Chapter 4: The Battle of a Lifetime

Suddenly a swirling red and black portal opened and three men in ninja outfits stepped out. "Who are you?" Venom asked.

A ninja in a brown garb stepped up to him and smiled underneath his mask. "I am Smog, leader of the most powerful clan in the world, the Red Dragon," the brown ninja informed. "This is Theta," he said, pointing to a ninja in a purple and black garb. "And this is Fog," Smog informed, pointing to a mysterious grey ninja with a thick grey fog emitting from his body.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Venom asked.

"We are here to help you in this battle," Fog said in a deep voice.

"Well, prepare for the battle of a lifetime," Nukum said, removing two huge maces from his back. Venom removed his sickles from his belt and blended in with his surroundings.

He ran up to three Raptors, and they somehow knew where he was. One Raptor wrapped its scaly hands around Venom's throat, and Venom reappeared. The Raptor hissed, and stared into Venom's eyes. He then tightened the grip, and Venom began to choke. Just as he was about to black out, the Raptor released the hold for some strange reason, and began to cough and gag. Then it began to puke up a thick stream of its own blood. Venom shook his head to recover, but could not make the dizzy feeling go away. He looked around and squinted to make out a red and gray ninja with two swords in his hands. The ninja turned around to see Venom staring at him, and was blind-sided by a Raptor. Venom stood up slowly, and picked up his sickles. He ran over to the ninja, and blocked the Raptor's attempt at cutting open the mysterious ninja's belly for a feast, and gutted the Raptor with his sickles. He spun around and lodged one sickle into another Raptor's forehead, and backhanded another , and followed up with a massive kick to the jaw that literally crushed it. Venom pulled the ninja to his feet, and noticed a flame in his right eye. The ninja said something quietly, and then ran off into a dark portal that had seemed he used to arrive at the field.

Nukum smashed one mace into a Raptor's chest, and attempted for an uppercut, but his arm was held back by another Raptor. Nukum spun around and attempted a backhand, but the Raptor grabbed his wrist, and twisted his arm behind his back. Nukum screamed in pain as the bone in his arm ripped through his skin, causing blood to squirt out. The Raptor hissed, making sounds like laughing, and Nukum turned around to see a thick red tongue right in his face. He struggled to break free of the grip, but his injury made him too weak, and hurt every time he moved. He closed his eyes and prepared for his death.

But suddenly the grip on his arms was gone, and he opened his eyes to see the stump of a neck of the Raptor exposed. The Raptor was completely decapitated by some ninja. Nukum though it was Venom at first, but spotted the same red and gray ninja that had saved Venom. The ninja shot two rings of fire from his swords, one red and one black, at a group of Raptors, and when the fire hit, the Raptors exploded into a fountain of thick, red goo. Nukum held his arm in pain, and the ninja turned to see Nukum. He walked over, and spotted a Raptor on the corner of his trying to creep over and cut open his belly. The ninja stood for about five seconds, awaited the Raptor's attack, and quickly ducked, and almost immediately shoved his swords into the Raptor's belly, ripped outwards, and caused the Raptor to be totally ripped in two, blood flying everywhere and guts spilling onto the ninja and slowly sliding onto the ground. The ninja pulled out a small brown satchel from his pocket, and opened it up. He took out a small bottle filled with a red liquid, and handed it to Nukum. Nukum hesitated to take it, but the ninja told him to take it and drink it. Nukum grabbed the bottle, and pulled out the brown cork. He took one big gulp from the bottle, and the liquid made its way through his blood system. About five seconds later he noticed the stinging pain in his arm had disappeared, and he looked at it. The bone that ripped through his skin was back in place, and his arm was perfectly fine. He looked around for the ninja, and saw no one but the hundreds Raptors, Venom, Smog, Fog, and Thunderblood. He kipped up and walked over to a dark part of the field, as a matter of fact, the darkest part of the field. He saw two small, red dots, and then four more. He stepped back when he heard a low hissing, followed by an evil laugh. Suddenly a tall, powerful-looking man flipped out, and two Raptors came crawling out. One Raptor had a diamond emblem on his chest, and a pair of baggy black pants. The ninja wore a baggy purple ninja outfit; his eyes were pure black, and had a long red scar over his right eye. His right hand had a thick black substance covering it, which occasionally dripped. His left hand held a jagged sword, and the blade had the thick black substance covering it also. The other Raptor, who stood out from the one with a diamond on its chest, and stood out from all other Raptors, was at least seven feet tall, and its skin color was a silvery-gray. Its eyes were red and slitted, and when it hissed, a long, saliva-covered tongue flicked out between its razor-sharp teeth. Nukum backed away, and bumped into something. He quickly spun around, and saw the purple- suited ninja.

