bring it more parallel to her right. This brought her torso to let the back spinning kick- aimed likely for her abdomen middle if he intended to send her flying and not spinning like a top to the ground- almost skim her surface and brush by. If he continual through with the move that is. Unless Gonad was putting every ounce of his kinetic energy through an ability into his kick that she knew nothing, even with the power force of a cannon ball passing over her surface and skimming wouldn’t break all the bones in her body. It would be painful as hell, taking layers of skin and damaging/seriously bruising muscle and even mostly likely knocking her on her ass. With his strength in mind, her baton hand jerked downward in reflex. It was angling from a right direction (where she held after his punch went left) in hopes to either alter the giant’s mind into stopping the attack or shift where he was targeting even more from her body and damage his leg while he had tried to send her flying. If it hit, the impact on a normal human could fracture bone and limit mobility when Gonad applied weight on it the next time.

Though she had went on the offense and managed to avoid the attack, Trixi was still well aware of the guy’s other limbs making her slightly edgy and ready to adapt. Including beating a hasty retreat.

Trixi noticed his foot didn’t stop even as her baton was coming down, aimed for the knee section and in an attempt to keep his kick from hitting. She didn’t like the fact he had no self preservation instincts to protect his limbs, making her wonder how he had lived so long.

Already her hip had tilted to avoid the kick, bring her hip to the side, yet his foot was still coming. Through the move seemed to have altered from its original path. At first, Trixi assumed, it appeared to have been heading toward her abdomen but now… it was shifting down. Changing into a step rather than a kick with the leg pulling downward, not upward to meet her baton half way. With his step back, the foot’s location would’ve been just line up with her left foot’s inside nearly stepping on her toe if he had more reach. Each movement he made controlled far more than humanly possible. Like some unseen puppet master was pulling Gonad’s strings and toying with her.

The woman already her baton set in motion when Gonad’s leg came out and started to shift back, unable to stop it since she didn’t have the refine control he did. Stopping them was much harder than simply shifting the focus and power behind it.Her actions shifted to putting distance between him and her now, her muscles adjusting the weight back instead of into her arm. Her right foot shifted to push off and trail back to her left one, skirting the ground in a slight shuffle movement, then repeat like a boxer backing off a punch. If uninterrupted she would pull about two steps back and out of Gonad’s range of his open handed back. With her focus into back off, her arm’s power decreased through the movement wasn’t stopped. If it still hit, an unlikelihood, than it wouldn’t have shattered bone. At worse it would’ve bruised or caused friction damage along the meaty area of his lower calf, something more painful than crippling, at least likely for someone of Gonad’s control.

Gonad’s turn slowed, just like before when he originally wound up, causing Trixi to expect the worse. When his body leaned backwards and stepped, she was already increasing her pedal backwards to another step. While the man’s arms might’ve been out of reach, his legs weren’t yet and would likely edged into a low or roundhouse kick she guessed. Something she wasn’t clearly ready to counter against. Already a ferocious roar screamed in her ears causing her to flinch and react at seeing something move at her right side suggesting her assumption was right.

When her baton cleared Gonad’s leg, she kept it moving as she lowered her arm to sweep the baton around and hopefully catch his leg. While it might’ve not stopped it, it might at least use his own force to damage it for her. Putting them both on even ground in the fight. She was already imagining the results in slow motion in her mind. From the moment he nailed her leg to her crippling fall, knocking her breath out and leaving her to be finished off. One thing was clear… a blow like that she wasn’t going to be able to use her leg afterwards even with the hit softened. Just as she expected his leg to come around and finish this, his leg never slammed into her and instead he bellowed a loud “BOO!”.

Trixi jerked as if Gonad had slapped her. Her heart was jumping into her throat and lungs heaving, pouring more air into her adrenaline fueled system, and even her eyes were closed so not witness the aftermath. It took her a moment or two to realized what had happened. Gently her eyes peered open and looked at the shit eating grin Gonad’s mug had, irritation and relieve twisted in her at his little stunt. Finally settling her heart down enough to speak, Trixi’s body lifted then relaxed into a neutral stance through it was ready in the event he decided to take advantage. There was about a foot or more between the two, considering Trixi had taken about a 2-3 step back retreat unless stopped, around the time Gonad screamed boo. Truthfully, it nearly made her piss her pants.

“Not funny asshole!” She snapped with irritation though her lips had a hint of smirk on them. Inhaling to calm her rattled nerves, she then continued letting her hands rest at her side. “I’ll tell you what. How about we make this match a bit more… spar friendly? Personally, I’m not a fan of broken bones and I’m pretty sure you might not be either.”

