(The images flashed like a strobe light. Ace charged at Kaitlin but was easily thwarted. His head spun as easily as a pinwheel in the wind as Kaitlin snapped his neck.)
(Jen's tire iron broke through the back of Leslie's neck, spilling her blood into growing puddle of water forming from a destroyed fountain.)
(Kaitlin could almost feel it again. Obadiah's body growning weaker and weaker, the bones snapping as she crushed them with her might. Then the fateful snap of Obadiah's spine.)
(Asphyxiation. Like being trapped under ice. No air for Jen to breath as Fullhart strangled her with the kusarigama. Then the feel of cold steel drawing warm blood from Fullhart's neck. A slow-motion replay in her mind as Fullhart's head was torn from its body by Jen's grenade launcher.)
(Slowly their eyes opened. It was evening now, but they could see everything perfectly well. The fires on the burning torches flickered violently. On the sidewalks the coffins stood vertically, placed between the torches.)
(Jen looked around here. Standing about 1000 feet from Court Street were rows of soldiers, sporting flamethrowers and machine guns.)
(Kaitlin stared around in wonder. She reached for her mini-gun, but to her shock found it had disappeared!)
(From their collars, a familiar voice spoke.)
RS: Welcome, ladies, to the grand finale. We took the liberty of dragging you up here while you were unconscious. Hope you don't mind.
(Jen looked about for her weapons, but there was no trace of any of them.)
RS: Guns and explosives are fun, it's true. But for a spectacle of this caliber, we decided to up the ante. As you've already discovered, all of your items have been taken away from you. However, we've provided you with all the melee weapons from our game.
(Kaitlin and Jen both stared in puzzlement, seeing absolutely no weapons around.)
RS: "Where are they?" you might ask. Why... in the boxes, of course.
(And then it hit them both. The coffins held the weapons.)
RS: But be careful when you open them. The current residents might prove to be rather disgusting. Ooh, and I'm sure you see my guards have you surrounded. If you try to escape before eliminating your opponent, my guards will make sure nothing more than dust is left of you.
(Standing up, Kaitlin rolled her neck. Jen stretched her arms and stared right at her opponent.)
RS: Alright ladies. Begin.
JM: HHYYYAAAAAH!
(Jen wasted no time and charged right at Kaitlin. Stepping to the side, Kaitlin hooked her arm under Jen's and flipped her over with a hiptoss. Jen sprang back to her feet and charged again, but was thrown over in a headlock. Jen rose to her feet again and charged once more, but Kaitlin ducked her shoulder down and thrust it into Jen's stomach. Stand back up, Kaitlin hurled Jen over her shoulder.)
*CRRRRAAAASSSSSSH!*
(Jen smashed into a coffin, toppling it over. She lay halfway in the smashed lid. Looking down, she saw something metallic shine inside. As she opened the casket, she did indeed see a wakizashi.)
(The problem was that it was stuck inside the gelatinous remains of Janet Longworth, who had met her end when confronted by the power of Abi and a mini-gun.)
JM: Oh good lord...
(Jen gritted her teeth as she slipped her hand into the bloody slime. She could feel the chewed-up guts squirming between her fingers as she gripped the wakizashi and pulled it out.)
KV: Are you giving up already? Stand and fight to the finish!
(Holding the blood-drenched blade up, Jen stood up and stared right into Kaitlin's eyes.)
JM: Hmph. I've had enough of your judo. I'm going to cut you to pieces.
(Jen and Kaitlin circled each other, and again it was Jen who struck first, lashing out at Kaitlin with the wakizashi. Kaitlin jumped back and avoided the cut. Jen swiped the blade again and Kaitlin grabbed her wrist. Kaitlin went to take Jen down but Jen rolled forward with the momentum and jumped back up to her feet. She quickly lashed out with a side kick that caught Kaitlin square in the knee. With her arm free, Jen slashed Kaitlin across the bridge of her nose with the wakizashi.)