"You must be one of those stupid friends of that freak, Venom, am I right?" asked the ninja.

"I am a friend, yes, and my name is Nukum. Who, may I ask, are you?" Nukum asked, trying to figure out a way to get away from the group.

"I am Leech. I am the most powerful ninja in Outworld. I have killed many in my path, and finally made my way to a great line of reptilian creatures, known to you humans as Raptors. These two are Diamondback," Leech pointed out the Raptor with the diamond on his chest, "and this is Klaw, the brother of the one, great Raptor leader, Viscera. Now it is time for our feast on you fools," Leech laughed evilly, and then came to a halt when something grabbed onto the back of his neck. He smiled slightly, and raised his right hand. He then, with blurring speed, threw it behind him, knocking his attacker down. He spun around, and saw the same red and gray ninja. "Mimic," He said quietly, "I've waited very long for this moment. And I finally meet you when I have a more important job to complete. But no matter. When I am finished with you, I am going to complete my mission of killing--" The ninja, called The Mimic, hopped to his feet and threw a glowing green mist at Leech, which slammed hard into Leech's stomach. Leech fell on his back, and groaned with pain. He quickly recovered, and with lightning speed, shot into the air, and, with his right leg outward, shot back down and hit Mimic in the chest, causing him to stumble back. Leech followed up with a spinning heel kick and a barrage of kicks to the head. Mimic stumbled back again, and seemed to be concentrating very hard on something.

Leech turned to Diamondback and Klaw, and signaled them to attack Nukum. The both grabbed Nukum by the an arm, and threw him to the ground. Nukum rolled forward and jumped to his feet. He flipped forward and kicked both the Raptors in the chest, knocking them to the brown grass.

Leech smiled evilly underneath his mask, and also began to concentrate. The black substance around his hand began to grow around him, and then slowly melted away, revealing a huge, demonic beast with thick red skin and long black spikes, which seemed to be pulsating with energy, protruding from his thick red skin. Its eyes were solid black with no pupil, and its mouth was wide and held hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. Its long, powerful arms were covered in a black substance, and its hands had long black claws. Its torso was very muscular, and its back had several black spikes protruding from it. The Mimic, not amused or even scared by the enormous beast, just stood there, concentrating on something.

Leech smiled and looked down upon the Mimic. And in very scratchy voice said, "Mimic, prepare for your final--" And before he could finish the Mimic interrupted with huge scream, pulled his arm back, and threw it forward with a very powerful force, and a huge, blurry mist was thrown out of his palm, and it slammed into Leech's chest. "Is that all you've got, Mimic?" he asked, laughing. But his laugh soon turned to coughing, and his coughing turned to choking. And suddenly his black eyes widened, and began to bleed, as did his ears, mouth, and nose. He dropped to his knees, and stared Mimic in the eyes, who just stared beyond him, with an evil glare set upon the two Raptors who were pummeling Nukum. Leech soon began to puke up a thick stream of blood and viscera. The spikes in his body grew outward, ripping through his thick skin, until his entire skeleton ripped through. The skeletal, structure and the bloody skin fell to the ground, and the mist began to eat away at his skin and bones, making them disappear into nothing but a pile of white ash and blood.

"You will pay dearly for that, Mimic!" yelled Diamondback, foolishly charging toward the Mimic. The Mimic just reached out, and a small spike protruded from his palm, resembling one of the spikes in Leech's body, and Diamondback tried to stop, but he ran face first into the spike. The Mimic released the spike from his palm and left it lodged in the Raptor's forehead. The body just dropped to the ground, lifeless.