Not believing what she was to suggest, Trixi continued-unless interrupted- as the visibility seemed to drop abruptly. “Instead of us both crippling each other, then about a pure melee match? If one of us hits the other’s chest than the loser forfeits and we leave without too much damage. Through there’s two conditions: You’re going to have to aim not to break my bones or send me flying with one hit. In exchange, I won’t use any weapons or extra abilities. Sound fair? ”

The whole time, Trixi thought she was honestly crazy. She wasn’t worried about herself beating the guy up as much as him crushing her to a pulp, a fact that wasn’t pleasant to think about. Giving Sam the excuse to lecture her while he patched her up was the last thing on her list and the only reason she considered suggesting this was because the guy could’ve easily won with a roundhouse or low kick at her calf. Yet he didn’t oddly. There was still a doubt in her mind he would agree or even consider her offer, let alone understand it. Her nerves on edge the whole time, she was prepared to react accordingly to his actions. If he attacked, she would dodge and counter. If he accepted, then she would remove her belt quickly and discard it to the side before beginning the match again with more vigor.

The ball was in Gonad’s court.

A slight relief washed over Trixi at the acceptance, through she hoped he knew exactly what would be suitable. His loud response made her smile and hint of excitement flashed through her eyes. Her hand shoved her baton quickly into her holster where she latched it on tightly then quickly unstrapped the belt. It dropped to the ground where she kicked it gently to the side, sliding it across to the wall where it was forgotten. Part of her was screaming at how stupid she was being and for trusting a man who might easily adjust his levels, possibly killing her in the same instance should she be winning.

Then again, maybe the adrenaline pulsing through her system was really driving her mad. It wouldn’t have been the first time and if things go wrong and he broke his word, she could fall back on her taser ability. Though she didn’t realize it had a chance of not having as much of an effect as she was hoping for. Inhaling a deep breath and steadying her heart beat, her feet spread out, her voice warning him before hand in the sport of fairness. “Ready or not, here goes nothing.”

Without another word, Trixi’s right foot moved forward. She had raised her hands to her chest earlier before she took off and when she approached within range, her right hand pulled out to punch his left side at an angle like a boxer testing his opponent range. Her left foot pulling her momentum back enough so she wouldn't end up smacking into him.

Originally this was a test.

If he attacked, she was willing to block it this time. Even if Trixi hit, she was pretty sure, even at full strength, her attacks bare handed wouldn’t break his thick muscled limbs. Mainly since the muscle would cushion it and absorb the impact to only make it sting slightly if she was lucky. It was why she relied so heavily on her baton with much larger opponent. The steel was easier on her hand and it increased her offense.

Through her movements didn’t show hesitation, her eyes held a hint of worry over whether trusting him. After all, she had trusted Salem once and it nearly killed her.

As to her agreement, her taser ability wasn’t active or charging in anyway. In addition, her knives and batons were set to the side and there was little chance to get to them in any fashion without making it clear she was going back on her word. Something she wasn’t intending to. Whatever happened… she would fully accept the end result and try to change it into her favor.

@Doc Doctor

Some people just bashed away at a problem using the same exact tactic over and over. They would never realized how pointless it was, merely expecting the move to work at some point and become a solution, rather than a crippling weakness. In the past Trixi had been one such individual. Until her life changed and her mentality no longer helped her, instead it often left her broken along some rain soaked ditch. Still, old habits die hard. So her process of learning had been gradual but her continual need to face and smack a problem in her way, usually upside the head, had never really went away. That’s not to say something her mentality didn’t adapt, her bullheadedness sometimes working in her favor.

Trixi was doing what seemed to be a right, straight punch to the giant’s side. When his hand lifted up to his face, her mind imagined the hand whipping out and over her outstretched arm, planting the hit right into her face side. The impact would likely send her straight into the ground with a daze and a headache at least, stopping her from getting upright for a long time. Trixi wasn’t lying when she was willing to block but it didn’t mean she would instantly. It didn't help that doubt lingered there in definitely at the man’s merits. Her trust was a difficult thing to both earn and apply, always had been due to fear of making the same mistake. When her weight applied to her rear foot, she adjusted it closer to her right foot for balance as she extended her arm for the punch. To Gonad, or at least anyone normal, she looked like she was about to take the knockout punch instead of reconsider her options.

This wasn’t the case this time.

