You got beef?

Anger, regret but most importantly sorrow, those were the feelings rushing through his entire body upon watching the camera feed of the now desolate place once called Jump City Park. Day and night he spent all the time he could spare in front of camera network, and every time his gaze stopped at the same screen, every time he recalled the scene that haunted him the past few days. This time was different, this time he couldn' t believe what his eyes showed him. The one he searched for now stood amongst the destruction of which he himself was the cause.

Both he and Emblem had been positioned at the Park for some time now. One aware of the other, and the other somewhat speculating. Krious's first impulsions were to get the answers he sought, the hard way if necessary, but now that he was here things seemed different. Now he wasn't so sure if showing himself would lead to any good. From his hiding spot he had a good view of the event playing before him. Emblem was indeed there, feeding his newfound 'friend', but what was so clear a minute ago was now clouded by a variety of thoughts.

He was sure about one thing though, this was most certainly not the person he shared half his life with. Only the outer shell resembled his old self, and even then it was in a twisted manner. What were his intentions, why did he do this in the first place and what did he ever hope to achieve like this... Silently he watched from his hiding, judging wether to face him or await a better time and place. His time spent in darkness felt like an eternity.

.....

''Come out come out where ever you are...''

Those were the words that gave him an answer. He knew what Emblem wanted, and although he regretted his desicion he was going to give him exactly that. Slowly he crept out of his hiding, checked for a nice spot to move unspotted and proceeded to close in on their position.

"Keep your big ears open bud.''

At the moment Emblem finished those words Krious silently appeared behind the two of them. The insanely huge dragon didn't frighten him one bit, it was only magical and that meant it could be dealt with. A real dragon would be scary, but this was just one of Emblem's conjurations.

"Not exactly, I' ve got my own style. Now would you care to indulge me on this twisted sight before me?"

Anger was spread across his words and body language. The blades around his arms showed even more disrespect, as normally he wouldn't bear them towards his enemy before facing them.

A stone cold glare returned the words Emblem spoke. Dragon.. So it wasn't magical, nonetheless it had to be bound to him in some way. Dragons died out long ago, this time won't be different. Still.. as usual Emblem didn't get what he asked about, which only made the situation feel more freaky. At least he got rid of that noisy music.

"Tsk.. still not listening to the words I speak, although you did answer my question even if you didn't want too."

Krious began to walk around his target in a circular motion, slow but steady and never letting his eyes of his target, nor his pet. Emblem seemed to remember him, probably everything, so truly he has lost himself this time. He was cool, unlike Emblem stated, he just felt so furious towards his old friend. The fact that this was unfamiliar to him only served in Krious's benefit.

"This is not evolving. This is you showing your biggest weakness. The fact that you can't handle what is inside you and let it take over the entire thing you are... was... I shouldn't even have given you the chance to explain."

A quarter circle further then his point of entry he stopped. Still glaring at Emblem, knowing he didn't like the word weakness. His eyes already showed proof of his powers, and it seemed like they were going to use them right here. At least, that's what Krious thought Emblem's reason for getting him here was.

"So. I know you're here to get me out. Here I am.. what now?.."

'Happy' and 'Quirky' weren't exactly the words that came to his mind when he pictured what his own face looked like right now. So.. Emblem claimed he brought him here not to fight.. but to.. talk. There was some relief in that, presuming these words were spoken in truth. Krious however, never presumed anything without proper consideration.

"I have my conclusions, and up till now they served me well. You on the other hand seem less informed about things. Reasons unknown..? I think they're quite obvious my friend."

Obviously the word friend was spoken in such a manner it implicated a trail of digust in Krious. This whole thing was very unlike the Emblem he knew, and although it felt like he was speaking to him right now a part of him just shut it out. This man had the shell, but his insides were completely different. This made him only more dangerous, and the dragon wasn't really helping either. He would take his chances with talking.. for now.

"I think I liked the ghost more, if a bit transparent. Nonetheless I do want to know what finally broke you, maybe we can knock some sense back into that thick skull of yours."

Krious grinned, either he would find this rather unpleasant or he could see the fun in it. Either way, it would serve it's purpose. Krious always thought Emblem held on to strange beliefs and things of the past best left forgotten. The extents to which Emblem would go to protect them would always surprise him and although admirable, he found it quite foolish. It served him, but ruled over him sometimes.