Klaw looked up to see the Mimic standing over the body of Diamondback, and his eyes filled with tears. "D-Diamondback!" he yelled, and stopped beating Nukum. Nukum just lay there, bloody and beaten, and just looked into the dark, starless sky. Klaw wiped his eyes and stood up, and removed a long, C-shaped sickle with a longer blade than Venom's, and jagged blade. He looked at the blade, and smiled at the sight of the dried blood. The Mimic just stands their, and looked at both his swords, and the rings of black and red fire slowly form into one, large ball of red and black fire. The ball slowly hovered in midair, and then suddenly shot out at Klaw, and Klaw flipped to the side. The ball of fire slammed into a nearby tree, literally shattering it into millions of slivers. Klaw smiled, and charged at The Mimic, flipped over his head, and kicked him in the back, knocking him face first into the brown grass. The Mimic kipped up and spins around to Klaw, slamming his right foot into the Raptor's face. Klaw, ignored the stinging pain and slashed at the Mimic, and cut open his uniform, and caused a small red gash to appear. The Mimic, simply touched the cut, and it soon turned into a scar. The Mimic smirked underneath his red and gray mask, and his orange, fiery eye lit up with a large flame that covered the entire left side of his face. Then the fire on his swords grew together, and formed one big circle. The fiery circle hovered in midair, and all the meanwhile, Klaw just stood and watched the awe-inspiring fire hover in front of himself and his adversary. Then suddenly a loud shriek was heard, coming from behind Klaw, which made him spin around quickly with a roundhouse. The Mimic, who had teleported behind Klaw, caught the Raptor's leg and kicked him in the other kneecap, causing him to fall on his backside. Klaw hissed, and a small spiked ball formed in the middle of his right palm, and he threw it out, and it slammed into The Mimic, knocking him backward. The Mimic shook his head, and soon his entire vision was blurred. He looked around, and saw a blurred silver object. He squinted, and the object came into better view, and it was Klaw, with his sickle raised. Klaw brought it down hard in The Mimic's right shoulder, and left it lodged in. The Mimic let out a loud scream of pain, and Klaw made hissing noises, which sounded like he was laughing. The Mimic fell to a knee, and tried to punch Klaw in the gut, but Klaw grabbed his arm, and pulled it hard, and ripped off The Mimic's entire arm. He let out another loud scream, which was heard throughout the entire field.

Venom, who had heard the scream, dropped the body of a Raptor, and let it fall to the ground. Venom ran toward the screams, and saw the red and gray ninja that had helped him. He gripped his sickles tightly and walked up behind Klaw. He tapped him on the shoulder, and when Klaw turned around, grabbed the Raptor by the throat and raised him high into the air. Klaw stared into Venom's eyes, and saw a terrifying glare of hatred, and Venom tightened his grip. Klaw grabbed Venom's wrist, and dug his nails deep into his arm, but Venom didn't feel any pain, and just stood there, choking Klaw. Venom then slammed Klaw down so hard that it nearly crushed his neck. Klaw choked up thick red saliva, and then managed to slowly get to his feet. He tried to form another spiked ball in his palm, but Venom kicked him in the face, and then disappeared. Klaw looked around, terrified, and then was mysteriously held up in the air by an unknown force. He struggled to break free, and managed to get a swift, hard kick forward. He was dropped, and he quickly ran into the dark forest. Venom reappeared, holding his stomach in pain. He slowly got up, and shook his head to recover. "Damn it! I let him get away!" Venom screamed, slamming a fist on the ground. He looked around him, and saw Smog ripping open three Raptors, and The Mimic gutting three other Raptors, and moving on to a rather larger group. He also spotted Nukum getting beaten to a pulp. He saw Thunderblood getting beaten by two other larger Raptors, and saw blood pouring from his chest. Venom let out a huge war cry, ran out to the two Raptors, and was quickly struck hard across his neck. He fell straight down, and started coughing up thick blobs of saliva, and was kicked in the chest by the same Raptor. He slowly got up, and ignored the hard, stinging pains in his body, and quickly gutted the Raptor, and moved onto the two Raptors beating Thunderblood.

He quickly spun one Raptor around, shoved a sickle into its stomach, ripped upward, and totally ripped open the Raptor's body, causing it to let out an ear-piercing shriek. He then did a huge uppercut to the other Raptor, and ripped open its belly, and then cut if in half. He grabbed Thunderblood just before he fell, and noticed a deep, red cut on his upper shoulder that led down to his lower chest. "What the hell happened?" Venom asked, tending to the wound.