JM: See? Your tricks are antiquated. You will not catch me off guard twice.
KV: Tricks, you say?
(Wiping the blood from her nose, Kaitlin stepped forward and flexed.)
KV: These muscles need no tricks! Any weapon I find, its power is increased tenfold when held by this much power! Observe!
(Kaitlin turned and slammed her fist into another coffin. The lid broke in half and clattered to the ground. Inside the coffin, Eric Lee's body presented Kaitlin with a gift. Protruding from the hole where his right eye used to be was a hatchet. Kaitlin grabbed the weapon and pulled, but the weapon barely budged.)
JM: Ha! Is this the great strength you take so much pride in?!
(Kaitlin smirked and pulled full-force. The hatchet came loose from the skull, and with it came Eric's entire brain, in which the hatchet's handle had been lodged. Escaping from the narrow eye socket at such a speed, the brain was shredded into pieces, some of them spraying onto Kaitlin.)
KV: Let's go!
(The two charged again. Metal clashed against metal as Jen's wakizashi and Kaitlin's hatchet became deadlocked. Using her strength, Kaitlin overpowered her foe and pushed Jen back. Breaking through, Kaitlin swung the hatchet at Jen's forehead.)
JM: Whooooooaaaa!!
(Leaning backwards, Jen did a complete Matrix-style lean, having to put one hand down to keep herself from falling. Kaitlin's momentum took he right past Jen, and the hatchet soared over Jen's face, missing its mark.)
JM: Now I have you!
(Jen stood back up and tried to swing the wakizashi blade into Kaitlin's skull, but Kaitlin ducked under the attack. She then sprang up and flipped backwards, kicking Jen in the hand and knocking the wakizashi from her hands.)
KV: Super Vitchner Tackle!
(Before Jen could react, Kaitlin ran into her full-force with a spear tackle that any pro football player would be envious of. The two of them crashed through a coffin, with Kaitlin on top.)
JM: My head... oh man, that hurt like anything.
(Kaitlin shook out the cobwebs, stand raised her hatchet high.)
KV: Well played, Jen. But the game has ended!
*CRRAACCCK!*
(It was a terribly sickening sound! Jen saved her life by nailing Kaitlin in the ribs with the crowbar that had fallen from the smashed coffin. Kaitlin rolled over in pain, holding her ribs. Jen stood up, but was pulled down by extra weight.)
JM: What the heck is this?!
(And something smelled... different.)
JM: OOOOOOHHH MY GOD!
(And there, practically GLUED to Jen's back was the charred, bullet-riddled corpse of Monji Osso. His charged flesh and blood clung to Jen's clothes. In a frenzy she jabbed the crowbar between her and the corpse, and finally managed to peel him off of her.)
JM: What is all of this?! First Janet, now this?! Aaaaah!
(Seeing Kaitlin already back on her hands and knees, Jen charged and slammed the crowbar into Kaitlin's ribs again. Kaitlin landed on her side.)
KV: Looks like I'm the one who'll be giving the final farewell! Goodbye, Kaitlin!
(But now it was Kaitlin who would save her own life, as she quickly slammed the hatchet down into Jen's foot. Jen dropped her crowbar and fell backwards. Her eyes and mouth were both wide with awe as she looked down at her foot, where the hatchet was still stuck.)
KV: Time for a foreign object!
(Kaitlin seized the crowbar from the ground and hurled it at Jen. No sooner did Jen sit up then the crowbar nailed her in the chest, knocking her back down.)
JM: Aaaahh! I can't breath!
KV: Oh god... my ribs must be broken...
(Broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. They each had their respective injuries. Jen practically broke her fingers off as she clawed her way towards another coffin. Kaitlin could barely find the strength to crawl away, using only one hand to help move herself while she cradled her broked ribs with the other arm.)
JM: I didn't come this far to lose!