"You want to talk..? Then talk."

Emblem's laugh sent a shiver down his spine. Something about it felt so sinister, so not suiting the person he once knew yet so familiar he could have sworn he was talking to his best friend. The fact that this was not the case made it even weirder.

“No I don't get it...”

Krious let all his feelings pass away into the void inside him. The tension left his body, and his body language returned to his usual 'zero-interest' self.

“... Nothing in your pathetic excuse for your actions add up to your reasoning behind them. Am I thinking into this too much? I don't think so... I might have things wrong from time to time, but I'm only human and I do know one thing for sure. You do NOT resemble any of the villains you just mentioned. You were a saint in disguise, not a devil in making. The only thing that you missed was everything you had then and there, since you were still stuck in the past. This is all just another one of those illusions you occasionally brew up inside your mind. The fact that you can't even see it anymore only serves to shows how far gone you are.”

Sympathy was what he felt when he spoke these words. Emblem always had some crazy thought, but none as bad as this. Usually they were good for a laugh, not for tears.

“I know what I had to go through that day and while it is true that I don't know what you confronted. I can tell you that it's not any worse then what I had to go through.”

Krious thought back to the day they blew the GEII from the face of the earth and he could finally close that part of his life. In the end it even gave him some answers, although they didn't comfort him as much as he had hoped. While Emblem fended of his feud with the wicked necromancer, he had to deal with a manipulative b*tch that liked to crawl deep inside his skull. The things he experienced weren't exactly pleasant, but he broke through as he always did in the end. He didn't imagine Emblem's encounter with the necromancer went any nicer, but in his eyes it was no excuse even if it only helped him on his downfall.

“The ghost you saw in the future was you who fulfilled what he wanted in a sense you probably could not yet understand. I'm not saying I understand, but he at least seemed happy at the fact he regained what he had lost in the past even if it cost his life.”

The ghost they had seen in the future didn't exactly show a lot of emotion, but Krious knew just how much Emblem would give to get some of the things he had back into his life.

“Not feeling anything means that you're no longer living. You're hiding from what you are and you try to deny it. You didn't change your path, you merely chose the easy way around.”

Heroes always led though lives. Some tougher then others. Krious didn't exactly think himself a hero, but his actions did imitate one and his life was far from easy. You just had to keep on going until things went your way instead of trying to make things go your way. That last case usually involved a lot of sorrow for the people around you, while the first shows what person you truly are.

Krious didn't particularly enjoy the timeline in front of his eyes. It only served to strengthen his resolve and build on the anger inside him. He could however imagina what it must've felt like to confront the necromancer in such a position. He did what had to be done, like any man in his position. The way it was explained to him showed he had nothing to regret, still he shouldn't be his current self in front of her memory.

All the talking in the world couldn't change the fact this really didn't get them anywhere, and when Emblem finally finished his usual long rant as sigh of relief left Krious's mouth.

"Blackheart..?"

The sound of a grin came from his body, and one certainly formed on his face.

"You should be glad that you got the chance to do that yourself and now having the comfort of knowing for sure. I'm not telling you to forget, I'm telling you to let go, there certainly is a difference. Now stop patronizing me with the 'You won't understand'... 'You don't know what it's like'... You are the one who doesn't understand. You are the one that thinks he's all alone in his pain. You have no idea what I've let go in my life, and you certainly aren't one to talk back to me on that."

Krious was downright angry in his statement. His situation might have been different, but losing someone you care about isn't the only thing that causes misery and sorrow. You just let go, and think of the days in front of you. It is hard sometimes, which is only understandable, but you'll only lose yourself to yourself if you keep on thinking about what you've lost. He might be the one to act omniscient sometimes, but that's what it was.. an ACT. Emblem was the one who couldn't bear the look of the world around him. Wait... why didn't he think of that before... Can't bear the look of the world around him....

"I'm not going to tell you anything... I am however, going to show you just how black my heart can be, as I at least have one to blacken instead of the void inside your chest right now."

The past conversation gave him enough time to collect the energies for prolonged battle and who was he to not come prepared first hand. Some energy collected insinde his right foot, while he focussed on a charred piece of metal just in front of it.