"Oh, nothin' much. Just got cut up a bit by those two sons of bitches," Thunderblood said, laughing, and then turned to coughing. Venom shook his head, and quickly walked over to one of the bloody Raptors. He then pulled out a small bottle, and let some of the thick, reptilian blood drip into the bottle. He then shook the liquid up a bit, and handed it to Thunderblood.

"Here. Take this. It'll heal your wounds," Venom said. Thunderblood's face turned white, and he turned his head to the side.

"I am not drinking that," Thunderblood said, coughing again.

"Goddamn it. Just take it! It ain't gonna kill you," Venom said. Thunderblood brought the bottle up to his lips, and guzzled it down in one big gulp. He shook his head, and then licked his lips.

"Damn. That's some good stuff," he said, looking at the empty bottle.

"Yeah, just don't go tryin' to make it yourself. That shit can be lethal to your health if you don't make it right," Venom informed, taking the empty bottle and filling it up with more of the thick, red liquid from the dead Raptor.

"I'm going to go save Nukum," Thunderblood said, getting up and removing his Vampire Shield.

"All right, just be careful," Venom said, placing the bottle into his gym bag. He stood up, and something caught his eye. He turned to his right, and just a few feet away, a black and white portal opened, and two blood-red eyes glowed through the portal. "Who are you?" Venom asked, ready for anything.

"Who I am is not important," replied the figure. "But it seems you are trying to kill an ally of mine. You know, he isn't the same Raptor anymore. He has killed off numerous races, and has taken over many worlds. And for that, he has been paid greatly. So I suggest you stay away from him, or suffer the consequences." The figure said, his voice never changing tone.

"He killed my race, and for that, he shall die. And die at my hands. And if you are so powerful as to give someone such a high payment for taking over many realms, why don't you gather up the courage to show yourself?" Venom said. But soon, he would regret that he had said that. The eyes grew brighter, and the portal exploded outwards, shooting bright red lightning bolts everywhere. Although the brightness of the flashes was blinding everyone within at least thirty miles, nothing was damaged. Just then a bolt struck just in front of Venom, and a tall figure stood in front of him.

The figure stood at about eight feet, and wore a black robe with the symbol of a deep red reptilian head on the upper right chest area. The red eyes glowed brightly, and a face was never seen. Just endless blackness. In the sleeves of the robe were two black, reptilian hands, each one donning 4-inch black claws on the ends of each of its five fingers. Venom stood there, not amused nor scared of the robed figure. The figure reached a hand into its robe, and pulled out a black glass ball. The ball glowed with bright red energy, and had a red slit in the middle, resembling the eye of a reptile, a snake. The robed figure raised the glass ball into the air, above its head, and his entire body enveloped in thick red and black flames. Then the robe slowly singed away into nothingness, revealing the body of a sick-looking reptilian creature. It was a Raptor, yes. But this one was different from the others. Its eyes were black and slitted, but had a red glow to them, and had a mindless appearance. Its mouth was in the shape of an evil smile, which seemed to be taunting the onlookers. Its skin was black and slick, and on its chest was the tattoo of a red reptilian head, exactly like the one on its robe. Its elbows had 6-inch spikes that curled in the middle. Its baggy pants were a faded white, and its shin guards were dark gray, almost black, and shined in the glow of the field. On its feet, instead of steel claws were two 3-inch black claws that protruded from once side of each foot, and one longer claw that protruded upwards, and occasionally tapped on the dirt ground, making a soft "thudding" sound. The Raptor dropped the glass ball, and it slowly evaporated into nothing but dust blowing away in the cool breeze. And the Raptor removed a wooden staff with the skull of a snake on one end, and a long razor-sharp blade on the other. The snake skull held the exact black glass ball in its mouth that the Raptor used to "transform." The staff was wooden, and seemed very durable.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there, or are you actually going to do something?" Venom taunted, gripping one of the sickles in his right hand. The Raptor hissed, and leapt forward and swung the staff around its back, and brought it forward, tripping Venom. Venom kipped up and kicked the Raptor in the chest, but his foot seemed to pass right through its body.

"The older Raptors have actually learned a few thingsss over the passst few yearsss, mortal," the Raptor hissed, swinging the staff outwards, causing the blade to rip through Venom's uniform. Venom growled with anger and jabbed the sickle into the Raptor's belly, and smiled underneath his mask.