(Reaching the casket, Jen used it to pull herself up. She opened the lid and found Jee Hsing inside, the kusarigama tied around his waist! Jen quickly unwrapped the weapon. But something wasn't right. She had been to the church, and she remember seeing Jee there, his body blown in half.)
JM: Wait... oh no!
(Again Jen was tackled to the ground, this time by Jee's lifeless upper body as it fell from its position, where the kusarigami had been holding it.)
JM: Get off! Get off!
(Pushing in all sorts of directions, Jen finally managed to toss Jee's upper body aside. As she stood up, she looked over to Kaitlin. The coffin opened and who should fall from inside but Donald Rew himself!)
KV: It's that little pink bastard!
(He was more like a little pink pin cushion now, for he head 10 switchblades stuck in his head, neck, and chest!)
KV: This is it!
(Kaitlin quickly pulled switchblade after switchblade from D. Rew's corpse and hurled them all at Jen.)
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!* CLANG!*
(The knifes were all deflected as Jen spun the kusarigama around, the chain knocking the projectiles aside. She then hurled the blade out and the sickle tore into the side of Kaitlin's cheek. The curved blade hooked to the inside of Kaitlin's mouth, and with one big pull Jen yanked her opponent off her feet and sent her smashing to the ground.)
JM: Your physical power is impressive, but might alone cannot best me.
*fwoosh!*
(A hidden switchblade flew from Kaitlin's hand and pierced Jen in the stomach. Pulling the sickle from her mouth, Kaitlin held the chain and gave it one huge pull. Jen was pulled forward and took a boot right in the face. As Jen hit the street, she could see her teeth skittering across the asphalt.)
JM: Dahn yu! Yu nawked mah teef out! Ah'll shee yu burn'n hell for 'is!!!!
(Jen was ready to tear Kaitlin apart with her bare hands. But her attack was halted by the most bizarre sight one could see! Kaitlin was charging at Kaitlin armed with none other than D. Rew's corpse!)
KV: Time for you to actually do something useful, D. Rew!
(Jen narrowly avoided the contact as Kaitlin hurled D. Rew's body through the air. The lifeless, pink-haired corpse sailed over Jen's head and slammed into a large metal coffin place in the middle of the street. The coffin tipped over and the lid was knocked open by the impact.)
JM: No way...
KV: Unbelievable!
(Lying peacefully in the coffin was Bobo, his neck still sporting the huge kick Dice had kicked into it. Resting in his folded hands... were two katanas.)
JM & KV: This game is mine!
(Blocking out their pain, the ladies both ran for the coffin. They reached it at the same time, each one grabbing a katana.)
JM: Now you die!
KV: RRRAAAAAAAH!
(They both lashed out with critical blows. One katana tore through flesh and bone, cutting an arm off and dropping it to the ground.)
(The other katana, however, did much more. The metal vibrated with the last heartbeats of the defeated enemy. The loser slumped lifelessly to the ground, her blood leaving a trail on the blade.)
(The winner stood in disbelief. Just like that, it had ended. All the pain was gone. All the killing was at an end. She would go home. But as a winner?)
(What kind of game awards its winners with nightmarish memories of brutality? What kind of game took yesterday's friends and turned them into today's enemies and tomorrows pallbearers?)
RS: Marvelous, marvelous!
(Rassoru Sutorausa approached her from behind, clapping his hands.)
RS: That was remarkable, young lady! You survived all of this! This little exercise was really quite entertaining! I knew you could do it all alo-
*SWWWISSSSH!*
*THHHUUUD!*
(Sutorausa was cut short as the katana blade hacked cleanly through his neck, decapitating him. The soldiers that had escorted him took aim. But one look in her eyes told them that it would be pointless. She had earned her freedom from this damn prison.)
(She had won the Battle Royale. She would go down in history. Nobody would ever forget her.)
(Nobody would ever forget the name... of Jen Musser, the Battle Royale champion.)