"I'll try to get you back into Arkham in one piece, but I can't promise anything..."

The dragon was preoccupied right now, not like that would last long but this was better then nothing. His sword flicked outwards, just right for a couple of stabbing motions.

"Think Fast!"

He kicked the metal piece as hard as he could, infusing it with a small part darkforce energies on collision, just enough to make a little impact. It launched straight towards Emblem, it's trajectory indicating it would land straight on his legs if it managed to land.

''Here...we....GO!''

Any person with a bit of common sense would have noticed the cracks forming in the ground around Emblem and the fires sprouting out to fuel his power. Any sane person caring about his life would have turned around and made his retreat right now. That was just it, both of them weren't really sane in their own way to begin with. Krious knew what would happen. Those flames would come right after him any second now. He had seen them before, not quite as fiery and unpredictable, but he had seen them. Right now he wished he had stood against them in a friendly manner, just to get the right feeling. Emblem's hands slammed together with a vigorous slap and the flames flew towards him in a straight cone. Better late then never...

With all his might Krious jumped into a sidewards corkscrew and barely dodged the blazing trail. He landed on one knee and searched for his enemy straight away. Right on target, Emblem was following up with his martial prowess. At least hat was something he could counter with relative easy. He came from above, trying to get the upperhand by using higher ground.. air. In a split second his blades switched back along his arms, while he held them side by side on the trajectory of the staff. The staff slammed into both of his blades, the pressure pushing his arms and body a bit backwards. Once stopped it wasn't all that heavy, but the strength of the impact always left you guessing.

"Don't take my every word so serious. Still, Arkham ain't such a bad idea, I can make anything a personal hellhole. Keep up slowpoke.."

Krious grinned before lowering the counter-strength on one of his blades. The blade switched back forward while he let the staff slide along the other one. The staff moved to the left of his body, relatively harmless. Krious dissappeared and reappeared behind him. He did this far too many times, but an enemy's backside mostly was the place he had a hard time countering. He swung the blade he just used for countering in a horizontal motion and followed up with a vertical slash from above with the other. Emblem, who was recovering from his dissapearance and loss of counter-weight, made a forward flip to move under his swing, and out of reach of his slash. The second sword slashed into the ground with a loud *clunk*. Emblem came back to his feet through a 180 degrees motion and was ready to strike again. Krious flipped his second blade back along his arm for a better defensive, now having both of them retracted. The face-off started once again.

The pause in battle didn't last quite as long a he expected. As usual Emblem didn't have the patience to take care in his actions. Emblem proppeled himself towards him, the hot air guiding him towards his target. He didn't even need to see him, he could feel him getting closer, as the nearing heat made it quite easy. So it was another frontal attack, quite daring. Krious got ready for to counter the incoming danger. The staff he opposed started to spin around, again waking the flames around him and pumping up the temperature around them. It only took Emblem a few seconds to get himself heated up like this after he warmed up, the entire display before him being just as impressive. Sparks flew in multiple directions, looking quite dangerous as they scorched the land around them. The environment blurred out in the heat, making looking around a bit more difficult. Emblem had closed in quite a bit, now almost in striking distance. What was his next move..? Probably martial prowess, either with legs or staff. His gut told him it would be the staff, the center of attention right now.

There it was, the setup movement. Emblem flicked his hand in order to swing his staff with more range. The staff now proceeded to swiftly strike against his body. First one right, second one left, third one right, fourth one upper left and finally a turning motion to give the final swing that bit of extra strength. Every time their wapons collided more sparks flew off and he had to be careful not to take a surprise hit. Krious deflected the first four attacks with relative easy, the last one made him stagger a bit thanks to the force put behind it. Just then Emblem took the chance to make a spark fly right past his eyes, either he was lucky or he did so delibaretaly. Nonetheless Krious found his eyesight in Darkness. Darkness might be his ally, but not being able to see gave him the chills for a second. He didn't get much time to be surprised however as just then he felt a pain speading inside his body. He underestimated his opponent, and took a hit right in the stomach. He staggered a few steps backwards and in reflex he immediatly reached for the spot with his hand and let out a small cough. Spark flew off in some sort of aftershock and left him a bit burned, not that he felt it much after the blow.