Taking an obvious leaf from Gonad’s book, her arm bent at the elbow and turned into a hook shot that fell short of her target on purpose. It seemed she might’ve changed her mind after all as this would happen should his fist had punched and made it past her arm, aimed directly for her face. Immediately her head pulled to the side, tilting backward some, where she would possibly feel his fist graze her skin soon. But didn’t it impact directly. Her hips twisted when she felt his hand about to brush her skin, pulling her head away while she let it skim off. From his point of view it would’ve seen like he hit her dead on and her own stupidity had gotten her KOed. She doubted this would fool Gonad.

Meanwhile, her weight fell to the ball of her left foot while her right leg came up just when Gonad's fist nearly carried out its extension all the way to her face. If successful, and nothing changed or affected this, her kick would be directed at his upper torso side likely around his ribcage. A deep instinct stirred at the possibility he might actually grab on to her foot with either his right or left hand then crush it with a single reflex. If that happened, would prove her trust was ill placed, she thought with a sicken dread.

@Doc Doctor

What was Sam thinking putting her into this?

It wasn't the first time this thought had brushed Trixi’s mind briefly throughout her time in this tourney. It was basically screaming when Gonad stepped forward and applied his weight, her eyes widen when she felt the giant advance. She was beginning to think Sam was crazier than she originally gave him credit for pushing her into this. Even worst of all, she was acting like an idiot herself and she tossed out the kick. She had made the biggest rookie mistake of all, miscalculating her options. Something she should never have done. Now she was forced to accept the end result because her own doubt and worry had rattled her ability.

Too late to adapt, she was now forced to roll with the punches. Literally. Being on one leg, she was unable to adjust her weight as her foot carried through with the kick and Gonad pushed her back. When she was first introduced to fighting, there was one thing she was made to memorize: how to fall with the least amount of damage. The moment her body’s delicate balance toppled, she fell hard on her back and smacked against the hard ground, where she rolled about a foot or more away. Edging upright, her body curled to get upright, her distance from the man about three to four of her steps away.

Through she pretty much unharmed, the humiliation was more than enough to slice her inwardly. In Gonad’s counters, she felt like a novice learning to fight again and that was enough to win from her past experiences. Now she was starting to understand why David used a sling instead of his fists. At the sign of her weakness, Salem’s mocking voice serged to the surface. His tone and words wounding her pride even more.

'Humans are so...cute.’His grinning, horned face floated in her head while she tried to catch her breath and came to her feet. The same words he uttered when she demanded he explanation for trying to kill her. 'Ever wondered why I built you up over our years together, only to kill you? Like most humans, the tastiest are those who believe they are stronger than they really are. Those foolish enough never to accept their fate and just give up. That’s why I choose you… it seems it was too easy too.'

Trixi forced herself to ignore the aches littering her surface as they quickly dulled, her eyes fixed on the massive man before with a set jaw. She spoke again. “Don't you realize you still need to touch my chest to win, or wasn’t I clear on that?”

Her body pushed to the balls of her feet as she noted the visibly was getting fainter, the heat faded but the steam blanket grew thicker little by little. She estimated that at some point they wouldn’t be able to see each other. That would make it impossible for either of them to continue the fight. Wondering if he knew this or not, her feet planted firmly on the balls as her hands held up just under her face in wait. She been going on the offensive most the fight, maybe it was time for a different approach.

Trixi’s ankle was easily snagged as she lashed out, feeling Gonad easily gripping the next in his mitt like hands. Her back smacked onto the ground as she felt herself flipped over, her back bent in nearly half when he pulled backwards. Pain flared into her muscles while she bite own her on lip to prevent a scream from erupting from her voice and her fingers clawed into the ground. Her legs up in the air and pinned under his arms, her mind couldn’t help but shiver at when the last time they were washed with each failed attempt to get out from underneath him. A steady stream of curses escaped her in the process until she finally started to cease her struggles, gritting through it with an expected expression. She was waiting for the bones to snap, feeling like her body was being folded in half, as she muttered for him to get over with already.

When he finally released, Trixi’s legs smacked against the floor when Gonad got off. His voice bellowed praise despite her defeat. The words were nothing but ashes in her heart while she felt the ache spread through her body, her hands pushed off the smooth flooring edging her into an upright position. Her legs folded over one another as her hand rubbed her neck, working out the kinks and glared at the retreating naked man. “First you molest me, then you want to train me. And stop calling me that. The name’s Trixi, T-R-I-X-I. Say it with me, Trix-ie. Now you try.”

She slowly rose to her feet, considering a shower would be in order later, tested her limbs. The pain throbbed in her muscles as she tried to work them out. It had been some time since she bended like that, through the last time was with an incubi which was no easy feat in itself and included maiming a bit. She scoffed at the memory, pushing it aside, while she started to walk toward the big brute. "This is going to be a lot day." She mumbled.