"Seems you haven't learned to take pain after so many years," Venom said, laughing. The Raptor's widened eyes soon turned to an evil glare, and its entire body melted away into the ground, leaving a thick cloud of smoke in the shape of its body behind. Venom staggered forward, and spun around, looking for the Raptor. The Raptor appeared in the same manner he had disappeared in, and landed a huge flying punch to Venom's face. Venom staggered back, and tripped over his own feet, falling face first into the dirt. He turned around, saw the Raptor hissing, and noticed he was laughing. Venom's body erupted with anger, and he jumped to his feet, shoving one sickle into the Raptor's stomach, and slashing the other across its chest, causing blood to spew everywhere. The Raptor simply just disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and reappeared, fully-healed. Its eyes glowed with an evil red flame, and in its hand appeared a bloodstained battle axe.

"Now it isss time for you to feel the pain your rassse did, and the pain they causssed my Raptorsss. Give up while you ssstill can, Venom. You know there isss no way you can ssstop me. Jussst give up, and become a prisssoner until death, just like your pathetic brother did," Venom's body quickly filled with rage, and his blood boiled. His eyes changed from endless white to an evil red.

"So you are the one who eliminated my race," Venom growled.

"You fool, if I wasss to attack a race, then I would eliminate every sssingle one of them, letting no one sssurvive. I sssent a much younger, more agile Raptor to accomplish that tasssk, and he did very well, for a start. That isss why I rewarded him with eternal life. He forsssed your pathetic brother into slavery, and knowing your kind, your brother quickly accepted that, inssstead of fighting to hisss death. Ever wonder why none of your kind ever came back from the Tournamentsss, Venom?" The Raptor's eyes did not change their evil red glow, or their evil glare, staring upon Venom's sweating face.

"So the rumors were true. You Raptors did kill every one of the great fighters that were sent to the Tournaments. And you did it, for what? To prove your strength? Or because you were afraid to come and attack us when we were ready? All of you are pathetic, weak bastards. And I will not rest until every one of you sons of bitches lies dead before me," Venom growled, tightening the grip on each of his bloody sickles. The grip was so tight that his hands were beginning to hurt, but he did not care.

"Weak, are we? You fool, you do not underssstand. The men sssent to the Tournamentsss were merely sssent to eliminate every Raptor who entered it, and for a very pathetic reassson at that." The Raptor's body tensed, and his fists erupted in red flames.

"Getting a little mad, aren't we?" Venom said, a smirk spreading across his face.

"You will die, and your brother will sssuffer a far worssse beating than you are about to encounter, fool!" The Raptor slammed its right fist into Venom's stomach, and followed up with a hard left hit to his side. Venom staggered back, and blood seeped between his lips.

"I will not give up that easily," Venom said, barely able to breathe. The Raptor slammed the handle of the axe into Venom's chest, and then sliced open his left arm, blood seeping onto his dirty skin. Venom moaned, barely able to stand. His ribs were shattered, and most of his arteries had to have been bruised. Yet with all the strength he could manage, he kept standing.

"ssSo are you ready to accept death, yet?" The Raptor asked, laughing.

"Go to Hell, you dirty son of a bitch!" Venom yelled, blood flying from his mouth. The Raptor hissed, and brought the axe behind its back, and brought it forward, aiming straight for Venom's bloody face.

"Head Hunter, back away. I want to have the pleasure of making thisss sssorry, pathetic excussse for a human feel the worst pain possssible, and hang hisss head over my throne," said a reptilian voice. The voice was gruff, and a bit hoarse.

"As you wish, Vissscera," the reptilian known as Head Hunter said, placing the axe on his back and disappearing in a flash of red light.

"I have dreamed of thisss moment for ssso long, Venom," the Raptor hissed. "Are you going to fight, or do you want to die a slow, and agonizing death?"

"Y-you should know my answer already, you dirty son of a bitch," Venom snapped through clenched teeth.

"Ha, ha, ha. Exactly what I expected you to sssay. Very well. Let usss fight; fight to the death," Viscera said, letting out a low cackle.

Venom stood up on his strong leg, holding his injured arm, and stared deeply into Viscera's eyes. "Bring it on..."