His eyesight gradually returned, and he could feintly make out his opponent right in front of him. He was making another attack, no time to dabble around this time. In a fluent motion he took two light steps towards his opponent, hoping to surprise him just a bit. He followed up with a flip to get himself airborne, and landing his foot right into his opponent's face to break of his charge. Some blood leaked out of Emblem's mouth thanks to his attack, but to his surprise he just spit it out like fire and formed a grin on his face. He seemed to enjoy this.

''That was one mighty kick. Could've taken out a girl scout if you had used more force instead of evading acrobatics.''

A useless taunt. Krious didn't really mind any kind of insult right now, words were as useless in a fight as a fork is when eating your soup. It drains through and returns to where it came from without releaving the user of his hunger. Emblem regained his posture and again charged up his attack. Krious liked it that way, defending was far more easy then having to take the initiative and see your plan fail. Emblem heated up like the flames of Hell, he looked like on of them raging bulls in a cartoon with fire coming from their nose and steam out of their ears. Again a frontal assault with his staff. He lunged at him, dodged by a sidestep out of the staff's trajectory. Emblem didn't stop there though, the downward force behind his attack drove him towards the ground and in no-time he stood on his hands, spinning on the ground at great speed. The flames that he fabricated in his charge now bursted outward from his legs and feet. He moved closer and closer, the heat once again dominating around them.

Time for trick #2. Some energy manifested in his blades ready to counter the scorching flames in front of him. Emblem got close enough to generate some hits. Krious gradually moved backwards along with Emblem's tempo. The first flames became hits carefully picked off by his swords. The flames were doused into the darkforce realm through carefull bursts of his energy. Emblem kept on spinning and spinning, taking the speed up a notch. Krious couldn't keep up like this, he was getting to close and the flames were too many. He barely left any opening for a counter attack, but between his turns there was a moment of silence. Like the eye of a hurricane. That was the exit of this hell. Some flames got throug his defenses and started to scorch his limbs. One... Time seemed to have slowed down those few seconds... Two... the second spin went by..... Three.... Krious got a sense of movements and prepared himself for a retaliation... Here's one for the record...

A swift jab with the hilt of his blade to the knee of one of the legs on the spinning horror in front of him was enough to make him lose balance and flatline himself on the floor.

"Force is your style, I like precision and reliability."

A grin formed on his face, he was pleased with himself. Maybe a bit too please, as Emblem wasn't done yet.

"Yeah..? Well try this one for size!"

The inner hell of flames spiraling around inside him bursted out into a cone of fire heading right towards him. At this range and speed it would be a direct hit. Bracing himself for impact Krious moved his blades in front of him as fast as he could. Energy started to form in order to swallow this to the next realm, but he was too slow. The flames hit just before the energy projected and part of the cone hit him full frontal.

Scratches, burns and parts of his clothes disintegrated. The cloth covering his right knee and shoulder were completely gone, and part of his jacket was still on fire. His face showed he was in pain, with one eye slightly narrowing and quite a few visible burns.. Quickly he put out the flames on his clothing with his hands. Emblem had gotten up again, and seemed pleased with the result of his actions. The bastard ruined my coat.. No more games, now it's time to show this sucker what I can do. The two swords on his arms flicked forward, pointing directly at his target. His eyes covered themselves in black energy and a mirage of feint dark clouds formed around him, his face moved from pain to anger. This time Krious took the initiative. He teleported in an instant, no longer targeting the behind but mimicking Emblem in his frontal madness. He appeared in front of him, Emblem barely dodging a stab. The blade moved right past his body, slicing the fabric of his shirt. Before he could counter Krious was already gone again, this time coming from the other side. This time Emblem reacted more easily. A powerful jab at his sword, infused with fiery might, made it change direction and miss once again. A second jab followed up, making Krious fly across the pavement at high speed. This time it wasn't an unexpected fact however, and his portal had quite a useful add-on if he wished too. Before hitting the ground he jumped once more. Speedy thing comes in.. speedy ting comes out... Right in front of Emblem another dark cloud appeared, with a man flying out half a second later with the same speed he got into with. Both swords pointed right at him, at point blank range.